#shouts out to the guy who came in for takeout while i was writing this

[lovelytsunoda]

indecent exposure // liam lawson

summary: some men should not be allowed to buy gag shirts when they go to vegas. liam lawson is not one of them. or, the liam face-sitting fic i've been ruminating on for months and never wrote.

pairing: liam lawson x female! reader

warnings: 18+!!! SMUT!!! porn with very minimal plot if i do say so myself. lots of double entendres for common police charges (disorderly conduct, indecent exposure etc.), liam refers to himself as 'agent lawson' and makes us all cringe with laughter. the actual face-sitting portion of the fic is really only a few paragraphs at the end lmao the foreplay was too fun with all the cop jokes-

author's note: somebody should take both my library card and every british detective show in existence away from me because this is what happens when i watch too many episodes of anything with a hot detective in it. never mind the fact that i binged lauren layne's new yorks finest series last year when i was snowed in and my classes were cancelled for almost a week

there was nothing that y/n loved more than coming home from a long day at work and taking her dress pants off. and her high heels, and her bra. typically this would be followed by a pint of ben and jerrys and a few episodes of 'grace and frankie'. sometimes it would be followed by a feel good eighties movie, or by her boyfriend ordering takeout and ravishing her while they waited for it to arrive.

all of these were good options, as far as y/n was concerned.

"hey babe!" liam shouted, darting across the hall from the small gym space they'd set up, to the master bedroom. "look what i found in the closet...jesus. you look gorgeous." he stopped in his tracks, eyes fixed on his goddess of a girlfriend as she stood in front of the gilded mirror next to the walk-in closet.

"you saw be before i left for work." she laughed, taking out the small diamond studs in her ears. they were a gift from liam for their anniversary. "all i've done is take off my slacks and bra, and undo my shirt a little bit."

but it wasn't the lack of pants that was getting liam all flustered, nor was it the way the collar of her silk work shirt dipped down just a little too far, the hem not quite long enough to cover the area where thigh met ass.

no, it was the black prada glasses that delicately framed her eyes. the eyes that had so captivated liam from the moment they met.

"if you ever decide to get contacts, i'm leaving you. seriously."

he wasn't serious in the slightest.

"the way you look in those glasses should be a crime. you're gorgeous, babe."

facing him, she laughed, hands on her hips. "i thought you threw that shirt out!"

she groaned internally, looking at the tight-fitting black cotton shirt that liam was wearing, and the cracking white vinyl lettering over his heart. fbi. a gag gift he had bought in vegas. it was too tight despite it's age, hugging each and every one of liam's muscles far too tight, and looking deceptively erotic when paired with his dark blue jeans.

"so did i! isn't it great?" he grinned like an idiot, spinning in a little circle to show off the writing on the back.

female body inspector.

who the fuck came up with these things? on any random guy in the street, she would have gagged at the vulgar implications of the words. on her boyfriend? she only rolled her eyes.

"there's a reason it went missing in the move, babe."

liam shook his head, ignoring her words. "ma'am, i'm special agent lawson from the federal bureau of investigations. i've received a complaint about disorderly conduct on the premises. and now that i'm here i might have to upgrade that charge to indecent exposure, little lady."

"you're such a fucking idiot." she giggled, looping her arms around her boyfriend's neck before kissing him softly. "i love you."

"love you more." he rasped in between kisses, his hands travelling underneath the hem of her shirt. "what do you say the two of us make a case for disturbing the peace?"

"if you make one more cop-related come on, i'm walking out that front door and never coming back."

liam flashed a shit-eating grin, raking his bleached blonde hair out of his face. "so does that mean you won't consent to a frisk search?"

"i will humor you this one time." she laughed, taking a step back. "take it away, agent. but you do realize that the fbi don't get to make disorderly conduct calls? that's a beat cop's job."

"i seem to recall that you have a right to remain silent?"

she winked, undoing another button on her shirt, the fabric falling away just enough to give liam a glimpse of the soft flesh of her breasts. "and i don't recall being read my rights."

"hands against the wall, feet shoulder width apart, you beautiful smartass." liam laughed, waiting for her to turn slightly before playfully swatting at her backside. "then i can read them to you."

the wall was cold against her palms as she got into position, listening half-heartedly as liam attempted to remember the american miranda rights. he got about as far as 'you have the right to remain silent' and 'you have the right to an attorney' before he gave up.

"you know what, this isn't that serious. fuck the right to remain silent, you have the right to remain sexy as fuck. how about that." she could hear the playful annoyance in his voice, and couldn't help the smile that broke out across her face.

there was the liam she knew and loved. not one to mince words, even in the bedroom.

his smooth hands were a welcome presence on her body, travelling up her legs, over her hips and up the sides of her torso. torturously slow, his warm hands dipped underneath her shirt, taking her breasts in his hands, her peaked nipples between his fingers.

heat rose to her skin, adding a rosy sheen in the halflight. she sighed under his touch, her head dropping back to rest on liam's shoulder. liam smiled fondly, one of his hands reaching for hers, the other dropping to cradle her waist.

"you're beautiful." he hummed, kissing her neck gently. "i hope you know that."

this was a side of liam that only she ever got to see. on the outside, he gave off frat boy energy: the hair, the way he carried himself. the way he spoke. but just under the surface, was a man who was wrapped around his girlfriend's finger. one who loved shamelessly, and with his whole heart.

pulling away from the wall, the turned in his hold to face him, tangling her hands in his hair and kissing him deeply.

"if you can get that shirt off without tearing a stitch, you can keep it."

liam beamed, breaking from the embrace to scramble for the hem of the worn t-shirt. he had almost gotten it over his head when he heard the first few stitches begin to pop, fabric getting stuck by his shoulders.

"fuck!"

"need some help with that?"

"i think i'm good!"

somehow they ended up on the bed, both half dressed and pent up. she was soaked through her thong, despite her earlier attitude towards the t-shirt and further proving the point that her lover looked good in just about anything (or nothing, for that matter). she was needy, every nerve in her body reacting to the way liam's tongue probed her mouth, the way his hands touched her body. the way he moaned when she pressed up against the bulge in his jeans.

"babe," he mumbled in between kisses. "do you trust me?"

she cocked an eyebrow, brushing his bangs out of his face before looking down at him "should i be worried?"

"do you trust me, yes or no?"

"of course, li. of course i trust you."

liam nodded. "good. so sit on my face."

she paused, almost as if her brain was sending up error messages. she knew this day would come. liam lawson would eat pussy any which way. truthfully, she was shocked this day hadn’t come sooner.

it wasn’t that she didn’t want to. of course she wanted to.

“babe, how will you be able to breathe? I’ll suffocate you.” she protested, reaching for his hand. “I don’t want that on my conscience.”

“sweetheart, it’s okay. you won’t hurt me. and if-god forbid-I do suffocate, trust me on this, I wouldn’t want to go out any other way than with your thighs on either side of my head.”

and with that, liam took her hands in his, and guided her towards where he needed her most. she looked down at him with a soft smile, running her fingers through his hair.

"i love you." she whispered, moving her hands to the headboard and beginning to lower herself down to meet her lovers tongue.

she inhaled sharply as she made contact, liam's plump lips mouthing at her pussy, her grip tightening on the wooden headboard.

"i've got you, princess." liam's voice was muffled, but his words were reassuring as he ran a hand up and down her thigh. "just ride my face, darlin'. use my tongue to get yourself off."

feeling bolder than she was when she first sat down, she began to grind on liam's face, his nose bumping against her swollen clit with each movement. every bit of friction, every swipe of liam's tongue drove her wild, was like setting fire to her nerve endings.

"oh sweet jesus, god." she whined, fighting the urge to close her thighs together around liam's head, focussing on the way his hands gripped her thighs in a bruising way. she looked down at his face and moaned again, seeing the pleasure mapped out on her boyfriend's features.

"oh, i'm in heaven." he moaned, pulling her down further to plunge his tongue inside of her, rapidly flicking it inside and out.

her eyes rolled back as her hips bucked, grinding against the tip of his nose as one hand came down to clutch at his hair. tears of pleasure pricked the corners of her eyes as she cried out his name.

"liam- right there, oh my god, keep doing that." she whined, trying to move her hips faster. liam's face was soaked, the entire bottom half coated in her juices. there was so much of it, running down the sides of his cheeks and soaking into the pillowcase behind him.

she felt so good she could barely see, screwing her eyes shut. her pants and whines became closer together and more high pitched, the movement of her hips more frantic as she chased that feeling, that high.

"are you going to cum for me, baby?" liam asked, pulling his face away from her. she continued to drip onto his face, and he opened his mouth wide, catching some of her slick on his tongue. "come on my face. please, i want to be drowning in it."

and how could she say no to that?

she could barely keep her shoulders straight as she resumed her motions, fingers gripping liam's hair to keep herself steady. his hands grasped desperately at the flesh of her ass cheeks, squeezing and massaging as one of her own hands came up to grasp at one of her tits, teasing the peaked nipple between her fingers.

"oh god, liam, i think i'm coming!"

"i've got you, i've got you. just breathe-"

his last word was cut off with a moan as she began to gush, coating his face in her release. his moans were muffled by the weight of her body, but they were no less loud as he set about licking her clean.

her legs felt like jello and her body like mush as liam tried to sit up, easing her body back so that she was sitting in his lap, wet core right over top of the massive bulge in his jeans. liam was certain that if she moved at all while she was on top of him, he'd come in his jeans. totally spent, she slumped against him, resting her head on his chest.

he leaned down to kiss her sweaty forehead and she scrunched up her face. she looked adorable in her fogged-up glasses with her messy hair. and liam couldn't stop his heart from melting as she reached for the box of tissues in the nightstand and began to clean up his face.

"that was incredible." her voice was soft as she cleaned him up. "i had no idea you could do that."

"don't give me all the credit." liam laughed, playfully nipping at her fingers as she moved to wipe his mouth down. "you played a very large part in why i'm still hard right now."

she laughed, a big smile on her face as she looped her arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him softly. with his large hands holding her in place, they kissed again. sweet, chaste and soft, with no intention of it leading anywhere else.

at least, not this early in the evening.

TAGS:

@magnummagnussen @httpiastri @libraryofloveletters @cartierre @lorarri @userlando @diorleclerc

[suspendrs]

42

42. “You can’t expect me to stay behind.”

“i do, and you will,” louis says, throwing the covers in harry’s face to slow him down as he rolls out of bed. “stay there. if i’m not back in 5 minutes, call the police.”

“louis,” harry says, pulling the covers up over his naked chest as he sits up. “lou, you’re tiny, let me-“

“fuck off, first of all,” louis says sharply. he sticks his hand behind his dresser and comes back with a metal bat, his knuckles white around the grip. “i’m serious, stay here.”

with that, he’s gone, slipping out the bedroom door and pulling it shut behind himself. harry silently slides out of bed and finds his pants where they’re crumpled on the floor, pulling them on and then digging his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, which are crumpled in a separate ball about a foot to the left. he sits back down on the foot of the bed, listening intently for a cue to call the cops.

it’s definitely one of the weirder one night stands he’s had recently. he only met this guy about six hours ago in the toilets of a crowded bar, and now harry’s sitting in his bed, heart pumping in his chest, trembling thumb poised over the ‘9’ on his keypad.

he really hopes they don’t both get murdered tonight. he actually likes this guy kind of a lot; he was planning on asking for his number and permission to call him again soon in the morning, and he had a good feeling that louis might agree. they just seemed to click really well, is all, and it’s been a while since harry’s been able to say that about a date, let alone a quick fuck.

something about louis is just so lovely, not really harry’s usual type, but still perfect. he’s sweet, kind of sassy, quick witted and funny as anything. he’s also a great fuck. like, really great. like, harry’s ass is still smarting a little bit. like, wow.

he’s so lost in his thoughts that the sound of louis screaming in the distance takes a minute to register in his mind. he jumps so hard he drops the phone and covers his face, repressing the urge to scream himself at the sound of louis’s bat clanging loudly off of something hard, like an intruder’s head, or something.

he throws himself off of the bed, scooping up his phone and tripping all the way into louis’s en-suite. he locks the door and stumbles into the shower, pulling the curtain closed and curling up in the corner. he’s shaking so hard it takes him a solid 30 seconds to dial 999, and when the operator answers, he doesn’t even know what to say.

“i’m, i think someone’s broken in,” he whispers to the very calm woman on the other end of the line, squeezing his eyes shut.

“alright, sir, remain calm,” the woman says, even though harry can hear louis still yelling in the distance. “what is the address of your current location?”

“um,” harry panics, opening his eyes to look at the ceiling, like louis’s address might be written there. “fuck, i don’t know. uh. it’s- somewhere in south london.”

“hold on, sir, i’ll trace your call,” the woman says. “i’m dispatching someone now. would you like to stay on the line with me until they get there?”

“yes,” harry breathes, closing his eyes again and listening for louis’s voice. he can’t hear louis anymore, but he can hear footsteps quickly approaching the bedroom, and he holds his breath. “oh god, i think he’s coming.”

“stay calm, sir,” the woman says, voice low, too. “the police are approximately 3 minutes away.”

harry whimpers quietly, the bedroom door opening outside. he holds his breath again, curling up tight on the shower floor.

the footsteps stop once inside the bedroom, and then immediately start coming for the en-suite. the door knob rattles, and then someone knocks gently. “harry?”

harry startles, pulling the phone away from his ear an inch. “louis?”

“yeah,” louis says through the door. “sorry, it was just my stupid flatmate. he’s not robbing me, he’s just drunk off his arse.”

harry’s blood goes cold, and he glances down at the phone in his hand. “hi, um, are you still there?”

“i am,” the operator says. “is everything okay, sir?”

“um, turns out no one broke in,” harry says, picking himself up off the floor slowly. his ass is wet. he hates himself.

“are you sure, sir?” the operator says. “the police will still want to come in and take a look around.”

“fucking hell,” harry groans.

“who are you talking to?” louis asks through the door. “are you okay in there?”

“yeah,” harry calls to louis, rubbing harshly at his eyes. “okay, well, thanks anyway. sorry for the trouble,” he tells the operator.

“no trouble at all, sir,” the operator says, but it sounds like she’s trying not to laugh. “i’m glad you’re safe.”

“yeah, thanks,” harry mutters, hanging up the phone and then pulling open the door. louis looks worried, chewing on his lip.

“i’m so sorry,” he gushes. “i really didn’t think niall was going to be home tonight, i probably freaked you out so bad, oh my god-“

they both startle when someone pounds on the door, and harry’s eyes go wide.

“who the hell is that?” louis asks under his breath, grabbing his dressing gown off the back of the en-suite door to pull on over his pants as he rushes out of the bedroom and down the hall to the front door.

harry follows sheepishly, pinching at the skin on his wrist. “i may have called the cops,” he says quietly. he thinks he deserves the glare louis whips around to give him.

“what?”

“i thought you were being attacked!” harry says, but the police officer outside bangs loudly on the door again, and louis rushes to answer them before they knock the door down.

harry sits down on the sofa while louis explains the situation to the police, putting his head in his hands. there’s no way he’s getting louis’s number now. he doesn’t even know if he can ask, he can hardly even meet louis’s eyes when louis sends the cops away and comes back to plop down next to him on the sofa.

“i’m so sorry,” harry mutters, rubbing at his face to distract himself so he won’t do something silly, like cry.

“why are you sorry?” louis asks, sounding bewildered. “i’m the one who should be sorry, i made you think i got fucking murdered while you were hiding in my bathroom.”

harry chuckles lowly, glancing up at him. “i’m happy you didn’t get murdered,” he says, shy.

“me too,” louis grins, moving an inch closer to him. “i, uh, i was actually hoping that maybe we could do this again sometime? maybe at yours next time,” he says, glaring at his flatmate’s closed bedroom door.

“really?” harry asks. “you wanna see me again after all this?”

“yeah,” louis says, blushing. “i mean, if you don’t want to-“

“i do!” harry says quickly. “i really do. um.”

louis touches the outside of his thigh, and harry looks up, finally meeting his eyes for the first time since they woke up.

“maybe we could, like, i don’t know, grab dinner sometime?” louis says, blushing a little harder.

“how about breakfast?” harry asks cheekily. “tomorrow, maybe?”

louis grins, surging in to kiss him like he can’t help himself. they make their way back to the bedroom before long, and thus goes the rest of their night, and the entirety of the next morning, and the early afternoon, and even some of the evening. harry might’ve found himself a keeper.

send me a number between 1 & 108 for a drabble

[highdramas]

the billboard said the end is near | b.b.

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝'𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞 | 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

pairing: bucky barnes x fem!reader

warnings: language, possible tfatws spoilers, canon typical violence, bucky is soft and loves his doll and will do anything to keep her safe

word count: 2184

summary: bucky is protective over what has given him solace.

note: here's tawlb part 4! you don’t have to read these in order, they stand independently, but they do all work together! PLEASE leave feedback/reblog! this is extremely helpful for me writing future parts to know what everyone likes or doesn’t like!

enjoy! <3

chaos has always controlled your life.

in all of the best ways, and all of the worst ones, too. in the best ways, it has allowed you to not take life too seriously. it has allowed you to let things roll off your shoulders and keep your easy breezy demeanor. you like to think that you don’t allow the little things to affect you-- you also note that it’s because the big things have been so all consuming.

who knew that turning to dust for five years would turn your life into such a shit show?

the five years hadn’t felt like five years to you at all. it felt like one day, you had been laying on your couch watching tv, and then five years later you were appearing in someone else’s apartment. all of your things, gone.

you will never forget their screams as they watched you materialize from nothing.

of course, you can’t blame them. and it wasn’t just this apartment. the screams and the chaos broke through the entire building. people busting from doors, crying and scrambling to use their cell phones, to see if this was really happening.

the couple that had moved into your apartment after you dusted had been kind, all things considered. the woman had held you and you could feel her crying and she kept saying do you have family? do you know their numbers?

finally, you couldn’t help yourself. you had asked, “what happened to me?”

“you’ve been gone for five years, honey.”

these sorts of revelations had ruled your life for the months since you came back.

like when you called your boyfriend only to find out that he was engaged.

like when you found out that you certainly didn’t have a job anymore.

like when you found out that you had no apartment, no savings, no anything. nothing left.

it has been over a year since the blip and you are still feeling the repercussions from it. you are still feeling the hurt of having your life upended, you are still feeling the hurt of missing a life that went on without you. it’s hard not to daydream about what could’ve been. what could’ve stayed the same.

then bucky looks at you, and you’re reminded that not all change is bad.

change is hard but you know that he kisses you and it makes your brain fuzzy, he lays you back on your mattress and he stays with you until the sun rises. change is hard but you introduce him as my boyfriend, james to every new person you meet and you watch as he smiles and pride lingers in his eyes and he carefully places his arm around your shoulders. change is hard but he doesn’t wear the gloves around you anymore.

change is hard, but bucky is better than any of it.

he’s been gone more than normal lately.

of course, you understand. and, really, you think it might be good for him. not the fighting-- while you understand the benefit it has for him, the purpose that it gives him, that’s not the thing that you believe serves him best. no, it is sam. it is sam’s family. it is knowing that there are other people out there in the world who are looking at him the same way that you look at him.

okay, maybe not exactly the same.

bucky had sent you a text from that stupid dinky flip phone that morning, saying that he would be home that night. the implications go unsaid.

you and the winter soldier have formed quite the routine-- he has a key to your apartment on his keyring (it’s a disney princess key. it’s the only spare that you had, and the laughter that erupted from you had made him relent in trying to barter for the cat printed key you have). he’s going to let himself in, probably around ten. you’ll already have the chinese takeout spread out on the table. you’ll spread your arms out and do little jazz hands towards the food and you’ll say, “ta-da.”

and you will watch as the tension in his shoulders starts to ease and he sets his duffel bag down in your entryway and he will cross the room to you. his arms will snake around your waist and his face will be buried into the crook of your neck. he will sigh and you will stroke his hair and you will say, “welcome home, buck.”

but now, it is nine. it is nine and you are curled up on your couch and kitty rests in your lap and you feel yourself growing antsy waiting for bucky to come home. she looks up at you and lets out that little trill as you scratch her head and you smile.

the smiling doesn’t last long.

the building that you and bucky live in is not swanky by any means. it was built in the 40s, with creaky floors and ugly carpeted hallways. the walls are thin and you can hear everything-- really, everything. and the shouting and commotion is certainly not typical.

you move to stand just as the door bursts--or explodes, you’re not sure which is the better word-- open. a scream leaves your lips and you hold onto your cat for dear life, scrambling back into your bedroom and clicking the door behind you. your limbs are shaking and you nearly trip over your dresser and your cat nearly claws your arm off.

you hear bucky before you see him.

“you really think i wasn’t gonna find out about this little stunt?” you’ve never heard his voice like this-- so low, so full of absolute rage. “you’re out of your fucking mind.”

the other person is stammering and though you don’t see the blow that bucky lands on their face, you do hear the aftermath. bucky is talking to someone and you finally set your cat down and you hear bucky on the other side of the door. “doll, it’s me.”

you open the door and look at him with a pounding heart and shaking hands. he looks just as shaken, but more than that-- he’s angry. his fists are clenched at his sides. “buck--” you lay a hand on your chest and you try to gain control of your breathing and you can see that he is doing the same. “what happened?”

bucky hesitates. you watch the gears turning in his head, and it makes your head tilt to the side. “bucky, i’m not kidding-- tell me.”

“we were on our way back and sam got a tip from torres that the flag smashers were--” he cringes even at the thought and he shakes his head. “they were going to try and--”

you watch as he struggles to say it, to really say it, and you touch his face. the touch seems to open him up. his hand takes your wrist and he rubs his thumb along the bone. “they wanted to take you as a hostage.”

a hostage.

bucky opens his mouth to say something else as you blink, trying to wrap your mind around the fact that someone wanted to take you as a hostage, but sam interrupts him. “sharon’s got the guy in cuffs downstairs,” he says in your doorway. when you look, you can see that a mess has been made of your living room-- and not the sort of mess that you create. no, it is a mess of destruction and chaos. “i’m gonna head out. call me if you need anything, i’m staying in town.”

bucky nods and you muster up your best smile to sam and then you look at bucky and you say quietly, “can we go to your apartment?”

he nods and you scoop up kitty and you pad down the hall beside him, still in your loungewear and fuzzy socks. you notice that he constantly keeps a hand on you. whether it’s his fingers tangling with yours or his arm around your shoulders or his palm pressed into the small of your back-- you know exactly what it is that he’s doing, and you lean into every touch, hoping that the contact whispers i’m here, i’m here, i’m here, and you are not losing me.

kitty drops to the floor and, surprisingly, it’s bucky that speaks before you do. “you’re gonna move in here. with me.” he stares at you firmly. “i’m gonna make sure that you’re safe. and the safest place you can be is with me.”

you open your mouth to reply but he continues. “i can’t--” you watch the gears in his head turning, the scenarios turning over and over and over again in his mind. “i can’t lose you.”

