#she got a job offer before she left the college grounds and worked until she met papaw

[fireheartedpup]

I thought I could ask my grandma for help and she asked why I don't have a job 🥲

[deliciousangelfestival]

My Problematic Girl-Chapter 2

Character: College!Steve Rogers x Rich!Female Reader

Prologue:  Steve has lived being nobody in this prestigious university. He just wants to graduate and get a job to get more money to pay the bills for his mother's surgery. 

But his life turned upside when a new student attended his class. His quiet and dull life became dangerous and full of surprises.

×××

She exhaled the cigarette smoke from her lips. She still doesn’t care even though he told her he has asthma. 

She looked at Steve and said, “Bark for me.”

Steve felt humiliated, and his pride was crushed. But she held his life and secrets. He had to bury his dignity to the ground, and he murmured, 

“Woof.”

******

I would appreciate any comments and feedback you can give me. 

If you want to be tagged in this series, please tell me.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7 , Chapter 8 , Chapter 9,-

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi

Three days later

Steve was always the first person to arrive at the class. But today, his record was broken because Y/N was the first to arrive. She's faster because Tony drops her in his sports car. 

Perhaps she came early, hoping no one would notice their relationship. But they failed because Steve saw them. 

He hid and waited outside until Y/N entered the classroom. When he stepped in, he felt nervous because she was staring at him. He gathered his courage to say, "Good morning, Y/N!"

He almost screamed; why the heck did he greet her like that? Maybe because it's the first time in his uni years to greet his classmates. 

"Morning."

Short reply.

But it's an improvement. 

For a few days, Steve noticed Y/N never listened to the lecturer, ignored other invitations, and played games on her tablet. 

And she constantly smokes. She offered him one time, but he said no because he doesn't smoke because he has asthma. 

One thing he has learned is that she has no art skills. She had no idea when he mentioned figure drawing or dynamic shapes. 

Sometimes she likes to see his sketchbook and his previous artwork. But Steve is always nervous when she looks at his art because he's afraid if she ever reads his art from that damn website. 

Steve went to his chair and opened his bag. He opened the document bag to grab the drawing she requested. 

He handed the drawing to her. "I used the source from the photo to draw her looking like 40 years old. The size is A4, and I made another with a photo size for your wallet."

Steve noticed in between classes, sometimes Y/N would open her wallet to see the photo. He asked her yesterday who the person was. 

"My mother." 

She looked intimidating but became a softie when she mentioned her mother. 

Y/N took the paper to see it closely. Her fingers caress the picture; she is quiet and mesmerised. Steve sees this as complimenting how she " aww" with his works.

She looked at him. "She's beautiful, just like I imagine. Thank you." 

Steve felt his cheeks getting warm. Is he blushing? 

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it."

Y/N pulled something from her bag that looked like a  white envelope. "This is the rest of the payment."

Steve almost jolted his eyes, looking at how thick the envelope was. His fingers trembled when he touched it. 

When he counted it, the amount was around $3,000. 

He gasped, "Y/N, I couldn't accept this." 

She ignored him and grabbed a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket. "With the quality of your work, it's worth it. I'm going for a smoke before the class starts." 

She waved without looking at him and left the class; she also brought the drawing with her. 

Steve still looks at her back, holding the money envelope to his chest. From all the part-time and side jobs he took, he never got this amount of money in such a short time. 

He doesn't even care if Y/N is a troublemaker; in Steve's mind, she's different from other rich kids.

In his senior year, maybe he could have one friend. 

During the class. 

Everyone is painting like usual; the lecturer doesn't give any assignments because the last semester is approaching. 

They let the student gather ideas to finish their last assignment on time. 

Steve also focused on his art. While he painted, something splashed on his canvas. 

Red paint. 

He was sure he didn't use any red colour. 

He turned around and saw three male students he never conversed with standing behind him.

"So, you're friends with Y/N? How does it feel?" Luke, one of them, is mocking Steve. 

He looked at Y/N's chair; she still didn't return from her smoke break. 

"I said this to you as an advice. You shouldn't get close to Y/N. Because you're an eyesore."

"She's not supposed to hang out with you. She will eventually realise it's a mistake knowing you."

Ah, they're mad because Y/N doesn't want to join their circle, and she also ignores them. So they vent their anger through Steve. 

Steve clenched his fist. They want to make him feel bad by saying he's a weirdo compared to Y/N. 

But…

What they said is true; he's just nobody.

But can he be selfish this one time? Deep down, he wants to be friends with her. 

"That was a rude thing to say."

Steve lifted his head because he heard Y/N's voice.

Then he heard Luke scream, "ARRGHH!!!" and the sound of someone falling surrounded the room. 

Even Steve almost jumped from his chair. Did he just see Y/N kick Luke to the floor?!!

"Ouch, I'm going to sue you." Luke pointed his finger at Y/N.

Everyone became silent because they knew Luke's father was a famous CEO. 

"No, I'm the one who is going to sue you." 

Steve gulped; it's scary how rich people fight. They will get their lawyer to enter their battle. 

Luke looks at Y/N with disbelief. "I'm the one who got hurt. You kicked me."

Y/N leaned down, looked at Steve's canvas, and turned to Luke again. "You have destroyed someone else's property, and you try to defame my name."

She pointed the brush at Luke's hand. 

"The only person in the class who uses bright red paint today is you. And I felt hurt by the way you mentioned my name to Steve. I see this as self-defence."

She leaned closer to Luke's ear. "Go back to your seat, or tomorrow there will be news of you high on drugs with the senator's son."

Luke's breath hitched and trembled. How did she know this secret? 

Y/N fixed his shirt, and she said this as if nothing happened. "I'm sorry I kicked your hips; send me the hospital bills."

Luke immediately stood up and bowed down at her. If his drug problem gets known, his father's business and the senator will be ruined. 

"Sorry, it will never happen again." Then he turned to Steve, "I'm sorry I ruined your painting."

Steve wanted to speak, but Luke and his friends left the classroom. 

He looked at Y/N with awed eyes. Except for Bucky, nobody ever defended him in this university. 

"Thank you, Y/N."

Y/N raised her shoulder. "It's nothing."

After the class, other students left the classroom quicker than usual. It seems like they are afraid of Y/N. 

He walks with her from the class to the park; Steve wants to ask a favour from her, "Ehm, Y/N can I ask for your help?"

Y/N didn't glance at him; she was still playing with her phone. "Just say it."

Steve gripped his bag tighter and cleared his throat. "Uhm, so for the final assignment, every student has to make an exhibition for their artwork. But I don't have any money to rent a studio. I know it's too much to ask, but do you want to be my sponsor?"

He continued, "I won't do it for free. I will do all your assignments."

"No." 

That was a cold rejection. He was prepared, but to hear those words still hurt. He faces down and holds his tears. "Uhm, I see. It's okay. Sorry to bother you, Y/N."

He stepped back, preparing to run away, but then he heard, "When I said no, it is about you doing my assignment. You don't have to do that."

‘Is she going to say yes?’ Steve hoped so. 

"But, how are you going to graduate with nothing?"

Y/N chuckled. "I don't need to worry about that since I already have a bachelor's degree. I'm here because of punishment."

"Wha,-" 

'She has a bachelor's degree?"

She immediately cut his curiosity and lit a new cigarette. "I will be your sponsor."

Steve gasped, his hand covering his opened mouth. His eyes are getting blurred because he wants to cry. Finally, his prayer answered, "Thank you, Y/N; I will remember this my whole life."

Y/N inhaled and exhaled the smoke from her mouth. She tilted her head a little."It's nothing because I like your work, VioletDust18."

"What?" His celebration stopped. Steve's body felt numb. It felt like someone put a shackle on his foot that made him couldn't run. 

Nobody in the real world calls him with that ID, only in emails from people who ordered his art. 

Y/N smiled at him and said, "I look forward to our cooperation Steve Rogers, or should I say VioletDust18?" 

Oh God, she said that name again. 

Steve felt scared; what kind of person had he just made a deal with?

Thank you for reading. I hope you like it.

If you have any feedbacks or want to join the tagged list, you can tell me.

I will always be grateful for those who reblog. Thank you so much.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5 , Chapter 6, Chapter 7 , Chapter 8, Chapter 9,-

Main Masterlist || Buy me Ko-fi

Join the tag list :

@cherrybubblebullet

@starsofcloud

@kandis-mom

@bagoffeelings

@darkofimagination

@mansaaay

@zaraomarrogers

@magnificentsaladllama

@rebeccapineapple

@irishhappiness

@sjlainny

[teddyeyeseddie]

So Now What

Wednesday In a Cafe

older!steve X reader X older!eddie (no cheating, no steddie)

masterlist

Warnings: college student steve, a drunken kiss, alcohol consumption, a bad date, someone orders for someone else in a controlling way, eddie and steve are both 30 reader is 20”

(a/n: me having three series going at once? I AM SICK! n e ways thank you @lofaewrites for being my lovely beta, love you forever honey!!)

The crisp October air sent a small chill up your spine. The leaves fall down, settling on the sidewalk before you crunch over them on your way to Mr. Munson's house. You hoisted the pumpkin you were carrying up onto your hip as you approached the front door, knocking softly. 

The door quickly opens up, Eddie smiling down at you, the toddler on his hip matching her father. 

“Mr. Munson…” You offer politely, smiling up at him as the pumpkin almost slips through your fingers. 

“Oh, here,” He goes to grab the pumpkin by the stem but you are quick to pull back from him.

“You’re gonna ruin it.” You state bluntly. 

He chuckles, opening the door farther, forcing you to pass under his arm. 

You carefully place the pumpkin on the table, smiling at the fall themed art adorning the man’s fridge.

“You don’t know how happy I am that you're back from school. These other sitters just can't handle Caden.” he sighs as he places Lily down onto the ground. She's giggling as she walks to you, extending her arms upwards in hopes to be picked up.  

You really loved the little Munson family. Eddie, a younger single father of two, found you through some old clients whose kids no longer needed a sitter. He was desperate, his promotion at the docks swamping him with work.

This finally settles after a while. His work slowed down, his co-workers finally giving him the respect he deserved and needed to do his job.  His kids stopped asking where Mommy was when Eddie was finally able to tell them she wasn’t coming back. He even bought himself a new car despite his heart being attached to his old rickety van. 

She was everything Eddie Munson wanted in the world. She was spontaneous, bubbly, and so outgoing. They traveled across the United States when they graduated highschool, using his van for their journey. They continued to travel until one day when Eddie was 22. They were somewhere in California, Kim coming out of a gas station bathroom. Her skin was white, her palms clammy as she carefully reached out her hand to Eddie’s. The words still ring in Eddie’s ears everytime he pumps gas. 

“Ed, I’m pregnant,” She says, the tears in her eyes falling as she looks up at Eddie. He’d just gotten back in the car, sweat beading at his neck from the blistering summer heat. 

“You’re what?” he questions, hands beginning to shake as he reaches towards the test that is in Kim’s other hand. 

His whole world changed that day, Kim turned into a mother and he loved every second of watching her become the best one he’s ever seen. They settle down in a small town on the coast in California. Eddie began working at the docks to bring in a steady income for their growing family while Kim found work at the town’s library. 

Three turned to four and four to three the day Lily was brought into the world. It left Eddie cold for a long time. He didn’t understand how his little family could get torn apart so easily. He mourned her, drinking more as he pawned his kids off on his Uncle for days at a time. Bender after Bender leaving him void of will. 

He finally woke up one day, calling Uncle Wayne, crying and begging him for help.

Wayne helped, Eddie finally got better, his mourning now just a dull ache in his heart. The kids came home, happy to see their father smiling. 

In the time that Wayne helped Eddie back onto his feet, Eddie had found you through some friends and hired you practically on the spot.

June and July passed quickly, Caden and Lily fell in love with you. You loved the job so much that you always offered to watch the kids when you were home from break. 

So, here you are for your 2nd fall break in a row, all of the other sophomores down the coast for fall break.

“So what did you need me here at 4 in the afternoon for? Your date isn’t until 7…” You question as you begin to grab a soda from his fridge. 

“Lovely I haven’t been on a date since Kim. I have no idea what I'm doing. What do I wear?”

You laugh at his obvious flustered demeanor, he rolls his eyes at you before grabbing your arm that’s not holding Lily and dragging you to his room. Since Kim’s passing the house has become more Eddie. You imagine his old childhood room was probably covered in posters and odds and ends. His house has framed concert posters on the walls and the random movie memorabilia scattered about. 

His bedroom is no different. There are more posters adorning the walls, pictures and polaroids tucked into random places. It’s endearing and makes you smile at the progress he has made since you first met him. 

He pulls shirt after shirt out of the closet, deaming each one “not good enough”. He throws his head back in frustration as he takes a seat next to you and Lily on the bed. He looks down at her and pouts. 

“What’s daddy gonna do, Lils? What do I wear?” he questions as he pokes at the girl’s belly causing her to laugh. 

You get off the bed, walking into his closet and rifling through his shirts. 

“Here, this one. Wear your black jeans and the boots I got you for Christmas last year. Black on Black on Black, just how you like it,��� 

He gets up from his place on the bed, walking into the bathroom and quickly changing. He walks out with a small pep in his step. He twirls dramatically, you and Lily giggling loudly as he turns his back to you and looks over his shoulder. 

You leave Eddie to get ready. He comes down moments later in the outfit you picked out. You're pretty sure it would make any girl swoon.

The four of you spend the extra time Eddie has before his date watching TV. Eddie checks his watch and smiles, he throws you a twenty dollar bill and yells something about pizza before strutting out the door and to his truck. 

You wait up for him, your feet curled up on the couch, a blanket covering your body as you watch one of your favorite Halloween movies. 

The front door opens much earlier than you expected, Eddie coming in, his hair pulled up high on his head, little pieces pulled down framing his face. 

You smile brightly at him but it quickly falls when you see the look on his face. He looks defeated, the bags in his eyes heavy as he makes his way to the fridge, pulling out a beer. He cracks it open before he approaches the couch and plops down. 

“That bad, huh?” you question as he takes a swig of his beer. His eyebrows raise as he does so, he pulls the bottle back from his lips, sucking in air between his teeth before speaking. 

“That's the understatement of the century,” he says with a sigh. 

“Wanna talk about it?” you question, turning your body to face Eddie, your elbow resting on the back of the couch. He turns to face you also, his body mirroring the position you're in. 

“First of all, she hates metal. Second, she doesn’t want kids and third, she chews with her mouth open!” he shouts, his exasperated nature causing you to chuckle. 

“She was so rude to the waitress, and she tried to order for me.” 

“She sounds awful,” you say, laughing again as Eddie gets up to retrieve another beer. 

“She was,” he states, “You want some wine? I bought you some to have while you’re here as long as you dont rat me out to your parents for giving a 20 year old wine,” he asks as he walks to the kitchen.

You giggle again, nodding your head as he turns around to look at you. 

The two of you pass through beers and wine quickly. The bottle now left between you as you pass it back and forth. 

“You know anyone would be lucky to have you,” you say quietly, “I think you’re pretty cool..” 

Eddie cocks his head to the side, smiling at you.

“You think?”

“I know so..” 

Eddie’s eyes flash to your lips, smiling softly as he thinks about how they’d feel to kiss. In a moment of drunken courage, Eddie leans forward and catches your lips in a kiss. You lean into it at first but quickly pull away when you realize you’re kissing your boss.   

“I-I gotta go,” you mumble as you get up and start your journey home. 

“Wait- Lovely I’m sorry,” he says as he walks towards you, his arm sneaks around your own as his eyes beg you to accept his apology. 

“It’s ok, I gotta go. My parents are probably worrying,” You slip on your shoes, grabbing your bag and heading out the door. 

You turn around one last time.

“Bye Eddie,” 

Halloween comes in a hurry, Eddie sending you pictures of the pumpkin you had given Caden, all carved and ready for the night. You were back at school now, fall break coming and going. You had managed to avoid Eddie for the remaining days of break, a hard feat since he was only two blocks away from your parents. 

You ignore the text from Eddie, focusing on the piece of literature before you. You’re nose deep in the book when a presence before you pulls you out of your luul. 

“Hey um, are you in Professor Allen’s literature class?” you smile up at the man, cocking your head to the side. 

“Yeah, her 3000 levels.” the man’s face lights up as he takes a seat across from you. 

“I thought I had recognized you, I uh- sit up in the front,” he replies as he pulls out a book. 

You finally take time to really look at the man, the way his sweater brings out the color of his eyes, the way his hair lays perfectly atop his head, the stubble adorning his face making his jaw more prominent. He’s not old but he’s definitely not your age. 

“I was hoping you could help me with something?” he says. 

“Of course,” 

“I don’t quite understand what’s happening with Don Quixote here..” he says, a smile on his face.

You spend several hours walking through the book with the man, his questions challenging you and making you further dive into the book. 

“So do you understand?” You ask the man. He nods his head before collecting his things. 

“Yeah, I got it now. Thank you so much for all your help.. I really appreciate it.” He picks nervously at the strap of his backpack.

“Yeah no problem! I’m sorry though I didn’t catch your name..” you say as you collect your own things. 

“Steve. Harrington.” he cracks a goofy smile as he extends his hand to you. 

“Y/N Y/L/N,” you respond, clasping his hand in your own and giving it a firm shake. 

“I’ll see you around?” you question. He nods his head and smiles at you once more before leaving the library and heading for the parking lot. 

