#so maybe it'll patch up in the end???

[nightseeye]

Twist outs r so nice but unfortunately mean i need to twist hair Back In (<- unpracticed in self hairstyling and not very interested in doing so) so i never wear them. But. Super nice

[bunny-jpeg]

vegetable patch

hybrid!simon 'ghost' riley

cw: hybrid!au, pwp/smut, breeding, guard dog!simon, bunny!reader, dub-con, outdoor sex

a word from bunny: happy easter! if you like the fic, suggest your own! if you really like the fic, leave a comment! reblogs are always appreciated!

part. 2

what you knew about price's farm was that it had the most lovely heads of lettuce you've ever seen. you also knew that he had two guard dogs who made sure bunnies like you didn't get into the vegetable patch.

but what the farmer grew was much nicer than whatever you could find in the forest. so it was worth it to slip through the fence to get to the bounty of vegetables.

farmer price had two guard dog hybrids. john, also known as soap. and simon, also known as ghost. while john had a louder bark, simon was the one to watch out for.

you had slipped through the fence and kept an eye out for the dogs. with careful steps you did you best to not make footprints in the dirt. you kept your ears low to your head to keep you from being spotted.

"bunny." you heard, a low rumbled of a voice. you looked over and saw the blond. his arms across his chest and his dark eyes gazing down at you.

you swallowed, "hello." you tried to take a step away from him. but ended up face first in the dirt as you tripped over a head of lettuce. you whimpered.

he chuckled, "i can't have you be eatin' that. it's not yours."

you looked up at him, your ears low as you frowned, "you can at least share." but made a sharp noise when simon invaded your space.

he grabbed your hands and pinned them above your head, "it'll cost ya." he said in a low voice.

the guard dog had the luxury of clothes, while you were naked. you tried to squirm out of his grasp but you felt his erection up against your ass. he grunted when you accidentally rubbed yourself up against him.

"stay still, bunny." he said as he pushed your further into the dirt, "be good, or i'll have your throat between my teeth."

you whimpered as he got himself undressed. your ears laid flat against your hear out of fear as you felt him push his cock into you. he had you pinned to the dirt as he started to rut against you.

his cock felt huge and like it took up the entirety of your pussy. you moaned and whimpered, your tail twitched as you felt him move his heavy cock in and out of you.

"good little bunny." he growled as he continued to thrust.

you had no defense mechanism, you were a bunny! you felt his heavy balls slap against your ass as he moved. you tried to grip onto him but he kept you under his larger body.

"sweet little bunny." he purred, "perfect for me." his cock throbbed inside of you as you pushed back against him to meet his thrusts.

your head felt like a blur as he fucked you. your back arched as you felt the pleasure in your body from his heavy thrusts. your face was pressed into the soil as he feverishly moved against you.

his cock felt like it was up in your womb, hitting the edge of it. you panted and whimpered like a good bunny and let the dog hybrid pump you full of hot seed.

your pussy clenched around his length and you squirmed a little underneath him. he grumbled something that you didn't pick up but knew it didn't sound good. so you laid there limp to let him do what he wanted.

he gave you a little bit of praise for being such a good girl for him, such a sweet wholesome bunny to let him use your pussy like that. maybe that would teach you not to be sniffing around vegetable patches again.

"ah, please!" you whimpered

"i love the sound of your struggle, bunny." he let go of one of your wrists and tugged on your ears for a moment.

he pulled them back like reigns on a sled and used it as leverage to thrust deeper into of you. you whined and moaned from the feeling as he pushed as deep as he could get inside of you.

it felt like his cock was in your stomach.

it wasn't long before simon's pace started to stutter, you whined into the dirt and arched your back further. you felt sore but yearned for his cock. with another hard thrust, he shoved his cock as far as it would go and finished inside of you.

your mind went blank afterwards.

but soon your heard, "simon what in the hell" farmer price sighed as he saw you in a heap in the soil with your ass up and your little cottontail in the air.

simon looked almost proud of himself as he licked your cum-filled pussy. his hands on the back of your thighs. he then looked to his owner as his tail wagged.

the farmer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "i guess we're keepin' a bunny then." then got off the porch to see the damage the hybrid had done.

you moaned a little when simon got ready to fuck you once more. your little tail wiggled at the anticipation. you moaned when he slid his cock in once more.

price grumbled to himself, "jesus christ, simon. at least get the girl inside the house!"

-

months later you'd find yourself curled up with the guard dog in front of the television on the floor. your belly had filled out with pups, something that left simon quite protective of you. you lived a lavish life for a bunny who was out in the woods.

But now you were inside the house, and you got all the lettuce you wanted. <3

part. 2

[just-null]

pet..... pet au....? you have.... a pet au for the clones....?

PLEASEEEE SHARE SOME THOUGHTS AB IT😭😭😭😭❤️ I was reading a pet au Hantengu fic way back when and the person never got past chapter 3 and it's been rotting my mind. I love love love pet aus when the dynamics are just right and not weirdly predatory with the pet characters and I love your little ideas for stuff🤗🤗 Share if you feel like it, I'll be eagerly awaiting.

(Also please don't exclude Zoha in this endeavor I love that little man)

The Hantengus!! A lot of cat boys..

Context behind a lot of the language in my pet au!

[Cw! Angst(?), referenced sedation, obsessed catboys.. yandere behavior]

Upon meeting them, they're veryyy excited and sweet on you, to the point where they seem TOO familiar. As if meeting a long distant lover.. With their overly friendly greetings, all the warnings and caution from staff seem like an exaggeration, if not a complete lie.

Records show that they're not even related despite sharing eerily similar features, and having only met not too long ago. You'd never guess by how they're so perfectly coordinated. Using said coordination, they simultaneously surround you.

Constant brushes, crowding, wanting your hands on them so bad, they take whatever you're holding. It's not uncommon that they begin purring just because you're around. They quickly flip from being sweet to eager entitled of your time if allowed.

To say they're overwhelming is an understatement, but the staff practically beg you to help with the bunch.

The boys aren't complaining! They're extremely pushy and insist on staying at your place instead of the hybrid shelter, maybe a few times a week? Please!? Regardless, if you say no, you might find them in your home—and a patched up broken window—when you've been gone a while.

Ah— if you hear knocking at your door, just don't tell anyone that they're here, yeah..? Y'know what? How about you just forget about answering it at all!

Sekido is tolerant when you're around. All the fire left his body, leaving small smoldering embers. His flare ups are only a real issue if there's someone unfamiliar around or giving you a hard time. Otherwise, he's pretty content with lazing about or helping with any work you have. He likes being of use to you. He gets irritated, stressed, when you lift a finger, a habit you can tell he's used to, and swats at you for any bad habits you have. Though that goes out the window if your hand's on him. It's a wonder if he's more of a dog than a cat until he starts scratching. He's just really tired.. Karaku is mischievous but doesn't cause trouble. At least, not like he used to, not as long as he has his daily dose of you. It's like he did a complete switch, the staff say, smiling randomly and rambling in an airy tone about how this is heaven on earth! How could anyone feel down around you? It must be those charms of yours. Staying indoors is okay, but he constantly nudges you to go out with him, or entirely dragging you out. Show him around places you like to frequent so you two can experience it together, maybe have some souvenirs? Wouldn't that be fun? On the days you decline, you can find him staring at the little trinkets from past dates with fondness. Urogi always has so much he wants to tell you. He can honestly talk and pace for days without stopping if it'll keep your attention. If it doesn't, he WILL cry. His mind is faster than his mouth, and stories end up garbled and hard to follow.. Sometimes, they aren't about this life, and when referring to you, it's like he's remembering a version of you.. It always ends the same. His expression gets bleak then snaps back to blissful. A content smile replacing the strained one he wore prior as he embraces you, taking a moment to feel your weight against his. Aizetsu sits in corners and watches you through cracks in the door. You can find him somewhere in your room or general area.. looking at you.. his pupils so dilated that you barely see the blue ring at the edge. He can stand still for hours until you get up or reach for something. He's already got it for you. He's combative with Sekido for that service role. Unlike his "brother," Aizetsu's movements are measured, rushed. Like something will be taken away if he doesn't act fast, so he one ups everyone and reads you before you even ask for something. Zohakuten is annoying but doesn't try to give you a hard time. He's the most demanding, always extending his arms for you to come over and hug him. At first, you can feel the tension he holds all over his body, digging his claws into your side, then like goo, he melts. It's a double edged sword since letting go makes him twice as irritated as before. He'll brat occasionally, pushing something off a counter or banging on the windows, yelling at the stranger on the other side to get lost. No one is the victim of this more than the other four. Whereas Zohakuten would start a fight with anyone else, he just annoys the other four.

The weariness hangs heavier in their eyes than the usual hybrids, but they dont like talking about it in detail. As you could guess, prior to this overwhelming clinginess, there were rivers of agonizing desperation.

———

In this life, the boys didn't have the liberty to grow up together like usual. They were born of different parents scattered throughout the region. This wasn't the first time it happened, but they hated when it did, especially Hantengu.

Each second Hantengu's away from his boys is agony. He spent so long waiting for them to be reborn just so that they're so far away!? All he can think of are the possible ways he might die and restart the damn cycle without even having the chance to see you. He's been alive for a while now, but he's too terrified to go far on his own, so he's barely made any progress!

What if something happens and he doesn't even get to meet you? now THAT would be a fate worse than the cycle.. His caretakers are stumped on what to do with him. Any attempt at calming him down were met with opposition.

The boys are as you expect. They kept acting out in hostility and showed no sign of calming down the longer they're apart. Being moved from shelter to shelter didn't help, neither did getting handled like feral animals even if, in a way, they were.

Only the thought of you kept them going, so did the knowledge that if they found you, there's a high chance they'd find each other. You always seemed to fix everything just by being there, didn't you? So they kept hopping from shelter to shelter, some familiar, some new.

Hantengu was the first to end up in the hybrid shelter near you, then the others trickled in. It would've been decades since they've last seen each other, and based on how they're fairing, no one had it easy.

Sekido was a stray trying to stay out of shelters altogether. He did his best to keep his features hidden, both gathering info about you and the others. He made good progress, pretending to be a potential housing candidate, but he'd always get hostile with people eventually, exposing himself and having the authorities called to force him into a shelter. Each time, it felt like prison because of all the restrictions and drugs.. Like hell if this was gonna stop him. Once his limbs stop feeling like jelly, he's going to find a way out of this damn place!! Again!! In his wait, at least he can pass the time by thinking about his favorite memories of you. Karaku was mostly alright, but transferred often because his very presence made the behaviors of those around him worse. He always used the "I didn't throw the first punch" excuse, but never mentioned his constant goading and spreading seeds of doubt about forgiveness that led to agitation amongst his peers. Not only towards other hybrids but staff as well. Call it sadism or nihilism, but Karaku's favorite pass time was making everyone believe that these rehabilitation shelters were nothing but a waste. The dull, empty eyes staring back at them proved it. In reality, Karaku took pleasure in the fragility of other hybrids. It took the edge off of his own anguish. Urogi always talked about you no matter where he ended up, usually causing a wave of eye rolls. But there's always that one hybrid who doesn't know how to keep their thoughts to themselves. Thus starting Urogi's rampage, watching the red streaks of other hybrids drip down their wounds, spitting at them for daring to talk bad about you. Then came the forced transfers. He loved it, honestly. His mind floated, feeling like he was a bird again, flying to you.. then the plummet when the drugs wore off that he didn't enjoy as much. With a renewed sense of determination and a strong longing for his wings, he began yapping again. Aizetsu, like Sekido, hid his features, calm enough to stay hidden. He kept to himself, mindlessly walking anywhere and everywhere with the tiniest grain of hope that he might find you there. No terrain, weather, or event would stop him from trudging through miles of land, following his intuition to where he thinks you could be. He'd be so focused on you that he'd go days without water or food, feet covered in blisters from the endless dragging across the ground before everything went dark. Waking up in a shelter always reminded him how disappointing his body was for collapsing on him. Hm.. he'll stay and recover for now, once he feels ready, he'll take some food and go again. Zohakuten raised hell, frequently ending up in confined spaces. Because he was young, he had more restrictions to ensure his safety. That only made escaping a huge hassle.. He hated being treated like a foolish boy when he's been through horrors worse than adult scissors! The confinement and restrictions ended up being for everyone else's safety after staff realized how common Zohakuten destroyed and mangled anyone in his vicinity. A familiar prick on his skin came after his small bruised hands demolished the common area, then the heaviness of his limbs settled in. Loud thumps came from the deepest part of the shelter as he banged on the walls to be released once the drugs wore off.

