#tell me why it took two weeks to finally make a pinned post??

[starlightsreigns]

serial lover | j. uso

chap. one: new flame

summary: jordyn will tell you she's a levelheaded person, but that's a lie. she caught at crossroads, and she doesn’t want to choose.

warnings: 18+, smut. mdni

word count: 3.4K

author's note: welcome to serial lover: the series! haven't stopped thinking about this storyline for MONTHS. truly was the best couple of weeks in my entire life. so, this was birthed from missing seeing these two interact on tv. sorry for the lowercase, it's my bad habit. also can't decide if I should post part two to this... let me know.

baby try a new thing, let’s spark a new flame

Jordyn wasn’t an insatiable person and neither was she jealous. let’s just make that clear. she was cool, levelheaded, and had the biggest crush on the strongest woman she knows: rhea ripley. it was a given. the crush that she had on rhea had made her a jealous, petty, and slightly unhinged person. she couldn’t help it. Jordyn knew that the relationship with dominik wasn’t a real one, but one played for the cameras. but, it didn’t make it easier seeing the pair always hanging out with each other - yes, they’re friends, again she wasn’t as level-headed as she used to be. it wasn’t just dominik, everyone hung onto every word that came out of The Eradicator's mouth, not that she didn’t completely understand. 

celebration for night one of WrestleMania was in full swing at a private club downtown. the place was filled to the brim with superstars, both the WWE kind and the Hollywood kind. replays of the matches filled TV screens and she found herself entranced by the one playing the ending of Rhea’s match against Becky. She watched as Rhea hoisted Becky’s legs up for the pin that solidified her continued reign as champion. she groaned internally as she turned, forcing herself to think pure, innocent thoughts. 

why was she here? she had her own match that she needed to be focused on. yet, when her eyes fell on rhea near the bar, it all clicked. of course, she’d be wherever the australian woman was, even if that meant a lack of sleep leading into wrestlemania sunday. 

“jordyn, come take shots with us!” naomi waved her over. 

rhea’s eyes fell on Jordyn, flickering on as she watched her walks towards naomi, jade, and bianca. she straightened out her shoulders, taking peeks at Jordyn while pretending to be listening to the conversation that was happening between the rest of her faction. Damian noticed it first and bumped shoulders with Finn who only snorted. 

“i should go buy Jordyn a drink,” finn started, watching rhea closely for her reaction. “see if she’s interested in getting to know this irishman a lil better.”

“fuck off, balor.” rhea shot him a looking before glancing at Jordyn again. “i’m gonna go talk to her.” she muttered to no one in particular. 

dominik applauded, “good luck!” 

as the foursome downed a shot, bianca was standing in front of Jordyn smiled, and pulled her closer. without saying a word she wiped some of Jordyn’s smudged lipstick of and fixed her hair discreetly as she watched in confusion. 

“rhea is walking towards us, acting normal you fool.” she smiled through the words. 

Jordyn almost went rigged before relaxing her shoulders. she set the shot glass down and pretended to be engrossed in the fake conversation that jade had thankfully started. rhea though had feigned in confidence for a moment, pausing at the bar behind them. she took a deep breath before finally making it to them. 

“do you mind if i steal Jordyn from you?” she asked no one in particular. 

few places were crowded with people, but rhea had scooped out a spot in the farthest corner for them to sit. Jordyn sat near the wall, crossing her long leg as rhea situated herself. their thighs were slightly pressed together, but neither one of them dared to move. 

“how are you?” rhea asked. 

Jordyn smiled, “you’re asking me how i am after you just opened wrestlemania? are you kidding?” she playfully punched rhea’s arm. “i’m whatever, how are you ms.champ?” 

rhea’s cheek reddened. she shrugged her shoulder in contemplation, “it’s unbelievable.” 

“i think you were fucking awesome, i would’ve bet money on you if it wouldn’t cost me my job.” 

the women laughed for a moment before falling into a comfortable silence. some nerves sat in both of their stomachs. Jordyn looked over to where her friends were standing. jade, who was the newest to the group and newest to finding out about Jordyn’s crush, widened her eyes in a do something kind of way. 

“how’s the celebration, you know, with your crew?” Jordyn motioned to where the rest of the judgement day sat trying to pretend like they were watching them. “priest hasn’t looked away, am i keeping you from something?” 

“nothing at all,” rhea respond without looking away from Jordyn. “they’re just.. you know.” 

Jordyn nodded slowly, “are you okay? you seem quieter than usual.”

it took everything rhea to find a response. she finally glanced around the room. she took in the fact that the other three women were also watching them before glancing at her stablemates. she turned her attention back to Jordyn who was studying her. 

“your girls are staring too,” she responded finally. 

a laugh passed Jordyn’s glossed lips, “yeah, they’re my cheerleaders.” 

“cheerleaders?” rhea questioned, slightly moving in closer to Jordyn, closing more space that they didn’t even have. “in what way?” 

Jordyn uncrossed her leg to turn slightly towards rhea. she searched her eyes trying to figure out if this was her opportunity to just tell the woman what she was feeling. fuck it, she was going to throw caution to the wind and get it all out in the open. they were being watched by their friends and when she caught a glimpse of dominik walking up the girls, it confirmed that maybe rhea felt the same way. 

“you know, when they see me talking to someone i find very attractive, they always want to see me win.” Jordyn spoke softly, her eyes flickering to rhea’s lips before meeting her eyes. “they know i like you, so they’re on the sideline waiting to see if i have enough balls to finally tell you.” 

rhea didn’t say anything for a moment, but her eyes seemed to twinkle in the darkness of the bar. she leaned in closer to Jordyn and glanced at her lips. 

“so, if i kissed you right now, do you think our friends would get the message that we both had the balls to tell each other how we feel?” rhea’s voice was lower, darker. “will you let me kiss you?” 

“rhea,” Jordyn breathed out. “you’d be the one playing with fire.” she murmured as she allowed her hand to touch the warm skin on rhea’s torso.

finally, and after an agonizing minute, rhea leaned into kiss Jordyn. it was slow and deliberate. Jordyn sighed into the kiss and cupped her face, deepening it before they pulled away. their chest heaved as they caught their breath. 

“can i call you later?” 

“i’ll be waiting,” Jordyn answer, standing first to leave. 

she could hear the clapping coming for the judgement day boys as she walked past. her face felt hot but she stopped and gave them a bow before returning to her friends who were quick to envelop her in a group hug, playfully smacking her ass. naomi handed her a shot that they had ordered. 

“to this bitch finally having the balls!” 

they clinked their glasses and bottomed up. she stole a glance at Rhea who had made it back to her friends. they met eyes, both smiling. 

ꕀ  ꕀ  ꕀ

the night felt long, but in the best way. after several more shots, some that she took with other superstars, Jordyn knew she was drunk. her six inch heels no longer felt like needles in the soles of her feet, she felt like she could party until the sun rose. yet, as everyone started to head out, she hitched a ride back to the hotel with the twins and naomi. Jordyn rested her head in Jey’s lap, trying to keep her eyes open. Jey was kind enough to rub her arm through his own drunken state. 

“you still breathin’ ma?” jey leaned down to whisper in her ear. 

The couple in the front seat were in their own conversation leaving Jordyn and jey in their own world. she shifted around onto her back to look up at him as she nodded. he let out a little cackle at the goofy smile on her face. 

“what’s so funny, uce?” Jordyn gripped his arm that came around her stomach to support her. “you look drunk as shit.” she teased. 

Jey brought his face down closer to hers, “not as drunk as you jo, you look like them white girls outside the club.” 

“take that shit back,” she protested softly, swatting his arm. “you’re just jealous cause i can get down.” 

“nah, i’m jealous cause i ain’t taking you home with me.” he whispered with his tone turning serious. “gotta celebrate the winning twin, right?” 

Jordyn was lost for words. she stared into his eyes while she nodded, “right.” the word caught her in her throat but coming out in the tiniest of whispers. “and you want me to be the prize you won tonight?” 

“we all want different prizes, Uce still gets to be with his woman tonight.” he joked, leaning back into the seat to stare at the roof of the car. 

his comment laid thick between them. and in that moment, she completely forgot about the woman she had made out with earlier in the night. coincidentally, jey wasn’t there when it happened and she battled internally with the situation. she wasn’t in a relationship and rhea never said she wanted a relationship. it was an internal battle, and her drunken mind wanted the one thing she could have right then and there. 

Jordyn slowly moved her hand up to rest against the hem of his shirt. jey’s focus slowly fell onto her hand before her. a smirk played on his lips as she lifted the shirt to allow her cold hands to run over his warm skin. 

“i wanna celebrate jey uso.” she whispered softly, sitting up slowly so the two in the front seat wouldn’t catch on. “how do you celebrate?” 

her hands lowered from his stomach to the waistband of his joggers. she watched as Jey took a deep breath, glancing to see if his brother had noticed. he turned his face towards Jordyn, their nose barely touching. the tension was thick as her hand slowly made its way down to his growing erection. jey had seemingly held his breath when her cold hands wrapped around him, and moved at an agonizingly slow pace. 

“i got something for you,” jey muttered into her ear, inhaling when her finger slightly grazed his sensitive tip. “jo,” and it came out almost as if he was begging. 

“don’t worry about me,” Jordyn shifted closer to him, her lip close to his ear. “im gonna celebrate you, uce, maybe i'll even beg.” 

when the car turned into the parking lot, Jordyn withdrew her hand and rested her head on his shoulder, pretending to be fast asleep. she could hear naomi complain about how tired she was then jimmy making a joke about her not getting any sleep. 

“don’t worry, i’ll get her to her room, y’all go do y’all stuff.” jey ushered them off before look down at Jordyn. “c’mon, they’re gone.” 

Jordyn couldn’t contain the soft, drunk laughter that tumbled from her lips and she stumbled out of the car behind jey. he held onto her hand as they walked into the hotel. the tension from earlier returning with a vengeance. their hands gripped one another’s as they made it to the elevator, every now and then they’d sneak a glance at each and Jordyn couldn’t help but bite her lip. his simple merch shirt, gold necklace, and black joggers shouldn’t be as sexy as it was. 

when the elevator door opened, the pair rushed in. jey barely had the chance to press the floor number before Jordyn pulled him into her. her back pressed into the wall as he gripped her waist. their lips met in a hungry kiss that felt desperate. they barely pulled apart when the door opened. from there, Jordyn allowed jey to lead her to his hotel room. 

they separated when they walked into the room. Jordyn threw herself back onto the mattress, sighing in content while jey raided the bar. as the true star he was, he was in one of the fancier suites and she took a moment, even through the drunken state, to appreciate it. 

“here mama,” jey stood in front of her laid out body, situating himself between her slightly parted legs.

Jordyn sat up slowly, staring up at him through her eyelashes. she wrapped her arms around his stomach, opening her mouth and titling her head up for him to pour the dark liquor from the bottle. jey grinned as he started a light pour down her throat. He stopped when her mouth was nearly full, allowing her to swallow. it tasted like nothing but water and instantly made her go limp with a laugh. she knew she was too drunk to be drinking, and it was only going to push her closer to a blackout. 

“what’s so funny?” jey asked as he tilted the bottle back to drink. when he sat the bottle down and turned his attention back to her, she was flipped onto her stomach with her legs crossed in the air. “fuck,” 

“what?” Jordyn glanced back at him with a knowing smirk. “come lay down.” 

her descent to the ground was a little wobbly, but Jordyn watched as jey laid in the spot she once occupied. his eyes were fixated on her, never straying even when she did a meaningless spin. after a moment, she stood between his legs, running her hand up and down his thighs. 

“say you want me,” she murmured while climbing up to straddle his lap. Jordyn raked her fingers through his hair making his eyes slowly close. “say it, jey.” 

“i want you, jo.” 

Jordyn finally connected her lips to his. the kiss was hungrier than before, grinding her ass on him. She was hornier past the point of comphrension as she whined into the kiss. Jey’s eyes opened at the sound, biting down on her bottom lip causing her to whine louder. 

“Jey, i want you,” She whined as their lips pulled apart. 

That was the only thing he needed to hear. He flipped her onto the mattress, slipping his shirt over his head then helped take off her dress, tossing it over the edge of the bed. Jordyn stared up at him with hunger in her eyes. When Jey got off the bed to drop his joggers to the ground, her legs slightly pressed together in anticipation. Restless, Jordyn leaned up to pull him back on top of her, wanting to feel the warmth of skin again. 

“You real impatient, ma, do somethin’ for me,” He murmured with his lips on her neck. “Sit on my face, baby.” 

The air got caught in Jordyn’s throat at the request. She bit her lip as he massaged her ass, continuing his attack on her neck. She moaned softly, only yelping when he had slapped down on her ass cheek. Jey tapped her thigh as he lay on the bed, motioning her to take a seat. Jordyn wasn’t usually worried or self-conscious, but even through her drunkenness, she felt her heart beating out of her chest. She crawled up his body cautiously, feeling his chest under her hands. 

When she straddled his face, Jordyn licked her lips unable to move, “this is what you want?” 

Jey hooked his arms under her leg with a nod, pulling her down so she would meet his tongue. Jordyn threw her head back as he instantly started to tease and suck on her clit, wasting no time. Her juices collected on her tongue as he licked up her slit. The moans fell from her like a river as she gripped his long black hair that had fallen from the ponytail long ago. Jordyn couldn’t help it as she grinded her hips against his face, chasing the high that was so close. 

“Fuck you, jey.” Jordyn moaned, grazing the tip of her finger on his cheek. 

The feeling of his tongue on her folds started to make her legs tremble, unable to hold herself up Jordyn gripped the headboard to keep steady, making his grip on her legs tighter to his face as she squirmed. Her moans intensified, not caring who the neighbors were and if they could hear them. Jey alternated between sucking on sensitive bud and fucking her hole with his tongue. 

“Holy shit, Jey, please,” Jordyn plead. 

Her orgasm rushed over, allowing the most delicious moan that Jey’s ever heard fall from her lips. Jordyn fell limp with her breast pressed against face as she moved her heat from his face in attempt to take a breath. Jey chuckled while she was too tired to protest. He wrapped his arm around her waist and took a nipple into her mouth. 

“How you feelin’ mama?” He asked. 

Jordyn, after finally catching her breath, “fuck me,” she rolled onto her stomach on the bed, turning to look at him. “Please?” 

Jey groaned at the sight of her, watching as Jordyn arched her back. He ran his palms over her ass, smacking roughly as she gripped the sheets. 

“Don’t worry baby, ima take care of you.” her murmured as he gripped the back of her neck and pushed her cheek into the bed. 

“You takin’ too long.” Jordyn huffed then gasped when she felt his finger in her slick entrance, teasing her mercilessly. “Jey…”

Watching Jordyn squirm around made him chuckle, but finally gave into the one thing that she wanted. His tip teased her entrance, slowly pushing into her as she moaned into the mattress, squeezing her eyes shut in pleasure. Jordyn forced her eyes open to watch as Jey focused on his deep strokes that felt like they were hitting her in the stomach. 

The sound of the bed shaking mixed with the moans from Jordyn and Jey’s grunts. Her mouth felt dry and she didn’t know how much she could take before she exploded. And when she tried to crawl away for a breather, Jey tightened his grip and slammed into her. 

“Don’t go runnin’ from me now, baby, you was beggin’ for this.” Jey kissed her hip. “Say my name, Jordyn.” 

Jordyn choked out his name, feeling the lack of air in her lungs. Jey reached around to wrap a hand around her throat and bring her up against him. He kissed on her neck as Jordyn tried to breath through all the strokes. She could feel the climax in the pit of her stomach and didn’t know how to vocalize it. 

“Please, please, please.” Jordyn begged, resting her hand over his around her neck. 

“You wanna cum?” He questioned in her ear. Jordyn nodded fervently with her mouth dropped open as soft cries fell from them. “Cum for me, all over this dick.” 

It was too much to hold any longer. Jordyn came so hard she was pretty sure she died and went to Heaven and Jey could see it painted by the dumb look on her face. Yet, that didn’t stop the pounding and the sweet nothings that he whispered in her ear and she begged hom to continue. Gosh, she felt like the biggest and luckiest slut in the world. One tear and another fell down her cheek - truly the best fuck she’s had in a while. 

As Jey’s pumps turned sloppy, Jordyn found her voice again, “come in me, please.” She wasn’t sure where those words came from, but she meant it as she squeezed around him. 

“Fuck, Jordyn.” Jey bit her shoulder as he twitched inside her and moaned as he filled her deep. “So sexy.” He muttered as she sunk back into the bed. 

Their labored breaths is all they had as they laid beside each other. Jordyn turned her head to look at Jey and when they made eye contact they couldn’t help the laughs they shared. Jey pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her stomach then resting his chin in the crook of her neck. 

“Did we just do that?” Jordyn murmured, staring up at the ceiling. 

Jey hummed, “I been waitin’ years to do that.” 

“Was it everything you imagined?” she turned slightly to meet his eyes. 

“Fuck yeah,”

They didn’t say anything else until they fell asleep, completely and utterly shocked on how one night changed their entire relationship.

:) welp, this my homecoming gift after being gone for so long

[randxmthxughts]

Unrequited - Chapter 4 - Tsu'tey x Omatikaya!Reader

chapter 2 | chapter 3

wc: 4k

contains: one-sided love, angst, birth giving scene

a/n: you see how i'm spoiling you and posting two chapters within the same week? i'd like some appreciation for that 👀 also, i have to state that in no way i am encouraging or implying slutshaming in this chapter. i don't think it is even a thing on pandora. the reason why some dialogues with mo'at can be seen as harsh is bc she is the tsahik and she believes it is wrong to connect physically without spiritual bond

unrequited masterlist | general masterlist

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“I was beginning to think you finally changed your mind about me,” Tsu’tey said playfully, his eyes sparkling with mischief as he saw you.

Your cheeks were flushed from the rushed walk you took to catch him before he left. It was already an hour past the eclipse, and if it weren't for your recent busy evenings, he would have left long ago.

“Now stop trying to pin the things you would do on me,” you rolled your eyes at him, leaning against the entrance.

You were struggling to hide a smile from forming on your lips, relieved that he was still there. Tsu’tey sat on the ground with his back propped against the wall, a small knife in his hand, which he had been using to entertain himself with. The arrows he had sharpened during his waiting were arrayed next to him as a big sign of his boredom.

It wasn’t that Tsu’tey did not have a lot on his mind. The responsibilities of the Olo’eyktan have been taking up his whole days; from the moment the sun rose, he was consumed by the matters that demanded his attention. But when the nights stood still and your bodies were wrapped around each other, he could temporarily forget the weight of his obligations. The warmth of your skin and the softness of your touch have been keeping him distracted, distanced from the things he cared about in the daylight. And the attachment that he started to form to you was like a sudden gust of wind that swept him away, making him long for you more often that he’d like to admit. It scared him.

“You seem drained,” he commented.

“The lessons were harder this week,” you sighed. 

“Ah, I see… I thought you were talented,” his tone was serious, but you could tell that he was only teasing you. Giving you a hard time for making him wait. 

“I am,” you huffed, feeling defensive, “Tsahik thinks that I have a knack for herbals, so she wants me to focus more on the technique… That is where I lack the skill.”

Tsu’tey nodded, listening intently. Recently, the reason why lessons had been draining you was precisely why you and Tsu’tey began spending some time talking about your lives, before pursuing the desires of your bodies. It was strangely comforting to share some of you with Tsu’tey, who had previously known nothing about you. It made him feel cruel sometimes that he was only now getting to know you and discovering your personality, yet he dreaded the feeling of investing in a relationship that wasn’t supposed to last. 

But the ending seemed near when rumors began circulating about you two. It all started out when one of the warriors saw Tsu’tey exiting the training hut early in the morning, and later found your anklet inside. At first, the incident was brushed off as a young trainee's fling, but when Fya’at unintentionally made a comment about your scent during a gathering, the gossip started to spread like a fire. Your attempts to pass it off like a joke were clearly a failure, considering the suspicious gazes following you everywhere, making you feel like a prey in the jungle. 

But the final drop was dramatically worse, when during a communal dinner, a woman named Tse'a'ha suddenly burst into tears. All attention then was turned to her, as she threw a harsh look at Tsu’tey and stomped off. Tsu’tey gulped down and ordered everyone to return to their food, clearly admitting that he had some knowledge of what had happened. The next morning, you found out that Tse’a’ha had brought Tsu’tey gifts in an attempt to court him, but he had turned her down with the words that his heart was already taken. You knew right away that he was referring to Silwanin but the venomous tongues twisted Tsu’tey’s words into gossip, making him out to be a chief who was hiding his mate.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Tsu’tey stood with his arms crossed over his chest, intently surveying the training warriors in front of him. The clattering of weapons echoed through the air as the Olo'eyktan scrutinized their every movement with a critical eye.

“Tsu’tey, may I speak to you in private?” Takuk’s voice distracted him with a note of urgency.

“Sure,” Tsu’tey nodded, turning his gaze towards his warrior, “I’m headed back to the Home Tree, walk with me?”

Takuk hummed in agreement, falling behind the chief. They walked away from the training camp, and once they were out of earshot, Tsu’tey slowed his step, indicating that he was ready to listen. Despite his usual easy going nature, Takuk seemed to be nervous. He cleared his throat, earning a curious look from Tsu’tey.

“What is it?” 

“I wanted to talk to you about Y/N,” Takuk started out slowly, as if testing the waters. 

