#there's so much good stuff at the dumpster if you just open your heart. today it was several of those mini hand sanitizers
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doubletrucks · 1 year ago
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my roommates love it when i come home and say "look what i found in the dumpster behind work today!"
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anjaelle · 2 years ago
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Study Buddies
Pairing: College!Dave Lizewski x Black!Reader Summary: He's decidedly taken permanent residence in this dorm room, and you can't say it bothers you much. Warnings: Language, mentions of bruising/battering. Word Count: 2k a/n: The successor to Dumpster Diving. The same two losers in the same universe. Only because you guys asked so nicely.
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--x--
"I feel like this is an abuse of my good graces."
You watched as Dave Lizewski climbed through your window for the third time that week and tripped over your extension cord, falling to the floor with a dull thud. He popped back up, readjusting his hoodie and his glasses.
"You really need to move that somewhere."
"Right," you nodded, nudging the power strip with your foot, "gotta make sure my flurry of suitors have clear access to my boudoir."
He cracked a smile at you, one he rarely expressed in public for other people, and you felt your heart thump against your ribs.
Absolutely fucking not.
You plopped onto your bed and crossed your legs, "Okay, Kick-Ass, what brings you to my window this time?"
You were prepared for another round of bruises and cuts from endless fights he seemed to get himself into. Sometimes he explained the injuries, other times he didn't. But he was just happy he had someone who could help him without asking too many questions.
This time he simply shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned back on his heels.
"I kinda...just wanted to see you today."
"Oh!"
There was a heavy pause and he scratched the back of his head.
"Yeaaaah."
You propped your chin on your fist, inquisitively, eying the way he seemed to fit so seamlessly into your living space. "You just saw me at study group this afternoon."
"C'mon you know it's not the same."
He was right. Sure, you had the tendency to sit next to each other in study group and bump knees. And you could feel his glances every five minutes. And sure, when he wasn't passing glances at you, you were passing glances at him wondering why he wasn't looking at you.
And, yes, you did know what it felt like to have him sleep on your chest while you stroked his soft curly hair. But that usually only happened after you got him sorted out. This was new.
You scooted over and patted the space next to you on the bed, which he happily plopped down on like he always did after leaning over to kiss you on the forehead.
"So you came all this way and climbed the side of a building for little old me? I still don't know why you don't use the front door."
“The security guard creeps me out. Besides, I’m not spider-man. I just used some guy’s ladder.”
“You stole someone’s ladder?”
“He wasn’t using it!”
“What if he’s on some roof trying to get down now?”
He stared at you. You stared back. His eyes widened.
"I'll be right back!" He jumped up and rushed out the door, shouting behind him, "Prop the front door open for me!"
He came back about ten minutes later, red-faced with a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. His hair was messy like he'd been running, and his glasses were slightly askew.
"So..."he took a deep breath and wiped his hands on his sweater, "there was a guy on the roof. He was really pissed and, uh, I got freaked out and ran."
You noticed the grass stains on his clothes, which was clear evidence that he tripped and fell at least once on the way back. It was hard not to feel the swell of...something...deep in the pit of your stomach.
"Another job well done, Kick-Ass. Always thinking of the common man." You playfully tugged at the zipper of his hoodie, zipping it up and down while he cleaned his dirty glasses off on the Watchmen shirt you got him.
Because that's what friends did. You bought stuff for each other. For fun.
He didn't think twice about stripping down to his underclothes to throw his things in the wash. His reasons were partially because his roommates were always too lazy to clear their machine out for him to use, partially because he really liked your detergent (he admitted that the smell reminded him of you), and partially because he knew you didn't like when he wore his "gross street clothes" in your room.
Which was absolutely fair.
After throwing his grass-stained, dirty clothes in the wash, he flopped onto your bed and stared at the fairy lights that decorated the ceiling. You sat cross-legged next to him, looking him over and subconsciously checking for new injuries. You'd learned first aid just to help him with his stitches...and the occasional bullet removal. You didn't learn the bullet removal in first aid class. You puked the first time. You could still see the messy stitching in his shoulder where he was shot.
The mixtape he made for you played lowly out of the speaker on your desk, and you heard him humming softly to himself in thought.
"I like your room." He suddenly said, tilting his head to fully address you.
You cracked a smile at him, "Yeah I can tell. You've been hanging out here every other day for the last 2 months. You might as well move in."
A light, airy laugh bubbled out of him in waves. It sounded almost like a giggle, which made you giggle too.
"Why are we laughing?" You asked bumping him with your knee.
Dave pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he thought deeply about what he wanted to say next. The fact that he lacked a poker face made him relatively easy to read--and he's said the same about you at least once.
He tapped your knee with his knuckle, "Nothing. I--just...nothing. I promise."
You sat in comfortable silence again as the music filled the room and the gentle golden lights cast shadows along the walls.
"Has anyone ever followed you here?" You asked.
"No."
It was a stern, short answer. Absolute. Definite. His eyes scanned you from head to toe before settling on your face. It was the most serious you'd ever seen him. When he propped himself on his elbow to rest his head on his hand, he clenched his jaw.
"I'd never let that happen. I would never come here first because I'd never put you in the position to be in danger."
"I know," you admitted, carefully, "I was just wondering--"
"I'd never let anything happen to you." He stated with a shrug.
You instinctively reached out and pushed his dark curls back and away from his eyes, "I thought I was the one keeping you safe. How did we get here?"
In one swift motion, he wrapped his arms around you to pull you on top of him like you weighed nothing. His strength always seemed to surprise you. You barely had time to let out a shocked squeak.
"You can't keep doing that."
His eyes widened, "Did that hurt? I'm sorry--"
"No," you swatted his chest, playfully, "I'm fine. I'm just never really prepared for it."
When he was sure he didn't severely traumatize you with his displays of affection, he resumed rubbing small, lazy circles into your lower back.
"Sorry for startling you."
"You're forgiven."
He leaned forward and kissed your nose.
Dave Lizewski was an enigma. Beneath the nervousness, the dorkiness, the shyness, and general earnestness was someone who surprisingly had a lot of game. You used to imagine that he practiced his lines in the mirror before he visited you. Then you realized...no. He's just very honest when he's comfortable.
You rested your head on his chest to listen to his strong, steady heartbeat that seemed to pick up speed. When you reached up to gently touch the healing scar on his collarbone where he was nearly stabbed, he shifted under you.
"What are you thinking?" He suddenly asked.
"I get scared for you sometimes."
He said nothing, but you felt his hand pause before continuing its trek down your back.
"You're still a human being, y'know," you added, "even when I pulled you out of the dumpster--"
"Which I still thank you for, by the way."
You snorted, "You're welcome. But even when I pulled you from the dumpster, you could've died from how high you fell. And then there's the stabbing, and the shooting, and you got hit by a crowbar once..."
He seemed to consider this. Then he said, "Someone has to do it. No one else on campus--in town--has stepped up to the plate yet."
"But why does it have to be you?"
"Why not me?"
"You can't answer my question with another question, you asshat."
He laughed at your outburst and lightly patted you on the butt.
"Compromise? I pinky swear to stop after graduation."
You didn't believe him. But when he held his pinky out to you, you wrapped yours around his and he pulled you in for a quick peck on the lips.
"Fine. But if you're still running around lower manhattan in a onesie at 26, I'm telling your dad."
You curled yourself back up against his chest while he curled one of your braids around his finger, absentmindedly.
"You don't have to worry about that, by the way." He said, dropping your hair, "I just really, really like the idea of you still being in my life four or five years from now."
"Why wouldn't I be?"
Dave nervously pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose again, "I dunno. I just...I think you're really cool and I know I can be weird sometimes. And I know you might not see me the way I see you but-"
You leaned forward to kiss him once and then twice. And as your curled your fingers into his hair, he seemed to melt into your touch with a soft groan. He pulled away just enough to rip his glasses off and toss them in the corner before pulling you in again. He wrapped a calloused hand around the back of your neck when you nipped at his lower lip. Your fingernails slipped under his undershirt to walk along the sensitive skin of his lower stomach, just above the waistband of his boxers, and he shuddered.
"Fuck," he hissed, kissing along your jaw and down your throat, "God, I love you."
Your eyes popped open. "What?"
"What?"
He trailed kisses back up to your lips like nothing happened, but you could feel his heart thudding in his chest.
"Did you... just say...you loved me?" You asked, between kisses. He pulled away and stared at you with panic in his wide blue eyes.
"Yes. No. Yes...shit did I ruin it? Do you want me to go?"
"No."
You felt a rush of an unexplained emotion flow through you as you pulled your hand out from under his shirt.
He traced the shape of your lower lip with this thumb before dropping his hand to your shoulder, "I--you don't have to say it back. It just slipped out."
You rolled off of him and crawled up the bed to rest your back against the wall. He hesitated, then slid into the space beside you.
"I lied," he mumbled, "I was gonna say it before, but you distracted me with your mouth. Again."
You sighed and reached over to hold his hand.
"How long?"
"Since last semester."
"Why didn't you say anything?"
You watched him thump his head against the wall, "Because I didn't want to ruin our friendship. But, y'know, we crossed that line the first time we smanged, I think."
"Please don't say smanged."
You could hear the grin in his voice without looking at him, "We smanged."
You flicked him on the shoulder and he laughed. Some of the nervous tension melted away as he squeezed your hand.
"Like I said," he continued, "you don't have to say it back. It's okay if you don't feel the same way."
You thought for a moment about how often you worried about him and how often he watched over you. He seemed to always be around, even when he wasn't physically there. Dave was undoubtedly your best friend. You turned to look at him only to find him already watching you with the most intense gaze you'd ever seen. Felt your cheeks heat up.
"I'm not sure if it's love yet." You said, carefully, "But...I think it could be."
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duskholland · 4 years ago
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Settle || Mob!Tom Smut
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summary ↠ distance may make the heart grow fonder, but you’d spend every day by tom’s side if you could. warnings ↠ a bit of angst, and this is just.... so fucking smutty.... pwp but make it 8k of smut... 18+ minors dni !!!!!!!!!!! extended nsfw warnings below the cut <3 word count ↠ 11.7k. a/n ↠ lads... lost my mind I’ve lost it. the mob!tom energy has been absolutely overwhelming for the last month, and this has been a long time coming. thank you esquire. thank you gq. thanks tom too, I guess, even though his handsomeness is a double-edged sword. also thanks to chloe for motivating me to write this lmao. this was a lot of fun!! softness sweetness debased animalistic crazy stuff. we love to see it. lmk what you think !! <3 ***this is a part of my mob!tom series – a collection of oneshots set within the same universe. you don’t need to read the other parts for this to make sense! 
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
extended warnings ↠ praise kink, breeding kink, cockwarming, multiple orgasms, overstimulation, crying, biting, spitting, oral + fingering (fem receiving), unprotected sex (the long-awaited return of cum-dumpster!reader), minor d/s dynamics ft soft!dom!tom, possessiveness in the dirty talk, and I wouldn’t say it’s degradation but there is some patronisation lmao. this is intense loving passionate consuming smut, esp the second section. pls practice safe sex irl x
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
✧ *:・゚SETTLE・゚:*✧
Tom is wrapped around you, his rich scent overpowering each one of your senses. He consumes you. He becomes you.
With your face buried in the crook of his neck and your legs swung either side of his thighs, you’re clinging tightly to him. One of his hands rests beneath the shirt on your back, the tips of his fingers slowly stroking up and down your spine, and you can feel the firm press of his nose against the side of your head. His face nestles against your hair as he holds you to the warm skin of his neck. Every few minutes, Tom pulls away from the documents and spreadsheets resting on his desk and litters the side of your temple with short kisses.
There’s a persistent throbbing between your legs, but it’s worth it. Tom’s cock is buried inside you, his length enveloped by your silky heat. You can feel him, bearing in on every intimate space of your cunt. In your aroused state, you swear you can make out the lines of his bulbous head and the curves of his veins as they press up against your sensitive walls. You’re pulsing—every slight movement made by either you or him causing you to gasp softly and cling closer to your boyfriend.
“God, darling,” Tom murmurs, accented voice hanging low and heavy. He strokes over your back again, and you hear him click his ballpoint pen. When he tosses the heavy metal object back onto the desk, he sits back in the wide office chair that the two of you are precariously balanced on. You aren’t scared of falling off—you’ve done this before, countless times. You know that he’s got you. “So fuckin’ snug, aren’t you?”
You pull away from your boyfriend’s neck, sucking in a rough breath as you sit up to face him and receive the lightest of friction against your g-spot. As your teeth dig into your lower lip, you take a few moments to admire his ensemble—light white shirt, unbuttoned and hanging open, a delicate silver chain dangling over the golden expanse of his chest. He’s got his rings stacked over his fingers, and the bright metal pieces catch in your hair as he smoothes a hand across your cheek.
Tom smirks at you, his deep brown eyes flooded with lusting appreciation. With one hand on your face, the other slowly slides down your back, drifting over the loose shirt that covers your figure until it disappears between your legs. You cry out as his index finger reaches down to play with your clit, still wet and sensitive from his exploration earlier. He’d opened you up on his tongue before sheathing himself inside you.
“You just got so tight, angel,” he murmurs, voice raspy. “Do you like when I show you a bit of attention?”
“Yeah,” you whimper. You can barely keep your eyes open as he continues to toy with your bud. It’s hard to push down the temptation to start riding him, but you know that’s not the point of this. As much as you crave release and the opportunity to fall apart whilst being encompassed by Tom, there are other objectives at play. “I’ll miss this,” you admit. “I’ll miss you.”
“I know, my darling.” Tom’s expression briefly clouds over, some of the heat leaving his eyes. He rolls the pad of his thumb across your cheekbone, a gentle pout curling across his lower lip. “I don’t want to leave you.”
You lick your lower lip, pushing back the hot lump of emotion that simmers in your chest. All week, you’ve felt apprehensive for his departure, anticipating today with unease. Tom is a good businessman, and usually he’s able to control his own empire from the comfort of his West London mansion. For so long, he’s been near you, lingering close, never trailing too far from your side. But there’s uncertainty in the air, and they need him out in Manchester for a few weeks to whip the boys back into shape. Until the supply issue is resolved, he’ll be away—away from you, and your bed, and the life that you’ve constructed so precariously together.
In this world of drugs and darkness, nothing is certain. You fall asleep beside Tom each night thankful that he’s safe, he’s here, he’s content. You know plenty of people who haven’t been afforded such a luxury. Your boyfriend has enemies who seek revenge and retribution, and their greedy eyes follow him from every direction. They’re like wolves, every single one of them—suppliers, rivals, the law—waiting in the shadows, preparing to pounce at the first sign of weakness.
You shouldn’t love him. He’s not a good man. Tom has told you as much repeatedly—in his deprecating words, in the underhanded dealings that go on around your dinner table, through his violent actions against opponents. But he loves you, and he is a good man, to you, and maybe that’s all that matters. Maybe you can take the pain and the darkness, because it affords you a glimmer of light in the form of your boyfriend. Tom holds you at the very centre of his universe, and as he cups your face in a gentle hand and coaxes you in for a sweet kiss, you know you wouldn’t have it any other way. Your life may be characterised by uncertainty, but there is no doubt in the way that he loves you, so recklessly and fiercely. He gives you everything that he has without hesitation.
The kiss grows deeper, and you moan into Tom as he presses his tongue into your mouth. He’s still rolling your clit beneath his thumb, and you reach up to grab fistfuls of his hair. When he’d pulled you into the office earlier and begged you to spend time with him, it’d come with the caveat that you need not distract him from his final pieces of work. He seems to have abandoned that decision now, as he ruts up into you when you groan into his mouth.
“Sweet love,” he purrs, voice darker. Tom squeezes your cheek, the cool metal of his ring pressing to your skin as he holds you tightly. He releases your face a moment later, fingers shifting to your waist as his lips grace over the tender part of your face. “God, I’ll miss you. Miss this fuckin’ cunt.” He kisses down from your cheek, shifting back and towards your ear. You release a wispy moan as he finds your tender spot, sucking harshly against the skin then soothing the ache with his hot tongue. “So perfect for me.”
“You’re perfect,” you murmur, mind slow. Tom holds your hip slowly and encourages you to move, and both of you release sounds of enjoyment as you begin to ride him. Your entrance aches, stretched wide around his girth, but as his finger rubs persistent circles across your bud, it soothes into pleasure. “Fuck, Tom… You fill me up completely. You’re in so deep.”
“I know, darling,” he murmurs. When you toss your head back and start to move faster, he’s quick to attach his lips to your neck. “Tightest little thing,” he adds, voice scalding against your ear. “I know I’ll be dreaming of you, angel. Every single night.”
You cry out as he helps you shift slightly to the side, optimising your pleasure. As the crown of Tom’s cock rubs up against your back wall, you shudder, breath hitching. The sounds of your heat, so wet and silky, being fucked repeatedly as you come down on him again and again spurs you on. It grows wild quickly, Tom leaving your neck and sitting back in his chair just to watch you ride him so perfectly. His eyes are dark and passionate, and his gaze so intense that it’s as if he’s trying to burn the memory to mind.
“I don’t think I can hold it,” you admit, eyes threatening to roll back. After sitting on his cock for fifteen minutes, you were already riled up. Now, you’re on cloud nine. Pleasure has your toes curling, the muscles in your thighs tensing and straining as you cling to the back of Tom’s head and tug on his curls. “T-Tom.”
“That’s it, gorgeous. Say my name.”
His ring digs into your side, spurring you on. As the cool metal nicks at your skin, the coil in your stomach tightens further.
“Oh,” you moan, eyes fluttering shut. No longer able to see Tom’s handsome face, you’re left only with the sensations, pulsing out from your centre. You’re on the verge, inching closer with every time Tom pulls you back onto his cock. He works you open, thrusts into you deep, leaves you gasping.
“C’mon, pretty baby,” he murmurs, hot lips moving forward to press at your neck. “Make me cum. I know you want it, don’t you?”
A throaty groan travels past your lips as you know exactly what he’s talking about. You’d stopped taking birth control a week ago, and though both of you know that the chances of you falling pregnant so soon after ending those hormones are slim, the possibility is there. Sex now feels dangerous, the extra weight to it filling you with arousal and excitement.
“Yes,” you whimper. “Please.”
Tom nips at your ear, the bite of pain making you moan.
“Go on,” he coos, voice sweet, sultry. “I’m going to fill you up, darling. Give you something to remember me by.” His hand slips from his waist and travels to your lower stomach, resting there. “Right here,” he adds. “Do you want it, love? You need to work for it. Cum on my cock, mm? Let me feel how desperate your tight little pussy is for my cum.”
Tom snaps his hips up to yours, and a few moments later, you peak. Your climax burns through you, your walls clamping down around his length in a way that makes him groan loudly. You open your eyes to watch his face seize up, freezing with pleasure and enjoyment as his jaw tenses and his eyes squeeze shut. You feel his cock pulsing as you continue to move over him, lost in the pleasure that spirals out from your cunt and your clit. His pants are laboured too.
When you come down from it, you settle in his lap, sweaty palms grasping at his face. Tom pulls you closer, wrapping you up in his arms as he presses his forehead to yours. His nose bumps against yours, tip warm. Every part of him is warm.
“I love you so much,” he says, voice serious. “More than you could ever imagine, Y/N.”
You smile. “I love you too,” you whisper.
Tom pulls back from you to pepper his lips across your face, dusting every inch of your skin with his mouth. You’re still connected at your centre, and you know the moment you stand, you’ll feel the evidence of his love dripping down your thighs.
“I—”
A rough knocking sound bursts into the room, hard knuckles drumming over the office door. You jump, and Tom’s brows crease. He brings both of his hands to cover your ears and kisses the tip of your nose before sitting up a little straighter.
“What the fuck do you want?” he hollers, voice terse. He’s muffling the volume with his palms, but you still wince, and he kisses your nose again in penance.
“Sir, we have to go. The men are waiting—”
Tom’s face ripples with irritation. You watch the vein stand out in his neck, fading only when his eyes sweep back to your face. He deflates as he brings his lips down across your forehead.
“I’ll be two minutes,” he barks back. “Now piss off. I’m with my girl.”
“Yes, sir.”
Tom peels his hands away from your ears, then rubs each one of your earlobes with the soft pads of his thumbs. “Sorry about that, my darling,” he mumbles, shadows covering his features. His teeth dig into his lower lip as he sighs. “I need to go.”
You feel your face fall, and break eye contact when the intensity of his gaze grows too much. “Okay,” you mumble.
“Hey.” Tom grasps your chin between his index and his middle finger. “I’ll come back to you,” he promises. You know he can feel your reluctance to let him go, can see it on your face without you having to verbalise it. You wonder if he’s been able to tell how unsettled you feel about the whole ordeal, and if maybe that’s why he’s let you be more clingy this week.
“What if you don’t?” you breathe out, unable to keep it in. You blink a few times, trying to hide the watery film of tears that shakes across your eyes. “What if something happens to you whilst you’re away, and you don’t come home?” You reach down and grab at his shirt, clenching your knuckles around the crisp material. “Tom, you are my home. I don’t know what I’ll do if—”
“I’ll come back, baby.” He kisses you softly, a few fingers brushing up beneath your chin and tilting you to him. “I always will. I promise. I’m a man of my word, so you know that’s true.”
You manage a thin smile, heart aching even as Tom cups your face in his hands. “I love you,” you say finally. “And I’ll be waiting for you to get back.”
Tom nods. His cheeks are still flushed, and his hair is a mess, but the fire in his eyes is undeniable. When he deposits a light kiss to your cheek and then lets his lips brush you against your earlobe, you know that he’ll be back. You know he’d never fail you.
“I’ll be back before you know it.”
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
A month passes. You miss Tom desperately.
For the first three weeks, you manage to control the sadness in your chest. Finding distraction in your job and your friends, you’re able to forget about the giant Tom-shaped hole in your heart. He lingers on, though, his love persistent even in his absence. Despite finding certain ways to limit your anguish, like daily calls, and soaking your wrists in his cologne each morning, the time only worsens your heartache. You’re miserable without him.
In the fourth week, it reaches the point where you can no longer pretend you aren’t aching for him. You miss him in a way you’ve never felt before, his absence from your home like a sharp spire ever-present in your chest, burrowing deeper every lonely morning. Tom can’t ease you, doesn’t know himself when he’ll be able to come home. The job he’s had to do has spiralled, with mutinous men and delayed shipments, and it’s in too precarious a position for him to leave and come back to you. When you’d suggested visiting, he’d immediately wiped that option from the table, citing the acts of violence and uneven atmosphere as too great a risk to take. You understand it, but you miss him, and it permeates every part of your life.
It’s late Tuesday night, and in a fitless trance, you find yourself walking up to the third floor of the mansion. When you’d moved in, almost a year ago, Tom had tried to make you feel as comfortable as possible. In his efforts, he’d installed an art studio for you to use. The gesture went in tandem with his greatest gift to you so far—your very own art gallery, right in the centre of London. The studio is a large room, framed with huge windows which overlook the sprawling estate. Tonight, all you can make out is the dim driveway and the crescent moon, hanging thinly in the sky.
After turning on some music and slipping on your painting apron, you take your place in front of your easel. As you stare at the blank canvas, your fingers shift up to absently run the line of Tom’s ring. It hangs on a chain around your neck, silver and bold. You hadn’t realised that he’d left it with you until you’d reached into your pocket the day of his departure and found it sitting there. You know the matching ring stays wrapped around his pinky finger, and it brings you a sense of comfort to trace the smooth band and feel connected to him, even in a small way.
You decide to paint Tom, trying to coax him to life from your memories. Shades of gold and brown take form over your canvas. With every brush stroke and flick of your wrist, you feel lighter, some of the ache lessening.
Hours pass, interrupted only by the ringing of your phone. Biting back a small curse word as you feel your concentration shatter, you put your paintbrush down and tug your phone from your back pocket. Your frown fades as you see Tom’s name, flashing on the screen besides an image of his face.
“T,” you greet, the relief in your voice obvious even to you. “Hey.”
There’s silence for a few moments, then his voice crackles down the line. “Hi, darling,” Tom speaks. “It’s not too late to talk, is it?”
You glance up at the ornate clock sitting on the wall. The feature is grand and solid gold, matching the themes of the rest of his house. Tom likes decadence. His luxurious touch is evident in the patterns of red, black, and metals that cling to each article of furniture. When you see that it’s 2am, you blink a few times, shaking off your surprise as you realise how much time has passed since you’d started to paint.
“It’s okay,” you reply. “I’m painting.”
“Ahhh.” You hear the rustling of sheets, and you imagine Tom in bed. He’s probably bundled up in sweats and a hoodie, sprawled out across his mattress. The house in Manchester always runs cold, and you’ve heard his complaints consistently for the last few weeks. The image of him resting up against the headboard, pouting from beneath a pile of blankets makes you smile. “What are you working on?”
You smile into your phone, stepping back to admire your handiwork. “You,” you tell him. “Just your eyes at the moment, and the outline of your hair.”
“Me again?” Tom speaks, and his tone is like soft velvet, gentle and crushing at the edges. “I’m flattered, darling.”
“Mmm.” You fiddle with his ring. “I’ll need to dedicate a wall to you in the gallery. You’re my favourite muse.”
Tom chuckles. “That’d be an honour,” he says, voice dropping in volume. “It’s a privilege to be loved by you.” His voice twangs sadly, and you feel yourself frowning.
“Are you okay, baby?”
He’s quiet for a few moments. You find yourself biting your lip.
“Yeah,” he says, voice thicker. “Long day.”
“What did you do?”
He sucks in a harsh breath, air catching on the back of his teeth. “Can we just talk about you for a minute?”
Worry furrows your brow. “Okay,” you say, drawing out the syllable as you scramble for words to fill the gap. “Today I visited your mother.”
“Oh?”
“She wanted me to show her how I made those biscuits, from your birthday last year?” You pause until he makes a noise of recognition. “Ended up staying there for a while, had some tea. Gossiped about you.”
Tom snorts. “Learn anything good?”
“Only that you were just as much of a terror as a child,” you reply. “She sent me photos. I’ll text them to you later.”
It’d been a sobering experience to see Tom so animated and innocent as a child, but you don’t tell him that. So much as changed since he was seven and running through a field with his brothers. He has lost more than you could ever fathom.
“Did she show you the one with my head half shaved?”
You laugh. “Yeah,” you say, smiling against the phone. You’re holding the device tightly in your fingers, clinging to it almost desperately. “I can’t believe Harry did that to you.”
“Well, I did piss him off,” Tom reasons. “I got him back, anyway.”
“Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah, darling. Put a bunch of, like, millipedes and creepy crawly things in his bed.” Tom pauses to laugh, his voice lighter. “He hated me for about a year after that. Tried to kill me with his eyes every time he saw me.”
You roll your eyes. “You’re a nightmare,” you respond. “I’m seeing him at the weekend, and Sam. I can’t wait to get their perspectives on the demon you used to be.”
“I’m still a demon now, darling.”
“Yeah.” You lick across your lower lip, mind briefly darkening. He can be particularly devilish, whenever the mood strikes. “Love you, though.”
“And I love you.” Tom’s quiet again for a few moments, and when he speaks, his voice is gentle, “I love how much you like my family. It’s really special to me that you get along with them.”
You suck on your lower lip. “Of course,” you reply. “I love them. They… They feel like my brothers too, sometimes. Is that weird?”
“No.” You hear rustling again, followed by a soft grunt as he tries to find a better position to lay in. “Darling, family is everything to me, you know that. It’s a joy to see you fit in with my family, and I know they love you like a sister, too. Mum’s always saying how she sees you like a daughter.”
You glance up at your canvas, the shapes blurring with unshed tears. “She said that today, actually,” you murmur.
“Exactly.” Tom’s voice is passionate, alight and engaged. You can feel his strain. “You’re family.”
The air between you stills, and you wonder if he knows that you’re on the verge of tears, if he knows how grateful you are to him for inviting you into his life and letting you touch each piece of him without hesitation. The intricacies of his soul have gone so long unfelt, but he’s let you handle them, let you dust them off and admire them.
“Show me your art?” Tom adds, voice slightly thicker. “Please?”
“One sec.” You swallow down the hot lump of emotions that press at the back of your throat and pull your phone away from your ear. After briefly tousling your hair, you tap at the screen and enable the video setting. You flip the camera so it’s facing out in front of you, the canvas being framed by your phone screen. “This is what I’ve been doing today… Over there are the ones from the last few weeks.”
