#the next couple of days start to slow down for me so hopefully I have a chance to write

[touyatodorokigf]

I miss drawing so bad

[gracieheartspedro]

Your Needs, My Needs

THE PRELUDE

a masterlist of how you can help gaza

pairing: cowboy!joel x f!reader (no outbreak)

description: you have made it to your new home in taylor, texas. your anxiety of owning your our home and being alone is coming to a head, but you need to be productive. a trip to the local furniture turns into you meeting some locals and your new cowboy neighbor.

word count: 3.7k words

warnings: there is no smut in this part. still MINORS DNI! no use of y/n! vague talk of reader's old life before texas, no real description of the reader, description of small age gap, joel being a sarcastic shithead. sarah is canon, so joel is a dad. distracted driving. talks of consuming food. reader has mental illness, mainly described as anxiety, but could be other illnesses. I make it pretty vague. the reader likes football? lmfao

author's note: this is the prelude to the many parts I have planned for these two. this is sort of just setting up everything. I want a slow burn for these two, so hopefully these first couple parts make you guys sweat with anticipation. I also wanna quickly thank all of you for the love on the preview of this fic. I hope you all enjoy it! let me know what y'all think. YEEHAW!

“Sign here and she’s all yours.”

When you brought the pen to the dotted line, you knew that this was going to be the start of your new life. 

While you were nervous about taking on such a huge project, you were ready to find solace in your alone time and work on yourself along with the beautiful farmhouse. You needed some peace and quiet, anyway. 

She was set on 20 acres of land on the outskirts of a small town called Taylor. The land looked like something out of a movie, it’s rolling hills and sprawling fields. 

The house was about 130 years old and needed a lot of TLC. You found it online after hours of scrolling. It was still liveable, but the older couple who owned it before moved to a retirement community and could not keep up with the maintenance. When the inheritance hit your bank account, you called the local realtor and told them you would be flying out there to check it out. When the car pulled up the long driveway, you knew that it would be yours. 

Texas was a new start for you. And boy, were you ready for it. 

You did not have a lot to move in, just a small UHaul full of boxes of clothes and miscellaneous trinkets. You left your furniture in your shared apartment in New York. You needed to find something that was more your style, anyway. 

You moved everything yourself. You were not sure you were ready to trust anyone to help you move in. You knew no one locally, anyway.

It took about three days to get settled, and by that, you simply put up a shower curtain and finally put sheets on your mattress on the floor. You had also created a laundry list of random things you wanted to get done around the house in the next month. Priority number one was getting the bathrooms working. The toilet downstairs doesn’t stop running and your upstairs one won’t flush at all. 

You decided that today was the day you would go out and buy some furniture for your living room and bedroom. You would also inquire to some locals about a plumber. It would take you days to work up the courage to reach out to someone in the phone book, so here’s to hoping you just run into someone on the street. 

You hop into the sedan that you were renting until you could buy a car. It was nice but it was no match for your long dirt driveway. You already expected to pay extra for all the dings on the exterior. 

The roads that lead into Main Street are long and winding. You loved driving, so when it was nice enough to put the windows down, you did so. 

Since there’s no one on this specific stretch, you decide to switch the CD you had shoved into the disc drive, opting for another mix you had made years ago. The radio never played what you wanted, especially the local stations in Taylor. 

In your distracted scramble for the CD, you don’t take note of the large stallion running next to your car. The CD is wedged between the seat and the main console and your fingers cannot reach the awkward position. 

You’re not speeding. But when a giant horse runs out in front of you, you can not hit the break quickly enough. You stop breathing, bracing for impact. You jerk the wheel slightly, swerving away from the steed.  Before your front end can make an impact, the horse is snatched back towards the divot in the road. 

You are in complete and utter shock over how abruptly it all happened. 

Your eye eventually catches a man on horseback, his cowboy hat shields most of his face, but you are more focused on how built this man looks. His biceps were straining against his button-up shirt as he held the lasso taut against his chest. His legs were locked around the brown stallion he was on, his jeans riddled with mud and dust. He had dark curls that peaked out from under his hat.

“Jesus fuckin’ Christ,” You yell, your car slowly inching forward from its spot in the middle of the road, “Where did that thing even come from?”

The mysterious cowboy just shakes his head and trots away, clicking his tongue to guide the horse back into the field. 

Your heart felt like it may leap out of your chest. A car was chugging down the road ahead of you, so you knew you had to move out of the way. You turn into your lane and slowly start down the road again.

You do not even bother trying to find the CD, again. You would rather sit in complete silence. 

-

When you make it to the small stretch of downtown, your heart rate slows down. You spot a local furniture store that looks a bit dated. It was your best bet plus, you wanted to stand on solid ground and gain your bearings. 

You parallel park rather terribly and hop out of your car. You huff loudly, throwing your purse over your shoulder and slamming the door behind you. 

A hot cowboy saved your life. 

It’s the most Texas thing that’s happened to you since you moved here. 

You head inside the storefront. A smaller white-haired lady sits at the front desk, her head in a gossip magazine. 

“Well, hello there,” You muster in your best cheery voice, trying to act like you did not almost die, “I’m lookin’ for some furniture.”

She chuckles as she places her reading next to the register, “Well, you came to the right place, sweetheart.”

You return the laugh, glancing around the large store. Couches and recliners in rows in the front, wooden bed sets lining the back wall. You were so indecisive, you were not completely sure where to start. 

“I need a bedroom set and a couch or two. I just moved into th-”

“The old Caldwell farmhouse,” She cuts you off, hopping off her stool, “Saw you movin’ in a couple days ago. My boy is your neighbor.”

The joke about small towns is always true, you know that already. Everyone knows everyone else’s business. You could not shit without someone knowing about it. 

You raise your eyebrows, acting like you’re shocked she knows about you already. “Yes, that’s right. Your boy?”

“My oldest son, Joel. He lives across the way from ya,” She starts gesturing towards the couches, “Pop a squat on one and see which one ya like.”

You end up sitting on every couch before landing on a brown leather one with a matching loveseat. The old woman is a great saleswoman on top of being sickly sweet. She told you since you are one of her first customers of the month, she would give you a great discount on a coffee table. You were a sucker for a good deal. 

You knew what bed set you wanted immediately. It was a light-washed wood with tall pillars sticking out of every corner. It came with two matching dressers and one nightstand. It was only you, so you didn’t quite care about another side table anyway. 

When the lady starts tallying up your total, you watch the slow-moving downtown. A couple walking across the street into the small diner. An older gentleman walking his small dog. The rickety old trucks that loudly took up the roads. 

You’re so stuck in your head, you don’t even hear what your total is. All you do is hand over your credit card. She smiles and giggles as she swipes the card. 

“So I’ll have my boy deliver it to you tomorrow. He is busy workin’ today, but I’ll have him get it to you. He’s quite the handyman, always busy doing jobs around town. Will you be home in the morning?”

You would have to have some strange man in your home to set up the heavy wooden furniture. It made the hairs on your arm stand up. You knew you would not be able to haul it all, so you had to take the leap of faith and hope and pray this frail old lady’s son is not a serial killer. Or stalker. Or both. 

You needed your furniture, after all. 

It will be okay, you tell yourself. 

“U-uh, I will,” You swallow, “I don’t work right now, so I’ll be home all day.”

“Oh, goody! I will send him your way in the morning. He may have his brother with him just to get the bed up your stairs, but I promise they are good boys. If they aren’t, you come to me and their mama will deal with them.”

You laugh nervously, “Of course, thank you so much.”

–

You had woken up late, your anxiety creeping up on you last night. Your brain would not stop racing. You didn’t fall asleep until 2 am. You hop out of bed around 10:30 and wrap yourself in a cardigan. You have been leaving all the windows open at night, but you can tell the seasons are shifting because it gets so cold at night. 

The doorbell rings and it’s like your heart falls out of your chest. You know that after you open this door, you’re welcoming in someone completely new and unexpected and it makes your whole body jitter. You make your way to the front door and take a deep breath before opening it. 

Of course. It’s him. The hot cowboy. 

It made sense. The endless green across from your home had to be part of his property. The road you almost died on yesterday was right beside his land. His house was tucked right across from the end of your driveway, with countless barns spread across a couple of acres.

You were secretly hoping he would be some silly-looking hillbilly, but instead, you find out your delivery man is the ridiculously attractive cowboy from the day before. His hair is tidy and dark without the cowboy hat on. It’s peppered with some white hairs, but it only adds to his appearance. His flannel has the top three buttons undone and his jeans are stained with age. You are finally able to get a good look at his face with no shadows covering his permanent scowl. 

He had to be about 10 years older than you. You were not too far off from wrinkles, but you were still young enough to bear children without being considered geriatric. 

He squints at you when you swing the door open. The sun is hitting his eyes, highlighting the warm rich brown color. 

“Howdy neighbor,” He greets, a small smirk plays on his lips, “’m Joel. Nice to meet you officially.”

You introduce yourself, trying not to stutter as you say your name. He made you nervous. You chalk it up to just being nervous around men in general. But it’s the way his eyes trailed you as you moved just slightly.

You feel the need to clear the air because of the way he’s staring through you. 

“And uh, listen, about yesterday,” You try to apologize, but he cuts you off by raising his hand. 

“Wouldn’t be the first time an outsider got themselves hurt bein’ reckless down the backroads. Just glad you didn’t hit my horse.”

The response has a bit of a bite to it. You back up a step, your body also taken aback by his directness. You are used to confrontational people, but you’re not used to Southern folk being that way. 

“No, next time I’ll aim for the ditch and tell my insurance that there was a silly cowboy in the road that I had to miss.”

You can tell by the sheepish smile on his face that he was not expecting you to be feisty.

“Don’t think they’d give ya’ much money for that,” He says in a hushed but matter-of-fact tone.

You relax your shoulders, trying to collect yourself. “Probably not.” 

He turns back to his truck that has your bed frame in the back of it, disregarding the previous statements. “My brother is comin’ by in a few to help me get this stuff in.”

“Well, let’s not let all the air out of the house right now,” You extend the door wider for him. You are giving this man full access to your home now. You try to suppress your obsessive thoughts and instead decide that you know exactly what you can have him do while you wait. You remember his mom told you he was good with his hands, and since he wants to be snarky to you in the comfort of your own home, you would try to pick his mind about some of your home projects. “Come in, let me ask you something.” 

You begin, gesturing him into the entryway. He accepts the offer, kicking his boots off on the porch. You appreciate his thoughtfulness and for a second, you realize you may be the asshole. 

“Mama told you I was a handyman, didn’t she?”

You giggle, finding it funny that he could read the situation you were about to put him in. “She sure did.”

“She needs to stop tellin’ folks that,” His accent is so thick and syrupy, that it makes your insides tingle, “Got too many people askin’ me to fix their stuff.”

You guide him to the bathroom right off the living room and kitchen, “You know much about plumbing?”

“I’m assumin’ you don’t,” He mutters, “What do you have goin’ on?”

You point to the loudly running toilet, “This thing won’t stop running no matter what I do.”

“Well, what have you tried doin’?”

You both stand in the hallway, you looking up at him with furrowed brows, him looking down at you with anticipation. He was quick-witted, and you started to hate how much you liked it. He gave your sassiness a run for it’s money.

“I’ve flushed it a bunch of times. Cursed at it and kicked it,” He stares at you blankly. It makes your stomach roll, “Jesus, Cowboy, can you give a girl a break?”

He enters the narrow bathroom, approaching the toilet like there may be a bomb in it. He reaches towards the handle and jiggles it violently, which makes you giggle a bit. That’s exactly what you did. 

“So, why here?” He questions, squatting in front of the bowl. He continues to mess with the handle while you process his no-context question.

“What Texas or this bathroom?”

He chuckles, his smile spreading across his beautifully tanned skin. 

“You got tons of jokes, huh?” 

You don’t respond, just shrug your shoulders. He stands up, wiggling the top of the tank off the toilet. You watch his hands lock onto the sides of it, ensuring it will not drop off and shatter on the dated tile. 

“Texas,” He strains, freeing his left hand to mess with the handle. You lean against the door frame. 

You are not even sure why Texas. You just needed to get as far as you could away from New York. You did not want your past to catch up with you, and you did not want to get stuck in a city again. But you could not share all this with a random stranger. He may be in your house, looking at your commode, but you can’t completely trust him yet. 

“I just wanted a change of scenery. I always wanted a farmhouse.”

“Lots of upkeep,” He jabs, doing one more once over of the tank, “‘M thinking you may need a new float or chain. I can get my tools tomorrow and come over to fix it. May need to order a new part, though.”

You push off the wall, arms still crossed over your front. He puts the top back on and finally makes eye contact with you. 

He would come over again? To fix your toilet? 

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, ‘m sure it’s the chain or float.”

“No, I m-mean,” You start to stumble over your words. You swallow, collecting yourself for a moment so you do not look crazy to him. “Are you sure you’re okay coming back over?”

He gives you a thin-lipped smile, “What are neighbors for?”

-

His brother arrives in a rickety old truck at about 15 past 11. He looks a lot like him, but shorter. He has those same eyes though, permanently tired. 

“Nice to meet ya, ma’am. ‘M Tommy.”

You grab his hand to shake it and he lingers a bit longer than you anticipated. Joel stayed on your front porch, putting his boots back on to start unloading the furniture. 

You are thankful the weather was kind today, especially since every evening this week has been stormy. The sun was beating mighty hard on the men as they collaborated on getting your furniture inside.

While they get everything set up, you busy yourself making lunch. You get the bright idea to make them each a sandwich. It’s the least you could do. 

You pile the cold-cut turkey and cheese onto the white bread you had, topping it with some mayo. When you hear their footsteps trailing down the stairs, you race out with the sandwiches on a porcelain plate.

“For your troubles,” You say before standing in their path to the door. Tommy smiles brightly, instantly snatching a sandwich from the plate. 

“Thanks, darlin’,” He takes a big bite, humming in satisfaction. He walks around you, leaving you standing in front of Joel. His eyes are piercing, his lips ajar a bit, but nothing is coming out. 

“Turkey and cheese, I promise.”

He reaches out grabbing the sandwich from you, “No sweet tea to go with it?”

Your heart sinks, instantly becoming self-conscious of your decision to be nice to these hicks. He was so intimidating with his steely expressions and broad shoulders. There was an essence about him that did not speak to his stone-cold exterior. It was more gentle. But you could only see hints of it when he smiled. 

He can tell the wheels in your head are spinning. Before you can speak, takes a bite of the sandwich and shakes his head. 

“‘m kidding, Yankee. Thank you, I ‘preciate it.”

You settle for letting out a long sigh and returning to your kitchen. You spend a couple of minutes, putting back all the ingredients in their proper places. 

You hear Tommy yell for Joel, his voice kind of panicked. You race out the front door and see Tommy balancing your coffee table off the side of the truck. Joel is running to his aid, the dust from your driveway kicking up behind him. You hold your breath watching Joel help him balance the wooden piece of furniture. 

“Can’t have you breakin’ your back before homecoming,” Joel fusses, guiding the legs of the table to the ground, “You know damn well Maria would have me, too.”

“Yeah, what’s a homecoming game without the head coach?”

You perk up, instantly becoming interested in the conversation that you weren’t supposed to be listening in on. The two men lift the table and start heading your way, right on the threshold. 

“You coach football?” You ask Tommy, trying not to show your excitement. You loved football, it reminded you of Sundays with your grandfather. You never got the privilege to go to an actual game, even in high school. 

“Yes, ma’am, for the local high school in Taylor. We are gonna make it to the state championships this year.” 

You glance at Joel when he says it. He rolls his eyes, “Gotta win at least one game to do that, Tommy.”

They place the coffee table right in front of your new leather couch. Tommy grunts, trying not to argue with his brother in front of a strange lady. 

He can’t help himself, though. He instantly snaps back at Joel.

“You know them boys have been practicin’ day in and day out. Why ya gotta be so negative?”

Joel places his hands on his hips, “Cause Sarah told me the guys in her grade are a bunch of dummies. I highly doubt they are ready to kick Georgetown’s asses.”

Tommy starts towards the door, “Just cause Sarah says it, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

“I believe my honor student daughter before I believe my dumbass little brother.”

You are not shocked Joel has a daughter. You are just shocked that she’s in high school. He looked too young to have a teen, but then again, he did have some grays sprouting. You cross your arms over your chest, watching Joel scoot the table across your hardwoods. 

You’re staring at his hands, trying to conjure up a wedding ring on his left finger. But there’s nothing. Maybe he did not wear it when he was working. Maybe he just forgot to put it on this morning. Maybe his passive aggressiveness towards you was simply to ensure there was distance between you and him, giving you subtle hints that he was taken. 

He finally glances up at you, stopping in his tracks when he notes your gaze. 

“Somethin’ wrong?”

You have no clue what to say because you are so trapped in your head about him. He’s a stranger, god damn it.

“N-no, everything is okay.”

“Don’t look it.”

“I just was not expecting the coffee table to look so dark against the hardwood,” you lie, pulling whatever you could think of out of your hat, “Doesn’t it look dark?”

Joel looks between the floor and the table, shifting in his stance, “Don’t know bout that.” 

“O-oh okay.”

“Alright, well we got ya all set up now,” He starts to head towards the entryway. You trail behind him like a lost puppy, “I’ll be by sometime tomorrow with that part for the toilet. I’m expectin’ another sandwich for that one.”

You grab your front door as you wave to Tommy as he heads for his truck. He smiles and gives you a head nod. Joel turns back to you, his ears perked up for a sarcastic jab from you.

  You think back to something he said to you earlier. You crack a smile, “What are neighbors for?”

PART 1 COMING SOON!

taglist (ppl who asked to be tagged): @joeldjarin @taylorsmakingfuckingmacandcheese @mysaviorjoelmiller @brittmb115 @missladym1981 @jasminedragoon

[disneyprincemuke]

kiss all your tears away

alternatively: we haven’t talked in almost 4 days (next)

in which she and logan don't walk into the paddocks together for the first time all season and sends everyone speculating about the status of their relationship friendship

(series masterlist)

she hikes her bag up her shoulder, pushing the sunglasses up her nose. she taps her card against the reader before she can step into the paddocks.

when she'd woken up this morning, she laid in bed with two packs of ice over her eyes to try and reduce the swelling of her eye area. when she’s gotten up to look at herself in the mirror, it did depuff but didn’t entirely erase the evidence of all the crying she did.

she dropped george a text message early this morning, asking if it was okay to be wearing sunglasses everywhere on the paddocks without looking like a complete fool — it’s just a rehearsal, after all.

george simply assumed she’s hungover or something of the sort, so he didn’t ask questions. he just told her he does it all the time.

so, here she is walking into the paddocks by herself. with her stupid bag on her stupid shoulder and a pair of sunglasses over her eyes to hide away from everyone.

oscar, who comes in right after her, almost walks right past her before he realised who she is. he just almost barely recognises her entering the paddocks with a bag on her shoulder and logan next to her.

oscar taps her on the shoulder gently, flashing her a bright smile. “alone today?”

“yeah,” she answers simply, a smile of gratitude stretching her lips when oscar slows his pace down to walk with her.

“oh,” oscar nods to himself. while he’s been slightly out of touch with her out of respect of their relationship, he still did grow up with her. he still knows her telltales when she’s got a problem. “fought?”

“yeah.”

“that bad?”

“pretty bad.”

“i won’t ask about it. but are you okay?”

“i guess.”

“i’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“hopefully.”

“let me carry your stuff,” oscar mutters, circling around her to her other side. he doesn’t wait for an answer — he just slides her backpack off her shoulder and throws it over his shoulder on top of his bag.

she opens her mouth to protest, but oscar is quick to shut her down. “i used to do it before logan. don’t act like it’s so new to you,” oscar laughs, shaking his head. “and it’s weird seeing you with a bag in the paddocks.”

“that’s true. i haven’t walked into the paddocks with my bag on my shoulder since i joined you guys in f2,” she grins shyly.

“let’s put your stuff down then come and hang at mclaren? lily’s just got a taxi to arrive from the airport.”

“oh, she’s here this weekend? she didn’t tell me that…”

“she was going to surprise you after the rehearsal,” oscar giggles. “so, what do you say?”