Their status as "lost souls" is no secret when they began tormenting anyone who tried to house them and the employees. It seems they've met the other lost and guiding souls in the shelter before with how they interact. For better and worse, at least the guiding souls temper their mischief.

They try forming a plan on how to find you next if this shelter doesn't show any results. It'd be faster to get transferred now that they're grouped up. And like the heavens opened up, they quickly realized that won't be necessary anymore once they catch a glimpse of the light they yearned for these three recent lifetimes, you. It's you.. You!

Any and all complaints are cut short when they make a habit out of gathering near the front glass of the shelter, waiting for you to walk in or pass by. Their demeanor shift is so sudden the caretakers worry they might've accidentally dropped some pills into their food. It's not like that, unless your presence counts as a drug!

[amazinglyashy]

HI I LOVE ur lads headcanons ‼️ idk if u do angst but im feeling some angsty/hurt/comfort........... can i pls request the lads men's reaction to the reader rejecting their confession bc we think they deserve better...... someone who doesn't have a heart condition (like the mc) or something........

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!! And oh man, I love angst and hurt/comfort, as long as I get to give it a tiny bit of hope/a happy ending! I felt this one though, I've thought about it before with my own MC…….. a few dozen times- Hope you enjoy, and thank you for the request! <3

Love and Deepspace Li’s reactions to you rejecting their confession due to feelings of inadequacy

Rafayel -

Rafayel is… surprised, to say the least.

Not only do you not have any memory of him or the things you did together- the things you did to him- but you also are straight up turning him down when he finally realized that he needs to confess to you all over again.

He's pretty upset.

It'll definitely turn into an argument, and you know he's hurt. Damn, you're hurt too, just having to turn him down. He makes you feel something, like you're special. Like you're everything to him. Like you're not…

Broken.

And it'll come out eventually. Maybe not blatantly so, but in small ways, your feelings of inadequacy will start to leak through the cracks that are forming in your resolve as you try to refuse a man who has already been refused his love by fate and prophecy for far too long.

And somehow, that makes it so much worse. Because he can fight fate, he can go against the currents of time and the ever evolving cruelty of human nature. But he can't do anything about the feelings raging inside your own head.

He's sure going to try though.

Angrily but calmly, he will start firing off things he has done for you, just because he's loved you so much, throughout all of your time together and even before. He doesn't know if it'll make it worse, make you feel like he already does too much for whatever it is you see yourself as, but he's going to do it anyway. And slowly, it'll start forming into the things you two do together- the things you've done for him when he needs you.

And you're going to be there a while, because until you start to realize, until he starts to chip away at that dark feeling in the deepest reaches of your mind and heart, he's not going to let up.

Not now, not ever.

Sylus -

He's a bit taken aback, but he's not particularly surprised. He had seen this coming, mentally prepared himself for it, even. He knew after his treatment of you when the two of you had just met again for the first time, that any sort of official relationship between you two would be tricky to get to. Especially putting an actual label on it.

He'll be a lot more surprised when he reads between the lines at your words, and realizes it's not because you're still scared of him, but because you don't think you're good enough for him.

"You can't be serious, sweetie."

He's not going to force you to accept his confession, but regardless of how timid or aggressive you become, whether you escalate it vocally or try to exit the conversation, he's not arguing with you. He pretty much refuses to, as he instead begins to state snarky facts as he crosses his arms, watching your reactions as he does.

"When you patched my wounds a month ago, was I not deserving of your hands caring for me because they were shaky and belonging to you? How about that girl you muttered about that we saw at the café who was mad at her boyfriend to the point of shouting, when he didn't get her the right cake she wanted? Are you saying you're worse than her? Helping me on jobs simply because you want to exist near me is… not good enough for me?"

"Sylus, that's not what I'm saying-"

"Oh don't worry sweetie. I know exactly what it is you're saying. I just know it's a particularly misinformed, self loathing thought for you to be having. Don't you think it's insulting for you to decide who I give my love to? After every calculated decision you have witnessed me make?"

He'll finally soften, reaching out a hand to gently rest on the side of your neck, his thumb brushing against your cheek in a gentle back and forth.

"You don't need to be concerning yourself with what I deserve in a partner. You should have faith in my opinions, if not for yourself, but for your confidence in me, sweetie. After that, the rest is up to what you truly want in your heart."

Zayne -

His reaction is definitely the most reserved initially, especially until he realizes why exactly you're turning him down.

He definitely has the passing thought that maybe you're just misunderstanding him again, just like back with the snow seals when the two of you were still kids.

When he realizes that's not the case, and instead, it's your own internalized feelings, he's first a bit relieved, and secondly- pretty perturbed.

"It's interesting to know that's your perspective, given how much you enjoy those fictional stories with ironic pairings. I would think that it would be the most romantic thing for a heart patient to be in a relationship with a cardiac surgeon.

His biting but well-meaning quips aside, he's not quite sure how to break it to you that he used to be in a similar boat, and still is to some capacity. Which is partly why he's a bit upset to understand your perspective.

He's genuinely surprised you haven't processed the timeline of the two of you and your lives. Your accident that caused the state of your heart, his leaving to study medicine and become a specialist in cardiology and a renowned cardiac surgeon- are you not able to see that it's not an inadequacy for him, but his own lack of knowledge when you first started having issues made himself feel inadequate? Why he left without a word for years in the first place?

And not just that- it also applies to other fields too. He has no issues helping you where you need him, because he knows the extent of your capabilities, much like he knows his own. And he will spend forever if he needs to, to show you that loving is not about who does more. It's about doing what your partner needs, no matter how much or how little that is, and loving each other through every hard moment.

And you're about to hear every ounce of his convincing, opinions, and own feelings, until you start to see. Until you finally see.

Xavier -

Unless you tell it to him straight, he's not going to know why you rejected him. He'll be hurt, but he'll accept your rejection graciously and politely, before trying to figure out just how to get you to accept it.

There's an increase in claw machine dates, movie night invitations, and how much he helps you with missions or even just around your apartment. Eventually, you process the weird behavior and you're all but forced to confront him on really truly why you rejected him.

It's Xavier, so you try to play it off as a lighthearted situation or a joke, but you can see his expression darkening, and you're not sure if it's because of him being upset at your words, or realizing just how much time he has sunk into you with how... broken of a person you are.

Turns out, it's the former!

It's hard to not realize such, as he's pulling you into the tightest hug he's probably ever grabbed you into.

For a while, it's just you and him standing there, with him squeezing you tightly and you not knowing what to do with your hands or the lump rising in the back of your throat. He doesn't really know what to say, but he does know he needs to say something.

"I'll definitely make you see that you're more than enough for me."

"Xavier- that's not how this work-"

"I know, and I don't care. I- I need you to know that you're everything to me. You're not inadequate, or broken, or anything you've been telling yourself. You're more than enough. You're more than everything to me. And I'm not going anywhere until you finally understand that."

[inseobts]

Law x reader but it's angst and both of them didn't have a happy ending please ☹️. It'll start where the reader obsess over Law for months and he doesn't give a damn about y/n. He'll continue acting cold and harsh towards her. And then overtime Law slowly develops feelings for her but it's too late because y/n decided to leave the crew. The ending goes like ".... as I watch her disappear from the crowd. if only she'd known that, I... loved her." (I swear it sounds better in my head)

or instead of leaving the crew, Penguin was always there for her and y/n slowly falls for him and then Law gets jealous and knows that he doesn't have a chance with y/n anymore. He's guilty for not appreciating y/n all those months.

Idk anymore 😞.

That's all, bye:>

If Only She Knew

law × reader

a/n: omg I love angst so much akswk thanks for the request eheh

words count: 2.2k

tags: angst

masterlist || ao3 || ko-fi

“Captain! I made you some tea.”

The moment the words leave your lips, you already know how this will end.

Trafalgar Law doesn’t even look up from the map sprawled across his desk. His fingers tap against the parchment absentmindedly, his mind clearly elsewhere.

“Leave it” he mutters, eyes scanning the paper.

You hesitate “But you haven’t eaten anything all day—”

“I said leave it, Y/N.” His tone is sharp, edged with irritation. His golden eyes flicker toward you, cold and dismissive “Stop wasting your time.”

Your breath catches for just a second before you force a small smile “Right… Sorry, Captain.”

You place the cup on his desk anyway before turning to leave, your hands curling into fists. You tell yourself that maybe, just maybe, this time he’ll take a sip.

But as you step out onto the deck, you already know he won’t.

“Still chasing after the captain, huh?”

Shachi’s voice startles you from your thoughts as you lean against the railing, staring at the open sea. He and Penguin stand beside you, both wearing matching smirks, though there’s something sympathetic in their eyes.

“I’m not chasing him” you mumble, kicking at the wooden deck.

Penguin snorts “Right. You just happen to bring him tea every day, patch him up first after every fight, and stare at him when you think no one’s looking.”

Heat rushes to your face “I don’t stare at him.”

Shachi grins “Yeah? Anyway what were you just doing in his office?”

You look away, biting your lip. You don’t need to answer. They already know.

Everyone does.

The entire crew has seen how much effort you put into Law, how you linger in his presence, how you always try to ease his burdens, how you’d do anything just to get a sliver of warmth from him.

And they’ve seen how he never gives you anything in return.

“He’s never going to change, you know,” Penguin says, quieter this time “Law’s… Law. He’s not the kind of guy to let people in.”

“I know.” You exhale, trying to ignore the ache in your chest “But that doesn’t mean I’ll stop trying.”

Shachi sighs, exchanging a look with Penguin, but neither of them argue. What’s the point?

That night, you find yourself outside Law’s office again, a plate of food in your hands. The lamp inside is still lit, and you can hear the faint scratching of his pen against paper.

You hesitate before knocking “Captain?”

There’s no response.

You take a deep breath before pushing the door open just enough to peek inside. As expected, he’s still at his desk, completely absorbed in whatever he’s writing. His brows are furrowed, dark circles prominent under his eyes.

He looks exhausted.

“You should eat something,” you say softly, stepping inside “You’ve been working all day.”

Law sighs heavily, rubbing his temples “I don’t have time for this.”

“You have time to starve?” You set the plate down beside him, crossing your arms “At least take a break.”

He finally looks at you then, and for a second, you think he might actually listen. But instead, his gaze hardens.

“You don’t need to take care of me, Y/N.”

Your heart sinks.

“I want to...” you whisper.

