#that gave them a leg up in the case and eventually they won

[reddbuster]

Some people really just do not understand the concept of legal precedent do they? I feel like a solid 30-40% of the awful takes I see on this site could be avoided if people knew the most basic shit about their own legal systems.

[katyspersonal]

Continuation of the previous post about SOTE adventures from today! (More like the end)

1) So, after finally trying to fight on Torrent and beating Tree Sentinel very quickly without even getting hit myself, I've gotten a BRILLIANT IDEA to try and battle Gaius like this too. That was really pointless. In fact, I just spent the next hour pushing for it and not getting further than reducing his HP to like 60%... Because you know, doing the same thing over and over and OVER hoping that this time the result will be different is definition of insanity. XD

2) Eventually I gave up and tried something else. In this case, to relocate my stats; I have 80 Int as sorcery user, but here it was useless, so I relocated these stats and some extra in those I needed more.

So, uh... Good news: turned out that Int reduces magic damage, so my 80 Int was crucial for surviving his attacks. Bad news: I wasted 2 Larval Tears to learn this lesson. 🤡🤡🤡

3) I tried to do more stuff and the very last thing I tried was to give Mimic Tear Morgott's blade to spam fire attacks, while I have shield and stab him with Scarlet Rot. I've already noticed that fire was dealing much more damage, but by that time @jarognieva whom I asked for help answered me!! So, we cooperated!

4) .....

Turned out that she forgot to change her name from МАМКА ТВОЯ)))0)0)0)0) АХАХПЖПЛАОП

(It says 'your mum' XDDDD)

5) Jara also confirmed that this boss WAS weak to fire and holy, so that sealed the deal with Morgott's blade! I legit didn't have a better fire skill weapon on hands.

6) We made a great attempt at first, she is very strong with holy attacks! We only lost because earlier I relocated all flasks to Crimson, so I ran out of skill and could not use it again because I didn't have any Cerulean (🤡🤡🤡)

7) BUT WE WOOONNN OH MAN WE WON

(Damn, how does Messmer keep attracting so many friends? I read it as both them being cursed and being close with THE war person (Radahn) were important here)

@jarognieva YOU ARE SUPER HELPFUL HOW DO YOU EVEN DO THAT GDHYGGHTGFH AAAA I WAS SUFFERING FOR GOOD HOUR AND MORE ON THIS BOSS!!!!!! POWER OF FRIENDSHIP BITCHES!!!

(Also it was the second time we started to aggressively smash jump button after beating the boss XD It should become the running gag now! Or should I say..... the jumping gag? *gets shot*)

8) I was ready to go for the day since it is late and I need to cherish what little sleep I can have, so for the last instance I decided to go and check new stuff at Enia's!

Not much to add here, though seems like it would be a good spell for my random surprise Faith build moments! Though two overlapping stalks repeating the Erdtree pattern did remind me of that overlapping serpents symbol from previous post.

I was JUST questioning what weapon would actually WORK while I am fighting on Torrent! Thank you king xd

So he invented that cool sorcery while trying to prove Radahn that he was a better sorcerer!

9) Interestingly enough, first at Enia's I only could find Gaius head, chest and arm pieces but not the leg one!

I wondered if something was wrong with that! The description did mention that he was one with his boar after all! My assumption was that simply his set was not going to have the legs piece, but... it did!

10) So, outside of the area where we battled him, surprisingly there was an ALBINAURIC WOMAN! Just a normal one, riding a wolf and all!

And she dropped... this:

Ohhhh boy. So Albinaurics can't wear boots and pants, now? Oh boy. Well, I told that Loretta was likely not an Albinauric, but the girls didn't believe me. 🌛 This feels like it confirms this! Like I said, she is oddly similar to Dung Eater in cosplaying the species she is protecting vghhggh What a realization....

11) So Albinaurics were pretty much servants for Carians (like Pidiya), and Rykard straight up tortured them, so that makes the fact that one was like an older brother for Radahn interesting..? Perhaps, a glimpse on the "kinder former self" of Radahn that presumably was "lost" to war-mongering (if not some corruption due to wrestling with the Stars)? If Miquella yearning for younger version of Radahn (as far as I got spoilered) is any indication?

12) Another one for that type of talismans is also found nearby:

13) The reward at the end was 5 Scadutree Fragments! Yaaay!!! All scattered near 'Scadutree Chalice'. What an object 🤔

_____________

So yeah, a lot of optional stuff was tackled today! It is so satisfying to finally adapt to a hard boss and defeat them, really. For real, Soulsborne games do not need difficulty selection.

[winchesterszvonecek]

Prosecutorial Misconduct 18+

Chapter 4 - Certified Scuba Diver, Melanie Dodds

Word Count: 6472

Series Masterlist | Full Masterlist

Under different circumstances, a case like this would have been a breeze for Rafael Barba. He’d won others with less. Armed with nothing but his wit, a plan he’d come up with seconds before his cross examination, and a thin dossier containing weaker evidence than that which he had filed away in his briefcase — the very same one that currently knocked lightly off the side of his leg with each step he took down the quiet, dimly lit street towards his destination. 

Convening a grand jury on this would have been a walk in the park on any other given day, but in this case… The case against three decorated NYPD officers that had gunned down an unarmed, black twenty-one year old whilst in the pursuit of a serial rapist, Barba knew for a fact that he needed more. Cops always did stick together. He couldn’t trust that Liv and the others would testify in his favour, and if he ever wanted to bring justice to the victim and his family then he needed someone he knew would do the right thing. 

Someone he’d seen, first hand, fight tooth and nail to bring justice to a victim who couldn’t speak for themself. Someone who had, quite frequently, camped out in his very own office until he eventually gave in and agreed to take the case to court – often regardless of whatever evidence they did or didn’t have as when it came to Melanie Dodds, Barba had quickly learned that when she had her mind set on something, it might as well be set in stone.

That’s partially why he wanted her. He wanted that stubbornness. He wanted that passion for justice she wore permanently and proudly on her chest. But most importantly, he just wanted her support. Hell, he didn’t just want it, he quite desperately needed it. It was hard enough walking around getting the stink eye from every NYPD uniform, bigwig and detective in blue for trying this case, but he really didn’t want to have to see Melanie’s name added to that ever growing list as well — not when he’d only just worked his way back into her good graces after failing to call her. 

That may have been why he was taking this leap — or to some, an unprofessional overstep. He was going to see her personally . At her house. Outside of his office hours because he knew he wouldn’t have been able to sleep that night, did he not know where her thoughts lay on this terribly tragic situation. He knew had anyone else been the one to ask her, that it would be a long shot as to whether or not Melanie would agree to testify against her fellow NYPD brethren – especially given who her father was, but the two of them were close.

It wasn’t some random ADA that was asking her to lay everything on the line for them, it was him: the man she may or may not have romantic feelings for. And despite the knots his stomach was currently tying itself into over the fact that he was basically abusing that in order to get what he wanted, Barba had nothing but the utmost faith that Melanie would choose to do the right thing — regardless of whatever professional, or personal, obligations she thought she might have had. 

As he turned the corner onto Melanie’s block, Barba could already feel his hands grow sweaty against the cool breeze of that dark summer’s night. It had rained earlier, the ground was still riddled with puddles and he could see the faint glimmer of the lights from the opposing house reflecting in each and every one of them. He counted them as we walked. One. Two. Three. Four. Until finally, he reached the fifth house in the row with the shiny bike in front of it and he stopped, swallowing thickly as he mustered up the courage to turn his gaze towards the quiet residence where the possible solution to his problem resided. 

The lights were on inside and the curtains were closed so he knew Melanie was home. He could even hear the faint sound of music escaping through the crack in the open window and as he climbed each step towards the entrance he felt the rhythmic beat of his heart begin to increase profusely. He had no idea how this would go down. Would she be happy to see him outside her door at this time of night? Or would she instead think he was some sort of creep for remembering her address from the other night and choosing to track her down here, rather than call her into his office like he knew should have? 

Whatever the case may be, he’d find out soon enough as before Barba’s mind could tell him to do so, he’d already raised his hand and gripped the handle off the extravagant, silver goat-head shaped knocker that sat just below a small, diamond shaped window in the door. He knocked, able to see straight through the glass into the dimly lit house as he waited, and if he didn’t already know Melanie was inside then her signature leather jacket that hung on the bottom of the metal stair railing would have definitely told him she was. He could even see her worn out old boots sitting off to the bottom of the stairs, one placed neatly and lost against the darkness of the wall and the other lying on its side as though she’d kicked it off and simply left it where it landed. 

When no movement appeared to be coming from within the brownstone, Barba raised his hand and knocked again, this time a little harder than before. Soon enough the music stopped and Melanie came padding down the stairs in nothing but a washed out, oversized old Jaws t-shirt that fell to round about the middle of her thighs and would rise up a small bit each time she lifted her feet to descend the stairs. She hadn’t seemed to noticed him yet, given the height of the stairs, but as she reached the last few she suddenly slowed, her brow furrowing in a way that had Barba hold his breath as part of him couldn’t help but think she was about to turn right back around and retreat up the stairs again. 

But as her feet touched the wooden floor of her living room, a warm smile began to tug on those soft lips of hers and she made her way towards the door, allowing the air in Barba’s lungs to fully escape just in time for him to greet her. It took a few seconds for Melanie to unlock the door as she had to turn three separate locks in order to do so before reaching up for what Barba assumed was a deadbolt. At that, his brow dipped a little and he couldn’t help but be curious. Three locks and an added deadbolt seemed to be a little excessive for this neighbourhood — not to mention for a cop as well — but he quickly brushed it off when the gentle sound of the door handle being turned greeted his ears.

The door then opened swiftly with a creak, revealing a whole lot more of Melanie than Barba had ever seen in the whole two years he’d known her. His gaze drifted downwards on its own accord, landing upon her bare legs that were just as pale as the parts of her body he saw on a regular basis. Perhaps even more so as come to think of it, he couldn’t recall ever seeing her in anything other than a pair of washed out, black jeans with the attached chain that always told him she was coming. 

She even wore them on her days in court despite his own best efforts of getting her to smarten up her look a little. If not to help sway the jury in her favour, but to keep the defense from ripping her apart based solely on her rough appearance. Luckily for him though, Melanie had skill when it came to testifying. He’d never once met a cop who had such a way with words as she did. Her ability to channel the victim and their emotions through herself was astounding and the way she held up during even the most intense and hostile questioning? Well, let’s just say he had no doubt in his mind that she was exactly what he needed in order to win this case.

“Barba?” Melanie questioned, surprise riddling her tone as she shifted her body a little further behind the open door as though to hide it. She leaned against the edge, her ears barely catching the last wisp of air that left Barba’s lips in a sigh over her use of his surname. “What are you doing here?” 

“I have a favour to ask of you,” Barba replied, swallowing a little harshly as his eyes continued to dart from place to place like they didn’t know where they wanted to permanently settle. “Can I come in?” 

“Sure,” Melanie nodded instantly, stepping back and pulling the door open wider as she did. She waited patiently as Barba seemed to hesitate for just a second, before finally allowing himself to cross the threshold of her home, catching the faint scent of apple shampoo that radiated from her freshly washed and braided hair as he passed her by. 

The door clicked shut behind him as he delved further into Melanie’s vanilla scented living room, his eyes catching the cause in the shape of a lit candle that flickered away on a nearby shelf. He then heard the faint metallic and heavy thud of the deadbolt being slid back into place before Melanie’s soft footsteps made their way towards him, causing him to turn on his heels just in time to see her fiddle, almost nervously, with a few loose threads of the colourful, intricately woven bracelet that sat just atop a beaded one on her wrist.  

“Would you mind waiting just a sec?” Melanie asked, forcing Barba’s eyes to rise from the tattoo of three outlined sharks that resided on her inner arm and back up to meet hers. She then tilted her head and gestured lazily to herself in meaning — that she wanted to change into something a little more presentable so as to not make either of them feel uncomfortable. 

“Sure,” Barba replied, passing his briefcase from one hand to the other before setting it down, “Take your time.” 

Melanie gave him a brief nod before she spun on her heels, all but darting up the stairs without her feet so much as making a sound against the dark stained wood beneath them. Barba thought that was it, that she had gone from his company for the time being and so he allowed his shoulders to relax. However, mere seconds after they did, Melanie suddenly stopped about halfway up the stairs, causing him to tense back up as he glanced questionably towards her as she peered over the railing that creaked beneath her weight.

“Just watch where you sit,” She said plainly then carried on up the remaining steps in front of her, leaving Barba to do nothing but stand in her living room and wonder whether she meant that as a threat, or as a strange, ominous warning. 

Perhaps it was both, honestly. That seemed more fitting of Melanie’s style, to leave people wondering. And given that, along with the fact that he had no idea which of the two was the correct answer — or if there even was one — Barba chose to stand, using this small moment he had alone to take in his surroundings and perhaps even try to use what he found to suss out more about the woman he was so deeply infatuated with. 

Out of those within SVU, he’d only ever been to Liv’s apartment and even though she and Melanie were somewhat close in how they handled things at work, that appeared to be the extent of their similarities. Where Liv’s apartment was bright and warm, Melanie’s was dark and almost… murky, for lack of a better word, given the almost mediaeval feel to its interior. He never would have expected such style to lay hidden inside, yet now that he was here, he wasn’t overly surprised to see that it did. 

Though, here’s hoping Dracula didn’t pop down from the ceiling and decide to snack on some ADA blood before hitting the town for the night as that would not be good for his case. 

With that fear in mind, Barba continued to take in his surroundings. Each wall was painted a deep shade of green, complete with matte black trims running along the top, bottom and sectioning out evenly shaped rectangles in the middle. Inside one of them, sitting just above a dark, charcoal grey couch with fluffy cushions was none other than a very real shark’s jaw, positioned as wide open as it could get and complete with three large teeth still attached. The sight alone made his body tremble something terribly, as even though it was nothing more than bone, it was still utterly terrifying to picture just how big that shark had once been and he was starting to wonder how Melanie could ever have such love for such… horrifying creatures. 

Nevertheless, he carried on his surveying, not missing the strange absence of light that seemed to fill — or not fill, rather — the space in which he occupied. Aside from the candle still flickering away, there was a single, dull lamp standing in the corner. It was nothing special, just a simple black pole that stood about five feet tall, and had three, smaller ones extending out from the top, all of which had a fake, orange tipped candle sitting pretty on top — explaining the lack of light as absolutely none of them looked even remotely bright enough to allow a person to see properly. 

Due to this, Barba had to partially squint his eyes in order to see the photos that sat slightly askew on the lightly dusty bookshelf that stood next to the shark’s jaw. Each one was nestled inside its own antique silver frame, carefully carved into the most intricate of patterns and looking as though it were pulled straight out of a Bram Stoker novel. He stepped closer to the shelf, a fond smile tugging on his lips as he admired the few family photos Melanie actually seemed to have on display. 

Most of the people who were present in the pictures alongside her, he recognised. There was one of her and Carisi, which he chose to breeze quickly by before he got the urge to throw it away out of jealousy. Beside that was one of her, Liv and Rollins, looking rather buzzed on one of the few girls nights out at the bar they managed to get. Above was one showcasing her and Fin, smiling happily together at what appeared to be a gaming convention — if the violent signs, posters and people in costume that littered the background were of any indication. Next to that was, surprisingly, one of her father, holding the hands of what looked to be a very young Melanie who was learning how to roller skate in the middle of Central Park. 

Aside from those, there were a few other photos of Melanie sitting around with people he didn’t know, probably family members that he had yet to meet given their lack of career within the police department. He wouldn’t lie and say the absence of a picture of the two of them didn’t disappoint him terribly. He would have loved to have earned a place on her wall of fame, so to speak, but in order to do that he’d actually need to take a photo with Melanie first, as he couldn’t expect her to just magic one out of thin air.

One day, though, they’d get their picture… One day  

As he continued to scan the contents of the shelf, a strange, whirring noise soon caught his ears and Barba turned, just in time to see a black Roomba go scooting across the floor with a shaggy grey cat sitting calmly on top of it. 

“Well that’s new,” Barba muttered, his eyes wide as he watched the Roomba riding cat continue to glide across the floor before disappearing into the kitchen. At least Melanie’s warning about watching where he sat made sense now… Or at least, he thought. He shook his head, partially baffled as he swivelled back to the picture filled bookcase that didn’t seem as intriguing to him as it once did — not when there was a cat looking as though it were riding into battle against some dust just a few feet away from him. 

With that amusing thought still in mind, Barba missed the subtle sound of Melanie descending the stairs again after changing into some sweats. He was too busy staring at a photo with narrow eyes as he tried to figure out why the man standing next to her at the beach looked so familiar to him, that he didn’t even notice Melanie slinking up next to him. Not until she cleared her throat anyway, making him almost jump out of his skin as he turned to her with a blanching tone riddling his features.

“God…” Barba mumbled, rubbing his hand over his startled heart, “I need to put some bells on your feet so I know when you’re coming.” 

Melanie laughed heartily, folding her arms as she tilted her head, “Why do you think I always wear that chain?” 

At her truly genuine tone, all Barba did was shake his head and run his tongue along his back teeth as he stifled a chuckle of his own. Of course , it would be Melanie, of all people, who would scare people so badly that they need a warning as to when she was approaching. He really shouldn’t have expected anything less given how many times she’d just suddenly appeared next to him when he wasn’t expecting her, and part of him soon began to wonder just which one of the people in the photos he had returned his attention to had been the sole cause of her heart-attack preventing jingle. 

“That,” Melanie began, pressing one finger to the edge of the shelf just in front of the very same picture Barba appeared intrigued by, “was taken on a beach in the Maldives.” 

“Who’s with you?” Barba asked curiously, casually.  

“Mikey,” Melanie replied, with less bitterness than Barba might have expected to roll across her tongue considering how many calls he’d seen her decline from him lately. “We used to go there every single year for their diving expedition.” 

“You dive?” Barba said in surprise, his eyes wide as he glanced at her. 

“Mhm,” Melanie nodded, “You’re not only talking to Detective Melanie Dodds, but you’re also talking to certified scuba diver Melanie Dodds too.” 

Impressed, Barba couldn’t help the stammered chuckle that left his lips, “Wow, uh, that’s… That’s surprising, honestly. Do you cave dive, too?”

“Oh God no,” Melanie scoffed, “I’m severely claustrophobic.” 

“Wait, really?” 

“Yeah, why do you think I never take the elevator?” 

Barba’s forehead then creased as tried to picture a time when he could clearly see Melanie in an elevator. Surely he’d done so at one time or another. At the precinct. At court… Even at a crime scene, he must have seen her in an elevator, he was sure of it. But the more he thought about it, the more he came to realise he’d never once seen her inside one and now all the times she’d intentionally used dark and dingy stairwells to make her escape, suddenly made a lot more sense to him. 

“I can handle small coral reef coves but I tend to stick to the vast open ocean when I can,” Melanie elaborated, kneeling down to pick up a small photo from the bottom shelf of her bookcase. She then straightened, subtly blowing a thin layer of dust off the surface before handing it to Barba and pointing briefly to a small figure in the distance, “That’s me right there.”

Astonished, Barba couldn’t help but point out, “With an entire school of sharks?!” 

God, he could be over dramatic when he wanted to be, Melanie thought to herself.

“Will you relax?” She chuckled, taking the frame back before he dropped it from shock or terror and instead gazing down at it in wonder. “They’re just basking sharks, they’re perfectly harmless.”  

“And that one?” Barba pointed to the jaw on the wall and raised his eyebrow, “Was he perfectly harmless as well?”  

“Some might say,” Melanie said mysteriously, causing Barba to do nothing but blink slowly as she stepped around him. She then stood up on the couch, making him lurch forward a little when she wobbled and almost lost her footing entirely. Luckily though, she managed to regain her balance without needing him to catch her and she brushed it off, carefully lifting the jaw from its hooks and bringing it back down to ground level. “This belongs to a carcharodon carcharias .” 

“Come again?”

“A great white,” Melanie simplified, and Barba nodded. Now she was just showing off. “I was given this a few years back when I visited Martha’s Vineyard. It’s where they filmed Jaws, and oh my God, when I tell you it was incredible . I got to walk along the same beach where they found Chrissy’s arm… Swim in the same ocean that her body was viciously ripped apart by the shark in. I mean, when I say I was excited… I was excited. Just ask Mikey, he’ll tell you how bad I was because even he was embarrassed to be seen with me… But anyway…” 

As Melanie continued to reminisce about what sounded like the best time of her life, all Barba could do was smile as he gazed dazefully at her in awe. The way her eyes lit up as she carelessly told him of her adventures made it incredibly hard for him to focus on her words and not get lost in the vast ocean of stars that seemed to glisten in them. The way she spoke. Every heartwarmingly pure word that passed over her beaming lips made his heart leap inside his chest as all he ever wanted was to see her as happy as her memories were making her now. It almost made him jealous, not being able to see for himself, just how happy Melanie had been in the moment.  

But getting to hear it now? From her very own lips, with such glee to her tone as he stood in the warm comforts of her home was more than he could have ever asked for, and so, like the ocean she called home, he basked in it. He took advantage of it, in that he never once said a peep throughout so as to not make her come to the sudden realisation that she was quote-unquote babbling. 

“I met up with this guy who was basically a real life Hooper… You know, a shark expert,” Melanie added, when she saw Barba’s brow dip in question. Had he not seen Jaws? Was she going to have to educate him on the best piece of film in the world? Quite possibly. But for now… Story time. “Anyway, he took me to his work shed that was sort of off the beaten path… Kept hidden from locals and other tourists. And at first I was like wow now, alarm bells are ringing because it seemed so, so shady for this strange man to be leading me into what was basically secluded woods. But when we got there, when I say I was speechless. I was speechless . I mean, I was stunned. He had everything you could ever imagine when it comes to collecting shark memorabilia and for a second I thought I’d died and gone to Heaven. 

“But anyway, to cut a long story short… Kind of,” Melaine shrugged shamelessly as it was already a long story, but whatever. Barba seemed enthralled and because of that she couldn’t help the small amount of blush that crept over her cheeks when she eventually confessed to him, “I sort of, accidentally, ended up sleeping with him and then afterwards he gave me this.” 

Lifting the jaw up to sheepishly showcase it better, Melaine didn’t miss the way Barba’s face twisted into about thirteen different emotions as he struggled to take in the majority of what he’d just heard. Mostly, he was just immensely pleased to hear she’d ended up with some amazing memories from her trip and even gotten an incredible piece of history to go with it, but at the same time a fresh, particularly deeper than he’d ever felt before, wave of jealousy seemed to ripple across every fibre of his being over finding out exactly how she’d gotten that jawbone. 

“I know it sounds like I basically prostituted myself out for this,” Melanie said shyly, and by the lack of words leaving Barba’s mouth, she was starting to regret telling him, “but I swear, that’s not what it was. He genuinely just wanted me to have this.”  

“No. No, of course,” Barba finally said, clearing his throat as he allowed his mouth to curl upwards into a reassuring smile, hoping to make Melanie feel a little more relaxed than she seemed. He even stepped forward, placing his hands comfortably on her arms as they still held the bone up in front of her so that he was talking to her through it. “You don’t… I didn’t think that at all, Melanie, I would never.” 

A sharp breath escaped through Melanie’s parted lips as they fought to rise, relief coursing through her veins as she finally allowed herself to lower the jaw and lock eyes with Barba properly. By the look in his, he was telling the truth and that came as a huge comfort to her. He was the last person she’d ever want to think something like that, and had he looked at her in disgust or disappointment, then chances are she’d have never recovered and she might have been tempted to throw herself head first into the jaws of a very alive , very bloodthirsty shark. 

“But I won’t lie,” Barba began, causing Melanie's heart to begin rapidly beating until a smug smirk worked its way onto his face, “As an ADA, I’m kind of tempted to charge you for it.” 

“Hey,” Melanie chuckled in relief, removing one hand from the jaw as she punched him playfully on the shoulder. “Don’t be a dick, okay. You should know I don’t tell that story to just anyone.” 

That sure seemed to get his proper attention, and his eyes soon gazed at her intently, “No?” 

“No,” Melanie confirmed, leaning forward just a little to meet his eyes in a way that had him thinking she was about to close the gap and kiss him. But instead, to his annoyance, all she did was wink at him and then slide to the side, causing Barba to stumble forward a little as he wouldn’t lie… He had absolutely been about to kiss her. “Now, why exactly are you here?” 

Having completely forgotten he had an agenda other than getting to know her better and perhaps even kissing her… Maybe more, Barba cleared his throat, hearing the light scrape against the wall as Melanie hung the jawbone back up then hopped back off the couch. 

“I wanted to ask you…” He said hesitantly, following her with his eyes as she rounded the other couch and headed into the open area kitchen. “About your thoughts on the case.” 

“The case?” For a second there, as she cooed at and gave a few ear scratches to her cat after it hopped up onto the breakfast bar, Melanie seemed lost. Until almost instantly, before Barba had a chance to elaborate further, her eyes shot open more and she nodded, “Oh, you mean Terrance?” 

“That’s the one,” Barba nodded, watching as Melanie’s eye seemed to twitch at the reminder as she pushed off the counter and headed for the fridge. He waited patiently, until she’d gotten herself a beer, that he had politely turned down himself, and took a seat on the couch adjacent to him before he went any further, “Off the record… What would you have done?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t there,” Melanie said bluntly, making Barba frown as she really wasn’t going to make this easy for him was she? 

But the reality was though, she just really didn’t want to think about it. It still disgusted her, how the whole thing went down and if she could go back and do things over again… She’d have absolutely teamed up with Dumas, Donlan and Campesi instead of sticking with her partner. Because maybe then, with some common sense around them, they’d have thought twice before emptying their clips into the body of an unarmed man. 

“But say you were… Say you had been the one with your finger on the trigger. Would things still have played out the way in which they did?” Barba asked, watching as Melanie inadvertently looked away from him and pressed her twitching lips together tightly. She clearly had some opinionated thoughts on the situation and so he leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees before encouraging her to spill them. “Come on, Melanie, I saw the look in your eye when you watched that video. I know you disagree with how things played out… I know you feel disgusted over what happened…”

“Disgusted? Who wouldn’t feel disgusted?” Melanie interrupted, her harsh tone sparking nothing but relief in Barba’s chest as he knew got her — even if she, herself, didn’t. “They didn’t even hesitate. They didn’t even stop to think that he might have been holding something other than a gun before they fired. Thirty-five times, I might add.” Her tone grew riddled with the same disgust she had felt. “Even terrorists don’t get shot that many times.”

“So you agree that it was excessive.” Barba stated, as there was no need for a question mark at the end of that sentence with the way Melanie’s jaw clenched tightly at his words and she scoffed. 

“Excessive is putting it mildly,” she hissed, bringing her bottle to her lips and downing the half of its contents in one go. 

Barba waited until she’d lowered it and set it aside before he spoke again, “Then do the right thing and testify…”

“Testify? Are you out of your mind?” Melanie retorted, getting abruptly to her feet. “Do you have any idea the kind of heat that would rain down on me?” 

“If I’m ever going to be able to convince a grand jury of wrongdoing then I need a fellow detective to testify to that,” Barba defended, standing slowly up as he watched Melanie place her hands on her hips, shaking her head as she almost couldn’t believe what he was asking her to do. “Melanie, please. You’re the only person I know who would do this for me.” 

For me. Melanie repeated that over and over in her mind as she studied him. She could see the desperation that masked his expression, pooling deep into the lines of his face that were illuminated by the faint light of the nearby lamp. The hope that lingered deep within his eyes was almost the exact same hope she’d seen a couple of days ago when he begged her to forgive him, and deep down she knew he was right. She was the only person who would do this for him, and she’d have every reason as to do it. 

Terrance and his family deserved justice for what those cops did to him and Melanie herself, needed some closure. She would never forget the feeling of actually hoping she’d find a gun as she searched the area with a fine tooth comb in order to make what they did feel okay in her book. But no matter how long into the night, getting drenched in rain, or how badly she strained her eyes whilst searching she simply couldn't find one. And when the DNA results came back, proving that Terrance wasn’t the push-in rapist they were looking for, not to mention the reaction of his parents when they found out their son was dead, it had made her utterly sick to her stomach and for a brief moment, when everyone around her was backing up those reckless cops, she had felt like turning in her badge for good. 

“I know you’re worried,” Barba said softly, stepping towards her as he cast his gaze along the shallow lines on her forehead, hating that he’d been the one to cause them. “But as you know, grand jury testimonies are confidential. No one will know what you said.” 

“I will,” Melanie whispered, her head still slowly swaying from side to side. 

“I know, but I’m not asking you to lie, Melanie,” Barba stated, as to some, that may have been how it appeared. He shuffled forward until he was directly in front of her, his hand raising as he gently ghosted his fingertip across her chest, directly over her heart, “I’m only asking you to tell the jury what’s in here… What I know is in here.” 

“You do know how corny that sounded, don’t you?” Melanie said humorously, trying her best to re-lighten the mood a little. She watched with partially narrowed eyes as Barba did nothing but raise his hand and place it firmly on the side of her neck, appearing outwardly offended by her mocking words yet at the same time he seemed so utterly enthralled by her, that she didn’t think he’d even heard them. A deep shiver travelled down her spine and her hands raised on their own accord , placing themselves gently atop his chest as she whispered, “Rafael…” 

“Don’t,” Barba cut off, shaking his head and ignoring the wave of butterflies that seemed to erupt beneath her touch over both it, and hearing his name roll across her tongue in such a tone. He shifted his hand a little, drawing his thumb down her lips as he fought with the urge to kiss them. He wanted to. So, so badly, did he want to thread his fingers through her hair, lay her down on the couch and explore every inch of her that was in front of him.

But he knew couldn’t. The timing, whilst it may be perfect for anyone else given the way she stared desperately into his eyes, literally couldn’t be any worse than it was now. And should things have gone further, and had anyone found out about them then it could not only jeopardise this entire case, but it could land both of them in scorching water and he just couldn’t take that chance. This case was too important, and whilst Melanie was one of the only things in his life that he truly cared about… That he truly loved… He couldn’t risk losing his job because of her, not when so much was dependent on him. 

“Just… promise me you’ll think about it,” Barba said, bringing his thumb higher to lightly brush it across the length of her soft cheek. “That’s all I ask.” 

Not being able to trust her words, Melanie’s cheek lifted beneath his touch as she gently nodded her head in both a response to his question, and in understanding over the gentle look in his eye as he turned her down. She knew why he had. It was the same reason her mind was yelling at her now to back away from him, but it was just so hard for her to want to part from him when he not only had such a gentle, reaffirming hold on her, but also that she had him so close to where she had so desperately wanted him all this time.  

“Thank you,” Barba whispered, his lips rising as he leaned in and pressed them against her forehead, unaware of the way Melanine’s stomach flipped inside her and her eyelids fluttered as she closed them, relishing in the light, yet meaningful, touch of them against her skin.

Far too soon for both their likings, Barba drew away from her before things went too far. He retreated back to where his briefcase sat and he picked it up, clearing his throat in a fluster as the tension between them slowly, thankfully, began to cool down.

“The grand jury is tomorrow,” He told her, making his move towards her front door in clear means of leaving before he added, jokingly, “I’ll be calling you last, so try to be on time.”

Melanie glared at him, “I’m always on time.” 

“Okay,” Barba scoffed, stepping aside so that she could slip past him and reach up for the deadbolt in order to let him out before she murdered him. The latch clicked free and the door opened, allowing a cool draught to come sweeping in around them as he took his next few steps towards freedom. “Whatever you do… just tell the jury the truth.” 

“I will,” Melanie promised, leaning her arm against the door frame as she watched him step onto her porch and spin slowly back to face her. “I’ll ever wear that ridiculous pantsuit you keep trying to get me to wear in court.” 

“Actually… Better yet, don’t do that,” Barba disagreed, and Melanie’s brow furrowed. “It’ll seem… better, I guess, should the jury get to hear what you have to say when you’re dressed the way you dress.” 

“Offence taken,” Melanie muttered, glaring at him again as he huffed out a chuckle and shook his head.

“ Mi cariño, I’m not insulting you,” Barba explained, watching as Melanie’s face, and spirit, seemed to slowly lift again. “I’m merely making a calculated suggestion.” 

“Well, in that case I’ll take it under advisement,” Melanie exhaled, with her, for once, ringless fingers tapping mindlessly against the wooden door beneath them as she looked anywhere but directly into his eyes. 