Tom spends a few minutes on a virtual tour of your studio, cooing soft words of endearment as you talk him through each piece. He’s tired, his voice often interspersed with soft yawns and grunts of fatigue, but he blows away all suggestions of disconnecting. Your tour takes you all throughout the house, showing him the slight alterations you’ve made to a few pieces of furniture in his absence. You end up in your bedroom, showing him the new blanket you bought for your bed.
“I want to see your face,” you whine, finally settling in bed. You’re laying on his side, head resting on top of the pillow that smells of him. Tom had watched you change into pyjamas, witnessed you brushing your teeth and getting ready for bed. All you’ve had is a black screen. “How am I supposed to sleep without seeing you, Tommy?” You pout at the blank phone, trying really hard to get him to yield. It’s 3am now and you’re delirious with fatigue, but you’re craving him more than ever.
“I don’t look nice, though,” he complains. “I look ugly.”
You practically recoil at the words. You hope he can feel the ferocity in your gaze as you glare at your phone’s camera.
“You don’t,” you say. “You never look anything short of handsome.”
Tom chuckles. “You’re too kind,” he says, “but really. I got beat up a bit. My face is all…” He makes a sound of nonchalance. “Well.. It doesn’t matter. You don’t need to know the gory details.”
Your eyebrows shoot up your forehead at the word gory. “Show me,” you ask, voice softer. You snuggle further into bed, pulling the sheets further around your figure and trying to pretend you’re being hugged by your boyfriend instead of the feather down duvet. “Please, baby. I’m worried.”
Tom sighs. “Okay, but before I show you, you have to promise not to freak out.” As he sees your widening eyes, he adds. “Exactly! Don’t freak out! I’m fine. Can’t even feel it, the amount of painkillers I’m on. I’m alright.”
“...Okay.”
A few moments pass, and you hear him curse as he clumsily presses at the screen. When your phone lights up, showing a depiction of your boyfriend’s face, you have to bite back a gasp. Bruises cloud his left cheek, deep shades of red clinging to his cheekbone. There are scratches, too, riddled with scabs and lined with pink skin. The most obvious and upsetting sign of his injury however is his nose.
“Did you break your nose again?” you ask, voice soft. The skin beneath his eyes is bruising, and there’s a dark mark across the bridge of his nose.
“No, thank god,” Tom murmurs. “Just got hit on it.”
He’s laying in bed too, and you turn onto your side and prop him up on one of the pillows so it’s as if he’s laying beside you. With a dark burgundy hoodie pulled over his head, obscuring his curls, he looks pale and tepid. His cheeks are sunken, and it’s not just from the injury. Tom seems exhausted.
“Are you okay, apart from that?”
“Hm?”
“Are you okay, Tom?”
He offers a weak smile. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.” His voice fades with each iteration. You watch as Tom bites his lower lip, then reaches up to press his fingers into the tense lines of his pebbled forehead. “Just tired, darling. It’s been a busy week.”
“Come home,” you say, sleepy and wistful. “I’ll take care of you.”
“I can’t, my darling,” he mumbles. Tom’s eyes look at you sadly. “Things would fall apart.”
“You’re falling apart.”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Will you?”
Tom’s quiet for a while, and you watch him swallow. He gives you a tense nod, lips pulled into a frown. “I have to be.”
His words hurt you, but you know you shouldn’t push it further. Not with his eyes glassy and his chin twitching.
“You don’t,” you say softly. “Come home.”
Tom hums. His eyes are like two diamonds, holding the weight of the world, of a life so recklessly lived. His gaze skitters across your phone, and he arches a brow when he sees you stifle a yawn. “Goodnight, darling.”
You wish you could hold him, or touch him. You wish you could get anything more than the static and the empty bed.
“Night, Tom,” you whisper. “Sweet dreams.”
“Sweet dreams to you too, baby.” Tom puckers up his lips and blows you a kiss. You return it, lips tweaking into a soft smile. “Love you more than anything.”
Your voice feels thick as you echo the sentiments. “Talk tomorrow,” you murmur, tired. “Love you.”
“Bye, bye, bye.”
You’re the one to disconnect, unable to take the imminent heartache that comes with being the last to say goodbye. Tom fades, and you let your phone fall over.
The pain returns, pressing into your heart. It’s raw and cold, and it makes you shiver. A few tears soak into the pillow that smells of him, cool against your hairline.
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
You wake up the next morning, slowly at first, then all at once.
It’s light in your bedroom. Your sleepy mind wonders if you’d forgotten to draw the curtains when you’d crashed out last night. As you bemoan the bright light that hurts your closed eyes, you slowly twitch awake. Feeling an ache in your arm, you try to move, only to find something rendering you incapacitated. You frown in your tired haze, trying again to move, just to stay exactly where you are again. Your brows furrow next, and you slowly rouse to consciousness as you try to work out what’s going on.
Your heart rate spikes as you realise there are two arms wrapped around you. Warmth envelops you, pressing into your back, your legs, your waist. You jerk awake, panicking for a moment before you feel his lips on your shoulder, and smell the familiar scent of him.
“Shh, darling. It’s me.”
Immediately, you roll over, twisting in his arms until you’re looking at him. His eyes are soft, hair a mess, and he offers you the gentlest smile you’ve ever seen.
“Tom?!” you exclaim, voice catching in the back of your throat. “H-How— but—?”
Both of Tom’s hands go to your cheeks, and he pulls you in for a blinding morning kiss. You sigh as warmth fills every part of you, his lips washing away the angst and the sadness you’d felt just hours earlier. You moan into it, a soft rumble, and curl into him. As you run your hands over his bare form, you appreciate how his muscles are firm and supple beneath your fingertips. You map him out attentively, touch dipping into the shades of his muscles as you try to imprint him to your memory again.
When Tom breaks the kiss, he presses his lips to the tip of your nose. As his warm breath fans out across your face, he stares at you, eyes gentle. Keeping one hand on your cheek, Tom lets the other drift down. When he reaches your neck, he tugs at the chain you keep looped around your throat, his nimble fingers going to play with the ring on the end, still there, hanging between you.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he says slowly. He pulls on the chain and brings you in nearer, kissing you again, softly. “We said goodnight, and...”
Your hands are in his hair, gently stroking the mane from his face. It’s longer now, thicker and brighter than before. You push it away and look at his features. The bruises don’t seem as pronounced now, and you think he must’ve spent time in the sun. Light freckles dust the bridge of his nose, slanted and wonky but perfect nonetheless.
“Hmm?”
Tom licks his lips. “I couldn’t stay away any longer. I left it all to Haz.” Again, he steals your lips in a kiss. He follows up the action with several more, light dustings in quick succession. He tastes minty, and you wonder how long he’s been cuddling you. “I don’t care if we lose Manchester. I don’t care if we lose everything.” He swallows seriously. “I can’t lose you.”
“You were never going to lose me,” you whisper. You brush your thumb across his unscarred cheekbone. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“But I missed you,” Tom whines. He drops his face, lips drifting down to suckle at the base of your neck. You giggle as he leaves tickling kisses all over your skin, mouthing at all the spots that make you laugh until he’s found his way up to your lips. With a hand on your jaw, fingers on your chin, he guides your face to look at him. “Time away gave me a lot of time to think,” he adds, voice drifting lower. A shadow of a doubt passes over his face. “I spent a long time pondering.”
“Yeah?” If he wasn’t holding you so tightly, you’d be concerned. Instead, you continue to muss your thumb across his cheekbone, gazing at him adoringly. “What were you thinking about?”
“Hmm. Well…” Tom lies back, sitting up with his elbow digging into the pillow as he turns to rest on his side. You mirror his position, stretching out your legs beneath the covers as a small yawn slips past you. “I realised that you’re the only person who makes a nice cup of tea. Even I can’t make one as well as you.”
You smile softly. “Don’t let Harrison hear that.”
He chuckles. “He’d be a bitch about it.” Tom’s eyes slide over your figure, gaze soft. You hum in quiet agreement, and he sucks in another breath. “I realised that no one else loves my friends like you do, and the same with my family.” Tom reaches out, hand slithering beneath the duvet until he finds your waist. His fingers are smooth, without the jewelry that usually adorns them. His calloused fingertips roll across your hip, and everything about the moment feels bare and authentic. “I love you now, and I know that I’ll love you forever.”
Something inside your chest clicks, and you find yourself looking at him a little differently.
“Where’s this all coming from?” you ask, looking at him, eyes wide.
“My heart.” Tom pulls you a little closer, and you think you see him swallow nervously. “C’mere, angel.” He turns and lays on his back, gently coaxing you to straddle him.
You settle over him, laying on top of his bare chest. He’s in boxers, and they rub up against your shorts as you shift around on top of him. Tom’s hair presses into the white pillow, wild and messy, but not unlike a halo. With the late morning sun highlighting his worn face with golden stripes, he looks ethereal.
“Darling,” he murmurs. “Gimme a kiss.”
You bend over, and Tom greets you with a warm open-mouthed kiss. He doesn’t seem to care that you’re tired and groggy as he reaches out to cup your cheek, the other hand resting on your hip. You smile against his lips as his fingertips dip beneath the material of your shirt, rubbing light circles to your flesh as you sit up eagerly and press back in. His kisses feel like droplets of fire, setting off small chain reactions with each press of his lips to yours.
When you pull back to admire him, the chain around your neck goes swinging. Your eyes widen as you hear the thump of heavy metal colliding with Tom’s chin, followed by his soft grunt.
“Oh,” you exclaim, immediately feeling your face fall. “I’m sorry, baby. I always forget about the ring on the end.” You bend over to kiss his chin, then sit up straighter, hands absently travelling along the chain. The metal feels familiar beneath your fingertips, and you sigh softly. “I haven’t taken it off since you left,” you admit. “It was nice feeling connected to you, and the ring you left—”
The words die in the back of your throat when you reach for the ring and feel two instead of one, looped side by side on the chain. Confusion twitches across your face as you look down and inspect the piece of jewelry.
Tom’s ring is still on the chain, silver and bold, but sitting beside it is a dantier ring, the band thinner. It lacks the brash family crest that Tom’s harbours so proudly, and has a diamond as its centrepiece. Your fingers go to it immediately, and you find yourself trembling as you pull it closer to your face, inspecting the perfect cut of the sparkling diamond. It’s a large jewel, but it isn’t too flashy, and the ornate twisting of the band is beautiful.
You look back to Tom, who’s watching you with his lower lip pulled between his teeth. Nerves shadow every one of his features, and it’s such a rare look on him that it takes you off guard.
“Angel,” he says slowly, reaching out to take one of your hands. “I love you. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together… I want to grow old with you by my side, and wake up to you each morning. I want to watch our kids muck around in the back garden, and I know… I know I’m not supposed to want these things. I don’t deserve them, and I’m being incredibly selfish even having you here with me right now, but I love you, and nothing will ever change that.” Tom squeezes your hand. “You’re the only woman in the world that I’d ever be able to love like this, and it would be the greatest honour of my life if you married me.”
You’re quiet for a few moments, processing his words. Entranced, you shake off his hand and reach up, tugging off the chain that hangs so heavily from your neck. You unpick the clasp and the necklace falls open, depositing both of the rings into the palm of your hand. They sit there, side by side, and you feel a tear skate down your cheek.
“Tom,” you say, voice thick with tears. “I’d love to marry you.”
The rings press into your palm as he hurries up to kiss you, smiling against yours lips. Tom’s nose nuzzles against yours, and when he pulls back, you see his eyes are red too.
“Thank fuck,” he murmurs. “I was so worried for a second that you were going to say no.”
Your laugh is light and vibrant, and you hold out your hand for Tom to pick up the engagement ring. As he slides the engagement band up your finger, you take his ring, chunky and heavy, and tenderly press it up his finger, joining it with his fourth finger instead of his index. You bend over to kiss the rise of his knuckles, then pull back as you feel him do the same to yours. Through blurry eyes, you bring your hand towards you and admire the gem as it sparkles there.
“In what world would I ever say no to this?” you muse, after a few moments. “I want to be with you forever, Tom. You know that.” Tom’s still looking at his ring, at where it joins at his knuckle, but he glances up when you drift nearer. “I came off birth control.”
His eyes darken slightly. “I know.”
You hold his face in his hands. “You’re silly,” you say. You peck his cheek. “I need to brush my teeth,” you decide. You know exactly where this is going, and you want it to be perfect.
Tom pouts, but he helps you up from his lap. He watches you walk across the room, and his gaze stays on you as you keep the door to the en-suite open and start to brush your teeth. “Miss you, darling,” he calls out. You roll your eyes, but your heart beats a little faster. “You look ethereal.”
When you’re finished in the bathroom, you hurry back to bed. You find your way back into Tom’s lap, sinking into him to share a fresh kiss. “Tell me more about what you want with me,” you continue, voice darker.
With a determined smirk on his lips, Tom flips you. You release a huff of air as you find yourself laying on the mattress, head on the pillow, with him suspended above you. He plants a forearm on either side of your head and gazes down at you fondly.
“I want to settle down with you,” he says slowly. “Maybe start to divide my assets, give a little bit more power to Haz. I want to focus on you.” He pecks your lips before continuing. “I want to watch your gallery grow into the most successful place in London, and I want to be by your side at every opening. I want a big white wedding, with the cake, and the confetti, and the best honeymoon that’s ever been had. I am going to spoil you rotten.”
“You already do a very good job of that.”
“I’ll kick it up a level. I’ll have to. You’ll be my wife.” Tom’s face darkens. His hand shifts down to rest over your lower stomach. “We’ll need to wait for a lot of those things to happen, but there’s one thing that I want that we can start working on right now.”
Your mouth goes dry, and you feel the space between your legs throb. You tilt your head to the side as you stare up at his handsome face. “And what would that be?”
“Our heirs, darling.” He smirks when you whimper, warm fingers dipping beneath your shirt until he’s able to touch the flesh of your belly more directly. “I’m gonna fill you up with my babies, angel. Fuck you really good. ‘M gonna keep cumming until you’re full of me, then fuck you full again.”
You moan as he drops his face to your ear, suckling hard marks against your skin. “Fuck,” you murmur, burying your hands in his hair. “That sounds so obscene.”
“Yeah, but you like it, don’t you? You’re my dirty little thing, hm?” Tom bites at your neck, teeth nipping you and making you shiver. “I know you want me to cum in you so much that it drips down your thighs for hours after I’m gone. You want me to make a mess of your pretty cunt.”
“Please, Tom,” you whimper. You feel hot and bothered already.
“Eager, darling?” Tom sits back and gently reaches for the hem of your pyjama top. You bring your hands above your head as he gently tugs it up your arms, throwing it off to the side without thought. He crawls back over you and seizes your breasts in his hands, his metallic ring like a cool shock against your skin. When he nibbles at your nipple and follows up the action with a lap of his tongue, you whimper.
“Don’t be a tease,” you beg, squeezing your thighs together. “I need you, Tom. Haven’t been with you in so long.”
He looks up at you, tit held between his lips. Tom winks as he gives the bud a noisy suck, then pulls back to address the other. He keeps his thumbs busy, and as he moves away his mouth, he replaces his touch with the pad of his fingers, swirling his spit around your skin with ease.
“There’s no rush,” he announces. He keeps his hands on your breasts, kneading softly and stimulating your nipples as he knows you like, but his mouth starts to move. Tom trails light kisses down your form, keeping his eyes on yours. He observes you through darkened eyes. “Don’t whinge,” he adds, the tips of his teeth sparkling ravenously. “I’m going to fuck you so well you’ll cry, but not yet. Let me enjoy this.”
His promise makes you squirm, and Tom takes advantage of the fact your hips are off the bed and tugs your shorts and panties down your legs in one fell swoop. As you part your legs, you invite him closer, biting back a frown as Tom settles between your thighs but pays your legs attention instead of your centre. Your folds are slick already—you can feel them wet, hot, pulsing with more urgency the longer you spend watching your boyfriend’s muscles flex as he draws his lips across your figure.
Tom teases you, drawing out the moment until you’re quivering. His lips draw down to your shins, his whole body sliding down the bed until he’s just out of reach. You lean back against the pillow and try to enjoy it, revelling in the warmth that he dusts across your bare skin with each small kiss. Tom traces love hearts up your legs with his fingertips, drawing large ones over each one of your knees before tracing over the outline with his tongue. As his spittle cools over your skin, Tom finally parts your thighs.
“Such a pretty sight,” he moans, taking a moment to admire your glistening cunt. You think he’s going to dive straight in, but then he smirks, and you know that was just wishful thinking. Instead, Tom nuzzles his nose against the soft flesh of your inner thigh and goes back to kissing.
He’s needier now, moving with fervour. Sucking harshly, you know he’s marking your inner thighs, drawing an arrow towards your centre with a line of bruises. He delineates his journey, marking out the precise route he needs to take up to your sweet lips as if leaving instructions.
“Tom, please,” you moan. He’s so close to you that you can feel his hot breath coming out across you. He looks up at you and throws out a wild grin, his eyes bright and his smirk as bold as ever. “Please stop teasing me.”
He hums softly. “Okay, my darling,” Tom murmurs. You release a deep sigh of relief. “But only because I can’t go another second without tasting my pussy…” His thumbs gently move along your petals, light with his touch and teasing you until your cunt clenches around nothing. “You don’t mind if I’m a little rough, do you, angel?” He blinks up at you innocently. “I tend to get a little bit lost in you, but you know that by now, don’t you?”
“It’s okay,” you say. “Give me anything… ‘m aching for you.”
Tom’s devilish smirk makes you wonder if giving him complete control was a good idea, but the thought goes flying from your mind as he nuzzles his face closer and finally indulges himself. Moaning loudly as he tastes you, his lips gradually envelop your clit, hot tongue lightly glancing off the engorged rise of the bud as you cry out. He’s wet with you, letting his tongue make your slit all messy.
Tom brings two slender fingers to your lips and parts them in a V. His nose brushes up against your clit as he slowly moves down. As the thick muscle of his tongue presses against your dewy entrance, he emits a low-pitched moan.
“God, darling,” he purrs. “Tastes even sweeter than usual.” As the vibrations of his words thrum over your cunt, you shiver and grab at his hair. One of Tom’s hands grabs at your inner thigh, pushing it up and opening you wider until he’s able to move deeper. You gasp as both of his thumbs shift down to hold your lips apart, tender petals parting easily.
As Tom slides his tongue into you, your eyes roll back in your head. You squirm against the sheets as wetness drips between your cheeks, a mix of your heat and his spit as Tom devours you. He moans against you, dragging his tongue against your tender walls. The sensations of his smooth muscle twisting against your sensitive pussy makes you shiver, and when he adds a thumb to your clit, you cry out loudly.
“Tom, oh fuck.”
He traces around your bud with a light finger, teasing the edge of the bud with his fingernail. Impatient and needy, you rut down against him, a choked sob bubbling up in the back of your throat. Your chest is heaving, your nipples perked and erect, and your fingers shake as you hold him to your heat. Tom seems to go deeper with each thrust of his tongue, moaning as he makes you messy, leaving no part of you untouched.
You call out a quiet warning, blind with lust and on the verge of tears. “‘M gonna cum,” you mewl. “Feels too good.”
He hums aggressively against you and dives deeper with his tongue, touching your clit until you peak. The feeling of your walls clenching and contracting against his face makes you whine, rutting down against him as you ride it out. Tom takes it, stays pliant as you grind onto his tongue, continuing to stimulate your passage until your back arches from the bed and you break into a hot sweat. When Tom pulls back, he’s quick to replace his tongue with two fingers, and the moan you release is garbled and excessive.
“T-Tom,” you cry out. He curls his index and middle finger into you with ease, his fourth dropping down to rest between your cheeks. You can feel the metal of his heavy silver ring, cool against your skin. “S’too much.”
He finally looks up at you after an eternity admiring your heat. His eyes are wide and feral, his chin coated in your juices. You whimper as you see streaks of white cum clinging to the early morning shadow of his chin. Tom grins inquisitively as he thrusts his fingers faster, your heat so slick and open that the movement draws out loud noises.
“I don’t think it’s too much, darling,” he mumbles. “I think you’re being my good girl, hm? We’ve barely started.” He drops his lips and nuzzles further between your legs, looking up at you with your clit held loosely in his mouth. He gently laps across the rise before releasing it and pressing a light kiss to the engorged bud. “I’m going to make you cum so much you forget your name, lovie. Gonna show you how much I appreciate you today and for every other day of our lives.”
You like the sound of that, and your cunt throbs persistently as Tom curves his fingers up and his fingertips brush against your ridged g-spot. As your hips threaten to spasm from the bed again, Tom sits up and shifts his arm, so it weighs down your lower stomach. “More,” you decide, hearing your heat prickle as Tom speeds up his fingers.
He adds his ring finger, and you cry out as the smooth band of metal presses up against your entrance. The contrast of cold against the ravaging fire of your hole is almost orgasmic in itself.
“Pretty little pussy,” he muses. “Need to stretch you out for my cock, da’ling. Haven’t taken me in so long, I don’t want to hurt you when I stuff you full.”
You’re so wet. You can feel the flat of Tom’s hand coated in your arousal, hear your heat as he fucks you. You try to pay attention to him, but you find yourself slipping when he drops his lips back to your bud and starts to suck on it. As Tom traces incessant circles over your clit, he alternates between long laps of his tongue and more focused kitten licks. Your desperate fingers curl around the silky sheets as you recognise that he knows your cunt well, and he’s learnt the right angle and depth that he needs to travel to in order to get you to the edge. He’s persistent and ruthless in the pursuit of his objective.
You peak for the second time as he curls his fingertips up against your tender g-spot, moaning around your clit under you’re crying out. Your eyes burn with tears as you call out his name, voice clouded by curse words and desperate sounds of enjoyment. You’re loud, thrashing in the sheets until he has to reach up and press you into place, not moving as he continues to stimulate you through it. It feels unending—an eternal tunnel of throbbing pleasure, your cunt squeezing his digits until it’s almost too much.
When you grow too sensitive, you tell him as much, and Tom pulls back to reach blindly for your hand. He finds it, then separates from your mound. His fingers slowly slip from your aching cunt, causing you to gasp, but he softens it out by kissing over the knuckles of your other hand, then your lower stomach.
“Perfect, angel,” he coos. Tom pushes your legs shut again, being careful not to hurt you as he crawls on top of you. He squeezes your hand as he continues to kiss all over your stomach, hips and chest, retracing his tracks from earlier until he finds your nipples. You moan as he laps at both of them messily before moving up to your face and kissing you intensely. His tongue tastes of your juices, your arousal sticking to his tongue. The tangy hue sticks to your own mouth, and you moan as you taste it.
“God, I love kissing you,” he murmurs against you, voice rumbling into you. Tom gasps your face with his clean hand, holding you tightly. “Could do this for the rest of my life.”
You’re hungry as you chase him, body tired but craving more. As Tom starts to roll his hips against yours, the press of his length to your centre makes you excited.
“I can taste myself on your tongue,” you admit. The blend of you and him makes you feel ravenous.
“Really?” Tom sits up, his face flickering with enjoyment as you start to grind up against his hips. He circles his waist against yours, both of you enjoying the little pleasure until you find the capacity to nod. “You’re nice, aren’t you?”
You lick your lips, watching the way he stares at you. “Yeah,” you say. “Tastes of you, too.”
Tom reaches up, and with the hand still covered in your juices, he feeds three fingers into your mouth. You moan around them as he imitates thrusting motions, smearing your cum over your tongue. There’s a metallic twang as he pushes deeper, his ring brushing up against the tip of your tongue as he fucks towards your throat. The taste makes you shiver.
“There you go, clean me up,” he coaxes. He presses a soft kiss to the tip of your nose before hovering above you. Tom’s eyes, dark and hungry, shift down to your lips, and he raises a brow. “Such a pretty mouth. Wish I had time to fuck it, too, but shit… I need to be in you, darling.”
When he pulls his fingers from your mouth, you feel empty. Your tongue is light—too light. A pout settles over your lips.
“Why are you frowning?” Tom adds as he sits back on his shins. You sit up a little straighter, strength regained as you watch him move around and shed his boxers. You almost moan as you watch his cock spring free, tall and flushed red. You’ve missed it. You’ve missed him.
“Feel empty without you,” you respond.
Tom slides over you again, and you part your legs. With ease, he slots himself between your thighs, his throbbing crown resting against your clit as your wet lips envelop the rest of his member.
“Well, you’re going to be very full soon,” he murmurs, looking up to kiss your jaw. He waits above your lips, quirking a brow. “Open, then, if you’re so needy.”
Your teeth catch your gnawed lower lip before you follow instruction, opening your mouth for him. Tom presses one of his hands against your shoulder as he leans up. He rests a thumb to your chin and looks down at you, eyes glimmering with mischievousness as he puckers his lips and hums. A moment later, Tom spits into your mouth, his dirty spittle falling onto your tongue. He groans at the sight, and you reach up to grab at his broad shoulders as the heat of the possessiveness rolls over you. Tom chases his action with a deep kiss, his fingers rolling back down to pull up your thigh and open you for him.
As he enters you, it’s a smooth movement. Everything flows together—your tongues, your bodies, your hearts. Tom’s able to guide himself inside you almost seamlessly, and you’re so aroused already that the stretch is comfortable.
“Fuck,” you gasp, falling back from his lips.
“Oh, god,” Tom groans. “That’s it. Fuck yeah.” He kisses you again as he slowly pulls out, sliding back into you with ease. His lips are hot as they rest on yours, unmoving as he gets lost in the pleasure.
“You’re so big,” you whimper, eyes rolling back as he continues to thrust into you. Tom’s building it up slowly, rutting deeply against your heat as his member explores your walls. It’s a little clumsy before he establishes a rhythm, his groove coming back after a few weeks apart, but when he gets it right, it feels otherworldly.
“You’re gorgeous,” he says, dropping his face against your shoulder. You bury your hands in his hair, fingers tensing around his strands when he bites at your skin. “Love of my life,” he coos. “Love this pussy more than life itself. Love you more than anything.”
Overwhelmed, you hum, the sound twisting into a gasp as he grinds against you and the crown of his flushed length hits your sensitive spot. “God, yeah,” you agree. “Feels so good, Tom. Go deeper.”
He obliges you for a few moments before his rhythm fades, and he stills with his cock stuffed deep within you. Your fingers play with his hair as you feel him kiss your shoulder, then follow up the action with a lap of his tongue.
“I want you on top, darling,” Tom grunts, words smearing against your neck. He’s panting, hot breath making your skin wet. “Need to see my beautiful wife.” You clench around him, and you feel him chuckle into your shoulder.  “C’mere,” he coaxes. “I’ll help you up.”
It’s dizzying to readjust, but as soon as you’ve taken your place in Tom’s lap, you feel better. You’re impossibly close, able to watch his face constrict with pleasure every time you lower yourself on him. He’s got his head thrown back against the headboard, half-closed eyes watching you, ringed-fingers digging into your hips.
“Tom,” you whimper. “Feels so good.” Your eyes are rolling back, your body trembling as he helps you move. With each bounce down, Tom ruts his hips up to meet you, and when you shift slightly to the side and lean forward, his tip brushes up against your spot. Arcs of electricity zing through your centre, adding layers to your enjoyment.
“The way that you look right now should be breaking the law,” he says, voice held tight. Tom grabs one of your tits in his palm, roughened thumb toying with the nipple until you squirm. “You’re stunning, angel. All mine…” he drops down to kiss at the base of your neck. “Mine forever.”
“Y-Yeah, ‘m yours,” you stammer, voice hitching as his index finger trails back down to your bud. It knocks you off balance how quickly your third high threatens to surge across you.
Tom sees it on your face, growls as he feels you clench around him. “Come on, darling. Give me another one.” His greedy fingers continue to move your hips as the others play around with your clit. The bud tingles, stimulated beyond anything you’ve felt before, but the ache makes it better. “Always the prettiest when you cum, angel. Make the prettiest sounds too. Go on, my love. Let me hear you sing for me.”
It takes a few moments for you to peak, and when you do, you go loose in Tom’s arms. It ripples over you like a blur, your limbs feeling equal parts boneless and taut. Everything fades, pulled back to the bare primal motions of orgasm, warmth spreading through your entire body until it consumes you.
No sooner have you finished your release does Tom scoop you up in his arms and press you back against the mattress. He continues to drill into you, moving roughly against you, grinding his hips into you. Both of you are sweaty, and the space between your legs is sticky from all the aroused fluids that you’ve released, but he doesn’t care. He buries himself in your heat, losing himself in the feelings as you claw at his back, unable to comprehend the pleasures of overstimulation on a scale as intense as this.
