#someone help me with my schedule my time management is dying

[gretchensinister]

Simple skirt project schedule:

Cutting pieces: 1 hour

Ironing pieces: 10 minutes

Pinning pieces: 30 minutes

Sitting on the sewing machine table: 1-3 months

Sewing everything together: 1 hour

[goldenstring6123]

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTNXxJ8TM/

THIS IS SO CUTE PLS I CAN SO CLEARLY SEE THE LADS MEN DOING THIS 😭 and the comment section had me dying where is evb finding these MEN 😔🙏

Lnds: Sleepy time!

Warning: No warnings, afab!reader, fem!reader

Authors note: Fluff (not a lot of it) and a bit of domestic stuff.

Sylus:

It had been 30 minutes since you left the bedroom. Sylus was already well on his side of the mattress, reading the news while waiting for you to come back. He thought you were just up and about doing your normal routine of drinking herbal tea and doing skincare, but it was taking you far longer than usual.

He settled the tablet down on the nightstand and walked out of the bedroom. He searched for you in every room he passed by, and when he arrived at the guest bedroom at the end of the hall, there you were, perfectly tucked in under the unused duvet.

You were curled into a ball and too engrossed in the video you were watching; you didn't even notice the black fuzzy threads wrapping around your weird curled-up position. You lifted off from the bed, and when you came to, the view was of Sylus' back as you involuntarily made your way back to his bedroom.

"So you're not going to put me down?" you asked, paying attention to the video again. "Are manners not a thing anymore?"

The brooding man didn't spare you a glance. "I'm not open for discussion. You're supposed to sleep in my bedroom. Our bedroom."

"I just wanted a bed all to myself," you uttered. Here you were, planning what to watch and what to eat for the whole night, and this guy managed to foil it.

"I don't share the same sentiment, sweetie. You have the bed every time I'm overseas on a work trip. It's even infested with your colorful pillows," he opened the door to the bedroom and reeled you in, gesturing to your side of the bed which had vibrant pillows and bed 'pets,' as you like to refer to them.

"You really can't sleep without me, can you, Mr. Big guy? Afraid that someone's under the bed or something?"

"I'm more afraid that you're going to ravage my food pantry when you're not in my line of sight."

"The guest bedroom is nowhere near the pantry and I don't ravage it—I simply take a few snacks," you clarified. "Greg would be sad if the food spoils."

"Either way, you sleep in my bedroom or my couch, nowhere else, sweetie."

"Admit it: You like my company, don't you?" You gave him a cheeky grin.

"Yes, yes," Sylus agreed sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You make a good meat shield when we get attacked in this bedroom."

"Oh wow. Reduced to a shield." You rolled your eyes in return and slipped under the covers. "That's Onychinus' leader for you."

"Right. Are you done now? I still have an early schedule for tomorrow."

"Alright, alright. I'm heading to bed now. You can sleep."

"Good. Now come here." Sylus opened his arms and you found yourself huddled right into it like it was the perfect mold. You shifted a bit and could feel his muscles relax against your back.

"Why did you feel the need to sleep in the guest room tonight?" Sylus asked under his breath.

"I was planning on reading comics all night. Tara recommended a new romance comic which I like, but knowing you, you'd probably take my phone away."

"Then it looks like I will be the bad guy tonight."

"Maybe. Until you fall asleep." You shrugged.

You hear the handcuffs being pulled out.

Shit.

Xavier:

3:02 AM, it says on the clock. You weren't on the bed. It was cold and it was proof that you never went on it, which was odd considering you told sleepy little Xavier that you were going to stay over. Poor little tired hunter was exhausted after a day's work and couldn't help but doze off while watching you do your little night ritual of moisturizing and doing a facemask.

Xavier sat on the side of the bed, letting out a big yawn. He didn't know where you were, but all he knew was that he didn't like being alone. From his palm, a faint whirlpool of light emanated, enough to guide him through his dark abode. His first thought was maybe you were watching in the living room. You weren't there. He then headed to the small bedroom right beside his, a spare one for guests, but it went unused when you both shared the same bed now.

He tried his best to quietly open the door. There he saw a little bump on the mattress and it made his heart squeeze; you were adorable and looked so small. Xavier tiptoed and folded the blanket away from you. He took a deep breath and lifted you up bridal style, pressing you against his chest.

"hm?…Xavier?" you slurred, vision dark and blurry.

"I'm moving you to our bedroom," he kissed the top of your head and continued his journey to the other room.

"You were sleeping," you paused, looking for the word. The drowsiness didn't seem to go away. "didn't want to…disturb you."

Xavier wanted to say something, but he and you both arrived at the side of the bed. He gently laid you down and placed a pillow between your limbs, which you automatically hugged. Xavier crawled to his side of the bed and yanked the cover over the both of you. Though you both weren't exactly touching, the little hunter's heart eased at your presence.

Gladly, he went back to sleep, hoping to maybe see you in his dreams.

Zayne:

Zayne's house was far too quiet when he arrived. It was only 7 o'clock, and by then you'd usually be in the kitchen, peeking your head out with a ladle in hand. There was no "welcome back" nor a simple "hello," but what did he expect? You were mad at him.

It's a shallow fight, really. Zayne decided to put you on alcohol time-out and took your hidden beers that you were so ready to drink after a grueling day at work. Zayne's judgment was far better than yours because when you get drunk beyond mental capacity, you tend to make a mess of the house, and you turn into a rage-filled, feisty lady. Moreover, you'd been chain-drinking for the whole week, and Zayne was getting concerned because you kept having hangovers.

His hands twisted on the knob to the little library of his house, where he would always find you on nights like these. There you were, curled in the lazy boy sofa and turned away from him. You were awake, but you didn't want to look at your lover.

"I'm home," Zayne declared.

"Dinner's in the fridge. Heat it up," you responded and closed your eyes. Zayne's footsteps grew closer and closer to you, and you felt his palm land on your shoulder.

"Your back will hurt if you sleep in that position."

The sofa might look soft and admittedly it's pretty comfortable to sit on for a long period of time, but with the curled-up position you have, it was bound to hurt when you fall asleep.

"I'm perfectly fine," you replied.

"Don't be stubborn." Zayne decided to pick you up. You wanted to thrash and get out of his grasp, but then you would look childish.

"I don't want to be with you tonight."

Zayne kept his lips in a thin line. He's more than aware that you're saying that because you're mad, but still—It hurts to hear it from you.

Gently, Zayne settled you in the middle of the bed. "I'll sleep in the living room. Stay here," he whispered and tucked the blanket over your shoulders. It was dark in the bedroom, so you couldn't exactly see him. You rolled over to face away from your lover and patiently waited for him to leave.

1:34 AM. You couldn't sleep. A can of beer would do you some good, but your tongue wasn't craving the bitterness of it. Instead, your mind looped over to a few hours ago when you said something that you didn't mean. It was harsh now that you think about it.

Now Zayne is keeping his distance from you. The owner of the house is sleeping on the couch.

With two pillows and a blanket in hand, you made your way down the flight of mahogany stairs. The living room was in full view, and Zayne was fast asleep on the couch. You nudged the two ottomans to the space between the coffee table and the main sofa. Then you threw the pillows and spread the blanket wide, letting it flutter down while you made yourself fit on the ottoman chairs.

You left a few spaces between you and Zayne, one that was filled by the cold pillow.

2:46 AM. Zayne stirred awake and found a blanket draped over his body. Beside him was his supposedly angry lover, clutching the hem of his shirt. He stared up into the chandelier above and took the pillow that was bordering between them, used it as his own, and pulled you closer, nudging the blanket over both of you even more.

Rafayel:

He's standing by the doorway, tapping his foot while a plushie was tucked under his armpit. He was frowning, and you could even see it through the dark.

"What?" you asked, shining the phone his way.

"So you're going to leave me alone tonight? Is that how you're going to play?" He was mad-mad, but that's why you were confused.

"Hey, drama king—you were complaining earlier in the day about my bad sleeping habits—I'm giving you the bed now so you can be at ease, but now you're mad at me again. Do you want me to sleep on the floor of your bedroom or something?"

"Duh? Of course not. I'm just complaining because it's true, but I never said you should sleep in the guest room."

"Then are you going to be alright with my sleeping habits?"

"No."

"Then sleep alone."

An audible gasp could be seen on the expression of the Lemurian. He looked so offended with the end of the conversation, but you weren't having it, so you plopped back onto the bed and hid under the covers, hoping that he'd go away.

The moment you peeked back out, you were rapidly crushed under heavy weight, making you sink to the bottom of the bed. Rafayel lay spread out on top of you, keeping you in your position and crushing you underneath him.

"Get off me! You're heavy!" You struggled underneath the blanket, nudging him and kicking him, but he pretended to be a dead body floating in the water. Rafayel kept still; if verbal convincing won't work, then he'll have to make you change your mind.

"Fine! Fine! I'll sleep with you!" you screamed. He rolled to the side, propped his elbows up, and rested his head on his palm. You just wanted to rub that triumphant grin off his face. He happily scooted underneath the blankets and hogged your side of the bed, wrapping his hand around you and shutting his eyes.

You didn't want to make a big deal of it further and decided to head to bed as well.

You were stirred awake by a strain in your neck. The lids of your eyes lifted at the electrifying pain that traveled to your head. You squinted, barely able to process the faint blue outside the window. Your body was spread out again, and nearby you could see Rafayel making use of the awkward space he was left with.

Guilt washed over your tired body.

Without much thought left, you held onto two pillows and let your body slip down to the carpeted floor. You hugged the pillow and placed another one under your head, liking the furry texture that brushed the side of your bare arms and legs. You closed your eyes again and let the tiredness wash over you.

It was cold for a summer morning. A large yawn escaped your lips and you patiently waited for your eyes to focus, and when they did, your eyes widened immediately at the beautiful sight of a sleeping Lemurian. Rafayel, too, was now on the floor, using his own arm as a pillow.

You tapped on his shoulder, and he just pulled you down back to the floor. "Five more minutes," he groaned, burying his face in your collar. Luckily, it was a Saturday, and you didn't have to go to work. You could indulge him in the meantime.

Author's footnotes: lol the tiktok was very cute, something that you'd see in a rom-com enemies to lovers sort of romance story. It would be a pretty redundant snippet if every situation is the same for the love interest so I took the liberty of changing things a bit.

Layout by me, using Canva Premium | Do not repost

[babyleostuff]

bike chase

𝜗𝜚 GENRE: fluff, established (secret) relationship 𝜗𝜚 PAIRING: idol!dino x idol!reader 𝜗𝜚 WORD COUNT: 2.2k

SYNOPSIS: you are his secret, and he is yours. so what happens when a paparazzi catches you on a date?

“fix your hat, baby.” 

“huh?” chan looked up from his phone, his handsome face on full display. if you could have it your way, you’d never let him wear anything to cover the bright eyes, and beautiful smile that you fell in love with (hiding a face like that was technically a crime), but in your world it was impossible. as much as you’d wish to show off your boyfriend, and you knew chan was dying to share your pictures on his instagram as well, you were grateful you could make it work anyway. 

not every idol was as lucky as you were. 

“your hat,” you sighed, and kicked the kickstand down so your bike wouldn’t fall. your boyfriend  was still focused on his phone when you grabbed his face to fix the bucket hat so it would properly cover his face. “we have to be careful, remember.” 

the chance of bumping into someone was slim, like - there was a reason why you went on a biking trip at 2 am - it was the only time you had an illusion of privacy. it was just a matter of time before someone would recognise you anyway, but at least you could hold hands without being paranoid about the people around you. ever since the Han River incident last month when some paps recognised you (and took some quite unflattering pics, in your opinion), you learned your lesson to step up on your dressing up as undercover spies game. thankfully the photos were so blurry that your companies had no problem with denying the rumours. 

“thank you,” chan mumbled, and placed a peck on your forehead. you couldn’t stop the giggle that left your mouth - he looked way too endearing with his concentrated expression, but he was the one to insist that he’d manage to find your way back home. you were officially banned from helping him. 

“how’s it going?” you brushed your thumb over his lower lip. “will i sleep in my bed today or do i need to find a comfortable bench for the night?” 

“hey, have some faith in me,” he whined, finally looking up from his phone. “it’s not my fault the maps aren’t working. look,” he showed you the open map app he’d been struggling with for the past twenty minutes as if to prove that he wasn’t not the problem here, “the service sucks here.” 

“maybe we should’ve invested in some old fashioned maps,” you sighed, and leaned your head on chan’s shoulder. 

being up at the late hour wasn’t something unusual for the both of you, but you wouldn’t lie - after a full day of schedules and rehearsals you were getting kind of tired. not to mention you were biking for the past hour, so being stuck in the middle of nowhere was not an ideal situation for you. 

as if chan noticed your energy dropping, he put an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to his body. “tired?” he asked, his mouth brushing your cheek.  

“a bit.” 

“i’m sorry. it was my idea to go on a bike ride, we should’ve just stayed home.” 

you rolled your eyes at your boyfriend’s annoying habit of apologising for every small thing he thinks he's done wrong. “listen to me, lee chan,” you grabbed his chin, and rolled up the front of his bucket hat, so you could see him properly. “if i have to be stuck with someone, i’m happy that it’s you. besides, i agreed to the whole biking trip, so please - stop apologising.” 

he gave you a smile, clearly still feeling a bit guilty. there weren't many things you could do together without being seen, so chan took it upon himself to come up with fun, yet safe ways to spend your dates without being noticed. not that you needed it - as long as you were with him, what you did didn't matter, but your boyfriend had a heart of gold, so you couldn't tell him he didn't have to try so hard. 

“i love you,” the sincerity in his voice made you melt every time he said those three words. you’d never get bored of hearing them in person, not when you usually got them through messages or phone calls.  

“love you too,” you said, and kissed his lips softly, before rolling down the front of his hat. “but channie?” 

“hm?”

“maybe i can help you after all. i’m sure we’ll figure the maps out together.” 