Law pushes the plate away without another word. And just like that, you’re dismissed.

You don’t sleep that night. Instead, you stare at the ceiling of your cabin, the weight of reality pressing down on you.

No matter what you do, how much you try... he will never see you the way you want him to.

And maybe it’s time to stop hoping he will.

Days pass. Then weeks.

Nothing changes.

Law remains the same... distant, cold, utterly indifferent to your presence. No matter how many times you try to reach him, he never lets you in.

At first, it hurt, but now, it’s exhausting.

“You should stop, I'm saying this for your own good y/n” Bepo says one evening as you sit on the deck, staring at the horizon.

“Stop what?” you ask, even though you already know the answer.

Bepo sighs, settling beside you “You know what. The captain… he isn’t good at showing how he feels.”

You let out a dry laugh “That’s assuming he feels anything at all.”

“He does,” Bepo insists “He’s just… complicated.”

Complicated. That’s one way to put it.

But after months of being ignored, pushed away, and dismissed, you’re tired of making excuses for him.

“You know what? You're right. Trafalgar Law doesn’t care about me,” you say quietly “and I think it’s time I stop caring about him, too.”

The words taste bitter, but the moment they leave your lips, something inside you shifts.

Maybe this is what acceptance feels like.

Maybe this is freedom.

Law notices it before anyone else.

It’s subtle at first, the way you stop lingering in his office, the way you no longer bring him tea or remind him to rest.

Then, it becomes impossible to ignore.

“You’ve been acting different lately,” Shachi comments one afternoon “Not that I’m complaining, but you’re not hovering around the captain anymore.”

You shrug “Got tired of it.”

Penguin raises a brow “Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

It’s a lie, of course.

It wasn’t easy. It still isn’t. But you’ve spent too much time chasing after someone who doesn’t want to be caught.

And you refuse to keep running after a lost cause.

Law watches from the upper deck as you laugh with the others, a sight that should be normal, except it isn’t.

Because for the first time in months, you look… light. Unburdened. And you’re not looking for him, you're not looking at him.

Something about that unsettles him, but he shoves the feeling down.

It shouldn’t matter and it doesn’t matter.

At least, that’s what he tells himself.

But when he finds himself missing the way you used to call his name, the way you always made sure he ate, the way you cared—

He realizes, too late, that maybe it does matter.

“You seem happier these days” Bepo comments one evening as you sit together.

You hum in response, resting your chin on your knees “More than happier I think I feel lighter...”

It’s not entirely true. A part of you still aches when you think about Law, when you remember all the time and love you wasted on someone who never gave anything back.

But at the very least, you’re not waiting for something that will never come.

And that’s enough.

Or so you tell yourself.

Law watches you from afar, as always, something unfamiliar twisting in his chest.

For months, you were always there, persistent, unwavering. You never gave up on him, no matter how many times he pushed you away.

And yet, now that you’ve stopped trying…

He finds himself wishing you hadn’t. But it’s too late.

“You’re really leaving?”

Bepo’s voice is thick with sadness as he watches you pack your things. His ears droop, his large paws clenching at his sides.

You force a small smile, though it doesn’t quite reach your eyes “Yeah. I think it’s time.”

The words feel foreign, even as you say them. You’ve been on this ship for so long, pouring your heart into someone who never wanted it. But now, for the first time, you’re choosing yourself.

“You don’t have to go,” Bepo says desperately “The crew loves you. I love you.”

Your heart clenches at the raw emotion in his voice, but you shake your head “I know, Bepo. And I love you guys, too. But… staying here will only hurt me more. I'll never be truly happy here.”

He doesn’t argue. He knows you’re right.

Shachi and Penguin stand in the doorway, silent for once. Their usual teasing is gone, replaced by something heavier.

“You deserve better” Shachi finally says.

You smile, though it trembles at the edges “Yeah. I think so, too.”

The crew gathers at the dock the next morning, the air thick with unspoken emotions.

You exhale, adjusting the strap of your bag “Take care of yourselves, alright?”

Bepo sniffs, pulling you into a crushing hug “Come visit us someday.”

You hesitate before nodding “Yeah… Maybe.”

Everyone is there. Everyone except a certain someone.

You say nothing to Law about your leaving and you made the crew promise they wouldn't tell him neither.

You keep your plans quiet, your thoughts heavier than usual. There’s no need for a grand goodbye, he won’t notice anyway. So, instead, you quietly gather your things, packing only what’s essential, leaving behind the small mementos of a life you’re trying to forget.

The others know. Bepo, Shachi, Penguin—they’ve all seen the way things have shifted, the way you’ve slowly withdrawn over the past few weeks. They know why you’re leaving, even if they wish you didn’t.

You make your rounds, saying goodbye to each one of them.

“Bepo…” you pause as he wraps his arms around you, his voice thick with emotion “Are you sure about this?”

“I have to be,” you say softly, pressing your cheek against his fur “I’ve given up too much of myself already.”

He squeezes you tighter, his breath shaky “You’ll always have a place here with us.”

You pull away, offering him a watery smile “I know. I’ll miss you guys.”

Shachi claps you on the back with his usual grin, but it’s tempered with sadness “You’ll be fine out there, Y/N. You always manage to land on your feet.”

“I’m not sure about that” you reply softly, but you appreciate the sentiment.

Penguin gives you a quiet nod, his usual teasing grin gone “Good luck.”. Actually he's using his at to hide his tears.

It’s not the kind of goodbye you expected when you first joined the crew, but it’s the one you’ve come to accept. They know, and they understand.

But then you turn to face the ship.

Law has been absent for most of the morning, as he usually is, buried in his work. His door is closed, but you know he’s there, just like always. You don’t go near his office.

You make sure to leave your things in a small pile in the corner of the deck, making it look like nothing out of the ordinary. You pick up your bag one last time, glancing back at the crew as they quietly wish you well.

And then you leave without a word.

No one stops you.

Law doesn’t know.

He walks onto the deck just as the crew is finishing their work, wiping his hands on his coat as he steps toward his office. He’s tired, his head still pounding from the hours of paperwork he’s been handling.

But something catches his attention.

A folded piece of paper sits on his desk, placed neatly in the center of it. He blinks at it for a moment, confused. Who left this?

He walks over, picking it up with a frown. His gaze flickers over the familiar handwriting—Y/N’s handwriting.

For a moment, he hesitates. But then, he unfolds the letter, eager to read whatever you’ve written.

He doesn’t expect what’s inside.

Law,

I can’t keep doing this. I’ve tried for months to ignore it, but I’ve come to realize that you’ll never feel the same as me. I’m tired of waiting for something that will never come. I can’t keep living in the hope that one day, you’ll notice me the way I’ve always noticed you. I do accept rejection tho, I just think it's too hard for me to stay and pretend I feel happy like this.

I’m leaving the crew, and I don’t think I’ll be back.

The words hit him like a punch to the gut. His mind races, unable to comprehend what he’s just read. You… you’re leaving?

He stands frozen for a few seconds, his hands shaking slightly as he grips the letter. Why didn’t you tell me?

He rushes out the door, heading for the deck, his heart pounding in his chest.

He doesn’t see you.

He runs to the edge of the ship, scanning the horizon frantically, his breath catching in his throat.

“Y/N!?”

But there’s no response. No sign of you. Only the distant sound of the waves crashing against the ship, the wind whipping through the air.

“She just left” Bepo says looking like he just stopped crying and then he point over the crowd “Please stop hurting her, Captain”

He grits his teeth, his chest tight with a strange mix of panic and regret.

I’m sorry if I ever seemed too pushy for your liking, I was just trying to help you. I never meant to hurt you or annoy you.

I had a good time with the rest of the crew but my feelings can’t be ignored anymore.

This is something I need to do for myself. Maybe it’s selfish but for once I want to put you second and protect myself.

I loved you.

Goodbye,

Y/N

—

—

I loved you.

I loved you.

And now you’re gone.

As he watches you slowly disappear in the crowd he whispers so that only himself could hear “… if only she’d known that I loved her.”

[wttcsms]

did i ever tell you guys about my delinquent!iwa with a heart of gold x rich girl & oikawa's younger sister!reader?? where tooru and reader are the sheltered children of one of the wealthiest families in the prefecture meanwhile iwaizumi, who means well, can't help but run with "the wrong crowd" — they're not really all that bad. they're just boys. they're his childhood friends, of course he's sticking by them.

anyway, tooru, in typical tooru fashion, decides he wants to join their little group. your older brother has always been charming, so it's no surprise that he manages to endear himself to their little group. now your older brother is running around with the same delinquents your father criticizes at the dinner table. tooru never lets you join them, even if you beg and threaten to snitch (which you'd never do, and maybe that's why he doesn't take your threat seriously)

after a particularly nasty fight and everyone in the group has to scatter to flee from the cops, where does a bruised and battered iwa end up? hopping the gate to enter your parent's property, throwing rocks at your bedroom window. he thinks it's oikawa, but he knows he's made a mistake whenever you step out onto the balcony outside your bedroom. before he can run off, the fight he just got done with has finally taken its toll on his body and he finds himself knocking out onto the grass.

you drag him in. your parents are gone at one of their charity galas and it'll be a late night. you're home alone. you're home alone in your family's mansion, and it took all of your strength to drag this unconscious delinquent inside, and the marble floors are surely gonna get dirty, and—

—you patch him up.

you patch him up, and when he wakes up half an hour later, he's got hello kitty band-aids on and you're not letting him leave 'til he eats the ramen you made him. you're stubborn, just like your annoying older brother, so iwa begrudgingly eats the meal you took obvious care in making for him.

and somehow, he keeps finding himself coming back to you. sometimes under the guise of needing to see tooru, sometimes because you take a stern tone of voice different from your usual gentle cadence when you chastise him for getting roughed up & how if he refuses to take care of himself, at least let you apply some ointment to his cuts.

iwa knows he's in too deep, though, whenever he sees you taking care of a kitty one night.

"is that yours?" he asks, never having seen you with any pets. the kitten is cute, sure, but looks a little rough. skinnier than baby cats should be, that's for damn certain. looks almost like the strays 'round his neighborhood.

"nope. i saw her wandering around, looking all lost and lonely. she stops by occasionally, along with others."

"others?"

you nod, stroking the kitten's fur, smiling serenely as you watch her lap at the saucer of milk you provided. "there's a couple of dogs i pass by on my way to school." that explains why he once saw dog treats spill out of your school blazer pocket.

"you have a thing for taking in strays." he's joking, but his smile fades when you sadly answer him,

"yeah. but they never stay."

iwaizumi knows that in the eyes of your neighbors and the people in your social circle, he's your stray.

is he going to stay?

[yanderedrabbles]

Misery - Part Three

Based on Misery by Stephen King

Stuck in the mountains, you foolishly decide to drive through a blizzard. The man that drags you from your wrecked car brings you to his cabin and patches you up. But as the snow piles up outside, you start to suspect that your rescuer's intentions may be far from pure.

Previous Chapter

After Andy left, you managed to change out of your clothes. The flannel shirt he gave you was worn down just enough to feel cozy and the smell of his cologne still lingered 'round the collar.

You settled against the headboard and almost dozed off before he came back. He'd taken off his jacket and carried a pile of firewood in his arms. He dumped the logs in the fireplace and stood up, revealing a wife beater and arms thick with muscle. You were right about his strength - his body was just further proof of it.

"Sorry 'bout that. I should have brought some in last night but well..."

He turned to you, dusting his hands. "I got a good look at the situation outside. You might not wanna hear it but we're totally snowed in. Phone lines are down too."