“You’re okay, yeah?” Tom says, pulling away from your neck to stare at you. You’re slack-jawed and panting, but you nod. He likes to push you, and you like being stretched to your limits, but he never does it cruelly. He’s always attentive as he picks you apart, slowly breaking you open until you’re shattered into pieces that only he can reassemble. There’s love behind everything he does with you.
“Yeah,” you manage, voice broken. Hot tears of enjoyment pool in your eyes, a muffled groan leaving you when Tom reaches for your thigh and tugs it open roughly. You curl your leg around his back, allowing him in completely, and as you gain that familiar friction back against your g-spot, you melt against the sheets.
“You know what I’m going to do, angel?” Tom grunts. He’s heavy on top of you, body a blur as he fucks you harder, faster, deeper. “I’m going to get your initials tattooed on my ring finger, so you’re there even without the ring.” He stares down at your face, love swirling in his frenzied eyes. “I’m going to—fuck, I’m gonna fuck you so good for the rest of your life, darling. I promise you that. Yeah.” He nuzzles at your cheek, hot breath panting across your skin as he drops his voice to a gritty whisper. “I’m gonna love you, cherish you, fucking adore you… Gonna put a baby in you.”
“Holy shit,” you mutter.
Tom slows his thrusts, his hips stammering in a way suggestive of the way he’s near a peak and wants to put it off. With an intensity that you’ve never seen before, he reaches down, balancing on his strong arms until he’s able to rest his hot palm against your lower stomach. He presses against your skin as he thrusts into you a few more times, slowing but burying himself deeper.
“Can you feel me?” he says. “I’m in so deep, darling. I can feel everything. Such a wet pussy. So greedy.”
“Yeah,” you whimper. “You’re so big, T. I can’t think about anything else.”
“Mmm, good, ‘cos you’re the only thing I’m thinking about right now.” He dances his fingers across the soft skin of your stomach, contrasting the gentleness as he drops his head to the crook of your neck and nips at your skin. “Can’t wait to fill you up,” he admits roughly. “Thought about it every night I was away.”
“Yeah?” You brush your hands through his sweaty hair, tugging as he drives a little deeper.
“Fuck yeah, baby. Go on, touch your clit.” Tom waits until you’ve done as instructed to continue with his musings. “Thought about how you’ll look, belly all swollen with my cum. I love those pretty whimpers you make when I pull out, and my seed pours down your thighs. Can’t wait to fuck it back into you until you’re crying.”
“—oh god,” you whine.
“Mm, yeah. I felt you clench then, darling. I know how much you like the idea of taking fuckin’ everything I give you.” Tom presses firmer against your lower stomach, accompanying the action with a particularly hard rut. “You’re gonna feel me here, lovie, right in your womb. Gonna stuff you to the fucking brim until there’s no chance you aren’t pregnant. Gonna fill you with my babies, give us the heirs we both deserve.”
“Please,” you beg, voice broken. It’s overwhelming in the best way, your bud rebelling as you toy with it. But you’re persistent, matching the deep rolls of Tom’s hips as you feel another climax stir in the pit of your stomach. Everything feels so fluid and wet that it’s hard to tell where you stop, and Tom begins. He’s tangled up so completely in you that he has become part of your existence. “Please, Tom, I want it.”
“What do you want?” Tom teases. He’s a devil, looks up to smirk at you. You can feel how badly he wants to snap into release just from the way he’s controlling his thrusts, but he isn’t going to cave until he gets exactly what he wants. “Use your words, gorgeous girl. I know you can do it.”
He’s in so close, lips on your cheeks, chin, nose, and lips. His heat envelopes you, clouding your brain. With each nudge of his tip deeper against your walls, you get closer to losing it, clinging to the firm muscles of his back like it’s your only lifeline.
“Give me it all,” you choke out. “I want it, Tom, deep in me. Want you to fill me up with your cum.” His curls are sweaty as you reach up to fist your trembling hands in them, entirely at his mercy. “Wanna feel you lose yourself in me.”
“Mmm, okay, baby,” he groans. His voice is broken, thick and tired from exertion. He kisses you roughly, all tongue and teeth, the noisy meshing sounds of your lips mingling with the chaos of his hips slapping down against yours. “Oh fuck,” he pulls away to say. “Oh fuck. Oh—”
With a heavy grunt, Tom finally spills. He releases a loud groan, hips snapping forwards with an animalistic force as he drives his cock deeper, shaft pulsing as your walls squeeze around him. You cry out, cumming for the fourth time. Your climax feels like the main attraction, as if every other orgasm has merely been part of the buildup. You push up against him, breasts pressing into Tom’s chest as your eyes screw shut, tears cascading down your cheeks as pleasure burns through you. His name pours past your lips like a prayer until it’s all that you know, all that you care to know.
It ends, and you’re trembling. Intense aftershocks rock through you, and you feel Tom kiss all over your cheeks as he coos soft words of endearment into your ear. His lips become wet, and you realise that blissful tears have skated down your face.
“Lovely girl... Best girl…” He’s gentle, tender. You jump, opening your eyes suddenly as Tom slips from you, causing your aching walls to spasm. He looks up at you, lifting a questioning brow as he reaches down towards your clit. “Finished?” he asks. When his fingertips lightly make contact with your bud, you wince. Everywhere aches, and it’s nice, but it’s enough.
“Definitely finished,” you choke out.
“Okay, okay… sorry, love.” Tom gently pulls back, flashing you an apologetic smile as he kisses your inner thigh. He shuffles around, eyeing the sight of his cum leaking from your hole, and you watch him shudder. “Fuck….” You can feel it slowly dripping from your entrance and clench your walls just to see his reaction. Tom groans, chewing his lips and continuing to stare until you shiver. He smoothes a hand over your thigh. “Sweet thing,” he whispers. “I’ll bring you some water.”
It only feels like he’s gone for a second, and you realise you’re drifting, ecstatic and loose-limbed. Tom is suddenly behind you, delicately hauling you into his arms. He sits against the headboard and pulls you into a tight hug from behind, kissing over your shoulders as you whimper softly. You can feel the soft fabric of his sweats as he settles you in his lap.
“Such a good girl,” he murmurs. He presses a glass of water into your hand and helps you take a sip. As the cool liquid soothes your throat, you relax into his hold. “Love you, love you… Love you so much.”
He’s so warm against you, holding you tight. Your eyes still feel wet.
“Love you too,” you say. Tom takes the glass from your hand and puts it down on the bedside table, and you turn in his arms to kiss him. Your lips feel puffy and sore, but the ache is worth the relief of feeling your fiancé’s mouth gently press to yours. You sigh as the tension leaves your shoulders, draining away as he loves you, and holds you.
“Am gonna clean you up, now,” Tom mumbles, voice soft. You look at him, curious until you feel a warm cloth pressing against your thighs. You part your legs, turning back in his arms and snuggling further into his grasp as he delicately runs the material over your centre. “Sorry, darling,” he says as you wince. He’s so gentle, but it still aches in a way that hurts.
“What time is it?” you ask, mind running slow.
Tom throws the cloth aside, then reaches out and grabs one of the thick furs that sits on top of your bed. “3pm.”
Your eyes widen. “What?” you murmur, brows creasing. “What time did we wake up?”
“Around midday.”
“Wow.” You smile softly as Tom tucks you both in, covering your shivering form with the blanket. You reach up, leaving your left arm above the fur and reaching out to take Tom’s hand. “Time flies when you’re having fun.”
He laughs and tangles your hands together. Tom’s palm is warm against yours, and his other hand curves around to fiddle with your new ring.
“Indeed it does, darling,” he coos. “I had a lot of fun. Did you?”
“Always.”
You watch him play with your ring for a while, his lips moving over your sweaty neck. You’re still hot and exhausted, but he doesn’t seem to mind. He holds you tight all the same, not caring that you’re messy and still quivering from the aftershocks. Soft sentences of adoration pour from his lips as he holds you.
“After this,” Tom says, voice slow, “I thought we could have a nice bath… maybe drink some champagne, have some dinner… then I want to hear everything you’ve been up to for the last month, and maybe we can celebrate some more.”
You nod softly. Turning in his arms, you sit up to face him properly, dragging the large blanket with you and draping it over you both as you straddle his lap and rest your arms over his shoulders. The bruising is still on Tom’s face, but he looks more handsome than you’ve ever seen him before. There’s a golden glow to his face, a certain lightness that you’ve never seen before. You reach down and take his hand, bringing it to your lips and ghosting your mouth over his ring.
“I love you so much,” you say, looking up at him from behind his hand. His smile is like the sunrise. “Thank you for everything you do for me.”
“Oh, darling.” Tom pauses to kiss you, smiling against your lips. “Don’t you know the pleasure is all mine?”
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
*:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧ *:・゚✧*:・゚✧
will i burn for this ? perhaps. but it’s worth it. thank u to my lord and saviour mr mob!tsh... i love u.
lmk what you think......? +++ if you want to see any more specific scenes from my mob!tom x reader universe?? any other milestones you’d like to see? lmk! <3
mlist + taglist are through the link in my bio <3
thank you for reading!! <3<3
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everlasting-stories · 3 years ago
Text
To Feel Again [M]
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Genre: light angst, romance
Warnings[!]: smut, penetration, creampie, unprotected sex, mentions of adult toys
Pairing: Doyoung x Reader
Words: 4.4k / One-shot
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Valentine's Day: the day of roses and hearts and chocolates and romantic candlelit dinners. When people proposed marriage and professed undying love.
You sighed, staring unseeing into your bowl of cornflakes as they succumbed to their milky grave and turned to soggy goop. Funny how a date on a calendar could open the pit of despair that lived somewhere near your stomach. It had to be near your stomach. You've been reasonably hungry until you've noticed the date and the pit opened. Your hunger had fallen into it, and the memories and pain rose out of it.
There was a time when this day had been wonderful. Life had been wonderful, you didn't need Valentine's Day, but you celebrated it with reverence and, sometimes, wild abandon.
You knew what love was, what it felt like to love a man and how it felt to lose him. You remembered what he'd said that last morning, how he'd kissed you; how the sun had lit his face as he smiled, promising he'd be back. You also remembered the police, how the sun seemed to dim as they told you the phrases out of courtesy. They were sorry for your loss. They will let you know of details as soon as the investigation on the accident comes to an end.
Since that time, Valentine's Day had passed unheralded, unheeded and uncelebrated. You knew you were a joke of the office - entering thirties soon and never been fucked, that's what they said. The borning woman who had no idea what fun was, wouldn't have known what to do with a man if by some miracle you did catch the attention of one. They were wrong, of course. Not that it was any of their business; it certainly didn't affect your ability to do your job.
If you chose to act and dress your age and spend your evenings quietly, rather than as mutton dressed as lamb in some gaudy nightclub, surely that was your right?
You sighed again, getting up from the table, taking your cereal bowl and dumping the gloop down the sink. A bleak day of petty jibes and pitying looks lay ahead. At least you knew what to expect this year.
Last year had been your first Valentine's Day with this particular company and, therefore, your first with this particular bunch of malicious people - your fellow employees. As front counter receptionist, you were the company's first "public face" and some of your co-workers had decided it didn't look good if that face wasn't surrounded by gifts from admirers on this day.
When the first bunch of anonymous flowers had arrived, you've been flustered, flattered and flabbergasted that anyone would send you flowers. You had hurriedly cleared a space on the counter for them, proudly displaying them, fussing with them to show them off at their best and make them visible from the greatest distance. You kept touching them, moving them slightly, reaffirming they were really there. Your heart sang; someone had noticed you. Maybe he was too shy to reveal himself; maybe he was married and couldn't: your mind was alive with questions, trying to solve the mystery of their origin. You were all in all happy.
Then a large box of chocolates arrived, closely followed by more flowers. By lunchtime, these had been joined by a little plush cherub, two red plush love hearts, a pair of earrings, three more bunches of flowers, four assorted boxes of chocolates and a large jar of candy hearts. They all carried the same anonymous message. And you knew then and there what is the catch behind this.
By the end of the day there were nine flower arrangements, ten boxes of chocolates, three cherubs, the two red love hearts, three teddy bears, two jars of candy, the earrings and a gift box containing four pairs of edible undies. Just before the close of business the final humiliation came - a fantastically wrapped see through box containing an inflatable male doll with vibrating tongue, a massive purple vibrating dildo and a copy of the Sex for The Beginners book.
You had to stay at your post until the last visitor or client left. But the rest of the staff was already heading out of the building. Some boggled at your desk, some snickered, a couple made loud crass comments and a very few had appeared horrified at the pile of stuff surrounding yourself. The building had almost emptied before that last visitor departed. You were sure that, too, was a set-up, particularly when you saw it was the client that had been visiting quite frequently lately.
Myungsoo ushered the man to the street and turned back to you as you gathered your coat and handbag, ready to escape.
"Gee, you're a popular girl. Who would have thought?" He reached your counter and began collecting up the flowers, grinning madly. "Let me help you with all that."
Before you could say a word, he bundled all the flowers, chocolates and assorted other items into your arms. You could barely see where you were going. Myungsoo put his arm around your back and shepherded you out the door, peeking at the vibrator in its transparent box. "There you go, sweetheart. Looks like you're definitely gonna get some action tonight." He turned smartly away, laughing as he rapidly put distance between the two of you.
You obviously had thrown the whole lot in the nearest dumpster and hurried to the relative sanctuary of your car before breaking down and sobbing, burying your head in your hands to hide from prying eyes of curious passer-bys.
Standing at your kitchen sink, you wondered what they'd pull this year. It couldn't be worse, could it? You sighed again and then abruptly shook your head, standing straighter. To hell with it - you were not going to let them get to you today.
It had already begun when you arrived. A bouquet of irises sat at the front of the counter. You were tempted to throw them straight in the garbage, but decided they were too pretty, too unusual. So they stayed. Curiosity got the better of you as you looked at the card, expecting it to say something sappy and insincere, as last year's cards had.
"You are worth far more than they will ever realise. Hear the flowers."
You pondered the card. Hear the flowers?
What on earth did that mean? You raised an eyebrow as you settled into your post: at least it seemed this year would be more intriguing than last. During quiet moments throughout the morning, you'd pick up the card, reread the cryptic message and study the beautiful bouquet, but its secret was never revealed.
No gifts arrived for you, no more flowers. You were relieved, but it only served to deepen the mystery of the flowers. As your lunch hour approached, other staff began filtering out of their offices to take a break. They all noticed the irises. Several of the women stopped and commented on their beauty. No one laughed.
As always, you left the building for lunch. You would usually grab a sandwich somewhere and do a bit of window shopping. Anything to get away for an hour - if you stayed in the office, someone always "needed" you for something.
When you returned, a neatly typed page was on your desk: "The meaning of flowers". One line was highlighted in blue: "Iris: Have Faith. Don't Give Up On Hope." A single purple violet was pinned to the page. You scanned the page to find "Violet (Purple): You occupy my thoughts". You put the page to one side, but still in view, unsure whether to laugh at it and throw it along with the flowers away before the punch line or wait it out. This was definitely a far more sophisticated assault than last year.
Throughout the afternoon a steady procession of couriers arrived, carrying flowers and gifts. You nervously watched each one approach your counter, only to breathe a sigh of relief as the teddy bears and hearts, the chocolates and flowers were all destined for other souls.
At 4:30PM a man approached your station: nothing unusual in that; everyone that came to see someone had to check in with you. What was unusual was that he actually saw you as a fellow human, not a robot programmed to take names and give directions. He smiled at you, a real smile that reached his eyes and warmed your heart. Something familiar in his eyes...
"Good afternoon. My name is Kim Doyoung. I have an appointment to speak to Choi Myungsoo. Would you mind letting him know I am here, please?"
Quickly, you dialled Myungsoo's extension, giving him the information. Myungsoo, as usual was brusque to the point of rude, telling you to "entertain the idiot 'till I'm ready for him - he's not supposed to be here for another 15 minutes".
You were tempted to tell the polite gentleman exactly what Myungsoo had said, but instead used your tact and diplomacy (that was why you were hired after all) to tell him that "Mr. Choi is a little delayed. He will be available in a few minutes."
With that being said, you offered him a seat.
Again he smiled. "Those are beautiful flowers," he said, nodding towards the iris bouquet. "A discerning choice for a lovely lady."
You lowered your eyes, feeling the heat rise in your face, knowing you were blushing.
His voice softened and became much quieter. "You don't remember me, do you?" Your eyes flew to his face, confused. Were you supposed to know this charming man?
"I had an appointment here at the same time, on this day last year. I was waiting outside for a taxi when you left. That was uncalled for, the whole situation that happened - mean and heartless and exactly what I would expect of Myungsoo and his friends. I deal with them only because I must. They offer a service unparalleled in this town."
He leaned across the counter, his voice so low only you could hear. "How they manage it, I cannot tell. They are pig swill and don't know a pearl when confronted with one." Doyoung paused, seeming to weigh up his next statement, then leaned closer to you. "Did you hear the flowers?"
Your eyes again flew to his face, your mouth falling open a little. "You sent them?"
"I did. And the violet. I had hoped to counter whatever crass display they had planned this year. Would you possibly consider spending the evening with me?" His face was eager, hopeful. "A nice dinner?"
You were stunned, flattered, amazed - but also wary. This was Myungsoo's client. He could easily have been put up to this. You studied his face closely, seeking any hint of a lurking cad. His face fell. "But, of course, you have other plans. I apologise for embarrassing you." He moved away and sat, abashed, on one of the hideous lounge chairs to await his appointment.
You studied this man. He didn't seem to fit the mould of Myungsoo's usual cohorts. For one thing he was unerringly polite. He was also good looking, very, very good looking, without being outstanding or flashy. He was also much closer to your age than Myungsoo's and had an air of quiet confidence, like he had nothing to prove to anyone and nothing to fear from them either. You looked at the flowers. Could Myungsoo have possibly thought of something this elegant? You didn't think so. You took a deep breath: to hell with it.
"Mr. Kim?" He looked up. "What time would you like to pick me up?"
In your bedroom, staring at the clothes hanging limply in your closet, the cool bravado that had claimed you as you agreed to the date vanished. In its place indecision, doubt and outright terror took hold. It seemed painfully obvious to you now, away from the office and that lovely man, that it was all another twisted joke, something for the office beautiful people to laugh at during tomorrow's coffee breaks. Why did you say yes? Your wardrobe was woefully inadequate. It was years since you'd been out with a man; you were bound to make a fool of yourself, even if it wasn't a set-up.
At that thought your heart jumped and lurched. The possibility that Mr. Kim - no, Doyoung; this was a date not a business appointment - was sincere in his wish to take you out only heightened your confusion and indecision.
Finally, in desperation and the realisation that if you didn't decide soon, you'd still be in your underwear when he arrived; you chose a chanel-knee length cremé skirt and baby pink cashmere sweater, topped off with knee length boots. The heels were quite high, but you remembered him being tall, so that wouldn't be an issue, as long as you didn't fall over in them.
You were saved from an overcritical examination in the mirror. You had just completed applying your makeup when Doyoung arrived. You grabbed your coat and quickly walked out the door, before you had time to rethink and back out.
"You look lovely," Doyoung said, smiling down at you. Feeling the heat creeping up your cheeks; you weren't used to receiving compliments, particularly from someone like him. You mumbled a shy thanks as he helped you put on your coat and led you to his car.
Sitting in the car as he drove, you were able to study the mysterious man that is Kim Doyoung. He was extremely handsome, not in the classical sense, but he certainly was far from a plain looking man - a man at peace with himself. He knew who he was and was content with that; he knew what he wanted and how to get it; and what was beyond his capabilities and lost no sleep over it. He obviously managed quite well; his car was expensive but not too flashy.
The restaurant he took you too was a quiet small place, away from the standard eat-and-entertain strip. It was intimate without claustrophobia; the decor was elegant without being overbearing; the lighting low but not dim; the service attentive without being intrusive. The food you could not describe - later, you barely remembered what you had eaten beyond it being "nice" - your attention was totally taken by Doyoung.
He was gallant and charming; helping you with your coat and holding your chair for you at the intimate table for two tucked away in a corner. Doyoung quietly suggested items on the menu he thought you might like. It was obvious he'd been here before, was a regular, but usually without company. His choice of wine was perfect to go with the excellent food as you enjoyed each other's company.
And you talked.
You learned a lot about him. Doyoung was 34, older than you had thought; he had been engaged, but his fiancé decided to break off the engagement for simply falling out of love. He had had a series of short term relationships that had petered out and, for the past several years, had lived a solitary life, rarely going out with women. He didn't work as such; his livelihood came from investments, which explained him being a client of the company you worked in. Myungsoo may be a jerk, but he was the one of the best investment brokers around.
He had been attracted to you the first time he met you, a year ago, but had been intimidated by the evidence of all your admirers. When he realised it was all a cruel joke played by his adviser and the other brokers, he was mortified. He had seriously considered changing brokers, going to another organisation but that would have meant he had no chance of meeting you again. So he stayed. He had been in your office on three occasions since then, and each time had seen your quiet, unflappable charm and how your talent and lovely nature were either ignored or taken for granted by those around you. He was determined to gain your attention, but without the office cricus freaks being able to use it against you, hence the mystery flower delivery this morning.
You found yourself opening up to Doyoung. He seemed sincerely interested in hearing what you had to say, hanging on your every word. It was a liberating and wonderfully powerful feeling. You weren't used to being the centre of anyone's attention. You told him of your pride at the independence since the loss of your lover, all those years ago. You were happy in your little home, content with your work, rarely coming to the attention of the office jokers.
It was over coffee that you admitted to Doyoung something you haven't admitted to yourself: your life was lonely and you missed the affection of another person. You missed the companionship of sharing your life with someone.
Immediately after the words had left your lips you regretted them. You have given away too much of yourself, been too forward. You lowered your eyes, not wanting to see the closed expression you knew would be on his face, so you didn't see the fleeting look of pain, quickly followed by understanding and hope.
However, you did feel his hand close over yours and squeeze lightly. You looked up into a face of gentle eyes and soft smile. "Would you like to take a walk with me," he said quietly. "I think it's time we leave - they want to close the restaurant anyway."
You looked around yourself noticing that you two were the only people other than staff left in the restaurant, and many of the lights were dimmed. You gasped in wonder - you had no idea you've been there so long. "Yes, a walk would be lovely."
Doyoung ushered you along the street and across a small, neat park to a promenade along the riverbank. It was enough lit to feel safe and you walked along arm in arm. You felt his arm snake around your waist hugging you closer to him, and you snuggled against him, your arm around his back. The moon was up, the stars were out and the night was peaceful and clear.
Your heart was singing and your eyes sparkled. You've been right to take this gamble. He was sincere, and it was wonderful. But the night was late, and it was rather cold.
You shivered. Doyoung felt it immediately and turned off the promenade proposing to head back toward the street where he had left the car. "I'd better take you home. It wouldn't be much of a date if you ended up ill."
At your door, Doyoung formally thanked you for a lovely evening and asked if he could see you again. You smiled and surprised yourself only a little by reaching up and kissing him lightly on the lips before saying: "Would you like to come in for a nightcap?"
Doyoung blinked, looking mildly bemused for a moment before studying your face. "Are you sure?"
Oh, most definitely, you were sure. You have thought of nothing else since you two have left the river. He looked right, he felt right, and he smelt right. You wanted him but was sure he'd never make a move. He was too much of a gentleman to ever force the issue.
You took his hand and led him into your home, kicking the door closed with your foot, shutting out the rest of the world with its mean people and ugly attitudes. You reached up to kiss him again. This time he lowered his head to yours, cradling your face in his hands as he returned the kiss. The lips met and parted, allowing the tongues to join and caress each other. His hands moved down from your face to caress your body, yours moving up from his hips. Both of you parted, searching each other's faces for confirmation of your desires.
"I think we're on the same page," you said. "Why don't you leave your coat on the couch? Do you want the nightcap now, or after the tour?"
"I'll put a hold on the nightcap," Doyoung answered, reading the desire in your eyes and knowing it was mirrored in his while stripping off the coat.
"Right."
You took his hand again. "This is the lounge. There," you pointed to the right, "is the kitchen and dining room. This way," pulling him down the hall, "is the second bedroom, the bathroom and," dragging him through a doorway, "here is the main bedroom."
"Very nice," he said, looking around, trying not to focus on the bed.
Suddenly shy, you both looked at anything but each other, awkward in a lack of intimate knowledge of each other. Doyoung tentatively reached out a hand to you, aiming to caress your breast, veering off at the last moment to your shoulder, but still lightly brushing your breast with his fingertips. Your gasped breath emboldened him and he reached his other hand, caressing your other breast lightly as you shivered under his touch and sighed.
Your own hands went to his chest, running down the front of his shirt and back up, then beginning to undo the buttons, pulling the shirt from his trousers and teasing his bare skin with your fingers.
Doyoung pulled his shirt off and then raised the sweater over your head and off the arms, moving in to kiss you as his hands went around your back to undo the clasps of a bra and returned to cup your breasts. The sensation on your breasts as he caressed and pinched the nipples sent a sharp message straight between your legs. You could feel yourself becoming moist and shuddered under his touch; breath becoming uneven.
Pushing him away you removed the skirt, letting it pool at your feet while looking into his eyes. Doyoung took the hint and began unbuckling his belt, then grinned foolishly and sat beside you to take off his socks, sneaking kisses of your neck and shoulders as he did so. You both stood again, slightly apart. He dropped his trousers and you could see his briefs pushed out of shape by his erection, the fabric straining.
Doyoung stepped up, taking you in his arms, kissing down your neck and across the collarbone, his hands lowering to your hips, sliding under the elastic and beginning to tug your panties down. Your own hands flew to the top of his briefs. Together, you pulled down the underwear, stepping out of them and standing naked before each other. Again Doyoung moved first, holding you and gently pushing backwards onto the bed, following after you onto it.
He ran one hand down the body of yours, teasing and tickling the beginning of your womanhood and beyond, teasing you with his fingers, tickling across your mound and easing around your damp centre. You moaned as he explored, your hips twisting and twitching. It had been so long since another man had touched you there. It felt amazing, wonderful, but achingly short of what you needed. You could feel his hardness against your thigh. Reaching down, you took his cock into your hand. It was hot, hard and pulsed under your touch. Doyoung groaned and his hips jerked convulsively. You kissed him hard and whispered fiercely, "Please, it's been too long. I need you, now."
"For me too, far too long," Doyoung gasped back, rolling you onto your back and positioning himself before gently splitting your lips and sliding steadily but firmly into you. Your moans were prominent in the air as he stretched and filled you right, not stopping his steady thrust until he was wholly inside you, your warm walls gripping him tightly. Your eyes met and locked as you lay still, immersed in the feeling of each other's body.
Being warm, wet and a safe haven, you were engulfing his cock. Doyoung was filling you with his hard heat, owning your body completely. You fit each other perfectly; you could see it in each other's eyes. You belonged together.
As great as this feeling was, you needed more. Doyoung slowly withdrew, till only the very tip split you. Both groaning as he pushed back in, again slowly feeling each other with delectable inch. Slowly in and out, in and out, revelling in the feeling of each other's bodies, gradually building up speed as your need increased.
You could feel the fire building, the tension increasing as sensation on sensation smashed into you with each thrust, your body twitching, your hips writhing. Still it built; higher, tighter, fiercer. Your entire being was wrapped around Doyoung's cock as it pumped in and out of you. You could hear him grunting with each thrust, feel his body trembling as he got closer to his climax. His speed increased and you breath got caught in your throat, your back arched, legs went stiff as you began to twitch when the white light exploded through you, spreading warmth and scattering your senses.
You felt, from far away but deep within you, Doyoung losing his rhythm before coming, pumping wildly into you, grunting and thrusting hard one last time as he shot deep inside you feeling spent but overly fulfilled.
Your hand was making lazy circles on Doyoung's chest as you lay, curled against his side with a head on his shoulder. You weren't sure how you've come to be in this position, but it felt so right and he smelled so good.
You were at peace while drifting off to sleep.
Waking up without feeling body by your side, you immediately felt the loss. Doyoung wasn't there. Your heart dropped, the pit near your stomach threatened to open and engulf it. Sensing the tears coming up, you accidentally feel something on your side with a hand.
He wasn't there. But there was a note.
"I am so sorry. I hate to leave you, knowing you will wake alone. There is something I must do."
You had just finished reading when the phone rang, disturbing your thoughts. Grudgingly, you moved to answer it. "Hello."
"Wish I was still beside you."
Your heart flipped again. The pit dissolved so you could breathe again before whispering, "Doyoung."
"Y/N. Tell me, what are you planning for breakfast?"
