#them being annoyingly loving 2 each other i just i swear

[pup-pee]

TUMBLR USER PUP-PEE YOUR TAGS ON MY ART.. IM CRYING......... ILY......... FELLOW BIG BRAIN FAN..... 🫶🫶🫶

DUDE ILY ILYLILY U MAKE MY HAMPSTER WHEEL OF A BRAIN GO WHIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!

♡♡♡

STILL GNAWING SO MUHC ON UR ART TAKING MUNCHES OFF OF IT IF U DONT MIND!!!!!

[solbaby7]

Sweet Thing

pairing: rhysand x reader

[ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

part 4 of the shy!reader massage mini series

warnings: swearing, sexual implications, possible violence, jealousy, gambling, male egos, petnames (bc being called bunny is so cute and soft, fight me on it)

summary: Your High Lord hosts a party with a dozen hothead Illyrian soldiers where you become the main attraction

—

“Stay close,” Rhysand murmurs in your ear, a warm hand pressed at the low of your back to guide you into the large room. It’d been recently renovated; not yet decorated and you'd assumed it was turned into a makeshift meeting area, a giant table pushed in the middle with a dozen chairs wrapped around it. It was also the furthest room from your own—a little detail that Rhys quickly bristled over when you'd mentioned it earlier. “Wanted to keep my good luck charm close by tonight.”

Your cheeks warm under the words, annoyingly aware of how sensitive your body had become in response to the High Lord since that night. It haunted your every breath; his barely contained need, the throbbing cock just a few measly layers away from being everything you’d ever dreamed of and Rhysand fed off of it like ravenous wolves who'd been starved three winters over. The teasing was merciless; heated touches and sinful words of remembrance haughtily whispered in your ear when you were supposed to be concentrating.

“Tell me what you’re thinking about.” You shy out of his touch, the hunger in his voice unmistakable and creating distance is easy when the others begin to filter in. A dozen or so pristinely dressed males of all sizes briefly greet Rhysand, hands clapping at each others backs and the testosterone that filtered in was thick enough to suffocate. They were friends; guys he’d fought and bled with, people he’d known for hundreds of years all gathered for card games and expensive glasses of liquor.

You were only there to help, to look pretty and shuffle the cards and stay close to Rhys—easy enough. “I’m thinking I should’ve dressed better.”

His fingers trace over the pleated pattern of your skirt, the soft purple fabric teasing at the middle of your thigh and all he can smell is some fruit on your skin—pomegranate? pear? “You look perfect, don’t worry about all them. You’ll be collecting their money for me by the end of the night.” Rhys is touchy; shamelessly so in front of others and you notice a few of the guests beginning to take you in, their stares raking up your form, sizing you up and you can feel Azriel shift closer from beside you.

"You always did have the prettiest little things hanging off your shoulder, Rhysand." Your head slowly turns to face the drawling voice, male entitlement and an incredulous amount of confidence seeping from every pore. Handsome and wealthy, but the allure dies the moment his mouth opens. The tailored suit alone was worth three months of the average faes rent and then some. "You have to tell me where you found this one."

Rhys laughs but you can tell there's no real humor behind it, his hand raising to wrap around your waist and pull you in closer; enough for your thighs to skim on the arm rest of his chair. The body language is possessive no matter how casual it’s intended to be and you catch Cass and Az sharing a look—mentally agreeing to pounce when they deemed fit.

Like salivating lions dressed in sheep's clothing.

"Couldn’t tell you, Maverick, she just stumbled in my lap."

He's trying to hold back for the benefit of the greater good—that was the whole point of inviting them over in the first place. Even after Mor had insisted that it was the dumbest idea ever inviting a dozen ill-tempered Illyrian soldiers and filling them up with booze. "I'd love to see her stumble in mine."

Your reaction is instinctual after feeling the High Lord's shoulders tense under your fingers and in seconds your hands are gently kneading at the muscle there, a palm running soothing lines up the length of his back and manicured nails scratch wonderfully at the nape of his neck until a bit of that darkness subsided. With a hum, you gently push his hand from your waist, backing away with a pitch only audible to him, "Gonna grab you guys some drinks."

"I'll help." You don't even try denying the spymaster, more than familiar with his customs and how unbearably uncomfortable he got once you started taking care of large groups of people. Az was always the first to say thank you when you served dinner and always made sure to wait until you sat down and took the first bite before even touching his fork.

He's quiet behind you, busying his hands with polishing the glasses you'd lined up and his shadows follow you around like a clingy pet but you understand why he's there—a silent promise that he'd have your back the entire night. That you’d never be left alone.

Azriel watches you pour a six-hundred year old bottle of amber liquor one knuckle deep for every cup besides one—that one got double and a single ice cube. Just how the High Lord liked it. "It's going to be fine," You tell him softly, storing away the rest of the bottle and you don't fight the smile that pulls when he stops you from carrying anymore than three glasses—brunting the rest of the work on the shadows. "Just a few hours and it'll all be over."

Azriel only hums but there's an underlying gratefulness for not having to speak or explain and his protectiveness towards you grows at how easily you understand him—adapting to his moods with ease.

He returns to his seat, shadows wisping their thanks over the length of your calf and a sweet smile is sent Cassian's way when he presses a grateful kiss to your hand. You turn to go back to Rhys, one final drink in your hand and you can feel Maverick's eyes trailing you, undressing you, touching and lusting from afar but he might as well have been shouting it across the room from the top of his lungs. "Come sit, bunny. And shuffle the deck, will you? They think I cheat."

"We know you do." Another male chuckles over the rim of his glass, blue eyes sharp and tawny curls tickle at the sides of his ears—Cade, you learn after a few minutes of listening in silence. You sift through the deck, righting the cards and splitting them in two before shuffling once, twice, a third time before you set it before you to be split by another. “Look at the hands on this one,” Cade poorly whispers to Maverick, shoulders bumping playfully and you felt like you were being hunted, ganged up on—eaten alive by males who didn’t follow the same code as the ones you hung around. “I bet they get the job done quite nicely.”

Rhysand has no time to respond because Cass is already doing it; gold battles with blue, large hands broadcasted before him and the General looks down at them to peer like a high maintenance woman after her nail appointment. “You should look at mine,” Crimson red Siphons glow with life on his arms; all seven of them, most hidden by the dark long sleeved shirt he wore but the message got across rather quickly. “I’m sure they’ll do it much better.”

You shift in Rhys’ lap, settling into the hands splayed around your waist, the other trails ticklish lines up the length of a bare arm and you’re grateful for how quickly the conversation shifts. “What do I do now?”

The low cadence of his voice rumbles against your back, hair gently pushed off one shoulder to make room for the chin that settles there. His instructions are thorough and intended to be purely informational but the smell of his cologne, the large hands sliding down lower to rub at the sides of your thighs and you’re unbearably aware of the plush of your ass nestled right atop of him. Cards are dealed, the rest left in a pile and you slowly draw three, facing them upright and most of the rest is a bit of a blur.

Every now and then Rhys will lean closer to mumble about what was going on but mostly it was just a room full of drunk males and their money. They cursed like sailors and laughed like hyenas, a chorus of voices overlapping the other until the liquor took its course and the true personalities settled in.

At some point you stand, hands grazing the back of Rhys’ neck when you mutter something about grabbing a snack. You’re not far, maybe a few feet away, body just barely obscured by the wall that separates them and the kitchen while you pile a plate full of finger food to snack on; fruit, mini sandwiches, warm meats wrapped in flaky dough and you’re pulled away from your focus when a voice clears. “There you are,” Maverick doesn’t look shitfaced but the liquor was definitely taking its toll, his steps a little unsteady and he slurred the s’s in his words. “How about you come rub my shoulders for me, sweet thing?”

Your brows furrow, mouth opening to give a response when the males hand raises to trace the line of your collarbone, you freeze. Four fingers graze over your shoulder and slowly moves down the length of your arm. “I don’t think—“

“I’m not asking you to think, sweet thing.” Your stomach churns, discomfort evident in the way you crane away from his touch but Maverick doesn’t care—as if unreciprocated want wasn’t an issue for him. “I’m telling you to come over here and offer up some of that treatment you’ve been feeding those three,” His eyes feel like hands in the way they roam your body, catching on bare skin and practically salivating to see the rest. “Swear I’ll return the favor.”

Your heart hammers in your chest and anxiety swells—you really should’ve just stayed put, the food in your hand threatening to spill to the floor with the intensity of your shaking but Maverick feels so close and you can smell his cologne; the whiskey. “I should get back to Rhys.” It’s no more than a whisper but when you try to slink past him, a hand clamps tightly around your arm, roughly tugging you back.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”

A whimper escapes and just like that the kitchen explodes with darkness; relief overtakes your form as familiar hands tug you close and the arms that tuck you in close feel right—safe. Safe enough to not notice the warm spray of wetness that splatters against the back of your legs until you hear the steady drip,drip, dripping on the floor. Your head turns but before you can look Rhysand is tucking you in tighter, full lips pressing kisses to the top of your head. “Don’t look—let’s just get you cleaned up.”

“What about the others?”

“Cassian and Azriel will handle them,” The High Lords voice isn’t nearly as calm as you remember and it’s only when you’re halfway down the hallway does he loosen his grip a bit, turning you to face him to begin his assessment. “Did he hurt you? Did he fucking touch you?”

You can’t form words, realization beginning to form when you see blood splattering your clothes but you manage to shake your head. “He just grabbed me—Rhys did you—“

“I shouldn’t have let you go alone.”

“It was just a second.”

“A second longer and he could’ve—“ He stops himself from saying more; too afraid to make the words reality or too pissed to have to verbalize them but Rhys lets out a deep breath when he can find no damage besides a hint of a bruise. “I should’ve taken my time.”

You don’t need to ask to know what he means.

Instead, you place a palm on his cheek in hopes to ground him, to remind the High Lord that you were safe. Violet eyes soften, silver flecks catching in the light and it takes everything in you not to buckle beneath him when he looks at you like that—like it was nothing to kill for you. “Let’s go, I’d say it’s about time you return the favor and give me a massage.”

Mischief glints in those eyes, a smirk curling at the corner of full lips. “I can’t promise I’ll remain professional.”

“That’s sort of what I’m counting on.”

[imwetforyourmom]

not her

pt3

warnings: confronting, jealousy, arguing, crying, swearing, breaking up, comparison, hella angst, not eating mentioned

taglist

a/n: i’m sorry for whats to come

a/n 2: this will be my last update until i’m back from my break.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER ~~~ NEXT CHAPTER

not proofread!

~

later that week, on a stuffy friday day. where usually, y/n would be ecstatic, she wasn’t anywhere near happy. she doesn’t know what she felt. she went from sobbing till she couldn’t breathe less than 24 hours ago, all her emotions went along with each tear. she was too drained to feel anything.

she sat alongside her friends at the lunch table, her fork moving gently on her food but not picking it up and eating it. she wasn’t hungry, she hadn’t been since yesterday. the normal grumbling demands of food she couldn’t hear anymore, she couldn’t feel anymore. whats to eat if she couldn’t even feel the satisfaction of being full.

the chatting of her friends and every other soul in the cafeteria was just background music to the ache she was experiencing, her eyes focused on the plate infront of her, no thoughts in her mind, a light pounding in her head and an ache in her body everywhere.

eventually, when madi bumped shoulders with y/n accidentally while laughing at a joke amelia made, it shook y/n out of her trance.

in hopeful eyes, she looked up, hoping someone was trying to talk to her, unaware that it was a mistake.

her gaze hardened when she realized, her teeth chewed at the inside of her cheek. her eyes laid on amelia, a sickening feeling in her stomach forming with just one look at her annoyingly pretty face, and hearing her heavily fake voice. she just couldn’t stand even being in amelia’s presence, she couldn’t understand how everyone else was a-okay with her. she was so obviously fake it actually made y/n want to throw up.

watching amelia steal her friends and her boyfriend away from her so fucking easily was making y/ns blood boil with jealousy and irritation, amelia didn’t even have to do anything and they were all already considering her their main friend, or in some occasions better than their girlfriend. it was something truly so admirable, but so fucking unfair. y/n had to work for her friends, for her boyfriend. she had to put effort into being apart of the friend group, she had to put effort into even being able to call herself “matt’s girlfriend” she worked so hard to get where she is now, and amelia just stole it from her so easily, too easily.

she had enough. she was going to confront matt and take him back, someway or another.

~

matt was talking with amelia, his eyes withholding disappointment as he heard amelia’s words. getting slightly more agitated with each passing word.

“I saw her push him against the wall and..” she took a breath, giving matt a guilty look before continuing “kiss him.” she finished. her words only being acceptable as lies, but matt didn’t know that, nor did he need to know that.

“and, then, believe it or not, I saw this whore make out with another two guys in the same day, matt!” she shook her head, her eyes dropping from his, to her hands, before returning them back to his eyes, her bottom lip pouted and her eyes giving a puppy dog look. “I just felt like I needed to tell you, ya know, since you’re her boyfriend and i just- i feel like you deserve better..” she mumbled, her voice turning quiet and shaky, a small sniffle being heard, only proving her lies more believable.

matt’s head hung low, he wasn’t sure how to feel. he wasn’t sure if he even believed her. he knew his girlfriend loved him more than anything, but, she’d been distant with him lately and maybe what amelia was saying was true.

“oh.” was all he said. his eyes glossed over and a tiny lump grew in his throat. he was about to ask amelia if she saw y/n do anything more, but he was cutoff with a tap on his shoulder.

“matt, can we talk?” y/n asked, tapping her boyfriends shoulder as she stood behind him. finding herself in the same spot as she did yesterday, standing behind him while he sat talking with amelia in the library. too many overwhelming thoughts filling her head.

he looked over his shoulder at her.

he looked at amelia, whom had a scowl on her face as she glared at y/n. he kept his eyes on her for one moment longer, then looked back at y/n with glossed eyes. “I can’t, y/n, i’m talking with amelia.” he mumbled, slightly too upset to speak louder. he didn’t know if she was here to confess, or to he doesn’t know what, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to know either.

y/n let out a huff of frustrated air, “matt, baby, please, we need to talk.” she pleaded, her eyes not once leaving matt’s. as embarrassing as being rejected by her boyfriend was, she felt she was too good to look at the poor excuse of a girl next to matt.

matt sighed, giving amelia a look, before standing up from his chair and looking at y/n with his eyebrows furrowed and his gaze hardened. “well? lets go, then.” he grumbled, taking y/ns arm and leading them out of the library.

as bad as the situation was, it felt comforting to feel matt’s touch again, even if it wasn’t meant to comfort her, it was still a comforting sensation. the same cold and slender fingers being so comforting.

he led them to the janitors closet, the same janitors closet that they had their most recent kiss at. their most recent kiss. the last kiss they had was the day amelia joined, then matt hadn’t shown y/n a source of affection, even in a simple way such as interlocking their lips. it pained y/n to think about that, she was already feeling horrible enough, but the added realization? she wasn’t okay, to say the least.

he opened the door and walked y/n inside, then walked in himself and leaned against the door. his eyes laying on y/ns with a not-so-boyfriendly gaze.

y/n stared at him aswell, her eyes darting between him and the floor. her hands shifting with each other nervously, trying to decide what she wanted to say, she honestly wasn’t expecting to get this far with matt.

“y/n. spit it out.” mat spat, his voice seeping with irritation.

“why do you treat amelia more like a girlfriend than you do me?” she asked, her voice meek as she spoke. her head was hung low, her eyes staring at her feet. she knew she should be standing upright and tall, her eyes staring right back into matt’s with the same glare he was giving her, but she couldn’t. she couldn’t find it in herself to do so.

matts jaw dropped, a breath of air leaving his lungs. “what? what the fuck do you mean y/n?” he asked, trying his hardest not to sound agitated, but even with the soft-spoken tone of his voice, you could still here the annoyance.

“what I mean is, you barely hang out with me matt. its always ‘amelia this’ ‘amelia that’. sometimes I see you look at her with more love than you do me! its not fair, matt! i’m your girlfriend, not amelia.” y/n answered, her head raising to look at matt. her meek and fragile demeanor changing in almost of a blink of an eye to a now standing upright, confident and tall demeanor. her own voice laced with growing anger and her eyes holding a fire to them.

“no I dont, y/n! I just cant ever get a fucking break! the second I go off and hangout with my friends and be my own person you have a goddamn problem. why do you have to be so needy? i’m not your fucking toy y/n. i’m my own person too.” matt threw his hands to his side and stood off the door. his soft-spoken attempted tone being long gone now.

y/n scoffed at his immediate self-victimizing. “matt, i’m not needy! i’m your girlfriend, i’m supposed to be the love of your life, i’m supposed to be on of your top prioritys. you’ve completely changed the subject to a completely wrong fact. again, let me remind you, i’m your girlfriend. I shouldn’t have to ask for affection or beg on my knees to hangout with you. we shouldn’t go days without even a slight peck. you’ve completely ditched me for amelia.” she fought back, her voice undoubtedly cracking as she spoke, realization setting in that she didn’t deserve this.

matt scoffed, rolling his eyes before speaking about what he thinks is the truth. “dont act like you haven’t been fucking cheating on me, y/n! you’re not the victim here, I am. what I do and when I hang out with amelia is nothing compared to what you’ve done.”

y/n took a step back, all anger she previously was fueled by, gone. all what was left in her was betrayal, loss of trust and disbelief.

she wasn’t sure if she wanted to break down and bawl, in denial that matt didn’t trust her, that she must’ve done something for him to think he couldn’t trust her, or to continue being angry with him. be angry that he couldn’t trust her, be angry that he liked amelia more, be angry that she wanted something that didn’t want her back.

a lump grew in her throat, a lightheaded feeling in her head and an endless pit in her stomach began to form.

her gaze softened and her arms and hands fell limp at her sides. “is that what she told you?” she asked, her voice coming out barely above a whisper. matt could tell she was fighting back tears.

“yes, and I completely fucking believe her, y/n.” matt took a step back aswell, something in his body shifting as he noticed the tears welling y/ns eyes. he couldn’t tell what it was, but there was a small part of him that didn’t feel right, felt out of place and uneasy for a reason he didn’t know the answer to.

y/ns self control of her sobs slowly chipped away, with each shaky breath she could feel herself slowly lose control of the tears beginning to fall from her eyes. “tell me you don’t mean it.” y/n mumbled, her teary eyes staring into matt’s with a small sliver of hope in her voice, though it wasn’t quite noticeable.

“I- I said what I said” matt said, more so as a question. like he wasn’t sure himself. did he trust his girlfriend of two years, or a girl he met two days ago?

before he let himself answer his own question, he mumbled a sentence he thought he’d never say, especially to the girl he loved most.

“I think we should break up,” he mumbled. his eyes tearing away from y/ns so he wouldn’t have to see the poor girls face once she realized what he said. he couldn’t bear to see what her face would look like, her lips quivering, her eyes swelling with tears and her eyes holding the most emotion—not the tears, yet what he could see through them. he knew he’d be able to see y/ns heart break through her eyes, and he didn’t want to see that. he knew he wasn’t strong enough to see such a tear jerking sight.

y/n felt the world collapse around her, she could hear her heart shattering, she could feel the shards of her love breaking apart. a smaller sense of guilt was held within those shards, if she didn’t confront matt, she’d still be able to call him her boyfriend. this was her fault, the breakup.

everything went quiet, all she could hear was her rapid breaths, the pounding of her heart and the shaking of her hands. she couldn’t do it. she couldn’t handle it. one tear after another fell from her eye, once started, never stopped.

the sense of loneliness she felt, the feeling of she-didn’t-know-what overcoming her body and having its way with her was fucking horrible. she couldn’t believe a man, a man she loves was able to bring her to this state. she’d never been more scared, she wasn’t sure what else matt could do to her, he could easily roll his eyes at her and she’d think about it for weeks.

the sounds of y/ns sobbing filled matt’s ears, he could feel the pumps of his heart slamming against his ribcage. he needed to do something to calm her, anything.

he moved his gaze towards her again, his feet making quick steps towards her way, his arms coming to pull her against his chest—only to be met with y/n pushing him away, her sobs becoming more untamed, her sobs being throat-scraping. her hands felt unfamiliar on him, pushing him away, he wasn’t used to that. he wasn’t sure if he ever wanted to be either.

“y/n?” he asked, his voice shuddering, his breathing becoming shallow. he looked at her, nearly sobbing at the sight.

she stared at him, tears filled in her eyes, awaiting to be released, her cheeks wet and stained and her eyes holding such a strong sense of sadness he could feel it radiating off her and onto him.

as hard as the urge was, y/n knew she couldn’t let herself melt into matt’s hold, his comforting arms would only do worse. as bad as she needed it, she didn’t want it. she couldn’t let herself need him.

“dont touch me” she mumbled, trying to speak with confidence, yet her voice coming out broken and weak. “you’re not my boyfriend, what is it to you to hold and comfort me? you did this to me.” she seethed through her teeth. despite the tears streaming down her face and her voice being shaky, she still had a bite.

matt shook his head, everything dawning on him. he took steps back until he was met with the door, he quickly opened it and left, leaving y/n there, alone, in her helpless state.

2549 words

@luverboychris @chrissturniolosfavoritesexdoll @meg-sturniolo @junnniiieee07 @genshin-addict @mels22lunchbox @ssilentzom @haunted-headset @dollyspsychoxo @sturnib-tch @b2cute @livvy4realll @graysturns @wh0resstuff @jnkvivi @mattsmad @sturn-bugz @jamiesturniolo @nayveetbhh @norr1ssturni0lo @strniolo @sunsetsturniolos @sleepysturnss @xbabyd0lli3x @e1ias3 @mbbsgf @leia-13 @stuniolo-simp4life @mattsdinosweater @preppy234 @sturniololvrrr @fleurdaisy11 @im-a-bored-chicken-nugget @sturnsfavvv @d-seavy @sturnwritess @simply-a-simper

[bokutizer]

dada's so pwetty!

Includes : Sakusa, Oikawa, Suna Summary : Just a few daughters being enchanted by their dadas' looks Tags : fem!reader, fluff, domestic bliss pt. 2

You don't know what it is about SAKUSA, but you're sure he must be able to use some kind of sorcery. Because while you usually spend hours of playing volleyball with your daughter in your garden in hopes of tiring her out, reading to her, preparing a glass of warm milk for her before bed- While you do all of that to get your little mouse to sleep, all Sakusa has to do is lie down with her. That's it. Not a single effort needed. You would have kept on hanging onto your sorcery theory if one day you had not been silently standing outside of your daughter's room, the door slightly ajar and allowing you to view her and your husband lying together in her bed.

Sakusa is quiet as he lets her play with the dark curls on his head, his arm loosely wrapped around her back and keeping her close to him. He watches the way the ends of his hair wrap around her chubby fingers, the sight of it probably having an entrancing effect on her by the way her eyes slowly start getting droopier. It's usually like this. And it only takes a few minutes until her hand falls limply beside her head, and soft quiet snores start leaving her mouth. This time, however, Sakusa's able to hear her mutter something under her breath before her eyes fall shut. "Dada's so pretty." It's thanks to the complete silence in the room that he's able to hear it. And as always, Sakusa carefully gets up from the bed, tucking the blanket to her chin, and placing a soft peck against her forehead. Though, he doesn't realise that this time his lips linger there a little longer than usual. No sorcery then. Just love.

Shrieks and giggles resonate through the house as OIKAWA chases after the barely three feet short creature with a Yoda mask. You smile and shake your head absentmindedly at the tramping noises they make while speeding from the upper floor down the stairs, and into the kitchen where you're currently making dinner. You hear your daughter calling out to you for help, and you immediately lower the temperature of the stove before you feel her wrap her arms around your leg, trying to hide behind you. Both, Oikawa and you, smile knowingly at each other before he approaches you and wraps an arm around your waist.

"I see one pretty girl, but I could be swearing we had two of those in this house." Five years and one child later, and he's still the same smooth-talker, you think. But his talking does its work, as per usual, when you feel the grip on your leg loosen. "I'm here!" your daughter yells and slips her mask over her head, letting it fall to the ground. She laughs at Oikawa's faux and dramatic astonishment as he swiftly picks her up and holds her up against his chest, tenderly brushing his nose against hers. Small hands grab ahold of his face, his cheeks cradled in her soft palms when she speaks with an endearingly serious expression. "But dada's also pwetty, right mama?" She turns around and looks at you as if waiting for you to approve her statement. And of course you do, especially once you notice some moisture gathering in Oikawa's joyfully sparkling eyes as you lean over to press one peck on a chubby cheek and the other on one that somehow looks rosier than usual. "Yeah, he is."

SUNA always wonders how they do it. These menaces. These bad influences. These hooligans- The Miya twins. He will never understand why their annoyingly stupid antics are so hilarious to his daughter. So hilarious that she even once claimed wanting to marry one of them when she gets older. (At least she was referring to 'Samu, he thinks.) But as he watches Atsumu hold his daughter's fox plushy that Kita had once gifted her for her third birthday, moving it back and forth while talking in that high pitched voice, he has to admit that the twins can be quite an attraction. His daughter obviously thinks the same as she attentively listens to what Mr. Foxy (the toy - or rather Atsumu?) has to tell her.

Yes, the Miya twins are all fun and games. But there is only so much of excitement and action that a four year old's body can take. And once the exhaustion sets in, triggering her cranky and moody side, the only one she wants to be with are either her mommy or daddy. Luckily, the onigri shop has quietened down, only a few customers left that are finishing their meals. "C'mere." Suna says softly when he notices his daughter's eyes glaze over with sleepiness and she starts rubbing them. He's quick to cradle her against his chest, completely dwarfing her, as his hands rub small circles along her back when she leans her head against his shoulder. "We're leaving soon, then we'll go sleep. That' sound good?" He feels her cheek brush against his shirt as she quietly nods, but before her daddy's light strokes along her back and hair lull her to sleep, she catches uncle 'Tsumu say something to uncle 'Samu while holding her plushy up. "Check this. Mr Foxy looks just like Sunarin." Hearing their snickers, Suna swears he's about to give them a child-friendly comeback until a frail, whispering voice catches him off-guard. "Nuh-uh. Dada's prettier than Mr. Foxy." He's just glad the twins didn't catch it, otherwise he wouldn't hear the end of it.

[moonlightspencie]

part 2 of the fake dating!james drabble as suggested by @simp-for-fiction!

part 1 here : part 2

pairing: james potter x reader

——————————

It had been two weeks since the night he kissed you and then proceeded to pretend as if he hadn't. You really couldn't blame him considering that you had also been hesitant to bring it up. After all, it was a part of the act.

But then again, it felt so real.

He was dragging you to yet another event today, telling you to dress nice. You complained, of course, but the second he mentioned that you'd be getting a nice fancy dinner for free... who were you to turn down such a compelling evening?

You showed up at his flat in your sleek black evening gown, feeling quite pretty, and knocked on his door. He opened it a moment later, looking a bit frazzled: his hair was a mess, his tie undone, and his glasses absent from his face.

"...hey?" you greeted.

"Hi," he replied quickly, ushering you inside before scurrying through the flat. "Sorry, promise I'll be done soon!"

"You okay?" you asked hesitantly, following him to his room.

He shuffled through things in his room, spraying himself with cologne and trying to smooth out his hair.

"Fine. Just... maybe, accidentally fell asleep and only started getting ready fifteen minutes ago," he winced a little.