“yeah i think that’s a good idea,” he let out a quiet giggle, and lowered the phone so you could see the screen. you put your arm around his waist, because your boyfriend’s personal space was also your personal space, and you quickly fell into a comfortable silence. if your legs weren’t aching, and tummy rumbling from the lack of food, you’d tease chan for giving up on his big boy job to get you home, but you didn’t want to make him feel any more guilty than he was already feeling.  

it was kind of ironic how you wanted to get away from the hussle of the city, and now ended up god knows where. 

“did you hear that?” he asked suddenly, turning his head towards the trees. 

you followed his gaze to where he was looking, but it was hard to make anything out in the darkness. “no, i don’t think so. maybe you just heard an animal or something,” you said. usually you weren't easily scared, chan was the scaredy-cat in your relationship, but the dark surroundings and lack of people did their job. especially since the boy in front of you suddenly acted like he had seen a ghost.

"i could’ve sworn," he muttered, looking around, "that i heard the clicking of a camera."

hearing this, you took a better look around you, because the sound of the camera didn't mean anything good in your case. 

"are you sure…" and that's when you heard it too.

click.

"chan?" you looked at your boyfriend, panicked. "what now?"

the boy grabbed your chin so that you wouldn't accidentally turn towards the person who apparently liked to follow people at night and take photos of them.

“don't turn around and listen to me,” chan swallowed, “we'll get on our bikes and leave.”

if you weren't panicked enough before, you definitely were now. "and this is your great plan?" you shouted at him quietly, as if the person hiding in the bushes could hear you.

"do you have a better idea, honey?"

you shook your head because no, you didn't, so all you really had was chan’s mistermind plan. running away from the paparazzi sounded crazy though, like something out of a bad rom-com, but what else were you supposed to do? the worst part was that you didn't know how long this person had been following you, or if they had just noticed you - and whether they realised who you actually were.

"on three?" chan ran his thumb along your chin. a small smirk appeared on his face, as if the idea of escaping on a bike was the best date idea ever. 

nodding, you took a few steps back to blindly find the handle of your bike. you finally managed to find the kickstand too and kicked it up, now fully ready for the craziest thing you were going to do this week.

"one."

everything will be fine.

"two."

what could go wrong?

"three!"

as if burned, you turned around, making sure to keep your head down so that your face wasn't visible, and jumped on the bike. you had never started pedalling so fast, but the adrenaline pumping through your veins gave you more energy than ever. you just had time to turn around to see if the person had come out of the bushes to follow you, but you didn't see anything.

with new energy, you kept following your boyfriend, who, like you, was pedalling as fast as he could. what a pity that chan was a born dancer with thighs and an ass that many men envied, which meant you had to pedal twice as fast. what fun.

"i think we lost him!" you shouted so that he could hear you.

chan turned around with a huge smile on his face and you couldn't help but laugh. your hair was swirling around your face, and you had to grab your head to keep your own hat from falling off - that’s how fast you were running away from your new friend. who would have thought that the night would end like this. 

but suddenly, the smile on your boyfriend's face disappeared and was replaced by an expression of surprise and horror at the same time.

"he's on a bike!" he shouted.

what?!

you quickly looked behind you, a little scared of what you might see. and damn chan, but he wasn't wrong - the guy, even though he was a bit behind you, was riding a bike with a camera over his shoulder.

he looked comical, although you suspected you two didn't look any better.

"faster," chan shouted and turned to see where he was going, "we have to lose him!"

now it was no longer looking like a rom-com but a low-budget action movie with very bad actors and an even worse villain. you couldn't wait to do a live talking about how you ran away from some random dude on a bike. 

your thighs burned like hell, and you felt like you were slowly getting out of breath, but it didn't slow you down at all. you mentally thanked yourself for all those hours spent at the gym, though you’d never think they’d come in handy for a bike chase. 

“are you okay?” you heard chan yell. 

“yeah, keep going.” 

you wouldn’t let a weirdo with a camera beat you. 

you finally entered an area where buildings started to appear, and without thinking, you followed the boy in front of you as he turned into an alley that looked more than suspicious.

"is he still there?" 

you glanced behind you and like a maniac, the guy with the camera was still pedalling. 

"yes!"

"is he serious?"

you drove through the street and entered another one, making a sharp turn. it's a good thing you two weren't driving a car because you didn't know how much you could’ve trusted chan in a car chase. your boyfriend was driving fifty kilometres an hour, even when the limit was seventy.

a few turns later, you turned around again to see how far your friend was, and luckily he wasn't as fit as you, because you didn't see him anywhere. poor fella probably got tired. 

"i think we lost him!"

chan nodded but didn't slow down. who knew where this paparazzi could suddenly appear from. but to be honest, if you could you’d applaud him for his dedication, not everyone had the drive to chase two idols on a random tuesday night through the streets of seoul.

"baby," chan suddenly stopped and got off the bike. because of how fast you were going, your brakes squeaked when you pressed them. "come here." the boy jumped off his bike and looked at you before disappearing into the narrow alley.

you didn't even want to ask what he was doing, so without any questions you got off your bike and went in the direction where your boyfriend had just disappeared. the alley was very narrow, barely able to fit the two of you, let alone your bikes, but you somehow managed to hide yourselves, so you weren't visible from the main street.

"why..." but before you could finish your question, you heard someone panting, and a second later, right next to you, the paparazzi who had been chasing you for the last fifteen minutes biked past.

you snorted and poked your head out to make sure that the guy disappeared, or if he maybe had decided to look for you here. luckily he wasn't smart enough, and was nowhere in sight.

you looked at your boyfriend, who like you was out of breath, but oh so pleased with himself.

"you don't have to thank me," he said, and as if on cue, that annoyingly handsome smirk returned to his face.

“you idiot,” you huffed and pushed his arm.

"i told you today would be fun," he said and leaned in so that your foreheads were touching. now that your adrenaline was starting to wear off and you felt how exhausted you actually were, you realised how close you and chan were. 

yes, you were both sweaty and smelly as hell, and there were beads of sweat dripping from your boyfriend's forehead, but he seemed as handsome to you as ever. his messy hair, his chest rapidly rising up and down, the sleeves of his compression shirt hugging his strong biceps - he was a sight for sore eyes. 

and only for you to see. 

"you're right, lover boy," you said, because it was true. despite all your fear, you didn't think the guy managed to get any decent photos, and you'd worry about your companies later and in the end, you had a great time. "but do you know what?"

"what?" chan smiled cockily and leaned towards you.

just as he was about to kiss you, you placed your hand on his chest and pushed him away.

"we still have to get home somehow."

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[sleepy-harper]

hey buddy! i saw arcane on your fandomlist, so, you have any headcannons in arcane? i would love to see, no problem if not :))

I have a few!!! I picked the first 3 characters I thought of for this ask tho :3 this was a lot of fun!!!

Vi

*ੈ˚ I hc her 2 be a middle regressor!! around 8-10 specifically

*ੈ˚ distinct need for rules to break

*ੈ˚ she gets antsy when she doesn't have anything to do,, often resorting to throwing fits or making a mess if there's absolutely nothing to do

*ੈ˚ if shes got a caregiver, she'll try 2 work with them on controlling her anger n managing it

*ੈ˚ ^ if she doesn't, she still does try to not be so angry, she still wants people with her even if she's upset n recognizes people r scared of her when she's mad

*ੈ˚ always eager 2 help,, trying to find things to do, wether that be cooking, making something for someone, she's trying to be productive and helpful

*ੈ˚ often needs help reading and spelling due to her upbringing, and will sit with her cg and try to understand the importance and use of each words

*ੈ˚ reward charts mean the world to her

*ੈ˚ very communal little!! and a natural leader at that

*ੈ˚ she's always making sure her fellow regressors have everything they need,, being extra gentle with younger littles

Caitlyn Kirraman

*ੈ˚ caregiver!!! she is so mama coded 2 me,, maybe big sister,,

*ੈ˚ I imagine she likes to bake,, so she frequently offers her littles things to do to help her out with

*ੈ˚ often reads her littles to sleep

*ੈ˚ bath time is heavenly with her. so many little details for her littles to look at when she's helping them wash up,,

*ੈ˚ she's got a lot of money, so you can guarantee her littles have everything they could ever want or need to play with both in and out of the tub,,

*ੈ˚ her collection of books is large and vast. literally has a book for every genre her littles could ever want,, story time with her would be amazing,,

*ੈ˚ makes sure her littles have their own room in her place, making sure it's always exactly what they want and need

*ੈ˚ super attentive to all her littles, keeps her own reminder and notebook of all their likes and dislikes and what their needs are n how 2 properly take care of them (i.e, sensory issues or specialized hair cair if her little has wavy, curly, dyed, or damaged hair)

*ੈ˚ likes to keep up systems and schedules w/ her littles!! for anything, really, whether that b systems 4 picking up, bed time routines, etc etc

Sevika

*ੈ˚ in my heart she is an absolute mama cg

*ੈ˚ more of a firm/strict cg,, but she definitely is gentler with her littles,,

*ੈ˚ always trying to make sure her littles know how to stay safe whenever they're not with her,, keeping them close whenever they're not near,,

*ੈ✩˚ "Stay close, kid. The under city is dangerous..."

*ੈ˚ ^ also doesn't have many rules 4 her littles at first,, only having some and adding onto the list based on whatever prevents tears and keeps them safe and relatively uninjured

*ੈ˚ because of her status, she often finds roundabout ways to get her littles whatever they want/need,,

*ੈ˚ incredibly protective 4 all her littles,, glaring and occasionally outright starting an argument/fight over how someone looks at her littles a little funny

*ੈ˚ holds her littles close and firm if they let her,, partially for their comfort, more for her own

*ੈ˚ holding her littles let's her know they're safe, it's comforting for her even if she doesn't want to admit it

*ੈ˚ if her little has long hair, she'll end up braiding it or trying to do different styles for them,, having some practice from jinx to do it

*ੈ˚ tries 2 lessen her smoking around littles,, esp if they have lung issues

*ੈ˚ I think jinx would act as a fun aunt/older sister 2 sevikas littles in the "let them fly off the handle" approach,,

[farity]

Longing

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x you

Summary:  A ward of Rhaenyra’s, you are present on that fateful night when Luke’s being a little shit.

Warnings: Smut.

.

“Luke, no.”

You whispered to your half-brother.  He had been smirking and laughing at his uncle across the table, and the longer it went on, the more you could feel Aemond Targaryen’s anger radiate off of him.  

You knew the story well, even though you hadn’t been around when it had happened.  Your father, Ser Harwin Strong, had never known of your existence, but when your mother became gravely ill, she went to the Princess Rhaenyra, begging her to take you in.  Rhaenyra could see Harwin’s eyes in yours, the same unruly hair, the same determined demeanor.  She promised the dying woman to care for you and in exchange, you tutored her children.

You had found Rhaenyra to be kind, her husband Daemon to be unpredictable, and the children to be close.  You also knew well what had happened just before you joined the household.  The fight that culminated in Aemond losing an eye.

Once again, Luke made a small sound, amused at his own private joke, and again, you walked up to the table from where you stood a few feet away, kicked his chair and whispered.  “Stop it.”

Too late.

Aemond struck the table with his fist and rose, and your heart sank.

“Final tribute,” he said.  You saw Rhaenyra look up at him, and even though you didn’t yet know what else the prince would say, you felt nothing good would come of this.

* * * * * 

“All of you, go to your chambers, go now.”

Rhaenyra sent her sons and Daemon’s daughters to their rooms.  She didn’t oversee how you spent your free time, trusting you enough to let you manage your day as long as the children’s lessons took place as scheduled.  You nodded at her and followed, catching up with Luke.  

“You’re an idiot.”

He turned, ready to argue, but you kept going.  “Why the hell would you provoke him like that, Luke?  Do you never think beyond the next three seconds?”

You rushed past him and went into the chamber you’d been given, closing the door.  

At least the dying king had already left before the evening went to shreds.  Poor soul, he didn’t even realize most of the family problems were of his making.  In wanting everyone to tolerate the simmering issues, he had only created a cauldron full of roiling hatred, and it was about to spill over.

Stupid, stupid Luke.

Restless, you paced from hearth to bed over and over until you realized you would never fall asleep like this.  Some reading might help settle you down.  You had finished the small volume you had brought with you, but you knew where the library was here.

You opened the door as quietly as you could, looking around before slipping out and taking the hallway that led to the library.  There was no sound and you hoped everyone had settled down in their rooms.  

In the library, several candles were lit on the main table, and you walked towards the closest bookcase to look at some of the titles.

“Here to apologize for the whelp?”

“Mother save me!” you slapped a hand to your mouth, your heart jumping into your throat.

Prince Aemond sat on the far corner, fading into the surrounding darkness.  Now that your eyes had adjusted, you saw him more clearly, long silver hair, a book in his elegant fingers, long legs extended in front of him.  Were he anyone else, you would be besotted.  Were he not someone who hated your family, you would allow yourself improper thoughts.  Were he not who he was, you would admit to yourself that the tall man in the dreams that tormented your nights was the same man sitting in the library with you.

“I doubt the Mother has the time for the likes of us, my lady.”

Heartbeat going back to normal, you grabbed a candle.  “I am not a lady, as you well know, Prince Aemond.  And no, I am not apologizing for Luke, although I did tell him he was an idiot.”  You turned to examine the titles on the shelf, and to escape his stare.  Mostly history books, it seemed.

“Are you seeking something in particular?”

“Travel stories, anything on Essos?” you turned to find he was not ten feel from you.  

“Do you wish to see the world, then?” he asked, taking another step towards you.  

You wanted to run, to lock yourself in your room and avoid talking to him.  Avoid longing for those hands to be on you, for that hair to be wrapped around your fingers, for that mouth, usually so severe unless curved into a cruel smirk, to be on yours.

Steeling yourself, you met his gaze.  “Someday, yes.  I must make my own way sooner or later.”  His eye bore into yours, the pale blue shimmering in the candlelight.  He said nothing, and the seconds stretched between you.

