#sorry Pa this just came out of no where and caught me off guard i had no idea what to make of it

[hayleythesugarbowl]

you should do a spencer agnew x reader but reader is the new smosh games PA and she has a slow burn / flirty relationship with spencer :)))

Cool Shoes || Spencer Agnew x reader

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ masterlist • smosh masterlist • part 2  ⋆˚｡⋆୨୧⋆

summary: when you join smosh as the newest addition to the games crew, you are immediately attracted to spencer. but will your little crush turn into something more?

word count: 3.7k

warnings: mild language

a/n: thank you so much for this request ml!! i love writing for spencer sm and honestly i kinda fell in love w him a little bit while writing this so ty 🤭 this isn’t superrr slow burny (i got to excited and eager lol oops) but there’s plenty of flirting and i hope you enjoy this!! 🎀

edit!! i have a part two now, so if you enjoy this fic go check that out 💋

<— some more spencer fics • next part —>

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     “And this concludes your official tour of Smosh,” Shayne said, throwing his arms wide. “Any questions?”

     “Yes,” you answered, “Is that my ring?”

     “(Y/n),” Shayne whined as he slipped the ring that was definitely yours into his pocket quickly, “That’s what you got out of my tour?”

     “You’re right, I’m sorry Oh Wise Guide,” you teased, “You know I wouldn’t be here without you. Or if I was, I’d be really lost.”

     You had just officially begun your job at Smosh that morning. Shayne had immediately started showing you around and you really were grateful.

     You’d known Shayne for years and he was the one that suggested you try and get a job with Smosh when you’d moved to LA a few months ago. 

     You’d gotten a job as the Smosh Games PA and you couldn’t wait to get started. You already knew a lot of the people who worked there—either because you’d met them through Shayne outside of Smosh or from the multiple times you’d visited the studio before you’d applied for the job.

     Plus, this was the first job you’d had where you actually felt like you’d be doing something you enjoyed. 

     “Who’s lost?” You heard a voice from behind you and you spun around quickly.

     “Oh, (Y/n), this is Spencer, the director of our games channel,” Shayne introduced you to the man who had spoke. “Spencer, this is (Y/n), the new games PA.”

     You knew you should’ve said something to him along the lines of ‘hi, nice to meet you. i’m (y/n). i look forward to working with you’ but all that came out was “Cool shoes.”

    You didn't know why that was what your mind had landed on—he was wearing basic gray sneakers—but you were so caught off guard by how attractive he was that you’d kinda choked.

     Because damn. He had the most gorgeous eyes you’d ever seen on a person before. 

     Spencer smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Either you’re just trying to kiss ass already or you’ve got really bad taste in shoes because these babies are mid at best.”

     You smiled, looking down at your own shoes. “Definitely the second option—these are someone’s grandma’s shoes. Seriously, I scavenged them from my Nanna’s closet.”

     This got you a laugh from Spencer and you continued, “Unless I should be kissing ass?”

     “Nah,” Spencer waved the thought away, “most of your job’s just gonna consist of bringing me Mountain Dew. So unless you can screw that up…”

     “He’s not serious, is he?” You turned around to ask Shayne. “Because you said this wasn’t gonna be like my last job.”

     “You slung Mountain Dew at your last job?” Spencer asked. 

     You shook your head. “Just had a lousy boss who took the assistant part of my job a little too far. But I appreciate your concern for my employment history,” you teased. 

     You were surprised at how easy it was to talk to Spencer. Usually you wouldn’t feel comfortable enough to joke around with someone you just met—let alone your new boss. Your new boss who you had almost undressed with your eyes upon first sight. 

     “Settle down, I was just gonna ask if you had any cans left over,” Spencer winked.

     “Spencer’s kind of addicted to Mountain Dew Kickstart,” Shayne piped in. “And by kind of—”

     “He means I’ve already had four today,” Spencer finished.

     You made a face, “It’s 9:00am.”

     “Ooh,” Spencer winced dramatically, “Sorry, but I don’t think our values align. Go ahead and bring in the next one, Shayne.  (Y/n), it was nice meeting you—good luck with the shoes thing.”

     Now it was your turn to raise an eyebrow, “You already have another person lined up for my job?”

     Spencer leaned towards you and you felt your pulse pick up ever-so-slightly. “Shayne doesn’t know it yet, but it’s actually just him,” he whispered loudly.

     “Well then I may have to quit, just to see how this goes,” you said, turning to Shayne who crossed his arms.

     “Not when I was just starting to like you,” Spencer pouted and you felt your cheeks warm.

     “I was just starting to think you’re not so bad yourself,” you shot back.

     “Woah, I just meant ‘cause you have a secret stash of Mountain Dew.”

     “And I meant because you have cool shoes,” you teased.

     “Well, now that we’ve got that settled,” Spencer smiled, “I expect to see you here by 5:00am sharp tomorrow morning.”

     “Seriously?” Your job description hadn’t said anything about getting to work when it was still dark out!

     Spencer shrugged. “I guess I can give you a few more hours. Y’know, so you can shop for some decent footwear beforehand. See ya later, grandma shoes.”

      He began to walk backwards and you said a quick ‘it was nice to meet you’ before he turned around and walked back the way he came.

     You couldn’t stop the smile that was forming on your face. You could already tell this was going to turn out to be a great job. You couldn’t wait to get to work tomorrow. And you couldn’t pretend part of that wasn’t because you wanted to see Spencer again.   

     And not just because that’s what your eyes wanted. You had enjoyed talking with him. You felt like you’d really hit it off. You felt like you two could really become good friends and coworkers. 

     You turned to Shayne, aware that you were probably still smiling like an idiot. 

     “What?” He fixed you with a quizzical look.

     “Nothing, I’m just excited to start working here,” you said.

     Shayne raised an eyebrow.

     “And,” You added, reluctantly, and only because you knew Shayne would find out  eventually, “you didn’t tell me my boss was hot.”

     Now Shayne raised both eyebrows, “Spencer?”

     “What?”

     “Nothing,” he said, “I mean, he’s single, so go for it if you want. He seemed like he really liked you and—”

     “No,” you cut him off, “Definitely not. He’s my boss. I don’t want to ‘go for’ anything other than a good, friendly, professional relationship.”

     “Okay,” Shayne nodded. 

      You nodded back and he was silent for a moment before smiling, 

     “‘Course that’s what I said about Courtney…”

₊˚ ✧ ‿︵‿୨୧‿︵‿ ✧ ₊˚

You took a sip of your coffee from the mug you were holding as you made your way down the hall and towards your office.

     You’d been working at Smosh for approximately seventeen days and you had finally stopped getting lost throughout the building on a daily basis.

     Once Spencer had showed you the ropes and made sure you knew what you were doing, you had joined right in to the well oiled machine that was Smosh.

     Unfortunately, your sense of directions wasn’t as good as your work ethic and so it had taken extra time for you to remember where everything was. Much to Shayne’s amusement.

     You were deep in thought as you rounded the corner and you didn’t see the person right in front of you.

     You ran straight into Spencer and as you collided with him, your coffee drink spilled all down your front as you were knocked to the floor. You quickly picked yourself up off the ground. 

     “I am so sorry,” you rushed, “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

     “It’s all good,” Spencer said, standing up, “I am officially awake now, so I guess I owe you one.”

     You laughed with him but you felt your face getting hot in embarrassment. You looked down at your blouse and found it more brown than it was purple from the coffee. You tried in vain to wipe it off.

     “Damn, I hope that wasn’t a family heirloom too,” Spencer pointed to your shirt, “Here, take my hoodie.”

     He started to pull the sweatshirt over his head as you protested, “No, it’s ok—I’ll be fine. It’s not that bad—it’s kind of a look.”

     “Really, I insist,” Spencer said, handing you his hoodie. “Gives me a chance to show off my anime t-shirt anyway.”

     You took the sweatshirt from him, mumbling your thanks and pulling it over your head.

      Spencer’s scent engulfed you as you put on his warm hoodie and you tried not to get distracted by the way his cologne made you a little bit dizzy. 

      Over the last several days, as you’d been adjusting to your new job, you’d almost forgotten your tiny crush on Spencer. 

     Almost. 

     You’d been so focused on work that you hadn’t really had time to stop and think about your feelings towards your boss. 

     You really enjoyed working with him and he was quickly becoming your favorite person at Smosh—other than Shayne, of course. You sent a silent apology to him in your head.

      And then there were the moments when Spencer would laugh at one of your jokes or compliment you on a task you did or smile shyly at you up through his lashes and you felt all warm inside.

     Like right now—him giving you his hoodie. That brought you out of your reverie as you remembered where you were. Standing in front of the man you were currently lost in thought about.

     “Right, well, I better get back to—” You gestured in front of you, trailing off as you had honestly forgot what exactly you were headed to your office for. 

     “Of course, I wouldn’t want to keep you from—” He gestured in the direction you had, as if the nothing that you had indicated was what needed your attention. 

     You rolled your eyes at him amicably before heading in the direction you had been going. 

     After a quick stop in your office—you hadn’t found what you apparently had been looking for in there. And if while you were in the office by yourself you pulled up the collar of the sweater to your nose for a second or seven, who was there to see you?—you set off for the break room. 

     You saw Shayne sitting at a table with some other cast and crew members and you walked over towards him, plopping down across from him and Erin, an associate producer for Smosh.

     You had gotten to know her a bit throughout these past couple weeks and already felt like you had been friends for months.

     “Hey you,” Shayne greeted, “What’s up?”

     You shrugged. “Oh, you know, same old same old. What’s new with you?”

     “Well, we filmed a TNTL this morning, and I had this new idea for a character. So basically—”

     “(Y/n), is that Spencer’s sweatshirt?” Erin interrupted, her eyes fixed on your top. 

     “Oh, um, yeah,” you told her.

    At the same time Shayne asked, “How do you even know what Spencer wore to work today?” 

     “I’m a woman, we know these things,” Erin paused. “Come on, he wears that thing four times a week, like it’s hard.”

     She turned her gaze back to you. 

     You cleared your throat. “But, yeah, anyways, I spilled coffee on my blouse so he gave me this.”

     Erin raised an eyebrow, “Did he now?”

     “Why are you looking at me like that?” You asked her, trying your hardest not to blush. 

     “No reason,” she leaned back, acting casual, “It’s just Dude 101, a guy doesn’t give a girl his hoodie unless he likes her.”

     You scoffed, “That’s crazy, Erin. He was just being nice.”

     This you felt sure about. Whatever your feelings were towards Spencer, you were sure he only though of you as his coworker. 

     Right?

     “Well, it’s obvious you like him,” Erin added, as if that was an absolute fact.

     “What?” You spit out, probably faster and louder than was necessary or convincing.   

     You glanced at Shayne and he raised his arms as if to say, Don’t look at me, my lips have been sealed!

     “I’ve seen the way you act around him, (Y/n). And the way he acts around you.” 

     Was it that obvious that you had a little, tiny crush on Spencer? I mean, you guys got along really well. And we’re constantly making each other laugh. But that just meant you were friends, right? He definitely didn’t act any different around you than he did with anyone else at Smosh, did he? 

     Granted, you hadn’t even been working here three weeks yet and you weren’t one hundred percent sure how he acted around everyone else. But you had no reason to believe it was any different than with you!

     “You’re crazy,” you told Erin.

     “So you deny, it?” She folded her hands on the table in front of her, “You don’t have feelings for Spencer?”

     “Well,” you started. You didn’t want to lie to her, not when you were just starting a friendship. You sighed, lowering your voice so only Erin and Shayne could hear you, “I might have some feelings for—”

     “Spencer!” Shayne said loudly and awkwardly, as if to warn you of his sudden presence behind you.

     You spun around probably too quickly and found yourself looking up at him. 

     “Hi, Spencer,” you said, sincerely hoping he hadn’t overheard any of the previous conversation.

     “Hey (Y/n), long time no see,” he smiled, putting his hands in his pockets. “So, I was wondering, since we’ve got that big project coming up next Wednesday, do you think you’d be able to meet me outside of work to get a head start on it? We could go to a coffee shop or my place or something?”

     He almost looked…nervous asking you to work on a project outside of normal work hours. Probably just figuring you’d decline at sacrificing your free hours.

     You watched as Erin raised an eyebrow and you promptly ignored her. 

     “Yeah sure,” you said, “Sounds like a plan.”

     “Really?” He sounded relieved, “Ok awesome, I’ll text you some dates.”

     “Perfect,” you said, “And it’ll give me a chance to give you back this hoodie once I have other clothes to change into.”

     “Keep it,” Spencer shrugged, looking down “It looks way better on you that it ever did on me anyways.”

     You brushed your hair behind your ears. “I might take you up on that offer.”

     “‘Course you will have to give me something in return,” he said, “I mean, fair’s fair, man.”

     “Naturally,” you looked down at your body to find something suitable, your eyes landing on the scrunchie at your wrist. 

     You handed it to him and he took your offering, slipping the scrunchie into his wrist. 

     “Classy,” he nodded, holding his arm out at different angles to look at it.

     “Very,” you agreed, giggling. 

     You both fell silent and you looked back down at the table. Shayne said something to Spencer and they began a conversation—the chosen, something something—and you were silent until Spencer left the table, laughing at something Shayne had said.  

     Immediately after he exited the room, Erin pounced.

     “Okay what the hell was that?” She asked.

     “What was what?”

     Erin put on a high voice and then a low voice and back again, mimicking your conversation “Oh, hi, Spencer. Hi, (Y/n). Wanna come to my place? Oh, I’d love to. You look so sexy. No you look sexy. Wanna exchange wardrobes?” 

     “Okay, that’s not how any of that went,” you said, but you couldn’t help yourself from smiling.

     “That’s what it sounded like from over here,” Shayne added. “He invited you to his house, man. And he’s gonna text you?”

     You’d exchanged numbers right after you began your job, but you hadn’t actually had many text conversations. You didn’t really think it was a big deal.

     “Yeah, we’ve texted before,” you said, “But don’t think it means anything, so far he’s mostly just sent me memes.”

     “What kind of memes?” Shayne asked, as though this was severely important. 

     “Cat, SpongeBob, the occasional wombat.”

     “Trust me,” he said, “that means something. I’m a psychologist, so I kinda know these things.”                                

“Havingapsychologydegreeisn’tthesameasbeingapsychologist,” Erin coughed into her hand.  

     “You know what—” Shayne started, turning to Erin.

     “Guys,” you interrupted.

     “Right,” Erin agreed, “not the time. What I’m trying to say is, that was flirting Miss (Y/n), whether you like it or not.”

     Had you and Spencer been flirting? You weren’t exactly an expert on the subject, so maybe Erin was right. A part of you definitely hoped that was the case. 

     “I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” Amanda leaned in from the table next to yours, “But I also think there was definitely flirting going on.”

      You, Shayne, and Erin all turned to look at her.

      “Come on people, you know I like kissing scenes, why should this come as a shock?” She threw up her hands and you laughed.

       “Who’s kissing?” You hadn’t seen Courtney enter the room, but now she came and sat down next to her husband and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

       “We were just talking about how it’s just a matter of time before Spencer and (Y/n) are totally gonna ba—”

      “Erin!” You cut her off, definitely blushing now as Courtney giggled.

      “So you and Spencer, huh?” She asked, smiling. 

      “That’s what these two seem to think,” you gestured to your friends.

     “Not think,” Erin said.

     “We know,” Shayne finished.

     “Fine,” you relented a bit, “I do like him, a little. Well, okay a lot. I guess I like him a lot. He’s smart and sweet and funny and charming and so cute and has great cologne, apparently,” you gestured to the hoodie. You took a deep breath. “And I really really like him.”

     You realized as you said it, that it was true. You’d spent the past couple of weeks trying to convince yourself that you only thought of Spencer as a friend and a coworker. But you realized, the more you talked to your friends, that you really did have feelings for him. That were more than friendly or coworker-ly. 

     Maybe this was something that you really did want. And that could maybe happen. You had felt the connection between you and Spencer, so it was possible he might feel the same way about you.

     Unless you were reading this all wrong and—Oh God, what if you told him how you felt and he rejected you and then you had to work side by side with him in awkwardness forever? 

     “But so what? It’s not as if he feels the same way. I don’t want to make things weird between us,” you finished.

     “Trust me, my guy, he likes you,” Courtney contributed. “I’m married to a psychologist, I know these things.”

     “See!” Shayne crossed his arms triumphantly and Erin rolled her eyes. 

     “Stilldoesn’tcount,” she cough-spoke. 

     “And I’m taking this back!” You said, noticing the ring on Shayne’s middle finger and reaching over to grab it, once and for all. 

     “Anyways,” Courtney finished, “I say tell him how you feel, see where this goes.”

     “I concur,” Shayne said and his wife raised an eyebrow at him. “What? I’ve always wanted to say that!”

     “She’s right,” Erin said, “and by the end of the week you’ll be ban—”

     “Erin!” 

     She merely smirked as she picked up her soda drink and took a sip. 

     “So I just go up and ask Spencer out?” You messed with the drawstrings of your sweatshirt. You were encouraged by your friends’ words, and you really wanted to go up and just do it, but you felt doubt creeping in. 

     “What if I mess up what I’m trying to say?  Or fall on my face walking up to him? Or worse, what if he says no?”

     “He wouldn’t.” You heard his voice first. You looked up and found him walking slowly through the doorway as he kept speaking. “Say no, I mean. If I know him as well as I think I do—and I pride myself on knowing him pretty damn well—then he’d say yes.”        

     He was in front of you now. “Yes. Yes. A thousand times yes.”

     You tried to catch your breath as you processed what was happening. “Oh yeah? What else would he say?”

     “Well, uh, he’d probably that he’s attracted to you. And that he wanted to ask you out the moment he met you and is so glad you did it first because now he doesn’t have to continue his poor, pathetic attempts at making a move,” he said, placing a hand in the back of his neck.

     You stood up, coming to stand right in front of Spencer. “When did you come back?” 

     You’d thought he’d walked away a few minutes ago after your conversation had ended. 

     “Never left,” he said, “Bent down to tie my shoe, and then I heard way too many nice things about myself to leave.”

     You giggled, shoving his shoulder. “So humble.”

     “Hey, when you hear someone professing their love for you…” Spencer shrugged. 

     “Ok, that’s not what was happening,” you crossed your arms.

     “I beg to differ,” Erin piped in.

     “Not what it sounded like from our side of the table,” added Shayne. 

     You had forgotten both of them were there. You’d been so caught up in what was happening with Spencer, you’d forgotten anyone was there, actually.

     But as you looked around, you found that everyone currently occupying the break room was stopped to watch the two of you. 

     Angela whooped from a few tables over. 

     “Well since it’s unanimous, apparently,” you joked, “What do you say? Will you go out with me.”

     “I most certainly will,” Spencer said, smiling at you.

     You reached out and took his hand, linking it with yours. He looked at you for a moment before leaning in and giving you a quick kiss on the cheek.

     You placed your hand where his lips had touched yours. You couldn’t believe this was happening. And you couldn’t wait to see where this went—you and Spencer, you thought. You felt giddy with excitement.

     “Well, I’ll see ya later then,” Spencer said, beginning to walk backwards. “and I already have an idea for our first official date.”

     “And what’s that?”

     “I’m gonna take you to a Payless ShoeSource.”

     “I thought you liked my grandma shoes,” you crossed your arms.

     “(Y/n), I like everything about you,” he said, “but those things have to to go.”      

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ˋ°•*⁀➷ hope you enjoyed this one!! have a lovely week all my spencer girlies 🤭🩰

<— some more spencer fics • next part —>

[countlessrealities]

JAMES NORRINGTON ~ ashortdropandasuddenstop​

James Norrington tried to hide his surprise as the door hit him slightly, causing him to take a step back. He had been so absorbed in studying the Mystery Shack’s peculiarities that he hadn’t noticed his proximity to the door. Letting out a slight grunt, he quickly composed himself and turned to face her.

The vampire couldn’t help but be amused by the energetic young girl who had just bumped him. She was a stark contrast to the rest of the group, with her colorful sweater and matching hair band.  

“ Quite alright, miss. Just a bit of a fright. No harm no foul “  The deep British accent replied , brows raised.  Flicking his hidden gaze from her back to the threshold of the other room where ‘Mr mystery’ was still leading the tour. James was able to still hear them fine with his preternatural senses. Listening to the heavyset male try to sound cool, mess up and try again.  

  “ I’m not quite sure. Must’ve lost track of time. Seems they’ve gotten a bit ahead of me, haven’t they? “  

James could see tell the Soos was not the sharpest tool in the shed, but he also recognized that the man had a certain charm and likability that made him popular with the tourists. Still, James couldn’t help but feel a sense of superiority as he observed the man’s clumsy attempts at showmanship. He wondered how anyone could take him seriously as a guide, let alone as a businessman.

But he had to maintain his façade of politeness, so he replied with a thinly-veiled insult disguised as a compliment. "I must say, your Mr. Mystery certainly has a unique approach to running a tourist attraction,” he said with a small smile. “He’s quite…unconventional.  Come here often, do you?” 

Mabel blinked at the man, caught off guard by the thick accent. The Shack tended to attract a very specific kind of tourists and, while they had foreigners from time to time, those mostly came from Asia. Europeans were a much rarer sight, at least according to Grunkle Stan. She hadn't met any the previous summer.

A small grin opened on the girl's lips. At least the man didn't seem upset by her faux pas. She would have hated forcing Soos to deal with a bitchy costumer because she hadn't thought to check before opening a door.

“Still, I didn’t mean to startle or disturb you or anyone, so...Sorry again,” she answered, rubbing the back of her head. “I usually don’t come in when there’s an ongoing tour, but I have some time to kill, so I thought I could watch.”