“What about her?” Tsu’tey tensed up involuntarily, already sensing the direction in which the conversation was headed.

“Well… I was wondering if the rumors about you courting her are true? I do not wish to cross the Olo’eyktan.” 

Takuk’s words seemed to hang in the air, the tension between them palpable. Tsu’tey couldn’t help but feel irritated that the man wasn’t scared of him, approaching him head-on. But there was really no reason to be mad at him, Takuk had the right to check.

“I am not courting her,” Tsu’tey finally answered after a long pause.

“So, if you are not courting her, then, can I?” Takuk's lips curled into a small smile, “Of course, only if there is nothing between you -”

“Y/N is a free woman,” Tsu’tey cut him off, “If you wish to court her, that is up to her.”

“Right,” Takuk nodded in gratitude, “I had a feeling it was only gossip. Thank you.”

Takuk bowed deeply before excusing himself, leaving Tsu’tey lost in his own thoughts. He realized that he had no right to claim you as his own, as he was the one to set the rules from the start. If you showed interest in someone else, he would have to step away with respect and let you live your life free of any complications.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Your eyes burned with tears as you watched Saronyu struggle through her labor, surrounded by a few of you. Her mate held her tightly against his chest as she fought for breath under the stern instructions of Tsahik. You and Neytiri sat on the opposite sides, holding Saronyu's hands as she pushed through the pain. Her swollen belly heaved, with each breath, exhaustion and agony etched on her face. Your own muscles ached in sympathy, imagining the incredible pain she was experiencing.

“You’re doing great, Saronyu,” you wiped her forehead with a damp cloth, “Just a little bit more.”

She nodded her head, her eyes locked onto Tsahik, seated between her legs. Under Mo’at’s commanding voice, she took a deep breath to prepare herself before pushing. You felt her grip tighten around you with a grunt, and then you heard it, when the infant took its first breath with a loud cry. 

Mo'at worked quickly, checking the baby's vitals and cleaning it before placing it into Saronyu's outstretched arms. The room filled with compliments and words of congratulations as the new parents gazed down at their child with giddy smiles. You couldn’t help but smile yourself, the miracle of life never ceasing to amaze you. This was the first birth after the battle with the sky people, and it seemed to symbolize something greater for the clan. Saronyu’s firstborn was a reminder for hope and resilience. Life on Pandora would continue no matter the hardships.

Neytiri was the first to leave the hut, while you stayed behind to help Mo’at with cleaning up. She left the flap open, revealing a small window into what was happening inside. A group of Na’vi lingered outside the hut and cheered in excitement and pride, when Neytiri revealed the newborn’s name. Basking in the joyous atmosphere, Jake pulled his mate into a tight embrace. She smiled at him, as he complimented her assistance. 

Tsu’tey stood a little behind them, his eyes locking on your frame inside the hut. He felt a sense of warmth spread through his chest at the way you cradled the baby so gently. You were cooing at it with a small smile, occasionally lifting your gaze to Saronyu and her mate who were beaming at their newfound bundle of joy. As the Olo'eyktan, Tsu’tey felt obligated to be present in a monumental moment like this. He had seen birthgivings before but this one, due to its timing, felt special. A small smile played at the corner of his lips, which did not escape Neytiri’s curious eye. She tugged at his arm playfully.

“Y/N is good with babies, no?” she asked, capturing his attention.

Tsu’tey only hummed in agreement, knowing that she was probably getting at something, but he was too distracted to think about it . Jake’s eyes flickered between his mate and Tsu’tey with a clear skepticism. He was convinced that Mo’at’s theory was baseless: the only time he ever saw you and Tsu’tey interact was when he yelled at you in the healing hut. But Neytiri had grown up with both of you, she could sense that the dynamic had shifted. She just couldn’t figure out the reason for it. 

“She can make an excellent Tsahik one day,” Neytiri pressed, “My mother wouldn’t choose just anyone to give lessons to.”

Tsu’tey knew it had been true. Mo’at had a strong judge of character, knowing immediately if she liked someone or not: it was rare to convince her otherwise. Tsahik picking someone for individual lessons was the highest praise any healer, besides the tsakarem, could get. You were talented, and Mo’at recognized that. 

But Tsu’tey also felt attacked by her choice. It was clear to him that Mo’at had been growing impatient with him and was threatening to choose a tsakarem on her own. Her strong personality didn’t go well with Tsu’tey’s, so she was pushing him into either accepting her choice of future Tsahik, or finding himself a new mate. Despite this knowledge, Tsu’tey decided against revealing it to you when you first told him about taking lessons. You seemed so happy to be given such an opportunity, and he did not wish to minimize your efforts to the mere wish of Mo’at trying to set you up with the chief.

“Neytiri,” Jake pulled her back into him gently, “Leave him alone.”

“No,” she shook her head, like a child, “I am right about this, you will see.”

Jake sighed with a small smirk, watching Neytiri take Tsu’tey by his wrist and lead him away. Tsu’tey was confused but he trailed after her regardless. When she reached a more private setting, she crouched down and encouraged Tsu’tey to do the same. 

“I know that lately my mother has been pushing you to find a mate,” she gave him a knowing look.

“She is too stubborn,” Tsu’tey let out a defeated chuckle. It was beginning to feel like a big joke that was being played on him, “She won’t hear my refusal.” “What is the reason for your refusal?” Neytiri asked softly.

Tsu’tey took a long pause, carefully considering his answer. If there was anyone he could confide in, it would be Neytiri. After all, she understood the toll that Silwanin’s death had taken on him.

“I can’t force myself again,” he answered with a shake of his head, “Eywa knows… I’ve tried very hard. You know it too - we did our best.”

Tsu’tey gestured between the two of them, earning her understanding nod. Neytiri recalled the time when they were first forced into a bond. Back then, she had tried her hardest to feel something more for Tsu’tey. But she could only see him as a brother, and so did he. His heart never stopped belonging to Silwanin, so all they could do was put on a facade to respect the clan. Much to Neytiri’s liking, that quickly crumbled when Jake appeared in her life.

“Tsu’tey, you will always love Silwanin. No one can take that away from you,” she reached out to point to his chest, “She will always be in your heart. Just like she is in mine,” Neytiri then pointed to her own chest, “But life must go on. Dwelling on the past will not leave space for hope.”

“Hope for what? All I got from hoping was loss and disappointment,” Tsu’tey threw harshly.

“If I have learned anything from loss is that there is always a new beginning,” Neytiri’s gaze softened, as she thought back to Jake. 

“Not all of us are destined for new beginnings.”

“I understand your pain, Tsu'tey, but you cannot keep your heart closed off forever,” Neytiri placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I am sure that Eywa has something planned for you, but you refuse to accept it…Silwanin would have wanted you to be happy.”

Tsu’tey covered her hand with his, letting the words sink in. Deep down, he knew there was some truth to what she was saying, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it. It was too risky to get his hopes high up again. 

“Tell me what is bothering you,” she asked gently, receiving nothing but silence in return, “A secret for a secret?”

Tsu’tey couldn’t help but smirk at the phrase; it reminded him of the way they used to negotiate as kids. A secret for a secret. What could Neytiri possibly tell him to make him reveal his attachment to you? He felt like she was bluffing, but Neytiri proceeded without getting his approval.

“I am pregnant,” her voice rang softly in his ears.

His eyes widened, as he gazed down at her stomach. There was no visible bump yet, it was far too soon for her to be showing, but the way she cradled her middle was enough to make his heart race.

“Is it true?” he asked. 

“You are one of the first to know,” Neytiri nodded with a smile, “It is still early, but the baby grows stronger with each passing day. My mother wanted me to be present during Saronyu’s labor to be prepared for my own.”

“Does Jake Sully know?” Tsu’tey asked tentatively.

“I will tell him tonight.”

Tsu’tey felt a surge of joy overwhelm him as he pulled her into his arms for a warm embrace. Despite their occasional disagreements, Neytiri was like a sister to him, the only family he had left. The fact that she confided in him about her pregnancy before Jake made Tsu’tey feel incredibly touched.

“May Eywa bless your child,” Tsu’tey murmured, his hand rubbing her back. 

When they pulled apart, there was a twinkle in her eyes. Tsu’tey couldn't help but smile at how happy she seemed. He watched her lose so much in her life, this was the new beginning she deserved. He wondered if he deserved a chance at happiness too.

“Now it is your turn,” Neytiri said. Tsu’tey took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself for the conversation ahead.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

“Wrong,” Mo’at announced with a harsh tone, watching intently as you worked on making a paste.

You winced, applying more force to the pestle but it didn’t make much difference. Her eyes pierced through you with judgment, yet you couldn’t figure out what exactly you were doing wrong.

“The force must come from the shoulders, not the whole body,” she spoke up, her voice stern, as if she had just read your mind.

You felt a pang of embarrassment, as you tried again, this time using your shoulders only to apply the necessary pressure. Mo'at remained silent, seeming more satisfied with your correction. She rarely admitted to you doing something right, but when you slipped up, she would make you stay late and work, until you mastered the technique. It seemed like this lesson was going to stretch out into a longer one too.

“I apologize for my interruption,” a voice broke the quiet concentration of the lesson, catching both you and Mo’at by surprise. 

Takuk stood awkwardly in the entrance, before bowing deeply in greeting. His eyes flickered playfully between you and Tsahik, until his gaze settled on Mo’at. She waited patiently for him to continue.

“I did not wish to disturb the lesson,” he said, “I just wanted to know when I can expect it to end?”

“Why do you need to know that?” Mo’at raised an eyebrow, her eyes sharp and questioning.

“I would like to invite Y/N for a stroll after she is done,” he admitted, throwing a quick glance at you.

You felt a blush creeping up your neck, caught off guard by his boldness. Mo’at looked back at you with slight confusion, urging you to answer.

“I am afraid I already have plans to tend to after my lesson, Takuk,” you answered apologetically.

“It is alright, we can go tomorrow. I just have something important to talk to you about.”

“Oh,” was all you could say, “Sure?”

“I will see you tomorrow then. I’m sorry again for the interruption,” Takuk said, bowing before taking his leave.

You could sense Mo’at’s disapproval radiating off of her, and you felt ashamed to have negotiated plans in front of her during the middle of the lesson. She clicked her tongue in irritation, gesturing at the pestle and mortar. You quickly resumed pounding the herbs, feeling her eyes on you.

“That boy wants to court you?”

“Oh, I am not sure,” you mumbled, “Maybe.”

“He must either be brave or stupid for going after a promised woman.”

You looked up at her in surprise, pausing in your movements before coming to a stop.

“I am not a promised woman,” you objected.

“Of course you are,” her voice was stern, “You have mated with the Olo'eyktan.”

“What? I am not -” you shook your head in bewilderment.

“Do you think I am stupid?” she tsked, gesturing at you, “I can smell him on you every time you come here. No amount of washing can cover that. Maybe once, but not this often.”

Your heart nearly leapt out of your chest at how accurately she had pinpointed it. Was there even any point in denying it? Mo’at could see right through you.

“You must warn that boy to stay away. He must not disrespect his Olo'eyktan, you and Tsu’tey are now mates,” she ordered.

“We are not mates, Tsahik,” embarrassed, you lowered your gaze.

“Of course, you are, You have performed a tsaheylu and mated before Eywa. You are bonded for life now,” she explained angrily, as if you were dense. Your shoulders slumped involuntarily.

“There was no blessing from Eywa. No tsaheylu,” you admitted quietly. 

Mo’at stared at you in shock, her eyes widening in disbelief. With a deep sigh, she stood up and stormed out of the hut, leaving you alone in your thoughts. Deep in shame, you remained seated on the ground, your eyes still glued to the same spot. Tsahik must think very little of you now and will most likely forbid you from ever visiting her again. You were suddenly jolted back to reality by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the hut. You quickly scrambled to your feet, when you saw Mo’at enter with Tsu’tey. 

She gestured for him to stand next to you, and he complied, a knowing expression already plastered on his face as he threw you a quick glance. Mo'at looked angrier than you had ever seen her before, her eyes boring into yours with an intensity that made you shrink back in fear.

“What is this that I am hearing?” she demanded loudly, "You have committed a great disrespect to Eywa."

You lowered your ears, feeling the blood rush to your face in embarrassment. Involuntarily, Tsu’tey lowered his ears too. Despite his newfound confidence as the chief, he still felt ashamed in front of Mo’at. He had always considered her to be like a second mother to him. Mo’at spoke again, her voice dripping with disapproval.

“You insulted and ignored the laws of Eywa. You continued to fool around with no bond, no tsaheylu,” she pressed her hand to her forehead, sensing a headache approaching, “How long has this been going on?” 

“Since the last moon,” Tsu’tey answered. Tsahik’s face twisted with a mixture of disappointment and disgust. She had never expected Tsu'tey, a man so proper and dedicated to his duty, to behave like a selfish, reckless child.

“Stupid,” she spat, gesturing between the two of you, “If you want to remain respected clan members, you must fix this… Either you begin to court this girl properly and make a bond with the blessing of Eywa, or you leave her alone to find herself a mate.”

“But Tsahik -” you opened your mouth to protest, but Mo'at hissed at you, cutting you off.

“I do not wish to hear anything else. Do not show your faces to me unless you fix this.”

She dismissed you with a wave of your hand, as you and Tsu’tey rushed to step out of the hut. The darkness outside enveloped you, and you wondered where Mo’at had found Tsu’tey. You cursed him mentally for not being farther away. 

“I’m sorry for telling her, she just…” you trailed off guiltily. 

“I know, it’s not your fault,” Tsu’tey nodded in understanding.

He strode ahead, and you followed behind him in silence, waiting for him to speak. Things were going to change now, and you hoped that the bond that was forming between you and Tsu’tey would help, but his next words quickly shattered it.

“Tsahik is right. We can’t be together,” Tsu'tey said, his voice heavy with resignation, “I am being selfish.”

“What are you saying?” you scrunched up your face.

“From now on, we must stop seeing each other. I promise to respect your space, and there will be no reason to dwell on what has happened between us anymore. I want you to have the freedom to find a mate.”

“No! I don’t want a mate,” you protested,  “I don’t want anyone, I only want you. You know that.”

“It is wrong,” Tsu’tey stepped away from you, “I am grateful for the time we spent together, but Tsahik is right. I have to dedicate myself to my duty and give you a chance to choose a proper mate.”

“This is nonsense,” you huffed, “I thought we had an agreement.”

“Yes,” Tsu’tey agreed, “Which I am following through with right now. I think Takuk and you can make an excellent match.”

“Takuk?” you asked, the hurt evident in your voice.

“He asked for my permission to court you this morning. You should give him a chance.”

You felt your heart shatter into pieces. He had been the one to push you towards someone else, making it clear that he didn't love you. You had clung to the hope that his feelings might change, but now it seemed like he had given up on you completely. Your throat tightened as tears threatened to spill from your eyes.

"You had no right to do that, to give permission on my behalf," you jabbed a finger into his chest, your voice filled with anger, "You are merciless."

“I am sorry, Y/N,” Tsu’tey let out a long sigh, catching your hand in his, “I will not forgive myself if I ruin your chance at happiness.”

His eyes bore into yours, expression softenting. For a fleeting moment it felt like he hated himself for letting you down. He squeezed your hand, bringing it to his chest.

“You have no idea how much I love you, do you?” you asked bitterly, pulling your hand out of his grasp, “I was stupid for thinking you could ever, ever feel the same way. And you warned me from the beginning.”

"It is not true, I -” Tsu’tey interrupted himself, shaking his head, “I care for you deeply but I cannot give you what you want.”

He caught your hand again but you yanked it away from his grip. The pain in your chest was suffocating you.

"Don't touch me," you hissed.

The tears that threatened to fall earlier were now streaming down your face, as you walked away, leaving Tsu’tey standing there alone. By the time you reached home, you couldn’t stop the sobs that wracked your body. You weren't sure if you could ever put your shattered heart back together because Tsu'tey now possessed every single piece of it.

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

next chapter

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

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[swanimagines]

JENN I CANNOT BELIEVE I FORGOT ABOUT YOUR SPAMMING EVENT AND GOD IM SO HAPPY I GOT HERE IN THE NICK OF TIME-

May I please have a Pin Hawthorne x fem!reader where she doesn't ride but is a good friend of Jade's, and Pin and her are in a relationship but no one at the stables know. And everyone expects Pin to ask Zoe for the mistletoe ball (including Zoe herself) and that takes a toll on reader and she kinda just goes into a shell, and then Pin comes and reassures her and you know the entire stables is stunned when they see the both of then attend the ball together?

Thank you Jen<33

A/N: I wanted to include one Christmas themed fic for this month so here you go 💖

It toootally hasn't been three years and you totally didn't request this on 2nd of January 2022, nope. (Sorryyyyyyy hshshsshsh, but hey I'm trying to pick up the posting pace again starting from next week and my queue looks well so far so I have hopes! And I know you understand why this took so long because as you know, my life has been... a lot during this time.)

Summary: You are in a relationship with Pin, but you haven’t had the need to advertise it around as it’s still fresh. When the Mistletoe Ball is coming, your best friend Jade tells you that they all know that Pin is finally going to ask Zoe to the ball, which makes you feel insecure. Would Zoe really be a better option for Pin?

SNOWFALL

The icy weather of December had settled into Bright Fields just in time before Christmas. You were standing in Bob’s stable, stroking his nose while Jade babbled beside you, sitting on a stool. You knew it was rude that you didn’t really pay attention to what she said, but your thoughts were on Pin.

Pin, who was finally your boyfriend. You had agreed on it a week ago after dancing around each other’s feelings for over a year. You had confessed your feelings to each other a month ago, sat on it for three more weeks and then finally decided to give it a try. And even though you decided to keep it to yourselves besides from Ted and your own family, you were walking on top of the clouds, always waiting for the evening to have time to spend with him. If you told others at the stable, the fuss and the gushing about you two would never end, and you didn’t really want to take the spotlight away from the Mistletoe Ball. It was the biggest event of the year, and it would have felt selfish to advertise your relationship with Pin in the middle of all this.

"Everyone knows it, honestly," Jade declared, making you look up in confusion. "It's been ages coming, hasn't it? They’re basically perfect for each other."

“What’s coming?” you asked with a little smile, eager to gossip.

“You didn’t listen to me at all, huh?” she giggled, then sighed. “I’m talking about Zoe and Pin. You must have seen how they look at each other.”

You froze and pulled your hand away from Bob, who let out a protesting huff. “Wait, Pin and Zoe? No, I don’t think so.”

Jade frowned. “No? Well, everyone else sees it.” She shrugged. “Maybe you haven’t paid enough attention to them.”

You crossed your arms. “Well I happen to know for a fact that Pin is not interested in Zoe.”

Jade stared at you for a moment, clearly puzzled. “Has he said something about it, then?”

You blinked, suddenly not sure what you could say. You had decided on keeping your relationships under wraps for a while before announcing it, and you weren’t sure if Pin would understand you telling Jade. Becky could very well succeed in snooping it from Jade and she would not be able to keep her mouth shut, and then there would be a huge fuss about it.

So you didn’t say anything, turning away. A nagging feeling stepped in on the next moment, what if it was true, what if Pin had gotten tired of hiding the relationship and was planning to end things and move on to be with Zoe instead?

You knew that’d be unlikely, and that Pin isn’t like that. He’d be direct and fair with it if he was interested in Zoe and not you, he wouldn’t play with your feelings like that. But Jade was so sure about it, apparently along with the rest of the stable. You didn’t ride, you weren’t always there when Pin and Zoe were riding together. You knew they were friends, rather good friends, but could there have been something… more? 

Jade sighed, murmuring your name. “Look, everyone expects him to ask Zoe, including Zoe herself. If you know something about it, it would be fair to tell me so I could tell Zoe. She’ll be disappointed otherwise, which is not fair for her.”

You opened your mouth, then closed it. I’m dating Pin, that’s why I know, you wanted to say. Or you can tell her that I know for a fact that he won’t ask her, he has someone else.

But that would just spur more questions. Who is it, do we know that person, where did they meet? Maybe Jade would even think Pin is secretly some kind of a player. Which he would be if Jade would be correct, but she wasn’t.

Right?

Your silence made Jade groan quietly. “Come on, you’re acting weird,” Jade pressed. “If you know something, just tell me. Zoe’s my friend, too, and I don’t want her to get hurt.”

Yoy were silent for a moment longer, closing your eyes for a moment before you finally spoke. "I don’t know anything about Zoe and Pin, I don’t know whether he’s interested in her for sure or not,” you told her, forcing to keep your voice from wavering. “But honestly, I don’t think it’s fair to assume he’ll ask her just because everyone else does. If he does ask her, I’ll eat my boots.”

Jade scoffed. “Those aren’t your boots.”

You huffed. “Right. Well, I’ll eat something that won’t taste good and isn’t meant as food.”

Jade raised her eyebrows. “You must be really certain about this.”

You weren’t that sure, not really. But you had to play it off, pretend you weren’t jealous. There was no need, you knew it. At least you tried to make yourself believe so. Disappointments in boys before Pin weighed you down, and you felt horrible that a few words from Jade could make you doubt Pin. He would feel offended if he found out, you knew it. 

But still, a nagging voice of doubt laughed in the back of your head. What if, what if, what if…

Stop.

—

Later that day, you sat at the courtyard browsing through your phone, when you recognised Pin’s steps approaching you.

“I’m done for today, do you want a ride home?”