“okay, but only if lando makes me a cup of coffee.”

george tilts his head at the empty seat alex has left in the corner. “move to the corner, we’re going to hog the space and be shat on for acting like boyfriends.”

“logan’s sitting with us tonight,” alex answers simply with a shrug. “can’t fully commit to being your boyfriend tonight, mate, i’m sorry.”

“oh, how come?” george asks, furrowing his eyebrows. typically, logan would sit in the middle rows with his girlfriend. “doesn’t he usually sit with (y/n) or oscar?”

alex shrugs, bottom lip pouted out. “think they had a friendly squabble a couple days ago. he’s been weird since he arrived in vegas the other day.”

george surprisingly held on to the unspoken agreement he has with them. he hasn’t told a soul about seeing her in the gap between his door that one time. nor has told alex about it.

but he does talk to lando, which wasn’t a great conversation to start when he came up to him with a 50 pound bill in his hand. they danced around the information of knowing something particularly specific, and lando eventually blurted excitedly that he saw them on a date a few days back.

so maybe they fought. or worse, have they broken up?

logan arrives literally a second after the worst thought passes his mind. he takes the empty seat next to alex, greeting george with a small smile before leaning in to start a conversation.

he watches the door, curious at what’s exactly going on. he completely tunes out from the conversation, feigning intelligent answers and short reponses. his eyes dart over to the door whenever it’s pulled open, and sighing when it’s not the driver he expects.

he looks down at his watch. there’s about 10 minutes before the briefing starts for them. and, vegas is a race that had them come in a couple days prior to be briefed and conduct a short rehearsal for the opening ceremony.

luckily, there’s not much media around today, which would make tiptoeing around this issue a whole lot easier.

when the door is pulled open again, george lifts his head quickly, as he’s genuinely quite invested now. he raises an eyebrow and is taken aback by the girl holding the door open with a pair of sunglasses resting on her nose.

he’s absolutely forgotten the fact that she had texted him this morning about this issue.

she takes a step forward, but then takes two back. instead of walking in, she stays back outside the room with the door in her hand. pierre and charles walk in, thanking her softly before returning to their conversation.

there’s a momentary pause as she looks inside, where they’re seated, before she looks at somebody who’s in the hallway with her. oscar appears, motioning for her to walk in, but she shakes her head and simply points inwards to the room.

alex has chosen to settle for the wrong seats today, obviously. having logan sit right next to the door might be a bit more detrimental than he thought. but what would alex know? he doesn’t even know of their relationship.

oscar tries to fight with her, but she simply purses her lips. the australian slumps his shoulder before sharply turning on his heel and just walking into the room, followed by a distressed looking lando.

lando looks around, catching george’s curious eyes, so the man in orange simply shrugs tiredly at him.

she beckons for someone else in the hallway to walk in, but it seems that it’s a losing fight by the way that she’s continually waving her hands in the air to persuade them.

sighing, she just visibly sighs and winds her hand back to act out a punch. she drops her hands before finally turning around to take a step forward again.

if there’s any way that she announces her arrival, it’s typically by the scent of her strong perfume. her floral scent fills his nose, and it’s obvious that logan finally takes notice of her arrival.

because logan turns around, eyes trained on her as she walks in with an orange paper cup in her hand. what’s made everything stranger is that she simply walks ahead: she doesn’t spare logan another look as she walks down the side aisle to join max, oscar and lando who unfortunately only landed the front row seats.

george watches logan’s eyebrows furrow and press his lips together. logan shifts in his seat uncomfortably before turning back to continue their conversation.

“did you catch that, mate?” alex asks, nudging george’s arm with his elbow.

“what?” george tears his eyes away from the girl in front to look at the two men next to him. “sorry, i didn’t catch what you were saying.”

“right, so basically…”

she looks up at the giant yellow circle in front of her. she momentarily lifts her sunglasses to gawk at the ever changing expressions of the emoji face being projected.

“that’s so adorable!” she points out, reaching out to roughly pat max’s shoulder to get his attention. “look, it’s looking at us!”

“hey, your hands are not as light as you think!” max scolds, his arm darting out to catch her wrist in his hands. “you’ve got to make up with logan.”

she pouts, retracting her hand roughly from the older man’s grip. she drops her sunglasses back down to her nose and folds her arms over her chest. “what do you mean? you don’t like hanging out with me?”

“i do. trust me, i have the time of my life annoying the shit out of you,” max laughs dryly down at her. “but you are all over my hater hours. gawk at this… thing,” he points at the sphere, “with your boyfriend.”

“no,” she scoffs, simply shaking her head. she huffs and tries to walk past him. “forget it — i’ll just go and find yuki and hang out with him. he doesn’t try and push me away when i try.”

max sighs, rolling his eyes. he grabs her elbow and drags her back to him. he puts her in front of him, hands on her shoulders.

max reaches out and takes off the sunglasses, clipping it to the collar of his shirt. “you’ve got to talk this whole fight out with logan. stop ignoring him.”

“i’m not ignoring him. he’s ignoring me,” she insists, throwing a hand into the air.

“no, he’s not!” max cries, pinching the bridge of his nose. honestly, he didn’t want to enjoy this race in vegas. in fact, all he’s done leading up to this grand prix has been openly hate on the thought of even being here.

he didn’t factor in that he’d have to suddenly play the part of being an older brother and a therapist to the girl standing in front of him.

he has grown to be fond of her, yes, but he very much preferred not being put in the middle of all this.

“what?”

“yeah! he was literally boring holes into you when you walked into the rehearsal briefing earlier,” max points out. “and then he only left the room after you left; after you just walked right past him again without a flinch!”

“okay, listen! if you had the fight that we had, you wouldn’t make up so easily either, okay?” she rambles, hands on her hips in frustration. her puffy eyes are finally nowhere in sight. “you don’t even know what we fought about.”

“fine, then enlighten me.”

“we fought about this,” she circles her hands around them, motioning to the track setup around them. “about all of this! formula 1! it’s caught up to us!”

max furrows his eyebrows. “what do you mean?”

“i mean like i literally had the sebastian vettel vouching for me to get a seat this season,” she sighs, shaking her head as she recalls the fight they had before flying to vegas. “i mean like i’ve been in the points consistently since i crashed in baku and he’s struggling to even be on par with alex!

“how is that my fault, max? it’s not my fault!”

“you’re right: it’s not.”

“why does it feel like it is? i hate that this is happening to him, of all people! but how is it my fault that i’m delivering and meeting everyone’s expectations of me entering the sport?”

tears rush into her eyes. she presses the bottom of her palms into her eyes as her voice cracks, shaking her head hopelessly. “like, it’s not my fault we’re performing differently. i’m literally driving for my reputation and seat — i’m on probation with my team just as much as he is.”

max suddenly regrets poking her button. from what oscar tells him, they’re not typically the couple to have very big fights. it seems that he has misread the severity of the situation.

“oh, (y/n),” max frowns, stepping forward to wrap his arms around her. he puts his hand on the back of her head, gently letting her nuzzle his face into his arm. “i’m sorry. i didn’t know.”

“it just gets increasingly difficult to comfort him weekend after weekend. i’m at a high, and he’s just-“

“i’m sure it’s not easy for him either,” max cooes, swaying side to side in an attempt to comfort her. “i am sure that it is not his intention to… make you ‘feel bad’ of what you’ve achieved thus far.”

“it’s just so hard,” she cries harder into his chest. “i want to be there for him, really. but it’s hard! it’s hard when my team is out celebrating after every race because of my points finish and he’s down with what’s happened with his race.”

max looks up at the sound of footsteps against the gravel, catching lando and george trying to make their way towards them.

he holds up a thumbs up to them, nodding gently enough for her not to feel it, to send them the other way. it’s bad enough she’s crying at the f1 track four days before a race with majority of the teams still in the paddocks.

he turns his head to the side, by the grandstands, catching oscar and sebastian’s stare of concern. he simply flashes them a smile and a reassuring nod. in return, he gets a firm nod from the race engineer and a thankful smile from the young driver.

from what he knows, she hasn’t told anyone about this issue. perhaps that’s why she’s stuck to him all evening?

“i don’t think we’ll get past this, max. that’s the worst part,” she sobs, pulling away to rub her eyes. she heaves as tears flow out of her eyes, lips quivering and voice cracking with every word she speaks. “how can we even? i don’t know what to do.”

max frowns. he pushes her head into his chest again, this time, resting his chin on the top of hers. he doesn’t exactly know what to say.

their situation is so unique, that even he — with as much trauma as he carries around — does not know anything he can say that would make her feel better. so, he just rubs circles on her back as he sways.

“i’m sorry this happened to you,” he sighs, readjusting to now press his cheek on the top of her head. “i really don’t know what to say. there wouldn’t be any words i can string together to make you feel better about this.”

from the distance, he can see alex walking out of the pitlane. the bright blue shirt didn’t really make him hard to spot in the first place.

alex is the least of his problems. because behind alex is logan trailing behind him quietly, completely taken a step away from the conversation alex holds with some of their team members.

“do you want to go somewhere more private? teams are coming out to scout the track, i think,” max whispers, moving his head to look at her face. “let’s go?”

“okay. it’s kinda weird i’m crying here anyway,” she manages to mutter a joke. “my sunglasses.”

max almost wants to laugh when she cries even harder, reaching out for the sunglasses he’s confiscated from her a while ago. she removes it from his shirt, then replaces it on her face.

while she had paraded about with her chin in the air all evening, now she walks with her head down. her hair is out of the braids that blythe had styled her with, now falling to her cheeks to hide her away from everyone else.

if max could have continued walking the other way to simply avoid the williams racing team, he would. but if he did that, they’d have made a complete round of the track on foot. which doesn’t seem like a good idea at all with her state.

max slings a protective arm around her shoulders, walking around her body to hold her away from the prying eyes of those that walk past them.

as they slowly approach the team in blue, alex grows mildly concerned at the weirdly silent girl. “is sh- oh, okay.” alex nods understandingly, holding a hand up to wave max for an apology. all because she’s heaving silently in her sob in max’s arm that immediately told alex to not intervene. “sorry.”

and max just knows they’d eventually find a way out of this fight they’re in. because he turns around to gauge logan’s expression: he’s stopped dead on the tracks with a lingering stare on the crying girl.

max just gives him a small smile, to which logan forces a grin before turning away to catch up with alex who calls out for him.

surely, there’s a way around this. right?

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 8.1 K Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence. (Reader discretion is advised). Prompt: Turns out werewolf scratches make you more than just hungry for food. This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

Chapter 23: Hungry Eyes

November 24th, 1976 

“You want more sausages?” James asked as he grabbed another one from the plate. You nodded in response. 

“That’s like the 5th one,” Peter said surprised, not because of the sausages exclusively, you had devoured your breakfast, a huge plate of bacon and eggs, a slice of Sheppard’s pie, and a couple of pieces of meat. James thought that was a little odd, since you always went for sweet stuff, rather than salty things, especially on breakfast, but since he had accidentally hurt you earlier, he was ready to give you just about any food you asked for. 

You nodded “Yeah I know,” you said as you took another bite of your bacon. “I don’t get it either, It’s like I’m starving, I could eat a hippogriff.” 

“Could it be because of the scratch?” Sirius said as he put his tea cup down. 

“The scratch?” James asked. 

“Yeah, Moony’s scratch.” 

“But you’ve gotten scratched by Moony and I’ve never seen you like this,” he said pointing at you. 

“Oi, watch your mouth Potter!” you said as you side eyed the boy.

Sirius shook his head “Padfoot has gotten scratches, not me,” he clarified “And I’ve definitely felt the hunger, in more than one way.” 

Your head snapped towards the boy, your eyes going up and down his face, trying to describe his expression “Does that mean– does that mean I’m this hungry because… lycanthropy?” 

Peter shrugged “It’s possible… Do you by any chance feel the urge to bite one of us?” 

You looked at the boy with a bit of a confused expression, the image of you biting Sirius’ neck on the Restricted Section floating in your head before you could control it, you swallowed. “No,” you managed to respond. 

“Then we’re good,” the boy said with a smile “Should go away in a couple of days.” 

You cleared your throat, “Yeah, hopefully,” you added and took a bite of your sausage. “Do you think Remus’s really hungry all the time too?” 

“Not always,” said James thoughtfully “but when he gets snappy close to the moon, food makes him feel better.”

“And after?” 

“He likes chocolate,” Sirius responded. 

“Yeah… I kinda figured that one out earlier on,” you said with a little smile “I meant, do you think he wants… meat too?” 

James shrugged, “Maybe, I’ve never asked.” 

“But surely you would’ve noticed.”

“It’s James you’re talking about, luv. He wouldn’t have noticed,” Sirius said. 

“You’re being overly aggressive towards me today,” James huffed, your boyfriend shrugged in response. 

“We should take him some meat,” you said, snapping both boys from their bickering “If he’s half as hungry as I am, he needs some meat.” 

“We’ve got charms next, though.” 

“I can go and come before charms,” you said confidently, “and I want to go to the bathroom too so…” 

“You sure, want us to come with?” James asked. 

“Nah, nah… you boys keep eating and save a good seat for me.” 

“Yes, boss!” Peter joked. 

You rolled your eyes but smiled, leaning in to pick your backpack up, but Sirius stopped you, grabbing it himself. You tried to pull it again but he didn’t budge “What’s with you?” 

“I’ll take it, you don’t need any strains on your shoulders at the moment.” 

You gave him an incredulous look “Sirius I can carry my own bag, even with the thing.” 

“I’m not saying you can't, sweetheart. I’m saying you don’t have to,” he said softly, “Go on and do your thing, I’ll bring your bag to the class.” 

“You sure about that?” you asked again. 

“Ugh, just let him do the boyfriend thing,” James said as he pushed you lightly, this time being careful not to graze your arm “Don’t you see he’s trying?” 

You looked at Sirius surprised “Is that what...” You saw a tinge of red spread across his cheeks, and you raised your eyebrows, “Awww Puppy that’s so sweet of you.” 

Sirius looked to the side for a second, almost letting the embarrassment get to him but then he turned back at you with a little smirk “Don’t I get a kiss for it?” 

You smiled, looking at him as you bit your lip in amusement and narrowed your eyes at the boy, but complied, leaning in to give him a small peck on the forehead, before turning around to pick up the plate with food you had prepared for Remus. 

“That’s not the kind of kiss I was expecting little Vixen,” Sirius teased. 

“Guess it sucks for you, doesn’t it Puppy?” You teased back with a little wink, while James burst out into a laugh. “Save my seat, all right?” you said just before walking towards the doors. 

You went straight to the infirmary, sneaking in without making much noise, but Madam Pomfrey spotted you as you were walking in, “Hi sweetheart,” she said with a smile “You’ve come for Remus again?” 

“I have class, but I thought he might be feeling a little hungry so I brought this over,” you said raising the plate just a little “It’s not against doctor’s orders, is it?” 

“Not at all, darling,” she responded. “I was just about to call for a house elf to get his breakfast, it’s very kind of you to bring it.” 

You handed the plate to the Mediwitch and then looked towards the section at the end, the curtains were still wrapped around the bed Remus was in, “May I see him?” 

She shook her head, the same frown as earlier “I’m afraid he’s still asleep sweetheart, why don’t you come back later?” 

You sighed “Is he really? Well, I guess I’ll get to class then,” you said as you turned your heel, but turned straight back “Oh, please give this to him too,” you said taking out a bar of chocolate from your robe’s pocket “He really likes this one.” 

The witch nodded, “Will do darling.” 

You waved your goodbyes and left the room, as you did the Mediwitch approached Remus’ section and opened the curtains, looking at the boy expectantly “You should stop avoiding the poor girl,” she told him sternly as she placed the chocolate bar on his side table “She’s clearly worried for you.” 

Remus didn’t answer, he just cleared his throat a little. 

“Don’t act like a child Remus, you always seem to be better off when she’s around, you even sleep better,” she continued, “at least Mr. Black came to visit you last night, and you didn’t avoid him.” 

“If she comes back, tell her I’m still asleep, okay?” he said, still avoiding her gaze.

“She’s not stupid, she will know something’s up.” 

Finally, Remus turned to the woman, a distressed expression on his features “Please,” he pleaded. 

The woman shook her head disapprovingly and pointed towards the food “She brought you food and your favourite chocolate. You should at least write her a thank you note.”

Remus looked to the side, staring at the bar of chocolate the woman had left. It really was his favourite kind of chocolate, and it made his stomach churn. He didn’t deserve you as a friend, not only because of the way he desired you beyond belief –even if you were with Sirius, who he also liked– but because he could’ve killed you a couple of nights ago. Your friendship had to end before the damage was irreparable. 

Remus was being completely irrational, but he didn’t care much for rationality at this point. He turned on his bed, back to the nightstand and sighed, shutting his eyes as he felt some strain on his ribs from the sharp movement. He was holding back angry tears, angry for not being a normal bIoody person with normal bIoody problems. Angry for being a monster that made their friends go through dangerous situations. Angry because he knew that Moony’s intentions had never been to kill you, no, Moony wanted to bite you.

You were back at the girl’s bathroom, you had taken your robe, uniform sweater and shirt off, and you were staring at your bandaged arm in the mirror when Myrtle’s face popped right over your reflection, which startled you a little, “Told you it was a dangerous night,” she said proudly. 

You scoffed “If you knew the Slytherins were out you could’ve warned me,” you said angrily.

“I told you, you weren’t the only one roaming the castle,” she said with a shrug as she sat down on the sink. 

You shook your head, “being a bit more specific wouldn’t have hurt,” you said as you raised your bandage to check on the wound. It looked a little better than the previous night.

She shrugged again “Would I have actually deterred you from going?” 

You looked to the side as you fastened the edge of the bandage again “Probably not,” you admitted. 

“Yeah, I figured,” she said simply “Did you find the thing you went looking for, before getting attacked? Or… are you going back to the forest next full moon?” 

“I did get it,” you said, now a little proud, putting your shirt back on.

“Well, mission accomplished, and you didn’t lose any limbs so…” 

You half laughed at their stupid joke, “pleasure talking to you Myrtle,” you said as you finished putting on your sweater and tie, taking your robe in between your hands, and walking out. 

“Come back soon,” the ghost replied. “I might have some gossip for you then.” 

You turned back to look at her, narrowing your eyes as she simply floated slightly over the floor, with a tight-lipped smile, a hand behind her back and the other one waving goodbye at you. You knew what she wanted, she wanted you to stay and get the gossip out of her, “I’ve got to get to class,” you told her. 

She shrugged, “I said later,” she smiled, still waving goodbye. 

You shook your head diverted but continued on your way out, as you walked to Charms, you put your robe back on and then felt your stomach churn again “What the bIoody fuck?,” you whispered as you looked down “How can I be hungry again?” 

You ignored the churning and walked straight to Charms. Sirius was at one of the double tables, and he had placed your backpack on the seat beside him, he smiled when he spotted you and moved your bag to the floor, you sat down beside him “How’s he?” he asked. 

You shook your head “Still asleep,” you replied, “Pomfrey didn’t let me see him either.” 

Sirius frowned, Remus had rarely slept so much, not even after the moon. And he had seen the boy earlier, he didn’t look so bad he’d have to sleep, maybe Pomfrey had given him some other kinds of potions along with the Skellegro. 

You looked at Sirius’ thoughtful expression and pressed your thumb over his eyebrows “What is it Puppy?” 

That seemed to snap him out of his thoughts, “Nothing, how’s the arm?” 

You tilted your head a little, still admiring your boyfriend before responding “A lot better actually,” you said honestly “I actually went to check, it’s healing now.” 

Sirius let out a relieved breath, “that’s great,” he smiled and pulled his hand up to grab yours, intertwining his fingers with your own and leaning his head a little into your palm. “You’re cold.” 

“Washed my hands earlier,” you said simply. Sirius was about to say something when Flitwick entered the classroom with a bag in his hand and a set of books trailing behind him, once he left the bag on the floor he flicked his wand and the books floated towards all the students, one for each table, which meant you’d be sharing with Sirius.  When the book was right in front of the two, Sirius separated your intertwined hands and used them to pull your chair closer to his. 