Barba nodded in satisfaction, a deep shiver rippling down his spine when another sharp, chilly breeze swept over him as backed carefully down one step. He took a slow breath as his eyes drifted to the window, where Melanie’s cat had now positioned himself in order to watch as Barba gathered himself just long enough to look back at her. 

“Goodnight, Melanie,” he said quietly, watching as an equally soft smile rose on Melanie’s lips before she slowly, but surely, whispered back to him, 

“Goodnight, Rafael.”   

And with that, he was gone.

<- Chapter 3 | Chapter 5 ->

[pearlsephoni]

Inevitabilities

Can also be read on AO3!

Rating: T

Fandom: Psycho-Pass

Pairing: Shinkane (Akane/Kogami)

Characters: Akane Tsunemori, Shinya Kogami

Word Count: 1.2k

Summary: In their line of work, certain sacrifices are always to be expected. That doesn't make preparing for them any easier.

A/N: Written for @shinkaneweek Day 2: timely preparation for future eventualities. c/w for discussions of death and grief. Further author's notes can be found on AO3.

🕊

It was a beautiful night. Kogami was back from a mission, letting them pass an evening cooking and working on separate casework, before Akane abandoned her chair in favor of slouching over his shoulders, her whole body jostling from his soft chuckles as she leaned against his back.

Now they were on the couch, her legs draped over his, reading different books and occasionally breaking the silence to read out a quote, whether it was striking or ridiculous or funny. Her heartbeat was steady, calm, matching the rhythm of his thumb as he drew arcs along the inside of her bare ankle. The soft light of the floor lamp was all that illuminated their books, letting the rest of the apartment be washed by the silvery moon and bright neon lights of the city.

It was domestic, comfortable, perfect. Akane hated to ruin it.

She gave herself until the end of her chapter, then slid her bookmark into place and slowly shut her book. She felt the weight of Kogami’s eyes flickering towards her, even though she was looking away to set the book aside. But he didn’t say anything, simply slid his own bookmark into place and placed the book on the coffee table, before turning his focus completely on her. A silent signal that he was ready.

“Um…Kogami-san.”

“Yes, Inspector?”

She grimaced at the teasing note in his response. “Shinya.”

“Yes, Akane?”

“I, ah…I’ve been assigned a new case.” His brows furrowed, but again, he didn’t say anything. “My assignment comes straight from Kasei.”

Now those brows raised, but still no response. “It’s…known to be dangerous. The Division assigned to it lost one of their Inspectors, so—”

“No.”

There was nothing light in Kogami’s voice now. It was all steel, perfectly matching the sharp edge of his gray gaze. Akane flinched, as though she could feel the edge of his words, but she powered through. “I wanted to tell you, in case something happens to me—”

“Akane, no.”

“I’ve set my journal to respond to your fingerprint—”

“Akane—”

“—and all of my most important codes and passwords will be in there, behind some other—”

“Stop it—”

“—I’m sure you’ll be able to find your way around—”

“Stop!”

The barked word seemed to echo around the room and bounce between the couple as they stared, wide-eyed, at each other. “Stop,” Kogami repeated, voice softer with appeal. “Don’t tell me you’re planning on…on…”

“It’s not like I’ll have much say in the matter,” Akane muttered with a humorless scoff. “I’m not sure how closely you’ve been following the new reports, but his victims don’t exactly volunteer.”

“You’ve survived worse cases. You’ve outwitted smarter murderers. You fought and you won.” He met her gaze and held it, his glinting eyes cutting straight through her walls as quickly and efficiently as ever. “You’re going to keep fighting, right?”

Indignation sparked up Akane’s spine and lifted her chin. “Of course I am.”

“Then what’s with the preparations?”

“There is more than one way to be prepared.” A wry grin pulled at her lips. “I’m not in the interest of leaving you with nothing more than a note this time.”

Her words were closely followed by a small yelp of surprise from a sudden pinch at her ankle. “Good,” Kogami huffed, fingers already soothing her reddened skin. “But I’d rather you didn’t leave me at all.”

“Now now,” Akane tutted, scooting closer until she could rest her chin on his shoulder, “don’t be greedy.”

“Why not?” He gently shrugged her away and turned to face her again. “You already know I’m selfish. Why shouldn’t I want more of the one good thing in my life?”

Kogami always loved to play at being cold and collected, only ever showing the spark remaining in him when caught in combat. He let down those walls around her, but she was still unprepared for his sudden, simple, achingly-vulnerable statements of his love for her. “You have your team,” she protested weakly. Her fingers ran through his messy hair, brushing it out of his face in a well-worn gesture. “You have Tenzing, somewhere in the world. You have others who care about you.”

“Not like you.”

“Not like me,” she relented. Her hand drifted from his hair to rest against his cheek. “You’re listed as my next of kin, so…if anything does happen”—her fingers lightly pressed to his lips, holding back his protests—“you’ll gain possession of my things, apart from a few things I’ll leave for some others.” It was her turn to let a teasing note slip into her words, despite the morbid topic. “Think of it as my way of paying it forward. I had to clean up your things, so it’s only fair for you to return the favor, don’t you think?”

“Oh, you think you’re so funny.”

“A little bit, yeah.” She was ready for his nip at her fingers, though she couldn’t help giggling at the glancing pressure.

He caught her hand before she could pull it away, weaving their fingers together and staring intently at all the lines where their skin met. Then, he murmured, “Me, too.”

“Hm?”

“You’re my next of kin, too.” When he looked up at her, his expression was newly-solemn. “You and Gino. Though unlike you, I’m not planning on making either of you face those responsibilities for a while, so…wish me luck.”

Akane simply hummed in response before snuggling in closer and nuzzling into the curve of his neck. When he spoke again, she felt more than heard his soft words. “...I don’t know if I could survive it.”

“Hm?”

“Grieving you.” Akane fell still, but she didn’t pull away, letting him wrap his arms tighter around her. “Sometimes I…I think I’ve grown numb to grief, after everyone we’ve lost. But then I imagine grieving you, and I…” A slow breath shook out of him before he could continue. “I feel hopeless just imagining it, Akane. You’re the color in my life, and I…I can’t go back to black and white.”

“Well, I’ve already grieved you once,” Akane murmured, words slightly muffled in his skin. “I don’t think I could survive grieving you again.”

“Hm…that’s no good. We both have to die eventually.”

“Maybe we’ll just have to go together…in a grand, fiery explosion!”

“An explosion? Haven’t we had enough excitement in life? Can’t we go peacefully in our sleep, holding each other?”

“My goodness, you’re such a romantic.” Laughing, Akane pulled back just enough to press a sweet kiss to his cheek. “Like you’d ever get tired of excitement.”

He grinned when their eyes met, a warm, fond little thing, only to melt away the longer he stared at her. “Promise me you’ll fight to live,” he suddenly murmured, hand rising to her cheek. “I want more time with you.”

“Of course I will. These are just precautions, Shinya, nothing more. I promise.”

“Good.”

When he leaned in for another kiss, he was quicker to lick into her mouth, and Akane welcomed him. She let him guide her to straddle his lap, let him slide fingers into her hair and arch her neck for his lips, let him press her close until their bodies were flush against each other. For all her teasing and scolding, Akane was just as greedy as he was, at the end of the day. And for all her intention to fight, the future was still unpredictable. This time with Kogami was a precious thing, and dammit, she was going to relish it with everything she was worth.

[silver-rings-and-rabbits]

Open Heart 2 - Chapter 17

Do No Harm

The rest of the week passed steadily and a strange excitement bubbled inside Matthew. He didn’t know why; they weren’t going for fun, and there was every chance Jackie’s plan wouldn’t work. Eventually he put it down to the simple fun of travel: he had never been to Vegas before after all.

On Friday evening, Kyra, Keiki and Bryce turned up at the apartment.

“Hey you!” Kyra shrieked as soon as Matthew opened the door. She almost bowled him over in a hug. “How dare you talk me into this surgery and then get so poisoned that it’s too dangerous for you to come visit afterwards?!”

“I’m sorry!” Matthew groaned, hugging Kyra tightly. “I’m so glad to see you.”

“I’m at my parents for now but I’m still having a lot of hospital check-ups. Surely it’s safe for you to come see me now?”

“I’m sure I can.”

Kyra won over Keiki as easily as she had Matthew, particularly with stories of drunken Bryce and intern Bryce. By the time the rest of the gang was ready to leave for the airport, they had commandeered the entire sofa and seemed to have no intention of moving from it until Sunday night.

The generosity of Panacea Labs apparently covered hotel rooms but not flights, and Matthew had to patiently explain to the grumpy man in front of him that he wasn’t purposely kicking his seat, his legs were too long to comfortably fit into the space between the cheap economy seats. He got little sympathy and had to suffer in silence throughout the flight, hoping his book would be enough to distract him.

Sienna and Aurora were also sat in his row. Sienna seemed down.

“Mitch quit this afternoon,” she explained in a low voice.

“Is that much of a surprise? He never really struck me as competent.”

“No, but…I feel like maybe it’s partly my fault. I spent half the year making excuses and then it became too much and I blew up. If I had handled myself better—”

“Sienna, don’t blame yourself,” Aurora said. “You’ve been through so much crap lately, you didn’t blow up just because of Mitch’s attitude.”

“How has it been since you told him off?” Matthew asked. “Did he take you seriously?”

“He did, finally, but he didn’t think. Jackie told me that Gary always knew where to go after he was done with a patient, but I had to constantly tell Mitch to go down to the ER, or check for new cases coming in. I couldn’t figure out if he was afraid of doing things wrong or still being purposely incompetent.”

Matthew and Aurora glanced at each other.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the latter,” Matthew said.

“Agreed.”

Sienna sank down in her seat.

“I just don’t really know what to do anymore,” she said. “After I blew up at Mitch, Zaid decided to reassign some of my cases…he thought I was stressed and overworked, and still affected from the attack. He wasn’t wrong but now I don’t know how to fill out the rest of my time. I’ll just think about Danny, which won’t help anyone.”

“Elijah does a bit of research outside of his work,” Matthew said. “Maybe you could do something like that too, just to give you some focus that’s not direct cases.”

“It doesn’t have to be forever either,” Aurora said.

“I guess.”

Sienna rested her head on Aurora’s shoulder companionably.

All thoughts of work were forgotten when they touched down in Vegas and caught their first sight of the strip. Neon lights as far as the eye could see, life-size replicas of world landmarks towering over them. New York City might have been the city that never sleeps but Matthew was sure the title ought to be re-crowned. He felt like a dork, gazing open-mouthed at the lights that surrounded him but it was impossible to look away.

“Someone help me,” Bryce grinned. “I think I burned my eyes looking at Excalibur.”

“Follow me, Lancelot,” Aurora laughed.

They were staying in an extremely fancy hotel: just the reception area was swathed in marble floors and gilded statues. The crystal chandelier was most definitely real crystal and gold. When Jackie gave her name at the desk, the receptionist gave an almost crawly smile. Jackie seemed to cringe and swiftly led the group to the elevators – which were probably bigger than their apartment’s bathroom – and they flew up to the top floor and into the penthouse.

“Holy crap!”

They had walked into a sweeping room with floor-to-ceiling windows, remote controlled spotlights in the ceiling, several plush sofas that looked as comfortable as a bed, plasma TVs in the wall facing a fully-stocked minibar.

“Check out this bath!” Sienna squealed. Matthew looked into a marble bathroom to find a big circular tub, mounted on several steps, big enough for Sienna to lie flat in.

“Want me to run you a jacuzzi?” Matthew said, looming menacingly over the buttons.

“Not yet!” Sienna scrambled out the tub, giggling.

“Just remember this was paid for with blood money,” Jackie warned as she flicked through a menu. “On that note, who wants to help me rob Panacea with room service?”

Matthew couldn’t help smirking: Ethan had had a similar philosophy last year, and Jackie would be sick if he told her that.

As Jackie put in a call to the front desk for a Panacea-funded feast, Matthew snuck into one of the bedrooms and sprawled out on the king-sized four poster bed, marvelling at the silk sheets and velvet throws, then took out his phone to call Rafael.

“Matthew!” He sounded happy. “How’s the city of lights?”

“Pretty sure that’s Paris, not Vegas.”

“There is an Eiffel Tower there.”

Matthew moved to the window where he could see the Eiffel Tower replica glowing against the night sky.

“Fair point. I’ll give it to you.”

Raf chuckled.

“It’s good to hear your voice. I was getting a little jealous thinking of you guys hitting the town without me.”

“I know. I wish you could have come with us.”

“Me too, but I’ve got a super-heavy physical therapy schedule and Dr Mirani doesn’t want me travelling far at the moment.”

“I know, I know.” Matthew didn’t want Raf to get caught up in what he was missing out on. “So, what are you up to now?”

“Right now I’m at Vovó’s for family dinner!” His voice perked right up. “You should smell the moqueca she has on the stove…”

Matthew could picture the scene: Juliana’s bright kitchen, Rafael probably trying to help out and being told to relax, his parents gently teasing each other.

“That sounds amazing. Remind me to invite myself over again soon.”

“That won’t be hard.”

Someone knocked on the door of the bedroom, and he heard Sienna’s voice asking if he was OK.

“I should probably get back,” he said, reluctantly. “Heist plans to make and all that…”

“Go, have fun! And…get into some trouble, OK? For the two of us.”

“I will,” Matthew smiled. “Say hello to your family for me. And the next time I’m in Vegas, I fully expect you to be here with me.”

“Actually I have good news on that front: I could be up for some travel in a few months, if I keep up with my recovery schedule.”

“That’s great, Raf!”

Matthew felt comforted as they exchanged goodbyes and hung up. He had been a little concerned with what Raf would think of the plan, but he had been encouraging, and Matthew was glad Raf was having fun back home.

As they ate dinner – a variety of world foods that they could all pick and share – they put their plan together. The next day would be the main conference which Jackie, Aurora, Sienna and Elijah would attend. Matthew was off the hook as he and Nash still hated each other. He was just going to make the most of the luxury penthouse. Bryce had volunteered to keep Matthew company, though he would probably take another stroll down the strip. Saturday evening would be the big one for all of them. The execs would be drinking and gambling and this was when Jackie hoped their tongues would be loose enough to reveal a few dirty secrets.

Matthew slept in on Saturday morning and soaked in the jacuzzi for a couple of hours. He was lounging on the couch in a fluffy bathrobe when Bryce came back from his explore.

“Check out what I bought for Keiki!”

He reached into a shopping bag and pulled out a little model of Elvis Presly. When the button was pressed, Elvis sang a few bars of ‘Viva Las Vegas’ and wiggled his hips.

“Just what she’s always wanted,” Matthew laughed. “Maybe I should get one for Raf.”

“Do it and they can have a dance-off.” Bryce flopped onto the couch beside Matthew and took some chocolate out of the shopping bag to share.

“How are you doing, anyway?” Matthew asked. “I couldn’t believe that your parents had come into the hospital.”

“Yeah,” Bryce said, heavily. “That was…something. But people have actually been quite nice about it, which I didn’t expect. And people talking about me in general is nothing new.” He acted cocky, smoothing his hair back, but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “But I got so angry when I first saw them, even though it’s been years. It…scared me,” he admitted. “I used to punch the wall after I argued with my parents, and at the time I told myself it was OK because it wasn’t a person. But that’s hardly a healthy reaction. Keiki and I argue, what if I get angry with her?”

Matthew rubbed his shoulder. “I think the fact that you’re worried about it is a good sign,” he said. “You’ve been making it work with Keiki for a while now. But the anger caused by your parents will be different than arguing with your sister. Much less extreme.”

“I suppose,” Bryce nodded. “But…there’s a lot to think about at the moment….Stuff to work out…Things to decide.”

Matthew waited, but Bryce didn’t elaborate.

“Are you going to tell me about that…?”

“Maybe later.” Bryce casually popped a chocolate into his mouth. “But not today. Today we help Jackie.”

“If you say so,” Matthew said. “But I’m here for you.”

“You’re a doctor, not a psychologist. But thanks.” Bryce ruffled Matthew’s hair, then paused, sniffing the air. “Dude…did you use rose bubble bath or something?”

“It was so foamy!”

****

That night, the suite was a flurry of activity as everyone got dressed up for the evening. Matthew kept it very simple in a black silk shirt. Elijah was in a maroon tux, and Bryce was in a navy tux with a matching flower print shirt.

“Only you could wear flower print and pull it off,” Jackie sighed, as she fixed a pair of sparkly earrings to her ears. She looked particularly striking in a short, tight sparkly blue halter-necked dress and black heels, though her hair was in its usual bun. Sienna had offered to style it differently, but Jackie had brushed her off. Whatever the morning conference had been about, she had come back with fire in her eyes and had been on edge all afternoon. Meanwhile, Aurora wore the red dress she had worn to her school reunion, and Sienna was in a glittering black cocktail dress, curling her hair for the occasion.

Walking into the casino was quite the assault on the senses. Music blared, slot machines squealed and buzzed, dealers called for bets, gamblers cheered in delight or howled in anguish. Lights flashed in every corner and cocktail waitresses strutted round offering shots…for a small fee, of course.

“Alright heist crew,” Elijah said, rubbing his hands together. “Where do we start?”

“I can see Nash talking to someone at the poker tables,” Matthew said.

“Let’s start there. But we need to be subtle,” Jackie said. “I say we go over in small groups to eavesdrop. Except Matthew, make sure you stay out of Nash’s sight.”

Bryce and Jackie strolled over to the poker tables. Elijah and Sienna went in that general direction, pretending to look around. Matthew hid at a slot machine. Aurora did the same, but positioned closer to Nash’s table.

“I’ve been hearing Solomon Health had a very good year.” Matthew could just make out Declan’s voice. “And I’ve been hearing rumours about vertical integration?”

“You using that machine or what?” someone behind Matthew said rudely. He jumped, then glared as he loaded a quarter into the machine and pulled the lever…only for the machine to start spinning and line up three golden sevens! The entire machine lit up and squealed with sirens as coins started rattling out, into his cup and onto the ground. The rude person looked scandalised.

“What the hell?!” Aurora gasped.

“It was a mistake,” Matthew groaned as Nash started craning his neck looking for the jackpot winner.

“Mr Nash! Good to see you!” Aurora called as she hurried over to Declan. He looked surprised, but pleased.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here, Dr Emery!”

“Well, my aunt couldn’t make it so she asked if I would go and represent the family.”

“And you work at Mass Kenmore now, I believe. Interesting…”

As Aurora subtly turned Nash away from the slot machines, Matthew hastily grabbed his cup and dashed away. There were still a ton of coins on the floor but he didn’t care; the rude gambler could have those.

Bryce and Jackie caught up with him as he was paying in his winnings: he had managed to catch a few thousand.

“How could you win a slot machine on the first go?” Bryce said. “You’re so jammy.”

“Never mind that, did you find out anything?”

“I heard something about Solomon Health and vertical integration,” Matthew said, as the other three caught up with them.

“I’ve heard about that,” Elijah said. “Vertical integration is when a company owns its own supply chain. Basically, Solomon Health are trying to create a monopoly.”

“I spoke with one of the Solomon reps and he kept saying there were ‘big plans’ for Mass Kenmore too,” Aurora said, darkly.

Jackie gritted her teeth.

“It doesn’t help us deal with Panacea. We need to try again.”

“Declan’s still at the poker table,” Sienna said. “This woman came to join him just before we came to join you, but he seems to know her well.”

The group peered over at the poker tables. A tall woman in a bespoke suit and black hair in a high ponytail sipped from a champagne flute and laughed at what Nash said.

“That’s Panacea’s CEO, Charlotte St Yves!” Jackie gasped. As she spoke, Charlotte downed the rest of her champagne and walked to the stairs that led to the sportsbook. She wobbled a little as she went.

“Charlotte seems to have had a few…I bet we could get her to talk. And taking down the CEO would be major,” Elijah said.

Jackie frowned.

“I don’t know…I still think it’s worth following Nash.”

“How about you and I stick with Nash, the others can follow Charlotte,” Bryce said. “Text us when you’re ready to meet up,” he added to the group.

The elevator doors opened to a modern sports lounge filled with flatscreen TVs, leather recliners and loungers.

“Pretend we belong,” Aurora reminded everyone as they stepped out. Charlotte was in a recliner, swirling clear liquid in a glass tumbler. Elijah started rolling towards the TV closest to her and the others followed.

“Yesss, Nick Lawson’s playing tonight. We gotta bet on him,” he said. Matthew and the girls settled on the loungers.

“This sportsbook is fancy,” Sienna noted. “So, where do we place our bets?”

“There’s a screen on the arm of the lounger,” Charlotte said, looking over at them.

Perfect Matthew thought as he gave Charlotte a smile.

“Thanks. We’re clearly not from around here.”

“What brings you to Vegas?”

“Er…”

“We were at high school together,” Aurora said. “Every year we take a trip to a different city.”

“Nice! Where are you from originally?”

“Boston.”

“I know Boston quite well,” Charlotte smirked. Matthew and Aurora shared a glance; of course she did.

“Do you travel a lot?” Sienna asked.

“A fair amount. I have a lot of conferences with work.”

“What is it that you do?”

“I work with Panacea Labs. We provide a lot of pharmaceuticals.”

They chatted a little longer about the beginnings of Panacea – Charlotte was drunk enough to let slip that she had always looked for tax loopholes, even in the early days – and then back to the basketball, which had just reached half time.

“So,” Charlotte said, slurring her words. “Who’s up for a bet? Sports games like this are unpredictable. Every game means lives and futures hang in the balance.”

“Sounds ominous,” Matthew muttered to Sienna. “Do you think that’s the drink talking?”

“It’s hard to tell either way,” Sienna whispered back.

Charlotte clicked her fingers at the server for a refill as Matthew watched a reporter interviewing a sweaty player. He seemed confident, almost overly so.

“That’s Antonia Morrison. He’s an absolute monster. The opposition will need a lot of luck getting past him.”

“So you think he’s the one?” Charlotte’s finger hovered over her betting screen. “The bookmakers have put an over-under on him of 15.5 points in the second half.”

Matthew continued watching the TV as Morrison wrapped up his interview, but as he stretched, he winced: a classic sign of hip-flexor strain. Elijah had gone pensive. He seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“You know what? I think Morrison will score under fifteen points.”

Charlotte giggled and her well-manicured hands tapped on her screen.

“Did you just bet a hundred grand?!” Matthew yelped.

“Exciting, isn’t it? Probably a teensy bit more than what you’re used to.”

The group watched the screens with baited breath. Matthew could feel himself sweating…and Morrison fell short of fifteen points before the final buzzer.

“We did it!” Sienna squealed. “I mean…he didn’t do it…but she did it!”

Matthew felt a little dizzy and he wondered if he’d been breathing properly at all for that second half.

“Well played!” Charlotte crowed, reaching over to shake his hand. “This calls for a celebration. I have a VIP lounge booked at the MGM Grand. Find me there and I’ll buy a bottle of Chateau d’Yquem.

“We’ll be there!” Matthew said as Charlotte staggered away. He could hardly believe his luck. Maybe he should place a bet for himself.

“Come on,” Aurora said. “We need to get Jackie and Bryce.”

Jackie was thrilled with their success. She had a recording of Nash saying they purposely extended testing periods and withheld breakthroughs from the public eye because they knew it would lose the money from the long-term treatment…but Nash was nothing compared to a confession from the CEO.

The MGM Grand was a huge nightclub with a long line of people waiting to get in. They didn’t recognise any Panacea honchos in the line…clearly they had queue-jumping privileges.

“We need to get past the bouncer,” Jackie scowled. “Bryce, flirt with him until he lets us in.”

“What?” Bryce spluttered. “What if he’s not into dudes?”

“Since when has that stopped you?” Sienna laughed.

Bryce rolled his eyes, but put on a charming smile and strutted to the bouncer who watched him warily. The group waited as Bryce ran his hand up the bouncers arm…the bouncer rolled his eyes and waved him in. Everyone else charged in after him.

“What did you say?”

“Well, I used my medical training to be very specific about which body parts of our anatomies would fit together…and he let me in on the grounds that I would never speak to him again.”

The group laughed. Matthew looked at Jackie, expecting a witty remark, but she was frowning and her eyes were focused straight ahead where Nash and Charlotte were in the VIP lounge.

“Jackie? You OK?”

“Come help me get my phone ready. You guys wait here.” Jackie grabbed Matthew by the front of his shirt and dragged him towards a bathroom.

“Wait, I can’t go in there!”

“It’s fine, just pretend we’re hooking up.”

A few women were fixing their make-up in the mirror. They jumped when Matthew was dragged in, then burst into giggles when he and Jackie crammed into a stall and locked it behind them.

“You owe me for this.”

“I’ll owe you for a lifetime.” Jackie’s hands trembled as she swiped at her phone, her brow furrowed in fury. “I got an app that filters out background noise. I’ll set it up and we’ll nail those bastards to the wall.”

She accidentally tapped out the app and cursed loudly. Matthew gently took the phone from her to continue the set-up. Jackie leaned against the wall, her hands clenched into fists.

“We need to find something, Matthew. I need Nash to suffer.”

“You’re not the only one who wants that.”

“No. I need it. Nash is out there, right now, making deals that will literally kill people as he drinks champagne. He deserves to lose everything.”

“You’re getting a bit…intense,” Matthew said in alarm. “Why do you want this so bad?”

Jackie made a strangled noise as she kicked at the wall. Matthew’s stomach squeezed when he saw the tears in her eyes when she faced him.

“This is the only way I know how to make it right. I let them buy me off and I hate myself for it. Nash is a slime bag but I should have done better. I was the one who was too weak. And it’s going to carry on…Nash will make his shady deals and there’ll be plenty of desperate doctors willing to help in exchange for extra cash.” She hastily dabbed her thumb under her eyes. “Sorry…I’ve barely slept over this.”

“Jackie, this isn’t all on you…”

“No. If I can do something to stop it…it won’t solve the whole problem but it’s a start. I’m sick of Big Pharma.”

Matthew’s heart broke for her. He handed the phone back, ready to record.

“Let’s go take them down.”

They found their friends at the edge of the dancefloor and huddled together. Jackie thrust the phone into Matthew’s hands, agitated.

“You need to do it,” she said. “I’m too…”

She couldn’t finish her sentence but she didn’t need to. Matthew squeezed her hand as he took the phone.

“Maybe it’s best if one of us goes anyway,” Elijah said. “You were the one who made the bet, Matthew. If she asks, just say we had to stop somewhere but we’re on our way.”

“We’ll wait for you on the rooftop terrace,” Bryce added.

He went with Aurora and Jackie, whilst Elijah and Sienna waited in the corner until Nash drained his glass and stood up. Almost as soon as he was in the main area of the club, Elijah rolled into him and Sienna started waylaying him about the Panacea perks program. Matthew ducked under the VIP rope.

“There you are!” Charlotte was trashed. “Where are your friends?”

“They wanted to stay at the casino a bit longer but they’re on their way,” Matthew said as Charlotte poured him a generous glass of champagne. “I still can’t believe how easily you placed a hundred thousand dollar bet…”

“I forgot how shocking the numbers can seem to the lower classes but it’s child’s play, really.”

Matthew ignored the jab. Charlotte had to keep talking.

“Humans are designed to thrive on adrenaline. The greater the risk, the greater the pay-off.” She smirked. “C’mon, you must get a rush from something.”

“Well…I once impersonated a doctor.”

“How?”

“I was at the mall and someone started choking. They called for a doctor but no one stood…so I ran up and did the Heimlich, like they do on TV.” He shrugged it off. “It worked. The guy woke up. And the ambulance crew asked me which hospital I worked at and thanked me for my service.”

It wasn’t exactly a lie. Matthew had saved someone from choking in a mall food court during his med school years, but he had made it very clear he was only a student. The people hadn’t cared; they wanted their friend to be OK, and Matthew was the closest thing to a doctor they could get.

“Unbelievable. You got lucky,” Charlotte said. “When I was your age, I snuck into the lion exhibit at Atlanta Zoo.”

“You snuck into the…?”

“They’re just big kitties at the end of the day!”

They swapped a few more stories, but just as Matthew worried he was running out of life experiences to base his lies on, Charlotte took a big gulp of champagne.

“You want risks? I increased my company’s quarterly profits by sixty percent by inflating the wholesale prices of our most used drugs!”

Matthew spluttered. Charlotte had just confessed to text book medicare fraud.

“How would that even work?”

“Easy. Officially price the product at ten times retail. Medicare pays us the full amount for it and we just happen to offer a ninety percent wholesale discount to other buyers.” She sat back, happily. “My head’s going to be sore in the morning,” she giggled.

Matthew’s head was spinning. He had to get away from Charlotte.

“Well, I don’t think I can top that so hats off to you.” He forced a big grin while feeling like he might throw up. “Be right back, I gotta use the bathroom.”

Charlotte waved him off as Matthew ducked into the crowd and bolted for the stairs. The cool night air shocked him for a second before his friends gathered round him. The initial reaction was the same disgust he had felt, but then it turned celebratory when they realised it was perfect.

“I can’t believe it! You did it!” Jackie gasped, pulling him into a surprise huge hug. “Gimme the phone, I’ll take it from here.”

“Charlotte could go to jail for this,” Aurora said, as Jackie trimmed down the recording to just the admission. “Can you believe we pulled it off?”

“I might have known!” said a smarmy voice. Declan Nash had found them, just as Elijah and Sienna appeared from the elevator, aghast.

“I got suspicious when those two started hounding me about the perks program. Amateurs.” He looked at them with disdain before turning to Jackie. “Now, give me that phone.”

Jackie stepped forward to face Nash, holding up the phone showing the audio ready to send.

“I have a friend at the New York Times who was very interested to hear the goings-on in Panacea. You make one more move and I hit send.”

Nash went pale.

“W-What do you want? Money? We can talk deal,” He spluttered. “I could get you a consultant job at Panacea alongside your doctor job if you want!”

“You think this is about money?” Matthew snapped. Money seemed to have been the cause of most of his problems this year and he had had enough. From constantly asking how much patients could pay Edenbrook, all the way back to his father covering his sisters medical bills, and then screwing over Holly during the divorce. Had the world always been this way, or had he just now noticed? “You think we did this for a pay out? Not everyone is as disgustingly greedy as you are. The only thing we want is to get Panacea out of Edenbrook and Kenmore for good.”

“I can make that happen too!” Nash said, but then he paused. “Although…you know if you send that, you won’t come out of this clean.”

“What?”

“A story this big would lead to investigations. Every single doctor who took payments from Panacea Labs…and how many payments they took.”

He raised an eyebrow, pointedly. Matthew expected Jackie to flip Nash off and send the file, but she had frozen in place.

“So it was a couple of consultations. Big deal!” Sienna protested, but Nash laughed nastily. He still had cards to play.

“Your friends don’t know, do they? Well, kids, Jackie here was one of the highest perk recipients at the hospital.” He said the words with relish, and crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk, thinking he had won. Jackie couldn’t look anyone in the eye. She had lied to them.

“So that’s why they gave you the penthouse,” Elijah finally said into the shocked silence.

“Why didn’t you tell us?” Sienna asked.

Tears welled in Jackie’s eyes.

“Because I was ashamed. I hate myself for all of it. I wanted to tell you…but I couldn’t get the words out.”

The conversation with Jackie in the bathroom stall suddenly made more sense.

“No patient or doctor would trust you again after this. You’d be out of a job,” Nash said, coldly. He held out his hand. “Just give me the phone so I can delete the message. I’ll move Panacea out of your hospitals. You keep your job. No harm done.”

Jackie tensed…then shook her head, and glared at Nash with cold fury.

“No. There was harm done, and you need to pay for it. And so do I.”

She hit send…and they all heard the swoop of the confirmation.

“NO!” Nash roared. For a moment he looked like he wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around Jackie’s neck and squeeze. Matthew readied himself to fight him off, but then Nash whirled around and tore down the stairs. Matthew and Aurora raced after him, reaching the club in time to hear Charlotte’s furious screech, joined by other execs as Nash rounded them up. As they neared the door, Charlotte finally spotted Matthew.

“You little shit!” She spat. “How could you do this to me?”

“To you? You’re defrauding millions of people!”

“I think you’ll have to start placing slightly smaller bets, Charlotte,” Aurora grinned, high-fiving Matthew which made Charlotte even angrier but there was no time to rip them to shreds now.

Despite the fact the club was still raving, the roof terrace felt peaceful when they returned. Jackie was slumped on a bench with the others gathered round her.

“You didn’t have to sacrifice your career for this,” Sienna said as she sat beside Jackie and put an arm around her. “I’m really proud of you.”

“Me too,” Aurora said, going to Jackie’s other side. “You’re a brave, strong woman, Jackie.”

