#they did let me eventually but it took three phone calls before the person I was transferred to actually tried to help

[crochetingwhale]

As a millennial I’m already feeling this way.

It’s become so much harder to use public transport. A few buses still have debit card readers, but if i want to catch a train I need to have a smartphone. ‘Oh, it’s just so convenient, I can do it all on my phone!’ until the battery dies and you’re left stranded with no ticket, standing about with a debit card, two credit cards, enough cash to buy a paper ticket four times over, and no physical way to acquire one.

Its okay they could call me on a rotary faster than i could explain to them I’m old enough to know what a rotary phone is

[0omillo0]

BIKER LEE KNOW

x reader <3 angst —> comfort/happy ending

everyone warned you about him, how he plays with girls and then leaves… you don’t believe them, until…

The clock ticked quietly in your room, the only sound breaking the heavy silence. Rain pattered steadily against your window, mimicking the slow tears that streaked down your face. You clutched your phone tightly in your hands, scrolling through old messages, trying to reconcile the sweet, caring Minho you’d been dating with the cold, distant person he’d become over the past week.

You couldn’t help but smile as you thought of the day he took you to the diner on his motorcycle. The ride had been exhilarating, the city’s lights blurring into a kaleidoscope of color as you held tightly to him, feeling the comforting warmth of his back against your chest.

When you reached the diner, Minho had insisted on ordering three servings of pudding.

“You’re unbelievable,” you teased, watching as he tucked into the first one with childlike enthusiasm.

“Don’t act like you’re not impressed,” he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He leaned closer, spoon in hand, and offered you a bite. “C’mon, taste perfection.”

The way he watched you eat—like you were the most fascinating person in the world—made your heart flutter. Afterward, he’d noticed your hair was windblown from the ride and gently brushed it back into place.

“These moments… they make me feel alive,” he murmured, almost to himself…

But that Minho had vanished. It started with him being quieter during your calls, then came the short, clipped replies to your texts, and eventually, nothing at all.

You (Monday, 7:12 PM): Hey, how are you? Did you make it home safe last night?

My Mimo💕🏍️ (Monday, 9:45 PM): Yeah.

You (Tuesday, 4:30 PM): I was thinking about getting tickets for that movie you mentioned! What do you think?

(Seen, no reply)

You (Wednesday, 10:15 AM): Are you okay? I feel like you’re being distant. Did I do something wrong?

(No reply)

You’d tried giving him space, telling yourself he might be busy or overwhelmed. But by Friday night, the ache in your chest was unbearable. The rumors—about him being a heartbreaker, about him getting bored and leaving without a word—crept into your thoughts like poison.

“Maybe they were right,” you whispered, the tears coming faster now. You curled up in bed, clutching your knees to your chest. “Maybe I was just another distraction for him.”

….

It was a saturday night, the knock on your door was loud, urgent, and startling. You glanced at the clock, 11:47 PM, and hesitated. The rain was heavier now, and the thunder growled low in the distance. You wiped at your eyes, your heart pounding. Who could it be at this hour?

You opened the door cautiously and froze.

Minho stood there, drenched from head to toe. His motorcycle helmet was tucked under one arm, his leather jacket soaked through, and rain dripped from his dark bangs onto his flushed face. He looked… disheveled. Vulnerable.

“Minho?” you managed, your voice shaky.

His eyes softened the moment they met yours. “Can we talk?” he asked, his voice low and rough, almost drowned out by the rain.

You blinked, torn between anger, confusion, and a flicker of hope. Your teary eyes must have been obvious because his expression shifted to one of guilt.

You stepped aside wordlessly, letting him in.

Inside, Minho stood awkwardly near the couch, his shoulders tense. He looked around your apartment like it was unfamiliar territory, though he’d been here many times before. You crossed your arms, watching him carefully.

“You’re soaking wet,” you said flatly, disappearing into the bathroom and returning with a towel. You threw it at him without ceremony.

