#there’s so much to say about these scenes but

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

The S1 Bentley is For Sale! 👀

link

from the description :):

Mary is a 1934 Derby Bentley Thrupp & Maberley bodied Coupe. BLE 430 – B 96 BN. Two were made but the other one has not been seen since WW11, so she is unique. She is also the only Bentley in the world to have been blown up twice on screen. She was owned by Speed King Donald Campbell in the early fifties.

I acquired her in 2009, to go with my 1947 Mark VI. Since then the engine has been completely re-built, including a new head and block, with a new clutch put in at the same time. She has also been re-wired, new kingpins, total brake overhaul, new radiator and fuel pump with suspension and one shot lubrication system overhauled. Also had the speedometer and rev.counter serviced in 2018. She runs superbly and has just had her annual service at AB Classics, who specialise in pre-war Bentleys & Rolls Royces. (He also looks after my 1936 25/30 RR ).

She is currently insured for £295,000 and I will be looking for an offer around £265,000.

History

Ordered for Jack Odling in September 1934. One of two 3 ½ lt Coupes made by Thrupp & Maberley. The other one has not been seen for several decades and presumed lost during World War 2. Not much early history but owned by Speed King Donald Campbell in the early 1950’s. We have a photograph of the car at that time being offered for sale, with silver wheel discs. His ownership is acknowledged by all the relevant history available in various publications and agreed with both Bentley Drivers Club & Rolls Royce Enthusiasts Club records. She went through three owners from October 1954 to October 1961. Next piece of history is she was acquired by a Mr Silk of Romford in 1973 and underwent extensive professional restoration up to 1994, with a mechanical overhaul in 1994. She was back on the road in 1998. She was then purchased from P & A Wood by Andrew Smith in August 2001. He kept her until early 2008 when he sold her to Brian Classic as he did not wish to re- wire her. I bought her from Brian Classic in April 2009 with money left to me by my late Mother, Mary. We only just made the 100 miles home with many electrical problems. I am glad to say that Brian Classic eventually made a substantial contribution to the re-wiring by Jeremy Padgett. The following year going into the RREC Concours the heating nearly went into the red so back to Jeremy Padgett to sort out. Result was a complete engine re-build by Ristes, also replaced the radiator core and new clutch plate. Finally back on the road in May 2012. Very expensive period. However, she is now in superb condition, being regularly serviced by AB Classics. More recently the carburettors have been re-built. Following an accident on set in 2017 she was sent to Steve Penny at Penny Vintage to restore the damaged door. Sadly this was one of his last jobs before retiring. What a superb craftsman he is, he made a fabulous job of restoring her. Needless to say she still looks superb. I have owned and enjoyed classic cars since 1969 and Mary must be my ultimate car.

TV & Film work

...

when the call came. Jeremy, I am looking for a 1926 Derby Bentley, preferably black. Can you find me one please. I explained that they were not invented until 1933 and that mine was made in 1934 and is grey and black and has not changed since Endeavour three years earlier. Half an hour later phone goes again, can you bring your car down for production to have��a look at in Ealing early next week. Production were delighted with Mary, especially after a bit of a run round Ealing. At this point no-one would tell me what it was all about, apart from the fact that this was “The Big One”. Two days later phone goes again, she is going to be Crowley’s Bentley in “Good Omens” by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. My wife quickly ordered the book and read it. The Bentley was mentioned almost 80 times. Can I please take her to a specialist body maker for her cab to be replicated for studio scenes. Can I find an interior etc. I phoned Hew at The Real Car Company, who was a tremend ous help. A complete set of instruments and a steering wheel duly arrived. Next, I was asked if I could take the car to Wokingham to be copied. Absolutely staggered to discover they wanted the car at Rushton’s Farm, where I lived from 1957 to 1963. Father’s chicken sheds had been converted into industrial units. A half hour drop off turned into four hours, as I took an old photograph album to show the current owners. The farmhouse had been separated from the rest of the farm by this time. A real trip down memory lane for me. Looking for a Derby body, seats etc, Hew recommended talking to Bob Petersen. He was stripping down a Thrupp & Maberley saloon to make one of his famous specials, so that was purchased complete with dash, seats etc so Mary could be well and truly replicated. Even changed the indicator switch so that both were identical. By this time the cast list had leaked out on the Internet. David Tennant and Michael Sheene are the main stars with others being added on a daily basis. I met many people but mainly worked with these two, especially David. He is one of the nicest guys you could ever wish to meet. Very hardworking but happily chats to everyone. I got Mary back from the farm in September, ready to start filming. The first scene was near Marlow for a two day shoot where I started to meet the cast and crew. 

Trying to teach David how to drive Mary was a bit of a struggle. Most people in their forties haven’t a clue about cars without syncromesh on all gears, and David normally drives an automatic! However, Rob, the stunt driver did know how to drive Mary and quickly picked up the fact that the clutch cannot be depressed for any length of time. The main problem with David and Rob changing over was about six inches in height. Don’t think the seat had been moved so much for years, with a gentle application of oil on the runners and avoidance of catching the carpet. During this period Mary used the registration NIATRUC, Curtain spelt backwards (the subject is the end of the world ). The Morris Minor had SID RAT , TARDIS spelt backwards. David was an earlier Dr Who! Being the grandad on set meant that I was well looked after by everyone, who made sure I had Mary in the right place and usually a radio as well. There is a lot of hanging about on set then a burst of activity. Some shots are repeated over a dozen times to get differing angles and eventually sort out which take will be used. Within a few days I was getting the hang of it, meeting the directors, the camera guys, the sound technicians, moving from location to location, usually in or around the M 25 then in central London. Naturally you can watch Good Omens on BBC iplayer and see how much Mary appeared. There are a few pictures of what it is like on set. 

[shouyuus]

direct continuation of this; part of the apt neighbor!vi au

apartment neighbor!vi who disappears, or at least tries to -- no more weekend visits, no more tuesday night movie dates -- you still see her, or rather, catch glimpses of her here and there, but she's always ducking away or off somewhere before you can catch her, and for a someone who's so conspicuous, she's more slippery than you could've ever imagined. and at first, you're angry -- hurt, confused -- but the pain dulls after a week, two, and soon enough, there's only the barest flinch whenever you see her silhouette slipping down the hallway when you catch her coming back from the gym, or in the mail room --

once, you catch the bright chime of powder's voice as vi opens her door, and you could've sworn you heard your name, but the next second, the door's slamming closed behind her, and powder's voice cuts off like an old record.

apartment neighbor!vi who still goes to the gym, and it's the only real place you see her, but she's always got her headphones banded over her bright red hair, her eyes narrowed -- the bandages around her knuckles are tattered, stained with what looks like blood. there are new cuts and bruises scattered along her arm and what looks like a fresh scab at the corner of her lip.

you don't ask; you figure that if she'd wanted you to know, she would've told you by now.

apartment neighbor!vi who is not there the first time you let curiosity get the better of you and maps the way to her family's pub -- it's a divey kind of place, but spacious and well-kept, with dartboards lining the walls and an old fashioned jukebox in the corner. the man behind the counter glances up with a grin, a slight dip between his brows, an old pipe between his lips.

"bit early for a girl like you to come wanderin' in here," he says, with a voice that rumbles through you, even from a distance. you clear your throat and check your watch -- yeah, 2pm on a wednesday isn't peak hours for a bar like this but it's what you were hoping for.

"oh -- sorry, are you guys not open yet?" you glance back at the door, afraid that you'd missed some sort of signage but the man just laughs and shakes his head.

"nah, we're open. c'mon in," he gestures to the empty bar top, and sets down a glass with a heavy hand.

you eye it for a second before skittering over and sliding up onto one of the barstools, glancing around to take in the scene.

"lookin' for vi, i assume?"

you jump at the sound of vi's name, your eyes slingshotting back to the man, who breaks out into a loud bark of laughter, pouring you a full glass of water.

"h-how did -- has vi said something?"

the man shrugs, pushing the water towards you; you grab it for lack of anything better to do, taking a tentative sip as he eyes you with beady, beatle-black eyes, shining with mirth.

"you pour people drinks for long enough and you start to get a knack for puzzlin' out what they want when they walk in -- kinda person they might be, why they're comin' in -- gets to be a kinda game if you get good enough at it," he leans in with a conspiratorial wink that sets you at ease. you feel your own shoulders drop a bit as you set the glass back down on the counter and lick your lips.

"so you must be vander," you say, the name ringing back through your sifted memories -- vi on a tuesday night, after a movie about race cars or something, chattering about the bar and how her stepdad always gets on her about flirting with the customers too much.

vander nods, taking a soft puff of his pipe and leaning back.

"and you must be the neighbor girl that vi's not been able to shut up about," he muses, making you gag on your next sip of water. he lets out another booming laugh and reaches behind the counter to hand you a stack of napkins. you mop at the water dripping down your chin, feeling your cheeks burn.

"sorry, sorry -- forgive an old man his good time," he says with another good-natured wink before his jovial expression flattens, "but if you're here wonderin' what she's been doin'... then you're fresh outta luck, darlin'."

you frown, cupping your fingers around your half-drunk glass of water.

"i'm just... worried about her."

vander grunts, shrugging up a single, massive shoulder.

"standing room only on that bus, i'm afraid."

you let out a soft scoff of laughter, nodding.

"it's sweet of you to come knockin', but... she's a stubborn one, and if she doesn't wanna tell us then..." another shrug, another sigh, "no one's gonna be able to force it outta her."

you nod again, feeling rather wilted as vander reaches over to pat your shoulder with a large hand. he chuckles.

"tell ya what, here -- have a drink -- on the house."

he grabs a wine glass and sets it in front of you with a tiny flourish. as second later, a deep red liquid fills your glass and you stare up at him as he grins.

"i figured you were a cab sav kind of girl -- but tell me if i'm wrong, and i'll swap it out for anything else you might like."

you shake your head, laughing as you tug the wine glass closer, "nope. you're spot on."

apartment neighbor!vi who shows up hammered, with no preamble, banging down your door a on friday night (though it really is late enough to be called saturday morning) -- you answer with a frying pan clutched in one hand, a hissing sigh whistling through you the second you see who's on the other side. the pan drops and you're about to be angry, but your eyes catch on the fresh bruises blooming across the high of her cheeks, a bump the side of a golf ball swelling up above her right eye.

"o-oh my god, vi! what happened?!" you jump back as she nearly collapses into your doorway, barely catching herself against your shoe-rack.

"jus... missed you, sugar! can't a girl... miss... someone she likes?" she slurs, shaking her head as she pushes herself up; you blink rapidly at her, your chest a tight whirlwind of questions and concerns. it's all eclipsed, however, by alarm, as she lurches into your apartment and nearly smashes into your hallway wall, looping an arm around your shoulder -- you stumble beneath her weight, struggling to keep her upright.

"vi? vi -- you're drunk --"

"nah this ain't nothin' -- just wanted a few after -- after getting beat up, ain't that normal? damn -- got so fucked in the ring -- that match was fixed -- shoulda known smeech couldn't be trusted -- that slimy, money-hungry bastard --"

you somehow manage to half-drag vi into your living room and dump her on the couch, fluttering around for a large glass of water and a first aid kit.

"what -- what're you saying?" you ask, even as you force her to take a large gulp of water (she makes a face as if it's vodka before downing the rest in a few long gulps -- a few beads of water trickle passed her chin and into the collar of her stained tanktop). but in between the fragments and incoherent mumbles, a slow realization starts to coalesce inside you as you inch closer to her and convince her to sit still.

"vi...?"

"mm." she hiccups, flinching slightly as you dab at a cut on her cheek with an antibacterial wipe.

"are you... in some sort of... fight club, or something?"

vi makes a grumbling noise, her eyes fluttering closed; she sways a little as you continue to gently clean out her wounds. her breath carries the sharp, turpenic smell of cheap alcohol as she lets out a long sigh.

"somethin' like that... kinda like a boxing ring -- i'm pretty damn good at it, most nights," she adds, hissing again even as you jerk back, pursing your lips. she crinkles her nose before wiping a hand across her mouth, staring blankly down at the fresh blood smeared onto her skin.

"and... i'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that this boxing ring thing... isn't legal, right?"

vi tries her best at one of her usual, charming, lopsided grins, but it just ends up looking something like a grimace instead.

"legal's not where the money is, sweetness."

you lean forward with a fresh sanitary wipe and motion for her to hold still again. she does, offering you her other cheek, her eyes now startlingly clear as they flicker over the planes of your face. you wonder how drunk she really is, or if she's just gotten terribly good at hiding it.

"but... i thought that you guys were in a rent-controlled unit? what'dyou need all this money for?"

vi scoffs, her eyes lowering.

"pow's university tuition isn't gonna pay for itself."

her voice is soft, low, her words steady. you pause, frowning slightly at her as she sighs and leans back to cast you a sad little grin.

"ah... now that i've told you, 'fraid i'm gonna have to killa ya," she winks. you don't smile, only turning to discard the dirty wipe for another fresh one.

"i thought the bar --"

"it doesn't make enough -- and powder -- she --" vi sucks in a long breath, her eyes fluttering closed. when she opens them again, it's the eyes you remember, the eyes you'd spent so many afternoons and evenings staring into -- there's light and laughter, a fire that can't be extinguished, a light that can't be dimmed, a hard-lined conviction that makes them shine even on the darkest of moonless nights.

"she deserves every opportunity. that girl --" vi lets out a helpless little scoff, "she's gonna change the world one day, i just know it. if we can only --" she makes an abortive gesture with her hand.

you nod, reaching out to wipe away a small smudge of eyeliner beneath her eye. she stills beneath your touch, the cool of your skin against her burning cheek makes her shiver.

a thin tendril of tired, incredulous laughter slithers up your chest; vi's eyebrows kick up as you let out a giggle -- the only warning she gets -- before you're toppling into a fit of truly stomach-clenching laughter, leaning back into your sofa cushions, clutching your belly.

"a-are you alright?" vi asks, blinking at you with mild alarm as you shake your head, flapping your hands at her, unable to form any kind of coherent thought. you wipe at the tears forming at the corner of your eyes, and somewhere between one breath and the next, your laughs turn into frustrated sobs, and you shove vi reproachfully as she stares at you, totally nonplussed by this strange turn of events.

"y-you're such an idiot!" you say between heaving breaths, rubbing at your eyes. you feel lightheaded; the clock on the microwave blinks a bleary 4:42AM at the pair of you.

vi stares, completely nonplussed as you sniffled and reach over to snag a few tissues, daubing at your eyes.

"there're so many things you can do to get money -- you don't have to --" you gesture at her, "get yourself killed in an illegal fighting ring -- and you don't --" you jab a single finger into her chest, hard enough for her to flinch back, "have to try to do it alone."

she blinks, once, twice --

"uh..."

you sigh, rolling your eyes, "god, you're so stupid -- for someone with a genius sister --"

vi makes a slightly affronted noise, "i got good grades in school!"

you tear open a packet of neosporin with perhaps more savagery than necessary, nearly dropping it. you glare at the tiny packet before squeezing a large dollop onto your finger and motioning for vi to lean in. she eyes you for a solid three seconds before slowly leaning forward.

you lave the gel onto the cut on her cheek before peeling open a bandaid to cover it up.

"there. that's waterproof, so it won't come off when you take a shower."

"when i take a shower?" vi asks, her head cocking to one side.

you cast her a sharp look, "you're so gross right now, of course you've gotta shower."

vi hiccups into her fist before shooting you a sheepish grin.

"i could just shower at home."

you narrow your eyes, "it's 5am -- and i'm pretty sure powder's got a massive midterm tomorrow. you're staying here tonight."

"ah. yes. of... course," vi says, biting back an amused chuckle before looking around at the couch beneath her.

"well, i've always liked this couch."

you close the first-aid kit with a sharp snap.

"if you shower within the next --" you glance back at the clock on the microwave, "10 minutes or so, you can sleep in the bedroom. but if i'm asleep when you're done then you're gonna have to sleep out here -- i don't like being woken up." you try to sound stern, though it might have just come out sounding petulant.

vi grins, the expression so familiar to you it singes a line of heat down the center of your spine.

"oop -- guess i'd better shower quick then!" she pushes off the sofa and jogs for the bathroom, swiveling around by the door to give you a soft smile and a -- "hey... thanks."

you roll your eyes at her and flap your hand, "go. shower!"

you slip into bed, listening to the shower water run, a twist of something collecting in your gut as you hear the sounds of the water turn off and the unmistakable noises of vi toweling off. you burrow further into your blankets as her footsteps thump through the apartment, the slight creak of your bedroom door swinging open as she slips in, the shape of her limned in moonlight as she slowly makes her way to the other side of the bed.

"hey sugar... you still awake?"

you crinkle your nose, and for a second, consider feigning sleep. but the next second, she's slipping into the blankets next to you, her skin warm to the touch as she shuffles closer.

"yeah," you answer, a second later.

she shuffles just a bit closer; you flip around to face her, gasping as you realize how close she is -- your noses almost touching. her eyes widen as they meet yours, and you could swear that even in the pre-dawn dark, you can see her cheeks rioting with color.

she clears her throat but doesn't make to pull away.

"y'know, usually when i get invited into someone's bed... it's a lot sexier than this."

you puff out a breathy laugh, "yeah? i'm sure. why don't you tell me about it tomorrow, when we're compiling all the scholarships that we're gonna help powder apply to?"

vi falls quiet, her gaze going startlingly liquid, and for a second, you wonder if she's going to cry too. but then, she's leaning in, pressing her forehead to yours --

"god... sweets... what the fuck did i do to deserve you?"

you snuggle in closer, your heartbeat a livewire thrum at the back of your throat.

"nothing... you were just... you."

vi lets out a shaky breath, her eyes falling shut.

"shit, sugar... what the hell, man... it wasn't supposed to be like this."

you laugh as she sniffles, tugging you closer, her palm warm along your waist, her fingers pressing into your skin.

"yeah? did you have it all planned out? help the new girl move in? watch movies and make food with her on the weekends till she falls in love with you?"

vi's breath hitches. you bite your tongue.

still, she doesn't refute you. finally, she manages --

"i just... never thought it'd... get this bad..."

you sigh, leaning in to press a soft kiss to her forehead.

"y'know, for a smart girl, you're really dumb sometimes."

vi pulls back, sighing, "yeah... i -- i know. and i know that powder and vander probably know too -- they just -- they just... knew me too well to try and --"

"force it out of you?" you supply. vi nods, her hair tickling your skin as she burrow in against you, her body curling in till she's in a fetal position, her face pressed into your chest, her breath fanning hot against your collarbones.

"well, lucky for me --" you say, reaching up to run a hand through her hair, caressing at the still-damp ends, "i didn't have to -- you came knocking all on your own."

vi's quiet for another few beats before --

"i wasn't lying y'know... i really did... miss you." her voice catches, the words cracking over one another like river stones.

you graze your lips along her hairline, nodding, "yeah, i know... i missed you too, vi."

she wraps her arms around you and pulls you in, pressing you to her so completely your chest almost starts to sting with the pressure.

a few minutes later, she relents, releasing you just enough for you to suck in a long, steadying breath.

"did you really mean it? that thing about... the scholarships for powder?"

you nod, "course i did. and we can look up loans too! i had to take one out when i went to college too, so i'm pretty familiar with them. it's alright -- we'll figure it out -- together."

vi nods, chuckling softly against you.

"mm... before all that though..." she tugs back just far enough to look at you, her voice husky as she leans in to brush her nose to yours --

"d'you think... you might allow me the honor of making you breakfast?"

[oldsoul007]

dirty cash

rich!joel miller x younger reader

summary: After a reckless hookup leaves you buying a pregnancy test in a pharmacy, the last person you expect to run into is your father’s wealthy but quietly tortured friend, Joel Miller—sparking a forbidden, dangerously irresistible affair where passion, power, and vulnerability collide.

a/n: reader and joel smoke, kissing, suggestive scenes, wholesome, 20 year age gap, i’ve been deep in writers block so I’d love some request!!

joel miller masterlist

It’s probably nothing.

That’s what I keep telling myself as I stand under the aggressive fluorescent lights of the pharmacy, staring down an entire wall of pregnancy tests like one of them might have the courtesy to jump into my hand and handle the situation for me.

“Which one do you want?” Ani’s voice is dry as she squats down to examine the shelves like she’s choosing a bottle of champagne. “The one that’s ‘99% accurate’ or the one that costs five dollars less?”

“I don’t know.” My arms are crossed, jaw tight. “Is there one that says ‘this is just a late period and not the worst mistake of my life’?”

Ani snorts and stands, grabbing two boxes. “This one says it’s easy to read, so maybe you won’t have to Google it when you’re sobbing on the bathroom floor.”

“Touching,” I deadpan, snatching the box from her hand.

Ani grins, brushing her dark hair over her shoulder. “I’m just saying—you always get like this when you’re stressed. Remember when we thought I were pregnant that one time in college and it turned out I’d just been living off coffee and vodka cranberries for three weeks?”

“This isn’t college.” I turn the box over in my hands, stomach twisting. My nails dig into the cardboard.

Ani drops her voice, leaning in close. “Okay, but even if you are…” She shrugs. “You’d handle it. You’re not seventeen. You’ve got your own place, a job, your shit’s together.”

“Do I?” I ask, biting back a nervous laugh. “I don’t even remember his name.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s fair.” Ani smirks. “But in your defense, he was hot.”

“Not helpful.”

“You’re right. My bad.”

I exhale sharply, shifting the test from one hand to the other. Ani’s already moving toward the register when I hear it—

“Y/n?”

Fuck.

My heart drops into my stomach. Because I know that voice. Low, slow, rough around the edges—like honey poured over gravel.

I turn, already knowing what I’m about to see.

And there he is.

Joel Miller. Standing in the middle of the pharmacy aisle, looking devastatingly expensive in a black cashmere sweater and tailored jeans that sit obscenely well on his hips. His dark hair is messy but intentional, streaked with silver. His watch—Rolex, of course—catches the light. But it’s his eyes that undo me: dark, sharp, locked on the bright pink box in my hand.

He wasn’t like the men I usually met in Manhattan—the ones who talked too much about stocks and barely knew how to hail their own cab. No, Joel was different. He had built his wealth rather than inherited it, and he carried himself with the kind of quiet confidence that made men respect him and women—well, women wanted him.

My throat dries out.

“Joel,” I say, too bright, too casual. “Hey.”

His gaze flicks from the box to my face. His jaw tightens. “Hey.”

I tuck the box behind my back like that’s going to erase the last five seconds. “Just… picking up a few things.”

Joel’s mouth opens—then closes. His eyes drag down my body, slow and deliberate. That heat—the one that’s always been there—creeps into my chest.

Joel’s jaw ticks. “You okay?”

I force a laugh. “Yeah! Just—y’know.” I gesture vaguely toward the shelves. “Girl stuff.”

Joel’s eyes darken. “Girl stuff.”

Ani coughs to cover a laugh.

My face burns. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Joel’s voice drops, low and dangerous. “’Cause if you’re not—”

“Joel.” My voice comes out sharper than I intend.

His mouth presses into a thin line.

It’s too much. Him standing there, in his cashmere and leather, watching me, piecing it together. I feel naked under the weight of his gaze, exposed in a way that makes my heart pound for all the wrong reasons.