“What you did took a lot of guts.”

“You did good, nose-wiper.”

“I’m proud of you, too.”

Jackie glanced round at her friends, and finally managed a tired smile.

“Thanks guys.”

The six of them sat in peaceful silence in the cool night breeze. They seemed to have almost forgotten where they were until a heavy bass started thumping beneath them.

“So…” Elijah said. “Do we go home right now and wait for the headlines to hit, or do we make the most of an all-expenses-paid trip to Vegas that features a recently-vacated VIP lounge?”

The group started to laugh, then excitement grew again as they piled into the elevator and went back down to the club floor, where they wasted no time filling the VIP lounge and helping themselves to he abandoned champagne. It didn’t take long for Matthew’s head to spin and when he started feeling a deep love and gratitude for his friends, he grabbed a half-drunk bottle and stumbled to the edge of the lounge.

“Can I interest anyone in a drink?” he announced, to a rousing cheer. Clubgoers surged forward, and he poured champagne directly into their open mouths, feeling like a god.

Sienna and Bryce were dancing wildly. Elijah and Aurora were doing shots of tequila. Jackie shimmied over to Matthew and leaned on him heavily.

“You’re amazing,” she said, loudly. “Thank you. For everything. I mean it.”

Matthew smiled as he wrapped an arm around her, but somewhere in his fuzzy brain he thought it might be time to retire. He and Jackie stumbled out of the club and into a taxi back to their hotel.

“I miss Raf,” Matthew groaned loudly, as they collapsed on the penthouse couches.

“I know you do, you big dumb-ass,” Jackie said, kicking off her shoes. “Hey Matthew…I’m really sorry I lied…I just couldn’t stand the idea that everyone might hate me when I already hated myself—”

“Ssssshhh.” Matthew leaned over and gave her a big hug. “It’s all in the past. You’re redeemed. And we don’t hate you. I love you.”

Jackie hugged him back, then started sniffling.

“Sorry,” she wailed. “But I haven’t slept and I’m a bit drunk—hey!”

“Let’s get you to bed.” Matthew had swept Jackie into a fireman’s lift and carried her into a bedroom where he threw her onto the bed. He flopped onto it beside her, and soon they were drifting into a deep, drunken sleep.

****

Matthew woke up at noon the next day, with a sore head and a dry mouth. Jackie had woken up before him and he could hear his friends shuffling around the penthouse. He groaned as he rolled over and felt the smoothness of his phone, revealing a text from Rafael: several laughing emojis followed by ‘how are you feeling this morning?? xx’.

Matthew panicked, wondering what he might have sent, but opened up the message thread and snorted with laughter: ‘yur fuvkinn awesummd Raf xxzxxxcx’.

He called him, and he picked up immediately, laughing at the sound of Matthew’s condition.

“Sounds like you had a great night!”

“I don’t think I even drank that much…my tolerance has been shot.”

“I don’t want to think about what mine might be like,” Raf said. “So, anyway, there was breaking news report this morning where a bunch of Panacea reps were arrested. Anything to do with you?”

Matthew was about to recount the full story of their success when he heard a shout that pierced his head: “BRYCE, NO, WE’RE ON THE THIRTY-FIFTH FLOOR!”

“What the--?”

Forgetting his hangover for a second, Matthew scrambled into the living room. Bryce was on the balcony, leaning over the railing. Everyone was crowded round him, laughing and groaning.

“Raf’s on the phone,” Matthew said, squinting in the daylight. “What’s going on?”

“Bryce threw up over the balcony.”

“Eeeeww!”

“If the people don’t have an umbrella, that’s on them,” Bryce said, as defiantly as he could in his hungover state.

****

News of Panacea spread quickly through Edenbrook. It was a double-edged sword. Matthew knew what it meant for Jackie, but Panacea was immediately closed pending investigation and certain medications were now inaccessible. Some patients had to be sent to other hospitals that had better supply. Even when Edenbrook did have an alternative, it was only through another pharmaceutical company that could have had the same level of corruption as Panacea.

Matthew met Jackie and Sienna by the entrance on Monday night to walk home together. They were all subdued, still with a touch of hangover and the hospital’s financial crisis heavier than ever, when Aurora burst through the doors gasping for breath.

“Thank god you’re here,” she choked. “I was just told…Kenmore don’t want to merge…the board decided…Solomon Health bought us out and the board doesn’t want to share that…they said there’s no need to lean on Edenbrook.”

“Oh god,” Matthew groaned. June had been right about the liability of Thorne pushing hospitals away. Ethan had been right about greedy hospital boards. And if Senator Farrugia had been adamant to keep research funds from Edenbrook…

They were doomed.

Tags: @sazanes @rafasgirl23415 @ceruleansnake0

[darbydoo22]

Into The Crows-Verse

a/n: So Happy to have gotten to work on this awesome idea for @grishaversebigbang ! My second of 2 fics so this is it for me this time ✨

Materialki: @oranges-and-stuff (x)

Summary: Basically how I imagine each of the crows introductions would go if they had the comic book style intros in Into The Spider-Verse.

Read it on AO3 or here under the cut!

Let’s take this from the top;

My name is Kaz Brekker. When I was a teenager, I was bitten by a radioactive spider that gave me all kinds of powers. I became the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man.

I fought tons of bad guys and won. Then I fought a ton more, and won again. Things were great. At least until I found my archenemy; the Lizard. Weird name, right? The guy kinda looks like a seven foot tall version of Godzilla, but I guess that name was copyrighted.

Anyway, I had some battles with The Lizard. Won a few, lost most of them, destroyed a lot of property all around.

I never really figured out who The Lizard was, just that he was part of some kind of science experiment gone wrong and that he was really mad about it. And yeah, I’d be mad too if someone had turned me into a giant lizard thing by mistake, but I don’t think I’d take it out on the general population.

But let’s get back on track, shall we? Anyway, giant lizard guy. We fought and I lost a fight that completely destroyed a huge chunk of the city.

During the fight, the building came down, and I did my best to get everyone out of the way. But in the process, my leg got crushed by some falling debris. Even with my spider powers, it will never heal right. I’d been using a cane to get around, so I had no idea how I could fight anyone anymore.

It felt like I couldn’t do anything right, and I couldn’t keep the people of (New York? Ketterdam?) safe. I couldn’t stop The Lizard. I couldn’t even figure out who he was.

But slowly, I learned to fight with a cane. I got better and better at it, and eventually, had the idea to build web shooters into it. I had a cane made specially reinforced with the same material as my Spider-Man suit, so it wouldn’t break during battle either.

After that, I fought The Lizard more often. It got to the point where I was fighting him almost every day and it was starting to feel like he was targeting me specifically. I didn’t find out why until it was too late.

During my last battle with The Lizard, the unthinkable happened. We were fighting, just like we had been for the last few months. The fight took place in a warehouse, some kind of industrial looking building where all the wires and beams were exposed. With his lizard powers and my spider powers, we both managed to climb up to one of the higher stories to fight.

The Lizard got a few good hits in on me, and I’d managed to hit him a few times too. And then finally, I got in a lucky hit that knocked him off balance.

The Lizard stumbled and fell from the second story down to the first. Considering his height, and some of the falls I’d seen him take before, he should have been fine. But when I got down to fight him, he wasn’t on his feet. He wasn’t moving, and when I went to get a closer look, I noticed a pipe sticking out of his chest.

As I got closer, the lizard features began to fade, and the human features became clear. And that was when I finally saw it. The Lizard was my missing brother, Jordie. He bled out and there was nothing I could do.

After that, I felt lost. I couldn’t stop being Spider-Man because the city needed me, but I became closed off. I couldn’t risk getting close with anyone in case they got hurt, or worse.

Then one day, part of the city started to look weird. Like a glitch on a screen. And the next thing I knew, I was being sucked into another world.

Let’s do this one more time:

My name is Nina Zenik, and I am Spider-Woman. When I was teenager, I was bitten by a radioactive spider that gave me all kinds of powers. I became the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Woman.

I fought tons of bad guys and won. Then I fought a ton more, and won again. Things were great. I was actually popular in school, and my crush, Matthias Helvar knew I existed. He even asked me out on a date!

I could tell that my best friend Genya was jealous of all the attention I was getting. The two of us used to be a lot closer, but ever since I got my powers we haven't been the same.

She was one of the head cheerleaders, and I guess she was happy talking to me when I was just some loser, but now that people thought I was cool too, it was too much? Whatever.

So we drifted apart, and I got to know Matthias more. We went on a few dates, though a couple got interrupted by some of my Spider-Woman activities.

The longer we dated, the more guilty I felt for lying to Matthias about why I had to cancel dates. It got to a point where I felt like I had to either break up with him, or tell him I was Spider-Woman. So that’s what I did.

I told Matthias about the whole secret identity thing, saving the city, and all that. Our relationship got even better than I thought it could be. Matthias started to get a bit more into the hero stuff, which was difficult, because his adoptive father Jarl is totally against it all. But we made it work.

Eventually, one of the villains started to get more interested in Matthias and I. He was so angry at me for some reason. It took me too long to figure it out and Matthias ended up paying the price.

One of my major villains as Spider-Woman, the Green-Goblin, figured out my identity. He kidnapped Matthias and used him to lure me into a fight. I went, obviously. I wasn’t just going to leave Matthias in the hands of my arch-enemy.

But when I got there, it was too late. Matthias was dead, and all I could do was give the Green Goblin the fight he wanted. We fought, and he got the upper hand. I tried to use my web shooters to get away, but he was following me on his mechanical glider. I took one tight corner, and the next thing I knew, he wasn’t following me anymore.

When I went back to see what had happened. I saw that he had crashed into a building. He got impaled on some debris that had fallen during our fighting. I got closer, and finally saw that the Green Goblin’s mask was cracked.

It was Genya’s adoptive father, Aleksander. He was the Green Goblin. He’d figured out my secret identity and had killed Matthias. It didn’t make any sense. I knew he wasn’t like that, but he had told me about some experimental substance he was working with, Merzots. It basically elevated all of a person’s senses. I’d looked into it though, and there hadn’t been a successful test where the subject kept their sanity.

I wanted to look into it more, but I had just lost Matthias. Genya had just lost her father figure, and I wanted to be there for her. But she just kept going on about how her father had respected me more than he had ever respected her, and how she didn’t want anything to do with me.

It hurt. It felt like I had lost everyone at once. Not only that but there was a new villain on the scene. She was basically a red version of the Green Goblin. I knew it was Genya, and it hurt so much to have my best friend going after me for something so out of my control. We were both grieving, and I hated that we were taking it out on each other.

Because of all the Spider-Woman stuff, I felt like I never really had the time to grieve Matthias. His dad hated me, and blamed me for Matthias’ death. It was the truth, even if he didn’t know the full extent. So I pulled away from everyone. I didn’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt because of me.

Then one day, part of the city started to look weird. Like a glitch on a screen. And the next thing I knew, I was being sucked into another world.

Let’s try this again. Third time’s the charm, right?

My name is Jesper Fahey, and I am Spider-Boy. I wasn’t bitten by a spider or anything like that, but my mom was. She was the amazing Spider-Woman.

I grew up hearing all these awesome stories from her and my dad, who even less frequently, went out as Spider-Man. They’re heroes! So I wanted to be just like them.

As I got older, I started to experience some of the same spider powers that my mom got when she was bitten. I also got a couple of powers that she didn’t have.

Through a lot of trial and error, we figured out what I could do. I could use the same web shooters as my parents, could climb buildings like my mom, and after some cool designing with my dad, we managed to create a suit that could let me glide. It meant I could basically fly, which was pretty awesome!

Thanks to my powers, I got to help my parents with a lot of the hero stuff. I got to spend more time with them, and it was just really great. But one day, while I was in school, my mom went out to do some hero stuff on her own.

She fought a guy with super strength, and managed to stop him from destroying a handful of buildings downtown. But the villain managed to damage one of the buildings so badly that it looked like it was going to fall over. While she was evacuating some of the civilians, a little girl was stuck under some of the debris. My mom managed to get her out, and get her to safety, but not before part of the building collapsed. One of her legs was crushed, and even with her powers, it would never heal right.

She had to give up being Spider-Woman after that, which I know she was really upset about. Because of that, I got to be the city’s number one protector. The friendly neighbourhood Spider-Boy.

I started fighting my own battles, getting my own villains, but I always had my parents to support me when I did. We figured out a way for me to keep up with school and continue being Spider-Boy.

Then one day, part of the city started to look weird. Like a glitch on a screen. And the next thing I knew, I was being sucked into another world.

Alright, this is the final time we are doing this:

My name is Matthias Helvar and I am the Spider-Man. I was bitten by a spider, and somehow, that gave me powers.

I have been spending my days trying to solve crime, and using my powers to put villains and criminals behind bars. It is a difficult life, not being able to get close with anyone. But it was worth it for the justice I was delivering. It was my true purpose. It felt like this was the reason I was given these powers.

Then one day, I was kidnapped. Apparently the military had heard of my powers, and wanted to use me for some kind of experimentation. I was held captive for months. During that time they took sample after sample of DNA from me. They tortured me, tried to brainwash me, all in the hopes that I would join them.

But one day, I noticed that one of the nurses working on me to draw blood looked familiar. She was another investigator I had encountered over the years. Nina Zenik. I could hardly believe that she was here. I thought she had stood for justice, like me, but here she was, helping the military experiment on me.

It was not until she told me that she was here to rescue me that I understood the gravity of the situation. Months went by, and she continued to help my captors experiment on me. At that point I knew she was purposely giving them false information, in hopes of destroying all of the information the military had managed to gain about my powers.

The longer I spent there, the more I started to trust Nina. I knew it was a mistake, because the people I cared about usually ended up betraying me, or worse. And when Nina helped me escape, I knew it would be for the worst.

I managed to get out, but Nina, who was innocent of any crime beyond freeing me, was killed. I have never been the same after that. I continued to solve crimes and protect people, but some part of me felt broken. I could no longer get close to others, because the one time I did, Nina died because of me.

I kept to myself, both in my day job and as Spider-Man. It was a lonely existence, but it was for the best.

Then one day, part of the city started to look strange. Like a glitch on a television screen. And the next thing I knew, I was being sucked into another world.

Alright, let's do this one more time. Last time, I swear!

My name is Wylan Van Eck, and I am Spider-Boy. I wasn’t bitten by a spider or anything like that. In fact, I don’t have any kind of powers at all. I save the city, and the world, with a super cool robotic suit that I built.

It all happened after my dad disowned me. He’s the head of one of the biggest tech companies in the world, and didn’t think I’d be able to manage it after him. I have as much, or even more tech knowledge than him, but I can admit that I don’t have the best business sense.

Anyway, after he disowned me and kicked me out, I didn’t have much to do. I wasn’t going to the fancy private school he had forced me to go to, and none of my friends would talk to me since I wasn’t super rich anymore.

I had a lot of time on my hands, so I started doing a bit of investigating. There were a few villains who were destroying the city, causing a lot of property damage, and, more importantly, were getting people hurt.

The worst of the villains was someone named the Green Goblin. He had a full body suit of green armour and tones of tech that looked way more advanced than anything I’d ever seen.

The tech, and some of the people and places he was targeting were all connected though. I knew he wasn’t just going around and doing things randomly. If he was smart enough to build the suit, there had to be a pattern. Some kind of motive.

The more I looked into it, the more the evidence led straight back to my dad’s company. All of the people he was going after and stealing from were competitors, or investors that hadn’t backed his company.

It didn’t really make any sense, until I broke into one of the company’s labs. Well, it’s not technically breaking in if my dad forgot to remove my access, right? Anyways, I was able to find a file on a top secret project. Something about a drug that would enhance all of a person’s senses, but would also drive them to madness.

At the very end was a video, there was a note that the drug had been rejected by every science board in the country. I knew my father would never accept that, so it didn’t surprise me that he had taken it to prove a point. Except that he had supposedly taken it years ago. He hadn’t shown any signs of the usual symptoms, and as far as I knew, he had been perfectly fine.

But I guess creating an entire villain persona and trying to kill people that hadn’t backed the project wasn’t exactly the pinnacle of sanity either. Whatever the case, I stole a bunch of parts from the lab, and built my own costume.

It was a spider shaped machine that would help me climb buildings. That way, I could fight my dad when he was flying around as Green Goblin.

I started to make public appearances, fighting not just my dad, but some other bigger villains as well. I started to be known around town as Spider-Boy. I guess I was a bit more visible than I thought I was in the robot, because people could see how young I was.

Whatever, I accepted the title and became the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Boy.

Then one day, part of the city started to look weird. Like a glitch on a screen. And the next thing I knew, I was being sucked into another world.

I really hope this is the last time we’re doing this. Okay, here we go:

My name is Inej Ghafa, and I am Spider-Woman. I lived a perfectly normal life up until a few days ago. I went to a normal school, or I guess as normal as possible for a private school I was at for competitive gymnastics. I had friends, who were also gymnasts, and hobbies outside of school and sports.

My parents were fully supportive of me in my school and sports. At times, a bit overbearingly so. So sometimes I just needed a break from it all. From the constant expectations, from the constant interest and pressure of living up to their expectations for me.

That need to take a break is where everything changed in my life. I was doing a bit of exploring with one of my cousins. We were downtown, hanging out in the abandoned gym where we used to train as kids.

The gym hadn’t been open for years, so it wasn’t the cleanest. There were definitely rats living in it, maybe racoons too. We didn’t care though, we just hung out, like we always did. At least until I saw what I thought was a spider. It looked huge, but every time I looked at it, it had vanished. By the time we were leaving, I’d almost forgotten about the spider, until I went to pick up my gym back, and it jumped out at me from underneath it.

The spider bit me, and that moment changed my life forever.

On the way home from the gym, I started feeling weird. Almost jumpy at the slightest sound. Even sounds that other people couldn’t hear.

It only got weirder from there. When I was walking home I felt an intense feeling of panic, and got out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by some supervillain looking person. Spider-Woman was right behind her, and that weird feeling I had told me to follow the two of them.

I did, and saw Spider-Woman get killed. But not before she gave me some information on how to stop what sounded like the end of the world. Apparently some mad scientist named Van Eck was trying to break the barrier between all of the different worlds out there.

It was up to me to stop it now. At least it was, until a bunch of other Spider-Women and Spider-Men started showing up.

[justmaghookit]

8, 15, 19 (lol), and 23 for Donniiiiiie~

Tav Backstory Ask Game

8. Does your Tav have any pets?

Donnie sadly does not have any pets, he always thought it was rather irresponsible to bring a companion pet along on adventuring journys and he didn't really want to train a guard animal. He's always dreamed of befriending a pseudo dragon, that would be his ultimate companion animal. He also really likes dogs, if he see's a dog on the street he WILL point it out.

After having Scratch along during the events of bg3 he really really wants a dog. He sent Scratch off with Shadowheart when she decided to visit the Selunite Temples so she wouldn't be traveling alone. Every time he and Astarion stop in a city while traveling he will stare forlornly at any markets with puppies available for purchase.

Astarion is considering stealing him one, if only to stop his pouting.

15. Do they have any sentimental items?

Donnie still has the blanket his maternal grandmother knitted for him when he was a baby, he doesn't take it with him because he doesn't want it to get damaged. It currently resides with his sister in her home in Respite and whenever he visits he WILL wrap himself up in it and dream of simpler times. Rosie has her own as well, she uses hers as a shawl!

His false horn is also sentimental for him, it was a gift from Fierna after he signed his contract with her a sort of "welcome to the family" gift. It's made of some strange self-repairing alloy and always snaps back into shape after a day if it ever gets damaged. Despite having broken his contract with her she allowed him to keep it, along with a few other things when he left the service of the Hells. He thinks she let him keep them because she excepts him to come back eventually [in some time-lines, she would be correct]

19. Any memories that stick out to you/your Tav about their life pre-tadpole?

The day he took the Archduchess Fierna to the infernal courts, presided over by Archduke Belial, in order to break his contract, and won. Well really it was his sister who found the technicality that got them both out of Hell, but if he had never had the courage to bring his case to court they'd both still be stuck there. This is another one of those splitting points for all my little au's for him. In the canon of bg3 though this is perhaps his most important memory.

23 Share any hcs/anything you want to say about your Tav’s backstory

Fierna gave him free infernal HRT with his contract, she just sort of made it happen by fucking with his biology.

Donnie would consider his greatest secret the fact that he really really likes cute things. Lace doilies, tiny felt animals, silk flower arrangements, anything even remotely frilly and pastel he adores. This does double for lingerie.

His actual deepest secret was that he enjoyed the work he did for Fierna and a part of him misses it. The thrill that comes with condemning a soul is one ahem hell of a drug. He DOESN'T miss the politics though.

When not in his signature Robe of Stars he dresses like a guy from the romantic era

He shaves, because he thinks his facial hair makes him look like a comic villain from a cheap newspaper

Donnie's horn is similar in construct to a giraffe's, called ossicones, its bone inside with a layer of skin and such over it, they're velvety soft to touch.

The broken horn left a nasty scar that goes down close to his eyebrow, he usually covers it with makeup because it makes him self conscious

His tail and his legs from mid-thigh down also have a soft velvet texture to them, from mid-calf down and at the end of his tail his fur gets long and fluffy.

He doesn't have a gag reflex

[vivinightingale]

Ooohoho! Requests are open!! Had a lil idea I think might be cool- maybe writing the Yugioh boys wearing high heels and how well they do in them? Maybe they lost a bet to the reader and in turn had to wear high heels the whole day? (By the way, it's so cool to see your Walten Files profile picture)

First off all I can think about is this song

And second I know I already said it, but thank you for recognizing my Walten files pfp at the time 🥺👉👈💕

Tw: cursing on my part sorry...

Yugi Muto

He couldn't say no to you, it was a terrible flaw honestly. So when you asked him to try on heels with you he couldn't say no.

To give him a little mercy you asked him to try on some chunky high heels, and yet he was still a wobbly mess.

Poor bby had to hold on wall just so he didn't fall and hurt himself. He eventually had to call it quits just so he doesn't hurt himself.

He won't ever do that again unless you ask but he will happily support you and compliment you.

Yami/Atem

He is a pro in them sorry I don't make the rules. I mean have you seen them legs 👀 now imagine then with heels 💅✨

So when you ask him to try on heels with you he accepts and rocks it hard. You honestly couldn't find one he didnt look good in.

Looks epically good in knee high boots you are honestly a little envoiuse of his natural heel talent, so you ask him for tips and tricks.

He doesn't have solid advice, but he will certainly help in anyway he can. He compliments you the whole time as well 💕

Joey Wheeler

A case of this man nearly broke is ankle. The two of you were betting about who the better duelist was, and unfortunately for him luck wasn't on his side this time.

So as a "punishment" you got him to wear heels, and it was both the funniest and scariest thing ever. He had on some bright red platform heels that he insisted on.

He could stand just fine but when he started walking he almost immediately feel to the ground barly twisting his ankle. You honestly felt so bad, and he played that.

You babied him all day and just basked in it. He might try on heels again for this treatment again.

Tristan Taylor

Broken ankle part 2 the electric Boogaloo. Much like just best friend he doesn't know what grace is. So when he loose a bet and had to out on heels. Well let's just say get the car ready.

Hoping he could keep better balance you gave him wedges to try on, and let me tell you, he was confident at first. He even tried to strut a bit.

And honestly that's how the two of you ended up at the hospital, your trying not to laugh as the doctor gave him a questioning look as one wedge is still on.

He is gonna try again when it heals! He wants to prove himself to you and those blasted heels you wear so much!

Duke Devlin

This man wear heels on the DL and you cannot convince me otherwise. Unlike Yami this man has practiced with them due to his fascination with heeled boots of any kind.

So when you ask him to try on heels with you he doesn't hesitate. He even shows you his little collection . He is even the type to give poiters, and keep you up if your struggle a bit.

Unlike everyone else this is how your bet started, you both wanted to see who could last all day in heels.

I'm sorry hun, but he won so just take the L and punishment.

Seto Kaiba

Normally this man wouldn't indulge in time wasters, but you convinced mokuba to help ask him to try on heels, and he couldn't say no to both his favorite people.

So there he stood in his office looking over some paperwork, while wearing stilettos. Not only did he look fine as hell, but he didn't even wobble! It was like Second nature.

So you and mokuba watched him all day doing his daily company stuff, while strutting around in heels, but the best part was at the meeting.

All the office croonys heard the tap of heels, and got slightly excited at the prospect of an attractive woman walking in, but it was just the scowling Seto. They were VERY disappointed.

Bakura Ryou

Heels are torture for this poor bby. He knows he told you he would try them on with you, but the thought of falling keeps him in his seat.

He honestly will only do it if your by his side helping him not to fall, but even then he is weary.

He looks good in them, so please let him know it. It not only helps boost his confidence, but makes him happy you think so.

Like Yugi will never wear them again after that, but he will happily support you from the sidelines!

Yami Bakura

No he isn't allowed around heels anymore. You decided to have a bet with him who would win the next duel Atem or Seto....you said Atem and won. So he had to wear your heels for the day.

It started off fairly normal, a bit wobbly but all in all good. That is until some unfortunately soul decided to pick a fight with for wearing heels.

Normally he would send them to the shadow realm with ease, but WHY DO THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A WHOLE ASS WEAPON ON YOUR FOOT?!

You had to pull him off of the poor sod and drag him away before authorities showed up. Since then he has had a new liking to heels.

Marik Ishtar

He isn't the best, but he isn't the worst?? He can stay up and walk around, but don't expect him to have them on all day. It's too much on his feet.

He will only wear them with or around you, for both safety and a little reassurance, but he will never wear them on the bike.

He wore then on the bike one, and it nearly got stuck, luckily he was able to unhook it without injuries.

You guys honestly look like a badass power couple when you wear matching heels, he will even post them on Instagram so everyone can be jealous 💕

Yami Marik

He is also one who is a pro at heels, he has never wore them beforehand but damn does he make them look good and vis versa!

All you had to do was ask him really nicely, and he decided to oblige your very odd request. He thought nothing of it just another pointless task you asked him to do.

So he walked around that whole day feeling slightly more intimidating then he did before but he won't tell you that

Though don't get your hopes up, just like the theif king he sees them as a portable weapon and won't hesitate to use them as such if need to.

[arcanadreams]

Water Fights with the OM Bros

it’s 90 degrees outside at my place and you know what that means!!! water fight headcanons because I refuse to go outside in the heat in real life asdhgskjdgks

once again i’m only doing the brothers bc i do not trust myself with the dateables just yet lmao

Lucifer:

Literally only agrees to join because you’re so excited about it.

“...If it makes you happy, MC,” are his exact words. Simp.

You did agree to make the game have no points though, to keep things from getting competitive. Both at the advice of Lucifer and because you knew he would not join if there was any chance he could lose. (Also because Satan is a menace but we’ll get to that later.)

When all the brothers are gathered he suggests everyone pairs up into teams. 

“You’re only saying that so you can cozy with M-” Asmo tries to say before being sprayed in the face with water.

“My hair!” “Oh, look at that. I suppose the game has started,” Lucifer hides his water gun behind his legs, but he can’t hide the shit eating grin on his face.

He takes your hand with a “Come along, MC,” and leads you away as everyone splits up.

You two make a surprisingly good team for this sort of thing! He knows the gardens well and also knows where each of his brothers is likely to go. You are quite skilled water water guns and balloons. He’s basically the brains and you’re the brawn. 

He snatches a few kisses now and then when you look back at him excitedly after smacking one of his brothers with a balloon. You’re just so cute!

When everyone is all tuckered out and goes off to shower and whatever, Lucifer hangs back with you to thank you for organizing everything. With a kiss to the back of your hand, he says, “I’ll admit, I was...skeptical, at first. But, as usual, you brought my brothers together in a way I haven’t seen in a long while. Thank you, MC.” 

Mammon:

“I’m MC’s first man, so I get to team with them!” “You’re also literally my boyfriend, but okay hun.” Cue Mammon blushing beet red at the nickname and muttering at you not to call him that in front of his brothers. (He doesn’t mean it; he loves that they know you’re his and vice versa.)

Strategically, the two of you are the absolute worst. But that’s because you’re both just there to have fun!

And have fun you do! You actually get in quite a few fun chases with Levi! He’s probably the most into the water fight out of everyone, the three of you are just running around the gardens pelting each other with balloons. It’s super cute.

Mammon is absolutely the type to yell “I’ll avenge you, MC!” every single time you get sprayed. 

Eventually, you and Mammon follow Levi’s advice and start hiding in places to catch some of the other brothers by surprise. Which would be fine if Mammon didn’t blush super hard and start grumbling because of how close together you were when kneeling behind the garden wall.

You roll your eyes and surge forward to kiss him. He’s so shocked he has no idea what to do with his hands at first. But, after a second of pause, his water gun falls to the ground with a clatter and he wraps his arms around you.

“Get a room,” Is all the two of you hear before Belphie dumps a whole ass bucket of water on your heads. Mammon growls and jumps up to get the youngest before Beel can scoop him up, but you grab his hand and stop him. 

You’re laughing super hard, and the sun is shining on your hair. You almost look like you have a halo...Mammon gives up the chase before it even starts because his MC is simply ethereal. 

“Mammon!” You smile brilliantly at him when you finally stop laughing. “I kissed you to keep you quiet! And then you managed to make even more noise!” 

He just hugs you then so you can’t see his blushing face. Stupid lovely human making fun of him. (He likes it, though.)

Leviathan:

This boy is literally the MOST excited when you tell him your idea. He was in on it from the very start.

He actually helped you get all the supplies! He opens his Akuzon account right away and starts showing you what water guns would be best and picking out huge packs of balloons made specifically for being water grenades. (Definitely had looked all this stuff up before in case he found a LARPing buddy.)

You ask him how much Grimm all this stuff will cost and he tells you not to worry. “I’ll cover it!” “But, Levi-” He interrupts you with big blush on his face. 

“L-Listen MC. You’re m-my Henry! And I know this will be fun, s-so...I’ll cover it.” You leap forward and give him a hug, triggering a surprised but equally happy screech.

Honestly he is so excited you proposed an idea like that of your own volition. Like...it just makes him feel like all the games and stuff he finds fun truly don’t bother you. You haven’t been lying; you genuinely are interested in the same things as him. It makes him feel so warm.

When everyone is still arriving, you grab one of your water guns and do that cool spinny thing. You know the thing. The cowboy gun spin. You’re like, “Hey Levi! Check this out!” 

BAM. Boy is OUT. So red his face is steaming. That’s the hottest thing he has ever seen in his entire damn life. What the fuck, MC. He is basically frozen on the spot out of sheer overwhelmed-ness as how hot that was. You have to drag him away when the water fight starts. Totally worth staying up all night figuring out how to do the spin trick with a water gun.

Once the action gets going, you two are unstoppable. No one escapes the fight unscathed thanks to y’all. All those late night Call of Duty sessions trained you for this!!

Your favorite tactic is definitely camping, though. You and Levi would pick a spot and hide there, waiting for one of his brothers to come by, and then...ATTACK!

If it actually were a competition, you two would’ve won by a landslide. But honestly, Levi didn’t really keep track. He was having too much fun watching you. You were so mesmerizing when you were in the zone and so gorgeous when laughing as you gave him victory high fives after a successful ambush. 

You let him take a picture of you posing all tough with your water gun and he makes it his DDD background immediately. And his lockscreen so you can protect his DDD from intruders.

Satan:

THIS ASSHOLE. THIS MAN IS THE REASON YOU MADE SURE THERE WAS NO COMPETITION.

If there was any sense of competition, Satan would’ve gone absolutely out of his mind to beat Lucifer. He would make sure to destroy that man’s dignity as thoroughly as possible.

So, for the sake of both him and the eldest brother, no points. No contest. He grumbles about it, but, much like said eldest brother, he still joins because he sees how happy the idea of a family water fight makes you.

 Satan treats is almost as seriously as Levi does. EVEN THOUGH YOU MADE SURE IT WASN’T A COMPETITION, HE DAMN SURE STILL ACTS LIKE IT IS. UGH.

Literally pulls a map of the House of Lamentation’s gardens out of his back pocket??? And puts it on the side of the fountain?? And starts planning maneuvers on it with you??? He pulls a pen out of his SWIM TRUNK POCKETS to use to point with and emphasize his points. You just blink at him. This is your mans. Good lord.

Considering his expert knowledge of the layout of the entire surrounding area of HoL from that map, he actually knows of some secret passages the other brothers don’t even consider. He takes you to them so you can use them to spy on what Lucifer’s the other brothers’ strategies are.