You and Steve fall into an easy friendship, constantly together in the library discussing Professor Allen’s homework. You make it to the end of the night, the two of you holed up in a study room on the second floor of the library. It’s nearing 12am when you both decide to call it quits. You’re packing up quietly when Steve’s voice breaks the silence. 

“Do you uh- wanna come over for a drink?” he questions, his hand scratching at the nape of his neck. You burn bright at his request, slinging your backpack over your shoulder. 

“M’ only twenty,” you reply shyly, he cocks his head to the side and chuckles.

“Well I figured you weren’t quite my age, m’ old and boring,”

“You aren’t.. What are you 25?” you question. Steve laughs and opens the door to the study room for you.

“Try 30 sweetheart,” he replies with a grimace on his face. 

“S’ ok,” you shrug,”chicks dig older guys,” 

Steve raises his eyebrows as the two of you walk past campus security on the first floor, he waves a small goodnight to them before he passes through the entrance of the library behind you.

“They do huh?”

You nod, smiling back at him. He catches up beside you and the two of you make your way to the parking lot.

“My car is uh- this way,” Steve mumbles and shoves his thumb to the right. 

“Steve, I don't drive. I'm following you because I think you promised me a drink at your place,”

He smiles down at you, offering a small bow allowing you to walk in front of him in the direction of his car. 

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb:

Knives Out meets The Inheritance Games with magic in this standalone supernatural thriller by Sarah Henning: thirteen witches, a locked-room murder, and two non-magical sisters trapped in a deadly whodunit.

Ruby and her sister, Wren, are normal, middle-class Colorado high school students working a summer job at the local Renaissance Fest to supplement their meager college savings.

So when an eccentric old lady asks them to impersonate her long-absent grandchildren at a fancy dinner party at the jaw-dropping rate of two grand—each—for a single night… Wren insists it’s a no-brainer. Make some cash, have some fun, do a good deed.

But less than an hour into the evening at the mysterious Hegemony Manor, Ruby is sure she must have lost her mind to have agreed to this.

The hostess is dead, the gates are locked, and a magical curse ensures no one can leave until they solve both her murder and the riddles she left behind—in just three days. Because everyone else at this party is a powerful witch. And if the witches realize Ruby and Wren are imposters? The sisters won’t make it out of Hegemony Manor alive.

Review:

Knives out meets magical locked room murder mystery when two sisters take up the job of pretending to be other people at a party only for bodies to start dropping... and did I mention this was a gathering of witches? Ruby is a seventeen year old girl and her sixteen year old sister Wren both are middle class working students who get an unexpected job opportunity while working at the local Renaissance festival. Ruby desperately has been saving money for college so when a stranger offers her and her sister $4000 to pretend to be her granddaughters at a family party, it should be easy money right? Ruby is weary but needs the money while Wren is absolutely on board. The job is simple: one night, pretend to be her granddaughters, deflect conversations, and that's it.... or is it? During the party the hostess ends up murdered and the gates are locked... and surprise surprise it turns out the gathering was for 13 witches from different families and with the hostess dead a magical curse is placed that ensures no one can leave until they both solve her murder and the riddles she's left behind.... in thre days or be forever trapped on the grounds. Ruby and Wren are completely over their heads now, they are regular humans now stuck in a house with witches who have magical abilities... and the person who hired them has abandoned them. Now they'll have to find a way to keep the act up and survive the weekend, catch the real killer, and absolutely avoid falling for the cute guys who are determined to find out the killer. With all the suspects trapped in one house, the clock ticking, and a murderer amongst them.... can Ruby save herself and her sister before it's too late? This started off really interesting but the pacing got a bit slow and the mystery itself felt a bit muddled in the middle. I previously read a book called These Deadly Prophecies that absolutely nailed the "Knives out meets magical murder mystery with a dash of romance" and felt that that book did it better. This one wasn't bad it just wasn't as great. I didn't like the characters as much and honestly, Wren got on my nerves so much. Ruby was a fine protagonist and the romance was light, the mystery was my main focus but it just didn't feel all that well laid out and paced. Overall it's a fine mystery magical read for YA readers who want a bit of knives out with witches and a touch of romance.

Release Date: September 17,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Teen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[observeowl]

Her Assistant | Chapter 17 - Attending School

Summary: After losing her family, Natasha Romanoff builds her company from the ground up. During the rise of her company, she decided she needed an assistant, one that works in her office and her house. That's when she saw your resume. After working five years for her, how was it like working for her? Or more importantly, how things progress?

Series Masterlist

Natasha POV I thought by the time Fury was done briefing me with the details of the mission, Y/N would have entered. There was no sight of her ever since she stepped out of the room to see The Williams out. Did she send them to the airport, that's why she's taking such a long time?

I exited my office and was instantly met with Y/N leaning against the wall talking to someone on the phone. I didn't want to interrupt and was planning to leave until I heard her laugh. This made my head turn as she was invested in the call with whoever she was talking with.

"Come on Vic, you can't do this to me. Just tell me already, don't keep the suspense for too long." She whined. She freaking whined. I've never heard that from her before.  Who was she talking to? "How about this? Drinks this Saturday?"

Sensing her conversation was coming to an end, I decided to walk towards her, acting as if I wasn't standing there for some time already. When she saw me walking closer, she ended her conversation quickly and kept her phone in her pocket. "M-miss Natasha."

"Let's go for lunch. Not sure if you knew, but Fury came by earlier." I walked ahead of her and pressed the button for the elevator to the garage. Y/N said that Bucky told her that Fury was here when she came back after seeing The Williams off. She didn't want to interrupt the meeting so she waited outside until she got a phone call from Victoria who just came back from overseas.

"W-what- why are you doing my job?" Y/N stared at me as I stood at the driver side of the car.

"I'm driving this time. I'm trying to woo you, remember? You gotta let me do some stuff for you." I said and she finally gave me her keys. "Besides, I haven't driven this new car yet."

"Don't wreck it." She said as she got into the passenger seat. I drove to some fancy restaurant, probably not what Y/N would have liked but I needed the privacy it offered to discuss things that Fury had given me.

We ordered our food and talked as we waited for it to arrive and continued even after it arrived. I heard Y/N chuckled a bit and I raised my brow amused at her reaction.

"I'm pretty sure there wasn't a mission for you in grade school. Fury wanted you to accept the mission in college because it would seem like a better option than the former." I tsked when she revealed. It certainly seems like something Fury would do. I should have done better at avoiding this. He should have given this mission to Stark instead. I heard he recently got a new protege, Peter something, who was pretty clever for his time. He should be the one assigned on this mission, seeing how he was still studying.

"I was thinking if you'd be the one attending."

Y/N's head shot up to look at me. "I don't think that's a good idea..." She said before returning her gaze to her food in front of her.

I don't think it's wise to push so I said. "I guess I'll have to act younger than my age then. I thought of sending Wanda, but she's going to be busy with the new project. It wouldn't be bad to have Fury indebted to me. The only problem is the school term has started and I'm not sure if there's any vacancy left."

"If there's no space, make space. Isn't that what you said?" Y/N smirked at me as she said.

>time skip<

The most important impression is the first impression. But I'm clearly failing it as I was standing in front of the four prefects.

The governor's son, Derrick, naturally went to a prestigious school. We ain't going to comment on the method he used to enter such an elite school, since he probably wasn't the only one doing it.

Back to the issue at hand, it was because I stepped on the lawn that the prefect surrounded me. I could hear murmurs as other students hinted that I was going to get in trouble.

"What's your name?" The guy with long blond hair spoke first. He's the most good looking amongst the other four. A womaniser?

"Natalie Rushman..." I replied.

"Never heard of it."

"That's right, I heard from the principal that there would be a new student coming to the Blue House today... Is that you?" Another guy with his hair neatly shaved back spoke. He looked to be the most muscular among the other three.

"Weston College's Rule #48 states: The only ones allowed to cross the lawn are the prefects or those granted permission by them. At least remember the school rules before you enter." The guy with blue hair and glasses spoke. One look from him and I could tell he's the most rigid.

"I'm very sorry."

"Hurry up and get inside. The sun is too bright outside." He's probably the weirdest. With purple fingernails and hood up even though it was shining hot some of his silver hair peeking out. The way he spoke also lacked energy.

"Look out from now on, Rushman." Other than a flick to the forehead, they left me with no other punishment.

"Aren't you a lucky gal? You stepped on the lawn and didn't get punished." A body landed on mine without warning and I had to take a few steps to balance myself. "I'm Isabella Jones. I'm a first-year in the Blue House as well." She introduced herself to me.

"Y-yeah. By the way, what do all those 'P4' and 'Y' things mean?" I asked after hearing them whisper around me.

"'Y' are penalty points. If you get one 'Y', you have to write a Latin poem 100 times. 'P4' are those four just now who wear different coloured waistcoats. At this school only prefects can wear those with whatever pattern they like." Jones enthusiastically explained to me with a shine in his eyes.

"Prefects?" I reiterated.

"I guess you could call them dormitory leaders."

(Just to give you a picture of how they look like, from left to right)

Gregory Violet, the one with the purple waistcoat is the prefect of the Violet Wolf dormitory, students who are accomplished in the arts gather there.

Lawrence Bluer, the one with the blue waistcoat is the prefect of the Sapphire Owl dormitory, where students who excel at studying gather there.

Edgar Redmond, the one with the red waistcoat is the prefect of the Scarlet Fox dormitory, where students of exceptional high birth gather there.

Herman Greenhill, The one with the green waistcoat is the prefect of the Green Lion dormitory, students who excel in martial arts and sports gather there.

"The four prefects from the traditional four dormitories at Weston College. P4 for short!!" She held her hands together as he squealed. "I really admire them. I'll be a prefect one day... if only..."

Once we took notice of the time, she urged us to get to the first class to prevent getting a Y. I wouldn't want to have to copy poems 100 times. Which school still uses such a punishment system anyway?

Flashback The governor's son, Derrick Arden,  is a fifth year student at Weston College, but for some reason, he has not been returning home since last summer vacation. He used to send letters everyday. But even the family suddenly stopped receiving them.

We stayed behind in the restaurant even after finishing our meal and ordered another set of drinks. I gave her the files that Fury presented to me and she flipped through it with quick succession.

"If it was just him I'd think of it as a rebellious phase, but it seems that a few more students are refusing to go home." I told her my conclusion after having read the file.

"So you think something shady is going on in the school." I nodded my head.

"'Investigate what's going on in the school' is what he's saying. Public schools are independent institutions that refuse government intervention, so it's hard to get involved. Though it's more likely they don't want to make matters worse and let everyone know about their private affairs." I said as I swirled the wine in my glass.

Y/N nodded as she set the manila file on the table before picking up her martini. "You'll support me inconspicuously. I'll leave it to you to figure out how."

"It's really weird that Colett left the school so suddenly... you came in at a rather strange time too, wasn't that hard?" Jones asked as I sat at one of the empty tables flipping the books I brought with me

"Well, I'd been waiting for a spot for a long time. I was happy to prepare for it."

"CLASS UP!" Suddenly someone shouted and everyone rushed to form a line. Even Jones ran away and I was shocked at everyone's action.

"At that command, the last in line has to do whatever the upper years tell them to!"

"WHAT?" I fumbled out of my seat and expected, I was the last in line.

"The last is... the new one..."

"Yes..."

"Well then, return to the dorm once you've polished all the prefects' shoes. We'll have your welcome party." Another upperclass man I've never met before said as he passed me a slip of paper.

I sighed as I finally finished my task and headed towards the Sapphire Owl dormitory also known as the blue house. It's been a long time since I've had to do such tasks. I felt a hand covering my mouth and struggled against them, trying to break free.

"Congratulations, Rushman. We're holding this party for you." He pushed me towards some unknown direction. "We hope you enjoy it to the fullest." The moment, I'm being heaved up to the air with an empty sheet.

"How do you like our dorm's traditional welcome party? I'll expect you to work harder at your studies from now on, as a member of the Sapphire Owl dormitory. The next one will be even higher." Before I could even protest to stop. He started counting down for the next one.

"What is that racket! I'll give you all a Y!" A voice shouted.

"Oh no, it's the dorm supervisor!!" The rest of the Blue House students was surprised by the sudden visit of the dorm supervisor and dropped the sheet, causing me to fall to the ground with a thud.

"Clayton, why are you, as an upperclass year participating in this?"

"That's... this is a tradition of our dorm."

"Goodness... there's tradition and there's over doing it. You're the new student Rushman, correct? Welcome to the Sapphire Owl dormitory. I'm the dorm advisor, Y/N YL/N." She extended her hand towards me and I gently took it.

It was the next day and Weston College has a funny way of welcoming their students. I was to go to the principal's room and the P4 were there too. It was a huge space and the glass behind him shone in brightly causing me to be unable to see his face.

"It's been a day since you arrived. How are you feeling, Rushman?" Greenhill asked.

"Feel free to come to the Red House if you can't get use to the Blue House. We'd welcome you anytime." Redmond invited me with his charming smile.

"Only the Principal can decide one's dormitory, no exceptions." Bluer mentioned.

"The dormitories are all the same though..." Violet said unenergetically like he didn't want to be here.

"This is a high-class public school protected by tradition and discipline. From the moment you enter, you have to obey the rules. Normally, the Principal would give you the welcome speech but since he is busy, I'll be representing him. I am the Vice-Principal, Johan Agares." He lifted his head and I was able to see him slightly better but I was still unable to make out his full features.

"Do you swear to keep to the rules of our school, and obey our tradition and discipline?" Mr Agares asked. There was definitely a layer of authority as he sat at a higher place than me. I agreed to their terms and he got a thick book as he went down the steps so I could sign it. I didn't expect, however, for him to roll down the steps.

"Mr Agares!" The P4 went to help him up and he apologised for the scene. He told me where to sign and I could see all the previous attendees of this school. They wished me a pleasant life at the school before proceeding to leave.

"When can I meet the principal?" I know that only by meeting the principal would I be able to solve this case and I sure don't want to be staying longer than I need to.

"The Principal is very busy and does not meet with regular students. The only ones who can have meetings with the principal are us prefects." Bluer said.

Regular students can't meet the Principal? So the Principal is like the absolute monarch of the school.

Third POV The students' lives are controlled by the ringing of the bell. And so another day begins at school at 6.30am where the students are told to wake up and have breakfast in the hall. This is usually where you would start forming your groups and cliques as you didn't want to sit alone. Classes were next until it was lunch time.

Naturally, since Y/N was their dormitory advisor, she was also their professor and taught the class. During her class, Natasha would not pay attention at the back and stare out of the window. Afterall, she knew all of it already and certainly didn't need all this knowledge.

"Fag?" Natasha questioned as she took a bite of her peanut butter sandwich.

"When lunchtime is over, it's 'fag time'. It's one of Weston's characteristic traditions where the lower years have to help out one of the upper years." Jones explained to her as she drank her juice.

"Help out?"

"Yeah, like cleaning their room or ironing their uniforms. And preparing hot water bottles at night." She listed a few examples for me. Natasha rolled her eyes at another annoying tradition. Subsequently, she asked if the P4 have fags as well. To which they do, Clayton is the fag of Bluer.

"A fag is a little different from a butler in that the upper year will help out their fags sometimes as well. It's kind of like having a brother within the school. I heard they can attend the midnight tea party organised by the Principal."

That was exactly what Nat needed, but how was she going to achieve that? With the school this strict on traditions and rules, it would be hard to jump the ranks quickly.

"I know it's a topic of change but do you know Derek Arden, the governor's son? I believe he was a student of the Scarlet Fox dormitory." The atmosphere in the dining hall turned as the words left Nat's mouth.

"R-Rushman... it doesn't look good if you're too friendly with people from other dormitories. Rivialing dormitories are always competing over something." Jones kindly help Nat get use to the culture there.

"That sounds like the trivial rivalry of women."

"I do believe that student was transferred from Red to Purple House on exception. I don't know the details, but the rumours were that the Principal ordered it." Jones tried her best to whisper as she looked around to see if anyone was listening.

Before Nat could ask what she meant, someone called her over and she said that was her upperclass man. This must be the fag time that she was talking about.

"Rushman!" Nat didn't expect anyone to call her. She still has to get used to people calling her since she was usually the one calling for people.

"Clayton..."

"Until you get assigned to an upper year, you're on cleaning duty for the dining hall." He instructed. Nat looked around and noticed how quiet it was, everyone had left and it was only her remaining.

"Everything?" Being in the Blue House, there were books lying everywhere. They were studying all the time, perhaps the only thing they knew how to do. The plates and cutleries were on the table with all the leftover food.

"That's right. Don't slack off." Clayton left as soon as he was done with giving out his instruction. Nat sighed as she looked around at the mess she had to clean up. Or does she?

"Y/N." Very quickly, Y/N appeared in the room and walked next to Nat.

"It seems Derrick was transferred." Nat told her of the news she got from Jones.

"When I checked, his name was on the register of Violet Wolf indeed." Y/N cross checked Nat's information. So, were they closer to the truth? Perhaps they didn't have to stay as long as they initially thought.

"He should be at the dorm now. I'll check it out so you can clean up here." Before Y/N could say anything, Nat ran out of the dining hall towards Purple House.

Their dorm was eerie, fitting their eccentric vibe, like it was decorated for halloween, except there was no light, just a bunch of naked dead trees. Crows rested on the fence and anywhere they could stand. The place was even decorated with gravestones. It's just a decoration... right?