You’d heard Daemon say once that silence was the best way to get someone else to speak.  That people were unused to silence and rushed to fill in the void with careless words. That when he wanted to find out something, he simply waited for the other person to speak.

Aemond said nothing and you became more and more uncomfortable.  You would not speak.  You would not move.  You would not look away from that intense scrutiny.

He took another step toward you.

You could smell the leather of his jacket, the soap used on his shirt, and some kind of earthy scent you couldn’t quite pinpoint.

You bit down on the inside of your lip to force yourself to remain quiet, and you saw his usual smirk appear.  He was so close.  He reached up past you, never breaking eye contact with you, and brought down a book, holding it up for you to see.  

You took it, not bothering to look at the title, curtsied, and as casually as you could manage, turned and walked out of the library.  Every step seemed to take an eternity but you would not give him the satisfaction of hearing you run from him.

Then you heard it.

One step, two.  Leaving the library.  

Following you.

Forcing yourself to keep your steps slow and steady, you headed to your rooms.  The steps behind you matched your pace, and your heartbeat picked up.  

What was this torment?  What was he doing?

Blessedly, you reached your rooms, opening the door with shaking hands.  Stepping inside, you turned, finding yourself almost nose-to-nose with him.

“Lost your way, Prince Aemond?”

“I am exactly where I wish to be.”  He watched you closely.  “Well, maybe not exactly where I wish to be just yet.”

“Then I wish you luck in finding your way, good eve-”

He took your arm, pushing you inside and closing the door smoothly before taking your face in his hands.  “I find myself craving your company, my lady.”

You couldn’t make yourself push him away.  It was difficult enough to remain impassive when those hands you’d dreamed of were cradling your face so gently.  “Your memory seems to be failing as well as your sense of direction, Your Highness, as I must repeat that I bear not the title of lady.”

His breath was warm on your lips as he pulled you closer.  “And yet there are those who bear noble titles who are not entitled to them,” he mused, his eye roving over your mouth.

“I am sure I have no idea who you could possibly be referring to,” you replied, tired of the never-ending talk about your half brothers.  In response, he smiled, almost gently, surprising you.  Gentle was not a word you associated with Aemond.  He was fire and fury wound tightly, ready to unleash, as he had earlier after Luke’s provocation.  “Would you unhand me, I wish to go to bed.”

“A delightful suggestion.”  He didn’t move.  If anything, his fingertips had started to rub tiny circles high on your cheeks.  You wondered if he was aware he was doing it.

“Alone.”  

When he still didn’t remove his hands, you reached up to take them off your face, realizing too late that touching him was a dangerous idea.  You placed your hands on top of his larger ones, and he immediately took your fingers in his, bringing them to his lips.  You watched as that cruel mouth kissed the back of your fingers, taking each one in turn.  “What is this, I wonder,” he murmured, switching to your other hand, “retribution? Punishment?  I despise your brothers, their very existence is an insult to the realm, but the thought of you occupies my thoughts to distraction.”

“Prince Aemond, this is most improper,” you whispered, clinging to the last of your sanity.  You had to stop this, stop him, and you nearly laughed at the thought of anyone, let alone you, stopping Aemond Targaryen.

“You know not the meaning of the word.”  

“Please, Your Highness.”

He’d turned one of your hands over, and was now kissing the sensitive pads of your fingers.  “Please . . . what?”

Each brush of his lips against your fingertips made fire spark inside you, and there was a heaviness low in your belly that was becoming impossible to ignore.

“Stop?” he asked, switching to the other hand, “or continue?”

“Please,” you managed, but could not make yourself say another word.

He stilled, and looked at you.  “There are signs,” he said quietly, “when a woman’s desires are awakened.  The breathing speeds up, the lips become redder,” he smirked, and brushed his thumb over your lower lip, “the skin warms and the pulse quickens.”

You became acutely aware of your breathing, of how overheated you felt, and summoned your will.  “And what about men?”

His eyebrow rose at your question.  “Much the same, except for one or two differences.”  He brought your hand down until you felt your palm brush against something impossibly hard and warm.

You gasped, trying to pull your hand away, to no avail.  

“Undeniable, hmm, the effect you have on me.”  His eye was icy fire and you felt the smallest sliver of power begin to thread to you.

Foolish girl.

Ignoring your quickly disappearing sense of self-preservation, you flexed your  fingertips, the tiniest movement, and felt him pulse against you.  Aemond gasped, hips jerking against your hand.  

More.

You squeezed gently, and this time he moaned, his free hand still cupping your face.  

“Stop now, or I shall have my turn,” he whispered harshly.  “Choose.”

You raised your chin, your eyes meeting his gaze, and slowly moved the backs of your fingers up and down his leather-covered length.  Aemond made a low noise deep in his throat and pressed his forehead against yours.  Before you could do it again, he swiftly grabbed your wrist and began walking you back toward the bed.

You stopped when you felt the edge of the bed hit the back of your legs.  Still looking at him, you found the ties to his breeches, tugged on one.  

“You will be my ruination.”

You grabbed the other tie.  “Someone should be,” you replied, and tugged, letting the breeches become loose on his slim waist.  Emboldened, you slipped your fingers into the waistband, feeling the muscles in his stomach tense at your touch.  His skin was so warm and smooth, and you began to slide your palm up beneath the tunic he wore, fingertips tracing a map as you explored.

“The skin warms,” you murmured, and pressing your palm against his chest, felt the fast beating of his heart.  “And the pulse quickens.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw and he pulled you in, mouth on yours, tongue demanding entrance.  You gasped and he took advantage, deepening the kiss, and you wrapped your arms around his neck.  The taste of him was unexpectedly sweet, with some dark spice you could not name. He placed a knee on the bed, pulling you with him to lay down in the center.  

“Tell me,” he whispered, “tell me you want this.  I will not have you unwilling.”

“I am not unwilling,” you managed, dizzy from his kiss.  “I want, I-”

“Name it, and you shall have it.”

“I don’t know,” you said quietly, “I don’t know what I’m asking for.”

“Then I shall spend all night finding out.”

[shortstrawberry]

I know, I know. It was Bela's b'day yesterday and I didn't post anything. However, I'm finally free now!

So here's a small sneak peak from my upcoming long oneshot. Bela has her heart back and she is trying to woo the dumbass oblivious MC.

Things have been quite... same ever since the whole debacle with Headmistress and the whole "get Bela's heart back" passed. Not that you were expecting anything earth shattering different to happen. Bela Dimitrescu is still the same draconian workaholic Student Council President who somehow manages to be a straight A grade student. You are still her Vice President, buried under the tons and tons of paperwork that gets passed along your way.

However, since past four months, from the day Bela received her heart back and fainted whispering "You have pretty eyes", certain events have happened that you cannot explain.

Exhibit A: Student Council President fussing after your sick self

"Acchhoooo!"

You loudly sneeze against the tissue paper, trying in vain to contain the droplets inside it. You are normally a shameless cretin who wouldn't hide your sneezing with tissue when alone, sick and dying in your room. But that's the thing. You are very much not alone.

A gorgeous blonde head popped out of your small kitchenette, looking at you with a reprimanding glare.

You shyly hide yourself underneath the blanket, knowing what your president is about to ask you.

"Did you use the nasal spray I brought you?"

You did not answer, still remaining hidden underneath your weighted blanket. You heard a soft beautiful sigh accompanied by approaching footsteps, and you just couldn't help but wonder how can a girl make sighing sound pretty.

The bedsheets were ripped off from you, and you found your answer to your question as you met the intense gaze of one Bela Dimitrescu.

Of course, if anyone can make breathing beautiful, it is this gorgeous blonde. You swear the song "Gorgeous" by Taylor Swift was written for her.

"cor meum, how will you become better if you don't take care of yourself?"

You gave your council president a petulant look, your mouth pouting against your will. You know you are being childish right now against someone who is only trying to take care of you. The said someone has taken out time from their packed schedule to cook some stew for you. But you are sick with fever and cold and you have a feeling the council president will give you a pass this one time.

"That spray stings my nose! I don't wanna use it!"

Bela's eyes immediately softened at your pouty voice, her eyebrows drawing close in focused attention. She tilted her head just slightly to the right, her pale pink lips rising in a amused and affectionate (?) smile.

"cor meum, you haven't taken your inhaler, have you? It will clear up your nose, and you will be able to breathe freely."

Of course you know all of that, but you choose to ignore it. Bela is being uncharacteristically lenient right now, even if she has been soft these days ever since she got her heart back. But today's Bela is still the softest you have ever witnessed.

For starters, she dragged you home from Council work and declared you are on leave until you get better. Then she made you take medicines and sleep while she worked besides you on her laptop. When you woke up, you had lunch waiting for you.

And now it is dinner time and Bela is still here. Not that you want her to go away. Your sleepy sick mind even wanted her to stay forever. Something your usual self won't even dream of.

Taking advantage of the boldness or rather foolishness your fever is giving you, you go ahead and ask what has forever been nagging you. Since the day certain someone got her heart back and started to look at you with strange, different emotion.

"You keep calling me that. What does it mean? What language is it even? Latin?"

The beautiful blonde looked at you carefully, before answering you back in a even more amused voice.

"Yes, and it means 'stupid heart'. Because you have a silly, moronic heart that makes you do careless things like walking back to your home when its raining a storm."

You pout, defending yourself immediately. Even if you remember that incident fondly.

"I had only one umbrella and you were staying back to work! What if you had to go back under rain? So I left the umbrella for you!"

Bela in answer looked away, a hint of pink creeping up her cheeks. She hurriedly draped the blanket on top of you, before settling down besides you and flicking your forehead.

It was a soft flick, clearly a affectionate gesture. Something Bela has been doing a lot lately. You stay up too late working? Sending you away to sleep and flick against forehead. You forget to eat breakfast? A croissant and flick against your forehead. You forget to text her that you have reached home? She will come to your home and flick your forehead.

Strangely enough, you have come to crave these flicks to your forehead. It shows that the once heartless girl...now cares for you.

Well, she had cared for you even when without a heart, as a similiar scene played from your memories. The scowling Student Council President demanding you have her homemade soup.

Now the only difference is that Bela is looking at you with the purest look of concern and offering to apply nasal spray on you herself.

"Here, give me the spray. I will do it myself because someone has become a helpless child."

You only grin cheekily, but let Bela do what she wants. You have troubled the poor blonde enough. And you have a feeling the dinner Bela is making will start burning soon if you keep her any longer.

With two whiffs of spray you were out like a light, sleep coming to you in minutes, You mumble a soft yes when Bela tucks you in, telling you that she would wake you up in time of dinner.

Unbeknownst to your peaceful sleeping self, the eldest Dimitrescu sister stayed besides you for few long minutes, gazing at you with the softest expression.

A soft, feathery kiss was laid on your forehead. Right where she flicks you all the time.

"It means my heart. You are my cor meum."

Cor meum means "my heart" in Latin according to Google Translate.

[poomphuripan]

Hello Claire,

First of all, thank you so much for everything you have been sharing these last few weeks about My Stand-In and Poom (and Up). It's such a treat ❤️

Was My Stand-In Poom's first project out of CH8 or was it Bake Me Please? I hope his popularity will rise and allow him to be cast in different kinds of show and role. Because it must be frustrating to always play the same type of character... And do you know in which agency does he belong please?

Have a nice day ❤️

hiiii (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡

well thank you for following and always supporting my gifs i see you (⁠｡⁠･⁠ω⁠･⁠｡⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠♡

So Bake Me Please is actually Channel 8 (CH8)'s first ever BL series where they got their rising male actors (Ohm, Guide, Poom, Atom, Prame, Tawan) to star in, so BMP is actually a CH8 series.

I believe Poom's first ever non CH8 work is Saneha Stories Season 4: Saiyai Saneha (2022) which is a two-episode mini series based on the real life story of a gay man. This was aired on AIS Play and produced by TV Thunder.

Poom also has another comedy series Jenny A.M./P.M. (2022) on AIS Play but this was in collaboration with CH8 which is why there were some CH8 actors (Poom, Nonny, Prame) in the series. Poom plays the straight best friend of the male protagonist (played by Singto Prachaya).

So technically My Stand-In is Poom's 2nd or 3rd work outside of CH8 (depending on how you view the two projects above) but it is Poom's first lead role in a major production and Poom often refers to My Stand-In as his first ever lead role in interviews so that's Poom's position on it 😅

For some background on Poom's agency. He is managed by RSDG - a production/talent management subsidiary company of RS Group, a Thai entertainment and media company that owns CH8. So basically Poom is a Channel 8 actor but it seems that CH8 is a bit more laxed about their actors partaking in series outside of their network (but that also comes with a cost).

I've heard rumors that CH8 gave Poom an ultimatum between becoming 2ML in another CH8 lakorn or choosing to star in My Stand-In (a non CH8 work) and not having any CH8 lakorn projects left for the rest of the year. I have no idea the accuracy of this rumor but I guess all we gotta do is look at Poom's schedule for the rest of this year and see if he's got anything else other than MSI fanmeetings here and there ಥ_ಥ

But I have a lot of fun watching Poom playing his evil lakorn villain roles at CH8 as well and I think those scenes helped greatly in honing his acting skills throughout his acting career so far (you can watch Poom being very stiff in his early works and the gradual improvement progress over the course of his lakorn works). If you pick a random CH8 lakorn with Poom, his character is sure to be killing or dying or crying or getting mad or fucking someone (sometimes all of the above).

Whatever the future holds for Poom, I'm very happy that he chose My Stand-In because I can't imagine a world where we do not get Poom Phuripan as Joe. Poom expresses a lot of happiness from finally getting positive reactions about his acting performances for the first time, which is a thing that I think lakorn actors will hardly get (especially if you play supporting roles at an obscure TV channel with low to average viewership). I also feel like Poom is pretty happy to finally get to play a character that's so close to his personality in real life (bonus the fact that his character isn't dying or going to jail).

