#then new people joined and I did a poll asking if people wanted them back and everyone that responded said yes

[shanedoesdoodles]

Can't tell if my anxiety and weird wanting to ghost everyone and fake my death so no one can know me anymore is effecting my judgements or if my reasoning is actually valid but I'm heavily debating removing events from my little discord server permanently for my mental health

[genshinluvr]

Burning Desire

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader

Summary: You and the men are exploring the Chasm to search for the flower dubbed the Scent of Spring. A rare flower that is the last of its kind. While trying to pull the flower from the cracks in the wall, the flower sprays a strange powder all over you. When the flower sprays powder all over you, you end up inhaling a large amount of it.

Note: Welcome to a new smut series by yours truly, me! Thanks to the requester, there is a new smut series where every man gets their own smut fic and the readers get to choose who's starting the smut series and who will be next after the previous character! This request was sent in before the harem had 25 people, therefore I am making it into a new smut series other than Crave. There will be a poll per chapter and whoever gets the most votes will be the one to start off the smut, and whoever is voted the most after that character the started the smut fic (for example: Aether), will be the next chapter. Instead of making the reader drink an aphrodisiac, I decided to have the reader inhale it. Anyway! I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: No smut in this part (darn), but there are some implications of sex and masturbation. Reader inhales a large amount of sex pollen/aphrodisiac.

Word Count: 9.2k

Burning Desire "chapters"/routes: [1], [2], [3], [4]

You have recently decided to work for the Adventurer’s Guild! Kind of. The Akademiya and the Adventurer’s Guild decide to team up and let the Akademiya students explore around and take on an adventurer’s task. You are tasked to investigate the Chasm and find a mysterious flower that went extinct thousands of years ago. Rumor has it that there is only one flower that managed to survive the extinction, and you are on a mission to find that flower.

When you informed your twenty-five boyfriends about your task in the Chasm, they were hesitant to let you go to the Chasm. Not because they didn’t trust you but because it’s the Chasm, and many things can go wrong down there. Plus, it’s hard to tell whether the air conditions are safe down there or not. Hence why miners would go into the Chasm with finches in the cage— to test whether the air quality is good down there or not. At least, that’s what you can recall. 

“Why the Chasm? Why not somewhere else that isn’t dangerous, like the Chasm?” Aether asks, leaning back in his seat while gazing at you worriedly.

Al Haitham chews on the inside of his cheek, his eyebrows furrowing. “Did they assign you the Chasm?”

You shake your head. “I chose to go to the Chasm! There’s this rare— I’m not sure if I should call it rare— flower in the Chasm. It’s the only flower that managed to survive while its fellow species went extinct. Because botany is what I specialize in, I want to find this flower, bring it back to the Akademiya, and have it studied,” you explain.

“And you want to go to the Chasm alone?” Tighnari asks, staring at you with wide eyes.

You quickly protest, “No, no! I’m not! I was hoping you all would go to the Chasm with me and keep me company!” You say, fiddling with your thumbs.

The corners of Childe’s lips quirk up after hearing your response. Childe gets up from his seat and walks over to you. Childe wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you to his chest, and caresses your face in front of the other men around you two. You and Childe hear collective scoffs and groans from the men.

Childe has a shit-eating grin on his face. “Do you all hear that? My precious snookums wants me to keep them company to the Chasm!” Childe exclaims dramatically, resting his cheek on your head while rocking you back and forth.

“You mean us, Harbinger. [Y/N] wants us to join them in the Chasm while they search for this mysterious flower for their Akademiya research,” Diluc interjects, rolling his eyes.

Childe rolls his eyes and mouths “whatever” to himself while suffocating you in his arms. It wasn’t hard to convince the others to join you in the Chasm while you searched for this flower. And now, here you are, walking through the Chasm with your beloved boyfriends following behind.

Your professors at the Akademiya have been raving about this mysterious flower when you were a new student at the Akademiya. Despite the professors raving about the flower, they were afraid of going to the Chasm to search for the flower, which is a bit ironic because most Akademiya scholars would risk it all for their research and experiments. 

The flower is dubbed the “Scent of Spring,” and you’re not entirely sure why the flower is called that when none of these scholars have gotten close enough to the flower to smell it. While the scholars at the Akademiya have some knowledge of the flower, the knowledge did not help you and the men find this flower. You only know what it looks like.

You hold the sketched image of the “Scent of Spring” in your hands. “It looks like an apple blossom! And the colors are supposed to be a gradient of light steel blue and a medium slate blue,” you murmur, stroking your chin.

“It’s dark down here. How are we supposed to find this mysterious flower in a place like this?” Kaveh asks, squinting to search the darkness ahead of you all.

You shrug, following behind Albedo (who has the Lumenstone Adjuvant). “I’m not sure! It should be somewhere in the Chasm, but my professors and the other scholars weren’t clear on where the flower can be found,” you sigh.

“Sounds like they don’t know what they’re talking about. What if they led you on a goose chase, and they’re watching our every move to get what they wanted?” Cyno asks, crossing his arms over his chest.

Oh, dear archons. You sure hope the Akademiya scholars aren’t leading you on a wild goose chase. This is part of your assignment and research project. You will be disappointed if you go through all that trouble just to find out the flower doesn’t exist or the scholars already have it.

Albedo hums thoughtfully, shining the Lumenstone Adjuvant in another direction in the cave. “I don’t think a couple of scholars are capable of doing that. But if they attempt to do that, we won’t let it happen,” Albedo murmurs.

“How does a flower thrive in an environment like the Chasm? It’s underground, away from sunlight. There’s no way a flower can survive without sunlight,” Scaramouche interjects, kicking a pebble across the cave.

“Well, there are plenty of plants that can grow without sunlight, Scaramouche. I find it strange that a flower can survive in an environment like the Chasm. We can barely breathe in some areas of the Chasm,” you mutter, propping your hands on your hips before looking back at the sketched image of the flower. 

The area all of you are in is dark and wet. It’s disgusting, but the air is breathable compared to other areas of the Chasm you all explored a while ago. It’s kind of a win. The sound of water dripping from the ceiling in the cave is all you can hear. As you and the twenty-five men continue to walk further into the cave, the sound of the waterfall running gradually becomes louder.

Venti points forward. “Maybe the flower survived in the Chasm because of this stream that is connected to the waterfall!” Venti theorizes, skipping ahead of the group.

You stop in your tracks and think about what Venti had just said. He’s not wrong. While the air in the Chasm is unbreathable in some areas, there is a source of running water in the Chasm that could be keeping the flower alive. You and the men progress into the cave, the waterfall getting louder and louder the more you all approach the end of the cave.

“Are there any other descriptions given about the flower other than its color? Does it glow in the dark? Is there a strong scent?” Heizou trails off, looking around the cave to search for the flower.

You shake your head. “My professors didn’t give me any further details about the flower other than it being dubbed the Scent of Spring,” you say dramatically.

“And what does the scent of spring supposed to smell like? Spring?” Itto asks, making a ��pfft” sound and walking over to where you stand and props his arm on your head, using you as a personal stand. 

You shrug your shoulders and move Itto’s arm off your head. “That, I do not know! However, I think that means we should start sniffing flowers,” you say, pulling out your flashlight and begin searching for this rare flower your professors and the scholars in the botany department have been raving about for who knows how long. 

You believe once you have given the scholars the flower, they will try to find a way to bring back the population of the extinct flower. Though, you wonder if they will continue to revive their population if the flower ends up being dangerous to inhale or be around. Now that you think about it, there are dangerous plants throughout Teyvat that are used for experiments to create new medicine or cure for diseases.

“Once you find the flower, what are you going to do with it?” Ayato asks, his eyes landing on the giant mushroom in the Chasm.

The giant mushroom in the Chasm illuminated the area. You shine the flashlight around, hoping to catch a glimpse of the flower the Akademiya scholars have been talking about nonstop. You hum and prop your hand on your hip, thinking about what you will be doing with the flower once you find it.

“I’m going to give it to the Akademiya, but I want Albedo and the others to get some research done on it. It wouldn’t be fair if I find something rare and immediately hand it off to the scholars at the Akademiya,” you say.

Dottore smiles and throws his arms around your shoulders. “It’s sweet how you’re putting us ahead of the scholars,” Dottore coos, pinching your cheek with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Since this is for [Y/N]’s assignment, let’s not distract them any more than we already are. They need to focus and find the flower,” says Baizhu, crossing his arms over his chest.

You mouthed a “thank you” to Baizhu before proceeding on your search for the flower. Everyone is scattered around the cave, searching for the Scent of Spring. You’re not sure why it's dubbed the Scent of Spring because surely the people would have known what it smells like if they come across it. But because the flower is in the Chasm and no one has gone near it, you find it hard to believe that the flower smells like spring. Plus, what does spring smell like other than flowers? Every flower has its own unique scent.

After searching for about fifteen minutes, you see a medium-sized flower between the cracks in the wall. The flower is sticking out, and it’s shaped like an apple blossom and has the same color gradient that was written down on the piece of paper in your hand. The sound of your gasp alerted the men, and they all ran toward where you were standing.

Kaeya points at the flower. “Is that the flower you’ve been searching for?” Kaeya asks, inspecting the flower from a safe distance.

You nod slowly. “I believe it is! It’s shaped like an apple blossom, it has the same color gradient written on the paper, and it’s the only flower in this area,” you murmur, reaching forward and touching the petals. “It’s really soft, too,” you add.

“Now that we found it, how should we extract the flower from the area without damaging it?” Asks Thoma, tilting his head to the side and scanning the flower in front of you.

You pull a glass case from your bag and place it on the ground, putting on rubber gloves and preparing to take the flower out from where it’s residing. There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to pull the Scent of Spring out of the cracks without damaging it. It’ll be ironic if it dies the minute you pull it out from the cracks, even though it survived for thousands of years while its own kind went extinct.

When you tug on it, you notice the stem is quite thick, almost as wide as a branch. Not only was it sturdy, but you noticed there was some powdery substance on the flower itself. Even though you know little to nothing about this particular flower, you know that most flowers in Teyvat do not have a powdery coating on top of the petals. You rub the powder between your gloved thumb and index finger, testing its consistency.

“That’s odd. I’ve never seen a flower that has this powdery coating on it,” you murmur, leaning your face closer to the flower to inspect it.

“Does it smell like the Scent of Spring?” Kazuha asks, watching you examine the flower closely.

You shrugged your shoulders and gave a whiff of the flower. After whiffing the flower, you have concluded that the flower has no scent at all. Therefore whoever named the flower needs to rename it because it doesn’t smell like spring, nor does it smell like anything at all. It does have a hint of an earthy smell, but that could be coming from the rocks and the dirt it’s planted in. 

You shake your head. “There’s no scent. The Akademiya scholars will need to rename it because it has no fragrance at all,” you say, proceeding to gently grab it by the stem, lightly tugging on it.

When you tug on it lightly, it does not budge. Not even a little bit. You furrow your eyebrows and pull on the flower harder. The harder you pull on the flower, the more you realize the flower isn’t going to be budging anytime soon. Before you know it, the flower sprays the powder all over you. You freeze and release the flower, blinking at the men, who look at you worriedly. 

You breathe in the powder, feeling the powder inhaled through your nose. You coughed and began hacking, punching your chest, doubling over while in a coughing fit. Gorou panics and runs toward you, only for you to shake your head frantically and gesture for him and others not to come any closer.

Gorou whimpers, looking at the others worriedly. “[Y/N], are you okay?” Gorou asks softly.

You calm down after a few minutes and take a deep breath, wincing when you feel the powder in your throat and lungs. You take deep gulps of air and straighten up, looking over at the flower. The flower no longer has a powdery coating on its petals, which was strange because it made you assume the flower never had any powder coating in the first place. What was that thing that coated the flower? Unless it was the flower that spits the powder at you as a defense mechanism?

You stroke your chin. “How strange,” You mutter.

Xiao scoffs. “Yeah, no kidding. You were hacking your lungs up a few minutes ago, and now you’re acting like everything’s okay?” Xiao asks, propping his hands on his hips while narrowing his eyes at you.

You clear your throat, swallowing your saliva. You wince and rub your throat, sniffing the air lightly. You can still feel the powdery substance in your nose, lungs, and throat. It feels awful. It’s almost as if you purposefully inhaled cinnamon or breathed in cinnamon. Your nose begins to itch, making you take your rubber gloves off and rub your nose, hoping to get rid of the itchiness in your nostrils.

Zhongli approaches you and places a hand on your shoulder. “Dearest, are you alright?” Zhongli asks softly.

You wave Zhongli off and nod, but you don’t brush his hands away from you. “Yeah! I’m fine! Totally fine!” You say, giving the men a strained smile.

Before any of the men could speak up, you squeeze your eyes shut and sneeze into your elbow. You quickly act like nothing has happened. The men stare at you, and you stare right back at them. You cough into your elbow to clear your throat. You can still feel the powder lingering in your nose, lungs, and throat. You look over at the flower, and you still don’t see any of the powder coatings that you have inhaled. Whatever the powder was, you only hope it’s not a drug that will negatively impact you and your health. Just when Tighnari was about to open his mouth to say something, you sneezed again.

You rub your nose and groan. “Oh my gosh. I can still feel the stupid powder,” you groused.

“We should head back to the abode and get you checked out,” Dainsleif says, now standing beside you.

“What about the flower? It wouldn’t budge when I tried to get it,” you mutter, pointing over at the flower that looks delicate.

Pierro sighs and closes his eyes. “We’ll get it for you,” he says, looking over at Capitano and nodding.

Capitano walks toward the flower wedged between the cracks in the wall. Capitano grabs the flower by the stem and begins to lightly tug on the flower to see how stuck it is in the gaps.

“Okay, but please be care—” 

Capitano grunts and rips the flower from the wall; the flower is still intact and in good shape. Somehow. You look at Capitano blankly, who turns toward you and holds the flower out to you. You, Dainsleif, and Zhongli stare at the flower in Capitano’s hand.

“The flower was firmly planted in the cracks. You need to put more force when you pull the flower out from where it was planted,” Capitano says gruffly.

You grab the flower from Capitano’s hand and place the flower in the glass case. The flower is beautiful, but you’re upset the flower sprayed the powdery substance at you. And now you have to get checked up to see if the powder has any effects on you, your lungs, your nose, and your throat. Other than the lingering feeling of inhaling the powder, you feel fine. You close the glass case and put it back in your backpack, putting the bag on and rubbing your nose with the palm of your hand.

Pantalone looks at you worriedly. “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t feel strange, do you?” Pantalone asks.

You shake your head. “I’m feeling okay so far! But, we should get to the abode quick. I need to find a safe place to store the flower, then shower to wash this,” you gestured to your body, “off.” 

Tighnari, Albedo, Baizhu, and Dottore walk up to you. Albedo, Tighnari, and Dottore pull out cotton swabs and begin to swipe at the powder on your body and put it in a glass test tube. You blink at the men and watch them pocket the test tube, acting like nothing has happened.

You shake your head with a deep exhale. “I’m assuming you’re all going to put it under the microscope to see what the powder actually is?” You ask.

Albedo nods and adjusts his glove. “We’re also going to run some tests on it to see what the powder is made of,” replies Albedo.

You and the men start walking back to the surface of the Chasm. You made sure the men walked ahead of you while you walked behind them. You don’t want to risk the men inhaling the powder while you walk in front of them, and a gust of wind blows the powder to their faces, making them inhale it. Upon arriving at the abode, you take your shoes off and rub your nose. Your nose is still itching, your throat no longer feels weird, but you can feel the powder lingering in your lungs.

“Are we going to the lab, or are we going to the infirmary for my check-up?” You ask, scratching the back of your head. 

Other than wondering where you need to go for the check-up, you really want to take a shower and wash the remaining powder off your clothes, hair, and body. The powder got everywhere (it covered you from head to toe, pretty much), and it bothered you.

Tighnari hums and taps his chin. “That’s a good question,” Tighnari hums, tapping his foot on the ground.

“Wait! I’m going to take a shower first, then we can start with the check-up,” You said.

You turn around and quickly walk up the stairs to your bedroom. While you are showering, you scrub every nook and cranny with a loofa lathered in a sakura blossom-scented shower gel. You want to make sure to scrub and wash away the powder sprayed at you. 

You might have to dispose of the clothes you wore to the Chasm. You don’t want the powder to be lingering around or spread on other things in the abode (like the men’s clothes). So far, you’re not feeling anything from the powder. The only thing it’s doing to you is making you cough and sneeze occasionally.

You changed into clean undergarments and clothes. You wrap your hair in a towel and submerge your clothes in the water to make sure the powder dissolves into the water. You continue with your skincare routine, making sure to scrub your face for a long time with cleanser. 

After your skincare, you walk to your bathtub and drain the water, wringing your clothes dry once the water is completely drained. Once the clothes are wrung, you toss them into a trash bag and take them downstairs, your hair still dripping wet from your shower. You open the trash can and throw the trash bag into it, ignoring the looks the men are giving you.

You clear your throat and turn to the others with a smile on your face. “I’m ready for my check-up now! Do we go to the infirmary, or are we going to get it done in the lab?” You ask.

“Why did you throw your clothes away?” Baizhu asks, pointing at the stainless steel trash bin.

You shrug your shoulders. “I’m throwing them away just to be safe. I soaked them in the bathtub and wrung them dry, but I’m not risking anything!” You huff, propping your hands on your hips.

Dottore approaches you and wraps his arms over your shoulders. “We’ll be conducting a simple check-up on you in the lab. You haven’t been showing any medical emergencies since we returned to the abode. So, I believe we’ll be doing it in the lab,” Dottore explains, turning to look at Tighnari, Albedo, and Baizhu, who nod in agreement. 

You and the twenty-five men walk to the laboratory in the basement of the estate. You sit on the closest chair and wait for one of the four men (Albedo, Baizhu, Dottore, and Tighnari) to start the check-up. While Baizhu’s checking up on your eyes, throat, breathing, and your heart, the other men ask you various questions.

“Did you feel strange when you breathed in the powder?” Ayato asks.

“Not really,” you shake your head, “other than coughing and sneezing because of the powder, I feel alright. Although I did feel the powder going into my throat and lungs when it sprayed on me.”

Dainsleif furrows his eyebrows and watches you closely. “Can you still feel it?” Dainsleif asks.

You take a deep breath, only for your breath to get caught in your throat halfway, making you cough. You wince and nod to Dainsleif’s question. “I can still feel it, but not as much as I could earlier,” you croak.

“Here, drink this,” Childe says as he hands you a cup of water. 

You give Childe a grateful smile and grab the cup from his hands before gulping the water. After a few more questions from the men, Baizhu concludes that you’re healthy and there’s nothing wrong. But Baizhu did advise you to keep a close eye on your health and body in case anything changes overnight or over the next few days. That is something you don’t mind doing, and you’re planning on doing it anyway.

You look at the flower in the display case in the laboratory. It’s in great condition. Nothing is torn or crushed, thankfully. You get up from your seat and walk toward the display glass. As much as you want to start your research on the flower, your breathing in the powder is already too much for you to deal with. Especially when you have coughing or sneezing fits every now and then. 

Kaeya notices the look on your face while you examine the flower. “Oh, no. You’re not conducting any experiments or research right now, bunny. What you need to do is rest,” says Kaeya, crossing his arms over his chest.

You pucker your lips. “I know, Kaeya! I just wanted to make sure the flower is in good condition! After all, Capitano did rip the flower from the cracks,” you say, looking over at the tall man.

Capitano shrugs. “You attempted to be gentle with the flower, and it wouldn’t budge. Therefore, I took it into my own hands and got you the flower you need for your research,” replies Capitano.

You turn toward the flower and continue where you left off. The powder. The flower didn’t produce the powder again, making you wonder if the powder was only temporary or if it’ll make the powdery coating again if the flower was still in the cracks. Even if the flower did produce that powder as a defense mechanism from predators or (in your and the Akademiya’s case) people who want to take the flower from its habitat, the flower did not create any more powder after it sprayed you the first time.

Pierro raises an eyebrow at you. “What’s on your mind, little one?” Pierro asks.

You press your lips into a thin line and shake your head. “Way too much, that’s for sure,” you sigh.

“I think you should take a break for today! We returned to the abode from the Chasm not too long ago. It’s been a long day for all of us, and you should spend the day with us relaxing and doing nothing!” Itto proclaims, pulling you to his chest and patting your damp hair.

You snort and let yourself melt in Itto’s arms. “Alright, I’ll take up on your offer,” you say, reaching up and tapping on Itto’s nose lightly.

Itto scrunches his nose and rubs the tip of his nose against yours. You giggle and wrap your arms around his waist, pressing a kiss on his cheek. Itto lifts you up and carries you out of the laboratory with the other men following behind. Some were muttering about how Itto is hogging you for himself and how it’s not fair for everyone else. It’s Childe that’s muttering about it, the others were giving Itto silent glares and looks of disapproval. Itto collapses on the couch with you in his arms, wrapping both his arms and legs around you while smirking at the others that groan loudly.

Diluc rolls his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. “Itto, can you not hog [Y/N] for yourself?” Diluc asks, frowning at the Oni clinging to you.

Itto gives Diluc a cheeky grin and shakes his head, tightening his arms and legs around you while you lay on Itto’s chest limply. After almost a year of dating these men (holy shit, has it been nearly a year?), you have decided not to fight off their affections and clinginess unless you want them to become even clingier. Therefore you have accepted your fate and let these men smother you with love and affection.

Xiao pulls out his polearm and looks over at Diluc from the corner of his eyes. “Do you want me to do something about it?” Asks Xiao.

Diluc shakes his head, continuing to narrow his eyes at Itto. Itto ignores the look almost everyone is giving him by burying his face into your neck and closing his eyes. You and the men lounge around the living room for the rest of the day. You and Thoma end up making pizza for everyone to eat— you and Thoma made a lot of pizza since everyone has a big appetite. Once the pizza was done cooking, you all dined in the living room with your pizzas, catching up with what had happened at work and school (since you’re an Akademiya student).

The day soon winds down, and everyone has finished their pizzas and is scattered around the living area of the estate. Since Itto decides to hog your attention, the others have decided to do it back to him by doing the same. You were passed around from man to man to snuggle with them. Each time Itto tries to snuggle with you, you’re taken away from his grasp by another man, leaving Itto to pout and complain to the others.

You’re now lying on Pantalone’s chest, slowly dozing off. After consuming about five slices of pizza, you feel really full and really sleepy. Pantalone is reading a book while combing his fingers through your hair, lulling you to sleep. Just when you’re about to fall asleep, you feel someone press their hands against your forehead. You crack your eyes open and see Al Haitham and Kaveh standing in front of you, bending down to examine you.

Kaveh smiles at you, brushing your hair away from your face. “Sorry to disturb your nap. We were just checking up on you,” Kaveh says softly.

Al Haitham lightly smacks Kaveh’s hand away from your face before caressing your face. “How are you doing? Do you feel off in any way, or do you feel okay?

Kaveh scowls at Kaveh, crossing his arms over his chest. You rub your eyes sleepily, continuing to lie on Pantalone’s chest. You stare at the ground, trying to process what’s going on. How do you feel? Well, for starters, you shouldn’t have eaten too many pizzas because now you’re feeling exhausted because of the number of carbs you’ve eaten.

“I’m tired. I’m also very full,” you grumble, yawning. “I shouldn’t have taken up on Itto’s offer of having a pizza-eating competition. Now I feel like I’m pregnant,” you mumble, rubbing your tummy.

“And you beat Itto in the pizza-eating competition. I’m surprised he stopped after four slices of pizza,” Venti interjects, propping his hands on his hips.

You nod. “Me too! And he’s very competitive, and yet he stopped eating after four slices,” you grumble, looking over at Itto, who gives you a sheepish look.

Cyno hums and strokes his chin, glancing at Itto and then over at you. “I guess he didn’t want a pizza-of it anymore,” Cyno commented, shrugging his shoulders.

Everyone around Cyno groans and gives him a side-eye. You snort and shake your head, burying your face into Pantalone’s chest. Whenever Cyno sees an opportunity to crack a lame joke, he will take it. You feel something stir inside you, making you freeze in Pantalone’s arms, making him look down at you curiously. 

Pantalone scratches your head gently. “What’s wrong?” Pantalone murmurs, tilting his head to the side to get a better look at your face.

“I don’t know. I feel something strange,” you mutter, sitting up and straddling Pantalone’s lap. “I can’t really explain it. Health-wise, I’m fine. Physically, I am fine as well.” You tap your chin before rubbing your face. 

Maybe it’s the effects of eating five slices of pizza, but you don’t think that could be it exactly. What you are going to do is go to bed and take a nap because the sleepiness is catching up to you at full speed. You get off of Pantalone’s lap and rub your eyes, yawning and stretching your arms in the air.

“I am going to bed now. It’s been a long day, and I think sleep is what I need,” you said, rubbing the back of your neck before glancing over at the clock.

Scaramouche gets up from his seat and walks over to where you’re standing. “I’ll take you to your room if that’s okay with you,” Scaramouche offers, holding his arm out for you to take.

“Yeah, sure! I don’t mind!” You say, linking your arms with Scaramouche.

Heizou holds his hands up to stop you and Scaramouche from leaving. “You’re just going to leave us all without a goodnight kiss?” Heizou teases, pouting at you while batting his eyelashes at you.

You roll your eyes playfully and snort. “Ah, I see! How could I forget about our bedtime rituals?” You ask, unlinking your arms around Scaramouche’s arm.

The bedtime routine for you is to bid each man goodnight with hugs, kisses, or both depending on the man. Usually, it would take a while for you to bid everyone goodnight because one man wouldn’t want to hand you over to the next person because he wanted to hold onto you longer— which is where you are currently at: stuck in Zhongli’s arms and his refusal to hand you over to Thoma.

You poke Zhongli’s biceps. “Zhongli, I need to bid Thoma goodnight before going to bed. He’s the last person,” you pout, repeatedly poking him.

Zhongli tightens his grip around you with a sigh. Zhongli leans down to your ear, pressing his lips on your ear. “Must I let you go? How about you stay with me for the night?” Zhongli murmurs, closing his eyes.

“Hey! If I can’t have [Y/N] sleep in my room tonight, then no one can!” Aether complains loudly, plopping down on the couch with his arms crossed over his torso. 

You reach toward Thoma. Thoma grabs your hands and pulls you toward him, attempting to pull you from Zhongli’s grasp. Zhongli tightens his grip around you and narrows his eyes at Thoma, who is struggling to release you from the former archon’s grasp.

Thoma laughs breathlessly. “Come on, Zhongli! I’m only going to be bidding [Y/N] goodnight! It’s not like I’ll be stealing them from you for the night,” Thoma rolls his eyes playfully. 

Zhongli rests his chin on your shoulders. “Then you can just say goodnight to my dearest and call it a day,” he huffs, burying his face into your neck.

The men watch Zhongli and Thoma plays tug-of-war with you for the next five minutes. You end up breaking the tug-of-war by batting at the two men like a cat. You give Zhongli a look before slowly walking toward Thoma, wrapping your arms around his waist and narrowing your eyes at Zhongli, who narrows his eyes in return.

“Who knew the God of Contracts is clingy,” Kazuha chuckles, shaking his head.

Gorou leans toward Kazuha and whispers, “I don’t think I would want to be Zhongli’s competition. He’s more possessive over [Y/N] than we all are.”

To be fair, all of the men are possessive over you. And you gotta admit, you love it when the men are possessive over you. Who wouldn’t be? Imagine having twenty-five attractive men wrapped around your finger, and they’re willing to rip an arm off of someone if they (the person that isn’t in the harem) touch you? Despite you loving the men’s possessiveness over you, you did set a boundary they cannot cross, and they respect those boundaries of yours. Plus, they may be possessive over you, but they’re not overly possessive to the point where you cannot talk to anyone that’s not them, nor do they prevent you from doing things you love and going outside the abode.

You unwrap your arms around Thoma and walk toward the stairs. “Okay, goodnight!” You said, waving at the men and running up the stairs to your bedroom.

The next day, you’re rudely awoken from your sleep by the feeling of throbbing between your legs and your body being overheated. You look around your bedroom sleepily and panting. You sit and toss your blanket off your body. Your body is covered in a thin layer of sweat, nearly soaking through your clothes. You’re not entirely sure if your menstrual cycle is close or not because you’re feeling unbelievably horny.

