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je0ng1nn · 11 hours ago

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SHOW ME WHO YOU ARE — Hwang In-Ho

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ PAIRING — Hwang In-Ho x fem!reader

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ INCLUDES — basic Squid game violence, maybe a little bit spice, age gap (reader is mid 20‘s In-house is late 40‘s), Jealousy

𝜗𝜚 ࣪˖ NOTE — Okay y‘all.. since my last fanfic about Sangwoo got lots of love, i decided to write another one.. this time about In-ho!!! I seriously love that guy it isn’t normal anymore… I also tried out a new writing style as i‘m still trying to find out a good style to write in, so let me know which one you prefer!!

I was talking to Gi-hun as I felt an uncomfortable feeling, someone was staring at me. But not the normal staring, the type of staring that would linger on you for way to long. The type of staring that made you feel uneasy right away. But i decided to shrug it off. „I hope the next game won’t be too difficult,“ Gi-hun said as he slowly exhaled.

„Me too.. the last game was exhausting enough.. I really thought we would’ve died when we only got 10 seconds left to make it to the finish line..“ I closed my eyes in relief, it was definitely an expierience for itself, Pentathlon felt like the hardest one.. Red Light Green Light was very easy.. just the shock of the people dying for the first time got to me.

„Hm.. let’s just dig in right? I think we need enough energy for today.“ Dae-ho said. I nodded and started to eat my food, listening to the others as they continued to talk. Me and Young-il were the only ones being quiet.

„Y/N-ah.. take my bread, i don‘t need it. You didn’t eat a lot yesterday after the game ended.“ Young-il smiled at me, it was a weird but reassuring smile.. it made me feel warm inside. „Oh really sir? It isn’t a problem or?“ I asked again, only to make sure. He just nodded and handed it to me, i didn’t take the whole tho, i broke it in half.

„Young-il sir, don’t give me everything, you also need some food and energy.“ I gave him the other half. He was a little shocked by my action, his eyes widened slightly. I looked up at his, before giving him a soft half-smile. He nodded and ate together with me.

We continued to eat in peace before guards came in. „Players, please follow us to the next game.“ the one in the middle said. We all looked at each other before hesitating to stand up. Young-il took my wrist to make sure i didn’t get lost in the crowd.

My cheeks got a light shade of pink as i quickly looked away. I heard a short chuckle coming out of Young-il‘s mouth. I just decided to ignore it, but my body made it hard. It completely gave me away, my heart skipping a beat at his sweet chuckle.

We followed the guards into a room, Young-il‘s grip tightened on me when we arrived inside. „What could this place be?“ I asked quietly as i looked around. The whole room was big and colorful. It counted 50 Doors, each having different colors, in the middle of the room there was a platform with a statue in the middle of it. It looked scary but also nostalgic, like a sweet children’s place, but knowing what happens in here, it didn’t seem so sweet as it looks.

„Players, please step on the platform in the middle of the room“ the creepy voice called out, I tensed at hearing it, which Young-il felt. He looked down at me, his hand letting go of my wrist but finding its way on my shoulder instead, drawing circles on it to reassure me.. which weirdly helped.

„When the game starts, the platform will spin. Shortly after, a number will be called out. You must then form a group that matches the number, enter one of the surrounding rooms and lock the door within 30 seconds, or be eliminated.“ We all slowly went to the platform, i kept holding onto Young-il somehow, only his presence already kept me safe..

„I repeat,“ I completely blended the creepy robot voice out as i was looking up at Young-il, captivated by his beauty. Of course he isn’t stupid, he noticed i was staring, but he enjoyed the moment just like me.

The other‘s talked, but i stayed quiet, they tried to make a planning what to do when certain numbers got called out. I held onto Young-il‘s arm, just listening closely to the others. After around 2 minutes, the platform suddenly started moving and music started playing. I accidently stumble at the sudden movement, but Young-il catched me with his strong arms.. „Are you okay?“ I just nodded.

I felt uneasy, this didn’t feel right. The song made me feel even more uncomfortable. Young-il noticed, he tried his best to help me, which did. His presence already made me feel better. Suddenly after some time, it stopped again. Everyone stumbled again.

„TEN“

I looked at Young-il, and then at Gi-hun. We were 5.. we needed 5 more. Hyun-ju came to us, „are you guys 5?!“ she quickly asked, the pressure in her voice was bearable. „We‘re 4! we just need one more!“

Gi-hun nodded, he looked out for someone, and noticed Jun-hee, it was the pregnant girl. She was nice earlier to me. He looked over to Hyun-ju who knew what he was symbolizing. 8 of us already went to the room quickly, Hyun-ju took Jun-hee‘s hand and guided her quickly but also gentle to us, after all she was pregnant.

We had 15 seconds left and Hyun-ju quickly closed the door, I was in a corner next to Young-il. He squeezed my hand to calm me down. He leaned down, whispering in my ear.

„We are ten, don’t worry. I‘ll protect you, yeah?“ His voice was low and raspy, i had to keep my composure and nodded. „Thank you Sir.“

He chuckled again, his breath touching my neck. „Drop the sir, yeah?“ I just nodded as i felt another blush creep up my face.

The timer was already over. We could hear gunshots, but Young-il covered my ears. He kept his promise, keeping me safe.

„The following Players were eliminated: Player 013, 043, 049, 054, 060..“ Our room was quiet, Gi-hun was looking throught the little slit of the door, watching the people getting taken away.

The atmosphere was tensed, everyone was breathing heavily. Yet Young-il was calm as always, drawing circles on me again, but this time, on the inside of my arm. Shortly after, out doors were unlocked, and we slowly went out. I almost slipped from the blood on they floor, but luckily Young-il kept me in his arms.

And everything repeated, the platform started spinning and the music went on. This time i didn’t stumble, as it was as unexpected as last time. And soon after, it stopped again.

„FOUR“

we all looked at each other in panic, we were 5, shit.. Young-il look at Gi-hun before pushing me into his arms. „Take care of her, and go, Now!“ He yelled, Gi-hun catched me quickly, but i tried to get away from his grip. „Young-il!“ I screamed out, but i couldn’t run after him. Gi-hun just let out a quick „don’t worry“ and ran with me in his hand to a free door. Dae-ho quickly closed it after we got in. I was rushing to look through the slit, but i couldn’t find him.. Shit, where was he???, Gi-hun tried to pull me away, but i just hit his hand away.

5 seconds later the door locked. I flinched at the gunshots, but i couldn‘t care less, all i cared for in the moment was Young-il.

The creepy voice called out who was eliminated again, but i couldn’t focus on it, i tried to see if Young-il was out there.. he can’t die, what would i do without him?

The doors unlocked, i slowly opened it, my hands shaking. Dae-ho took my shoulders, he tried to help me calm down. But it didn‘t, it wasnt the same touch Young-il had.. it didnt feel right. We slowly walked to the platform.

I couldn’t spot him, my heart sinking, before i felt Dae-ho being pushed away from me. I got hugged from behind. I immediately recognized Young-il‘s strong arms around me. Gi-hun spoke up, „Young-il! You made it“. You could tell he was happy to see him too, but he just nodded and gave him a smile, before whispering into my eyes.

„I told you i will survive and protect you at all cost, Baby.“ This made something with me, he smirked to himself, i could sense that. He knows what he did to me. Letting go of me he talked to the others again. I just stood next to them, listening closely.

This game went on quite for some time now, and slowly i started to feel exhausted. I knew that as soon as we would be back at the dorm, i would take a big nap. This was the last round, the music was going on and for a moment everything felt good.

„The next number will be two,“ Young-il said, i looked up to him. „What do you mean?“ I asked, we were 5, what if one of us doesn’t find a partner? „We are 126 players left, there are 50 doors, when the number will be 2, it can only hold 100 people.“

It made sense, it would bring out a fight to whom will get a room, and for sure 26 of them won’t. „It makes sense, I think so too.“ Gi-hun agreed with him, „Me and Y/N will go together,“ Young-il said, taking my hands in his, our Fingers intertwined. It made me look down. My heart skipping a beat. „Jung-bae, go with Dae-ho.. I‘ll find someone.“ Gi-hun said, Jung-bae wanted to say something against it, but suddenly the platform stopped

„TWO“

Jung-bae couldn’t do anything and had to take Dae-ho with him Gi-hun went to search for a partner, and Young-il took me to a room. On the way there, a guy pushed me down and tried to get into the room me and Young-il chose. You could see the rage in his eyes. He took the guy by his collar, pushing him away. He took my hand and helped me up quickly. We made it into the room, 18 seconds left. I exhaled but stopped. We heard another guy in here, shaky breath.

„OUT!“ Young-il yelled angry, the guy shook his head. „I was here first!“ he shouted back, pressing himself into the corner. „I said, go. out.“ His eyes were sharp, his voice cold and loud.

„Push her out, Girls are weak anywa-” he couldn’t finish his sentence, before Young-il went behind him. He choked him, slowly sliding down the wall as he cut off his breathing way. The guy was struggling. But the most intimidating about this was the way he looked at me while he did so.

„Ten“

„Nine“

„Eight“

„Seven“

„Six“

„Five“

„Four“

„three“

Suddenly, Young-il turned his head, which let out a loud ‚CRACK‘ the door locked a second after he died. Young-il stood up, slowly walking to me, not braking the eye contact. He trapped me at the wall, his arms on each of my sides, keeping me from moving.

He pressed his lips sharp onto mine, i melted at the touch, but at the same time, i didn’t. Trembling beneath him. My hands wandered to his neck before i closed my eyes and eventually gave in, kissing him back. The kiss quickly turned into a tounge kiss, the Gunshots were completely ignored. He backed away, before moving to my neck, kissing it, biting on it, I let myself relax, whimpering at his touch. He let go, making my groan a little, he smirked to himself. His mouth went to my ear, he whispered into it, before biting my earlobe a little.

„You won’t tell anyone yeah? This will be our little secret, Darling.“

Okay i might make a second part out of this, because i‘m to lazy to write more at the moment, might even publish it tomorrow👀 stay tuned my loves!!! If you want to be tagged in the second part, comment below!

#hwang in ho #squid game #front man #hwang inho #x reader #hwang inho x reader #frontman x reader #fanfic #squid game x reader #je0ng1nn

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bidisasterevankinard · 3 days ago

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Drinks loosen my tongue

Bucktommy/ T (for implied daddy kink. It's more like a pet name really)/ 568 words

For day 3 of @bucktommyfluffebruary

Buck is already in bed when the knock on the door interrupts his plans for going to the best adventure when you're an adult - sleep. With a frown, he gets back to the living room, trying to understand who can have a whole ass disaster to come to him at 1 am.

“Sal? Tommy? What?”

“Din don, parcel for you,” the older man says with exasperation, pushing his boyfriend in his hands. “He had way more than he should have and told me way more that I need to know about your ass or how deep your daddy issue goes. Have fun, baby boy. Keep daddy out of trouble. Bye,” with a finger gun and a wink Sal is gone, closing the door, before Buck can even react to the whole situation.

“Bye?” Buck says absentmindedly, trying to move his basically sleeping boyfriend.

“C’mon, Tommy, babe, help me there,” he shakes the body in his hands.

That’s when Tommy finally opens his eyes and smiles at him, “Ev’n, b’by, I’mm ‘ome,” he mumbles and kisses Buck on the cheek with gusto. Buck's pretty sure he was aiming for the lips.

“Miwed y’,” Tommy says and then hiccups, “n’d you ‘aked now,” he tries to take Buck’s sweats down, but succeeds only in almost pushing them both to the floor.

Buck pins him to the wall, “easier, tiger. All you're gonna get is cuddles. Maybe naked if you're gonna be good and let me get you to bed. Ok?”

Tommy nods, letting him take his boots and jacket down.

“C'mon, to the bedroom.”

Buck helps him and carefully makes it to the bed, where Tommy falls with loud ‘oof’. With a shake of his head Buck takes his jeans and shirt off, laying down near his smiling man, who already gets back to trying to get his sweats down.

“Now c-c-can d‘a’y have a treat?” Tommy says in his ear, but Buck pushes him off again.

“When he's sober enough for it,” Buck says, kissing Tommy’s nose, “and not hungover,” he turns away from Tommy, who snuggles closer to him, grinding his half hard cock in his ass.

“Ev’n, baaaaaa’y, please, d’a’y nee’s youuuuuuuu,”the grinding gets faster and Buck turns back to face Tommy.

“Can't you wait for the morning?”

Tommy shakes his head with a pout that can rival his own. “Pleeeease, just a tip, let d’a’y put just a tip in his ‘eautiful ‘oyfrien’?”

“Beautiful, huh?”

“The most ‘eautiful, in-cre’i’le, kin’, amazin’, w-w-won’erful,hot, sexy man of man ‘reams. I love yu so much, ‘a’y,” Tommy kisses his neck. “S-so lu’ky to ‘et you,” another kiss, “so lu’ky to ‘et you ‘ack after I ma’e a mi’take,” three more kisses, “I love you, Ev’n.”

Buck chuckles, “I love you too. And I would really appreciate you telling me all that sober, ok?”

Tommy enthusiastically nods.

“Can you wait for tomorrow before fuck me? I’m tired.”

“Noooooo, please, ‘a’y, d’a’y nee’s you nooooow. I pro’se you won’t feel a thin’.”

Buck raises his eyebrow, “Tommy, you have a nine inch dick. I will feel it no matter that.”

Tommy pouts on him with puppy eyes that are somehow even cuter when he is drunk.

“Ok,” he sighs, “let me get lube and d’a’y can put more than just a tip then.”

Before he can open his nightstand, he hears loud snores. Chuckling, he goes to sleep too.

#bucktommyfluffebruary #bucktommy #my fics #evan buckley #911 #evan buck buckley #tommy kinard #911 abc

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bbywriter · 7 hours ago

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amateur | c. sturniolo

summary: back in LA, nick and chris, your long distance boyfriend, stumble upon a silly little vlog you left them from boston.

pairing: christopher sturniolo x fem!reader

warnings: just some cutesy fluff

notes: ahh hi everyone this is my first ever fic! i’m kinda nervous but also really excited, pls let me know what u think <3

word count: 800

———

It’s late Thursday night, and Nick is buried in editing their upcoming Friday vlog. This week’s video compiles the boy’s most recent trip back home to Boston. While scrubbing through the raw footage, he stumbles upon an unexpected clip—one clearly not meant for the final cut.

The video begins with you holding the camera, your voice uncertain as you fiddle with the buttons. “Uh… I don’t even know if this is recording properly,” you say, the shot capturing nothing but your slightly out-of-focus bedroom. The camera wobbles a little before the clip abruptly ends. Nick smiles, calling over his brother. “Chris, come look at this.”

Chris gets up from his seat at the dining table, curiosity pulling him towards his brother in the living room. He settles beside Nick on the couch before the next clip plays. This time, your face appears on the screen as you hold the camera an arms length away. “Good morning guys—Oh my god this quality is insane I can see every single one of my pores,” you mutter, leaning in closer to examine your skin on the tiny viewfinder. After a second, you abruptly flash a peace sign and pucker your lips, before laughing at yourself. “Ew, Nick please leave this out.”