Your eyes flickered up to meet his, and you sighed. “Zoe thinks you’re going to ask her to be your partner at the Mistletoe Ball.”

Pin frowned as he tilted his head slightly, staring at you for a moment. “What?” he asked with an amused huff. “Zoe thinks that I’m… interested in her?”

You nodded and shrugged. “Apparently, everyone at Bright Fields assumes you’re going to ask her. Even Jade said so. And Zoe herself expects you to ask her.”

Even though you tried to keep off the tone of doubt off your voice, Pin seemed to notice and crouched in front of you. “You know that’s not true, right?”

You nodded slowly. “I know. It’s just... it’s hard to hear it from everyone else. And Zoe... she’s confident and stunning and–”

“Not you. She’s not you,” Pin interrupted you and took your hands in his. “Why would I ask Zoe, or be interested in her like that when I have the most beautiful, amazing, kind and funny girlfriend in the world?”

You felt yourself blushing as your gaze dropped into your lap. Pin tugged at your hands.

“Look at me,” he urged you, and you met his eyes again. “I don’t care what anyone thinks. You’re the one I want, I know we’re… new to this, the first real relationship for both of us, but I hope we’ll be together ten years from now. You returning my feelings was the best day of my life, and I will shout it from the rooftops to the whole island if you’d ask me to do that.”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Maybe that’s not necessary.”

He smirked. “Well, good. Because I have something else in mind.”

“What?”

“How about we show up at the Mistletoe Ball together? People would see us there and there would be no doubt after that.”

You blinked, your heartbeat immediately picking up. “Are you sure you want to do it? We agreed to keep things private for now.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve changed my mind,” he said, squeezing your hands. “If it’s bothering you, then it’s not worth the secrecy. Besides…” He leaned in, his voice dipping into a whisper. “I want to dance with my girlfriend there. And I want everyone to know.”

You stared at him for a moment longer, before you let a grin take over your face. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

The day of the ball arrived, and you had spent forever in your bedroom, puffing out your dress. Ruffles and glitter were something you weren’t used to wearing, but today, you wanted to feel like a princess, you wanted to do your best to make jaws drop like Pin had said, look beautiful.

And now you were standing in front of the barn with Pin, seeing the lights from the disco ball shining to every direction, hearing the music booming. Pin took your hand and offered you an encouraging smile, and you finally stepped through the barn doors.

It took a minute from people to notice you, but by the time you were going to get some fruit punch Jade and you had spent hours perfecting the previous day, you could feel some pairs of eyes looking at you.

And soon, Jade came beside you, frowning. “I thought you weren’t coming?”

You smiled sheepishly. “Well, I mean, I was asked to come as… a date.”

Jade was clearly taken aback by that. “A date?”

“Yeah,” you confirmed and glanced over at Pin. Jade followed your gaze, and blinked. Once, twice, before she turned to look at you again.

“Pin?”

You felt yourself blushing again. “Yeah, well. We’ve dated for two weeks now, but we confessed our feelings to each other a month and a half ago. We’ve just… taken it slow and didn’t want to raise a fuss over it.”

“And you didn’t even tell me?” she asked, feigning offense before grinning. “But to be honest, I had suspicions you have someone. I just didn’t think... well, it makes sense now why you insisted that Zoe shouldn’t wait for Pin to ask her.” She looked over at Pin chatting with Ted, before humming. “And I never thought about it before, but I have to admit, you two are kind of perfect together.”

Pin walked over to join you at the buffet table, nodding towards Jade. “She told you?”

Jade nodded. “Yeah, I just… sorry, I need to recover from this shock.”

She turned on her heel, disappearing to the crowd, and you caught a sight of Zoe at the other side of the room, seeing disappointment written all over her face. You knew it wasn’t mean-spirited and she wouldn’t start sabotaging your relationship like Mia would if she was to like Pin, but it still made you feel slightly bad.

Pin noticed you looking at Zoe, and he nudged you. “She’ll recover. I told her after our discussion that I already have a date so she won’t be too disappointed, she just didn’t know it’s you.”

You nodded and you sat there for a while, sipping your fruit punches before you looked at the dance floor. “Do you want to dance?”

Pin laughed. “I don’t really dance.”

You grinned, putting your cup down on the table and tugging him up with you. “Well, you don’t have to be good at it.”

Pin groaned, but followed you to the dance floor anyway.

You could still feel everyone looking at you two, but on the dance floor it was just you and Pin, and nothing else mattered on that moment. His hands settled on your waist as you swayed to the music, staring into each other’s eyes. 

And at that moment, you knew that coming here today was the right choice.

---

Requests are open! FANDOM LIST | PROMPT LIST(S) | RULES (READ!!!)

[buildarocketboys]

peterick prompt if youre up for taking ideas/prompts

dumbass!pete and traumatized!patrick

so just some unspecified trauma unless you wags get creative

but anyway pete starts messing with pat(pisses him off ofc) and they end up wrestling and pete has patrick pinned under him which makes pat freak out and have a panic attack and ofc pete doesnt notice until he sees patricks breathing speed up, his eyes dart around, he stops responding, etc

just a little thing tho, id love if youd write smt, if not thats cool^^

Tagging @puppyboymikeyway since you've already revealed yourself as the sender :3 Also using this to fill the hurt/comfort bingo prompt "I can't breathe." to Gentle touch for @sweetspicybingo because I'm a maverick like that.

Post-hiatus and unspecified trauma for Patrick (!) Enjoy!

Crossposted to AO3 here

It's good to be back in the studio with Patrick. It's where they belong.

It's always been their natural habitat, the place where their friendship makes the most sense. 

Sure, they've had plenty of fights, verbal and physical, in the studio in the past, but that's all part of the process. 

OK, sure, it had probably gotten a bit too toxic for a while there, but it's still the place they find it easiest to communicate with each other.

Joe and Andy are gonna be in next week, but Patrick had wanted to get in the studio before that, just the two of them, and Pete certainly has no objections.

Plus, he gets the feeling Patrick is kinda nervous to see the others. Apparently it took four hours on the phone to persuade Joe to give the band another go. Patrick's not even sure Joe will agree to work on another album. But he's agreed to try.

Pete knows it'll all work out. He's in one of his optimistic moods, spurred on by his renewed friendship with Patrick and the prospect of getting his band back together.

He and Patrick have been tentatively reaching out to each other for the past few months, the best way they know how - by writing songs.

This is one of the first times they've seen each other in person for ages, though. They had hugged when they arrived, but it had felt kind of awkward. Patrick had been tense, unresponsive to Pete's arms around him.

Pete had let go pretty quickly.

They're just not used to it anymore, he tells himself. Of course, the way Pete wants to deal with that is by throwing himself into Patrick's arms, but he can hardly blame Patrick for being hesitant. Pete's always been the more physically affectionate of the two of them.

They just need something to get them back on track. Maybe if he takes Patrick by surprise, he'll just sink into it without questioning it. Chronic overthinker, that one.

So when he comes back into the studio after using the bathroom to find Patrick standing with his back to him, he takes his chance. He launches himself at Patrick, tackling him to the ground, wrestling him on the floor.

They used to do this a lot - sometimes they were actually fighting, but most of the time it was just horseplay. Boys will be boys.

So it takes him a minute to realize that Patrick isn't fighting back.

In fact, he's not moving at all. His hands are covering his face, and he's frozen, breathing sharp and fast.

"Patrick?" he asks cautiously, still straddling his waist. He tries to remove Patrick's hands from his face but Patrick resists. "You OK, buddy?"

Patrick's breathing kicks up a notch, and Pete feels his heart rate jump in tandem. "I- can't- breathe-" Patrick pants. His face is going purple and- fuck, is he having a panic attack?

Pete finally comes to his senses and carefully climbs off Patrick.

"Patrick," he says tentatively. "You with me, buddy?"

Patrick's removed his arms from his face now and his eyes are darting everywhere, as if searching for an attacker. His breath is still coming out in gasps.

"Patrick," Pete says, firmly and clearly. He wants to ground Patrick, but he doesn't want to touch him and freak him out further. "You're here. With me. With Pete. You're OK." Why wouldn't he be OK?, Pete thinks, his imagination running wild. What the fuck had happened to him to make him react like this?

He tells himself fiercely to calm down. The last thing Patrick needs is for him to have a panic attack too. Patrick will tell him when he's ready.

Or maybe he won't.

Patrick's breaths are slowing now, getting deeper, calmer.

"Pete?" he croaks, his eyes finding Pete's above him.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me, Patrick," he says softly, offering Patrick a hand, which he takes, hauling himself up into a sitting position.

Patrick rests his face on his knees for a minute, just breathing. Then he starts laughing hysterically into his knees. 

Eventually he looks up at Pete, who's watching him anxiously. "Why did you have to do that?" he asks. Before Pete can answer, he shakes his head. "Of course, you're Pete Wentz. You do what you want." He sighs tiredly.

"No, Patrick, that's not-" Fuck. He had sworn it wouldn't be like this, not this time - him all over Patrick, whether Patrick likes it or not. The fact that he's pretty sure Patrick had always liked it is besides the point. "I'm sorry," he tells Patrick, and he means it. "I won't, I won't touch you again." He doesn't know if it's a promise he can keep, but he's damn well going to try.

Patrick raises his eyebrow. "You can touch me," he tells Pete. "Just...a little warning, might be nice."

Pete nods. "Noted." He reaches out for Patrick and waits for him to nod before he puts a hand on Patrick's back, rubbing gently. Patrick leans into his touch, and Pete breathes a sigh of relief.

"What happened, man?" he asks after a few minutes, because clearly something had happened. The Patrick he knew in 2009 wouldn't have reacted like that to Pete wrestling him, even at his most neurotic.

Patrick lets out a humorless laugh. "What didn't happen?" he says hollowly.

Pete waits, staring at Patrick, silently begging him to tell him, but equally desperate not to know.

Patrick sighs and shakes his head. "I'll tell you someday," he says. "Maybe. When I've figured it out myself. It's still all just so fucked up in my head, and I- I can't really talk about it, right now." He looks up pleadingly at Pete. "Is that OK?"

"Yeah, buddy, of course it is," Pete says after just a beat too long. 

Patrick looks at him slyly. "I'd tell you if I could, Pete. And it's not your fault, by the way. Before you start blaming yourself."

Pete can't help but feel a little relieved when Patrick says that. He sighs and lays his head on Patrick's shoulder. "Yeah, I know." Still, he can't help but worry. 

But Patrick seems calm now, his breathing getting deeper and slower with every circle Pete rubs into his back.

For now, he guesses, it's the best he can do.

[rorywritesjunk]

(one of these days I'll actually post chapters and other works and not just these train of thought mini fics. I'm almost done with Impel Down and will go into Marineford. I... Needed some angst. Just a little, maybe a sprinkle. There will be a part two.)

pt 2

Sunny and the kids aren't on the ship when Buggy comes home.

Mohji tells him that after he was arrested, she took the kids and left. She needed to think some things over so she returned to the village where they met. Miss Pins has retired but Benji took over the shop. Having Sunny back makes his job so much easier.

Buggy pretends like it doesn't bother him but orders the crew to take him to her. When he's in the privacy of his room he falls to pieces. He had hoped she would have stayed on the ship to welcome him home, but could he blame her? How many years of marriage did they have? How many times has she put up with him? Was she finally through with him?

They arrive a week later. He bursts into the shop, dressed in his best to ask her to return home. Gold is sitting at the table with crayons and paper while Silver is in Sunny's arms as she stands at the front counter, looking over the books. She glances up when she sees him and there's no smile on her face. The kids, however, are thrilled to see their daddy. Sunny passes Silver to him while Gold rushes him, wrapping his tiny arms around one of Buggy's legs, chattering nonstop about the stuff they'd been up to, drawings that he did, and the books mommy read to them.

With both kids in his arms, happy to see their daddy, Buggy turns his attention to his wife with a grin on his face. "So, where's my welcome home kiss?"

"Do you want one?" Sunny asks, arms crossed as she stares back at him. He wonders how angry she really is over this. She had told him to be careful looking for that treasure, to not just go head first into those places, but he didn't listen and managed to come face to face with the damn Marines. When she learned of what happened to her husband she left. No reason to be on the ship without him.

"Of course I do!" Buggy insists. "Why wouldn't I?! I missed you just like you missed me!"

She doesn't humor him with a response and closes the book she has been looking at. "Maybe you should have thought about it before getting yourself arrested."

The calmness in her voice unnerves Buggy. He tightens his hold on the kids, hoping they could do something cute to distract their mom from getting angry at Buggy. He hates it when his wife is angry at him and it doesn't happen often, but when it does he has to pay for it. So he gives her a big grin, shrugging as he holds Silver in his arms.

"Sunny babe, I was doing it for us." He insists. "And maybe there was a hiccup or two in the plan but everything's gonna change! It's gonna be better!"

"Is it?" She asks. "Or are you just going to get arrested again?"

The calmness still bothers him. He tries to think of a response but has none. She's just staring at him, no smile or frown on her face, just a calm, neutral expression that absolutely terrifies him. He shoots a glance at her hands, relieved to see her still wearing her wedding ring, but for how much longer?

"I need a day, Buggy."

"A day? For what?!"

"To think this through."

"Think what through?!" He demands. "What are you talking about?!"

"We can talk later." She sighs. "I'm just tired and I can't do this in front of the kids." She rubs her face and looks him over. "Leave your coat with me so I can fix it."

"Where am I supposed to go?!" Is he being sent away after just reuniting with them? Is this it, the end to almost 15 years of marriage? He got arrested once and she was done?!

"Your ship?"

That was a knife to the heart. His ship. Not theirs. She specifically said his ship. This was it. This has to be the end. He couldn't believe it. He was so distraught, his mind racing, that he didn't hear what she was saying at first. She finally snapped her fingers in front of him after repeating his name multiple times, catching his attention.

"There's room upstairs still." She told him. "Benji doesn't live in the building, he's off with his husband nearby, so I've had the entire top floor for me and the kids. You can stay with us for the night, and if I'm ready to talk we're going to talk, understand?"

He did understand he just didn't want to.

"I'm going to close up shop. Take your coat off and hang it up, Buggy. I'll work on it after dinner."

"So should I come back tomorrow?"

"If you want, but you can stay with us if you want as well." She said, shoulders dropping as she let out a sigh. "We just need to talk."

He really didn't want to but he was nodding. "S-Sure."

[narianders-gt-hell]

Normalize Being Bad at Your Job (3/5)

previous/next

A/N: I don’t even know if the legend at the end is good or not. Also I’ll have a pinned post up within the week even if it kills me

The way that Cass is just lying thru his fucking teeth,

—§—§—

They sat there in a silent stalemate, staring at each other, her blade still pushing uncomfortably against his skin. “L-Look,” he finally said, “You want the truth?”

“Yes.”

“I want that map you have first.”

“Why didn’t you take it when you co-opted the rest of my things?”

“I…I—well, technically I want the book that’s associated with the map. The Calgish version of the fall of Fort Carthan. This castle, I mean, though you…probably already know that.” he shrugged.

“The narrative? Why would an old fairytale be useful to you?” she asked. She kept him pinned but eased up on the blade, her curiosity overpowering any sense of rationale.

“It tells of a treasure.”

“It most certainly does not.”

“Do you know the whole legend?”

“I did months of research, of course I know the whole legend. I know multiple variants. The Calgish version is by far the most detailed, and it makes no mention of a treasure.”

He nodded, “Perhaps…I do not need the book. You know this particular version?”

“By heart.”

“Okay, new idea. I tell you who I am, and you tell me the legend.” he said quickly.

She sat up and pushed herself to her feet, offering him a hand. He took it and stood, finally able to rub his sore neck.

“Why should I tell you? For all I know you’re simply a treasure hunter here to strip these ruins of whatever value remains. Even if your clothing is too pristine for it…how do I not know it’s an act?”

“You don’t.” he replied quickly, “I can only tell you the truth and hope that you believe me. I’m…nobility. From across the sea. I’m looking for a treasure that belonged to my ancestors. It might be here, and my father always assumed that the Calgish legend had the most truth to it, so…here I am. I didn’t mention the huge dragon-sized crater because I didn’t realize that’s what it was. We do not have dragons across the sea. The biggest monsters are sand vipers, and they are roughly the size of a full-grown man.”

She had minimal knowledge of the lands across the sea. She briefly wondered if he was banking on the fact that people from her region of the world were not well-traveled. The eggs still did not make sense, he had no guards to speak of, and she’d never heard of a prince that could cook, but perhaps that was the truth of the matter. Perhaps princes from across the sea were more independent than the sniveling whelps she knew of. It explained his appearance, anyway, and he was smart enough to know that he could not dress in the usual fineries out here. Just not quite smart enough to know that his plain clothes needed to look travel-worn. She finally sheathed her knife and walked to one of the only solid-looking tables, testing it and the two stools that were positioned on either side. “Come. Sit. I’ll tell you the story.”

He nodded and did as she asked, propping his elbows up on the small table.

She took a deep breath and began to recite it from memory.

Make no mistake, fair reader, for this is a tragedy of the highest order. Man’s hubris oftentimes knows not of what it has wrought until the violence of their decisions is upon them. This tale is the embodiment of that violence enacted against those who refused to bend to an unyielding social tide.

There was once a small citadel in the forest, set well within a quaint valley. It was said that this fortress was protected by a dragon, a massive, scaled beast of old, one with ties to the land that grew deeper than any man-made structure built atop it. It was said in those days that dragons would often parley with the lords within their territories, ironing out treatises and horde encumbrance and many other, smaller affairs.

Most dragons of the time were content to watch over their protectorate from afar, but some would indulge in more than lordly affairs, using human guises to dance with the locals during their festivals; and some, bolder still, taking human companions. Carthan’s keeper was young and brash, a dragon that was too proud to blend in with the humans he protected, yet not proud enough to keep himself from walking amongst them.

When the new religion from the South swept across the land, this was stopped. The Mother of Spring was kind and just, but Her laws dictated that none should carouse or make merry with firebringers. The lord and lady quickly became fervent believers, and the drake was barred from any and all upcoming social gatherings. This did not stop the young dragon from doing what he had always done. He danced with humans and enjoyed their company even as more and more of the populace turned to the will of Our Mother.

Thus a turning point came over the populace. Most shunned their former guardian, yet others remained steadfast in their support, offering him their friendship even as neighbors turned their backs on them. Still, the dragon paid it no mind, unable to see the churning tides of human affairs that threatened to swallow up those he cared for.

The Lord and Lady, lost in the zeal of their belief, began to gather up those they deemed heretical. Rewards were given to those who reported heretics to the guard. Neighbor turned on neighbor, friend turned on friend, families cannibalized themselves at the whims of their rulers, and all who were caught were set to burn, so that they would know the kiss of the fire they so loved.

Xenia stopped. “Are you…okay?” she asked Cass, who had his head buried in his hands.

He took a shaky breath and sat up in his chair, wiping a stray tear from his eye, “Y-Yeah, just a sad…um, story, you know?”

“It is a tragedy.” Xenia shrugged, “But it’s just a story. And even if there’s any truth to it, it was such a long time ago.”

He nodded, looking up at her. His eyes were bleary and his expression had turned dour for the first time since they met. “Um, can we skip to the end? When the dragon gets imprisoned? That’s the important treasure part.”

“Sure.” she nodded sympathetically. She didn’t have the heart to contradict him about the treasure again. Some people just don’t have the stomach for the sad old classics.

The dragon’s siege on its once coveted populace lasted for four days and four nights, until not a single soul was left in the citadel. Those who tried to flee were caught in the wildfire that overtook the valley. Several other dragons were employed to manage the fire caused by their youngling. He tried to argue, claim that the humans had gone mad and began setting their own people on fire for the crime of associating with him, but it mattered not. The deed was done, his rage had snuffed out any chance of reconciliation when the rattling, choked gasps of the last remaining human died in their throat.

The other dragons chose to make an example of the youngling. He would be forced to guard the burnt out remains of his home until the end of days, tethered here by draconic magics that wove themselves through the land. Their spell was thusly written:

Twist and take root

Decay at the heart of the moon

Lost behind the seat of power

Human hands hold the key

[mittensmorgul]

Your posts about The Winchesters is making me consider getting involved in the community again. I'll be honest, SPN's finale hurt bad, and I haven't engaged in or even re-watched an episode of Supernatural in two years. It took a long time to appreciate the experience and not feel like i'd wasted YEARS being so invested in something that felt like a slap in the face at the end. I miss the community; I miss talking about it, being excited, etc. But I got in the SPN tags for the first time in two years today, and seeing Dean, Sam, and Cas's faces on my screen again felt like seeing old friends:'-)

Aw, heck, well... welcome back :')

I still haven't rewatched 15.20, and I don't know that I ever will. But for the first time since it aired, watching The Winchesters 1.13 actually... let me feel even a little bit okay about it.

When The Winchesters was first announced and we learned the premise of Dean telling the story to us, I was wary. If it had started off with "so I'm dead and in Heaven and learned this stuff..." I probably wouldn't have watched, just because of that. I do NOT wanna hear about Dead Dean. I still cannot reconcile the Dean in 15.20 with the Dean from the entire rest of the original series. 40 minutes of just completely erasing all character growth and then pinning him on a rusty receipt spike was NOT the culmination of 15 years of him struggling to be free, you know? I would've noped so hard on watching him tell stories from Heaven... I really didn't want to engage with more canon that insisted that travesty actually happened.

