#she makes such a big deal about bothering the neighbors

[princeasimdiya12]

The real mystery no one's figured out yet: who are Seiko's neighbors?

[taeslarityy]

outage ༄ joel miller one shot (18+)

-> pairing: no-outbreak joel miller au x female curvy reader

-> word count: 4.3k

-> summary: after a citywide power outage, you're left to deal with the scorching texas heat. until, the well-respected neighborhood dilf — joel miller — lends you a more than generous hand.

-> warnings/tags: sarah is 10/11 so joel had her a bit older, power outage, texas heat, yes this is a warning because its not a joke, reader has a cat!!!, age gap (reader is 24, joel is late 40s), curvy/mid/plus size reader, brief fatphobia, reader has self-image/parent issues + is a lonely gal, fluff, SMUT (18+), unprotected piv, creampie, oral + fingering (f!recieving), squirting, body worship, brief ass play, daddy kink, big ole tits, spanking, spit kink, praise kink, a bit of belly bulge, cockwarming, pet names galore (darlin, sweetheart, baby, _ girl), joel has a huge dick (not canon!)

-> a/n: hi hi! i have been so anxious to begin writing again and currently have some wips that i am just not confident with. so when i saw the lovely @hellishjoel post her #hotdilfsummerchallenge, i was positive i wanted to join in! such a pleasure to be involved in this — thank you kylee for creating such a fun way for this community to get involved! as a curvier woman, i wanted reader to reflect that. because... joel miller is a handsy mf and loves to just grab himself some wide hips, thick thighs and phat tits <3 but ofc, this is can be for various body types. please please please, leave your thoughts and even constructive criticism! <3 DILF NEIGHBOR JOEL, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS!!!!

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. 

You release a groan of annoyance as the visual of your TV, coffee table lamp and humming of the refrigerator all flicker off into silence. The frills on your throw-blanket settle, as the ceiling fan no longer produces the small gusts of wind that have caused you to be rather chilly on this hot, humid and rainy summer night. 

When you made the courageous decision of moving across the country for a new teaching opportunity in Austin — you were never informed on the true brutality summertime unleashed onto Texas residents. More-so, you really had nothing to do but be caged up in the comfortable AC of your home. You’ve been here for roughly 14 months and the only "friends" you’ve made have been the 28 fourth graders you had the pleasure of teaching last school year. Tragic. 

Your coworkers, did not handle your arrival pleasantly. Young, beautiful, freshly-educated and determined. That’s what your grandmother referred to you as when you called her sobbing after your first week. Informing her that the seasoned teachers won’t even bat an eye at you, and when they do it’s a look of disgust. Whispering amongst one another. Like you were in middle school again, trying to befriend the popular girls. 

“I was foolish to think things could be different for me down here, so stupid of me.”

“Now listen to me, you are the most intelligent woman I know. More than anyone in this family. Bullies like that, it stems from an unknown jealousy and overbearing insecurity. Don’t let a few sour grapes ruin this outstanding career for you. Your students adore you already, and so do I. Just continue to be yourself and if that isn’t enough for them, so be it.”

Your grandmother always knew how to make you feel better. She had been instilling your own sense of confidence since you were a little girl. The only adult in your life to do so. If only her words were enough. Your coworkers just never let up. After overhearing them gossip about you during lunch break, you gave up your attempts indefinitely. 

“She really thinks she deserves a place here?”

“Look at her back rolls in that shirt…”

“She really needs to put that sandwich down.”

“Why is she so quiet? It’s freaky, honestly. No wonder she’s always alone.”

You’re not a stranger to being alone. You practically have been your entire life. Your parents never really bothered to form a genuine relationship with you, always so focused on your younger sister. She was the prettier, thinner, more impressive version of you. You have only had one best friend throughout your long 24 years on this earth. She was smarter than you and moved away from the timid small town you shared in Northern Maine, choosing an out-of-state university. So, being alone was a familiarity. You have made peace with it. But being lonely — that’s a whole other ball-park. 

The booming thwack of thunder startles you from your thoughts. Your sweet calico boy leaps from your warm lap and scurries under the dining table — tail puffed in fear. “Milo... it’s okay,” you whisper. He just gleams at you with his jet-black saucer eyes. Even you don’t believe your own words. You are not used to storms like this, and you didn’t really prepare. You read some articles online about stocking up: having plently of batteries, candles, non-perishable foods. Yet, you didn’t do any of that. 

Rubbing away the moisture from your damp upper lip — the heat inside your home already becoming unbearable. Deciding on a whim, you can head to a nearby hotel for the night. Unsure how long you will be without power and don’t wish to succumb yourself or your cat to the searing temperatures of the night. 

The rain has slowed down, as you feel the soft patter on your umbrella. Throwing your purse and water bottle in the front seat, you begin to dread unpacking all this stuff when you get to the hotel. Bags, cat litter, cage — scrutinizing yourself mentally and deciding you better fucking prepare for the next storm. 

“Where ya headin’ sweetheart?”

Your heart jumps at the deep smooth Southern voice that fills your thoughts at night. When your hands would find their way in between your quivering legs. Throughout the day. Pretty much all the time.

Joel Miller is the only person in this town that has ever filled the lonely void you can never seem to fill. When you moved to the quiet suburban street, he was the first to come greet you as you struggled to pull your mattress out of the U-Haul. Immediately lending a hand, and proceeding to lug all of your remaining boxes, furniture, miscellaneous items into your new home. 

“Pretty lady like you, shouldn’t have to lift a single finger.” He remarked when you blushed and assured him you could handle the rest, not wanting to be a burden. Even though the sweat dripping down your back was apparent and 5 minutes prior you had no idea how you’d be able to unpack the remainder of the truck. He then assured you — there was no way in hell you were being a burden. Words that were a rarity. 

Later that afternoon, he invited you for dinner at his home. You met his lovely daughter, Sarah. Where everyone learned that you were her new school teacher. What were the odds? 

Following that, seeing Joel was frequent. From parent-teacher conferences, backyard barbecues for the neighborhood, or even small intimate dinners with Sarah at each others homes. Sarah would even spend the night at yours on occasion. When Joel had a late night at the construction site, or when she just needed some girl time. You adored that little girl, and vice versa. 

You also adored the fuck out of Joel. 

So when you looked up at his porch, finding him in nothing but a pair of plaid pajama pants.. your throat went dry. His tanned skin gleamed softly from the street light — little speckled freckles adorned his waist in various spots. And that darkish grey hair on his chest and fat of his lower tummy that flowed underneath his pants. Your brain fuzzy at the thought of your face pressed against it as you swallow his cock. 

But you were not a fool. Joel would never express an attraction towards you. A man like that? He deserved the perfect woman. 

“Darlin’?” He speaks again, a bit louder. Disturbing your wandering thoughts. 

“I- I was gonna head to a hotel for the night, my house is too hot already. And I don’t want Milo to be uncomfortable.” 

Joel’s eyes wander down your body as you explain — the plush jiggle of your tits in that small tank. Nearly spilling out. Slightly damp from the rain or humidity. The chub of your tummy spills slightly from your leggings. A sight that makes his cock swell unbearingly. An act that occurs more often than not when he sees you or even thinks of you for the countless minutes of his day. 

“No way. Not gonna let ya drive in this weather. Plus, most hotels nearby are gonna be overbooked. I got the generator up n’ working, got the spare room too. You’re stayin’ over.” 

“No! No, Joel. I can’t.”

“N’ why not?” His hands have found his way to his hips, popping a knee out and giving you that classic dad glare. Not angry, but confused as to why you’re even protesting when he’s already decided. 

“I don’t want to intrude and I have Milo. You and Sarah are allergic.”

“Sarah left yesterday to stay with her mom in California for the rest of the summer. Besides, Milo loves me. I can handle a runny nose as long as I know the two of ya are safe.” 

To this, your stomach nearly flips inward on itself. You’ve never been alone with Joel in his home. Not for this long. The few times you’ve come over to help him with dinner before Sarah got home from soccer practice, have always been excruciating. Staring at him without worry. Watching his muscles flex through his t-shirts. Big hands chopping vegetables and plating food. His hand lightly touching your waist when scooting by. 

There’s no possible way you can survive a night in Joel’s home. 

But, he’s already grabbing his umbrella and walking over to you. He grabs your stuff from the car and tells you to go grab Milo. So, you do.

Joel slips on a t-shirt after he put your stuff in the spare room, disappointedly enough. You nearly told him to keep it off, but held your tongue. You made yourself comfortable at the island barstool as you typed up some early lesson plans, Milo at your feet. 

He patters over to Joel who is now leaning against the counter, brushing against his leg. He then leaps onto the granite and purrs against Joel’s arm. 

“Psst! Milo get do-“ you beg, embarrassment coloring your cheeks. 

“S’ okay, sweetheart. He’s not botherin’ me,” Joel attempts to settle your nerves. Petting Milo’s soft fur and scratching under his chin, that special spot all cats love. “Can I get you anythin’ to drink?” He nods towards the coffee he’s brewing. 

“Coffee would be nice, thank you.” You beam at him. Joel’s heart skips a beat every time your cheeks puff up ever so slightly when you smile at him. It’s something he swears is the most endearing thing about you. Of course, he’s only ever shared that with his daughter. Who begs her father to just take her favorite teacher on a date already. 

Joel grabs some sugar and oat milk from the fridge, your favorite. He learned from the few breakfasts you guys had shared. A bit of sugar and a nice gulp of milk softens the dark roast color in the mug, he slides it over to you as he grabs his plain black coffee. 

“You remembered!” You giggle slightly at the Number 1 Dad title that adorns the mug, taking a sip. You moan at the taste, exactly how you like it. 

“Of course I did, darlin’.” You almost hate how easily those pet names roll of his tongue. You summed it up as his southern hospitality, figured he calls any woman those special names. “So, you ready for this new school year?”

An icky feeling settles in your stomach. The thought of returning to the painful and toxic work environment you can only escape when you’re with your students.

“Not without my Sarah girl,” you swiftly change the subject towards the one person he can talk hours about.

He smiles proudly at her name. 

“Ya know, she still all mad that you wouldn’t flunk her so she could have another year with ya.” Both your laughs quickly fill the empty house. 

“Well, even if I tried to, that girl is too smart for her own good. She should skip a grade in my opinion.” You state, and you’re truthful at that. Sarah Miller is as intelligent as she is quick-witted. 

“Yeah, she gets it from me.” At that you roll your eyes playfully. Typing something up before closing your computer and taking another sip of coffee. “Although I love boastin’ over her, I guess I meant are you excited to go back? They treat ya good there?” 

Joel watches the color drain from your soft skin. Realizing he touched somewhere that might be too personal. Too raw. “M’ sorry sweetheart, shouldn’t have asked.”

“No- no uh, you’re fine. Um, honestly? No. I’m not excited. The staff there aren’t exactly the kindest bunch.” You confess, slight unease crawling over you. 

Joel’s eyes scrunch in confusion. Mind blank on how the kindest soul he knows, could be surrounded by complete opposite. “Whatcha mean?”

You sigh letting the anxiousness settle a bit before speaking again, “they hate me. I don’t even know why, really? I have tried my hardest to get them to accept me but nothing seems to work. Whether it’s jabs at my appearance, teaching style, they’re never satisfied.” Your eyes are burning slightly, haven’t confessed this burden you constantly carry to anyone. “If it wasn’t for your daughter and my class, and… you.. well, I think I wouldn’t have made it through. I try to be strong, I try to be everything that people expect from me but it’s just so hard, Joel.” At that, the fat tears begin to stream down your face.

Joel was frozen in shock. Or maybe anger. Protectiveness. He wanted to hurt the people who made you feel like this. The least deserving of any pain. He sets his mug down and snatches you in his embrace. Holding your head with his hand, stroking your back with the other. He lets you sob almost uncontrollably into his firm chest. 

“I just hate being so alone.” You whisper, clutching onto him. You can’t even be embarrassed anymore, you’re so overthrown by his scent, his comfort. Comfort you’ve not felt in so so long. 

Joel kisses your temple softly, "promise you're not alone, sweet girl." He nudges your head to look up at his own sorrowful expression. His thumb running over your full lips, a bit swollen from your teeth biting down on them in an attempt to muffle your sobs. "So beautiful." He murmurs as he leans down to place a kiss on your left cheek, his lips skim over yours before he places another on your right.

Joel just barely hears the whimper from the back of your throat when that feather light skim happened. He leans back half an inch, staring into your glossy eyes. "Tell me not to, and I'll let you go upstairs and get some rest. Tell me, sweetheart."

It feels like a whole minute passes by. The soft patter of the rain, the smell of coffee beans from each others breath, the same slow breathing that overwhelms the little space between you both.

Desperation.

Your fingers tighten on his shirt, "don't let me go upstairs, Joel."

Joel smashes his mouth into yours, his guttural groan flying into your soft whimpers. The softness Joel expressed a moment ago is long gone. This kiss is messy, teeth-clanking, tongue inside your mouth. Like he wants to devour you from the outside in. He releases your lip with a pop.

He threads his thick fingers through the base of your hair and yanks it back gently, tongue on your neck. Biting the skin there. "You're so soft, baby. Just need me to mark ya up, is that right?"

You nod as hard as you can despite his harsh grip on your locks.

"I need you to use your words, sweet girl. Let me know what you're thinkin'."

"Everything you do is okay. I want more. I need it all. Please."

"Oh baby, cm'ere," he wraps your lavish thighs around his waist and hoists you into his arms. Easily. Like you're just the most delicate thing he's ever held.

As he walks to his bedroom, you smile into his neck. Arms wrapped over his shoulders, hand rubbing ever so softly at his greying curls. You bite at the skin under his ear and he gives your ass a huge squeeze. Groaning at how his big hands barely hold all the meat there. He couldn't wait to touch and gnaw at this body he loved.

At the foot of his bed, he taps your leg as if telling you to get down. You stand in front of his massive overbearing figure, staring up at him lustfully. You grab the bottom of your compression tank top and pull it over your head, revealing your unsupported chest. Your heavy tits fall a bit.

"My god," Joel falls to his knees in front of you, face nearly level with your pebbled nipples. Both his hands grab a fistful of each, rolling them in his palm. Your sweet noises fill the room and he swears he might've just came in his pajama pants right there. He takes his teeth and bite at the fat above your leggings, licking and sucking at a sensitive part of you. Literally and figuratively.

Joel abandons your chest to yank your leggings and panties down in one move, coming face-to-face with your prickly oozing pussy. He can't restrain himself much longer, spinning you around he pushes you down into his mattress.

He spreads your ass open with both hands, the chub of your lips open ever so slightly as the slick between them strings together.

"Perfect cunt." That's when you feel the chill of liquid spat right onto your puckered hole, dripping down to your clit. He leans in, tongue catching the tangy mixture of your slick and his saliva, right on your throbbing clit.

You screech into the sheets, so turned on from his actions. As he licks up to dip his tongue into your hole, one hand that's holding you open sneaks up your back, to your neck and yanks your head up.

"Nu-uh, let me hear you, baby girl." He demands as he pauses to throw his shirt off as fast as possible — not wanting to leave your cunt for too long without the warmth of his mouth.

He sloppily makes out with your cunt as it clenches and unclenches under his tongue, his beard prickling at your skin. Like he wants your scent all over him for as long as possible.

"Ohh daddy, more more," you whisper hazily, hand reaching back to grab his head desperate to have him as deep as possible.

Joel stops as he processes your choice of title. "What was that, darlin'?"

You freeze at his serious tone. Just now realizing what you've called the man. "Oh my god, I'm s-" Joel grabs your wrist and pins it against your lower back — thick middle and ring finger hooking into you with no warning. Your wetness aiding in the rapid slide of them.

He spits on your puckered hole again and abandons your wrist to land a harsh smack against your ass.

"Only dirty girls say that word, baby. Are you daddy's dirty girl?" He edges you on as he spanks you again on the opposite side. Hard. Unsparing. A side of Joel you've never seen. And oh, does it make you feel that coil tightening within you.

"Mmmm yes yes 'm your dirty girl, daddy!" You groan loudly, eyes swelling with fresh tears. But not tears of pain from earlier, pleasure.

Joel's fingers fuck into you harder, thumb now rubbing at your clit as he leans forward to prod his tongue at your asshole. "Cum for me, my nasty sweet girl. Drench my face. Let me taste you even more." He halts his fingers knuckle deep, hooked inside your cunt as he presses into that spot on repeat. Like he's stroking it out of you.

That's all it takes for you to silently scream as you squirt all over his lower beard covered face and your thick inner thighs, that nearly squish his head from how hard you're coming. Joel just keeps himself situated, never letting up. Allowing you to completely let go and rut back into him, telling him you need more.

"Thaaat's it, my good fuckin' girl.” He praises as he kisses your cunt and ass, he leans over your face capturing your lips in a kiss so messy and depraved. “Open that mouth.” Spitting roughly onto your tongue with a groan as you taste your sweetness that he knows he will forever be addicted to. No chance of recovery.

He ruts his thick bulge into your ass as you whine needly.

"Really want you to fuck my face, now." You beg, hand reaching down to grope him through his loose pjs.

"Mmmmm," he murmurs as his hips keep rutting into you. "Tonight is about you, baby. M' gonna stuff your tight cunt so fuckin' deep you'll feel it in your throat, don't worry." And with that promise, he releases himself, throbbing cock slapping against his lower tummy. You flip onto your back just to see it and your eyes widen at the sight before you.

You always knew it was huge just from perception, but god. It's thicker than your wrist, and looks like it would prod into your cervix. Painful even. Joel senses the worry on your face as he pushes your legs back against your chest. Admiring the way your stomach folds into itself, soft roll after roll. And the thickness of your inner thighs lays heavy. He just wants to get down and feast on you again but he might die if he doesn't feel you wrapped around him.

"You're in charge here, sweetheart. Understood?" He explains as he rubs his fat cock head up and down your swollen slit — notching on your opening with every downward stroke.

You nod slowly, peeking down at the monster between your legs once more. He squeezes your ankle, subtly reminding you to vocalize.

"Yes daddy, I understand."

"Good." And with that, he pushes into your fluttering hole. Your eyes roll back immediately, head thumping onto the soft duvet. He pushes in deeper, barely halfway in and he sees your feet and eyes scrunch a bit. It almost feels like he could rip you apart. Maybe it's because you haven't been fucked in a hot minute — or maybe it's just that Joel is so fucking hung. More than any guy you've slept with.

“Deep breath for me, sweetheart.” He soothes you, as soon as he sees your chest fall — he slams the rest of the way in. Hips flush with the back of your thighs. Cock fully sheathed in your warm soaked cunt. Heavy brimming balls pressed against your little puckered hole. “You feel so damn good. Dripping for me.” Joel’s eyes close at the feeling of you hugging him so tight. He suddenly forgets the feeling of any other woman he’s pleased. Utterly devoted to you from here on out.