It’s only once you’re creeping around the tunnels that he realizes something: none of his brothers know where you are. They can’t bother you...time to make out.

Grabs your attention with a quiet, “MC” and gives you a smooch. Soon enough he is backing you up against the wall. A water balloon you have tied to your belt pops against the rough brick, interrupting the two of you.

Satan disregards it and move to kiss you again, but you let out a gasp. He’s worried for you for a moment: did you scrape yourself? But when you turn to look at him, there’s a mischievous glint in your eye that he loves to see. 

“My water broke!” You whisper-exclaim dramatically, covering your mouth in fake shock. Satan has to nuzzle his face in your neck to avoid laughing and filling the tunnel with the echo that would alert his brothers. The two of you basically just canoodle in the passages until the water fight is over LMAO

Asmodeus:

Pretty much just to show off how good he looks in a bathing suit to you and anyone else who happens to be lucky enough to witness his glory.

He’s not the best at water fights and ends up using you as a human shield sometimes adjgfkjshf

“Asmo! Stop hiding behind me!” “I am not letting Lucifer mess up my hair twice in one day, darling!”

He comments quite often on how hot you look. Both in your bathing suit and also when in the zone looking for victims to douse in watery fury. You look like an action hero, MC! Have you ever thought about becoming the next Bond? Asmo could definitely pull some hypnotic strings.~

Every time you successfully pull him out of the way of an oncoming water balloon or block a blast of water from hitting, he totally melts. He presses his back to your chest, swooning against you and batting his eyelashes.

“Oh, MC, my hero! My dashing knight in shining armor!” You scoff, but think it’s super cute. You even play into it sometimes and pick him up bridal style.

“The king is looking for you, my prince,” you say once as you lift him, and he actually blushes. Asmodeus, avatar of lust, blushes at a silly pet name. He was not expecting you to get so into the role!!! He loves it, though.

For the rest of the water fight the two of you are basically roleplaying a royal and his knight bodyguard. It is stupidly fun and the both of you have an absolute blast.

“Oh, MC, my darling knight! I have amazing news!” Asmo says after the fight ends. You’re drying his hair off with a towel. “Yes, my liege?” 

“In exchange for your wonderful and dutiful protection, you have been given permission by the crown to court me! Isn’t that wonderful?” He smiles and you throw your head back in a laugh. You lean down and give him a nice, long kiss on the lips before pulling away. “That is absolutely splendid, your highness.”

Beelzebub:

He loves the idea because it’ll get his whole family together and he knows it. He has to carry Belphie out there but that’s normal.

He helped you and Levi plan!! Excited boy. You filled him in when he joined you and Levi for a game night. He totally volunteered to go get some extra supplies from some nearby stores for y’all. So cute.

Once everyone is actually fighting, this boy WILL NOT STOP BEING A HUMAN (demon?) SHIELD FOR YOU. LIKE NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU TELL HIM IT’S FINE, YOU’RE FINE, HE WILL NOT STOP.

“Babycakes, it’s okay. It’s water. It can’t hurt me.” “But I love you. I want you safe.” O H. O K A Y.

Someone call a doctor Beel just shot MC through the heart!!! He’s so genuine you just bright red and kiss his cheek because he deserve it.

“Well, I guess that’s settled then, huh?” He gives you a big Beel smile and nods, ruffling your hair affectionately.

Y’all get sprayed with water A LOT because your hungry boy is very big and hard to hide. Er, I should say HE gets sprayed a lot because he is a fantastic meat shield and you’re practically dry by the time the fight is over. He, on the other hand, is soaked to the bone.

He still insists on drying you off with a towel, though. The two of you dry each other off back in the twins’ room while Belphie dozes nearby in his bed.

You’re in the middle of drying his shoulders when he just starts talking. “That was really fun, MC. I’m really grateful for you. Ever since you’ve been here, things are always more fun. And you bring all my brother together. Thank you.” 

You damn near burst into tears!!! Ahhhh!!! You sniffle and jump into his nap, wrapping your arms around him. “But MC, I’m still wet.” “I don’t care!! I’m giving you snuggles!!”

Belphegor:

Literally does not give a single fuck about a water fight until he realizes it lets him throw shit at Lucifer with absolutely zero consequences. Then he is all in.

Beel doesn’t even have to carry him around during the fight! Once he is outside and realizes all the shenanigans he can pull, he is perfectly content to grab you by the hand and be the one dragging you around, for once!

You two will probably team up with Satan and Beel at various points. Beel because he’s Beel, and Satan because he and Belphie absolutely set water balloon filled booby traps for Lucifer.

That’s his preferred strategy: set up a trap and wait in the bushes, watching for the target to approach.

He’s definitely the type to yell “Every man for himself!” if someone catches you guys hiding. Unlike his twin, he lets you get totally soaked while he runs away laughing. Dickweed.

You guys have a lot of fun, though!! Seeing Belphie excited is always a treat for you. And, though he doesn’t say anything about it, Belphie also thinks it’s a treat whenever you scheme with him. You don’t join in on his mischief often, so he always cherishes the times you do.

Eventually, after soaking Lucifer thoroughly, Belphie eventually gets a bit tired. You, however, want to keep the fun going. So, just as he begins to dose off in your hiding spot...you spray him. Right in the face. 

He opens his eyes and sees you raising an eyebrow at him challengingly, giggling to yourself. He growls playfully and grabs his own water gun, quickly giving chase as you bolt. 

Being a demon, he’s much quicker than you. But he lets you think you can escape for a few minutes before catching up to you and wrapping his arms around you from behind. 

As you squirm and laugh in his embrace, he feels thankful he joined in on the fight, even if he was hesitant at first. After all, it led to this moment, where he can turn you around in his arms and give you a nice kiss as you melt against his chest.

[knchins]

HQ Captains - Thigh Riding

Pairing: Daichi x Fem!Reader, Oikawa x Fem!Reader, Kuroo x Fem!Reader, Bokuto x Fem!Reader, Ushijima x Fem!Reader, Yuuji x Fem!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings:  (placed before each drabble under the name header)

Notes: My first haikyuu piece and I’m fairly certain it’s trash lmao. I’ve had this idea in my head for a while and I thought about sending it to a hq writer as a request but decided to try and tackle it on my own? I just needed a break from bnha. Couldn’t be bothered to make my own header gif for just drabbles. Oops. I think I mentioned it in all of them, but just in case I didn’t all characters are aged up to college years.

Warnings: Public orgasm, minor depiction of D/s relationship?, Daddy!Daichi

If there was one thing you absolutely loved about your boyfriend, it was his beautifully thick thighs. Every volleyball game had you drooling and you absolutely hated having to wait after a match to strip him of his clothes and beg him for a victory fuck. Not that you had to really try to convince him. The adrenaline after a good match always had him hard as a rock in no time. 

However, before you could get to that point. He always insisted on taking the team out for a celebratory dinner at a nearby restaurant that had supported the college team for years. They helped with fundraising and often gave donations to the team for new equipment or uniforms, so Daichi always thought it was only proper to return the favor with a little business. 

This meant you had to be incredibly frustrated for a few hours after the game, and it led you into some very...intense situations. For instance, you found that if you pressed his buttons long enough, then he will get angry and he will punish you. One of those punishments (your favorite one, actually) was when he patted his thigh for you to sit on it. 

He’d bounce it hard against your already needy cunt. Everyone else was too wrapped up in their own side conversations to notice how your face suddenly turned bright red. He holds you in a death grip as he forces you to put on a show for him, anything to stop your incessant whining for his dick. Soon enough you bite the inside of your cheek to keep from making even the tiniest of moans as the entire team is literally right there in front of you. You come undone fairly quickly, somehow being even more turned on by him taking control of you. 

Sugawara totally notices but keeps it to himself, making a point to distract the first years from looking your way.

Warnings: Public sex, vaginal sex, jealousy

At a club one night, back in one of the booths in the dark, you had been pouting about all the attention your boyfriend was receiving. He was always such a flirt and a ladies man that you knew he simply could not help himself. He thrived on attention after all and this wasn’t anything new. 

You climbed into his lap, pushing the table back to give you room as you straddled one lean thigh. The college captain was giving you a bright-eyed look. “What are you doing, love?” He asked, voice low but you could still hear him over the thrum of the loud music due to his close proximity. 

“Showing all those bitches who you belong to.” You said coarsely, grabbing onto the edges of his jacket to hold onto as you rolled your hips slowly, dragging your clothed pussy up his thigh. The friction sending shocks of pleasure up through your body. 

Oikawa would be all for this. He’s such a little exhibitionist at heart. Making people hear you scream his name was definitely his most favorite kink. He’d place his hands on your hips and guide them back and forth, making you go faster and harder until you were crying out for him with sheer need. 

He wouldn’t be able to handle not whipping his dick out in the end, not letting you cum before he can tug the middle of your panties to the side underneath your dress and just senselessly fuck you then and there. 

Either no one noticed or no one dared to stop the famous Oikawa Toru.

Warning: public orgasm (I have a problem okay), minor dirty talk

Kuroo could be one of the most conniving pieces of shit and that was something you absolutely loved about him. He was always teasing you in public, getting you going so that you’d pull him into some dark corner just to satisfy your needs. Would he oblige you or simply let you suffer until later? It entirely depended on how generous he was feeling that day. 

Today was the former, and the entire time in the dark movie theater he had been conspiring to find a way to get you off. First his hand started on your knee, then slowly crept up your thigh, squeezing at optimal points in the film (typically during the steamier scenes). He didn’t particularly like romance films, which made it easier to focus on you instead. 

The first indication that he was getting to you was the tiniest of mewls that came from you when his pinky brushed against your clit under your skirt. He knew then and there that he had you. You would quickly turn into putty in his very capable and experienced hands. 

He smoothly leaned over and whispered into your ear a simple suggestion to get onto his lap and watch the movie from there. It didn’t take much convincing, really. It never did. You moved into his lap, sitting on one thigh while continuing to face the movie. He had instructed you to not look away and to not resist. Since when did you ever resist him? 

Kuroo planted his hands firmly on your hips and began to guide them back and forth. Oh, you immediately thought. This was totally different then what you were expecting. Tiny bolts of pleasure ebbed through you as your pussy moved across the rough material of his jeans. Fuck, why did this feel so good? 

He leaned forward to whisper into your ear, “Don’t make a sound, kitten, or they’ll all know what a dirty girl you’re being.” He said before licking the shell of your ear with his cat-like tongue. You shuddered against him, unable to fight as you urged him to move you faster. 

You panted quickly, keeping your eyes and face forward as he began to roughly drag you back and forth while you climbed higher and higher, eventually crashing down as you were swept up with your own pleasure. You had to place a hand over your mouth, thankful that this part of the movie was a little louder than the rest to muffle the moan that you couldn’t stop from coming out of you. 

When you were done, Kuroo leaned you back against his chest, hands lazily around your waist as he planted soft kisses on your neck. He always did love winning and every orgasm was definitely a victory.

Warnings: public orgasm (...again, I know), minor dubcon, voyeurism?

“Hey! Hey! Hey!” Bokuto said rather loudly as you sauntered over to him, “if it isn’t my baby girl!” His owlish grin spread across his face as he reached out to grab your wrist, pulling you into his lap. It was an after party after a pretty close match with Nekoma and the captain was feeling particularly fiery after the win. 

You giggled at him, allowing him to cuddle you for a moment. His face buried into your neck, inhaling your sweet perfume as he wrapped his arms around your waist in a close hug. He was always extremely affectionate after a good game, and if Fukurodani won...well it was game on in an entirely different way. 

Bokuto’s knee bounced rhythmically and naturally you were forced to bounce along with it. Your legs shifted so you were straddling his perfect thigh and you couldn’t help the small moan that came after he hit your clit at a particularly electrifying angle. “Oh yeah?” He asked, a sly look crossing his face. “You like that, huh?” 

“Bokuto,” You said in a threatening tone, knowing that you didn’t want to do something like this out in the open where anyone could see you. And by the look on his face, that is exactly what he was thinking about doing. However you could rarely stop him when he got started on a new and improved way of getting you off. 

His hands shifted to your hips and guided them to move in rhythm with his bouncing thigh. The quick small jerks of his thigh, the friction against your clit, it just felt so incredibly good that you couldn’t help but give in. 

To keep your moans muffled you chose to kiss him, squeezing his shoulders for support as he stopped moving your hips. You had already taken over, choosing your own pace to go at that would make you hit your peak in no time. 

Akaashi and the other teammates, noticing what was going on, watched curiously until they were sure you had had an orgasm. Akaashi gave the other three a knowing nod and they started cheering for their captain. Bokuto looked back at them with the biggest grin they had ever seen.

Warnings: Public orgasm, possessiveness, jealousy, D/s dynamic?

With Ushijima, PDA was always a hard pass. He wasn’t very affectionate outside of your private lives, and you had come to terms with that. It didn’t mean he wasn’t an excellent and attentive lover when he wanted to be. Sometimes though it would have been nice to be able to show off that you were dating such a powerhouse of a player. 

You had managed to drag him to a party celebrating Shiratorizawa’s victory in a recent regional tournament. You knew he needed to de-stress, it was always so obvious to you and getting him to relax could sometimes be a nightmare. 

Shortly after you arrived, he mentioned he was going to go tell Satori something about the last game and for you to go dance. Ushijima wasn’t much of a dancer himself but boy did he love watching you move your hips to the music. 

What he hadn’t expected when he came back from speaking with his teammate was the sight of another man trying to grind against your ass. Obviously you weren’t paying him no mind, trying to slip from his grasp time and time again. 

Ushijima wasn’t affectionate, no. But he was possessive. Anyone dares put their hands on you in his sight was bound to regret it and tonight was no different. He quickly marched over to you and pulled you into his broad chest. You looked up at him with a knowing smile. On a normal night Ushijima would never dance with you. But add a spark of jealousy and he’d do just about anything. 

You moved your body against his, enjoying the closeness as his leg slipped between yours. It may have been an accident or it may have been on purpose. You weren’t entirely sure. Either way, you take it upon yourself to begin to grind against his large thigh, eyes glossing over at the delicious feeling of arousal. 

He glanced down at you before returning to staring down the man that had been attempting to dance with you, seemingly paying more attention to the advisory than his own girlfriend. That was fine, you were now enjoying yourself plenty by thrusting your hips with the beat, his hands on your ass. Once it hit him what you were doing, pleasuring yourself by the use of his limb, he leaned down and whispered threateningly into your ear. “If you cum now, you’ll pay for it later.” 

It was a very valid threat, you knew that fair and well. That didn’t stop you from releasing your hold on your orgasm, allowing you to come undone in his arms all at once. Ushijima immediately wrenched you from him before grabbing your wrist in a bruising grip with an absolutely murderous look on his face. You were too busy basking in the afterglow to even care for whatever punishment he had in mind as he dragged you to a private room.

Warnings: minor dubcon, light dirty talk at the end

Honestly you only started dating Yuuji because he wouldn’t leave you the hell alone until you gave him your number. And then he simply harassed you until you said yes to a date. However, after that first date he showed how much fun and playful he could be and you totally fell for the idiot albeit reluctantly. 

He is always finding new ways to explore sex with you. Anything to make it even more fun than it already is. The idea was totally his because you were always squeezing his thighs or playing with the hem of his shorts because you just couldn’t keep your hands to yourself when you were with the giant loud ball of energy. 

The first time he decides to branch out and try this, you’re both on his couch watching a professional match. Your fingers are teasing his skin, fiddling with his pants as usual when he guides you into his lap so that your leg is between is. 

You give him a quizzical look and he just has that face that tells you that he’s about to make you cum whether you like or not (spoiler alert: you always like it). He puts his hands on either side of your hips and forces them to rut against his leg, causing you to shudder with delight. 

You take the hint quickly and begin moving at your own pace, finding a particularly wonderful angle that gave your clit the right amount of stimulation. “Fuck, baby, look at you getting off to my thigh.” Yuuji says with that shit eating grin. He always took pride in discovering something new for you to enjoy. He clicked the stud of his tongue ring against his teeth, something he tended to do when he was particularly excited. 

“F-Fuck,” You whimpered as you came on his leg, now wet with your slick. Yuuji was grinning madly, eyes sparkling with joy. 

“Yahoo, baby! You came all over my thigh, how did that feel? Bet you’d feel even better with my cock buried in you-”

--------------

Tag List: @dabi-hates-fish​, @rivendell101​, @honeytama​, @lovelusional​, @gallickingun​ (didn’t include people who asked me to tag everything because I wasn’t sure if they wanted to be tagged in hq stuff!)

[floralseokjin]

⤑ made-up love song vi (m).

Your first encounter with Kim Seokjin doesn’t go so well, nor your second, or your third… and maybe that’s because it shouldn’t work on paper. You’re an elementary school teacher, never left the country despite hitting the third decade of your life not so long ago, and you’re unable to remember the last time you dated. He’s the dad of one of your students, nearly a decade older than you and divorced. Oh yes, and just another minor detail – he’s a multimillionaire. 

Your lives are lightyears apart, yet somehow, your paths having now crossed, things just seem to fall into place…

pairing; kim seokjin x reader   au/genre/warnings; strangers to lovers, romance, eventual angst, single dad! seokjin, ceo! seokjin, elementary school teacher! oc, age gap (oc is 30, seokjin is 37), seokjin is a dilf, smut; basically a montage of the sex they’ve been having during the rest of the summer lol, they can’t keep their hands off one another, seokjin’s mouth gets progressively dirtier as time goes on, he also gets strategic with condom storage, smut includes; 69, face riding, condomless sex, creampie, biting, (light) spanking, there’s cute things too, like arin’s birthday party and oc meeting his parents   words; 12,064

↪︎ chapter index

chapters; i • ii • iii • iv • v • vi • vii • viii • ix • x • epilogue (+ drabbles)

You spent the whole of Sunday in bed – which you thought was Seokjin’s plan all along, only finding your way downstairs to eat, and even then he couldn’t keep his hands off you for long enough. (Not that you minded.) He was making the most of it, he told you, before he had to leave you for work. That, and he was waving goodbye to his celibacy the right way… Despite your snort, you understood what he meant. You had fun familiarising yourself with the wonders of sex again… Miraculously blessed with an abundance of energy. Although, when it came to Seokjin, how could you even think about resisting him?! You couldn’t keep your hands to yourself. And neither could he… 

“Mmm. What time is it?” You asked Monday morning, voice heavy with sleep, eyes still closed as you heard Seokjin’s alarm go off. He stirred beside you, sitting up to knock the device off before burrowing back under the covers to wrap his arms around your naked body. 

“Half 6,” he grumbled, mouth pressed against the back of your neck. “I don’t want to work.” With one squeeze to his chest, you felt that very obvious erection of his pressed against your ass. “Can’t I just stay here for the rest of the day? Inside you…”

You giggled, attempting to roll over and face him. A hand cupped your cheek instantly, puffy lips finding yours. Morning Seokjin wasn’t good for your heart. His messy hair flopping over his eyes, pillow marks marring his skin, the slight stubble beginning to grow along his top lip… It was all just so… sexy, and now you were wide awake. Still, some teasing couldn’t be helped. 

“We literally spent yesterday all day in bed…”

“Yes, and it was amazing,” he declared. “I’d do it all again today.” 

You raised an eyebrow, a palm holding him steady at the waist. “All again? You do realise we still have all week to go, right? I wouldn’t want you to fail on me so soon…” 

He huffed out a laugh, fingertips ever so cheekily grazing the underside of your right breast. “You underestimate me…” His voice was still gruff from sleep, it made his words ripple through your body, settling between your legs. “I still have 95% of the condoms to use. So,” he grinned, dipping his head to capture your mouth. “You,” – he rolled you onto your back expertly – “better,” – he kissed your throat – “keep,” – then your cleavage – “ up.” His tongue around your nipple had you gasping out immediately, back arching, wanting more. 

Spreading your legs, he nestled in between them easily, the muscles of his meaty thighs protruding as he kneeled up slightly. You gripped them urgently, needing to anchor yourself somehow, knowing what was about to come. 

His teeth grazed your nipple as he dragged away, lifting his head up to smirk. “What do you say, baby, one for the road?”

Baby. Yesterday he’d become quite partial to that word, learning quite quickly what it did to you, what effect it had on you. (Yes, a curse word – or two, or more – may have slipped out of you yesterday… He’d won, embarrassingly soon.) 

You refrained from rolling your eyes, but still told him to shut up. Two minutes later he was buried inside you making you moan out his name. 

It wasn’t even 7am. 

.

.

When Seokjin finally got off to work (after about a bajillion kisses…), you slipped into the shower, attempting to work it without breaking it. With that successful, you wondered downstairs to make some breakfast. It was strange being inside his house alone. You’d arrived to meet him for lunch early a couple of times, yes, but Misook and Arin had always been there ready to greet you. Today it was just you, playing music as loud as you could just to drown out the deafening silence as pottered about in the kitchen. After eating, you washed the dishes (most leftover from yesterday) in the sink, unsure how to set the dishwasher correctly, and wondered to yourself how Seokjin had managed to cope living here alone before Arin moved in… 

You busied yourself with unpacking your case, not having a chance to do it yesterday – too preoccupied – while watching the clock. You had a lunch date with Soojung at half 11. You’d managed to text her a brief reply yesterday but other than that you’d been AWOL. You knew it must’ve been killing her. By the time you met up at the food court, she was frothing at the mouth, desperate for all the details, which you gave to her in hushed whispers over a shared thin crust margherita. You didn’t divulge all though, just enough to keep her nosey butt satisfied. 

“This is not fair at all,” she whined. “You were getting dilfed the hell down and I was getting farted on by Tae.” 

You laughed, wholly impressed. “You’ve turned it into a verb now? Very creative. I’m so glad to have you as a best friend.” 

Although, she wasn’t so happy to have you as one when you confessed to telling Seokjin about his plethora of nicknames… 

.

.

Seokjin came home a little earlier than you’d expected. After lunch with Soo, you’d popped to the local grocery store, picking up a few things for dinner and then you’d sat in front of the television for the afternoon. It wasn’t the most productive day you’d had by any means, but you felt contented, excited to greet Seokjin after his long day at work. You were in the kitchen, beginning to prepare dinner when you heard his voice. 

“Honey?” Before you had time to reply, he was calling your name, closer down the hallway. “Y/N? Where are you?”

“Kitchen,” you called back. 

You weren’t looking when he entered, back to him, so suddenly you were engulfed in his arms from behind. He held your back to his chest tightly. “Hey,” he murmured, nestling into your neck. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you too,” you said with a smile, holding his hands that were around your stomach. 

He shook his head, pressing his crotch to your ass. “No, I really missed you.” 

“Seokjin,” you hissed in surprise, feeling his erection instantly. You were getting déjà vu. Laughing, you wriggled around, facing him. He already had his tie loosened around his neck, the top two buttons of his shirt free. “Control yourself. You’ve literally just gotten through the door.” 

His facial expression looked immediately agonised. “I can’t. You’ve awakened the beast.” 

“The beast?” You snorted. 

He stared you down. “Yes.” And then he was on you, no time to return his kiss with just as much enthusiasm before he was at your neck, growling playfully. You fell into a fit of giggles, held prisoner by his hands pinned to your hips. “I was – distracted – all – day.” He informed you between tugs of your skin, tongue dutifully swiping where he’d bitten. He repeated. “Couldn’t stop thinking –  about you naked – and moaning my – name – while I ate your–”

“Seokjin!” you roared, heat instantly travelling up your face. You swore his mouth was getting dirtier by the hour. It made sense. He was teasing in nature… you just needed some time to get used to it. You would not let him finish that sentence for fear your legs would collapse beneath you. 

He broke away and leaned back, pupils so dark you could just about make out the brown of his irises. He panted slightly, lips wet. “Do you want to?” 

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Right here?” It didn’t practically look like he was about to sweep you up in his arms and dash you up to the bedroom if the urgent grinding of his crotch was anything to go by…

He grinned wolfishly, tilting his head. “Why not?”

“It’s not very sanitary.” You glanced to your left as you spoke, eyeing up the two bell peppers you’d placed on the counter five minutes before Seokjin and his penis had shown up… 

You watched in pure disbelief as Seokjin eased back and pulled a square foil packet out of his inner breast pocket. “Why? I have protection.” 

“What the hell?” You exclaimed. “Why do you have a condom with you?” He’d gone to work with that in his pocket? Attended meetings? Was he crazy? 

“It’s not what it looks like.” He chuckled, looking momentarily bashful. “I just thought… easy access. We never know when we’ll need one.” 

Folding your arms, you stared at him. Frustratingly you were unable to keep the corners of your lips from quirking up. “We’ll need one at your office?”

He shrugged casually, a smug smirk on his face. “Who knows. I’m a man of very many fantasies…” 

Oh, my god. Unbelievable. But you couldn’t pretend that his words weren’t having an effect on you, nor that the office fantasy didn’t sound hot… You stepped forward, hooking your fingers between his belt and slacks, pulling him forward – which was easy because he was caught off guard. “Enough small talk. Are you going to fuck me in your CEO suit, or what?”

He composed himself expertly, hands reaching for your waist as he leaned in. “First of all, hearing you curse will never not completely obliterate me, and second of all…” He paused to grin, so full of himself it was unbelievable. “You want me to fuck you in my suit?”

“Uh huh.” You nodded, tugging on his tie. 

And fuck you in his suit he did, spread on the counter, your tank top yanked down so he could watch your breasts bounce as he pounded into you…

You spent the Tuesday in his home office, making the most out of idle time to lesson plan for your new class come September. You facetimed Soojung (who tried her best to get you to give her a house tour) and then ended up sunbathing with a book for an hour or so outside. After Seokjin came home he called Arin, asking her what she’d been up to so far and if she was having fun. Despite how much he was enjoying your company you could tell he was missing his daughter, even if he didn’t explicitly tell you with words. You sympathised with him, it must have been weird not having her around. 

Unsure what to do for dinner, Seokjin suggested making a last minute dinner reservation. That sounded fine by you, too lazy to think of preparing something tonight, so off you went upstairs to get ready, but of course, Seokjin found ways of distracting you… (You were thirty minutes late for dinner.) 

The days were passing by quickly, and you could quite honestly say the week with Seokjin was bliss – and not just because of all of the sex. Although, it did play a very big role… It was the little things that meant the most, such as grocery shopping on the Wednesday afternoon. Generously, Seokjin had used two of his vacation days for the end of the week, saving the others he was due in the summer to spend with Arin for her birthday at the end of next month. He’d arrived home early on the Wednesday afternoon, informing you he would be making dinner tonight and as silly as it sounded, walking around the store while Seokjin pushed the cart was one of the sweetest activities you’d shared together. The domesticity of it made your whole day, but the pasta dish he prepared later that night almost ruined it. His seasoning quantities were a little off, shall we say, all those years out of practice, so it turned out he was a danger with those chilli flakes. However, the coughing fit you both had after the first bite made for great entertainment… You didn’t know whether you were crying with laughter or because your throat was on fire… 

The next day, as great as staying in bed and having sex all day sounded, Seokjin wanted to take you out and spend some time together as a couple. You were left to decide what you wanted to do, and of course you chose shopping. A new mall had recently opened up about an hour away and because you were so nervy on highways, you hadn’t had a chance to go yet. Seokjin was more than happy to take you, and kindly enough he did spoil you a bit that day. Usually you wouldn’t allow it (he’d tried it in the past), but there was no harm with once in a blue moon, was there? Besides, he got great use out of a few of the gifts too… One being the black skimpy laced lingerie he’d picked out… (The panties had an open crotch…) That evening you shared a bath and a bottle of champagne before you’d given him a very indulgent fashion show… 

On Friday, you prepared a picnic and went hiking, which left Seokjin with an incredibly (and comically) red nose even though he’d applied sunscreen. You spent the afternoon cuddling in front of the television, making the most out of your last day alone together. Truthfully, you felt a little sad at the prospect of tomorrow. You missed Arin too and couldn’t wait to see her but spending your days so intimately and lovingly with Seokjin had been amazing. You told him just as much gone midnight, wrapped up in his arms and bedsheets, head pressed against his sheened chest as you listened to his heartbeat slowly even out. This week had made you fall for him harder – if possible – and you were sad it was ending, but just so excited this was only the beginning… He kissed you long and hard, agreeing wholeheartedly, words unneeded. 

.

.

Arin was due back early afternoon, so you and Seokjin shared breakfast together before you packed up your things. He clung to you the entire time, sighing every time you folded up an item of clothing and placed it in your case. 

“How will I function without having sex with you every morning?” He bemoaned after one particularly loud unhappy exhale. 

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” you laughed. He was unbelievable. And whiney. But then again, so were you… 

Stood beside your car an hour later, saying your goodbyes, you hugged him tight. “I’m going to miss youuu.” How were you expected to sleep alone tonight?! It wasn’t fair. 

It was now Seokjin’s turn to chuckle at your ridiculousness. “I’m not going anywhere.” He assured, cupping the back of your head as you pulled back to look at him. His expression softened instantly. “But I feel the same.” Kissing your nose, he smiled. “You know that you can spend the night here anytime you want though, right?” 

You held out until Monday. You wanted to give Arin some time alone with Seokjin after her week away, you bet she’d missed her father like crazy, but apparently she’d missed you too… Seokjin called you while he was at work – his second call of the day. (His first had been at six o’clock this morning, waking you up to let you know he (and his dick) missed you.) Arin had asked him to ask you if you wanted to come over tonight for an impromptu movie night. You were touched to say the least. You let Seokjin know you’d  be there 6pm on the dot with snacks at hand. He told you to bring an overnight bag… 

Having sex with Arin under the same roof took some time to get used to. The first time was so hilarious looking back. It was 1am, time was ticking on and Seokjin had to be awake in under six hours, Arin was long asleep – and across the hall! Yet still you were both anxious fools, listening out for the slightest of noises just in case the unthinkable happened. Not that it would have, Seokjin knew Arin was a heavy sleeper so there was little chance of her barging in… but it still didn’t stop him from whispering “What was that?” every five minutes, eyes pulled wide like a deer caught in headlights. 

It definitely got easier though, and soon movie nights became a regular thing as the last weeks of summer rolled by. You had a routine; one movie of Arin’s choice and then it was her bedtime, and then if Seokjin and you felt like it, you’d choose a movie yourselves to watch. Tonight was a Saturday, so after Enchanted had finished and Seokjin put Arin to bed, you decided to watch something too seeing as he didn’t have work the next morning.

Halfway in, however, you were getting distracted… Your hand sneaking inside the blanket you had wrapped around the both of you to run up and down Seokjin’s thigh. This week had been an odd one. Your boyfriend had been super busy with work and you’d missed him – obviously. You’d done well to keep your hands off him for this long, now you were finally caving…

“I guess this movie is boring?” Seokjin whispered into the darkness, face lit up with a blue glow. His eyes sparkled as your gazes met, your palm hovering over his crotch. He lifted his hips a touch, brushing against you. 

“No,” you grinned, leaning in to kiss him. “You’re just more interesting…” 

He chuckled against your lips. “I definitely agree with that.” 

Groaning, you went to lift your hand away but he snatched it back, pressing you into him, encouraging you to rub. With your tongues entwined, you soon felt his erection stirring, cock stiffening under his sweats. 

It was a wonder you both heard the creak of the wooden floorboards in the hallway – but thankfully you did. Movements stilling, you pulled back. Eyes wide in question, you mouthed, “What was that?”

You both listened out for another noise, hearing the tell-tale sound of footsteps walking towards the movie room. “Arin,” Seokjin breathed, and just like that the moment was over. You broke apart, Seokjin rearranging his junk expertly (a round of applause) before he stood up. 

On cue, a tiny voice sounded from behind the door. “Daddy?”

“Arin, sweetie, what is it?” He asked, walking over to pull it open. 

Arin was stood there, looking perfectly wide awake hugging her rabbit plush. “I can’t get to sleep.” 

“And why’s that?” Seokjin asked. 

She ignored him completely, walking into the room. “What are you watching?”

“A grown-ups movie,” he replied, sounding amused. “Come on, let me take you back upstairs. Say goodnight to Y/N again.” 

Arin whined loudly, turning to her dad. “But I can’t sleeeep!” 

“Maybe she can stay up for a little while?” You suggested, looking over at Seokjin before you turned your attention to Arin. “Until you’re tired, hm, Arin?”

Her face lit up immediately. “I think that’s a great idea, Y/N.” 

You laughed and Seokjin wasn’t close behind, bending down to squeeze Arin’s sides, playfully causing her to squeal. “Do you, little miss?” You met Seokjin’s gaze, both of you coming to terms with the fact your moment had been well and truly ruined. It was fine… You had later on tonight… 

“It’s the weekend, she can stay up a little later than normal, no?” You asked with a smile. 