Many of us cling to our Chuck Won theories-- that Chuck's power transferring into Jack transformed Our Jack into some weird God-Chuck-The Sequel. That Chuck The Guy was just a puppet for the actual Cosmic Power and it still had its own agenda but now there was nothing for Dean to fight back against he just... gave in to its demands and played out the story Chuck had always wanted him to.

Detour time: I've spent the last few days (while being stupidly sick and not particularly coherent as a result... hooray cold medicine brain) trying to assemble all the times Chuck talked about his writing process, what he wanted from his story, and giving up quickly because it's just so much... but I recall him saying something to the effect of "that's where I went wrong, when I tried to write myself into the story." And I think that was his failsafe-- he spent all of s15 waiting for Jack to turn himself into The Perfect Receptacle for his power, to put on that little show on the beach and take on all his power so Sam and Dean would believe they'd actually won. Making everything that happened afterward just... them thinking they were making their own choices or whatever, when they'd completely dropped their guard and all Chuck had to do was throw the Random Bad Vampires at them that Becky complained about way back in 15.04. And they'd never see it coming.

So... Dean telling the story here? I still held out hope that it would take place BEFORE the events of 15.20, when he was alive, and that the goal was to tell a DIFFERENT story from the one Chuck wanted to tell.

But the way it was all set up in The Winchesters left us open to question everything we saw, everything we were being told by Dean as the story unfolded. We had to think about it week to week, and the payoff to that? That Dean has been dead and running out of Heaven specifically in search of a world where maybe his family actually had a chance to be happy? When he was supposedly in HEAVEN, also known as PARADISE, where everyone is supposed to finally find peace and happiness? Well, that right there SCREAMS "hey, so maybe paradise isn't what it's cracked up to be... maybe something is really, really wrong in Heaven, with "Jack," with the whole concept of "peace when we are done."

Dean... is still looking for something. Something is desperately missing. His whole family is supposedly in Heaven with him, and yet why is he running through the multiverse looking for something? What could be missing?

We were *told* in 15.20 that Cas was there in Heaven, but *we never saw him there.* We were *told* that Heaven was "fixed" and all was well there, but *we did not see any of that.*

What if something very much larger is very much not right, and Dean is still looking for something? He looked so dang sad in the Winchesters finale. SO dang sad. And he was very pointedly behaving very carefully toward Jack. Like he knows he's breaking rules, or possibly even testing boundaries a little bit here... and I like the wide open possibilities of what that could mean.

I really think Dean's role in The Winchesters is effectively wrapped up. I would love to see a continuation of the series just for the characters we've grown to love there. But I do firmly see it as its own thing, adjacent to Supernatural and built from it, but with the potential to be whatever it wants to be in the future, and I love the possibilities inherent in that.

But for Dean himself? He absolutely built a high dive platform for himself to dive back into his own story from here, and I would LOVE to watch that unfold, as well. And to me, that feels like Jensen's intent behind all of this.

Will it ever happen? Golly I sure hope so...

[fictional-reylin]

──⟢・⸝⸝ Give me your poison

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 858

Author’s Notes: I really wanted to write about Izuku, he's like the most fun to write about. And I wanted a Reader who doesn't fall into one preference, because how the heck can you wear one style of clothing all the time ??? And it’s the third one-shot in like a single week ? My my I’m on a roll.

──⟢・⸝⸝ Summary

It has been a couple of weeks since you and Izuku started dating, and for the most part it has been incredible. But when he stumbles upon you and your friends in the mall, rocking a punk outfit that he thought a preppy girl like you would never even look at. He kind of likes it.

You are welcome to send requests, don't forget to check this post: ಇ.┊[requests] .ᐟ

Dating you felt like something horrible was lifted off of Izuku’s chest, not that he was feeling terrible either, but ever since you two started going out he couldn’t help but smile a little wider, be a little bit more excited, a little more carefree. You were just so perfect in his eyes, he constantly would ask himself what he did to ever did to deserve being your boyfriend.

He kept repeating that to you every day, every chance he got he would tell you about it. He just couldn’t help but sing your praises. He probably would’ve everyone’s ear off if he wasn’t shy to talk about his love life, not that Denki and Sero didn’t try to tease him and pry about your relationship.

Maybe it was because the two of you started dating and he was too infatuated with you, but he didn’t care, he wanted to express his love to you every chance he got, get to know you even more than he originally did. And boy did he get to know you, he almost felt hurt.

He went to the mall to meet up with some of his friends, walking through it to pass the time while they were coming, when he noticed a group of teens his age, all dressed in kind of alternative fashion. He could’ve just walked past them and forget the next day, but he saw your face amongst them. You, his precious preppy girlfriend dressed in a skirt that was probably ripped and stitched with other fabrics a million times, bunch of band pins that he didn’t even know you would listen to, and a t-shirt with the most vulgar stuff that he didn’t even think could come out of your pretty mouth.

He was flabbergasted.

He called your name and you turned around, panic on your face. Why would you panic at the sound of his voice ? That didn’t make any sense to him. Worst of all the people you were with, your obvious friends, were asking you who he was. That broke his heart into a million pieces. His smile faded, his shoulder slumped and he simply walked away.

You followed him in a rush, calling his name as he kept walking away, before you finally grabbed his arm and made him turn to you. He looked sad, disappointed and hurt, would’ve probably cried if he wasn’t risking making a scene right in the mall.

“Why didn’t you tell your friends about us ?”

A little questioning “uh” left your mouth, looking at him confused.

“Wait, you’re not mad about my outfit ?”

Now it was his turn to look at you confused, pulling your into a secluded corner to talk more openly, “Wait what do you mean your outfit ? Why would I be mad about your outfit ?”

You bit your lip, looking down at your fidgeting hands, “I thought you find me weird or some sh- stuff. You always talked about how perfect I am, I didn’t want to disappoint you”

He looked at you like you said the must idiotic thing in the world, which to him you clearly did. He took both your hands, stopping you from fidgeting as he said in his softest voice “Look at me”

You did, finding him smiling fondly at you, like you were his whole world and nothing else mattered. “I would never think you’re weird. You’re the most amazing person I have ever had the honour of knowing, you hear that ? I love whether you’re in your cute pastel outfits, or rocking a punk outfit, or saying the most fucked shit”

Your mouth was hanging open, and here you thought your boyfriend was a pure cinnamon roll. He only laughed in your face, kissing your pretty hands “I’m respectful baby, not a saint”

You blushed at that, averting your gaze. “Right…” You looked back at him, thoughtful expression on your face. “Do you wanna meet my friends ?”

He smiled at you even more, his face lighting up like a million stars as he took your hand and started walking towards where the both of you came from. “I would love to” He answered, kissing the crown of your head.

After meeting your friends, chatting about your relationship and other stuff that you didn’t admit about yourself before, Izuku walked you home, the sun already disappearing as the night took over and the stars started shining brighter. You stood against your locked door, both of your hands intertwined with each others.

“Thank you Izuku… I’m really glad it turned out this way. My mum kept asking me why I started dressing in the same manner” You said with a laugh.

“I’m glad as well” He leaned closer to you, whispering into your ear. “Maybe next time you will dress goth and smudge your black lipstick all over my lips”

That made you so flustered you dropped his hands and rushed inside your house, bidding him goodnight as you leaned against the door, pressing your hand to your chest, as if that would stop your heart from beating out of it. But you would definitely listen to his advice.

ಇ. ┊ [navigation] .ᐟ ಇ.┊[bnha masterlist] .ᐟ

[lifeonthemurdersim]

Gut Feelings Fandom/Universe: Human Nature / Sadistic By Nature Characters/Pairing: Theodore Kingswell x OC, Hope Chambers x OC(?) AO3 Link(full tags, warnings etc here) Word count: 8,178 words Synopsis: When you're pretty much trapped together, what else is there to do but talk? Author's Note: OK I didn't realise this was this long wtf? Anyway this is vaguely based on Human Nature canon but with @cptsadist's Jet as the main character. I said I was stealing him til the end of the month so I'm making good use of him. More about Gorekinktober on my pinned post here! Kinktober prompt(s) used: Mutual Masturbation (played with - pun maybe intended) Goretober prompt used: Gut Spill (technically played with again, the two meanings of "spilling ones guts")

Hope had to admit that for a long time, she'd kind of assumed Jet was fictional. If they were being cynical they'd theorise maybe he still was, because lets face it, their life was kind of insane enough that suddenly gaining an imaginary friend wouldn't surprise them anymore. But he was here sitting on the bed with them talking with them, so by Occam's razor at the very least, he did in fact exist.

"He kept her drum kit, too. God knows what he fucking did with it." they finished with a sigh, then paused slightly. "Anyway... since then... I'd not spoken to him in years." They'd heard plenty though, from well meaning family and mutual friends. Enough to make them worry. "Well, until a few weeks back."

That's when he'd started coming into their work. Bragging about Jet, his new boyfriend. How wonderful he was. Almost too perfect, the way Theo described him. That's why Hope had doubted his existence. But when had finally come in and ordered for them both for the first time, that had tipped the scales a little. That was why they'd left their number on Jet's coffee cup. Just in case.

"Oh!" Jet exclaimed. "But I mean... you were both pretty young then, right? I mean... he could have changed?"

"I... guess." they replied. "Only... there's a little more to it, I just... I don't know if it's just me being paranoid."

"Well... you can tell me if you want, I don't mind!" Jet insisted. "But... if you don't want to, we can talk about something else?" Hope paused, trying to decide whether they could trust him not to think they were completely insane. They couldn't really think of a topic to turn the conversation to either though. "Like uh... are you still with Sandy? Did it all work out?" he asked before they could decide. Hope swallowed. He'd managed to take the conversation exactly towards what they weren't intending to talk about. Then again, they weren't really intending to talk about any of it. Jet's own talkative nature had coaxed them into it surprisingly naturally.

"Uhm... no... it... didn't." they admitted. "Actually she..." She sighed slightly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Look, she really didn't mean to do it. There were... a lot of mental health issues involved. But she... cheated on me a lot, and looking back now... she kind of emotionally abused me." They sighed, running a hand through the back of their hair. "I was so desperate for attention that I just... just put up with it." They shook their head at themself disapprovingly.

"I'm so sorry!" Jet replied, reaching his hand out to their shoulder reassuringly. They stiffened a little and he drew back again apologetically. It wasn't unpleasant at all, they were just that touch starved that it took them by surprise. They just didn't know how to articulate that and to tell him it was OK. Jet himself continued before they managed to stop overthinking it. "Oh, is this why you weren't sure about talking about this?" he asked. "Because that's totally valid!"

"No, no, it's... fine..." they said softly, not wanting him to feel guilty about asking. But they also kind of wanted to get it all out now. "But um... so... I kind of clung to it no matter what, but eventually she broke up with me. A few months after that she..." They took a deep, shaky breath. "She... died."

"Oh... I'm sorry... again..." Jet responded, looking like he wanted to reach out to them again but holding back. Fuck, they should have just explained quicker the first time. "Kinda... feel bad I asked now..."

They shook their head. "No, honestly Jet, I mean it, don't worry about it." they assured him. "That was a long time ago, and... well... the truth is... here's the part I was not sure whether to tell you." She closed her eyes. She felt stupid saying it. But that gut feeling wouldn't leave. "It was ruled as a suicide. But..." they looked down again, tracing patterns on their knee. "I... think Theo... might have been involved."

"What?" Jet asked, looking confused, shifting slightly to kneeling. "No... Theo would... would never do something like that! He's so nice!"

"That's what I thought too..." Hope sighed. "Like even after all the shit we went through, that was all dumb kid shit, so I didn't really suspect him. It was only when I heard about his ex-fiance... uh Natasha... I think... and her new boyfriend dying in a really similar way that I... started to wonder. I... took everything I could think of to the cops, but..." They sighed. "Nothing really came of it. I know it... probably all sounds crazy, but..." The catharsis hit them hard. They hadn't talked about this with anyone, not all of it anyway, not even with Phi or Wasei. They leant their head on their knees for a moment, and then looked over at him. "Just... thank you so much for listening, Jet."

"Of course!" he replied softly. "I'm... I'm sorry if you didn't want to talk about it though!"

"No, no honestly, it's fine!" they insisted. "It was... really good to get it out, I just... I feel like I talked way too much, I'm sorry."

"That's... not a problem." he assured with a slight laugh. "Actually it... feels way more like when we were texting now." That form of conversation came so much more naturally to Hope that it must have been a shock for him when they'd barely said a word when they first showed up here. The two had been talking for the past couple of days, and even though Jet assured them he was fine with how things were going with Theo, there were still so many things that worried Hope about the whole situation.

"Yeah." they agreed with a slight smile, sighing at the predicament they were in nonetheless. "It does." There was a slight pause. They shifted their legs back down and crossed them, placing the hand they could actually move in their lap. Jet looked like he was actually thinking about what they said a little, shifting to lean back onto his hands thoughtfully.

"Look... I don't want to like... deny what you feel about Theo." he began. "I totally agree that he can be a little... intense. But I... guess I like that..." he admitted, smiling off into space.

"You're still completely hung up on him, aren't you?" they asked with a shake of their head, not judgemental as such but certainly a little defeated. "Even after what I told you? Even... after he cuffed us both to the fucking bed?"

Theo had said he had to go get some things, but hadn't really elaborated. In Hope's opinion, the fact he was even that angry they'd been communicating with each other was not a good sign. Before he'd left though, he'd handcuffed Jet's right wrist to the right bedpost of his very large bed, Hope's left to the left. They could technically both move a little. They just couldn't get more than an inch or so away from the bed.

"Well..." Jet replied, looking over at his wrist and rattling it a little. "He gave me a longer cuff yesterday. I think he was just kinda pissed that you showed up without asking."

"I didn't want to have to do that!" they insisted. "I... look... you know how badly I had to psych myself up just to walk up to the building?"

"Then... why did you?" Jet asked, not accusatory, just curious.

"Because, Jet..." they replied, tapping their fingers on their calf anxiously with the hand that wasn't cuffed. "Because half of those things you've told me about Theo were the red flags I never picked up in him when I was seventeen, and... and the other half were red flags I'm apparently still bad at picking up on because they've gotten me killed by other people multiple times..." They realised their impassioned statement had given away too much. "Uh... almost... killed..." they added quickly. "Anyway, y-you weren't answering your texts and... I guess I started to get a little worried."

"I didn't really think it had been that long..." Jet attempted to explain. "We got a little... y'know... distracted." He held a hand to his mouth and giggled slightly. "If you called, I probably would've let you know everything was OK though!"

"Yeah uh... you're right, I probably should've tried that." they admitted, a little embarrassed. "I don't usually think of that sort of thing... I kind of hate phonecalls." They shook their head and let out a nervous laugh at their own inability to do something so supposedly simple.

"I mean, that's fair!" Jet replied with a sympathetic smile. "But I still think maybe it was... a bit of an overreaction?"

"Yeah." they admitted with a slight smile back. "I know it was, I just... I don't know, Jet. I was worried about you."

Jet glanced over at them curiously for a second. "I really do appreciate that you care." he said, and there was a sincerity to his expression that indicated that he meant it. But then he looked across to the opposite wall. "But... I can make my own decisions." he said, with only a hint of uncertainty. "Theo has been really nice to me. He... seems to really like me." he mumbled. Hope could identify with that. In fact they identified with it so hard they could see just how dangerous this could be for him.

"I'm sure he does." they responded. Hell, that seemed such an understatement given they'd heard Theo wax lyrical about how much he was in love with Jet even weeks back. It was still frustrating watching him go down this road though. "But Jet... you deserve someone who wants to just... just be with you, not fucking..." they began, then waved their free hand trying to think of an example. "...I don't know... bury themself alive with you."

"Did... did he say that?" Jet asked with a slight curiosity.

"Jet! Come on man!" they replied, unable to keep from laughing slightly. They shifted again, knees turned towards him though it pulled on their cuffed wrist somewhat.

"OK, OK, look, I'm not that bad." Jet insisted, laughing and mirroring their body language, turning towards them a little too.. "I'm just saying, there's something romantic about the idea of someone loving you that much... isn't there?"

"Of course there is." Hope replied, looking down, fiddling with the bedspread a little and sighing. "That's why I thought of it..." Theo was the type who might actually do it though. That was the difference. "Jet... look... I know what it's like to be drawn in by anyone who... who shows you even the slightest shred of affection, trust me." they mumbled. "But... you'll find someone who can make you happy without hurting you." They looked back up at him earnestly. "I promise." Jet met their gaze. He had really nice eyes, they'd noticed. Beautiful deep grey.

"...Have you?" he asked genuinely. They weren't expecting that, so they stuttered a bit as they went to reply.

"Um... w-well. No, not... not exactly." they admitted awkwardly. Jet's look turned to an empathetic one. "Look, that's not the point..." they insisted. "Will you just please at least consider trying to get out together, and..." They tried to think about this as logically as they could, because Jet was obviously smitten with Theo and she couldn't even blame him. "If Theo's as nice as you said he is, he's really not going to mind." they pointed out. They were very much of the opinion he would mind, but if this worked, they could either be gone completely or try to find something to defend themselves this way.

"Huh." Jet reflected. "I guess you've got a point. I just don't wanna upset him! He's so sweet!"

"I don't want to upset him either, believe me." they replied pointedly. "Look, I don't even know if this will work. But we've got to try something."

"Did you have an idea of how?" Jet asked. "Because to be honest, I'm not usually trying to get out of cuffs." He gave them a little grin and a shrug.

"Valid." they replied with a little smirk back. "I... actually... have broken out of a set before." It'd absolutely wrecked their wrist, worse than it already was, but they'd done it. They were making an attempt to do it now, tugging hard at it, but this thing wasn't budging, no matter how much they pulled. Theo's cuffs were either stronger or they had softer edges.

"Oh, seriously?" Jet replied, looking vaguely impressed. They nodded and shrugged. "I've only ever heard of someone doing that on PCP."

"Don't happen to... carry PCP around with you, do you?" Hope half-joked, still pulling ineffectually at the cuff.

"Sometimes!" Jet replied with a little laugh. "Just... not right now."

"Damn..." Hope replied, laughing ever so slightly but determined to focus on getting this done. "OK... what if we... try and pull at the same time? The weight of the bed might... work against us and break the cuffs?" She wasn't exactly a physicist but it seemed to make some form of sense.

"Or we'll break the bed." Jet pointed out. Hope held back from making a joke at his choice of phrasing.

"I can live with that." they stuck to saying, eyebrows raised. She shifted to face away from Jet, kneeling, and reaching over so her right wrist was holding onto the cuff as well. They turned to watch Jet, who glanced over and then did the same.

"On 3?" he asked, still looking back at them. Hope nodded. "3... 2... 1..." They both tugged their hardest on the cuffs, using all their body weight, but it didn't seem to put any more pressure on them than pulling individually.

"God dammit." Hope yelled exasperatedly. They'd finally convinced Jet to help and now it still wasn't working. She pulled her wrist as hard as they could at another attempt to try and break them, then let out a sharp gasp of pain as a very old scar was dug into. They didn't even know it was that sensitive.

"Hey, are you OK?" Jet asked, picking up that they weren't just upset about it not working. They felt him shift back around to face them.

"Yeah." they lied, but then they actually turned too and looked at him, and saw the look of genuine concern in his wide, grey eyes and broke. "No." they admitted. "Look, I've been trying to stay calm and talk you through all this but I'm..." They looked away for a moment. Then they shifted down onto their back, trying to get their breath back ready to try again, and continued in a mumble. "I'm scared. A bit." they admitted.

"Hey..." Jet said reassuringly, looking down at them. "Look, I get you have this past with Theo, but... I feel like maybe he's really changed! I mean... he didn't actually... try to hurt you when you came in so... so maybe you don't need to worry, right?!" Hope closed their eyes for a moment, and looked up to meet his gaze. They were a little scared for themself. No matter how much it seemed they cheated it, dying still hurt. Not to mention, they didn't know for sure they'd come back in this scenario. They weren't the one captured, they might not be the one in the loop. Jet would.

Except... not a loop. As far as she knew, Jet didn't have this power to re-live deadly scenarios like this. Theo could very easily kill him for all she knew. They certainly couldn't just tell him they lived in a fucking time loop. They were also really bad at expressing when they cared about someone, too. They thought Jet could be a really good friend, and they could maybe even help protect him from his own naivety. But they'd only known him for a couple of days, and they knew it was weird to care that much about someone you barely knew just because they were nice, wasn't it? Or... or maybe if they just stopped overthinking it for one, one second...

"I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for you." they admitted, eyes focused right on his so he knew they meant it. God, why did they say it? He'd find that so pathetic. Jet's expression shifted a little. He still looked concerned about them, perhaps even more so than before. But there was something new to it; a heavy dose of determination. He looked at them a moment more, then swallowed, and shuffled to laying down and stretched as close over Hope as he could get, his forearm hovering over their head as he tried to reach towards the corner where they were cuffed. "Wh-what are you doing?" they asked.

"If we pull on it with both of our free hands, and you pull on it with your wrist, we might be able to break yours." he pointed out, still trying to reach over to do so. It wasn't the worst idea in the world, it really wasn't, except for one pretty major flaw.

"Jet." Hope said sympathetically as she watched him attempt fruitlessly to reach the far corner. "This bed's huge." they pointed out. They weren't sure why Theo even needed such a large bed though they were a little jealous. "And you're short as fuck, man."