“buck…” you move over to him and you place your hands on his face. his eyes are fixed on the wall behind your head, and you watch as guilt overcomes him and you can practically hear him saying if i hadn’t been there in time… “bucky, you’re not going to.”

you feel his hands fist into the material of your t shirt and he holds you even closer. “i’ll move in with you,” you finally whisper against the stubble of his jaw. “and not just for safety. because i want to live with you.”

bucky pulls away and he looks at you with a wobbling lip and you shush him. “i’m okay,” you whisper and you lean your forehead on his. “i’m okay, and i’m here, and i’m staying.”

“okay.”

his hand caresses the back of your head and you touch the place where his heart is. you watch his shoulders rise and fall, you watch his eyes flutter shut and you see some of the tension finally seep out of his pores. he opens his eyes at you and he looks so tired.

“i sleep on the floor,” he blurts it as he pulls away slightly. for a moment, it looks like he regrets it, the way that he winces slightly. “i don’t like… i don’t like sleeping in the bed. it’s too… soft. i always slept in your bed when i stayed over because i didn’t want you to wake up and i wasn’t there.”

“bucky…” you lean into every single place that he touches. “i’ll sleep on the floor with you.”

an incredulous sort of laugh leaves bucky as he stares down at you. he shakes his head a bit. “i don’t want you to do that.”

“i don’t care,” you say with a steely resolve and confident defiance, jutting your chin up at him. “because i’m sleeping next to you. tonight, and every night after. i don’t care where. i’ll never care where.”

bucky’s exhale is shaky and broad arms encircle your waist entirely, drawing you in closer and closer. his face presses into your neck, the exact way that you had imagined him coming home to you hours earlier. you can feel his lips pressing into your skin, can feel the sheer need in it. “i don’t deserve you,” every movement of his lips against your neck is entirely felt, sending sparks through your limbs. “i don’t know what i did to get this lucky.”

“shh,” you rake your fingernails down his scalp and you can feel his fingers gripping you tighter. “if you say that stupid shit again, i’ll kill you. you deserve me.” you tap his chin and he fixes his gaze on you. “and i deserve you. we deserve each other. we deserve to be happy. together. and i’m tired of people thinking otherwise.”

bucky finally cracks a smile. “you’re very stubborn.”

“i thought you liked that about me.”

“i love that about you.” he takes a beat. “among other things.”

you bite down on your lip and finally lean up on your tiptoes. “i promise i’ll be a good roommate.”

“that’s bullshit,” he says and his hands find the curve of your waist once more, traveling to your hips. “i’m going to be cleaning up after you every damn day.”

“yeah, probably.” your hand goes to the back of his head. “it will feel safe. staying here.”

bucky’s nose trails up the side of your face. “good.” he presses his lips to your jaw. “i’m sorry about your apartment. that fucker would’ve been dead if you weren’t there.” he grows more serious again. “i would never let anyone get away with anything like that. i will never let it get that far again, doll. i swear to god.”

“bucky,” you breathe. “i know. it’s okay.” you take his hand and you pull a few blankets off his couch, toss down a few pillows. “let’s go to sleep.”

there’s a twinkle in his eye as he watches you shuffle around his apartment, putting together a makeshift bed on the floor. you fluff the pillows before setting them down and you give him a smile that tells him everything is going to be alright.

even though he says you moving in is about keeping you safe… he sleeps that night on the hardwood, holding you, and he feels safer too.

[camslightstories]

It's always going to be you

Warnings: Angst, Fluff

Lena Luthor x reader

Taglist: @captain-josslett @multi-images

Request:  Anonymous - “Reader x Lena. Angst with a happy ending. Lena & Reader have been dating on the down low for a while when James decides he wants Lena back, maybe reader walks in on James kissing Lena in her office and leaves assuming Lena is cheating”

Notes: This is my first request writing, so I hope you guys like it. Thank you so much for your support. You guys are great. Part 7 would probably be out on Monday since I have a shoot tomorrow. I hope you guys have a great day. I’m open to any suggestions, comments, feedbacks or request. 

The smell of pancakes surrounded the kitchen. The sunlight was slowly coming in. As the cold of the penthouse hit you. The soft sound of the jazz coming from the speaker at the side of the stone. Barefoot on the floor, you did a small dance moving from the stone to the coffee maker, only to be caught by arms hugging from behind making you melt on the embrace.

“Good morning, Love” Lena commented as she kissed your head, tugging you closer, resting her hands in your stomach, under your shirt.

“Good Morning, honey” Turning around, you responded. Laying a small kiss on her lips, only to be pulled down for more, when you pulled away. 

Both of you with only shirts and underwear on, after a long night, stood there embracing each other, until Lena’s A.I. spoke up “Ms. Y/L, if the pancakes are not turned over in 1 min exact, they would be burned”

Lena released a laugh that lit the apartment, making you pout as she did. Walking over to the stone you pulled away from her embrace, and she shocked her head walking to get coffee. After you moved the pancakes to a plate from the stone, she stole a kiss from you, erasing the pout and putting a smile on your face.

“You are incredible, you know that right?” She whispered in your lips as both of you pulled away. 

You responded shaking your head as you gave her, the breakfast you had prepared. The blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes were placed carefully under a mix of berries accompanied by a small bowl of parfait on the side. “Bon appétit, nerd”

“Même amour” She claimed, giving you a small chaste kiss, before starting to eat.

The two of you spend the rest of the morning before going to work, giving small kisses, hugs, and affection as both of you did your things. You walked out of the door first, after receiving a call from Maggie, your boss, as she needed you on a scene. Lena leaves not long after, with the same happy expression on her face as you did. 

The National City Police station was completely out of control, officers walking up and down asking questions and bringing multiple people for petty crimes. Maggie and the Captain taking cases while trying to figure out the incident of this morning. As they pressured you to get results of the scene as you worked as fast as you could. 

Lena and you messaged through the day, every day when you started dating. Little check-ups on each other and small messages of affections were passed through the two of you. But today you hadn't had the chance to check your phone, and neither did it ring during the day. It worried you, taking you out of your head, Maggie dragged you out of your lab, as she spoke to you. Both of you shared a look before you were both rushing out on her police car. “There was an attack in LCorp”

Arriving at the LCorp building, to be met with the site of multiple police patrols surrounding the building. You guys entered to be met with multiple yellow bags on the floor and the lobby trashed. 

Kara as Supergirl, Nia as Dreamer, Alex, and a tall black guy, all standing with your girlfriend talking. The two of you approached them, jogging and grabbing their attention.

You immediately looked at Lena, as you blurted out “Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happen-”

“I’m fine, it was just in the lobby” Your girlfriend interrupted you, as she hugged you, pulling away too soon for both of your likings. But Lena wasn't a person of much PDA if you guys weren't with your closest friends, so you two kept your relationship on the low.

One of the officers went to move a body only to be stopped by Maggie’s shouting “Don't touch that”

You closed your eyes as you felt the yell in your ear. Kara, Nia, and Alex were about to laugh, while the tall guy observed you confused. Maggie returned her attention to the group speaking.“Supergirl, Dreamer can you walk me through what happens as Y/N does her thing”

“Yeah, sure” You nodded, before smiling at all of them with a small wave as you put the gloves on, Lena and you connecting glances, making you blush before walking away. While Kara and Nia responded. 

Doing your work, as you collected evidence and examined the crime scene. Kara and Nia had left after briefing Maggie with what had happened. It had been a fight between two robbing gangs, only to be stopped by the police. After they had killed 5 people, three gangsters, and two securities, and left 12 others in the hospital.

Finishing your work, you glanced to where Lena was now standing alone with the same tall guy. He hasn’t left her side since you guys arrived. Maggie now stood beside you as you briefed her with the evidence of the scene, only to glance at Lena again when she walked into the elevator with Jess and the man. You said moving your head in her direction asking your brunette friend.“Who's that?”

“That's James Olsen and he is… I think that Lena should tell you that” Maggie responded as she patted your back, slightly pushing you towards the elevator. You furrowed your eyebrows and looked at the Latina confused as she simply shrugged before walking away with your box of evidence.

“Ohh, Okay” You murmured as you walked to the elevator. Grabbing your phone checking the time to be met with ‘5:30 pm’ on the top of it. You shocked your head as an idea came into your head. 

Maybe you could make dinner at your apartment, and pack a few things to make a picnic with your girlfriend. Some Canelones of spinach and cheese, with a bottle of Lena’s favorite wine. Maybe a strawberry cheesecake for dessert.

After 5 months of dating your heart would burst every time you saw your girlfriend, Lena had won your trust, your love, your mind, everything. You would give her anything she wanted, she became your everything. You just wanted to burst it out but you were scared to saying ‘I love you’

The elevator stopped and you walked inside, going straight to Lena’s office. Jess was talking to one man, a scientist you could guess because of his white lab coat. You walked to the door only to be met with the sight of Lena almost sitting on the desk as the tall guy, James was in front of her. Both of them kissing. 

Your heartbeat stopped. Your breath got caught in your throat. Your eyes became watery falls. Your legs and hands became paralyzed only to regain consciousness as you lowered your glance before walking away. In automatic mode you walked to the elevator, letting all of the feelings sink. 

Your clouded mind made you lose focus, and work during the next few days. Days of crying and anger. Days you tried to work but failed, with work hours of more than 12 hours. Ignoring Lena at every cause. Even though you were ignoring her, the green-eyed woman wouldn't leave your thoughts.

Now standing in your apartment with bags and boxes of evidence and reports you had to fill out. With coffee in your hand and pizza in the other. Bags under your eyes and uncontrollable hair. You typed in your computer, as the results of the bullets came back. Only to be distraught by the sound on the door knocking remembering the coffee order takeout you had ordered a few minutes ago as your support. 

Walking to the door you sighed waiting for the delivery person to give you, your precious order only to be met with the sight of your girlfriend, with your order in her hand and a confused and worried yet loving glance.

You sighed before speaking, with a cold tone, meeting her eyes as you walked inside grabbing the coffee you didn't finish. Lena looked into them, and all she saw confusion, sadness, anger, tiredness, and more. “Don't look at me like that”

Lena went to speak, only to be interrupted by you.  “Darling, how-”

“Just cut the crap if you are going to break up with me” You exclaimed, while angry tears left your eyes. Lena looked at you shocked as she entered the apartment glancing around to see the mess it was.

“I never stood a chance did I?” You commented as you seated on the barstool, massaging your temples, not giving her a chance to speak. 

You cracked out, with an ironic laugh. Making Lena walk up to you, with wide eyes and fidgeting hands. “I mean in what world would a CSI top a national photographer, who was an editor in chief in CatCo and was part-time a vigilante?”

Before anything else could happen, Lena cupped your face and kissed you fiercely. You melted into her and kissed back. You stood up and Lena grabbed your waist pulling you into her, your arms went instinctively to her neck as both of you lost each other's embrace. 

Pulling away for necessary air, you leaned each other's forehead and connected your noses, sharing an Eskimo kiss as she whispered in your lips. “Why would I want anything else, if I have the love of my life right in front of me”

Before speaking again, she took a chaste kiss from you. “I don't want anyone else, Love”

“But I saw you kiss the tall dark guy, James!” You said standing up, walking away from her. Pain slashed through Lena’s eyes as you did as the memory of the last week came through her mind.

Flashback - 4 days ago

Lena was standing in the lobby of her company, glancing eventually where you stood working as the CSI of the National City Police. Paying little to no attention to what her ex was talking about. 

The green-eyed woman's heart would beat faster every time, you would smile up to her or even look her way. She was love-struck by you and the last 5 months of dating you had made her a lovesick puppy, but she was more than okay about it since it was because of you.

The black-haired woman had been on an interview with Kara, Nia and as a consultant James over the next project, LCorp was going to launch in the next month. When the fight had happened, Kara and Nia rapidly had made action when they changed into their superheroes attire, but James had stood by her as a bodyguard, it made her somehow uncomfortable as he tried to protect her even though she wasn't the one who needed its protection.

Bringing her out of her thoughts, her ex-boyfriend claimed. “Lena, Lena, are you listening to me?”

“Yeah, James. I am” Your girlfriend responded as she gave him a glance of annoyance which the tall man did not capture.

The photographer nodded and waited a few seconds before speaking up again, as he scratched his neck. “Can we talk in your office, Lena?. Is kind of important”

She looked at him, and over his shoulder saw you, distracted with Maggie working before she responded with a polite smile. “Sure, James”

“Jess, can you check on Mr. Hernandez report” Lena directed to her assistant, as the three of them walked to the elevator. 

Standing now inside of the simple and beautiful white office, Lena listened as her ex-boyfriend spoke. “Well Lena, and if you want me to stay. I will, I will do everything to get you back”

But the truth was that the scientist's mind wasn't on the conversation, she was thinking about you. How to tell you she loves you. How to give you all the world. With now the idea of the perfect date, the green-eyed woman came to her senses as she saw the closeness between her and the vigilante. 

Lena was about to speak only to be caught by her ex’s lips. She became paralyzed and pulled away after the shock felt of her.

Pulling away from James, before slapping him. As she exclaimed ”You do not have the right to do that, Mr. Olsen. Especially when I'm in a happy and healthy relationship with the love of my life. Now leave James, before I make security take you out and I filed a restraining order”

The tall guy looked at her in shock, before apologizing with tears in his eyes. Walking away immediately. 

Lena grabbed the tissue on her table before cleaning her lips. Without taking you out of her mind. How would she explain this to you? Was she going to lose you?.

Flashback ends

“So you didn't kiss him?” You said, your voice coming out as a scare and quiet whisper as both of you sitting on the couch. Tears coming down.

Lena with tears in her eyes, and fidgeting hands. She responded by cupping your face as she cleaned your wet cheeks. “No, Love. I don't want to kiss anyone else but you”

Her heartbreaking at the side of you begins vulnerable. Almost immediately you made her stumble on the couch as you cuddled into her. Clinging into her not wanting to let go. Scared she might go away if you do.

“Don't ever leave me” Coming out as a murmur from you, after you calmed down. Now blankets on top of both of you.

Lena as a response only brought you closer to her before kissing you softly. “It's always going to be you, darling”

Both of you stayed in your embrace, as the time passed. Having small affections during the way. Kisses and sweet words were exchanged. Catching up with the last few days you both stayed.

“I love you” Lena whispered in your lips after a long kiss. Both of you entangled in the other, having an intimacy that not only happens in bed but when you two are together.

You stumbled and looked at her astonished by her confession. Your heart busting out of your chest as you were left without any words. Lena looked at you scared, now with a frightened glance of your reaction as she tried to pull away from you.

You noticed her change, and immediately kissed putting all your love in there. Melting in her embrace as she pulled you closer. After the breathtaking kiss, leaving you both without breath, panting looking at each other, you spoke softly as you left small kisses around her face. “I love you too”

Lena's reaction was to pull you into a caring kiss, just to be broken by both of your smiles as you both looked into each other's eyes. With eyes and hearts full of love the two of you claimed at the same time “I love you”

[poedameronloverx]

Changes and Surprises

Hiiiii! Finally posting the intro to the series I’ve been on about the past few weeks. 

Life In Lockdown - Series Masterlist

Summary - A stay at home order is issued, you now need to work from home. Your best friend and house mate throws a spanner in the works when she invites her boyfriend and his best friend, who just happens to be your long time crsuh, to move in with you for lockdown.

Warnings - Mentions of Covid

Word Count - 1545

Lockdown, quarantine, whatever you wanted to call it. It was going to be your new way of life for at least a month. The stay at home announcement had gone live and your work had sent everyone home with whatever they needed to do their jobs remotely. The stay at home notice started at 10pm, giving everyone the chance to sort out what they could. You were lucky, you had a nice house that you shared with your best friend Rose, there was a good sized garden and the house was big enough that you and Rose would both be able to work from home without getting in one anothers way. Rose’s job consisted of her making a lot of phone calls and doing spreadsheet work so she’d texted you and said she would set up her work station in her bedroom, leaving the desk in the living room for you to set up. You were happy with your new work space, it was right next to the large French doors that led out to the garden, giving you a nice view for working. You’d just finished setting up when you heard Rose arriving home. She’d said she would do a food shop on her way home to stock up the fridge and freezer for the first week or so.

“Hey, could you give me a hand with all this stuff?” she shouted from the door.

You threw a pair of shoes on and headed out to her car. You helped her bring her work stuff in then started taking the shopping out of the car. There was double the amount of stuff you normally had for a week.

“Rose, why did you buy so much food?” you asked as you set the last bag down in the kitchen.

“Well… you know that you’re my best friend in the entire world right?”

“What have you done?”

“I resent the fact you think I’ve done anything” she replied “But yeah I have actually done something”

“Which is?”

“Well, we don’t know how long this staying home thing is going to last right? I mean four weeks at least”

“Right”

“So I maybe, kinda asked Finn to move in”

Rose had been seeing Finn for a year and a half. You adored the guy, he was one of your closest friends and had been for longer than him and Rose had been together. Finn had stayed over plenty of times with Rose but living with him constantly would take some getting used to.

“Right, I mean thanks for asking” You replied, rolling your eyes “I’ll get to play third wheel in my own home”

“Well, about that…”

“Rose?”

“He said he would move in, but only if Poe and BeeBee could as well!”

Poe Dameron. Your friend, Finn’s best friend and house mate. Also your long time crush. Living with him would absolutely take some time to get used to. His corgi BeeBee was the cutest dog you’d ever come across so you were at least looking forward to one of your new house guests.

“Poe is moving in?”

“Yeah” Rose nodded “Look, I’m sorry I know you have a thing for him and I’ve probably put you in an awkward position but I can’t go weeks on end without seeing Finn. I know I should’ve told you first but when I heard the announcement while at work I panicked!”

“I’m surprised you haven’t asked Rey and Ben to move in as well!”

“Y/N no offence, but nobody apart from Rey would want to live with your brother!”

You glared at her “Not the point here Rose”

“I know and I really am sorry” she replied “But it’s done now and I really hope you can be alright with it”

“When are they arriving?”

“Anytime now” she replied “Finn said he’ll bring takeout with him for tonight”

“I’ll let you put the shopping away then and I’ll go and sort the spare room for Poe”

You went upstairs and quickly cleaned up the spare room and put fresh bedding on. The room was practically spotless already but it gave you something to do to take your mind off the fact you were going to be living with your crush. The spare room was nice, it was spacious, it had a comfortable double bed and plenty of storage space where Poe would be able to put his stuff. There was also plenty of space in the room for BeeBee and his things. You’d just put the cleaning stuff back into the cupboard when you heard the door. You could hear Rose running along the hall to open it and let them in. You ducked into your room to check you looked alright before going downstairs to face them.

“Y/N” Finn beamed when you made it into the living room “Thank you so much for agreeing to this. I don’t know how I would’ve coped without my girl”

You caught Poe’s eye and he dramatically rolled his and made a face, you smiled.

“No problem Finn, it’ll be fun to have you guys here”

BeeBee was sniffing round the room, getting used to his new surroundings before he ran over and jumped up at your legs

“Hi BeeBee, have you gotten even cuter since I last saw you, I think you have!” you said, bending down to tickle the dog, his tail wagged excitedly with the attention.

“We brought takeout” Finn said “I didn’t know what anyone would want so we got Chinese, Indian, Taco Bell and some stuff from the new Italian down the road”

“I’ll get some plates” You replied

You all sat down at the dining room table and helped yourselves to all of the food Finn had brought with him, everyone chatted away about how strange life was going to be for the duration of the lockdown.

“So what sort of space does everyone need for working?” you asked “I’ve already stolen the desk over there and Rose is going to work from her room but what about you guys?”

“Well I need quiet for my job” Finn replied, he was a high school teacher “I’ll be doing classes online so ideally I could use someone’s room”

“I don’t need privacy or anything” Poe replied “I could set up at this table if that was alright”

“That would work” Rose said, “Y/N over there, Poe here, Finn can use Poe’s room and I’ll use mine. Keep the kitchen clear and we can all eat there together at lunch and use it for dinner for the time being so Poe doesn’t have to re-set up his work station everyday!”

“Sounds good” you nodded “I’ll wash up”

“No, I’ll get it” Poe said, taking hold of your wrist before you could get up “You’ve been so kind to let me stay here so it’s the least I can do”

“Let the man do it” Finn said, seeing you about to protest “It’s one of the rarest things you’ll see in your lifetime, let it happen”

“You’re hilarious Finn” Poe said, making sure to elbow his friends head as he picked up the plates

Finn smiled “Well I’ve always known I’m funny but thanks man, I appreciate it”

After the dishes were done you all watched TV for a while, eventually Finn headed off to bed. He wanted an early night so he was fresh for his classes the following day. He knew it would be a struggle to keep his students motivated whilst they were at home. Rose headed off to bed with him, she gave the excuse that she was tired but you knew she wanted to cuddle with Finn. Poe had been upstairs for a while before Finn and Rose went to bed, he wanted to set up his bedroom space and make sure he left enough room for Finn to work. BeeBee had gone up with him for a while but had since come back down to join you in the living room. You were curled up on the couch, watching a few episodes of a show you loved. BeeBee had wandered over for some attention and you’d lifted the cute dog into your lap where he slept peacefully. You heard the floor boards in the bottom stair creaking. Poe made his way into the room.

“Can I join you?”

“Sure” you replied

“I see the best boy is making himself at home” he chuckled as his dog opened one eye to glance at him before settling back down to sleep. “Thanks again for this. I know it must’ve come as a surprise to you that we were moving in. It certainly came as a surprise to me when Finn sprung it on me when I got home from work”

“Yeah it was a bit of a surprise but at least they’re happy right”

“Yeah” he smiled fondly “I would’ve stayed at home. I didn’t push to come here”

“I’m glad you’re here” you replied “Rose was right, we don’t know how long this is going to go on, but I’m certain it’ll be more than the 4 weeks they’ve said so I’m glad you won’t be on your own”

Poe smiled. It was certainly going to be interesting having him living with you.

