#so I always take up my friend on the offer of free ride while she's working

[russellsppttemplates]

It is what it is (Lando Norris)

It takes Lando a while to notice how you always assume he has something else to do whenever you need his help

Note: english is not my first language. It's slightly angsty but has a good ending! ✨️ is this good, is this bad? I'm not too sure

Thank you so much to everyone who likes and reblogs, your feedback is appreciated 🤍 and I'm taking requests so if you have any ideas or concepts you want to share, feel free to do so as I'll try to get to them the best I can!

my masterlist

Cw: alludes to the lack of quality time between a couple

Tag list: @myloverjk-blog @hiireadstuff @c-losur3

"Look at you, beautiful girl", Lando twirled you as he stepped inside your bedroom, noticing you were getting ready, "are you going somewhere?".

"Yes, I have an appointment at my optometrist", you smiled, "Anna should be here soon to take me".

"Is it a joint appointment?", Lando squinted.

"No, you muppet", you giggled, "my optometrist needs some exams on my eyes, so I have to today because that's when the ophthalmologist is there and they recommended that I had someone take me there because they want to dilate my pupils and, depending on how it goes, my sight might be a little affected for a couple of hours", you offered, making sure you had everything you needed to take.

"You could've told me and I would've taken you", Lando added, accepting the kiss you placed on his lips.

"I thought you had a meeting this afternoon", you reasoned.

"I do, but I could have moved that around a little and fit everything into the schedule", he reasoned back.

"It's okay, don't worry about that", you mused, "That's Anna - bye, handsome!", you kissed his lips one last time before making your way out and downstairs to meet your friend.

The ride to the office wasn't long, you and Anna taking the time to catch up and learn about the new gossips she had to update on you.

"And how's Lando? I haven't seen him in a while", Anna stated after you sat in the empty waiting room waiting to be called.

"He's been busy lately - he has a meeting today with the team, they're also launching a new collection for Quadrant and they're investing a lot in the social media content, so he's been busy recording a lot of videos and stuff", you offered, never shy whenever it came to talk proudly about your boyfriend's achievements, "and we're also on the countdown for the season to begin, so there's training and meetings and all that".

"Sounds like a busy schedule, no wonder why I haven't seen him - I'm surprised you even see him at all", she joked, grabbing her phone once she remembered she had something to show you.

You were surprised yourself at every bit of time you were able to spend with Lando, as lately it had become near impossible to do so apart from sleeping in the same bed, and even that was rare as he was often travelling between Monaco and England on a weekly basis.

"Ms. Y/N Y/L/N?", the doctor called you before you stepped inside the exam room, starting with the procedures.

The check up itself didn't take long despite the twenty five minute wait for the drops to dilate your pupils, "Don't forget your sunglasses, Y/N!", the secretary reminded you before you stepped outside.

"Thank you, have a good afternoon", you smiled before tapping Anna's shoulder, "Give me your arm so I won't trip", you mumbled.

"Is your sight that bad? The doctor said it should be good enough", Anna worried as she was about to open the door.

"No, it's fine, but if I'm clumsy on any good day, imagine how probable it is for me to fall on some stupid step or raised cobblestone", you argued as you both chuckled, making your way to her car.

Before you went home, your friend stopped by the pharmacy to get you the relief eye drops you'd have to follow the medication regimen with for the next few days, stopping by your favourite bakery so you could enjoy some sweet pastries.

"Can you even read these prescriptions?", Anna asked as she read the regimen you had to comply with.

"Stop making fun of me, you say that as if I'm almost blind", you swatted her arm before reading - trying to - the words, "fucking hell, am I?".

"I can barely read them myself, Y/N! They're so tiny I don't know how they give these to eye patients! Is Lando going to be home soon? That way he can help you with this", she suggested.

"Can I even see the time? At least that", you mumbled as you looked at the large numbers on your phone, "he'll probably take a while still - I can set the alarms on my phone and I'll memorise the different drops", you tapped your head.

Once it was all settled and you assured Anna she was fine to go home and you'd be perfectly well on your own, you walked her to the door before going back to the living room as the sun was no longer shinning outside and you could lay down on the sofa.

The nap you were taking was cut short by the door being shut, making you rub your forehead before an alarm rang. Getting up to head to the bathroom where you kept the supplies, you found Lando taking his trainers off.

"Hi baby, how was your appointment?", he asked as he put the footwear away.

"It was good, need to go and apply my drops", you smiled, turning the light on and grabbing the right box of medication.

"Is that what the alarm was for? I thought we had gotten a new security system I was not aware of", Lando joked as he watched you wash your hands.

"Yes, these instructions are so small to read that Anna thought it would be best to have alarms so I wouldn't mess it up since it's still a little bit blurry", you mused.

"Do you want me to do it?", Lando offered.

"No, it's fine - I'll have to do this for the next 48 hours anyway, so I might as well get used to it", you stopped talking so you could apply them, almost holding your breath until the drops fell.

"My lovie", Lando whispered on your ear once he felt it was okay to approach you, hugging your mid section from behind and kissing your neck as you put your hands on top of his.

.

You were adding the finishing touches on the present wrapping, the shiny gold string fiddling between your fingers as you tried to tie a bow with it around the paper bag handle, when Lando stepped inside your home office.

"That's looking pretty", he mused as he handed you the tape you were looking for on your desk.

"Thank you", you offered before placing the sticky piece down, "the bag is quite plain and even though the present inside is what will get her attention, it should come in nice wrapping".

"Who is this for?", Lando asked.

"It's for Maya's birthday tonight", you smiled, admiring your work.

"Is that tonight? Fuck, this week has flown by", Lando cursed, "I can't make it - will you let her know, please? I'm sorry I can't go", Lando pouted, "if she has to pay for having made the reservation with me in it, let me know and I'll pay my part!".

"I had already told her I'd be going alone, so she made my reservation without a plus one", you mused, remembering the conversation that came around the time of booking the venue.

Lando was leaving late in the afternoon for a trip with Max, Ria and some of the Quadrant athletes, so like you predicted, he couldn't attend the dinner with you.

"Oh", Lando offered.

"Max told me about your plans and when Maya told me the date, I assumed you wouldn't be able to go", you explained with a tinge of sadness and conformity in your voice.

"Well, it seems you guessed right", Lando chuckled despite the uneasy feeling on his chest.

You seemed sad that he wouldn't be able to join you, but at the same time you didn't? Lando put the topic at the back of his mind for now, heading to the bedroom so he could pack the last minute things.

"I was thinking of wearing this dress", you said once you joined him inside a while later, taking the steamer out of your drawer and setting it up to get out any kinks and wrinkles.

"That one is one of my favourites on you, but then again, they all are, I think", Lando mused, kissing your cheek as you waited for the steamer to be up for use.

"Figured it would be a little cold out tonight, so I chose this one, and that coat over there", you pointed.

"You'll be the most beautiful in that room", your boyfriend complimented, pecking your lips before he let you continue your task.

A couple hours later, Lando found himself restless as he scrolled through the posts and stories of Maya's birthday dinner, "Ria", he called, "what would you think if your partner made plans without you because they figured you wouldn't be able to go anyway?".

Ria exchanged a look with Max and Tara before she spoke, "did they ask me if I could go?", she offered.

"They didn't, but truth be told it's not like you have given them much to believe that you could join them", Lando mumbled the last part.

"I think I'd be a more 'it is what it is' at the start if I saw that it was something out of their reach, but I'm not sure I'd put up with it if it was genuine disinterest from them", Ria explained.

"It's not disinterest! They're just busy and shit at organising their schedules", Lando groaned defensively.

"Okay, okay", Ria calmed the room down once Max squinted his eyes at his bestfriend, "then I guess they would have to make sure they do better", she shrugged, "is everything alright?".

"Yes, yes, sorry for snapping just then", Lando offered her a tight lipped smile.

Everyone carried on with what they were doing before the existencial question, Max seemingly as stuck on it as Lando, "is this an hypothetical thing or are we calling people by their names and working this out?", he whispered to Lando.

"It's fine, just a loose thought I had there", Lando grumbled.

.

Lina 🤎

Hi, Y/N!

You won't bother, don't worry - I think I miss having someone other than my boyfriend to talk to 😅

Would it be okay if you visited in the afternoon? Our morning routine is still a shitshow (literally and figuratively), so we would appreciate it if you came after her first nap, around two pm?

One of Lando's older couple friends had a baby a couple of weeks ago, and while you were dying to meet their baby boy as soon as he came earthside, you were respectful of their adjustment period so you waited for them to be up for visitors and were ready to comply with whatever schedule they offered.

"It smells nice in here", Lando commented as he stepped inside the kitchen, "what delicious food are you making and can I please have a bite?".

"I made a little tray for us, but the big one is to take for Lina and Theo - I can imagine they don't have much time for cooking, so food is welcomed by them", you smiled, setting the cheese grater down once the measurements were like the recipe stated.

"Are you going to visit today? I have some streaming with Max scheduled for this afternoon", Lando added.

"Lina told me that this afternoon was the only time they could handle some visits - you know how it is with new parents and newborns and all of that -, I didn't want to change their schedule when I have some flexibility with my schedule", you explained, "I'll give the little one a big kiss from you, then?".

"Well, in that case, I should give you two big kisses then - one for you", he kissed your lips once, "and then this one for the little one", he smiled before kissing you again.

You shared lunch in a semi comfortable silence, Lando telling you a bit about the stream they would be doing and you sharing some work updates from your end.

When Lando gets a text in the middle of watching Max send his virtual car to the curb, "who might that be that's brought such a big smile to your face?".

Lando checked the photo to make sure the baby's face was covered despite his friends having already posted him, tuning the phone to show the camera, "Y/N met our friends' baby boy for the first time", Lando gushed.

"That's the little nugget", Max cooed, "she looks very happy with a baby on her arms", he wiggled his eyebrows, "have you met him already?".

"No, I haven't yet! She could only go this afternoon and we had this so...", Lando tsked, admiring the picture one last time before setting the phone back down. The baby was perfectly nestled on your arms, hiding his face on your chest as you looked down at him with a big smile on your face.

Now that he thought about he, he hadn't seen such a big smile in quite some time, and he was really starting to believe he was the reason behind it. He was absent, more than usual and more than the standards of your relationship considering his job.

The air had shifted around you once you came back from meeting Lina's little boy and Lando could only pinpoint it to the subject he thought about earlier.

"Lan, did you hear what I said?", you asked as you showed him another picture of you touching your noise in the little boy's.

"It's just... are we okay, baby?", Lando questioned. Even though it seemed like he was the only one that felt there was something wrong - different at least -, surely you had noticed it too.

"What makes you say that?", you asked.

From the serious tone, your boyfriend mentally slapped himself. Whatever it was, he was on the wrong and you had indeed noticed it too.

"I've noticed you don't ask me for help with stuff like driving you somewhere or accompanying you to places, which is fine if you want to do things on your own, I'm not saying you can't have your own independence, you know I'm not controlling you in that way - obviously! Fuck, I'm rambling! What I mean is, I have been taking notice that you just assume that I'm not available, and your assumptions are not unfounded, and it makes you sad, and I myself am upset that it has reached this point", Lando stated.

"It's not great, I can tell you that, but we knew it would be like this, your schedule is not the regular nine to five - it is what it is, Lan", you argued.

"But it's not, not all the time anyway! I want you to know you can always count on me!", Lando stated, "Y/N, you are one of my priorities and I never want to let you down - I'm going to make sure that from now on I spend more time with you and that I'm by your side a lot more", he rubbed your palm, "damn, I was so stupid, I'm sorry, lovie".

"Lando, these things happen", you attempted, "now we can work on it".

"You can count on me for little and big things in life - you need to go to the post office? I'm there helping you put the letter in the box. Dinner with your friends? I'll find it in the schedule to go and I don't care who I have to tell no to!", he pointed his finger, "I never ever want you to feel like you don't belong in my life or like I don't want to be involved in yours, Y/N - I'm so so so sorry that it took me so long to notice it".

"It's in the past", you smiled, pecking his lips softly, "now, look at this cute little nugget, he's so cute, we have to go there another day so you can meet him, and I think Theo won't mind another traybake".

[aerowolf]

the mercs realize it's your bday and you didn't tell anyone because your family doesn't do birthdays

I’m so sorry this is a mess between British and American english. I have an American parent and a Canadian one so it messed me up lolll

if didn't include a Merc you wanted, feel free to request and I'll try and add them :]

includes: Miss Pauling & offense classes

cute platonic, gn!reader

warnings: n/a, this is basically all fluff

You'd rather not make a big deal of it being your birthday, even though it is you were taught that birthdays aren't a big deal and your family never really did them.

You kind of wish someone would care but you feel guilty about that so you choose not to tell anyone about it

The only one of these who actually knows it's your birthday is Miss Pauling, who’s seen your personnel files

Miss Pauling

She knows it's your birthday, and instead of ignoring it she decides to at least discreetly make it a good day for you

She arrives on base for a routine inspection, clipboard in hand, but once she's done with the main thing, instead of leaving, she comes to your room

"I saw that it's your birthday today. I don't know if you celebrate, or anything, but, uh, I thought you'd like a gift. Maybe."

She hands you a box, inside are some candy bars and a plush of a bear

"I know it's not exactly the nicest thing, and I know it's kinda... stereotypical... but, y'know, I thought you'd like something. So, happy birthday. From me.” She’s really shy about it, you get the feeling she didn’t--probably still doesn’t--really get to celebrate birthdays either. 

She offers you a ride on her motorbike, something nice, on the open road--away from this base for a little while. You accept, taking a seat behind her, enjoying the open air--though it is pretty hot out. You guys talk, just enjoying the time.

She smiles at you as you get back. “Happy birthday. You deserve it.”

You thank her and even give her a hug. It’s nice that you got this for once. 

Scout

He has no idea whatsoever that it’s your birthday. He’s interacting with you like usual, teasing you, just hanging out. You’re happy as you talk that day; he’s always good at making you laugh and smile.

At some point he notices that you’re a little down, as much as you may try to hide it, he can tell. You’re his friend, and even though he might act like he doesn’t care sometimes, you know he does. A lot.

You tell yourself you don’t want anything on your birthday, that it’s easier if no one knows, but secretly, you do.

“Hey, what’s up? C’mon, ya know I can tell when something’s wrong.�� 

You tell him it’s nothing. 

“You sure? Really? You’re kinda… I dunno, sadder than usual.” After he asks a few times, you finally come out and tell him. You don’t say much. Just “It’s my birthday.”

“No kiddin’? Well, why didn’t ya tell me?” He comes off pretty strong. You feel kind of apologetic for mentioning it, and look away from him. “Aw, hey. Y’know what--it don’t matter. I’m gonna throw you a party like you ain’t never seen, believe me.”

You try to tell him you don’t want a party--well, you do. Maybe. No you don’t. Well, sure. But not a big one. He’s really sweet and enthusiastic about it. “Someone like you deserves a big birthday--but if you don’t want it, dat’s okay. Ya know, we could just hang out, or somethin’. You n’ me, yeah?” 

You tell him you’d like that a lot. You both find a quiet spot in the base where you can just talk. He messes around, too, and pops in a Tom Jones record. 

He’s a little shy, a little embarrassed, but he even sings happy birthday to you. He just seems glad no one can hear him. He doesn’t have a gift handy for you, but he ends up scribbling you a quick doodle of him telling you happy birthday. It’s misspelt, but the drawing is cute, and you keep it. “I hope ya had a good day. I’m just sorry I didn’t know sooner.” You tell him that it wasn’t his fault, how could he have known? 

After all is done, he gives you an awkward hug. You smile and return it.

Soldier

He’s a little crazy so he’s just hanging around base, today he had the idea to strip and cover himself in honey, so everyone has had to convince him to please not do that, and now he’s just moping around, muttering about how anti patriotic this all is.

You sit next to him and mope as well. Unlike him, no one knows the reason you’re moping. To anyone else’s point of view, you’re just comforting him--for whatever weird reason. But he sees that you’re just as sad as him.

“What’s wrong, maggot? Is there someone who needs to see my fists meet their face?”

You tell him no, no one did anything. You’re a little intimidated by him, and you don’t see much reason to tell him anyways. But it’s nice sitting with a friend. 

“If it’s not a person, then… it must be an object! Give it to me and I will destroy it immediately.” He’s being as sweet as he can, you smile and shake your head.

You sit there for a bit, smiling as you watch the other mercs come and go. Today isn’t a bad day, just a little sad. Later, you plan to find some kind of sweet treat to eat alone.

Soldier stands up, at attention, and points at you. “MAGGOT, AS YOUR SUPERIOR AND SENIOR, I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME WHAT IS WRONG!”

With a sad smile and a chuckle you finally tell him.

“Your birthday?” Soldier seems genuinely surprised. He places a hand on his chin and thinks. “We cannot go without celebrating! This is momentous!”

Although you try to protest, he turns to the base, stating to every other merc, “LISTEN UP! IT IS Y/N’S BIRTHDAY AND WE WILL CELEBRATE!” 

He makes it his personal mission to decorate for a party that very evening, even gets a cake and everything. He makes every other merc sing happy birthday with him. Maybe this isn’t so bad.

You give him a big hug, and he is surprised at first, but proceeds to give a gentle laugh and hug back.

Pyro

You see Pyro colouring with crayons and coloured pencils on their break, and you sit by them. You don’t really understand what they’re saying a lot of the time, but you enjoy hanging out with them. It’s a long period of silence before you join them in colouring. Regardless of your artistic skills, they’re impressed and encourage you, and are very happy when you show them what you’ve been working on. 

After a little while you get kind of bored and sad. You’ve tried to enjoy this day but it’s another bittersweet birthday. You’re happy to hang out with Pyro though, even though they don’t know what day it is.

Pyro notices that you’ve stopped colouring with them, and that you’re looking at the ground instead, messing with the cracks in the floor.

“Huddah hrmmf mmmrph?” You don’t understand what they’re saying exactly, but you smile at them. They seem to be asking what’s wrong, why you stopped, why you seem so sad.

You hesitate for a moment before finally confessing. They seem to mostly understand what you mean, and they lean back, thinking. 

After a few seconds, they stand up and help pull you off the floor. They point to their room, and you follow them. It’s an odd combination of scorch marks, colourful drawings, weapons, and art supplies. They lead you to a wardrobe and pull out a box. 

Surprisingly, you can see that it's fully wrapped. Did they somehow know it was your birthday? Do they keep these gifts on hand for the mercs?

You won’t get an answer, but they excitedly push it out and offer it to you. “Huddah hmmph!” They sound almost like they are smiling behind the mask. You take the box and open it. It’s got crayons, pencils, and… wow, that’s a drawing of you and them.

You smile, almost ready to tear up, and thank them. You give them a hug, and you notice that they’re hugging you back even harder. Maybe they don’t really understand, but this is sweet.

[bellarkeselection]

Best Solution to a Headache

Y/n and Cole are best friends and dating. Y/n always gets migraines but this time the reader is in so much pain where she’s just being clingy and cuddly to Cole

Walking through the school hallway I tried to not bump into too many people since it would only make the pain in my head feel worse. My backpack was hanging over one shoulder when I bumped into somebody at the same time a sharp pain rang through head. “Hey, watch it.” The kid snapped at me where we tripped onto the tile ground.

I scramble to my feet trying to grab my stuff right before I caught sight of a familiar wave of blonde hair coming through the crowd. “Hey chill out man. It was an accident. Y/n, you okay?” He asked me offering me his hand helping me to my feet.

“Thanks Cole…ohh!” I winced covering my forehead with my free hand closing my eyes briefly.

His eyes focused on mine. “Here let’s get you somewhere else. So what’s wrong with your head. Is it the migraines again?” He draped his arm over my shoulder holding me close while we moved through the crowd and found an empty staircase sitting down on the steps.

“Yeah…it feels like my head is splitting so bad.” I groaned laying my head on his chest with his arm still draped over my shoulder.

Cole whispers running his fingers through my hair knowing that sometimes helps the migraine go away or not be as painful for me. “I’m sorry, baby.” Cole and I had just recently started dating each other a few months ago. But before that we have been best friends our whole lives. Erin was picking on me saying one day that she didn’t understand what Cole saw in me as a friend. He didn’t like hearing that and that moment he realized he didn’t want anyone else but you in his life.

“I just want to crawl up with you. The pain hasn’t ever been this bad and my medication isn’t helping very much.” I moaned shifting my body so my head was laying in his lap and he kept running his fingers through my hair.

He didn’t like that you felt this way and he couldn’t really do anything about it since you were at school. He had some of your medicine at his house. I had told him about my migraine when they started happening when we were in our first year of middle school. I got them from my mother since she occasionally got them too. “How about we get out of here and I take you home for the day?”

“You mean skip school. Cole, I can’t miss English we have a paper due in a few weeks.” I tried to explain covering my eyes with my hands feeling some more pain come when I attempted to sit upright.

He shakes his head making his blonde hair fall in front of his eyes. “I don’t care about that. Besides you don’t look like you are in any position to go sit through anymore classes. We are going home.”