I too hope that My Stand-In will be the breakthrough project Poom needed to get the attention and the opportunities he deserved after being much underrated and typecasted at CH8, manifesting many interesting scripts and acting opportunities come his way 🥹

sorry op i hope i answered some of your inquiries. i totally get carried away whenever i'm rambling. tldr: poom is managed by rsdg group so officially speaking, he's an actor for channel 8 but sometimes they let him out to star in non-ch8 works.

[deancasbigbang]

Title: work song

Author: dothraki_shieldmaiden

Artist: tallula03

Rating: Explicit

Pairings: Dean Winchester/Castiel

Length: 70000

Warnings: Graphic Depictions of Violence

Tags: Murder Husbands, Revenge, Canon-Typical Violence, Break Up and Make Up, Mutual Pining, Getting Back Together, Criminal!Castiel, Angst with a Happy Ending

Posting Date: October 31, 2024

Summary: Two years ago, Dean Winchester's life came crashing to a halt when his boyfriend, Castiel Novak, died in a tragic accident. After painstakingly putting his life back together, Dean goes on a vacation with his best friend, where he sees a face he never thought he would see again. Now reunited, Castiel tells Dean the truth about his past and the reason for his disappearance. However, all is not well--Dean cannot move past Cas' betrayal and lies, and the ghosts from Cas' past refuse to remain there. With danger looming, Dean and Cas start on a mission of revenge and justice, but they're badly outnumbered. With the hurt of the past colliding with the fragile promise of the future, Dean and Castiel need to learn how to create a new path--or else risk being lost forever.

Excerpt: Dean settles on the edge of the couch, ready to jump away at a moment’s notice. The surrealness of the situation — him, talking to Castiel two years after he thought Cas died, furious instead of joyful, wanting nothing more than to flee from Cas as fast as he can — would flatten him if he thought about it for longer than two seconds.  So he just doesn’t think about it. He sits and he waits.  Cas takes a long time to get to the point, twisting his fingers around each other, so abruptly that Dean winces at the sharp pop of his knuckles. Cas stares at a stain on the carpet like the secrets to the universe are written in its oblong edges.  By the time Cas finally speaks, Dean is ready to jump out of his skin with anticipation. He’s ready for Cas to yell at him, to call him pathetic. He just wants Cas to say something, but he’s completely unprepared for what Cas does eventually say.  “You are…” Cas’ throat bobs as he says, with an inflection that sounds like something soft and small dying, “were… one of the most important things in my life. The most important thing in my life.”  Cas sounds so sincere. Dean could almost believe him.  “I never would have left if I had the choice. Those two years I spent with you… They were the happiest of my life.”  Cas takes a deep breath, fortifying himself. Dean does the same, rebuilding his wall that had started to crack at the first sign of Cas’ vulnerability. He’s imagining everything from Cas actually admitting that he’s just shit at breaking up with someone and couldn’t figure out a different way to end the relationship, to Cas saying that he had to flee due to problems with the IRS. “When I said you were in danger… Dean, I wasn’t lying. When I first met you, I had been on the run for over a year. I knew that staying with you was only tempting fate — bringing danger right to your doorstep — but I couldn’t help myself. You were so…” Castiel swallows. His hands are clasped so tightly together that his knuckles are bleeding white. “And for two years, I thought it might be all right. I thought… I thought maybe I was allowed to have you. But then I saw someone from my past, and I knew that if they had managed to find me, they could threaten you. They could hurt you.”  “Hurt me? Cas, I don’t—”  He doesn’t know what to expect, but he still couldn’t have prepared himself for what Cas says next.  “Dean, I was a member of the Archangel crime organization until it was taken over by Lucifer Morningstar. I was on the run because he put a bounty on my head, and I know you might not believe this, but the reason I left was to protect you.”  Fucking what?

DCBB 2024 Posting Schedule

[mikachacha]

Open relationship failure (Bada Lee x Model!Reader)

Synopsis: After hearing the concept of open relationships, you and Bada decided to try it out since you thought that it was a good idea due to you busy with modeling while she's busy dancing and doing amazing choreography for lots of people. Instead of solving something, it just bothered you both and made each other extremly jealous.

Warnings: jealous Bada, language and steamy fic

(A/N: this idea came from my bestie @sun-nyy ❤ thanks bestie for helping my poor brain out 😫😫🫶🫶)

🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸💮🌸

You and Bada both agreed to explore an open relationship set up since the both of you are extremely busy due to you being a model and her being a famous dancer and choreographer. You didn't really mind since you're sure about your feelings for Bada and she's the same. It's just that sometimes it gets a little lonely, especially when you have to go overseas for your job.

It didn't pose as a problem at first, everything is going smoothly. You even help each other pick out suitable dates and stuff but then the further you went down the rabbit hole, the more bothered you got. You would often get jealous when Bada's gone out on a date with someone else and she looked like having fun. It didn't sit right with you but you shrugged it off and deciding to enjoy yourself with this set up.

"Fucking hell.. That's the third date this week!?! I swear Y/N is doing this on purpose.." Bada is shaking from how jealous she is as she saw the pictures that you sent to her. You're on your third date that week while she's there, jealous and ready to rip someone's head off. Bada groaned and looked at your side of the bed, which is currently empty as you're working abroad. She's had enough of this situation, she can't stand being constantly jealous and going out with other people that's clearly not her. She'd swear on everything she could swear on that she'll take a break from her work, take you out on dates and shower you with lots of affection so you'll agree to stop this open relationship situation that the both of you agreed on.

When you came back home from your work overseas, you were surprised to see Bada waiting for you at the airport. Normally she'll ask one of her friends to come pick you up or have a cab wait for you. It's a rare occasion for her to come pick you due to her busy schedule but you're not complaining. You think it's so sweet of her to come see you.

"Hi baby.. I didn't expect you to come and pick me up." You smiled and gave her a huge hug which she returned. Bada did miss you a lot and wanted to see you immediately so she decided to clear up her schedule so she can personally pick you up at the airport.

"I just missed you too much, beautiful.. You've been gone for more than a week and I'm dying from sleeping alone on that huge bed." Bada replied, a bit too dramatically which made you laugh and kiss her cheek. You did miss her too and you're glad that you're finally home so you can spend time with her. You already asked your management to give you some break from work so you can focus on yourself and your relationship. They didn't have any problem with it so you're free until you want to accept projects again.

"I have some news for you when we get home and we also need to discuss something." you told her and she nodded her head. She have a feeling that what you're about to discuss is this open relationship situation and she's just hoping that you're gonna ask to put a stop to it.

Bada just ordered your favorite meals when you got home since you looked tired from your flight and she knows that you'd rather cuddle than going out to eat. So she let you change your clothes, grabbed the comfiest blanket you own and put your favorite movie on so you can relax together.

"You mentioned some news to me earlier, love. What is it?" Bada asked as you were snuggled in her arms. You're wearing one of her hoodies paired with pajama shorts which Bada found so adorable. You looked up at her and had that look like you just remembered the best news known to mankind.

"So I asked my agency if I can take a break from modeling for a bit and they agreed. I can go back any time that I want since they said I deserved it." you told her happily and she smiles, placing a kiss on your lips before sighing happily but then she remembered the dilemma she's having about this open relationship set up you had so she looks at you and held your hand before she started talking.

"Baby I know it's my idea in the first place but can we stop this open relationship set up that we have? I know you're having fun and all but it's draving me insane! I get really jealous when you're on a date with someone else.." Bada asked and your eyes widened before you playfully smacked her shoulder with your free hand.

"Ya! About time that you ask! You're not the only one who gets really jealous, you know? Especially when you went out with Howl. Like what the hell, Bada?!" you couldn't help your outburst because of your pent up jealousy, especially when Bada went out with Howl. People likes linking them up together and you did not like that one bit. Bada was shocked at your outburst but then her brows furrowed before squishing your cheeks together.

"Why you adorable little bunny.. You're jealous with Howl but you got me wanting to rip my hair off when you went out with Aiki, then Hachi, then Monika like what the actual fuck??? Miss ma'am, I swore on everything I could swear on that if you go on another date again, I'd personally collect your cute little ass from wherever you are and drag you home." you were equally shocked at Bada's outburst before rolling your eyes and just kissing her on the lips, although a bit aggressively as you're still jealous and upset. Bada didn't seem to mind and kissed you back with the same intensity. You didn't even notice that the movie already ended as you were way too busy making out with Bada.

When you pulled away to breathe, she began attacking your neck, sucking and nibbling on the skin to mark you as hers. You pushed her off and began doing the same, you didn't care if she had to go to work with hickeys all over her neck. Much better in your opinion so everyone knows she's yours and no one elses. Once the both of you calmed down, Bada placed a soft and loving kiss on your lips, a silent agreement on taking the open relationship set up from your relationship.

[purplekissinger]

deardiarydeardiarydeardiary

Y/N's been acting strange lately. She may contain the urge to run away, but Tom holds her down with soggy clothes and breezeblocks.

🎵alt-J - Breezeblocks🎵

TW: manipulation, mental disorder themes. This is a full blown angst.

The cover: smooth, soft, fine leather. It feels nice to run your hand over it and you do it from time to time. Sometimes it feels warm. The corners: gold, darkened with age. They taste slightly salty (yes, you chewed them at some point, let's not talk about that). The paper: rough, thick, slightly yellow, clean pages like muddy water (there should be a bottom somewhere, but it’s not visible). Tom: soothing, gentle, funny, sympathetic, loving, the best, scary, all-knowing, affectionate, scary, witty, did I mention ‘scary’?

“Nothing special happened today,” you wrote and paused, thinking about your next sentence. He will know if you lie, he has proven it too many times. It's better to  switch the topic quickly. “There is a small problem with the task on potions, maybe you can help me?..”.

Sometimes you use ellipses when talking to him. Poke, poke, poke. Writing lacks the timid intonation so you draw it with dots.

Tom doesn't buy it.

“And what was not special that happened today?”

You began to sleep worse and eat less.

‘Y/N, are you okay?’ - asks someone to your right. It takes you a second to realize that you are sitting at a table in the Great Hall and it’s unbearably noisy here. It takes two more seconds to turn your unseeing gaze to the girl on the right (is that Mary? Mary what’shername? Mary MacDonald? Do we know each other? Why is she talking to me? How did I end up here?).

“Yes, everything is great,” you smile weakly. “I’ll just grab something to eat and it will be even better.”

The plate in front of you is empty. Mary's face is distorted by some kind of emotion, and it takes you another three seconds to recognize pity and disgust in it.

“Molly Prewett said I've been weird lately.”

Molly Prewett said she's already seen you in that shirt for several days in a row. Molly Prewett said your eye is twitching. Molly Prewett said you scream at night.

“Molly Prewett? That fat red-haired girl?” - you can almost see his mocking smile through the pages, and you immediately feel better, as if the invisible fingers squeezing your throat have slightly loosened their grip. “Y/N, dear, please don’t say that she actually managed to hurt your feelings. You do realize why she says that, right? You are the most beautiful and the smartest girl in Hogwarts, and this ugly bitch is simply dying of envy. Damn, I'm dying of self-envy. I’m the luckiest bastard ever to know you. It's a pleasure talking with you. You yourself are a pleasure. Of course, she is jealous, the whole of Hogwarts is crazy about you, otherwise they are just blind. Do you have a mirror in your room right now? Come on, look in it. There’s a princess living in your mirror, go check yourself!”

In your mirror lives a princess who has lain in a coffin for a hundred years. Hair tangled, eyes dull, sweater inside out.

You walk along the corridor,  moving your feet mechanically. You won't be able to remember what lesson is next on the schedule even if your life depends on it. Your peripheral vision has gone and all sounds seem to be distant as if there were cotton wool in your ears. Step. Step. Step. Step.

“Tom, this is just wonderful! I struggled over this essay for two hours, and you sorted it out in no time. Wait, don’t remove the solution yet, I’ll copy it…”

“Take your time, honey. I want my best girl to study well.”

Last week, for the first time in your life, you got a Troll in Transfiguration, which you used to love. You simply went to the pulpit and stood there with an absent look for two minutes. After class, professor McGonagall touches your elbow gently.

“Miss L/N, if you feel like you need to talk, I’m always ready to listen to you,” she says almost in a whisper. It's the warmest tone she can muster, but you already have someone always ready to listen.

“y/n sunshine my beloved dear y/n y/n y/n y/n i love you so please don’t go y/n y/n y/n if you have a heart you won’t leave me you're such a kind girl y/n you won't leave me here you'll help me you'll talk to me you'll love me you'll help me i believe y/n y/n y/n you're the best in the world if i find out that you told someone you’re dead dead dead dead dead dead you don’t know what i can do what i’m capable of you can’t escape me you’ll rot in azkaban forever if you tell anyone y/n don’t even think of that y/n you’re my sunshine you open the diary and i can breathe again i breathe you i live by you i will die without you don’t leave me help me i’m begging you i love you so i love you so”.

Choking with sobs, you look at the jumping lines. The pages are wet from your tears.

“What do you want me to do, Tom?”

It’s 3 a.m. You haven't slept for two days. How are you still able to write? How are you still able to think?

“The toilet is on the third floor. Write me when you get there.”

[barcalover86]

Hiiii today is my Birthday!!!!

I was wondering if u can write something special for me please<3 if you can’t it’s really not a big deal but thanks a million if you do!

Ready to win? - Pablo Gavi

First of all, happy birthday, sweetheart!!!♥️

I wish you the best day and go make some memories! This one is for you!

------

You were packing your things quickly while talking to Pedri on the phone.

"Thank you so much for the help, you really saved me!"

"No problem, hermanita. You know I'll always be there for you."

You met Pedri while dating Gavi, but he was so nice to you since the first time he saw you. Being good friends, you begged him to help you make a surprise to Pablo, telling him that tonight, you wouldn't be able to go to his game.

You didn't remember what excuse you used, not being able to memorize everything now in such a hurry, but you knew you convinced him.

Pablo was sad that he won't see you today, being almost 3 weeks since he last saw you face to face. You talked on the phone, but obviously it wasn't enough for both of you.

You went to see your family, missing them terribly, and with Gavi's busy schedule, you couldn't find a day for you to meet.