Jet frowned, still trying his best to stretch over to them. "I'm about the same height as you." he pointed out.

"I'm short as fuck, man." they laughed back nervously. "Look I really appreciate what you're trying to do but you're going to hurt yourself." They grabbed his wrist and pulled it away, and he reluctantly allowed them to. His fingertips grazed the top of their head slightly on the way back.

"What's-" he responded, then glanced over at them. "Oh that's your hair." He scrunched his fingers in it slightly. Hope nodded, and Jet giggled. "It's so soft and fluffy."

"Yeah, I... guess it is." they replied, They liked their hair a lot in all honesty. They were a sucker for it being played with though, even just having it brushed or cut. So they could feel a slight tingle where he was touching that was admittedly kind of nice.

"How do you get it so soft?" Jet asked, running his hand deeper through her hair in in a way that spread the tingling all over her head and down her neck.

"Um..." they replied, trying not to say anything about how much they were enjoying that. "W-well I only use semi-permanent dye. My hair's a little wavy so I detangle it wet and I try not to use sulphates, silicones, stuff like that." They smiled over at him. "But... yours looks really nice too." they assured, reaching over to touch it. It was soft, but a little greasy. Greasy hair was a bit of a sensory issue for them, but they tried hard not to show it.

"Yeah, sorry, it... probably doesn't feel very nice." he replied absent-mindedly, combing his fingertips through their hair from root to tip one more time before moving his hand and using it to shift theirs out of his with an apologetic look.

"Oh... no, it really was fine, Jet!" they assured, already kind of missing the way he'd been stroking theirs. Although... the way they were vaguely holding hands was kind of nice, too.

"It's OK." Jet replied, looking up at the ceiling as his fingers interlinked into Hope's thoughtfully. This time it was thier face that tingled as a blush spread over their cheeks. They weren't against physical affection between friends at all, they just didn't usually recieve it. Phi saw it as something that was almost exclusively non-platonic, and Was... well Was made retching noises whenever anything like hand holding or cuddling was brought up. "I know I should probably do something about it, I just never do." he admitted. "I try and get my showers over quick so I can go do other stuff."

They nodded. They felt like that too at times, unless it was a long pamper session, then they could usually justify it. "Maybe I could give you a bath." they joked. Actually they weren't too sure if they were joking or offering or... flirting. Oh god. "I mean... sorry, that was probably really weird thing to say!" they spluttered, their face turning considerably redder. They couldn't really cover their face with their hand linked to his so they tried to look away.

"Why would it be weird?" Jet asked with a little smile that drew him back to looking at him directly again. "Ooh, could I do your makeup after?"

"Oh!" they replied, his sweet reply disarming them from their embarrassment, though the fact Jet was taking their offer completely genuinely and accepting meant they were still blushing profusely. "That... um... I'd like that." they managed to reply before they could talk themselves out of it. They smiled, shaking their head. "You're too sweet, Jet." He looked at them and smiled back.

"Well... you're sweet too." he pointed out. "You seem pretty cool, I've really liked texting you the past few days!" Hope gave him and awkward smile and shook their head.

"Me too but... I meant... you're too sweet." she clarified with a soft chuckle and an affectionate look. "I really don't deserve it."

"Well... why not?" Jet asked insistently. "Why wouldn't you deserve someone being nice to you?" They had to admit, they didn't really have an answer for that off the top of their head. They'd done some questionable things in their time to survive. But that aside, they couldn't really think of a solid reason why they didn't.

"Guess you've got me there." they admitted, giving him a small smile. "Still I... I think we should probably... let go." they suggested, looking over at their linked hands, reluctant to actually do it despite their suggestion. This whole thing was fucking scary and that little bit of contact meant a lot to them.

"Oh." Jet replied, looking a little disappointed. That look was so hard to see on him, even harder to know they'd caused it. "Yeah that's fine... sorry, maybe I should have asked first?"

She couldn't bring herself to let him think that. "I mean, it's not that I don'twant to." they clarified hastily, her hand actually twitching because if anything she wanted to clutch tighter. "It's just... r-remember what I said about... um... about affection?" Jet looked like he was struggling to remember, but tried.

"I get... too drawn in by it?" he ventured, with a slight grimace of a smile, like he wasn't sure he'd got it right.

"Kind of." they said, unable to turn that face down because it was admittedly adorable. "Actually, Jet I... said I understand what it's like to be drawn in by it." they explained. "When someone's really nice to me I... y'know." Jet looked at them like he didn't, in fact, know. "Find it... hard not to fall for them." they clarified awkwardly.

"Ohhhhh." Jet replied. "Yeah I... I totally get that actually." He looked at the way their hands were linked, and then to her. "Wait, you're..." he asked, looking to them. "...worried you'd fall for me?!"

"Well... yeah." they admitted. "I mean..." They bit at their lip awkwardly. "Look, I'm obviously not saying I have, Jet, I mean I barely know you." they clarified in case he thought they were being really fucking weird, especially as he had a boyfriend. "But..." They looked over at him and did their best to look him in the eyes. To see him.

He was cute as hell. Beautiful, actually. He talked so much it was infectious, enough to bring even Hope out of their shell and talk too. He made them laugh. He was naive, sure. But that naivety, that honesty, was how they knew he probably wasn't just another dick who'd try to kill her. Most of all, he was kind. Really fucking kind to them.

"Yeah." they finished. "I definitely could." They looked away, staring up at the ceiling, their blush still refusing to fade because this was all so awkward. "I... absolutely fucking would." they added in a slightly self-deprecating sigh out. That sort of thing always ended up hurting, but the fact that he had Theo, who was gorgeous and tall and skinny and masculine and dangerous and... honestly, everything they weren't, would make it feel so much worse. They made a mental note to just... keep their distance if things ever started to get like that.

"...Would that be so bad?" Jet asked in an unusually understated tone. Their eyes flicked quickly back to him in confusion. "I... know I can be pretty annoying..." he said softly. "I know I talk a lot, and... and when I like someone I really just want to be around them all the time so I guess-"

"Jet ..." she interrupted in a puzzled tone, obviously disagreeing with his self-assessment entirely but far more busy being confused to argue against him.

"What?" he replied.

"...Theo?" they asked pointedly, and Jet's face suddenly flickered with recollection and a little guilt. OK, maybe they were wrong. They didn't really think they could fall for someone who could forget about their partner that easily. "Wow..." they said with genuine surprise, given how he'd been vehemently defending Theo minutes earlier.

"Hey, I'm not..." he insisted, obviously picking up on their implication this time. "Look I'm not a dick, we just... we haven't been..." he hesitated, looking unsure how to describe it. "...together... that long!"

They weren't entirely convinced; a few weeks was still long enough to remember he was at least in a relationship at least as far as they were concerned. "Were you... friends for a while first?" they asked to try and move past the awkwardness, wondering where the love part came in. Jet didn't answer at first, looking a little embarrassed.

"Actually... I've only known him a few days." he admitted. "I met him the day before we started texting. When you called him my boyfriend I just kind of went with it because..." he blushed slightly. "Well I guess I thought it was kind of sweet that he said that." That rang all sorts of alarm bells for Hope, and it wasn't even because she thought the two of them were moving too fast. It was because one of them had to be lying, and right now, she trusted Jet a hell of a lot more than Theo. "...What?" he asked, obviously seeing the look on her face.

"Jet... Theo told me you two were... really serious..." they replied slowly, trying to figure it out. "He's... been talking about you for weeks now."

"He's..." Jet began, stopping himself mid-sentence, looking like his brain had frozen. "Wait.... what?" he questioned, utterly confused. "How...?" Unfortunately Hope couldn't help him with that one, they had no explanation that made any sense either. Any chance they'd had of figuring it out, though, was snatched from them as they heard the front door to Theo's apartment practically fly open.

"Shit." Hope whispered, finally snatching their hand away from Jet's. Yes, they didn't want to, especially when they were anxious as hell about what was about to happen, but they couldn't get caught like that. She doubted it meant anything to Jet himself. It probably meant more than her than it should. But to Theo it would mean a lot, and that would not be good for either of them.

There was the sound of the door being slammed and at least one lock being shut and then Theo rushed into the bedroom, looking a little apologetic at first. "Sorry I uh... got a little held up at the doctors!" he explained, holding up a bag that had very likely been stolen, as a neat plaque with "Property of Dr. S. Hauer" was fixed to the side. His eyes passed over them both on the bed, and then he dropped the bag and stared. Stared hard. "What did you do?" he asked, his tone suddenly low and accusatory.

Jet and Hope exchanged glances, but unsurprisingly, he spoke first. "Nothing you need to worry about, Theo!" he said brightly. "We talked for a while but we're still in the cuffs, look!" he held up his wrist and shook it to show him.

"It... doesn't look like nothing." Theo muttered. Hope glanced at Jet. He was still blushing from having made his admission about Theo. She felt like she still was too. Both their hair was a little ruffled, and so were the sheets where they'd made attempts to get out. Still... it wasn't possible. They didn't even have the ability to kiss, let alone anything else.

"Theo..." Hope told him. "I don't know what you think we did but... we're not even able to get that close." she explained, reaching across to the back of Jet's neck cautiously to show him, about as far as she could reach without stretching. She felt Jet fidget slightly at the gentle touch.

"Don't touch him!" Theo snapped anxiously, like she'd tried to steal a priceless diamond. "You're close enough t-to... to have your hands down each others pants." he accused.

"What?" Jet replied, as he and Hope glanced at each other. He began to raise himself back up to sitting. "No we... we didn't do anything like that..."

"I know you both. I knew I shouldn't have left you alone together and I still... I still..." He didn't seem angry so much as incredibly distressed, putting a hand to his forehead and sliding it up into his hair exasperatedly.

"OK, Theo, your paranoia is kicking in, alright... just try and breathe for a second." Hope suggested as calmly as they could, also rising up to their knees.

"No, nonono..." Theo muttered deliriously. "You don't get to try and control me like that anymore." he snapped, looking over at Hope. "This is all your fault. You... you led my Jet astray and now you're lying to me..." Hope stared at him. There weren't a lot of things that truly annoyed them. But being called a liar? That really got under their skin.

"We're not lying." they said through gritted teeth, at least trying to hold back for self-preservation reasons. "If anything... you're the liar..." They tried to keep their tone as measured as possible, despite how pissed off they were. "Y-you've been talking to me about Jet for weeks, you said you were in love, and now I find out you've been together, what... less than three days?"

Jet looked to Theo too. "I... would like to know about that, Theo." he admitted, not so much looking suspicious as still really confused about it. "Could you please just... explain?" He gave Theo an innocent little smile, but whether it was genuine, feigned or a little of both, Hope was unsure of. "For me?"

That smile seemed to break Theo out of his distress just a little. He closed his eyes for a moment and sighed. "Jet..." he said softly. "I'm not an idiot. I knew they would eventually tell you I've been talking about you for a while." Jet nodded slowly, still looking unsure. Theo opened his deep blue eyes back up and trained them on him. "I just... I thought it'd make it easier."

"Easier to do what?" Jet asked with genuine curiosity.

"To... to tell you." Theo said breathlessly, stepping closer to the bed and pushing Jet's hair back off of his face, turning his chin up towards him. "To tell you that I love you."

Jet's eyes widened. "Th-theo..." he replied, blushing hard. Hope felt disheartened by how pleased he seemed about that. They were never going to get out of here alive. Before Jet could say anything further though, Theo knelt down beside the bed, holding the smaller man's cuffed hand in his, planting a kiss to it and looking at him reverently.

"No but... before you... tell me it's too soon I... I have to explain everything." he told him frantically, taking a deep breath in and out. "I've... been watching you, Jet. For... for a while now." Jet looked slightly more concerned at that, admittedly. "So... so I'm not just making it up, and I don't just... just fall in love with anyone, either. I know all about you, Jet. And I love everything about you."

"You've... been... watching me?" Jet repeated back, as Hope silently willed him to realise how creepy that was. He looked like he at least somewhat did. "I'm... not too sure how I feel about that part..."

"No..." Theo replied. "No, no, it was... I didn't intend to do it, I was just... just curious about you. B-but the more I found out about you, the more there was to like, and... and I ended up falling for you... s-sl hard..." His voice was a frantic ramble. "So hard I wanted to be you sometimes, because I know... I know how perfect you are." Although shaken, Jet still looked a little enraptured with that. "And... and you'll love me!" he insists. "I know you might not just yet but you'll love me because I'm... I'm doing everything to be as perfect as you."

"You can't just... cheat your way to a loving relationship." Hope couldn't help but interject quietly. "That's... not how it works, Theo."

"Haven't you done enough, Ebony?" Theo snapped, glaring over at them. "Can't you just let us be happy?"

"Theo... I... I go by Hope now." Hope told him quietly. "You know that."

"Right, right. You're that desperate to run away from the past." Theo assesses. "To run away from all the times you fucked up. To run away from me."

From Hope's perspective, it was almost laughable how much importance he placed upon himself in their life. "Jesus fucking Christ, Theo, it literally has nothing to do with you!" they insisted.

"Woah... uh... if that's their dead name then that's not cool, Theo." Jet pointed out in a gently warning tone.

"Oh... uh, it's... it's not like that Jet." Hope explained, genuinely worried for him if he defended them. "Don't... don't worry."

Hope didn't consider themself to have a deadname. But their full name was indeed Ebony Hope Chambers. For a long time they had used their middle name when first meeting someone if they were worried they were a little sketchy. Back when they were more naive, more trusting, that really wasn't often. But with all the kidnaps and deaths and rebirths they'd been through? It had become more and more frequent, until eventually, they'd got so used to it, it had just stuck. The sad truth was, they actually loved their first name.

It was cute, dark, at least somewhat androgynous; the same kind of way they'd like to be viewed. It was what they remembered being called as a kid, when they felt like they were worth something because even if they seemed to have no friends, at least they were insanely smart. What they remembered being called as a teenager when they'd finally gone from doing what they were good at to what they were passionate about; designing, singing, falling in love. Even getting a few friends who seemed to understand them. Though the situation with Theo was a bit of a knock to that.

Ebony was weird, dramatic, clingy, sarcastic, shy. They weren't for everyone. But they were also unique, passionate, romantic, funny, considerate. That person hadn't gone anywhere. But around the same time they'd had to stop trusting people enough to give their first name, they'd also become tougher. They'd become used to torture and pain and blood and death. They'd become more anxious than ever, barely speaking a lot of the time, and simultaneously they'd learnt to fight back. To offer their body as a bargaining chip, wishing it would somehow lead to true affection. To kill.

So yeah. She'd love to be Ebony again. But Ebony was who she was before she'd got stuck in this cycle of death and rebirth. If anything, Hope was thier "dead"name. At least until they could get back to living a normal life, that was who they were now.

"See, Jet." Theo agreed. "I'd never do something like that. Unlike some people, I have more respect than that." he said with a subtle glare towards Hope.

"What's that supposed to mean?" they ask. It may not trigger their temper the way being called a liar does, but it's still pretty hurtful. Theo let go of Jet's hand and walked around the bed to them.

"First," he says in an accusatory manner. "You misspell Jet's name on the damn coffee cup-"

"Which you yelled in my face for until I changed it." she pointed out. "My manager has only seen us interact twice and she wants me to get a restraining order against you, by the way."

"Wait... that's what happened?" Jet asked, looking between the two of them.

"-then you somehow manage to start texting my boy." Theo continued, so focused on Hope he barely noticed Jet's question. He points towards their phones that he'd confiscated on the other side of the room.

"I... texted them too." Jet interjects. "Look... Theo... just because I have friends, it... doesn't mean I like you any less!"

"-Finally, you come to my apartment out of nowhere and you touch my boy." he finished insistently, his voice growing louder and louder as he came up into their face. "So if anyone is weird and creepy and obsessive, it's you!"

"Theo... I... I never called you..." they tried to argue, but their voice was wavering a little. Being yelled at like that always made them feel like a scared little kid again. On top of that, everything he was saying was sinking in. They had a horrible cold feeling seeping into the centre of their chest. What if he was... right? What if they were the problem? They closed their eyes. "M-maybe... you're right... I'm sorry."

"Hope..." Jet said softly, sounding upset for them, but it wasn't enough to pull them out of the spiral.

"Sorry... about everything?" Theo asked slowly. They opened their eyes back up and looked at him, trying to ascertain why he was asking. "So you did touch?"

"Definitely not in the way you think, Theo." Jet insisted.

"But... if you want to be literal, then, yeah." Hope admitted with a sigh at his persistence. "It was... all my fault though."

"It wasn't, Hope..." Jet replied. "I was the one who-"

"Jet." Hope said, not wanting him to put himself at risk. At least if they became the target of Theo's rage they might survive it. "If I hadn't tried to get you to escape, none of this would have happened."

"Now it's all coming out..." Theo muttered under his breath. "What, you thought you were gonna run away together, that it?" he asked a little bitterly. This felt like a losing battle now. Hope was starting to lose all motivation to fight him. "I don't blame you for wanting to..." he said softly, closing his eyes, though it was unclear if he meant Jet, Hope, or both.

"Theo..." Jet started. "I don't know what you want me to say..." He looked to Hope. "They seemed really scared of you and I... I just... wanted to help." It tugged at their heartstrings severely. From the look on Theo's face though, it was having a very similar effect on him. He started to back away from Hope.

"You have such a soft heart." he told Jet, going back over to sit in front of him. He reached out for the hand of Jet's that wasn't cuffed, holding it in both of his. "Jet..." he said softly. His demeanour changed so easily around Jet. He became so gentle. Hope remembered thinking that was who Theo was. But she guessed the softness was just... trained in her direction back then. "Whatever happened... I believe in what we have." he said, searching Jet's face carefully before continuing. "So... if you wanna tell me, really wanna tell me that you don't like me anymore after all this then... then you can go. I'll let you both out of the cuffs." He looked down at Jet with melancholy eyes. "But if you stay with me... I'll let them out." he said to Jet. "And you and me... we can have a life together. Forever." He glanced over at Hope pointedly. "Can you offer him that?"

Hope fixed him with a distrustful stare, both confused at the idea Theo might let them both go, and confused by him even asking them that. "No." they replied. "Of course I can't, I... I'm not trying to..." they looked to Jet. "But..." If there was even a slight chance Theo's offer was genuine, they had to take it. "..but I do care about you, Jet and... you don't even have to stop seeing Theo, if you just let me get you somewhere safe..."

"Give it up, Ebony." Theo snapped at them impatiently. "You've just proved you don't get it."

"...You promise you'll let them out?" Jet asked Theo.

"Of course." Theo replied sweetly, his blue eyes trained on Jet's grey ones. Jet looked back to Hope.

"Jet, no..." they pleaded.

"Yeah." Jet said, giving them a determined smile. Then he looked up at Theo. "I'll stay with you." he agreed softly. Hope couldn't figure out if he was doing it for their benefit or if he really wanted to, but either way they begun to shake their head softly, convinced he was making a huge mistake. Theo smiled widely, leaning in and kissing Jet hard. When they pulled apart, Jet was blushing a little and smiling too. They guessed at least there was something genuine between them. Maybe Jet would be OK.

"Y-you... can't talk to each other again." Theo insisted. He went over to get both of their phones. Hope watched him unlock both, exchanging glances with Jet. They didn't know about him, but they'd certainly never told Theo their pin. He pushed a few buttons, presumably deleting each other's numbers and messages. He went over and handed Jet his. "From now on, you tell me who you talk to." he said firmly.

"...O...K..." Jet replied with a little unease in his tone. Theo walked around to Hope. However, as soon as he saw their face he hesitated. They looked at him silently, scared to do anything that would further antagonise him. But he started shaking his head angrily. He dropped their phone on the floor, and smashed it with the heel of his boot. Hope drew a sharp but quiet intake of breath.

"...the hell, Theo...?" they asked exhaustedly, not even able to bring themselves to yell at him. Forget numbers, they might not be able to afford a new phone for months now. Even Jet looked like he didn't know what to say. But as promised, Theo pulled at the key for Hope's cuffs from his wrist, leaning close to them with a glare but unlocking them.

"Why is it I never feel even with you?" he asked them, looking down at the key. He walked over to the doctor's bag and dropped it in, looking inside, his eyes flicking over the contents.

"Maybe because I never did anything for you to feel even about." they pointed out, shaking their head. "Theo I liked you. And I liked Sandy. She just asked me first."

"How is that fair?" he asked. "I... I loved you more than she did! How is it fair?"

"It's not!" they tried to sympathise, getting up and cautiously stepping closer with their hands raised, trying to get him to look at her so she could calm him down like she used to. "You know, you always used to say we were... so alike." they reminded him, feeling a weird sense of... nostalgia, almost. "That's how I know that... that sometimes when we're too shy to tell people how we feel... things that could've been good do just... just slip by you, y'know?" They'd had more than their fair share of things like that. "I'm sorry Theo, but that's... that's just what happens."

"You don't know how much it hurt!" Theo snapped back, hand clutching to his stomach, looking nauseated. "It felt like... felt like..." he started to hyperventilate slightly, staring at them with panic in his eyes like he was cornered, then pulled something from the bag. Sharp. Shiny. A scalpel. He pointed it at Hope, shaking, while they immediately recoiled.

"Woah, Theo, c'mon, you said you'd let 'em go!" Jet interjected abruptly, raising up yo his knees and pulling against his cuff.

"I did, Jet!" Theo insists with an earnesty that was actually pretty scary. They grabbed Hope's freed wrist hard and they yelped. Even after all these years it was a shock to the system because he used to be so... gentle. "I did let them go. But I... but I don't..."