Her eyes wandered towards the group, taking in the sight of her friend emphatically gesturing at one of the fake paranormal findings that filled the room. His style was very different from Stan’s. Her great-uncle was the real deal, a showman and a conman to the bone, while Soos mostly relied on making people feel welcome, seen and heard. He would have probably been better off working as a counsellor than running the Shack, but this was his dream and Mabel supported him, no matter what.

“They should be...uuuuh...approaching the end, I think? There are new additions to the collection that weren’t here last summer,” she eventually spoke up, pursing her lips slightly. It seemed that her Grunkles had brought Soos some gifts during the past months. Parts and pictures and objects they had collected while dealing with real paranormal activity and monsters. “I bet he’s keeping those for last.”

It would have been the smartest move. Dazzling the tourist with one last shot, so that they would remember the genuine evidence and not the falsified ones.

“And yeah, he does, but he’s a great guy. And he’s much more than he looks.” Soos had been with them the whole thing while they had been fighting Bill through Weirdmageddon and he had been incredibly brave. “And sort of? My Grunkle was the previous owner of this place. My brother and I spent the summer with him last year. And we’re back for this one too!”

[nanashijones]

Power Up Couple

Credit and blame goes squarely to @earthsong9405, who always manages to draw something that wakes up my muse. Even after all this time. Good to be back, girl.

Peach woke, stretched, and started humming. She hummed as she took her morning shower, hummed as she did her hair and put her face on. Hummed as Toad and Toadette met her at her suite's door to discuss the day's itinerary. And didn't stop till Toadette smirked at her and had said, "So, last night with the Mayor was good, huh?"

"Sorry?" Peach said, snapped from her reverie.

"You've been humming since we started, Highness," Toadette said, with a grin.

"I- I've just. Well, last night-" She looked to Toad. "Was I humming that much?"

"It's time to jump up in the air, jump up, don't be scared," Toad said, leafing through the itinerary.

"Oh Fire Flowers," Peach said, covering her face with her hand.

"I mean, it's a catchy song, but it ain't that catchy," Toad said, raising an eyebrow almost into his cap. "What'd you two do anyway?"

Peach blushed as she leaned back. "Just… went for a walk. We got a bite, I think? She really just showed me some of Metro Kingdom."

"You mean she took you to one of the highest rated restaurants in town, and the club where she sometimes performs?" Toadette teased, holding up her phone.

Peach pulled her hair in front of her face. "There are pictures?"

"Two reigning rulers of the biggest kingdoms in the world went out on a date!" Toad yelled. "Of course there are pictures!"

"Who said it was a date?" Peach asked, leaning forward, cheeks hot and pink and this was not happening. Not after how absolutely delightful it wa- She shook her head a little, terrified at how quickly that line of thinking popped up.

"Only everyone," Toadette said, with a happy sigh. "I'm jealous- Mayor Pauline is a total catch."

"She could be a perfect star for all that it matters!" Toad snapped. "Qu- Princess Peach. You have to tell Toadette and I these things. It's part of our jobs for cosmos sake!"

"I'm sorry. I thought she was just showing me around, I really did," Peach said, quickly.

"So, it wasn't a date?" Toad asked, leaning across the table.

Peach hunched in slightly, picking at the hem of her pink dress for the day. "What has... Pa- Mayor Pauline's team said?"

"No comment yet. It's just hitting the gossip sites for now," Toadette responded, flicking through pages on her phone. "I'm expecting a call-"

The cheerful tune she had set for her ring sprang to life.

"And there it is!" she said. "What do I say?"

Peach normally had a thousand responses. She'd been doing this so long. With Daddy's illness, and just how much juggling she did with Bowser and his family, she could diplomat in her sleep. But she wasn't asleep here. She was wide awake and absolutely tongue tied.

"Let me speak to them," she said, instead, holding out her hand.

Toadette's eyes widened. "Highness?"

"It's fine, Toadette," Peach said. Her voice was warm, her demeanor comforting- as if she had all the answers. It was a face she put on time and again. And some times, Peach even believed it herself.

Toadette handed Peach her phone and Peach nodded her thanks, sliding open the call.

"This is Princess Peach," she said.

It clearly caught whoever was on the other side off guard.

"Er. Ma'am. Highness," said someone who recovered quickly. "My name is Ms. Bonnie Voyage. I am with Mayor Pauline's press corp and I wanted you to verify some things that came to light recently in the press this morning."

Peach nodded and said, "Is Mayor Pauline available?"

Again, the silence of the off guard, but again, a quick recovery. "She is..." A sigh. "Beside me. Here you go."

"Good morning," Pauline said, and oh yes. A warm, syrupy goodness pooled in Peach's stomach just at the sound of Pauline's voice. And Toad, Toadette, and Ms. Voyage all fell away.

"Good morning," Peach replied. "Did you sleep... okay last night?"

"Pretty well. It helped that I had a lovely evening, which is apparently all the rage this morning."

"Yeah, I saw. I'm sorry," Peach said.

"Sorry?" She could hear Pauline straighten. "What would you be-"

"For causing such a fuss. You were so gallant last night, showing me around, sharing your city with me..." She laughed softly.

Behind her, Toad and Toadette shared a look.

"I feel like I left a bob-omb in your mailbox this morning," she said.

"This is nothing I'm not used to," Pauline replied, the stiffness in her voice giving way to assurance. "My kingdom's press is a bit nosy. I encourage it normally, but it sounds like it's caused our staff a little stress this morning."

Peach chuckled. "That's one way to put it. So, a date?" she said, fingers tying in her hair.

"I can see how... someone would take it that way," Pauline said.

"Two someones, especially," Peach agreed. Her heart had picked up. What was she doing?

"I mean, only if those two someones consented on it being such," Pauline replied.

Peach stood a little straighter. It was last night again. In the rain. The thrill was there, the offer to challenge... to play. Oh, she'd been caring for so long. How often did someone want to play with Peach? Well. That she wanted to play with back anyway?

"Two someones or one someone. A guest in Metro Kingdom? Perhaps?"

"Perhaps," Pauline purred and it made Peach's stomach do flips.

"Well, if that was a date, then it would be on the first someone to clear the air," Peach said, walking over to the window of her room and pressing her fingers to the glass. Where was the mayor's manor again...?

"But that first someone would only do so if it was welcome to the second someone," Pauline volleyed back.

"And if it was welcome?" Peach ventured.

"Then I'd ask you on a second date. A real one," Pauline said, tossing the whole game board out the window.

Peach's face went crimson and she smiled. Damn. She'd lost. Oh dear.

"Well then," she said. "Pick me up tonight?"

"Of course," Pauline said. Peach heard her snapping her fingers in the background. "Would you be fine with something as informal as the first?"

"I would," Peach said, nodding. "If possible..."

"Yes?"

Peach smiled. The game was on again, and she was running the board.

"I want to see your Metro Kingdom. Not the tourist spots, not where you can show off," she teased, "but where the city means something to you."

Pauline's breath hitched. Peach heard it. "Done," she said, firm and... did Peach catch excitement in her voice? "And I'm going to recommend that you wear shoes for walking rather than what you had last night."

Peach's face pinched up on one side in annoyance. But it was a delighted annoyance. That Pauline could be so... in charge. So soon. Peach liked it. Because, it didn't feel like control was being taken from her, more like a baton that was now in Pauline's hand. And Peach was trusting her to run with it.

But not without proving that trust a little first.

"I'll have you know I was quite comfortable in what I was wearing last night."

"Sure you were," Pauline teased. "Which is why you were out of them at Vivo's."

Peach snorted. "I'll make sure to bring walking shoes," she assented.

"Good to hear." And it was that low growl. That promise in her voice that promised things for Peach and woke her up. More than a cup of coffee ever could. "Well, I'll let my staff whip up an official statement- say that we were just looking around, and enjoying the evening. That kind of thing. Then, go about my day. You?"

"About the same," Peach said. "There are other leaders to meet with in the World Convention, but... I'm looking forward to a more private time with one tonight."

"She'll do what she can to make it worth your time," Pauline said, voice low. It brightened quickly after. "But I'll meet you at your room and we'll go from there. Let you see a side of Metro Kingdom that isn't on the tourist path."

"I look forward to it," Peach agreed. "Pauline." She lead there. How would Pauline respond?

"I look forward to you, Peach," Pauline said, and Peach's toes curled.

They said their goodbyes and when Peach disconnected, she sighed heavily. How long had it been since she felt like this. Too long.

"Do you need a minute alone with my phone?" Toadette said, shaking Peach from her reverie.

"Oh! Thank you, Toadette," Peach said, returning the phone to her attendant.

"Thanks for making my job easier. Official statement all set, I just need it to sound good." She winked at her boss and went to a side table, where she opened her laptop.

Toad, meanwhile, set about rearranging the schedule. "Princess, do you know what you're doing? Two of the world's premier leaders... dating? That's not a little thing, you know."

Peach smiled, and looked out the window. She found the Mayor's Manor easily now. "I know, Toad," she said. "But she makes me feel... not like a princess. She's like... Daisy. But different? If that makes any sense."

"No, it doesn't, but you don't pay me to make sense of you when you're being senseless," he said, as he started texting the other Mushroom Kingdom staff on retainer for the Convention. "You pay me to make sure you can keep doing right by the kingdom and the world."

Peach sighed. The world always waited. The world always needed. That was the way of it. But for one night last night, there wasn't the world. There was just Pauline, and her.

Her toes curled.

And she forced them to uncurl.

She looked away from the Mayor's Manor in the distance. Because Toad was right. The world was her responsibility. And Daddy. Maybe when he was better she could... spend more time on this kind of thing. But she needed to focus. The World Convention was happening, and while Bowser was an ally, there were other leaders to connect to.

She would... just go tonight. Have a nice time. Be pen pals. That would be enough.

Her gaze drifted up to the Mayor's Manor. And she bit her lower lip.

"Just one more night," she said to herself.

[the-smallest-star]

The fresh air was nice, and once they got to the beach Patch had been able to strip of his disguise. Funny trench coat combo... he could tell it was partly to make him laugh. The spa had been relaxing earlier, working out tense muscles that had needed attention for a while... now they were listening to the waves slosh against the shore, and sinners either playing in the waves or tanning on the beach.

“This was a good idea.” Patch broke the silence, Gritt’s attention drawn back to his twin with a nod. “Mhm.” Gritt made a sound of agreement, spending this time with his little brother was something he’d missed. It helped the hole they’d left in his cold heart, “gonna miss this.”

Patch hesitated for a moment, curling his outstretched prosthetics closer into his chest as he seemed to be deep in thought, “... Gritt... you know our childhood was fucked up... right?” The question caught the imp off guard, blinking at Patch in confusion, “You mean Mom and Dad kicking you out and breaking my horns? Yeah I know it was-” “No not just that... I mean... all of it.”

Noting the eldest’s confused expression Patch took a deep breath and slowly released it, tapping his claws on his arm as he tried to think of a way to explain it. “When I was disowned I thought the same as you, but Ma and Pa... Bones and Roz... Gritt Mom and Dad were fucked up parents the whole time.” Patch explained, “Bones and Roz never got mad when I fucked up, I still got punished if I did something wrong but it was taking away electronics and not going out with friends, not punching us and locking us in a basement. They spent time with me, loved each other. If they ever argued it was quietly and resolved by talking it out. Gillian and Peckrin just screamed at each other and nitpicked. They never told their kids they were getting fat, never told them they were fuck ups, never hit them... our parents weren’t normal. Thats why when I was sixteen I asked them to help me go home to take you with us. I’d been worried since you stopped talking to me and I didn’t want to leave you there.”

A look of shock crossed Gritt’s face, he’d been taking in all of this but the last sentence surprised him. “You-... came back for me?”

“Yeah.” Patch continued, “but when we got there Gillian said you’d ran away years ago, demanded we tell her where you were but... we didn’t know. I kept looking for signs of you but... its a lot of rings to cover. When I found your livestream I realised you were in Pride too, I felt terrible I hadn’t come for you sooner... but I was ashamed to tell you. I knew as soon as I saw your horns why you ran away, and you did the right thing. You were so different though; quiet... angry... Gillian and Peckrin did a number on you. But you never took it out on me. But you started to do better after a while, when you apologised for not standing up for me when they disowned me I knew I had to tell you I was sorry. I was planning on talking to you when... well....”

“When you died.” Gritt finished, Patch nodded shamefully, “Patch I didn’t know you came back for me, but I wasn’t mad you had a good life after. Jealous sure, but not mad. We... both wish we did some things differently, and when you put it all like that then... maybe our life with Mom and Dad was messed up long before we left.” “... whatever happens to me, will you get some help? I spoke to someone about it for a long time, I can give you their number. Will you do it, for you?” Patch asked, a pleading look in his eyes. The same look he’d give Gritt back when they were kids and he wanted something.

And it always worked.

“Okay... I’ll talk to them, but no promises other than that.” Patch’s face lit up, relief clear as day as tears welled up in his eyes. With a sniff he turned his head away, feeling the hand of his brother rubbing his back.

“... thanks for not giving up on me.” Gritt spoke softly, “I’ll do my best.”

[mxxnlight-99]

🌼chifuyu x reader🌼

Warnings: +18. Praise kink lots of dirty talk. Squirt. The reader (?) Has a date with kazutora but very short and nothing happens. Slight but very slight spoiler of chifuyu and kazutora's relationship and job. i'm not very good at English so i apologize for possible mistakes

You and chifuyu had met at an animal shelter. you liked them a lot so you were volunteering at various shelters.

You met him several times before you talked to him. He had caught your eye, not that the boy would go unnoticed with those blue eyes and his hair.

He told you that he owned a pet store with a friend but that he also wanted to help out and so he volunteered at various shelters just like you.

Often their schedules coincided so you had built up a nice routine of going out for a drink, going out to eat or just talking about their day, it was nice to have someone to share things with.

He had told you about his past with Toman and you were quite surprised that someone like him had been involved in such situations. Although it didn't really bother you, Chifuyu had always shown you that he was a good person.

Over time you had begun to realize that your feelings towards Chifuyu were more than friendly. You had watched him play with a puppy, he was so loving and then he had turned around and looked at you with those beautiful eyes and gave you that beautiful smile and your heart almost burst out of your chest. You had always wanted to be with someone who shared your love for animals so it was no wonder you felt that way about him.

You had decided to ignore your feelings for him. Clearly the boy didn't seem interested and you didn't want to ruin his beautiful friendship by confessing to him, so things went on as usual.

you had left the shelter and were having ice cream with chifuyu until their phone rang. It sounded like it was from the store it was something with some cages that had arrived it wasn't that important but they needed the main owner's signature and he asked you to go with him.

There you met his friend Kazutora, he seemed nice but since you arrived he didn't take his eyes off you and started to make you uncomfortable.

Chifuyu came back and Kazutora spoke.

- So this is the reason why you've been absent so much? - he said in a playful tone - nice girl -

- She's not my girl," Chifuyu hastened to clarify.

You weren't but feeling the urgency with which he had to clarify that he's not with you hurt you a little bit at the end of the day you really liked him. The situation stayed there and you helped the guys to settle things down.

You had started going to the store more often and now you were helping to clean up and feed the animals. Kazutora was really nice once you got to know him you had a lot of fun hanging out with the two of them.

you were cleaning the place where the kittens were, well more like Kazutora was cleaning and you were playing with the cats.

- you know... - kazutora started talking - you're very cute - you stopped playing and watched him.

- What was that for?

- I'm sorry, I know it's a sudden comment, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable -

- no, it's okay it just took me by surprise I didn't expect you to say something like that -

- I umm... you are very pretty and nice and I wanted to ask you... if you wanted to go on a date with me, that's why I told you that, it's okay if you say no -

You stood there not knowing what to say your feelings for chifuyu were still there and even though you didn't expect anything to happen you didn't want to go out with kazutora if you had feelings for someone else it wasn't fair to him and he had been through enough in his life. You were about to speak when he interrupted you

- I know you like chifuyu - you froze in your place How had he noticed? - It's obvious you're the only one capable of putting up with his tricks but since you haven't told him I figured he might have a chance, it's just a date and we'll see what happens -

You thought about it for a second and agreed. It was just a date and nothing more and you would see how you felt about the situation.

The date was on a Friday afternoon, it was no big deal and you thanked Kazutora for choosing something simple. you had a picnic on a lake where there were some nice ducks. You fed them and took pictures with them it was really a nice afternoon. You didn't rule out the idea of going out with him again.

Monday you went to the refuge as usual, it was one of the days you shared a shift with chifuyu, he had been tense and distant all day, you didn't understand why but you didn't inquire too much, for sure he would tell you when you left.

when you two go out You tried to make conversation but he was still with the same attitude.

- So you went on a date with Kazutora? -

- yes, we had a little picnic -

- why? -

- Why? - you asked confused.

- yes Why did you go on a date with him? -

The question caught you off guard. What were you supposed to answer to that? He had stopped walking and was looking at you waiting for you to answer. You stood a few steps ahead of him not knowing what to say.

- tell me, tell me why you went out with him -

- I... I don't know -

- What do you mean you don't know? Do you like him? -

he approached you and took your face softly making you look into his eyes his lips inches from yours

- tell me now that you really like him and that you want to be with him and I'll leave you alone otherwise... I'm going to kiss you right now -

What?

You couldn't think anything else when you felt his lips against yours. Chifuyu's lips were soft and warm and he held you as if you were going to break. It was a soft kiss but full of longing and as quickly as it started it ended.

- I'm sorry, that was wrong. You're going out with my friend what was I thinking. I'm leaving -

He turned around and started to walk away but you grabbed him by the arm.

- don't go fuyu -

He stopped and turned to look at you, his eyes were teary.

- Why did you do that? why did you kiss me?

- Why would I kiss you? Think what reason could there be for me to kiss you?

You looked at your feet. You knew the reason but you were afraid you were wrong

- because I love you. But that doesn't matter, you're with kazutora -

- I love you too chifuyu -

- What? Then why...? -

- I went out with him because I thought you didn't return my feelings and I just... wanted to try dating other people -

He looked at you for a split second and kissed you again. You couldn't believe that chifuyu returned your feelings.

You kissed him back by putting your arms around his neck and touching the short hair on his neck, he put his hands on your waist and pulled you to his body, cut the kiss short and rested his forehead on yours.

- Let's go to my house. I need you right now - he said

- yes let's go -

The ride to chifuyu's house was filled with anticipation and little kisses.

as soon as they crossed the door of the house you had him on top of you devouring your lips.

- hold on to my neck - he said softly against your lips

You did as he said and he lifted you up by your thighs and wrapped your legs around his waist. He went into the bedroom and gently laid you down on the bed on top of you.

His kisses moved to your neck and his hand slipped under your shirt and gently caressed your ribs.

- God! You are so soft baby -

He attached his hips to yours rubbing his erection against you and you let out a little moan. He pulled away from you and started to remove the top part of your clothes leaving you only in your bra, he went down your chest kissing and licking your pelvis, he unbuttoned your pants and pulled them down barely revealing your mons pubis and biting it gently.

- you have a beautiful body baby -

He took off your pants and panties and went back up to your chest and took off your bra.

- Fuyu... - you complained - you're still very dressed up I want to see you too - I want to see you too -

He laughed - whatever my baby wants - and started to undress.

- Do you like what you see? - he said teasing you

- very much -

He kissed you again and moved his hand down to your pussy running his finger softly feeling your wetness.

- you are so wet baby -

He started sucking one of your breasts filling your nipple with drool while playing with your wet pussy.

- Fuyu put your fingers inside please -

Immediately he put his finger inside you putting it in and out gently

- You are so hot baby you feel so good on my fingers. You touch me too baby please I want to feel you -

Your hand went to his cock, it was already fully hard, you started to move your hand up and down and chifuyu moaned against your neck as he increased the rhythm of his fingers inside you.

The sensation of orgasm started to form in you chifuyu's fingers tapping at the right angle to drive you crazy.

- Fuyu... I'm coming ah!

- yes baby do it cum in my hand, I want your cum dripping on my fingers. Please, please baby give it to me - I practically begged.

And you cum driven by his dirty words the walls of your pussy convulsing on his fingers and panting heavily.

- you look so beautiful when you cum baby, I want to see you again -

Chifuyu positioned herself between your legs looking at your pussy glistening from orgasm

- look at that pretty pussy all wet from me - he said spreading your juices.

You moaned and squirmed from the touch still sensitive from your orgasm.

- now I want to put it in. will you let me baby? I can? - he said running his cock up and down your pussy

- yes Fuyu fill me up please - you asked desperately

In less than a second he was completely inside you and let out a moan of relief.

- oh god baby you feel so good, so much better than I thought, ugh I can't take it... I'm not going to last long -

He started ramming gently biting your neck and looking for that sensitive spot inside you. He straightened up trying to go deeper, your eyes rolled back and your back arched, grinding your pelvis against his.

- you have no idea how sexy you look like that love - he said and started massaging your clitoris with his palm as he thrust - you don't know how many times I imagined having you like that but none of my fantasies came even close to how beautiful you look and how good you feel -

Each onslaught brought you closer and closer to the abyss and you held on to the sheets as if your life depended on it.

- Fuyu... Fuyu... Fuyu ah! It feels so good. Fuyu... I'm going to come again -

- aaw my baby wants to cum again? Does my cock feel that good? -

- yes! yes! It feels so good make me cum Fuyu please -

- do it love cum all over my dick let me see that beautiful expression on your face again -

The movement of his hand on your clit increased, the sloshing sound louder each time his cock went in and out of you was too much stimulation and you cum audibly moaning. a white ring covering his cock as he kept going in and out of you seeking his own release.

- Fuyu...I can't - it's too much -

He bent down and kissed you softly

- I know love but hold on a little longer for me I'm almost there... you're doing great - he took you by the hips giving firm thrusts

The sensation of a third orgasm was starting to form but it felt strange it was too much

- baby I'm coming, I'm going to come deep inside of you I'm going to fill you with my cum -

- ah! I can't... I'm coming again -

you came for the third time shuddering and whimpering from over stimulation dripping and wetting all over. And you felt it... chifuyu's hot semen inside you, his breathing completely agitated and small spurts running through you.