A/N - So here’s the intro. Please let me know what you thought. I’m still really new to this, and I’m not totally confident with writing so I’d love some suggestions of how to get better and what you liked :)

[i8jisoo]

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 ⇉ stray kids & nicknames

skz x reader | reactions

↬ genre; fluff

↬ warnings; nothing

↬ notes; i thought this was rly cute idea anyways

bangchan 

personally, you two would probably only use these alone but there would be your slip ups where you used the nicknames around each-other. i honestly see you calling him like either channie or roo, but he’d probably call you the standard names like baby or babe, but also like i somehow see him calling you like little joey strangely enough?

he’ll come back home and just go, “i’m back babe!” or he’ll have you coming to the studio and be like, “there’s my little joey!” 

in your case you would probably use these while you two are on the sofa cuddling, bored out of your minds, and you’d just be like, “channie, what do you wanna do today?” or if bangchan is upset or stressed, you would just run your hand over his hair or leg, just like, “roo, what’s wrong?” 

minho

i sorta imagine you using nicknames more than him, which he really enjoys but nicknames just can’t seem to fall from his lips as often as you let out. i feel like he prefers just using your name or sometimes — rarely — calls you kitty. your nicknames could range anywhere from honey or catty. catty will only come out if he’s acting like a baby or you are returning his nickname for you.

minho will be laying in bed, bundled up while looking at his phone, giving you a huff as you were still drying your hair. “kitty!! come to bed.” he’d whine, your lips perking up into a smile. you’d turn around so quickly, dropping your towel for your hair. 

“catty!! i’m here!!” you’d shout, joining him in bed with soaking wet hair.

or you two would be together, at a dinner with the rest of the boys and you’d let the words slip. “honey!! he’s asking you a question!” minho getting so flustered and just everybody going crazy at your nickname, “y/n..” 

changbin

he loves it 100%. he is nott afraid to let you use any nicknames for him and he’s not afraid to use any for you. names like binnie and baby-boy especially he melts at, this man is weak at the knees when you say those names. he might call you angel or poppet, he learned how to say poppet and it was set as your contact name everywhere. 

one day the boys would all be together, sitting for a break in the practice room. “hey who’s pop... pet?” jisung would question, looking over changbin’s phone. changbin would reach for his phone so quickly, going into text back to you. 

6:43 - poppet    what should i make for dinner binnie!!

6:45 -  baby-boy      just get takeout angel

hyunjin

he doesn’t mind these names being used, usually liking it and just going with it whenever you decide to call him princess or sweetie. princess is definitely used during private intimate moments, whether it be lewd or just you two lying together, you’ll call him princess. i kinda have a thought of him calling you sweetheart or bug, like a tiny bug - definitely not caterpillar but more ladybug in mind.

at first he was unsure about princess, but one day you just said it while you two were cuddling, feet tangled with a fuzzy blanket thrown over you both, and you just went, “princess, i love you.” he’ll just cuddle into you, turning so soft and blushy at your words, “mhm, love you too bug!” 

or if you’re around others, sweetie is the way to go. “sweetie, which one do you want?” or “sweetie, which one do you think looks better?” he’ll be like, “this one sweetheart!”, pointing at something or grabbing whatever he wanted.

jisung

kinda thought of the names squish and little squirrel, meanwhile he might call you, petal or squirt. he thought of the turtle squirt from finding nemo everytime he saw you, so why not give you the name squirt? i think petal would be a more domestic nickname, using it around the house when he’s tired or maybe when just being around you anywhere in the house. 

the name squish really came from when you were on his lap, your hands pressed against his cheeks while he was giving you a pout. “look at my squish!” jisung’s eyes literally glimmering when he hears your nickname. “and look at my squirt!” he’d shout, mirroring your actions and squishing your face as well.

or he’ll be writing really late at night, you’re just standing at the doorway, “hey, little squirrel,” the l dragging out at the end, “you need to come to bed.” jisung sighing while turning in his chair, “but petal..” he looks at you, “no buts, you can finish in the morning you’ve been up in here for hours.” 

felix

i see the common lix being used, otherwise you call felix bun-bun. it came naturally, felix is your little bun-bun. his smile and freckles, with his cute lil nose just gave you the nickname bun-bun. i think felix might tend to call you chickadee or sunshine, he is with it when it comes to cute nicknames to call you. you guys will use the nicknames anywhere, i think y’all are pretty used to them so you guys may or may not have forgotten your real names. 

“lix.. m’tired..” you murmur, spreading out like a starfish in his lap. he’d pout, laughing at you. “well sunshine, it’s time for bed! no wonder why!”

felix will come up to the counter, sitting on top of it while watching you. “what’s up chickadee!” you turning and smiling at him, looking at his pajamas and slippers on his feet. “what’s up with you bun-bun, you’re up early!” his hands coming up to his face, blushing at the nickname with a big bunny smile.

seungmin

obviously you call him minnie but something about you calling him pretty boy will make him so shy. he blushes instantly at your words and turn into a mess, especially if you give him a kiss or play with his hair after. i think seungmin would call you bubby or mousey, the names rolling off his tongue naturally when he first started to call you that.

“minnie!! can you come here real quick!!” you call, he’s already out of his room and down the hallway to come to you. you’re probably on the couch and he’ll join you. “hey mousey!! what’d ya’ need?” he’d ask, cuddling into you, and just running a hand through his hair, smiling. “nothing minnie, just wanted you.”

he’ll be leading you around the store, leaning on the cart, in pajamas at two in the morning. your tired appearance contrasts his excited appearance, he’ll be standing looking at the bags of snacks in front of him before side hugging you. “bubby wake up!!” he says excitedly, way too excited at this hour. “you tire me out pretty boy.” seungmin literally beaming at your nickname, already leading you to the next aisle.

jeongin 

imma start off with his, he uses this all of the time, regardless of where you two are at or how loud he says it, he calls you dummy. he’ll say it and then smile, a literal demon. he also calls you pet, for whatever reason, pet stuck with you. you call him puppy, but think of a chihuahua who doesn’t stop barking, that’s exactly what you mean. you also call him hon, giving his cheeks a little squish. 

you two will be brushing your teeth together, side by side, jeongin will have his toothbrush in his mouth. “dummy, you have toothpaste everywhere.” he says, pointing at the paste dribbling down your chin. “hon, sorry, but i hate you.” you mumbled, spitting out your toothpaste in the sink and cleaning your face. 

“pet!!” he whines, pouting at you. “puppy..!! what!!” you exclaim, pretending to be annoyed. “can you get me water?” he gives you his little sad eyes, you frowning and groaning as you got up from bed to go retrieve his request. 

©️ skzdiors 2020 :: all rights reserved. do not repost my work on tumblr or other platforms.

[plainbrunettelbl]

ABO (A) Tamaki Amajiki x Pregnant (O) Reader Shopping for the Pup

Word count:1540

Warnings: So sweet it might kill you. 

Title: ABO (A) Tamaki Amajiki x Pregnant (O) Reader Shopping for the Pup

Summary: You and Tama go shopping for the pup and a little incident occurs.

(Gif not mine) 

 Tamaki:

🐙-You were five months along and it was long overdue to start buying stuff for the pup. You had cleared out a room for the pup. What you really meant was Tamaki sat you down in a comfy chair in the corner the room and you supervised as he hauled everything out.

🐙-At first, he didn’t want you to be in the room at all. You had used your Omega eyes on him and said that you and the pup wanted to be near their Alpha/father. He was done for.

🐙-Once the room was cleared you had taken to vacuuming and dusting everything. You could call it nesting since you did actually make a nest in there at one point. Tama had come home to a quiet house and his Omega nowhere to be found.

🐙-Once he had sent out a concerned chirp and your answering one was heard from the pups room he understood. Walking into the room to see you curled up under blankets and pillows with your bump peeking out was such an adorable sight he nearly fainted.

🐙-He might have taken a few pictures for his desk at his hero agency.

🐙-So after you hit your five-month mark and nothing but your nest was still in the pups room you voiced your want to go shopping for the pups room. Tama was all too ready to take a day off and help you pick stuff out.

🐙-He was so excited about the pup that he didn’t even care that shopping for the pup meant big crowds and loud noises. His one mission was to buy furniture for the pup and see your bright smile while doing so.

🐙-So he would brave the loud crowds just to make sure you were happy and safe. No pregnant Omega of his was going out alone. He had been lucky that you seemed to get needy for his presence and didn’t like leaving his side since carrying the pup.

🐙-The few times you did go out on your own poor Tama was a ball of anxiety and concern. He knew you needed some alone time every now and then but the thought of you alone in public while pregnant sent his poor Alpha into protective overdrive.

🐙-He wasn’t a growly Alpha but the pup had changed him. Any small threat will cause him to send one out as a stern warning. No one was gonna hurt his mate on his watch.

🐙-So when you asked him about going to the mall to shop for the pup he was eager to tag along with you. Your first stop was at the pretzel place on the way to the pup shop.

🐙-Your Alpha was diligent when it came to keeping you fed and content. You got a big salty pretzel and a sweet red slushy to wash it down. When you voiced your concern that he didn’t get anything Tama reassured you that he was waiting to eat at your favorite Italian place after you had finished shopping.

🐙-Usually, you and Tama would go to your favorite sushi place after shopping but since you are not allowed to eat sushi while with the pup it didn’t feel right for him to eat seafood in your presence. Even if it was for his quirk.

🐙-“Tama look at these cute blankets! They have cute little octopuses on them!” You quickly shoved them in his face. “The pup would look so cute wrapped up in them! A reminder of their strong daddy.”

🐙-Needless to say, a blushing Tamaki put it into the cart.

🐙-The next forty-five minutes were spent of you gushing over anything Suneater related and your poor bashful Alpha trailing on behind you. When it came to the furniture his Alpha really kicked in.

🐙-It was almost like he was a different person entirely to people who didn’t know him but to his Omega that knew his Alpha all too well, you just let him do his thing.

🐙-He spent quite a while testing out different cribs and changing tables making sure they were as sturdy as can be. Once he was sure he figured out which ones would be the safest he quickly wrote down the names to bring up to the checkout desk.

🐙-You had wandered off at that point after a few minutes of Tama banging and pressing down on a dresser. He went off to find you. He didn’t like you wandering off on your own but he could understand your enthusiasm to shop.

🐙-He walked upon you reaching up on your tippy-toes to reach for a comforter set that was placed on a higher shelf. Your fingers just barley reaching it enough to push it back further onto the shelf.

🐙-He would have quietly laughed at your antics if it wasn’t for another blanket set disturbed by your actions. A big bulky comforter set was tilting off the shelf and quickly heading towards his unsuspecting Omega head.

🐙-“Y/N look out!” His voice was loud and demanding.

🐙-You were spooked at your Alpha’s unusually loud tone. You were used to his soft-spoken voice. In your haste to look at your Alpha to determine what was causing him to shout you didn’t step away from the danger, he was warning you about.

🐙-Tamaki was quick to activate his quirk and catch the offending object with his tentacles. The angle he caught didn’t reveal if it had hit you or not. He was quick to toss it to the side and rushed towards you.

🐙-“Are you alright? Did it hit you? Is the pup okay.” He took your shoulders into his arms as his eyes flew over your form.

🐙-You were opening your mouth to reassure him that you were unharmed when he suddenly blanched.

🐙-“Oh my God, I wasn’t fast enough! It hit you and you bit your tongue because of it! You are bleeding everywhere!” He clasped his hands around your mouth and pressed you into his chest. He was quickly trying to remember where he saw the last restroom so he could take you there and examine your injury.

🐙-Before he could lift you up and dash you out of the shop you hit him on his chest trying to gain his attention. He was quick to pull you away from him and look you over again. Maybe he missed another injury.

🐙-“I’m not bleeding Tama. The blanket set didn’t hit me. I had a red slushy remember?” You tried to calm the shaken Alpha by letting out soft purrs and making sure your calm scent reached him.

🐙-He was slowly settling down from his panicked thoughts. He leaned down to scent you just to make sure you were really okay. One hand reached out to rest on your bump.

🐙-After a few minutes of making sure he was calmed enough, you pulled back. “I found a blanket set that had tiny octopuses on it. It would look so cute in the crib. Can you get it for me? I couldn’t reach it.”  

🐙-He softly sighed and reached up to get it. “Why don’t you go test out the rocking chairs while I get this.” He didn’t want you out of his sight again but he also didn’t want you near any more shelves either.

🐙-You happily agreed with him but not before you pointed out the blanket set had a matching mobile set just down the aisle. You waddled off towards the rocking chairs after giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

🐙-He quickly put back the blanket set he threw aside and grabbed what you wanted. It seemed the pup’s nursery was going to take on a sea theme. He knew you were probably going to ask him to paint octopuses on the wall as well.

🐙-This time he wasn’t gonna let you weasel your way into the room. You could watch him from your nest assemble furniture but in no way were you gonna be in the room while he painted.  

🐙-He walked up behind you and put the things in the cart.

🐙-“Y/n are you ready to go ea... oh.” His voice softly trailed off.

🐙-You had fallen asleep testing a gliding chair out. Both hands rested softly on your belly. He walked over and sat down in the rocking chair next to you. He would let you rest.

🐙-He knew it must have been tiring for you today. You had been sleeping often and missed your afternoon nap to come shopping. So he let you nap away while he silently admired your sleeping frame.

Bonus:

🐙-“But I wanna make sure you paint them right!” You whined through the closed door.

🐙-“No. Go lay down in your nest. You have been standing way too much today.” His voice had a deep timber telling you that his Alpha was not going to budge. You whined softly but knew it was for the best.

🐙-“I think I left some takeout menus on the counter. Why don’t you pick something out to eat for dinner?” He encouraged. With a new goal of food in mind, you were quick to forget your earlier argument. Waddling to the kitchen with a bounce in your step.  

This was the other half of the Bakugo one shot I didn’t end up writing yesterday. I hope y'all like it. I enjoy reading you guys positive feedback. 💕💗

[all1e23]

Chocolate Dipped

Pairings: Sugar Daddy!Bucky x Reader

Summary: Steve has finally had enough of these two idiots. 

Warnings:  Angsty stuff. 

A/N:   I am feeling better! Just in time to make you guys cry for Christmas. This is in Steve’s POV at the start. I think I grabbed everyon’s tags but I was pretty sick this week. If I forgot to add you please shoot me an ask and I’ll correct it today. Also, half edited. I got lazy. lol If you like it come sing me a song, write me a story or scream at me!  This is the sixth part of my series Sugary Sweet. Make sure you catch up!

***My fics are not to be saved or posted on any other sites without my written permission. Reblogs are my jam, though! Thanks!***

“You goin’ home tonight, buck?” 

Steve hung around the doorway to Bucky’s office, hovering like a worried parent. The small room was lived in. Two weeks have passed since they attended Stark’s gala, and Bucky made it a point to work himself to death every single day since. There were cartons upon cartons of takeout, guest pillows from his penthouse on the leather couch that sat under the large windows on the south wall, and Steve caught Bucky wearing the same white button-up three days in a row. 

Bucky was avoiding something, and Steve had a decent idea of what that ‘something’ was. 

“Hm?” Bucky mumbled, barely looking up from his computer as he did. “Uh, no. Not tonight. I want to get this done for the Danvers account.” 

Steve sighed as he spun his keys around his fingers, debating how far he could push this before he drove Bucky away. 

“We have people who do that now, Buck. Go home and get some sleep. Wash your hair.” 

To Steve’s delight, Bucky looked up, humor lighting up his eyes and smile curling up the corners of his mouth. 

“You sayin’ I look bad, Stevie?” 

Steve forced through his concern long enough to grin. 

“I’m saying you haven’t been home since you broke up with Y/n. Are you ever going to tell me what happened?”

Bucky’s smile fell the moment Steve said her name, and his eyes fell back on his computer. He wasn’t going to talk about Y/n or their arrangement. There was nothing to say. It was never a real relationship as much as Bucky wanted it to be, so there was no reason to treat it as such. 

“I don’t have anything to say about it. There was no break-up. It was a temporary situation, and it’s passed. Let’s all move on with our lives.” 

“Bullshit.” 

“Goodnight, Steven.”

The quiet tug of the door and the hitch of the latch echoes in Bucky’s empty office, leaving him alone in the darkened building. He knew Steve was trying to help, but Steve wasn’t. Bucky didn’t need to be babysat. He needed to go back to that coffee shop, pay for your coffee, and walk away before he let his heart fall yours. Yeah, he knew sulking in his office wasn’t going to fix anything, but he couldn’t face going home. Your toothbrush was still hanging next to his, that drawer in his dresser was full of your clothes, and there was the picture of the two of you resting on the nightstand. Taking down the pictures in his office was bad enough; at least here, the sheets didn’t smell like you.

It has been weeks when the hell was he going to get over you?

Bucky really hoped it would be soon. 

The bar was packed. No stool was empty, and the floor was full of kids half his age waiting for what was probably their first beer. Steve groaned. Dealing with grumpy Bucky and now this was completely unfair. The loud cheering made Steve wince as he pushed towards the middle of the crowd, it was hard to see through the crowd of twenty-year-olds, and he has never felt quite as old as he did at that moment. 

When did he become this grumpy old man? He blamed Bucky. 

Steve caught his wife’s whistle and grinned when he spotted her in one of those half booths that no one actually enjoys sitting at. 

“How is he?” 

Steve sighed and placed a kiss on her cheek as he squeezed into the seat next to her. That was a loaded question. He gripped his wife’s legs and pulled them over his lap, tucking her under his arm. Steve was going to make the most of the dollhouse-sized booth. 

“He’s… a mess. I know he misses her, but he won’t talk about it. I’m not sure what happened, but I don’t think it was a clean break like he’s making it sound.” 

“Do you think she left him?” 

He shook his head.  

No, Steve knew Bucky well enough to know guilt when he saw it. 

“I think Bucky didn’t speak up when he should have is what I think, and maybe she got tired of waiting to be more than a game.” 

Steve took a sip of Sharon’s red wine and made a face. She grinned and ran her fingers through his bread, scratching gently until he hummed softly and leaned into her touch.

“Well, I think,” Sharon whispered, watching the sleepy smile tug at Steve’s lips. “We are stuck sitting at the bar. The dining room is full of what appears to be teenagers. Somehow when we weren't looking, we became the oldest people in the room. It's a tiny booth or share a table with strangers.” 

“That’s alright. We can stay right here.” Steve nudged her chin up with two fingers and smiled. “I like being stuck with you.” 

“You think that sweet talk is going to get you somewhere?” 

“Pretty confident. Bucky taught me all I know."  

Steve grinned and pecked her lips.

A loud voice interrupted Steve’s train of thought and he couldn't help but listen in. 

“Look, if fancy man bun can’t see how awesome you are, then you don’t need to waste your time on him.” Steve tried to fight his smile. Whoever that was, he wouldn’t mind sharing a table with them.

“But… I think I love him.”

Steve froze when he heard your voice, and he subtly peeked over his shoulder to find you sitting at a table nearby. You weren’t alone. There was a blond guy he didn’t know, his arm was around your redheaded friend that scared the life out of him sometimes, Nat he was pretty sure, and another red-haired woman he didn’t know. He turned back around before you caught him spying, and he tried to listen over the boisterous shouts and loud, obnoxious music.

This was getting ridiculous. He was getting too old to go to places like this.

“And that sucks,” The guy continued."He’s shit for dragging you along because he knew how you felt. Everyone knew. I’m not saying marry Johnny Lightning--”

You were talking about Bucky.

“Storm.”

“Storm. Whatever. I’m not saying marry him, but it will help take your mind off the asshole who broke your heart.”

“First of all, I only know his name. I don’t have his number because I don’t want to go out with him, Clint. I don’t want anyone else. Can we just stop talking about this, please? It’s bad enough you drug me out of my nice warm bed and made come here. Please stop talking about Bucky.”

“I wasn’t going to let you hide in bed for the rest of your life,” The woman -- Nat, said with a hint of venom in her voice. “I wish you would have talked to him like I told you to. Something is off about this whole thing.”

“I didn’t have time! Things were over before I realized they were.”

“You could go talk to him now?”

“What’s the point? He’s obviously done with whatever we were. I haven’t heard from him in days.”

Bucky was the one that broke up with you? Steve hadn’t expected that, but perhaps he should have.

Steve fidgeted enough to wiggle his phone out of his pocket, silently quieting Sharon before she could make a fuss and draw your attention. He snapped a picture over his shoulder, even though he shouldn’t. You were staring at rose necklace Bucky gave you in Boston while your friends chatted amongst themselves, your eyes were red and puffy like you had been crying non-stop for days. You looked incredibly lonely for someone sitting in the middle of a crowded bar and surrounded by friends.

He dropped the image into a message and sent it off to Bucky.

“I’ll be right back. Stay here.”

Steve placed a kiss on Sharon’s head and slid out of the booth, smiling at her confusion. He walked straight to your table and stopped next to you, making a point to get his shoes and black dress pants in your line of vision. You looked up, and your fingers slipped off the necklace, your mouth fell open and stuttered incoherently.

“Y/n, I think we should talk.”

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

Across town, Bucky sat in his office, still sitting at his desk hours after Steve left him only now he was staring at his phone instead of his computer. Bucky hasn’t been able to look away from the damn thing since Steve’s text came in over twenty minutes ago. You looked good. Great. A little sad, maybe, but beautiful. He read Steve’s words one more time, and his heart clenched again.

She doesn’t look like someone who moved on. I think you left a few things out of the story.

So he did leave some things out. It was his right to leave out whatever he wanted to. Steve didn’t need to know why things didn’t work out. It wouldn’t change the outcome.

“Hi.”

Bucky’s fingers shook at the sound of your voice, so much so he dropped his phone back onto his desk. You stood in the doorway to his office, fidgeting and uncomfortable. You were still in that little black dress you were wearing in the photo, so you must have come straight from the bar. Bucky slowly leaned back in his chair, his eyes glued to yours.  

“Hi… what are you doing here? How did you get in?”

You looked guilty, and Bucky had to fight back a grin.

“Steve gave me his ID.”

You held up a little white card as an explanation and gave him that same shy, nervous smile you gave him when he offered to pay for your coffee all those months ago. Steve could never just mind his own damn business. Nosy little punk. 

Bucky should probably thank him for meddling this one time -- depending on how the rest of this night goes.

“Of course, he did.”

You took a few steps in, just enough that you could place the card on Bucky’s desk a keep your distance. Bucky watched your eyes scan his desk for your missing pictures, and he wanted to jump in and tell you they were on the bookshelf behind him now. They were hard to look at it all the time now. He saw relief flood you as you spotted them.

He still didn’t understand why you were here.

“Is everything okay, sweet girl?”

The name just slipped out. Bucky hadn’t meant it to. You weren’t… well, you weren’t anything anymore, and he didn’t have a right to call you pet names, but he couldn’t help it. Bucky wanted to call his sweet girl forever. Would have, too, if only the stars had aligned the way Bucky had wanted.

Bucky watched you as hesitated. You took a step forward and then stopped as if you were trying to decide where to go, towards him or out the door. He saw the conflict in your eyes as you fought with yourself, and then you stood up taller with your shoulders squared, having made your choice. You strode towards Bucky with determination, walking around his desk, and Bucky pushed off from his feet, letting his chair roll back enough to give you the space you needed-- wanted.

He hoped it was what you wanted.

Bucky didn’t move or make a sound. Just held his breath and waited.