"Theo, please... you don't want to..." Hope began, then realised he probably did want to right now. "You don't want to do anything that would... would make Jet think less of you." they attempted to bargain.

"He wouldn't!" he hissed quickly, making it clear they'd picked a poor choice of words. "He won't!" He grabbed their wrist tighter then pulled them right to him, holding them close with his arm across their chest, his front to their back. He teases the blade down their throat, hooking it into the zip pull of their leather jacket and dragging it downward to expose the cropped shirt they were wearing underneath. They usually wore them for work because it looked cute with the apron. But right now their midriff was completely exposed. He scraped the tip of the scalpel over the gem of their belly button piercing, probably because he knew it would set their teeth on fucking edge in a way trailing across their skin never could. Bastard.

"Theo!" Jet pleaded desperately, tugging on his cuff. Even he wasn't getting through to him anymore, though. Theo's arm brushed their stomach as he reached across, right before he plunged the scalpel incredibly deep inside of them, forcing a loud shriek of pain from them. Jet looked on, horrified, looking rather nauseous, perhaps even woozy. They didn't know how this would all happen. If this counted as a loop, it'd likely all be rewritten. But either way... they had to at least try to assuage his guilt.

"Jet... listen to me. I know it's not going to look like it, but I will be OK." they assured him frantically. "Keep yourself..." they began, then screamed as Theo sliced hard across their abdomen in a way that burned white-hot across their entire core. "...safe." they finished in a gasp. The last thing they truly saw of Jet were his eyes looking completely terrified... before they fluttered back into his head and he collapsed backwards onto the bed.

They were worried about what was going to happen to him now, but they honestly didn't blame him. They could feel their blood beginning to gush violently out of the wound and flood onto the floor, but Theo had cut deep, so that wasn't the end of it. They could see their own organs falling from their body, their guts spilling out everywhere. Theo was still clutching hard at their chest, the only thing keeping them upright as their body grew weak and dizzy in his arms. He squeezed their body hard, mouth right beside her ear. "You know why you don't get it, Ebony?" he taunted quietly. "Because no-one will ever love you like I did." He was breathing hot and angry against her neck. "No one will ever love you."

They knew on some level, he was probably right. Maybe that was why their only reply was choked sobbing, or maybe that was the only sound they could come out with the way the life was draining from their body. Either way, his words were the last thing she heard before she faded from consciousness. In that world, anyway.

No sound... no edge... no shore...

There they were there again, back to the same place they always went when they died.

Normally they'd focus on the white light all around them, the same light that would hold her, take her, draw her back to reality, to the beginning of the loop. Wherever the beginning of this loop even was. But right now, for the first time, they decided they wanted to cling on a little longer, eyes focused on the water lapping softly at their calves.

Beautiful deep grey.

She really hoped Jet would be OK.

End note: OK HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED. This fic is the culmination of like 3 different jokes: 1. My OC absolutely must give Jet a bath, 2. Theo seems to have a thing for tiny goths, and 3. Jet and Hope would be amazing besties but they'd most likely end up with their hands down each others pants(hence instantly thinking of them when this prompt came up). OK I don't think I shared that one with anyone but c'mon.

What I didn't expect was that just starting to write this one (1) interaction between them would lead me to kinda fully ship them. Like, a lot. 🫣

I'm sure I will not be at all obnoxious or abnormal about this...

[followthecyborg]

Alright I'm making this pinned post to neutralize my tumblr since things have changed within the past couple years and with those years have come controversy. I know no one cares about this but this is a weight I've been carrying that I feel like I need to relieve.

In the spring of 2021, I had a mental health episode that left me the most depressed I've ever felt. It came from a number of sources, including but not limited to:

Covid shutdowns making me stay at home and away from school and friends

Being forced to stay home with my very conservative mother, who I've had to sort my feelings about

My best friend at the time deciding I was no longer welcome in their life with zero explanation

Mental health issues that weren't acknowledged at the time of my suicidal ideation

This all lead to me having an "awakening" where I became a born-again Christian who suddenly loved life. With that, unfortunately, came being conservative and everything-phobic. It was like a flip switched in my mind and my personality took a total 180.

Before my ideation, I had already taken an unannounced hiatus from social media. I saw what it was doing to me while isolated from the public, and I didn't like it. I was away from March to September of that same year, and slowly came back to tumblr. I had started working and going out again, and my toxic beliefs faded the more I stayed away from the internet. I spent the next year building myself again and figuring out what it is I wanted from life; if I'm honest, I still don't know what I'm looking for. My "phase" ended by the beginning of 2022.

Fast forward to December 2022. I reached out to my prior best friend to see if they wanted to reconnect. I was unaware of what fatal sin I could have committed for them to drop me out of nowhere and ignore me when I saw them in public spaces. The response to my inquiry was hostile; they revealed they had been stalking my tumblr even when my hiatus occurred, as they knew I had brought them up in an update post I had made when I came back (granted, I called them a cunt, but that was how I was feeling at that time).

They also brought up a post I made but can no longer recollect about their ex and how annoyed I was by them not moving on from their experience with him after months of self agony. I was never the person to go to for comfort as it is something I struggle with, and this friend knew that. I had tried to provide comfort, but ultimately this friend needed help from a professional. I also used my tumblr more as a diary when I was younger (word to the wise, don't do that). I don't know how or why they'd find my tumblr in the first place. I explained myself and my feelings/truth on the matter, and apologized to the points they made. One point they brought up was me being a "terf" despite me admittedly not being one and only rarely posting my opinions on things on my blog. They then sent a final message, which I deleted because they blocked me.

A couple weeks ago, I tried messaging a mutual friend of ours through discord to catch up. They ultimately pretended to not know who I was, then "suddenly remember", and tell me that I was racist and treated our friend terribly during a traumatic time in their life. I was also blocked before I could explain myself. This struck me as odd, because this person played no part in the drama between Friend 1 and I, and I still have no idea what racist things I said/did despite them saying "you know what you did". Later on I asked my best friend who was part of our circle his take on it, and he said these two tried "exposing" me as racist during the time of my ideation because of microaggressions, which they didn't provide evidence for. I also found this reasoning weird because I was chronically online at that point in my life and obsessively tried my hardest to not be offensive towards people.

Scattered between 2021 and the present day have been other events that lead me to realizing I'm both autistic and suffering from BPD. These aren't excuses for any problematic behavior or relationship follies I've committed; these are explanations. I feel the first step to beginning my healing journey is to be open and admit this behavior.

I also want to clear the air in case I've burned bridges on here as well. My tumblr does a good job at reflecting my various mental states throughout the years, and I'm hoping this post can explain why I've gone through different phases. I miss posting on this account. I miss who I was when I first started this blog, and I want to post more of my original posts and find a community again. I want to feel safe again.

So, in sum:

I am NOT a conservative Christian, nor am I a TERF

I don't know my sexuality and my straight phase was kind of cringe

This is my personal blog, therefore I will occasionally talk about irl events and people. It's your fault if you're snooping.

Communication is key to solving misunderstandings

[softskiesahead-moved]

 ♡ pinned info 

> hello!! i’m aya ^-^ i use she/her + they/them pronouns & and i’m a minor (my about is in my carrd!)

> this blog is mainly self-shipping but i kind of go off topic and talk about other interests because i feel comfy here !!

 > carrd (about, dni/byf & f/os) please read before following. 

♡ tags/nav

otp: code to happiness 

!pfo: spring again 

!pfo: multiplayer 

!pfo: doughnut fear! 

!pfo: double clef

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aya.txt - talking tag

♡ class of chaos - collective tag for class 78

♡ grey clouds - comfort tag

♡ storms ahead - vent tag

♡  aes. - aesthetic/theme

♡ aya’s art - art tag

♡ sleepy skies - night and morning posts

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[♡ other’s creations] - cool things other blogs have made!

** information about tagging triggers is in the carrd! feel free to message me about specific ones too, i’ll tag anything. 

[sariahsue]

Marinette’s Three Rules for Preventing the Apocalypse

Set shortly after the events of Chat Blanc, Marinette uses her knowledge of what happened that day to create three rules to prevent disaster. What happens when she can't keep them all?

Chapter One - Six Months Later

(Oops. This is the real ch one. The last “ch 1″ I posted was intended to be the prologue!)

"Marinette," Adrien's voice sang. Or wait, was he in costume right now? She yawned and stretched, giving herself time to remember what was happening before responding. Her arm pushed against something warm and she looked up. A masked face smiled down at her.

Marinette bolted up from where she'd had her head in his lap. The sunlight coming through her windows was at a completely different angle than it had been when she'd closed her eyes. Overdue homework mixed with the fabric and thread from two half-unfinished commissions she was supposed to be done with by the end of the week. Why hadn't he woken her up?

"What time is it?" She swept an arm to collect as much of her things off the floor as possible.

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked.

"No." She stuffed three pencils in her mouth, threw the fabric over her shoulder and tried to stack her papers with one hand and the pins she'd knocked over with the other. It wasn't working well.

"It looks like you are." He leaned over and brushed the pins into a pile so she could walk safely to her desk.

"I'm not mad," she said after dropping the pencils back onto her desk. "At you. I just don't know if you're lying to me again."

"Hm." He walked over, and she handed him a pincushion shaped like a tomato. "So you are mad at me."

It had been a difficult game she'd been playing, but one she knew the rules to by now. Chat Noir couldn't confide in her about his personal problems, and she wasn't allowed to ask. But Adrien wouldn't confide in her at school, and she had no way to help him if she wasn't supposed to know that he'd been coming to her house for comfort. He looked perfectly calm in class, never getting lower than an A, keeping a smile and an answer whenever the teacher called on him. It would seem odd if she said he looked upset and asked if he wanted to talk. She felt stuck.

"I'm really fine," he said once all the pins were put away. "I'm not lying."

Another rule of the game was that she had to pretend she wasn't Ladybug, and so she couldn't tell him he wasn't allowed to use the miraculous for friendly visits. But that one didn't grate on her as much. It was better that he felt he could come over whenever he wanted and not like he was imposing on her, for his own sake.

And he had taken advantage of the hospitality. What had started as an occasional hello when he was feeling down had turned into regular hangouts. Sometimes they sat on her balcony for five minutes to catch up on their uneventful days. Other times they stayed up for hours, swapping secrets, watching movies, or doing homework together.

Having him so close and still not being able to be with him wasn't the best for Marinette's heart, and trying to keep track of what he'd told her as which persona was confusing, but he was always happier when he left. That was worth any sacrifice she had to make.

Marinette took her time putting the pin cushion away, carefully rearranging the contents of her sewing basket while she collected her thoughts. She could feel Chat Noir standing right behind her. If she took a step back, she would lean into his chest. For a second she let herself pretend that if she did, he would wrap his arms around her and hold her.

But Chat Noir and Marinette were not like that. He wasn't like that with Ladybug either, not since she'd asked him to move on.

Marinette leaned forward, away from the temptation, and turned around.

"I'm glad you're okay," she finally said. "I didn't want to beat anyone up on your behalf today."

His cat ears perked up, and his lips twisted into her favorite grin. "How about tomorrow?"

She made a pretense of glancing at the calendar on her wall to distract herself from his mouth. "Sorry. I have to study for a math quiz tomorrow night. Can you save your personal problems for Saturday? I should have more time then."

"I'll pencil a crisis in for you."

Marinette swallowed an "it's a date" comment. It wasn't a date. They weren't dating. They would never date. They were never going to be together.

"Hey. Are you okay?"

She snapped her attention back to him. Chat Noir crouched down ever so slightly to get a better look at her face, and Marinette realized that she'd reached behind her to grab the edge of her desk in a death grip. Her nails pressed into the underside painfully.

"Fine," she said, forcing her fingers open and shaking her hands. Her weak heart beat painfully for him.

And he just had to smile at her anyway. "Now who's lying? What was that about?" Carefully, he reached to push a strand of hair out of her face, using his knuckle so he wouldn't risk getting a claw near her eye.

His fingers lingered. And Marinette willed herself to breathe. It wasn't fair that he could do something so normal and send her leaning onto her desk for support. He didn't see her like that, and they weren't ever going to be together.

"Nothing," she said. "Just swallowed wrong." She cleared her throat to try to help sell it. He didn't look convinced, just mildly amused.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay," Chat Noir breathed. His hand still hovered next to her face. It would be easy for her to lean toward it, cup it against her cheek, kiss his palm. "I should let you finish your commissions."

Marinette groaned. Work was the last thing she wanted to be thinking about. "You said you don't have patrol tonight. Couldn't you stay?" Her eyes flicked to the red box of fabric on top of her dresser. Tikki was in there, probably preparing a speech for later.

"Sorry, Marinette. I have to be up early tomorrow."

Her shoulders drooped. Right, Adrien had a photoshoot. "Who's going to save me from my work now?"

"Stop it. You love sewing." He reached past her to pick up her sketchbook, flipping back a page to the vest she'd been working on and waved it at her. "And you'll love the sense of accomplishment when you see how amazing they look when they're done."

Marinette finally pushed herself off the desk and picked up the pincushion. It was the perfect size to fit into her hand, and the heads of the pins were cool against her palm.

"Ugh. Maybe you're right."

"Good. I'm glad that you sound so convinced." He pushed the notebook into her hands and reached around for his baton.

"You could always bribe me," she said as he climbed up her ladder and headed toward the skylight above her bed.

"Huh?" He turned, knees on her mattress, always careful not to get her covers dirty even though she'd never thought to ask him.

"How about you promise to check on my progress tomorrow?"

He smiled and gave her a thumbs up at the unexpected invitation. She'd never done that before. It was always "come over if you need to." It was never a request on her part.

As Chat Noir's tail disappeared through the skylight, Tikki came out of hiding.

"You're doing enough to help him by letting him come," she said, tiny arms crossed and hovering inches from Marinette's face. "You don't need to invite him to come more often. He shouldn't be–"

"Using his miraculous for personal reasons. I know." She'd honestly forgotten about that in the moment, but she couldn't bring herself to regret the invitation. "It's fine. Plagg is lazy. He'll probably tell him no anyway."

"What are you going to do when he falls in love with you again? Have you thought about that?"

"When," not "if." Marinette had to hold back a smile, right until the logic set it. Chat Noir might visit her in his spare time, but Adrien didn't treat her any differently at school, which he would if he wanted to pursue a relationship with her.

"Don't worry, Tikki. He only sees me as a friend." Marinette pulled open her trapdoor to go downstairs, letting it fall with a slam behind her.

---

It had taken much longer than Ladybug had anticipated, but patrols had finally gotten back to normal. After the reveal, and her rejection, the duo had been understandably distant from each other, and their first few meetings were sterile and devoid of fun while he was nursing a broken heart. But their partnership had been strong enough that they quickly found a new rhythm. It was friendly and fun. It worked. But some of the warmth was missing.

And as much as she wanted to pretend that his time with Marinette was the only reason for his recovery, she could tell he was slowly getting over her. Knowing it was for the best, that everyone was safer that way and it was the right choice, didn't stop her wound from aching.

There were two solaces in the whole thing. One was that he was able to share details with Ladybug that he couldn't share with Marinette. He would talk about tests at school that he was worried about or the disappointments his father dished out almost daily.

Second, he talked about his friend Marinette frequently, how great he thought she was, and how much he loved spending time with her. Ladybug would try not to blush and often had to turn away to hide the tinge in her cheeks when she failed.

Today they were patrolling across the river in the first arrondissement, and Chat seemed particularly distracted. Three times he didn't hear her when she asked him questions, and twice she lost track of him because he was following behind and hadn't noticed she'd taken a turn.

"Are you okay?" she asked when they had finished their loop and were heading back home. "You aren't getting sick or something are you?"

"I'm going to ask her out."

A car below them kicked up pebbles onto the sidewalk. They hit something metallic.

Ladybug blinked, opened her mouth, and said, "Oh."

Chat Noir wasn't happier because he was getting over her. He'd completely gotten over and moved onto someone else already. She felt completely blindsided. A masochistic piece of her wanted to know who it was, but she pushed the question away.

"Sorry if I've been distracted today. I was just–"

"Thinking about her?"

"Worrying about it," he said.

For the past few months, she'd gotten very practiced in the art of pretending she didn't feel anything for him. It was far easier than it should have been to plaster on a concerned smile and say, "What for? That's great!"

Chat Noir hesitated. He nudged a loose corner of shingle with his boot. "Nothing, I guess."

"You have nothing to be worried about." Ladybug clasped her hands in front of herself, not sure if she wasn't selling it enough or putting in too much energy. He looked up from the shingle and smiled at her, so maybe it was the right amount.

It was good that he wasn't hurting anymore. She did want him to be happy.

But tonight she learned something about herself. She hadn't realized she'd been hoping that Adrien loved her too much to be able to move on. That was selfish, and she hated the jealousy that was spreading through her veins like poison, so she grabbed his hands and squeezed, pushing down the ugliness with a reminder that he was happy, and he wasn't hurting, and this was best for everyone.

They'd been only best friends for ages. She could do that again. "So when are you going to ask her?" she said, trying to channel her inner Alya.

He shrugged, looking away. "Soon, I think."

"You'll have to tell me how it goes. Our next joint patrol is Friday night, so you can give me all the deets." (Maybe too much inner Alya. That sounded forced.)

"Sure," he said, oblivious to how her smile was too wide and how her eyes prickled. "Before Friday."

"Okay, well, I'll see you then!"

She left without saying goodbye.

---

A/N: So... how are you? (I have nothing to say this time.)

@tbehartoo

[cassidystarks]

Rookie Moves (MJF x Reader)

This was requested by @okadaizoirl, sorry this took so long to post haha, but it's finally here! I hope you enjoy it!

Warnings: degradation, humiliation, shower sex

Word Count:

10. "looks like we'll be trapped for a while"

20. "touch them again and I'll kill you"

23. "did you hear all of that?"

As a rookie in the wrestling industry, I have been mostly just a jobber my whole career, but after finding myself signing up to join AEW, life has been getting better and better. Everyone has been so kind to me, well, most of them. There is Max, who is pretentious as he is gorgeous. He is the rudest person I have ever met. Though somehow, I can't help but think about him. I push thoughts away all the time with ease, but he just seems to stay on my mind more than I'd like.

Though when Tony Khan called me into his office and told me I would be having a match with him tonight my heart sunk into my chest. I did not want to wrestle that dickhead, but at the same time if I pin him it would absolutely destroy him.

The time came for the match, which was set in the middle of Dynamite. The first two matches were completed and my walk-out music was about to start playing. I have only had a couple matches on Dark, but I am happy to have any matches. I walk out and do my entrance before stepping into the ring. Doing some last-minute stretches I could hear his godawful walk-out song playing and he walks out as self-entitled as ever.

The match lasts for about ten minutes. There is tension, and we both can tell. I manage to roll him up and pin him. I smile big as the referee raises my hand. Max looks as shocked as I feel and I roll out of the ring and make my way up the ramp. I flip him off before going to the backstage area and going to get some water from my dressing room. I tidy up a bit and take a little break before getting ready for a shower.

But of course, I don't have a towel.

I walk out of my room and go down to my friend Anna Jay's dressing room and knock on the door. She comes out and greets me with a hug.

"Hey! I see you won the match, how are you? And how is Max taking it?" She asked.

"I'm good, I have no idea how Max is, he seemed pretty pissed off when he realized I had won. But I mean oh well, what he gets to be honest but anyways, can I borrow a towel? I don't have any in my dressing room." I asked.

"Of course, I got you covered." She said walking back in and grabbing a towel. She comes back out and hands it to me.

"Thank you, you are a whole lifesaver," I said.

I head back to my dressing room before getting stopped by one of the staff members.

"Hey, great match."

"Thank you," I say, giving them a friendly smile.

"How about I take you out for a drink or two?" They said, leaning up against the wall.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll have to pass," I say politely declining the offer.

"Oh come on, just one drink. It'll be fun." They persist.

"I said no," I say.

"Listen, all you have to do is have one drink with me, it's not that fucking hard." They said trying to grab at my wrist.

"Touch them again and I'll kill you," said someone with a familiar voice.

I look behind me and see Max. He seems even more pissed than before, and I can't tell if it's because of this or the match. I suspect both.

"Look dude, I don't want any trouble."

"Clearly you do, they said no. Respect that."

"Don't you hate them?"

"Did I ever say that? No. The only one who can touch them is me."

I widen my eyes.

"Excuse me? No one can touch me." I say replying to him.

Max gets the guy to leave. And it's just the two of us.

"You could say thank you," he says.

"I didn't need your help," I say rolling my eyes.

He smiles and nods. He's about to leave and my mouth moves before my mind could tell it to.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Why did you do it? I thought you hated me." I said, not looking at him.

"Did I ever say that?"

"No, but you always act like it. I mean the last few weeks, the frustration between us. Explain that then."

"I don't hate you. In fact, I'm pretty fond of you. But we are at different points in our life, I need to get over this feeling, but I can't."

I make my way into the shower after a conversation with Max. To think he is feeling exactly what I am feeling. I get in and turn the water on warm. I bask in the warmth of the water hitting all the right places. I hear a knock on my bathroom door.

"Who is it?" I yell, getting my hair wet.

"Me."

"Max?" I asked surprised.

"Yeah."

"Sorry, I'm kinda preoccupied," I say, starting to lather the shampoo in my hair.