"Uhm. Coffee? Maybe some toast. Why?"
"Don't move. I'm on my way. With breakfast. And it's better than toast."
You lay back in bed, listening to the dial tone after he hung up. Surprised, you smile softly. You must remember to thank Myungsoo for introducing them.
If this is how you will feel loved and feel free to love again, you have no complaints.
Your new chapter is about to begin and hopefully, it will last for a very long time with a man named Kim Doyoung.
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keyboardink · 4 years ago
Text
“oblivious” [part two]
[ part one / part two ]
kairi has a crush on her best friend, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
pairing: kairi “valkyrie” imahara x reader / media: apex legends
genre: angst & fluff (this part is more fluff!) / word count: 1.6k / rating: pg / warnings: none :)
a/n: once again, this was requested by @multifandombtchedits ! this is the fluff you’ve all been waiting for!! if you like this, check out more of my writing here!
> Y/N : hey are we still on for movie night?
> Y/N : unless youre still on that date lol
You decided the "lol" would hide whatever terrible feeling was brewing in your lungs. You didn't know how to pinpoint it. Was it hurt? Anger? Jealousy? Why would you even be jealous? It's not like you didn't get this exact same feeling whenever she was talking about her latest hookup, right?
You were back at your place, laying on your bed, trying to pay attention to a random TV show in order to distract yourself from thinking about Kairi. It was a few hours after she had walked out on you at lunch. You'd been wallowing in nervous jitters since then, but she was the only person you wanted to talk to about the thoughts bouncing around in your head. You were worried about what had gone down at lunch, so when you did finally text her, you tried to avoid any touchy subjects. You waited for what felt like hours before your phone buzzed.
> KAIRI : yeah we're on. my place instead tho?
You let out an exhale, thankful that she didn't seem to be upset anymore. You and her had weekly movie nights, another tradition just like your lunch break meet-ups. You alternated hosting every week, and this week would've been your turn. Guess a bunch of stuff didn't follow the ordinary schedule today.
> Y/N : i'll bring the popcorn 😊
You rolled off your bed and walked to your closet, searching for an outfit. You knew you could show up in sweats and have it not matter to her, but the tension in your chest urged you to look at least a smidge more presentable than usual.
Half an hour later, you knocked on the door of her apartment, wearing a comfy t-shirt and tight leggings that she always complimented you on. Casual so you didn't look like you were trying too hard, but nice enough that you didn't look like you had a dumpster in place of a closet.
She opened the door, smiling at the sight of you. There was a hint of hesitancy in the way her lips turned up, like she was still thinking about lunch, but you decided it was your mind playing tricks on you. She was dressed in a similar casual-but-cute outfit: black joggers and a graphic tee that she had turned into a crop top with scissors. You saw a sliver of her stomach that made your knees weak.
She moved out of the way to let you in, and you entered like it was your own home. She had already set up the cushions on the couch for your usual set-up, complete with a 2-liter soda bottle on the coffee table and the lights dimmed. Before she followed you to the couch, she grabbed a large bowl from the kitchen counter for the popcorn you brought.
You plopped on the couch, ripping open the bag almost immediately. She held the bowl out to you, and you proceeded to pour the popcorn into it. She kept it between the two of you on the couch as she reached over to press play on the remote. Neither of you spoke, mainly because the only thing on both of your minds was what you started discussing at lunch. You just sat together, her on your left side, keeping distance as you watched the movie in silence.
You both would laugh at the jokes when they were delivered, but you couldn't bring yourself to fully focus on the movie. Your mind was in another place, your leg shaking at the same pace as your racing thoughts.
"Alright," she spoke suddenly, turning the volume down. "What's up?"
"What do you mean?"
She picked up the bowl and placed it on the coffee table. She rested her elbow on the back of the couch, twisting her body to face you. "Your leg has been making the popcorn sound like maracas since you got here. I know you. Something's on your mind, so what is it?"
I know you. The statement gave you butterflies.
"It's nothing," you said. Your cheeks flushed, embarrassed that she had taken note of your nervous habit and yet touched by the way she had picked up on the small details. You second-guessed your lie. You didn't want to have her walk out on you again, but you had to say what was on your mind. Plus, it was her apartment - she couldn't walk out, right? Just go for it. "How was your date?"
"My date?"
"Yeah, the one you left our lunch for?"
She raised her eyebrows and nodded, as if she was just remembering it. "Oh... it didn't happen."
Your brow furrowed and the corners of your mouth turned down. "Did she stand you up?"
"No, uh..." She played with her hair at the back of her neck, staring at the floor. "It just didn't."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry," you replied, unsure of what to say.
She shrugged. "How was your date?"
"I didn't have one?"
"Sure, didn't that coworker who asked for your number also ask you out while she was at it?"
"What are you talking about? You know if anything like that had happened, I would've told you. We're best friends, Kairi."
She pursed her lips, silent. She understood the hidden jab underneath your statement, realizing that her lie must've hurt you a bit more than she thought it would.
"I didn't have a date," she confessed, finally meeting your eyes.
"What?"
She wiped her palms on the couch. "I made it up. I just got... jealous, I guess."
"Jealous?" You almost laughed. She never struck you as the jealous type. She was cool, calm, collected Kairi. Always had been.
"Yeah," she muttered, her cheeks starting to flush.
"Why would you be jealous? You go out with other girls all the time."
"I used to. Not anymore."
You look at her, your confusion written all over your face. You stayed quiet, waiting for her to elaborate.
"Months ago, yeah, I did," she continued. "But then... then I couldn't stop thinking about you. I kept wishing it was you instead of some random girl, and I knew that wasn't fair to them or me, so I stopped. I only told you I kept seeing them because I wanted to make you jealous."
Something in your chest lit up at her confession. This whole time, she hadn't been seeing anyone and it was all because of you, and you had never even noticed.
You laughed. "I mean, it worked, but... God, I really am oblivious, huh?"
She laughed with you, the nervous tension in the air dissolving. "Tell me about it." She smiled at you, but when you met her eyes she suddenly tensed again. The realization that she had just told you one of her biggest secrets came crashing down over her. The fears that you wouldn't feel the same, that you wouldn't stay friends started to rise in her chest.
You noticed her nervousness and shifted closer to her. You placed your elbow on the back of the couch to mirror her and rested your hand on hers. You gave her a sweet smile, silently telling her that everything was okay.
She smiled in reply, some of her confidence returning. "Can I kiss you?" she asked, searching your eyes for any sign of doubt or hesitancy. You nodded, and she leaned in to meet you, your lips finally connecting. Her lips were soft like you had always imagined them to be. Your mouths fit together like puzzle pieces, always meant to have been together. Her touch was gentle and kind, like she was trying not to break you. You smiled against the kiss, and she couldn't stop herself from doing the same. You burst into giggles, the shock of the situation finally hitting you.
"What? Am I that bad?" She asked, leaning away.
"Of course not." You leaned forward to her, cupping her cheek in your hand. "I just can't believe we just kissed."
"We don't have to change anything, you know," she quickly said as if trying to cover up a mistake. "If you don't feel that way, we don't-"
You cut her off with another kiss, slightly harder than the first but just as sweet and genuine. You pulled away and whispered, "This is fine, Kairi. You don't have to worry."
"Well, good," she replied with a grin, "because I'm pretty much in love with you, ya know."
She froze, realizing what she just said. The entire atmosphere seemed to be on pause. Even the subtle sounds from the movie stopped. Confessing that she wanted to make you jealous was one thing, but confessing her love was a much larger secret.
You couldn't stop your cheeks from turning pink as your lips spread into a wide smile. Your heart swelled and fluttered, almost making you dizzy.
"You don't normally say that to your one-night-stands, right?" Of course the only thing that came to your mind was a joke. Your best friend just told you she's in love with you, and you responded with a joke.
"No," she choked out, still nervous.
"Well, good," you echoed her words from earlier, "because I'm pretty much in love with you, too."
Her expression softened, all of her tension melting away. She beamed at you, unable to contain the joy she felt. "Come here," she said, opening her arms to you. You rested your head on her chest, cuddling up against her as she turned the volume back up. You continued to watch the movie, her placing occasional kisses on your forehead as she rubbed your back for the rest of the night.
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thebadboyfanclub · 4 years ago
Text
You Can Do Better (Rio x Reader)
Requested by anon, i’ve posted this for the third time and tumblr is being a fucking asshole to the point were i’m thinking of quitting this since every week I get a new way of them hiding my works. Enjoy it while it lasts
T.W. mentioning of attempted rape
Tumblr media
(Y/n) had been Micks neighbor for a few months before the incident happened, this absolute dumpster was the only thing she could afford at the time, fresh out of college, in a foreign country without any family, but she was hoping to moving quickly. However, when Mick was coming home, he heard her screams and cries for help from the bottom of the stairs, he had seen her once or twice, even baked him cookies when he first moved in, she was nice and a quiet neighbor. 
He found (y/n) being held down by two men in masks and one of them try to rape her, she was begging and screaming, he almost acted on instict when he shot the guy in the back, the other tried to attack him and he also ended up with a bullet in between his eyes. (Y/n) thanked him and Mick had to stop her from calling the police. Instead they called Rio. He was met with two dead bodies, A girl in her torn pajamas shaking and crying and Mick trying to calm her down.
“Those motherfuckers”
Was all he said, it didn’t take a genius to figure out what had gone down, Rio was a criminal and balls deep in despicable things, yet he was proud to say he had never laid hands on a woman nor a child. He kneeled in front of her, took a good look at her eyes, her entire body shaking as she looked at him, you could sense the trauma she had been through.
Rio had heard of her when Mick told him about this little girl next door that baked him cookies as a welcoming gift, he recalled how his friend laughed when he mentioned that the girl asked him his opinion about the next tattoo she wanted to get. Now this happy light hearted girl was replaced because two men thought they are superior.
“Hi sweetheart, I understand this is hard, we will take care of everything alright? You trust us?”
“I had locked the door, I was sleeping”
“I know sweetheart, it wasn’t your fault. We’ll take care of you ok?”
“Thank you”
-
Since Mick had vouched for her and Rio had seen her at her worst they felt obligated to take her under their wings, maybe even help her earn a little more money, get a good car, pay her bills comfortably, that sort of stuff. Until one day she asked to do more, get initiated
“Mama this isn’t the playground, we ain’t playing cops and robbers”
“I know, but you said I am learning quickly, why not teach me more?”
“Why you wanna do this? All of a sudden you feel like being a gangster? You were shaking in your shoes a few months ago”
“I’m done being your little child Rio, I want to hold my own. I will do this with or without you”
Rio looked at her with a serious face. She was growing, becoming fearless, ruthless, he had seen it coming, she was picking up more slack, asking more questions, she wanted to prove herself.
“You’re threating me mama?”
“And what if I am?”
She quickly not only proved herself, she became one of his most valuable members, she was his secret weapon, nobody would suspect a young little hotel receptionist being linked to them. She worked twice as hard and smarter than most if not all his men, advised him wisely and was always cool, calm and collected, she worked best under pressure. Scared little (y/n) felt like had never even happened, she was his soldier now, she had Micks status and Mick couldn’t be more proud, he had a soft spot for her.
“Hey mister policeman, Have some room for another criminal?”
She joked as she leaned at the door of her car, waiting for the new little boy toy to get out of the police station. Now the normal question is why is (y/n) around a police man, there is a two part answer to that. Great lover and also great cover, she was his little thing, so nobody would dare blame you for any crime, the girl of the police man being a gangster? it sounded like a joke.
“Depends on what crime we are talking about miss”
“I can think of a few, we can put those handcuffs to use”
As he approached her she smiled and took off her sunglasses. She looked amazing in her blue loose ripped jeans and a simple oversized white t shirt, a chain necklace around her neck and some nice rings on her fingers as her hair fell  in front of her breasts, wearing a pair of high heels to style it up.
How you doing gorgeous?”
“Oh you know, thriving and surviving. How about you, I thought you had a day off today”
“Yes but I got assigned to a new case”
“Ohhhh should I be concerned? any criminal on the loose?”
“Not really, we are trying to find a link for this Rio guy”
Jackpot, this couldn’t have gone better. She tried to contain her smile and leaned back on the door, acting like nothing had happened.
“Oh I think you’ve mentioned him before, what did he do now?”
“Lots of things but motherfucker always slips away, chief thinks he has someone on the inside”
“Like a dirty cop?”
“Yes, so he wants me to look into it”
“Look at you, leading a case... Sexy”
The guy smiled at her, he was completely fooled and hooked. She hadn’t told anyone about her plan of seducing him to get information, she didn’t need to up until this point, yet what she did not calculate was Rio seeing her outside the police station talking to a fucking cop, the outmost enemy and being all close and cozy to him, acting all buddy buddy in broad daylight.
“I’m glad you like it miss”
“There’s a lot of things I like about you baby, anyway I have to go, I have a shift to clock in to”
“I’ll see ya later?”
“Maybe. Bye handsome”
At that (Y/n) got in her car and drove away. Rio was pissed, the girl he trusted and the girl he wanted was flirting with a policeman, how could she? He trusted her, taught her everything he knew, gave her everything with generosity and she was becoming a cops whore? Of course it wasn’t just about flirting with a cop, it was flirting with someone that wasn’t him.(Y/n) was a charming woman, he found her extremely attractive and she was even better now with the confidence she had gained over time, she was a woman he craved, the woman he wanted to have on his side, a queen that could hold the keys to his kingdom. Now all this was slowly shattering, no there had to be an explanation and he couldn’t wait to hear it.
Of course he could not just appear at her workplace, she was gracious enough to arrange a room for him incognito when Beth shot him, yet they had to act like strangers so all he could do was wait for her. 
“Hey boss, sorry I’m late I had to take care of a few things”
“Like that cop friend of yours?”
She had barely closed the door of his office before he blurred it out, he had this whole plan of making her confess by herself, except when he saw her he lost control. Betrayal and confusion clouded his mind, as she stood there a bit dumbfounded for a quick moment before smirking at him.
“Stalking much?”
“I like to make sure my people are in line”
“Really? Is that why Beth is still walking around unharmed?”
He knew how much that had shook her up, (Y/n) took care of him almost as good as the doctor, she stayed with him until he fell asleep, helped him renew his bandages and anything else he needed, even though she never said it he was aware she was extremely concerned for him and he was grateful for her care, which made it even more complicated considering the fact that he was slowly becoming more addicted to her, needing and wanting more than she gave him.
“Let’s just cut to the shit, what were you doing there?”
“Talking”
“Talking? to a cop? what is this (y/n) huh?”
She sat in the chair calmly, any normal person would have either shit their pants or told him what they were planning right away. (Y/n) on the other hand found this amusing, she had grown tired of him doing things without considering the danger he was putting himself, especially when it came to Beth and the others, if it was anyone else they would have been six feet under the second Rio opened his eyes, now he had cut them in once again and had almost gotten Boss status.
 “Yes, one of your little ladies is married to a cop, what’s the issue with me talking then?”
“Last time I check you ain’t never flapped your gums to a fed”
“I don’t flap my gums Rio, I have conversations and if you really want to know he is my new boy toy. He also was the one that told me about your case, how the fuck do you think I got the information? By holding interviews?”
Rio didn’t know how to feel, she was still working for him, had used her privilege to get information for him that had saved him a lot of money, however the whole “boy toy” thing did not sit well, she liked him, she gave him her time and even though she was stringing him along, she still had him in her life.
“You did what you were supposed to do and you got rewarded, so why you still talking to him”
“Don’t start the bullshit Rio, I’m not your daughter nor your girl so why do you care who am i fucking with”
“Where’s your fucking respect to your boss (y/n)?”
“Respect? how about where’s the respect for yourself? You let the suburban moms do whatever the fuck they are doing and I’m getting shit for having sex and getting you info from the feds?”
He was pushing it, he knew that and he didn’t care, it was time to reveal his cards and she was going to do the same, whether she liked it or not. Rio leaned back on his chair, his hand rubbing his chin as he looked at her, sitting there and looking right back at him, she wasn’t lying he knew that, she had a point for the suburban moms and she had expressed her disapproval for the little thing that was going on between him and Beth. What he did not understand was if she didn’t like it cause she was a tad bit jealous or because it fucked with their money and reputation?
“You are something else you know that?”
“Yet you still question my methods, if I remember correctly I wasn’t the one that planted three bullets in you”
“You are scared of losing me mama?”
She did not respond, she just turned and looked away from him. Of course (y/n) had picked up his little flirty remarks from time to time, she would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit she had thought of how he would be in bed, how his embrace would feel, his raspy voice was enough to start fantasies enough to make a book.
“Let’s say I am, what are you scared of Rio? Why do you care who I’m sleeping with?”
“He is a cop”
“A handsome cop, I’m sure you noticed how nicely that uniform was on him, let me tell you it’s even better when he sweats”
“I don’t need to hear it”
“Why? Does it bother you Christopher?”
She raised herself from the seat and placed her hands on the desk, leaning closer to him and making her breasts show just enough as her back curved in a perfect little S, she focused in his eyes as her tongue went over her upper lip. Rio got closer to her, his hand reached her face, as he held on to the side of her head and his thumb went over the lower lip.
“You’re not for him mama”
“Why not?”
“A woman like you is not for no goody two shoes, you can do better”
“Really? like who?”
They could feel each others breaths, their faces were almost touching as they both spoke in whispers, this conversation was not meant for no one else, they didn’t even have to speak as their body language was saying everything it needed to be said. She felt her breath become more swallow, his scent was getting her a tad bit flustered and so was hers to him.
 He wanted to take her right here and then, just the idea of her naked body was enough to drive him wild, her hair was so soft he could only imagine them stuck on her face from the sweat, the most amazing part was her lips, soft and full that made his mind go wild with the need to feel them in his lips and his body, the doors to her moans.
“I can show you better than I can tell you”
“Let’s get it then boss”
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heyheydidjaknow · 3 years ago
Text
Okay, so I am just the worst. I'm very sorry for that. I will make an effort to stop being the worst. I'm already starting writing for the next chapter. It will be out next week. If it is not, please pester me until it is. If nothing else, the next chapter should be relatively interesting, so.
Chapter 15
“So then I was like, ‘Screw you, man, you don’t know me.’ Because he was being a dick.”
You nod, taking another sip from your straw. “So he was.”
“Well,” Casey continues, gesturing with his pizza slice, “that’s why he gave me a black eye on the ice. And now Annie won’t talk to me.”
With a sigh, you reach up, wincing slightly as the muscles in your back crack. “Well,” you smile tiredly, “that does sound like a predicament. Want me to try talking to her?”
“Nah.” He leans against his hand, taking a bite of his food. “It’s whatever. Didn’t like her, anyway.”
You smirk. “Bullshit.”
“Smartass.” He rolls his busted eyes. “How’s your boyfriend?”
“Nonexistent.”
“Bullshit,” he mimics. “Isn’t he all over you?”
“Hardly.” You wave your hand dismissively. “‘Sides, he doesn’t want a relationship, I bet.”
“You slept together.” He swallows. “You slept together and he didn’t make a pass at you.”
“What does that prove?” You take another drink. “Just because he or I want it to happen doesn’t mean that it should.”
“Bullshit,” he sings once more. “You’re just scared of commitment, I bet.”
Your face flushes. “That’s not it!”
“Then why not ask him?”
“Look,” you fumble for an excuse that was not ‘He’s a ninja,’ “he’s really busy, what with his sports and science stuff. I’m lucky he has time for me at all; what we have is fine until things calm down a bit with him.”
“So never.”
“Pretty much.”
Another bite. “If he’s so smart, won’t he be going off to Harvard or some shit? Shoot your shot.”
“Who are you to give me relationship advice?” You push him, placing your hand on the pizza box between you on the bench. “You just fucked up with Johanna.”
“Maybe the reason you two are still virgins is that you’re both smartasses.”
“We’re like fifteen!” You laugh. “What, you’re a lady killer now?”
“Hey, I’ve made my rounds.” He grins. “You know the blond chick? Jenny?”
You stick your tongue out at him. “She is completely out of your league, Jones,” you huff. “Know your place.”
“And she’s in yours?”
“Did I say that?” You take another sip. “No, I did not.”
He sighs. “I’m gonna set you up.”
You blink at this sudden change in subject matter. “Huh?”
“There’s this guy on the team who has a thing for you.” He takes another bite of his pizza. “I promised I’d try.”
“Out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Surprisingly, yes.” He leans back on the bench, head flopping back. “We’ve been buddies for a while.”
Your eyes trace the cracks in the pavement carelessly, weighing your options. “Where?”
“I’m looking for a yes or no.”
You fiddle with your collar. “Which guy?”
“Carter from bio.”
With bright green eyes, long black hair, you can hardly describe him as ugly. A bit pompous, but not irredeemably so. The idea of going on a date with another man-- another human, no less-- is hardly unappealing, especially given the fact that you are almost completely certain that whatever you have going on between yourself and Donatello is going to go exactly nowhere. It would be nice, you know, to go out to lunch or dinner with a pretty boy.
Your gut tells you it is a bad idea. Your gut also told you to go try and check out Shredder’s lair that one time, and now you could not walk.
“I’m down.” Why not? Life is about taking risks that do not result in your lack of motor functions. “You got his number?”
He nods, pulling his phone out of his pocket and texting you the contact. “He’s a good guy,” he promises. “He’s not gonna try shit, probably.”
“You sound certain.”
“Shut up.” He scrolls through his phone. “Who knows, though? Maybe you’ll like him more than your guy and you won’t have to keep pining over him.”
“And there’s the ulterior motive.” You cross your arms, setting the cup on the ground. “If I get stood up, it’s your ass.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He leans his head back forward, picking at his nails absentmindedly. “Whatcha gonna do? Fight me?”
You smirk. “It’s as realistic as you getting with Jennifer Barker.”
“And that’s my cue to leave.” He stands up, wiping his hands on his jeans and taking the box. “I’m taking this.”
“Have at it,” you follow suit, checking the time. “Don’t eat it all at once.”
“I will absolutely ignore your advice.”
“Obviously.” You wave. “See ya tomorrow.”
“See ya.”
The walk home is long, as always, but with every passing day, you get better at walking with one good leg. Having lost it in the dumpster with little more than reassurance that knowing whoever took it needed it more than you do, you have learned a thing or two about balance, and yet you still quietly long for your other leg. ‘It would be nice to be able to run places,’ you muse. ‘It would make me feel better about walking around at this time of night.’ With all the walking you have to do— you still do not have a metro card because you are foolish— you are still relatively strong, but getting places without hobbling and having the option to run away would be nice.
You unlock the door to your apartment. ‘Just a couple more days before I can walk properly again.’ You pull it open, kicking your shoe off.
Someone is sitting on your couch.
You take a shaky step back— ‘I can’t run’—, tripping on your feet and falling on your back in the hallway, your drink spilled on the floor. It is as if your body is struck with lightning, every nerve on edge as you crawl away, voice caught in your throat as you try and get as far away from the door as possible. Your body drags with you.
Too slow.
A hand grabs your ankle. It drags you back into the room with barely a grunt, and with a slam, the door shuts, and you are locked with a figure whose face you cannot see.
The door locks.
The figure lets go of your ankle, heart pounding in your heart as you try and reach for the doorknob, tears pricking your eyes. You can barely use your hands again, progress gone in an instant. ‘Don’t kill me.’ You pray to stop shaking. ‘I can’t die here. Not after everything that’s happened.’
The light clicks on.
“What the fuck is your deal?”
Your eyes snap open. A rush of embarrassment slams into you, a wave of shame making you hot all over as you become painfully aware of the fact that you look absolutely pathetic, clawing at the door.
You pull yourself to your feet shakily, turning back to look at Raphael. “You,” you mumble, opening the door and grabbing your keys from off the floor, not even bothering with the cup, “are the fucking worst.”
“You’re the one that’s all jumpy.” He rolls his eyes, sitting back on the couch. “Who did you think it was?”
You scramble for another answer. “I don't know,” you snap. “If you didn’t know, I’d like to introduce you to the concept of texting someone before you sit ominously on their couch.”
“You’ll live.”
“Barely!”
He sighs. “Sit. We have to talk.”
You toss your keys onto the counter, shakily hobbling over to the kitchen, hands clenched still. “You talk.” Your voice starts to stabilize. “I’m going to have a drink and wish it was alcohol.”
“Do you remember the first month you were here?” He crisscrosses his legs. “A week or so in?”
You lean down, grabbing a drink container. “When Mikey almost got kidnapped? Yeah.”
“Do you remember what you said?”
“Do I remember what I said over two months ago? No, I do not.” You set it on the counter, reaching into the cabinet and pulling a plastic cup down. You consider a glass one but did not want to clean glass shards off of your floor again.
“Then let me remind you.” He leans back into your couch. “You said, and I quote, that Shredder doesn’t get close to murdering Master Splinter until season two, whatever that means.”
You nod, setting your hands on the counter until they stop shaking. “What about it?”
“Shredder gets close to killing my father.”
You sigh, dreading the ensuing conversation. “Look,” you reason, “it probably won’t get to that if we’re smart.”
“The first word I think of when I think about our group is not smart.”
“It’s one guy.” You lean against your hand. “So long as he doesn’t pull a Leo and martyrs himself—“
He cuts you off. “What does martyr mean?”
“If he doesn’t throw himself in harm's way for the sake of the greater good—“
“So my Leo throws himself in harm’s way?”
“Have you met your brother?” You try and grab your cup. “Of course he does.”
His eyes widen. “So you’re telling me my brother dies too?”
“I did not say that.”
“But you—“
“The point,” you snap, “is that so long as your father values his own safety, he will be fine. There are preventative measures that we can take to make sure he doesn’t kick the bucket, so for now, worry about how you’re going to survive.”
He gets up. “How does he go the first time?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why?” He stands in front of you, staring you down. “Why won’t you?”
“Because you’ll kill yourself over it.” You pick up your cup, taking a sip. “If I told you what happened in the future, you’d pull something to try and defy that, right? Then we wouldn’t even know what it was anymore, and our one tactical advantage would be shot."
“But—“
“I only tell you,” you cut him off, “about certain things so you can prepare to face them, not to try and avoid them. There are very few exceptions to that rule.” You set the cup back down, staring back. “There are things we can do to prevent things from happening, but not right now. Right now, our top priority is to make sure the Kraang don’t kill us all.”
“How come you get to know stuff we don’t?”
“Because.”
He throws his hands up. “Oh, well if that’s the reason—“
“Do you have anything else you wanna say or are you planning on just being up my ass?”
He closes his eyes, hands together as he takes a slow, deep breath. “Yes, actually.”
“What?”
“Karai approached us today when we went to check our Donnie’s stupid signal thing.” He opens them again. “She wants to team up.”
“Cool.” Your voice softens. “That’s good.”
He leans against the counter. “Can we trust her?”
You take another drink. “Trust is a strong word right now,” you sigh. “Aligning with her is a good idea, though. Just trust her as far as you can throw her.”
“What does that mean?”
“Well,” you shrug, “you can trust her to get you things and give you access to stuff. Just keep your guard up is all. Be diplomatic about it and you’ll be fine.”
He nods. “Cool.” He smiles. “Donnie’s been very anti-Karai so far.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He chuckles. “No idea why?”
You shake your head. “Thought he’d like having a kunoichi on his side.”
“You’d think.”
“Well, he’s gotta get over it some time.” You take another drink. “Preferably sooner than later, though. Fucking with Karai…” you shudder. “She’s incredibly powerful. If we can stay on her good side, it would make our lives easier.”
“Ours, you mean.”
“I have a stake in this too, you know.”
He scoffs. “How?”
“We’re on the same planet.” You reach down, fixing your pants over your cast. “Plus, I’m a target of the foot by association.”
“You aren’t fighting with us.”
“Would you rather I did?” You look back up at him. “Because when I do it seems it’s in the wrong way.”
“It would be helpful if you weren’t useless.”
“But I am, so it isn’t.”
“I guess.”
You stand back up straight. “Is that all?”
“Nope.” He walks back to the couch, sitting down. “I’m staying here a bit. Leo’s being an ass.”
“How so?”
“Same way as per usual.” He leans back into the couch. “Thinks he’s better than everyone.”
“And you don't have a better place to hang?”
He shrugs. “My brother likes you well enough. Besides, I want to know the person who’s making all of these big decisions in my life.”
“So it’s because you don’t like me?”
“Kinda, yeah.”
You take another sip from your drink. “That sounds paradoxical.”
“So?”
“So,” you lean your head against your hand, “why would you want to talk to me if you don’t like me?”