You shook your head at his antics but smiled either way. The class went on smoothly, you had to practise a couple of new spells on the book, but it was all too easy for the two of you, which is why you had spent most of the class just stealing glances at the other. You imagined if you had been the one watching the two of you, you would’ve probably averted your gaze. It’s not that you were openly showing the PDA, but it was evident in your giggles and whispering about. On the way, Sirius held your hand and brushed his shoulder against your good one. Maybe you really were Love Puppies.

“Are you still hungry?” he asked as the class finished. 

You nodded in response, still feeling your stomach churn, “Wanna get some food before transfiguration?”

“McGonall will be mad if we get there late.”

Sirius shrugged, so carelessly that it made you smile “She secretly loves us.” 

You scoffed “I highly doubt that, you’re always messing around and I’m shit at transfiguration.” 

“You’re not that bad, you turn into Vixen gracefully.” You shook your head again, a smile playing on your lips. “So… food?” 

You took a deep breath and nodded “Yeah, food.” 

Sirius and you took a detour to the kitchens, Nimbletwist wasn’t there at the time, but another elf was more than happy to help the two of you with some treats. A small paper bag with mixed nuts, raisins and bits of chocolate and a couple of bite-sized sandwiches you could easily fit into your robe. You had already eaten around three of those by the time you got to Transfiguration. 

McGonagall eyed you compassionately as she noticed you were eating a piece of chocolate. You frowned, but quickly remembered Lily had told her you were on your period so you smiled instead, nodding a little with a thankful expression, she let you both enter the class, and you ended up sitting on the table next to the one Lily and Marlene shared. 

“Told you she loves us,” Sirius said with a little smirk.

“That’s definitely not it,” you said as you plopped a pecan into your mouth, it was a little salty, but it was definitely good enough to quench your unfaltering hunger. 

The class came and went, you managed to turn a teapot into a small squirrel once, after hundreds of tries. Sirius had already done it way too many times and he was attempting to help, but he wasn’t really good at teaching Transfigurations. 

“Come on, just wave your wand and say the words.” 

You turned to him exasperated as you shook your wand in the air “Sirius I’m waving my wand and saying the words, it doesn’t work!”

“Just do it calmly.” 

“I AM doing it calmly!” you said, and he threw you a look, which had you huff in return. 

“Black and company,” McGonagall said sternly “You either stop your bickering or I will switch your seats.” 

You swallowed thickly and nodded, Sirius on the other hand, placed his chin over his hand and stared at McGonagall with a teasing smile, giving her a wink before turning back at you, you almost smacked him for that, but he gave you his stupid charming Sirius Black grin and you barely managed to roll your eyes. You definitely were Love Puppies. 

When the class was over, Lily leaned over to you “Hey Luv, you mind coming with me to pick out some ingredients for potions?” 

Sirius gave the redhead a look, the kinda face that said “You shouldn’t make her walk more than necessary” and Evans retorted with a look and a gentle hand over your injured shoulder, clearly stating something like “I’m going to take her to fucking change her bandaged you idiot”. 

“Righ, you should go,” Sirius said then, pushing you lightly towards Lily while she pulled on your hand. You felt like you were being manhandled, but said nothing of it, and just followed the redhead along. 

“I’ll tag with you,” said Beth, as she stood up. 

“No!” Sirius stopped her “We actually need to talk about the lack of birthday party I had.” 

“After the Halloween Party fiasco there was no way in hell we made yours Sirius,” she said. 

“I’m aware,” he smiled wickedly “but that doesn’t mean we can’t do one now, if you know what I mean.” 

Beth smiled wickedly and Lily pulled you towards the door while Sirius distracted her. In a matter of minutes the two of you were back at the common room and walking up towards your empty room, “How are you feeling?” 

“Wicked!” you replied with a smile “It’s not every day you get first class healthcare.” 

Lily rolled her eyes but started unwrapping the bandage, gently cleaning the wound before starting to reapply the paste. “It does look better,” she said as she continued with her task. 

You nodded “Feels a lot better too.”

Her hands were light, and her movements were quick, and calculated as if she knew exactly what step she was going to go next, you were looking at the way she did almost completely in trance, if you were good at flying, Lily was brilliant at caring for injuries, it almost surprised you it was Mary and not her who wanted to become a Mediwitch. 

“Have you taken your medicine?” She asked, stealing you away from your thoughts, you nodded, showing her all the small vials you had placed in the pocket of your robe, “Good.” 

“We need to actually pick some ingredients up,” you said as you started to put your shirt back on. 

Lily nodded and went to her trunk, taking out a few potions from it “Already thought of it,” she said with a smile. 

You smiled back, grabbed a couple of them between your hands and started walking towards the dungeons. You arrived sooner than later and the two of you went straight into the classroom. She took a seat beside James and you turned to your lonely table. You started gathering the ingredients for the potion you would be working on when Professor Slugnorn approached your table “Oh dear, Mr. Lupin is still recovering, isn’t he?”

You nodded “Indeed, but I’m sure I can mana–“ 

“–No, not with this potion, I’m afraid not. But it’s your lucky day, as it seems someone else has also lost their partner today. Mr. Rosier, would you mind moving your things over here?” he said, turning to the boy. 

You instantly stiffened, Sirius stood from the stool he was lousily sitting on and James stood straighter, Lily looked at you with her breath hitched and even Peter stared at Evan intently. “I’m sure I can manage sir–” 

“Nonsense, Evan will make a fine partner for today’s class,” he said, shutting you down instantly. 

You swallowed and followed the blonde boy with your gaze as he sat down on the stool beside you gracefully, looking like a completely civil person who didn’t hate your guts. Like he hadn’t dug his fingers so harshly in your skin less than 72 hours ago that he left bruises behind. 

You were still tense, jaw clenching as you continued measuring ingredients, “You look delightful sweetheart,” you cringed, still not turning your eyes to him. The way he said it –mockingly, disdainfully– sounded so different from the way Sirius said it, like it was an entirely different word. “Considering…” 

You held back a scoff, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath, slowly turning to him, pretending to be completely unbothered, you could feel your friend’s eyes on you “Couldn’t say the same thing for you,” you responded, making sure to add a cold smile in the end “don’t tell me it still hurts where I accidentally elbowed you.” 

Evan scoffed, narrowing his eyes at you, not failing to notice the fact that you had added “accidentally” as if it really hadn’t been your intention. “It’s fine, thanks for your concern… How was your night then?” he asked viciously. 

“Invigorating,” you responded as you poured some ingredients inside your cauldron. “I was surprised you didn’t stay and enjoyed the show.” 

He gave you a spiteful look “As if you didn’t know why we left.” 

“What? Were you lot actually afraid of the ghosts?! I’m sure we could’ve had a very nice tea party with the undead, 3 am is their tea time, you know?” 

He frowned, you really didn’t know. “Your jinx,” he said “Something stung Mulciber and he passed out, that’s why he’s not here.” 

That actually sprung a genuinely satisfied smile “Aaaah… so that’s why you were paired up with me then, your henchmen’s bedridden,” you mocked. 

Evan’s fists tightened but he took a deep breath again, she’s bold, he thought. You had the sharpest tongue he’d ever seen, looking at him daringly as if you had no fear, just like that night. If you had been sorted into Slytherin, you might have made an excellent ally, perhaps even a friend. Regardless, he retorted  “As if you’re much better, I can clearly see your parted lip, and…” He leaned over “I wonder if you have any bruises under your robe.” 

An idea popped into your head, probably a stupid one, but you knew it would piss him off “Well, well Evan, and here I thought you were dating Barty, I’m certain he wouldn’t be pleased if he heard that you’re not only looking at my lips but also thinking of me naked.” 

He was taken aback by your daring answer, his nose flared, and his knuckles turned white, you stood straight, looking at his hand as you took a slow breath, he then moved closer to you, pretending to reach for an ingredient on the other side of the table, when he grabbed your arm –your hurt arm– harshly, as harshly as he had grabbed your neck. You ground your teeth against each other to hold back a cry. Even if the pain was excruciating, even if you wanted to jump back and hide in the cold rock again, you limited yourself to breathing slowly. You were not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing you were hurt, of knowing you had pretty much clung to Sirius for almost an entire day after because you were too terrified of how weak you had been. 

He leaned in, mouth close enough to your ear to whisper “If you tell a single sentient thing about that, you will wish we had killed you that night instead,” he spoke, words laced with venom. 

You blinked a couple of times, staring at his blond hair completely shocked for a second, managing to recover a second later, as he was pulling away, you had already shut your mouth but you were still staring at the boy, the pain in your arm long forgotten as gears inside your head turned, you had said as a joke but… Rosier really is dating Barty Crouch, your own voice resonated inside your head. 

He released his grip on your arm and brushed over your cloak to smooth it out, the pain was still there, you were sure he had drawn bIood, but you limited yourself to stare at him. Out of all the things you’d expected to be Evan’s weakness, you did not think it would be something you wouldn’t use against him. There was a line you wouldn’t cross, and outing him and Barty was way beyond the other side, no matter how awful they both were. 

That didn’t mean you wouldn’t use the opportunity to taunt him “Don’t worry Rosier, I wouldn’t dream of it,” you replied, sarcastically, smiling wickedly before turning back to your potion. You saw Evan flinch out of the corner of your eye. Which made your smile widen, you rolled your shoulder and held back a wince as you used your good arm to continue working on the potion. 

Neither you nor Evan talked to each other after that, you silently passed the ingredients, measured and mixed everything in the cauldron together. When you were about to be done, Professor Slughorn approached you, a pleased look on his face “Would you look at that?” he said pointing at your hand as you poured the mixture into a vial “May I?” he asked, you handed him the vial and he took it in between his hands, bringing it close to his face to revise it “You both have done a splendid job, seems like you two work together seamlessly, perhaps you should consider switching partners, you make an excellent pair.” 

You saw Sirius tense from the corner of your eye, but you smiled instead “As wonderful as Evan here was to work with, I’m sure Crouch would miss his partner,” you saw Evan’s breath hitch “Or is it Mulciber? I always confuse their little group...” you added in the end, playing dumb. 

“It’s Mulciber darling,” Slughorn said “Are you certain?” 

“Positive,” you added then. “Either way, I’d rather work with Remus, that way all the points we earn will go to our house and not be shared between the two.” 

Slughorn smiled “I do love seeing a competitive spirit, well then, you may clean up and retire earlier.” 

“Thank you, Professor,” you told him with a charming smile. You stood up, gaining distance between you and the blond and started gathering all the pots and vials you had used to take them to the sink. Evan gathered the ingredients and started accommodating them in their places as well. As you walked towards the sink Sirius quickly caught up with you, taking like three things, one of which Severus was still using which caused him to stare daggers at the boy. 

“Are you okay sweetheart?” he asked, brows furrowed in concern. Sighing with a small smile as you heard the nickname from his lips, making the difference you had noticed earlier so much more starker, that you really believed it was an entirely different word. 

You nodded, “He’s an asshole, but he’s not stupid,” you said as you dropped the things in the sink and waved your wand so they would start scrubbing themselves clean. Sirius dropped his as well, and walked closer, placing his hand on the small of your back protectively as you watched the vials and pots wash themselves, “he’s nothing more than empty threats.” Sirius threw you a look, threats hadn’t been empty when they threw you into the shrieking shack and left bruises all over your body. You swallowed, “He wouldn’t do anything with the head of his house around.” 

Sirius sighed, he wanted to tell you to stop trying to pick a fight with them, but he very well knew you weren’t, or rather, the fight had already started and you either played along and defended yourself or allowed them to lock you up in haunted houses and threaten you until they got bored. There was no way on earth you’d do the latter, he knew because he wouldn’t either “What did you talk about?” 

You smiled proudly at that “Turns out the one spell I managed to use against one of them, left him bedridden, and I’m like 80% sure Evan has a bruise just as bad as some of mine on his stomach where I elbowed him.” 

Sirius almost shook his head, smiling incredulously at the way you said that, the only reason you were standing still was because you had been slathered in potions and draughts, your arm was torn and you still found it hard to walk and yet, you were proud of the mild damage you had done to them “I knew you had put up a fight,” he cheered with a smile. 

You smiled back as you stared into his eyes and bit your lip “You and slime-head done?” 

“Almost. Why?” 

You pouted “Wanted to get outta here. Maybe we can go see how Remus is fairing up now and… I’m starving.” 

Sirius smiled “Then let’s go.”

“You’re ditching Severus?” 

He shrugged, “He’d be happier without me anyway.” 

You stared at him for a second and nodded, the two of you left the classroom together. Which not only made you happy Sirius was with you but also made you feel a lot more relaxed, since Evan wouldn’t dare to mess with the two of you at the same time by himself. That, you didn’t tell Sirius about. 

“Great hall and then Remus?” Sirius asked as you arrived at the moving stairs.

“Or kitchen, Remus and then great hall?” You suggested. 

“You wanna bring more food to him, don’t you?” 

“If being so hungry really is from the scratch, he must be a LOT more hungry than I am,” you said logically. 

“It’s your call,” he said as he started walking down the stairs that led you to the kitchens “How’s the arm?” 

“It’s good,” you said, you’d taken another dose of the painkiller potion so you could finish your brew after Evan crushed your arm, and because you were on a double dose, you didn’t even feel a thing at that point, you’d probably be told off by Sirius if he were to find out, so you decided to leave that information out “super.”  

Sirius squinted his eyes at you but nodded in the end. Perhaps I should check on it later, you thought as you gave your arm a quick look, but you were quickly distracted by the smell of food coming from the kitchens. This time around Nimbletwist was there, and upon hearing you say you’d been craving meat, she prepared a meat pie, Porchetta, hock & pork pies and even Venison pie.

“Thank you,” you told her with a smile. 

“So ye’ become stronger, Master,” she said with a smile. 

Sirius and you walked out of the kitchen and you were already munching on one of the pies as you walked towards the infirmary. You were the one to enter first, pushing the door with your hurt hand since you still didn’t feel a thing. Sirius was about to say something but Madam Pomfrey was staring at you from the other side already.

“Oh! Hey sweetheart, you’ve come back!” She said, almost emphasising the last couple of words. Which you thought was a little weird, but decided to ignore it. “And you’ve brought Mr. Black along, Remus’ two favourite people.” 

You smiled “Oh, don’t tell James or he’ll be jealous,” you joked, and Madam Pomfrey smiled a little wider.

“Mr. Potter better worry about taking care of himself on the pitch instead of who’s Mr. Lupin’s favourite.” 

“I’ve never really seen him in the infirmary…” you said both Sirius and Madam Ponfrey laughed. 

“Their lot has been over so often I’d say their house is the infirmary room instead of the Gryffindor Tower.” 

“Pomfrey, don’t say such things in front of my girlfriend,” Sirius chastised, the woman didn’t seem to mind Sirius’ informal manner, but she was a little surprised by what he said, not that she let it on. So that’s it, that’s why Remus doesn’t want to see the new girl, she thought. And she wasn’t completely wrong on that one either, she was very perceptive, but at least not enough to be able to tell you were hurt, and that the thing that hurt you had been Remus.

“He’s gotta be awake now, right?” The woman sighed and shook her head in response. You frowned, starting to worry, perhaps you really had hurt him a lot more than–

“–Why don’t you go see him? He’s asleep but you could leave the things you brought on his side table.” 

“May we?” you asked hopeful. 

The woman nodded, at least that way Remus would realise his friends were deeply worried for him. 

“Thanks, Poppy!” Sirius said as he walked behind you and towards Remus’ bed. The woman just shook her head at his antics as she saw the two of you walk towards the boy and sighed. 

“Hey Moons!” he said a little too loud and casually which earned him a smack from your part, from your hurt arm at that. He turned to you with a shocked expression. 

“He’s asleep, let him rest.” 

“He’s been sleeping all day!” Sirius argued, voice still a little too loud, “I’d say it’s about time to wake up! He was asking about you all night last night, might as well see you’re fine with his own bIoody eyes.” 

“Sirius!” you said sternly, which somehow got him to shut up “If he’s asleep it’s because he’s tired, and if he’s tired it’s because I jinxed him and then had the whomping willow hitting him on the side,” you whisper shouted, pointing at his bandaged stomach “let. him. sleep.” 

Sirius sighed but didn’t continue to argue. “You should just wake him,” he whispered, “‘m sure he’d love to see you.” 

“For some reason, I’m starting to doubt that,” you responded as you stared at the boy, and leaned in to leave the plate with food on the side table, staring at the untouched chocolate bar and taking one from your pockets to leave it on top. Two chocolates are always better than one chocolate.

“You think he’s really alright?” you asked as you turned to Sirius, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

Still more worried about him than herself, Sirius thought as he brought you into a careful hug “He’ll be fine, I promise,” he said as he rested his chin on your head. “Still hungry?” 

You nodded, “Very.” 

“Let’s go to our next stop then,” Sirius said, taking your hand in his and dragging you towards the door. You gave Remus’ laying figure one last look and finally turned to the door and walked alongside the longer-haired boy. 

As the two of you walked towards the Great hall, you started staring at your boyfriend, he hadn’t worn his tie that day, and his shirt was slightly unbuttoned, you barely got a peak of his neck, most of the shirt was kept closed with his school vest and robe, but for some reason you couldn’t stop staring. In fact, you even felt your mouth dry as you kept looking. Yeah, you were still hungry, just a different kind of hungry. 

“We should take a shortcut,” you said suddenly. 

Sirius raised one of his eyebrows, “You that hungry?” 

“Oh… I’m starving,” you replied, an air of mischievousness in your tone that Sirius took for a side effect of hunger rather than for what it really was. You pulled him towards a corner and then through a portrait, Sirius looked at you with raised eyebrows, you had memorised most of the map Remus had given you by now, and while you were not familiar with every single one of the secret passages in the castle, you were familiar with this one. You went up a couple of stairs and then turned, softly pulling Sirius against you, using your bad arm, which he was about to point out, but you crashed your mouth against his own, holding him towards you as he almost stumbled back. 

Sirius was a little shocked at first, but he’d never pass up a chance to kiss you, let alone hold you, so he carefully placed his hand around your waist and brought you a little closer, deepening the kiss, which had you smile, lips curling against his for a second before continuing the kiss. You started peppering kisses all over his face, a small trail towards his neck, allowing your teeth to graze against his neck as you kissed. His neck was so soft, especially compared to the rest of him, his muscly arms, strong torso and grip, which he seemed to be holding back in that instance. But not his neck, it was soft and tender and it smelled like him. 

When you wanted to bite, you managed to hold yourself back and trailed kisses back to his mouth instead “Hey luv,” he said before your lips crashed against each other “Are you sure you… I mean doesn’t your arm–“ 

You didn’t let him finish, pressing your mouth against his again, like you were starving, and you really were. Starving and hot, so hot it felt like June instead of November, so you took the one button of your robe off and slid it off your shoulders, letting it pool on the floor as you brought your hands to the back of Sirius’ neck and dragged his face closer to yours. 

Sirius wasn’t sure you’d ever kissed him like that, heck, he wasn’t sure he’d ever kissed anyone like that. Except maybe for Moony, that one-time last year they were so drunk and got dared by Marlene, who promised to buy them treats if they did. That should’ve been enough to make him notice what was actually going on, but Sirius was too focused on the way your hands were pulling on his hair, and the way your hands were angling his head whichever way you pleased. It sent a rush down his spine, Sirius was already so infatuated with you that any kiss would make him swoon, but this kiss was something else. He was the one to take the lead most of the time with you; and with every other girl he’d been with, at least. But this was different, and for some strange reason, he liked it. 

“Aren’t you hot?” you asked in between kisses, as you fumbled with your sweater. 

That made the boy frown. He thought it was rather chilly, actually. At least a tad colder than in the castle, since the passageways didn’t have the same heating spells as the more public sections. But then you pressed yourself against him, and the faintest little moan escaped your lips, which was enough to tip him over the edge. He grabbed you by the waist and pushed you into the cold wall of the staircase, walking up to the same step you were on, to tower over you,  now being he who pressed kisses down your neck, he wanted you to make that sound again. 

