#technically a day short of three weeks but whatever

[bionicdogs]

three weeks post op

[hoshifighting]

can u do svt reaction with no nut november😋 love ur writing!!!!

seungcheol: he starts off strong, “this is easy, i’m basically a monk.” but makes it to day three, tops, before he’s in your DMs, like, “okay, you win, come over.” literally holding his head in his hands before fisting his hard cock.

jeonghan: jeonghan only joins no nut november to annoy you, trying to show off his self-control. “oh, it’s nothing. i can do this easily.” but when you start teasing him day after day, sending him nudes and flirty messages, he’s practically boiling. but he holds out until the end of the month, when December 1st 00h comes, this man is slutting you out.

joshua: tells you he’s “doing great” and that the challenge is “actually easy.” but secretly, he’s sneaking off every day, trying to relieve himself without you finding out. when you catch him, all flushed and a mess, and he’s stuttering like, “uh, i… didn’t know you’d see that.”

junhui: bro is all talk, boasting that he can last the whole month, but he’s the first one to start slipping. he tries to distract himself by going out, playing games, whatever he can, blows his cover, blow his load, by day five.

hoshi: this poor dude loses on day one. you know it, and he knows it. he tries to act tough, but if you cross from the bathroom to the bedroom only in a towel, he’s done for. he sulks the rest of the day, throwing a mini tantrum after fucking you and losing it, and when you tease him about it, he’s all pouty. “you did this to me!”

wonwoo: he thinks he can outsmart everyone, claiming he’s going to meditate his way through november. when you sleep with him in your babydoll or tiny shorts, he’s all softening up, biting his lip and fighting his instincts. he tries to be stoic, he’s grumbling under his breath, and it’s hilarious to watch. “this is unfair. can you at least stop wearing those?”

woozi: he’s stressed from the get-go. the man is rolling his eyes at everyone, snapping at the members over the tiniest things, all because he’s with a throbbing erection in his pants. you’re just fanning the flames, sending him ALL the nudes you can, and he’s getting more and more drained. “why are you like this?” he hisses, but he secretly loves the attention. by week two, he’s a complete mess, desperately trying to hide it, but he’s too transparent. every time you catch him zoning out, you know exactly where his mind is.

minghao: iron will. he goes through the whole month with a straight face, the second december hits, he’s on you. he’s using every spare second to make up for lost ground. by week’s end, he’s practically cock-sore from going at it so much, and you’re laughing, asking him if all that was worth it.

mingyu: he’s so sure he can trick his way through it, asking you to dry hump him because, technically, it’s not breaking the rules, right? but the second you start grinding down, he keeps trying to pull you off before he cums, soon, he’s begging you to stop, whispering about how he can’t take it anymore, so.. just another way losing the NNN.

seokmin: determined to stick to the rules, but struggling hard. he’ll pull you in for heated makeouts, his hands squeezing and holding you tight as he tries to discount on something. flushed and breathing hard, whispering apologies for pulling away clearly fighting himself every step of the way. he’s convinced he can make it to the end “it’s fine, i got this,” he’d insist, though his grip on you says contrary.

seungkwan: “oh my god, don’t come near me!” gets whiny about how hard he is. he’ll throw little tantrums, pouting and going on about how it’s torture whenever you tease him. by the end of the month, he’s practically begging, dropping hints that he’d break if you just said the word, making it clear he’s only “doing this for you” while clearly waiting for the green light to give in.

vernon: he's “nah, i’m good” from the start. “you’re trying too hard.” but little by little, he catches himself glancing your way, biting his lip, feeling the itch just a bit more every time you walk by. he won’t admit it, but by week four, he’s giving you these longing looks when he thinks you aren’t looking.

chan: determined, but let’s be real, he’s also a bit naive about how tough it’ll be. if you teasw him, he’s practically falling apart every time you’re around. by the middle of the month, he’s so worked up he’s stammering just being near you, you catch him blushing like crazy when you touch him, and by the end of it, he’s practically begging you to let him break the rules.

[theemissuniverse]

MK 1 MEN REALIZE YOU’RE TOUCH STARVED

SUMMARY : Basically they’ve been super busy so they hadn’t been worried about sex until they realize how needy you really are. Fem reader.

WARNINGS : (MDNI)! praise, unsafe p in v, riding, cumming, some other stuff I probably forgot

MASTERLIST

LIU KANG

You were practically starving for intimacy. Your boyfriend, Liu Kang had his hands full with Earthrealm itself and you couldn’t even help him.

Liu Kang had forbid you to get involved in Earthrealm business because in the previous timeline, when Raiden brought you in it you had died. So, he wanted you to continue your normal life.

Though, Liu Kang made sure you were a worthy fighter just by the chance that maybe one of his enemies would try and hurt you. You would know how to defend yourself.

It had been weeks, close to a month. Liu Kang was there emotionally but was not there physically. You knew he was busy but god, did you think he wasn’t attracted to you anymore.

You were reading your book in the living room when you heard the door open. You didn’t bother to look up because you knew it was Liu Kang.

Liu Kang locked the door behind him. “Good evening, my love.” He walked over to you and gave you a kiss on the head. “How was your day?”

“Great until you got here.”

You were a very sarcastic individual so Liu Kang just took it as a sign that you were being sarcastic. Liu Kang sat beside you. “Did you eat today?”

Trying not to be annoyed was hard but you were so frustrated that you couldn’t hold it in. You slammed your book shut and got up from the couch. “I can’t even read a book in my own home.” You marched to your room.

Liu Kang now understood you were angry at him. He just didn’t understand why.

When you walked in the room, you shut the door and locked it. Then you turned around and there you faced the Fire God himself. You jumped back, startled. “I hate when you do that.”

“(Y/N), if I’ve done something wrong then you need to open up. We talked about this.”

That was true. Liu Kang did talk to you about you opening up more to him and communicating with him. It was just hard for you because you never really liked talking about your feelings. Especially embarrassing ones.

You sighed and placed the book on your dresser. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so mean to you. I’m just…frustrated.”

Liu Kang gently took your hands in his. “Whatever it is, we can face it together. Tell me what has you so frustrated.”

You bit your lip, not wanting to even look at him. “It’s just…you haven’t really…” You trailed off. Lucky and unlucky for you, Liu Kang was a patient man and he waited for you to say it. “You know…and I just feel touch starved.”

Liu Kang now understood what you meant and he could only smile. “I’m sorry, my love. I did not mean to. I am God and because I’ve been alive for so long, I don’t really have the physical needs as you do.” He brought you closer to his warmth. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t take care of you.” Liu Kang gave you a sweet kiss on the lips. “Next time, just ask.”

You smiled shyly. “It’s embarrassing to ask…”

“You should feel comfortable to ask me.”

“Well technically you’re the one that made me so uncomfortable, creator so who’s really at fault here? So ha!”

Liu Kang shook his head and gave you a kiss on the forehead. “You, my one and only, are so strange.”

You were in a panting mess. Liu Kang was on top of you while you laid on your back. Your moans were uncontrollable and you were mad at him again for making you wait so long to feel like this.

Liu Kang watched you pant and he was mad at himself that he made you wait so long to feel this good.

Having sex with a god was always more pleasurable because well, he was a god. It was so much easier to get you to cum. It only took three minutes. Sometimes even two.

“Keep going, love. You’re almost there.” Liu Kang told you.

You made short breaths out as you were close to your release. You felt all around Liu Kang’s chest trying to hold onto something. “Oh, god. Oh Liu. I can’t.”

Liu Kang kissed your lips. He knew that sex with him was ten times more pleasure able than if he were human. “Breathe in and out, my love.” He watched as you took some breaths in and out. He caressed the left side of your face. “You’re doing so good.”

You felt your release close. “I’m so close. Please.”

“I got you.” Liu Kang held onto your thighs and continued to go at his slow and hard pace. “Cum on me, my love.”

You felt the wave of your orgasm wash all over you. Liu Kang didn’t stop until you had came over him completely.

He pulled out of you. Then leaned down to kiss you on your lips. His lips then went to your neck and your shoulder. “Never make me wait that long again.” You told him.

Liu Kang chuckled against kissing your skin. “I won’t, lovely.”

JOHNNY CAGE

You never thought in your life span that you would crave for Johnny Cage but you did. He was your boyfriend now so you should’ve been used to the feeling.

But it had been a whole week. A week that Johnny did not have intimacy with you which you found to be extremely weird. I mean you two would have sex at least five times a week so you could not believe he wasn’t on you.

You had to be the stay at home girlfriend while he made his new movie. You couldn’t even stand being around him anymore because that’s how touch starved you were.

But you were not going to initiate it because he always initiated it and you were not going to give him the satisfaction of how badly you wanted him.

You couldn’t hide your attitude towards him.

You finished making dinner. Johnny was back from work. “Babe! I’m back! It actually was better than yesterday.” He came into the kitchen and set his things on the counter.

Johnny came up behind you and hugged you. He kissed your cheek. “Damn you look hot cooking.”

Yup. You couldn’t hold your attitude back. You pushed his arms off of you. “Clearly, I don’t.” You mumbled under your breath.

He heard you though. He was confused. Of course you were. You were the hottest girl he knew. “What are you talking about, babe?”

You walked away from the stove and got out plates. You set them on the counter. “There’s dinner. I’m gonna take a nap.”

You walked into the bedroom and were about to close the door behind you but Johnny was too fast for you.

Johnny forced the door open and you rolled your eyes at him. You started walking over towards the bed, fixing the sheets while he stood in the doorway. “What’s up with you? Did I do something?”

“It’s what you didn’t do.”

Johnny looked at you completely confused. You were mad that he didn’t do something? “Baby, you gotta help me out here because I’m lost.”

You angrily folded the sheets before turning to look at him. “Are you cheating on me?”

Johnny’s eyes went wide at the accusation. “What?” He stepped closer in the room to close some of the distance. “(Y/N), I’m not cheating on you. What could possibly make you think that?”

You scoffed at him and you turned your attention back on the bed. “I highly doubt that thee Johnny Cage can go a week without having sex.”

That’s when Johnny put the puzzle pieces together. He laughed a little. “Babe, seriously?” He came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you. “Aw, I knew you wanted some of this Johnny Cage.”

You rolled your eyes and pushed him off of you. “No. I don’t. I’m just stating it’s weird.”

“(Y/N), I’ve just been busy with the movie. Nothing weird has been going on. I promise.” He went back behind you and wrapped his arms once again around you. He started to kiss your neck. “If you wanted me, you could’ve just said something.”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s embarrassing.”

Johnny turned you around so you were facing him. He gave you an amused look. “Oh? So it’s embarrassing when I ask you all the time?”

You crossed your arms at him. “That’s different. You’re a man.”

“(Y/N). Just get your sexy ass in the bed.”

He watched you as you could barely ride him. It amused him a little. You were begging to have him but you were in too much pleasure to ride him the way you wanted.

Johnny didn’t have his hands on you as he wanted to see how far you could go without needing any help.

It wasn’t long.

“Oh my god. Johnny, I can’t.”

“You wanted this babe. You gotta ride me yourself.” He said smugly. He rubbed your nipples a little causing you to moan. “You tell me you love me though and I’ll help you.”

“I love you. I love you so much. Please. It feels too good.”

Johnny chuckled and grabbed onto your hips. He then started to move you up and down at a good fast pace. You weren’t doing any work. “I love you too, baby.”

You moaned loudly feeling your clit constantly hit him over and over again. “Yes. Please.”

Johnny let out a grunt at the new pace and your moans combined. “Damn I missed this.” His right hand traveled lower to smack your ass and then went back to your hip. “I’m never missing out on this again.”

Your hands were on his chest as you rode him. You felt yourself starting to inch close to your release. “I’m almost there. Oh shit. Yes.”

“Come on, baby. Cum on me. You can do it.”

His words made you lose it. You threw your head back. “I’m cumming. Oh god, Johnny.”

Johnny groaned as he felt you cum on him. He helped your ride out your entire orgasm. “There you go. I knew you could do it.”

You tried to control your panting as you sat on him. You didn’t make him pull out on you.

When he saw this, he rubbed your hips gently. “You alright, babe?”

You nodded. You leaned to kiss him on the lips and then you went back to riding his dick again. He moaned. “I want more.”

Johnny had no complaints.

RAIDEN

With Raiden being Earthrealm’s champion it made him quite busy. You didn’t like it. He didn’t have any time for you and you were getting quite touch starved. It had been two weeks.

You were even more pissed when you found out that he was in Outworld helping Princess Kitana with something. Oh, that enraged you.

You were jealous. I mean, Kitana was a princess and you were just some Earthrealmer. You couldn’t really compete with that.

Washing the dishes, Raiden walked into the house. “I’m so glad to be home.” He walked to where you were at and kissed you on the cheek. “Hello, my heart.” He started to rub your back soothingly. “I missed you.”

“Go miss Kitana.” You told him bluntly and pushed him off of you.

He looked at you very confused. Raiden turned off the water and forced you to look at him. “What are you talking about, (Y/N)?”

You sighed a little, feeling bad that you were rude to him. “Nothing.”

“Is something troubling you? You know you can always talk to me.”

You bit your lip, slightly embarrassed at what you were going to say. “It’s just…you haven’t been around to…” Raiden waited patiently to hear you. “Make love with me and I feel like all your attention is on Kitana.”

“Oh, my heart.” Raiden lifted your chin up and gave you a kiss on the lips. “Trust me, I would spend all my time with you if I could but Lord Liu Kang has me going on missions that pertain to Outworld.” Raiden started to kiss your neck with sweet kisses. “I would make love to you every day if I could.”

You sighed happily at the kisses that were being placed on your neck. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be so snippy with you.”

Raiden shook his head as he faced you. “You’re frustrated. I understand. Allow me to make you feel better.”

Raiden was eating you out as you laid on your back, his head between your thighs. You tugged on his hair. He licked all the right places and sucked on your clit greedily.

You moaned loudly. His hands were on your thighs and he continued to eat you out like you were his last meal. One thing about Raiden was that he knew how to eat pussy.

“Raiden. Yes. Oh god.”

He lifted his head from your pussy and licked his fingers. He then placed the fingers on your clit and started to rub it in circles.

You moaned louder and played with your breasts. Raiden watched you and licked his lips as he saw you throw your head back.

Raiden leaned over and kissed you on the lips, making you taste yourself. He wasn’t really a big tongue kisser but when he was horny, Raiden was the best tongue kisser in the world.

He licked the bottom of your lip before licking all over in the inside of your mouth. You moaned and tried to use your own tongue but when you did, Raiden wrapped his lips around it and sucked all over it.

You moaned incoherent nonsense and Raiden pulled away. “You look so pretty like this.”

The circles on your clit didn’t stop. You rubbed all over his chest. “Raiden please. I’m so close.”

When you said that, Raiden kissed you one last time. “I can’t wait to taste all of you in my mouth.”

Raiden went back between your legs and ate you out again. You moaned at the harsh licks and the way he sucked on your clit at a steady pace.

“Raiden. Oh god. Raiden. I’m cumming.”

He ate you out through out the entirety of your orgasm. Even to the point when you were done. You tried to push him off of you. “Too sensitive.”

Raiden came up from pussy and kissed you on your breasts. “Come on, love. You can’t give me one more?”

You couldn’t help but give in to Raiden’s words. You nodded and he smiled before going back down on you.

[solarmorrigan]

The Pumpkin (Spice) King

For the @steddie-spooktober day 24 prompt: Pumpkin Rated: T | Words: 945 | CW: None | Tags: established relationship, this is very silly, fluff Divider credit: @steddiecameraroll-graphics

The clues had been there all along. Eddie should have paid more attention.

It starts with the candle.

“Why does it smell like a craft store in here?” Eddie asks the moment the apartment door has closed behind him.

Steve, half engrossed in whatever he’s scrolling through on his phone, shoots Eddie a quick, puzzled look. “What?”

“Like cinnamon sugar and spices. Fake fall.” Eddie sniffs the room speculatively. “This is what craft stores smell like every year from September to January.”

“Oh.” Steve rolls his eyes. “It’s not ‘fake fall,’ it’s just the candle I have burning.”

Now that Steve’s mentioned it, Eddie spots the candle on the table, one of the ones you get in a fancy-looking glass jar, the label of which proclaims the scent to be–

“Pumpkin spice?” Eddie utters, nose wrinkled.

“You got a problem with pumpkin spice?” Steve asks.

“It’s–” Eddie starts, then takes in Steve’s single raised eyebrow, registers the catty lilt to his tone, and changes tracks, “–barely September.”

If anything, Steve’s eyebrows get more judgmental, but he looks back to his phone, apparently dismissing Eddie as a threat to his fun, fall-scented good time. “They start selling these things in August," he says. “You should appreciate my restraint.”

“Riiight,” Eddie drawls, deciding to adjourn to the bedroom and leave the living room to Steve and his mass-produced miasma of imitation autumn.

Of course, it doesn’t end there.

Eddie barely notices in time, reaching for the pump of the hand soap by the kitchen sink and stopping just short of using it when the colors register. It isn’t the usual bland bottle with its inoffensive citrus and herb scent, but something brightly-colored, all orange and shiny silver. There are little wheat sheaves and pumpkins on the label, and the scent is, of course–

“Fucking pumpkin spice,” Eddie mutters.

Fine, okay, so there must have been some kind of sale at fucking– Bath and Body Works, or wherever the hell it is that sells this stuff, and Steve had temporarily lost his mind. Or something. Whatever.

Steve can go around smelling like something that wishes it could be cinnamon all he likes, but Eddie will not be joining him. He uses the dish soap to wash his hands instead. His eczema will not thank him later, but he thinks it’s a fair price to pay for his continued dignity.

(And if Steve eyes Eddie’s reddened, peeling knuckles later in the week, and the lemon herb soap reappears next to the pumpkin spice soap, well – that’s close enough to a win that Eddie will take it.)

Then there’s the coffee.

This one is technically the final nail in the coffin, but it takes a bit to really dawn on Eddie. He maintains that he had been understandably distracted at the time – largely because he only finds this one out by drawing the taste straight from Steve’s mouth.

It isn’t unusual for Steve to have been up and about for an hour or two (or three) before Eddie rolls out of bed on his days off; Eddie prefers to keep late hours, and Steve, as much as Eddie loves him, is a morning person. This had caused some friction when they’d first started living together, but it’s been nearly a year now, and they’ve managed to work it out. Often, their first kiss of the day tastes like whatever coffee Steve’s already been drinking.

It’s different today, though. Sweeter than usual.

Eddie hums, licking deeper into Steve’s mouth, trying to place the difference, and Steve groans, tugging Eddie closer by the hips, mistaking his curiosity for passion (and, well – it’s not not passion. Eddie can multitask).

“What’ve you been drinking?” Eddie finally asks when they pull apart.

“Pumpkin spice latte,” Steve answers, and then gives Eddie absolutely no chance to process this information, pulling him back in for another deep kiss.

It’s only later, back in bed when Eddie had barely even been out of it for half an hour, that Eddie has to admit to himself: his boyfriend is a pumpkin spice girl.

And that’s fine! Eddie can be mature about this!

Sure, it’s the sort of thing he’d sneered at back in high school—the conformity of the masses flocking to whatever seasonally-scented item corporations are hocking at the time—but he’s grown up since then. Someone’s preference for a certain flavor or scent doesn’t determine their worth as a person, et cetera, et cetera. Eddie knows this.

But still, he’s only human. He does have a breaking point.

“Oh, baby, no.”

“What?” Steve pulls his head out of the fridge, where he’s been putting the cold stuff away as Eddie unloads the grocery bags destined for the pantry.

Eddie holds up the offending item – possibly the most offending item he’s ever seen.

Pumpkin spice candy corn.

Steve blinks at him. “What?” he asks again after a long moment of loaded silence.

“Oh god, it’s already infected your brain,” Eddie laments, dropping the bag of candy on the counter and reaching for his phone. “I’m calling Robin, we’re staging an intervention.”

“Oh come on, what? They’re good!” Steve insists.

“Objectively, sweetheart, they really aren’t. But don’t you worry,” he leans over and pats Steve on the arm as he searches for Robin’s number in his contact list, “we’re gonna save you from yourself.”

(Later, of course, he’ll find out that Robin has already tried to break Steve of his tendency to buy anything labeled with “pumpkin spice.” His love of the stuff is ironclad. She tells Eddie that he’d better learn to enjoy the taste, or else give up making out with his boyfriend until Thanksgiving.)

[chelseeebe]

bump in the night

smut. 18+. mdni. modern au.

day three of spooky week and we’re camping in the woods with eddie, only he seemed to have neglected to tell you about the creatures that lie in the trees

.𖥔 ݁ ˖🕸️🕷.𖥔 ݁ ˖

i’m cold

and scared 

and i miss you 

Camping on Halloween night hadn’t been your first choice, nor second or even third. Coerced into going with the promise of a boozy campfire and some of Robin’s brownies. 

What you weren’t told was that you’d end up in a tent alone. 

That wasn’t exactly anyone’s fault per say, you and Eddie were still technically a secret, screwing right around underneath everyone’s noses. It was supposed to be just sex, a little fumble around when the party had died down, blowing off steam after work. 

But now you’d found yourself wanting to be around Eddie for more than just sex, wanting him to hold you and touch you just not in that way. 

Robin and Vickie had claimed one tent, Steve and Eddie were placed into the other and as Nancy had point black refused to even entertain the idea of camping, you were left on your own. Pouting up a storm the second Robin had broken the bad news. 

So you lay here, shivering in your tiny pyjamas, texting Eddie in the hopes that he’d escape Steve’s tent and come keep you warm instead. 

you want me to come and warm you up? 

Your phone pings, exhilaration coursing through your veins at the mere suggestion of him sliding into your tent instead. 

please 

and hurry 

There’s a few seconds of silence until you hear the tent next to yours slowly unzip, his failed attempts at being quiet as he trundles the two yards over to you. 

The dim light of his flashlight makes its way over, obscured by the thin material of your tent, only to almost blind you when Eddie unzips your tent, shining bright at your face. 