When he pulls out all the way to his fat tip — it notches on your opening. Like he has to put in that extra effort to fully remove himself from you. But he doesn’t, and starts fucking into you fully. Never half way, never pulling completely out.. but always making sure he reaches the end of you.

“Da- daddy oh, harder please.” You plead, squeezing his forearm at the overwhelming feel of him nudging your cervix with every thrust.

That confirmation of pleasure is all Joel needs to push your legs back even more — ankles by your head — and began a brutal relentless pace. Grabbing a fistful of your jiggling tit and messy hair, he pulls your head up so you can watch how he ruins you for anyone else.

“Ya see that, see how swollen your gettin’ already?” Joel questions as he holds your head perfectly to observe the slight lifted pudge on your tummy. Paired with the way his coarse hair rubs against your swelled clit — it’s a drool worthy sight.

“Cus’ your so big, Joel.” You sigh, eyes fluttering from the primal force he’s using on your body.

A smug grin flicks across his face at the view. Mind consumed by the most perfect woman. Eyebrows turning inward, the little lines between them deepening as you try to comprehend all the emotions in this moment. Removing his hand from your head, he finds your clit and swipes it upward. Over and over. Leaning down, he sucks as much of your breast into his mouth as humanely possible. Tongue flicking the pebbled area, coercing your orgasm from you. “Cum with me, baby.” His muffled command shoots straight to your filled core.

As he feels you spasm around his thickness, he stills balls deep. “There it is, baby…” Spilling his cum inside your warmth. Plugging you, keeping you full of him. Joel relaxes his body against yours, finding your mouth to kiss you gently. Sweaty foreheads against one another. Joel goes to push off of you, his comforting body heat about to be ripped away.

"No! Wanna feel you longer, please."

Your protest makes Joel's heart surge. "Of course, sweet girl." Wrapping his large arms around you, he flips you both so that your soft plush body lays above him. The new angle makes his spent cock nudge a bit deeper, you both moan at the faint squelch of his cum overflowing your cunt. "You're so perfect," he mutters.

Smiling into his full chest, you leave a swift kiss. "So are you. Thank you for this. For.. everything."

Joel's hands finds your back as he begins gentle strokes onto your supple skin, his head resting atop your own. "Thank you, darlin'. I want you to understand something, you might just be the finest thing that ever happened to Sarah and I. Y'know, she didn't really want to see her mom. Never had the best relationship with her. She just wanted to spend the remainder of the summer havin' ya over everyday to swim and all. That girl admires you more than anyone."

Eyes foggy, you shift to gaze up at him. "And what does her father think?"

Joel pauses briefly, rich brown orbs beaming into yours. "Think she's damn right. She didn't want me to tell you this, but she left so I could have some alone time with you — take ya out. Scolded me sayin' by the time she's back, we better be together." He laughs at the thought, you join him. Picturing that 4'9 ball of fire lecturing her father on the rules of dating.

"So, you're asking me out Miller?" You question with a heavy hopeful heart.

"Should've done it forever ago, darlin'." He confesses, placing a delicate kiss on your temple.

And with that, you place your head back onto the warm chest of the man you've craved your entire life. Realizing, ever since that day where he first greeted you with that sultry gentleman voice — you were never truly alone.

thank you truly for reading! let me know your thoughts below or in asks!! reblogs are greatly appreciated <3

[hqbaby]

one — the aftermath

mess it up — gojo x reader & sukuna x reader

⁀➴ when i told you i’m fine, you were lied to. when the love of your life falls for someone else, you decide to move on—by pretending to date your best friend, the campus fuckboy.

masterlist — next

word count. 1.9k content. profanity, talks of sex

Breakups suck, there’s no denying that. Especially when the breakup in question is with someone you thought was the love of your life. Someone you thought felt the same way about you.

When the breakup turns into some big revelation that you are in fact a fool for even believing in love in the first place—well, it’s safe to say that it doesn’t feel good.

But you know what makes a breakup even worse? Hearing that the person you broke up with has started dating someone new. Two weeks after your split.

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Nobara declares as she stabs a slice of meat with her fork and shoves it in her mouth. Through a mouthful of food, she tells you, “I know friends aren’t supposed to say that kind of shit immediately after a breakup, but it’s true! He sucked!”

“He did not suck,” you tell her, and you know this is true. You remember just six months ago, Nobara was singing his praises, so glad that you were finally being “treated like the princess you are,” so you don’t really believe her sudden shift in perspective. “It just didn’t work out. It’s no big deal.”

Maki frowns at you, pointing her fork in your direction as she speaks. “Any guy who starts dating someone new two weeks after a breakup doesn’t deserve to be respected,” she says. “Slander him, babe. He deserves it.”

You can’t help but laugh as your two friends agree with one another, pointing out all the little things about your ex that they found “slightly off,” and how you’re so strong, how you’ll get through this like it’s nothing. You’re sure that when you met them in freshman year, you didn’t expect your friendship to turn into this, but you’re glad it has.

“So who’s the girl?” you ask as the conversation lulls.

“I don’t know,” they both answer in unison.

You roll your eyes. “You’re terrible liars.”

They look at each other for a moment. Nobara raises a brow, Maki shakes her head. Maki raises a brow, Nobara shrugs. They both sigh.

“It’s Kimi,” Maki tells you.

“The cheerleader?”

“Yeah.”

You prod a stray grain of rice on your plate then nod. “Okay,” you say. “Figured he’d go for someone like her.”

“He doesn’t deserve you,” Nobara says again.

You chuckle. “So I’ve heard.”

“Does it bother you?” Maki asks. Her tone is careful. She’s probably worried you’ll burst into tears or throw a fit.

“No,” you tell her simply. “It’s fine. He can do whatever he wants.”

You notice how they seem to breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe they’ve finally convinced themselves that you’re fine. You’re okay.

The three of you finish with your lunch and clear up the table. It’s become tradition for the two of them to show up at your apartment on Saturdays to eat together, mainly because you actually have a table to eat at. You also often have more than enough food to spare, what with your mother constantly sending care packages and your neighbor being an old woman who likes cooking enough food for an army.

It’s nice, these days you get to spend with your friends, and you’ve found that it’s been a real comfort these last two weeks. You’d never admit it out loud, but the breakup has been hard on you. More than it probably should be. Aside from the fact that you find yourself alone more often now, you’re also constantly reminded of his absence. And, boy, is it a terrifying thing to remember.

“Are you heading to training?” Maki asks, drying her hands on a towel. “I can drop you off if you don’t wanna drive.”

You shake your head. “It’s fine,” you tell her. “Someone’s picking me up.”

“One of the girls?”

“Nah,” you say. “Sukuna.”

Nobara snorts as she places the last dish on the drying rack. “You sure his driver’s license isn’t suspended?”

You whack her shoulder with the dish towel in your hands. She yelps exaggeratedly and you laugh, apologizing as you rub her arm. “He’s really a good guy though,” you say. “You’re just way too hard on him.”

“Uh-huh,” Maki says, unconvinced as she crosses her arms and leans against the counter. “So the fact that he’s fucked half of the girls on campus is just a thing he does on the side.”

“Since when were you such a prude?” you ask, lips curling into a knowing smirk. “Just last week, you were all ‘everyone deserves the right to fuck.’”

Maki wags her finger at you. “This isn’t about being a prude,” she tells you. “The guy uses girls for his own pleasure. I just don’t see how you can be friends with him.”

“Well, I’ve known ‘the guy’ since high school. He really isn’t that bad,” you say. “And he only ever fucks people who want to be fucked, so I don’t see what the problem is.”

You’ve got a point there, Maki realizes, so she bounces on her toes and says, “Okay.” Then, “I’m still judging him though, but out of respect for you, I will do so in secret.”

You nudge her with your shoulder and chuckle. “I hear you though,” you tell her. “But trust me. He’s not a bad guy.”

“Where’s my kiss?”

“I will rip your balls off.”

Sukuna smirks at you as you hop into the passenger seat. His car is a mess, like it usually is, with old, disintegrating Slurpee cups and Monster cans littering the dashboard, receipts scattered on the floor, and what you suspect is a midterm with a big red C- stuffed into the open glove compartment.

You pick a half-empty bag of popcorn from your seat before sitting down. “This thing is gross, ‘Kuna,” you tell him, grimacing. “You should really get rid of all your trash at least.”

He sticks his tongue out at you and puts the car in gear. “What was that?” he says as he backs out of the parking slot. “‘Thank you for driving me, Kuna! I owe you a big favor!’ Oh, yeah, definitely, tiger.”

“You owe me,”  you point out, pulling your seatbelt on. “Need I remind you how many times I’ve had to drive you home from a party because you were wasted? Do I need to show you the pictures to jog your memory?”

“You are so mean,” he tells you. “How are you gonna get a husband with a mouth like that?”

You scoff. “Please,” you say. “My mouth is exactly why they’d marry me in the first place.”

Sukuna gags, pretending to vomit into his mouth. “Aren’t girls supposed to be all shy and quiet about that sort of thing?” he says. Then, his eyes light up in faux realization. “Oh, right! You’re not a girl. You’re some sort of monster that ate the real you.”

You reach over and flick his forehead before slumping back in your seat. When the car stops at a red light, his face charges towards yours, attempting to lick your cheek. You manage to push him away with the palm of your hand before he does.

“Eyes on the road, fuckhead,” you tell him, giggling as his face twists in disappointment. “You got plans later?”

“Yeah,” he says, smirking. “A blonde and a brunette. You know. The usual.”

You make a face. “You’re such a pig, you know that, right?”

“I prefer to think of myself as a connoisseur of sexual deviancy.”

“I feel so bad for the girls who fall for that.”

He beams. “Oh, I wouldn’t be. They like it just as much as I do.”

You shake your head in amusement and fold your arms over your chest, leaning your head against the window. You’re a few minutes away from the gym, the car already passing through the familiar grounds of the campus.

You pass by the steps of the science building. The place where it happened.

“We broke up,” you find yourself telling Sukuna quietly. “Two weeks ago.”

He’s silent for a moment. You can already tell he’s contemplating either listening to you and letting you vent or, well, murder.

“I figured,” he says eventually.

You peel your head away from the window and raise a brow at him. “How?”

He glances at you, as if to check that you’re okay. When he’s sure that you’re not upset or anything, he nods and says, “For one, you’re hanging out with me. If I remember correctly, Mr. Perfect doesn’t exactly like me.”

You scrunch your nose up. “That’s not true,” you tell him. And when he gives you a look like, Riiiiiight, you relent and say, “Fine. But that never stopped me from spending time with you.”

“Sure it did.”

You furrow your brows. “Don’t tell me you were jealous.”

“Sure I was.” He grins at you. “But enough about my feelings—because, ew, gross, feelings, yuck. What happened? Why’d you break up?”

You open your mouth to explain, but you realize you don’t exactly have the words to talk about it just yet. Whenever Maki and Nobara asked, you just gave them some vague reason and they knew not to press. If you said the same thing to Sukuna, you know he’d call you on your bullshit, and you don’t think you’re ready to confront “the truth” just yet.

He probably notices your hesitation, so he says, “You don’t have to tell me. I’m just curious.”

You smile at him. “Thanks.”

“‘Course, tiger,” he says. The car pulls up in front of the gym and he turns to look at you. As much as you two tease each other, you know that you can always count on each other when things aren’t exactly good. “I do have one question though that you’re required to answer.”

“What?”

“If I see him, do I punch him or run him over with my car?”

You groan and swat his arm. “Don’t you dare do anything,” you say, reaching over to grab your tennis bag from the backseat. “I mean it, ‘Kuna.”

“Hey, no one breaks up with my best friend and gets away with it,” he says. “So what will it be? Vehicular manslaughter or straight up murder?”

You frown at him. He matches your frown. You smile. “You know, a grown man probably shouldn’t be calling anyone his best friend,” you say, opening the car door. You get out and lean your head in through the window. “Thanks for driving me.”

He waves it off. “You can thank me by buying me dinner,” he tells you. “Text me when you’re done with training. I’ll pick you up.”

“I thought you had plans tonight,” you say, tilting your head to the side as you step away from the car.

“Text me when you’re done,” he repeats, and he drives away before you can say another word.

You watch as his car turns a corner and disappears. He might not be a bad guy, but he sure is strange.

Sliding your tennis bag over your shoulders, you start your trek to the court. You haven’t been to training in a while, only dragged here by your coach reminding you of your scholarship. You’re a little nervous to be back, but it’s really—

And that’s when you see him.

There, standing outside the doors to the gym, just as you remember him.

Satoru, the love of your life, kissing another girl.

Maybe you really aren’t fine at all.

notes. trying to contain my excitement for this series but it's not working!!!!! hope you guys enjoy it as much as i do <3

[gothcsz]

what if someday, Javis constant girls do get a bit much for neighbour readers feelings and heart and she actually thinks about moving and looks in the newspaper for new places (even though she knows she never actually could because being away from Javi feels impossible) and Javi randomly sees the circled ads on her kitchen table and he just absolutely panics and freaks out. And in typical Javi way, does it in a way that’s probably rude lmao

we are back on our neighbor!javi flow, y’all! i mixed these two amazing prompts together so thank you to my anons for sending them in 🖤 i hate these two (i don't) hehe

“What’s this?”

You freeze mid-step, a stack of extra blankets and a pillow nearly slipping from your grip as Javier holds up a newspaper, the pages marked with listings of different apartment complexes and houses.

His eyes are narrowed, mouth pressed into a firm line, and your heart stutters as you see the storm of emotions there.

You’d tried to keep it together, to swallow the ache every time you heard him bring someone home, convincing yourself that it shouldn’t bother you.

But then you started seeing and hearing the same woman’s laughter drift through the walls, night after night, and that finally broke something inside you.

He’d found someone—someone who wasn’t just a casual fling, someone he wanted to talk with, someone to hold at night. And while you’d long accepted that you’d never have that kind of intimacy with him, the reality of him finding it with someone else made your heart burn in ways you weren’t prepared for.

So, determined to protect yourself, you began looking for a way out.

“I’ve just been looking around—” you start, trying to keep your tone casual.

“Why?” he cuts you off. You watch as he sets down the paper he’d been holding, but he doesn’t step back, his body tensed as if he’s bracing himself.

“Because this place is crappy.” You straighten your shoulders, gesturing with a faint, forced smile to keep this from spiraling.

It’s not a lie, but it’s also not the full truth.

“They can’t even get someone out to fix the plumbing on time, and you’re about to be crashing on my couch because of it. My lease is up in two months, so… it just makes sense.” The words tumble out easily enough, but you can’t ignore how his gaze searches yours, like he’s looking for deeper meaning—and it’s there, but he doesn’t know what exactly it is.

“So… what, you were just going to leave without telling me?” His voice dips, the tension almost palpable as he stands there, arms crossed, jaw set in that way that makes his frustration obvious.

You cross your own arms, matching his stance. “I haven’t even toured any places yet. Why are you making such a big deal out of this?” It’s not like you’re moving back to the States, even though that thought has crossed your mind.

His eyes bore into yours, and the weight of all the unspoken things between you lingers, tightening your chest. Javier is wrestling with his words, unsure of what to say since he’s doing that thing where he lets his anger take the reins before thinking shit through.

"Besides, I can barely afford anything around here." You let out a short laugh, but it's strained, revealing just how much this uncertainty has been weighing on you. "I’ve been… I’ve been looking for other jobs too." You clear your throat, wondering how he’s going to take it. "No luck, though.”

Javier’s face shifts, his eyes darkening with a flash of something almost akin to guilt.

First, you're talking about moving away from him, and now, even your job isn’t enough to keep you around him.

Panic prickles under his calm exterior as he watches you, piecing together the unspoken reasons behind your restlessness.

Is this because of him? Is he selfish for thinking this way?

He can’t help but think back to every little misstep he’s taken with you.

Had he finally pushed you too far? Sure, he knew he got a little too possessive when you were bringing Mateo around… or maybe he was too obvious with his flirting over those shared dinners.

Every moment he spent lingering in your presence—sitting a little too close at the courtyard on embassy grounds during his smoke breaks, or holding your gaze longer than necessary—flashes through his mind.

It’s one thing to flirt and tease, to keep his feelings in check for your sake, but the last thing he ever wanted to do was make you feel cornered, like he was crowding you.

"He’s not making you do any of this, is he?" Javier’s voice has an edge, wary and somehow accusatory.

You blink in surprise, a flicker of irritation igniting inside. Really? Does he actually think your short-lived thing with the guy from the bank has you wanting to carelessly pack up your life?

The assumption pisses you off, but you hold back—after all, he’ll be crashing on your couch for the next few days, and arguing right now could make things awkward.

But then again, maybe he'd find solace with that woman you hear coming around nearly every night.

“You’re joking, right?” You shake your head, feeling the urge to pinch the bridge of your nose. “No, Javier, no one’s making me do this but me. If anything, I’m just a little tired of having to plug my ears at night to avoid hearing you screw your girlfriend into oblivion.”

The words spill out, laced with a bitter edge you didn’t mean to reveal, but after how he barged in on your date with Mateo, maybe he deserves a to feel some heat about it, too.

His eyes narrow sharply. “Girlfriend?”

You wave him off, “Just forget I said anything.”

But of course, he’s not going to let it go that easily. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, Javi," you sigh, feeling exposed and frustrated. "I just know the walls are paper thin, and I can hear everything—just like you can. It’s grating sometimes, but I do my best to ignore it and not storm over there to embarrass the both of you by blowing up."

Suddenly, every late-night hookup he’s had since you moved in projects like a kaleidoscope in his memory.

None of it meant anything to him—they were just distractions, shallow ways to escape the brutality of his job and maybe even the tender, unspoken feelings he harbors for you.

Yet, in his careless distraction, he hadn’t considered how it could affect you, make you uncomfortable in your own home. For someone who claims to care deeply about you, he realizes he’s done a lousy job of showing it.

“Fuck, I’m sorry, cariño.” He deflates, and your heart skips because you just melt when he calls you that, “I didn’t think… well, fuck, I never think.” He bites back the urge ramble, to tell you how much he despises the idea of you leaving, how much he wishes he could be the reason you stay and that he hates himself for making you listen to him lose himself in different women. “I’ll be better about that.”

You nod, feeling whiplash from this weird ass conversation slash argument you just indulged in.

“Just be courteous. Isn’t that what you told Mateo?”

He steadies himself, masking the ache in his chest with a small, tight smile. “Yeah, guess I did say that.”

And it’s not like you’re actually going to follow through with leaving. You’ll just resign your lease and hope that Javier sticks to his word about keeping his love affairs quiet.