As he continued peppering wet kisses down your neck, he realised there was still the faintest shadow of stupid Evan’s grip on your neck and it both pissed him off and gave him an idea, he placed his lips right on top and started sucking as he kissed, grazing your skin with his teeth, his grip on your waist tightening a little as he did, eyes closed shot as he enjoyed how close he was to you.

“Ah… Sirius,” you breathed. 

He stopped sucking, kissing the spot softly before asking, hot breath against your skin “You don’t like it?”

Your eyes were blown as you panted “No… I meant– I–it was a… I definitely liked it,” you managed to say before pushing him back down. Sirius’ idea was simple, when you looked at your neck again, you wouldn’t think of Evan’s vicious fingers, instead, you would think of him, and this staircase, and how good he planned to make you feel. 

As he continued with his task, you started to fumble with your sweater again, loosening your tie and unbuttoning a few of your own shirt’s buttons, but your sweater was in the way so you started unbuttoning that as well. Sirius realised and helped, gently pulling it from the sides of your arms, trying not to brush too much against your hurt arm, but that’s when he realised– the entire area was wet and sticky. 

He quickly separated his lips from your neck and pulled back, you whined, and he would have responded with something cocky had it not been because he saw your arm first, your once white shirt had a dark red mark near your shoulder, a stark contrast with your lust filled face, you didn’t look like you had an ounce of pain, which was even more worrying to him. 

“Darling your arm!” He choked out.

“What’s with it?” you asked, still focused on him, lips slightly parted, breath still heavy.

“It’s bleeding,” Sirius informed, worry evident in his voice, you blinked at his words, still a little distracted by him.

Finally, you turned to look at your arm “Oh.” 

“Oh?! What do you mean “Oh”, didn’t you feel it?!” 

You averted your gaze, as you gulped, “I might have taken another dose of painkillers,” you mumbled as you looked towards the wound, it was right where Evan had dug his hand earlier, no wonder it had hurt you so much. 

“What?” Sirius asked, leaning closer to you again since he hadn’t heard. 

“I took another dose of the painkiller potion,” you repeated, louder this time. “Let’s just say it hurt a little too much and I didn’t want Evan to realise I was in pain.” 

He sighed, he definitely understood why you’d done it, not that it made it any better “Let’s go check that one,” he said as he leaned down to grab your robe and sweater. 

You sighed, you’d rather kiss him instead, but he was right. “There are bandages in my backpack,” you said pointing at it, Sirius had slung it around his shoulder earlier, “I can switch them up in the bathroom and–“ 

“–by yourself?” 

“Well, I was planning to do it earlier, can’t keep bothering Lily whenever something like this happens.” 

Sirius shook his head “Don’t be stubborn and let us help,” he said looking straight at you “That’s what friends are for. I swear sometimes you’re as stubborn as Moony.” 

“Yeah, but you like that about me,” you said with a wink, which got a diverted laugh from him. He grabbed onto your hand and guided you up the stairs until you reached what looked like an abandoned office. There was a huge window with enough light to allow you to switch the bandages comfortably. You sat on the old wood desk and you started to unbutton your shirt, taking just that sleeve off and using a spell to remove the bIoodstain. 

You started trying to find the end of the bandage, but Sirius stepped in, finding it with ease and taking it off himself instead. He cleaned the wound with the same bandage. Using the parts that weren’t already stained with bIood and aguamenti.

Sirius pulled a clean roll from your bag, and carefully started wrapping it around your arm. When he was done you smiled and pulled him into a hug, digging your face into his chest “Thank you,” you mumbled, he embraced you back carefully, making sure not to even brush over your arm. 

“Just let me care for you, all right?” He whispered as he leaned his head closer to yours. You half nodded and then your stomach rumbled. 

“Are you the other kind of hungry now?” he asked with a little smirk, you hit him on the side lightly and he let out a dramatised “Ouch!” 

“You’re the one that insisted on stopping, I might have had my good fill.” 

It was now his turn to raise his eyebrows “Starshine, you have no clue what that sounds like to me.” 

You giggled, realising the innuendo in your words “Maybe I do,” you teased, which just caused Sirius to laugh, she’s unbelievable, he thought. You could feel the rumbling on his chest. 

He then pulled away from you, lifting you slightly from the desk and bringing you to stand right in front of you, grabbing onto your wrist and pulling you towards one of the dark hallways “Alright little vixen, let’s get you something to eat.” 

You almost rolled your eyes at the nickname but followed the boy, casting a quick “evanesco,” over the red-stained bandages Sirius had left on the floor.  

It didn’t take long for you to arrive at the Great Hall, most of your friends were there too, Peter had even separated a plate for you with a couple of pieces of meat and the same sausages you were feasting on in the morning.

“Thanks Wormy,” You said as you sat down in front of him and next to James who passed you a goblet with some juice. 

“How’s Rem?” you heard Tom ask as he arrived, “Went to check on him this morning since he’s helping with some of my charms homework, but you guys went before coming here, right?”

You turned to Tom a little surprised, a sausage halfway into your mouth when you pulled it back down again “You went to see Remus in the morning?” 

“Yeah!” he said, “had a nice chat too, he said he should come back to classes tomorrow, he’s feeling a lot better, but you probably already knew.” 

You gulped, a frown evident in your face “You talked to him?” Tom nodded. 

“Didn’t you just come from the infirmary?” he asked.

“He was asleep,” you explained, your face was serious as you stood a little straighter, replaying the events of the day in your head. Sirius, who had been looking at you could practically see the gears turning in your head, he had already noticed something was off with Remus sleeping so much. “At what time did you go?” you asked then, tilting your head just a little, looking at him with a calm expression, a bit of a smile in the end, even. A mask, Sirius realised. 

“‘bout 6:30, just before class.” 

“Oh… And he… was awake?” 

Tom nodded, and it gave you the impression Remus hadn’t even been sleeping “Why?” 

He’s avoiding me, you realised. “Nothing, just curious,” you added “Seems every time I go he’s asleep, must have really bad timing.” 

Sirius gave you a look “Wanna try again?” he asked you, you shook your head in response. 

“Maybe after Herbology,” you said after popping another sausage into your mouth, trying to look uninterested. Even if, as you chewed, your mind was filled with a whirlwind of thoughts. The possibility that he woke up around the time Tom arrived and went back to sleep before you arrived made sense, for it to happen one time, so the chance that you were overreacting was still plausible.

But then you remembered the guilty look on Madam Pomfrey’s face when you went to visit and the uneasy feeling at the pit of your stomach grew. What if it hadn’t been a coincidence? You hadn’t talked to Remus at all after he turned, barely managing to see him get dragged away by James and Peter. The last thing he’d told you to do was to stop being stubborn and bomb the shit out of him, you cringed at the memory: Remus crouching on the floor, groaning in pain as he attempted to persuade you to murdеr him. 

And what had you done instead? You had pushed him around, had him chase you through the passageway, gotten the Whomping Willow to launch him to the side causing his ribs to crack, and then had him chase you through the forest until you literally placed the wand he had specifically given you to use against him in the floor because you thought it could appease the beast. Then Prongs came around and had to gore him one too many times and then you hid under a rock as he waited outside, angry and in pain. 

He had told you not to go to the woods, he had told you how dangerous it was. And you didn’t listen, and now he was hurt and probably in a lot of pain, definitely a lot more than you were, that was for sure. Yeah, I’d be pissed too, you thought as you shook your head. 

You didn’t regret your actions, not at all, you had gotten the flower, and it was now on Kless’ hands. That could definitely help Remus in the long run, but if you thought things through his point of view, you certainly understood why he would be avoiding you, if he was indeed doing it. 

“I’m not gonna let him,” you whispered, determination laced your words. 

“What was that luv?” Sirius asked, leaning in closer, snapping you away from your thoughts. 

“Oh nothing, we should probably get to herbology,” you said, grabbing a napkin and passing it over your mouth. 

After class, you went to check on Remus, and when you were there Pomfrey told you that he had just taken a sleeping draught because he had a severe headache. You peered through the curtain and spotted the two chocolates, still in their place, unwrapped. 

You took a deep breath and nodded, “Would you mind giving this to him from me, please?” you asked with a smile, she nodded and took it from your hands, that same apprehensive look on her face, before turning to the boy with a reproachful look. 

“Why don’t you take it to him?” She asked suddenly, “Perhaps he’s not completely asleep yet.” 

You scoffed wryly, a small, tight-lipped smile appearing on your face. “No need, it’s better he rests,” you said “I’ll get to talk things out sooner than later.”

You gave the woman yet another chocolate and walked towards the door. And it really would be sooner, since you planned to sneak out later that night. 

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: I'm feeling the festive spirits, decided to treat you with a little out-of-the-blue update. Hope you enjoy this chapter, and I know we all miss Rem, but trust me, the wait will be worth it.

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[anundyingfidelity]

I'M A RUIN — Soldier Boy (Part II)

Series summary: After the events of the Seven Tower, you present Grace Mallory a new secret project you're working on already to develop a cure to Compound V. The only problem? You need Soldier Boy for that.

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x female reader.

Word count: 2.5k.

Warnings for series: set after S3 (spoilers), some OOC!Ben, some depressed!Ben, angst, hurt/comfort, eventual smut, slow-burn, language, PTSD, reader has Compound V (she's no Vought supe tho), Soldier Boy being an usual asshole, reader is a fucking liar.

Warnings on this chapter: Ben being a misogynist, talks about masturbation and porn, killing threats, Ben's POV in general is a red flag, death.

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Part I | Part II | Part III | Part IV | Part V | Part VI | Part VII | Part VIII

tags: @k-slla

GEN MASTERLIST! — SERIES MASTERLIST!

Part II: Silence is Peace

The next day arrived fast, and again, you found yourself walking ready to have a conversation with the supe locked in the facility. A part of you was surprised he didn't try to escape yet, but Ben, on the other hand, was just letting things flow at the moment.

The heavy, metal door opened to let you in. The supe caught by surprise seeing you coming inside full of confidence at this time in the morning. A couple of armed men in black uniforms followed behind as they settled down some furniture in the empty area of the room: two small sofas and a coffee table.

His arrogant self knew those guns wouldn't tear a single hair off of him, but hey, he understood you needed to feel safe. So meanwhile, he decided to play along. He remained still by the bathroom door as you came closer.

"I didn't request that," he said once you stood face to face.

"Oh, I know. I did, it's for your therapy," you smiled, tugging the bag on your shoulder. The armed men finished decorating the cell, and they left with a loud thud of the door being closed behind their backs. "There's been a small change of plans. I will come by every day for one hour. Anything you want you will ask me first and if I approve, then I will bring it to you."

He smirked. Like if he needed to be bossed around by a fucking woman, he thought. "You sure have the balls to stand up on me like that."

"Like I said, I want to help you," you replied, making your way and sitting down on a sofa. "Please," you requested him with a hand to do the same and he followed with curiosity. You put the bag on the coffee table, taking out a notebook, pens, a folder, and a small zip bag containing the only thing he asked from you the day before. You left his reefer on the coffee table, putting the folder in your lap as you waited for him with a smile on your face he found unsettling.

Ben still didn't buy you or your intentions, but he sat down on the opposite sofa nonetheless. You had brought him something he asked from you, something he wanted and would calm him down for a little. Hopefully it wasn't going to be that bad. He only had to put up with the game of doctor-patient. In the back of his mind, he was also grateful you dropped the stupid white coat at the same time he found your attempt to fix him ridiculous. He didn't need to get fixed.

"Your guards ain't hurting me with those guns, you know that," Ben started.

"We have to try," you shrugged. "And you're still here, that has to mean something."

He rolled his eyes. Of fucking course he had to stay. There were a lot of questions in his head. He had to settle down for a moment. Things were different in the world, he needed to learn about today's tech and get a fucking good plan to get away with his shit. Who would he get to kill first? Still thinking about it. How would he escape? Probably could use some help to keep a low profile. Could you be that help, being the only human contact he figured would have from now on? Maybe.

"So how are you feeling? Did you have some sleep?" you asked.

"I slept enough, spent the whole fucking night jerking off," he spat. "That TV of yours now does have good porn some hours in the day."

With wide eyes, you wrote down after his answer.

"Alright. But tell me, how are you feeling?" you pushed, your smile long gone and replaced with a serious face locking your gaze to his own.

"Great, never been fucking better" he smirked and you shifted on your seat.

His green eyes started checking you all over for a second. The pencil skirt hugged your legs perfectly and the blouse was tight enough to show off the size of your breasts. The clothes yelling that you were expensive and valuable for the CIA, and most important, to Mallory. Soon he sensed the discomfort emanating from you as his gaze returned to your face. God, he loved doing that, but you sure were daring to get locked inside a room with him alone.

"You can tell me the truth, you know," you said.

"I can easily break your neck and explode this shithole if I want to," he spat back.

"You won't do that. You had the chance yesterday, today even, and yet here you are."

He thought you sounded so sure about that. Ben held your gaze. Neither of you dare to break eye contact. It was like you were challenging him to something he wasn't aware of just yet. He didn't like that, but he remained there, breathing deeply with a strong look on his face. You were right though, and he realised could find you a good usage besides the obvious fucking use for pretty girls like you. He might have missed a good fuck for 40 years but the little common sense on the back of his mind told him the porn channel was enough for now.

"Listen, I know you're not a bad guy," the words fell softly from your lips. "I know you didn't mean to harm those people in Midtown... And in order to help you I could use some information on how you feel every time the blast comes-"

He stood up abruptly, strong enough to move the sofa he was sitting some feet away behind his back and yelled aggressively.

"Fuck off, bitch. What the fuck do you know about me? I don't trust your kind and you're making my threat sound like a great plan now.

You held his gaze as he made his way towards you. You were a prey in his cage, but even if you were scared, he didn't sense any sign of it. Ben's big frame towered you, standing just inches away from the couch you sat on. The space was enough for him to kill you with only one hand but you never moved or flinched a second.

"If you touch me, just a single hair on my scalp, you're fucked."

"C'mon sweetheart, you're no match for me," he mocked with a smirk on his face.

"Novichok definitely is."

He tightened his fists with his lips on a straight line, and his heartbeat increased at the mention of that fucking poison. Meanwhile, you just sat down looking at him with a blank face and innocent eyes. For a moment, he was tempted to just kill you but he forced himself to calm the fuck down. He didn't want to black out again, he certainly did not want to become a fugitive. If he was going to do something, it had to be done well.

"Soldier Boy, it's okay," you got on your feet. His eyes followed your moves. "It's fine if you don't want to talk to me. I can't force you to."

He saw a strange sparkle in your eyes. Were you pitying him? He didn't need that. And when he said nothing, then you continued.

"You accepted the deal, and that includes therapy to help you get out of your trauma. And sooner or later, you have to talk to me," you explained, he felt like a fucking child being scolded.

"You want to fucking help me and spray me with Novichok at the same time," he groaned.

"We have to take our precautions. But trust me. I’d rather not use that on you, I prefer other ways."

"This is fucking crap," he mumbled through his teeth.

He watched you making your way towards the book shelf, leaning down to grab a couple of books. He took in the curve of your ass as you knelt, and he wondered if you were doing all that little show on purpose to test him. His jaw clenched once again at the thought of being played with false promises and a cure to his memories.

"I can leave, but I will come tomorrow," you tossed two books on the coffee table: one about PTSD, the other one about new technology for him to start educating himself on that. "Start reading those and write down in the notebook anything you have to say. It can be about the books, your thoughts, your feelings... Anything you want. I don't have to know unless you want me to."

If looks could kill, you were already dead. He still didn't trust you. He didn't understand completely why a stupid psychiatrist of the CIA wanted him to go through rehab. You were a woman, for fucks sake. Psychiatrists were old, wise, rich men back in his days, not expensive sluts.

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "You're lucky I'm trying hard not to crush your bones right now, pretty thing."

"At least you're trying, that's improvement," you smiled cockily, pointing at his chest with a finger and you took your bag and belongings together, as if he didn't threaten to kill you like three times in the same conversation. "I will leave you now. Have a good lunch, Soldier Boy."

"Time of death 9:41 a.m."

The sound of the monitor disturbed your senses as the voice announced all over the place the death of yet another supe. You watched through the windows as two lab assistants ran inside the chamber to take out the lifeless body of the woman who had given her life to volunteer and assist the program. Anything for the cure, you remember her voice saying, even after she was warned about the possible effects. The worst of them being death. The contract stipulated it clearly and you told her to think twice before agreeing to take the third version of the Anti-V, although she hesitated a lot before joining.

You breathed out. The formula needed improvement, quickly. How many corpses had they taken out of there? You lost count already. You ordered Bianca, your young assistant, to note down all the details one day after the second death of a supe you witnessed, and for her to count them as necessary and at all cost. Arms folded on your chest, your jaw clenched, losing hope and feeling despair running through your spine. The discomfort of what had to be done to find a cure sometimes was too much of a burden. But sacrifices had to be done.

And speaking about sacrifices, you knew you had to get into Soldier Boy's head as soon as possible. The few other sessions you tried to talk to him were useless. The sixth one being today before lunch. A part of you was growing tired of faking it and pretending to be a psychiatrist, it really wasn't your field but you knew how to be one after many sessions, research, and medication on your own. Grace had taken care of your training years ago and this was just another mission with a huge impact and objective in mind: destroy Vought and Homelander, and then provide the cure to supes who didn't want their powers and give them the chance to live a normal life. People like you needed the cure, but first things first.

"Doc, the analysis of Blaze is updated," Bianca said, giving you the tablet to check the information on the supe that was collected.

"Thanks."

Blaze, or Electra Richards was her real name, was a low-profile supe for some time, and you had a secret track of those like her with some help. These kinds of supes didn't really represent a threat to Vought, so it was kind of easy to contact them and give them a possible solution with a warning written all over the place. When Electra was contacted, she had to think about it but eventually said yes. She was young and brave, but she never wanted powers. She had superhuman strength and healed in minutes, seconds even, her bones were indestructible, and when your people ran the proper tests on her she was healthy as hell. Pity that her body wasn't enough to take in the injection of the new Anti-V prototype.

You read the last notes your assistant typed on the supe's profile.

Cause of death: sudden cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation; failure in electrical signaling within the heart.

You couldn't continue like this, not anymore. Nine months and nothing seemed to work out. Some supes died, some of them quit the program, and you didn't really blame them for it. The failures were growing bigger than the small steps close to creating the final antidote. The process was becoming an endless trial and error. With a tired face and a sigh, you left the tablet on a desk and walked out making your way to your office.

You took out your cell phone and dialed Grace, walking around the room worriedly. You needed to vent or talk. Anything. And gladly, she picked up by the third ring.

"Is everything okay?" she asked on the other line. She knew you too well.

"I- No, it isn't. But you already know that," you breathed. "Another supe died on trial today. I don't know how many we have-" your voice cut off abruptly and you sighed, composing yourself after a moment. "We keep losing a lot of people..."

Grace exhaled. "It's part of the job. It's your project, you know it was coming when I approved to do this."

"That makes it even worse, you're not helping me," you replied with a playful tone. "I've been thinking- I would like to try the cure."

"No. We need you to focus on this."

"And when I get him, when I get Soldier Boy's blood? He already takes powers of supes with the blast. Should be easier."

"He's your safest option for now. You'll find a way to get it, I trust you. But don't make stupid and hurried decisions, just wait for the right moment," the lady scolded. You smiled a little, like if she was watching you. "About that, how's he doing? Is he cooperating?"

"Not at all, that's my other problem," you fell back on your chair ungracefully, your back hurting at the thought of seeing him again that day. "I am trying to get him to talk, even using my cards of dressing up like I'm a fucking slut with tight skirts and all, but he's really backing up. Besides he's a fucking dick," your words made Grace chuckle for a bit.

"All supes we have dealt with are dicks, especially Vought. But Y/N, you got this," her words attempted to make you feel better. "This is one of our best options to take them down for once. I know you've been working on this way long before you talked to me, and that's the reason I know it's gonna work, doing whatever it takes."

"Thank you, Grace," you mumbled from your heart. Disappointing her was not on your list, and you hoped it won't happen anytime soon. So you switched the topic of the conversation. "And how have you been?"