“What about your siblings and Jackie. They’ll need a ride home.” I questioned him slowly sitting up when he got to his feet.

He tugs me up to stand with him. “I’ll tex Alex that I might be late picking them up.”

“If you say so, Cole.” I replied looping my hand through his and together we slowly walked out of the school backdoor to his truck. We drove to my house and I used my key since my parents were at work and wouldn’t be home until like five tonight.

Shutting the door gently I winced just wanting to lay down. I stumbled to the couch grabbing a blanket and just covering myself with it. Cole dropped our bags at the door grabbing some pain meds from the bathroom cabinet before coming to sit with me. “Are you feeling better now?” He asked softly once I take the medicine with some water.

“Yes much better…” I trailed off snuggling into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around my waist after getting underneath the cover.

Cole smiled laying his head on top of my head just holding me in silence for a minute. He wouldn’t ever say it out loud to others but he couldn’t imagine you not being in his life. “That’s good. I’m glad you agreed with my idea.”

“Cause otherwise you’d be worried about me all day but never show it on your face.” I responded lifting my head slightly so I could stare into his bright green eyes.

He leans down kissing my forehead when I lay my head back down in the crook of his neck falling asleep. “You’re darn right, darling.” He closes his eyes falling asleep with you cuddled up in his arms.

Comments really appreciated ❤️

Tag list- send me an ask to be added @cognacdelights @connieisthesun @bbabycass

[mari-the-bimbo]

hi! could you please do something related w/ rich!geto please? idk like being childhood besties with him and how their relationship (meaning from bff to lovers) would blossom after he becomes heir of the company,, have a nice one i love your writing <3

Rich bf! Geto

A/N: STOPPPP this is such a cute idea I love it! 😮‍💨💗 also this finally pushed me out my comfort zone since I’m always writing 20 chapter long slow burns instead of writing it in one 🤣

You guys became friends when you were 13-14. Awkward teens who spotted each other on the way to school. Geto saw you shoving 2-3 chicken nuggets in your mouth while running to school. It was hilarious in his eyes. To satisfy his curiosity of you, he offered you a ride on his bike, which you easily agreed to, but in return the raven haired boy started to call you ‘chicken nugget’. And since then you were attached to the hip.

You were Geto’s sweetheart, his dearest friend. The slightly strange but sweet girl who he didn’t miss a chance to hang out with, whether it was sneaking your cowardly ass out of class, or giving you a ride home.

And even as you both grew up, and hit puberty, the affection only grew stronger. But now there were butterflies that would grow when your eyes would meet. Or when he’d catch a glimpse of your cute smile, or when your eyes would land on his broad chest when he pulled you for a hug.

Geto always knew he had feelings for his favourite chicken nugget girl, but he didn’t believe he deserves you.

“Bro what do you mean you don’t deserve her? She wants you too bro, trust me” Gojo would reassure him, but that’s because he didn’t understand. Nobody understood how perfect you were, and how he didn’t want to fall short of being perfect for you.

And so at night, while staring at a picture he took with you from a tacky photo booth, he’d promise to make you his girlfriend that day he graduates and takes over his dad’s company. The day he is rich and powerful enough to give you the world.

And so the raven haired man continued life, knowing his ulterior motive. Mastering his degree, shadowing his father at the firm, making connections.

But he’d also watch you continue life too, slightly different to his. He’d scroll through your Instagram, watching your average life with some average nameless men.

It didn’t affect him though, you could post with as many of these basic, nameless men, but he already knew you were each other’s endgame. Till fate brings you back to him, he’ll wait through your phases.

And one day, fate was delivered.

Geto: hey, sorry to hear about your breakup nugget

Your eyes widened like saucers. It’d been a while since you spoke to your first love, Geto. Sometimes you’d imagine if life would be different if you were brave enough to confess to him. You wish you didn’t simply hold hope to the words he uttered the day he moved away for uni.

‘One day, I’ll come back for you’

His voice was so soft, and his smile so sweet, yet it seemed like a distant dream now.

You cant help but laugh at the nickname he kept for you dearly ever since you were kids.

‘Thanks’ you reply casually. Not expecting his following text.

Geto: I’m back in town soon. You free to meet up doll?

At a rooftop cafe, as the sun set, the newly appointed CEO held your hands dearly, whispered sweet nothings and made confessions of love.

And the rest was history.

It wasn’t long until Geto convinced you to move into his penthouse. Holding your hand is he guided you through the luxurious place.

Placing his chin on your shoulder, “this is your home now doll” he says.

Being the girlfriend of the rich heir Geto was peaceful. You’re his pretty angel that he loves to spoil, he never wants you to be sad or deprived of anything, especially since he’s now a millionaire.

He loves taking you to buy luxurious dresses, but he always wants you to wear it again once you’re home. With a tilt of his head and a sly smile, he’ll shamelessly encourage you to change in front of him, eyes like a hawk as he seats himself on a chair watching you undress, softly muttering dirty thoughts, making you flustered as you change.

Even as he completes paperwork at night, you’re seated on his lap. His large hand caressing your thigh, sometimes slipping his hand underneath your silk night dress to make you blush.

He’ll also occasionally look away from the work to appreciate your sleepy face, smiling before encouraging you to sleep on his lap, nudging your head onto his shoulder, kissing and cooing you enough to fall asleep in his warm muscular arms.

“Goodnight angel”

[thiswaytwoinfinity]

it’s a bad idea, right? - part 1: can’t two people reconnect

Jake “Hangman” Seresin x reader • inspired by sleeping with other people

Warnings: no use of y/n or physical description of reader except they have hair that can be tucked behind their ears, implied smut, this chapter is fine but future installments will be 18+

It’s finally here! Thank you to everyone for being so supportive and patient about this fic; I was dealing with some rough personal stuff and lost all my inspiration but it’s back now and I’m happy to be writing about everyone’s favorite cocky flyboy.

There’s something about a sticky summer night when you’re 22 that makes you feel more alive than you’ve ever been.

It’s the third bar that your new roommates have dragged you to tonight, there’s a cocktail sweating in your hand and the bass from the stereo thudding through your head. You’re not sure if the grin on your face is from the watching all of the wannabe cowboys go flying off the mechanical bull in mere milliseconds or from the possibilities of newfound adulthood laid out in front of you. In this moment, it’s hard to imagine that you were ever scared about moving halfway across the country — away from your family, your hometown and your high school sweetheart who always thought you’d move home after college — to Austin.

In this moment, you feel free. You feel invincible. You feel like this is a night you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

 

“Okay, the bar is a madhouse but I managed to get another round!” Anna shouts as she makes her way back to the table, tossing her long dark hair behind her before plopping the tray of shots down in front of you and your new friends. “And there’s a new rule!”

Everyone groans in unison; Anna loves to make up drinking games, handing out shots and beers with a new rule or bet that is guaranteed to leave someone embarrassed before the night’s over.

“Oh, stop. Shit like this is how we become lifelong best friends, trust me, I read about it online,” she fires back, rolling her eyes and handing shots to you and the three other girls at the table before taking one in hand. “It’s simple. Last one to finish their shot has to ride the mechanical bull.”

“Bitch, are you trying to kill us?” Erin asks, shooting a sideways glance at Katie, who’s eyeing up her shot glass like she’s trying to strategize the best way to drink it. The two of them are sisters — “Irish twins, it’s a whole thing,” Erin explained when you first moved in — are hyper-competitive and curse like sailors. You loved them instantly.

Your tiny hope of not being the one to end up on the bull dies when you look over at Taylor, who managed to throw back her tequila when nobody was watching. “What?!” she asks, curls bobbing in the bun on top of her head as she takes in everyone’s looks of confusion and frustration. “Anna never said we had to start at the same time.”

It’s like a starting pistol went off at the end of her sentence because before you know it, Erin and Katie are both biting into limes while Anna is swallowing down the liquor with a grimace. Shit.

You do your best to catch up but it’s too late. You, the girl who grew up nowhere near Texas and have never actually seen a bull in real life, are going to have to ride one in front of this entire bar.

Years later you won’t remember the details of the bet, how your friends whooped and hollered as you made your way over to the bull with shaky knees or how the operator took pity on you when you immediately slid off and offered you a second try. The song that was playing is lost to time, as is the actual feeling of riding the bull for a whole half second.

What you will remember, though, is sliding across the tarp to rest right by a group of athletic looking guys and the strong, tan hand that reached down to help you stand up.

You’ll remember the backwards Longhorns cap on his head, the way his green eyes flashed with amusement and the blinding white of his smile as he helped you to your feet, hand lingering just a moment too long in yours. You’ll remember the way it felt like someone had set off fireworks inside of you, fingers tingling where they touched his skin and your stomach swooping like you were on a roller coaster.

You’ll remember exactly what he said to you: “Well, that was definitely the most entertaining attempt of the night.”

You giggled, a little dazed by his chiseled features, by the way he seemed to only see you in that moment, by the force of his charisma.

 “I’m Jake. What’s your name, beautiful?”

 

For a Thursday night, the Hard Deck was surprisingly packed.

The Daggers had managed to claim their usual spot by the pool table, but despite their cramped quarters they practically had to shout over the sounds of drunken sailors and the oldies blasting out of the jukebox to be heard. The table next to Bob was crowded with beer bottles, the bespectacled WSO having waved off Penny when she stopped by to clear them, promising the group would clean up after themselves. Natasha and Bradley were in the middle of some kind of dumb darts competition, being heckled by Bob and a tipsy Rueben, who had his arm slung around the former’s shoulders for balance.

Jake took in the scenery, smug grin on his face, before sinking his final pool ball with a flourish.

“And that’s game, gentlemen,” he said, turning to Javy and Mickey, who were shaking their heads with frustration.

“Can’t believe I let you talk me into betting against him,” Mickey sighed, shuffling through his wallet for a $20 bill. Javy just shrugged and threw a playful punch against his friend’s shoulder, before asking for a rematch.

“Let that be a lesson, Fanboy,” Jake chuckled, making a big show of examining the bill before pocketing it. “Never bet against Jake Seresin. They call me a golden boy for a reason.”

“Who’s ‘they?’ Everyone we know just calls you a dick,” Nat called out, making her way back to the table for her drink. Taking a look at the chaos on the table, she rolled her eyes before starting to gather up a handful of empty bottles. “C’mon, Fanboy. Help me clear some of these and I’ll buy you a beer to drown your sorrows in.”

He ran over to help, allowing Javy to slide over to Jake and elbow his buddy in the side.

“10 o’clock, there’s a whole table of pretty ladies. The blonde’s had her eye on you all night and her friend with the locs is crazy hot,” he murmured, as Jake took a subtle look over at the table in question. 5 or 6 women were crammed into a booth, and judging by the tiara on one of their heads, they were out celebrating a birthday. “Wingman?” the younger aviator asked, holding out his fist for Jake to bump it.

For a half second, he contemplated turning his best friend down.

It wasn’t like Jake wasn’t attracted to the blonde, who was, indeed making eyes at him from across the room. She was exactly his type, all bright smiles and smokey bedroom eyes, her curves and long legs poured into tight jeans. She had an air of confidence that made it clear she knew just how hot she was.

He knew that if he strolled over and gave her his best All-American smile and some of that Southern charm, he could probably win her over. They’d flirt and dance a bit and then he’d drive them back to one of their places, have some decent-to-excellent sex and he’d be asleep shortly after midnight.

It seemed fun. It seemed obvious. It seemed, quite honestly, a little boring to him.

Maybe it was because he turned 35 a few months ago and the idea of going home to his own bed after a night out was starting to seem more and more appealing to him. Maybe it was because he spent so much time trying to convince his fellow Daggers that he wasn’t a complete asshole that he didn’t want to risk them changing their minds again.

Or maybe he was just a little jealous.

Jake would see the way Rueben’s face lit up when he talked about his wife, how he would brag about every milestone his 3-year-old daughter was reaching. He felt awkward about his lack of wedding knowledge when a pink-eared Bob would ask the squad for their opinion on something for his upcoming nuptials. He’d try to ignore the weird sinking feeling in his stomach when he’d overhead Nat and Mickey picking out a restaurant for their weekly brunch double date with their respective girlfriends.

And despite the fact that he had spent most of his adult life doing whatever he could to avoid those kinds of situations, now he was starting to wonder if maybe … maybe he’d be a little happier if he had been able to settle down with someone of his own.

Oof. That thought made Jake’s chest tighten uncomfortably. So he pushed it down, smiled as wide as he could and first bumped Javy. “Wingmen for life, Coyote. Lead the way.”

 

If you had to spend one more minute squeezed up against this bar, wedged between a couple aggressively making out and a trio of rowdy Navy men who were trying to sing along to Queen, you were going to scream.

“Just come for a drink or two. This place is super chill for a Navy bar, I promise,” you muttered darkly under your breath, repeating the words your friend and new coworker had used to convince you to come out tonight.

Between a frantic weekend spent unpacking all of your belongings into your new studio apartment and a very long first week at your new job, all you had wanted to do was bury yourself under a blanket and watch Real Housewives until your brain melted out of your ears.

But you were trying to be more social. You wanted to focus more on your friendships. Do things that were good for you. That was the whole point of this move.

So instead, you were leaning so far over the bar top that you could feel the edge digging into your ribs, shouting a drink order at the (admittedly, very sweet and slightly overwhelmed) bartender. She had just placed the two beers and margarita you had asked for down in front of you when another hand appeared and tried to snatch them up.

“Hey!” you yelled, tossing the bills in your hand onto the bar as you reached up to catch the offender by the wrist before they made off with your hard-won drinks. “Asshole! Drop them, those are my beers! What the fuck?”

You swiped up the cocktail with your free hand, lest it meet the same fate and turned around to see what kind of absolute monster thought they had the right to steal drinks.

Annoyingly, he was beautiful.

Tall and broad, with sun-kissed skin and a blindingly-white smile, which held a hint of sheepishness as he realized that he had been caught red handed. There was something familiar about the way he ducked his head a little, before peering at you from beneath his eyelashes.

“Sorry about that, ma’am. I thought those were mine. Didn’t mean to steal from you,” his low, twangy drawl went right through you, settling warm and comfortingly in your stomach. “I’d offer to buy you a drink to make it up to you, but, well …”

Texas. That’s where that accent is from, you thought, instantly being transported back to your nursing school program in Austin. How many wannabe cowboys had spoken with that same drawl, trying to charm you and your friends during a night out? Not too many of them had succeeded with you, especially not after —

“Jake? Jake Seresin!?”

It had to be him. You’d know that smile anywhere, had seen those green eyes in your dreams for far too long after you both had moved on. He was bigger now, muscles more pronounced and jaw more defined, more of those cheeky smile lines creasing around his eyes. His voice was deeper too, some of his accent smoothed out after years in the military, but it had to be.

He swore under his breath, eyes widening as he made the connection as well. He practically whispered your name, as if it felt a bit rusty on his tongue, but the second you nodded, he repeated it louder, warmer, like he was slipping back into his favorite jacket.

“Shit, how long’s it been?” Jake wondered aloud, looking you up and down as if to make a note of every infinitesimal change that had occurred since you last saw each other. “You look amazing, darling. Beautiful as ever.”

You rolled your eyes but felt your cheeks heating up at his compliment. Jake always had a way of making you feel like the most special person in the room — but then again, he made everyone feel that way, as you later found out. “You look good too, Seresin. Like a proper, respectable Navy man,” you concede, though the words don’t sound nearly as begrudging as you hoped.

You’re rewarded with one of those thousand-watt grins and for a second, you’re back in a Texas dive bar, flirting with the most handsome man you’ve ever seen to the tune of some cheesy country-rap remix.

“I am good,” Jake promises, eyes locked on yours, and you think he might be back there with you, leaning up against the jukebox, the floors sticky under your feet. “I don’t know how respectable I am, but I am definitely good.”

His voice drags out that sentence, low and flirtatious, and butterflies fill your stomach the same way they did all those years ago. You can practically feel the ghost of his big hands on your hips, your lower back, caressing your cheek as the world disappeared around you that night, just the two of you creating your own little world in the corner of that dingy bar. Your lips part — to say what, exactly, you’re not sure — and you see his eyes drop to them for just a moment before —

The woman behind the bar calls out “Hangman!” with a tone of voice that makes it clear that it’s not the first time she’s said it and you both startle and turn to see her holding four bottles of beer out towards Jake, a look of exhaustion on her face. He jumps forward to take them, apologies pouring from his lips and he pointedly shoves several bills into the tip jar in order to earn an eye roll and a small smile from her. Two sweating bottles in each hand, he turns back to you and almost seems a bit relieved that you’re still standing there. (As if you’ve ever been able to walk away from him.)

“I have to drop these off with my friends,” Jake says, nodding to a table somewhere behind you, “And you should probably get those drinks to the people who sent you over here. But do — do you wanna catch up? There’s a deck out back with some tables, it’s usually pretty quiet this time of night.” He waits for you to nod, before pressing a quick kiss to your cheekbone. “I’ll meet you in five minutes.”

With one more charming smile, he’s off into the crowd and — not for the first time in your life — you’re left speechless and a little stunned, staring after Jake Seresin.

 

You’re not sure if the goosebumps on your arms are from the chill of the California evening or the way that Jake hasn’t stopped staring at you since he joined you outside on the deck. You shift slightly against the wooden bench of the picnic table, overwhelmed by the intensity of having all of the blonde’s attention on you again for the first time in a decade.

“So …” you begin, and your voice seems to startle Jake out of his thoughts slightly. “You’re a California boy now? I never thought you’d ever leave Texas.”

He grins and shakes his head slightly. “Well, when Top Gun calls and offers you a permanent station, you’d be a fool not to accept. And not to brag, but they do only offer that to the best of the best.”

“Please, Seresin. You love to brag,” you fire back, watching those green eyes sparkle with mischief.

“Well, it’s not bragging if it’s the truth. And the truth is, darling, that I am one hell of a pilot.” Jake takes a swig from his beer, before leaning a bit closer into you, like he wants to study your reactions. “What about you? What brings you out to sunny San Diego?”

“New job,” you say shortly, shrugging your shoulders as nonchalantly as possible. “Moved from the ICU to the ED, so I figured a change of location would go well with a change of pace.”

Your smile doesn’t quite meet your eyes and you hope he can’t tell. There’s no reason to tell your ex — boyfriend? Fling? — whatever that you followed a guy out here, especially since that whole — relationship? Affair? Complete and utter heartbreaking disaster? — situation crashed and burned almost immediately.

“Mmhmm,” Jake says, as if he can tell that’s not the whole story, and he takes another sip before seemingly deciding to let you off the hook. “And what did you boyfriend have to say about moving halfway across the country? Or did someone manage to finally lock you down after all these years?”

There’s a small, sinking feeling in your stomach as you think about the real reason you moved here for a brief, heartbreaking second.

“No boyfriend. No husband, either,” you say, wiggling your left hand at him in order to illustrate your point, and clock the way his eyes almost look relieved by the sight of your empty finger. “What about you, Seresin? Where’s your sweet, Southern wife?”

He laughs, a little cocky but a little hollow at the same time. “You know I don’t really do commitment, darlin’,” he jokes and, boy, do you, nights of watching him flirt with other girls while you pouted in the corner of the bar flashing in your brain. You take a long swallow of your beer — just like you used to swallow down your pride back then — and roll your eyes at him.

“I swear, you look exactly the same when you roll your eyes like that,” Jake says, his smile softening around the edges. “Nobody ever managed to make it quite as cutting as you.”

“Nobody’s ever been quite as annoying as you,” you fire back, but there’s no real heat behind it. Jake’s eye light up like you just gave him a compliment rather than pointing out that he knew exactly how to press your buttons when you were younger.

“I seem to remember you used to like it when I was able to make your eyes roll. Or, at least, when I could make them roll back into your head …”

You sigh, doing your best not to let on how much that comment made your face heat with decade-old memories of you two tangled up in your sheets. “There it is …” you begin, but he just leans into you a little more, those green eyes traveling all over your face as he speaks.

“I’m just reminiscing, that’s all. Can ya blame me? You’re still so beautiful …” Jake responds, one hand reaching out to gently tuck some of your hair behind your ear. His fingers brush against your cheek as he pulls away and you hope you can explain away the goosebumps that erupt on your skin as a product of the ocean breeze. “And I spent a lot of time trying to get you all worked up back then. Force of habit.”

You could give into it.

Allow the sheer force of Jake’s charisma and good looks to carry you away on a wave of old memories. The chemistry that always fizzled between you is clearly still there, the butterflies that have laid dormant in your stomach all this time just waiting for an excuse to be let free once again. It would be easy.

And it would be good — you two had always been good at the physical stuff. He was so gorgeous in so many ways and surprisingly generous when you were in bed. (Jake always took pride in being the best of the best, after all).

But once you woke up tomorrow morning, after all of the awkward goodbyes and the promises to call, then what? Jake Seresin doesn’t commit; he made that clear.

And you were still bruised from your last mess of a relationship, your heart feeling tender and aching in your chest most days. There’s no way that this doesn’t end the same way it did a decade ago, with you sobbing uncontrollably and Jake moving on to the next beautiful girl who manages to hold his attention.