You sank down on his lap, straddling his waist as you’ve done during the hundreds of times you’ve visited him in his office. Bucky waited until you settled comfortably, and his hands came up to wrap around you and rest against your backside. Your own find their favorite spot tangled in his hair, and the tears catching in your lashes were caught right away.

It took every ounce of strength he had not to lean in and kiss those tears away.

“You left.” You whimpered. “Just disappeared and stopped talking to me like we were never… something.”

Bucky’s heart twisted into something dark and ugly. He hadn’t thought there was much to say. Things had been off since he came home from Boston, and then that boy, he didn’t think there was anything left after that.

“I thought--” Bucky’s arms tightened around you, fingers pressed into your skin as he forced himself to admit what he was scared of since he first met you -- you didn’t really want him. 

“I thought maybe you liked that kid from the gala. He's closer to your age and… he could be someone who wants the same things you want. I didn’t want you to feel like you were stuck with me if you didn’t want-- if this was temporary. I thought that’s what you wanted.”  

“No, that’s not what I want.”

Bucky swiped his thumb under your right eye, wiping away the tears he could no longer stand to see. He didn’t know how to ask if you loved him or how to tell you that he wanted more, but this? He knew this. Bucky’s spent the last eight months asking you want you wanted and doing everything he could to give it to you.

He could do this.

“What do you want, babygirl? Tell me, and I’ll give it to you.”

There was only one thing you wanted.

“I want you to love me,” you choked out in a desperate, hopeless plea. “I want you to love me like I love you. I want you to be in love with me.”

“Oh, baby.”

Bucky cupped the back of your neck and let the other rest on your back, firmly holding you in place on his lap. This was something he should have said months ago.

“I’ve been in love with you for months. Maybe since I bought you that first cup of coffee and you looked at me with those sweet lips and pouty eyes. You’ve had my love, sweet girl.”

You sniffed and took a breath, your bottom lip still trembling as you twisted over his words.

“But-- I, I heard you telling you Sharon you didn’t want a future with me.”

Bucky’s nose crinkled, and his brow furrowed. “What? What are you talkin’ about, baby?”

“In Boston. That night you were drinking at the bar. I came down to… to see you, and you said you didn’t want a family right now and not with me.”

Bucky was smiling, and he could tell by your pout you were about to jump off his lap because of it. He couldn’t help it. This was good. The best news he has heard in weeks. This was all because he was an idiot, and he could fix that. He could stop being an idiot. Bucky took a deep breath and wrapped his arms around your waist, letting the chair lean back all the way, so you fell against his chest, and your feet came off the floor just enough to make you unstable if you tried to get up on your own.

He needed you to stay put a little longer, and if you wanted to leave after he said his peace, he would let you go.

"Did you hear what I said after that?”

“No," you squeaked. “I ran back up to our-- your room.”

“Our room.” He corrected.

"Our room." You amended. "Then you came up and we-- Well, we made-- we..."

Bucky didn't need you to say anymore. He remembered. Bucky absolutely remembered making love to you. He held you against him and carefully explained what really happened that night.

“I did say that, but that wasn’t what I meant. It came out all wrong, and you'll be happy to know Steve and Sam would beat my ass to defend you without a second thought. What I meant and what I explained to them that night was I wanted to wait until you were ready for all that because if I’m going to do all that? Get married and have kids; I only want to do it with you.”

You groaned and thumped your head against his chest. “Why is Nat always right? She said you didn’t mean it. That it was a mistake.”  

Bucky chuckled quietly. His fingers gently rubbed at your scalp, and his lips found your skin, pressing soft kisses to your temple. “Probably because she could see it written on my face. According to Sam, I look like a lovesick idiot every time you’re near me.”

Forcing yourself to lift your head, you met his eyes and whispered,” Bucky, I do love you, and I don’t want that dumb bellhop from Boston or any other guy. You’re all I want, but I’m not ready to get married right now. I know you are, and if you want all that right now-- I don’t know, okay? I graduate in May, and then I want to work and-- and --I don’t think I can--”

Bucky’s thumb settled over your lips, stopping your panic.

“I know, and that’s why I said I wanted to wait. Let you find your footing in a new job and get yourself settled there before we even talk about it. I wanted to tell you all this in Boston. Tell you how much you mean to me. How you’re all, I think about, every damn day and the nights that I’m not with you are like torture.”

Your eyes twinkled with someone Bucky didn’t like, and his cheeks warmed right away.

“So that was the whole picnic thing? And renting out the skywalk?”

Bucky nodded sheepishly.

“I might have chickened out. I was worried you didn’t feel the same, and I wasn’t ready to lose you.”

One thing was certain; you were made for each other. You were both idiots.

“So, you do see a future with me?” You asked, nerves showing through your shaky voice. You needed to be sure. You couldn’t go through all that again. 

“You weren’t just changing the subject with sex every time?”

Bucky barked out a laugh, the chair under you shaking from the force of it. You pursed your lips. He didn’t have to laugh so hard. It was a serious question. Bucky gave your hip an apologetic squeeze and shook his head.

“No, I didn’t mean to do that. It was incredibly sexy to hear you say you only wanted... me. You could have asked me for anything, and you just wanted me. I like that."

“It’s true, though. I don’t want any of that other stuff. You’re the only thing I want, Buck.”

Bucky’s eyes darkened, and his hand slipped under the hemline of your dress. “Somethin’ you want… right now?”

Your slender fingers gripped his wrist, and you shook your head. “Nope. What I want right now is to get you home, shower, and maybe sleep till late tomorrow. I haven’t-- I haven’t been sleeping great lately.”

The confession made Bucky remember how terrible he probably looked from his own sleeping habits over the past eighteen days. The last he saw in the bathroom mirror, the dark circles under his eyes, were getting pretty hard to hide. His beard was unkempt and thick and Steve wasn’t wrong about needing to wash his hair. He raised the arm you were still clutching and pressed a kiss to your fingers.

“This how it’s going to work from now on? Just goin’ tell me what to do all the time?”

“Yep. That’s how it works when I’m your girlfriend.”

Your eyes widen dramatically, and Bucky grins.

“I am… I mean, it’s okay I said that, right?”

“Well, you are my girl.”

Bucky can feel your tension deflate, and he really likes the smile on your face.

“Mmm, and you’re my sugar. My sweet fella.”

[theonetheycallhannah]

The Treatment of Captain Syverson-Prologue: History

Characters: OFC (Shane Benton), OMC (Elliott Thomas)

Summary: Shane Benton is a hard-working physical therapist and a loving girlfriend…but her boyfriend has a less than desirable way of showing it.

In case you’ve fallen behind or want to read more of my drabbles!

Word Count: 1.5k

Warnings:  Language, mature themes, angst, infidelity, domestic violence (moderate). Yeah, this may be a tad rough for some readers, but I tried to be mild, and mostly implicit. It was hard still, to see my fictional offspring go through this, even if she gives as good as she gets!

Author’s Note: Oh, y’all. When I needed a break from the sweet tenderness of Chapter 8, I came here and put Shane through some hell. (You can blame one of my friends I was talking about for this angst as they’re the one who put me into angsty headspace by cheating on my other friend! It’s been weighing on me! But I guess at least I’ve been able to use it!) I really hope you enjoy a bit of backstory on our heroine! I really liked writing her ferocity.

Also, I meant to have this posted yesterday, but because of some tragedy in one of my other fandoms (and the world, in general! Rest In Power, Chadwick Boseman!) and a bit of craziness in my personal life (my HS bestie wanted to hang out this weekend, so I spent a lot of time with her…also…I’ve been talking to a real live fella! OMG! And it’s entirely too soon to say that I like him, but like…I very much do…but he’s far away and recently single and things are complicated in just, several ways, so it just can’t happen at this point. But…like, we have been talking a ton recently, and…sigh. I have found it difficult to focus on the matters at hand. But, rest assured, I’m working on Chapter Nine, and it will be up just as soon as I find my rhythm!

Disclaimer: Unbeta’d because this is for fun and escapism. (Well, this isn’t a super fun chapter, I guess!)

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Hope I’m not forgetting anyone! If you want to be notified when I post a new chapter or work, I’ll be happy to add you to my tag list! (Also, if you’ve asked and aren’t on the list...well...that would be because I forgot to add you and reminding me will not offend or upset me. I think I might have ADD, or something, and being reminded about things is kind of how I survive!) Stricken blogs are getting personal messages from me when a new chapter is uploaded because Tumblr’s faulty tagging system will not stand in the way of me delivering what the people want!(?) lol! (Although…their lackadaisical notification system might…sorry for that. I have no control. lol!)

X@X@X@X@X@X@X@X

5 years ago-

Shane got home from work, exhausted. The new electronic documentation system they'd just implemented was kicking her ass. And Anita's, whom she constantly had to help with it, all the while hearing Anita bellow "When can I retire?!" which lost its charm on about the third day.

"Elliott, I'm home." She didn't smell anything cooking, despite the fact that she knew he was off all day today. Whatever. She was used to him doing virtually nothing but whatever hipster bullshit he got up to on Instagram and YouTube, trying to get off the ground as an influencer with a brand…spare her. Since when did that become a job? She didn’t mind to get takeout though, if only she knew he wasn’t cooking. Maybe she should have asked. "Honey, I could have picked something up if--" she was startled by him in the doorway to the hall, in only his anime boxers, looking like he was trying to not be surprised she was home. "What?"

"Nothing, just…excited to see you! How was your day?" Elliott asked, scratching the back of his neck, displacing his mid-length, slightly moppy light brown hair, already disheveled. That was his tell. Something was up. She knew it.

"What's going on? Are you hiding something from me?"

"Why would you ask me that? Don't you trust me, baby?!" he guilted. Knowing just the buttons to push for empathy. It wasn't gonna work today. The machine was all out of that selection and full of his bullshit currency.

"Now that you mention it, no. I sure as hell don't." she walked around to enter the hall and investigate the rest of the house. "Let me through." he wouldn't budge. He had the advantage of physical size, but she was still wearing her work uniform including sneakers…he was more than half naked. She stomped hard on his instep and smacked him in the ear as he doubled over. She felt marginally bad for that in the moment…at best he'd get mild tinnitus for a while. At worst, he could have permanent hearing damage. She'd check later for blood coming out of his ear and see if she should feel worse about it then.

She rounded the corner to their bedroom. The quilt her grandma had made her was carelessly crumpled with the top sheet and blanket at the foot board. She noticed a swatch of an orangey red lipstick on her pillow. The same shade smudged onto the full mouth of the panicking strawberry blonde frantically donning clothes in front of her antique mirror, and the same shade, she was guessing, that was smeared across certain places on Elliott’s body that were now covered by those boxers that she had always hated. You know what, Elliott, she thought to herself. Fuck Bleach, and fuck you!

"I'm sure you're a lovely person who's just been lied to by a very charming and manipulative man, but…you still only have ten seconds to get to my front door before I call the cops." Shane threatened the girl, who couldn't have been more than twenty-one…and he was thirty-three.

"She's my guest." Elliott defended.

"You're not even on the lease. Your credit was too bad." she said over her shoulder while still squared off with the girl. She turned back to her. "I'm trying to be calm here, sweetie. But do not make me tell you even one more time to get out of my…fucking…house." the girl picked up her shoes and a small messenger bag from the floor near where Shane stood, keeping as wide a berth as she could, and skittered out of the room in terror.

"How many times, Elliott?"

"Don't do this, Shane."

"No, I think this is something we should do. Count the times you’ve broken my trust. Kissed another girl, fooled around with one, fucked one…I mean…I've never caught you in our bed before, so this LOOKS like a first…I sure hope it is…because I don't recall you doing any laundry since you've lived here. And if I thought you let me sleep in the same sheets that you…I can't even look at you, you son of a bitch."

"It's not what you think, Shane." he said, calmly, as if he'd simply picked up the wrong consistency of peanut butter from the store. The wrong brand of milk. Not that he ever did the shopping.

"Bullshit. Bull. Shit. Elliott. I come home and find you like this, and there's a girl in OUR bedroom, and her lipstick is all over MY pillow, and your balls, no doubt. Not gonna make you prove it, because at this point, I don't give a shit anymore. I've lost count of how many times I've forgiven you, even times you didn't care enough to ask me to. Times you probably don't even know that I know about. But it's done. You're gonna pack up all your things. And you're gonna be gone by the time I get home from work tomorrow. And don't expect me to be late…because I will not be."

"You're acting crazy. You can't do this. Where will I go, Shane?"

"That's not my concern anymore. Find an apartment that accepts Likes and subscriptions and followers as rent and cherish it. But your free ride here is done. I'm not your mom, your maid, your cook, or…anything to you anymore, Elliott."

He was getting angry now. His nostrils flared and his breaths came more quickly.

"Is this because you're fucking another guy? Hmm?" he got in her space, but she was out of the bedroom and back into the hallway. She shouted back.

"Oh, NOW you're gonna try to deflect this onto me? When in holy hell would I have time to get with anyone but you, when we don't even have sex anymore?! It's been, what, two, three months?"

"You work with guys."

"You have no idea who I am. To think that I would do something like that. No idea at all. If I don't have time at home, I certainly don't have time for sex at work, and you can ask any of my coworkers, male OR female. That place is an unsexy, unholy shit show 90% of the time. And the other ten, it's just above bearable."

"Well, I'm still not going anywhere."

"You are. Like I said. You're not on the lease. And all I have to do is call the landlord and tell him you're here without my permission and he'll have the cops here." she had gotten a glass of water…although she needed something stronger, and was standing by the sink with it. Her mouth was getting dry. She couldn't take much more of this without breaking.

"You wouldn't really do that to me though. I'm the only man who can give you what you want." he grabbed her by the arm, hard.

"Let go of me, Elliott."

"Or what." he asked for it. She got the other instep, his groin, and threw water in his face. She grabbed her purse and bolted out the door.

She got quickly on the phone with Heather her closest friend who had recently been hired on as a secretary for her clinic.

"Yello." she said, cheerful.

"Two things: can I crash at your place tonight and what kind of phone do you have?" she asked.

"Yes and a Galaxy something, I dunno, but what the fresh hell are you talking about?"

"I'll explain when I get there. I’m on my way to CVS for some essentials. Do you need anything?"

"Sounds like we need wine and ice cream!"

"Already on the list." She thanked Heather and hung up, calling her landlord.

“This’s Sam.” She heard over the receiver.

“Sam, I’m sorry to bother you, but I have a situation at the house.”

“What’s goin’ on?” He asked concerned. She’d never rented from anyone so kind. He’d become almost family. Like an uncle.

“Long story short, pest control. I’m kicking Elliott out and he has until the time I get home from work tomorrow. I told him you’d be there with the cops if he didn’t comply because he’s not on the lease. Is there any way you can help me and make that good?”

“He hurt ya, Shane?”

“Not, umm…not physically.” Although she had been rubbing the place on her arm where he’d grabbed her, certain there would be a bruise.

“That’s all I need to know. I’ve got a buddy or two on the squad here in town. I’m sure they won’t mind to help me out. You need anything?”

She held back the tears until she could hang up. “I’m staying over at a friend’s tonight and headed into CVS now for a few things I didn’t take time to grab after I kneed him in the groin and ran out.” She had just pulled into the parking lot.

“Well I’m nearby if you need anything when you’re back home.”

“Thanks. I guess just watch for smoke from the place for now. I don’t know what he might do, honestly.”

Up Next: Prologue: Onset of Injury (Sy)

[teamhook]

|AO3|

|FFN|

I want to thank @captainswanmoviemarathon and the shipmates on Discord.

I want to thank my Beta @ultraluckycatnd for her patience.

Chapter 2

The next day at work started as any other day. David was explaining the features of a Blu-ray player to an older man. 

Leroy was grumbling about Astrid forgetting to pack his lunch again, so he announced he would go pick up something to eat for the group.  

Arthur was idling by until a new customer arrived.

Killian was in his little office working, hoping today would be a better day.

The difference was that today a beautiful blonde entered the store. She was wearing some tight jeans and a red leather jacket. Arthur admired her from afar as she walked down the store aisles.

She stopped in front of the cameras and her head tilted to the side slightly. 

“Excuse me, Miss. Is there anything I can help you with?” Arthur smoothly asked. 

She turned to face him and glanced at the cameras. “I’m looking for a camera. Something cheap but decent quality.” She turned her attention back to him only to notice he was staring at her chest as if he could see through the sheer material that covered her breasts.

Killian was walking from his workspace as he noticed Arthur talking to a customer. He stopped for a second when he could see the woman’s face. It was the lovely lass who came to his home looking for Lacey. She looked stiff, no, uncomfortable. Bloody hell, Arthur was creeping her out. It was time for a dashing rescue.

Killian approached and greeted them. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt.” He smiled at her and turned his attention to Arthur. “Mate, Cruella is looking for you.” 

Arthur grimaced. “I’m with a customer, Killian.”

“I’m sorry, mate, she says it’s urgent.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, Miss. Killian will take care of you.” Arthur walked slowly to the back, clearly in no hurry to deal with their boss.

“I’m sorry, Miss. You looked uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, well your coworker is a jerk, but no one saves me but me. I was about to punch him in the face.”

Killian smiled at her. “I see, you’re a tough lass. How can I be of help, my lady?”

She smiled back. “I was telling Mr. Douche that I need a camera. I’m looking for a camera for my kid. He wants to sell stuff on eBay. And I'm not your lady. My name is Emma.”

“Oh, do you have a price range or any brand preference?” He couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Of course, a beautiful lass like her couldn’t possibly be single. He was not that lucky. 

“No, I don’t. I need something inexpensive but gets the work done. He's only doing it to earn money for some writing camp. He wants to be a writer when he’s older.” 

“He sounds like a wonderful young man. You and your husband must be very proud.”

“Is that your subtle way of asking if I’m married?” Emma smiled sarcastically at him. 

Killian scratched behind his ear and stuttered his denial. “No, it would be inappropriate for me to ask.”

“Would it be inappropriate if I said I’m a single mom?”

“No, it’s not. Um.” His attention turned to the cameras on display and he grabbed one. “This is a Nikon Coolpix A100 20 MP Digital Camera and it’s $98.99, but with my employee discount I can knock it down for you to $79.13. I think it will work for what your boy needs.” He smiled.

“You don’t have to use your employee discount,” Emma insisted. 

“It’s the least I can do. Arthur was unprofessional and it's a thank you for warning me about Lacey.” Killian smiled as he handed the camera to her.

Emma eyed him suspiciously; most men only do nice things for her if they want something, but this guy seemed genuinely kind. “Okay, but maybe I can buy you a coffee or something?” 

“That’s not necessary, lass. I just hope it’s of use for your boy.”

They walked to the cashier section, and Killian went behind the counter to charge her. She thanked him, and he watched her walk away for the second time.

No sooner had she left, when Arthur returned from the back office. “Hey, Jones. Cruella wasn't even looking for me, and because of you, she kept me in her office, trying to get me to,” he shuddered, “to ‘service her'.”

Killian winced. Cruella tended to attack Arthur and himself exclusively since David and Robin were both unavailable and Leroy was Leroy. 

Arthur shook it off. “So, where’s the hot blonde?”

Killian glared. “I helped her find a camera for her son.” He had a feeling that the fact she had a child would definitely be a turn off for Arthur. 

“She has a kid? What a waste.” Arthur walked away and put the blonde in the hell no category.

Later on that day, Killian was enjoying his lunch in the solitude of his little workstation. Arthur smiled at him as he entered. “Hey, I’ve been thinking; we should go out. Just the two of us?”

Killian stared at Arthur. 

“Hey man, it’s just unnatural for you to still be a virgin. I mean, you are not that bad looking. Yeah, a little nerdy, but I think we can find a willing woman to do you the favor. If we can’t get anyone, I’m sure Cruella would gladly offer herself.”

Killian’s ears turned red. “I don’t know, mate. I have plans.”

“Come on, what are you going to do? Go home and eat dinner, then watch some nerdy show and finally sleep? Think about it.” Arthur walked away.

Killian regretted not accepting the cup of coffee the lovely lass had offered. He was sure Arthur meant well, at least in his own way. Would it be so horrible to find a nice girl to be with? The right girl? Maybe she had long, blonde hair and sparkling green eyes.

It had been a few days since Emma purchased the camera for Henry. Her kid had loved it; he had been so excited. She had briefly mentioned how helpful Killian had been and that he had some collectibles. Her kid’s eyes grew wide. She had to add that she didn’t think Killian would be selling them, but if he wanted, she could ask for Killian to show them to him. Would it be too forward? There was something about the guy she really liked. He was nice and a gentleman. Hmm, there weren’t too many of those around anymore.   

Henry had noticed his mom had a genuine smile when she handed him the camera. There was more to it, but he wouldn’t pry. Just yet anyway. 

At dinner some days later, Henry asked, “Mom, I was wondering if I could spend Friday night over at Avery’s? We are working on a project for school.”

“Sure kid, what are you guys working on?”  Emma asked as she took a drink. 

“It’s a special project and I also have to work on my submission for writer’s camp,” he said looking down.

“Alright, do you need anything for it?” 

“Well, my computer hard-drive needs cleaning and it's running a bit slow. I was wondering if we could take it to the IT guy at that place you bought my camera. I checked their website and the prices are reasonable.”

“Oh, okay. We can do that. Do we need to make an appointment? The place is small, not a big electronic chain company,” Emma said. “This has nothing to do with your curiosity over the toy collection I saw, right?”

Henry smiled. “Nope, I promise. But if he wants to show his action figure to me I won’t complain.” He shrugged, donning a big, toothy grin. 

“I don’t know if it was a mistake telling you about that collection or not, kid. He might be a nice man but maybe I overstepped.” Emma said, smiling back. “Are you going to tell me anything about the special project or your submission for the camp?”

Henry studied his mom’s face. “I want you to be surprised.” 

“Alright. I won’t pressure you into telling me. We can go tomorrow right after school. Okay?” 

“Thanks Mom!” he said with a big grin. 

The grumpy man gave Emma and a smiling Henry directions to Killian’s workstation and they walked directly there. 

The space was immaculate. She noticed a small bell on the desk, so she rang it. From the back room there was some clattering, and some muttering was heard right before a booming voice shouted out, “I’ll be right with you. One second please.” 

Emma turned to Henry and ruffled his head fondly. 

Killian appeared from the room. A bright smile landed on his face as soon as he noticed who it was. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“Oh, hello. Uhm.” She nudged Henry. 

“Hello, I’m Henry and I was wondering if you could take a look at my laptop. I think it needs cleaning, it’s running slow.”

Killian took the laptop from the lad. “Hello, Henry. I’m Killian and I can gladly do that. Just let me run a diagnostic on it.” He went to the back room and came back with a flash drive and installed his program on the laptop. He gave Emma and Henry a smile. “It shouldn’t take long.”

It’s Henry’s turn to nudge Emma. Killian was looking at the exchange. 