You snorted a laugh. "Alright, that's fine. Do we need to be there right on time?"

"No... I guess we don't, but," he sighed, finally taking a good look at you. "You showed up on time looking... beautiful. The least I can do is get you there when I said I would."

"James, we've known each other for years. I'm not exactly expecting you to turn things around for a girl you're pretending to date."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Still, though."

"Don't worry about it," you reiterated, sitting on his bed.

He continued getting ready, now quite a bit less frazzled, and you were on your way before you knew it. He led you inside some charity event that he'd been invited to. You knew his family was rich, but this... this was something else.

"So... Lily is gonna be here?" you ask in a bit of surprise as he walked you through the ballroom.

"No," he replied simply, bringing you to sit at a table with little place-cards indicating your seats.

You furrowed your brow. "What... then, why are we here?"

"Photos, of course. They go in the Prophet. Evans will see them, and hopefully get jealous."

"Thats a pretty elaborate plan, Potter."

"It'll work," he said, waving off your concerns. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing here."

You snorted, but didn't really feel like complaining the second the food and drinks came out. Even more, you were perfectly happy once dancing began. It felt like a really fancy school ball with a bunch of people who were much more intimidating than your classmates. But... James made it easy.

"And spin," he instructed with a laugh, twirling you around. He caught you, pulling you into his chest again. "See? You're a natural."

"Far from it," you laughed. "If it weren't for you, I'd be tripping over my own two feet."

"Nah. You're great," he smiled brightly, annoyingly charming as always.

"I didn't grow up with this stuff. You dont have to lie to make me feel better."

"I'm not lying. Swear. You're good."

You smiled a little, shaking your head. "You know, we should really hang out more. I think I like hanging out with you when I'm not being paraded around for you to get Lily's attention the whole time."

"We hang out," he said, tilting his head a little.

"Not really," you smiled a little. "I hang out with Remus and Sirius, and... sometimes you're just there. I wouldn't quantify us as friends, per se."

"I would. Per se," he snorted a laugh. "We are now at least."

"Maybe."

"Don't maybe me," he laughed cheerfully.

You chuckled right back, about to respond when a flash went off. You blinked, looking in the direction of the light.

An older man who looked far too happy with himself, held up his camera. "Beautiful young couple! That will make a lovely photo for the papers."

"Oh, we're not--"

James cut you off. "Thank you! We've been told."

"Oh," you nodded a little. Right. This was the whole point of the event.

The photographer gave you another overly-peppy grin, then bid you adieu. You glanced at James.

"You really think she'll see that?"

"Everyone will see it," he shrugged.

"Everyone?" you swallowed. "Ugh. James, I don't know if that's a good thing. For everyone to think we're..."

"What, am I not enough for you?" he teased.

"That's not what I mean, James. It's just that people talk. Do we really need a public break up from a relationship we were never in."

"Eh," he shrugged. "We'll burn that bridge when we get to it."

"It's supposed to be cross that bridge."

"Either way," he grinned.

"Quit worrying," he kissed your cheek. "Now, come on. We have the whole rest of the night to have fun together, now."

"Right. Lead the way, Potter."

[willowsages-blog]

Pumpkin: Pedro Pascal x female reader

You and Pedro try to help your daughter find a Halloween costume.

WARNINGS: none just plain fluff and trying to help your daughter find a Halloween costume.

"Okay. 1, 2, 3, … come show daddy!"

Your 3-year-old, Lyla, comes barreling from around the corner, in her miniature pumpkin costume. She stops in front of where Pedro is seated on the couch, twirling around to hear his approval.

It was only October 3rd, but Halloween has always been a massive deal in the household, even more so with the arrival of your eldest daughter.

What once consisted of cheesy couple costumes and going out with friends has turned into cheesy family costumes and trick-or-treating.

You personally were beyond excited for this year, seeing how Lyla was finally old enough to understand how Halloween works.

Your husband finally uncovers his eyes and coos at the sight of his daughter.

He leans down to pick her up, both laughing from the happiness of being in each other's presence. It was no secret to anyone that Lyla was a huge Daddy's girl,

only wanting to be around her father from the minute she was born. It was no different on Pedro's side, having wrapped him around her chubby, miniature finger the moment he looked into her wide, hazel eyes.

The two are inseparable, and while jealousy might creep in from time to time, you're still undeniably grateful that Pedro is as overwhelmingly devoted to Lyla as he is.

“You two are so cute!" You melt, watching the two mess around.

"So cute, Mommy!" Lyla confirms, giggling at the raspberries Pedro is blowing onto her cheeks. Pedro reaches out for your waist, pulling you to join them on the couch.

"What do you think, Lyla? Do you like this one?" You ask, watching as she tilts her head in thought. She's always been annoyingly independent for her age, so this year,

you allowed her full control of picking her costume. You bought a ton and figured you could always just return the rejects. So far, she's on costume 6 out of 10, and you're just praying she makes a decision soon, so you don't have to make another trip to the Halloween store. Unfortunately, she shakes her head no and hops out of both your laps.

"Why not, bug? I thought you wanted to be a pumpkin like Charlie Brown." Pedro asks gently, hoping to sway his daughter into making a decision. He had given up his Saturday to watch his daughter play dress up, and while there wasn't much that he wouldn't do for Lyla, he was more than ready to move on with the day.

"No, Daddy. I want to be a ghost-like Charlie Brown." Lyla corrects, rolling her eyes like she couldn't believe her father's mistake. Pedro swears she picked up that habit from you.

"But you didn't like the ghost costume either," Pedro whines, growing frustrated with the toddler's indecisiveness. He loves his daughter endlessly, but three hours of costume-picking is enough to irritate anyone.

"Okay, Lyla. Why don't you go to your room and put on the next costume? It's the Tiana one, remember!" You suggest softly. Lyla perks up at the mention of her favorite princess and runs back into her room, leaving you and Pedro alone. You settle into his side, twisting his wedding band out of habit.

"You know she gets that from you, right?" He says. You snort, turning to look at him.

"That's funny because she's your shadow. If anything, she's all you." He laughs at your response, pulling you so you're even closer to him. You both look at each other for a moment, before he lets out a breath of air.

"Is it crazy that I want another one?" He asks softly. You pause, not saying anything to interrupt wherever your husband's mind is headed. "Like, I love the three of us, but what if we could do it again? You know the diapers, the first words, first steps, arguing with them over their own Halloween costume?" He gestures around him at that.

Your heart swells. Admittedly, you had been thinking about having another baby now that Lyla is starting to get older. You've started missing having a newborn in the house but were unsure how to bring it up to your husband, worried that he might reject you. However, you should've suspected that Pedro "I want a football team of children" would be itching to have another kid soon.

"Do you really want this?" You ask, making sure this isn't a whim before you tell him what you think.

"Well, I mean, really, it's up to you. But yeah, it would be nice to have another mini-running around here. Plus, Lyla would love to have a friend." He offers, already placing his hand over your stomach.

"I have always wanted a boy." You must, already picture future siblings and matching Halloween costumes. Pedro brightens at this, pulling you into a hug with small tears forming in his eyes. He pulls away to slightly wipe his eyes before he hears the tiny pitter-patter of feet coming down the hallway.

"What's wrong, daddy?" Lyla questions, concern written all over her tiny face from seeing her father's tears. She walks towards Pedro in a green, sparkly dress with a plush frog under her arms, reaching up for him to pull her into his lap.

"Nothing bug, just happy I have everything I've ever wanted." He admits, pulling Lyla up to join your two's huddle. And with the two loves of your life in your arms, you agree.

[bestofmultiverse]

I see heaven (crush me)

Chapter 2: Come on i dare you to love me

Trigger warning: this chapter contains bad written p0rn and horrible stuff as rape, violence etc.

haven't checked for mistakes, sorry in advance

Read on ao3 • chapter 1 on tumblr

Casey was late, again.

It was her second year first day, and last class for the day.

Alex's class.

In her defense, this time it wasn't her fault, she was pulled into an after class conversation by professor Callahan, that sexist asshole, and he just didn't want to let her go.

When she got into the classroom she met with alex's stern glare,

"Miss novak, are you trying to make a new tradition of being late to my class on the first day?"

This time, in contrast to last year alex let casey come into class and grab her sit at the front.

The class went smoothly afterwards, nothing too special, when it ended and everyone got up to leave alex spoke up.

"Miss novak, my office" alex said before leaving the room and walking toward her office.

Casey exchanged looks with her friend Elle - who was one of her favorite people in class. (A/N - yes i mean the original iconic legally blonde herself)

The blonde gave her a shrug and mouthed good luck as she went towards the exit.

"She has a death wish i swear" olivia said to one of her friends with a chuckle.

Casey sent her a glare.

When the redhead got to alex's office she got a stern look from the older woman.

Alex sat on her chair, casey decided to sit on the chair opposite from her , she felt she was in the principal office for scolding.

"Hey to you too"

Casey said sarcastically.

"Well?" Alex glared.

casey sighed

"I swear it wasn't my fault this time. It was this creep Callahan" casey said and alex raised an eyebrow

"The professor?" The blonde asked confused

"Yeah yeah he basically cornered me to have a long conversation about his goddamn ego"

"Well, he is a defense attorney" alex finally said after a moment.

Casey chuckled

"You're still mad?" The redhead asked and alex rolled her eyes and got up from her sit.

She crossed the room to make sure the door is locked before she went to casey and straddled her.

"Yes, but i think i have an idea how you can make it up to me" alex said and kissed casey's lips softly.

when she was about to break the kiss casey pulled her into her again, a bit roughly, her hands sneaking into the older's woman hair,

Alex's hands lowered from casey's cheeks to her throat.

To be honest at the last few months- since casey's end of season game the two were annoyingly in love, although life had different plans for them,

Their whole affair started while casey was still cramming for the last exams of the semester.

and than although it was the summer break- and they they found themselves spending some quality time together- both were fairly busy, alex took a work trip to NYPD to help the new york finest as a temporary ADA while casey started working as an intern in a law firm in Massachusetts along side some of the finest lawyers alex met.

To say alex didn't pulled some strings to get casey there will be a lie, but she would've done it either way, every year she chose the best first year in her class and gave them a chance to experience the real world.

This year it happened to be casey- who ended up being the top of her class, her friend- Elle woods a few steps behind.

The two barely seen each other in the past 2 weeks and they were craving each other's touch. Their make out session was getting a lot more intense by the second and alex found herself gasping for air as casey's hands opened a few buttons in her blouse, to reveal a red lace bra.

"You're so hot baby"

casey whispered before pushing alex's blouse off, leaving her in bra and skirt only.

"I don't think thats a good idea case"

alex admitted as casey pulled herself up with alex in arms, toned arms flexing as she led them to the couch.

"No one will know, everybody's gone home"

casey reassured the blonde before she pushed her down on her back.

Alex thought casey was the hottest human to exist, with strong arms that quite literally could carry her everywhere.

The older woman pulled casey into a bruising kiss, casey climbed on top of alex and kissed down her neck to her shoulder

she stopped and unlocked the clip of alex's bra before she threw it away somewhere and attacked her nipple with a skilled tongue.

Left hand pinched and played with the other nipple.

Alex moaned softly, both knew she needed this release, and soon,

To say the two waited a lot before jumping into bed will be a lie.

And god bless both, each time they had sex it was mind blowing.

Which also meant, that the fact they hadn't slept together in two weeks made both very desperate.

"I need you to fuck me , soon" alex said and pulled casey into her.

"Do you have any preferences?" Casey asked

"Hard"

Casey meant tongue or fingers but whatever.

The redhead smirked before she kissed down alex's half naked body.

she pulled the older woman's skirt and panties down in a swift flick of her wrist before she started kissing and licking her clit.

Alex whimpered and tried to keep herself from moaning loudly.

Before alex could even speak casey pushed two fingers into her, starching and filling her in matter of seconds.

Alex pulled one of the pillows to her mouth to muffle her moaning, she couldn't contain herself from making them at this point.

Casey's fingers curled and pushed in hard and fast.

she continued doing so while her tongue played with alex's clit until she felt alex's walls clutching around her fingers.

Moments later the older woman's body rose a few inches in the air as Casey helped her ride her orgasm.

"Am i forgiven now?"

Casey asked when the professor calmed down

Alex threw the pillow on her face while she still tried to fix her breath, both women laughed before casey laid down on the blonde's chest.

----

"How long?"

George asked when the two roommates set together in their living room, casey's long lags spread on her best friend's lap as she zipped through the channels.

"Till I'll find something good to watch? I don't know man, honestly everything is total garbage"

George chuckled at his friends clueless answer

"I meant how long you've been sleeping with your professor"

Casey almost dropped the remote

"I dont know what you're talking about Georgie" she tried to keep her heartbeat from spiking and failed.

"Case, come on, it's me" he said and she sighed.

She knew damn well this man was too talented for his own good.

"Damn you george huang" she said before she pulled her legs away from the man's lap.

She pulled her knees to her chest.

"Technically around 3 months, but she's been gone for a big part of it, we did our best but haven't saw much of each other" she admitted.

She looked at the man with raised eyebrow.

"How did you know?"

"Im good in reading people" the man said with a small smile

"And also, you have a huge hicky on your neck and i saw the way you look at her when you think no one can see you"

"Oh" she whispered

"Is it serious, case?"

The future psychologist asked and put his hand on his friend's shoulder

He didn't want her to get hurt

"We haven't actually made it official or anything, about it but i think it is."

"Maybe you should then"

George said before he snatched the remote from her grasp.

"You're so damn bad at picking movies, case"

Casey laughed.

----

Case: lex? You awake?

It was around 12 am, mid week, and casey was tossing and turning in bed. Her conversation with George repeating in her mind.

Lex: i am, is everything alright?

Case: i have a question

Lex: okay

Case: what are we?

Alex hadn't answered and casey started to get nervous.

Lex: i don't know, what do you want us to be?

Case: girlfriends i think.

Is it something you want?

Lex: yes. One hundred percent yes.

Casey smiled softly at alex's reply

Case: can i come over? I know you have a morning class to teach but i just want to be with you.

Alex smiled at the text before she put on a sweatshirt and grabbed her glasses and car keys

Lex: I'll be outside your building in 20 minutes.

Case: thank you

Lex: nothing to thank me for baby, im getting cuddles.

Casey chuckled to herself

who would've thought the great alexandra cabot, the ice queen herself, is actually a big softie.

When casey got out alex was already outside, the blonde was leaning on her car with a tired expression.

"You shouldn't have come, i could take a van or something" casey said and walked towards her.

"Nonsense, i wanted too"

She said and greeted the younger woman with a kiss.

Casey melted into the older woman, A soft contained sigh leaving her lip.

"Hello girlfriend" casey whispered to her as she broke the kiss, their noses brushing.

Alex chuckled and kissed her nose.

"All mine" she promised

The drive to alex's apartment was quick and before casey could even get sleepy in the car she was already in alex's bed, tugged into a warm blanket and her girlfriend's warm embrace.

Alex kissed her temple before she turned off the lights as the two women drifted off to sleep.

The morning came faster than expected and alex groan as she heard casey's alarm.

"Turn it off" alex grumbled and casey laughed before doing as she was told.

"Why are you waking up now you don't have classes until noon??" alex asked with an annoyed expression.

Casey chuckled

"I'm going for a run"

Alex rolled her eyes

"That's horrible Cassandra"

Casey laughed and tried to pull away from her girlfriend's grasp

the older woman pulled her back to bed.

"You stay"

Alex commended and wrapped her girlfriend in a bear hug with a pout.

How is that a grown ass woman

casey thought with a chuckle as she laid on her girlfriend's chest.

"Lex you're supposed to get up in like ten minutes, you know that"

Alex ignored her and closed back her eyes.

casey, who got bored after 45 seconds of staying still with no apparent reason started to suck on the older woman's neck with a smirk.

If she's not getting her morning run, alex not getting her sleep.

"Baby don't start something you cant finish" alex groaned and casey smirked

"You owe me my cardio" she said in a sultry tone.

Alex opened her eyes and glared at the younger woman.

If she wanted to play, alex would play.

Before casey could even understand what was happening Alex switched up between their positions so she was on top and then pulled her girlfriend into a bruising kiss.

"Then try to keep up" alex taunted.

It wasn't long before Alex's long fingers were curling inside casey's cunt.

The redhead whimpering and moaning with no restraint.

Her nails digging into alex's naked back as her girlfriend fucked her with no mercy.

Casey's body was a piece of art, in alex's mind,

Especially when it was naked, scratched and marked by her own nails and lips.

Abs flexed to perfection, skin glistening with sweat, hair messy and eyes widened.

Alex loved seeing casey like that, all vulnerability and at her mercy.

"Oh god lex- I'm so close"

Casey was bagging, her naked body rising up with every thrust of alex's fingers.

The older woman was fucking casey so hard she felt her wrist getting crammed.

Alex's alarm went off - the annoying beep making alex curse.

"Dont you dare cuming" alex said before she pulled her fingers out and turned it off.

Casey gasped in shock.

"You fucking asshole" she groaned

"I told you to not start something you can't finish" alex taunted "we're out of time now"

"Please alex" casey whimpered, she tried to pull her legs together , hoping the friction will help ease her needs

"You're trying to make yourself cum? now thats something id like to see"

Alex challenged and casey whimpered again while she sent her smirking girlfriend a deadly glare

"I wouldn't have to if you weren't an ass" casey said angrily and alex laughed before she parted casey legs open again and pushed two fingers in again.

"You fucker" casey breathed out and alex grabbed her girlfriend's neck with her free hand, pressing on it,

it wasn't hard enough to do any harm of course, but enough to make casey moan louder.

The whole ordeal it turned alex on.

"Do you want to cum, baby?" alex asked and used the thumb of the hand that was fucking casey to press on her clit.

Alex kept eye contact between them the whole time , blue eyes boring into green.

"Yes lex - please" she was bagging.

Alex smirk grew and she took the younger woman's lips into a deep bruising kiss

"Then cum for me baby" she encouraged her girlfriend and pressed a bit harder on casey's neck.

Casey needn't more encouraging than that, in a matter of seconds she was shaking, her orgasm ripping violently through her body as she was moaning hard.

Casey's nails dug deep into alex's arms and back as she came.

"Good girl" alex encouraged her as she came down from the high.

The blonde kissed her so softly casey thought she might faint - the contrast between that and their recent activity was dizzying

"God you're good at everything, that's not fair"

She couldn't complain, really, as the person who profited from this the most.

Alex chuckled and kissed her again. Their noses brushing.

"Trust me, you're not too bad yourself"

Alex wasn't even trying to hide how good casey made feel every time they had sex, she genuinely meant that.

Casey wasn't just crazily dedicated and smart, she was kind, beautiful, funny, an incredible cook, had killer body and was the best sexual partner alex had in her 40 years on earth.

Alex lied back down, half on casey's chest and half on the bed, nuzzling her nose into the redhead's red neck.

"I love you, case" alex said as casey played with her hair, she felt secure in casey's arms.

"I love you too, so fucking much" casey returned the sentiment "and also, i think i cant walk"

Alex burst into laughter, knowing damn well casey will be sore for days to come

"Im serious tho, how am i supposed to go to class without people asking questions"

Alex laugher echo in the room.

"Tell them you fell down again" the older woman chuckled

"Yeah? On my pussy? Im sure that will work" Casey joked

"Well, you're pretty flexible, they might buy it"

"Shut up will you?" Casey kissed alex's temple.

"Never" alex said and kissed her nose, lips, and dimples as the younger woman rich laugh echoed through the bedroom.

---

Alex and casey's relationship was going perfectly,

Of course the two kept it a secret from everyone- except George that figured it out but swore to keep quite,

Their time together was priceless for both, in between casey's job , classes & softball practices and alex's loads of work.

It was a Friday night when the two were getting ready to different parties.

Casey was going to a house party of some seniors she worked with in the cafe- this time she promised to grab a cab to alex's when it ends instead of trying and walk by herself.

The fall semester just ended and Christmas was right around the corner, and of course there was a Christmas party- a bit earlier than the actual holiday- alex had to attend.

She preferred almost anything but be there, but the high society woman that she was had to attend. Especially because it was full with many of her colleagues.

"Baby, have you seen my black strapless dress?" Casey asked as she walked into the bathroom where alex was fixing her eyeliner.

"The black one?"

"Yeah" casey said and kissed alex's shoulder

"You left it at your place"

"What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah babe, why don't you use one of mine" alex said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah I'm sure no one will think it's out of place I'll be wearing a Versace or Dior to a house party while i'm here on scholarship" casey said, a bit harshly.

Money was a uncomfortable subject for casey, Alex knew,

While alex grew up in the elite of NY, as an only child of a very wealthy family, her girlfriend grew up in a middle class household- with 3 other siblings, they weren't poor, but casey definitely wouldn't be at harvard if it weren't for softball and both knew that.

Alex turned to her girlfriend and kissed her lips.

She knew Casey wasn't mad at her, just a bit defensive in her nature.

"C'mon i have some short fun ones you'd like, i promise they're more casual looking" alex reassured her girlfriend and packed her forehead.

"And if someone will ask questions tell them you have a sugar mommy" she smirked and casey chuckled.

Overall; alex was right, casey looked incredible in a short cocktail dress that made her ass look terrific

The cute bonus- that was dress alex wore the night they went to the ER after casey broke her nose. She wondered if the dress had the same effect of last time, just that this time the one to suffer will be the older woman.

One glance at alex said yes.

"You look incredible case" alex admitted before she kissed her girlfriend's shoulder.

"So are you" casey said truthfully,

Alex was wearing a white backless evening gown and her blonde soft hair was framing her face in curls .

"I gave you something" alex said with a smile

Casey looked at her amused

"A token for your friendship?" She said sarcastically

Alex chuckled and pulled out a case,

When she opened the fancy case casey saw the most beautiful necklace she ever saw, it was a white gold neckless with a moon shaped pendant.

Casey knew it was expensive without asking.

"You didn't have to"

"I know" alex said with a smile, casey smiled back.

"Can you close it?"

Casey said and alex nodded before putting the necklace on her neck- leaving a small kiss there when she finished.

When casey turned back to face her girlfriend she noticed alex's neckless.

It looked suspiciously like it was made to match with her own- opposites attracted kind of thing, instead of white gold moon It was gold with a sun pendant.

When alex noticed casey's stare she blushed.

"They're not completely different but not exactly the same, i wanted you to have a piece of me, even when I'm not there, same for me"

"Love the sentiment baby, but we're not going anywhere, I'm here to stay" casey chuckled and kissed her girlfriend hard on the lips.

They were officially together for 4 months now, growing stronger by the day.

"I ordered you a cab, the driver will be here in 10 minutes" alex informed her girlfriend when they broke apart.

Originally casey was going to go with her friends in george's car but since Elle and her boyfriend were joining them as well, she decided against it so no one will ask questions.

"If you decide to it stay at your place let me know, okay? So i won't worry" alex said as she grabbed her purse and kissed her girlfriend's lips again

"Of course baby, have fun!"

"I doubt i will, but thank you darling"

Casey rolled her eyes

"Bye baby, drink smart" alex chuckled before she went outside to her own cab.

---

Casey remembered partying being a lot more interesting, she went to at least 15 since the beginning of her college career, which wasn't a lot compared to others, but still.

The party was fun enough this, she played beer pong and danced with her friends and got to get loose before the exam season started.

after a few hours she found herself sitting outside in the house's backyard, having a conversation with a guy she never met before.

She didn't actually started the conversation - she originally went outside for a cigarette and to text alex, who asked about her well being, but the guy seemed nice so she tried to be polite.

He introduced himself as charlie, and was a business major

She was certain he was trying to hit on her- although she mentioned more than once that she was in a relationship and not interested.

To her annoyance the man didn't seem to notice or care about that.

Luckily for casey she managed to find a decent enough excuse to get away from the guy and go back inside to search for her friends

She found Elle first, the blonde was just about to search for her ti let her know she was leaving and that George was somewhere in the kitchen.

Elle ended up being right and casey found the man in the kitchen having a conversation with a friend of his.

When the redhead joined them, the woman, melinda, politely introduced herself and was eager to include casey in the conversation.

the three spoke among themselves for a few minutes or so before a fourth voice joined in.

Some fret guy butted into the conversation, clearly trying to make a move on melinda and put his arm on her shoulder, George looked at him with a glare as he saw his friend uncomfortable by the gesture.

George wanted to pull her away from the stranger but couldn't think of an excuse to do that without leaving casey alone with him as well- which he found unsettling as well.

At some point casey left the group in search for the bathroom, unfortunately for her she was drunk and the house was big and it took her 5 minutes to find the her destination, when she finished she opened the door to find a Charlie standing there.

It looked like he was waiting in line for the bathroom,

He was blocking the way, she figured it wasn't on purpose, so she waited for him to move, when he didn't she tried to push past him but Instead of moving away, as a decent person would've done, he grabbed her by the waist and shoved her back into the bathroom.

----

George and melinda were searching for Casey for a while, it's been over 20 minutes since she left to the bathroom and the two got worried.

The redhead wasn't answering her phone - which wasn't like her considering the fact she texted alex none stop through the evening.

When they did found her he gasped in shock,

She was laying on the floor, unconscious with an ugly bleeding gash on her forehead, her dress , alex's dress, was pulled up and whoever done that to her basically ripped her panties off.

George wanted to run towards casey but couldn't move, luckily for him, melinda was quick to react and was already checking for pulse.

"Call an ambulance" the woman shouted at him.

George couldn't move, he couldn't breathe.

"What happened?!" He heard, he turned around to get glimpse of brown hair.

He never had a conversation with the woman next to him, but she was familiar enough.

Olivia benson pulled her phone out and called 911 before she took off her letter jacket and covered casey half naked body.

"Is she dead?" Olivia asked melinda,

"no, but we need that ambulance now"

-

In the meantime at the other side of town alex was already in the apartment.

She managed to get away from the Christmas party eventually , it was around 2 am at this point and she had an unpleasant feeling in her gut.

Lex: getting here soon?

Alex sent casey a text before she went and changed to sweatpants and one of casey's t-shirts.

After her whole makeup removal and skin care routine she checked her phone for new messages but there was none.

Alex trusted casey, full heartedly, but she started to get worried, it wasn't like her to not text back pretty instantly.

Lex: babe?

Nothing.

Alex decided to call casey, maybe the younger woman hasn't checked her phone for a while.

When she reached voice mail she gotten more worried.

She waited another 30 minutes, sending some more texts and tried to call again

Still no response.

After the 3d try she got a call back.

Casey's name flashed on the screen.

"Where are you?"

She answered worriedly.

"Professor cabot?"

Alex's eyes widened in shock.

"Who is it?" She asked.

She'll have enough time to freak out about this later.

"It's olivia benson. Im with casey in the hospital"

Alex felt herself getting dizzy and sat down on the couch.

"Casey's been attacked" olivia said , her voice calm.

--

Alex hated hospitals and her shoes weren't made for running, she found that out, as she ran to the section olivia told her they were at, when she got there she was met with 3 traumatized young adults.

The first, alex didn't knew who she was, was sitting with her head in her hands- seemingly trying to calm herself down, there were a few blood stains on her shirt and alex almost fainted out of fear.

The second was casey's roommate, the man was pacing with eyes bloodshot and wet cheeks.

Not a calming sight.