Nat walked towards the big entrance door despite all the warnings. And suddenly out of nowhere, students popped out of the bushes and started identifying her. The hostility towards her wasn't hidden.

"Hey hey, what business does a bookworm from blue house have with us? This isn't the place for people who can't do anything but study." A guy with a rockstar hairstyle stood at the top and shouted.

"Get out!" // "People from other dormitories should get out!" // "That's right, get out!"

They started throwing rocks and Natasha tried to cover her head with her arms but some managed to slip past and hit her back.

"Why don't you bring a big fat dictionary to protect your head next time, bookworm!" He did a thumbs down and yelled. As she left, Violet came out of the dorm to check on what the students were on. He recognised Nat even though he could only see his back view as she left such a strong impression on her first day.

There's more hostility between dorms than Nat thought. She couldn't meet Derek, let alone the Principal. Status and money are worth nothing in this school. As long as Nat is a regular student, seeking information would just get her in trouble. Which means there is only one way to get to the core of this affair.

She must get herself in favour with the P4.

As she thought of her next moves, there she realised there was a crowd at the entrance of the dining hall. Despite her height, she tried to see what the commotion was about.

"Rushman!" Clayton grabbed both her arms and for a moment she thought he caught her sneaking out. "I don't easily praise anyone. However, just for today, I'll grant you some praise."

The dining hall was spectacular like it was ready for a ball. Everything was in place. Even things that Nat didn't know where it came from. Champagne glasses, napkins, cushions and tablecloths. Everything was scrubbed clean so that it was reflecting their images.

"Our old... I mean, traditional dormitory dining hall looks completely new!! Well done, Rushman!"

Y/N overdid the cleaning of the dining hall and Nat decided to make use of it. Clayton was Bluer's fag and she could use him to get closer to the P4.

"I'm glad you are pleased!! Actually, I'm really very good at doing housework. So, if you've got anything please just ask, okay..." Nat said with a bright smile and flattered Clayton. 

Reader POV The warden is a teacher who lives in the school's dormitory and guides students. Besides the warden, the four dormitories of Weston College employed a few other workers, namly those in charge of taking care of the cleanliness, the cook, security and more. However, the dormitory warden is only one who is also a teacher.

In the morning they go to school with the students and teach their subjects. At night, they return to the dormitory with the students and during their free time, they help those who need help with their homework. The warden is an onerous job since it requires dedicating most of the day to the students.

And yet...

Natasha has given me all sorts of orders for me to fulfill. Asking me to put Clayton's bookshelves in order, fix the button that came off Clayton's jacket and prepare golden syrup pudding for Clayton and for her as well, among the rest she requested.

"She only accepts any task because she knows I would do it..." I sighed as I opened the door to Clayton's room. "Even though... I'm pretty busy... myself!" I started packing the bookshelves, sewing the button onto his coat and getting the ingredients ready. So many things to do, so little time.

After an hour and a half, I finally finished what Natasha told me to do and went off preparing for the lesson to teach the first year.

Natasha POV "It must be hard for you with all those requests." Jones turned around from her chair to face me. "For me, it takes the whole of fag time for me to just fix a button... Clayton is asking you too much, with the excuse that he hasn't chosen a fag."

"It's not that bad... I have a trick that does everything quickly." Just then Y/N walked in and I saw her blank face when she heard me say that.

"You're really amazing though, you even got a great score on the last test."

"I just happened to be prepared enough." I shrugged my shoulders. It wasn't that hard.

"Everyone is wondering about which senior will get you as his fag. Someone should be making a request soon. Personally, I think it might be Clayton." Jones whispered to me. It must be another funky thing that they are not allowed to gossip about. Honestly, this school is just weird.

"I'll be honoured."

That has to happen. It better be me. I'll become Clayton's fag. I'm not going through all this effort for anything.

Third POV At the swan gazebo, the P4 were having their tea time with their fags. It was a space only for the P4 and it was against the rules for others to join. There was some distance from the school and the gazebo providing some tranquillity and peace.

They were able to spend a few hours with their coffee, tea, and snacks that they enjoy.

"Redmond, would you like some tea?" Maurice asked as he got ready the teapot at hand.

"Thank you. Your tea is the best, Maurice." Redmond said. Everything he does was gentleman-like, which reflects since he was a prefect.

"By the way, I heard the new student is quite capable." Greenhill said as he was casually lifting some weights like they weigh nothing to him. His speech was easy flowing like he didn't need any effort.

"Ahh, yes that cutie pie in Lawrence's dorm. I'm curious too."

"Stop calling me by my first name. It's against the rules." Strict as ever with his rules, Bluer complained as his eyes never left his book.

Redmond ignored what he said and asked. "Clayton, what do you think about that girl?

He gave a serious thought over the last few days before saying. "He is extremely skilled, and works fast and carefully. Actually, the tea and snacks I asked him to prepare look like something made by a French chef."

Maruice was interested in the new prospect of meeting someone with such a great ability to make sweets. She took huge pride in being able to make desserts that make Redmond smile. In fact, the desserts in all the meetings at the gazebo were made by her. All the P4 were singing praises to her.

"She said it was a hobby." Clayton added at the back.

"Quite the weirdo. Maybe that's why she came to my dorm back then." Violet said.

"What?" Finally, it was something that interested Bluer.

"Some time ago, she came to Violet House during fag time, alone." Violet said as he was sipping some sort of bubbling concoction he made.

"Are you sure it was her? I don't think she has time to go out, with all the work she has to do..." Clayton checked. He knew very well as he was the one who was giving out all the work to Natasha.

"Why did he go to the Violet Wolf dormitory?" The P4 asked themselves.

After some silence, Redmond decided to invite her for a meeting which surprised Maruice. In her entire year of being a fag for Redmond, he has never requested to meet anyone. "I'm tired of the dull faces I see every day. I'm sure you're curious about his acclaimed tea and snacks too." He said to the group.

Maruice then volunteered to be the one to relay the information to Natasha as she was really excited to meet the new student. "Tomorrow at 2pm right?"

>slight time skip<

With a wave of a hand, she was able to get someone's attention and have someone running for her.

"Rus- Rushman..." The boy ran towards Nat. "Keller wants to speak to you." His sudden enthusiasm made Nat alert for any danger.

"Keller?!" // "Yeah, I spoke to her for the first time." They were fangirling that he was able to speak to the famous Maurice Keller. Like the prefects, she was also very charming and does everything with elegance.

"Keller? Who is she?" Nat doesn't understand the hype around her.

Their faces of shock were unified. Everyone knew who Maurice Keller was, everyone. "Maurice Keller, a senior, fag of the Scarlet Fox dormitory's prefect. She's the most beautiful girl in the school!! Where did you get to know her? Whatever, just go!" Jones pushed Nat out of the door towards her.

"Are you Rushman? Please to meet you, I'm Maurice Keller, Redmond's fag." She introduced herself as Nat stood in front of her. Even though Nat was older than her in age, they were around the same height and some might say that Keller still had an opportunity to grow.

"Can I help you...?" Nat asked when the conversation stopped there.

"Ah right." She shook her head and pulled back from her trance. "You know, prefects and their fags often meet together at the swan gazebo, and the other day we were talking about the amazing new student. Everyone agreed that they would like to have a chat with you. Would you come to the swan gazebo tomorrow?"

A chance to get closer to the P4 landed right in front of Nat's feet. She'll be a fool to turn that down. "I would be glad to!" She replied as sincerely as possible.

"Really? That's great! We'll be waiting for you at the swan gazebo tomorrow at 4pm!" She said with a smile that even has sparkles shining behind her back. She waved as she turned the corner and once she was gone, the rest of the students surrounded her asking for the details and jealous of the fact that she was going to meet the P4.

Reader POVI was walking by when Keller was talking to Natasha. Even though I could only hear the end of the conversation, it was more than enough to know what it was about. The end where other students came out from their hiding and pounced on Natasha was shocking. She never liked that amount of touch. The most I've seen her do was a pat on the shoulder.

It was time for me to have the night lessons with those weaker students and there were quite a few tonight who requested help. "It's a line that can be mistaken easily, be careful. Is everything else okay?" I asked the student and I started wrapping up the session.

"The way you explain is so easy to understand, Professor Y/L/N! Thank you, goodnight!" I said the same to him before giving a wave to him.

Soon after, another set of knocks was heard and a voice requesting help in studying. Naturally, you allowed her in.

"You seem to be popular, Professor Y/L/N." Natasha smirked as she closed the door.

"Everyone is praising the way I explain and my kindness." I simply replied to her.

"I'd really like to show them how your real training method is." Natasha said as she took the seat I was on.

"I only learn from the best."

She proceeded to tell me the details regarding her meeting with the P4 and was very adamant in telling me that she couldn't fail this. Complaining that she has to prepare snacks for the kids.

"Wouldn't that be nice? Instead of bribing them, you will win them over with real sweets." I teased knowing how past missions went. This was really a whole new type of mission. Other than the werewolves case, this required her most involvement. Most of the others only require her to order from her armchair in her house. She has the talent of being able to see the entire picture and predict the opponent's next move.

"How was your day?" My eyes perked up when she asked that question. I guess I was still getting used to her caring for me. "This is your first time teaching a class right?"

"That's right."

"Do you have anything else to do for the rest of the day?" I shook my head. Those who requested to have a meeting have already come and left unless there were any impromptu students. "Let's talk in your room then."

Students in Weston College have to share a room while Professors and others have their private rooms. I let Natasha into my room, there wasn't a mess around since I hardly spent any time here. This is really more like a place for me to sleep.

"What did you want to talk about?" I questioned after I emerged from the bathroom after changing into my night clothes.

"Nothing. Nothing work-related. I just wanted to spend some time with you."

"Is Miss Jones not going to notice that you're missing from your bed?"

"And who is she going to find?"

"Me."

"Precisely."

I shook my head at her antics. Since that was what Natasha wanted, we continued talking late into the night until she fell asleep on my bed. I made sure she was covered properly before sneaking into the dorm and took some spare clothes from her closet for tomorrow. Sure enough, the rest of the students were sound asleep and seemingly undisturbed by the lack of a presence on the empty bed.

I took my position on the couch and drifted off to sleep as well after finishing up the lesson plans and marking the papers.

As the warden, I'm supposed to wake up earlier and ring the bell to wake up the students but when I opened my eyes, Natasha had seemingly moved from her position on the bed to the couch with me. It wasn't a huge couch and Natasha had practically stuck herself to me to prevent herself from falling off.

"Natasha... Natasha." I slightly shook her shoulders trying to wake her up. She grumbled slightly before opening her eyes. When she saw she was cuddling up to me, she hugged me even tighter and I stiffened at the interaction.

"Natasha, I have to ring the bell to wake the other students up."

"Hmm, I used to be the only one you have to wake."

"Well, you took this job." Wanting to speed up this process, I lifted Natasha and placed her back on the bed and passed her the clothes to change into. "Come on, I don't want to be late. You know your way to the dining hall."

Natasha POV Y/N left me alone in her room as she changed quickly and did her morning routine. I really didn't want to move from the bed but this was an important day. Lazily, I changed into the new clothes and went to the dining hall as the rest were making their way there as well. I slipped into the chaos of it all and none of them noticed anything.

By the time it reached 4pm, I felt the day had already gone by twice. The hour dragged on longer than usual. I took the dessert that Y/N had prepared and left it in her room and went to the swan gazebo.

It was filled with dark auras as everyone was looking stern and angry.

"HOW COULD YOU BE 2 HOURS LATE RUSHMAN?" Clayton shouted. Did I mention he was also very strict with rules?

"I was told it was at 4pm." I was sure it was 4pm now. Jones wouldn't stop reminding me that it was getting closer to 4pm and rushed me to get ready. And even by the far stretch that they mess with mine and her watch, the class timetable wouldn't.

"Eh, I said it right. 2pm." Keller turned around and said innocently. This little bitch, it was her who messed with this.

"It's disgraceful to lie, Rushman." Greenhill said with his cricket bat in his hand. He looked as bulky as Rogers but he made no move to stand up.

With a little bit more reprimanding, they told me to leave.

"Shit!! She tricked me." I threw the basket on the floor before flopping onto Y/N's chair. "This is why I hate verbal promises!! Give me written proof!" I complained before taking the coffee that Y/N had prepared and gulping it all down.

"Did you underestimate her just because she's a student? People envy the ones who excel... it's surely not the first time this has happened to you." Y/N placed a strawberry tart on the table in front of me.

"Did you give an explanation?"

"Trying to explain to people like that is useless. And it's true that I showed up late anyway."

"Well then, are you going to cry yourself to sleep?" Y/N teased.

"As if!" Taking the fork, I plunged into the plump strawberry. "I'll gain the favour of the prefects, no matter what. I'll make you regret ruining my hard work... Maurice Keller!"

[surv1vrd]

Alaric  Kennedy  Saltzman  was  born  to  a  teen  mom  in  nevada.  Clifford  Saltzman  and  his  wife  Julia  had  been  in  nevada  on  an  archeological  dig  in  one  of  the  native  american  burial  grounds.  The  Saltzmans  had  been  married  for  10  years  and  had  a  three  year  old  son,  Charles,  when  the  couple  had  decided  to  adopt  a  second  child.  Charles  had  been  conceived  with  the  assistance  of  a  fertility  clinic  since  the  young  couple  had  been  having  issues  conceiving  themselves.  They  had  been  working  through  an  adoption  agency  that  his  birth  mom  had  gone  through  to  find  a  good  family  for  their  son.  The  Saltzman  family  ended  up  meeting  the  week  old  infant  at  the  orphanage  his  parents  left  him  at.  They  ended  up  adopting  him  and  naming  after  Cliff’s  grandfather,  Alaric.

When  they  finished  their  time  on  the  dig  they  returned  to  their  home  in  Boston,  Massachusetts.  Alaric  had  slept  in  his  carseat  the  majority  of  the  time  until  the  Saltzman  family  got  a  nursery  set  up  for  him,  which  took  them  a  day  or  two  after  they  got  home.  After  bringing  Alaric  home  with  them  from  Turkey,  the  family  had  some  issues  with  people  accepting  their  son,  but  the  couple  didn’t  care,  Alaric  was  their  son  and  they  had  fallen  in  love  with  him  the  moment  they  held  him  for  the  first  time.

Alaric  had  been  raised  on  the  road,  traveling  with  both  parents  to  sights  they’d  gotten  funding  for  from  the  college  they  both  worked  at.

When  Alaric  was  11,  The  Saltzman  family  adopted  a  little  girl  who  was  two  weeks  old  when  she  joined  the  family.  The  name  that  was  given  to  her  by  her  biological  mother  was  the  name  the  family  went  with,  Mercedes.  Alaric  became  instantly  protective  of  the  little  girl  and  helped  out  however  possible.  His  parents  had  stopped  traveling  together  by  time  they  adopted  her  into  the  family  and  they  took  turns  leaving  for  an  archaeological  excavation.  Alaric  graduated  top  of  his  class  in  high  school  and  was  accepted  into  Duke  University  where  he  spent  the  next  four  years  working  towards  a  bachelor’s  degree  in  history.

Alaric  became  obsessed  with  the  supernatural  world  when  he  was  16,  after  finding  bones  of  a  half  man  half  wolf  —  a  werewolf  —  remains  while  on  a  dig  with  his  father,  and  he  started  to  research  and  document  all  of  what  he’s  read  about  and  started  going  back  through  his  journals  once  he  started  actually  interacting  with  a  species  and  crossing  off  what  wasn’t  true  about  the  species  and  what  was  true.  Alaric  started  dating  Irene  Gutierrez  during  high  school  and  they  got  engaged  the  day  they  graduated  high  school  and  college,  going  to  Duke  together.  She  was  supportive  of  his  research  into  the  supernatural  world.  All  she  wanted  to  do  was  support  the  man  she  loved.  Alaric  had  spent  the  day  working  on  research  before  heading  home  late,  after  picking  up  dinner.  When  he  got  home,  he  saw  a  vampire  draining  his  girlfriend  of  her  blood.  He  tried  to  fight  the  vampire  but  he  wasn’t  strong  enough.

After  he  watched  Irene  die,  he  started  working  out  at  a  gym  and  learning  to  fight,  training  to  become  a  hunter,  to  hunt  down  the  vampire  that  killed  his  fiancee.  He  started  working  as  a  substitute  teacher  and  Alaric  killed  his  first  vampire.  A  tattoo  appeared  on  his  hand  after  the  kill  and  the  more  vampires  he  killed  the  bigger  his  tattoo  grew.

After  a  year  working  as  substitute  teacher  he  got  offered  a  job  in  Mystic  Falls,  Virginia  at  the  local  high  school  teaching  history  after  the  previous  history  teacher  was  found  dead.  He  accepted  the  offer  after  having  read  about  the  “animal  attacks”  when  he  moved  to  town.

He  looked  into  the  animal  attacks  learning  they  weren’t  animals  but  vampires,  and  when  he  started  teaching  history  at  Mystic  Falls  High  he  instantly  became  the  talk  of  the  school,  all  the  girls  had  a  crush  on  the  hot  new  teacher,  and  everyone  enjoyed  having  a  teacher  closer  to  their  own  age.