[selfindulgentpixies]

Soothing words and decaf

Satoru Gojo x Reader x Suguru Geto one shot

When nightmares wake you up once again your boyfriends decide they can't just leave you to sit up alone. Gn!reader, reader wears glasses and has bad eyesight, not stated where in the timeline this is. It's an AU where Suguru never left though. This is really just to comfort myself because my nightmares have been bad lately and making sleep super difficult. It why i've been slow on writing stuff because i'm tired a lot. Also i couldn't decide on just one of them for this comfort fic and needed to be doted on by both. Pls excuse any typos or mistakes

You wake with a start, a stuttering in your chest and a choked gasp. You gaze blearily up at the ceiling, your current location slowly invades your senses and pushes away the personal hell your subconscious  had been creating for you. There’s warm breath fanning over the crown of your head. It would probably be ruffling your bangs if not for the fact they were plastered to your forehead by the sweat. You glance to your right and see that at some point in his sleep Satoru had decided you were his personal teddy bear. Your eyes then drift to the left and you jolt slightly to find that Suguru is blinking back at you with a combination of tiredness and concern. 

“Another one?” He asks, voice low and thick with sleep. This had unfortunately become routine.

You go to speak and nothing comes out the first try but upon clearing your throat slightly and trying again you let out a small. “Yeah.. Go back to sleep, Sugu.” 

He huffs a little at your words and how you begin to try and wiggle out of Satoru’s arms without waking him. An impossible task given that all three of you weren’t what anyone could call heavy sleepers. Trauma will do that afterall. So it’s unsurprising when Satoru grumbles and tightens his grip on you. “You should take your own advice.” Satoru’s voice is just as gravely as Suguru’s and when you glance up you see him peering down at you with his impossibly bright eyes. 

“You know I can’t do that… Let me up and the two of you can get some sleep.” You scoot up to a sitting position, Satoru's arms wrapped around your waist making your task of reaching over him to the side table to get your glasses a far harder task than it needed to be. You whine and flop on him. Fine you’d just be blind. You wiggle down and under his arm, surprised he allowed you to do so as you slide to the end of the bed to get up. 

You didn’t feel like giving Satoru a chance to change his mind about letting you go so you don’t walk past him to get your glasses and instead just pad your way into the kitchen. Your shared apartment with the two men was so familiar you could probably navigate it wearing Satoru’s blindfold. 

Once you’re close enough to the microwave to make out the little glowing numbers you let out a huff. It wasn’t even five am yet. You’d maybe managed to get four hours of sleep which was becoming painfully typical. Today would be another day of surviving off coffee and hopefully slipping in a nap as soon as you got a chance. Your nightmares seemed to happen less when you slept during the day. 

You’re shuffling around the cupboards getting down what you need to make coffee when you hear quiet foot falls, perhaps near silent for someone else but your ears were sensitive and seemingly more so when you chose to mostly forgo being able to see. Anything beyond a couple feet away from you losing all clarity and blurring around the edges. Impressions of objects you only recognized based on familiarity.

Well mostly. “That’s the sea salt, love.” Suguru whispers against the shell of your ear as he takes the long cylindrical container from your hand to place back on the shelf and then grabs a very similar but not identical container that houses the sugar. 

You grumble. “Why do we even keep them next to eachother on the shelf?” Suguru’s hair tickling your neck makes you twitch slightly but you don’t brush it or him away as he leans over you, enveloping you in his warmth, resting his chin on your head as he bends at the waist and wraps his arms around your middle.

“Normally you’re wearing your glasses and can tell the difference.” there’s the smallest hint of amusement to his voice. 

You sigh. That was true. It annoys you but it’s true. You rock back on your heels and lean into his chest. “Really you should get more sleep. Go cuddle with Satoru, I’m sure he’s lonely trying to sleep alon-”

A loud yawn cuts through the kitchen as Satoru walks in. “Too late, already here.” 

“Seriously you both should-” 

“If we should be sleeping so should you. So either you come back to bed with us, or we’re all starting our day at this ungodly hour.” You feel Suguru’s jaw moving against the top of your head as he talks. 

You frown deeply, slouching in his hold. “I… can’t sleep okay? If i go back to sleep it’ll probably just start again.” 

Suguru hums and rocks the both of you back and forth. “Then it sounds like we’re all getting up then, right Satoru? “ He turns you both so you’re facing Satoru who’s much closer now.

Another yawn. “Sounds about right.” And as he says this he places your glasses on your face, bringing his own into focus for you. Satoru is beautiful as always but definitely looks like he needs more sleep. But you know very well how stubborn both he and Suguru are, they’re worse than you are. 

You cave. “Fine, stay up if you want then.” You wanted to sound petulant but instead you just sound tired. Suguru Squeezes you before rising to his full height and releasing you. “Go relax, I’ll make the coffee.” 

Before you can respond he gives you a small nudge in Satoru’s direction who doesn’t give you time to protest as he scoops you up and carries you toward the plush living room couch. He flops both of you down before rolling you so he’s squishing you into the plush fabric. “Satoruuuu-” You try to protest as he nuzzles into your neck. If you were more awake you might have caught on to what the two men were doing since in the kitchen Suguru put away the regular coffee and switched it out for decaf before brewing it. They still had some hope of lulling you back to sleep and caffeine wasn’t part of that. They knew you well enough that you likely just needed to be soothed and given time to get out of your head so you could be directed back to bed. 

“Mmm don’t want to cuddle me?” He pouts at you.

“You’re squishing me, you big menace!” 

The two of you go back and forth, you sinking back into the couch and giving Satoru his way despite complaining when what feels like suddenly Suguru is there holding two mugs of coffee and judging by the heap of whipcream on the third mug a cup of hot chocolate for Satoru. He kicks one of Satoru’s legs. “Move over and quit crushing them. “ 

Satoru grunts and starts to complain until he looks At Suguru and spots the mug topped with whipcream. He sits up quickly, suddenly looking angelic which earns a sigh from both you and the long haired man. You sit up and give Suguru a grateful smile as he passes you one of the steaming mugs. “Thank you, Sugu.” 

“Of course.” He leans forward and brushes his lips over your forehead. He gets you to scoot over slightly and as you often do you find yourself squished between the two men. You didn’t need to be squished, the couch was big enough, Satoru just seemed dead set on not moving further than he had to. 

You don’t really talk as you quietly sip at your coffee, instead listening to Satoru and Suguru talk about the upcoming day, voices low and soothing. You hardly notice when your mug is pulled from your hands and placed on the coffee table before you can spill the remnants of your drink on your lap. You blink rapidly realizing you’ve been completely zoned out only now to have Satoru’s face directly in yours. It’s brief because the next thing you know he’s picked you up for the second time that night, or rather morning. “Satoru-” You cut off in a yawn and wrap your arms around his shoulders, body shaking slightly with a stretch. 

“I think it’s time we head back to bed. Suguru and I have been talking to you and you haven’t even noticed,” he says amusement clear in his voice. You can hear Suguru in the background putting your mugs in the sink before following the two of you.

“Mm sorry,” you mumble against his shoulder, your glasses being pushed askew though you couldn’t care less. You feel more than hear Satoru laugh. And it feels like in the next blink he’s laying you back in bed, and gently slipping your glasses off before crawling in after you, wrapping you in his arms. It’s only a couple moments later that Suguru follows. A rough warm hand sliding under your sleep shirt to splay over your stomach. 

You’re finally back asleep then, safely tucked between the two of them where no harm can come to you, even if your dreams make you feel otherwise. The two of them will always be there to remind you that you’re safe.

@nanamikentoseyebags @strawberrystepmom @icy-spicy

@gojoest

[hopeluna]

𖦹 ׂ 𓈒 ⋆ ۪ — Barista!Izuku Midoriya

♡! hope's notes: this is 50% unrealistic and 50% self indulgent. Tell me what u think lol <3

It's 7 in the morning when you realise that you're truly, utterly fucked.

You try to convince yourself that it was really your alarm's fault for not waking you up. Because now you are desperately trying to shove everything in your bag, while chewing on the world's driest granola bar and make your way out of your apartment.

You do the calculation in your head as you make your way down the stairs, trying not to trip. Your class is supposed start at 7:15, so you have approximately 5 minutes to get a much needed cup of coffee. And then you need to make run for your class which is 15 minutes, hoping to whatever deity that you'll reach there in 10 minutes.

A groan of frustration escapes you on the sidewalk at the utter slow pace the lady is moving in front of you, talking animatedly on the phone.

You've been late to class enough times this entire week that you're convinced your professor is going to shoot you in the head today. The first thing you notice in front of the cafe is how cute and cozy it looked. Like something straight out of a rom-com set.

There were small little coffee shops like this scattered through almost every road corner outside the campus. Coffee shops, cheap diners and stationaries all looking out for their target customers, drained college students.

This particular coffee shop, you had realised one day talking with your friends, was new and untouched by your hands. You knew that logically it wasn't a great time right now to experiment newly opened shops, no matter how much your friends had been praising the place but you were already late, and the decor and smell of roasted coffee beans seemed too appetizing to pass up.

The gentle chime of the bell at the entrance almost made you forget that your life could possibly be on the line in less than 10 minutes. Your shoulders loose some tension at the faint but noticeable fragrance in the air, the smell of coffee and the muffled sounds of students clicking away on their computers, couples chatting away in excitement and the sound of the workers behind the counter.

Oh yeah, you were definitely forgetting about class for some minutes.

Tapping your fingers to a random rhythm, your eyes immediately go to the cheapest drink on the big menu overhead the counter. Being a college student, you weren't really raking up the big bucks and would rather like to be able to afford instant ramen in the future.

And that's when it happened.

You swore that you almost went blind for about 2 seconds at the absolute beaming, sunshine-filled smile the barista gave you. The simple words "what can I get for you today?" suddenly sounded like the most holiest piece of angel music coming out of his mouth. He was cute, like a lot, with lush green curls falling messily atop his head, freckles doted like stars across his cheeks. You briefly registered the small "Midoriya" name plate attached to his shirt.

"Um, e-excuse me?"

"Yes?"

"I- what can I get you, ma'am?"

"Your number, hopefully"

Shit. The wide eyes and the full flush creeping up on his cheeks made you almost shriek in horror, you didn't mean to say that aloud. Suddenly, the once calming air felt stifling and uncomfortable.

"Uh! I mean- no!", wincing at your own volume, you suddenly wished that the earth would just open up and swallow you whole. "You see, um, that was- a joke! A bad joke!". It took all your strength to not bash your head on the counter under your sweaty palms, cringing at yourself.

The nervous laugh that "Midoriya" let out certainly didn't help the situation either.

You felt the tension lifting off your chest when a girl came up to the counter to ask for more creamer. The next course of action was probably not your proudest moment, definitely something you would look back at and curse yourself for. In your defence, your mind felt scrambled and fried at the whole interaction, so you did the only thing your brain managed to comprehend. You ran.

A few minutes later, already at your campus, you stopped for a second for breath. The frustrated whine you let out next was met with some questioning glances your way that you could not be bothered about right now, your mind only swirling with one thing.

You didn't even get your fucking coffee.

© hopeluna. Do not copy, translate, modify or repost any of my work in this or any other site. Do not steal or modify my ideas/concepts either.

[xokohaneazusawa]

hello pookie i’m the anon who got injured while playing football during PE!! (update on the injury: it doenst hurt as much anymore, but it’s fucking black?? around the corners?? AM I DYING 💀)

ok but anygays i saw someone else comment on the post who also wanted another part so i can now overcome the guilt of potentially asking for too much and ask for that infirmary part 2 anyways 😍😍 (nvm it’s not working. i still feel bad.)

and ofc i was thinking of the bllk boys during PE we were literally playing football and i was thinking about how funny it would be if i pulled a chigiri and broke my leg right then and there because of how bad i was at it (i’m so sorry.)

fr tho i cannot play for shit 😭 these mfs make it look so damn easy but football is too damn difficult 💀(i don’t exercise. if i have the option to stay at home every day of my life with everything in it and unlimited supply of food and other essentials, i would. i also failed my school’s fitness test and struggle to open bottle caps sometimes.) i’m just a girl 🎀

i don’t mean to be greedy or demanding but an infirmary scene would really heal my soul (and hopefully my nose. i still dk why it’s turning a bit black. 💀 maybe it’s bruising idk 💀)

p.s. i think my nose is fine but idk. it doesn’t feel pain or anything, and the wound is quite inconspicuous. like i have to squint to see it and the weird black parts (haha 400 eye degree 😍)

You never have to feel bad about asking for anything from me, I'm happy to really do whatever lol! I'm actually so excited to write this, I mean it's such a cute idea!!

Chigiri Hyoma

-> Bro fought with the nurses to stay with you, so that man is not leaving your side the whole time you are there. I mean he's sitting next to your bed, or next to you if you're in a chair, and not leaving for anything.. well unless you asked for something, but that's not the point here

✮ - He sighed and watched as they started to take some tissues making sure that the bleeding was stopping, and applying an ice pack on your nose. He laughed slightly when he saw you flinch due to the cold, but made sure to squeeze your hand slightly to show that it would be fine. Once the ice was applied they made you sit and wait for a little, just to help with the healing, and came by every couple minutes at first to make sure that everything was okay and that you weren't getting freezer burn by any chance. The nurses were all really sweet, and Chigiri was making sure you were following what they said, no matter how cold that ice pack was, your ass, was not taking it off around him. Man already has a good track record of listening to what the doctors say, he trusts them, so in due turn you're following everything that they say as well. He sighs when you finally can take off the ice pack and he can already see the bruise forming under the red from the cold.

"Next time make sure you're not in dream land, because I'm gonna be way worse then these people when taking care of your stupid ass."

Rin Itoshi -> He might have left because the nurses told him to go back, but he also might have accidently put somebody else in the infirmary because he wasn't paying attention and went a little too hard on one of the newbies, so he ended up being back after only a couple minutes. Though the second he got back he was sitting next to you and making sure that you were okay, more with his actions then his words

✮ - This man hurried back over to the infirmary, he was almost asked by a couple teachers to slow down on the way there but when they saw he also looked pissed off (It's really just his rbf) they decided to just leave him alone. Assumed he was gonna like murder then if they had said something. The second he got back he rushed over to where you were, immediately asking if you were okay. Though it might not have sounded like he cared, the way that he almost plowed through like 3 teachers on the way here made up for it. The nurses were hella confused but once they saw him sitting right next to you and slightly holding onto your hand making sure they you didn't remove the ice pack, no matter how cold it was, they kinda just aww-ed and continued their work, checking up on you making sure that you didn't accidently get freezer burn and checking for bruising and things like that. He stayed holding your hand the whole time, letting you squeeze his hand whenever they tried to mess with your nose, pushing it around. He sighed when they finally walked away, looking up at you.

"I hope you know that I almost sent another lukewarm player from your team to the infirmary.. never do that shit again."

Nagi Seishiro

-> He will stay with you the whole time, mostly because he was too lazy to go back to class, and the fact that he was really only trying to impress you and since you're not there anymore it didn't matter to him. Though he will make sure to ask every couple minutes if you're okay, even if he looks like he's falling asleep against your shoulder

✮ - Was actually half falling asleep against your shoulder before you had to move him slightly when the nurse gave you an ice pack, which woke him up and that’s when he realized what was actually happening, to which he did end up staying awake to make sure that you were okay. Checking on you every couple minutes with a quick “You good?” or “You’re not dying. Right?”. He’s trying his best, but normally Reo takes care of him, he’s never been on the other side of this. The nurses will always slightly laugh at him, because he looks kinda worried but actually has no idea on what to do to help you. Is the only one who will actually take the ice pack off of you, not because he was trying to prevent healing, but you said your nose was cold and bro just fixed the problem, well that was until you laughed at him and he was hella confused. (please explain to this man about the great thing to athletes and injuries that is an Ice pack). Though he was super sweet other than that and did try to learn a bit and pay attention when the nurse finally let you leave with just some instructions on how to take care of it.

“Next time, just pay attention.. So we don’t have to go through all of this again. How I wished first aid kids that just auto healed worked in real life..”

Bachira Meguru

-> Stayed with you, but he laughed. The whole time. Man has almost been in tears twice sitting next to you, thinking about the way the ball came right in the center of your face and now it's all bruised. The nurses at this point also wanna give him a bruised nose so he can finally shut up

✮ - He was trying to contain his laugh the whole time he walked you there, plus in the office when the nurses were trying to help you, by getting tissues, an ice pack, and possibly some sort of pain medication. You probably have already given this man so many dirty looks and glares, but he just doesn’t seem to care whatsoever. Now, not to get this confused. He is concerned for your safety, but the fact that you got smack dabbed hit in the center of your face with a football is just so freaking funny to him and he’s just watching it over and over in his head. Had it been a whole different injury, one that didn’t look so funny, he would probably be more serious about it, but come on, it was pretty funny. Though, he’s probably also gotten hit a couple times with a ball so he does at least know the basics of making sure that you’re okay. So another one that makes sure that you keep that ice pack on the whole goddamn time, unless obviously, freezer burn. (I’ve had it, it sucks.) Though again, everytime he sees your nose, all red and starting to get bruised he will indeed laugh. But at the end of the day he’ll also be pretty helpful in making sure that it gets better, since his past experiences, if you can deal with the constant teasing.

“Oh come onnnn, It’s pretty funny! I mean how far out were you to get hit in the middle of the god damn face- Oh wait, here I have some bandaids so you can compress it”

Isagi Yoichi

-> Always making sure that you're okay. You move? He's asking. You made a funny face of pain? He's asking. You even looked at him? he's asking. He's really just worried and wants to make sure that you're okay and that it won't be all that bad or anything

✮ - This man has not left your side the whole time you’ve been sitting there. He’s constantly asking and making sure you’re okay and don’t need anything. Not to mention, he’s also been holding your hand the whole time, just in case. The only time he ever lets go is when the nurses come to make sure you’re okay. He’s just being cautious, hey, maybe you’ll need two hands to hold something or whatever. The only time he will keep his hold on you is when they come to move it around to make sure it’s not like broken or anything, then he’ll keep it there so you can squeeze it to deal with the pain, hey, hurt noses are nothing to sneeze at (please somebody laugh at that). Whenever your hand gets tired (or just cold) of holding your ice pack, he’ll take over. He’s just so freaking helpful and all the nurses love him for that. Though being an athlete himself does help a lot, he’s pretty good at knowing how all this stuff works. Checking to make sure that you’re following what the nurses said and making sure that it’s not getting too bad. Though once he sees that it’s all red and stuff he will chuckle a little, as worried as he is.

“Maybe next time you keep your attention on the field and not in whatever world you were in, okay?”

Reo Mikage

-> He was still laughing a little bit, and chuckled when he was reminded of the event, but for the most part was pretty worried about you and made sure that you didn't touch it too much so you didn't accidently hurt it anymore. Like Isagi, he also made sure to ask if you were okay every couple minutes, he just really wants to make sure that it won't cause anything long term.

✮ - He was sitting in the nurse's office with you, making sure that you were okay, asking if you needed anything. Water? To take off the ice pack for a second? Another tissue? He’s got it all covered. I mean he’s been taking care of Nagi for how long, this isn’t all that different. Well besides the fact he also gets a laugh or two out of it. (he won’t actually let out a laugh until you’re leaving the nurse’s office, and when he’s sure that it’s starting to get better). He just thinks it’s a little funny, watching the scene replay in his head of you getting hit in the face with the football. He knows that he shouldn’t laugh at your demise, but you can’t blame him. Though he’ll make sure that you always have everything you need for the next couple weeks, or at least until it’s healed. After the initial injury he might be a little more easy to make laugh, and by that I mean every time he sees your slightly bruised nose he’s letting out a chuckle. Was he worried at first? Yeah. But now he just sees it as a memory of you spacing out at the worst time.