So, with a self-control you didn’t even know you possessed, you pull yourself out of Jake’s undertow.

“Seresin, I … that’s probably a bad idea,” you say softly, eyes dropping down to the tabletop in between you. “I just got out of a relationship and I’m not in a place —”

He cuts you off by tilting your chin up to look at him and then making a point to pull his hands back and keep them to himself.

“Hey, hey, I get it. No worries. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything, darlin’” Jake explains in a rush. “I’m sorry about that. Like I said, force of habit.”

You huff out a laugh and another eye roll and you can see him fight a grin at your reaction. “Only you would describe flirting with someone as a habit, Jake.”

“Well, I’m one of a kind.”

“Shut up, Seresin,” you giggle, glad to be back on solid, friendly ground with him.

 Two hours later, Jake sent you off with a hug and his phone number as you and your friend climbed into an Uber and set off for home. She had a few questions about the “dreamboat” of a Naval aviator that you had apparently dated back in school, but was a little too excited about recounting her own evening to push you for details. It wasn’t until you arrived back at your apartment and collapsed on your couch that you realized Jake had been texting you the whole time you were in the car.

Unknown: It’s Jake 🫡😜🤠⭐️🍻🏈😉

Unknown: Hope you get home safe, beautiful. It was great to catch up with you.

Unknown: And I would be an embarrassment to the U.S. Navy if I didn’t at least offer to be your tour guide around San Diego

Unknown: I know all the best spots after all

Unknown: So text me if you want to grab lunch or something

Unknown: Or if you finally want to learn how to surf

Unknown: But give me fair warning beforehand, I remember how bad your balance is lol

 

You: lol I forgot you text every single thought in your brain

You: but having a tour guide sounds nice

You: we could get brunch this weekend and you can give me the highlights?

 

You had only just begun to take your shoes off, resigned to finally get off the couch, when your phone pinged.

 

Jake 🤠 🧡: I know just the place

You gave his text a quick thumbs up and got ready for bed smiling the whole time.

-—-—-—-—-—

Comments and reblogs are always appreciated! I don’t know if I’m going to have a regular schedule with this or anything, but I will do my best! Thank you for reading about the absolute menace that is Jake Seresin

Tagging some people who asked:

@tvshowgirl81 @redbarn1995 @stoneyggirl @keepingitlokiii @averyhotchner @dizzybee03 @olliepig @lynnevanss @djs8891 @mamachasesmayhem @mamaskillerqueen @kmc1989 @hookslove1592

[strangersteddierthings]

Shovel Talk(s) Final Part

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Steve starts with Dustin. Not for any particular reason. Dustin is just the first person he ends up seeing after an entire weekend spent at Eddie's house. They'd redone their date in Indy on Saturday, getting back into Hawkins late, so Steve stayed the night. He had a morning shift at Family Video but it was Robin's day off so he didn't see her.

Dustin called at 11:00am on Monday to ask for Steve's assistance with his bike's flat tire. He needs a ride to Melvald's for a new tire tube and pump, and since Steve's shift doesn't start until 2:00pm he agrees.

Steve picks him up and listens to him ramble about his weekend and how he the tube got a hole in it. He stays in the car while Dustin runs inside to make his purchases, and then they're back at Dustin's house. Dustin knows how to change out the tube on his bike; he's been raised by a single mother for longer than Steve's known him so he's pretty self-sufficient, but Steve still offers to do it and Dustin lets him.

It's little moments like these that really let Steve feel like Dustin's brother. Which is what makes it easier for Steve to say, as he is peeling the tube from inside the tire out, "hey, do you remember a week or so ago, when you said we were happy for Eddie and me?"

"Yeah," Dustin says as he's ripping open the package the new tube is in.

"You also told me to not hurt him. I- why'd you say that?" Steve halts his progress on peeling the tube out to look up at Dustin.

He watches as Dustin turns sheepish, "I. Well, mostly I said it so that when I talk to Eddie, I might feel less bad about threatening him."

"What? Why did you threaten him?"

Dustin finishes freeing the new tube from its prison before finally looking back at Steve, "I haven't yet. Mike was talking about how Nancy gave you a shovel talk a while ago, as Eddie's 'best friend'," he makes air quotes around the words, "and I'm your best friend, so I have to give Eddie one. But Eddie's also my friend, so I had to say something to you, too."

"That's so-" Steve cuts off, because he was going to say that's so childish but Dustin should be allowed to be childish just a little longer. Part of his childhood was stolen by monsters and Steve can give him a little bit back, "that's a nice thought but please don't shovel talk Eddie. Besides, Erica beat you to it."

"Shit!"

"Language."

"Well, since Erica did it there's really no point in me doing it. She's terrifying when she wants to be."

Steve laughs because Erica can be terrifying. "Give me the tube, or do you want to finish this?"

"No, continue," Dustin thrusts the tube at Steve, who takes it with a grin and gets back to work.

Robin and he are closing on a Wednesday night, so it's been slow all day, and while Steve wants to talk to Robin, he doesn't want to be interrupted. So, they go about their shift like normal and it's only once he's locked the door and flipped the open sign to closed that he seeks out Robin in the back room, where she's counting down the till.

"Can you pause after that? I need to talk," Steve says and feels his stomach churn. He's never.... he and Robin have never had a fight, never really had any issues that required a talk. Not about anything between them anyway. Robin's always just understood him, in the same way he's understood Robin. They've never been the source of each other's pains until now.

"Yeah, of course," Robin finished the coins, marking down the amounts on a piece of paper before shifting to give Steve her full attention. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

"It?"

"Whatever's hurting you," she says. "I don't know what it is, but I knew you'd come to me when you were ready."

"It's been heard to try and talk about," Steve confesses, "because it's never. It was never you that I've been- I still don't know what to say but I know I don't want to be..." he trails off, waving his hands as he grapples for the words he wants.

"Oh," Robin whispers, standing from the desk to approach. "I hurt you. Tell me what I did, so I can properly apologize."

"When you told me to be careful with Eddie," Steve says, "after I told you about our first date. I don't understand why you'd say that me."

Robin looks pained and swallows before she says, "I'm so sorry, Steve. I shouldn't have said that. And I don't- I don't even have a good reason why I did. I know you'd never hurt Eddie. I know you and what I said wasn't even about you. Not the real you, anyway."

"So, why'd you say it, then?"

Robin frowns and looks away from him, shuffling her feet before she says to a point at the wall, "I was friends, or friendly, with a lot of the girls you were with in high school. A lot of one and done dates that I had to hear about, while they cried in the bathroom or on their bedroom floors, wondering what they'd done wrong, why you didn't stay or-" Steve winces as the reminder of who he'd been in high school comes easily out of Robin, but not for the usual reason he winces. It's not because Robin's reminding him he used to be a douche; she's reminding him of all the people he hurt and never cared that he'd done it. He never apologized, and now it's far too late even if all those girls deserve to hear it.

Robin is still speaking, "or whatever. But that doesn't matter now. You aren't that guy anymore; haven't been the entire time I've actually known you and it wasn't fair for me to say what I said. I just- you took Eddie out, and the part of me that spent years of high school consoling friends who felt used by you just spoke. I-I need to work on filtering the words that come out of my mouth, because if I'd waited like, four more seconds to process your words and settle in the fact you went on a date we both thought you'd never be brave enough to ask for, then I never would have said it. I'm so sorry, Steve. I know you and I should have known better."

Steve swallows thickly, because it hurt to hear but he also knows she's sorry and that's enough. He steps forward and sweeps her into a hug, crushing her against him. She squeezes back just as hard.

Steve has never felt really hurt about Wayne's shovel talk. It was the first, and the only one he'd say he deserved. Not because Steve deserved to have a shovel talk given to him, but because Wayne should get to have the honor of giving one. Eddie's never had a boyfriend before, and Wayne had spent so long worried about how this town would treat Eddie if they knew he was gay.

So, when Steve sees Wayne again, he just smiles at the man, and gets a genuine smile back. He and Wayne are ok.

He and Jeff apologize to each other next time they cross paths on a Hellfire night. Steve apologizes for being snappy and rude. Jeff apologizes for automatically assuming the worst of Steve. They agree to a truce and a start over.

Steve's convinced he can win over Eddie's friends eventually.

Steve can't talk to Nancy. There's too much left unsaid between them for him to feel comfortable with telling her she hurt him. But it's okay. He and Nancy aren't close friends, and she's leaving for Boston in a few weeks for college. He's sure that the distance, and not seeing her weekly for Lunch Date Day, will help.

So, he's a bit surprised to answer the knocking on his front door to see Nancy. It's an exact recreation of the day she shovel talked him and immediately Steve tenses.

"Uh, hi," he says.

Nancy takes a deep breath and says, "I'm sorry. I thought I was being funny when I gave you that shovel talk, but I- someone made it clear to me that we aren't friends enough to be able to make jokes like that. That's my fault, too. For everything I've done and never apologized for. So, I want to say that I'm sorry."

Steve's a little stumped, a bit perplexed even, so he speaks on autopilot, "It's fine, Nance. We're good."

Nancy squares her jaw and narrows her eyes and says, "no."

"No?"

"No. Don't forgive me. Not yet. Make me earn it."

Steve don't respond right away. He wants to just forgive Nancy, but when he thinks about it, he just wants to do that so Nancy will quit looking so defensive. He's not sure he does forgive her. "You're right. I- we'll work on that, then. Being friends one day."

"Good. Good," Nancy nods. "I'll see you are Lunch Date day, yeah? Or... or would you like me to stop coming?"

He shakes his head. "No, please keep coming. There's, what, three more before you're off to college? We can work towards friends in that time, yeah?"

"Yeah," Nancy gives him a small smile, "see you then, Steve."

"See you," Steve replies and shuts the door as she heads down the walkway back towards her car.

He wants to know if Eddie or Robin gave her the dressing down that brought her here to say sorry.

(It wasn't Robin or Eddie. It was Mike, learning what Nancy had done and telling her it wasn't her place to do that.)

There is one final shovel talk for the remainder of their relationship.

It's the final day in Steve's room at his parents house. He's moving in with Eddie and Wayne, at least until the kid's all graduate. Then he and Eddie might go off somewhere on their own.

He's finished packing up his things from the bathroom, and looks up in the mirror. He sees himself, and almost doesn't recognize the reflection staring back. He looks happy. Actually, really happy.

Eddie appears behind him in the mirror, leaning himself against the doorjam, smiling softly at Steve through the mirror.

"All done, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, babe," Steve says. "Just one more thing."

"Oh?"

Steve slides his eyes away from Eddie in the mirror, back to himself. He lifts a finger and points one accusingly finger at himself and says, "if you fuck this up, Harrington, I'll kick your ass myself."

Eddie's full belly laughter rings loudly in the bathroom and Steve just smiles.

[panda-writes-kpop]

gimme all your lovin' (all your hugs and kisses too!) ~ k. mj.

a/n: a birthday present for @dark-night-insomniac ❤️ happy birthday, my dear! you deserve all of the love and sweetness that the world can offer you 🫶

tw: partying shenanigans, a non-paladin reader in a paladin AU, a not-so-obvious dirty joke, someone is accidentally cut with a kitchen utensil (safety people!), you may get cavities from the tooth-rotting fluff!

related fics: look at me! look at me!, sorry for party rockin'!, we're never getting back together (like ever?)

summary: your date with Minji is cut short when a pair of your mutual friends call you. you're inevitably dragged into their shenanigans, but it can't be all bad with leftover food and Minji by your side.

♡ Masterlist ♡

You did like going to parties, especially ones that involved Katie and the other Paladins. They were always fun, a bit rowdy at times, but still lots of fun for you. 

“We can go, if you'd like.” JiU lightly squeezes your hand as you stare at the invitation on your phone. “I know someone on the waitstaff, we can push our reservation back an hour or two-”

“No, it's alright, Katie will have to survive without us.” You switch to your messaging app of choice to let Katie know of your decision. “They'll be fine. What could possibly go wrong?”

~

You and JiU, your lovely girlfriend, walk to your home from the restaurant. After a successful date night, neither of you wanted to leave each other alone. You could've called for a ride, but what fun was that? Your apartment was a few blocks down the road, and the weather was fair enough for you to walk back.

“Thank you for dinner tonight.” JiU smiles before lightly kissing your cheek. “I love when we can spend nights together, with just the two of us.”

You chuckle softly, trying to hide your nervousness. You've been dating for a while, but the magnificent goddess next to you still gives you butterflies.

“Anything for you, my dear.” You pull her close with your interlocked hands.

She softly gasps as your free hand lands on her waist. With a beaming smile, one you couldn't resist, she leans in and kisses you.

You kiss her back and pull her as close as possible until your phone buzzes in your pocket.

“Should you get that?” JiU asks as you shake your head.

“It's not as important as you are at this moment.” You ignore the vibrations as she loudly squeals.

“Awww, you're so sweet to me!” She leans in for another kiss, but she's interrupted by her phone ringing. “I'm sorry, love, let me see-”

Her smile drops slightly as she checks the caller ID.

“Who is it?” You tilt your head as you fish your phone out of your pocket.

“It's Dami.”

Your eyes widen as you look at your phone's call history.

“Well, that's not good.”

“Who called you?” 

“Katie.”

You exchange a nervous look with JiU before she picks up her phone. At the same time, you call Katie back, hoping that this isn't as much of an emergency as it seems to be.

~

As you enter JiU's house, the one you've been in before with her and her friends, you stare in complete shock with how trashed the place is. Articles of clothing have landed on ceiling fans and lamps, and some are of the more…. intimate variety. Plastic cups are littered around the stairwell, and a trail of food crumbs leads in and out of the kitchen variety.

“It seems like everyone had fun.” JiU remarks with a small snort at the end of her statement.

You check your phone for the time - 11:45 p.m. - where is everyone?

“We're in here.” Dami calls from the downstairs bathroom, and JiU looks over to the kitchen. 

“I'm going to check around and see if anyone else is here, okay?” She rubs your shoulder before pressing a kiss to your check.

You grab her hand and kiss it before she giggles and heads into the kitchen. You walk forward and take a left into the bathroom, where you gasp at the sight in front of you.

Katie, idly swinging her legs, sits on the bathroom counter top as Dami sits on a wooden stool with a first aid kit in hand.

“Are you hurt?” You rush over to her side as she sighs and shakes her head.

“No, Dami's worrying over nothing-”

“You cut yourself on a kitchen knife. I want to make sure that you're okay before we call everyone back inside.” Dami grabs a bandaid and gently grabs Katie's arm.

“So there's no emergency? No life-ending event?” You lean against the door as you let out a sigh. “You made us worried, you know. You two don't tend to call us unless it's serious. What did you need from us?”

“We could use some help cleaning up, if you don't mind,” Dami disinfectant the wound, which causes Katie to hiss in pain, “plus some people needed some time to cool off outside.”

You look towards a nearby window, where surely enough, a large group of people are gathered in the backyard of the house.

“Will they be alright out there?” You ask.

“King and Kim Lip already flattened the flower bed, and there's not much outside they can wreck besides that.” Dami informs you as JiU joins your side.

“SuA's going to be pissed when she finds out.” JiU adds as Dami places the bandage over the wound on Katie's hand. “How are you going to tell her?”

“Neon said that he and Siyeon had it handled… so I'm leaving it to them.” Dami answers before setting the first aid kit aside. “You're all good to help out with cleaning.”

She lightly taps Katie's knee twice before backing away from the counter. Katie jumps down as Dami sets the stool aside.

“That's your plan for telling SuA?” Your eyes widen as Katie stares at you.

“Do either of you have any better ideas?” She pauses. “No? That's what I thought. Let's clean up the house - maybe we can make the lecture slightly shorter if we do that much.”

~

“How did you end up with this mess?” You pick a red solo cup up from the couch and place it into a garbage bag as Katie plays fifty-two pick-up with a deck of cards on the ground.

“It was supposed to be an intimate gathering between friends, but Ryujin just had to post it everywhere. I had to make extra food, people brought over extra booze, and some people got a little wild. I had to take some people home, like Yeji, who were too drunk to even stand properly.” She explains as you nod your head. 

“And the other Paladins?”

“Mala and Tzuyu are running bets outside over some silly game, Neon and Siyeon are knocked out in another room, Sparrow's run off with Yunjin and Kazuha, and I had to drive Kim Lip and King home.”

“How'd that go?” You ask.

“All they did was sing ‘Sorry For Party Rockin’ acapella for twenty minutes,” Katie shudders as she recalls the memory, “Oh, and they both vomited five seconds after leaving my car, thank God.”

“So it’s been an eventful night?” 

“Most definitely, I have so much blackmail- er, I mean, photos to show you later!” Katie sets the deck of cards aside before heading into the kitchen. “We still have leftover food, if you’re interested in some. I’d feel bad if you guys did all that cleaning and didn’t get anything for it.”

“We’ll be fine, and I should be getting back anyways. It’s well past midnight at this point, and I’m sure people will want to head home-” You start to decline her offer before you hear Minji happily clap from the kitchen.

“Please, Dami, I’ll only have a few bites~” You can practically hear the puppy dog eyes in her words as Dami sighs.

“I know how well that went with the cookies Katie made for me last time-”

“-You didn’t say they were made for you. I saw cookies, so I ate them.” JiU peeks her head into the living room to speak with the girl in question. “Katie, you don’t mind, right?”

“Take as much as you need, I can always make more.” Katie insists before JiU gives her a thumbs up and sends you a wink. “C’mon, darling, let’s eat!”

“We just had dinner!” You sigh as your stomach grumbles at the thought of food. “Maybe a bite or two couldn’t hurt.”

“You two have fun, alright? I’ve got another room to clean up, and Dami’s going to take out the trash before we let everyone back in. You’ll want to be gone by then - our hungry drunks aren’t going to be too pleased with the food being ravaged.”

With that, Katie heads into an extension of the living room as you and JiU head into the kitchen. There’s a wide variety of treats - more than enough to please even the pickiest of eaters.

“She really did make enough food to feed an army.” You stare in wonder as JiU grabs one of the infamous strawberry cheesecake cupcakes. “I thought you weren’t hungry for dessert… were you anticipating an extra snack from Katie?”

“Guilty as charged!” She mumbles between bites.

You both laugh together, and your heart sores as her soft giggles graze your ears. It’s moments like this that remind you why you love JiU - she’s so honest and open about everything.

“I love you.” You say as she turns to you.

“I love you more, my dear.”

“Impossible, really.” You joke before pulling her in for another kiss.

It wouldn’t be the last you share that night, not by a mile. You wouldn’t grow tired of her affections - not now, not ever.

And you had to thank Katie and her friends - they gave you a reason to be even closer to JiU, after all. 

Like you needed to have one in the first place.

[guiquart]

Beraneth

A brief history: Grew up in the forests of Valenwood and abided by the Green Pact. She listened with rapt attention to her father's stories of his missions for Thalmor. When she managed to convince him to take her with him to Skyrim, everything changed. There, amidst the mountains and dangers, she enjoyed life: jumping over rocks, fighting sabre cat, meeting all sorts of creatures.  The fun ended when her father suddenly disappeared. After weeks of worrying, she found his body - mutilated, murdered on Thalmor's orders. She stayed in Skyrim, full of hatred for Thalmor. Without her father's support, she had to make a living by engaging in dangerous missions. Her skills grew, but it didn't bring wealth. When she was offered a well-paid commission in Riften, she accepted, despite having to work with «altmer» Pellyon Thaorius ( +++ ). Pellyon's arrogance and contempt infuriated Beraneth, and after he insulted her, she nearly killed him. All my text is translated through a translator. If you find faults, you can let me know so that I can correct it as soon as possible. Enjoy reading! This text was written for me by this author: @frimova Long story: Nothing in the life just happens. Beraneth had learnt that long ago, when her father had taught the little one how to hunt. Valenwood was a marvellous and most importantly green province, where bosmer could observe the Green Pact without any problems. But even such beautiful places could get boring, become so familiar and usual, so mundane that he wanted to climb a tree and howl from the eating boredom. Her father had travelled many places on Thalmor's errands, and Beraneth had listened with pleasure to his stories of hot sands, stinking marshes, beautiful fields... Until she encountered a real one.. Until she threw a tantrum so that her father would finally take her to Skyrim

A place her father had never been and a place where his help was needed. Beraneth had no interest in her father's business in Thalmor. She enjoyed jumping around the mountains like a mountain goat, riding sabre cat. Simply put - she was having a blast for all her years of living in boring Valenwood. With her father's work in Skyrim ending, she would be forced to return home with him and wallow in boredom once more.

And so the year went on. Beraneth had fun with her father when he was free, and the rest of the time she amused herself: having sex with random attractive elves, people; learning how to fight with an axe from some Nord. She did not remember names.  There was no point in memorising their names and faces. Why? She would outlive most of them anyway.

... her father didn't make contact. First a day, then a second, and then it had been a week! It was as if her father had vanished from her life, even though he was a pretty punctual Bosmer. In the second week Beraneth began to worry, no matter how much the innkeeper tried to reassure her.