You end up taking a shower to wake up and cool your overheated body. And now here you are, sitting in the bathtub, letting cold water rain down on you while you try to find a way to relieve this feeling between your legs. You’re not a prude. You’ve masturbated to relieve yourself before. But this feeling is stronger, and it's unavoidable. Therefore, that is what you did in the shower for the next fifteen minutes— trying to relieve yourself and soothe the aching between your legs. Did it work? No, it did not work at all.

After your failed attempts of trying to relieve yourself, you step out of the bathroom. The only bright side is that you’re not covered in sweat like how you were when you first woke up. Well, rudely awoken from your sleep, to be more specific. You’re tempted to go back to bed and sleep the horniness away, but you know it won’t be going away any time soon. Your thoughts are interrupted by someone knocking at your bedroom door.

“Who is it?” You ask, slowly walking to the door.

“Oh, good! You’re awake! Are you ready for your check-up today?” You hear Tighnari ask.

You sigh in relief. A check-up, right! That’s what you need right now so you can know what’s going on with your body. 

You grab the door handle and open the door. “Is the check-up going to be now, or will it be after breakfast?” You ask.

Albedo shrugs. “Whichever is good to you. We can give you a check-up before breakfast if that’s what you prefer,” replies Albedo.

“Can we do it now? I’m not feeling well, and I don’t think the check-up should be delayed any longer,” you said, leaning your head against the door frame with a shaky sigh.

Tighnari and Albedo look at you worriedly before taking you to the laboratory in the basement of the estate. While escorting you to the laboratory, the three of you walk past the other men. They greeted you, but you were busy telling Albedo and Tighnari the issue to acknowledge them. The men ended up following you, Tighnari, and Albedo to the lab.

In the laboratory, you’re sitting at the examination table. Baizhu takes your temperature while Dottore presses the back of his hand against your forehead. You’re very warm, almost like you’re running a fever despite feeling healthy. Unless you count the heat coursing through your veins and bubbling inside your guts to be unhealthy.

“Let me make this clear: you woke up feeling like you’re a dog in heat, and you were covered in a thin layer of sweat,” Scaramouche says, leaning against the wall.

You nod hesitantly and narrow your eyes at Scaramouche’s comment. “That is correct. Although I wish you didn’t include the ‘dog in heat’ part,” you reply, fidgeting in your seat.

Itto looks at you quizzically. “Are you sure you didn’t wake up from a wet dream? It happened to me before, and you know how that ended,” Itto says, wiggling his eyebrows at you.

You do; you do know how it ended. It ended with Itto using you like a cocksleeve for almost three hours. That man is an Oni. Therefore you’re not surprised that he can go on for that long. Heck, he could go on longer if he wanted to, but seeing how worn out you were, he decided to stop at the three-hour mark. You couldn’t walk for the next few days, and you made Itto carry you around the estate as punishment. Then again, it’s not like Itto was forced to do it. He offered to carry you around, and you accepted his offer.

Ayato rolls his eyes after hearing Itto’s comment. “You did not need to mention that at all, Itto. You could’ve stopped at the question,” Ayato mutters, crossing his arms over his chest with a sharp huff of breath.

You think about it for a minute. It’s possible that you could have woken up from a wet dream, but usually, you remember your dreams. If you did have a wet dream, you wonder what it’s about because it made you feel like, according to Scaramouche, a dog in heat. Maybe it is a wet dream, but the heat inside your core and the throbbing between your legs feels unbearable. You’re trying to keep yourself together and not fall apart in front of the men. 

“Are you guys sure it’s not the powder that is causing [Y/N]’s body to act this way?” Thoma asks, looking at you worriedly.

Your eyes widen, and you nod, pointing at Thoma. “Yeah! What he said! It’s most likely the powder from the flower that’s causing me to feel this way!” You exclaim.

Kaveh hums and looks at the flower sitting in the glass case. “Since you, Dottore, Baizhu, Albedo, and Tighnari have yet to experiment or study the plant and powder, I’m not entirely sure if that’s something we can automatically confirm to be the reason why you’re feeling this way,” Kaveh comments, tapping on his chin.

“Then what else could be affecting [Y/N] this way? They didn’t eat anything weird, and I’m sure it’s not a wet dream Itto claims it to be,” Al Haitham interjects, narrowing his eyes at Kaveh.

You run your fingers through your hair with a frustrated sigh. You know it’s the flower that’s making you feel this way. You’re the only one that got sprayed by this flower, and you inhaled large gulps of this mysterious powder. Days before going to the Chasm, you felt fine. You didn’t feel like a dog in heat. There’s no pit of fire in your core that is raging days prior to going to the Chasm.

You rub your temples with a frustrated sigh. “Is there a way for me to…. Stop this feeling? Or at least put it on hold, or make it less torturous?” You ask.

Archons, this is so frustrating. How else are you supposed to calm this heat in your gut? It’s driving you insane, and you want it to stop. It feels like you have a fire pit in your core, burning wildly, inextinguishable.

“The best we could tell you is to masturbate, but I’m assuming you already did it,” Dottore says, raising an eyebrow at you, the corner of his lips quirking up.

You huff and look away, your face becoming hot under his and the other men’s gaze. “So much for helping,” you mutter. “It’s gotten to the point where it starts to hurt a little bit,” you add, swinging your feet back and forth.

“Maybe whatever you’re feeling will go away as the day progresses. I think the best thing Dottore, Baizhu, Albedo, and Tighnari could do is give you medication,” Cyno comments, looking over at Baizhu, who walks up to you and hands you a small pill.

“This should help ease the pain you’re feeling. If the pain worsens, or if the feeling you’re experiencing right now progresses, please let us know,” Baizhu instructs, stroking your hair.

You grab the cup from Gorou’s hand and swallow the pill. After swallowing the pill, you and the men walked back upstairs and got ready for breakfast. The medication sort of eased the pain, but it did not quell the heat in your core.

You tried your best to ignore it, but the heat is hard to ignore because of how strong it is. Once you have finished breakfast, you excuse yourself and retreat back to your bedroom. The feeling of needing to be relieved died down for about four hours. It’s still there, but it’s not as bad as when you first woke up. You’re able to take a peaceful nap without being rudely woken up by the intense throbbing between your legs.

While you’re napping in your bedroom, the men are in the laboratory, trying to figure out what the powder could be. The flower does not have the powder on it, even if it's been almost twenty-four hours since you and the men have taken it from the Chasm. Dainsleif stares at the flower intently, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

“I find it strange how the flower had powder on it before we discovered it. What’s even more strange is how the flower didn’t produce any more of the powder,” Dainsleif mutters.

Childe shrugs. “Maybe the reason why the flower didn’t produce any more of that powder is that we ripped it from the roots,” Childe suggests, stroking his chin while pacing back and forth in the laboratory.

Diluc looks over at Dottore, Albedo, Tighnari, and Baizhu. The four men are conducting experiments on the powder that is sprayed all over you. The flower continues to sit in its case, untouched. Diluc runs his fingers through his red hair and sighs.

“A Mora for your thought?” Kaeya asks, standing beside the wine tycoon. 

Diluc pinches the space between his eyebrows and sighs for the umpteenth time. “It bothers me that we can’t find a way to help [Y/N]. It’s affecting them so much that they had to request to take medication to ease the pain,” Diluc replies. 

Aether and Heizou approach Kaeya and Diluc.

“If it’s something we’re suspecting, then there might be a way to help them ease the pain,” says Heizou, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly.

Xiao narrows his eyes at Heizou from across the room. “Why are you so calm about this? Do you not care that [Y/N] is suffering?” Xiao demands, pushing himself off the wall and walking toward Heizou and Aether.

Xiao is now standing in front of both Aether and Heizou, his arms crossing over his chest while he glares at Heizou, who blinks at him calmly. Aether laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, and Aether pats Xiao’s shoulders. Xiao doesn’t flinch. Instead, he continues to stare at Heizou with a small glare.

“I think Heizou is trying his best to remain calm. We won’t be able to find the solution to [Y/N]’s suffering if we’re all panicking and hovering over them constantly,” Aether explains.

Over at the table where the four men are conducting the research, Venti trots up to the four men and peek over their shoulders with curiosity. Albedo is looking at the powder from under the microscope, and they’re all wearing masks to prevent themselves from inhaling the powder.

“I highly suggest you wear a mask when you’re entering our area. It’s not safe if you’re with us unprotected,” says Albedo, handing a surgical mask to Venti.

Venti shrugs his shoulders and puts the mask on over his face before gazing at the four men curiously. “So! Do you guys know what the powder is?” Venti asks.

“They’ve been inspecting the powder for a while now. It can take some more time for them to figure out what it really is,” Pantalone hollers from across the room.

Gorou hums and plops down on the loveseat in the laboratory, resting his elbow on the armrest. “Do you guys think the flower produced that powder, or did someone else put the powder on it so it can prevent people from taking the flower from the Chasm?” Gorou asks while his ears twitching with worry.

Capitano nods. “It’s possible that someone could cover the flower with the powder. If it is true, then we’re going to need to find out who it is,” Capitano answers, leaning in his seat.

Kazuha sighs and leans his head back, closing his eyes. “How long will it be until we get the results back?” Kazuha asks, turning his head in the four men’s direction.

Dottore slowly looks away from the test tube and takes his mask off before approaching where the others are gathered in the lab. It’s been almost an hour since you retreated to your bedroom to get some sleep. Therefore, it has been nearly an hour since he, Albedo, Baizhu, and Tighnari have been working closely to find out what the powder is made of and what it does to the human body.

“It shouldn’t be taking longer than two hours if there are four knowledgeable people working together to get the results,” Pierro mutters, his eyes scanning the laboratory with disinterest. 

Kaveh sighs loudly, leaning against the wall with his head tilting forward. “And how much longer is that? I feel like we’ve been down here for way too long,” Kaveh complains aloud.

Al Haitham rolls his eyes at Kaveh. “Can you not complain for the day? All you do is complain about the littlest things, Kaveh,” Al Haitham says, shooting a glare in Kaveh’s direction.

Kaveh scoffs and is about to retort when the other three men begin muttering to themselves. Everyone looks in their direction and slowly approaches them, stopping three feet away from where Albedo, Tighnari, and Baizhu are standing.

Heizou looks at the three men curiously. “Did you guys get the results?” Heizou asks, raising his eyebrows at them.

Tighnari, Albedo, and Baizhu look at each other worriedly. The three men nod and take their gloves off, tossing them into the trash bin. They all give each other looks as if they’re mentally debating with each other to see who’s going to announce the results to everyone in the laboratory.

“We should’ve known what it was in the first place,” Tighnari sighs, slapping his forehead with a deep frown.

Aether looks at them anxiously. “What are you guys implying?” Aether asks, clenching and unclenching his fist.

“The powder that sprayed all over [Y/N] is a—”

Gorou and Tighnari perk up suddenly, their eyes widening, their pupils dilated. Back to your room, you wake up, and the medicine has either worn off or it wasn’t strong enough to diffuse the heat in your core. You kneel on your bed, curling up into a ball and groaning and whimpering. The aching between your legs has grown immensely. You feel your underwear becoming damp. Your wetness dampens through not only your underwear but also your sleep shorts.

You roll off your bed, bumping into your nightstand. The water pitcher and glass cup tumble off the nightstand, shattering into millions of pieces. You groan and fall to your knees, hugging your lower abdomen and whimpering softly. You didn’t know whether you wanted to clean the mess off your bedroom floor or continue to writhe in pain on the floor.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you chanted, pressing your hot and sweaty forehead against the wooden floor of your bedroom.

The heat in your core feels like a cramp. It hurts a lot, and you don’t think there’s any medication downstairs that can ease the pain. Not even masturbation can quell the pit of fire in your core. It hurts too much, and the ache seems to only grow even more.

Ayato sighs. “Well, go on! What is it?” Ayato asks, raising his eyebrows at Baizhu.

Baizhu sighs. “The powder that sprayed all over [Y/N] is an aphrodisiac. It’s sex pollen,” Baizhu says.

Cyno raises his eyebrows at Tighnari and Gorou. “Why are you guys acting that way?” Cyno asks.

“We need to check on [Y/N] immediately,” Gorou orders.

Everyone runs back upstairs to the estate and toward your bedroom. You lay on the ground, curled up in a ball, your sweat getting on the floor of your room. At this point, your clothes are drenched in sweat, and your underwear is completely soaked through. You want to feel humiliated, but you’re too hot and bothered to even feel a pinch of embarrassment. 

Loud sets of footsteps and chatter are coming up from the stairs. Your eyes widen, and you quickly get off the ground and crawl to the door to barricade the door with your body. The door handle jiggles. You quickly reach for the door handle and lock it to prevent anyone from coming into your room.

Childe curses under his breath. “Snookums? Are you okay?” Childe asks, banging on the door lightly.

You let out a shaky breath. “I’m fine, Childe.” You whisper, leaning your head against the door. 

“No. You’re not fine. We found out what you accidentally inhaled back at the Chasm,” Diluc replies, pushing Childe away from the door.

You sigh and press your lips into a thin line, fanning your overheated body with your sweat-soaked t-shirt. You’re tempted to strip off all your clothes, but the painful ache between your legs and the heat in your core is making it hard for you to do anything besides remain sitting where you’re at.

“You inhaled a large amount of aphrodisiac. We’re not sure whether the flower produced the aphrodisiac or if someone purposefully covered the flower with it to prevent people from taking the flower,” Capitano replies, leaning against the door frame.

You let out a breathless laugh. “That makes sense. No wonder I feel like a dog in heat,” you croak, closing your eyes and resting your head on the door.

“Please, let us in. We can find a way to help you with what you’re going through,” Kazuha pleads.

You shake your head, knowing the men won’t see it. As much as you want the feeling to go away, you can’t have the men be involved. You would rather ride it out and wait for it to disappear from your system.

You swallow the dry lump in your throat. “It hurts so much, but I don’t want any of you to get involved. Let me ride it out, and I’ll be fine,” you whisper.

Dottore sighs and rubs his forehead. “That’s the problem, [Y/N]. The only time the aphrodisiac will wear off is if you do something about it, not ride it out alone,” Dottore explains.

You curl your toes, run your fingers through your hair and start to pull at the roots. Your breathing is labored, your chest is heaving, you feel so hot, and you want it all to go away. 

“I don’t want to force any of you to help me with my issue,” you mutter, wiping your sweaty neck with the back of your hand.

You wince when you feel that the back of your hand is also sweaty. You’re so hot. Not even the cool air in your bedroom can cool you down. Heck, you think if the men were to leave you in Dragonspine, the sheer cold wouldn’t bother you one bit.

Dainsleif sighs and close his eyes. “You’re not forcing us to do anything, sweetheart. We want to help you, and seeing you suffer is the last thing we want you to go through,” Dainsleif replies, trying to open your bedroom door, only to no avail. 

“We? All of you are going to take turns rearranging my insides, or is it going to be one person that does it?” You mutter, wiping the sweat from your eyebrows with the collar of your shirt.

Xiao looks at the men from the corner of his eyes. “I would prefer to have you for myself. I don’t like sharing,” Xiao states.

Itto perks up after hearing Xiao’s response. “Yeah! Me too! If there’s someone that can help you ride through this wave of sex pollen, it’s the one and Oni!” Itto says, pointing at himself with his thumb.

You laugh nervously, rubbing your neck. “I don’t know how long this aphrodisiac is going to be in my system, but for now, I think one person should suffice,” you murmur.

“Do you have a preference in mind? Immortals? People with furry ears? Old people? People with eyepatches and masks?” Venti trails off, looking at the men around him.

You shake your head. “No, I don’t have a preference. If I did, I wouldn’t be dating all of you now, would I?” you mutter, closing your eyes.

“Alright! Now that’s settled, we’ll send in someone! Just open the door, and whoever is chosen will step into your room to help you with your problem,” you hear Heizou say.

“Okay,” you mumble.

You unlock your bedroom door and slowly crawl away from the door. Everything is silent, other than the faint sound of your panting. You hug your knees to your chest, digging your fingernails into your calves. You watch the doorknob slowly turn, and the door cracks open.

Note: DUN, DUN, DUNNNN! Who could it be!? Ready to choose who's going to be the first one to get their smut in this new smut series? Click [HERE] for the poll for whichever character you want to be the first one to get their smut! As the story progresses, the men who already have their fics will be removed from the poll and previous polls will be closed. As for new characters, they will be added, but they will get their smut if they get the most votes. If no one gets voted, then I will choose and my close friends/mods in my discord server get to choose their favorite Genshin man to go after my choice [that is if people don't vote] ✨ Anyway, to my new and/or returning readers, please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

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[vintagestarlight]

Massage

Summary: You give Price a massage after he gets back from a particularly hard deployment.

Pairing: John Price x fiancée!reader

Word Count: ~1.5k

Warnings: mentions of injury(nothing too graphic), light sexual mentions, John Price(because let's be honest this man is a warning okay), fluff, 18+ MDNI

A/N: So Price won by a landslide in the poll😂 here's one of the fics I had planned so I hope yall enjoy! I did right this pretty drunk so apologies if it isn't great

Also, I didn't expect so many people to vote so thank you all so much!😭🫶🏼 Requets are also open!! Feel free to send in whatever you want just make sure it follows my blog rules! I've also got a few more fics in my drafts as well :)

***beware of typos(I tried my best to catch them all)

John turned the ignition off and his truck came to a stop. He looked at the house the two of you shared and smiled as he took in the warm glow coming from the window. Before you came into his life the house was cold and dark; he preferred coming home to this rather than the dark windows he used to. John opened the door and stepped out, wincing as he irritated the bruised muscles. This last deployment was harder than most; although everyone made it back alive, and for that he was thankful, going hand-to-hand with a mercenary ended with the mercenary dead but John fell from a metal walkway grate to the ground below. It resulted in a number of bruises, scratches, and a sprained shoulder.

John lifted his duffle bag out of the back seat and thought about how you would fret over the bruises that blemished his skin. You always checked him when he came home to see if he gained any new scars or broken body parts and he found it endearing. He walked slowly toward the door, his sore body preventing him from going faster. He dug in his pocket for his key and slipped it into the lock before stepping inside. “Love I’m home,” He called out, setting his duffle bag down by the door with a sigh of relief to have the weight off of his injured shoulder; he had a brace that kept him from moving his shoulder but it did nothing for the annoying pain of putting weight on it.

“Back here!” He heard your voice coming from the shared bedroom so he toed off his boots and walked down the hallway. He saw soft light coming from the bathroom and when he walked in he saw something that made his breath catch in his throat. You were in the bathtub with your hair loosely pulled back and sipping on a glass of wine, candles casting a warm illuminating glow. It wasn't anything overly sexual but it still made his face flush; here he was nearing forty and you made him feel like a school boy. “Hey love,” he said, taking in the sight of you before bending down and giving you a kiss. “I’m so glad you’re home,” You said, a heavy weight finally lifting off your chest at seeing your fiancée back in one piece. The black brace over his beige shirt was not lost on you but you didn’t say anything as you decided it was not as bad as it could be. “How’s the bath?” John asked. “You could always join me and find out,” You said, taking a sip of the red wine, looking at him over the rim of the glass. “Now how could I say no to that?” He smirked.

He took off the brace that was nothing but uncomfortable before undoing his belt and stripping off his pants. He slipped off his shirt, wincing as his shoulder twinged, and heard you gasp. “John!” You did your once over to ensure he hadn’t come home severely injured when your eyes landed on the bruises that colored his torso. “What the hell happened?” You asked, wincing when you thought about what could’ve caused such bruises. “If I told you that love, you’d be even more frantic,” He chuckled. “Don’t laugh John!” You chastised. John slipped in behind you after stripping completely, groaning at the warm water, and let you rest against him. “I’m sorry love but don’t freak out too much,” He replied. “They really do look worse than they are,” He added, planting a kiss on your head. He felt you relax more, as if you were afraid of hurting him, and he sighed. The weight of you pressed against him was actually comforting and he wrapped his arms around you. “At least you came home to me alive,” You said. “Just like I promised,” John replied, a long sigh leaving his body.

The two of you just sat there for a little while, your thumb absentmindedly grazing John’s arm; grateful to have your fiancée back. You felt him rest his head on your shoulder and his weary body sagged as he relaxed. You shifted and accidentally pressed your weight on one of John’s bruises and he grunted. “I’m sorry babe!” You said, turning around to sit on his lap carefully trying to avoid the purple-ish tender spots. “Don’t worry I’m tougher than I look,” He joked, running his hands along your sides. “You know,” You started, wrapping your arms around his neck. “I think I know of a way to make you feel better,” You said in a slow voice. “Oh yeah? I think I’m liking where this is going,” John replied, planting a kiss on your nose, then your cheeks, and finally your lips. ‘Hmm… I like the way you think but I was actually thinking about a massage,” You said. “Help those aching muscles,” You offered and smiled as he smirked. “Now that’s a good way to welcome a man home,” he said with a cheeky grin. “Why don’t you go lay on the bed and I’ll dry off and get the oil,” You suggested and stepped out of the tub.

You felt John’s hungry eyes on you and you grinned; John always made you feel desirable even on your worst day. You heard the water splash as John stepped out after pulling the plug, dripping water on the floor. You wrapped yourself in a towel and felt him swat your ass, eliciting a squeal out of you as he laughed. “Don’t take too long,” He said. John also grabbed a towel and quickly dried himself, being mindful of his injuries, and pulled on a clean pair of boxers. You emerged from the bathroom with a bottle of baby oil and saw John lounging on the bed, his pupils blown wide with lust as he watched your towel clad body. “See something you like?” You teased, before dropping the towel leaving you stark naked and John groaned. “I think you should stay like this all the time,” He said, a bit disappointed when you pulled on a bra and panty set. “I suggest you settle down; you’re not exactly in peak condition for sex,” You chuckled. “Come on turn over,” You said, and waited until he was laying on his stomach, arms relaxed.

You got on top of him and straddled his hips, taking notice of the scratches on his back. There were several silver lines across his body from his several years of military service. You had counted every scar on his body countless times so you could always know when he got new ones. But these scratches were new; red and fresh in contrast to the silver healed scars. You squirted a quarter sized amount of baby oil on your hands, rubbed them together, and pressed your hands firmly on John’s back. Using light pressure you began to knead his shoulders, mindful not to press too hard on his injured one, and firmly moved down to his lower back. “Jesus love,” John groaned. John felt himself further relax as you helped ease his aching muscles. You used your thumbs to press into his lower back and rub in small circles before continuing those small circles all the way up his back to his neck.

You loved feeling his skin underneath your hands; the way his muscles rippled when you touched him and it made you feel good that you were able to give him this attention. You heard grunts and moans as you continued to work on his back and shoulders, slowly massaging away the tension that rested in his muscles. You felt your tough military husband become putty under your hands and you couldn't help but grin. “You know I was thinking,” you said, feeling him tense as you needed a particularly large knot at the base of his neck. “What's that love?” He grunted, his voice slurring slightly as your hands slowly lulled him closer to sleep. “I know we had plans to go to that new French place for dinner but maybe we could stay in tomorrow?” You suggested to him. “Maybe just stay in bed and order takeout,” you continued, applying a little more oil onto your hands and rubbing your hands down his arms as he lazily nodded his head. “Would you like that?” You asked. When you didn’t get a response you looked down at his languid form and realized his breathing had become deeper and he started to snore a little. You smiled and slowly got off his back, careful not to wake him, and pulled the covers over him. “Good night John,” you whispered, planting a kiss on his cheek and turning off the lamp before climbing in bed next to him. You soon fell asleep and slept better than you had in months.

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

Tethered.

The lines of friendship blur when you’re this close. Also known as - each of the times you’ve kissed Benny, Frankie, Santiago and Will.

Pairing - Benny Miller, Frankie Morales, Santiago Garcia, Will Miller x female reader

Age Rating - 18+

Warnings - Cursing, sexual content, mentions of sobriety

Word Count - 5523

Author's Note - by popular demand!! thank you to everyone who voted in the poll, it was so helpful!! don't worry, there is still a stewy hosseini fic coming very soon. i love writing for the triple frontier boys, so if anyone has any requests or particular thoughts, please send them my way. i'm also a total will girly, if you couldn't tell. as always, lots of love <3

my other triple frontier fics - Time, Tranquility and Home Is Where The Heart Is.

Masterlist. Requests.

Will’s strong hand rubs steady circles into your thigh under the table as you all hunch over laughing.

Benny’s telling the story of his bad date from the night before. The combination of his masterful storytelling and the whiskey that seems to be refilling itself is making you giddy, all of you high on the joy of being with your best friends. There’s no feeling quite like it, laughing until you cry.

“Wait, that doesn’t explain why she slapped you!” Santiago exclaims from opposite you, clapping Benny on the back.

“She slapped me because, it turns out, I’d kissed her best friend a few months ago. She called me a dog and everything,” he laughs, tears escaping from his eyes. “She had a strong hand!”

“Did you know who she was when you saw her?” Frankie asks, genuinely intrigued.

“I realised as soon as I sat down. I didn’t know it’d be a problem! Man, fuck blind dates,” Ben chuckles.

“Am I crazy for not seeing the issue here?” Santiago asks, looking around the table.

“I didn’t see it either, apparently. It’s not like me and Lucy ever went anywhere. It was just a kiss.” Benny’s face is scrunched up in confusion. It makes you want to smooth your thumb over the crease between his brows.

“She was giving me the look, I swear,” he continues. “So I went in for the kiss, and she hit me.”

The boys are all laughing again, and as guilty as you feel, you can’t help but join them. Benny has such an animated, expressive face, that even the most boring of stories are entertaining when being told by him. It’s a gift. He just has a way with people.

“What do you think, hermosa?” Santiago asks, looking at you pointedly. “Would you kiss someone your best friend has kissed?”

“I don’t know,” you reply carefully. “Depends on the situation, I guess. I’d try not to, I think.”

Will’s looking at you with amusement in his eyes, slight smirk on his face. It’s clear that no one is putting the pieces together.

“Would you, Santi?” you question, lips quirking up at the corners.

“Probably not. I’d avoid it, if possible,” he replies.

The whiskey is making you braver than usual, a warm buzz running through your veins. Without thinking, you laugh,

“Too late.”

Everyone looks at you, brows raised in confusion. Will’s grinning now, chuckling to himself quietly. You’re giggling at their faces, their naivety making you smile.

You watch as Frankie looks slowly around the table, and then back at you. Shaking his head, he catches your eyes and snickers.

“Minx,” he mutters, still smiling.

“Am I missing something here?” Benny asks, surveying the silent communication happening between you, Frankie and Will.

You sigh sarcastically and throw your drink back, downing it in one go. Well, we’re doing this, you think.

“I’ve kissed every single person at this table,” you start. “Which means you’ve all kissed the same girl your best friend has kissed.”

Santiago and Benny go silent for a moment, processing this new information. Will and Frankie are still smiling, already a step ahead.

“Wait, what?” Santiago finally speaks. “You have?”

“Oh no. Pope thought he was special,” Frankie laughs, head thrown back.

“Stop it, Francisco! You are special, Santi. It just so happens that they are too.”

You point generally at the other boys, all of them with their eyes fixed on you. You can see that Benny is still figuring things out, the alcohol making his brain work slower than usual.

“I’ve known you guys for years. We’ve been through a lot together. And you’re like, the four most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen! It was bound to happen sooner or later,” you justify.

Everyone’s laughing now, the final piece finally being put into the jigsaw. You can tell they’re all thinking back to their kisses – you are too.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

Benny had been the first one to kiss you.

It happened right at the beginning of his boxing career. He’d started working out religiously, meal planning, prepping for his first big fight. He set strict rules for himself – no alcohol, no women, no sex. You were glad he’d found an output for his energy, glad he was taking something so seriously – even if the idea of him getting hurt did terrify you.

The four of you had gone to support him, eager to see him win after months of watching him train and prepare. He’d really committed to the process, which was a surprise – Benny was a notorious ladies man. He loved to relax with a beer. But he’d never broken his self-made rules, not once. No matter the outcome of the fight, you were insanely proud of him. All of you were.

The atmosphere in the warehouse was electric. It was a big venue, with hundreds of people gathering to spectate. You hadn’t realised this was such a popular event. Adrenaline buzzed through the air, making you antsy with anticipation. You and the boys had front row seats by the ring, allowing you the perfect view, the ideal place to support Ben.

“I’m gonna go get us some beers,” Santiago yells over the noise.

“I’ll come help you,” you shout back, linking your hand into his so you don’t get separated.

You make your way out of the double doors and down the hallway in attempt to find the bar. On the journey, you spot a sign that points to the locker rooms.

“You order, I’ll be right back,” you tell Santiago, before following the directions.