They stayed in each other's arms catching their breath. Finally they got up to change the sheets and clean themselves.

- I can't believe you made a squirt, it was so hot, baby -

They had gone back to bed and you had your head buried in chifuyu's chest hiding in shame.

- don't be ashamed love, it was amazing - he said and kissed your head - now let's sleep.

The next day after talking seriously about their relationship and what they both wanted they went to Kazutora to explain and apologize. It had been just a date but you wanted to set the record straight and make sure no one got hurt.

When you talked to him he just laughed at you telling you that he only asked you out so that chifuyu would finally do something about his feelings. You playfully hit on him and feigned anger because that was the reason for going out with you even though you were deeply grateful to him and that things had worked out really well.

[manndo]

let me hear you [javier peña x reader]

gif credit

pairing[s]: javier peña x female!reader 

warning[s]: 18+ only due to swearing, sexual situations/references -- aka mentions of face fucking, marking/biting/claiming kink, mentions of piv sex, hints of sub!javi (idk what happened, but it happened!!); flashback; sprinkling of fluff; angst (no happy ending. . .for now??); one use of y/n cause it couldn’t be helped

word count: 3.0k

prompt[s]: inspired by this post from @pedropascalito​

summary: javier just wanted — no he needed — to hear your voice.

author’s notes: alright, here we go — first javier peña fic! this honestly got really out of hand?? i had seen @pedropascalito​’s post come up on my dashboard, and i got inspired to write this. however, this was supposed to be like, maybe 500 hundred words?? but like, apparently i can’t write drabbles and so here were are, 3,000 words later. yeaaa, so that is how that went down, lol. i do want to make note that this is also my first time at writing something semi-sexual — there isn’t any actual smut, but it is talked about/heavily implied. so again, if you aren’t 18+, please do not read/interact with this. also, if i missed tagging any warnings, please let me know. i am trying to make sure i tag all the warnings, but like i said, first time writing something with ~spice~ so i could have missed something. so please, let me know! :) as usual, all mistakes are my own. comments/likes/reblogs are loved and appreciated. enjoy lovelies! ☺️

It was his fucking fault.

Sure, he could blame it on the job, on Pablo fucking Escobar, but it wasn’t any of those things. It was him. It was always him.

“Come on,” he muttered as the first ring sounded through the receiver. Then a second, then a third. “Pick up the phone,” he begged softly after the fourth. “Please.” But, then there was a fifth ring and the tell tale click of your answering machine message about to begin. “Shit,” he cursed under his breath and pulled the phone away from his ear, ready to slam it back down on the receiver. But, he stopped himself and quickly brought the phone back to his ear.

“Hey, Y/N here! Sorry I can’t come to the phone right now. But, if you leave your name and number, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can!”

---- ☆ ☆ ----

“Hey, I got you something,” Javier said as he entered your apartment, shutting and locking the door behind him.

“A present? For me?” you asked, turning on your heel to face him. A smirk broke out over your face. “Something we can both enjoy?”

Javier chuckled softly and shook his head, taking a step toward you. “You are insatiable, princess,” he muttered as he reached out, brushing an errant strand of hair from your forehead.

You hummed. “I wonder where I get that from,” you said, your eyes wide and innocent as you reached out, forefinger and middle finger pressing against the bottom button of his tucked in red shirt.

Javier looked down at your hand as your fingers slowly walked their way up his chest, before coming to a halt at the third button from the top (the first two buttons were, as usually with Javier, already undone). With practiced ease, your fingers deftly worked open the button before the brushing against the exposed skin. Involuntarily, he shivered at the ghost of your touch, but it was gone before it started, your fingers now working on the next button. Before you could get to the second one, Javier reached out his free hand and wrapped it around your wrist, stopping your movements. You raised your eyebrow. “Maybe next time, princess,” he promised with a wink before letting go of your wrist. You didn’t continue your movements, and Javier took that as a sign to pull the bag he had been hiding from behind his back. He held it out between the two of you. You eyed it for a moment before taking it from him, and opening it. You furrowed your brow before reaching in and pulling out the box.

“An answering machine?” you asked, puzzled as you let the bag fall to the floor and held the box in your hands.

Javier hummed and shrugged his shoulder. “I noticed that you didn’t have one.”

“What gave it away?” you asked, a hint of sarcasm in your voice, glancing back at him.

Javier rolled his eyes. “You need one, princess.”

“Do I? I have been doing perfectly fine without it for the past few months, Javi,” you explained, flipping the box over. He watched your eyes scan the back of the box.

Javier sighed, and rested his hands on his hips. “Hermosa,” he started, his voice low and serious. “What if someone can’t get a hold of you, hm? What then?”

“They call back, that’s what.”

Javier let out a small, irritated growl, and you looked up from the box to him. Slowly, you raised your eyebrow as you gave him a questioning look. Javier huffed, tightening his hands on his hips, but said nothing. He watched as your questioning gaze began to study him, head titling ever so slightly as your beautiful eyes carefully took him in. And, with every second that passed, every inch of him that you gazed upon, it seemed as if you were figuring out the real reason Javier had bought you an answering machine in the first place. That he wanted — no needed — to be able to leave you messages. That he needed you to know he had called, and that you’d call him back once you got his message. To let him know you were home. To let him know you were safe. Because, there were times, times when he called and the phone would just ring and ring and ring, and fuck. Those were the times his heart would pound in his chest, and his mind would fill with all these terrible fucking scenarios of what could have happened. It was his own nightmare filled by his own experiences, the job he had dedicated his life to, and this. This answering machine; it wouldn’t elevate all those thoughts, Javier knew that, knew that it wouldn’t make them all magically disappear. But, there would be some temporary comfort from his aberrant mind.

“Alright, Javi,” you said quietly, breaking the silence. Javier watched as you took a step toward him, a small smile playing at your lips. “I’ll keep it. But, you,” you said, taking the box in your hand and pressing it against the middle of his chest. Javier’s hand immediately came up to cover yours, holding it and the box in place. “Are helping me set it up.”

Javier smiled as he brushed his thumb over the back of your hand. “Yes, ma’am.”

It hadn’t taken long to set up the machine itself. However, the recording was a different story.

The first time you tried to record yourself, Javier had interrupted you with a playful smack to your ass that had caught you completely off guard, causing you to yelp in the middle of your sentence. You had scolded him for his behavior, telling him to keep his hands to himself. With a smirk, he promised, but you didn’t believe him as you erased the recording and started again. And, you had every right not to believe him — because a moment later, he reached out, running his fingers up the side of your ribcage.

“Javi!” you squeed, side bending as you squirmed to get away from him before he could attack again. However, he was quicker, and was able to get one last swipe at your sides before you got fully out of his reach. He let out a small laugh, a grin pulling at his lips as you huffed, a few strands of your hair blowing with your breath, and placed your hands on your hips. “What did I tell you?” you asked, glaring down at him.

“Sorry, must have forgotten,” he mumbled, acting nonchalantly as he raised his beer bottle to his lips and took a swig, but his dark eyes were dancing with mischief.

You narrowed your eyes. “Forgotten my ass, you little shit,” you mumbled, stepping back to where you had been standing before. “Hands to yourself, Peña. You hear me?”

He stood up from the couch. “Alright, alright. Hands to myself,” he repeated and you eyed him for a moment. Javier could tell you were still skeptical that he would do something. “Promise,” he said before he breezed by you, heading toward the kitchen to grab another beer. Javier could feel your eyes on his back as he dropped the bottle in the trash and opened to the fridge to swipe a fresh one. When he turned around to head back in the living room, you were still eying him wearily, but you had already deleted the previous recording. You started recording again, your eyes finally leaving his to look down at the machine. A wicked grin spread across his face. In four quick strides, he was standing next to you and before you could give him a warning glare, Javier had leaned down and sunk his teeth into your bare shoulder blade (he silently thanked God you had chosen to wear a tank top that day).

You had, after all, said hands only.

“Javier,” you groaned, and for a brief moment, Javier had expected you to pull away, irritated by his actions. But, you didn’t pull away, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see you grasping at the corners of the end table, knuckles turning white. He mentally grinned, and bit down a little harder before worrying the skin between his teeth, and electing a whimper from your lips that went straight to his cock.

Javier knew you fucking loved this — the biting, the marking, the claiming. You had never said anything out right, but oh, Javier knew; he knew it by the way he found you admiring the marks he’d made the night before in the mirror, your hands gently running over the bruises. He knew by the mewling, the whimpers, the groans of pleasure you made. Or, his absolute favorite, the way your pussy clenched deliciously around his cock if he was buried inside of you.

Javier gave one last pinch of the skin between his teeth before pulling away. He grinned at the abused skin, could see the indentation of his teeth and imagined the beautiful colors it would turn within the hour. The thought sent another spike of arousal straight to his cock. You whipped your head around to face him, and though you were glaring at him, it didn’t matter. He could see the arousal in your face; the way your pupils were dilated, the way your lips were parted ever so slightly, the hitch in your breath. The grin on Javier’s face grew. “You only said hands, princess,” he said, holding his hands up, the unopened beer bottle still in one hand as he took a step back before letting himself fall back on to the couch.

“Peña,” you growled, voice low, warning, but Javier could hear it. That tinge of arousal. “I’m warning you.”

Javier chuckled, low and deep in his throat. He locked eyes with you, and leaned forward, elbows coming to rest on his knees. “Warning me?” he asked, keeping his tone light as he looked away from you, and grabbing the bottle opener he’d left on the coffee table. “Warning me about what, princess?” He swiftly popped the bottle top off, and dropped the little metal top and opener back on the table. Javier leaned into the couch, resting one arm over the back of it as he looked at you, that grin still pulling at his lips. He took a long, slow swig of beer. He kept his eyes on you as he pulled the bottle away from his lips, waiting for you to say something. However, you were completely silent, but your eyes weren’t. No, they were still screaming for him. “Come on,” Javier started again, his voice an octave lower than before. He licked his lips, and watched as your eyes followed the movement. “What’s this warning you’re gonna give me?”

The seconds ticked by, the two of you silently watching each other. You were studying him so hard Javier couldn’t help but almost feel naked under your gaze, even with all his clothes on. He forced himself not to move, not to shift against the couch as he waited for you to say something, do something. He took a swig of his beer, and watched as your demeanor slowly shifted. Your back straighten, and a sly smirked pulled at your lips. He watched as you came to stand next to him, your thigh brushing against his knee.

Javier felt the tables were turning on him.

“Instead of a warning, how about this?” you started, resting one hand on the back of the couch while the other came to rest on high on Javier’s thigh as you leaned down, your lips only a few inches away from his. The hand on his thigh squeezed and Javier couldn’t help the small groan that escaped his lips. “You let me record this tiny, tiny, little message,” you explained, eyes flickering down to Javier’s lips, then to his crotch. Javier watched you lick your lips, hand sliding farther up his thigh, coming to a stop just short of where he wanted you to. “Without interruptions.” Your finger traced the outline of his half-hard cock, causing another groan to escape Javier’s lips as his eyes fell closed, hand gripping the bottle of beer in a death grip. “And, I’ll let you fuck my mouth,” you finished, and without warning, covered Javier’s clothed cock with your palm and pressed down, grinding your palm against him.

“Fuck,” Javier hissed, hips bucking into your hand, but as soon as it started, your hand was gone — and you were gone too. When his eyes opened, you were already standing up straight over him, looking down at him with that shit eating grin. Your eyes were dancing with arousal and mischief. Oh, how the tables had turned.

“You think you can be a good boy for me, Javi?” you asked, breathlessly and wanton, a sound that went straight to his cock. He nodded his head so quick that he was afraid he might break his neck. A wicked grin pulled at your lips as you turned your attention back to the machine.

It was the most painful ten minutes of his life because, of course, you wouldn’t like the first take. Or the second, or the third. Javier knew why you didn’t like them — it wasn’t cause you sounded bad, or you stammered ever so slightly in the middle. No, you were teasing him. You were purposely messing this up just so you could watch him squirm as he waited, his body humming in anticipation as his poor cock strained against his jeans. Javier had thought about shucking his belt, unzipping his pants, and taking out his cock, just to get some sort of relief, maybe even give it a few tugs. But, he wasn’t even sure if he was allowed to. Jesus Christ, allowed to — anyone else, and Javier wouldn’t have hesitate. But you, there was something about you that had him giving up the control he constantly needed. Maybe it was the way that when he pushed, you would push back— that constant back and forth that turned him on to no fucking end.

“Javi,” you called out, voice soft and practically singing. Javier snapped his head to look up at you. You were standing there, all doe eyed and innocent looking, a small smile playing at your lips. “I’m finished.” You took a step toward him, and reached out, giving his knee a squeeze. Without hesitation, he let his legs fall open and you came to stand between them. “See,” you mumbled, as you ran your hand from his knee to his thigh and back down again. “I knew you could be a good boy.” Javier’s cock twitched in the confines of his jeans. “And you know what good boys get?” You slowly went down, falling to your knees in front of him, and God, was it such a pretty picture. You grabbed the practically empty bottle of beer from his hand and set it on the end table beside you. “Good boys,” you started, hands coming to rest on his belt, “get rewarded.”

---- ☆ ☆ ----

The obnoxious beep pulled Javier out of his thoughts. “Fuck,” he muttered before realizing that he had said that out loud. “Shit, it’s—” he started and slammed his hand on the payphone box. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s me, princess. I wanted to — I needed—” Javier felt his heart beat rapidly in his chest. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I just—I needed to hear your voice,” he said, his voice breaking ever so slightly. He quickly turned and glanced behind him. There was nobody near him, nobody that could hear the desperation — the absolutely fucking heartbreak because that’s what this was, even if he didn’t want to admit it — in his voice. But, still this was a shitty fucking place to be doing this.

But, he hadn’t thought — he saw the payphone and just called, the need to hear your voice so fucking strong. It had only been a week, but he fucking missed you. He missed everything about you, but God, did he miss your voice. He missed the way you sounded when you greeted him in the soft morning light after the two of you had woken up, limbs tangled around each other to the point where Javier wasn’t sure where one of you began and the other ended. Or, the way you sounded when you greeted him at your door after work, a smile on your face and your arms open, willing to be whatever he needed after a long, rough day. The sound of your voice when you whispered sweet nothings into his ear before you both fell asleep. The sound of your laughter when he told one of his jokes, or when he tickled your sides because he knew you were ticklish. And God, he missed the sound of your voice when you said his name. Javier. Javi. Peña. Pendejo (the one name usually reserved for when he’d done something particularly, utterly stupid or reckless). It didn’t matter what you called him, or even when you did — when you were happy, sad, angry, sleepy, aroused — he just missed it, so fucking much.

Fuck, he just missed you.

And now, here he was, standing at a goddamn payphone, leaving you a vague fucking message. He coughed, and softly banged his hand against the payphone’s metal box. “Please cal—” The line went dead, the recorder cutting him off, and leaving Javier with the numbing sound of a dial tone.

“Fuck!” he cursed as he pulled the phone away from his ear. Javier looked down at it for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh, eyes falling closed once more as he let the phone come to rest against his forehead. “Fuck,” he whispered again, his fingers clenching around the phone. The dial tone was softer now, not pressed against his ear, but he could still hear it. It was still as loud as ever, still ringing in his ear, taunting him and reminding Javier of what he had lost.

[laedback-taurus]

Tortured Souls Part 2

Pairing: Bucky x Reader Warnings: mentions of torture Word Count: 2128 A/n: I hope is an adequate second part! Debating on a happy ending final part but I kind of like this as an ending. ---Part 1---

It had been years since Bucky had escaped Hydra’s clutches, he had spent nearly all of that time trying to remember who he is, the rest he had spent looking for you. Almost immediately after he pulled his supposed old friend out of the water, he went to find you. However, when he arrived you weren’t there, no one was, the place had been completely abandoned. He ran around the entire facility, desperately trying find anything that could tell him where they had taken you, but they left no trace of where they could have been going. He only had one room left to check, he paused at the door, debating on whether or not he should go in, the suffering he endured in that room was unexplainable but if there was any trace of you in there, he had to find it. He pushed the door open and walked in, he took a few deep breaths to compose himself and started looking around. He’d looked through absolutely everything and found absolutely nothing in return, he was about to leave when he glanced at the chair that had caused him so much pain for so many years, he was just simply staring at it when something caught his attention. While looking closer at the arm rest of the chair he noticed something unusual, nail marks, Bucky didn’t have nails long enough to mark the wood, that’s when it hit him…you did.

“Please no” He whispered to himself, collapsing on the floor in front of the chair where you suffered the same torture as him.

“Not her”

---

It had been years since you last saw Soldat, since your torture began, since you had been taken further away from. You still believed with all your heart that he would come and save you, that he was still looking for you. You had been taken to an undisclosed Hydra location where your torture continued, they were determined to discover the powers that you must have from the Tesseract, it had worked for the Sokovian twins, so why wasn’t it working for you. You were sat in your cell, which wasn’t that much different from your last one, it was at quiet times like this where you thought of Soldat. You did truly believe that one day he would burst through the door and take you away, like in the fairy tales your mother would read to you as a little girl…perhaps you read a few too many of them. You often thought of where he could be now and if he remembered his old self or you, you would also unconsciously imagine what it would be like if you had both gotten out, what your life together could’ve looked like. You were in one these daydreaming moments when you suddenly heard shouting and gun shots outside your cell. You listened carefully to see if you could make out what was happening outside but there was just silence, then you heard footsteps start to approach your cell door. As they got closer you jumped up and backed into the wall on the opposite side of the cell to the door. The footsteps stopped right in front of your cell; two small shadows appeared in the crack at the bottom of the door. Could it be Soldat? Did he finally find you? Your hopes were crushed when the door slowly swung open, revealing the silhouette of a man who did not resemble Soldat in the slightest. He didn’t make an effort to enter you cell.

“Who are you?” You croaked out, your throat still horse from your screams. He didn’t answer you, he just pulled out a book and flipped a few pages. You stared at him in both confusion and fear when he suddenly started speaking in Russian. You suddenly felt lightheaded and uneasy, your hands began to tremble as you brought them up to your ears to block out the man’s voice. What was happening to you? What was he saying? Your thoughts began to slip away, you tried desperately to hold onto them, clamming your eyes shut and shaking you head from side to side, pushing your back harder against the wall. The last thing you saw before everything slipped away was your last memory of Soldat, that small smile he gave you the last time he saw you, then there was nothing.

“Freight Car”

---

Bucky and Steve had managed to finally track down Zemo, Tony now tagging along. Bucky had gotten his memories back, he remembered Steve and the man he used to be and of course, he had always remembered you, you were never forgotten. In a way Bucky had hoped that finding Zemo would somehow bring him a step closer to finding you but so far that didn’t seem likely. Bucky, Steve and Tony entered a large room where found the 5 other Winter Soldiers, but something wasn’t quite right.

“If it’s any comfort, they died in their sleep” a voice came over a PA. That’s when they all noticed, the soldiers were dead, all of them a bullet wound through their head.

“Did you really think I wanted more of you?” the voice spoke again.

“What the hell?” Bucky muttered under his breath. The last time he saw these soldiers they threatened your safety, so he wasn’t too disappointed at this outcome.

“I’m grateful to them though, they brought you here” All of a sudden, a small square of light flicked on, revealing Zemo safely inside a bunker.

“You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?” Steve asked, approaching the bunker.

“I’ve thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you, I followed you. But now that you’re standing here, I just realised that there’s a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw” Zemo chuckled.

“You’re Sokovian, is that what this is about?” Steve asked.

“no, I’m here because I made a promise” Zemo explained.

“you lost someone” Steve stated,

“I lost everyone” Zemo looked at Bucky now “and so will you” everyone was confused at that remark when suddenly Bucky was attacked from behind, he landed on the ground with and groan and flipped over onto his back. As he did his attacker straddled him, holding him down. That’s when he got a good look at who had struck him, he heart dropped when his eyes met a pair that he was all too familiar with, eyes that used to hold both sympathy and admiration for him now held nothing,

“No, not you” His voice broke. You continued to stare down at him, pulling out a knife from your hip holster, he noticed this and suddenly flipped you over, now pinning you down. Your knife flew out of your hand due the quick moment, sliding across the floor to the other side of the room, you groaned and took the opportunity to land a punch to Bucky’s jaw. He groaned at the hit as you struggled to get out of his grip, kicking your legs and squirming which only made him hold you down more. Bucky looked up to see Tony and Steve prepare to attack you -.

“No!” He yelled out to them making them lower their guard “don’t hurt her” he looked Steve dead in eye, begging his friend not to hurt you. Steve gave him a nod and he looked back down at you, still fighting to get out of his hold.

“Come back to me, I know you’re in there Y/n” He spoke softly, catching your attention and making you lay still. “I’m sorry I couldn’t find you, I tried, I’ve been looking for years, and I haven’t stopped” quiet tears were starting to run down his cheeks, falling onto yours and making you flinch slightly. “I should have looked harder, I should have stopped his from happening to you, all I ever wanted was to protect you and I failed, I failed you” He shut his eyes to try and stop his pathetic crying when a pair of soft hands cupped his cheeks, a thumb gently caressed his jaw where he had taken a hit.

“Soldat?” that voice, that sweet voice that he had been missing for years, that voice that could calm him instantly, your voice. He opened his eyes, looking down at you once again, franticly finding your eyes to check if you were really there and sure enough, he saw the light flood back into them.

“It’s Bucky” he smiled at you which caused you to pause, his full smile was beautiful like you thought. He watched as the realisation hit you, he had remembered, he remembers his old self, just like you knew he would. You smiled back at him and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling your self up slightly to bury your head in his shoulder.