Chris can’t help but smile, his chest tightening with an overwhelming fondness at the sight of you. The soft Boston sunrise filters through the open blinds, washing your room in a warm, golden light. Sunbeams stream gently from behind you, casting a soft halo around your face. You’ve clearly just woken up—your voice is still heavy with sleep, your hair tousled, and your eyes half-closed. But even through the screen, despite it all, you have Chris completely captivated.

The video continues into your makeshift vlog, where you update the camera on your plans for the day—attending a 10am lecture followed by a three-hour lab that starts at 1pm. Halfway through, you get sidetracked by a story from last week’s lab, laughing as you recount how your friend accidentally burnt her eyelash extensions from holding the Bunsen burner too close to her face.

Chris already heard this story the day it initially happened, but he could listen to you tell it a hundred times again. Watching the way your eyes literally smile before the rest of your face follows, and hearing the sweetest sound of your laughter—he could never get tired of it.

The clip stretches on for nearly six minutes as you get distracted by all the little things you suddenly remember you want to share. Finally, you circle back to the reason you’re filming in the first place—explaining how you found the camera in your purse while searching for your wallet to put in your backpack.

“Chris, you must have forgotten it in my purse when you dropped me off yesterday, but I’ll just give it to you guys when I see you later. But yeah… how was your guys’ day?” you ask, fully leaning into the content creator persona. It takes a second of realization before you cringe, your nose scrunching with visible embarrassment as you cover your eyes with your free hand. “I’m literally talking to this camera like it’s gonna answer me. This is so weird, I don’t know how you guys do this.”

Chris lets out a soft laugh, finding your struggle for something that’s second nature to him so endearing.

You sigh softly and glance off-screen. “God I really hope that all recor—oh shit, ‘battery low, please connect to power’,” you read off the viewfinder. “Oh I think it’s gonna die soon. Okay, bye guys! Chris, bye baby! Love you, please text me if you saw this!”

You obnoxiously pucker your lips, leaning in to kiss the lens with a dramatic smooching sound, but just before it lands, the camera cuts off as the battery gives out. Chris stares at the screen, his heart swelling so big in his chest it feels like it would explode.

Nick nudges him, giggling. “Dude, she’s so bad at this.”

“Shut up,” Chris says, biting back a smile. “Send me those.”

“Wipe that stupid grin off your face, idiot.” Nick teases, but happily airdrops him the clips.

Chris immediately screenshots the last frame—a blurry but perfect shot of your goofy kiss. Without hesitation, he sets the photo as his new wallpaper, then finds your contact.

Baby: You should start a channel baby

Baby: Gotta teach you more about the camera though haha this vid was a little ridiculous

He sends the screenshot he took.

Baby: This was cute though

Baby: You’re beautiful

Baby: Love you❤️

Baby: Miss you

He sends the last message, knowing you’re back in Boston and likely asleep by now. Still, he can’t help but smile at his phone, already counting down the days until he can see you again.

—

A/N: hi guyss :) this was just something quick i thought of, inspired by a clip from the boys’ vlog i came across the other day where madi was randomly filming their dining table or something lol. pls let me know what u think ahhh this is so fun!!!

#bbywriter ✍️#christopher sturniolo #chris sturniolo #chris sturniolo fanfic #chris sturniolo fluff #chris sturniolo x reader #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo

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rwbyrg · 14 hours ago

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Sadass concept I had

Even after Ozpin/Ozma inevitably leaves Oscar's body I still refuse to accept the theory that they will fully merge Oscar will be glad to be his own person again but since he spent so much of his time being Ozpin's host and doing so much important Huntsman shit at the ripe age of 14-15 he needs some SERIOUS time to adjust because he's forgotten how to be normal teen for a while 🙃

He ends up reliving his lost childhood/teenhood through his time spent with Ruby of course.

This is unironically one of my favourite things about Rosegarden. Two kids losing the opportunity to be awkward, dorky, teenagers because of extraordinary responsibility... but then the war is over. Now what are they supposed to do?

It is sad, in some ways, because there is a tremendous amount of grief in the what-could-have-beens. But then there is also joy and gratitude for the experiences they did have despite all of it. The skills they developed, people they met, places they saw. All experiences they might have grieved just as well had the story gone differently from the start (if you remember, Oscar was already yearning for have-nots before we even met him).

It's what makes this ship feel so real to me. We live our lives, dream of brighter futures, work towards our goals... if we're able to achieve them, sometimes they're everything we could have hoped, and sometimes they're much more than we bargained for. Sometimes we give up on dreams and pick a different course, and sometimes the wanting doesn't matter because the world has something else planned for us. But we have to pick ourselves up and keep going regardless of the direction we get spun in. RG embodies that experience to a T.

I think for Ruby and Oscar, they're both going to have a lot of figuring out to do both together and apart. But one thing is for certain. If they are already able to relate to one another so well because of their shared traumas now, then they're going to be able to find that same closeness (or more) when the war is over too. It will be a bit like the Ozlem parallel that folks like to throw around all the time. The "where do we go now?" / "wherever we'd like", but different. Ruby and Oscar are both figuring out who they are and who they want to be. That sort of thing is hard to do, but having someone else figuring it out alongside you makes it a little bit more manageable.

#i've had many a thought of how it goes #i think in AU at least there's a lot of opportunity for things to get worse before they get better #but that definitely makes the payoff that much sweeter #anyway ramble over #rosegarden #rwby rosegarden #ask #asks #sketch-sheperd

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lunaharrygurl · 2 days ago

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Part 2: Hurt

A/N: ahh back at it again hi. I really hope you guys like this one. Im a little anxious about what to do after, but eager for yalls feedback! Let me know what you think!!!!!

Word count: 2.6k

Part 1

Fall 2019

“You should let me pick out your outfits more often.”

He’s sitting on her bed in a t-shirt and dark blue shorts with his arms behind his back. He has a small smirk on his face because he loves to see her all shy and out of her comfort zone.

“Harrrry, you know I hate this stuff! Why are you torturing me like this?” Twirling in the mirror and looking behind her back to see the outfit in whole. She would never have picked this out, but she kinda likes the idea of him dressing her. She would never let him know that though, of course.

“Because you look pretty when you’re dressed like that. Plus your butt looks good, Annie.” Harry whistles. She throws a sock across the room and manages to hit him square in the face. His giggling tells her he’s not offended. She walks out of the bathroom to greet him in her room. His sock covered feet are swinging and dangling off. He’s dressed before her since he said he has plans in 30 minutes. Ana skips over to meet him and lets herself fall in between his legs, his arms wrap around her to hold her up. Her head falls against his chest and says something but he can’t hear.

“Can’t hear you pretty girl.” He sings. Harry takes her head in his hands and it pushes her cheeks together. Finally making eye contact with him, she tells him that she’s too nervous to go to this book market alone.

“It’ll be good to get out of your comfort zone,” he smooches a wet kiss to her nose and she shakes her head, “and to make friends.”

Ana pushes herself off of him and walks back to the mirror. She’s been at University for 3 months already and the only friend she has is him. She wishes she could be more outgoing, but would rather spend her nights in her dorm than to be out partying, like her dear friend Harry. Still lost in her train of thought, Harry comes up behind her and lands a soft kiss on the back of her head.

“Why can’t you come with me? We would have so much fun together!”

“I wish I could, sweetheart. But I have big plans tonight, I already told you.”

“Yeah, yeah, big secret blah blah.”

“You’re gonna have a good time, I promise. I want you to have fun. I want to see you later though, so call me when you get home.” With a wink and a quick swat to her butt, he opens the door and slips out. Ana’s cheeks turn a deep red and she puts her fingertips to her mouth, thinking about what transpired earlier. Her ass is still a little sore.

Ana heard about the book market through her creative writing class. It’s basically a book swap for all the students on campus and a way for them to meet new people and make connections and counts as extra credit that she desperately needs. She ends up trading three books with some dudes she recognizes from her Calc class and finds herself having a good time.

As she picks up a book, Ana hears a squeal. “Oh my gosh, I LOVE that book!” She quickly turns around and ends up dropping her belongings.

“My name is Penny,” the ginger girl yells and rushes to pick the fallen items for her. Penny points to the tall dark haired girl next to her, “and this is my friend Jess.” Ana returns a smile and introduces herself. Maybe making friends wouldn’t be so hard.

After talking with the duo for ten minutes, she learns that Penny and Jess are both first years like Ana and they realize they actually have a lot in common. All first years, book lovers, and hopeless romantics. The book market finishes around 5 pm and the trio walks out together shoulder to shoulder. Ana pulls out her phone to shoot Harry a text, letting him know she’ll be going to dinner with her new friends and for him to stay with his friends. He replies with a thumbs up and a hundred exclamation points after which makes her smile.

They decide to go to a diner not too far from Ana’s dorm and it wasn’t too packed. Jess flips open the menu back and forth before saying “I dont know I’m kinda feeling chicken alfredo.” Penny smacks her menu against hers and laughs saying her meal was basic.

“Yeah, okay miss chicken parm.” Ana jokes back. All three girls are laughing when their waiter comes to the table and announces himself.

“Hi ladies. My name is Alex and I’ll be serving you guys tonight.” All girls quickly hush up and make quick eye contact with each other. The three of them finish ordering before Jess squeezes Ana’s hand from across the table.

“He was totally looking at you dude! And he was flirting!”

“Noooo, he was not. He was just being polite!” Ana is full on blushing and pushing her hair behind her ear. She was sitting with two beautiful girls and she was no near their kind of pretty. There’s no way he could have been interested in her.

“Oh hush up. He looks like a school boy in love. You should definitely get his number.” Penny is looking at her with soft eyes and Ana can tell she was being genuine. She sips her strawberry lemonade and ignores the girls’ comments. She’s not really interested in pursuing their waiter anyways.

“I’m sorta already seeing someone else.” she blushes and begins to spill her complicated love life with Harry. She’s not sure if she considers him to be her boyfriend, but she for sure knows they're more than just friends. They spend every other night in each other’s dorms and not just to sleep. Ana has never been more satisfied in bed with any other person than with Harry. And not even just sex, he makes her laugh, he makes her smile, and she trusts him. She’s almost in love with him, but the only thing stopping her from professing her love is the fact that he might not feel the same way.

Jess asks if Ana’s ever told him how she feels. She shakes her head and laughs “He probably doesn't feel the same. Let’s pretend I just went out and told him I liked him, yeah? And then he says he doesn't feel the same? I’d die. I would literally die.”

“You’ll never know unless you try Ana.” Penny sings. “I mean, it sounds like he likes you?”

“Or screw them both! Being single is fun! You deserve to not worry about who does or doesn't like you. You're young. Act like it.”

“Damn, Jess, laying it on thick.” Ana laughs but keeps the words in her head.

Thankfully, they move on and finish their meals talking about their classes. Alex comes around with the check and tells the girls to have a good night, ending with sending Ana a wink. She for sure saw that. She picks up the check and her mouth opens.

“What? Is it a million dollars?”

“No, he left his number. “ Penny shuts up and her eyebrows shoot up. “No way!”

The group gathers their leftovers and walk out of the diner on the way to their respective dorms.

“It was really nice to meet you guys.” Ana gushes. “I hope we can hang out again.”

“Oh we had so much fun! Of course we’ll see you again!” Penny pulls Ana into a hug and they rock side to side.

“Pen, jesus.” Jess laughs out and pulls her friend off. “I have a feeling we’ll be best pals for life. You have our numbers and socials. I’ll text you when we get to our dorm.”

Ana gets a few steps in before she hears Penny yell, “And call that boy! Or tell the other boy you love him!”

“We’ll see girl!” Ana laughs her off and walks away with a good feeling in her chest. She went out of her comfort zone and it paid off. And she got someone’s number. Who woulda thought?

She moves the crumpled receipt around in her pocket but can’t bring herself to actually fantasize about a new boy in her life. She really likes Harry. She’ll talk to him tonight, she decides. Excited to exclaim her crush, she has a pep in her step. Some loud rowdyness in front of her brings her out of her thoughts. She sees a few frat boys ahead of her seemingly drunk.

“Bro, you do not have more bitches than him! He’s like - he’s like every girls’ dream here!” The boys are pushing each other and yelling apparently about who has better game. “Harry is fucking someone like every other week, you can’t touch him.”

Suddenly, she freezes.

Harry? There has to be at least 1,000 people named Harry, so surely it can’t be him.

“Nah, he has that Annieee girl he’s always with. Pretty sure they’re dating with how much he talks about her. ” She’s feeling a little queasy because one, these boys think Harry and her are dating and two, he’s having sex with all these other girls?

“Annie’s just the side chick bro. He told me he’s still fucking a girl at least every other weekend. He’s with one tonight!”

Disgusted. Gutted. Is this a joke? Her Harry? Sleeping with other people? Every other weekend? Why hasn’t he told her? If he wanted to see other people, he should’ve said something. Of course she would’ve been a little hurt, but she would’ve understood. They were friends, or at least she thought they were. All those nights with her and countless times she’s opened up to him. Now this has her rethinking everything.

Ana rushes home with tears running down her face and grabs all of the things that remind her of him. His rainbow cardigan he left this morning just in case she was cold. His purple toothbrush he leaves with how much he stays over. All of his socks and boxers. His blue nail polish he wears because he thinks it makes him edgy. Everything is shoved in a box and thrown to the side. She knows it's dramatic but she's hurt. She catches her reflection in the mirror and stops to glance at herself. She knows she’s somewhat pretty, but her face falls a bit at the realization that she wasn’t good enough for him. All the sweet things he’s whispered to her has been a lie.

She spots the diner receipt from the restaurant and zeros in on the phone number. Alex is a guy who thinks she’s pretty. He didn’t know anything about her, but saw her face and thought she was worth knowing. Fuck Harry. She doesn’t need him. She should be looking for men who actually like her and aren’t wasting her time. Ana quickly puts Alex’s number in her contacts and is about to send a quick text when Harry’s contact pops up and takes over her screen. Fuck fuck. Ana pushes the button on the side of her phone repeatedly in efforts to stop the call. He calls again and again and she begins to get annoyed. Dude, get the hint. A fast knock on her door has her head turning fast.

“Annie, it’s me” She hears Harry call out.

She holds her breath and stays still in hopes that he thinks she’s not home.

“I have your locationnnn, I know you're in there” he sings. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she mutters. Well, here goes everything.

“Hey, why didn’t you answer? What’s going on, why are you crying?” Harry puts a hand out to her face but she quickly puts a step back. His hand retreats and hurt laces his face.

His face is begging her for an answer, but she can’t bring herself to speak. This was someone she cared about, someone she was close to being in love with. Did she mean nothing to him? All those nights shared together made her feel stupid. How could she be so blind?

“What do you want?”

With a dry laugh, he asks her what’s going on. “Why are you upset? I thought the book swap went ama-”

“Where were you tonight?” Ana manages to look him in the eye. She wants to be able to see his face as he attempts to lie to her.

“I was out with friends. Annie, why are you crying?”

She blew a breath out and quietly spit out, “You sure? You sure you weren’t fucking someone?”