“Because your brother likes you,” he repeated. “If you’re going to be hanging around a ton I might as well try to like you.”
You smile. “That is incredibly mature of you, Hamato.”
A scoff. “You can’t call us all Hamato.”
“Watch me.” You hum, taking another sip from your drink. “Can I get you anything, by the way?”
“I’m good.”
“Suit yourself.” You reach into your bag— luckily, nothing has fallen out— and pull out your phone. “I just need you out by eleven-thirty. It’s a school night.”
“Even without being involved in our fights,” he shakes his head, “you are a total pussy.”
“Suck me.” You grab it off the counter, carefully carrying your cup to your bed. “And keep the noise down. “My neighbors have been pleasant and I want it to stay that way.”
“Buzzkill. You clearly don’t spend enough time with Mikey.”
“You know,” you grin, pulling out your notes as you sit down, “your brother says the opposite. Donnie, I mean.”
“I figured.”
You glance over at the window as he fiddles with the remote. “How did you get in?”
“The window.”
“No shit.” You look back over at him. “Red button, but I lock the window."
“No, you didn’t.” He clicks the button. “It was unlocked when I got here.”
“Huh.” Another stream of electricity flows through your veins. ‘They know where I live.’ You swallow.
“Must’ve forgotten.”
You did not. You would not forget. There was no way you could have, or would have, forgotten to do something like that.
“Must’ve.”
Table of Contents
Chapter 14
Chapter 16
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imaginarysonder · 4 years ago
Text
Plush
Pairing: Jackson Wang x OC (reader)
Genre: Fluff, the TINIEST bit of angst
Word Count: 3.8K (yikes)
Description: Jackson buys you something cute to remember him by when he’s travelling, but it upsets his life more than he thinks it will.
A/N: Super squishy marshmallow fluff for Got7′s Jackson. Been all up in the feels since the beginning of the year about EVERYTHING. So here’s my way of coping. 
Jackson was not prepared for the upset in his life when he brought your seemingly simple present home. He chuckled to himself as he tried to hide the bag behind his body as he entered your shared apartment. “Babe?” he called.
 You rounded the corner to the entryway and smiled at him. He shrugged off his jacket and toed of his shoes. “Hi, love,” you said approaching him choosing to ignore the shopping bag he was poorly hiding behind him. You wrapped your arms around his waist and pressed the side of your head to his chest. He didn’t hug back as he struggled to keep the bag contained. You smiled slyly at him as you reached up to kiss him lightly. “Should I even ask?” you whispered against his lips.
 Jackson chuckled before pressing his lips to yours again. “You’ll find out soon enough,” he replied pulling himself out of your embrace to brush past you into the kitchen. He set the bag down on the kitchen counter as he opened the fridge. You rolled your eyes at his back as you returned to your position on the couch. You focused your attention on the emails you had been returning and adding to your calendar of meetings and appointments. You were vaguely aware of Jackson shutting the fridge and making his way over to the couch next to you with the large shopping bag. The two of you sat in silence next to each other for a short time, Jackson practically vibrating next to you in anticipation.
“So,” Jackson began and coughed awkwardly.
You minimized your emails and closed your laptop to give him your full attention. “Hm?” you hummed at him.
“You know how I’m leaving tomorrow for a few weeks?” he asked even though he knew you were well aware.
 “Mm,” you hummed again in agreement. “Team Wang engagements in Hong Kong and Shanghai,” you confirmed. “I know, babe. It’s been on my calendar since you booked the plane ticket.”
He nodded. “Well, I know you don’t like it when I buy you things,” he paused at your raised eyebrow, “but I thought you could use this to keep you company while I was away.” He scooted the shopping back towards you and you finally got a good look at it. It was LARGE and bulged slightly as its contents didn’t fit well within it’s shape. You furrowed your brows at him and a small frown pulled at the corners of your mouth. One of the ground rules you had laid when you and Jackson started dating had been no unnecessary gifts. Receiving gifts was always hard for you. “It’s practical, I promise,” Jackson assured you as he pushed the back closer to you.
 You sighed but placed a hand on the bag. Jackson started vibrating again in excitement. You held your breath as you looked in the bag. A large, squishy-mochi-like penguin plushie smiled back at you from the depths of the bag. You pulled it out and squished it experimentally between your hands. It was fat and soft and the size of a standard nine-year-old.
“I thought it could keep you company while I’m gone,” Jackson explained hurriedly as he watched you look at the penguin with a blank expression. “I hugged every plush they had, this one seemed the best size and softness.”
 You couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image of Jackson hugging every stuffed animal in the store he ended up going to. You hugged the penguin to you. It fit perfectly under your chin and its softness in your arms immediately felt calming. You snuggled into it and sighed. “You like it?” Jackson asked hesitantly.
You closed your eyes and nodded as you pressed the penguin closer to you. “He won’t replace you, but he’ll do,” you whispered.
 -
 It was the crack of dawn the next morning. You were yawning and watching as Jackson made tea in a travel mug and pulled on his shoes with his suitcase parked by the front door. You pressed him against the wall as he kissed you breathless. Silent I’ll miss you’s were passed between the two of you as you had to pull yourself away from him. He pressed you to his chest as you listened to his heart beat wildly in his chest. You smiled glad you still had some sort of effect on him. Jackson looked down at you smiling wistfully as he traced your pulsating jugular. Too soon he was gone.
 The weeks that Jackson was gone felt long, but you were glad you had work to distract you and the large stuffed penguin to fill the empty space in your bed. Very quickly, the penguin became your go to comfort item instead of Jackson’s shirts or his small spray of cologne he left for you. You kept finding yourself reaching for the soft plush when you longed for Jackson. The softness under your fingers and squish between your arms comforted you more. You often sent Jackson pictures with it tucked under your arm or held it in your lap as you FaceTimed him.
 “So, I take it you like your present?” Jackson teased you via FaceTime. He was laying on his stomach on some hotel room bed his hair messy and his eyes tired but not without a hint of mischievous twinkle in them.
 You hugged the penguin closer to your chest and smiled wider. “You could say that,” you replied cheekily. “He’s been keeping me company.”
 “Good, I’m glad,” Jackson said tiredly running a hand over his face. “I should have bought myself one too,” he chuckled.
 “I’ll get you one for your birthday,” you assured him. 
He was shaking his head before you even finished your sentence. “I want you instead,” he said quickly. “I don’t need a penguin when I have you.”
You felt yourself blush immediately and looked down in embarrassment.
 “How do you still get embarrassed when I say stuff like that?” Jackson laughed at you.
 You shrugged blushing harder, your ears feeling hot. “I don’t know,” you murmured. “It’s always different when you say it.”
 Jackson laughed. His eyes crinkling at the edges just how you loved. “Yeah,” he admitted. “Everything is different when it’s us, huh?”
 “Just you,” you chided him.
 “No,” he shot back. “You have the same effect on me, dummy.”
 “You’re better at hiding it then,” you laughed.
 “I don’t want to hide it from you,” he murmured. “I’m just better at playing it off,” he chuckled lowly. There was a long pause and both of you just basked in each other’s company. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow,” he sighed.
 “Mm,” you hummed in agreement. “I miss you,” you sighed.
 He smiled weakly at you but you could see the excitement shining through his fatigue. You said your goodbyes and he blew you a kiss before the both of you reluctantly hung up to sleep.
 -
 You woke the next day with your faithful penguin under your arm. You squeezed him excitedly as you remembered that Jackson was coming home today. You got up quickly and went about your day in the house cleaning as you went. You settled on the couch as you finished watching the laundry tumble round and round in the washer. Jackson wasn’t due in until this evening and then with the drive from the airport you estimated he wouldn’t be at the apartment until 8 or 9PM. You sighed glancing at the clock, it was only noon. You clicked on the TV and opened your laptop. You might as well work while you had some quiet time. You opened your emails and immediately regretted it. You sighed and cracked your knuckled getting ready to see what dumpster fire you’d have to put out now.
 You glanced outside. Somehow the afternoon had bled into early evening and into night. You looked at the clock on your laptop, it was already 7PM. You sighed and stretched before getting up and grabbing your stuffed penguin from your bedroom. You gazed longingly at the front door willing it to open soon. You jumped as your phone buzzed on the couch next to you. It was a call from Jackson. You picked up quickly. “Hello?”
 “Hi, baby,” you heard his voice call over the phone. He sounded tired.
 “Hi,” you breathed. “Are you on the ground?” you asked hopefully.
 “Yeah, just landed,” Jackson confirmed. “They’re just starting to unload the plane.”
 You nodded even though you knew Jackson couldn’t see you. “So, you’ll be home soon,” you murmured glancing at the clock again. “I should get dinner going.” Even though you kept your voice calm, you could feel the excitement bubbling up in your chest.
 “Do you want me to pick something up on the way?” Jackson asked. “I can stop by that restaurant you like…”
 He trailed off and you could hear shuffling on the other end of the line as you assumed Jackson was standing and gathering his belongings before getting off the plane. “No, Jacks,” you murmured cutting off his thought process. “Just come home to me.”
 You heard Jackson chuckled lowly. “I’m on my way, baby,” he said firmly. “I’ll see you in a little bit, okay?”
 “Mm,” you hummed. “Can’t wait.” He hung up first and you couldn’t help but hug your penguin as your body tried to contain all the feelings you had for that man. It felt like your heart might literally burst with how much you felt for Jackson. As you pressed down your beating heart, you estimated Jackson would be home in about thirty minutes. You quickly called in take-out at yours and his favorite local restaurant and went to go get changed to pick it up.
 There was a small skip in your step as you walked back from the restaurant with the bag of take-out cradled in your arms. You pressed the key pad to be let into you apartment building and rounded the corner to the elevators. Time seemed to slow as you saw a man standing in front of the elevators with his back to you a large suitcase at his side. You knew that silhouette anywhere and you almost dropped the take-out. “Jacks?” you called out.
 Time seemed to go even slower as he turned to look at you. He plucked out his airpods and a smile began to stretch its way across his face. “Well, hi, baby,” he replied as you came closer. “Is that what I think it is?” he asked eyeing the bag in your arms.
 You nodded and grinned up at him.
 “God, you’re the best,” he sighed pulling you closer by your elbow. He leaned down to press a firm kiss to your forehead. You felt him inhale deeply against your skin and you held back your laugh. “You smell so good,” he murmured lips moving against your skin softly, “like home.”
 You let your laugh out then. “You dork,” you teased him, but you also leaned in and pressed your face to his shoulder so you could catch a small whiff of him. He smelled like home to you.
 The elevator finally dinged and the two of you entered, Jackson rolling his suitcase behind him. On the way up, he took the take-out out of your arms and placed it gingerly on top of his suitcase so he could pull you into his firm embrace. One thing you learned quickly in yours and Jackson’s relationship was his strong love language of physical touch. You had never known you craved so much physical touch from another person until Jackson. Many of your previous relationships had been what you thought were a normal amount of physical interaction; holding hands, soft kisses, hugs, cuddling, etc, but everyone of them paled in comparison to Jackson and his need to be touching you in some way. You could always decipher his mood based on the type of contact he made with you. It made you feel like you understood him better as well as feel loved and appreciated.
 You felt Jackson sigh against you melting into you a little. “I missed you and this so much,” he admitted. “I needed your touch so badly while I was away. You always make me feel better even if I’m already happy.”
 You blushed wildly at his words and you tried to push down the flames of embarrassment.
 “Stop blushing, babe,” Jackson said and you could hear the smile in his voice. It didn’t escape you that he didn’t even have to see your face to know that you were red with embarrassment.
 Before you could reply, the elevator doors opened and you pulled away from him picking up the take-out bag and trying to hide your blush from him sheepishly. You could feel Jackson’s eyes burning into your back as you made your way to your apartment’s front door and punch in the passcode to the door. It beeped open and you held the door open for Jackson to wheel his suitcase in. After he passed you, you followed in and set down the bag to take out to off your shoes. 
Once the door clicked shut behind you and you had straightened up, you were pushed back against the door and smothered. Your tip toes barely touched the floor as Jackson’s body crowded you against the door his lips pressed firmly against yours. One of his arms was locked around your waist and the other snaked up your back to hold the back of your head so there was no escaping him. You rested your hands on his shoulders and smiled into his urgent kisses. “I missed you too,” you gasped between the flurry of lips.
 Jackson pulled back a fraction and nuzzled his face deep into your neck groaning. “I’m never going anywhere ever again,” he whispered. The feel of his lips ghosting over the sensitive skin on your neck made you shiver.
 “Oh?” you asked in mock surprise. Jacksons hand on your waist snuck a few fingers under your shirt to feel your bare skin. “So, no more Team Wang stuff?” you asked jokingly. “No more overseas Got7 tours? No more traveling? No more seeing your family?” You knew the last one was the nail in the coffin.
 Jackson huffed and pressed a chaste kiss to the underside of your jaw. “You made your point,” he grumbled into your neck.
 You laughed and pushed him off of you swiping up the take-out and waving it at him enticingly as you made your way to the kitchen. The two of you caught up over dinner and he told you about all the Team Wang planning he had been doing and the new members of his team and the possibilities in the future. You felt your heart swell in your chest as you watched him talk about one of his passions so openly. You hoped every dream he ever had came true and you hoped you would be there to see it happen.
 “Anyways,” Jackson cut himself off, “what have you been doing, babe?” He effectively shut himself up by shoveling a large bite of food into his mouth.
 You smiled weakly as you felt your life was nothing special compared to his despite all of Jackson’s reassurance. “Not much,” you replied breaking your gaze off of him. “You know, the usual emails and I went into the company a few times for meetings and to supervise directly. It’s hard when they keep replacing team members without telling me.”
 Jackson nodded knowingly even though you knew he hand-selected every team member in his company. “You should just work for me,” Jackson said grinning at you.
 “We’ve talked about this, Jacks,” you said meeting his gaze.
 His smile faltered and he nodded. “I know,” he conceded easily. “You need your autonomy.”
 “I have no doubt you’d treat me better than my own company,” you reassured him, “but working for you poses a lot of problems in and of itself. It’s not because I don’t love the idea.”
 “Someday it’ll make sense for both of us,” he said smiling at you.
 You cleaned up the kitchen while Jackson went to unpack and shower. When he emerged from the bathroom with damp hair, you were snuggled on the couch with a random TV show playing and the stuffed penguin tucked in your arms. Jackson smiled at the fact that now you reached for it unconsciously. He plopped down on the couch next to you and pulled you closer. Jackson tried to reach his arms around he both of you, but they weren’t long enough to lock around you like he usually did. You laughed as he shifted a little and wiggled his arms and hands around until he wedged them between your body and the squish of the penguin. “This is new,” he muttered to himself but you couldn’t help but laugh harder at him.
Over the next few days, Jackson noticed that the penguin got in his way and disrupted his daily life more than expected. The both of you were working from home for the time being and the normal amount of affection he received from you was reduced by almost 80%, or at least he thought so in his own mind. When he woke up in the mornings, he wouldn’t find you tucked against his side like usual. Instead, you were spooning the penguin facing away from him as you continued to sleep peacefully. When you were working on the couch, he would reach out for your hand where it usually rested close to him if he needed you. Instead, both you arms would be wrapped securely around the penguin as you hugged it tightly while you worked. Instead of couple snuggles on the couch, it was suddenly a throuple with a very fat, squishy addition. You also opted to wrap yourself around the penguin instead of throwing your legs over his legs or resting your head on his chest. Jackson tried to convinced himself it was nothing to be concerned about, that it was just you loving the gift he got you and acting out of habit due to him being gone for so long. He tried to not let it bother him, but he couldn’t help but feel a little sadder and a little more distanced from you like you were ignoring him. His pride refused to let him think he was jealous of a stuffed penguin and he refused to talk to you about it for fear of seeming petty. So, he let the penguin get in his way for a lot longer than he would hae liked.
 One day, Jackson came back from the mart while you stayed home to finish the laundry. He came into the living room to find the penguin wearing one of his shirts baggily. His eye bugged out of his head and the penguin’s smiling face seemed to mock him evilly. That was the last straw. The penguin was already stealing his girl and now his wardrobe? It was unacceptable. Jackson banged the bag of groceries down on the kitchen island and went to find you. You met him in the hallway startled by the loud noise. Jackson grabbed your hand and dragged you to the living room pointing accusingly at the penguin in his shirt. “What is that?” he asked in frustration.
 Your eyes followed his finger to the couch and the penguin. You giggled. “I missed you when you went to the mart, so I put that on him like a mini-Jackson. Isn’t he cute?” you explained cheerfully. You met his eyes and your cheer faded quickly as you saw the upset in his eyes. “Wait, Jacks, what’s wrong?” you asked suddenly serious. “I was just messing around. Did I upset you?”
 Jackson sighed and took your hand. He tried his best to push down his annoyance and when that happened, the empty emotional space allowed him to feel the rising embarrassment. The tips of his ears began to burn as he thought about what he was about to confess. “I just feel like ever since I got back from Shanghai, you like that penguin more than me,” he muttered. His eyes were glued to the floor.
 You had to bite back you laughter even though you knew this was a serious situation. Your hand snaked up to the back of his neck and pulled him closer. “Oh, Jacks,” you murmured. Jackson was resistant at first to you tugging him closer, but the minute your lips molded to his neck, all defiant thoughts in him vanished. He felt his knees go weak and he let you maneuver him so he leaned against the wall. His hands limply rested on your shoulders as you continued to pepper kisses up and down his neck, up onto his jawline and behind his ears. He shivered in your grasp and that only prompted you to nip at his jugular. After what felt like hours of soft kisses, light nips, and grazes of teeth and tongue, you pulled away to look up at him. His eyes were glassy and a burning blush raged across his cheeks and the tips of his ears. His parted lips were pink from gnawing on them and his breath came out a little ragged. His large hands settled on your hips and your arms wound around his neck. You leaned into his embrace so you could speak in his ear. “So, you’re telling me,” you murmured, “that you’re jealous of the stuffed penguin you bought me?”
 Jackson shivered again and groaned as his forehead fell onto your shoulder. “When you say it like that, it sounds pathetic,” he whined boyishly.
 You laughed and lifted his face to look at you so you could kiss him. “Yeah, just a little bit,” you whispered to him. “But, I’m sorry if I made you feel neglected. I know how much you recharge with just a simple hug or kiss. You were gone so long that it just became a quick habit. Forgive me?” You pressed your nose into his neck and sighed. Your heart squeezed a little at the thought of you unknowingly causing him unnecessary hurt.
Jackson sighed as he looked into your eyes before pulling you flush against him. “I know and I forgive you, baby. I’m glad you love him, but you can’t love him more than me.” He couldn’t deny that feeling you in his arms and having your undivided attention was all he wanted and all he would ever want when it came to you. His arms pressed you harder against him as he willed your body to melt into his. 
You laughed into Jackson’s neck. “That’s impossible,” you assured him. “I love you best of all.”
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purplesorcery · 3 years ago
Text
“  for once in your life, what is it that you want? ”
From this prompt list.
Gilmore smiled sadly. “You know, it’s funny. No one ever asks me that.”
“No shit,” Kima said. “That’s why I did. And you gotta answer. None of that vague hand-wavy shit you always do when the focus is on your needs.” 
Gilmore laughed out loud. She was always so direct. “I love you.” 
“Same. Now answer the question, before I kick your thicc purple ass. No more trying to change the subject.” 
Gilmore took a deep breath and released it before answering. “I want…everything. I don’t necessarily want to keep it, but I want to hold it in my hands and see what it’s worth at least once. I want to be worshipped and adored, but not in a way that brings oppression or subjugation. I want to be adored in a way that makes people delight to see me, that lifts their hearts and inspires them to do what makes them happy. I want to be loved for who I am, not for my unique talents or this glorious facade. I want to be truly seen, by someone who wants to see me for me. Who can look at me with all of my flaws and imperfections and not flinch away.” 
“Well give a whole lecture why don’t you.” But when Gilmore glanced up at Kima, he could see she was teasing. “Hey, I gotta give you credit. You didn’t outright say, ‘I want all the gold and gems in the world’.”
“Darling, I’m a dragon, not a monster. Just because I’m driven by my very nature to hoard precious things doesn’t mean I want to hoard everything.”
Kima grinned. “Just the stuff that’s worth the most.”
Gilmore shrugged humbly. “It’s subjective. What might appear to be trash to someone else could certainly be treasure to me.” 
“You mean like a certain half elf?” 
Gilmore swatted at her, playfully. “Stop. You’re so mean.” 
“Hey. I’d gladly take back my title of dumpster fire for the guy if he’d ONE time treat you like a person with feelings, and not his own personal therapy rock.” 
Gilmore shrugged, pretending it didn’t bother him. “He’s troubled, and he trusts me. I can’t be mad at that.” 
Kima leaned forward, almost threateningly. “Yes. You. Can.” She put her hands on her hips. “That little fucker never comes around here but he wants something from you. And what do you get in return? Nothing. Nada. Zip. Not so much as a thank you.” 
She clapped her hands on each of the words she said next: “Your emotional labor has value.” Kima gestured with her hands as she continued: “It’s not okay for him to demand it of you time and time again, much less for free!” 
Gilmore tilted his head. “Well, isn’t that what friends are for?” 
Kima got right up in his face. “Fuck no! Are you kidding me, goldie? Friends share each other’s burdens. They don’t just take take take with no thought for what the other person is going through.” She stood back and pointed at him. “Admit it. Generous as you are, even you have to admit that you deserve better.” 
Gilmore let out a laugh that was half sigh. “Well of course I do.” 
She clapped her hands again. “Then why do you keep letting him use you like this?”  
Gilmore shrugged. “Perhaps it’s my generous nature. Or maybe…” His expression grew pensive. “Perhaps I’m afraid I wouldn’t see him at all anymore, if I ever stopped.” 
“That.” Kima pointed at him and then hopped up on the couch to sit next to him. “That is the truest thing you’ve said today.” 
When Gilmore opened his mouth to protest, she stopped him. “Don’t say anymore. Just think about it.” 
Gilmore cradled his cup of tea, feeling somehow worse than he had in some time. “Hey.” Kima nudged him. “I love you, queen. You know I just want to see you get the appreciation you deserve.” 
She was right, of course. That was the worst part. If he was honest with himself, Gilmore wasn’t sure Vax’ildan had ever truly seen him. Or that he had any desire to. 
“You are…” Gilmore searched for the words. He did love her. Deeply. “...a good friend.” 
“You’re damn right I am,” Kima shot back. “Now help me think of what to get Allie for our anniversary. You know I’m no good with the whole mushy gift thing.”
“Ooo.” Gilmore smiled, brightening immediately. “Can it involve shopping?” 
Kima grimaced. “Oh, fuck me.” 
His smile widened. “You asked.”
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hailing-stars · 4 years ago
Text
@febuwhump day 28 “you have to let me go”
juice pops and soup
summary
“Peter?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be locked up in school?”
“Don’t feel so good.”
“We’ve talked about that phrase, Pete,” says Tony.
“Sorry.” The kid’s voice sounds truly miserable. “Can - Ccan -” Peter stops talking, and Tony’s ears are assaulted by the loudest sneeze he’s ever heard. “Can you come over? I need soup. And Gatorade. I think I’m dying.”
OR
Tony is sad after dropping off Morgan at school for her first day. Luckily he gets distracted for a bit looking after Peter when he’s sick. 
“Daddy,” says Morgan. “You have to let me go now.”
Tony continues holding her, as he watches her fellow kindergarteners hug their parents goodbye and run inside the classroom.
“You know, Mo,” says Tony. “You can always take a gap year.”
“Tony,” says Pepper, lightly touching his arm.
“Ok fine.” Tony puts Morgan down in the school hallway. She looks so small under her Spider-Man backpack. Way too tiny to spend the day without her parents.
“Bye!” Is the only farewell they get before Morgan zips out of their sight and into the classroom.
Tony turns his head towards Pepper. “I don’t like it.”
“We’ve met her teacher,” says Pepper. She’s already starting to walk away from the open classroom door. “And you like her.”
Tony has to admit Morgan got the best teacher in the elementary school. A regular Miss Honey, but that still doesn’t mean he’s ready to leave his daughter behind.
“Wait, Pep!” calls out Tony, but she’s already turning the corner.
He sighs, and takes a peek inside the classroom.
Morgan’s sitting at a table, excitedly talking with two other kids with the biggest smile on her face. It brings a sad sort of smile to his own face, and he sluggishly follows his wife out to the car, abandoning his baby to the school system.
*
The penthouse is quiet when it’s just Tony. He doesn’t like it, and his mind dwells on Morgan not being there and about how one day she’ll leave for college, about how she’s growing up. Time only speeds up the older he gets. He’s sure one day he’ll blink and she and Peter will be completely grown.
He’s dwelling on these thoughts when his phone buzzes. Seeing Peter’s name flash on the screen fills him with joy, but also gives him pause.
“Peter?” he asks. “Shouldn’t you be locked up in school?”
“Don’t feel so good.”
“We’ve talked about that phrase, Pete,” says Tony.
“Sorry.” The kid’s voice sounds truly miserable. “Can - Ccan -” Peter stops talking, and Tony’s ears are assaulted by the loudest sneeze he’s ever heard. “Can you come over? I need soup. And Gatorade. I think I’m dying.”
Tony stands from the couch. “Sure thing, kid. I’ll be there in a jiffy.”
“Thanks,” he says, though it sounds more like tanks.
He hangs up his phone, and heads to the drug store, where he buys way more shit than Peter had asked him for. He figures if Pete had wanted someone who won’t overact, he would’ve called Happy.
Tony has so much stuff, some he bought and some he brought from home, that he struggles to carry it up to May and Peter’s apartment in one go. He manages it, though, and his heart melts when Peter unlocks and opens the door for him.
His kid has a blanket wrapped around his body. His face is pale, and there’s absolute misery leaking out from his eyes.
“Oh, kid,” says Tony, stepping inside the Parker apartment, and setting his bags down. He shuts the door behind him. “You look terrible.”
“Tanks,” he says.
Tony looks around, and takes in the chaos of the apartment. There’re used kleenex all over the floor in the living room. Empty Gatorade bottles. Hoodies, and mountains of throw blankets. And it’s wrong. May usually keeps Peter contained to his bedroom when he’s sick.
“Why does your entire living room look like a dumpster fire?” asks Tony. “Where’s May?” There’s no way she’d allow Peter to turn the apartment into the mess it is currently. Not even when he’s sick.
“She had that - um - she that had -”says Peter. Tony puts his hand on his forehead, and nearly burns himself, he’s so hot. “Conference. She’s at a conference.”
“You’ve got quite the fever.”
“Yeah.”
“Should’ve called me sooner,” says Tony. He puts his hands on Peter’s shoulders, and directs him back towards the couch, forcing him to lay back down.
“I knew it was Morgan’s big day,” says Peter, burrowing under the blankets Tony throws on him. “Figured you were stressed enough. How are you taking it?”
Only Peter Parker would ask how someone else it’s doing while he’s sick and disgusting. Tony smiles fondly. It’s part of the kid’s charm.
“Like a knife in my heart.”
Peter laughs, which is a mistake, because his chuckle turns into coughing fit.
Tony looks on with pity, then springs into action. He busts out the dehumidifier and plugs it in, and then works on making  the kid’s drink. He cracks open a bottle of Gatorade, and puts into a bendy straw, one that’s printed with small Iron Man cartoons.
Peter rolls his eyes when he sees it, but accepts the drink anyway.
Now that that’s settled, Tony puts the juice pops he bought in the freezer, and begins making the brat’s soup. Peter has dozed off by the time it’s finished, with just his left arm hanging out of the blanket, his fingers barely brushing the carpet.
Tony sets up a TV tray, and brings over the steaming hot soup and crackers, before sitting on the edge of the couch and gently nudging the kid awake.
He blinks a couple of times, yawns, and eventually sits up. “Mmmm thanks Tony.”
“You’re welcome, kid,” says Tony. “I’m surprised you called today, with the amount of grief you give me about my, uh -”
“-helicoptering,” finishes Peter, while he slurps down a spoonful of soup. “And, um, Pepper told me to call you.”
“What?”
“Well May must’ve let it slip to Pepper that I was here sick,” says Peter. “Cause Pepper texted me today and told me have you help me out. She said you really needed the distraction.”
“Oh did she?”
“Yeah,” says Peter. “But I’m glad she did.” Peter looks down at his soup. “I actually don’t mind all the fussing. I just don’t want you to know that I don’t mind it.”
“Good thing you just told me, then.”
“I’m on a lot of cold medicine, Tony, I’m not really in control of what I’m saying.”