“Jesus Christ,” you hush, moving your legs for him to climb over, it’s all far too loud for what should be a secret rendezvous. 

“Sorry,” he chuckles, worming his way under the blanket, icy hands finding your shivering body, “fuck, you really are cold,” immediately pulling your body in closer to his. 

A welcome relief for your borderline hypothermic body, “I’m freezing,” coming to snake your arms around his neck, eager to keep him close for the rest of this dreadful night.

Eddie smirks, fingers already creeping under the multitude of layers you’d piled on, “I think I can help with that,” his knee slides between your legs, spreading them apart to further intertwine your bodies. 

You let him do whatever he wants, always. 

With your leg slung over his waist and his hips jolting you upwards, you squeak, grabbing onto his shoulders for leverage. 

“Quiet baby,” he hushes, looking up at you through spindly lashes, an unfaltering smirk despite his scolding. “Don’t want anyone to hear us now, do you?” 

Your head shakes, threading your fingers through his hair as his hips bump you further up, “we shouldn’t.. shouldn’t have sex,” offering zero real refusal as his fingers work their way into your shorts. 

“Why?” replying in between desperate kisses to your neck, an awfully loud suction pop echoes through the tent. 

“In the movies..” gasp, “they always die first,” letting your head roll back against the makeshift pillow, granting further access to the sensitive skin. 

“She doesn’t agree,” teasing his fingers into your sopping hole, “and besides, this isn’t a movie baby.” 

You sigh softly, the rustling of the tent becoming discernible to whoever was still awake. Eddie’s hand snakes right around your trembling thigh, fingers pumping in and out of your hungry cunt, the cold of his signet ring nudges your clit sending shivers down your spine. 

“You don’t really want me to stop, do you?” Eddie asks, fingers mercilessly gliding through your slick.

“No.. no. no, please don’t stop,” desperation oozing from your throat, “please.. please.. please,” falling into a rhythm of begging and mewling. 

You can feel his grin grow against your neck, his rough stubble grazing the skin as he places a slobbering kiss to the side of your mouth. 

There’s a sudden chill to your ass cheeks, your shorts having been manoeuvred down and around your thighs. So uncomfortably sticky in the cramped tent, a difficult feat to get his own sweatpants down without poking a hole through the sheer material. 

One hand comes to rest on your hip, holding you steady in place as the other guides his glistening tip to your entrance, teasing the shining hole before easing himself inside. 

“Ohh shit,” you gasp, grabbing ahold of his hand to place it over your chest, needing him as close as physically allowed. 

Eddie grunts into your ear, “quiet baby,” half tempted to just cover your mouth now before your moans woke everyone else up. 

Your head nods on its own, registering his words before your brain does. His hips move at an agonising pace, slow and tepid so as to not alert your fellow campers. 

It’s awkward and warm, your body’s meshed into one, limbs a tangled mess as he slides between your folds, punctuating his thrusts with a gentle groan, his eyelashes flutter shut against your skin. 

Something snaps in the distance, a twig or perhaps just the wind, but it’s enough to make you stop, squeezing Eddie’s shoulder to garner his attention. Even if it were nothing, you weren’t exactly eager for your friends to wake up and find you like this. 

“Did you hear that?” whispering harshly, his hips paused flush against your ass. 

“Hear what?” he grumbles, following your gaze to the flapping material, certain that there was nothing out there. 

“That noise,” you bite, getting louder at his refusal to even consider, “something.. something’s out there.” 

Eddie sighs, tightening his hold around your waist, “there’s nothing out there, okay? Probably just the wind or something.. trust me, baby.” 

You blink, looking back at his softening face, choosing, maybe stupidly, to trust him and not your instincts. “Okay.. okay,” nodding, as if to give him permission to continue, his cock aching to move again. 

He does so, jerking his hips upward with a breath of relief, “fu-uck,” fingernails leaving crescent moon markings in your soft back. The sleeping bag crinkles with every rut of his hips, with nothing but a flimsy sheet to separate your bodies from the floor. 

“Feel so good,” you babble, almost forgetting all about the potential monster outside until another branch snaps, only close this time, right outside your steamy tent. 

Eddie stops on his own volition this time, looking up at you with furrowed brows, “you heard that too, right?” 

You nod, a shaky breath escaping your lips, “I don’t like this Eds..” no longer able to brush it off as the wind, something was out there and it was going to get you. 

The night is cold despite the close distance between your bodies, sending shivers through your spine when Eddie loosens his hold, “I’m gonna..” sounding entirely unsure of himself, “I’m gonna have a look.. stay here,” he orders, pulling his sweatpants up. 

Your fingers wrap tightly around his wrist, “please don’t die,” though your words meant nothing against whatever creature was out there. 

His brow furrows, “Jesus Christ sweetheart, I’m not gonna die,” unzipping the tent as quietly as humanly possible, slipping out into the dark of the night, leaving you to sit and tremble waiting for his return. 

Midnight blooms, the quiet only accentuating the sound of your heart thumping in your ears. Eddie doesn’t reply to your calls of worry, nor does he acknowledge the rustling of the tent as you sit up, pulling your clothes back on. 

“Eddie, can you just answer me?” you whisper through gritted teeth, preparing to enter the house frozen outside after him. 

A stampede of footsteps crunch past the tent, keeping you frozen in place as you weigh up whether dying inside the tent or outside would be better. If they’d managed to take Eddie, you’d have no chance of survival. 

Crawling out of the tent, squinting as your eyes struggle to adjust. It’s nothing all around, pitch black night that was starting to make your eyes sting. The other tents remain silent next to yours, maybe it’d got them too. 

Alone in the depths of the forest, half-fucked and fully annoyed. Most people wore silly costumes and got drunk on Halloween but no, your friends wanted to go camping. 

They wanted to go camping and now they were all dead. 

“BOO!” something screeches, popping out of the bush and maniacally stomping in your direction. Only being able to scream in terror as the horde of shadowy figures comes bounding out of the trees. 

It’s Robin, and Steve and Vickie. 

And Eddie. 

Doubled over himself with cackling laughter, the rest joining suit as you stand utterly terrified in the middle of their cruel circle. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you guys? What’s wrong with you?” slapping Eddie’s chest, hoping only next time it’ll be his face. 

The group share a look, the dregs of laughter wearing off when they see your stern expression. 

“Maybe you shouldn’t have sex so loud that everybody can hear you,” Robin pokes her tongue out, slinging her arm around Vickie’s shoulder as they trundle off back to their tent. 

Your mouth falls open, both horrified that they’d heard you and appalled that they’d determined that pretending to be a murderer was a rightful punishment for that. 

Steve snickers as he walks past, clapping his hand on Eddie’s shoulder, “we were only joking.. least the secret’s out now I guess,” raising his eyebrows before disappearing into his lone tent. 

You turn to Eddie, wondering if you should punch him or pull him in close, your heart still thudding along. “You fucking asshole,” deciding on a mix of the two, punching his shoulder but not pulling back when his hand snakes around your waist. 

“I’m sorry,” still chuckling even now, “they made me do it,” walking back to your tent, even though you’d have every right to force him to sleep beneath the stars. “N’aww,” he coos, “you sounded so scared.. I feel bad.” 

“I was!” glaring at his stupid pout, unimpressed with his pitiful apology, “you owe me, big time.” 

Eddie grins, smirk cocked to the side as per usual, “I think I can do something about that now.” 

[ladey]

i can’t believe i’m doing this

Jinx x Fem!Reader 🌸

notes: explicit smut, swearing, mature & sexual topics, characters are 18, y/n's height is implied to be short (5'0ft), reader is feminine! minors & men dni !!

wc: 5.4k

—🍓

“You wanna hookup with someone?!”

Only 2 weeks are left of the school year. The days are longer and warmer, and now that it's technically summer the weather is no longer rainy and dreary like it had been in spring. Not that you can complain. It means that you can watch the tree buds and the flowers bloom while your seasonal depression slowly dissipates.

Right now you sit in the school cafeteria during lunchtime. It's not too often you do; the friends you have are usually all over the place and like to go out somewhere to do whatever during the lunch period. However today is one of those days where there is only three of you, and you guys just so happen to be sitting at a table smack-dab in the middle of the cafeteria.

And this gives you three a perfect view of all the different people in your school...

Fatima and Bailey, two of your best girl friends, are sat across from you with bewildered expressions. You had just told them out of the blue that you were thinking about hooking up with someone so that you can lose your virginity before graduation.

You feel embarrassed and start focusing on eating your cafeteria bought garlic fingers. But you’re pulled back into what you already unfortunately started. "Why am I surprised but also not surprised?" Fatima squints her eyes in an odd analyzing sort of way.

On the contrary, Bailey looks excited. "That is big news, Y/n! Do you know who you wanna do?" She leans closer from across the table and reaches her arms out to grab yours tightly. The girl has hooked up with so many random people, you aren’t sure why she does it or if she enjoys it as much as she says she does. But you know that if you’re going to attempt this, going to her for help would be a wise decision.

"Umm.. Well I had a few people in mind. There are a couple of guys that would be down no questions asked..."

"You sound unsure." Bailey observes.

"Um... I just— I think, maybe doing this with a girl would be better.. or nicer..." You whisper, looking around to be sure no one is listening. Fatima looks up from her phone with an eyebrow raised.

"That's probably gonna be way harder to figure out. Girls are picky, they know what they want and they'll make sure they get it. Especially, when looking for a hookup." Fatima explains. You get the feeling that she's just talking about herself. "Plus, there's like barely any girls in this school who regularly hookup."

Bailey turns to her. "Well they don't have to be someone who does regularly. As long as they're open to them then that's all that matters." She shrugs and turns back to you and smiles. "And they have to be hot of course. Someone who knows what they're doing."

"Hm..." you hum, leaning back a bit as you gaze veers off to nowhere in particular.

You wonder what hooking up with someone would even be like. Before starting high school, you hoped that you would meet someone and finally get into you first relationship. And it's not that you think going into college or university as a virgin is bad, you just want to be able to say that you have some experience. You also really want to know what sex is truly like instead of just imagining it in your head.

At that same time, a loud laugh reverberates to your left. You turn around and see a girl with long blue hair and an obnoxiously punk-esk style standing a couple tables away from yours.

She throws a plastic bottle at a boy who's drenched in water. Him and the others there laugh, and she waves them off before walking in your and your friend's direction. You look away and squirm in your seat, hoping the girl won't approach you guys.

Your prayers were ignored though.

"Hey Jinx!" Fatima calls out warmly, Bailey smiles with a wave. Curse you and your whole friend group for being friends with literally everyone.

Jinx momentarily stops behind you to greet the two girls, "Hey Fatima. Nice top." And she's walking away again. But not before punching you shoulder, almost sending you flying against the edge of the table and breaking a couple ribs.

"Jeez." You grumble under you breath as you glares holes into Jinx's back as she walks away. Out of nowhere Fatima sits up straight and her face fills with realization.

"Holy shit. You can hook up Jinx." Your stomach drops to your ass.

"Huh?" "What?" You and Bailey say at the same time. Fatima looks at the two of you like what she said should've been obvious.

"What? She literally hooks up people all the time. With girls. She's exactly what you're looking for, don't try to convince me otherwise."

"She's an asshole to me! Are you forgetting we hate each other?" You protest.

"So what? Then the sex will be better."

Bailey slowly turns her head to look at you who's currently trying to control you breathing. For some reason the idea has your heart beating rather fast. "I heard that she had a pregnancy scare once, and never hooked up with a guy since." Bailey hushes quietly, making you gasp.

"Ew..." You grimace slightly. Jinx with a dude? Highly unlikely. Why does that thought make you a little mad?

"Pft yeah I heard that before." Fatima chuckles.

They veer onto a different topic right until the bell rings signaling the end of lunch. When you sling you bag over your shoulder Fatima goes to stand beside you. "Just think about it. Remember you can ask Mikey to help you sort it out." Her and Bailey send you reassuring smiles and the three of you go your separate ways to your respective classes.

-

A few days pass by and you are sitting in the cafeteria again. You’re on your free period right now, but you’re still rubbing your temples to ease the slowly dissipating headache from the previous math class.

You’ve been thinking about your discussion with the girls ever since it happened. And after deep thought and consideration...

Jinx sits at a table not too far from yours. A couple boys are with her and they seem to be laughing at something on one of their phone screens. Jinx is facing away from you, but you have a good view of her exposed back. Her long blue braids cascade behind and passed her shoulders and you can see the muscles jump whenever she leans farther across the table. You have also noticed that Jinx always seems to sit with her legs spread, and you realizes that that's always been a trait you like on women.

...You’re starting to believe that you might just give in.

But then Mikey comes bounding into the area all happy and gleeful. He looks around and goes to Jinx's table, talking and laughing about god knows what, then approaches another popular dude carrying a basketball.

Minutes pass until Mikey is finally walking up to your table. You swear, this dude knows everyone. He's part of the reason why you even know who anyone is, and why they know you exist.

"What's good, Y/n?" He plops himself down across from you and pulls his own phone out to place it on the table.

You shrug only giving a small smile. "I'm fine."

Mikey notices you look conflicted about something and decides to dig farther. He squints his eyes at you. "Something is on your mind. What is it, tell me?" He waves his hand beckoning you to talk to him.

You puff hair into your cheeks then blow it out. You’re not sure you should bring up the topic from before. You’re afraid he'll have something negative to say.

What if she has a girlfriend— or worse, a boyfriend that you don't know about?!?!

"I was talking to Fatima and Bailey a couple days ago about... who the right people to hook up with would be." You start. Mikey hums and nods. You just stare at him hoping he'll get the hint.

"Soo you wanna hook up with someone?" Thank god.

"Yes." You sigh. "And we came to the conclusion that—Jinx," you choke, "could be a good person. Or whatever." You pause. "Look I wanted to choose a girl instead of a guy because if I'm gonna hook up with some rando, I want it to at least be enjoyable and not super uncomfortable..." You don't want to bear the pain of having your cherry popped by some impatient horny dude.

Mikey just looks at you, seemingly processing the information and thinking about it.

"Well, with Jinx it's a 50/50. It depends on her mood. She doesn't get into details about the shit she does, but with you... Ehhh she'd probably be a bit rough." He explains. Why he knows this information, you don't wanna know.

And you guess what he meant by that is how you and Jinx aren't on the best of terms, and that if it came down to it she'd probably be tempted to strangle you to death in the middle of it or something...

"Okay.."

"I can go ask her what her type is. Find out if she likes ass or tits." He holds his hands out as if weighing two options. "Wait wait. You know how she fucks depending on her mood, but you don't know what her type is?" You say a little too loudly in the quiet cafeteria. Jinx glances behind her at your table.

Mikey shrugs his shoulders now looking like he's being accused. "Listen, I don't go askin' her what she likes and dislikes, I don't care. She tells me what she tells me on her own. Now do you want my help or nah?"

You groan and lean back, fingers clutching at the edge of the table. You think about it to yourself one last time.

You’d be shocked to find out if Jinx is actually open to hooking up with you. You yourself aren't an eye sore, many people have tried hitting you up both online and in person. But you and Jinx's relationship have always been a bit rocky seeing as you just never got along due to your differences and.. lack of tolerance. So you’re not sure if Jinx would be able to ignore that for once just to spend a little while fucking... Oh jeez.

You glance past Mikey at Jinx's figure once more and sigh. You play with the rings on your fingers, "Fine, go." You wave him off curtly. He gets up and leaves.

Mikey, please don't make this obvious. You think to yourself as you watch him casually sit himself down beside Jinx and dap her up.

You squirm in your seat and distract yourself with your phone when the two seem to fall into conversation. You doesn't expect Mikey to come back only minutes later.

"That was quick." "Yeah. So, she said she leans more towards tits but ass is good too." "Did you find out her type?" "Ehh, she didn't really say anything specific. So, I think you're good."

He gives you a thumbs up.

You breathe out a sigh. So, you guess that you’ll just make up your mind from here and find out if Jinx is game or not. You tap your long nails against the flat surface before finalizing, "Okay. I'm down."

Mikey smiles at you approvingly. "Alright~ I'll ask her at lunch."

-

The sun had gone down. The street lamps seep in through the sheers covering the windows. You sit quite still on the edge of your bed, knees pulled up to your chin as you stare down at the floor ahead of you.

Earlier that day after lunch, Mikey had found you looking like he was in an oddly good mood. Turns out Jinx said yes and now you’re to expect the girl to message you at some point.

Why? Why did Jinx agree? Could this be a set up, or a joke to her? Will Jinx meet you somewhere and just make fun of you the whole time until you leave feeling humiliated with yourself? You know Mikey would never do that to you, but Jinx...

You bite your lip, your gloss shining in the soft glow of the pink LED lights stuck to your walls. They're always able to put you in a good mood, paired with some music playing softly from your speaker. At the moment they're struggling to do so.

Right as soon as you huff and fall backwards onto your mattress, you get a notification from Snapchat. Your heart leaps and you slowly lift the screen up to your face. And what do you know, it's none other than a message from Jinx.

You tap the screen and open it...

Jinx: so me, huh?

Y/n: oh don't get so cocky.

Jinx: isn't that what u wanted??? 😹

Y/n: don't start pissing me off now.

Jinx: jeez louise nobody can joke with ya 😒

Y/n: anybody but you.

Jinx: we'll see abt that

Well... this is magnificent. This is actually happening. You’re going to fuck Jinx. Or the other way around— Both perhaps? You’re confident in yourself, you always have been. You may not have firsthand experience but you knows the basics.

Now you have to prepare yourself. At this point there's practically a week left of classes, so you’re aware this is going to happen soon. You only hopes Jinx won't be too unpredictable and give you whip lash with whatever plans she comes up with.

The when and wheres have you on edge already. You try to look at the bright side, and all you can come up with is the fact that at least Jinx isn't a stranger...

-

The car ride is deathly silent for nearly the whole time. Save for a couple of questions made in a lame attempt at small talk.

You have no idea where Jinx is taking you two. She had said a while ago that there is a couple of places that people go to hookup. You can guess you have no idea what these places are, or what they look like. Or if it's even safe or far enough out of public's eye.

You feel a need to act a certain way in hopes of not coming off too boring or unemotional. You cross you legs and rest your chin on your fist, staring out of the window and at the passing trees. Only sparing the blue haired girl a few glances. The girl in question stares straight forward, left hand clutching the steering wheel and her right arm resting on the middle storage compartment cushion.

You wonder if Jinx is high and that's why she agreed. But this had been planned for a week now. Oh how you wish you hadn't suggested the girl to your friends.

You're growing increasingly nervous and scared about how it will go. How Jinx will treat you. Or if you will embarrass yourself in front of her. It's embarrassing enough knowing that Jinx now knows that you're a fucking virgin. You can feel your dignity slowly draining like a leak while coming to terms with the fact that you're quite literally giving your virginity away to your enemy.

The only positive thing your can tell yourself is that at least she's better than a near stranger.

"What'd you tell your parents as a cover up?" Jinx's raspy voice cuts through the soft rumble of the car. Your look over at her.

"Or are you so much of a goody-goody that you told them what you're doing?" Jinx turns her head and a smirk spreads across her face as she looks you seated beside her; sitting almost poshly in a way that makes her want to roll her eyes and laugh.

You glower at her even after she's turned away. "Obviously I told them I'm hanging out with a friend. What else would I have said?" You mumble the last part as you look away to stare out of the window once more. You're expecting a retort but shockingly one doesn't come.

You've driven out of the main city and have now been driving through woodsy areas for the past almost 10 minutes. And although the nice warm sunny weather makes up for it, you're starting to get antsy.

"Are we almost there?" You mumble loud enough for Jinx to hear as you sit up in your seat. Fingers now fidgeting in your lap.

"Getting excited are you?" You hear Jinx tease. You don't even bother sparing her a glance. "Shut up, that's not what I meant." Truly, you just want to get this over with.

Jinx let's out a hum as she turns onto a rocky road. Dust wafts up past the windows and soon she pulls into a small-ish secluded parking lot behind an old building. It's shaded by large trees, and vines slither up the cracking and chipping brick building. Only slivers of sunlight manage to peak through the leafy branches above them.

If it were under different circumstances, you would quite like this spot. However you can't lie that you aren't apposed to it. In fact you're feeling kind of—

"We're here." Jinx's voice cuts through your thoughts for a second time today. You had barely noticed when the girl had stopped the car and sat there looking at you for a moment.

You stop your inspecting and slowly turn to face the other girl while you nod your head. "It's nice."

Jinx takes a deep breath and sighs, her hand still resting on the wheel as she looks forward. She looks like she's fighting to find words to say. She scrunches her face up for a moment and then it's back to neutral. You're just watching her.

All of a sudden Jinx is opening the door and closing it after she steps out. You watch her walk to the back door and open it; she leans in and fiddles with something until the back seats slide 20 or so inches backwards.

Oh. She's giving us more room...

You feel your stomach flip. You turn back around burying your face in your hands, whispering to yourself, "I can't believe I'm doing this."

You unbuckle yourself with trembling hands and let yourself out of the passengers seat to go meet the girl waiting for you. Who's now found herself a spot and began fiddling with something on the floor.

You open the door and ungracefully sit yourself down, shutting the door harder than intended.

"Careful, would ya?" Jinx sits up and frowns. "I pay for this thing." You curl your lip and roll your eyes while looking away, mumbling a half assed "sorry."

Jinx shuffles a bit and sniffles before facing you and giving her full attention. Her expression gives away that she's analyzing you. Now you feel like a freak.

"Soo, how much experience do you have?" Jinx casually asks. You open your mouth to reply but nothing comes out.

God how can people do this? And like it's nothing? How is she so chill about it?

"Um.." You shrug. "I know how to kiss." You timidly meet Jinx's eyes which were unknowingly staring right into yours.

"That's better than nothin'." The bluenette says. Her eyes rake up your body until she meets your eyes again. She scoots closer until your knees are touching and she reaches out to grab your arms; your hands previously fidgeting in your lap.