[hyperactively-me]

Gurlll. What if another big royal comes up to ghost and says basically ‘how much for ur queen’ … basically wanting to buy her off of ghost ? And he says she’s not for sale but he says “everything has a price”. Maybe he’s been stalking her and tells ghost that he knows her schedule and what she likes.

After that graves chapter I need more DRAMA and more borderline feral and protective ghost

oomph the dramaaa (also don’t mind me making up random ass characters and random ass places for this hahahaahaha)

warnings: time-period typical misogyny, stalking, man being a creep, physical violence

A new trade deal was being signed today, and a big one at that. You had been informed that an entourage of court members from a neighboring kingdom would be staying in Kastron during the duration of the final deal talks and signage. 

The arrival of King Valerian of Malcenite and his high-ranking entourage had been a spectacle you had greeted with the utmost politeness and grace. Simon had stressed the importance of the trade deal for Kastron, and you had been on your best behavior throughout their stay, despite a nagging sense that something was amiss. The trade deal was signed multiple days ago, much to everyone’s relief. Yet, for some odd reason, they’ve shown no signs of packing up to leave, even after already being in Kastron for over a week. 

“It’s been a week, and the trade deal has already been signed, what more do they want from us?” you whisper to Simon with a furrowed brow. “Their presence is starting to become…overbearing.”

He nods in agreement. Simon’s eyes reflect the same unease that gripped you. “I know, love. It’s rather odd…They’ve never given me reason to doubt them.”

“We should find out what Valerian wants, Si. I mean, it’s really bothering me—” 

Simon placed a reassuring hand on your shoulder, interrupting your words. “You should get some rest. Let me deal with Valerian, dove.”

Your heart ached with concern, but you knew Simon was right. The weight of your responsibilities of the week had taken its toll, and you were exhausted. 

“Please,” he urges you.

With a reluctant nod, you allow him to take charge of the situation.

“Fine…but let me know if you need me for moral support. You know how I can get during arguments,” you say playfully, giving him a peck on the cheek. 

“I know all too well, love.” 

As you retreat to your chambers, the unease that had settled over the palace refused to dissipate. As you slipped into bed, thoughts of King Valerian’s ominous intentions gnawed at your mind, but you trusted in Simon's abilities to handle the matter.

As Simon shut the doors to your chambers, he signaled for two guards to stand watch at the door. With that, he moved swiftly to find King Valerian.

. . .

Ghost had found Valerian out in the gardens. The moonless sky felt oppressive, the air thick with tension. 

King Ghost faced King Valerian with an air of authority that matched his regal presence. Valerian's calculating eyes bore into Simon's, their unspoken conflict echoing within the stone walls. He wore a cloak of arrogance, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling confidence. 

“King Valerian,” Ghost began, his voice steady but tinged with a hint of authority, "we appreciate your visit and the successful trade agreement we've reached. However, I must ask about the purpose of your extended stay in Kastron.”

Valerian's lips curled into a sly smile, his fingers grazing over a bush of flowers. Your favorite flowers. “Your concern is touching, King Ghost. I assure you, my presence is simply a desire to further strengthen the bonds between our kingdoms.”

Simon's gaze remained unwavering, his suspicion growing by the second. “Forgive me, but your continued stay has raised questions among my advisors and my wife. We find it unusual.”

Valerian leaned forward, picking a flower from the bush, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial tone. “Very well, King Ghost, I shall be forthright with you. The trade deal, as successful as it was, was not the only reason for my visit. There is something else I desire from Kastron.”

Simon's brow furrowed, his patience wearing thin. “And what might that be?”

Valerian's eyes glittered with a dangerous intent. “Your queen. I have watched her closely during my time here, and I have become enamored with her grace and beauty. Not to mention her fiery personality. It’s not quite fit for a woman, but I can always fix that. I believe she deserves better, far beyond what you can offer.”

Simon feels like his heart has stopped beating. “Excuse me?” he replied with icy resolve, no longer worried about offending Valerian. 

Valerian chuckles darkly, bringing the flower up to his nose. “The queen. How much for her?”  

Simon's fingers curled into fists at his side, his voice firm and resolute. “My wife is not a thing. She is not for sale. How fucking dare you.”

Simon's chest heaved with the effort of restraining his fury, and his clenched fists trembled with the pent-up anger he held within. He approaches Valerian angrily, sizing him up with a deathly glare.

Valerian's smile faded, replaced by a cold, calculating stare. “Everything has a price, even loyalty.”

“I know her schedule, her preferences,” Valerian continues, emphasizing the flower in his hand. Your favorite. “I've followed her every move. All you need to do is name your price.”

In a flash, Simon unleashed his anger in a single, powerful blow. With a swift and precise motion, he delivered a sucker punch straight to Valerian's face. The blow sent the arrogant man stumbling backward, crashing into the nearby garden wall.

“Get the fuck out of my home. Deal is off. Never fuckin’ show your face here again, disgusting bastard.” 

Valerian, nursing his bruised face, was forcibly escorted back into the palace by Ghost. 

“You know I can do much, much, worse than a single punch. Don’t fuckin’ cross me. Don’t fuckin’ come near my wife and I ever again.”

Ghost showed no mercy, manhandling Valerian in front of the palace guards, who looked on with a mix of shock and confusion. 

Simon shoves Valerian forward harshly into the hands of a couple of guards.

“Take this bastard out of my sight. I want him gone. Now. He’s unwelcome in Kastron.”

. . . 

Inside the palace, Valerian's actions had been made known. Rumors always spread like wildfires throughout the palace staff, and none were willing to lift a finger to help him pack. Simon had made it clear that Valerian was not to set foot in the palace again, and the guards at the gate had orders to keep him out at all costs.

“I do not want the queen to find out about this blatant disrespect from palace rumors. Go about your work.” 

. . .

Simon’s fury began to subside, replaced by a deep concern for you. He knew he needed to speak with you about the incident before the palace gossip reached your ears. 

Simon quickly made his way to your shared private chambers, where you were engrossed in some needlepoint. Knocking softly on the door, he entered to find you hunched over in your sitting chair, your brow furrowed in concentration. You had recently taken an interest in learning needlepoint, taking time to practice simple designs in your spare time. You look up for a moment, but go back to focusing on your work. You do a double take when you notice the worry in his expression. 

“What’s wrong?” you inquire, your voice gentle but tinged with concern. 

Simon sighed deeply and closed the door behind him, anger still coursing through him. “I…I have some…unsettling news, darling.” 

You immediately perk up, setting your needlepoint aside, focusing your attention on Simon.

“Go on,” you say, worry building up in your chest. 

As he recounted his encounter with Valerian, your expression shifted from curiosity to a mix of pure anger and disbelief. You stood up with a start, face pinched with hostility. You grab Simon’s dominant hand, the one he had punched Valerian with, and inspected his knuckles. Bruised. You drop his hand and look at him. 

“How dare he,” your voice trembles with indignation, your eyes blazing with determination. 

Your fingers clenched into fists, mirroring the wrath that had overtaken you. “I will not tolerate this impertinence,” you declare, your voice resolute. “To think that he would even entertain the notion of buying me like, like some piece of property. He will fucking rue the day he ever uttered those words.”

And with that, you swiftly make your way towards the double doors, throwing the doors open with a resounding slam. 

Simon watched in silence as you threw the doors open. Who was he to stop his angry wife? No, he would see this out. He knew that you were not one to be trifled with, especially when it came to matters of respect and dignity.

The palace corridors echoed your footsteps as you strode with purpose, and Simon hurried to catch up to you. He also was not about to let you be alone with Valerian. 

“Darling—”

You didn’t pause or slow down as Simon called after you. Your determination to confront Valerian had taken hold of you, and you were not about to let this insult go unanswered. Simon quickly follows behind you, slightly nervous to see how this would pan out. 

You turn to a palace guard standing alongside a wall. “Where is he?”

“Th– the parlor room, your majesty, he’s about to leave—” 

In a flash, you change directions, marching towards the parlor room where Valerian was currently being kept under guard. As you approached the doors to the parlor room, you could hear the hushed whispers and see the curious glances of the palace attendants. Two guards stood in front of the doors.

“Step aside, please,” you command, hands coming to rest on your hips. 

The guards look at you for a moment, then at Simon standing behind you menacingly. 

“Your majesty, he is dangerous—”

“I wasn’t asking.”

They look at you, then step aside, pushing the door open for you. You practically stomp inside the room, anger rolling off you in waves. Valerian, who had been sitting alone in a corner, looked up with a mixture of surprise and unease as you entered the room. The air grew tense with anticipation as you faced him, your eyes flashing with anger.

“You!” you declared, your voice carrying the weight of authority. “How dare you insult us?”

Simon raises his eyebrows at your forwardness, but chooses to stay silent, crossing his arms over his chest. Valerian eyes Simon wearily before facing you. Despite being confronted by your fury, he couldn't resist the urge to maintain his arrogance. He rose from his seat slowly, deliberately. You don’t back away. 

“Insult you?” he retorted. “Oh, my dear queen, it was merely a business proposition. I thought perhaps you might appreciate the opportunity to upgrade from this provincial life.”

Simon immediately takes a few steps forward, anger seeping back into his bones. He couldn’t bear to see him speak to you in such a way. But, ever steadfast, you persevere. Your fists clenched at his ignorance, and your anger surged anew. Simon watched with growing amusement, knowing that Valerian's arrogance was pushing you to your limit.

“How deluded you must be,” Valerian continued, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “To think Ghost could satisfy your desires with his meager offerings.”

The room seemed to vibrate with tension as you struggled to contain your rage. Your eyes locked onto Valerian’s, and in a flash, you lashed out. Your fist connected with his jaw with a satisfying thud. Nowhere near close to Simon’s force, but it was yours. 

“Yeah, thought a weak woman such as myself wouldn’t retaliate?” 

Valerian's smirk vanished as he held his aching jaw, shock overtaking his features. The room fell into stunned silence, the guards wide-eyed at the unexpected turn of events. Simon suppressed a smirk, he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride for you, who had defended not only her own honor but also his own. Fuckin’ hell.

You march up to Valerian and grab his ear, yanking him down to your level. “My husband has been nothing but kind to me. Your suggestions of him being incompetent and a monster is far from the truth. He is one of the most loyal and honorable people I know. You’ll never be a third of the man Simon is. And I'm not a piece of meat for you to enjoy, you sick freak.” You let go of his ear. “Stay away from me. Stay away from my husband.” 

And with that, you turn out of the room. Simon stands there, gives Valerian a once over, then turns out of the room in silence. 

Simon turns to a couple of guards. “It’s time for him to leave. Remove him from Kastron.” 

With a bow, the guards turn to forcibly escort Valerian out of Kastron, forever. 

As Simon turned, he caught a glimpse of your gown turn the corner back to your chambers. He follows behind you once more, practically running to catch up to you. 

“Darling, slow down–” he calls out, and you stop in your tracks, turning to face him. “He’s gone now—” 

You stand there, your chest heaving as you fight back the tears that threaten to spill from your eyes. The adrenaline from your confrontation still courses through your veins. It was a distressing experience, but you know you did what was necessary to protect your honor and your marriage.

Simon reaches you, his concern deepening as he takes in your flushed face and labored breathing. He gently places his hands on your shoulders, his eyes filled with worry. “Dove, are you all right? That was a brave thing you did back there…”

Your lower lip quivers for a brief moment, and you summon every ounce of your strength to hold back the tears threatening to spill. Crying in front of Simon is something you've never done before, and you're uncertain about how he would respond.

Simon notices the struggle within you, his eyes fill with empathy. He gently reaches out, his fingers softly brushing away a stray tear that escapes down your cheek. His touch is warm and reassuring, and he leans in to plant a tender kiss on your forehead.

“I– I’m fine, just frustrated, is all…I couldn’t stand by and let him insult us.” 

Simon’s expression softens as you move to hug him, pressing your wet cheeks into his chest. His strong arms wrap around you, offering comfort. “You're the strongest person I know,” he murmurs into your ear. “I'm so proud to have you as my wife.”

You hold onto Simon tightly, taking comfort in his strength. “I love you,” you whisper, feeling a sense of security in his arms.

. . .

Simon held you close that night, his arms wrapped protectively around you as you both lay in the comfort of your bed. The events of the day had taken an emotional toll on you, and you found solace in his warm embrace.

Pressed against his chest, your head rested on his shoulder, and his fingers traced soothing patterns on your back. In the silence, broken only by the gentle rustle of bedsheets and soft breathing, you felt the weight of the world slowly lifting off your shoulders. The words you'd spoken to Valerian, the confrontation, and the emotional release afterward—all of it seemed like a distant memory now.

Simon’s heartbeat, steady and reassuring, echoed in your ear, lulling you into a peaceful sleep. Wrapped in his arms, you knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you had a partner who would always stand by your side.

- - - - -

(masterlist)

[coff-in]

Okie so I was thinking about requesting for a while but never stuck with an idea. Maybe something with a reader who has been neighbors with the graves since they lived in the apartments. Like they’re a tad younger than Ashley (about two years) and looks up to the both of them like they’re older siblings and follows them around like a lost puppy. Like reader’s parents would want them to make friends with other kids but they refuse because “I want Leyley and Andy:(“ . They’re a little too touchy during childhood to both siblings, and it might bother Andrew and Ashley (Ashley a little more than Andrew lol) but eventually the neighbor mellows out. They’re still sweet and kind to those around them but they’re not as physically touchy and trying to talk to other people. Like, reader explains they can’t make it to a hangout cause they made plans with other people and the Graves siblings are like “Wait, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go-“ And now they unconsciously try to do anything to get reader to stay with them and isolate them from others. Like taking any opportunity to get what they want. Andrew’s sick? How about you skip your date to help him out? Their parents are gone for a while? Sleepover time! Just like we used to do when we were little! Oh you can’t find you’re sleeping bag and it’s conveniently colder than Antarctica? Cuddle time! You’re now stuck between two attractive goth siblings. And you’re not gonna ever leave. Ever.

notes from coff-in: i feel it in my heart (and in my delusional head) that ashley would constantly sneak over to [reader]'s place to hang out with them. and if ashley's going then andrew has to follow her to make sure she doesn't cause any trouble.

[gender neutral] reader-insert

[reader] following around leyley and andy put put her very on edge. why the fuck are you following them around?! are you trying to steal andy's gaze, you fucking floozy? go away! back off! andy's is hers!! it would take befriending leyley first before you can actually hang out with them both, and befriending leyley can take a lot. she's whiny, and clingy, and pushes and pulls [reader] away and close all the time. like an ocean of insecurity... but they're finally able to safely traverse her waves.

andy appreciates [reader]'s patience. he's also happy that ashley was able to make a genuine friend. they both found [reader]'s fixation on them weird, like go hang out with someone else already! but eventually [reader]'s unstoppable force clashed with them, the unmovable objects, and they were able to be friends. best friends, even! with friendship bracelets, sleepovers, going out to parks or streets together; honestly three peas in a pod.

other people think you're weird for hanging out with the graves siblings as much as you do. some girls talk [reader] being so brave to touch andrew so brazenly with ashley around. it's not too much of a big deal- i mean, you can't touch him for too long without giving ashley some attention too :3

and then [reader] gets older, they notice how distant they get. sure, school can be pretty hectic and busy but surely you would still have time for them, right? why aren't you coming over as much? sure, their mom isn't the most welcoming... but they can still come over to your place! oh... you're busy studying... and tomorrow you'll be out with other friends... well, they can join you! problem solved :)

ashley throws a fucking tantrum over [reader] having other friends. what do you mean you have other friends?! are you leaving them?! you can't do that! you chose them! they chose you! ashley's spreading rumors and fighting harlots in the parking lot in order for you to stay close to them. andrew is less... obvious about it? he offers to do your work (he's done it before for ashley) in exchange for you to hang out with them. simple, right? he's not asking much and you get guaranteed passing grades in return. just snuggle up next to them while you watch a movie together... simple.

they really don't know why you'd throw this away for other people.

-----

coff-in

[illusivedelights]

Call of Neighbors (König & Horangi Neighbors!AU)

Part 1

.....ok this one's really more for me. I just think they're both neat and I like 'em. (⁠ ⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ⁠)(⁠´⁠；⁠ω⁠；⁠｀⁠)

They're roommates in this AU! But not in that way y'all. This house is a nightmare LOL.

König

He is either somehow the most unassuming giant of a man or the most unintentionally really awkwardly off-putting guy you're going to meet.

Honestly it's not intentional, he just kind of doesn't know how to act properly/is slightly tone deaf.

He's quiet for odd pauses because he's either trying to practice what he says in his head or he's overthinking it a little.

He honestly hides his social anxiety well if you get him to talk. He'll sound pretty confident when he speaks/can come off a little arrogant (but that's really his way of masking his anxiety. 'If I sound confident enough, they can't tell' mentality.).

It's a hard adjustment and can piss some off, but when you look underneath it, it has sound reasoning and sincerity.

Lot of folks find him either a bit tough to approach or deal because they don't want to go beyond the superficial and he's kind of got a not so good rep, but he's used to it.

Honestly the really old folks are probably the ones who understand him the best/look past all the nonsense. He finds comfort in it and looks after them in his own way.

People always assume the worst in what he's doing, but then they see he's actually just doing normal stuff. It's a bit of a running gag. ("OMG! He's totally getting ready to bury a body!!" Actually he's trying to rake this elderly neighbor's yard because she's in a lot of pain, he just forgot to let her know he was doing it, and also he's a dingus that just makes it look like that).

You're gonna know cause you're gonna see this oaf awkwardly hang around and look like he's trying to do something. (He is trying to approach you, he really just doesn't know how.) He wants to show off to you about all the cool things he knows and can do and will talk to you for what seems like ages. (But it can come off abrasive and strongly opinionated)

It's his way of saying he wants to spend time with you and likes you. (And dear God if you can make it past it, still like him and interact again, he's sold).

Hobbies

Housekeeping (Ok hear me out, he's a pretty clumsily dressed guy and joined the military at stupid young teen age; but I think people would complain and once he moved out, he was like oh.)

Cooking (He's not really happy with the quality of food/lack of food he wants, so he has a "Well I'll make it myself then"/"They can't make it like home")

Antique/ Item Hunting (He likes trying to find things that remind him of home or his childhood or fits a specific niche he enjoys).

Community Service (mostly helping the neighborhood. He likes keeping it nice and safe.......in more ways than one)

Competitive Games (He's kinda garbo though, but trying to get better. But he can't help but get competitive regardless. Heskindaasoreloserthough.)

General Perception

That One Creepy Big Guy Who Doesn't Talk a Whole Lot.