And then there was Olivia benson,

The brunette was standing near the wall,

She didn't adress the elephant in the room, which was alex being there as someone other than a concerned professor,

She got to the point quickly and took alex out of her misery.

"They're still examine her, we found her unconscious, i think she was hit in the head with something but we don't really know what happened, we're just guessing at this point"

Alex chocked and covered her face with her hands

"You should sit" the brunette calmly said "Ill get you water"

Alex wasn't even in condition to argue, everything she felt was clouded with worry and anger.

"Cassandra novak" a doctor came out.

Alex bolted to him, the others not far behind.

"Cassandra has a concussion and will stay here for a day or so. But there's more"

When the doctor said what the other 3 already dreaded to hear alex started to sob.

Cassandra was raped.

He said

"Can we see her? Is she awake?" She choked on her words.

"Follow me" the man smiled sadly at them before showing them the way to the room casey was at.

Just when they walked into the room a nurse and a police officer left, alex figured it was someone from the sex crime unit and made a note to herself to call to an ADA she trusted in the morning.

When casey saw her she started to sob uncontrollably, without thinking alex quickly got to her and pulled her into her arms.

Casey flinched for a second.

"I tried to fight him off" casey sobbed and alex's heart broke, she felt a tear escaping her own eyes as she kissed her girlfriend on the head.

"I know baby i know" she whispered to her.

---

Alex was worried sick.

It's been months since casey got attacked and raped by the poor excuse of a man and she was slipping away.

She became a lot more angry, suspicious and scared, and the worst part was that she wouldn't adress the situation.

She was frightened by touch, one time a classmate in alex's class touched her arm and she instantly pushed him and left the room- alex wanted to go after her, unfortunately for her being the professor meant that doing that might look suspicious to others.

Luckily for both olivia was quick to do so.

[localfanbaselurker]

First time watching Voltron: Legendary Defender and documenting my thoughts

This is Season 4

S1-2 | S3 | S5 | S6 | S7 | S8 |

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<this one is going to be shorter, as I have only recently finished this season, and the grief is still fresh (lol), so the thoughts are only just starting to simmer. strap your asses in>

Pre-Season 4 Thoughts

-> Keith joining the blades is going to be a huge plot device, I feel

-> PLEASE for the love of CHRIST let that poor little girl find her brother and father. If they are dead dreamworks better be ready to catch these hands

->I’ve heard people claim this is the “last good season”, but i stay strong 💪 and will watch till the end

->wouldn’t the paladin switch not make sense now? Cus shiro is back as the black paladin and it makes no sense for Lance to be red like it originally had? If anything, he should’ve gone back to blue, and Allura to red, because Allura is very accepting/encouraging of shiro’s role as leader. I guess they didn’t wanna do it all over again. But I digress 🤷‍♀️

->im gonna miss my Pookie (🤍❤️🤍)

Post-S4

->do they do this every two seasons?? Have an epic battle where they have a big preparation and say it’ll 100% end the war but it doesn’t and something crazy happens after they win and it sets up the next season??

->FUCK YEAH PIDGE GOT HER BROTHER BACK IM SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP 💪💪🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️🙏🙏🙏🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

->^genuinely cried so hard during this scene. would’ve cried more if I wasn’t recovering from the initial shock.

->^cried during this one too, but it was happy tears. I could actually just do a whole reaction post to this episode alone. (if you want me to js say so in the rbs/replies)

->the callback to s1! “color-coded of course, because what are we? animals?” AHHH! I’m going insane I love these siblings sooooo much

->okay I’ll stop gushing over them now

->^only valid reaction to meeting Allura. Homegirl is beauty incarnate

->I LIED. im not sorry im never shutting up about them. SHE SHOWS HIM AROUND THE CASTLE AND TELLS HIM EVERYTHING AND EVERY DETAIL AND SHES SO EXCITED CUS SHE JUST GOT HER BRO BACK AND IS JUST RAMBLING ABOUT HER NEW HOME AND ALL THE COOL STUFF SHES BEEN DOING AND HES JUST LISTENING AND IS SUPER EXCITED WITH HER AND ITS SOOOO AMAZING AND ADORABLE AND I COULD DIE

->AND THEN HE TELLS HER HOW THEIR DAD WOULD BE SO PROUD IM DYING IM LITERALLY DEAD STOP.

->AND AND AND THEY WERE ALL WORKING TOGETHER W HUNK TO MAKE THE GALRA TRACKER THING AND THEY WERE BEING SO COOL WITH EACH OTHER AND BEING NERDS TOGETHER AND AND AND AJEUWNDUWJEBEURBDGWUDKAODHD

->okay. ive calmed down. i am normal and can be trusted to simply watch a show.

->^Get his ass, Zarkon. I needed his smug ass to be humbled so bad. Only time I will agree w Zarkon fr.

->i do NOT like Lotor. Can you guys tell already??

->THE SCENE WHERE THEY TRIED TO GET MILKSHAKES AND WERE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT YOU NEED TO MILK A COW STOP.✋ 😭. My high-score on the giggle-meter went up by 300%

->bro I SWEAR shiro looks different. there’s just something about him. the hair gets a pass cus how good of a haircut can you give yourself in space, yk? but that nose scar is definitely a different shade #notmyrodrickshiro

->THE VOLTRON SHOW.

->^Just. That entire episode. It’s getting a whole post actually I need to yap about it.

->^her armor is colored in a way which makes it look both pink and red while making it look like a trick of the light in a way to symbolize that she is acting as keith yet while being a paladin herself and that being unknown in the public eye and showing how they have to cover that up, any suspicion being thrown as a trick of the light. Oh vld animators ily 🫶

->on another note tho why do they always draw lance and shiro to have 30 pounds of ass. what.

->loved when those lesbians decided to take down lotor. Queen shit 💋 we stan 🙇‍♀️🙏

->Lotor is so stupid and pathetic and annoyingly smug and sus and admiral-zhao-y and I hate him but he’s SOOO FREAKING HOT and I can’t hate him completely because he’s so attractive but that just makes me wanna hate him more. He’s a walking red flag but the flag is heart-shaped and honestly idk what to do w that.

->^WHAT. stop. honestly that’s the real reason he was banned from the empire my ass would not want that fucking FREAK within a 30 light year radius of me either

-> while s3 was the klance season, s4 is apparently the allurance season, they have a lot of sweet moments. (granted all started by lance but still, you can almost see allura swooning)

->^pookie. what are you doing… pookie.. no. stop. i don’t like where this is going…

->^POOKIE NO. STOP. ✋ STOP. SAY SIKE RN.

->^oh thank fuck for Lotor.

->^^wait what. why Lotor.

->^^^heartbreaking: worst person you know doesn’t something good for once.

->he definitely wants something out of this. I don’t trust him.

These are thoughts I’ve had compiled for some time now. I will continue to post my thoughts on the tag “laura’s first vld”

I finished this season on 06/30/24. I am on S5E3 as of today (07/06/24)

[bodypaintsculptures]

High Priestess | Chapter 2: This Is Why

A/N: Hey lovelies!!! Happy Monday! Thanks for the great reaction to the first chapter of High Priestess! Just to let you know that I will posting a new chapter every three days while I work on editing the last edition, so please enjoy! Don't forget to like, comment and please lemme know if you would like to be tagged! H x

Synopsis: A down on their luck Welsh band, High Priestess, finally get the big break they were looking for - a supporting spot for one of the UK's biggest successes; the Arctic Monkeys. Was this finally the opportunity they needed to kick start their dream careers of being a successful rock band? Or will a tumultuous relationship between the two lead singers and a secret confession of devotion ultimately be too much to handle for the three best friends from Cardiff?

Word Count: 3.6K

Warnings: swearing, drug usage, mentions of death, mental health issues and sexual content throughout this fic.

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"Next." Alex mumbled after hearing just three bars of the song. This wasn't it, again. 

The frustration was growing inside of him with each passing minute, and each passing band they listened to. How hard could it be to find a support band for tour? Very, apparently.

They had been sitting there for just over two hours, going through bands like they were cigarettes and evidently, Alex had been doing the same, chain smoking his frustrations away, or at least trying to anyway. 

All they wanted was a band that captured their attention, one that fit their ideals, their aesthetics. They wanted a band that brought their own sound and with it, a new sense of performance.

And so far, nothing that they had listened to, came anywhere near that.

The shredding of guitars and heavy beatings of drums that burst through the speakers was all the band had listened to for the past few hours and it was beginning to become tiresome. Not to mention, that at this pint their ear drums were shot for hearing lyrics being  screamed at them. 

All Alex wanted was on band that captured his imagination like no other. Was that so hard?

He was sick of hearing the same old same old. It was boring him.

Of course, younger them would've jumped at the chance to sign every single band they had listened to so far to their tour, but now it was different. Now, they were older, more experienced. They understood what it took to be successful and how to entice a crowd, and what they had listened to so far would only make their fans ears bleed. Although there was an argument to say that some may enjoy a guitar being shredded for a whole set, it wasn't what they were looking for. So, their search, annoyingly, continued. 

"You can't just keep skipping 'em." James sighed from his position at the mixing desk. 

His back had slumped against the chair long ago, when no after no had began to reign in from different members of the group. He knew they were trying to get it right but they were beginning to vex him at how fussy they were being over this. How hard can it be to find a band for crying out loud?

"Well they're all shit." Jamie piped up from his sprawled position on the settee behind him. Guitar laying over him, he was mindlessly strumming at it, his gaze fixed on the dimly lit ceiling above as his interests began to waver in the process. "Absolute shite." He mumbled underneath his breath with a shake of his head.

James decided to ignore the guitarist's quip, knowing that the band he had played for them,  weren't all "shite". They just weren't what they were looking for.

With a puff of his cheeks, the producer glanced beside him to Alex who looked just as disinterested as the guitarist. His legs up on the mixing desk, head slumped against the chair and cigarette burning between his lips. James was about to tell him off for smoking in the small room but thought better of it, too tired and frustrated to even contemplate starting an argument with the lead singer. 

So, ignoring it, he instead tried to reason with him. "These are good artists, Al-"

"Yeah but they're not reyt for us." Alex cut him off with a huff, knowing where he was going with this and it didn't interest him. At this point the singer was more interested in the cloud of smoke that swirled around the small room as he puffed it out. 

Though that did not mean he wasn't as frustrated as his counterpart, because he was. He wished he could have picked the first band they heard. It would've made life easier on them and James, but that was not who he was, who they were. Instead, Alex was a man that was too invested and too much of a perfectionist. He was a man that was sometimes, too willing to take a risk, something he knew to be his Achilles heel. The singer knew what he wanted and he wasn't going to stop until he, and the rest of the band, found it. 

But at this point, it seems like his attempts to find that were proving futile. So much so that he was ready to give up on their search and just let the label pick whoever they wanted.

"Well you've gotta pick someone soon." James spat in frustration, his eyes scanning over the list of artists they had already said no to. "We haven't got long until your tour starts and so far we've picked one good-ish one and one maybe." His words were met with silence, which made him roll his eyes. "Can you guys please not be so fussy over this?" The producer glanced between the four men, though did not get much of a response for their lazed positions, more than a few hums of somewhat agreement. 

The only one to actually speak up was Alex, who craned his neck to look over at James and raised his eyebrow. "We're not being fussy, we're just trying to find someone, a--a band that..." His train of thought drifted off after that.

Sometimes he struggled to articulate his words properly, especially when it came to what he envisioned in his head. It was easier for him to write it down, in the form of a song or a poem, but he knew James' patience was wearing thin so he thought better of it. Though with this being their first stadium tour in the UK -- their home country -- he wanted everything to be perfect and right now, perfect was not what he was getting. 

Thankfully for the absent minded singer however, Matt seemed to catch on to what Alex was at least trying to express and carried on his friends train of though. "Encapsulates what we're doin'."

At that, Alex silently pointed to the drummer, who was reclining quietly on the settee behind them, in agreement. "We want someone, or summat, that can engage t'crowd, summat new, fresh... good." Matt continued, his thick northern accent laying heavily on the last part of his words as he stared at James, hoping he would understand. 

"Yeah better than the shite we've listened to so far." Nick snickered himself into the conversation for the first time in a while. But when his remark was met with a frosty reception, he wondered why he even bothered. 

Taking that reception as his cue to shut up, Nick went back to scrolling through his phone. He would just leave it up to the rest of the band to decide, it wasn't like his input mattered anyway. 

"Well thank you for insulting the majority of the bands signed on the label guys, it's great to know your opinions on that." James quipped sarcastically with a shake of his head. 

They were easier to work with making an album that was for sure.

Though James' words only made Alex groan loudly in frustration. "We ain't insulting 'em." He pointedly told the producer with the soured expression. Because they weren't, well, he wasn't at least. "They're just not suited to us." He shrugged, running a hand through his fluffy hair in frustration.

At that, James leaned forward in his chair for the first time in a while, glancing over at the lead singer and hushing his voice slightly when he talked. "And they don't have to be Al, you just need a supporting act or two for the European leg, that's it." His tone was almost pleading with him, desperate. "So please, for all the love of the two brain cells I have left, listen to these songs properly before you pass on them."

Puffing out a cloud of smoke, Alex carefully mulled over the producer's words. He could see the mans pained, exhausted expression and it saddened him to know that their indecisions had been the course of it. So, trying to think positively, the singer nodded. "Alryt, who's next 'en?" 

James wanted to punch the air in celebration but stuck with a crack of a smile as he looked down the list, reading off the next name; "Burning Bras."

As soon as those words left his lips however, a chorus of groans came from the band. Guess it's down to 2 bands then, he coldly thought, striking their name off the list. Though, he could see where they were coming from with that one, knowing the name just screamed heavy guitars and drums, it was vexing him further that they wouldn't even give them a chance. 

Running low on patience and more importantly, artists, James made a mental note not to tell them the men the name of the next band and instead, just play their song and see how they reacted. However, as he was about to do so, he stopped short with a frown of confusion. The next band on the list, he'd never heard of, never come across them and frankly, couldn't even remember writing that name down. 

Because that wasn't my handwriting...

Slightly irked, James turned to his assistant who was leaning against the desk to his left and question him; "Jay? Who are these? I didn't put them on the list?" He tone annoyed. 

Jay's eyes widened when he saw which name James was on about and nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Oh uh, I know, I um, I did?" His voice came out high pitched and questioning, slightly afraid of what his boss would say.

He had, in fact, added the band's name last minute, hoping that James wouldn't notice or even that the band would have found someone before now. But it seemed that their fussiness coupled with the fact that he was now being questioned by his manager, meant that the assistant wasn't so lucky after all. Or maybe he was, he wasn't sure. 

"They, um sent their demo to the label about a month ago, I've had a listen and I liked it so I thought I would just um... add it to the list?" Jay explained further, a nervous laugh falling from his lips. Is it getting hot in here?

"But they're not signed?" Jay shook his head. "Then they shouldn't be on the list." James added, his eyebrow raised disapprovingly, just as his words had been. 

Jay gulped at the sight of it, knowing how intimidating the producer could be at time. Hopelessly, the assistant tried to keep his composure at the mans unhappiness of the situation but still tried to fight his corner on the matter. He wasn't lying when he said he had enjoyed the band's demo. It was different, raw and unsolicited and in his humble opinion, exactly what they band were looking for. 

"I know I just thought-"

"Oh for fucks sake, fuck it!" James snapped impatiently. He was annoyed with his assistant and had just had about enough of him, so much so that he waved away any attempts he had of explaining and just decided to it play on the demo labelled; 'This Is Why'.

The band could make their own minds up, James thought, and considering that it was an unsigned band, he knew the answer would be no, but he was past the point of caring. 

Like every other demo they had listened to so far, the same guitar, bass and drum set up kicked in through the speakers but this time it was slight different. It wasn't straight in your face like the rest, instead it was mellowed, a few pulls of the guitar strings here and there, and a quietened thump of bass, while the drums teetered on melodically in the background. Then around thirty seconds in, the singing started.

"If you have an opinion, maybe you should shove it..."

James immediately recognised the song instantly. It was a cover of the new Paramore single that had dropped recently. They couldn't even send in an original piece?  The producer chuckled sarcastically to himself. He knew that this band had no hope in hell of ever getting signed if they did that, and half expected a collective groan to sound from behind him, but those groans never came.

It pleasantly surprised him at first but as time went on, and the song still played without objection, it only served to confuse the producer further. And when he glanced around at the band that had once been sprawled out, uninterested, he saw that all four men were now sat up straight, eyes wide open as they listened intently to the singer. 

The second Alex heard the voice, her voice, he bolted upright. This was it.

Yes, it was a cover, it wasn't an original piece like all the rest had been but it was raw, it was melodic, it was... what I'd been looking for.

"Or maybe you should scream, it might be best to keep it to yourself..."

The more the voice sang into the chorus, the more Alex felt his chest tighten. It was the sound he had been longing to hear, the voice he had been searching for. Right there in front of him.

"This is it." Alex stated as a matter-of-fact. "This is what we've been looking for." He added with a nod of his head, stuck in a trance of the beautiful melody his was being treated to. 

The singers voice wasn't as aggressive as the lyrics suggested. It was soft and gentle yet it got the point across. Her voice echoed around the room, penetrating his ears and danced along his skin, making the hairs stand on edge. It pulled him into the story that was being told through the nameless woman's mellifluous proclamations and made his head dizzy in appreciation.

James chuckled at the singer's reaction. "Well it's a cover-" 

Alex quickly waved that fact. He wasn't interested if it was a cover or an original piece, all he was interested in was the voice, her voice. What he had been looking for. 

Though James couldn't let the man get carried away, there were bigger problems than just finding the "right ones", namely; "They're an unsigned band, Al." He tried to get his point across, but the smile on Alex's face told the producer that he didn't care. 

Alex had found the sound that he'd been looking for and if James knew one thing about Alex, it was when he wanted something, he'd stop at nothing until he got it.

Typical bloody artist.

That didn't dispute the fact that this was an unsigned band and unsigned bands do not and should not be going on big stadium tours around Europe. It was unheard of, nigh on impossible. 

They really should pick another, James contemplated.

But as his eyes drifted between each member of the band, their expressions concentrated and filled with enjoyment, he knew that there was no chance of that happening now. Well, I'm fucked. 

"Lemme get this straight--" James started off, gathering the men's attention. "You want to debut an unsigned band on a stadium tour?"

Waiting for an answer to his ridiculous sounding question, the producer watched the four men looked between each other, all holding the same knowing smile that James dreaded. He could tell from that alone that their answer to his question was a unanimous "yes". They did not even have to affirm it with words but wasn't going to stop them from arguing that case.

"Well, if they sound good enuf-- which they do, then yeah." Matt spoke up first, a devilish smirk on his lips as he spoke. 

Jamie was next to voice his opinion. "We were unsigned once J-man, and now look at us." The guitarist chuckled with an overenthusiastic strum of the guitar on his lap. 

Although James hated the nickname that Jamie had given him of late, and the fact that they all seemed to be gunning for this unnamed, unsigned band, the producer could not dispute that fact. They were unsigned once. The Arctic Monkeys were once an unknown just like this band and now look at them. One of the UK's biggest successes. 

"Give 'em a chance." Nick argued as the song came to the end.

The bassist looked fully invested now, which was the first time today he had been. His eyes were wide with excitement, lips curled up into a smile as he lent forward on his seat, elbows resting on his knees. He usually hated picking bands to support them and would mostly leave that decision up to Alex, Matt and James, while he and Jamie would spend the time smoking and messing around with the instruments in the room. But now hearing what he has just heard, after the countless and painstaking hours of listening to shite, he was fully in this. 

Call him Bill Belichick because he was fully ready to draft this band as if they were Tom Brady.

It was now, after the song had finally come to its conclusion, that Alex, who had quietly been admiring the singers melancholy rendition of song, spoke up with a realisation. "What's their name?"

Right their name, they didn't even know their name. James sighed as he swung in his chair back to the piece of paper on his desk. He hurriedly looked for an answer to Alex's question, having already forgotten himself as his finger traced the line of striked out names until it fell on the one he was looking for. His eyebrow raising at what greeted him, he spoke aloud; "Uh... High Priestess."

High Priestess? Alex frowned as he took the name in, intrigued by it.

"Like the tarot card?" Matt shared the same intrigued look as Alex. 

Though the drummer's smile remained permanent compared, he couldn't say the same for counterpart sitting at the mixing desk, who now seemed deep in thought, stuck in his own little world. Nothing new there then.

James just shrugged and nodded, I guess. 

He didn't even know who they were, where they were from, what the band members' names were. It was, after all, Jay's marvelous idea to put the unsigned band on the list in the first place and James would make sure that he would be having words with assistant afterwards about his little trick.

Feeling his managers stony stare on him, Jay decided it was best to speak up and give the men a bit of knowledge on the band he had so brazenly added to the list. With a clearing of his throat and tripping of his words, he explained; "They're a Welsh band from Cardiff... a trio of girl--uh women."

The assistant could still feel the eyes of his manager boring into his with a disapproving annoyance but the the rest of the band seemed to hum at the little snippet of information that he had provided them with. What he wasn't counting on however, was the barrage of questions to start flying his way from them, questions that Jay did not have the answer to. Not yet anyway. 

"What's their names?" Matt asked curiously.

"We got any pictures of 'em?" Jamie chipped in.

"Can we meet 'em?" Nick poised hopefully.

"Are they fit?" The guitarist remarked unexpectedly. A chorus of tuts and disapproving looks from the rest of the room. "What?" He was just curious. 

Matt silently pointed his ring finger, giving the man a reminder that he was in fact married and probably shouldn't be asking questions like that. Jamie being Jamie, just shrugged amusedly. No harm in asking, right?

But it was Alex's question next that, out of all of them, that Jay seemed to have an answer for. "Did they have any more songs on the demo?"

As usual, the singer had been quiet while the rest of his bandmates had bombarded Jay with questions, while he just sat and absorbed the information that he had just been given. But mostly, he had remained quiet, unable to get the beautiful harmonies of the lead singer's voice out of his head, leading him to want to hear more of it, almost on repeat.

"Uh..." James stuttered on Alex's question. He wasn't sure for once whether they had either and reluctantly turned to Jay for assistance, who happily obliged.

His cheeks hurting from smiling at the fact that his little risk had paid off, Jay pushed himself off the mixing desk and took a seat next to James. "They had, uh, two songs on the demo, I think the other song is an original piece...I can't remember the name of it." He took the laptop from James, as they both searched for the song, stopping when he had found it. "Here it is, it's called uh... 'Lost Bloody Mary'."

"Lost Bloody Mary?" Nick laughed. "I like it."

He liked their style, weird but the good kind. The intriguing kind that made you want more.

"Play it 'en mate!" Matt encouraged happily, ready to hear another of their songs.

Before the assistant could press play, however, James turned to the band with an ultimatum. He was still concerned about the fact that it was an unsigned band. "Look, I know you guys are excited but this band needs to be scouted properly." He started, gauging their attention before he continued. "So, we'll send a representative to one of their gigs, film it and have it sent to you lot to decide whether you want them supporting you or not, okay?"

At James' words, they all nodded in agreement of the plan, apart from Alex, who was too stuck in his own mind to be fully coherent. 

For him, the decision had already been made. He didn't need to see them perform to know that they were the one thing that he had been looking for this whole time. He didn't need to see what they looked like to know that her voice alone was what he had craved. 

They were fresh, raw, uncut and rough around the edges. It was everything he had wanted to have on the tour with them, something different, something... imperfectly perfect.

High Priestess.

Alex smiled as the band's second demoed song, an original composition, began to filter through the studio speakers. 

They were gonna be the next big thing.

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Tag List: @alovesreading @indierockgirrl

[stayandot8]

Chapter Two: So Only Say My Name

series summary: this one is a little different than anything else I've written. An AU where the members work in a bar with my MC, no idols among them. It's also going to be on the longer side. The fluffy Chris we know and love is nowhere to be found. He's broodier, moodier, and has jokes up the wazoo. So buckle up, kitties. This one's gonna be good 😏.

inspo: the song by Fall Out Boy.

Genre: i'm not really sure tbh

Relationship type: co-workers...

Important Contents: bar setting, so mentions of alcohol, chris is a lowkey-highkey dick, swearing as usual

a/n: Part 2 of Just One yesterday. Sorry it took so long, life has been busy. But she's back! And I hope you enjoy part 2! When you see the word count, you'll see why this took so long. okayloveyoubyeeee

WC: 12.2k

Last part l Next part I masterlist

~

“Chris that’s not-” The sound of shattering glass echoed against the walls of the restaurant. I shut my eyes so as to not make my eye roll so evident. This was the third time he had tried this trick, Han waiting in the corner to see if it would work. Han was mainly here for moral support when he wasn’t being my example of what to do. Moral support for me or for Chris, I wasn’t sure. The two had gotten close over the past two weeks and annoyingly so. Changbin as well. They already had inside jokes, sometimes at my expense. Han was the only one who apologized for the both of them during these private moments, leaving Chris and his shit-eating grin for me to peer at over his shoulder. When Changbin would dain to appear to observe, he would mostly laugh, which prompted my response ‘Don’t you have a front door to attend to?’

This was how it would go every time without fail. Chris would come in for his shift an hour early and head straight for me behind the bar for another lesson. Han would waltz in a few minutes later to join us, not because he was required to but because he wanted to watch my latest attempt not to kill Chris. They were the ultimate test of my patience and restraint. And as much as he tried me, I hated to admit that he had talent. As long as he wasn’t talking to me, he was warm and bright to anyone he spoke with. He asked questions and engaged them in conversation in ways I couldn’t just teach, they had to be lived through. The ease of his flow was melodic. A sense of comfort he exuded was special to him, I had to give him that. Each time he would turn away from them, he would shoot me a look saying ‘see? I was listening to you’. He knew how to irk me while also paying me the smallest of compliments. This game of give and take was what kept me from losing it. He had this eerie way of making me hang on his every word, searching for the compliment that would eventually come to the surface. Sometimes it was a small nod of approval. Others it was simply the silence that he held on to, unwilling to give me my credit with his words.

But when he had something he wanted to try, he was insistent. He wouldn’t shut up about it until he did it. He never really asked permission, more so told me when he was doing it. My resistance to the word ‘no’ was more so to pick my battles with him rather than actually wanting to see Chris enjoy himself. But Han’s joy was something I didn’t mind as much. 

“Chris! Dude!” Han was trying his best to control his laughter. Chris was smiling, eyeing the mess and attempting to do the same but his shoulders gave him away. 

“Go get the mop and the broom.” I said, leaning on the bar and crossing my arms. He started the familiar path to the supply closet across the dining room, his laughter echoing off the walls the further he got.

“Han, it’s not funny! He’s going to break so many bottles, Minho’s going to find out and take it out of his paycheck. Not to mention there won’t be any bottles left for me to do anything tonight.”

“Oh relax. We’ve got plenty back there. Minho won’t notice.” I rolled my eyes at his nonchalant tone and picked up the bigger pieces of glass to throw away, determined not to give Chris the satisfaction of seeing my reluctant smile forming. 

I couldn’t help it, their antics were funny! And the combination of both of their laughs were electric, contagious. Chris’s giggles were like songs that would flit in the air around him and then sprinkle over you like pieces of clouds. The feeling was soul-crushing, especially when those giggles were never directed at me. It made my inner turmoil all the more dizzying.