- «Well, it happens...» - he said, spreading his hands, - «It's common in Skyrim to go on a bender. Your father's probably made friends with the locals and is drinking with the nords... or he's found himself some hottie and he's spending time with her. Don't worry about it. More Mead?»

The words were of little help, but they calmed Beraneth's anxious thoughts for the time being. Maybe the innkeeper was right. Father had always been outgoing, friendly and smiling, with such kind eyes. It was as if Beraneth's heart had died when the letter from Thalmor arrived. She didn't even remember the contents of that letter, which she clutched with trembling hands. But those lines....

«...killed by the enemy while on duty. We offer our condolences ... compensation will be paid to the family...»

That didn't make sense! At that moment, Beraneth smelled something wrong! Then she started searching every cave and ditch near Thalmor Embassy. Using all her skills, she overheard khajiit from the caravan saying that near one cave, on the way to the sea, there was a horrible stench of rot and blood. So bad that even the bitter Skyrim frost in the mountains couldn't beat the stench. So she went there. Found that cave. Crawled into the cave. Cracked the skull of a frost troll. Found her father's corpse.

Mutilated, wearing Thalmor clothes, with a broken embalming tool

in his pocket. The kind face was twisted with fear, one eye missing. The fingers he used to braid her pigtails were broken and had no nails. She would become part of the wild hunt without the ritual. Thalmor had used her father as a torture master. He was killed.

At that moment, Beraneth didn't go home. She wrote a letter home, explaining the situation to her family, enclosing Thalmor's letter and her father's ring. And so began her life in Skyrim, where she grew to hate the altmers. Without her father's support in the form of cheerful chatter and money, Beraneth felt lost. Money for food, a bed, alchemist and blacksmith services had to be earned and it wasn't nearly as much fun. The adventurers or rather the seekers of gold and glory were dying they were dying like flies.

But Beraneth was strong. She was able to adapt. She earned a few scars, often broke bones and tore muscles, but with each passing year she grew stronger, more beautiful.... but not richer. And that led her to a customer in Riften. Some weirdo from the Thieves Guild wanted some thing pulled from the deep ruins. Dangerous, especially since Beraneth had heard that a lot of mercenaries, adventurers and scholars died in those particular ruins. But it pays a lot and she just had to pay a blacksmith to sharpen her axe. And she needed to buy new boots....

Anyway. She needed money. And the sooner the better.

But there was one little «but» that spoilt it. The reward would have to be shared. WITH ALTMER. A terrible disaster that Beraneth could have survived. The pale upstart with long hair like it came off the arse of an elderly mammoth annoyed her. His face was too arrogant. And what kind of stupid name was that? Who names their child Pellyon Thaorius? Too complicated and she wasn't going to spell that name even in her head, so she called the arrogant idiot Pelly and settled for that.

But her anger jumped a few degrees higher when two cats joined their group of two elves. What kind of noble orphanage was this? They hadn't even travelled two steps from the customer's house before conflict immediately broke out.

- «What is this?» - she asked rudely.

- «What?»-  interjected Pellyon coolly, not looking at Beraneth, giving most of his attention to the cat on his shoulder.

- «We didn't discuss having two others with you. And we're not going to split the reward four ways, and I'm certainly not going to mess with you and your cats.»

Khajiit jumped off his shoulder. The two elves stared at each other.

Pellyon said contemptuously:

- «Mudbloods weren't asked for opinions. Do your job, miserable trash.»

Pellyon flies to the ground, his nose bleeding. Beraneth breathes furiously, keeping himself from reaching for his axe.

- «I'll fucking kill you now, son of an Altmer whore and a Falmer brat!» *I'll tell you about the two Khajiit later Thanks for reading! Little of their interactions in the future:

[aliorsboxostuff]

So how about sub din who is just started to date Dom reader and hasn't taken his helmet off yet. So things are getting steamy with them both and is din sitting on readers lap grinding on him and reader asks if he wants to take a step further and din nods yes. And reader makes sure that din is comfortable and says to leave the helmet on for din and doesn't want to rush him. And leads to din first time with reader and is riding him in the control room in the razor crest. I hope you are doing good and really glad that you are taking mandalorian requests.-🐸

A/N Oh 🐸, you with your amazing ideas, and always so descriptive! Though I gotta change the 'Started dating reader' part because the Din in my heart is a socially awkward mf that needs at LEAST 6 months of relationship development before holding hands. I also hope you are doing well! Yall gotta bear with me here this is gonna be my FIRST take on a star wars fic, let alone a Mandalorian fic, so if I do make any mistakes while writing some Mando'a words here, feel free to DM me or reply so I can fix where I wrote it wrong! As always, apologies for some mistakes, english is my 2nd language, and enjoy dear Readers! <3

Ner Din'ika 

Tags: Din Djarin x m!Reader, Grogu, Luke Skywalker, he's there as Grogus's teacher tho lmao, Mando'a words (Translation at the end), Bottom!Din, soft!Din, Keldabe kiss, First Kiss, Riding, Pet names, touch-starved!Din, fluff, fluff and smut, aftercare.

Din's first time with you is—as expected—filled with yearning and want and scalding touches and a kiss? 

[Takes place around the time frame of Grogus training in Book of Boba Fett, but i refuse to let The Razor Crest explode so here we are]

You stand at the mouth of The Razor Crest, watching as Din supervised Grogu’s latest training with Luke. The kid has flown a total of five little pebbles and an even more impressive number of bigger boulders, seven now counting. Din, worry and protectiveness practically oozing from his armor, stands off to the side, just near the tree lines, eyes watchful of his foundling as Luke, yet again, lets the little boy fly over his head. You’d deem it dangerous, stars, maybe irresponsible. But what do you know about Jedi training?

Instead, your eyes follow the line of Din's stature. His arms are crossed, leaning against some of the bamboos. Clearly trying to resemble a sort of relaxed stance, but you can see the tension, feel it even. Comes with being a Mandalorian’s boyfriend, you chuckle. Those broad shoulders lean back, Beskar reflecting the shining light of the growing evening, slowly he turns his head to glance at you sitting on the Crest’s mouth. You meet his visor, grinning, before he curtly turns back to where he was watching his kid. Your smile widens.

You met him through Cara Dune. She’s a good friend of yours, the one who pulled you out of your boring everyday life on Sorgan, used to fish the little morsels from your villages ponds, to hanging around her and earned her respect. Until that Beskar donned man and his little green kid came. Thought he wanted to take in Cara and you were ready to step in his way, but after they dueled, they came to a truce and started their alliance. He helped the villagers fight off the raiders that once terrorized the place, and once that's done he opted to leave, not before you hitched a ride to Nevarro with Cara.

It had to be admitted, the kid did catch your heart and held on to it, so you offered to help him and Grogu find his kind. Cycles after your initial meeting, you’ve grown close with both Din and Grogu, curious at the man’s past and equally drawn to him. Then that imperial bastard, Moff Gideon, had to up and steal the kid. So you, Cara, Bo-Katan and Hell, Boba Fett himself, joined forces to save him. 

The universe truly is bountiful to its protector, because you didn't take into account that saving The Mandalorians kid would give you the honor of learning his name and, by stars, becoming his boyfriend. Remembering back to those months, you still think you're the luckiest warrior in the whole galaxy to be blessed with such an amazing and loving clan of three. 

Reeling back to reality, far into the field, you see Grogu has gone tired and Luke has halted their training for the day, the little green guy already slumping into the dirt below and curling in on himself. You sigh fondly, walking down the ramp and jogging to wear Grogus doe eyes are already half lidded, and he yawns. 

“Come here kiddo,” You coo as you pick up his little body, cradling him in your arms. You see Luke talking to Din, too far away for you to catch, but you could see him nodding to Lukes animated chatter. You smile, glancing back down to Grogus little head burying himself deeper into your warmth, he’s already pawing at the jacket you're wearing, which makes you giggle and pull it around his little body. 

Luke walks over to where you’re standing, smiling as he sees Grogu already bundled up by you. “We should have dinner first before we sleep, right Grogu?”

Now that made his floppy ears perk. Grogu immediately turns from where you were hugging him, making grabby hands and incoherent words at the idea of food, which you smile at before handing him to Lukes waiting arms. 

“We’ll join you in a bit,” You said, and Luke nodded, already turning back into the direction of his temple. 

On cue, Din approaches you and slides an arm around your middle, pulling you to him at which you welcome the tug. With a steady hand on the cool Beskar chest plate, the two of you watch as Grogu flails his arms around, undoubtedly talking about something that only Luke could understand, the serenity of the fields surrounding you lulls you into a sense of peace. You turn to meet Dins visor, directed at Luke and Grogu, before it slowly turns to you, making you smile softly. Slowly, you bring your hand to caress the side of his helmet, fingers edging slightly under it, taking in the feeling of that powerful metal that has saved your boyfriend countless times. His gloved hand holds your wrist, not tugging away, just an anchor, a testament to his trust in you to know you’ll never take off his helmet, to know you’re patient to let Din take his own pace. 

The hand holding his helmet pulls slightly, and Din comes with. Your eyes flutter close as you feel the cold Beskar touch your crown, sighing when a shaky hand cups your jaw, bringing you closer. Despite the gap the armor creates, you’re never tired of feeling Dins hand on your nape, heavy over your pulse, burning even through his gloves. You smile, pulling back slightly, before you press a kiss to where his cheeks would be. “Let’s eat, cyar’ika,” You whisper, and you feel him nod.

You smile when he pulls back, arm still securely on your hips while the other smoothes over your jaw. You chuckle, pulling him to the smell of dinner being prepared by Luke, tugging him by his hand.

— 

After dinner is done and cleaned, Din has given Grogu his nightly bath and the kid is ready to pass out at any moment. Luke has taken him to his quarters and settled the little one on his own bed, just on the other side of his room. The bots have yet to make more sleeping quarters, still focusing on more classes and storage area, so the only available bed room would be Lukes, where Grogu is also staying. 

You and Din have known this from your last visits, opting to sleep in the privacy of the Crest instead. So you and Din bid the two a good night, and trek up the clearing where the ship is docked. 

Din’s arm never left your side, holding and pressing slightly, making you arch a brow at him. He only stares at you, undoubtedly false innocent eyes inside that helmet. You scoff, nudging him aside before pressing the button to close the ramp, submerging the two of you in the darkness of the Crest, shards of the twin moons the only thing leading you and Din up into the hull of the ship. 

His hands now roam around your body, pushing you slightly until your back hits the wall, you return his desperate touch with the same fervor. Finding the sliver of body suit on his hip not covered by his armor, you snake insistent fingers into the fabric and squeeze, his helmet not able to hide his groan.

“Easy dearest,” You smooth your hand over the area, other hand holding the side of his neck, thumb drawing soothing circles. “Let's take these off, alright?” He nods shakily.

You lead him to the compartment next to the sleeping pod, the table there clean of clutter and made to store Dins armor. Piece by piece, starting with his shoulder pauldrons, each part eased off with care, pressing a kiss to the Mudhorn signet, you can hear Dins stuttered breath. Then down to his vambraces, littering kisses from his shoulder and leading a path down to his forearm, then hands as you carefully pry off those thick gloves. You push Din slightly so his waist hits the edge of the table, pressing another kiss to the bare skin of his hand, half lidded eyes meets his visor at which you hear him exhale a ragged breath. 

Carefully unbuckling the belts around his breastplate, setting it on the table before you pull off the breastplate, the bodystocking stretches over his broad chest deliciously. As you put the armor piece aside, your hand smoothes over the fabric, pressing slightly where you know Din is sensitive the most, watching him inhale sharply before you smirk, littering kisses on your way down. As you crouch, you move to take off each leg piece, first tigh guards, pressing light kisses on the exposed fabric, then shin guards and the belts on top of it, then finally the knee-pads and his heavy boots. Gentle hands stoke up slightly, pushing the end of his pants up until you feel the tickle of leg hair, Din visibly shaking on top of you, gripping the table behind him until his scarred knuckles turn white. 

You smile, languidly making your way up his body, unwrapping his cape and setting it aside. The final divide between you and your boyfriend. His last brick, and the wall crumbles down. 

Shaking hands clasps at your back as you press kisses on his still covered clavicle, making the fabric damp and warm as he squirms. You hear his breath grow ragged, then you bite down, just enough to hear him groan and drop his head to your shoulder, his hands holding onto you like a lifeline. 

“Sleeping pod or-” 

“T-the cockpit…” He falters as you press another kiss nearing his neck. “Please,” 

You hum, nodding against his neck before leading him by the hand, careful touches along his hips as you usher him up the stairs. You follow suit, not forgetting to grab the lube from the compartment on the wall. 

When your feet touch the cockpits floor, Din impatiently pulls you up, hands stroking over your chest, down to your hips at which he breathes raggedly under your chin. You chuckle, moving him back until he feels the control panel. He almost jumps to sit on it, but you sit back on the captain's chair, you pull him towards you, making him stumble into your lap. His whine reverberates through his helmet's modulator adding a static edge to it. You made sure he’s comfortable before sliding your hands to his back, reaching to tug the zipper down. 

The zippers opens his backside into the night's cold air, making him arch into your warm touch, pressing his clothed cock to your lap. He whines from the movement, holding on to your shoulders, almost crushing them. With each skin slowly being revealed into the night's air, you press your lips against it, reveling in each whine and ragged breath you got out of Din. With every part of the suit being peeled, Din’s tanned skin is shown, bathed under the light of the moons and stars. Scars on his body paint an infinite constellation, your eyes following each one, from the deep ones to those that have grown lighter than Dins expanse of skin. 

Finally, he pulls at the tight bodysuit, discarding it somewhere on the floor, and his hands paws at your jacket, labored breath impatiently prying it off of your figure. You grin, shrugging the article off, followed by your shirt, leaving the both of you shirtless and breathless. Dins shaking hand strokes down your shoulder, to your arms, before he arches into you when your languid fingers trace his sensitive back, sending jolts rippling through his body. 

“Please…” Despite his helmet still perfectly secured on his head, you could feel his warmth ghosting at your neck. It truly has been a while since you and Din shared some privacy, always jumping from planet to planet, looking for more Mandalorians to repair broken bonds and doing favors that benefit Din’s covert. Only now did you and your boyfriend get to breathe in the warm embrace of peace within this planet, so you're not surprised just how sensitive Din has gotten.

“What do you need kar’ta?” Your hand holds Dins hip, no doubt leaving marks to be cherished in the morning, letting him grind himself on your thigh, broken moans and breath singing into your ears. You pride yourself for learning bits of Mando’a if only to hear his gasps each time you use it. “Hm? What do you want?” 

“I- ugh,” Din grunts as he feels one hand snakes into his trousers, stroking him steadily, his precum easing the movement. You smirk, other hand tweaking one of his perked nipples, bumping your head against his, making sure the amber in your eyes burns through his visor. The need melts into his skin. 

You’ve never gone past reverent touches and helping each other get off by hand, you haven't even gotten the pleasure of seeing Din fall apart by your mouth, but from the way he grinds into your touch, broken moans filling the room, his desperation leaks into your body. “Want me to fuck you?”

“Stars- Yes.” He moans when you tighten your hand just so. You nod, easing your hand away from his cock which makes him whine, until you begin to help him out of his pants.

“Okay, alright,” Your breath stutters when Din grinds over your cock, already tenting in the confines of your pants. Between you and Din’s relationship, the both of you haven't truly moved on from scalding touches and helping each other get off by hand. This is a new territory for Din, and you have to make sure he feels safe and comfortable in your embrace. 

You carefully slide him out of his trousers along with his briefs and discard it with the same pile as his top, feeling his strong thighs shake underneath your touch. Fumbling for the bottle of lube, you pour just enough on your hand and warm it up a bit, before following Din’s tailbone down to the top of his arse. He shivers, whining into your shoulder as he feels your digits ghosts over his hole, already squirming in your hold. 

“Come on, please,” He begs, nails scratching at your back. You slowly insert one finger, the tip first, letting the Din situate himself to the foreign feeling. He groans, burying himself deeper between the crook of your neck, his mandibles digging slightly at your jaw. The lube easies your finger to push more, deeper, until you hear his high pitch, broken moan, then slowly push in another. At that, he jerks his head to the side, chest still flushed with yours. 

When you begin scissoring, Din throws his head back, arches into your touch, which beckons you to chase him, biting at the now exposed column of his neck, making sure to leave marks no one but you know and Din could feel. Din feels delirious, deeply intoxicated from both your fingers and the feeling of your warm mouth pressing over sensitive skin and old scars, jolting each time you bite down or kiss longer to leave darker spots. He scarcely remembers moaning out broken syllables that should form your name, making your hold on his hips tighten, squeezing the scarred skin. 

After deeming it enough prep, you carefully pull your fingers out, pressing kisses on the planes of your boyfriend's chest, feeling him take ragged breaths, a steady hue of red throughout his body. You shuffle to discard your pants, hissing when you feel the cold air hit your heated skin. You could feel Din growing impatient, if the way he squirms could be interpreted as that, so you tug your pants off and align yourself under Din. 

“Slowly baby, slowly,” You remind him, his thigh shaking with anticipation. Hands holding under his thigh, making sure gravity doesn't take hold, you lower Din’s shivering body, inch by inch. The tight heat of his hole almost stutters your hold, making you groan, feeling the head of your cock inside him. You can feel Dins graps digs into your shoulders as he gasps.

Finally, your thighs are flushed with Dins, feeling the man shudder above you as you try to regain some sort of composure, breathing in shaking breaths. Din claws his way from your pellicals to your chest, making red rivers across your chest. You groan, pushing into his touch, which in turn shifts where you sat, enough to make your boyfriend shiver.

"M-move." He manages. "Move, please." 

"Anything for you mesh'la," You say as your teeth dangerously ghosts over his pulse. 

Planting your feet on the metal floor, you suppress the cold that shoots up your bones and instead focus on holding Din upright, thrusting into him with each movement. His arms shakes, moves back to grip the control panel, his scarred knuckles a hue lighter. A deep growl rumbles through you when you feel Din’s hole clenching around you, raking blunt teeth across his chest. You trail reverent kisses across a deep scar that runs from his left clavicle to just under his abdomen, Din shivers. In a more tender moment, slowed down after release with the two of you tangled together, you would've asked what those scars meant, wondering about the stories of your boyfriend's life. Maybe later, much later in the night.

When you hear a mewl, almost a hurt sound coming from the man currently flushed on top of you, your lips curls into a sharp grin, before hauling Din from gripping at the ships console to fall into your grasp, his arms immediately around your neck with a choked gasp from the sudden change. With the chair supporting both of your weight, you have the advantage to claw at Din’s hips, digging calloused fingers into his skin, using your strength to push Din up and down.   

You feel yourself nearing the edge, with Din clenching around you it’s hard to keep up the pace. The side of his helmet would leave an angry mark on your shoulder, making you grunt when Din lets out a broken whimper and buries his head to the crook of your neck. “C-close, baby,”

“Me too…” He lets out a breathy moan when your hand finds his dick, pumping it hastily, pushing him to his limit.

“Stars i-” You stutter when Din clenches around you. “Fuck- Wish i can kiss you,” 

Slip of a tongue. Shit. 

Your movement falters, a shiver shoots up when Din pulls his head back, dark visors looking straight to you, assessing you. 

"Din i-" But before you could sputter out a reason, an apology for forsaking the trust he gave you, darkness suddenly envelops your vision, rendering you blind. Dins hand covers your eyes, you could feel his calluses over your skin.

Then, as if a searing star itself break the atmosphere, you feel slightly chapped lips against yours, a tickle of stubble and- Is that a mustache? 

Din grunts into your mouth, realizing you still have one hand wrapped around him. He moans, moving with your thrusts, his kiss devouring your gasps as you push at him, deepening it. His tongue traces yours and confidently moves in, effectively rendering your brain into a short-circuit. Your mind briefly wonders how such a reserved man has this much skill in kissing, he’s no virgin but surely he hasn't kissed anyone beside you. Then he bites at your lower lip before bringing you deeper again with a hand on your nape, and all hell breaks loose.

You growl into the kiss, basking in the whimper he lets out as your hand moves faster and thrust grows sloppier, but definitely still hitting that spot that makes Din scream. He pulls back, inhaling sharply when you bite lightly on his jaw, feeling the hair that decorate it. Oh you’d worship him just to see his debauched face without being blind, and the thought is enough to make you cum. 

You feel yourself release inside Din’s warmth, making him shiver and let out a broken moan of your name. With your hand jerking him off, he follows suit, throwing his head back, painting his chest with strings of pearly cum. Once spent, he slumps into your embrace, helmet already in place and breathing raggedly next to your ear. You pry his hand off your eyes and press a kiss to the sliver of neck you could reach. 

Blinking away the little dots from your eyes being closed and pressed by his hand, you slowly steady your breath as you rub circles on Dins pelicals and lower back, feeling him sigh and melt at your touch. You can't help to let out a chuckle, which earns you a questioning sound from your boyfriend. 

“Nothing, just…” You smile, licking at your lips, trying to savor Din’s taste. “Best kiss I've ever had.”

That made him chuckle, nuzzling the cool helmet against the side of your neck. “Me too.”