"Mind if I kiss you?" Jinx's rough teasing voice is so close to your ear. You involuntarily take a breath through your parted lips. The lips that Jinx is gazing at every few seconds before looking into your eyes.

You look down at Jinx's lips. They're shut, but still plump and soft and shining with what looks to be lip-chap. You think you can smell cherry cola. How typical.

But you really don't want to keep Jinx waiting. Only a couple of seconds have passed but it feels like it's been 5 minutes already. Your jaw clenches; eyes quickly flicker up to Jinx's making momentary eye contact before going back down to her lips and closing the gap.

Jinx is slightly taken aback but she's quick to reciprocate. Her hands move to rest on your bare thighs, fingers gently caressing the supple skin. You feel your breath catch in your throat. One of your hands timidly reach up to Jinx's toned arm, slowly gliding up her bicep until it's resting on her shoulder.

You two separate for a second to catch your breaths at the same time Jinx's sneaky hands begin sliding farther up your thighs. You let out a hot breath against Jinx's lips, who lets out a breathy chuckle and presses her lips back against yours.

Jinx's tongue slides against your bottom lip. You gladly grant her entrance and the bluenette wastes no time slipping it inside of your mouth. You didn't really lie that much when you said you knew how to kiss. You have a general idea. You only have minimal experience with it...

You tentatively stick your own tongue out to glide it against Jinx's. She responds by pressing hers harder against yours and pulling away until there's a line of saliva connecting between your lips.

The kiss then turns into a full out make out session. Jinx's hands clutch tightly at your waist, pulling you closer while you cup her face. You feel Jinx keep tugging on you and pulling you closer, and you get the signal to shuffle around a bit and swing a leg over her thighs, now straddling her.

Now this is starting to feel super intimate. And the fact that you're is doing this with Jinx... You almost can't believe it.

But you also can't complain. Because Jinx knows exactly what she's doing; her hands sneak under the hem of your shirt and glide up the smooth skin of your back, making you involuntarily arch into her while goosebumps rise across the expanse of your back. Before gliding all the way down until her hands cup your ass and give a firm squeeze.

You let out an involuntary hum. Jinx pulls away to place a kiss onto your jaw, and quickly starts trailing her lips down your neck.

You let your eyes flutter shut. You try desperately to let herself relax, for you can still feel the tension in your body and you're sure Jinx can sense it too when she pulls her face away and peers up at you with a quizzical look.

"You needa relax, toots. 'Course, I can help ya with that." She starts moving you over sideways, making you momentarily confused before coming to the realization that she's trying to lay you guys down. Oh gosh.

Jinx pushes you down onto your back and maneuvers herself between your legs, her hand reaching down to wrap one around her waist. She leans down and places a deep passionate kiss onto your lips, nearly knocking the air out of you.

"Breath." Jinx murmurs and places her lips back onto your neck, right below your ear. And that sends a bolt of arousal right down to your core. You take Jinx's advice and take a deep breath, then exhale into the air that has become increasingly hotter in the tiny space.

Your hand reaches up to rest in Jinx's hair, lightly tugging on the blue strands, pulling a hum out of her. Her low voice so close to your ear uprises the sensation that your whole body is tingling and vibrating. You're only just getting started and you've already began to turn into putty under the girl's touch.

Dark marks have began to form on the supple skin of your neck thanks to Jinx. It stings just a tad, but you don't have much time to think about that because Jinx is tenderly kissing your cheek and then your lips again. However This time much more greedy than before, teeth clashing and saliva smearing over your mouths and chins.

Jinx moans softly into your mouth as she gets intoxicated by your scent, letting her hands roam your body. "Fuck, your perfume, it tastes nice." Jinx mumbles, biting your bottom lip. That makes you chuckle, "It 'tastes nice'? I reckon if you were to taste perfume it would taste pretty bad."

"Yeah well, it actually tastes pretty good." She pulls you back into a kiss, slipping her tongue into your mouth. "You taste so sweet..." She mumbles softly into the kiss.

She rests her forehead against yours for a short moment. Then pulls back and flitters her eyes across your face, taking in every feature and detail. Her hand starts to travel down your side slowly, testing the waters. Nimble fingers dance over the inside of your upper thigh; your hands fist at the back of her shirt in growing anticipation.

And finally, Jinx's fingers touch the place you had been wanting her to so badly. She presses against your clothed clit earning a short moan from you. She gives the most sexiest smile and moves downward, places a kiss below your bellybutton, then starts pulling down your skirt and panties.

You lift your hips to help, and once they're slid passed your ankles and tossed somewhere at the front seats she wastes no time kissing down your thighs.

Jinx hooks your legs over her shoulders and you hold your breath. The closer she gets the stronger the throbbing ache grows. Your eyes stay trained on her, who looks up at you for a faction of a second before licking a stripe up your folds.

There is no holding back your gasp. You're not sure what you were expecting. It felt warm and wet, but.. soft? "You taste sweet, who woulda thought?" Jinx rasps. You resist the urge to roll your eyes. You forget what she even said though once her tongue splays against your flowery folds again.

Jinx's tongue feels so good against you, working you up as she swirls her tongue around your clit. Forcing your hand to shoot down and bury in her blue hair.

Jinx peers up at you for a moment, checking in to see how your taking it, and she smirks when she sees your head thrown back and your plump lips parted as you let out huffs and soft whimpers.

This feels way better than masturbating. You assume it must be because someone else is doing it for you; you can't predict what Jinx will do next or when she'll change the pace. Or when she'll twist and hook her fingers just the right way to hit that sweet spot inside of you.

That almost makes you jolt out of your skin. That was very unexpected... then you think that maybe it actually was. You don't complain though. Not when the added sensation has you tingling from the souls of your feet to the top of your head. By this point you've pretty much stopped caring about who is actually fucking you right now.

"Oh fuck~ right there." Your hand fists in her hair, the other moving around to anchor onto anything in reach. Jinx hums into your wetness, sending the vibrations tumbling through you and bubbling your brain. She pulls away for a moment, using just her fingers to please you as she praises. "You're doing so well, babe."

That makes your skin flush and the sweat that you've been ignoring before, forms as a thin sticky sheen over your body. Your hips move with her fingers, chasing your high that has begun to form as a coil deep in your abdomen.

Your thighs tighten around Jinx's head. Even though she loves to be smothered by a girl, right now she wants all the room and access she can get. You whine when her fingers leave you to spread your legs wider again, making you lose the delicious friction you were getting. Jinx chuckles. "Patience baby, I'll get you there."

Instead of going back inside, Jinx decides to play with your clit instead. Her thumb rubs circles over the sensitive nub, perfectly lubricated by her saliva and your juices. You sigh. "F-faster please. Feels s'good." Your words are slurred, mind hazy as the pleasure pools in your core. But you need more.

And that's what Jinx gives you. As if reading your mind, she plunges back inside of you without warning and curls her fingers, causing a lewd squelch to emit from your pussy. "Oh fuck, right there! Please don't stop!"

You beg and cry, tears forming in your eyes, both hands now on Jinx's head as you push her face deeper against you. You can hardly catch your breath with the way Jinx is making you feel. Your legs are quivering and starting to feel boneless, Jinx has to hold them up a bit when they start to give out. Not that that would've been much of a problem anyway. The feeling of her strong hands gripping firmly onto your hip and thigh only fuels the coil that is so close to snapping.

"C'mon Y/n, you can do it." She mutters into your pussy, puffy folds spread wide for her as her glazed eyes go back and forth between her fingers drilling into you, and the way your head lawls back as you tremble beneath her. She could watch you for days and never get bored. You look absolutely stunning to her.

Your pathetic attempts at holding back your loud moans are pointless now. Jinx’s words have you teetering over the edge, encouraging you. The blue haired girl’s tongue dances over your clit again, and that action is what finally gets the job done. The coil low in your stomach snaps, and all you see for a few seconds is white.

You’re not even aware of how loud you get. You just know that nothing has ever felt this good in your life. It’s almost otherworldly. Your mind and body in pure bliss as Jinx fucks you through your orgasm, gummy walls pulsating around her fingers. Her mouth slurping up every drop of your sweet juices.

As you come down from your high she’s still tonging at you, cleaning you up before pulling away and placing a kiss to your inner thigh. She places a few more up your belly before she’s hovering above you again, and you now have a full view of her face.

It’s slightly comical, you can’t help but giggle when you push some of her hair away behind her ears. She’s about to kiss you when she notices and frowns.

“You got some stuff on your face.” Her cheeks, nose and chin look like they just got splashed with water. “Ah.” Jinx smiles and wipes her face with the back of her hand. Then finally she kisses you. You can taste yourself on her lips, and it’s kinda odd… Oddly arousing.

Your arms wrap around her neck, feeling yourself melt into the kiss. You want to feel her closer, resting against you. Not in a sexual way, but simply just to feel her. Damn, does this usually happen after sex?

Jinx hums and pulls away, her thumb idly rubbing circles on your side. “You took it better than I expected.” Hah, there’s the Jinx you know. You pout at her teasing smirk. “Do we really need to start something right now?”

Jinx’s low raspy laugh thrums through you when she sits up and pulls you with her. She helps you seek out your clothes, checks in on you when you when you guys get ready to leave, and the drive back to your house (which will actually be the end of your street), is comfortingly quiet.

The car pulls over to the side of the road. While you gather your things Jinx clears her throat. “All jokes aside I had fun toots.” You turn your head to look at her. She’s staring at you with a hint of a smile, her blue eyes softer than you’ve ever seen them before. You return the smile with a small nod.

“I did too.” You open the door and step out, waving at her before shutting it. You see her wave back before driving off down the street until she’s out of sight.

While you slowly walk down the sidewalk back home, you realize that this has probably changed things. You like to believe for the better.

But holy shit, you just slept with Jinx.

[yuwuta]

Is childhood friends to lovers with Satoru valid? ‼️

Fav trope tbh

ALWAYS VALID!!! best trope imo….. so many ways this could go with him……

one of the best things about a non-curse childhood friends to lovers au with satoru is the ability to explore the fact that he’s actually a genius and absolutely a loser, just a handsome and charming one so people overlook his loser-ish tendencies/he’s the nerd that makes being a nerd cool.... by all metrics you’re more “popular” than satoru is. you’re not a mathlete, you’re not in the chemistry club, you don’t make nationals at chess or judo, and you don’t spend your afternoons burying your head in a gameboy playing digimon; plus, you’re not nearly as insufferable as he is when it comes to interacting with other people. this doesn’t make satoru feel bad in any way, he always says he has to surround himself with the best people, and you’re proof of that; you’re pretty and smart and students and teachers like you and you’re his best friend—you’re proof that satoru is incredible. 

he blames you for why he ends up being so needy. you’re the one that stuck by him even when he was causing problems or starting fights or picking on smaller kids (his growth spurt is really. not good for anyone), you’re the one who pinched his ear and jabbed his side and told him to get his head out of his ass and made sure he wasn’t completely unbearable. you’re the one who remembered to bring a portable charger for his gameboy when you guys took trips into the city for the day, and you’re the one who kept playing for him when he was mid-battle but really had to use the bathroom. you’re the one who always answered his calls at ass o’clock in the morning when he needed to ramble about whatever, or couldn’t sleep, or was begging you to let him drag you downtown to some niche pop-up store opening because, “you don’t get it they’re releasing limited edition flavors of their best selling mochi! we HAVE to be in line three hours before hand if we want to get any!” he was supposed to just be a regular old loser, but you came along and gave him standards and friendship and intimacy and now you must reap what you’ve sewn, he is your responsibility now.

satoru doesn’t realize just how much you’ve spoiled him until college/grad school, when he thinks other people wanna hear him nerd out about his shows or games or hobbies and they only endure it because he’s ridiculously beautiful. he’s kinda slow to this pattern at first, but once he catches it, he flops onto your bed, lamenting about how his beauty is blinding and you see the true him. you tease him about how he’s technically admitting that you see him as ugly, and he borderline starts crying and weeping, and honestly he likes to mess with you, but he doesn’t know why he needs to hear you admit that he’s handsome out loud, but he doesn’t let it go until you’re laughing and giving up, “okay, okay, i’m kidding satoru. you’re a very pretty princess and your suitors should want your hand for your personality, too.” and if you thought satoru wasn’t normal before that, you were wrong; something in him short circuits that day and it takes him approximately three-business weeks of ruminating and pouting and running equations in his head and reading research papers on emotions and the brain and attraction and it doesn’t come to him until he’s in the middle of his lecture, and he stops spinning his pencil so abruptly and breaks it in half and says to himself, out loud, “i’m in LOVE with her??” true loser lover behavior. 

[ussgallifrey]

Meeting Point

✦ Summary: In a world full of soulmates with destined meeting points, Steve Rogers' mark had always been a point of heartbreak. Until he woke up in the 21st Century; that's when his hope was rekindled.

✦ Pairing: Steve Rogers x Female Reader

✦ Word Count: 1,815

✦ Author's Note: Do you ever have a dream that just fully re-alters your brain chemistry? Yeah, I had a killer dream last night that sparked my love for the Soulmate AU to return. Prepare to be bombarded by soulmate stories over the next few weeks.

The mark on Steve Rogers’ wrist starts to make a lot more sense when he wakes up in the 21st century.

It came back to him, slowly at first, after he was returned to SHIELD’s headquarters. After he was subjected to a myriad of tests from doctors and a few uncomfortable conversations with an in-house counselor. When, only after Director Fury sent him upstate to a place called The Retreat - until the media attention dies down, Captain. I’m sure you understand - that Steve even had a second to think about that silly old mark on his wrist.

For the first time in five days and some technical sixty-seven years, Steve is alone. Not surrounded by agents or doctors or scientists. Not a single camera or reporter in sight. It’s just him and the cabin he was delivered to.

When he pulls off his jacket and finally catches a glimpse at the familiar black marking there. That’s when he allows himself a second to actually slow down and think about it. The chaotic world of the twenty-first century finally fades away from the edges of his peripheral, and he sees the one grounding thing that still remains in his life.

There, in elegant script reads a simple date:

06. 29. 2019

And for the first time in hours, days, years, Steve can feel the hint of a smile trying to turn up his chapped lips.

He could have never imagined. Not all those years ago, back in Brooklyn. There was an honest-to-God chance now. 

So, he draws his fingers along the familiar trace of numbers and sets to work.

Back when those numbers first appeared, Steve had only felt immediate heartbreak. His Ma’s pitying eyes had been the only thing keeping his chin up at that point. At least he had someone out there, even if he would only get to spend a short time with them. And maybe that was what kept his head above water through all of his childhood illnesses and bouts. The fact that he would survive this hell because it was literally destined that he would live to 100.

Oh sure, the other kids on his street had the normal marks.

Six years more, three weeks, two days. That was the typical lay of the land. So, when kids started asking about his date, his numbers, Steve would just curl up his wrist and clamp his right hand down over the text. It was no one’s business but his own.

But now that date finally made sense. He was only twenty-six, no matter what his actual birthdate was. He was physically still just a young man. He wasn’t going to meet the love of his life on his deathbed. Maybe this was just the universe’s way of apologizing to him; for making him lose everything else, but in return he would get the one thing anyone ever really wanted.

Seven years. He could wait seven years.

It’s a sick sort of relief when he sees those numbers still engraved on his wrist after the Snap. He’s not entirely sure if he expected them to fade away when half of the universe was turned to dust, but it’s probably the only bit of hope that’s keeping him from drowning under the guilt and sorrow that the rest of the team is.

Never one to stand down, to give up the fight, Steve keeps himself going in whatever way he can. Whether the people still want Captain America’s help is another story. But he finds different ways to assist, to be a help, to make up for the wrongs.

And soon the calendar months are passing by and life continues on within the aftermath of near-total destruction.

Only Natasha and him remain behind in the old compound. The others have moved to make their own paths in the new world marred by their own collective failures. He stares at the desktop calendar in front of him as Nat wraps up another weekly virtual conference with the team outside of New York.

Okoye, Rhodes, and Danvers disappear in a shimmer of cascading blue light. Nat’s too focused on writing down notes to notice that Nebula remains silent, stoic, observing them both.

Steve sits up, “Was there something else?”

The assassin beside him looks up, finally noticing the alien.

She raises her chin, “We’ll be returning soon. Within the week. He says he found something of value, worth looking into anyway.”

He glances over at Nat, who merely nods, “Okay. We’ll plan for that then.”

And then she’s gone, stepping away from the camera as the lights dim and the two are drenched back into the light of the otherwise empty compound.

Natasha clicks the pen against the table a few times before she merely rolls it away from her notebook, settling back into her chair with crossed arms.

Steve rubs at his left wrist.

Nebula and Rocket arrive late Friday night. Steve’s only just gotten back to the compound - fresh out of a shower after removing shards of glass from his bicep. While half of the population had disappeared a year ago, crime hadn’t gone away. Hell, it probably got worse, in all honesty. And Steve had the nasty habit of throwing himself into everything and anything without backup around these days.

Tonight had been no different. Another wannabe small-time crime lord in the making, building an empire through the streets of New York. Steve liked to remind them that there was still at least one person on the planet who noticed.

He should have taken it a little easier on himself though, with tomorrow drawing near. That was the day, the destined date of his meeting. And he probably shouldn’t look like a complete mess on the day he’s set to meet his soulmate. His other half.

As he flexes his knuckles, peering down at the bits of dried blood under his nail beds that hadn’t come clean in the shower, the entire compound begins to quake. He looks at his reflection  in the mirror above the sink, a familiar sinking feeling settling deep into his stomach as he recalls the night Tony and Nebula came to Earth.

Without a second thought, he nabs his shirt from the edge of the sink and takes off toward the courtyard. Their ship is already parked there, with Rocket on the ramp and Nebla looking up toward the stars with Nat. Steve slows his pace as he moves to join them, staring up in slight wonder at the yellow and blue ship descending above them.

The seven wings of the ship spread out in a pattern that looks almost star-like against the deep black background of the night sky. The wheels settle into the grass as the engines hum into powering down.

“ - in the Draconis Sector,” Nebula continues whatever it was she was previously saying to Nat. “Only Star Blaster in sight.”

Steve stares up at the impressive ship. The wings give it an added height over the Benatar that’s parked next to it. It takes a minute for the pilot, the person they told them would be coming along with them, the person that could be of use, to exit the ship.

He straightens up as the armored figure comes into view. Royal blue and gold metal, with radiant lights that remind him of the Arc Reactor, light up the space around them all as the person draws near.

“Hey, pipsqueak,” comes the slightly muffled voice.

Rocket sneers in return, Nebula looks surprisingly amused as the woman moves to grab hold of the alien’s hand.

“Not a bad place,” she then addresses Natasha.

And then her helmeted face turns to assess the supersoldier. She takes a step forward, then another while Steve settles his hands on his belt.

Grabbing hold of her matching blue and gold helmet, she pulls it free from her head. Steve can feel an actual breath escape his lips.

“And you must be…?”

He swallows, extends his hand, “Steve.”

Her smile wanes and her grasp on his hand loosens to the point that she merely drops her hand back to her side. Steve wonders if he’s made some kind of faux pas as she tucks her helmet against her left hip.

“You know…” she shakes her head, a smile beginning to reform, “I was really wondering when I’d get around to meeting you.”

She looks up at him with playful eyes as she begins pulling back the sleeve on her left hand.

“Rogers, right? Steven Grant Rogers?”

He kind of gapes before forcing himself to nod as his eyes travel down to her now-exposed wrist. She twists it around for him to see, and sure enough, there in a familiar scrawl of handwriting sits his name.

His own left wrist itches in anticipation as he wordlessly lifts it up for her to see the date of their meeting - now sometime after midnight on the 29th.

“Huh,” she quips, dropping her hand in favor of taking hold of his as she peers at the numbers. “Must be a fluke - different world, different systems. Alien names.”

He just nods, again, as all words have seemingly escaped his reach. And then he looks over at the others, Rocket with a tilted head and Nat with her knowing smirk.

But you’re not plexed, as you continue to investigate the date - your fingers tracing the lines of each number, “When you grow up on a world full of Kerlaans and Vastalls, Steven’s kind of out there, you know?”

Then you drop your hand after suddenly taking stock of the captive audience around you. Steve craves the ghost of your touch as soon as it’s gone.

“Sorry,” you sheepishly smile, rubbing at the back of your neck with your free hand. “I’m Velariun Kaal, ex-Centurion of the Nova Corps. And… I’m just here to help in whatever way I can really. Meeting you was just the bonus,” you finish with a wink.

“It’s good to finally meet you too,” he finally says at last, eyes drifting across the soft features of your face.

“So,” you smile, gently moving away from the others - toward the compound. Steve’s in step with you just a beat later. “How long have you had those numbers there?”

He can’t help but chuckle, the first real laugh in nearly a year. “You honestly don’t even want to know.”

“There’s a story there,” your eyes find his in the darkness of night. Glistening starlight illuminates your irises, like swirling galaxies.

He nods, “There is.”

“Worth the wait though?” you ask, with a clinch of hope in your voice.

Steve stops where he is.

You fall back a step to meet him.

He reaches his hand down, slowly entwining your hands together. He can feel the warmth of your skin, the slow and steady pulse of your beating heart.

“Definitely worth the wait,” he murmurs.

[galactic-rhea]

The thing with Anakin TCW is that I try to reconcille both "versions" of Anakin, but because I keep in mind that at the end of the day, TCW is a serialized kids show, and he's also a general and in charge of a padawan so he must be really charismatic for that to work (long rambling ahead)

This show came in an era where shows ran long, with very random plots per episode and just very few that advanced "a plot", so characters that are new for the show get more development (since they were at zero), and Anakin with already three movies (technically 6 if we count the original trilogy), a mini series, and a bunch of books and comics, feels more flat for the very short narrative purposes.

The way i see it, TCW can be like seeing Anakin from someone's else eyes, like that's probably how Obi-Wan and Ahsoka and Rex saw him, cocky and sassy and fearless and daring and untouchable and cool and sometimes with anger coming from apparently nowhere, and the movies are the actual "omnipresent" look, we see how actually deeply fucked up and scared Anakin is!