“Bucky…” You whispered, sending chills down his spine, he’s imagined you saying his name so many times, but his mind definitely didn’t do it justice. He pulled himself up off the ground, pulling you up with him, you let go of him and gave him another smile. His happiness was short lived when a small TV flicked on, displaying a date he knew all too well.

His smile dropped as he looked at Tony.

---

You had watched the fight from a far, knowing all too well that without mind control there’s no way you’d stand a chance. You’d be a distraction for Solda-Bucky, anyway. At one-point they had all taken off, leaving you in the room with the deceased soldiers and a now missing Zemo. You debated on whether or not you should go after him, but you knew he was probably long gone and Bucky could need you, you ran out of the room to try and find the three men. You soon found them battling it out in a cement room, you watched from the ladder as the men fought, hoping that no one from either side of the battle would be badly injured. Just as you thought that you saw Tony do something to Bucky, making him fall back. You could tell by the look on his face that something wasn’t right, that’s when you saw his arm, or what was left of it.

“Bucky!” You called out; you quickly made your way down to him.

“Get out of here” He rasped out, but you ignored him, hooking your hands under his armpits and dragging him as far away from the fight as possible, placing his bloodied head in your lap. You brushed his hair away from his face to get a better look at what you’d have to patch up later, his eyes were closed which made you panic slightly. Steve finished off the fight with Tony and made his way over to the two of you, Bucky had opened his eyes as he approached, you sighed in relief as Steve helped Bucky on to his and started to leave, helping Bucky walk. You jumped up and followed them out of the building.

The chill of the snowy peak hit your skin as you exited the facility, you walked a little way out into the snow and looked out across the mountain. Bucky saw you wonder away and tapped Steve to let him know he was okay to walk, Steve let him go and watched him limp over to the woman he’d tried so desperately to find. Steve smiled, he barely knew this woman but over the last few days she’s all Bucky spoke about, Steve had never known him to be so devoted to a woman but it seems that he’s leaving the play boy part of his old self behind.

“Hey Doll” He greeted when he arrived beside you. Doll…you liked that.

“Hey Bucky” You smiled, stepping a bit closer and leaning your head on his right shoulder. His metal arm was definitely beyond anything you could repair.

“I’m sorry I took so long to find you…but I guess in a way, you found me” You smiled, you knew that you were never going to get tired of seeing that smile.

“Don’t apologise, I knew you’d save me, and you did, just not in any of the ways I imagined” You both knew that it was the love you felt for each other that brought you back to him.

“Steve is going to take me somewhere to get this crap out of my head, do you want to come with us?” He said, slipping his hand into your, intertwining your fingers.

“As long as we do it together” You stated, he turned his head slightly to place a small kiss on your hair.

“Yeah, together”

---

@mayafatimakhan @carrietrekkie

[dreamescapeswriting]

Full Moon ~ JJK [M] [Request]

➳➳➳Word count: 6.1K

➳➳➳Genre: Smut, AU, fantasy, tiny microscopic angst,

➳➳➳Pairing: Werewolf!Jungkook x Reader

➳➳➳A/N: I changed it a lot as I had just recently read a fic in the same way you asked me to write it and I didn't want to get into trouble by having something similar. That being said I fell totally in love with this and now I'm obsessed with werewolf protective jungkook like wtf. This is a genre I haven't tried before though and I know you said Hybrid so I hope this counts? I know people sometimes say that you still have your tail and things like that but it's not something I would be comfortable with. Hope this is okay. Love you

➳➳➳Warnings: Mentions blood, biting, smut (obviously), breeding.

"There's been another attack!" Someone screamed as they walked over to you and your friend, you were walking through the college campus you turned to look and see Mieko one of your closest friends rushing over and panting out of breath.

"Another attack?" You questioned as you pulled your bag off your shoulder and dug around inside for a bottle of water that you always carried around with you, you were the mum of the friend group so everyone knew they could come to you when they were in dire need or something. A snack, a drink, band-aid, first aid kit, pocket knife and the occasional cheat sheet to a test that you'd stolen from your history teacher when he wasn't paying attention to you. 

"Thanks," She began downing the liquid before leaning against your shoulder for some kind of support, she whipped out her phone scrolling through her Facebook timeline to show you what she was talking about and you rolled your eyes, 

"You know, not everything you read on Facebook is-Oh." You stopped yourself once you saw that it was a real report from a real news station, you began reading through what the article was talking about, apparently, the attack was one of 20 in the last two days. All of the attacker's victims lived to talk about what happened to them, talking about how a man would lore them to an old parked car or they would feel like they were being watched all night before waking up the next day in pain from beatings remembering nothing from the attack itself. It was nothing if not strange to you that so many people had been attacked without recollection of the actual attack happening.

"They're calling a curfew for everyone in the university, we have to be back at our dorms before 9 pm or it'll result in expulsion." She had finally caught her breath and was walking without leaning against you so you handed her phone back to her. 

"Well, sucks to be me because I have to help Mr SeokJin with Art History grading and then I have night classes in the library with English teacher Mr Kim Namjoon." You told them pulling the bag back on over your shoulder and looking down at your schedule for the day, 

"Why do you have to be so good at everything? God, you're exactly like Jungkook." Mieko mumbled rolling her eyes at you, they always mentioned this boy. Jungkook. But you'd never seen him before, probably because you both had super tight compact schedules that neither of you liked to stray from though apparently, you had one class together not that you would know if he was there because you had no idea what he looked like.

"You're always going on about him, why don't you just ask him out?" You teased poking Mieko in the side but she scoffed at you, 

"He's an idiot, cold to everyone he meets and just shoves everyone off unless you're in his close friendship circle." You made a fake pitty face at her and she shoved you against the door of the entranceway to the Art building, you were running late for class and if you were late one more time that week Mr Seokjin would have you fired as his PA and Jimin, the teacher's pet would gladly take your place.

"I'm late! I'll see you back at the dorms later, save me some dumplings!" You called as you ran off back down the hall not paying attention to where you were walking and rushing straight into someone's arms, you could have sworn they growled at you so you looked up to see who it was when your eyes landed on another pair that were staring you down. 

"Sorry, Jungkook! She wasn't looking where she was going, she's a clutz!" You shot Mieko a glare and she ran off in the opposite direction of her class, probably skipping to go and find someone else to torture. 

"I am sorry, I'm just late-"

"You should watch where you're walking then instead of barging into everyone with your back!" He snapped making you flinch a little, you nodded gripping the strap of your bag tightly and going to walk the rest of the way to class. Jungkook stared you down as he watched you walking down the hall, trying to see where you were going when he heard Taehyung calling his name. He shook his head and walking over to his friend who was rubbing his stomach, 

"I'm starving, what time are we hunting tonight?" He grumbled at the older alpha who was staring at him, Jungkook hated that he was the leader of the pack that they had especially since Taehyung was older than him and so were the rest of the boys with them but it just fell down to him since he was born a wolf, it was his birthright according to his grandfather.  

"After curfew and I have the perfect bait for us tonight." He smirked darkling putting his arm around the Omega walking him down through the halls to go and find the rest of his pack. 

"Are you sure you wouldn't like a ride home Y/n?" Mr Kim Namjoon asked as you walked out of the library together and into the hallway of the History building, the whole place was deserted except for a couple of guards on shift and tutors who were heading home for the day. 

"It's fine, I'm just a three-minute walk away sir," Namjoon said goodbye to you and walked in the direction of the car park. You pulled the strap of your bag over your shoulder and took out your phone to text Mieko to let her know you were on your way when you heard something moving behind you. You slowed down something everyone screamed at people for in horror movies but you were curious about what it was, then images of the news article flashed through your head and you clutched onto your bag tightly picking up the pace to get to your dorm. 

A twig snapped and your head span around to see something blur in your version darting into the nearby woods near the college, you should have taken the ride. You regretted it instantly and you couldn't type on your phone because your hands were shaking so much,

"Shit." You whispered as you came towards the alleyway you needed to go down to get to your dorm. You prayed whoever it was following you would just leave you alone as you walked down the alley but whoever it was wasn't giving up, they proceed to follow you until you were deep inside the alley where no one could see you if they looked inside. 

You felt a hand clutch onto your wrist before a loud growl sounded through the air echoing off the walls and making your legs shake. You were dragged onto the floor and you tried to beat whoever or whatever it was off your body but they were ragging you about from side to side. You opened your eyes to see bright red ones glaring back at you, attached to the eyes was a huge dog with black fur that was growling heavily and biting into your side repeatedly, you began screaming as loudly as you could hoping someone would hear you and try to rescue you but no one was coming. You started hitting the beast with your fists, bag and phone anything to get it off you but it wasn't budging, you could feel a burning sensation in your side where it had its jaws around you. You jammed the beast in the eye with your elbow and it let out a yelp, letting you go just enough so you could scramble off down the alley and towards your dorms where you banged loudly for Mieko to come and get you.

"Look, I'm telling you I don't remember anything." You said to the policeman who was interviewing you, you were sat up in the University's hospital wing after a nurse had patched you up and called them to report a crime had happened. 

"You don't remember anything?" You shook your head and the man grumbled something before leaving you alone, you laid back down against the white sheets and stared up at the ceiling. What were you going to tell people? That a giant dog came out of nowhere and decided to use you as a chew toy? They'd lock you up and throw away the key, at least now you knew why everyone who was attacked before you said they forgot. You wished you'd forgotten, you had the image of the giant red eyes burnt into the back of your head, giving you a headache whenever you thought about them and the way he moved you around. It was bigger than the average dog and known wolves in the area, it was as if it was something straight from a fantasy book but fantasy books weren't real...were they?

Jungkook walked along the hallways with Taehyung and Jimin either side of them, giant smirks across their faces walking around as if they ruled the place. 

"Did you hear about Y/n?" Jungkook heard someone mutter behind him, thanks to him being a wolf he had different abilities in and out of his shape. The heightened hearing was just one of many and he used it wisely, 

"What happened?" A concerned voice rang out, 

"Mieko found her bleeding out on the curb of their dorm, whimpering about something attacking her." Jungkook looked at the Omega's to see if they'd heard anything but they were either not bothered or hadn't heard what the girls were whispering to one another. 

"Stay here." He mumbled leaning against some lockers so he could keep an ear on the conversation, he wanted to know what had happened and why you had survived much like all the other people someone had been attacking at night.

"She's in the hospital wing, they're going to keep her overnight until she's stable again. Mieko said it happened right in the alley near their dorm." Jungkook took off in a sprint leaving Jimin and Taehyung alone and confused in the halls, Jungkook hated the fact that he couldn't use his speed ability out of wolf form but he was fast enough without all four legs he knew where your dorm was, he'd heard Mieko talk about it enough in the classes they shared together.

Hissing as you sat up you looked around the hospital room for something to entertain yourself with, your phone was missing along with your laptop so you were awaiting the college to send you a replacement until a new one could be funded to you.

"Miss Y/n?" You looked over at the door to see the nurse who had stitched you together was standing there, 

"A guest." You nodded and she moved out of the way letting Mr Kim Namjoon into the room, he walked over to you and sighed. 

"I'm so sorry Y/n if I'd have insisted I take you home this never would have happened." He grumbled looking at you with pitty full eyes he felt terrible for not insisting you get into the car with him. 

"It's not your fault sir," He nodded and held up the roses that he'd brought along with him, he knew how dreadful the hospital in the university could be and he wanted to liven the place up for you.

"I'll put these in here and go, I have a class." Just as he was reaching for the door handle the door swung open and Jungkook stood there, your eyes widened as he stared at you from the doorway. 

"Ah I see you have another visitor, I'll see you next week back in my class." You looked down not wanting to make awkward eye contact with Jungkook but if you had looked up you would have seen the two of them having a stare off while Namjoon left the room. Neither of them blinking until the door was shut and the other was out of sight and out of mind.

"How are you feeling?" You stared at Jungkook once again as he stood beside your bed, your eyes locked onto the bag he was carrying and you realised it was yours. 

"Where did you-"

"I went to the alley you were attacked in, your phone is a little broken." He handed you the red iPhone and you groaned looking at the smashed up screen, you put it down on the bedside table reaching for some water when Jungkook noticed the bandage around your waist.

"Why didn't you tell the police the truth?" You stared at him and he poured you a glass of water, handing it to you and watching as you carefully took it from his hands. 

"I told them everything I knew." He shook his head at you, 

"No you didn't, you told them you don't remember anything and trust me no one forgets something like that you went through." You stared at him with a blank expression, he pulled a chair up to your bed and checked the watch on his wrist. 

"You can pretend all you want but we don't have all day." You looked down at the cup of water in your hand trying not to think on the fiery eyes that stared at you, your eyes began to tear up and Jungkook knew what you were feeling. He'd seen the same thing with Jimin and Taehyung but he'd never had a female before,

"It was huge," You started, you had no idea why but there was something about Jungkook that made you feel as though you could trust him with everything and he wouldn't think you were crazy. 

"It had these giant red eyes and then it-It's fur it was black and matted." Jungkook knew instantly who and what had attacked you the night before and he knew there was nothing he could do to prevent what was going to happen to you that night.

" I can't explain it all here, it's not safe but we need to get you out of this hospital bed and to my place as soon as possible." You scoffed in his direction and put the cup of water down, 

"It's that how you get all the girls Jungkook?" He was shocked at how you were speaking to him at first, normally girls would swoon at his feet and obey whatever he told them and he put that down to the wolf charm but not you. You didn't seem to care about it but he figured it was because you would be changing soon, 

"Listen to me, did that bite burn when that thing did what it did?" You thought about it for a couple of seconds before nodding, he leant forward and moved the bandage away from where the bite should have been but it was completely gone. 

"That's-"

"Impossible? Yes, it's called healing and I'll tell you more if you come with me." Your mind was telling you that you couldn't trust him or anyone else but there was something about him that was luring you in, your heart and soul both screaming at you that this was right and this was what you were supposed to do. 

"How do I know you didn't do this to me..." 

"Do I look like a giant wolf to you?" You shook your head at him but remembered all of the old folk stories, 

"Wolves shift in the day." He smirked at you for knowing your stuff, you weren't as stupid as he first thought you were. 

"If it was me I wouldn't have let you go so you could become like us...No one deserves this life, it's hell." He sat you up in the bed and handed you one of the University hoodies from the shelf and then some sweatpants. 

"Like us?" He sighed promising to explain everything once he got you to a safer place, 

"Am I going to die?" He felt his heartbreak as you stared up at him with tearful eyes, he shook his head at you. 

"Not if I have anything to do with it." 

If someone had told you that you would have been changed up in a basement by the end of that day you never would have believed them,

"So what happens when the moon is up?" You questioned watching as Jungkook walked around the basement to make sure the chains were secure, there was one on each of your ankles and then one on each of your wrists keeping you in place. 

"You change...Into one of us." He answered looking over at the basement door as it opened, Jimin walked down the stairs to give Jungkook a case of water and he spotted you. 

"Y/n was the one they attacked last night?" You stared at him as he placed the water down on the floor, he dropped to his knees and walked closer to you taking a sniff of your hair and pulling back. 

"She's not mine." He smirked looking over at Jungkook who was looking away from the scene in front of you, 

"What? You haven't checked?"

"Checked? Checked what?" Your voice came out panicked and Jimin tutted shaking his head and turning to look at you, 

"You could be his mate or Taehyung's mate who knows, everything happens for a reason Jungkook." With that, he left the basement slamming the door behind him, 

"Mate? As in..." Jungkook nodded and you bit down on your lip ignoring the tension that was now filling the air, Jungkook didn't need to check he'd known since you'd walked into him yesterday that you were his mate. He should have walked you home last night to make sure nothing happened to you, he should have been there to protect this from ever happening but now here you were getting ready to change into what he was. 

"How come you're not in chains again?" You questioned trying to get rid of the awkwardness that was hanging in the air, 

"We can control out shifting, we can change whenever we want but you're new and it's going to be a long time before you can learn to control anything happening inside of you while you're in your wolf form." He walked over to you and looked at the watch, it was almost time. He attached another chain around your neck and you stared at him through your eyelashes. 

"Is it going to hurt?" He stayed silent wanting to spare you of the gory details, it was something he'd hated when he first transformed.

"That's a yes." You whispered leaning back against the cold concrete wall behind you,

"I'll change as soon as you do, we can communicate through thoughts so just pay attention to me." 

Jungkook watched as you screamed out in anguish, another crack sounded through the air as your arm broke in several places the chains clanging against the floor. Your back arched away from the ground and you let out a shriek in pain as it snapped in one place only to do it again in several other places, your whole body was on fire and you could feel every muscle shaking and bending as something took over inside of you. Then within seconds, the pain was gone and you were staring at Jungkook at a new angle, 

"You're okay, it's over." You stared at him as he shook his body once falling down onto all fours and becoming a huge wolf creature in front of you, you tugged at the chains with your paw to get out but it wasn't going to budge. Jungkook had used the same ones wit Jimin and Taehyung and they were triple your size.

"I'm hungry..." 

"You will be, Jimin and Taehyung will be back soon. Try to suppress the thoughts with something else." You thought back on all the assignments that were due in next week and you heard Jungkook chuckle from inside of your head, 

"You're thinking about homework?" 

"Always, it's important."

"You're worse than me." Jungkook went on to explain that that was why he was taking all the extra classes, the extra work kept his mind off of wanting to rip everyone's head off and eat them. While it also kept it from having a social life outside of the pack, he never wanted anyone else to go through this. 

"Dinner is served." A deer's body was dropped down on the floor in front of you by a brown-haired wolf with black eyes, 

"That one's Tae, he's shy but he'll get used to you." Taehyung left and changed back into his human form upstairs complaining to Jimin that you weren't his mate either. 

"Do I just-"

"Let your instincts take over. Once you've fed it'll be easier to control yourself." You threw yourself down biting and tearing into the skin of the animal and he was right, it was as if your body knew what to do without you telling it to. 

After that night of changing things changed at home, you couldn't live with Mieko anymore and started to shut her out Jungkook had convinced you it was for the best if you stayed away from her. You didn't want to accidentally kill her or change her into what you were, you moved into the house Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook were living in and started to only interact with them at school. That was a month ago and the full moon was coming up, Jungkoo still hadn't told you what he knew you were to him but he knew it was going to be hard to hide this time around it was already hard enough as it was to keep his hands off you and to stop himself from jumping on anyone that came near you. The alpha instincts around his mate were always stronger than anything else inside of him and it was hard to control but you didn't know he was your mate and he didn't want to tell you.

"Y/n? You ready?" Jimin asked from the doorway watching to see if you were following him,

"Be right there." You called back to him sliding everything into your bag, it was getting late and the moon would be coming up soon so Jungkook wanted you back at the house as soon as possible, it was going to be your first change without the chains on.

"Miss Y/l/n?" You looked over your shoulder to see Mr Kim Namjoon watching you and Jimin closely, 

"May I speak with you a second?" You flung the bag over your shoulder and he walked over to your desk, leaning against it and staring down at you. 

"You ought to be careful with who you associate yourself with." His hands traced along yours as it rested against your chest, you snapped it away from him feeling uneasy about the touch.

"Jimin and his friendship group they're not exactly the best of their kind," His eyes flashed a bright red colour and you stumbled backwards knocking a chair down in the process, Jimin was by your side within seconds and he was staring at Namjoon who was staring back at him. 

"The pathetic little alpha sends an Omega to collect his cum rag, that's funny." Namjoon chuckled deeply without another word Jimin pulled you out of the classroom both of you rushing in silence to get out to Taehyung's car, 

"Cum rag? Who the fuck does he think he is?!" You let out a growl by accident and your eyes were starting to illuminate a little as you got angrier, 

"Y/n," Taehyung warned reminding you you were inside of a car and no the basement where it was safe to change, but the anger inside of you kept growing inside of you as you thought of him insulting Jungkook like that. 

"What happened?!" Jungkook yelled as you were walked into the basement by Jimin and Taehyung, you sat against the floor growling into your hands at the mere thought of Namjoon. 

"I think he changed her as well, his eyes Jungkook...They were red and he seemed to know that you were her mate." Your ears picked up on that word again and you watched as Jungkook tensed up. 

"I'll fix it, go and hunt for something to eat you haven't had anything all week." You'd managed to feed your cravings by eating a copious amount of beef burgers and steaks when you didn't have to change.

"Mate?" Jungkook turned to look at you and nodded, he knew the time was coming where he would have to explain it all to you but he would rather go off and find Namjoon first, kill him for doing what he did to you. 

"Namjoon did this to you, he's the reason you're in this mess." You looked up to see his eyes were filled with tears and you walked over to him taking his face in your hands to make him stare at you, 

"Jungkook I'm fine, look at me." He stared at you, the urge to kiss you was growing stronger and he could tell you wanted him to by the way your legs squeezed together and the way you kept licking your bottom lip. 

"You're perfect." He mumbled before crashing his lips against yours, his hands gripped onto the back of your neck pulling you closer to him there was something that changed inside of you and it was like you were feral, you never wanted him to stop kissing you ever again but your body was craving more from him. His lips moved down to your neck and you moaned out in pleasure at the feeling of him sucking along the exposed skin,

"Fuck, we can't." He pushed you away and you whimpered looking at him with hurt in your eyes, 

"Why not?" He looked at you and then at the watch realising you hadn't even changed yet and then checked his watch again maybe it was too fast there was no way you had control over your changing abilities yet. 

"Jungkook kiss me." You whispered to him bringing him closer to you, he took one sniff of your scent and almost fell to his knees ready to take you but it was too dangerous, you were in heat and the moon was full anything could happen. You weren't stable,

"I need you," You whined out in his ear and he grabbed you once more kissing you roughly and slamming you against the wall behind you, you shrieked happily as his hands worked their way up and down your body tripping the shirt from your chest.