Or maybe the right ones.

Ani steps in. “Well, we should go!” She grabs my arm, steering me toward the register like she’s dragging me out of a bar at last call.

“Y/n,” Joel says quietly.

I freeze.

His eyes drop to the test again, then back to my face. His jaw tightens, something dangerous flickering in his expression. His shoulders square like he’s already figuring out whose name he’s going to have to track down if that test comes back positive.

“If you need anything,” he says, voice low and steady, “you know where to find me.”

I swallow hard.

“See you around,” I manage, and then Ani’s tugging me away.

I don’t look back. But I feel his eyes on me the whole way out.

—

“False alarm,” I mutter.

Ani’s brows lift. “Started?”

“Yep.” I close my eyes, letting my head fall back. “I hate being a woman.”

Ani grins. “Oh, thank God. You’re off the hook.”

I shoot her a look. “Gee, thanks.”

Ani shrugs, sitting up and tucking her legs beneath her. “Look at the bright side. No baby. No weird hookup drama. Just your regularly scheduled period-induced misery.”

“Comforting,” I say flatly.

Ani gives me a sly smile. “Although…”

I groan. “What?”

“You could just avoid all this stress in the future by hooking up with someone a little more… reliable.”

My eyes narrow. “Ani.”

She leans toward me, eyes glinting. “Someone… older.”

“Ani.”

“Someone who clearly already cares about you.”

“Ani.”

She grins. “Joel.”

I nearly choke. I sit up so fast my stomach cramps harder. “Are you insane?”

Ani shrugs. “I’m just saying. He’s hot.”

“He’s my dad’s friend,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, and?” Ani leans back on the couch, propping her feet up on the coffee table. “Didn’t stop him from looking at you like that at the pharmacy.”

She leans forward, eyes narrowing with that mischievous glint she gets when she’s about to push me into something uncomfortable. “Okay, but—let’s think about this. You’re not a kid anymore. You can make your own choices. And yeah, he’s older, but I swear, that man is just your type. You two have this thing. You’ve always had it.”

“Stop.” I throw my hands up in a half-joking, half-serious gesture. “No. Just no. He’s a friend of the family. That’s not even on the table.”

Ani tilts her head, sizing me up. “Sure, sure. But it’s not like you’ve never wanted it. And let’s face it, y/n—when it comes to guys, you usually go for the one who’s unpredictable. Maybe Joel’s exactly the guy you need right now. I mean, come on, you’ve got nothing to lose.”

I roll my eyes, standing up to pace a little, trying to shake the idea out of my head. “I’m not dating him, Ani. It’s not happening.”

Ani’s voice is a little quieter now, but I can hear the knowing smile behind it. “I’m just saying—maybe you should think about it. You don’t have to rush into anything, but you’ve been dancing around this for so long. Why not just see where it goes?”

I stop pacing, my hands still on my hips as I take in her words. The idea is… tempting, but I can’t. “It’s complicated. You don’t get it. He’s not like everyone else, Ani. He’s Joel.”

She shrugs, unfazed. “Exactly. He’s Joel. And that’s what makes it interesting.”

I sit back down on the couch, rubbing my temples. “I’m not going there. End of story.”

Ani leans back, giving me a sly grin. “We’ll see. We’ll see.”

I try to dismiss it, but as much as I tell myself no, the idea lingers, just a little. Because deep down, I know Ani’s not entirely wrong.

—

The thing about New York is that no one ever expects to run into someone at the most inconvenient times.

It’s a Friday evening, and the streets of Manhattan are alive with people in their after-work hustle, lights flashing from the windows of bars and restaurants like neon beacons in the dark. I’m walking down the block, heading to my favorite sushi spot, when I spot him.

Of course.

Joel Miller, standing on the corner of the street, waiting for the light to change. He’s in a perfectly tailored black coat, dark slacks, the kind of man who belongs in a city where money talks and time doesn’t. I see him before he sees me, and for a second, I wonder if I should just turn around and make a run for it. But no, that would be too easy.

“Y/n?”

Shit.

I take a breath, turning around with an exaggeratedly calm smile. “Joel.”

His gaze immediately sharpens, the same intense look that makes my heart jump into my throat. I swear, if I didn’t know better, I’d think he could hear the rapid beat of it from across the street.

“Hey,” he says, his voice a little rougher than usual. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“Well, you know New York.” I joke, trying to sound like I’m not totally thrown off. “City’s small. You’re bound to bump into people.”

His eyes flicker down to my hand, like he’s still waiting for me to be clutching a pregnancy test like some kind of urban myth.

I clear my throat. “Just to clarify—I’m not pregnant.” I say it almost too fast.

Joel raises an eyebrow, lips curling slightly in amusement. “Well, that’s good to hear.” There’s a pause, a quiet beat that hangs between us, before he steps a little closer, lowering his voice. “I wasn’t really sure how to feel about that whole situation.”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

Joel shrugs, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his coat. “You just looked… different that day. A little more than stressed.” He watches me closely, his eyes never leaving mine. “I didn’t want to step in and make it worse.”

I look away, trying to hide the flush creeping up my neck. “Well, you didn’t. I was just… overthinking everything. It’s a thing I’m really good at.”

“I’ve noticed.” His voice is lighter now, like he’s teasing me in that way he does when he’s not sure if he should be serious or not.

I bite my lip, a grin slipping onto my face before I can stop it. “I wasn’t exactly planning on running into you again, you know.”

“Right.” He chuckles, but it’s the kind of laugh that sounds like he’s holding something back.

“So…” I drag the word out, feeling the weight of the moment settle around us. “Are you just wandering the streets of New York on a Friday night or do you have somewhere important to be?”

He looks at me with that knowing smirk. “A little bit of both.” He glances down the block, then back at me. “I’m headed to a meeting. But honestly…” He hesitates, as if weighing something. “I could always use a distraction.”

My stomach flips at his words, but I try to play it cool. “A distraction, huh? How convenient. I happen to be a very good distraction.”

Joel steps closer, his voice dropping lower. “I’m sure you are.” His gaze holds mine for a second too long, making everything inside me feel like it’s melting, a tight knot loosening in my chest.

I clear my throat again. “Well, if you’re free after your meeting, maybe we could catch up over a drink. Talk about, you know, how I’m definitely not pregnant.”

Joel’s lips twitch in that infuriating way he has when he’s fighting a grin. “Sounds like a good time.”

“Good,” I reply, trying to sound nonchalant, though I can feel the electric buzz between us, like everything’s about to go off the rails. “Call me. I’ll be around.”

“I will.” His gaze softens just a little before he turns, and as he walks away, I can’t help but watch him go. The tension that’s been there between us—it’s still there, maybe stronger than before.

And I think, for the first time, I might actually be okay with it.

—

Later that night, after a few too many glasses of drinks and some laughter-filled catching up with Ani, I find myself at home, flipping through the pages of a magazine I’ve barely been able to focus on. My mind keeps drifting. Should I reach out to Joel? Should I wait for him to make the first move?

Before I can talk myself out of it, the phone rings, cutting through the silence of my apartment. I glance at it without thinking, and my heart skips.

Joel.

I answer quickly, trying to sound casual. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he replies, his voice low and easy, just like it always is. “You free for that drink?”

A rush of excitement hits me, surprising myself with how quickly I want to say yes. ��Absolutely.”

“Good. I’ll be there in a few.” I put the phone down, a grin pulling at the corners of my lips.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m stepping out of my building and into the sleek black car waiting at the curb. The door is already open for me, the driver standing by with a polite nod, but my attention is drawn straight to the man inside.

Joel sits in the backseat, legs spread comfortably, a whiskey-colored gaze flicking up from where he’s been nursing a drink. He looks effortless—one arm resting against the door, the other hand wrapped around a heavy glass. His jacket is slung over the seat beside him, sleeves rolled up to his forearms, watch glinting in the low light.

“Fancy,” I say as I slide in beside him, smoothing down my dress.

“Figured I’d make it easy for you,” he drawls, offering me a drink from the little bar built into the side panel. “That, and I like havin’ you in my car.”

My stomach does something stupid at that. I take the glass from him, clinking mine against his before taking a sip. The car glides through the city, moving like the night belongs to us.

The bar he takes me to is nothing like the places I usually end up in. It’s tucked away on some quiet street, dimly lit with dark wood and low jazz humming from unseen speakers. The kind of place where people don’t come to get drunk; they come to drink.

Joel guides me through the space with an easy familiarity, his hand resting lightly against my lower back as he leads me to a quiet booth.

“Didn’t peg you as a cocktail bar guy,” I tease, glancing at the menu.

He smirks, signaling the bartender with two fingers. “I’m not. Just figured you’d like it.”

I bite back my smile.

Drinks arrive, and the conversation comes easy, like it always does with him.

But then—

“So,” Joel says, swirling the amber in his glass. “You gonna tell me who the guy is?”

I freeze for half a second, but he catches it. His gaze sharpens just slightly.

I roll my eyes, playing it off. “What guy?”

His lips twitch like he knows I’m full of shit. “C’mon, sweetheart. Ain’t dumb. You had a reason for buyin’ that test.”

Heat crawls up my neck. I sip my drink, willing the subject to dissolve. “Joel.”

His expression shifts, something unreadable there. But he doesn’t push. Just leans back in the booth, watching me.

I exhale, deciding to change the subject completely. “You always take women here?”

He raises an eyebrow. “You always deflect?”

I grin, tipping my glass toward him. “Maybe.”

Joel chuckles, shaking his head, and just like that, the tension shifts. The air between us settles into something familiar, charged but unspoken.

We talk about other things—his latest project, my work, New York’s ever-present bullshit. But there’s something lingering beneath it all, in the way his fingers graze mine when I reach for my drink, in the way his eyes linger on my mouth when I speak.

It’s always been like this with us.

The drinks keep coming, smooth and slow, and the conversation drifts into something heavier without either of us meaning it to.

Joel leans back, one arm slung over the booth, rolling his glass between his fingers. “Ever think about leavin’?”

I blink, caught off guard. “New York?”

He nods, gaze steady. “The city. Work. All of it.”

I scoff lightly, but there’s no real bite to it. “Where would I go?”

“Anywhere.”

It’s such a simple answer, but the way he says it, so sure, makes something tighten in my chest.

I glance down at my drink, swirling the last of the amber liquid. “I don’t know. I love it here, but… sometimes it feels like too much, y’know?” I meet his eyes, watching the way he listens, really listens. “Like you can’t breathe without the city pushing in on you.”

Joel hums, nodding slowly. “Yeah. Know that feeling.”

I tilt my head. “So why are you still here?”

His lips quirk, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Same reason as everyone else, I guess.” He lifts his glass slightly. “Money. Work. Habit.”

“That’s depressing.”

He huffs a quiet laugh. “Little bit.”

I study him for a moment, my head buzzing just enough to loosen the words sitting heavy on my tongue. Slowly, I shift under the table, lifting my foot and pressing it lightly against his leg. A small touch, but intentional. His fingers still on his glass.

“What would you do if you left?”

Joel leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. His fingers graze the rim of his glass as he thinks, really thinks, like no one’s ever asked him before.

“Dunno.” His voice is quieter now, like he’s admitting something he’s never said out loud. “Find some place quieter. Somewhere no one gives a shit who I am or what I got. Build somethin’ for myself.” He smirks a little, but there’s a sadness behind it. “Guess I never really let myself think about it.”

I watch him, my fingers toying with the condensation on my glass. “You still could.”

His eyes flick to mine, unreadable, like he’s trying to decide if I mean it.

Something shifts between us, heavy and unspoken.

Joel exhales, tipping his head toward me. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You ever think about somethin’ different?”

I chew my lip, considering. “Maybe.” I glance around the bar, the dark wood, the quiet hum of conversation. “But I think I’d miss it.”

Joel watches me, something warm in his gaze. “Yeah.” He nods slowly. “Reckon I’d miss you too.”

The words slip out so easily, so casually, that I almost don’t catch them. But I do.

My breath catches slightly, my fingers stilling against my glass. Joel just watches me, calm, steady, like he’s giving me a second to let it sink in.

And then, before I can overthink it, I knock back the rest of my drink and grin. “You getting sentimental on me, Miller?”

His smirk is slow, lazy. “Maybe.”

I roll my eyes, but the warmth lingers.

The game continues.

The night stretches on, slow and easy, the drinks disappearing as the city hums outside the bar’s fogged-up windows. The conversation shifts—back to old stories, to things we shouldn’t say but do anyway.

At some point, I feel the weight of Joel’s hand on the back of the booth, close enough that if I just leaned back a little, I’d be resting against him. I resist the urge, barely.

“It’s late,” I murmur, glancing at the time.

Joel takes a slow sip of his drink, his gaze steady on mine. “You in a hurry?”

“No,” I admit.

He smirks. “Didn’t think so.”

The tension between us tightens, thick like smoke curling in the air. We both feel it—always have. It’s in the way I play with the rim of my glass, in the way his fingers drum idly against the table like he’s working through something in his head.

When we finally leave, the night is warm, the city alive with its usual buzz. The car is waiting, sleek and polished under the streetlights. Joel opens the door for me, and I hesitate just long enough for him to notice.

“You comin’?” His voice is low, rough.

I should go home. I should get out now, before this turns into something. Instead, I slide inside.

Joel follows, the door shutting with a quiet click. The car pulls away from the curb, and suddenly, we’re alone in the dark, the city slipping past in a blur of neon and street lamps.

I exhale slowly, the leather cool beneath my fingertips.

Joel watches me, silent for a long beat. Then—

“Where to?” he asks, his voice deliberate. The question hangs there, waiting. I don’t answer right away. I don’t need to. Joel just nods, like he already knows. And then the car changes direction.

His apartment is everything I expect it to be—too big, too nice, too quiet. Floor-to-ceiling windows stretch across the main living space, giving a view of the city that most people only dream of. The kind of place that feels like money, like success, like someone who’s worked too hard for too long and now doesn’t know how to sit still.

Joel shrugs off his jacket, tossing it onto a leather chair. His gaze flicks to me, dark and unreadable.

“You want another drink?”

I shake my head, stepping toward the window, pressing my fingertips against the cool glass. The city sparkles beneath me, the streets moving like veins through the night.

Joel moves behind me, slow and steady. When I turn, he’s closer than I expect, the space between us suddenly small.

For a second, neither of us speaks. Then, his fingers graze my wrist, barely there. I look up at him, breath catching in my throat. His voice is quiet when he finally says, “Tell me to stop.” I don’t. Instead, I close the space between us.

The bedroom is dark, the city lights bleeding through the curtains.

It’s slow, at first. Me, still trying to figure out what the hell I’m doing. Him, patient in a way I didn’t expect. But when his hands find my waist, when his lips press against the curve of my neck, when I sigh his name into the quiet—

His lips brush mine, hesitant, like he’s waiting for me to stop this before it starts. But I don’t. I can’t. I just tilt my chin up, pressing my mouth fully to his, and he exhales against me like he’s been holding his breath.

Joel’s hands slide up my back, slow and steady, as he deepens the kiss, tilting his head to taste me fully. His mouth is warm, careful, his touch reverent, like he wants to make sure I want this just as much as he does. And I do. God, I do.

I thread my fingers into his hair, pulling him closer, pressing myself against him. He groans, low in his throat, like he’s barely holding on. His hands tighten at my hips before one of them slides up my spine, dragging me further into him, chest to chest, breath to breath.

He moves like he wants to savor me. Like he wants to take his time, to make this last.

Joel presses me down into the bed, his body warm and solid against mine, his hands framing my face as his mouth claims me in a slow, consuming kiss. It’s deep, deliberate, like he’s savoring every second, like he’s memorizing the shape of my lips against his.

“You sure about this?” he murmurs, voice rough, edged with something vulnerable.

I nod, brushing my lips against his. “Yes.”

That’s all he needs.

Joel undresses me with the kind of patience that makes my skin burn, like he’s committing every inch of me to memory. He trails his fingers over my bare skin, tracing the curve of my waist, the dip of my spine, his touch reverent.

His fingers skim down my sides, mapping every inch of bare skin, rough but reverent. When I arch beneath him, chasing his touch, he exhales sharply, like he’s been holding something in for too long.

“Joel,” I breathe, my hands fisting in his shirt, tugging him closer, needing him closer.

He groans against my throat, his teeth scraping lightly before he soothes the spot with his lips. “You don’t know what you do to me baby,” he mutters, voice thick, almost strained.

I do, though—I can feel it in the way his body moves against mine, in the way his breath stutters when my nails drag down his back.

His hand slides up my thigh, pushing fabric aside, and his mouth finds mine again, hungrier this time.

And when we finally come together, it’s nothing like I expected.

It’s deeper.

Slower.

Like he wants me to feel it.

Like he wants me to know this isn’t just a night to him.

And as I meet his gaze in the dim light of the room, as his fingers intertwine with mine, I realize something terrifying.

Neither is it to me.

Later, when the sheets are tangled around us and the air still smells like sex and expensive cologne, we lie in the dark, passing a cigarette back and forth.

I slip out of bed and pull on his dress shirt. I pad barefoot to the balcony, lighting a cigarette with shaking fingers.

The city stretches out below, golden and endless. The dead of night in New York is never really dead—it hums, it moves, it waits.

Joel joins me a minute later, shirtless, sweat still cooling on his skin. He takes the cigarette from my fingers, taking a slow drag before exhaling right in my face.

The smoke curls into the air in a perfect ring.

I giggle, waving it away. “Show-off.”

He smirks, watching me through the haze. “Didn’t mean to.” I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, sure. Just a natural talent, huh?”

He chuckles, flicking the ash over the edge of the balcony. “Tryin’ to quit.” I steal the cigarette back from his fingers, taking a drag myself. “Yeah? How’s that workin’ out for you?”

Joel tilts his head, eyes dragging over me, slow and deliberate. Then he leans in, close enough that I can feel the warmth of him, the tease of a smirk on his lips.

—

The date wasn’t even my idea.

Ani had set it up weeks ago, probably thinking I needed a distraction. And then, of course, she forgot to cancel.

So here I am, sitting across from a guy named Ryan, who is perfectly nice. Perfectly normal. I swirl the last sip of my drink in my glass, barely listening as he talks about something work-related. Maybe stocks. Or real estate. Or his incredibly riveting trip to Aspen.

I’m about to excuse myself to the bathroom when the waitress appears with a fresh drink and sets it down in front of me.

But then—

A drink lands in front of me.

I blink, glancing up at the waitress. She smiles and sets down a glass of a Cosmopolitan. The same drink I ordered that night with Joel. I frown. “Oh, I didn’t order this.”

“The gentleman at the bar sent it,” she says, tipping her head toward the far side of the room.

And when I look—

Joel. Sitting alone, leaned back in his chair, watching me. Heat crawls up my spine, a mix of irritation and something I refuse to name. I exhale sharply, already irritated.

“Excuse me,” I mutter to Ryan, grabbing the drink and making my way over.

Joel doesn’t look surprised when I place the glass down in front of him with a soft clink.

I cross my arms. “What the hell are you doing?” He looks up at me, completely at ease. “Drinkin’.” I narrow my eyes. “You know what I mean.”

He gestures to the glass. “Just bein’ polite.”

“By sending me a drink when I’m clearly on a date?”

He shrugs, gaze flicking over to Ryan for a beat before meeting mine again. “Didn’t look like you were enjoyin’ yourself.”

I let out a sharp breath. “Oh, and you think you know when I’m enjoying myself?”

Joel’s lips twitch, eyes dragging down my frame, then back up again. “Yeah. I think I do.”

A heat rises in my chest. I shake my head, ignoring it. “You’re unbelievable.”

Joel leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Leave with me.”

It’s so direct, so him, that it knocks the wind right out of me. I grip the back of the chair in front of me, heart hammering.

God, part of me wants to.

Instead, I take the drink, place it back in front of him, and meet his gaze. “Enjoy your drink, Joel.”

Then I turn on my heel and walk back to my date.

I can feel him watching me the entire way back.

—

Every single one that passes is either full or just doesn’t bother stopping.

I sigh, hugging my coat tighter around myself, feeling the lingering annoyance from earlier. The date had been uneventful. The only thing remotely interesting about the night was Joel showing up and acting like he had a right to interfere.

And now, here I am, standing alone, wet, and stranded.

A black car rolls up to the curb in front of me, sleek and unmistakable. The window rolls down.

Joel. Of course.

He doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at me, his elbow resting against the door, fingers brushing his mouth like he’s trying to hide a smirk.

I exhale sharply. “Are you following me now?”

He tilts his head, expression unreadable. “Get in.”

I should say no. I should roll my eyes and keep waiting for a cab. I should ignore the way my pulse jumps at the way he says it, low and easy, like it’s inevitable.

But instead—without a word—I open the door and slide into the seat beside him.

The door shuts with a quiet thud, sealing us inside the warmth of the car, the low hum of the city outside suddenly muffled.

Joel watches me, the corner of his mouth twitching like he’s won something.

I huff out a breath, shaking my head as I lean back against the seat. “You’re ridiculous.”

His voice is steady, calm. “And yet, here you are.”

I don’t answer. Because he’s right.

I settle into the seat, crossing my arms as I turn to face him. “You know, normal people just call if they want to see someone. They don’t crash their date and send cryptic drinks across the room.”

Joel smirks, tilting his head slightly. “Didn’t seem like much of a date to me.”

I let out a dry laugh. “Oh, I’m sorry—were you keeping track? Should I have sent you an update?”

He leans back, stretching his legs out, completely unbothered. “Wouldn’t have minded one.”

I shake my head, biting back a smile. “You are unbelievable.”

He shrugs. “You walked over to me, sweetheart.”

That makes me pause. Because he’s right—I did walk over to him. I did let him get under my skin. And now, I’m here, in his car, once again letting him pull me into his orbit.

I exhale, glancing out the window as the city blurs past. “Why’d you do that?” I ask, quieter this time.

Joel doesn’t answer right away.

Then, in that low, steady voice, he says, “Didn’t like seein’ you with him.”

I scoff, looking back at him. “And what, exactly, gives you the right to not like it?”

He doesn’t blink. Doesn’t flinch. Just keeps looking at me like he already has the answer.

And I hate that my heart stumbles over itself at the weight of his gaze.

“It’s not about rights,” he says finally. “It’s about what is.”

I shake my head. “That doesn’t mean anything, Joel.”

His mouth twitches like he’s holding something back. “Sure it does.”

The car slows as we near my apartment.

I glance at him, trying to ignore the warmth creeping up my neck. “So, what? You gonna walk me to my door now, too?”

Joel holds my gaze for a second longer before he leans forward, knocking twice on the partition.

“Pull over,” he tells the driver.

And when the car stops, he looks back at me. “Let’s find out.”

Joel steps out first, rounding the car as I push open my door. His presence is solid beside me as we make our way up the front steps of my building, the city humming around us.

I try to ignore the way my pulse jumps, the way my skin burns under his gaze.

At my door, I turn to him, arching a brow. “So, you are walking me to my door. What’s next? A goodnight kiss like a gentleman?”

Joel huffs out a quiet laugh, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Wouldn’t exactly call myself a gentleman.”