TCW gives like a very pink tinted glasses view of him, a very standarized version of him, since the "otherness" that he has in the prequels was really hated (and with otherness i mean that he acts alienated and tormented, is because of the trauma, but also because he can be so easily read as neurodivergent and/or queer; movie Anakin looks like he might as well be a giant walking target for bullying, so to speak), so TCW Anakin looks like he totally would have never ever been bullied, he's the cool kid.

If I don't constantly keep on mind this is probably Ahsoka's POV, it can be a bit hard to connect, like the last episodes in TCW, when he sees Ahsoka, he's like 2 days before ROTS, and he looks so cheerful and normal and sassy, but then if you look at ROTS, he looks so tired and beaten up and just depressed after that battle. But Anakin, in AOTC and ROTS, in general, is a person that looks like doesn't even want to be there at all, he looks like he would rather turn invisible.

I don't have that many problems with Anakin in TCW except for certain arcs (looking at you clovis), because many things in the show do add to Anakin's narrative and character (or more like, pilling up even more trauma onto him for the big moment), but it's not a complete look because by the point we should see how he's dealing or coping with something the episode ends and the next episode is about something different. TCW is plot focused and there are very little "breathing" moments before the action, and is not very character focused. Which leaves the audience with the task of remembering that whatever happened in the show is another piece of the puzzle that may or may not fit perfectly with the character that was presented on the prequels.

"This episode very painfully reminds you that he was a slave, and he's angry about it, very angry...for one bit of the episode, let's go back to the fun action." It touches it, but it doesn't explore it, if you get what I mean? Like, we can only imagine if he had difficult weeks after that or how even was the conversation after all that whole mess, just as an example.

I agree that Anakin in TCW is a incomplete version of his character, because TCW focuses a lot on the Clones and Ahsoka and other little stories, however I also think it does add lots of stuff to explore, even if the show didn't explore it deeply, but touched on it.

And I understand too why it causes such a division, and why some may prefer the TCW version more, and why some may prefer only the movies version.

I mainly use the movies, and then take from TCW what I feel like it fits/makes sense for him, and shake TCW a little bit if i need to, although i still really love it : D

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

ok, i'm being so brave and making the rec post that i told anon i would do like three days ago.

the obligatory caveats. this is not comprehensive—i haven't read all the fic in this fandom, and i've barely looked at anything not in english. my reading habits are pretty broad—i'll read almost any pairing, and am generally willing to suspend my disbelief to do so. i am not usually an au person, though this fandom is doing its absolute damndest to prove me wrong on that point.

also i have…more…fics that i felt i should rec somewhere, so probably this is rec post one, but ten felt like enough and also saying things in public where people can hear me is, it turns out, absolutely excruciating. please no one be mean to me about this post, especially if you wrote one of these fics, because if you are i will simply fill my pockets with rocks and take to the sea, ok? ok.

excited to find out what i manage to do that ruins the formatting, links the wrong fics and/or people, or otherwise breaks things in this post. please tell me if i've fucked up, or if your fic is on this list and you would rather i keep your name out of my mouth, or whatever.

first, a very special mention to the mlc reference guide by @yletylyf. this is such an incredibly comprehensive and generous resource. you want a timeline for this show that does an incredibly poor job of maintaining its own timeline? it's here. you want episode summaries? they're here. you want all the people and places? they're here. if you're writing fic, you want this guide, because it's so much easier and faster than scanning episodes or subs files to figure out the name of one specific guy or whatever. it also means that at least occasionally you work on the thing rather than accidentally rewatching the same scene five times, or hypothetically watching two to four episodes without even really thinking about what you're doing. the reference guide is the unsung mvp of fandom.

beyond porch and portal, difanghua, teen, by willowdream. this is the vampire au that i didn't know i wanted? the author posted it and their note was like 'i'm trying to be the change i want to see in the world,' and i was like ok sure, i'm not really convinced that the change i need is vampire aus, but i'll give it a go, and then i did and was like, oh shit, i'm eating fucking glass about this vampire au, i'm chewing on my own fucking fingers, i'm so fucking normal about this, i need another hundred thousand words of this and also seventeen more vampire aus in my inbox by monday morning. i literally finished reading it and scrolled right back to the top to read it again. i have no idea why this fic hits so hard, but it took me out at the knees. the voices are perfect. something about it is just impossibly compelling.

不安的遠離，再无歸期 | restless distance, without return, fang duobing/qiao wanmian, mature and teen, by @difeisheng. this is technically two fics but they're short and you should read both of them because they're such a brutal, perfect encapsulation of grief, and a really beautiful acknowledgement of the ways that fang duobing and qiao wanmian can be read as reflections of each other, separated by a decade, and it just fucking guts me. i dunno. it's about the grief! it's about the yearning! it's about someone who understands parts of you that you wish didn't exist! i think i've reread this like once a week for the last six weeks and i feel like it gets overlooked because it's not A Ship but like. it could be. it should be.

dance the silence down, fanghua and feihua, explicit, by @momosandlemonsoda. this fic. ugh. ok. i'm breaking my own rules. i had two when i started writing this post: no works in progress, and no reccing things that i haven't left a comment on, like a goddamn grownup. this one fic is breaking both of those rules and i feel bad about it and will hopefully spend like, all day tomorrow just commenting on every chapter or something, but i have to do this. this fic is so good. this fic ruins me. this fic is 63k, still a work in progress, and also if i were losing the whole internet tomorrow and i got to keep one fic in all the world and it was the only fic i could have for the rest of time, it might have to be this one, even as a work in progress. i ignored this fic for so long—by which i mean probably two of the four months since i first watched mysterious lotus casebook—because i was like, i don't like aus, and i especially don't like rock star aus. (or sex work aus, and you're never gonna fucking believe what else this author is writing and what else i absolutely cannot get enough of—this is a sneaky bonus rec for all i wanna do is wrong, another fic that i feel so so so normal about!) but then i was like okkkkkkk but. maybe i'll try it. people seem to be nuts for it. and then i read it and i was like OH HOLY SHIT PEOPLE ARE FULLY CORRECT TO BE ABSOLUTELY UNHINGED ABOUT THIS and normally, honestly, i wouldn't bother posting a rec like this because it's like 'oh haha have you read the five most popular fics in this fandom?' and it feels so redundant, but i know for a fact that a friend of mine who finished watching the show yesterday is reading this post, and even if everyone else has read it, she has not! anyhow as a former music person and a former diner cook, this fic like. i don't know. i feel like it broke me but also fixed me? i literally criticise writing professionally and every time i try to talk about this fic i find myself speechless because it's so perfect to me. i am deeply unwell about this fic. every time a new chapter comes out i sit down and read the whole thing again, yes, all sixty-thousand-plus words of it. some nights you go to bed and you're like 'what's the fucking point?' and then you're like 'no wait, there will eventually be more of dance the silence down,' and somehow that makes things suck a tiny bit less. my wife has made me take out like six sentences from this rec because they're too intense and too weird about it but i need you to understand: you have to read this fic.

in this dream, there is a lover to share this life with, fanghua, g, by @lianhuajing. alternative ending for the end of episode 27, in which li lianhua—precious man who has yet to discover a hill he's not willing to die on—apologises to fang duobing the only way he knows how, and it's wildly upsetting for everyone (but it's ok and it doesn't end miserably, no one panic). this is a delightfully angsty treat, and i love how conflicted fang duobing is in it—i feel like it's not something that i've seen explored a lot, but this poor boy really fuckin goes through it—his best friend and his childhood idol are the same person but are lying to him about it, and his dad's not actually his father and has been lying to him about it, and his best friend/childhood idol may have killed his father, and—yeah, is lying to him about it. like? someone give this poor man a hug and a cup of tea and a snack and a blankie. i love that we get to see some of his internal conflict in this.

quintessence of dust, feihua, teen, by justthereforit. this plays with one of my very most favourite tropes in the world, which is the one where the heart is a physical object and a physical form of trust and control and surrender and—like. this is so good. it's set in episode 13, which is, for me, one of the absolute peak angst points, and it absolutely nails it. di feisheng who's upset and vulnerable and frustrated and angry, li lianhua who knows he's going to die and can't bear the thought that he's going to take anyone else down with him, and they're both just so fucked up. chef kiss. i love it when everyone is emotionally wrecked and continually like 'ok no, i can take one more knife in my soul to protect someone else', and this absolutely delivers on that.

under moonlight, we change our futures yet again, feihua, explicit, by @thesilversun. the wedding room! obviously we have to have a wedding room fic, right? i'm not going to lie: i'm willing to suspend a lot of disbelief for wedding room fics, but in this one, it's actually a wonderfully, horrifyingly plausible setup. it walks a really fine line of keeping people in character, and acknowledging the inherent horror and seriousness of the situation, and also providing some desperately hot sex, and also managing to get the emotional beats of it, too. it has a sequel, which imo really has to be read as the conclusion to this fic, and it's just as good. it's possible that some of what i'm saying here is 'i love vulnerable-inside crusty-outside di feisheng' but like. i do. i love it so much.

what's sealed away, feihua, teen, by @bbcphile. AMNESIA FIC yessssss, a-fei my beloved, fics that handle brain damage/memory issues/amnesia well my beloveddddd. i love the a-fei arc, but i also have had a number of brain injuries and some other stuff that means that my own memory is…not so great, so i sometimes really struggle with how often amnesia in fiction is played off either as nothing to worry about or as a funny thing where everyone's in on the joke except the person who has amnesia. this fic is a great and sometimes very visceral exploration of a horrifying experience, and a really fantastic study of a-fei/di feisheng as a character, as well as the relationship that he has with li lianhua. a-fei trying to balance the trust he has in the sense memory of his body with his understanding of his relationship with li lianhua with li lianhua's reaction to—everything, really—is really well done and wonderful/terrible to read.

我只愿面朝大海 | i wish only to face the sea, g, by foreverstudent. ok so you wanna fuck yourself up some more? go read this. this is canon divergence from episode 39, and fang duobing has learned too well the lessons he's been taught, and sees the shape of things before li lianhua ever touches the wangchuan flower—so he sets about making sure that he won't be able to throw it away. this is agonising and gorgeous and maintains the canon relationships while developing the narrative differently. i wept literal tears. i was like 'ok that's it the worst part is over!' and then i remembered that there was another part coming and then i started crying. anyhow, it is—as ever, with me—about the devotion.

我住長江頭, 君住長江尾 -- i live upstream, you live downstream, fanghua, teen, by @rimbaudofficial. ok so this is Not a fic that i should like, because i am a massive academic failure and despite being in my forties have regular nightmares about having to re-engage with academia for like. any reason. HOWEVER. as noted, i read indiscriminately, even when i'm like 'reading this is a terrible idea and will be upsetting for me personally!', so i was like 'well, how bad of an idea can it possibly be?' and then instead! it was. incredibly charming? it was so fucking cute? the fang duobing characterisation in this is somehow just perfect to me—he's simultaneously confident and vulnerable, and also just so deeply committed to the weird clueless guy who he's decided is meant for him. di feisheng and li lianhua have a perfect weird-bros friendship. i would read another ten chapters of this and i would love it.

[whimsiwitchy]

I hear the secrets that you keep (series)

chapter five: i missed you

Pedro Pascal x Plus size F!reader 

series masterlist

series summary: 24 year old y/n is an insecure and struggling actress in Los Angeles until she finally books a leading role in a big Hollywood movie next to her leading male, Pedro Pascal. A spark of friendship flickers between the two and slowly begins to blossom into something more. As y/n is navigating a new found fame and a new found romance, she fears that a lie she has been sitting on might ruin everything.

Warnings: plus size reader (no specific description of reader, slight descriptions of weight: stomach fat, stretch marks, etc.), hefty age gap (24 years/14 years), female anatomy description, she/her pronouns, use of gendered terms (girl, girly, etc.), y/n used, descriptions of nudity, swearing,  use of the word fat, daddy kink (not really, but it’s kinda mentioned), sexual themes. warnings may change as the story progresses. 

authors note: Hi everyone. I’ve been spending more time trying to add more detail in my writing, so I hope there’s a small improvement in this chapter. I also want to make the chapters lengthier in the future but we’ll see lol. There’s a tag list to the series now, any information about it is at the bottom of the chapter! 

chapter summary: Pedro misses y/n and comes to bother her at work. 

╔══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╗

Life moved on so quickly and there was never enough time to savor your favorite moments. Everything around you changed within a blink of an eye and you hadn't had a single second to just sit and think. You wanted nothing more than to be able to stop time for just a few minutes, just to process how dramatically your life had changed within such a short span of time.

The kiss you had shared with Pedro was nothing short of perfect, but after the high seemed to wear off, you became hyper aware of just how fucked this entire situation was. Whatever was brewing between the two of you was exciting, thrilling, and you wanted nothing more than to dive in head first- but  you’d be lying if you said it didn’t scare the absolute shit out of you at the same time. Being around Pedro has felt so easy. You were still getting to know him and vice versa, but the attraction was there. He so clearly told you that he thought you were beautiful and enjoyed spending time with you. It kind of freaked you out at first, how fast everything was moving between you, but he was a man. He wasn’t some boy that was just using you to pass time, he was a real man who knew what he wanted and went for it. It ignited a flame in you that you wouldn’t be able to put out even if you tried. 

As much as you were enjoying whatever was happening with Pedro, you couldn’t help shake the fact that you were technically lying to him. You tried to tell him the truth, you really had, but you got interrupted, and everything else happened so fast. You knew you would have to tell him the truth at some point, but you were terrified of how he would react to the news. You could only imagine what would happen when he finds out that the woman he had been flirting with and even kissed wasn’t actually 14 years younger but instead a whopping 24 years younger.. It wasn’t like you lied to him on purpose. It wasn’t even a lie you had started in the first place, it was a lie Angie constructed to get your career up and moving. People in the industry lie about their age all time, right? 

It’s been an entire week since the kiss. The day after the kiss, Pedro had texted you, and the two of you had been texting consistently ever since. Three days after the kiss, you saw Pedro in person again. You had filmed the roller skating scene and went to get tacos after in celebration of filming your first ever professional movie scene. Neither of you had mentioned the kiss at all. Everything was normal between you guys. He was flirty, you were awkward, and life moved on. 

You were pulled out of your thoughts when a makeup artist came to do some touch ups. Today you were on set to film a few solo shots, meaning Pedro wasn’t here. It was kind of weird, him not being here, everything you had done in this process had involved him somehow and you missed his presence. The makeup artist, Elizabeth, removed your previous eyeshadow and replaced it with a light orange color with a dramatic wing set in white eyeliner that matched your current costume perfectly. You were called to the studio at four in the morning and it was creeping up on five in the afternoon. You were exhausted. You didn’t have a lot to film, with most of the time being taken by costume and makeup changes between yourself and any extras in the scenes. Once Elizabeth was done, you made your way from the makeshift vanity over to the next set to film your final shots of the day.

You were released from set almost two hours later. You practically ran to the small trailer that sat just outside on the studio lot with your name plastered across the door. If you weren’t so tired, you probably would have shed a few tears at the sight of it. As soon as you walk in, you plop down in the ‘directors’ style chair that sits in front of a lighted mirror. 

“Hey there hot stuff”

You almost jump out of the chair and let out a startled scream. You looked over to the right to see Pedro lounging on a small sofa that was connected to the wall of the trailer. He was wearing a pair of black lounge shorts, paired with a Los Angeles Lakers shirt that was their signature gold color. He wore a small smirk and you noticed that he was sporting a funky looking mustache instead of the full facial hair you had become accustomed to.

“Oh my fucking god P, you scared the shit out of me.” Both of your hands were gripping either side of the chair and you tried to slow your heart rate down. “How’d you even get in here dude, jesus christ.” 

He lets out a small laugh. “I have my ways sweetheart. How did filming go?” 

“It was fine. I’m fucking drained though.” Your hands finally relax and you lean back into the chair in a casual manner.  

“Yea it can be that way sometimes. Just wait until you're back on set with me. I’ll make sure you aren’t bored.” He winks. Your mind wanders for a moment before changing the subject. 

“When did you get the porn stache?” You laugh and point to his upper lip. 

“Oh this old thing? They shaved it a few days ago when I started filming more.”  He runs one hand across his slightly stubbled jaw. 

“It suits you.” You say with a hum. 

He stays quiet for a moment and you look at him. He sits up straight on the couch, spreading his legs apart slightly. “Come here sweetheart.” He says while reaching out for you. You take a few steps towards him and he's grabbing your hands. 

“I missed you.” He whispers while pulling you to stand in between the gap of his thighs. You weren’t entirely sure what he meant by that. Did he miss being around you? Did he miss kissing you? It really didn’t matter, because you missed him too, so you told him. 

“I missed you too.” you admit outloud. 

His hands let go of yours and instead make their way to your waist. He pulls you forward gently. 

“I want you to sit on my lap, can you do that for me baby?” 

Baby.

What you had with Pedro was unique. There wasn’t any discussion on what either of you had felt, but the night he kissed you, it created an unspoken agreement of sorts- there was a spark and you both weren’t afraid to explore it. 

“P, I can’t. I’ll crush you.” He gives you a look of disapprovement. You were always too aware of your weight in intimacy. Knowing that you were heavier than what most guys were used to, made you avoid any situation that involved any weight being placed on another person. 

“Just come straddle me baby, use your knees for support if you’re that worried about it okay? I just wanna feel you sweetheart, we can stop if you ever feel uncomfortable. Does that sound okay?” He’s rubbing from your waist, down to your haps, and back up again. It’s comforting and you know that you can trust him- you know that he isn’t going to make fun of you. 

You give him a nod and slowly lower yourself to straddle him, knees touching the couch on either side of his legs, holding yourself up slightly.. He places one hand on each of your thighs, slightly digging into them. 

“Atta girl.” he says, his voice slightly deeper. A shiver runs down your spine and the gravel of his voice gives you the confidence to slide yourself down further and apply more weight onto his lap. 

“You know, I've been aching to kiss you again.” He looks up and trains his eyes to yours. 

“Then do it.” You say, your voice small. 

He puts his hands around your waist, positioning his hands right above your ass and pulls you forward. He leans up towards you and you lean down meeting his lips halfway. Your lips start moving against him in a comfortable rhythm. The kiss starts off slow and innocent, both of you savoring the feeling that you both had been craving. His grunts and his hands fall lower fully cupping each ass cheek, giving them both a tight squeeze. You let out a small gasp to which he takes as an invitation to sneak his tongue into your mouth. This snaps you into reality and you pull back for a moment.

“Taylor, my uh hairstylist, is coming by soon to take the wig off.” You said in a breathy voice. 

“She’ll knock.” He says pulling you back into him, his tongue immediately darting into your mouth. 

Your tongues are dancing together, neither one of you trying to control the other. Pedro uses his grip on your ass to roll your hips forward and you can feel that he’s hard underneath his criminally thin shorts. You could feel his full length graze across your pussy, causing you to break the kiss and jolt your head back in a surprised moan. He keeps rolling your hips onto him and reaches forward to attach his lips to your neck, leaving sloppy wet kisses. 

A knock on the door makes both of you freeze. You jump out of Pedro’s lap and rush back to the makeup chair. You fix the wig slightly and look over at Pedro as he adjusts himself before going back into the same lounging position he held when you had first noticed him. The door opens slightly and Taylor announces herself before entering. “Sorry it took so long. There was a change in how they want your hair for your sex scene coming up.” You face flushes and she begins to take the wig off. Ignoring Pedro’s presence, the two of you hold a small conversation until she finishes up and excuses herself. 

─ ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──── ♡ ─── ⋅ ⋅ ⋅ ──

“I need to get this costume off. Can you turn around or something while I change real quick?” You say as you grab the black and white plaid pajama pants and black hoodie you showed up in. He turns around and you get dressed quickly, letting him know when he could look again. You walk across the trailer and bend over to search your tote bag for your micellar water and cotton pads to remove your makeup. 

“You look so good in these pants baby.” Pedro grabs both sides of your hips and presses himself against your ass. You stand up and he’s leaning to whisper in your ear, “You wanna come over to my place?” You can’t help but laugh.

“Are you always this fuckboyish when you’re horny?” You say, finally being able to be the one who teased him and not the other way around. 

“Only for you baby.” He winks and lets out a laugh. 

The car ride to his place was quiet. When you agreed to come over, he insisted that he could drive you to his place and would drive you home. You didn’t fight back much, not even thinking about your car that still sat in the studio parking lot. You had your arm propped up on the center console with your hand supporting your chin, staring at Pedro. His hand was placed on your thigh, his thumb moving up and down slightly tickling you. 

You couldn’t help but admire him. Pedro was truly one of the most handsome men you had ever come across. He was so…beefy. His legs looks so good in those shorts and the way his shirt stretched around the top of his arm was torture. You were so fucking horny it was crazy. You wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of Pedro and feel his length graze against you again. You weren’t sure exactly what Pedro had planned when he asked you to come over but you were hoping it involved more kissing. You really liked kissing him. 

The car comes to a stop and you notice that he’s pulling into a garage. When you asked him where he lived before, he had mentioned that he had a small place but this house was far from small. It wasn’t a huge mansion but it was a respectable size, way bigger than your own apartment. When you open your car door, Pedro is already walking over to your side and offering his hand, which you take happily. He closes the garage door, locks the car, and leads you into a small mudroom. He removes his shoes, you follow, and the two of you walk down a small hallway into a living room.

The room was pretty normal. There was a brown ‘L’ shaped couch along the back wall accompanied by a matching brown recliner to the right of the room. On the opposite wall of the couch, there was a giant flat screen attached to the wall with a dark wooden entertainment stand underneath that was littered with random items. He had a few pictures scattered across the walls and a small display case of awards he had won. 

He sits on the couch and he pulls you down to straddle his lap again. This time it was much more innocent than the first. He has his arms lazily wrapped around you and you have your arms around his neck, resting your head on the right one. 

“Your house is so nice P. It’s so you.” You say into his cheek. 