"Come on, I gotta use the bathroom." He said.

I roll my eyes. It is always something with this man.

"Fine, the door is unlocked."

I hear the door open and close behind me. I get finished washing my hair a few minutes later. His presence lingers, so I know he isn't gone.

"Can you hand me my loofah? It's sitting on the sink." I ask.

I look and see his hand extend in the shower with my loofah in his hand.

"Thank you," I say grabbing it, and seeing his hand leave.

I hear the toilet flush and all I can think is 'shit.'

"MAX!" I say turning off the water.

"My bad," he said.

I grab my towel and wrap it around me, stepping out. I was almost done, but clearly, I'm gonna have to get back in when the water cools. I reach for the handle to grab some of my other skincare. I go to open the door. It won't open.

'Oh, come on," I think, giggling at the door handle to try and make it open.

"looks like we'll be trapped for a while," he said, unamused.

"Great," I said rolling my eyes.

I could feel him staring at me. I look over as he pulls me into his kiss. His kiss was soft and passionate. I gave in and kissed back.

What felt like ages, were only seconds. Soon enough his clothes were on the floor and my towel was thrown off my body. He grabs me by the hips and pulls me close. Leaving kisses on my jawline and down to my neck. One hand rested on my thigh, and the other on my waist.

"You want my dick, you dirty slut." He said, slapping my upper thigh.

There was pure bliss flowing off the steam and the rough kisses he was planting on my body.

He pulls me up on the top counter and slid into me slowly. I throw my head back, running my fingers through his hair. His hand runs up to my cheek and pulls me to face him. His eyes told everything. He wanted it just as much as I did.

He went faster and faster as his lips crashed into mine. I felt my climax come slowly, and then all at once.

"Fuck Max!" I yelled, letting my body go limp against his skin.

"For my enemy, you sure take me well."

"For my enemy, you sure do it good."

Sorry if this isn't very well! And also again would just like to apologize for the lack of posting, and how long it took to put this out!

[luminnara]

She Loves Me, She Loves My Knot | Pro Hero Alpha!Bakugou x Omega!Reader (nsfw, 18+)

hii!! i don’t see many people who write ABO for MHA so I’m glad i found you!!

Can we have a scenario where Bakugou’s omega is generally really tough and seems rather indifferent to everything — however she’s a little afraid of taking Katsuki’s knot for the first time and he tries his best to help her through that process? Sorry if it’s a little obscure but I love the idea of Bakugou being soft and caring but only for his spicy little omega.

Fem reader if you can but if you’d rather opt for gender neutral that’s fine too!! Please keep writing ABO, i love all your things! 🥺🤍

Um hi YES, I really love ABO stuff and I also wanted to see more, so I was like...welp, I guess it’s my time to rise and write my OWN haha! I went with a fem reader for this one, because I feel like that’s what I’m best at writing. If you want a gender neutral version too, let me know and I can post an alternate one!

send in a request here!

Warnings: nsfw, knotting, creampies, some breeding kink

Word count: 2,124

You were a spitfire, and that’s what he loved about you the most. His spicy, fiery little omega, who was better than every other omega to ever walk the earth. From the moment he met you, when he had nearly trampled you in the street in pursuit of an asshole villain and you had threatened to kick in the teeth of the number 4 pro hero, he knew you were something special. Nobody ever stood up to him like that, especially not when he was out on the job, but you? A little omega who smelled so sweet and looked so delicious? You weren’t afraid of him at all. 

He wasn’t embarrassed to admit that he had scented you immediately, his inner alpha getting possessive already. Bakugou didn’t smell any other alphas on you, and he didn’t want to. With his strong, terrifying scent clinging to you, he knew nobody else would try to make any moves, and as you stood there glaring at him, he had given you a smirk, told you to “call my agency sometime, babe,” and then taken off.

Of course, you didn’t call his agency. 

You showed up in person, marching right in and demanding to see him that very evening. Though at first you had seemed angry with him, you quickly told him (with a harsh glare and a snarl that he found absolutely adorable) that he was going to court you, and it was going to start now.

And who was he to deny such a straightforward, cute omega? The two of you were together by the end of the week. 

He almost found it hard to believe that you were an omega sometimes. You were so tough, so unbothered by the world. Whenever you were out and about and you caught an alpha leering at you, you were always quicker than Katsuki when it came to snapping at them to fuck off.

You weren’t the kind of omega who let anybody shove you around, and Bakugou loved that about you. It made him puff his chest up with pride, knowing that he had someone who wouldn’t take any shit. Your scent was strong and your will was even stronger, and he knew that when the time came, you would be the perfect, toughest, best mother to his pups.

You weren’t even mated yet, and he was absolutely sure that you were the one he wanted to spend his life with. You brought out something different in him, some kind of gentle, caring side that he never, ever let anyone else see. You were big and bad, yeah, but he was bigger and badder, and he was always going to protect you, no matter what.

“Babe, I’m home,” he called one night, trudging into your shared apartment. You had moved in together quickly, getting a place in one of the nicest parts of the city.

He heard you coming before he saw you, and before he even had his boots off, you were launching yourself at him. He caught you easily, grinning at the way you peppered his neck and jaw in kisses. It was probably the cutest, least tough thing you ever did, and god, did he love it.

“Miss me or Somethin’?” He teased, kicking his shoes off and carrying you to the bedroom.

“I had the day off and it was boring as shit,” you said bluntly. “I’ve been horny all day without you around to help...”

He paused, taking a whiff. “You’re not in heat. You just like me that much, omega?”

“Don’t be a dick.” You nipped at his jaw sharply and he recoiled.

Some alphas would never let their omega treat them like that, but Bakugou? Oh, he loved it.

He grinned, tossing you down onto the bed before you had a chance to take a chunk out of his face. “So needy...bet you spent all day touchin’ yourself, thinkin’ of me...”

“No I did not,” you huffed indignantly, looking up at him. “You think too highly of yourself.”

He laughed. Your arousal was hanging heavy in the air, betraying your words. The smell of it was like a drug, and as he inhaled, you could see Bakugou’s pupils dilate.

The sight turned you on even more, warmth pooling between your legs as your cheeks flushed. Scarlet eyes, calculating and predatory, pinned you down, holding you in place as your boyfriend grinned, exposing his big alpha fangs.

Fuck, he was hot.

“Sounds like you need to be reminded why I’m your alpha, baby.” He growled, crawling over you.

"Fuck, Katsuki,” you whined as he attacked your neck, biting at your scent glands and grinning at the way you squirmed.

He sucked your skin between his teeth, working at it, determined to leave covered in hickeys for the world to see. You didn’t have a mating mark yet, but oh, did he love making sure that everybody knew exactly whose omega you were.

You bit your lip at the dull pain, back arching up off the bed slightly. “K-Katsuki...”

“Hmm?” He looked up at you. “Look at you, so pretty and flustered for me already...what a good little omega...”

He knew exactly how to tease you. You spent all day sassing Katsuki, showing him how independent you were, but deep down, he knew you needed him just as much as he needed you. In the bedroom, he could make you absolutely melt with only a few words, and it was one of his favorite things to do.

“I can smell how much you want me,” he purred. “So desperate, so needy...”

His fingers slipped up under your shirt, pushing your clothing out of the way as his hands found your tits. He gave them a generous squeeze, grinning when you let out a loud gasp. He could play you like a fiddle, and he reveled in the sweet noises you made for him.

Your hands reached for him, tugging at his pants. He took the hint and stepped back, giving you a heated look that said “clothes off. Now.”

A few moments later, you were both naked, a tangled mess of sweaty limbs. Katsuki’s arms were wrapped around you, holding you close, your nails digging into his back. If he noticed the pain, he didn’t act like it, always allowing you to practically shred him to bits while he pounded into you. Secretly, he loved the marks you left, admiring his back in the mirror whenever he thought you weren’t watching.

You felt the head of his cock nudging at your pussy and moaned eagerly, burying your face in his neck.

“What do you want, baby?” He asked.

“Come on,” you whined.

“Tell me what you want,” he grinned, holding himself still.

“Katsuki!” You bucked your hips, trying to get closer to him.

He held you down. “Use your words.”

You dug your heels into his lower back in an effort to push him in, but he was too strong, resisting your attempts with a smug look on his face.

“I want your cock!” You finally relented, letting out a needy whine that you hoped would sway him.

“Good girl,” he growled, rolling his hips forward.

You shuddered at the feeling of him entering you. No matter how many times he fucked you, you would never be able to get over how big he was. It was part of the reason you hadn’t taken his knot yet, always asking him to pull out before it could swell. As he bottomed out inside of you, you were reminded of just how thick his cock was, and how much thicker that knot had to be.

As tantalizing as it was, it was also terrifying.

“Fuck,” he grunted, holding himself above you with a hand on either side of your head. “God damn, you feel so good...I’m not gonna last long at this rate, fuck...”

You were like putty in his hands when he talked like that. His voice was already so deep and rough, but his sex voice was godlike. You whimpered beneath him, tightening your legs around his waist as he pounded into you, clinging to him for dear life as his thrusts grew harder and harder.

“Katsuki,” you gasped, voice muffled by his neck.

“You like that?” He growled, slamming into you hard enough to scoot you up the bed slightly.

“Yes,” you moaned. “Yes, yes, please...more...”

He moved his head, tongue swiping up the side of your neck before he took your lips in a kiss. You whined and moaned into it, your skin heating up as you felt yourself unraveling, and when you finally did, you were seeing stars. He barely even had to try, and Bakugou gave you the best orgasms of your life.

Your walls squeezed around him as he rode it out, trying to milk his cock. It was good, it was delicious, it was too much for him to stand.

“L-let me knot you,” he moaned low in your ear.

You were coming down from your high, head feeling fuzzy. “Hm?”

“I wanna knot you,” he repeated, more impatient this time. “Please.”

You were beginning to snap back to attention again. “Katsuki...”

“What’s wrong?” He panted, trying to taunt you like usual. “You scared or somethin’?”

When you bit your lip, he slowed his pace, looking at you seriously.

“Really?” He asked.

You nodded hesitantly, cheeks burning with embarrassment.

“You’re afraid of my knot? ...why?”

“You’re just...really big...” you mumbled, looking away to avoid his eyes. “It’ll hurt...”

“Hey,” he said gently, rocking his hips against yours slowly now. “Look at me, babe.”

He took your chin in his hand, turning your head.

“I’m your alpha.” He said roughly. “And I’m gonna take care of you.”

The look in his eyes made your heart flutter. “But...”

“I wanna knot you.” He said again, dipping down to nip at your earlobe. “I wanna fill you up...”

A shiver flew up your spine, that familiar tingle returning to your groin. Fuck, just his voice could make you cum, practically...and honestly, you were aching for him to knot you. You wanted to feel full, to be as close to him as possible.

“Be gentle?” You asked.

“Of course, baby.” He kissed your jaw, his hand slipping down to hold the side of your neck as he quickened his pace again. After only a few moments, he growled, leaning back and pulling out, leaving you feeling painfully empty. “Roll over.”

You obeyed, turning onto your stomach. When you moved too slowly, Katsuki pulled you up by your hips until you were on your hands and knees, ass presented for him.

“Gorgeous,” he growled appreciatively, guiding his cock back into you and moaning when he sank in even deeper.

You moaned loudly, burying your face in the pillows as he began pounding into you again. Your thighs were already quivering, and when you felt his fingers rubbing at your clit, you immediately lost it.

“Fuck!” You cried out, clawing at the bed. “More, please, Katsuki—“

“Fuck, I’m gonna cum,” he moaned, teeth sinking into your shoulder as he pushed into you hard.

You felt his hips stutter before he held you against him in his vice grip, breaths ragged in your ear as he let out the loudest, most delicious, breathy moan you had ever heard. He pumped his seed into you, giving a few sharp thrusts as he emptied himself.

Then, you felt it.

“Easy, baby,” he said lazily, leaning against you as he tried to catch his breath.

His knot was swelling, stretching your pussy in a way you had never felt. You whimpered nervously, swallowing hard as you tried not to freak out. You were waiting for pain, but while it was beginning to feel impossibly tight, it...wasn’t terrible.

“That’s it,” your alpha crooned, smoothing a hand up your spine. “Fuck, you even take my knot so well...”

You started to relax as you calmed down, your body allowing his knot to grow to its full size. It was big, huge, even, but as Katsuki guided you to lay down on your side with him, you were beginning to feel smug. Yeah, you had the best alpha, and he had the best, biggest knot.

“How’s it feel?” He asked, pressing a kiss to your neck.

“Mm. Not bad.” You replied. The post sex haze was beginning to set in, and you were growing tired.

“Good girl.” He nuzzled against your scent glands, inhaling deeply. “Knew you could take it no problem.”

“I wasn’t even really worried.” You lied, trying to sound tough.

He snorted a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

You snuggled back against him. “I like it.”

“Yeah? Good. Because I am never going to stop knotting you now.”

[erodasfishtacos]

Can I request a prompt of dad!Harry where maybe it’s just him And Sasha and they get mobbed and her slightly hurt but he is furious

JUST A LESSON

word count: 5k+ (how'd i write this in one day)

warnings: language, smut, blood, minor injuries

- If you'd like more from dad!harry verse - check out my masterlist! (pinned post)

- PLEASE NOTE: DAD!HARRY & CEO!HARRY ARE TWO DIFFERENT TROPES.

*** <- click for visuals throughout the story!

---

Harry was quite stressed out. He wasn’t sure how his wife did it all the time. She was constantly packing up Sasha and toting her around the globe to meet up with him for concerts and events when he was away.

The little family had been staying in their Los Angeles home for nearly three months now as Harry had been writing for his third solo album. It involved a lot of late nights were Y/N were putting Sasha to bed by herself.

Harry was eternally grateful that she was so patient and understanding when he snuck into bed quarter past three after finding a rift that fit a new song perfectly or when Mitch had an idea that had Harry on Skype for hours with him.

The stress was overwhelming for her though. She was usually good at self-care and taking time for herself but Sasha had been so needy lately and crabby when her father wasn’t at her beck and call.

The toddler was going through a bout where she struggled to sleep through the night and had a tendency to scream bloody murder when she didn’t get her way.

It was nearly three weeks of this and she hadn’t mentioned it too much to Harry because she didn’t want him to be as stressed out as she was.

Tonight, Y/N had rocked, sang, hummed, and read to her daughter to stop the angry tears that were rolling down her cheeks but nothing was working. It was near eleven at night and she had took Sasha out in the car for a long ride where she finally fell asleep.

But as soon as Y/N unlocked the front door, she startled awake even angrier than before, squirming out her mother’s grip and bolting through the house. When she tried to round a corner, she slipped on her bum.

Y/N felt her anxiety level break.

Sasha began screaming once again, “Mummy! No! No!”

When Y/N picked her up after her slight tumble, she was absolutely not hurt but had become even more frustrated. Y/N was starting to feel overwhelmed - which didn’t happen often.

“Baby, what do you want? What can mummy do?” Y/N asks with desperation, searching her baby’s watery green eyes. She looked so much like her dad it was absurd.

“No! Down! Stop!” The two year old orders with a furrowed brow, lips in a tight line with her nose scrunched up in displeasure.

“Sasha, you just hurt yourself. You can’t run in the house, the floor is slippery,” Y/N tells her firmly despite it falling upon deaf ears.

“Bad mummy,” Sasha shrieks, “Daddy! Want Daddy! Now!”

Y/N is embarrassed to admit that she has tears welling up in her eyes. She was trying everything in her power to soothe her baby. It’s midnight at this point and she’d been at it since seven this morning.

Sasha had refused a nap all day - giving Y/N no respite at all. Harry had left at eight in the morning and hadn’t returned yet. Even though Sasha was only two and a half, Y/N felt a pang at the words ‘bad mummy.’

She didn’t feel any other option at this point than to call Harry for help. She wanted to be capable of being at stay home mum but sometimes it was really fucking hard but she felt guilty because she should be able to do this. Harry was out there working hard, providing, constantly.

When he doesn’t answer, the tears freely start streaming down her face in silence. She scrubs at them quickly so that her daughter doesn’t see them but it’s hard to catch them all - sobs threatening to bubble through her lips.

“Daddy’s working, we need to go to sleep,” Y/N replies to her daughter, jaw clenched to hold back the upset she feels. She needs a minute alone but she doubts her toddler will let her.

“Pool?” Sasha piques, “Swim?”

Y/N wants to laugh, it’s so fucking late and Sasha should have been in bed nearly four hours ago. The mother was so beyond her routine at this point, that she actually just gave in to her daughter.

Sasha’s mood turns around when Y/N wrangles them both into their swimsuits ***and trails out of the back patio, switching on all the lights around as well as in the pool. The California air was still extremely warm, enough to cause a sweat. ***

She tugs a little donut raft into the pool with them that Sasha can float around on while Y/N guides it to keep her safe. She was so tired by this point that her bones felt like they weighed a million pounds.

Sasha’s eyes droop until they finally flutter close within minutes of being in the warm water. Her eyelids splotchy pink from all of the fits and tears from the day. And when she is completely asleep, Y/N lets herself cry as she continues to float the baby around the pool to keep her asleep.

She hasn’t been doing it for more than ten minutes when the patio door opens and Harry is stepping into the back with a confused expression that she can’t see because her back is turned to him.

“Love, why are you in the pool? S’late,” Harry asks softly but he doesn’t get an answer, so he’s slipping out of his plain tee and striped pants, dirty vans kicked to the side ***.

Just in his briefs, he quietly enters the pool to not disrupt the ebb and flow of the water. When he makes his way over to her, he slides in front of his wife, alarmed at the exhausted, tearful expression on her face.

“Baby, what’s happened? Talk t’me,” Harry whispers, hands coming to cup his wife’s face in between his large hands. Rings cold against her hot, wet cheeks. He looks to his sleeping daughter, running his eyes over her a few times and decides she seems completely okay.

“M’fine,” Y/N chokes out but the lie causes a fresh wave of tears.

Harry frowns, “Don’t lie to me, pet. Please, don’t shut me out. M’always here for you.”

“I’m a bad mum,” She sobs silently, her eyes closing as she leans into his palms before moving to rest her head heavily on the crook of his tattooed shoulder, his chest damp from the salty tears.

“Wha-What’s brought this on? Y’the best mum in the world, best wife in the world. The best at everythin’, why are you doubtin’ that, my heart?” Harry murmurs, taking over the rocking motions of Sasha’s raft.

“She wouldn’t settle today, Harry. Like at all, refusing to nap, eat any healthy food, or bathe. She screamed at me the whole day no matter what I did and then she told me I was bad and she wanted you.”

“Love, she’s in the midst of her terrible twos. She loves you more than anythin’ on this earth. Y’her mummy and a damn good one at that. Why didn’t y’call me? I’d come home, work is never more important than our family.”

Y/N doesn’t bring up the fact she did try to call, “I need to be able to do this myself, Harry. M’a stay at home mum, taking care of Sash is literally my only job and I can’t even do that.”

Harry’s face hardens but he tries to not take it personally, knowing his wife is just upset with herself, “That’s not fair to me, dove. M’her daddy, she’s half mine too. She’s just as much of my responsibility as yours, no matter what my job is.”

“I don’t want to stress you out more than necessary,” Y/N mutters into his skin.

“Me coming home to my wife in tears and my baby in the pool at midnight is more stressful than you ringin’ me to come home,” Harry tells her, smearing a few kisses to the top of her hair.

“I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m just tired.”

Harry pulls her back so he can look her in the eyes, “Never apologize for somethin’ like that. Go get a bath and let me put the bub to sleep, okay? I love y’mumma.”

--

Harry calls his mum the next morning while Y/N is out getting a manicure with Glenne. He’d called her favorite salon earlier in the day, coercing them into opening a spot for her with a monetary bribe.

Y/N had hesitated at the door as Sasha threw a fit at her mother leaving the house. She clung onto her calf until Harry had to physically pull her off and hold her tightly in his arms.

Currently, Sasha was playing with a set of dolls on the floor of her bedroom as Harry sat next to her. She’d originally been happy with the presence of her father until he told her he needed to make a phone call.

Harry had to be stern with her when she went to grab at the phone pressed to his ear, gently gripping her wrist and frowning, “We don’t do that, s’not nice.”

Sasha had attempted to grab at it again and managed to tangle Harry’s long locks into his fist, tugging at them. Harry unraveled the small fingers before telling his daughter, “If you do that one more time, y’going on the step for two minutes.”

The threat had her pouting harshly but turning back to her toys to occupy herself, sighing when his mum finally answered the phone, “Hi darling.”

“Hi mum, you alright?” Harry asks, relaxing at the sound of his mother’s melodic voice.

“I’m perfect, you don’t sound okay, dear,” Anne replies with a concerned twinge.

Harry didn’t call much to complain, didn’t like worrying her and most of the time Y/N was able to provide the support he needed or Jeff.

“Y/N’s really overwhelmed,” Harry tells her before choking up a bit, “And I don’t know what to do mum, I feel like m’bein’ a bad husband. Came home to her crying last night and she feels like she’s a bad mum.”

When Sasha hears her father’s voice crack, she looks up at him curiously before recognizing that he’s upset. She crawls into his lap, fitting herself against his chest before playing with a doll there. Comforting him.

Harry wraps his free arm around her, pulling her as close as possible. His precious little baby. A little blessing as sweet as her mother.