“I know that I look good on the field, but next time pay attention to the flying ball and not at your amazing boyfriend~”

Sae Itoshi

-> Staying with you. No matter what. The nurses most likely hate him at this point, he's silent and he really isn't doing anything besides being next to you. Though, what they don't know is that fact every time he sees you twist with discomfort or make a face he's reaching over to ask if you're okay or you need anything

✮ - The nurses have come over a couple times at this point, once to give you an ice pack, once just to double check that you were okay, and once to give you some pain medication and water. Though on the right side of you, Sae has just been looking over at some of the other patients, and nurses walking around the office. After everytime one of the nurses walks up to you or does anything he will turn his attention back over to you and ask you a quick “you okay.” slightly looking at either your face or body language. If he ever can see that you’re lying to him, good luck to you. He’s an athlete, man has most likely gotten hurt in his career, and he knows lying and saying you’re fine isn’t doing anything, it’s actually most likely making it worse. So in turn he will glare at you until you finally say that you’re not okay. He just wants you to be honest, especially if it hurts and it’s something that can be fixed. Though also with his background he knows how to take care of things like that, and might possibly be the best one to have in this scenario, well if you can deal with him constantly not (facial) showing that he cares.

“You’re stupid, I hope you know that. And now you’re being even more stupid, don’t touch it.”

[i-literally-cant-with-this]

okay like i know we all joke (?) about kafka's kaiju form being a biblical need but at the end of the day i just love human kafka and his lil stubble and his cute tummy and his adorable grin. he's just so boyfriend material i wanna smooch him 😭

A/N ::: Good God, Bri. You don't know what you've started with this ask. I went a little off script? Unhinged? Idk ... somewhere along the lines of quite unwell for this man. Like, it's not cute anymore. It's getting really close to psychiatric intervention (at my request) 🤣

I would look forward to the times I got to wake up in the morning, hopefully next to him because nothing in the night pulled him away from me. I'd be so happy to get out of bed and do morning stuff with him. Maybe showering - and it doesn't even have to be anything sexual (but hello???). Just that closeness.

And yeah, his soft, wet tummy pressing against your wet body. Both of you sliding against each other as you talk about silly, inconsequential things like what you dreamt about or what you want to have for lunch today. While you're shaving his chin, prepping him for the day, he is already thinking about showing up where you're at and surprising you with something that you said you were craving a week ago, but you haven't mentioned since because things have been so crazy that you barely have time to breathe, let alone think about what you're going to eat that day.

When he does show up with food, you see him walking across the parking lot and you run out to meet him and jump into his arms. You both just stand there on the sidewalk, clinging to each other. Talking about how much you missed him and how lucky are you to have such a great man that listens to your blabbering and takes notice of when you say something that you want/want to do.

He feeds you the first bite because he wants to see when the flavors hit your tongue and your face lights up (he moves his hand away a lot faster than you do when you take a bite of something). The look on your face is nothing short of orgasmic - but he just laughs at the joy you're expressing over something as innocuous as a bite of food. That's what makes him the happiest - when something so simple can bring you such contentment.

And when it's time for him to go, you walk hand in hand to where he's parked, and he pushes you against the door of his car and he smooshes himself against you and puts his forehead against yours and thanks YOU for letting HIM bring you lunch. He talks about how much he loves that he can do little things like this - ok, too far? Idk. I'm in complete Lala-land over this man.

And he wraps that discussion up with a sweet, slow, soft kiss to your lips that leaves you kind of breathless. It's not the usual kiss he gives you when you're saying goodbye in the morning or hello in the evening - unless he's trying to sway your disposition.

But this kiss is almost a promise that better things are to come.

Staying true to his unspoken word, you walk in the door and all of the lights are off. In electricity's place, there are candles lit and scattered all about the living room. Something smells really good but it's not food.

It's Kafka. He's wearing a cologne he tried a couple of weeks ago when you were out at the mall. He tried it and wore it very well that day - really, for the next 8 hours after he put it on.

In those hours, you couldn't keep your hands or mouth off of him, much to his surprise/pleasure.

He heard the front door close, and you call out hello to him and he came from down the hall. Your eyes met; you noticed right away his brow was quirked in a suggestive way.

You were on him like white on snow and you had the best end to an already amazing day.

I WOULD GIVE UP SO MUCH TO HAVE THIS MAN BE MY BOYFRIEND. Goddamn it, I love him so much.

@supersecretsaga @kazutora-kurokawa @katkusuo

@reiners-milkbiddies @southside-otaku @darkstarlight82

@trevengersprincess @arlerts-angel @bakubunny

@viburnt

[jeankluv]

Birdie - Satoru Gojo | Chapter 09

Words: 4,3K

Summary: You didn't like him, at all. But due to your bad luck you would have to be forced to work with him and different circumstances end up leading you to the fact that perhaps the word dislike is not the one you would use to describe him.

ac: _3aem

Tags: modern au, college au, fem!reader, academic rivals, he fell first, fluff, old money Gojo Satoru, abusive parents, slight slow burn, Satoru is a softy, secondary couple (Geto Suguru x oc), a bit of angst, no use of y/n, eventual smut, Gojo plays basketball

Notes: we are getting into business with this new chapter. I haven’t written almost anything during the whole week, I was busy studying but hopefully I can finish the chapter I was writing and start with the new one. I’m so excited for all of you to read the next few chapters.

Before you read the chapter: i know this post will be seen by a lot of people and I wanted to share this gofoundme link, she is my moot on twt, her name is Noor and she is trying to evacuate her and her family from Gaza and she is still trying to raise money. I know not everyone can donate but if you can rt and share it’s very useful. Thank you ❤️

materialist | previous chapter | next chapter

Pinteres board || Birdie playlist || ao3

“Fuck me.”

You opened your eyes in surprise after hearing your best friend’s words.

“Sorry.” She covered her mouth. “But Jesus! You look so freaking hot.” She looked up and down several times.

“You think so?” You looked at yourself back in the mirror.

Kyoko nodded. “That red dress looks breathtaking on you. And your breasts look just so good with it and please tell me you are wearing the high boots.” She said looking around, searching for your boots.

“Yes.” You smiled.

“My femme fatale girl.” She joked. “Girl, I’m afraid I might come back home alone.” She cried.

“Pfff.” You rolled your eyes. “I’m not the one who has a boyfriend, you are!” You pointed at her. “I will probably be the one coming back home alone because you will be too busy with your lovely boyfriend.”

“C’mon girl, when was the last time you hooked up with someone, just anyone.” Kyoko said while stealing one of your lipsticks.

You felt silent, trying to think when was the last time you hooked up with someone. Last year’s New Year’s party? No you were working at the bar, so was two years ago with that guy?

“Oh god!” Kyoko gasped. “You don’t even remember it!”

“Shut up!” You took away your lipstick. “I was busy working and studying. I couldn’t go parting.”

“That’s why.” She positioned herself behind you. “Tonight, you will hooked up with someone.”

“Kyoko…”

“C’mon! The entire basketball team will be there.” She winked at you. “Satoru will be there.” She dropped it.

You tried to ignore the growing feeling on your chest. “And what about it?” You said with no emotion on your voice.

“What? You are going to tell me, that now you don’t dislike him, you haven’t imagine yourself hooking up with him.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head. “No I haven’t.” That idea hasn’t crossed your mind. Yet.

“Whatever, but there are a lot of hot guys in the team. But the hottest is already taken and it’s mine.” She joked. “Oh…” She gasped. “Probably the hot guy, the one you used to crush on, the one with the face tattoo and piercings will be there, he is also part of the basketball.”

“That was back when we were in our first year.” You snorted. “And besides, I think he has a girlfriend.”

Kyoko grimaced and sat on your bed while you finished making the final arrangements. You had to say it, you looked hot tonight.

At first you were doubtful about going out, because you didn’t feel like it. But you were young, you were having an extra free day and you nailed your exam, although you still didn’t know your score. But it was going to be good.

You turned around and looked at your best friend with a huge smile on your face.

“Ready?”

“Absolutely!” She screamed and held your arm.

Exiting your room, you exchanged polite farewells with Kyoko's parents before stepping out into the cool night air. There, standing by the front gate, was Suguru, patiently waiting for both of you.

Kyoko let go of your arm, her demeanor shifted, and she moved swiftly into Suguru's awaiting embrace. She leaned in, pressing a tender kiss to his lips.

You couldn't help but feel a pang of loneliness as you watched the intimate moment that they were sharing. You put on a smile and greeted Suguru warmly, acknowledging his presence with a nod. You sat in the back seat, while Kyoko sat next to Suguru in the front seats.

During the trip, the three of you talked about various topics, creating an atmosphere of fluid conversation that never made you feel out of place, as if you were holding the candles.

You couldn't help but notice how Kyoko was watching Suguru with bright eyes and a radiant smile on her face. Seeing her like this only filled your heart with warmth and joy.

In love, reciprocity was comforting, but when only one loved, the result was heartbreaking for those left longing.

Have you experienced love? Maybe, if you could call it that. At fifteen, your understanding of love was as ephemeral as the changes of the seasons, based mainly on the representations of movies, series, and books you found in the library.

At that age, you embarked on a relationship that lasted almost a year with a boy from your town. He was two years older than you, knew much more than you and was more experienced. However, as quickly as it began, what you could feel for him faded, now with the years that had passed, you were aware that for him you had only been a whim and for you he had been an exciting moment at that stage. Dating someone older had sounded exciting, but nothing could be further from the truth.

But life hit you in the face, once again, when you were sixteen years old and the idea of ​​love was pushed aside. The last thing you wanted was to tie yourself to another in the middle of the chaos of your life.

After that relationship you had had one or another, more like attempts at relationships. In fact, when you were in first grade, Kyoko forced you to go on more than one blind date. I wanted to go on a double date one day.

But after breaking up with the prick he stopped insisting and you were never interested again. So the last time you had made out with someone, it had been during the New Year's Eve party two years ago. After that your life had been too hectic to have time.

Suguru parked the car in the crowded parking lot and the three of you stepped out of the vehicle into the bustle of the night. As you adjusted your dress, you looked at the happy couple, Kyoko and Suguru, who were arm in arm, radiating joy.

Kyoko caught your attention and made a playful gesture with her hand, motioning for you to join them in walking hand in hand towards the nightclub. His smile was contagious.

You took a moment to compose yourself, then offered a smile in return, nodding slightly as you closed the distance and linked arms with Kyoko. Then, the three of you headed towards the club where the basketball team had agreed to meet.

“I think I haven’t told you.” Kyoko said to your ear. “Shoko is coming tonight too.”

“For real? That’s great, she is nice.” You smiled. “I just hope you two don’t end up like last time.” Kyoko blushed a little bit.

“It was a one time thing.” She defended herself with a pout.

"Yes, but the one who had to drag your drunk asses around the house was me." You stuck your tongue out at him.

"Shoko and I will make it up to you, we'll invite you." Kyoko said still without erasing the pout from her lips.

"It's the least I hope for." You said jokingly.

“Girls, we are here.” Suguru spoke, moving his head towards the club.

You entered the club, being welcomed by the heat of the place and the music at full volume. Suguru began to greet his teammates, most of them were faces you recognized from the game you had attended, but others were new faces.

“Suguru!!” You heard the voice of the person, who had been embedded in your brain for some time.

He appeared in the crowd, with a smile on his face and a glass in one of his hands. He was wearing a suit, just like that time he showed up at your work, but this one wasn't as elegant, it was more casual. His shirt was unbuttoned, revealing part of his chest.

You wondered if it was his doing to unbutton those buttons or if he had already been having a good time with someone before you arrived. Maybe with that girl from that time.

You turned your head away from where he was and cursed yourself for thinking that.

“Hey Satoru.” Your best friend spoke.

“Oh girls!” He said happily. “You are here too.” You felt him approaching you. Shit.” Hey birdie, you are not going to say hi to me?” You were looking away from him.

You slowly turned to look at him and put on your best smile. “Hi Satoru.”

Satoru stared at you in silence, for longer than you thought he would. You could see his Adam apple moving up and down, as if he was trying to regain composure with that movement.

You smirked to yourself knowing it was the perfect opportunity to tease him. “What Satoru the cat got your tongue?” Placing a hand on your waist you spoke again. “Or I look so hot that you forgot how to speak?”

He closed his mouth, which was slightly opened and a small smile draw on his lips. “Yeah birdie, you look so freaking hot that I forgot how to breathe for a moment.”

Shit.

You should have prepared yourself knowing what Satoru Gojo was like and that he could come up with something like that. But damn, you loved it.

Trying to suppress the restless rise and fall of your pulse and chest, agitated by the impact his words and that hoarse voice had had on you, you forced a smile. You smiled as if it didn't matter, as if her words hadn't unleashed a whirlwind of emotions inside you.

But the reality was very different. Satoru's words had ignited a storm inside you, swirling with a tumultuous mix of feelings that you struggled to contain. Despite your best efforts to appear unaffected, the turmoil it had caused remained beneath the surface, threatening to erupt like a volcano.

You took a deep breath. Would it be that night? The night you'd finally accept something you'd been trying to suppress for weeks? Or would you just let it go and lock it in the deepest drawer?

Satoru Gojo pov

Satoru felt like his legs might give out beneath him, which is why he had held them steady when he saw you.

His gaze first saw his best friend Suguru, then Kyoko, and finally his eyes landed on you. And damn it. The word beautiful was not enough to describe you that night.

Seeing you in that red dress, accentuating every curve of your figure, along with those impressive high boots, took his breath away. Satoru felt helpless in the presence of your beauty, and tonight he knew he would be at his weakest point.

Unbeknownst to you, just like you, Satoru Gojo's insides were a whirlwind of emotions, he was reeling, overwhelmed by the sheer magnetism you exuded. He knew that tonight he would be at your mercy, completely captivated by just your presence.

“You want a drink?” He spoke pointing at the bar behind him.

“Yeah, sure.” You walked besides him. “I though you didn’t drink.”

Satoru looked at his cup. “It’s mainly soda with a bit of alcohol, but only from time to time. I am not a big fan of alcohol.” You nodded and turned to ask for a drink. “It’s good you came.” He got closer so you could hear him.

“And why it’s that?” You smirked, grabbing your straw and taking a small sip. “You would miss me if I didn’t come?”

Yes. But he was unable to say it out loud. “You deserve a break from all the stress.”

“That includes you.” You said teasing him.

“Don’t be bad birdie. I know you love me.” He joked but he secretly longed for it.

“Nah.” You shook your head , you approached his ear to speak to him. “When they called your name and then mine for the project I seriously considered leaving class.” Satoru felt offended by your words, did you hate him that much? “But now my dislike for you has gone from 95% to 35%.”

“A 35%?” He opened his eyes.

“There are times I want to kick your ass so badly.” You shrugged and sipped at the straw again. “You should be glad it went from 95 to 35.”

“Of course it went down, with this face.”

“Now it’s 37%” You said while rolling your eyes.

“Ouch.” He touched his chest as if it hurt his feelings. “Anyways, birdie, let me introduce you to some of our teammates.”

Satoru hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether he should reach out and take your hand. It wouldn't be the first time he did it, but this moment would be different. The last time he held your hand, at the lake, you were on the verge of tears, almost having a panic attack. Now, at this party, you were both having fun.

He looked at your hand and then back at your face, noticing the confused expression as you wondered what he was doing. Gathering all the courage he could muster, Satoru decided to act. He gently took your hand and led you in front of him to where his teammates were gathered.

As he led you through the crowd, Satoru's heart raced with a mix of excitement and nervousness. His hands were sweating and he prayed that you wouldn't notice.

Upon reaching his teammates, Satoru gave you a small squeeze and placed you next to him, still holding onto his hand.

“Guys!” Satoru's voice echoed in the space where the team was, causing the curious gaze of his teammates to rest on him and also on you. “She is…” Satoru said your name pointing his hand at you. His companions then began to murmur under their breath while his gaze remained glued to you.

“Captain! Is she your girlfriend?” Satoru swallowed hard and controlled himself so that a crimson red wouldn't stain his cheeks.

“No Yuji, she is not.” Satoru responded a bit irritated.

“Do you really think Captain Gojo would be able to get a girlfriend?” The vein on Satoru's forehead began to swell. It had definitely been a bad idea bringing you to meet these brats.

“Megumi…” Satoru snorted through his nose. “Don't pass or you'll be on the bench next week.” To which Megumi responded by turning around and sitting in one of the back chairs, without giving it any importance.

“I’m Yuji!” Yuji approached you with a smile.

“Nice to meet you Yuji.” You said finally letting Satoru’s hand go.

“You should meet the others too!” He said. “This is my first year in the team, well I just started college, but everyone is very nice.”

“Is Satoru nice too?” Satoru felt a small blush on his cheeks again after hearing you ask that question. “If you want we can get away from him and then you can criticize him.” You joked and Satoru smirked.

“Oh no, no.” Yuji shook his head. “Captain Gojo is truly an amazing player and amazing captain! I’m glad he is my mentor.” He widely smiled.

“Oh impressive Satoru.” You said looking at him.

Satoru shrugged and smiled. “What can I say, I'm the best.”

“You’re the best.” You said at the same time laughing.

“Captain…” A deep voice talked behind both of you, you lifted your head to be met with a tall blonde guy.

Oh Haibara’s friend.

“Nanami!!” Satoru happily shouted, to which Nanami reacted rolling his eyes. “Birdie, this is Nanami.” He pointed at him.

“Nice to meet you.” Nanami did a small bow.

“You are Haibara’s friend right?” He nodded. “I saw you a couple of times outside the store waiting for him.”

“You work with Haibara?” You nodded. “Oh so you’re the super nice coworker he always talks about.”

“I guess so.” You smiled. “You also play on the basketball team?” You tilted your head.

“Unfortunately.” You looked at him confused for his response. “Captain Gojo is a pain in my ass most of the time.”

“I understand what you mean.” You laugh recalling how you had Satoru saved on your phone.

Satoru coughed sharply causing you both to turn to look at him. “I think that's enough for today, Nanami, why don't you go get some drinks? I want the same thing as always, okay?” He said as he pushed Nanami away.

“Satoru, why was that?” You crossed your arms in front of your chest.

Satoru rolled his eyes again. “It’s just that…” But the sentence was left in the air when Shoko’s voice sounded louder than his, calling your name.

“I finally found you.” She hugged you, resting her head on your shoulder.

“Shoko!” You said as you moved away a little. “You already drank something?”

“Just a shot. I’m okay, I swear.” She raised her hands. “Now come with me, Kyoko and Yuki are waiting for us to dance.”

“Yuki?” You said confused.

“I will introduce you now. Now let’s go!” She started pulling you. “Let's leave these idiots here.”

Taking one last glance at Satoru and offering a small smile, you bowed your head before disappearing into the bustling crowd of people. Satoru watched you leave, a slight smile on his lips, before exhaling heavily through his mouth.

He walked over to the couch where Megumi was sitting and sank down next to him. Leaning back against the backrest, Satoru looked up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.

“Captain Gojo, you seem distressed.” He heard Megumi talking.

“It’s nothing, kid.” He shook his head. “And by the way how come you are here? You usually hate this type of place.”

Megumi sighed heavily. “That idiot brought me here.” He pointed at Yuji who was now grabbing snacks from a nearby table.

Satoru opened his mouth in o shaped form and nodded. “You two are really close aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?” Megumi inquired with a nervous look.

“Nothing. I mean if you two are close in that type of way then it’s fine by me. And if anyone in the team says something inappropriate, make sure to tell me. I will handle it.” Satoru explained.

Megumi stood up. “Thank you captain, but it’s okay… we are okay.” Satoru noticed the small blush on Megumi’s cheeks and smiled as he walked away to where Yuji was.

Satoru looked around the place and spotted you on the dance floor. He watched you from the side, he observed you as you danced and laughed with Kyoko, Shoko and who he guessed was Yuki, the one Shoko mentioned before. It was rare to see you so carefree, and he couldn't help but feel his chest swell with happiness at the sight.

As you moved gracefully on the dance floor, your laughter filled the air and Satoru found himself captivated by the joy that radiated from you. He couldn't look away from you, mesmerized by the way you moved, the way you laughed, the way you simply existed in that moment. It was as if the world disappeared into the background, leaving only you.

He looked at his drink and his thoughts returned to the conversation he had with Suguru last week. It had been a jolt of reality, to say the least.

Satoru had come face to face with the truth: the feelings he harbored towards you had been there for a long time. It wasn't a simple crush; he was deeper than that. The weeks of interaction had only intensified his emotions, revealing a deep feeling he had rarely experienced.