He lets out a light chuckle and you feel the vibration from his chest on yours. “Thank you sweetheart.” You hum in response. 

“Are you ready for our intimacy coaching?” He asks genuinely.

“Uh, yea I think so. I’m a little nervous though.” You take a moment to think about just how much sex Pedro’s character is having in this movie. He has to have intimacy training and intimacy scenes with eleven other women. You know it’s just his job, but you can’t help the tinge of jealousy that you feel in your chest. “Have you started any of your other ones yet?” You're hoping he couldn’t hear the slight irritation in your voice. 

“Yea. I finished all the training and started filming with some of the girls already.” He says nonchalantly. 

“Oh…that’s cool.” You know for sure he could hear the staggering in your voice this time. You’re trying really hard to keep a professional, but what both of you have done behind closed doors is far from professional. He turns his head to look down at you. 

“What’s wrong baby?” He asks with concern and you realize from the tension in your lips that you have a very noticeable pout on your face. 

“It’s nothing.. ‘s stupid.” You lower your head to hide your face. 

“‘s not stupid if it’s got you all pouty like that sweet girl.” He’s rubbing the back of your head so gently, it could put you right to sleep.

“It’s really stupid P…” You raise your head to look at him. “.. just the thought of you being that close and intimate with other women makes me feel a little jealous . Like I know it’s your job and all but I’m starting to really like you and I don’t-” 

“You like me?” He’s smiling from ear to ear and you could feel the heat rising to your face, not realizing you had said it outloud. 

“I mean yea P. You’re a total catch, what’s not to like…” You trail off, trying your best not to shy away from this moment, from him. 

“I like you too Y/n.” His smile is still big. You can feel your tummy erupt. 

“I need you to really promise me that you like me, okay? I really don’t want to get hurt by you.” You’re holding your pinky up, just like the day you had met him. 

“I promise baby.” He locks his pinky with yours and gives your hand a tender kiss. 

You lay your head back down and you both accept the silence around you, living in the moment of the confessions made. Last time you checked the clock, it was ten at night. It was late and Pedro’s lap was far too comfy for you to care about going home tonight. Your head was feeling heavy and you were slipping into a delirious state due to your lack of sleep after a long day of working.

“You know, when my agent first told me that you were the lead when I auditioned, I had no idea who you were.” Your voice comes out barely above a whisper.

“Thanks baby, that really knocks a few notches off my ego.” He laughs and that slight rumble from his chest is intoxicating. You could see the rise of his left cheek from where your head still laid on your arm that was still draped over his shoulders. You liked making him smile. He had such a nice smile.

“Hm, maybe that’s why the universe brought me to you, to humble you.” Another soft chuckle leaves his mouth. You also loved making him laugh- it was a sound you were glad to have the pleasure of hearing. 

“Anyways, that’s not the point. After I met you at the audition, I may or may not have looked you up.” You don’t know why you’re telling him this. 

“Did you find anything interesting?” He turns his head to look down at you, his eyebrow slightly raised, a cocky smirk present. His right hand starts to caress your back slowly. 

“Eh not really… I did watch your vanity fair lie detector test though.” You purposely leave out how many times you rewatched the first 20 seconds of the video, just to hear his laugh. 

“Oh yea? What did you think?” He’s still looking at you but there's a different look on his face this time, one you haven’t seen before. 

“You look really good in pink.” Your lips turn up to give him a small smile as you think about your next words. “So, uh, daddy’s a state of mind huh?” His hand stops rubbing your back and he turns his head abruptly, looking in the other direction. You burst into laughter at his reaction. “I’m just teasing, come here.” You tug on his right shoulder trying to get him to look at you again but he doesn’t budge. Setting your hands on his shoulders for support, you move yourself to sit straight up, still straddling his lap. Pedro turns his head to look at you and your hands grab his face- you can feel a slight warmth from the blush that was there just moments before. 

“I forgot all about that, it’s so embarrassing…” He leans his head down slightly causing his cheeks to squish in your hands. 

“‘s not embarrassing, it was really fucking funny, but not embarrassing.” He doesn’t budge. “You can be my daddy.” You say in a teasing matter. His head jolts up causing you to drop your hands back down to his shoulder. His eyes were wide and you could’ve sworn you felt movement near the inner corner of your thigh that just so happens to be right next to his- 

“Do you want me to drive you home baby, it’s..” He trails off to grab his phone to check the time. “Shit.. it’s almost 3am.” He sits his phone back down 

“Why’d you change the subject? You don’t wanna be my daddy?” You really wanted to get a reaction out of him. You’re staring deep into his eyes and you feel that slight press against your thigh again. 

“You can’t just say stuff like that sweet girl…” His hands trail down your back, past your ass, and he wiggles them just under your thighs. Before you even realize what’s happening, Pedro is standing up, arms hooked under your legs. You throw your arms around his neck. 

“Pedro put me down please.” You were starting to panic. You’d never had someone even attempt to pick you up and the thought of how heavy you might be in his arms right now is stressing you the fuck out. He starts walking but you can’t see where, nothing but the fading living room in your sight. “P, please. I’m too heavy, please just put me down.” He ignores your pleas. Pedro stops walking for a moment and you hear what you assume is a door clicking open before he continues to walk again. 

“Here sweet girl.” He’s setting you down on the edge of a king sized bed. “I’m not really up to date on any of the new dating rules or anything but um if you wanted, you could stay here tonight.” He’s rubbing the back of his neck and he seems nervous. Your heart burst into flames. 

Dating

“We’re dating?” You’re looking at him with a big smile. 

“Uh yea, I mean uh, only if you want to. I’d love to take you out sometime, on a proper date and everything.” He’s looking at the floor. 

You hop off the bed and wrap your arms around him in a big hug, to which he returns, leaving light kisses on your head. 

“I’d love to stay tonight.” 

╚══ஓ๑♡๑ஓ══╝ 

Thank you for reading <3

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[sweetprfct]

High Infidelity

Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader

Summary: Did you really have to chart the constellations in his eyes? Did you really have to tell him how he brought you back to life?

Author's Note: Babe by Taylor Swift, High Infidelity by Taylor Swift, Illicit Affairs by Taylor Swift, My Tears Ricochet by Taylor Swift, Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift. I don't know... I don't know... I don't know. My mind is all over the place the past week and needed to write this down for some distraction. I don't know... I never done a back to back series nor have written something like this, so yeah. Forgive me for all the trigger warnings. Everything is all so crazy. This is a very very hard thing to write because of past emotional abuse experiences in real life that still terrorizes me and maybe it's a letter for the past experience to let it go.

Disclaimer: 18+, emotional abuse, mention of harming, infidelity

(Please, please don't read this if it triggers you. I need you all to think hard about it before reading this one. This is a bit of a dark fic).

Wordcount: 3.2K

part one - part two - part three - part four - epilogue

“Late again?” 

Your boyfriend, Eli, asked you the moment you entered the flat. You were kicking off your shoes by the front door, eyes full of exhaustion as you sighed. He was by the kitchen heating up some leftovers. You didn’t exactly understand how it was “late” because technically it was only 9pm.

“Yeah, the event went pretty late.” You replied.

You technically left the event early knowing that Eli would start asking where you were. That was how he was these days. Keeping count of everything you did.

You were technically not an official assistant in the team. You just started this job, and it was more of a paid internship that you applied to because you needed the money, and it paid really well. You worked for Joseph Quinn’s team. A British actor who got pushed into the limelight too fast after his appearance in Stranger Things.

Joe was nice. His team was nice and very organized and all you had to do was bring Joe’s things, get coffee, and help his team organize whatever they needed for Joe. 

That was all. 

Nothing too complicated.

Nothing for you to really complain about nor do something that could ruin this whole internship that you applied for. 

Well, at least that was what you thought. 

“That’s a nice dress.” Eli stepped out of the kitchen, his eyes studying you as he ate a piece of chicken. 

For some reason, his eyes studying you like that made you feel angry and annoyed. It wasn’t like he was doing anything to you, but the tone of his voice was making you feel annoyed. 

“Thanks. I’ll go freshen up.” You gave him a small smile, giving him a quick peck on the lips before heading down the hall. 

“I’m sure many men were staring at you tonight.” Eli added his little comment that made you stop halfway from your steps and looked over your shoulder.

“I was just doing my job, assisting.” You reassured him before continuing down the hall and into your bedroom.

You weren’t going to lie. Your relationship with Eli for the past two years has been rough. He was constantly jealous, constantly making rude comments about what you wear and how you wore your makeup to the point where you had stopped putting makeup on. You had changed your whole closet to just jeans, t-shirt or jumpers. You changed your whole style and personality because you didn’t want any trouble from Eli. You didn’t want to disappoint him. 

However, this new job of yours came with the responsibility of dressing up and wearing makeup when you accompany Joe through the many events or movie premieres. That made Eli squirm even more for the last four months whenever you came home wearing a nice dress and nice makeup. He would comment how the dress was too short or the dress was too revealing. 

“I wore a jacket, don’t worry.” You would tell him. 

“Next time, pick one that isn’t so revealing.” Eli would scoff. “You’re mine. You don’t need other men looking at you.” 

You could feel the love in your relationship was slowly fading, and you didn’t know how to get out of it. You were too scared to do something about it. Terrified even what he could react or say towards this decision of yours if you ever decided to cut this off. Eli had been very aggressive towards his words to you and sometimes, even if he wouldn’t say something, you could see the disappointment all over his face. You were a people pleaser, and you were the kind of person who didn’t want any trouble, so you tried to give what he wanted most of the time.

It made you hide inside yourself even more. It made you feel insecure. It made you terrified of every decision you made because you didn’t want to upset him. You didn’t want to see that reaction on his face even if his lips were saying something else. It made you feel like you were walking on broken glass every time. 

Sliding yourself under the covers next to Eli that night, you saw his eyes studying you the moment you entered the room and brushed your hair in front of your vanity. His eyes never left you until you laid next to him. He immediately moved himself close to you and pulled you in his arms, hugging you from behind. 

“So, how many more events do you have to go to?” He asked.

You sighed, closing your eyes. Eli was never interested in your job. You knew he was asking about it, so he knew what he was expecting. By that, it meant he would be monitoring the outfits that you would wear and the people that would be around you in that event.

“Not sure.” You murmured. “I’ll let you know once my supervisor lets me know.”

Eli lets out a soft hum and kisses you on your cheek before turning you to face him and kisses you roughly on the lips, towering over you. For a second, you went with it and kissed him back, pushing your body against his and letting him have what he wanted. He lets his soft fingers slide the strap of your tank top, kissing your bare shoulder. His lips found the skin of your neck as he softly sucked onto the skin, a small gasp escaping your lips.

“Babe.” You whispered, slowly pulling away. “I’m tired. I’m early tomorrow.”

Eli sighed, letting himself laid back down on the bed next to you. 

“You’re always tired.” He argued. “The last time we had sex was last week.”

“I’m sorry, I’m just tired today, and I have to get up early tomorrow.” You turned your back on him, closing your eyes. 

“Right.” Eli said sarcastically, getting up from the bed.

You looked over your shoulder, sitting up on the bed as he made his way towards the door.

“No, c’mon. Don’t be so upset.” You said.

You could see it all over his eyes that was getting upset, and you knew if you didn’t do something about this, he wouldn’t talk to you for the next two days. He would make up an excuse that he was busy and that he would be with his friends. 

“Come here.” You reached your hand out to him as he paused in his tracks and stared at your hand. 

He gave you a small smile and walked towards the side of your bed, taking your hand in his as he kissed you hungrily and towered over you on the bed. You let him touch you in all the ways he wanted to, but you just felt numb. You couldn’t breathe as you stared into the white ceiling and kissed him back softly, letting his fingers brush against your burning skin. You felt disassociated as he kissed you hungrily and pushed himself inside of you. 

You felt nothing but disgusted with yourself for being so weak.  

That was how you have been feeling lately with your relationship. You felt trapped and you felt like a chain has been around your neck lately, and Eli was pulling it every chance he got. 

“Hey, could you go to the coffee shop down the block to get everyone coffee?” Alex, Joe’s manager, asked, interrupting your thoughts the next day. 

“Uh…sure.” Alex handed you a piece of paper with everyone’s orders. 

Your job was always simple but as time went on, your interaction with certain people became more frequent. In the beginning, Joe couldn’t even look at you nor acknowledge you that much unless he was thanking you for bringing him the things he needed. Then, Alex and his team had gotten busier that the things in your list were starting to add up. Part of your job has been added to “make sure Joe is in this place at a certain time,” or “make sure Joe wears this suit instead of this.”

Then, there was the chore that Alex would give you to make sure that his collar, tie or buttons on his shirt was perfect before he stepped out of the red carpet. 

“Do you enjoy your job?” Joe had asked you that one time when you had sat on the sofa of his dressing room, waiting for the rest of his team to arrive. 

“Sure.” Your voice almost sounded so monotone that Joe couldn’t even believe your answer. 

He sat there and tilted his head at you, one brow raised and waited for your real answer. You let out a deep breath, closing the magazine that you were reading and set it back on the table.

“I guess it’s okay. Couldn’t complain.” You shrugged.

Joe let out a soft understanding hum and focused his attention back to his phone, scrolling his time away. He was getting ready for his movie premiere, and you were there to make sure that everything he needed was there. That he looked perfect right before he stepped out of the red carpet.

Not that you hated your job but sometimes, it could get so repetitive that you looked bored after the events. The rest of Joe’s team would go and prepare whatever they needed to, and you would just make sure Joe was fine. That he didn’t need anything. 

“Here.” Joe handed you a glass of martini at the after party of the premiere.

“No, thanks. I’m technically still working.” 

“And looked bored.” Joe’s face was a little too close to yours as he whispered those words.

You hesitated, your eyes scanning the room trying to look for a sign of Alex. Joe couldn’t help but chuckle, shaking his head.

“They went home. So, technically you’re the only one left here.” Joe answered the question that you were asking in your head. “C’mon. You deserve it for working so hard all the time.”

Pursing your lips, you stared at the glass that Joe was holding before finally taking it from his hand and taking a sip of it. Joe smiled and took a sip of his own drink, his eyes scanning the room before falling back to you.

“Are you usually this quiet?” Joe asked.

“I’m just doing my job.” You answered, a small smile creeping up on Joe’s face. “I don’t want to interrupt anyone.”

“You’re not interrupting me.” Joe smiled, taking another sip of his drink.

You could tell he already had a few drinks before this conversation. You continued to drink the glass of martini in your hand and didn’t reply a word to what Joe said. You could tell the alcohol was making him a little bolder, and he was trying to flirt. You didn’t want to step into any boundaries because first of all, it was inappropriate, and you didn’t want to lose this job either.

“So, how long have you been here in London?” Joe asked.

“About two years.” Your answers were plain and simple as Joe continued to play 20 questions with you. 

By the end of the night, you both seemed to open up to each other a little bit more, and you were able to learn Joe more personally. The thing was that you didn’t realize that night was going to be a start of something new between you and him because ever since that event, Joe’s attention was on you most of the time. He would gaze down at you and give you small smiles, while you would fix his collar or tie before he stepped out onto the red carpet.

Then, during after parties, you would be left to babysit Joe, and you would notice how his eyes would catch your eyes across the room. You sat in the corner and minded your own business, your focus on your phone. However, Joe would walk towards you and catch your attention.

“Wanna dance?” Joe held out his hand.

You bit your lower lip and said, “I don’t dance, sorry.”

Joe sighed and sat next to you, his eyes lingering on the screen of your work phone. 

“Whatever Alex is telling you to do can wait ‘til tomorrow.” 

“That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have a full to-do list.”

Joe laughed softly, raising his brow at you. “A full to-do list? I’m the one who has to stand in front of those cameras and do the interviews, remember?”

Joe had a point. 

Though, you couldn’t help but roll your eyes. “True.” 

You and Joe would talk for the rest of the night. You both would laugh and tease each other. You both would start talking about personal things, and he somehow was able to understand you well. It made your heart swell a little bit. 

It wasn’t right that you felt this way towards Joe because you were in a relationship. You could just easily let Joe know that you weren’t single and that whatever flirty tricks he was trying to do to you, it wouldn’t work. However, you kept dancing around that subject. You didn’t bother bringing that subject up and towards the end of the night, you both would start flirting a little bit more. Besides the fact that you were in a relationship, you also didn’t want to do anything unprofessional or inappropriate because at the end of the night, you were technically still working for Joe’s team and Joe. So, you tried your best not to lead him on. 

That was until you had come home one night and found Eli waiting for you in the living room. You arrived home half an hour past nine, and he already looked upset the moment you had stepped inside the flat. 

“Where have you been?” Eli’s tone of voice wasn’t what you liked at all. 

“I’m sorry, I had to finish some things. I texted you I was going to be late.” You explained.

“No, you didn’t.” Eli argued.

“Yes, I did. Didn’t you get my message?” You knitted your brows, making sure your voice was calm because you didn’t want to upset him even more.

You watched Eli pick up his phone from the coffee table and looked down at it and let out a deep breath.

“You know, maybe you should look for another job if they keep making you stay up this late.” 

You slid your coat off and hung it on the coat hanger and said, “It’s only 9:30. It’s not that late, Eli.”

You heard Eli scoff and shook his head. “So, you'd rather be with them than with me?”

You were confused. 

Where did that subject came from?

You didn’t understand why Eli was acting like this. Shouldn’t he be more supportive about your career? Didn’t you tell him that you needed this job because you needed the money? What else did you have to say or do to make sure he would stop this jealousy thing because it was making you so exhausted.

“I… I didn’t say that.” You murmured.

“Maybe you just don’t love me the way I love you. Just tell me, and it’s fine. I’ll happily go.” Eli shrugged, looking down at the floor.

You walked towards him, taking his hands in yours. The guilt inside of you brewed in your stomach but at the same time, you wanted to vomit. 

“I do love you. I told you that, remember? I love you.”

You felt nothing.

“Then, find another job… for me.” Eli looked into your eyes.

“I… I can’t. It’s hard to look for another job out there and this pays me well, while I’m able to learn the entertainment industry. You know how much I want a career in that industry.”

Eli’s eyes suddenly turned glum again. He slid his hands away from yours and exhaled sharply. 

“Why would you even want to be in that industry? So you could be naked and show everyone that?” 

You couldn’t understand what he was saying. You couldn't understand why he was acting like this.  

“You know that’s not true!” You argued.

You were exhausted from explaining yourself over and over again, and he just didn’t believe you. You felt like whatever you did was never enough for him. Tears started welling up in your eyes as you watched Eli grab his car keys.

“Wh…Where are you going?” Your voice stuttered, terrified of what he might do.

“Obviously, you don’t love me. I mean… no one loves me, so what’s the point, right?”

You grabbed his hand, trying to take the keys away, but he had his hand in a fist as he tried to slide his hand away from your grip.

“No, stop! Please.” You begged, tears rolling down your cheeks. “Don’t do this.”

“If you love me, you’d do this for me.” Eli replied, his eyes hardened as he stared at you.

You didn’t say a word because what he was asking of you was impossible. You already had lost yourself and your dignity. Your job at the moment was the only thing that you have that could maybe help you get back up again. After a few seconds of not replying, Eli pulled his wrist away from your grip, shaking his head.

“If you find me dead on the road then that’s on you.” He stated before walking out the front door. 

“Eli!” You cried out, running out the door, but it was too late as he had already gotten in the car and drove off.

Going back inside the flat, you laid on your bed that night, sobbing and questioning as to how you have gotten yourself into this situation. Questioning every decision you made as to why you were too weak to break this off. 

What if you break this thing off, and Eli would actually harm himself? It would be all your fault like he said. What if no one could love you after this? What about the happy memories that the two of you had at the beginning? What if you would regret it at the end for letting him go? You knew you were the only one that he had left in his life. You couldn’t do that to him either. You couldn’t easily just get out. 

You were trapped. 

Stuck. 

Frozen.

Around midnight, Eli had come back home. You weren’t asleep when he had entered the bedroom, but you had your eyes closed. How could you sleep after tonight? How were you able to have a peace of mind if he was out there? How would you know that he didn’t do anything to himself? It would be all your fault if something happened to him. 

You just couldn’t shut your mouth and agreed with what he was asking, couldn’t you? 

Feeling his arms wrapped around your torso, you felt him nuzzling your hair. You didn’t move. You couldn’t move. You knew he wasn’t going to apologize, so you didn’t try to hope for that. Eventually, he had fallen asleep, holding you that night. A tear rolled down your cheek as you covered your mouth with the palm of your hand to block out your sobs, so he wouldn’t wake up. 

At this point, you didn’t know who you were anymore. 

You just felt numb and lost, choking in your own tears. 

Taglist:

@palomahasenteredthechat @sunvick @eddies-acousticguitar @demonsanddemogorgons @joesquinns @mmunson86 @ghostinthebackofyourhead @corrodedcoffincumslut @figmentofquinn @tlclick73 @browneyes8288 @bylermaxmayfield @ali-r3n @ficsbypix @capricornrisingsstuff @missonlypost @ali-in-w0nderland @amberolivia666 @lalalala-melmosworld @niallersfreckles @nanas-lasagna @emma77645 @indulgence-be-thy-name @readergf

[rallentando1011]

Somnambulant Soulmates (rise Donnie x gn reader)

Prologue, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Word Count: 3676

(alright, we’re getting into some good stuff now ;) hope you enjoy!)

Three weeks.

Three weeks had passed since you first encountered that purple clad turtle, give or take.

And they were a blur of fighting and parties and studies and a library and coffee and him.

Donnie, the centrifuge that had been the catalyst of the whirlwind that had become your life. Well, technically his brothers, April, and the rest of the gang were also at fault, but he was the main culprit. The superfluous amount of meetings you’d had with him in your short time knowing him, his intriguing disposition, the whole situation had made it quite easy for him to work his way up to being one of your favorite people.

It had been a few days since you’d seen him. It had also been a few days since you’d left the fortress of your home. Following the hectic event and subsequently less wild ones of last week, you deserved a few days’ break.

But it was time to get back into the fray.