Big Guy

Terminator

Lovely Young Man/Strapping Lad (by the elderly folks he helps)

Horangi

Neighborhood's local really aggressive Korean man. He's not even angry most times, he just talks like that.

He just doesn't like wasting time, and in his mind time is precious for everyone so he just doesn't mince words and just wants to get to the point. ("Tell me what I need to do to fix it and I'll do it.")

This behavior can be misinterpreted, so people assume he's just being insufferable.

I think he's actually really popular with cranky old men because he can keep up with them, throw it back easily and they don't take any offense to it. Do not approach if they're all shooting the shit, the conversation is indeed insufferable. (Good men but Jesus, they can complain).

Didn't want to bother with the pain of fronting the cost of living fully by himself , so he approached König about it because honestly König isn't too much of a hassle to him.

Left to his own devices, he's doing side gigs a lot, so he's in and out a lot of times.

He is a good character foil to König being the way he is and they bring out very honest facets of one another by accident. If you wanna speed run seeing their personality, just hang out with the two of them.

People jokingly wonder if he's a K-Pop idol because he often wears his sunglasses and a face mask. (It actually kind of annoys him because he's trying to keep a low profile and it's also been said mockingly to him too many times.)

Despite not being home a lot, he's actually really tidy and a neat freak. He will get slightly exasperated by uncleanliness or if certain things aren't the way he wants it.

You'll know with him because you make him pause. He's pretty much snappy with everything, so if you actually make him go quiet and think, you got him hooked. This man's tone and actions will be a bit more.....deliberate in between his usual self.

He is actually surprisingly clingy but in the way of "I want to be around you a lot during my few free moments, even if it's not doing anything productive" You make him actually want to waste time.

Hobbies

Cars (I feel like he has a light fascination with cars and mechanics of it, probably a 'I don't have this so it's fascinating' note. He wouldn't want to own one, but he has appreciation for sports cars)

Boxing/Sparring (A way to get out some aggression at times and solitary so he doesn't have to worry about most things. Probably a meditative act)

Cleaning (Probably a habit of covering his tracks, and is just oddly really good at it)

Side Gigs (they're mostly legal, trying to stay on the up and up, old money making day habits die hard, he's the guy who knows a guy from these things)

General Perception

That One Angry Korean Prick

Loud Guy

Angry Idol

Mr. Sensitive (sarcasm)

Bonus: The Roommates' Dynamic

Obviously this one's a bit special because they share space. So, extra HC time!

At a surface level, you'll think they probably actually hate each other because of how aggressive they talk and seem to butt heads.

But in reality, it's just two really nitpicky and straightforward people bantering. Plus working in the line of field they do, they're just both solution oriented and way too comfortable using coarse language with each other. ("Why the HELL is your shit laying around on the floor?" "I literally just put it down, I'm cleaning the tabletops?" "YOU DON'T THROW IT ON THE GROUND." "IT WASN'T THROWN." etc.)

Despite how they are, nothing's ever done in genuine mean spirit. They're just honestly two guys who are bad at talking in different ways but they mean well ......in their own way.

König is definitely more of a homebody and the common areas are more of his style of decorating. They actually have somewhat similar tastes so it works out, but if you look closely you'll see bits of Horangi's flare. ("I'm hardly around. Decorate how you want.")

They're particular about cleanliness in their own different ways, so they clash.

Both are living in a place with no family/have no family, so they're each other's emergency contacts.

It's definitely more of a roommate/coworker you live with situation. They don't actually have many hobbies they share.

They kind of keep each other in check honestly.

OK I FEEL THAT'S ENOUGH FOR THIS POST. IF ANYONE ELSE WANNA KNOW MORE JUST IDK. ASK. OR ILL POST ANOTHER LATER.

[ninus9607]

Falling for her - Amelia Shepherd

Hey loves

This is my first story, so I'm pretty nervous also I'm sorry about my grammar, English isn't my first language

This story takes place during the second season but there are small changes, like Derek and Addison divorced before Derek came to Seattle so Addison won't be coming to Seattle for Derek because Richard asked her to (it will be important for the plot), lexie. The storyline in my story doesn't match Grey's one.

Amelia will work as an attending with Derek, also she's not the youngest shepherd and she is younger than Derek by only a few years. Derek and Meredith are not dating because of the rule (nobody cared about that but ok

______________________________________________________________

1. New start

There was a voice on the plane telling us to buckle up because we were landing, finally, I thought to myself. Flying more than 6000 km is exhausting. After the plane landed successfully, I put on my backpack and collected my baggage. When I got out of the airport, a cold wind greeted me, it's chilly here, I should take a taxi. There were many taxis on the other side of the road, I took my suitcase and slowly walked to the other side, there were about 5 taxis parked there, which one should I choose? Never mind, I chose the first one I stood by.

"Could you take me to Queen Anne at 303 Comstock Street?"

The taxi driver just nodded, is every American so grumpy? All the way there was silence in the car, but I didn't mind, I was looking out the window and admiring the world around me the whole time. I can't believe it, I'm truly here, Seattle was gorgeous, and there were people all over the place, which was a big difference from my home. When the car stopped on my street, the driver turned to me and in a cold voice said, "It would be $40." I pulled my wallet out of my pocket, full of US dollars, to make sure I had enough money. I must have grabbed a little more than I needed since I could barely close my wallet.

I handed him a $50 bill. "You can ke-" He didn't even let me finish and grabbed it from my hand, then pointed to the door. At that moment, I felt like hitting him. I grabbed my stuff, and as soon as I reached for the door, his car quickly started and sped off.

"Dick"

I looked around to see where I was, and after taking stock of my situation I realized I was lost, fuck, I should have seen what the house looked like before. I mean, what normal person wouldn't look at the house they're buying, yeah, I didn't look. I only have his address. So I'll try to ask someone. The street was quiet, with hardly any people to be seen outside. It was probably because everyone was still at work. However, a woman was walking on the sidewalk. She looked tired, but it seemed like she was my only option.

"Sorry to bother you, miss, but can you tell me where house number 302 is located?"

She looked at me with a surprised smile. "Oh, that's the house right next to mine. You must be my new neighbor. I'm Meredith Grey" She offered me her hand in greeting. Okay, it looks like Americans aren't so bad after all. I shook her hand. "Lena Anderson, nice to meet you" My accent was a bit stronger, I still have to get used to it.

"You're not from here, are you?" I shook my head "No, I just moved here." She looked at me with an even bigger smile. "Cool, come with me. I'll show you where you live."  And with that, she takes my hand. Are Americans always this friendly? We walked for a while and then stopped in front of a pretty big house. Wow, I think I made a good purchase.

"Thank you Meredith for helping me, you saved my life."

"It's okay, I'm glad I met you. Maybe we could hang out sometime, perhaps go to a bar or something?"

"Deal," I said and waved her off, picked up my keys, and opened my new home. Wow, this house is huge!  Large kitchen, beautiful living room, 3 bedrooms, and 2 bathrooms. This place is amazing! After unpacking and enjoying a warm shower, I settled into the beautifully modern living room, complete with a large TV and a PS5. Since I was a child, I have always enjoyed playing video games. I brought my PS5 here, and it provides great fun while helping me relax from reality. I prepared my favorite fruit tea and turned on the music on the TV. I grabbed my laptop and opened my email to check for any important updates. I was eagerly waiting for news about my job and had also applied for internship programs at hospitals in Seattle. My school grades are excellent, and I have valuable work experience back home in Europe. However, I understand that this may not guarantee anything.

I've got about 30 emails popping up, mostly some ads I should clean up, I started to slowly delete them one by one so I wouldn't accidentally delete something important. until I get an e-mail from Seattle Grace Hospital. I opened it and started reading.

 "You have been accepted into our residency program"

I screamed at the top of my lungs, I couldn't believe it, it's like a miracle, I love my life. In the email, there was additional information, such as salary, hours, and more. I am supposed to start in two days, so I might as well inform Meredith. She could at least assist me in getting oriented here. I changed into something more social, grabbed my keys, and went to see my neighbor.

knock, knock

After a while, some guy opened the door. "Oh, hi? Is Meredith there?" He was a little confused, but he called out to Meredith, who came to the door.

"Hey Meredith, sorry to bother you again, but as you said we could meet sometime. If you don't have plans for tonight, maybe we could hang out?"

"Hey, Len, I was just thinking about you, join us, I'll introduce you to my friends" She led me to her living room, where I saw two other people. They looked nice.

"Everybody, this is Lena, my new neighbor. Lena, these are my friends and roommates. George and Izzie"

"Hi"

"Hello"

"Nice to meet you all." I was a little nervous, but after two hours of talking and drinking, I felt like I had made new friends. Meredith and Izzie were great, funny and George was George. Such a nice guy. But I get the feeling he's secretly in love with Meredith, he looks at her like she's a god. It is very easy to make fun of him but in a good way.

"Where do you work? Your house is huge but it must have cost a lot." George asks me

"Well, actually I bought it before I had a job"

"WHAT? ARE YOU RICH?" Izzie and Meredith shouted at the same time

"Well kind of, but now I got a job in a hospital in their program an-"

"Are you a doctor? and in seattle grace?" George quickly cut me off

"Yeah? What's the problem??"

"We work there too! me, mer, izzie and our other friends like cristina and alex"

"So, Are we colleagues?"

"YES!" Everyone in the room screamed.

"Wow, that's really impressive. Is there a bar where we can celebrate?" I asked

"Let's meet at Joe's Bar tomorrow as we always do after work." Meredith said

"If you show me where it is, we can definitely..."

I stayed at Meredith's place for about an hour and then left to go home. I changed into comfortable pajamas, sat on my bed, and picked up the book. I decided on something a little more interesting: "Haunting Adeline." (😏) I was reading for about two hours before my eyes started to close, so I put the book down, turned off the light, and closed my eyes.

AN: Wow, that was my first chapter. I apologize for every mistake, but I'm trying yk...I'm happy for every response and comment also if you have any questions, just ask. I'd be happy to answer them.

PS: By the way, if you want to read more, you can check out my Wattpad or Ao3, where my story is already uploaded.

xx

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hey hey it's welcome home!

May or may not be doing this cause its a description of one of my ocs, but uuuh- Wally, Poppy and Frank with a 'reader' who is basically Robbie Rotten from Lazytown, just an obligatory 'villain' who lives to cause trouble and come up with 'schemes' for the rest of the cast to deal with even though... Uh... They would also completely bail out on whatever they had planned if they got sick because they don't wanna spread it to anyone else shfjsjfhd

Wally

In the show, you're basically the villain character who has a knack for causing many of the plights/perils in each episode.

Like you could be out to sabotage Sally's plays, ruin Wally's pompadour, take a wrecking ball to Home, etc.

Your home has an underground lair with a bunch of high-tech inventions that help you carry out these "evil deeds".

Oh, and you absolutely have a villain song, too.

You can even "hijack" Wally's introductions and proclaim to the viewers that you're gonna take over the neighborhood by the end of the day.

In some episodes, you'd kidnap him and keep him hostage--only for the rest of the neighbors to come to the rescue.

It's a game that you seemingly always lose, but you find it fun!

Yet even as a villain, you have standards.

For instance, Wally was expecting you to show up and interrupt his painting session...but he sees you off in the distance going to the pharmacy with a mask on and wonders what you're up to.

It turns out you got the flu, so you wanted to forego whatever scheme you plotted until you felt better.

"You won't try...spreading your sickness to us?" He tilts his head, confused.

"....I'm a villain, Darling." You huff in a tired, stuffy voice (yes, you refer to everyone by their last name). "Not a monster."

Poppy

As the main "villain" of the show, sometimes you'll pick on Poppy for being a "big scaredy chicken" and thwart her cooking attempts.

You might discreetly add something to her food that makes it taste yucky, or remotely crank the oven 100 degrees extra so her pie turns to charcoal.

Of all the cast, she's the most intimidated by you. The others usually come to her defense.

However, one day you visit her barn, and while she freaks out at first...she notices you look rather exhausted and sickly (not to mention keeping your distance), and her motherly side still manages to come out.

"O-Oh, are you okay, dearest? You don't look well.."

"...I caught a cold. Do you..have any tea?" You ask softly.

Of course, she can't say no and turn you away. So she makes you some hot tea, which you sincerely thank her for, and you two chat for some time before heading back home without incident.

Since then, your schemes against her became just casual teasing and stealing a few of her ingredients.

Maybe you're not so bad after all, she thinks.

Frank

You like targeting Frank solely because your antics make him furious.

He acts like you don't bother him..but when you make a giant butterfly-catching contraption and abduct all the butterflies from the park? He'll be seething red and demand you to release them.

Or if you release a swarm of bees/wasps/hornets when he's trying to have a nice picnic with his fellow neighbors? He'll be shouting at you as he runs the other way.

You just grin, finding delight in pissing him off at every opportunity.

However, one day you catch a cold and decide to put a pause on your evil schemes, opting to sleep in and leave your neighbors alone.

Yet that day so-happens to be the day that Frank plans to give you an earful about your behavior, as he marches over to your house to confront you.

But since it's locked behind a high-tech security gate, the system asks him for the entry password and he keeps getting it wrong.

In the end he storms back home, but that's where you call him and explain you were sick and didn't want him getting infected.

You do admit that seeing him shouting random words at your security system made you laugh the sickness out of you, so you felt much better now--and you thank him for that.

He just grumbles a "you're welcome" and hangs up.

[writing-whump]

Dizzy spells

Meet some new guys, have some emeto, comforting and complicated families.

"So your brother bought you this apartment?" Alessia asked, sitting down on the freshly made bed.

Kieran rolled his eyes, running hand through his curly black hair. "He is just renting it for me. Seriously, Oscar is getting paranoid for his age. Just cause my parents are out of town doesn't mean something is gonna happen."

Alessia brushed a light blond curl behind her ear, watching him with big blue innocent looking eyes that Kieran didn't believe one bit. "Something wolf-y?"

Kieran scoffed. "You really make me feel like my wolf family is all you care about, you little rascal."

"You know me. Magic and money are everything," she said with a giggle.

Kieran groaned, then jumped on the bed and grabbed her around to lie on top of him.

Kieran was not a wolf, just a human. That was fine, he was used to it. There was just a tiny sting of jealousy at her words. Very tiny. As long as he could joke about it, it was alright.

She folded her arms on top of his chest. "But why this specific place? Or did he just not want you to live in a caravan?"

Kieran shook his head as much as he could while pinned to the matrass. "I love living in the caravan. It's best for shooting gigs anyway."

The dispute about his living situation had been long going with his family. Fortunately he didn't have to come into contact with his parents much these days, since he could make enough money with his stuntman work that he didn't have to rely on them. No money meant no reports about his well-being. No doubting his lifestyle.

If only Oscar wasn't so stubborn.

"Nah, it's something to do with the building and the neighbors." He pointed his finger towards the ceiling. "The guy living above me has some kind of deal with Oskie. Probably a lawyer wolf favour or some shit."

It wasn't unusual. Oscar was one of few shadow wolves that worked as a lawyer and had unique practice years at the prosecution. If a wolf got into trouble with the law, he was the expert.

Alessia hummed, her chin now on Kieran's collarbone. "And what is the guy gonna do with you?"

Kieran put his hands behind his head trying to find a comfortable position. "I'm gonna figure that out soon. But he is supposed to be special. Executioner or whatever."

Alessia's face lit up. "Really? That could be a big deal." She gave him a long look. "Is it gonna be dangerous?"

Kieran grinned at her. "I hope so."

"Unvelievable," she said, but her eyes were sparkling. He kissed her on the tip of her nose, before turning around with her so he could be on top and kiss her properly.

...

Since the apartment was new and his bags weren't unpacked, it was cleaner than usual.

Alessia seemed to enjoy herself as she attacked the kitchen to make an omelette.

Kieran was more than happy to watch her from his place on the bed. He had a good view through the counter.

Alessia was mixing the ingredients with ferocity, the pan sizzling with oil. "You are not inconspicuous, you know?"

Kieran put an arm behind his neck and smiled. "That is never my intention."

She rolled her eyes fondly. "I mean you are not getting up or you are constantly leaning on something. Are you still woozy from yesterday's shoot?"

Kieran didn't bother denying or confirming that. In his line of work, it was normal to come back with a light concussion here and there. They were filming an action scene in the forest, and he had to fall off a car several times.

"It's fine. I'm a man of steel."

"Can the man of steel stomach some eggs?"

"It smells delicious," he assured her. He wasn't feeling particularly hungry, and yeah, he had a few dizzy spells whenever he got up. But he could eat whatever she made when she was already doing it.

Free meal made by someone else was always a win.

It could have been a very nice chill day spend with his girlfriend if there wasn't for the knock on the door.

"Whoever you are, we aren't home!" Kieran said, unease pooling in his stomach. He was pretty sure he knew.

Alessia lowered the intensity under the pan and went to get the door. Around him, she was cheeky and relaxed, but once there were any other witnesses she turned back into polite meek little mouse.

He hated that.

Of course it was Oscar. His older brother was tall and in a casual but expensive suit with a tie and everything. His nose was scrunched like he just walked into a place way beneath his standards. At least he greeted Alessia normally.

Kieran didn't bother getting up, throwing a pillow over his head. Maybe if he stayed like this, Oscar would give up and go home.

"I see everything is going...well." Oscar said, eyebrows raised at the state of the unpacked interior.

"Would you like something to eat, Oscar?" Alessia asked, scanning the cabinets for plates.

"That's alright," Oscar said dismissively, walking around the rooms. Kieran had never seen him eat around humans, so that was no surprise.

You could have at least said 'no, thank you'. Don't choke on your fucking tie.

Finally Oscar made it into the bedroom, though Kieran did his best not to acknowledge his presence until he was basically standing above him. "Ever heard of privacy? Or do you think this is a just payment for forcing me to live here?"

"I'm paying for your living-"

Kieran straigthned into a sitting positin abruptly. "You aren't paying for shit. I agreed to stay here for a month or two till the old man is back from the trip overseas. Don't you dare take it as anything else."

Oscar's face stayed inpassive. His shadow never moved. Not around Kieran.

Kieran hissed at the lack of reaction. "You can't just waltz in here whenever you want. And I'm also not agreeing to any other favours you might expect from this."

Oscar let out a miniscule sight. "Ah, right. I forgot that keeping you safe is a favor to me, not to you."

"This is not safe. This is you being paranoid and obsessive freak. I don't need this."

They stared at each other for a tense minute. Kieran's head was throbbing from getting up so fast, but he would rather die than show Oscar any discomfort.

He was purposefully staring at him like a wolf would to make a challenge. How he would love to fight this idiot strangled under suits and civility and unending lines of rules.

Looking at Oscar from this close, Kieran was reminded of how much his brother represented everything he hated in this world. He couldn't imagine a more pitiful existence.