Reflecting on it now, Satoru realized that he had been in love with you long before he fully acknowledged it. He had fallen in love with you from a distance, watching how you interacted with others, listening to what people said about you, and admiring your dedication and diligence.

It was a realization that excited him and at the same time made him nervous. Satoru was used to being confident and self-assured, but when it came to matters of the heart, he found himself navigating uncharted territory. If he had had girlfriends, he had dated different people, but on the vast majority of occasions he had been without any deeper interest.

Sighing he looked back at your figure on the dance floor.

“If I didn’t know how you felt about her I would think you are a pervert or something like that.” Suguru sat next to him.

Satoru just rolled his eyes and took his cup once again. “I’m just watching her, nothing else.”

“Yeah like a creep.” His friend pointed out. “Why don’t you go and ask her to dance with you?”

“You think she will accept?”

“What’s the worst that could happen? You get your ass kicked? I will have my phone ready just in case.”

“Geez you are annoying.” Satoru said punching Suguru’s arm.

“C’mon man! Where is all your ego and confidence?” He challenged.

Satoru stood up and looked at Suguru. “Watch me.”

“Your legs are trembling Satoru!” Suguru shouted from the distance to which Satoru responded by showing his middle finger.

But oh boy, he was for real trembling. That was the effect you have on him after all.

Your pov

Your body swayed to the infectious rhythm of the music as you continued sipping from your second glass of the night. You were cautious not to drink too much, but Shoko's insistence that it was a night to let loose and have fun had led you to indulge a bit more.

Amidst the pulsating beats, you also met Yuki, she was older than you and she happened to be dating Choso, your old crush from your first year. Now, the four of you were on the dance floor, fully immersed in the music, letting the heat and energy of the moment wash over you.

The dance floor became a blur of movement as you all threw yourselves into the music, laughing and enjoying each other's company. The atmosphere was electric, the air filled with excitement and camaraderie as you danced the night away, feeling the warmth rising through your bodies with every step and beat.

You noticed Shoko giving Kyoko a subtle nudge, followed by a knowing smile and a raised eyebrow exchange between them. “I'm exhausted.” Shoko announced abruptly. “Let's sit.”

You nodded, ready to follow Shoko, but Kyoko halted you with a smile and a nod towards her side. Confused, you followed her gaze, only to find Satoru standing a few meters away. His cheeks were flushed, likely from the heat of the club, and his gaze was fixed on you with unwavering intensity.

Your heart quickened as Satoru began to make his way towards you, his eyes never leaving yours. Glancing back at Kyoko, you found that she, along with Shoko, and Yuki had vanished from your sight, leaving you alone with Satoru.

“Hey.” Satoru said when he was finally near you.

“Hi.” You said with a louder tone so he could hear you.

“You having fun?” He questioned getting closer, so you could hear him.

You nodded. “So much. I was dancing with the girls until now.”

“Is that your second drink?” He pointed to the cup in your hands.

“Yeah! Shoko insisted but it’s fine by me, so don’t worry.” You moved your hand around. “Are you having fun too Satoru?” You asked him this time.

“I am.” He smiled and took a deep breath. “Wanna dance with me the next song?”

Oh. You were caught off guard by Satoru's invitation to dance, you hesitated for a moment, the pulse of the music pounding in your ears. But the prospect of dancing with him, of being close to him, was too tempting to resist.

“Yeah, sure.” You finally replied with a smile spreading across your face. “But let me finish my drink.”

“Drink slowly, I don’t want you throwing up on me once again.” He once again teased you, so you decided to tease him back.

“Oh. It went up.” You smirked looking at him. “Now it’s 39%.”

“Okay, okay, I will stop teasing but just be careful.”

“Yes dad!” You said, rolling your eyes. “Alright.” You placed the empty glass on a table. “Let’s go!”

Satoru's smile widened, a sparkle of excitement in his eyes as he took your hand and led you towards the dance floor. When the next song started playing, you fell into rhythm with him.

In the dim lights of the club, surrounded by the pulsating energy of the crowd, you lost yourself in the moment, swaying and spinning with Satoru, as your bodies moved in perfect synchrony, as if you had been doing this for years, as if you were one.

And as you danced, the world started to fade away, leaving just the two of you, lost in the music and lost in the connection that existed between the two of you.

As the music hummed around you and the heat of the dance floor enveloped you. Satoru's hand rested on your waist causing a surge of electricity to course through you, igniting a fiery passion simmering just beneath the surface.

With every step, every movement of your bodies, the tension between you became palpable, the air thick with anticipation. Your movements became more fluid, more sensual, as they let themselves be carried away by the rhythm of the song that was playing.

As the song reached its climax, Satoru pulled you closer, his gaze looking at you with burning desire. And in that moment, with the music pulsing in your veins and the heat of his body against yours.

“Birdie, I swear you are driving me fucking crazy.” He said but only you were able to hear his words.

You wanted to play, you wanted to wrap him around your finger. “How Satoru?” You got yourself closer to him. “How am I driving you crazy?” You lifted your gaze, leaving both of your gazes connected.

One more step and your chest would be completely stuck together. One more step and what you would feel would be his heat mixing with yours. One more step and everything you have been trying to ignore would fall on you like a house of cards.

It was just one step.

Just one.

And you were about to give that step when you saw a silhouette in the distance, making your blood freeze.

“Fuck.” You muttered realizing who was in that club too, someone you had secretly hoped and prayed to avoid encountering him again ever since you quit working at that bar.

Final notes: itafushi and chosoyuki crumbs on the same chapter? exactly 🙂‍↕️ Also who do you think Birdie saw?

— if you want to be tagged, comment below

🏷️: @lavender-hvze, @crybabytoru, @sanriosatoru, @norvacaine, @sadmonke, @faetoraa , @hexipessimistic, @gojoful , @kitzusune , @sh0jun , @manyno , @ropickle , @lolsasuke , @milk3evee

[callofdudes]

I need to see this happen !!

Could you do a platonic Gary roach Anderson headcanon please, but with a twist. MWII 22 timeline please

My little bug boy! I'm currently laying out a timeline for him, so guys, seriously, ask me about Roach. I'm building an empire of lore for this man in MWll 22. Thank you for blessing us @itsscromp

Gary 'Roach' Sanderson headcanons

The timeline that I'm working out for my favorite bug boy is that he was forced to go KIA after a mission gone too far south a couple months after Simons return from his capture with Roba. 22 timeline, somewhere within the time Simon was still in rehab.

Friendly reminder in the og, Simon was shot and killed, Gary had to watch as both were burned alive.

So I headcanon that he shares some burn scars with Simon. And has some of his own.

When he is introduced back to our sergeant, Egg, as we now call you. It's on a whim excursion. I think I'm sticking to the idea that Simon happens to recognize him when out in public with you and that's how it started.

You start to get along well with him, even if he does stick by Simon most of the time. The two attached at the hip. He's quiet, and you often see him using sign language when alone with Simon.

Gary could talk, but was often much more comfortable with sign language. Actually talking and trying to find words a lot of times put some mental stress on him.

A lot of times, having to speak and not having the right words can frustrated him to tears.

"Roach, where are those papers you were supposed to get to the main office."

Gary opened his mouth, faced with a commanding officer than wasn't Price. Gary is strong, but when in a situation like this he can't focus. He couldn't find words. It's like he was stuttering together something in his head but he couldn't verbally get it out.

His hands moved anxiously, knowing he couldn't sign his way out. Stuck in place. He tried to speak, but nothing would come out. The officer only questioning him again, telling him to just spit it out.

Noticing Gary's growing anxiety, you came over and lightly tapped his arm. "It's ok Gary." You whispered.

Gary attempted some frazzled sign language, his own lack of communication making him frustrated, tears reaching his eyes.

You squeezed his arm. "Gary did send them in but there have been slow processing times down at the office recently. You should get it soon."

The officer seemed to accept this explanation, and you were left with Gary.

He whined in frustration and you rubbed his arm. "Hey, it's ok. It's ok, we got there in the end."

And you decided hey, if he liked to talk in sign language, what's the harm in trying to learn? So you started to spend some of your free time every day trying to learn BSL.

And eventually you had learned enough for some basic conversations, signing Hi! From your seat in the cantine, grabbing his attention. Gary gently patting Simon's arm and tugging him over to sit with you, signing back.

You smile nervously at him, attempting the sign from across the room, hopefully he'd see it.

You could see how his eyes lit up when you signed to him. He immediately grabbed Simon's sleeve, grabbing his lunch plate and tugged him over to you.

He sat down across from you and signed back. Again getting excited when you signed back. Simon sat next to you, also joining in.

You didn't know a lot, and Gary tried to keep his sign simple, experimenting sometimes of what you knew.

He was touched that you were learning sign for him so you could be a part of his choice to go nonverbal.

That's how the real conversation started. You started to ask him questions, things about himself and how things were before he left. Before all the shitty stuff happened and you arrived. And Gary is happy to talk.

I think that Gary is very selectively mute with his people. He will speak but there has to be a trust there. Whether it's the trust Simon shares with you, you learning BSL or just doing little things to help him around back on base he feels secure with you.

A life of learning to not trust people did that to him, and his family life was probably a little rocky. But he trusts you, eventually getting deep into conversation with you.

Also, you're going to have to clarify to him if you like bugs or not right off the bat before he shows you his... friends.

And while he's all about bugs, he's also a flower guy. Nature in general is his favorite topic but I think he knows a lot about flower language. Another way he conveys how he feels.

Silly, but I think he has a bunch of those fake flowers and a vase in his room, so whichever flower is in the vase the guys at least somewhat know how he's feeling without him having to use the words to express it.

Hes very athletic and flexible. He can fit into anything. It's not uncommon to see the little guy lounging on top of the fridge before Price has to swat him off. Or hearing him crawling through some of the vents by the gym or something.

One time placed a speaker in the air vent by your room and started playing creepy noises. You only called him out when you heard that little giggle.

Quiet, but I think he has the most distinct giggle. Like, you know it's Gary. It's not quite a cackle, but it is in a way. It's very distinct to him.

Once let a recruit get away with having a tarantula on base because he thought it was cute. Simon screamed at him when the thing got out.

Gary is as silly as he is tactical. Let's not forget just how amazing he is at his job. Gary is the guy who can get in and out without being noticed. Under the cover of a snowstorm you would never see him.

He's Ghost's main team up, of course he's skilled.

When you get surrounded by enemy soldiers with nowhere left to run you think you're going to die. Until the enemies start getting shot down from bloody hell know where! Precise bullet after bullet until their down. Only then does Gary pop up.

"Surprise! Miss me??"

Has bug themed pajamas.

Did a spicy pepper challenge and was crying on your lap for over an hour while quivering and blowing his nose into the thoughts of used tissues. It was not good.

Once got a lip piercing once as a 'dare'. Was sad when Price eventually found out about it and made him take it out ☹️

Took you to the zoo once, wanted to spend all his time by the bats and the snakes. They even had a tank of spiders that he desperately attempted to get you near because 'look how cool and pretty they are!'

Gary is also an incredible comforter. He's small, but he attempts to lay across you. If you're bigger than him, he'll starfish out across your chest, snuggling his head into your chest to try and keep you cozy.

If you've had a nightmare he'll wrap a blanket around you and stay with you.

He snuggled up to you, wrapping his arm around you. He tilts his head a little, pulling down his mask to offer you a crooked little smile of reassurance.

"It's ok." He whispers, trying to calm your shaking. He takes your hand, bringing it close to his chest, making sure you're ok.

"It was just a nightmare, I promise." He whispers again.

You lean against him, and he embraces it, taking the weight for you. "I got you, I won't let anything hurt you ok?"

"Thank you Gary..."

You once saw him slap Simon hard across the face (a little spat) and you thought that little man was going to die. Apparently Gary has the powers of the sun because Simon just nodded and shut up. Like what!?

You love him but you're also scared of him...

He's as cute as he is deadly, and just... Be careful with him. 😅😅

(sorry if I mentioned Simon too much, realistically I think they are brothers who would not go anywhere without the other)

[bellaxgiornata]

October Update Information

Tuna-Tober starts next week and I figured I'd give a bit of information about what to expect from me during this next month. It's fitting this writing challenge happens during my birthday month and after reaching over three thousand of y'all lovely people following me! I have absolutely no idea how we got here and I want to celebrate, but I am far too busy to do a follower event specifically. BUT I'll be dropping quite a few fics throughout the month of October for Tuna-Tober so we can pretend it's serving multiple celebration purposes! It's like my birthday gifts to all of you!

I'll be giving a bit of important information below the cut, but you can keep up with my updates for this event in my Tuna-Tober Masterlist.

I'm going to try to schedule posts for the days I have a fic to drop on tumblr (which I've never done and hope it works) in order to update on the correct dates. Though for those of my AO3 readers, you'll either have to read the fics here or wait because I will most likely not be able to get those posted on the correct days. I'm far too busy to actually sit down and update almost daily, unfortunately (and I don't think AO3 let's you schedule posts).

I will not be updating any of my series' during the month of October. I'll be posting far too much already (currently seven pieces completed but I'm aiming to get a couple more written/finished that you see on the masterlist and some you don't) But I should hopefully resume those stories in November.

I will try to use the character one shot tag lists for each of my Tuna-Tober updates, but I will not be adding to it during the time since I'll be scheduling posts ahead of time. I'm hoping tumblr will properly tag, but if not, the days I have fics going up will be listed in the event masterlist. You can always go there to see what updates are out and when more are coming.

I love all feedback and will absolutely try my best to respond to everyone, but I will probably be slow since I'm posting more fics in a month than I've probably posted...like ever. But I absolutely read every comment and reblog when I see them and I appreciate each one ❤

With that, my first fic should drop on October 1st! 🙃

[boldlyanxious]

Unkidnapped

Luka looked nervous. He never looked nervous; he was always cool as a cucumber. Until now. Marinette had ended up in a lot of unusual situations and he always knew exactly what to do. Unfortunately what he did was take the surviving coffee out of her hands and gulped it down before turning back to her.

“Start at the beginning and tell me how we got to this,” he said.

He looked swiftly back at the car she had driven up in when a thumping noise drew his attention.

“I was just getting coffee for us,” Marinette said.

She reached out for the coffee as Luka stepped away from her and tipped the cup back all the way and drank until it was clearly empty. He handed the empty cup back to her and she batted at it knocking it out of his hand. He glanced back at the car again as it thumped.

“You have got to stop starting stories that way. It is becoming a habit. Can’t you ever just get coffee and come back without a major problem?”

Marinette huffed, “It isn’t a major problem.”

“Then, tell me how you ended up with a car you don’t own that hopefully doesn’t have a person locked in the trunk.”

—

It was way too sunny, but Marinette braved it in order to get to the coffee shop. She would definitely need the caffeine to make it through all her work tonight. She already made her schedule fit her preference for sleeping late and tendency to be hit with inspiration at night. But tonight she was determined to finish all the outfits for Jagged’s big show in Gotham where Luka would join him for the rest of the tour. The show wasn’t for a few days but she wanted to have time for anything that might go wrong, even if it meant staying up all night.

It didn’t feel like anything could go wrong when the guy she had noticed ahead of her turned and smiled at her as he grabbed his coffee. It could just be friendly, but it had felt like more. She was more anxious for the coffees to be finished now. She rushed through a “thanks” and nearly sloshed the coffee in her rush to catch up with the man. She hadn’t even heard his name when it was called so she had nothing else to go on. She was planning on staying in Gotham for a while so it would be great to meet people.

His cup flung at the door when she was stepping outside. She jumped to the side to avoid the splash. She barely had time to avoid it past the glare of the sun. The reason for the coffee being thrown was obvious when she looked back at the trajectory. Two men were shoving the man from the shop into the trunk of the car while a third one jumped out of the driver’s seat and started hitting him to get him in. It took a few blows, but they managed to zip tie his hands and one reached to close the trunk while the driver got in a couple more hits.

Marinette froze for a second, unsure of what to do, but knowing she needed to do something. She looked around frantically and there was nothing for her to fight back with. The only way she could help was if she jumped into the open door and drove away. She hadn’t even made the decision before she was running for the car. One of the men saw her as she was getting in and rushed at her. She chucked the coffee at him and that was just what she needed to get away.

She pressed the lock button and then floored it.

She immediately remembered that she had next to no experience driving. She had managed a few times in France but that was never in high traffic times. Turning onto the street, away from the men chasing the car, the other cars started honking immediately. She needed to get back as soon as possible before she got herself in trouble.

Turning left would get her back, but she couldn’t get into the lane so she kept going straight, hoping she could find an opening soon and figure out how to get back to her new apartment. The other drivers were pulling out behind her and keeping her from getting in her lane; she slowed down to try to get in but the other cars kept honking. Instead, she ended up in a right turn only lane.

There was a cop car sitting there, clearly watching for traffic infractions right as she nearly made a turn onto a one way. She slowed down even more and turned onto the next street. The officer pulled out behind her and followed. The street slowed down and was quiet, except for the trunk that was thumping so loudly she was certain it could be heard from the car behind her. Hopefully there were no windows down. The street curved around a few times and she was careful about staying in the lines, but she had no clue what the typical speed was. Slow was the only speed she was comfortable with so that should keep her from getting pulled over for speeding.

None of the connecting roads led anywhere useful for several minutes. She had ended up in a neighborhood with dead ends and streets that looped around, unconnected to the main streets. After all the twists and turns, she wasn’t even sure which direction she needed to go. There was a light changing up ahead of her so she pushed the pedal down just enough to get her through as it turned yellow. The car behind her had left just enough space that it couldn’t make it without using the flashing lights. She held her breath, hoping that she was in the clear when the flashing behind her was a turn signal. The cop turned right and she released her breath slowly.

Her higher speed made her cringe when she hit a bump hard. She bounced in her seat and heard yelling from the trunk. After the car stopped bouncing, there was renewed pounding. It was right as she was passing a few smaller shops with more pedestrian traffic. People were definitely looking. But she was fairly certain the area was familiar. She and Luka had been here earlier today. She took an unnecessary left turn at the stop sign so she could go around the area where the coffee shop was.

It wasn’t very much further before she came to a familiar street sign and turned. There was very little traffic now which made it easier. She no longer felt the need for the remaining coffee, but she might require a drink. Another left turn followed immediately by a right turn and she pulled up where she could see Luke out on the sidewalk looking around for her. He looked at the car confused when the trunk started screaming and kicking again.

He just didn’t quite look shocked when she parked in a no parking space and got out. He looked resigned.

—

Tim wasn’t sure he knew where he was.

He had definitely been trained to remember the movements of a car and count how far it went, but the person was clearly driving in a way to make that impossible. They slowed down and sped up randomly. It definitely wasn’t moving as a typical get away. He could tell by the honking of the other cars around that they were pissing everyone off.

Now, the car had been stopped and parked but they weren’t ready to open the trunk up yet. He could hear them arguing as they stood nearby but he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying. He really hoped they wouldn’t realize that he was ready for them, or better yet, walk away and decide to come back for them later.

He stopped kicking in hopes that they would decide to leave him here until it was darker. He had gotten the zip tie off his hands nearly immediately but the trunk latch had taken him some time. The easy latch on the inside had been damaged to prevent him from escaping. He had nearly gotten the latch open when the car made back to back turns and then parked. He had to be sure they were far enough away before he made a break for it.

He heard them moving around in the car and then the clicking of the keys against the trunk. He pulled the zip tie out of the latch so they could unlock it and then light suddenly blinded him. It didn’t matter though. He kicked out at the dark shapes and shoved himself out of the small space.

He fell over trying to get his legs to work, but then pushed himself up when he felt a hand close around his arm. He swung out and hit the smaller shape, luckily it fell into the larger one and he could try to get some distance. He took off running, hoping that he could find a place to call for help. But his legs were hit hard as one of the assailants tackled him. He froze as a car zoomed right past them and he could feel the wind on his skin.