“Killian, I-” Emma said.

Ding 

Killian’s attention returned to his task as he checked the computer for the results of a possible virus. His brow furrowed as he did his work. 

Emma studied his movements. 

Henry observed his mom, and knew she deserved happiness. She had been alone for so long. When he asked why, she simply said “You’re all I need.” He wasn’t a fool; yes, he was young, but he knew better.

Killian felt her eyes on him, and blushed. He tried to keep his voice steady. “Lass, this might take a wee bit longer than I expected. If you prefer, you and the lad can go to the diner around the corner. I will give you a call when the computer is ready.”

Emma smiled. “Oh, okay, we can do that. What do you say kid?”

“I can eat,” Henry said as his belly growled. 

After thanking Killian for the recommendation, Emma and Henry head out to the diner, while Killian sighed and got back to work. Once he was finished, he dug out the card Emma had given him when they first met and made the call.

Emma and Henry arrived shortly with a takeout bag. Emma placed the bag on the tidy desk. “Thank you for the recommendation. To thank you, we got you a snack. I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got you our favorite. Grilled cheese and onion rings.”

Killian smiled. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but you’ve been so kind.” Emma smiled back.

Henry watched the exchange with a smile. He knew it, his mom liked this guy, but getting her to admit it would be the challenge.

Killian cleared his throat. “Your total is $55.99.” The tips of his ears turned red. 

Henry grabbed the laptop and put it in its bag. “Wait, I thought it was $99 for a PC-tuneup?” he said as he pulled out crunched up $20 bills from his pocket. 

Killian smiled. “Aye lad, but I’m including my discount. Your mother said you are trying to save money for writer’s camp.” He handed Henry back his money.

Emma couldn’t believe her ears. He had truly listened to her, and he was genuinely so nice to Henry. 

Henry smiled and lightly blushed. “Thank you.” 

Emma smiled as she paid. She paused for a second, thinking maybe she should ask him out for coffee.

Killian took Emma’s money with a bashful smile as he gave her the receipt. Their eyes met briefly, both full of longing. She smiled as she took the receipt and almost whispered her goodbyes to him. 

His ears were burning. He wanted so badly to ask her out to dinner for a date, but it would be bad form to ask her in front of her lad.  Another opportunity wasted.

Tagging:

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[chaotic-emo-pigeon]

(For the fic prompt) Logicality meet-cute involving a runaway hamster

YES

It was an ordinary day for Logan. He got up, he made coffee, he studied for a while, he got bored, he kept studying, he called his mom. An ordinary day for him. at least, up until he decided to go get food.

He was tired, given that he had stayed up fairly late the night before re-reading his favorite book, and decided he didn’t have the energy for cooking, so he turned to his local pizza place for some (he thought) well deserved takeout.

It was anything but an ordinary day for Patton. You see, he had recently gotten a new job working for an animal shelter, which was perfect for someone like him. Perfect until Roderick, that is.

Roderick came in one day, and the small, soft, syrian hamster quickly won the hearts of most of the animal shelter volunteers, including Patton. The day in question, however, was the day before he was scheduled to be adopted by a family, who had two sons. The family was nice enough, but one of the sons kept mentioning Jeffery Dahmer, and, scared for Roderick’s safety, Patton decided the best line of action was to petnap Roderick, in an effort to give him a safe home.

He consulted his roomates on this, and they agreed that it was the right thing to do.

“just slip him out one day after work” Janus had said “nobody will even know he’s gone”

“yeah” Virgil piped up “just be careful. If you get arrested or something I’m gonna kill you”

walking into the animal shelter like a man with a plan, Patton waited until closing, offered to lock up, and took Roderick with him, slipping the small animal into a rather large coat pocket. 

“I’m going to stop for some pizza” He said to the rodent in his coat “don’t you go anywhere!”

Roderick ignored this.

Logan was halfway through ordering his pizza when he heard a sudden shriek from behind him 

“Don’t hurt him!” the guy behind him yelled in concern, as a woman swung her purse at what appeared to be a rat “he’s friendly I promise!”

Logan sighed, adjusted his glasses, and was immediately knocked to the ground by a man with a chair

“GET THAT VERMIN OUT OF MY RESTAURANT”

“he’s not vermin, he’s a hamster!” the boy with the round glasses shouted “You’re scaring him!”

suddenly the hamster made a mad dash directly for Logan, and proceeded to run up the sleeve of his coat

“I think I have your hamster here” He said, carefully removing it “perhaps you should be a little more-”

He looked into the grateful eyes of the hamster’s apparent owner and lost his train of thought (something very unusual for him)

“thank you so much” the boy gushed “I’m so sorry about that. My name is Patton, by the way”

“nice to meet you, Patton” Logan smiled “would you care to grab coffee sometime?”

I don’t know the word count on this but it was super fun to write!

[darlingsdevil]

Give Me Strength Against All Erosion (Arthur Morgan x F!Reader)

Modern AU

I sincerely apologize, I can’t add read more breaks on mobile so sorry for flooding your feed :(

Warnings: drinking, swearing, the usual

Summary: After a recent breakup, Karen drags you to a party, who you see leaves you reeling.

Words: 3.5k

Masterlist

A/N: I’ve been sitting on this idea for a long time haha, this came to me while writing my other fic, How Time Flies. And ABBA songs.. and for some reason Castlevania inspired this, but mostly ABBA.

Angst, angst, and some more angst. And some fluff. Just a dash.

•••

“He’s such an ass! Come on let’s go get some drinks, let’s go party! Tilly’s party is tonight! Let’s get drunk and forget about him!” Karen pulled you up from the cocoon in your bed. She looked stunning, a purple tank top that accented her cleavage and a leather jacket, a black skirt, fishnets and boots.

You groaned, you were a mess. You had been crying all day, wasting away in your bed. Your bed was littered with candy wrappers and old takeout. You felt like you had binge watched every heartthrob movie on Netflix already. Someone can only watch The Notebook so many times you have learned.

Everything reminded you of him.

“We have to go to her party, you already told her you would go,” Karen whined, she turned to your dresser and started pulling out clothes.

You sat on your bed, hugging a pillow.

“I said that when I was still with him,” You grumbled.

“So? Your life doesn’t end the second you lose a man. In all honesty, it just begins.” She told you with a wave of her hand.

“I don’t think I can go,” You hiccuped.

Karen turned around.

“I know you don’t want to go, but you should. It’ll be fun, and you sure as hell need a drink.”

“I’ve already had a drink.”

“I know,” Karen smiled, continuing with her work creating the best outfit for you.

There was no mistaking the empty bottle of cheap whiskey below your bed.

You watched her, biting your lip. The only human interaction you’ve had this week was giving the delivery man money for the food and abruptly slamming the door on him. You weren’t ready for a party. But a party sounded fun, and you needed some fun in your life.

“Do I have to go?” You groaned, falling back into your bed with a thud.

“Yes.”

“Fine,” You drew out the word.

“See? I knew you’d come around,” Karen laughed, pulling out a shirt and looking at it. She turned to you, holding up an outfit she knew you would love.

You were silent eyeing the outfit. You would look really good in it. You sat up, clutching your pillow again.

Karen said next to you.

“What if he’s there?” You mumbled.

“If he’s there, we’ll show him what he lost.”

You nodded.

“You’ll look beautiful, sexy, absolutely drop dead gorgeous. You’ll give him a run for his money.”

“I will?” You asked, wiping away your tears.

“You already are.”

•••

Tilly’s house was in the outskirts of the city, while your apartment was smack dab in the middle. Karen drove, you felt queasy the entire time. You tried your best to take your mind off it, aimlessly staring out the window or listening to Karen’s (awful) pre game singing.

When the buildings became smaller, and the aspect of the city drifted behind you, you finally arrived at Tilly’s. It was early in the night already, but her house was already booming with music. It reminded you of the frat parties you used to attend. Cars lined the streets, it seemed like everyone in the damn city was here.

“I feel sick,”You blurted out, the house almost looked menacing. You could see the outline of people in the windows, and you knew any one of them could be him.

“It’ll be okay, I promise. If anything happens I’ll be with you the entire time. Mary Beth and Sadie are here too,” Karen grabbed your hand, slowly taking you up the steps, she pulled the door open and you looked out once more to the night sky. Tonight would sure as hell be interesting.

You immediately noticed the wave of people. It was seemingly endless. Karen dropped your hand, noticing Tilly walking up to you.

“Tilly! My girl! I’ve missed you!” Karen hugged her tightly.

Tilly laughed.

“It’s been like, three days!”

“Three days too long!” Karen laughed with her. Tilly held out a drink for Karen and another for you.

“What is it?” You asked.

“Drink it and you’ll find out!” She shouted over the loud music. You took a sip, it was strong as hell, the dark liquid sloshed in the cup.

Karen drank too, nearly spitting it out.

“I wasn’t expecting such a kick,” She laughed.

“John brough it, if you wanna know what the hell's in it ask him,” Tilly said. Your heart stopped, you felt sick again.

“John’s here?” You asked her, eyes wide.

“Oh my goodness! I am so sorry, I forgot to tell you!” Tilly covered her mouth. You knew she would never deliberately hurt you.

If John was here that meant the entire ragtag group was, including him.

“Is Arthur here?” You asked slowly.

Tilly nodded, biting her lip.

“I’m sorry, I am. I can try and keep them away from you guys,” She responded.

Tears welled in your eyes, you were not ready to see Arthur again.

“I haven’t talked to him, but I saw him earlier,” Tilly told you.

“Do you want me to give Arthur the heads up?” Tilly asked, Karen rubbed your back soothingly.

“No,” You sniffled, you were an absolute mess. But tonight was about having fun, not crying.

“Okay. Well, I can get Mary Beth and Sadie for you, I’m sure they’d love to see you again,” Tilly told you.

“Yeah, that’d be good for her,” Karen said for you. Tilly walked away, looking for your friends. You felt like every single eye was on you alone, and knowing Arthur was in that crowd made you feel somehow even worse.

“If Arthur tries anything, I’ll beat his ass for you,” Karen proclaimed. You knew she actually would. She grabbed your hand again, pulling you towards the kitchen.

“Come on. Let’s go get some more drinks!” She said over the noise of the party. You held your arm close to your chest, you didn’t want to be seen, especially not by Arthur.

You wanted to leave, but you didn’t want to disappoint Karen.

“Karen, my love!” Sean suddenly appeared. Sean. Fuck. He grabbed Karen by the waist. He mumbled something in her ear, they both looked at you.

“Heard what happened between you and the old brute. I’ll make sure to give him a good beating for breaking my girl’s heart!” Sean said, he was drunk as hell, slurring over his words already. Sean always knew how to party.

“Thanks, Sean.” You gave him a weak smile

“I hate seeing you so down, where’s my fun girl?”

“I’m still here.”

“I know you are, but lighten up a little, will you?”

Karen scoffed, grabbing your hand again. Sean was left in dust, wondering what the hell he had said wrong, probably scratching his head.

“He can be such a jerk sometimes,”Karen told you.

“I know.”

You were supposed to have fun tonight, be sexy, live a little, but you couldn’t bring yourself to have fun, with the threat of your newly made ex surrounding you, you were on edge.

The breakup was messy. Arthur received a job out of state, and you were very contempt with your job now, promotions were suddenly coming steadily. You weren’t ready to restart your life in another state, away from everything you had ever known.

It had been a week, or two, you weren’t sure anymore. You were foolish to come to a mutual friend’s party.

He was here, and you were miserable, nearly drunk and crying.

Karen pulled you to the kitchen, she took your red cup, and poured it down the drain. She pulled a bottle of vodka from the counter, pouring you some in your cup.

“God, that stuff was awful. John doesn’t have good taste in alcohol,” Karen giggled, pouring more in your cup.

“It really was awful,” You laughed, your first real laugh the entire night. Karen smiled, handing you back your cup.

You took a sip, it burned, but it would do the trick.

The music boomed from the living room, you were tempted to dance, but not with a cup of vodka in your hand.

Karen grabbed a beer bottle from the cooler on the ground and opened it with a satisfying pop.

“What happens if he tries to talk to me?” You asked quietly.

“Then I’ll swoop up and go full mama bear on him. He won’t even know what will hit him.”

Just imagining Karen smack Arthur was a funny thought.

You sipped more of your vodka, feeling looser and looser. Atleast you weren’t quite as on edge as you were.

Arthur probably wouldn’t be dancing, he was never much for dancing, perhaps that would be safe to do. If he wasn’t dancing, or in the kitchen, where was he? Luckily Tilly’s house was big, she had worked like hell to get it. There was the basement of course, and the backyard bonfire. The dance floor seemed the only safe place.

“Can we go dancing?” You asked Karen.

“Sure, but let’s wait for Mary Beth and Sadie first,” She said, taking a long swig from her beer.

You watched the doorway to the kitchen, praying every person that walked in wouldn’t be him. It was unavoidable of course, but if you were able to put it off, you sure as hell would.

Mary Beth and Sadie entered. Mary Beth was beautiful, wearing a floral romper, black open toed sandals and wavy curls. Sadie was stunning as well, with her ripped jeans and band shirt, she was wearing a leather jacket too, however, not quite the same as Karen. Sadie had French braids in, and a new piercing on her ear it seemed.

Mary Beth gave you a tight hug.

“How are you doing?” She asked you.

“I’m fine, I guess. I heard Arthur’s here, which won’t be too good,” You shrugged, taking another sip from your cup.

Mary Beth’s shoulders went slack, she gave you a sympathetic look.

“We saw him earlier. He looks just as miserable, trust me,” Sadie told you with a wave of her hand. Karen handed her a beer.

“Karen and I will beat him up for you, trust me,” Sadie nudged Karen with her elbow.

“I know you guys will. Mary Beth and I will cheer you guys on from the sidelines,” You laughed again.

“Go Karen! Go Sadie! You beat Arthur Morgan up!” Mary Beth gave her peppiest cheer.

“Who’s beating up Arthur?” A voice asked from around the corner.

Dutch.

Sadie groaned, mumbling something under her breath.

“Be calm, my ladies. I’m just bringing my men some drinks, I’ll be gone soon enough,” He said dismissively.

“Where’s Arthur?” Sadie asked him, glaring at him as he pulled some beers from the cooler.

“Backyard with the rest of us. I’d avoid it if I was you, rest of the guys are cheering him up.”

“Cheering him up?” Karen scoffed.

“Last time I checked, he broke up with her,” She continued.

“That's none of my business.” Dutch gathered his beers and headed for the door.

“You ladies have a good night,” He said while leaving.

“We sure as hell will,” Sadie narrowed her eyes.

Karen and Mary Beth burst out with laughter.

“Let’s go dance!” Karen cheered, pulling you with her. Your cup of vodka was discarded at the kitchen counter.

The dance floor didn’t seem quite as menacing anymore, no wonder they called alcohol, liquid courage. Body’s swayed in the dark mass of people. The bright strobe lights were damn near blinding.

Karen and Mary Beth already began dancing, their arms moving to the tune, body’s swaying. Sadie wasn’t much of a dancer, but she seemed to like this song.

So why weren’t you dancing? You were motionless in the sea of people, your eyes wandering to the screen door that led to the backyard.

You couldn’t see out, but you knew he was there. The music seemed to fade away, almost like falling asleep. You were awake one moment, and you were in the realms of sleep moments later.

The outside looked like a portal, mysterious and intriguing. It was right there. He was right there. You could so easily walk out there and tell him how much you’ve missed him, praying he would take you back.

But Arthur didn’t want to see you. It was over, you were both finished.

It’s like your heart beat with him, like you could feel him just on the other side of the barrier between you.

Sadie shouting your name woke you up from your trance. It was somehow even more ear splitting than the deafening music.

“What?” You shouted over the music.

“Are you okay?” She responded, looking into your tear filled eyes.

“Can we go talk?”

Sadie nodded, pulling you aside, she led you through the crowd to the kitchen again. The only safe place in the house it seemed.

It was much quieter now. Your heart thrummed in your ear like a steady drum.

“Have you talked to Arthur at all?” Sadie asked, leaning against the counter.

“No, not since he broke up with me,” You bit your lip, the words came out choked.

“Well, I did. I talked to him yesterday. He’s not handling it very well. I know you want to talk to him.”

“No, not since he broke up with me,” You bit your lip, the words came out choked.

“Well, I did. I talked to him yesterday. He’s not handling it very well. I know you want to talk to him.”

“What did he say?”

“For starters, he was drunk out of his mind. I had to swing by his apartment to make sure he didn’t die,” Sadie continued.

“Thank you for taking care of him, Sadie.”

“Yep. But, he was pretty much out of it. He mumbled a few things about you, I’d never seen him so distraught. I got him in bed though.”

You wiped away your tears, giving Sadie a hug. She always did give the best hugs.

“I think it would be in your best interest to talk to him. Maybe not tonight, but in the next few days. I think it would bring some closure for the both of you,” She told you.

“Yeah, I think so too. I’m just afraid, what if I can’t do it or he yells at me?” You felt weak, embarrassed that you were acting so fragile.

“Then, like I said, Karen and I will swoop in there.”

“Thank you Sadie, seriously. Where would I be without you?”

“Probably dead in all honesty.” She laughed.

You stared at her for a moment.

“Let’s go dance some more,” You said with newly found cheer.

This time, you led Sadie to the floor. Mary Beth and Karen were still dancing like the goddesses they are.

You swayed to the music, letting your body feel the music. You let go of worry for a moment's notice. The music was uplifting and fast, a song you could dance to.

Worries and fears melted away, in that moment, it was only you and the music. Nothing else mattered. You felt like the only person in the room, above all else.

Karen, Mary Beth, and Sadie were all elated to see you dance like no one was watching.

The song was coming to an end, and you felt yourself slow. Like your veins were stopping pushing blood through your body.

You were coming down from your high, your cloud nine experience. When the music finally stopped, you took in your surroundings. Looking towards the screen door, you saw him.

Arthur was there. In the corner. He was staring directly at you.

You instantly felt sick, you split through the crowd, racing to the front door. It was all too much.

The crowd was left behind, your friends shouting your name.

Anxiety filled your entire body like a virus, taking over every part of your being.

You reached the door, pulling it open, relishing the feeling of the cool air on your skin. It was too damn hot in that house. You slid against the porch, falling to the concrete with a thud.

Tears fell from your eyes freely. A thousand memories, a thousand thoughts rushed through your mind like a tsunami, forcefully upturning everything you had ever known. Your face felt hot, but the cool air felt absolutely wonderful on your hot skin. You tried wiping away the tears but they kept falling. It felt suffocating, like you were trapped in your own body.

The front door opened, letting the noise from the party enter your small slice of heaven. You looked up. Mary Beth, Sadie and Karen watched you with caring eyes.

“Arthur was just coming in for a beer,” Sadie said first.

You rested your head on your knees, looking up at your best friend’s.

“He really was. He didn’t know you were here,” Mary Beth continued.

“I think I just want to be alone right now,” You mumbled, staring out towards the deserted street.

“Alright, well, we’ll come check up on you in thirty minutes, okay?” Karen opened the door, looking at you one last time.

You nodded, continuing to stare at the street. You could see the lights from the city. Your home was there, everything you had ever known resided in that city. You wondered what would have happened if you went with Arthur to his new job, everything would be different, and you sure as hell wouldn’t be sitting on your friend’s porch crying your eyes out at a party.

Minutes passed as the tears rolled on. The lights twinkled from the city.

Arthur was hurting too, you remembered. Neither of you had much of a choice, you still loved him, as much as you didn’t want to, you did. Your heart ached at just the thought of him, your chest felt heavy.

You inhaled deeply, you shook with every breath. The tears kept coming. It was a mistake to come to this party, you would rather be at home in bed, with a bottle of whiskey and ice cream.

The door slowly pushed open. You didn’t bother looking up.

“Nice night, ain’t it?”

You froze, your heart pounding in your ears.

“Go away,” You said, your voice weak.

Arthur was silent, he leaned against the doorframe. You didn’t dare look at him.

“I know you don’t want to see me.”

This time, it was your turn to be silent. You allowed your head to fall against the wall. Arthur sat down next to you. You immediately felt your body tense up, like a big red warning sign was going off in your head.

“But we need to talk.”

“About what, Arthur? What could you possibly have to say to me?” You snapped at him. It was like the words weren’t even yours, anger consumed you.

“I don’t know. I guess that I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? You’re fucking sorry?” You stood up, brushing yourself off, turning away from him.

“You know I had no choice,” Arthur said, almost accusingly.

You scoffed bitterly, you turned to face him. His face shattered your heart, it was like his eyes were begging you to understand. Tears welled in your eyes again as you felt your anger crumble into sadness.

“Where did we go wrong?” You asked him, your bottom lip trembling. All you wanted was a hug, and him to tell you it was alright. You wanted him back in your bed, wanted him to hold you when things got rough, to whisper sweet nothings in your ear.

“I don’t know,” Arthur said quietly. He looked as handsome as ever.

“I’m sorry, Arthur,” You slowly walked towards him, your hand reaching up like you were waiting for permission, your hand was right in front of his chest. He leaned into it, and pulled you into a hug.

You sobbed into his chest, it felt so good to just get it all out, he gently caressed your hair. The two of you stayed that way for what seemed like hours. His hug felt so secure, like you were exactly where you were supposed to be.

“I’ve missed you,” Arthur said. The single sentence held so much meaning, so much depth.

You let go off his warm body, looking directly into his eyes that seemed to peer right into your very soul. God, he was handsome.

“I’m not taking the job in Phoenix,” He said after a moment.

You lightly gasped.

“You’re not?”

Arthur shook his head.

“Why?”

“I realized there’s a lot more here for me than there is in Arizona,” Arthur reached out, and lightly held your chin, forcing you to look directly at him. You slowly leaned into him, your eyes fluttering shut.

It felt like the first time. He kissed you slowly, it was welcoming and intoxicating. Arthur felt like home. He was your home.

When he finally pulled away, his eyes looked like they were swirling, clouded with emotion.

“Can we just go back to normal?” You asked.

“I’ve never wanted anything more,” Arthur responded. He kissed you again, this time with less hesitance.

“I missed you too,” You said when he pulled away.”

“I know.”

•••

[sunshinesholland]

the one (and all the others) [2] | t.h.

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader

Word count: 5.35k

Warnings: swearing, angst/pining, allusion to abusive past relationships, PTSD mention

Summary: It’s possible Tom would have outgrown the crush, but after one night where feelings were confessed and tears were shed, everything changed. And the worst of it all is that the two of you don’t talk about it, or even acknowledge that it happened. But that’s how it always goes right? It’s good until it’s not.