He caught it, his lips twitching into a faint, almost apologetic smile. “Thanks.”

You stayed standing, waiting for him to say something, anything. But he just dried his hair in silence, avoiding your gaze.

“Why are you here, Minho?” you finally asked, your voice trembling.

He stopped mid-motion, the towel hanging limply in his hands. “I owe you an explanation.”

“You think?” you snapped, the bottled-up pain of the past week bursting out. “Do you have any idea how hurt I’ve been? You disappeared without a word! And after everything people said about you… I didn’t want to believe it, but—”

“Stop,” he said, his voice cracking. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. “I know I messed up. I know I hurt you. But it’s not what you think.”

“Then explain,” you challenged, your arms wrapping around yourself protectively.

He took a shaky breath and sank onto the couch, running a hand through his damp hair. “I didn’t know how to deal with what I was feeling,” he admitted. “I thought if I put some distance between us, I could figure it out. But all I did was screw everything up.”

“Figure out what?”

He looked up at you, his eyes glassy with emotion. “That I’m in love with you.”

The words hung in the air, heavy and raw.

Your breath caught, and you took a step back, your mind racing. “You… what?”

“I’m in love with you,” he repeated, his voice firmer now. “I’ve never felt this way before, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn’t think I deserved you, and I didn’t want to risk messing things up. But pushing you away was the worst thing I could’ve done.”

You stared at him, your heart pounding in your ears. Tears welled up again, but this time they weren’t from pain. “Minho, you really hurt me,” you said quietly.

“I know,” he said, standing up and taking a tentative step toward you. “And I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, if you let me.”

You hesitated, your emotions warring inside you. But the look in his eyes—the vulnerability, the sincerity—broke down your walls.

Slowly, you closed the distance between you, reaching out to touch his face. “You’re an idiot,” you whispered, a tear slipping down your cheek.

“I know,” he said with a soft smile, his hand coming up to gently wipe the tear away.

And then you kissed him.

It was slow at first, hesitant, but then the dam broke. His arms wrapped around you, pulling you flush against him, as if he was afraid you might vanish. The kiss deepened, raw and desperate, a mix of apology and promise.

When you finally pulled back, both of you were breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against yours, his hands cradling your face.

“Does this mean I still have a chance?” he asked softly, his lips quirking into a hopeful smile.

You laughed through your tears. “You’re lucky I love you too, Minho.”

His grin widened, and he kissed you again, this time softer but no less passionate.

That night, as the rain poured outside, the two of you stayed wrapped in each other’s arms, the pain of the past week washed away. And for the first time in days, you felt whole again.

tags: @hannamoon143 @intartaruginha

[johnbrand]

BACS

With @mrrharper

“Hopkins,” the coach said curtly to the buff guard at the gate. The security officer barely seemed to register him as a person, rather just an item on his list to check off. Once he was allowed to proceed, Coach Hopkins entered into the corridor and proceeded to the farthest room. Quite frankly, the coach embodied everything a man should be at his age: big, strong, rich. Running one of the country’s top collegiate teams meant he was often provided with ample checks. But an investor had been hinting that the meeting he was about to attend would only raise his profits higher. And now standing before the other guests, Coach Hopkins believed this investor was not mistaken.

Feeling mighty pleased with himself, and honestly a bit haughty, the coach scanned the room, taking in all the other broad, strapping men. There was Coach Larson from one of the major east coast schools, Coach McNamara from the private military academy that swept the competition every year. Coach Hopkins recognized another prominent coach from California, but could not place his name. There were a few more men in the room, engaging in casual conversation about work, but the atmosphere in the space was mildly tense. Instead of acquainting himself with others, Coach Hopkins took a seat and remained there until the presentation began. 

“Gentleman,” the host began. The suit that covered his large frame appeared painted on, tight against his skin. A former collegiate athlete who had stayed in shape; Coach Hopkins could not help but take a moment to respect the work. “Invited amongst you today are some of your finest colleagues in the field. Hopefully you all know why you are here, so we will skip past the pleasantries and get right to the presentation.”