"Oh. I didn't realise it was that bad."

You felt a dull sort of trepidation. Andy had been nothing but kind to you, but being stuck out in the mountains frightened you.

"Any idea when things will open up again?"

He sat down in the chair beside your bed and stretched out. For a second, the only thought in your head was how dangerous and lean he looked. His dog tags caught the light and winked at you.

"Hard to tell. We're far off the beaten path. Only folks nearby are the Roydmans and they're a good few miles off. 'Sides, snows too deep to drive through so even if they clear off the main road, we ain't getting there anytime soon."

You felt your heart sink. "Do you think I need to go to the hospital?"

He raised a brow and skimmed his eyes across your body. "It ain't looking pretty, but I reckon you can handle it."

"Hurts like hell though."

"Sorry princess, but it'll take a while for this sort of hurt to heal. Best I can do is give you something strong for the pain."

Your ankle still throbbed mercilessly and hearing him say that made you all the more aware of it. You searched desperately around the room for a distraction.

The room was much larger than you realised, with a panelled wood ceiling and big bay windows. From your position, all you could see was the sky.

It was comfortable and starkly clean. Oh God, was this his room or a guest room?

"I haven't kicked you out of your room, have I?" you asked, suddenly unsure of yourself.

He grinned and rubbed his jaw. "I reckoned you needed a nice bed far more than I did."

"Shit, I'm so sorry!" Your hands fluttered to your lips. You felt terribly guilty. "I can't imagine how much I've put you out."

He waved you away. "It gets awful quiet up here. You have no idea how nice it is to have company."

His eyes dropped to the shirt you were wearing. "Real nice."

He reached up to play around with his dog tags and you finally noticed the tattoo across his forearm.

"Semper Fidelis?"

"Always loyal."

He reached forward and let you inspect his arm. You took hold of his wrist and traced the tattoo with your fingertips. The words themselves were small and neat, but the rest of it was an intricate pattern of barbed wire that wound round his forearm.

"Did it hurt?"

"Tell you the truth? It stung like a bitch."

He was watching your face and when you looked up at him, your eyes met. Those eyes on the other end of a gun would have sent you running for the hills. You pitied the soldiers that faced off against him.

You let go of his arm and swallowed.

"When did you get it?"

He let his forearm rest next to your thigh.

"When I was deployed for the first time."

He was close enough that you caught the scent of his cologne and the sweet smell of pine from the wood he chopped.

"How did you end up in the Marines anyway?"

"I've got you curious, do I?"

You felt yourself blush. "Maybe a little."

"Hmm." He rubbed at his jaw, like he was trying to rub away a smile.

"Maybe I'll tell you about it someday. For now though, you need to take some tablets and get some sleep."

"But what about you? I've kind of colonised your bed."

"First thing you learn in basic is to sleep standing up. I'll be fine sleeping on the couch. 'Sides, I ain't the one who went crashing off the road less than a day ago."

He reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a blister pack of tablets.

"These are Novril. They pack a hell of a punch, so I expect you to sleep through the rest of the day. Best thing you can do right now is rest, got it?"

"Yes sir."

He dropped two shiny white pills into your open palm.

"Good girl. Now drink up."

He passed you a glass of water from the nightstand. The tablets left a slightly bitter taste behind, but you hurt too much to mind it.

Outside, the snow started up again.

You smiled at him. "How am I ever supposed to repay you?"

He studied you for a second.

The shirt you borrowed was missing a few buttons near the top and gaped open just a little at your tits, but you were too drowsy to notice.

He grinned that slow, lazy smile of his. "I'm sure you'll think of something, princess."

You hadn't fully realised just how intimate this all was. You were wearing his clothes. Sleeping in his bed. Entirely reliant on him to take care of you.

He stood up and shook his head.  "You must be hungry. Any requests?"

"Nope. I'll take anything at this point."

His eyes flickered to your chest and then quickly away. "I can make you regret that real fast, y'know."

"Come on, you can't be that bad of a chef."

He huffed and shook his head. "You just sit pretty and I'll be back."

He returned with a bowl of oats sprinkled with brown sugar. His fingers brushed yours when he handed it to you and he lingered for a second longer than needed.

"I'm afraid it's all hospital chow until you're stronger. It's too bad - I make a mean flapjack."

You played around with your spoon and then gave in. Plain oats or not, you needed your strength.

Andy was quiet while you ate, watching the snow swirl across the window.

He tugged at his dog tags again and spoke up, "Does anyone know you're out here? A boyfriend, a sibling, anyone that knows where you were headed?"

You carefully put your empty bowl down on the nightstand. With the tablets, the pain was mercifully retreating. Not gone, never entirely gone, but a tiny bit more manageable.

"No. I wanted to surprise a friend but they don't know I'm coming."

You felt unnaturally drowsy for this early in the day. He must have noticed it because he stood up and gently pressed at your shoulders.

"Lie down and I promise you'll be out like a light soon enough."

You listened to him and found your eyes drifting shut as soon as you hit the pillow.

"Y'know." Your voice was muffled by your pillow. "You're a really great guy."

"Thanks, but save that until after you're better, yeah?"

He pulled the duvet higher and carefully tucked it around your shoulders.

"Not a soul knows you're out here?"

You hummed in agreement. You were almost entirely asleep and barely felt the hand that drifted across your forehead, gently pushing the hair off your face.

"Just you and me, princess."

You didn't hear it, but there was a strange note to his voice. Fear, maybe. Or longing. Hard to tell, with how similar they can be.

Next Chapter [coming soon]

Masterlist

Taglist

@pleorexicz @lem-hhn @mybelovedjupiter

[harzilla]

Home

If he tried harder, would you stay? If he was better, would you stay?

Imagine Grim's overblot.

He's scared, confused. Why does his henchman need to leave?

What's so wrong with their life here? They've got lots of friends. Look how popular the Great Grim is, so Yuu must be popular by association! Lots of tasty food to try. They even got a dorm all their own!

Grim's gonna be a great mage one day and he's gonna be the best mage ever and have as many cans of tuna as he wants for being number one!

Would Yuu stay if he shared his tuna? He'll give them lots! If he's #1 that means he can just get money easily, so he'll be able to pay his henchman lots of money and have a nice place to live. The nicest house they can imagine, it'll make even Leona jealous!

Because he's the Great Grim right?

If his henchman is leaving, so who's gonna cuddle with him now if they come back from yet another overblot fight? Who's gonna patch him up and cheer him up as they help clean up his scrapes. Mind you he had less from the last fight they were in, that means he must be getting better right?

Yuu, who loved him even if he was snarky brat, who would always help him with his homework, not that he needed help mind you, but Grim's such a great boss, that of course his henchman wants him to succeed.

He really picked a great henchman! They're were great! They were pretty smart. Maybe not as smart as Grim, but they had better grades then Deuce at least, and they could cook! Sure they burnt the Mac and cheese once or twice, but he thought the burnt bits were still tasty.

But his henchman and even the great grim himself learned how to cook! He was such a a great boss he even warmed up a can of soup for his henchman who was sick in bed. He remembers hearing soup was good for when you're sick from Trey.

Would they come back if he tried harder? He'll try extra hard not to fall asleep in Trien's class. He'll try not to wiggle so much on the broom during Vargas' class. He's sure he'll get their combined grades up. Because even without magic they're like, the best option for a henchman here in this place. Nobody quiet like them here.

What if they get hurt? Yuu said his purring always made them feel better. Does he need to purr more? Purr harder? He'll try harder so they get sick less. He'll listen better so he gets in less fights and Yuu's not stuck apologizing for his behavior. Yuu could be a little mean sometimes. Okay, Yuu wasn't really mean they were… Um what was the word? Firm? Strict? Oh, they were firm. But they were nice.

Nobody here was as nice as Yuu was. Look how many things they did because they cared about everybody here so much! Because they cared about him so much they almost died and fought the almost end of the world just to bring him HOME.

Home. NRC was his home. Yuu was his home.

Yuu was, no matter how mean he got. No matter when he scratched them and acted nasty. He… He even hurt his henchman. Yuu's arm was injured because of him.

But no matter how bad things got, Yuu was always there to make sure he had a home to go home to.

Ramshackle's home because Yuu is there.

If Yuu's gone. Then where does Grim go? What's the point of being a great mage if the one person who stuck by you this whole time just goes away? Please don't leave him.

Please.

[llamagoddessofficial]

Hey llama been going through a rough patch with recovering. Could you maybe do a lil story/head cannons on how the boys would comfort reader?

I wasn't sure which boys you meant, but I've covered the Aggre boys comforting a few times, so here's how the bad guys would comfort you when you're having a hard time.

Horror will appeal to the small, flighty animal inside you. The one that wants to be wrapped up tight, given food, hidden away somewhere safe and dark and warm and quiet. It doesn't care if it's snuggled in the arms of a bear, because that's your bear, and his breathing is deep and slow and he smells like waxy fur and dry autumn. He'll look after your little animal - he'll look after you. He'll put snacks in your hands, put a huge blanket around you, and cuddle you into his lap. You can just put your head on his chest. He struggles with many things... but comforting is not one of them.

Dust is comforting like an oversized hoodie. The kind that smells like someone you love, covering your hands and almost reaching your knees, old and pilling but the inside is still soft. He can't talk you through it, he doesn't have the words, he can't tell you it'll be okay, because how could he know? Telling you 'it'll be fine' is not his call to make. But he can sit with you while you cry, and stay no matter what. He can lay in bed next to you and threads his fingers with yours while the TV fills the silence. And if you don't mind the tickling in the back of your nose, he'll lend you any one of his hoodies you like.

Killer will chase your smile. He'll really, really try - it's not his usual 'cheering', the sharp carelessness you've come to associate with him. There's a gentleness, a pleading sincerity to him, he remembers details about you you never would've expected him to pick up. He gently broaches all the subjects he knows you're interested in to see if they'll get you chatting, he fields distracting activities like videogames and movies you love, he offers foods and drinks he knows you crave when you're lonely, anything to get you to stop frowning. Maybe it's not all the things he offers that cheer you up, in the end. Maybe it's the glimpse into just how deeply and honestly he cares. When he does finally get that smile, you'll get the reward of two pearly while eyelights staring back at you in relief.

Nightmare could be comforting to you. You'd have to give in to him completely. You'd have to trust him, close your eyes and let him in. Are you prepared for that? He won't blame you, if you aren't, he won't resent you for seeking out the others instead. But if you're willing to put your Soul in his hands... suffering is a tapestry he's intimately familiar with. He knows the importance of letting pain pass through. There's no comfort like him. The comfort of resting at the bottom of a deep ocean, the comfort of sleeping in a beast's jaws, the comfort of drifting in space. The comfort of turning everything off. The comfort of something huge and dark and unearthly holding you in its palms, and telling you it's okay to rest for a little while. You'll wake up with wet cheeks, feeling like an enormous weight has left your shoulders. And Nightmare will be eternally grateful for finally, just once, being allowed to do what he was made to do.

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

We all bleed. Accidents happen and shin breaks. Here is what some of the neighbors would do after seeing you bleed.

If you like my work, please consider commissioning me or leaving a tip on Ko-fi (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)

Wally, Eddie and Sally when they see you bleed

Wally

★ When he saw you bleed for the first time he didn't know what to do. He's seen scratches, scuffs and torn fabric. But this? This is new. "That's not... Supposed to happen?" He asks, sounding unsure of himself. Watching the dark red liquid bead up.