“Fine,” he mock sighed, pretending to only give in right now. 

Arin cheered in victory, rushing over to sit next to you on the sofa, cuddling in immediately. She had gotten what she’d came downstairs for. You wrapped your arm around her shoulders, an action that had become more than normal these past couple of weeks. The more time you spent here, the closer you had become. You were no longer the teacher who had started dating her father. You were now his girlfriend, someone she saw regularly, someone she could laugh and joke around with. Someone she felt comfortable around, and vice versa. You were Y/N. Just as your relationship with Seokjin was growing and developing on the daily, so was your relationship with Arin. And you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Arin looked up at her father and grinned. “Can we watch another Disney movie, Daddy?” 

.

.

As it happened, Arin didn’t last an hour before she was fast asleep between you both, softly snoring, her bunny fallen forgotten to her side. Deciding to head upstairs too, you followed Seokjin as he carried her to her room, stopping by the entrance to watch him lay her down and place a soft kiss to her forehead. You smiled to yourself, warmth flooding your chest at the touching scene in front of you before you both headed off for Seokjin’s room and began getting ready for bed. 

Seokjin was lying on top of the mattress when you exited the bathroom, knowing you’d left your pyjamas in the closet somewhere. Only, the sight of him sprawled out in baggy shorts and a t-shirt, so casually sexy, had you suddenly distracted. In just your underwear, you viewed him from the end of the bedframe. “Where were we earlier?”

He groaned, rubbing his hands over his face. “I don’t know, I think I’m in a Disney Princess coma.” 

Chuckling, you placed a knee on the bed. “You enjoyed yourself really.” Then your hands. Then your other knee. Slowly crawling towards him. “Do you want to enjoy yourself now?”

He immediately sat up, back against the headboard, his eyes falling to your cleavage. He smirked softly. “That sounds like an offer I can’t refuse.” 

Ten minutes later you had him in your mouth, knelt to his side, ass facing him as he rubbed and massaged the flesh to his heart’s content. “You’re so good at this,” he praised, his fingers slipping into the side of your underwear teasingly. You sucked him deeper. “Fuck. So good. Baby, let me make you feel good too.” He removed his fingers and ran them along your ass, stopping at your entrance to rub. You were soaked through, could feel it yourself. He moaned. Either because of your tongue or because of what he felt. Maybe both. “So wet and you’re only sucking my cock.”  

You slid your mouth off of him, running your fist up and down the solid and slippery length instead. He jerked his hips into your touch, chasing the pleasure. “Quit inflating your ego,” you quipped. 

He chuckled, turning to his side as his fingers moved up to the waistband of your underwear. “Mm. Like this?” 

You got the message loud and clear, letting him slide the fabric down your ass before settling down on your side too. You ran your fist over the tip of him as he rid you of your underwear altogether, wrapping his arms around your hips to angle your heat towards his mouth. You wriggled as you felt the first press of his tongue, earning you a quick, playful smack to the ass and after that you let him hold you tight, the tip of his tongue digging between your folds to flick against your clit. 

You leaned forward, wanting to return the favour, and sucked him back into your mouth, the angle now making it easier to slip him deeper. You’d never done something like this together before, which was surprising in itself considering the sheer amount of times you’d been unable to keep your hands off each other these past three weeks. It was so erotic hearing him groan against you as he continued to pleasure you, your own moans vibrating down his cock as you both grew more eager, lost in the feeling. 

He came first. It probably had something to do with the way you massaged his balls, concentrating on sucking the tip of him as his hips grew impatient and he began rocking into you. He moaned your name, mouth faltering, and all he could do was grip your ass tight as he felt his orgasm take over, grunting as you swallowed each drop. 

“I win,” you gleed softly, pulling away from him to kiss down his softening length. 

“Of course you do,” he murmured, sounding fucked out. “Fuck, I needed that.” Rolling onto his back, he ran his hands down your thighs. “Come here, let me kiss you.” 

Moving to straddle him, you leaned in and kissed him hungrily, still very much horny, and tasting yourself on his lips didn’t help matters. His hands cupped your bare ass, spreading it slightly so he could run his fingers along your lips, so wet he was sinking in before he could realise. 

You moaned, rocking into him and he cursed softly, pushing his head back into the pillows. He tugged you forward. “This way,” he got out, panting slightly, out of breath from the way you’d kissed him. You understood from the way he was lifting you up where this was going…

Moving up his body, your thighs were soon either side of his head. He wasted no time in lunging forward, mouth picking up where he left off. You held on to the headboard, careful not to press your entire body weight into him for fear of suffocating him. Not that he would mind, you thought… He was all over you, licking and kissing wherever he could reach, hellbent on tasting every inch of you, humming in enjoyment the entire time as you panted. 

You kept your eyes on him, one of your hands moving to caress his hair, pushing it out of his eyes, his forehead on show as well as those deadly eyebrows of his, currently furrowed in determination. When his dark eyes flickered up to your face, you shuddered, moaning loudly. He loved it. It set him off. 

“I love the way you taste so much,” he praised, pulling back to rub his thumb over your clit. You bucked into him, fluttering when he kissed the spot lovingly. “That right then,” he almost rasped. “It’s been a fantasy of mine for a while.” 

In other circumstances you’d 100% shoot a witty comeback his way, but not now – definitely not now.  Not when he was slipping two fingers inside of you right this instant. You were soon rubbing your hips into his face like a woman possessed, needing to feel his tongue again as you choked out a few extra moans. 

“Honey, that’s it,” he encouraged with a long groan. “Ride me a little. You have no idea how much this turns me on. I could get hard all over again.” 

Moaning, turned on by his words, you listened, relief flooding you when you felt the warmth of his tongue against your clit. You moved like you usually did when he had you spread on your back, grinding against his tongue, only this time you had a lot more control – and he seemed to love it, free hand digging into the side of your ass, the other dragging against your walls, making you tremble. With one hand clutching the headboard, the other in his hair you used the leverage to rock against him, the squelchy wet noises fuelling you further, until you were panting and out of breath, unable to take much more. 

You lifted your hips a little, feeling your legs tremble like jello, and let Seokjin kiss the inside of your thighs, his fingers now shallowly fucking you as you attempted to catch your breath. “I love how wet and warm and soft you are,” he groaned. His lips brushed past your clit, breath fanning over you. “You really have the most amazing pussy.” 

“Seokjinn,” you moaned, unable to stop from jerking against his face again. His mouth would be the death of you. He latched his lips against your clit, sucking the bud gently into his mouth over and over again. You were done for, sighs of pleasure rolling out of you as you stared down at him. 

“Mmm, baby? You gonna cum?” He asked, stroking your walls deeper, pressing and curling as he went. You nodded, incoherent noises all you could manage as your thighs tightened. “All over my face?” He prompted. 

You didn’t need much encouraging. 

It was inevitable the need for condoms would become unnecessary soon enough. Which was a shame really, given Seokjin’s bargain hunting, but it wasn’t long before they became a bind – inconvenient, more so. That, and you wanted nothing more than to feel Seokjin bare inside of you, to be as close as physically possible, and nothing could be as close to feeling him come inside you. It had been a while since you’d been on birth control, years obviously, but highly organised and a bit of a control freak, you’d be damned if you ever forgot to pop that pill every goddam day. 

The first time without a condom had been mind-blowing. You were under the impression sex with Seokjin couldn’t get better than it already was, but you were wrong – very wrong. You were home alone, Arin staying with her mom for the night and you were taking full advantage of the opportunity. Who needed dinner at a time like this? But Seokjin (who had now become reacquainted with his culinary skills) insisted on preparing a candlelit meal. It was almost reminiscent of your first time together entirely, Seokjin keen and eager to pull out all the stops, and you teased him to no end. Was coming inside you for the first time really that big of an occasion? His reply: Yes. Very much so yes. 

Not an hour later, half your plates still full and too excited for no more than ten minutes of foreplay, you were both naked, sweaty and way beyond control. The bedsheets were rumpled, barely hanging onto the bed as you rolled around, the pungent smell of sex in the air, and in hindsight, you should’ve knocked the aircon on… 

Not that you had time to think right now. You’d successfully gotten him onto his back, riding him into submission until all he could do was hold onto your breasts and meet each bounce with a roll of his hips. You clutched him to you, hands over his own as you concentrated on the burning pleasure travelling up your body. It had been a couple of weeks since the last time you’d been able to fuck with such abandon. Arin was obviously home 90% of the time and on the odd occasional Seokjin spent the night at your place, Soojung was there (maybe even Tae too), her bedroom right next to yours. 

Seokjin’s hands soon found their way clamped to your hips, pushing you back a little so he could see himself as he thrust up into you. You cried out, the sound of his skin thudding against yours telling you just how hard and fast he was pounding into you. His eyes were glued to where your bodies met and he could see perfectly just how well you were soaking his dick, just how good you were taking it, stretching over his girth. 

“I’m close,” he panted, hips stuttering. He slowed his pace, but kept the pressure, his cock getting deeper. You held on tightly to his thighs, anchoring yourself, your walls clamping down around him. He groaned, feeling every minute sensation without the latex barrier. “I’m so fucking close. Can’t wait to cum inside you.” 

You moaned in response, holding eye contact with him, your face contorted with pleasure, and that seemed to set him off, your pants and sighs of pleasure happening in unison as he sped up one last time, ready to fill you with his cum. The veins in his neck burst as he grunted and his cock twitched, flesh scorching. He fucked you through each wave of his orgasm, holding you still, your body jerking with the force. In the back of your mind you realised come tomorrow morning you’d be sore as hell, but honestly, who cared? 

Carried away, no longer able to think straight, his cock fell out of you with one awry thrust. He was growing flaccid anyway, sensitive, so it was impossible trying to push back inside of you. Which was sad because you were still a mess, warm with his cum and desperate for more relief. You plopped down on his thighs, your breasts rising up and down with each laboured breath and then Seokjin’s eyes caught something. Something seeping out of your body… 

“Fuck.” He half moaned in amazement. “It’s dripping out.” 

After that you didn’t have a moment to think. You were flat on your back before you could truly process his words, his fingertips circling your swollen entrance, smearing his cum in the process. You pulsed in anticipation, body greedy, and he gave it to you swiftly, plunging two fingers inside you. You moaned on impact, feet planted to the mattress as he started snapping his wrist, pushing his cum back into you. 

“Baby, you drive me crazy.” He husked, sounding positively tormented. “Look so pretty with my cum inside you.” All you could do was moan in reply, walls squeezing around his digits as he coaxed you to orgasm. “I can feel it,” he grunted, pressing his body into yours, his mouth chasing for a kiss. Your tongues meshed together urgently, kiss sloppy, done in haste. 

“Seokjinn…” Your voice was a whine and you clutched at his shoulders, closing your eyes when you felt his lips trail down your chin, moving southward, towards the valley of your breasts. 

He growled as your body jerked, his tongue swirling around one of your hard nipples. “You’ve started something now. I’m gonna have to cum in you every single day.” 

You were on fire. His words affecting you in ways you didn’t think were possible. “Don’t s-stop,” you implored, although if anything, he was snapping his wrist even faster now, fingers curved, hitting right where you needed. You moaned loudly. “You always make me feel so good. Mm. I’m-I’m… Fuck.” 

Grunting, your curse ruining him, he made his way back to your mouth. You held him tightly, back stuck to the bed with sweat. “Cum, baby.” He told you. “Please.” 

That sent you over the edge, waves of pleasure rocking your body and he swallowed each one of your moans greedily, his fingers gradually slowing, easing you through your orgasm until he slid out. He pulled back with a drunken grin. “You’re so sexy.” Then he looked down your naked body, sighing in wonder. “God, you’re amazing.” 

“Quit it!” You exclaimed with a laugh, whacking his shoulder. Still very much out of breath. 

Summer continued to fly by, not long left now until you were back at school. As much as the prospect excited you, you couldn’t help but feel a little dejected. Having so much time off had worked out perfectly for your relationship with Seokjin, because even though he was still very much busy with work, you had all the free time in the world to match his schedule. It made you sad to realise there would be no more lunch dates. No more impromptu midweek movie nights. Actually, thinking about it, staying over during the weekday would probably be pretty impossible too – with all the lessons you’d have to plan and the work you’d need to score. In fact, you were about to be a hell of a lot busier from September onwards. 

Seokjin reassured you as best he could. You’d fall into routine soon enough and things would work out. You could still meet up for lunch – he’d drive over and you’d eat in his car if needed, and you could still spend the night on a weekday. He’d wait patiently while you finished up work, make you dinner and then make sure you were asleep by 10pm. You appreciated the sentiment, he always did know how to cheer you up. Although his “Think of it this way, you left school single and now you’re going back with an incredibly kind and insanely sexy boyfriend. I’d call yourself lucky, if I was you.” wasn’t as treasured… He thought he was funny, but he wasn’t at all…

Still, you had two weeks left to go, there was no point being miserable over the inevitable. You’d had the best summer of your life, you were lucky. (Just not in the way Seokjin had implied…)

.

.

“I can’t wait to take this off you tonight,” Seokjin murmured against your ear as he zipped the back of your dress up, insinuation deep in his tone. 

Turning around to face him, you placed your hands on his shoulders. “We can always skip tonight and go straight to the sex.” 

Laughing heartily, he tapped your ass. “Nice try. There’s nothing to be nervous about, okay?” He ignored your grumbling and stepped away, reaching for his cufflinks on the bedside table. “It’s just a dinner, honey.” 

“With a bunch of the country’s richest people,” you exclaimed, feeling sick all over again. Every few months or so Seokjin had dinner with a few of his colleagues. They brought their partners along, and this time Seokjin was ecstatic you would be joining him. You on the other hand were this close to hyperventilating. 

“That’s a small exaggeration,” Seokjin scoffed, cufflinks now attached as he made his way back to you. He cupped your waist, tilting his head to the side with a smile. “Besides, your boyfriend is included in that bunch. Are you nervous around me to?”

“Shut it,” you muttered, reaching to straighten his bow tie. He looked amazing in his suit tonight, hair parted to the side. Skipping dinner seemed like an excellent idea… But when he leaned in to kiss you sweetly, you knew you couldn’t. Seokjin was looking forward to “showing you off.” (His exact words.) I’m not a trophy, you’d shot back, but of course you knew he hadn’t meant it like that. It was sweet actually. He was proud. And happy. And cute. 

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you hugged him close. He nosed your neck, humming happily before nipping a patch of skin with his teeth, growling playfully. “Seriously, I can’t wait to rip this dress off you.” 

You squealed as he began to tickle your sides, trying to push him away. “Stop, you’ll crease it.” 

“It’s fine,” he reassured, easing up to gaze at you. “You’ll still look stunning. Always do.” The black floor-length dress you were in was nothing you were used to, and maybe that’s why your nerves were worse than what they should be but knowing Seokjin liked what he saw helped ease your reservations. How could it not? He always made you feel like a million dollars. 

He was looking forward to tonight, so you should try to as well… You had nothing to worry about. 

.

.

You really didn’t. 

The night was a success. Despite your lives being vastly different, you got along with Seokjin’s colleagues well. They seemed like lovely people, especially the wife of Seokjin’s CFO. She was around your age, a couple of years older maybe, and you bonded over your favourite book series like a pair of nerds. You both left with a recommended reading list saved into your phones, numbers exchanged with plans of encouraging one another to read more. Seokjin was delighted you’d enjoyed yourself so much and you spent the chauffeured car journey to your place talking about the night. 

Although, as soon as you got inside was an entirely different story altogether. It had already been pre-decided that Seokjin would spend the night with you, Misook babysitting Arin at his home, and you soon realised that he had not been messing around when he’d informed you he was going to rip the dress off you. You weren’t even up the stairs before he was attempting to unzip you, bumping his crotch into your ass with every step as he kissed your neck, blowing raspberries as he went. 

“Shhh. Shush,” you giggled, trying your best to whisper successfully. “They may be still awake.” You knew Taehyung was staying over tonight too, he’d been here spread out on the couch before you’d left for Seokjin’s place this afternoon. 

“Better get you to your room quickly then.” He said confidently, pouncing on you at the top step as he wrapped his arms around your middle. 

You bit back a squeal, shoving your foot into his shin. “Seokjin!” 

In the privacy of your bedroom, you shut the door tight, turning back to see your boyfriend already stripping out of his tux jacket. He didn’t have shoes on either and as you looked around for them, spotting nothing, you realised he must have kicked them off back downstairs. When?! He reached for you, running his hands down your curves before they settled on your ass. He looked at you as if he wanted to eat you. Your stomach stirred, only now realising exactly where tonight was heading. He really hadn’t been bluffing… 

“Did I tell you how stunning you looked tonight?” He asked, popping his bowtie off and unbuttoning his shirt halfway. His collarbones sharp enough to cut, the outline of his chest clear enough to make you dribble. 

You chuckled, although you could hear the aroused tremble so obviously. “You may have mentioned it once or twice.” 

He smiled your way, although it was more like a smirk, and stalked towards you. “Turn around.” 

You obeyed in an instant. His fingers reaching for the zip of your dress. It was already halfway down – something you hadn’t realised. (He was obviously somewhat success back in the hallway.) As he revealed the expanse of your back he kissed the nape of your neck, gently pushing the straps over your shoulders to let the fabric slide down. With an expert snap he had your bra loose, removing that too, and it fell to the floor in front of you, hands reaching forward to cup your breasts, fingertips pinching your nipples. You moaned, disappointed when he moved, but then he started mouthing down your spine as he helped the dress along, surprising you when he crouched down, and then inevitably got on his knees, pushing the garment past your hips. He groaned when he saw your thong, lips parting to caress you with his tongue. 

“You have the most perfect ass,” he gruffed against the skin, giving you a squeeze. “Have I ever told you that? Could worship it all night.” 

Please, you wanted to murmur, but you held back, biting down on your lip as you felt him sink his teeth into one of your ass cheeks. What was with him tonight? You could already feel your arousal collecting between the small band of your panties. It wasn’t going to hold for long. 

“Let’s get you out of this dress.” Despite his casual tone, he tugged the garment harshly, causing you to stumble at the sudden movement. 

“Seokjin!” You chided lightly, clutching onto one of his hands now at your hip. “I still have my heels on, could’ve broken my ankle.” 

“I was here to keep you safe,” he assured you with a chuckle, and then as an afterthought, “Maybe you could keep them on while we…” 

You bumped your butt into his face, silently telling him to shut it, and kicked the footwear off, now able to remove your dress easily. Seokjin stood, spinning you to face him, mouth pressing into yours with haste. He kissed you passionately, wrapping his arms around you, holding you to him, your breasts pushed up against his chest. He was still clothed, but you could feel his erection pressing into your stomach. You wanted to touch it, but your hands were too busy caught up in his hair. 

“Bed,” he panted up against your mouth, practically lifting you up to push you down on the mattress. You settled on your elbows, watching him as he tore open the rest of his shirt buttons, throwing the item to the floor, his well-defined torso now on full display. 

He pounced on you, kissing you hungrily once more, so hungrily in fact, you needed to pull away to catch your breath. He moved to your cheek, wet kisses finding their way to your ear. Sensitive, you had to push him away with a hand to the chest. “Sorry, am I being too much?” He murmured, lips sticky. 

You shook your head with a shaky giggle. “I just can’t keep up.” 

“Just lay back and enjoy, baby.” His tone was reassuring, encouraging, and insanely sexy. He lifted your hips, scooting you up the bed to rest your head on the pillows. “Can you do that for me?” 

“Of course.” You watched him raise up on his knees, the clank of his belt making you pulse down below as he undid it. He unzipped his pants but made no effort to take them off, running his palm once along the curve of his length before he crawled over you. He placed a sweet kiss to your mouth, smiling as he pulled away. “Did you notice I didn’t go for dessert tonight?” Puzzled, you stayed silent waiting for him to explain. His smile widened, more of a grin now – a very amused one at that. “I was saving myself for something tastier.” 

You scoffed. He was unbelievable, but it was easy to let him get away with such corny lines. Especially when he had you spread out near naked on your own bed. “Lame!” You exclaimed, immediately clamping your hand across your mouth. You needed to remember to keep quiet, Soojung and Taehyung were asleep next door, but you were feeling uncharacteristically unbothered tonight, too eager and excited.  

He chuckled at your silliness. “Y/N, I’m pretty sure you’ve heard them have sex before. Think of it as payback.” 

His nonchalance was pretty attractive so you let his words ease your mind. Although maybe it had more to do with the way he was trailing kisses down your stomach… He leaned back to spread your legs, already bent at the knee. You were pretty sure your thong was doing nothing to protect your modesty anymore.  

He confirmed your assumption with a sharp intake of breath. “Honey, you’re soaking. I haven’t even done anything yet.” You braced yourself, waiting to feel the brush of his finger, but instead it was the softness of his tongue. He licked a strip up your clothed mound, a noise of delight rumbling from him. You pulsed uncontrollably, eager for more. 

He gave it to you. Lips wrapping around your hidden clit, tongue laving, soaking the delicate material even more. Your legs instantly squeezed around his head, unsure what to do with the sudden influx of pleasure before you moaned, rocking your hips into him gently. 

He eased away slightly, replacing his tongue with his thumb, rubbing skilled circles that caused you to squelch. “Love your pussy so much,” he murmured, going back for more hastily. 

You moaned again at his words, fingers digging into the sheets beneath you, but it wasn’t long before he was kissing back up your stomach, mouth now attaching itself to one your nipples. Your hands flew to the back of his head, looking down at him as he flicked the bud with his tongue, moaning as he did so. It was such an erotic sight you felt speechless, and when his chocolatey brown eyes met yours, pooling with desire, you felt beside yourself. 

“Turn around.” He whispered, roughly. “On your knees for me?” 

You had never listened so fast in all your life, scrabbling on your hands and knees in record time. You waited as patiently as you could, ass in the air, anticipating his next move. You startled when you felt a puff of air against your entrance, the sound of Seokjin’s sticky lips loud in your ears. “You look so good in this thong,” he praised, snapping the thin line of fabric between your ass. 

Pushing into him, you smirked. “I wore it just for you.” 

He hummed – in contemplation almost – before he pulled your panties to the side and dove straight in with his mouth. You yelped, ducking your head at your volume. You’d been expecting him to go straight to the sex, not continue to eat you out. He’d never done it in this position before – it felt amazing. A noise dragged from his throat as he pulled away, fingers dipping under the sides of your panties to drag them over your ass impatiently. As he did so, he bit into your ass, his hands now spreading your thighs, exposing you more so he could bury his face between your legs. 

You held your breath, waiting for him to continue but nothing could prepare you for the pleasure he was about to inflict on you. He flicked his tongue out against your clit, nose and mouth pressed flush against your heat, hands rooted to your ass and you moaned right away, bucking into him instinctively. Unable to hit your clit as well as he usually could he slid his mouth along your slit, tongue beginning to lick at your entrance, sucking your inner lips gently into his mouth as he did so. You were soaking, could feel yourself starting to drip down the inside of your thighs, but Seokjin didn’t seem to have a care in the world, lapping you up as if he was a man dying of thirst, rough moans letting you know just how much he was enjoying himself – enjoying you. 

When you felt his tongue push inside you, you jolted, sensation instantly making your thighs squeeze together. Not that they could with Seokjin hunched between them. He began to experimentally push in and out of you, noticing the way you tensed around him and hearing the way your breathing got shallower. Wordlessly, his hand reached forward, around your thigh to hook between your legs and start rubbing your clit with his fingers. With his other hand he gently (but firmly) pushed down at the small of your back, your ass rising higher, giving him better access to keep fucking you with his tongue. With the added stimulus you could feel yourself breaking, knees trembling, pushed hard against the mattress. He felt so warm, and wet, and just incredible. Your moans got more frequent, heartbeat pounding in your ears. 

“That feels so good.” You managed to choke out, your orgasm so close you could taste it. That’s usually when you gabbled. “Right there. Don’t stop!” He listened, speeding up his movements, the squelch getting louder as he grunted in exertion. He sounded so hot it just turned you on even more, and you lifted your ass higher, pushing into each thrust of his tongue. He rubbed your clit desperately, determined to push you ever the edge. 

You gasped, unsure how else to stay quiet as more words rushed out of you. “Seokjin–! I’m going to– Oh, my god, I’m coming!” Burying your face into the pillows your moans turned muffled as you came, white hot pleasure bursting through your veins. So sated, you couldn’t even find it in you to feel embarrassed with how loud he’d just made you orgasm. 

His finger moved away first, clit pulsing against nothing as he massaged the round of your ass instead, coating you in your own arousal, before his tongue eased off, placing a delicate kiss to your entrance as a goodbye. 

The mattress shifted under his weight as he moved back a couple of inches and you heard him slide his belt out of the trouser loops, the sound flying straight to your core. He stripped behind you quickly, you couldn’t even bring yourself to take a peek, too dazed, yet your imagination worked quite well. Instead, you kept kneeling for him, waiting for his return. 

He wasn’t even a minute. You felt the warmth of his dick press against the small of your back as he made his way closer once again. 

“Are you ready for me?” Despite the deepness of his voice – how obviously he was affected – you could hear the care in his tone as he checked in on you.  

“So ready,” you insisted, jutting into his thighs. 

He chuckled, pushing his dick between your legs now, sliding it across your slit. You were still sensitive, squirming against him, but you were also still so greedy, so you let him do what he wanted, soaking his cock along your wetness unhurriedly. You were so distracted by his movements, the smack he suddenly landed on your ass had you yelping more so from shock than sting. If you weren’t so drunk with pleasure right now you’d chew him out for being so loud. 

“Did that hurt?” He asked curiously, voice dripping danger. You felt your gut squeeze. That was new. He’d slapped your ass before but never with that much intent. The sting melted into your skin as he massaged the spot. “Mm, baby?” He pressed, voice now dripping honey. “Do you like pain?” He spanked you again but this time you were ready, biting down on your lip. “Like it when I’m mean to you?” 

You nodded, some type of agreeing noise leaving your throat which seemed to appease him. He rubbed your ass soothingly, the head of his cock now dragging across your entrance. How he had this much patience was beyond you. You could not relate. 

“Quit teasing.” You whined. Put it in me.” 

“Don’t be a brat, honey.” He chuckled, but he pushed ever so slightly into you. He let out a sharp exhale, starting to fuck you shallowly with the tip, hands at his sides. You squeezed around nothing, flinging your head back frustratingly. “Seokjin!” You wanted him to fuck you. And touch you. 

Chuckling again, throatily, he pushed an inch deeper. He wasn’t even halfway inside of you. “I want to antagonise myself. Shush.” But he gripped your ass, pulling you apart slightly to slowly push inside of you all the way. You both groaned with the drag, taking a breather as you squeezed around him, getting used to the feeling. You always felt so full in this position, trembling around his crazy big dick. 

Soon he began to move, sliding in and out of you with intense concentration. You couldn’t see him but you knew his gaze was welded to where your bodies met, watching himself disappear inside you over and over again. “You’re the tease, Y/N,” he murmured,  picking up the pace. You could hear yourself squelching around his girth. “You drive me fucking crazy.” He felt you pulse and his breath hitched. 

Bunching the meat of your ass in his fists, he pounded into you for a few moments, holding you still, making you take it. You whimpered, trying your best to stay quiet. “Always take my cock so well. Don’t you, baby?” 

“Ye-ess.” Your voice broke, a moan tearing through you as he rammed himself deep inside , stopping dead. “Fuck, Seokjin.” You were burning up. You needed him to move before you sobbed. 

With precision, he started fucking you slowly, bottoming out each time, revelling in your warmth, your wetness. It was so intense your eyes started to water, trying your best to stay as silent as possible but each breath was sounding more and more like a moan. You could hear yourself squelching around him every time he moved. So could he. 

“I love that,” he said, voice tight, as if he was trying his best to keep calm. “I’m gonna cum so deep in you tonight. Fill you up good.” 

You moaned loudly this time. It was always hot to hear your well-spoken boyfriend fall off into the deep end, articulation deteriorating with each thrust. It turned you on like no tomorrow. “Please do,” you urged, walls clamping around him at the very thought. 

He lost it at that, begging with your words and your body, and it wasn’t long before his movements were speeding up, his hips snapping against your ass as he held it tight. “Can you cum again?” He sounded frantic. 

“M-maybe – oh.” You jolted, feeling Seokjin’s fingers at your clit.  

“I really want you to cum again for me.” His fingers became persistent, rubbing circles against your sensitivity. 

Holding your breath, you concentrated. On each thrust, how good his dick was, how the motions on your clit felt. Everything… You willed your second orgasm, feeling it start to be pulled out of you. You started to meet each of his thrusts, skin slapping as your sweaty bodies worked together. “Yes, yes, yes, yes–!” You urged with each thud, so close you were trembling. Your voice broke as the sensation took over, moan turning into a squeak as you tried to shut up. 

This time your orgasm was shorter, but it didn’t make it any less intense. In fact, it immediately exhausted you. “Shit. Fuck.” You mumbled, pretty much collapsing into the bed, Seokjin wedged deep inside you. 

“You feel different.” He groaned. You felt him twitch. “Love that feeling.” Ever so carefully, he drew back, hands gliding along your back. “I’m okay to finish?” 

“Yes,” you nodded, turning to press your cheek to the pillow. You jutted your ass out, feeling him slide back in almost involuntarily, your tightness calling him back. “Be quick though.” You were tired – and sensitive. Still horny though…

He found that amusing, chuckling throatily. “I promise you I will. I’m so fucking close.” He pulled back again, grunting. He was taking his time, easing you into it. “Ngh. I’m almost too big for you now. You’re squeezing so much.” 

You moaned in reply, loving the way he held your hips firm and rolled into you, slowly fucking you into the mattress. 

“Tell me how much you’re loving it,” he pretty much pleaded, ever so slightly speeding up. 

“I love it so much.” You professed. “You have n-no idea.” You jerked forward as he hit deep, crying out. “Seokjinn! Please. Go a little faster.” 

He grunted, sounding smug. “You want my cum.” You moaned in reply. “Say it for me.” He demanded. “Please, baby, say it for me.” 

“I want your cum,” you moaned. 

And that was enough. With a strangled cry he began to snap his hips faster and faster, fucking you hard, chasing his end. It didn’t take long. A minute later he rammed himself deep, stiffening as he came inside you, groan of relief loud as all the tension left his body. “Shit.” He muttered, collapsing on top of you, careful not to press his full body weight into you. 

He held your shoulders, nuzzling into you as he slid to your side. You used what was left of your energy to turn around, letting him smother you with kisses. “That was… I don’t know what came over me.” He exclaimed. 

“It was amazing,” you gushed, running a hand down his sticky chest. You could spot your arousal, now dried to his face, his hairline damp with perspiration. You leaned in for a kiss, pulling back when he began to laugh. You looked at him puzzled. 

“You want my cum,” he gleed.

“Get lost!” You groaned, pushing him away. He rolled onto his back, his chest still rising visibly as he caught his breath. 

“I need the bathroom,” he announced, standing and looking around. “My bag? I thought Misook said she dropped it off for me?” 

Sitting up, you glanced around. “Maybe Soo left it downstairs.” She’d probably thought you’d spot it by the door when you arrived home. You’d been too distracted… “Wear my robe.” You suggested. 

“That?” Seokjin questioned, looking sceptically at the pink fluffy nightgown hooked onto your closet door. 

“Why not? You’ll look cute.” 

“True,” he agreed, turning to reach for it.

“Nice ass.” You had a great view from here. 

“Hey,” he whined, throwing the robe on quickly to hide his modesty. 

“What, you have a really nice ass for a forty year old!” You insisted. 

He clicked his tongue. “Now that’s just rude.” 

You giggled as he left, calling out a not very believable sorry after him. A few minutes later you heard Soojung’s door open, footsteps in the hallway and then, voices. Taehyung and Seokjin’s. They’d bumped into each other. You laughed to yourself, imagining how awkward it must be for them right now. Amazing. Twenty seconds later Seokjin and your fluffy robe were shooting through the door. 

“Oh, my god.” Seokjin grimaced. “That was so awkward. Taehyung wanted the bathroom as I was leaving.” 

“I heard,” you chuckled, amused by your boyfriend’s unnecessary mortification. 

He laid on the bed, groaning. “We had to small talk. He was in his boxers… I think he knew we’d just had sex.” 

“Yeah, he probably heard us too…” 

Seokjin made a noise of discomfort. He wasn’t so sure of himself now, was he? You rolled your eyes and reached for him, gathering the collar of your gown in your hands to kiss him. You grinned. “You look really sexy in my pink fluffy gown.” 