Behind the host, the wall suddenly began to glow. A soft light filtered upon it before focusing on colors and images. Eventually, the display became clear, showcasing live camera footage inside an empty male restroom.

“We believed the best way to explain our product was to show how it works,” the host started slyly. Coach Hopkins watched as the door to the restroom opened, revealing a young college-aged male. By his medium build and uniform, the coach assumed he could have been in lacrosse, baseball, or even a non-tackling football player. His third guess was correct.

“Before us is Dawson Welch, a decent transfer from an undisclosed Division III school. Originally holding potential, he has not yet conformed to our nationwide protocol, otherwise known as BACS for short.”

The four words were then flashed in red at the bottom of the screen. A silly acronym, but one that worked nonetheless.

Beefy          Aggressive          Cocky          Straight

“Our case study is about to demonstrate the results of our program,” the host smiled.

There were a few murmurs from the other men. The California coach even shifted a bit, slightly uncomfortable at what he was about to witness. Coach Hopkins remained silent, observing the subject. By his size and careful actions, he could already identify that three of the required four set standards were missing.

“Tyler?” Dawson called out into the room. “Baby, it’s alright, I’m here now.” The coach nodded with confirmation for the fourth characteristic. Grabbing his phone, the host then sent a simple text message. Thanks to the live camera, the men could all watch as the subject’s own device buzzed. Timidly opening it, Dawson checked his phone.

“Ok Tyler, I am going to open the link you sent me,” Dawson called out, unaware the link was not actually sent from his romantic interest. As if already suspecting the lurking danger behind the text, the subject slowly tapped the link and let it proceed forward. The room lit up in a flash, even blinding the live camera temporarily. The audio did not shut off, but the stream went quiet. Moments later, the men were reoriented back into the restroom.

Murmurs flew around the space once more. A few of their faces displayed shock at the screen presented before them. Coach Hopkins held stoic, but his eyes bore straight on. The scene before him was almost entirely the same. Nothing had changed, except for the subject.

“Gone are the days of your players attending frivolous seminars and engaging in anti-anything protests. Thanks to our technology, we can now guarantee your boys will be real, undeniably American men.” 

Where once stood the rather average athletic young male was now a bulky creature. He was taller, brawnier, and brutish. His uniform had been replaced with a tight, all-black outfit to better display his offerings. The sleeveless tank outlined massive pecs, broad shoulders, a thick core, and made his cannon-like arms bulge out of his sides like an oversized action figure. The running shorts appeared more like briefs, searing into the monstrous thighs that led down to steel calves and feet so large they could not be accommodated at most shoe outlets. Speaking of briefs, Coach Hopkins noted the subject was no longer wearing any; a thick python and a low-hanging set were peeking out of one of the leg holes. 

By the gigantic size, the host could easily confirm his product met the first criteria. And by the backwards cap, arrogant grin, and constant man-handling, the men in the room were all able to confirm the second and third on their own. They had been around these types long enough to know the signs.

“What was I doing anyway, bro?” Dawson asked himself in a voice deeper and duller than his previous offerings. After scratching at his thick pubes and giving it a sniff, an idea suddenly sprung into the subject’s head. Coach Hopkins could sense the process of thinking was a more difficult procedure now then it had been before. “Right, I was gonna see if that chick from last night still wanted to get laid tonight. What was her name, Jenna? Brianna? Maybe she’d be a good lil girl and bag me a threesome? God, that’s so hot…”

The stream cut off shortly after, but not before the subject’s continual groping started to awaken his massive dong. The last image was frozen onto the screen, with Dawson preparing the classic flexed picture his predatory nature utilized to ensnare victims.

“So what do you say, gentlemen,” the host sneered. “Would anyone like to try our trial package?”