A splash of water distracted me from my task of washing our tools. I spun quickly, wiping it off of my neck and looking for the culprit. It wasn’t hard, as he was staring at me and had a shocked expression. Chris started towards me, hands up in surrender as he reached for a towel beside him. What he didn’t know was that I had a wet shaker in my hand, still with dish water in it. I started nodding, brushing off the beginnings of what I assumed to be apologies and launched water straight into his chest. I broke into a fit of giggles and he wiped the residue from his eyes and fought his growing smile again. 

“Okay, Sparkles. You’re in for it now.” He grabbed an empty glass from the shelf and dipped it in the still water of the sink, filling up the glass. My arms sprung out at his advances, trying to stop him, just enough to watch as he bumped into me and spilled the too-full glass all over the front of his shirt. My hands covered my mouth. We froze. His brows shot up in surprise, black shirt now soaked through down the front. It was straight out of a TV show. Of course this would happen to me. Of course it would be him. Fucking hell.

“I have a spare shirt that I bought one day that was too big for me, let me grab it.” I rushed away before he could protest, my legs heavy as they carried me to the back office toward the one thing that might save me. Hyunjin was there, taking inventory of our current bottles we kept back there for me. His short ponytail was all that I saw. He saw everything though as he glanced up from his clipboard to see me rush to pull out the extra black shirt. 

“Uh oh, what happened?” He watched me spin on my heel and rush back out without answering him. 

“Here, try this one.” His expression was vacant as he stopped trying to wring out his shirt to tentatively reach for the one I was handing him. He took it from me slowly and brought the bottom of his wet shirt above his head in front of everyone, revealing what I was sure not to forget any time soon. 

It was like slow motion. His deep V-line came first, a slight tan coming in from the warming weather outside and onto his hip bones. Next came the most defined abs I had ever seen, the kind that was earned from years of hard and consistent labor. I found my mind wondering what he had done to earn his physical evidence of such work. It didn’t wander for long though as a sharp and deliberate cough fractured my concentration. My head snapped to Hyunjin, who had appeared out of nowhere and was looking sharply at me, concern creasing his face. I shook my head and turned back to the mess on the tiled floor and did everything I could to not think of how deep of a hole I could bury myself into if I allowed it. It didn’t help when Chris muttered two words I didn’t think him capable of saying to me.

“Thank you.”

I nodded, the embarrassment still hot on my cheeks. 

The night breeze was gentle as I closed the doors and pulled out my set of keys. The faint smell of rain drying on the pavement had a way of reminding me of home. Of playing outside until my mother would yell for me down the street, running and waiting for cars to pass by, even the sound of voices followed me as I walked to my car to drive home. Oh wait.

 Those voices were actually here, not in my head. I spun and followed my feet until I found the source. It was Chris, his back turned to me. He was talking to some bigger, buffer guys in hushed whispers. One bald man, his muscles carved out in his tight white tee. The other was a shorter man with longer, mousier hair. The second was tucking whatever he had just grabbed from Chris into his pocket. Neither looked very happy to be here. I crouched behind the stone wall, peering past the corner as much as possible without letting them see me. The pounding of my heart was loud in my ears.  

“Don’t keep us waiting next time. It’s already been too long, he wants to see you.” The voice fit his build, deeper for the burly man he was. 

“I know. I’ll handle him when the time comes.” Chris’s voice was different than I had heard it before. No, this had to be someone else entirely, some personality he kept buried deep within and only let out when he needed it.

“He doesn’t like to be handled, you know that.”

“Look, you got what you came for. He’ll miss you if you’re gone for too long.” Chris’s tone was short, clipped. Trying to get them to leave was my only guess for his motive. I heard shuffling going the other way as I listened closer, waiting to hear if anyone was coming my way. I only heard one set and I stood, frozen in place as Chris walked right past me. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to make myself known and leave it to my curiosity to make that decision for me. 

“What the fuck was that?” I half-shouted as he kept walking. He stopped and turned slowly, looking like a mix of mad he was caught and ashamed of… something. He kept walking.

“It was none of your business, that’s what it was.”

“Who were those guys?” He stopped and turned to me again.

“What did I just say?” He was still, his hat casting a shadow over his face making him look even more menacing.

“If that’s what I think it was, you are putting everyone here in jeopardy if you get caught. We would all be investigated, the whole place could be shut down.” He rolled his eyes and started back to the hotel across the way. I followed him. “Do you care so little about everyone here? I know you don’t care about me but I thought since Minho had given you a shot to-”

He spun on his heel and got so close to me, I could feel his breath on my nose. I didn’t back down, ready to feel whatever he would spit at me.

“I don’t have a choice. They don’t make it a habit of letting you leave after you get involved. And you’re right. I don’t care about you. Minho gave me this job because he took pity on me. He knows what I’ve been through to get where I am now. None of which concerns you.”

“He has the most to lose if you take this place down with you. Don’t let me catch you again, I’m not afraid to tell him.” My heart rate would say otherwise with him so close to me. 

“Last I checked, you weren’t my boss.” He raised an eyebrow in silent challenge, daring me to turn him in. I simply rolled my eyes.

 “Go home, Chris.” I pulled myself out of his gravity to walk back to my car. I made it three steps before his voice called out to me again. 

“See ya tomorrow, Sparkles.”

I didn’t deign to respond, that nasty feeling in my gut telling me this wouldn't be the last time we would talk about this.

*** 

There were 49 tiles on my bedroom ceiling.

It was well into four in the morning by now. I’d been tossing and turning all night long, mulling over whether to follow through on my threat. Weighing the pros (he might get fired) and cons (he might get fired) of it all was getting exhausting. Thank God I had the day off tomorrow. I knew just who to talk to about it. 

*

“And what do we have the pleasure of getting off your chest this early in the morning?” Felix’s adorable freckles were already lightening my mood. Mixed with his new hair and the rising sun, it was the perfect elixir. 

“Oh my god! It’s blue!” 

“Mhmm. What do you think?” His eyes were so bright that I couldn’t help but reply,

“I LOVE it! You look like a blue raspberry lollipop!” He let out one of those genuine, deep laughs that made everyone around him turn to look for the source. 

“Ha ha, very funny. It was time for a change so I made one, okay? Make all the jokes you want.” His cheeks were pink as he smiled at me. “I’ll meet you at your usual table with the cupcake of the day, okay?” He nudged his chin in the direction of the approaching gaggle of customers. I nodded and strode for my table near the window. The normally busy street was quiet at this time of day with the morning sun just barely peeking out of the clouds. Felix enjoyed the morning time in his shop, the smell of coffee wafting through to the street outside. While he barely drank it himself, he liked the joy it brought others. And the smell? He once told me it brought in twice the amount of morning customers than when he didn’t brew any at all. Then he enjoyed the morning rush so much he brewed it all day long, just in case. Besides, what went better with a homemade danish?

Caught up in the bustle of working people running to work, taking a morning stroll, or going for a run, I didn’t notice when Felix brought the most delicious looking thing I had ever seen in front of me with a plastic cup full of light brown liquid, complete with a straw.

“I can see the bags under your eyes from over there. Did you sleep at all?” He’s so cute when he worries about me. It makes me wonder if he had anyone special in his life. He certainly deserved it. Come to think of it, he had never said. I wasn’t sure if he was single or not. As little as I knew about him, he sure knew about me. Enough to know when I haven’t slept, at least…

“Was my peppy demeanor at seven-thirty in the morning that much of a giveaway?” My voice was dripping with sarcasm, making Felix chuckle. He looked me over, waiting for me to give my reasoning for visiting him so early on my day off. “I trust you, Felix. I trust you more than I probably should. That’s the only reason I’m telling you this is because I need advice. I don’t know what to do.” He nodded and after a deep sigh, I continued. “Last night, I was locking up at the restaurant and I overheard Chris talking. So I went over to check it out and he was talking to some…not-so-friendly-looking dudes. I don’t want to accuse him of something that could be innocent but some of the things they said were so odd. I don’t want this to taint how you see him, I know you guys seem to have become friendly. But I’m just at a loss. I know I should tell Minho just in case it’s something sinister, but what if it isn’t and I’m making a big fuss over nothing? He didn’t deny anything when I accused him of it but that doesn;t mean anything.”

“What do you think he was doing?” Felix cast his eyes over my face, looking for something he didn't see. 

“I don’t want to put ideas in anyone’s head. I just wanted someone else’s opinion on the matter.”

“Well, if it’s what you think it was, then Minho deserves to know. He’s got the most to lose in this case. And if it’s not, what have you got to lose?”

“Me and Chris have built this sort of very fragile understanding. He’s not going out of his way to be an ass towards me anymore and it’s been kinda nice. I don’t want to disturb that if I don’t have to. But if he’s doing something to put all of us in danger then Minho deserves to know. And I can let him deal with it.” I leaned back in my chair, feeling the cool metal through my thin t shirt. I didn’t take my eyes off Felix as he listened and nodded along.

“Then I think you know what you need to do. Fragile peace between two people doesn’t seem worth everyone’s livelihood.” My shoulders slumped as his words sunk in. 

“No. It doesn’t.”

*

My knock on the office door was gentle as not to scare him away. Minho was sitting at his desk with his back to me. The pastry in his hand had Felix’s trademark dusting of powdered sugar on top. I snatched it from his hand on my way to the metal chair in front of him. 

“Minho, I need a favor.” His jaw dropped in shock at my audacity. 

“Well, that’s not a good way to start.” His eyes were hard as he reached across his paper-filed desk to snatch it back and licked it while giving me a pointed look. Minho took his pastries very seriously. I sat back in resignation and took a deep breath before I began, letting any amusement fall from my eyes.

“I want you to know that this isn’t easy for me to say because he’s your friend and you know him better than I do-” He cut me off.

“I thought you two would get past this when I asked you to teach him about bartending. Find a way to get along because both of you-”

“Minho, this is bigger than not getting along.” He shut his mouth, lips now in a tight line. He swallowed as he got up and started towards the door to survey the hallway. He closed the door and sat back down, pushing the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows and placing his hands in his lap as he cast his eyes to me again. He looked tired.

“Start from the beginning.” 

I began to tell him everything I had seen that night; the burly men, the package Chris had given them, and the words exchanged. Minho listened intently, never interrupting me but nodded along to show he was listening. 

“I don’t want to kick him out, I just think he might believe he has no other options. Minho, please tell me I did the right thing by telling you.” 

“You did. I’ll handle it, don’t worry. I’ll talk to him.”

“Okay, thank you.” My legs were heavy as they carried me out of the office. Minho followed me out but when I turned to the left to go out into the dining room, he turned right to the kitchen. Oh, he means now. I quickened my pace, finally spotting Changbin and Seungmin at the front and made a beeline for them, hoping they would protect me from Chris’s suspicions. 

“But that’s what I’m saying dude. There’s no way they would take him off the team!” Ah lovely. More sports talk. I nodded and sighed along with them, pretending to pay attention as best I could. I saw the shadow of the light in the office disappear as Minho closed the door behind the two of them.

“Hey!” Seungmin snapped his fingers in front of my eyes to snap me back to reality. 

“What? What happened?” 

“We asked if you wanted to go to a baseball game today since we three have the day off.” He was so patient when he wanted to be. 

“Yeah, that sounds fun.” I glimpsed back to the dark hallway, not daring to think about what was happening back there. “Listen, I think I’ll just meet you guys at the stadium okay? I’m gonna go home and change.” They both narrowed their eyes, checking me over.

“Are you okay? You seem flustered.” Little did Changbin know how right he was. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’ll see you guys later, okay?” I heard in the distance a certain office door shut as I desperately tried to make my escape, those glass doors so close yet so far away…

“Okay…” I felt their eyes follow me as I walked as quickly as I could without looking suspicious, pushing the door open to run to my car. The sun was high in the sky by now, beaming down on the earth and roasting it. I just stepped down from the curb leading to the parking lot. Why the fuck did I park so far away? He wouldn’t come after me, would he? 

Ten steps away.

He wasn’t the type.

Five steps away.

I wasn’t worth his anger. What could he do to me anyways?

My hand was reaching for my handle when I heard it.

“HEY!” I stopped in my tracks, my eyes squeezing shut to try and block out whatever was coming my way. I kept my hand on my car door, just in case I needed it. What was I so afraid of? I didn’t know, but I didn’t want to find out. 

“I knew you just couldn’t resist. You had to tell him, huh?” His voice was drawing nearer, hard like stone, like I was a child being scolded. My inner voice came to me from deep within my mind. Who the fuck is he to talk to me like that?

“Your mistakes aren’t worth everyone’s lives.” After a deep breath, I finally turned towards him. His hands were in his pockets, his mouth in a tight line. His jaw was set, jutting out like he was getting ready for an argument. My confidence was waning the closer he drew.

“My mistakes are none of your fucking business. And now you’ve made it everyone’s problem. If you could’ve just kept it to yourself, everything would have been fine. Now you don’t even know what you’ve done.” His face was now inches from mine, his breath floating over me with the faint smell of his lunch. 

“And if you could get your head out of your ass for two seconds, you would see that I’m actually trying to help you.” It came out of nowhere, but I felt the truth of it ring in my bones. I was trying to help him in some convoluted way that I couldn’t explain to myself. Maybe it was my innate nature that wanted kindness to rule the world but I wanted him to realize he didn’t need to do it. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth it. I was trying to make him see that this place that I loved so dearly wasn’t worth putting it at such a heavy risk. That the friendships here that he had made were not worth jeopardizing. That I…

“Well, I don’t want or need your help. So give it to someone else.”

He turned on his heel and started back towards the building, his expression unforgiving. His boots on the pavement were mocking me like they knew what I tried and failed to do for him. That fragile peace had shattered like glass, pieces broken on the gravel beneath where he stood. 

I didn’t know why I wanted him to care.

*

“Minho just texted me to tell us we should come back for drinks tonight. Says it’s a celebration.” Seungmin read from his phone before looking up at Changbin and I for confirmation. Changbin lit up. He loved after-work drinks when he didn’t have to work.

“Ya! Let’s go!” He glanced at me. “You want to come? We can drop you off at home afterwards.” I didn’t like to disappoint them, but my heart had dropped like a rock in my stomach at the mention of being near that place with him after what happened this afternoon. I started shaking my head.

“I don’t know.” I started. Seungmin interrupted. 

“Come on. I know you’re tired but we’ll just go for one drink, maybe two, and then we’ll drop you off at home. Come ooonnnn, come with usss. You don’t want to miss out on the fun, do you? You know Minho brings out the good stuff when we celebrate.” 

“Minnie, do you even know what he’s celebrating?” He was so cute when he begged. His eyes got real wide and he started pulling at me like a child in the direction we were already heading out into the parking lot of the stadium. 

“No, but you know it’s going to be fun. I know you remember what happened the last time we celebrated.” He flashed me that smile that showed all his teeth, tilting his head in invitation. The thoughts of the referred night came back in ghosts of thoughts, spots of Changbin dancing to some song by a famous girl group and shaking his hips came to the forefront. Following shortly were flashes of Jeongin singing his precious lungs out to some song no one had heard of. Hyunjin in a chair and Felix giving him his version of a ‘sexy’ dance, which resulted in Hyunjin going face-first into a corner in blushing shame. I couldn’t help my smile as the memories bounced around in my mind. So what if Chris would be there? So would seven other people. It would be easy to avoid him. I could talk to anyone else. As long as I didn’t concern myself with him, we would be just fine.

“Okay, fine. I’ll go.” Their smiles were wide as they skipped arm in arm all the way back to the car. The moon was bright, as if leading the way. I watched it the whole drive there, begging it to give me strength. 

The irony of walking in the doors I had practically run out of earlier was not lost on me. It was like returning to the scene of the crime. The others cheered and applauded as Changbin burst through the doors and waved in an exaggerated draw of his arms. Seungmin started bowing to his adoring fans sitting in the booths, waiting for us. I was bringing up the rear and laughing at them. Minho and Hyunjin were sitting on one side of the booth while Chris and Han were sitting on the other side, all of them dressed in their normal work attire of black clothes and denim. Jeongin was off to the side on a barstool beside Felix and wearing his normal choice of trendy clothes that included a sweater, a simple necklace, and slacks. Felix was in his ‘baking pants’ and covered in dried flour and powdered sugar. 

The remaining boys found other seats in connecting booths while I dragged another barstool to add to the mix. Jeongin gave me a gentle grin as I sat, which I returned. 

“You look very trendy today, Innie. What was your inspiration today?” His eyes turned brighter the more he talked about the latest trends that inspired his look for the day. I watched him speak, nodding and doing my damndest not to look to my right. I felt the stare he was shooting at me as he listened to Han talk about whatever subject he was fascinated with at the moment. When Jeongin was wrapping up his small speech, Minho stood up and disappeared across the dining room and into the hallway. 

“I wonder what we’re celebrating.” Jeongin whispered to me. I shrugged as I dared a look around the group. When my eyes stopped on Chris, he was looking straight at me but there was something on his face when I met his eyes. They shifted and I would swear they softened. He didn’t drop his gaze though. Not until Minho came back with a bottle and plastic cups. He stopped at the head of the group and paused for the group’s chatter to die down, his evil smirk setting my stomach a roiling. 

“Alright! Tonight we are celebrating! And I’m sure you’re all dying to know what we’re celebrating.” He popped open the bottle to draw out the suspense. He reveled in it a bit more when he started to pour out the liquid and passed out the cups. He crossed the group to stand near his old spot near the booth. “A drum roll please.” Everyone started patting their legs for Minho’s desired effect. “I now have a roommate!” He paused for dramatic effect, waiting for anyone to ask who. “Yes, that’s right lady and germs. Lee Minho is now no longer running a bachelor pad. I’ve decided to take in a young and poor, unfortunate soul." With that, he raised his glass to toast the group, who all followed suit. He then leaned across the table to clink his glass with Chris’s. “To roommates!” Everyone echoed and chugged their drinks, migrating to talk with the new roommates. Chris’s gaze never met mine, distracted with everyone else begging for his attention. After a few more glasses and a slip up or two, he mentioned he was going outside for some air. 

“So that was your solution?” I asked Minho, sliding into the open booth in front of him. 

“I’m installing better cameras outside as well. He doesn’t need to be in a hotel room anyways. We talked it through and we both decided that it was the best thing to do. Those guys don’t know where I live so they shouldn’t come after him anymore. And the house was getting lonely so I fixed two birds with one stone. I’m honestly a little embarrassed I didn’t do it sooner. Why, did you have a better solution?” I shook my head, quick on the defensive. 

“No, it’s just not what I thought you would do.”

“Always gotta keep you on your toes.” He winked at me, which was never a good thing. He scooched out of the booth to stand. “He’s getting his stuff tomorrow and we’re taking the day to settle in so I’m closng up tomorrow for all of you to help out. We’re starting at noon since I’m sure none of you wil be up before then!” The end of the sentence was broadcast to the rest of the room so they would hear. There were groans of protest but mainly nods of acknowledgment. Some were just excited to hear they had an extra day off. 

“We’ll be there, don’t you worry!” Changbin gave his best immpression of someone excited for it before giving me a look. “You ready?” I nodded. “Okay, Seungmin is in the bathroom and I think I may join him so just hang tight okay?”

“Okay. I’m gonna wait outside okay? He gave a thumbs up over his head as he disappeared down the hall towards said bathroom. After some very hurried goodbyes to the rest of the group and promises to see them later, I pushed the glass door open and stepped out.

The night breeze was a welcome change rather than the stuffy air inside. The trees rustling eased my tense shoulders. I rolled them back to hurry the process along. After some deep breaths, I turned to walk back in when I spotted Chris sitting on a wooden picnic bench with his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands, staring at the moon. I couldn’t look away from him. He seemed at peace, finally left to himself and his thoughts. He was swaying to some invisible music playing in his head while also in time with the breeze. I almost left him to his own devices, wanting to give him his peace when his attention broke to catch me near the door. 

“Sorry, I’ll leave you to it.” I crept back further back towards the door leading back inside when Chris waved his hand towards the bench beside him. He pat the seat beside him as he returned to staring up at the sky. My steps were so light it was a wonder I was moving at all. I moved my foot inside the bench to sit, still giving him about a foot or two of space. At which he rolled his eyes but still didn’t move. The silence we kept allowed me to calm whatever was going on inside me. The shaking was starting to take over in my legs, the anxious leg-shaking starting. 

What is he waiting for? Why did he invite me to sit next to him? Why did I do it? Is he going to kill me out here? Where no one will hear me scr-

“Do you think the moon ever gets tired of reflecting the sun’s light? He just wants to make light for himself?” What the fuck? By the time I made sense of what he was talking about, my mouth had run away with an answer I didn’t know I was waiting to give him.

“I like to think of it as him borrowing it while he finds a way to make it for himself.”

“How dare the sun keep all of it to herself. Everything needs the sun to survive. No one needs the moon.” His volume had lowered until I was fighting with the wind to hear him. I turned to fold my leg on the bench itself and face him fully. I watched him stare off, this time not quite focused.

“The tides do. Animals need the moon to see during the night.”

He got quiet again.

“I do.” His eyes were big as he watched me. “I needed it when I was younger to feel less alone. I would stare at it for hours on my rooftop, just watching it. Making sure it never left me. And it never did. It was always there.” The memory made me smile.

“Doesn’t the sun ever get tired of shining so brightly all the time?” He was still watching and it finally hit me that we weren’t talking about the sun and moon anymore.

“Yes she does. But one day, she will stop caring about what will happen and combust all on her own. It’ll be catastrophic. But that’s what happens when everything depends on you. You collapse. Burn out. Until all that is left of you is a memory.”

“But at least everyone knew her. No matter what, she made her impression on everything around her. And no matter who they are, they can’t help but watch to see what happens. What she will do next.” His eyes were a deep brown that I hadn’t noticed before. Like chocolate. 

“You get very deep when you’re drunk, did you know that?”

He hummed, his smile matching his rosy cheeks as he watched the stone tile on the patio. 

“Go home, Chris.” The words were gentler than the last time I had said them, softer with his inebriated state. He nodded, his chin hitting his chest harder as it surely felt heavy. He turned it to rest on his shoulder to look up at the moon once more. I noticed his eyes were getting droopy. Surely he wouldn’t last long out here. I wondered if I  should ask Changbin if we could take him home ourselves.

I decided against it. And just in time too as Seungmin and Changbin opened the fornt doors and peared around for us. They waved towards the car. 

“Let’s go!” Seungmin shouted. “Changbin said he needs his beauty sleep!” Changbin’s hand slapped his arm so hard he yelled. “What was that for?”

“I did not say that!” Changbin started chasing him down the parking lot towards the car, Seungmin laughing as he ran from the short, muscled man.

I decided it would end badly if I didn’t stop them soon so I rose without looking back to Chris, certain he wouldn’t even notice I had left. I was wrong.

“Bye Sparkles!” He shouted, causing a smirk fighting to be a grin. I turned to him and for once, I waved back.

***

Damn, Minho’s house was nice. No wonder he wanted a roommate.

Chris had settled in the spare room, his things now settled in various spots around the house. I got to learn things I never expected to know about him. He loved recording music for instance. He had an entire setup, equipped with a mic, some soundproof boards for the walls, and his desktop was elaborate. Felix may have offered to help him with the permanent setup, which was quickly accepted. Felix was hard to say no to. When asked if we could hear anything he’d done, it was met with a quick ‘fuck no’ and rumblng laughter. 

His new LED lights were a quick setup for Hyunjin, who’s height aided him in such a project. Of course, after this was done, he flopped on the couch with an arm draped over his eyes and said he was taking a break which ironically lasted the rest of the time we were there. 

Night had fallen now and Minho had offered to cook for everyone since they helped so dutifully. Hyunjin piped up at this and then immediately flopped back down when he was told he would go last. I was convinced we were the reason Minho had such a large dining table. All nine of us crowded around it was a comical sight, all sitting at various heights on different chairs found around the house. The idle chatter going around was ovely background noise to eat to. Felix was beside me and would turn from Hyunjin to me for conversation. It was my turn apparently. 

“Did you think all of this would happen because of you?” He whispered to me, leaning in so no one would hear. As if they could with Han’s screams of laughter. 

“I didn’t know what would happen, but leave it to Minho to find a solution that’s truly better for us all.” I picked up my fork again to stab at my vegetables while he spoke.

“I think it’ll be a good thing. Minho’s good with this kind of stuff.” Felix placed his utensils on his plate to bring to the sink where Changbin had already started on dishes. 

“What kind of stuff?” I asked, perplexed at his last comment. 

“Stuff no one else knows what to do with.” Felix took his and my plate and rose to taken them over, leaving me to think, truly think, about what I had done here. 

I had regained some peace with Chris, which was good for me and my job. Chris was living in a home now, free from the unfamiliar cleanliness of a hotel. Minho wasn’t much better, but at least he wasn’t paying night to night to live there. And we all had yet another night together, my family. 

I slipped from the dining room down the hall to find the bathroom. After relieving myself, I found my feet wandering down the hall towards the room we had just finished unpacking. A few details were different now, as we had left Chris to put out a box none of us had touched. When Han had picked it up, Chris had shouted at him to drop it. Han did, causing everyone to now look at Chris with concerned eyes. ‘Just some personal things, ya know?’ he had said in justification. ‘It’s okay dude. We get it.’ Han was ever the understanding friend and he continued with the other boxes. Now alone with his things, I couldn’t help my curiosity as the glow of the LED lights called to me. I cracked the door open, just to peek inside when I spotted said box in the corner by his new bed. Each step told me it was a bad idea but I couldn’t resist. My own nosiness would be my downfall. 

The flap of the box I peeled back revealed a set of picture frames, all with broken glass covering the details of the pictures inside. I picked up the one on top and opened the frame to see the picture. It was an older woman with three children; two boys and a young girl. The older boy had a little hat on and he was smiling at the camera, a smile I had only seen a handful of times before. It was the other two kids I didn’t recognize. The more I stared, the quicker it dawned on me: Chris had siblings. And from the looks of the picture, he seemed to be the oldest. Well that makes sense. I placed the picture back in the broken frame and dove back in the box for another, unaware that someone had walked in on my snooping. 

This second one was a photo at the beach with two children running towards the camera. The rest of the photos seemed to be of the same thing, children with a woman with them. None of them looked recent however, each of them with that yellow tint that only came with age. I brushed the dust from the broken glass to try and get a better look a them when a cough came from behind me. I dropped the frame and it hit the hardwood floor and smashed even further, breaking the glass completely. I spun to see Chris in the doorway, looking pissed as ever. Those features were back in that hard expression that only ever seemed directed at me. 

“What the fuck are you doing?” His voice was an even calm as he came over to pick up what pieces of glass he could. I tried to help but cut myself before I could do much. “You really can’t help yourself, can you? You just have to rummage through people’s things and snoop until you’re satisfied, is that it? You just have a habit of being where you shouldn’t. You should put that on your resume.” He left to grab a broom from the bathroom. I was stuck in my kneeling position on the floor, bleeding onto the wood. It didn’t hit me that I was bleeding until he shoved me out of the way to start sweeping up the glass. He was silent as he swept, the sound of shards rustling on top of each other filling the room. When he was done, he saw that I was dripping red. He left once more, returning with a bandaid in his hand. “Go wash off your hand. Check for glass.” I broke from my trance to take it from him and stand fully again. It took all my strength to look at him. His jaw was set and he still looked pissed.