Alaric  started  teaching  and  after  a  few  weeks  in  Mystic  Falls  he  met  the  vampire  who  had  killed  his  girlfriend,  Damon  Salvatore,  when  he  asked  to  speak  to  Stefan’s  legal  guardian  regarding  his  attendance.  After  having  met  Damon,  Alaric  figured  out  that  Stefan  was  a  vampire  just  like  Damon,  so  he  set  his  sights  on  both  brothers.  He  had  hunted  other  vampires  to  find  a  lead  on  the  vampire  that  killed  Irene  prior  to  getting  the  job  in  Mystic  Falls,  and  he’d  learned  that  Mystic  Falls  would  be  the  place  to  look  for  the  vampire  that  killed  Irene.  This  information  is  what  lead  to  Alaric  accepting  the  job.

Within  a  year,  Alaric  had  become  good  friends  with  some  of  his  students  (Elena  Gilbert,  Caroline  Forbes,  Meredith  Sulez,  Bonnie  Bennett,  Stefan  Salvatore,  Tyler  Lockwood,  and  Matt  Donovan)  and  even  becoming  somewhat  friends  with  the  vampire  that  murdered  Irene.  By  the  time  the  Mikaelson  family  came  to  town,  Alaric  had  been  helpful  towards  the  group  given  all  this  research  over  the  years.

Alaric  became  an  enhanced  original  vampire  created  by  Esther,  a  thousand  years  after  she  turned  her  children,  in  order  to  destroy  the  Mikaelson  family,  using  the  blood  of  the  human  doppelganger  —  Elena  Gilbert  —  to  turn  him,  binding  his  life  to  an  indestructible  white  oak  stake.  He  spends  the  rest  of  the  year  adjusting  to  life  as  an  indestructible  vampire,  one  that’s  even  more  powerful  than  most  of  his  friends,  becoming  the  same  creature  that  brought  him  to  Mystic  Falls  in  the  first  place.

Alaric  learns  the  mark  on  his  arm  belongs  to  the  brotherhood  of  the  Five,  a  magically  created  group  of  supernaturally  enhanced  hunters  set  out  to  wipe  out  the  vampire  race,  and  he  learns  that’s  why  Esther  chose  him,  she  knew  he’d  be  the  perfect  person  to  end  the  Mikaelson’s  reign  of  terror.

[kazzmcsass]

Back in 2020 I wrote a 41k word novella and it was called Journalism with the Boys and years later it's not actually thaaaat good but I'm still proud I did it!! Anyway, I uploaded some chapters to DA but it didn't get much attention back in the day but I've still been thinking about it and rolling it around in my head. The ideas I have now are a lot different than how it was back then. I think about it all the time and finally, years later, I actually finished fully finished and nice look reference art for them hahah.

Big ol' info dump under the cut

Journalism with the Boys centers around a group of four guys trying to get an old newspaper off the ground and learning to get along with each other along the way. Courtney's grandma is on her deathbed and wanted to see her father's old newspaper be successful, driving him toward getting several issues out and enough subscribers to make his grandma proud. Hugo, a close friend of Courtney, agrees to join as he already had interest in journalism as a small internet personality. They both need the help of Grandma's assistant, Dakotah, to keep things in order. Then, when Grandma starts needing more of Courtney's attention, Jack is hired to keep things running smoothly. The four don't always get along at first but through trials and tribulations they manage to become a close nit group of friends.

Jack was abandoned at a fire station when he was only a few days old. He went through several homes and had major behavioral issues which deemed him as being "too much". Jack settled in one home with a single mother for several years. He was able to follow her rules and go to church enough to satisfy her until he was 18, where their relationship became strained and he left. He was diagnosed with a mood disorder and was able to receive enough government assistance to help him stay afloat.  Though now that he works at a dead-end gas station clerk job he's itching to achieve greater with his life.

Dakotah was the result of a one night stand. His mother was a very popular stage actor but after her pregnancy she became chronically ill and unable to continue her work. He attended as many extracurricular activities as possible as to avoid going home, which resulted in him becoming rather handy. As soon as he was able to, Dakotah moved out, though it resulted in him living in his car for some time before the owner of the consignment shop he worked at found out and offered for him to work for her as a personal assistant. He now helps her do errands, cleans the house, maintains her property, works for the consignment shop, and helps liaise for Courtney's newspaper project. Dakotah rarely finds himself with personal time, but he must keep pushing forward if he wants to be independent and successful, unlike his mother.

Courtney grew up in a troubled home. His parents often fought, especially after his father had an affair which resulted in a child. When Courtney was only 15 he got his girlfriend pregnant, which finally got the attention of his grandma. Grandma took Courtney under her wing and helped him prepare for fatherhood, though it never followed through, as his girlfriend died during childbirth and it was deemed best their daughter be given up for adoption. Courtney got his act together quickly in Grandma's home and strived for greater things. Now he works part time in a diner alongside perusing his masters in the STEM field all while taking care of his Grandma's declining health. Hugo lived in a small country town on a farm for most of his life. However, that didn't keep him out of trouble. He fell in with a group of delinquents in his town and caused a lot of trouble for the community. It got so bad at one point that the judge gave him one last chance to get his act together before he was given jail time. Hugo faced the biggest grounding of his life where he discovered a love for books, video games, and the Internet. When it came time for college he wanted to go to a university across the state, which his parents encouraged in hopes it would help him make new friends and stay out of trouble. It did, as he soon met Courtney and excelled in his college classes. Hugo would love to go home and visit his family again to show them how much he's grown, but fears his reputation is too damaged to recover now.

[shelterpark]

Welcome Marjorine Stotch!

𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 : Marjorine Stotch 𝙖𝙜𝙚 : 24 𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 : Transwoman 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨 : She/Her 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 : Bisexual 𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 : 5'10" 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 : Denver QZ 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 : Preschool Teacher [10:04 PM]

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[10:05 PM] 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 : (For the sake of backstory, I’ll use the name Butters and he/him pronouns up until Marjorine’s official transition.)

When he was younger, Butters considered the notion of complete autonomy to be a fate entirely out of the question. He stayed inside more often than not in high school, in fear of getting in trouble for matters outside of his control; in his partially self-inflicted reclusivity, the four walls of his bedroom became the scale of the entire Earth, with South Park as the solar system, and anything outside of it harboring an unpredictability and vastness akin to the entire universe. The only places he could be found were school and work, which may have sparked his uninhibited work ethic, but simultaneously made him more dependent on the structure that had been curated for him at home. His parents dutifully upheld this standard, expecting exceptional grades and perfect obedience from their son.

Butters may have maintained his gullible and innocent nature, allowing for his parents to take full advantage of his incapability to take control over his own life, if not for his access to the internet. While perusing potential life paths during his senior year, the quality of his life came under necessary scrutiny; his potential was being diluted, both at work and at home, by people desperate to hold power over him. The slow realization sparked justified indignation in his heart, and after reflecting on the idea of taking on a role of leadership later in life, he decided to pursue a degree in business.

Following eighteen long years of being confined to his home as the rest of the world passed him by, he was more than eager to leave South Park behind the moment he graduated high school. [10:05 PM] An ambitious attempt to prove his capabilities (to his parents, and to himself), he got a job as a live-in nanny up in Denver that began in the summer before her freshman year of college, freeing him from the restraints of his overbearing parents, and shedding the stress of dorming for the duration of his college career. Without any sort of parental involvement, by the time the first semester began, she had started presenting femininely and going by Marjorine, but would put on a more masculine front when going down to visit over holidays. However, thanks to her job that required her to be around a majority of the time, she had a good excuse to limit her visits home, and keep her family at bay. During her college years, the mother Marjorine worked for taught her a multitude of lessons; the importance and necessity of financial and social independence, how to navigate and excel in a male dominated field, how to be her own source of empowerment, and of course, offered her some much needed fashion advice.

Upon the outbreak, Marjorine was a year shy of earning her degree, and was promptly left to her own devices upon the respective infections of those she shared a home with. As the world began to decay around her, she discovered an oddly comforting sense of familiarity in being confined to the city, punished for something entirely outside of her control (much like being grounded in her youth). Well-versed in finding ways to flourish under an oppressive, domineering regime, she felt safer within the barriers of the QZ than she could have anywhere else, even back home in her appointed solar system of South Park. Or, at least, it helped to convince herself it was partially her choice.

By the time society was revived and the cogs of the working machine began to turn again, Marjorine promptly realized just how useless her field of study had become. [10:05 PM] With such little experience in other necessary roles, she called upon her recently acquired skill of childcare, and was employed as a teacher’s aid for preschool, and eventually promoted as a preschool teacher herself due to insufficient staff. Though she demonstrated an inherent empathy for the kids, a part of her still felt entirely dissatisfied with her job; she had been prepared for board meetings and spreadsheets, not issuing nap times or reading storybooks from the dreary selection of approved literature. It was an unfulfilling line of work without the consequences, but allowing innocent children to slip through her fingers, marching in single file into kindergarten with the phantoms of rifles on their backs and helmets on their heads, made Marjorine sick to her stomach. She’d often walked past schools on her way to work with glassy eyes.

However, in the wake of a new career, courses from college had not been completely discarded from Marjorine’s judgment; though the economy had been gutted and turned inside out, she could vaguely identify the direction in which it was mutating, the new means of currency only amplifying the inherent flaws in the market before society’s downfall. With any fresh advancements came blatant loopholes that were protected by majorly unqualified oversight, making discrepancies ripe for extortion. Over the past year or so of Marjorine’s life, she’d been desperately trying to get her foot in the door of the operation, hoping that any day now, she could exploit the corrupted economy to provide not only for the children coming from less fortunate families, but herself as well. [10:05 PM]

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

[10:05 PM] 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙣𝙨 : ・.・★ Butters? I hardly know ‘er! If someone from South Park tries to confront her about knowing her from childhood, she will ardently deny ever knowing them at all (think the attitude of Victor Chaos). This reaction partially comes from wanting to leave her old identity behind for good, afraid of how she may be perceived if the information ever came out, but it also stems from the fear of her parents finding out about her transition. Basically: gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. ・.・★ Wink! Monocular vision; has to wear eyeglasses with a balance lens, and has a scar over her right eye. ・.・★ Proverbs 23:81. Despite the obvious, glaring issues with organized religion, ever since the outbreak, Marjorine has partially turned back to her Catholic roots, seeking comfort in scripture to guide her through such tumultuous times. She doesn’t speak much about her religion to anyone, but does wear a cross necklace wherever she goes. ・.・★ What, these old things? Speaking of jewelry, in college, she liked to make her own earrings. Silly ones that dangle. The children she worked with liked them a lot, but the younger ones would incessantly reach to tug on them, so she had to start wearing studs to work instead. ・.・★ Whistle a happy tune! Still carries the habit from childhood of singing to herself at any given opportunity, either song she makes up to fit the situation she’s wound up in, or whatever pops into her head. One her way to and from work, when she is unaccompanied, she will hum to herself as a means of asserting confidence and comfort in an otherwise dangerous journey. However, if silence is safer, she will instead nod her head to a tune better kept in her mind. In my brain she sounds like a young Dolly Parton, with the use of head voice, slight nasal quality, squashed S’s, etc. Definitely not as good of a singer as Dolly, just similar in tonality.

[munsonsgurl]

The Bet

The pep rally was lame.  Jason made some horribly inappropriate speech, comparing losing in basketball to the tragedy at the mall last year.  So horrible in fact that you got up and left, right in the middle of it.  

As you walked outside, trying to catch your breath, you slid down the brick of the backside of the building.  The “fire” at the mall took more than just the lives of your classmates.  It took away the last normal summer you could have.  

College wasn’t an option.  Your parents both worked menial jobs, working just enough to keep the lights on. You were forced to pick up shifts at the video store, having just 5 hours a day to yourself before being thrown right back into the hell you called home.  That’s where you met Nancy.  She invited you to come hang out at her house when you didn’t have work.  She became your only friend,  Until her little brother forced you to drive him and his friends to the mall.  From that day on, you had a group. Always together.

Then a bunch of Russians opened a portal to another dimension and killed a lot of people.  Almost including yourself.  You had become separated from the group at one point and walked right into the Upside Down.  A few minutes in there was enough to permanently scar you.

As you sat against the brick, with your knees pulled up to your chest, you tried to ground yourself.  What happened at the mall was almost a year ago.  It wasn’t happening still. So why did you feel so scared?  

You knew this feeling, it happened a lot in the months following Billy’s death.  It was almost always paired with the sweat that covered you, and the horrible feeling of adrenaline running through a calm body.

With shaking hands, you pulled yourself up and began walking.  you had heard rumors of a picnic table out behind the fields in the woods.  you knew that somewhere like that would be the perfect place to have a freak out without anyone seeing.  

you finally found the table, after searching for quite a while.  Sitting down and rubbing your hands up and down the tops of your thighs, you tried to calm your nerves. The rustling of the leaves helped to quiet your mind.  Drowning out the screams that never left your head.

you tapped your foot to the sound of the wind in the trees.  you wished that someone else could understand what you were feeling, how you were feeling.  Hoping so desperately that someone else could help you through this.

“Oh shit, Y/N.” You heard from behind you.  

You jumped at the sudden voice and coiled up into yourself. “I am so sorry, I didn’t think anyone else would be out here, I am so sorry.” Your voice was panicked and strained.  You didn’t think anyone else would be skipping school like this.  Let alone Eddie “The Freak” Munson.

“Hey hey hey, you’re okay.  I didn’t think anyone was here either.  I didn’t mean to scare you.” He said.  He moved towards you very cautiously, trying not to scare you off. “You are okay, right?” 

You raised your head to look at him, the light hitting your face, really showing off the tears streaming down your face, and the stress hives already spreading across your cheeks. “Physically yes” You respond, voice shaking. “I’ve been better.” A dry laugh leaves your mouth.

“Care for some company?” He asks, gesturing to the bench next to you.

“I would love that, actually.  Need a distraction.” You reply, picking at the rubber on your shoes.

He moves to grab something out of his metal lunchbox, “Well I happen to have the best distraction known to man.  On me of course,”  He waves a little baggy in front of you. 

“What exactly does that do to you?” You ask, a little nervous.  You were never one to try drugs or go to parties.

“Well, uh, it makes everything feel fuzzy.  For me at least.  It kind of takes the edge off.” He laughs, licking the edge of the joint.

He offers it to you, an eyebrow raised. “You want the first hit?” He asks.

“I’ll have the second, if you don't mind.” You reply, suddenly nervous about sharing a spliff with “The Freak” of Hawkins.

He lights the joint and takes a puff, careful to not blow the smoke in your face, before offering you the now lit stick.   You take it from his hand and bring it to your lips.  A small hit was enough to have you coughing your ass off. 

“Woah there, slick, you can blow the rest of it out, ya know.” He says taking the joint from you.

Once you’ve caught your breath, you reach out for another hit. Now that you know how it feels going in, you’re prepared to get high and quiet your mind.

Or so you thought.  After about 30 minutes of passing back and forth, you started to feel the effects in full.  Your hands were heavy and you felt like you could sit there forever.  Then the rustling of the leaves triggered something in your brain.  It brought you back to that day.  The air suddenly felt thick.  Too much light filtered from the trees, and there was a cold chill spreading over you.  

On the outside you were sitting, almost catatonic, shaking visibly as if you were outside in a bikini in the middle of December.

“You good?” Eddie asks.  He knows how hard your first high hits, having coached many young students through theirs.

When you don’t respond, he opts for a physical check of how you were, waving his hand in front of your face.  You immediately grabbed his wrist and had him pinned to the ground, before coming to and realizing what you had just done.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry.  Did I hurt you?” You ask panicked, helping him up.

“I’m good, I think, are you okay? You kind of spaced out before you went all Karate Kid on me.” he says. 

“Yeah, sorry.  I get like that sometimes.  It’s been like that since the fire at the mall last year. Sorry.” You say looking at the ground.

“Hey, don’t apologize, I didn’t know you were in the fire.” He says softer than before.

“Yeah, it kind of messed me up, ya know” you say gesturing to your head, “ Up here.” 

He puts out the roach and moves his hand.  Like he wants to reach out, but is afraid of how you would react.

“Do you believe in monsters?” You ask, breaking the silence.  

Eddie looks over at you quizzically. “Like Bigfoot?” His question was less condescending and more genuinely confused.

“More like giant creatures with faces that open with a million teeth.” You say. “Or like, dog versions of those creatures.” Your gaze was now focused entirely on the twig sitting in front of the tree next to you.  You were afraid that looking away would cause something catastrophic.

He sits up from his place on the bench and stares at you, worried that he might have given you the wrong drug. “I think that there is a good chance that they could exist.  Kind of sounds like Dungeons and Dragons.” He says hoping that you are confusing those monsters for characters in a game.

“Kind of, yeah.” You say, attempting to leave it at that.

“Do you believe in monsters?” He asks, voice almost a whisper.

“It’s hard to not believe sometimes.” you respond.

Before Eddie can ask another question, your watch alarm goes off.  4:00, time for work.

“Shit, sorry, I’m late for work.  I’ve got to go.” You say gathering your things to leave.

“Do you need a ride?” He asks, following behind you.

“Are you okay to drive right now?” You ask him in response.

“I smoke more than that in an afternoon, I think I’ll be okay.” He says reassuringly.

“If you don’t mind driving all the way into town, that would be great.” You say.

You walk to his van, almost eerily quiet.  He opens the passenger door for you, bowing for you to enter.  You laugh getting in.  He makes his way around before climbing in as well.

“Where to?” He asks turning the van on.

“Family Video.” You reply, buckling your seatbelt.

“You work with Buckley?” He asks.