That shocked him. His eyes were wide and mouth slightly open. With a shake of his head, “Annie, no, please, what are you talking about? Who told you that?”

“You’re a liar,” she choked. So much for not crying in front of him. “You’ve been here lying to me, making me think you actually liked me. Every night not spent in my bed, you were in someone else’s. How many friends with benefits do you have? How many others do you lie to?”

Ana puts her hands up in defeat. “You know what? I don't wanna know.” She quickly steps back into the room and rushes to shut the door.

“Babe, please you have it all wrong. Let me explain!” His voice is muffled through the door and she puts her back against the wood. She can hear his ragged breathing as he tries to plead with her.

“Let me explain,” he repeats, “It’s not what you think.”

Her heart tightens and she’s feeling a whirlwind of emotions: betrayal, anger, heartbreak. She feels like she could hate him, but a small part of her wants to believe him. To believe he actually could love her.

“Why should I?” she finally says, voice trembling.

“I would never lie to you, Annie. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about this.”

Ana lets out a hollow laugh. “So you’ve been meaning to tell me you’ve been whoring around? What I heard was true?”

There’s silence, but she knows he’s still there. She can hear his breath hitch.

Finally, he speaks, his voice quiet. “Can I come in?”

Her chest feels extremely heavy hearing him in pain. She’s aching for answers, but knows if she saw his face, she would cave.

“No.”

A hard knock which she assumes is his fist bumps her head forward.

“You have it all wrong, just let me explain. I need to see your face.”

“Please leave, Harry. I don’t want to see you.” She forces herself to stay strong and gets up to lock the door.

A heavy silence follows. Ana presses her forehead against the door, eyes shut tight as if that could block out the pain swelling in her chest. She hears him exhale sharply, his hand dragging down the wood between them.

“Annie…” His voice is strained. “Please, don’t do this. Just let me—”

“I said leave.” Her voice is firm this time. She won’t let him weaken her resolve. Not again.

A long pause. Then the sound of footsteps retreating. The ache in her chest tightens. She listens, waiting for the finality of his departure - but nothing comes. Just the eerie quiet of the night pressing in. She replays his pleas in her head. He didn’t deny her accusation.

A knock, softer this time, makes her flinch.

“Annie, if you want me to go, I’ll go.”

Her throat tightens. She should want that, shouldn’t she? Shouldn’t she want him gone after everything?

But the weight of those words presses against her ribs, because she knows Harry—knows the way he means things. He’s not saying it as a threat. He’s saying it because it’s the truth. If he leaves tonight, whatever this was is over.

Ana grips the doorknob, her fingers trembling.

Should she believe him? Does she let him explain? Or does she choose herself for once?

The choice sits heavy in her hands.

And then—

She turns the lock.

#harry styles angst #harry styles preferences #harry styles blog #harry styles #angst #books #friends to strangers #ahhhhh

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grandwretch · 1 day ago

Text

only must i wander, chapter 9

dustin's intermission

[on ao3] [ch 1][ch 2][ch 3][ch 4][ch 5][ch 6][ch 7][ch 8]

1985, september

The gravel of Hopper's drivethrough crunched under Dustin's bike wheels. It was late, night having long since settled over Hawkins, but the cabin windows glowed warmly, beckoning him inside. He could already hear the voices of his friends inside, yelling and laughing over some joke he couldn't make out-- Excitement lanced through him when he heard Eddie's wild cackle.

It had been months since he'd seen Eddie outside of school. Months since he'd been able to hang out with most of them, actually. He'd been grounded for weeks after the mall fire, and once his mom had found out about Steve being a Grimm, he'd basically been under house arrest. Dustin had missed so much, catching up on the phone with El or in sadly human hangouts with Max. They had Wesen game nights, now. D&D campaigns he didn't get invited to. Movie nights where they watched his favorites without him. Summer had been torture, and seeing them in between classes at school only made it worse.

Well, Dustin was sick of it. There would be no more inside jokes he didn't understand. No more apologetic faces when they discussed plans. He was going to game night. If his mom woke up and noticed him missing, she was just going to have to get over it. He refused to let his own life pass him by because she was afraid.

He ditched his bike next to Steve's car, the kickstand singing metallic at the force with which he snapped it in place. He hustled himself up the steps and onto the porch, shooting furtive glances over his shoulder. They were in the middle of the woods, no nosy neighbors to rat him out, but Dusin still felt hunted by someone's watchful gaze. Perhaps being hunted by the government for a few days had left more lasting damage than he'd previously expected.

Throwing open the door with more strength than he'd intended, Dustin blinked as the light enveloped him. From the yard it had seemed cozy and welcoming, but now it stung his eyes-- He hadn't risked a flashlight to light his way on the ride here, and now he was paying for it. He recoiled from the doorway, cursing under his breath, and heard more than saw the party draw to a halt at his presence.

"Dustin?" Steve asked, the Grimm suspicion that they'd all had to become accustomed to clinging to his voice.

"Dustin!" El echoed. At least she was happy to see him. As Dustin's vision cleared, El threw her arms around his neck, and he stumbled further back into the darkness. Behind her, Max hovered, staring off into the night to make it clear she wasn't waiting for a turn-- Of course, when El stepped back after a final squeeze, she didn't back away when Dustin pulled her in, either. She tucked herself under his chin, briefly letting herself rest against his shoulder before backing up.

Both the girls beamed up at him, one brighter than the other, and Dustin was left with the dizzying thought of what his younger self would think of how easy it was to touch and be touched by El and Max. And, also, how little any of them seemed to care about it outside of what little comfort they could bring each other after the summer. Romance had seemed incidental, if relevant at all-- Dustin and El's newfound intimacy had very little to do with her breakup from Mike, and Dustin found himself lounging in Lucas's lap as often as Max, when they weren't in public. Hell, basketball season starting was the only reason that Dustin wasn't throwing himself at Lucas right now. The further their other friends slipped away, the tighter they clung to each other. It was more than a little odd, but Dustin wasn't surprised that their sense of propriety was more than a little warped. Look who they had for role models.

Said role model was standing in the doorway, peering down at his charges. Dustin couldn't see Steve's face in the shadows, but he could imagine the frown that had taken his mouth. Stress lines had already begun to settle in around his mouth, years too early, the expression so common that even his smiles carried echoes of it. "What are you doing here, bud?"

"I came for game night!" Dustin said brightly, as if it wasn't the first time he'd ever shown up to the cabin on his own. Or after 9pm, for that matter.

"Uh," Steve grunted, that pissy little squint of his settling in. Always willing to throw Dustin under the bus in order to remain the favorites, Max and El ducked back into the cabin, giggling. "Does your mom know you came for game night?"

Steve was a pretty terrible liar, but he was distressingly good at figuring out when Dustin was. There was absolutely no tactic that worked on him every time; Dustin just had to pick a really good one and hope that Steve was having an off night. There was one that worked more often than not, but Dustin tried not to use it too often-- Not just because of Steve, but because of his new ever-present shadows, Eddie and Robin. Even now, they blinked at Dustin from Hopper's couch, not even pretending to be interested in something else. Even on his worst nights, Steve wouldn't miss a pattern with three brains working on it.

Blustering, Dustin decided the best way to not get caught in a lie was to not answer at all. Instead, he took a page out of Steve's own book, mirroring his pose-- Hands on the hip and all. With exggeration in every movement and word, Dustin leaned in, mocking, "What do you think, genius?"

"I--" Steve began, and halfway through the sentence seemed to realize he didn't care all that much. Maybe Steve had finally remembered he had done his fair share of sneaking out, or maybe he was just tired. Either way, in that moment of hesitation, Dustin knew he had him. "Yeah, alright," Steve sighed, then turned, gesturing for Dustin to follow him. "Come on in."

Max and El were on the floor in front of the couch. They had pushed the coffee table out of the way and replaced it with a box of Clue, the pieces scattered across the floor. The actual board was still folded, halfway out of the box, and El was hunched over the worn cards, examining them carefully. "You're just in time to help me teach El the rules," Max said, with a smile that said Dustin would be doing all of the teaching.

"I'm going to play the red lady," El said, not listening. Her fingers stroked Miss Scarlet's portraits, obvious envy in her voice. "She has such nice hair."

Robin leaned over, humming as she examined the card. "Steve could probably help you do yours like that."

Steve glanced down at the card, frowning even deeper when he saw Miss Scarlet's teased curls. "Maybe when she's sixteen," he said, every inch of Hopper's disapproval in his voice, which obviously really meant 'never in a million years'.

"Steve, come on!" Max whined as El pouted up at him, both of them suddenly very invested in Steve's dedication to El's haircare. He ignored them with all the practice of a professional older brother, throwing himself onto the couch between Robin and Eddie. Immediately, he and Robin started talking about whatever boring grown up argument they'd been having before, but Eddie's eyes lingered on Dustin for a moment longer.

His eyes said that they absolutely knew what Dustin was up to, and that he was choosing to ignore it. It was probably the only help he was going to get from anyone when it came to deceiving Steve, and Dustin chose not to push it. He mouthed a quiet 'thank you', then nearly tripped over himself trying to claim Professor Plum before Max could snatch it from him.

They got halfway through a game before the door opened again, spilling their warmth out into the chilly autumn air. Chief Hopper's voice boomed through the small cabin, the beloved owner's words echoing through the space, cutting through laughter and arguments. The magic was wasted on nothing much at all. "Oh great," the echoes said, "a bunch of kids in my house."

Dustin blinked up at Chief Hopper, looming over them all from the doorway. He was in uniform, the brown monstrosity that made him seem at once incredibly silly and largely intimidating, and holding a stack of pizzas that nearly went over his head. Dustin blinked a couple more times, and the pizzas didn't fade.

Weird.

While Dustin was... intellectually aware that Chief Hopper was now the adopted father of his two best friends, Dustin had yet to be adjust to that, uh, emotionally. For most of his life, the Chief had been a vague and mysterious form of authority, more of an icon than a human, and his mother and peers had warned him equally to stay out of the Chief's way. As Dustin grew older, the warnings grew with him, until Will's disappearance had turned the Chief from a distant warning to a very present adversary.

It had been difficult to let that resentment go, even if Dustin had left most of the anger to Mike. It hadn't helped, either, that none of them had any idea that the Chief had been keeping El safe for almost a year-- It had been a revelation on a night of revelations, turning into a knot of confusion and emotion. Will is in danger again, you have a new big brother, the Chief is a wonderful father and also a liar.

Excuse him if he wasn't exactly comfortable in the man's presence.

Especially not, Dustin thought while every muscle in his body locked with fear, when he wasn't supposed to be here.

Dustin was the only one disappointed to see an adult in the room, apparently. Greetings flooded the room as Dustin's mouth went dry, El and Steve's the loudest. Eddie even waved, remarkably chill for a man who had spent so much time in the back of the Chief's cruiser, although it might have something to do with the arm Steve currently had draped over his shoulders. Hard to be scared of a man whose son had latched onto you like a limpet, Dustin guessed.

"Yes, yes, hello to the children who are supposed to be here. What the rest of you doing here?" Belying his harsh words, Hopper put a gentle hand on Max's head, large palm praticially enveloping her skull. She beamed up at him, but the Chief had moved on, his eyes now locked on Dustin. As the target of swiftly narrowing eyes, Dustin got the vague impression he had just interrupted some fatherly ritual he didn't understand. "Especially you, Henderson."

"Um," Dustin croaked, squirming. He searched desperately for a lie that would hold up under Hopper's narrowed gaze, but to his shock, the man barely held his gaze for another second.

Rolling his eyes, Hopper visibily dropped whatever suspicion he'd had about coming home to Dustin on his couch. "Whatever," he said, echoing Steve with eerie similarity, looking to the other kids. "Time for dinner. Who wants vegetarian?"

"Awesome!" Max crowed, El brightening beside her, but Dustin swallowed around a lump in his throat that told him he hadn't made it out of the woods, yet.

Dustin ate his pizza-- surpreme, of course, with one slice of jalapeno and ham that Eddie had bullied him into trying --slowly, not liking the way Hopper and Steve kept looking at him. If this was what having a dad was like, Dustin was glad he'd missed out; Their gazes were knowing and unflinching, and while Dustin wasn't afraid, he felt bare and stupid. What was even worse was that afterward they'd look at each other, having a silent conversation through their eyebrows and shoulders. It was a language that Dustin hadn't even known Steve could speak, a language that seemed to be bestowed upon every parent the moment their child was born. Steve hadn't had any kids, and he didn't understand spoken language most days, but it didn't stop him from keeping up with Chief Hopper. Dustin watched his head bob in Dustin's direction time and again, and chewed crust that tasted more like cardboard.

The moment the last piece disappeared behind Dustin's lips, Steve and Robin already leaping up to help clear the paper plates scattered across the table, Hopper stood. His chair scraped across the floor with a loud sound that had the rest of the gathered party pausing in their own movements; Dustin wasn't sure how the chair knew it needed to announce the importance in the set of Hopper's shoulders, but it had certainly gotten the message across.

"Alright," the Chief said, adjusting the belt around his stomach. "It's getting late. Dustin, I told your mom I'd take you home when we got done eating."

Dustin swallowed. Had an olive gotten lodged in his esophagus at some point? Breathing felt suddenly out of his reach.

"What?" El asked, a sharp frown on her face. "He didn't even get to play any games with us!"

"Sorry, Janey. His mom's rules come first," Hopper said. He did look genuinely sorry about it, at least until his gaze found Dustin's again. He saw the iron return to the man's eyes and had to struggle not to reveal the way his heart raced in his chest. "Say goodbye, Dustin."

"Bye, everyone," he said mechanically, wincing when he heard the shake in his own voice.

"We'll see you at school next week," Max said, with a small, awkward smile. It didn't make Dustin feel any better, really, but it did remind him that whatever happened next, it wasn't like his mom could take school away from him.

"See ya, Dusty," Eddie said, waving behind Steve's back. "Sorry, man."

Not sorry enough to stand up for him, apparently.

Dustin sulked out of the cabin, followed by the Chief's large, looming shadow. He hesitated for just a moment beside his bicycle, only to scurry away when the man gave a low, displeased grunt. Waiting by the cruiser door in silence seemed like the much safer bet, actually, Dustin decided. His bicycle could rot here, for all he cared at the moment-- Living was much more important.

"I should make you sit in the back, the way I used to make Steve ride back there when he was a dickhead," Hopper said, mostly mumbling as he fished his keys out of his pocket. "Actually, I've had Eddie back there a time or two, too. Maybe you need some better role models, Henderson."

Answering seemed like a bigger mistake than sneaking out had been. Every word of that had felt like a trap, either throwing his friends under the bus or digging himself deeper into Hopper's ire. He'd never been great at keeping his mouth shut, and the habit of letting his mouth run away from him had only gotten worse now that he had Steve to back him up-- The fear of Claudia Henderson, though? That was more than enough to keep him quiet.

Dustin could feel the nerves causing subtle changes in his body as he waited for Hopper to unlock the passenger door. His teeth elongated and shifted texture, and he pressed the rough edges against his tongue until he could taste iron. Fur sprouted on fidgeting fingers.