Tony laughs. “We can just forget this conversation happened.”
“Good.” Peter takes another soup full of soup. “Did you get juice pops, too?”
“Of course I did.” Even though he hadn’t asked for them. Tony doesn’t mention this part.
“Good.” He repeats.
It clicks in Tony’s mind in that moment, that if this nearly grown superpowered teenager is willingly to ask him for juice pops and soup, that maybe it’s impossible for children to outgrow their parents. That their relationship might change, but they will still call when they need soup or breakdown on the side of the road.
Hell, that’s enough for Tony.
Peter finishes eating the soup, slurping every single mouthful. Tony takes the empty bowl, rinses it, and loads the dishwasher. He brings back a juice pop for him, but the kid is already tuckered out again, buried under a mountain of blankets and barely visible.
He puts the popsicle back in the freezer. He lets Peter rest.
*
Tony’s car is first in the pick up line.
He’s aware that it’s annoying for other parents to get out of his car, but he doesn’t care. He’s waiting for his daughter.
She runs to him when her teacher allows her too, and Tony kneels down, hugging her.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah!” says Morgan. “I made so many new friends!”
“I bet you did.”
She sighs, and bites her lip. “I missed you, though.”
“I missed you too,” says Tony. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’m always gonna be here at the end of the day, or whenever you call me.”
Morgan smiles, gives him another hug, and climbs into her booster seat.
There’s light contentment in Tony’s chest, and there’s a scratch in the back of his throat. That damn kid and his slimy germs. He coughs as he drives away, but he doesn’t have any regrets.
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angst-fairygodmother · 4 years ago
Text
Puppy Love (A Light Fingers Moment In Between)
A/N: Sometimes I say words, and other people say words, and stuff happens. Part of me wants to say AU because it would be easier, but I love making things More Difficult on Purpose.  Word Count: 2333 Rating: G(eneral Audience)
You tapped Diego on the shoulder, nodding your head in the direction of the faint clatter you’d heard. 
The pair of you had popped in to stop a home invasion, but one of the perps had taken off with a priceless family heirloom, and you’d agreed to give chase. Unfortunately, he had a head start and you had lost him in the warren of a crowded parking garage. 
Diego pressed a finger to his lips and nodded, gesturing with his free hand for you to circle around while he approached from the front to draw attention.
You met his eyes for a brief moment, lower lip worrying between your teeth. You gave his arm a brief squeeze before nodding and setting off. No matter how long you’d been doing this, you worried about him when his plans worked out like this, with him picking fights so you could have the element of surprise. As you moved, quick and quiet, something felt wrong about the situation. Hesitantly, you fingered the knife that Diego had insisted you started carrying on these jobs, not pulling it out yet, but reassuring yourself that it was there and easily accessible. 
There was another scuffling sound and a soft whine, one that didn’t sound human. You picked up your pace now, running in the direction of the noises. There, huddled in the corner of the garage, caught and tugging on the corner of a dumpster, was a small, shivering dog. 
“Hi there,” you said softly, sinking low and holding your hand out as you crept closer to the frightened creature. 
You heard pounding footsteps behind you as Diego ran up, the sound making the dog yelp and try to cower more.
“Shh, shh,” you hummed, shifting to sit cross-legged in front of it, blocking it’s view of Diego, and giving you a more steady position to hold the little creature still while you unhooked it’s collar from the sharp, bent edge of the trash.
Once freed, you expected it to squirm in your arms or try to run, but instead, it stayed, pressed lightly against your leg, shivering. It was covered in so much mud you could hardly tell it was meant to be white and stank horribly (or maybe that was the bins), but you were pretty sure someone would be missing it. 
“Think you can find our bad guy on your own?” you murmured as Diego peered over your shoulder. “I don’t want to abandon this little one to its own devices.”
He couldn’t help chuckling. “Yeah, I got it. Meet you back here?”
“I’m not waiting for you by the dumpsters. I’ll meet you by the entrance.” 
~
After returning the expensive and hideous brooch to the family, and turning the would-be-burglars over to the cops, you and Diego made your way home, the little dog wrapped in a towel in your arms. The family hadn’t ever seen it around before, and the tag had the dog’s name, “Penny,” but no name or address of an owner.
“It’s alright Penny,” you told her as you walked. “We’ll get you cleaned up, take some nice pictures and put up flyers. I’m sure someone’s missing you and will be excited to have you home again soon.”
“Why don’t we just take it to the shelter?” Diego asked gruffly, trying to hide how cute he thought Penny was.
“Shelters are overcrowded and understaffed. They have a hard time caring for the dogs that need homes, let alone the ones that just got lost and get brought to them. Besides, I...want to make sure her family gets her back, and that’s easier to do if we make the handoff.”
Diego shook his head, slightly exasperated. “Fine. But if it takes more than a few days--”
“We’ll discuss that only if we have to.” You shifted the dog so that you would have a free hand and bopped Diego’s nose teasingly. “Don’t be a grump.”
He gaped at you. “For that, I’m not helping you wash it.”
“Of course you’re not, baby. You’re going out to buy kibble and a leash.” You smiled winningly at him.
~
Penny was with you for just over a week before you got a call during dinner one night. The man on the other end of the line said that he had seen your flyers and was sure that the dog you found belonged to his elderly mother. She had been worried sick when the dog slipped out, but hadn’t been able to follow it, and because of his work, he hadn’t been able to put out ‘missing’ posters. You told him you were glad he called and asked if he had evidence the dog was his or his mother’s. He told you he’d bring a picture of the two of them together, and arranged to meet you at Griddy’s Doughnuts the next morning. 
During the time she was there, Penny settled in quite well with you and Diego, excited when either of you left and came back, quite happy to sit on your laps while you watched tv or read at night, curling up at the foot of the bed when you went to sleep. She and Diego in particular, for all his protests, seemed inseparable. For all his protests at first, he seemed to enjoy all of her antics, and slipped her food off his plate when she gave him big sad eyes and he thought you weren’t paying attention. When you told him that her owner had finally called, he hid a frown behind a cough.
“Diego,” you sighed, seeing his face fall anyway. “You knew we couldn’t keep her…”
You were just as sad as he was, if you were being honest. You had never really imagined yourself a dog person, the idea of having a pet so far off your radar as to be unfathomable. But Penny had slotted into your lives like a missing piece, and as glad as you were to return her, safe and happy, to her home and the people that loved her, you and Diego loved her too.
“I know,” he said softly. “Just. It’ll be weird once she’s gone.”
You bit your lip, considering the words that bubbled up your throat before letting them fall from your tongue, nearly as impulsive as your marriage proposal.
“Ya know...we could...get a dog of our own?” you shrugged, trying to play off the idea as a casual thought.
~
It was hard not to be overwhelmed by the smell and sound within the shelter’s kennel area, over two dozen dogs baying, barking, and bouncing on the chain-link fencing as the pair of you were led through to an open area where you could do some meet and greets. 
Nervously you sat on the bench, fingers laced with Diego’s and running your thumb back and forth over his knuckles. 
“Hey,” he said, leaning in to whisper in your ear. “Talk to me.”
You shrugged, biting your lip. “I dunno. This just feels big, suddenly. And what if we can’t find one that likes both of us, or what if we fuck it up. I’ve never...taken care of another living thing before. Not by myself.”
“You take care of me all the time,” he said, tugging you into a hug. “And you won’t be alone. We’re in this together remember?”
Your smile was watery but genuine as you returned the hug, burying your face against his neck.
“How did I ever do shit without you?” you murmured, backing away but not fully letting go.
He didn’t have a chance to respond with more than a squeeze of your joined hands as Martin returned with the first dog. 
“I thought we’d start with some one-on-one interactions with a few dogs I think would be a good fit based on what you told me, and then we’ll see who clicks and you can have some time to play with the top two or three, pick from there.”
You nodded, holding your hand, palm out, toward the black lab tugging at the leash he held. He introduced her as Sheila, and while she seemed friendly, your heart wasn’t in it. The same feeling continued through several other perfectly nice dogs, and though you were both tempted by a roly-poly border collie puppy and by a sweet but very lazy bulldog, as soon as the handler had left the room with them, you’d looked at each other and known it wasn’t right. 
“Can we...maybe, just walk through the kennels and see if something I don’t know...calls to us?” you asked hesitantly after about the eighth dog you felt no real connection with. 
“Oh!” the man looked surprised you had even suggested it and took a long moment to process the request. “Sure, we can do that.”
Wrapping his arm around your shoulder, Diego pulled you against his side as the pair of you followed Martin back into the kennels.
“You know we don’t have to find a dog today, right?” he asked softly, sensing your continued nerves. “If nothing here works out, we’ll keep looking.”
“I know,” you sighed. “I just…got really excited, and now I feel like we failed or something.”
“Well, we haven’t yet.”
Suddenly, you stopped short, jerking Diego along with you, so quickly that your guide didn’t even notice. Staring up at you, his black fur almost lost in shadow but for his white bib, the boxer gave you the biggest, saddest eyes you had ever seen. Crouching down, you tentatively reached your hand outward, pressing it against the chainlink.
“Hi…” you cooed as he edged forward, crawling on his belly until he could sniff and then attempt to lick your fingers from the other side. 
Diego mirrored your stance, kneeling in front of the kennel door, and by the time Martin realized you were no longer behind him and doubled back, the pair of you were enraptured and the dog was no longer cowering, instead bouncing and pawing at the fence to try and get to you, tongue lolling out of his mouth and slobbering on as much of you as he could reach. 
“Oh,” he said, sounding almost disappointed. “You met Duncan…trust me, you don’t want him.”
“What?” you asked, whipping your head around to look at the man. “Why not?”
“He was born here, runt of the litter so for a while no one wanted him. Now he’s almost two and he’s ended up back here from four homes already. Can’t figure out why, but he just doesn’t work out.”
“Well there must be something going on,” you argued. “Or else that wouldn’t be true right?”
Martin shrugged. “I guess. But it ain’t my place. I just know the poor bastard’s probably going to live his whole life in there.”
“No,” Diego said, turning to you and smiling when you gave him a brief nod. “Because we’ll take him.”
“I really don’t think that’s a good idea. And it seems cruel to give him false hope a fifth time.”
“It won’t be false. We won’t give up on him,” you insisted. “I understand wanting to protect him, and us, but please. Just...trust us.”
“You’re sure there’s not another dog you want instead?”
“No,” Diego said firmly. “We want Duncan.”
At the sound of his name from Diego’s mouth, his ears perked up and he sat down patiently, expectantly almost.  
We know a thing or two about loving the unloved, you wanted to say, this was fate you wanted to argue. But how could you even begin?
“Let’s go take care of the paperwork and...see what my boss says.”
~
Later that night, as you rested your head against Diego’s chest on the couch, not really watching the movie on the tv, you found yourself anxiously drumming your fingers on his knee.
“Y/N,” he said knowingly, catching and stilling your hand, rubbing his thumb soothingly over your knuckles.
“Do you think they’ll approve us?” you asked, voicing the question on both your minds.
“I don’t know. We just have to wait,” he chuckled, shaking his head as you opened your mouth to interrupt, “patiently. And see what happens. Hope it’ll work out.”
You groaned. “Why do you have to be right all the time?”
“It’s a carefully honed talent.”
~
Diego’s keys jingled in the doorknob and you held your breath, praying that your companion would stay quiet.
“Just another minute boy,” you muttered. 
As soon as you heard the door shut behind your husband, you let go of Duncan’s collar and he bounded over, his entire body wriggling along with his stubby tail. Diego swore, startled by the dog’s sudden appearance from around the corner, and you couldn’t help laughing as you followed, more sedately behind.
“Wha—” Diego said, kneeling to ruffle Duncan’s ears, leaning away as his lolling tongue tried to lick his newly accessible face. 
“You didn’t steal him did you?” he asked, teasing smile lighting his features.
“I am hurt and offended that you would even suggest such a thing,” you said dramatically, a hand pressed to your chest for effect. “This was completely legitimate, and Duncan is now our dog. Or technically my dog, until you go sign your copy of the adoption contract tomorrow morning.”
“That’s...we have a dog…” he breathed, shock settling over him. 
“Diego, are you crying?” you asked gently, concern overriding your amusement. 
He was silent and you moved to his side, sitting down, next to your husband and dog and wrapping an arm around each of them.
“They’re happy tears right?” you asked, feeling some of your own building as it suddenly struck you that this right here was a family, a happy family, and all your own. 
“The happiest,” he murmured, managing a quick kiss to your temple just before the moment was broken by Duncan licking a long stripe up his cheek and flopping over onto your laps for a belly rub, sending you both into a fit of laughter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End Note: Is a studio apartment an appropriate space for a boxer? Should inexperienced owners adopt a dog that the shelter thinks is a “problem” dog? Probably not, as a rule. But individual dogs have individual needs, they’re active-lifestyle adults, we’ll assume there’s a dog park nearby, and also it’s fiction and I think it’s cute, so...
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tloujm · 4 years ago
Text
Part XVII: Funnel of Love
Author’s Notes: Sorry it took so long.
Genre: Fluff + Angst = this chapter
Summary: This takes place right after the last chapter. The newly engaged couple share the news with their loved ones. The wedding planning pressure is on. 
Ship: Joel x Reader
“Well, well, well. Big bro is doing it for real this time, huh.” Tommy began with a wide grin on his face. “Congratulations, Joel. I mean it. I always knew it was gonna be the two of you since the first day y’all showed up at the gates.” Joel relieved one of the watchtower guards so he could talk to Tommy about the proposal. They were both up in the small wooden shelter, rifles in hand, glancing between each other and the world beyond the gates.
“Thanks, brother.” Joel donned a bashful smirk.
“So do I get to be best man?” Tommy asked.
“Weren’t you already best man?” Joel countered.
“Yeah, but that time didn’t really count.” Tommy explained. Joel shot him a glare as a response to the dismissal of his first marriage. He knew that this time was different though, so he couldn’t blame him.
“‘Course you’re my best man.”
*****
“Joel? Miller? Of the infamous Miller brothers?” Jesse exclaimed.
“You knew we were together.” You said. Jesse was your closest friend at the settlement, therefore, he was the first person you told. You had reservations about sharing the news with him because, for a moment while you and Joel were broken up, you grew feelings for Jesse. It was something you never shared out loud or in your journal. Not sure of whether the feelings truly stemmed from Jesse himself or your emotions from Joel, you didn’t feel right giving weight to those thoughts. Despite Joel’s suggestion, you always figured Jesse’s feelings were purely platonic anyway.
“Yeah, I know. It just seems very official. I didn’t think people still did that these days.”
“He did manage to surprise me. It was very romantic. You should take some notes just in case you feel compelled to do the same with a special somebody.”
“Take notes? From Joel? Miller? I can be quite romantic on my own, thank you.” Jesse turned to you. “But listen, I’m happy for you. Whatever you need for your upcoming nuptials, let me know.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” You responded. It fell silent for a moment while the two of you were cleaning up the stable. 
“I bet you Joel can get you guys a senior discount on a wedding cake from the bakery.” Jesse spoke up. He broke into a fit of laughter as you dropped your broom and threw a handful of hay at him.
“He is not even that old.” You responded defensively.
“No, no. He’s just regular old.” Jesse reasoned jokingly.
“He’s young at heart!”
“(Y/N), He plays the guitar on a rocking chair and whittles for fun.”
“He does other things for fun that I can tell you right now he is not too old for.” You replied with a coy tone in your voice. 
“Alright, alright.” Jesse shook his head playfully and continued sweeping up the straw on the ground. “The jury is still out on how old he is, but I suppose we can both agree that he’s not geriatric.” He reflexively ducked when he heard you drop the broom again to pick up some more hay. 
“So I’m invited to the wedding then?” He asked seriously.
“Of course you are! You’re my best friend.” You replied.
He clears his throat. “Yeah…”
*****
“Honey, I’m home.” Joel said. The words flew out his mouth in a jovial tone. He had never said those words before. It reminded him of a husband from the 1950s coming home from a day at the office. That particular visual didn’t enthuse him, but the idea of seeing you again did. He knew that he’d never wear a suit and work in an office, but he hoped that the rest of his life consisted of coming home to you.
“My love, I’m in here.” Your voice carried from the kitchen. He quickly followed until he stopped right behind you. His arms snaked around your waist as he kissed the top of your head. “What did you do today?”
“I spent some time with Tommy.” He went to go sit down at the island.
“Oh?”
“He asked how our trip went.” He began. You turned to face him.
“You told him about us?” You asked, smiling. He nodded.
“Yeah,” He chuckled. “He asked to be my best man. Did you tell Maria?”
“Yeah, I told her after Jesse.”
“Oh good. He knows.” He began sarcastically. “I better stop catchin’ him gazing at my bride then.”
“Joel, stop. He always knew we were together. But as for Maria, she was super excited. She started talking about wedding stuff like we weren’t living in some fungal zombie infested world. It’s not like I can go dress shopping, or cake tasting or pick out venues. I mean honestly, what’s the point of a wedding?”
“You don’t wanna have a wedding?” He asked.
“I don’t know.” You shrug. “All I want is to get married to you. She was just planning it all out the second I told her and I was feeling overwhelmed.”
“She’s just excited. Take a breath then go back and talk to her. If anyone’s got the connections to throw a wedding, it’s her.”
“What was your wedding like?” You asked.
“You wanna know?” You nodded. He sighed. “It wasn’t much. We cut costs wherever we could so I wore a hand-me-down suit from my dad and Tommy wore a hand-me-down suit from me. The only thing that matched on our suits were the buteniers. It was in one of her aunt’s backyard. It was dead in the middle of summer after school let out, but the only decorations were red, green and blue Christmas tree lights that she put on the bushes. I remember her aunt tasked me and Tommy with going to get some flowers. She gave us some money, but my God, I had no idea how expensive real flowers were. I bought Sarah’s mom a bouquet from the florist while Tommy dumpster dived for some dying flowers that they had just thrown out for the rest of the wedding party.” He shrugged. “The ceremony was quick. The reception was a potluck; everyone brought a dish and their own fold out chairs. Outside of my cousin singing a song, the music was from a boombox. It was simple, but it all came together. I had my own issues with my parents and her side of the family didn’t like me much after I knocked her up, but for that one day, we all got along and it was nice.” 
“Oh. Wow. At least everyone got along.”
He chuckled. “I know it was nothing impressive. It was a shotgun wedding for a couple of teenagers. But I don’t want you to worry about how that went. What matters is now and how we want things to go for us.”
You smiled. “Our wedding can go the exact same way and I wouldn’t care so long as you’re there.”
****
“So,” Maria slammed down a stack of wedding magazines on the coffee table. “I think looking through these would be a good start.”
Maria invited you and some other women over one evening to have a girls night. She had never done this before, but she felt your impending marriage was a good excuse to have one. You didn’t have many female friends. Most were acquaintances, so none of them were as close as Maria and Wendy to you. They were there, but so were a handful of others you’ve only ever spoken to in passing.
Maria had a growing wine collection. She would trade for a bottle or two every so often. For your special occasion, she dusted off two bottles. Wendy made you a homemade pin that said “Bride to be” which she insisted you wear all night. Maria passed the magazines all around the circle you guys made on the floor.
“Maria, where did you get all of these.” You asked.
“I’ve had them all this time. While I was on a scavenging trip one day, and this was years and years ago, I saw them and grabbed them. It was impulsive. I don’t know. Me and Tommy had been together for a while and you know, naturally I started hearing wedding bells even though he never really proposed. I know it's silly to expect happiness in the middle of all this craziness, but it became normal for him and I and despite all this, he stuck by my side. I spent my whole life pre-outbreak wanting a wedding. I mean I wasn’t obsessed with it, but what girl doesn’t want a little fairytale wedding?”
“Tommy never proposed? I thought you guys were married?” Sheila spoke up in between sips.
“We’re basically married. Obviously not under law, but we committed ourselves to each other. I wanted to stop running and just build a future, even a tiny one, for us. He wanted the same. So we settled down and built this place. Well ‘settle down’ as much as we can in this type of world now. But, it was all casual. He brought it up one day while we were eating. He asked if I’d ever want a husband. He asked if it mattered to me.”
“What did you say?” Wendy asked.
“I told him, of course it mattered. At least to me. He gave me that famous Miller half smile,” Maria looked to you as to say ‘You know what I’m talking about’. “And asked if I thought he was husband material. I kinda strung him along for fun. I told him ‘As close to husband material as he can get’. He let out this little laugh and said ‘Well it’s settled then.’ and I thought to myself, I get to be someone’s wife! But not just anyone’s wife, his wife. At that point I couldn’t stop smiling. It wasn’t a proposal in the traditional sense. I guess it still counts, but we never did anything about it since. I guess we just assumed marriage from that point on. We expressed our love for each other, but never spoke the traditional vows. He never called me his fiance. As a matter of fact, the first time I heard him call me his wife to another person was when you and Joel showed up at our door.” She spoke in a roller coaster of tones, switching between enthusiastic and disappointed. “So I want you to have something special to commemorate this moment with. It’s not going to be a big, fancy wedding, but something nice nonetheless.” She said to you.
“Thank you.” You replied.
“Ohhh, look at this dress! I think this would go great with your figure, honey.” Darlene stated as she handed you the opened magazine. You admitted it was nice, but you couldn't see yourself in it. 
“That’s a bit plain, don’t you think? How about this one.” Maria handed you her magazine. The dress was exceptionally grand. It had a train and was adorned with crystals and lace.
“That’s quite the dress, Maria.” You commented, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
“But do you like it?” She asked.
“I do,” It wasn’t a whole lie. “But what’s the point in looking at dresses? I’m not gonna be wearing any of them from these magazines. I don’t own any white dresses at all. Just a white t shirt with sweat stains and holes in ‘em.”
“It doesn’t hurt to fantasize a little bit. Besides, maybe we’ll go out and find a store with something nice to wear inside.” She replied. 
“Drink up, honey, you're supposed to be happy.” Darlene said as she watched you nurse your glass.
“I am happy.” You replied with a straight face.
“Let’s play This or That and let’s pretend it was 13 years ago and the world was normal again. I’ll ask you to choose between two different things, wedding themed of course. I want you to give me an answer quickly to ensure it’s the truest answer.” Maria suggested.
“What were you doing 13 years ago?” Darlene asked you.
“Just graduated college. Didn’t even get a chance to apply my degree anywhere.”
“Oh, you were just a youngin’. Still had milk ‘hind your ears.” She playfully slapped your thigh. “And let’s see...Joel must have been how old…” She pondered seriously.
“Vanilla or chocolate?” Maria spoke up.
“What?” You asked.
“Cake. Vanilla or chocolate for your wedding cake?”
“Uh, chocolate.”
“Outdoor or indoor venue?”
“Indoor, I guess.”
“DJ or band?”
“DJ?”
“Lillies or Peonies for your bouquet?”
“I don’t think I know what peonies look like, to be honest.”
For the rest of the night, you and the other women played wedding themed games that you were sure Maria made up. They fiddled with your hair and dabbed beet juice on your lips and cheeks to appear as makeup. Despite Darlene rubbing you the wrong way, you took her advice and ‘drunk up’. Getting loose helped, but it still was all a bit overwhelming to you. Part of you wanted the fairytale like Maria said, but part of you didn’t even want it at all. While a fairytale would look nice, it would come with too many cons and then you would think ‘what was the point’. There would be too many people, and as an introvert, you weren’t prepared for that. Having to coordinate a large amount of food to feed the party, acquire a form of entertainment to keep everyone busy, ceremony rehearsals, picking loyalties when choosing between your sister in law and your good friend for made of honor and so on. Honestly none of your female friends were as close to you as Jesse, though, but you didn’t think he nor Joel would be cool with him being your main bridesmaid. 
Still buzzed, you walked into your empty house and beelined it to the bathroom. You sat at the edge of the tub, warm water running through your fingers as you watched it fill up. You grabbed your portable CD player and headphones out the drawer next to the toilet. You adjusted yourself into the inviting bath and immediately slipped your head under the surface. Being underwater was always a relaxing feeling for you so long as you knew you were in control. Your hands held onto the sides of the tub, keeping you under. You stayed there with your eyes closed until you couldn’t take it anymore. The curls of your hair laid flat against your head as you took in a large breath. As weird as it was, it helped the anxiety that you were currently harboring. The cherry on top was your music. You reached over the edge and felt for the play button before sliding the headphones over your ears. Again, you closed your eyes. You weren’t thinking about anything in particular: your patrol duty tomorrow morning, your promise to have lunch with Maria and Darlene, and sure as hell not your wedding. 
The buzz was wearing off, but the warm water took over the job and continued to relax your muscles. You were three songs into the album you were listening to when they abruptly tensed up. Your eyes popped open at the sudden splash of water that landed on your chest. It felt as though only a moment ago you were alone in the world and now sitting on the edge of the tub is Joel. He watched as you scooted up, sloshing the water around. 
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to splash you that hard.” He chuckled before pointing to your CD player. “You gotta be careful with this, (Y/N), you know. Gotta have your wits about you even in a place like Jackson---”
“I know, I just wanted to unwind for a moment---” You butted in.
“I don’t mean to chastise you like you’re a child, but I just want you to be safe. What if it wasn’t me here.”
“All the doors are locked.” You reasoned.
“Still.” He gave you his famous glare for a solid moment before his eyes drifted down to your body in the water. “Room for one more?” He lifted his eyebrow.
You frowned. “I was about to get out.”
“Didn’t look like that to me, darlin’. If I’d chosen to watch you for longer, you’d still be laying there with your eyes closed.”
“How long were you watching me for?” You asked, starting to feel a mix of self consciousness and arousal.
“Doesn’t matter.” Joel’s face was rid of emotion save from his eyes. His eyes were lit up with lust despite your rejection.
“The water was getting cold. I was just waiting for the song to end before getting out.”
He lifted the same eyebrow. “Is that so?” His eyes followed your body as you stood up in the tub. He unfolded his arms and grabbed the towel on the back of the door. Holding it out, you stepped out of the tub and into the soft fabric. He slid his hands up your arms before massaging your shoulders. His hands were rough and ungentle, but you still let him continue. “Baby, tell me what’s wrong. Who hurt you? I’ll go grab Tommy’s bat and smash their kneecaps in.”
You chuckled. “While I’m sure you would,” You turned around, releasing your shoulders from his grip. “No one hurt me. I’m just...I just got some stuff on my mind.”
“Care to share?” He asked. You shrugged. “Was it something that happened at Maria’s?”
“She threw me a bridal shower.”
He sat on the toilet and pulled you down onto his lap. “That was nice of her.”
“I mean yeah, it was nice. It just...It felt forced. Women were there that I hardly knew. We were planning the wedding, imagining details I knew would never work. I feel like Maria wants this to happen more than I do and I hate that. I should want this the most. I mean I do want this,” You point between you and him. “But I just don’t know how I want to go about it. I thought seeing her again would help me make up my mind about things, but I feel just as confused and flustered.”
He kissed your shoulder. “I don’t want you to stress out over this. It’ll all work out, because the most important thing in the end is that we have each other. I promise,” He kissed your shoulder again. “Ok?” He waited for you to say it back before tapping your thigh. “Now, just because you didn’t want me to get in with you doesn’t mean I don’t want a nice, relaxing bath too. Last chance before you put your clothes on.” He pointed between you, him and the tub as if asking for you to join him. 
You smile with a shake of your head. “No, my skin is all wrinkly but I promise to only keep the towel on if you promise not to make me wait long.” You winked at him. 
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sweet-curried-powder · 4 years ago
Text
Happy Birthday Cherry Blossom!
so it's cherry's birthday today, and since i've had sk8 brainrot lately both generally and ficwise, my brain would not let me relax until i wrote cherry a fic for his birthday. this took me several days to write, and i finished sometime yesterday before all my birthday celebrations took place, and wrapped up editing just now today.
so yeah, take a sk8 found fam fic for cherry's birthday!
~~
Reki, Langa, and Miya laid in wait behind a dumpster near Joe’s restaurant, watching the side door. It was Cherry’s birthday, and the kids wanted to surprise the pink-haired calligrapher, with no outside help whatsoever. As far as Joe and Cherry knew, Miya had a doctor’s appointment, Reki had to run some errands for his mother, and Langa had to go get his hair cut (Really, Langa’s excuse wasn’t really a lie. He’d gotten his hair cut by his mother earlier today, and it only took about ten minutes.). The “parents” had no idea what the boys had planned.
The doorknob jiggled, and Miya leapt into action. Joe waltzed out, fishing his wallet and keys out of his pocket, heading for his vehicle, back to the door. The door had some sort of automatic lock, where the door would lock once the door was shut, so Joe didn’t even give the door a second glance, fortunately.