"My favourite shirt," You fake pouted against his lip, 

"Shut up," He mumbled against your lips biting down on your bottom lip and dragging it with his teeth, everything inside of him knew this was wrong and it could fuck everything up but he needed you and you needed him. 

"I need more." You whimpered and he knew what you wanted, what you both wanted but once you started there was no stopping. 

"Oh god, I want you to...I want to fuck you until you're full up pup but-" You kissed him once again to shut him up and he relaxed a little more letting your lips relaxing his body, you pushed him back and dropped to your knees in front of him. 

"I want what I want," You whispered to him undoing his jeans and pulling them down his legs, he nervously looked up at the basement door and prayed Jimin and Taehyung had left to hunt and weren't going to come down and find this scene unfolding in front of them. 

"Shit." He grunted as you took him into his mouth, there were no words to describe how he was feeling the way your tongue worked around his member, licking and sucking every bit of him you could but what you couldn't you used your hands to massage, he was letting out whimpers as his head fell back. 

"Just like that, shit." He grunted his hand going into your hair and biting his tongue resisting the urge to slam his cock down your throat, he knew he had to be gentle with you he could smell it on you that you'd never done something like this before. 

"Lay down baby." You took him from your mouth with a pop and he smirked ripping your jeans off your body and throwing them somewhere within the basement, he didn't care all he cared about was you. Tasting you and having you all to himself, he licked a stripe up your folds and you moaned at the new sensation, all of this was new to you but it felt right, 

"Jungkook." You whined out not wanting to be teased, you wanted him to mount you and not stop until you were screaming out his name, 

"I know baby but once I've started I won't be able to stop until I'm done." You nodded at him as a sign that you understood and it was what you wanted and he kissed you, slowly easing himself into you as you whimpered out. You could feel him stretching you out from the very first push and your nails dug into his back dragging down and you were positive if you didn't have super healing powers it would scar him. 

"Fuck you're so tight." He grunted as he finally submerged himself all the way inside of you in the missionary position, not something that was common among your kind, holding himself in place until you were ready for him to start moving. You gave him a nod and he kissed your forehead promising you he would be as gentle as possible with you but once you felt you were used to his small and light thrusts you begged him to go faster, 

"F-Faster Kookie, I can take it." You whispered in his ear but he shook his head, 

"I can't, you'll break." You whimpered as continued his tiny thrusts, you knew there was something to make him move but you didn't want to risk him stopping altogether. 

"N-Namjoon called me your cum rag, said you were a 'pathetic alpha'." You managed to say through grunts his thrusting stopped and he stared down at you, he knew what you were trying to do and it was working. 

"Fuck, you're going to kill me." He grunted pulling out of you only to slam back into you at a rough pace making your back arch back as he finally hit the spot you'd been needing him in. 

"Right there." You whimpered within a matter of seconds already feeling yourself coming to your first orgasm, there was a pit in your stomach that was starting to grow with every thrust,

"Don't stop." You stuttered out as his thrusts became faster, he smirked watching you come undone underneath him he'd never imagined for a second you would be like this with him. He thought you would be a shy and fragile girl like you were before but this was something else. 

"I think- Ugh fuck- I think I'm close." You panted out and he could smell that you were, you began clenching around him and he grunted picking up his pace a little more so he could get you to the edge, he bit down on your neck drawing blood and smirking as you let out yelps of pleasure. 

"Cum for me pup," You yelped out as you felt your orgasm rush through your body sending shock waves throughout you, your legs were shaking and your hands were shaking as they latched onto Jungkook's hair tugging a little as he continued his vigorous thrusts into you not stopping just because you'd come around him. You screamed out his name as he continued to thrust into you, the pain from just finishing was slowly starting to be subsidised by pleasure once again as you felt the belt-tightening once more, 

"J-Junkookie." You whimpered and he smirked down at you kissing your lips and pulling back, he pulled out of you and flipped you over onto all fours, he couldn't take the human position anymore, he needed you on all fours so he could fuck you properly like the dogs you were inside. 

"Shit." You hiccuped as he thrust into you hitting spots that were left untouched before, you gripped onto the ground as his hips pushed into yours, one of his hands gripping onto your hips and digging in so deep it was drawing blood. 

"I'm close Y/n." He grunted as he continued to fuck you in the way it felt natural to him, you whimpered in agreement letting him know you were too by clenching around him and he smirked, 

"C-Cum inside me, please." You whined out underneath him arching your back as you felt your release coming nearer and nearer, he faltered for a second before picking up his pace again not wanting to stop, hearing you tell him what you wanted sent him closer to his edge.

"What do you want little pup?" He asked coaxing you into telling him again you let out a whimper as you were going to have to say it again, 

"Finish inside me, I need you inside of me. Everything, just-" You couldn't finish because he pulled your hair so he could kiss you as he fucked into you, 

"There's no going back if I do this Y/n." He warned as he felt himself getting closer, he kissed your neck lovingly wanting nothing more than to finish inside of you and claim you as his own but he had to make sure you were sure first. 

"Make me yours," You whimpered and he pulled out once again bringing you back to the human position you had started in, he wanted to look at you as he claimed you and made you his. He wanted this to be romantic and not as though he was stealing something away from you, 

"S-Shit I think I might." He grunted throughout his sentence staring down into your eyes as you stared back up into his smirking at him as he brought you closer for your second and final orgasm of the night. 

"You might what?" You giggled up at him and it was like music to his ears, he felt his balls throb as he almost finished at the sound of your giggle. 

"Shit, d-do that again." He begged, watching as you giggled beneath him once more his thrusts picked up once more as he felt his pleasure coming to an end,

"I'm g-gonna cum, cum for me okay?" You nodded at him and he smirked kissing your lips softly pulling away to make eye contact with you as you begged him to fill you up, it's what you needed and what your body was begging for. 

"S-Shit." He grunted hitting your spot in just the right way that you clenched around him tighter than before, like a vice and he stuttered his thrusts spurting into you but continuing to fuck into you so you wouldn't miss a single drop. 

"Shit I think I love you." He grunted out as he continued to thrust into you when you didn't say anything back he felt his heartbreak a little but he continued to thrust.

He stayed in place above you as you both came down from your high, once he knew it was safe for him to pull out he did and dropped down next to you smirking as he looked at you. 

"That was-"

"Yeah," You finished looking at him with a smile on your face, you rolled over and laid your head down against his chest.

"I love you too by the way." You whispered looking up at him as you rested your chin on his chest to make eye contact with him.

"Can you guys warn us next time?! Fuck!" You heard Jimin yell from upstairs you looked over at the door and back at Jungkook, 

"Why didn't I change?" Jungkook looked at you and took in a deep breath, 

"I think you have better control over your instincts than I first thought." You hummed and bit down on your lip, 

"I want you to do that again." You whispered to him biting down on your lip as you stared up at him, 

"Trust me, you're not going to want to stop now you've had one taste." He chuckled knowing how hard it was to keep yourself from stopping once you'd had the first taste of an orgasm like that. 

"But let's go upstairs since you're not changing, there are much comfier places then the basement floor." He whispered in your ear, roughly biting down on it with a fang and smirking as you whimpered out to him.

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @kpopfanfictionhoes @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @lyoongx @callingmyangel @fan-ati--c​ @mitzwinchester​ @btsiguess-kpop​ @rjsmochii​ 

[prurientpuddlejumper]

Hopelessness of Wanting [Part 3]

<- Part 2 | Part 4 ->

Frederick Chilton x Reader

Chilton struggles with his discomfort being touched and desire to cuddle, and grapples with his conscience.

Warnings: Mentions of suicide attempt & noncon (from previous chapters). Angsty fluff. 

2,300 words

“You’re coming home with me,” Dr. Chilton said with the authoritative tone of your boss, the hospital administrator. Then you looked at him with questions in your eyes, and his confidence quickly broke. “That is… I would like you to come home with me. It would be professionally irresponsible to leave you alone. You just tried to—”

“I didn’t,” you interjected. “I didn’t try to do anything. I just…” Thought about it. Planned it. Began to execute the plan. But you didn’t do anything.

Chilton watched you, his analytical gaze muddied with guilt. He held your arm as if you might drift away if he didn’t. You glanced down the wide marble hallway of the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, but no one was there to see him grasping you so familiarly. You should have known it was safe—Dr. Chilton wouldn’t have risked public affection if there was a chance of being discovered. The main hall was darkened. This wasn’t an emergency hospital, so there were only one or two medical personnel on call overnight, and guards whose rounds Chilton knew by heart.

“If you prefer, I could have you kept under observation. However, it would be more pleasant if I did it myself. Simply to make sure you are alright.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not like I’ve never thought about killing myself before. I’ve never gone through with it,” you shrugged dismissively.

“That is not a reason not to be worried,” his voice pitched up in alarm. “In fact, I am more concerned that this is a pattern.”

Fuck. You forgot you were talking to a psychiatrist.

How could you make him understand you didn’t need help? You would never have the guts to actually go through with it, however much you wanted to. Were you even depressed? Probably not. You were just a dumb, dramatic, half-assed piece of shit who couldn’t even finish—STOP!

Fuck.

“OK,” you conceded, tongue numb and heavy. “If you think it’s best… I’ll go with you.”

***

It wasn’t until you were sobbing in the passenger seat of his classic red cabriolet that Chilton began to have doubts about his own intentions.

“Perhaps it would be better if I brought you to a friend’s house,” he offered softly. Your head shot up, puffy eyes filled with—of all things—betrayal. “Or a hospital.”

“You’re going to check me into a psych ward after fucking me?”

He stiffened. In the few months you’d worked at BSHCI, you always seemed cheerful and naïve—the cutting remark took him by surprise.

Right after you made it, your hands flew to your mouth. “Sorry…” you murmured, equally taken aback. “I didn’t mean that. I know you would never take advantage of me.”

The apology cut deeper than the insult, though you wouldn’t understand why. He fell silent and stricken as he turned the ignition.

Dr. Chilton’s home was an obscenely modern monstrosity with all white walls, white kitchen, hard angles, and open spaces that gave it an air of luxury, but moreover, vacancy. It was a five-star hotel: grandiose, without a single hint of a person living in it.

He offered you the guest-room, like a gentleman—no! He would take the guest-room, and you could—

The press of your lips cut off his nervous babbling. You smiled (a weak, tired smile so different from the sunlight that radiated from your face in public) and said you didn’t want to be alone. So he led you to his bedroom, another pompously large space that dwarfed the king-size bed at its center. He often had trouble sleeping, but never considered that his bedroom’s fishbowl quality could have anything to do with it.

His blood pressure was dangerously high as he stood next to his bed. How was he supposed to sleep next to you? Undress in front of you? He was near panic at his foolish decision to bring you home when there was a sudden weight around his middle grabbing him from behind. He gasped and jerked away before realizing, quite obviously, it was you. But his heart was still racing in his ears, and he winced as you reached for him again.

“Don’t… touch me, please.”

Your eyes widened, mortified. “S-sorry sir,” you stammered, and it didn’t escape his notice that your entire body went rigid, or that you reverted to calling him “sir” like when he was reprimanding you at work. You must have been expecting him to blow up at you. He’d conditioned this response. He’d successfully made you afraid of him, and his reward was a sharp pang in his chest.

His hands found your shoulders, and he pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead. “It is all right,” he said. His best effort to be comforting came out dreadfully stiff and monotone. “And you… you may call me Frederick, if you like.”

He watched your throat tighten as you swallowed. With relief, he felt your shoulders relax, and then you looked up—your eyes fell on his like dawn breaking over Chesapeake Bay. Your mouth shaped into the first syllable of his name, but paused as your eyes locked on his left cheek.

“Oh,” you exclaimed. “Is it because…” You reached up to caress the round scar where a bullet had entered, but withdrew your hand quickly before making contact (and had the decency to blanch at your faux pas).

“Yes,” he gritted his teeth. “Because of that.” And because of the ones left on his abdomen by Gideon’s scalpel. And the scars not visible on the surface, left by years of neglect.

You shifted uncomfortably, seemingly at a loss if physical contact was off-limits. “I’m sorry.”

“It is all right. I am fine.”

Your lips twitched upward at that, and a gentle, sarcastic puff of air escaped your nose. Chilton straightened his posture—he’d been called out, and he knew it. If anyone else had dared laugh, he likely would have gone into a defensive pique and shut down, but instead, he returned your lopsided smirk.

Look at the two of you, pretending you’re fine. Just fine.

“That is to say, I am not incapable of touch”—he squeezed your shoulders as if to prove a point—“Our… rendezvous earlier was… enjoyable. I simply do not like being caught by surprise,” he explained haltingly. His cheeks heated. The truth was, he was bluffing: he had little experience with affectionate touch, so he couldn’t say what he was comfortable with. But surprises he was certain he did not appreciate.

“Then are you sure about sharing a bed?” you asked with tentative shyness. “I like cuddling. But if it doesn’t feel good to you, then…”

“It will be more than all right,” so long as you do not thrash too much in your sleep, he added mentally. He frowned. “I would like to enjoy cuddling.”

But he was never conditioned to enjoy physical contact by affectionate parents or by lovers, and life experience had done little but teach him to anticipate pain. Dr. Chilton understood how abnormal brains functioned. He knew he might never gain that oxytocin boost normal people get from the act of twining their bodies around each other. Still, it meant a great deal that you wanted to twine your body around his—that his simple presence pressed claustrophobically to your skin might invoke a positive emotional response.

Exposure therapy was the only treatment. If he was to become accustomed to being touched, he must practice.

“What should I do to support you?”

“Just go slowly,” he yielded. “Give me warning.”

***

He didn’t know why he showed you. Perhaps there was no other choice—sleeping with contact lenses always made his eyes red and irritated by morning. But perhaps he hoped that you would run away and get it over with. A masochistic side of him wanted to see your face contort in horror, disgust. For you to realize this hideous thing had fucked you, and curse him for hiding the truth.

Anticipation of your impending rejection felt like a boulder lifting off his chest. He was being crushed under his own happiness, unaccustomed to bearing your thoughtful gazes and kind words. The world would be right again when you ran.

“Come here a moment,” he called you into the master bathroom, voice calm but a quarter octave too high with strain. “You deserve to see this.”

Every muscle in his frail, hacked-to-pieces-and-put-back-together body tensed as you cautiously poked your head through the door and saw him standing in front of the mirror. You remained placid, but your eyes registered shock as they fell on his ghostly blue dead eye, then shifted down to his sunken cheek—the bullet hole more pronounced without makeup covering it, a gap of teeth missing where the bullet tore through his jaw.

Instead of disgust, you approached him, padding across the bathroom tile in your bare feet. You asked if it was alright, and waited for his faltering nod before caressing his tattered face under your warm palm. You called him handsome. Rugged. You called him a thousand beautiful things in a tender, soothing voice that held such magic in it he almost believed the words were true.

***

Dr. Chilton held you warm to his chest through the night, barely sleeping himself. Sleeping was impossible under those conditions. The scene of his dark bedroom would give, from the outside, the impression of peaceful stillness, but uneasy emotions roiled inside him, rocking him like a boat on a stormy sea.

Fucking was different.

When his cock was buried deep inside of you, claiming, possessing you, a primal urge took him over, blinding all his senses with desire, blotting out his over-active thoughts. But the feeling of you resting silent and trusting in his bed sickened his stomach.

He stroked your hair, watching your perfect lips move ever so slightly with each exhale that passed between them. He had been so wrong about you. Underneath your bright, friendly, forced smile was a garden as thorny as his own, and he loved you all the more for it. More than you could ever know. More than he imagined possible when he thought of you as a sunflower soaring toward heaven, high above his reach—an unobtainable treasure he admired with envious eyes.

For once in his miserable life, Dr. Chilton found someone who understood his pain.

A sunflower was just another plant trying to escape the cold, dark soil.

He flinched at being touched, especially on his abdomen or face. Holding you while you were deep in a sound sleep from which you barely stirred was tolerable. Not as pleasant as he thought it should have been, but not unpleasant. The sensation of contact was a bit squirmy, like worms writhing under his rib cage, but the warmth of your body, the sight of your peaceful face nestled against his chest made him feel protective. Strong. Desirable. You felt safe with him. A new kind of contentment washed over him, and so he bore the squiggling worms and hoped they would go away with time.

You felt safe with him.

His stomach turned again.

You felt safe, because you didn’t know that Dr. Chilton heard everything inside the BSHCI walls, including the staff break room. You didn’t know he was listening when you told Nurse Clerval that your boyfriend’s night shifts were putting pressure on your relationship. That Chilton began scheduling your shifts to conflict with his, hoping it would be the last straw. And it was. A few weeks later, you were single, and he celebrated his victory alone with a Scotch in his office, a smirk on his lips as he watched you cry to Clerval on the security feed.

You wouldn’t have let him hold you if you knew how deliberate his efforts had been to break you—to dull your shine enough that you might consider him an option, even though he was too cowardly to ever ask you for a date.

In the end, everything worked out better than he could have planned. The ends justified the means, did they not?

Forget the fact that, had a janitor not been cleaning his office, you would have been found dead on the floor of the supply closet tomorrow. Gone forever. How could he have known he pushed you that far?

Dr. Chilton had given up on himself long ago, but he had never considered ending his life. Instead, he used his misery to justify all manner of unscrupulous conduct. He hated himself so deeply that he might as well prey on a disassociating patient reliving memories of sexual abuse. After weeks in a coma, losing an eye, a kidney, half of his hearing, did he not deserve to take what he wanted? The possibility of getting caught was worth a moment’s pleasure when he hardly had anything to lose.

Was he preying on you, he wondered, as you slept in his arms?

No. This was different than Julianne. You were consenting, aware of yourself and your actions. A little depressed perhaps, but nothing that would have you deemed mentally unfit to stand trial. If you ever committed a crime, you would not be sentenced to his care.

You were wonderful, kind, and melancholy, and you wanted him. Your skin was soft, and your lips softer. He dipped his head to kiss them with the lightest ghost of pressure so you would not wake up. Your fingers curled in his silk pajamas, and you murmured a few cooing syllables, nuzzling closer before you stilled again. He would take care of you from now on. Do right by you. Everything he had done was worth it, because you were here with him.

Still, his stomach turned. The worms wriggled in his intestines, and no matter how heavy his eyelids, he could not sleep.

• ● • ━━━━━─ ••●•• ─━━━━━ • ● •

Tags:  @beccabarba​ / @itsjustmyfantasyroom​ / @thatesqcrush​ / @dianilaws​ / @permanentlydizzy​ / @mrsrafaelbarba​ / @madamsnape921​ / @astrangegirlsmind​ / @neely1177​ / @onerestein​ / @dreamlover31​ / @stormtrooperofficerbrowneyes​ / @barbasimp​ / @storiesofsvu​ / @welcometothemxdhouse​​ / @feedthemadness-sweetie​ / @law-nerd105​ / @amelia-song-pond​ / @michael-rooker​ / @xecq / @madpanda75​ / @alwaysachorusgirl​ / @bananas-pajamas​ / @leanor-min​

[haravath0t]

A Christmas Wish - Prologue

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Filipino!Reader

A/N: First off, thank you so so much anon for requesting this! I’m sorry that I didn’t get to this sooner! This oneshot will be multiple parts as well, as there’s so much to the Filipino culture that I’d love to take time to uncover, and I just think one part will not suffice. My culture is something I hold deep in my heart being a Filipino American, so I hope that you all feel the same love and joy I feel when surrounding myself into this wonderful culture. Anon, I hope this brings you joy and that this request fulfills your wishes! Happy reading, lovelies!

Request: hi! i know it’s a bit late but can I please request a filipino! reader spending the holidays in the philippines with steve rogers? thank you! I hope you decide to do this!

“Thank you for flying Philippine Airlines, the heart of the Filipino,” the flight attendant says into the intercom, finishing her speech before she takes her seat. You squealed and fastened your seatbelt as well as adjusting your business class seat, thanks to your wonderful boyfriend. You looked over at him with pure excitement. 

“You know, when you said you had a big gift for me for the holidays, I didn’t think it would be a planned trip to the Philippines!” you exclaimed with a giggle, making Steve smile and peck your lips before holding your hand. I knew my best girl misses her family back at home. The team helped me arrange this for us. I’m glad you’re excited.” You smile even more. “It’s perfect Steve. Thank you. Hayyyy, if only my parents and brother can be able to experience this with us. They’d love to see the relatives as much as I do.” However, your wishful thinking came to a halt as the plane’s tires met the ground, indicating that your flight landed safely. You giggled and clapped along with the small kids, lolos (grandpas), and lolas (grandmas) when the plane started to slow down and park itself, leaving Steve confused as he slowly followed suit. 

After you went through customs and obtained all the luggage for your month-long stay, it didn’t take long for Steve to notice that this was so so much different from Brooklyn, or the United States in general. The humidity already caught him off guard despite the various times you’ve warned about the heat. But, there were more important things coming at you very very soon. 

The minute you two walked to the sliding doors into the humid weather, you were greeted by a huge crowd of people. “Huy! Andito na s’ya! Dali! Dali, andito na!” (Hey! She’s here! Hurry! Hurry! She’s here!) You heard someone exclaim before the huge crowd made its way towards you. With a wide smile you squeal and hug each of your family, exchanging short conversations before moving to the next family member. “That’s her family” Steve concluded with shock, watching the exchanges in awe quietly, away from the bunch. “NANAY! TATAY! (Mom! Dad!)” You gasp in surprise, the tears you tried so hard to hold in finally were let out, as your parents embrace you tightly, your older brother joining the long awaited reunion.