Hopper seemed to take his silence as a cue, because once Dustin was safely in the car, the man didn't speak another word. That was worse, somehow. The silence pressed in on them as they rolled slowly through the forest, and Dustin couldn't help that his gaze kept returning back to Hopper's blank, stern face. Had they ever spent this much time alone before? Surely not, and surely not enough to be silent with each other. Dustin had only just barely reached that level with Steve, a guy Dustin had all but made his emergency contact, and that was only because the school had refused to accept the paperwork.

Somewhere in the back of Dustin's mind, he was vaguely aware of what Hopper was doing. He'd never been arrested before, unless you counted the brief run-ins with the federal government as resisting arrest, which according to the agents who had so passionately argued with Dr. Owens-- Well, whatever. Dustin had never been interrogated before, was the point, but he had seen movies. He knew that silence was just as persuasive as intimidation or a kind word and a cup of coffee. He knew the game Hopper was playing, and that was half the battle. He wasn't going to fall victim to such a stupid trick.

Except he absolutely was, Dustin thought with his stomach in knots. He wasn't a hardened criminal; he was a freshman. He hadn't even had his fourteenth birthday yet. Of course he was going to break. The only thing left for Dustin to do was try not to reveal too much when he did.

He barely made it to them same road before his control over his mouth snapped like a twig, the words tumbling over his tongue and out of his mouth. "Are you really going to tell my mom?" Fuck.

"Well, kid. I feel like I should," Hopper said, slowly. For the first time that night, Dustin could see that Hopper felt as awkward about this conversation as Dustin was. He was all but squirming in his seat, shifting awkwardly as he frowned out at the road before them. They both would much prefer Dustin was having this conversation with Steve, probably, but Dustin's mom didn't open the door when Steve knocked anymore. Which was the whole reason Dustin had to sneak out in the first place. "Seems like the kinda thing a mom should know."

"You can't!" Dustin said, fully aware he sounded like the whining child he had always tried to avoid becoming. He had kept his cool through being hunted by federal agents, through attacks by eldritch dogs, through his best friends being drug to Hell and back. So much had happened in the last few years, and while the rest of Dustin's friends only seemed to improve from year to year, he could feel himself swiftly reaching the edges of his abililty to take random bullshit.

"Oh, can't I?" Hopper asked, amused. The grin tugging on the edges of his mouth only twisted the knife in Dustin's chest further.

"No! It'll--" Dustin swallowed, heart pounding so fast he thought he might throw up. "Fuck, Hop, are you trying to ruin my life?"

Hopper sighed, shaking his head as he muttered, "Teenagers are so dramatic, Jesus."

"Oh, sure, all parents are good and perfect," Dustin spat, crossing his arms around his chest. He wasn't being dramatic. Steve flipping out when someone broke his favorite mug was dramatic. Eddie writing a dirge for his favorite wornout cassette was dramatic. Freaking out because your mom was trying to lock you up for the rest of your life wasn't dramatic. "Why don't you call Steve's folks and tell him who he's hanging out with these days?"

"Your mom is not Sophia Harrington, Dustin. Stop it."

Hopper wasn't wrong, and the look he shot Dustin said he knew it, but Dustin still avoided his gaze.

"Yeah, but she--" Dustin ground his jaw, wincing at the sound the beaver teeth made in his mouth. "She's awful."

"She loves you, and that's more than Steve ever had--" Hopper began, but Dustin cut him off with a shout. It was short and incoherent, barely more than a grunt of frustration, but he just couldn't take it anymore.

Guilt had already settled into Dustin's chest when he'd made the comparison; He didn't need Hopper to tell him he was out of line. Steve's mom was an even touchier subject than his dad. Whatever was going on there was much lonelier than fear or anger.

The fact of it was, though, Steve didn't matter right now. Not to Dustin. His only mistake had been bringing it up. Sure, Steve had a bad mom-- But everyone else had great ones. Even El, with no mom at all, got brought under the wing of Joyce Byers and Susan Mayfield. Where did that leave Dustin, quietly suffering alone, with no one to talk to about it? Why, because Steve had it worse? Steve wouldn't want that for him, Dustin knew that, and he wasn't about to accept it, either.

"I'm not allowed to have friends, I'm not allowed to have a life," Dustin gasped out. With a distant horror, Dustin realised that tears had begun to well up in his eyes, but his body was spiralling swiftly out of his control. There was very little he could do, only double over, clinging to the door, as he tried to regain some composure.

Hopper's stern, detached voice only made things worse. "You disappeared for almost a week this summer, she's allowed to--"

"She says terrible shit all the time about my friends, and everyone just passes it off as being strict! It's not just Steve and El, it's people she's never even met. You didn't even hear the stuff she said about Jeff and Gareth's families. I don't even--" Dustin choked, drawing to an end with a shuddering breath. Hopper was quiet as Dustin tried to catch his breath, chest heaving. He was still listening when Dustin continued, "I don't even recognize her anymore. The past two years have been... That's not my mom, Hopper. I don't know who she is."

Hopper's silence stayed firm even when Dustins' words finally drew to a more natural end. With a sinking heart, Dustin was sure that Hopper was just going to keep ignoring him all the way home-- That he was going to turn into ever other adult in the world and pretend that everything he didn't like wasn't happening. It would be so disappointing, Dustin thought, to know that Steve and El had been through so much and all they had to fall back on was someone who didn't listen.

Blinking back tears, Dustin turned away from Hop, leaning so far into the door that his face pressed into the cool glass. Two could play at that game. He didn't have to listen, either-- When the lectures came, he would just let it all fade into background noise, focusing his mind on the swiftly moving lights that danced across the window's reflections.

When Hopper eventually spoke, however, there was no lecture to be found.

"Did I ever tell you that I went to school with your mom, Dustin?" he said, instead. Dustin peeked over his shoulder at him, but Hopper wasn't looking at him-- His eyes were still firmly on the road, though Dustin could see that his hands were clenched so hard around the wheel that his knuckles were turning white.

"No," Dustin said, suspicion coloring every word. "We're from Chicago."

"Well, that's where she went to college-- where you were born --but she grew up right here with me and Joyce. She was... " Hopper paused, as if unsure of how to explain himself. "Different, then, I guess. A real bright girl. Too good for a couple of outcasts like us, probably, but she acted like she didn't notice. Her and Joyce were something to see, always getting into problems, asking questions. I don't think either of them were afraid of anything at all, back then."

Dustin tried to imagine his mother getting into trouble and couldn't quite manage it. Every attempt only ended with his mother being the one to do the scolding, to point out the danger. "Are you sure it was my mom?" he asked. "That doesn't sound anything like her."

Hopper snorted. "Yeah, kid, I'm sure."

"Then what... happened to her?" It wasn't just the way she acted; Dustin couldn't remember a single time his mother had talked fondly about the people of Hawkins. Chicago she loved, but Hawkins was nothing more than a prison to her, something she chose because the walls would keep them as safe as it kept them isolated. "The way she talks about Joyce-- The way she talks about everybody--"

Hopper shrugged. "I know she met your dad in college, and they settled down there permanently when they got married. She dropped out of college and joined a nursing program, instead. Spent a lot of time with your father's family, from what I heard. Joyce was worried about her, going through the same motions herself, but Claudia was happy. They lost touch after that, but she sent word when you were born. Joyce was thrilled; She was pregnant with Will and had been so afraid that Claudia would never have the family she wanted."

Nothing abou this made any sense. Everything Dustin had ever known about his mom, about his own life, was in direct contradiction with what Hopper was saying-- but then, how many times in the past few years had Dustin's entire world view been challenged by one conversation? How many times had his mother told him something he knew was untrue, simply because she thought it was for his own good?

"My mom told me my dad didn't have any family. It's just me and mom," he said numbly, because surely she wouldn't have lied about that. Surely she wouldn't have kept a family from him, one that she apparently had loved enough to turn her back on everything she'd ever known.

"... I reckon that's still true," Hopper said, awkwardly. His eyes flicked towards Dustin again, just once, as if gauging how he was taking gaining and losing a family within the span of a few sentences. "When your-- When your dad passed, Claudia showed back up in Hawkins. She moved into her parents' old house, and when we asked, she said she didn't have anywhere else to go. We tried to get her settled, but it never really took. I don't know how much you remember, but we couldn't even convince her to let you leave the house until you were five or six. Took even longer for Joyce to convince her you were healthy enough to go to school."

"I didn't know Joyce was why I stopped homeschooling," Dustin said, head spinning. He'd always assumed the doctors had convinced her; That it was always a part of the plan, and the homeschooling had been them waiting for his body to catch up. "I never even met her until Will invited me over."

"Claudia only let her in the house if you were upstairs. Never saw anyone else come in or out, either. Joyce was thrilled the first time you came over. Lonnie was afraid she'd never let you go home."

Had his childhood really been so restrictive? Dustin remembered feeling lonely, sure, but he had always just attributed that to being a sick kid with no friends. The idea it was something that his mother had forced on him left him feeling slightly sick to his stomach. He could have known Will for years. He could have had even more time with someone he might never talk to again. The games they could have played together-- The conversations they could have had-- Dustin could imagine a world where he and Will were just as close as Mike and Will, as close as Lucas and Dustin were now.

The more he thought about it, the more the idea ached. If he and Mike had met then, would Mike have been less willing to cut them all out after last summer? Would he have stayed the way they needed him to? Would Dustin have been able to save his friends the way he couldn't now? And if all that was true, what else had his mother kept from him?

He didn't want to accept it. As much as Dustin resented his mother's attitude towards the people he loved, he had never thought that she would turn that anger towards him. She had never done anything to hurt him, not knowingly, anyway. Until now, he had always thought she was just... misguided. He was suffering under her love, that was all. It happened to people all the time. But if what Hopper was saying was true, was Dustin wrong? Was she keeping him safe by taking away everything that could ever make him happy? Did she even care?

"And she never told you why?" Dustin said, the lump in his throat shredding his voice to reedy, pathetic pieces. "She never... She never told you how my dad died?"

"No," Hopper said, his voice softer than Dustin had ever heard it. "You?"

"No."

It was, apparently, another thing she'd thought he didn't need.

Silence took over the cruiser again, both of them unsure of what to say. Dustin was sure if he asked any more questions he would burst into tears halfway through, and Hopper-- Hopper kept looking at Dustin like he knew it, like he was afraid anything he said would break Dustin into tiny pieces. Dustin was so tired of being thought of as something fragile, but he had to admit that he felt like it, for the first time in his life.

He felt like thin, warped glass, the edges of him already turning back into sand.

"I do have a theory, if you're willing to hear it," Chief Hopper said eventually. Dustin hugged his arms around his stomach, holding tight. He wasn't sure that he did want to hear it, actually-- He wasn't sure he could live with knowing more truths about his mother. But Dustin had never been good at ignoring his own impulse for answers, even when it might be the death of him.

"What kind of theory?" he asked, stomach sinking before he even heard the answer.

"You know, Steve has been sharing a lot of that Wesen stuff with me, "Hopper said. "Stuff he thinks would be useful in my line of work when he can't be around. I'll admit most of it doesn't make sense to me, but I remember one thing about you beaver folk."

"Eisbibers," Dustin corrected, on instinct more than any offense.

"Yeah, whatever," the Chief said, waving his hand in a way so reminiscent of Steve that Dustin almost smiled. :Anyway, Steve's grandpa says that the beavers are big on family. They live in big groups, and when two families mix they often become one big family. According to him, there's one family that makes up half of a small country in Europe. The way I see it, it's... a problem there's only two in Hawkins. You understand me?"

Not really, Dustin thought, but the unease in his stomach only settled in further.

Hopper sighed. "Maybe just give your mom a little grace, alright? I'm not exactly thrilled with how she's been talking about my kids, either, but sometimes people have a reason to be a little paranoid."

Dustin wanted to protest, wanted to point out that he'd seen worse than his mom ever had, but something held his tongue. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly, but a voice in the back of his head kept hissing at him. Was he sure? Was he really sure that his mother hadn't seen anything worse? Dustin tried not to follow that voice any deeper, tried not to consider what would make an Eisbiber leave her family behind.

If there was even any family left to have.

"Yeah," Dustin choked out, squeezing his eyes closed.

Silently, Hopper pulled to a stop. Dustin could feel the sway of the car, the small bump as Hopper pulled up onto the sidewalk-- A small crime done with the confidence of a cop. It took a few more seconds for Dustin to get the courage to open his eyes, but Hopper waited, not speaking.

When Dustin finally peeked out the window, he didn't like what he saw. Mrs. Morgan's prized dahlia's stared back at him, dulled by the moonlight, an ominous sign that they had finally reached Dustin's block. In a few short yards, they would be at his house-- And if his mom caught him, or if Hopper forced him to explain, there would be hell to pay. She wouldn't hurt him, of course, probably wouldn't even yell-- But somehow that made it all worse. If she freaked out a little more, maybe Dustin could properly hate her. Instead, she would just stand there, saying horrible things in a calm voice that made his stomach turn.

"Alright, kid, here's what we're gonna do: I'm gonna park right here, and you're gonna walk the rest of the way home," Hopper said, his voice soft. "Tell her or not, it's up to you."

It was more than Dustin had expected from him. "I thought I was in trouble."

"I trust you to make the right call," Hopper said.

And wasn't that a guilt trip and a half?

Dustin knew he was right. He should tell his mom the truth, if only because she seemed to struggle with the concept herself. He couldn't be mad at her, couldn't demand answers, if he was sneaking around, too. He would have to be brave.

Pulling himself out of the cruiser with shaky limbs, Dustin nodded at Hopper one last time. It had been a weird night, but the man had at least tried. He wondered if this was what Steve had felt like, when Hopper first started reaching out to him-- But no, that was different. Steve needed a dad, had craved one. Dustin had more parental presence than he knew what to do with.

He walked the last block home, the pressure in his head growing with every step. Dread rose higher in his throat until it pooled on his tongue, tasting of bile, but his determination grew stronger with it. He unlocked the front door, gritting his teeth until he felt a snarl settle over his face. He needed to not be himself when he faced her, needed to be someone stronger. Someone braver.

He envied Steve's ability to mask himself in words and gestures, but it wasn't something Dustin could learn-- And definitely not in the next five seconds.

Dustin's mother was exactly where he left her. Claudia Henderson was at the kitchen table, reading one of the many books that Dustin wasn't allowed to look at, much less touch. She sat, as she always did, in the only chair that gave her an unimpeded view of the front door. Which, of course, meant the moment Dustin walked through, she saw him.

He watched shock then fear settle on her face and squared his shoulders, waiting for her to strike first.

"Dusty, you--" Her voice wavered, pitching up into a frightened warble that made Dustin wince. "Have you been out all night?"

It was hardly what he would have considered all night, barely 11 pm, but he knew what she meant. "Yeah, mom."

Claudia rose, her clothes swirling around her as frantic as she had suddenly become. She cleared the space between them in a moment, her hands gripping his shoulders. "Where? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous this place could be for you--"

"I do, actually," he said. Very few in Hawkins knew it better. "Do you?"

"Excuse me?"

Dustin sighed, feeling not for the first time like the only adult in the room. "Look, mom. We need to talk."