You push open the door and step into the locker room. Benny is sat on the bench, headphones blasting music so loud you can hear it from 10 feet away. You make your way over, and touch him on the shoulder gently. He doesn’t startle.

“I don’t want to disturb you, Ben. Just wanted to say good luck,” you say quietly.

He grabs your wrist and pulls you to sit next to him.

“You could never disturb me, honey. You’re my good luck charm,” he winks, and the cheekiness of it warms your chest.

He pulls you in, wrapping his arms around you, breathing in the scent of your strawberry shampoo. You inhale with him, and soak up the heat that’s seeping into your skin.

“It doesn’t matter what happens out there,” you tell him. “I’ll love you no matter what.”

You press a kiss to his cheek, and throw a beaming smile at him before leaving. You find Santi at the bar, and help him carry the beers back to the boys.

You’ve never seen this side of Benny. He’s throwing and dodging punches like it’s second nature. The man moves like ocean waves, fluid and constant, never once caught off guard. There’s a lot to be said about the pastime of men fighting each other, but honestly, Ben has found his calling.

Electricity crackles through the air as Benny swings his last punch. His opponent falls to the mat as you rise from your seats. All of you instantly begin screaming, roars of celebration filling the space. Ben throws his fist in the air, signalling his victory. It’s rare, this feeling. The five of you don’t win very often. This needs to be savoured.

Eventually, the cheering dies down, and Benny leaves the ring to go and get changed. The boys are all ecstatic, chattering with pride in their voices about their brother, their teammate, their best friend.

“Be right back,” you tell them, moving to slip out of the doors and down the hallway.

You strut into the locker room, eyes scanning the space for the man you’re looking for. You find him stood, unwrapping his hands. Before you know it, you’re running into him, wrapping your arms around his neck as he spins you. His bare chest is dripping with sweat. He’s covering you in it, but you couldn’t care less. You’re both laughing, joy and love filling the air.

“I’m so proud of you,” you breathe into his neck, still in his arms. Your feet finally find the floor, and you lean back slightly to stare up at him.

“Couldn’t have done it without you, pretty girl,” he beams at you.

You can feel the energy coursing through his veins. He’s thrumming with it, buzzing with adrenaline – it feels like he’s going to burst. He’s practically vibrating.

Before you can even register what’s happening, Benny pulls you back to him, smashing his lips onto yours. He skims his hands down your back to grab at the backs of your thighs, lifting you up effortlessly. You wrap your legs around his waist and press yourself into him.

The kiss is needy, desperate, pulsing - all teeth and tongue. Benny walks you backwards to slam you against the lockers, using the pressure of his body to lean forward into you. Your hands thread through his hair, pulling forcefully. He groans, deep and guttural, and it’s one of the most gorgeous sounds you’ve ever heard.

He’s grabbing at your ass as he dips his head down to leave open mouthed kisses on your neck, biting at the column of your throat. Your dress is practically around your waist, and you roll your hips forward, searching for friction. It’s your turn to groan now.

“Fuck, honey,” he murmurs. “Prettiest sound I’ve ever heard.”

He holds you up with one arm, and moves the other hand to twist into the waistband of your underwear. He’s pulling them down when someone bangs on the door, startling you both.

“Benny! Champion! Get out here, man, or we’re coming in!”

It’s Will’s voice, that deep tone instantly recognisable.

You pull your lips from Benny’s, your head dropping back against the locker with a clang.

“Shit,” he chuckles, gently pressing a kiss to your sternum.

“Shit,” you repeat, giggling gently.

Benny puts you down carefully, smoothing down your dress with those big hands of his. He fixes your hair next, sweetly moving it out of your face and tucking it behind your ear. He runs his thumb under your bottom lip, wiping where your lipstick has smudged.

“Do we look like we just made out?” you ask him, amusement evident in your tone.

“You do. I look like I just won a fight.”

He smiles at you, and you can’t help but smile back. God, this man. One minute he’s got you whining against the lockers, and the next he’s got you giggling like a schoolgirl.

“Come on,” you urge. “They’re gonna come busting in here any second.”

Right on cue, the door swings open, three men barrelling inside. They all jump on Benny, ruffling his hair and pulling him into a headlock affectionately. You watch from a short distance away, smile still etched on your face. You love them so much you’re worried your heart is going to burst out of your chest.

You look at Will, and find him smirking at you. Always a step ahead. Frankie grabs your wrist and pulls you into their celebrations. You’re being thrown around like you’re in some sort of whirlpool, dizzy with the joy of being with your best friends. You wouldn’t change a thing, even if you are a little lightheaded.

You catch eyes with Benny, and he winks. You know that the events of tonight aren’t going to change anything between the two of you. Your friendship is so solid, you’re convinced it can withstand anything. The five of you are connected, somehow. This unexplainable, invisible tether, binding you wherever you go. The kind of friendship that they write books about.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

Frankie was the next person to kiss you.

Or maybe you kissed him. You’re still not sure.

The five of you were at a bar downtown, drinking and laughing. The boys were a few beers deep, muscles relaxing and minds quietening.

But not Frankie.

When he’d made the decision to get sober, he’d included everything. He wasn’t a man who believed in partially sober, or ‘California sober’. If he was going to commit, he was going to commit fully. Alcohol included.

Usually, it didn’t bother him. He could go to bars with his friends, happily crack open beers for them when they watched a football game, make a mean margarita when they hung out at his pool in the summer. But that night, he was on edge. He didn’t know why, couldn’t pinpoint any reason specifically, but he was on overdrive. His mind wouldn’t slow down - thoughts barrelling into him at a hundred miles an hour. He was debating going home to bed, before realising that he was designated driver. So, he’d sat back in his seat, taken a deep breath, and tried to pretend like he wasn’t about to combust.

You’d noticed. Of course you had. You, with your observant eyes, your careful gaze, your genuine smile. You’d noticed.

Will had too. He was keeping an eye on Frankie from across the booth, but he wasn’t worried. He knew you were watching him like a hawk. That reassured Will to no end.

“Oh yeah? Come on then, old man, put your money where your mouth is!” Benny’s yelling at Santiago, grabbing him by the bicep, up and out of his chair. You watch as he drags him over to the pool table, determined to prove himself.

No matter where you were, or what you were doing, somehow, Benny and Santiago always managed to turn it into a competition. You, Will and Frankie were always happy to watch – you usually ended up playing referee, only interfering when someone cheated or got too rowdy.

The two of them began setting up a game, leaving you at the booth with the other two.

“I’m gonna get some air,” Frankie says suddenly, standing up and making his way out of the door.

Will gives you a look of concern.

“I got it. Just make sure those two idiots don’t kill each other with pool cues, please,” you joke.

Will chuckles and nods, squeezing your waist as you move past him to follow Frankie.

Outside, you find him around the side of the bar, leaning against the brick wall. He’s breathing heavily, clearly trying to get a handle on things. You watch as he takes off his hat and runs his fingers through his hair. He slides down the wall, sitting on the cool ground, legs bent in front of him.

You walk over and sit down next to him, ignoring the feeling of the cold concrete underneath your bare legs. You lean into him slightly, placing your head on his shoulder. He breathes you in, and you feel some of the tension melt from his muscles.

Eventually, you speak.

“You okay?”

He wraps his arm around your shoulder, pulling you in closer.

“Yeah, cariño, I’m okay,” he murmurs. “I’m usually fine in bars, it doesn’t bother me. Guess I’m just anxious tonight.”

You hum in understanding, before realising something.

“What’s today’s date?”

He looks at you with puzzlement written all over his face, but answers you anyway.

“March 16th.”

“Happy one year of sobriety, Francisco.”

You can see it all clicking into place in his head. The reason he’s been on pins all day, the reason he’s been so wound up tonight, unable to settle. You figured it out before he could. Clever girl.

“And I’m celebrating it in a bar, apparently. How appropriate,” he laughs. It’s a real, hearty, genuine laugh. You love when he laughs like this – so hard that he starts wheezing. It’s so endearing, it makes you want to cry.

“I can’t believe I forgot. A year ago, it was like, the biggest milestone ever. And I forgot.”

You can tell he’s almost disappointed with himself. But you’re not. No, quite the opposite, actually.

“You see how great that is though, right?” you ask him. “You’re so busy living your life now, working, being the best dad ever, that you didn’t even have to think about it. It’s not a bad thing that you forgot about it, Frankie.”

He pulls you closer, both arms wrapped around you, your head pressed into the crook of his neck.

“How do you do it, hermosa?”

“Do what?”

“Always know exactly what to say.”

“Years of knowing you, probably. Years of loving you,” you answer.

“I don’t deserve you,” he whispers, but you hear him clear as day.

“No, I don’t deserve you. I’m so proud of you, Francisco.”

He pulls away from you to look at you earnestly. He smiles at you, and you grin back at him. If love could lift you up, you’d be floating, both of you levitating with it.

Frankie leans in closer to you, and you mirror the movement. You’re not sure who kisses who, but suddenly his lips are on yours, his hands moving to cradle your face. It’s careful, and it’s gentle, and it’s so full of gratitude and history that it takes everything in you not to break out into a grin. One of his hands moves through your hair as the other one caresses your cheek. You can’t remember the last time you were kissed so tenderly. Neither can he.

Unbeknownst to you, Will has come out to check on you both. He stops in his tracks when he sees the two of you wrapped up in each other. His heart swells in his chest, and he can’t help but smile. He knows that this won’t change anything between you and Frankie. It’s just the comfort he needed – you both needed. He makes his way back inside quietly, grateful for the both of you and the way you look after each other.

Eventually, you both pull apart. Frankie rests his forehead on yours, and takes the first full breath he’s taken all day. His shoulders relax, his jaw unclenches. He’s okay, thanks to you.

“Thank you, cielito,” he murmurs.

“For what?”

“Everything. Knowing me better than I know myself. Knowing all of us better than we know ourselves.”

“Someone’s gotta keep you all alive,” you grin, and he chuckles, the vibration of it settling into your bones, warming you up from the inside out.

He pulls you back against his side, wrapping his arms around you. You both sit against the red brick, cold ground underneath you, for what feels like hours.

“There they are!” Santiago yells when he spots you both.

“Mom, Dad, can we go home?” Benny jokes, clearly down one drink too many.

“Of course we can, baby,” you smile, pulling Frankie to his feet with you.

You all clamber into Frankie’s truck – you riding shotgun, the other boys crammed in the back. You reach for your drivers hand, and interlace your fingers, resting your palms in your lap. You hold onto him all the way home, and can’t help but notice how much lighter he seems.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

Santiago kissed you next.

The five of you were having a pool day at Frankie’s, trying to cool down in the Texan summer heat. It was rare, for all of you to have the same day off, so you planned to make the most of it.

The four boys were already in the backyard when you arrived. Letting yourself in, you made your way through the house, briefly stopping in the kitchen to put your popsicles in the freezer. You’d purposely picked the strawberry ones, knowing they were Frankie’s daughters favourite. She was at her mom’s house for the week, but you knew she’d be back at the weekend.

“Hey, honey!” Benny yells when he spots you at the back door.

All of them turn to look at you, and you’re slightly taken aback by all the golden skin on display. Benny is wearing swim shorts with an inseam that can’t be any more than 5 inches, strong thighs just begging to be bitten. Will’s navy shorts compliment his blond hair beautifully, and Santiago’s green ones bring out the dark brown of his eyes. Frankie still has his shirt on, but it hugs his biceps just right. Damn, you think. I might just have the most attractive best friends in the world.

They’re all grinning at you as you survey each of them. You know they don’t mind being ogled just a little.

“Eyes up here, princess,” Santiago teases, no seriousness whatsoever in his voice. You scoff and throw your head back in a laugh, all of them simultaneously joining you in your amusement.

You put down your bag and kick off your shoes, before grabbing the hem of your dress.

“Give us a show, Miss Supermodel,” Benny whistles, winking playfully.

You peel your dress over your head slowly, wiggling your hips as you go. You’re left in a little black bikini that admittedly doesn’t leave much to the imagination. You don’t mind. You’re safe here.

They’re all whistling and cheering, make you laugh. You never feel more appreciated than when you’re with these boys. It’s everything. They’re everything.

“It’s like Sports Illustrated in real life,” Frankie grins, bumping your shoulder with his.

“Prettiest girl I’ve ever seen,” Will says quietly when you catch his gaze. You roll your eyes playfully, but smile at him genuinely, silently thanking him.

Your eyes flicker to Santiago. He has a look in his eyes that you’ve never seen before. It’s more than his usual appreciation. It’s hungry, hot, burning. It makes your skin prickle, the hairs on your neck standing up. You have to get away from his stare before you jump his bones right in Frankie’s backyard.

“Want me to make you a margarita?” Frankie asks, innocently breaking through the moment.

“Yes, please. That sounds amazing.”

He smiles at you before retreating to the kitchen, Benny following him in search of beer.

The heat doesn’t ease up all day. It’s sweltering, covering you all in a sheen of sweat that can’t seem to be wiped away.

Santiago’s gaze doesn’t help your warmth. Every time you look over, he’s surveying you carefully, eyes raking over your body in a way that makes your breathing quicken. There’s always been chemistry between you, sure. You have chemistry with all of the boys. But it’s never been like this with Santiago. Yes, you flirt with each other – it’s in both of your natures. But this is different. This is real.

You spend all day lounging around. Frankie keeps you topped up with margaritas as you make trips in and out of the pool, messing around with the boys. Benny hoists you up onto his shoulders in the water, throwing you up into the air as high as he can and laughing when you splash back down. You and Will throw a ball back and forth, doubling over when he overshoots and hits Frankie, who’s soaking up the sun in a lawn chair. In the late afternoon, Frankie fires up the grill, preparing to barbeque for dinner.

“Pope, you gonna help me?” he shouts from the deck.

Santiago looks at you, swiping his tongue over his bottom lip, before joining him. You release a breath you didn’t know you were holding. There’s anticipation bubbling at the pit of your stomach, butterflies swirling. Warmth has settled in your core, and Santi’s heated glances are only fuelling the fire.

The sun finally gives you some respite in the early evening. You all settle on the grass, drinks in hand, laughing about nothing and everything. Benny’s telling you about his next fight, describing his opponent in hilarious detail. You look down, and realise your glass is empty.

“I’m gonna get a refill. Anyone want anything?” you ask, smiling as you watch Benny jokingly pretend to box his brother.

“Can you grab me a beer, princesa?” Santiago asks, pointed gaze trained on you.

You nod and make your way inside, praying that it’s cooler in the kitchen. The sun might have gone in, but the warmth in your core hasn’t left.

You reach into the fridge for the jug of margaritas that Frankie made earlier. You’re rising onto your tiptoes to fetch a new glass from the top of the cabinet when you feel a presence against your back. Santiago grabs one from the shelf and places it on the counter in front of you, leaning forward as he does it. His lips are brushing the shell of your ear, and you shudder out a breath.

“So you’re feeling it too, mi amor?” he murmurs.

“Yes,” you breathe. You’re worried you might combust if he keeps speaking to you in that deep, low, raspy tone of his.

“Don’t know what’s gotten into me. Can’t keep my eyes off you,” he whispers. He feels a shiver wrack through your body and chuckles.

You turn around to face him, and he steps forward, caging you in against the counter, arms on either side of you. You can’t go anywhere. You don’t want to.

“God, you’re so fuckin’ pretty,” he practically purrs.

He runs his thumb across your bottom lip, testing the waters. You catch it with your teeth and pull it into your mouth, biting down gently before sucking, not once breaking eye contact. He groans and tilts his head back, exposing his throat to you. You tangle a hand in the hair at the nape of his neck, and give him a look that says I dare you.

Santiago surges forward to capture your lips with his. It’s desperate and needy - a perfect representation of both of your states all day. He slips a strong thigh between your legs and pushes upward, making you whine. You’re pressing yourself into him, trying to get as close as possible. His hands are everywhere all at once – your hips, your hair, your back, your ass. He wants to feel all of you, and can’t decide where to start.

You feel drunk off of him as he kisses you. His tongue is making you melt, his steady hands the only thing keeping you upright. You could kiss him like this for hours, surrendering yourself to this man you call your best friend. This man you’ll love forever.

You’re so lost in each other that you don’t notice Will entering the kitchen. He clocks the situation in front of him and tries to exit silently, walking backwards out the way he came in. He knocks into the recycling bin, startling you and Santiago, causing you to jump apart and hit your head on the cabinet behind you.

“Shit, sweetheart, you okay?” Will asks, genuine concern etched on his face.

Santiago cradles the back of your head as he looks at you, eyes searching yours for any signs of pain.

“I’m good, I’m good, don’t worry,” you reassure them.

Will smirks at you and winks cheekily before he leaves, grabbing a beer on his way out.

“Oh god,” you groan, leaning forward to rest your head against Santiago’s chest. He strokes your hair lovingly, a laugh rumbling through him.

You both know Will isn’t going to say anything. He’s the most trustworthy one of them all. Always observing, never gossiping.

“Love you, hermosa,” he chuckles.

“Love you too, Santi,” you reply, wide smile painted on your face.

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

Will was the last to kiss you.

It had been a long time coming.

Some people think Will is hard to read. He’s introverted, quiet, a wallflower of sorts. But he isn’t hard to read. Not really. You just have to know what you’re looking at.

He’d called you up one Sunday morning, asking if you had plans. When you’d told him you didn’t, he invited you over for a day of pancakes and terrible movies. It sounded perfect.

Which is how you found yourself lying on Will’s couch, legs tangled together, your back to his chest. His strong arms have found home on your waist, wrapped around your middle. You’re not sure how you ended up here, as you started the movie on opposite ends of the sofa. No one’s complaining.

It’s rare, this kind of intimacy. Casual, effortless, easy. No thought goes into it. You just fall into each other as if it’s the most natural thing in the world.

Will’s always had that gift. He makes people feel comfortable. No matter where you are, or what you’re doing, one look from those big blue eyes is all it takes to calm you down. It doesn’t matter if you’re being shot at on a battlefield, or just getting overwhelmed in a supermarket. Will’s there, and he knows exactly what you need. You’re convinced the man might be a mind reader, honestly.

He’s not, in fact, clairvoyant. He’s just a listener. No matter what you’re talking about, Will’s looking at you like you’re the centre of his universe. He’d be perfectly content to listen to your voice, to watch the way your eyes light up when you tell stories like this forever. You feel like the only girl in the world, as you lay here in his arms.

You’re deep in thought before you decide to break the silence, voice floating through the warmth of the room.

“Have you ever wanted to kiss me?”

You feel him hum from behind you before he answers softly.

“Every day since I met you.”

You nod gently before relaxing back into him, sighing in contentment.

“Have you ever wanted to kiss me?” he asks, mirroring your question.

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about kissing you, William,” you murmur.

His arms tighten around you slightly, pulling you impossibly closer. He presses a kiss into your hair, and another to your bare shoulder.

You sit in the silence for a while, letting the questions hang heavy in the air. It’s not awkward – no, it’s the exact opposite. It’s comfortable.

“I’ve kissed Benny, Frankie and Santi,” you confess quietly. You’re not sure why, but it just feels like something you need to get off your chest. You don’t want him to judge you.

“I know,” he speaks softly. He knows. Of course he does.

“Does it make you think differently of me?” you query. You almost don’t want to know the answer.

“Of course it doesn’t,” he replies earnestly. “Why would it?”

“I don’t know. Just doesn’t look good for me, I guess.”

“That’s not true, sweetheart. They’re your best friends. You love them. A kiss doesn’t have to change anything - not always, anyway.” He pauses. “Do you regret any of it?”

“Not at all,” you whisper.

“Exactly. We all think the world of you. You should know that by now.”

You shift and turn so that you’re sitting in between his legs, facing him. You press your forehead into his, and he smiles gently.

“I love you,” you say softly.

“I love you too,” he replies, grinning widely.

Suddenly, he jumps off the couch, pulling you up with him.

“Let’s go outside,” he prompts, dragging you out the door behind him.

“Will, it’s raining!” you squeal as he practically carries you into the backyard.

He grabs you by the waist and spins you around, both of you laughing. The downpour has drenched you both, clothes sticking to your skin, hair dripping. He puts you down and looks at you as if he’s reading the words off the very surface of your soul.

Gently, he pushes the hair out of your face, moving it to behind your ears. He uses his thumb to catch a raindrop that’s making it’s way down your cheek, swiping it away. You’re both soaked through, but you can’t feel the cold. You feel the warmest you ever have, love illuminating your bones.

Will leans down and presses his lips to yours. His hands are on your waist, and he pulls you closer, plastering you together. It’s tender, and it’s sweet, and it’s a perfect amalgamation of Will. You’ve never felt more at peace.

When he pulls away, you remember his words from earlier.

“Does this kiss change anything?” you ask, megawatt smile etched on your face.

“Everything, sweetheart,” he replies, grinning widely. “It changes everything.”

✵  ✵    ·　 ✵ 　　 *  · ✵

“You saved the best until last,” Will beams, leaning in to press a kiss to your cheek.

The boys all scoff, laughing as they do it. You smile broadly, moving to peck his lips tenderly.

“Sure did.”

Benny and Santiago roll their eyes jokingly, while Frankie jabs them both with his elbows.

“Idiots,” he murmurs, still chuckling.

Will’s hand finds yours under the table. His fingers twist the ring you’re wearing absentmindedly, and he leans in to whisper in your ear.

“I love you, Mrs Miller.”

“I love you too, Mr Miller.”

“Guess I just had to kiss a few frogs to find my prince,” you wink at him, the whole table erupting into protests. You throw your head back in a laugh, your whole body vibrating with it. All four of them agree it’s their favourite sound in the world.

[heartsforseo]

Strawhats with an author member

Summary: You're an author (you go by anon), and one day you ate a devil fruit. Now you can trap people inside your novels. (I think you BSD fans know where I'm going...) The straw hats found you and decided to invite you. (You said yes...cuz that's literally what this story is abt and cuz u were bored).

You live on a small island somewhere in the new world. You work as an author who goes by the pen name "S".

Usually, pirates would come to your island twice a month. The townsfolk were very friendly and you sometimes stepped in when pirates crossed over the line.

One day, you and your friend were hanging out in a small secluded alleyway. Your back was against the only entrance and you were facing your friend who was already opening the mystery novel.

"Good luck," you had said.

Your friend only nodded. Bright yellow light surrounded the both of you. When the light finally disappeared, your friend was gone, and the closed book fell to the ground. You picked it up and turned around, ready to leave the alleyway.

Your eyes locked in with a black one. A 5'11 man with a straw hat was staring right at you with mouth agape from amazement.

Your eyes widened, and you were about to open the book facing his way. But his arm suddenly stretched and took your book before you could open it.

"COOL!!! How did you do that?!" The guy wearing the straw hat asked.

"Shh, don't be too loud or the others will catch us," you walked towards the man, "they don't know about my ability. And I would like to keep it that way."

You took the book from the stranger's hand and walked away. The rubber man beside you said, "That's an awesome ability. How about you join my crew?"

You stop walking and look right into his eyes. "Crew? I don't know anything about you and would like to keep it that way."

The man only smiled back and responded, "Is information all you want? Well then, I'm Monkey D. Luffy, and I will be the king of the Pirates!" He raised both of his hands and made a fist. All this while smiling.

"King of the pirates? Don't make me laugh. Plus, I decided to live here for all my life."

"Really?? But don't you want to go on an adventure? I and my crew always go on fun adventures. You will never be bored!"

Before I could say anything back, a woman with long orange hair came up to me and Luffy.

"There you are! We're gonna leave in 2 days. Next time don't dash away and wait for us, Luffy!" The tangerine girl said.

The girl who was scolding Luffy finally noticed me and apologized. She then introduced herself and dragged Luffy by the ear. I watched the scene until they vanished into the crowd and walked off. I hope that my friend is almost done with the book.

I went to different places for inspiration. Being a mystery writer was no easy task. Especially if you only have a limited view. The sun was almost setting, and my friend was still stuck. My new story really did a poll on them.

I walked into Naty's bar and ordered a drink. Luffy's sentence rang into my head. An adventure? I wonder what it'll be like...My books had always sailed the sea, but shouldn't the author, too? No. Being a pirate is dangerous. My view may be limited, but my mind is not.

As long as I have a paper and pen, I can do anything...is what I would like to say. I took a few berries, placed them on the counter, and left the bar. Today took a sour turn.

A/n: This was supposed to be a head cannon but I accidentally made it as a story...so uh... ALSO PLEASE REQUEST IM BORED AF :((( part 2 getting posted...tomorrow? BTW WHAT SHOULD BE THE DEVIL FRUIT NAME BE???

[queer-n-here]

Y'all thank you for your responses! So here is: Large and in charge reader, who's only nice to their on true love: OSAMU DAZAI!

(And yes, as you can see, I voted on my own poll. And yes, I voted for Tanizaki. I'm a simp for him broooooo)

Also, bruv, I dunno why but I got so carried away and this got really angsty. Like... I never do angst. NEVER. Yet here we are. I wonder if I'm okay. Well whatever.

Contents: Dazai getting drunk with reader.

Warnings: No smut, kinda angst, I totally digressed from the original plot line I had planned, and now I want nothing more than to give Osamu Dazai a big fat hug.

Dazai had found himself a new hobby: watching people's reactions as you talked to him.

I mean, most would think, really, how interesting can THAT be? But being the sort of person you were, all mean and menacing at one look but really soft and gentle on the inside, it was rare for you to really hold a conversation without coming off as intimidating. So when people saw you smiling softly at Dazai's jokes, and watching him fondly as he chatted away, they were generally more than surprised.

Dazai remembered distinctly the day you'd met. Fukuzawa had found you fighting solo against three of the Port Mafia's best ability-users, and known with one glance that you were stronger than even you knew. It hadn't taken him long to convince you to join the Armed Detective Agency; with painfully dead parents and a burned down house, you didn't really have anywhere else to go.

You passed their little entrance test, even though after they revealed that it was just an entrance test you couldn't help but be slightly annoyed. All that hard work to try and save that girl only for the whole scenario to be fake. Should've just ignored it.

It had been two years since then. And even though you wouldn't really say it out loud, you were happy that Fukuzawa had taken you under his wing.

How else would you have met Dazai? Or any of the others, who you did secretly like, even though you were unsure about expressing it.

One day, Fukuzawa sent you and Dazai to investigate a letter that the detective agency had received. The sender threatened to blow up the Gundam Factory in Yokohama, which was a popular entertainment place for tourists. Fukuzawa did contact the owner, but since the area covered by the Factory was quite large, and the number of people who were already there was also ginormous, the owner asked for them to investigate the culprit before the bombs could go off.

It was an easy job, and you two had it finished before 3 in the afternoon. All that was left now was some measly paperwork, which you would have to take care of alone because Dazai despised that part of work with a burning passion.

And so Dazai decided to fool around a little.

He took you to a bar, somewhere in a deserted alley in the middle of nowhere, walking with his hands on the back of his head and making nasty comments about everything he could lay his eyes on. You followed silently.

"Say," He yanked open the door of Lupin. "What about you, though? Where do you generally spend after-mission free time?"

Dazai led you into the bar, plopping down on a barstool in front of the counter.

"I sleep," You said, sitting down next to him.

"Huh?" He made a weird face. "That's it?"

A bartender appeared behind the counter.

"Mn," You nodded, looking at the bartender.

Dazai ordered 'his usual', and you decided to have the same as him. It wasn't bad, frankly, sitting there next to him on adjacent barstools and hearing him ramble on about everything and somehow nothing at the same time. He drank and drank and drank and drank, till he was telling you about Ango, about Odasaku and the days they spent together. He drank till his pale cheeks were flushed red, till his neck didn't have the strength to hold his head anymore, till his head was pressed into your chest and his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.

You stroked the back of Dazai's head. Sober, he was a goof, running around pretending that everything was jokes and comedy. Drunk, he was much more grim, face set firm even as more tears splashed down it, eyes miserable in a way that made your heart ache.

"What's making you sad?" You asked him, desperate to take away at least some part of his sorrow.

But he didn't answer, shaking his head and clenching the fabric of your shirt so desperately it felt like he was hanging on for dear life.

You let him, wrapping your arms around him slowly, pulling him closer. You couldn't do anything but that, and the mere thought of it made you feel like the most useless being on the planet.

You paid for the drinks and heaved Dazai up on your shoulder, letting him stain a different part of your coat with tears as you walked away from the bar.

You took him to the agency dormitory, but once you were in front of his door you couldn't go any further.

"Dazai," You said, your voice gentle as you slowly put him down, and he wobbled on his feet. "Do you have your keys?"