Your smile widens, closing your eyes and simply letting the warmth of after-sex wafts through the cockpit. Speaking of which, you should probably clean up and sleep in the proper sleeping pod. The seat, plush as it is, won't do your back any good. So you reach for your scattered pants, looking for the fabric you always keep in your back pocket. When you finally find it, you shift Din a bit to clean up the mess that went up to both his and your chest, then carefully pull out of the man, making you groan as he shivers, wiping down what leaks out of him and the remaining lube around your length. 

Standing up and making your way down takes another effort, but nothing you can't do for Din, sleepy and content Din in your arms. Pushing the button to open the sleeping pod, you set him down on the edge of it before handing him a bottle of water.

“Drink, love,” You grin, before busying yourself on the table where another water bottle is kept and downing it. You hear the hushed shh of Dins helmet as it’s being taken off, then the cap of the water bottle turning. You swallow another gulp of water, before flashes of earliers heated kiss shocks you and makes you choke on the water slightly. You cough, wiping your mouth with the back of your hand before closing the bottle and setting it back. 

“You uh… Done?” You clear your throat.

“Yeah,” You nod, turning back to see Dins helmet back on and him extending his arm, returning the bottle to you. You set it on the table and push him back to lie down in the pod. It’s always been a tight fit with both you and your boyfriend sleeping in it, but you make do.

When the doors are shut and the lights turned off, another hiss of Dins helmet makes your heart thump harder, but he shifts to place it on a small compartment off to the side and lays his head on your chest, one arm around you. You hook your arm around him, the other playfully raking through his curls. You could tell just from how it coils around your fingers, Din practically purring into your touch like a Loth Cat. You grin, pressing a kiss to his forehead before shifting to get comfortably on the pillow. 

“Good night, Din'ika,”

“Good night, Cyar’ika,” 

Cyar'ika: Darling, beloved, sweetheart 

Kar'ta: Heart

Mesh'la: beautiful

Requests are open! 

[dragonflylady77]

This is my contribution to the Harringrove Relay Race! ✨

@harringrove-relay-race

Read it on Ao3

I took the 500 words minimum word limit and blew it out of the water, so... enjoy.

(unbeta'd)

***********

I wanna do everything with you

the coffee shop au x college au x enemies to lovers x there was only one bed fic you never knew you needed... (also, with basketball!)

***********

“Out of the way, pretty boy.”

Steve grits his teeth and presses himself closer to the coffee machine so Hargrove has room to walk past him. Why the guy decided to bring in another box of coffee grounds during rush hour when there are three full bags in the cupboard already, Steve has no idea. 

The Californian import is probably doing it to mess around with Steve as usual. Steve sighs as he gets back to making the next drink on his list. As much as he has enjoyed working at The Dolphin Café over the summer, he can’t wait for fall to arrive and classes to start. He won’t have to see Hargrove again after that.

He isn’t sure why Hargrove has it in for him like that, he’s barely talked to the guy since he started. Not on purpose, but they usually have different shifts and the way Hargrove stares at him sometimes when they’re working together makes Steve uneasy. Makes him feel things he’d rather not think about.

Billy Hargrove is hot and he knows it and he seems to loooooove the attention from everyone, regardless of gender. Golden curls, a killer smile, a sculpted chest he keeps exposing by not buttoning up his shirt, no matter how many times their manager reminds him he should and jeans so tight they look painted on. Yeah, the guy is the full package.

Too bad the full package is also arrogant as fuck and determined to get on Steve’s last nerve every shift. So Steve takes deep breaths and smiles even when he wants to scream, and he focuses on filling orders and the end of summer. 

He is counting the days until he can see Robin again, once she’s back from her trip to Germany. He’s really missed his best friend all summer and he knows there is no way his dad would have agreed to their deal without her. 

Steve will always be grateful to Robin for helping him craft a proposition Richard Harrington agreed on. They’d even got a lawyer involved and his father had signed off on it, promising he’d pay Steve an allowance while he’s in college if he managed to get accepted and hold a job all summer beforehand. 

Steve knows how lucky he is to have gotten in, even if it’s on a basketball scholarship. The look on his father’s face had been worth all the extra work he’d put in. The knowledge Richard Harrington has lost this particular battle against his only son, whom he deems a complete idiot, is the cherry on top.

Now Steve just needs to survive the last couple of weeks at the coffee shop, with Hargrove breathing down his neck at every opportunity. Then he’ll be free, and in college, and he can hang out with Robin again.

***

“Tell me more about this guy,” Robin asks the second she gets in his car, her bags filling the backseat and the trunk of the Beamer. 

Steve instantly regrets offering her a ride to her dorm. It’s a long drive back to Chicago and his last shift is still fresh in his mind. Well, what happened when he’d clocked out for the last time anyway. Steve said goodbye to the manager who reminded him he could still come back for weekend shifts. Steve once again declined his offer and told him he was done with the Dolphin Café, as staff anyway. Hargrove was behind the counter and stared at him for the duration of that entire conversation, his eyes full of what looked like hurt. Steve glanced away and walked out without a word.

“You know as much as I do already, why must we spend more time on the subject?” Steve knows he’s whining but fuck, it’s not enough that he spent all summer working with the guy, now his best friend wants to talk about him as well? Steve is so fucking glad he never told her about the dreams. No one, EVER, needs to find out about those. 

“Because, dingus,” Robin starts, cutting him that look of hers that means she knows something Steve doesn’t. It’s a look he’s really familiar with by now. 

He sighs. “What? Spit it out, Rob. It’s a long drive and I’d rather talk about something else.”

Robin snorts and Steve glares.

“The dingus doth protest too much, methinks,” she says and Steve groans.

"Stop it."

“Oh come on, Steve. From everything you’ve told me about this guy, it’s clear to me you have a crush on him and I th—”

“What? What the fuck, Robin?” Steve swerves a bit from the surprise but manages to keep the car in the appropriate lane. “Leaving aside the fact that I am, you know, straight, how exactly did you get to that conclusion?”

“Really? Did you not hear yourself over the past three months? Hargrove this, and Hargrove that, you haven't stopped talking about him.”

“Because he’s been a pain in my ass since the day he started at work! He’s constantly in my face, calling me names and making a nuisance of himself.” Steve is getting worked up, because why can’t Robin see the problem? He takes a few calming breaths, and focuses on the road.

“He’s pulling your pigtails, dingus.”

“What? No! He hates me, and I didn’t even do anything.”

Robin shakes her head and Steve doesn’t need to sneak a glance her way to know she’s rolling her eyes. 

“Steve…” 

“No.” There is no way. Is there? 

“Fine. Enjoy staying in Egypt, I heard it’s nice this time of year.”

“Whatever.”

Steve is glad that Robin drops it then and moves on to talking about the classes she is gonna be taking when college starts.

***

Billy is stacking the latest batch of lemon blueberry muffins on the display stand when he hears a familiar voice. He glances up to scan the sparse Sunday afternoon crowd and spots Harrington walking towards one of the booths in the back.

He’s chatting animatedly with a girl Billy hasn’t seen before. She’s got light brown hair and big eyes and talks with her hands a lot. Harrington must have said something stupid because the girl punches him in the shoulder and he laughs it off, while rubbing the spot she hit. Their behavior gives off a sibling vibe, which does nothing to quell the longing in Billy’s chest.

They sit on opposite sides and the girl looks up at the menu on the big boards behind the counter. Harrington sneaks a few glances around and Billy looks away before they make eye contact. 

It’s a surprise to see Harrington again after he announced his departure a week ago. Billy is still getting over the feeling of betrayal upon finding out his secret crush was leaving, as he was walking out the door. 

He thought he’d have more time to try to turn the stupid rivalry into some kind of friendship. But he always seems to rub Harrington the wrong way, no matter what he says. From the day Billy started at The Dolphin Café at the end of July, he’d tried to make friends but Harrington wanted no bar of it. 

Billy finishes placing the last muffin on the stand and puts the dome cover on top in time for Harrington’s friend to come up to the counter to order.

“Hello, welcome to the Dolphin Café. What can I get you?” he smiles as he asks and the girl smiles back, her eyes dropping to his name tag for a second.

“Hey Billy. I’m Robin. The best friend. Can I get two of those delicious looking muffins please, a cappuccino and a mocha with four sugars and extra whipped cream.”

“Ah, yes, the Harrington special. Coming right up.”

The girl snorts and Billy chances a glance in Harrington’s way. He is reclining in his booth, glaring at them, and looks away the second Billy’s eyes meet his.

“Is that an actual item on the menu or a name you made up just for him?” she asks, leaning her elbows on the counter.

Billy feels his face warm up and he turns towards the coffee machine, praying Robin can’t tell he’s blushing. He busies himself making the drinks she ordered, mulling over his answer before things get too weird.

“Um…” He shrugs, sprinkling cinnamon on her cappuccino. “I mean, I did ask Hop to add it to the menu as a legacy item since Steve left, but he declined.”

“Aw, my poor dingus is not special enough to make the menu. He’ll be heartbroken.” The smirk on her face and the tone in her voice belie her words and it’s Billy’s turn to snort.

“Pretty sure he hated this place so…” Billy places the drinks on a tray, with the muffins Robin ordered. “You go sit down, I’ll bring them over.”

“Thanks, Billy.”

Billy follows Robin back to the booth and carefully unloads the contents of the tray on the table. He manages to not look at Harrington while he does but he can feel him watching his every move. It’s unsettling and rekindles the fire in Billy’s chest. 

Fuck.

“Thanks.” The frosty clipped tone does things that it shouldn’t to Billy’s insides and he focuses on Robin instead.

“Enjoy. Sing out if you need anything else.”

“Thank Billy,” she says again with a grin.

With a nod, Billy leaves, stopping to clear a table and wipe it clean on his way back to the counter. He needs a smoke but it’s a while yet until his break. A loud group walks in and he is happy to be kept busy. He still notices when Harrington and Robin leave and wonders if that was the last time he’s ever gonna see him.

***

A week later, Billy walks into the gym for the first basketball practice. His advisor was surprised he’d picked a sport as an elective, he’s an English Lit major after all. Makes Billy want to cackle really. Seems people either think he’s a meathead and want him for his body, or they’re shocked to learn there’s more to books and case studies in his life.

He steps around the corner in the changing room and a familiar voice stops him in his tracks. Keeping his eyes on the locker numbers, he locates his and heads over, dumping his gym bag on the bench in front of his assigned locker. 

“Hargrove?” Harrington’s voice reaches him, surprise and dismay thick in his tone. “What the fuck?”

Billy glances at him and nods once in acknowledgment before focusing on getting changed. He can hear Harrington muttering about him to the guy he’s standing with a few feet away but he manages to tune them out. Force of habit, really. Growing up with Neil Hargrove has taught him not to react and he has become really good at it.

The coach walks in and sends them into the gym to do some laps as a warm up. After some drills to see where they’re at, he splits them into two teams. Billy plays skins, and to his great delight, Harrington ends up on the opposing team. 

They’re both point guards which means Billy can get up close to try and stop Harrington when he gets the ball. He is thrilled to discover that Harrington is as competitive as he is on the court, even if he seems to have trouble staying upright when Billy crashes into him to steal the ball.

Billy offers Harrington a hand, half surprised when the other guy takes it, and he leans down close, the pendant around his neck nearly touching Harrington’s chin.

“You were moving your feet. Plant them next time, draw a charge!” He lets go of Harrington’s hand, his fingers tingling from the contact and steps over him to go back to his side of the court as they reset the play. He feels Harrington’s eyes on his back as he walks away but forces himself to look straight ahead, trying to get his breathing under control.

Fuck, that was exhilarating. Billy knows he needs to be careful how close he gets to Harrington because basketball shorts don’t hide much and he doesn’t need the embarrassment or the rumors that would follow him like the plague.

Once training is over, he showers in a corner as fast as he can and gets out of there, glancing at Harrington on his way out. He nearly walks into the door jamb when he clocks the hair on the guy’s chest and manages to dress in record time, despite the semi he’s now sporting.

Tight jeans conceal anything, thank fuck for small mercies. He shoves his gym clothes in his bag and hightails it out of there like hellhounds are on his tracks.

Once in his car, he allows himself to breathe, closing his eyes and letting himself remember the literal fur covering Harrington’s fucking chest. He’d give pretty much anything to run his fingers through that.

Billy groans, pressing his palm on his crotch to relieve some of the pressure and turns the engine on. He’s got a shift at the Dolphin in ten minutes and he can’t afford to be late. Jerking off to the memories of Harrington naked in the shower will have to wait.

***

“One Harrington special!” Robin announces as she puts down Steve’s drink on the table, before flopping on the chair across from him.

“Shhhh, Robin, we’re in a library!” Steve whispers and Robin rolls her eyes.

“No one cares, dingus.”

Steve takes a sip of his coffee, watching Robin get her laptop out of her bag. He frowns. “What did you call my drink just now?”

“Oh, um, the Harrington special. That’s what Billy called it the other day when we were at the coffee shop.”

“I’m sorry. Billy?” Steve stares at her and she shrugs. “Robin, why are you on a first name basis with that guy?”

“Cos he’s nice? And funny? And, like, really really clever?”

“What. The. Fuck?” Steve has no words. He can’t comprehend the betrayal twisting in his gut right now. 

Robin sighs. “He’s in my Romantic Poetry class and also my Literature of the Commonwealth class. He’s also in my Creative Writing Workshop class and we may or may not be working on a project together. Don’t be mad.”

“Robin. I… you… what?”

“See, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you. I know you’d be weird about it.”

“Only because you seem to have swapped me for my fucking nemesis.”

“Oh my god, you’re so fucking dramatic. You’ve been hating the guy for months for no reason.”

“Robin! I told you what he did. How he was with me. All summer when I worked at the Dolphin! If anything, he’s the one who hates me.”

Robin gives him that look that says he’s being a giant whiny baby (her words) and Steve sits back in his chair, sipping his coffee. He doesn’t want to talk about it anymore. Robin won’t listen or take him seriously anyway.

“Steve, let me ask you this,” Robin starts, and he can tell she’s trying to be patient with him. “Why would a guy who hates you name a drink after you?”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“I don’t know, okay. I don’t know how his brain works, or why he called me pretty boy and sweetheart for three months straight. Makes no sense to me.”

“Really?” 

Okay now she’s giving him the ‘oh can you so fucking dense’ look and Steve decides enough is enough. 

“You know what, whatever. I’m gonna go.” He closes his laptop and starts gathering his notes. His statistics assignment can wait. He already got an extension anyway. “Need to pack for my trip. We’re leaving at the crack of dawn tomorrow and I need to go to bed early or I’ll miss the bus.”

“Ah yes, the basketball trip. Billy mentioned it at our study session last night.”

“Last night? That’s why you blew me off for movie night?” Steve is getting more pissed off by the minute. He closes his backpack and grabs his coffee, though he’s not sure he wants to drink it anymore.

“Did you miss the part where I said we are working on a group project for a class?” Robin asks, leaning forward on her elbows, one eyebrow raised. He hates that she can do the eyebrow thing and he can’t.

“He better keep his hands to himself or I will punch him.”

“Yeah well, you can relax with your macho bullshit, cos he knows about me not liking boys.”

“You told him?”

“It came up,” Robin replies, mysterious as ever.

“Fine. Whatever. You know what? Keep your little secret rendez-vous and your brainiacs study sessions that I will never understand. I’ll see you when I get back, unless Hargrove kills me while we’re away.”

He leaves the library in a huff, Robin’s cackle following him out the door.

The next morning, Steve gets to the bus with two minutes to spare. He shoves his bag in the luggage compartment before stepping onto the bus, running a hand through his hair to try and tame it. Of course he slept through his stupid alarm and now he owes Robin, again, because she called him to check he was awake.

He spots Hargrove at the back of the bus, with Tommy Hagan and Jason Carver, so he sits at the front and keeps his head turned towards the window.

They get to the school where they’re playing that afternoon and Coach gets them to run drills and warm-ups for a couple of hours. Steve manages to stay away from Hargrove as much as possible, though Hargrove seems to have dialed down the hostilities and only shoves him once.

Soon enough it’s time for the game and they get stuck into it, the instructions yelled by Coach taking precedence over everything else.

It’s a hard fought battle, the opposition is really good, but their team prevails at the last moment, thanks to Hargrove. 

Finally, it’s over, Steve is exhausted but happy. He ends up next to Hargrove for the team huddle and for once he doesn’t mind being this close. They’re all riding the high of beating a good team and it’s a heady feeling.

After they’ve all showered and filed back onto the bus, they make their way to the motel. Once they park there, Coach announces that due to budget issues, they’ve had to reduce the number of rooms they could book and they’re all gonna have to bunk with each other.

A collective groan travels down the length of the bus at the revelation. Steve barely pays attention. He doesn’t care who he gets told to bunk with as long as it’s not Hargrove, and he’s pretty sure the other guy feels the same and will ask to stay with Tommy or Carver.

“Right, lads, me and Ms Ross decided that the easiest and most fair way was to lump you alphabetically.”

When Steve hears that, he knows he’s fucked. Because he knows the names of every guy on the team and he’ll either be bunking with Tommy, who he hasn’t talked to since ninth grade, or Hargrove.

Fuck.

Sure enough, a moment later, Coach says Hargrove’s name then his, and a room number. They get off the bus in pairs and grab their bags, with a reminder that they’re expected to be back on the bus at 8am the next morning. 

In the lobby, most of the guys on the team arrange to meet at the diner across the road once they’ve dumped their bags in their rooms. Ignoring the noise, Steve gets the key from the front desk and heads down to room 7. 

He gets into the room and stops in his tracks when he sees the bed. As in, singular. 

One bed.

It’s a big bed, but it’s only one bed. 

Fuck.

With a sigh, Steve drops his bag at his feet and he’s about to turn around to go back to the desk to demand a different room when he hears footsteps behind him. Clearly his day can get worse.

“Hey, Harrington,” Hargrove says as he enters the room, “what are you doing standing here in the dark?” He flicks the lights on and drops his bag on the desk to the side.

Steve watches as he takes in the large bed taking most of the space. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.” 

“It’s okay.” Hargrove shrugs then unzips his bag and starts looking through it for something.

Steve turns his head to look at him. “It’s okay? Nothing about this is okay.”

“Oh my god, dude. Don’t freak out because we need to share a bed. Jesus. We can put some pillows down the middle of the mattress if you’re that stressed about it.”

“I’m not stressed about it!” Steve is quick to say, earning himself a look of disbelief from Hargrove.

“Whatever. You going to the diner with the rest of the team?” Hargrove asks as he heads to the ensuite, holding some clothes and his toiletry bag.

“No, I… I’m not hungry.”

“Suit yourself.” The door shuts with a soft click and Steve closes his eyes. He needs to talk to Robin but he knows she is out on a date with some girl she met at work.

Once Hargrove has left the room to get dinner, Steve eats a protein bar he found in his bag then gets ready for bed.

He slips between the covers, ready to leave this day behind. He makes a point to not pile pillows between the two sides of the bed. No need to give Hargrove more ammunition. 

***

Billy sighs and checks his watch again. He’s been staring at the ceiling for two hours and is no closer to falling asleep than he was when he got back to the room. Less, even. Because he was sleepy after dinner and not in a mood to get drunk with his teammates, on beer purchased for them by Carver’s boyfriend, the only one old enough to legally buy alcohol.

Billy was surprised to see no pillows separating the two sides of the bed when he walked in. Even more surprised to find Steve fast asleep. 

He gives up and sits up, hazarding a glance at Steve. He’s lying on his side, the light coming from the crack in the curtains giving a golden shine to his hair. He looks peaceful and soft and Billy would love nothing more than to cuddle up to him and feel his arms around his back.

He runs through his conversation with Robin for the four hundredth time since it happened three days ago. He was surprised to see her in three of his classes but glad they got paired up for the Creative Writing assignment. From the interaction he had with her at the Dolphin last week, she seemed quick and witty and that hunch had proved right. She’d also clocked him as queer faster than anyone beside Heather ever had and her coming out to him had reassured him immensely. 

He isn’t a hundred percent on board with her assessment of Steve’s feelings towards him though. That seems a bit hard to swallow considering the past three months, but she is Steve’s best friend, so Billy figures she might know what she’s talking about.

He’s about to turn the side lamp on and grab his book since he can’t fucking sleep when Steve lets out a whimper. Frozen on the spot, Billy listens, in case Steve is having some kind of nightmare he’ll need to wake him up from (Robin mentioned something about that).

But then the guy starts moaning, a low raspy sound, that causes Billy’s ears to heat up as his sweatpants get a bit tight in the crotch. Billy hears the rustling of the bedding, and Steve doing some kind of squirming that has Billy immediately on edge.

It only gets worse when Steve starts muttering. It’s not really words at first, and Billy rolls over so he’s closer, and can hear properly. He regrets it a minute later.

“P-please… Don’t stop, please,” Steve mutters and Billy bites his fist to stop from making a sound.

This is not happening… 

Billy can’t believe he has to lie there silently while Steve is having a fucking sex dream. He moves away and sits on the edge of the bed, his back to Steve, hands balled into fists at his sides, willing his dick to go down because this is beyond pathetic. Yes, he has a crush on the guy, but getting off to his sex dream feels one step too far.