The game had to begin in 4 hours, and the players were already at camp nou, so yours and Pedri's plan didn't go too well.

First, you had to meet him in the changing room to surprise him there, but now, being late, you had to figure out another idea.

"You'll still manage to surprise him, y/n. Don't worry." smiled Pedri on the phone before you hung up, hurrying to your car to drive yourself to the stadium.

The traffic was insane and when you arrived there, you still had to wait for almost 1 hour to get into the vip section. You could have gone through the crowd because there were a lot of people that know you as Pablo Gavi's girlfriend, but you knew it wouldn't be fair, so you remained at your place.

You texted Pedri, telling him that you had arrived. The game had to begin in 2 hours, and the footballers were already warming up in the waiting rooms.

You found your seat and began to think about how you could surprise Gavi. You really wanted this to be a special moment, you missing each other badly, but it felt like no idea was coming into your mind.

You checked your phone for Pedri's reply, but you saw your boyfriend's text.

Hola, how are u cariño? Will you be able to watch the game? If not, go sleep, your healthy is more important anyway. Wish me good luck. Te amo !

Oh, so you told him you were sick.

Thank you for your concern, Pablo. I'll watch you play tonight. Go get the ball! Yo tambien te amo!!🙌

You were so thankful for him. Gavi was the best boyfriend, you just couldn't ask for more.

While you were looking at your phone, an idea came into your mind. It was the perfect one to surprise Pablo!

You rushed to Barca' stuff and begged them to help you with it. They were happy to hear your idea and agreed to surprise Gavi.

When you saw the footballers coming to the pitch to warm up, you hid so that they couldn't see you. You only waved to Pedri who smiled, happy to see you there.

Now, 5 minutes were left until the game had to begin, and you slowly went in the middle of the pitch. First, Gavi didn't see you, and you were dying to see his reaction.

He knew it was time that someone had to pass him the ball so that the game should begin and you were the special fan from tonight. When he first saw your body, your back was on his front, him being able to see his jearsy on you.

He was surprised that someone could look so much like you from the back, but when you turned around, ready to pass him the ball, he was socked.

"First pass will be made by y/n y/l/n"

So, yes, Pablo wasn't dreaming!

He smiled widely when you gave him the ball, before hugging you.

"I can't believe you just did that! Yo te amo muchisimo, señorita!"

"Ready to win?"

"More than ready, amor!"

You quickly kissed his lips, while all the cameras were on you, before running to your seat to watch the game.

Pedri gave you a small wave and you could read from his lips that he thanked you for showing up.

The game was a whole victory and you couldn't be more proud of your team.

Everyone came to you and hugged you while telling you how much they missed you. When Pablo came to you, he kissed your lips with so much love, that you felt you were the luckiest girl.. not that you wouldn't be.

"Thank you.. thank you so much!"

"You know I'll do anything for you, mi amor!"

He smiled and kissed you once again, before taking your hand and walking around the stadium, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.

You really love this boy and every sacrifice that you did, do, and will do.. you know he deserves them.

How was this?? Tell me your opinion if you'd like!

Again, happy birthday to you, anon!!!!

[jtl-fics]

Time After Time:

Math Nerd AU

May 19th, 2020 (in the past future [before the reincarnation])

Math Nerd AU | Unusual Fic Asks

Neil was coming to accept that he wasn't going to die of old age as the doctors told him the recovery time for his twisted knee. He would need to do physical therapy before he could even have the surgery and then additional physical therapy afterwards.

It would take too long.

The Moriyamas would cut him as a useless thread. "Mr. Josten, you'll play again." The Doctor assures, "You will just-"

"Thank you Doctor, yes I understand." Neil interrupts. "Let's schedule a time to start the physical therapy." he says because a part of him feels spiteful. He knows how Ichirou works, knows that his death will look like a suicide.

People who are committing suicide don't make plans right? Maybe his death would be just enough to topple it all to the ground and save Kevin and Jean. He makes his appointment and hobbles out of his doctor's appointment to find Andrew in the waiting room.

He wonders how much longer he'll get to look at him.

He'll never actually be ready to stop.

Andrew's gaze snaps to him and Andrew has always been able to read him like a book. "It's too long?" he asks.

Neil laughs because, as usual, there was no point in hiding things from Andrew. "I've had my will ready for a while. I'm leaving-"

"Stop." Andrew raises his hand, "you aren't dying. Not before me. I'm older." Andrew argues.

Neil smiles and wishes to say the three words that bubble up in him but he wants them to be the last ones he says to Andrew if he can manage it. Saying them now would only make Andrew upset and possibly leave.

"Let's go home. I wanna see the cats." he says instead. It doesn't matter too much, his will spells out where everything is supposed to go. Andrew helps him into the car and puts his crutches in the backseat. They drive in silence and Neil finds himself looking at every black car with out of state licenses.

He looks at his phone because there's no point in worrying. His fate was sealed the moment that Ohio player rammed into him. He hopes Andrew likes one of the options he listed in his will. He hopes he stays close to Andrew, hopes he can protect him from beyond.

He prepares texts for all of his friends as he goes. Most are just I love yous and some thanking them for being especially kind to him. His text to Matt a long note on how sorry he is that he won't get to watch his god daughter grow up. His note to Aaron to make sure that his daughters take after Katelyn when they're born.

They get home and Neil is glad to see that there are no cars in their driveway. It does not mean that Ichirou isn't there, but it gives him a bit more time to look at Andrew.

Andrew's jaw is tight as he pulled into their garage.

"I've had arrangements made and paid for Andrew. It's going-"

"Shut up." Andrew hisses and gets out of the car.

Neil's phone rings and he sees a familiar area code he looks as Andrew shuts the door as he enters the house.

He hits accept. 32 wasn't bad considering he never expected 20.

"Hello?" he asks.

"Wesninski." Ichirou greets and Neil lets his eyes close. "I hear you will not be able to pay me." he comments.

"It will be quite some time before I can work on the court again My Lord." he doesn't lie or try to hide it. "I understand what this means for our deal. May I-"

"I wish to strike a different deal." Ichirou interrupts and Neil blinks.

"You...wish to strike a different deal?" he asks.

"I am in need of someone with your certifications Wesninski." Ichirou says.

Neil's jaw tenses. He can't do his father's work. He'd rather just have Ichirou shoot him and let it be done.

"You have kept up to date with your CPA certification from what I understand?" Ichirou continues.

Neil blinks.

What?

[hamilando]

ੈ✩‧₊ Black Rose ੈ✩‧₊

Pairing : Choi Seungcheol x Male reader

Words : 1.3k

Genres : Angst, Revenge au, Yandere au, Idol au

TW: Angst, Main character dying, Yandere,

Music : Guilty by Taemin

A/N : This is the sequel to the fic Red Rose, it is advised to read that before reading this for better relatability. Feedback is much appreciated. Requests and questions are always open!

Making the last adjustments, choosing the music bank schedules, organizing the promotional events—all of which took a toll on Seungcheol as the leader of one of the most well-known bands in the world—and spending the majority of his days in the studio as the comeback was approaching. He had just collapsed onto the couch after his trip to the HYBE building, too tired to move a limb, and was about to fall asleep when the doorbell rang, ruining his precious sleep. He sweared if it was the manager or any of his members despite loving them to death, he would kill them with a pen and not care of the criminal charges faced by him. 

“Mail for Mr. Choi, Apartment 3607.”

He murmured a brief thank you and opened the mail, which was little more than a sheet of paper, thinking as to what he might possibly get at 7 o'clock in the evening.

“Another one of the fan letters, don’t know how they manage to get my address.” He muttered before starting to read the content of letter.

“Dear Seungcheol,

You never know when your heart starts beating for someone else, just like mine started 2 years ago.

Even with those long lashes shielding your ebony eyes, they drew me in. Your shaggy mullet was in need of a haircut, but who was I to say? Those strong muscles ready to tear off the blue shirt you never threw, even though I told you repeatedly to do so. You would always respond that it was your lucky charm because it helped you get with me. Guess you got a home run with me. 

If all you had to do was run, why take a break for me. Your so-called love for your fans, would be all shattered if they get to know of your true escapades. I can already imagine the headlines, ‘Top boy band’s leader being the definition of coward.’ Or maybe it’s just my poetry speaking up. That’s why they say don’t date a poet, you will definitely become one of their muses. After the so called break up, which I must point out you didn’t have the guts to do in person, I felt like death was possible without dying. I did not want to kill myself, rather kill something inside me. I was tired of fighting, I wanted to give up but then I remembered, for once I want to be fought over. So here I am, giving you a chance, fight me for your future, fight me for your career, fight me for your success. Meet me at the place where you first took me for out first date. The time being when Cinderella had to rush back, but here it will be you rushing to save your image. And well if you think this is mere joke, see you tomorrow in the headlines my love.

To the moon and never back ~

Y/N”

Seungcheol just sat there, the paper crumbling in his hands, the shock taking over his body. How could a guy who didn’t think of anything but romance be able to manipulate him into giving up his career. Checking the time which halted at 9pm, Seungcheol not taking this lightly rushed to his car and drove the spot he and Y/N had their first date. A cliff which Seungcheol had founded while filming for going seventeen. The sunset adding the sparkle to the champagne as they clinked their glasses to the eternal future filled with love. How they shared their plans for the future, Y/N merely a first-year English honour student while Seungcheol finding the muse in him for their next album. 

They laughed the evening, 

They smiled the night,

 They fell in love at the sun’s sight.

As soon as Seungcheol reached the spot, he was not shocked to see Y/N waiting for him. He was definitely not used to seeing Y/N being all buffed up. The back his used to hug had definitely become broader, the waist he used to hold, had definitely become smaller, the legs which he would hold had definitely become thicker. 

“Y/N” Seungcheol called out, for him to be greeted by the eyes where once he saw his love. Instead of holding the usual glint, the black orbs now being a sign of darkness.

“You came.” Y/N smirked, very well knowing the answer as to why he came.

“You called.”

“I called or did your dangling future called.”

“It’s not like that-”.

“Honey leave the bullshit. I am not dating you anymore and neither are you. I am here to just get some reward for the information I have dug up.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Stoop so low that you will leak the relationship.”

“Just to correct you, firstly, the relationship we had. Secondly, who am I to stoop low when the other guy has to send his company to break up.”

“I had my reasons.”

“Such as winning a daesang, going on a world tour, releasing 3 hit albums ?”

“Try to understand, I was forced-.”

“Keep your excuses for your next song. Don’t give me the crap.” Y/N said while moving a step towards Seungcheol while the latter took a step backward, wanting to keep his distance if the former tried to pull a trick.

“I have enough words for my next album Y/N. Do not worry about how much money I can through that. How much money do you want instead for keeping your mouth shut.”

“I remembered you liked my mouth open wide, guess people change over time.” Y/N simply winked while taking another step towards Seungcheol.

“Cut the crap-”

“That’s a lot of attitude coming from a person who has a lot to lose.” 

“What do you want? You name it, Money, sponsorship, trips, luxury, just name it.”

“ I wish money could buy what I wanted Seungcheol. Sadly, it’s something only you can give.”

“Tell me, just tell me and I will do it.”

“Such a good lil pup you have become, An apology.”

“What!? Are you kidding me Y/N!? You made me come here just to apologise!? Ok, then here you go. Sorry Y/N for breaking your little heart. Happy?”

Y/N just stared at Seungcheol, taking a step forward each time each time Seungcheol backed.

“Happier than before, thanks to you my love.”

“Don’t call me that, anyways I shall be leaving, had enough of your nonsense in the middle of the night.”

“Of course, leave as you shall please, but only if the twig you are standing on does not break before you move.”

As soon as the words came out of Y/N’s mouth, the snapping of the twig was heard, Seungcheol losing his grip and trying to find something he could grab, before slipping down the cliff only to hang from the edge of the cliff.

Seungcheol looking around with frail eyes, his breathing becoming haggard, his hands holding on for dear life.

“YOU PLANNED THIS DIDN’T YOU!?” Seungcheol gritted through his teeth, trying his best not to move much to avoid losing his grip and falling.

“Nah, that’s just nature playing against you. I have yet to take my apology.” With that Y/N kicked Seugcheol’s hand, which was hanging on the cliff. Seungcheol wanted to scream but could not, he knew the music in his album had finished playing. He could only stare at the guy who was once the love of his life. His life flashing through his eyes, his members, his family, his friends, Y/N.

Y/N just stood there, watching him fall, not feeling an ounce of regret. The months he spent crying and dwelling on that guy finally redeeming as something useful. 

“I can call you anything my love, 

But at your funeral when cries are what I hear,

I shall take pride in bringing you the rose,

The petals flying as the wind blows,

The rose which is dear,

The black rose, capturing the fear. 

[faededaway]

𝓜𝓸𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝔁 𝓗𝓾𝓶𝓪𝓷 (𝓑𝓮𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓸𝓽𝓱 𝔁 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓪)

800words/part1/intro

In certain myths, there appears a creature who brings about the worst in people. The creature haunts people to madness, turning them all to drunkards, addicts, gamblers, or insomniacs. To their dying breaths, the people would cry, "just leave me alone!" No story shows any person finding a way to get rid of them or any ways to get along with them. Everyone suffers to death.

See, Sera has one such shadow haunting her right now. That, is why she did all this research to try and find something.

The only truth she found is the part where all the 'victims' yell at the shadows to leave them alone (she's been doing that too). But, the only reason she's shooing it is because it keeps telling her, "you should sleep soon. You have work in the morning," and, "if you eat the same thing 7 days in a row, you won't get proper nutrients. Buy some grapes, you like grapes," and even, "tell her you don't need extra shifts. You need proper rest."

See? It is annoying! Sera can understand why someone would drink or smoke upon seeing hallucinations, though she doesn't think gambling or addictions are related to seeing hearing shadows move.

It doesn't even look that scary! It appears like a shadow (hence the name). It's shaped like a cloth ghost wearing a plague doctor mask. It isn't 2D but it does not have a physical body; it's like a hologram! You can see it and hear it, but you cannot touch it. It would be wrong to say you cannot *feel * it. Sera felt it before she saw it.