I shake my head, smiling despite myself. “No, you wouldn’t.” A pause stretches between us, thick with everything unsaid.

Then Joel does something unexpected. He follows behind me, pushing the door open and walking inside like he owns the place.

I follow him in, shutting the door behind me as he glances around, taking in my apartment. It’s not much—messy bookshelves, half-empty wine glasses on the counter, a record player I never use—but it’s mine.

Joel smirks. “So this is your place.” I cross my arms. “You breaking in is not as charming as you think it is.”

He turns to face me, and just like that, the air shifts. The teasing, the banter—it all simmers down to something heavier. Something real.

“What do you want from me, Joel?” I ask, my voice quieter now, less sharp.

He doesn’t answer right away. Just looks at me like he’s figuring it out himself. Then, after a beat, he takes a step closer. “Nothin’ you don’t already know.”

And before I can think—before I can stop myself—I reach for him.

Joel meets me halfway.

His hands find my waist as mine slide up his chest, and then his mouth is on mine, slow and sure. It’s different from the last time, different from the fire that burned between us that night. This time, it’s deeper. It’s steady.

Like he’s proving something. Like I’m letting him.

—

The phone rings—sharp and unexpected, cutting through the quiet of my apartment.

I pick up, pressing the receiver to my ear as I absently start pacing, the cord trailing behind me. “Hello?”

A beat of silence. And then—

“You busy?”

It’s Joel.

I smirk, my voice playful as I move toward the window. “Depends. Who’s asking?”

I hear the familiar low rumble of his laughter. “You know damn well who’s askin’.”

I bite my lip, glancing out at the city lights. “Then no, I’m not busy.”

I hear a slight shuffle on his end, the clink of glass. “Got some salmon. Figured I’d cook.”

I raise a brow, curiosity piqued. “Joel Miller, cooking? What’s the occasion?”

“No occasion.” His voice is steady, but there’s something in the way he speaks that feels almost… softer. “Just thought you might like something better than takeout for once.”

I smile, twirling the phone cord around my fingers. “I like takeout.”

“That don’t mean it’s good for you.”

I roll my eyes, amused. “I’ll bring wine.”

“Figured.” His tone shifts slightly, quieter this time, more deliberate. “So? You comin’ over?”

I don’t answer immediately. Not because I’m unsure—I’m not—but because something about the way he asks makes my heart beat a little faster.

“Yeah,” I say, my voice a little softer than usual. “Be there soon.”

Joel doesn’t say goodbye. Just a soft, “See you soon,” before the line clicks dead.

I sit there for a second, the dial tone humming in my ear before I hang up. My chest tightens, but in a way that feels warm. I grab my bag, the wine, and step out the door, already feeling the pull of him waiting for me.

When I arrive at his place, it’s just as I remember—warm, lived-in, familiar. The city’s noise is muffled here, replaced by the low hum of the lights and the scent of something delicious cooking in the kitchen.

Joel’s already at the table, his back slightly turned, one hand lazily resting on the edge while the other holds a cigar between his fingers. I can see the faint smoke curling upward, mixing with the warm glow from the overhead lights.

I watch him for a moment, then speak up, my voice softer than usual. “Didn’t know you smoked cigars.”

He looks up, a small, knowing smirk on his lips. “Only every once in a while. Special occasions.”

I raise an eyebrow, intrigued. “Oh? And what’s the occasion?”

He exhales a slow stream of smoke, his eyes locked with mine, that familiar warmth in his gaze. “You tell me, sweetheart.”

I roll my eyes, but the smile that tugs at my lips betrays me. I stand up, stretching my arms overhead, and then I spot them—the records stacked by his bookshelf. The sight of them brings a sudden warmth to my chest.

“Wait.” I crouch down, fingers grazing the covers. “You have records?”

Joel exhales again, nodding toward them. “Yeah. Haven’t played ‘em in a while, though.”

I flip through the albums, smiling as I see the names—Johnny Cash, Linda Ronstadt, Etta James—and then, nestled toward the back, a cover I recognize.

I pull one out, holding it up with a playful grin. “Which one is this?”

Joel looks over, then leans forward, a small glint in his eyes. “That one’s a classic.”

“Classic, huh?”

He smirks. “You’ll see.”

I stand, taking the album toward the old record player by the window. The needle wobbles slightly as I set it down, and then, after a beat of silence, the room fills with the smooth, velvety voice of Andy Williams.

“Moon River, wider than a mile…”

Something in my chest tightens at the sheer romance of it. I glance over at Joel, and he’s already watching me, his expression unreadable but his eyes soft, like he’s seeing me in a way he doesn’t often let himself.

I take a step toward him. Then another.

“Dance with me,” I say softly, the words leaving my mouth before I can stop them.

Joel huffs a quiet laugh, shaking his head as if to protest. “I don’t dance.” I smirk, reaching for his hand anyway. “Sure you do.”

He exhales, like he’s already lost the battle, and then he lets me pull him up. He places his hand against my waist as I drape my arms over his shoulders, the warmth of his skin sending a shiver through me.

We begin to sway slowly, moving together as the song wraps around us, filling the space between us with something unspoken, something deeper than just the music.

Joel exhales through his nose, shaking his head slightly, but there’s no bite to it now, just that familiar, soft edge. “Can’t believe you got me doin’ this.”

I smile, my cheek resting against his shoulder, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calming me in a way nothing else can.

He chuckles, low and rich, his fingers pressing just a little firmer into my back as we move together, closer now, the distance between us narrowing until there’s nothing but the sound of the song and the soft shuffle of our feet.

We don’t say anything else. We don’t need to.

The song plays on, a familiar, warm melody that fills the quiet around us, and for once, neither of us runs from it. Neither of us pulls away. In this moment, we’re just two people, swaying in the dim light, letting the world outside fade away.

—

The night is cool, the air thick with the scent of rain that never quite fell. I tug my coat a little tighter around me, glancing over at Joel as he holds the door open for me, that familiar, easy presence at my side.

“Hey, handsome,” I tease as he reaches for my hand.

“Hey, baby.” His voice is warm, rough, and he tugs me in for a brief kiss, his palm steady on my waist.

Before I can step toward the car, he pulls something from his pocket—a small velvet box, dark red, almost black under the glow of the streetlights.

I arch a brow, eyeing it suspiciously. “What’s this?”

Joel smirks, pressing the box into my palm. “Just open it.”

I flip the lid open—and my breath catches.

Inside, nestled in the velvet, is a bracelet. A delicate Cartier piece, sleek gold with just the right amount of weight to it. Simple. Timeless. Beautiful.

“Joel.” My voice is quieter now, the teasing edge gone. “This is—”

“Figured you’d like it.” He watches me carefully, his expression unreadable.

I swallow, brushing my fingers over the smooth metal. “You just—randomly decided to buy me a Cartier bracelet?”

His lips twitch. “Yeah.”

A beat of silence stretches between us, thick with everything unspoken.

Then, because it’s easier than acknowledging what this means, I smirk. “You tryin’ to win me over, Miller?”

Joel exhales through his nose, shaking his head as he reaches for the bracelet, undoing the clasp. “Don’t gotta try, sweetheart.”

He takes my wrist in his hands, his fingers warm, rough as he slides the bracelet into place. Careful. Precise. The clasp clicks softly, and his thumb smooths over the gold.

Then, before I can say anything, he lifts my wrist to his lips, pressing a slow, lingering kiss to the inside of it.

My pulse stutters.

Joel pulls back slightly, studying me. “Looks good on you.”

I shake my head, trying to ignore the warmth spreading through my chest. “You’re ridiculous.”

He smirks, offering his arm. “C’mon, let’s go.”

We step inside, warmth wrapping around us as the low hum of conversation fills the air. It’s all polished marble and chandeliers, the kind of place that feels expensive just to breathe in. A few people glance our way—some nod, some linger.

Joel keeps a steady hand on my back as we move through the room, his presence grounding.

We’re mid-conversation with a group of men in tailored suits when one of them—James, I think—turns to Joel with a polite smile.

“And who’s this?”

Joel hesitates. Just for a second. But I feel it.

His grip on my waist tightens slightly before he finally says, “This is—” He exhales, then settles on, “My date.”

I blink, fingers tightening around my champagne glass. My date. The way he says it—careful, deliberate—sticks with me, winding itself around my thoughts as the conversation moves on.

—

It’s late. The city hums around me, distant sirens wailing, the occasional car rolling by. The streetlights cast a dull glow over the sidewalk, and the smoke from my cigarette curls up into the thick night air. I don’t even smoke that much, not really, but sometimes it gives my hands something to do when my thoughts get too loud.

The apartment door creaks open behind me, and I know it’s him before I even turn my head.

Joel steps out, his boots heavy against the worn concrete as he lowers himself onto the step beside me. He doesn’t say anything at first, just stretches his legs out in front of him and rubs a hand over his face. He looks tired.

We sit like that for a while, the quiet between us stretching, comfortable but charged, like it always is.

And then, before I can talk myself out of it, I ask, “What are we doing, Joel?”

His head turns toward me slowly. I don’t look at him right away, just keep my gaze trained on the empty street in front of us. My fingers fidget against my knee.

I hear him sigh, long and deep. “You really wanna have this conversation now?”

I finally look at him, and he’s already watching me, his brow furrowed like he’s bracing himself.

“Yes, actually,” I say, keeping my voice steady. “Because it’s been—what? Months now? And we just keep—” I wave a hand between us, searching for the words. “We keep doing this. Whatever this fucking is.”

Joel runs a hand down his face, exhaling through his nose. “Y/n…”

“Don’t do that.” My voice is sharper than I intend. “Don’t say my name like that, like I’m asking for something ridiculous.”

He’s quiet for a long moment, staring down at his hands like maybe he wishes they could answer for him. Then he finally speaks.

“I don’t know what you want me to say.”

I let out a humorless laugh, shaking my head. “How about the truth?”

“The truth?” He looks over at me, his jaw tight.

“Yes, Joel,” I press, my voice raw now. “We sleep together. We spend all our time together. You take me to work things, I take you to family things. You leave your clothes at my place. You kiss me like it means something, and then—” I pause, my throat tight, my chest aching. “And then you act like it doesn’t. Like we’re just—” I shake my head, my voice catching. “Like we’re just something easy to walk away from.”

Joel’s eyes darken, his hands clenching into fists against his knees. “That’s not true.”

“Then what is?” My voice is barely above a whisper. “Because it feels real to me, Joel. And I think—I think it feels real to you too.”

Joel drags a hand over his face, looking away like he can’t bear to meet my eyes. “Y/n…”

“Just say it,” I plead. “Tell me I’m wrong and I’ll drop it.”

He watched me, his brown eyes dark under the low lights of the street. “You know why it ain’t that simple.”

I tilted my head. “Is it because I’m your friend’s kid? Or because you’re terrified that if you let yourself want this—want me—you won’t be able to stop?”

Joel’s jaw flexed. He had a tell—this little muscle that twitched when he was trying to hold back what he really wanted to say.

“You think I don’t want you?” His voice was lower now, rougher. “Y/n, I’ve been trying not to want you since the day I met you.”

Heat spread through me, but I wasn’t about to let him off that easy. “So stop trying.”

He doesn’t say anything. Just sits there, jaw tight, muscles coiled like he’s holding himself together by a thread.

And then, after what feels like forever, he exhales sharply and shakes his head.

“I can’t.” His voice is rough, broken.

My breath catches.

Joel looks over at me then, and there’s something raw in his eyes, something I don’t think I’ve ever seen before.

“I can’t, because you’re right,” he admits, voice low, unsteady. “It is real. It’s been real since the damn start. And I’ve been—” He exhales, shaking his head. “I’ve been tryin’ to keep it casual, keep it simple, because I thought maybe if I didn’t say it out loud, it wouldn’t be true.”

I swallow hard, my pulse hammering. “And what’s the truth?”

He looks at me then, really looks at me, and when he finally speaks, his voice is steady.

“I’m in love with you.”

It slams into me like a freight train, stealing the breath from my lungs.

Joel swallows, his gaze never leaving mine. “I’ve been in love with you. And I—I didn’t wanna say it. Because if I did, then it meant I’d have to admit to myself that this was never just a casual thing. That it was never just something I could walk away from.”

He leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his hands twisting together like he’s holding onto something fragile. “And that scares the hell outta me, y/n. Because I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be the kind of man you deserve. And I’d rather ruin myself keeping you close than lose you by not being enough.”

I don’t even realize I’m crying until a tear slips down my cheek.

Joel notices, his eyes flickering with something unreadable, and for the first time, he looks scared. Like maybe he’s already lost me.

But then, before he can say anything else, I shake my head, my throat tight.

“Joel,” I whisper.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t breathe.

And then, slowly, I reach over and take his hand in mine.

His fingers twitch under mine before he exhales, his whole body seeming to relax, like maybe—just maybe—he’s finally allowed himself to believe it.

I squeeze his hand, my heart pounding. “It scares me too.”

Joel’s eyes search mine, and for the first time, we don’t hide from it.

I can’t look away from him, not now, not after everything he’s just said. My breath hitches, heart thundering in my chest, and it’s like everything inside of me is pulling towards him, like I can’t fight it anymore.

Joel shifts, and for a second, I think he’s going to pull away, but instead, he leans in, his face inches from mine, his eyes flicking down to my lips.

Without thinking, I close the space between us, my hands finding his shoulders as I pull him closer. His lips crash into mine, urgent and hungry, like he’s been holding back for far too long.

The kiss is everything I’ve been waiting for—raw, desperate, full of all the things neither of us could say before. His hands slip into my hair, tugging me closer as if he can’t get enough, and I answer with the same intensity, matching the fire he’s ignited in me.

We pull back for a breath, both of us gasping, but before I can even say anything, he’s kissing me again, this time slower, more deliberate, like he’s savoring it, savoring me. His arms wrap around me, pulling me into him so tightly I feel like I might disappear into him.

I let myself fall into it, into him, into everything we’ve both been holding back. His lips trail down my jaw, to my neck, and I can feel the beat of his heart against mine, steady, grounding me.

“God, y/n…” His voice is thick, husky, and I can hear the rawness in it. “I don’t ever wanna let you go.”

I pull back just enough to look him in the eyes, my hands still tangled in his hair. “Then don’t.”

And just like that, the walls we’ve been building between us shatter. He pulls me into another kiss, even deeper this time, as if we both know there’s no turning back now. No more holding back.

I wrap my arms around him, holding onto him like I’m afraid he might disappear.

His hands slide down to my waist, holding me close, pulling me against him like he needs me as much as I need him.

When we finally break apart, it’s not because we want to, but because we have to breathe. I rest my forehead against his, my chest still rising and falling rapidly.

“I love you,” he whispers, voice soft but sure.

“I love you too,” I answer, my voice shaky but steady.

And when he pulls me into his arms, holding me tight, I know that this is it. This is the start of everything.

taglist: @aomi-recs @millers-girl @suzysface @picketniffler @justsarahbella @heartlessvirgo @paleidiot @orodaeh @ccmoonshine @joelmillerisapunk @callmebyyournick-name @urlivingdeadgirl @comfortzonequeen @partypoison00 @whaddupbaby

[marks-bby]

⠀⠀⠀ANNOYING "FWB"

⠀⠀⠀made for mohawk!mark but can be anymark

"cmon, mark. i have work!" — you groan, your body being bent over you bathroom counter. you wanted to fuck him once and now he won’t stop coming back, saying he’s “pussy hypnotized”.

“you don’t wanna give me any today?” — he chuckles, shedding his suit off. when he should be out terrorizing chicago, he’s here; blowing your back out.

he slides his hand down the valley of your back, his calloused hand a huge contrast to your soft, buttery-like skin. “you didn’t miss me?” — he feigns a hurt expression. “you’re batshit crazy. why would i miss you?” — you scoff, looking at him through the mirror.

that was true. the mental asylum wasn’t an option for him. knowing him, he’d spend his time there terrorizing the nurses for a fun time passing. “you love this batshit crazy guy. you keep letting me in after hours.” he pulls down your pants, still blabbering about how much you love and need him.

he wasn’t far off. you loved the sex. not him. in all honesty, you don’t know what exactly about him makes you keep coming back. he’s a maniac. he kills people. for all you now, one bad fuck and you’ll find yourself in a body bag.

“you love the way i make you squirm on my ton — ” — you interrupt him. “mark, enough! just get it over with already!” — you were getting frustrated and angsty, barring your bare backside being presented in front of him and him not taking any action.

he smiles wickedly, “if you say so.” he shrugs, his suit and boxers pooling around his ankles. he drags his firey tip up and down your soppy slit, teasing you. he chuckles, “come on, beg for me.” he grins devilishly at your hips trying to connect with his. he defies you, pushing your hips away.

“fuck. you.” — you seethe. “there she is.” — he snickers before easily slipping into you with how wet you were. “forgot how wet she gets.” — sshlop, sshlop.

the noises the two of you were lewd, disgusting enough that it made you water even more. he takes a fist of your hair, pulling you back and forming your spine into a ‘U’. “look at us. we’re perfect.” — he forces you to look at the scene before you, your body rocking back with every impact coming from his hips.

“look at herrrr.” — he smiles at the slight of his glistening c*ck. “fuck, you’re gorgeous.” — he leans backwards, his pace quickening. your ass ripples at the impact of his hips.

“come on, baby. remember when you squirted on me last time? can you do it again?” — he coos.

you remember that embarrassing moment. his face was stuffed between your legs, lapping at you live a starved animal. he didn’t give you any breaks, repeating that this is for him and not you.

you laugh breathlessly. “you think your d!ck can do that?” — your emasculating words flicked a switched. his hips came to a halt. with out another word, his hand leaves your hair and both settle on either side of your hips, holding you in place. you couldn’t escape now. you brought this on yourself.

“you wanna bet?”

[newtkelly]

tell me all the ways you love the make out scene

i genuinely love everything about it

i love that buck is so forward about taking tommy home, and that tommy looks shocked yet also sort of amazed at his luck. he’s truly giving top who can’t believe he gets to fuck that energy

i love the desperation they’re exuding, the fucking relief and release of energy. literally episode after episode of buck pining and miserable and yearning and it wasn’t all in our heads, it was genuinely building up to this erotic, cathartic moment

i love that they’re touching each other all over and that they both look so goddamn big. that buck is so dazed that he doesn’t react to a carpet landing on his head. that even when they part because tommy has questions, it’s short-lived and they gravitate right back to each other with another flirty little quip

best of all, i love that buck pulls tommy into his bedroom with a fist twisted into his shirt. he wants him and he’s not being coy about it or playing hard to get. he just fucking wants him so bad. there’s a wonder radiating off of the both of them, like they are stunned that they are lucky enough to have each other again. the way buck pulls him in is bratty and seductive, it’s so fucking hot how unafraid he is to show tommy how bad he wants it, and that’s always, always how i’ve pictured their sexual dynamic. it’s just the affirmation and validation of everything i’ve ever thought about them. they enjoy each other like this so much

and one more thing- it’s one thing for buck to say he’s into tommy, that he’s into men, that he has (or had) a boyfriend, but truly seeing buck and tommy getting dirty, the tangible evidence of his bisexuality- it’s a treat beyond what i ever expected. from his very first solo scene, sex has been at the center of buck’s character, and honestly, this scene connected this era of buck’s story to the core of the show

[big-robot-fan]

NGL, this is a really fun aspect of AUs. Like you start with the canon character, then you change the situation, then the new situation changes the character, then the character changes the situation, then the situation changes the character, and you repeat that forever and ever.

For (a very literal) example of a character mutating into an OC: I have Doctor Starline in the Ravenous Metal AU.

The AU is about Sonic and Metal Sonic being fucked up monsters in a symbiotic (and romantic) relationship. Starline was obsessed with Eggman, and everything he did was to prove himself to Doctor Robotnik. In this AU, Eggman is killed very early on, so not only does Starline step in earlier, but he isn't seeking to prove himself to Eggman, he's seeking to AVENGE him. This naturally makes his methods much more ruthless, and while canon Starline underestimated Sonic while creating Surge and Kit, RM Starline knows exactly what kind of atrocities Sonic and Metal are capable of. Surge and Kit aren't made to be "heroes" he controls behind the scenes, they're biomechanical weapons to be disposed of once their targets are neutralized. Worst of all, they're children. Approximately the age of Classic Sonic and Tails, Starline did not intend for either of them to reach adulthood. He doesn't even expect Kit to become a teenager.

Of course, despite the physical and mental changes Sonic has gone through, Sonic is still a hero. His sharp teeth and long claws aren't just used for tearing flesh, they're used for protecting the innocent. Sonic is very quickly able to earn the trust of Surge and Kit, becoming a significantly better father to them than Starline. He is able to use his interpersonal connections to rally multiple groups (The Restoration, G.U.N, etc) towards hunting down Starline. When they have him cornered, Starline has one last trick up his sleeve, he gives himself the same regeneration and adaptation abilities as Sonic... but that is his biggest mistake.

Death was his best option in that scenario. The factions were all fighting over who got to capture Starline, but now they all get a piece. The Restoration gets his decapitated head, kept in stasis outside of interrogations. G.U.N. takes his legs and lets him regenerate before doing their own interrogations and locking him in a maximum security prison. Sonic and Metal, they take his chest and essentially use him as a stress toy. Putting him through various forms and torture and inhumane punishments.

The 3 pieces of Starline mutate due to their unique scenarios. The head gains further increased intelligence and psychic abilities, The legs gain greatly increased agility and invisibility , and the torso becomes a senseless monster that knows only violence. They break each other out and work on an ultimate project to get revenge on everyone by becoming whole again. They create a geothermal powered laboratory in a volcano and work to combine their DNA so that they can become the ULTIMATE Starline. The "heroes" kill them all for good by throwing them into the magma and an eruption seemingly destroys the lab and everything inside it.

But it doesn't. The "Ultimate Starline" is still created, and it wants OUT. Not just out of the ruined lab, not just out of the volcanic rubble, it wants to be out and away from *anything* related to Sonic. He is the smartest version of Starline and has the memories of every version before him, and so he's come to the conclusion that fighting Sonic is not worth it. The way he sees it, the other Starlines that did those horrible things are all dead and have served their punishments, so he should just be left alone. Of course, nobody else believes him when he says he ISN'T after vengeance. But he knows that their precious Surge and Kit are ticking time bombs of lethal medical problems such as organ failure, seizures, and water toxemia. He knows that the original Starline destroyed any data that could help them find cures, prevent medical emergencies, or even know what exactly they need to prepare for. He knows that they have no choice but to let him fix his predecessors' mistakes and then accept his demands to be left alone.

Unsurprisingly, that last part is easier said than done. It's fucking Sonic, he takes laps around the planet as a morning jog. Lost Hex? Sonic's there. Little Planet? Sonic's there. Planet Wisp? Sonic's somehow there. The only logical step is to leave the entire dimension. Ultimate Starline creates a one-way, one use portal to the closest parallel dimension and... everything goes well. He finds a pretty modern civilization on the other side and manages to convince the rulers to let him work for them as a royal scientist. He changes his name to "Sirius" after the brightest star on his homeworlds night sky. The princess invites some guests from a far off land and- of course it's fucking Sonic and his crazy ass family of cyborgs and cannibals. But at this point, Sirius has planted his roots too deep to just pack up and leave; plus, this means that nowhere in the multiverse is safe from that blue nightmare.