You forced yourself up from where you had been lounging on your bed, prying your eyes away from the ceaseless social media scrolling you had subjected yourself to.

Blinking your sleepiness away, you thought about what you had to do: eat something, first of all, get some water and whatever prescriptions you needed, then message that confounded turtle about his progress on that invention.

Call yourself curious, but you just had to see it in its completion. Also, you were desperately bored. Why not get your social interaction and entertainment in one stop, kill two birds with one stone?

You pulled up the chat you currently had with him but paused before you typed a word.

Sure, texting got the point across, but you were looking for a quick answer, not a typical, joining-the-conversation-hours-later Donnie answer.

Would a call work better in this scenario?

Of course, calls kind of sucked to do, solely because of the whole talking aspect, but it could be quicker. And if he didn’t respond, then you could just send a text.

You clicked his contact and the button to call him, holding your breath momentarily afterward. Hopefully it wasn’t too weird. You meant, you’d never called him before, so maybe you would look like an absolute maniac for calling him now over something so trivial. Maybe it wasn’t the best idea-

“Hello?”

You startled at the sound of a voice over the phone. He’d already answered. No going back now.

“Hey, how’s it going?” you responded as smoothly as possible.

“... Fine? You called?”

“Yeah.”

The conversation fell silent until he spoke up.

“May I know what for?”

“Right! Yeah, sorry, I was just curious about that whole mystic gem-finding situation. Did you find one yet?”

“I have yet to locate and secure any that aren’t currently in use. The project’s also been on the backburner with lair repairs; segue, do you know how many microwaves Leo can break in a week?”

You snickered, though you quickly worked back out of that tangent. “Dude, isn’t your dad- er, wait, your father some kind of alchemist? He probably has something you could use.”

“He likely does.  However, we have what one might call a strained relationship.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me about that if you don’t want to-’

“Me and my brothers destroyed his lab and he threw Leo off of a roof.”

“Oh.”

You two went quiet once more. He also broke the silence once more.

“Never mind that, let’s focus on the task at hand: how to obtain a sought-after gem.”

“By destroyed, do you mean made a mess of or..?”

“Absolutely decimated it.”

“Right,” you nodded slowly. “So is it abandoned, and, follow up, would it still have any resources left?”

“Not likely. Scavengers, and Draxum himself, probably made certain that anything valuable was taken care of. But, we could potentially check it out.”

“Hmm, ‘we’?” you asked innocently enough, save for a teasing inflection in your hum.

“Yeah, ‘we’. Unless you’re not interested, which is totally within bounds-”

“I’m free Thursday and Friday, either before noon or at, like, ten,” you cut him off. His surprise was discernible by how quiet he went for a solid ten seconds.

“Right, yeah, Friday works,” he finally conceded. “Would Friday at 23:00 work for you?”

Seriously? Military time? What a punk. “Translate into normal time talk and then you’ll get an answer,” you quipped.

“No need to be rude. Does eleven sound better to your inconsiderate self?”

“Much. And eleven works. Where’re we meeting?”

“Fret not. I’ll send the location.”

Come Friday, following the address brought you to the shadiest place you’d been since April took you into the sewers last week.

Man, your friend group was a whole situation.

The area itself was fine. Domestic, contemporary homes and apartments in a congested neighborhood, standard New York living arrangement. Your dubiousness, however, stemmed from the particular location: a horribly lit, uninhabited, possibly abandoned construction site.

Actually, it would probably be weirder for him to ask to meet you in a normal location with street lights.

You sent a quick text to Donnie, informing him that you were there and possibly telling him to hurry his shell up before stepping into the.dirt-coated lot. As you moved deeper into the area, you noticed a silhouette propped against the side of a big metal container. You squinted at the turned away figure, trying to make out any features.

Typing vigorously, wearing an oversized purple hoodie, hunched over their phone- okay, yeah, that was Donnie.

You quickly made your way over to him, leaning next to him on the container with a loud, metallic thud.

“Hey there, pal,” you grinned, a visible puff of air exiting your lips. Boy, was it cold.

He lackadaisically lifted an eyebrow at you as he finished typing something up on his phone. “Salutations. And refrain from calling me pal; we’re not pals.”

Donnie placed his phone and hands into his hoodie pocket and started making his way further into the shadows underneath the structure of steel beams and bars. You followed suit.

“What are we then?” you prompted playfully.

“Acquaintances.”

“Really? I don’t think people who are just acquaintances travel to literal mystic cities or even the sewers with each other.”

“Well, if you are so well versed on the classifications of relationship statuses, what do you consider us to be?”

“Friends, probably,” you shrugged.

“Probably?” he asked as he started to use a pin from his pocket to draw an unfamiliar insignia on an oddly placed brick wall.

You rested your hands on your hips. “I mean, thinking statistically about it, we’re probably friends.”

“In what universe does statistics have anything to do with this situation?”

“Ion’ know. You’re supposed to know about the science-and-math-y stuff. I’m just moral support.”

“No, you’re just throwing mathematical terms around haphazardly!” he exclaimed, gesticulating with his free hand.

“I probably am.”

His eye twitched. Before he could iterate his disdain for your insolence, the design he traced on the wall began to emit an electric blue shade. A static buzz entered the air, creating a warm, fuzzy feeling around you. Not comforting, though. It was reminiscent of the portals you’d encountered just last week.

Abruptly, a swirling amalgamation of light and energy came forth before you, small bursts of lightning zapping periodically.

Huh. You were right. Portals.

“Does this lead to that lab?” you asked, peering at it curiously.

“What do you say we find out?” Donnie gave a lazy grin before coolly stepping backwards into the portal.

You gawked. The audacity of this man to invite you adventuring and then leave you high and dry was astronomical.

That left you with two options: get out of there and have a cozy night in or follow him into a suspicious portal. Which, come on, you already knew what you were going to do: tail that turtle and make him rue leaving you behind like that.

With a roll of your eyes, you stepped, or fell, more so, into the portal, and that’s when things went loopy.

Your surroundings melted into a zero gravity tunnel of blue, insides churning in a manner akin to the swarm of colors around you. Everything looked distorted, warped into only sensations, and after moments of free fall and whiplash and weightlessness you plopped rather unceremoniously onto a brick path. 

Somehow, the area you ended up in was even loopier than that.

For starters, the sky was a washy mix of apricot and slate and a golden color. Next up, and quite likely most pressingly, was the gigantic structure sitting before you. A short, rocky path trailed up to a floating cylindrical building, the size of which rivaled every building you’d ever seen in New York. The building was bathed in green light, had a balcony- and did you mention FLOATING?

“Holy-” You couldn’t help but go slack-jawed, earning a smug expression from the turtle.

“Mmhm.”

“Where are we?” You looked at the vast area behind you, the fiery orange sky littered with floating edifices and vessels and creatures of all varieties.

“Welcome to the Hidden City, my associate-”

You interjected, “-friend-”

“-entourage,” he corrected with the raise of an eyebrow.

You let it slide, not looking to lower your status any more. “Touché. Continue.”

“The Hidden City, a subterranean city-state far beneath New York City and home to the laboratory of former warrior-alchemist Barron Draxum,” Donnie introduced with a flourish of his hands.

You released an amused puff of air. “You feel good about letting out your inner theater kid?”

“I feel great, actually. But there’s no time to dwell on that. Onward, to exploration!”

He was really in full theatrics tonight, but you didn’t mind indulging. Lightly shaking your head at him, you joined him in moving up the path to the towering golden archway at the front of the building.

The door opened creakily, unsturdy on its hinges, shedding light on a decrepit, dust-ridden foyer. Large tapestries and artworks strewn about the halls were coated so thickly in dirt they almost couldn’t be made out. You shot him an uncertain look.

“Like I said, don’t keep your hopes up,” was all Donnie said in response before continuing down the dim corridor. You stalled, still weary about the condition of the building, before swiftly catching back up with him.

As you worked your way into the dark, desolate lab, Donnie lectured you on safety precautions. “Don’t touch anything unless it seems nonlethal and productive. Actually, just don’t touch anything.”

“So, I can’t open any drawers or anything?” you sassed.

He deadpanned. “You know what I mean.”

“Semantics matter, D.”

“Not really- fine, whatever. Let’s get to exploring,” Donnie conceded, excitedly flicking his goggles down with a smirk.

It was an instinct, really, that you clasped a hand over your mouth and terribly concealed a laugh upon seeing his goggle-covered eyes.

He stared at you blankly. “What?”

You waved your hand in front of you to dismiss yourself. “I’m sorry- I’ve just never seen you in the goggles.”

“I’ve worn them during every interaction of ours.”

“No, I mean like on your eyes. It makes them look all beady.”

“Wow. I appreciate that.”

You quickly defended yourself. “In a good way! It’s not bad, just different.”

“Ah yes, ‘beady in a good way’. I’ll log that one in the books.”

“Seriously, I thought they looked cute.”

He looked taken aback, lips pursed and face warm at that assertion.

“Not like that. Like an objective kind of cute.” You shook your head in disbelief at the words you were spewing. “Actually, nevermind. Forget I said any of that.”

“Agreed.” He rolled his eyes and set to work scanning shelves and drawers for any traces of the mysticism you were pursuing. For his sake, you didn’t mention how the pink tint on his face didn’t disappear until minutes into your guys’ search.

The search ended up unsuccessful. Sure, while scouring shelves and cabinets and odd cages around the spacious laboratory you found a whole lot more than you would expect in an abandoned building - elements in sealed jars, flasks of what seemed to be potions or ingredients - but nothing close to a crystal or gem.

After working your way around the room, you looked up at Donnie.

He shook his head and walked over to you. “It appears the lab’s a bust for any type of crystal. Not a total loss, though.” He held up a container labeled ‘emp.’ before one of the mechanical hands from his battle shell stored it for him. Another of the hands gave your shoulder a reassuring pat.

You shook your head. “No, we’re getting you a crystal, man.” You paused, thought of an alternative. “Are there any stores or markets nearby that might have them?”

“Ohmigosh, you are just full of great ideas.” You and Donnie began moving back toward the front.

He sounded like he might have meant that, but his voice was still startlingly monotonous. You narrowed your eyes, put your head askew. “For real?”

“Yes, this time,” the turtle nodded before excitedly gliding back down the entrance’s stairs.

You laughed, following along. “This time?”

“Surprisingly enough, yes.”

You caught up to him and landed a firm, still playful jab to his side.

“Just stop yapping and take us there.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After what felt like eons of continuous motion, you two made it onto the streets of the Hidden City.

Brightly colored banners, advertisements, decorations, adorned lampposts all up and down the streets, though you avoided certain battle-themed ones. Multitudes of languages and dialects could be heard all around. The smells of delectable foods wafted through the air, sweet, savory, spicy, but you couldn’t pay them any mind. You were on a gem-hunting mission. Even if it wasn’t going very well currently.

The merchant running a crystal stand was slumped over on their counter, boredly staring at the customers that had been occupying their business for minutes on end without making a choice i.e. you and Donnie.

You raised an index finger at a particular pretty purple gem sitting in a pile of other ones on the counter of the stand.

Donnie flicked on his goggles and shook his head. “Uh, no. Not remotely. We’re looking to avoid overcurrent; that thing has enough mystic mojo to wipe out half the city.”

You slowly placed it down. “Oookay then. Glad to be of service,” you muttered.

He pursed his lips at your interesting body language. Slumped shoulders, hints of dejection in your voice - you weren’t having fun. Maybe it was because he immediately turned down the last five of your suggestions, but who could definitively say why?

“The issue is that you keep grabbing crystals that emit cool colors, which, as you know from the electromagnetic spectrum, correlate to a higher frequency. We don’t want that. So, as much as I would enjoy a violet crystal to match my ambience, something with a less vibrant, warmer hue works best.”

You slowly digested what he just said. Cautiously, your hand crept back to the merchant’s display and selected an auburn gem. 

“That one’s frequency is too low-”

“Of course it is.”

“-but you’re on the right track! Try a little further down the electromagnetic spectrum-”

“What, something like this?” You gestured toward an amber gem that was near the bottom of the pile, exasperated.

Donnie hummed. “Actually, yeah. That’s just fine.”

“Really?”

“Shhh,” Donnie waved a hand telling you to calm down before pulling you aside. “There’s no fixed price on the signs here. If we seem too excited or gullible-”

“We get duped?” you guessed.

“We get duped. So stay cool, and let me handle this.”

Donnie cracked his knuckles and turned back to the stand, professionally ready to bargain and deal with the price.

He still ended up paying a ridiculous price for the small gem’s size, but you didn’t know if you’d ever seen him grin so proudly, so you didn’t say a word about it.

The first time you spoke up after the deal was made was after passing by a food cart and hearing your stomach rumble.

Donnie almost kept walking without you before you loosely clasped onto his wrist.

Puzzled, he turned back to you.

“Would you want to get something to eat? Like, while we’re down here,” you asked.

He pursed his lips. Just as he opened his mouth to retort or deny the requests, you were both hit with a wave of the most scrumptious food you’d smelled probably in your entire life.

“Okay, you have to admit that smell is heavenly,” you looked at him knowingly.

“I don’t have to do anything, but those do look fire.”

You gave him the best pleading look you had, and you could pinpoint the exact moment he caved in.

“Alright, we can take a quick detour from the exit.”

“Heck yeah! You rock, no correlation to geology,” you winked, adjusting your grip from his wrist to his hand so that you two wouldn’t get separated from you charging through the crowd.

And charge through that crowd you did.

Donnie in tow behind you, you bounded through the crowd excitedly, scarcely avoiding collisions all over.

However, the complaining Donatello in hand and sweating were inconsequential compared to being in line for a brand new type of culinary experience.

You were practically buzzing with joy, so excited that you momentarily forgot to relinquish Donnie’s hand. You still did though, just a moment shy of awkwardness.

You had made a good deal, had good company, and were about to have good food. What more could you want?

Still beaming, you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket and pulled it out.

The smile on your face quickly receded as you checked who was calling.

“Just a moment, I need to take this,” you muttered before slipping out of line and off through the crowd.

Donnie froze. He didn’t like the fact that whoever called seemed to ruin your mood, nor the idea of you being alone in an entirely unfamiliar city.

Reluctantly, he relinquished his spot in line - which was painfully close to the front, might he add - to find you.

It took a moment of weaving left and right, dodging up and down through a flurry of wings and tails for him to find the space between two buildings that you had moved yourself into.

Not wanting to intrude, he stood right outside the small alley, listening in by a complete coincidence. Certainly not out of nosiness in the slightest. Nope.

Anyway, he only got close enough to hear you mid-sentence.

“-you serious? Now, I don’t know if your section of New York is in a different time zone, but for me right now it is way too dark and way too late to be calling for conferences.”

A pause. Scraggly sounds faintly sounded from the other side of the call, not that he could make out an inkling of it. You, on the other hand, understood it all too well.

“Obligatory? Yes, I know what obligatory means, I just find the notion of a required meeting kinda dumb- Sorry, I mean extremely dumb.”

Another pause of you presumably getting chewed out passed before you, begrudgingly, grumbled, “Ugh, if you insist. Be there later.”

The phone call ended after that, and Donnie had no clue what to do.

Walking in normally could make it seem like he was eavesdropping, which he was but he didn’t want you to know that, but he couldn’t just stand still either.

After some careful contemplation, Donnie looked around and stumbled (definitely not purposefully) into the alley you were in. He seemed somewhat concerned; he hadn’t seen you that perturbed before.“Is everything alright?” he muttered vaguely, not wanting to overstep.

“Just yelling at my… mother’s urn- Anyway, once again, I have really got to go, this has been really fun, we should do this again sometime, am I missing anything else?” you joked lightheartedly. Thankfully the mood, along with Donnie, followed your attitude shift.

“I feel like a ‘thanks, you’re the best’ may be due,” your companion urged jokingly.

“Thanks Donnie, you’re the best.”

He huffed. “Kidding. I was kidding.”

“I wasn’t.”

For a probably too long moment, he made eye contact with you and your startlingly genuine eyes. Eventually, he tore his gaze away and cleared his throat. “... Let’s get you back to the surface.”

The trip back to the site of the portal was mostly silent, just the two of you trekking shoulder to shoulder through crowds of characters, before you entered the vertigo-inducing light once again.

The wind bit harshly at you as soon as you landed back on New Yorkian ground, an unkind reminder of the end of your adventure.

You blew a puff of warm air onto your hands and almost started walking on instinct before Donnie spoke, reminding you of his presence.

“Are you alright going back on your own?” he questioned quietly, almost coyly.

“I mean, I made it here on my own. I think I’ve got it covered.”

“Oh. Okay,” he concurred with a nod before giving you a pair of thumbs up. “In that case, make it home safely. Text you later?”

“Later,” you agreed emphatically. With one more nudge of his arm and a pivot in the other direction, you were off, out of the construction zone, on the sidewalk, down the street.

As you moved toward your destination, the skyscrapers and towering structures lining your path grew taller, more opulent, more lavish. Insignificant residentials morphed into substantial, old money commercials. Your heart rate climbed.

You paused in front of the grand doors of your location and took a deep, steadying breath. It was just some quick business you had to take care of. Brief. Inconsequential. Everything would be fine.

With some renewed confidence, or at least some semblance of it, you pulled on the handle and swiftly entered the hotel’s lobby.

The door closed thickly behind you with a thud.

Resonate. Absolute. Irrevocable.

(Artwork for part 5)

Taglist ~

@rottmntsimp

@envyjmoney

[harley-sunday]

Feels Like Home [01]

Summary: When an unexpected three-week break between Monza and Singapore finds Daniel back on his farm in Perth he’s desperate to use this time to clear his mind, figure out his future in Formula One, and find his way back. He didn’t expect a new neighbour, a sassy two-year old, and three alpacas would make him realise that sometimes, what you’re looking for is right in front of you.

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x reader (unnamed OFC)

Warnings: Language

Word count: 2.7k

AN: Yes. Hi. Hello. Believe it or not but I started writing this fic because I desperately needed some good guy!Daniel being cute with kids in my life. The idea was just a short one shot. Ha. Who was I kidding? Because here we are, six months and nine chapters later... I really hope you like it, please come yell at me in the comments, on anon, or in my DMs about any and all things about this story you want to yell at me about. I probably deserve it. ♥

Masterlist

There’s something about being here, on his farm outside of Perth, that he doesn’t experience anywhere else in the world. Not in Monaco, not in Los Angeles, not even in Austin, or Montana. 

Because here- Here, he doesn’t have to be Daniel Ricciardo, Danny Ric, DR, or the Honey Badger. He doesn’t have to be a Formula One driver, an eight-time race winner, the most beloved driver on the grid, and the fan favourite. He doesn’t have to be Red Bull’s wild card, Renault’s saviour, or, most recently, McLaren’s scapegoat. Here, he is Daniel. And it’s enough. 

Or, at least, it used to be.

Lately, there's been a yearning in his heart that he's unfamiliar with. Or he pretends to be anyway because he’s not ready to put it into words yet, not ready to speak into existence what he really wants from life. Afraid he'll jinx it if he does. 

And so he keeps it to himself and lets his heart ache for something more in silence while the life he does know slowly keeps on falling apart around him.

***

Daniel rests his wrists on the handlebar of his dirt bike and lets out a breath he seems to have been holding in ever since he retired on lap forty-five of the Monza Grand Prix four days ago. Looking out over the valley below, he feels more grounded than he has in a long time and he hopes that the next two weeks will give him the peace he so desperately needs after the shitshow that has been his season so far. 

The sun’s already low in the sky, casting a golden glow over the somewhat still barren trees and shrubs even though he can tell winter is slowly coming to an end from the sprouts of green that have started to grace the landscape with their presence. There’s a kookaburra laughing somewhere in the distance and he takes it as his cue to fire up his engine again for one last run around his dirt track before it gets too dark. 

He knows technically he isn’t supposed to ride his bike during the season, knows technically McLaren could issue him a hefty fine for breaching his contract, but if they ever were to find out he figures they can just take it out of the settlement they’re due to pay him at the end of the year. He’s promised Zak he’ll do whatever it takes to score as many points as possible in the last six races but he also decided early on that he’s no longer going to let the team dictate what he can or cannot do in his time away from the track. 

There’s a meeting tomorrow, with Blake and Michael, where they’ll try to figure out his future in Formula One. There have been a few offers, both from teams who want him as their second driver and from teams who want him to become their reserve driver, but he’s still undecided, not sure if he wants to settle for another midfield team or stay in Formula One without really being in Formula One. 

By the time he completes his lap his head is somewhat empty, too busy instead to focus on keeping his bike under control and not ending up in the dirt. It’s almost dark now and so he opens the throttle wide and guns it home, a race against an invisible clock that, unlike this past season in Formula One, he wins every single time.

Once his bike is safely back in the shed he makes his way over to the house, hosing his boots down before he takes them off at the back door and leaves them to dry on the shoe rack his Dad made for him when he bought the farm. He changes out of his gear in the mud room, making a face when he takes his socks off and catches a whiff of the smell but laughing then because he remembers them smelling so much worse after a race in, oh let’s say, Singapore. With nothing but his boxer shorts on he steps into the kitchen and heads straight for the fridge, taking out an ice cold bottle of water. The sigh of relief when he rolls it against the back of his neck almost obscene. It might be winter but temperatures in western Australia are still as high as a beautiful spring day in Monaco.

It’s then the intercom rings and for a moment he debates ignoring it, not sure if he’s up for telling yet another local journo looking to make it big by trying to get an interview with ‘shunned McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo’ that now really isn’t a good time  and that any requests for interviews should be made through Blake anyway.  

Plus, he gave his family and friends the access code to the gate when it was first installed, so he doubts any of them are waiting for him to open it, not in the least because they know better than to just show up without a text or call in advance.  

In the end, his curiosity gets the better of him and so he walks over to where the control panel of his alarm system hangs in the living room and pushes the button needed to connect to whoever’s at the gate, “Hello?”