“Oh, anak. We’ve missed you! Ang ganda mo rin, nako, Daddy, matanda na tayo!” (You’re so beautiful too, goodness, Daddy, we are old now!) You mom says proudly, taking a step back alongside your father as they look at you with pride. “Nako, Mommy wag mo magsabi yun, matagal lang hindi tayo nagkita!” (Goodness, mommy don’t say that, we just haven’t seen each other in a while!) You respond back, wiping your tears away and smiling. “But.. how did you know I was coming?” “Your boyfriend, anak. Hah, kaya nga pala hanggang tenga ang ngiti mo!” (No wonder you’re smiling from ear to ear) Your dad teases as a smirk grows on his face, but your eyes widened as you remembered. 

“Steve!” you exclaimed as you made your way to him, holding his hand and quickly pulling him towards where your parents and kuya is, a nervous smile now on your face. “Ma, Pa, Kuya, ito si Steve. Boyfriend ko po.” (This is Steve. My boyfriend.) You say a bit nervously, clutching onto his hand. Steve smiled shyly, politely extending his hand to shake your brother’s hand. Right after, he gently took your mom’s hand and brought it to his forehead, doing the same with your dad’s, leaving your family pleasantly surprised. “I am Steve. Steve Rogers. It’s nice to meet you in the flesh. Ummm… thank you for being able to come. I’m sorry if it was last minute.” Steve says shyly and nervously as he holds your hand again, not sure whether his hands were sweating from the humidity or the nervousness. Your mom couldn’t help but laugh. “Wow, anak. You even taught him how to bless! Hello, Steve. Thank you for letting us tag along with you two. We got a little lonely in LA when our daughter flew out to New York,” she teases with a laugh. “I see you were so kind to shoot us a call to come here. What kind of guy like you is doing with my daughter?” Your dad butts in, eyebrows raised as he inspects Steve up and down.

“I just wanna give Y/N the love she deserves, sir,” Steve responds, earning a big smile from your dad before he pats Steve on the back. “Very good, very good. Then she picked well.” He nods in approval before a thumbs up. “Mommy, Daddy, tara na, alis na tayo. Para pwede na tayo magpahinga,” (Come on, let’s leave. So we can relax.) You say, motioning to your bags. “Hoy! Kami na, bebe, huwag ka magalala! Pasok lang kayo sa van!” (We can do it, bebe, don’t worry! You guys just go in the van!) One of your Titas exclaimed, helping you all load your stuff in the trunk. You laughed as you saw your cousins and Titas take a peek at your boyfriend. “Ang tangkad n’ya!” (he’s so tall!) “Gwapo n’ya!” (he’s handsome) “Bagay sila dalawa!” (They both are fit for each other!) Your Titas “whisper” to each other as they made their ways to either the van or the jeepney. You giggled as you buckled yourself up next to Steve, your parents and kuya joining you two as well, sighing when the AC meets your sweaty face. “To get to Lucena City, it’ll take about 4 hours. So we can just sit tight.” You say excitedly as Steve wraps an arm around you. “Good to know. Maybe you can catch me up on some of your culture while we get there.” Steve chuckles, earning a laugh from your parents. “Oh, don’t worry, we’ll help you with that.” Your mom giggles, the van now starting to make its way out of Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Steve never experienced anything like this, but he was quite entertained at the immediate welcome as well as the loud and chaotic, yet jolly atmosphere your family gave off. He was stepping into another world. Your world. Your heritage. Sure, you were from LA then became a New Yorker, but deep down, you were Filipino, and Steve was excited to see the part of you that held the most valuable spot in your heart throughout this month.

Tags: @world-of-aus @world-of-aus-reads @whew-oh-em-gee @tomholland-96 @lordyitsjordy @letstalkaboutsebbaby @thee-soom-soom @lookiamtrying @vesper852 @hailhydra920 @buckybarnesthehotshot @heyiamthatbitch​

(if you want to be added to the tag list, send an ask to let me know! :))

[badjoices]

My Life With You

I. Move-in Day Dean and Cas move into a new home and start to build a life together with baby Jack.

[Read on AO3] | [Fic Masterpost]

The sun was sitting high in the sky, creeping towards the apex of its arc, when the U-Haul pulled up outside the modest two-storey on a quiet, tree-lined residential street. The crisp spring air was warm, moving through the green leaves and blush blossom with a quiet rustle. The sound of the late Sunday morning was largely void; defined by its absences more than anything; no children playing or parents chit-chatting over their hedges just yet, as most in the neighbourhood were making the most of the last lie-in of the week.

Except for Dean Winchester, and his better half Castiel, who had been up since the sun first began to peek over the horizon, packing, stacking and taping boxes in the bunker. Several chaotic and disorganised hours later, all was packed and prepped, and here they were; home. They’d seen it before of course, but this was the first time seeing that house become their home.

“I can’t believe it,” Dean said, after silencing the rumbling engine. “My own white picket-fence.”

Cas, unsurprisingly unsentimental about fencing retorted with confusion. “The fence isn’t white.”

Dean rolled his eyes, lovingly, and made to get out of the truck without a response.

“We could paint it white, if you’d like?” Cas continued, once he too had disembarked, and had met Dean on the pavement side.

“No, man, I like it as is.”

The two walked up their front path - theirs - their steps springy with giddiness as they approached the front door. Pulling a pristine silver key from his jacket pocket, with a turn and click, Dean swung open the door to their new life. The pair stood on the front porch for a moment, not quite believing that this door was for them.

“Should I carry you over the threshold?” Dean joked, leaning over to Cas, face plastered with a grin.

Cas looked to his side and met Dean’s gaze, holding for a moment before-

“I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself.”

Cas took the first step and walked into the entranceway. Dean quickly followed behind. The house was dark, with all the blinds left closed, the only light now streaming in through the open door, silhouetting Dean and Castiel in the narrow doorframe. Cas stood there, studying the blank walls, mentally populating them with where he envisioned they would put up photos of their family, past, present and future. Something about those blank white walls, the canvas for him to paint a picture of the life he had chosen, caught the angel off guard as he became overwhelmed with joy. The moment was only sweetened when Dean, who was having equally soppy thoughts about the prospect of a coat rack - a real place to hang his hat - intertwined his fingers in Castiel’s. Neither said a word for a good minute or two, not wanting the moment of pure indulgent fantasy to end - they were so unused to complete unapologetic wanting that it was so nice to bask in it even for a minute.

“We need to start unpacking at some point.” Dean broke the silence.

“Yes, Sam’s bringing Jack by tomorrow morning,” Cas agreed. “We need to have his room ready by tonight at the very least.”

Despite their agreement, they were still glued to the spot, hands still locked together.

“You gotta let go, Cas.”

“You first.”

The two began to stare at each other in a mix between a loving gaze and a challenge. Cas intensified his gaze.

“Same time.” he said.

Dean nodded, eyes never drifting from Cas’s. They each pulled their hand away at the same time, eyes still locked, and broke into a soft laughter.

“You let go a little earlier than me.” Dean teased.

“Actually, you started to pull your hand away six milliseconds before I did.” Cas retorted playfully.

Dean started back out towards the U-Haul with Cas in tow, turning his head back as he walked to reply;

“You can’t prove that.”

Dean opened up the back and the pair were reminded of the magnitude of the task ahead of them.

“Well,” Dean said, nodding his head slowly in a pre-emptive defeat. “Where do we start?”

Cas stepped up and made for a stack of two boxes. “I can take all the heavy ones.” he said, lifting the boxes with ease.

Angelic strength or not, Dean felt compelled to protest. “I can carry the heavy ones too.”

“There’s no need, Dean. It’ll be faster if I do it.” Cas replied, his voice earnest as he offered his help as always.

Dean scrunched up his face in a faux irritation. Of course, Cas was probably right, and even still, Dean wasn’t one to complain about having a literal angel do the heavy lifting for him. Dean opted for a double-box stack too, but ones marked ‘clothes’; an acceptable compromise for him.

Box after box, Dean and Castiel ferried their life from its transit state into its permanent home. With only one box left, Cas began to unpack and sort their contents on the empty living room floor, while Dean went to fetch the last box. The sun now sat directly overhead. This, paired with the strenuous back-and-forth, had lead Dean to ditching his flannel over-layer a while ago.

“Oh, hello!”

A cheery female voice chirped from behind Dean as he began to close up the U-Haul. Dean turned and was greeted by the broad smile of a mid-thirties woman in yoga pants. Welcome to suburbia, huh.

“You must be my new neighbour!” she continued.

“Uh, yeah, hey,” Dean said, holding his hand over his eyes to shield them from the piercing sunlight. “I’m Dean. You live next-door?”

“Carol,” she replied. “And yes, I’m your right-side neighbour!”

“Awesome.” Dean nodded. Despite typically being effortlessly charismatic, Dean definitely felt out of his depth; he was simply not accustomed to the rules and decorum required in scenarios like these.

“You know if I’d known you were moving in today, I’d have made a casserole,” Carol began to ramble. “Do you like casserole? Oh, everybody likes casserole. In the next few days, you’d better expect a casserole.”

“Sure, I love casserole.” Dean shrugged, humoured somewhat by this strange, incredibly enthusiastic woman.

“Great,” Carol sighed, face still plastered with a big grin. “I hope your wife won’t mind.” Carol gestured to Dean’s wedding ring.

Dean licked his lips and started rolling his wedding band around his finger as he was put in the not unusual bet never pleasant situation of having to correct someone to explain himself.

“Husband actually,” he corrected. “And uh, he won’t mind; I do most of the cooking anyway.”

Carol clapped her hands over her mouth in a melodramatic gasp. “Oh! A husband of course! My bad! How long have you been married?” Carol said, frantically attempting to recover from her faux-pas.

“‘Bout three months.” Dean answered.

“Oh! Newlyweds!” Carol cooed, already seeming to have completely recovered from her earlier embarrassment. “Any kids?”

“Just one, he’s four.” Dean grinned proudly, his earlier reservations melting away as the joy he felt at the opportunity to talk about his family took over. “My brother’s bringing him over tomorrow once we’ve settled in.”

“Aw! So cute! So you’ve been together a while then?”

“Six months.” Dean replied honestly without thinking.

Carol paused, unable to hide her confusion as the cogs in her brain connected dots in ways her traditionally-wired brain couldn’t comprehend.

“Wow,” Carol laughed awkwardly. “You got married after three months; that’s so fast!”

There was another pause. Just then, Cas emerged from the still open front door and strolled over.

“Dean, I was wondering where you’d got to.”

“Hey Cas, come here I’m meeting the neighbours,” Dean beckoned Cas closer and placed an arm around his waist. “This is Carol from next-door.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Castiel.” Cas said, plain and business-like.

“Wait, but your son’s four?” she continued to work through her thoughts aloud. “Oh, is he from a previous relationship, or?”

“Jack?” Cas answered, trying to pick up the thread of the conversation. “No, we adopted him.”

“Before you were a couple?”

Dean figured now was the time for a little lie of convenience, undoubtedly the first of many.

“He’s the kid of a friend of ours,” Dean half-lied. “She died when he was born so we took him in; me, Cas and my brother.”

“Oh, I’m sorry about your friend,” Carol said, her confusion fading. “But that’s so sweet. Well, I won’t keep you, I’m sure you’ve got tonnes of unpacking to do!”

“Yeah, well, great to meet you Carol, see you around.” Dean said with a smile.

“You sure will, with casserole!” Carol assured before she headed off along the street.

Dean’s smile lingered as he stood there, outside the house he shared with the love of his life, who was right there pressed to his side. He let the noon sun shine down on his face and the gentle breeze flush over him.

“Dean,” Cas spoke, tentative to break Dean’s moment of euphoria. “I came out here to tell you that we left all the crockery and kitchenware at the bunker.”

“Shit.”

[thisaccisdead]

give up on a miracle - sanders sides au - chp. 1

pairing(s): as of now, romantic nicomas and platonic everyone else

warnings: lots of religious stuff

summary: patton, virgil, logan, and janus are angels in charge of answering prayers. when they find out the earth is scheduled to be destroyed in a week, their only hope for saving it is to set up two humans: thomas sanders and nico flores.

word count: 3.5k

notes: this is a based off of miracle workers but not an exact au, idk it’ll be fun, you don’t have to have seen the show, you just have to like silly angel shenanigans 

Please, God, let this somehow work out.

Thomas didn’t ask for miracles too often. Well—that was a lie, he probably prayed for some inconsequential thing everyday, but he rarely meant it the way he meant this one. The man at the mall felt like fate. He was beautiful, and according to his backpack he was gay, and he was just a few tables down, and... Thomas should have just said hi as soon as he had noticed him, but he had psyched himself out. Like always.

Usually that would be the end of the story, but as Thomas was headed for the exit, the man was there too. In front of him. Speaking to him.

Thomas was too caught off guard to process the first half of what he said—though he did register being given back his abhorrent carrot snack—and when he tuned back in, all he caught was:

“Uh, it’s okay! It’s probably a bit too nosy for me to ask anyway.”

“Uh, yeah! Super nosy! What’s wrong with you, man?” was the sentence that came out of Thomas’s mouth in response. He blamed his lips for coming up with it, because he knew his mind couldn’t have been involved.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” the man smiled apologetically at him, and even that small, sheepish smile was so radiant… yeah, Thomas was mentally beating the shit out of himself. “Well, have a good night!”

So, now the fate-given man was headed somewhere else, and Thomas was about to lose him—probably forever—if he didn’t act. So, obvious answer: he had to act. But he just… couldn’t. Not without a sign at least.

Not without a push.

When no push came, Thomas told himself it wouldn’t have led anywhere anyway. He continued about his day, with only the slightest added weight in his chest.

•••

“Aw, Virge, we have to do something about this one!”

Virgil looked up from his own paperwork to see the prayer Patton had pulled up.

“‘Please, God, let this somehow work out,’” he read out dryly. “Hm, not very specific.”

“Oh, but you didn’t—c’mon, look—“ Patton waved his hand to replay the video of the scene. The figures popped up on the screen, and Patton was reminded all over again of the dopey, flustered expression of the human, Thomas, as he failed so miserably at talking to his mall crush. It was such a silly, hopeful wish—Patton’s favorite kind—and he couldn’t bear to see it go unanswered.

His fellow angel did not share this opinion, evidentially. “Nope. Nuh-uh. No way,” Virgil said, “Love prayers are stupid as shit, hardest of all, never work out. If this whole department’s getting shut down, I’d rather spend my last week answering achievable prayers.”

Patton frowned. His brown-dappled wings drooped as his excitement wavered. “Is that right, though?” he asked, “Should we really stick to… what? Finding lost wallets? Delivering extra sandwiches? Like we’ve done every year of this job? If this is all ending, I wanna finally do something that matters, Virge.”

Virgil looked betrayed. “Lost wallets do matter, Patton. Maybe they don’t end droughts, or heal hearts, but that doesn’t mean they don’t matter. If people wish for it, it matters to them. I always thought you agreed with me on that.”

Patton bit his lip. He did agree with Virgil, on some level, and on any other day he would have considered his words more carefully. But with the prayer department set to close down this very week, he had lost some of his filter. Maybe his ideas were far-fetched, but when he had joined the Department of Answered Prayers he had been hoping to do exactly that--end droughts, heal hearts.

“Virgil’s right,” chimed in Logan. Their manager made his way over, and took Patton’s tablet from his hands. He swiped upwards on the prayer, officially dismissing it as ‘impossible.’ “There is no need to feel bad, Patton. It’s not our fault humans mainly ask for impossible things. If they want impossible, they need God, and God doesn’t have that kind of time. If they want an extra sandwich… we can pull a few strings.”

Logan nodded approvingly to where Virgil was coding breezes on his tablet, screen open to a view of a rural town avenue. He was carefully, cautiously, innocuously blowing leaves into piles one-by-one. This process eventually cleared the front yard of a small house, just in time for a kind-eyed, middle-aged man to come home and cheer at the sight of the finished chore. He even did a stupid little dance to himself, and Patton saw the smallest smile tug at Virgil’s lips.

“I agree with Patton,” came a voice from over by the mini fridge. Janus was doing what he did best: sipping at the canned wine he wasn’t meant to have, not doing any work, and giving his opinion on everything anyway. “Let’s do something interesting. It’s not like it matters at this point.”

“What do you mean?” Patton squinted at him.

“Cuz the prayer department’s getting shut down, duh, what else have we been talking about?” Virgil answered.

“No,” Janus said, “Well—yes, but… you know why we’re getting shut down, right?”

Patton and Virgil tilted their heads at him, and Logan looked away. A smile appeared on Janus’s face, but not one of joy. One that had an edge, a venom in it. “Logan… you didn’t tell them?”

“It would only upset them,” the management angel replied, still not meeting Janus’s eyes.

“Yeah, because they’ll not be upset at all when they see Earth randomly explode in a few days,” Janus deadpanned.

“What?!” Patton and Virgil exclaimed in simultaneous dismay.

Logan glared at Janus. “Are you happy? Now we have to deal with this for the next week.”

“Earth can’t explode yet,” Virgil said matter-of-factly, “that’s not right. Right?”

Patton nodded emphatically. “We should’ve gotten at least a century’s notice! Or had it on a public schedule somewhere!”

“Yeah, God has to call it off. At least for now,” Virgil agreed.

“You want God to stop it?” Janus said with a laugh. “He didn’t even remember it was happening; it was His PA who told the management staff.”

“Yes, it was,” Logan narrowed his eyes at Janus. “How did you find out about it anyway?”

Janus opened his mouth, but before he could answer, Virgil cut in, “God’s not gonna do anything about it?”

“It’s been in His plan. Why would He need to change it?” Logan asked rhetorically, adjusting his large, round-framed glasses as he did so. It was a movement he made often when he was being a know-it-all.

“How’s Earth gonna die?” Patton asked, looking at the floor, still in denial. He had lived his life on Earth, he had been a human—they all had, before they died and became angels. It had been so long since he’d been alive, he couldn’t quite remember the feeling of it. The memory was blurred around the edges, but it still seeped warmth, like dough burning into bread over a fire. Now, the only connection he had to that sensation were the humans--the chance to watch them, how they lived such utterly flawed, full lives. He recalled Thomas’s hopeful expression.

“Asteroid,” Logan replied. He didn’t need to check his files to give the answer, his ink-blue wings stiff behind him--and that was when Patton knew, despite his cold, indifferent attitude, this news was weighing on him too.

“Like the dinosaurs. Well, bigger. But still unoriginal of Him,” Janus scoffed, checking his nails—well, more like checking his gloves, which seemed unnecessary. Something mournful crossed his face for a moment, but Patton couldn’t place what. “The dinosaurs were sad too.”

“You lived in the 19th century. You weren’t around for dinosaurs,” Logan stated, brow furrowed in confusion. Janus ignored him.

“An asteroid? He could prevent that so easily! Earth deserves to at least live to its natural end,” Patton said. He glanced to Virgil, hoping for backup, but his coworker seemed most focused on biting his black-polished nails into dust.

“Well, isn’t it the natural end if it was in His plan?” Logan asked, once again, rhetorically. He also adjusted his glasses again. Patton liked to think of himself as particularly nice, even for an angel, but he wouldn’t have minded seeing those glasses broken in that moment.

“I’m more interested in your claim that Earth doesn’t ‘deserve’ to end,” Janus smiled at Patton. It was a slippery kind of smile, one that he couldn’t grasp the intentions of. “Overall, it’s a dumpster fire of a planet, wouldn’t you agree? I mean, 99% of the prayers are literally impossible for angels to answer at this point.”

“Yeah, well, I know some angels who are too busy with their shitty wine to even try—“ Virgil began to complain, turning on Janus, but Patton was too busy having a revelation to pay much attention to it.

“That’s it!” Patton exclaimed, jumping up from his seat with a grin.

“Please, be more specific, Patton,” Logan sighed. “Define ‘it.’”

Patton was, once again, too busy to pay attention to this. He made for the doorway with haste, only tossing over his shoulder: “I’m going to meet God!”

•••

Logan, Janus, and Virgil made it to God’s office before Patton did. He wasn’t the best with maps, so sue him. The trio was waiting in the grand hallway for him, and he was thankful that they had decided to back him up, despite the fact they had no idea what he was doing. Even though the coworkers bickered their fair share, you couldn’t work as the only 4 angels in a crumbling department without a certain bond forming.

Patton gave them a grateful smile as he strolled past them and right up to the secretary’s desk. The secretary, who was… not present? He checked the name plaque. Engraved in the gold of it was: Mrs. Snuffles, but the ‘u’ had been scratched out and written over so that it was Mrs. Sniffles. Before Patton could even begin to be perplexed by this, a large orange tabby hopped up from the floor, where she had been hidden, and onto the desk.

The cat looked him in the eye, with a surprising amount of purpose, and meowed.

“Hello?” Patton asked, dumbfounded. “...Mrs. Sni—Snuffles?”

She meowed again, this time with an undercurrent of what Patton could only assume was impatience.

“I—“ Patton looked back at the group behind him, but they just shrugged. They were following his lead. That couldn’t be good. “We would like to schedule a meeting with God, please.”

Mrs. Snuffles trotted over to a stack of papers, and pushed the top one aside with a swipe of her paw. She looked up from it after a moment, and then jumped down from the table, going up to the gilded, arched doorway at the end of the hall. She started meowing loudly, and soon an angel with cardinal-red wings and a matching red suit jacket stepped out. He looked down at Mrs. Snuffles, then up at Patton.

“I’m terribly sorry, but God is not available right now. He’s very busy,” the angel explained with a polite smile, the kind that was trained and not felt, “and he will be until Earth explodes. Thank you, goodbye.”

“Oh,” Patton said dumbly. He maybe should have expected that.

Mrs. Snuffles hissed at the angel, and he sighed. “You really think they want to talk to Him?”

“We do!” Patton interjected.

“You think you do,” the angel replied, an undercurrent of bitterness to his tone.

“Same difference, right?” Patton said, giving the other a hopeful smile.

“Just let us in, Princey,” Virgil’s annoyed voice came from behind. “Don’t be an ass. At least not more of one than usual.”

Patton looked between the two of them. “You know each other?”