“I-” I stammered as I stumbled out of the room. I finally managed to get it out. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t respond, still looking at the dried blood on his floor. Battling against my racing heart, I ran back to the bathroom to do as he suggested. Luckily there was no glass left behind as I washed the cut and wrapped it. I stayed for a minute to calm the shaking that had begun and to process everything I had seen. So he has a sister and a brother. I wasn’t sure what that meant to me, but it sounded a bell deep within. Knowing that he had other family somewhere on this earth caused a strike of jealousy through me. Mine were gone long ago. Little did he know how right he had been that first day, when he said I had no family. I created one from scratch. I found Minho and we built it from the ground up. 

Closing the door behind me, I leaned my back against it, loosening a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding in. I heard the wood creaking from the glow of the lights and Chris reemerged from his room closing the door behind him as well, still stone faced but when he spotted me, it softened just the littlest bit. He continued walking straight past me without a second glance, as if I had been art on the wall, and back into the dining room. 

*

After weeks of lessons, I told Minho that I believed Chris to be ready for a shift on his own. 

“Really?” He sounded surprised by this. 

“Yeah, I think he’s ready. He’s a natural with customers and I think he could be ready for tonight. Besides, it’s a Thursday. A very laid back night. I’ll be there supervising so he won’t be fully alone but I think he’s ready.”

“And you’re not just saying this because you want to stop teaching him?” His tone was serious even though I knew his question was not. I rolled my eyes so loudly that Changbin could probably hear it from the front door. 

“Yes, Minho. You know I wouldn’t say he wasn’t when he is.”

“Okay,” He threw his hands up in surrender. “I’ll text him and tell him he’s bartending tonight. But you have to tell Han that he’s on dish.” My mouth fell open. 

“What? That’s not-” Before I could finish Minho shoved me out the door with a maniacal laugh and shut the door in my face. I stared at it, dreading my next task. 

Han took it like a champ, as always. 

“Oh, Chris is taking over tonight? Oh cool! That’ll be fun.” His chipper attitude never ceased to amaze me. 

Chris came in at his usual time but this time he was sporting the usual attire for the front of house. The shirt I had loaned him fit his shoulders well, cut to accomodate his broad width. And the jeans he wore were tighter than he normally wore on his off days. He wore his hat backwards today, adding to his casual demeanor. He looked…normal. And that made my head spin. 

He flicked his head towards me, not saying a word just yet. That’s when I remembered what I had gotten the night before. 

“Hey.” I responded. “Go ahead and start your prep work for tonight. I need to grab something. I’ll be right back.” He nodded at me and dropped his bag behind the bar. He grabbed some fruit and was chopping when I returned, a grocery bag in hand. He looked up at me, confusion taking over when he spotted the bag. I placed it next to his cutting board and started the apology I had repeated to myself all night long. 

“It’s full of empty picture frames. I noticed they were all broken and I thought if you wanted to replace them, you could now. At the very least, I can replace the one I broke. And if you don’t want them, you could just throw them out or give them away.” He was still eyeing the bag, his hand frozen in midair. “And I wanted to apologize for that night. I had no right to go through your stuff, let alone that box. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry.” His features eased with every word I uttered. 

“Apology appreciated.” The unspoken words hung in the air. But not accepted. I undersood that. I had broken what little trust we had. I swallowed and nodded. “Can you put it beside my bag? I’ll put it in the office when I’m done here.” I quickly did so. 

“I know it’s your shift and you probably want to do all the work. But would you like some help? With the prep work and stuff. I’m bored out of my mind and I imagine I’ll only get more bored since I’m shadowing you tonight.” He chuckled. 

“Yeah sure. I noticed last night that we were out of cherries up here. Can you grab some from the back?” When he finally looked me in the eye, I saw that familiar gleam. He must be in a good mood today. 

“Yeah. Sure, no problem.” I rounded out from behind the bar where he stood and felt his eyes watch me go through the hallway and into the kitchen. Seungmin noticed my cheeks were tinged pink and beamed as he teased me mercilessly until I threatened to trade his salt for sugar. That just earned an eye roll, but at least he stopped. 

Dinner service was going fine. Spectacular even. Chris was keeping up with the tickets just fine. He even knew the answers to Jeongin’s questions about specific kinds of drinks. Chris had adopted the nickname for Jeongin quickly, calling him Innie for the entire shift. But there was one particular customer that I had been chatting with off to the side for a couple hours now that began the trouble. Chris had been busy with other customers to notice what had happened. 

“Sir, I think you’ve had just about enough to drink.” I said in my best playful voice, noticing that it had shot up an octave. 

“Oh come on, beautiful. Just one more. I promise I’m not driving home.” A lie. His keys were sticking out of his pocket. 

“Oh don’t lie to me. Let us call you a ride home, on us.” I said, still in that playful voice to try and keep him calm. I tried stepping back from him towards my phone, not realilzing that my arm was still on the bar. He lunged for my arm, spilling his drink all over the bar. He didn’t seem to notice as his grip on my arm tightened.

“Just one more! I’m not hurting anyone!” 

“Sir, you’re hurting me.” Even with this fact pointed out to him, he chose to ignore it. His hand lowered to my wrist, catching my smartwatch and popping it off. It took more force than it should have to wrench my arm free of him. Changbin had come up behind him and lifted him off the barstool.

“Alright man, you put your hands on my coworker. You gotta go.” He didn’t wait for the man to regain his strength in his legs as he shoved him out the door.

I was putting my smart watch back on when Chris came back up behind me.

“You handled that really well though. That guy was being difficult but you took him head on. It was fun to watch.” His eyes were wide, like it was still dawning on him, still processing.

“Christopher! Was that a straight compliment?” I asked, trying to keep the mood light. It was the first time a genuine smile had been directed at him instead of around him. My chuckle must have gotten to him because he smiled back at me. A real one, with no ill intent hidden in his eyes. 

“I guess so.” It was the first time I noticed that when he smiled for real, he smiled with his eyes too. He inclined his head in a small bow, bringing his eyes back to mine. I couldn’t look away from them, that twinkle a little too beautiful to be fake. He looked away first, clearing his throat to bring me back to myself. I blinked, shaking my head to clear the moment from my system and grabbed a cloth to clean up the mess, my once steady hands now quivering ever so slightly. 

The rest of the night went by smoothly. Chris seemed at ease up front, like I knew he would. He didn’t need my help but only a few times, when a cutomer asked an outrageous question that I barely knew the answer to. And when Changbin closed the doors and flipped the ‘open’ sign to ‘closed’, Han sat directly in front of Chris and shouted.

“Show us your skills, man!” Making Chris laugh was easier than expected. He was a fan of stupid dad jokes and puns. He never gave up a chance to make one. Han would laugh louder than he meant to and Changbin would roll his eyes. Seungmin would call him old, which wouldn’t end in his favor. 

I stood behind him in the back of the bar, just watching him show off the skills I had taught him to the others. Throwing the shaker to get it to spin was a real crowd pleaser. They all watched with awe as he threw every trick he had at them, some even surprising me. He had learned some off the clock as well. 

After wowing everyone with his skills, he turned to me behind him and motioned for me to sit on an empty stool in front of him. I cocked my head in suspicion but did as he bade. 

When I was seated, he others had sectioned off into conversations of their own, leaving this side of the bar to just the two of us. 

“And what can I get you, Professor?” I had to smile. 

“I’ll let you decide. Whatever you think I’ll like, I’ll go for.” He squinted at me and nodded his head as he turned to the wall of liquor and looked around for inspiration, his plump lips pursed in thought. I watched as he worked and when he noticed, he made a big show just for me about turning his back to me so I couldn’t see what he was pouring into the shaker. I giggled and turned away from him, turning my attention to the TV that was still on behind the bar. After what felt like hours, he placed a pink drink in front of me with a proud smile. 

“And what is this?” I asked, picking it up to examine it. He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically. 

“Just drink it.” It tasted delicious, notes of fruit and just the right amount of liquor to make it passable for me. 

“Its really good, what is it? Something you got off the internet?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

“Nope. It’s something I made myself. Just for you.” What?

“For me?

“Yep. I’m calling it The Sparkler.” I couldn’t help as my mouth parted in shock. No quick remarks, no response came to mind. I just sat there with my hand wrapped around the glass, staring at him. He held my stare to his credit. “Do you think we could put it on the menu? Make it a special and see how it sells?” I still couldn’t find my words, so I just nodded. He gave me that proud smile again, his eyes squinting as he walked away towards the others. I had no choice but to watch him. I drank my special concoction in silence, still reveling. By the time I was done, I needed air. And space away from the loud chatter to process the night’s events. 

I had slipped away successfully into the clear night air. Another warm night, one of my favorite things about the summertime. The day was too hot, too humid but the night? The nighttime was my favorite. Especially when the sky was clear, like tonight. So I decided to hop up on my trunk and let the moon shine on me like it had for all those years. I must have been out there a while.

“Why are you laying on your car like that?” His voice made me jump, quickly sitting up to find Chris looking at me like I had three heads. His shirt had been unbuttoned, leaving the slightest peek of chest for me to steal glances of. 

“Some of us actually enjoy looking at the stars and moon while we’re sober.” I flashed him a proud grin as I lay back down to resume my gazing. 

“I used to love it as a kid.” As if I had invited him, he climbed on my trunk next to me, the weight of him felt as the car bounced slightly. He lay beside me, as if he couldn’t help himself and turned his head to look at the darkened sky. I lay there for a moment as I waited for my car to stop bouncing, determined not to let him ruin this for me. His voice broke my silence, quiet like he was scared to disturb anything around us. “Do you think there’s life out there?”

“I think anyone who doesn’t is living in ignorance. We are one planet out of thousands, if not millions. There’s no way we’re the only ones.” I shook my head as I gazed into the abyss above us. He hummed in agreement and silence fell again. 

“Do you see that star right there?” I pointed to our left, hoping he would see the one I was referring to. He scooted towards me to get a better view of exactly where I was pointing, his shoulder now touching mine. I glanced down to our connected point, suddenly breathing very quickly. I had to focus all of my concentration to calm my racing heartbeat. 

“I think so?” 

“Now if you follow the points below it, it makes a shape like a house. Like the one you would draw as a kid.”

“Oh, I see it now.”

“It’s named Cepheus. After the husband of Cassiopeia and the father of Andromeda in Greek mythology. He was a king of Aethiopia and he tied his daughter to a rock to be devoured by sea monsters and end the plague of their kingdom.”

“Father of the year.” I chuckled, a little louder than I meant to. 

“Oh yeah. She was saved by Perseus and later married to him. It’s said that Zeus put him in the sky after his tragic end because he was a descendant.”

“And now he gets to be in the sky forever, watching other fathers be worse than he was.” We both laughed at that and it became silent again, both just admiring Zeus’s handiwork.

“When I was younger, I would go looking for my house in the sky. I loved Greek mythology so I looked up everything I could find and when I found that, it felt so specific to me that I thought it was put there just for me. So when I had to hide from the unpleasant things happening in my house, I would climb on the roof, clear or rain, to find my real home in the sky. I would tell myself that I would find a way to get home, away from them, away from all of it. Little did I know,  I would. Just not in the way that I thought.”

“Looks like we both grew up with shitty fathers.” One day, I would ask him what he meant by that. He turned to face me, his face so close I could smell his breath. The air was thick enough with his body heat radiating off of him in waves. His shoulder was still touching mine, our exhales mingling now that we were face to face. Swallowing was difficult. My eyes flickered to his full, plush mouth. The thought of what it would be like flashed before me in soft, feathery light. And just for a moment, I thought it might be nice. 

“You’re not who I thought you’d be, you know.” I said as I broke the trance we were in, turning back to the sky. He did the same, moving one arm on his chest and the other down to the side between us, a small brush on my pinky finger before it was moved away.  . 

“I could say the same for you.” Our words hung together in the air above us, hefty after what had occurred between us these past weeks. There was an electricity that surged, an understanding we had come to; we weren’t so different after all. 

His pinky had crossed over mine so gently I thought I had imagined it. I felt the words he couldn’t manage to say aloud. Thank you. I curled my finger, locking in an unspoken promise. I’m not going anywhere. He didn’t flinch like I thought he would, seemingly needing it as much as I did. We laid there a moment, pinkies locked like we were children and breathing in the night air once more. 

“We should probably get back inside before they wonder where we are.” He said quietly. He didn’t move, as if he too didn’t want to break whatever was happening between us. We stayed perfectly still, neither of us daring to tear our fingers apart as we watched the sky. 

*

I thought about that moment a lot over the next few days. I would be washing our bar dishes when the thought would come back to me and my fingers would be pruned when I came to. Or Han or Changbin would come up to the bar and snap their fingers in my face to snap me free, saying I had been staring at the wall for ten minutes. I didn’t know what had come over me. I was overanalyzing every second of that night, wondering if I had imagined it. If I had, then it was a nice moment that my subconscious had given me. If not, then… I shook my head, unable to focus on the thought for fear that some deeper feeling would emerge.

I didn’t see much of Chris over the next two days. He would come in whenever I would be in the office and I wouldn’t see him during service because of how busy we were. And by the time we were done, he would go home right after work, not wanting to stay. By the time Sunday rolled around, Minho asked if I would be alright serving instead of bartending for the night. 

“I want to show him we trust him so I think he’ll be okay without a shadow.” I nodded in agreement and started back out to the kitchen to prepare for the dinner service when Chris walked in through the back door. His hair was disheveled without a hat and his shirt was unbuttoned all the way. His cheeks were flushed and he was panting, like he had been running. A chorus of ‘hey’s flooded the ktichen as he dropped off his bag in the corner and went straight for the office without a second glance at any of us. 

“What's with him?” Han asked as he put away the latest load of dishes. I shrugged. 

“Maybe he was just running late.” I responded. It was Han’s turn to shrug as he went back to the dishes, his apron hitting the floor as he did. I grabbed what I had come for and pushed the doors of the dining room open, passing the closed door of the office on the way. My gut was screaming at me to pause and listen but the last time I let my curiosity get the better of me, it ended badly. I ignored it. 

Some time later, Chris was heading behind the bar to start his prep work, his expression not really changed from when he arrived. Well, his shirt was buttoned and his hair was brushed now but his cheeks were still pink. I sauntered over to him and knocked on the wood of the bar to grab his attention. He turned to spot me, flicked his head in greeting, and got back to chopping. Hmm. 

“You must be excited to not have a shadow looming over you tonight. It can get pretty crowded back there.” He shrugged, his mind preoccupied with something. “Chris?” He turned to me again, his face blank. “Are you good? You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just trying to finish this.” He clipped then resumed his slicing. 

“Okay. Sorry.” He didn’t respond. So I guess that’s the end of that. What is with this guy? Everytime we had found common ground or made an attempt at a friendship, he shut down faster than a computer. I pondered it the entire shift.

Sunday nights were nights no one wanted to stay back. Tonight was no exception. One by one, everyone who had clocked out left with a half-hearted goodbye and went home, leaving me and Chris to finish up the closing activities. Because of course.

Chris was finishing up putting the bottles and glasses away as I mopped the floor. We hadn’t spoken much that night, only speaking when it had to do with work. A ‘hey, can you make this’ here and a ‘can you grab me some more oranges’ there, nothing of note. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except it was. For him and I at least it was.

I was just finishing up as Chris reappeared from putting the last of the empty dish racks away. He walked over to the clocking station, punched in his numbers with his bag on his shoulder, and grabbed a plastic cup from the side of the soda machine. He went behind the bar and poured himself a beer, grabbed his bag again, and sat in a booth on his phone. I watched him do this with a bewildered look. The fuck is he doing? I voiced such a question. He looked up from his seat, seemingly surprised I was asking.

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“I have no idea. That’s why I asked.” I retorted as I resumed my mopping. 

“Well, you’re the last one here and it’s dangerous for anyone to be out late at night. So I’m waiting for you.” I almost dropped the mop handle. 

“What?”

“Especially for a woman late at night. We can’t have you getting kidnapped. Then who would help me give Minho a hard time?” Was he being serious? His face said yes. I stared in disbelief. 

“I don’t understand why you’re so nice sometimes and then not.  I say something nice, you say something nice back. You make a joke, I laugh because I think it’s funny and we’re good. And then a switch flips and you’re back to being an asshole. And then it flips again. I don’t get it. What have I done to deserve that? There’s so much back and forth with you, I don’t get it.” I shoved the mop back in the bucket and pushed it back to the sink in the kitchen, droplets of water following me with the force I was using. “I think we can be friends and then you snap at me like I’ve done something to offend you when I know I haven’t. Why do you do that? Do you dislike me that much? That you can’t stand to be nice to me for more than twenty-four hours straight?”

“Oh like you’re much better.” He retorted, following me into the empty kitchen. “You can’t seem to look at me in any other way than in disgust except when I do something for you. Like I couldn’t possibly be good enough to stand in your vicinity.”

“Oh please.” I dumped the water and almost threw the bucket back into the supply closet. Chris was right on my tail. 

“You know it’s true too. Just when I think it’s safe, you give me one of those looks that tells me exactly what you’re thinking.” I was desperate for something to get me away from him. I looked in all directions, noticing the still full trash by the door waiting to be taken out. Perfect.

“And what am I thinking, Chris?” I asked as I tied the bag and pulled, certain he wouldn’t follow me outside. 

“You know your face gives everything away. I can still read you, even better now. I know when you’re thinking ‘hey, we could be friends’ and then it’s wiped away when I haven’t done anything to you!” He held the back door open, knowing it would lock me out if he let it shut. He continued. “Do you know how that feels? Having done nothing to someone and to know that it will never be good enough to be seen?” 

“Why do you think I made myself invaluable here? Because I was bored?” I brushed past him and ran for the clocking station. I punched in my numbers, seeing the screen turn colors from the strength I didn’t know I had. ‘Clocked Out’ flashed and I ran for the office.

“Why do you keep following me everywhere?!”

“Because I am in physical pain when you walk away from me! I can’t stand it when you do that. And you do it often and it scares me when I can feel my chest collapse with every step that you take.”

Everything stopped. The trees stopped rustling outside. The wind stopped blowing. Like nature gasped and waited, listening for what would happen next.

“Why does it do that? Huh? Why can I feel every crack when you walk out that door? What is wrong with me that being anywhere but near you brings me to my knees? Why can I feel my heart beating in my chest even now?” I didn’t dare turn to face him. I couldn’t. He had taken the wind out of me. 

“What have you done to me?” His voice cracked at his words. My own heartbeat was the only thing I was sure of. And even that was a faint ringing in my ears compared to what was just laid out before me. 

What that the feeling that I had been ignoring this whole time? The voice in my head whispered what I already knew. I heard his footsteps behind me. There we both were, finally standing face to face in the middle of the dining room. His eyes boring holes into mine, desperately seeking any kind of answer to his plea. I found what was left of my voice.

“What?” 

“Why do you consume my every thought? Why is it you that I dream about?” It was that moment that I realized I had been doing the same thing. There was a reason he was always on my mind, a reason that not a day went by without thinking about him. It hit me like a blow to the stomach. 

This time, I let my curiosity win out. I crushed my own lips to his, finally knowing for myself what those lips felt like. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he wrapped his around my waist, encircling me like I might slip away from him. He opened his mouth enough to encourage the same from me, leaving him free to bite my bottom lip in a hungry mess. My own instincts took over as my hands moved from his neck to his hair, pulling enough to make him groan in my mouth. Oh god. 

 He held me there until I felt like I might pass out from lack of oxygen. I let go and pushed him away, stumbling back a few steps. My mind was reeling from the last five minutes, going from his words to the ridiculously addictive quality of those lips. I couldn’t look away from them, as red as they were. I was sure mine were the same.

“This was not what I had in mind when you said you were waiting for me.” He laughed sheepishly, burying his face in his hands. He was cute when he was shy. My own amusement at what had just occured was finally dawning on me. I couldn’t help the fit of giggles that were coming about. He peeked through his fingers at me. 

“What? What are you laughing at?” His smile reached his eyes making them squint, his cheeks still flushed. 

“Nothing! I’m not laughing at anything. I can’t believe what just happened.”

“I can’t either.” He sighed. “Go get your bag so we can go home.” Oh. Right. 

This time, he let me go alone, my footsteps the only sound bouncing off the walls. When I came back, he was sitting at a booth inspecting his hands. His bag was on his shoulders. He looked dazed until he heard my footsteps coming closer and beamed at me as he stood. He reached a hand out towards me. It took me a second to realize what he was doing. I folded mine into his and we headed for those big glass doors. He let go only for me to lock the door and quickly reclaimed my hand, as if it belonged to him now. 

“I guess we have a lot to talk about.” He nudged me with his shoulder as we kicked the gravel on the way to our respective cars. More of the giggles from earlier were coming back.

“Yes, we do. But I can’t form a coherent thought right now. How about we talk tomorrow? Give us time to process and think about what this means? More specifically, me?” He smirked as he grabbed my other hand and stopped me a foot from my car door. 

“Alright, fine. Tomorrow then. We can do breakfast at Felix’s, how’s that? My treat. Call it a date.” He had such hope in his eyes that I couldn’t say no. 

“Only because he knows how to keep a secret. He won’t tell the others.” He nodded in agreement. “And it’s not a date.” His hope deflated. It was my turn to smirk. “Not yet. You’re taking me out to dinner first.”

“Or I could cook for you? I haven’t shown off that particular skill yet.” I raised my brows at him. 

“All to be discussed tomorrow. I promise to keep my mind open, okay?” He dropped my hands and he stepped backwards towards his car, not parked far off.

“Okay. Then I will see you tomorrow then.” I nodded, watching as he turn on his heel and stuffed his hands in his pockets. I opened my own door as he did the same, pulling out shortly after and reliving that kiss the whole drive home.

[libraryofloveletters]

buck x fem reader work together / secretly dating but they act like they hate each other and the team doesn’t know. reader is also bobby’s daughter (or niece up to you) and scared of his reaction (prompts 17, 37, 42, 81)

Unconventional

Evan Buckley x Reader 

Prompts: #17: “We shouldn’t be doing this”, #37: “Uh why is your shirt inside out?”, #42: “I love you”, #81: “I can explain” 

Warnings: fem!reader, worrying, vulgar/suggestive comments (kinda but not really ?), suggested sexual content, a few swear words, kissing, mentions of hospitals, surgery and injuries. 

Category: fluff with a lil angst 

Word Count: 4.4k

Author's Note: I wrote it as bobby’s niece, it just made more sense :) hope you liked it!! 

---- 

Evan Buckley was a pain in your ass. 

He had been since the day you met him. His annoyingly attractive face, his stupid pretty blue eyes and his smile, not to mention how sweet he was. You couldn't help but hate him. Not in the typical “I hate your guts and hope you fall down a flight of stairs” way but in the “god you’re gorgeous and I want to marry you” way. 

Did you plan on liking the ridiculously attractive firefighter ? Most definitely not. 

Were you also planning on dating him in secret ? Also a no. 

Hence why you were sitting in his jeep on a Saturday at 3 in the morning. The two of you had gone on a date to this little restaurant outside of the city but everything that could go wrong kind of did go wrong.

Buck’s shift was supposed to end at 6 but they got a call last minute so he didn’t get home until 7:30. You called to push the reservation back and when he did pick you up, you got stuck in traffic. By the time the two of you got to the restaurant, it was 8:30 and the woman said she called to see if the two of you still needed the reservation but there was no answer (she didn’t call but neither of you were in the mood to argue) - Now it's 9 pm and the two of you still haven't had dinner. Venturing down the block, there was nowhere that seemed appealing. The night really began at some random mom and pop dinner you spotted by the beach. Deciding to have your own little dinner date on the beach, it was now 9:30. Buck had a blanket in the trunk (you didn’t ask why nor did you really wanna know) and you sat on the beach and had dinner. Time flew by, it was around 1 when the two of you began wondering what time it was. 

The date was now prolonged by Buck’s craving for something sweet so once again, the two of you were on a hunt but for somewhere to go. He googled the closest ice cream parlour but most places were closed, he searched until he finally found a place that was 20 minutes away. It was totally worth the drive considering it was some of the best ice cream you've had in your life. Which now brought you to 2:20 in the morning, the two of you were still sitting on the hood on his jeep, a container of half eaten ice cream between you. 

Buck looked over at you, a smile on his face. “Did you have fun ? despite, you know, all the shit that went wrong ?” you chuckled, “I did.” Buck had a shift at 11 so it was time for the night to come to an end. One of his hands held yours and the other on the wheel, you were staring out the window as the breeze blew by. 

“Something on your mind babe?” Buck asked you, glancing over at you as you turned towards him. 

“We shouldn’t be doing this” you mumbled, you didn’t want to end things with him but that didn’t mean that you didn’t have doubts about where this relationship was going. “What do you mean ?” he asks, his eyes on the road. “I mean how long are we going to hide this from everyone ?” your eyes back out the window, Buck sighed and the conversation dropped. There were a few minutes of silence and the tension filled the car, Buck finally spoke up “you were the one that didn’t want to say anything.” his voice came off a bit harsher than you expected, letting go of his hand, your body shifted towards the door and way from him. He noticed your change in emotion and seating. 

“Babe, I'm sorry. It's just that you didn’t want to say anything and it’s entirely your choice. I get it but we can figure it out. One step at a time, okay ?” Buck looks over at you when he pulls into the parking lot. “Yeah, I know. It’s fine.” leaning over the console to press a kiss to his cheek.  “Good night Buck, thank you for tonight” you give him a smile and get out of the jeep. Buck follows you, “let me walk you up,” he grabs your wrist, the two of you stopped in the middle of the parking lot. “That’s fine, I'll text you so you know I’m okay. You need to get home anyways, you have a shift and you need your sleep” shaking your head, you pull your hand away from him and head inside before he can ask again. 

He was right, it was your choice not to say anything but you weren't sure how your uncle would react. This relationship wouldn't just affect your relationship with him but also his relationship with Buck. You didn’t- couldn't let Buck jeopardize his work life for his love life. 

Shutting the door once you get into your apartment, you send a text to your boyfriend. 

To Lover Boy Buck: I’m home, text me when you get home. Sleep well <3

From Lover Boy Buck: Just pulled in, goodnight babe 

----

Athena’s birthday was on Saturday and Bobby had planned a surprise party for her. With a little help from May, things were in place. 

Bobby had taken Athena out for lunch at some fancy cafe that was impossible to get into and then to see a play. While they were out, you headed over to their place to help May set up. Upon arriving, you saw that Hen was already there as was Buck. 

“Good afternoon my loves!” you shout as you walk over to the kitchen. “I come with coffee” you hand a cup to May and the other to Hen, the two are thankful for the coffee as you had a shit ton of decorating to do and only a few hours to get it done. Buck leant against the wall by the kitchen entryway, “where's mine?” he asked which made you roll your eyes. “Didn’t know that you were gonna be here, no one invited you anyways.” you reply, sorting through the packages of balloons on the table, you toss one and it hits him square in the face. 

“Ow!” he shouts, rubbing his cheek. 

“Oh did I hurt you ?” you ask, pouting at him mockingly. 

Considering the weird note that the two of you left on during your last date, plus not being able to see each other that week left things in a bit of a mess. 

May and Hen exchange glances, “Buck, how about you help put up the banner in the backyard ?” she practically dragged Buck by the arm and into the yard. May was in the kitchen icing some cupcakes that she and Harry had made the night before when she called for you. 