As if sensing the shift in the dynamic, Claudia pulled herself up to her full height, staring down at her son with a clenched jaw. Her approximation of sterness meant nothing to Dustin, all too aware of the way her eyes still darted from place to place. As if, somehow, Dustin might have brought the danger home with him. As if him sneaking out to spend a night with his friends wasn't a danger because he might get hit by a car or might be drinking, but because the sin itself would mean monsters lurked in the darkness.

"There's nothing to talk about except the fact that you're grounded," Claudia said, and Dustin looked up at her with pity.

"Alright," he said, willing to go along with it if it made her stop shaking. "But I still need to talk to you."

The fear seemed to turn to frustration in half a moment, and Dustin watched color flood his mother's face. "What could you possibly have to say to me right now?" she demanded. "What could make this better? Better yet, what couldn't possibly wait until morning?"

"... I want to be able to go to Hopper's and hang out with El and Steve," he said, because he deserved it. Because she deserved to hear the truth of what he wanted, even if she wasn't willing to give it to him. "They have game nights every Thursday, and I miss--"

"No," she said, disgusted and betrayed-- As if Dustin had hurt her by even asking.

"Mom, they're my friends," Dustin said, trying to stay calm. His throat still ached from holding back tears in Hopper's car, but he didn't feel like crying now. He couldn't afford it, not with Claudia shaking in front of him, so near tears herself. He couldn't remember the last time he had cried in front of his mother, couldn't remember the last night he'd trusted her enough to take care of him if he couldn't take care of himself.

"You have no idea what Wesen like them are capable of, Dusty!" she said. Her fingers dug into his shoulders so deeply now that Dustin bit his lip to keep from jerking away. "I know they seem like your friends now, but when you're older, you'll understand."

"I do, though!" Dustin said, because his had already friends done wonderful, terrible things, and it had only made him love them more. "I've seen what they're capable of, and they've never once used it against me."

"For now!" Claudia finally let go, sending Dustin rocking backwards as she stomped back into the kitchen. She filled a glass of water with shaking hands, and Dustin wondered if she was trying to hide her anger or her fear from him.

"I don't--" Dustin sighed. "What do you think is going to change?"

"Mind my words, Dustin," Claudia said, voice grave."If you keep running around with predators like that, they'll kill you."

Scoffing, Dustin trailed behind his mother, asking, "You think El is going to kill me? That Steve is? Come on, Mom, you've met them."

"Yes. And I've met hexenbiests before. They always seem pleasant until they're cursing your bloodline," Claudia said. The calmness she wore from day to day was nowhere to be found, every inch of her consumed by the nervous dramatics that she had passed on to Dustin. She almost reminded him of Robin when she got like this, tongue sharp and hands flying. He watched her slosh water all over the kitchen counter as she gestured angrily. "Oh, I've also met Mr. and Mrs. Harrington. They're a delight, I assure you. I still wouldn't spend a moment alone with them! I definitely wouldn't trust them alone with you, Dustin. Imagine what could happen!"

"Steve isn't his parents," Dustin said. The louder his mother got, the quieter he found himself becoming-- He had to force himself not to mumble, now. Every word threatened to die in his throat.

"You can't change genetics, Dustin. There's thousands of years of murder in his DNA, and I'm not going to trust his control over his instincts with your safety," Claudia said.

"Fine," Dustin agreed. "Then I want to join Hellfire next year."

Claudia paused, sitting the half-full glass down on the counter. "What?"

"It's a DnD group run by Eddie Munson, and--"

"A Munson?" Claudia's voice was sharp with shock, bordering on a shriek. "You may as well play with a rabid animal, Dustin. Sweetheart, listen to yourself--"

That stung more than anything she had ever said about Steve or El. They were dangerous, had the potential to take out all of Hawkins if they put their minds together, Dustin just knew them well enough to know that they wouldn't. To talk about Eddie and Wayne like that was another thing entirely. They were good people. Sweet in a way that Dustin had rarely seen in his short life. A family like the kind you saw on TV, always there for each other, family dinners and talking through their problems on the front porch. They weren't the kind of family that adults approved of, but they were the kind that ever kid wanted to be a part of.

It seemed like profaning something holy to call them animals. Eddie, especially, seemed unfair. He was just a kid. A kid who was technically older than Steve, sure, but a kid all the same. Not only would he not hurt Dustin, he probably couldn't if he even tried. Eddie was good, and brave, and had saved Steve in ways that Dustin hadn't even known that Steve needed saving but he... He had fought and killed less than Dustin had. It was like calling a baby a monster, at the end of the day, and Dustin could barely hide his disdain for the thought.

"He's friends with Steve and Robin, and he's really nice," Dustin said, the words falling short of explaining everything Eddie meant to him and their group. "There's also other prey species in the group, and I think it would be good for me--"

"I don't even know why the Harringtons allow Wayne and that whelp to stay in Hawkins after what his father did," Claudia continued, ignoring Dustin's clumsy pleading. "Honestly, if anything good comes from Steve and him running around together, it'll be that the Harringtons finally run them out."

Dustin's blood ran cold at the very thought. Since finding out what Steve's bloodline really meant, the Harringtons had been little more than a vague horror story, a monster people told their kids about in whispers before bed. He'd hoped they'd never come home in the same thought as wondering if they were even real, and half the time Steve seemed to think of them the same way. They were a distant threat, looming over the town but never touching it. Hopper and Steve had a plan, after all. What did Dustin need to worry?

The idea of the Harringtons actually hunting someone-- Someone that Dustin loved-- Someone that Steve loved-- sent Dustin's stomach into spirals so tight he thought he'd be sick. He couldn't fathom it. He'd been hunted before, watched his friends evade capture and fight against monsters and the government alike, but the Harringtons were... Grimms they might be, but the Harringtons were just people. Eddie was just a boy their son was friends with.

He couldn't imagine the ways it would break Steve's heart. He couldn't imagine the ways it would shift the dynamics of their group, of the entire town. He couldn't imagine the way it would destroy him, shifting the foundation of his entire life to watch two of his closest friends to collapse in one fell swoop like that-- And if Eddie left, if Steve fell chasing him, then what would happen to Robin? To El? To Max? To Lucas? With all his friends falling like dominoes, what would Dustin have left?

And his mother wanted it to happen. All but prayed for it, here in the holy quiet of their kitchen.

"You know, you have a lot of guts calling my friends murderers when you're the one wishing death on people." The words fell from Dustin's mouth, cold and sharp as the ice she'd lodged in his heart.

Claudia looked at her son, fear and anger fallen away to reveal blank, dark eyes that stared at him for a long moment. "I've had enough of you tonight, I think," she said, and her voice sounded tired. "Go to your room."

Dustin went, stomping all the way. She was tired? Her? She had no idea. No idea at all. The shit he went through everyday, the shit she was just piling on him further--

Halfway up the stairs, he heard her voice call out. "I hope one day you understand that I'm doing this for your own good."

His only answer was the slamming of his bedroom door.

There, alone in the dark, Dustin promised himself that he wouldn't give up. This wasn't over, not by a long shot. One day he'll be able to hang out with El and Steve again. Eddie would be a harder sell, probably, but he should be able to hang out with Steve in the next two or three years if he keeps his head down and plays his cards right. Maybe he should start hanging out with Eddie's prey friends, Dougie and Gareth, she would chill out more? What could be so scary about an otter and a turtle?

Dustin sighed, and sat on his bed.

The real problem was his mother's fear. That had to be fixed before they could start rebuilding Dustin's life into something approaching normal. Maybe he would never find out what happened to his dad and their family, but he had to start somewhere, and that was the only lead he had.

He threw himself back, arms spread across his covers, staring up at the dingy glow in the dark stars. His mother had helped him put those up, carefully placing each one according to Dustin's careful instructions, until they had a perfect representation of his favorite constellation. She had loved him, once. Probably still did, in her own way. And somewhere beneath all the resentment and hurt, Dustin knew that if he was lonely, his mother had to be drowning.

Maybe his only way out of this was saving her.

Dustin closed his eyes. He would do everything he could, these next four years. Anything to make her less afraid to be alive, to walk the streets of Hawkins and smile and have friends again. And at the end of it, when he finally had a diploma in his hand and more freedom than he knew what to do with, he would either have his mom back or...

Well. He would be able to do whatever he wanted, then, wouldn't he? He would have more than enough family to not notice the hollow in his heart the shape of Claudia Henderson.

#oimw #dustin henderson #wheeeeeeeeee claudia henderson lore

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spitinsideme · 1 year ago

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#malificent #malificent x queen au #the way that i have i t all planned out already #this would be VERY interesring i promjse you all #i will not let any of you down #insaw twl women interacting and my first thoifht was LESBIAN ?????#its becajse om gay #and have a crush on malificenr #and because i think the queen was treated so fucking unfairly #she was likethe only person kind to malificent #alsl the king os a bloody bastard so she deserves better #ans that betyer is a romantcic lesbian relarionshio with malificent #pleaee vote yes for interesged

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arovalentines · 2 months ago

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time to make your choice only you can be the one

#undescribed #bonk.png #ggg #great god grove #great god grove spoilers #ggg spoilers #<- bc of king n hand gesturing stuff for the au this one gets the spoiler tag #caption is a line from legend of everfree from eg movie of the same name bc its now linked to ggg for me bc of brainrot #first au stuff i dont like have anything really planned out n also dont really plan on doing anything with this beyond doodles #settled on inspekta being a horse bc i want him capochin patty n king to all be earth ponies bc of like permanent having it ingrained from #being an mlp fan as a kid that earth ponies are seen as less special bc they cant use magic or fly n that fits for story similarities #bc inspekta n capochin hating on patty for projection reasons AND inspekta's replacement anxiety n envy of king who in the au #is the only other earth pony lined up to become an alicorn (bc again being specifically an fim fan since i was a kid ingrained in with fanon #that ponies that become alicorns are almost exclusively pegasus or unicorn bc of earth ponies not having as clear of a connection to magic)#in my mind patty is the main character like the bizzyboys are also main characters but its like how the mane six are the main six but #twilight is the MAIN main character its like that n then godpoke is her sidekick (like spike ig but like mysterious stranger style <- idk #what i mean by this) she gets to be the protag bc the type of character godpoke is in the game n how im fitting them to be in the au doesnt #really work for a protag role while patty can be more readily slotted into mlp protag shes the only bizzyboy who cares about solving in the #game (as shown in hobbyhoo) n i like her so she gets to be the protag v-v inspekta is still doing the whole like shit from the game just in #a different way bc of mlp related restrictions n tone differences. the episode where luna goes to nightmare night after being freshly reform #ed walked so milldread section could run however cobigail's deal does run closer to that episode that to the game counterpart but like witho #ut cob having been banished for a thousand years theres no rift in the au bc its. mlp so sort of vague direction is related to the tree of #harmony n like maybe thats how inspekta powers up for the two parter transformation. a thought i had for a workaround for how inspekta keeps #king isolated was maybe turning king to stone n hiding her in plain sight but while that would slide in mlp (they turn a child to stone in t #he series finale apparently??) it leaves a bad taste in my mouth from the ggg angle so probably gonna do something else #art comments both inspekta n cobigail's pony names are taken from ponies i already had inspekta's comes from a different mlpied thing #n cobigail's comes from a fankid (spelled like kandi corn tho bc fankid's a rave girlie) the rest of the gods get to keep their names aside #from maybe bauhauzzo (whos role is undecided) huzzle n click clack arent ponies bc i felt it suited them more huzzle gets to be discordesc #bc i think its fun if like this versions god of chaos wasnt evil BUT that angle is used as slander against huzzle by inspekta #n click clack's a breezy bc small n bratty (we will be ignoring that breezies are mortal if i remember right bc thats not relevant)

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sodacowboy · 4 months ago

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oh man today has not been a good day lmao

#I stay silly!!!#but what the fuck!!!#I wake up after having weird dreams #idk what drawfee and chappell roan and a party have to do with anything #but okay???#I had trouble getting to sleep too #and ugh #anyway!! I wake up and immediately my neck and shoulders hurt way more than they usually do #for some reason I decide laying my head in a weird way is an okay thing to do in response to that #except it totally isn’t because when I tried to get up it made it worse #like I literally couldn’t move #I was very close to tears about it #very close #and then once that settles I have to do dishes #which is just… it’s fine but it’s not a task I like doing especially when I’m already feeling like shit #and then my plan/timeline gets thrown off bc my mom decides to clean the drains #and so then dyeing yarn gets delayed #(the black yarn I need for this commission wasn’t black enough)#but only by like half an hour so fine whatever #I dye the yarn and that went kinda fucky #like it worked but it was finicky and i got shit tangled at one point #but again! I got it sorted and it all turned out okay!!#but that took a couple hours to untangle shit and rewind it only to unwind it again and then blow dry it #aka way fucking longer than I wanted #and then I finally finish crocheting one out of two of the things #and I hate it. tried something new and it didn’t work and so I had to frog it #and ideally I’d have this done by Wednesday but idk man #I didn’t dye enough yarn either so I’m gonna have to do that tomorrow #and I also don’t have enough t-shirt scraps to use as stuffing #ALL THE WHILE MY STUPID NECK AND SHOULDERS STILL HURT!!!!

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inbabylontheywept · 4 months ago

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The Motherfucking Lizard King

No one at work trusts my boss.

He's smart. He works hard. He's not trustworthy. He hasn't actually fucked anyone at work over, but he's ruined his last two marriages with affairs, and got dumped by his third fiance when he wouldn't sign a prenup. The fact that we all know this is just a hazard of working in a small town.

Anyway: The thought process of the people in the lab is that if he screwed over his first wife, and his second wife, and was probably planning on screwing over his third wife, it would be insane for him not to screw us over. After all, what kind of idiot treats their employees better than their spouse?

I dunno. His kind, I guess? He's had a few chances to fuck us over, and he hasn't taken them. Opposite really. When our parent company was doing furloughs, he stayed in the office almost a hundred hours, talking and talking and talking his way up the corporate ladder. And in the end, no one at our site got furloughed.

He's pulled strings like that before. And it baffles me, right? Because it really does make zero sense. He'll move the heavens and the earth for us, but his wife and kids are afterthoughts. It feels like any moment, he's going to look into the mirror and realize how stupid that is. It feels like I'm betting on him making the same stupid mistake again, and again, and again - like it would be less cynical to believe he was, eventually, going to stab me in the back. But he hasn't yet, and as far as I can tell he's been making that mistake for close to fifteen years, and it's already cost him everything it can. If he was going to learn, he would have by now.

So my position on him is that if he wanted to date someone I cared about, I'd warn them off. I don't trust him there. But I tentatively trust him to be my boss. Maybe one day he'll stick the knife in and twist, and everyone will say Ah, Babs, we warned you, but for now, I accept that he's doing a very predictable, very irrational thing, and I've made my peace with it.

---

My job has glue traps.

No one likes the glue traps, but we don't have a lot of options. Poison's banned by state law, spring traps are banned by company safety, and several non-lethal options tried in the past failed to work. The mouse problem can get pretty bad if it's ignored, and there's some real health hazards in that. Our site has never had a positive hantavirus test, thank God, but the big base about a half hour away has. That guy's gonna be on oxygen the rest of his life.