”you can just make an oc” you dont understand anything. the character needs to mutate naturally until unrecognizable. like all evolutionary processes it takes time. you can’t force it or it doesn’t take. you must endure weird ooc thematically discordant versions of a guy until they bud off into beautiful new life. have patience

[bonus-links]

IMMA BE THE FIRST TO ASK (I HOPE) CUZ IM LITERALLY CHOMPING AT THE BIT DIRECTORS COMMENTARY PLEASE

GANON??? THE EYES???? BANGER UPDATE 👹

the people have spoken and they want director's commentary (this isn't even all of them lol) OKAY HERE WE GO

the original draft of this scene was much shorter, and Loft actually didn't say anything at all in it. As I kept making the chapter it started to feel weird that he would just. Let Ganondorf say his piece without contributing anything. i like this version of the scene much better

listen. I love WW Ganondorf. He's my favorite Ganondorf. I was going to find a way to fit him into this chapter no matter what

in particular, I love that you get a sense from WW Ganondorf that he is, on some level, sympathetic to Link. Or if not sympathetic, understanding of his place in all this. He tells Link that his gods have abandoned him, that he has not particular quarrel with him, etc. But ultimately it doesn't matter. If this is who the gods have sent to stand in his way, so be it. Essentially, it's not my fault the gods are so callous as to send a child after me.

we're going w the canon that WW Ganondorf is the same as OOT, or at least remembers being him. Don't ask me how. Nintendo doesn't know either

big ol eyeball. which could mean nothing

How does Ganondorf recognize Loft? by that stupid hat. jokes aside he doesn't know Which Link Specifically Loft is, but he's smart enough to figure out that he's a hero of some sort.

Likewise, Loft is smart enough to figure it out as well. He's spent a lot of his chapter thinking about Ganondorf, and if you'll recall from Ch1, he knows from Zelda that Ganon once had a mortal form. I think, from Loft's perspective, he has a hunch that this Ganon figure is the mortal reincarnation of Demise, the way Zelda is the mortal reincarnation of Hylia. I wanna emphasize that's what HE thinks might be going on based on his experiences. He's not the knower of all things. He has a conspiracy board in his mind

the face of a guy who's like. I am not going to be lectured to about morality from the King of Evil. I was very excited to let Loft be snarky at long last. But he also, notably, doesn't push back against what Ganondorf is saying that hard. He doesn't even say that he's wrong, just implies that he's probably a hypocrite. In fact, a lot of this update is about what Loft DOESN'T say or acknowledge

Ganondorf's opening line is about how much he hates that statue of the hero of time, because it's "such grandeur for a mere child". I think he means that at face value, but he's also making another point— the hero of time was a child, but they're not going to depict him that way in his monument. It's honestly sort of ambiguous with the actual model because of ww's style, but it looks like adult proportions to me. The story Wake grew up with calls him a child, but his monument in the castle is of an adult. That was the idea behind this set of panels, the parts of the Hero of Time's story that aren't going to be put on the pedestal

speaking of that I realized making this update that I literally. forgot the pedestal. I just didn't draw it all this time. in my defense the castle in no clip looks like this. no statue or pedestal

except I recently found out by accident that he's literally. under the floor. what the fuck

ANYWAY. I really liked the symmetry of Ganondorf turing to stone at the end of the dream. He won't get any perfect monuments made to him. Also, looks like there's a suspicious lack of water in the underwater castle. which could mean nothing

I'm not gonna comment too much on other details, because i've got to keep some of my secrets. I do think that this update gives a lot away HAHA though that was kind of on purpose. We're entering year 3 of this comic and we're finally starting to get places lolol

WAIT I ALMOST FORGOT loft looks the same way he did when he last touched the triforce

and we've seen a border similar to this before haven't we

that's all i got for now, thanks everybody! im having a blast reading ur comments <3

[nanamisgirly]

cw stepcest, p in v, fingering, everyone's 20+

caleb!stepbro is a certified perv, sniffing your panties when you're not looking—pressing them to his face, licking the pretty lace where your scent lingers the most.

caleb!stepbro doesn’t miss a chance to grab your little, soft plump ass when you pass by. his fingers sink in, a filthy, lingering grip that leaves heat in its wake. how could he resists when you were wearing a skirt that comes half-mid ass, exposing your perfect round curve :(((

caleb!stepbro who’s ruthlessly pounding into your pretty sweet cunt. the warm of your wall sending him over the edge as his flushed tip hits the deepest spot of your swollen pussy. thick veins molding your inside as you try to muffle your moan.

caleb!stepbro is maaad jealous when you invite your potential boyfriend over the house, meeting your parents.

caleb!stepbro watches you giggle at the loser like you aren’t getting your guts rearranged by him every night. he waits until you’re seated, innocent little hands on your lap, before slipping his fingers under the table, shoving them deep into your soaked cunt. the stretch makes you jolt, thighs trembling, and he leans in to whisper, ‘’be a good girl and eat your dinner. don’t wanna make a scene, do you?’’ but he keeps fingering you, spreading you open, making you drip all over the seat. your poor date wondering what got you all flustered :((

and when the loser you invited over finally leaves? caleb!stepbro hunts him down. presses him against the wall, eyes dark, knuckles cracking. “you ever do as much as look at my little sister,’’ he sneers, shoving him back so hard he stumbles, “and i’ll rip your fucking balls off and shove ‘em down your throat.’’ the guy doesn’t even last five seconds before bolting—running from the devil himself.

and you’re left confused when your little crush blocks your number, whining to caleb!stepbro about it—weren’t you pretty enough?

and caleb!stepbro assures you he’s just dump as he buries his cock to the hilt inside your tight cunt. “he’s a loser,” he says as his palm cracks against your tits, making them jiggle, fingers tweaking a nipple before his teeth scrap against the sensitive bud, biting just enough to make you wail. he flicks his tongue over it, groaning when you clench down hard on his cock. “this tight little cunt was made for me. You hear that?” he thrusts hard—a filthy, brutal grind that has you seeing fucking stars. “Made to take every fuckin' inch of me.” his hand drifts down to the swollen bulge in your stomach, where his cock stretches you full, stopping just beneath your bellybutton. he groans, dark and guttural, when you sob out his name, your body trembling from the sheer depth of him. “Poor dumb baby,” he coos, dragging his cock out slow, watching your fluttering hole gape before he slams back in, punching the fucking air from your lungs. “You really thought you were meant for someone else, huh?”

૮ ྀི◞ ⸝⸝ ◟ ྀིა

[majestyeverlasting]

｡･ﾟﾟ･ 𝐁𝐄𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐂

“And all I can think about every time you leave is how I let you walk away without telling you how fucking much I enjoy you being around.”

AWWWWWFIJGKS 😩😩🥹🩷🩷

Jk. In all seriousness, this fic is so special to me.

I was scrolling through the reblogs after this reread, and I'm shocked by how long some of you guys have been reading my work. Time really does fly. I'm so grateful for those of you who've been following me for a while, and for all the new readers I've gained along the way.

This was literally me reading the usernames:

Writing this fic was so enjoyable. I'm such a sucker for friends to lovers, and I really wanted to create an air of ease around them. One that really made you believe they've known each other forever and are completely gone for one another even though they hadn't quite said it out loud.

There's so much I could say, but I'll be brief and start with the opening scene.

If I'm remembering correctly, the foundation of this fic was built on the concept of making a wish on an eyelash. I thought it would be the sweetest thing to open with reader taking one off Eddie's cheek. I love starting during small, intimate moments like this when it feels right for the story.

As soon as Eddie feels the pad of your finger meet the skin of his cheek, his lips curl into a soft smile.

Uggh. I just love that mental image.

I'd also like to rally a little commotion for the title drop that occurs a little later (spoken by reader). It's ironic but in the best way.

“Here I was thinking this was gonna be just another Friday night.” 

My approach to choosing of titles is to skim through the fic when it's complete to look for lines of dialogue or description that capture the essence of the story in some way, shape, or form.

This whole fic just feels very youthful, and fun, and sincere. I'm so happy to have shared it with the world. Thank you to everyone who has given this fic a chance (and continues to!). It means so much to me.

-Hannah 🤍

Just Another Friday Night

This piece contains 18+ content and explores the idea of Eddie as a soft dom.

Pairing: Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

Summary: Eddie Munson's been your best friend since fifth grade. And on a night you think is going to pass just like any other, you realize you can't keep running from the way you feel.

Word Count: 6.2k

A/N: I hath returned. So excited to finally have this one out for you guys! Hopefully the person who requested this many moons ago is still somewhere in my orbit.

As soon as Eddie feels the pad of your finger meet the skin of his cheek, his lips curl into a soft smile. It brings small lines to the corners of his eyes and reveals the glint of his teeth in the dim light. Concentration sparkles in your eyes like water does beneath the moon. 

Both of you are seated on his messy bed. Him with his legs falling over the edge, and you angled towards him with your legs crossed. His breaths are steady, fingers lax from no longer strumming the strings of his guitar. 

When you finally manage to collect the fallen eyelash from his cheek, you hold out your pointer finger for him to see. If you’d been focussed on the song he was playing rather than studying his face, you never would’ve noticed the tiny hair to begin with. 

“M’kay.” His eyes flick back up to meet yours. “Now what?” 

You raise your finger closer to his lips. “You’ve got a wish to make.”

If there was anyone deserving of one, it was him. It had been almost a year since he crawled out of the Upside Down by the skin of his teeth. Half alive. You remembered all the long nights you’d spent by his hospital bed as he recovered.  

An air of weightlessness washes over both of you after Eddie blows it off your finger. As if somewhere far away, the course of time and happenings shifted in his favor.

“You can finish your song now. Sorry.” Smiling shyly, you tuck your hands into your lap and wiggle to get comfortable.

He smiles wider, but makes a quick work of tampering it back down. 

When he begins playing, you make sure to focus this time, letting the music soak in and flow through you. The passion is palpable, along with the underlying sense of purpose that hangs off the tail end of each resonant note. 

You’d been around to listen to him since the days he played off-tune chords with unsteady hands. As he sat playing now, hair curtained around his face, you knew he could easily captivate thousands if given the chance. 

As the song winds to an end, he looks at you and his fingers slow as the notes dissolve between you. The only thing left for you to do is applaud. Your approval makes him feel like there’s electricity buzzing beneath his veins. 

He absentmindedly strums a few quiet notes to keep his fingers busy, eyes remaining on you. “You’re the first person to hear it all the way through.” 

“Really? I loved it.” Honesty drips like honey from your words. 

He looks down to the fingerboard so you don’t see the faint flush of his cheeks. “Thanks. Lotta practice.”  

When he stands to hang his guitar back on the wall, you watch the way his shoulder blades shift under his t-shirt. You don’t mean to look as hard as you do. There was something captivating about the way he moved. Some days, he couldn’t sit still, but there were also nights like this one where he seemed to have embodied the very essence of ease. 

“So are you gonna add it to your setlist?”

He doesn’t answer right away, making sure Sweetheart is mounted securely. 

“Maybe after I’ve cleaned it up a bit,” he says. “The turnouts have been sick lately.” Gratitude glints in his eyes as they meet yours. 

Playing in front of a crowd at The Hideout was incomparable to selling out a venue like The Garden. But Eddie swore the gratification felt the same. With each new show, it’d been getting harder to find you in the crowd because of how many people had finally started giving him and the boys a chance. He never thought that locating you amid a sea head-bobbing bodies would be a pleasure he ever had. 

“Will I be getting a raise for spreading the word?” You tilt your head and bite back a smile.

He plays along as easily as breathing, biceps flexing as he crosses his arms. “You already eat my snacks, steal my jewelry, and make me drive you around,” he lists. “I don’t know what else there is to offer you, but it sure as hell won’t be Benjamin’s.” 

You have the nerve to blink up at him like a fawn. “It’s not my fault you hardly tell me no.” 

You make it easy to say yes a million times over. Again and again. 

There’s nothing for him to quip back with, so he sighs and studies you for the umpteenth time that night. There’s something amused about the glimmer in his eyes, but a fondness there as well. You’re wearing soft pants and a baggy sweater, looking effortlessly beautiful in a way that only you can manage. 

Guilt wastes no time prickling beneath his skin when you curl in on yourself a bit, self-conscious. You’ve never grown used to the way he makes you feel so seen. Part of you fears he can see right through to feelings you’ve been fighting to keep tucked away. 

He clears his throat and runs a hand through his eternally disheveled hair. 

“Maybe I should get better about that then,” he decides. “Start telling you no more often.” A lighthearted smile pulls at his lips. 

You look over at his alarm clock so you don’t drown within the increasing warmth of his umber eyes. You’re not ready to fall even though that’s what it feels like you’ve been doing for so long. 

He bites his lip in preparation for the weight of his next words, “I’ve been meaning to tell—“ 

“My folks are expecting me back by ten.” It’s the first thing you can think to say despite the fact that they hardly ever give you curfews. “I forgot to mention it sooner.”

“Oh.” He glances to his nightstand to scrutinize the red numbers glowing on the clock. Disappointment swells within him and makes him fidget. “How the hell is it almost ten already? Thing’s gotta be broken.” 

He pats the top of the device as if the right time was suddenly going to appear. “You can’t say for ten more minutes?” You shake your head apologetically. “How ‘bout five?” Another head shake. “Fuck—a minute thirty?” 

A laugh bubbles up your throat, making a helplessly gooey feeling melt down the walls of his chest. 

All too soon, with no success in convincing you, he’s walking you out to your car. 

The night’s chill nips at both of you without reprieve. You hug your arms and break into a jog to escape it faster, leaving Eddie slowly striding behind you in hopes of prolonging his last few moments with you. 

He watches you hop inside your family’s old station wagon and give the engine stuttering life. The headlights are soon to follow, illuminating a cluster of jittery moths. 

The feeling of his stare boring into the side of your face through the window makes you give into the urge to crank it down, handle squeaking faintly along with your movements. 

“Stop looking at me like that.” 

“Like what?” He huffs out a chuckle. “Where am I supposed to look? Up?” He tips his head backwards, and his demeanor immediately shifts. “Hey, the stars are out.” 

You peer through the windshield to see for yourself. Sure enough, countless of them shine like dull guardians miles and miles above lonesome Hawkins. They seem to span forever in every direction. The child in you looks for any surges of brightness or streaks that would indicate a shooting star. 

“The view’s better out here.” There’s a persuasive lilt to his voice. 

You don’t dare get out of the car. If you do, you wouldn’t make it home at all. It was getting too easy to be in his presence, like he was the bread and you were the butter that helplessly melted on top because you knew it’s where you belonged. 

“I really gotta go, E.” You swallow the sadness that wants to color your words as you buckle your seatbelt and settle back into the seat. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

He kicks at a cigarette butt on the ground, and nods. You were always within arms reach, yet lightyears away. 

“Tomorrow,” he repeats. “Copy that.” 

A silence settles between you. The only sounds that prevail are the hum of your car engine, crickets, and muffled peels of laughter carrying from a few trailers down. 

Every time, it was you who pulled away at the eleventh hour before the dawn of something new. 

“Good night, Eddie.” 

•••

The cash register snaps closed with a resonant clamber. A beat later, you’re reaching out to take your change from the middle-aged lady thoughtfully chewing a piece of pink bubblegum behind the counter. The two of you are the only souls in the store. Humming freezers and a quiet instrumental soundtrack fill the air. 

She speaks up as you turn to leave, “You alright there, sweetheart?” 

“Just tired.” You sheepishly raise the bag carrying the Melatonin you’d purchased. 

Even God knew you weren’t going to be able to fall asleep on your own tonight. You’d lie awake thinking of all the reasons why you should’ve stayed. 

You take the time to read her name tag then: Irene. 

Her frown is sympathetic. “It’s a boy, isn’t it?” Warmth rushes to your cheeks. She then leans onto the counter and you feel compelled to take a step closer. “What’s his deal?” She studies your face for any hints before asking a different question, 

“What’s your deal?”  

You shrug lamely, and Irene tilts her head. You don’t owe her an answer, but you can’t help but feel as though you need to hear it for yourself. 

“I’m scared.” 

“It’s okay to be scared.” She blows a bubble and it pops neatly without sticking to her lips. “But it’s up to you to decide if you wanna be scared forever.”

•••

Eddie’s staring up at the ceiling when a faint series of knocks sound at the front door. Instead of moving, he blows out another cloud of smoke and watches as it dissipates into a thin haze in the air. The breeze entering through the cracked window helps filter it out. It isn’t until the knocks get louder that he’s convinced his mind isn’t playing tricks on him. 

What he’s not expecting is for you to be standing at the door. 

“Hi,” you say softly. 

He doesn’t dare question his luck. “H-Hey.” Eddie lowers the joint from between his lips and turns away from you to quickly exhale. “Tonight, uh, doesn’t count.” 

He was supposed to be taking a break from smoking, and you’d promised to help keep him on track. But now, as he stood doing just that for the first time in two months, it wasn’t the joint that captured your attention. It was the reason why, the conflicted look in his eyes that the pungent haze failed to mask. 

His next words get cut off with a cough, and he doesn’t bother trying to say them again. 

You're met by warmth when he motions you inside. Guilt tries to convince you that you don’t deserve another chance, fear says you’re going to blow it. 

“Eddie?” He raises his eyebrows. “I’m really sorry.” 

The way he nods suggests he knew your curfew was fabricated from the start. “Don’t sweat it,” he lifts his shoulder. “I’m gonna go put this out.” He holds up the joint. 

You trail him back to his bedroom, where your eyes roam idly over the posters covering the walls. Different things to say rise to the tip of your tongue, but none of them spill over. 

Eddie turns towards you when he’s done. 

“You didn’t have to lie.” Your shoulders sink as you meet his gaze, but he easily turns to humor, “You could’ve just told me you were tired of being cramped up in a trailer. I probably would’ve agreed.” 

You can feel the ghost of a smile on your face, but you still mean your next words, “I feel like the worst person in the world.” 

His nose wrinkles. “Maybe the fourth or fifth, but definitely not the worst.” 

In spite of everything, both of you find it within yourselves to laugh. It feels good, mending. 

You regain your composure before Eddie, and upon noticing he tries even harder to quell his amusement. It takes a few extra seconds because he’s high, but he finally manages to get himself under control. 

He thinks before his next words, “I wasn’t expecting you to come back. You never do.” A lump forms in your throat as you toy with the hem of your sweater. “And all I can think about every time you leave is how I let you walk away without telling you how fucking much I enjoy you being around.”

You swallow. “I know you do.” 

He shakes his head. “I like hanging out with the guys too—I’ll hang out with anybody if they’re cool.” You watch him with doe eyes as he speaks. “But you, you’re a whole different story. You drive me crazy in the best fucking way ever.” Those words hang thick in the air. “When I blew that eyelash of your finger, I wished—”

“Wait,” you hold out a careful hand, butterflies fluttering in your stomach. “Don’t tell me.” Part of you wants him to, but not at the expense of the wish not coming true. 

That keeps him quiet for a few seconds. He’s still charged from his confession, electricity having taken the place of blood within his veins. 

“You came back,” Eddie states instead. “Why?” 

His eyes don’t leave you, and you take in his entirety for the first time since you’ve been back. Long hair, short sleeve Metallica shirt, faded pajama pants. He doesn’t have his chest puffed out or his chin turned up in that charming way he often does when he’s working a crowd or a group of friends. 

He’s leveled. No guard up, no mask on, just Eddie. 

The one who’s been by your side since fifth grade. Who could make your sides ache on the days when laughing was the last thing you thought you could do. Who got on your nerves almost every time you were together, but still managed to be one of your favorite people in the world. 

“You know how you always say there’s no shame in running?” you ask, shifting your weight. You’d sat in on enough of his D&D campaigns to have heard that phrase uttered. 

He nods. 

“Well, we both know it’s also worth something when you have the guts to stay. So this is me choosing not to run anymore.” From your feelings or from him. 

The room shrinks and grows one hundred degrees hotter when Eddie moves to stand closer to you. He reaches out to grasp your hand, calluses brushing your skin. The chunky metal rings adorning his fingers glint. 

Your next breath stalls as he presses your palm flat against the left side of his chest. The quickened rhythm of his heart drums against it fiercely. A mix of vulnerability and courage are married in his eyes. 

“Same,” you whisper, and his lips twitch upwards. “Here I was thinking this was gonna be just another Friday night.” 

You let your hand fall from his chest. 

A grin breaks across his face like dawn, more tender than it’s ever been. “I’m glad it’s not.” 

Time slows as he cups your face, eyes flitting over every detail as if to memorize it all over again. “You’re so fucking pretty.” He whispers it like there’s nothing to question, like he's been waiting forever. 

You don’t mean to smile as wide as you do. His heart skips a beat, maybe two. He’s done holding back from what he’s been wanting to do for so long. 

Not another second passes before he presses his lips to yours. 

They move with careful earnesty. Despite the fact that it feels like your entire body bursts into stardust, you kiss him back with an innate sense of knowing. You can feel the puffs of air from his nose fanning over your skin, the way his thumbs brush over your cheeks. It’s intoxicating in a way that makes you weak in the knees. Even with the newness of it all, there’s an air of ease and familiarity that you lose yourself within. You don’t worry if you’re doing it right. 

By the time he pushes you backwards to sit on the edge of his bed, he’s taken off your sweater and tossed it onto the floor, leaving your pale pink bra newly on display. 

From your seated position, you watch him pull his own shirt over his head, further disheveling his hair. His milky skin hosts a myriad of dark tattoos and fading scars. Anticipation swirls in your core as he encourages you to lay on your back, propping himself overtop of you. He pecks the tip of your nose before slotting his lips over yours once again. 

A surprised sound escapes you when his lips begin to plant a trail of kisses along your jaw and down the side of your neck, head tilting to give him more access. The moment your conscience catches up to reality, you push at his chest and he immediately pulls away. 

“Too much?” He studies your face. You can’t bring yourself to say no because you don’t want it to end. 

“I think I just need a second. Sorry.” Embarrassment clings to your words, but you muster a shaky laugh. “I’m not used to this kinda thing.” 

Eddie had experienced his share of sporadic flings, but his feelings never ran as deep as they do for you.  

“You’re okay,” he soothes. “I may like pushing your buttons, but ‘m not gonna do anything you don’t want me to, alright?” 

In all your years of knowing him, he’d never given you reason to believe he’d ever discount your feelings. Or that he was even capable of doing so. 

You raise a hand to cup his cheek. “Let’s keep going.” 

“You sure?” He turns his head to kiss your palm. “Absolutely positive?” He dips down and playfully nips at your collarbone. “Cross your heart?”  

You bite your lip to keep from giggling, but fail when he begins to move lower. He drinks in your laughter like it’s an elixir. 

He continues a disorderly line of kisses down your stomach, and your mind is beyond hazy by the time he reaches the waistband of your jeans. You don’t utter any words of protest when he kneels to pop the button open. The subsequent sound of your zipper being pulled down might as well be thunder with how quiet the room has grown aside from it. 