The man couldn't even stand, and had to lean against the door for balance to look up at you. "Hmm..."

He began fumbling through his coat, hands slowly and thick with the weight of the alcohol in his veins. Finally, he produced a key, holding it up and pressing it into your chest. His tears had finally stopped.

You wiped the remnants off his cheek with your thumb. "Let me open the door, hmm?"

Dazai moved to lean against you instead of the door, and you placed an arm around his waist to support him as your free hand opened the door. You led him into the room, sitting him down on the floor near the doorway so you could take off his shoes. When you looked up, however, he had laid back on the floor, glossy eyes staring up at the ceiling.

"Say, [Name]," His voice was thick, his words were slurred. "Some people believe that right and wrong are relative... That there's no black and white... D'you think that's true?"

You looked at him. He was regretful, you could tell. But the fact that you couldn't help him, that you couldn't snatch all that pain away from him and swallow it was enough to make you bodily ache.

"I don't think I have a definite answer for that," You said, wishing you had, wishing you knew how to comfort him. "Why do you ask?"

Dazai's hands rose, clutching at the lapel of your jacket and pulling you closer to his face, making you hover over him on the floor. "D'you think... In a world like ours... We can ever do 'the right thing'?"

You shifted your weight to one hand, raising the other to caress his cheeks softly. "If you try hard enough, yeah. Even if no one's a hundred percent good, ever, if you try hard enough... I think that's all that matters."

"And..." Dazai's brow furrowed, and he looked adorably confused. "How hard is hard enough?"

You couldn't help but think of how, in any other situation, Dazai would've made a sexual pun out of those words.

"Hmm..." You thought of it, wanting to give him an answer that would satiate him. "Your best."

It was a simple answer, and yet Dazai's eyes widened, as if you'd solved the biggest mystery of the universe. "Just that?"

You nodded. "Just that. That's more than enough, Dazai."

And he nodded back, wrapping his heavy arms around your shoulders and pulling you closer, burying his head in your chest again. He fell asleep like that, holding you like a child.

You took him into the room later, taking off his coat and sweater and untucking his shirt before placing him on the futon and covering him with the quilt.

The next day when you saw him at the agency, he was back to his clownery, but something about the way he looked at you had changed.

[the-bitterest-breakups-poll]

Poll: Round 1c #2

[Image ID. And image of Eddie and Shannon from 9-1-1 sitting together. Shannon is on the left and Eddie is on the right. And an image of The Locked Tomb books covered edited together. End ID]

*Reminder that Break up is being used loosely here and not all relationships may be romantic in nature

Propaganda under cut"

Eddie and Shannon:

They only got married because she was pregnant and he booked it to Afghanistan to financially support her without having to actually face his relationship fears (breakup 1, while they're not only dating but married), he comes back for their kid's birth and immediately re-ups, now also because of his fears about fatherhood (breakup 2, married with newborn), and leaves his wife with his controlling parents and mom with cancer who lives states away as her only support system. gets shot, comes home, can't handle his controlling parents on top of his PTSD, which, newsflash, neither can she, so when he says they can't move to take care of her now dying mom, she up and leaves in the middle of the night (breakup 3, girl power). his parents are awful about her and try to take custody of his disabled son, so he books it to the state his wife lives in to preserve both their autonomy and what's left of their family unit but does not contact her until a school with stellar supports for his son needs to interview her because they're not actually divorced and then they start fucking in secret (messy!! Messy, messy, MESSY!!!). He lets her back into their son's life for Christmas, they're technically back together, they have a pregnancy scare but it's fine, he proposes again (while comparing their relationship to being drowned) and she asks for a divorce (breakup 4) and then gets hit by a car in an intersection and dies on the scene (breakup 5, actual end of relationship). Her last words are about how she was leaving their son again. THERE IS NO GREATER MESS THIS SHIT IS BAKED ON CAKED ON NO AMOUNT OF PINK GOO CAN GET IT OFF

They got together in high school then got married because she was pregnant. After they were married he joined the military and went to Afghanistan (ostensibly to provide for their family but by his own admission because he wanted to get away), at one point re-enlisting against her wishes. When he did come back (only after being injured), SHE left to take care of her terminally ill mother and didn't come back for over a year, at which point she and Eddie began to sleep together again, but he initially kept her hidden from their son because he didn't trust her. He refused to even discuss this with her until she publicly confronted him at work. He does let her around their son again, but the only time we see Shannon and Eddie together again, they're fighting. They later have a pregnancy scare, which prompts him to "re-propose" to her. She instead FINALLY asks for a divorce. And then she gets hit by a car and dies for some reason. I realize this is more of a messy marriage than a messy breakup but personally I think their whole relationship was just a messy breakup in slow motion.

Mercymorn the First/Augustine the First/Emperor John Gaius:

-M-- and A-- were John's closest companions before the apocalypse, then they were killed by a bunch of cultists who betrayed him, then he STARTED A NUCLEAR WAR AND KILLED ALL LIFE IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM just because he was mad some trillionares manipulated everyone, then he brought them back to life but with new names and their memories erased to be his disciples because he didn't think they would agree with his actions, then eventually he had them kill the other most important people in their lives to gain immortality and also more attention for him, thousands of years later they have a threesome and steal his sperm to give it to a terrorist leader (who's in a different threesome) to make a baby to kill and use as a bomb, then 20 years later the threesome returns as a distraction so a lobotomized teen can kill their coworker, then eventually he finds out they betrayed him, Mercymorn kills him but he comes back immediately and kills her, then he turns around and offers Augustine complete forgiveness despite also trying to kill him, Augustine refuses and throws the whole space station into a metaphysical river to trap John/"god" in Hell, but his apprentice saves John instead of him so he goes to Hell instead, then John is a wreck, leaves basically an evil child in charge of his empire, and sleeps around with his army for presumably a whole book

Okay SO. buckle up. (Also, HUGE TLT SPOILERS AHEAD.) John Gaius is god. Mercy and Augustine are 2/3 of his remaining saints. They have a terrible, millennia-long polycule (that at one point resulted in Mercy and Augustine stealing God’s jizz to try and kill him—that’s off topic tho.) Mercy and Augustine eventually attempt to kill him again after learning he tricked them into killing their best friends ten thousand years ago. And they all try to kill each other : )

John Gaius is God, and Mercymorn and Augustine are the first and second of his Saints. They're intensely close. Like, they've been together for ten thousand years, they've had at least one threesome, and they were best friends in their previous lives before that. The thing is, Mercy and Augustine sort of suspect that John is lying to them, so they hatch a plan to figure out what he's not telling them. Which turns out to be a LOT. They try to kill him, he kills them instead, and then he spends the whole next book in a dramatic depressive spiral, neglecting his Empire and sleeping with pretty much his entire senior staff. Personally I suspect Augustine and Mercy were 80% of his impulse control, and without them John plans to destroy the solar system and start over from square one.

- (this propaganda is only for John Gaius and Mercymorn the First) Messy quite literally because she atomises him, then he puts himself back together and (again, LITERALLY) rips out her heart.

Also emotionally messy on the basis that this breakup has actually been going on for at LEAST twenty years, and involved two separate threesomes which were actually ploys to a) steal John's sperm and b) distract him from the murder of his best friend.

Important information to note for those who have not read TLT: in killing John, Mercymorn fully believes that the sun will explode and the entire solar system will be destroyed. She ain't afraid of collateral damage in HER breakup.

In terms of relationship categorisation? Who's to say. They're friends they're lovers he's literally her God he wiped her memory and he's been lying to her for ten thousand years it's a whole thing.

[traegorn]

"Get therapy lol" you're a real empathetic motherfucker.

Laughing at people in pain really doesn't fit with the picture of a kindly uncle looking dude, that's really sad and I'm sorry I ever followed you. Fuck you, fuck men who want to yell about slamming doors.

For real man, I'm sorry I ever followed you I'm crying now what the fuck? What the fuck?

What the fuck is wrong with you? "Get therapy" is what you say? Fuck you.

Maybe on our call this week I'll tell my therapist about the fake asshole who tries to act like an understanding elder but just drops edgelord epic bacon putdowns when somebody shares how something made them unhappy. For real, fuck you.

Okay, you sent me this string of anons because of my flippant response to this ask.

But like, my dude... I'm a stranger on the internet. I am not an "understanding elder" -- I'm a middle aged nonbinary office worker who makes some podcasts and writes comics and novels. I don't know what you think our relationship is, but I think you need to step back for like a minute.

Like I don't think you've remotely considered my perspective in this entire interaction.

I'm sitting here cooling off after a workout, watching this week's Dimension 20 episode, and I'm scrolling Tumblr. I had reblogged a poll about car door slamming, with a little thought appended about the subject... and then there's a contextless anonymous ask in my box which:

Complains about Europeans who are not even remotely referenced in the post I reblogged. Which is, y'know, weird.

Vents about their father. To me. A stranger in Wisconsin. Who again, neither knows who you are or who your father is.

Like, dude, let me remind you what you sent me. This is your exact ask:

My father used the stupid fucking car door as a reason to yell at me all the time, Europeans sound like whiny bitch ass motherfuckers who could use a few doors slammed at them. Fuck that persnickety shit. Fuck them.

Like what the actual fuck did you expect me to make of this, anon? You brought this energy to me. You didn't ask me for advice. You randomly vented to me, a stranger, without any context.

And randomly insulted Europeans, who hadn't even joined the chat.

Like the whole "who tries to act like an understanding elder" and "kindly uncle" is something you've projected on to me. I am not trying to be some wise elder or any other bullshit -- and I'm not going into how you've decided to use exclusively masculine terms for me.

Because your use of those words shows you don't know shit about me.

I'm just old and trying my best. I know some stuff, so I try to tell people that stuff. If you're coming to this from the witchcraft side, I have always maintained that all witches are equals and I am not above anyone. If you've put me in that position, I definitely didn't ask for it.

So yeah, this is where I'm at my limit. You've crafted a pretty weird parasocial relationship here and I have to get up and work in the morning. I'm glad you're getting some help, because this entire interaction has been wild from start to finish.

I am not your guru, and I am not your mom. I'm just a tired queer person who should probably go to bed.

(Also, I mostly added the song "Therapy" to the end there because it's a fucking bop and all nonbinary band Kat and the Hurricane's new album comes out tomorrow/today and more people need to listen to it)

[pipperoo]

….the searcher in the shadows was very good…..

thoughts under the cut….

i knew it was coming and it still killed me. samuel and the sun (reprise) was so evil. samuel didn’t deserve that, he still had so much he wanted to do :( he wasn’t supposed to leave rose’s side again, what the fuck! i was actually crying so much and having to hear rose’s reactions was just awful. i literally had to sit in silence for a few minutes just to process everything. you should have seen my face when they mentioned the purple button for the first time. fuck you kal, i hate you so much, i wish nothing but the worst for you!! and samuel, you were essential for literally everything!! they all relied on you and nothing would have happened if you weren’t there! i’m so glad margaret was able to say how strong she thinks he is! i miss him so much already and i’ve known this character for like 4 days. oh samuel, i knew you would die, but i still hoped you wouldn’t

king itzal definitely fucking deserved to win that bad parent poll, fuck that guy! i’m glad i trusted all my mutuals when they said to vote for him bc he really is that awful! his stupid spell destroyed their home and his intentions with margaret are so bad that she had to be stripped of her memories and hidden away just so she could be safe! i don’t know how, but i really didn’t expect itzal to be margaret and dakkar’s dad, that shocked me so much! and this guy had to gal to ask margaret to join his side to be evil when he was literally going to kill his son who was right behind her! i was so happy that margaret was immediately just “no” and blasted his ass (that had printing press plate hitting vibes and i loved it)

also fuck kal for making ahlaam see her dead husband, seriously not cool. i know i’m hating on these guys, but they are really cool villains that feel like they pose an actual threat even against people with magic, im excited to see what evil they do next!

i did enjoy all the new traveler lore, im glad there was more clarity on the magic ways and what they can do. i loved dakkar and addison immediately and how they expanded more on sia and ahlaam! i love the detail that they’re all connected through the radiance which makes so much sense on why margaret felt like something was missing because something literally was. without access to her magic she was cutoff from people she grew up being constantly connected to!!!

instant tears when it was revealed that dakkar was margaret’s brother. i’m glad she’s connecting more with her magic and remembering more things. but, it’s so tragic that she’s finally reuniting with the family she didn’t know she had and now she’s remembered how awful her father and she’s lost samuel who was so important in her found family. oughgh :(

rose and john were as always so sweet. john’s “i thought i lost you” destroyed me. i’m so glad they could have that moment in thank gravity! i love those two nerds!

i still have so many questions! what are the gates? how is sia’s vision going to unfold? how is rose the key? what’s the deal with the great enchantress? what makes margaret so important? what does bringing back the blazing world involve? i can’t wait to find them all out!

once again, as always, the music was just so great. my heart was pounding through the entirety of part 3, the tension was so palpable. my favs were rose and the stars, thank gravity, masterpiece containing masterpieces (reprise), and samuel and the sun (reprise). they were all tugging on my heartstrings! also all the sound effects were so cool, it really made it so immersive!

that was a rollercoaster, but i’m thrilled to be all caught up! looking forward to the mini episodes and wherever the plot goes next! i can’t wait to engage with the pulp musicals tag now that i don’t have to worry about spoilers and finally be able to look at ao3!! if anyone has fic recs for literally anything, i have no preferences, please give them to me!! anyway thanks for reading my thoughts, already this fandom has felt so so welcoming and i’m so happy to apart of it now!! <3

[munsonsduchess]

Rock N' Roll Dreams Come True

summary: you've been joining corroded coffin on tour and at a big show eddie can't keep his hands off you w/c: 2.767 warnings: 18+ only minors dni, swearing, oral (f receiving), use of afab language to describe the reader (pussy, cunt), p in v sex a/n: i love rockstar eddie with my whole soul and my whole 🐱so this one getting the most votes on the poll seemed like a no brainer, again i did take a lot of this from something I'd written before for a different fandom but i've edited it and changed some stuff

if you like this please consider reblogging it and leaving a comment, it always helps me out

(moodboard by me)

It had been a dream come true when the Band got picked up originally. They’d played small shows here and there at first, bigger bars than the hideout, a couple local music festivals nothing mind blowing. That came later when Corroded Coffin had been asked to be the warm up act for the warm up act for a very famous band. 

Now here you all were, it had been ten years of climbing the ladder but Corroded Coffin could sell out an area almost as quickly as Metallica or Iron Maiden or any other band you’d care to mention. 

Everyone at home who had cheered them on, who’d believed in the band, they were the original fans. They might not be screaming their songs back to them in a sweaty crowd of metal heads or getting riled up in a mosh pit but there was no way Gareth, Jeff or Eddie could forget those friends who’s faith had never wavered. 

Dave the new guy maybe didn’t understand at first when a guy in glasses and pink Ralph Lauren polo showed up backstage with a girl who wouldn’t stop running her mouth in the most beat up pair of red chucks. Or why a certain hard nose reporter was only too happy to do fluff pieces on the band's meteoric rise to fame. He understood the California Stoners a little more but it still kind of baffled him when everyone begged one guy to take their pictures. 

This was Eddie’s family. Your family. The band and the Hawkins group. You were all older now, maybe not wiser but you would always share something deep, spring break 86 had truly bonded  you all for life. Most of Eddie’s early song writing for the band after Spring Break is what got the band picked up in the first place. 

So there you were. Sitting on a busted amp backstage watching the boys argue before going on stage. Eddie had apparently broken some sort of rule about being 'cool' and 'metal' to the point where the other three guys just couldn't let it go. Gareth had even decided  to document the 'crime' with his polaroid and now everyone was playing keep away while the photo developed and threatening to give it to the next reporter they spoke to, 

“You’re ruining my image!” Eddie protested, "come on dude don't be a dick" 

“You’re ruining your own image! You’re drinking out of a juice box! What are you six?” Gareth shot back, holding the picture above his head and signaling for Jeff to take it

“I need the vitamin c!” Eddie shot back, "it's not my fault  you all want to get scurvy" 

You couldn't help but laugh as Jeff took the picture and handed it off to a random crew member telling them to guard it with their life while Dave and Gareth wrestled with Eddie. This was the Corroded Coffin people didn't get to see, just four guys who loved each other and loved music, not the on stage personas, not what the media loved to make them out to be and  you were so fortunate you got to experience it all.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

The sound of the crowd cheering and chanting the band name sent chills up your spine and looking up at the others you could tell the band felt it too,

“Knock them dead babe” you smiled reaching up to grab Eddie by the lapels of his worn leather jacket to bring him down for a searing kiss, 

“Always do” he laughed before shrugging out of the jacket and draping it over your shoulders. A little pre-show ritual he swore brought the band luck and with how the tour had been going so far, no one could fault him.

You watched as the band took the stage and the crowd went wild. Your chest swelled with excitement as Eddie started playing, a wink thrown to you waiting there for him before his attention turned to the rest of the band and all that nervous energy transformed into an unbelievable stage presence.

You’d read every article that came out about the boys and  saved every article you’d found, clipped from magazines and pasted into a scrapbook you were keeping so that in years to come when you were all old and looking back on the glory days of your youth, the boys could look back at their beginnings. Along with Gareth's collection of Polaroids, embarrassing or not. 

The articles that made you laugh were usually the ones written about Eddie and his stage presence. The way he acted when he was playing had these journalists convinced he was some sort of tantric sex god, they drew their conclusions from the energy he put out while on stage and how touchy he was with you after. The band thought it was hilarious honestly and put it down to lead guitarist syndrome, everyone assumed because Eddie played lead he was just this amazing lover who could never be sated and while it was partially true it wasn’t everything the assorted press made your relationship out to be.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Eddie’s hair shone under the stage lights, his body covered in a sheen of sweat as he played his heart out to a stadium packed full of screaming fans. They were here to hear him play, just to hear their band. No one else. It had been a long time coming, from playing the hideout every Tuesday to a band of drunks who yelled and threw empty beer bottles at the chicken wire surrounding the 'stage' and demanded old country songs to being hare, now and playing a sold out stadium of die hard Corroded Coffin fans. 

His eyes flicked back to where you were standing, your arms inside his oversized jacket as you sang along to every song and danced along to the music. You knew every word to every song they played, you’d been there when most of it was written and Eddie swore up and down you were the band’s good luck charm. If you hadn’t been there at the club there’s no way the band would have ended up where they are now. 

Turning his attention back to the crowd, Eddie poured his heart and soul into their last few songs knowing that everyone else would do just the same pouring every ounce of their being into the music. That's what it was all about in the end, the lights, the crowds, the fame, it was all secondary to the music itself.

As the band finally finished their set before the encore they came back off stage to change quickly and rehydrate. Eddie had other ideas apparently and rushed at you, sweeping you into his arms ignoring your cries of protest about how sweaty he was and demands that he at least wipe down first,

“Need you now baby” he groaned in your ear, pressing himself against you so you could feel just how hard he was. The energy from the crowd had been unlike anything else they’d experienced all tour and Eddie needed you.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

You were giggling as Eddie stole kisses as he dragged you towards the band's dressing room, the rest of the boys staying behind with warnings that Eddie better not miss the encore and threats of serious bodily harm if he did. His kisses were heated the closer you both got to the dressing room, your protests about his sweat slicked body dying in your throat before you had a chance to voice them. Instead they surfaced as little moans as Eddie’s hands roamed all over your body, he pushed you through the dressing room door and kicked it shut behind him.

Eyes dark as they took in your form, your home made corroded coffin shirt you wore to every show since the first one you'd ever been to,  but above all you were still wearing his jacket and Eddie would freely admit what seeing you in his clothes did to him,

“Baby do you have any idea how hot it is knowing my girl is on tour with me?” he grinned, his hands reaching out to pull you in close by your hips, “knowing everyone is looking at you but they can’t touch”

His teeth nipped at your neck as he sucked a bruise at the base of your throat, his hands trailing down your body to push your skirt up around your hips. You moaned openly as his hands kneaded your backside, Eddie knew exactly where to touch you to make you melt into him. 

You pulled at the hem of the tank top Eddie was wearing and managed to pull it off with his help. As soon as the tank top was off Eddie’s hands were pushing you back towards the couch, 

“Gonna fuck you so good baby, gonna make you scream my name so everyone knows who you belong to” he growled into your ear. 

You let out a yelp of surprise when the back of your knees hit the arm of the couch, reaching out for something to grab onto so you wouldn’t fall but only grabbing air as you toppled backwards. Eddie smirked and licked his lips at the sight of your legs propped up by the arm of the couch while the rest of your body lay flat on the couch. 

Crouching down so he was at eye level with your throbbing pussy, Eddie pushed your legs apart and settled himself between your opened thighs. You could feel the heat of his breath against your panties, the sensation only made you wetter as you waited for whatever Eddie had in store for you.

It wasn’t much of a wait as Eddie’s large hands trailed up your thighs, over your panties, his fingers ghosting over the waistband. Placing soft kisses to the inside of your thighs Eddie moved his fingers along the seam of your panties chuckling to himself when he started rubbing his thumb against clit and hearing the moan you let out in response,

“That’s my good girl, be as loud as you want baby. Want everyone to hear you” he crooned fingers rubbing your soaked panties against your needy cunt,

“Please Eddie, need you, please” you begged, you wanted more than this teasing sensation. Needed him to stretch you out with those thick fingers, needed him. 

Eddie laughed at how needy you were for him. Who was he to deny his girl anything she wanted? His good girl..

“Since you asked so nicely” the sound of fabric ripping filled your ears before Eddie’s mouth was attached to your dripping pussy, licking up the slick from your folds and moaning at the taste of you. Always so sweet for him, he could stay here for hours and had done so on more than one occasion.

You keened loudly at the feel of him, his tongue working wickedly between your legs as he sucked on your clit like it was his favourite milkshake, “taste so good honey” he purred as he slipped a long finger into you.

“Please Eddie, need more” you gasped, “please, please” 

“Greedy little girl, you want more than this? Tell me what you want” 

“Need you to fuck me, need your cock inside me” 

Eddie almost gave in then and there. His cock was straining against the denim of his jeans, it was painfully hard but he was a man on a mission and he would not be deterred. Instead he added another finger using them to stretch you open as his mouth went back to work on your clit. 

The room smelt of sex and sweat, the sounds of your moans and Eddie’s fingers in your wet pussy filling the air to the point that you were sure the crowd could hear it from the main stage. It was music to Eddie’s ears and he wasn’t going to stop until you made the sweetest sound of all for him.

Adding another finger he worked them in tandem with his mouth as he found the spot inside that had you seeing stars and gripping his hair tightly in your hands begging him not to stop. You could feel the coil tightening in your tummy, you were so close and Eddie could feel it too with how your walls were fluttering around him, 

“That’s it baby, cum for me” he encouraged, his fingers moving quicker and quicker until you felt the pressure inside you boil over and you came with a loud moan of his name soaking both Eddie’s fingers and his chin. 

He didn’t stop until he was sure you had come back down from your high and you were panting on the couch trying to catch the breath he’d stolen from your lungs. 

Standing up Eddie quickly unbuttoned his jeans and slid them down around his ankles. He looked down at you, your face flushed and chest heaving. God you looked so pretty like this, all wrecked after an orgasm. Almost as pretty as when he fucked you into your shared hotel room bed every night. 

That was for later, for now Eddie needed you and he wasn’t going to wait. He lined himself up with your entrance and pushed in, gripping your hips tightly as he did so. God you were so tight, so warm, he had to be careful not to blow his load there and then. 

A string of curses left his lips until he bottomed out. The stretch was almost unbearable every time Eddie filled you but you’d be lying if you said you didn’t love the feel of his thick cock dragging through your pussy walls. 

The way Eddie fucked you like each time was the first and the last and he’d never get to feel this again, dragging his cock out of you until just the tip was left inside before slamming his hips back against yours. Again and again, angling his hips so that the tip of his cock hit that sweet spot inside of you. 

You were clawing at the couch, his arms, anything you could reach. Moaning loudly at each deep stroke inside, you were sure you could feel Eddie in your stomach and it felt incredible. 

You could feel yourself getting close again as your pussy clenched down around Eddie’s cock. Knowing you both weren’t going to last much longer he reached between your sweaty bodies and rubbed quick energetic circles on your clit encouraging you to come apart around him. 

It didn’t take long for your high to wash over you again and you were screaming Eddie’s name for everyone to hear as your vision whited out, Eddie continued to fuck you through your high his own not far behind as he released into you with a grunt.

You stayed like that for a moment as you caught your breath. Splayed out on the couch with Eddie’s weight on top of you, his head resting on your stomach. Finally he looked up at you with a boyish grin on his face,

“Fuck honey you were amazing” he praised, a small kiss placed against your belly button as he pulled out and you groaned at the empty feeling left behind. 

Eddie disappeared from your line of sight for a moment before coming back with a warm wet towel to clean you off with. He placed another chaste kiss against the inside of your thighs before helping you stand and fix your clothes and hair. Not that the other members of the band or really anyone backstage wouldn’t know what the two of you had just been up to. 

Reaching up you captured his lips with your own and smiled into the kiss. Maybe the magazines were on to something after all. The moment was broken when Jeff began knocking hard on the door of the dressing room,

"You have two seconds to get out here or I swear to god I'll kill you myself!" 

Eddie pulled the door open wide and grinned at Jeff's irate expression as if he hadn't just been fucking your brains out on the couch,

"Relax, I told you I wouldn't miss the encore!" Eddie gave you a quick parting kiss before following after Jeff to finish the set for good.

⊱ ────── {.⋅ ♫ ⋅.} ───── ⊰

Days later Eddie came back to the hotel you were currently crashing in with a ‘surprise’ for you. Peeling off his jacket he was able to show off a brand new tattoo, a heart with both of your names written inside. Eddie showed it proudly on stage that night proclaiming to all the world his love for one girl. 

His sweetheart.

Taglist: @pillow-titties @eddiemunsonwillbethedeathofme @munsonology @thegirlblogstuff @boomhauer @prettyboyeddiemunson @hellfireeddie6 @that-lame-ghoul9000 @flashyourgreeneyesatme @anxiousstark @ruinedbythehobbit @winnifredburkleismyhero @manda-panda-monium @insertcoolnameherethanks @aftermidnightwriting

Let me know if you want to be added!

His sweetheart.

[tillthelandslide]

Insufferable Arsehole Part 8: When We Are Together - Matty Healy Series

A/N: sooo you may have seen my poll, you may not have, but I've come to the decision to post what I have written for this series and then take a little break from it... I love this series but recently have been feeling a bit stuck with it, I have so many ideas but I'm sure where they fit and whether there even is an end to this story. My goal is to eventually finish it so don't worry! I hope you guys are okay with that. The support has been amazing so thank you all so much.

In other news (for my Ross girlies) I will be posting the first chapter to my new series, entitled Pressure, very soon!

Warnings: bit long, probably spelling mistakes

Series Masterlist

Part 7

Lou's phone ringing on her bedside table is what stirs her from her peaceful slumber. The dozing man next to her awakens with a groan as she awkwardly untangles her limbs from him, apologising for the loud interference as she removes herself from the bed. His soft features find hers and he smiles before his eyes are drifting shut once more. She quickly throws on his shirt which rests on the ground amongst the rest of their clothes.

She stubs her toe on the bedside table as she grabs her phone, the name "Rose" lights up her screen, a picture of her and the drummer of her band can be seen.

"Fuck" she says attempting to shake of the pain, Matty mumbles a "you alright love?" His face now buried in his pillow.

"Yeah go back to sleep" she says, answering the phone, covering up the speaker until she's on their balcony. The morning breeze is far too cold and considering she's just wearing Matty's Tshirt, she'd be surprised if she didn't get frostbite.

"Lou, are you there?" She hears her friend say.

"Yes I'm here sorry" she looks at her phone seeing the clock said 5am, she puts the phone back to her ear 

"Rose I love you but it's 5 in the morning, what time is it there?" She asks, not keeping a track of what time it is in her home town like she usually would.

"That doesn't matter, what matters is that I've just seen pictures of you and Matty holding hands and cuddling. Last time we spoke you said you're seeing how things go" she explains. Shit  they did get caught she thinks , it's fine Matty said we will deal with the consequences together.

"That's exactly what I'm doing, Rose. Seeing how things go, I'm not filtering myself for anyone, I'll do what I want and that's exactly what Im doing" she explains. Rose chuckles on the other end of the line, Lou's words perfectly described herself, never one to filter herself for the sake of others.