‘Princey’ gave Virgil a deadpan glare. “Fine. You want a meeting with God? Be my guest.” He stepped aside from the doorway, gesturing to it with a sarcastic flourish.

When no one else made a move, Virgil grumbled and pushed past Patton. The rest of the group followed. When they got to the door, Patton paused and turned to the red-winged man. “Princey—“

“Roman,” he corrected.

“Roman,” Patton repeated. He pointed at the cat curiously, “Mrs. ‘Sniffles’?”

Roman blushed. “I was allergic when I was alive.”

A resounding reply of “Me too!” went through the group, and they all turned to each other in mild surprise.

“It’s how I died!” Patton added cheerily.

“Huh,” Roman replied with a puzzled frown. He cleared his throat. “Well, good luck.”

“Thank you!” Patton said. He looked down at Mrs. Snuffles as well, “Thank you, too.”

She gave him a final, curt meow, and rubbed up to his legs, pushing his feet against the door. He laughed, turned to the others waiting for him, and they nodded. Roman opened the door, and gestured them in.

Patton didn’t know what he had expected God’s office to look like, but it was decidedly not what he found upon entering that door. He had expected something resembling the grand hallway leading up to it: golden statues, velvet carpet, ivory columns. And, sure, that seemed to be the basis of the office; it was everything that was added on that was surprising. The bookshelves were stacked exclusively with trashy magazines, the walls were covered in posters of boy bands and movie stars, and a side-room had been renovated into what appeared to be a personal Starbucks. Finally, in the center of it all, sitting on the sofa and watching TV, was:

“...God?” Patton asked unsurely.

The man--(should Patton call Him that?)--eyed the group from behind a pair of sunglasses. He didn’t bother to turn the TV off as He casually greeted, “Hey, babes! What’s up?”

“Um,” Patton glanced at his friends for help, but they were clearly just as lost as him. Well, not Janus; Janus seemed unbothered. This provided Patton some sense of comfort, enough for him to continue, “We wanted to ask about--”

“Hold that thought, hun,” God held up a finger. “Roman!”

Roman walked in, almost reluctantly, at the call. “Yes?”

“Be a peach and mute the TV, would you?” God asked, throwing His PA the remote. Roman caught it as if with practice, and pressed the mute button with a wry expression.

“Thanks, love you!” God said, then turned back to Patton. “What were we talking about?”

“Well--”

God tried to sip the frappe in His drink-holder, only to find it empty, and He interrupted again to say, “Roman, coffee alert! Mama needs His caffeine!”

Roman bit his lip, presumably to stop himself from letting out a sigh. When he walked to the Starbucks corner, he seemed to purposefully avoid eye contact with the group. Patton glanced at his friends, and found Virgil suppressing an amused grin, and Janus not bothering to suppress his.

“We wanted to ask about the end of the world,” Patton finally said.

God’s brow furrowed slightly. “End of the world? Oh! OH, that is coming up, isn’t it? When’s that again, Ro?”

Roman, from behind the coffee maker, replied, “7 and a half days.”

“Oo, fun!” God gasped, “That’s so soon! I totally forgot that was so soon, isn’t that crazy?”

“So crazy,” Roman agreed dryly, handing Him a new venti frappe.

“Right,” Patton said, almost at a loss, “So, you… want the world to end?”

God shrugged, using one finger to play with his coffee straw as he spoke. “It was in my plan, wasn’t it? Plus, I mean, y’know… Earth’s really, like, ‘ew’ right now, right? Like, sure, I COULD save it, and then I’d let the humans keep doing their little thing, but I don’t want that; they’re mostly messes. I wanna make… I dunno a new place with, like, more Idris Elba’s.”

“And you’re willing to kill the real Idris Elba for that?” Janus cut in. God looked him up and down critically, before asking,

“Hey, do I know you from something?”

“No,” Janus replied quickly, “Certainly not from Eden, and even if I was there, I wasn’t the snake. I’m a real angel, hush.”

Patton turned to him in confusion, but God just shrugged again, and said, “K, whatever. Anyway, yeah, what’d you gals wanna know about Earth again?”

“Um, we wanted you to, maybe… not… blow it up?” Patton asked.

“Hmm,” God hummed, “Thanks, but no thanks! Earth is gross, I’m just so over it, you know?”

“No, I don’t know,” Patton replied without thinking, unable to hide the frustration in his voice anymore, “If Earth’s messed up, all the more reason to be there for your children, and not just kill everything. It’s wrong.”

There was a ‘thunk’ against the floor, and Patton looked to see that Roman had dropped the old coffee cup he had been carrying to the trash. Logan and Virgil were staring at Patton with equally stricken expressions, and Janus’s face was unreadable. He suddenly realized what he had said. He then realized how many angels had fallen for saying much less.

God stood up slowly. He approached Patton until He was uncomfortably close.

 “Awe,” He pouted, “babe, I know it’ll be sad, but how am I supposed to change it now? It’s in the plan, hun. I’m sure you understand.” He patted his cheek once condescendingly--a touch that carried the pleasant warmth of a sunbeam--before He stepped back and took a long sip of His coffee. Patton didn’t break eye contact the whole time.

“I have an idea,” Patton said in a newly sunny tone--the type of overly kind, conversational tone that should be feared-- “How about a bet?”

“Are you for real?” God gaped at the continued insolence, somewhere between disbelief and delight. In the end, delight--or at least novelty--won. “Deal with the Devil is out, deal with God is in; OK, I’m into it!”

“You say it’s too hard to save Earth now? Impossible, even?” Patton asked challengingly. He heard a quiet gasp of realization from Logan, and when he glanced behind himself, he noticed Janus was smiling, as if impressed. This gave him enough confidence to continue, “Impossible, like it would be impossible for a few random angels to answer an unanswerable prayer?”

“Sweetie, I don’t know what you’re saying, but I love the way you’re saying it,” God waved His hand appreciatively.

Patton took Logan’s tablet from his hands. He scrolled to find the ‘Discarded Prayers: Impossible’ file. He held it out to God for proof as he concluded, “If we can answer one of these prayers before the end of the world, surely you can stop it from ending.”

“THAT’S your plan?! Pat, we can’t complete the possible prayers half the time,” Virgil exclaimed. He buried his face in his hands. “Earth’s dead.”

God, however, let out a dreamy sigh, holding one hand against His chest. Patton wasn’t sure if he was meant to feel like the ambitious hero or the prize dog at a pet show. “You know, I should say no…” God bit his lip with the same expression a suburban mother might have when she was about to cheat on her juice cleanse, “...but I never could resist a little twist! Ok, shake on it!”

God extended His hand, and Patton took it without hesitation.

“I, God, proclaim: Earth will not be destroyed next week if, and only if, an impossible prayer is answered.” As He spoke, His palm began to glow white, such that Patton had to look away for fear of being blinded. If God’s touch had been a sunbeam previously, it was now the whole sun, and Patton almost cried out from the burning heat. Technically, he didn’t have skin in the same way he did when he was alive, but he swore he felt it melting off in that grip.

Yet when God pulled away, there was no extra light in the room, no damage to his hand.

God smiled innocently. “Ok! Cute! So, what prayer you gonna choose?”

Huh. Patton hadn’t thought that far ahead. Maybe Virgil’s concern wasn’t so unwarranted. He looked down at the tablet he was still holding. His eyes scanned past several prayers that were beyond impossible--fix capitalism, no more YouTube ads, fix global warming, no more incels--until his eyes caught on just the thing. An unabashed grin overtook Patton’s face in realization,

“Oh, I know exactly what prayer we’re doing.”

•••

“Well, have a good night!”

Nico turned his back on the cute mall man after he said it, and he had to push down the urge to glance back a final time. He tried not to believe in true love—it was at best unlikely, and at worst an extremely problematic trope—but he was a writer, and a daydreamer, and when he spotted the man a few tables down at the food court… he just knew.

Ok, he didn’t know, there was no way to know that kind of thing—but he did want. He did hope. And he did, in a move that was unprecedented for him, pray:

Please, if anyone’s up there: I know it’s silly, but I want this so badly. And I know it’s basically impossible at this point but, maybe… if we meet again... let this somehow work out?

[rai-wick]

Gally x Reader Chapter 33: Goodbye

Y/N'S POV

"Okay we need to get outta here now"Gally grabbed the bag which he had loaded with serum vials and shut the vault door"You stay close to me and _______. Stick together" He handed the bag to the oldest looking kid he saw"You guard this with your life. You understand?"He nodded quickly.

"Let's go"I nodded, slipping on my mask and we opened the door, standing ready for soldiers. We made our way to the parking lot, sticking to the shadows and ducking as we saw soldiers running by"Stay low!"I urged as Gally pulled out his radio.

"Brenda, where are you? We're here"He said before a bus screeched in front of us. We loaded the kids onto the bus, keeping an eye out for the enemy.

"Wait, where's Thomas?"Brenda asked as the kids got on.

Gally and I looked at each other with concern then back at her"We were hoping he was with you"She began to get down but Gally stopped her"Wait! You and ______ stay here with the kids. I'll find him. Just wait for us"

"I'm coming with you"I replied. He sighed and put on his mask.

"We're not going anywhere"Brenda assured us as we ran off. We ran for the top floor lab when all of a sudden Gally pulled me into a pillar. We saw 3 soldiers running for the outer fountain, one of them yelling that the suspects had the test subject. Looking at one another, we realised they were probably talking about Minho, Thomas and Newt. We ran behind them, blending in.

"Don't even think about it"They yelled as Thomas reached for his gun"Get on your knees with your hands in the air"We turned and shot at the soldiers before they could make a move. They lay twitching as we ran towards the guys, pulling off our masks and making Minho gasp.

"Gally?"

"Minho"Gally nodded, looking back at the window they had just crashed through"You guys are nuts"

"We'll explain later"I grinned as we ran. We ducked, almost squatting as we ran to avoid the spotlights, finally hiding behind some bushels and trees.

"Well, they're definitely pissed"Gally panted as we caught our breath.

"How far are the tunnels?"Thomas asked.

"Uh, maybe 12 blocks from here"Gally guessed. I felt Newt wheezing beside me before breaking out into a violent cough"We can make it"

"Newt, how are you feeling?"Minho asked.

"Terrible"Newt groaned"It's good to see you though"He weakly smiled, patting Minho's shoulder.

"Here, take this off. It should lighten the load on your chest"I pulled off the vest, avoiding looking at the paling Newt. Minho met my eyes and I gestured for him to talk to Thomas as I tried to distract Newt.

"I don't think this is quite the place for this behavior, _______"Newt chuckled before coughing. I shook my head at him, blushing as he tried to grinned through his pain.

"Come on, we've just got to reach Brenda"Thomas came and helped me lift him up. Newt stumbled, grunting as we kept him steady. I saw Minho look back at Gally with suspicion.

"Why are you helping us, Gally?"He asked"I put a spear through your chest"

"Yeah"He looked at me as he answered Minho"Nobody's perfect"Just then a huge explosion went off in the distance making us turn and stare as debris exploded"We're supposed to take down WICKD, not the whole damn city"

"Gally, come on"I pulled his arm, forcing him to look away and run. Thomas and I helped Newt along as Gally and Minho kept check in front of us.

"Shit! Stay low"We hid behind a plant display, away from the view of the police barricade.

"What are they waiting for?"Minho whispered just as an explosion boomed behind us causing a rush of an angry crowd. We took advantage of the chaos and ran to hide in an abandoned shop.

"Brenda, are you there?"Thomas shouted into his radio.

"Thomas, I'm here"Came the crackled reply. There was another explosion, blowing me into Newt who grunted.

"Shit! You okay?"I frantically got off him.

"Relax, I'm fine love"He gasped, rubbing his arm.

"Gally, how much further?"I turned to him, my eyes stinging.

"Not far but we have to keep moving"He replied as I took Newt's arm again. We continued our journey, hiding behind trucks and buildings as fighting ensued"Alright.Newt, we're almost there"He encouraged, looking back at us.

"Just leave me"Newt muttered as we hobbled along.

"Never"I said through gritted teeth. We ducked down as an exploding car flew past us followed by an angry crowd and helicopters.

"Shit! It's them, we gotta go"Thomas turned back to Newt.

"Go without me"He spluttered, blood leaking out of his mouth"You should just-"He launched into a coughing fit, wheezing as I wiped the blood.

"Minho"Thomas said"You gotta run ahead, grab the serum and get back to us as soon as you can"Minho looked at him, worriedly"Minho go"

"He's right. I can cover"Gally added.

"_______, go-go with him"Newt wheezed.

"I'm not leaving you Newt"I told him fiercely.

"Forever the stubborn one"He gasped before clenching Minho's arm"Thank you Minho"

"Hey, you just hang on"Minho patted his shoulder before running off. Thomas watched them run through while I turned back to Newt. He was breathing heavily, black veins covering his face and his eyes were constantly dilating before constricting.

"Newt! Newt!"I shook him to get his attention.

"Hey! Hey Newt!"Thomas shouted"We're gonna try this, okay?"

"No! No!"Newt struggled ripping open his jacket. He tore off the tubular pendant he wore, holding it up to my face"Look, you gotta take this"

"We gotta get you up now"I tried to lift him.

"No just take it!"He screamed at me. I stopped and placed my hand around his"Please"He breathed harshly"Please, _______ (nickname) please. I need you both to have this"He took Thomas' hand and placed it with mine. I nodded then Newt dropped his hands, his breaths ragged as I put the pendant in the chest pocket of my shirt.

"Newt, you need to give everything you've got okay? We can make this"Newt nodded as Thomas gestured for me to grab his other arm. Grunting with effort, we dragged Newt to tunnels as bombs and bullets flew past us. We entered the broken doors of the station"We're almost there, Newt. Just stay with me, come on!"Thomas panted.

"Newt, no no. Hey!"I gasped as Newt gagged and fell onto the ground. His breathing was rapid but Thomas and I grabbed his arms and legs, trying to pull him along. We didn't make it far before we collapsed.

"Thomas?"Teresa's voice came on the PA system"Can you hear me? I need you to listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me but I need you to come back. Thomas, you can save Newt"I looked at Thomas in shock as we both slowly stood up.

"There's still time for him. There's a reason Brenda isn't sick anymore. It's your blood. Do you understand? She isn't sick because you cured her"I felt my blood run cold at Teresa's words"She doesn't have to be the only one. All you have to do is come back and this will all finally be over. Please. Just come back to me. I know you'll do the right thing"

The lights turned off all around us with just two of the high beams faced our way. I looked back to see Newt standing up, only it wasn't Newt. He turned towards us, his face a mess of black veins, his eyes dilated and a stream of black liquid poured out of his mouth.

"Newt?"I whispered before Newt growled and tackled me"Newt? Newt, it's us. It's Thomas and _______!"I pushed him backwards, making him heave.

"Kill me!"He panted, his eyes constricting as he fought the flare within him.

"Newt I'm here"Thomas reached for him and Newt crawled on top of him, choking him"Newt please"He relaxed before reaching for Thomas' gun. He held it up to his head before I smacked it out of his hand, making him howl in anger. He pulled out his knife and we fought as he tried to stab us with it. Thomas punched him in the face and he turned to lunge at me. I quickly grabbed his arm and shoved the knife into his chest as he pulled me close.

"I'm sorry Newt"I whispered as we fell to the ground in an embrace. I held him in my arms as he lay gasping.

"Thank you _______"He stroked my cheek with a bloodied hand as I felt tears pouring down my face. I watched the life ebb away from his now blackened eyes while Thomas fell to his knees beside me. I heard the pattering of feet but I ignored them as I held Newt in my arms.

Wiping away the blood from his face, I softly kissed Newt's forehead as I felt Thomas pick up something then leave. I closed his eyes with my hand then laid him carefully back on the ground. I finally looked up to Minho, Brenda, Frypan and.....Gally. I ran towards Gally with a sprint, almost knocking him over as I wrapped my arms around his chest, my tears flowing. His arms tightened around me, stroking my hair. We stayed there for a few moments, before I heard a bomb explode just outside.

"Guys, we have to go"Gally shouted over the explosion. He lifted my head and wiped my tears with his thumb"_______ we need to get back to chopper, okay?"I nodded and he gestured for the others to follow. We started making our way back when we ran into some rioters.

"There's the Immunes"One of them yelled before aiming his gun at Gally and firing a shot.

"NO!"I screamed and jumped in front of him, feeling my body ripple as the bullet landed in my lower abdomen. I felt myself fall into Gally's arms looking up at him while the others fired back.

"SHIT! No! No!"Gally frantically pressed his hands on my wound. "______ stay with me. We can fix you up"He shouted over the bullets. I lifted a hand and pressed it against his warm cheek, holding his face. Perhaps it was due to the life leaving my body or maybe I was just delirious but I smiled up at him"Please _______, I can't lose you again"He begged, placing a bloodied hand over mine.

"My captain Gally"I whispered before my world went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[diorsho]

an even better gift

to hannah; from your secret santa 

words: 1.9k

pairing: bakugou and reader

warnings: swearing ! but that’s it lol

~~

Bakugou wandered up the street again. His feet ached from the sheer amount of times he had started and finished the walk in front of the shop windows. It was his fault and he knew it. He shouldn’t have waited until the last minute to get a Christmas gift for Kirishima. It was too late to be as picky as he was, but ever the perfectionist, he was trying to find the perfect gift for his best friend. His red haired friend was easy enough to please but Bakugou wanted it to be the best damn gift his friend had ever received. The cold weather pecked his cheeks and his nose almost felt numb, Bakugou shoved his hands in the pockets of his jacket to ward away the bitter chill. 

People littered the streets and filled up every inch of the area that his eyes could see. Bakugou was slowly getting frustrated over the fact that there were so many people out and also last minute shopping. He wanted to be done with this so he could go home and be done with the whole thing. Bakugou’s eyes stopped at the store that he hadn’t checked out yet, his legs moving towards it before he could tell them too. The wisp of artificial wind hit his face as the door swung open and he let it shut behind him as the warmth from inside the store soon sunk into his bones. The door was soon swung open again in a hurry and the cold air washed over his backside, he turned around before he could really look at anything in the store. 

“Close the damn door, it’s cold.” The words came out of his mouth before he could stop himself and the shorter girl stopped messing with her coat as she locked eyes with him. The girl laughed and closed the door all the way as per his request. Bakugou followed her movements and stepped out of the way when she sidestepped him. Her hair was hidden under a dark colored beanie and he saw the tip of her nose tinted pink from the cold weather. Bakugou moved away from the entrance and slowly let his eyes take in everything in the store. He was trying with all his might to find a meaningful gift. He walked and took everything in the Christmas smelling shop, the girl from earlier was looking at small trinkets on shelves near him. His feet moved in her direction and he stopped behind her as she picked up a snowglobe.

He debated on whether or not he should apologize to the girl for a few moments. A small guilty voice reminded him it was the holidays and he inwardly groaned. “Sorry by the way, I didn’t mean to yell at you or anything.” Her smaller fingers clutched the glass piece a bit as his voice disrupted the serenity of the shop. Quiet instrumental holiday music played in the background as the girl smiled at him. 

“It’s alright! Don’t worry about it, I’m not a fan of the cold either.” Bakugou could now get a good look at the girl in front of him and he hated how he noticed that her cheeks were the color of pale roses. The sweater and jacket she wore seemed cozy and he now wished he wore a bit thicker of a coat instead of just a long sleeve shirt and padded jacket. 

“I don’t mind the cold. It just was colder than I thought it was going to be today.” She scoffed and placed the snowglobe back in its original spot, he followed her as she moved on to the next column of shelves. He shoved his hands in his pockets and locked his eyes on her. She seemed to be doing the same thing as him, last minute shopping. The two danced around one another picking up items every now and then to look at them. Bakugou strayed away to put some distance between him and the pretty stranger, but still close enough that he could hear her humming to the soft music. “Bakugou.”

She turned around with a curious sort of tilt to her head, “What?” Bakugou scoffed at the beginnings of a smile that was starting to form on her face.

“Name’s Bakugou.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” 

Bakugou watched as she moved on to yet another shelf of funky looking Christmas gift ideas. He had a tight feeling in his chest, a strange sort of nervousness that seemed to be set on suffocating him.

“Sorry, I just don’t normally hand out my name five minutes into meeting someone.” She was smirking at him and it almost made Bakugou want to retreat to one of the previous stores he had looked at. Anything to escape this moment, anything to escape her. After a brutally long moment of silence, the shorter girl chuckled. “It’s Y/n.” She locked eyes with Bakugou and he felt the corner of his lips tug at her expression. 

“Anyways, what are you doing shopping three days before Christmas?” Bakugou watched as she started to linger closer to him as he half haphazardly looked through things. His fingers brushed against something cool to the touch and he grasped it tighter in his hands to look at the object fully. 

Bakugou let out an almost frustrated sigh before answering, “Trying to find the right gift for a friend.” The girl's eyes widened and she smiled back at him.

“So am I!” She seemed to laugh at herself and he grinned once again looking at the items on the shelf. A quiet seemed to fall over them and they moved together to keep looking at the objects throughout the store. A Frank Sinatra song drifted through the hidden speakers, the girl seemed to be happily humming along, it made Bakugou want to hum back. He grabbed a candle to smell it only to immediately place it back after the bad scent hit his nose. 