“Hi,” the screen comes on then, the black and white image showing a woman wearing a Stetson hat. She’s staring somewhere into the distance, her face obscured by the shadows the brim of her hat casts under the streetlight, but her voice comes through loud and clear, “Sorry to bother you this late-”

“It’s seven thirty,” he shoots back almost effortlessly.

“-but I wondered if I could maybe ask you to keep it down with the dirt biking a little?” 

“I’m sorry, what?”

She looks up and into the camera then, pushing her hat a little higher so he can finally see her eyes, “It’s just- We’ve got a flock of alpacas over in Eagle's Nest and they tend to get a little jittery from all the noise. Especially when they try to settle in for the night and-”

“I’m sorry,“ he can’t help but grin, running a hand through his hair, “but I’m going to need a little more context here.”

She laughs and he thinks it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard and so he’s a little distracted but then he sees her taking her hat off, revealing her face and- Fuck. She’s gorgeous. He watches her as she shakes her head, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips, “Shit, sorry. I probably should have given you a bit more to go on.” Putting her hat back on she straightens up and points to somewhere over her shoulder, “Your neighbour on that side, Oscar Linton? He’s my granddad. I think you know him, right?”

“Old man Linton!” He smiles and nods, “Of course I do.” When he first bought the farm he made sure to introduce himself to his neighbours and while he likes to think he has a good relationship with all three of them he’s always had a soft spot for the elderly man further up the road. So much so that he always makes sure to drop by for a chat whenever he finds himself back in Perth. It’s then he connects the dots and recognises her from some of the pictures Oscar has up in his living room. All of a sudden he feels guilty for not going to see his neighbour yet even though he has been home for two days already but maybe he can do that tomorrow or-

“He fell a few days ago-” her voice pulls him out of his thoughts unintentionally and his guilt triples in a matter of seconds. There’s a sad smile tugging on her lips which makes him prepare for the worst. 

Surely they would have let him know if- He remembers the pile of unopened letters waiting for him on the kitchen counter then and curses quietly, “Shit.”

“He’s ok,” she’s quick to reassure him, as if she knows what he was thinking. “He spent a couple of nights in hospital and still has a long way to go but at least he’s home again.” She takes a deep breath, “They had to replace his hip and he’s got a broken wrist but,” she shrugs, “it could have been worse.” 

It’s then the absurdity of the situation hits him, with him in his boxers in his living room and her on the other end of his kilometre-long driveway, talking into a metallic box. He shakes his head and pushes the button that opens the gate automatically, “I think maybe we shouldn’t have this conversation over an intercom. I could make you a cup of coffee if you want? Or something stronger? I make a mean-”

She bites her lip and seems to hesitate.

“Just a quick cuppa. It’s the neighbourly thing to do, right?”

He sees her nod, “Yeah, ok.”

He can’t help the grin that spreads across his face, “Happy days.” 

***

The house is not at all how you expect it to be, much more modern and open-planned than any of the other farm houses in the area. The west-facing wall has been completely redone in glass panels, offering a stunning view of the valley and surrounding paddocks and you can’t help but admire the interior design of both the kitchen and the living room, which is masculine but still inviting. You wonder if he decorated the place himself or if he hired some interior designer to do it for him.

“Here you go,” Daniel, who told you ‘You can call me Dan’ when he greeted you at the door with a bright smile and an outstretched hand- offers you a cup of steaming hot coffee and motions for you to join him at the kitchen table. He’s wearing white sweatpants and a matching white sweater that look incredibly comfy and that make you want to wrap yourself around him and hang onto him like a koala bear. Wait. What? 

You take your hat off to try and keep from ogling him, placing  it on the chair next to you before you sit down and smile at him, “You know, all these years I thought you were called Danny Ric because that’s what Granddad keeps calling you. I’m not sure I can get used to Daniel.” 

Daniel laughs, the laughter lines in the corners of his eyes even more prominent now, “Trust the old man to keep that gag going.” He shakes his head then, “I can’t believe he fell though.”

“Yeah,” you agree quietly, blowing into your coffee. “We’re lucky Mrs Mackenzie found him when she did or-” You let out a ragged breath and see him nod, his eyes kind, and it makes you continue, “His hip was completely shattered and his wrist is broken in three places so it’s going to take a while before he’s up and running again- I mean, if his new hip ever heals completely- He’s already seventy-eight so-” You hear yourself starting to ramble and so you fold your hands around your cup and try to calm down a little. You’re not even sure why you’re even telling him all of this, but he’s a friend of your granddad and so you figure he’s good people. “Mum and Dad wanted to come back from New Zealand to help out but-” you look up at Daniel and shrug, “I spent a lot of time on the farm as a kid, right until I left for uni, so it made much more sense for me to move in with him for the time being.” 

“That’s a pretty big thing to do,” Daniel says with a kind smile, a warmth to his brown eyes that you can feel yourself get lost in. “You sure your family can miss you that long?”

You don’t really know what he’s getting at, whether he’s talking about your Mum and Dad or the husband and kids he thinks you might have left behind to come back to Mundaring, and you don’t really know you want to tell him your truth either, after all you’ve just met him, so in the end you shake your head and settle on an honest, “I’ve got everything I need right here.” 

He eyes you suspiciously but doesn’t push it and instead he says, “If you’d have me I’d love to come over to see him some time. I’m still here for almost another two weeks  and-” 

“I’m sure he’d like that,” you offer with a smile. “He always tells me what a nice bloke you are.”

Daniel leans back in his chair and grins, spreading his arms, “Can’t say I blame him. I’m the best.” 

“He says the same thing about the postie,” you tease with a casual shrug, “so don’t get too excited.” 

“Ouch,” Daniel brings a hand to his chest, “that hurts.” 

You pout, “So sad.” 

“Very,” Daniel agrees quietly, trying his best to keep a straight face. He puts his arms on the table then and leans forward, “Before you stomp on my ego some more, why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re here. What’s up with that eagle’s nest over in some paddock?”

“Oof,” you pull a face and shake your head, “you were so close.” You can’t help but laugh when you see him pretend to be hurt at your comment. You take a sip of coffee before you explain, pointing in the general direction of your paddock, “Your dirt track borders Eagle's Nest, the paddock Granddad uses for the alpacas in September and October, and I guess normally it isn’t a problem because you usually aren’t home during this time of year but I heard you yesterday and today and-”

“Yeah, we had an unexpected three-week break this year so I figured-” Daniel waves his hand around for you to continue then.

“It’s just, we have three pregnant females this year and- I don’t know if you’re at all familiar with alpacas?”

He shakes his head, “I didn’t even know you guys had alpacas. Your granddad and I just tend to talk shit about Mrs Mackenzie and them over a cuppa but I've never really asked him about the farm to be honest."

You throw him a look, knowing all too well your granddad doesn’t drink coffee.

He quickly backs down, “Fine, I drink coffee, he drinks tea.” 

“There you go,” you mouth with a wink. “Anyway, alpacas are basically scared of everything, even their own shadow, so you know, someone riding a dirt bike close by doesn’t really help with keeping them nice and calm during these last few weeks of their pregnancy.” 

“Gotcha.”

“They’re usually out on the other side of the paddock during the day, so anything until five in the afternoon is fine” you offer, not wanting to deprive him of his hobby completely, “but we have their feeders and the shed they can hide in during the night out over in your corner, so-”

“You’re giving me a five pm curfew, basically,” he says with a raise of his eyebrows.

“Just until the end of October.” You bite your lip, “I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“Nah, no worries,” Daniel puts his hand on your forearm and gives it a squeeze to let you know he means it. “I’d do anything for old Oscar.” Then, with a grin he adds, “And his girls.” 

You can’t help the heat that rises to your cheeks and try to hide it with a smile, “Thank you.”

He squeezes your arm again, “He’s gonna be fine by the way. He’s tough, that one.”

“Speaking of Granddad,” you risk a quick glance at your watch, letting you know it’s almost eight fifteen, “I should probably head back.” You push your chair back and grab your hat, putting it on as you tell Daniel, “Thank you for the coffee.”

“Anytime,” he says with a grin as he stands up as well, following you to the front door. “Tell him I’ll come by soon, ok?”

“Will do.” You turn around then and smile again, something about not getting your hopes up but doing so anyway when you ask, “I’ll see you around then?”

Daniel tips his imaginary hat, “Yes ma’am.” 

[batty4steddie]

Can I Keep It?

@spicycinnabun and I's contribution to steddiebang 2023! ❤️️ | Chapters: 1/12 | Rating: M | Read, kudos or comment on ao3 | We have a playlist. ❤️️ | Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Chapter 1: Have You Ever Been Arrested?

Robin had the night off. Band practice or some shit. Steve was so bored. It had been dead in Family Video all day until finally, finally someone remotely attractive came into the store: Christina Kelly, a blue-eyed, bright blonde-haired Hawkins High cheerleader. On some girls, the uniform looked frumpy, but on her, the shortness of it skirted nicely over her ass. Steve’s eyes roamed up her mile-long tan legs and settled on it. She was drop-dead gorgeous.   He licked his lips and continued to watch her browse the shelves for a minute. She must’ve come from practice or a game. Steve remembered her instantly. Hard to forget a face and body like that. Damn, sometimes he really missed high school, even if it was just for the eye candy.   Once he got a good, long look, he approached her with a warm smile. He welcomed her to the store and introduced himself. While he remembered her, she didn’t remember him at all. Even after he told her he was on the basketball team, the one she had cheered for all three years they had gone to school together.

Whatever. 

The bell above the door tinkled as Eddie swaggered in. It was 6 P.M., and he was fully prepared for the campaign on Friday night, so he figured he would rent a few flicks to watch while he struggled through his trig homework due tomorrow. You know, be a responsible student. Maybe some entertainment with his studies would deter him from giving up and smoking the superb grass Rick had supplied him earlier that week. Eddie had already sampled more than he was technically allotted. It was just too good to keep his sticky fingers out of.    Nobody was at the front counter to greet him, but Eddie spotted a tuft of styled brown hair bobbing by one of the shelves and a blonde ponytail with a green scrunchie he recognized as belonging to one of the Hawkins High cheerleaders. Steve was thrilled—not only to have someone to talk to, but he was still trying to find the one, and Christina? She could be it. Smoking hot and unsure of what she was looking for, damn if she hadn’t come to the right place. Steve turned the charm up to eleven by taking the liberty of showing her around the store. The sections of the store were clearly labeled, but he still guided her, asking if she liked comedies, romances, or thrillers. Not pegging her as a horror fan. Eddie rolled his eyes with a smirk. He had half a mind to jump in and yell BOO! to interrupt whatever heterosexual mating ritual was happening between the romance and action movies. Instead, he headed towards the horror section one aisle away from the pair, gaze flitting over the titles. When one caught his interest, he picked up the empty case and turned it over to read the premise. 

Night of the Creeps, where alien space slugs turned people into sorority girl-eating zombies? That sounded pretty metal.   For every suggestion Steve made, Christina took a video off the shelf to consider it. That made him think that she was totally into him. By his last suggestion, The Legend of Billie Jean, she had an arm full of tapes. He went into a brief synopsis, explaining it was about a brother and sister on the run from the police, which prompted a sly question. He paired it with his most devilish smile.

“Have you ever been arrested? ‘Cause it’s gotta be illegal to look this good.” 

The voice of none other than Steve Harrington nearly made Eddie choke on his spit. He hastily reshelved the movie. How had he not recognized that famous hair? Eddie’s fingers clamped onto the top of the shelf as he stealthily peeked over it. He felt a giggle bubbling up in his chest at the schmoozy smile plastered on Steve’s face.   The cheerleader backed up a step, expression twisting. “Ew, I have a boyfriend.” She dropped the movies from her arms, shoving past Steve towards the exit. “Creep.” 

Eddie covered his grinning mouth with his hand, rings clacking against each other gently. Steve Harrington had zero skill when it came to the babes. Eddie always figured he tossed his hair, and they flocked to him. What a pleasant surprise.

Christina’s reaction was so bad. There wasn’t even a laugh at the fun cheesiness of it. Of course she had a fucking boyfriend. How many times was Steve going to go barking up the wrong tree? He groaned when the tapes hit the floor, and his smile instantly dropped. His concern was more about damage to the tapes that Keith would take out of his pay if they were broken than his bruised ego from Christina calling him a creep. Which hardly was the truth.   The bell jingled as the door closed. In the ensuing silence, a giggle finally escaped. Eddie quickly ducked out of view when Steve turned in his direction. He poked his head around the corner before coming out, starting a slow clap. “Wow. That was epic, man.” 

Steve was just about to bend down to pick up the tapes when he heard a laugh. The fucking laugh he wanted Christina to laugh. He hissed and flushed briefly with embarrassment, of course, because what was worse than striking out? Having a certified freak witness it. “Yeah, well, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a chick on your arm, Eddie. Can’t blame me for trying, man. I’m just not her type.” 

Because she had a fucking boyfriend. Steve was beyond annoyed—he was humiliated, and the tapes were still on the floor. He sighed softly and bent down to scoop them up. 

“You wouldn’t,” Eddie replied, not missing a beat. “My arm is for me only. I keep all my foxy ladies back at my sweet, sweet bachelor pad.” 

From Steve’s bent position over the videotape, a piece of hair had fallen into his eyes as he looked up at Eddie. His brow furrowed, but he didn’t say anything. Just looked completely puzzled by the comment.

He knew Eddie was poor and lived in a trailer at the trailer park, but even he could get chicks to hang out with him there? Or was he keeping some women there against their will? Eddie wouldn’t admit that to him, would he? Even if he was a freak like everybody said. 

Steve shook his head and huffed inaudibly. He wasn’t sure if that was the truth, but still, he didn’t like hearing when other people were successful in their romantic pursuits.

The last time Eddie had a chick on his arm was in nineteen-seventy-eight at a Burger King birthday party when Jeremy Jenkins dared Heather Drew to kiss him. She’d tasted like ketchup and strawberry Lip Smacker. Eddie had spent the entire excruciatingly long three-second kiss staring at the cardboard cutout of the king standing behind her. Eddie’s grin widened when he spotted the red on Steve’s cheeks. He held back from further mocking purely for Dustin and the other kids’ sake. According to his little sheep, Steve might as well have hung the fucking moon, but Eddie still saw him for what he was: a bully. Plain and simple. The guy who would call Eddie names in the hallways along with his dumb jock friends. Eddie's back was well acquainted with bruises from being shoved against lockers, and his face had taken many a beating by the dumpsters. It might never have been Steve’s particular fist in his face, and Eddie had never taken anything lying down (fuck no), but he knew Steve’s kind. And he wasn’t a Harrington groupie. 

“You could help,” Steve griped when he saw one of the tapes had gone as far as three feet, right where Eddie was standing. 

Eddie toed the movie closest to him with his sneaker. Molly Ringwald’s pouty face stared up at him from the cover, which was cracked right down the middle. Eddie crouched on his knees to grab it, his pants pulling uncomfortably tight from the stretch. 

While leather looked punk rock as hell, it wasn't the most forgiving fabric, especially when it was actually cheap pleather. 

Steve stood up with the tapes and set them on the counter while Eddie picked up the last one.

“Yeah, this one is busted,” Eddie said, popping open the case to reveal an identical crack down the tape, one of the inner reels poking through.

Steve winced. That hurt.  “God damn it,” he said softly, coming over to take it from him and looking it over himself.  Yeah, it was broken. 

“Sorry, Molly, but if it's any consolation, your movie was probably shitty anyway.” 

“Actually, it’s a pretty good movie, man. It was really popular, too. We just got it back from being rented for a while. I’m going to get questions about it all week. Who knows when we can get another copy.” Steve walked it over to the trash and threw it away. “I think you might’ve liked it. It isn’t all about her. She’s kinda annoying in it, but there’s a guy, Bender, who kind of has… your fashion sense and disposition.” 

Steve chuckled as he discreetly checked out what Eddie was wearing. Eddie’s leather jacket and jewelry were pretty similar to that character’s. Steve returned to the counter and looked over the rest of the tapes. Luckily, they were fine. 

Eddie rocked back on his heels in surprise, starting a slow walk around the circumference of the counters as he eyeballed Steve. He hadn’t expected the guy to keep talking to him. Still, here he was, going on about Eddie's fashion sense, his disposition?  Was that an insult? Eddie didn’t know what to do with this. Why was previously reigning King Jock giving him the time of day? Why wasn’t he busy admiring his reflection in the window?   God, this job must’ve been boring as hell for him to actually do it. 

“Were you looking for something specific? Seriously doubt you came to witness me striking out with Christina Kelly. You just got lucky.” 

It was kinda funny now. It got Steve smiling and shaking his head at himself. 

The store was still empty, and he was still lonely, so he could at least do his job and help Eddie find a movie since that was his reason for coming to the store.   “Um…” Eddie crossed his arms. Uncrossed them. “Nothing specific. Something to keep me from faceplanting from boredom into my homework.” Or lighting up and spending the rest of the night floating like ash on the wind. 

“Definitely don’t miss homework,” Steve replied while he took the tapes off the counter and started putting them back on the shelves where they belonged. As Eddie continued to walk around, Steve noticed a little jingle from his wallet chain as he paced the store.

“Something spooky, maybe?” Eddie wiggled his fingers with a playful smile to cover his discomfort. This unexpected turn of events piqued his curiosity, so he didn’t mention he had already found a movie.  

“Something spooky, huh?” Steve asked with a playful smirk, though he was turned toward the shelves so Eddie couldn’t see it. 

Of course the freak was into horror. That wasn't a surprise. Family Video had a stellar horror collection. While the last couple of years had been horrific in Hawkins, Steve still enjoyed the fictional movie version sometimes. Most of the horror movies he had seen triggered his memory in a good way when it came to making weapons and fighting off Demogorgons with them winning. “Well, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve got lots of horror here. Although, if you’re a fan… which is safe to assume?” Steve asked Eddie when he turned back to face him, raising his eyebrows.  He knew it was true, so he smiled when Eddie nodded a bit. “Alright, we’ve got Fright Night, Day of the Dead, Return of the Living Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street two and Friday the 13th, part five.” 

Surely, one of those Eddie hadn’t seen. Eddie met Steve back at the horror section, popping his hip against a shelf as Steve read the newest releases. You’ve come to the right place, Steve said. Had he come to the right place, or was he actually in an alternate reality where a jock didn’t tell him to return to the Hellfire he came from? Why did Harrington keep smiling at him? 

And why did he smell so good? Was that coconut? He should have smelled like old pizza and dirty gym socks like most guys their age. Eddie knew he was rocking cigarette smoke and not much else, himself. It would be very unchill of him to lean in and get a bigger whiff of that coconutty paradise. 

To Steve, horror movies weren’t all that bad. A lot of them were funny and cheesy. Totally entertaining enough that doing homework during them was probably possible. 

Horror movies made him adamant that the group stay together and stay put instead of getting involved, but no one ever listened to him. They wanted to go, get involved and split up, which were the worst horror movie tropes. Their lives had become just like the people in every horror movie he’d ever seen. There was no convincing his babysitting crew of that, though, so he took the lead every time.    “Vampire, zombie, deranged burn victim with knife fingers, murderous goaltender…” Eddie went through the list. “What flavor monster goes best with trigonometry?” Eddie pinched his chin with his fingers as he pondered it. “I wasn’t too thrilled with the first four Fridays. Not much to those plots. Not nearly enough razzle-dazzle." He graced Steve with jazz hands this time instead of spooky fingers. “Elm Street had a lot more going for it. Maybe I’ll take the sequel. Thoughts? Got a favorite?”   If Steve had even watched any of them. Though Eddie was a fan of most things horror - the more outlandish, the better - he didn’t watch them all that often. He didn’t have the patience to sit and focus for a long time without help from his favorite herb. It was good background noise, mostly. 

At least with D&D, he was actively participating. He didn’t have to sit still. He could move around, and he got to use his wickedly colorful ideas, feeding off of other people’s imagination and making a story come alive. 

Some things, like math homework, were so fucking stifling he wanted to shoot himself. 

It was hard for Steve not to notice Eddie’s jazzy hands. His fingers were adorned with a plethora of shiny rings. He was talking animatedly with them about the different movies. The shininess of the rings caught his eye, especially with the extra movements. 

Steve hadn’t been into movies before he got this job. (Robin was the one who really got it for him, talking Keith into it somehow.) Back then, he could only name two movies: Animal House and Fast Times. He’d come a long way since then and had a lot of downtime in the store since they were only busy on evenings and weekends. 

When he and Robin worked together, they always put a movie on or had one going. They’d gone through most of the horror. He’d entertained Robin to no end when he’d talk back to the TV, putting his hands on his hips and yelling, “No. No, don’t go in there! What are you doing? No!”  

Steve looked down at his watch. Still an hour and a half was left of his shift. Also, the closest thing to jewelry he wore was his watch, but Eddie’s rings did seem… dare he say… cool. Maybe he could pull off a ring or two.  

“I agree they should’ve stopped with the first Friday.” He didn’t really have a favorite. “They’re all pretty good for what they are, but I think you should go with the sequel, yeah. You already have an idea of the characters, so you don’t have to pay too close attention and can get your homework done.” 

While Steve was checking his watch and probably wishing for his shift to be over, Eddie was dragging his heels. He was surprised to find he would’ve been okay hearing Steve talk more about movies. He didn’t sound particularly passionate about horror. It made Eddie wonder what he did like. Probably some predictable slapstick with lots of boobs, like Porky’s. 

“Joy,” he replied, thinking of his homework waiting for him and almost letting out a whine. 

Steve grabbed the movie off the shelf and headed towards the counter so he could get Eddie checked out. 

“Guess that’s that,” Eddie added in a mutter Steve couldn’t hear. Eddie followed him, drumming his hands on the countertop as Steve pulled up his account and started typing away.