“Robin? Yeah, do you know her?” You reply.

“Yeah, we’re in band together. She owes me $20.” He says.

“Munson made a bet with Robin Buckley?” You giggle.

“What makes you think I made a bet?” He asks, blushing at the nickname.

“I know Robin so well, she doesn’t ask for money, and I know she has absolutely no clue what’s going on ever.” you reply.

He smiles to himself before speaking again. “I did make a bet.” 

“Ha Ha! I was right!” You smirk.  “What was the bet?” You ask

“This.” He says looking at you.  The van pulls into the parking lot of the video rental store next to Steve’s car, parked mostly between the lines.  He puts the van in park and looks out the windshield.

“What’s ‘this’?” You ask confused.  You can see Robin and Steve behind the counter, they look like they are in absolute disbelief.  

You feel a hand on your thigh and you look over.  Maybe it was the weed you just smoked, or maybe it was the fact that you’ve never been this close to someone but you looked into his eyes and never wanted to look away.  For the first time in almost a year, you felt okay.  Safe.

He leaned in slowly and placed a hand on the side of your face.

“Is this okay?” He asks softly.

You nod, ever so slightly and lean into his hand.  His grip on your face was stern but gentle, something you had never experienced with anyone.  His lips traced yours for half a second before the rest of the world disappeared.  

You had had your fair share of high school makeouts, but this was unlike anything.  This felt real, like it was wanted and not just a precursor. 

The kiss ended just as fast as it began, and Eddie rested his forehead against yours, smiling to himself. 

You were the first to pull away, reluctantly of course.

“You tell Buckley she owes me.” Eddie says with a laugh.

“Pick me up at 9 and you’ll get more than $20, Munson.” You reply, opening the door and getting out of his van.

You missed the smile and fist-pump that he did as you walked inside, but you heard the cheers coming from your co-workers before you even opened the door. 

[ragingbookdragon]

I'm Only A Crack In This Castle Of Glass (Hardly Anything Else I Need To Be) PT. 2

Batfamily x Batsis Story!

Word Count: 2.7K Warnings: Explicit Language and Angst!

Author's Note: It's amazing how much one can write when they've got a story to tell, eh? Enjoy! -Thorne

Set Three Years After PT. 1:

Life for her revolved around work in the A.M. and community college in the P.M. If she wasn’t brewing cappuccinos and baking apple turnovers, she was writing research papers and taking physics exams. It was hectic and it was hard, much harder than anything she’d done, but it was her life, and she was going to make the best of it. The money she’d taken from her savings account had only lasted her long enough to get a decent one bedroom one bathroom apartment in a small complex and the rest went towards tuition. The coffee shop two blocks from her building had fortunately been looking for a new hire when she arrived, and she took the chance where it was, not going to look the gift horse in its mouth.

The life she lived now was a complete 180 from her old one. Back then, she didn’t have to work (though she did at a high-end department store in the mall—her father got her the job but at least she had one) and there wasn’t anything she couldn’t get with a swipe of a credit card. Now she was on a budget that consisted of five and ten tips and the last time she actually bought a new pair of shoes over a hundred dollars had been last year when she needed them for an interview, and even then, it cost her a limb.

Everything was so different, but she didn’t want to go back, preferring to be on her own and away from Gotham. From the newspapers and media, her family had convinced the world that she’d taken a few years to go overseas and spend time in Europe. A mental reprieve, they’d called it. Partially true if she was honest, but she wasn’t going to open her mouth about it lest they learned where she was. She didn’t go through all that trouble to be found within three years.

“Melisandre.”

Maybe I should move again?

“Melisandre?”

Moving would take a long time but it would be effective.

“Melisandre!”

Someone grabbed her arm over the counter, and she jerked with a start, eyes widening as she finally realized someone was standing in front of her.

“Barry?” she asked, and he smiled.

“Finally,” he snorted. “I’ve been calling your name for like ten minutes now.”

She felt a flush creep along her cheeks, and she smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I was thinking about something. Usual?” she murmured, marking a disposable coffee cup with a marker.

Barry nodded with understanding and handed her a credit card. “I hear you. How’s studying going for that physics exam?” His blue eyes darted to the science book she had sprawled over the counter.

“It’s going,” she muttered and turned, starting to mix together his latte. “I still can’t get the thermodynamic laws down. They’re a bit confusing.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a while. You know if you need my help, all you gotta do is ask, right?”

Shrugging, she glanced at him as she poured. “You’re a busy man, Barry. I can’t have you trying to help me while trying to solve cases too.”

Barry chuckled and accepted the freshly poured latte. “I’m an excellent multitasker, Melisandre. Besides, you don’t have to worry about it messing with my work.” She opened her mouth to retort but he cut her off. “Seriously, shoot me an email about whatever questions you’ve got, and I’ll take a look at ‘em, okay?”

Her eyes narrowed warily, and she inquired, “You’re sure it won’t interfere? I’d hate for you to get in trouble for working on non-work-related things.”

“I promise, Melisandre,” he smiled and accepted a bag of apple turnovers too. He couldn’t help but pull one out and bite into it, letting out a delighted noise. “God, what do you put in these things? They’re phenomenal.”

She giggled and winked as he handed her a twenty. “A baker never reveals her secret, but if you really want to know, I use a little vanilla extract.”

Barry shook his head with a chuckle and started making his way to the door. “See you later, Melisandre!”

Waving at him, she called, “Bye Barry! Take care!”

Just as he opened the door, he stopped and spun around, suddenly asking, “Hey, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Blinking, she glanced at the physics book then back to him. “Well, I was going to be studying for the exam…why?”

“My nephew is in town and I wanted to introduce him to you. I’ve already mentioned you a bunch of times and he wants to meet you.”

Her face pinched. “Barry Allen, what did you tell that poor boy?”

He stuck his tongue out at her. “That there’s a lonely college student who has no friends but has the greatest baking abilities in the world.”

“I cannot believe you told him I had no friends! Why!”

“You don’t.”

“Well, yeah! But still! You don’t just tell someone that! It makes me seem like there’s something wrong with me!”

Barry waved a hand. “Relax. Wally’s the least jerky person you’ll meet.” He smiled. “You’ll like him.”

She frowned. “I still don’t think this is a good idea, Barry.”

“Why not?”

“Well, he’s here to see you and your wife, not come meet the person who feeds your apple turnover addiction.”

The blonde’s cheeks turned a dark shade of crimson and he spluttered, “It is not an addiction!” he spun around and marched through the door. “I’ll send him over tomorrow! Bye!”

And he left before she could even say a word.

***

It had to be hieroglyphics. It was either that or some ancient cuneiform he’d recently taken up interest in, because there was no way whatever he’d written on the paper was English.

She cocked her head to the side, muttering, “Jesus Christ, Barry, did you write this on a caffeine bender? Your writing is like chicken scratch.” She tipped her head to the other side trying to decipher it when someone leaned over her shoulder.

“Which problem do you need help on?” they asked, and she pointed to the sheet.

“I have no idea what that says.” She turned and saw a red-haired stranger. “If you think you can, be my guest.”

He took it and read over it a moment, green eyes scanning over the page then he said, “Let’s see, he wrote first, ‘The third law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of a system at absolute zero is a well-defined constant. This is because a system at zero temperature exists in its ground state, so that its entropy is determined only by the degeneracy of the ground state.’”

Pausing, he scanned it again and added, “Then he marked a note beside it and wrote, ‘In simplistic terms, if an object reaches the absolute zero temp. of (0 K = -273.15C = -459.67°F), its atoms will stop moving. In other words, at absolute zero, the entropy of a perfectly crystalline substance is zero.’”

Glancing at her, he smiled. “Make sense now?”

She huffed and nodded, taking the sheet back. “Yeah, thanks. I don’t even know how you managed to get all that from his writing.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Barry’s handwriting is deplorable.”

Her eyes went wide, and she immediately questioned, “How did you?”

Sticking a hand out, he greeted, “Wally West. I’m Barry’s nephew.”

Shaking his hand, she couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe he actually told you to come up here and meet me.” A smile came across her lips. “I’m Melisandre Hale.”

“That’s a pretty name, Melisandre.”

“Thank you,” she grinned and waved him to one of the bar-stools on the adjacent side of the counter. “Have a seat and I’ll get you something to eat and drink.” As she slid behind the counter, she inquired, “Anything specific?”

Wally stared at the bored, offhandedly mentioning, “Barry said something about apple turnovers that could make you cry with joy, so I’ve gotta have one of those.” His evergreen eyes met hers. “Maybe two if I’m being honest.”

She grunted, but a grin crossed her lips, nevertheless. “Barry exaggerates a lot, Wally. They’re good, but they’re not mind-blowingly good.”

“Then I guess that leaves me to be the judge,” he countered with a smirk. “What should I drink?”

She thought for a moment then offered, “Have any judgments about drinking before five o’clock?”

He let out a startled laugh and shook his head. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”

With a grin, she turned and started working her magic and a moment later, she was sliding a plate with two iced apple turnovers over along with a clear steaming mug of dark coffee with cream on top. She leaned her hip on the counter and watched him pick up one of the apple turnovers and take a bite.

Immediately his eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, “Holy shit.” He gaped at her. “This is delicious, Melisandre!”

Despite herself, her cheeks warmed, and she gave him an easy smile. “Thanks, Wally.” She nodded to the crystal mug. “Try the Irish coffee.”

He did so and tossed his head back, letting out an exaggerated groan that had her laughing until her stomach hurt. Wally was on his second turnover and he looked at her.

“You’ve gotta open up a bakery or something, Melisandre. Your pastries are awesome.”

She huffed and took the plate from him as he finished the last bite. “Let me get through college first and then I’ll wonder how to rack up enough to open a shop.”

“What are you studying?”

Pausing, she tossed a quick glance at him. “There’s no specification right now. I’m just doing general studies to get all the basics out of the way.” She put the dish in the sink and started rinsing it. “I’m at the four-C right now.” His brows pulled together, and she added, “Central City Community College.”

He snapped his fingers. “Right! It’s been a while since I went to the four-C.”

Her eyes found his and she curiously asked, “Did you go there?”

“Yeah, a few years back.”

“You don’t look that much older than I am. How old are you, Wally?”

He sipped his coffee and set it down as he replied, “I turned twenty-eight a month ago.”

“Happy belated birthday,” she smiled, and he gave her one in return.

“Thanks. How about you?”

“I turned twenty-one a few months ago.”

“Hmm, happy belated birthday to you as well.” He grinned, quipping, “How’s it feel to finally be able to legally do all the things you were doing before you turned twenty-one?”

She shot him a look. “Shame on you, Wally West, for assuming I was doing illegal things.” He chuckled and she shrugged. “But to answer your question, it feels great, so thanks.”

Wally snorted at that. “My best friend and I got absolutely hammered on our twenty-firsts and swore to never drink hard liquor again after we woke up in the bathroom in our underwear after passing out on the floor.”

A shudder passed over her at her own memory of waking up beside the toilet after her birthday celebration with a bottle of white rum. She cocked a hand up with her water bottle in it. “Here, here,” she toasted and took a sip as Wally raised his coffee and drank too.

She glanced at him. “Are you in school, or are you done?”

“I finished a while ago. I work out of a tower with a group of friends in Manhattan.”

For a moment, her eyes drifted to the simple pair of jeans and graphic shirt he was wearing. She lived in the upper area of Gotham and she knew what uptown Manhattan was like, and it wasn’t jeans and t-shirts.

Evidently, he did too because he scowled, “I have suits and ties, thank you very much.”

She snorted and took the empty mug from him. “I didn’t say anything, Wally.”

“You made a face.”

“Is a face a ground to be hostile?” she grinned. “I was just wondering what type of business in Manhattan ran on flash t-shirts and skinny jeans.” She eyed him. “Tech?”

He shrugged. “It’s…a bit of everything if I’m being honest.” It sounded like he didn’t exactly want to say, and she let it be, rinsing out his cup before setting it to dry.

A buzz sounded and she felt for her phone when he said, “That’s mine.” Wally pulled his phone out, read the message, and stood up. “I’ve gotta go, Melisandre.”

She nodded and took the twenty-dollar bill he handed her, waving her off when she tried to hand back the change. As he started towards the door, she called, “Wally?”

He turned on his heel and waited and she felt foolish for saying it, but she admitted with warmth in her cheeks, “It’s been a while since I had any semblance of a friend…so thanks for this afternoon.”

Wally gave her a pearly white grin. “Barry said you’d say something like that,” he chuckled as she scowled and he added sincerely, “Can never have too many friends, Melisandre…and I hope you’ll become a great one of mine. So far, you already are.”

She smiled, “Same here, Wally.” The bell signaled his exit and she let out a heavy sigh as her heart warmed in her chest at the feeling of a newfound friendship.

***

She was dead on her feet when she finally got through her front door and into her living room, practically collapsing onto the couch. Though it wasn’t far from the truth as she flopped down and toed off her shoes, heaving a long and winded sigh as she stared at the dark ceiling. She wanted to turn on the lamp on the table beside her, but she didn’t want to move. Hell, she barely wanted to get up and take a shower, so she didn’t go to bed sweaty.

Just a moment. She thought. Just a moment to close my eyes and I’ll get up and go shower.

Of course, the second the shut them, she was opening them to her phone telling her it was two A.M. She groaned and picked herself off the couch to shuffle into her bedroom, and when she got there, she peeled off the clothes from her body and let them fall, not caring about the hamper just a foot away. She’d do it tomorrow after class.

The shower was quick, and she crawled into bed a few minutes later, glancing out the window at the stars that were still in the night sky. Even if she tried to avoid thinking about it, she couldn’t, and her mind drifted to when she was a young girl and would stare out the window in her bedroom back in Gotham, watching the spotlight come alive and paint the silhouette of the bat symbol against the night sky.

She missed them. She missed them a lot. Missed eating meals at a full table and the laughter in the manor. Hell, she even missed being ignored, because at least then she could see familiar faces every day. Now, it was wake up, go to work, go to class, then come home. And the process repeated every morning. She was alone in a city where she didn’t know anyone except for one forensic scientist and his wife, going to a college that didn’t even have her real identity. She’d not even said the name “(Y/N) Wayne” out loud for fear that someone with super hearing would hear her and tell her father, instead going by “Melisandre Hale”, a twenty-one-year-old born and raised Central City citizen going to community college. It pained her to admit, that with her decision to grant herself the freedom she desired, it came with a heavy price, and that was the loneliness. And it was worse compared to what it was like back then.

Sighing, she rolled over and pulled the covers up over her head, hoping that when she shut her eyes, she’d stop thinking about what she left behind. Unfortunately, the universe and her mind were never kind, and as she drifted to sleep, she saw the pained faces of her family.

[eppysboys]

What was the deal with Stuart's life at home before he went to art college? Were his parents split up too?

Hi anon,

Stuart's upbringing was quite...interesting.

His father: Raised as a conservative, civil servant and a Freemason. Most likely struggled with alcoholism. Had been married previously, when he divorced his wife to marry Mille, he lost his job in the civil service and was disowned by his family. He was described as quite artistic and musical, but never pursued those passions for himself.

His mother: Roman catholic (had stones thrown at her and her family because of it), several health issues going on from the time she was young. Was disowned by her family when she married Charles. Member of the Labour Party, and encouraged her children to follow her lead as the 'old-fashioned socialist' she was. She actually worked with Harold Wilson (and recommended that the Beatles should be awarded MBEs)

Only a few years after Charles and Millie had Stuart, Charles was drafted as an essential war worker. They moved to a council-owned bungalow in Huyton (then just outside of Liverpool). Millie worked as a teacher and taught children who had been displaced and orphaned by the bombing of Liverpool. She was offered to become 'Justice of Peace' but she refused on the grounds that one day one of her kids may come up in court (which is kind of ??? but also sort of funny). When the war ended Charles went and joined the Navy and that was the point from which he was hardly at home.

Charles and Millie clashed over everything, especially politics. Pauline talks about these fights in her book with a kind of fondness, but Millie herself reported to Phillip Norman something more intense-sounding and distressing.

Pauline says they all grew up surrounded by books, paintings, music and political meetings. They also grew up being mindful of Millie's poor health and her 'fanatical' obsession with cleanliness. Throughout their childhood, Millie (and Charles, presumably) really wanted to return home to Scotland. Later, they moved to another house in the same area. Tensions were rising - Millie was really upset about Charles continuing to visit his first family, and was worried he wanted to return to them. They had a very intense argument and Millie left and went to Scotland and took a teaching job. Charles took care of the kids and kept them calm until Millie returned. The kids knew they had half-brothers, though it seems like they never talked about it/couldn't acknowledge it in the household. Charles encouraged Stuart's passion for art and music, but seemed to get easily frustrated when Stuart's progress in piano wasn't going smoothly (as his interest deviated to painting).

Stuart was the 'man of the house' while his dad was away. As he got older, his interest in art grew, and obtaining a diploma at the art college was the 'most important' thing in his life. He graduated school early and was accepted into the college at 16. He wanted to move out and experience college life, and his parents compromised and let him rent a 'daytime place' with another student. He wasn't receiving grants because he lived too far from the college, so money was a bit of struggle, so he took a job as a binman. Later, he moved out officially, around the time he met John.

From the sounds of it, Stuart was always inclined to be independent, but I'm sure the stress of home was a factor driving him to seek that indepence so early, and my god was there stress.

tl;dr: no wonder he was a neurotic little guy

[butwhyduh]

Night Swim

Garth of Shayeris/Tempest x batsis!reader

Summary: pinning over him. I know like 7 people will read it but he’s too cute. Canon has no home here and timelines don’t matter.