"We respect that, you know we do. One of the things we love most about you... We're just worried you're going to get hurt" Rose explains, Rose was one of the most genuine people she had ever met, she was similar to Hann in the fact she would say it how it is although perhaps a little more carelessly and sometimes brutally than Hann.

"We? So you've spoken to Mia and Cami too... Great'' she says, eyes rolling. Mia was the band's bassist (and her sister) and Cami was their lead guitarist.

"I mean... Mia is blindly happy for you, you know what she's like" Rose says.

Mia is around 5 years younger than Lou (having joined the band reasonably late, a fact that Ross and Lou had jokingly argued about as the band didn't have a bassist for a while), they had always been close but one thing they loved about their relationship was they weren't dependent on each other. Despite spending all her time with the 1975 in her childhood, only George had met her band members, they weren't very interested in becoming friends with them, far too happy in doing their own thing.

Mia lived in London for almost all of their childhood, they'd only see each other during holidays or special occasions, something about that dynamic made them closer (which most people found odd). Mia had played bass since she was around 8 and she had joined the band 5 years after they got famous.

"I love her... She's my sister and all but she'd be happy if I found a penny on the floor" Lou says making Rose chuckle, knowing it was true. Despite having different Mum's, their families always encouraged the sisters to appreciate life intricacies, the small things.

"We're just looking out for you L" she says, the nickname only her band members gave her. She remembers the first time George visited the band on tour during one of the 75s breaks, he practically cringed at the nickname, she was and always would be his "Lou" and the fact others had different nicknames for her didn't sit too well at first.

"I know" she says, knowing they never did anything with less than pure intentions. "but listen... We're a family here, if anything happens they'll protect me" she says, not that she needed protecting. Rose finds her heart sinking slightly at her friend's words, as if their own band weren't a family. But she saw the way Lou was with the 75, how undoubtedly happy she was and she knew to push the selfish thought down.

"You seem really happy" Rose finally says and Lou smiles at that.

"I am..." She can't help but smile widely. She could easily go on to tell Rose how she's having the time of her life, how she's never felt this happy, how something feels different with the guys (something she has been struggling to explain), how Matty makes her feel seen and loved (something no guy has come close to before). But she doesn't, wanting it to be her secret for now.

"I'm also really fucking cold right now" she laughs, goosebumps rising to her skin as the wind makes Matty's shirt blow around her.

"Why?" Rose is laughing at her then.

"I'm on a balcony"

"why?" She's asking again, the two of them laughing.

"Matty's asleep... Like I said it's 5am" she says and she hears her friend sigh on the other end of the line, a happy sigh.

"Matty aye? Sharing a room are you?"

"Shut up" she chuckles. Her voice lowers and she whispers her next words "he told me he loved me Rose".

"Wow. That's big" she says and Lou's nodding even though Rose can't see her.

"Do you love him?" Rose asks, already suspecting the answer.

"Yeah"

"Well shit... Guess we're coming to the next show then. Got to see what Matthew Healy is like nowadays. Can't be the same old Ratty you used to kick about with" she says making Lou laugh loudly.

"I miss you guys" she says, the 1975 were her family, everything was intense. But with her own band she had fun (not that she didn't with the boys) but it was different.

"Is George still as fit as the good old days?" She asks and Lou can't help but laugh again.

"Pack it in, you know he's in a happy, healthy relationship" Lou explains.

"Too bad, don't know how you didn't jump his bones every time you were with him"

"Ew... Just ew. He's like my brother"

"And that Ross.... Damn. And I hear hanns going to be a daddy? That's hot."

"Okay Rose I'm hanging up now" Lou says and with two I love yous, she's slipping back into their room, seeing Matty awake and scrolling through his phone, smiling down at the screen.

"You know we look quite cute in these pictures" he says, eyes meeting hers. She's quick to jump on the bed, chin hooking onto his shoulder to peek at his screen. They did look cute and more importantly they looked happy. She smiles as Matty screenshots the photos.

"Deal with the consequences together, yeah?" Matty says, Lou nods at him, smiling as his lips press against hers.

"The first of which will be a very angry Jamie... And probably Gregg too" she says, Matty scrunching up his nose in agreement.

"Yeah...." His voice trails off making her giggle.

"I don't care... I'm happy"

"Me too love" he says, another kiss being delivered to her mouth.

"Rose called, think her and the girls want to come to the next show" she explains and Matty nods, typing something on his phone to Jamie, asking him to sort out their travel and to save them three tickets.

"Thank you" she says.

"If I remember correctly... They don't like me all that much do they?" He says and she's the one furrowing her nose at him, shaking her head.

"Guess I'll have to prove them wrong" and she almost dies at those words, lips harshly pressing against his. He groans as he pushes against her, her back hitting the bed.

"You're insatiable" he says, making her nod as her hands pull him in by the hips, forcing them to come into contact with hers in a sharp grind. She quickly finds him hard and resting against his abdomen and it doesn't take long before he's inside her.

"Jesus Christ" he groans, throwing his head back as her hands interweave into his curls. He's never going to get used to this.

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

"You're supposed to tell me shit like this before you just decide to do it" Jamie says, his voice raised slightly, not shouting but firm and pointed.

Matty was standing in the centre of the room. George, Hann, Ross, John, and Jamie were all watching from the opposite side of the room, each of their arms crossed, ready to defend the pair if they needed to.

Carly (who had arrived this morning) and Polly were seated next to Lou on a large leather sofa.

"Come on man! It's not that big of a deal, we were holding hands, not making out" Matty says and Lou can't help but smirk.

"You know we have rules" Jamie says, making Matty (and all the boys scoff)

"I mean he's done worse" George says and Jamie whips around to see him, his finger pointing at the large man. Lou can't help but chuckle.

"Don't you start" and then he's turning to her now and her smile drops "and you"

"How am I supposed to explain this to your manager huh? How are we supposed to explain this to the fans?" Jamie asks. He was never really one to worry about these kinds of things, things were usually very chilled with him, it was one of the reasons the guys loved having him as their manager.

"Is it really that big of a deal?" Lou asks, Matty's eyes find hers and soften.

"Jamie listen" Lou says and the boy's manager finds her eyes and then soften, he had grown to have a soft spot for her "ignore Matty for a second" she says making everyone including the curly haired man laugh.

"When have I ever done anything problematic?" She asks and Jamie can't think of a single time, she was a saint (in the eyes of their fans anyway, Matty knew what she was truly like behind closed doors).

"We will do whatever you and Gregg want us to do... We just got caught up in the moment, okay?" Lou says and Jamie smiles at that, appreciating her words.

"You know what... Do whatever... We will deal with it" Jamie then says, almost completely giving in. The whole group smiled at that, the spirits lifted almost immediately. He goes to leave the room, turning back at the last minute.

"You're both serious about this right? This isn't some fuck around?" Jamie asks, already knowing the answer but wanting to confirm. They both share a look before looking at him again. They nod and he smiles.

"Well... Good" he says before leaving.

George hugs Matty as Lou is hugged by both Carly and Polly. She hadn't gotten much time to spend with the girls so when Matty's eyes found hers, although he wants nothing more than to spend time with her, he lets her have her own time with them.

"Look at you, you're glowing" Lou says, smiling at her friend. Carly smiles back at her thinking the same thing about Lou.

"How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?" Her words are rushed and Carly laughs, as does Poly.

"Lou calm down, I'm fine. Thank you though" she says sweetly. They continue talking and at some point Poly leaves them and soon after Hann joins, hooking a protective arm around his wife as his other hand toys with his wedding band. Lou always cries at the sight, feeling awfully sentimental today.

The couple stare at each other for a few seconds, smiles resting on their lips before they're both turning to look at her.

"Why are you both looking at me like that?" Lou asks, making them laugh.

"We've been meaning to ask you something" Adam says, words quiet so only the three of them could hear.

"We were wondering," Carly says, looking at her husband before looking at Lou again.

"When the baby is born... If you'd be godmother" Carly says and as skin as the words come out, tears are springing to Lou's eyes.

"Wh-what?" She stutters, completely unsure why they'd ask her of all people, she appreciates it nonetheless but is very confused.

"Truth is we wouldn't even be married if it wasn't for you" Adam says.

"That's not true" Lou says and Carly raises her eyebrows at her.

"Regardless... You've always been so welcoming of me, and so so supportive. And whenever I'm here, you're always the first to check up on me and the baby" Carly speaks, hands resting over her bunk as Adam nods next to her.

"You don't have to say yes. We'd just love it if you did.  You know what you mean to us" Hann says and Lou is pulling them both into a tight hug, careful of the bump resting between them.

"I'd be honoured"

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

The next evening Lou is pacing backstage at another venue, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her band of which included her baby sister (definitely not a baby but oh well). They had planned something special for this show, seeing as her bandmates were going to be there, the boys asked her to sing a song on her own, any song she liked.

"Lou you're making me anxious, stop pacing" George says, leisurely chilling on one of the sofas, Matty sitting next to him, a smirk resting on his face.

"Why are you smirking?" She quips at the man, who's curls have been tamed by an obscene amount of hair gel.

"Like seeing you like this, it's cute" he says, pulling her into his lap as she walks past them, stopping her pacing altogether.

"That's better" Matty says, making Lou giggle as he swarms her neck with light pecks.

"Absolutely disgusting" George says, standing to leave the pair of them.

"He's just jealous," Lou says, making Matty nod.

"Why are you anxious darling?" Matty says, nudging his nose lightly against hers.

"I haven't seen them in a while, I've missed them like crazy and I'm just.... I'm worried they're going to see what I'm like with you guys... And like hate me or something" Lou admits.

"You're crazy" Matty says, laughing at her "I don't know how many times I have to tell you love, but no one could hate you" he says, his words so simple but completely easing her thoughts.

"I love you" she says freely now, the man smiles widely down at her, pressing his mouth to hers sweetly.

"I love you more"

They hear a door open behind them, Lou jumping from her place in his lap, turning around to see three women standing in the hallway with Jamie. One of which runs towards her, screaming loudly, she jumps and Lou catches her as she laughs.

"Oh my god Mia you're not a child, I can't carry you anymore" Lou says, struggling to hold her sister up.

"I have fucking missed you bro" Mia says as she's placed back down, punching her older sister in the arm.

"Ouch" Lou says, all of the boys watch with their mouths open. Lou was talking to someone who looked almost identical to her, although her sister's hair was much lighter than hers and shorter too, her skin slightly paler, far less tattoos covering her body.

Rose and Cami are pulling her into a tight hug next, the four of them nattering like a bunch of mothers waiting to pick up their kids.

"Oh shit. Sorry" Lou turns to the guys who are still watching, mouth agape at the four of them. George is quick to stand up, pulling them all into hugs, muttering "long them no sees" to each of them.

"Of course you know George..." Lou says as she begins to introduce the guys. Every single one of them fawns over the man, making her roll her eyes, pointing her fingers at them, telling them to stop which makes George laugh. He knew they did it on purpose, to get under Lou's skin but he can't help but let it get to his ego too.

George wraps up Mia in a hug "how's my favourite sister doing?" He asks just to annoy Lou.

"Ha ha very funny" Lou says, pushing her best friend lightly as he wraps his arm around her too.

"This is Ross, Adam but we call him Hann, Carly: Adam's wife and mother of his unborn child" she says pointing to each of them, making everyone laugh at her words about Carly. She doesn't mention that she's going to be the child's godmother, wanting to savour that fact for a while.

"Penny, Jamie, John and... Matty" she's smiling at them and all the girls smile at everyone introduced, waving at them. The girls can't help but notice how Matty stares at her, his eyes set on no one else but her, a huge smile resting on his mouth. One look and they could see he was smitten.

"This is Rose our drummer, Cami our lead guitarist and my little sister Mia, who's our bassist" she smiles as she speaks, hooking her arm around Mia at the last instance.

"How did I not know you had a sister?" It's Matty who's speaking, almost all of the girls scowling at him, apart from Mia. He shares a look with the other guys, all of them shrugging, all of them knew she had a sister (although only George had met her) , how the fact had escaped the attention of Matty they did not know. He feels awful that he doesn't know, and wonders why he hadn't told her.

"Don't talk about me then sis? Oh how you wound me" her sister says, making her laugh and nudge her.

"Na, just kidding, it's all good. I lived in London, same dad, different mum" Mia explains, coming to pull Matty into a hug to properly introduce herself. Lou stands there watching them, finger in-between teeth as she watches how Matty freezes up awkwardly, the scene makes her chuckle.

"Mia stop being weird" she says, pulling her sister back from Matty.

The rest of them talk then, the girls talking to various people at scattered times. Mia stands with Matty and Lou, catching up about all sorts of things. Rose and Cami talk to Ross, Hann and Carly.

"Who's the one with the bun again?" Mia asks and Lou rolls her eyes as Matty smirks, knowing exactly why she's asking.

"That would be Ross, OUR bassist' ' Matty says, smirk clear on his face. His arm was wrapped tightly around Lou's waist, holding him to her. Mia thought they looked cute together and she couldn't help but smile at the huge smile resting on her older sister's face. She had never seen her this happy before.

"That's Ross?!" Mia almost shouts, catching the attention of the tall bearded man.

"Shut up" Lou says, Mia and her share a look, confusing Matty slightly. Mia was one of the only people that knew Lou and Ross shared a kiss when they were teenagers for they told each other everything.

"He's gotten a lot fitter than when you knocked about with them" Mia says, her London accent a lot more prominent as she speaks.

"You need to stop" Lou says, Matty and her laughing at the slightly smaller girl. Matty's eyes flick between them, eyebrows raising.

"Sorry I can't get over how similar you look, you seriously have different mum's? " Matty says, making them both groan.

"Oh god don't say that"  they say in unison, Matty holds his hands up in surrender at the daggers they shoot.

"Forget I mentioned it" he's being pulled away by someone else then. Leaving the two sisters alone.

"I mean... I like him" Mia says, grasping her sister by the shoulders. Rose joins their conversation.

"That's because you didn't see how completely unbearable he was when we were kids" Rose says, beer in hand that Lou is completely unsure how she got.

"Alright Rose we get it. Give the poor guy a chance, people change" Cami speaks and Lou is thankful to her.

"So tell us, are the rumours true?" Rose then asks.

"What rumours?" Lou asks, eyebrows furrowing at her bandmate.

"The rumours when we were kids.... That he's a good shag" rose says, always one to be forefront with her questions, something which often got them into trouble.

"You know what, you carry on mingling, I need a fag" Lou chuckles before finding her way out of one of the side doors, she hears them all laughing behind her.

The cigarette quickly finds its place in-between her lips, lighter sparking, the end burning as she breathes it in. She hears the door open and then shut behind her but she doesn't turn. She doesn't need to, she can smell two familiar scents: one of the man she loved and one of her life long best friend.

There's a silence for a few seconds as they light their own cigarettes, Matty's arm hooking around her waist when he sees her shiver.

"Sorry Lou but your sister is fitter than the last time I saw her" George says, making her cringe and making Matty chuckle.

"Ew. Just ew. And you have a girlfriend" Lou says simply, she doesn't miss how Matty leans in whispering a "you're fitter" into her ear. It's kind of a weird compliment, she never once compared herself to her sister, but she can't deny the way his words make her thighs tighten. She suppose it's because he's the one saying it and she's the one he wants when there's plenty of other beautiful girls, including the ones back inside, who he could easily get.

"They seem nice" Matty then says, loud enough for them both to hear.

"They are. But they're fucking mental though. Sorry if Rose is a bitch to you, her heart is in the right place" Lou explains, talking to Matty now, ignoring her best friend.

"It's okay, I get it. I was a dick remember?" Matty asks and Lou and George nod at him, all three of them laughing at his words.

"Cami is an absolute sweetheart so you don't have to worry about anything with her... Maybe just" she turns to Matty, placing a hand on her chest "watch what you say" this makes George laugh.

"And Mia... Keep her away from Ross will you? She's small but she will break that man" Lou says, her words shocking the two men, making them laugh anyway.

"Really?" George says, raising his eyebrows "maybe he needs to be broken" and Lou is groaning at his words.

"Don't you even try George" she says, the man flicking his fag to the floor, running back inside, giggling like an absolute child.

"George!" She shouts, giving in when the door swings back. She turns back to Matty then, who is smiling widely at her. His curls have once again been tamed by an unruly amount of hair gel, she almost frowns at the fact she can't run her fingers through the strands.

"Remind me why you didn't tell me you had a sister?" He asks and she frowns at him, thinking of an answer, not really having a definite one.

"Hmmm... I dunno. Guess I never thought to tell you before... And now... Think I was too wrapped up in you to tell you" she says, feeling a bit bad that she hadn't mentioned her own sister.

"As much as I love that... Told you I wanted to know everything about you" he says and she nods.

"I know... You'll get to know her now though, she loves you already so you definitely don't have to worry about her" she seals her words with a brief kiss.

"You seem different around them" Matty admits, making her eyebrows furrow, not knowing whether the meaning behind his words was a good or bad difference.

"How?" She asks, he smooths his hands over her waist, pulling her closer as his back leans against the concrete of the wall.

"You're like the leader of their pack, they all look to you, you shine" he admits and his eyes sparkle as he speaks "like seeing you shine". She doesn't quite know what to say but opts for the truth.

"I've actually been enjoying not being the frontman for a bit... Happy to be in the background and bask in your light" she says, his heart flutters at her words.

"Oh honey..." His fingers tucking a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen, choosing to gently grip her chin instead of dropping back to his side.

"You've got your own light, even at the back... Everyone's looking at you" he says and she doesn't believe his words. She had a few of her own fans come to their gigs but the majority were there to see the boys and Matty, of course because it was their show, she was just there to help. She shakes her head at him, making him chuckle.

"Wish you could see yourself the way I see you... The way thousands of people see you. Trust me darling... You shine" he seals his lips against hers now, not letting her utter another word. His words had some truth to them that she didn't see, the guys often found themselves watching her even on that stage, she radiated something more than any of them could give.

And Matty especially couldn't take his eyes off her, she was everything, up on that stage, in a coffee shop, amongst friends, under the covers in their room: she shined.

Their lips move passionately against each other, neither able to get enough of each other. He's pulling her as she pulls him, trying to get closer even though it wasn't possible.

Neither of them had spoken about the fact that in two days they would be at the end of the first leg of their tour. They'd been setting off on a three week break, every single person had made plans except the two of them, too wrapped up in each other to have spoken about it.

The door creaks open next to them and they hear someone cough. They pull apart, both looking to see sweet Cami standing there.

"They're calling you on stage" Lou appreciates that she makes no crude comments, and doesn't groan at the sight of them.

They leave to play then, the crowd like no other tonight. She doesn't know if it's because she has her bandmates and her sister here or maybe because things are going so well with Matty, but the smile on her face never leaves. They play song after song, each one better than the last and when the second half rolls round and Matty introduces them, he surprises her.

"So we have two more shows after this one... And then we're on a three week break" he mentions it now and suddenly it dawns on her.

" I haven't made any plans... I've been a little distracted..." He says, looking over to her, making the crowd go mental "the truth is I've been having the time of my life with someone truly truly amazing and I'm the happiest I've ever been" he says. She thinks that his words are good enough for her for now, that's all the fans really need to know.

"This tour... We had someone amazing join us... I wasn't overjoyed at first, everyone on this stage right now would tell you that... Including her, especially her" he says and they all chuckle to themselves, Lou's eyes never wavering from his.

"But my god... George" he says turning around to face his best mate "thank you" he says, hands flat against each other, raising them to his chin as he tilts his head.

"Thank you to these boys right here" he says, pointing to Hann, George and then Ross "for making the best decision ever and bringing this wonderful person on tour with us" Matty says, finally pointing to her. Some fans may think he's just being sentimental, thanking her for joining them this far. Some will know the true meaning to his words, all but confirming what they were.

"Our wonderful Lou, would you come here for a second please?" He asks, and exactly as they planned she walks over to him, smiling as he pulls her into a tight hug before they pull back, his hand resting on her shoulder.

"Now you've got an absolute treat tonight" Matty says and someone passes her, her acoustic guitar. Matty moves from his stool and lets her sit there.

"The amazing Lou everyone" he says before he's leaving, everyone leaves the stage then, joining the girls backstage and watching from the sidelines.

"God this is daunting" she says into the microphone, making the crowd laugh "Yeah I know this is my job but I haven't been up here on my own for a hot minute" they laugh again.

She's shining again Matty thinks, god he loved how she shines.

"Boys please come back" she says, everyone laughing again.

"Okay okay" she says, shaking her nerves off as she begins checking if the guitar is in tune.

"I need to say a couple of things before I start, unplanned I know" she says, saying her last words to the guys on the side of the stage.

"Can't let Matty say all that without me saying anything" she laughs and she sees him smile at her.

"My band is here tonight" the crowd screams "my little sister"

"And I can't remember a time where I felt as happy as I do now. We're a family here at the 1975... I know that more than anything else" she says her words making the boy's eyes fill with tears.

"I guess I just want to say thank you to the whole team... And to my four boys, you know I'm not the best with words so I've been wanting to do something to show you guys how much you mean to me instead. So I thought I'd sing you a beautiful song. One which you wrote. This is for you" she says, beginning to play the beginning chords to "When We Are Together".

She plays a stripped back version of the song, somehow making it more sentimental, the boys find themselves hugging each other backstage.

Matty stares at her intently as she sings, the voice he loves so much filling the entire arena, he's in awe that the entire audience is silent, simply listening to her sing.

"You ask about the cows, wearin' my sweater

It's somethin' 'bout the weather that makes them lie down

The only time I feel I might get better is when we are together" she sings, her voice soft and sweet, undeniably beautiful.

She sings the song to the end, only then looking up at the audience. Her own eyes glisten with tears that are yet to fall but they do when she sees everyone holding up their phone, a few people crying their own tears. The boys are quick to join her on stage, hugging her tightly in a group hug before they return to their places on the stage.

"I love you" Matty mouths to her making her smile and mouth an "I love you too" back. Neither caring that thousands of people were watching them.

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

George somehow ropes them all into a night out. Explaining that they hadn't had one yet despite being nearly at the end of their first leg. It was a rare occurrence for the band not to have had one, but they had all agreed that until they were all settled they wouldn't have a crazy night out.

But as the first leg was coming to an end, they had all agreed it was much needed and well deserved. Plus, the addition of Lou's bandmates had them all in high spirits.

"Got to give the newbies a proper 75 welcome" Ross says, wrapping an arm around Lou, pulling her into his side.

"Hey I'm not a newbie anymore" she argues back, jokingly shoving the man above her, shrugging away from his grip.

"But you haven't been out with us losers since we were teenagers" he quips back and she can't argue with that.

So they all rushed back to their hotel, the girls taking up Lou's room which was yet to be touched. Matty frowns as she disappears between the doors, leaving him to get ready on his own. Lou quickly showers, slicks back her hair into a high pony and applies some make up, not too much on her face but a dark eye, before joining the girls back in her room, wrapped up in a white robe.

"Feel like seeing how much that man has the hots for you?" Cami says, making Lou laugh as she searches through her suitcase. The girls seemed to have come prepared, suspecting that a night out would be on the agenda.

"We're not going anywhere fancy Cami, George knows some dj at this club and they've got us a booth" she explains, failing to mention that it was in the VIP section, something she didn't like to brag about. Cami holds up a silk dress with a deep v and a high slit, Lou shakes her head "too fancy".

Cami mutters an "okay okay" before she proceeds to throw more things from her suitcase, a mischievous look on her face as she puts together a few items.

One of which is a skirt that is far too short even for Lou, she had thrown all sorts of items in there, some of which she hadn't worn in ages.

"Cami that skirt it so fucking short" Lou says, unsure about it, and the slit that revealed half her thigh. Cami proceeds to throw the skirt at her, along with a deep v lace bodysuit and a cropped blazer.

"Just try it on" she says, the other girls nodding. Lou sighs deeply.

"Don't encourage her" she says, pointing to the other girls.

She makes her way to the en-suite bathroom, removing her robe before putting on the assortment of clothes Cami had selected. She finds herself smirking at her reflection, her ego was far from big but she knew that one look from Matty and he'd be on his knees.

She makes her way back into the room, her bandmates gasping at her.

"That's it. That's the one. I'm a genius" Cami says, placing a kiss on each of her cheeks.

"I'd do you" Rose says, making them all laugh, her fingertips pluck the "M" necklace that rests against the centre of her chest, just falling in-between her boobs. Rose smiles and lifts an eyebrow.

"Can't lie... That's undeniably cute" she says and Lou smiles.

"I know I give him shit... And I will continue to until I see fit" rose says making Lou laugh "but it's obvious he's madly in love with you... And you seem really happy" she says and Lou nods at her.

"I am... I don't even remember what it was like before... I hated him because I thought he hated me... As soon as I found out he didn't, everything kind of just fell in to place" Lou explains, mia standing up to hug her sister.

The other girls get ready after that, Lou helping them do their hair and make up, hearing the guys laughing from outside.

Rose wears a simple black dress that sits tightly on her body, Cami settles for a black pair of skinny jeans and a lace bralette, whilst Mia adorns leather trousers and black one shoulder bodysuit.

"You guys are going to give them heart attacks," Lou says, making all the girls laugh.

They then make their way into the main room, Lou the last to leave, before she does she hears George say "Was wondering why you took so long but now I understand. Look lovely girls" he says, his words fairly tame in comparison to what she'd thought he'd say.

"Where's the woman of the hour?" He jokes before she steps into the threshold. Her eyes find Mattys almost instantly and she can't help but smirk at him.

He was sitting on one of the sofas, legs spread wide almost as if he's ready for her to take her place in them. He shoots up as soon as he sees her, tugging at the shirt that rests almost uncomfortably around his neck now.

He's dressed in black suit trousers, a plain white T Shirt tucked in with a black shirt thrown over the top, the buttons almost all undone except two at the bottom, the shirt is sheer and she holds back moan as she sees him. His hair isn't tamed by gel now, unruly curls sat atop his head, ready to be tugged.

"Damnnn" George says, hand reaching for hers and getting his best friend to do a twirl, which makes her laugh. She didn't notice Matty coming over to her but she sure as hell notices the look he gives George, one in which she had never seen before.

His eyes warned his best friend to watch his mouth and George instantly stepped away, he was being territorial and she was surprised with how much she liked the feeling.

"Baby..." He practically whispers, hands coming to find her waist, gently pulling her body to his, his touch is unsure, as if he thought he wasn't deserving of it. Behind them, everyone begins talking to each other, letting the couple be.

"You look..." He swallows deeply and the sight kills her. She's glad her outfit had the outcome she had desired but as his dark eyes find hers she finds herself lost for words. Her eyebrows raise up at him, begging him to finish his sentence.

"Devine..." He says, as if she's a meal to devour. She couldn't care in the slightest, she loved how he much he wanted her and how little he tried to hide it.

"Hmm" she says, hands flat against his chest, she doesn't even beginning to describe how good he looks before George is interrupting them.

"We should probably leave before these two start fucking" George says, making everyone chuckle.

The club is loud and George disappears the minute they arrive, talking to the DJ of the night who lets George take rein of the music for a bit. The others find themselves at their booth, drinks already waiting for them.

Matty's hand is firmly clasped on her thigh as his other arm hooks around the back of her. His hand comes to fit at the back of her neck and she finds herself loving the feel of it. His grasp wasn't too tight but wasn't exactly soft and she has to stop herself from pressing her lips against his.

Ross is sat opposite them talking to Mia, her hand rests on his knee as they talk over the loud music. Cami and Rose are already on the dance floor, laughing with each other as they danced and drank.

He leans into speak to her, having to place his mouth directly next to her ear for her to hear "saw about 6 different guys stare at you as we walked in love" he says, almost proud of the fact.

"Yeah?" She asks and he smirks.

"Don't blame them, you look fucking hot" he says, making her chuckle and lean into him.

"Bet it must feel nice knowing I'm yours huh?" She asks and his smirk falls, mouth agape for a beat before his lips find hers for a firm peck.

"You're not mine yet love, not really. You could go over to any one of them right now and do what you wanted" he speaks and she smiles at him, shaking her head at his words. His words which were just to test her. He wanted nothing more than for her to say his words weren't true.

"Its shame for them then isn't it?" She says making his eyebrows furrow, not knowing what she meant.

"Shame I want you and not them" she says, standing from the booth, hand finding his as she stands.

"Besides" she says, leaning down to him until her mouth grazes his ear, making him shiver "if I'm not yours... you should do something about that" she says before looking at Mia.