Discipline here and discipline there. Wake up early, serve everyone by reading law books, always on time and in control.

Walking cage that was even proud of it.

"I see everything as the same as always," Oscar said quietly. His tone was almost robotic. "I'll leave you to it. Don't make trouble for the man upstairs and don't put yourself under unnecessary risk."

Kieran scoffed loudly at him.

Oscar's eyebrow jerked up, but he kept his cool, as always. Sleek as his black hair gelled back from his face. Not a single curl or a strand that wasn't doing as told.

Kieran gave him a one-sided grin, provocatively showing his teeth. He wasn't a wolf, but this manners still had an effect. They still strained Oscar's control. "You always say that as if I ever listened."

"True. Only a madman expects to do the same thing and get a different result." The wolf turned around and smoothly walked out, not even saying goodbye to the human girlfriend of his middle brother.

Kieran let out a sigh, rubbing at his eyes. The tension wasn't doing his head any favours, another dizzy spell almost knocking him back into the bad. His stomach turned angrily.

"Kiri? You okay?" Alessia came closer, looking way more spooked than Kieran felt. "That was... unpleasant."

Kieran barked out a laugh, then had to snap his teeth together as it turned into a gag.

He climbed to his feet with difficulty, squeezing her hand on the way before stumbling towards the prestine new bathroom.

He was gagging full time now, cheeks inflating comically as he crashed painfully against the floor and leaned over the toilet.

Alessia was behind him, though he never asked her to follow him. He would have spared her the sights if he could, but even if he never asked, she always came.

His head felt like a ping-pong ball, slapped too many times. He gripped the edges of the toilet hard, trying to anchor himself as his stomach flipped over.

Another gag had him emptily retching over the water.

Alessia let out a distressed moew, patting his back gently. "Shhh. You are alright."

Kieran wanted to agree and reassure her. He was used to vomiting, most of his injuries led to it one way or another. Or maybe he just had that sensitive of a stomach, that even a non-fight like that could be too much.

Or maybe he just got sick from Oscar's stupid face. Perfectly plausible.

He wanted to smile when his back jerked up under her hand as he reached. Only a trickle of liquid came out, but the noise was defeaning, echoing through the small bathroom.

Alessia was patting his back up and down, looking close to tears.

When his stomach finally stopped whirling, Kieran closed the lid and turned to her to tag her into his arms. She melted against his chest immediately.

Kieran bit back a tiny groan at her weight. Still a bit unsteady and his head was having that ants dancing party at the back, and his hands were a bit shaky. Nothing unusual.

"It's okay, Ali. It's okay. I'm sorry you had to see that jerk in person."

"I don't care about that, you moron."

Kieran smirked, putting his chin on top of her spiky waves and closing his eyes. "You are supposed to say something nice to me. Call me darling and baby me and stuff."

Her laugh bubbled against his chest like milk and honey to his ears.

"You making me do all the work today," he joked. "Now I have to say I love you?"

She gave him a tiny rebellious push but let him hold her tight as she murmured the words right back.

[artytaeh]

Hello! Could you please write about weasley twins (separately if it's possible) x muggle! reader who had to take exams on her birthday, but she received poor results because of the rating scale (there is no retake). Recently I took my final exams and it so happened that I took one of them on my birthday. The grading scale for this subject this year is very cruel: one mistake is equal to minus six points. I scored 68 out of 100 (~85%). This is a passing score for the university to which I am applying, but the most offensive thing is that my friends from the neighboring (central) region received 89 or more points (some of them did not prepare at all, when I found out about this, I cried hours). I hope my request is not too much. Please don't bother yourself writing it if you don't like it. Have a good day🌺

fred weasley x muggle!reader && george weasley x muggle!reader : where the twins, separately, comfort you.

hey anon! tysm for requesting to my blog 🌷 ; about what happened, i'm so sorry :( i hope that you're aware that that grade doesn't define how capable / smart you are— sometimes we're very lucky or terribly unlucky with exams; cut yourself some slack, okay? and make sure that you celebrate your birthday! 🗯️

FRED WEASLEY:

⋆ vaguely remembering that you had the misfortune of having such a fun day like your birthday to happen on the same day as a stressing exam, fred weasley dedicated most of his thoughts to you: what he could do to guarantee that this birthday, this year, this day that celebrates your birth, is the most fun for you.

⋆ with picked out wildflowers nearby the burrow, fred had his mother, molly weasley, baking a cake to your taste; convincing ginny to be a dear and helping him decorate, since truthfully, fred doesn't trust george to help him, much less himself to ruin the cake he's giving you. the twins, however, participated by joining efforts, creating a special magic candle for you— a harmless joke product, he swears! it's meant to produce little fireworks, nothing more!

⋆ fred weasley had everything ready: he awaited you to come home, sat on your bedroom with a few decorations, the cake, wildflowers at hand and a prepared treasure hunt (one that is meant to take only half a hour, really, a little thing to give you a fun challenge to find the gift he made for you).

⋆ his wide grin, spreading on fred's lips as soon as he heard your bedroom's door opening— too excited and proud of his surprise too soon, fades almost comically at the sight of you: sad, frowning, crying. and all of this on your birthday, which feels like a crime!

'hey hey hey,' fred starts, almost panicking a little bit; surely, it's not something he's done, right?

'what got you so upset, sunshine? why are you crying?' he asks, hands hovering over your form, unsure whether to hug, caress your arms, or squeeze your shoulders gently.

fred weasley expected to make you smile and laugh today, not to see you cry with such a sad expression!

⋆ soon, you explain to fred what's wrong, after he guided you to sit with him on your bed; that's when his hands find yours, thumbs caressing the back of your hands soothingly.

⋆ you see, fred weasley is a simple man— even at hogwarts, as long as he was able to pass an exam or test, then everything's fine. it didn't matter that percy weasley was the role model of a student, or that his mother sang praises to him. fred only didn't want to receive a howler for failing another subject.

⋆ so, really, as much as he sympathizes, fred weasley fails to understand what's the problem. the big deal.

f : but isn't 85% a good grade?

🗯️ : well, yeah, but still— i've only scored 68 out of 100...

f : so?! that's more than half of it! like, bloody three-quarters! darling, i'd only be able to score that much if i copied from someone. you're a bloody genius dating a bloke!

⋆ to cheer you up, fred doesn't mind to make some jokes at his own expense; fred had always been confident about it, anyways: what he lacks of academic achievements, he overcompensates for being a good clown, fun company and bloody creative. being careless and dumber at studying is, well, a bless of a flaw to compensate his good traits.

⋆ that's how he makes you laugh. fred suddenly gasps, hands on your cheeks: 'oh no, darling! i think that my stupidity is contagious— i got inside your brain and failed those questions for you. bloody hell, now i have to take you on a few dates to make up for it...'

⋆ you realize that he's joking, taking only a few seconds to notice his plan; fred knows that you know that he's doing these theatrics to put a smile on your face. and you see, years of experience as the classes' clown (self-proclaiming himself to be the funniest weasley) paid off to make you laugh with ease.

⋆ that's his plan, mostly: making you laugh at the same time that he reassures you how smart you are. telling you with a mock seriousness how he has to take a few classes, or do this and that, to make sure that he can keep up with his capable, hard-working, incredible girlfriend whose tears become little laughs.

⋆ and if you mention how it feels so, so unfair that some friends of yours got a better score, without preparing as hard as you did— fred weasley calls it bullshit immediately. hermione granger is a bloody genius; fred knows that much, since the girl had been a close friend of his younger brother, and now his sister-in-law. even hermione granger herself wouldn't be able to score so high without studying, and oh boy, was she a good student. so, you see! nobody would be able to get such a grade out of luck! they must have cheated, for sure!

⋆ as soon as fred gets you to stop crying, he comes to comfort you with physical affection; the words of reassurance and playful remarks seemed to have worked their deal, so now, fred can wipe away those tears from your damp cheeks, fingers brushing them away adamantly. then, he kisses each cheek with such a gentle kiss, that seemed to be a magical seal to the faucet in your eyes— no more tears! no more sorrows today! not on his watch!

⋆ for the rest of the day, fred makes sure that nothing else can distress you. he's taking you to dinner, to some fun wizarding restaurant that serves your favorite food. fred is taking you out of your house— no closed places!

⋆ sneakily, fred will take you on a stroll to diagon alley, showing you each corner: this place where he bought his wand; his favorite shop; the spot where ron fell in front of everyone; fred's preferred shop for joke stuff or sweets— and finally, where fred and george would like to open his shop.

⋆ for a muggle, diagon alley might be a little overwhelming; there's so many things to see, too much information to process, which becomes a constant distraction that doesn't leave space for distressing thoughts. exams, university, your friends? that fades into thin air, since fred keeps up conversation with you. after all, he doesn't want you to dwell on thoughts over your friends, or an unlucky exam score.

⋆ in conclusion: fred would priorize cheering you up and maintaining you in a good mood for the rest of your birthday, doing his best to make you laugh and distract your thoughts from what went wrong on that day. besides, he'd only let you return home, as soon as he's 100% sure that he swished all of your sadness away!

GEORGE WEASLEY:

⋆ beforehand, george had planned two things for your birthday: one, somehow managing to bake a cake for you with the help of his mother, molly weasley, or request the blissful advice of his girl friends from hogwarts, such as alicia and angelina, to teach his chaotic self how to bake a cake for you— the draft of a cute smiley cake (simple enough for him to decorate; george weasley can only be so talented in a few things, okay?!); and two, be there as soon as you leave your exam, to give you the biggest birthday kiss any muggle has ever seen.

⋆ opposite to his twin, george would keep in mind that today is a stressful day for you; he'd been there at your bedroom sometimes, keeping you company as you studied on your desk, while he layed on your bed, reading through some books of yours or even working on his joke-product drafts while you were busy. that being said, well, george was terribly considerate towards this supposed muggle exam that seemed so important for you.

⋆ so, arriving earlier to the muggle side of your town, george took almost twenty minutes to properly make his way there— god, george wonders why floo flames aren't a thing for muggles! cheap and simple! — to then wait patiently for you in front of the gates. cake at hand, a bit smaller than a proper birthday cake to not weight too much on his hands, george keeps looking around for you, amongst other people of your age that gradually leave the building.

⋆ as if you stand out in the crowd like a shining star amongst darkness, george smiles immediately at the sight of you; a smile that fades in less than a second, noticing how you look too gloomy for his taste.

cake in one hand, george walks to you; his height being easy to identify amongst other students, easily making his way through them. soon, george is walking by your side; the cake secure in one hand, the other sliding his arm over your shoulders.

'what got my pretty girl all lonesome and sad on her birthday, hm?' he asks, caressing your shoulder, even though george had a major idea of what went wrong.

⋆ george wouldn't take offense if you don't notice the cake he made for you; if it wasn't on his hand, george wouldn't pay it any mind either, too worried over your melancholic expression. he guides you to a nearby bench, gaze shifting between you and some people passing by, that seemed curious about a cake and a sad girl crying there.

⋆ guides your head to rest on his shoulder, being gentle as he takes turns between caressing your shoulder, and bringing his hand to clumsily wipe away the tears rolling down your cheeks. george listens silently, and if it makes you feel better, he tries to both listen to your worries and storytelling over what went wrong today, and feed you another piece of cake. hoping that the sweet taste subsides the emotional pain weighting your heart.

⋆ he concludes that whatever plans he had arranged could take a delay. your comfort is the most important thing for george, so even if it takes the whole afternoon, he'll stick by your side, making his way back to your house with you; knowing that the privacy and comfort of your home would help.

⋆ wearing more comfortable clothes, george lays with you on top of him, finding comfort on the weight of your body resting on his chest. his fingers are long, yet so careful and gentle, while he brushes your hair away from your damp face, should you cry more to him over the exam.

⋆ george believes in fairness, but believes even more that there's nothing that screams justice more than guaranteeing the happiness of a pretty girl. his impulsive thought was getting fred to, somehow, sneak in your school or whatever the hell he needed to do, and change your grade to something that benefits you. believe me, he would! george was only fourteen when he and fred stole their parents' car to get a younger harry potter from a barred window!

⋆ so really, george wpuld spend the rest of the day cuddling you, he'd massage your back too; george knows himself that sometimes, when we're feeling at our lowest, we need some silence for the pain to gradually dissipate. so george gives you this silence; paired with loving kisses on your forehead.

g : you're really smart, did you know that? you did your best— i know it sucks to not have things going the way you wanted, but that doesn't take away how responsible and hardworking you were; that has more value than a stupid grade that got you so sad, pretty girl.

🗯️ : yeah, but—

g : but you're so smart and hardworking, and i couldn't be more proud of you. even my mother keeps telling me how lovely you are, don't let a stupid exam convince you otherwise.

⋆ would also sympathize with you, more than fred, if not totally showing empathy towards your situation; george felt like a shadow of fred sometimes, and if that wasn't enough, george was surrounded by two successful older brothers, to whom their parents sing praises about, among a beloved younger sister; as much as george genuinely tried to get a good score back at hogwarts, well— he felt like he was doomed to be a bit of a failure in his mother's eyes.

⋆ and even though this is a topic that george weasley hates with a passion, having its surface only shown to his identical twin, he finds himself sharing these bottled up insecure thoughts with you. for the first time, george lets go of these feelings on something else other than forcefully throwing bludgers to each corner of the quidditch pitch.

⋆ it helps; surprisingly or not, those minutes you've spent cuddling, having a heart to heart to each other over academic pressure, hidden insecurities, even anxious thoughts about yourselves have deepened the bond between the two of you. there's something intimate about having george massaging your scalp, while you lay on his chest and he listens, with all of his attention, to how you heartbreakingly explain your tears.

⋆ now that the topic has died down to a more lighthearted conversation, exchanging little smiles and affectionate small caresses, george suggests a movie session— immediately suggesting either your favorite movies, or some romcom, even comedy, that you were interested on watching for the first time or showing it to him. truthfully, george always had some curiosity over how muggles perceive romantic situations.

⋆ stays for the night. no way in hell will george leave your side, letting you fall asleep on his arms; hands and fingers working to soothe your body into sleep, with scalp and back massages, muttering reassuring words to you. george would also make sure that you had good laughs today, even if it meant sharing some embarrassing stories of his and fred's, like the time they've drank a potion to get older, only to have overgrown white beard like dumbledore's.

⋆ if you didn't really enjoy your birthday, george would change your initial plans for the following day; he slept there anyways, he might as well help you with breakfast, take a shower with you and make sure that you celebrate being a year older— even if twenty-four hours later.

⋆ and if you're wondering about his gift, well: george swallowed his shyness and buried it deep in his stomach, handing you a handwritten letter (one that took him a few days to write), along with a crocheted sweater, matching the one his mother made for him and fred. to george, you're part of the weasley family— you ought to have a matching sweater with him!

⋯ ⋯ ﹒ 🍁 ’

౨ৎ darling, you're glowing— if you're ♡ ͡

lonely, come be lonely with me . . .

🪻 ; . . . fandom : harry potter.

— i'm so sorry for taking so long to write your request! i hope it suited your taste and that, somehow, managed to comfort you a little bit. ♡

the headers + gifs + icons aren't mine. credits to the respective creators ! 🌷

[mariposa-writes]

The Assistant - Travis Kelce Pt. 5

Kelce x Reader

Word Count: ehh, not sure

Summary: ...

You've been staying with Travis for a week and a half. You weren't originally planning on staying this long, but Travis got you to agree to staying just 3 days and then he upped it to a week and now you've agreed to stay with him until you can start walking again.

You've still been working as his assistant, but only doing around 1/3 of your original duties. Even though Travis lived in a huge house, you were starting to get tired of being pent up.

You were used to constantly being busy, whether you were doing something for Travis or something for yourself. You weren't used to having this much free time and it was starting to get to you.

Maria walked into the living room, "Do you need anything sweetie? I'm going to start cleaning upstairs."

"No, I'm okay. Thank you Maria." Maria was Travis's maid and the one of the sweetest ladies on earth. Travis asked Maria to stay with you full time when he was at practice, since he wasn't comfortable leaving you alone.

She was constantly checking in on you making sure you didn't need anything.

You threw the book you were reading onto the couch, not even bothering to mark where you left off. It's not like you were far, considering you couldn't make it past the 4th page.

This was the 5th book you had read since staying at Travis's and although you were a fan of reading you couldn't find it in yourself to read anything today. You tried watching a show earlier, but even that was boring. So was tik tok and every other social media app.

You'd finished a puzzle Travis had in his house, realizing you were not a fan of puzzles.

You felt stupid for being bored in a house with endless things to do, but you just weren't used to being so still, you were a busy body.

Travis was due to be home in an hour and then Maria would be going home, you liked when Travis was here. He was pretty fun to hang out with and he would tell you about his practice and different things he would learn about his teammates.

But today you were kinda dreading talking to him. You had been waiting for your bill from the hospital to come, but it still hand't. You were having your neighbor check for you and she hadn't seen anything in your mail, from the hospital.

You decided to call up there today, only to find out that it had already been paid for. You knew there was only one person who would've and could've been able to pay for it.

Travis had already agreed to cover some of it, but you didn't want him paying for all of it.

---

Maria left as soon as Travis got home. You were waiting in the living room when he came into the house. "Hey, how was your day?" He asked, dropping his bag on the floor.

"Fine, how was yours?"

"Good, exhausting." He sat down on the opposite end of the couch you were currently sitting on.

"Travis, I have to ask you something?" His eyebrows furrowed and he turned to face you.

"Ok..."

You sighed, "Did you pay for my surgery? I called KU medical center and they said it was already taken care of."

He bit the inside of his lip, "Yea, I covered it."

"I thought we agreed that you were only covering the portion I couldn't. I didn't need you to pay for the whole thing." You were frustrated, that he went behind your back.

"I didn't think it'd be a big deal. I have the money, so I figured I'd help you out." Travis didn't see anything wrong with what he'd done. He was only trying to help you out and make your life a little easier.

You grabbed the check out of your pocket and handed it to him. "Here, I'm paying you back." He got up from the couch and dropped the check in your lap.

"I don't want it." He simply stated, before entering the kitchen. You got up to follow him. Just as you were about to speak he cut you off, "Want anything to eat? I was gonna make some pasta."

"Travis." You frowned, leaning on your crutch.

"Y/n" He frowned, mimicking you but not for long because he broke out into a laugh. "I'm sorry," He said bending over and holding his stomach as he laughed, "I just can't take you seriously over this."

You didn't bother answer, opting to glare at him instead.

After he calmed down he saw you were still pissed. He sighed, getting serious again. "Please, let me pay for this. It's my way of saying thanks, for everything you do. You're a huge help to me and I honestly don't know what I would do without you."