★ You treated it as nothing out of the ordinary. Washing the red off with a bit of soap. And covering the spot with a bandaid. If you weren't worried about it, then maybe it's not a big deal. Still, he wants to know what happened. So that next time he can help.

★ He doesn't really understand the concept of blood. Your heart, that steady beat inside your chest, pushes it around. Delivering oxygen to keep you alive. That's why you breathe. But if you get injured this same blood leaks out. Can you blame him for being confused?

Eddie

★ It was an accident. Eddie wasn't paying attention to where he was going, and walked straight into you. Knocking you off your feet and onto the pavement. Knees scraping against the yellow asphalt. He panics, freezing at the sight of red liquid streaming down your leg.

★ "Oh!- On no! Neighbor in so sorry!' Sounding quite frantic. It reminds him of a torn envelope. Your blood is like spilled ink against a page. He ends up just hovering above you. Unsure if he should help or continue apologizing.

★ After a moment of panicking, Eddie reaches into his bag and pulls out a handkerchief. handing it to you. Not caring how stained it'll be by the end of this. Even after you patch yourself up, he keeps glancing at your knee.

Sally

★ She's caught off guard. Gasping with her eyes wide. "What is that?!" Moving closer to your side. Hands hovering over you, but not quite touching. "Is this normal? Are you supposed to be doing that?!" As dramatic as always. But this time her confusion was genuine.

★ As you wipe off the small droplets of red, she watches. Gaze focused on you. Expecting... Something. A complaint, wince, or an explanation at the very least. You just say "don't worry about it." Not realizing she was actually serious.

★ After you go home, Sally makes a phone call to Frank. To ask for his expertise on what's going on with your body. Cutting him off as he says "hello" to tell him what she saw. "The neighbor! They leaked!" There's a pause. Then, a clear sigh. "You mean they bled?"

[stevesgother]

okay i’ve never requested smut before but i always have ideas so it’s time to face my fears 💀 what ab having a nice valentines night in w steve but not being able to keep their hands of off each other during the movie they’re watching and just being tipsy on champagne and giggly and all the sweet stuff

sorry that this took me 18,000 years to get to? i was waiting for inspiration to strike bc i wanted your first smut request to be everything you've ever hoped for! <3 18+ mdni, fluffy tipsy little guys, needy kinda sub steve, dry humping mmm, stevie coming in his pants :(, alcohol consumption, established relationship

buzzed

"Can we watch Top Gun again?" You giggle with your lips wrapped around a bottle of cheap champagne. Steve only wants to watch you.

"You just wanna ogle at Tom Cruise for two hours without facing the consequences," Steve accuses through a giggle of his own, reaching for the bottle in your greedy hands.

"Nooooo,"

"Yessssss," He mocks, successfully snatching the alcohol from you and taking a long pull. Your eyes follow the column of muscles in his neck moving as he swallows, longing to reach over and have a taste for yourself. So you do.

Steve makes a surprised noise as you climb into his lap, bracketing his hips with your thighs. You let your hands roam freely with a mind of their own-- ending up tangled in his hair. Steve has to struggle in order to set down the open beverage before it has the chance to spill all over his mom's expensive rug.

"Mph-- someone's eager," he tries to play it cool, but you can hear the barely suppressed moan when your lips suck softly on the spot just below his ear.

"You know how I get when you give me booze," you hum, "starting to think this was your plan all along,"

You hadn't realized until Steve grabbed your hips to keep you moving that you'd started to roll your hips lazily over his crotch; the boy's sweatpants tenting where your pelvises meet.

He was starting to lose his composure, and you could feel it. It was in the way he kept his grip bruising on your waist and how he began thrusting harder into your clothed core. You hoped the wet patch forming in your pajama shorts wouldn't stain his pants. Or maybe that it would.

"Can I take this off?" Steve asks, referring to the thin t-shirt you were wearing, your nipples pebbling underneath the fabric at even the suggestion of his mouth on them.

You nod, your head thrown back in pleasure as a particularly firm roll of Steve's hips catches on your sensitive spot of nerves. He wastes no time taking your breast into his mouth, using his rough palm to knead the other one and trusting you to keep up the rhythmic grinding that you two had fallen into.

Steve hums around your nipple, licking and sucking and making genuinely obscene noises before switching sides. You tangle your fingers once again in his hair, because you know it'll make him groan louder; the vibrations shooting through you all the way to your needy core.

"Thought you wanted to watch a movie," Steve pants.

"I'm good like this, I think,"

You reach to undo the tie in Steve's sweatpants, but he stops you abruptly, "No-- keep them on. Feels so good." Theres a dark patch where the tip of his cock would be when you look down, turning the light grey of his pants into something darker. You don't know if it's from his arousal or yours, and you don't particularly care to find out, but it makes your mouth water all the same.

Every push and pull of your bodies shoves you that much closer to the edge of your pleasure, and you make sure to tell Steve as much. Your boyfriend loves to run his mouth, but he won't admit that he loves it even more when you're to one talking filthily. It's not something you find the courage to attempt often, making it that much more erotic when you do. In this haze of alcohol and bliss you've found yourself suspended in; you find it easier than ever.

"Don't stop, baby--" you gasp, "your cock feels so good like this,"

Steve's eyes widen beneath you, his brain trying to catch up with his ears, "Yeah?" He says, dumbly.

"Yes." You bury your head in the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply. He smells like cedar and sweat and Steve. "Gonna come like this--"

If you both weren't so wet, the friction probably would've hurt. But the mixture of champagne and weed and pure, unadulterated love had you leaking on Steve's lap, and you imagined he was probably fairing similarly to you now.

Your vision whites and your hearing goes, and everything is dark for one, beautiful moment. You let yourself fall into it-- fall into Steve. A long, sweet noise of release escaping from between your teeth, straight into Steve's ear.

"There you go, baby," he ruts faster, chasing his own pleasure and holding you as you come down. You don't cease the rocking of your hips-- wanting him to fall into this post-coital bliss with you.

"Gonna make me come, oh-- oh," and you can feel the hum of his soft moans through your chest, settling somewhere deep in your bones. You stroke his hair, talking him through it, "That's it, good boy. Coming in your pants for me, poor baby." He can hear your pout before he sees it.

Steve almost comes again. Something he's pretty sure isn't even anatomically possible right now, but you've never talked to him like that before and he's beginning to discover some things about himself.

Before he has a moment to process any of what just happened, you're climbing casually off his lap and walking topless to his bedroom. He doesn't move, not an inch. Just sits there, trying and failing to force his breathing to return to normal.

You return with a new pair of boxers for him, his favorite plaid pajama pants and a warm washcloth. Without a word, you slip his soiled pants from his hips-- cleaning his release from his skin with a loving touch, making sure to avoid the areas where he's still sensitive.

"Here," you smile softly at him when you've finished. Steve takes the new clothes from you, awestruck. His eyes sparkle in the glow of the television behind you. Or maybe it's the love he feels for you seeping out of every orifice in his body.

"Okay," he whispers, refusing to move his gaze off of you. He's been taken care of before, of course-- satisfied, if you will. But not like this. Never like this. And when he lets you hold him once you've both regained your decency, falling into a soft sleep on his couch, he knows it's you, or nothing at all.

[familyvideostevie]

you have me, you have me only

joel miller x reader you get (minorly) injured on patrol. joel does his best to patch you up and not worry too much. | jackson!joel, hurt/comfort, wound-patching, some blood, a jesse cameo, joel being joel, all that good stuff. | 4.2k a/n: part of the just and just as verse. not too soft but not too angsty, either. just another day after the end of the world, you know? thank you @mrsmando for your eyes on this! <3

___

"Almost there," you mutter. "Fuck."

The icy winter wind dulls the stinging in your palms to a numbness. The leather gloves you've had for half a decade stay tucked in your pockets. You don't want to ruin their lining with dirt and blood.

"How's the head?" 

Jesse pulls up alongside you in a trot. The adrenaline from your patrol-gone-wrong pulses heavy at the top of your spine, your vision sharp and the whole world a little too loud around you as Jackson comes into view at the bottom of the hill. Your head, like the rest of you, throbs.

"I'll live."

He scoffs and his horse snorts as if agreeing with him. In truth, you're more pissed than injured, though it certainly looks like you lost a fight. Jesse's cheekbone will no doubt bloom purple tomorrow and his lip is still bleeding sluggishly. His jeans are splattered with gore, same as yours.

"Thanks for back there," he says.

You shrug and wince when it pulls at the skin of your side where you fell. 

"You, too," you tell him with a grimace. "That was quick thinking with the brick."

You like him -- he's good at his job and he's a good friend to Ellie. You know Tommy and Maria are not-so-subtly training him to run this place someday if he wants to. As a patrol partner, you can't ask for much better. He knows all the routes and he's a good shot and his mom knows everything there is to know about everyone in town and sometimes he passes tidbits on to you.

But knowing your shit doesn't mean a damn thing in this world, sometimes. You can still get ambushed by infected on patrol and it can still fuck up your day.

He waves you off. "I just can't believe an elk chose our station to fucking die in."

"Tommy is going to shit himself when you tell him," you laugh. It pulls at your ribs. God, is there any part of you that didn't take a beating?

"He'll just be pissed he wasn't here."

Your horses reach the bottom of the hill and Jesse hesitates, the green scrap of cloth in his hand. The red one indicating an injured party peeks out from his pocket.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the clinic?"

"I'm fine," you say firmly. "I can patch up at home."

He eyes the cut on your forehead and your scraped palms but caves under your glare and waves the green flag.

"Joel makes the same face," he mutters. "Ellie does, too. Freaky."

The gates open and you grunt when you get off your horse, palms back to stinging.

"Joel's two expressions are pissed and annoyed," you say. “Not hard to pick one up.” You press the back of your hand to your forehead and it comes back tacky with blood. "Fuck."

"I don't think you'll need a stitch." Jesse holds his hand out for your patrol rifle and pats the neck of your horse. "I'll debrief and get these guys settled. You go home."

Normally, you'd protest. But you really just want to take a hot shower and sleep for twelve hours, so you nod and shoulder your pack carefully.

"Make sure you tell Tommy about beating a stalker to death with a brick," you call over your shoulder. "He'll be impressed."

Jesse laughs.

Snow crunches under your boots on the way home. Fuck, you're exhausted. The adrenaline fades with each step and the aches become sharp pains. There aren't too many people out today on account of the cold but you nod and wave, ignoring the double takes at the blood on your clothes.

It'll be a pain in the ass if you can't patch the ruined knees of your jeans. Maybe you can convince Joel to carve something for the woman down the street who can sew better than anyone in town. Finding new pants is damn near impossible.

You’re practically dragging your feet by the time you reach your house. The mailbox labeled Miller, the wind chimes gently swaying on the porch, all of it puts you at ease. You made it home.

The porch steps groan as you climb them and the front door opens from the inside as you reach the top. Joel steps out, hand still on the knob when he looks up and sees you. His eyes widen.

He was on patrol today, too. You left at the same time but he had a shorter route and must have gotten back a while ago.

"Are you coming to meet me?" you say with a grin that's genuine despite the way your body pulses with pain. He does this sometimes -- milling around the gate, chatting with people on the wall as he waits for you to return. You never really feel like you're home until you see his face.

Joel does not smile back. His eyes rake over you the same way he surveys a room, cataloging all of the important things. The gash on your temple, the rips in your jeans, the way you're favoring your left side. The blood, too -- it's everywhere, you're sure. Palms, knees, collar. Jesse helped you wipe your face before you rode back so that you could see without blood in your eyes, but you must look pretty fucking rough.