She had been drowsy at work after working overtime three days in a row. She'd been on the brink of passing out dozing off when a large warm blanket like thing cascaded from the sky and draped itself around her body.

It was like someone had zapped all her exhaustion out of her body; she felt like a toddler awaking from their slumber. She was so rejuvenated that she almost asked her manager for another shift when 'someone pulled the blanket off of her' and all her exhaustion returned. That was when she first heard it speak, "I can take just as much as I can give. Do not force my hand."

Back then, Sera assumed she had started hallucinating from the lack of sleep and slept for eight hours in one night (instead of her usual two to four hours throughout the day). And, yeah, she felt like a toddler again. The shadow had spoken to her again, "do this everyday and you will lessen your neck cramps and headaches."

It was standing at the foot of her head, looming on her sleeping body. Sera had freaked (naturally) and rolled off her bed. But, she felt no pain as the 'blanket' had caught her before she hit the floor, "your bedside table is the wrong size. It would have hit your head."

It went on to explain itself later. It said it came to help Sera, "humans cannot help but have habits. Schedules and routines make you who you are. But, you have too many bad ones. I, Behemoth, am here to intervene."

Sera didn't look convinced. She was sure she needed a shrink appointment. But, the therapist or whoever would probably make Sera fix her life telling her that 'the only way to get rid of it is to fix your life'.

Bleugh. Yeah, no. Sera was perfectly okay with her life as it was. She did not want to go through such a hassle. But, she did want to get rid of her hallucinations; that is why, she hit the library and read a bunch (for the first time since highschool).

"You enjoy reading. Do this more often," Sera didn't know she was smiling until she felt her smile fall at Behemoth's comment. Dang it! It knows me too well!

That's when she decided to ask it, "how do I get rid of you?"

"I suggest not to talk aloud in public. It makes for a bad impression," she swung at it with a book in reply when it continued, "I will disappear when you are better."

Ah. So Sera's would-be therapist had would-have-been right. There is only one way to get rid of him. She sighed in defeat and muttered to it herself, "it's easier said than done! And, I don't even know where to start."

Behemoth's warmth embraced her just like the first time two weeks ago, uplifting her spirits just a bit, "you can take as long as you need. I will assist the whole way."

Sera wanted to ask it why it would do that for her or why it came to her and not to someone more in need. But she held back from giving in to her bad habit, making it the first step of her long journey of her life with Behemoth.

[inairbinad]

maybe together we can get somewhere

Written for my lovely, talented, and frequent brainworm-sharing friend @stobinesque! Happy birthday, I hope you have the best day!! 🥳💙 This one is also affectionately known as stobin: codependent delivery drivers. Featuring the soulmates soulmating, some Rockie fluff, and just a dash of Steddie. rated: T | wc: 4k | cw: none [read on ao3]

Robin slaps the classified section in front of Steve as he’s making their morning coffee. It’s been another long night of tossing and turning, of holding each other through anxious dreams thanks to the latest round of shit they’ve been through. It’s exhausting, but they’re figuring it out together. Again. Because if all they can do is stay attached at the hip, share a bed, and tell each other everything’s okay as long as they have each other? Well, Robin’s more than willing to do that for Steve. And after two times around this ride already, Robin knows Steve’s more than willing to do that for her too.

So she uses the time not sleeping to scour the paper for job leads. It’s not like she’s dying to work again, but if she and Steve ever want to realize their plans of getting the hell out of Hawkins and moving to the city, they’re gonna need something. If they can’t sleep without each other, they certainly can’t be expected to work without each other. 

Luckily Robin thinks she’s finally stumbled upon something that could be great for both of them.

“I think I found our next excursion through the perils of capitalism,” she grins and takes her mug from Steve, who always knows just how to make her coffee. She’s actually pretty sure they could do each other’s morning routines in their sleep, by now. 

“Yippee,” Steve says with all the enthusiasm of someone on death row. He knows as well as Robin does that they need to find another job after the Family Video quite literally crumbled to dust, but neither of them is exactly eager to dive back into the hells of minimum wage labor. Not to mention that Robin’s more than a little worried that they’re cursed, and the total destruction of both of their previous workplaces might precede them.

“Come on, as long as we do it together it won’t be that bad,” Robin tries to persuade him before telling him what the actual job is.

“You said that about the last one!” Steve points out, looking so scandalized that Robin’s a little annoyed.

“Are you saying you don’t want to work together anymore?”

“No,” Steve course-corrects so quickly that Robin can’t help but laugh at him. “I whine about work about five-hundred percent more if you aren’t there with me, Robbie. You know that.”

“I’m familiar,” she chuckles, thinking back to every single time Keith scheduled Steve to work without her at the video store. And every time they’d come back to work together at Scoops after a few days apart, Steve would have countless tales of people-watching and bizarre customers to share, even before they considered each other certified soulmates.

“So what is it?” Steve asks.

“How would you like to be one of the newest faces of Surfer Boy Pizza?”

“I thought you couldn’t drive,” Keith narrows his eyes at Robin before going back to inspect her newly acquired driver’s license. She figured it was time to get one after the shit hit the fan for the second time in less than a year, so that’s exactly what she did…after a few tries, anyway.

Steve would argue that she still can’t drive, actually looks like the words are poised on the tip of his tongue before he thinks better of it.

Robin can’t exactly blame him, not after all he went through trying to teach her. She has to hold back a wince as she relives the time she popped one of his tires like a balloon just from rolling over a curb. But by some miracle—arguably her impeccable parallel parking skills, which might be the only thing she’s actually good at, go figure—Robin finally did manage to get her license.

So the way Keith is looking at it like it has to be a fake is a little bit insulting.

“It’s newly minted, I’ll admit,” Robin sighs and leans across the counter to try and level with him. How he managed to snag up a manager’s spot here so quickly baffles her, quite honestly, since they just opened. (The rumor is that the owners saw Argyle driving around in his van so frequently that they were inspired to open a franchise. Robin isn’t sure what that says about her potential new employers, but she’s trying not to think about it too hard.)

At least she knows how to talk Keith into things he doesn’t necessarily want to do by now.

“But I’m super careful and am an excellent parallel parker,” she continues. “You won’t find any scratches on your shiny new delivery vans when I’m working, or get calls from customers saying I left a dent in their bumper like the infamous kid that used to drive for that other pizza joint in town.”

“We don’t mention that place in here,” Keith grumbles, knowing full well that he is that infamous kid. It’s another reason Robin is shocked that someone hired him to work at a pizza place again, even if he isn’t driving this time around. Keith passes her license back over before glancing at Steve, who knows to stay quiet and let Robin handle things. He merely shrugs and gives Keith a look that imparts so much confidence in Robin that it makes her heart swell. “Fine, you’re both hired. Again. But—”

Robin cuts him off with a soft whoop, surprised at how excited she is to be able to make a mixtape and drive around town without a manager breathing down her neck for her entire shift. She doesn’t really care much about the handing pizzas off to people part, more so the independence. And then to come back to the store and gab with Steve about it while they wait for their next call.

It maybe doesn’t promise quite as much togetherness at work as they’re accustomed to, but Robin has a feeling they’ll find a way to work around that.

“But—” Keith says again with his supposedly stern face on and points at Robin specifically. “You’ll deliver by bike until I trust you with a van.”

Robin feels the way her shoulders slump like she’s sinking into quicksand. “It’s about to be summer, Keith—”

Steve kicks her ankle and clears his throat loudly before he sells her out like a Judas. “Deal.”

Robin stares daggers at the side of his head like the good old days when he was just the douchebag who left bagel crumbs everywhere he went. He doesn’t look at her, though, just shakes hands with Keith and seals her to her sweaty fate.

Robin doesn’t speak to Steve again until they pull up in front of her house. “I can’t believe you threw me under the proverbial bike like that, dingus.”

“Do you want to hear my plan, or do you want to go back and quit before you even get your little yellow visor?” he asks as he shuts off the Beemer.

“I’ll hear your plan,” Robin sighs, glad he seems to have one at all. “But I reserve the right to reject it out of hand. Visor be damned.”

Steve smiles and twists around in his seat to face her, like whatever he’s come up with excites him.

“Okay, so every time Keith sends you out on your bike, you ride around the corner and wait, then I’ll pick you up in the van. That way we can do all our deliveries together until Keith trusts you to drive on your own.” Steve crosses his arms and grins at her like he’s some kind of evil, work-avoidant genius.

Robin thinks he just might be.

“I guarantee we’ll still cover just as much ground if I push the speed limit, Hawkins is so small,” he continues. “Then we’ll both basically be getting paid to do one job, and Keith never has to know.”

“You’re a genius Steve, you know that?” she figures it can’t hurt to tell him. It breaks her heart a little to watch the shadow of disbelief that crosses his face to hear it.

“I don’t know about that…”

Robin claps a hand over his mouth before he can say anything self-deprecating. “Nope. Take the compliment. I only have one question.”

“Shoot, Bobbie,” Steve says. He’s probably trotting out one of Robin’s favorite nicknames to counteract the fact that his lips are moving against her palm as he talks, which he knows creeps her out. How she understands what he’s saying anyway is beyond her, but she does.

“What do we do on nights that I’m scheduled to work, but you’re not?” Robin asks as she drops her hand.

Steve shrugs and gives her such an easy smile, Robin thinks his knack for scheming is one of her favorite things about him.

“Help cover the gas, and I’ll drive you around anyway,” he says. “But you’re pretty good at convincing Keith to schedule us together already.”

Robin wonders if maybe this job will actually be kind of fun.

Robin’s pretty sure Keith catches on to their little routine after about a week of doing it. But she’s already plotted a route around Hawkins that maximizes the ground they can cover, and Steve’s had all the best places to speed memorized for years, so every customer ends up singing their praises to the point where Keith can’t really bring himself to do anything about it.

She thinks she might never have to drive a delivery van herself as long as they keep this up. That’s fine by Robin, because even if the pay is shit, it’s probably the most fun she’s ever had at work.

It beats slinging ice cream in a sailor outfit, anyway.

People actually seem happy to see Robin when she’s the one who rings the bell, delivering their dinner with a smile and a little bit of a clumsy lilt to her gait. It always gives her an extra dose of confidence when the particularly hot moms of Hawkins are thrilled to see her—whether it’s for closeted sapphic reasons or just gender solidarity, Robin can’t help but enjoy the attention and praises heaped upon her.

“Robin, you look almost as adorable in that uniform as you did in the sailor outfit. Yellow really is a good color on you,” Mrs. Wheeler says to her one night, and Robin nearly faints from it.  

Eventually she starts flirting a little—not with Nancy’s mom, but maybe with some of the others who didn’t birth her friends—just subtly enough to make getting out of the car to talk to the babes on their route worth it. Steve grumbles about letting Robin talk to all the pretty girls at first, but it’s good natured and really Robin can tell that he’s proud of her for being a little charmer.

He doesn’t mind flirting with the dudes instead, anyway. Especially not when Eddie starts ordering pizza way more frequently than is strictly necessary, even for someone still recovering from his first stint in the underworld.

“Why don’t you just ask him out?” Robin asks when Steve climbs back in the van with a goofy smile on his face for the fourth time in one week. Between the kids hanging out at Max’s and Eddie calling so often, they spend more time delivering to their new, unearthquaked end of the trailer park than anywhere else.

“Why don’t you just ask Vickie out?” Steve counters, just like he always does. Robin tries to flick some of her Coke at him (that she may or may not have snagged from the work fridge behind Keith’s back), but she fumbles the execution and ends up spilling the whole can on Steve’s shirt. Then Steve’s laughing, but also glaring at her as he whines about his work shirt being sticky now.

Robin tries to stifle her own laughter with apologies, chooses not to point out that Eddie’s laughing from his door, too. She strips her own Surfer Boy tee off, leaving just the white tank top she’s wearing underneath, and hands it to Steve to change into. They share clothes like it’s their lot in life anyway. Robin’s actually kind of convinced that one might’ve been Steve’s shirt to begin with.

“Thanks,” he grumbles and changes hastily. He finally notices Eddie’s still watching once he’s trying to fix his hair in the rearview mirror.

Robin revels in the way his neck flushes, just a teeny bit. Steve waves shyly, Eddie waves back, and she wonders how long they’ll continue to be dumbasses as Steve finally pulls away.

“Where to next?” he asks, and Robin checks her list.

Her groan tells Steve everything he needs to know.

“Vickie’s it is!” He sounds entirely too cheerful about it.

The drive from Eddie’s to Vickie’s is vanishingly short, especially with Steve and Robin’s System of Fast and Efficient Pizza Delivery, patent pending.

“Gimme my shirt back,” Robin implores as Steve pulls up to Vickie’s, feeling exposed all of a sudden in just her tank top. She anxiously looks towards the front door as she waits. The porch light’s on for them, because Vickie is always one of the more courteous customers they’ve got—and one of the best tippers.

“Oh so I’m supposed to sit here shirtless because you don’t want to show off your arms to a pretty girl?” Steve asks, and Robin whips her head around to realize he’s not planning on giving her shirt back at all.

“It’s company policy not to approach a door without your uniform!” Robin shrieks, not because she cares much about company policy, but because Steve should have her back on principle. “Plus, you enjoy being shirtless, you flirt!”

“I don’t think Vickie’s going to mistake you for a missionary,” Steve says blandly, ignoring the mild-slut shaming completely. “Plus, you’ve still got your visor on.”

“Steve,” Robin tries, but he just grins at her without moving a muscle.

“You look great. Go get ‘em, Tiger.”

“Oh god. You did not just say that,” Robin sighs, delaying further just to make fun of him a little. She thinks it’s deserved.

“I did, and I meant it,” Steve raises an eyebrow at her. “Unless you want me to drop this one?”

“No,” Robin tells him with all the annoyance she can muster. She might be awkward, flailing, and hopelessly pining over Vickie already, but she’s not gonna let any of that stop her from going up to that door. “Gimme the damn pizza.”