Miya acted quickly, leaping to the door in less than a second and shoving his board in the doorway just before the door could close, keeping it open. By now, Joe was in his car, and starting it up. Reki opened the door, holding it for Miya and Langa, the latter’s arms full of grocery bags, watching the area to make sure Joe was gone before the redhaired boy popped into the restaurant.
The door was near the back of the large, spacious kitchen, which was neat as a pin; counters wiped clean, cooking utensils put away, nothing out of place. There was a faint smell of garlic and herbs still lingering in the air, which wasn’t overly strong, but it was mouthwatering nonetheless.
Langa set the bags down on the counter, Reki producing the cookbook from his bag, flipping to the bookmarked page, a recipe for a cherry cake. Miya rooted through the cabinets, getting out bowls, pans, and measuring cups and spoons.
“Do you think Cherry will like this?” Langa asked, getting out the ingredients and setting them on the table. “I mean, I don’t have that much baking experience besides making cakes and brownies from mixes…”
“I’m sure he’ll like it!” Reki reassured Langa, patting his friend on the back. “And besides, it’s cherry cake! For Cherry Blossom! It’s clever, isn’t it?”
“I guess it is,” Miya shrugged, opening a drawer with a bunch of aprons inside. He took some out and handed them to Langa and Reki. “Here. We don’t want stuff getting on our clothes.” The youngest took one for himself, putting it on. It was a little big on him, but it worked.
Reki threw his apron on, while Langa put his on more carefully. They fit just perfectly, since Reki and Langa were much taller than their brother.
“C’mon, let’s get baking! It’s just a cake, what can go wrong―”
There was a loud cry from Miya. The two boys turned to see Miya, whose face was coated in cake flour. He’d opened the bag too roughly, causing flour to explode all over himself and the counters.
Reki began laughing, pointing at the flour-coated boy. Miya growled, grabbing a fistful of flour and chucking it at Reki, who got a faceful of it. He coughed and sputtered, glaring at a smug-looking Miya.
“You’re kind of a little shit, you know that?”
“Thank you, dear brother.”
Langa began greasing and flouring the cake pans, making sure to get each and every little corner. Reki and Miya measured the flour, some of it flying out of the bowl and landing on the counters. Langa went to fetch the mixer from one of the shelves, gasping softly as he nearly teetered from how heavy the mixer was. He set it down on the counter, plugging it in before turning to Reki and Miya, who had started on the wet ingredients.
“‘Separate the whites from six eggs’?” Miya read aloud from the cookbook. “How do you separate egg whites?”
Reki opened his mouth to answer, before Langa took an egg from the carton. He put his free hand over the bowl, using the other to crack the egg into his hand. The white seeped through his fingers, plopping into the bowl with a satisfying noise. Langa put the egg yolk in a smaller bowl, shaking the stray egg white off of his hand.
“How’d you know how to do that, Langa?” Reki asked, tilting his head. “I thought you hadn’t cooked from scratch before.”
“Mom had a baking show on TV the other night,” Langa said, taking another egg. “I don’t know what the show was called, something about sugar or spices I think? But one of the ladies on the show did this with the eggs, I thought I could give that a try.”
Reki peered in the bowl with the yolk in it. There was still some white stuck to the yolk, but Langa had gotten most of it. He had to admit, it was fairly impressive.
“That was a good idea, Langa. Good job,” he congratulated Langa, beaming widely at him. A light blush dawned on the pale boy’s cheeks as he mumbled a “thank you” in reply.
Miya watched the two teenage boys talk with each other as they separated the eggs’ yolks and whites, blush and flour dusted across their cheeks. He shook his head, opening the jar of cherries and straining the juice into a measuring cup. I swear to god, they’re pining for each other. It’s like some sort of fanfiction.
“Okay! Whites are in!” Reki grinned, wiping some flour off of his nose. “Things should be smooth sailing from here, now that we know what else to do. Miya, the cherry juice?”
“Yeah, yeah, I―FUCK―” Miya tripped on his shoes, the measuring cup flying out of the small boy’s hands and splashing onto the floor. Luckily the cup was plastic, so it didn’t break, but the juice splashed all over the floor. “Dammit, that was all our cherry juice!”
“And we only have that one jar of maraschino cherries…” Langa mumbled.
“Don’t worry, don’t panic,” Reki tried to reassure the other two. “There’s a store right down the road, remember? They’ve got to sell maraschino cherries there, I’ll just go skate by there and pick up another jar.”
“What if Mama Cherry and Papa Joe come back before you do?” Miya asked, pulling on his sleeve. “The surprise will be ruined then…”
“I called the old man earlier and asked him to distract Cherry and Joe for a few hours while we make the cake. I’ll try and contact him and say we need more time.” Reki grabbed his board, rushing to the side door of the restaurant. “I’ll be back as soon as I can!”
“Stay safe, Reki!” Langa called out as Reki left in a rush, hopping on his board and zooming towards the shop, heart pounding as he approached the store. This could still work, this is just a minor setback, it―
“Will you shut it, you damn gorilla?!”
Fuck. It was Cherry.
Reki quickly ducked behind a trash can in a nearby alley, peering to where the voice was coming from. It was Joe and Cherry, with Shadow in between them. Shadow caught Reki’s eye, face starting to morph into one of his classic scowls.
“We need more time,” Reki mouthed quickly and quietly, gesturing towards Joe and Cherry, signaling the florist to distract the two. Shadow nodded, turning to Cherry and saying something that Reki couldn’t hear, the red haired boy sighing in relief as the group turned around, dashing to the store, weaving through the small crowd, yet trying to blend in.
He soon approached the store, ducking inside and heading for the section of the store with all the canned fruits, frantically searching the shelves. Pineapple, peach slices, apricot... it took Reki a good five minutes before he found the jar of cherries that he was looking for. He quickly grabbed it and hurried to the register, throwing a handful of yen at the cashier and running off with the cherries before they could even give him his change.
He slid into the back alley of Joe’s restaurant, banging on the door. Langa answered, being immediately greeted with a panting Reki.
“I got the cherries,” Reki panted, handing them to his friend. “I saw Shadow on my way here, but who knows how much longer the old man can stall Cherry and Joe.”
“We should hurry.” Langa nodded in agreement, handing the jar to Miya. “You two take care of cake. I’ll take care of making the fondant and frosting.” The three of them had been discussing how to decorate Cherry’s cake for several days, and eventually, they settled on frosting it with a homemade cherry buttercream (Langa had once helped Reki make frosting to frost his sister’s birthday cake with, so he knew how to do it) and branches of cherry blossoms made out of fondant. None of them had made anything with fondant before, but they had seen Joe make fondant from scratch enough times to get an idea on how it was made.
“You heard your boyfriend. Come on and help me with this cake!” Miya began draining the cherries again.
“Okay—WAIT A FUCKING SECOND!”
The next two hours were filled with trial and error. As in, 70% error and 30% trial. Reki had cut his finger while helping Langa cut the cherries for the buttercream, and Langa took Reki’s finger and put it in his mouth, his logic being that he saw it in an anime once, and he figured it was some sort of custom in Japan.
Miya had to tug on the extremely flustered Reki’s arm to get it out of Langa’s mouth, and didn’t stop teasing the two about it for ten solid minutes.
Then Reki burned his hand on the oven while putting the cakes in, and while Miya tended to Reki’s injuries, Langa went to put the last cake in the oven and burnt his hand too.
It was, not gonna lie, a disaster.
But in the end, after three and a half hours total of baking, the final result looked pretty great, for the standards of three teenaged boys. Some of the cherry blossoms on the cake were misshapen, and the branches looked like dark brown veins. But the three of them had tried their best.
“I hope Cherry likes it,” Langa said, picking at his bandaged hand. “We worked hard. And me and Reki burnt our hands.”
“I’m positive he’ll like it, Langa! Trust me!” Reki grinned, as Joe’s van pulled up to the front. “Oh, that’s gotta be them!” He bounced on his toes, trying not to move, as they were currently in the dark so Joe and Cherry wouldn’t see them when they first entered the restaurant.
They heard Joe’s keys jingle in the lock, before the door opened, and two pairs of footsteps came inside.
“The hell…? I was sure the lights weren’t off when I came in.”
“You seriously can’t remember something like that?”
“Karou, it’s not a big deal, okay? Just let me get the lights…”
You could hear Joe’s heavy footsteps head towards the light switch on the wall, the lights flicking on shortly after, revealing the appearance of their children.
“SURPRISE!” The three of them yelled, shocking both Joe and Cherry, the latter’s eyes going wide, the former jumping slightly. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”
“Is… is that a cake?” Cherry asked, pointing to the cake on the table, which had a bottle of champagne and some sparkling water next to it, along with fancy glasses, birthday candles, and a box of matches. “Did you kids make this cake for me?”
“We snuck in here when Joe was leaving to make it,” Langa confirmed. “Me and Reki have the burns to prove it.” He held up his hand, Reki copying him with a stupid grin.
“It’s cherry cake too!” Reki added. “For your S name! Cherry Blossom! We even made fondant how Joe makes it and made cherry blossoms!”
Cherry. His favorite.
He remembered when he and Joe were kids. When Cherry got hurt and fell down, Joe would help him to his feet, and bring him along to the next block, where his grandmother lived, and she would give them both cherry turnovers, full of sweet cherry pie filling and with a flaky crust. It was one of Cherry’s favorite memories, of his entire life.
“Cherry?” Langa’s voice broke the calligrapher out of his trance. “Are you okay? You’re crying.”
Cherry’s hands moved to his cheek, feeling the tears that were streaming down them. He smiled softly, glancing at Joe with a fond look in his eyes.
“Don’t worry, I’m fine. Now, let’s try this cake.”
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mengyan · 4 years ago
Note
Omg hey! I’m so exited to read the Valentine’s Day collab!! I love love loooove your writing so much!! So anyway I wrote my first Carulia fanfic and I just wanted to ask you what you think of this small bit? If it’s bad please tell me-I wanna improve🥺
If you don’t wanna critique it I totally get it, it is kind of long.
..
Julia POV
Warm rays of sunshine brushed Julia’s freckled cheeks, making up for the bite of frost in the air. The sky was a cheerful blue today, reflecting her mood. She was sitting at a street corner, admiring the view of quaint little shops that resembled the cutesy designs of dollhouses.
Saturday morning chatter rung in her ears in soft, eloquent words of French that were so different from the English required for her job. A frenzy of Bonjour’s (hello/good morning) and Comment allez vous? (How are you doing?) could be heard from across the street.
It was good to be home, to have a day off to enjoy the beauty she had forgotten Poiters possessed. As an avid traveller, there was nowhere quite like the city. Nothing could match it’s charming, Romanesque buildings or tranquil solitude.
Julia smiled at nothing in particular, a flaky, warm croissant in one hand and a timeless romance novel in the other.
How long had it been since she had gotten to relax like this? To enjoy the nature of her city and not have to chase a certain red rogue across the globe? The very same red rogue she struggled to protect from her coworkers?
A sigh escaped her lips. Suddenly her mind wandered to someone she hadn’t wanted to think about: Carmen Sandiego. The thief never ceased to plague her thoughts lately. A warm blush tinted her cheeks as she recalled the kiss they had shared in Cairo, Egypt. There was a sort of thrill in knowing it was so, so wrong, and Julia hated the adrenaline rush it gave her.
Their last interaction had been a week ago, and it had been on an ACME mission rather than the late night visits the thief had begun to pay her. The absence of the red rogue pained her terribly. She missed Carmen. She missed everything about her from her cunning gray eyes to her knowing smile, the light rasp to her voice, and the feel of her lips. She had barely gotten to see the lady in red recently.
Would this be what a relationship with the woman would entail? Random visits sprinkled through the weeks while Carmen gallivanted around the globe and Julia had to pretend she wanted her behind bars? Would she be doomed to live with this uncertainty, this emptiness?
At her inner turmoil, the thief seemed to appear before her with her signature smirk, the curl of her lips forever ingrained in Julia’s memory. Hallucination-Carmen spoke, reciting the promise she had made her not too long ago. “We can have a normal relationship, Jules. We’ll be able to see each other everyday, go on dates, do all of that couple-y stuff. I promise.”
Julia had scoffed at that, of course. Maybe in another world where she wasn’t dating a thief, for goodness sakes. But still she wished there was some way the red rogue could fulfill her promise. Julia knew that what Carmen was doing was absolutely important but....she couldn’t help but be selfish and wish she had her to herself.
On top of that, though, there was the fear that whatever was happening between the two was nothing but physical on Carmen’s end, that this...fling...would be over in a heartbeat and the red rogue would once again disappear with Julia’s heart, only this time she wouldn’t return.
She didn’t want fo think about that.
Trying to take her mind off her worries, Julia reopened her book. The petite woman frowned, nibbling on the last of her pastry and lazily scanning the page for anything interesting. It was one of her favorites, yet she couldn’t bring herself to relax, to forget.
Sighing, she closed the book with a sense of finality, tucking it safely in her messenger bag. It was no use. Nothing could keep Julia’s attention from Carmen for long.
“Partir déjà?” Said Nadia, Julia’s friend and the cashier. The woman adjusted the side of her hijab before opening the cash register. “Habituellement, vous passez toute la matinée ici lorsque vous êtes absent.”
TRANSLATION: “Leaving Already?.....Usually you spend the entire morning here when you’re off.”
Julia smiled sadly. “Quelque chose me vient à l'esprit ces derniers temps, Je ne peux pas me détendre.”
TRANSLATION: “Something has been on my mind lately. I can’t relax.”
Nadia smirked knowingly. “Querelle d'amant?“
TRANSLATION: “Lover’s Quarrel?“
Julia felt her cheeks heat up. Nadia was one of the few people who even knew she was seeing someone, let alone the fact that that someone was a thief. “Entre autres, oui. Il s’agit plus de mon travail.“
TRANSLATION: “Among other things, yes. It’s more about my job.“
Nadia shook her head, making a tut sound. “Tu travailles trop dur.“ She inserted her credit card into the register, swiping twice before the transaction was complete. “Vous savez, les filles et moi allons au Buckingham Club ce soir. Tu devrais venir. Je parie que cela vous fera oublier ... quel est son nom? Carolyn?“
TRANSLATION: You work too hard....You know, the girls and I are hitting the Buckingham Club tonight. You should come. I bet that’ll take your mind off of...what’s her name? Carolyn?“
“Carmen.“ Julia corrected with a smile. “Et Je ne sais pas, pas ce soir. je n'en ai pas vraiment envie.”
TRANSLATION: “Carmen....I don’t know, not tonight. I don’t really feel like it.”
“ S'il vous plaît? Ce sera amusant!?” Nadia replied, making an exaggerated pouty face.
TRANSLATION: “Please? It’ll be fun!”
“Je ne devrais vraiment pas.....”
TRANSLATION: “I really shouldn’t...”
The cashier shook her head, pressing her lips into a thin line. “Oh, Julia, tu es toujours aussi ennuyeuse.”
TRANSLATION: “Oh, Julia, you’re always such a bore.”
Jules simply smiled in response, pushing the rim of her glasses up her nose. “Peut-être la prochaine fois, Nadia.”
TRANSLATION: “Maybe next time, Nadia.”
She said her goodbyes and left the small cafe, the little bell at the door signaling her departure. The cool, crisp air met Julia immediately, the frost already kissing her skin. She turned the corner, making a beeline for her apartment complex when suddenly, a certain beeping sound caught her attention.
A very familiar beeping sound.
She threw a discreet glance over her shoulder before darting into the nearest alleyway, ducking behind the nearest dumpster before removing her pen from her pocket.
Julia clicked the cap, tossing it to the ground as she wrinkled her nose at the stench.
“Agent Argent.“ Chief’s no-nonsense voice came as her hologram blossomed. “I have a new mi-“ She paused, taking in Julia’s location.
“Are you behind a dumpster, Agent?“
Julia felt her cheeks heat slightly “I was in public and had to be...creative...“ She replied curtly, breathing through her mouth.
“Right....anyhoo,“ Chief began again, adjusting her blazer. “I’ve got on assignment for you. I’m sorry to interupt your time off, but you’re the closest agent in proximity.“
Julia smiled sadly, scratching her wrist. “It’s alright, chief. I was feeling restless anyway.“
Chief cocked her head in mild concern. “I’m sorry to hear that, Argent. It’s nothing too serious, but we have reports of some meddling with the security systems at the Louvre. I need you to investigate.“
“Of course. Will Agent Zari or Devineaux be accompanying me?“ She asked, already picturing the splendor at the Louvre. Maybe a trip to the museum was just what she needed today.
“No. Zari and Devineaux are on a case in Santo Domingo.“ Chief said, beginning to pace the length of the alleyway.
“Khadija or Jonas, then?“ Julia replied, referencing two agents she’d been paired with in the past, albeit less frequently than Chase or Zari.
“You’ll be going it alone today. Intel indicates that Carmen Sandiego won’t be present. I trust you can handle a routine check up.”
“I’ll take care of it, chief.“ She answered, giving a small salute to her superior. Internally, Julia released a sigh of relief that she wouldn’t have to tail Carmen.
“Good. Transportation has already been arranged and the details should be on your phone.“ Chief said, crossing her arms. Almost simultaneously, her phone pinged with an encrypted email from ACME.
“Don’t disapoint me, Agent.“ With a terse nod, the hologram disappeared from before her.
Quickly, she darted home and changed into her ACME-issued suit before making her way to the train station. Paris was waiting, after all.
...
No matter how many times she frequented the city, Paris never ceased to amaze Julia with a million new places she hadn’t visited yet. The Louvre, however, was an outlier to the fact. It was Julia’s favorite spot to hit whenever she was in the area.
It had been One-Thirty when her train had pulled into the Paris Saint Lazare, a station settled on the right bank of the Seine and the one closest in proximity to her destination.
The Louvre lay before her in all its grandiose splendor, afternoon sunlight glinting off of the crystal pyramid and casting a rainbow into the burbling fountain before it. The Famed palace of the same name was set on either sides of it, the tasteful renaissance era architecture transporting her into another time.
Julia smiled. She knew every corner of the museum. Every nook and crany was immortalized in her mind from it’s renowned Petite Galerie to it’s extended Egyptian exhibit.
She removed her ACME card from her messenger bag, thumbing it’s side to allow her interpol credentials before going to speak with the security
As promised, a staff member was waiting for her once she got inside.
“Bonjour. Julia Argent, Interpol Britain?“ A tall, skinny man with hooded blue eyes and unkempt blonde hair stepped forward.
“Oui.“ She replied, flashing her badge. “Marcel Cardone?“
“Oui, correct.“ He answered in a thick French accent. “Thank you for coming.“ He said, gesturing for her to walk with him.
Julia smiled. “Bien sûr. J'ai été informé mes supérieurs de la mission. Pouvez-vous me dire quel semble être exactement le problème?“
TRANSLATION: “Of course. I was briefed by my superiors on the mission. Can you tell me what exactly seems to be the problem?“
Marcel spoke as he led her through the halls of the grand building. “Do not worry, I am fluent in English. I do not know the details but the head of security will inform you on the matter.“
“Sounds good,“ Julia said reverting back to English. Her guide stopped at a door with la sécurité (security) written in bold script.
“This is it, mademoiselle.“ Marcel said, opening the door and leading her to the back. Standing before her was another door. Probably to an office, Julia guessed. “Monsieur Toussaint? L'agent d'Interpol est arrivé.“
TRANSLATION: “Mr.Toussaint? The interpol agent has arrived.“
A tall, stocky man with brown skin glanced up, adjusting his glasses. “L'agent? Miss, le problème s'est corrigé juste avant votre arrivée.”
TRANSLATION: “The Agent? Miss, the issue corrected itself just before you arrived.”
“Il n'y a donc rien de mal avec la sécurité?” Julia asked, confused.
TRANSLATION: “So is there nothing wrong with the security?“
“Plus maintenant, non...” Mr.Toussaint answered, scrutinizing her.
TRANSLATION. “Not anymore, no.”
“Mais je suis venu tout ce chemin...” She answered, slightly disappointed.
TRANSLATION: “But I came all this way....”
The man scratched the side of his head in mild concern. “Nous sommes désolés, mademoiselle. Perhaps you would like a tour of the Louvre in compensation?”
TRANSLATION: “We are sorry, Miss. Perhaps you would like a tour of the Louvre in compensation?”
“No, it’s quite alright, thank you.” Julia murmured, tugging at the hem of sleeve.
“Please accept. Nous allons même le rendre gratuit!”
TRANSLATION: Please accept. We will even make it free!”
“If you insist.” Julia smiled awkwardly.
“Good.” Mr.Toussaint lifted the phone on his desk, dialing as he spoke. “Cheryl? Préparez-vous à faire une visite. Oui. Rencontrez-la près des statues.”
TRANSLATION. “Cheryl? Prepare to give a tour. Yes. Meet her by the statues.”
The balding man put the phone down, swiping through the many papers scattered on his desk. “Our tour guide, Cheryl, will meet you out by our Sculpture Department. Please enjoy your day.”
They exchanged goodbyes and thank-yous before Mr. Toussaint returned to the millions of files on his desk and Julia to the swarming museum crowds.
Deftly, Julia navigated the throngs of people, making her way to the modern sculpture exhibit. As promised a woman was waiting before the exhibit checking her watch.
Her dark red-brunette hair was pulled into a pony-tail, and a pair of green khakis and a blue blouse contrasting against her flawless brown skin. From the back of her head, Julia could see a thick pair of glasses settling at the rim of her nose.
She seemed familiar, so very familiar....
And then she spoke. “Enjoying the view, Jules?”
The light rasp, the sultry tone of voice...
The petite woman gasped. “Carmen?”
“Surprise.” The thief said with a smirk.
“What’re you doing here?!” Julia asked, confused. Was Carmen behind the security issue already being solved before she arrived?
“You must have mistaken me for someone else,” The Red Rogue grinned coyly, reaching over gracefully and slipping her fingers between Julia’s. “I’m just Cheryl Vasquez, foreign exchange student and Louvre Tour guide.”
“Of course.” Julia scoffed but played along. “And what would Cheryl Vasquez be doing touring the Louvre?”
“If you’re asking whether I’m here to stop VILE, then no. They aren’t trying to steal anything. I’m here of my own accord.” Carmen replied, her thumb tracing circles along Julia’s palm.
“So I suppose it’s just a coincidence that I was sent here on a mission?”
Carmen winked at her, her rouged lips relaxing into their signature grin. “Yep. A coincidence. Absolutely nothing more.”
A twitch of annoyance flared within Julia. Sometimes Carmen’s games could get tiring. “Well then, since you aren’t stealing anything, I’ll be on my way then.”
“What?” The thief said, for once taken aback.
“You heard me.” Julia began with a smirk, turning in the other direction. “Have a nice day, Miss Sandiego. The Louvre is quite the sight to see.”
“Not so fast, Jules.” Carmen grasped her wrists gently, pulling her in close. Julia blushed, her mouth mere inches from the thief’s. She parted her lips gently, her eyelids sinking lower. Her tongue flecked across the expanse of her bottom lips as she waited to meet the thief’s lips for the first time in more than a week.
“Huh?” Julia said in confusion as she felt the other woman’s heat move away from her own.
Carmen was no longer before her, lips moving closer. Instead she darted away from the smaller woman, a smug grin scrawled on her beautiful face. She waved Julia’s ACME gas gun in the air teasingly, throwing her a wink. “A theft in progress is occurring, agent. You’re lawfully required to follow.”
“Carmen!” Julia shouted in shock, not at all caring about the attention they were gaining from their fellow museum-go-ers. “Give it back!”
“Come and get me!” She called with a trickle of laughter, disappearing into the hordes of people.
Julia smiled despite her frustration and ran after her, for once not at all caring that her behavior was extremely unprofessional.
That was what Carmen did to her. She...freed her. Allowed Julia to relax, to sit still, to live in the moment.
Julia felt all the tension that had built up over the course of the week melt away as she pursued the chase and danced across the Louvre court yard.
She chased Carmen out of the museum, nearing the edge of the complex. “Aha!” Julia shouted, finally catching up to her lover and realizing a smile had formed on her lips.
“You’ve got me, alright,” Carmen smiled, lowering her lashes flirtatiously as her voice lowered teasingly. She slipped her arms around Julia’s waist being just tall enough that the shorter woman had to slightly look up to meet her eyes. “Now what’re you gonna do with me?”
Julia answered her with a kiss, feeling the thief’s bright red lipstick smear onto her mouth. The lady in red captured Julia’s lower lip with her teeth, chuckling at the ACME agent’s Yelp of surprise as she tugged. Every gasp that managed to escape her lips was swallowed by Carmen’s mouth as she pulled her closer with passion.
“Mhm, I’ve missed that.” Julia smiled. “I’ve missed you.”
“You aren’t the only one.” Carmen purred against her lips. “You have no idea how badly I wanted to come and see you...but...”
“It’s alright, Carmen. I understand.” Julia whispered, touching her forehead to the Latina’s and lacing her fingers through the thief’s. “Do you plan on telling me why you’re here, though?”
“Can’t I just pay a visit to my favorite ACME agent?” She teased, beginning to lead Julia out of the museum complex.
“At my apartment, yes. But here?”
“Okay fine....” The thief relented, turning away. Julia spotted a tiny tinge of a blush dusting her cheeks. Carmen? Blushing? “I....may or may not have had my team hack the museum security and leave a trace to VILE to get you sent here.”
“Carmen!” Julia hissed. “You could get caught! And for what? Just to see me? You can meet me at my apartment!”
“Hey, hey, what’s done is done, alright?” She said, her arms flying in front of her in attempt to calm her down. Then, she smiled. “Aww you were worried about me. That’s adorable.“
“Thats-Thats not!....Thats not the point!“ Julia tried to fight a blush but it was no use.
Carmen laughed, caressing Julia’s face and tilting her chin up to meet her eyes. “Hey. I know you mean well. I’ll be more careful from now on. Promise.“
“O...Okay.“ Julia murmured, the woman in red’s slate gray eyes catching her off guard.
“But...since you’re already here....we should make the most of it, no?“ Carmen smiled sweetly, for once with no tinge of smugness to it.
“Alright.“ Julia relented with a small grin. “So is this a....date?“
The latina winked, her teeth sliding over her bottom lip. “Do you want it to be?“
“No! I mean...I just thought...“
“Relax, I’m messing with you.“ Carmen said, taking Julia’s hands in hers. “The truth is...Jules...I wanted to prove that I’m serious about this. About us. You...mean a lot to me, and I want us to be about more than just random hookups.“
The petite woman felt herself smiling at the other’s words, and gave the red rogue’s hands a squeeze. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear you say that.“
Carmen returned her grin, running her thumb over Julia’s knuckles. “Explanations aside, are you ready for the greatest date in the world?“
Julia’s brow tugged upwards along with her lips. “The greatest, huh?“
Carmen threw her a flirty glance. “Hey, I don’t settle for second best.“
“I can see that. Alright then, Miss Sandiego.“ The shorter woman said coyly, “Show me what you got.“
....
ANON!! THIS IS SO AMAZING OH MY GOD?? for your first fic this is incredible and i absolutely love how you write them!! everything is so in character and carmen absolutely would create an entire heist just to meet up with jules 😭
i don’t have much to critique: just a few minor spelling errors here and there and some misplaced punctuation but that’s it, everything else is so good?? i’m serious this gave me so much serotonin omg,,, if you post it on ao3 let me know and i’ll be sure to leave kudos and a comment!! <3
and thank you so much for enjoying my writing, i can say the same for you :D
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stellar-starseed · 4 years ago
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Teacher’s Pet
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Group: Ateez
Pairing: Student!Mingi x Teacher;fem!reader
Summary: Mingi’s senior year takes a turn as he finds himself entangled with his teacher.
Warning: Themes of grooming, sexual content, language
Part: One
Mingi sighed to himself and slumped in his seat. He was not a fan of English, it was so boring, and he was preparing for this years mess of essays. He dropped his book down on his desk.
“She’s hot!” Wooyoung whispered rather loudly as he sat next to Mingi.
“Who?” Mingi questioned looking up from his desk for the first time since entering the classroom.
“Her.” Wooyoung pointed to the front of the class. Mingi’s gaze followed Wooyoung’s finger to find the new English teacher. Mingi hadn’t seen her around. She was quite attractive, he thought. He shrugged it off, certain that this class would be hell.