If a mouse gets caught, we just euthanize it. But more than mice get stuck. Lizards can wander into those traps too, and the people working there have different feelings about the lizards. They don't pose nearly the same kind of risk mice do. They're chill little guys, and they keep the moths away, and they're just

You know. They're friendly. There's something to be said about walking into a room, and hitting the light switch, and seeing two little guys on the wall start to do pushups as soon as they see you.

People used to just euthanize the lizards too, but I had pet leopard geckos as a kid and I couldn't take that so I wound up googling how to free animals from glue traps. Now, when a lizard gets stuck in a trap - which happens once or twice a week - I get some vegetable oil from the breakroom, and a little plastic fork, and I'll spend fifteen to twenty minutes just kind of gently prying the little guys out.

I have a team of technicians that help me operate one of the larger machines. They're real blue collar guys, ex-airforce, and they make me look like a little kid. Being an engineer means they'll look to me as a leader sometimes, which is a wild experience. And I started helping the lizards for my own conscience, but one of the crazier consequences of it has been that it seriously boosted my leadership cred. Because those guys see me, and they go: Hey. If he's willing to fight for a lizard, he's gotta be willing to fight for me.

I cannot overstate how nice that is. Most engineers that want to make a change to a maintenance practice, or try an upgrade, they have to work their asses off to get the techs to buy in. But I can just ask. They already trust me to do good. They know I'm new, and they know I'm not the smartest engineer in the building, but they also know I'm the one who gets lizards out of the glue traps.

And just because of that, they're willing to follow me.

---

My boss has a meeting every month or two. It's typically basic house cleaning stuff - reminders about routines we've gotten lazy on, and updates on future projects. Maybe some warnings about problems coming from higher up in the company.

People are, in my opinion, a bit too cynical about the meetings. It stems from people not trusting our boss, which again, I understand, because it would make so much more sense if he wasn't trustworthy. It's a testament to the man's incredibly unhealthy priorities that he is. But as we made it to the end of the meeting, one of bullet points was:

Do NOT mess with animals in the building.

So I looked at my techs, and they looked at me, and when he got to the point, he was so scathing I actually just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. He said basically that he'd heard some reports about someone in the building handling animals that found their way in and got stuck, and that he just wanted to emphasize how insanely inappropriate that was, not to mention dangerous, and that if he needed to speak to anyone about it again, there would be severe consequences.

I was willing to just take the shame and move on. I was. But one of my techs is old. Old enough he could've retired two years ago. And his actual literal goal is to one day get angry, yell at someone, and storm out. That's how he wants to retire. So instead of biting his tongue like everyone else, he stood up and said: I hate the glue traps. You hate the glue traps. We all hate glue traps. But we've all sat here for years, ignoring the little things that get stuck in them, watching them die, and then Bab's comes in, and he is the first person in decades to give enough of a shit to start pulling the lizards out. And I don't want him to stop.

Get humane traps or shut up but we are not going back to the old way of just letting things starve.

And my boss actually froze up. He got all wide eyed and stared at Marc, and then the other techs jumped in, and there was a very small but intense rebellion in the meeting and my boss kept trying to interrupt while getting absolutely bowled over by this gang of angry middle aged air force vets, and eventually he just went

I will speak with Babylon about this afterwards! After! And then he will speak with everyone else, but I have more points to cover.

So they went silent, and my boss rushed through the last five minutes, and we all adjounred. The techs really didn't like that I was going in alone - they thought our boss was going to try and shout me into compliance. Marc in particular was like, Look, if he tries bullying you, stand your ground, and if he threatens anything, just come get us, and we'll give him hell.

So armed with that, I went to my boss's office. I sat in the chair across from him, and he kept his composure for maybe five seconds before just flopping back into his chair.

I had no idea you were saving lizards, he said, but I'm glad you are. I always hated seeing them die in the glue.

I wasn't expecting that. I was about to ask him what the comment from the meeting was about then, but he answered that before I even got the chance.

A snake got into the building last week, and - someone picked it up and chased a coworker around. Turns out that coworker was severely afraid of snakes, and now it's a shitshow. We're a small site, and now I can't ask those two to work together anymore, to say nothing about how the snake fared after all that. Being upset about that is a reasonable thing, right?

And he gave me a look like he actually wanted an answer, so I said Yeah, totally, chasing a coworker around with a snake is a dick move. Especially if that coworker is already afraid of snakes.

And he said Exactly! and then we sat there a few moments longer. He looked so incredibly tired that I did, actually, feel kind of bad for him. And then he somehow managed to sink even further into his chair, and said

Look, I know I'm not a good guy. But I'm not evil. I'm not some sort of crazy asshole that's going to demand that everyone watch lizards starve to death. When you go back downstairs, could you try to pass that on? That I'm not evil?

I said Sure because it wasn't a hard request, and he looked relieved. I actually made it halfway out before I realized I had a question.

Who grabbed the snake? I asked.

Not supposed to talk about it, he said. But whoever comes to mind first is probably right.

ThatGuy? I asked. And he looked me in the face, nodded his head yes, and said No.

---

The techs seemed a little disappointed that they didn't get to storm the boss's office, but were otherwise in good spirits. They were actually a little bit embarrassed to hear about the snake story - apparently, it wasn't much of a secret. It'd just slipped their minds because it happened three weeks ago.

We did maintenance after that, the same basic repairs we did every week. The meeting had been stressful and it was a relief to work with my hands. When the parts were reinstalled, everything cleaned and smooth and ready to go, Marc found me again.

You know what the lesson of today is? he asked. And there were quite a few answers to that that I could have taken - from don't assume the worst of people to be careful with how you spend your trust - we all need it more than we think.

But instead I said what? because I wanted to hear what his answer was going to be.

That I got your back, he said. Then he clapped one very, very large hand on my shoulder, gave it a good squeeze, and walked back to dosimetry lab.

---

The next day, Marc gave me a package and told me to open it in my office. I was suspicious, but I followed the request.

Cardboard gave way to a small baggie, obviously full of fabric, which opened to reveal a t-shirt that read

"I Am the Motherfucking Lizard King."

I looked at it, I loved it, and then I got an idea. I went to my boss's office and knocked on the door. When he opened it, I asked him if he would be willing to allow something very unprofessional to happen for morale building purposes.

How unprofessional? he asked. I held the shirt up in answer. He gave the shirt a short look over and snorted.

You can wear it on weeks without customers, he said. Which just so happened to include that week.

I'll pass on that it came with your blessing, I replied, and he looked oddly relieved.

Thanks, he said. And then I went downstairs.

---

The techs were very, very happy to see the shirt. And while my boss's reputation remains in tatters, and probably will be until he moves (or dies), the next time there was a meeting, there was quite a bit less complaining about how mere presence. Which is, I guess, a start.

We'll see if he squanders it.

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whytheylosttheirminds · 4 months ago

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snooze - r.c.

(season 4 bf!rafe x gf!reader blurb, 4.1k words)

summary Your man works harder than anyone you know, and you couldn’t love him more for it, but some mornings you just want to hold on to him a little longer…

content fluff/smut, mutual mast., p in v, 18+ minors do not interact

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Rafe’s alarm rings through the large bedroom like a blaring siren, jerking you violently from the sweet sleep you were just wrapped in. He doesn’t hear it at first, still sound asleep next to you, snores rumbling through his bare chest.

You blink your eyes open, the room is still dark, though the first golden rays of the sunrise creep in through the small crack in the curtains. You twist your body towards Rafe, snuggling your head into his neck, an attempt to both shield your eyes from the sunlight and get his attention, desperate for him to silence the loud alarm.

After a few seconds, he still hasn’t heard it, so you reach up and gently tap his cheek.

“Baby,” you groan, cheek pressed against his shoulder. “Too loud.”

Rafe takes a deep breath in, eyes still closed as he reaches his bedside table, tapping his phone screen clumsily until the sound subsides.

He settles back in, placing a quick kiss onto the top of your head as he pulls you into his side. You sigh happily, running your nails softly up and down his chest and stomach, drawing little hearts and stars on his skin. He shivers when you graze over the soft skin of his lower stomach, following his happy trail down to his waistband. You fully plan on dipping your hand below it, where he’s already twitching and firming up for you under his sweatpants, but you get distracted by the delicious deep V lines on either side of his waist. You dip your pointer finger into the valley of muscle and trace the shape down, switching to the other side and drawing back up.

He stirs when you angle your finger to scratch lightly with your manicured nail, lingering just above the band of his Calvins that peeks out from his sweats.

“That’s so nice, baby,” he mumbles in his deep, crackling morning voice, “I love these hands.”

Rafe laces his fingers in yours with one hand, his other arm sliding under your neck and wrapping around your shoulders. He pulls you close so he can drop a sloppy kiss on your temple.

You sigh and lift your intertwined hands to place a kiss on each of his knuckles.

“Maybe you should stay home,” you suggest between kisses. “Then you can enjoy these hands all day long.”

He smiles knowingly, still not opening his eyes. You play this game every morning, trying to find ways to convince him to play hooky from work, though they never succeed. He’s always showered and out the door by sunrise, leaving you with a cup of coffee on your nightstand and a quick kiss as you drift back to sleep.

“Sounds perfect, but I have an 8 a.m. with a potential investor,” he explains.

In the quiet, Rafe starts to drift off again. You continue to stroke his chest and think of all the many enticing reasons for him to stay, but before you can list them for him, his alarm blares from his phone again.

You lean over him, reaching to the phone on his nightstand. He takes the opportunity to snake his hand around your waist and slide it under his big t-shirt you're wearing. His hands feel so nice on your lower back, you pause, almost forgetting what you were reaching for in the first place, until the alarm rings out again, making you both wince with its volume. You tap the screen desperately until it’s silenced.

“Just hitting snooze so we can have five more minutes,” you say, settling down over him and resting your cheek on his chest.

“Liar,” he says with a sleepy smirk. “You turned it off.”

You fake an offended gasp, “I can’t believe you’re accusing me of such deception, Rafe Cameron.”

“So when five minutes go by and the alarm doesn’t go off again, what are you gonna say then?”

“I was hoping you’d fall back to sleep by then,” you confess with a giggle, laying a soft kiss on his chest, right over his heart.

“I knew it.”

He sits up in bed, causing you to fall back onto the pillows, immediately missing his warmth. You paw at his arm as he reaches over to check the time on his phone.

“Nooo,” you whine. “Don’t go yet.”

He smiles down at you, leaning over to place loving kisses on the edge of your jaw and up your face, touching his lips to your temple one final time before standing from the bed.

Your vision is still fuzzy from sleep and the darkness of the room, but you follow the general shape of him as he walks to the wall of windows on the other side of the room. He’s shirtless, the lower half of his body covered in soft gray sweats. You squirm a little under the comforter as you take him in. You didn’t know it was possible to be this attracted to someone, but it’s like every day you’re with him, your body craves him more, and it makes it that much more painful when he leaves.

Rafe interrupts your reverie by lifting his arms and throwing the curtains wide open. You flinch at the bright sunlight that pours through the windows like it’s burning you.

“Too bright, Rafe!” You protest.

He just turns with a smug smile, his tall silhouette casting a shadow over the bed, blocking you from the blinding sun.

“I’ll make you some coffee before I go,” he promises as he leaves you alone in the bedroom, pulling a pillow over your face to shield yourself from the daylight.

It’s silly to complain when his hard work is the whole reason you can lay in this comfortable bed so late into the morning. When he’s not with you, he’s at the office, earning you all this comfort, but it still seems unfair when you want him this badly.

You used to be an early riser, but the way he lays you down every night when he gets home, fucking you hard and slow until you fall asleep clinging to him, it’s made you a whole new person. You’d pay him twice his salary if you had it just to get him to stick around a little longer, make you feel that good again.

A devious idea comes to your brain, and you pull the covers from yourself quickly, making fast moves before he gets back.

When Rafe comes back into the room a few minutes later, he nearly spills your hot coffee all over himself at the sight that greets him.

The comforter is bundled at the end of the bed, nothing covering your body as you stretch out on the mattress. You’ve switched out his t-shirt and your baggy sweats for a silky pair of boy-short panties and a lacy bra. You're facing away from him, laying on your side, the curve of your hips and peekaboo view of your ass casting a scandalous shadow on the wall. The fabric of your panties is so flimsy, it climbs up the curve of your ass, revealing you to him as if they’re barely there at all.

“Nice try,” he shakes his head, though the small crack in his voice betrays his defiance. You know you’ve got him hard and frazzled.

“Hmmm?” You don’t turn to look at him, instead bending your knee and sliding one leg up higher to give him an even better angle of your ass.

“It’s not gonna work…” he insists, setting your coffee down, fully intending to turn and make his way to the walk-in closet to get dressed, yet somehow finding himself completely immobile.

“What’s not going to work?” You echo, feigning cluelessness in a way you know is gonna drive him mad.

“I really do have a meeting,” he continues his one-sided argument, trying desperately to convince himself. “I can’t be late, it’s important.”

“Okay! Have a good day, baby,” you yawn, shifting on the sheets as if you’re just getting comfortable, hoping he doesn’t see the smile you’re hiding in your pillow, obsessed with the strain in his voice that reveals his resolve is cracking.

The mattress sinks slowly under his weight, and you can feel the heat of him before he even touches your skin. His hand slides up your leg, from your ankle all the way up to your thigh, where he pauses to squeeze your flesh.

“You’re gonna be late,” you let your mouth twist into a cheeky smile.

He huffs a defeated laugh, letting his forehead fall onto your shoulder in frustration, “you’re killing me.”

“I’m not doing anything!” You giggle, arching your back and giving him a better glimpse at the other side of you, your nipples already pebbling in anticipation, clearly visible through your see through bra.

Rafe responds by saying your name, so low and needy it’s almost inaudible. You twist your torso just enough to meet his eyes, blinking at him sweetly through your eyelashes.

“Yes?”

He doesn’t respond with words, just a piercing gaze. His blue eyes are blown wide with lust as he takes you in, dragging over your body helplessly, fighting an internal battle as he plots his next move. Filthy thoughts are etched on his face, you know him well enough by now to see the gears turn behind his eyes, imagining all the things he could do to you if he stayed.

“Can I at least have a kiss before you go?” You ask, hoping the taste of your lips will tip the scales in your favor.

He can’t deny you a kiss, he never does, so he leans in and meets your lips with a nod, his hand rising to softly cradle your jaw. You run your tongue so gently across his lower lip that he wonders if he imagined it. When you part your lips for him and release a small sigh, the game is over.

With another squeeze of your thigh, he pulls back from you just enough to reach his phone on the nightstand. You watch with a victorious grin as he types out a quick message, surely to his secretary, and tosses the phone somewhere on the bed.

“Bought us an hour,” he tells you.

“Only an hour?” You pout.

“Don’t be greedy,” he teases you, shuffling behind you so he can spoon you, placing a dozen quick kisses up your arm, making you giggle in delight.