"Jesus," he says. His hand twitches like he's going to reach for you. "You okay?"

"I'll be better when I'm not standing out in the cold."

His nostrils flare and he heads back into the house, you on his heels. You dump your pack and sit down heavily on the bench to take off your boots. Joel beats you to it, lowering to one knee with a slight groan, fingers working at your laces.

Normally he'd ask how patrol was, how Jesse did, if you saw anything interesting. Instead, his cheek twitches like he's clenching his jaw so hard it hurts. He unties your double knots with practiced ease and his silence fills the entryway of your house.

In another life, the sight of him on one knee would set your heart aflutter. As it is, you want to run a hand through his hair and smooth the worry lines on his forehead. You know him and this is how he handles it -- he chews on blame that doesn't belong on his shoulders until he can fix it.

"I'm fine," you say softly. You open and close your hands, resting them on your knees. You got most of the gravel out but there's dirt and god knows what else embedded in the tender flesh. Joel pulls off one boot with a firm hand on your calf and then the other before finally looking up at you.

"You wanna explain...this, then?"

His hand waves up in your general direction. There's no tremble in his palm but his brows are furrowed, his shoulders set in that way of his, like he's bracing for bad news. You have a rule about not lying to each other. So if you say you're fine, you're fine. Achey, bloody, and gross, sure. But you made it home in one piece and now you'll let him take care of you and he has to be okay with that.

But you don't mind reassuring him. He worries, and you know the feeling.

You shrug and fail to hide your wince. Joel wraps a hand around your ankle and squeezes lightly.

"I've had worse," you say. "I'll tell you about it if you patch me up."

He softens a little and sighs. It won't do anything to remind him that he can't go back in time and stop you from getting hurt. Joel knows he can't fix everything, can't keep everyone he loves away from harm, can't save the world. Won't, if it comes at the expense of the people in his heart.

But you can give him something to do -- a way to make it better. You could probably bandage your hands and your forehead and the rest on your own but it'll help him just as much as you if he does it.

Life in this world is a constant give and take. You have to be okay with some things, with cuts and bruises and ruined clothes if it means you survived. There's no safety, not anymore.

"Alright, c'mon," he says, standing with a groan. "Upstairs, 'fore you bleed on the furniture."

He holds out a hand for you to stand but you show him your mangled palm. Joel clicks his tongue and grips your forearm gently instead as you rise.

"Gotta clean that," he says.

"That's the plan." You leave your coat and pack behind in a heap and head for the stairs. "A hot shower sounds so fucking good right now."

Joel stops you with a hand on your elbow and you turn on the bottom step. He traces the cut on your forehead with light fingers and you try not to wince.

"Shower," he says.  "I'll patch you up after." His tone leaves no room for argument.

You ghost your fingertips along his jaw and smile at him.

"Yes sir, Mr. Miller, sir."

More tension melts from his shoulders and he rolls his eyes at you. You laugh all the way to the bathroom, even though it hurts a little.

It's been a while since one of you returned from patrol with any sort of injury. Winter means the hoards are sluggish and easy to track and tends to keep groups of people from coming to the valley and making trouble. Today was bad luck and could have been much worse.

You both know how quickly all of the good in your lives can be snatched away. Everyone does.

But you just can't dwell on it. Joel knows it, too, and letting him fuss over you in that way of his will remind him. You're home. You're okay.

You leave the bathroom door cracked as you shower under the gentle spray. Your various injuries sting but you manage to clean the scrapes on your knees and hands and wash the blood from your skin and hair, the water rusty brown as it swirls around the drain. 

Joel knocks when you're almost done and the hinges groan when he steps into the bathroom.

"Leavin' you clothes," he says, voice raised so you hear over the spray. "You okay?"

"Still alive," you call back. "Almost done."

The water starts to turn lukewarm so you switch off the stream and drag back the curtain. Joel is nowhere to be found but he's left you loose shorts so your knees are exposed and a big, faded graphic t-shirt that you brought home for him as a joke last year as well as fresh underwear and warm socks. You gently pat your skin dry with an old and scratchy towel and do your best with your hair before sliding them on. 

Joel knocks again and this time he has the bag with all of your first aid stuff in his hands. The steam from your shower rushes out into your bedroom and you shiver.

He jerks his chin at the counter. "Wanna get up there?"

You haul yourself up with a groan and he stands between your knees, arms crossed and head cocked.

"What're we dealin' with, here?"

You look down at your messy palms and rattle off what hurts.

"Cut on my forehead, bruised rib, probably, fucked up hands and knees, and..." You look up and find Joel running a hand down his face. "That's it."

"You sure?"

You glare at him. He glares back. His eyes drift to your forehead gash.

"Cut could use a stitch." 

He's still tense, you can tell, probably will be until he wakes up tomorrow and you're still next to him in bed. Until the wounds turn to scabs turn to scars. Maybe not even then.

"I think I've had enough cuts over the years to know what needs a stitch."

His eyebrows rise just a little bit, turning his expression from interrogative to exasperated, but he knows better than to tell you to do something when you’ve set your mind against it.

"They're offerin' medical degrees on the Creek Trails, now?"

"Joel."

He holds his hands up in surrender. "Fine," he says. "Let me feel your ribs."

You raise your arms a little and he slides his palms under your shirt and up your torso, pressing gently as he goes. Braless as you are, he brushes the underside of your breast, and your breath hitches. His eyes are soft with quiet amusement but he doesn't tease you.

"Your hands are warm," you murmur. He reaches the place on your side that took the brunt of the impact and you hiss.

"Sorry," he says. "Doin' real good. Deep breath for me." You obey and he withdraws, satisfied.

"Nothin' broken," he says.

"Told you."

He hums and pulls out the precious few disinfectant wipes from your first aid kid. You can get Joel to do a lot of things just by asking, but arguing with him about wasting supplies on you never works. He washes his hands in the sink and glares are you like he knows what you’re thinking.

"Forehead first, then hands, then knees," he says. "Okay?'

You nod, eyes fluttering shut. He grips your face with gentle fingertips to keep you still.

"How was your patrol?" you ask him.

He makes a noise low in his throat that's halfway to being a laugh.

"C'mon," he says. "You don't want to hear about mine. I know you're dyin' to tell me what happened."

The alcohol wipe stings as he swabs at your forehead and you tense. Joel's thumb rubs slow circles at the corner of your mouth and you press your knees into his hips.

Funny how you've had broken bones, been stabbed, shot, pretty much everything over the last twenty years but it's the small stuff that hurts the most. Stubbed toes, sliced fingers, alcohol wipes on shallow wounds. Some things just don't change.

"Okay," you say. "Well, you'll never believe it, but a damn elk decided to die in the station where the logbook is."

You tell him how you and Jesse rode up and saw the blood trail immediately and heard the moans and groans. You kept the horses on the other side of the fence and checked the first floor and the overlook, but the elk had weaseled its way under the collapsed staircase.

It smelled like death, rust and decay heavy in the air. The animal must have died just after the last patrol.

But it wasn't the problem. It was the group of Infected it attracted -- two runners and four stalkers. You have no idea where they came from but, since you were on patrol, the priority was eliminating them. The runners were easier, although one of them was responsible for the gash on your forehead when it managed to push you into the wall. You and Jesse cleared them quickly, one bullet each.

You thought you got all of the stalkers. One of them was munching on the carcass and went down fairly easily with your good aim. Jesse helped you clean your forehead so you both could clear the passage to get to the upper level and sign the logbook. The corpses went over the side of the station into the forest below. The Infected had eaten so much of the elk that it wasn't too heavy, though you both were sweating and dirty by the time you finished.

"Lemme guess," Joel says. You open your eyes as he carefully pulls the wound closed with two butterfly bandages before he gestures for your hand. He holds your wrist gently and tilts your palm side to side, looking for dirt. "There were infected inside the station, too."

"Look at you," you tease. His eyes flick to yours for just a second, intense as always. "It's like you were there."

"Smartass," he grumbles. The disinfectant stings on your palm, too, but you keep talking and keep your gaze on his face.

"Jesse climbed the rope up to the control room first but had to fend off a stalker at the top so he didn't see when another one grabbed my ankle and pulled me down mid-climb, which fucked my hands. The fall is how my rib got bruised and I tore up my knees fending it off."

Joel's cheek twitches. He wraps one of your palms in gauze and turns his attention to the other.

"Fuckin' hate those things."

"Me, too. When I got to the top, finally, Jesse was tugging a pipe from the head of a corpse. There was one more -- it jumped out of that supply room on the side, the one where Ellie found a bong, once, I think. I dodged it but my gun jammed and my hands were bleeding."

"Should've been wearing gloves."

You tap his leg with your foot and ignore him. Not taking your bait about the bong means he’s still pissed. "And then Jesse killed it with a brick."

"I taught him that," Joel grumbles.

He ties off your other palm and as soon as he's done you frame his face. Joel allows it, allows you to stare at him for a few seconds like you're memorizing him. You're telling the story like it was a fun adventure -- and it was. You're plenty capable and he knows it, too.

But you were scared. You don't tell him that right now, instead grounding yourself in the man in front of you. His hands are rough and dangerous to most, but tender and careful to you. The broad, firm line of his shoulders, always braced for the next hit.

The gash on the bridge of his nose, the lines at the corners of his eyes. His beard, greyer every year. You swipe your thumbs along his cheekbones and he sighs.

"Lucky me," you say softly.

You lean in to kiss him, just a light press of your lips to his. His wide palms rest on your bare thighs and he kisses back with a kind of desperate firmness, as if he's proving to himself that you're real. That you're here in front of him, under his hands, in his care.

Joel drags his lips along your cheek.

"Knees," he says.

He steps back and releases your thighs with a squeeze. He treats more of your torn skin, a frown back on his face.

"I do want to hear about your patrol, by the way."

He shrugs. "Not much to tell," he says. "Didn't even get to shoot anythin’.”

You swing your foot back and forth, tapping the side of his thigh with every pass.

"But you had the nice route," you whine. "Tell me what the lake looked like."

"Quit distracting me," he grumbles.

"Like you don't have the steadiest hands in all of Jackson," you say softly.

He snorts. "Are you flirtin' with me?"

"I'm always flirting with you, Joel Miller."

You lied to Jesse earlier -- Joel has hundreds of expressions. He just keeps most of them for you. For Ellie, and Tommy, too. You know every one of them by now.

The look on his face now says he's thinking about kissing you again, maybe just to shut you up.

You grin at him. "Tell me about your patrol, now, seriously. Unless talking and using your hands at the same time is too much for you."

He smirks back. "Think we both know that ain't true."

"Now who's flirting?"

Lazy heat curls in your belly but fatigue stops it from turning into anything. Joel must see that in your eyes because he simply taps your chin with a knuckle and starts talking.

You start to slump as his Texas drawl wraps around you. He tells you how the lake was still, how he and Astrid saw bear tracks but no bear. How he found a tape for Ellie that he's going to give her tomorrow, how he wore his gloves today like you've been telling him to.

Some people might say that Joel is a man of few words. You thought he was the quiet type when you first met him, another stoic survivor in a world that demands hardness of everyone. But not shy, never shy. Just...waiting. Watching.

He and Ellie can shoot the shit for hours -- a dynamic they've fallen back into easily enough since they started spending time together again. He's funny, he's clever, he's annoying as shit when he wants to be.