"Travis, this is a lot of money. I just don't feel comfortable with you spending that much on me. Not to mention everything else you've done for me. Like you literally have given up your room for me." You weren't used to people being so generous and you didn't know what to think.

"If it helps its like pocket change to me." He joked, before heading back over to the walk in pantry. He came out a few seconds later, with a box of pasta in his hand.

"Doesn't help." You quipped, getting onto the stool as the kitchen island.

This was becoming a regular routine, you keeping him company while he cooked dinner. It was nice, you enjoyed it more than you cared to admit.

Plus Travis was a surprisingly good cook. "I don't know how I've been living without your food for this long." You said after swallowing a bite of his pasta. "You should go to jail for depriving me of your cooking skills."

He smirked, happy that you liked his food. After you guys were done eating Travis cleared the table, while you picked out a movie to watch.

He plopped down on the opposite end of the couch, "What are we watching"

"Den of thieves, I heard it's good. It has ice cube's son in it I think." You pressed play and pulled the blanket Travis had on his couch over you.

Travis enjoyed the movie and turned to you when the credits started to roll. "Good pic-" He stopped when he realized you were already asleep.

A small smile graced his lips, at the sight of you curled up on his couch.

He gently called your name, trying to gauge if you were truly asleep or just 'resting your eyes'. This wasn't the first time you'd fallen asleep during a movie and each time you always insisted that you were 'just resting your eyes'.

When you didn't respond, he realized you were clonked out. He debated over what to do. Should he wake you up? Leave you on the couch? At least it was a comfy couch.

He opted for carrying you to your room, hopefully without waking you. He carefully gathered you in his arms, and while you did stir a bit you never fully woke up.

He was half way to your room, when you nuzzled your face into his chest. His heart stopped as he looked down, to realize you were still sleeping.

Your hand was clutching his shirt, as he carried you the rest of the way. He gently set you down in his bed, on top of the covers. He went to his closet and grabbed a blanket, placing it over you.

He quietly left his room, turning off the lights and shutting the door careful not to wake you.

The Assistant tag list: @talicat713 @livinginmyfantasies @amylouwho9 @burrowingkelce @kkrenae

Let me know if you want to get added to the tag list.

[not-neverland06]

Alone And Forsaken pt. 2

Joel Miller x fem!reader

A/N: clearly I don’t do one shots, I tried, I failed. I can’t help it he’s just so fine (@woodland-mist you asked so, here you go)

WC: 5.6K

Part one

You weaved through the throng of people in the town square, hoping to get by unnoticed. Maria had told you where to find Tommy, you should have known it wouldn’t be easy, nothing with him ever really was. 

“Y/N! Hey!” 

Nope

You had one goal and it was not to meet and greet with all your neighbors. You ducked your head down, hiding yourself in the passing throng of people and evading them. It was a new couple that had just moved to Jackson a few days ago. 

You, of course, had protested anyone new coming in after the incident with Abby and her people. But because you and the brothers had been less than forthcoming with what happened and no one had any reason to listen to your doubts. 

They’d been moved into the big house across from you and Joel, because they needed the space. 

Because she was pregnant. 

In three months your life was going to get very loud and very miserable. 

The couple was too nice for your taste. You’d just barely gotten used to staying in Jackson for longer than two weeks, then Maria went ahead and shoved the two friendliest people you’d even met down your throat. 

Maybe you were too bitter. Maybe everyone was right, you should try and socialize, give people the benefit of the doubt before you write them off. 

“Do you see where she went, honey?”

Then again, maybe not. 

You rushed into the Tipsy Bison before they could spot you. You were sure they would tell Joel about this when they spotted him on the porch with his morning coffee. And you were sure he would give you hell for it, but you already have to deal with Tommy this morning. They can go bother someone else. 

You glanced around the bar, spotting some blonde hair in the back. When you rounded the tables you could see Tommy was busy haggling with Sam, trying to trade a shirt for some of his roast beef sandwiches. 

“I think I’m offering more than enough for some sandwiches, Sam.” Tommy, being the de facto leader after Maria, was trying to maintain a semblance of diplomacy. 

Sam was a stubborn jackass and you knew if you didn’t do something this would take all day. You walked up and nodded a greeting to Tommy before glaring at Sam. “Give him the sandwiches.”

Sam glared at you, trying his damndest to look down his nose at you. “Mind your fucking business.”

Tommy straightened up, a frown on his face. Neither he nor his brother had ever been good at losing the whole Texan chivalry thing. They didn’t do well when someone disrespected a ‘lady’ in front of them. “I think you need to watch your tone, Sam.”

You held up a hand towards Tommy, stopping him from getting too riled up. You already had a less than respectable reputation in Jackson, didn’t need to drag him down with you. “Give him the sandwiches, and we won’t need to get Joel involved.”

Sam opened and closed his mouth, he glanced between you and Tommy, like he was trying to call your bluff. You couldn’t really help yourself as your hand drifted down to land on your holster, your fingers idly drumming against the leather. Finally he huffed, mumbled something prickish under his breath and shoved the sandwiches into Tommy’s hands, snatching the shirt. You watched until he retreated into the kitchen to address Tommy. 

“You probably coulda kept the shirt.”

Tommy shrugged, tucking the food in his pack. “Yeah, but we do things a certain way here. Can’t just go flashing your pistol at people.”

You scoffed, “Didn’t flash my pistol, I used your brother.”

Tommy chuckled and nodded his head towards the bar’s exit. You followed him outside, looking around to make sure the coast was clear of your neighbors. When you turned back to face him he was giving you an odd look. “What’re you so jumpy for?”

You sighed, “Your wife decided to move Mr. and Mrs. Rogers next to me and Joel.”

Tommy smiled and laughed, most definitely at your expense. “You mean Ann and James,” you nodded, ushering him along the sidewalk in case they popped up again. “They’re nice people, I think she’s just trying to get you to branch out.”

“Don’t need to,” you grunted out. Though, hunching over, hiding from anyone who wants to talk to you, you weren’t sure you were making a great case for yourself. You straightened up and glared at him, “‘Sides, I didn’t come out to chat about my new neighbors. I want to talk about the Harvest Festival and my ‘date.’” You couldn’t keep the disdain out of your voice if you tried, which you weren’t.

“Bob,” Tommy offered. You rolled your eyes and nodded. “What about it?”

“I’m not going.”

Tommy crossed his arms and smirked. “Says who?”

“Me,” you weren’t sure what he wanted from you. 

“And why not?”

Oh. Oh. That stupid smug little look was back on his face. How in the hell does he know? “I think you know why.”

He shook his head, “Nope, don’t think I do.”

He was really making you do this? “I can’t go because of Joel.”

“What’s my brother got to do with this?”

You opened your mouth, some argument at the tip of your tongue, but it was lost to you the second you tried to speak it into existence. Why couldn’t you go?

You broke apart from Joel slowly, neither of you in any sort of rush to end this. Idly, and without much thought behind it, your fingers traced the shape of his lips. You didn’t realize you were smiling until you saw the same soft expression mirrored on his face. 

“Been wanting to do that for a while,” his voice was quiet, as if he spoke any louder the trance would be broken. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to do that for a while,” your smile grew when the hands around your waist squeezed you tighter. He pulled you closer and you got comfortable in his lap, your hands moving down to play with the fabric of his shirt. 

He didn’t seem to mind the subtle exploration, his own hands mimicking yours. Now that you finally had the chance, neither of you seemed able to stop touching each other. You weren’t sure where to go from here. 

You hadn’t realized how desperately you had wanted this, wanted him, until you had him. You didn’t want to ruin the moment by overthinking or complicating something simple. Still, is everything going to change now?

Did that kiss mean as much to him as it meant to you? 

What did this mean-

“Hey,” you startled slightly, jolted out of your thoughts by the heavy weight of Joel’s hand on your cheek. “I can see that brain going. I can practically hear the rust flaking off the gears in your head.”

You scoffed and smacked at his chest, “Shut up.” But he was right, it was far too easy for you to get lost in your own head. Especially concerning him. You were grateful for the way he could anchor you in the present, drag you back out of a trap of your own making. 

Joel stood, his arms wrapping around you and dragging you along with him. You could hear his bones popping, you wanted to protest, tell him to just let you walk, but you knew he wouldn’t listen. He had that determined look on his face, the one that meant he was ignoring how old and worn out his back and knees were. 

Besides, you liked how strong he was. Relished in these little displays of strength, even if it was something as simple as carrying you to bed. You knew you needed to talk, you needed some sort of verbal confirmation that this was more than just two lonely souls looking for company.

But Joel just dropped you on the mattress, grumbled about getting your stuff from the guest room, and left. You changed out of your clothes, brushed your teeth, and waited for him to come back. When he did, he had changed too, he dumped a pile of blankets on the bed and got in beside you. 

He laid down and wrapped his arms around your waist, dragging you into his side. You looked down at where he was holding you, lacing your fingers together, and let yourself fall asleep. You two didn’t say anything else, you just reveled in each other's warmth, let the comfort you provided lull you both into an easy sleep. And when you woke up in the morning, he had breakfast ready for you, but he didn’t say anything about the night before. 

In fact, for the next week, there was no mention of you two kissing or what his vague, half-confession meant. Sure, now he greeted you with a kiss each morning and night, but other than that nothing had changed about how you two operated. 

You didn’t have anything to appease Tommy with as he looked at you expectantly. No, nothing had majorly changed between you and Joel and you hadn’t had a real discussion about anything. But, you didn’t really need one, you knew what you meant to each other. And you knew how hard it is for people like you and Joel to have those discussions. 

Emotions, romance, love were all such distant concepts, it felt so foreign to you. If you tried to date, or speak into existence how much weight he held in your life you know inevitably it would just end up complicating and ruining things. 

You were together, alive and not some mindless fungi outside Jackson, the rest was inconsequential. 

You just said, “Cancel it, I’m going with Joel,” and walked off before you had to be subjected to more of his smug face. 

You made your way back through town, the morning rush having calmed down now that everyone had gotten their supplies or found their assignments for the week. You were thankful not to spot any nosy neighbors as you made your way back, that was the last thing you needed after having to deal with Tommy’s questions. 

Neither you or Joel were really big fans of talking about your emotions, hell you’d have punched someone out back in the QZ just for telling you to look for the light. Gooey stuff was practically a foreign language to you now. 

You could function based on actions; setting out his coffee in the morning or a new book appearing on your nightstand when he’d gotten back from patrolling. It was all you needed to understand what you were to each other.  

You trudged up the stairs to the porch, Joel was sitting in his favorite rocking chair, a mug resting on his knee. His supply was running low, you were gonna have to find someone to trade with again. You had been keeping an eye out on your patrols, trying to see if you could find any beans. 

You weren’t really sure how coffee plants worked, if you planted the beans whether they would even grow or not. But it was worth a shot. 

“How’d it go?”

You let out a long sigh and threw yourself down on the chair next to him. It creaked under your weight but held up against the strain of its old age. You rocked back and forth, plucking at a string on your jeans. “Fine.”

He snorted slightly as he took another sip of his coffee. “Looks like it. Oh, Jason and Anna stopped by.”

It was your turn to laugh, you smirked at him, propping your head in your hand. “You mean Ann and James?”

He rolled his eyes and nodded, “Yeah, them.”

“You’re losing it, old man.”

He shrugged, “I don’t know, they were concerned about your hearing. Said they must’ve called your name ten times and you didn’t hear them.” There was a shit eating grin on his face as he stared at you, like he knew it was complete bullshit. 

You rolled your eyes and scoffed, “Please.” You sat up and leaned forward, irritation forcing you upright, “If I have to listen to her complain about how tender her breasts are again, I’ll shoot myself.”

Joel grimaced, giving you a disgusted look as he put his mug down. “These people know what T-M-I is?” He put too much emphasis on each letter and you couldn’t help yourself as you laughed. It was always funny to hear him get an attitude with that gruff Texan accent, he ended up sounding like a poor attempt at valley girl. He swatted your knee, trying to get you to stop making fun of him. 

“Tommy, come on, what’d he say?”

You shrugged, looking down and away from him, going back to playing with the loose thread of your jeans. “I don’t know, he was asking all these questions.”

Joel was quick to ask, “What questions?”

You rested your head on the back of the rocking chair, “Why I didn't want to go on the date.”

“What’d you say?”

Jesus, he was barely taking a breath. “I said,” you paused and looked at him, not really surprised to already find him looking at you. His gaze wasn’t as intense as you were expecting, more eager? You weren’t sure Joel got eager. “I said I couldn’t go with what’s-his-face to the festival because of you.”

“Yeah?” He smirked, leaning back in his rocking chair, a strange sort of male pride clear on his face. “How come?”

You scoffed, glaring at him from where you sat. The hell was he getting at? “Why do you think, genius? Why would I go out with someone when I’ve got you?”

“You got me?”

You paused, irritation draining from your body as you stared at him. His face wasn’t giving anything away, he wasn’t closed off, just staring at you expectantly. “Don’t I?” You hated the way your voice went quiet, you wished it had been more confident, teasing, like you knew the answer and were screwing with him. You sounded too vulnerable. 

Joel let you squirm for a minute, you’re pretty sure he thought it was funny. Finally he sighed and leaned forward, his hand landing on your thigh and you could feel the warmth of it through your jeans. You hadn’t realized how cold you’d gotten until he was this close, walking furnace that he was. 

“Yeah, you do.”  You tried not to let the relief show, though you’re sure it did if his little smirk was anything to go by. He squeezed your thigh once before he stood up to go back inside. 

“Oh,” you suddenly remembered the last bit of your conversation with Tommy. “And I told him you were taking me to the harvest,” you called over your shoulder. It was your turn to screw with him, and if the way his shoulders tensed up as he paused in the doorway was anything to go by, he was just as excited as you about that ridiculous festival. 

“When’s your next patrol?”

Joel had found you an old mystery book on his last run, the same one you were reading now. You marked the page and put it down on the nightstand as he got into bed next to you. “Not sure, I think thursday. Why?”

He shrugged, leaning back against the pillows and gazing at you. “I was thinking I could go with you. We could go exploring that old art museum Maria told me was a couple miles out.” He reached out, tucking some hair behind your ear and you tried not to lean too much into him.

You smiled, almost accepting when you realized what he was doing and the smile dropped. You huffed out a breath and rolled your eyes. “Nice try, Joel, we’re going to the harvest festival.”

He held up his hands in mock surrender, “Got no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Really?” He shook his head, oh-so-innocent. You scoffed, “You’re so full of it. If I went with you, we’d miss the harvest festival. And who would have to listen to Tommy’s bitching? Me.”

“He’s my brother.”

“Then you deal with him!” You picked your book back up, deciding on ignoring him for the rest of the night. You should have known he would try and weasel his way out of this.

Honestly, once you’d decided you were going with Joel, the festival didn’t seem that awful or daunting. You’re a little hurt he wants to get out of it so badly. You weren’t that bad of company. 

“You ignorin’ me now?”

You shrugged, flipping through the book, not really absorbing anything. You’d have to reread this chapter tomorrow. 

A big hand found itself in front of your face, blocking you from reading anything more. Joel dog-eared the page, something you loudly protested to, and threw the book on his nightstand. “Joel, you know I hate when you do that.”

“Yeah, I know,” you rolled your eyes at his little smirk. “But you’re talkin’ to me.”

“Child. You’re a child.”

He leaned over you and shut your lamp off, ignoring your snippy still usin’ that. He settled down in bed and patted the spot next to him. You hesitated, only for a moment, debating whether you wanted to give him more of a hard time or just give in. 

It wasn’t a hard choice. 

You settled down beside him, your head falling on his chest and his arm naturally wound itself around your back. You tried to ignore the way your legs fit together, how you felt like a complete puzzle when you laid down beside him, the two of you fitting together perfectly. You tried even harder to ignore the way the thought made your heart race, but it was nearly impossible. 

Sometimes you resented Joel a little bit. Resented him for the way you lost control of yourself and your emotions when you were around him. Resented all the power he held over you and how unaware of it he seemed to be. 

“I really don’t want to go.”

You scoffed, your fingers tracing the design on the worn out t-shirt he was wearing. “You think I do?”

“Then let’s just skip it.”

“Joel, I already said-”

“We used to be able to just do whatever we wanted.” You paused as he interrupted you, closing your mouth and tilting your head up so you could look at him. “We went where we wanted, when we wanted. There weren't all these bullshit obligations like patrol, or making sure our shifts match up.”

You were silent, taking in what he was saying. It wasn’t hard to miss the resent lingering in his tone, or the way he spoke fondly of your past. Before you had responsibilities. But you must have been quiet for too long because he reached over and turned his lamp off, closing his eyes with a sigh. 

You stayed awake a while longer, just thinking about what he said. He was starting to sound like you, the same frustration and anger at being expected to provide for others. You were at everyone’s beck and call here. People viewed you as do-ers. Someone needed something done, you were the one to do it, and there was no arguing either, because everyone worked together here. 

The thought left a bitter taste on your tongue as you went to sleep.

“Come on, hurry up!”

Ellie was sitting on the couch, she ran the towel in her hand over her hair roughly. You stood behind the chair, scissors in your hand as Joel trudged down the stairs. You wrapped a towel around his shoulders to keep his wet hair from dripping on his shirt. 

Years ago, a time that feels nearly as distant as 2003, it was Tess who would cut yours and Joel’s hair. You’d sit down in the crappy apartment you had in the QZ and she’d use some blunted ass scissors to saw off your hair. 

Neither you nor Joel should have been trusted with any scissors, but when Tess was gone and you were on the road for too long Ellie and Joel would start bitching about their hair. Neither of them liked how it would touch their neck. 

Luckily while you were still learning there were no mirrors. They couldn’t see how horribly you had done. They would always run their hands through their hair and frown, like they knew something was wrong, but they just couldn’t prove it. 

The only thing you had to worry about for a while was just not busting out laughing every time you saw the bangs you accidentally gave them. 

Thankfully, by the time you reached Jackson you’d gotten good enough at it that they would still come and badger you for a haircut. They’d never had a chance to see just how horribly you had done in the beginning. 

“Oh, Jesse wanted me to ask you if you’d do his hair soon?”

You gave Ellie a noncommittal hum, running your fingers through Joel’s hair. “I like it long.”

“Cut it.” He didn’t exactly leave any room for arguments, he even crossed his arms, like you were actually going to pester him about it. You weren’t, but you were leaving some length, it’s not like he could cut it himself. 

He tilted his head slightly towards Ellie, “What’s Jesse want with her?”

You pushed his head back in place and started snipping. “What do you think he wants?” Ellie snorted, she got off the couch, probably already bored of sitting there. She went over to the mirror on the wall, running her hands through her hair and grinning. 