[the-oblivious-writer]

Daylight |1|

Amber Freeman to Eventual Tara Carpenter x Fem!Reader

Chapter one: It's Nice to Have a Friend

Summary: You are enjoying a pleasant evening with Tara when things escalate for the worse when you answer a phone call from your girlfriend, Amber. There's only one person who can get your day back on track

Warning(s): Swearing, toxic!amber x reader, arguing, & implied anxiety

Notes: first chapter out. finally.

Masterlist|Next Part

You were currently napping at your desk, drool dripping down the side of your mouth as your trigonometry teacher drowned on about—something, you couldn’t really think right now. You were up until three in the morning preparing for your physics exam. You would be risking your spot on the football team if you got anything that wasn’t passing.

So here you were, knocked out in the middle of math, when all of a sudden something smacks the side of your face. It’s enough to get your attention, waking you up before you look around with a puzzled expression. You rubbed your eyes before grabbing the folded piece of paper that had hit you.

you drool when you sleep, the note read. You peaked to your left, glancing at the girl who sat one over from you. A smile began to graze your face when you realized who had thrown you the note. You wrote a reply on the corner of the paper before swiftly passing it back to the girl.

When she looked over to you, you were already looking up ahead as if nothing. She read the note; at least i dont watch people while they’re sleeping creep. She couldn’t help but smirk down at the note, playfully rolling her eyes before ripping off another piece of paper from her notebook to roll into a ball and throw it at you. You narrow your eyes at her but she’s imitating a confused look.

Then the sound of your teacher clearing his throat could be heard. “Ahem. Tara and Y/N, is there something you would like to share?”

You and Tara make eye contact before looking back at the teacher. 

“No, Mr. Quinn,” Tara said before you followed with, “No, sir.”

After a second he nodded, “Alright then—as I was saying.” He turned back around, continuing the lesson. 

When the class was over, Tara walked over as you were packing your things. You could hear her impatience as you did so which caused you to roll your eyes. “You don’t have to wait for me,” you told her while zipping up your bag. 

“And you don’t have to be the slowest person alive, but here we are,” she countered as you both began to walk out of the classroom.

“Whatever—damn it these halls,” you grunt after somebody slams into you. “We’re doomed if the school’s ever set on fire.”

“I don’t care what the code or whatever is, if the school’s set on fire it’s every student for themselves,” Tara replies.

“You do know that means right?”

“What?” She knitted her eyebrows, looking up at you as the two of you continued to walk in the school’s halls.

“Tiniest people go first,” you answer—immediately making Tara shove your arm.

“Shut the fuck up,” she laughed, her dimples showing as she lightly shook her head. Tara’s hand was still gripping your sleeve, an action that neither of you took notice of. She’s been your friend, your best friend, since you were six years old; a bit of physical touch was not uncommon in your friendship, never questioned. 

Both of you were now leaning against a vacant wall, and just as she was about to open her mouth to say something else, another arm slipped around your waist, causing Tara to let go of your arm. It didn’t take long for this person to practically be clinging off of you—her arm around your waist, the index finger of her other hand hooked in one of your belt loops. 

Of course, who else could this person be than none other than your girlfriend; Amber Freeman. 

“Oh, hey Tara. Didn’t see you,” Amber backhandedly greeted without even looking at Tara. Amber had always been passive aggressive towards Tara. The Carpenter couldn’t explain it well if you asked her, but ever since they met—seventh grade—it’s like she has this vendetta against her. You were having lunch with Tara when Amber met you, and it didn’t take long for her to take a liking to you. She had developed a crush on you throughout middle school, it wasn’t until the summer before sophomore year that you and her got together.

And that is how the three of you were now in this hallway, Amber with her arm around your waist, your own arm around her shoulder, while Tara resisted the urge to gag at the PDA.

“I actually have to get going, but I’ll see you later?” Tara says as she starts to make a subtle exit. She no longer saw a reason to stay.

“Of course, see you around,” you send her a smile that she doesn’t hesitate to send back. That was something you could always count on her for. 