Warning: dash of innuendos.

The apprentice of a justice league member that went on his own. That could describe almost all of your brothers but it also described the beautiful man standing before you. That currently didn’t even notice you were staring at him puppy dog eyed.

“So, are you ever going to do anything about it or just stare at him until he jumps back in the sea again,” Kori said beside you. You jumped and gave her a look. “Noise cancelling glass. He can’t hear us and no one is looking over here,” she reassured you.

“That obvious,” you asked turning to face her. She nodded with a little smile. Of course she thought it was cute. She had told Dick the first time she knew she was attracted to him. That’s how she was raised. No fear of rejection or shame in sexual attraction. You were raised by batman and had a healthy dose of both.

“There’s not like it would do any good. He’s never given me a second thought and I don’t even think he likes surface walkers anyways,” you deflected. She snorted.

“He dated Donna.”

“That shouldn’t count. She’s Themyscirian. They’re like perfect,” you rolled your eyes.

“I don’t know. I find Dick very appealing and he is human. Is his powers what attracts you to him?” She asked leaning on a desk. Her long curly red hair flowed over her shoulder in a way that only Kori could.

“No, of course not. I mean, they’re cool for sure. But it’s.. he’s nice and honorable and funny,” you said and she grinned almost proudly.

“And you can be nice and honorable and funny without any meta powers. Don’t put yourself down. And if you need help..” she started.

“No no no. No wing woman,” you said quickly.

“What do you need a wing woman for?” Dick asked behind you. Your eyes widened before you turned around.

“Nothing. Just some guy from college. That I don’t like,” you said in possibly the worst lie of your life. Dick narrowed his eyes at you.

“I can tell you’re lying but if I don’t know the truth, I can’t lie to Bruce about what you’re doing so don’t tell me,” Dick said. Wally, Donna, and Garth walked in the room.

“Wait, did I hear that Nightwing’s little sister is seeing someone? Is he ready to die,” Wally laughed clapping Dick on the shoulder.

“I’m not having this conversation,” you squeaked out before squeezing between the heroes, feeling yourself far too close to Garth for just a moment. Thank goodness M’gann wasn’t there to read your thoughts or feelings. Kori stayed mum on the subject and concentrated on the mission that Dick was prepping the team for.

You didn’t go on missions now. An injury that put an end to that. You just couldn’t maintain the level a vigilante needed. Sometimes you’d help with the computers but mainly you worked at Wayne Enterprise with Tim. You were just visiting on this trip and wasn’t involved in the mission.

“Wish us luck,” Kori said giving you a hug. You couldn’t help but watch Garth in his new blue suit that fit perfectly as the rest of the team walked by.

“Woah,” you said barely above silent but Kori hugging you caught it all and giggled quietly. You flushed and tried to stutter out some excuse.

“He is very handsome. Wish him luck,” she whispered in your ear. You made a little noise to disagree and she simply grinned at you while walking away.

“What was that,” Dick asked, suspicious.

“Nothing, just a joke. Good luck. Be safe,” you said to him and Dick didn’t argue but definitely didn’t believe you before joining his team.

As they left, your mind wandered to the first time you met Garth. It was a mission in a warehouse fire that had homeless people camping out on the second story. You walked carefully to the back office through dense fog with flames threatening any moment to see if there was anyone in there. The fire was getting really close and it was kinda dicey. But it was your first job away from Gotham and you were 14 and you felt the need to prove yourself.

You entered the room bent low with smoke overhead. You saw something move in the back of the room and you made your way towards it. But just as you crossed to the back half of the room, part of the ceiling collapsed, trapping you in the room and knocking you to the floor. You jumped back against the wall. There wasn’t a window and the movement? A toy.

You shrank against the wall and pushed your panic button. The fire was hot and you cursed wearing shorts. “Shit,” you breathed as it started moving closer. The air was starting to get thick. The flames jumped and you pressed against the wall with your eyes covered, expecting flames to hit you.

But instead you felt cool wet air and you opened your eyes to see water surrounding you. It appeared to float in air and you reached a hand out to touch it, confused. As soon as you felt the tips of your fingers dampened, the water crashed to the floor causing you to jump.

In there place was a teenage boy only a few years older than you, grinning. You stared at him in silence. He had just saved your life.

“Did you- how did you-“ you stuttered and his smile grew even wider.

“Aqualad, at your service. You wanna leave before it crashes on us?” He said and you took a step to wince in pain. Oh yeah, when you jumped you twisted your ankle. Your plan, like all the other bats, was to suck it up and hobble out. But Garth had other plans and he quickly scooped you up bridal style as soon as he noticed you couldn’t walk.

“Just hold on. I’ll carry you,” he said walked down the charred stairs carefully. You couldn’t take your eyes off his handsome face the whole time. Your heart pounded and your lack of experience with dating or liking anyone had you completely dumbfounded. “You can let go,” he said with a little smile.

You were out of the warehouse clinging to him past the time necessary and quickly moved away from him, feeling your skin flush. Dick gave you a look over before give Garth with a look you couldn’t recognize.

——————————————

“She’s catatonic, Bro.”

“Feed her something.”

“Wally, food isn’t always the answer,” Dick said giving your shoulder a shake. You jumped and knocked over a glass of water.

“Sorry!” You yelped reaching over to grab a towel.

“I’ve got it,” Garth said and with a flick of his wrist the water started to pour in the sink rather than off the counter. As you watched the water jumped before flowing down the drain. You laughed a little and looked up to see Garth grinning at you. Dick stared suspiciously at you both before being pulled somewhere by another Titan.

“So was the mission okay?” You asked, not knowing what to say. Your crush was more ‘stare across the room’ rather than do anything about it.

“It went well,” he answered grabbing a water bottle and chugging it. You tried not to stare.

“Cool suit,” you said and immediately felt stupid. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Thanks,” he said without adding anything else, leaving an awkward air to hang.

“Damn, you might be from the sea but are soo dry, Garth,” Roy said clapping him on the back on his way to his room. Garth looked at you confused.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been land side. Is being dry an insult now?” He asked.

“I mean, kinda. It just means boring,” you answered with a shrug. “You know Roy.”

“But you are dry. I mean, you live on land. Not that you’re boring,” he said with an awkward laugh. You smiled back at him before taking a sip of your drink nervously. “Does that mean you want to be wet?”

You coughed as you choked on the liquid. He tapped you on the back. “You okay?” He asked concerned. Donna walked by with a raised eyebrow but said nothing.

“I’m fine. No, that’s not how that works. It’s just we aren’t really dry. We’re like 80 percent water. Dry means like sand or something. Too dry,” you said and he nodded humoring you.

“It seems pretty dry here,” he said playfully.

“I can knock over more glasses. Get this place all wet again,” you quipped.

“Tempting. Or you can go swimming with me,” he answered back.

“Haha or I could- what? It’s nighttime,” you answered. “And doesn’t that do something to the currents or something?”

He gave you a dry look. “The currents come in at night? Yep. You’d be the safest person in the water swimming with me. I could navigate night swimming as a squirt. Come with?” Garth asked.

“I-“ you stared before mumbling.

“You what? I didn’t hear the last part,” he said.

“I... can’t swim,” you said and he stared at you and you felt like sliding under the counter and through the floor. Then Garth’s lips curled into a smile and he laughed a little. You looked down awkwardly.

“Oh you’re serious?”

“Yeah...”

“I’m sorry. I forget that swimming is learned skill here. I apologize,” he started.

“It’s okay. Really,” you insisted.

“Come with me. We’ll stay shallow,” he offered. You looked at him before nodding.

“This is a bad idea but let’s go,” you said pulling him along. Garth laughed as you pulled him out the back door towards the beach. “I forgot a bathing suit,” you admitted.

“I guess you could go insi-“ he trailed off as you pulled your shirt off and shorts to swim in your underwear and bra. He quickly looked away as you ran in the water to your waist.

“Coming in? Can’t believe I have to ask, merman” you said and he pulled off his shirt to quickly join you. You splashed him with water which quickly turned into a splashing war.

“Okay, you win!” You yelped as he bombarded you with water. He splashed you one last time and you turned away. Garth grabbed you by the waist as a wave splashed over you. You simply watched each other for a moment. You noticed your feet didn’t touch the ground anymore. You clung to him.

“I can’t touch,” you said a little panicky. He held on to you.

“Don’t worry. I’m right here. I won’t let you drown. It’s my job, remember?” Garth smiled. “Look around. Look at the moon.”

You looked up to see the luminous globe hanging above the sea. It lit a silvery path through the water, highlighting waves crashing. The beach seemed far away. The only sounds were the sea and a few night birds as well as Garth’s breath from being so close. You looked back at him and almost froze. He was gorgeous. The water truly was his element. His dark hair curled in the water and the moon glow highlighted his nose and collarbones. His purple eyes looked almost black in the darkness but the way he looked at you said a ton.

He looked down at your lips and you couldn’t help but lick them, tasting salt water. Garth bent a little and you turned your head up to touch lips softly. His arms wrapped closer around you as you kissed. Garth easily kept you above the water. Your brain was broken. You were kissing Garth, who you’ve had a crush on for a long time.

Suddenly water splashed over your head as a wave crashed on you both. You leaned away with a cough as water invaded your mouth and nose. Your eyes stung and watered a little.

“Sorry, I forgot to pay attention,” Garth admitted sheepishly.

“It’s okay,” you said with only a little cough. “Can we?”

“Get you on land? Yeah. You’re getting cold anyways,” Garth said before swimming towards the shore. It wasn’t a rough choppy swim the way people did. He seemed to simply glide through the water gracefully. So beautifully. Which was broken when he fell over on the beach.

“You’re the most graceful swimmer and trip on your feet when you hit ground,” you said with a laugh as you attempted to help him up. He was far too heavy to lift but appreciated the effort.

“Atlantean,” he shrugged. “Don’t make fun of me too much. You can’t even swim.”

“Yeah? You wanna take a dip in Gotham Harbor?” You asked and he laughed.

“Absolutely not. I don’t want to get some unknown cancer from whatever pollution they have. Or whatever rouge is living there,” he added.

“That’s why I can’t swim,” you answered. It really was cool in the wind and you quickly pulled on your clothing.

“But doesn’t batman have like multiple pools?”

“Yeah but I never used them. I was 15 when he took me in. Too old to learn,” you shrugged.

“You’re never to old to learn to swim. It’s important for safety,” Garth said. “Especially here,” he motioned at the beach.

“Especially if I keep kissing Tempest in the water?” You quipped.

“That’s just a bonus,” he said pulling you close by the hips. You grinned up at him and wrapped your arms around his shoulders.

And a spotlight shined glaringly at you both. You covered your eyes and looked away.

“Come inside,” boomed the voice of your brother. “Now.”

And that’s how you got a 20 minute lectures on the danger of night swimming and risk of hypothermia and Garth got the shovel talk. But despite the fact that Dick was really angry, you didn’t regret a thing and went to bed with wet hair and smile on your face.

[self-proclaimed-chaotic-good]

All the time in what's left of the world | 28 Days Later!Jim x Reader (Oneshot)

Words: 1776

Warnings: Mention of death, slight innuendos

A/N: I'm surprised I hadn't written for him sooner, but I needed something to write to take a break from the other series I've been writing.

-

When the outbreak of the Rage virus happened, you tried calling your loved ones. Some answered and were rushing to get on the next flight or boat ride off the island. Some never picked up. You were glad that your parents had moved to the States to be with the other family members. When you called, they said that they were fine and that only the UK seemed to be affected. For now. While your parents were safe, those words also meant that the government was going to shut down the whole country into quarantine. There would be no point in trying to get out.

Your friend, Jim, had been in a coma for days after his accident and you had been by his side almost every day if your job had allowed it. When the doctor assured you that you and his parents would be notified as soon as he woke up, you had left to focus on yourself more and catch up with your work. Jim’s parents used to call every day, asking if he woke up. They lived a little ways from the hospital, so they relied on you for updates when they couldn’t go. You always told them the same thing, just that his injuries had been healing properly and that he should be waking up any time now.

Assuming that the hospital would have some kind of quarantine protocol that could keep him safe, you decided to look for each and every friend or distant relative in the area, hoping to find someone when they stopped answering their phones. Travelling had become scarier the more the virus had spread. And if it wasn’t for the infected chasing after you, it was the living wanting to scavenge off of you. Your car was long gone within a week of the outbreak and had to search for a bicycle for the trip.

You couldn’t find anyone. They either left in a hurry or got attacked by the infected on their way out. News of the infection spreading to other countries reached the radio and news channels until they, too, were gone. With your hopes of finding any allies on your side dwindling, you went straight for Jim’s parent’s house. They weren’t answering their phone either, but you hoped that being away from London would have at least meant that the virus took longer to reach them. It was optimistic, but you were also reminded that it had been almost a month since the outbreak and everything happened so fast.

His parents had told you where the spare key was, so you had no problem getting in. Parking your bike at the front, you spotted Jim’s old bikes that his parents had kept over the years. He had been the one to teach you how to ride a bike and you weren’t too surprised when you found out he had taken a job as a bike courier. Jim always liked living simple.

The silence was ringing in your ears as you crept through the house. You were afraid to call out in case there were nearby infected, or worse. You searched each room, memories of when it was lived in coming in flashes until you reached upstairs to their room. A chill was already running up your spine as you spotted their door closed, a rotting smell leaking through the cracks of the door. Opening it slowly, your eyes swept the room until they landed on the bed. Your hand flew to your mouth as you collapsed on the floor, stifling your sobs.

You couldn’t bear to be near the room anymore and not even daring to go in, rushing down the steps. It wasn’t until you almost tripped over the last two steps did you take a deep breath and come to your senses, the whole thing feeling like a twisted nightmare until now. Everything was real, the virus, the killings, the bodies all around the country. There was no way to get out of it. Unless foreign aid came to help stop the virus, you didn’t see a way for this nightmare to end any time soon.

Seeing the sun going down outside, you reluctantly decided to stay the night at the house, gathering supplies around the place before dredging back up the stairs. You paused at the landing, willing yourself in avoiding looking anywhere near that room and made your way straight to Jim’s old room. His mother was always tidy, but after turning on the desk light, you could see the thin layer of dust that had settled within the past month.

You locked the door and dragged a chair under the door knob before flopping tiredly onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling with Jim’s old posters lining the wall, you could still picture yourself with Jim lounging around in his room attempting homework while talking about everything and nothing. When you used to sleep over, you would share the bed with ease until you both got a little older and a little more uncomfortable with it. There was one late night, though, where he laid next to you on the bed.

He buried his face in your shoulder and whispered, “I don’t want you to go.”

It was the night before you moved away to go to college. You couldn’t say anything.

Growing up, he had been the more expressive of the two of you until he got older and was told that real men didn’t cry. There were times where he let his anger take hold of him and lash out on you and you’d fight back, but you both hated it. He’d run away with tears streaking down his cheeks while you had to break away and let the anger simmer out until the emotions finally sunk in and overwhelm you as well.

When you both calmed down, you were always able to find him. Eventually, the two of you had a talk and sorted things out. That was the closest that your friendship had been to breaking. Back then, that had been the scariest and nearly heartbreaking thing to have happened to you.

A loud bang had jerked you awake, setting your body into shock as your heart began to race. You grabbed the machete that you found among the old family camping gear and strapped your backpack on you. The noise paused, followed by some shuffling.

“Stop making all that noise!” a woman hissed. “We don’t have time for this.”

“Wait, I just need to grab something from my room before we go,” came a familiar voice.

Another man sighed. “We can just leave him.”

“You’ve got less than ten minutes, then we’re leaving. With or without you,” the woman said.

After the two pairs of footsteps disappeared down the stairs, Jim sighed and tried the door knob again. You approached the door slowly, pulling the chair away before opening the door. Even with his uneven dark hair and unkempt beard, you could recognize your best friend anywhere.

His blue eyes widened when he realized what he was seeing in front of him. He reached a hand out to touch your face, squeezing your cheeks together. You pinched him, making him bite down a yelp as he flinched away. You reached over to squeeze his cheeks, too, ending it with a slap. His smile brightened up his face as he pulled you into a tight hug.

“I thought you were dead,” he muttered into your hair. “My… my mom and dad… they-”

“I know. I saw. I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”

The footsteps returned, the woman stared at the two of you with a neutral expression. “It’s too dark to go to the shops. We’ll have to sleep here for the night.”

Jim nodded. His head had been in a daze until he found out you were still alive. It was all still much to take in, but with you around, he felt more grounded with all things considered.

“You and Mark can take my room. We can sleep downstairs,” Jim offered.

The woman glanced in the room. “We’ll sleep in the same room. It’s safer.” She walked over to you and nodded. “I’m Selena and that idiot downstairs is Mark. It’s a good thing we were there when your boyfriend was being chased down.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you muttered, but she ignored it, turning around to get Mark.

“You and Selena can take the bed,” Jim said, going in to clear up the space.

“No need,” Selena said, climbing back up the stairs, “We’ll take the floor and you lovebirds can get the bed.”

“Don’t get too carried away, though,” Mark teased.

Jim grimaced, obviously not a fan of Mark’s type of humor. Selena scoffed, setting her things down in one corner of the room. Mark was used to Selena’s serious demeanor and simply chuckled, slapping Jim’s back before pushing past the two of you into the room. You shook your head, your hand raising up to run through his messy hair where it had grown around his stitching.