“Isn’t he with Dina?” You weren’t proud of it, but you might have picked up some information about people around town. Would you say gossiping? No. Would others? Probably. 

“Not anymore, they broke up a while ago.” Ellie turned around, hands on her hips as she stared at you. 

You momentarily paused in cutting Joel’s hair, ignoring his disgruntled complaint. “Am I missing something?”

Joel turned to face her as well, matching confused expressions on both your faces. “Yeah,” Ellie paused, like she was waiting for the two of you to connect the dots. You glanced down at Joel but he just shrugged. 

He tried, “I thought Jesse and Ellie were dating.” 

You rolled your eyes and shoved Joel’s head forward, going back to the haircut. 

“God! You guys, me and Dina are dating, we’ve been dating for like three months.”

”I thought you were friends,” Joel offered unhelpfully. 

“Clearly not,” Ellie sniped back. “You guys seriously didn’t know?”

You shrugged, “I don’t know what you kids get up to.” Ellie sighed and sat back down on the couch seemingly disheartened by your underwhelming reaction. “At least you can’t get her pregnant.”

Ellie sucked in a breath, “Right.”

Joel swatted your hands away from his hair, he better pray that doesn’t screw you up. “Ellie, what was that?”

“What?”

“That noise you just made.”

“Joel,” you interrupted, forcing his head back in place, “stop moving, dammit.”

“Dina’s pregnant,” Ellie rushed the sentence out in one, jumbled breath. 

You watched as Joel’s shoulders tensed and then slumped in front of you. “How’d you even get her pregnant?”

“What’re you doing?”

Joel closed the patrol log and shook his head, “Nothing, come on.” 

Your eyebrows furrowed in suspicion as you watched him walk off. He had spent way too long by the log book for him to have just been writing - Couple runners, took ‘em out -J

You wanted to open it up and look but he was watching you from the entrance of the garage. You shoved aside your curiosity and followed him out to the horses. He grabbed the reins of his horse, “Come on, Sunny.” He shook his head and scoffed as he mounted her, “Still think their names are ridiculous.”

“Sunny and Cher,” you pet the black mane of your own mare and huffed out a laugh. “How’s Ellie even know who they are?”

“I don’t know, must’ve heard it from someone ‘cause she don’t even spell Sunny’s name right.”

“And she’s a girl.”

He laughed, “And she’s a girl.” 

He led you both outside into the sunny woods. Snow’s completely melted now, you weren’t sure how Maria and Tommy managed to time their ‘Harvest Festival’ so perfectly but it was a good time to celebrate the incoming warm weather. 

“So,” you nudged Cher forward to walk alongside him. “Where are we going?” Joel shrugged but didn’t provide you any answers. “Clearly not Jackson,” you were going the opposite direction of the town. 

You glanced at the back of Sunny, the bags he had tied to her saddle, each of them far too stuffed for a simple patrol. “You kidnapping me?”

“Maybe.”

You sighed, rolling your head back and taking in the greenery of the woods. You were definitely eager for winter to be over. Something about the cold weather makes the infected go fucking insane. They're faster, meaner, and just over all bigger pains in the ass. Not to mention the fact that they travel in huge fucking hordes. 

Tommy always tries to pretend he knows about them, something about the barometric pressure making them migrate but you know he’s just full of it. You watched a pair of hare’s dart in front of you and Joel and took in a deep breath. 

God, you’d forgotten how nice it was to be outside without the sound of people around you. There was the sound of the horses' hooves squishing lightly over wet grass, the wind moving the leaves above you, and the distant sound of birds singing. But no voices, or kids, or people demanding favors.

You’d missed this, with Joel specifically. It’d been a while since you had this type of quiet with him. So, you didn’t push him too much about where he was taking you, just followed him down the path. 

You were fine not bugging him while you were on a lovely jaunt through a pretty forest. But it’s been an hour and you can’t feel extremities that really need blood flow. “Joel,” you tried to remain friendly but your tone was strained as you shifted on your saddle for the nth time. 

“Yeah?” He grunted out. 

“How much longer?”

“Not much longer.” He turned around and frowned at you, “Have some patience.”

You tugged on Cher’s reins, forcing her to stop while you glared at Joel’s back. “Patience? Joel, we’ve been out here since six. I’ve had a lot of fucking patience. But that ran out about three miles ago, right when I stopped being able to feel my a-”

“We’re here.”

Of course you were. 

Joel got off Sunny and offered you a hand down. You took it eagerly, more than happy to finally stretch your legs out. You were a bit surprised when he kept your hands locked together, he wasn’t normally one for touchy shows of affection. 

Not that you were complaining, you were more than happy to revel in the comforting feeling of his hands in yours. Though, his were definitely rougher than your own, you weren’t without your own callouses, but he’d had years of carpentry and being a contractor under his belt before the apocalypse. 

He’d paused in a field, the grass here was up to your waist which made it difficult to see where you were stepping and what you were stepping on. You kept close to Joel, the horses trailing behind you both as he led you through the field. 

It took a moment for you to realize you’d never been out here. You’d only been vaguely paying attention to the direction you went while you were on the horses, trusting Joel to know the way. But this was definitely unrecognizable, which was strange, you thought you’d found everything when you went exploring on your own. 

Out in the distance you could see a vague shape forming, some brown structure that you couldn’t really make out as the grass was getting taller. It only took a few feet to finally figure out what was looming over you. 

A fence. 

Fun.

You said as much to Joel, probably in the most sarcastic tone you could muster. He rolled his eyes and kneeled down. You couldn’t help but admire his arms as he dug his fingers into a rotten plank of wood and pulled. He managed to make a hole large enough for you to crawl through and motioned towards it. 

“Well, go on, smartass.”

You huffed, getting down on your hands and knees and squeezing your way through. You didn’t bother seeing what was in front of you, turning around so you could keep the way through open for him. The wood dug into your palm, splinters burying themselves in your skin. 

God, this better be worth it. 

He groaned as he straightened up, pulling you to your feet and stretching his back out. “Alright. Ready?”

”Yep,” you rolled your eyes as he walked in front of you. What could have been so amazing he had dragged you out here?

A house. 

Well, it was a nice house, better taken care of than you’d seen out here. Looked like an old farmhouse, two stories, and a wraparound porch. Something you would have loved a long time ago. Surrounding it was a tall fence, it went out pretty far, there was room enough for a large garden and then some. There were bits where the wood had rotted or had holes in it that looked like someone had broken through. But the grass was trimmed, a normal height instead of tickling the ends of your hair. 

Overall, nice, but you had no clue what Joel was doing out here. 

“What do you think?”

“It’s nice.”

Joel scoffed, he crossed his arms and stared at you, “Just nice?”

You laughed and walked up the stairs of the porch. It was cleaner than you thought it would be, no signs of aging on the wooden boards. “It’s a nice house, Joel. I just don’t get why we’re here.”

He sighed and walked up to you, you took in a deep, centering, breath when he placed one hand on your waist. He moved you slightly out of the way as he leaned in, opening the door up behind you. “We’re here ‘cause this is ours,” admittedly your eyes were on his lips and your focus was how close he was to you. 

It took you a second to actually process what he had said. You blinked and your eyes shot back up to his, “What?”

He nudged you inside and you stumbled over your feet as you went. The interior was even nicer than the outside. There wasn’t a spec of dust or decay, it was like time hadn’t had a chance to touch it. There was a couch, bookshelves, even an old record player. 

“Joel, what the hell are you talking about?”

He sighed and threw his backpack down on the ground. He walked over and took yours off your shoulders, nudging you to take a seat on the couch. “Been working on this for months.” He smiled a little, the wrinkles in the corner of his eyes crinkling with the movement.

You were still a little confused, eyes darting around the living room as you sat there with a dumb look on your face. “Look, Jackson was nice for a while.”

You tuned in enough to grunt in opposition. Joel chuckled, “Alright, fine, it was never my favorite. I was out here one day, looking for you,” he added with a light nudge to your knee. “Found this place.”

“And… What? Decided to test out Jesus’s favorite pastime?”

“I was a contractor before the world went to shit. Like riding a bike, it just comes back to you.”

“I just don’t understand. Why? Why put in the time and effort and materials?”

He scoffed, “Why do you think?” When you didn’t answer he rolled his eyes. “We always talk about disappearin’ and I thought this would be a nice place to do it. There’s already a perimeter up, just have to make some more repairs. Worked something out with Tommy, it’s close enough to Jackson that we got some power from the dam,” he stood up now pacing around the living room a little as he talked to you. 

You slowly became aware of the stupid grin growing on your face. The warmth that was spreading through your cheeks and stomach as you realized he’d done this, fixed up this old house for months in secret for you. 

That explained why he’d been complaining about his back so much lately. 

You stood up, cutting him off from his tangent about how you were still close enough to Jackson for supplies and to see Tommy and Elllie. You fisted your hands in the flannel he was wearing and tugged him down. “Joel.”

He smiled at you as his hands landed on your waist, squeezing a little. “Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Have I ever told you I love you?”

He pulled you in and grinned, “Not once.”

This kiss felt different than all the rest. Felt like something more final, like you both knew you’d reached the end and there was nowhere left to go. You’d explored all you could, fought your way here, and now you stood in this old house. The one he had fixed up and you knew you didn’t need to fight anymore. 

You just needed this, him in this moment. 

“Ellie?”

Ellie turned around at the sound of Dina’s voice. “Yeah?”

She nodded her head towards the patrol logbook, there was a strange smile on her face. “Might want to take a look at this.”

Ellie walked over, shooting Dina a confused glance before she took a look and let out a laugh.

We aren’t gone, but we’re disappearing for a while. You won’t find us, don’t come looking (I mean it Tommy) - J

end. — I do not own the characters or the game The Last Of Us, but this writing is my own all rights reserved © not-neverland06 2024. do not copy, repost, translate & recommend elsewhere.

TAGLIST: @chrysanthemum-00 @marimarvelfan

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for reporting my shitty college roommate to the FWS and her teacher, and possibly getting her suspended/expelled/jailed/fined?

CW for brief dead animal mention

For context: I live in the USA and all native species of birds are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, which makes it illegal to kill, harm, etc. native bird species and/or possess parts of them including molted feathers, bones, nests, etc.

Also: The FWS is the Fish and Wildlife Service and is a government agency that deals with animal and plant conservation and habitat protection.

Anyways, I (F25) live in a dorm room with two other people, Ally (F26) and Sammy (F28) (not their real names obviously). Sammy is a nice roommate, she's very considerate and kind, and we get along really well.

Ally, on the other hand, is a nightmare.

Very self absorbed, rich parents, "white witch" privileged white girl type, treats Sammy and I like maids instead of roommates.

Ally and I are both art students, I'm pursuing 3D animation and she's doing... Something. I have no idea. Sculpting?

I do digital modeling and animation so I can just do that in my room on my PC, but she needs a specific area to do her sculptures, which is fine!

Except that she does NOT clean up after herself. Leaves material all over the place, there's bits of clay stuck to fucking everything, and she does it right in the living room.

She's also burnt sage INSIDE THE APARTMENT despite Sammy having asthma. She did not warn us beforehand, we found out when we walked in and Sammy started coughing and wheezing and we had to go back outside. She was 100% aware of Sammy's asthma because she saw her use her inhaler once and asked about it.

She then asked if she "could try it" which... Girl what. "Can I try it?" Has now become an inside joke between Sammy and I about her inhaler.

Coming from a rich family, I can tell she's never faced any consequences for her actions. Ever. She thinks she's untouchable and that mommy and daddy will pay for everything and make all her problems go away.

Sammy and I come from families who are not ungodly rich, and that's resulted in her treating us like live-in maids. She does none of the chores, none of the housework, absolutely nothing. Constantly inviting her friends over to peruse her "art gallery". Regularly keeps Sammy and I up at night with her music and friends.

We rent an apartment near our college, and we don't live in the dorms so we don't have anyone to complain to besides our landlord, who's an incredibly sweet elderly woman that we're all hesitant about bothering.

Except for Ally, who's prepared to bother her about everything, including but not limited to: Apartment being too hot. Apartment being too cold. A weird smell. Noise from the street. Neighbors dog barking. Front door being creaky.

We basically went "Haha hey Ally don't worry you're SO busy lol we'll talk to her for you okay!" just so she doesn't bother the poor lady.

We're mostly just afraid that if we kick out Ally, her parents will tear that woman apart. Sammy and I are both unconfrontational anyways and don't want to bother anyone.

Ally is working on her latest sculpture for finals (basically the big report due at the end of a semester). It actually looked pretty cool, but something about it was... Off.

Oh yeah, it's absolutely covered in native bird feathers and a nest. A real one, not one of those fake ones you can buy at a craft store.

She came home one day after going out with her friends for HOURS, and she had two big bags full of stuff. I asked what she was up to and her response was sort of "It's a secret teehee, it's for my art piece ;)" so I was just like haha okay.

So, it turns out her and her friends went out into the woods and spent HOURS picking up molted feathers (all of them are very witchy do-no-harm types so there's no way any of them killed live birds. Ally refuses to even kill bugs, I have to catch them and let them out). She also mentioned her friends parents have tons of bird feeders at their house, which means LOTS of molted feathers.

Also, instead of cleaning them in her bathroom sink she washed them off in the kitchen sink, meaning we couldn't do dishes for a few hours. So that was cool.

I actually collect and clean animal bones in my free time, so I'm very familiar with the laws. I know which species in my state are protected, which species I can possess with a permit, etc. I also know that the MBTA is a thing that exists.

I've met her art teacher before, and I know that the woman's not stupid. She will DEFINITELY notice that the sculpture is covered in blue jay, cardinal, grackle, etc. feathers.

I was going to keep my mouth shut and just let Ally dig her own grave, but I did mention it to her through text. I said "Hey, I love your sculpture but I just wanna let you know that using those feathers is actually illegal, since they're from native species of birds. My parents own chickens and ducks and I can get you a lot of really cool feathers for your project if you want! Sorry for the bad news but I just don't want you to get in trouble :("

She messaged back and said "Um, thanks but I don't want feathers from gross barnyard animals, Mother Gaia gifted me these beautiful feathers. Besides, I actually have money to take care of my problems."

What the fuck.

I didn't know what else to do besides message back "Oh! Okay!"

Those "gross barnyard animals" she mentioned include breeds like dominiques, copper marans, both gold and silver sebrights, Yokohama, and a few cayuga ducks, all of which have absolutely gorgeous feathers. I was also going to surprise her with some peafowl feathers because my parents' friend owns them.

So here's where the AITA part comes in.

I was furious with her constant classism, treating Sammy and I like shit, and blatantly disregarding laws (especially ones literally put in place to protect "Mother Gaia's" creatures) just because her parents have money.

So after she went to bed I went out into the living room, took pictures of her sculpture, and then not only sent the pictures to her art teacher but the FWS. I let the game warden know I also emailed her teacher and vice versa. I also sent screenshots of our conversation where I told her about the law, so they had proof she was 100% aware of it but ignored it anyways.

I let Sammy know, and her response was "That's a thing? Well, her teacher would have reported her anyways I guess."

A few days later, we get a knock on the door. It's a game warden. I let him inside, went to my room, and proceeded to listen to Ally doing her "I'm a poor innocent victim how could you do this to me!" crying. I mostly just felt bad for the poor game warden for having to deal with her.

The only thing I could hear from the other room was her wailing like a banshee and him going "Ma'am, please calm down. Are you alright ma'am? Ma'am..."

A few days later Sammy and I came back from the store to see all of Ally's stuff gone. All of her clay, supplies, clothes, etc. were gone and her room was totally empty except for her bed frame (which came with the house).

I have no idea what happened. I'm sure she wasn't allowed to turn in a sculpture covered in illegal feathers for her final, so Idk if she was suspended/expelled or if she just had a tantrum and moved out?

On one hand it was really fucking nice seeing her face consequences for her actions, but the other part of me feels bad about possibly getting her suspended/expelled/fined/jailed over feathers and a nest.

The EPA website states that punishment for MBTA violations for misdemeanor offences (which I believe she committed since I don't think she planned on selling anything, and I know she didn't kill any of the birds) can range from up to $5,000 in fines to no more than six months in jail.

So, AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[arlana-likes-to-write]

Lightning Bug - Chapter 20

Masterlist

Warning: nightmare, mention of past trauma, Vision gets a little upset, panic attack, fluff and angst

Note: I took some creative liberties in one section of this story. I did do some research but my thinking is if there is a soul realm why can't every infinity stone have one.

Word count: 4.5k

You were exhausted both mentally and physically. You loved spending time with Natasha and Wanda as they brought you to Bryant Park and the New York Public Library (you did get a library card). At the end of your adventure, you got two slices of cheese pizza. Now back at the tower, you wanted to lay in bed and fall asleep. You didn’t realize how exhausting it would be so social. As the metal doors opened to your floor, you were expecting it to be quiet and empty. You were mistaken. Instead, you saw Kate, America, Yelena, and Peter on the couch with a dog. You gasped, eyes glued to the one-eyed Golden Retriever. “Puppy,” you whispered. Kate laughed.

“Well don’t just stand there come say hi,” you walked over, extending your hand to the dog for it to smell you. “His name is Lucky.”

“Or Pizza Dog,” America added on. Lucky licked your hand and it was you needed to drop to your knees and bury your face in his fur. You loved dogs. When you were younger, your next-door neighbor had a yellow lab named Buddy. Sometimes, you went outside to go sit by the fence and pet him. He was never afraid of you.

“Wait,” you said suddenly. “His name is Pizza Dog?” The group laughed which launched them into the story of how Kate found the dog. Which Yelena explained as a ‘cool way to die’ getting hit by a car to save a dog. Kate left the dog in her apartment in a panic and gave him pizza to eat.

“I mean what New York City dog doesn’t love pizza,” Kate defended herself. She had a point. “But Eleanor’s ex-fiancé watches him for me,” you weren’t going to question that one. “I’m thinking about bringing him to the Bartons,” she scratched underneath his chin. “They love him and I think he’ll enjoy all the land.”

“But I’ll miss him,” America said, burrowing her face in his fur. “I’ll miss him so much.” You giggled as the elevator doors opened and Tony walked onto the floor. He was holding an envelope.

“Bishop,” he said slowly. “Why is there a dog in the tower?”

“Because he’s cute,” you smiled, scratching the sides of his head. Lucky’s tongue hung out of his mouth. “How can you be upset with this face?” You looked at the billionaire, giving him your best puppy dog eyes. Tony sighed, admitting defeat with a roll of his eyes.

“I think Stark is having trouble saying no to you,” Yelena smiled. You merely shrugged, going back to giving your attention to Lucky.

“Is that a mission, Mr. Stark?” Peter asked, pointing to the folder in Tony’s hand.

“Oh right. I got distracted by that,” he pointed to the golden retriever.