“Sorry should’ve told you it smelt bad,” she apologetically smiled. He lowered his head to glare at her only for her to stare back and laugh quietly. “Just wanted to see your reaction to the shitty excuse for a candle.” Y/n wandered over to another aisle full of small things, Bakugou followed behind like a lost puppy only stopping to look at things that would be remotely cool enough for Kirishima. 

~~~ 

The pair spent hours at that store just trying to find anything their friends might like, and even after moving on to other stores to look some more—neither found anything that really stood out. Y/n came close but she decided that it wasn’t good enough for her friend in the long run. Bakugou and Y/n walked alongside one another, almost touching shoulders but not quite. Bakugou could feel every time their knuckles brushed—the feeling sending chills up his entire arm and throughout his whole body. Bakugou wasn’t the type of person to even hang out with anyone, let alone someone he just met. Something was different with her though, Bakugou felt content being around her, and he didn’t find her as annoying as all his other friends. 

“We should get coffee or something.” Y/n seemed to stop him in his tracks and grabbed his forearm with her free hand. He grunted in protest but didn’t say no. She smiled towards him and let his arm go to browse her phone for what Bakugou could assume was a cafe. Bakugou gripped his phone tightly in his pocket as he watched her scramble to find something near them that was suitable. He looked up as she started to bounce on her heels, the sky was a lot darker then when he first started shopping. That also meant the weather was not as nice, the cold winds bit at his cheeks once again and made fingers want to grasp something warm in them, coffee did sound really nice. 

“You okay to go here? I’m not keeping you from anything?” She pushed her phone to his face, the screen showing him a smaller cafe around the corner from where they were. He nodded and started walking, the street name already in mind as he walked around some other people. The shorter girl soon caught up with him and pushed their shoulders together, trying to get closer to him or generate heat, he couldn’t tell. 

Someone held the door open for them and they both quietly mumbled a thank you before entering the warm shop. It’s the most wonderful time of the year by Andy Williams hit Bakugou’s ears and he could already hear Y/n start to hum along with it. Cold hands grasped his and dragged him to the counter of the cafe, his eyes locked on her smaller ones. He was so surprised that the small action caught him off guard.

“Can I get medium hot cocoa with extra whip? Plus, whatever he’s getting.” The words were rushed and Bakugou could see the pink leaving her cheeks, her hand left his and he looked up at the menu to order. 

“A medium hot coffee is fine.” He reached into his jacket pocket to grab his wallet, but she beat him to it and smiled back at him. “I would have paid, idiot.” The person on register ushered them over to wait elsewhere so they could take more orders. 

“It’s alright, think of it as a gift from me to you.” Y/n was swaying where she stood and Bakugou smiled before rolling his eyes and replying back to her. 

“Oh god, now you’re gonna make me get you a gift along with my friend who I can’t find anything for?” A scoff left his lips and small giggles could be heard from where she stood. Their orders were called and they both grabbed their drinks to sit down in the cafe near the bakery part of it. Bakugou grabbed a sugar and cream and stirred them in his drink as the girl across from him sipped her own drink. 

“I can’t believe you got a hot cocoa.”

“What do you mean? It’s literally the perfect weather for hot cocoas?” He wanted to be mad at her answer but he knew she was right. His own mother used to make him the same drink when he was younger once the colder weather hit. “You know what would go good with this though?”

Bakugou hummed in response to let her know he was paying attention and she smiled back at him as she took the lid off her cup, “A warm cookie.” She locked eyes with his as she took a long drink and he watched the whip cream stay on her lip. 

“Do you want a cookie?” A nod could be seen and the blond sighed before getting up and tapping the table as he left to order a cookie.

Bakugou returned moments later with two cookies. She smiled and grabbed the one with more frosting and more sprinkles, somehow getting some on her cheek as she ate the sweet treat. He laughed and they talked, getting to know each other as the minutes passed. The last of his coffee had gotten cold and he hadn’t found Kirishima a gift, but he had met a pretty girl that was nice company and he thought that was a good way to end his night.

~~~

@violetnotez HI HELLO I’M YOUR SECRET SANTA ! :D i hope you like this lil piece, i was inspired but what you told me and i wanted to throw some of your own fav things to make it more you, so i hope you enjoy !! have a great holiday and happy new year ! you’re amazing and i’m so happy i can call you a friend <3

taglist: | @bnhabookclub |

masterlist | kofi 

[jjba-arni-reblog]

Can you do a sdc Jotaro x reader with glasses? I've lived my whole life being very blind without them and I never see any reader with glasses things. Maybe reader falls and drops them and is having a lot of problems trying to find them?

There ya go, it was fun to write. It’s pretty long.

Note: I think it was a request from Ao3 initially as the person asked for any ways to request. I took it just before completely closing down stuff

Sight

The loudness of busy streets caught your group off guard, you Joseph tried to find the alleged place of the hotel you were supposed to stay in, confusedly grunting. It was getting pretty late. Avdol was trying his best to help the older man with the map, pointing out the name of the streets that you should be able to see from where your group stood. Polnareff was smoking yet another cigarette, hoping to pas the time as the cherry-loving teenager stood next to him, covering his nose a little at unpleasant smell of the tobacco. Overall, everything was as usual. The two remaining figures stood next to the group, seemingly waiting for the Joestar to figure out the right way.

However, at some point the traffic and overall small crowd became more active, as people started to move, disregarding each other’s comfort, seemingly trying to get to whatever destination that had. Your group got separated as multiple “Oh my god” were heard from the one and only, followed by French curse words. You quickly found yourself separated from the older man, making you try and search for the only possible person left next to you. Jotaro wasn’t there

As the crowd got bigger and busier, you felt yourself being squeezed in it, trying to make your way out, at this point you couldn’t hear anyone from your group, making you worry a little. You could barely see the top of Polnareff’s iconic hair as you struggled to move forward. People kept on going, pushing you without any remorse. As you felt a particular harsh push, you fell forward, your glasses flying away as your vision immediately blurred, making you completely unaware of the world surrounding you. A small panic settled in your mind as you patted the ground before you, hoping that your glasses were somewhere near, in a reachable distance.

You decided against letting out your stand, not to raise suspicion, in case there is an enemy withing the crowd. Letting out an annoyed grunt, you patted the surface yet again, no result.

Hoping to at least stand up and found your way out of this mess, you suddenly felt a hand, helping you to stand up, almost lifting you.

“What?” you asked, eyeing the smuggled form before you, trying to figure out who it was

“Hold onto me” came the deep voice, confirming that the person is safe to be near. Jotaro’s arm wrapped around your waist as he held you closer to him, not wanting to lose you again in the crowd. You couldn’t see but Jotaro let out Star a little so that the stand can find and reach for your fallen glasses. His stand was successful in doing so, confirming that it is okay to leave.

“You okay?” he eyed your form a little, searching for any possible injuries. Crowds weren’t the most careful when dealing with people.

“Yeah, I think so” you answered as he led you away from the crowd. You still couldn’t see anything around you, instead holding onto his arm.

“Let’s get you to the hotel” Jotaro stated, starting to move towards the supposed destination of yours.

“Wait,” you stopped “what about my glasses?” you asked the man, hoping that at least Jotaro could find them in the crazy crowd.

“They are broken” he simply stated, urging you to continue walking as you sighed at the disappointing news.

“Well, shit” you grunted, annoyed at the new problem. It would be almost impossible for you to fight without your glasses.

“We’ll get them repaired” Jotaro spoke out, his voice still strict yet somewhat reassuring. He was more concern about your well-being at the moment, glasses could wait.

Suddenly, a small angry cry could be heard next to you two.

“Oraorarora” Star suddenly half-yelled, his face devoid of happiness.

“No, we won’t beat the shit out of the crowd” Jotaro rolled his eyes at the dedicated stand, not wanting to engage in anything dangerous…..this time.

“Let’s first get you to the hotel” Jotaro decided for the two of you, continued to walk as you held his arm to support yourself “the old man finally figured out how to use a map and common sense.”

You chuckled at that, hearing the clear annoyance in Kujo’s voice. Sometimes, he seemd too harsh on his lovely grandpa, even if the latter was pretty doting. Yet you didn’t mind.

As you continued to (try) walking, you felt bumping into people and generally feeling out of place. You couldn’t see, after all.

“Sorry” you let out a sigh as you passed another street, not knowing if you were apologizing to your boyfriend or just anyone that might have bumped into you.

Hearing the small grunt, you felt Jotaro stop. Before you could ask anything, you saw his form move, stepping in front of you and kneeling.

“Get on” was the only thing the man said, signalling you. It took you couple of seconds to realize what he meant.

Having Jotaro give you a piggyback ride to the hotel was the cutest thing that happened to you, even if it meant losing your glasses and not seeing the majority of the world.

“Thank you” you smiled, hugging his neck as he carried you.

“It’s my fault you were lost in the crowd, after all” a small sound of regret was noticed in his silky voice.

“Don’t say it like that,” you moved your head closer, turning to look at him as much as the position could allow you “you did save me from being stomped on” you reminded the man, smiling a little.

You two eventually arrived at the right hotel, finally letting yourself be at ease. You never knew where the stand users you could wait for you. Joseph reassured you that he already checked your room, making you let out a sigh of relief.

Due to you and Jotaro dating for a while, older Joestar used the opportunity to make you share room regularly, saving the money and space. Even billionaires felt the happiness over saving a buck of two, apparently. And seeing his lovely grandson grunt each time Joseph made a smooth comment was something wonderful to witness. As you were getting ready to sleep, Jotaro eyed your glasses once again.

“They definitely need repairing. We’ll deal with it later,” Jotaro stated “they are pretty much pretty crushed, cannot even tape them together” he explained. Kujo then stood up, lying down on the bed next to you, not too close, yet not completely falling off. He was a big man, after all. Jotaro placed his hat on the cupboard, letting his soft locks free. You always wondered, how did his hair remain this soft after being covered for the majority of the days and sometimes even nights.

“It’s alright. Thank you for helping me” you smiled a little, reaching for his hand, hoping not to miss.

“Ora” came the excited voice, as Star appeared. You saw his smuggled shining form before you, making your smile widen.

“Oh and thank you” you hugged the stand, making it wrap its arms around you. While Jotaro himself wasn’t the most touchy person, his stand made sure to show its appreciation and love for you. No matter how many times Jotaro scolded Star, the stand seemingly didn’t care.

“Stop it” Kujo’s voice contrasted his stand’s one, as he turned his head to the side a little,his hat wasn’t there to save Jotaro this time

“Oh, so you are lucky I cannot see your blush” you teased him as Star disappeared with a happy expression. Hug quota was completed for today.

“Shut up and go to sleep” Jotaro said, turning of the lights and getting comfortable. He still wasn’t lying close to you, maybe he didn’t want to see intrusive. But something about the heat that he was radiating told you otherwise. After all, his stand could feel your every action.

“You know…” you suddenly spoke up in a dark room, the moon being the only thing providing just a little bit of light.

“Hmm?”

“Even if I cannot see you now, I’ll definitely see you in my dreams” you tried your best to not laugh at your own cheesy comment. It was worth the shot to see Jotaro get flustered.

You heard a loud grunt cutting through the silence as Jotaro covered his face with one hand, almost if to show his annoyance. Yet something told you he wasn’t too angry with your generous comment.

“Oraaa” suddenly the stand manifested, smile plastered across its cute face.

“He liked it” you noted, laughing at the supportive stand of his.

“Shut up and sleep” Jotaro suddenly tackled you, bringing you closer to his warm body. You felt his body relax a little. Maybe he was just tired?

You felt Star moved closer to you, planting a soft, almost ghost-like kiss on your forehead, then disappearing into the night.

Yes, Jotaro definitely wasn’t hiding his blush. He was just tired.

[doctorlaelia-ffxiv]

never let you go - part 2.

[[ read part one >here!< @benes-diction for mentions of the Beanies! ]]

I allowed Cato Lucretius to start officially courting me come spring in Garlemald... which doesn’t mean much, and does little to make dents in the snow, but it still felt warmer, somehow. His presence was warm. At times, he was like the soft glow of a candle in a dark room, providing a sense of safety and comfort. Other times, he glowed so brightly that I thought that he might be a supernova, too big for this world altogether. 

To say that I was in love with him would be a difficult thing. I was very fond of him, for a while. We got along tremendously well, and he was good at making me laugh. Our honeymoon period was sweet, and friends sighed over what a lovely pair we were, and I agreed with them. Cato Lucretius was a perfectly amiable, enjoyable sort of man to be around, who gave excellent kisses and was an attentive sort of lover, who could provide conversation that stimulated the mind and be a quiet place to rest, too. 

At least, at first. All that glitters is not gold. Sometimes it’s just a very pretty plating put over something rusty. 

In the summer, Cato Lucretius invited me to move into his apartment on the outskirts of the university we both attended. He was a literature major with a schedule that was far less packed than mine, considering I was still taking classes while conducting my residency at the hospital to enter into neurosurgery . But it worked, I suppose. He was something of a “house boyfriend,” you could call it. He made meals and kept our shared space clean, ran hot baths when I had a long day at work, would call me on the nights I couldn’t return. And he made a point of bringing me on dates, where we were able to make time for it, to expensive restaurants and pretty museums and lush greenhouses and towering libraries. 

Being old money from Garlemald came with a bit of status that Cato Lucretius frequently enjoyed. He liked the balls and the parties, and he enjoyed the luxuries of the finest foods and wines, and he liked to talk, very much, about the plights of our countrymen in a senseless war for a government that only wanted dominion rather than peace... and his words were pretty. They were nice to listen to. He could be fantastically passionate about things, he could grab a whole room’s attention with his vivacity and silver tongue, and I enjoyed listening to him on those summer evenings where the world felt like it belonged to us. 

For the first time in a long time, I was happy. I was twenty and finishing the last leg of my residency - the youngest in generations in Garlemald to achieve such a high position so quickly. It was an honor. It was a feat, of countless sleepless nights and many frustrated tears and many, many joyous victories. And Cato Lucretius would stay up with me, during the time we were together, to celebrate or to mourn, respectively. And then things just... started to feel like they were shifting. I remember it starting to feel different in the autumn.

The warmth was starting to fade, like it was chasing the seasons. 

“You’re brilliant,” Cato Lucretius would tell me as he smiled, as he brushed my hair from my forehead as I nursed a glass of something strong on a rare day off. “You’re the smartest person on this star, Laelia.” 

He said it so frequently. At first, I thought it was sweet. I liked being acknowledged for my accomplishments more than my looks. It didn’t feel like he looked at me like a piece of meat. To him, I was his equal - more than his equal. And that, maybe, was the problem. Cato Lucretius was putting me on a pedestal I didn’t try to get onto, and slowly... Slowly, but surely, it started to tarnish the way that he looked at me. 

“You never have time for me.”

That was how it started. It caught me off guard, as we stood in the kitchen and made dinner together. He was leaning against the counter and staring at the floor as he sipped from his whiskey glass, one hand braced behind him with the sleeves of his red sweater pushed up. 

“I always try to make time for you,” I had told him, and I had frowned, because I was confused. I was... I am a person that grew up quickly. There were intricacies in people’s words and meanings that I wasn’t able to pick up on at the age of twenty, when my whole life had been dedicated to how brain functions but not, exactly, the emotions that run through them, too. 

“But it never works out, does it?” Cato Lucretius shot back, looking at me with pained and angry eyes. “When’s the last time we got to go out? You said you would come with me to my colleague’s party the other night. And you forgot, didn’t you?” 

Accusation after accusation as I stood there with a ladle in my hand and my lips parted, because yes. Yes, I had forgotten. But I hadn’t meant to. The day he was referencing was nonstop. I hadn’t even been able to come back to the apartment between surgeries. Older, wiser me would have been able to do something, to put this man in his place. Twenty year old Laelia just wasn’t sure what was happening or what she had done to make him so angry.

“Yes,” she had said, and that’s what it feels like, as I think about this turning point of a night now - like I’m watching in third person. “Yes, I forgot, but... but I told you that I wasn’t able to leave, Cato. I’m very sorry, I didn’t realize that it was so important to you, but--”

“I’m making a big deal out of it, aren’t I?” And just as quickly as he had been angry, he was smiling at me, and I felt... unsettled, in a word. “I’m sorry, Laelia. Forgive me. I suppose I must have had a bad day today.”

Whiplash. That was the day it started - or, at least, the day I began to notice it starting. Cato Lucretius was changing in how he spoke to me, in how he looked at me, and so was the regard he held me in. What was once my ‘brilliance’ was my ‘cockiness,’ and what was my dedication to my work was a force driving us apart, no matter how hard I tried to yield to his requests. 

And all the while, this man was starting to fail his classes. Professors were sending back essays with bundles of criticism. He was slipping up, and the golden boy with the flawless smile that I met at the ball in the winter was now beginning to lose his gentleness and his geniality, unless he was drinking. And when he drank, all the venom he felt for me would come spewing out.

“You think you’re so smart,” he would sneer as he slouched in his chair by the fire. “You made a big splash, and now you think you’re too good for anyone, don’t you? What’s going on that has you out at all hours? Are you having an affair?” 

“That’s enough,” I had snapped, slamming my glass down on the counter. He raised his voice at me, and I raised mine. Our fights became infamous in the apartment building. I had never been the type to shout. That wasn’t the way to get a point across, but no one infuriated - and hurt me - like Cato Lucretius did. He made my ice turn to fire, my quiet and composed way of dealing with things seem unhinged and furious. 

And it was becoming clearer and clearer that any support he had for the Populares was... surface level. Certainly, he was prepared to speak out against the oppressive government, but... I have to wonder if that’s because it was the popular opinion amongst our circle. He clung to his status and the wealth of his parents in a desperate sort of way. I often wonder how much of anything he spoke passionately about that he really meant, and how much of it was manipulation to make him look good. I fear that the answer would be troubling and disheartening both. 

A warm, sunlit garden that we had planted in the spring was starting to die come the fall. Our honeymoon period was over, and I didn’t know what to do.

Many times, Cato Lucretius would coerce me into bed, to have sex that was angry and rough, that screamed that we hated each other in those moments. I never really said ‘yes.’ I just gave in to his nagging, to make him be quiet, to stop accusing me of affairs that didn’t exist.

“If you loved me...”

He loved that one. ‘If you loved me, you’ll sleep with me. If you loved me, you’d make more time. If you loved me, you would stop asking me where I go late at night.’ ‘If I have to trust you, don’t you have to trust me?’

The difference is that I never came home smelling of someone else’s perfume or cologne like he did, or with a wine that he didn’t drink still clinging to my lips. 

Giving up Cato Lucretius was difficult. He was nowhere near as creatively gifted as he wanted to be, and if I’m being honest with myself, I have to wonder if the vague similarities he shared with my Cato are what made me stay. They wrote, and they were both like light - even if Cato Lucretius’ light was rapidly fading - and they both, at one time, made me feel safe. 

I remember curling up on the bathroom floor and simply sobbing into my arms, overcome with a grief that was too unbearable to speak aloud. More often than not, I would say Cato Lucretius’ name and think of Cato Benes - of the soldier boy who had paid the ultimate price, of the one in all of my dreams, who dried my tears when I slept and told me everything would be alright. 

Often, as things got more difficult in my relationship, I dreamt of that farewell ball for Cato rem Benes. I dreamt it over and over again - arriving late and anonymous in a beautiful gown, and making him laugh, all with the knowledge of what was to come that I was forbidden to speak. And the dreams ended the same - me, forcing myself to leave Cato rem Benes alone on a balcony before collapsing in the gardens and being overcome with grief.

Those are the dreams I would wake from in tears, sometimes screaming my anguish, begging to please just bring me back to that night, so that I could tell him not to go, to plead and block him from his departure if I had to--

And it was easy to lie to Cato Lucretius about when I screamed the name ‘Cato,’ because I could tell him I was having nightmares of something terrible happening to him. But maybe part of him knew. Maybe a part of him had always known that my heart was never fully with him. 

I still don’t think, though, that I deserved his cruelty for it. I was young, and inexperienced in so many things, and mourning the loss of someone who had so deeply impacted me as a young girl. Even seeing Cato rem Benes’ parents were difficult. Seeing Lucius in a hospital, or sitting and listening to one of Theodosia’s performances... I always kept up with them - quietly, and in the shadows, but I tried to. My heart broke to hear the stories of what Caius was becoming. I wept bitterly when Solina left, knowing how deeply the family hurt when their children hurt, knowing just how the loss of Cato rem Benes had affected him. 

And there was a part of me that felt like it knew more, too, like... I could sense something in the future. Of course, I was a woman of science. Looking back, yes - in a strange way, and thanks to kami meddling, I did know. I knew the painful endings and the happy endings both, but to not be able to explain those feelings was often agonizing. And the more my relationship with Cato Lucretius began to fraction, the more I felt it. 

The more I felt that something just hadn’t ended right, that a book that was meant to be closed had simply been paused. 

The day I found his love letters from another woman beneath our bed and his collar stained with a coral lipstick that I wouldn’t wear came almost as a relief. Of course, it broke my heart. Spring had come around again, with a surprising melt in the snow. We had spent a year around each other, committed to each other - or, at least, one of us had been committed to the other. When I asked how long, just how long had he been betraying my trust, he was vague. When I asked how many times, he had simply shrugged, staring into the fire. 

“How many hours were you too busy being brilliant to give me?”

“You’re casting yourself as dependent and lonely to get out of being accountable for being a dickhead,” I had told him, tossing the letters that he’d so obviously read over and over directly into the fire. “For being the worst of men.” 

“We could try to fix this, Laelia,” he had said, running his hands over his face before standing up to face me, to try to reach out to me. “I messed up, darling. I messed up so badly, but if you give me another chance--”

“Haven’t you heard, Lucretius?” I asked him, smiling. “Goodness, I thought you would have, but... I simply just don’t have the time to give you that. I have very brilliant and much more important things to be doing than wasting my godsdamned time on this - you manipulative, lying, tiny pricked bastard.” 

When I slammed that apartment door with a box of my things in my arms with that man crying like an infant, it was liberating. I was free of his cruelty and his coercion. I suppose I could thank him, though, for the beginnings of the spine that I became so famous for.

For the spine that Cato rem Benes will always love me for having. And Cato rem Benes is, was, and always will truly be spring - the true herald of new beginnings, of promises that the long winters would end into a blossoming, glowing new world.