"Want to dance?" She asks and Mia smiles widely, standing almost instantly. Lou notices the clear frown on Ross' lips and she smiles, raising her eyebrows at the bearded man.

The two girls quickly make their way to the dance floor positioning themselves so they can be seen by the guys (who's eyes never leave them).

Ross and Cami are quick to find them, the four of them dancing with each other, laughing and drinking.

Lou feels a tap to her shoulder so she turns, looking up at a guy who she doesn't recognise, a 6 ft something guy who, if she wasnt completely smitten with Matty she would find attractive, he had curls too but they weren't the same as Matty's, he looks sweet, a we'll put together man who no doubt has a large sum to his name. She stands there awkwardly waiting for the man to speak.

"Sorry I saw you across the room and just had to say hi" he speaks the cliche line and she chuckles.

"Does that line usually work for you?" She shouts over the loud song that's playing, the girls behind her laughing.

"I don't know, it's the first time I'm using it, you tell me" he says smoothly and Lou chuckles again.

"Ah come on Lou, let him buy you a drink" Rose says and she knows she just wants to see Matty's reaction.

"Lou? Is that your name? A pretty name for a pretty girl" he says and she can't help but cringe a little.

"I'm actually here with-" she begins to say she's here with someone but is interrupted by rose again.

"No she's not, she's just being modest, buy her a drink, a martini" she says and Lou chuckles as they man smiles before leaving.

"I hate martinis" Lou says and rose smirks.

"I know, but I love them" she says leaning in to speak into her ear "turn around, it worked" rose says.

Lou turns and is suddenly flushed against Matty's chest, she stumbles but his hand quickly finds her waist, holding her against him.

"Hi" she smiles.

"Hi" he smiles back, looking down at her. His eyes flick to the bar where he sees the guy he was all but ready to pounce on if he made a single move. Lou turns her head to see who he's looking at and she smiles upon turnjng around to face him again.

Her hands rest against his shoulders as a slow beat plays, she steps towards him so they're closer.

"You don't have to worry about him" she whispers into his ear. His hands grip her hips as she begins to move against him.

"Hmm why's that?" He mumbles into her ear, lips finding their way to her neck.

"Think you already know Matty" she says, pulling back to look at him. Her eyes plead with him, begging him to just kiss her already.

"Because you're mine yeah?" He shouts smiling down at her. She simply nods and his eyes leave her for a second, flicking to someone behind her again.

"Sorry mate" he speaks to whoever is behind her, probably the guy from a minute ago, but Lou's eyes are training on the curly man holding her "she's my missus" the words leave his mouth before he even processes them.

She hears a grumble behind her and then Matty's eyes are on hers again.

"Your missus huh? Like the sound of that" she pulls his mouth to hers then, lips pressing against one another with fervour. Him using that word so casually awakens something in her (and seemingly him too).

He tries to speak through their kiss, eventually having to break away.

"Be my girlfriend? Like proper girlfriend" he asks, it was not the way he had intended on asking her but he was desperate now, not wanting to go another minute without asking her.

"Wanted to ask you in a better setting than this love but-" her lips are on his again, shutting him up. She goes to say yes but suddenly a lanky man is pulling the pair into a tight hug.

"Fucking love you guys" George says, making the two of them laugh loudly.

"How much have you had to drink?" She laughs and he smears a kiss to her cheek before doing the same to Matty.

"Question is... Why haven't you?" His words make no sense but they allow him to pull them back to the booth and allow him to make the whole group (save for Matty) do a few shots. Lou doesn't drink as much as the rest of the group, wanting to support Matty but also wanting to remember the night, for it was already an amazing one.

As the night progresses, Ross and Mia are dancing together, her hands flat against his chest as their bodies moved against one another.

Matty and Lou were flush against the wall in the corner of the room, hiding from everyone else, needing some time to be alone.

"You never answered my question" he says as his head tucks into her neck, lips pressing against the skin.

"Kind of got interrupted" she sighs, hands threading through the curls at the nape of his neck.

"Yeah George keeps fucking doing that tonight" He pulls back to look at her and she smiles.

"Yes I'll be your girlfriend" she says and he mirrors her, wide smiles adorning both of their faces.

"Yeah? Don't care that I asked you in the middle of some sweaty club" he asks and she shakes her head.

"No, because it's you. I'd of said yes no matter what Matty" and the confession has him blushing deeply, pulling her into him to place a loving kiss to her mouth.

"Didn't get to finish what you were saying to me earlier either... Some best friend g is" Matty says, needing to hear what she wanted to say.

"Yeah... Was going to say how good you looked" she says, smoothing her hands down his white Tshirt, fingertips pulling the shirt that rests either side of his frame, until their mouths meet again.

They break away a few moments later and his eyes wander to the centre of the dancefloor where Ross and Mia can be seen.

"Told George to keep her away from that man, she'll break his heart" Lou groans eyes finding where Matty was looking and he laughs at her words.

"You know I know about that night right" Matty says as his eyes snap back to hers, looking down at her as she frowns up at him, not knowing what she was talking about.

"What happened between you and Ross" Matty says, a smirk resting against his lips as Lou's mouth falls open.

"What- how?" She asks, mouth agape, lost for words.

"He's my best friend love, told me as soon as he knew I had feelings for you" he says, thumb drifting along her cheek.

"And? What do you think about it?" She asks, searching his face for any signs of him being annoyed at her.

"Well that depends..." He asks, a darkness to his words, lips pressing against hers, confusing her.

"Depends on what?" She murmurs against his mouth, pulling at his shirt, needing him closer to her.

"What was it like?" He asks, pressing his mouth to hers the moment he finished talking.

"Want the truth?" She asks and he nods against her mouth as his tongue finds hers. She allows them to fight for a moment until she lets his push harshly against hers, making her core flutter and letting him lead the kiss.

She pulls away from him for a second, dark eyes finding his and she smirks.

"It was hot... At the time" she says and she smirks down at her.

"Ross said the same thing" he says and Lou's eyebrows raise.

"Yeah?" Mattys hand drifts along her waist, landing against her hip, pulling her flush against him, moving their bodies to the beat of the music. Her arm hooks over his shoulder, clinging onto him as his hips ground down against hers.

He nods down at her and she finds herself confused as to why he's smirking still.

"If he told you that... Why are you smirking?" She asks, moaning into his mouth as his lips press against hers again.

"Because... It was a childhood makeout, doesn't mean anything... Fizzled out anyway" Matty says, repeating what Ross had explained to him. His lips find her neck again and she sighs.

"Hmm.. what if I said otherwise?" She says, purely teasing him. His head snaps away from her neck, finding her eyes, seriousness now covering his features.

"That's just mean love" he says, and she smirks up at him now, he doesn't find it funny and she's quick to drop the act. Softly playing with his hair as anger clouds his eyes.

"Baby I'm joking" she says, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, drifting them down to his neck and up to the shell of his ear.

"Doesn't mean anything... You're the one I want. My boyfriend" her last words are what gets him to snap back to how he was moments prior. It's what makes him press his mouth back to hers and grind his hips down to hers.

"Say it again" he murmurs into her mouth.

"My boyfriend"

"Fuck" his tongue roughly presses against hers and her hold on him tightens as pleasure increases throughout her body as she feels his hardened length pressing against her core.

"Want to get out of here?" He asks as he pulls away from her. She's quickly nodding up at him making him smirk.

"Good. Can't wait to get you out of this fucking skirt" he says, hand running along the hem of it, caressing her thigh. They quickly weave themselves out of the club, leaving their friends, leaving Lou's sister who is likely still with Ross.

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

Their naked bodies are sprawled out on the bed of their hotel room, Matty is lying on his front as Lou is at his side. Her fingers drift along the expanse of his back, the muscles contracting under her touch before she presses light kisses to the skin.

"We have a break in two days" he says, his voice quiet, looking over his shoulder to find his girlfriend, who's arms were resting against his back.

"Want to spend it with you" Matty says, turning onto his back, she allows him and then lies back down onto his stomach now.

"Id like that" she smiles, pressing a kiss against his stomach.

"Think we should go away for a bit... Just us" he says and she nods again.

"Need to go home too though, need to see my family... And G's" she says and Matty nods.

"My mum's been wanting to see you again. Hasnt seen you since we were kids" he says. A man of many confessions tonight it seems

"Id love that. She always loved me" she says and Matty nods.

"Yeah I know... Used to give me so much shit for treating you the way I did. Said I was a cruel boy" he admits, his words holding a certain sadness to them.

"It's okay, made up for it now" she says and she smiles slightly.

"I'm so sorry"

"Baby no. You don't have to apologise anymore. I forgive you" she says, lips pressing softly against his stomach again, moving upwards until pressing against his lips.

"I know... Just needed to say it" he says and she nods.

"Can't believe you're my girlfriend" he says, hands moving her hair from her face, wanting to truly see her.

"You know... I never really said sorry for how I was to you" she admits and he looks down at her.

"You weren't nearly as bad as me love"

"That's not the point though... I'm sorry Matty, truly I am. Things were so different back then, it's kind of crazy" she says and he nods.

"Why did you hate me?" He asks, looking down at her, she didn't mind being asked it, they hadn't actually spoken about it yet.

"Suppose at first I hated you because you hated me... I tried to get you to like me... But after a while I gave in... Hated you because despite everything the guys said about you, about you being this lovely guy who would do anything for his mates... You weren't that person with me and I desperately wanted you to be... So I hated you because you didn't allow me to have you that way" she admits, something she had never admitted aloud before.

"I never knew that" he says, frowning at her. She knows he's about to apologise again so she presses her mouth to his.

"I often saw the way you were with them, when you thought I wasn't looking and I felt jealous... You told me the guys got to have me in a way you didn't and it was the same for me" she says.

"God we really made a mess of things didn't we?" He says, chuckling at the whole messy situation. She smiles at him and nods.

"Think we've made up for it now don't you think?" She asks and he nods, kissing her sweetly.

"My girlfriend"

"Your girlfriend" she smiles.

"Think I'm ready to make it obvious were dating" he says and she nods.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea" she says lying down on his chest and listening to his heart beat until she falls asleep.

"I love you" he murmurs although she's asleep on his arms now.

"I've always loved you" he says before he feels himself drifting to sleep too.

Part 9

[shepherds-of-haven]

If there was a popularity contest for the ROs, who would win? I think the obvious answer is Blade, with Chase as a runner up, but I think 3rd place is a bit of a toss up. My moneys on Lavinet… for completely unbiased reasons

Do you mean a popularity contest among us, the readers and fans, or a popularity contest among the Shepherds themselves? 😂 If you meant the first part, we did hold a popularity bracket a few months ago (results are here: Blade took first, with Trouble second) and a poll about romance options here, though a bracket is probably not the best kind of way to determine second and third places, etc., due to the nature of the random pairups (like Lavinet might have made it farther if she hadn't been paired with Trouble right off the bat, etc.). So in the future we probably will hold an actual "who's your favorite" poll, just to see!

If you're talking about a popularity contest within the Order itself, I think the results might surprise you! Who's considered most "popular" among the recruits tends to be a combination of who actively socializes with and spends time with them the most (i.e. who's friendly towards the most rank and file), which definitively isn't Blade (I actually talk about their various fanclubs and popularity among their admirers here, and discuss why Blade and the others lost some here).

If the Shepherds were to hold a popularity contest right now (Chapter 9 or thereabouts) with people voting for their favorite Shepherd, it would probably shake out to:

Trouble (universally popular and well-liked among the recruits because he casually hangs out as one of them quite often)

Briony (friendly and cheerful, makes a real effort to connect with people, learn their names and details about their lives (she has amnesia so she doesn't have any preexisting relationships, she's trying to fill up her life with new friendships fast), plus she can show you how to choke someone out with your thighs and that's awesome)

Chase (the vast majority of the people voting for him are fans/admirers who are feral about him, even though he doesn't mingle all that much with the rank and file, though he tosses them a wink or makes playful conversation with them just enough to fuel their ardor)

Ayla (goes drinking with the recruits and socializes with them regularly, arm-wrestling with them and mingling with them easily, etc. Sometimes she randomly pulls away or gets snippy if you rub her the wrong way, though, which is why she lost some points)

Red (he would likely be much higher if he wasn't rushing around with his nose in a book muttering to himself all the time--he's much more popular with the Circle Mages than he is with recruits who have joined up recently, simply because he doesn't really take the time anymore to meet new people or make friends, he has enough of those and now he just wants to be left alone to work on his own projects 😂)

Tallys (her beauty and mystique make her very alluring, so she has a strong backing of admirers and fans, but not super close friends outside of the inner circle; many find her a bit intimidating or hard to approach, so they admire her from afar)

Halek (similarly to Tallys, his hotness and laidback demeanor (plus his quiet celebrity status as sol) earn him a lot of admirers and fans, even if he doesn't really interact directly with them. People are really into guys who don't bother them and just do their own thing... they read his lackadaisical attitude about his position in life as humility and it feels like a gift and a blessing when the Halek Prince drifts by and idly asks to bum a smoke off of you lmao)

Shery (she has an incredibly strong backing of quiet fans and admirers, though nowhere near as much as the people who love Trouble--a magically-augmented sniper who has a penchant for boxing shirtless in the courtyard and remaining totally oblivious to people who are sneaking a peek from a window--or Briony, who can punch through walls. Fans of Shery are like... the hipsters of the Order lol they pride themselves on recognizing her awesomeness when it'd be easy to be distracted by the flash and drama of the others!)

Blade (he is pretty much universally feared, respected, and admired by the people in the Order, almost to the level of awe and reverent hero-worship... but because he never directly interacts with like 95% of them and treats them as subordinates, I can't see that they would all vote for him as their "favorite" Shepherd in a contest like this, not when they interact with many of the others on a daily basis and are actual friends with some of them! He may have the biggest share of non-romantic fans and admirers just on a general level, but the ratio of the ones who would actually vote for him are quite low because he's so aloof that they sometimes wonder if he's even human lol. Also, sometimes he terrifies them, like how he chewed out the guards for slacking off on his second interlude. It'd be like asking you to vote in a popularity contest between your close personal friend, a bunch of coworkers, and then your boss lol)

Lavinet (as of Chapter 8ish, her popularity among the Shepherds is still quite low. She is the latest major companion to join the inner circle, and on top of that, many recruits dislike or distrust her due to her status as a noble, assuming that this is a kind of PR stunt and she's going to quit as soon as the work gets too hard for her pampered self, or they outright resent her because they don't like the nobility in general (hard to blame them). However, give her some time, because after she starts really proving herself to the ranks by diligently and uncomplainingly doing her work and pulling off some impressive missions, and with a healthy dose of her patented, effortless charm and social grace, and feelings towards her are going to shift to become more positive... Given enough time, I believe her popularity and admirers would eventually rival that of Chase, Briony, and Trouble's, easily putting her in the top 3!)

Riel (he makes absolutely no effort to interact with any recruit in a way that would make him popular, lol. The majority of them know him as "avoid him at all costs because he'll rope you into doing manual labor for him" or "by God, do not drop any crates near his office because you'll be able to see his scathing, baleful look of reproach through the walls" so yeah, it's hard to see many people voting for him except for the quiet handful who are crushing on him hard)

Mimir (most recruits: who? because she lives outside in her tent, the majority of people don't even realize that she's joined the Order--I don't think she's even like an official officer, I think she just lives there now and gets fed lmao)

However, also keep in mind that these results are for a "who would people cast a single vote for if forced to choose their favorite Shepherd" contest. It's not exactly the same as, say, "who has the most admirers, period" or "who receives the most anonymous love letters"? Those numbers shake out to be more even... One might even argue that remaining aloof from the rank and file would have an inverse effect, in that it's easier to secretly admire someone from afar in a way that develops into sappy love-letter-type feelings, because you can project a kind of fantasy onto them, rather than having to outright vote for them as your "favorite" (while admitting you have almost no direct interaction with them). So if the question is, "who receives the most love letters?" I would say it's:

Blade - Trouble - Tallys - Chase - Red - Briony - Lavinet

Shery - Ayla - Halek

Riel (and only because people who truly admire him and have any inkling of his personality are terrified that he'd be able to figure out who sent him a love letter based on, like, the quality of their ink or something like that)

Woof, sorry for the long, rambling, overdetailed explanation, lmao... Hopefully that all makes sense!

[assortedseaglass]

The Seamstress & The Sailor - Chapter Ten

Tom Bennett x OFC

[Masterlist]

Warnings: Swearing (v strong), suggestive language, ableist language, World on Fire spoilers.

Word Count: 7.4K

Note: Surprise! New chapter a day earlier than planned. I took down the poll as most people were voting for one longer chapter, so here it is!

January 1940

The new decade began blissfully for Bess Vaughn. True to his word, Tom indeed popped round the morning of New Year’s Day, on the pretense of spending time with Albie. When Cora told him that Albie was still in bed, having “over-exerted” himself the night before, Tom said he’d wait and was contented to listening to the sisters’ chatter while running his finger along Bess’ thigh under the table.

When Albie came down, washed but bedraggled, all but Bess and Tom had left for work. Not a minute after Bess had seen them off did Tom run back in.

“Told your brother I forgot something.”

“And did y-” Tom silenced her with a kiss. Then another. And another.

“Albie...will be wondering…where you are-” Bess said between kisses.

“Let him wait,” And with his hands cupping Bess’ neck, Tom rolled his tongue over hers and melted at the contented sigh it produced from her. “Still on for later?” He asked when he pulled back to look at her.

“Still haven’t found another girl that wants to go with you?”

“No need when I’ve got the best girl in Manchester.”

“Only Manchester?”

“Well, you didn’t see some of the girls in Port Stanley.” Bess slapped his shoulder. Tom winked and darted into the street to meet Albie.

“I’m off to see the girls,” Bess announced that evening once her family had demolished their dinner.

“Give Roberta and Hattie my love,” Fergal said from his armchair. “Back by eleven,” he waggled his finger jovially.

“Yes, dadda.” Bess kissed his cheek and left by the back gate. The first thing she saw when she stepped into the ginnel were those blue eyes gleaming at her. A cigarette hung jauntily from his lips. Bess raised her eyes at his attire; navy slacks and jumper underneath his blue jacket.

“Got to get a few perks from being in the navy,” he said with a smirk.

Bess tutted and took the cigarette from his lips, puffing smoke seductively into his face when she was finished. Every now and then, Tom made a gesture so unexpectedly romantic Bess’ heart skip a beat, and just that happened when he took Bess’ hand in his, kissed it and led her on their way. “Belle Vue, here we come.”

Tom was right. Wearing a uniform did bring its perks. Free entry to Belle Vue, a free round at the bar, free entry to rides and numerous handshakes.

“Do you always take girls on such cheap dates?” Bess teased. Tom answered by buying her candyfloss, and winning prizes for her at the coconut shy and hoopla. When Bess said she’d rather the coconut than the prize, Tom laughed.

“What? I’ve never had one before.”

“Good luck fitting that in your purse.” Once more, he was right, and Bess carried the coconut around for the rest of the night, the only exception when she left it at the carousel operator’s booth. Bess begged and begged Tom to join her, and he agreed on the condition he didn’t have to sit on a horse. Owing to the restriction of her skirt and bulk of her coat, Bess sat side saddle, with Tom stood at the neck of the painted horse. When the carousel sprang into life, the jaunty tune rattling around Belle Vue, Bess squealed. Tom never thought stoic Bess Vaughn capable of such a noise, and he watched her glee with awe. Bess caught him staring her.

“Mam loved the carousel. She used to bring us down when we were little and it was all we wanted to go on.” Tom, too, used to come down with Lois and his mother. Somewhere was a photo of the three of them stood by the carousel, taken by Douglas. Behind them the carousel was a blur, spinning out of reach of the camera’s capabilities.  

On the horse behind Bess and Tom, a little girl was being held by her older brother. She couldn’t care less about the carousel. Her eyes were watching Bess’ hair, the greens and pinks of the bulbs giving the copper a hazy halo. Bess tipped her head back in enjoyment, and the little girl’s eyes lit up. Tom watched the little girl watching Bess and smiled. He should have done this sooner.

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“How was it last night?”

“Eh?” Tom looked from the cigarette dwindling between his fingers to his father.

“Last night? How was it?”

Tom nodded. “Fine, yeah.”

“Lads all ok?”

“Yeah, they’re good.”

“Walter Watson’s in a bit of a state. Saw him this morning at the corner shop.”

“Probably deserved it,”

Douglas hummed. Pacifist or not, after Walter terrorised Bess as a girl, Douglas had considered giving him a thump from time to time. The pair fell silent and an unspoken conversation hung in the air. They both knew it was coming, but who would be first over the breach? A minute passed.

“I thought I was finally doing something for the right reasons. Something good.” Tom didn’t look his dad in the eye. His voice was firm, quiet. “But when I came up for air, and I saw our lads lying dead, something of them looking more like meat than bloke to be honest dad,” Douglas flinched, heartbroken his son now had the same memories as he. “I knew the German lads had the same.” Tom paused, waiting for his dad to speak. When he didn’t, Tom continued.

“I was right to be bad all along. So, where’s the sense of risking my life?” he caught Douglas’ eye. “You know? I’m-I’m done.”

“I think you should go back.” Douglas said without hesitation. Tom’s eyes fluttered with confusion and his anger roared into life.

“You want me to go back? To war? That you hate?”

“No, don’t want you to go back,” Douglas pinched the bridge of his nose. If Etta was here, she’d know what to say. “I just think that you should.”

Tom felt like he’d been kicked. “Because it’s me?”

“And because it’s me.” Douglas said quickly, making sure Tom didn’t misunderstand. “They’ll use you, to get at me. And they won’t register you in a million years”.

“You don’t know that dad,” Tom whispered, though he already sounded defeated.

“If the peace movement accept any lad who goes AWOL, then it’ll make us look like we’re encouraging deserters, no genuine conscientious objectors-” Douglas spoke with more passion than his son had heard in a long time, and wished his father would speak about him that way.

“And I’m not genuine? You don’t think I’m genuine?” Were it not for the sadness creeping into his bones, he would have screamed at his dad. Douglas watched him momentarily.

“Are you, son?” Father and son watched each other.

“I can be.” Tom whispered, sincere. “If you coach me.”

Douglas ignored this statement, Tom at once confirming the intentions of his plan to desert and admitting his fear. “And what if you get court-martialled for going AWOL? You could be hanged for desertion,” Tom’s eyes flickered to his cigarette and the thought of Bess. “Or getting beat up to a pulp in prison every day, eh?”

Tom nodded with a finality that made Douglas’ heart sink. “You know what? Yeah, you’re right.” He finished his cigarette. “Daft idea.” The chair scrapped against the kitchen floor as he stood and made his way to the stairs.

“No,” Douglas tried to keep his son close. “I just think you should think it through,”

“Yep. Not my strong suit dad.” Upstairs, the door to Tom and Lois’ room slammed.

Lois arrived home that night to find Douglas reading by the fire.

“Tom out?” She asked, hanging her coat and putting the kettle on the stove.

“He’s upstairs.” Douglas said without looking up.

“Nice evening?” This time her father didn’t reply. “House full of bloody cheer.” Lois roughly placed a cup of tea in front of her father, still angry at him for telling Robina Chase she was expecting Harry’s baby, and made her way upstairs.

“Tea for you.” Tom was lying against his pillow in his undershirt, smoking a cigarette and sulking. He didn’t reply, not even a word of thanks. She knew of her brother’s plan to desert and had spent the last few days waiting for her father to tell Tom he should go back. Deep down, although she selfishly wanted him to stay, she knew her father was right. “Do you want me to talk to dad?”

“He's a pacificist, but he wants me to go back and start killing people. Why don’t you ask him to explain that?” Tom gesticulated with his cigarette, his face a mixture of confusion, hurt and disgust.

“Maybe he thinks you aren’t a very good shot,” Lois ginned over her cup of tea.

“Ha-ha,” Tom said sarcastically. “That one of your ENSA jokes?” Lois’ smile faded when she saw the sadness in her brother’s eyes. “You know, for a moment, I thought he might be pleased. Just for a moment-”

“Go back down there and fight him then! Don’t just give up!”

“Why does it matter to you either way?” Tom was trying to keep his anger at the situation in check. It would be a damn sight easier if people trusted in him enough to speak their mind rather than this cryptic nonsense.  

“I need you to stay here. I need my brother.”

“What, you? You’ve never needed anything off me, all my life.” Lois looked away from him when he asked this and sipped her tea. “Fine.” Tom rolled over on his bed, not bothering to get under the covers. After a few minutes, he heard Lois put her cup on the table and switch off the light. Through the thin curtains, Tom could see the faint glow of the house across the street, and he thought of Bess. She’d be sat by the fire now, reading or playing the piano. Imagining the warmth of her soft lips and dark gaze of her eyes, Tom drifted into a sleep not plagued by nightmares, but filled with warmth and copper hair and ragtime.

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“What did you tell them?” Bess panted, tucking a stray curl behind her ear as she approached Tom. The long coat she wore over her jumper and slacks was undone, and she looked unusually agitated.

“That I’m ill, what about you?” He said with a smile, watching as she tried to regain her composure.

“That I had a meeting with Robina Chase about her spring wardrobe. Dot wanted to stay behind and chat about it. Almost had to force her out the door, didn’t want to miss the showing.”

Gone with the Wind was still on at the picture house, and Tom had bought the two of them tickets. Quite honestly, he couldn’t care less about a three hour melodrama, but spending those hours with Bess in a darkened room certainly enticed him. By the time the afternoon showing had finished, Bess was glad for the winter. Four o’clock and the sun was just setting, perfectly hiding the mess of her hair and lipstick. Tom, rebellious by reputation, looked devilishly dishevelled and no one batted an eyelid at his swollen lips and tousled hair. In case Douglas was home from work, or Lois back from visiting friends, Bess led Tom down the ginnel behind the Vaughns’.

“The girls and dadda won’t be back from their shifts for at least another hour, and Albie’s paying Frank a visit.”

Tom took a step closer to Bess and held the lapels of her coat. “Miss Vaughn, are you inviting me inside?” He looked down his nose at her, chin turned up so she couldn’t reach his lips. Tom pulled her coat so she stumbled into his chest.

“I’m prepared to ruin my reputation for you, Mr Bennett.” At the suggestiveness in her voice, Tom’s eyebrows raised and he fought with every fibre not to lift her over his shoulder and carry her inside. She unlatched the gate and unlocked the yard door. No sooner had he stepped inside was her hand in his, leading him silently up the stairs. This wasn’t the first time Tom had been in the Vaughn girls’ bedroom, but it was the first time he had been in through the door. And during the day.

Bess made her way to the wardrobe by the vanity and hung up her coat. Tom looked at around; it was so different to the room he shared with Lois. There were dried flowers in a vase, make up scattered across the vanity and a makeshift washing line strung up with hosiery. The blankets, clearly heirlooms or made by Bess and her sisters, were in warm, faded colours. A picture of their mother hung on the wall next to a crucifix, and as Bess turned on the lamps, a homely glow doused the room. The only things that were the same as his own room were the two beds to accommodate them all, the peeling wallpaper and the cold of the rattling windows.

“Dadda’s not hiding under the bed, you can sit down.” Bess smiled as she drew a folding partition across the corner of the room.

“Wouldn’t put it past your ‘dadda’,” Tom said as he kicked off his shoes and lay on his side.

“I know you wanted to wait, but can we tell them soon? Please-”

“I just think they’d find it odd, us having grown up together.” Tom stretched on the bed.

“I’m fed up of all this sneaking around, Tom. You’ve just got your dad and Lois, but there’s five of us here at the moment. I can’t keep it up much longer,”

“I know, I know,”

“Before you go back? Please?”

Tom nodded noncommittally. “Before I go back.” He watched as she stepped behind the screen and seized the change of subject. “Don’t you girls get undressed in front of each other? All hanging around in your underwear-”

“I can hear the smirk on your face, Tom Bennett.”

He smiled and took out his cigarettes. “Mind if I smoke?” Bess hummed by way of a reply and Tom struck a match. The light of the room flickered. Through the thin fabric of the changing screen, Tom could see Bess as she moved around in front of the lamp. Saw as she pulled her jumper over her head, then her blouse, and tossed them at the chair in the corner. Saw as she bent over to remove her slacks. Suddenly, there were her legs. There was the dip in her waist after the curve of her hip. She stretched, oh so slowly, lazily bringing her hands to her hair. Next thing, Tom watched as shadowy tendrils of hair fell around her shoulders. He'd seen a naked woman before. Didn’t really think much of it, a body was a body, a means to an end. But the suggestion of Bess awoke in him a different beast entirely. He shifted on the bed and adjusted his trousers, tantalised by this unexpected striptease. Bess disappeared from the lamplight’s reach for a moment to root around the wardrobe. When she returned and bent over to step into a skirt, Tom flung his head back against the pillow and supressed a groan. What he wouldn’t give to collapse that bloody partition and watch her shimmy back out of the skirt. A fresh jumper, no blouse, was next and she folded the screen away.