“Please Stark you thought about buying an alpaca,” Natasha said from the kitchen.

“This is for you,” he walked over to you and handed it. You took it, not sure what was in the envelope. “It’s not bad. Just your test results.”

“Test results?” Wanda questioned. You looked at Tony and then back to the envelope, trying to figure out what he was saying. Then it hit you like a freight train.

“Oh. OH!” You said, opening the envelope. You noticed that the seal was opened already ripped. He must have looked into it.

“Want to fill us in, bud?” Kate asked.

“You didn’t tell them,” you cringed, placing the envelope in your lap.

“I forgot,” you defended. And you did. With everything going on it was the last thing on your mind. You sighed. “I took the placement test,” it was like you spoke a different language that no one understood how quiet it was.

“Why-why didn’t you tell us?” America questioned. You began to pet Lucky. He knew something was bothering you as he cuddled up against you.

“I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” you explained. “I asked Tony to not tell anyone then everything went to shit,” you heard Natasha gasp out a ‘language’ which made you giggle. “Then I forgot about. I’m sorry.” You had every intention of telling them when you found out your scores.

“So,” you looked at the witch. “How did you do?” Looking at Tony, you motioned for him that it was okay to tell everyone. He smiled.

“Well, our girl tested out of reading comprehension and writing,”

“Shocker,” Yelena sarcastically said. You giggled, hiding the blush on your cheeks. It was weird being the center of attention.

“According to the test, those two skills are at a college level,” he continued. You liked the smile on his face, it was like he was proud of you. A warm feeling filled your belly at the thought of someone being proud of you. “As for science and math, you tested around a 6th-grade level which is amazing considering you’ve never set foot in an academic building.”

“See!” Peter said, pulling you into a side hug. “I told you were going to do great!” You laughed, thanking him for helping you study. It was a chorus of congratulations and hugs were given to you. Your cheeks were hurting for how much you were smiling. For once in your life, you felt proud of your accomplishment. The negative words of your father didn’t reach your head.

*    

You called Shuri immediately, getting her phone number from Peter, and she congratulated you. Stating that she told you so and that you had nothing to worry out. When you were done with your phone call, you found your friends in the kitchen on the common floor. “What are you doing?” You asked, walking over to them.

“Thank God! Your back,” America groaned. “She kicked me out of the kitchen.” She pouted and pointed to Yelena.

“She wouldn’t even let me help,” Peter mumbled, picking up a card from the pile. He and America were sitting at the counter playing Uno while Yelena and Kate were in the kitchen. Water was boiling on the stove and Kate was chopping a carrot.

“That's because she almost chopped my finger off,” Yelena said. “And Peter Parker, you burnt yourself boiling water. I can not trust you in the kitchen.”

“But you trust her?!” America exclaimed. Yelena sighed.

“Against my better judgment,” you giggled at Kate’s expression but it quickly vanished when Yelena kissed her on the cheek. They were really cute together.

“What are we making and what can I do to help?” You asked, washing your hands.

“Dumplings, fried rice, chow mein, and wonton soup,” Yelena told you.

“Bucky, Steve, and Rhodey should be coming back tonight and Yelena volunteered our services to cook,” America made Peter draw 2 cards. Which caused your friend to pout but it soon faded to a smile when he placed another draw 2 down. America gasped. “Rude!”

“You made me draw 8,” he defended. “It’s not the end of the world.” You smiled at the interaction. Yelena sighed.

“If I give you the dough recipe for the dumplings can you make it?” The blonde asked you. You nodded and she handed you a tablet with the recipe. There was a time in your life when you hated cooking. It meant that you were left alone and no one was there to feed you so you had to feed yourself. You remembered living off of toast and peanut butter because it was easy for you. You moved to make scrambled eggs and pancakes. But know you loved cooking with your friends around you and their laughter filling the silence. It was comforting. It was a gentle reminder that you weren’t alone.

*       

“Dinner smells amazing,” Rhodey said, helping you set up the table. He was the first one back. You were told he had to make a trip to DC to clear stuff over with a few politicians about the Avenger’s work with the Wakandans and the mission that sent Vision and a few SHIELD agents to South America. You were a little jealous of all places the Avengers traveled to.

“I helped,” America proclaimed and Rhodey frowned.

“Then it’s poisoned,” you chuckled, walking back into the kitchen as the Avengers filed in to take their seats around the table. You put on hand warmers to grab the last dish from the oven.

“Need help?” You jumped at Steve’s voice and spun around to see the American super-solider. His hair was damped, he must have just gotten out of the shower. “Glad to see you up and moving.”

“FRIDAY alerted you and Bucky that I was hurt,” Steve nodded. “Can I have a hug?” Instead of answering, he held open his arm inviting you into a hug. His arms circled you. He was warm, felt safe, and comforting. “Thank you,” you said. Steve let out a shaky breath.

“Scared the hell out of me kid,” you heard a chuckle, pulled away from Steve, and saw Bucky.

“Did I just hear Captain America say a bad word?” Steve rolled his eyes at his boyfriend. “Glad to see you are safe, doll,” you smiled, taking a step away from Steve. Starring at Bucky’s hands, you found yourself starting to panic. You’ve felt his hands on you before. They were cold, and strong, and caused bruises on your skin. You swallowed the growing fear and held out your hand. You weren’t ready for a hug from him yet. Bucky raised his flesh hand.

“The other one,” you stated. “I trust you, Bucky.” You tried to keep your voice steady. Did he hear the slight shake? Or was he just as nervous as you were to notice? He hesitated and connected his metal hand with yours. Still, it was a shock to your system. You knew it was coming but the hairs on the back of your neck stood up and all you felt was fear. You dropped his hand and forced a smile on your face as you busied yourself with getting the last dish ready. “Hope you boys are hungry,” you said, leading them back to the table. “We made a lot of food.” You set it down and took your spot between Yelena and America. The blonde gave you a questioning look but you gave her a reassuring smile. You were okay. You had another hurdle to climb over.       

Dinner was fun. You laughed at the stories Rhodey and the two super soldiers told about their missions. Tony told the rest of the team about your test results. It reminded you of your father and how he gushed and bragged about a test Caleb did well on. But the entire time Bucky kept watching you. You wondered what was going through his head. Was he trying to remember you? Or did he remember and was too ashamed to admit it? Once dinner was done and cleaned up, you said your goodnight to the team and went to bed.

Well, you tried to sleep. You lay awake staring at the ceiling. You were exhausted, right down to your bones but you were afraid to fall asleep. “FRIDAY, can you read to me?” You asked the AI, turning onto your side. You hoped the sound would fight away any nightmares.

“Of course, do you have a specific book in mind?”

“The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin,” was a book on your TBR that you’ve been meaning to read. You figured now would be a good night.

“Right away,” you closed your eyes. “Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things…”

*   

You woke up with a silent scream. You barely had enough time to stop the sound from coming out of your mouth. His hands. You could still feel them as he pinned you against the wall or held you down as waves and waves of electricity moved through your body. Scrambling out of your bed, you fell to the floor and put your back against the wall. Breath, you told yourself, breathe. The tingle in your palms began to spread. You didn’t register FRIDAY alerting you that she informed Wanda and Natasha or when the door opened. “Sweetheart, can you open your eyes for me?” You weren’t sure when you closed them.

“Can’t,” the pressure was becoming too much. “Need,” you couldn’t form the words you wanted to say. Everything was a mess in your head. You needed a way to release this pressure without hurting yourself, the couple, or causing a power surge in the tower.

“I’ll be right back,” you heard Wanda say and rush out of your room. Natasha stayed, talking through your panic. It was helping, the pressure began to lessen. Finally, you heard Wanda and she pushed something into your hands. “Focus your powers on that. Let go, molniyenosnyy zhuk (lightning bug). We are here,” And you did. You heard the familiar sound of your powers dancing around your fingertips and the warmth it caused. You opened your eyes when it stopped, the couple was blurry from your tears but you saw their smiles.

“There’s our girl,” Natasha whispered, whipping away your tears. You surged forward, arms wrapping around her waist as you buried your head in her lap. “Sh, your safe. Your safe.” Your body shook against her and Natasha ran her fingers through your hair.

“Was it a nightmare?” Wanda asked, rubbing soothing circles on your back. You nodded. “Do you want to talk about it?” That was the last thing you wanted to do so you shook your head.

“That’s fine. We can just sit here until you are ready,” Natasha said. You turned your head to face Wanda. She held a battery, similar to the ones attached to the machine Tony made for you. Where did she get it?

“Tony gave us a few extras just in case you need them,” she answered your question. “But I do think we need to do some training, maybe it will help you regulate your abilities.” You nodded, rubbing your eyes.

“Let’s get you back to bed,” you forced yourself off the Black Widow and climbed into bed. Natasha pulled the blanket over. “Do you want us to stay with you?”

“No, I’m okay,” you finally said. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank us,” Wanda said, kissing your forehead. “Come get us if you need anything. Goodnight,” the couple left and closed the door behind them. You traced the spot Wanda kissed. You never received a goodnight kiss from your mother. She was afraid to touch you once you revealed what you could do. You sighed, twisting the blanket in your hands. You wondered what you did to deserve this life you were living and if there were any way to repay them.

*     

You tried to go back to sleep but your room began to feel too small and suffocating. You debated on waking up Natasha and Wanda but you already disturbed their sleep. You began to walk the tower. You enjoyed the peace the tower provided at night. You were alone to figure out your thoughts but close enough to someone if you needed it. “Miss. Y/n,” you smiled at Vision, who sitting by the windows and illuminated by a nearby light. He was playing chess. “What are you doing up?” You walked over to him and sat in the empty chair.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you said. “How was your mission?” You asked him as he cleared away the game he was playing to start a fresh one.

“It went well,” he gave you the first move. “We completed the mission with limited injuries,” you both didn’t speak, finding peace in the silence as you played. Until he broke it, “The team informed me you were hurt. Are you alright?” You sighed, tracing the groves of the pawn.

“I’ve probably been the healthiest and happiest I’ve ever been,” you took your turn. “But sometimes I worry this is all temporary, that the rug will be pulled out from underneath or my demons will come back to haunt me,” Vision stayed quiet as you continued, “Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning, unable to keep my head above the water.”

“Do you wish for advise or do you just want someone to listen?” He asked. You smiled, laughing slightly.

“If you have advice I’d love to hear it,” he smiled. There was something about Vision that made you feel connected. Unlike a few others in the tower, Vision could exist in silence. He didn’t want to be the center of attention and he was content with sitting back and observing. There was a natural calming presence around him.

“You were born to a family that didn’t appreciate you,” you recognized the quote from Matilda, the reference made you smile. “You bare the emotional and physical scars of those who hurt you and it’s very unfair. But,” you looked at him. “You are very special, resilient too. So if the carpet you are standing on gets pulled out from underneath you, you have the strength to overcome it. However,” his smile grew. “You have a family that will catch you.”

“Was that a Matilda reference I heard?” He nodded. “I didn’t expect you to be a movie lover.”

“I like to indulge in a guilty pleasure every once in a while,” you giggled.

“Thank you Vision,” you covered your mouth as you yawned. “I guess that’s my cue to try to get some sleep.” You stood up but before you went back to your room you stared at the infinity stone. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. You can ask me anything,” you suppressed a sigh. You were curious that was why you wanted to touch it. You wondered if it would feel like Wanda’s powers.

“Can I touch the infinity stone?” He hesitated. It was the first time you saw him so unsure of himself. You expected him to say no and you would accept that but he nodded.

“Just be careful,” he warned. You nodded. Your hand shook as you raised it and moved your finger to the yellow stone. Before you even touched it, a short surge of electricity left your finger and the world around you went dark.

*     

Your eyes slowly opened staring into the vast nothingness above you. You sat up, hands skimming the water you were sitting in but your clothes remained dry. Where were you? Where was Vision? Where was anyone? On shaky legs, you stood up. “Hello,” you called out. But your voice echoing back was your only reply. You began to walk unsure of where to or how to get back home. “Hello!” You yelled.

“There is no need to raise your voice,” you spun around but saw no one behind you.

“Whose there?” You questioned. “Where are you?” The voice chuckled. The sound bounced around so you were unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

“That is an interesting question when I’m here but nowhere. I’m near but very far,” you heard footsteps walking towards you. Out of the darkness you saw yourself. It was like looking in a mirror. It wore the same clothes you wore now, the scar, even the color of your eyes. “I’m me but also you.” It mimicked the sound of your voice.

“Where am I?” You asked. The figure didn’t answer, instead, it titled its head from side to side and you couldn’t help but mirror it. You snapped out of the fog. “Stop that.” It laughed.

“You're in the mind realm, you stupid, foolish girl. Your lucky you aren’t dead,” Well that was a relief. You were beginning to wonder if this was some strange version of the afterlife. “But,” it raised its hands. “I can’t be too upset. I’ve been dying to talk to you,” it began to circle you. You stayed cemented to the spot, trying to call upon your powers but they didn’t answer you.

“What do you want with me?” You asked. Your voice was surprisingly calm.

“There is a problem, an imbalance if you want to call it that,” it stopped walking and stood back in front of you. “And you are going to be the savior or our downfall, the choice is yours.” Your stomach dropped.

“Me?” You questioned. “Why-why me?” You weren’t a hero. You were just-well you weren’t sure what you were. But you were just a kid, just finding your footing in this big scary world.

“Because I chose you. It’s very simple please try to keep up,” it turned on its heels and walked into the darkness.

“Wait,” it didn’t. “Wait, hold on.” You ran after the figure, the water splashing at your every step. “Are you going to tell me what this problem is so I can fix it?” The figure shook its head.

“Nope, I can’t do that. Sorry,” something told you it wasn’t but it did stop walking. “Think of it like a game of chess,” With a wave of its hand chess boards appeared in the darkness. At every board, you were sitting on one side and your opponent was one of the Avengers. “All the pieces have been placed,” you began to walk around, watching the games play out. “But there are thousands of possibilities that could be the outcome. You could lose,” a few captured your king. “But you could also win.” The boards disappeared, leaving one. It was you against Natasha. The image before you began to flicker; changing from you hugging her to you standing above her with a gun.

“No,” you whispered. You looked away as the gun went off. “No! I won’t let that happen.”

“Only time will tell and as the judge, I can’t change the outcome of how I want the match to end,” it closed the gap between you two. Grasping your chin in its hands. Its skin was cold against yours. “I want to make myself clear. I want you to win. Your loss will make my life difficult. But you aren’t ready,” it dropped the hold on you and its appearance began to change. You watched the mind stone form in the center of its forehead. “I gave life to the Vision, powers to the Maximoff twins, and Loki wielded me to enslave others and take over New York,” it smiled and began to float in the air. “I wonder what I’ll give you.” Its fingers began to glow, lighting up the darkness around you. It was like you were watching a movie, moments of your life flashed around you. “I wish you the best of luck and I do apologize, you won’t remember our meeting. You have to understand, it’s for the best.”

“Wait,” it was too late. The figure touched your forehead and you were forced back. Like a string was attached to your waist and someone yanked you back. You began to chant in your mind to remember. Remember. Remember. You had to remember.

*

You stumbled backward and you felt Vision grab onto your hand to catch you. “Are you alright? Should I get-”

“I’m fine,” you told him. He wasn’t convinced but you were. Your stomach was a little upset and there was a small ache in your head but you’ve experienced far worst.

“What did you see?” He questioned. You titled your head, eyebrows pinched together. “Tell me what you saw.” The grip he had on you tightened.

“Ouch,” he released you. His eyes said his apologies. You rubbed the spot on your wrist. “I-I didn’t see anything,” you said. “Honest. I wouldn’t lie to you, I promise.”

“Right,” he sighed. “I do apologize for my behavior. Have a goodnight,” you forced a smile, a little concerned by what happened.

“Goodnight, Vision,” And you went back to your room, holding onto the wrist that was going to bruise come morning.

*       

Vision watched the young girl walk over the staircase and return to her room. He rubbed the stone, that gave him life, and Wanda her powers. He valued the power and responsibility that came with protecting the stone. Without it, he wouldn’t have been able to warn the Avengers of Thanos. Something was coming. He could feel it but the stone was silent, not indicate what the threat was. All he knew was it involved his new friend and that worried him more.

_

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[an-au-blog]

there's a severe lack of Fobin on this app and I need to fix this wtf

(going through my files of au ideas)

Ah, there we go: suburbs au

Where Robin moves into a sweet little neighborhood and is quickly welcomed by all the neighbors. She's pleasantly surprised because she moved out of a big city where everyone was so cold and hostile.

They make her a welcome party and gets chatting with the local besties and gossip-havers (Usopp and Nami). They introduced themselves - Usopp the graphic designer who married his childhood best friend Kaya and Nami - an accountant.

They also tell her about the residents: Luffy is a firefighter and has two older brothers, Sanji is a hairdresser and a volunteer at the local homeless shelter, Zoro is a policeman who adopted a little boy named Chopper (even though it feels like he's all their kid), Brook is a retired musician who won't tell anyone where he played (though they suspect he was the big shot who faked his death "the king of soul") and then there was Franky - a mechanic, who also came from the big city and now foes house repairs and sometimes pluming.

He seemed familiar to her but she decided to ignore it for now.

Robin lives right across from Franky so she keeps seeing him building various gadgets, little robots and even a whole motorcycle out of scrap metal.

One night there's a storm that breaks a tree and falls on her house. After the insurance company tells her they can't fix it, Nami's takes her in. However, Robin starts noticing little by little the house is getting repaired. She wanted to ask Nami but she was already so busy trying to find a loophole in the insurance contract and arguing with them, that Robin didn't want to bother her.

So she stays up one night to see who it is.

She notices Franky coming home late after a his shift. Which wasn't odd. But what was odd, was that ten minutes later he walked over to her house with his building tools and a bunch of material. She watched him almost all night as he built back up almost one forth of her house and furniture in one go. The before sunrise he went back to his house and came out on his lawn with a cola can to watch the sunrise.

The next night she waits in her house to see if he'll come back again. And he does.

The conversation all leads to one question "why?"

And the answer Franky gives her shocks her a bit. He says that he knows what it's like to lose a home and be left alone. She sees two star-shaped tattoos on his forearms and she remembers where he looked so familiar from.

Turns out he used to lead a gang in the same city as Robin but he got in trouble with the law and his entire "family" was locked up for a few years. Their house was raided and practically demolished. They made a deal with the authorities that if they confess to all the theft and dealings they've been doing, Franky's criminal record would be erased.

She didn't recognize him from there though. He doesn't remember her, but a little after the plea deal was made he walked past her on a bridge and talked her off the ledge. She couldn't see him very well from the pills she had taken and the tears welling up in her eyes, but she clearly remembered his voice and arm tattoos.