“Why don't you get along with Buck ? I don't know him all the well but he seems like a good guy” May pleads his case unintentionally. 

He is a good guy 

“Ever meet someone and you just don’t like them ?” you ask, she hums. “That’s me with Buck” is what came out instead. 

“I get it.” she nodded, she began telling you about a guy in her chemistry class that just got on her nerves all the time. You excused yourself when the doorbell rang. Chim and Maddie had arrived right as Karen pulled into the driveway with Denny and Nia. You let everyone in and they began helping too. About an hour later, Eddie arrives with Chris and the cake. You take the cake from him so he can help Chris with his jacket.  

“Buck!” you shout

“Yeah ba- yeah ?” he corrects himself last second. Your eyes widen at the word that almost slipped out of his mouth. No one seem to catch it except for Chim who gave you a weird look but you just brush it off. 

“Take this, I need to change.” you hand the cake off to him and head to the bathroom to change into your dress. A few moments later, there was a knock on the bathroom door and then it opened. 

“Hey! I'm chang- oh it’s just you” you mumble as he shuts the door. Buck’s back pressed up against the door. “Are you just gonna watch me or are you going to help me?” you turn, your back towards him now. Pulling your hair over your shoulder, you feel one of Buck’s hands on your waist and then the tug of the zipper.  

“Must you always fight with me, y/n ?” he presses a kiss to your shoulder, his arms wrapping around your waist. “Must you always get on my nerves, Evan ?” you were looking back at him in the mirror, he flashed you a smile and nodded, a rather amused look on his face. “Yeah, it's kind of my job to irritate you” his arms loosen as you turn around to face him now, leaning back against the counter. “Well I guess then I have to fight with you” running your hand through his hair, he leans into you, his forehead against yours. 

“You know, they say make love, not war” he whispers, his lips almost touching yours. A little chuckle slips past your lips, “is this your way of saying that we should stop fighting ?” you mumble as you press a kiss to his lips. Buck pulls you closer to him - which you didn’t even think was possible, “no, it’s my way of saying we should make love” he smiles against your lips as he lifts you up onto the counter and you let out an obnoxiously loud laugh. “Oops” a hand comes up to cover your mouth. Buck can't help but smile, you were adorable and all he wanted was to go out there and tell everyone that he’s in love with you, something he hadn't even told you yet, but at last, he could not. 

“You’re cheesy, you know that right ?” looking up at him whilst you fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “If you want to fuck me, just say so” he tells you to which you reply “you're so vulgar Evan” while rolling your eyes. 

“Oh I'll show you vulgar” he chuckles and pulls off his shirt, his hand reaching behind you to unzip your dress. 

--

Buck left the bathroom first, the house had filled up within the 20 minutes the two of you were in the bathroom. He ran his hand through his hair in hopes to fix it from the tugging that just happened. As he stepped out into the backyard, his sister’s voice called out to him.

“Buck!” she walked over, “you’ve been so busy I haven't gotten a chance to say hi yet” she pulls her brother into a hug. Maddie’s face screws into a confused look. “Did you try a new body wash or something ?” she looks up at Buck, his brows furrow but he shakes his head. “Why?” he asks, “you smell like mint” she informs him. 

You step out into the backyard, a tube of mint chapstick between your fingers,  being applied to your lips. Buck’s eyes were on you, watching as the tube rubbed across your lips, his mind back to those lips were moments ago. Chimney’s voice caused him to pull his eyes away from you and onto him. 

“Uh why is your shirt inside out?” Chim asks him, brows raised. Buck looks down and his shirt is on inside out, “uh, I- uh I had to change.” he says, hoping they’d believe him. 

“You had that shirt on when we got here.” Chim had a puzzled look on his face. 

“Oh Christopher is calling for me, excuse me” Buck walks off before they could say anything. He did indeed make his way over to Eddie and Chris, you were on the other side of the backyard when your phone chimed. 

From Lover Boy Buck: Couldn't you have told me my shirt was on inside out?

To Lover Boy Buck: And how was I supposed to know that ? I didn’t have time to look at you

From Lover Boy Buck: Oh really ? You had plenty of time a few minutes ago 

To Lover Boy Buck: Behave. 

From Lover Boy Buck: Make me. 

You roll your eyes at his comment, May coming out and shouting that they just pulled in. Everyone stood by the backdoors, waiting for Athena and Bobby to come in. 

Athena had a blindfold on as Bobby led her down the stairs to the backyard. “I swear if you did somethin-” he undoes the blindfold mid sentence. 

“Surprise!!” everyone shouts, Athena had a huge smile on her face. She turns to Bobby, “you did all this ?” he smiles but shakes his head, “I had some help” nodding towards May, Athena walked over to her daughter to give her a hug. Bobby and Athena went around to say hello to everyone, Bobby coming over to you and Eddie, Buck and Chris were sitting beside each other. “Hey” Bobby smiled at the two of you, “hey” you smiled back before you gave him a hug. 

“What do I own you for today ?” he asks you

“Nothing at all, I'm glad I could help.” 

“Are you sure kid ?” 

“Yeah, I'm good. I’ll let you know if I need something uncle Bobby” 

He smiles and goes off to talk to Chim and Maddie. Eddie switches places with Buck, Christopher showing his father the trick that Buck just showed him. “You’re good with kids” you tell him, “yeah, I know” he replies. “You're also an arrogant asshole but perspective I suppose.” Buck chuckled at your comment, watching as you walked away. 

It was a while before you sat down for dinner, you were in the house with Bobby, helping him bring stuff out while everyone got seated. When you returned, there were two seats left. One at the head of the table, which was where your uncle was currently headed, leaving you no choice but to sit beside Buck. “Pass me the green bowl ?” he asks you, “no thanks” you reply nonchalantly. Bobby gives you a look, “y/n, pass him the bowl” you sighed and handed the bowl to Buck who was snickering. It took all of you not to smack this man in front of everyone. 

A hand on your upper thigh startled you, you coughed and Eddie looked at you from across the table, his brows furrowed. Your hand comes down to rest on top of Buck’s. Chris followed his father’s look over to you, “are you okay y/n?” he asked you sweetly, you smiled at him. “I’m okay buddy, thank you for asking” Buck bit the inside of his cheek, holding back a smile. Oh how he wanted to kiss you right now, but again, he couldn't really do that, could he? He settled for holding your hand under the table like teenagers for now. 

----

8 o'clock and you were supposed to be there 20 minutes ago. Bobby was probably there wondering where you were. You were supposed to be having dinner with your uncle tonight to tell him about you and Buck. Buck offered to tell him but you felt like it was only right for you to tell him. 

You dialled the number but it rang out. You assumed he was still driving or maybe he was ruining late too. The phone rang while you searched for something to wear. It was Bobby. 

“Hey!” you answer, “I'm gonna be a little late” 

“Y/n, we’re gonna have to take a rain check on dinner.” Something was wrong, you could tell from the way he answered. 

“Everything okay ? Are you still at work ?” 

“I’m at the hospital.” 

“What? Why? Are you okay ? Is it Athena ?” 

“Athena and I are fine. It’s Buck, he’s in surgery right now. I don't think I'll be leaving anything soon. I’m sorry about dinner.” 

Your heart dropped when he said it was Buck. 

“Did anyone tell Maddie ? Do you want me to pick her up ?” 

“It's alright, Chim went and got her. You don't have to come, we’re ok-” 

“I’ll be there in 10 minutes” 

Grabbing the keys, you’ve never run down the stairs so fast in your life. The whole drive over, it felt like the world was moving in slow motion. He’d still be in surgery when you arrived but you needed to know what happened. 

I love you Evan Buckley. 

The 5 words replaying in your head over and over again. The 5 words you hadn’t gotten the chance to say to him. The team plus Maddie and Athena were in the waiting room. Bobby came over and gave you a hug, “is he okay ? Did you guys hear anything ?” you ask as you sit beside Maddie. “Not yet” Bobby returns to his seat. 

“Mads, I'm sorry” you gave her a hug, she gave you a small smile. “It’s okay. Buck’ll pull through. He always does.” 

-- 

3 hours later and still nothing, he had been in surgery 2 hours prior to you arriving, bringing it to a total of 5 hours. Athena and Bobby left for a few minutes to see if they could get an update on him. You looked around the room, Eddie was leant against the wall, his legs on the chairs in front of him, Hen stood by the window on the phone with who you assumed was Karen. Chim’s arm was wrapped around Maddie, her head resting on his shoulder. 

Bobby and Athena returned telling everyone that there was no update other than he was still in surgery. Your leg bounced as you waited, Bobby rested a hand on your knee when he sat back down. 

“You okay kid ?” 

“Mhm hm why ?”

“You only bounce your leg when you’re nervous. You’re sure you’re okay ?” 

“Yeah, I'm gonna go get some coffee” you announce as you get up. If you spent another minute in that room, you were going to combust, you couldn't take it. “Does anyone want anything ?” there were a few mumbles of no but Eddie gets up and says he’ll come with you. The two of you walk down the hallway to the other end. Slipping a bill into the machine, it buzzes and then nothing. Eddie watches as you push the button a few times. Frustrated and tired, your hand smacks against the machine. A few nurses glare in your direction. 

“Hey, go get some air okay ? I’ll get the coffee and meet you outside” Eddie’s hand on your back, leading you to the doors.

“Eddie, I'm fine” 

“Y/n, go. You’ve been in here for a while and honestly, I could use the air too.” 

Not in the mood to protest, you step outside. It was a little past 11 now, it was dark and cold out. Your back pressed up against the brick wall, the coldness seeping through your shirt. A hand running over your face in an attempt to wake you up, you sigh as the door opens. 

“Here” Eddie handed you a mug that didn’t look like it came from a machine. The mug read “#1 nurse” on it and his says “world’s best mom” your brows furrow, looking at the man standing beside you. “I sweet talked one of the nurses, it's fine. I promised to return the mugs when we're done.” he says casually, making you smile. You had always enjoyed Eddie’s company, he didn’t ask questions or poke around in your life, he just lived in the moment. 

“Cute shirt” he chuckles, looking down at the blue t-shirt you had on. You hadn't realized that you left wearing it. “Oh thanks” you mumble, taking a sip of coffee. “It’s Buck’s, isn't it?” he asks, you almost choked on the coffee. 

“Wha- why would you ask me that ?” 

“It reeks of his cologne,” Eddie chucked. “I’ve known for months, y/n. The two of you aren't as slick as you think.” 

“Who else knows ?” 

“No one that I know of, Chim has an idea but he hasn't said anything” 

You hummed, looking out at the parking lot in front of you. “Does Bobby know ?” Eddie’s eyes practically burn into your side.

“I was going to tell him tonight.” 

Eddie’s phone buzzed before he could say anything else. “Let’s go in, the doctors are out.” Eddie followed you into the building and back into the waiting room. The doctor has just stepped in, she glanced back at you and Eddie, “Are you here for Buckley as well ?” 

“Yeah, how is he?” Eddie asks, the two of you step further into the room. “He’s stable as of now, we managed to stop the bleeding. He’s asleep but he’s got a long road ahead of him.” the doctor inform everyone, you watch as Maddie lets out a sigh, her hand squeezing Chim’s. “I can take someone in, if they’d like to go in” Chim let go of Maddie’s hand as she went to follow the doctor down the hall. Eddie could sense the change in body language, you were relaxed until Maddie stepped out with the doctor. His hand rests on your back again, “let’s sit down. You can go in after” he whispered to you. To anyone else in the room, it would look like something was happening between you and Eddie but he was just comforting you. There was nothing happening. 

The person you were in love with was laying in a hospital bed at the other end of the hallway. 

One by one, everyone went in to see him. Chim went in first, meeting Maddie in his room. When they return, they let everyone know he’s awake. Bobby and Athena are next, they go in for a few minutes. Hen was after them, you could hear them laughing from the other end of the hallway. 

It was so good to hear him laugh. 

You and Eddie went in last. Eddie sat beside his bed on the chair, he and Buck having a conversation. Eddie looked over at you, you were standing by the door. “I think I'll go call Chris and let him know you’re alright” Eddie pats Buck’s shoulder before stepping out the room. 

Buck’s attention was now on you. “hey you” he mumbles, trying to shift into a sitting position. “Don’t move, you’ll rip your stitches.” you take a seat where Eddie was a few moments ago. Buck’s hand reaches for yours, although he was awake, his hand felt cold. Your hand rubbed against his, his eyes on you. Neither of you say anything to the other. 

“I thought I lost you for a minute there.” 

“You’ll never lose me, y/n” Buck’s hand squeezes yours. 

“But I almost did and I hated every minute of it.” the tears welling up by your eyes, you blink a few times to get rid of them but instead a few slip down. Buck reaches up to wipe your tears, his hand cupping your cheek. 

“All of this for me ?” he teases, “there was no need to worry, you know that, right?” 

“You scared me you ass, don't do that” you sniffle, your hand wrapping around his wrist. 

“Y/n, I need to tell you something” his eyes were on yours, now you were worried again. “Okay, what is-” 

“I love you” he blurts out. 

“Oh Buck” you breathe, the soft expression on his face changes to a worried one. “Oh god, I'm sor-” your hand comes up and covers his mouth. 

“I love you too” you smile at him, you can feel him smile against your hand. Moving your hand to his cheek, “you do ?” he asks, you nod. “How can I not ?” Leaning out of the chair, your lips meet his. Your hand is still cupping his face and his hand lifting off the bed to meet your waist. Shifting from the chair to the bed, you sat beside Buck, your lips still on his. 

“Excuse me?” someone clears their throat, Buck pulls away to look at who's by the door. Bobby stood in the doorway, his arms folded in front of him and a rather amused Athena beside him. Buck’s eyes widen, you look over your shoulder to see your uncle standing there. 

“I can explain. Bobby I-” Buck starts, but Bobby cuts him off. “It’s okay Buck, I know.” he steps into the room. 

“You do?” the two of you say at the same time, both of you looking at him. Bobby nods, “I might be old - well older than you two but I’m not dumb” he chuckles, “if anything, you two are the dumb ones for thinking I wouldn't know.” he says 

“I was going to tell you at dinner” 

“I figured as much, I also figured you’d want to be here when Buck woke up” 

“Thank you for calling” you smile at him, he gives you a nod. “Everyone is heading home, are you going to stay with him ?” 

You hum, your attention back on Buck. You could hear Athena and Bobby whispering in the back and then the door shuts. Buck shifts slightly on the bed, making space for you. Laying on your side, beside him, your finger traces over the words tattooed on his forearm. The world had come to a pause finally, the things around you didn’t matter right now. Everything you cared about was beside you, the hospital wasn't the ideal place but all you cared about that he was okay. 

“Tell me again” you whisper, your head on his shoulder. Buck turns his head to look at you. 

“I love you y/n l/n” 

“I love you Evan Buckley” 

Turns out you did get to say those 5 words after all. 

--- 

Taglist: @reiidsbby @ssa-volturi @advicefromnixxxx @dralexreid @keenmarvellover @venusrosepetal @mikaelson-emma @beth-winchester21 @averyhotchner

[absolutepokemontrash]

MC’s half Demon, and they look AWFULLY familiar...

‘Kay guys, I got a different kind of stupid Headcanon to throw at you. Get ready!

Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Part 2.5 Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Lessons 13-15 Part 3 Part 4

*ahem* picture if you will, it’s the day the exchange program is set to start. The student council (nix Mr. Kill All Humans, Weeb-supreme, and our Scummy Sweetheart) have assembled to welcome the new human student. All is going according to schedule, the portal opens up at eight am sharp, they hear the pitiful screams of the selected human who was not given a heads up about the whole thing, and the poor little human falls straight onto the marble floor.

There’s something a tad... off about this human don’t you think? After they’ve peeled their sorry ass off the floor they observed the assembled student council with an air of sophistication and self importance that no one expected. Their posture was perfect, their eyes sharp and calculating... they bared a striking resemblance to-

“Lucifer,” Diavolo looked to his right hand man, then back to the human. “The human kind of looks like you!”

And out popped four pitch black wings from the human’s back and two small horns out of the sides of their head, one horn was a bit bigger than the other. They even still had some of their down feathers! How cute!

((Content warning: Swearing (I have a potty mouth, forgive me), but that’s it.))

Luci-dad

So, the MC is Lucifer’s kid! Of course Mr. Prideypants immediately tries to recall exactly what little romp in the human world uh... spawned this half-human half-demon child of his. Good thing MC’s got the other parent on speed-dial.

“Please note, MC,” Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose upon hearing Asmo take even more pictures of his newly discovered hellspawn. “I was not aware of your existence, if I was I’d-”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m not upset.”

Lucifer blinked a few times in surprise. “P...pardon? You aren’t upset?”

“No, my parent told me that my father was a high ranking demon, and they bare no ill will against you. Though, I am looking forward to this whole... exchange program thing.”

Oh wow, that was easier than Lucifer thought. Damn. Well, he was a father... (let’s be real, he’s been parenting his brothers for thousands of years, and a good chunk of you sinners call him daddy)

MC is probably the most protected student at RAD, despite the fact that they have no visible security detail whatsoever. They didn’t want to be seen as... weak and pathetic.

Something about this human just... set the lesser demons on edge. Any talk of eating them was stamped out on the first day when they walked by. It’s like Lucifer himself was staring at them, daring the demons to try and bother the human. MC’s powerful presence kept them protected and feared.

...at least until dear uncle Asmo decided to do their hair one morning. All those ribbons may have looked adorable but they kind of ruined the intimidation factor.

MC loved to mess with the other students, keeping their lineage a secret for the first little while just made it so much funnier when the other demons tried to scramble out of MC’s way without looking like they were running from the ‘weak little human exchange student’.

Oh wow, what a sadist. Like father like child

Flying lessons are a must. Poor MC isn’t terribly good at controlling their wings, and their horns are still growing in so when they pop into their demon form the first thing they get is a sore skull. Ow... it sucks that Lucifer isn’t outwardly very sympathetic.

“Ow!” MC crashed face first into the grass in the backyard of the House of Lamentation. “Father! My wings are cramping! Can’t we practice this tomorrow?”

The sight of seeing his dear child crash face first into the ground had lost its hilarity after the first three times. Lucifer slowly lowered himself to the ground and crossed his arms as he stood over his incredibly grass-stained kid.

“MC, we’ve been ‘practicing this tomorrow’ for the past month. If you want to learn to fly you’re going to have to actually manage to stay in the air for more than three minutes.”

MC shot Lucifer a withering glare that only preteens were capable of, Lucifer matched it with his own much more sophisticated glare.

“You’ve been flying for over a thousand years! Don’t you have any tips that can actually help other than ‘don’t panic, you’ll look ridiculous’?”

Lucifer dragged a gloved hand down his face and looked around, the two were alone as far as he could see.

“MC,” Lucifer began. “When I was a young angel, I needed to learn how to fly with someone else.”

MC perked up. “Who?”

“Michael. The smug bastard picked up flying quicker than I did.”

“What’d you do?!”

Lucifer smiled at his child’s intense investment. “I practiced flying every day for five extra hours until I could do everything that Michael could do, just better.”

MC’s starry eyed interest died almost instantly upon hearing about the extra five hours of practice. “Humph, I bet I could outfly younger you and Michael with only two hours of practice a day.”

“Really now?”

“Yes! Watch!” MC shook off their wings and took off in a running start before shakily making it into the air. Their form was decent enough, and they weren’t shaking as much as the previous attempts. “SEE?!”

“Yes MC,” Lucifer smiled. “I can see.”

You know what else Lucifer could see? MC crashing right into a tree.

“Ouch...”

Okay... maybe they could halt practice a little early and order a treat from Madame Scream’s. A little sugar to refuel is needed when the end goal is crushing a mutual rival beneath their heels. Just some good old fashioned father/child bonding time!

MC has a smaller seat right next to Lucifer’s seat in the Assembly Hall. I will not compromise on this one.

For all your fluff needs, I give you: Lucifer teaching MC how to play the piano. He has a proud little smile on his face when his kid finally starts getting it. That’s all. Enjoy the image.

That one Uncle who gives you Alcohol at Family Gatherings (Mammon)

Yeah, when Mammon burst in late to the party and whining about everyone’s spamming him with texts to haul his scummy ass to the Assembly Hall, the last thing he expected was to see a mini-Lucifer.

“What the fuck am I lookin’ at?!”

The glare the two Lucifers gave the poor Avatar of Greed was enough to make him want to turn tail (uh, wing) and book it down the hall.

“Mammon, this is MC. They’re my child.”

“Hello.”

“...whaaaa..?” Mammon looked between the two, same glare, same intimidating aura, same annoyingly good posture.

Mammon scratched the back of his neck and looked over at his older brother. “Do I uh... still gotta babysit em’ if they’re not human?”

“The lake of Cocytus will melt the day I let you babysit without supervision.” Lucifer grumbled.

“I don’t need a babysitter!”

Despite Lucifer’s initial denial, Mammon and MC ended up spending a lot of time hanging out when Lucifer was busy with paperwork. Of course Mammon’s first thought was ‘how do I profit off this situation?’

MC is now Mammon’s designated babysitter after they caught him picking up their feathers that had fallen off with the intention of painting them white and claiming they were Lucifer’s from back in the Celestial Realm.

Mammon does end up spoiling MC a little. Just a smidge. They’re the kid of his totally not his favourite brother after all! How could he not? Whether or not these gifts are obtained legally or are legal at all is subject to scrutiny.

“Mammon, I can’t drink this!” MC placed the bottle of Demonus back on the counter of the kitchen.

“Why not? That’s a bottle of the good stuff! We gotta celebrate you gettin’ an A on that test somehow!”

“I’m underage! Incredibly underage. I’m not legally allowed to drink.”

Mammon wordlessly plopped a silly straw into the bottle. “...does that help?”

“No.” MC then inclined their head to the bottle. “And I don’t want to get hung from the ceiling, that bottle was in my father’s study yesterday, I’m above theft.”

“How old are you s’posed to be anyway? Never mind... uh...” Mammon wracked his brain for something else he could do for MC that didn’t cost anything (don’t judge him, the poor bastard was flat broke!). “I could... teach you to drive!”

“Driving?”

“Yeah! Drivin’ is awesome! We can take my car!”

The bills for the damages done to the car and the Devildom were mailed to Lucifer the next day, and MC and Mammon got to keep each other company as they hung from the ceiling. Ah well! At least MC wasn’t upside down!

Mammon wasn’t that good of a flight teacher either, he also crashed into a tree (the same tree MC crashed into, actually) when he was cheering for MC. They were finally able to do a loopdy loop! He was proud and distracted! Okay?! Lucifer! Stop smirkin’ at him! It’s not that funny!

At least the vantage point from the tree was decent and the branches didn’t scratch him up too badly. Oh hey... that person walking by was wearing a very nice watch... he’d be right back-

That Uncle That is Always Absent From Family Gatherings and When He is Present He Leaves Early (Levi)

He missed everything. That is not an exaggeration. He was in the middle of an online raid battle and couldn’t look at his phone! No Lucifer he can’t pause an online game! That’s not how it works!

Okay, the human exchange student is half demon? WOAH! THAT’S JUST LIKE THAT ONE ANIME- W A I T. THE LITTLE NORMIE IS LUCIFER’S KID?!

Okie doke, he was fully convinced that MC just had to be an anime protagonist.

They binged every series that Levi compared them to. Sure MC might have missed a few assignments because of late night anime binges, but they were too good for this school crap anyway, right?

Nope. Lucifer put a ban on the two watching anime until both their grades improved. Surviving that hell brought the two together.

“Ugh!”

The sound of a pencil case being haphazardly thrown across the room made Levi peek out of his bed-tub. If his figurines got knocked over so HELP HIM-

“This is stupid!!I shouldn’t have to catch up with this!” MC crossed their arms and gave their Demonology textbook their best disapproving glare.

Lucifer Lite (tm) was having a hell of a time trying to claw through their missed work, and Levi sympathized, he really did, it’s just... he was playing Animal Crossing-

Levi paused the game to placate his anime-buddy when their wings popped out and he feared for his rare merch’s safety.

“H-hey, MC? Do you need help?” Levi’s offer was met with a bone chilling glare that lived rent free in his nightmares ever since. He had pulled a Mammon and forgotten he was talking to Lucifer’s child. Lucifer’s allergy to help must have passed down to MC.

“No! I don’t! It’s just... dumb!” MC hissed, she turned and looked over at the fish tank. “Right Henry 2.0?”

Henry 2.0 did not respond.

“MC, you need to finish your homework or we can’t watch anything together,” Levi sighed, he had finished his work over an hour earlier. He had mastered the art of all night anime binges and managing to do most of his work in the fifteen minutes between the time he woke up and the time school was supposed to begin. “We haven’t even binged all of volume 4 of TSL yet!”

“Mmm...” MC grumbled. “Fine...”

MC picked up their pencil case and began continued their work. Levi breathed a sigh of relief and went back to Animal Crossing.

The tiny normie did in fact finish their work, only after they caved and asked Levi for help. Swore him to secrecy, they did... very intimidating, they were.

Just saying, he most definitely sent that one Keanu Reeves meme with big Keanu and little Keanu but with Lucifer and MC to the wrong group chat. Poor bastard.

Flying lessons? No. Levi hadn’t flown since his time in the Celestial Realm, he had no advice to give other than: “Flap your wings!”

“THAT’S WHAT I’M DOING YOU-”

MC didn’t get to finish that thought, they lost their balance and fell right into RAD’s fountain. Ah well, Levi had a head start on running for his life that he squandered by laughing at MC. RIP.

The Uncle/brother/whatever the fuck that Starts a Fight With Your Dad at the Family Reunion. (Satan)

Oh... another Lucifer? Eugh. Gross.

Satan gave the kid a wide berth when they first met. Everything the kid said or did ticked him off. “Tsk. Look at MC. Making an omelette. So annoying.” “Oh wow, MC vacuumed? Roll out the red carpet, we need to celebrate their existence!” “Look at them. Breathing. Disgusting.”

MC’s pride wouldn’t ever let them admit it but... they knew Satan didn’t like them, and it hurt their feelings.

“Shhhh,” Satan whispered into his backpack.

“Meow.” The backpack replied.

“I said shhhhh.”

The backpack did not reply after that, which was a good thing considering the little princet of the HOL was nearby.

“Satan?” They asked. “Who are you talking to?”

Satan coldly brushed past them as he made his way to his room. “No one you need to concern yourself with.”

When the little calico kitten was safe in his room, Satan quickly realized a mistake in his foolproof ‘sneak a cat into the house’ plan. He didn’t have any toys for the kitten, and he didn’t want his books getting scratched...

It was alright, he’d just rush out to the a store that sold cat things and rush back! Five minute trip tops!

Well when Satan got back the cat was no longer in the room. Oh dear. He discreetly tore apart the house looking for the poor little thing until he ended up finding it in the library, happily chasing around a loose feather being held up by MC.

“Oh, hello Satan.” MC chirped as the kitten batted it’s adorable little paws at the feather.

“My... my door was closed. Did you let the cat out?”

MC shrugged. “I heard meowing.”

Satan ran a hand through his hair and grumbled. Stupid smaller Lucifer. Stupid original Lucifer. Everyone sucked.

“Let me guess, you’re going to run to Lucifer and tell him all about the meowing and the rule breaking.”