Yet, Steve keeps making goddamn sex noises, and apparently willing whoever he’s dreaming about to keep doing whatever they’re doing to him in his mind and Billy is two seconds away from having a cold shower at three in the morning when suddenly he hears his name.

“Billy… Billy, please…” 

Oh fuck.

His fingers dig into his thighs with the effort it takes to not touch his dick and get some relief. He can’t breathe, there is no air in the room, only Steve’s moans and whimpers and his desperate pleas.

And Billy knows it doesn’t mean anything, okay? He knows that Steve can’t stand the sight of him, no matter what Robin said the other night. And there’s nothing he can do about it. Maybe he’s just bad at flirting with a guy he actually cares about. Maybe there’s just something about him that Steve just can’t stand and it’s not his fault. But that doesn’t stop his brain from sending images of what he could be doing to Steve with his fingers and his mouth and, fuck, he really needs to stop thinking about that or he’s gonna blow his load in his pants like a fucking twelve year old.

He doesn’t remember ever being so hard as he is in that moment, when Steve’s breath quickens and he keeps saying Billy’s name over and over and over.

Billy needs to do something, either pretend to sleep or lock himself in the bathroom, because there is no way Steve will react favorably once he’s awake. He’ll either pretend it didn’t happen or be angry at Billy for no reason, as usual.

Unable to listen any longer, he races to the bathroom, slamming the door shut and flicking the lock before he turns the shower on to cover any noise he’s about to make. Leaning against the counter with one hand, he reaches inside his pants and wraps his fingers around his cock, hissing at the contact.

He is barely aware of the movements of his hand, his mind still in the room, in that bed, imagining a hand that’s not his touching him instead. He knows he won’t last long because he’s too keyed up from listening to Steve. He squeezes the head of his cock, and groans at the feeling, his knuckles turning white on the counter.

Billy closes his eyes, pretending Steve is there with him. He can almost feel Steve’s lips on his neck, Steve’s body against his as he jerks him off… The visual is so clear, so much what he craves, and he’s so close now, he can almost taste his orgasm.

“Billy?”

Steve’s voice reaches him through the door and wraps around him and he comes with a grunt he can’t silence, making a mess in his underwear. Panting and trying to catch his breath before his legs give out, he washes his hands and wishes he’d have taken the time to get undressed and step into the shower.

Steve is knocking on the door now. “Are you done? Dude, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Gimme a minute!” Billy’s voice sounds wrecked even to his own ears and with the shower going. He shuts the water off and unlocks the door, steeling himself to face Steve before he opens the door.

Steve’s hair is a mess and Billy forces his eyes to a spot to the side of Steve’s shoulder as he pushes past him and into the room.

“Billy?” Steve’s voice stops him in his tracks and he turns around slowly, taking in Steve who’s standing in the doorway, illuminated from behind by the light in the bathroom. Billy doesn’t remember Steve using his actual name before tonight, he’s always called him Hargrove.

“Yeah?” Billy asks softly. He’s still feeling wired from the whole thing and doesn’t have it in him to maintain the usual bravado in front of Steve. He is not sure what to think when Steve steps closer until he’s standing a foot away. Billy makes sure to keep his eyes up, his gaze following the trail of beauty spots on Steve’s shoulder and up his neck.

He is not so out of it that he doesn’t notice Steve’s eyes tracking down then back up, snagging somewhere on Billy’s naked chest then his mouth before Steve locks eyes with him. The warm spot in Billy’s gut starts boiling.

“Um, Robin said… um Robin has this theory, and… and I think she might be right.”

Billy sighs. He just wants to clean up and get into bed but Steve has never looked at him that way before so his curiosity gets the better of him. “What theory?”

“About me and how I’m not actually, you know… straight.”

“Okay…” Bill isn’t sure what to say. He’s not exactly surprised, in light of the dream Steve was having not that long ago.

“She said something else too.”

“Oh?”

Steve moves forward and he’s so close now that Billy can feel the heat from his body. He doesn’t know where to look or what to think. He takes a deep breath to calm down, and realizes his mistake when all he can smell is Steve and it’s overwhelming. 

“You don’t hate me, do you?” Steve asks, his tone sounding more assured now. “You know, Robin reckons you have a crush on me.”

Billy chokes back a moan and bites his lip. Steve’s eyes immediately zero in on that and Billy shudders.

“What are you doing, pretty boy?” Billy whispers, his heart in his throat.

“What feels right,” Steve whispers back, his face so close he’s all Billy can see. “Stop me if you don’t wa—”

Billy breaches the gap and slants his lips onto Steve’s, groaning when Steve tangles both of his in Billy’s curls to pull him closer. Steve’s lips are softer than Billy imagined and he grabs Steve by the waist, using Steve’s needy moan to slide his tongue in Steve’s mouth.

The kiss goes on, hands grabbing and pulling, as they stumble backwards towards the bathroom, bodies pressed close from shoulder to toe. 

“Fuck meeee…” Billy whispers when they break to breathe, blinking to adjust to the light. He feels like he’s seen God and can’t get enough of Steve’s tongue in his mouth.

“Maybe later,” Steve replies with a grin, and Billy digs his fingers into Steve’s hips at the thought.

“Steve…”

“You know,” Steve starts, moving away to turn the shower on, his eyes never leaving Billy’s even when he takes his shirt off and drops it on the floor, “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you say my name.”

“Yeah?” Billy stares as Steve walks back to where he’s standing by the countertop, his eyes straying to Steve’s waistband hanging low on his hips before moving back up.

“Yeah…” Steve stops in front of him. “I wonder how loud I can make you say it…”

Billy gasps then loses the ability to make words when Steve drops his pants. Then Steve hooks his fingers in the waistband of Billy’s sweatpants, a question in the tilt of his head. Billy nods in agreement, and Steve slides his hands around then down, over the curve of his ass, fingers splayed, before he pulls Billy’s pants and underwear down.

“Wanna shower with me?” Steve asks and that shakes Billy out of his trance.

He steps out of his clothes and slides his hands around Steve’s waist, pulling him up, and laughs happily when Steve curses even as he wraps his arms and legs around him.

“Baby, I wanna do everything with you.”

He steps under the warm spray with his precious cargo, pressing him into the wall and finding his mouth again.

*****

Please look forward to the lovely/wonderful/amazing work from the next contributor, @harringrovest.

[revserrayyu]

2.5 Xianzhou continuance thoughts [part 2]

**SPOILER warning** for March first boarding the Skysplitter, Feixiao coming to Yukong’s aide, a healer in need of a medic and the fight against Hoolay. As always, refrain from reading further if you haven’t reached the first boss battle or finished the entirety of the 2.5 story because I’ll probably mention some things that happen later on.

Amidst the serious wolf hunt going on, I appreciate the silly conversations the game threw our way to ease the tension once we switched back to March’s perspective. Now that we know Hoolay is capable of turning foxians into borisin with just his fangs, it’s good for our Trailblazing companion to be a bit suspicious of everyone at the event, but thankfully this one soldier is just an awkward man doing his job.

We continue to be such a bad influence on our friends, even when we’re not around. I can’t even be mad that the game insults our mental health because this whole scene is just too funny. And most likely true because the Trailblazer is far from normal.

The whole situation with Hoolay’s plague-mark spreading fear and the danger it presents alongside these lines of Feixiao’s just reminds me of that one line from Serval during the Belobog story when we first escape the Underworld and request her help: “I know Cocolia’s style - get everyone into a frenzy first.” (yes of course I remember random Serval quotes.)

Wise words from our resolute General. She would make a good mentor, but I believe it was said (no clue on when or by who exactly), that she can’t really take on an apprentice because of her busy schedule and/or shortened lifespan due to her moon rage. Something like that. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong but I know there was a reason she doesn’t take apprentices somewhere.

Finally getting to the borisin attack scene that they teased us with during the 2.5 trailer and I’m truly impressed by how Feixiao manages to arrive at Starskiff Haven from Exalting Sanctum so quickly.

Granted, the speed at which she arrives is mostly due to her riding on top of a starskiff that she.. somehow acquired from who knows where, but the cutscenes switch up so fast from Feixiao reassuring Yukong she’s on her way one moment to then seeing her flying into the fray the next. I found it incredible.

It was also amusing to see Feixiao just ram the starskiff into an unfortunate borisin and crash land the whole thing while she remains perfectly unharmed.

Eeehehe, I just love that kind of pose where people hold their weapon over their shoulder like that. Not to mention that confident smirk of hers too.. aaahh she’s so cool~ And Yukong too. I still adore her. Shame we didn’t get to see her fight more than what the 2.5 trailer already showed us but hey, I’ll take what we can get. Better than nothing.

With the way you move, sweetie, everything is swift.

My assumption about Feixiao using Yukong’s bow from the patch trailer turned out to be correct. From wielding swords, gun blades, battle axe and bows, she can do it all folks! We love a multi-talented queen.

So that giant flash of light in the sky turned out to be Feixiao’s arrow.. good lord. At least she gave everyone a heads up about it so we could try to move out of range, but with how quick she acts, it couldn’t have be that much time. Thankfully Moze is kind enough to offer us some assistance.

Ma’am.. please calm down with the amazing cutscenes. You’re too much for my heart to handle. The powerful attack did seem to hurt her a bit though in the end, or it was her moon rage acting up.

Now there’s a question I’d like the answer to. How did people react to her bloodline? Or do they really not know about it and just see her as a foxian? Whenever I read about the Yaoqing, I see that moon rage is kinda common among foxians of that ship because of their close ties with the borisin, so perhaps other ships really don’t mind Feixiao’s backstory. After all her military accomplishments, I wouldn’t either, honestly.

Looks like we won’t be getting a definite answer either as she chooses to just taunt him instead. She’s perfect. I love her. I’d gladly beg for her.

Jumping back to the Skysplitter where March & Yunli meet up with Yanqing, the girls are rightfully suspicious of his sudden arrival and wonder if he’s a disguised borisin. It’s a fair assumption since they last heard he was supposed to be helping Feixiao, but he reasons with swift logic that ultimately makes fun of his own height and the truth surrounding that fact is hilarious.

For a whole side mission taking place back on the Luofu, there’s not as much Jing Yuan as I originally thought there would be. At least he’s working behind the scenes though, setting up a well thought of trap to lead Hoolay into by setting up a fake Wardance ceremony to draw him out into the ring.

The fight with the warhead himself was fine. I wish I remembered more of it but I didn’t really have any trouble with him.

The fight probably would’ve been more memorable if they didn’t cut to a flashback of a seriously injured Jiaoqiu right in the middle of it! AAHH! I’m actually kinda surprised that Hoolay kept him alive for this long (and didn’t completely eat him after everything either), but since there was no more use for him.. yeah, makes sense he would eventually toss our healer aside like trash and leave him to die on his own.

Oh goodie, yet another flashback to pull at my heartstrings. I wasn’t expecting Feixiao to be so much younger than Jiaoqiu..? Or more like I never really thought of who’s older/who’s younger between them before. I just assumed they were about the same age. Hearing him lose his patience with her was a bit unexpected, but when you remember how tired of Jiaoqiu is of learning that his patients lost their lives upon returning to battle and how the previous General asked him to personally save Feixiao, his annoyance is understandable.

Before Hoolay leaves Jiaoqiu, our healer reveals he knows about the bloodwine custom where borisin kill off their prisoners and drink their blood before battle to increase their madness. Hoolay confirms this and I can only assume that he drinks said blood from the gash across our foxian’s chest. Unfortunately for the warhead, Jiaoqiu seemed to have an ace up his sleeve.. which just so happens to be poison.

During my 2.4 posts (part 2 I think), I jokingly said that “this man could very well poison someone if he wanted to,” but sir, I didn’t want it to be yourself!? And with the most lethal of poisons too?? Goddamn.. that’s so extreme, honey. I’m not even gonna question how or when Jiaoqiu actually drink the poison, but he definitely needed to make sure Hoolay had a taste of his blood or else his impressive last ditch effort would’ve been all for nothing. Thankfully, his plan is a success and the sly fox skillfully uses the same advice he previously told Mok Tok & Hoolay about with feeding a child with picky eating habits: you hide the thing you want them to eat among something else. Green peppers chopped up into meatballs. Deadly poison mixed in foxian blood.

Nooo no no, stop this self loathing at once! Your life is nothing close to insignificant! Aahh.. he’s making me so upset. Half the reason being he’s seemingly dying, the other half is because of Mark’s brilliant voice acting. He was so dang good throughout this entire scene, from sounding broken and losing hope, to the weak chuckles when he finds the tiniest bit of amusement about his poison plan taking effect. Actually, his performance was wonderful throughout the entire story so far.

What isn’t wonderful however.. is how Hoyo baited all of us into thinking that Jingliu was going to return! All those mentions of her name and the cameo of her during the 2.5 trailer.. worthless! The Jingliu from the cutscene is nothing but Hoolay being reminded of her style when Yanqing launches a serious counterattack by taking inspiration from his own experiences of battling against Jingliu during her companion mission.

Like.. yeah, good for you young man for freezing the beast so effectively, but I’m still so twisted that our ice queen doesn’t actually show up. I know it makes the most sense that she doesn’t, considering she and Luocha are locked up on another Xianzhou ship, but maaann.. it would’ve been so cool to see her again.

Despite turning into a popsicle, Hoolay still manages to strike back against Yanqing, only for a true queen to descend onto the battlefield and stop his large blade effortlessly, just as she did to both Yunli & Yanqing’s last patch with just a couple fingers.

Sigh.. what an amazing woman. And there’s gonna be a whole lot of fangirling over her during the next post too. (probably).

[writingwithciara]

Love Boat ~Cam Cameron~

summary: cam takes the internship on the boat but before he leaves, y/n has something important to tell him

word count: 1.4k

pairing: cam cameron x bestfriend!reader

notes: okay so cam was the absolute sweetest person ever. i saw some people looking for some cam fluff so i decided to write some. this is a best friends to lovers prompt because that’s truly the best trope

masterlist

Most people dream about owning a beach house and staying there year round but very few people actually can say that’s what they do. Y/n lives in one year round. And to her, the best part is not being on the beach. No. It’s having her best friend live close by.

Cam was one of the only people who understood her completely. Their relationship was an open book and that was something they both loved about it. It was easy for them.

The only secret that was being kept was Cam’s. He was offered a summer internship on the whale-watching boat but didn’t know how to tell y/n without upsetting her. It was the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. It became even harder when y/n came to him with tickets for a trip she wanted to take with him over the summer.

“I got two tickets for this cruise and I want to take you with me.”

“Me?”

“Of course you. Who else? Who better than my best friend?”

“I guess there’s no argument there, huh?” Cam chuckled awkwardly. Y/n looked at him and smiled. Cam loved that smile. “I got offered an internship on the whale watching boat.”

“What? Cam, that’s amazing. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact with y/n. “You realize what that means, don’t you?”

“That you can’t come on the cruise with me this summer?”

“Yeah. I would love to go with you, but this whale watching boat means a lot to me. N-not that you don’t mean a lot to me too.”

“Cam, it’s okay. I’m really happy for you.” Y/n smiled again. “You’re living the dream. Your dream. Do you understand how proud that makes me?”

“Yeah I do. And thank you for being so understanding. I couldn’t figure out the right way to tell you.”

“Why’s that?”

“I didn’t want to make you upset. We spend every summer together and I thought you would hate me for not being around this year.”

“I could never hate you, Cam. In fact, I….” Y/n paused and Cam stared at her. “Nevermind. It can wait.” She shoved the tickets into her pocket and smiled. “When do you leave?”

“I leave on Tuesday.”

“That gives us 6 days together. We can cram a whole summers worth of fun into the rest of the week. If you’re free, of course.”

“For you, I’m always free.”

“Just not for the summer.” y/n smirked and checked her phone. “Our week of summer starts at 6 pm. Meet me at the country club tonight?”

“Yeah. For sure. I’ll see you then.” Cam smiled as he watched y/n get on her bike and ride away. That was way easier than he expected it to be.

Later that night, Cam waited outside the country club for 15 minutes before y/n walked out. She had a special membership that allowed her to use the club whenever she pleased, just as long as she cleaned up any mess she made.

“Hey. What do you have planned tonight?”

“Follow me and you’ll soon find out.” y/n smirked and walked back into the club. Cam followed her out to the pool. When Cam saw what she had set up, he grinned.

“Wow. This looks so cool.”

“You always talked about how cool it would be to sit in a kiddie pool while it floated in an actual pool and look up at the stars.”

“I think the last time I mentioned that was almost 2 years ago. I can’t believe you remembered that.”

“You’re my best friend, Cameron. I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten a thing you’ve said.”

As y/n climbed into the blow up pool, Cam realized he was more than happy that she was his best friend. It made it  so much harder for him to be excited about leaving her for the summer.

Over the next few days, y/n had so many fun activities planned for the two of them. By the last night, it became clear that Cam couldn’t even leave her. It would be too hard for both of them.

The final activity was all day laser tag and the rest of the night would be spent on the boardwalk. Y/n had won 80% of the laser tag so when it came time to play the carnival games, it was Cam’s time to show off. He won all the games and gave the prizes to y/n.

“Thank you, for all the stuff you planned out this week.” Cam sipped his root beer slowly and took a bite of his funnel cake.

“You deserve some fun once in a while.” She nudged his shoulder gently and looked at the wagon of prizes. “Thanks for all the prizes, Cam. Now I’ll have something to remember you by when you leave tomorrow.”

“Okay. Like years of friendship isn’t enough?” He joked.

“Of course it is. But you can’t cuddle up to memories, Cameron. That’s why I’m going to love these stuffed animals. Each and every one of them is stuffed with fluff and the warmth of knowing that my favorite person in the whole world won them for me.”

“You’re making this so much harder for me.” Cam started, nearly in tears.

“Cam, don’t cry. You’ll be back in 2 months. It’s not forever.” y/n was starting to cry too. Neither of them knew why it bothered them.

“I know. But what if something bad happens? What if the boat gets caught in a storm or what if a shark attacks us or something?”

“Hey, you’ll be fine. I know it will be. You’re going to be the best intern out there.”

“I’m scared though. I don’t want to be this terrified.”

“Cam, they’re just whales. They’re mostly harmless so you’ll be safe. I have the utmost faith in you, Cameron.” y/n held his hand tightly. “You’re the smartest person I know.”

“I’m really going to miss you when I’m gone.”

“Like I said, it’s only 2 months. You’ll be back before you know it & I will be right here waiting for you when you return.”

“I’m lucky I got a whole ton of pictures of us in my phone to look at whenever I miss you.” Cam smiled as y/n’s hand found its way to his cheek. He leaned in to the touch as she wiped away the tears that fell.

“Look, Cam, I’ve gotta tell you something. Something serious.”

“No, don’t speak.” His hand found the back of her neck and he pulled her in slowly. When their lips met, it was sweet and gentle. Completely on brand for Cam. He let her go and she sighed.

“I was going to say that I love you and it was okay if you didn’t feel the same way, but after that kiss, I think it’s safe to say that you do.” y/n let out a shaky breath. “Do you?”

“Yes. I do. I completely do.” Cam smiled and leaned back in. He was sure he was going to collapse if he hadn’t already been sitting on a bench. “You know, I think I’ve felt this way for quite some time but I wasn’t sure. Not until I got the internship and thought about being away from you. It killed me just thinking about it. That’s why it took me so long to say anything. I didn’t want to see the look on your face when I told you.”

“But you had nothing to worry about.”

“I had nothing to worry about.” Cam smiled and held her face close before resting his forehead against hers. “I love you so much, y/n. You’re my favorite person. I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t come into my life 6 years ago.”

“I don’t what I would’ve done either. I thank god for you every day, Cameron. For everything you’ve brought into my life. The happiness, the warmth, the kindness, the wisdom and most importantly, the love.” y/n kissed him again. and again. and again. She never wanted to stop.

taglist: @worldlxvlys

[mystic-writings]

remember the nights | chapter fourteen — a rom-com happy ending

WORD COUNT — 2,841

WARNINGS — pure fluff, weddings

NOTES — i can't believe it's already over :( well, not really bc this series will always live in my head, way into their college years, but for now this is the end <3

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter

Ever since your Uncle Mark started staying in the guest room and wedding prep picked up even more, your house was never quiet. Between final food tastings, organizing the tables and stationary, plus the horrendous amount of extra schoolwork you were dealing with due to a new semester starting up, life never slowed down. 

Things at school got better, so long as you ignored Newt in any way, and focused on your college applications and spending time with Brenda. Plus, your uncle Mark made sure to spend all his extra time with you, since you hadn’t seen him in two years. 

He and Maggie’s brothers got along well, and made the house extra vibrant as everyone got to know one another over game nights and dinners. The very first night you’d met them — Maggie’s brothers, George and Dean — they embraced you lovingly, claiming that Maggie had always wanted a daughter. 