Your panties are the same pink as your bra, trimmed with thin lace that makes Eddie dizzy. Without waiting for him to ask, you lift your hips for him to pull down your pants. Once they’re on the floor, he runs his hands over both of your thighs, trying his best to memorize the feeling. You briefly close your eyes when his fingers ghost over the soft fabric of your underwear. Nerves bundle low in your stomach to the point where you feel like a live wire laying exposed before him. 

“You’re gonna be the end of me,” he says like a scripture. 

“Me?” you peer down at him in disbelief. 

“Yeah, you. Who else?” He lifts the thin waistband of your panties and lets it snap back down to your skin. “I’m gonna take ‘em off.” He only makes the announcement to give you a chance to refute it. 

Rather than doing so, you brace your feet so you can lift your hips for him once more. 

You’ve known him for the better half of your life. If anyone, your trust can reside in him. 

A string of awed expletives slip past his lips when there’s nothing left between him and your heat. To stop himself from staring, he turns his face into your thigh to suck a bruise into the plush skin. You don’t realize that’s what he’s doing until you feel the tiny pinch that stings so good. 

Your silence is perceived as permission to switch to the other leg to do the same. You can hear your heart in your ears, and regard it as a reminder that you’re alive and breathing during a moment you never thought would come. 

You’re marked now, his.

He runs a gentle finger from your clit to your wet folds, and your own sensitivity surprises you when your thighs snap closed and trap his hand. 

“Sorry,” you breathe, slowly blooming them open again. You make the mistake of meeting his gaze, where fondness seems to radiate like imperceivable rays of light. 

After pressing a kiss to the space just beneath your navel, he stands and climbs onto the bed with you. You sit up and look to him for further direction. 

An easy smile spreads across his face as he settles with his back against the wall where a headboard should be. 

“C’mere,” he stretches his legs out in front of himself. 

You crawl to him and sit so that your back is pressed against the warmth of his bare chest. It isn’t until you shift that you feel his erection pressing into your rear. 

You peek back at him with hot cheeks. “Sorry.”  

Eddie drops a kiss to your shoulder. “You’ve apologized five hundred times tonight.” You shrink in on yourself because you know it’s true. “You’re not allowed to anymore, capeesh?” 

You nod. 

“Now prop your legs up, buttercup.” You can hear the smile in his voice that hopes you caught his rhyme. 

You press your feet into his sheets and spread your knees into a V. 

His pointer finger finds your clit without warning, applying just enough pressure to hitch your breath. You’ve touched yourself before, but had never taken the time to truly gain an understanding of the deeper pleasure there was to be felt. 

Here Eddie was, showing you what you didn’t know about yourself.

He switches to rubbing your bundle of nerves with his thumb while his middle finger glides through the slickness of your folds, making you clench with want. You reach between your legs with the hope of helping, or perhaps egging things along, but Eddie tuts. 

“Hands off or I’ll stop.” His tone is gentle and commanding all at once. 

Even though you follow his instructions, he still withdraws his touch. A protest ends up dying in your throat when you feel his fingers undoing the clasp of your bra and pushing the straps down your goosebump-laden arms. It soon joins the rest of your clothes on the floor. You’ve never been so bare in front of another person. 

“Jesus, look at you,” he murmurs. His large hands raise to cup your breasts, fingers experimentally pinching both of your pebbled nipples. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen a more beautiful sight. 

You watch with hooded eyes and parted lips. Caught off guard when he grabs your hands and redirects them to your chest to take over for him. You tentatively pinch your nipples in the same way he’d done, sending minute shockwaves through your body. 

“There you go,” he coos into your ear. A gasp falls past your lips when his hand dips back between your legs to ease the tip of his middle finger into your entrance. As he pushes it in further, your toes curl tighter. 

But his touch disappears yet again, making an exasperated breath leave you as your head falls backwards onto his shoulder. 

“Eddie,” it’s a whine. “Are you teasing me?”

“No. I forgot to take my rings off.” They clink as he drops them onto the nightstand. “But I think I will now since you just had to say something.” The charged promise of those words sends a chill down your spine.

You’re begging three minutes later. A melodic mix of weakened pleads, his name, and incoherent bargains that only make him smile. 

He’s trapped you on the edge of a freefall. Your thighs ache from tensing, and the strong pulse of arousal between your legs consumes the entirety of your mind. His two middlemost fingers pump in and out of your entrance with no sense of urgency, curling into that spot within you that makes you want to shatter. Whenever he senses that you’re about to topple over the edge, he pauses to let a few seconds crawl by. 

It’s scary how good he is at reading you. At holding the reins. 

“I can’t anymore,” you breathlessly insist, pressing back into him. “Eddie, please.”

“Sure you can.” He suckles the spot beneath your ear. In your head, you scream at him in frustration but in reality you squeeze your eyes shut. 

He doesn’t know who he’s teasing anymore. Listening to you whimper and feeling you squirm has him twitching and straining in his boxers. 

Somewhere along the line, he remembers mercy. 

As soon as the cord within you snaps, your back arches and your walls flutter helplessly around his fingers. Your orgasm crashes over you in strong heated waves, each one fizzling out in their own time, making you tremble. 

When your breaths grow even again, he slowly pulls his fingers out of you as you watch, awed and silent. You place a hand on his thigh to ensure he stays close. 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises. 

The two of you sit in silence for a while, basking in the warmth of each other’s body, the new air between you. It’s as if you’re waiting to be roused from a dream. 

“I wanna keep making you feel good,” he eventually murmurs into your ear, smirking when you shiver. “Will you let me do that?” 

The feeling of his erection pressing into your backside suddenly registers in your mind again, and you reach behind you to curiously palm the outline through his pajama pants. He feels it in his bones. 

“You can do whatever you want,” you tell him.

Eddie grabs your waist and gently pushes you forward so you know to let him get up. You settle in the middle of the bed and pull your legs up to your chest in a halfhearted reclaim of modesty. 

He stalks over to his dresser and scans the cluttered surface with his lower lip pulled between his teeth. You trace his back tattoos with your eyes. After pushing a few stray trinkets aside, he makes a sound of frustration.  

“What's wrong?” you ask. 

He continues looking. “Coulda sworn there was a condom lying around up here.” 

After a beat, you crawl to the edge of his bed so you can peek into the drawer of his nightstand. There’s notebooks filled with song lyrics, old magazines, a Walkman, batteries, guitar picks. No square foils in sight. 

“Can’t we still…” your words fade when he meets your gaze, but he gives you an encouraging nod. “You know. If we’re extra careful, right?” Your voice is just above a murmur by the time you stop speaking. 

The innocence seeping from your gaze makes a helpless fool out of him. 

The next thing you know, he’s pulling his pants and boxers down in one go, cock springing up towards his belly as you watch with owlish eyes. A dark tuft of hair curls at the base, and the head is a pretty shade of rose that’s beading pearlescent pre-cum. A prominent vein snakes along the underside. 

You’re more than ready. It’s the lightning in a bottle type sureness that you can’t believe you’ve come to know so well. The second he starts moving towards the bed again, you reposition onto your back. 

Though you don’t utter a single word, every unspoken thought from your mind seems to shape his smile. It’s not entirely proud, there’s a hint of softness to it. Something giddy residing just beneath the surface that takes the edge off the intensity of his gaze. 

A comforting heat radiates from his body as he positions himself overtop of you. 

He reaches between your legs to collect the tell tale sign of your arousal on his fingers, and your eyelashes flutter. “Nice and ready for me, huh?” 

The tone of his voice makes you want to hide. You feel small and on top of the world at the same time. Eagerness is written all over your face. And in the way your chest rises with quicker breaths. How your fingers are curled into the sheets. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” You’re glad he does because you’re certain all words would fail if you tried to speak. 

All you can do is blink up at him, propping your legs on either side of him as he lines himself up at your entrance. 

It’s overwhelming at first, incomparable to his fingers. But he takes it slow, watching your face the whole while. Before you know it, you’ve stretched to take the entirety of his length, and his eyes are glued to where you’re joined. 

He bottoms out with a satisfied grunt, hair falling into his face. The fullness makes up for the dull ache. Especially as he begins to slowly pull out in preparation for another pump. A gasp escapes you the second time he eases back in, and your face scrunches with the new depth that comes with hooking your legs around the back of his thighs. 

“If you wanna stop at any point just tell me, okay?” He tries his best to keep his voice steady. 

“Okay,” you whisper shakily. 

He finds a rhythm before long, cheeks flushed right along with his chest. He looks beautiful like this. Even his pleasured sighs and huffs rush straight to the pit of your stomach. 

“Lemme hear you,” his voice comes out gruff. “Stop holding back.” 

You swallow a moan. “‘M not.” 

Unconvinced, Eddie rolls one of your nipples between his fingers, and your breath stutters on its way out. You don’t remember being this sensitive earlier, and a few more pinches have your mouth gaping open just as he expected. 

His thrusts grow pointedly harder, forcing the fire building in your core to burn brighter. 

“Oh, god—Eddie,” you finally choke out, gripping onto his biceps. 

He swears he grows impossibly harder, orgasm creeping even closer from its place in the distance. You’re so soft, so warm, so wet, squeezing him in a maddening way. Your blunt fingernails move to dig into the back of his shoulders, leaving crescent indents in their wake.

“Say my name again.”

“Eddie,” you sigh, helplessly clenching around him. “Eddie, Eddie, Eddie.” You sound dreamy. It rushes straight between his legs, and he can feel that familiar coil beginning to wear thin. 

Hearing you say his name like that was going to do him in. 

A sudden burst of confidence finds you. “You’re so deep—gonna make me come.” 

His hips falter and something shifts in his eyes. He starts drawing circles over your clit.

“I wanna feel you fall apart around me,” he says, and you nod because you want that for him. “But not until I say, alright?” 

Your stomach drops. 

When you don’t answer, he slows to a torturous pace that makes your head spin. “Gotta answer me so I know we’re on the same page.” 

“We always have been,” you half slur, drunk on him. 

As Eddie looks down at you, he sees a large fraction of his world woven into the delicate furrow of your eyebrows, the way your eyelashes meet the very tops of your cheeks, the part of your cherry-tainted lips. 

He lowers himself so that his chest is grazing yours as he continues thrusting, pubic bone dragging over your clit. The feeling of his warm breaths fanning into your ear makes you shudder, and when you arch up, you’re only met by more of his warmth, more of him. There is no escape, nowhere to run. Only accept. 

“Wish I could, shit, wish I could bottle this feeling in a fucking jar and keep it forever,” he grits into your ear. “Never felt anything this good… five stars from me.” He’s fighting to hold himself together. 

You miss half of those words because you’re on the verge of an ascension. 

“Eddie,” you breathe, somewhat startled. “Eddie, please. Can I come? I’m so close.” 

“How close?” 

Your voice goes airy and high because he’s hitting just the right spot. “‘M right there.” 

“Tell me how good I’m making you feel.” Whining, you claw into his skin with the intent of making it sting, but it only makes his shoulders shake with a chuckle. “I’ll shut this whole show down if you wanna play that game—” 

“So good!” you whimper, giving in. “You’re making me feel so good. Just… please.” You clench around him in hopes of earning an okay.  

It almost makes him fold, come right on the spot, but he still forces out a, “Not yet, angel. I gotta practice telling you no, remember?” 

His constant denial was only adding fuel to the fire of pleasure burning within you and he knew it.

By his next thrust, he could tell the beginnings of an unraveling had begun sweeping you under. Even though he sees it coming from a mile away, he nearly passes out himself when you let go.

Eyes closed, your walls flutter around him in a strong, rapid succession that carries on for a while. You’re being lifted somewhere higher than you’ve ever known. The world fades around the edges, and the distant sound of Eddie’s voice washes over you as your jaw slacks open.  

There you go, that’s it. Couldn’t hold back any longer, huh?

Only when aftershocks begin to spark through you do you realize how deep your breaths have grown, and the new laxity of your limbs that makes you feel like you’ve become one with his bed, trembling weakly. A wonderful ache resides between your legs. 

A gentle weight soon meets your lower stomach, and your eyes flutter open just enough to see. Eddie has pulled himself from within the warmth of you, and rested his slickened tip against your warm skin. You watch dazedly as he strokes himself a few good times before jolting and releasing onto your belly. 

All you get is a glimpse of his blissed expression before he leans down to tuck his face into your neck. You lift a hand to his head and gently scratch at his scalp as you feel him begin to place soft kisses to your throat. You can still feel his cock against your belly, and you work your other hand between your bodies to wrap your delicate fingers around him. 

His whole body shudders, and when you lightly circle your thumb around the tip your name breathlessly falls past his lips. 

He grunts and makes you stop when you start to do the same lazy motion again, and you chuckle weakly. 

“Oh, is that funny?” he asks, wrestling a smile. When you bite your lip and nod sweetly, he pushes himself up so he’s propped higher above you. “You wanna know what else is funny? I don’t think I ever gave you the green light to come.” 

You blink up at him innocently. “I couldn’t help it.” 

He begins tracing the underside of one of your breasts and you suck in a breath, gripping onto his wrist. He pulls from your hold, and that same hand trails down your body, over your ribs and down your sides. His fingers leave a tingly buzz in their wake. You try not to squirm too much because his spend is still on your stomach. 

“I’m trying to decide if I should do something about it or be nice,” he says, ghosting a finger over your oversensitive clit. 

When you whimper, his fingertips move to revisit one of the marks he left on the inside of your thighs, and the ticklish sensation makes your muscles tense as you huff out a tired laugh. He playfully quirks his brows at that reaction, but you can see the warmth in his eyes. 

You smile when he leans down to give your lips a sweet peck. “I’ll be nice,'' he promises. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” 

•••

When midnight comes, sleep has found neither of you. You’re both fighting it, trying to stay awake so you can continue sharing hushed stories, soft caresses, and smiles that warm you right along with the sheets covering your bodies. 

Your eyes are the first to begin fluttering, and Eddie stops talking when he notices. 

“No, keep going,” you murmur. “I’m listening.” 

“We can talk more in the morning,” he says. You shake your head no, and he chuckles. “Yes. Go to sleep.”

Before you have the chance to say anything else, he reaches out to turn the bedside lamp off. You press yourself closer to his body after he settles back beside you. 

Neither of you say anything for a while, so you begin to assume he’s dozed off. When he speaks up again, his words are soft and honest, “This is what I wished for. A moment just like this.” 

You mean to tell him that you think you’re in love.

-

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[dillydally6969]

CROWNED .ᐟ NAT SCATORCCIO

♱ fighting situationship!nat for the antler queen title, where you eventually knock her off the tip of the food chain

♱ cw; yj s3 spoilers, harsh language, angst, implied f!r, shauna storyline if u squint, >5k words

“loser says ‘what’.” mari snarked, brushing past shauna.

the butcher was about to snap back before nat jogged on-scene, shaking her head and shooting the raven-haired girl a disapproving glare. “knock it off, mar!”

upon hearing your lover’s voice, you looked up from your shared hut. mapping a route for the next hunt seemed far less interesting when the usual bickering began escalating.

“i’ll kill you, just give me a fucking reason-!” shauna yelled.

natalie rushed to physically keep the brunette from lunging at a timid mari. she held shauna by her sides, but her smaller frame gave her a slight disadvantage as the blonde struggled to hold her back. mari’s face dropped in a flash of panic before brushing it off with a scoff. “jesus, you’re a fucking psycho!”

“hey, hey, hey!” you barked, pouncing to your feet.

the others ceased whatever they were occupied with prior to the hassle, watching as you jogged over.

“shauna--hey! walk it off,” you hissed in shauna’s face, a hand on her chest as nat stepped back to brush herself off. you turned to see the blonde standing beside mari, hands on her hips as she made sure the taller was okay.

you glanced between the two of them. you grunted, “what the fuck are you two, children? get your fucking shit together.”

you caught the murderous glint in shauna’s eyes, and she was ready to do something she’d regret. it wasn’t the fact she was so willing to resort to violence that bothered you, no, it was the fact she was looking straight at nat.

your presence commanded the room, even in moments when things fell silent. nobody dared speak up, speak against you.

“y’know, this beef between you two is getting real old. and since the two of you want to act like children, you’ll be punished like it. i don’t want to see either of you in the same area again. i don’t care if you need to eat, piss or sleep, i don’t want you two within a fucking hair of each other. am i clear?”

neither of them responded, averting their gazes elsewhere.

“did i make myself fucking clear?” you repeated, a grumbled ‘yes’ and ‘whatever’ came from them before they dispersed.

once the grounds cleared and everybody returned to their duties, you eyed nat out of the corner of her eye. she sighed, hurt flashing in her eye as she turned to walk away, a hand on her head, fondling the edge of her bandana. “nat, i--!”

“i had it.” she mumbled softly, “you didn’t need to do all that.”

you know, for somebody who really didn’t like being queen, she sure had a problem when you stepped in to help. you knew her, and you knew the last thing she wanted was to be the leader of these animals when it came down to it. but whenever you’d try and share the seat, take some things off her shoulders, she’d get thrusted into a sour mood for the rest of the day. you sometimes wondered if she secretly resented you for doing her job just that much better than her.

“i was just trying to help,” you replied, following her as she walked back towards your hut. “nat--shauna was damn near about to cave your head in.”

“she wouldn’t have, okay? y’know what? it’s fine. thanks.”

she scurried through the opening to your hut, plopping down onto the makeshift bed of compiled cushions and worn clothes. you were left standing outside, watching as she went out of her way to ignore your insistent gaze.

you scoffed in disbelief at her attitude, spinning on your heel. you caught lottie’s eye from across the camp.

the girl beckoned you over with a single nod of her head, a mug in one hand as she adjusted the shawl draped over her shoulders with the other. you sauntered over, your hands on your hips. upon her patting the bench cloaked with flannels sewn into a table mat, you took a seat across from lottie.

“your influence is growing, y/n. it’s testing you.”

“yeah, this is on me for thinking you had something actually meaningful to say.” you ran a hand through your hair, ready to stand. “i’m not in the mood for your wilderness bullshit, lottie.”

“winter is coming, y/n, nat’s tranquil style of leadership may thrive in the spring, but she will be buried, along with all else under her hand once snow falls.” lottie reasoned.

you froze. your grip on the table cloth tightening.

“lottie, this wacky hippie shit is fine away from camp. i don’t care if you waste the better part of most days to sneak off with travis on your weird little sexcapades, but i’d appreciate if you’d show nat the respect she is owed.” you stood, nodding down at her, “thanks for the news flash.”

“you’re not stupid, y/n. you know her time is running out.”

“bye, lottie.” you called over your shoulder, sauntering your way back to your hut to finish routing the next hunt.

truth be told, you had begun doubting nat’s control over the peace yourself a while back. from the beginning, since lottie constructed the whole tier with her schizophrenic episodes, you had begun your subconscious climb to the top.

you knew, the moment nat drew the queen of hearts last winter that she was going to die, or she was to be crowned.

though you could not have been more thankful the latter happened, you knew nat was not mentally built to sustain the burdens she was forced to bore from her manifested guilt.

but antler queen nat wasn’t the nat you thought you knew.

she rarely spent time with you alone, always finding excuses to escape being intimate--sometimes, it’s not even physical intimacy. you’ll have a long, hard day at hunting and come home craving a night by the fire, beside the tawny-eyed beauty you spent the day thinking about, just savouring the crisp night air. but no. there was always something greater, something in need of her more than you were.

it was driving a wedge between you. and the others were starting to take notice as well.

as you disappeared into your hut, two pairs of eyes from the water station had been following your frame the entire time.

“damn, y/n should yell at me next, that was kinda hot.” van commented, earning a tiny shove to the arm from her girlfriend. “ow--hey! i’m just saying, why is nat even antler queen anymore? y/n’s the one who’s got shauna on a leash.”

tai groaned, “it’s just one of those unspoken things, alright? everybody knows it’s only a matter of time before y/n goes all nevermind on nat’s dangerous.”

the redhead shot the taller an amused look, “did you just make a nirvana versus mj reference?”

tai rolled her eyes, “shut up. my point is, don’t talk about it.”

“but, why? she’s not even hunting anymore, she just acts like the boss around here and call it a day. y/n keeps us fed, y/n keeps the atomic shauna bomb from nuking us all to death, i mean--!” van was practically yelling, prompting a quick slap of a hand over her mouth. muffled against tai’s palm, the taller could briefly make out, “-am i wrong though?”

tai dragged the shorter back to their hut in a hurry, yanking the blanket over their opening after snapping her head around.

“look, i also think nat’s lost it since we got through winter, but she still has y/n worshipping her like some weird god, and i’m not about to mess with the one person in this fucking camp that has a rifle.” tai huffed, “i mean, how twisted and scary do you have to be for shauna to listen to you?”

the hut fell silent for a moment. van tore through the pause with an indifferent, “…you think they’re fucking?”

two huts over, you found it hard to focus on the map in your hands. you, nat and travis had made it months prior at the beginning of your ventures. since then, you and your team consisting of gen and occasionally misty (in hopes of finding coach scott) have expanded the map beyond what the snow had constricted you to.

just two feet away sat nat, leant against the side of the hut. she refused to glance up at you, eyes trained on the book in her hand. it was worn around the edges, water stains and tears across the pages evident from where you sat.

feeling the crushing weight of the giant elephant in the room, you decided to confront the blonde.

“so, are you just not gonna talk to me?”

she exhaled deeply through her nose, not looking up. “yes.”

you tossed the map aside, slapping both your thighs as you stood. you settled beside her, your knee brushing against hers. you could tell she was contemplating whether or not to move away out of spite, her lip was doing the twitchy thing you had noticed it would whenever she thought.

“come on, nat. don’t be stubborn, let’s talk about this.”

“i have nothing to say,” she countered, “you saved me, just like you’ve done many times the last couple weeks.”

you felt like she was playing games with you. nat was never one to be open with her feelings, you knew that. despite her constant deflection, her dismissive behaviour and stubborn nature, you weren’t one to back down. never go to bed angry, especially not at this tiny little italian angel.

“baby, don’t do this.” you grabbed her hand, interlacing your fingers. internally relieved she didn’t resist, you watch her expression carefully. “i just get really worried shauna’s gonna go all stone cold steve austin on you.”

the blonde tried defying the urge glance at you, but she had already read the same sentence over a dozen times.

“y/n, anybody could walk past and hear you right now.”

you shrugged, leaning to press a kiss against hers knuckles. you traced you lips up her arm, humming against the skin of her collarbone. “better give them a show then.”

“y/n…” she gasped when you sucked lightly against her neck.

“yes, my queen?” you murmured, in that raspy tone you knew she was a sucker for. “still not talking to me?”

“okay--enough. i can’t have you stepping in anymore.”

you paused, pulling away. you glanced down at her quivering lip, swallowing thickly. you tilted your head. “what?”

“the stepping in and taking over, i just… it’s making people talk, they’re asking questions and i don’t want that.” nat confessed, her fingers praying away from yours. “i mean, mari and shauna’s been acting up more often, and misty’s being a pain about coach, i just need you to support me.”

her earnest voice made your chest tighten. you felt sick.

“oh,” you hummed softly, “okay.”