Steve reaches to get it out of the back and hands it over to Robin with a shit-eating grin. She really regrets not giving him more hell over Eddie back there, but she takes the box and squares her shoulders before making her way up Vickie’s front stairs.

Robin rings the bell and does her best not to fidget the entire time she’s waiting. Which isn’t very long at all. Vickie opens the door with a wide smile in greeting, looking almost angelic in the way the light behind her frames her fiery hair, her eyes bright and excited just because Robin’s there. 

Or maybe she’s just really hungry, a more cynical part of Robin’s brain corrects.

“Veggie pizza?” Robin asks, and Vickie nods.

“Thanks,” Vickie says, already moving to exchange pizza for money. “That was really fast.”

“Oh, well. Steve and I have a system. I kind of buried myself in maps for a night while I worked out the quickest routes around town, then we spent the next couple of days figuring out how to drive them quickly without hitting any pedestrians or breaking too many traffic laws,” Robin says without thinking. No matter how many times they talk, Robin doesn’t seem to be able to stop blurting things out around Vickie.

Vickie just laughs though, leaning a little around Robin so she can wave to Steve who is very obviously watching them from the car.

“That’s a whole lot of dedication to the job,” Vickie comments, and Robin can feel her ears turn pink.

“Sometimes I just plan stuff out when I can’t sleep, even if I never actually end up doing it,” Robin admits.

“Me too,” Vickie says with such soft knowing in her voice that Robin wants to wrap herself up in it like a blanket. For the first time she wonders if maybe Steve isn’t the only person who can calm her nerves enough to help her sleep. She doesn’t have much time to get caught up in the thought, though, because Vickie keeps talking.

“Is that your normal uniform?” she asks, and Robin hopes she’s not imagining the way Vickie’s gaze lingers over her bare shoulders, her chest, her neck. She feels exposed, still, her skin alight with any attention Vickie is willing to give, but it feels nice. So nice, actually, that Robin doesn’t remember how to respond for a moment. “Or did you just want to show off your tan?”

Vickie bites her lip and flushes ever so slightly, like maybe she hadn’t quite meant to say that part out loud. Robin can’t think of anything but how desperate she is to kiss her.

“I really don’t tan,” Robin admits. “Freckle, mostly. Sometimes burn if I’m not careful. Which I guess isn’t surprising, given the history of skin cancer in my family—” Robin hears herself and wants to die. She snaps her mouth shut before she can say anything else horrifying.

“Oh, I burn too! Even with all the sunscreen in the world, sometimes–” Vickie cuts herself off with a nervous laugh. “Well, the freckles look very good, anyway.”

“Thanks,” Robin murmurs, and she thinks maybe she’s blushing enough to look sunburnt now.

“Robin?” Vickie asks, still holding the pizza between them like she’s afraid if she moves the moment might break.

Or maybe that’s just what Robin’s scared of.

“Yeah?”

“Can you help me with something real quick, or are you super busy tonight?” Vickie asks. The hopeful way she tilts her head is so precious Robin might implode right there on the spot.

Robin doesn’t care how busy they are, there’s no way she’s not following Vickie inside. “I can help. What’s up?”

“It’s just that my VCR is jammed,” Vickie says, already leading Robin inside and talking over her shoulder. She puts the pizza down on the coffee table and nods toward the TV. Robin ambles over, not sure there’s anything she can do to fix it, but she’s willing to try.

“You worked at Family Video for a while, right?” Vickie asks. Robin nods and tries not to relive every time Vickie came in to rent something and Robin acted like a fool. “Thought maybe you’d have the magic touch with it.”

Robin doesn’t think she’s imagining the flirtatious way that Vickie says magic touch, so she pours all of her focus into the malfunctioning machine in front of her before she malfunctions and melts into a puddle on Vickie’s floor.

She feels Vickie’s eyes watching her as she works and thinks she might melt anyway.

It doesn’t take long to figure out the problem. After some fumbling, Robin manages to untangle some loose tape from inside the deck. She can’t help but think it looks haphazardly shoved in there. “Were you babysitting, or something?”

“No?” Vickie says, voice inexplicably laced with questionable guilt.

“Just seems like it got stuffed in there,” Robin says as she turns around with the tangle on display. “Like maybe a kid was playing with it.”

“Oh. Well. Weird.” Vickie’s biting her lip and looking at her feet all of a sudden. Robin can see the sheen of freshly applied gloss on Vickie’s lips. She wonders what it tastes like.

She also wonders if maybe Vickie put it on just for her.

“Vickie?” Robin’s voice is whisper quiet.

“Yeah?”

“Did you really need my help with the VCR?”

Vickie’s eyes snap to Robin’s face, worried, like she’s been caught out. But then Robin smiles at her, so gently she feels like it might break her own heart just to feel it on her face, and Vickie relaxes her shoulders.

“No,” she admits.

Robin doesn’t know where the courage comes from, what comes over her or how, but one minute she’s standing in Vickie’s living room thinking she might pass out from nerves, and the next she’s cupping Vickie’s cheek with all the casual smoothness Robin’s ever mustered in her life. Then Robin leans in to kiss her.

It’s heady, the power Robin feels just from being the one to move first. It’s like her body was made for this, for gently holding Vickie’s face and tasting the strawberry flavor of her lip gloss, feeling the soft pout of her lips slotting between Robin’s own like puzzle pieces fitting together.

But mostly Robin is soaring because Vickie is kissing her back, fiercely, like maybe this was actually what Vickie was hungry for instead of pizza in the first place.

Robin isn’t entirely sure what being a good kisser entails, at least not when you actually want the person you’re lip to lip with so badly you’re seeing stars. There’s no universe in which Robin thinks this can’t be good, though, because her whole body is tingling from the way Vickie presses up against it, the way she gently slips her hand into Robin’s hair and tilts Robin’s head just so.

Robin feels her visor come tumbling off her head, but she can hardly care when Vickie lets out a delicate moan that leaves her absolutely weak in the knees.

“Vickie,” Robin breathes out when they separate, already wanting to dive in for more. Vickie smiles against Robin’s mouth, kisses the corner of her lips again like she’s worried she missed a spot.

“Yes, Robin?” Vickie asks, suddenly sounding much more confident than she’d looked just a moment before—almost teasing.

“That was really good,” Robin says plainly.

“I agree,” Vickie hums. She pecks Robin on the lips one more time, gentle and quick about it. “And as much as I want to do it again, I think Steve’s waiting for you.”

It’s only then that Robin even hears the distinct sound of the van’s horn honking—two quick beeps to remind her that there’s still two more deliveries they need to make.

“Damn him,” Robin mutters, and Vickie just laughs. Her breath against Robin’s face is minty fresh, and Robin can’t really be expected to function when she knows Vickie planned this whole thing, can she?

“Call me later?” Vickie asks.

Robin nods, but not before kissing her again, deliveries be damned.

“Your lips are swollen,” Steve says first thing when she gets back in the car, dazed and floaty like she’s just taken the best drugs of her life. (This is something Robin actually has a point of reference for now, and she’s easily putting ‘Kisses From Vickie’ at the top of the list.)

“I kissed her,” Robin says, staring straight ahead. Steve squeals like a little girl and bounces in his seat.

“Finally!” he cheers, giving Robin’s shoulders an excited shake. “Are you comatose over there?”

“A little,” Robin admits, but she feels the smile break out on her face like an explosion of fireworks. She sucks in a deep breath and finally looks at Steve. He looks so happy for her she thinks her heart might burst all over again. “I kissed a girl.”

“Was it everything you imagined?” Steve asks, not bothering to hide the hopeless romantic that lives in his chest and pulls all of his heartstrings.

“And then some,” Robin says, hearing how dreamy she sounds and just rolling with it. Steve starts the van up again just as Vickie waves at them both from her front window. She blows Robin a kiss, and Robin thinks she’s died and gone to a heaven she’s not sure she believed in until now.

“Seems this job was worth it after all,” Steve admits.

Robin really can’t disagree.

[cinnapuppymilk]

Rose Thorn in His Side(Chpt 2)

A/N: Thank you to everyone who put up with my account switch!! Yall are the real ones.

This part is long, I hope that isn't a problem :v I promise after this it's gonna be SOO much more interaction with Death..fluffy interactions..cute interactions..spicy interactions..hehe.

Also I put my own spin on how Death collects souls, I hope yall like it! Mwah mwah mwah, please enjoy!

TW: Alcoholism, death(like, someone dying.)

Chapter one 🔽

Chapter Two: Deadly Reveal

That next morning, you enjoyed the peaceful bliss that was an empty mind in the first few seconds of waking up. No thoughts or worries, just the calmness of the usual first morning stretch.

. . .

Though your calves hurt more than usual.

Suddenly, within a split second, you remembered why, ruining the morning calm.

Mateo's morning interruption. The bar. Gabriella being the most freaked out you ever saw her. Death. His eyes. His voice. His poncho. The rain. The walk. His fur against your cheek as he carried you. His goodbye. It all came back like a movie being played 10 times the normal speed.

You rubbed your face with your hands, hoping to wipe away the tired feeling.

You felt a bit stupid, you would normally never let a stranger walk you home after only an hour of meeting. Let alone let them be close enough to carry you. You didn't even feel entirely comfortable with Mateo giving you a friendly pat and you've known him for five years.

You decided you'd blame it all on being tired from a double shift, not wanting any more overthinking to happen this morning. Though, in the back of your mind flashes of Death kept appearing while you got up and ready for the day.

You sat down at the dining table for what you thought was morning tea, however glancing at the clock revealed it was 1pm already. So you had to have slept in. You frowned, upset that your normal schedule was messed up for the second day in a row.

Deciding that you needed fresh air to soothe your mood, you took your tea to the front porch of your cottage and sat in the rocking chair placed neatly in front of a window.

The air smelled damp and earthy. Like him.

'. . . . I don't want to see you too soon.' His words replayed in your mind.

You wondered what that could've meant, worried that it means he won't be back anytime soon.

You then racked your brain on why you cared so much. You don't know him, there isn't a meaningful connection. There isn't any connection at all, he's a customer who was kind enough to lend you his poncho on your walk home. Nothing more.

Though even with all of that being true, you couldn't shake the want to see him again. You couldn't shake the memory of his eyes and smile, his voice, his smell. You couldn't shake him.

"Buenas tardes Y/N!" Diego's voice shattered your thought bubble...to your appreciation.

You saw his lanky figure try to approach your front yard, attempting not to slip in the mud.

"I would help you, but I think you might deserve to have a sore ass today." You laughed while getting up to help him anyways.

Thankfully, he was able to manage before you got to him. You really didn't want to get covered in mud.

"Sí, sí. Tienes razón (you're right.), I am an absolute lowlife," he chuckled while finally approaching you.

"But that's why I'm here now! I want to make it up to you. We can go out to town, everything you get is on me, promise." He gave you a wide smile.

Normally, you would rather spend your off time at home, learning a new hobby and tending to your small vegetable garden. You enjoyed living away from all the noise and movement of the town, you felt like you could breathe easy in your little cottage.

Simultaneously, however, today was different. You didn't want to be left alone with your thoughts, going back and forth on how you felt about Death. Thinking about if you'd see him again, or if you should even want to. A distraction from all that mental conflict would be nice.

"Ahh, well. I guess you can convince me to let you buy me breakfast at a café. Let me grab a jacket."

_________________________________________

The inner most section of town was only about a 20 minute walk from your home. To avoid any more shameful thoughts about your night with Death, you decided to interrogate Diego on the walk over.

You knew he had a drinking problem, it was evident when he showed up for work a bit woozy every now and then. He was also a lightweight, you felt bad that he was burdened with such a terrible combo.

"Soo, I thought you said you were gonna say no next time Mateo offered a shot or two..or five." you said carefully, not wanting to offend him.

Diego gave a deep sigh before responding.

"No is a hard word to find when drinks get mixed in...but I'm trying, that night will be my last relapse. Wouldn't want you covering for my sorry tail all the time otherwise you'd get sick of me." He laughed, trying to keep the mood light.

You nodded and asked him the normal run around questions. How have you been, done anything new, blah blah blah.

You focused hard on his rambling answers, not wanting to let your mind wander.

When you finally arrived to the café, Diego sped ahead of you, rushing to pull out a seat for you. You shook your head playfully at his over the top gesture.

You both looked over the menus, ordered and chatted about the mundane.

Completely unaware you were being watched from the moment you left your door.

Across the street, hidden in a shadowed alleyway stood Death, with an annoyed expression resting on his face.

He spent the night thinking about how to handle this situation and his irritating feelings on you.

He's already wasted too much time playing with you and even more time thinking about you. He's death. He has an eternal duty, and nowhere in his job description did it say he had time for...playthings.

But he was also honest with himself. He couldn't get you out of the sacred space that was his head.

His solution was to reveal to you that he really was death, the grim reaper, la muerte etc..then he could watch you flee in terror and be done with it all.

However, his plans were soiled by Diego whisking you away.

Something about Diego pissed Death off.

"¿Por qué estoy perdiendo el tiempo aquí?(Why am I wasting my time here?)" Death growled to himself before vanishing to go back to work. He figured he will settle this where it started, at the bar.

. . .

"Oooh, that looks good." Diego commented on the torrijas that arrived at your table.

Diego ordered just eggs and bacon, which he hardly took notice in as he kept his eyes trained on you.

"So, Gabi told me there was some creep at the bar last night? She said she left you with him and she feels bad about it, what's that all about?" he asked nonchalantly.

This was the last topic you wanted to talk about, however, he asked you so directly, there was no way to avoid it.

"I wouldn't say creep, I mean his looks were intimidating I guess? Well anyway, there wasn't any problems with him and I'm not upset with Gabi over it, I mean she takes customers I don't wanna deal with for me all the time so, we're even." you stared down at your food, feeling a bit guilty. Somehow, you felt like you were lying by not mentioning the full details.

"Well hopefully he won't show up to the party tonight cause I'd beat his a-"

"What party?" you interrupted Diego before he inflated his ego too much.