Valentine’s Day started with a bright dawn and a calm air, and you could tell even with the cold that it was a beautiful day for a wedding. The day started early, at around 5am, with Maggie shaking you awake, offering you a toasted waffle and travel mug of coffee. The house was void of men and instead filled with the women of the bridal party, all running around and getting ready in different parts of the house in order to have things done on time. 

Everyone had their dresses in different places, and you and a woman named Sarah did each other’s makeup in your bedroom by the desk before taking turns getting dressed and finding your purses, accessories, and proper coats. 

Maggie was already on her way to the church in just her makeup by the time everyone was ready, leaving you to lock up the house and pile into one of the three cars occupying the driveway. You texted with Brenda, Harriet, and Sonya on the car ride, talking about the reception happening later on. 

You and Thomas were allowed to bring your friends to the reception (with Brenda and Jorge being the exception, as they were invited to the ceremony), something that your parents agreed upon not long after they told you about the proposal. Since the bonfire, though, the group was shattered, and you really only talked to the girls for now. Thomas was inviting everyone else who wanted to come, though, so you’d see everyone there, anyway. 

One thing you did notice, through the bustle and stress of the wedding and finals, was that your friends had been acting odd, to say the least. Thomas was the same, but every one of your friends were exchanging an unsettling amount of smiles and glances — not just the girls, but Gally and Minho, too. You’d even asked them about it one day, but they all refused to give you an answer. 

You shook the thoughts from your head and texted the girls to update them on where you were. They were all excited for the wedding, and you were, too. Everything about this day had felt spectacular so far, and you couldn’t wait to actually see Maggie and your dad get married. 

The church was empty for now, but you and the girls all filed into the bridal suite, where Maggie sat, pinning up her hair into the most elegant style you’d seen. Since her hair was neck length and wavy, it was difficult to get her hair into a style that looked nice. However, she managed to take some strands from the front to frame her face, while still having the majority of the upper half of her hair pinned back with pearl beaded pins, her waves still flowing free. 

You almost cried at how wonderful she looked, before realizing it was up to you and two other bridesmaids to help her into her dress. 

If you hadn’t been emotional before, you definitely were now. 

Maggie looked like she’d stepped right out of a fairytale. Her bodice and sleeves were mesh, patterned with intricate lace, her skirt made of silk with a slight volume to it and lots of movement. The lace pattern bled into the skirt, blending well with the silk and forming it into a cohesive piece. 

Everyone’s compliments overlapped as you took her hands in yours, the both of you smiling widely at one another. 

With a gentle squeeze of your hands, and a knock on the door from her brothers, ready to walk her down the aisle, Maggie sighed. “Well, ladies, I think it’s just about time I got married, don’t you think?”

The ceremony was, to say the least, perfect. 

Out of the entire bridal party, you were the last to walk down the aisle, with Chuck and Thomas on either arm, all three of you beaming like sunshine. 

Your dad, along with everyone in the church, welled with tears upon Maggie’s entrance, both  of her brothers on her arm. Everything went without a hitch, and you must have ran through a pack or two of pocket kleenex. You’d never be able to replicate the joy in your heart when your dad finally called Maggie his wife. 

To no one’s surprise, the reception started strong and continued to stay that way. The hall looked absolutely amazing, with round tables and white wicker chairs, beautiful flower centerpieces. In the few-hour long break between the ceremony and the reception, Sonya, Harriet, and Brenda’s attitudes have kicked up in suspicion, but all things considered, you simply brushed it off. You had a lot more to worry about today than their behavior, and one of those things was your speech. 

All of your friends sat at a table near the front, watching your uncle wrap up his speech. Thomas and Chuck were going to do one as the best men, but didn’t quite know what to say, so they passed that duty onto Mark. One of Maggie’s friends offered to do the same for you, but you had already started with an idea, and this was too important to pass off. 

With shaking hands and messily written index cards, you stepped up to the microphone next to your parents table, smiling at the people around you. You kept your eyes on Maggie and your dad, though, for the most part. 

Clearing your throat, you leaned into the mic and began your speech. “I know that there’s a lot of people here who might not exactly know who I am, but I’m very glad to be here to share this day with all of you. I’m the daughter of the groom, and my name is Y/n. I want to start by congratulating my dad and Maggie, who I can say, deep in my heart, I know were meant to be together. Sure, it took them a while, but I guess finding ‘The One’ takes time, right?” You took a deep breath, adjusting the cards in your hands, finding that you didn’t need them any more. “I’ve only known Maggie for about four years, but she’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever met. I’ll forever be grateful for all of the things she’s helped me and my dad through, and for always being there. Maggie, you and your boys have changed everything in our lives, and there won’t be a day that I won’t be thankful for that. You showed my dad how to love again, and you didn’t hesitate for a second to share that love with me, too.” 

You were only looking at Maggie, now, eyes wet with tears and a smile stretching your face. “And it’s because of that love and dedication that I am proud to be here today, with all our friends and family, and be able to call you my mom.” 

You watched the emotions change on your parents faces and laughed lightly. “I can only finish this off by saying that I hope that everything the both of you want out of life comes to you, and to tell you that I love you both to the moon and back.” 

Quietly, you stepped away from the microphone and walked over to an already standing Maggie, pulling you into a tight hug. 

“I love you so much, honey,” she whispered, kissing the side of your head. 

You squeezed her tight, tucking your face into her neck. “I love you, too, mom.”

After you let go and sat down, you glanced over at your dad to find him trying his best to hide his tears. He hadn’t been doing so well, considering you could see the shine of tears building on his waterline. 

Dinner and cake came after the speeches finished, both of which were delicious — you made a mental note to personally tell Jorge how good the cake was — and made you heavily consider taking seconds, despite knowing you would pay for it later with a stomach ache. 

Soon enough, the dance floor filled with people, and you searched out your friends to spend more time with them. 

You found them easily, the seven of them clumped into one corner of the room, just by the hall’s main entrance. They greeted you warmly, talking over one another about the food and the speeches. You told them everything about your day so far, and how proud and elated you were that the wedding finally happened. It was only when you were getting into how hectic things had been at the house that Gally’s phone rang, and suddenly the whole group went quiet. 

He stepped away, answering the phone and nodding like the person on the other line could see him. Everyone was looking at him, cheeky smiles on their faces as Gally came back, tucking his phone back into the pocket of his slacks. 

“What was that all about?” You asked him. 

Gally smiled at you, something he didn’t do all that often, a playful gleam in his eye. “Wanna go for a drive?”

“Why?” Your brows cinched as you dragged out your question, glancing between everyone as a slight chill ran up your spine. 

“He’s got a surprise for you, that’s why.” Brenda nudged you. “Just go, I promise it’ll be worth it.” 

You looked between everyone wearily before following Gally out to his car, not bothering to grab your coat. Your heart was racing with every step, the anticipation and confusion building in your head. Brenda said it was worth the trip, but you just didn’t know what was going on. Not to mention everyone’s odd behavior…

After driving around for a few minutes, Gally pulled into the school parking lot. A light flurry of snow had begun to fall, dusting the grass and pavement, and slightly impairing your vision as you looked around from the passenger’s seat. “Gally, why are we at the school?”

The boy looked up from his phone with a smirk. “You’ll see.”

Not a moment after he finished his sentence, your phone pinged from your dress pocket. Your heart stopped when you pulled it out, reading the new message in your notifications. ‘Come to the willow tree’

It was from Newt.

You looked up at Gally, who’s smile widened as he nodded toward the field. 

“He’s waiting for you,” Gally said, and you had to remember how to breathe. 

With one final, reassuring nod, you exited the car, bracing against the cold as you raced to the willow tree. Through the flurries, you made out Newt’s figure by the tree, and stopped yourself from running any further. 

Once you were able to move your legs again, you took it slower, walking through the thin layer of accumulating snow, picking up your dress to make it less likely for you to trip. With every step, you could make out Newt’s figure a little clearly, and it made the ache in your chest grow larger. 

You came to a stop under the tree’s canopy of dead leaves, providing some protection from the snow. Newt was wearing a black suit, and you couldn’t deny how great he looked in it. He was still staring at his shoes and picking at his fingernail when you stopped walking, almost as though he hadn’t heard you approaching him. 

Gripping the sides of your dress, you found the courage to speak up. “I thought you didn’t want to see me again.” 

Newt looked up from his shoes with a smile. “I lied.” 

“But that’s what you said, isn’t it? On Christmas. When you slammed the door in my face.” 

“I know what I said, and I’m sorry,” Newt sighed, stepping a bit closer. “I was a prick for saying it, too. I never should’ve done what I did, you didn’t deserve it.” He took a breath, running a hand through his hair and tucking a hand into one of his pockets. “Ever since the party, Sonya’s been telling me every day how upset you were. Hell, everyone was, and it’s been driving me mad ever since, because I hurt you, and I’ve never wanted to do that.” 

Teary-eyed, you opened your mouth to speak, but Newt continued. 

“I don’t care what Tommy thinks about us being together anymore. But I want us to be together. Hell, the only thing that kept me quiet about how I felt for so long — that stopped me from asking you out when we hung out together on our own for the first time — was how I thought he would react, or if he would disapprove of it. But I don’t care anymore. I love you, Y/n. More than anything. Staying away from you for so long has been killing me, and I can’t stand it anymore.” He stepped closer again, leaving only a few inches of space between you. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to follow you outside when you came to Mickey’s with Brenda. To apologize for what I said, for leaving you that night. To—” he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “—to kiss you bloody senseless.” 

You stared up at the boy before you, the one you never thought would talk to you again, in awe of his words. After the bonfire, you never believed that Newt would say something like that to you, let alone plan something as intimate as this was. You blinked away tears for the fourth time that day and realized there was only one thing you could say at the moment. 

“So do it. Kiss me.” 

Newt closed the distance between your bodies, pulling you into him by the waist and pressing his lips to yours. Elation filled every inch of your body as you wrapped your hands around his neck, pulling him as close as you were able, pouring all your love into the kiss. You felt one of Newt’s hands snake up your neck, palm splayed over your jaw as he tried in vain to pull you closer into his body. 

You wished you didn’t need air to breathe when you were forced to pull back, lipstick smeared on Newt’s swollen lips, and likely on your own, as well. But you still had one question to ask. 

“Why now?” You asked, smoothing the hairs on the nape of his neck. “I mean, after everything, why now? You spent two months pretending to hate me, so what changed?”

“The jacket.” Newt told you. “Sonya practically forced it into my hands after you left, and then she yelled at me for half an hour about how big of an idiot I was being, and how wrong it was for me to keep treating you the way I had been. After that… I sat on my bed for a while, holding the jacket and thinking about how right she was. About how much I missed you. After that, I knew I had to do something, so…” 

“So you planned all this?” You said, a coy smile spreading on your lips. “Just for me?”

Newt smiled wide, laughter bubbling in his throat. “Just for you, darling.” The nickname made your heart skip a beat, and your smile widened. “You shouldn’t be so surprised. You  saw what I did for you in New York. Making elaborate plans to see you happy isn’t anything new.”

Without another word, you pulled his head down to kiss him again. You couldn’t fight the smile on your lips as you kissed Newt, reveling in how amazing it felt to finally be able to kiss him. Just as you were pulling away, a thought crossed your mind. “Wait. What about Thomas? And our friends?”

“Did you not hear a word I just said?” Newt laughed. “I don’t give a damn what Tommy thinks. I only care about you. And our friends have been in on it for the past week, love.” 

You smiled bright at the boy holding you, pulling him back into another searing kiss. 

Under the canopy of the willow tree, on the greatest day of your life so far, you got your movie-screen happy ending; and everything that happened to get it was entirely worth it.

series taglist: @heliads @ghostofscarley @badbatch-simp24 @virginia-peters @third-broparcelicito @lamolaine @yes-fangirl-things (open!)

[simplymelnaie-blog]

Risk //Benny cross // Part 2

The glow from the scattered neon lights and streetlights lit the sidewalks as you made your way to the bar, your heels making the familiar click on the concrete. The night air was refreshing and you felt a since of calm wash over you. You'd been stressed about the date all week and now that it was over with you could relax.

You didn't mind that it was dark, as you often worked the closing shift at the diner. In the summer, you would usually take the opportunity to walk home, that is unless one of the guys would get word and conveniently ride past and offer a ride. Of course you would take it, but only to avoid an argument with your uncle. Despite being twenty-three Johnny was still protective to a fault. You knew he meant well, but it sometimes felt suffocating.

After Gail drove off, leaving you standing in front of the restaurant Ray greeted you like a perfect gentleman. He held the door open for you, pulled your chair out and even ordered the food.

He talked a lot about his family and his schooling. He had recently graduated from Havard with a degree in business, just like his brother and father before him. 

His father was well known businessman in Chicago and decided to raise his kids outside of the city, settling here in the sleepy town many years ago. By the time the food had come you had learned that when he was in town, he would hang around the country club or golf. 

You cringed as you continued to walk, thinking back to when had asked you the first real question all night.

"Anyways, what's your family like Maggie?"

You nearly choked on your food.

"How much time do you have?" You joked, laughing slightly and then stifling it when you noticed he wasn't laughing. You swallowed the bite and took a sip of your wine.

"Well" You breathed, nervously playing with the hem of your dress under the table. "I never knew my father, not really, he left when I was little"

"My mother raised me on her own," Ray nodded quietly, intently listening so you continued, "But she died when I was around 15 so I moved in with my uncle and his wife"

You decided many years ago, that this version was much easier to tell. It was the short and simple. Nothing too hard to digest.

"Oh" He said quietly. And when you looked over at him he was staring at you with wide eyes, blank look on his face.

"I'm sorry," You laughed awkwardly, picking up your glass and taking another sip, "I didn't mean to-"

"No, I'm sorry I didn't know" He interrupted, reaching out and grabbing your hand that was sitting on the tablecloth. It was comforting gesture, but it took you by surprise.

"Oh please, no that was so long ago," You sighed, taking your necklace between the fingers of your free hand and moving it back and forth on the chain, "Enough about me, what was it you said your father did again?"

When the two of you walked out of the restaurant the sun was down and the streetlights were lighting the sidewalks. Ray held your hand while the two of you walked to his car and even offered to drive you home, but you lied and told him you were meeting a friend down the street for a late movie. 

"I'd like to do this again" He said, pulling your hand closer to him and leaning forward to kiss you. 

You didn't mind, in fact you were hoping he would kiss you. You were worried about halfway through the dinner that he didn't like you after all, especially after the sudden trauma dumping. 

"I would like that" 

You smiled to yourself you turned the block, feeling the ghost of his lips on yours. It made you giddy to think that a guy with such class would be interested in you.

"Hey there baby"

You were brought out your thoughts as you passed by an alley. A bald man stepped out into the light of the streetlight, holding a brown sack with some sort of liquor in it. You ignored him and kept walking, cursing yourself for making eye contest with him in the first place.

At this time of night there was always drunks hanging around the alleys or out front of the closed stores. You knew better than to acknowledge it.

In the distance, the Stoplight Bar sign was glowing bright above the door and an assortment of bikes were parked out front and along the side.

"What’s a pretty girl like you doing out here all alone?”

You could hear the voice behind you and the footsteps that followed, the man was close behind. You quickened your pace slightly as to not be obvious and tightened your grip on your purse. You kept your eyes trained on the sign as it got closer. The sound of heels along the empty street matched your heart thumping hard in your chest.

"Hey bitch, I'm talkin' to ya"

You tried to ignore the panic that grew in your chest. You were used to being cat-called occasionally or men getting too friendly, you were a woman after all. Those were easy to ignore, but not when you were alone in the dark and the man was hot on your heels.

You were close enough to the bar now to see a handful of guys out by the bikes smoking, you couldn't tell who they were. But you felt an ease seeing the familiar Vandals logo on the leathers and smelling the smoke.

You had just felt the ghost of the man's fingers grabbing for your arm as you reached for the door and hurried inside.

The bar was busy as always on a Friday night. There was a haze of smoke that made the low light seem to glow. Your pace never changed, as you made a beeline for the back of the bar, pushing through the crowd of bodies and finally coming into view of your uncle.

Johnny had a specific table near the back of the bar where he could be found every night. Usually, Brucie and Cal could be found sitting with him while the other guys played pool or socialized.

Benny was playing pool when he noticed you walking in. He couldn't miss that yellow dress anywhere. He clocked your panicked look and quick steps toward the back, he also clocked the bald guy walking in after you, hot on your heels. He couldn't ignore the way the guy kept his eyes on you as he walked to the bar and took a seat on the stool.

Benny took a long drag of his cigarette before setting his stick down.

"Where ya been?" Johnny sat up in his chair when he saw you. Cockroach, Cal and Brucie were sitting at the table, smoking and nursing their beers.

Your throat was completely dry and you reached out and grabbed a beer from the table, taking a quick drink. You tried to steady your breathing and heart rate.

Just as you were about to speak, a hand came up and touched your side, you nearly jumped out of your skin. It was Corky who showed himself to you with a lopsided tipsy smile, “We barely recognized you"

Johnny was standing up from his seat now, coming over and standing in front of you. “What’s wrong?”

You hid slightly beside Corky as you glanced back and scanned the room, looking to see if the man had followed you in.

"I was walking, and this guy started following me, tried to grab me on my way in here."

"What guy? Is he in here?”

There was a bald guy at the bar, sipping a beer and looking around toward the back. You knew it was him but hesitated for a minute to say anything. You hated fights and you knew that’s how this would end. The thought was pushed to the back of your mind as you thought how if he got the chance outside, he would not have spared you.

"The bald guy at the bar" You say quickly, and Johnny makes a motion with his head to the guys still sitting. They all stand up and start to disappear into the crowd, leaving you alone. You took a seat in Johnnys chair against the wall and took a breath, face in your hands.

Back at the bar, while you were talking with Johnny, Benny had made his way over and leaned up against the counter, elbows resting against the sticky wood. He stared at the bald guy, unabashedly, until the guy finally looked over at him. "You lookin' for someone?"

"Just having a drink man" He said, taking a sip from his beer and scanning the room again. It was clear who he was looking for. When the guy looked back at Benny and saw he was still staring at him, he got a hard look on his face, "You got a problem kid?" 

"Yeah, I do" Benny took another drag of his cigarette before reaching over and dropping it in the guys full beer bottle. The guy stood up abruptly at the blatant disrespect and cocked his arm back. Benny was grabbing a beer bottle to the right of him and bringing it down on the guys head before he ever had a chance to swing. The empty glass shattered upon impact.

The commotion caught everyone's attention and even though they weren't sure the context of the fight they cheered and hollered. The guy collected himself faster than Benny would've thought and jumped up, managing to land a hard punch on Bennys mouth.

Everyone who knew Benny knew that he loved fights. This sucker never stood a chance once Benny got that look in his eye and lunged at him.

"Enough" Johnnys voice bellowed above the music. Benny stopped immediately, standing up straight with the guys shirt balled up in his fist and his other hand cocked back, mid punch. "Cockroach, Corky, get him out of here"

The two followed suit, grabbing the guy and hauling him away all but throwing him out of the bar doors. Benny wiped at his mouth and saw the blood smear on the back on his hand. A smile grew across his face as he made eye contact with Johnny.

"You're fuckin' crazy kid" Johnny chuckled, throwing his arm over Bennys shoulder and guiding him to the back to the table, boots crunching on the broken glass. 

The bar came back to life as soon as Johnny and Benny were walking away, most people in the bar were used to brawls breaking out. The room filled with loud voices and the sound of the billiard balls smacking each other on the pool table in the corner. 

You still had your head resting in your hands when you heard the bar resume, you knew whatever they did was done. When you did look up you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. Johnny and Benny were chuckling about something and when they got to the table you could see blood dripping from Bennys lip. It was surely split open, or at least it was bleeding enough to be. When Benny saw her staring, he gave a lopsided bloody smile.

You immediately pulled the chair out beside you and started gathering some of the napkins from the table, "Sit down"

Johnny laughed, dropping his arm and muttering something about getting him a drink, before heading back to the bar. Benny did as he was told, coming around the table and swiftly turning the chair to sit backwards on it. He straddled it, crossing his arms on the back of the chair and leaning toward you.

You huffed, taking one of the napkins and dabbing at his bottom lip, he had no reaction so you continued.

"You okay?" He asked after a minute of watching you silently, resting his chin on his folded arms. He saw a slight pout come across your lips.

"You're the one bleeding" You said simply, moving to a clean part of the napkin and dabbing the blood again. You could feel his eyes staring at you, combing over your expression so you sighed and answered honestly, "I'm fine"

"I saw you come in with him following you” He said after you moved the napkin away from his lips again.

"Typical Benny," You sighed, scooting your chair a little closer to him and held the napkin to his bottom lip again, "Swing first, ask questions never"

Benny wanted to say that he didn't need to ask questions when he saw you upset, but instead kept his mouth shut. It was a fact that both of you had known at this point.

You sometimes found it infuriating and even had a couple of times when you thought life would be easier if you hated Benny Cross but it was impossible. Especially since you had been mesmerized by him ever since you met him.

"You're gonna have a swollen lip" You said after a moment, pulling the napkin away and dabbing his lip a couple more times, satisfied when the bleeding was slowing. You tossed the bloody napkins on the table and crossed your arms across your chest and leaning back against the chair with a huff.