“thank you,” nat forced a smile. she stood abruptly, the warmth of her skin against yours fizzing into the air as she cleared her throat. “i’m gonna, uh, i’m gonna go talk to akilah. check in and see how the animal pen’s holding up.”

yup. you definitely resented antler queen nat with all of you.

at this point, you were determined to get her off that throne. you were desperate.

you were sick of giving yourself excuses as to why the one person you had once truly believed had your best interest at heart was making you feel like talking to you was the last thing she wanted to do.

like you were such a chore.

like she’d rather let akilah chirp about that stupid petting zoo than kiss you.

like she’d rather let fucking misty yap all day about her creepy obsession with coach than to have a good, normal conversation with you that didn’t concern your duty as the hunter or hers as the queen.

you were beginning to forget how her lips felt. what she tasted like. you hadn’t even gotten a hug, a cuddle at night. she would simply sleep beside you, like you were contagious.

fuck, you hated antler queen nat. did you mention that?

lottie was right. she was barely even queen anymore. she had no power over shauna and her incessant tantrums, she hadn’t been hunting since last winter when javi had been slaughtered, and she was growing sick of trying to contain her internalized guilt, the anger gnawing at the bars, threatening to throw her into a state of hysteria so deep into the burrow she would not be able to claw her way back out.

you were the hand that ruled by your own instincts, undaunted by posed danger (civil or foreign) and merciless. you were willing to stare a doe down before shooting between its eyes.

you sought guidance from within your own voice.

unlike lottie, you didn’t desire approval from a higher authority.

unlike nat, you weren’t stunted by your humanity.

you were the fix, the stricken balance between morality and benevolence. you’ve earned the respect you get from your peers--you’ve earned their loyalty. you were the high priestess. and you deserved to be antler queen.

since, you’ve been pursuing--no, preying on the throne.

“what’re you thinking? you can’t just go and hunt him down like he’s some animal--y/n, will you drop the fucking gun and please listen!” the distress in her voice almost made you yield to her instruction.

but you weren’t nat’s little jester. not anymore.

after days of mari’s absence, she had finally stumbled her way back onto camp. she was in much rougher shape than when she had departed. her eyes were bloodshot and her leg was wrapped in some shitty makeshift cast. she was lying to you about her whereabouts the last few days.

all you had to do was lean down, your hands on your knees as you levelled with mari’s sitting figure. with a clenched jaw and a snarl, you asked her a single question: “where is he?”

and that alone was enough to crumble the deceit she initially vowed she would stick to (for coach’s sake).

from the state of his health, his newfound resources, to his refuge, mari did not hold back on spewing information.

and now, you were ready to avenge for the loss of the cabin.

“i’m done listening, natalie. all i fucking do, is listen, and where has that gotten us? at least here, we can be sure if he’s actually innocent, we can keep him fed. because how i see it, running just made him look guilty.” you stuffed ammo into the utility belt akilah and melissa had crafted for you. you looped it over your head, strapping it right across your chest.

“so, what, you’re gonna kill him? he has one leg, for christ’s sake!”

“i’m not going to kill him. i’m going to bring him back here and choke some answers out of him.” you strapped the rifle to the back of your belt. “whether you like it or not.”

“he fled because he’s innocent, y/n, you know this. you know him, he wouldn’t risk all our lives like that.”

nat reached for your belt, but you grabbed her wrist before she could yank it off of you.

“then i guess i’ll get to hear it from him.”

you let go of her wrist, brushing off the way she caressed the tender skin with a frightened grimace. grabbing your own bandana, you wrapped it around your head, letting a couple loose strands fall to frame your face.

“i’ll have him back before sundown. prep the pen for holding.”

nat could not believe her ears. she could not believe such words were coming from your lips. you never defied her wishes, you never sided with a defector as led astray as shauna, you never unsettled her the way you did right now.

how ruthless you were being. how cutthroat.

nat didn’t recognize you, and it disturbed her deeply.

you marched out of your cabin, seeing shauna was already geared up and waiting in the centre by a dormant bonfire. her hair was up, and her knife was tightly wound in her fingers.

“anybody who’s willing to come help, grab a weapon. if you’re not, i don’t want to see anybody leaving this camp until we’re back.” you barked eyeing the circle that had gathered around you. “nat has decided she will not be stepping up to help, and i know many of you will choose to stay by the antler queen.”

you jerked the rifle off your back, cocking in, basking in the lingering echo of the startling sound.

“but if you have an ounce of respect for everything we’ve built here, i suggest you bring this man to justice. ‘cuz he took away our shelter, and because of him, we’ll have to live through the coming winter knowing we might not wake up one morning.” you rested the snout of the rifle on your shoulder, “so, who’s ready to catch some coach ass?”

sharing glances with each other, gradually the team scattered to do as they were told. shauna’s lips quirked up in satisfaction, the most you’ve seen of a positive mien from the brunette.

first, travis left to grab the axe from the lumber station.

then, tai and van submitted in silence, hoisting a fireplace poker and a hunting net respectively.

you caught sight of lottie’s unreadable expression. she observed from the very back of the pack, her arms crossed and her eyes stern. you struggled to make out a lone thought or emotion from her features, but the slight cock of her head to the side gave you all the approval you needed.

as more than half the team, those who are well and uninjured, volunteered themselves to follow your lead, the sudden sound of twigs and leaves crunching from behind you sounded.

eyes followed nat storming back to your hut across camp.

you looked down to the ground, gulping. any other day, you would’ve followed her, consoled her. but you had greater duties to attend to, as she had. she couldn’t hold it against you, but she did, and that deepened her guilt.

you shut your but one last glance before you led the party off into the woods.

they trailed after you like ducklings after their mother, wielding torches and rope in preparation for the hunt to bleed into nightfall. travis jogged up beside you, shauna and melissa tailing the both of you a few feet behind.

you hadn’t really spoken to travis since javi’s passing. you used to be close, back when the hunting trip spent every waking moment together out in the wilderness. he was such a jerk when you first began spending time together, a misogynistic, selfish little prick who picked on nat a lot.

you even fought him once, grateful your athletic build gave you a levelled physical advantage with the boy.

he was just relentlessly slut-shaming nat, and though the girl lashed out in defence of her own feelings, you could tell it stung. so without thinking, your fist met his face.

in the end, nat pried you off him, cradling your shaking hand as blood smeared across your bruising knuckles.

he wound up with a broken nose and a black eye.

but he grew more tolerable with time, as grief accelerated his growth. he had to step up to take care of his brother, then he had to step up to feed the team, then come to terms with the loss of his flesh and blood before consuming him.

you hadn’t spoken, because you’ve been busy. but you had your own reservations about him since he started hanging around lottie and her supernatural nonsense more.

“hey,” he grumbled, “do you know where we’re going?”

“i don’t know, travis,” you remarked sarcastically, “who’s been hunting these woods the past year?”

he nodded, pursing his lips awkwardly as he looked elsewhere.

“i’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” he muttered under his breath, like he was whispering a dirty secret. he turned his head, eyeing his surroundings before he turned back to you. “are we gonna just go and kill coach?”

“you’re just like nat in the worst ways,” you scoffed, smirking, “when did i become so violent in everybody’s eyes?”

“you did just threaten us with a rifle, so.” travis raised both his eyebrows, slipping a hand into his pockets.

“what? no, i didn’t. all i did was encourage you to join.”

“yeah, didn’t look like it.” travis chuckled, “you’ve turnt into a real hotshot around here. even the ones who would jump off a plane for nat has turned to a y/n devote.”

you eyed him briefly out of the corner of your eye. “really?”

sensing the skepticism mixed with a tinge of irritation at the statement, travis cleared his throat, rethinking his words carefully. “look, i don’t know what’s going on between you and nat, but just know that, i--well, most of us, really, are behind you for whatever you want to do.”

vexed by the sudden statement, you halted in your steps, startling those behind. “what’re you trying to say, martinez?”

travis glanced back at the girls, particularly, shauna’s eye.

his head hung low, his breath quickening under the weight of the snarl you basked him in. as he gathered the words gagging in his throat, shauna took a step forward.

“nat isn’t fit to lead. she fucking knew where coach was hiding, for fuck’s sake.” she confessed, pointing misty with the tip of her knife. “quigley told me they found a trap he set when they were looking for mari.”

agitated, you tilted your head, lips parting in disbelief.

you approached the curly-haired blonde, and with a visible gulp, she backed with you drawing closer.

“you knew where he was?” your voice quivered.

“no, i--nat said--i was just doing what nat told me! but i-i told her we should’ve told everybody and looked for him, he could be starving! he moves around so slowly, i was thinking about how vulnerable he was to all the crazy beasts around here, and i knew we should’ve said something, but nat told me to keep it a secret!” she stammered, “please don’t hurt me, i was just doing what the queen told me to.”

how could she? after all the speeches on justice and equality she had given? after all the times she told you things should be fair? after she lied to your face many times about what she discovered on her scavenging trips.

when you didn’t answer, the team fell into an uncomfortable position. nobody moved a muscle, not even shauna.

you don’t know what you expected. it’s not like you were dating. nobody knew of the two of you.

and it looks like she’s forgotten it too.

sucking in a breath, you threw your head up with a newfound drive. you glanced around, spotting a mark on a distant tree you had made months ago. it was the right area, around where mari recalled ben had taken her. you looked around, reaching for your rifle over your shoulder before you gestured demands.

wordless. assertive. the alpha leading its pack.

as the sun gradually diminished behind acres of forest, and the glade the yellowjackets have claimed lapsed into a glum atmosphere, nat sits anxious by the fire robin and akilah had started. as the few that stayed prepared dinner, the blonde couldn’t help but sit, consumed by her thoughts.

her hands clasped against her purses lips, her glossy eyes stared blankly into the roaring bonfire.

she was losing it. the pressure of everybody’s expectations for her as the queen was crushing what little sanity she had.

she wanted to cry, throw up and stab something all at once.

nat wasn’t one to complain, she wasn’t one to settle, and she believed it became apparent when she started using her antler queen responsibilities as excuses to stay away from you.

it wasn’t because she wanted to, god, she hated how things were now, but she didn’t want you dragged into the messy makeup of leading such an estranged group of animals.

you were bleeding your way into her role, however, and it troubled her deeply.

as she lies beside your sound, sleeping figure at night, she can’t help but be roused awake by her fears. she has spared every person she loved from herself, she shit her father in the face, for christ’s sake, why you enjoy her company will always be such a mystery to her.

usually, she’d have her drinks ready to console her.

but this, being stranded in the wilderness, was the longest she had ever been forced to be sober.

“nat?”

nat blinked herself from her trance, “lottie--what’s up?”

the brunette gazed down at her, eyes curious.

“you seem troubled. are you worried about y/n?”

the blonde’s breath hitched. “no, it’s--don’t worry about me. how’s the stew coming along?”

“are you afraid she will hurt coach scott?”

“lottie, i really don’t feel like talking about this.”

“she won’t kill him, y’know,” the taller insisted, sitting beside a sighing nat. “y/n may be strong-willed, but she’s reasonable. she’s more fair-minded than you’re giving her credit for.”

the italian ran her hands up her face, through the bangs over her forehead and over the bandana.

“are you afraid of being forced to surrender your title?”

was she? she feels the serene spirit she has managed to foster, in contrast to the harsh essence of winter, has raised morale.

“i don’t care about the title, lottie. but coach isn’t gonna survive if they find him.” nat’s fingers fidgeted, “and they will find him as long as y/n’s at the head of that group.”

“she is quite the gifted hunter,” lottie remarked, “that’s it, then? the thing that’s been bothering you?”

no, it isn’t. “i suppose, yeah.”

“well, i believe everything will work out just fine--!”

“oh my god, they fucking found him!”

both of them sprung to their feet upon robin’s declaration. on one edge of the camp, emerging from the leaves and thick bushes was ben, limping his way within the camp with the mouth of your rifle stuck to the back of his neck.

shauna and travis held lit torches, standing just behind you as you pushed the man to his knees, gun to his head.

nat slapped a hand over her mouth. standing before the knelt man with tears welling in her big, brown eyes.

“y/n, what’re you doing?” she gasped softly.

you let out a shaken breath, slowly dropping the snout of the gun. you slid it back onto your back, a hand on the quaking man’s shoulder. you held your lover’s gaze. she was still queen. she was still in charge. “i promised you i wouldn’t kill him. so here’s your chance to prove him innocent.”

shauna scoffed, “what? he almost set us all on fire, we should fucking execute him!”

you held a hand up, silencing her frustrated outburst. she sneered, scoffing with an exaggerated eye roll.

“we’re putting coach on trial. that way, he gets to tell his story, and we get to flesh out both sides.” you tilted your head, challenging nat’s authority. “what do you say, my queen?”

the blonde shot you that deer in the headlights look. “fine.”

an; first yj fic down… lmk if you guys like it cuz ill write another part if it’s wanted enough. happy reading! xx

[rafesweetie]

currently my favorite writer U ARE SO TALENTED 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ goshhh js thinking about rafe locking reader inside the room cause she’s having a tantrum ! :( (lwk that one scene with him and sarah)

aww i adore u!

⋆˙⟡ in which rafe locks you in a room during a tantrum.

rafe wasn’t a difficult man to piss off, per say, but usually he’d just yell at you and maybe punch a wall. arguments would always end in sex from him as an apology, and adding on that, you would apologize easily too. unfortunately, tonight was a bit different.

he’d been following your stomps around the house for a while now. you were crying and he was yelling. all you wanted was a moment to gather your thoughts, but rafe wasn’t having it tonight. he was proactive, he wanted to talk to you right then, force some sense into your mind and get you to apologize for him. it never once crossed his mind that maybe he should calm down and apologize himself.

“rafe, leave me alone, i wanna be alone!” you cry as you rush down the stairs to go back to the living room from the bedroom.

he scoffs, and you can hear his shoes stomping behind you. “stop throwing a fuckin’ tantrum and actually speak to me like a human, then!”

“you never listen!”

that’s his trigger. without a second thought, he grabbed you by the back of your neck as if you were some puppy, making you yelp and cry harder, as he drags you downstairs to the wine cellar. “oh, you want me to fuckin’ listen, huh? yeaah, be a good boyfriend and cave to your every demand? you got it, babe,” he says angrily, obviously sarcastic as he stands in front of the wine cellar with you. “now, you wanna talk, or you want your alone time?”

your eyes are fuzzy with tears, unaware of what his plan is, even though he’s trying to insinuate it. “want alone time,” you cry.

he scoffs and shoves you in the wine cellar, closing the heavy door, locking it, and resting his back against it.

you blink, looking around. there’s a beat of silence where you’re confused and registering what happened, and he’s taking a breath of relief, thinking his plan worked. then it hits, and suddenly you’re worse than before, sobbing and screaming and wiggling the doorknob desperately.

“rafe!” you cry, distressed and nervous. “rafe, let me out!! this isn’t funny!”

he sighs, squeezing the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “shuuut up, not letting you out until you get a fuckin’ grip, baby,”

“not fair!” you yell, trying to yank on the door. “rafe, let me out! being such a jerk!”

he wants to argue that stupidly innocent insult badly, but he chooses to be quiet so you give up and calm down as well.

the crying goes on for longer than he thought, until you’re coughing and sitting down because you’re so tired from the screams. you’re reduced to nothing but sniffles, and your knees are hugging your chest for some support.

eventually, thank goodness, light floods the room as the door opens. it must’ve been at least half an hour, but it was still too long.

“hey, baby,” rafe sighs, ears admittedly ringing from how loud you were earlier. “how are you?”

you’re quiet, mad at him now. he sits down beside you.

“jesus,” he sighs under his breath. he puts a heavy hand on your shoulder. “had to do it. see how calm you are now, baby?” he waits for a nod from you before continuing. “yeeah, exactly. you wanted alone time so i gave you that, it’s fine, hm?”

“…it was scary,” you admit gently, voice still trembly.

“didn’t know i’d scare you, had to act on impulse to get you nice and quiet,” is his explanation as he starts rubbing your shoulder. he always knows what to say, it seems.

you nod gently, and he stands up. “c’mon, up,” he nods his head, taking your hand. “you ready to talk now?”

“mhm,” you hum softly, shaky legs standing up as rafe steadies you.

he walks you back through the basement, and for the first time, you hear an, “i’m sorry for scaring you,” come out of his mouth.

those five words make you much more at ease to talk and cuddle for the rest of the night, even if he might not of meant them.

taglist🪽— @dearapril @popou61 @suncove @hittmeandtellmeyouremine @dollyfiles @wtfdudesblog @yktayy9669 @nixcyrr @st6ined @girlwhorizzed

[thewitchblue]

"There's nothing wrong with you, Jay."

You murmured to him. He had a panic attack after a nightmare and panted softly in your arms. Everything was overwhelming, but your calming voice was guiding him back to reality.

The nightmare was bad enough to wake him up on his own instead of staying trapped until you wake him. He couldn't get enough air in his lungs. What's wrong with him? Why are you still putting up with him? You wake up every time he has nightmares, yet you comfort him the entire time.

"There's so much wrong with me, pipsqueak."

He says the nickname with so much love it melted your heart. You showered him in kisses while saying,

"You do what you have to do to survive."

He shuddered. He's a bad man in his mind. He has too much blood on his hands. Even if they were criminals, he still thinks he's a bad man. He felt tainted. He whispered,

"How can you love me when you know what I've done?"

He needed to know how you could even stand looking at him. You were so sweet and kind. You warmly said,

"I can love you because I know you."

He looked at you in confusion. Of course you know him. You wouldn't be sleeping in his bed with him if you were a stranger. You softly explain,

"I know you break into bakeries at night to get me my favourite pastry, but leave money on the counter so you don't feel like a complete jerk. I know you love my cheesy romance books despite pretending you don't. I know you love cooking for me so I can eat the leftovers and remember you."

Jason grumbled. He's always been a man who thinks actions speak infinitely louder than words. Anything is worth it for you. You continued with a smile,

"I know you love my lame jokes. You love to cuddle, and you replay romance scenes with me when you read a story you particularly enjoyed."

Jason hid his face in your hair. The big bad Red Hood was acting like a schoolgirl with a crush, and you loved him for it.

You kissed the top of his head. He was nestled in your side comfortably with his large frame curled to make it easier to cuddle. He placed his head on top of your chest and his arms wrapped tightly around your waist. He needed to be reassured that you were here and alive.

You let him listen to your heartbeat while you played with his hair the way he liked it. You smiled as you said,

"I love your smile, and I don't care one bit about the blood on your hands. You are protecting the ones you love in the only way you think will work. I know you pretend to dislike your family, and you'll fake gag around their significant others, but your romantic heart soars when you see couples being in love."

The gentle hand rubbing his scalp and your soothing heartbeat was luring him back to sleep. So what if he is a bit of a romantic. He can't help the way he feels.

"I know you read the books I recently read just so we can have a conversation about it."

Jason blushed. He thought he'd been sneakier about stealing books. He's read every book in your house during the two years he's been dating you.

He's a book thief, but he always returns the book and even organised the bookcase for you when you complained that you needed to organise it. You were looking for a book to give him, and it took a good fifteen minutes to find the book. You continued,

"I know you love when I lay on top of you because I feel like a weighted blanket, and you love when I hug you from behind to feel the height difference between us."

Jason yawned. You love this man with your whole heart. You don't care about Red Hood. You care about Jason Peter Todd, the love of your life. His large arms tightened around you before relaxing. He rolled you on top of him and kissed your forehead.

"I love you, pipsqueak."

You smiled at him and gave him a long kiss before softly replying,

"I love you too, hoodlum."

[ozonecologne]

Hi, doctor of English here! I don't feel like going to Twitter to comment on the original thread, so here's a very nerdy addition about parts of speech:

I don't know enough about etymology to say this is certifiably true, but what's being described here is at least a nifty bit of invention that I love in language: changing the parts of speech around to help us explain what we're seeing or feeling when the words we do have are just not enough. Grasping for a way to describe something and having to transform our words to fit ourselves.

In addition to being verbs turned into other verbs, almost all of these words is an example of changing a NOUN into a VERB to describe what something does -- the noun "spark" into the verb "sparkle," the noun "crack" into the verb "crackle," etc. Many, but not all, words that end in -le are like this. To go the other way (to change a verb into a noun), you can often add the suffix -ation or simply -tion/-sion to your verb. The verb "illustrate" into the noun "illustration" for example, "converse" > "conversation," "decide" > "decision," etc. We turn an intangible action into a tangible thing to examine and critique.

But that's often not enough! Once you add an -le onto a noun and make it into a verb, you can also add a -y to that new verb to get an ADJECTIVE to describe another noun. This is usually how adjectives are made anyway: adding a "y" onto the end of an action to explain the quality of the thing doing that action. Chewing gum is "stick-y" because it "sticks" to things. So apply this logic to the noun>verb change: a dress is "sparkly" because it "sparkles" (appears to throw off many sparks). Your television signal is "crackly" because it "crackles" (appears to have many cracks in it, or resembles the sound of cracking). You can convey what you're perceiving much more directly this way even if it's more of a figurative description than literal. The dress isn't literally sparking, it just reminds us of sparks. (Much of language, and especially English, is actually figurative. That's what my dissertation was on!)

So now we've gone all the way from noun to verb to adjective! "But Maddie," you might be saying, "adverbs also end in -ly." Yes, and this only furthers my point; adverbs are adjectives that [usually] describe a verb rather than a noun (ad + verb = adverb). In the sentence "she walks slowly," the word "slow" is describing not the noun in the sentence ("she") but the verb ("walk"). The quality of the walk is slow, not the quality of the person. But distinguishing between adjectives is tricky sometimes, and this is why learning a language is so hard. Even though they both have the -ly suffix, one can walk "slowly" but one cannot walk "sparkly."

OR CAN THEY?

Almost all good creative writing (and especially poetry) seeks to evoke, and often that's done by moving around parts of speech to create a conceptual sense of something rather than a semantic or grammatical narrative. "She walks sparkly" doesn't make sense grammatically, but it does describe a scene in a particularly striking way. She walks as if she's throwing off lots of sparks. How delightful to consider. I understand what you mean even though you're 'wrong.'

These rules of grammar are helpful to know for two reasons (among others). One: if you know these rules and you come across a word or a sentence you don't know, you can reverse-engineer the sentence and figure out the meaning. I've never seen the word "recitation" before, but I know that -ation means noun, usually, and the front part is a verb. So the verb must be "to recite." Do I know what that means? Or: I know that -ly means adjective. What in this sentence is the adjective actually modifying? What is being described, and how? Why might the author write that in these terms? If you're at standardized testing age, this helps tremendously with the vocab portion of the SATs/ACTs.