“Oh honey, that happens. Mums, good mums especially are so critical when they don’t need to be. Baby’s are overwhelming, plus I know she’s been alone a lot with her. But you’re not a bad husband, dear.”

“It feels like it,” Harry sniffles, burying his face in his daughter’s lavender-scented curls from her bath earlier.

“If you were, you wouldn’t be calling,” Anne chuckles at her son, “Now how can we make this situation better?”

-

The phone call helped Harry not feel so hopeless in helping his wife. He’d come up with the plan to fly to England with Sasha so that Anne could see her but Y/N could have some alone time for a long weekend.

When Y/N enters the front door after her appointment, she’s met by a very excited little human who rushes to her mother and demands to be picked up. Of course, Y/N obliges, looking a bit more refreshed and awake as she tucks the baby against her hip.

Harry had ordered their favorite salads from a shop in the city and had it ready for her, “Oh, looks delicious. Thank you, H,” She smiles at him, leaning to give his stubbly cheek a kiss.

As they dig in, Y/N feeding bits of chicken and veggies to her daughter as they eat, Harry clears his throat, “I’m taking Sash to Holmes Chapel for the long weekend to see my mum.”

Y/N smiles, “That sounds great!”

Harry gives her a perplexed look, he’d thought she’d put up a fight. She despised being away from Sasha - couldn’t go a day without seeing her daughter.

“Really?” Her husband asks, putting down his fork.

“Mhm, I just have to pack a bag for Sash and I. When are we leaving?” Y/N replies eagerly, ready to go back home and get away from California for a bit.

Harry’s stomach clenches, “Erm, I meant just me and the baba? I thought you could stay here and relax for a weekend. Sleep, hang out, shop.”

Y/N’s face falls and is replaced with a devastated look, “You don’t think I’m being a good mum.”

Harry backpedals, realizing he shouldn’t have approached it in the lax way he did.

“No, no, of course not, baby. I think you’re such a good mum that you need a break. You never get breaks, m’the one who always does. S’not fair to you. I just need you to have some time to take care of yourself,” Harry explains, his heart shattering a bit at the tears brimming again.

“I don’t want a break, don’t leave me here,” Y/N begs, tucking a piece of tomato in her daughter’s expectant mouth before Sasha chews and smiles at her mother.

“Mummy, more please?” Sasha chirps, her mood a little bit brighter than it had been the last few days.

“Thank you for using your manners, here baby,” Her mother responds, popping another into her mouth after she sliced it in half.

“Did you book a commercial flight?” She asks her husband with an angry tone.

“No, private but we have to catch it at LAX,” Harry explains, the private airport they usually fly out of was filled to capacity at the moment.

“Either I’m coming or you’re going alone. You’re not taking Sasha without me,” Y/N replies firmly. She stands up and shuffles Sasha into his lap before leaving the room without another word.

Harry didn’t expect that. He should have thought it through more. If Y/N wanted to come, of course she could, but he’d never meant to offend her or act like he was taking Sasha away from her.

--

Harry had attempted to reason his way out of going to the studio with Jeff today. However, with the final cuts and adjustments were being made - he was quickly turned down and demanded in the studio.

When he’d trailed into the quiet house that night, relieved to find his baby in her crib instead of the pool, he went to his bedroom where the lights were still on.

The closet doors were open and Y/N was on the ground folding and sorting Sasha’s clothes before placing them in her suitcase. ***

Y/N’s suitcase already laying zipped and ready to go by the entrance of the closet. Her toiletry bag was placed neatly on top of it. Then his heart pings a bit when he sees that she’s already packed up his suitcase as well.

Harry pads over to his wife, plopping down behind her and tugging her back into him - long arms wrapping around her upper chest.

“Missed you, mumma.”

She hums, “I missed you too. Miss you always.”

“Y’the love of my life, y’know that?” Harry asks, kissing the back of her neck.

“I better be or you married the wrong person,” Y/N laughs softly, her tone still off but lighter than before.

“Married the right person, knocked up the right person.”

Y/N barks out a laugh, rolling her eyes, “How romantic.”

“Baby, y’know what I’m getting at. You’re the best mum and wife. I just wanted you to have a few days to yourself. To lower your stress level and let you do some self-care,” Harry murmurs, pushing the baby clothes out of her hands.

“But your mum can watch her for a bit while we’re there, right? I don’t want alone time, I need the exact opposite. I need company,” She tells him, twisting herself until she’s seated in his lap - straddling him.

“Mmm, can definitely have some alone time,” Harry agrees instantly, his mouth finding her throat - beginning to lay a path of wet, hot kisses down the column down to her collarbones.

“H, I have t’pack, we’re leaving tomorrow morning,” Y/N weakly argues but can’t help but bear down against her husband when she feels him harden in his loose pants quickly.

“S’just a quickie? Yeah, pet? Lemme fuck you,” Harry’s hands dragging the shirt she’s wearing up and over her head. Eyes lighting up boyishly when he realizes she didn’t have a bra on.

She can’t argue as he darts down to wrap his lips around her pert bud, sucking between long swipes of his tongue - just how she liked it. “Missed y’body so much,” Harry states against her heated skin.

“Just had me two days ago,” Y/N laughs but it cuts off into a moan when his hand slides into her pajama shorts and finds her clit over her thin underwear.

“Never enough,” Harry replies easily, “Remember the song I wrote f’you?”

Y/N snarkily asks, “Which one? Nearly all your songs are about me.”

And well...Harry can’t even argue how true her statement is. “The one titled ‘Never Enough’, pet? Remember?”

Before she can speak, he lowly croons out the chorus of the song he wrote for One Direction years ago, “Lips so good I forget my name. I swear I would give you everything. It’s never enough, never enough.”

Harry knows his sweet as syrup singing gets her immensely turned on and so he’s not surprised when she whimpers against his lips, “Fuck me, c’mon.”

He’s delighted at his wife’s pleas and quickly moves them, leaning forward with her until she’s on her back on the ground of their walk-in closet. He accidentally kicks over a pile of Sasha’s dresses but neither even notice.

There is no time wasted as Harry removed every single article from Y/N’s body quickly as well as his own. He’s leaning forward to suck a few more kisses to her chest as his fingers slip down to crook right up into her hot center.

“No teasing,” Y/N complains, wrapping hands around his biceps and bringing him on top of her more fully. She’s squeezing around his two fingers with need, it has him groaning when he brings them up and sucks them between his pouty lips.

Then she’s not waiting any longer, reaching down and grabbing a hold of his thick length. Harry lets out rumble from his chest at the contact before she’s guiding him into her without any further ado.

“Baby,” Harry chastises as soon as she starts goading him into thrusts with her feet against him bum, pushing him into her harder than he’d usually start, “Y’squeezin’ me s’tight, you missed me too?”

Y/N nods, whining every time he pushes against her spot and sends a zip of arousal through her body. His trimmed hair around his base brushing against her clit causing delicious friction for her.

“No, y’need to tell me,” Harry huffs, hand gripping her jaw harsher than he would if they were having slow, intimate sex. He knew she loved it by the way her eyes twinkle with stubbornness.

“No,” She replies coyly, heels of her feet pressing hard against him to the point it itches with a slight pain. Harry loved his wife so much it was looney.

��It’s fine, don’t need y’to come for me to get off, dove,” Harry replies simply, speeding up his thrusts with his hand holding her jaw for him to press bruising kisses against. His teeth are coming to pull her bottom lip in between.

Something switches in her demeanor though without warning, her voice softer and pliant, “Tell me you love me.”

It has Harry slowing down his hips until he’s rocking deeper into her, going down on his elbows so their noses are bumping. He releases the grip of her chin and instead moves to her bum to encourage her to meet him halfway.

“I love you, s’much it hurts most days,” Harry replies obediently, knowing what his wife needed at that moment. Reassurance. “Most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on, then you made us a perfect little baby.”

She’s looking up at him with loving, grateful eyes, landing a gentle peck to his upper lip and letting her head fall back onto the floor. This is what she needed right now from her husband and he was so good at providing.

“Breaks my heart when y’don’t think your a good mum or wife. ‘Cause you’re everythin’ I ever wanted. Why’d you think I write every song about you, lovie? S’cause you’re my soulmate.”

“H,” She whimpers, emotion thick in her throat as she meets his eyes, “I love you so much. You’re the best husband and dad ever.”

“Baby,” Harry murmurs into her cheek, picking up speed as she starts to clench around him in a warning of her oncoming orgasm. He slips his hand down to press a few light rubs to her clit before she’s arching her back and moaning with pleasure.

“You look s’good, coming ‘round my cock,” Harry tells her, helping her ride through it before hitching her hips up even further and thrusting harshly until his hips stutter and he’s coming as well.

“Harry,” Y/N sighs, her breathing coming back to normal as she roams a hand down his shoulders and back - scratching lightly.

“Hmm, dove? Y’want my cock again? Need a few,” He replies into her neck, ever the teenage boy.

She giggles, “No, we have to catch a flight at eight in the morning and it’s currently four-thirty.”

Harry grunts before pulling out and sitting up, “Y’better have packed my favorite pajama pants or I’m goin’ to be cross with you.”

--

Y/N now regrets the second round of fun as soon as their alarm goes off. Her body sore from the position he’d twisted her into against the shower wall after they packed the rest of Sasha necessities.

They were nearly at the airport with Sasha nodding back off in the carseat. She was excited to see her Nana and Aunt Gemma once again.

Their daughter was in the cutest, comfiest jumpsuit with comic hearts all over it *** and adorable little sock sneakers*** that slide right on and off her feet.

Harry had chucked on black sunglasses, a black jumper with green lettering, black joggers, and blue checkered van with white socks. He was attempting to fly under the radar as much as possible because he knew paparazzi just sit outside the entrances to spot celebrities. ***

It was annoying but he could deal with it when he was mobbed at the airport when he was by himself. But when it was with his wife and baby - he couldn’t stomach it. It’s part of the reason they fly private from a private port.

When they pull up to the curb, a staff member is waiting for them and helps Harry as well as the driver put his luggage on a cart to be brought to the awaiting jet.

Y/N unbuckles the baby who is awake now but bleary-eyed as she’s sitting on the curve of her mother’s hip.

And well - that’s when the madness begins. A pap spots them within seconds of exiting the car and is pulling up his camera for the first shots, the other photographers sitting around follow suit.

As soon as one of them screams, “Harry Styles - look this way!” The jam packed area looks towards them, seeming fans of his start murmuring before following behind the paparazzi pulling their phones out.

Y/N is used to the crowds by now - but just like Harry, not with Sasha around. They tried to avoid situations like this as much as possible. The lights and loud noises were scary to the little girl.

“Mummy,” Sasha whines, picking her head up from her mother’s shoulder to stare wide-eyed at the gathering in front of them.

Harry started to feel anxiety because this was becoming a massive crowd - scratch that, it wasn’t a crowd it was a fucking mob of people. They were all too close, blinding the family with their flashes despite security attempting to push them back.

Fans were shoving and thrusting their phones in Harry’s face, shoving random things for him to sign in front of him. Paparazzi were screaming questions and taking thousands of pictures in a minute’s time.

Harry grabs onto Y/N’s hand tightly, their diaper bag on Harry’s shoulder, and begins to attempt to guide them through the swarm. It was like trying to move through cement, the crowd not budging despite security’s screams.

Sasha is full blown crying at this point into her mother’s neck. Y/N’s hand cupping the back of her head to keep her head down and out of the photographs - holding her as tightly as possible.

Y/N can hear Harry began to curse - signaling that he’s becoming stressed out because he would usually never be rude to the public despite their actions. But he couldn’t give a fuck when it came to his family.

“Move out of the way.”

“D’you not see I have a fuckin’ baby?”

“Get those fuckin’ cameras out of their faces.”

“Back the fuck away from my wife and baby.”

Then Y/N is being shoved by a teenage girl who trips when she thrusts her arm towards Harry. She tumbles into Y/N with her full weight and Y/N’s loses her footing, falling forward - letting go of Harry’s hand.

When she falls, she manages to catch herself with the arm that’s not holding her daughter. But she feels pain in her knees and Sasha emits a sharp wail that alerts Y/N her daughter is hurt.

“Sash, fuck,” Y/N gasps, her motherly instincts automatically kicking in and she’s cradling her daughter as tightly to her chest as she can, shielding her from the swarm who had quieted only a bit.

It must take Harry a second to realize that something had happened, he turns around - eyes frantic as he absolutely roars, “Back the fuck up! I’ll fuckin’ break each and everyone of your cameras! Fucking leeches.”

With that, he’s helping to pull you up and grasping at the two, “Are you okay? Wha’s hurt?”

Y/N just shakes her head, having a panic attack as she shuffles the crying baby into his arms. “Please, just...Sasha. I think she hurt her arm when I fell.”

“Daddy, ouch,” Sasha shrieks loudly into his sweatshirt as he hikes her up onto his chest, her little legs wrapped around his midsection.

“Ssh, y’okay,” Harry tries to reassure her, matching his wife’s panic.

The crowd seems to give way now, the parents rushing their daughter into the airport.

Employees guide them to the medical office on-site where it’s now silent and calm but the family feels anything but.

Sasha’s sobs have turned into moans and whimpers at this point - but come back with a vengeance when Harry has to set her on the exam table and wrestle her out of her clothes until she’s just sat in her diaper.

The nurse was so amazing and kind. She checked Sasha thoroughly for any signs of trauma or broken bones but luckily, it was just a nasty scrape on her forearm that was hurting her. It wasn’t anything serious.

The parents had such concern for their daughter that Y/N didn’t even realize she had bled through her white joggers at the knees ***. The nurse frowns, “Honey, you’re still bleeding.”

“I’m fine,” She insisted even though her knees were aching.

“I’d like to examine your legs, dear,” The nurse tells her sternly, signaling that Harry can dress Sasha again.

He’s digging into the diaper bag for a spare out that they were always ready with. She was calming even more when Harry dressed her in a comfy pink set of clothes with little deer on them. ***

“Love, please let her,” Harry asks softly, pulling Sasha back onto his chest. Her thumb tucked into her mouth and her father hands her a plushie that Y/N had shoved in the bag last minute.

Y/N obliges with the pressure, wiggling the loose fabric down her legs until she’s just in her underwear and shirt - sits up on the table with her knees off to the side for her to examine.

Harry grimaces when he sees the multiple cuts and scrapes tainting her skin. A few slow trickles of blood still oozing from the gashes. The skin is already slowly covering purple and blue with bruises.

The nurse cleans her up, Y/N wincing when the alcohol brushes the cuts but Sasha is smiling again like nothing ever happened and cooing at her mum. It makes them both feel a lot better.

--

When they’re finally on the private jet, up high into the clouds away from the crowds and paparazzi - it feels like relief. ***

They had tucked their daughter onto the couch with her favorite fuzzy blanket and she’s asleep nearly as soon as her head hits the pillow.

They trail back into the other part of the cabin so that they don’t disturb her, cuddling up on the couch together.

“M’so sorry, I’m such a bad fa-”

Y/N cuts him off before he begins, “If I’m not allowed to be a bad mum - you’re not allowed to be a bad father. It wasn’t y’fault that happened - it’s those careless, crazed people who have nothing better to do.”

Y/N was always the voice of reason in Harry’s head when he started to spiral.

Spiral because his fame was so overwhelming and got his family into difficult situations sometimes. She brought him back to reality.

“Hey, we’re both okay. Just a few scrapes. It was just a lesson, Harry. We just need to be safer and plan better, alright?” Y/N assures him softly, kissing under his chin before resting back - ready to sleep.

“Y’the best. Best mum, best wife,” Harry tells her, encompassing her in his loving hold.

let me know your thoughts bub

come talk to me <3

[lazysimp]

may we get some more moments of bull bakugo and cow y/n plz? 🤲

A/N: Sure anon, I hate to say it but I like this AU more than should. These are the features I imagined Bakugou/reader has.

Warnings/tags: cow boy, animal hybrid fic, oral sex, anal sex, male reader, 18+ MDNI

wc: 1.3k

How Bull Bakugou reacts to you being taken away

In the weeks following Bakugou first claiming the two of you had never been separated longer than a few minutes. He was obsessed, always keeping you within arms reach until today.

After a long night of fun, the two of you curled up under his favorite tree enjoying the breeze on a hot day. This is how most of your days were spent. In the distance, you could hear the sound of the metal machines coming closer but you had nothing to worry about, the humans only ever dropped off food or new friends. But today their plan seemed to change.

The black metal machine stopped a little distance away and two humans stepped out, one was holding some strange stick and the other a large cloth bag.

You looked down to your sleeping boyfriend and wondered if you should wake him, maybe he would know what to do, but before you could try to do anything a sharp prick jabbed into your thigh.

You look down to see a small shiny tube sticking out of your thigh with a bright feather on its top. Before you could warn Bakugou, one of the tubes stuck his thigh, shocking him awake, but it was too late. Whatever they did to you already had you falling into darkness, listening to the bellow of rage as Bakugou realized too late what was happening.

Your groggy eyes opened a few hours later, you take a quick survey of your surroundings and realize they must have taken you back to the main barn. Being a hybrid you don’t get many interactions with humans, both species usually choosing to leave the other in peace.

The door to your pin opened and a farmer with green hair opened the door, you smile with relief. He had been one of the humans you used to see when you lived in the barn.

“Sorry to disturb your rest little one,” he mumbled, opening up a small case. “You are due for a couple of shots and a quick checkup just to make sure you are healthy.”

You nod, relieved. Checkups, when you lived near the main barn, were common. You hoped they told Bakugou what was going on.

The kind farmer’s hands expertly delivered your shots and took a few vitals before leading you back to the metal machine. You waved bye as the farmhand drove back to the pasture, back to Bakugou.

But the scene you return to was nothing you were expecting. The fence surrounding the grass field was all but in ruins. The strong wood posts having been ripped from the ground. The metal feeding pin that held hay was lying in pieces around the field. You look around trying to see if a storm had come through only to see the cause of all the damage.

Bakugou was rushing towards the truck, fury etched on his face as he prepared to ram it. The farmhand quickly opened the door keeping you inside and gently pushes you out before rushing away.

You don’t even have time to look up before he is on top of you, rubbing his hands over your skin. You try to get out a few words, to reassure him you were fine, but he was not listening. His frantic eyes inspected every inch of your skin, making sure the humans had not done something to you.

Once his eyes slowed to meet you you give him a soft smile, trying to show him that you were ok, but he needed more. His heart was racing, since he had woken up with you, not by his side he had been on a rampage. Anything that had been in his path was now rubble. Despite now having you safe in his arms, adrenaline was still pumping through him.

Not waiting another minute his hand clamps around your neck, gently pushing your back to the ground.

You spread open your knees, already knowing what he had planned. His mouth was on you in seconds, taking your cock deep into his mouth. You let out a small whine, already overwhelmed. Bakugou had made it his life's mission to find exactly what made you tick. He spent hours teasing your sweet body, watching silently as you wither around, taking mental notes at what moves made you crazy.

If you thought he was good before, he was a god now. Sucking your cock into his mouth with the exact pressure he knew would drive you higher. He did not bother to open your with his fingers, he knew your ass would still be stretched from the night before.

It only took a few more lashes of his tongue before your legs clamped together around his head. He moaned on your cock, enjoying the feel of your soft thighs around his head.

When your body stops trembling he pries open your knees, keeping them open as his cock lined up with your entrance. You are too dazed from your orgasm to do anything but lie there as he slowly sinks into your heat.

You both groan at the sensation of him entering you, the burn of the stretch only making the pleasure feel more intense.

He does not give you time to adjust before he is running into you, his heavy balls hitting your skin with each deep thrust. His deep grunts filled your ears, telling you how much he loved being inside you, filling you up with his cum.

A tightness starts to grow in your lower abdomen, like a rope slowing twisting, building tension with each thrust. Your legs started to tremble around him, the muscles quivering with anticipation.

You were already so close, you just needed a little bit more. But Bakugou was not going to let you off that easy. Changing the angle of his thrusts until the tightness loosened. You let out a cry of protest, wanting that feeling to return.

"Beg," he growled into your ear, "Beg if you want to cum on my cock."

You wanted to have outraged, to yell at him and demand more. Instead, your pretty lips opened to say, "Please Bakugou, please let me cum on your cock."

His hips shifted again, his thrusts now hitting the pleasure spot inside your ass. "More," he groaned, "Beg me for more."

"Bakugou," you cry, losing the ability to think, "Please, I really need to cum, please let me cum. I'll be a good boy I promise, please just let me cum."

"A good boy hm? What does my good boy want me to do?" he panted, his thrusts growing sloppier.

"My cock," you babble, barely coherent, "Please play with my cock."

His lips press themselves on your forehead, wordlessly rewarding your words as his hand slipped down your body, settling on your straining cock. Your body jolts as fingers rub across the head of your cock, spreading the precum that had accumulated.

His strong finger surrounded your cock, stroking the tender skin in time with his thrusts. It was enough. With a silent scream, the rope inside you released, sending you spiraling.

You could not control your body as convulsions traveled through you, making every muscle tense. Bakugou watched his hard work pay off before your clenching hole finally pushed him over the edge. A low groan left his lips as he spilled inside you, his balls twitching as he filled you to the brim with his cum.

He does not bother to pull his cock out as he lifts you into his arms, holding your chest to chest as he carries you back to his tree. Having you filled with his cum finally allowed him to calm down enough to realize why you had been taken but he did not regret destroying everything around him. Humans needed to know who you belonged to the next time they try to take you away.