He hummed against your mouth, “I know, right?” He didn’t need persuading when you pulled him over you, untying the middle of the robe before pushing the fluffy garment over his broad shoulders. His dick was soft, but he was eager if the way he kissed you was anything to go by. It made you feel guilty when you inevitably pushed him away, robe victoriously clutched in your arms. 

“Where are you going?” He whined, watching you stand. 

You slipped into the nightgown, smiling cutely. “I need to pee.” 

.

.

When you woke up the next morning there was a text waiting for you from your beloved best friend… 

Soojung (08:12am) Tae just told me he woke up and heard you guys having s e x last night  Then he bumped into Seokjin who was wearing ur robe  I’m glad I’m a heavy sleeper  But he said it sounded like you were having a GREAT time 😏  Dilf got movesss 😳

The embarrassment! 

Today was a very important day, according to one little person. Arin’s seventh birthday. She’d mentioned it almost every single day since August had arrived. Seokjin had worked really hard organising her a garden party, inviting all their family and friends, including a couple of her friends from school. You were a bit nervous about that, knowing you’d be met with a few curious questions but there were more pressing issues at hand... You were about to meet Seokjin’s parents for the first time. (As well as numerous other members of his family, but a girl could only worry about so many things at once.) 

He’d already met your family a couple of weeks previous – joining you for lunch with your mom one afternoon and then accompanying you for dinner at your father’s house a few days later. Seokjin had taken it in his stride, so even if he was a little nervous he never once showed it. He was good at that, you admired him for that. You on the other hand were this close to breaking out into a nervous sweat. 

You were thankful Arin had you preoccupied all morning, insisting on helping Misook and you put up the decorations for her own birthday party. Helpful as always, although be it a little buzzed. Scrap that, a lot buzzed. She was still on a high from celebrating her birthday with her mom for a couple of days. She’s only gotten back yesterday afternoon, and that’s when Seokjin had surprised her with two pet rabbits – one snowy white, the other midnight black. Her excitement levels were through the roof today. Seokjin had called you this morning informing you he’d been woken up at 5am and he needed your assistance ASAP because he couldn’t handle a hyperactive birthday girl all on his own the entirety of the morning… 

By 1pm some of the guest had already started arriving; Seokjin’s brother and his wife, along with their two twin boys who were a couple of years younger than Arin. Aunts and uncles, and a few cousins, Seokjin’s friend Namjoon, who had two children; a 9 year-old daughter and a four year-old son, and then a few of Arin’s friends, some from various clubs she attended and two you recognised from school. They recognised you too of course, and you overheard Arin adorably telling them that you were her “daddy’s girlfriend.” No matter how much time past, and no matter how natural this all felt now, you were still so happy that Arin was on board with all this. It was the best feeling. 

Seokjin’s parents were the last to show up seeing as they lived quite far away, and you waited nervously to meet them as your boyfriend took their luggage upstairs to one of the guest rooms. Meeting his brother and his friend and the rest of his family hadn’t been bad at all, so you were feeling very optimistic by now. Still, you could hear your heart beating frantically when you saw Seokjin leading them into the kitchen where you were blowing some last minute balloons. 

“You must be Y/N,” his mom greeted with a smile, arms wide as she walked towards. With a quick embrace she kissed you on the cheek. Seokjin had warned you about that. 

“Hi, it’s really nice to meet you,” you smiled back, relaxing slightly down to her warm attitude. (It also helped Seokjin had taken place by your side, arm brushing against yours.) You glanced towards his father, greeting him with the same smile and he gave you a nod, a friendly “Likewise,” leaving his lips. Seokjin had also let you know that his father was the silent, polite type. Seokjin was similar. They even looked quite alike. His mom was slim and elegant, and incredibly beautiful. 

“You’re even prettier than your pictures,” she informed you, taking your hands in hers. 

“Pictures?” You chuckled nervously, glancing up at Seokjin. 

He groaned quietly. “I may have sent her a couple of us together. My mom’s very nosey. Dad not so much.” 

“Oh,” you blurted, hearing his father laugh. You smiled coyly back at Mrs. Kim. “Thank you.” 

“Nonsense. I’m not nosey,” she insisted, raising an eyebrow at her son. “Curious, I’d call it.” 

Seokjin chuckled. “Of course, mom – Oh!” Something caught his attention out of the window and he rushed off, opening the sliding glass door to stick his head out. “Arin, your grandparents have arrived. Come say hi.” 

Mrs. Kim let go of your hands as Arin came dashing in like a hyper puppy. “Grandma! Grandpa!” She squealed, throwing herself into her grandfather’s arms. “It’s my birthday!” 

“Is it?” He asked, playing clueless, but he couldn’t keep it up for long. “Of course it is!” He kissed her cheek. “Happy birthday, pumpkin.” 

“Happy birthday, Arin. Are you having fun so far?” Her grandma asked, fluffing her hair. Arin went to hug her next. “What gifts did you get? We have yours in the car, but you have to wait until later, okay?” 

Arin nodded, before proceeding to talk all about her day. She didn’t come up for air, which was highly amusing for all four of you. However, inevitably, she got bored, her hand slipping into yours, tugging it gently for your attention. “Y/N, can we go and see if the buffet is ready now?”

“Of course we can.” You glanced at your watch, then up at Seokjin who was doing the same. It was half past two, you’d agreed to start eating at 3pm. Arin’s senses were perfect. 

“No sneaking anything off the table, young lady.” Seokjin told her. “Especially not cake. You won’t have to wait long.”

Arin couldn’t help but giggle at that, already beginning to drag you off. 

.

.

You were on your way back from the lower floor bathroom when you bumped into Seokjin’s mother again. She was stood by the dining room entrance, rooting around in her purse, pulling out her cell phone. “Oh, Y/N, dear, I was just getting my phone so I could take a few pictures of Arin. I need to show them to my mother. She’s a bit too old to make the journey down here.” 

“Awh, that’s a shame,” you replied, coming to a halt politely. 

With a nod, she changed the subject. “I’m so glad the weather is hot for her birthday.”

“I know. She’s been so excited, hasn’t been able to stop talking about it for the past month,” you laughed. The party had been a success, the food and games going down a treat. It had been a long time since you’d attended a child’s birthday party – your siblings were long past that age, and you’d forgotten how fun they could be, even if you were much older now.

Being surrounded by Seokjin’s family wasn’t as nerve-wracking as you’d initially thought. They were all so lovely – not that you didn’t expect anything less, of course, you were just thankful you could hold a natural conversation with his mom. 

“She really likes you. I can tell.” Mrs. Kim said out of the blue, surprising you, but you tried to hide it well.

Smiling softly, you replied, “I’m fond of her too.” 

“I heard you were her teacher?”

“For a short while.” You nodded. “That’s how Seokjin and I met.” But you guessed she already knew that, you know, mother’s curiosity and all. 

Her mouth quirked up and then she snorted. “My son definitely knows how to make an impression. I heard he hit your car?”

Laughing, you’d been correct. He had told her how you’d met. “Yeah, but I try not to tease him too much about that anymore.” 

“It sounds like fate, no?” She smiled, before shaking her head and raising a hand. “Sorry, I’m a hopeless romantic at heart. The first time my husband and I set eyes on one another it was love at first… You probably don’t want to hear about that,” she chuckled. You opened your mouth, ready to disagree, but she spoke again. “I just… I haven’t seen Seokjin this happy in a very long time. Not since Arin was born.” 

Speechless, you tried to think of something to say. Just what? “Oh, I –”

“What are you two conspiring about in here?” 

You heard Seokjin’s voice from behind you and turned to see him walking towards you both with a grin on his face. When he reached you he cupped your waist, kissing you on the cheek. His mom watched on fondly. 

“Nothing… much,” she replied, a teasing lilt to her voice. It caught his attention. “I was just telling Y/N that I haven’t see you this happy in years.” 

“Mo-mm,” he whined, immediately growing red. 

“What? I’m just speaking the truth, Seokjin,” she laughed and looked in your direction. “He gets embarrassed so easily. Have you noticed?” 

“I have,” you laughed along. 

Smiling tenderly at him, she stepped forward and touched his arm. “I’ve loved hearing my son laugh all afternoon.” Seokjin dropped his head, even more embarrassed now. He was cute. “Okay.” She clapped her hands, taking pity on him. “That’s enough from me. I’ll leave. Your father’s probably on his third slice of cake by now…” Kissing Seokjin’s cheek softly, she began to walk off. “You love me really.” 

“Of course,” Seokjin called, turning to you once she’d left, heading back in the direction of the garden. “Sorry about that.” 

You chuckled. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. We were just talking.” You wrapped your arms around his waist, hugging him. “You’re cute.” 

“You’re never too old to be embarrassed by your mom,” he muttered, kissing the top of your head. Snorting, you leaned back, but he held you tight, gazing into your eyes. “You look really pretty today.” 

“You say that every day.” 

“Because it’s true.” He kissed your lips, stopping any clever remark you may have had dead. 

Instead, as he pulled away, you brought your hands up to his chest, straightening the collar of his shirt. “Let’s get back outside. I’m enjoying myself.” 

“I’m glad.” Seokjin beamed, eyes twinkling. 

At that moment, it hit you how happy he looked… You’d not really noticed it prior, but now his mom had pointed it out it was so obvious. 

You hoped he could tell just how happy you were too… It was all down to him, after all.  

Written 2020 - 2021. Please refrain from posting my work elsewhere. No translations allowed. © floralseokjin 2021

[just-jordie-things]

Ghost

word count: 11,648 warnings: swearing, mentions of death, reader is an orphan,  summary: John B was the closest thing to family that (y/n) had left, and now he’s gone and disappeared.  Fortunately JJ’s there to help her feel whole again. based on this song ___

[ yelling at the sky, screaming at the world // baby why’d you go away?... heaven only knows where you are now ]

August 10th, 9:30 p.m (The Night Of The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

“Unfortunately… we lost them” Officer Thomas said, hanging his head shamefully.

Pope broke down right away, Kiara at his side, comforting him with a hug and soft words.

“What do you mean you lost them?” JJ asked, jumping straight to anger.  “They’re just gone? They’re dead!?”

(y/n) stood back, glancing down at her cold hands, finding that they’ve begun to shake with the new information.  She didn’t know how to process what she was hearing.

“We don’t know for certain-” Thomas tried to explain, but JJ wasn’t having it, he lashed out completely.

“You drove them right into the storm!” He yelled, lunging for the cop, grabbing him by his shirt and shaking him violently.  “You killed them-!”

“JJ..” Kiara cried out, clutching tighter to Pope’s side as she began to quietly sob.

He released the cop with a shove, turning back to his remaining friends.  Pope pulled Kiara into his arms, crying into her hair silently.

But (y/n) was frozen in place, her expression hadn’t changed since Thomas had told them what happened.  Tears were streaming down her cheeks quickly, more and more spilling over with each passing second.  Her whole body shook, and she wrapped her arms around herself.  She wasn’t sure if it was the grief or the cold, but either way, her own embrace provided no comfort.

“(y/n/n)- sweetheart…” JJ stepped towards her, his hands outstretched for her to take if she needed, but she didn’t move.  Her eyes didn’t even meet his.

“John B…” She whimpered, her lip quivering as she sniffled.  “Sarah…”

When a sob escaped her, JJ was there in a second, grabbing onto her and holding her as tightly as he could in his arms.  She continued to sob, screaming and crying as her body finally reacted.

She thrashed in his hold, squirming and pushing at him, hands smacking at his arms and chest, trying to pry him off of her, even though deep down all she craved was to be held, comforted.

“It’s not fair! It’s not fair,” She was screaming, drawing the attention of the surrounding officers, as well as the Carreras and the Heywards who had shown up to comfort their children.

But (y/n) had no one to show up for her, they were all dead.

“It’s not fair- It's not fair it’s not fair” She continued to cry against JJ, until her knees gave out and she crumpled to the ground.  

The blonde boy followed with her, gathering her back in his arms no matter how much she fought and pushed him away.

But eventually her body tired out, and she gave in.  He could feel her slump into his shoulder as she rested all of her weight on him.  His own tears soaked into her hair and tee shirt as he dropped his face to her own shoulder.

“Not fair” She mumbled, on repeat, until her crying made her too incoherent to understand.  

He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know what to do, he’d never seen (y/n) like this before, much less how you were supposed to react when your best friend, and your kinda new friend, were lost at sea.

“I’ve got you,” He said instead, knowing that there were no magic words to heal her.  “I’m here, I’ve got you”

They didn’t fix everything, but they seemed to do the trick, because she finally wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her hands fisting into the material of his shirt as she clutched onto him with the same intensity that he held her with.

They spent hours in that tent, long after Pope and Kiara’s parents took them home, they were still there.  Technically they were supposed to wait for a parent or guardian to pick them up.  But JJ’s father was a coked up piece of shit, and (y/n’s) parents were six feet underground.

She didn’t push him away again.  She spent the whole night in his arms, clinging onto him with an iron grip.  And ever since that night, she hasn’t really let go of him. ___

[ how do i love? how do i trust again? ]

September 10th, 3:00 a.m (One Month After The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

“Wake up, (y/n/n), wake up”

The girl gasped for air as her eyes flew open, and as quickly as she’d woken up, she settled back into her pillow, eyes falling shut again as she let out a sign.

“I was doing it again, wasn’t I?” She muttered, squeezing her eyes shut tight as she tried not to cry, and tried not to remember the vivid details of her nightmare.

Which was more of a traumatic memory than a nightmare, really.

JJ, who was lying next to her, was quiet as he gazed down at her, watching her calm herself down as best she could.  He always gave her the space to relax on her own before stepping in.  He wanted her to know that she was capable of recovering on her own, but that he would still be there for her as soon as she needed him.

After a few deep breaths, the girl rolled onto her side, her face colliding with his chest as she continued her steady breathing.

“Will you hold my hand?” She mumbled, and he simply nodded, reaching for her trembling fingers, and gently slotting his fingers through hers.  She continued to tap her index finger over the back of his hand at a rapid pace.

She did this for a minute or two before speaking again.

“I’m sorry”

“Don’t be sorry, baby, it’s alright,” He murmured to her softly, followed by a kiss to her forehead.  “I’ve got you”

A small choked sound came from her as tears threatened to well up in her eyes again.

She’d spent the last month in bed with him like this.  No matter how much time passed, and no matter how much her grief started to melt away and she began her coping process, she’d still wake up in the middle of the night from awful nightmares.

She hadn’t planned on being a regular guest in JJ’s bed at the Chateau, but she also didn’t have anywhere else to go.  She didn’t have a place of her own, she’d lived at the Chateau since she was six and John Routledge had taken her in.

She was just a child when her parents got into a freak boating accident and died at sea.  She hadn’t understood why she was put in the system, or why she couldn’t go home to her mom and dad.  But for some reason, her friend John B had gotten his dad to take her in, and after a day or two of moving in, she’d understood.

John and John B were her family now.

But then a year ago, John Routledge was declared lost at sea, and it was just her and John B.  It was hard, since he was pretty much the only father she’d ever known, and since he was announced dead, in the same way her parents had been.  At least she still had John B, who was a brother to her.

Fate had a sick sense of humor though, sending him off into a storm, likely killing him.

And she ended up losing him, too.

JJ’s free hand smoothed over her back, caressing her hair, and then rubbing circles over her back again.  He always did his best to comfort her in any way she needed.  And it had been a month of waking up with her to her nightmares, so he always knew just what to do.

“Can we go stay in his room?” She asked quietly.

That was a new request that JJ hadn’t been expecting, but nonetheless, he nodded, and helped her to sit up.  He reached his hands out for her, offering to help her get out of bed, but she limply hung her arms in the air, silently asking him to carry her.

“Alright, you big baby,” He teased in a tired murmur, and leaned over to wrap his arms around her torso, picking her up and pulling her into his chest.

Her legs instinctively wrapped around his hips, and her head laid down on his shoulder.  Had she not been so shaken up, she could have fallen right back asleep.

“But I’m only doing this cause you’re so damn cute” He told her as his hands shifted to hold her from under her legs, and he carefully made his way through the dark to get to John B’s room.

The flirty comment provoked a small and sleepy laugh from the girl.  It wasn’t much, but it was something, and it provided a certain comfort to JJ.  it had been a while since she truly laughed.  He missed the sound dearly.

(y/n) had spent some time in John B’s room during the long summer days.  But she’d never spent the night in it.

JJ would often find her in there, cleaning up, reorganizing his book shelf, playing his CD’s, feeding the fish he’d won at a carnival a year ago that was miraculously still alive- she’d do anything and everything to spend time in there.  To her, it was all that was left of him.

JJ had even caught her putting on his clothes, worn tee shirts, strangely-patterned button downs, sweaters that were too big for her- but she always took them off before anyone could see.  JJ pretended not to notice, and never said anything.  Both because he didn’t want her to feel embarrassed, but also because sometimes when she spent all of her time in that room, he’d feel just the tiniest amount of jealousy, and it made him feel ashamed.

[ i stay up all night, tell myself i’m alright // baby you’re just harder to see than most ]

“Alright, here we go, baby,” He said as he delicately set her down on the mattress.

(y/n) visibly deflated as she melted into the cool sheets.  Her limbs were still wrapped around JJ’s figure, so she pulled him down with her as she got situated, but he didn’t mind.

With great caution, he slipped out of her hold just enough to lay at her side, so that he wouldn’t pass out on top of her.

He watched as she seemingly relaxed for the night, finally.  She pressed her face deep into the pillow her head was under, taking in a deep breath, the lingering smell of cologne and the beach and something that was distinctly John B flooding her senses.

“It still smells like him” She murmured.  She doesn’t sound like she’s going to cry again, but JJ keeps a watchful eye on her, just in case.

When she exhaled, she opened her eyes, meeting his gaze.  He gave her a small smile, which she faintly returned before moving in closer to him.

“Thank you” She whispered as her forehead touched his gently.

His arms wrapped around the small of her back, pulling her into him completely.  And then he kissed her forehead again, and then her nose, before tucking her head against his chest, just under his chin.

She tended to lean her ear against his chest, using the steady beat of his heart to lure her to sleep.

“You don’t have to thank me, sweetheart” He told her, like he had a million times before.

“I know, you always say that,” (y/n) murmured, lips brushing over his neck as she spoke.  “But I mean it anyways.  Thank you, Jay”

Her hand finds a comfortable place to rest just over his heart, and soon she’s drifting back to a seemingly peaceful sleep.  JJ just hopes she makes it through the night.

He lets his hand brush through her hair, untangling the locks until his fingers can run perfectly smooth through it.  He does this until he falls asleep. ___

[ i put the record on, wait till i hear our song // every night i’m dancing with your ghost ]

July 4th, 10:00 p.m (A Month Before The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

Neither of them had made a move yet, but they both knew all too well that there was something between them.  Something fiery and exciting, something soft and intimate.

JJ always flirted with (y/n), long before he realized he actually had feelings for one of his closest Pogue friends.  They’d been friends since they were kids, and they’d technically been living together for the past few months, but only recently had it dawned on him that he was falling in love with her, and it was happening fast.

“As flattering as I find your staring, you look very zoned out,” Her voice drew him from his thoughts, and he found himself grinning as (y/n) walked up to him, beer in hand.

John B and Pope had thrown a Fourth of July kegger, and it was probably the craziest party they’d had in years.  Tourons and Kooks had shown up from all over the island, and every kid on The Cut made an appearance that night.

A couple of Kooks had even brought in their own kegs to help supply the party with enough beer.

But despite all the people here, all the hot Tourons to be exact, JJ had been content that (y/n) had approached him, with her sweet smile and revealing bikini.

“What’s goin’ through that pretty head of yours, hm?” She asked, only half teasing.

All summed had been like this.  The flirting intensified, and they both stopped pursuing one night stands with the Tourons that came to these things.

“Absolutely nothing,” JJ grinned back at her, and she laughed, believing him.  “Where you been all night? Fighting off all these guys I hope?” He asked, half joking.

Coincidentally, a group of basic white tourist boys walked past, one of them letting out a low whistle as their eyes wandered over (y/n’s) figure.

JJ scowled at him, stepping forward threateningly, one of his arms instinctively wrapping around the girl’s waist as he glared down the Touron until he cowered away.

“Wow,” (y/n) chuckled, one of her hands pressing against JJ’s chest, but she didn’t push him away, so he didn’t move.  “You made your point tough guy, jesus,” She said, raising her brows at him.  “Jealous much?”

“Me? Jealous?” He asked with a scoff, to which (y/n) mimicked the sound.

“That’s real hot coming from the most jealous and pissed off guy in the OBX” She teased with a growing smirk on her lips.

“Well, sure, but I’m not jealous of that guy,” JJ told her, gesturing at the lame Touron who was miserably failing at shotgunning a beer.

But as he watched the idiot with an amused grin, (y/n) just smiled up at the blonde boy, admiring his side profile for a moment.

Unlike most stories of friends who became lovers, where they weren’t sure when their friendship blossomed into something more, (y/n) knew exactly when she fell for JJ.

It had been last summer.  They’d been on the HMS Pogue on a fishing trip, and while she’d never been fishing before, she was eager to let JJ and Pope teach her how.  When she caught her first fish, JJ had cheered, but he could tell that it made her sad to throw it in the cooler.  So he told her it was alright if she wanted to throw it back.  He showed her how to carefully take the fish off the lure so it wouldn’t be as hurt, and let her throw it back in the water.

He must have felt her staring, because suddenly he was turning back to her, his eyes locking on hers instantly.

“Look who’s starin’ now” He teased, his fingers brushing against her hips in an attempt at tickling her.

She giggled and wiggled a bit, but she still didn’t pull away from him.

They were very close, so close that if JJ hadn’t been wearing his hat backwards, then its brim would have been bumping into her forehead.  So close, that she could just faintly feel his warm breath hitting the bridge of her nose.  So close, that it would be so easy to kiss him right now.

Curiously, her eyes wandered down to his lips, pink and inviting, begging to be kissed, she thought.  No wonder girls would throw themselves at him, he had the most perfect looking pair of lips.

Of course, before she could decide if it was worth it to throw reason (and the only Pogue rule) out the window, Rafe and Topper were causing trouble somewhere on the beach, and soon JJ was peeling himself away from her and racing off towards the conflict.

He was always there to end it, never one to shy away from a fight.  (y/n) had come to terms with that a long time ago, knowing it was something she’d never be able to change.

But looking back on it, if he hadn’t left her to get his ass kicked by Rafe Cameron, then they probably would have crossed that line between friendship and something more that very night. ___

[ Never got a chance to say a last goodbye ]

September 15th, 9:45 a.m (Two Months After The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

The sun was unrelenting as it shined in through the window, forcing (y/n) to wake up despite her longing to sleep in bed all day.  It wouldn’t be the first time that she refused to get out of bed.

But she told herself that she should.  The sun was telling her that she should.  Even if she did manage to close her eyes and ignore the brightness streaming into the room, she knew she wouldn’t sleep comfortably.

Today, she was going to get up and make herself breakfast.  That felt like a good start for taking care of herself today.

She rolled over with a groan, in an attempt to reach for JJ to see if he was awake.  Some mornings he would wake up before her and she’d find him laying there on his phone, but sometimes he would just peacefully lay there as he waited for her to wake up.

However, as she lazily slung her hand towards the other side of the bed, she only ended up hitting pillows.  And suddenly the easy morning started to turn upside down.

Don’t freak out, she told herself, even as she scurried out of bed.  

Don’t panic, it’s fine, he’s probably just watching tv in the living room.  

As she was about to run out of the room, she decided at the last second it was probably best to throw on a pair of shorts.  The large tee shirt she well fell just past all of her curves, but it would be embarrassing if she ran through the Chateau in front of Pope and Kiara in a worried panic without pants on.

Or maybe he’s making breakfast, like that one time he brought you breakfast in bed, that was really sweet.

None of the calming ideas that crossed her mind actually calmed her, as she searched through the living room, there was no sign of JJ.  The kitchen was empty, the bathroom door was hung ajar, and also empty.

There was a logical explanation for him not being here, deep down she knew that, but then why didn’t he leave a note? Or wake her to let her know he’d be leaving? Why would he leave without saying anything at all? Didn’t he know that this was her worst fear come to life, again?

Panic took over, and next thing she knew she couldn’t take in enough air as her throat closed up and her legs stopped working.  She stood in the living room for a solid minute, hands glued to her head, fists tugging on her hair tightly in a terrible attempt to ground herself to the moment and not spiral any further.

But her heavy breaths turned to sobs and she didn’t know she was crying until she felt the tears on her cheeks.

There’s a logical explanation, there’s a logical explanation, she repeated in her head like a mantra, hoping to god that she’d start believing it soon.

Slowly, she crouched down on the floor, because sometimes when she had panic attacks she got dizzy so it was better to sit down now.

Or maybe he went boating with Pope, they like to fish early in the morning, she thought.  Maybe they hit something, the marsh is always changing with the weather.  Maybe the boat capsized, maybe they drowned to their deaths-

No! Don’t think that!

The sobbing got worse as she assumed the worst, taking in gasping breaths of air, desperate to fill her lungs that felt like they were about to collapse.

Maybe they went into town to pick up breakfast.  Maye they got stopped by Kooks, or Barry, maybe they were murdered in cold blood-

The girl whimpered, trying to ward off the horrific images rolling through her mind, but as terrible as they were, she reminded herself that these weren’t unrealistic worries, that these things had happened before, and would happen again.

He promised me he wouldn’t get on a fucking boat, he promised me he’d start biking around the island, she told herself.  JJ wouldn’t break a promise to her, especially that one, but the anxiety inside of her was still whispering into her ear, telling her that all of her friends very well could have been gone forever.

Maybe he just left.  Maybe he got sick and tired of waiting around.  Maybe he was just being a nice guy the last two months.  Maybe he didn’t care anymore.  Maybe he didn’t miss John B or Sarah.  Maybe he finally fled for the mainland like he’s been talking about since he was a kid.  Maybe he’s with a girl.  Maybe he didn’t care about you anymore.

Her hands covered her face, wishing that she could just stop and focus on something else, calm her breathing.  She wanted to run out of the Chateau and go looking around the island, but she remained frozen on the floor.

“(y/n)?” A voice called, and she could faintly hear the screen door swinging open and then shut.  “Woah, hey, (y/n/n)”

Through blurry eyes, she could just barely make out Pope’s figure, kneeling in front of her.

Pope, Pope is here, she thought to herself, and it sort of helped relax her.  You’re not alone, Pope is here.

She shakily reached her hands out to him, grabbing onto his forearms and anchoring herself to him.

He’s real, he’s right here.  His hands are holding your elbows, he’s real.

“Breathe, (y/n), deep breaths, you can do it,” His initially stressed voice calmed when he realized that she was having a panic attack.  He’d seen her have them once or twice before, but it was always JJ who rushed in and helped her out of them.  “Copy my breathing, can you do that?” He asked.

She nodded her head, eyes meeting his as he took in a long and deep breath, held it for three seconds, and then slowly let it out.  He kept on repeating that action until her exhales weren’t shaky, and her body relaxed.

“There you go, you’ve got it, you’re alright…” He said smoothly.

His thumbs caressed over her arms gently, reminding her silently that he was there for her, that he cared about her.

“You want to talk about it?” He offered, and (y/n) shut her eyes tightly, willing the rest of her tears to dry up.

“I- I woke up and- and-”

When she began to stutter, Pope hushed her soothingly, and helped her through another breathing exercise.

“Okay, now try again,” He said softly, once her breaths evened out again.  “Slowly”

“I woke up,” She said, slowly, and then exhaled.  “And JJ wasn’t there- and then he wasn’t out here-”

When the rambling began again, she breathed in deeply again.

“It’s alright, he’s right outside,” Pope told her, relieved that the problem had an easy solution..  “You want to go out and see him?”

(y/n) nods back at him, and he helps her stand.

“Kie and I came over this morning, we brought donuts,” He said, hugging her into his side.  “We were just on the porch, Jay said you were asleep”

Pope opened the front door for her, as they went onto the porch, and her entire body relaxed as her eyes landed on JJ.

He was sitting on the beat up sofa that had been out there since forever, while Kiara was leaning against the citing of the house, a blunt between her fingers.

JJ smiled as (y/n) came out with Pope, tucked into his side the way a child clings to their mother at large events.

“Morning baby,” He calls to her, and pats the space next to him on the couch, before resting his arm over the back of the cushions.  

In no time she peels away from Pope and is sliding into the space under his arm, her side and her legs pressed up against him.  It feels like that first sip of coffee in the morning, and she forgets about the anxiety attack she’d had just moments ago.

He eyes the way she’s twirling the ring around her thumb, almost obsessively.  She hasn’t taken it off since he’d given it to her, and he doesn’t think she ever will.

“You hungry? Kie and Pope brought donuts” He offered, gesturing to the box on the decorative table Kiara was standing next to.

“Maybe in a little bit” She mumbled, her head falling against his shoulder as she let herself feel relieved.

Some days it was hard to feel content with being content.  But JJ was a huge help with that.  His presence alone was enough to calm her, that much was obvious.

He’s a little thrown off, but wraps his arm around her nonetheless.  His rings are a chill on her hot skin, but it’s somehow comforting.

Panic attack, Pope mouths when the blonde boy looks to him, silently asking what happened.

JJ nods discreetly, before glancing down at the girl under his arm.

“How are you feeling?” He asked softly.

Kiara and Pope pretended to argue over the last chocolate sprinkled donut, so that they had a little bit of privacy between them.

“Fine, now,” She whispers back.

Her fingers aimlessly play with the chain around his neck.

“I- I had a panic attack” She admits.

“What happened, sweetheart?” He asked as the tips of his fingers grazed up and down her arm.

She lifts her head to look at him properly, her fingers still twirling his necklace around her fingers.

“Um… you just… you weren't inside…”

It felt embarrassing to admit that something as simple as that had set her off.  When she was in the moment it was a lot more terrifying.  But JJ made sure she wasn’t ashamed of that feeling.

“Well, I’m right here,” He told her with a grin.  “You know you can’t get rid of me that easy” He added, hugging her tight against him and kissing the top of her head.

She always went pink when he did that, that’s why he did it more often than he used to.

“I know,” She mumbled back.  “I just… you know…”

She doesn’t know what she wants to say.  That she’s scared to lose him too? That he’s the only anchor she had left? The only remnants of family she had left? That she loved him more than words could describe?

Whatever she had planned on filling the blank with, JJ seemed to understand her perfectly.  He’d gotten really good at understanding what she was trying to say in between the words she was actually saying.

“I know, baby,” He says softly.

Her head falls back onto his shoulder.  Selfishly, she wished that she could sit here with him like this every day.  Maybe then she'll start to really feel better.

Meanwhile there’s a nagging feeling in JJ’s chest.  Worry, fear, something terrible that began to manifest.  An anxiousness that (y/n) won’t emotionally recover from the disappearance of their friends.

He knew grief took time, that learning to cope took time.  But she’d already had to face those things time and time again, what if this was it? What if this was the last straw, and she gave into them?

His arm around her tightened a little, and (y/n) hummed as she nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.  She placed a little kiss there before sighing.

“Thanks, Jay,” She mumbles.  “You always know just what I need”

He doesn’t say anything, just smiles and rubs her arm comfortingly.

Despite her words, he still worries on the inside. ___

[ i gotta move on, but it hurts to try ]

August 10th, 1:00 a.m (The Night Of The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

(y/n) and JJ had been stuck under police supervision for the last three and a half hours, sitting under the large tents, listening to the heavy rainfall while passing officers would offer their condolences.

It was all bullshit though, and it was starting to piss (y/n) off.

But finally they were allowed to go home, and were escorted to the Chateau.  Which is where they stood now.

(y/n) looked like she was glued to the floorboards of the porch, frozen in place like a statue.  The wind whipped at her hair and the rain still hit them even as they stood under the little roof over them.

“Come on, let’s go inside,” JJ said, reaching out to take her hand, but even as he tugs, she hardly moves.  “(y/n)-”

“I don’t want to,” She mumbles, eyes trained on the front door.

A part of her longed to see John B appear, open the door with a laugh and scold the pair for standing outside in the rain.  The harder she looks, the more she wishes to see him there.

“But I don’t have anywhere else to go” She whimpered, finally tearing her eyes away from the door to look at him.

JJ steps forward, his arm wrapping around her back as he slowly guides her inside.  Her feet shuffle along, but they barely lift off the ground, and she’s barely moving.  He’s just glad to get her inside and out of the rain.