Rafe’s hand slides from your thigh to your waist, dipping to splay over your stomach so he can pull you flush against him. You sigh dreamily as he begins to suckle on your neck, leaving little pink marks everywhere his lips touch.

“Wasn’t that kind of an important meeting?” You ask, feeling a little guilty for potentially making him miss out on a good opportunity.

“Nothing’s more important than this,” he assures you.

You let out a little whimper at his sweet words, igniting a fire in him. His hand drifts up your stomach until his palm is settled over your breast, kneading gently.

“Oh,” you gasp. “That feels good.”

“Yeah?” He drawls with a crooked grin, pausing to drag the tip of his tongue over the shell of your ear, making you shiver. “Just needed a little attention today?”

“Mhm,” you nod. “Needed you.”

His hand leaves you for a minute to fiddle with the clasp of your bra. You lift your arms up so he can slide it off and toss it somewhere on the floor of the massive master suite.

The rough skin of his palm comes back to rest over your hard nipple, the sensation is so sweet that your whole body hums with pleasure.

“God you’re so soft,” he breathes over the wet spot he’s just left on your skin, “love these tits so much.”

With that confession, he pinches your nipple between his thumb and pointer finger, the pain lasting only a second before he smoothes it over with the pad of his thumb.

“Rafe!” You squeak out at the sting.

He shushes you gently, lowering his mouth to pull your earlobe between his teeth, the pressure strong, but not strong enough to pull your mind from the way his hand is dropping lower on your torso towards your panties. A pool of silky arousal gathered between your legs, you rub your thighs together in search of friction as his hand continues to move maddeningly slow.

“Don’t worry baby,” he coos, “gonna take good care of you like I always do.”

Your fingernails dig into the sheets in preparation when he finally reaches the band of your panties, lifting them to slide his hand in.

“You always take such good care of me, Rafe,” you agree.

He places his other arm under your head for support, allowing you to look down at the outline of his big hand wriggling under the damp cloth of your panties. His fingers find your entrance easily, pausing outside to swirl in your wetness.

“Fuck, you’re perfect,” he praises. “Always so ready for me.”

After a few more swirls, he’s satisfied with the coating, dragging his fingers back up to your clit. He hits it right away, he could find it in a hurricane. He runs his fingers over you at the perfect angle, starting with delicate figure eights.

Your head falls forward in ecstasy, unable to form words. Rafe bends his arm at the elbow, laying his hand flat against your forehead to pull your head back into his chest, your neck arching with the stretch. The pink spots he’s left on your exposed throat have darkened nicely, giving him a chance to appreciate his handiwork. He reattaches his lips, desperate to claim you as many times as he can, hungry for you.

The sweetest, breathiest moans fall from your puffy lips, and he basks in them like the sunlight that’s bleeding through the curtains. He’s nibbling on your shoulder like it’s his breakfast as his fingers pick up speed on your clit.

Between circles and flicks, he stops to tap quickly with the tip of his middle finger, the rhythmic pressure and release has the sensitive bud pulsing. You chase his fingers pathetically with the roll of your hips, needing more.

As you writhe, his cloth covered cock slots between the valley of your ass, each wave of your hips grinding perfectly against his shaft. You shut your eyes tight, picturing his perfect length and the gorgeous noises he makes when he comes. You need to hear those sounds like you need air.

Your hand releases from the sheets, reaching behind you to rub the hard ridge of his dick over his sweatpants. Rafe clenches his jaw, a throaty groan vibrating through his chest and straight into your body.

“This what you wanted, angel?” He asks, his tone dominant and desperate all at the same time. The perfect balance of ownership and a genuine urgency to please you.

“Just wanted you,” you confirm through labored pants, grinding yourself into his hand, “all I ever want is you.”

“Oh yeah? Show me.”

No further instruction needed, your hand finally dips below his waistband, immediately finding his pulsing cock.

“Shi-ii-t,” he shudders as you wrap your fingers around him, stroking slowly and reveling in how hard you’ve made him.

You notice goosebumps rush up the arm that’s disappearing into your panties, you realize your hands must be cold. You know he’d never complain, but you don’t just want him to feel good, you want him to feel as amazing as he makes you feel.

You draw your hand back from his boxers, and he groans at your absence, nearly protesting until he sees what you’re doing. You dip your hand into your underwear, gently nudging his out of the way, and collect some of your wetness onto your own fingers. Your hand glistens in the morning sunlight when you pull it out, displaying it for him before returning your grip to his cock.

He’s speechless. Eyes rolling back at how fucking sexy that was, desperate to ground himself before he comes too quickly in your hand. He moves his palm down from your forehead to cup your throat, not too much pressure to hurt, but enough to remind you how strong he is. You whimper, swallowing hard under his broad palm.

“Jesus christ, baby,” he sputters, “you’re my fucking dream girl.”

You fall in sync, Rafe rubbing tight, firm circles over your clit, while you slide your hand up and down his shaft, pausing at the tip with each stroke to swirl your thumb in the precum he’s leaking. His knuckles flex in response to each flick of your thumb, pads of his fingers holding and releasing your neck in steady pulses.

You squeeze his cock as he squeezes your throat, so perfectly aligned in your drunken pleasure that you both chuckle at how unbelievable it feels. But if you’re laughing, then surely he’s not doing a good enough job.

He draws your clit between his fingers, rolling over and over, not pinching too hard, but just hard enough to set every nerve ending in your body on fire. You draw your knees up, your hand slowing involuntarily on his cock as you feel the familiar coil tighten in your tummy, seconds from snapping.

“I can’t believe you’re real, you’re so perfect,” Rafe whispers into your shoulder, kissing you over and over.

“Gonna make me come talking like that, baby,” you warn him.

“You want that? You want me to make you come in my hand?”

“Not yet,” you choke out, so close that you’re already dreading coming down from your high. It’s too soon, it’s not enough. No amount of him will ever be enough, but you at least need him closer. “Want you inside, need you in me.”

“Anything. Anything you want,” he swears as he pulls his hand from your core to rip your panties down your legs. You pull them off over your feet and toss them away as he removes his pants and boxers behind you.

The fabric finally out of the way, his dick spears into your back, somehow always so much bigger and more powerful than you remember. You pray he doesn’t make you wait any longer, wriggling back onto your side so your soaked pussy is perfectly exposed to him.

In the soft morning light, he finally gets a good view of your slick folds, nearly busting all over your back at the sight. He’s filled this new condo with the most expensive art he could find, but nothing comes close to the masterpiece in front of him. To him, you’re fucking priceless.

He wastes no more time, tucking a hand under your knee to angle your leg up. You take his cue, understanding each other without words as always, and brace your foot flat against his calf, propping yourself open for him.

A combination of the angle and his picture perfect memory of your walls has his tip hitting your g-spot on the very first thrust. He stretches you so sweetly, the tight fit making your brain go foggy and your mouth fall open, gasping helplessly.

“Like this?” He asks, not taunting but not really asking either, already knowing the answer to “this how you want it?”

“Not quite,” you whisper.

He freezes with confusion before you reach behind you to find the hand he has braced on your hip, pulling it up and placing it back around your neck.

“There,” you say, “now it’s perfect.”

“Holy shit,” Rafe stammers, hips jerking forward, slamming into you a little too hard, lost in his infatuation with you.

At first he worries it’s too hard, but a dreamy moan rises from your throat and you encourage, “yes, yes, like that, please.”

Mouth agape in disbelief at his pure fucking luck in finding you, he obeys your plea, pulling back slow before thrusting in hard again. The hand that’s not on your throat pushes into the mattress beneath your head, lifting himself up for leverage. He continues to fuck into you hard, pausing after each stroke to hit as deep as he can possibly get. You’re a mess, crying out with each slap of his hips against your ass, blabbering incoherently as you clench around him.

“Ohhh my god you’re so tight,” he growls through gritted teeth. “‘I’m gonna come if you keep squeezing me like that. You gonna let me come inside?”

Your eyes fly open as an invisible light bulb goes off above your head, you twist to meet his eyes, his lids low and irises completely blown out with lust.

“If I do, will you stay home?” you proposition him.

He scoffs, shaking his head in pure amusement and adoration, tongue digging into the side of his cheek in the cocky way you love. From this angle, the sharp features of his perfect face hover just inches from yours. The sheer attraction you feel makes your walls flutter around his cock, a tease of his reward if he promises to stay.

Rafe screws his eyes shut, his head falling back as you pulse around him repeatedly.

“Fuck! Yes, I promise, I promise,” he cries out as he continues thrusting into you sloppily, “I’ll do anything. I’ll sell my house, I’ll change my fucking name. Just ask me and I’ll do it.”

His theatrics delight you, bubbly giggles rising from your stomach as he loses himself in you. You can’t remember ever loving anyone as much as you love him at this moment.

“Kiss me,” you whisper, completely enamored with the man inside you.

Without a thought, he slips the hand on your throat to the back of your neck, kneading your skin as he pulls your mouth to his. It’s not gentle, like his typical good morning kisses, it’s messy and wet and hard and completely mind numbing. You bite on his bottom lip, almost accidentally, losing your mind at the taste of him.

“B-baby,” he stutters, his hips doing the same, “can’t - fuck - can’t wait any longer. Tell me where you want it.”

“Mmmph, inside, please! Please fill me up, Rafe.”

It’s all he needs to hear, he buries himself deeper than he’s ever been.

“Come with me?” he pleads.

You’re so close, you can’t even find words, nodding rapidly. He hits your g-spot one final time and you slip off the edge of the earth into uncut ecstasy.

Your eyes roll back and your toes dig into his leg, bruising his calf. His tip hits your cervix hard, hot cum pooling deep in your core, spilling out of him for longer than you thought possible. His breath is ragged and his chest heaving as his body jerks around you.

Both trembling, his arm gives out and he slumps down, curled around you. Sweaty and satisfied, you catch your breath together, Rafe still buried deep.

He plants wet kisses on the nape of your neck, brushing your hair out of the way and blowing gently to cool you down. You see only bright white behind your closed eyes, floating in a perfect pleasure you didn’t know was possible until you met this man.

After a few moments, or possibly hours, he starts to pull out. Your hips chase his defiantly, refusing to lose his warmth again.

“Nuh-uh,” you shake your head, reaching back to grab his hip and hold him in place. “You promised.”

“I also promised to change my name, you gonna make me do that, too?” He laughs.

“Maybe.”

“Oh really? What are you gonna call me?”

“I dunno,” you shrug. “How about daddy?”

Your teasing has the intended effect, Rafe twitching inside you, already hardening again. He knows you’re just playing with him, but his mind spirals out of control at the pet name. He’s so in love he thinks it might kill him.

Settling back into you, he reaches around the bed until his hand finds his discarded cell phone.

Your lips twist into a smirk as you hear him dial, still buried in your heat.

The dial tone rings a few times and he says, “yeah, gonna need you to clear my whole day. Something came up.”

He thanks the voice on the other line, hanging up and tossing his phone somewhere in the mountain of blankets on the floor.

“A whole day?” You ask, nestling back into his chest. “Aren’t you gonna lose the money from those investors?”

“Probably,” he shrugs, laying more slow kisses on your shoulder. “Worth every fucking cent.”

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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ghostalmost · 1 year ago

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oh no i ordered art supplies uh oh

#i can never figure out where to get good shirts for stuff i like so im just gonna make em my damn self #already planning a few:#the eye of the universe #a pine cone #the moon #a BRACKEN FERN HAHA #an oak leaf and or an acorn #at least one knotwork design #a cat #sassafras leaf (one of each)#something nonbinary colors #one of several birds i'm having trouble deciding between (currently leaning towards whippoorwill or clarks nutcracker)#some shapey patterny thing like the doodles i've been doing lately #twinflowers #a korok? one of the huge subterranean skeletons from subnautica?#'a few' hmm #good thing i ordered so fuckin many shirts #this was originally just 'my shirts are all too big i should get some medium ones'#and i only ever wear black t shirts so i found a cheap way to buy a bunch of plain ones and then was like oh hey #what if i also got some goddamn. paint #and painted on some of these bad boys. so instead of 5-8 shirts like i was originally planning i got 20 #and some paint and brushes and stuff to mix with the paint to make it work better as fabric paint #ghost blahs

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moirasdolly · 2 months ago

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˚ ⋆ﾟ୨୧ Princess Treatment ୨୧ ˚ ⋆ﾟSevika x Fem Reader

Synopsis: How can Sevika focus on a word you’re saying when your lips just look so kissable? She just wants to take you home and spoil you…

Contains: NSFW (minors and men dni), biting, lots of hickies, sevika eats reader out, strap on sex mwahhh, reader gets princess treatment

Listening to ♪ ིྀ: The Party & The After Party - The Weeknd

Notes: Sorry it’s been so long T^T, I’ve been really struggling with writing and I’m not even confident or necessarily happy with this either. I hope you guys enjoy it regardless <\3 I totally didn’t write this because i’m projecting (I want Sevika so bad)

Your sweet voice that flowed from between your lips like syrup were all Sevika could even think about as you sat in her lap at The Last Drop. Her flesh arm wrapped tenderly around your waist and the mechanical one draped across the bar counter, shielding you from any drunkard who might bump into you. Even though it was already winding down and there were few patrons left in the bar, she would never leave you exposed. She didn’t retain a single word you were speaking though, she was too focused on the tone of your voice, the way your hands flailed wildly as you explained whatever story you were telling, and most importantly your perfectly pouty lips.

Thieram stood behind the counter listening intently, nodding his head at every little detail of your story along with Ran who would throw out a comment every so often. “…and you would not believe it… I slipped on a banana peel!” You could barely even get through your sentence without breaking out into a fit of giggles. You buried your face in your hands, tears threatening to spill over because of your laughter. The laughter of the whole group snapped Sevika out of her daze and she forced out a chuckle at your antics. It wasn’t that she didn’t find your story interesting, she just couldn’t help but get lost in your whole being.

You picked up on her behavior and shot her a look over your shoulder. You furrowed your brows gently and your lips fell into a little frown as you looked into her gray eyes. She looked up at you through her lashes as apologetically as she could before planting a soft kiss on your cheek. You’d let it slide for now, but when you got home you’d be sure to question her.

The rest of the night went off without a hitch, and Sevika made sure to actually contribute to the conversations. You had almost forgotten about her earlier slip up, until the same thing happened again. You were mid sentence when you noticed Sevika hadn’t said anything for the longest time, but her grip was beginning to tighten on you. Her arm had moved slightly lower to wrap around your hip instead, her large hand mindlessly rubbed small circles into the flesh exposed by your shorts. Your words faltered at her touch and you fumbled over your sentence. Your hand rested over her own before gliding it down to rest on your thigh instead. You kept a watchful eye on her to make sure she didn’t try anything before the night was over.

Unfortunately, it was getting late and everyone was growing tired. You four were the only other ones in the bar since it was pretty late into the night. Thieram didn’t want to kick you guys out, but he did have to close up the bar sooner or later. “It was nice seeing everyone again! Maybe next time we could play a few rounds of pool?” You planted your hands on your hips, tilting your head to the side slightly awaiting an answer from your close friends. “Only if you plan to lose.” Ran quipped back. You feigned disbelief, raising a hand to your chest and gasping. “You’ll be eating your words Ran, remember this moment.”