Two: if you find yourself getting stuck while you're writing something, try moving things around just as an un-sticking exercise. Have fun and use a noun as a verb. Turn the noun into a verb using the above formula of +le. Then turn that verb into an adjective and use it as an adverb with +y. Get weird with it! Knowing where structures are in place helps you dismantle them. Breaking language is how you shake people from their usual patterns of thinking and make your perception of your world more understandable to others :)

[fireinmoonshot]

all this time | joaquín torres x fem!reader

Pairing: Joaquín Torres x Fem!Reader Summary: Despite the fact that you're his older sisters best friend, Joaquín has always had a crush on you. Little does he know, you feel the same way. But how can either of you act on it when you can't hurt his sister? Warnings: Reader wears dresses, has hair long enough to at least reach her shoulders. Mentions of food. Joaquín being completely oblivious... other than that I think it's all fine! Word Count: 7.8k A/N: I think this is the longest fic I've ever posted on this blog (not including my multi-parters)... this was requested by a lovely anon and I started brainstorming the idea when I was at work the other day (plenty of time to think when I'm in the walk-in fridge) and then I got so hooked on the idea and it somehow became this almost 8000 word piece. I loved writing this one so much though. In this, I have named Joaquín's sister Catalina, nicknamed Lina – if this happens to be your name, feel free to just pick another name for her. It's just one I liked! I really hope everyone that reads enjoys this. It was a challenge to write but I loved every second of it! 💗

“It’s like the forbidden fruit, huh?” Marcos turns to Joaquin with a grin. He takes a sip of his beer and then points the bottle across the backyard towards where you’re standing by the back door of his parents house.

Joaquin frowns, his eyebrows knotting together and undoubtedly causing an expression to appear on his face that his mother would berate him about making in public. “What?”

Marcos points the bottle towards you again. “Catalina’s friend. She’s like the forbidden fruit. The most gorgeous girl here but the only girl that none of us can have, unless we want to deal with your sisters wrath. And no one wants Catalina’s wrath.” 

For a moment, Joaquin simply stares at his cousin. He can’t say any of the things that are currently swimming through his mind. Though Marcos deserves to hear all of them, none of them are particularly family friendly and there are several people sitting around the two of them that he’d rather not offend. 

“Don’t talk about my sisters friend like that,” is all he can manage before he picks up his own beer from the table and walks away, leaving Marcos staring after him, dumbfounded. 

He shakes his head as he walks over towards the barbecue where his uncle has just started to grill some meat. How his favourite uncle managed to have a son like Marcos, Joaquin will never be able to comprehend.

“What did he say now?” Uncle Jorge says, glancing over at Joaquin as he turns over a piece of meat. “There’s only one reason you would’ve walked over here and it’s not because you want to talk to your favourite tío.”

Joaquin chuckles. “Believe me, you don’t wanna know.”

He looks around the backyard, taking in the scene. His family, neighbours, friends, everyone he really cares about all in the same place, except for Sam – he’d been summoned away to help his sister and his nephews for the weekend. Despite his absence, this is a rare occasion, and one he’s glad to be experiencing.

He can’t help it when his eyes catch on you. You’re still standing over closer to the back door of the house with his sister, a drink in your hand. The sundress you’re wearing suits you a lot. The colour compliments your skin perfectly. The breeze blows some of your hair back off of your shoulders and his breath catches in his throat. He’s well aware the situation is all very similar to a Victorian man seeing a woman’s ankles. 

Joaquin has barely been able to take his eyes off of you ever since he first saw you arrive, and who can blame him when you look like that? To be fair… you always look gorgeous, but today you look especially gorgeous. 

The words Marcos had said trickle into his mind again and he winces a little. He wishes that people like Marcos didn’t get to enjoy looking at you when you looked so beautiful. 

“Joaquin, are you listening?” 

He blinks, tearing his eyes away from you and back to his uncle. “Sorry, I got distracted. What were you saying?”

His uncle looks over his shoulder, looking exactly where Joaquin had been looking, and chuckles to himself. “Yeah, distracted, sure. Can you pass me the tongs over there?”

Joaquin passes him the tongs, ignoring the comment about him being distracted, and forces himself to look away from you. Even when he hears you laugh and he wants nothing more than to look at you and see the smile on your face. He loves seeing you smile.

Thankfully, his uncle doesn’t say anything more about catching him staring at you. Joaquin helps him with grilling up the rest of the meat, completely unaware that you are now the one staring at him from across the yard.

You can’t help it – Joaquin is and always has been gorgeous.

You watch as a girl around Joaquin’s age, a few years younger than you, walks up to Joaquin where he’s standing near the grill with his uncle and starts making conversation. The feeling that settles in your chest isn’t an unfamiliar one, but it is unwelcome.

“Catalina,” you start, getting the attention of your friend. “Who’s that Joaquin’s with?”

She looks up from her phone at you and then across the backyard to where you’re looking, right at Joaquin. “Oh, I know her but I can’t remember her name,” she says, thinking for a moment to try and remember it but failing. “She’s the daughter of one of the neighbours, I think they live three doors up.”

You make a noise of understanding to let Lina know that you heard her but you can’t manage to tear your eyes away from Joaquin and the young woman. They’re both smiling as they speak. It’s when she reaches out and touches his arm that you force yourself to look away. You take a long sip of your drink to try and push down the feeling in your chest.

Catalina looks at you, amused. “Why are you asking?”

“No reason,” you shake your head, sipping your drink again just for something to do. “I just thought she looked familiar, but obviously not. I wouldn’t have seen her before.”

You can tell that Lina doesn’t believe a single word that you’re saying. She’s been able to read you like a book for over half of your lives at this point. You just hope that she’s not intuitive enough to realise that you have been harbouring a major crush on her little brother for most of that time, despite your exhaustive efforts to stop it.

You’ve known Joaquin for as long as you’ve known Lina. When you’d met her at school, she’d introduced you to her younger brother not long after. He had just been a kid, then – a young boy who wanted to follow his sister around all day. It had been fine as children, Joaquin almost becoming like a little brother to you too, but once you’d become teenagers and you and Lina just wanted to spend girl time together, things had changed.

When you’d sleepover at Lina’s house as children, it was fine. You didn’t care about Joaquin seeing you in your pyjamas or in the morning when you’d just woken up. As a teenager, though, those were things that started to matter to you. For the first time since you’d known Joaquin, you’d started to care about the way he saw you. It had all been downhill from there.

“Yeah, no reason, sure,” Lina huffs from beside you, putting her phone in the pocket of her shorts. She’s heard the exact same question from Joaquin while referring to people who were talking to you more times than she can count. He’d never managed to come up with excuses as to why he’d been asking, though. 

She reaches out and takes your now empty glass from you. You hadn’t even realised that you’d drained it completely while trying to distract from the conversation with her.

“I’m going to get us some refills,” she says, starting to walk back towards the house. “Go and talk to my brother, will you? He looks in need of saving, judging by the look on his face.” 

You watch her, confused, as she retreats inside the house. It’s only when she’s gone that you look back over at Joaquin. His uncle, who was standing beside him, has now disappeared, and the smiles that Joaquin had been giving the young girl have turned to grimaces, despite his best attempts to keep his facial expression neutral.

You don’t waste time, knowing there’s not long until Catalina returns with your new drinks, and start crossing the yard towards Joaquin. He sees you in his peripheral vision not too long before you reach him. He notices instantly that you look even more stunning in this outfit up close.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” you start, sounding not sorry at all. “But your sister is looking for you, Joaquin. She asked me to come and find you.” 

Joaquin looks between you and the girl. He’s so terrible, he can’t even remember the poor girls name. “Ah, duty calls,” he flashes the girl what he hopes is a genuine grin instead of the look that he’s sure was on his face before you arrived. “I’ll see you around.”

Smiling to yourself, you start to walk away, knowing that Joaquin will be following you. He falls into step beside you as you walk away from the grill and back towards the house. You feel his hand brush against your back, hovering behind you as you walk – a feeling you’re used to when you’re around Joaquin. 

“Lina isn’t looking for me, is she?”

“No, but she did sense you were in need of rescue.”

Joaquin laughs softly. “Ah, so she sent you. My knight in shining armour.”

You glance over at him as you stop just outside the back door of the house, not far from where you and Lina had been standing before. “I see a damsel in distress, I don’t hesitate.”

Something passes between the two of you as you look at each other, but as quickly as it came, it disappears. You’re both aware of it, of the spark of energy between the two of you. 

It’s the kind of feeling that you’d chased in several other men during your adulthood. None of your failed relationships had ever been able to create such a feeling, not even the best of them. Not even the one relationship you’d thought might turn into marriage and a future together. The one that Joaquin had seen you crying on Lina’s shoulder over when you’d had your heart smashed into a million tiny pieces.

Joaquin doesn’t like to think about that, though. Or any of your exes.

“So, are you enjoying the barbecue?” Joaquin asks in an attempt to break the silence.

You smooth your palms out on your dress, feeling them start to become sweaty with your nerves. You’re not sure exactly why you’re nervous – it’s just Joaquin, the same Joaquin you’ve known since you can remember. But there are tiny parts of him that are different. He’s an Avenger now. He’s the Falcon. He’d almost died a few months ago. The fact that you’re even here having this conversation still feels a little surreal to you. You remember sitting in the hospital waiting room holding Lina’s hand and trying to keep it together yourself when you were just as terrified as she was. 

“Yeah, it’s nice,” you hum, meeting his eyes briefly. “It’s good to see everyone.”

Joaquin nods. “Yeah, it’s not often everyone gets together like this. I–uh– I’m really glad you could make it,” he stumbles over his words a little. “Lina said you had to move some things around in your schedule to make it work, but I’m glad you did. It’d be weird without you here.” 

You raise your eyebrows. “Weird without me?”

He clears his throat. “Yeah, just cause… y’know… you’re practically part of the family.”

“Ah,” you nod, smiling a little. “I guess I am at this point.”

An arm drapes around your shoulder and you’re immediately torn out of the moment with Joaquin by Lina’s return. She hands your drink to you and smiles over at her brother.

“Did she save the day, little brother?” Lina asks, grinning at him.

You’ve always loved the relationship between Lina and Joaquin. They’ve had many an argument in your presence, mostly as teenagers, but as adults it’s fairly civil. Joaquin has always looked up to his older sister and Lina has always wanted to make a good impression on her younger brother. It made for a pretty happy relationship most of the time. It’s part of the reason you’ve never brought up your crush on him to Lina. You never want to come between them.

Joaquin nods. “Yeah, ‘course she did.”

“That’s our girl,” Lina says proudly, removing her arm so she can stand next to you properly. “How was your conversation with our neighbour? She’s cute, no?” 

You look between Joaquin and Lina, a little surprised that she’s bringing up the girl when she couldn’t even remember her name and even more surprised because she’d sent you over there to rescue Joaquin from that girl.

He raises his eyebrows at his sister. “If you like that sort of girl, sure. You asking for my opinion, Catalina? I thought you weren’t interested in dating anyone at the moment.”

Lina scoffs and waves her hand dismissively. “Not for me, you fool. I’m talking about you. I thought you told me that you wanted to start dating again now that you’re all healed up from your accident? Sam told me you have women and men lining up for you now that you’re the Falcon. He was worried it would go to your head.”

Joaquin opens his mouth and tries to come up with something to say but eventually settles on a very weak, “I did not say that!” He looks at you and then at his sister, internally cursing her out for saying that in front of you. Not that Catalina knew any better. Joaquin was very careful about keeping his crush on you a secret. 

“If you say so, little brother,” Lina shrugs her shoulders and then reaches down to take hold of your wrist. “I just saw Uncle Jorge put the burgers out on the table, let’s go and get some before my cousins raid the table and get them all first.”

Before you can say anything else to Joaquin, Lina starts dragging you away. You turn around and catch his eye as you walk away. Joaquin sends you a small wave, smiling at his sister and her ease to exit a conversation without a single thought. They’re more alike than Joaquin realises.

–––––

Later in the evening, after the barbecue is long over and most of the guests have returned to their homes or retired inside for the rest of the evening, you and Catalina are helping to clean up some of the mess that was left in the backyard. All things considered, it’s pretty clean except for a few pieces of rubbish here and there. Lina and Joaquin’s parents had insisted that everyone clean up after themselves and mostly, people had. 

Joaquin had gone home a few hours ago, saying that he still needed plenty of rest after his accident since he was still recovering from it, and none of the family had disagreed with him even though none of them wanted him to leave.

He’d hugged you before he left, like he’d hugged all of the family. You can still feel the small kiss he’d pressed to your cheek out of pure habit after kissing the cheeks of his abuelas and tías. You hadn’t missed the way his cheeks had flushed a little after he realised.

“You’re awfully quiet tonight,” Catalina says as she puts an empty paper plate in the trash bag that she’s holding. “Penny for your thoughts?”

You look up from where you’ve been cleaning a spilled drink off the top of the table. “You wish I’d give you a penny for my thoughts, Catalina,” you chuckle, using her full name just to irritate her a little. 

Lina rolls her eyes at you and then takes a seat at one of the chairs. She motions at you to take the other one and reluctantly, you do. You know that Lina initiating a conversation like this is never going to end well. 

“I’m not going to beat around the bush on this,” she begins, making your stomach start to do backflips with nerves. You’re not sure why – Lina has never given you a reason to be nervous around her in the entire time you’ve known her. But for some reason, this time feels a little different. “I know you have a crush on my brother, querida. I know why you’ve been trying to stop me from finding out, but I know you and I know what I see.”

There’s no point trying to deny it. You know that even if you did try and deny it, Lina wouldn’t believe you for a second. That’s just the kind of person she is and always has been.

“I’m sorry,” you mutter sheepishly. “I won’t lie to you, Lina. I’ve liked him for a while now and I’ve been trying to get over him but I’ve failed a million times. And after his accident a few months back, I can’t seem to get him out of my head.”

Lina reaches across the table and places her hand over the top of yours. “You don’t need to be sorry. I kind of understand. I’ve been worried about him even more than usual since the accident. It’s made me want to spend every second with him that I can. It’s also the whole reason why I’m bringing this up with you now. I tried to start a conversation about it when Quin was there earlier, about him wanting to date again, but obviously he’s not ready for that conversation…”

“What conversation?”

“We almost lost Joaquin a few months ago, querida. Why waste more time? You don’t need it, but I’m giving you my blessing to pursue things with him if that’s what you want. You’re my best friend, have been ever since I can remember. If there’s anyone that I trust with my brother, it’s you,” Lina says. You can hear the honesty in her voice.

There’s still doubt in you, though. 

“Are you sure?” You question, a little hesitant. “I mean… he’s your baby brother.”

Lina smiles. “Yeah, he is. Which means his happiness is one of the most important things in the world to me. And if he likes you back, like I’m pretty sure he does – call it sisterly instinct – then being with you would make him very happy. He’s obviously not going to do anything about it, judging by the way he deflected me earlier, but you just might.” 

You look at her for a few moments before getting up from your chair and walking around to her side of the table, your arms extended. She laughs as she stands up, happily hugging you back. She squeezes you tight. 

“Besides, if you and Joaquin work out, it would make you my actual sister… and I secretly always wished that I could have a sister instead of a brother when I was younger…” Lina mutters in your ear.

You laugh at her as you pull away from the hug. “I basically already am your sister, Lina.”

“I know,” she shrugs, picking up the trash bag again and starting to pick up the last few pieces of rubbish. “But this way, it’d be official. And… y’know, if Joaquin starts dating someone then it might make our parents stop asking me when I’m getting married.”

“Oh, I see how it is,” you pick up the cloth you’d been using before. “This is all just a ploy to make it so that Joaquin and I are the ones being pressured to get married so your parents will get off your back… fair play, Torres. Fair play.”

She flashes you a grin. “Come on, let’s finish cleaning all this up so we can go home.”

–––––

There’s an added pressure the next time you see Joaquin. Even though it’s not the two of you alone and there are other people there, the fact that you know Catalina is silently cheering you on and that she thinks Joaquin likes you back makes it a little more real.

It’s not just a little one-sided crush anymore.

Joaquin throws his hands up in the air and cheers as his bowling ball knocks down all ten pins and scores a strike. “Did you see that!?” He exclaims, walking back towards the rest of you. 

“Well, yeah,” Lina replies, “We are all watching you.”

He gives her a look as he takes his seat beside you and one of your other friends, Jack, goes up for his turn. Joaquin pulls his phone out and takes a picture of his score on the TV screen above your heads.

“First strike of the night,” Joaquin grins, turning to look at you. 

His thigh is pressed against yours, owing to the small benches at the Bowling Alley. You’ve squashed four people onto each bench when they’re really only made to sit three and have split your group into two teams – it’s basically you and Joaquin vs Lina, with your other friends split evenly between the teams. 

“Oh, did you get a strike?” You feign surprise. “I must’ve been looking at my phone when you did it and I definitely didn’t hear you yelling about how excited you were afterwards.”

Joaquin laughs and nudges his shoulder against yours. “Shut up,” he says jokingly. “Have you been spending too much time around my sister? I might have to kidnap you and try and get rid of the mind-wipe she’s obviously done on you.”

“Who said spending time with your sister is a bad thing?” You reply, amused. “I never get to see you anymore since you’re always off saving the world so at least I still have one Torres around.”

It’s the truth. Joaquin is barely around anymore and you have to admit that you miss seeing him. You were surprised when he’d replied to the group text and said that he’d be joining you all at Bowling tonight. 

Joaquin’s face drops ever so slightly at your words but he tries his best to mask it. He didn’t realise that you had noticed his absence so much. “Well, someone’s gotta do it,” he jokes. “And if Lina is such great company, why aren’t you on her team, huh?” 

You look over at Lina, right as she stands up to go and take her turn. You try your best to summon some of her confidence. “Cause I missed you, that’s why,” you say, trying desperately to stop your voice from shaking. Telling Joaquin you miss him should not be this terrifying, yet it somehow is. 

He looks at you for a moment, lips barely parted. You watch as his tongue swipes out, running across his lips, before he closes his mouth and nods at your words. “I, uh, I missed you too.”

You glance up at the scoreboard. There are still a few other people who have to bowl before it’s your turn again and if you’re going to flirt with Joaquin tonight, now is your chance. “You did?” You hum, raising your eyebrows at him. “How much did you miss me?”

Joaquin is pretty sure his brain is short-circuiting. Are you trying to flirt with him? Is that what’s happening right now? He’s no stranger to people flirting with him, especially since becoming the Falcon, but you? The last time you flirted with him was when you were teenagers and you both hadn’t quite figured out what your feelings were yet. 

You can’t be flirting with him, though. You wouldn’t dare – especially since Catalina is your best friend. Joaquin is sure of that. There’s no way you’d even try something with him on the off chance you’d hurt Lina’s feelings. But there’s a look in your eye that Joaquin hasn’t seen there before and if he wasn’t internally panicking so much, he’s pretty sure he’d flirt right back.

“Uh,” he clears his throat. “Yeah, a bit.”

He stands then, taking you off guard, and excuses himself to the bathroom, leaving you confused and a little hurt at him brushing you off. Were you that bad at flirting or was he just not interested? 

Lina finishes her turn and comes to take Joaquin’s empty seat beside you. She leans in close so that none of your other friends can hear what she’s saying. “What was that with Joaquin?”

“I tried flirting and he totally shut down,” you admit.

She rests her hand over yours and gives it a reassuring pat. “Remember what I said after the barbecue? About him not being ready for the conversation I wanted to have with him?”

You nod, the night coming back to you as clear as day even though it was a couple of weeks ago now. 

“Give him some time to warm up to the idea,” Lina finishes. 

She stands up and heads back over to her own seat just in time for Joaquin to come back and rejoin the group, sitting beside you again.

There is silence for a few moments as the last member in your team has their go. You’re trying to summon Lina’s confidence again when Alex finishes her turn and tells you that it’s your go again.

You stand, brushing your sweaty palms on the fabric of your jeans as you head to grab your bowling ball. You’re pretty sure it comes across as just trying to dry your hands before bowling, but you know that Joaquin has seen through that when you hear him cheer your name to try and hype you up for your go.

Jack and Alex join in with the cheering and you smile at them all over your shoulder as you walk up to take your turn. You don’t end up hitting a strike like Joaquin, but you do manage to take down a few of the pins and help in getting your team a better score.

As you walk back towards the group once your turn is over, Joaquin is walking towards you to take his own turn. He raises his hand for a high-five, which you give him. 

“Great score,” he grins, grabbing his ball from the machine. “I mean, it’s no strike but it wasn’t terrible.” 

You can’t help but smile at his teasing. Maybe Catalina was right, maybe you did just have to give him time to warm up to it all and you’d just come on too strong earlier. “Are you offering private lessons?” You ask, not intending to flirt but just trying to joke with him. You only realise once the words are out of your mouth that they sound much more like flirting than a joke.

Joaquin looks at you for a moment and then laughs, but you can tell his heart isn’t in it. Your stomach drops. “No,” he shakes his head. “No, I’m not.”

He walks away, heading up to take his turn, and you know that you’ve really put your foot in it this time. He’d basically just rejected you. No, I’m not. His words ring out in your mind. You’ve clearly misread the signals and so has Lina. If Joaquin actually really liked you, he surely wouldn’t have brushed you off so strongly. 

Instead of heading back to your own seat, you head over to Lina. She eyes you, a little concerned just based on the look on your face.

“I’m not feeling too good, I think I’m gonna call it a night,” you tell her. “My turns are over anyway, it’s just the rest of the team to go. You can text me and tell me who won.” 

Lina stands up immediately, knowing something is wrong. “You sure? What’s going on? Do you want me to come home with you?” She lowers her voice a little. “What did my brother say?”

“Nothing,” you shake your head. “I swear. I just feel sick.”

She looks at you for a moment and you can tell that she doesn’t believe a word but thankfully, she agrees to let you go. She walks you to your car and doesn’t leave until you’re in it and out of the parking lot.

–––––

The second Joaquin sits in the passenger seat of Lina’s car, he regrets not driving himself to Ten Pin Bowling. The game is over and your friends have all gone home. Joaquin’s team won, mostly owing to him throwing two strikes in his last two games, but he never really felt up to celebrating the victory once you went home.

It’s silent until Lina pulls the car out onto the road. 

“So, do you think you’re too good for her now that you’re the Falcon or something?” Lina says, completely out of left field. “Cause it’s my job as your sister to humble you and believe me, I will.”

Joaquin’s jaw drops. “What the– Lina, I’m so lost here.”

She glances across at him before looking back at the road. If she looks at him too much, she knows she’ll get distracted arguing, and she is driving a car at the moment. That still has to be her main focus, even if she’s busy yelling at her brother.

“Why are you fucking things up with my best friend?” Lina is basically shooting daggers out of her eyes at him. “I’ve known that you’ve had the hots for her since you were like fifteen, Quin! So, why, after she shows an interest in you, are you brushing her off?!”

Joaquin is completely lost for words. His sister knows that he likes you? She’s aware that you were flirting with him tonight? He feels like he’s missing out on a lot of crucial information right now.

“Because she’s your best friend!” Joaquin replies, defensive. “Are you telling me that you want me to get together with her? Did you get hit in the head by a bowling ball tonight?”

Lina lets out a groan as she pulls up at a red light. “Ay dios mío, Joaquin.” 

He stares at her, confused by how annoyed she is. Does she not care that he likes you? But why wouldn’t she – as a teenager she’d told him on more than one occasion that you were her friend and that he wasn’t allowed to even consider stealing you from her. Why, as an adult, would she allow him to basically do that very thing? 

“Lina, would you please tell me what’s going on?”

She turns to look at him and he’s already a little afraid just based off of the look on her face. Catalina never looks at him like that. It’s the exact same look of wrath that Marcos had referenced at the barbecue a few weeks ago, the one he’d said no one wanted to deal with. And here he was, the very subject of it.