It was best that Eddie left before he decided to do something like lean in and smell the guy on purpose this time.    While he waited, he sifted through the snack selections, unsettling all the organized displays. He stuck his hand in one of the round glass jars, dislodging the loosest ring from his finger as he rifled through it for a fistful of fizzy candies. The ring fell to the bottom of the jar, unnoticed by Eddie, who slapped the sweets on the counter. He also grabbed a box of Nerds, a bag of Skittles, and a Big Hunk bar on impulse. Steve smiled a bit because usually, it was only bratty kids begging their moms for candy that got it from them. Steve didn’t mind that Eddie was getting more than the movie. When he saw everything he was getting, though, he couldn’t help but judge some of it. Most of it was the real sugary stuff. The Big Hunk bar was the only thing he could get behind. 

“These are addicting,” Steve said about the Big Hunk bar. He could feel his mouth starting to water just looking at it.

Likes Big Hunk bars. Eddie filed that information away in his head without really knowing why. It wasn't like he’d need to use it later. 

“I'm gonna need a bag,” he informed Steve. These pants did not have usable pockets. 

“Of course.” Steve nodded, swallowing his spit as he started bagging everything up.  

He wondered if Eddie was high. All this candy made him think that he had the munchies or was going to later. Most of the kids at school got their weed from him, so it wasn’t a stretch. 

Ah, he could remember the last time he got caught getting high. His dad had accused him of being on drugs. He could remember just saying he wasn’t and that marijuana wasn’t drugs. That hadn’t gone over well. 

Once everything was rung up, Steve told Eddie the amount, took the cash and got him his change. He handed over the bills and coins and pushed the bag of candy and movie toward him. “Enjoy...” 

“Thanks, big boy,” Eddie said, grabbing the bag with a tongue click and a wink.

He left the store, mouthing big boy? to himself in a split second of internal embarrassment before he shrugged it off and hopped in his van, taking off down the road towards the trailer park.  

Steve’s eyebrows rose and then furrowed. A shiver ran through his body like an electric shock, unsure what that was about or what caused that reaction in him. 

Slowly, he realized. Maybe there was a reason he’d never seen a girl on Eddie’s arm.

Steve stood there for a few minutes, perplexed by what had happened, until he snapped out of it and started straightening up the store. There probably wouldn’t be any more customers tonight. While Steve was re-organizing the candy Eddie had disheveled, he saw that one of the jars was low, nearing empty. He grabbed some candy to refill it when something shiny caught his eye. 

He reached in and pulled out a large skull ring. Eddie must’ve left it behind by accident.

Only when Eddie was settled in for the night with his homework open, the movie on, and his candy pile rapidly dwindling did he notice one of his rings missing. 

“Shit,” he swore, looking at his naked finger where a fanged skull used to be. That one had been his favorite. 

He looked around inside the trailer and outside of it with his uncle’s flashlight, but nothing shiny turned up in the beam.

Steve thought about calling Eddie up and letting him know he could come get his ring, but then he put it on and looked it over, smiling. He could totally pull off a ring like this. 

He’d try it out for a day or two, then give it to Dustin to give it back to Eddie when he saw him next. They were good friends now, to Steve's dismay. He wasn't jealous of anything. 

Eddie didn't seem too bad... for a freak.  

[orcasoul]

Priceless

Summary: Takes place after Grogu leaves with Luke to train as a Padawan. The Razor Crest wasn't destroyed. Reader is/was Grogu's nanny. Din and reader are in love, although neither one has confessed their feelings at first. When Din leaves to track a bounty she stays at an Inn because the ship is too quiet without Grogu. She is abducted by slavers and of course our hero Din saves the day and makes them pay!

Warnings: Swearing, angst, graphic description of violence and torture, no use of your Y/N.

Italics indicate inward thinking.

Word Count: 4,467

You're jolted out of your dreamless sleep as the Razor Crest leaves the peaceful tranquillity of hyperspace to begin it's decent into Tatooine. Desert planets were you're least favourite to find yourself on. The immense heat, arid air and rough sand of these maker forsaken places were enough to drive even the most hardened survivalist insane. "Strap yourself in. We're descending." Din announced in a monotone voice. You shift to strap in while Din's gloved hands slip methodically over the many control buttons and levers. Watching him you can't help but marvel at the amount of sequences he has to remember just to land the ship. "Of all the planets for the bounty to hide out on he had to choose this dusty shit hole," you half laughed, half grumbled. "I hate sand." "It shouldn't take too long to track him down, a few days at most." Din informed you almost absently. He hadn't been himself since Grogu left to train with Luke.

When you first met him, Din wasn't a great conversationalist. It took a little while for him to warm up to you, and when he did you managed to slowly pull more and more conversations out of him, but you also knew when he needed to be left alone and respected that. But for the past three weeks he's barely uttered a word to you, except when it was absolutely necessary. Technically he'd spent most of those weeks tracking down quarries, but the days he was present were awkwardly silent. Gone were the moments of laughing together at whatever trouble Grogu had caused, gone were the moments where he would call you cyar'ika, cyare and mesh'la. (You'd never asked him what they meant, hoping that they conveyed some form of endearment, and afraid that if you questioned him, he'd abandon the notion altogether). Gone were the times where you would brush past each other and the contact would last a few seconds longer than necessary, gone were the moments of comfortable silence. Now all that remained are short sentences, grunts and nods.

You missed the little guy too and longed for Din to talk to you instead of allowing his grief to fester within. You wished he would ask you how you are feeling after everything that happened. Surely he could see how much you love and miss Grogu. But you also missed Din too and wished there was something you could do to bring him back to you. He was here but he wasn't here. Seeing the man you'd fallen head over heels for determined to suffer alone made you feel useless. All you want to do is comfort him. "I miss him too, Din," you offered again, hoping to get him to open up to you. Din's shoulders tensed at your words and you could feel the tension in the air thickening by the second. Unable to stand the silence you continue, "He's safe with Luke, you know that, right?" Din slowly turned his helmet towards you, lights from the cockpit controls reflecting off his beskar, making him look like a contemporary work of art.

After a few tense moments of silence Din sighed, "I know." You took that as a sign that maybe he was ready to talk. That hope spurred you on, "It hurt so much saying goodbye but we did the right thing, for his sake." You were met with silence. "And I miss you too, Din," You confessed. "You've hardly spoken to me since that day. You can always talk to me about him, I wish you would." "Mhhmm," was the only reply you got as Din turned back to the controls to steady the craft as it touched down onto the landing pad. After shutting the engine down Din abruptly got to his feet and marched out of the cockpit. "Well, that went well," You sighed to yourself as you hugged your legs up to your chest in the chair, leaning your chin on your knees. His angry departure crushed any hope of reaching out to him yet again.

Letting Grogu leave was the hardest thing Din has ever had to do. He missed his foundling every second of every day. The only times he didn't have time to dwell on the loss was when he was hunting. The familiar thrill of the chase and finally obtaining his quarry made him feel more like himself again. And as welcomed as the distraction is, it was always a short relief. The return to the Crest became painful now. He was used to grogu's excitable squeals and the way he would run to him or hold his arms out, and even though you'd still greet him, seeing you standing alone without the little womp rat in your arms made his heart hurt. It hurt so much more than he ever thought possible. Of course Grogu is safe with Luke and he'll be taught how to utilise his abilities with the force, but that knowledge didn't help to ease the longing and heartache he's consumed with every day.

Weather Grogu was here or with Luke, he is his son and always will be. But now he's no longer around and Din isn't sure how to process what he's feeling. He's always been a loner, never had anyone to care for. Then Grogu came into his life and turned it upside down in the best way possible. For the first time in his adult life he felt love. The kind of love only a parent can have for their child. He cherished him, protected him, and always put him first. He thought it couldn't get any better then you came along and taught him about another kind of love. A love so new and alien to him that he struggled to define it in the early days. A love that made him notice every little thing you say and do, committing to his memory every laugh, every sigh, every movement, every touch from you. A love that embedded itself deep into every part of his heart, body and soul. A love that yearned for you to be closer even when you were in the same room.

The bar you'd worked in on Coruscant was a dingy, roudy hole but your cheery disposition always made it seem brighter. Din found himself taking Grogu there for dinner most days while they were staying on coruscant while Din was tracking a bounty. Grogu was always happy to see you and you loved making a fuss of him, sometimes allowing him to sit behind the counter with you, when your boss wasn't around. That's when Din got the idea of asking you to accept a job as Grogu's nanny. He knew he couldn't keep risking the kids' safety on hunts and who better to take care of him than the woman he'd so obviously grown attached to? You'd jumped at the chance to care for the "Green Bean" (as you lovingly called him) and to explore the galaxy, the three of you settling into a comfortable routine over the past several months.

But now you had no one to care for and that frightened Din. He was afraid that you'd leave too. Any day could be his last with you and he couldn't face having to say goodbye to another person he loves. He'd always hidden his feelings beneath his stoic facade and inscrutable helmet, but there were times when he wanted nothing more than to pull you into his arms and profess his unwavering love and appreciation for you. But he was afraid that such a revelation would ruin the dynamic of yours and his stable friendship. He was certain you wouldn't feel the same way about him. How could you when you can't even put a face to him? When he'd done some very questionable things in his line of work. After all, bounty hunters have a reputation of being quite cold and brutal. He could live with harbouring what his heart felt while you were a part of his life, but now he knows it's only a matter of time before you leave him too and after the loss of his son, your departure would be the last nail in the coffin for him. So to make the inevitable easier to bare he kept his distance, tried his best to quash any feelings and lingering thoughts of you and only spoke to you when necessary.

If only he knew that for the past few months you'd been pining for him as much as he has for you. You've never felt a love this deep for any man before and it scared you at first. Sure you'd had a few partners in the past but they were boys that always proved to be just that: Boys. But this man captivated you the more you got know him. For a man hidden in an indestructible shell, he had no problem allowing his care and tender devotion to his child to break through, and over time that care and tenderness had extended to you. And for that and so much more you had fallen hopelessly in love with him. If only he'd known that.

Ascending the ladder to the cargo bay you see Din preparing his weapons, ready for his next hunt. You hated seeing him leave now that Grogu wasn't here, dreading the solitude and emptiness the Razor Crest imposed on you the moment he left. Usually you and grogu would find ways to entertain yourselves around the ship and when on safe planets, you would both explore the towns and countryside. But you'd been alone with only your thoughts to keep you company for the past few weeks and now that the same situation is upon you again, you're not sure you can take it. You need to be around people, you need a distraction. So you'd decided to rent a room at a local Inn instead of remaining cooped up here and losing your mind. While Din is busy inspecting his array of weapons, you grab your backpack and begin to fill it with the necessary items you'll need for a few days; Clothes, toiletries, your data pad and credits.

"What are you doing?" Din asked quizzically as he turned to face you, helmet titled to one side. Without looking at him you reply, "I can't stay here alone right now. It's too quiet without Grogu. Everywhere I turn on this ship I'm reminded of him. I'm going to rent a room in town until you return." Din's heart sank to his stomach at your decision and his mind began to spiral. Maybe this is her way of saying goodbye, maybe she won't want to come back, maybe this is it. He began to feel the hurt he'd been trying so hard to avoid all this time, causing him to react the way he knew best; Put up a wall, act like the cold, stoic Mandalorian he is. "If you want to leave, just leave. You don't have to make excuses," Din snapped. Your eyebrows shot up in surprise at his harsh tone. "I'm not making excuses," you reply in hurt and confusion. "I just don't want to be here alone, again. All I do is think about how much I miss the little "Green Bean." Your voice cracked a little when you referred to Grogu with the endearing nickname you had given him. "You keep yourself busy but what am I supposed to do?" "You don't have to do anything," Din answered coldly. "Grogu's gone so you don't have to be here anymore."

He regretted the words the moment they slipped past his lips. He didn't mean it, of course he didn't, but in his urgent attempt to regain control of his emotions and to protect his already fragile heart he decided to give you a way out. What he didn't expect in return was the sharp gasp and heart-rending look painted across your face. He could see tears beginning to glisten in your eyes, your bottom lip slightly trembling as you fought to control it. It had dawned on him in that moment that you had in fact stayed here for him and that you cared for him more than he realised and now he'd gone and fucked everything up. "You want me to leave?" you whispered incredulously. "After all this time am I still just a nanny? Do I really mean so little to you?" Your cheeks flush as hot, salty tears begin to fall. Your words cut a fresh wound into Din's heart. He wanted to say something but your clear distress had him frozen to the spot. How could he have been so blind? How could he have treated you so cruelly?

You took his deafening silence as confirmation that you indeed mean nothing to him, shattering your heart and encasing it in sorrow. "I stayed after grogu left because I thought we cared about each other. I thought we were friends, Din. I Guess I Was wrong!" you cried. Turning away from him your hurt began to morph into anger. "Open the ramp!" you demanded balling your fists. You had to get out of here, away from Din, away from the Crest. You'd lost the only two people you cared for and the pain was soul crushing. But as you began to walk away he quickly reached out and grabbed your wrist, stopping you in your tracks. "Wait.... please!." There was a desperation in his voice you'd never heard before. It doused the boiling anger that had been coursing through your core. You look into the T-shaped visor nervously, heart hammering in your chest. "I don't want you to leave." Din voice was almost a whisper.

The normally confident and collected Mandalorian had suddenly become an entirely different entity, unsure and vulnerable. "You don't?" you ask with one eyebrow raised, unsure of where this conversation is going but at the same time filled with an ember of hope that maybe he does care about you after all. Din lowered his head and released your wrist. "No," he sighed. "I never wanted you to leave. We... we are friends, Cyar'ika-" "Is this how you treat your friends? Ignore them for weeks and make them feel unwanted?" you press, with your arms crossed over your chest, hurt evident in your voice. Din lifted his visor to look into your eyes and for the first time since you've known him you wished you could see him without the helmet, to see if his face would betray just an inkling of his emotions towards you. Din cautiously lifted his hand to cup your cheek, wiping away your tears.

You could feel your face reddening again, this time from the unexpected show of affection. Your breath hitched in your chest as you waited for him to respond. "I'm sorry," Din lamented. "I'm so sorry for the way I've been treating you. I never wanted you to feel that way. I just..... I thought that with Grogu gone you'd move on too and....." Din's voice shook slightly. He was obviously not used to being so open, so you decided to allow him to continue at his own pace, patiently waiting for him to express himself. "I didn't want to lose you aswell." His sudden and raw honesty struck a chord deep within and before your mind could even catch up you reached up, placing your hand atop his still resting on your cheek, to comfort him. How you wished that you could help him through the grief he's been caging inside himself. "I miss the kid so much," he finally divulged. "Not being able to see him, hear him, be with him, it's like.... like sometimes I can't breath. And I was so sure you'd leave too. That's why.... that's why I pulled away from you, so it would hurt less when you do."

Din's shoulders slumped slightly after confessing to you, as if a weight had been lifted from him. But this feeling of vulnerability was new to him and he loathed it. It made him feel weak, anxious and unsure. He hated exposing this side of himself. If he could have physically gripped these emotions and squeezed the life out of them he would. But worse than how he felt about his "weakness", was seeing how much hurt his actions had caused you. He never wanted to see that heartbreaking look on your face again, never wanted to be the cause of your tears and if that meant bearing his soul to you now, so be it! "Oh Din," you cooed, soothingly, "I was never planning on leaving. I can't imagine my life without you in it. It was hard enough leaving Grogu. The last thing I want is to leave you too." Din breathed a sigh of relief as your reassuring words washed over him, cleansing him of his doubt and filling him with hope. "I'm sorry, Cyare," Din repeated. "I should have just been honest with you from the beginning." "Well now's your chance," you gently encouraged while bringing his hand down to your side, fingers interwoven with his.

You're right. He knows you're right. It's now or never. Even if you don't feel the same way at least he won't have to live his life wandering "what if?". "I'm in love with you," he professed, suddenly finding his confidence return. "I have been for a while. I love your beauty, your strength, your wit, and I love how you love Grogu." You must be dreaming! Was he really confessing his love for you? This man whom you love unconditionally, who means more to you than the very air you breath. A man whom you never imagined would reciprocate your love. Your head began to swim and you could feel your heart-rate picking up as your emotions overwhelmed you, filling you with joy and elation. A wide smile spread from cheek to cheek as you stared straight into the place where his eyes are behind his visor. You gently place both hands on the helmets' cheeks and tiptoe while bringing Din's head down. You close your eyes and bring his forehead to yours, knowing exactly what this gesture means to him. "I'm in love with you too, Din," you beamed. "You're everything I've ever wanted."

Din released a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding as your words sank in, warming every nerve, every cell, every inch of his being. He'd often imagined this moment. Imagined he would finally tell you how much he loves you and that you'd tell him you loved him too. But now this moment is here he can see how the fantasy pales in comparison to reality. Here you are accepting his love and giving him yours in return. It's as if his heart has finally began to understand what it had been missing all these decades. Din slowly wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you up to your tiptoes and into his broad, armour plated chest. The cold beskar cannot eclipse the warmth radiating from both his arms and his heart right now and you can feel the intensity of it all in the way he's now holding you. You sigh happily while winding your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in the crook of his clothed neck. Even through the fabric you can smell his unique scent, musk, leather, gunpowder, everything that makes him Din. The universe could end right now and you'd be happy to spend these last moments in his loving embrace.

Several blissful moments pass and Din delicately lowers you back down, Pulling his head back to look into your eyes, which are now glistening with love and adoration for him, his hands softly landing on your hips, while your hands hold onto his upper arms. Maker, how he wants to kiss you, rip his helmet off and kiss you! Maybe one day he'll get to do just that, when he makes you his Riddur. "So, you will be coming back, then?" he asks with a smirk. His helmet can hide it, but his voice can't. "Of course I will," you purred through the smile that seems to have taken up permanent residence on your face. "We have a lot to talk about when you return," you gushed. "And I hope we can talk about Grogu." The words came out almost timidly, afraid to upset him. "He means so much to both of us and I think it would be good for us to open up to each other about how this is really affecting us."

Hearing Grogu's name again brought another ache to Din's heart but now he knows he'll never have to bare this sorrow alone, that you'll be there for him and him for you. Somehow that assurance has already made expressing his grief seem less daunting. "Anything you want, Meshla," Din hummed as he brought his thumb to smooth over the apple of your cheek. "Anything for you." You wanted to linger here for eternity, revelling in this intimate moment. But the universe will only give you so much of a good thing. You remember through your delirious haze that there's work to be done, work in order to survive in this galaxy. "Well," you begin while smoothing your hand over his wrist. "The sooner you catch your bounty, the sooner you can come back to me."

For the first time in his life, Din wished he didn't have to hunt down a fugitive. The excitement of the hunt and the satisfaction of the capture seemed insignificant now when all he wanted to do was hold you and tell you everything he'd been concealing for so long. But the logical and practical parts of his mind knew that living required credits, so as much as he hates it he knows he must leave. "Make sure to pack everything you'll need. I'll walk you to the town to find lodgings. Take this com so we can keep in touch." Din passed you a com and turned back to the weapons locker to finish his preparations. "If you need me for anything, contact me, anytime, okay?" "Okay," you reply, sideling up to him and pressing your head on his shoulder. "Please, be careful out there, Din. I love you." "I love you too, Cyare," Din smiled under his helmet, leaning it gently on the crown of your head.

The two smouldering suns had begun to rise as you and Din approached Mos Espa. Even though the dawn has just broken on the world the heat was already stifling. As you enter the town Din's soft leather clad hand settled on the small of your back, his head turning from left to right, checking for any signs of danger or unsavoury characters. Always on the alert, you mused while smiling slightly. This place seemed safe enough but the fact he's so protective of you makes your tummy flutter and you can't help but enjoy this new feeling of belonging, of being loved. As you both reach the main market street you see the vendors and traders setting up their stalls for another day of eeking a living. "Over there." You point as Din's helmet follows your finger. "That place looks decent." You both stop in front of a small but very well looked after Inn. "The Lothcat Inn," you read while your eyes lit up at the cute picture beneath the words. "I love Lothcats. They're so cute I can't stand it," you chirped, your voice reaching a high pitch which in return earned a chuckle from Din. "After you...." Din gently ushers you inside, his hand not leaving your back.

After being given your keycard and dropping off your bag in your room it's time to say goodbye. You've seen Din off many times before, comforting Grogu and reassuring him that his dad will be back soon, but this time it feels different. So much still needed to be said, so much still needed to be discovered about each other and knowing that has to wait has you missing him already. You automatically squint as you and Din step out into the rising sunshines beating down without mercy, the surrounding Adobe brick and clay buildings bathed in a pinkish glow. The market is beginning to wake up. Street cries from hawkers, haggling and bargaining loudly fills the air, children running around laughing and getting under people's feet while their parents are distracted by the latest bargains, cafes and other businesses opening their doors to welcome customers. It's just what you need to keep your mind occupied for a few days.

"Do you have your com?" Din asks, a slight worry to his tone. "Right here," you responded with a smile, lifting your arm to reveal the com strapped to the inside of your wrist. "Good," Din breathed out in relief. "I'll contact you every morning and night to check in, but remember if you need me, if there's an emergency call me immediately, any time." Din's Voice relays the nervousness that is beginning to creep into his bones at the thought of leaving you here alone. At least on the Razor Crest he knew you were always safe. But he also understands that you need a change of scenery, so for your sake he doesn't object, despite his reservations. Sensing his obvious unease you hold his hands to try to soothe him, smoothing your thumbs over his gloved knuckles, feeling the cracks in the well worn leather. You tiptoe to reach for his forehead and Din brings his head down to meet you half way. Your eyes slip closed and you whisper, "You don't have to worry, Din. I'll be fine here, but if I need you I promise I will call you." The tension in Din's stance seems to alleviate slightly after the reassurance you just gave him.

"I'll be back in about three or four days, if all goes according to plan. I'll let you know when I'm close. I'll take the quarry to the ship, then come and get you." You feel the loss of his departure already and have to fight the lump threatening to form in your throat. "Take care out there, you hear me." It's your turn to worry now. "I will," Din promised "I love you." Your smile returned at hearing those words again. "I love you too," you cooed. Din slowly turns to walk away, your right hand still holding his for a few more precious seconds, fingers brushing against each others before they inevitably part. You smile lovingly as he takes one last look over his shoulder, then he's gone, swallowed by the growing crowd.

Part 2