“Does it look that bad?” Jim asked in amusement.

“I guess it doesn’t matter during a zombie apocalypse if you look good or not,” you teased.

Once everyone was settled down in their own corners, you and Jim adjusted yourselves on the bed. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and sighed, passing it over to you. In his mother’s handwriting, it said: “Jim - with endless love, we left you sleeping. Now we’re sleeping with you. Don’t wake up.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have woken up to this… this nightmare.” His eyes were shut as he rubbed his temples. “First thing I saw was being alone, naked in the hospital bed. The whole building was empty and everything was just a mess. You weren’t there and I knew that you had always been there because I could hear you.”

“You could?” you whispered back.

Jim hummed and nodded.

“Could you hear my snoring?”

That made him snort. He shook his head at your attempt of lifting the mood before shifting around to lay on his side to face you. He leaned into you, slinging an arm across your stomach, very reminiscent of your last night here in his bedroom. Even after you had reconnected after college, life never made time for the two of you to spend time together like this. Now, with a raging virus spreading around the world, it seemed that any time would be the last time. You hope that would not be the case, that the two of you would find a way to get out of this alive.

[starlightstevie]

fic recs / may 2021

Happy summer! I know I missed last month’s fic recs so hopefully I’ll make up for it with these brilliant fics. Hope you guys enjoy!

warm water by @xbuchananbarnes​ Thor x reader: Thor comes home to find his love.

*passionate & burning by @peachyteabuck Thor x reader: You’re busy with working from home, but Thor has other plans for the day.

but i just wanna hear your voice by @blackberrybucky Thor x reader: Thor comes back after they defeat Thanos and tries to make things right with you.

*all there’s left to do is run by spacelabrathor Dothraki!Thor x reader: Horse warlord Thor finds you a captive in a raid of a desert village and gives you a choice. Freedom by a quick death or taking his hand and going with him, to be his. You choose life, and with it, a husband who is wild and fierce and more than you could have ever imagined.

*summoned by @darklydeliciousdesires​ Old God!Thor x villager!reader: The buffet of offerings, all of which shall placate, appease and satiate every whim and desire of the gods is laid out and ready, you amongst them.

ships in the night by @sugardaddytonystark Pirate King!Thor x Dora Milaje mermaid!reader: When Thor, the infamous Pirate King, lays down anchor in Wakanda, the last thing you expect is for him to ask for aid from your own king. You volunteer your assistance, leaving the home you’ve always known to set sail with King Odinson and his crew.

*cut offs by @milaonthemoon Frank x reader: You get kidnapped and Frank has to get you out.

tired by @castawaybarnes​ Frank x reader: Keeping yourself awake waiting for Frank was getting easier once you got used to the bitterness of black coffee.

*ash painted lips by @sebbytrash Frank x reader: Frank is your lifeline, protecting you like only he can do but you harbour not-so-secret feelings for him that threaten to shake the foundation of this steady, necessary partnership.

scales of justice weigh the consequence by @inspiresimagine​ Frank x reader: the world is black and white until you find your soulmate. you’re a single mom in NYC accustomed to life as-is, but apparently, the universe has other plans. namely? frank castle.

*generosity by @pumpkin-stars Frank x reader: AKA: The five (or more) things Frank usually does when he fucks you, and the one time he does something different.

poltergeists for sidekicks by @bubble-tea-bunny​ Frank x reader: Frank’s lost count of the days he’s come home to you already fast asleep.

*frank + overstimulation by @honeychicana

*frank + rough sex by @sweeterthanthis​

*frank + breath play by sweeterthanthis

*frank + doggy style by @honeydulcewrites​

*frank + gun play by honeydulcewrites

*frank + gun play (2) by honeydulcewrites

*frank + gun play (3) by honeydulcewrites

*frank + overstimulation by honeydulcewrites

*frank coming home to you by honeydulcewrites

*untitled frank smut by @luciilferss​

*playing with frank’s hair by inspiresimagine

frank + praise by inspiresimagine

*frank putting you in a headlock while fucking you by @punani​

*nobody else but me by @allaboardthereadingrailroad​ Shane Walsh x reader: Shane knows exactly what you need.

the comet by @mcubabydotcom​ Steve x reader: You and Steve witness a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event.

*the punishment by ozarkthedog Nomad!Steve x reader: You disobeyed Steve and now you must make it up to him.

*headinthequinjet by xbuchananbarnes Steve x reader: Steve’s having a hard time breathing.

*shotgunning with chris by ozarkthedog

*cockwarming with chris by @buckyssimp​

*a teal crushed velvet ride by @ozarkthedog​ Chris x reader: You love Chris’s Teal Velvet Pants. He notices and decides to indulge you.

*don’t look away by ozarkthedog Chris x reader: Chris fucks you against a mirror.

*keep the heat by ozarkthedog Andy Barber x reader: Andy fucks you in the coat.

*i don’t work jobs (i am a job) by @peachyteabuck Andy x reader: Andy needs to teach you that “staying at home” doesn’t preclude a little thing called “work.”

*worst behaviour by buckyssimp Professor!Bucky x reader: Bucky notices you staring at him during class. 

*lipstick stain by @xbuchananbarnes​ Bucky x reader: Bucky could recognize that laugh anywhere.

bucky takes care of you by @buckyblues

*you better act like this dick belongs to you by buckyblues

*lazy day with bucky by buckyblues

*pegging bucky by buckyblues

*bucky tit fucking you by buckyblues

something new by @mxsamwilson​ Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes: Fellas is it gay to receive an intimate haircut from your boy? (ft Bucky being hopelessly in love with Sam but too much of an idiot to tell him).

*the magic word by @whateveriwant Bucky x reader: Bucky agrees to try something you’ve always wanted to do with him, but only under the condition that a certain word be employed if need be.

warm by @revengingbarnes​ Bucky x reader: “The fire alarm in our building went off and you rushed out without a coat. Wanna share my blanket?”

patterns by @xbuchananbarnes Bucky x reader: Bucky plays with your hair.

pretending to not feel alone by blackberrybucky Bucky x reader: Bucky, hopeless romantic, meets you, committed cynic. What could go wrong?

*bucky’s first time in 70 years by @luciilferss

*fluorescent adolescent by @ohbuckie​ College!Bucky x reader: Bucky fucks you on his bedroom floor.

*it’s a cruel summer by blackberrybucky Bucky x reader: You and Bucky are friends with benefits, but what happens when you realize you want more?

*sex on legs by @navybrat817​ Bucky x reader: Bucky looks good in anything.

ride with me by @jurassicbarnes Detective!Bucky x Biker!reader: When his best friend forces him to third wheel on a road trip, Bucky doesn’t expect for it to become so eventful, let alone find something, or rather someone worth staying for.

*going live by @ritesofreverie​ Camboy!Bucky x reader: Your new neighbour looks familiar, where had you seen him before?

*stranded by @honeysucklesteve Dad’s best friend!Bucky x reader: When your car breaks down on the side of the road and your dad can’t come rescue you, he sends the next best thing.

if i could fly, i’d be coming right back home to you by blackberrybucky Sam x reader: Exile over, Sam comes home to you.

baby, i still see ya by blackberrybucky Sam x reader: Sam comes home, the future calling to him. He sees you again, and gets a little caught up in the past

*if you ever want to be in love by blackberrybucky Sam x reader: How your relationship with Sam falls apart and comes back together.

taller than me by @kaitsukibakugo Katsuki Bakugo x Izuku Midoriya: Katsuki has found love with someone who years ago he never would have expected. Now Deku is his husband and he’s noticed something else he never thought possible: Deku is taller than him.

*would you like to stay forever? by kaitsukibakugo Pro Hero!Kirishima Eijiro x reader: Sparring with Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro in his private gym at his home doesn't seem like a bad idea if you don't count the fact that you really, really like him.

how your bnha fave acts when they realize they’re in love by @inthorantine

*bnha love island headcannons by @doinmybesthere​

*first time bj headcannons by @shoutogepi

*the best pussy eater of mha by @dearestdynamight​

passing the night stars by @hoe-doroki Hitoshi Shinsou x reader: The party was neon and you needed darkness.

*let’s talk about deku’s hands by @rat-suki​

*waking up deku by spacelabrathor

*deku comes home after a late shift by doinmybesthere

*slow stroke king izuku by @sems-diarie​​

*champagne problems by @some-kindofgnome​ Katsuki Bakugou x reader: You were slipping between Bakugou’s fingers faster than ever now. Instead of letting it happen he clung to you even tighter. Instead of letting you go, instead of accepting that he’d driven this relationship into the fucking ground, he’d promised himself that he could still save it.

*presented by @tteokdoroki​ Dragon King!Katsuki x reader: On the twenty-first birthday of Katsuki Bakugou, an offering is made in his honour as he becomes chief of the dragons. Clans usually offer up sacrifices of berries or nuts, salts and fresh catches. But for those of Dargon’s blood, their offering is a mate... And that mate is you.

*domina by rat-suki Katsuki x reader: He’s just so hot when you get under his skin. You can’t possibly stop now.

*baby, i’m a haunted house by @ketslketslketsl​ Yakuza!Katsuki x reader: It’s been a long six months since you last saw him.

i’m a liability, get you wild, make you leave (i’m a little much for everyone) by @willowser Katsuki x reader: There’s no reason for Katsuki to be here. It’s all he can think, bitter, as he stares at the paint peeling from the door, exposing the wood grain underneath its thin coat. Old and distant, this house; too far from the city to make the trek worth it, for your job to make sense; too ancient to be lived in by the number 12 hero in Japan. If he closes his eyes, he can hear Lake Biwa from his position on your porch and the soft sway of the water almost calms down the storm that’s been building in him since he boarded the train, since he nearly snapped his phone in half.

*we are the foxes (and we run) by @spacelabrathor shoyo hinata x reader: After everything, the end of the world and the chaos and destruction that reigned after society fell, it takes a lot to surprise you. And yet, when you come to the edge of the pit, a gasp wrenches from you like someone gripped it in their fist and yanked. Laid out on the bed of leaves at the bottom of the pit is...something. Someone. Or, Hinata falls into reader’s pit trap after the end of the world. This is the story of how she pulls him out, drags him to her bunker, and they grow together. 

*dark priest!Obiwan Kenobi by @mandosmimi​

you’re the former babysitter of zemo’s son by @helahades​

*mando doesn’t realize how big his dick is by @cptnbvcks​​

[sunshineseung]

Journal Part 1 // Jeongin

🍄 | genre: smut ☁️ | pairing: Yang Jeongin x female!reader 🌿 | wc: 2.8k 🌸 | includes: milf!reader x babysitter!college student!virgin!jeongin, invasion of privacy (not the cardi b album), smut within the smut??? [handjob, begging, “mommy”], mentions of voyeurism, light dom/sub themes, “mommy” kink, teasing, stripping, blowjob/oral (m!receiving), no swallowing

☀️ | synopsis: Yang Jeongin babysits your two children, and he’s always been the most polite boy you’ve ever met. Unfortunately for him, he leaves his secret journal at your house one evening, and your curiosity got the better of you.

🌊 | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six | Finale |

Being a single mother was never in your plans. After your husband left you with two kids, your world nearly fell apart. You went from being a stay-at-home mother to working two jobs. The daycare took care of your dayshift, but your night shifts were harder to arrange a babysitter for. That is until you offered the position to your next-door neighbor’s son. They complained about how he was in desperate need of a job, being in his first year of college with no work history. Your offer was perfect for them, and Jeongin was happy to fill the position. He was always the nicest kid, and you could see his eyes light up at the idea of working for you, or more likely, at the concept of getting paid. 

He’d come over to your house at 5:00pm, book bag on his back, ready to do homework while he watched your kids play. Your two daughters were quick to warm up to him, and the rest is history. He was the best babysitter you could ask for, and even if you had to stay late at work, he was always understanding. Jeongin was a perfect kid with good grades and a good heart, and you’d always see him writing in a journal. When you asked him about it, he’d say he’s “writing a story for class.” It was always the same excuse, day after day. You paid no mind, more worried about the status of your kids after you’ve left them with a teenager for hours. 

Jeongin was very protective of his special journal. It was just a regular composition book, but whatever he wrote in it was sacred to him. He’d hide it from you when you walked by and hold it close to his face as he wrote. Whatever he wrote was his little secret, but if it’s for a class like he said, it can’t be that terrible, right?

🍓🍰🐤🍀💐🍯

Returning home from a late shift, you see Jeongin settled on the couch, sleeping with his phone in his hand. His head was back and his mouth was wide open, snoring loudly. You nudge him to wake him up, but he doesn’t budge. All you can do is scoff at him and check on your daughters in their room just as sound asleep as their babysitter. Going back to the living room, Jeongin’s turned to his side, snoring quieter than before. You sit right at his feet and get comfortable, kicking your feet up on the coffee table and turning on the TV. When your heel lands on the table, you kick over Jeongin’s journal, the book falling to the ground and opening to a blank page. 

Your eyes dart to Jeongin and back at the book, and you’re mentally debating whether or not to look through it. You’ve hardly talked to the boy aside from a few conversations about school in a “back in my day” type dialogue. This would be a major invasion of privacy, but there’s no way it’s a diary. He writes in it constantly, how would it be a diary? 

You pick up the notebook, looking at the cover that read “Yang Jeongin Journal 1” on the title lines. Skipping to the one of the first few pages, you read a couple lines, which turns into reading a paragraph, and later an entire page. The more you read, the more you begin to understand why he hid it from you while boldly writing in front of you. Your jaw hangs slack as your eyes glaze over the lewd words written on the page. Your mind is blown imaging the sweet boy Jeongin imagining these scenarios, especially when you realize that you’re the other character. 

Her hand feels like heaven wrapped around my cock, stroking me up and down as I quickly become breathless from the sensation. She looks into my eyes, staring me down like a predator watching her prey. Her touch quickly becomes overwhelming as my dick starts to twitch in her hand, begging to cum despite her only beginning to play with me. I thrust into her hand, hips quaking as I seat myself again. “Please let me cum, mommy.” Y/n laughs and nods her head, lowering her lips to my cock, ready to catch my release on her gorgeous face.

Seeing your name on the paper makes your heart jump. All of these dirty thoughts that Jeongin pens in his journal are about you. As you shuffle through the pages, your name is practically highlighted to your eyes. Every few pages, there’s a description of your body or what you wear, occasionally an imagine of you undressing in your bedroom window that happens to face Jeongin’s bedroom. Although you always keep your curtains shut, Jeongin’s writing describes him hoping that you leave your curtains open to put on a show for him, undressing slowly until you notice Jeongin jerking off in the house across the fence. 

You slam his journal shut. You’ve seen enough. Laying it down on the table as it was before, you attempt to calm yourself and watch the TV you’ve been craving to watch since you got off work. Despite your best efforts, your mind begins to wonder to Jeongin, sleeping quietly beside you, and how ecstatic he’d be if you’d reenact some of the scenes he wrote in his special journal. 

Jeongin groans and stretches, finally waking up from his nap. You tap his leg to signal that you’re home, and he nearly jumps out of his skin feeling you near him. He coughs as he sits up, pressing down his shirt to get out any wrinkles and fixing his hair that looks like a bird’s nest. 

“Good morning, sleepyhead.” You laugh, smiling brightly at him as if you weren’t just reading his book of sexual fantasies. “Did you have a nice nap?” 

“Yes, yes!” Jeongin fumbles over his words, worried that you’re about to fire him for sleeping on the job. “I’m so sorry! I promise I didn’t fall asleep until after the girls went to sleep.” He bows his head, sincerely apologizing for something any college student would reasonably do once work was over.

“No worries. I’m sure my girls were in good hands.” You reach for his journal and hand it to him, and he begins to turn a bright shade of red. He knows what’s in that book, but he assumes you’re still naive. “I almost used your little book as a footrest, so put this somewhere safe, okay?”

“Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t mean to leave it out. I was just writing in it until I fell asleep.” He grabs his bookbag and shoves it in gently. 

“Wow, you write in that thing a lot.” You cross your legs and you face him, totally ignoring the television show at this point. “How long have you had that assignment for class?” 

You clearly caught him off guard. He seems confused before he remembers his lie, widening his eyes once he realizes that he’s about to dig himself into a hole. “Oh, it isn’t just one assignment. It’s for my creative writing class.” 

“Ah, I had a creative writing class too.” If he was going to lie to your face, it was only fair that you rebuttal with another lie. “Can I read some of what you wrote? Maybe give you some critique?”

Jeongin’s mind went blank. He broke out in a cold sweat. If he lets you read it, his life will be over, but on the other hand, if he doesn’t let you read it, it will look sketchy since it’s just supposed to be innocent writing for a freshman level college class. 

“Uh, it’s a little personal.” He’s adamantly avoiding eye contact with you, looking anywhere but your face. “I don’t think that would be appropriate since you’re my next door neighbor.” 

“Not appropriate, huh?” You can’t help but smirk, and out of the corner of his eye, he sees the sideways smile grow on your face. His heart begins to dip as he finally starts to connect the dots, thinking that his job, no, his existence as your neighbor could end within a matter of minutes. “What’s so inappropriate about wanting your neighbor, who is over ten years older than you might I add, to sit on your face and call you her baby boy? Hm?” 