MC shook their head and glared at Satan. “Of course not. I’ve already gotten way too attached to this little guy anyway. We’re co-parenting this kitten like mature adults.”

With some coaxing, Satan did sit down and play with the kitten, maybe MC wasn’t... so terrible.

The two watch Unsolved Mysteries together, that’s their show. “This guy did it.” “Satan, we’re two minutes into the episode-” “Trust me.”

Thirty minutes later.

“He did it.” “See MC, what’d I tell you?”

Lucifer did find out about the cat, but with enough pleading, MC and Satan managed to warm up the cold spot in Lucifer’s chest where his heart should have been. The cat’s name is Detective Toe Beans (or just Bean).

Satan can’t fly, he has a tail, but he did read up on wing anatomy and how flight actually works in demons, his advice would be good in theory, but it’s full of so much technical jargon that MC can’t understand it.

At least MC didn’t crash into something, they barrel rolled through one of the HOL’s windows. Good thing it was the window to their room. The broken arm still hurt like hell.

The Best Dressed Bitch Who Brings The Booze to The Reunion. (Asmo)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Lucifer’s kid was SO CUTE! A thousand pictures commemorating that adorable moment needed to be taken! Wait- Lucifer- GIVE BACK THE PHONE-

Asmo, surprise surprise, absolutely adores little MC! So cute! So small! He was just so excited to announce to all his Devilgram followers that Lucifer was finally a certified DILF.

That post disappeared five minutes after it was made but the damage had already been done.

Asmo made sure MC looked their best at all times, if they needed help talking to anyone? Asmo’s got their back!

Sure, maybe he’s a little pushy, but pushy’s a good thing sometimes, right?

“Asmodeus-”

“No, these shoes wouldn’t fit you...”

“Asmo-”

“No, not these ones either...”

“ASMODEUS.”

Asmo squeaked and jumped upwards, Geez Louise... little MC’s voice could sure be scary when they wanted it to be...

“I don’t need any fancy new shoes.” MC huffed, sitting up straighter in one of the chairs in Asmo’s room. “I thought this was supposed to be a sleepover.”

“Hmmm...” Asmo pouted. “Makeovers are an essential part of sleepovers... what’d you do with your human friends up in the human world that could possibly be better than a make-over?!”

MC began to list things off. “Ordered junk food, talked about people we hated, watched movies,”

“Greasy food is so bad for your skin...” Asmo cringed and shook his head violently. “But I’m totally down to watch a movie and bitch about people I hate!”

“Ah yes, human sleepovers, a tradition I never quite had the chance to enjoy.” Solomon said from Asmo’s bed. “Who are we bitching about?”

“Remind me what Solomon is doing here.” MC muttered as they sat down in front of Asmo’s TV.

“Because, I wanted to hang out with my two favourite humans.” Asmo cooed, reaching over and trying to pinch MC’s cheek, which they awkwardly dodged.

“Can we watch The Exorcist?” Solomon asked, propping his head up with his hands.

“Ew, no.” Asmo made a face at him. “That scene with the vomit? Hell NO.”

“Mm.” MC mumbled. Asmo turned to look at them.

“MC? Are you doing okay? You don’t look like you’re having any fun...”

“I’m fine.” MC grumbled.

Asmo pursed his lips, as much as it made his little narcissistic heart break, he nudged MC. “Why don’t you pick the movie, sweetie. I’m sure Solomon and I will like anything you pick!”

MC noticeably brightened. “Let’s watch Scream!”

The strangled noise that came from Asmo was... concerning, but to his credit, The Avatar of Lust held his tongue about his distaste for the movie, and the three slumber-party goers had quite the lovely time.

After the movie ended, MC went back to their room, sure it was a sleepover but their bed was right down the hall.

Good for Asmo and Solomon. Horny fuckers. We stan.

Asmo just claps and tries to cheer MC on when it comes to their flying lessons. (The idea that Asmo came up with to wear his cheerleader costume from the previous Halloween was immediately shot down by Lucifer)

“You’re doing wonderful, MC- WATCH OUT FOR THE POWER LINE!”

MC didn’t hit the power line, but Asmo’s scream of terror caused them to fall butt-first into a dumpster. Their injured tailbone served as a tragic memory of the incident.

Oh well, good thing Asmo had nice smelling soap to give that could mask dumpster-stink.

The Uncle that eats everything and tells you to eat your veggies while you angrily pick at your broccoli at the kid’s table. (Beel)

Lucifer... has a kid?! Beel choked on the cheetos he had snuck into the Assembly Hall when the kid’s wings popped out.

Oh wow, that’s nice :) maybe they can eat together. Belphie would probably like them.

Wait what is the gender neutral term for Niece or Nephew?

...Nibling? Uh... let’s not say that around Beel. We don’t need him to get hungrier and begin associating MC with nibbling on things.

The Underground Tomb incident probably went a little differently, but after all that nonsense, the two are closer than two peas in a pod!

Mmm... peas...

“Beel?” MC stepped into the Avatar of Gluttony’s room.

“Hi MC.” Beel was doing push-ups in the middle of the room, on the ground right beneath his head was a massive bowl of spaghetti that he bit into every time he completed a push-up. “Can you come stand on my back? I need the extra weight.”

“On your back?” MC padded closer. “Are you sure? It’s not going to hurt?”

“No, it’ll be okay.” Beel assured them. “Belphie and I did this all the time. Except Belphie is normally asleep.”

MC tentatively stepped onto Beel’s back. It was a balancing act to say the least, they eventually gave up on standing and ended up sitting cross legged between Beel’s shoulder blades.

“You did this with Belphegor?” MC asked.

“Yeah,” Beel sighed. “He was always too tired to exercise, but he’d let me bench press him sometimes...”

MC frowned and hugged their knees to their chest. Knowing full well that Beel’s twin wasn’t in the human world like Lucifer said was absolutely ripping them apart from the inside. Guilt felt just as rotten as their pride did when they were being belittled...

“Maybe you’ll see him again sometime soon.” MC whispered. “Maybe my father’ll come to his senses and let him come back down to the Devildom.”

Beel paused his push-ups for a brief moment, then nodded and went back to his eating exercising combo. “I hope so. He’ll like you, MC. I’m sure of it.”

MC nodded. “I... hope so.”

Beel’s a pretty decent flight teacher, but his wings are just so different from MC’s that it renders any tips he had next to useless.

“MC, maybe your wings aren’t flapping fast enough.”

“Beel, I appreciate the thought, but I’m not a hummingbird. Or a fly. I don’t need to flap my wings a million times a minute to stay afloat.”

Ah well, MC tried to take some of Beel’s advice, but their lower right wing cramped up and they ended up flying in circles until Beel was able to catch them. Ah well, better than the dumpster incident the previous week.

The Uncle That Passes Out in The Basement and You’re Not Allowed to Wake Him Up Even Though All Your Toys and Video Games Are Down There. He Also Picks a Fight With Your Dad’s New S/O Before He Passes Out. (Belphie)

Sitting in the attic was quite a drag, and this supposedly weak little human was quite the annoyance to try and call out to. It took a lot longer than expected, but when he heard little footsteps coming towards his prison, Belphegor nearly jumped with joy.

Oh... it... looked like Lucifer. Smelled like Lucifer. Stood like Lucifer. Quacked like Lucifer. Or... trilled..? Whatever sound a peacock made, this brat sounded an awful lot like Lucifer.

A... half-demon. Hmph. Belphie honestly thought Lucifer had actual standards. Not anymore, he guessed.

(Man I could fill a whole-ass fic with the Belphie betrayal thing, but for now let’s skip to post attic nonsense)

Okay so maybe MC wasn’t disgusting. They made a good nap buddy. It was cute when their wings came out when they were sleeping sometimes. Well... it was cute when they didn’t hit him in the face and make him wake up with his mouth full of feathers.

What Beel said had been true, Belphie made a good substitute when weights weren’t available, but Beel didn’t want MC to feel left out, so Belphie and MC ended up sitting on his back while he did push ups. MC once got bored and started playing Go Fish with Belphie on Beel’s back while he exercised.

Yes. MC is still a member of the Formerly-Anti-Lucifer League.

“Are you sure he’s not going to be too mad at us?” MC asked for the dozenth time that day. Detective Toe Beans was wrapped around their neck like a scarf (he had gotten so big!!!) while MC nervously sat in one of the Library chairs.

“Positive.” Belphie said with a toothy grin. “Besides, he’s like putty when it comes to you. Just give him your best puppy eyes and we’re not guilty on all charges.”

Putty..? Really..? Lucifer..? How strict was he before MC got there... they wondered.

“Sh! He’s coming!” Satan stuck his nose into a random book, it was the Oxford English Dictionary... and it was upside down.

Belphie pretended to pass out and MC decided that the best course of action was to stare deeply into their cat’s eyes. Yeah... that looked casual and not weird.

“Satan, MC, Belphie.” Lucifer nodded to the three of them as he walked towards the entrance to his study.

“Lucifer.”

“Afternoon, father.”

Belphie let out a cartoonishly loud fake snore that nearly caused both MC and Satan to break cover and start laughing.

Side note, Bean had adorable widdle eyes! That cute little face was just to die for-

“You three..!”

Belphie, Satan, and MC peeked their heads into Lucifer’s study, their handiwork was perfect. Everything was covered in red post it notes. Perfectly not harmful, but SO inconvenient!

“You’re all cleaning this up or so help me-”

“GO!” Belphie and Satan each grabbed one of MC’s arms (Satan also grabbed Bean) and sprinted out of the House of Lamentation. Maybe they’d move back there in twenty years... they hoped that Solomon and The Angels would let them crash at Purgatory Hall...

Belphie had used up his physical energy supply for the next four years. He passed out the moment they stepped into sanctuary. Time for a nap...

Flight practice? Ha. Belphie’s napping. Though, he was suspiciously awake and filming whenever MC did something stupid.

“Try not to suck so bad.”

“GO TO HELL BELPHIE!”

“I’m already there. Hell is every second I’m stuck here watching you fail.”

“YOU’RE GOING TO GET IT FOR THAT!”

Well... MC mastered the dive bomb that day. Lucifer bought them a cake.

Bonus! Your Dad’s New Husband! That Has Managed to Somehow Make Everyone Hate Him Despite the Fact That He’s A Cinnamon Roll. (Diavolo)

A mini Lucifer? A mini Lucifer!

Diavolo dotes on MC like he’d dote on his own kid. MC wants a crown? They’re getting a crown! A damn nice one too! MC wants a title? Here! MC is now... idk Ruler of the area between Majolish and Hell’s Kitchen.

Poor Uncle Mammon’s got some financial insecurity, he’s still the cool uncle... right?!

He is very much that ‘how do you do fellow kids?’ Meme.

He tries to do stereotypical ‘dad’ things but he’s not very good at them. Once he tried to host a barbecue...

Barbatos saved the day, but Mammon’s hair was still singed, Solomon’s cooking still gave Beel food poisoning (SOLOMON EATS TOXIC WASTE I SWEAR-), Luke still got hit in the face with a frisbee, and Simeon got an unhealthy dose of DAD NERVES and got so stressed everyone was almost blinded by the holy light he suddenly started blasting. We do not mention the water guns.

(Seriously whose bright idea was it to give Belphie and Satan water guns while they were in Lucifer’s presence?)

Praise Barbie. He’s too good for them.

“Um...” MC awkwardly held up the baseball, trying to look at it from all angles like it was a completely alien object. “Lord Diavolo... are you sure you want to play catch?”

Diavolo clapped his hands and bounced on the balls of his feet. “Yes! It’s a thing human fathers do with their children, correct? We must make up for lost time between you and Lucifer, right?”

Lucifer massaged his temples and nodded. “If you two would like to play catch...” Lucifer grimaced. “I will too.”

“Okay! MC, throw the ball to Lucifer!” Diavolo instructed.

Lucifer half heartedly held up his baseball glove as MC tossed him the ball. He caught it, and looked over at Diavolo, who was applauding like he just witnessed the greatest feat in sports history.

“Okay! Throw it to me!” Diavolo waved his glove in the air, Lucifer rolled his eyes and smiled. He threw the ball at Diavolo with... a lot of force. Enough force to probably dent steel... Diavolo caught it like it was nothing.

MC suddenly feared for their safety.

“Okay MC, catch!”

Diavolo threw the ball with enough force to break the god damn sound barrier. Well, maybe that was an exaggeration, but the ball sailed way over MC’s head and crashed right through a window.

“Oh my...” Diavolo put a hand on his hip and surveyed the damage to the window. “This isn’t so bad, I believe in human world TV shows this happens quite often. Look! The glass broke in a perfect circle!”

“Yay... property damage...” MC murmured.

Lucifer sighed and pulled out his DDD. “I’ll phone someone to replace the win-”

“Lucifer no! Now according to human world customs we must,” Diavolo took a deep breath, rushed forward, grabbed both Lucifer and MC’s hands and started sprinting away from the Demon Lord’s Castle. “RUN FOR IT!”

“Di- Diavolo!” Lucifer gasped.

“Who are we running from?! That’s your castle!” MC squeaked.

“I don’t know! Just run! That’s what the human TV show says to do!”

Weirdly enough, Diavolo was the best flight instructor. MC’s ability to fly increased tenfold after Diavolo found out that MC was learning to fly.

“You’re doing amazing MC! That was a perfect turn!”

“Thanks Lord Diavolo, I’m surprised I haven’t crashed into anyone or fallen yet!”

“Well, I highly doubt you’ll be crashing into anyone anymore, your flying is practically perfect now!”

Mammon proceeded to fly past them holding what looked like Lucifer’s wallet.

“M-mammon?!”

“Oh... I wonder what he’s doing. Look, MC! It’s Lucifer! Hello Lucifer dea-”

Lucifer ended up colliding with the two of them and sending them all crashing to the floor.

That was the last time MC fell during flying practice.

(We currently have a Go Fund Me set up for Mammon to get the funds necessary to flee the Devildom after that incident. Please donate to save- oh shit hi Lucifer-)

[moony-marvuders]

Hiii! ❤️ I have a request pleaseeee with Remus (young) and a hufflepuff reader 🥰

could I possibly be where the reader is super shy and always has their nose in a book, wallflower like but is in a relationship with Remus and one of the other guys upsets her? ❤️

I absolutely love when a x reader reflects me personally like this! I would adore to write it ! I hope you enjoy.

paring: young!remus x hufflepuff!reader + platonic! with the marauders and lily.

warnings: angst. swearing. sirius being kind of an asswipe, m*dblood mentioning, panic attack.

You loathed potions, its was the absolute worst. You could have sworn Slughorn had something personal against you, especially when he had assigned permanent seats to everyone, after a rather eventful prank, obviously carried out by Sirius and James. That was unbeknownst to Slughorn, as nobody had come forward in who had slipped his morning coffee with tainted, dog haired polyjuice potion. Thus leading to an assigned seating.

You were perfectly fine where you had been sitting, with your boyfriend, Remus. He made you feel comfortable, especially considering the class was always so utterly loud. Many times you had wished  to leave, the sensory overload being too much to handle at times. But Remus would place a hand upon your thigh, calming you down through the loud laughter that came from the rest of the table. 

Not often were you participating in “The Marauders” shananigans, but of course you had been pooled within the “group” losing your seat next to Remus, who was now at the very back with Severus. You gave Remus an apologetic look as Slughorn continued to separate everyone from their tables.

James was forced to sit off to the side, closer to the front, making it almost impossible to admire Lily, whom sat near the back.

Peter was now sitting on the opposite end of the front, from where James was situated.

And you were situated in the middle table, with Sirius. Obviously Slughorn had trusted you enough to keep an eye on the rowdy boy, but sitting next to Sirius everyday?

That would be pure torture.

You loved Remus’s friends, because they loved him. But you had never really felt “apart of the group.” Half of that being your own fault, nose always caught in a book in any given social functioning that you had been invited to. Too shy to speak, or even play truth or dare. You sat amongst his friends, listening intentively to their many conversations in which you were never apart of. You enjoyed it that way, it was who you were.

But some days they didn’t understand why you had been this way. Annoyingly so, they would often talk behind your back when they hadn’t thought you could hear.

“ She doesn’t say a word to us!”

“ What does Remus even see in her?”

“ Shut up you lot! We should just be happy for him.”

Overhearing this had hurt you many times before, but you had always hid your hurt behind your kind eyes when assuring Remus that everything was alright. But this only made it harder to talk to them, you felt as though they hated you enough already, that the effort didn’t seem like it would have been enough.

Needless to say the uncomfortable and overwhelming silence, and glances between Sirius and you was enough to make you nervously and slowly grab your muggle book from the bag that sat amongst your feet. Opening it where the bookmark had been, hiding half of it with your potions book, as you pretended to follow along to the lecture. 

It had been not even 15 minutes before Sirius was tapping your shoulder and complaining to you, “ Who does he think he is eh? Moving all of us.” You shrug at his words, barely picking your eyes up from the page within your book as he continued on.

 “ Can’t he take a joke?” You didn’t feed into his desperate attempts at conversation, too scared to get caught by Slughorn, and too invested within your book.

 Sirius went quiet for a moment, realization washing over him as he came to the conclusion you wouldn’t dare utter a word. It had been his final straw. It wasn’t that he was angry at you, or particularly had it out for you, he just had assumed you were stuck up, perhaps even more than Lily had been, and then again, she didn’t ignore the boys, she played along.

“ Do you ever fucking talk?” He said this a bit louder than he had expected. And it stung more that he had chosen such a foul Muggle word to spit at you. You couldn’t look in his direction, your whole body froze at his words. Surely it hadn’t been that bad, he was simply frusterated. It still stung, considering the other judgemental things he had uttered behind your back. 

“ Seriously? What is wrong with you?” He spoke again, this time sparking you to stand up, quickly pushing your belongings within your bag, and rushing out. Ignoring Slughorn’s call of your name.

You ran through the corridors, a panic settling itself within your chest as you searched for somewhere to be alone.

-

Remus would have ran after you, he tried, but Slughorn warned him against it, threatening to take away house points if anyone else moved from their seats. 

After class though, he rushed after Sirius, blocking him in the corridor, against a wall. “ Bloody hell Sirius- What did you say?” He questioned, far too aggressive. But Sirius didn’t hold back. 

“ Get- off of me-” He pushed Remus, only causing Remus to get more aggressive, pushing him back to the wall.

“ Tell me Sirius!” Sirius couldn’t help but laugh at Remus attempting to protect you of all people. The one that ignored them, that acted as if she was as odd as Severus. Perhaps if Remus hadn’t been blind, they would bully you as they did him, Sirius thought. 

Remus could see James and Peter out of the corner of his eye, James attempting to wedge himself in between his two best friends.

“ Merlin’s beard!” He exclaimed, getting in between, “ Get off of each other!”  Remus stood back, still seething with anger, watching Sirius still having a playfully mischievous smile dancing upon his lips.

James turned to Remus, calmly, still in between them, “ What has you peeved Moony?” Remus’s eyes landed back to Sirius’s form. 

“ He made y/n rush out of class!” James turned to Sirius, sighing.

“ Padfoot- what could you have possibly said to the poor girl?” Sirius wasn’t afraid of telling them, in fact he had wanted, no- yearned for months to give you a piece of his mind. 

“ I asked her what the bloody hell was wrong with her- why she ignores us like we’re bloody mudbloods-” That really set Remus off, but he couldn’t help but to rush to find you rather than fight with his ignorant best friend.

“I’ll be havin a fucking word with you later.” Remus spat at him, before rushing off to find you. 

-

He had searched nearly everywhere within the castle for you, it would have been much easier with the map, but it was within James’ possession. He had no idea where you were, missing his other class in attempt to search. 

He neared an empty classroom with caution, soft whimpering coming from inside, a cry he was almost sure had to be yours. 

 Slowly opening the door, stepping in with the lightest foot, before calling out your name, “y/n? love?” You didn’t call out, or make yourself known, waiting for him to come to the corner you had situated yourself in. 

When doing so, he acted fast, wrapping his arms around you. Saying nothing, just rubbing his hands up and down your back, attempting to make you focus on his touch rather than the panic attack that washed through you. 

Actions had always spoken louder than words between the two of you, and in this moment it had spoken volumes, as you shook and sobbed against him. 

-

This was really emotional for me to write and I’m sorry it lacked of any fluff. I needed some angst tonight. It isn’t too descriptive either, as I have exams next week and a project due in the morning but hopefully this suffices. Perhaps I could write a part 2 to this? Also I didn’t mean to make Sirius act like such a prick, I just needed some angsty plot.

[that-bi-bitch-writes]

A Cursed Reality-JJK x M!Reader (Ch.2)

Question: Do you guys prefer longer chapters or shorter chapters? I’ve been making an effort to write longer chapters but if you hate reading them I’ll write them less.

Warnings: fluff, comparison of Inumaki’s speech to a disability/handicap, cursing. Dislike of Maki (Not me. wrong bitch. I love her)

Previous || Next

Chapter Two:

[Name] actively dislikes hanging out with the second years. Not that they’re bad people in any way, it’s just he’s anxious and awkward, and even after spending a year familiarizing himself with the school and the people in it, there’s like a small group of people he would invite to his birthday party.

That and he just doesn’t care for Maki Zen’in. And it is most definitely mutual. To him, she’s just pretty. She also won’t die in a battle between her and a curse below first grade. But that’s about the end of her appeal. Of course, Panda is fun to tease but he typically plays the peacemaker between the second years. [Name] would rather not care about people in peace.

There’s no dramatic reason to it all, it’s just [Name] didn’t really come to Jujutsu Tech by choice so he hadn’t intended on making friends. He obviously failed considering he befriended Inumaki within his first day and they have some homoromantic vibes going on in their friendship.

That’s not to say you can’t platonic cuddle with your best friend but when you longingly gaze into each other’s eyes and he’s the only friend you’ve made besides an annoyingly hyper 30-year-old because no one else understands you like he does… And it kind of goes both ways considering you’re the only person he trusts himself enough to have a full-on conversation with.

Yeah, it’s not looking very good for the argument that they’re not gay. They’re not though. At least not now.  

“[Name]”

“Yeah toge?”

“You look like you’ve got something on your mind” Inumaki responded. And although he had plenty of experience saying words, having a conversation without using safe words felt a little weird. It was an aspect of who he was now and [Name] being immune to the cursed speech wouldn’t erase the problems he had with talking and it didn’t make [Name] his savior or soulmate.

Luckily [Name] was both lonely and not a complete asshole because he had no problems adapting to the switch between Toge’s ‘onigiri glossary’. Learning it was actually a really fun experience because it turns out Inumaki did not have the exact translation of all his safe words. He would just say an ingredient and [Name] had to fill in the blanks. There was a lot of trial and error and a lot of [Name] smiling down at Inumaki’s concentrated face.

“I was just thinking.” [Name] broke the contemplative silence.

“Hmm”

“You know” [Name] started again “... They say it was believed people kept their souls in their throats” and as Inumaki gave a confused denial (“fish flakes”) [Name] was internally panicking on whether or not he should keep going with this specific train of thought or make a joke to deflect from the very real and emotional but corny statement he was about to utter.

“Ah fuck it. I want to exercise the curses in the world or at least enough to keep you safe so you don’t keep damaging your soul when you use your cursed technique”

“Sujiko”

[Name] looked at Inumaki. And as if breaking off pieces of his soul didn’t matter to him, Inumaki spoke, a short sentence that stunned [Name] into silence

“I love you”

If Gojo hadn’t come in, they might’ve kissed.

“[Name]-kun!!!”

Aaaand [Name]’s sentimental mood was gone. Don’t get him wrong, Gojo definitely would get an invite to [Name]’s birthday party, but the man was like 30 running around being overly cheerful and with that teasing nature he was definitely repressing some trauma. He also definitely had some of the worst timing

“What is it Gojo?”

“No sensei at the end? So mean!

“Fushiguro was sent out to find a cursed object but he’s been out all day with no calls back home or anything. Of course I plan on going to check on my beloved student, but I am busy for the next hour or so. Can you please check on him? For your favorite sensei?”

“My favorite sensei is actually Nanami and he’s not even a sensei but yeah I’ll check on the emo kid”

‘You’re pretty emo yourself dude’ Gojo thought to himself

“Ah Thank you [Name]-kun. You’re a lifesaver” Gojo called out behind him as he left to do whatever it is crazy white haired ‘old’ men do.

‘He’s/I’m totally not doing this for free’ both [Name] and Inumaki thought at the same time.

[Name] got up suddenly and started getting ready to leave paying no attention to Inumaki who watched him get ready with a casual interest. Before [Name] headed out, he turned to look at Inumaki with a serious and concentrated expression.

“Toge.”

“I love you”

“What the hell happened here?”

“....”

“Fushiguro-kun, if you please”

“Well I only know half of the story so it’s best if we hear it from Itadori”

All eyes whipped to the shirtless Yuji who had just gotten control of his body back from Sukuna, the apparent king of curses.

“I’d say it started when I went to school this morning but I think it started a little earlier for Fushiguro. Right Fushiguro?” Yuji asked

‘I swear I’m going to explode if someone doesn’t tell me the how we got this far I mean Fushiguro is bleeding from his head, this pink haired enthusiastic kid is possessed and I can’t tell if he’s too sweet to care or if he lost a few of his brain cells when he and the little emo first year wrecked this building’ [Name] thought to himself.

Clearing his throat he began “Well okay Fushiguro has a lot of really bad injuries so is it okay with you if he just quickly shares his part and then you take over?”

“Ohh Yeah that makes sense” Itadori awed and both he and [Name] turned their attention to poor Megumi who was bleeding from his forehead.

“Yesterday I was sent to retrieve a special grade cursed object and when I got there it was gone. Gojo sensei told me I couldn’t go home until it was recovered. The next day I stalked around the school and investigated when I saw Yuji for the first time.”

“Oh I remember that. It’s my turn to take over now. Uhh. I was in the occult club with my senpais Sasaki and Iguchi and we were asking the spirits about which animal the Student Council President was weaker than ( a fish) and then he burst in the room because he didn’t approve of our club-”

“Fast forward please” [Name] interrupted

“Fushiguro found me after my grandpa died and told me Iguchi and Sasaki were in danger because of the finger so I led him to the school where they said they were going to peel off the seal”

“And that’s why we’re here” [Name] surmised

“So what’s the situation”

“Gojo-sensei”/ “Old Man what are you doing here?” Megumi and [Name] called out

“I wasn’t gonna come but the higher ups got involved. I knew you’d all be fine though, I sent [Name] here to deal with it.”

“That’s true” Fushiguo mumbled

“I’m glad you all have faith in me” [Name] started “But that means I came here for absolutely nothing”

“... So did you find it?” Gojo asked

“Um sorry.... I ate it”

Gojo who didn’t hear the whole introduction and [Name] who didn’t quite get to the eating of the finger part in the story turned to Yuji in shock

“For real”

“For real”

“Haha you’re not kidding. They’re combined. How does your body feel?” Gojo asked Yuji

“Okay”

“Can you switch to Sukuna?”

“Sukuna?” Yuji asked

“The curse object you ate”

“Oh yeah. Probably”

“Ten seconds” gojo said “Take control again after ten seconds”

“I dunno about this”

“Don’t worry. I’m the strongest Jujutsu sorcerer”

Megumi looked to [Name] after hearing a curious “hmm” but [Name]’s face showed no anger or displeasure.