This got a real chuckle out of Sevika this time. She slid her flesh arm around your waist and tugged you closer to her. “I bet on my princess, sorry Ran.” They dismissed the rest of the group with a wave of their hand, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever.” It was all lighthearted though, you saw the corner of their lips tug up into a smile before turning to make their leave. Now it was just Thieram, Sevika and yourself outside of the bar. The young man bid you farewell before stepping back inside the establishment for his closing duties.

A comfortable silence settled over you as you began the walk back to your shared home. Now that it was just the two of you alone though, you wanted to prod her about her seemingly not paying attention to you. “Sev… How come you weren’t listening to a word I said tonight?” You tried to keep the pout off your lips, you really did, but you were kind of irritated with her. Sevika looked like a deer caught in headlights, like she didn’t quite know how to explain herself. You stopped in your tracks, waiting for her to talk. “I’m not moving ‘til you tell me.” You knew you were being stubborn, but you thought you deserved an explanation. If there was something on her mind, you wanted to know.

The older woman could most definitely overpower you to keep you walking, but instead she stopped the moment you did. Her arm was still wrapped around your waist but she turned to face you. You were staring up at her with those big, beautiful eyes of yours and she couldn’t help but get lost in your features. You were feeling shy under her gaze, your cheeks flushing uncontrollably. She brought her flesh hand up to your face, gripping your chin between her thumb and index finger gently. “Princess, I’m sorry you’re just too beautiful. I was so mesmerized by your sweet voice I could barely process what you were saying tonight.” Well you couldn’t be mad at that explanation.

“I was just thinking about how much more sweet you’d sound under me, begging for more.” She angled your head up slightly higher before capturing your lips in a kiss that was far too quick for your liking. When she parted from you, you tried to chase after her lips eagerly just wanting to feel her against you again. “Why don’t we get home first?” She murmured. All previous thoughts you had were no longer present and instead all you could think about was getting home as quickly as possible. You nodded slowly and you two continued down the path to home.

Your home wasn’t the closest to The Last Drop and your legs were getting tired, but you didn’t want to complain. Your pace was beginning to slow, the shoes you had decided on were not the most comfortable, but you weren't thinking about the walk home when you chose your attire for the night. The gentlewoman that Sevika was, had noticed your discomfort and scooped you up into her arms. No matter how many times she did it, it made you gasp still. “Sevi!” You wrapped your arms around her neck as an automatic response and she just chuckled. “I can’t have my princess feeling tired before we even get home.”

The implications of that were enough to make your cheeks flush again, and you were practically buzzing in her arms with anticipation.

The rest of the walk home was filled with sweet idle conversation, although it was mostly you rambling away like always while Sevika listened intently. She couldn’t get enough of you and your honeyed tone.

Your shared home was slowly coming into view and you huffed prematurely, knowing she’d have to set you down to get the door open. “Sweet girl, I’m going to get this door open, but you’ll be in my arms again in no time.” Your feet hit the ground for the first time in a while, but you felt well rested thanks to your thoughtful girlfriend.

“Thank you baby.” You drew out the pet name as she opened the door, whisking you inside before locking it behind you. Before you could even get another word out you were in her strong arms once more. Her flesh arm cradled your back and her mechanical arm hooked under your thighs as she carried you bridal style to the bedroom. Your sweet giggles filled Sevika’s ears as she planted about a dozen soft kisses all over your face.

The next time you were put down you felt fuzzy blankets beneath your body as you sank into the bed. Sevika propped herself up with her mechanical arm and snuck her knee between your thighs gently, chuckling at your eagerness to feel her when you squeezed your legs around her limb. Her gray eyes peered down at you, heavy lidded with lust and adoration for you, her perfect, angelic sweetheart. “Fuck, I wish you could see just how beautiful you look under me right now.” Her gray, puppy dog eyes met your own and you couldn’t take it anymore. The way they glimmered down at you made you want her even more. You snaked your arms around her neck and tugged her down to meet your lips in a heated kiss.

Your tongue swiped over her bottom lip briefly before prodding into her mouth. If you weren’t listening so intently you would have missed the tiny groan that emanated from her throat. You wanted to hear more, so with all your strength you pushed her to the side and flipped your positions. Sevika definitely let you, otherwise you would have stayed snuggly under her due to the difference in strength.

Your legs rested on either side of her hips and your head dipped down to her jaw to press several feather light kisses to her skin. Whatever was left of your pink lipgloss transferred to her jawline and you loved how your kiss marks looked on her tanned skin.

She was enjoying your kisses even more than you though. Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were fluttering shut every so often to bask in the feeling. The next time your plump lips met her skin, it was on the tender patch of skin in the middle of her throat. You placed one kiss, two kisses, and on the third one you sucked a small bruise into her skin. Her deep moans vibrated on your lips and you felt like you couldn’t get enough of her. “Baby I’m supposed to be the one taking care of you.” She chuckled in between moans.

Those soft lips of yours curled into a smile as you peered down at all your hard work. Her neck was littered with evidence of your affection. Dark purples and reds were blooming all across the expanse of her supple skin. “You can do whatever you want to me… just let me have my fun first.” You whispered into her ear, your teeth nipping her lobe.

“Whatever my princess wants, she gets.”

What you wanted to do was leave her neck completely covered in love bites, so that she’d have to wear turtlenecks out for the next two weeks. And you were on the right track for that. Sevika would never admit it out loud, even though you’ve witnessed it before, but just being kissed and bitten by you was enough for her to cum in her pants. She got off on how desperate you were to mark her and show everyone she was yours just as much as you were hers.

You slipped your hands under her cropped shirt, sliding it up her toned stomach. Her breasts sprang free and you adjusted yourself lower on her body to give them soft kisses before taking one of her nipples into your mouth. Her breathing grew heavier as you sucked little bruises into her breasts. Little grunts and sighs escaped her lips and a devilish idea presented itself to you. You nipped her nipple with your teeth as you kneaded her other breast softly. You began grinding on her, the friction felt unbelievably good for the both of you. Her body was growing taut at the sensation and in no time you had her cumming with a string of moans.

“Fuck, princess your mouth is heaven on earth…” She trailed off after taking a deep breath.

You tried containing your smile, but you felt rather accomplished for making her cum with nothing but your mouth on her. “You’re so sensitive, who knew that’s all it would take.”

“Well it’s easy to give in when I have the most beautiful woman in the world sitting on top of me.” Her charming words made your heart melt and you couldn’t help but lean down to kiss her for the millionth time. Unfortunately for you, the kiss was cut short by Sevika pulling away.

“I think it’s time to spoil my baby.”

Her flesh arm flipped you over, your back hitting the bed as she caged you underneath her broad body. A squeal escaped your lips at the sudden move and Sevika ate up your little noises as she captured your lips in a fervent kiss. Your hands instantly found purchase on her muscular shoulders as you tried to pull her closer. Her mechanical hand had a bruising grip on your hip, and the sting felt delicious. Her flesh hand was gentle, a complete contrast. She held your face like you were made of glass, her thumb caressing your blushed cheek.

As much as she loved kissing your perfect, plump lips, she wanted her mouth on your body too. She took the hem of your shirt in between her fingers and ripped it off of you. No time was wasted as she unclasped your bra as well, throwing it somewhere in the room. Her lips trailed heated kisses down your jaw, across your throat, and all across your chest. Dark lipstick was littered across your whole upper body, and it was almost making the older woman malfunction. If she could, she’d take a picture and keep it in her wallet. You were the epitome of beauty to her always, but in that moment you looked like an angel, all sprawled out for her with her marks all over you.

“Sevika… Don’t just look, touch me. Please…” You whined softly, if you weren’t so turned on you’d cringe at how needy you sounded.

She shot you a toothy grin, “I know baby, let’s get these off of you.” She tugged at the waistband of your little shorts, pulling them down your thighs, and fully off your legs. Next were the lacy panties you knew Sevika liked. She pressed a kiss to the little bow in the center of your panties before discarding those as well. The cold air hit your body and you shivered at the feeling.

“Come warm me up, Sevi.”

That’s all she needed to hear before hiking your thighs up on her shoulders before delving into your glistening cunt. She gave your clit a quick kiss before flattening her tongue against you.You mewled at the sensation of her thick, long tongue brushing against your aching clit. She had barely even touched you and you already felt a familiar feeling building in your stomach. Your body was something she knew eerily well, she knew all the spots that made you tick, the pressure that made you see stars, and just the way to swirl her tongue to make you clench those beautiful thighs around her head.

“Fuck baby, you taste so good, my sweetheart.”

She lapped at your cunt like she was drunk on the taste of you. Her tongue slipped into you, deep. Reaching places only she could. Your thighs clamped down around her head, and that’s exactly where she wanted to be, buried between the soft flesh.

She was relentless when you came with a long string of filthy moans of her name. It just spurred her on even more until you were twitching under her, feeling overstimulated. When she came up for air, she licked her lips which were slick with your release. Her eyes met your own as she wiped her mouth before leaning to kiss down your thighs once more. Her tongue ghosted over your sensitive flesh before she moved away to let you recover for a moment.

Your body laid limp on the bed as Sevika rubbed small circles on your waist to bring you back to earth. “Can you give me another, princess?” Her flesh hand found its way to your face again, her thumb slipping past your lips. You nodded your head slowly, your hazy eyes finding hers.

“Words baby.” She reminded you.

“Yes, Sevi. I can take it.” Your voice was muffled slightly by her digit, but it was clear you wanted whatever she’d give you.

She slipped off the bed to retrieve her strap, slipping into the black harness that made your mouth water. The bed dipped under her weight as she climbed onto the bed once more, returning to her rightful place between your legs again. If Sevika was one thing in bed, it was appreciative. She took in your beautiful form inch by inch, her eyes scanning your body like it was a piece of art. Her demeanor was rough and mean with everyone and if you were honest, it turned you on completely. But she wasn’t like that with you, she treated you with care as if you were made of porcelain. Her touches were tender, making your comfort her highest regard. You truly were her princess

The tip of her silicone length rested against your soaked pussy, and you knew she wasn’t trying to tease, but you just wished she’d move. You bucked your hips with what energy you had left to receive a bit of friction, and all Sevika could do was chuckle at how needy you were. She took your movements as a sign to guide the dark purple length into you. Calloused hands guided your plush thighs to wrap around her waist gently. You squeezed your thighs around her as she disappeared into you little by little.

Her eyes trailed down to where you two were connected before trailing back up to look into your hazy eyes. Your lashes were lined with crystalline tears, collecting like little dewdrops on your lashes.

“You’re taking me so good, sweetheart.” Sevika rasped, leaning down to kiss away your tears. “D’ya think you can handle me moving?”

A lewd whimper left your lips, and you didn’t quite trust your voice to not crack when you spoke. The best you could muster out was a little, “Please.”

God, you sounded so blissed out, it was taking every bone in the older woman’s body to not fuck you silly into the mattress. She started with slow and controlled rolls of her hips into your cunt. You wrapped your arms around her broad back, pulling her flush against you. You couldn’t help but press soft kisses onto the little bruises you created on her from earlier. She sucked in a breath as you kissed a particularly sore spot. You let your teeth graze her neck, nipping at her ever so slightly.

Her hips stuttered initially as you bit her, but she picked up her movement, moving faster than before. Soft grunts were amplified in your ears and it was almost all you could focus on. If it weren’t for the thick toy being stuffed into you, you would have said something about the noises she was making. Her huffs vibrated against your ear lobe and on a particularly deep thrust she moaned like she could feel your cunt clenching around the toy.

“Baby you’re squeezing me so hard, so perfect.” She just couldn’t keep her hands to herself either. One hand rested on your waist and the other trailed down your stomach to your clit. She rubbed slow circles on your already sensitive clit and you couldn’t take it. The feeling of her quick, deep thrusts along with the additional stimulation was sending you reeling.

You were just putty in her hands, babbling nonsense that resembled her name and various curse words. You couldn’t even hold your head up anymore, instead letting it hit the soft pillows beneath you. Sevika took the chance to kiss up your neck slowly, paying attention to every bit of exposed skin she could get to. By now her lipstick was already rubbed off, but you could still feel every mark she left on you. You wouldn’t trade the feeling for the world.

“Fuck!” You squealed out as she snapped her hips into you at an even more brutal pace. “‘M so close Sevi!” You could barely form a full sentence the way she was ruining you. Without warning your body stiffened and you were cumming. She didn’t slow down though, she kept her pace up as you twitched around her thick length. She pushed herself up from where she was trailing kisses all over your neck to see the rest of you. Your lips were plump and parted, lewd whimpers falling from them like that’s all you knew how to do. Your hair was messy, neck filled with bruises to match her own, and your chest was full of lipstick marks. You were completely hers, and you had the marks to prove it too.

Her eyes trailed down to where you were taking her so well, “Look at how it disappears baby, you were made for me.” Her words were filthy, and her eyes were full of lust as she saw the creamy white ring forming around the base of the toy.

Your brows furrowed as you began to feel overstimulated once more, and Sevika being the attentive woman she was, took it as a sign to slow down. Eventually she slid out of you, and you sighed at the empty feeling. Your eyes fluttered shut as you tried to catch your breath. Sevika pressed soft little kisses to both of your cheeks, your forehead, your nose, and finally a quick one to your lips, not wanting to tire you out anymore than you already were. “You did so good for me, princess.” She whispered into your ear as she brought her flesh hand to cup your face.

“Gonna clean you up now, is that okay?”

You nodded slowly, your eyes still shut as she untangled herself from between your thighs to clean herself up and retrieve a washcloth for you. When she returned she was in a fresh pair of pajamas and her hair was down. You opened your eyes to take in the sight when you heard her footsteps again. “So cute.” You whispered with a giggle. To everyone in Zaun she was a scary lady, but to you she was your sweet girlfriend who wore big t-shirts and fuzzy pajama bottoms to bed. She just shook her head with a soft smile and settled onto the edge of the bed near your legs. You spread your legs for her and she wiped the inside of your thighs and your sensitive folds. A sigh slipped past your lips and she planted a kiss on your lips as she cleaned every last bit of you. “All clean…” She tossed the washcloth somewhere in the room, she’d put it in the wash tomorrow.

It wasn’t that Sevika wanted to see you in her clothes… of course not! She just wanted you to be warm, that’s all. That’s what she told herself as she slipped one of her sleep shirts over your head. Her heart melted when you poked your head out of the opening of the shirt and met her eyes. She couldn’t resist giving you another kiss. You smiled against her lips before she pulled back to slip a pair of your panties up your thighs and up onto your hips.

The moment you were clothed you dove under the covers, waving a lazy hand to make Sevika join you. Once she did you clung to her tightly, tucking your head under her chin to rest on her chest. Her warm body heated you up, and your eyes fluttered shut. “You sleepy, baby?” Sevika asked even though she already knew the answer.

You hummed a noncommittal noise, just opting to burrow closer to Sevika if that was even possible.

“I tired you out today huh…”

When she got no response from you she kissed the top of your head and let her eyes shut slowly too. Sleep came easy to her when she had her princess wrapped up in arms.

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