“Alright, my name is Ms. ______. I see we are dealing with seniors!” The class responds with celebratory hollers. You chuckle at them. “Alright, well that is perfect! We’re going to get in to the good stuff this year guys. Are you excited? Please don’t answer that.” You laugh at yourself.
Mingi catches your smile as you laugh and he’s suddenly more interested. You pass out papers to each row and as they are passing them backward, you begin to read a poem.
The small chatter of the class fades out to Mingi and he tunes in to this voice like honey. It washes over him and he’s in a trance. The words he had followed along to on the page slip away and he looks up to see the source of the voice. Something about the poem she chose spoke to him.
Mingi gathered the bags of trash from the last bin at the back of the restaurant and headed outside. Chucking the bags over the dumpster’s edge, he heard laughter from behind.
“I know Yunho!” Mingi turned to see his best friends bent over laughing. Jungho spotted Mingi.
“Hey!” He yelled in a whisper. He jogged over to Mingi and passed him the joint.
“Guys, I’m starving!” Yunho whined.
“You’re always starving.” Mingi chuckled and took a long hit from the joint.
“Yeah but doesn’t a shake sound fucking delicious?” Yunho takes the joint from Mingi and takes a drag. “Come on man, a couple of shakes for your besties!” Yunho slaps Mingi’s chest with the back of his hand. Mingi rolls his eyes snatches the joint from Yunho to take another drag.
“A shake does sound kind of good right now.” Mingi hands the joint to Jongho. Yunho throws his hands up in victory.
After stomping out the joint and leaving the evidence in the parking lot the three boys head into the diner. Mingi walks to the back and starts an order on his tab. He sighs to himself. He knows his friends mean well, but sometimes they could be a pain.
Mingi serves the guys their shakes and fries and takes a seat at the table with them. His shift ended twenty minutes ago, but he would have to clean up after his friends.
“Dude!” Yunho slaps the table. “Isn’t that the hot teacher?” Jongho lifts his head to see and agrees.
“That’s definitely her.” Jongho shoves a fry in his mouth.
“What are we waiting for let’s go welcome her!” Yunho jumps up and heads towards the lunch counter.
“Hey, Ms. ________. I’m Yunho. I don’t have your class this year but I heard you’re like a really great teacher.”
“Oh?” You say and chuckle to yourself. “Well thank you that’s very kind of you to say.”
“Hey, do you mind if we join you? We would just like to welcome you properly.”
“Well,” you look around at the three boys, recognizing one from your class earlier today. “Sure. Why not?”
“Great thanks.” Yunho waves the guys over to take a seat. He climbs over the barstool and takes a seat next to you. After a long sip from his shake he asks, “So how do you like it so far?”
“Oh, uh, everyone seems very nice and welcoming.” You smile and take a drink from your straw.
“Shit!” Yunho says after looking at his phone, “Uh, I mean shoot. Sorry, it’s my mom I have to go. Jungho, give me a ride?”
“Yeah, wait up. Mingi are you coming?”
“No, man. It’s fine.”
“Okay.” Jungho takes one last sip from his shake and a fry to go as he waves and runs after Yunho. Mingi sighs and drops the fries back down on the plate.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” Mingi quickly shakes it off and smiles. “They just sort of think this is all free because I work here.”
“You work here?” You question. He nods and you nod along with him. “This is a pretty great sandwich. You want the other half? I’m not going to eat it.”
“Are you sure?” Mini questions as you push the plate towards him. When he hesitates you nod at him. You notice how he devours it in front of you. It makes you feel sad for him.
“So, did you just move in to town?”
“No, actually I’ve lived here my whole life. I just taught at the private school just outside of town.”
“Did you always want to be a teacher?”
“Sort of yeah. How about you. What is your dream?”
“I want to be a doctor...” Mingi looked away a bit embarrassed.
“Okay.” You nod and smile at him. “That’s valid.”
“Yeah, well people like me don’t have many opportunities.” He shook his head letting the remaining sandwich fall from his hand to the plate. “I am shit at exams and the entrance exam is no different.”
“It’s honestly a set of rules. You can learn them.”
“Can you teach me?” Mingi was surprised at how forward he was, but something pulled him towards her.
“Uh, I don’t know about that.” You chuckle and stir your straw around your melting shake.
“Oh come on please? I don’t have anyone else and I can’t afford those stupid tutoring sessions or classes. You’re my only hope at getting into the school I want.” You look Mingi in the eyes and see nothing but sincerity. You sigh to yourself and nod.
“Yes!” Mingi smiles wide.
“But you have to take this seriously and I have to get it cleared with the school and your parents.”
“Deal.” Mingi chuckled lightly in disbelief.
The following weekend Mingi was was at the restaurant with a bright smile on his face. He didn’t think he could enter those worn doors with this much excitement. He took a seat at the counter directly in front of the doors as to be spotted when you walked in. He laid out his books and started where he had last left off.
“Hey.” You say slightly unsure as you take a seat next to Mingi.
“H-hello,” Mingi cleared his throat. “Ms. ________.” You smiled at him.
“You can call me ______.” You blurted out. You were a bit taken aback at your own comment, but now it was out there, lingering in the air. You swallowed hard and look down at the books.
“Where are we?” You feel a bit warm and are curious about your sudden change with this boy. Hopefully he didn’t get the wrong idea, and hopefully he didn’t call you by your first name in front of other students or at school.
“Ah.” You say. “We should take it back a notch.” You flip through some pages. Pointing to a problem you give an example and Mingi leans in, his arm is pressed against yours and you don’t move.
Your heart rate increases and you continue to explain as best you can. Your mind is wandering to places you are ashamed to admit. The way his warm skin feels against yours. The way you turned away and closed your eyes momentarily to remember the feeling he gave you when he looked into your eyes. It was all too much to think about. How could this kid be causing these feelings? You brushed it away.
Mingi felt an electricity between you two. He felt alive. No one had ever made him feel that way. Your relaxed demeanor and body language were open to him. He was excited about what this could mean. His hand brushed against yours as he pointed to a problem. Your calm reaction, and the way you never moved away from his touches only called him to push the boundaries whenever possible.
“So, we’re done for today. Practice those last few pages and we’ll meet next week.” You gently smile at him and gather your things. Mingi is left feeling empty when your car pulls out of the parking lot. He wanted to be around you as much as he could.
The next week Mingi was surprised to see you pulling up in your car. You were earlier than normal and he was excited. You smiled up at him and his heart fluttered. Mingi awkwardly rocked on his feet while he waited for you to get out of your car. You waved him along and he offered a questioning look. You laughed at him.
“Come on.” You say, waiving him along with more vigor. Mingi nods with a large smile and he ran around the front of your car to hop in to the passengers seat.
The excitement died down for Mingi, and the silence blanketed him. He began to feel like he needed to fill the air with some random chatter.
“So, we’re going to tour the campus.” You say pulling him from his thoughts. His face lit up and and he turned to face you.
“Are you sure about this?” He questioned. You nod and laugh at his over exaggerated excitement.
You finally make it to the campus Mingi had dreamed of attending. Your words played in his head, ‘I used to go here, so I can show you around campus. It will be a cool learning experience.’
“Come on.” You wave Mingi along and he’s pulled from his thoughts. He smiles down at you and lingers close to you. The tension thickens. You turn swiftly and head towards your first stop.
“Mingi? Is that you?” Mingi clearly hears a familiar voice of one of his friends older brothers. He shyly smiles in your direction and tries to ignore it.
“Song Mingi! I know that’s your tall skinny ass over there. Get over here!” Mingi apologized to you as he bowed his head. He quickly ran over and said a few words to the other boy.
“Mingi, are you going here next year?”
“Ah, I don’t know.”
“You should, but you should most definitely come to this party we have going on right now. We just had to stop to pick up some ice and some more drinks.”
“No, no. Not today. I can’t.” Mingi shakes his head and says his goodbyes.
“Sorry about that.” Mingi jogged towards you. You smiled.
“It’s okay did you want to go hang out with your friends instead?”
“No, not at all.” Mingi waved your suggestion away.
Mingi was enamored by all the facts and stories you had to share about the campus. You didn’t expect to give so many personal stories on this tour, but Mingi was so intrigued and he asked question after question. It was intoxicating to have someone that interested. You wandered around and time seemed to fly by.
Soon you stumbled upon a party through your tour and you were being offered various forms of alcohol. Mingi denied multiple times and you began to feel as though you were holding him back.
“Mingi!” You both look in the direction of the earlier voice.
“Hey, I knew you would come.” The man jogged up to you both and greeted Mingi. He politely greeted you. You and Mingi both glance around and realize there was more of a crowd and most of them were holding cups of alcohol.
“Hey, _______, this is my buddy, Sam.” Sam takes your hand and offers you both a drink. Mingi immediately denies the drink and you accept, causing Mingi to rethink his refusal. Sam hands you both cups of his alcoholic concoction.
You sip at the strong drink and walk around what was apparently the big party. Mingi picks a spot for you both to sit down. After touring most of the campus it was nice to finally take a seat.
“So,” Mingi starts. He drinks the remaining liquid left in his cup.
“So...?” You counter. Mingi smiles and grabs another drink for you both. The silence that had settled over you was no longer awkward. You began to loosen up. Why would you need to feel awkward anyway. Mingi was a legal adult and after you realized that simple fact you relaxed much more.
Mingi asked about your childhood and your reasons for becoming a teacher. You got a bit deeper than you expected, letting him know your father was an alcoholic and you had to do most of the cleaning up since your brother had gone off to the military. When you finished your little story you felt a bit embarrassed for letting everything out.
“Wow,” Mingi said softly. “I could tell you were a strong woman.” He nods. You smile, sure there must be a slight blush on your cheeks. A silence settled in once again as you look up to find Mingi staring at you.
“I like listening to you.” He says finally. You offer a small smile and suggest it’s time to head back home.
Mingi was elated when he finally laid down in bed. He was wide awake and all thoughts lead back to you. Mingi was intoxicated by this new feeling, this excitement and wonder. Mingi felt there was so much there. He finally drifted to sleep with a small smile still on his lips.
Mingi found English class much more interesting. He was more alert and his grades in English definitely improved. He felt a bit more bold after a few study sessions. Knowing you wouldn’t have a class next period, Mingi skipped his math class and headed straight for your classroom.
“Hey, Ms. ______.” Mingi offered a shy crooked smile. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Hey, Mingi. Can I help you?” You place your papers on your desk and step out from behind it. Mingi looks around the classroom and you furrow your eyebrows at his odd behavior before leaning back into your desk and crossing your arms over your chest. Mingi steps closer.
“I-“ his voice is lower and you lean in a bit to hear him better. He steps even closer. Your breath hitches and your heart starts to pound in your ears. His lips press against yours and your caught by surprise. His kiss is confident but gentle and when he pulls away your wide eyes look up at him.
“Mingi.” Your fingers touch your lips. “Out! You have to get out.”
“I’m- shit. I’m sorry!” Mingi begins to panic. All the signs he saw, he knew he couldn’t be wrong.
“Now, Mingi. You need to go now.” You point to the door. Your heart rate is through the roof, your suddenly shaking. You quickly glance around your class room. You follow Mingi’s path to the door and look out in the hall. You close the door and let out the breath you were holding.
“Fuck!” You whisper to yourself . You push stray strands of hair out of your face and try to pull yourself together.
Mingi decided to skip his last class altogether. He headed home and cursed himself for being overly confident . All the signs you gave he was certain were solid signs. You seemed to be interested. Mingi racked his brain and he was certain he didn’t misread the signals you put out.
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Hope you enjoyed this little bit of writing.
See you next time, love. Stay golden.
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rmtndew · 4 years ago
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All I’ve Ever Known ~ Chapter 3
Summary: Fiona’s life is a shattered fraction of what it used to be. She’s trying to navigate her new normal when she meets Detective Marshall, who gives her something more to look forward to.
Pairing: Marshall and OFC.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Mentions of death, cancer.
A/N - This was intended as a short drabble but it got out of hand and became a multi-chapter story instead. It’s my first Marshall fic and the first fan fic that I’ve written in over a decade. The title comes from the song ‘All I’ve Ever Known’ from Hadestown: ‘I was alone so long, I didn’t even know that I was lonely. Out in the cold so long, I didn’t even know that I was cold. Turned my collar to the wind, this is how it’s always been. All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own, but now I want to hold you, too.’
Tag list - @hollydaisy23​​, @readings-of-a-cavill-lover​​, @onlyhenrys​​, @omgkatinka​​, @speakerforthedead0-blog​​, @gearhead66​​,  @thethirstyarchive​, @oddsnendsfanfics​, @littlerinoa, @agniavateira​, @aaescritora​,
If you’d like to be added to the tag list, let me know!
Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5
Wednesday morning we had so many orders to fill that I was left filling the one for the police station all by myself. I saved Marshall’s for last and when I knew Darcy wasn’t looking (not that she would have minded), I wrote a quick note on the paper sleeve the cookies went in. 
    ‘Thank you again for Saturday night - Fiona’
Then I put in two extra cookies in the sleeve and placed it in the box before sealing it with the store sticker.
When I arrived at the station, I kept my eye out for Marshall, hoping to see him again. Despite being convinced that he wasn’t interested in me and that nothing would come out of my crush on him, I hadn’t been interested in anyone since Ezra had broken up with me and it felt nice to know that I was capable of feeling things again. 
I worked quickly, doing my best to not be sloppy, as I tried to get done before Marshall could come in. I wanted an excuse to take his lunch to his office. I craved the opportunity to talk to him one on one again, even if it was short. I managed to set all of the orders out and pack up my stuff before he came in, so I grabbed his box and excitedly made my way towards his office. I was looking for his name on the doors and almost passed his up because his door was open, making the nameplate hard to see. I backed up and stood in the doorway for a moment, deciding how to announce myself. I finally settled for knocking on the outside wall. There was no answer. I waited for about half a minute before stepping in. I looked around, but his office was empty.
My heart sank a little, but I went to his desk so that I could leave his lunch on it, but it was almost completely covered in files and folders and notepads. There was a small space right in front of his chair that was empty with the exception of a yellow Post It note. Since his desk was full, I decided to leave the box on his chair, but when I circled around to it, I glanced at the note, then did a double take. 
 ‘Thanks for lunch, Fi.’   
I immediately started blushing. I almost wanted to take the note with me but I didn’t. I left his lunch and got out of there before someone came by and wondered why a delivery girl was in one of the detective’s offices smiling like a lunatic. 
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The rest of my day, to put it mildly, was a real dumpster fire. I got a flat tire and had to change it on a busy road where no one stopped to help, but a few people did honk. Back at work, I burnt my forearm taking bread out of the oven. Then, when I checked my phone before getting in the car to go home, I saw that I had two unread texts from Demi. One was cold but simply said that being friends with me was no longer working for her. The second, sent an hour later, went into greater detail and basically circled back on her comment the other night about me being ‘immature’. I tried to hold it together, I tried not to let it bother me, but I couldn’t. I sat in my car and cried. It was the only safe space where I could cry like that in peace. Or at least I thought it was. After several minutes, there was a knock on my window. I expected to see Darcy checking in on me. Instead it was Marshall. I was so surprised to see him that I stopped crying immediately and let out a little squeak. 
His brow was knitted together in concern as he made a hand motion for me to roll my window down. I did and he lowered his head to look me in the face. “Are you alright?” 
I tried to smile and nodded, but then I realized how silly that was. No one cries in their car when they’re fine. It wouldn’t take a skilled detective to figure that one out. So I paused, let out a breath, then shook my head. “No. I’m having a bad day,” I said. “But it’ll pass.” 
He didn’t look convinced. “Can I…?” He pointed to my passenger’s seat. 
“Yeah.” I unlocked my doors and wiped at my tears, trying to dry my cheeks as he walked around. When he sat in my car, his knees went up to his chest and his eyes went wide for a second, looking like a confused puppy. I laughed. “You can adjust the seat with the bar in the front,” I said. “Sorry, I should have slid it back before you got in. Mom’s the only person who sits there and she’s pretty tiny.”
“It’s alright,” he said, pulling on the bar under the seat and sending it back almost all the way. He let out a relieved breath as he stretched his long legs out.
“Why…” I started and trailed off. “Is something wrong?”
“No.”
“So you’re not here for your case?”
“No. I wanted to talk to you, but I didn’t have your number. I called here and your boss said that if I hurried, I might catch you.” 
I turned in my seat so that I could look at him better. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
“Will you tell me about your day first?” he asked, reaching out to put his hand on my forearm, right on my burn. It hurt and I instinctively pulled my arm away. He looked confused, his wide puppy eyes coming back. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to hurt you. I shouldn’t have -” 
“No, you’re fine. It’s not you.” I pushed my sweater sleeve towards my elbow and held my arm out for him to see. “I burnt myself earlier. I was getting bread out of the oven.”
“Is that what you were upset about?”
“It’s one of the reasons. It’s just been a horrible afternoon.”
“Can I make an offer that might help?”
“Yeah, of course.”
He looked at me, pursing his lovely lips for a moment, then said, “Would you let me buy you coffee?” 
I laughed. “Out of pity?”
He smiled, a full beautiful smile, showing his teeth. “If that’ll make you say yes, then sure.”
“Oh,” I said, heat creeping up my ears. “Oh. You really want to take me out to coffee?”
He swallowed. My eyes were instantly drawn to his Adam’s apple as it moved. “If you would let me, yes.”
I suddenly felt shy and couldn’t look at him. “I, um… I would love to.” 
“Would right now be a good time for you?”
I nodded. “It would be perfect,” I said. “Unless it interferes with your job and your case.”
“We actually closed the case today.” 
I smiled. “So you had the good afternoon,” I said. “Congratulations.” 
“It hardly feels like a victory but I’m pleased that it’s finally closed and to have answers for the family.” 
“You don’t strike me as the type of person who finds victory in any case as long as there are victims.” 
He let out a breath and shook his head. “No, I don’t.” He rubbed his hands on his thighs, almost nervous looking. “So, coffee?”
“Coffee,” I said. “Do you have anywhere particular in mind?”
“There’s a place called South York, do you know it?”
My anxiety hit me in a rush. I was caught between excited nervousness from the offer of coffee with Marshall, to a sudden kick of nerves at the mention of South York. I was trying to figure out a way to politely suggest another place without getting into detail as to why, when he caught my eye and smiled. 
“You don’t like it?” he asked. 
“No, I do, it used to be my favorite.”
“Used to be?” 
“I, um, I just had a bad experience the last time I was there.”
His brow furrowed again as he looked at me more intently. “I have a feeling you’re referring to more than just a bad cup of coffee, yeah?”
I nodded. “But I feel like every time I’m around you, I end up telling you more about myself than you’re bargaining for, so I won’t go into details.”
The corner of his mouth turned up in a slight smirk. “Well, I am a detective and getting people to talk is a big part of my job, so maybe that bit is on me,” he said. “And just because I’m not great at talking doesn’t mean that I mind other people who are.” 
“That’s the thing - I’m not, it’s just when I’m around you.”
“Is that a bad thing, though?”
I rubbed my neck. “I don’t know. My ex-boyfriend used to hate it when I rambled, so it can get annoying, I guess.”
“Is that why you broke up with him? Because he was an idiot?”
I smiled. “I should have dumped him because he was an idiot, but no, he actually broke up with me,” I said, my smile faltering. “Right after I got the call about my dad’s wreck.” I managed to look him in the eye. “We were on a date at South York.” 
I watched his eyes change as he took in what I said. There was no more soft puppy, it was all angry ocean like it had been that night in the bar. I hated admitting to myself how much I liked that look when I knew he was angry on my behalf. 
“He broke up with you after you found out about your father dying?” he asked, his voice tight.
“Dad wasn’t… He died later that night. I just knew that it was a bad car wreck. I went into shock after Mom called me, so I was calm when I told him what happened. He said later that he didn’t think it was that serious because I wasn’t reacting like it was. But the whole time he was driving me to the hospital to drop me off, he kept asking if I understood what was going on, that we were through.” I shook my head. “I had never wanted to throat punch someone as much as I did him, and if he hadn’t been driving, I probably would have.”
“For a completely unrelated reason, I need his full name and last known address.”
I laughed. “There’s a very big part of me that would actually love to give that to you.”
“What’s stopping it and what can I do to change it?” 
“I don’t know that you can change it because what’s stopping it is the other, bigger part of me that would rather start with a clean slate and not be the woman you have to rescue from a bar and has the idiotic ex-boyfriend who needs to be taught a lesson.”
“You’re not either of those.”
“I’m just the wreck you find crying in her car and won’t stop talking?”
He shook his head, his brown curls bouncing at the nape of his neck. “No. You’re the beautiful woman who seems to be holding everything together as best as she can and is having a hard day,” he said. “And who left me a lovely surprise of extra cookies.”
I could hear the blood rushing in my ears as my heart began pounding. I stretched my palms out on my legs, trying to covertly wipe the sweat that was suddenly pouring from them. I swallowed hard. “You think I’m beautiful?” I asked, my voice a rough whisper.
“You are beautiful.” He said it like a fact.
I looked at him from under my lashes, feeling too shy to look at him straight on. “You’re not too shabby yourself.”
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South York had been my favorite coffee shop since my senior year of high school, but that afternoon my new favorite became Birchwood Coffee. Sitting at a table by the window with Marshall, feeling the last of the afternoon’s sun shining through, warming me up as we drank coffee while we sat talking was the loveliest feeling that I’d had in a long time. I’d forgotten what it was like to have someone interested in me. Someone who cared enough to ask me questions and actually listen. I’d been lonely for so long, I’d forgotten that that’s what it was. I thought it was just a part of me, like my anxiety used to be, like my grief was. But talking to him I realized it was something far easier to sweep away. At least he made it seem easier. 
“Do you mind if I ask about your daughter?” I said.
“What would you like to know?”
“You told me that she was thirteen, but I don’t think you told me her name.” 
“It’s Faye.” 
“That’s pretty,” I said. “What’s she like?”
He ran a hand over his beard, his fingers combing through it while he thought. He gave a small laugh as he let his hand fall back to his thigh. “She’s stubborn and strong willed, like me. But she’s smarter, far smarter than I was as a teenager. A lot more social, too. Which doesn’t make it easy to keep up with all of her friends, but I try,” he said. “And she can hold her own. She won’t take crap from anyone. Her mother and I got called into a meeting at her school not long ago. A boy had flipped up a girl’s skirt and tried taking a picture. Faye pushed him and he broke his nose when he fell. His parents wanted an apology for assaulting him. She refused. She said that if they were going to excuse him harassing a girl and attempting to violate her privacy as ‘boys just being boys’, then her physical assault to prevent him from doing that was just ‘girls having to be girls’ and that she should get the same slap on the wrist that he got. I said, ‘good girl’ and we both got kicked out.”
I smiled. “Did she get in trouble?”
He shook his head as he picked up his coffee cup. “No. My ex-wife is far more level headed - not to mention better at arguing her point - and she handled it.” 
“Is it hard spending time with her with your job? I imagine you don’t have the typical nine to five hours,” I asked as he took a sip of his coffee. Again, my eyes were drawn to his Adam’s apple. I tried to drag my sight away before he caught me staring. 
“We make it work,” he said. “I try to take her to school as often as I can and she stays over on occasion.” 
He had an errant curl that drooped down over his forehead and I had to restrain myself from reaching out to brush it back. Something about him inspired a desire in me to take care of him. I wanted to make sure he got enough sleep, drank enough water, ate right and regularly while working a case. I couldn’t explain it. 
He set his cup down on the table, his hand still clutching it. His arm was close enough to my own that was resting on the table in front of me that I could feel the heat from it. “How’s your mum?” he asked.
“She’s...okay. She’s going a bit stir crazy and keeps talking about going back to work, but I don’t know if she’s ready for it.”
“What did she do?”
“She taught music. The violin,” I said. “That’s how she met my dad; they both played the violin in the city orchestra when they were in college.”
“Did he teach as well?”
“No. He was a physics engineer. I think music was just a way to shut off the analytical part of his brain for a while.”
“Do you play the violin, too?”
I laughed. “No. That was my form of rebellion, I refused to play it or any stringed instrument.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. “I did play the piano, though.”
“You did? Not anymore?” 
I shrugged. “I haven’t played in the last couple of years. With everything going on, it just slipped to the bottom of my list.”
He nodded. “That’s understandable.” 
“Do you play any instruments?” 
He laughed, the corners of his mouth quirking up in a smile, making a dimple visible on his cheek through his beard. “No, I was never patient enough for that. I was always outside, running about or riding bikes with my brother, getting up to no good.” 
“Were you a trouble maker as a kid?” 
He kept smiling as he nodded. “Nothing terrible. Not like the boys who stole or damaged other people’s property, but yeah, we got into our fair share of trouble.” 
One of the women who worked at the shop came to our table to ask if we needed refills on our coffee. I passed but Marshall accepted. While she poured it for him, I couldn’t help but notice how she looked at him, how unnecessarily close she stood, how her touch lingered on his fingers as she handed his cup back. I couldn’t tell if he was really good at pretending not to notice her attention or if he was so used to having women fawning over him that he’d become oblivious to it. Something told me that it wasn’t the latter. The thought that I held his attention above all of the attractive options surrounding him made my heart flutter. I tried to hold back the smile that thought brought on, but I couldn’t. He noticed. 
“You’re smiling. What are you thinking about?” he asked. 
“I’m thinking that you’re a pretty good cure for a rotten day.” 
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Eventually, despite all the coffee he kept drinking, exhaustion seemed to catch up to Marshall. I noticed him yawning more and more, and his already limited talking slowing down. When I pointed it out, he apologized but admitted that he hadn’t slept much while working his case and that it was finally getting to him. I told him that I understood and that as much as I was enjoying myself, it would make me feel even better if he went home and got some much needed sleep. He agreed, but not before asking if we could exchange numbers. I’d never given mine out with so much enthusiasm. 
We’d parked side by side in front of the shop and he walked me to my car. After I unlocked it, I looked at him. He was standing in front of me, the warm lights of the coffee shop shining behind him, lighting him up like some other worldly being. I couldn’t remember ever being more attracted to someone as much as I was him in that moment. 
“Thank you for the coffee. I really enjoyed it,” I said.
“Yeah, I did, too,” he agreed. “Would you like to do it again sometime? Perhaps when I’ve had a little more sleep?”
I smiled. “I’d love to. I’m very interested in what a fully rested Marshall is like.”
He raised his eyebrows and tilted his head slightly, smiling back at me. “I don’t know if he exists anymore, but I can offer you a partially rested one, how’s that?”
“I’ll take it.”
He nodded, chewing the corner of his lip for a moment. “Can I call you?”
It shouldn’t have caused butterflies when he asked me that, we’d just exchanged numbers after all, but the simple act of him asking made my stomach feel like a thousand butterflies had taken flight. I tried to stay calm looking on the outside, though.
“Yes. Of course. Whenever you’re free.”
He gave me a smile, the kind where it was more in his eyes than his mouth, and I loved what it did to his already beautiful eyes. “I’m probably going to go home and sleep for the next four days, so it may be some time after that, but I’ll call you.”
“I’m looking forward to it,” I said. “Now go home and rest.” 
His smile widened. “Yes, ma’am.”
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I called out for Mom as soon as I got in the door. She had been in the kitchen and came and met me in the entryway after I locked the door. When I saw her, I let out a happy little squeal. 
“A good date, I take it?” she said, beaming at me. 
“He’s just so stinking handsome!” I exclaimed. “And he’s lovely. And he smells nice. And he’s so warm that you can feel it just by sitting next to him. And I swear he’d be the biggest teddy bear if I could ever get the chance to hug him.” I sighed. “Mom, I feel like a teenager. I’ve not had a crush on someone like this in my entire adult life. I never felt this way about Ezra. Ever.”
“I’m so happy for you, sweetie,” she said. “What Ezra did to you was wrong. Breaking up with you after Dad’s wreck was bad enough, but leaving your stuff on our front lawn while we were at the hospital, and then ransacking your apartment to get his stuff back while we were making funeral arrangements.” She shook her head. “I still get so angry when I think about it. No one deserves being treated that coldly, especially not you, Bird.” 
“And you let him know it, didn’t you?” I said, taking off my coat. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on his face when you told him to sit down so that you could look him in the eye while you scolded him. That was a lot of anger jam packed in a tiny lady.”
“Am I going to have to do that with your Detective Marshall?” 
“Scold him? I don’t think so. Sit him down so that you can look him in the eye? Absolutely,” I said “But it’s just Marshall, Mom. I’m not naive enough to believe he’s my anything after a single coffee date.”
I may not have believed it, but it didn’t keep me from wanting it. 
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