“I just don’t want you to catch a cold, sweetheart” He told her, which was true, but he just needed to say anything to get her to come into the house.  He didn’t know what he’d do if she refused.

“I don’t care” She mumbled, but she was already standing at the inside of the doorway.

“Shoes off,” JJ told her, having already left his shoes at the door and was heading into the house.  “You know how JB feels about shoes in the house”

(y/n) nods, shakily, and starts to kick off her shoes

But now all she can think about is the first time she’d accidentally tracked mud into the house, and how funny it was when John B freaked out.  Thinking about it now, it was just sad.

When JJ came back in the room, she was crying again, silently, she might not have even been aware she was doing it.  She was untying the laces on her boots as tears spilled over her cheeks.

“Come on,” He spoke, and suddenly there was a towel wrapped around her shoulders.  “Let’s go get you cleaned up, okay?”

“No,” She mumbled.  “I just want to lay down”

Her hands gripped onto the fluffy towel almost violently, her knuckles were white, and her hands shook from the force.  JJ noticed.

“And you will, but you’ve got to shower first,” He said.  “Look at you, you’re soaked to the bone from the rain-”

“JJ-”

“No arguments, lets go” He replied, quiet and calm as ever.

She gave in, mostly because he didn’t have the energy to argue with him.  And then she was back to shuffling along with him to the bathroom.

She stood uselessly at the door while he turned the shower on for her.

“How hot do you want it?” He asked, one hand on the noz and the other under the stream of water

She shrugged, mumbled incoherently.

“You’ve got to speak up, honey” JJ said.

“I don’t care” She mumbled a little louder, wrapping her arms around herself.

“Yeah you do, I’ll put it on hot” He answered for her, and adjusted the nozzle accordingly.

But as he turned back, about to leave the room, she didn’t bother to move.  Her eyes were downcast, and her hands had released the towel only to wring her hands together.

“Hey, I’ll be in my room, you can-”

“Wait-”

She grabbed his wrist before he could leave the room, and her glossy eyes met his, her mouth opened but no words came out, so she closed it again.  He waited until she could find the right words.

“Please- please don’t leave me in here-”

Her breathing grew ragged and the tears started to fall from her eyelashes, and JJ nodded at her, silently confirming he'd stay so she would feel safe.

“Okay, okay, I’ll stay right here,” He told her, both of his hands wrapping around hers.  “I’ll wait right in here for you, alright?”

She nods, still a bit shaky, but she turns towards the shower and slowly works on taking off her clothes, so he thinks he’s doing the right thing.

In all honesty, he had no idea what the right thing to do was.  As he turned his back to her and stressfully ran his hands through her hair, he didn’t know what to say or do, what the right way to comfort someone was.

He knew that Kiara and Pope were at home with their families, probably hugging, telling each other they love each other, the kind of shit you see in movies.

But you didn’t see this part of the movie.  The part where the girl you love is going borderline catanoic as she stands in the shower, limbs heavy and heart shattered.

Was he supposed to talk to her? Offer what few comforting words he knew how to say? Was he supposed to tell her he was there for her, that he loved her and he would never leave her? Was that an overload of information?

“JJ?” (y/n) called from the other side of the shower curtain.

“I’m here” He said, sitting on the toilet seat so he’d be right next to her.

She peeled back the curtain, just enough to peek her head out, and then held her hand out to him.  A slight frown tugged on his lips, but he reached his hand out to hers anyways, softly clasping onto it, as though if he’d put any pressure into holding it, then she’d break like a porcelain doll.

She closed the curtain again and went about her shower.  It wasn’t a bother with only one hand, but JJ could still hear her soft whimpers from inside.

After ten minutes she turned off the water.

“Close your eyes” She directed, her voice was still a mumble, but without the noise of the water running JJ heard her clearly, and followed her order.

Her hand let go of his as she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself, but it was only briefly, as she was grabbing onto it again as soon as she was covered up.  She gave it a small squeeze to let him know that she was decent.

When he looked up at her, she was staring down at their hands, focused on the rings on his fingers.

The one on his thumb, she had given to him.  Not for a special occasion, she’d just found it in a shop and thought it would look fitting and cool on him.  

She was right.  

He never took it off.

There was another ring on his middle finger, that one was from John B.  He’d swiped it from a second hand shop because it had a neat but very faint engraving of a snake around it.  He’d originally stolen it for himself, but it hadn’t fit right, so he handed it off to JJ.

(y/n) ran the pad of her thumb over the engraving now.  The snake wasn’t very visible, but she could still feel it.

JJ squeezed her hand, drawing her eyes back to his.

She wasn’t whimpering anymore, but the tears hadn’t stopped.  She had to be exhausted.

“I’ve gotta take a shower baby,” He said softly.  “You want to go to bed?”

She shook her head, looking back at his rings.

“You want to wait in here?” He asked.

With a small nod from her, he stood up, pressing a quick and gentle kiss to the crown of her head before turning the water and going through the same routine again.

It took some time as he showered and (y/n) waited for him on the toilet.  When he’d finished and gotten out to find that she was still wrapped in her towel, he’d convinced her to let him help her change into pajamas.

When she’d finished, she wrapped her arms around his neck, stepping forward and hugging him gently, with little to no force at all.

“Alright, let’s get you to bed” JJ said, lifting her up with ease, one arm hooked under her legs and the other.

“You’ll stay, right?” She asks meekly as he brings her to his room.

“Of course” He hums back.

They get situated under the covers, and finally (y/n’s) tears seem to stop.  JJ doesn’t keep his hopes up, though.

He pulls her head to his chest, one arm wrapping around her back at his other hand takes a hold of hers.  For good measure, she hooks her leg over one of his, just to be sure she won’t roll away from him in her sleep.

“You won’t leave?” She murmurs.

The exhaustion and the misery that her body is facing is clear to him as she tilts her head back to look at him.

He gives her a small smile, before letting go of her hand, so that he can take the ring off of his middle finger.  He takes her hand again, and slides it over her thumb.  It’s a little loose, enough that she can twirl it around with ease.

“Now you can have a little bit of both of us with you,” JJ says to her.  “I’m not goin’ anywhere”

She doesn’t quite smile, but her expression relaxes as she looks at him, and he takes it as a good sign.

“I’ve got you, baby” He tells her softly as she settles against him, sleep finally starting to overcome her.

“I can’t lose you too” She tells him right before her body gives out. ___

[ how do i love? how do i trust again? ]

November 10th, 6:30 p.m (Precisely Three Months After The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

(y/n) had been sitting on the couch all afternoon, replaying the day’s events in her head like a flashback scene in a movie.

She’d woken up with JJ, they made breakfast and went on a walk, avoiding the beach.  They went to visit Kiara at The Wreck with Pope, and then went back to the Chateau to do some chores.

(y/n) liked to keep the place tidy and clean.  It gave her something to do, and deep down, she knew that if John B came home, he’d be happy to see everything was just how he left it.  If not a little more organized thanks to her.

And then they’d gotten the call from the Sheriff’s Department.

JJ came into the room, a glass of water in one hand and a bottle of advil in the other.

“Here” He said, handing them both to her.

“I don’t need it, my head doesn’t hurt” (y/n) replied quietly, barely even looking at him.

“Not now, but from the look on your face I can tell it’s going to soon.  Just take it now, please” JJ said, holding out the cup and bottle towards her again.

(y/n) gave in, knowing he was right, and there was no use in arguing with him because he’d only bother her until she just took the pill.

JJ sat down next to her as she swallowed down the medicine, along with a few more drinks of water.  She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was, and suddenly wondered how long she’d been sitting there.

“Where do you think they are?” JJ asked out of nowhere, and she turned to him.

“What?” She asked, voice barely above a mumble.

“John B and Sarah,” He said their names so easily, so casually her heart clenched.  

She almost never spoke their names.  And when she did, she was usually in a fit of tears.

“Where do you think they are?” JJ repeated his question.

(y/n’s) mouth opened, then closed.  And then open and closed again.  She didn’t understand what he was asking.

JJ could tell, and he sat back to stretch out on the soda, his legs kicking out as his back leaned against the arm rest.  (y/n) turned her body to look at him properly, but didn’t crawl into his arms like he’d expected.  She was too confused trying to comprehend what he was saying.

“I think they’re in Florida,” JJ thought aloud, realizing (y/n) wasn’t going to entertain the question.  “And I think they got married”

“Married?” She mumbled, blinking at him.  “You think they’re... alive?”

“Of course,” JJ said, as sincerely as he could.  “Don’t you?”

She doesn’t answer, but she doesn’t have to.

“There’s no way they aren’t.  John B’s a pretty tough guy, and Sarah’s the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.  More stubborn than you” He spoke with such ease, it threw (y/n) off.  

His knee knocked against her side, and he held his hand out to her, beckoning her to lay with him.

Warily, she leaned forward, crawling into the space between his legs, and then flipping over to rest back against his chest.  JJ’s arms wrapped around her middle naturally, and he continued to let his thoughts roam free.

“Do you think they’ve got some new treasure hunt going down there?” He whispered into her ear.

“Yes” (y/n) replied, finally giving in to the conspiracy.

“Yeah?” JJ asked, glad that was entertained by the idea, and hopefully comforted too.

“Yeah… I’ll bet… I’ll bet they’re tracking more gold… or… or jewels… or something”

JJ smiled at how hard she tried to let herself get used to the idea.  He knew how badly she wanted to move on, and how she felt stuck in the past.  This was a significant step forward, and he was more proud of her than he let on.  He just didn’t want her to think he pitied her.

“They’re probably filthy rich by now,” JJ told her.  “She’s probably turned him full Kook”

“In a good way,” (y/n) spoke, her smile shining through her words.  “He was so…”

“Whipped” JJ muttered.

“In love,” (y/n) corrected with a soft exhale.  “They only had a week together before they… left,” She said carefully.  “And I… I’ve known John B my whole life and he’d never looked at anyone the way he looked at Sarah”

From where her head laid on his chest, JJ couldn’t see well, but he just knew that she was smiling as she spoke, reminiscing in the good memories.

“So you think they got married when they got to Florida?” JJ asked, speaking it like it was a truth.

“Yeah, I think they just might have,” (y/n) said.  She thought for a moment, and then let out a small giggle.

He was surprised by the sound, especially when it erupted into more joyous laughter.

“You know,” She ponders aloud, “I think that when they got wherever they were headed, and realized they were safe and alive, he proposed to her right then”

“Yeah?” JJ asked, amused, and revelling in the sound of her laughter.  

He had missed the sound so much, he’d worried he’d never hear it again.  He closed his eyes as he listened to her soft giggles, and melted at the way her back slightly shook against his chest.

“Yeah,” (y/n) confirmed, and one of her hands reached for his that lied on her stomach.  “It probably wasn’t romantic at all.  He probably didn’t even get on one knee”

“You’re so right,” JJ laughed with her.  “He probably was just like ‘we should get married’ and Sarah was like ‘oh John B, i love you!’ And-”

(y/n) burst into laughter at JJ’s high pitched impression of Sarah.  It didn’t sound like her, it didn’t even sound like any girl, but it made her belly laugh, and she sat up slightly so she could turn to look at him.

“Why are you laughing at me? That was a spot on impression” He told her.

“No, it wasn’t,” (y/n) said, shaking her head as she looked down at him.

There were crinkles at her eyes and her lips were pulled into the widest smile he’d seen from her in months.

He had convinced himself that he wasn’t 100% sure what love felt like, but right now it felt like his heart might just burst because of it.

He hadn’t just missed her laugh.  He’d missed her.

“It’s almost like you have no idea what a woman sounds like- but Jay, you’ve been living with one for like three years now- what?” (y/n) had cut herself off from her teasing when she saw the way he was staring at her.

He looked sad, but he was smiling, so she didn’t know what to think.  Usually she could read him pretty well, but she’d never seen this look before.

“What?” She asked again.  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason, I just…”

JJ sits up, trying to find the right words as he instinctively grabs a hold of her.  She turns to face him again, her legs hooking behind him as she waits for him to continue.

“I’m just thinking” He finishes.

“Well that’s dangerous,” She replies, the banter coming as naturally as it used to.  She lets out a little snort of a laugh as she smiles at him.  “What about?”

JJ’s hands smooth around her hips, the way they did earlier when they’d gotten the call from Officer Thomas himself, but now it wasn’t to comfort, it was simply because he could.

“You ever think about what would have happened if we never went on that treasure hunt?” He asked, quietly, like he was trying not to upset her.

She goes still, but she doesn’t push him away, and she doesn’t choke up.

“All the time” She murmurs back.

Her voice comes out through a quiet exhale, and if he wasn’t so close, he might not have heard it.  But in the last three months his ears had been practically trained to hear her every breath, and catch on to every mumble.

“Really?” He asked, and she nodded, her bottom lip tucking in between her teeth as she looked back at him.

“Of course,” She quietly replied.  “How else do you think I keep sane during all the quiet moments?”

It’s a sweet thing to say, paired with a soft smile that JJ felt relieved to see.

“Well then what do you think we’d be doing right now?”

“Something stupid,” She answered right away, followed by a small laugh.  “Something sketchy.  That’s all we ever did”

“We fished too, fishing’s legal.  And surfing, that’s legal too”

“That’s fair,” (y/n) hummed.  “Kie and Sarah would’ve gotten along better,” She added.  “It would’ve been nice to have a girls day”

“I’ll have a girls day with you” JJ told her, making her laugh again.

“I know you would,” She said, setting her hands on his shoulders.  “But it’s not the same”

JJ shrugged.

“You can braid my hair and put makeup on me, what else do you do on a girls day?” He asked, and again, she giggled.

He hoped he could keep making her laugh.

“What do you think we’d be up to?” She asked once the laughter subsided and she was left staring into those baby blue eyes again.

“Macking”

The laughter bubbled back over, her hands swatting at his shoulders as she threw her head back.

“Well you don’t have to laugh that much,” JJ said, brows furrowed as he pouted.  “It’s true, we would be”

“Maybe,” (y/n) corrected.  “If you’d ever actually made a move, maybe”

“What do you mean ever actually made a move?” He asked, offended.  “I maed plenty of moves! Lots and lots of moves”

“Oh really?” (y/n) asked, quirking an eyebrow.  “I don’t think we’re remembering it the same way, because I only seem to remember you scaring other boys away from me...”

“Well, yeah, among other things,” JJ said, shrugging casually.  “Can’t have a bunch of lame Tourons crowding my girl”

She laughed at his idea of flirting, but she knew fully well that it had always worked.  JJ Maybank was charming in his own unique way, and even now it made her melt in his hands.

“So you’re saying that eventually you would have done something about it?”

“About it?”

“Yeah, you know, whatever was… between us,” (y/n) clarified, her finger twirling around the space between them.  “I have a hard time believing you would have asked me out”

“I would have!” JJ said, pretending to take offense at her accusation.  “Eventually”

“Mhm,” She hummed, and then shook her head.  “Well, we’ll never know now,” She sighed, dropping her hands to her lap as she started to fiddle.  “I think we skipped a couple steps”

“I think we skipped all the steps, sweetheart,” JJ chuckled, taking her hands so she would stop fidgeting.  “But that’s alright, I wouldn’t take it any other way.  You’d be the only one for me no matter what happens,”

Her face turns a rosy shade of pink, which brings JJ to kiss both of her cheeks with a proud grin.

“You wanna talk about it?” He asked.  “Have the what are we conversation”

Surprisingly, (y/n) shrugs and shakes her head.

“I mean, I don’t think we really have to, do you?” She asks softly.  “If there’s no one else for you, and no one else for me…” She trails off, her eyes flickering in between his.  “I think it’s pretty clear to me”

“Yeah,” JJ agrees, nodding his head.  “Pretty clear,” He repeats.  “I just hope you know what you’re getting into” He teases.

She giggles, wrapping her arms around his neck as she leaned in closer.

“I’ve lived with you for quite some time now, I think I know exactly what I’m getting into”

There’s a beat that passes between them, a quiet, contemplative beat.

But then (y/n’s) shaking her head, and she’s smiling at him so brightly that it’s contagious.

And then she leans over just a little bit, just enough to tenderly press her lips against his.

He’s quick to react, his hands reaching up to her face, pulling her impossibly closer to him.

She’s so slow and careful with her movements, and JJ thinks it might have been the softest kiss he’s ever been given.  Her lips are warm, inviting, and he begins to kick himself for not making a proper move on her back when everything wasn’t so heavy.

They pull away, their grins equally wide, and (y/n) leans her forehead into his, her eyes still shut.  JJ stares at her, awestruck, admiring every curve and freckle on her face.

His hands fall to her waist again, and he pulls her down onto the couch with him, allowing her to tuck herself in against his side as they lay comfortably.

They talk for a long time, theorizing on where they’d be now in another life, and what Sarah and John B are up to, wherever they are.  There’s a few tears that JJ has to wipe from the girl’s cheeks, but she’s smiling.

She has hope, for the first time in months, she’s filled with hope and love and deep down she truly believes things will get better.

Even if the day started with the Sheriff’s Department calling to let them know that John B and Sarah Cameron are officially and legally declared dead, since they’d been missing for three months.

It might get worse before it gets better.  But it was bound to get better. ___

[ i stay up all night, tell myself i’m alright // baby you’re just harder to see than most ]

February 19th, 2:45 p.m (Six Months After The Disappearance of John B Routledge and Sarah Cameron)

“I’m not sayin’ that I will key their cars,” JJ argues, “I’m just saying that I would!”

Pope and Kiara burst into fits of laughter, knowing full well that JJ would bust up Kook property at any given chance, even unprovoked.

(y/n) rolled her eyes from next to him, patting his arm gently.

“Sure, Jay, sure” She says, completely unconvinced.

Normally he’d continue to argue that he was just making a joke, but no one would believe him, and truth be told, he wouldn’t even believe himself.

They’d all gotten together today to hang out and eat lunch at The Wreck.  It was one of Kiara’s off days, so for once she actually got to sit at the table with her friends.  It was a nice afternoon, and definitely much needed quality time.

“You want more water?” (y/n) hummed, already picking up her and JJ’s empty glasses.

“Sure, thanks,” He answered with a charming smile while she got up.  “Oh, but wait” He called, reaching out for her arm before she could walk away.

“What?”

He tugged on her arm so she would bend over and he could swiftly kiss her cheek.  She giggled, swatting gently at his bicep, but nonetheless she blushed as she headed off to the counter.

Kiara and Pope each made their faces at JJ.  Winks, wiggling eyebrows, wide eyes, smirks, they couldn’t help it.

“Shut up, both of you” JJ chuckled before they could even say anything.

“We didn’t say anything” Pope grumbled.

“It’s just about time, that’s all,” Kiara said, putting her hands up in surrender.  “You two have been dancing that dance for years”

JJ didn’t say anything, just smiled as he poked around his plate of fries.

“Look at him, he’s so in love with her” Kiara cooed.

But Pope wasn’t looking at him at all, he’d turned in his seat when he’d caught sight of Rafe Cameron eyeing (y/n).  He’d known it wasn’t a good sign.

“Pope,” Kiara called, trying to get his attention, but realized his gaze was focused elsewhere.  “What are you…” She trailed off, turning to follow his line of sight.

She only groaned at the sight of Rafe, before turning back to their own table.  Kooks came to The Wreck on occasion, but not usually Kooks like Rafe Cameron and Topper Thornton, who were in a booth across the restaurant.

“What’s he doing?” Pope mumbled, now watching Rafe get up from his booth, and make his way to the counter, where (y/n) was chatting with one of the servers.

JJ started to get up, but Pope was quick to put a hand up.

“Wait, doesn’t start anything,” He warned, and for some reason, JJ listened to him.  “(y/n) was friends with Sarah”

“That guy’s a fucking prick- and a murderer-” JJ started to argue, but Pope hushed him, telling him to keep his voice down.

“Just wait a minute before you swoop in there and make a scene,” Pope said.  “He’s Sarah’s brother, Sarah was a good person”

JJ muttered a string of profanities, but sat back down in his seat.  He didn’t take his eyes away from the counter though.

“(y/n) (y/l/n),” Rafe called, letting out a low whistle that made JJ bristle.  “Long time no see”

(y/n) barely looked at him before shooting her gaze down to the cups of water.  JJ can tell that she’s playing with the ring on her thumb.

“Yeah, I haven’t really been… around” She’d answered.

“Why doesn’t he just say his piece and leave” JJ muttered, both of his hands in his lap, curling into tight fists.

“That’s too bad” Rafe responded.

(y/n) wasn’t giving him any of her attention, so JJ knew he shouldn’t be so upset right now.  But he didn’t trust Rafe for as far as he could throw him, and he definitely didn’t trust him around (y/n).

“She can hold her own” Pope reminded him, knowing that JJ was starting to see red.

Yeah, but he’s a creep, he thought to himself.

“I’m sorry about Sarah,”

(y/n) spoke suddenly, soft and sweet, displaying nothing but kindness to a boy she knew wouldn’t know what kindness felt like if someone handed it right to him.

“I didn’t get to know her as well as I would have liked, but… I did like her a lot.  She was definitely a special-”

Rafe cut her off before she could say anything more.

“Well, you move on fast, don’t you?” He snarled.

(y/n) blinked, eyes going wide at the rude comment, even if she didn’t understand it.

“What-?”

“Your Pogue boyfriend’s only dead for a few months and you’ve already latched onto another, huh?” He asked, gesturing towards JJ.

(y/n’s) eyes wandered over to her boyfriend, who had just stood up from his seat with such force it fell backwards, and was now making his way over.

Please don’t get in a fight, she begged silently.  Please don’t make a scene, this isn’t worth the attention of the whole restaurant.

“Rafe, you’ve got it all wrong,” She told him quietly, trying to diffuse the situation herself.  “John B wasn’t my boyfriend, we grew up together, he was a brother to me-”

“You’re disgusting,” Rafe spat at her.  “If it wasn’t for your Pogue friends and your Pogue slut self, Sarah wouldn’t be dead right now!”

It felt like (y/n’s) heart stopped at the cruel accusation, and for a moment, she thought she might burst into tears in front of him.

“She’s not dead” She mumbled, her throat going tight.

JJ was at her side in a second, his arm winding around her hips and pulling her into him, about to drag her away without a word to Rafe.  He knew she didn’t want him to act out, and as hard as it was, he didn’t want to let her down.

He prompted her to follow him back to the table, forgetting about the water on the counter, he just wanted to get her out of this restaurant as fast as possible

“She is dead, they’re both dead because of you!” Rafe called after her, desperate to get the last word in.

“Why don’t you shut the fuck up?” JJ hollered back, throwing the Kook a threatening look over his shoulder.

“That’s fine sweetheart!” Rafe shouted, and (y/n) tried her best to block him out.  “Let your shiny new toy fight your fights for you! Just like John B did.  Do all the Pogues you fuck become your guard dog?”

That was it.

Any chance of her crying went out the window and next thing she knew, she was ripping herself out of JJ’s hold and lunging towards Rafe, swinging without any aim, but enough force that when she hit the Kook in the nose, she could feel the crunch of cartilage against her knuckles, and blood splattered onto the counter.

“You bitch-!”

Rafe barely had a chance to fight back before JJ was grabbing (y/n) by the waist, lifting her up and physically carrying her out of The Wreck.  Pope and Kiara hastily followed them out, laughing joyously.

“Are you crazy?” JJ asked, only setting her down once they were down the street, and they were certain that a group of Kooks wouldn’t follow after them to finish what (y/n) had started.

She was still scowling, and rubbing at her jaw where Rafe had just barely nicked her with his knuckles.

“Fuck,” JJ grinned at her, taking her by surprise.  “You are crazy”

“You’re not mad?” She asked, and all three of her friends laughed.

“Mad? Of course not, you just broke Rafe Cameron’s nose, baby!” JJ cheered, cupping her face in his hands and pressing a quick kiss to her lips, and then her nose, and then her cheek.  “That’s my girl!”

The whooping and hollering of her boyfriend, echoed by Pope and Kie, made her blush red and butterflies erupt in her chest.  Breaking a Kook’s nose was a strange thing to feel bashful about, but the attention made her shy.

“Come on, let’s get home and ice that before it bruises” JJ said, nodding to her jaw.

As they made their way to the Chateau, their hands latched and swinging between them, JJ continued to gush over how badass and amazing she was, no matter how much she laughed it off and begged him to stop making her blush. ___

[ every night i’m dancing with your ghost ]

February 19th, 3:15 p.m

“You’re lucky I pulled you outta there before he landed a whole punch,” JJ told (y/n) as he pressed a bag of frozen peas against her jaw.  “This coulda hurt a lot worse, why didn’t you duck babe?”

(y/n) let out a huff, swinging her legs from where she sat on the kitchen counter.  JJ was standing between them, coddling her much more than necessary.

“I dunno, I’m not some pro fighter like you” She retorted, and hissed when he pressed a little too hard against the sensitive skin.

“I know that was supposed to be sarcastic, but I’m gonna take it as a compliment anyways,” JJ retorted, earning a good natured eye roll from the girl.  “You know I’m proud of you, right?”

“I know,” She giggled back.  “You haven’t shut up about it”

“Can’t help it, it was fuckin’ awesome,” JJ gushed again.  “It was so hot, the most perfect punch, I wish I coulda taken a picture of the look on Rafe’s face, priceless.  You’re such a badass, I fucking love you”

He didn’t seem to catch what he’d said, but (y/n) did.  

Her eyes blew wide, and her lips parted momentarily, at a loss for words.  And since she didn’t know what to say, she decided the next best thing was to lean forward and capture his lips in a passionate kiss.

The kiss took JJ by surprise at first, but then the realization of what he’d said hit him, and he pulled away from her abruptly.

“Oh my god, I didn’t mean- well I did, but I-”

“JJ,” (y/n) giggled as he rambled, her hands laying across his cheeks.  “It’s okay, I-”

They were cut off by the phone ringing, which was odd, because it wasn’t their cellphone’s ringtone.  It took a second to even realize that the Chateau had a landline.

“What the fuck?” (y/n) pushed the bag of peas JJ was still holding away from her face, and hopped off the counter.  “Who even has this number? Oh my god, do you think it’s Thomas again?”

(y/n’s) heart began to race as she darted out of the kitchen towards the phone hanging on the wall.

“(y/n/n)- do you want me to take it?” JJ asked, worried that she’d freak herself out too much to actually answer the phone.

But she’d already unhooked the phone from the wall.

“Routledge Residence, (y/n) speaking”

There was a chuckle on the other side of the line, followed by a teasing, “I just knew that you weren’t gonna move out”

JJ couldn’t hear what the caller had said, but from the look on (y/n’s) face, he knew it couldn’t have been a telemarketer.

She dropped to her knees, the cord on the phone uncoiling completely as it stretched all the way down.  A choked sound between a sob and a gasp escaped her, and in a second, JJ was kneeling in front of her, jumping right into panic attack mode.

“(y/n/n), what is it? Who is it?”

“JJ there too? How are you guys-”

“John B?” (y/n) mumbled, voice shaky, scared that this was some practical joke at her expense.

JJ’s eyes went wide, and she finally looked up at him, his jaw slack.

“The one and only,” He laughed again.  “Guess I’m lucky you were at the house, I don’t remember any other phone numbers”

“I can’t believe it- are you okay? Is Sarah okay? Holy shit, John-”

“We’re okay, we’re both okay,” He chuckled, cutting her off.  “You’re not gonna believe this… but… we’ve got it”

“You’ve got it?” She repeated, confused.

“The gold, (y/n), we’ve got the gold”

“No shit-”

“Sarah says hi by the way,” He added.  “We’ll be back as soon as we can with it, okay? I don’t know when, but we’re working on it”

“What’s he saying?” JJ asked, but (y/n’s) brain was in a clusterfuck of information.

“I miss you- well all miss you- we miss you so much” She stammered out.

“We miss you too, (y/n)!” Sarah called, sounding distant through the speaker.

“We miss you a lot,” John B added,  “I’m sorry we didn’t call earlier, we just had to be sure there way it could get tracked-”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, I forgive you,” (y/n) said through a watery laugh.  “Just- just be safe, and get back as soon as you can, okay?”

“We will, promise,” John B replied.  “And I’ll try to call more too, okay? Look we’re… we’re working it all out right now”

“Okay, good,” (y/n) sighed, and wiped her teary cheeks with the back of her hand.  “I can’t wait to see you both”

“And when you do, we’ll be millions of dollars richer,” He told her.  “Look, we have to get going, Sarah has work.  The Kook Princess has a job here!” He told her with a laugh.  “I’ll call you when I can, alright?”

“Alright,” She agreed.  “Okay, call soon”

“Stay safe, (y/n/n), talk to you soon”

“Bye, John B”

He hung up, leaving the phone to ring a low dull sound, and (y/n) and JJ to stare at each other in amazement.

“They have the gold” (y/n) mumbled out.

“For real?”

“For real,” She nods back at him.  “They’re working on a plan to come home-”

Before she can finish, he tackles her to the ground, hugging her tight, and just letting the phone hang by it’s cord.  They’re laughing, she’s crying, and they can’t remember the last time they’ve felt joy like this before.

(y/n) sits up slightly, enough to wrap her arms around him and kiss him chastely.

“They’re in the Bahamas, and Sarah has a job, and- and they’re gonna come home” She rambled on as tears streamed down her face faster than JJ could wipe them away.

He’s grinning at her, kissing her whole face, everywhere he could.

She starts to giggle from the kisses, her shoulders raising from the ticklish feeling.

“JJ- JJ!” She cried out, having to grab him by his shoulders to get him to chill out.  “We have to go tell Pope and Kie!” “Okay, come on, let’s get going, I’ll drive you there now” JJ said, pulling her up to her feet, but before racing for the door, he wrapped his arms around her and spun her around in the air.

“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it!” (y/n) cried out, giggling when he finally set her back down, and grabbed her hand before dashing for the front door.  “We’re going out tonight, baby!” She was so ecstatic, her body was practically vibrating.

He laughed, grabbing the keys to his dirtbike from the counter.

“Wait wait wait, JJ!” (y/n) called, her grip tightening on his hand as she pulled him back towards her.

“What? What is it?” He asked in a hurry, his eyes wild as he looked back at her.

She just grinned at him, before pulling him in closer, and leaning up on the tips of her toes so she could kiss him.

She could feel his tenseness fade away, and when she smiled it broke their kiss.

“I love you too,” She told him, her smile brightening before she reached up and stole another kiss.  “And I’m glad you’re here with me, always”

“Well, we do live together, sweetheart,” He teased.  “But you know I’d never go anywhere else”

“I know,” She hummed, and leaned in to kiss him one more time.  “You ready to go?”

“Yeah, quit trying to distract me!”

(y/n) laughed as she followed him out the door, an overwhelming amount of delight flooding through her as she got on the back of JJ’s bike, rehearsing in her head what she wanted to say to their friends, and how impatient she was to see John B again.

___

xoxo ~ jordie

[ghirahimbo]

"2. Suddenly pulling them in for a dance." - Ghiralink, perhaps? (Sorry incase that's not really your thing anymore! Feel free to pick another ship <3)

Yeah… yeah, that’s still my thing T-T lol, thanks for the prompt! This one was fun 😊

Post-canon, vague master/sword AU, ghiralink-ish

—

The spirit maiden danced with a grace befitting her divine origins, little though Ghirahim liked to admit it. Moving so lightly through the lively steps that her feet might have been floating, he could almost believe that she still bore Hylia's feathered wings on her back, tucked somewhere outside of physical sight. Link danced like a log in comparison—though on second appraisal, Ghirahim had to give him more credit than that. The boy wasn't stomping on Zelda’s toes, after all, unlike Fledge dancing nearby with poor Karane. Link's style consisted of accuracy without artistry, though with enough enthusiasm to almost make up for it. How odd that all his light-footedness seemed reserved for the more violent dance of swords, where he moved nimbly enough to keep even Ghirahim on his toes… a nod to his true calling, perhaps?

Privately savoring the notion, Ghirahim lounged against the wall of a newly erected building, only half noticing the wary looks he received as he watched the festivities unfold. These Skyloftians-turned-surface dwellers still feared him, despite the months he had served already as their hero's sword—a primal fear, perhaps, unless that fool Groose had secretly run off at the mouth. Link and Zelda had agreed from the start that certain aspects of Ghirahim’s past were best kept hidden, his previous master and role in Zelda’s disappearance highest among them. He had certainly not done anything overtly threatening to the residents of this tiny, budding village—and yet, they feared him.