And Joel is quite the storyteller. If you had to guess you'd say it comes from having to entertain Tommy when they were kids, from getting Sarah into bed on his own over and over. Keeping Ellie occupied, keeping her talking when things were scary and hard and fucking awful.

It's just another way he takes care of people.

"Still with me?" he says. You realize your eyes have closed. When you open them you find Joel looking at you with tenderness and a spark of amusement. The tense line of his shoulders is nowhere to be seen. "All done. Tired?"

"And hungry."

He washes his hands and throws away the various wrappers and blood-stained wipes.

"Sure you're awake enough to eat?" he teases.

You roll your eyes at him. He laughs.

"Joel," you say, catching his elbow. "Thank you."

"C'mon, now."

He looks like he wants to argue with you for saying it but reaches for you instead. He traces the cut on your forehead just like he did at the bottom of the stairs, brow drawn again. You can't tell what he's thinking as he drags his thumb down and around your eye, cupping your cheek fully for just a breath before releasing you and stepping towards the door.

"I'll heat some soup."

Dinner is quick and quiet, your energy sapped from you to the point of exhaustion. Everything aches, despite Joel's thorough care. When he suggests turning in early you don't protest.

He takes longer than you to get ready for bed. You slide under the worn duvet and wait, trying very hard to keep your eyes open. Your bruised ribs throb in time with your heartbeat and when Joel finally turns off the light and gets in bed next to you in his threadbare sleep pants he practically hauls you into his embrace.

You go willingly, tangling your legs and laying your head on the juncture of his neck and shoulder. You press your palm to his chest, fingers threading in the coarse hair. His heart thuds and it grounds you.

"I didn't get any good gossip off Jesse," you whisper. "On account of the whole surprise-infected thing."

He yawns. "S'pose it's a good excuse."

"Can I tell you something else?" you whisper. "A secret?"

Joel hums, lips brushing your temple as his hand snakes up your sleep shirt to press against your lower back.

Even though you know each other down to the bones, some things remain inexplicable. Parts of your pasts that linger in the darkest parts of you, the parts that stay shrouded until the moments like this. You don't have to be brave in the quiet hours of the night, entwined with him as you are. It's the safest place you'll ever be. Safe enough that you can crack open and let Joel in, let those steady and worn hands keep you together.

"I was scared today," you say into his neck. "When the stalker dragged me off the rope. I panicked, I --"

You don't tell him how your initial thought when you hit the ground was of him, how you closed your eyes tight and thought of your name from his mouth, of his smile when you come through the door. The stalker had its bony fingers digging into your ankle and you wondered if you'd ever feel Joel's hands on you again.

Death will come for you sooner or later and when it does it'll be Joel's face that you hold in your mind before it all ends.

But today, you kicked death until its stupid fucking mushroom skull caved in.

Joel presses his lips to your temple. You can feel his heart beating faster, as fast as yours. It's the only thing that betrays his own fear.

Wounds in this life often go deeper than the skin. When Joel comes home with bloody knuckles and shuttered eyes it's one thing to stop the bleeding, to bandage him and get him to eat something. It's another to hold him, to coax out the story, the fear. To follow him downstairs when he has a nightmare, to look for him in every room. It's all part of what you do as partners, as lovers, as people in this world. You take care of each other.

Neither of you can fix a lot of things. But you can ensure the scars heal into something light, something you can barely see.

You can hold each other in the dark.

"Scared me, too," he rasps. A secret for a secret. "Lotta damn blood."

You kiss the underside of his jaw. "Can't get rid of me that easy."

Joel pulls you closer, somehow, mindful of your side.

"Rest, now," he says. "You ain’t goin' anywhere."

It's a command, a promise. You hum your agreement and let sleep drag you under.

thank you for reading <3 reblog, send feedback, general masterlist here!

[grayandthyme]

thinking about firefly!reader and joel miller ;

inspired by THIS post.

firefly!reader, stunned into silence when Marlene tells you the impossible: there’s a girl—immune. The word doesn’t even seem real. And you? It's a myth. You've heard it before.

You’re expected to help get her across the country. Not just you—but you. Personally. Because there has to be a firefly with her.

For protection. For assurance. For the cause.

firefly!reader; your heart dropping when you realize what that actually means. That the mission isn’t just a handoff. It’s your burden. One girl. One miracle.

firefly!reader who meets Joel. The introduction brittle. Brittle like the ice you’re forced to walk across together. Tess stands between you like a reluctant bridge, laying out terms neither of you like. You don't mind her. You knew he'd be difficult—hell, you'd heard stories. But you didn’t expect the weight of him. The silence. The grief in his bones. He looks at you like you’re a waste of space. You return the favor. He's an asshole, you think. That's it, end of story.

firefly!reader who greets Ellie with a smile anyway. A real one. Because someone has to. She’s a kid, and you're the only one who seems to remember what that even means. While Joel scowls and Tess counts bullets, you tell Ellie stories of Fireflies who did the impossible. Individuals who blew through enemy lines, stitched the world back together, piece by shining piece.

You don’t know if they’re true. But it doesn’t matter. Someone has to believe in something. Right? Right.

firefly!reader who watches Tess die. The bite deep within her skin, crawling and licking at your consciousness. This time it’s not just another name to add to the list—it’s a blow you feel. She wasn’t a Firefly. She wasn’t one of yours. She didn’t believe in the cause. But she was real. Human. Brave. And she died for your mission. Your cause. You think about the empty building, about the lie Marlene might’ve told. About whether any of this is still worth it.

firefly!reader who grows quieter. Dimmer. No more bedtime stories. Joking with Ellie. No more laughter echoing down ruined hallways. Just silence, and the crackle of campfires, and the hollow sound of your own breathing. You let Joel take first watch more often. Not because you trust him—but because you're too tired to keep pretending you don’t. Sometimes you switch with him, letting him take the much-needed rest. Not because you care about him. But, because it'll get you to the end faster.

firefly!reader who starts to notice the way Joel looks at you. Not kind, not soft, but different. Like he’s trying to solve you. Like he doesn’t hate you as much as he used to. Like maybe you’re the only other person still standing in this ash-covered world who knows what it means to have lost everything. You’re both bleeding hope. You both want to stop caring. But you don’t. Not yet. You’re too stubborn.

fuck the light. fuck.

but you still carry it. it's the only thing you have.

firefly!reader who’s learned to watch his hands. The way they twitch before danger. The way they clench when he talks about his past. You think, maybe, he's done terrible things. You think, maybe, so have I. But you don’t ask.

firefly!reader who patches up Joel’s minor cuts and scrapes without speaking. Hands practiced, efficient, but gentle in spite of yourself. You’re not sure when that change happened—when the anger faded into calm, silent understanding. Maybe it was when he let you take first watch for once. Maybe it was when he didn’t complain about the firefly emblem on your jacket anymore. Maybe it was just time.

firefly!reader who starts dreaming again, even if you hate yourself for it. Of what comes after. Of a world where the girl makes it to the hospital. Where you find a place to rest. Where people stop dying for a cause that’s already half-dead. You don’t share these thoughts aloud. But sometimes, you think Joel sees them in your eyes. You miss the light. You missed when it shone so brightly.

firefly!reader who wakes up with frost biting your fingertips in Colorado, the wind howling through broken windows. Teeth chattering so loud you feel as though they might shatter. You’re used to discomfort by now, but Joel drapes his coat over your shoulders before you can reach for your own. You say nothing. Just nod. He doesn’t meet your eyes. Though, you can't help but tense at the feeling in your stomach.

firefly!reader who learns Joel isn’t as heartless as he seemed. Not really. He suggests Ellie like she’s his own—except he doesn’t at the same time. Not directly. Not with words. But in the way he watches her. In the way he teaches her to shoot, to listen, to run. In the way he touches her shoulder when she’s scared. You see it all. And you never bring it up.

firefly!reader who gets grazed by a shot in the side outside Salt Lake City, and Joel panics. Really panics. Blood all over his hands, cursing under his breath, cradling you like you’re made of something fragile. You try to laugh through the pain, say something witty, but his voice breaks—"I ain't playin' around, stay still, damnit."

The concern in his eyes made your breath falter.

Like it meant something. Did you.. mean something?

firefly!reader who hears Joel yell before you see the fall. One second he’s pulling you up the stairs, the next—he’s gone. Crashing through glass, landing hard, the metal rod impaling him like the earth itself wants to take him. The sound that leaves your throat is something raw, something not human. You didn't know the light could vanish that easily. That the darkness would swallow you whole. Leaving a rotten, sickening taste in your mouth.

firefly!reader who scrambles down with trembling hands, blood slick on your palms as you press into his side, trying to stop the flood. “Stay with me, Joel. Stay with me.” His face is ghost-white, eyes slipping. “You’re gonna be fine, we’re gonna get out of this—Ellie needs you—fuck—fuck…"

"… I need you."

firefly!reader who has to help Ellie drag him through the snow, each step a prayer, each breath a promise. You sleep sitting up, holding his hand, whispering nonsense stories like you used to—about cities lit back up, about summer days, about stars no longer hidden by ash. You're not sure if he hears. But you need him to.

He'll wake up.

Yeah. He'll wake up soon.

firefly!reader who wakes one morning and finds Ellie gone. The tracks in the snow lead away from the cabin, and your heart sinks so fast it steals the air from your lungs. You nearly tear the door off its hinges, waking Joel. "Joel—She's gone, okay? You stay here—Please, just rest… I—"

firefly!reader who watches him stagger to his feet, nonetheless, still half-dead, fury in his eyes like fire set loose. You load your rifle. You don’t say a word. Because you know exactly what it means to love a child who didn’t come from you.

firefly!reader who finds the Silver Lake cabin with Joel, your breath coming in panicked gasps. The smell of corpse rot, of smoke. The gut-deep feeling that something is wrong. You search every building. Then you hear it—Ellie’s scream. And it shatters you. It's not a mission anymore. You know that for sure.

This is your girl. Your girl.

firefly!reader who kicks the door open seconds after Joel, and finds Ellie bloodied, clutching a knife, trembling. He runs to her, pulls her into his arms, saying, “It’s me, baby girl. It’s me.” You stand there, stunned. Watching the girl who’s fought everything now collapse like a child.

firefly!reader who sinks to your knees beside them, one arm around Ellie, the other on Joel’s back. Fingers grasping for any semblance you can. They're alive. You're alive. Fuck, that's all that mattered.

firefly!reader who sees Ellie cry for the first time when winter ends. You comfort her like a sibling, like a parent, like someone who remembers what it’s like to be a child forced to grow up at gunpoint. Joel watches, quiet. Afterward, he sits beside you and doesn’t say a word for hours. But his leg touches yours the whole time. Knees softly brushing against each other, but eyes toward the fire.

firefly!reader whose fingers softly graze against his as you sleep, only a few feet away from each other. The silence between you is no longer awkward but heavy with meaning. You don’t talk about what’s changing. But it’s there. In the way he lingers beside you when Ellie runs ahead. In the way he tells you to sleep first, that he’ll take both watches. In the way your names start to sound softer in each other’s mouths.

firefly!reader who kisses Joel first—under the highway overpass, after Ellie nearly drowned. Fingers threaded through his curls, it tasted of coffee from the morning previous. It's desperate. It's like clinging to life. He holds your face like he’s afraid it’ll vanish. Like you might vanish. You don't say it. Neither does he. But the kiss is the kind you only give once you're already in love.

You don't talk about the kiss after it happens.