"Y/N, no seas estúpido (don't be stupid), it's the first of October. Maria always throws a party, it's her birthday month. We do this every year, how do you not remember by now."

"Ah damn, you're right...she's crazy, celebrating for a whole month sounds so tiring." you said while finishing up the last bit of your food.

"So hey, you skip the party every year..why not change it up and go this time? I'll be your party buddy and you can keep my drinking in check" he laughed, placing the money for the meal on the table.

Truthfully you normally weren't a party person. You had been to a handful of them and they usually end up with you sweating and hyperventilating in a bathroom stall, suffering from a panic attack.

But your encounter with Death did make you realize you must be seriously socially starved if a brisk walk with a stranger could make you feel so...flustered. You also came to the conclusion that maybe jumping back into the dating pool could be good for you. You hadn't had a romantic relationship since high school after all.

Finishing the last of your orange juice you answered Diego.

"Yeah alright, but promise not to ditch me during okay?"

"That's what I like to hear! Now it is a costume party so, we'll have to find you something to go in. But hey no worries, we're in town now so we can find something here." Diego said while standing up to leave.

You hadn't realized you'd have to dress up, and the thought of it made you kinda want to back out, but reluctantly you let Diego take you to a clothing shop anyway. You wanted to give your all into enjoying this experience.

. . .

Entering the shop you were greeted by a young woman who encouraged you to check out their extensive Halloween costume section.

"Hmm, I think we should find you something cute to wear, not too flashy, easy on the eyes..like you." Diego said as he bumped his elbow into your arm.

You decided to ignore the flirting and instead started to scan the racks of clothing, hoping to find something you'd be comfortable in.

Diego started to rummage through clothing, apparently eager to help you find a costume.

"Soo, what are you going as?" you asked plainly while scanning a skeleton body suit.

"Ah you know me, I gotta go big or go home so I'm going as a pirate all decked out in everything gold I could get my hands on." He said ruffling through more costumes.

You were about to give up your search and just go as a sheet ghost before Diego called out to you in joy.

"I found the perfect costume! Come here, come try it on!!" he said a little too loudly, causing the cashier to glare at him breifly.

He held out to you a red hood accompanied by an old-timey looking blouse and black corset attached to a silky red skirt for the bottom.

"It's Red Riding Hood! You'd look so cute in this!" Diego was beaming proudly at his find.

Not really wanting to go as a sheet ghost, you took the costume and headed for the dressing room.

Putting the costume on, you were pleased with how it fitted your body. Hugging the right places, while being flowy where it needed to be. Diego wasn't wrong, you did look cute.

When you exited the dressing room you saw Diego's disappointed expression.

"Aww what you're not gonna show me?" he whined.

"You'll see at the party anyways." you shrugged.

Diego paid for the costume and you both left the shop.

"Well, the party is at 10, so you should go home and get ready. Can't wait to see you there!" Diego chimed as you parted ways.

. . .

That night you had gotten dressed and admittedly were having to convince yourself time and time again to just go. You tried hard to silence the nagging voice in your head telling you to stay home and feign sickness the next day.

You took a deep breath in before opening the bar doors and stepping inside.

The bar was filled to the brim with people, some you recognized others you don't. All of them laughing, drinking and dancing in their costumes.

You looked around to try and spot any of your coworkers. Suddenly, an arm wrapped itself around your shoulders, startling you.

"You actually came!! That's good cause I didn't buy that costume for nothing..speaking of, you look adorable Y/N!"

It was Diego and you could instantly smell the liquor on his breath.

"Yeah I came, I didn't wanna leave you hanging..plus I'm supposed to keep you in check, have you had any drinks?" you asked, slipping out from under Diego's arm.

"Ah yeah, just two shots though, no more, I promise!" He laughed and whisked you away to a table before you could scold him.

At the table sat a group of people you didn't recognize but were supposedly Diego's friends. They were loud, slamming drinks on the table, screaming in each other's faces, pushing and pulling on one another. Deigo joined in the fun but you sat quietly, giving small smiles to the group whenever one of them accidentally bumped into you.

For the first half hour you did fine, even made a few light jokes and took a few shots to loosen up, however when the alcohol hit your head, you started becoming more and more sensitive to the lights and sounds around you. It started to become a bit much to handle.

You felt your face getting warm and you started to notice how much your clothes rubbed against your fur, making you uncomfortable. You attempted to take a calming breath in but it felt like the heavy scent of liquor and sweat absorbed all the oxygen. Your breaths became shallow and your mouth dry. You tugged on Diego's arm, wanting to ask him to move to a quieter spot for just a few seconds.

"Diego I think I need a break-" you started only to have Diego lightly shove you off of him. You looked up at him with confusion.

"It's a party, you want a break? You go home." he slurred his words a bit before taking another shot.

You decided to shake the hurt you felt from his comment and push.

"Hey, I think you've had too much to drink, let's go get water and-" you tried to pull Diego away from the table only to be shoved harder this time, almost causing you to fall backwards.

"Go get your water then." Diego said before returning his attention to his drinks and friends.

You felt the sting of tears in your eyes but blinked them away before heading towards the bar to get water. To your relief, you saw Gabi in an angel costume at the bar, making herself a drink.

When you got there, Gabi immediately saw the tired hurt in your eyes.

"Oh honey, you tried. You can't change him. Trust me, I also attempted to keep him sober. It's like stopping a fish from getting water" She guided your head to rest on her shoulder and gave you a few back pats.

She then pulled away and poured you a glass of water. You gladly accepted, grateful to have a 'mom' friend like Gabriella.

"You can hang with me for the rest of the night, I'm way more fun anyway" she winked at you.

You smile and nodded. She gently led you to a cleared spot in the bar, meant to be a makeshift dancefloor. She grabbed your hands and swayed to the music, singing along terribly. You couldn't help but laugh and sway with her. You felt a weight evaporate off of your chest and felt like you could breathe again.

After a bit of dancing, Gabi slowly came to a stop, staring off at a certain direction.

"No way that stalker-looking dog came back, who even invited him?" she scowled.

You immediately whipped your head in the direction she was looking. Your chest felt tight again..but this time in anticipation.

In a table all the way in the corner of the bar, sat Death. Looking straight at you with a grin on his face.

'Why is he here? He doesn't know Maria, so he wasn't invited. He only knows me...sort of. Did he come to see me?'

The thought of that made your heart flutter. Suddenly you and Death were locked in a staring contest, neither of you wanting to look away.

"I can get some guys to throw him out, hold on-" Gabi interrupted your stare down with Death.

"No no!..ah I mean, he's fine. I invited him." you lied.

"Oh, well then.. maybe you should talk to him. He's all by himself. Not that I care though, I'm gonna make another drink." Gabi said in shock. She gave you a quick hug before leaving for the bar.

You turned your attention back to Death who never stopped looking at you. He motioned his head towards the seat across from him at table.

Your heart did flips as you approached his table and sat down.

"No drink conejita?" he said tilting his head.

"I'm off the clock..and I've personally had enough to drink.." you said trying to keep your composure. You felt so confused yet happy in this moment.

Death nodded before shifting his gaze to look at something behind you.

"I think your friend has also had enough to drink." he laughed lightly.

You turned your head to see Diego drunkenly picking a fight with a stranger twice his size.

"Aye Diego..." you said putting your face in your hands. You were embarrassed Death saw you and him together while he acted like a fool.

Death gave a deep laugh that made you feel something you couldn't explain.

You looked up at him, you weren't sure if your cheeks were burning from the alcohol or your shyness. Even so, the alcohol gave you some courage and you were feeling ecstatic now that you're with Death again.

"So, you crashed the party and if Maria sees you she's gonna lose it..how come you're here?" you asked trying to not stare at his eyes.

"I needed to see you again." he stated plainly.

That sentence made something in you snap.

"Well I'm here." you breathed shallowly, your voice low, unable to hide the way you were feeling.

"Indeed you are, conejita." Death said in a similar tone, leaning forward.

You swore the entire world started moving in slow motion. Death was close enough to you that you could feel his breath on your fur. It took everything in you to not lean forward and rest your head in the crook of his neck.

'I really did have too much to drink' you thought helplessly.

You wanted to ask him a million questions about himself, you opened your mouth to speak only for his voice to ring out first.

"It's warm in here, no? Why not take another walk." He said standing up. You frowned at the sudden space he put between you and him.

Looking behind you, you saw Gabriella and Maria dancing together sloppily with huge smiles on their face. You also spotted Mateo for the first time tonight, flirting with a girl by the bar. Finally, you saw Diego, cursing while holding a cold glass of beer to his now blackened eye while his friends assure him it wasn't his fault.

'I feel kinda bad just leaving them without saying anything..' you thought before turning back to Death who now stood against the entrance doors in his dark poncho. He smiled at you before speaking, just barely audible to your ears in a smooth but teasing tone,

"You coming little bunny?"

'Nope, I don't feel bad at all.'

You followed Death out the door, into the cool dark night.

________________________________________

The alcohol was definitely affecting you more than you accounted for as you followed Death blindly in a random direction, no clue as to where you're going.

Again, normally something you wouldn't do.

Death was moving quicker than you remember him moving last time, it took a bit of effort to keep in step with him.

Happy to be alone with him again, you took this time to ask him everything that was on your tipsy mind.

"Why did you need to see me?" you asked.

"I want to show you something." he stated with amusement in his voice.

"Like what?"

"I want you to see my work."

"Oh you're job...but it's so late, what jobs still runs this late?"

"I don't get breaks." he said plainly.

"Well that's kinda dumb..and maybe even illegal? What's your job?" you furrowed your brows, trying to understand what he was saying.

"I'm Death." he said deadpanned.

"Yeah I know." you said matter of factly.

He laughed that deep laugh that made your heart flutter in your chest.

He then stopped to crouch down and face you so that he was just above eye level to you.

He raised his paw to your cheek and gently brushed his thumb across it.

Your breath hitched and suddenly your chest felt tight.

"I take the souls of the dead..." he whispered in a way that had you completely frozen in place.

He moved his paw to cup your chin and gently lifted your head so that your eyes met head on.

"and bring them to the afterlife." he was dangerously close to your face. Your heart skipped beats in anticipation for his next move.

"and there's no one.." he gently skimmed his claw from your jawline all the way down your neck.

"Who has ever escaped me." he finished in a deep hushed voice. He gently pinched your cheek before standing back up.

You let go of a breath you didn't know you were holding.

"Oh, I see.." you said quietly, your body still reeling from his touch. You didn't even really pay attention to what he had said.

"We're here conejita." Death said looking into the distance at something.

You moved to the side slightly to try and see what Death was looking at. A little bit away from where you both stood, a man sat slumped against a well, clearly intoxicated. He swished his beer bottle around, mumbling a song that sounded like something a sailor would sing.

Not understanding if that's what you were supposed to be looking at, you looked up at Death who now had an almost disappointed expression on his face.

Shifting your gaze back to the man, you could see his movements slow, as he started to slump to the side more and more, eventually laying on his side completely. His bottle spilling out onto the street.

"Did he just-"

"Die. Yes, yes he did." Death cut you off.

Your heart began to race and your mind filled suddenly with a million thoughts.

'What should I do. Do we get help? Do we call someone?? Can we revive him?? Did I actually just watch someone die??'

"No..wait I'm sure we can-" you began to take steps towards the man, but Death put a paw on your chest to stop you in your tracks.

"There's nothing anyone can do for him now." He said emotionless. He then approached the man, crouching down next to him.

"Then what are you doing??" you asked, following him, absolutely confused by what's going on.

"I told you..." Death started. He took out a sickle you didn't know he had and swiped it at the man. You gasped, but before you could say anything you were once again in awe of what you saw. On the point of the sickle there was a glowing ball of light. Death grabbed it and held the soft glowing ball of light in his paw. It looked ethereal, both tangible but also as if it could disappear at any moment.

Death brought the ball to his mouth, and said something inaudible. Then suddenly, the ball of light blew away, as if it were merely made of sand.

"I'm Death." he said coldly.

A few short seconds of confusion followed before finally your brain put all the pieces together.

You stared at him, unable to find the right words to say.

He once again crouched down to your level.

"And I don't mean it in any other way than literal. When your grandfather died, I was there. When your friends die, I'll be there, when you die, I'll. Be. Right. There. So whatever infatuation you have with me can end now. Go on. Run away like all little bunnies do." he said in a cold and harsh tone.

You admit, you had natural instincts that were screaming at you to run. But you also were...annoyed?

What did him being Death have to do with you? He wasn't soul reaping when he teased and taunted you at the bar that first night. He wasn't the grim reaper when he carried you home. He didn't have to be some terrifying entity that no one can get close to.

You felt frustration build in your chest and decided not to hold it back.

"What does that have to do with me liking you?! You don't get to decide if I like you or not, I do! You don't get to make me feel things and then think I'm gonna just run away over something like that! You started this with me, so finish it and walk me home!"

You yelled at him, using the last of your energy you had for the night. You sighed as you laid yourself down onto the ground, staring up at the night sky, much clearer than it was last time you saw it.

Suddenly you felt your body being lifted off the ground, once again being carried bridal style.

You looked at Death who had a grin on his face, looking ahead of him. He then looked down at you and leaned in close to your ear.

You breathed in the familiar after-rain scent he had. Something about that was so calming. You were slightly upset that his poncho stopped you from feeling his fur, but you also couldn't ask for anything more than to be in his arms right now.

"If I promise to stay do you promise not to run?" he said quietly.

You gently tightened your arms around his neck, taking in more of his scent.

"Of course." you hummed into his neck.

Truthfully, Death's entire day went wrong.

He spent the night thinking of you instead of carrying on his work.

He meant to scare you off way earlier in the day, only for your friend to ruin that.

He never meant to crash a party at the bar.

He didn't mean to caress your face.

He meant to scare you off after taking that mans soul.

Truly, he did the opposite of everything he wanted to happen today.

And with a grin on his face while carrying his sleepy little bunny home, he couldn't be happier.

End of Chapter Two.