The whole situation fell well beneath his notice, though he’d caught Link frowning over it more than once. Link was frowning at him now, Ghirahim realized, directing it over Zelda’s shoulder as they turned in sync, and he met it with a scornful expression of his own. What had Link expected him to do here tonight? Mingle?

The music finally paused as the lively song wound to its end, prompting the dancing couples to bow and switch partners (in Karane’s case with remarkable alacrity). Link leaned in towards Zelda, whispering something in her ear before vanishing into the milling throng, and Ghirahim half raised an eyebrow. Likely he'd just gone for more food, though Link might have finally tired of this tedious celebration. Compared to the more demonic gatherings Ghirahim knew, this less raucous human affair contained a disappointing (if expected) lack of bloodshed—though of course, those had often erupted haphazardly in the throes of battles won. Not like this one, which commemorated nothing more than the laboriously slow growth of food and its eventual harvest.

Another song started up, slower than the last but no less cheerful. Fledge had moved on to his next victim, some girl in a bandana and horrifically flared pants whose name Ghirahim had never bothered to learn. Zelda had produced a harp, wandering to join the musicians with plucked out harmonies that flowed from her fingers with ease, and Link…

Ghirahim frowned when Link’s bobbing green hat still had not emerged among the dancers. The food tables remained conspicuously absent of green, as well. If Link thought he could escape on his own while leaving Ghirahim here waiting—

A hand grabbed his arm, pulling him from his perch by the wall, and if he hadn’t had that hand memorized from the hundreds of times it had gripped his hilt, Ghirahim might have expressed his surprise in regrettably drastic fashion. Instead he let it pull him through the crowd until they reached their apparent destination, and it slid down his arm to grasp his own blackened hand, while another reached up to rest lightly on his shoulder.

Ghirahim blinked. Link smiled blandly up at him.

"Care to dance?" he asked, a bit too late for etiquette's sake considering that the dance had already started. Link's cheeks shone pink from the exertion of tromping around with Zelda, and his messy hair, mercifully absent the hat that always covered it, felt deceitful in how easily it had disguised his presence. Sweat clung to the base of those dark blonde locks—the reason for the hat's removal?

Ghirahim's legs moved automatically through the simple steps as he considered his young master, who made a brave attempt at leading with that unfortunate portion of his usual grace.

"Presumptive of you," he murmured, just loud enough to be heard over the din of laughter and music. "Any particular motive for such impertinence?"

Link had the nerve to look confused.

"You like to dance," he said, as if that was answer enough. Perhaps it was. Link wore his cheerful naiveté like a cloak sometimes, and even Ghirahim couldn't always sort out how much of it was real, and how much artifice. "Someone had to ask you?"

The hint of a question?

A number of potential reactions ran through Ghirahim's mind, considered and discarded in quick succession. He could extract himself easily enough, leaving Link clutching nothing but vanishing diamonds. He could also stand stubbornly still, refuse to dance, and let Link discover just how easily he could drag around a sword that didn't want to move. He could reject Link quietly—dramatically—at knifepoint, even—but…

A quick glance around revealed their audience. Though most had the sense not to stare openly, nearly every couple surrounding them shared the same nervous, almost scandalized smile, as if they feared the consequence of making their amusement too obvious. The spirit maiden in particular watched him closely, keeping a pointed eye on him over her harp though her lips shared the same bland smile as Link.

There would be no consequence, of course—Ghirahim wouldn't risk this precarious arrangement with Link simply to save face in front of some humans—yet neither could he let anyone think him scared off by something as innocuous as an invitation to dance. The steps themselves were straightforward enough, easily gleaned through his brief time spent observing… and as Link had pointed out, he did enjoy it.

His lips curved into a grin.

"I accept your request," Ghirahim said, and the moment Link started to relax, added, "but I will not be led."

Link's eyes barely had the chance to widen before Ghirahim spun him around, reversing the position of their hands.

Backpedaling to match Ghirahim's smooth advance, Link's startled face swiveled between watching Ghirahim and his own two feet in a desperate attempt to avoid being trampled. Lack of practice in this secondary role made him even less sure of his steps than before, though Ghirahim managed to steer them without incident through the greater pattern of dancing couples, humming in amusement as Link fought with surprise against an unexpected dip backwards.

"Come now, Link, have I ever allowed you to wield me with so little poise?" he hissed, the tip of his tongue whipping out mockingly as he raised Link back up. "If you favor only my sword with your attempts at finesse, I will begin to be jealous of myself."

Face red now from more than mere exertion, Link opened his mouth as if to protest—and closed it again, his lips forming a thin line of determination. An abrupt change swept over him, as drastic as if a switch had been pressed, and his stance shifted along with his center of gravity. Back straight with just a hint of fluidity, eyes blazing with the same defiance that had caught Ghirahim’s interest from the very start, Link danced, the superior reflexes he showed in battle at last made manifest.

Ghirahim's own eyes glowed. So Link had finally remembered that he held a sword.

"You've been holding out on me," he whispered, uncertain if Link could hear him or not. Experimentally, he directed Link with a light hint of pressure through a gliding spin, and found him as responsive an opponent as ever. "I should punish you for that."

Except that Link had held out on the spirit maiden first, and only for Ghirahim revealed his true potential. There was a pattern to that, he decided, glancing once more at Zelda and relishing in her look of surprise. Her chosen hero could never have defeated Demise without trying himself again and again on Ghirahim's sword first, and he hoped at times that his necessity haunted her.

The music picked up in pace and volume, the steps coming quick and intense. Link said nothing—he never did in the midst of battle, as silent as stone and just as unyielding—but perspiration broke out in beads along his face, trailing down the edge of his jaw. His hair swept and stuck in strange patterns across his forehead, disheveled but not wholly unappealing. Link might still have lacked a certain flair to his movements, too direct and to the point for Ghirahim's taste… but style could be taught. Idly, Ghirahim considered other dances he might teach this man if he was amenable, of perhaps less wholesome origins—dances whose quick, subtle movements pushed the bounds of even his own abilities, requiring strength in muscles Link likely didn't know existed. What was a dance without challenge, after all… without something a little more physical?

For now they moved through this tamer dance of Hylia's people, both withdrawing and rejoining as the pattern of steps demanded. The outer world fell away as their attention narrowed in on small details—the clash of eyes and brush of skin—blue on black and flushed tan on cool, steely gray—

And the music ended in a moment of silence that rang out unexpectedly. Laughing chatter burst to life, as abrupt as it was unwelcome, and the spell between them broke. Panting, looking slightly dazed, Link gave Ghirahim a bow that he returned with almost his usual smoothness, convincing himself that he had not been nearly so affected.

"Satisfied?" he asked softly, with the hint of a smirk—and was taken aback by the positively sly look Link gave him in response.

“Well…”

Brushing his hands together and placing them on his hips, Link gave a show of looking around meaningfully, and only then did Ghirahim realize how the tenor of the voices surrounding them had changed. Those glances sent his way felt more curious now than wary, and the bubble of instinctive fear surrounding him had all but vanished—his presence made human in their eyes at last by his part in the harvest dance.

"It's a start," Link decided, wiping sweat from his brow and settling his pointed green hat at a jaunty angle on his head. "I’m done dancing for the night, but you keep going if you want. You looked like you were having fun.”

With a wink, he turned to leave, and Ghirahim couldn't help but admire his exit. Link really was as conniving as any demon he’d ever met at times, though to completely different ends.

A nervous cough caught his attention, and he glanced down to see Fledge looking up at him anxiously. From the flurry of motion around them, it was time to switch partners for the next dance.

“U-um,” he managed to squeak out. His face, torn between pale white and deep red, had settled on both in splotches. “Everyone else is, so do you… I mean, are we supposed t-to…?”

Ghirahim snapped, leaving Fledge gaping at vanishing diamonds, and as he left caught the edges of Link's laughter. Conniving indeed, he thought, though at least in that as in so much else they were equally matched.

[tarosin]

the great adventures of y/n tommy wilbur and george - the water olympics

requested:yes/no

part 9 to the great adventures series

warnings: cursing, a suicide joke (the one george made in the vlog)

you were currently sat in your bedroom editing a video for your youtube channel however someone had different plans as you heard your parents talking to someone telling them you were in your room and that they could go straight up

“Y/N ITS ME CAN I COME IN”

you laughed before getting up placing your laptop on your desk before opening your door letting your friend inside.

“what is it with people randomly showing up where I live”

“ill have you know I asked your parents”

“Pfft yeah okay Tommy sure you did. anyway I’m glad you’re here editing was beginning to make me want to throw my laptop”

“you are honestly so dramatic pass us your laptop I’ll edit for you if you let me stay the night as it’s about to rain”

“you brought a backpack with you...you clearly planned on staying the night anyway but yes it’s a deal”

Tommy laughed before sitting on your bed waiting for you to bring the laptop over and sit next to him keeping him entertained as he edits for you. it was around late afternoon when he finished editing the video and you spent the entire time telling him about your merch plans and getting the sizes and items he’s going to want as you were planning on sending him some when you’ve agreed on a final design and products

“all done I want full credit for editing”

“hey I edited like a whole 3 minutes of the video..fine fine just stop staring at me like that”

the two of you realised it was a little late and neither of you wanted to cook anything so decided to go to a local restaurant. a few hours later you arrived back home it was pretty late now so your parents had gone to bed so you had to keep reminding each other not to yell, once in your room the pair of you collapsed onto your bed, you rolled over to face Tommy

“So why are you actually here huh, what’s going on in that mind of yours”

“I know it’s short notice but tomorrow afternoon would you like to go to this inflatable water course with me will and George”

“I don’t have anything else to do so I’d be more than happy to come with you guys what time do we need to be awake, we may as well set an alarm now in case we fall asleep as I tend to sleep in really late”

“I’ve got it don’t worry about it”

Tommy set an alarm as you logged into Disney plus so you and Tommy could watch tv for a while before deciding on sleeping arrangements, you put on the good dinosaur and instantly regret that decision as you began ranting to Tommy about how the films depressing. soon enough the pair of you fell asleep.

at 9 am Tommy's alarm went off waking the pair of you up

“y/n get up we’re going to a lake”

“Okay okay I’m up”

Tommy went to the bathroom to get ready so you could get ready in your room a few minutes later you both made your way downstairs grabbing a snack you could eat whilst you waited for your taxi to arrive. the pair of you arrived at the lake first, George arrived next and that’s when you noticed Wilbur show up and George beginning to record what’s happening

“Tommy is he wearing a suit?” you tilted your head to the left as Wilbur stepped out of the car

“it worked George”

“Why are you wearing a suit?”

“for the meal”

“we’re not doing the restaurant”

your eyes widened and you tried to hide your laughter as Tommy said he couldn’t change as he only hired three wetsuits, you all made your way to get your wetsuits, Wilbur reluctantly following you all as soon as you all stepped in several people began to stare at you all

“they’re staring at me because I’m wearing a suit”

George laughed before telling him it could also be because your hair was awfully similar to a highlight. you lightly hit his shoulder before rolling your eyes

“rude”

you laughed as you went away to get changed returning a few moments later

“I’m ready boys oh they gave will a life jacket”

“Why do you sound so disappointed”

“you not a fan of drowning then?”

“no, I’m not!”

Tommy grabbed your hand and ran towards the water before jumping in taking you down with him

“TOMMY I HATE YOU”

“HELP ME”

“NO SUFFER”

soon enough will and George made it onto the inflatable, Tommy tried to film his intro however the fact you and George were jumping in the background made it rather difficult. Tommy ran to Wilbur who pushed him into the water

“HA GET FUCKED”

you made your way across but saw Tommy in the water making you laugh which made you fall in the water too

“well hello again y/n”

“Hello Tommy funny seeing you here”

George managed to help you up whilst Wilbur pretended to help Tommy up before walking away. Tommy just held onto the inflatable whilst looking at you

“fine”

you reached your hand out and helped him back up onto the inflatable.

you made your way across the bridge Wilbur not far behind you so he could push Tommy off of the bridge into the water, he did but fell with him, you fell over laughing as George went to help Wilbur but ended up falling in himself. you George and Tommy ran to a high point of the course which will wanted you all successfully defended it and even managed to push will into the water. you and George weren’t the best at this course you had fallen three times and George fell twice

“look at them both”

Tommy turned around to see you and George in the water again as the pair of you fell once back on the inflatable you both made your way back to the others however George slipped and grabbed your arm trying to stay up ultimately dragging you down with him

“When is it my turn to be happy”

you all made your way to the canopy without falling, well that was until Tommy decided to lean on it causing it to fall into the water taking Tommy with it

“bye tom”

“he’s stuck save him”

“Nah this is funny”

Wilbur ended up helping him by making it so he could actually climb onto the inflatable

“you’re embarrassing us in front of the lifeguards”

you made your way across the course this time you didn’t fall as much as you did earlier on in the day, Wilbur went to push Tommy into the water again however this time you and George decided to get payback and attempted to side tackle him so he fell into the water

“bye will”

will finally got back onto the inflatable and pulled you aside

“We should form an alliance...I wouldn’t leave you behind”

“deal”

“When I say meet you there you start running the course I'll make sure you don’t fall”

“understood let’s do this”

you got ready to go as will told Tommy and George that the truces weren’t working and there was only one way to settle it

“meet you there”

you started running across the course you were doing surprisingly well, Wilbur only had to prevent you from falling once and that was because you lost balance over one obstacle

“I've got you! keep going”

eventually, you both turned around to see that Tommy and George finally set off and were making their way to you both

“we’re team weak..strong every day of the week”

you managed to contain your laughter as George fell as soon as Tommy said that

“we’ll be team pussy”

soon enough they caught up you and will went to push Tommy into the water however George snuck up behind you both and pushed you into the water

“ah yes water my good friend we meet again”

will helped you up first then you helped him up will noticed George fell and went to push him in the water whilst you made your way to Tommy

“I call this the leg turrent”

“you plan on doing this forever heh?”

you helped George back up whilst Wilbur tackled Tommy further down the course

“oh Tommy is still on the floor”

“what have you done to him”

you made your way to Tommy with George only to hear Tommy yell about the art of deception followed by a splash and Tommy's laughter. George got up to go get the drinks but fell again then stood up slowly turning to face you all

“that was called comedy.. I'll go get the drinks kills myself”

“the hydration is good”

“ah thanks, George you see I’ve personally been spending the majority of my time in the water”

Tommy ran over to you all then fell into the water making you all laugh followed by Wilbur telling him to complete the line about how many people are and are not subscribed to his vlog channel

“When did George fall into the water”

“How are you guys feeling for a race”

“I’m down”

“right you and George are going to run that way around, y/n and I will run this way and we’ll meet at the nub we fought for”

“winner gets to launch the other of that big floppy thing”

“GO”

Tommy and George ran off before you two however you and will made it to the nub before the others, mainly because neither of you fell and worked together.

“come across Tommy we will let you have the win if you make it across that”

Tommy ran at the bridge however he fell three quarters over the bridge

“oh fucking hell”

“he tried”

you and will helped Tommy up however George ran over

“George you’re ruining the moment” Wilbur pushed him over the edge into the water

“bye again George”

“let’s go back to the nub”

“I think me and y/n technically won”

“friends?”

“friends”

Tommy decided to shake hands with will and made you go over to him so he could give you a hug you stood with will filming Tommy for the outro you waved bye to Tommy as he fell a rather long distance into the water, once will stopped recording he pushed you into the water from the same height

“WILL I'M GOING TO KILL YOU”

once you all dried off and got ready you and Tommy made your way back to yours as it was late you agreed Tommy may as well stay the night again, the pair of you spent the night playing games together and arguing about who won the game you missed spending time with just Tommy and he missed spending time with you so you were both incredibly thankful he decided to come over to yours a few days earlier than expected.

taglist:

@l0ver0fj0y @etheriaaly @xx-smiley-xx @hawarun @kylobensgirl @cawcaw-pretty-thing @reverse-iak @renleicrashed @c1loudee

[fanfic-chan]

hi friend !! could i please request a fic of lee hinata and ler nishinoya where nishinoya's just being playful with hinata (maybe like he's lightly teasing hinata about being a star player but complimenting him on a game well won at the same time, you know how he is lol)

Ahhhhh this prompt was so so fun! I'm really glad it got to be my first Haikyuu fic because I really love how it turned out! I did end up having Tanaka help out a bit towards the end, but Noya is definitely the main ler for sure! I hope that's ok!^^`

A Mischievous Senpai

Ler: Noya

Lee: Hinata

"Come on Hinataaa~!  What are you running for? I'm not going to do anything~!"

"Yes you are! Stay away from me!"

"Sorry, not gonna happen buddy! You might as well give up now! I'm gonna getcha eventually you know, and when I do-"

"No you won't! I'm way faster than you! You'll never take me alive!"

The two shortest crows of Karasuno had been going back and forth in this way ever since the busride back from one of their practice matches against Nekoma, which they had won.

Kageyama had seemed far more wiped out after the game than usual and had pretty much crashed the second he'd sat down. Hinata, however, was still going strong with victory adrenaline, and in an effort to reduce the chances of him waking up their first year setter and making him angry, Suga had quietly pulled Noya aside and asked if he could sit with their kohai on the way back in order to avoid any kind of conflict. After all, the two boys shared such similar energy levels that Suga was secretly hoping that maybe, just maybe, they would end up wearing eachother out so much that by the time they got to the facility they were staying in for the night, they would be so exhausted they would both crash like toddlers.

That did not happen.

In fact, the two of them had only seemed to have energized eachother even more since then, especially after Noya's little 'discovery'.

It had all started when their libero had been complimenting the first year on how well he'd played that night, going on and on about his jumping and his spiking, even going so far as to poke him in the side for emphasis when his kohai had started to get bashful. This had led the younger player to yelp in surprise and giggle involuntarily before he could stop himself. The instant Noya had realized what was happening, his eyes had immediately lit up in excitement.

He would have taken full advantage of this new information right away too if not for the fact that they had arrived at their destination, and Hinata had instantly made a run for it, somehow even managing to be the very first person off the bus despite the fact that they'd been sitting near the back. 

Noya, being the persistent type of person that he was, had decided to bide his time and wait until he could corner his underclassmen again, knowing full and well that there was no way he'd be able to capture the little speed demon if he had room to run.

The opportunity he was waiting for arrived later when the first years came into the room where they had their futons laid out, having finished bathing and getting ready for bed. Hinata, for his part, seemed to have completely forgotten about the situation on the bus, but Noya had been waiting for him, and by the time the redhead noticed the libero, hands formed into claws and a devious look in his eyes, it was already far to late. Tanaka was already teaming up with Noya by blocking the door and there were no third years in sight to save him from his fate. So he did the only thing he could think of and did his best to outrun his senpai in the limited space he had, trampling over futons and dodging around the few people who were present to witness their chaos.

He had been hoping to last just long enough for Suga or Daichi to come back and rescue him, but it was all over when he suddenly tripped over something after zooming past Tsukishima and Yamaguchi for the fourth time.

No sooner than he flopped face first over a row of their futons had Noya gotten on him, and he squealed in ticklish agony when his senpai dug into his sides mercilessly.

"GYAHAHA!! NOHOHO! NOYA SENPAIHIHI!!!

"Ha! I got you now Hinataaa~! Now you're gonna get it!"

The poor middleblocker tried his absolute hardest to squirm away, but the only thing he could manage to do was flip himself over onto his back, which he immediately regretted because it only gave Noya more access to his most ticklish spots, and he cackled hysterically when the older boy dug into his armpits, stomach, and ribs. It wasn't until he started hiccupping a bit that his upperclassmen decided to show him some mercy and give him a break, however, he never got off of him and his mischievous smirk never went away, which gave Hinata the impression that he wasn't safe just yet. Oh God where was Suga when you needed him?!

"I can't believe you actually tripped him Tsukki!"

"They were being far to loud, and it was obvious that neither of them were going to stop until Hinata either escaped or Nishinoya finally caught him. Might as well have sped up the process, and it was far to easy just to stick my foot out and trip the moron. Besides, it's also pretty amusing to see him being put in his place too."

Hinata whipped his head around to look at his two teammates, a look of outrage and betrayal slowly taking over his features as he started to put the pieces together after hearing their conversation. It was Tsukishima's fault that he'd tripped! He was the reason he was at the mercy of his upperclassmen right now!

"Tsuhuhukishima you jeheherk! Thihis is all your fauhauhault! Just wait until I get out of thihihis! I'm gohonna- AIEHEEEE!!"

Hinata's declaration of war on his fellow first year was rudely interrupted all of a sudden when he felt his arms suddenly being pulled up over his head and pinned there, and he looked up to be met with the mischievous grin of Tanaka.

"Hey Noya. Looks like he's recovered pretty fast! But just in case, maybe he'd like some raspberries to get his strength back?"

Huh? Why would he want- Oh crud! No! Not that!

"Dude that's a great idea! What do you think Hinata? Hmm? Do you want some raspberries!? Hmm?! Do ya?!"

"NO!" 

"Is that a yes?"

"NO! PLEAHEAHEASE!!!"

"Oh did you hear that Tanaka? He said please! He must really want them then!"

Hinata struggled uselessly when he felt his senpai lifting his shirt up and started giggling hysterically when he saw him slowly lowering his face to his belly, kicking his legs out behind him in the hopes of getting enough traction to wriggle free. No such luck, though, in all honesty, he wasn't actually trying that hard.

"Noya! No! Pleahehease! Don't do it! Don't- PFFTAHAHAHA!! STAHAHAHAP IT! NOYA-SAN THAT TIHIHICKLES!! NOHOHOHOHOHO!!"

Despite his loud protests when Noya finally blew the first raspberry over his bellybutton, it was still pretty obvious to everyone in the room that the redhead was having the absolute time of his life right now. His cheeks were flushed a deep pink and his smile was wide and genuine. Even Tsukishima himself couldn't help but think it was endearing, though he obviously kept those thoughts stubbornly hidden under his smug smirk.

Finally, after a few more minutes of torturing his poor underclassmen, he seemed to recognize that he was starting to reach his limit and let up, motioning for Tanaka to let go of his trapped arms as he backed off, and Hinata immediately curled into a little ball the second he was free, giggling happily to himself. 

By the time the third years did show up, Hinata had already fallen asleep with a dozing Noya running his fingers gently through his hair, a soft smile on the middleblocker's slightly flushed face even as he slept. 

Okay. So maybe Suga's original plan of them exhausting eachother had worked afterall, just not in the way he'd originally thought.

[reidgraygubler]

goldilocks (reid/reader)

Title: Goldilocks Request: no Couple: spencer reid/gen-neutral!reader; spencer reid/ethan; spencer reid/lila archer Category: fluff Content Warning: bi!spencer, kissing/making out, Word Count: 2,102 Summary: spencer recounts all his first kisses A/N: thank you all so much for the support! i really do appreciate it. check out my masterlist!

{***}{***}{***}

When Spencer was 12, he had his first kiss. He was with his only friend, Ethan, in his backyard. They were playing cowboys versus pirates- Spencer being the cowboy rightfully so. Whenever Ethan was over Spencer knew he could be himself, he didn’t have to worry about his mother, or school bullies, or anything else. Ethan was his safe space. Ethan knew that, too.

It was nearing dusk. Ethan was up in a tree, pretending it was the crow’s nest of his pirate ship. Spencer was on the ground, dressed like a cowboy, complete with the lasso and cowboy hat. Their play fight would soon come to an end, and they would have to go in for the night. The two friends knew that their fight would come to an end like it usually does. With Ethan winning and Spencer losing.

Ethan had jumped from the tree, landing beside Spencer before tackling him to the ground. Spencer looked up at his friend, trying to fight him off his body. It was obvious that the smaller of the two boys would lose a fight. The smaller boy knew that too. Although maybe he wanted to lose to Ethan.

“What are you doing?!” Spencer said through giggles. Ethan returned the giggles as he pinned Spencer’s hands to the ground above his head. Ethan looked down at his friend, a smirk growing across his lips the longer he stared at him.

“I won,” Ethan whispered as he lowered closer to Spencer’s face.

Spencer’s eyes widened as he looked at his friend. The young boy knew for a long time that he had a crush on his friend. He’s never acted on his feelings before. The thought passed his mind many times, but he didn’t want to risk losing his only friend.

Until that day. Until the day he and Ethan were playing pirates and cowboys, when he knew the cowboys had really lost (for the hundredth time too). When Ethan still had Spencer pinned to the ground and he was rubbing it in his face that he had won. It was then did he realize he wanted to kiss Ethan. It was something he wanted, a curiosity that would kill him if he didn’t just do it. And it was a risk, a calculated one, but he knew he wanted to take it.

When Ethan had gotten low enough, Spencer lifted his head and quickly pecked his lips to Ethan’s. After the briefest moment, Spencer dropped his head back to the ground and stared up at his friend.

“Sorry,” he mumbled and looked away when he realized he might’ve messed up. “I was… I was just curious. That’s all.”

“You were just curious?” Ethan asked as he crawled off his friend and sat on the ground beside him. Spencer slowly sat up and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah. J-Just curious.”

Unfortunately, this kiss with Ethan was too soft. But Spencer was too young to know that. He’d learn one day that even though he had the smallest crush on Ethan, that they’d be better off as best friends than anything else.

{***}{***}{***}

When Spencer was 24, he had his second kiss. It was with Hollywood star Lila Archer. He was working a case, and protecting Lila from a possible stalker she had. The two were outside, Spencer was watching Lila swim in her pool. Spencer was very adamant about Lila getting out of the pool, so they could be in the safety of her home. But Lila wasn’t having any of it.

“Five minutes,” Lila begged as she swam up to the edge of the pool. Spencer was standing close, watching her with a worried crease in his brow. “Go get a suit in the house!” She nodded towards the open sliding doors of her home. Spencer looked over at her house and then quickly back at her with a scowl.

“What?! No! I don’t wanna grab a suit! Are you kidding me?!” Spencer shouted, his voice cracking out of annoyance. “Please let’s just go in.”

“Join me,” she pressed as she looked up at him. For a small moment, Spencer considered it. But it wasn’t long enough for him to actually go inside and change.

“No, I'm not gonna join you,” Spencer eventually said. Lila rolled her eyes before pouting.

“Why not?”

“You're being pursued by a psychotic killer who shoots people in the head!” Spencer shouted, again, his voice cracking, again. Lila pushed off the wall of the pool and floated on her back, away from Spencer.

“I'm not gonna stop living my life. I'm just not,” she stated firmly as she closed her eyes. Spencer stared at the woman in the pool, shock growing across his face. Any normal person would be scared, hiding for their lives when they hear that there’s a psychotic killer after them.

“This woman is insane,” Spencer thought the longer he stared at her. Although he was extremely cautious about his surroundings and who was around, he could feel a strange carelessness grow in his stomach.

“Lila, please, I'm begging of you. Will you please get out of the pool?” Spencer pleaded as he squatted down to the pool.

“Really, Spence, you should live a little.”

“Live a little? I've known you 48 hours, I feel like I've already aged 10 years.”

“I can't be that bad,” Lila mused as she swam back to the edge of the pool.

“Yes. no, you are that bad,” Spencer said as he stood back up.

“Fine, can you help me out at least?” Lila asked as she lifted a hand up to Spencer. Spencer stared at her hand for a moment before grabbing it. As he went to help her out, Lila pulled on Spencer’s hand, pulling him right into the pool.

Lila was instantly thrown into a fit of laughter as Spencer re-emerged from the water. He glared over at the girl as he pushed his hair away from his face.

“Yes, very funny. Laugh it up, Lila. Hilarious. My gun's wet. So great. My clothes,” Spencer’s tone was very clearly annoyed with what just happened.

‘I should have seen that coming,’ Spencer thought to himself as he looked at the woman. She smiled as she swam closer to him.

“You should have worn the suit,” Lila giggled as she grabbed Spencer’s tie and pulled him closer to her. Spencer swam closer to her, allowing her to pull him as close to her. She brought her hand to rest on the nape of his neck. And when he was close enough, she pressed her lips to his, quickly deepening it.

Spencer ended it just as fast as Lila started it.

“This is completely inappropriate,” Spencer said as he swam away, leaving Lila behind.

Spencer found a certain attractiveness in Lila, he wouldn’t lie about that. The moment wasn’t right. Would there ever be a right moment between Spencer Reid and Lila Archer? The pair had two wildly different career paths, and two wildly different lifestyles… There would never be a right moment for the two.

Even though Spencer enjoyed this kiss with Lila, it was too rough. It was very heated, and a moment of intense feelings. He began to wonder when he’d find the person who would give him the best kisses, and how long he’d have to wait for that moment.

{***}{***}{***}

When Spencer was 34, he found the person who gave the best kisses. There was more than one factor for why Spencer loved this person, their kisses were just a bonus. Like with Ethan, this person was Spencer’s safe space. He could be himself and not worry about anything. And like with Lila Archer, this person made Spencer feel free and near careless.

His first kiss with this person was… gentle, and sweet. Unlike with Ethan, this kiss wasn’t a quick peck to the lips. It wasn’t out of pure curiosity. Unlike with Lila, it wasn’t rushed and heated. It wasn’t because they wanted it. It was because they both wanted it.

It wasn’t their first date, not even their sixth date. In fact, they weren’t even on a date. Spencer had invited the BAU team over to his house to meet this person. The team had been excited to meet them since Spencer first spoke about his person. And after the team left, it was just Spencer and his person. Their first kiss just happened. They weren’t expecting it.

They were sitting on the couch, a movie playing- though neither of them were watching it. The couple was too busy talking about cleaning up the mess their dinner party had left behind, and when a good time to clean it would be.

“Do you want me to get ants? Because this is how I get ants,” Spencer said as he gestured towards the coffee table and the several plates and cups that occupied it. His person laughed before moving even closer to him. Even though they were already pretty close to cuddling, his person wanted to be even closer to him. “But what’s stopping us from taking care of the mess in the morning?” they asked as they looked up at Spencer. He sighed before looking back at his person. “I’m just saying, Spencer,” they whispered before shifting to his lap. Spencer’s eyes met theirs, and a small smile grew across his lips.

“Okay, okay, we can take care of it in the morning. If I get ants though I’m blaming you,” he laughed as he wrapped his arms around his person’s waist.

“I’ll take full responsibility!” they shouted, jumping and nearly falling backwards off his legs. Spencer laughed before pulling them closer to safety. Instead of falling off his legs, his person fell closer to him. “I’ll clean up first thing in the morning. Promise!” They wrapped their arms around Spencer’s neck.

“So now you’re spending the night?” Spencer raised an eyebrow as he looked back at them. They smiled before nodding lightly. The couple drifted closer together.

“If that’s okay. If not, I can go home after the movie is over,” they whispered before cocking their head to the side. Spencer looked at their eyes before glancing at their lips for a brief moment.

“It’d be the first time you spend the night here.”

“I don’t have an issue with that,” they shook their head and smiled. “Only if you don’t have an issue.” It was his person’s turn to look between his eyes and lips. They both wanted to kiss each other, but were both afraid. Spencer knew his person wanted to kiss him. And his person knew he wanted to kiss them.

“No issue here,” Spencer replied, although he wasn’t sure if it was a response to them spending the night, or giving them permission to kiss him. But he replied...

“Good,” they whispered before pressing their lips to Spencer’s. He hummed before bringing his hands to their cheeks. It only took a moment before he deepened the kiss.

Spencer had never kissed a person like he kissed his person. He could feel a fire grow in his chest. His arms wrapped around their waist and he pulled them onto his lap.

It felt like ages before they broke apart. In that moment, all they wanted to do was just be with each other and be in each other's space. But they knew they couldn’t. There were still things they had to do before they went to bed.

“We… We should clean up,” Spencer whispered, just so the silence would go away. His person laughed before tumbling off his lap. His hand caught their’s, stopping them from going any further. They turned around and looked down at him.

His person admired how his cheeks were flushed, his hair was tousled just right, and his lips were still pink from being kissed raw. He had a slight dazed look in his eyes.

“I like it when you look like you kissed someone. I like it even more when I know I’m that someone you kissed,” his person whispered. Spencer laughed and nodded.

“I like it even more when you’re the person I kissed, too,” he whispered as he pulled them back down to his lap. “What’re you doing?”

“Going to clean, like you said.”

“We can clean in the morning.”

There was no curiosity with this kiss, and he wasn’t hesitant. Spencer knew, 100%, that he wanted this kiss. And he was happy that this kiss was perfect. Better than the kiss with Ethan. Better than the kiss with Lila.

Spencer was happy he’d be spending the rest of his life with his person.

if you have any comments/questions about this part, let me know here! please consider reblogging or leaving a comment if you're a part of the taglist. it's so much work tagging everyone.

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