“She was flirting with you at the bowling alley tonight, Quin,” Lina sighs, clearly already exhausted from this conversation. “You’re the reason that she left early. You must’ve said or done something that hurt her feelings. She didn’t say anything to me, but she’s my best friend. I can tell when she’s lying to me, and she was.”

Lina looks back at the road as the light goes green and puts her foot down on the accelerator. She doesn’t say anything else after that, deciding to let her words sink into Joaquin’s mind for a bit.

He was the reason you left early? Admittedly, he had been a little confused as to why you were flirting with him tonight. He probably hadn’t dealt with that in the best way. But hearing you say things like ‘How much did you miss me?’ and ‘Are you offering private lessons?’ in the way that you did had left him all hot under the collar. How else was he supposed to deal with that? 

You’re his older sisters best friend. You’ve been in his life ever since he can really remember. He’s been basically in love with you since you were teenagers, but he’s never let himself even consider the possibility that you weren’t the forbidden fruit Marcos had called you. That all along, Lina actually never cared if he liked you. 

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” He looks over at his sister.

Lina nods. “You did, little brother. You really did.”

–––––

Three days have passed since the failed attempt at flirting at Ten Pin Bowling. You’ve seen Lina, going out for coffee with her twice. But Joaquin hasn’t so much as texted you, so you assume that he’s gone back to work with Captain America and try to get back into your daily routine. 

You misread the signs and that was okay. Or so you’re telling yourself anyway. Even though every time you think about the way that Joaquin had shut you down, your stomach ends up in knots.

It’s late at night and you’re just about to get up from the couch and finally go to bed after staring at the crappy TV programmes for way too long when you hear a knock on your door. 

Stifling a yawn, you head over to the door. You’re so exhausted enough from your long day at work that you don’t even think to look through the peephole on your door before you open it. If you had, you probably would have pretended not to be home.

Because Joaquin Torres stands on the other side of your door.

He’s dressed in dark jeans and a white shirt, his hands tucked into the pockets of the jeans. He has a sheepish look on his face, like he knows exactly what you’re thinking about him turning up here at this time of night, but all you can think about is the fact that he looks good… too good, really.

“Hi,” Joaquin manages.

He sounds nervous, which is strange. Joaquin Torres doesn’t get nervous, not really. He’s the most overconfident person you’ve ever met and you love that about him. You’ve barely ever heard him stutter or stumble over words.

“Hi,” you mutter. “What are you doing here?”

Joaquin is pretty sure he blacked out on his way to your apartment. He remembers getting out of his car, but the walk into the building and the elevator ride up to your floor is all a blur. He’s not sure what he expected to see when you opened the door, but seeing you standing there in your pyjamas, hair out and face make-up free, is not it. You look even more gorgeous than you did at the barbecue. 

“I’m sorry. It’s late,” Joaquin blinks, the fact that you’re in your pyjamas finally hitting him. He’s hit with a memory, then – you’re sixteen years old, staying over at his house for a sleepover. He’s almost fifteen. He walks into the kitchen as you’re getting a glass of water early in the morning and all of sudden you’re whisper-yelling at him to get out, saying something about him not being able to see you when you’re in your pyjamas. He almost laughs at the memory and then composes himself. “Should I go?”

You shake your head. “No, you can come in.” You’re not sure what you’re doing. You’re letting Joaquin into your apartment at 11 o’clock at night? And you’re letting him see you in your pyjamas. Your sixteen year old self would freak. 

Joaquin hesitantly steps into your apartment and closes the door behind himself, then kicks off his shoes. He notices that all your curtains are drawn and the main lights are off, the room only lit up by a few lamps. The TV is still on but the volume is so low he can’t make out what’s being said. 

“You never answered my question,” you state, walking over and leaning against the arm of your couch. Joaquin tries not to look at the way your pyjama shorts rise a little as you sit. 

He clears his throat and runs a hand through his hair. “I didn’t,” he nods. “I was thinking about that time in my old house where you yelled at me in the kitchen because I wasn’t allowed to see you in pyjamas. And here I am, seeing you in your pyjamas.”

Against your better judgment, a small smile makes its way onto your face. You and him had been thinking about the same thing, then. Funny, how even after all these years, things hadn’t changed in some ways. But in others, everything had. 

“That doesn’t explain your presence today, Joaquin,” you hum, though you’re still smiling a little at the memory. “You said it yourself. It’s late. But you wouldn’t be here without a reason.”

He nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “I am here for a reason,” he confirms. “I wanted to say sorry about the way I acted at Ten Pin Bowling the other night. You were flirting with me and I got freaked out. Catalina was there and I was worried about what she’d say.”

“It’s okay, Joaquin. You don’t have to apologise. I should be the one saying sorry for flirting with you in the first place,” you shrug. “I misread the signs and I was wrong.”

Joaquin shakes his head and takes a step towards you. “No, don’t apologise either. I, uh… I got yelled at by Lina after we left the bowling alley. She was driving me home and she said some things that I didn’t realise I really needed to hear.” 

Lina had filled you in on the conversation that she’d had with Joaquin on their drive home when you’d had coffee with her two days ago, but she hadn’t told you anything that Joaquin had said. She’d only explained to you that she’d tried to knock some sense into him, but that with Joaquin, it could have all gone in one ear and out the other. 

Clearly, some of it hadn’t gone out the other ear.

“I’m listening.”

Joaquin takes another step towards you and then he begins. 

“I started crushing on you not long before that morning in the kitchen when we were teenagers. I didn’t really realise what the feelings were at the time. All I knew is that I loved whenever you came over to hang out with Catalina and I loved when you both let me hang out with you, too. Then, when you were seventeen you started dating Bobby Hernandez and I discovered what it felt like to be jealous. I was so mad when I found out that Bobby had cheated on you with another girl in your grade that I would have beat him up if Lina hadn’t beaten me to the punch, quite literally.”

Your heart starts beating a little faster in your chest at his words. He’d had a crush on you as a teenager and you had no idea? Even when the only reason you’d started dating Bobby Hernandez was because you were so desperately trying to pretend you didn’t like Joaquin?

“When you and my sister went off to college, that was the hardest part,” he continues. “It was the first time in my life that I was really alone. I had friends, but learning to live without seeing you and Catalina every day was tough. Then, that first summer you came home and you brought your boyfriend home to visit. I remember his name was Seth and every time I saw you with him, it was like I was being punched in the stomach. As much as I wish I didn’t, I remember the name of every guy you brought home. I was trying so hard to pretend like I didn’t care. Catalina apparently saw through me every time.

I remember when I came home after being deployed and I met Gabriel. The first thing that my mom said when I saw her after you’d introduced her was ‘That’s the man our girl is going to marry’ and all I could think about was the fact that it was so wrong. He wasn’t the man you should be marrying. I remember coming around to my sisters house a few years later and letting myself in only to see you in tears on her shoulder. I left before either of you could see that I was there. It’s a good thing I never knew much more about the man other than his name and his job otherwise I probably would have done to him what I wanted to do to Bobby Hernandez, and that probably wouldn’t have gone down well as an adult.”

You have to keep reminding yourself to breathe as you listen to Joaquin talk, but every word he says seems to knock the breath out of you. Every word is as unbelievable as the last. His crush hadn’t just been when you were a teenager. It had lasted through your other relationships, through Gabriel. The man you thought you would marry. And all along, Joaquin had been there, knowing that you wouldn’t because he’d been hoping it was him.

“Why– why did you never say anything?” You ask, even though you already know why.

Joaquin smiles, slightly sadly. “You know why, angel. The one person that ties us together is the one reason neither of us said anything. Hurting Catalina was the last thing either of us ever wanted to do. But…”

“But she’s known all along,” you breathe.

“She’s known all along,” he agrees.

You look at him for a moment, then, noticing the way his eyebrows are drawn together, at the small, sad smile on his face. The way his arms look as they’re crossed over his chest, the way his white shirt accentuates everything you’re trying not to notice. The man in front of you, the one you’ve been in love with all this time, feels the same way about you.

“I only dated the men that I did because I was trying to avoid my feelings for you,” you admit, your voice soft. It’s something you’ve never said out loud before, not even to yourself. Before now, it’s only been a thought in your head, admitted to yourself only.

“Really?”

“Mmhmm,” you nod. “I really did think I was going to marry Gabriel, though. But I think it’s just because I convinced myself he was what I deserved. In the end, he hurt me just like Bobby Hernandez did. He would’ve deserved what he got if you found him.”

The whole time Joaquin has been talking, he’s slowly been walking closer towards you. Now, he’s so close that you could reach out and touch him. That feeling, the energy that runs between the two of you, you can feel it again now. It usually disappears quickly, but today it lingers as you both look in each others eyes. 

“You still have his address?” Joaquin jokes, lips twitching up into a smile.

You huff out a laugh and roll your eyes. “What, now that you’re the Falcon you think you can just swoop in and kick his ass for me? You don’t have vibranium wings yet, honey.”

He shrugs. “I do have wings, though. I’d be gone for a few days at least, though. You’d have to live without me while I was gone. Do you reckon you could manage that?” He teases.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I might miss you when you’re gone.”

Joaquin takes a step towards you. “Oh, yeah?” He raises his eyebrows. “How much?”

“As much as any girl misses the man she loves.”

Upon hearing your words, Joaquin can’t hold himself back any longer. He closes the gap between you and cups your jaw in one of his hands before leaning down to press his lips to yours. Kissing you is instantly as easy as breathing, like he’s done it a million times before when in reality, this is one kiss over a decade in the making. He feels your hand on his waist, feels the warmth of it through his thin t-shirt, and the sensation urges him to kiss you deeper. His other hand rests on your back, holding you upright so you don’t tip backwards onto the couch as he kisses you.

The feeling of your lips on his is unlike any feeling he knows. Your lips are sweet, owing to the lip balm you’re wearing, and your skin is soft under his. He never wants this moment to end. He’d kiss you forever if it were possible.

But, eventually the two of you have to break apart to breathe and the moment comes to an end. You rest your foreheads against each others as you attempt to catch your breath. Your hand is fisted in his t-shirt and his thumb is swiping gently back and forth over your cheek. 

“So, do you offer private lessons?” You manage to say.

Joaquin laughs, the sound like music to your ears. “That depends,” he replies. “Am I a better kisser than your exes?” 

“I’m not even going to answer that question… just kiss me again.”

“Whatever you want, angel.” 

His lips meet yours again and the sound you make as they do sets Joaquin’s heart alight. His hand grips your back tighter as he feels your legs wrap around his waist, pulling him in closer. Your legs in those tiny pyjama shorts. The pyjamas he wasn’t allowed to see you wearing as a teenager, the ones he’s kissing you senseless in now.

He’s not sure he’s ever going to be able to leave this apartment.

–––––

“Finally,” Lina exclaims, clapping her hands together as she sees you and Joaquin walking into the diner, your hands entwined. 

You and Joaquin share a look, amused, before sliding into the booth opposite Catalina. She looks at you both, eyebrows raised, pressing you both to explain everything to her. 

It’s the first time you’ve seen her since you and Joaquin had finally gotten together. That night had ended up being a particularly long one and Joaquin hadn’t left until the following morning. You’d had a lot of catching up to do, among other things, after discovering you’d been pining for each other for so many years without really realising it. 

“We talked things out,” you state. “I don’t think you’d wanna hear all the details, Lina.” 

Catalina screws her nose up. “Oh, please no. Gross. Don’t even plant images like that in my mind,” she shakes her head. 

Joaquin laughs and strokes his thumb over your hand from where he’s still holding it. “You walked right into that one, Lina.” 

She makes another look of disgust and takes a sip of her drink. “Anyway, moving swiftly on from that… when’s the wedding?”

It’s your turn to laugh, this time, but Lina stays deadly serious as she looks between you both. It’s only when you stop laughing that you realise that she wasn’t asking it as a joke.

“We’ve been officially dating for like four days.”

“Yeah, and you’ve been in love for what, fifteen years? Let’s go, chop chop,” she claps her hands in time with her words. “I want to officially be able to call you my sister.” 

Joaquin chuckles. “You’re part of the reason we’ve wasted those years not being together, Lina. Forgive us if we want to actually date for the first time before the whole marriage thing.”

You squeeze his hand under the table and he turns to look at you, a smile on his face. He leans in and presses a kiss to your cheek, ignoring the sound that Lina makes at the public display of affection. 

He’d almost died a few months ago without knowing your true feelings. You’d both wasted so much time trying to get over the other without knowing. 

Joaquin is going to make sure he never wastes another second with you.

–––––

Joaquín Torres Tag List (Please ask if you'd like to be added!)

@sidkneeeee @dead-inside-but-happy @lay-lay-5 @marchingicenotes7 @phucboy @davinashifts333 @lomlbuckybarnes @laurenjbb @chansburgah @blackwidownat2814 @mischiefmanaged71 @madzlovez @marvelwitchergilmore @brittnicki @rheas-ripley @bcystar @victorsbathroomstall @giona45-5

[kxsagi]

this MIGHT be the last request because of my exams or maybe i’ll drop by mid exam when the stress is too much, i dunno😞‼️

A bluelock x volleyball player reader please? (w/ isagi, rin, sae, kaiser and shidou)

i play volleyball and it seemed like such a cute trope, football x volleyball hehe. the scenario can play however you want, nothing specific in mind. you can even make this request a list of head cannons if you want or just a regular scenario 😼❤️

“𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫”

a/n: oooh, you play volleyball 🤭 that's hot

also i just did a football player gf one, so hopefully they don’t sound too similar (i tried my best to make it different!)

ft. itoshi rin, shidou ryusei, itoshi sae, isagi yoichi, bachira meguru, mikage reo, nagi seishiro, karasu tabito, otoya eita, yukimiya kenyu

itoshi rin

rin, as expected, shows up to your games looking like he’s attending a funeral. arms crossed, blank expression, and eyes narrowed like he’s analyzing a crime scene. but the second you spike the ball and score a point? his fingers tighten ever so slightly on the railing. and when your team wins a tough match, he waits until everyone’s cleared out before walking up to you and quietly slipping his jacket over your shoulders. “good game,” he mutters, pretending his ears aren’t pink. and yeah, he definitely re-watches your highlight reel later. 

shidou ryusei 

oh, this man is out of control. he’s wearing your jersey, painted your number on his cheek, and has a hand-painted sign that says, “SPIKE ME, BABY 😍❤️.” he’s heckling the other team like it’s his sport. when you land a perfect block, he stands up and full-on YELLS, “GET THAT WEAK SHIT OUTTA HERE!!!” security has asked him to calm down three times but he’s not stopping. when you run over post-game, he picks you up and spins you around, practically yelling in your ear, “i’m SO fucking proud of you. you’re insane. i wanna frame that spike and hang it over our bed.”

itoshi sae

sae acts like it’s no big deal that you’re a volleyball star. except he slips it into conversations constantly. someone mentions working out? “yeah, my girlfriend does conditioning drills every day. her vertical is insane.” someone talks about being competitive? “my girlfriend’s a volleyball player. she hates losing.” and if anyone dare mentions volleyball in passing? oh, he’s already showing them a clip of you absolutely dominating at the net, coolly saying, “isn’t she so good?” while his smirk gives him away. 

isagi yoichi

isagi knows everything about volleyball now. the positions, rotations, libero rules – you name it, he’s learned it. he even practices calling out signals with you, crouching low with his hands ready, even though he’s never played in his life. at your games, he’s leaning forward with his hands on his knees, laser-focused like he’s analyzing a world cup match. “watch her timing on the block,” he mutters under his breath, eyes glinting with pride. when you run over after the game, sweaty and tired, he grins and kisses your forehead. “you’re so amazing, love. seriously. i’m blown away every time.” 

bachira meguru 

bachira shows up to your game wearing a custom hoodie with your jersey number on it. and yes, he has one of those giant foam fingers. when you score, he’s up on his feet, waving the finger in the air, yelling, “WOOOO, THAT’S MY GIRL!!!” and after the game? oh, he’s sprinting over and sliding across the gym floor just to hug you. “you were SO COOL!” he whines dramatically, planting exaggerated kisses on your cheeks. “please spike me next time. PLEASE.” and yes, he absolutely asks you to practice with him later, even though he’s trash at volleyball. 

mikage reo

reo absolutely shows up to your games looking like he just came from a business meeting. designer coat, expensive watch, the whole deal. but when you hit a killer spike? the coat’s off, sleeves rolled up, and he’s standing and clapping slowly like he’s watching a masterpiece. “flawless execution,” he mutters with a proud smirk. he insists on treating you to a fancy post-game dinner, whether you win or lose. “it’s not a reward,” he says with a wink. “just my volleyball queen getting the five-star treatment she deserves.” 

nagi seishiro

nagi drags himself to your games, still half-asleep, hoodie pulled over his head. but the second you make a killer play? his eyes are wide open. he leans forward, resting his chin on his hand, eyes locked on you the entire time. he may not be the loudest, but you can feel his gaze following you everywhere. post-game, he just slouches over to you with that sleepy, boyish smile. “mmm… you were so cool,” he mumbles, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face into your shoulder. “watching you is better than napping. and that’s saying a lot.” 

karasu tabito

karasu treats your games like his personal performance. he’s in the stands, dramatically miming your movements like he’s giving a full-on TED Talk. “you see that? perfect approach. look at the form. textbook spike, right there. my girl’s a beast.” he’s pointing you out to strangers like they don’t already know who you are. when you glance his way mid-game? he blows you a kiss with a cocky wink. post-game, he slings an arm around your shoulders and grins, “sooo, do i get to be your personal towel boy now? or just your trophy husband?”

otoya eita

otoya is leaning against the railing, watching you warm up with a sly grin. “damn, babe. always knew you had great legs, but seeing you jump like that? whew.” he catcalls you mid-game – playfully, of course. “hey, number seven, you single?” when you land a powerful serve, he lets out a low whistle. “mmm, remind me to never piss you off.” post-game, he pulls you close by your jersey, voice low in your ear. “you keep playing like that, i might just have to become your personal rebound.” smirk and all. 

yukimiya kenyu

yukimiya watches you play with so much admiration it’s almost embarrassing. hands folded neatly in his lap, eyes soft and full of pride, just watching you move across the court like you’re the only person in the gym. he doesn’t cheer too loudly, just claps politely, but his smile says it all. post-game, he cups your face gently, brushing some stray hair from your forehead. “you were breathtaking out there,” he murmurs softly, kissing your temple. “i’m so proud of you.” and yeah, he absolutely keeps your game schedule saved on his phone so he never misses one. 

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[amyzworldds]

Title: Long Hair, Don’t Care

During Seventeen’s Right Here World Tour, Dino’s decision to grow out his hair—thanks to his girlfriend's endless praise—sparks a fan frenzy. Pairing: Dino x reader Genre: Fluff, humor

The Right Here World Tour had Seventeen dominating stages worldwide, and Dino—your unfairly charming boyfriend—was having a moment. It all started when he decided to skip the haircuts after you’d raved about his longer locks at the tour’s start in Seoul. “It suits you so well,” you’d said, twirling a strand around your finger, and boom—Dino was hooked. No scissors dared come near him after that.

Now, months into the tour, his hair was long—like, poking-his-eyes, flipping-it-back-every-chorus long. You were smitten. Every time he brushed it off his face mid-performance, you’d catch yourself grinning like a total sap. And the fans? They were just as feral. Facebook and tiktok were a battlefield of Dino hype: grainy soundcheck pics, fan cams of him shaking out his bangs, captioned with pure chaos. “If not boyfriend, then why boyfriend shape?” one fan demanded. Another fired off, “If not boyfriend, stop being boyfriendable, I’m on my knees.” Someone even joked, “Dino’s hair is longer than my last relationship—hide the scissors!”

Then there were the conspiracy theories. Fans were dissecting his glow like it was a crime scene. “No way he’s this fine without a girlfriend,” one wrote under a dreamy selca. “That hair, that smile—someone’s loving him right, and it’s not just carats.” Another added, “He’s too boyfriendable to be single. I bet he’s got a secret lover keeping him that shiny.”

You, his very real and very proud girlfriend, were thriving. Your phone was a shrine to this long-haired Dino era—your gallery overflowing with fan-taken soundcheck pics you’d saved from social media. Before your nightly video call ritual, you couldn’t resist texting him a screenshot of your camera roll: rows of Dino mid-hair-flip, looking ethereal. “Babe,” you typed, “I think I need a new phone. My storage’s crying—512GB isn’t enough for all this boyfriend material.”

Minutes later, Dino replied from his hotel room fresh off stage: “You’re ridiculous. How many pics do you even have?!” You smirked, firing back, “Enough to crash my phone. Blame the fans—they’re feeding my obsession.”

When the video call finally connected, there he was—sprawled on his bed, hair a gorgeous mess, still buzzing from the show. “Babe,” you said, smirking at him through the screen as you propped your phone up. “Your fans are wild. My gallery’s a disaster because of you—soundcheck pics are taking over my life. And they’re saying stuff like, ‘If not boyfriend, then why boyfriend shape?’ I’m dying.”

Dino laughed, that bright, heart-melting laugh you lived for, running a hand through his bangs only for them to flop right back. “Boyfriend shape? What am I, a Ken doll?”

“Pretty much,” you teased. “They’re also onto you. They’re like, ‘He’s glowing too much, he’s got a girlfriend for sure.’ They’re sniffing me out!”

He grinned, leaning closer to the camera. “Well, they’re not wrong. I’ve got the best girlfriend hoarding pics of me like a stalker. And didn’t someone beg me to keep the hair long because it ‘suits me so well’?”

You gasped, clutching your chest. “Okay, rude, calling me a stalker when I’m just appreciating art! But yeah, I did say that… and now I’m regretting it because the fans are out here calling you boyfriendable, and I’m over here like, ‘Back off, that’s my boyfriend shape!’”

Dino smirked, tilting his head so his hair fell even more into his eyes. “Oh, now you’re jealous? You were all, ‘Baby, it’s so sexy, never cut it,’ and now I’m too boyfriendable for you?”

“Exactly!” you shot back, giggling. “I’ve created a monster. My phone’s dying, the fans are feral—I might have to sneak into one of your concerts with scissors and chop those bangs off so they stop making edits of you looking like a K-drama lead.”

He clutched his hair protectively. “Don’t you dare! You’re the reason I’m out here looking like a mop with a skincare routine. This is your fault, babe.”

“A mop?!” you cackled. “More like a shiny, boyfriend-shaped mop. They’re right—you’re too pretty to be single. Good thing I’ve got you locked down.”

“Locked down?” he teased, pushing his hair back again. “You’re the one filling your phone with my pics. I’m keeping this mess because you love it and the fans love it. I’m winning for Team Long Hair.”

You sighed dramatically. “Fine, you win. But when the tour’s over, I’m braiding it. Maybe slapping a bow on it. Gotta remind them who’s got the real claim.”

Dino chuckled, smiling as he shook his head. “Deal. But I’m only this boyfriendable because of you, you know that, right?”

You softened, smiling back at him. “And I’m only this obsessed because of you, you know that, right?”

“Touché,” he said, blowing you a kiss through the screen. “Love you, stalker.”

“Love you too, boyfriend shape,” you replied, winking.

-----------------------------------------------------------an: please, I can’t get over Dino’s long hair pics from sound check—it’ll be my cause of ☠️😭