Benny didn't care. He would've just let it bleed but he knew if he didn't let you check it out, you would’ve been more pissed. At this point in your life you were used to cleaning up his injuries from fights or wrecks.

He once showed up to your house at 2 am with a knife wound to his side from a bar fight that got ugly. You had no idea what to do but he refused to go to the hospital. The guys joked you should become a nurse with the experience you had under your belt at this point. 

He was still staring at you when Johnny brought back an arm full of beers and dropped them down on the table before sitting on the other side. He saw your arms crossed and the sour expression on your face, "What's your problem?"

"I don't like all the fightin'" You said simply as you picked up the beer and took a swig, deciding to finally look Benny in the eyes as you sat it back down on the table.

It was an annoyed, accusatory look, but you couldn't hold it for long, not when Benny smirked at you. “You know I like to get punched"

You uncrossed your arms and leaned forward toward Benny grabbing a handful of his messy blonde locks and shaking it softly, "Well maybe I should start punching you then, get it out of your system"

"You're probably the only one in town that could get away with it" Wahoo said suddenly joining the conversation and sitting down next to Johnny at the table, followed by Corky and Cockroach.

"You look different" Cockroach said, standing beside the table with his cigarette hanging from his lips.

Corky nodded, bumping him with his shoulder and drunkenly pointing his finger out at you. "I was just thinkin' that man"

You rolled your eyes, taking a look at the men around you, scoffing, "Would ya lay off? Can't a girl wear a nice dress or do something different with her hair every once in a while?"

"Ohhhhh" Corky and Wahoo had their hands up in fake surrender. Teasing you was one of their favorite pastimes. "Miss Margaret has an attitude tonight fellas"

You despised being called Margaret but you allowed the guys a free pass every now and then. It was typically reserved for Johnny and Betty, the only parental figures you had left.

"Maybe if you boys had yourself a lady, you wouldn't be so shocked"

This made the table erupt with laughter and you took it as a win, grabbing your beer again and taking another sip proudly. The group hung around, talking for a while before the guys started to disperse throughout the bar.

"I don't want you walkin' around down here at dark no more" Johnny said suddenly, taking a drag of his cigarette, "not unless you got someone with ya"

You had her elbows propped up on the table and was resting your chin in the palm of your hand absentmindedly swirling the beer left in your bottle. You thought for a minute, “I can’t give up my night shift at the diner, that’s when I make the best tips”

Benny was still sitting backward on the chair, looking down at his cigarette as he flicked the ashes into the glass tray. His tan arms flexing when he moved.

"Well," Johnny took a sip of his beer and looked off toward the juke box, "I'll figure it out"

"It’s fine, nothing happened and I know th-"

"What would you've done if you were 3 or 4 blocks from the bar?" Johnny said a little bit louder, clearly growing agitated at the thought and leaning up on the table, "What if the guys aren't around? You’re just like your mother, never thinkin’ about these things”

You knew he was going to pull that card, it was his most famous line when something went wrong in your life. You were going to respond, feeling liquid courage from the beer but when you opened your mouth, Benny's gruff voice was replacing it.

"Let's go play some pool"

He had stood up from his chair and was standing up beside you, looking down at you. You took at him, then back at Johnny. He took another drink and wiped at his mouth. It was clear he had been drinking all night and there was no point in fighting with him.

Benny waits for you to stand and grab your purse before leading the way to pool table in the corner by the front door.

"You didn't have to do that" You say once Benny stops. There was currently an intense game going on and by the looks of it, the table wasn’t going to be free for some time.

You follow Benny as he makes his way to the wall and leans against it. The two of you stare at colored pool balls on the green material.

"You shouldn't fight with him" He said simply looking over at you cooly, his arms crossed over his chest, tattoos and biceps on full display, "Doesn't do any good"

"You always take his side" You sighed, the skin of your arm brushing his as you scooted closer to him watching as one of the players made a hit and satisfying crack of the balls hitting rang out.

Benny shook his head and chuckled at your accusation. He glanced over at you. "He's right it's not safe to be walkin' around by yourself"

"I'm not a teenager anymore, he can't just tell me what I can and cannot do" You complain, having to talk louder with the juke box next to where the table was.

Benny listened as he always did even when it was about Johnny. A lot of the times he was the middleman between you two. It was the role he had taken on not long after you’d met. He could always see where you were both coming from, tried to stay neutral as much as possible.

There was a mirror hanging on the wall opposite of the one you were leaned on. It was dirty and old, but it was clear enough to make out the stark difference between you and Benny.

Benny with wearing his black cut off shirt and grease stained jeans. His hands still had stains on them from earlier in the shop. You thought about how you could see where the guys were coming from now with their comments. Your dress was vibrant in the dark bar and completely different from your usually attire.

"How was your date?" He asked, instead of continuing the conversation about Johnny.

You cursed under her breath and turned to where you could stare directly at him, propping your right shoulder against the wall you were sharing. You brought your fingers to your necklace, grabbing the pendant and moving it side to side on the chain absentmindedly, "I didn't go on a date"

Benny gave you look, looking you up and down before looking back at the pool table, "I can still tell when you're lying"

"So what?" You said suddenly, scoffing and dropping the necklace. "Maybe I did"

Benny looked down and laughed, amused by your defensive reaction. You pushed yourself off the wall, moving to stand in front of him and put your hands on your hips.

"And how was it?" Benny asked again, trying his best to hide his amusement. 

You bit at the inside of your cheek, scanning his face, trying to read his expression. "It was nice."

"It was nice" Benny echoed back at you, adjusting his back on the wall and smirking at you.

"Yeah, it was real nice" You added, crossing your arms over your chest to mirror his stance.

"Nice guy huh?" Benny asked, causally.

"A real gentleman"

"Oh really" Benny said, raising his eyebrows with an expression of fake impressed, "and then he let you walk downtown in the dark?"

You could've said that you lied to him about how far you’d be walking, or that you were embarrassed to have him drop you off at a biker bar. But instead, you looked down at the sticky floor, taking the tip of your pretty white heel and tapping it against his dirty biker boots.

Benny thought he might have really pissed you off but after a minute you looked at him with your big blue eyes and cracked a smile, dimples appearing, "You're such an ass"

He surveyed the room behind you and when he saw a drunk guy stumbling by, he reached out and pulled you closer to him in quick motion.

You barely noticed, too busy yawning and looking up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly midnight and you felt the events of the day piling up and thought about how exhausted you were. 

Your voice comes out quiet and he has to lean in to hear over the music, "You feel like giving me a ride home?"

"Sure" he replies, his voice easy and relaxed. 

The summer night air was cool and crisp, a refreshing change from the smoky atmosphere inside the bar. The sky was clear, with a smattering of stars visible in the blackness. You took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air as you approached Benny's motorcycle, which was parked right outside the bar's front doors.

He easily slides onto the bike seat and kicks the engine to life with a smooth, experienced movement. The bike rumbles underneath him as he shifts his weight and puts the kickstand up with the heel of his boots. 

You places a hand on his shoulder and about to lift yourself up and over the seat but stop suddenly, letting out a giggle, "This should be interesting in a dress" 

"I won't look"

Your arms snake around his waist once your fully sat on the seat behind him. The bike takes off down the street, the wind rushes all around. The streetlights pass overhead in a bright blur, and you can't help but close your eyes, letting the cool air and the rumble of the engine wash over you. You lean against Benny's back, feeling the firm muscles of his torso against your cheek as you rest your head against him, hair flying wildly in the night air.

You’d ridden on the back of all the guys bikes over the years but felt the most comfortable with Benny, despite his reputation of recklessness. You knew when you were on the back of his bike that he wouldn't try anything crazy. It was a good way of keeping him out of trouble, sitting on the back of that bike.

The ride comes to an end, and Benny parks the bike in front of your house. He leaves the engine idling and keeps it steady, allowing you to slide off the back seat. As you climb off the bike, the dress rides up slightly, revealing a brief flash of skin but he keeps his word and still doesn't look until you come towards the front of the bike.

"You be careful" You warn, digging through the purse for your keys. When you finally fish them out of the bag and look at Benny you see he’s staring at you.

“You know I hate that” You say simply, reaching out and pushing at his shoulder.

"Go on, I'm not leaving until you're inside," He says, a smile playing on his lips. You make a note that when he smiles a faint line of blood appears from the split in his lip.

You nod and start walking up the porch and towards the front door. He waits until you’re inside and the light by the window comes on before he drives off. From inside you hear his bike's engine fading into the distance as he disappears into the night.

[luv-gukkie]

cherry | 𖦊 : six

pairing: yandere! park jimin x f. reader, yandere! jung hoseok x f. reader

genre: fluff || smut || non-idol au || yandere

summary: you’re the cherry on top of everything. the little girl in front of your parents; the gooody two-shoes of your family, friends, and everyone who knows you. so when you’re staring at the two bright, red lines on the pregnancy test. you know you’re fucked, you really do. especially when there’s not only one man, but seven.

word count: +1k

tags/warnings: nothing really!

notes: jimin is kinda catching up…hoseok made an appearance!!!

tag list: @bananamochidaisy @mageprincess7 @darkuni63 @princess-sunshyn @redeyezbloodymouth @bxcndd @iloverubberduckiez-blog

༻❤︎︎ ★ ★ ❤︎︎༺

jimin's eyes stared back at the man in black. "i want you to do a job for me. an important one." the other man nods in agreement, "follow this girl. she's someone that i'll do anything for, she's my soon-to-be fiancé." jimin hands over a file with all your information and even a picture of you. he watches the man eye the file, flipping the pages and finally, he stretches his hand out in agreement. jimin smiles, "the money will go straight to your account. my assistant will email you the rest of the details of where to meet and more." shaking his trusted man's hand, "take care of her for me, and of course, yourself seo-jun." the man leaves without uttering a word, his food untouched and just his drink gone. always a quiet man with a taste for expensive alcohol just like when he was younger. jimin's head hurts after such a long day, he misses you already and yet, he doesn't want to see you. he feels anxious every time he thinks about, doesn't know what to believe. are you cheating on him? the purple-colored skin never leaving his mind. that's why jimin's gonna have seo-jun follow you, bring him back every tiny detail you do and where ever you go. he's not gonna lose to any scumbags you might be fooling around with. jimin isn't going to lose you.

seokjin spent the night with you. the pair stayed up until midnight, laughter filling the night with food placed all around the table. his eyes often glancing at the phone that stopped ringing with messages. never getting a chance to see who was texting you so much. you left him in your apartment eating by himself, promising to see him again after you come back from your classes. "why are you so busy all the time?" your best friend asked, a pout forming on her face. "just things, family things." you sat at your desk, greeting nolan with a small smile. "family, huh? do you visit them every week?" nolan questioned, a small smile on his face. "i try t—", "let's start the class!" the professor announced. but it didn't stop the three of you from talking to each other in secret. the lesson ended earlier than expected, all of you agreeing on visiting a coffee shop together. "i'll pay, don't worry." nolan took his credit card out with no problem. not a single glance at the price he was paying, just a quick swipe and he walked out without looking back. "thank you." you squealed at the excitement of having free food. "you're welcome. my parents finally put money into my account." he grinned, fiddling around with the card. after a while, all of you departed from each other with a good bye.

unaware of the man who watched the meeting from the corner of the room. taking pictures of the boy who offered to pay. his boss wouldn't like that at all. seo-jun send them all to his boss, who immediately responded. he drove behind the car the boy got in, following jimin's order to follow around the boy for the rest of the day. leaving you by yourself, no one left to watch you. not that you noticed either. after getting home, you called your parents for your usual meet up. you lived about two hours away from them. the two still living in your childhood home, where you learned to ride a bike and where you went to school. all your innocent memories. you yearn to ride a bike around the streets you used to run in. maybe a visit back home wouldn't be too bad. "i think i might visit you two." you say to the the phone that shows your parents' face. "oh please do! we miss you." their faces filled with happiness at a chance of seeing their daughter. "this sunday?" your parents quickly nod at the suggestion, "we'll have a small barbecue with the family!" you hear a door open from your phone before hearing a child's voice causing you to beam. "(y/n)! i miss you, please come back to visit me." your little brother begs, baby face pouting and tears at the brim until you finally accept. "i'll see you soon, mateo. bye!" you make a kissing face at the screen before it turns completely black.

a sudden knock at the door has you jolting up in fright. "who is it?" your mind wanders if you were supposed to meet with somebody until it hits you. you check the date and time, remembering the plans you made with a certain someone. "oh c'mon, did you forget me? already?" his voice yells through the locked door. you rush to open the door and let the bright man in. his presence immediately making your lips turn upwards. "hobi!" you shriek as he brings you into tight hug, spinning you around. there's peony flowers that he hands over to you after letting you down. a cute, huggable teddy that holds a heart filled with coconut filled chocolates. hoseok begins to speak without a single take for breath. he goes on and on about everything that has happened since two weeks ago. hoseok goes on to put the peonies into a vase, changing the other flowers that he brought. "i've missed you." you blush at his words, a little grin plastered on your face. "you did?" he hums in response, "i went to italy, brought back a couple of souvenirs for you." he tells you, pulling out a game board from his bag. "aww, you didn't have to, hobi." but all he does is shake his head, "of course i do. you're my girlfr-" he coughs in between, letting go of his sentence. "let's play. i'm gonna win this time." he smirks at you. "sure, hobi." multiple rounds later, hoseok and you are tied, always begging for another round. "i'll be right back. no cheating!" he yells in a stern voice while squinting his eyes. "i could never."

he comes back no later, "who's is this?" hoseok's tone is serious. your eyes widen at the blue toothbrush he carries along with him. "why do you have two?" his questions don't come to a stop. "who's been sleeping here, (y/n)?"

[slashersthings]

bad idea, right? // Billy Loomis x Reader

“God this place is crowded.” Your friend groans out from somewhere behind you. You were eager to agree with her while you slide on top of a barstool, fingers tapping the sticky bar counter while waiting to order drinks.

The night out of partying had been unexpected but welcomed in your eyes. You definitely needed to chill out and get drunk for once in your life. Or at least that’s what everyone always told you.

So that’s how you found yourself at this overcrowded and chaotic bar, wearing a tight little black dress that was way too short than you were used to. It rides up your thighs when you sit down and with a sigh, you tug the hem down as much as the fabric would allow.

But after two rum and coke’s you were feeling much better and even let your more wild friend drag you with her to the dance floor. You laugh and sway your hips, feeling good to let loose for the night.

You danced with her for a good while, but she soon got distracted by a random stranger and you watch on as she gets swept up in muscular arms and tanned skin, a twinge of jealousy irking you.

You reach the bar again, trying, but failing desperately to get the busy bartender’s attention so you could order a third drink. You were just about to give up when a gruff voice from beside you says, “You should try being a bit more aggressive.”

You weren’t asking for advice but something inside you compels you to reply with a, “Is that so?”

The voice belonged to a man that looked to be your age you notice when you glimpse at him. The next thought that popped in your brain was how incredibly hot this guy was.

He offers you a sly grin before hollering for the bartender, ordering two drinks and two shots.

You quirk a brow when a glass of rum and coke comes your way down the counter, followed by a shot of tequila. “Trying to get me drunk?”

“Will you stay here if I say yes?”

Without answering, you tap his shot glass and knock back the liquor, wincing as it burned down your throat before dropping the glass back to the countertop. “God, I hate tequila.”

You reach for your more liked rum and coke, taking a long sip as your new friend laughs to himself. “I hope I got your drink right.”

You were a little taken aback that he had in fact gotten it right. “Yes.”

“Was that a yes to your drink or yes you’ll stay?”

He was smirking now, that smugness making you feel all sorts of things as you wiggle on the bar stool. “That’s for me to know and for you to find out.”

“Well you haven’t gotten up and left yet, so…”

That was true. Plus it wasn’t like you could turn down a free drink. So with a discreet smile, you take another sip. “My name’s Y/N.”

“Billy.” He answers.

You felt yourself unable to stop staring at him.

Not only was he hot, but he also had this bad boy vibe mixed with a little bit dangerous that made you oddly attracted to him as you move in closer. “Here alone?” You ask him, feeling a rush of confidence thanks to the liquor coursing through your veins.

“Nah, my friend is here somewhere dancing.”

“Likewise. Guess that leaves you and me.”

“Something tells me you don’t mind that.”

You duck your head when a pretty blush creeps up your face. You distract yourself by taking another long swig of your drink, finally answering with a simple, “Maybe.”

“Something also tells me that you’re here to get some revenge.”

You turn back to him, shocked. Had you been that obvious? “The dress, the attitude, not telling me to take a hike,” Billy continues, pointing out every single dutiful aspect of your revenge scheme, almost like he had been there with you earlier picking out the outfit.

“So what’d he do?”

“Fucked my friend.” You admit honestly.

“He’s an idiot.” You nod in agreement, finishing off your drink with a sigh. “Well then you deserve to have some fun.”

“That’s what everyone tells me.”

“So when was the last time you had any?”

Your brow raises. The smirk on his face implied that he was no longer referring to just plain fun as he leans against the bar, watching you.

“Too long.”

His eyes run down your body slowly then back up to find you waiting expectantly for a response. “I could help change that, if you want.”

Oh you wanted. You shift in your seat, squeezing your thighs together, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Billy.

“Yes.”

—

Your entire body was on fire with need as Billy pushes you backwards onto his bed and climbs on top of you. You had lost your dress and bra somewhere along the way, maybe between the front door and his bedroom but you didn’t really care of the whereabouts.

Not when Billy was kissing you hard, tongue sweeping into your mouth as you’re dragged from your thoughts and back to the present.

Your hands fly to his hair as you moan and open your mouth, tasting the liquor he’d been drinking earlier at the bar.

You roll your hips against him, moaning again at the contact. “How long’s it been?” Billy asks and leans up slightly, hands running down your body as you think for a second.

“… Erm, a month?”

“Was he good?”

“He wasn’t terrible.”

Billy quirks a brow, that damn smirk returning to his lips as you grind against him. “Ringing endorsement, Y/N.”

Your name on his lips has you moaning, hips bucking as his fingers glide down between your thighs then back up again, purposefully ignoring your whine of protest when he didn’t go right to where you desperately wanted him.

“He was decent.” You offer again, muscles twitching at his low chuckle while his hands slide back up to your chest, fingers brushing against your nipples.

“Yeah?” Billy questions, “What’d he do that was so exciting for you? Was it his tongue, or was it his fingers?”

“Fingers I guess.” You answer quickly, shrugging. “He wasn’t into… y’know.”

“What a shame.” He mutters, lips finding your neck as he presses sloppy kisses from your throat to your collarbone, tongue sliding across your skin. His fingers dance back down your stomach, asking, “Was he even good at fingering you?”

The words have you moaning, coupled with Billy’s expert fingers running down your thighs and back up again, toying with the lace edge of your panties. “Hmm? How wet did you get for him?”

You were incapable of thinking about your previous boyfriend but what you did know was that Billy’s questions alone already had you incredibly wet and he hadn’t even really touched you fully yet.

Your hips grind against his fingers, but when you don’t answer, he stops out of the blue. You whine again, eyes opening to glare up at him.

“You can take these off, you know.” You were referring to your underwear, and he chuckles again.

“Oh I know. A little eager, aren’t we?” He taunts you with a smirk, his fingers skating under the band of your panties, discovering just how wet you were already.

You whimper when he withdraws his fingers after a second. “Did you get this wet for your ex boyfriend?”

“I don’t think you did,” Billy adds, answering for you since all you could coherently do was groan out a curse. “I think you like it like this. You like being talked to, you like being told to wait.”

“Fuck,” You moan again, the heat growing in your stomach making it hard to concentrate on anything but that. You had never wanted to be utterly ravaged like this before.

“Am I right, Y/N? Did he ever get you this wet before?”

“No.” You admit, shaking your head.

Instead of responding, he kisses you again, then down your neck, down down until he finds your breasts and kisses patterns across them, tongue flicking against your nipples.

You moan, hips bucking, fingers tightening in his hair as his mouth moves down your body, licking and sucking on every inch of your skin.

He groans when he reaches your underwear, helping to take them off of you before carelessly tossing them to the floor by his bed.

You weren’t expecting the first lick of his tongue against your exposed clit, a rush of moans and curses falling from your lips. He leans back and chuckles, pressing soft kisses all along your thighs.

“Your boyfriend didn’t like going down on you?”

His voice was a mixture of annoyance and judging as his tongue darts back out to flick against your clit again, your moans sounding like music to his ears as he laps at your wet folds.

“Oh, fuck,” You groan out when he increases his pace, hips bucking against him. A loud cry is ripped from your throat, back arching as you squirm and moan Billy’s name.

His tongue circles your sensitive bud, flicking it as your cries grow more louder and desperate for release. Your hips roll once then twice, crashing forward as a spasming tremor hit you, flowing out in a hot wave as you fall back on the bed and attempt to catch your breath.

Billy crawls back up your body, pulling you in for a kiss after your first orgasm. His tongue slides across your bottom lip, swallowing your breathless moan as you taste yourself.

Thank god you came out tonight.