A/N: This part is a flashback to the night Tom alludes to in part one (see summary above). This is just some exposition to explain their relationship and past. I also just want to say a huge thank you for such a great reaction to my writing so far. It’s something I used to be so passionate about and it feels lovely to get back into it :) Let me know your thoughts, or if you’d like to be added to the taglist!

part one || part two || part three

eighteen months ago

Tom and you are sat on the couch, tangled up in your favorite blanket with Iron Man 2 playing in the background. Zendaya is away on a family trip, so naturally you and Tom are spending the whole weekend watching your favorite movies and eating lots of takeout. It’s not too different from your usual time spent together, but it’s always nice to not feel like you’re bugging her. You’re about tell him the things you’ve learned in your psychology class this week, but instead he’s trying to get you to thumb wrestle him, determined to win. 

“Okay, you know what? You’re the one who wanted to watch this movie! The second one isn’t even my favorite and now you’re thumb wrestling me instead of even watching it,” you say exasperated, though the grin on your face shows you’re enjoying your time together all the same.

“Well, you’re the one that wanted to talk instead of watch so technically this is all your fault. I just want something to do while you tell me about… about, uh,” he pauses, long enough for you to tuck his thumb under yours.

“About arousal theory,” you finish, knowing he won’t remember what you’ve been trying to tell him the past five minutes.

“Oh, now all of a sudden I’m interested, continue,” he grins at you, putting his hand under his chin to (dramatically) show he’s averted his full attention to you.

“If you were paying attention, you would know that’s not at all what that means, Tommy,” you laugh, and face away from him to watch the movie.

“Well, if it was maybe then--” he’s cut off by your phone ringing and vibrating on the coffee table. 

The caller ID shows a picture of your friend George that lights up the screen. Since most people don’t opt for calling, especially in your friend group, you answer quickly. 

“Hello?” You question, nervous something’s wrong with him or another of your friends.

“Y/N!” He excitedly shouts in your ear, so much so that you have to take it away from your ear. At least now you know there’s nothing wrong but your bleeding eardrums.

“I tried calling Tom’s phone but it went straight to voicemail! I’ve got some exciting news and I figured he’s with you though, yeah?” He continues to shout over the noise on his side. 

“I’ll put you on speakerphone,” you reply and do just that, before you place it on the coffee table. 

“Is there a congratulations in order?” Tom asks, a knowing smile on his face. You look at Tom, confused as to what he is talking about.

“Hell yeah there is! She cried and I cried but she said yes! Her family is over right now but the whole gang is coming over for celebratory drinks later, are ya in?” George asks, and you quickly connect the dots.

“Wait, you proposed to Gwen?! And you didn’t tell me? And more importantly, you didn’t ask for my help?” You question in quick succession, because as resident hopeless romantic, you should really be the first one your friends come to for things like this. 

You then turn to Tom who’s chuckling at your excitement, and now you’re yelling at him, “but you knew? And didn’t tell me either?!” 

You chuck a pillow at him, which he dodges before laughing harder at. He ignores you and leans towards the phone to reply to George’s invitation.

“We’ll be there, George. Just text me the details, oh and tell Gwen she’s a div for saying yes,” Tom replies, laughing when George replies with a ‘sure thing!’ before hanging up. He’s so excited he didn’t even register Tom’s comment as a jab, or needing a comeback (which is especially amusing considering how quippy George usually is). 

Gwen and George are a few years older than the rest of your friend group, so you’re a little unsynchronized in your points in life but they’re close friends with you all nonetheless. They have been going out since before anyone in your group has known them. They’re high school sweethearts, best friends, lovers and everything in between. They’ve been through so much in all their time together. They had been told they would never last for the first four years of their relationship. When they ended up on opposite coasts since George left to a startup business and Gwen stayed home to go to culinary school, they were told that one of them would cheat if they didn’t get bored of the distance and each other before then. When they ended up on the same coast in recent years, people assumed Gwen wouldn’t want to stay with him as he wasn’t making much money and had yet to pop the question. Neither Gwen or George paid any mind to any opinions or judgements and were happy taking their time. They were secure with where they were at and whether a shiny ring on her finger and piece of paper happened tomorrow or years in the future, it didn’t matter to either of them when it happened when they knew how they felt.

Now two years later, George’s business has taken off, they live upstate in a nice apartment with their sweet little French bulldog and they’re stable enough to plan the big, romantic wedding they both want. It’s heartwarming every time either of them tells you about their story, or talks about each other at all. Which is why you’re pissed you’re only finding out now. 

“I cannot believe you didn’t even tell me,” you mumble, crossing your arms across your chest with your eyes trained on the TV, “you’re shit at keeping secrets, but this one you decide to not tell me.”

“You’re just jealous that he came to me advice rather than you,” he grins, laying his head in your lap to look up at you.

“Well yeah! You’re not even into all that lovey-dovey, romantic stuff, I am. When you dated that girl last year you couldn’t even think of a gift to give her for Christmas, I had to pick one out. And Harry said you never even said ‘I love you’ to any of your girlfriends growing up and I’ve never heard you say that either.” you pout at the TV, despite not paying attention because it’s just your excuse to not look down at him.

Except that he is into all that lovey-dovey stuff. Or at least he has been since he met you. It’s cheesy, but it’s like you’ve lent him the rose-colored glasses you see the world through and he’s eternally grateful for it. Of course, it helps that he’s in love with you and watching you admire romance and the idea of a fairytale ending is enough to make anyone fall just as hard as he has. But all of that is just too heavy considering you’ve only recently returned to your usual self. Tom can’t be selfish and risk hurting you when you’ve only just begun to heal from your shitty ex-boyfriend. What you need now is your friend and so instead of any declaration of love, he jokes with you. 

“Guess the ladies love me because I love hard enough in other ways,” he says, winking at you.

“I live across the hall, so I know definitely not hard enough, Holland” you retort back, grabbing the last pillow on the couch to throw at his face. 

--

The both of you are in Tom’s car, on the way to Gwen and George’s apartment. The setting sun streams through the passing trees, while Tom’s playlist (the one full of all the songs you like, that he’ll always deny was made specifically for you) plays throughout the car. 

Tom glances at you as you lean your head against the window. You’ve been silent the whole car ride. Not singing along to your favorite song or blabbering about the romance of the engagement, which is unbelievably out of character. He turns down the volume on the stereo so it’s quiet enough to hear the wind whip against the car.

“What’s on your mind?” He questions, sneaking a glance at you before returning his eyes to the road, pulling onto their street.

You don’t say anything for a few minutes, making him think you didn’t hear him. He pulls into a parking spot, thankful for not having to parallel park, and is about to repeat the question when you finally reply.

“Nothing important.” You say and of course Tom doesn’t believe it. Before he can question the honesty of your reply, you’re opening the passenger door and beginning to walk up to their apartment. 

Tom takes the keys out of the ignition and exits the car, quick to catch up to you. It's colder upstate, allowing the snow to form a thick blanket on the ground. It’s fresh and fluffy, effectively dampening all ambient sound outside. While he really wants to ask you again, he can tell you’re not ready to talk yet so he stays silent on the walk up to the apartment building as well as the elevator ride up.

You reach to knock on the door, greeted immediately by George. 

“Hey guys! I’m glad you could make it,” he smiles, practically beaming. They’ve both always known it was in the cards for them to get engaged and of course married, but damn if he wasn’t ecstatic about it finally happening.

“Gwen’s in the living room, on her fourth glass of champagne so naturally she’s already started her own acapella concert in there,” he tells you, looking absolutely smitten just thinking about his future bride, even as a drunk, goofy mess.

“Oh, and Jacob brought some celebratory cigars and since you were such a huge part in helping me plan this, I’d love if you’d join me for one,” George offers Tom.

Tom looks towards you, not wanting to leave when your mood seems off like this. He doesn’t want to flat out say no to George, but you can tell this is his silent way of asking.

“You can go, I’m gonna go see Gwen. I hate the smell of them anyways,” you reassure him with a smile and congratulate George before walking through the apartment to find her.

Gwen is surrounded by people talking to her and congratulating her but as soon as she sees you, she comes running.

“Y/N! Hi! I’m engaged!” She shouts despite the music not being at a loud volume, champagne in one hand and flashing the other with the ring on it at you.

“I know you did, that’s why I came,” you reply with a smile, leaning in to greet your tipsy friend with a hug.

For a while you’re chatting with her and some other friends, not really as energetic as you would be but most people have been here longer than you and are already a little tipsy, so no one notices. You’re in the middle of half-listening to one of Gwen’s co-workers tell all of you about their upcoming trip to somewhere you don’t really care about, when a hand is placed on your back. 

“Do you mind if I steal Y/N away from you for a moment?” He asks and he’s behind you but you can just tell he’s got on a charming smile (but isn’t it always charming to you?)

All of the intoxicated girls grin at his English accent and endearing smile, nodding simultaneously and encouraging him to take you away. You think one may have even said ‘hell, you can take me!’, but regardless, Tom utters a thank you regardless. With his hand in yours, he leads you through the apartment and onto the balcony. The smell of cigar smoke lingers outside and the night air is chilling against your bare arms, having left your jacket inside.

“You brought me away from friends, free booze and the warmth of the indoors to… have me smell some cigar smoke?” You joke, arms hugging yourself in an attempt to keep warm.

“You’re being weird,” he replies before sliding glass door shut, blocking out the music and talking from inside. 

“Excuse me?” You question, furrowing your eyebrows at him, “so you’re gonna force me to be cold, smell cigar smoke, and call me weird? I’m going inside then.”

“Okay I’m sorry for saying you’re being weird,” he says quickly, “But, can you please sit down with me? You can even have my jacket,” he offers, and shrugs it off to hand to you.

You eye the jacket, then the table, before grabbing his coat and sitting down. Bundling yourself up in his warm jacket, the smoke scent lingers on his coat, but it's mixed with his familiar cologne and that’s enough to be comforting. 

“I just, I really love engagements and romance and I realize I haven’t really been excited for two of my closest friends when that’s all tonight is about. It’s just kind of weird behavior on my part and I wanted to talk to you about it,” Tom replies dramatically (the damned acting major).

You look down at the table because you know exactly what he’s doing. Really, it’s hard not to, he knows how stubborn you are and reads you better than anyone, so voices his concern this way. If he says something flat out, you don’t really have a chance to deny it.

“Oh, no wait. That’s you.” He finishes his sentence and pulls out the chair on the opposite side of the table to sit down in.

“Haha, that never gets old.” You reply sarcastically, running your fingers across the glass that covers the top of the table.

He places his hand atop of yours, stilling your movements. You look up to him, unblinking and expressionless. 

“Really, N/N what’s wrong? You were excited earlier and you’re practically the president of the Gwen/George fan club so if you don’t get excited, they’re going to find another leader.” He jokes but stops when you don’t smile.

“It’s nothing,” you reply, biting at your cheek. You’re trying your best to not rain on their parade, and no one notices but Tom. But if he keeps pushing, you’re not going to be able to hold your stupid emotions in. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” he reprimands, squeezing your hand, “you know you can tell me anything.”

You look at the closed door and no one else is out here, or paying attention and Tom is your best friend, and maybe if you talk about it, you’ll be able to enjoy the party.

“Sometimes I just worry it will never happen for me,” you start, looking down at your hands, “getting married I mean. Or anything relatively close, like finding someone who loves me long enough to even stay more than a few months…”

“And I know I’m only 23, and they’re 28 so they’re at a different point in their life and they’ve been going out forever but..” you pause, and Tom doesn’t interrupt, just listens. 

“After what happened with him, I’m scared of ever trying again. More than that, I think I just feel like that maybe that’s the best I’ll ever get, or even deserve,” you finish, with tears welling up in your eyes, and you look away, out over the balcony. 

Tom gets up and you close your eyes, letting the tears fall because maybe he thinks you’re selfish for making this night about you somehow and he’s leaving. But instead, he pulls you up out of the chair and brings you to his chest and holds you tightly. You stay like that for a while, until the tears slow to a stop and your breathing has slowed to normal. 

“Why would you ever think that’s the best you’ll get?” he asks and you look up at him, expecting some sort of joke because there’s no way he’s serious. 

“Why wouldn’t I? I must deserve it in some regard after how deeply and unapologetically he hurt me. After all that happened and how long it went on for, it's hard not to think somehow, it’s my fault. I must have done something wrong.” The tears are welling in your eyes again, threatening to fall.

“You cannot seriously believe that,” He softly rubs his hands up and down your arms, “hey, look at me.”

He puts his hand under your chin, lifting it so your eyes meet his. 

“Why would you ever think you deserve the kind of treatment he gave you?” He questions, and then repeats himself when you don’t answer, gingerly as though speaking too loud would scare you away.

“He wasn’t all bad,” you reply meekly, biting the inside of your cheek, “sometimes he--”

Tom cuts you off, “No, there’s no ‘sometimes’ for treating someone you’re supposed to love well, it’s not something you need to earn or something that’s rationed. He was a dick all the time, he just pretended not to be sometimes to manipulate you into staying.” 

Your heart throbs at the blunt veracity of his words. Deep, deep down, under everything that has happened, all of the trauma and damage done, you know it’s true. Internally you’ve just been at a constant tug of war, trying to rationalize all that happened. Was he in love with you at all? Did you do something to make him hurt you like he did? Could you have fixed him? Was he good under it all and just hurting? Did you imagine it all? Were you not good enough in the end, even for him? 

“Why manipulate me into staying if he was the one who ended up leaving in the end?” you question, and his own heart hurts at your words.

Tom’s not sure what to say because he saw your ex leave you and come back so many times. Saw how it slowly chipped away at you each time. When someone does that to you, time and time again, it takes away all your power. You feel helpless and like you can’t go on and the only thing you can do is wait for them to come back. While all of that makes Tom furious, and he wishes you were the one who dumped that asshole because he deserved it, he instead says what will best comfort you.

“Because he’s a blind idiot. But it’s probably the kindest thing he’s done your whole relationship,” he replies, before moving his hand from under your chin to your face, his thumb stroking your cheek, “and I know that sounds insensitive because you hurt for so long and you’re just getting over it, but it’s true.” 

“You’ll find someone who fulfills all of those fairytale expectations, because you shouldn't settle for less and you don’t have to. Someone who is kind, and cares for you, and appreciates everything you are and have to offer. I’m not saying it will take away all the hurt you have felt, but they will love you so deeply that you’ll wonder how you ever thought you deserved any less,” he promises, leaning forward to press his forehead to yours.

He wants to say he’s that someone, confess the way he felt about you since the very beginning but that’s not what you need now. Instead he gives you one last squeeze and brings you down inside, out of the cold. He’s gotten you to at least talk about it and that at least means you won’t hide yourself away, hurting and staying silent in an attempt to not burden anyone. Not that you could ever be a burden, not to Tom.

It hurts a little less when you have someone like Tom by your side. Maybe people look at you two and think he’s suffering from white knight syndrome, like you need to rescued because you’re a damsel in distress. Maybe they think you love him because he’s doing the saving and you love him for such a shallow reason. Except it’s not that, you’re just healing on your own with your best friend being there to support you and love you. It is deeper than a fleeting attraction because someone has helped you. This love is patient, kind and unwavering. As cheesy as it sounds, Tom is someone you fell for slowly, and then all at once. You went to bed one night thinking of him as your best friend and woke up the next with the thought crossing your mind while you were in the shower; ‘I love my best friend so much’ and by the time you were done rinsing away your shampoo, you realized ‘shit, I love him’.

After that it was all you could think of for weeks, noticing all the ways he cared for you. Something as simple as asking if you had gotten enough sleep last night or giving you the cherry from his drinks because you love them so much. The way he locks eyes with you in a boring lecture to make sure you’re awake, the way his hand immediately grabs yours in crowds. Picking up your favorite chips when he goes grocery shopping, just so he always has them in the cupboard for you even though he doesn’t like them. The way he doesn’t just tolerate the things you like, and he doesn’t but gets excited for them simply because he likes seeing you enjoy things. The two of you are the other’s first person to tell both good and bad news alike to. The two of you may fight but neither of you are too embarrassed to admit you’re in the wrong to the other. He makes mundane things like getting gas or going grocery shopping entertaining. While you should be scared of him leaving or being hurt again, you’ve trusted him for so long with matters regarding your heart, it only seems right that he’s the one you trust to hold your it and not harm it. But you don’t want him to think he’s a rebound from the man who’s broken your heart only months ago, because it is so much deeper than that. Your love for him is so much deeper than that. So, you keep quiet, loving him silently.

You both have fallen so deeply into each other, but both too worried about caring for the other to say anything and tonight isn’t any different. The rest of the night is spent celebrating your friends’ engagement: dancing and drinking the night away. The two of you exchange longing glances throughout the entire evening, scared to break the silence regarding your feelings.

—

Tom pulls into your own apartment complex, parking before glancing over at you. Your eyes closed, mouth slightly opened, high heels in your lap while you’re curled up in the passenger seat. Tom unbuckles, reaching his hand over to softly shake your shoulder in an attempt to wake you gently. You continue your slumber, unphased by his disturbance.

“Y/N,” he calls softly. You’re still sleeping soundly, and you look so peaceful that Tom can’t help but reach over and tuck your hair behind your ear, letting his hand linger there.

Out of all the ways you could wake up, this could very well be the creepiest way to, Tom thinks. His thought must have manifested it because your eyes flutter open slowly. While he thinks to withdraw his hand and pretend he wasn’t just thinking about how breathtaking his best friend is (and how in love with her he is), you instead lean into his hand.

“Mm, hello,” you mumble, blinking to adjust to the darkness of the car. The few streetlights lining the parking lot let in just enough light for you to see his lovely face. Tom hasn’t shut off the car yet so heat is still on and his (really, your) playlist continues playing at a low volume.

“We’re home,” he says gently, trying not to be too loud as you shake off the effects of sleep.

The words make you feel warm, hearing him say ‘home’, despite the fact that you’ve definitely referred to the general complex as ‘home’ before. Maybe it’s just the circumstances; him waking you up tenderly from a night spent out together, like you’re lovers and he’s waking you so you can go inside to the bed you both share.

“Oh, okay,” you reply, rubbing at your eyes despite the presence of makeup.

“Want me to carry you up?” He asks, innocently enough. Except that it just furthers that fantasy of being together: being carried up to your home together.

“I mean, because you’re tired and you’ve had a bit to drink everything,” he quickly adds, “and I know they’re the lace up ones and you hate doing them up.” He points to the heels in your lap.

Of course, he’s just being his usual sweet self. He’s heard you complain about these shoes enough and knows the only reason you wear them is because you say the way they look is worth the effort. But he also knows when you’re drunk and the shoes come off, you’re past the point of no return and you’ll only ever get less put together, not more. Because he remembers things like that.

The thudding in your chest quiets a little, “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

He turns off the car and gets out to walk around to your side. He opens the passenger door and grabs your shoes from you and allows you to wrap your hands around his neck. He adjusts his hold on you so he’s carrying you bridal style (great, that helps your romantic mindset) and you bury your face into his chest, telling yourself its only to shield your eyes from the change in lighting. He places you on the floor, since you’re safe from the slushy snow outside now. While he wishes he could have you in his arms the whole way up, there’s no reason for it and it would look strange since you’re just friends.

You walk barefoot beside him to the elevator, both of you silent on your way up. You’ve managed to make it home before 2 AM, but the hall and the whole complex is peacefully silent. When you reach your apartment, you both begin talking at the same time.

“I just wanted to say—”

“I hope you know—”

“Oh sorry, you go.”

“No, it’s okay, you go.”

You both laugh quietly as not to wake any of your neighbors, until Tom gestures for you to go ahead first.

“I just wanted to say thank you. For talking to me about everything tonight. And for not thinking I was absolutely awful to be thinking about myself during Gwen and George’s happy night,” you glance down at your bare feet, shy at tonight’s actions.

“You don’t have to apologize,” and he continues before you can interrupt, “you really don’t. I know you and so I know it wasn’t something you did out of selfishness.”

He reaches for your hand and holds it between you two, while the other reaches up to stroke your cheek, which you lean into again. It’s an intimate gesture he doesn’t usually do, but has managed twice tonight, and it feels like walking the line of friendship and lovers.

“You deserve so much better than anything he ever gave you, or anything anyone has ever given you. You deserve the world and I can’t believe you would ever think otherwise. I will always fight for your fairytale ending, even if you give up or think you don’t deserve it.”

Your heart swells and you want to thank him for all that he’s saying, but he only continues.

“I always want you to feel like you can talk to me, because I will always be here because I, I lo-“ he stops himself and your heart begins thudding again, because maybe he feels the same way you do.

“I-I look out for you. And you look out for me, right?” he finishes, his voice unsteady and you’re beyond disappointed.

You rest your hand atop the hand of his that cups your face.

Despite how nervous you feel, and how clammy your hands are getting and the thumping in your chest, you look into his eyes bravely and ask, “Tom, do you love me?”

“Of course I do, you’re my—”

“No. I am asking you; do you love me?”

When he doesn’t say yes, but he also doesn’t say no you decide to make the first move. You lean in to kiss him, but quickly his hands pull out of yours, pressing gently against your shoulders. Your brain goes into full panic mode: you cannot believe you misread the signals so badly, you cannot believe you tried to kiss your best friend. You turn away from him, fumbling with your keys and shoving the apartment key into the lock, shoving it in, scrambling to escape from this mess.

Tom certainly isn’t drunk since he had to drive home but the emotion bubbling inside of his chest is far more intoxicating than any amount of alcohol could be. He’s grasping at words, trying to try to express what he’s feeling right now but his thoughts are jumbled and clouded.

“Y/N,” he breathes out, walking to follow you into your apartment, desperate to explain himself.

Your turn around, pressing your hand against his chest, leaving it there for a moment, not meeting his eyes. He doesn’t say anything, doesn’t try to hold your hands or assure you in any way, so you turn around to enter your apartment. You close the door softly and turn the lock, and maybe that’s scarier than you slamming the door in anger. You press your forehead to the door, eyes closed and attempting not to feel all that you are right now, as deeply as you are. You could not be more thankful for Zendaya’s family trip as she is unable to see the stupid attempt at an advance. She is not here to pretend that what you did wasn’t stupid, or that you didn’t make the biggest mistake.

You’re frustrated and annoyed that you’re hurting like this. You’re frustrated that you were stupid enough to think you’re not a broken mess, that you’re deserving of him, of love. Of course he doesn’t want anything more than friendship from you, he’s seen the train wreck that is your love life. Why would he willingly dive into that mess?  To soften the ache in your heart you tell yourself that it’s better this way, you tell yourself you haven’t felt this way for as long as you have, that it's just the alcohol and the influence of the romance of your friend’s engagement. You pretend that you don’t feign sleep on Saturday mornings to stay in his arms just a little bit longer. Those longing glances at him from across the room at parties or class don’t happen. Even more, the times where he catches you and smiles before joining you, and makes you laugh and nothing else matters doesn’t happen either. All those times he comforts you and says things that straddle that line of friendship, and you just so badly want to say something back or kiss him, those don’t happen either. You’re friends and that’s it. Friendship is safer, it won’t end in your heart broken, and a little bit of Tom in that way is better than all of him romantically. You’ll settle for loving him softly and quietly, like a friend would, and you ignore the way your chest hurts like you’ve just lost the love of your life as you fall asleep that night.