Jeongin is frozen in place. He’s been outed. All of his wildest sexual fantasies have been revealed to the woman he wants to do them with. Knowing you’ve read his journal at least a little bit, he can’t help but get hard under his joggers, mentally cursing himself for wearing them once he notices your eyes drift to the tent in his pants. 

“Sorry, but curiosity killed the cat on this one.” You scoot closer to him, taking his hands in yours and rubbing your thumb over the back of his hand to warm him up. “I can’t believe my neighbor’s cute little son grew up to be such a dirty minded boy that can’t keep his thoughts in his head, but has to put them on paper so he can read them and imagine his neighbor fuck him again and again.”

“How much did you read?” Still with his head down, he squeaks out the question that’s been running through his mind since you started teasing him with your words. 

“I read enough.” You remove one of your hands from the hold and perk his chin up so he has no choice but to look at you. His eyes are sparkling with lust as you’re just centimeters from his face. “Tell me, Jeongin, what do you want me to do to you?”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

He pauses to ponder and collect his thoughts. Everything he’s ever imagined is running through his read: the pet names, the toys, the punishments, the pleasure. It’s all too much, and he can hardly speak another word before you pet his face, holding his head in your palm as he shyly presses his cheek into your hand. 

“M-mommy,” he had never said that word out loud to you before, “can I strip for you?”

“All for me?” You smile, gladly accepting this offer. “Go ahead, baby boy. Show mommy what she’s been missing.”

He removes himself from you and stands up, timidly facing you as you lounge back on your couch. His shirt goes first, being neatly tossing onto the couch where he once sat. His fingers fiddle with the hem of his sweatpants before he pulls them down, showing you his bulge that’s painfully pressed against his tight boxer briefs. He’s bigger than you expected him to be, but that’s welcomed in your eyes.

You hold your hand out, stopping him before he can pull down his underwear. Standing up with a groan, you walk around his body, eyeing him up like he’s a buffet. One of your hands gently grabs at his ass, squeezing the skin between your fingertips and making him whine. You bite your lip when you hear him, sounding cute as a button despite the situation. From behind, you pull him back to you and run your hands around his body to feel his toned abs, finally moving upwards to tease his erect nipples. You feel him take a deep breath to calm himself, but when one hand pinches his nipple, he whines again, louder this time.

“Quiet, baby. You don’t want to wake the girls, do you?” When you whisper in his ear, all of the thoughts leave his head. You’ve hardly touched him and he’s dumb, and as embarassing at it is, he loves feeling helpless in your arms. “I haven’t seen another man like this in ages. You’re exactly what I need right now, Jeongin.” 

“Y-you need me?” He can hardly believe that you’re just as horny over him as he is for you, although his longer dates back far longer than just an hour or so. You hum in his ear as your hands slide down his torso to his cock, palming him over his underwear. He hisses and moans from the lightest stimulation. His reaction to all of your touches is perfect, and you can’t wait to see how he reacts when you’re riding him or sucking him off, although you could do anything to him and he’d be thankful. 

You remove your hand from his cock and pull down his underwear, finally seeing his length in all its glory. He gasps from how fast you undress him, but at the same time, he loves being on display for you. As much as he wants to hide his erection out of reflex, he holds his arms to the side tightly, allowing you to come in front of him and take in the view. 

“Jeongin, are you a virgin?” As embarrassing at it is, he nods and holds his breath, waiting for you to answer. “Aw, my pretty little boy’s never been fucked? That must be why you’re so infatuated with me.” 

You get down on your knees so you’re eye-level with his cock, now red and angry, begging to be sucked. Although your skills might be a little rusty, if your ex-husband’s reviews were any indication, you were about to blow this kid’s mind. With a little lick, he’s whining and staring down at you as you wrap your lips around the tip of his cock before moving back again and wrapping your hand around him like he’s always imagined. 

“Do you want to sit down?” Your voice sounded so calm and gentle, it was honestly shocking to Jeongin since he could hardly speak at all. He nods, and you take him to sit back on the couch. He spreads his legs for you to sit in between, once again jerking him off with one hand while the other plays with his balls. You kiss the tip before taking his member into your mouth, bobbing your head only around the tip. 

Jeongin’s convinced himself that he’s dreaming when he looks down to see your face moving up and down the very top of his cock. It feels so good, better than he could have ever imagined, and surely better than his hand. As you slowly start to take him more into your mouth, he’s clutching onto the couch cushion for dear life. He gets close very fast, tapping his thigh with one hand to try to convey that he’s about to cum. Quickly catching on, you take him fully into your mouth, his tip hitting the back of your throat, almost making you gag. 

After a few twitches of his cock, you feel him cumming down your throat as he moans out expletives from the overwhelming sensation. When he’s finally done, you pull your mouth off of him and let his cum drip out of your mouth and onto your chest, which was still covered by your button-down work shirt. When Jeongin finally opens his eyes, he’s greeted by you lazily resting your head on his thigh, looking up at him, waiting for him to come back down to Earth. 

“Ah, thank you, mommy.” In his post-nut state, the name he’d given you leaves his lips more hesitantly, but he knows that’s what you want to hear. Looking up at the clock, he notices that it’s past his self-determined bed time, but he’s still dazed enough to not care, at least for a moment. “That felt so good.” 

“And maybe tomorrow night we can do more, hm?” You slide onto his lap, his soft cock resting between your thighs. “I’d love to ride my baby boy and finally take his virginity… only if you want of course.” 

“I- … Yes, I’d love that.” Before he can say another word, you kiss him on the lips, and despite them just being around his cock, your kiss is sweet, and he needs more of it. Trying to avoid a make-out session, you pull away and get off of the boy’s lap, telling him to get dressed and go home so you can both sleep.

Your goodbye to him is the same as always, waving as he walks back home, but knowing what’s going to transpire tomorrow night, you can’t help but finish yourself off after being all worked up from Yang Jeongin. You decide to save your panties from today before you get into the shower, because they’re absolutely drenched and you’re sure Jeongin would love to have them for when he’s home alone. 

After pleasing yourself in the shower, you peek out your bedroom window. Just as you had hoped, Jeongin’s curtains were wide open, and he was beating his cock with one hand and sucking on his fingers with the other. He was clearly thinking about you by how he’d had his journal sitting next to him opened to a random page. 

You sleep good that night, pleased and excited for tomorrow. Although you were always the submissive one, you came to realize that maybe being the one in control was just what you needed. 

[biggest-stupidhead]

Never Ready

Summary: “It’s not like I’m ready to take her in.”

“And I was ready for you? Kid, nobody is ever ready for things like this. That doesn’t mean they don’t happen.” Levi is faced with the difficult decision of taking in his newly orphaned cousin. But he can't do it alone.You're a newly graduated college student looking to make some extra cash, but get more than you originally bargained for...

Word Count: 2.3K 

--

The day had started just like any other day. He woke up early and worked out before making himself a small breakfast of tea and an English muffin with some jam. Then he got dressed for work in one of his perfectly tailored suits. His routine was flawless, perfected over many years to allow him to seamlessly slip from one task into the next. He arrived one full hour before work actually began so that he could organize his desk and get a jump on the day’s cleaning. He liked working in a clean environment, if this step was missed (or really any of them for that matter), his entire day was thrown off. 

And today was one of those days. About four minutes before the office officially opened, Levi got a phone call. He had the phone wedged between his ear and his shoulder as he finished wiping down his desk with a clorox wipe. 

“We regretfully inform you that your cousin and his wife were involved in an armed robbery.” 

He froze at this, his eyes narrowing as the woman waited for his response. 

“What was stolen?” He asked before continuing to wipe down the surface. 

“Sir…” The woman spoke slowly and Levi began to lose his patience. 

“Listen, I appreciate the phone call but quite honestly I don’t have time for this.” He said bitterly as he disposed of the wipe. 

“This is very important sir, your cousin, and his wife were both murdered in the process.” The woman informed him and his blood ran cold. Although he had never been close with his extended family, the news was still tragic. 

“I see,” Levi grumbled as a boulder seemed to settle in the pit of his stomach. 

“I’m calling regarding their daughter, Mikasa. Seeing that Mr. Ackerman was an only child, as was Mrs. Ackerman, and their parents have passed, you and your uncle are her next of kin.” The woman continued as Levi sank into his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What do we need to do?” Levi sighed as he closed his eyes, waiting patiently for her response. 

“You have a few options, either of you could gain full parental rights to her, or she will become a ward of the state.” Some shuffling could be heard on her end of the line and Levi felt his heart rate spike. For a time in his own life, he had been thrown into the system, that was until his own uncle had gained custody after sobering up. 

“I understand,” Levi grumbled, watching as his coworkers set about their daily business as he was dealing with this unforeseen issue. 

“The decision doesn’t need to be made immediately of course. I strongly encourage that the two of you discuss this at length. The funeral is this Thursday, Mikasa and myself will be there and we can talk in greater depth then.” The sound of a keyboard clacking filled the short silence as he considered what an appropriate response would be. 

“I’ll...get back to you.” He leaned forward in his seat and clicked on his calendar, crossing out the lengthy list of tasks and replacing it with, FUNERAL. 

“Thank you, and sorry for your loss.” He hung up the phone and reclined back into his seat. This was quite possibly the biggest disruption he would ever face in his life. He hated that his cousin and his shitty wife had left this burden to rest on his shoulders. But upon further thought, his own mother had done the same thing to his uncle. You know what they say: history repeats itself. 

It seemed that as soon as he had set the phone down, it rang. His uncle’s contact lit up his screen and he let it ring three times before picking it up. 

“Did ya hear?” Kenny’s deep voice crackled over his speaker and Levi grunted. 

“Yeah, just got off of the phone with the social worker,” Levi informed him and Kenny hummed deeply. 

“What do you think?” He pressed and Levi felt his annoyance increase by tenfold. 

“I think that it’s a load of shit. And you?” Levi asked as he crossed his legs under his desk. 

“Same here.” Kenny agreed. 

“It’s not ideal, but we can’t let her go into foster care,” Kenny grumbled and Levi hummed his agreement. Kenny was right, even if she was distantly related, Mikasa was still a part of their family. 

“So are you going to take custody then?” Levi scoffed, knowing damn well that Kenny was pushing fifty and had a chronic case of bad arthritis. 

“Hell no, I’ve done my part by raising you.” Kenny laughed bitterly and Levi’s expression soured. 

“It’s not like I’m ready to take her in.” Levi countered and Kenny let out another bark of laughter. 

“And I was ready for you? Kid, nobody is ever ready for things like this. That doesn’t mean they don’t happen.” Kenny chuckled mirthfully as Levi shifted in his seat. He knew that Kenny was right, and he knew from the moment that the social worker had said that Mikasa needed someone, that it would be him taking her. 

“I’ll need to get a bigger place then.” Levi sighed his fingers rubbing tight circles over his temple as he thought of his bachelor-sized apartment. 

“Damn straight.” Kenny chuckled as Levi shot a look at the clock, it was nearly twenty minutes into the workday already. 

“Look, I’m at work. I’ll talk to you on Thursday at the funeral.” 

“See you then.” Kenny hung up and Levi let out a long exhale. His week was off to a terrible start. 

--

In movies, funerals are usually held in dreary weather. But today was almost too beautiful for a funeral. It was late January and the ground was covered in a thick blanket of sparkling snow. As the coffins were lowered into the two holes the social worker held Mikasa on her hip. She was only four, and there was no way that she could fully grasp what had happened. Levi stood with his hands shoved deep inside of his pockets. 

Kenny stood off to his left, a large distance between the two of them. There couldn’t have been more than seven people here, Levi assumed that they were friends of the family. The other attendees came up to him before and gave their condolences to Levi and Kenny, who both said nothing in return. The service was quick, Levi and Kenny had opted out of paying more than what the state offered. In Kenny’s own words, “Dead is dead, no fancy funeral is going to help them now.” 

To some, it may seem heartless, but it was the way that the family coped with death. Once the funeral was over, Kenny and Levi joined the service worker to get a cup of coffee in a nearby cafe. She had passed Mikasa off to a brunette woman before leaving the cemetery. Levi assumed that she was the foster woman that they had placed her with, or possibly a family friend. 

“So, I understand that you wish to gain custody?” Michelle was a middle-aged woman with graying hair and prominent wrinkles on her forehead. As she flipped through files that were spread across the table Levi nodded as he sipped his tea. 

“That’s correct,” Levi affirmed and she nodded before spinning the paperwork so that he could read the form.��

“I’m sure that you understand that this is no small commitment.” She spoke as she passed him a pen. He scoffed and began initialing and signing where necessary. 

“Of course,” Levi grunted before flipping the page. 

“Before you can gain full custody, the state will need to see some changes in your lifestyle, for starters, you’ll need to move within her current school district and continue to hold a steady job.” 

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Levi mumbled, pausing to read the paper before signing. 

“Excellent, once these needs are met, she can be placed under your care,” Michelle informed as Levi skimmed over the page. 

“Anything else?” Levi asked as he signed the last form presented to him. 

“Not at this time, I’m sure that you’re well versed in most of our policies, seeing that the two of you went through a similar process.” Michelle continued as she neatly returned the papers to their folder. 

“Yes.” Levi agreed as he brought his cup back to his lips. Kenny had been silent for most of the exchange. If Levi was being honest, he was relieved to have him there, even if he wasn’t contributing. 

“Great, we’ll be in touch then.” Michelle smiled tensely before excusing herself, leaving Kenny and Levi alone at the table. Kenny finished his coffee and stood up, stretching with a loud groan. 

“Well, I’m off to the office,” Kenny said with a short wave behind his shoulder. Levi watched him go, feeling a strange sense of dread settle into his gut. It all felt so surreal, even if he was thirty and most of his peers were already parents themselves, he still felt unprepared. It was just like Kenny had said, nothing could prepare him to take on this role. That didn’t mean that it wasn’t his to take, and he would be damned if he let Mikasa get thrown into the foster care system. 

Levi set to work on finding a house in the district that the social worker had given him. He had never been a fan of suburbs, but at this time it was all that he could afford. So he found a decent house with four bedrooms, one for himself, one for Mikasa one for guests, and a final for a study. He was lucky enough to have a decent job, and a respectable grasp on his finances, it took him a week to finalize the buy, but in the end, he was glad that he did. 

He had been meaning to get out of his stuffy apartment anyway, (or so he reasoned with himself), he moved his belongings out of his downtown apartment in less than a week. Once the house was effectively moved into, he then began the tedious process of preparing Mikasa’s things. He started by doing research on what four-year-olds needed and then set about buying the necessities. He felt out of place as he shopped through Target in the little girl’s section, buying bedding and such. But he got the job done, he knew that she had to have some clothes, and decided that he’d cross that bridge when he got there. 

It was the night before Michelle was scheduled to visit, and Levi had invited Hange over for a drink. Hange had nosed around for about an hour, acquainting herself with Levi’s new space and gushing when she saw the modest room that he had prepared for Mikasa. 

“I can’t believe that you’re actually going through with this!” Hange cooed as she sat on the small bed. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked defensively as he propped himself on the doorframe. Honestly, he had been avoiding this room, it felt that if he acknowledged the space, the heavier the weight of the situation crushed his chest. 

“I just...never thought that you liked kids. But I’m really proud of you.” Hange beamed as she smoothed out the pink comforter as she stood. 

“What made you think that I didn’t like kids?” He scoffed as the pair left the room, he closed the door quietly behind them as they made their way into the kitchen. 

“Oh I don’t know, maybe I just made the assumption based on your obsession with cleanliness.” Hange waved her hand dismissively and Levi clicked his tongue as he poured two glasses of wine. 

“They are filthy.” Levi agreed as he brought the glass of red wine to his lips. 

“What’s she like?” Hange asked, wrapping her own fingers around her glass as she eagerly awaited his response. 

“....I haven’t met her.” Levi felt a wave of panic crash over his chest as Hange’s eyes widened. 

“Never?” Hange couldn’t hide her astonishment. 

“Never,” Levi said with a roll of his eyes. 

“You’re serious?” Hange pressed and Levi glared at her. 

“Do I ever joke about these things?” Levi snapped and she held her hands up in defeat. 

“I’m just surprised is all,” Hange mumbled before taking a long sip of her wine. 

“I wasn’t close with her parents,” Levi explained as he put the cork back on the bottle. 

“Well...maybe you should take some extra time off of work,” Hange suggested and Levi sighed deeply. 

“I can’t, I’ve already taken off more than I planned.” Levi sat on the barstool next to Hange and she swiveled to face him, their knees knocking against each other. 

“But this is not something that you take lightly Levi. She’s a four-year-old girl who lost both of her parents. She’s going to need a lot of attention.” Hange looked concerned and Levi’s expression soured. 

“I understand that, but my job is-” 

“Is not your priority anymore. Have you thought about what you’re going to do for childcare yet? She’s too young for school. Or at least not full days.” Hange interrupted. 

“So I’ll put her in daycare, or preschool.” Levi shrugged and Hange pursed her lips. 

“That could work, but don’t you usually stay late at the office?” Hange pressed and Levi chewed on the inside of his cheek guiltily. 

“Maybe you should consider getting a nanny. Plenty of my student’s nanny, I could give you some good recommendations.” She offered before lifting her glass to her lips. 

“Maybe…” Levi suddenly felt way in over his head, if all went well in the morning, then Mikasa would be sent his way in nearly a week. 

“I’ll ask around on Monday,” Hange said, reaching out to pat his shoulder. For once, he didn’t shy away.