“Megumi hold onto this will ya” Gojo’s voice bled through Megumi’s thoughts of who would win between [Name] and Gojo. Give it a year or two and it might actually be [Name].

“What’s this?” Megumi asked

‘It better be a fucking weapon’ [Name] thought ‘Because if he sent me out because his important business was shopping he’s gonna regret it’

“Kikufuku Mochi” Gojo replied casually before feeling bloodlust leaking from [Name]. He’ll just have to make it up to the second year somehow

“Behind you” Fushiguro called out and [Name] sucked his teeth hoping Gojo would get hit at least once. He did not get his wish once

“I’ve got a student watching so..I hope you don’t mind if I show off a little bit” . And after that Gojo commenced kicking Sukuna’s ass. Sukuna tried to monologue a little as he sent out a powerful attack, but he missed Gojo on account of Gojo’s infinity dispelling the attack. By the time Sukuna realized Gojo was unharmed it was time for Yuji to switch back.

“Oh was everything okay?” Yuji asked as he came to his senses.

“Oh what a surprise” Gojo responded “You really can control it”

“Yeah, but he’s kind of annoying”

“It’s a miracle that’s the only side effect” Gojo said right before knocking Yuji out with one finger

“If he wakes up and isn't possessed, he might have potential as a vessel. Okay question for you two. What do I do with him?”

“Even if he is a potential vessel… He must be executed under jujutsu regulations…

“But I don’t want to let him die”

“Is that a personal opinion? Gojo asked

“Yes, a personal opinion. Please do something about it.

Gojo smiled and the two of them turned their attention towards [Name] who had been silent throughout the whole experience.

‘Besides being a little too excitable, he’s not bad. Like a puppy. I’d keep him as a pet.’ [Name] thought

“Don’t kill him” he said

“A precious student's request. And one from my favorite second year? Of course. Leave it to me!” Gojo said before lifting Yuji up.

[Name] still a little upset he was called away for nothing, raised his hand in front of his mouth so gojo couldn’t see what he was doing and whispered

“Fall over”

“Aak! [Name]-kunnn”

Fushiguro was shocked to see Gojo faceplant on the ground with Yuji on his shoulder. If the combination of Fushiguro’s wide eyed expression and the sight of Gojo in pain made [Name] giggle a little, he’d never admit it.

[youalexturnermeon]

Warm Beer and Cold Women Pt. 2 (Johnny Lawrence x Reader)

Click for Part 1

Request: Hi! I absolutely love your work and I was wondering if I could get a Cobra Kai Johnny imagine where the reader is a bartender and starts crushing on him since he’s a regular and he flirts with her all the time and she pretends to hate it but she actually loves it? by Anon

A/N: First part is basically just the request, the second part is more angsty and more heated. Johnny protects the reader from some creeps in the bar and they get finally closer

Warnings: badass reader, drinking, DUI, swearing, violence and sexual harassment

Wordcount: 3174

Friday nights were busier, much busier than any of the other days of the week. You didn’t know how much busier than the other fancy bars in L.A. but for you it was most certainly busy enough. Mostly, middle-aged men came by, construction workers above all, who decided to celebrate the end of the week by getting black-out drunk. The bar was much noisier and loud music blasted through the old shabby speakers on the walls. You didn’t particularly like the big groups of men. They weren’t the nicest and they were the definition of a patriarchal dick comparison that mostly consisted of hitting on the female barkeepers. They were a huge pain in the ass, but at least, the drunker they got, the better they tipped. And you needed the money. Compared to them Johnny was a literal angel.

You didn’t show much enthusiasm when you walked around with a tray, picking up dirty glasses, taking new orders tipped with a few disgusting comments and bringing new drinks over to the tables. Usually, you liked being behind the counter more. Firstly, because you didn’t have to move much, also you loved making cocktails, and secondly because of Johnny who was always an annoyingly good company, although you were never willing to admit that. However, he seemed off today. He still was full on hitting on you and complimenting your today’s choice of clothing, he said he loved how you looked in your shorts and fishnets, but you could see that someothing was going on with him. He was staring into space more than usual and he didn’t pick fights with the construction workers who accidentally bumped into him from time to time. You wanted to ask him about it, because you genuinely were interested in him but as soon as you walked past him with a new full tray, to bring it to a table with three men, he gave you a dirty wink. And the wish to know something about him just vanished, so you made your way.

“Alright,” you said in your overly nice server’s voice as you started placing down the drinks on the table, trying to ignore the looks on your body. You were used to it, you were attractive and being that whilst working as a barkeeper just came with nasty comments and occasional sexual harassment.

“We have three beers, one dark and two Lager, two Whisky on the rocks and one Vodka soda.” Everyone tried to grab their drink from your hands, which you hated but that was okay, some people just didn’t know better, they thought they were helping out that way. When you were putting down the last of the beers on the table and leaned down, a rough hand suddenly brushed over your chest. You might have imagined it, you thought, that was probably an accident. After all, the man, still in his dirty work clothes, probably just tried to grab his dark beer. Yet you stopped for a second, eyes wide, then you cleared your throat and pulled yourself together.

“You alright, love?” he asked, and you nodded, “Yeah, sure, enjoy!”

The man who did that wasn’t even looking at you, you missed his dirty smirk by seconds. You just shook if off, you had thick skin and turned around to go back to your beloved counter. Yet, the minute you turned your back to the men sitting, you instantly felt it. A hand on your ass, a squeeze and you heard laughter, then - a slap. You snapped back and slammed the tray on their table, glasses clanking.

“Get you fucking hands off me, you asshole!” you yelled, your breath suddenly quicker, anger rising in you. So, you haven’t imagined it, he touched your breasts before. Bad pick-up lines were okay, but this was too far. Groping was the last straw for you.

“Or what?” he retorted immediately and now you were seeing the disgusting grin on his sweaty wrinkled face, full of self-admiration, he was so proud of himself “Are you gonna chop them off with that sharp tongue of yours?”

You let out a hateful laugh, he probably was expecting you to leave it be, after all he was a customer and you’re a simple barkeeper. But not with you.

“No, I’m gonna bite your fucking tiny dick off!”

“Ohhh,”, the men growled together, “That’s a feisty one. Wanna see it? It’s not that tiny. You’ll like it.”, the bald sweaty one said and gestured to his crotch.

“I’m gonna bite your dick off. Then I’m going to go to your house and I’m gonna fuck your wife. And I’m gonna fuck her so good, she’ll leave your sorry dickless, spineless ass!”

Suddenly, your groper was on his feet, he was so close to you, you could smell his boozy breath, although he towered inches above you. He didn’t like being talked to like that. And his glance was full of fury.

“Leave my wife out of that, you slut!” he grunted through his teeth and took another threatening step towards you, nervously fiddling with his wedding ring. You didn’t back off, you were in your bar.

“I’m gonna leave her out of it if you apologize for being a piece of shit to me, you do not fucking touch your server!”

“Maybe you shouldn’t walk around in these tiny shorts of yours, showing off your legs if you don’t want men to appreciate it.”

You took a deep breath, this was not really happening right now. You felt so dirty.

“Is there a problem, (Y/N)?” you heard a familiar voice out of a sudden and felt a hand on your shoulder. And that’s when you understood how tense you were, but the soft touch helped, you relaxed. You didn’t even realize that as soon as you started yelling, Johnny sprung off his seat and rushed over to you.

“I…” you started but you had lost your words. It was the first time he touched you.

“Leave her the fuck alone!” Johnny growled, now shifting his attention from you to the three men who were bothering you. His voice was so ominous that it made you shiver. You had never seen him mad before. Protectively he stood in front of you, shielding you from their gaze, since he, too, was much taller than you. In the back Kenny was making his way to the scene as well.

“You scumbags should really pack your stuff and leave this fucking bar before I kill someone. You better watch how the fuck you are talking to her!”

“And who’s that? Your daddy?”, another spiteful remark from your tormenter. Johnny’s arms started trembling, he clenched his fist and the grip on your shoulder tightened, it almost hurt you. At the same it was calming you down.

“Yeah, and I’m her little brother” you heard yet another to you well-known voice and saw Kenny, who also stood there like a mountain, arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring down on the three construction workers, whilst his leather jacket crackled from where he tensed his muscles. He was fucking scary which made the men on appear so tiny whereas the one standing leapt back a couple steps, clearly intimidated by Kenny’s appearance and Johnny’s rage.

“And you better apologize to this lady before I give you a ban!”

And funnily enough, this helped. They muttered something about how they were sorry. But you didn’t even listen to it anymore, you were already walking back, Johnny following you, Kenny staying. You didn’t want to hear any more of that conversation. You wanted your safe space behind the bar with no one around you at best.

“Are you okay?” Johnny asked, seemingly concerned and took a seat at the other side of the counter. You were avoiding his eyes as you nodded, you didn’t want his pity. You just wanted a drink.

“That happens all the time, don’t worry,” you lied “As someone working here, I have to deal with it every fucking day. And you, my little drunk friend, are also part of the problem.”

“Ouch,” Johnny said and smiled, “At least, I never touched you!” “Seriously Johnny?” you laughed and saw how glad he was that you were able do that after the fight at the table, “The first time you came here, you bumped into me, hard.” “But not too hard.”

“And on purpose!”

“You can’t prove that,” he said grinning, “But it’s nice to hear that you still remember the first time we met. That has to mean something, right? Something like that we’re meant for each other.”

You rolled your eyes and poured yourself a whisky, you drank it and immediately another, “Not now, Johnny.”

“Sorry,” he said apologetically, and you were almost surprised to hear that from him “By the way, I really loved you threatening to fuck this asshole’s wife. That was badass. Just be careful next time, though, okay?”

“Is he bothering you, too?”, Kenny who suddenly appeared asked also pouring himself a whisky but in a much bigger glass than yours and a second in a smaller one.

“If I say yes, are you going to kill him?”

“Not necessarily kill him but cripple him real good.”

You heard Johnny gulp. He wasn’t afraid of three man but of Kenny. But Kenny laughed and placed a Whisky in front of Johnny, “That’s for protecting my (Y/N). After all you’re not as bad as she says.”

For the rest of the night, Kenny has sent you into the office, he wanted you to adjust the schedule for next week. You knew that it was only an excuse to get you out of the bar for a couple of hours, since the shifts you and the others had were always the same for years now. And you didn’t mind, although you wouldn’t have minded staying with Johnny either. Funnily enough, he calmed you down. Nevertheless, he was now making friends with Kenny whom he never really liked, so you knew, he was in good hands. It was around two o’clock in the morning when Kenny finally came in to tell you that you were free to go home if you did him the favour of bringing the garbage out and close the bar. This you didn’t mind as well. You dragged the bags behind you into the backyard where the bins were and that was also when Kenny said his goodbye.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked as he got on his bike and let the motor roar.

“Yeah,” you waved at him “Go home, I’ll be fine.”

And just like that, he was gone. You sighed and heaved the trash into the bins. Before you made your way back inside to get your bag to finally go home and sleep you decided to smoke a cigarette. And maybe that was your mistake.

“Well, well, well, if this isn’t the feisty little bitch,” you suddenly heard a slurring voice behind you, followed by laughter as were about to light a cigarette. You didn’t even have to turn around to know exactly to whom it belonged. This time, there was no anger rising in you, you didn’t dare to say a thing, there was only fear. You dropped your cigarette.

“Where are your friends now?”

“Kenny is still inside,” you answered trying to sound calm but your voice was shaky and so were your hands “And the other one is wai-“

“Bullshit!” exclaimed the man who acted that he was so sorry to have groped you only hours before. He was even drunker now and his thin lips crowned a spiteful grin. You were fucked.

“We just saw the big guy leaving on his motorbike. You’re all alone now.” And they were right. You tried to pull yourself together, to think of a plan to get you out of this situation but everything you could think of was calling the cops and on top of that your phone was still inside. You just have to fight back, your brain kept telling you!

“And what are you going to do? Beat me up? Rape me?” you tried to sound confident, but it was pretty difficult now that you were not in the bar anymore but outside in the backyard between some dumpsters. Your voice was failing you.

“Maybe a little bit of both?” one of the men said amused and shrugged while another one was now far too close to you, so close that he could grab your wrist. His grip was so tight that you cried out in pain and that was when you took all your courage, lashed out and punched him with all your might in the face. Your hand hurt as hell but now you saw blood.

“Shit, this bitch broke my nose!” your victim cried out in pain and now, with two other man leaping towards you, you were done with your plan, you just closed your eyes and…

“What the fuck did I tell you?”, a scream and then a loud thump. When you dared to open your eyes, you could not believe them. Johnny who managed to throw himself between you and the group was now in pretty hardcore fist fight. Although at the second glance you realized that he was not only throwing one strong punch after another but also full-on kicking the kicking the shit out of the assholes who were threatening you. He must’ve known some Martial Arts or something, you thought because this looked like being straight out of an action film. You couldn’t even follow the fight with your eyes that’s how quick Johnny was moving. Yet, some time you saw him being punched as well but it was nothing compared to how he dealt blows. And it that moment, you knew, you could never be not grateful to this man in your life ever again.

It might’ve taken just second or maybe hours but after a while, the men were gone, you didn’t even realize how they fled Johnny, and there were only you two left.

Johnny was panting when he came over to you, where you still stood motionless with your back pressed against the wall.

“Are you okay?”, he asked breathing quickly, holding out his hand to you. Without thinking you grabbed it and let yourself lead to a curb stone where you two sat down. You didn’t answer you just took out another cigarette and lit it, letting the smoke calming your lungs.

“(Y/N)?”

“I’m okay,” you said finally coming back to you and finding your voice, offering him a cigarette as well which he gladly accepted.

“Are you?” you asked while you studied him. He was the only one that had to be asked. Johnny looked rough. His blonde hair was all messy, his clothes now dirty and jeans ripped at the knees, but above all it was his face that concerned you. Blood was dripping from his chin, coming from his burst lip. Also, it already crusted on the cheekbone where a fresh scratch was on top of a purple bruise. And in the dim light you were not completely sure, but you could see a black eye being there tomorrow.

“I mean, you look like shit.” “Thanks, you’re always so kind to me. I can clearly see why I like you so much,” he joked “But yeah, I’m fine. Believe it or not but I always get into fights, this shit kinda follows me.”

“How did you beat them up like that anyways? Was that Krav Maga or something?”

“Karate” Johnny answered proudly and took a relieving drag from his cigarette.

“You never told me you did Karate.”

“You never asked me,” he smiled at you and protectively put and arm around your shoulders. He must’ve noticed how you shivered. And you didn’t object. You weren’t really cold but you just wanted be held by him.

“Well, to be fair, I never ask you anything besides your order. But I’ll guess I’m gonna start from now on. There’s obviously more to you than being a noisy bastard.” “Oh I’m honoured to be the one who finally melted the infamous (Y/N)’s heart.”

“No Johnny, seriously, you didn’t melt my heart, but you saved my ass. Thank you,” you laid your head on his shoulder and closed your eyes “I don’t even wanna know what would’ve happened if you weren’t there.”

“You don’t have to,” Johnny said softly and stroked your hair “Because I was there! And you’re save with me.”

You were, you felt save and you sighed. There was only one thing left to do.

“Now, c’mon, let’s patch you up so we can finally call it a day” you said and stood up.

--

Half an hour later you could finally close the doors to the damn bar, it was relieving. “Do you need a ride?”, Johnny asked when stopped for a second and gestured over to a black car in the distance “Because I’m not leaving you alone here anymore, not today, not ever.”

You rolled your eyes, but you smiled.  After all, it was an amazing feeling to know that Johnny cared about you. That he wasn’t just one freak you liked because he was nice to you but genuinely wanted you to be happy. However, you just couldn’t help yourself but being a sarcastic little shit again.

“No, thank you,” you answered, “I’m not really interested in being involved in DUI again.”

“And there she is, (Y/N) being herself again,” Johnny laughed but he didn’t seem to mind. Instead, he threw his keys at you “You’re driving then.” You clumsily caught but immediately threw them back at him.

“I’m also not driving. I don’t have a license, lost it a few months ago.” “For DUI?”

“For DUI,” you answered. The curse of working in a bar.

“So how are you getting home? Because I’m really not leaving you alone.”

“I called myself an Uber and there it is” you saw the only moving car in the distance and pointed at it.

“Thanks again,” you said when you were walking towards your Uber and Johnny made his way to his.

“No problem”

And something in you told you, that you two weren’t done yet. As you watched him walking you suddenly realized what it was. “Johnny!” you called out and he stopped.

“What is it, (Y/N)?”

“Tomorrow for sure, I’m gonna finally let you buy me that fucking drink. And I want to know everything about your Karate. Is that a deal?”

“You bet!”, he yelled back, and the brightest smile appeared on his face. He finally made it. “See you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow.” You whispered back. And on your face also appeared a smile. Tomorrow would be the day, you thought and finally got in the car.

But Johnny didn’t come tomorrow, and he didn’t come the day after. That was unusual. You were waiting for him, but he didn’t show himself for almost two weeks.

**************************************************************

Part 3

Sooooooo, let me know what you all think about this fuckery

Taglist: @lililolli​

[outerbankswriting]

Could it be? Chapter 4 (JJ x Reader)

JJ x Reader

CH.1 - CH.2 - CH.3

Description: She has a crush on JJ, but he has always seen her as another one of the “dudes”, or  at least that’s what she thinks so she just doesn’t even try anymore, until things start to shift between the two of them. (A/N: I’M NOT GOOD AT DESCRIPTIONS BUT THESE IS JUST WHAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAPPEN IN OUTER BANKS WITH JJ)

Warnings: swearing, violence??

CHAPTER 4

There he was, wearing a baby blue polo shirt and holding a bottle of champagne in one hand. You felt your mouth dry up followed by a wave of goosebumps forming all over your body. This was the last person you wanted to see.

“What are you doing here Rafe?”

He smiled at the sight of you. It was hard to believe he still had feelings for you since you never felt like he actually cared.

Your relationship with Rafe had been great at the beginning. You being Sarah’s friend just gave you the perfect excuse to see him every single day and spend all your time with him, but as time passed and you started hanging out with the Pogues more, things between you and Rafe changed.

He would often get jealous and angry, saying you shouldn’t be hanging out with “trashy people” which always ended up with the two of you getting into a loud and tiring fight. Rafe had always wanted to control you and you being the stubborn, independent person that you are, you never let him get his way.

The two of you dated for a little more than a year, but the last months of the relationship were very much like hell for you. You’d wanted to get out of the relationship 4 months before it finally ended, but your family has always been close friends with the Camerons which just made things harder for you and Rafe.

Your dad and his dad were closing a business deal and Rafe felt that dating you, meant his father was proud of him and he didn’t want to let him down, so he did the best to keep you next to him. Until you had enough.

Rafe had hurt you. Deeply. And you were holding what he had done to you deep in your heart and it was slowly killing you. The sight of him in front of you just brought back all the memories, making you want to run away.

“I just want to talk.” His voice was low and quiet, as if he feared you might run away at any second.

“There’s nothing to talk about Rafe,” you grabbed your purse a little tighter, “now please leave, I need to go.”

“I’m going to the party too.”

Of course he was.

“We can walk together.” He reached his free hand out to you.

“I can walk by myself, thank you.”

“Y/N come on,” he sighed, “you made a mistake by ending things with me.”

“No I didn’t. It was probably the best decision I’ve ever made.”

His jaw tightened at your words. You knew they had hurt him, which kind of made you scared of his reaction.

“We had a future planned together.” His voice was calm and he walked closer to you, making you back away from him.

“Rafe, I have to go.”

“I just want to talk, please.” He reached for your arm but you pulled away from him.

“Don’t touch me.”

“God Y/N, you’re so stubborn!” He walked even closer making your body press against the front door and leaving you no room to escape.

“I don’t want to talk Rafe, let me go!” You tried to push him away but it was impossible.

“Just let me talk to you, that’s all.” He grabbed your shoulders to make you stand still.

“Rafe let me go!” You closed your eyes as you desperately tried to kick him.

“What the fuck is your problem?!” You heard JJ’s voice and felt a wave of relief take all over your body.

The pressure of Rafe’s hands against your shoulders was suddenly gone after JJ grabbed him by the neck and pulled him away from you.

JJ was quick to punch him on the face before he could react.

“Of course your dirty Pogue is here.” Rafe laughed as he spit blood from his mouth.

He walked towards JJ and hit him back.

“Guys stop it!” You screamed but it was pointless.

The two of them were already throwing punches and kicks nonstop. You didn’t know what to do, they were both stronger than you and it’s not like you could just walk in the middle of them trying to kill each other.

Your heart felt like it was going to beat out of your chest as you saw the two boys covered in blood and still hitting each other.

It wasn’t until JJ was on the floor and you saw Rafe reaching for the champagne bottle he had brought, that you decided to step between the two of them.  

“Stop it Rafe! That’s enough!” You screamed at him, your voice trembling at the sight of him almost throwing the champagne bottle at JJ.

His eyes were filled with anger and you were scared but also angry, and you were not going to let Rafe touch JJ.

JJ was struggling to get up from the ground so you helped him. He wiped the blood off his mouth and tried to pull you back from Rafe but you pushed him away, still standing in between the two of them to stop them from killing each other.

“That’s enough JJ!” You felt tears fall down your cheeks. They were probably tears of anger and fear.

You were breathless and the sight of you tearing up and shaking from trying to stop them, made the two of them just stand still.

Rafe and JJ were still giving each other death looks but the punches had stopped, which was enough for you at the time.

“Stay away from her.” JJ broke the silence.

Rafe’s jaw tightened at his words but he looked at you instead.

“Is he your new fuck now?”

“Excuse me?”

You held a hand out to JJ as to tell him you can handle this, since you saw him ready to jump back at Rafe.

“Are you fucking him or what?” Rafe’s eyes never left yours, “Why is he coming to your house in the night with a backpack?”

“Rafe you’re out of y-“

“Is he your boyfriend?” His voice trembled, but his eyes were filled with rage.

“He is not and that’s literally none of your business!”

“How low of you, sleeping around with a Pogue,” he spat out, “like the cheap slut you are.”

This time you were the one filled with anger and wanting to throw a punch at Rafe’s face, but his words had left you frozen, the anger inside of you consuming you.

You didn’t even notice how quick JJ was to jump back at him and punch him repeatedly on the face until you snapped out of your thoughts and saw your friend almost punch the life out of Rafe.

And as much as you knew Rafe deserved it, you weren’t going to let this go any further.

“JJ stop!” You pulled him away from Rafe.

JJ was shaking, he was breathless and his knuckles were covered in blood. You let him know it was okay and made him stay away from Rafe.

You stood in front of Rafe and looked down at him in disgust and hurt.

“Leave.” You spat out at him.

You watched him struggle to stand up and reached out your hand for him to take. Tears were falling down your eyes and Rafe took your hand to help himself stand up. You quickly let go of his hand once he was standing up.

He knew he had crossed the line. Guilt was written all over his face and he opened but quickly closed his mouth as he didn’t know what to say.

“Leave and don’t you ever talk to me again.”

You stared right into his eyes and you could’ve sworn his eyes were filled with tears too, but you didn’t care at all. He didn’t even think about taking his champagne bottle and left. Leaving you and JJ alone.

You stood still, emotionless and drained staring at the grass. You heard JJ’s footsteps get near you and after a few seconds you felt his hand softly grab your shoulder.

“Y/N?” He said softly, but you said nothing.

After minutes of silence went by, JJ couldn’t take it any longer and just took you right into his arms and hugged you tightly. His embrace made the crying you were holding inside instantly break out.

You started sobbing uncontrollably, you were trembling and choking on your tears as JJ kept holding you even tighter.

“Shhh, you’re okay Y/N,” he whispered against your ear, “you’re alright, I’m here.”

Once you calmed down, you let go of JJ’s embrace. He stared at you with soft eyes, worrying you might break down again.

You didn’t know what to say so you just opened the door to your house to let him in.

“Let’s go get your bags inside.” You said.

JJ raised an eyebrow at you but then nodded and walked inside your house, understanding you didn’t want to talk about this.

You immediately went to your bathroom and washed your face. You were a mess. Your eyes were puffy and your makeup was all smeared off. You grabbed your makeup bag and quickly redid your makeup, trying to cover the fact you’d been crying your eyes out.

“Hey, hey, hey,” JJ walked into the bathroom as soon as he saw you doing your makeup, “we don’t have to go to the party.”

“I could use a party right now.” You said as you continued doing your makeup.

“Y/N.”

“JJ, I want to go.” You looked at him angrily but softened up once you saw his face covered in blood. Remembering he had gotten into a fight because of you.

You grabbed a towel and cleaned his face as he just shook his head but allowed you to continue doing it.

You bit your lips trying to contain the tears again, you were so emotional tonight.

“I’m so sorry.” You whispered at him and he slowly took away the towel from your hands and wiped away the tears that were about to fall down your eyes with the clean side of the it.

“Don’t apologise for this,” he smiled at you, “I would do it all over again.”

You just stared at him and shook your head before smiling and softly placing a kiss on his cheek.

“Let’s go to the party.” You said and he nodded.

The two of you made sure neither Rafe nor his Kook friends were at the party after calling John B and asking him about their surroundings. You felt relieved once you got to the beach and saw no Kooks in sight.

“Thank you for letting me die.” Kie looked annoyingly at you and you quickly realised what she was talking about. You were supposed to have arrived like an hour ago to the party to help her set the recycling bins up.

“Kie I’m so sorry, I swear I was ab-“

“It was my fault,” JJ joined the conversation when he saw you struggling to make up an excuse, “I told her you told me you didn’t need her to get early so she could come with me to buy this exquisite bottle of champagne.”

You laughed at JJ as he held up Rafe’s expensive bottle of champagne, which was now yours.

“Whatever,” Kie rolled her eyes at the blonde boy, “let’s open this thing already.”

“What are we celebrating?” Pope smiled at the sight of the champagne.

“Life, brother.” JJ opened the bottle and the cork almost hit John B in the eye.

“I swear if you leave me blind JJ.” John B joked and Sarah giggled at her boyfriend.

The champagne bottle finished in less than half an hour and all of you were pretty tipsy already. You were dancing with Kie and Pope, letting go of all the anger and desperation you’d gone through a few hours ago. You wanted to get wasted tonight and have a good time with your friends.

You thought this party was going to be worry free but as you gulped down a beer you saw JJ flirting with a pretty, blonde, pale tourist and the alcohol inside of you was getting the best of your emotions.

You were used to JJ flirting and sleeping around with girls, but this time you were jealous. Very jealous. So you grabbed a shot of some cheap tequila and gulped it down.

“Woah there Y/N,” Sarah smiled at your actions, “what are we trying to forget tonight?”

“How shitty life can be.” You said.

“I thought we were celebrating life?” John B asked.

Kiara stared curiously at you as you poured yourself another shot of tequila. She knew you way too well to know something was wrong with you. You were not one to drink this much at a party after a blackout you once had that left you scarred.

You ignored your friend’s stares and gulped down the tequila shot, which was clearly not going to be your last one for the night.

And which would later end up making you make some big, embarrassing mistakes…

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CH.5

A/N: okay wow, did not expect many of you to actually like this series!! I’m so happy you guys are liking it. thank u so much for all your kind messages, they really motivate me to keep on writing this series. your thoughts and opinions are always welcome and remember this is a SLOW BURN fic!! take care! x

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