Tom is left outside of your door, stunned at all that has happened. You are hurt, alone and without your best friend and the fact that he is the cause of it is what hurts him the most. He may have had a few drinks (and barely slept that night), he remembers it vividly. He doesn’t for a moment question the authenticity of his memories when you pretend like nothing happened the next day. 

Taglist: @averyfosterthoughts @martinafigoli​

[jaxl-road]

The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.3

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia​! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

~~~~~

It was a Wednesday. The longest fucking day of the week. Everyone had a rare day where they were all off, or worked in the morning and was off that afternoon. Kelly gave them the address and they all piled in cars to head over there to check it out. They pulled up to the large metal gate, where Kelly was standing outside, smoking a cigarette while a couple of older residents eyed him like he was a god.

“It’s gated?” Izzy asked as they approached the gate. Kelly tossed down his cigarette.

“You see the way Mr. and Mrs. Robinson are eyeing me over there,” He nodded at the couple that looked like they were heading to the country club. “Okay, I’m warning you, it needs a lot of work. It hasn’t been regularly lived in since the war.”

“Which war?” Baz asked. Kelly just smirked, opening the gate to lead the group down a long driveway, a large overgrown house spotted in the distance.

At first, they passed several dying trees and bushes, weeds and grass sprouting between cracks in the concrete, but before long Vince was rushing out in front of them, laughing like a madman, As he sprinted up the driveway, the plants came to life behind him.

Yellowing plants suddenly turned a bright, healthy green, flowers blooming from some of them, and the patches of brown grass revived itself. Ahead of them, Vince shouted out victoriously, “I fucking knew it!”

Once they caught up, the rockers found the blonde singer standing proudly in front of a rapidly growing marijuana plant. He turned to grin at Kelly, “I knew I would find some on your property!”

“Ooooo Kelly smokes pot. Whoever would’ve guessed that one?” Axl rolled his eyes. Mick gave Vince a look to stop him from growing vines and tying Axl up, not that anyone else would complain. Stevie was oddly quiet, staring at the house.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” Kelly asked. Stevie immediately hugged him with tears in her eyes.

“It’s perfect!” She told him. “We could paint, and new floors, and…”

“We kinda need money to do that kid,” Mick laughed. “Anyone got money?” Stevie sighed.

“Can we look inside now?” She turned to look at the house.

“Sure thing, sunshine,” Kelly smiled. He turned to Vince, “And if you could maybe make some of the plants around here do… the opposite of that,” he gestured to the still subtly growing weed, “it would certainly make the tour easier.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Vince grumbled. But he kept his word, and as they walked into the mansion, the weeds, grass, and vines covering the house began to recede.

“It’s huge!” Duff gasped. “Holy shit dude.”

“You’ve been holding out on us,” Nikki teased. Kelly shook his head.

“I told you, I just forgot,” Kelly shrugged. “I can’t even remember if there was a…”

“POOL!” Stevie yelled, running to the large windows in the living room. “There’s a fucking pool!”

“Are you sure that’s a pool?” Tommy asked. “Looks like moss city.”

“Looks like an awesome skate park,” Izzy smirked, eyes glinting excitedly.

“Alright, stop fantasizing about the pool you two,” Slash draped his arms around Stevie and Izzy, guiding them away from the window, “we’ve got the whole rest of the house to see.”

Despite Kelly’s insistence, the house wasn’t in as bad of shape as they were expecting, especially once Vince took care of the weeds springing up through the floorboards. It certainly wasn’t pristine, and Tommy swore up and down that he saw a raccoon scurry by, but it wasn’t any worse than any of the garbage apartments they were currently spending all their money to live in. At least the mansion would be free and have extra space.

They were still on the first floor, looking into the various rooms, Kelly absently making comments.

“This room was sold to me as a library,” he said about the room covered in empty bookshelves, “but like, I don’t exactly own a library’s worth of books.” He opened the door to another room, it was large and spacious, with soundproofing panels haphazardly attached to the walls, “This is technically a bedroom, and for like, a weekend I thought I might turn it into a personal studio, but then I kind of forgot about it-”

“DIBS!”

Kelly was cut off as Axl shoved his way past him, dragging a gleeful Sebastian behind him as they darted into the room, “Fuck yes, we can be as fucking noisy as we want and no one will bust our ass about it!” The redhead spun around excitedly.

“Babe!! There’s even a bathroom attached and everything!” Baz announced.

They both cheered as Kelly looked on in dismay, “You can’t- you can’t call dibs, this is just a fucking tour!”

“There’s a sunroom?!” Stevie’s voice rang out from down the hallway.

Following the delighted giggling, the group found Stevie jumping up and down in a room that consisted of three walls of floor to ceiling windows. The room seemed dim at first, much of the glass covered in ivy, but after some pestering Vince drew the plants away, allowing the room to be filled with bright, warm sunlight.

“This one is mine!” Stevie declared, “I will fight anyone who tries to take this from me, it is MINE!” she announced aggressively, the boys throwing their hands up in surrender, none of them planning on taking her sunshine away, especially since they knew how much she depended on it due to her mutation.

"Uh, you guys, it's just a tour," Kelly pointed out, "You can't live here?"

"And why not?" Stevie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, the commute and…" he was cut off by Tommy running over and grabbing him.

"Don't take this from us!" He growled, "You might be able to live forever, but Nikki can torture you!"

"Okay, okay, calm down," Izzy put a hand on Tommy's shoulder, "If he doesn't want us to live here, then we don't have to share our booze or Vince's good shit with him anymore."

"Wait, what?" Kelly pouted. "That's not fair…" Finally, he sighed and threw his arms in the air in defeat, "Fine."

There was a chorus of cheers before the group quickly scattered, everyone rushing and shoving each other to explore the rest of the house and claim a room for themselves. Shaking his head in fond exasperation, Kelly pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up, meandering back down the hall. A soft thwip, thwip, noise came from Axl and Sebastian’s room, and when he poked his head in he found the teleporter already popping in and out with armfuls of stuff and even a few pieces of furniture into the room. Further down the hallway, Duff had pulled out a pocket knife and was carving his name into the library door. Footsteps and chattering voices sounded above his head as the group explored the upper levels of the house.

Tommy and Nikki decided to check out the attic and make that a suite for them, despite Kelly's protests. Upon opening the door, they found old furniture, trunks, and a bathroom. A large balcony overlooked the backyard. But Tommy didn't care about that. Instead, he went for one of the trunks.

"What are you doing?" Nikki asked.

"Being nosy," Tommy told him. "Wanna help?"

"Fuck yeah," Nikki opened another trunk.

"Hey! Quit snooping!" Kelly yelled.

"It’s our room. And it's in here, so…" Nikki smirked. Kelly groaned as Nikki found pictures and such of Kelly over the years, making fun of his fashion sense. Tommy was digging around in old clothes when he suddenly froze, inhaled, and yelled.

“STEVIE!” He yelled out. Stevie made her way into the attic.

“Is there a spider?” She asked, looking at Kelly, who was confused. Tommy walked over to her with his hands behind his back.

“So, you know how I could only afford a bottle of Smirnoff for your birthday?” Tommy asked. Stevie nodded. “Happy real birthday.” He handed her a large envelope. Looking inside, there was a ton of money. She looked up at him, eyes wide.

“What?” She asked.

“Hey! That’s mine!” Kelly said. “That’s where I put it!”

“It’s in mine and T’s room, and I say that Stevie gets to start fixing up and decorating the house with it,” Nikki smirked at the other bassist.

“Dude!” Sebastian’s voice called from a floor below, “Slash found a nest with like, a dozen snakes in it!”

“DON’T LET HIM KEEP THEM!” Stevie screamed, running from the room to try to put a stop to Slash’s reptile hoarding. Tommy grinned widely, throwing his arms around Nikki and Kelly.

“I fucking love this house.”

Kelly groaned, “I was afraid you were going to say that,” He rubbed his head. “I’m going to go see if anyone took my bedroom and kick them out. Then maybe we can see if Stevie will get her hands off some money and we can get takeout from the Rainbow?”

“Awesome!” Tommy smiled. “Nikki, can I start getting our stuff?”

“Knock yourself out T,” Nikki laughed and, just like that, Tommy took off.

Between the speedster and the teleporter, the house was piled with stuff in no time. Vince coaxed the foliage around the house into something manageable (although the marijuana plant only seemed to be growing more, not that any of them were complaining). Footsteps thundered through the whole house, rockers exploring and laying claim to rooms and artifacts, rifling through Kelly’s boxes (which he complained about loudly and was thoroughly ignored), and Stevie rambling about her plans for various decorations and repairs.

When the food arrived, the chaos died down just a bit, everyone pausing in their energetic tasks to stuff their faces and exchange plans with the others.

It was easy for Kelly to slip away. Stepping outside, he saw that night had fallen, making the already unrecognizable yard even more unfamiliar. Lighting up a cigarette, he tried to remember the last time this house was this lively. He tried to remember when any of his homes were this lively. But he was coming up blank.

“Are you really okay with us being here?”

The bassist nearly jumped out of his skin, whirling around to find himself face to face with a curious looking Izzy. It was easy for him to sneak up on people, gliding through walls silently rather than giving away his presence by opening a door.

Walking over to stand beside him, Izzy took out his own cigarettes, letting his question hang in the air for a few minutes as they smoked quietly.

“...Yeah,” Kelly finally answered, a wry smile on his face, “You guys are fine,” he grinned at the guitarist teasingly, “I’ve just been trying to avoid becoming friends with you fuckers, and this seriously throws a wrench in my plans.” He said it sarcastically, but there was a bit of truth in his words. Making friends wasn’t always fun for the immortal.

“You’ve been friends with us for a while, you unfortunate motherfucker,” Izzy smirked.

Kelly wanted to deny his words, but before he got a chance, Stevie suddenly burst out onto the porch, “IZZY!” she was glowing with excitement, “We found a locked door! Maybe there’s treasure inside!!”

“Goddamn it, stop stealing all my shit!” Kelly pouted.

"We're not stealing, we're admiring," Stevie told him.

"Hey Baz, I think this will look great in our room!" Axl called out to his boyfriend as he walked by. Stevie just gave Kelly a sheepish smile.

"If I could die, you guys would be the death of me," Kelly shook his head. "Let's see if we can find the key before Nikki decides to melt it." Stevie cheered and kissed Kelly's cheek before heading to the door.

"You sure you're okay?" Izzy asked Kelly before they headed back in.

"Yeah," Kelly sighed. "I just wish I could remember what else I hid here…" he trailed off. Izzy felt bad for the guy. No one knew how old Kelly really was or everything he had seen, and they could tell that it weighted on him from time to time.

Wandering back inside, Stevie led them to the door in question. It was off the side of the kitchen, and looked slightly nicer than the other doors in the house. Kelly squinted at it and hummed.

“Hmm… where does this go?” he mumbled to himself.

“That’s what we have to find out!” Stevie answered, “Okay, think real hard Kelly- where would you hide a key to your secret treasure?”

Kelly gave her a deadpan expression, “I don’t remember what I had for breakfast, this might be a bit of a challenge.”

“Hey, there’s stairs in here!”

Spinning around, Kelly and Stevie found half of Izzy’s body leaning through the door to look behind it, “It’s dark as fuck in here, but I think it maybe leads to cellar?”

"Why don't we have anyone in our group with super strength?" Stevie sighed. Nikki made his way over and put his hand on the lock, heating it until the working components melted and it fell apart.

"Babe, what if that lock was the only thing keeping a vampire from our necks?" Tommy asked.

"You're too skinny and anemic. He won't want your blood." Nikki smiled.

"Why can't it be a hot vampire girl?" Stevie crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, why don't you lead us down there so we can find out, Flashlight?" Nikki motioned to the door. By this point the others had joined them.

"Fine." Stevie huffed, heading down the stairs. "But have Mick on standby in case I fall and break my arm."

Taking a moment to focus, she let herself glow brighter than usual, illuminating a foot or two in front of her as she and the rest of the group began their descent. The stairway didn’t go too deep though, and before they knew it, they were turning into an open room. It wasn’t huge, but it had a few tables and chairs shoved up against the wall, and what looked like a bar in the back corner. What really caught their attention was the numerous shelves lined with bottles and jars, and a few large barrels sitting beneath them.

“Oh shiiiit,” Kelly’s eyes widened in comprehension, “It’s the Prohibition Room!”

“The what now?” Tommy asked.

Meanwhile, Duff was already darting forward, snatching one of the jars down and struggling to unscrew the lid.

“Yeah,” Kelly answered absently, “I totally forgot about this, but I had like, an unofficial speakeasy down here during prohibition,” he explained.

Finally getting the jar open, Duff unceremoniously took a large swig from it. His face scrunched up a bit as he swallowed before breaking into a wide grin, “Fuck yeah, moonshine!!”

“Jesus Christ, Duff, what if that had been poison or something?” Axl looked on in horror, “Does moonshine expire? What if it turned into bleach or something!”

“I don’t think that’s how alcohol works, dude,” Slash chimed in.

“It’s alcohol made by Kelly,” Axl pointed accusingly, “standard assumptions don’t apply here!”

“This is the best day of my life,” Duff giggled, ignoring the argument and already halfway through the jar.

“Okay, alright, slow down there Weather Witch,” Kelly snagged the jar out of his hand, ignoring his whining, “At least pace yourself, this shit is strong.” Stevie walked around, checking out the dusty room.

“Holy shit guys!” Slash called out. “Look at this chick!”

Hanging on the wall was an art deco style poster of a woman in a green dress, holding a bottle of alcohol. She had long blond hair, and it almost looked like green wings. There were words about Absinthe and little green fairies around her.

“She looks like Stevie!” Vince laughed. “Holy shit!”

“She looks nothing like me,” Stevie rolled her eyes. “You guys are blind.”

“Eh, she kinda does,” Kelly agreed. “I wonder if there’s any absinthe still around here.” He started rifling through various bottles that were on the bar. Upon picking one up, a whole section of the bar pulled away, showing an access to the entire underside of the bar. Under the bar were cases of alcohol, money, and some old guns.

For a moment, all they could do was stare down at the revealed stash. Eventually, Sebastian broke the silence with a whispered but emphatic, “Holy shit, dude.”

“...So that’s where I put those.”

“Sweet, more alcohol!” Duff chimed in.

“Sweet, more money!” Nikki added.

“Guns,” Izzy stated with far too much glee.

“And all I get is a poster of a girl advertising hallucinogenic alcohol,” Stevie sighed. Kelly shook his head.

“You know, I think there are more hidden things all over the estate,” Kelly pointed out, “Maybe you’ll find a diamond or something.”

“Yeah, because the house is the only one that will give her a diamond,” Axl teased, making Stevie glare at him.

“Okay, okay, let’s get this all out of here and take it upstairs,” Kelly told them, “I’m having some flashbacks and I’d rather count it on the main floor,” He looked at Stevie, “And tomorrow, we’ll go buy new furniture.”

Stevie smiled, “Really?” She asked.

“Yeah,” He shrugged. Stevie’s excitement lit up the room, literally.

“My eyes!” Vince covered his eyes. “Mick, I need you to heal them!”

“You were either going to go blind from Stevie or from touching yourself and I’m not healing either,” Mick grumbled.

Bringing up the money, weapons, and enough alcohol to satisfy them for the night, they returned upstairs and sprawled out in the living room. They found the guns to all be unloaded, much to Izzy’s disappointment and everyone else’s relief. The money they had found, combined with the envelope Tommy had given Stevie, added up to a more than impressive amount.

“Holy shit,” Stevie stared in wide-eyed glee after they finished adding up the total, “With this much cash, we can fix this place up and eat more than once a day!”

“Oh thank God,” Tommy sighed in relief.

“Yeah, we’ll have you vampire-worthy in no time,” Nikki teased.

“Dude, don’t even joke about that!” Tommy whined, “I’m not gonna be able to sleep tonight!”

“I can work with that,” Nikki winked.

“Oh God, I’m glad you guys are sequestered in the attic,” Vince shuddered, “Sleeping with earplugs was getting old.”

“Oh, challenge accepted,” Nikki grinned mischievously, tugging Tommy to stand and head towards their room, the drummer laughing.

“Night, roomies!”

“Ugh, I regret this already,” Kelly moaned exaggeratedly.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed too,” Izzy stood nonchalantly, “I'm pretty beat.”

“Good idea,” Stevie piped up, “We’ve had a busy day and tomorrow we’ve got even more to do!” She rubbed her hands together in excitement.

As they began to clear out, Duff suddenly stumbled, a loud yelp sounding from around his feet.

“Are you fucking kidding me!” The bassist shrieked as Slash became visible from his place laying on the floor, glaring furiously.

“We’re in a goddamn mansion, how do you still manage to step on me?!”

“You’re laying in the middle of the fucking floor, how is this my fault??”

Shaking her head, Stevie quickly retreated to her new room, the bickering getting softer as she skipped down the hallway. A mattress was haphazardly shoved in the corner of the sunroom, and piles of clothes and posters were spread about the floor. As she shut the door behind her, she was relieved to find that she couldn’t hear her two bandmates’ arguing anymore. Falling onto her bed, she sighed in contentment. They could fight all they wanted now and she wouldn't be disturbed. It was a dream come true.

This place was perfect.

[peach-jaehyunie]

The Descent

Pairing: Lee Taeyong x OC, (minor) Johnny Suh x OC x OC, (former) Kim Taehyung x OC

Rating: 18+

Warnings: swearing, suggestive content, implied drug use

Pt. I

Words 4,263

Genre: Fantasy, Fallen Angel AU, slow burn

Synopsis: Vada spends her days working in a restaurant, letting all the desires of her true nature remain mostly unfulfilled. Where passion had once been in her life she is left with only half memories—secrets of her past that haunt her heart. A man with blue hair catches her attention he and his friend begin to ignite the feelings within her that have long been dormant.

You had known a man like that as a sophomore in college. He had been your dorm roommate’s boyfriend, and he had radiated an unfamiliar energy. He was ethereal and his aura pulled you in. One time you asked how he got the two scars on his back “I had my wings ripped off,” he joked. He was gorgeous, but one day he was just gone and your roommate curled up in her tiny bed to weep over everything Kim Taehyung had taken and given.

He had made you look twice when you had first seen him a month ago. He rode a bicycle and his blue hair ruffled in the wind, you couldn’t help but look at him—the ethereal beauty you had seen before in someone else. It had become routine to see him as you walked to work: he would fly past, his shirt billowing, sometimes followed by a hooded figure with downcast eyes on a longboard. Eventually, his eyes would catch yours as he passed: they were deep brown and calming, there was always a twinkle of hope to be seen in them for a fleeting moment as he sped by. You noticed days you didn’t see him, they felt slightly emptier and work would be lacklustre.

“Vada?” You snapped to attention as your coworker said your name,

“Yeah, sorry, what did you say?” You quickly replied as you went back to whisking a pastry cream twice as hard.

“Katerina needs to know what to put on the menu for the desserts this week.”

“Oh, um,” Devo had caught you at a bad time as you were daydreaming about a blue haired stranger. “I made a white cake filled with almond pastry cream between the layers and an Italian meringue icing; I have blood orange panna cotta setting right now, which will be served with a blueberry sauce...oh! I’m making trifle with the leftover cupcakes, and I’m going to make a chocolate cherry mousse and serve it in martini glasses.” You noticed that Devo didn’t write any of this down and braced yourself for when Katerina would inevitably come and nitpick your work. You furiously whisked in the eggs yolks and were relieved that the cream remained perfectly smooth as it took on a yellow hue. You felt as though you could probably whip up a triple batch of pastry cream in your sleep, so thinking about the two men that chose a bicycle and a longboard as their methods of transport in a hilly city like San Francisco kept your brain busy.

A handsome man caught your eye for a second as you walked home with your bag of groceries. His eyes met your gaze and you felt unable to turn away. A chill came over you and you felt that his eyes were enough to suffocate you in the crowded sidewalk, every step drew each of you closer together. You fought back a grimace as the street narrowed and the mass of people were forced closer together. You were able to force your gaze from him, but the stranger’s arm bumped into your shoulder as he walked past. The hair on your neck prickled, your stomach felt like ice; he felt wrong. You couldn’t shake the feeling of repulsion even when you got home and set your TJ’s bag on the counter and began to unpack it.

“Hey, Vada,” your roommate greeted you without even looking at you as she breezes from the bathroom, through the tiny living room, and into her bedroom before shutting her door. You could hear two voices through the door; Brian must have been over and now they were getting ready for a night out. You considered an evening spent at home alone: you weren’t much of a Netflix watcher, and a string of bad first dates had left you in a dry patch romantically. You couldn’t go out with Ana and Brian, because you had fucked Brian first and now it felt awkward because he wasn’t quite your sloppy seconds; he just mostly was.

You ate the dinner you had brought home in a to-go container from work; it was delicious and the flavours were balanced, an array of textures should have been enough to excite your palate, but tonight it felt as tantalizing as eating cardboard. You picked up a book; any attempts to read it failed as you continuously got up to scour the cupboards and fridge for anything attractive. You spent the evening fidgety and almost...hungry. It was an odd sensation, a mix of physical hunger; for food, excitement, sex—anything to pull you from the mundane— and an even deeper hunger: a yearning. You thought of the blue-haired man on the bicycle, a warm and pleasant feeling filled you. It was the exact opposite sensation that you had felt from the other stranger while walking home. A streetcar outside the window clanged and you rolled over in bed, irritated by its sound.

The next day the blue-haired man was not to be seen on the way to work. A somewhat familiar feeling of unfulfillment took hold of you upon reaching your apartment at the end of the day. While you got ready to out to a bar with Devo you remembered someone else filling you with that feeling before: warmth, hunger, and insatiability that you couldn’t describe. You flinched like a wounded animal when you recalled the sharp grip of guilt that had clawed at you in punishment for giving in to such base desires.

“Here, you look like you could use it,” Devo said, sliding you his Manhattan as he ordered another.

“A Manhattan?” You looked at him skeptically.

“Sophisticated; like me,” he immediately quipped “No, but seriously, what happened in the two hours since I last saw you?”

“I guess I’m just kinda bored and very lonely.” You take a sip of your drink, already regretting the lasting taste the alcohol leaves on your tongue and the cloying aroma it will leave on your skin.

“What about your roommate?”

“She’s out with Brian,” you weren’t jealous, or at least not of the Brian factor, but no one would have possibly known that from the way you gulped down the rest of your drink.

“The one you fucked first?” Asked Devo.

“Yes,” you replied with a laugh in his direction, “The one I fucked-first. I’m very generous that way, you know, bringing people together like that.”

You and Devo’s friend, Adrian (boyfriend, but Devo’s parents don’t approve and, no, he doesn’t want to talk about it) must nearly carry poor, drowsy Devo back to his little bachelor apartment. It’s tidy but dark; there’s enough room for two men in love as long as lavish amenities like oxygen aren’t that important to you. The only pieces of furniture are a bed, two bean-bag chairs in front of a TV sat on the floor and a table in the kitchen area that’s used as an extra counter when Devo is experimenting with a new culinary delight at home.

“Vada, let me walk you home,” Adrian tells you right after you two have put Devo in his bed.