“Are you alright?” Bess asked, for Tom was lying back on the bed she shared with Dot, his hand across his eyes, cigarette forgotten between his fingers.

“Mmm,” Bess smiled at the feeble response. She never lit the lamp when she was changing, but knowing Tom was on the other side to see, it was too tempting to tease him. She laughed warmly and Tom opened his eyes. Her hair was loose, like she had just woken up, the jumper she wore too large and slumping of her shoulder a little. The skirt she had tucked it into met halfway down her calves and was cut loosely. No hosiery. Tom bit his lip and watched Bess blush as he looked her over. He continued to stare, revelling in the effect it had. Enjoying how flustered he could make the famously unflappable Bess Vaughn. Bess clearly didn’t and picked up Dot’s pillow. She flung it at Tom’s head, only to miss when he ducked with a shout and the hit her bedside table instead. A book fell to the floor.

“Bloody aggressive,” Tom muttered jokily as he leant to pick up the book. “Well, hello. Keep me on your bedside table, do you?” Between his fingers he held his photograph, which had fluttered out of the book’s pages. Bess sat beside him and took the picture, running her finger across his sepia face. She looked from the photo to the real thing beside her. One brow was cocked, mouth curved in a lopsided smirk.

“I was scared you wouldn’t come back. It was like, if I kept you where I could always see you, you wouldn’t get hurt.”

Tom shook his head, self-belief still rattled after his conversation with his father. “But why me?”

“Why not?” Bess said simply, at her quiet and secretive best. “I have something for you.” She leant across Tom’s lap and from the drawer of the bedside table, pulled out a piece of card wrapped in tissue paper and handed it to him.

The paper fell away, and the dark eyes of Bess gazed softly up at him from a photograph.

“Now I won’t have to use my imagination,”

“God, Tom,” Bess kissed him suddenly. With one hand, Tom placed the picture on the table and then brought it to fist in Bess’ loose hair. He pulled firmly and exposed her neck to him, placing lazy, hot, open-mouthed kisses to her neck. The moan that left Bess was sinful. Tom pushed her back roughly against the bed, and she had barely gasped when his mouth was on her again. Sidling up to the side of her body, Tom ran one large hand along the side of her hip, her ribcage, grazed her breast and then tangled it in her hair once again.

“Fuck,” he hissed. One of Bess’ legs had hooked around his own and brought it between her thighs. Bess pulled her face away from his and place a hand on his cheek. She studied him and tears began forming in her eyes.

“I don’t want you to go back,” she whispered.

Tom kissed the side of her head as a tear fell into her hair, brushing some of the copper away from her face. He searched her amber eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t want to go back either.”

Bess frantically kissed the corners of his mouth, his neck, the flash of collarbone exposed by his shirt. “Stay,” she whispered, continuing to pepper him with kisses until she found his mouth.

“I’m trying-” Tom said against her lips. Bess stopped.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m trying-” He huffed and sat up, leaving Bess bereft at no longer having his body against hers. “I’m trying to get dad to sign me up. As a conchie.”

“But you don’t believe in it,”

“I don’t know if I believe in killing people either.” he replied hotly. Bess didn’t say anything, just continued to look at him curiously. Tom looked at his hands, stood to pace around the room, sat at the vanity, then stood again and moved to the window. All the while Bess watched him, and waited.

“It’s just-” he turned to face her, perched at the end of the bed. For a split second, those dark eyes diverted his attention. He looked to the door instead and spoke quickly. “It’s just I fucking hated life here. Always making a nuisance of myself, disappointing dad and Lois, and with absolutely no direction. I thought that by going, I’d avoid jail, see the world and if I died then so what? Everyone would either think I was a hero or be better off without me.” Bess gasped. Her shock was not derived from his words, but from the tone with which he spoke them. He was neither angry nor sad; Tom seemed to have accepted long ago that this was other people’s opinion of him. That this was his opinion of himself. She hurried to the window and took his hands as he continued speaking.

“Out there,” he looked at their entwined fingers. “You’re just another body. Another tiny cog in the machine. And it’s exactly the same for the Germans as it is for us. We’re just pawns in some big man’s game. And watching your mates get blown to pieces-” The tips of his ears were turning pink with repressed anger. When he looked back at Bess his eyes were wild with fury. “I’m not going back to shoot at people like me. What’s the point of it all? It doesn’t stop anything. Look at our dads! ‘The war to end all wars’ they called it! What a load of fucking bollocks.” He spat and turned away. “And now…now I’ve finally got something worth staying for. Someone who doesn’t think I’m no good.”   

Slowly, Bess moved herself between Tom and the window. She placed her chin on his chest so that he was forced to look at her. “You are good, Tom. You’ve always been good.” His solemn eyes took her in. Bess let him look at her, willed him to see the honesty in her eyes. Tom was terrified of the feelings she stirred in him, but in some sick way, he loved it. He couldn’t get enough of how scared she made him of himself.  Brushing it way, his mouth twisted into a grin, and he touched a finger to his lips. Bess rolled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Palms flat against her back, he rubbed her nose with his and kissed those delicious, rosebud lips of hers.

On the street below, Cora was walking home from work with Dot and their father, the two chattering arm in arm. Albie pushed his bike alongside them, the ticking of the wheels and clack of the girls’ shoes the only sound as the sun set.

“-and then dadda, listen to this! Then, she had the cheek to tell me that it was Henry Fonda, not Humphrey Boggart.”

“And what did you tell her, my girl?” Fergal smiled as he patted the hand of his youngest child.

“Well-” Cora smiled as Dot launched into a tirade about the factory gossip and Albie laughed at her. They were almost home, the light from the house already warming Cora after the cold walk home. She looked up. The light came not from the kitchen, which was utterly dark, but the bedroom window. The bedroom window where their sister was in a passionate embrace with Tom Bennett.

“We need to go round the back.”

“What, why?” Albie stopped pushing his bike.

“I forgot, the door jammed this morning when we left for work.” Cora was already making her way back down the street. “Remember, Dot?”

“No?” she replied, confused.

“I’ll just give it a shove-”

“Don’t be stupid, dadda!” Cora all but shouted. “We don’t need you taking it off the hinges. It’ll be easier from the inside. Hurry up, I’m freezing!”

When the door to the yard opened and the raucous voices of her family filled the small house, Bess swore and near shoved Tom out of the window.

“Steady on!” He laughed.

“They’re home,” She pushed open the sash. “Hurry up!”

“My shoes! And my coat!” Tom was halfway out of the window.

“I’ll throw them.”

“Give us a kiss,”

“Tom!”

“I won’t go without a ki-” Bess silenced him with her lips. He winked when she pulled away, and disappeared down the drainpipe. Once he was safely on the street, Bess tossed down his jacket, then one shoe-

“’What light through yonder window breaks?’” He held one hand to his chest, the other extended to the open window. Bess lobbed the second shoe at him.

“Ssh!” The door opened behind her and Bess spun round. Cora stood in the doorway.

“Bit cold to have the window open.” She eyed her sister suspiciously.

“Thought I heard something in the street, must have been you lot coming home.”

“Mmm,” Cora murmured through pursed lips and left, shutting the door behind her. When Bess looked back to the street, Tom was gone.

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Next day, and Bess was stood watching the blacksmith finishing cutting the metal for her work at the factory. Hand on her hip, the other touching her mouth, she kept replaying the moment Tom pressed his body to hers on the bed. How hungry he looked for her. She shivered.

“Better come back down to earth before you get up there,” the blacksmith said, gesturing to the Lancaster plane behind her. Queenie was already at work with some of the other girls, drilling enormous rivets into the wings of the mammoth war machine as their legs dangled over the edge. Below them, Roberta was unloading equipment from a truck.

“Cheers,” Bess took the metal parts and made her way to the ladder leant against the body of the beast. Between the screeches of the drill where the screeches of Queenie’s giggles. Bess took a deep breath through her nose, determined not to let anything ruin her day. Tomorrow, Tom would either register as a conscientious objector, or go back to war. Tonight, he was taking her dancing at the Palais. Bess told the foreman she had to leave early to see her doctor. Really, she was going to walk through Alexandra Park with Tom.

The metal was hoisted up to Bess once she found her place on the wing, opposite the giggling girl, and she got to work. Queenie was harmless. Irritating, yes, but harmless. The hum of the drill drowned out Queenie’s gossip for an hour or two, but as the women polished the wing free of scratches from their work, it became impossible.

“What did you think of Hattie’s new fella, Roberta? She could do better than a farmer, but I suppose beggars can’t be choosers-”

“Did you see that Gone with the Wind? I fell asleep-”

“I could never leave the house without makeup. I’d be mortified if a fella saw me without my lippy and at least some curls in my hair-” Bess held her head a little higher at this statement.

“Have you seen Walter Watson? Got beaten up on New Year’s Eve but won’t say who-”

“That battle off the coast of Argentina sounded awful. You, know, the one that Tom Bennett was in?” Bess stopped polishing when Queenie said this. It was the most sensible thing she had said all day. The moment didn’t last long. “He lost one of his little friends, Vic I think he was called. And another fella, Henry, lost an arm. Awful. But at least they have more fun than the army,”

“You think a battle where you fear being blown up or drowned is fun?” Bess put her rag down and rested one arm on her knee. She faced Queenie in challenge. The other woman didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh don’t be like that, Bess.” Queenie said, as though she were talking to a misbehaving child. “But at least they get shore leave from time to time. The army never get a break. And from what Tom said about his time in Port Stanley, they certainly have a lot of fun.”

Bess felt her cheeks redden.

“It’ll be straight to the pub for rum and beer, before hitting the town. All hands on deck there, if you see what I mean.” Bess could see Tom’s scratched writing in her mind.

“Not that they had as much fun as they’d planned, that bulldog of an able seamen Henry-” Queenie cut herself off. “I shouldn’t speak ill of a cripple. Anyway, he was breathing down their necks the whole time. Still, Tom managed to buy a little canary in Port Stanley and they placed bets on the ship for when the dear thing would lay an egg. Don’t think they could do that in the army.”

Bess’ blood ran cold. She had been with Tom almost every day since he had returned home. Nearly two weeks. When had he found the time to tell Queenie all this? Certainly not the one dance they shared on New Year’s Eve.

“How do you know all this, Queenie?”

Queenie lowered her eyes and giggled. A few of the other girls looked up or leaned in. “Well,” she said suggestively with a smile. “From Tom’s letters.”

The bell rang. Bess was first to the ladder, leaving the excited whispers above her as she landed on the factory floor. From somewhere nearby, she heard Roberta ask if she was ok. She couldn’t respond. As fast as her feet would carry her, she hurried to the changing room, removed her boiler suit and bolted to the factory gates. Shame, long buried, welled up from somewhere deep within her and fat tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Creep, ugly, Paddy, witch. A memory stirred and the stench of stale milk filled her nostrils. The image of Tom saving her from childhood taunts turned sour when she remembered his words.

“I’m not jealous of a bloke who can’t kick his way out of a wet paper bag, is shorter than your dad’s temper and dances with the only girl who doesn’t say no because she doesn’t say anything at all.”

Bess’ breath became ragged as she hurried away from Queenie fucking Warren.

“You didn’t see some of the girls in Port Stanley.”

He was just teasing, her.

“I just think they’d find it odd, us.”

He wanted to hide her.

“This is all you’re good for, Bess Vaughn.”

Walter’s voice rattled around her mind. She’d never be able to escape him, not as a girl, not as a woman. Anger rose up the hackles of her spine and, mixed with her shame, made a potent concoction.

“Perhaps you could make yourself a dress next time.”

“Teach her about dressing and acting like a woman.”

The voices of Tom, Walter, Dennis Warley and even her father hounded her, and with a gasp the first hot tear fell from Bess’ cheek. The January day stung her face, which was red with rage, and she took great lung-fulls of the crisp air as she stepped into the street. She smacked into broad shoulders and was knocked backwards. The kind, concerned face of Douglas Bennett was looking down at her. That fucking peace paper, she thought.

“Everything alright, love?” He asked, holding onto her shoulders as he tried to look at her.

“You’re an odd lass.” She thought they were friends. Wrenching herself from his grip, Bess ran down the cobbled road towards home. By the time she made it to their street, Bess’s rage had turned into full-blooded fury. Marching along the cobbles, intent on banging down the Bennett’s door, she stopped suddenly. A beautiful, burgundy Rolls Royce was parked outside her house. Matching her car, and wearing the immaculate suit that Bess had made her, was Robina Chase. However, she didn’t seem to be waiting for Bess. She seemed to be talking to someone across the road. Bess’ heart sank as she approached and overheard the conversation.

“But if you’re not a mate of his then what do you want with him? Hm?” It was Tom. Bess watched Mrs Chase’s stunned face and for the first time, she pitied her. Apparently, Tom wasn’t just a twat towards her and men that looked at him the wrong way. He was a cunt to everyone. “Did he give you the wrong change on the last bus home?” He laughed mockingly at the woman and shut the door on her.

Bess could feel her blood boiling over. “Mrs Chase!” She hurried forwards.

“Miss Vaughn?” Robina seemed stunned by Bess’ grubby attire and even more so by her dishevelled face. Bess tried to ignore her stare, and push the memory of the last time she saw Mrs Chase from her mind. Before she could say anything further, the door to the Bennett house opened.

“Hang on, missus.” Tom leant nonchalantly on the door. He needed a slapping. “I was only pulling your leg. If my dad’s got a fancy woman on the go that’s his business.”

Robina floundered. People were staring and she’d never encountered a young man like this before.

“He’s at the Tait and Somers factory. I’ve just seen him there.” Bess said quietly, and for the first time, Tom noticed her. Noticed her red cheeks and puffy eyes. Noticed the fast rise and fall of her chest. His heartbeat quickened.

“Thank you, Bess.” Robina said, jolting awkwardly. Bess thought she’d received an electric shock, but when she noticed Mrs Chase’s hand lower to her side, she realised Robina had been tempted to show her some affection. Hastily, the older woman got into her car and drove away.

“What’s happened?” Tom was at Bess’ side in an instant. “Was it Walter?”

“Get away from me.” Bess whispered lowly.

“I’ll kill him,” Tom muttered, reaching out to touch Bess. The moment his fingers made contact with her arm she pushed him away.

“I said, get away from me.” She didn’t shout, but her teeth were bared, her brows a singular straight line.

“What the fuck, Bess?” He hissed. “Tell me what’s happened-” Bess watched Tom’s own anger flare behind his eyes and she wanted to laugh. It was nothing, nothing, compared to what she was about to unleash.

“Queenie. Fucking. Warren.”  

“Eh?”

“Now I know why you told me to leave her alone.”

“What?”

“In your letter,” Bess took a sudden step forward so she was an inch from Tom’s chin. “’Lay off Queenie Warren. I know she’s annoying but she means well.”She quoted.

“Right,” he said slowly. “I still don’t understand what I’m meant to have done,”

“Then think.” Bess spat quickly.

“Bess, people are staring.”

“You normally love the attention.”

Tom stared down his long nose at her. His nostrils flared, and his mouth twitched as though he wanted to speak. There was a beat of silence, then he grabbed her arm and dragged her towards his house. “Get off me!” Bess tried to keep her feet firmly on the ground but Tom was too strong. He flung her over the threshold and slammed the door. Bess span around as Tom advanced on her.

“Someone’s put money in the metre,” he growled at her. Bess pushed him away again.

“Don’t you start on me-”

“You’re the one shouting at me like a fucking banshee!”

Bess stared at him. His brow was set into a hard line, the blue eyes shadowed beneath them were cold. The broad shoulders he’d inherited from his father were squared and pushed back, and the jaw that Bess always admired was pushed forward. He continued to look down at her. This wasn’t a defensive stance. It was a challenge. Somehow, it proved to Bess that he knew. Knew what she was about to say. The shame returned and, defeated, she spoke quietly.

“When did you start writing to Queenie?”

There was that familiar pout, just quickly, and the scrunch of his nose that he always did when he got caught. Bess took a deep, shuddering breath and Tom snapped.

“So I’m not allowed to write to other girls, am I?”

“Of course you are,” Bess drooped sadly. “It’s just-”

“Jealousy doesn’t suit you.”

“Oh shut up, you fucking hypocrite! A more jealous man never drew breath.” Bess’ anger returned as she shrieked at him. “Going around beating up anyone who so much as looks at me.”

“I apologised about that dickhead. And I don’t see you defending me when he’s the one that got me arrested!”

“You beat him to a pulp!”

“And if he hadn’t squealed like a fucking pig, I wouldn’t have nearly been blown up!” Tom roared in her face.

“There have been other times-”

“Did you want me to leave you and Walter to it then?” Tom laughed cruelly. “Enjoying it were you?”

SMACK

Bess struck Tom across the face. The force of it caused him to stagger, strands of his perfectly set hair coming loose. He looked back at her, stunned. A red handprint was blooming on his cheek.

“Bess, I’m sor-”

“BE QUIET!” They watched each other, though Bess’ eyes were unseeing. Instead, she watched flickers of memory speed before her eyes. Everything was piecing together in her mind. There was a knock at the door. Tom pinched the bridge of his nose then opened it.

“Mrs Mason.”

“Is everything alright? I heard shouting,”

“Everything’s fine.”. Tom shut the door and turned to Bess. His rudeness made her laugh, sadly. The anger had waned once again, and her eyes were brimming with tears. He waited for her to speak.

“Of course, you’re allowed to write to other girls. And yes, I’m jealous. But when you left we didn’t have an understanding. I wasn’t your girl. I wonder if I even am now.” Tom took a step towards Bess but she held up a hand and continued. “You’re allowed to write to other girls, but what breaks my heart-what breaks my heart-” She started to cry. “What breaks my heart is that you didn’t ask Queenie to keep it a secret.”

“Bess, I-”

“Nothing’s changed, has it? It’s why you always snuck in at night, it’s why you asked me not to tell Douglas and Lois about our letters, it’s why you don’t want to go back to war, and it’s why you’ve made me sneak around like your dirty little secret. You’ve never committed to anything or anyone. It’s not because you’re a womaniser, or because you don’t believe in the war. It’s because you’re a coward.”

The anguish eating away at Tom was bulldozed by defence. “I’m a coward for not wanting to die!?”

“You’re a coward because you won’t admit it. It’s because you ‘don’t believe in war’, it’s because you ‘don’t want to go to jail’, it’s because ‘you’re a conscientious objector’. Why can’t you just admit that you’re scared? Why can’t you just admit that you’re ashamed to be seen with me?” Bess broke down before him and Tom had no idea what to do. What to say. His silence confirmed Bess’ fears. Tom Bennett was embarrassed to be seen with Bess Vaughn.

With nothing left to say, she made to leave. She tried pushing past Tom in the narrow hallway when a hand came to her waist. She stopped, waiting. Breath fluttered against her face, and all Bess wanted to do was look at him. Look at those beautiful eyes. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she watched the pulse accelerate in his neck, and the way it hollowed as he inhaled. His hand fell from her waist. The words didn’t come, and he let her go.

Mrs Mason, Mrs O’Connell and Mrs Flaherty startled as the Bennett door opened. They watched Bess stride into her own home, and scurried away when shouts and crashes emitted from the house she had just left.

 ✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼　 　✼

When Tom came downstairs the next morning, kit bag sling over his shoulder and naval uniform already itching, he scoffed at the sight of Vera on the table in her cage. He dropped the bag and Douglas looked up from his newspaper.

“I bet the fucking canary doesn’t have to go, does she?”

Douglas sighed. “Tom, I wish you’d understand, we can’t register any lad who comes back from war and says he’s a conchie-”

“It’s not any lad, is it? It’s me.” Look at me dad, look at me.

“I know, I know, and as I keep saying, that’s part of the problem – you’re my son. They’d crucify you.”

“The problem is for you- the problem is that I am your son. And you can’t see anything of me in yourself,”

“Oh, no. I can see a lot of your mother though. That bloody-minded streak of hers,”

“Nice try, dad,” Tom said bitterly, looking at the floor. “Still doesn’t taste good.”

“No.” Douglas didn’t know what to say. He never knew what to say, it seemed. He tried to find the right words but stopped when Tom’s hand appeared before his face.

“I refused to shake this lad’s hand on the Exeter. I never got a chance to put it right. It’s the only think I learned from the whole shitty thing.” Douglas’ warm hand slipped into his son’s, and overwhelmingly, Douglas didn’t want to let go. Tom nodded to himself and slipped his fingers from his father’s grasp. He shouldered his kit bag.

“Look after yourself. Keep ducking.” Lois muttered into his shoulder as he hugged her. With one last look at his father, Tom left for the station. He had thirty-five minutes until the train departed and reasoned with himself to visit the house across the road. He knocked twice and hoped the door would open. When it did, his heart sank.

“Tom! Oh, are you heading off?” Cora stepped onto the front step and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled back with a quick kiss of his cheek. “Keep yourself safe for us.”

“Thanks, Cora. Look, I haven’t got long. Bess isn’t in, is she?”

“I’m sorry, Tom. She left to deliver some clothes about twenty minutes ago. Can I give her a message?”

Tom thought for a moment. “No. No, it’s ok. Bye, Cora. Give Roger a handshake from me.” Cora chuckled and watched him walk down the road. Closing the door, she turned to the person hovering in the kitchen doorway.

“Bess-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Bess,” Cora pleaded patiently. “You might never see him again.” Her sister turned away and trudged back to their bedroom. Five minutes later, the back door slammed, and Cora saw Bess hurrying down the yard.

She took the tram into central and sprinted to Manchester London Road station. Past soldiers, crying families, past Royal Infirmary and help needed posters. She hurried through the ticket barrier and yelled at the porter to tell her which platform was departing to Portsmouth. Steam billowed left, right and centre. Platform four. Uttering apologies and excuse me’s, Bess pushed through the crowd.

“Tom?” She was calling out to him. “Tom?” A sailor, tall and blond, was up ahead with his back to her. Bess ran forward and gripped his shoulders, but when he turned his face was brutish and rugged. Not her Tom. The doors of the train began slamming shut and she was struck by the urge to leap into a carriage.

“Tom!” Her voice was frantic now and, as the whistle blew, a sob tore from her throat. The coupling rods began turning the wheels, and the train pulled away from the platform. From a walk to a run, Bess’ feet carried her along the platform as she looked through the windows of the carriages. Maybe he didn’t go after all. Defied Douglas and registered as a CO. She saw him. His eyes, it was always his eyes, watched her sadly through the glass as she ran to keep up with the train. He stood from his seat, pulled down the window and watched as she struggled to run alongside. She was crying, and no sooner had she called his name, was she disappearing behind the steam from the engine. When the air cleared, the platform was empty.

Bess stood on the platform for an hour, buffeted by passersby, watching the spot where she last saw Tom. He was gone.

Note: I’m sorry. See you soon!  

Tags: @aemonds-wifey @multiple-fandoms-girl @jessssica1234 @babyblue711 @anditsmywholeheart @allthefandomtherapy @valerie977 @bookwyrmsblog @phantomontheinternet @chainsawsangel @greenowlfactif @thelittleswanao3 @yentroucnagol @beiigegalx @skikikikiikhhjuuh @just-emmaaaa @mefools @aquakaris @its-actually-minicika @whoknows333 @arcielee @honeymaltgelato @girlwith-thepearlearring

[mariacallous]

Are you an election denier who’s just not satisfied with the number of conspiracies about Wi-Fi-connected voting machines or reports about floods of illegal immigrants stuffing ballots into drop boxes on TikTok or Instagram? Do you pine for a place to share and learn even more? Want to connect with like-minded election deniers?

Well, with just 60 days until the 2024 presidential election, and with efforts to undermine the outcome of the vote already well underway, there’s now an app just for you—and no, it’s not Elon Musk’s X.

Facebook for Election Deniers

VoteAlert is a new app from the election conspiracy group True the Vote, a company with a rich history of combining tech with election conspiracies only to come up with nothing. In 2022, True the Vote claimed to have evidence showing that so-called ballot mules were being used to stuff drop boxes to sway the 2020 election in Joe Biden’s favor. Earlier this year they admitted in court they had no such evidence.

But that didn’t slow them down. The group has already rolled out one online tool this election season called IV3 to facilitate mass voter roll challenges, and with VoteAlert, the group now wants to give election workers and poll watchers the chance to get in on the action.

VoteAlert is designed to be a one-stop shop for all your election conspiracy needs, featuring a scrollable feed of the latest voting-related alerts, the ability to report your own claims, and even, apparently, a 24/7 hotline.

The app isn’t available in Apple’s or Google’s app stores, but is available as a web app, so people can still join. Catherine Engelbrecht, cofounder of True the Vote, did indicate in online meetings in recent weeks that the apps would be available on the major platforms, but it’s unclear right now when that will happen. True the Vote did not respond to a request for comment about VoteAlert.

Before you sign in, the app asks you to agree to a disclaimer that’s a little different from those of most apps: “It is up to you to use VoteAlert responsibly. Federal law prohibits actions that can be viewed as voter intimidation, including photo, video, or audio recording of voters while inside protected polling place boundaries.”

Users of the app are then presented with what looks like a typical social media feed of text, images, and videos. But instead of lime-green memes about Kamala, Instagram cooking videos, or “very demure” videos on TikTok, initial indications suggest the feed will be filled with livestreams of drop boxes in Wisconsin or reports of Wi-Fi-connected voting machines in Arizona.

While the app isn’t really up and running yet, we’ve got a glimpse into its possible future thanks to test posts from Engelbrecht’s team that cover the wide gamut of conspiracies the group has been pushing.

“It says I already voted by mail?” asks D from Loudoun County, Virginia, in a test post that popped up in my feed. “I just moved a few months ago and went to get my voter registration and address updated. They told me that I have already voted by mail—but I haven't.”

Meanwhile, JR in Kent County, Delaware, claimed in another test post that someone was having a bake sale “trying to get people to vote for certain candidates.” (There is a very clear sign on the cookie table with the prices; a quick reverse image search shows the image dates back to at least 2017.)

Meg Denning, who works with True the Vote, has also posted, claiming: “​​All the machines went down and there was a wifi [sic] connection,” referring to a favorite conspiracy among election deniers that the internet itself has been used to conduct voter fraud on a mass scale.

Though these are just test posts, the section of the app that allows users to report their own claims shows just how focused True the Vote is on promoting election conspiracies.

The app also allows users to indicate their location, precinct number, and whether they are an election worker or poll watcher. It also helpfully offers you a predefined list of possible voting issues to report, including “ballot harvesting or trafficking” and “non-citizen voting,” which are concerns that groups like True the Vote have been baselessly promoting in recent months.

If you believe your situation is life or death, the app even has a built-in emergency 24/7 hotline you can call to report your outrage. “Thank you for calling True the Vote,” the chirpy automated female voice responds after a couple of rings. “We appreciate your commitment to liberty.”

No one picked up when I called.

The automated voice did tell me to send an email or leave a voicemail before signing off: “Ever onward.”

[dmwrites]

2023 fic roundup! Thanks for reading my stuff this year!

Below is all of the fic links, summaries, and any additional notes (in chronological order) from yours truly:)

NPC Bdubs: an in-game explanation to why Bdubs didn’t upload his Limited Life pov- Cleo notices that Bdubs is acting a little weird, almost like some kind of non-playable character.

The Coral Kids’ Keeper: Martyn and Scott live out on a island on the sea on the Limited Life server, and a sea creature that calls himself xbcrafted take interest in them. He protects them. He is here to protect them, right? (Dm note: oh my goddd I love this one still I love the horror at the end [I may just be biased to xb tbh lol])

Impulse’s post-death affirmation: Impulse got second place in Limited Life, and Skizz is so proud of him.

Clock Full of Love: Impulse gave Bdubs a clock in the beginning of Limited Life. At the end, Cleo adds her own touch to it.

Grian and Scar’s punishment: It all started when Grian and Scar touched his (Doc’s) redstone (tunnel bore). Their punishment? Zombiecleo scolding them.