Once it passed, he rolled further away and kicked his feet. His vision was nearly fully back and he could see the man who was holding his legs. He definitely wasn’t one of the ones who had grabbed him originally. The other person ran up and whacked him with something several times on the shoulder. He was still kicking, but he stopped when he recognized the cute lady from the coffee shop. She had smiled back when he smiled at her on his way out. It was part of why the kidnappers got the drop on him.

When he froze, so did they and he could finally hear what she was yelling at him.

“Stop this now. We are trying to help you,” she yelled.

“Having me in the trunk of a car helping me?” he asked, sardonically.

She looked sheepish for a moment before speaking far more confidently, “You were in the trunk, but I didn’t put you there. I just slightly stole the car when I saw you being put in the trunk.”

“You stole it?” he asked, “From the kidnappers?”

“Well, I was already running after you to get your number. I didn’t know what else to do. I guess you could say I unkidnapped you.”

tag list-I haven't used this in ages so let me know if you are done being tagged

@maribatserver |

@theymakeupfairies | @emjrabbitwolf | @vixen-uchiha | @trythisagainlove | @trippingovermyfeet | @tbehartoo | @izanae | @kittenmywaythrulife | @folk-ever-lore | @jayjayspixiepop | @achaoticmess

@adrestar | @zynna | @jeminiikrystal

@technicallyburninggarden | @iloontjeboontje | @certainmuffinbagelcalzone

[isay]

A place in the country...

OK kids so I may have been a bit AWOL for the last couple of weeks and I'm sure you've all be wondering 'what is iSay up to' 'I hope he's ok' 'Christ it wasn't him on the fifth hole of Drumpf's golf course was it?' etc etc.

Well I've been busy, watching Slow Horses and trying to begin packing for our twelfth move in 15 years, because this time we're off to the country! Kim and I have been lucky enough to find a cottage in the country (under 30 minutes away from my office) and will be moving in early November. Just in time for my birthday.

Over the years we've managed to move essentially in a circular motion around Melbourne, doing a loop of the 'burbs. Our last few moves took us from the western suburbs where we had a ridiculously large (and lovely) house, back to the east to a three bedroom apartment approximately 30% the size of the house, to a larger house again, and then up to a more northern suburb on the fringes.

I kind of think these have all just been about building momentum to make the move to the country, and now we've reached escape velocity!

Of course things being as they are, we found this house the day after we'd booked our first holiday in over five years, so the timing has had to be worked out quite carefully. Luckily we're able to take possession of the keys a few days early which gives us time to start moving some stuff prior to our holiday. Then we jet out to the mountains of Bali for a week before returning and moving at the end of the following week.

This means commencing packing now rather than leaving it to the last minute, and of course regardless of how much you purge and Marie Kondo things, there's always more stuff to be gotten rid of. So that is the shape of my weekends for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully though we'll have the majority of this stuff down pat, in time for moving day.

Anyhoo, of all the moves we've made, this one I'm really looking forward to. I think it'll do both Kim and me a world of good, and the dogs will love having a big yard to play in. Most of all I think it'll do our souls good to be amongst the green of the trees, and that will be priceless.

[klaprisun]

One Sunny Day

(Stardew Valley) (Haley x Female Farmer)

Chapter 36

⚠️Content Warning⚠️

The line to get on the bus was way longer than I thought it would be. When Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian said that a "few" others were coming... I didn't think it meant nearly the whole town. I'm having my doubts that this bus can even hold all of us. I'm also having my doubts about Pam driving, but driving the bus seems to be one of the few things she enjoys doing.

"You are going to sit with me, right?" Haley mutters as we take a few more steps closer to the bus entrance. The line is moving insanely slow to get on. I have a feeling Mayor Lewis is the one holding up the line.

"No, I'm going to sit with Clint," I joke. Haley looks at me with disgust then looks me up and down judgingly. We both break into a fit of giggles right after.

"Hopefully he doesn't try to sit with Em. Keep an eye on him for me, okay?" Haley asks.

"Sure thing, Hales," I pull Haley into an embrace and kiss the top of her head. She just melts into my arms without another word.

The line finally starts moving again, and this time we actually make it on. Haley had asked me to bring my backpack to carry all of her stuff in for her. I had to toss that onto the rack above the seats with all of the other bags from everyone. It was only meant to be a day trip, but people seemed to have gone packing crazy.

As I was lifting the bag onto the rack above the seats, I felt my shirt rise up a bit from my arms reaching up so high. Haley was already seated in the spot next to the window, but I could tell she wasn't looking outside just yet.

"Oops. Danny I forgot to put...this..." she frantically starts looking around. She looks at the many bracelets she has on his wrist and slips one off. "This bracelet! I forgot to put this bracelet into the backpack."

"But you were wearing it. Why do you want it in the bag?" I skeptically say. I know exactly why she wants it in the bag.

"I don't want to wear it anymore. It doesn't match my outfit anymore in this lighting." She held the bracelet out for me to snatch out of her hands. Sure enough, I raised my arms to pull the bag from the rack so I could put the bracelet in. Once I got the bracelet secure, I went to sit down but Haley stopped me again.

"I lied. I want it back please. It did kind of match my outfit. I think I just overreacted." Haley flashes me innocent puppy dog eyes that I just cannot turn down.

"Alright fine," I roll my eyes and go back up to the bag to get the bracelet back. I leave the bag up there this time to rummage through, keeping my arms up for a while, my shirt still lifting up as I reach.

"What a view," I hear Haley whisper from her spot. She is definitely not looking out the window.

"Here." I toss the bracelet to her but she misses it due to her flinching. It smacks against her chest and falls into her lap.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Should've been," I shrug nonchalantly.

The rest of the passengers have finally settled down, so Pam was able to get the show on the road. Sam had the radio going, so everyone was able to start getting hyped for the big gig.

                                                🌻 🌻 🌻

The bus ride ended up being a couple of hours. It was longer than the train ride here due to traffic, but it was long enough that I was able to take a little nap. I woke up due to a Pam speeding over a pothole, causing the bus to jostle around aggressively.

"Morning sleepy head. We are almost there," Haley murmured to me as she filed her nails. When I look around after opening my eyes, I see that my head slid down to rest on her shoulder in my sleep.

Looking out the window, I can see all of the tall, skyscraper buildings of the big city. I don't miss this view even for a second. I shift my focus to Haley sitting in front of the window instead. She was too busy filing her nails still to look at me, but I just kept staring at her. That was until the bus lurched to a stop at our destination.

Sam begins chatting hysterically, waving his hands upwards to motion to the passengers to cheer and chant with him. I'm the first to jump up and start chanting along. Soon the whole bus erupted into chaos. Poor Abigail is so nervous that I can see her bent over, holding a plastic bag to her mouth.

Sam and Sebastian are the first to get off the bus to get their gear with Abigail hobbling behind trying to keep up. Everyone bids them good luck as they leave the bus.

"We need to get a good spot at the front! Grab the bag and let's hurry!" Haley makes no move to get up and waits for me to grab the bag from above us.

"You don't seem in that much of a hurry," I roll my eyes and quickly pull the bag down. After that was when she finally made a move to rush off the bus. The two of us shimmy our way down the bus aisle to the door to hop out. I scurry down the steps first and turn to hold Haley's hand as she gently steps down each one sideways in her heels.

"You're gonna get real sick of standing those," I point out.

"I'm actually a pro at wearing heels thank you very much. I can even run in them if I have to," she huffs as we speed walk to the area where the small concert is happening. There are a few people already here, but our town folk take up most of the space alone. It's hard to say if many others will show up from the city or not.

As I take in the few other people from the city that are here, I realize I'm severely underdressed for the occasion like usual. My overalls, cowboy hat and t-shirt don't really match the vibe very well, but I didn't have anything else. I made sure to wear a black t-shirt though so that kind of helped. Haley even out did me despite this not being her typical scene. She had a pink plaid mini skirt on, with a black, off-the-shoulder, blouse on. The weather hasn't quite cooled down yet despite it being fall now. We were also in a closed-in area outside that has buildings blocking the wind. The heat from all the bodies packed around will surely bring the temperature up as well.

One of the bands was just getting ready to perform as the last few stragglers came waltzing in at the last minute. Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail were going to be one of the last few groups to perform for the night, but it will still be nice to listen to others play as well.

The concert begins, and everyone starts going wild in the crowd. I have people screaming by my ear, and bumping into me constantly. I have my arm tightly wrapped around Haley, clinging on to her for dear life. We are right at the barricades in front of the stage, so I also had one hand holding onto one of the poles.

It took me a few performances to finally get used to the craziness, but by the third performance I was feeling more psyched. That was until some guy situated himself on the other side of Haley. It would've been okay if it weren't for him constantly looking over at her. I didn't point it out just yet, but I kept my eye on him.

As the performance of this band ended, that's when this guy decided to make his move. Unfortunately, he was a conventionally attractive man that many girls would be swooned by. He seems to know he is good looking too and that fuels his ego.

"Hey," He says as he leans over to Haley. Haley's head snaps his way in shock.

"Oh...h-hi?" I hear her stutter. I don't step into the conversation just yet. Instead I fold my arms and rest them on the barricade in front of me

"It's a pretty good turn out, eh?" He examines the large crowd behind us but turns his gaze back on Haley.

"Yeah. It's pretty busy that's for sure," she gives him a tight lip smile as she also had just examined the crowd.

"It's lucky so many people showed up. It was my band's first performance today so we were happy we had such an audience. We were the second band that played," he explains.

"Oh yeah. I recognize you now. That's pretty cool," Haley politely responds.

"I see you came here with your friend?" He points over Haley's shoulder to me, still leaning on the barricade. Haley turns her head to look at me with an unreadable expression. I don't say anything and raise my eyebrow in question.

Their conversation was interrupted by Sam, Abigail, and Sebastian taking the stage for their performance. Of course, Sam had to do a really loud entrance that made the crowd erupt into a frenzy. The guy's attention turned to the stage, but Haley was still staring at me with her weird expression. I stayed staring at her with a dull look on my face, only breaking eye contact to look at the stage.

It was really hard to enjoy the band's performance now, and I feel really guilty that I'm not enjoying it like I should. But I can't help thinking about what Haley would have answered if they didn't get interrupted.

The whole time, I keep looking over at the two of them. He has been scooching closer and closer to her every second. One more step and his arm would be touching hers. She has been angling her upper body closer and closer to me and away from him, but not stepping completely over. I shake my head and turn back to the stage in distraught.

That was until I heard Haley gasp, even over every speaker right by us. From the corner of my eye I saw her stiffen up as well. Curiously, I looked over to her and her eyes were screaming a look of "help". Investigating farther, I look over at the guy. His hand is extended out to Haley, but resting somewhere it shouldn't be. Right. On. Her. Ass.

Boldly, he even slides his hand down her ass and to the hem of her skirt where he moves his hand under. My eyes widen in horror and my brain goes into autopilot.

I grab Haley by the waist and move her behind me out of my way because the next move is not going to be a pretty one. Without thinking, I swing my fist at the guy and feel it connect to somewhere on his face. It was all such a blur that I had no idea what I was doing until after it happened.

After retracting my fist away, I take a second to analyze where I hit him. From the looks of things, his cheek is already bruising, as well as a few drops of blood escape his nose.

Haley steps back in front of me to face the guy who is currently cradling his injured face in his palm. He looks at her angrily but she brings out the sass.

"She's my girlfriend you creepy, ignorant fuck. Don't you DARE touch another woman like that again," she points her sharp, pointy finger nail directly in his face then switches to her middle finger. She makes flipping someone off look so elegant with her cute, done up nails.

I started to notice we had created quite a stir in the crowd and that security was starting to come in our direction. I take Haley by her hand and the two of us wave to the stage to Sam, Sebastian, and Abigail. We give them a loud, encouraging shout and hop over the barricades. I have to help Haley though by lifting her over, but I climb over just fine. We start taking off across the concert field just as the band's song gets to the climatic part of the chorus. It gives Haley and I such a thrill as we run away from the scene, ditching the security guards trying to keep after us.

As we continue to book it back to the bus, Haley ends up kicking her heels off and starts carrying them in her hands. I silently laugh in my head as I remember our previous conversation about her in heels.

When I turn back, I see the security guards have disappeared and are no longer chasing us. When we get back to the bus, I pry the doors open so we can pile inside. Unsurprisingly, Pam forgot to lock the door.

I shut the bus door behind us and immediately brought my attention to Haley, breathlessly pulling her in for a steamy kiss. She tosses her shoes away and pushes her body up against mine, accepting my kiss.

We stumble through the bus, not breaking our lips apart. The sky has darkened since we had first arrived, so we only have the light of the moon shining in through the bus windows.

We keep having to catch our breath every so often due to not having any to begin with from the run. We stumble all the way to the back seats where they are bigger and wider. She lays back across a few of the seats with me hovering over top of her.

"That was so hot," she moans as I kiss down her neck.

"I thought you said you can run in heels," I mutter as I take her blouse off and toss it over the seat in front of us.

"Grass is a different story. That's harder to run on," she replies breathlessly as I start kissing her breasts. I make my way down to her lower half where I move her skirt up. Disgustingly, I'm knee deep on the floor of the bus like a hooligan. But I don't think anything of it since I was so wrapped up in the moment as well as Haley's legs.

I slide her panties down and keep them hung around one on her ankles so they don't get lost. I grip her thighs tightly with my hands and bring my tongue up to meet her waterfall of excitement. I must've really got her going.

She takes my hat off my head so it's not in my way and puts it on her own head so we also don't lose it. She runs her hands through my hair and gasps in pleasure. I feel her legs shake and tremble as they continue to stay wrapped around me. We hear the band continue to play off in the distance as it is just that loud. It's more of a slower song now than the one we ran off to.

I look up and see that Haley has her head thrown back and now has a hand braced on the seat in front of us and one on the back window of the bus. She is moaning unapologetically loud as no one would be able to hear us.

Her legs extend out behind me and her moan turns to more of a gasp. I grip her thighs tighter and keep at the same pace, not wanting to ruin her moment. Her hand slides down the back window as she loses control of her body. Butterflies erupt in my stomach as I realize how much she is enjoying this. She quickly recovers from her big finish and pulls me up onto the seat back over top of her. She brings my lips down to hers to continue where we left off.

"You're turn," she moans between kisses.

"Oh but you'll get your pretty little knees dirty. Here, put my shirt under you," I whip my shirt off over my head and give it to her. She breaks away from me and spreads my shirt out on the bus floor.

As if sharing the same brain, we both freeze and look at one another. She looks down at what I'm wearing and we burst into laughter. Overalls were not the move for this situation, but how was I supposed to know this was going to happen?

"Hold on a minute," I start undoing all the buckles and straps so I can slide them down. I kick them down my legs and onto the floor in front of the seat. I give her a wink and she pushes my legs apart so she can get to work. It's kind of an awkward angle for me to lay as my head is kind of resting up against the side window. My one leg hangs off the side of the seat while the other is pressed right up against the back of the seat and Haley's shoulder. It's a bit of a tight squeeze but I soon tune it out as my thoughts go elsewhere.

I forgot to take my hat back so she continues to wear it as she goes down on me. I don't bother taking it back since it looks so good on her. I feel the pressure start to build up as she is doing such a good job with her tongue. A moan escapes my lips and I feel her moan against me. My legs tense up at that sudden vibration and my mouth falls open.

"I'm almost there, Haley," I breathe out as I grip my hands in her hair. She moans again and that is my breaking point. My legs start trembling and I roll my head against the window while I bite my lip.

Just as I finish, out of the corner of my eye, I see a whole group of people through the window walking up to the bus. It was the town people coming back from the concert. I didn't even realize the music had stopped playing a while ago.

"Haley, get my stuff!" I whisper loudly. We frantically gather up our clothing and throw it back on. It takes what feels like hours to get my damn overalls back on but I get it just in time. We bump into each other as we try to find a way to act casual and unsuspicious. She jumps into a seat three in front of me and I'm left leaning against one of the backs of a seat as the first person gets on the bus.

"I found them..." Robin says as she makes awkward eye contact with me. I give her a thumbs up and a weird smile. Pam gets on behind Robin and sits in her driver's seat. She turns the bus on, causing all the lights of the bus to flicker on. Haley's shirt is on backwards, her skirt is twisted, and she was still wearing my hat. My shirt is covered in dust and dirt, and one of my overall buckles is loose while the other is undone. Both of our faces were red and my legs were still subtly shaking.

I shoot finger guns at Robin and shyly sit down in the seat next to Haley. Everyone else starts piling onto the bus now, giving us knowing looks. We both look out the window, avoiding eye contact with people, stifling our laughter.

[maleyanderecafe]

Where Winter Crows Go (Visual Novel)

Created by: Pri Karin

Genre: Romance/Horror

Where Winter Crows Go is very pretty, but also the amount of Chaga jokes that Cherry and I made- Anyways, the UI and artwork that are used for this game is very pretty and it's pretty cool being able to sort of change Aspen's personality based of choices is also pretty fun, though currently it's mostly fluff with fairly little yandere content. Hopefully we'll see more of it in the future.

The MC's default name is Aspen so I will refer to them as such.

The story starts out with Aspen driving to a remote winter area as a get away to relax after their job. They end up having car troubles after they veer and crash thanks to a crow in the middle of the road. Frustrated and far from the town they were going to vacation at, Aspen trudges through the snow to find shelter. They end up finding a cabin in the middle of the woods and knocks on it before passing out. Upon waking up, we see that a man named Crowe has taken them into his cabin and is currently making them food. Crowe will end up cooking them food as well as giving them Chaga tea. The next day, while Crowe is doing something, Aspen hangs around in the living room and ends up picking up a book from the bookshelf. When Crowe walks in, he will be embarrassed since the book Aspen is reading is a book that Crowe wrote himself. Crowe brings Aspen out to go look for their car, and while they are outside, go foraging while having a nice picnic in the middle of the snow. Crowe also gifts Aspen a pair of gloves while they go out. The next day, Aspen has a dream about a crow, warning them about Crowe. Depending on your relationship with Crowe, Aspen will have different things to say, ranging from stating that they trust him, to feeling indifferent to being wary around them. After waking up, Aspen decides to try to head back into town, but Crowe stops them. Aspen gets angry at Crowe for trying to stop them, with Crowe making up excuses like the fact that there might be a blizzard. Angry, Aspen basically goes back into their room to try to calm themselves down.

I will start out by saying that Where Winter Crows Go has a very pretty UI and artwork. I've said this a lot but I genuinely really like it when visual novels and just games in general have a UI that fits well into their story, with Where Winter Crows Go having a more black and regal looking UI to fit in with the more style of winter it's going for- reminds me a bit of the black fences that you often see in winter scenes near houses. The artwork is also very pretty, from the sprites themselves to the CGs that we see, to even the small images of food-they all look really wonderful. Aesthetically, the game itself is very well made. It's also nice that there are various ways that the MC can be presented with more meek, uncertain and playful options available.

In terms of story, Where Winter Crow Go feels a bit more like a slow burn as we're shown various activities that Aspen does with Crowe, from cooking and eating, to reading to drinking... a lot of Chaga tea, to going out to explore with Crowe. As such though we don't really get to see too much yandere stuff with Crowe himself, other than a couple of lines of possession and him trying to keep Aspen inside of his cabin through various excuses. It's also likely implied that Crowe has some sort of connection over actual crows, likely the one that caused Aspen to crash in the first place was somehow correlated with crow himself, along with possibly the crow in the dreams and the various ones we see while outside. I think the voice actor does do a good job of depicting Crowe, even if he physically does sound like he wouldn't be 30 (but who knows, am I right). But as I said, we don't really know much about what type of yandere Crowe will be based on the small bits that we see in the demo. I feel like he's much more of a lighter yandere, though we also don't know the reason why Crowe is interested in Aspen in the first place since as far as we know, the two have never really met before. Again, hard to say because we don't have too much information about him as a yandere. He does seem pretty smart and fairly reasonable at least in terms of how he speaks, so I would imagine he's probably more of a protective yandere if I had to guess, but it could be different in the future. Although seriously, this guy really is addicted to Chaga Tea.

Still though, the game is fairly impressive for a demo, having already a couple of days out with very pretty artwork, good UI and a fairly long script from what I can see. I am curious to see how this and their other games will unfold in the future.