You don't say anything to each other.

firefly!reader who wakes up in the back of a hospital truck, dazed, alone. The Fireflies found you. They sedated you. Took you away. You ask where Joel is. No one answers. You already know. Breath hitching as you look around the room. Begging, pleading to take you to him. Take you to Ellie—for something. They look at you like you're a threat. Their stares no longer filled with light, and hope—now tight, and knitbrow.

You're an outsider.

firefly!reader who hears what they plan to do to Ellie. That the cure will kill her. And the screaming in your chest doesn't stop. She's a child. She's a person. And when you try to stop them, they lock you in a room like you're the one who betrayed the cause. Thrashing against the wooden door, slamming your shoulder repeatedly. Throwing objects in the room against the small pane of glass in the door. It feels like a lost cause. You're caged. A caged fucking dog. Betrayed by the light.

firefly!reader who hears the gunfire echo through the halls, and knows it's him. Of course, it's him. The blood trail, the dead silence. Joel kicks open the door, panting, wild-eyed. "Come on," he says. He doesn't explain. You don't ask.

firefly!reader who drives away from the hospital in a haze, Ellie unconscious in the back seat, Joel's hands tight on the wheel. Your fingers brush his thigh. He doesn't move away. His jaw tightens. "They would've killed her," he mutters, "I couldn't let them."

You nod.

firefly!reader who sits beside Joel later that night, both of you watching Ellie sleep under a canopy of stars.

And finally, finally, you say it. "I would've done the same." Joel looks at you, eyes full of something too raw to name.

And he says, simply, "I know."

"Y'know.. they used to force it into our heads," You inhale deeply, "when you're lost in the darkness… look for the light." Eyes dazed against the stars, then back to Ellie, as if she might disappear if you look away too long.

Who were you if not a firefly? If not, someone who believed in a new hope?

A few long beats of silence pass before he finally speaks:

"Used to think that meant somethin’. Lookin’ for the light." He shakes his head, voice low, "But turns out, light can lie, too."

Then he looks at you. Long, thoughtful.

"You? You ain’t a lie. That counts for more."

reader who loves him.

Not in spite of the monster. Because of the man. Because of the things he still tries to protect, even when the world gives him no reason to do so. Because even when hope dies, he still chooses you.

[rederiswrites]

You can train your tastes. You can choose what you see beauty in.

Lemme go further, actually. You are constantly doing so--or letting others do it for you.

Nearly two decades ago, when we were planning our wedding, I made a very firm decision not to look at any wedding planning magazines or anything with marketing material for wedding products. I wanted our wedding to be uniquely us, and I also wanted not to be bombarded by product advertisement and beautiful photo shoots of very expensive weddings. Consequently, maybe we wasted a little bit of time reinventing the wheel, but we had a wedding we were very happy with that only cost perhaps four thousand dollars at most, probably not that much, spread out over our finances and those of both our families. Our guests went home with live potted plants that we'd paid pennies for at end of season, our florist had a great time getting to design a bouquet that tested her skills because I didn't have any preconceived ideas, my dress was utterly unique--and I really do feel that those magazines would have had a corrosive effect on all that.

When we moved to this property three years ago, I spent a LOT of time looking at images online, trying to form a coherent vision for a property that was at the time a fairly blank slate. I found myself scrolling through a lot of Russian dacha Instagrams, of all things, and they unlocked something for me. Seeing the same homey make-do decorations and techniques I grew up around a continent away, the same plywood cutout old ladies and tractor tire flower planters, somehow chewed through that last binding cord of classism, and suddenly I saw the art in it. The expression of a desire to embellish and beautify, even when you have very little, even when all you can afford is things the more well-to-do consider trash. I saw the exuberance of human love for beauty in a brilliant flower bed planted next to a collapsing shed--it didn't need to be perfect to be worthwhile. They didn't wait til everything was pristine to start enjoying things. And now I earnestly and unironically covet my own version of the tractor-tire Christmas tree at the farm down the road.

We've spent centuries now idolizing the manicured estates and quaint country retreats of the European wealthy elites. We've turned thousands of miles of living ecosystem into grass deserts in service of this vision. We need to start deliberately retraining our tastes. Seek out images of a different idea of beauty and peace. I'm not telling you what it'll be. I'm telling you this is not involuntary. You can participate. You can look at the many beautiful examples of native xeriscaping for arid climates, or photos of chaotic tangles of wildflowers, tamed by narrow paths, a bench under an arbor overwhelmed with wisteria. Maybe instead of trying to get lawn to grown under your mature trees, you'd actually get far more joy out of a patch of dirt. A hammock. A firepit ringed with log sections for seats.

You can free yourself from harmful conventions of taste and beauty, and you do it through imagining something better.

[mocchii-writes]

do you write for dae ho (squid game)? if so can you do one of him getting jealous but instead of being angry he just does dumb stuff to get the readers attention on him (like a little kid trying to show his mum a cool trick)

Paring: Kang Dae-ho x fem!reader

Warnings: none! ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

A/n: This is so Daisuke coded- anyways, I hope hcs work, this has been sitting in my req, and I didn't want to make u wait anymore ♡♡

~🍡🍡

Dae-ho seems like the type to get jealous for sure

Whether it's a friend you're talking to, or literally some stranger

But I don't think he'd get excessive with it, nor mad at you obviously

He tends to just feel small and insecure

So, he'd do things to grab your attention

'cuz he lovessss your attention!!

He would start with simple things, maybe surprising you with a task he did for you, or he'd bring you a treat, like candy or maybe chips you like

But usually, you don't get the memo :<

So, he resorts to doing things

Pretty stupid things, if I might say

You could be out at a park, talking to someone else and you suddenly hear your name

You look over n he's just like

"Watch me do this backflip!!"

"What? Dae-ho get down from there! You can't even do a backflip???"

He'll end up getting injured regardless

But when you help patch him up, he doesn't regret a thing

"Why did you do that? That was stupid, and you know it."

"I dunno..."

"Dae-ho."

Then he would totally spill and ramble about how you weren't talking to him, and he thought you didn't like him, and he thought he would look cool, and you're like oh...

Just please please give him attention and reassurance because he needs it

my poor baby :'<

He probably wouldn't stop doing it, though

I mean, it worked the first time, didn't it

And you both know it'll keep working, no matter how much you complain to him as you wipe the scrapes on his elbow

He would also say stupid things, tryna impress the guy talking to you

"Yeah, I'm a marine. No big deal or whatever."

"Uh okay"

"And I've wrested 3 bears with no weapons. And won." >:)

"..?"

Sometimes, when you do pick up on it, it's pretty funny to mess with Dae-ho

Just like, agree with him

"Mhmm I was there."

"Uh YEAH. She was there!"

"Why was she there...?"

"I was the bear."

The look he gives you is astronomically funny

The guy walks away, and he's upset like why would you embarrass him like that

You're like "bro."

But you're sure to give him extra cuddles as an apology

He's just a little puppy :<

[orimuraa]

∘˙○˚.• Cause I know you'll save me - OT7

꒰ 𝔖𝘺𝘯𝘰𝘱𝘴𝘪𝘴 ꒱┆enhypen when you’re injured ⨾

۶ৎ ot7!enhypen x fem!reader ┆fluff, crack┆kisses, petnames, mentions of injuries, swearing┆wc 697

⤷ 𝐲𝐞𝐣𝐢’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬: soo...ik injuries aren't funny..BUT i tried to make this light-hearted :( also jiji active era?? like seriously, idk whats up but i have so much motivation rn lmaoo. if you enjoyed, please reblog! i appreciate it so much <3

꒰ঌ ℬℴℴ𝓀𝓈𝒽ℯ𝓁𝒻 ໒꒱

𝑳𝒆𝒆 𝑯𝒆𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒖𝒏𝒈 - 이희승

"WHAT HAPPENED???? I HAVE BAND AIDS!!" a breathless heeseung bursts through the door, his hair all the place. "i cut my finger," you frown, holding up the wrapped up index finger. heeseung lets out a huge sigh of relief. "phew, baby i thought you cut off your hand!" he says dramatically. "yeah, like band aids could re-attach my hand," you snort, playfully swatting his shoulder. "you're lucky i love you or i would chop of your hand myself."

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑱𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒔𝒆𝒐𝒏𝒈 - 박종성

you had recently sprained your ankle, resulting in you being bed-bound for the next couple of days to let it heal better (jay's orders, not the doctors). your boyfriend was like a worried mom, making sure you were okay and had everything you needed. "jongie? cam you come lay with me? trust, it'll help my ankle," and how could he say no to such a cutie? "thank you for taking care of me mother jong," you giggle once he's next to you. "heyy i'm just doing proper boyfriend duties!" he whines, a small pout making his way to his lips. and what a proper boyfriend he was.

𝑺𝒊𝒎 𝑱𝒂𝒆𝒚𝒖𝒏 - 심재윤

"shit!" you yelp as you instantly retract your hand from the burning pot. rushing over to the sink to cool it down, in runs in a frantic puppy, a stressed look on his face. "what? what happened? are you okay? sweets don't die on me!!" he presses, rushing to your side and examining your burnt hand. "ah don't worry jakey, it'll be fine. it was a small burn anyway," you reassure, showing him the small patch of pink. "here lemme kiss it to make it better!" he says, softly grabbing your hand and pressing a gentle kiss to your burn. "wahh! it's all better!!" you laugh, finding your boyfriend so cute. "hey i tried, okay?!"

𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒏 - 박성훈

sunghoon thought that it would be a great idea to push you to skate on your own, without his help. so that's what he did. he gave you a "small" nudge, which ended with you on the ice and daggers being sent his way. "yah! park sunghoon! what were you thinking!" you lecture once he helps you off the ice. "sorry princess, i thought you could do it on your own," he defends, biting his lip to suppress his laughter. "yah! now my bum hurts," you pout, crossing your arms and turning away from sunghoon. two arms wrap around your waist and a sweet kiss is planted on your neck. "i'm sorry my love. don't be mad," he mumbles into your neck. and how could you stay mad?

𝑲𝒊𝒎 𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒐𝒐 - 김선우

"ynnie? are you okay? i got your message!" sunoo rushed home after receiving a text from you, saying that you had somehow managed to break your finger. "huh? oh! oh yeah! i'm alright, just a bit sore," you say, showing him the cast on your finger. "my poor baby..c'mon, let's go watch a movie, it'll make it better," he smiles sympathetically. "maybe i should break my finger more often so you're always nice to me," you laugh, receiving a smack to your shoulder.

𝒀𝒂𝒏𝒈 𝑱𝒖𝒏𝒈𝒘𝒐𝒏 - 양정원

"shit balls!" you yell out, immediately applying pressure to your finger. you weren't careful enough with the knife and ended up cutting your finger, but luckily, not deep. "baby? what happened? you okay?" jungwon rushes into the kitchen, his leader instincts kicking in. "yeah..i was just clumsy and cut my finger," you mumble sheepishly. "alright," he chuckles. "let's get this wrapped up yeah?" he presses a kiss to your forehead before leading you to wonnie's clinic.

𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒂 𝑹𝒊𝒌𝒊 - 西村 力

"agckh-" you bang your head on the shelf behind you on accident as you were trying to grab something from a higher shelf. riki walks in to see you holding your head, mumbling about why someone would put a shelf right there. "little love? you okay?" he asks, half concerned, half smiling at how adorable you were. "yeah, i hit my head on this stupid shelf," you say, making a face at the shelf. "alright, c'mon, lemme kiss it better," he smiles, opening his arms to you. "next time, don't pick a fight with a shelf, it's unprofessional," he laughs into your hair, pressing one more kiss on your head.

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