Talks of Adoration on the Tower of Team TIES: Etho and Impulse have more in common then they think, and reflect on it all one sleepless night in the Team TIES base

Big and Handsome God Has A Big Sad: the empires s2 server can’t be empty, right? Sure, Joel hasn’t seen anyone in forever, but people still love him, surely, right? They wouldn’t all leave him. They wouldn’t. Right? (Dm note: this idea wasn’t executed as well as I would have liked, but I really like the crumbling reality vibes of this one)

Cuddling with the Homies: Grian, Impulse, Scar, and Skizz playing Sons of the Forest. They get one tiny-ass tent to all sleep in. It’s if the “only one bed” trope was four dudes being idiots in the woods in a tent.

I know how to keep you warm;)): the new life smp folks wonder if Chillager Martyn will freeze up if he gets flustered. Scott is up to the task. It’s all silly.

Copper Pearlo takes on The Button (2): Grian and Mumbo stumble upon copper golem Pearl

One Year Later: Double Life ended one year ago (when I posted this fic lol). Impulse makes Bdubs another clock

The CuteGuy Who Stepped Up: Scar needs a CuteGuy sidekick, and Grian does not want to be a sidekick in the slightest. Enter Joe Hills from Nashville, Tennessee. (Dm note: the CuteGuy main character was decided by a poll. This is also my second most-liked fic of 2023)

The Slime Code: Gem is a slime in New Life! She calls Jevin on Hermitcraft to ask about any slime rules she now needs to follow

A Dream of Pink: Joel has a dream of showing a pretty girl with pink hair (who roasts him) his hardcore world builds. She seems familiar…

3rd Life x NightVale: the radio transcript when Cecil Palmer from the town of NightVale interviews a strange man with a red sweater and split knuckles and keeps talking about something that happened in a desert. (Dm note: love this one, definitely caters to a very specific audience, but this one shows up in my notifs almost every day. I think I did a good job at the ad breaks and such.)

Sacrificial Impulse: Grian, Scar, and Skizz died while hunting ghosts with Impulse. Impulse wants to bring them back, no matter the cost. Also, EvilNotion is the ghost hunters’ boss.

xB’s Revenge- a Blood on the Clocktower story: based on the first session of hermitcraft’s BOTC, Iskall accuses xbcrafted of being the demon, and xB becomes the first innocent to die. But xB sticks around after death, and wants the sweetest revenge on Iskall. (Dm note: this one is long as hell but man the concept was so good. Drowned!xb is so good.)

Bdoubledown? How Cute: a brief conversation between Impulse and Skizz about Impulse’s brand new soulmate in Double Life

GIGS gets another G: Gem is jealous that Grian, Impulse, Scar, and Skizz are hunting ghosts, and wants to join in. Pearl, local odd woman, has a way. Possession is fun among friends! (Dm note: this is the most liked fic of this year, which is definitely not what I expected lol)

The Dungeon Is Hungry: Hypno thinks all the superstitions around the Decked Out 2 dungeon are stupid. That is until everything goes sideways and Cub is covered in sculk and pointing a sword at him down in level 4.

The Impossible Task: Martyn gets a very simple, two-word task in Secret Life: find RenTheDog. But Ren isn’t here… right? (Dm note: when I thought of this idea I literally said “ouch!” in my head lol)

GIGGS Hunts a Ghost!: the GIGGS crew gets called on by Zedaph to find and capture evidence of a ghost he claims he has seen haunting hermitcraft. (Dm note: the b-plot grian and zed rivalry is so funny to me idk why I decided they hate each other lolll)

A Moment of Peace: Martyn and Cleo are estranged soulmates in Double Life, and they take a moment to drink some tea and talk about what soulmate they’d like to have if they had a choice.

It Feels Different Now (and that’s a good thing): Pearl has to hurt people on the Secret Life server as part of her task, but she takes no joy in it now. She harkens back to what has changed between Double Life and now.

Jimmy’s Grave: Cleo made Jimmy a grave before he died in Secret Life. He did end up dying that very day, and a mourner comes by his grave when it’s all said and done.

Red: Pearl’s favorite color is red. She is made to be a red name, even when she’s not.

Becoming the Villain of the Server: (secret life) Scar digs up Jimmy’s grave to take his spine, to sell it to Joel, pretending that it’s Lizzie’s. Hey, what else is a man to do? (Dm note: this one fucks so hard, i love how fucked up the idea of it is, what Scar would have to do to make it happen. Eating this.)

From One Lonely Winner to Another: Scar wins Secret Life. Sunflowers grow from his skin to be with him as he goes to succeed the final task. (Dm note: another one I love, I just love the aesthetic of it all.)

[rmedgg]

The human who didn’t know Pt. 2

Pairing: Normie male reader x Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams

Chapter 2: Trip and New friends

I apologize for taking so long on getting the second part on here link to the first part is right below this so read that before this or don’t (I recommend you do) also any poll on the author notes can be disregarded as the story is already on chapter 14 so until I catch up on here they can be disregarded anyways enough ranting please enjoy

Y/n pov

"So what exactly did you mean when you said I'd be someone worth following behind? I asked Blake as he lead me through a patio area

"Exactly that, you see my pack has its own rules and traditions we follow. When we meet someone we deem strong wether it be by there character or, by their strength we follow them. As those people are usually the best leaders." He stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

"So I'm your leader now? And what's with this pack your talking about." I asked incredulously 

"Yes. My wolf pack when as I'm a werewolf or could you not tell? Either way when we turn 16 we are allowed to start or join our own packs. All you need to do is acknowledge me and we'll even get a mental link." He said with some underlying excitement in his usual monotone voice.

"What the hell am I even supposed to respond." I thought as we walked in silence for a couple of minutes to our dorm room.

Bland and boring is how I would describe the room, it was made of some sort of dark wood, the room layout itself was basic just two full size beds, two dressers and, two desks. One of each on either side of the room. On the back door there was a door that opened up to a bathroom. The front wall that you saw when entering the room was taken up by a big circular window that opened up to a balcony.

Stepping outside and onto the balcony looking out I saw that it overlooked the patio area we had walked through to get to our dorm hall. Nodding in approval.

"Hey I'm going to look around campus alright. Maybe see if I get to know some of our neighbors." I told Blake as I walked back into our room from the balcony and made my way to the door.

"Ok, just be back in an hour, as Ms.Weems is taking us along with Richard and Tommy to get stuff for our rooms." He told me

I nodded having forgotten of the other two as I exited the room, I noticed the door across from ours was open and there was music playing. I made my way across and knocked on the open door.

A 6' 2" Caucasian boy with brown hair walks towards the door.

"Can I help you?" He asks

"Ah sorry to bother you, I just wanted to introduce myself since it seems that well be neighbors."

"Oh I'm Xavier Thorpe, and you are?"

He said with a smile as  extended his hand

"I'm Y/n nice to meet you Xavier. I responded and shook his hand

"So what are you?" He asks curiously

"What do you mean?" I asked confusion probably written all over my face.

"Yeah like what type of outcast are you? What else could I mean?"  He said with a chuckle

"Oh well I guess a nerd." I said while smiling

Xavier's expression then went from a smile, to confused

"No your not understanding what I'm asking you. Like what are you? A werewolf? A siren? A vampire? A gorgon? A psychic? Or one something else?" He said

"Just a normal human just like everyone else is. " I told him annoyed

He stared at me then suddenly burst into laughter "Oh man you almost got me, no way a normie could make it into nevermore. What are you seriously?" He asked again while still laughing.

"I already told you I'm a regular human." I told him annoyed that he was laughing

He then looked up and saw that I was serious "You're actually just a normie?!" He shouted in surprise

"What the hell is a normie?" I asked

"It's a person that's just a human and not an "outcast" you know like the people this school is made for." He said now getting irritated

"Yeah outcasts like people who were bullied for being different" I responded irritated by the conversation that seemed to circle around.

"No not that type of outcasts you moron, did you even look up this school or it's history? Never mind it  doesn't matter this school is for "outcasts" such as werewolves, vampires, psychics, etc."  he said

"Well no I didn't read it I just saw outcasts and assumed it meant kids who got bullied for being different or quirky. Either way those things aren't real your just delusional." I replied quickly

"Me delusional, come on then I'll show you." He said confidently

"Alright then." I said not believing him at all.

We walked into his room. The set up was like ours, each side of the room was decorated differently. Xavier made his way to his desk, sat down and drew a spider.

"Oh man you showed me man." I said trying to hold in my laugh

"Oh shut up, and give me a second." He said focused on his drawing, his hand hovering over it, a couple seconds later it moved,and started crawling around his desk.

"Oh shit! What then hell! How'd you do that?!" I asked surprised making my way closer to his desk to get a better view.

"Ah shit man, sorry for doubting you. That's dope as hell though man." I apologized while staring at the spider

He then snapped and the spider dissolved into dust. "What your not going to freak out and insult me like others do? He asked shocked not looking at me

"Bro let's be realistic even if I wanted to do that, it would be stupid to. Since I don't know the extent of your powers for all I know you can make that shit venomous and kill me in my sleep. Plus that was dope as fuck I wish I had powers." I said awestruck as to what I just witnessed.

"Wait if he has powers does this mean that Blake was telling the truth, and was being serious. Awe shit." I thought

"Wait so your serious about being a normie?"

"Uh yeah, no powers from me. I'm able to attend since I won the scholarship. I also didn't bother reading the website as I thought it meant like Emos, goths, otakus and those types of outcasts." I said

Then I heard it laughter first soft then booming, Xavier turned to face me and he was laughing. "Oh man your a total riot, what type of dumbass applies for a school without reading its history. I can tell we'll become great friends." He said as he wiped away a tear

"Alright man I'll leave you to it I'm going to go and explore the campus and see if i can make any more friends." I said as I waved at him and left his dorm

"Alright man, I'll introduce you to my roommate whenever he gets back from town. Before I forget careful of who you go telling your a human most here have bad experiences with them and would probably put you on some sort of kill list. " said Xavier seriously

"Thanks for the heads up man, but it'll probably be announced when Ms.Weems announces the winner of the scholarship. " I said

"Well if she does I've got your back." He said seriously

"Well thank you." I said as a smile painted itself on my face

As I made my way down the hallway to the staircase, and then subsequently down the stairs into the lobby of the residence hall. Which seemed like the lobby of some high end hotel only without a receptionist. I looked around looking at the furniture. There was 2 sofas and 4 arm chairs which all seemed comfortable enough to sleep in. Along with 2 round tall tables with 2 chairs each meant to be used for studying as there were wall outlets easily accessible. At one of those tables there was a tan short male with black hair and square framed glasses. He seemed to be watching a video of some sort. So I made my way over to him.

"Hey sorry to bother you mind if I take a seat?" I asked

"Huh, you asking me?" He asked seemingly confused with a stranger coming up to him

"Yeah." I responded "my name is Y/n L/n by the way." Stretching my hand out for a handshake

"Ah sorry I'm not used to being approached, but I'm Eugene Ottinger." He said while taking my hand to shake it seeming to have relaxed a bit

"Nice to meet you Eugene, would it be fine if I take a seat?" I asked

"Likewise. Yes please be my guest." He responded quickly "if you don't mind me asking what are your thoughts on bees?" He asked enthusiastically

"Well I like the honey they make, I have also wanted to try honeycomb but I've never had the chance too. Other than that I don't have any real opinion on them. Why do you ask?"  I replied 

"Oh I just love bees, I actually want to see if I'll be allowed to make a beekeeping club." He told me passionately

"Oh that sounds cool if you do I'll be your first member if you wouldn't mind having me. So if you don't mind me asking,why you're so passionate about bees?"  I asked him

"Really that would be great Y/n. Well you see I've never really ever fit in anywhere, or had friends. Well bees have always been there for me ,it's as if they can understand me and they're very good at keeping secrets." He said a bit downcast

"I'd assume they are good at keeping secrets. Well you won't have to worry about not having friends as you've already made your first." I said smiling

"Really we're friends?" Eugene asked surprised

"Of course, why else would I have approached you." I asked chuckling

A phone started to ring  "It was nice meeting you Y/n but my mother is calling me. I'll see you around." Eugene said as he got up from his spot at the table.

"Well see you around" I replied

"Ok so I've made 2 new friend not bad Y/n not bad at all, I still got 20 minutes to go and explore might as well" I thought to myself

Getting up from my spot in the table, and walking towards the entrance doors. I push one open and make my way outside. Taking a nice deep breath of fresh air and look around taking in the surroundings. There seems to be groups of people around this patio area.

"Yeah two friends is more than enough for today." I thought, as I needed an excuse as to why I shouldn't approach any of the groups. 

Looking around I see an open table, as I make my way over to it I observe each group. There seems to be 4 main groups, can't really tell what they are maybe Blake or Xavier can tell me later. When I eventually make it up to the table I take a seat and put my head down the weather is perfect for an afternoon nap. As I'm starting to doze off a excited voice greets me.

"Hi there, I'm Enid Sinclair." Said a blonde girl with blue and pink highlights with an infectious smile

"Huh, oh nice to meet you, Enid I'm Y/n." I said trying to purge the drowsiness from almost falling asleep.

"Oh I'm sorry did I wake you? She said looking concerned

"Ah no it's fine it's probably better that I don't fall asleep I have something to do in like 15ish minutes. So I should be thanking you." I said trying to reassure her

"Oh that's good, mind if I take a seat?" She asked

"Oh you're fine." I responded

"What happened for you to get that scar?" Enid asked looking at the scar on my left eye curiously

"A bit direct aren't you?" I laughed

"Oh I'm sorry if it's a sensitive topic. I was just curious." She said panic evident in her voice

"Don't worry bout it, I actually got this somewhat recently,. I was in a fight and he got me good but I got him back." I told her

"Woah, why were you fighting him? She asked leaning in closer

"Well we were fighting in the tournament for the scholarship." I answered

"Oh right that's a thing. So what are you? I'm a werewolf" She asked changing the subject abruptly

"I'd rather keep it a secret. Sorry." I told her looking away as to not make eye contact

"Don't worry." She responded happily "Do you have an Instagram? I could get so we can stay in contact? She asked eagerly

"Yeah let me just type it in." I said as I grabbed the phone she was handing to me

"Well I have to go." she said as she got up "I'm going to go get lunch, unless you want to come with me" she smiled

"I would love to but unfortunately I have to go with my roommate, to see Ms.Weems." I stated

"Oh that sucks" her smile faltering for a second "Maybe tomorrow then?" She asked

"Yeah why not, I shouldn't have anything planned." I said

She nodded as she got up from the table we were sitting at, and walked away.

"My goodness my eyes have been blessed with this beautiful woman." I thought as I watched her walk away.

Getting up from the table, I stared to walk about towards the residence hall, as I still had 5 minutes left before I needed to be there but I think I've had enough exploring for one day. As I made my way upstairs and into my room I saw Blake laying down on his bed with his headphones on.

"You're back earlier then I expected you to be, in all honesty, I thought I was going to have to hunt you down." Said Blake with a smile.

"Oh ha ha." I said as I took a seat on my bed

"We should make our way to Ms.Weems office, no?" I asked Blake

He nodded and got up

"Let's go then" he said

Background conversations was all that was heard as we walked towards Ms.Weems office, as we walked in silence. We approached a door that had a name plate on it which stated principal's office. Blake then knocked behind the door we heard a muffled voice that told us to enter. After entering Tommy and Richard where there sitting while on there phones. Richard was the first to look up, his face immediately turned from bored to a wide smile.

"Y/n how are you man, it's as if you disappeared on us after the tournament" Richard said excited to see me

"It because he was in a coma remember idiot Ms.Weems even told us." Tommy told him without skipping a beat or looking up from his phone.

"Oh right." Richard said sheepishly

During our interaction I could see Ms.Weems was staring at us smiling happily at the bond we seemed to have made after knowing each other.

"Ok, we'll be headed down to Jericho so you guys can get decor for your rooms, please remember that you are representing Nevermore so do try no to get into fights." She said looking towards our group seriously.

Opening the top drawer of her desk she pulled out four envelopes all numbered one through four in Roman numerals

"These contain the prize money for each of you." She said as she handed them to each of us Blake receiving the one numbered 1, Tommy the one numbered two, Richard the third and me the fourth and final one.

"You guys can get whatever you may need or want. Just know towels, and other basic toiletries will be supplied for your as your dorms are the only ones with private bathrooms." Ms.Weems told us

"Will you accompany us ? Or will you just be dropping us off?" I asked

"I had planned on accompanying you, but I have a faculty meeting so I will have to drop you guys off and then when you feel your done you can just call me." She said as she got up from her desk and made her way to the door  "Let us go before it gets any later"

As we followed her to the van, I could see that the other students were staring at us as we walked through the patio area. We got into the car after walking for 5 minutes and Ms.Weems started to drive towards town. After 30 minutes of driving I saw a sign that read welcome to Jericho.

"Remember guys do not cause any trouble." Ms.Weems said in a very serious tone

"Ok." we all said practically at the same time

She then stopped in front of a furniture store. We all thanked her for the ride as we got out of the car. The town had a very creepy feel to it, it looked like a old style town that would be in a "Friday the 13th" type of movie.

"Alright let's go get furniture." I said walking towards the stores entrance

"Oh do you actually need furniture?" Asked Richard

"Yeah, you don't?" I asked looking at him incredulously

"Nah our families just bought us the stuff and sent it to us like 2 weeks ago man." He said nonchalantly

"well all I'm getting is clothes, since I didn't even have my own room back home." I told him

"So your not like us?" He said confusion on his face

"What rich? No or why else would I have applied for a scholarship?" I asked looking at there faces to see if they were joking

"Well that, and you didn't join it just to fight? Everyone who joins that scholarship is usually just to fight not for like actual financial help." He said

"Obviously he didn't idiot, he didn't even know what "outcasts" were." Said Tommy as he pulled one of Richard's rabbit ears

"Alright I'm going in, to look for a lamp and see what else might be interesting." I said as I walked into the store

"We're right behind you." Said Blake

As we wondered the store looking around I could tell that the employees were watching us intently, as if we were criminals with a record of being thief's. Eventually finding a nice desk lamp that reminded me of the one that crushes the I in Pixar movies, and paying for it. As we were walking out Blake, Tommy and Richard were looking at a couch. Without even turning around Blake asked "Do you think it would fit in our dorm?"

"I don't think it fitting in the room would be the issue, but rather how would you get it up the stairs." I told him

"Me and Richard should be able to jump it up to the balcony" Tommy said matter-of-factly

"What is our room going to be the hangout spot?" I asked

"Obviously it's bigger than our room."  Said Tommy

"Then sure go for it we'll make it fit if it doesn't." I said chuckling

"Ok." Said Blake before walking to an employee to purchase it and have it delivered to the academy

"Thank you come again." Said an employee as we left

"Well we have an hour before Weems comes and gets us. Let's get tattoos?" Said Richard looking excited

"Of what carrot muncher." Said Tommy

"Hey I'll have you know that's offensive, demon spawn." Richard said quickly "Anyway we could get our Roman numerals tatted on us. Hell I'll even pay for them." He continued

We all looked at one another and silently agreed. So we made our way to the conveniently place tattoo parlor across the street, because I mean who doesn't want to go get a tattoo after buying some furniture. As we walked in the man who was sitting at the desk, immediately smiled when he saw Richard.

"So you were able to convince them eh Richard?" The man said with a smile

"Something like that." Richard replied

After discussing where we would get the numbers we each sat at a different tattoo artists table. As we all sat down and the artists started there prep work Blake turned towards me and asked if I had though about what he had told me earlier that day.

"Look man do as you please, if your happy following a "normie" do as you please. Just think it through I wouldn't want you to be ostracized. After all I'm weaker than you" I said seriously

His laughter boomed in the small shop "Oh man you worried about me. I doubt my family would care in all honesty. Being a leader doesn't mean bring the strongest it just means you'll do what needs to be done, when it to be done."

"Normie?!" Everyone besides me and Blake yelled surprised

"Yes. I'm just a normal human being who was dumb and didn't read anything about the school." I said while smiling

"Oh man your a crazy son of a bitch man." Said the owner of the shop as his employees nodded there heads in agreement

I just laughed, and shrugged, and the artists just smiled and started to tattoo us. Tommy got his number on his trapezius, Blake got it on the left side of his neck, Richard got it on his arm, and I settled to getting it on the back of my right hand.

"Man Y/n not bad you only cried for 3/4th of the tattoo." Laughed Richard

"Yeah we'll I'm just a human, with normal pain tolerance." I responded eyes red

"Did you cry when getting all those earrings you have? Tommy said laughing

"As if these were way less painful." I responded chuckling

After Richard payed the tattoos and we tipped the artists. We decided to go to a cafe for the last 20 minutes before Ms.Weems was set to pick us up. As we walked up to the cafe named Weathervane and a bell jingled as we entered it.

"Welcome in." said a dirty blonde teenager wearing a brown shirt and red apron behind the counter.

"Hi, can I get a black coffee" asked Blake turning his head to ask what we wanted

"I'll take an ice coffee" said Tommy

"Me too" added Richard

"I'll take some green tea please." I said

"Ok coming right up." the cashier replied

We decided to take a seat at a booth with Blake and Richard on the inside, while Tommy and I were on the ends. I got up to use the bathroom quickly. After getting back and waiting a bit longer the server came over with our drinks, we thanked him as he placed them on the table. As we were silently enjoying our drinks, a drunk adult approached our table.

"Hey everyone! Look at these freaks thinking they can come to our town and act as if they're one of us." said a man as he put his hand on Tommy's shoulder causing him to tense up and turn towards the man

“Hey would you mind moving your hand from my buddies shoulder.” I asked trying to not sound as scared as I felt

“Oh tough guy aye?” He said having moved his hand from Tommy’s shoulder to the table and leaned in closer

“Hey leave those guys along Mr.Rodgers.” Said the cashier

“Oh stay the hell out of this Galpin! You fucking brat!” The now identified Mr.Rodgers yelled

Motioning my head for us to get up and leave, getting small nods from the other three as we started to get up

“Hey no need for problems sir we were just leaving anyways.” I said as I got out of the booth allowing Blake to get up too

“Oh you don’t want problems yet you had no problems coming to our town? He said as he grabbed my shoulder seeming to have gotten angrier by my statement

“Ah shit how are we going to get out of this one?” I thought as I something Blake told me earlier came to mind please work “Blake can you hear me?” I thought hopefully

“So you were paying attention to what I told you earlier.” Blake responded mentally looking at me from the corner of his eye for a split second with a small smirk

“I don’t know if it’s possible for you to communicate with Tommy and Richard somehow, if so do it and get out there’s a second exit they can use straight back and to the right. I saw it when I went to the bathroom earlier.” I relayed to him mentally

“I’ll let them know, and link them in as they’ve been part of my pack since middle school.” He reported “I was able to link them successfully sir.” he said with the tone of a solider

“Can you all here me? If so bend your right index finger in order ascending.” I said as I glanced at each of them trying to not make it obvious to the drunken older man

I looked down to Blake’s hand first and saw his finger bend, then Tommy’s and finally Richard’s. A subtle smirk made its way onto my face as I sharply exhaled trying to not laugh out of joy

“Something funny you punk.” Said the man as he shoved me back

“Run now, your all faster than me go and find Ms.Weems, or actually give me 5 minutes if I’m not out by then go and find her otherwise wait across the street.” I told them through the link

“Will you be fine?” Asked Blake mentally

“Oh please who gave you that scar? So now go!”

In the blink of an eye Blake turned around and ran towards the front door, while Richard jump over a table and ran, and Tommy turned and ran out both making there way towards the back door as the man went to grab Tommy I spartan kicked him in his stomach causing him to stumble back and focus on me.

“You’ll be fighting me.” I said with newfound confidence

“Oh I’m going to enjoy killing you, fucking freak!” He shouted as he rushed towards me

Quickly grabbing the mug that held my tea earlier I swung it and it hit him on the face landing a solid hit causing the mug to shatter against the left side of his face. Causing him to stumble the right, which i immediately followed up with a kick to the face that missed since I slipped on some drops of the tea that spilt when the mug broke. Catching myself from falling, I was able to push him down as he was trying to stand back up as he hit his face against the tough wooden flooring of the cafe a sickening crunch was heard. The empty shop was silent besides the heavy breathing of Mr.Rodgers, getting on one knee, and raising his head by his hair.

“You damn monsters thinking your superior to us, normal humans!” He said as blood pored from his obviously broken nose hatred in his eyes

“Unfortunately for you I’m just a human, I dumb normal human who didn’t know.” I whispered to him with a smile

A laugh escaped my lips as his eyes widen in shock at my statement. Know that no matter who he told they’d doubt him

“Oh and if I ever hear you talk shit about one of my friend or classmates, I’ll make sure you regret it. So I hope this makes you change your views on the Nevermore students. Since we’re 10 times more monstrous ” I said looking down at him with a smirk

“Now I hope we can put this behind us, and start on the right foot. Don’t forget to apologize to Mr.Galpin here. Sorry bout the nose.” I said as I pat his back and he just nods

“How much for the mug I destroyed?” I ask the cashier

With a surprised look “uh $4 bucks should be fine.” He replied not to sure what to say

“Sounds good I say as I put a ten on the counter. Take the change as a tip and sorry bout the mess.” I said as I turned to leave checking the time on my phone

“Oh thank you, please come again; don’t worry about the mess” He said smiling

As I made it out with 30 seconds left I made my way across and nodded towards the three boys, and motioned my head as for them to cross the road and join me

“Let’s not keep Ms.Weems waiting boys” I said as they patted my back

“That shit was dope man!!” Said Richard as slapped my back

“Ah shit that hurt you asshole!” I said while shoving him with my shoulder

“What did you tell him?” Asked Tommy

“Just that I hoped he would treat Nevermore students with respect, and that I’m a “normie” and I hoped we could put this all behind us. Oh and apologized for the broken nose.” I said as that last thing caused them to stop mid step and look at each other as I continued walking

“Oh man your rugged, where’d you learn to fight like that man?” Asked Richard excitedly

“Oh I just used to play a lot of MMA on the xbox 360 with my brothers and well play enough and having brothers you just start mimicking what you see and do in game.” I said laughing at the memories of my brother and I playing and play fighting

As we walked they just looked at me as if I’d grown a second head

“I look fine right?” I asked them

They just nodded still shocked at my earlier statement of where I had learned to fight. Ms.Weems was in her car waiting for us. I waved at her as we approached her car and got in. I was up front and the other three made there way to the back.

“So how was the trip?” Ms.Weems asked smiling

“It was fun I got a lamp and Blake ended up getting a couch for the dorm. We got tattoos and went to get something warm at the Weathervane.” I said smiling

“Oh that’s nice…. WAIT TATTOOS?!” She yelled while looking at us shocked as we just smiled and showed her

“Oh are you going to want to left over money back? I think I have like $100 bucks left.” I asked disregarding her worries about the tattoos

“No you can keep it, it is yours after all, I will be needing an explanation on the tattoos, so don’t think you’ve gotten away with it.” She stated looking at me

“When will your furniture be delivered?” She asked

“Tomorrow.” Blake stated

We pulled up to the school, thanking Ms.Weems as we exited the car and made our way to the dining hall to get some food. As we walked I noticed that Blake was to my right, Tommy to my left and Richard directly behind me, almost as if they were knights protecting a king. Causing me to smile, and make our way to the serving area and got our food I decided on some ground beef tacos with tomato, lettuce, cilantro,onion, salsa and sour cream. The others got more basic foods like two slices of cheese pizza for Richard, two chicken sandwiches for Blake and a grilled chicken salad for Tommy. As we all sat down and started to eat, I noticed Enid walking by and looking towards me so I wave at her and she does the same. At the same time I see Eugene walking with his food towards the exit.

“Eugene come and eat with us man!” I shout across the hall

He turns and walks towards us and sits down.

“This is Eugene guys, Eugene the guy with the werewolf ears is Blake my roommate, Richard is the one with the rabbit ears and Tommy is the one with the horns.” I said introducing them to one another

As the meal progressed Eugene started to open up more and more getting more comfortable as time passed. Talking more about himself and bees as we just listened and asked questions and joked around with one another. After an hour and a half of eating and conversation we decided to make our way to our dorms. As me and Blake enter our room we fall onto our beds exhausted from todays events. Then we realized we didn’t lock the door so we had to play paper, rock, scissors to see who would get up and I lost. Getting into my bed I fell asleep as soon as my head touched my pillow.

__________________________

Thank you for reading the second chapter of my book. 

There will be one more chapter that takes place prior to Wednesdays arrival and it's going to basically be the next day, then some school related things and probably building the relationships between Y/n, Enid and Xavier and possibly Rowan.

Or let me know if there's someone specific you may want to make a relationship with