“Sure, thanks,” you tell him. You like Adrian, but he proves to be a slow walker and a fast talker on the way home. He asks you what Devo is like at work—Devo is the first guy he’s gone out with since moving to San Francisco from Ohio.

“What brought you out here?” He’s young and curious: Devo is the mutual friend, but no one talks about your past because the parts you make public are boring and you keep all the gritty and smutty stories to yourself.

“UC Berkeley,” you sighed, but not audibly. “My dream school; I dropped out Junior year, first semester.”

“Shit, didn’t like it?”

“Nah, it’s a great school, it just wasn’t what I wanted at the time.”

“What did you do after that, I mean before working as a pastry chef?” Damn, could he walk any slower.

“Just kinda bummed it on what I had leftover from student loans,” Liar. Someone had gotten you a lucrative job as a stripper in a club off of Broadway. You thanked Adrian and quickly left him out on the street as you hurried up the two flights of stairs to your apartment. There wasn’t a sound from Ana’s room, but empty takeout containers sat on the counter illuminated in the dark kitchen by a strand of lights that hung above the sofa. Your mouth felt dry as your senses were suddenly overcome with the bass of loud club music and a hint of chemical cleaner to cover up the odour of spilled alcohol. Your skin felt sticky with sweat and your hands felt grimy from money—but when you opened your eyes it was just a little two-bedroom apartment in a house with a blue facade staring back at you. It was not special, it was not grand; there were fairy lights strung up and a half-dead cactus (too much water) in the corner. You could close your eyes and remember a room for special guests who wanted a private show...after they inhaled from a blue balloon they were too out of it to do anything more to than slip a hundred into your g-string.

That night you had a dream (or maybe it was a nightmare, but it wasn’t all bad) that you were back in your Berkeley dorm. You laid in the bed and felt warm and full, it felt like happiness but there was a dusting of excitement: a *secret*—which is sometimes just a cute word for a lie. Your limbs felt tangled and you could hear yourself whispering, which was strange because you felt that you were alone until Ally came in and saw you on your little bed and started crying as she shouted and threw items from her side of the room at you. She didn’t want your apologies—were they yours? The dream began to feel claustrophobic; Ally wouldn’t talk, only cry and push away any comforting hands and you could feel yourself standing there...were you apologizing? watching? All you knew was that guilt was suffocating you.

You felt him before you saw him. For the first time, you were aware that you weren’t the only one who looked at him as he passed by on his bicycle. His gaze was as welcoming as a lover’s kiss and his eyes still felt hopeful and warm. You thought (foolishly? hopefully?) that he only looked at you.

You saw him again the next morning and you brazenly returned his gaze: his eyes were like a deer’s, you wanted to spend hours staring into them because they felt safe, welcoming, nonjudgemental. His sharp jawline made your mouth water, but the small smile that broke from his beautiful lips made you feel warm and happy.

Devo came to where you worked in the kitchen to complain about the new line cook.

“Does he ‘Yes, Chef!’ too much for your liking?” You ask him with a straight face.

“No—“

“Oof, he reeks of Axe—“

“No,—“

“Does he have mutton chops like the last guy? Those were gross.” Devo often came to you to complain about the new staff. You enjoyed listing off his complaints about coworkers more than you would like to admit.

“This dude just...creeps me out. Like, he seems nice and everything, but fuck, this sounds ridiculous, I just get this really bad vibe from him, you know? It’s like bad...energy.” You stifled your laugh because Devo was so earnest.

“Well, I feel like I have to meet him now.” You say wiping sticky sugar from your hands and setting a timer on your phone.

“He’s nice! He just makes my skin crawl,” Devo nodded and laughed as he said this before heading back to his prep station.

“Behind, oven door!” You said loudly as you stepped onto the line to put a sheet of rolls on the oven.

“Oh, hey, Vada?” The chef addressed you,

“Yes, chef?”

“This is our new line cook, Johnny.”

The tall cook turned to you and despite having not seen his face before today you knew, you felt that he was the man on the longboard.

“Hey,” Johnny gave a small wave “Vada...I like that name, have I seen you somewhere before? You look really familiar.” He looked at your face intently for a moment before you spoke.

“Um, no I don’t think so. I haven’t worked at many restaurants before.” Being under his gaze felt like a microscope, but...it wasn’t a bad feeling. He shook his head as if to get rid of a thought.

“Well, it is nice to meet you, Vada.” Johnny offered his hand for you to shake. There was a strange and sudden internal pull when you grasped his hand and he must have felt it too by the way he smirked at you.

You couldn’t be sure that he was the longboard guy; when Johnny left work he left on foot to catch a tram. He was talkative and easygoing, behind his outgoing demeanour there seemed to lurk a sedate and tormented individual. You could only see it sometimes: it was there behind his eyes as he worked, sometimes it was written on his face for just a second before the jovial mask would return. Devo avoided him as best he could and Johnny (strangely) didn’t seem at all offended, regardless of how obvious Devo was.

“Drinks and staff night out at Gus’s tonight!” Katerina yelled into the kitchen as closing started. You quickly cleaned up your work station and grabbed a bucket of cutlery for polishing to help the servers get out faster. An hour later the group of you were turning out the lights and locking up, stuffing the split tips into a safe place to be spent later on. Gus’s Bar was a short walk and extremely casual and therefore suitable for a bunch of sweaty kitchen workers.

“First round is on me,” Katerina stated as she sat down at the bar and the old barkeep slowly approached while he was polishing a glass. He nodded and remained quiet as everyone placed their orders, never writing anything down, and began to make drinks more efficiently than you had ever seen in your life. The barkeep (possibly Gus) soon had a row of drinks up for all of you. As soon as Johnny downed his first in one go he exclaimed with a mischievous glint in his eye:

“Third round is on me!” He winked at you as you realized what that meant because no one had offered to buy a second round.

“I guess I’ll buy round two,” said one of the waitresses with a chuckle, her long, blonde waves shaking as she laughed. You felt pleasantly buzzed after round three, not really needing a lot more but also not anywhere near turning down an offer for another one. You ordered a whiskey sour—neat; this one you were paying for. You sat between Miles and Johnny at the bar: Miles was laughing at everything anyone said but paying you no mind because you just wanted to sit there and enjoy the feeling.

“I know where I know you from now,” Johnny spoke resting his arms on the bar comfortably.

“Oh yeah, where?” You grinned at him, unfazed.

“The Velvet Angel,” he said it loud enough that you knew you could only hear him, but you still felt that your heart stopped for a few moments. His eyes stayed on your face, but your thoughts raced and your mouth felt dry when you realized what this meant.

“How did you—“ you began licking your lips

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything—it’s our secret.” He assures you upon noticing your hands shake as you tried to bring the whiskey sour to your mouth. You looked at him, blushing at how kind and welcoming his gaze seemed despite the fact you felt nearly like drowning. You wanted to run away...but you couldn’t, not from Johnny. Everything seemed foggy, but you finished your drink and ordered another. Adrian came and you felt the brush of his hand on your back as he said ‘hello’ and you thought you must have said something back but you couldn’t remember. Miles fell asleep with his head on the bar as Johnny comfortably nursed a beer on your other side. Strangers came and went, and one by one your coworkers left until it was just the three of you—two if you considering that Miles was passed out.

“Do you know where he lives?” Johnny asked you as he finally finished his beer.

“No,” you had to clear your voice as it cracked from disuse. Why weren’t you more shattered, why did this not feel so bad to have Johnny know of your past life.

“I have someone in my couch at my place, can Miles crash at your place?” You wanted to ask Johnny if it was the blue haired man of your fantasies that was on his couch. That thought felt silly and hopeful, especially because you were nearly just operating off of a hunch.

“Yeah, I don’t think my roommate will mind. Wait—“ You grabbed Johnny’s arm as he moved to get up and, you thought, leave. “—I don’t think I can move him by myself,”

Johnny chuckled at your panic, and you felt your face heat up even more than just from the alcohol.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get him home for you; I won’t leave you.” He said as he gently patted your shoulder. Johnny went to help Miles up, but the young man turned out to be drunker than expected and your jaw dropped as Johnny picked up Miles easily and began to carry him out.

“Are you okay to carry him by yourself? That’s not what I meant when I said I couldn’t; I can help if you want!” You called after him, nearly tripping out of your barstool and trotting to catch up with his long strides.

“No, I’m fine, he’s light. Just walk us in the right direction.”

It’s quite a few minutes before you pluck up the courage to say anything to Johnny about The Velvet Angel. You choose your words carefully, wanting to keep the conversation lighthearted.

“No offense, but you don’t really seem like the type of person that would have frequented The Velvet Angel.” You finally say.

“A man?” Johnny joked after a moment. His breathing wasn’t laboured even though he was carrying another person up a hill.

“No, I mean, like that place had other stuff going on.” You began to feel uncomfortable, maybe you had completely misread him.

“Oh...you mean the private rooms and the balloons...well, I try to avoid that a bit now, but I haven’t always.” His voice was soft and low, you turned to look back at him and there was that sad tortured look again. You regretted saying anything.

“I think I deserve some credit for remembering your face, though.” Johnny suddenly quipped with a shy smile.

“Yes, that was very gentlemanly of you,” you replied sarcastically.

“It was the expression you wore on your face,” he began after a pause, “Some of the women...you could really tell that you were just paying to see their body, and some liked to play as if they were teasing you, but you—your face was that of a lover.”

“A lover?” You dubiously queried.

“It’s… You looked like someone in love, your eyes invited an intimacy if you looked closely enough. You didn’t look fake or cheap, it was all art and the beauty of love in your face.”

Your mouth felt dry, and your walking slowed down as Johnny spoke. Love, what did that even feel like? Did you remember, had you ever known it? There was a void where memories of feelings like that should be stored. All you could remember was guilt...disgust, remorse, and guilt. You had slowed to a stop without realizing it.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, worried as he stopped by your side. You looked at him, unable to form a complete thought until the building behind Johnny took shape in the dark.

“This is my house.” You finally manage as you lick your lips and think to take keys from your bag. You unlock the main front door and hold it open as Johnny walks in carrying Miles.

“I live on the second floor, I’m so sorry,” You grimace thinking of him having to carry another man up the stairs.

“I said not to worry about it, Miles is light.” And he easily carries him to your apartment where Miles is laid on your sofa with a pillow from your bed and a spare blanket.

“Thank you so much, I hope you don’t have too far to go.” You tell Johnny as he walks toward your door to leave.

“Nah, it’s fine. It would be faster if I had my longboard, but I can catch a bus.” He shrugged.

“You have a longboard?” You asked, hoping you didn’t sound too curious.

“Yes,” he turned to you and chuckled a little “But you already knew that.” He couldn’t see your blush in the dark. How could he have known that you suspected him?

“Vada,”

“Mhm,”

“If you ever want to meet Taeyong...all you gotta do is ask.” In the hallway, a streetlamp illuminated his face enough for you to see his grin and wink in your direction before turning around and trotting down the steps and out.

———————————————————-

The blue haired man is absent for the rest of the week, but on Saturday night you follow Johnny out the back door to shout after him:

“I want to meet him; I want to meet Taeyong.” Johnny sets his longboard down and pulls his phone out to check it before he answers you.

“Okay,” he looks at you with a slow grin, “I’ll find out when he’s free. Now get back to work, I gotta hot date I have to meet.” He winks at you as he gets on and rides off.

You feel giddy—butterflies like a schoolgirl when you get back inside the restaurant. You have trouble sleeping that night: trying to figure out every possible scenario as to how Johnny knew about your hunch; all the ways you could meet Taeyong, and imagining a first date in which you were overflowing with wit, intelligence, and good things to say; and also a terrible dread and anxiety that Taeyong was just some random person and not the man with the blue hair.

Your eyes are bleary the next day, the cookbook in front of you seems to keep going out of focus.

“Fucking shit!” You curse as you burn your hand on a cake pan, a silent stream of fucks threatened to be uttered by your tongue as you cup your tender wound. Disheartened, you peer into a mixing bowl of clumpy custard. It will need to be strained. Nothing is going right and you feel frazzled. You check the fruit purée in the freezer to see if they have set in their molds yet—they haven’t. You go up to the main kitchen and pour yourself a coffee with extra cream, avoiding the warmth of the mug with your burnt hand. It’s not a glamorous place to enjoy a coffee or a five-minute break, but the sun lights up the alley and even the dumpster doesn’t look too bad in this lighting.

He hops lightly off his bike as he reaches the alley corner, his frown is matched by your own. The hood of his sweater is up but it doesn’t stop the blue fringe from peaking out. He walks straight up to you with his bike, his frown softens and his eyes look like two inviting pools of melted chocolate.

“Is Johnny here?” He asks after a moment of you staring at him. You nearly choke as you try to speak and swallow your spit at the same time—

“Um, no he hasn’t come into work yet.” You finally manage after clearing your throat. The beautiful man’s frown returns and he almost seems to scowl at the back of the restaurant.

“He was off early last night, and said he was meeting up with a hot date.” You added, it felt rude but you were really unable to take your eyes off of him.

He looked back at you, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. His expression was safe and inviting and you suddenly felt less bad for having been staring at him.

“He didn’t come home after his date, and I can’t reach him on his phone; so I thought I’d check here just in case.” His grip on the bike loosened and tightened. Finally, he shyly averted his eyes for a second before offering you his hand to shake.

“It’s nice to finally meet you; I’m Taeyong.” His eyes confidently search yours out when he says his name.

“I know—“ you want to slap yourself as the words fall from your lips, but your hand meets his and you feel a warm and familiar pull in your very core. “I mean, my name is Vada.” You blush as you stumble over the words.

“I know,” and a soft blush breaks out over his smooth cheeks, his grip on your hand never loosening.

[embarrassingsmartphonegame]

Moving In - Nik Ryder x f!MC

Summary: “You know, most people exchange phone numbers before they move in with together.” “Most people also haven’t been brought together by fighting a murderous bag of bones. Also you already have it...” “Wait what?!” Leah moves in with Nik officially after Chapter 5 of Anything. It goes exactly as expected.

All the links for Anything: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 (final chapter) | Scared To Live (interlude from Nik’s POV)

Warnings: two people who bicker almost as much as they love each other, some swear words, kissing, mention of trauma and alcohol, overall pretty light-hearted

“How-” Push. “Much-” Push. “Clothing-” Push. “Do you own?!”

Nik liked to think of himself as physically strong (and he would say he had the abs to prove it). But just how can one box of clothes be so heavy? He was huffing and puffing the entire walk from the moving truck and into the Graveyard Shift, especially when they had to go up a flight of stairs to get to his--no, their apartment.

“I own a normal amount of clothes. Maybe you just need to work out more,” Leah teased as she put down her own box effortlessly on the floor of the living room, stopping to stretch her arms over her head. She had to admit her Fae power of super strength came in handy sometimes and she was thankful that she was now able to summon it even when it wasn’t an emergency.

He snorted. “Chasing monsters keeps me plenty fit, thank you very much. But you sure do own a lot of clothes for someone who loses them like you do.”

Her cheeks burned at the memory of their reunion. “I had to prove it was me!”

“That was really your first instinct?!”

“You complaining about that?”

Nik chuckled and pulled her by the waist, nuzzling her neck. “You know I would never, darlin’.”

Leah rolled her eyes and pecked him on the lips. “I come back and agree to be with you and since then it’s been ‘rook’ or ‘babe’ or ‘sugar’ and now ‘darlin’’. Is that why you’re called Nik...because you’re a...nickname type of guy?”

“Shit, rook; was just tryin’ to be romantic here,” Nik groaned as she laughed a little too hard at her own joke. Any exasperation instantly dissipated once he heard her laugh; he missed it the past three months. She kissed him again, enjoying every moment.

“I know. I just love teasing you.”

“Lil’ shit.”

“Ah, another one, Mr. Nic--hey!” Leah shouted out as Nik suddenly wrapped her up in a bear hug, swinging her around. Her shouts soon turned into laughter, and soon the small apartment was filled with the sound of both of them laughing. 

Nik finally put her down on the counter with his hands still on her hips. She rested her forehead against his, still in slight disbelief that she was moving in with him. It was only one week before that she crash landed back into his life, and after they talked things out and survived yet another attempt on their lives (he owed her his life...again), she decided to move to New Orleans for good. 

The thought of it as their apartment still felt weird to them both; but it was his idea for her to move in with him. Nik remembered giving some half-assed excuse about them being both business and personal partners so it only made sense financially...he ignored that dark voice in his head irrationally sneering at him that if he took his eyes off her for even one second she would disappear again. Leah agreed with his staunch assessment, if only to curb the fear that this was all another weird (but wonderful) dream and she was actually alone in Wyoming. She frowned at the thought of her old life. Nik noticed the pensive look on her face.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

The corner of her right lip quirked upwards without amusement as she shrugged. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to move in? After I’ve been probably the biggest pain in the ass since we met a few months ago?”

“First of all, it was my idea for you to move in; no offense but we’re technically unemployed until a client hires us and I’m in a better position from whoever hired me to protect you,” Nik answered, actually hoping that his honesty wasn’t too offensive. “And second, you’re a pain in the ass...but you’re my pain in the ass and you had your reasons for everything. I love you just the same, okay? So no saying you can’t live here unless you really don’t wanna.”

“I do have student loans to pay off...” Leah grinned. “Gotta love your definition of romance, babe. This pain in the ass loves you too!”

Satisfied and sneaking in one last kiss, the woman jumped off the counter. She tied her hair and rolled her sleeves up. “Now let’s get unpacking!”

.

After a few hours of them unpacking Leah’s things, bickering, and randomly making out (“We’re never gonna get anything done like this, rook!”), the two Nighthunters stood in their now shared bedroom, about to finish up. Nik took out the last piece of clothing: a very familiar velvet, royal purple dress with a gold body chain to go with it. He held it up to her, brow quirked mischievously.

“Any chance I could see you in this again?”

Leah collapsed the last box and put it in the pile with all the others. Her eyes moved to the dress that cost more than half her wardrobe. “Still can’t believe you picked that one out. If we sneak into Persephone again, maybe...”

“How about on a date? A real one.”

“You asking me out, Ryder?”

“What’s it look like, Mendoza?”

She couldn’t help the silly grin on her face, as if she was suddenly a teenage girl talking to her crush for the first time. “I accept. Would this be technically our first date? Because I don’t know whether to count us running from the Bloodwraith...”

“Yes, a real date, rook. But no promises that monsters won’t try to attack us or anything, sorry,” Nik responded, hanging the dress up in their shared closet space. 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” She smiled brightly and took a seat on the bed. “We’re really doing this backwards, huh? You know, most people exchange phone numbers before they move in together.”

“Most people also haven’t been brought together by fighting a murderous bag of bones.” Nik turned to her and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. “Also you already have it...”

“Wait what?!”

Nik took a deep breath before speaking again. “First, I wanna say I’m so sorry for this; I shouldn’t have contacted you when it was clear you didn’t wanna talk to me. Katherine offered me your number one night after I asked about you and I wanted to be selfish and take it.”

“So...you called me while I was gone?” Leah asked, her eyebrows coming together in confusion. “But I don’t remember you calling...I mean I had dreams you did a few times, but those weren’t real.”

“Well, one of them wasn’t a dream,” Nik went on. “It was nighttime and you picked up the phone slurrin’ drunk. I remember asking if you were safe, and you said you were home.”

Leah’s cheeks burned and she put her head in her hands. “Oh my God...I really don’t remember anything from that conversation. This is so embarrassing! You must’ve thought I was such an idiot!”

“No, you have nothing to be ashamed of, rook.” Nik cautiously sidled up beside her, resting a hand on the small of her back. “I’m so sorry I didn’t respect your wishes. I’m the wrong one here.”

Leah didn’t pull away, but she also couldn’t look at him. She tried to remember anything from the past three months that didn’t involve alcohol; she could count them all on one hand. “I...I really had a problem. I have a problem. I know that moving and being in a relationship won’t fix everything, but it’s hitting me that I need real help.”

“And I’m with you every step of the way.” He pulled her into a hug, letting her rest her face into his shoulder. “I meant it when I said that I’m with you...”

“To the bitter end,” Leah finished, her voice breaking at the last word. Nik tightened his hold on her, an aching in his chest as he remembered that he once kept that promise; but he never anticipated it to be her bitter end. He closed his eyes and relished in the warmth of her body against his, blocking out the memory of her cold, pale skin and still heart. Eventually he loosened his hold and tilted her chin up to look into her eyes.

“All the ragged parts of me...stitched back together when I’m with you,” he murmured only for her to hear. “I only want the same for you.”

Leah pulled him in for a warm, tender kiss. When they pulled away, a serene smile graced her features; Nik could swear there was something magical about her smile. 

“I love you, and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings us,” she said, her voice strong and hopeful. Leah could feel her sunny disposition returning day by day, and it showed.

“I love you too, rook.” Nik pulled her to lie down beside him, their fingers intertwined. “What do you wanna do tonight? No jobs. We can go out or stay in, and I promise no snake tequila for either of us.”

Leah snorted and sprang up. “I say we stay in tonight in our apartment. Takeout?”

“You read my mind.”

“And there’s a reality show I’ve been meaning to catch up on...” Leah was already making her way to the living room while Nik followed. She babbled on about how it was a show where an American and a foreigner have to get married within 90 days for a special visa and that itself is, of course, where the drama begins and this season was especially dramatic and blah, blah, blah. Nik snorted at how invested she was in the show while they looked at food places. 

The two Nighthunters spent the entire night snuggled up on their couch, talking and eating and canoodling. Leah sighed in satisfaction as sleep eventually took over them, her head resting on Nik���s chest. She finally felt like her life was going somewhere, and all that mattered was that they were in it together.

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A/N: I hope you like yet another fic of me refusing to let these two go onto the next installment just yet! Okay in reality I’ve been writing the first chapter of that and am almost done but med school got weird and my mental health took a dive and COVID-19 happened and blah, blah, blah. Bonus points if you know exactly what reality show Leah is talking about! Any and all comments are greatly appreciated, and I hope you’re all staying safe and healthy 💗

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