Your eyes don’t leave Tara until they lose track of her in the crowded hallway. Just seconds later you felt a tug on your belt loop and you looked down to see Amber.

“Are you coming to the party tonight? Marcy’s throwing it since her parents are out of town for the next few days,” your girlfriend explained. 

“Sorry, can’t tonight. I have to watch my little brother. Some other time?” Your tone was apologetic as you gently rubbed her lower back, hoping she wouldn’t be too upset you couldn’t make it to Marcy���s party. 

“Whatever. It’s fine,” was all she said—her voice monotone and dismissive—while she began to pull away. Your eyebrows furrowed at her actions and a pressure starts to envelop your chest. She started to turn to walk away from you and that’s when you reached for her hands.

“Hey,” you murmured loud enough for her to hear while you turned her back around to face you. “I’ll try and get the next one, okay?” You try to hold eye contact with her but she seems to find the ground more interesting. “I’m sorry, Ambs.” 

She finally looks up, sighing. “It’s okay. Next time.”

“Next time,” you nod as you bite the inside of your cheek.

Amber looked at you, letting out another sigh before saying, “I’m fine, Y/N—really. You’ll get the next one.” That tightening feeling in your chest begins to loosen at her reassurance. “I have to go,” she gives you a kiss, deepening it just before pulling away. “I’ll text you this weekend?”

You hummed in response, and the two of you shared another kiss before you both set off for the day.

After making sure you had everything, you began to walk towards the main entrance—leaving the building before making your way to the spot where you and Tara meet up everyday after school. You always walk home together, pretty much since you first started becoming friends. 

You leaned against the pillar as you waited for Tara; it’s not like you didn’t see her just a few minutes earlier, so she shouldn’t be too long. You look out ahead, blankly staring at the patches of ice that covered the ground; it was windy out, so much in fact you felt as though you couldn’t go without five seconds of blinking or else you would start tearing up. Thank goodness for eyelids—

—“Boo!” You heard someone shout; you immediately jumped back, startled, your hands were raised and ready to swing at whoever or whatever. But any thoughts of fighting vanish when you look over to see the culprit. “Jesus fuck, Tara,” you suspired.

She’s laughing her ass off, both hands over her mouth. You let out a dramatic exhale before saying, “I’m gonna get you for this. Just wait.”

“Oh yeah?” She replied between giggles, “What are you gonna do? Throw a football at me?”

“You’ll see,” you warned while narrowing your eyes at her.

Tara was finally able to get herself to stop laughing. “Of course you will, tough guy.”

“Whatever,” you mumbled as the two of you began to walk. “So, got any plans on this incredibly dull Friday evening?” You inquired while digging through your pocket for your gloves.

“Mmm not really,” Tara answered. Her arms always had a slight sway to them as she walked; it’s something you’ve always noticed, it’s one of the things that’s never changed about her.

“Then are you free to come over? My parents are out of town and I’m still gonna be watching my brother, but he’s probably just gonna be playing video games with his friends the whole time anyway,” you said; your hands were still digging around in your pockets.

“Yeah, I’m down.” Tara looked at you with raised eyebrows before saying, “Um, you looking for something?”

You suddenly groaned when you realized, “Shit. I left my gloves at home.” You roll your eyes at your own forgetfulness before stuffing your hands back in your pockets in an attempt to keep them warm.

“You can take mine,” Tara tells you. Without hesitation, she stops and begins to take off her own gloves but you put your hand over her own to stop her.

“Tara, don’t be ridiculous. I’ll be fine,” you try to reassure her. 

At this point, you both have stopped walking. Tara shook her head at you, “Don’t be so stubborn. Just take them.”

“What about your hands?”

“I’ll survive.”

“Now who’s being stubborn?” Ugh, you were so annoying. How dare you use her own words against her.

“Fine. How about this, you take one glove and I keep the other one.” She looked at the hesitant look on your face before sighing, “If you don’t take it then I’ll just refuse to wear my gloves at all and then we’ll both freeze our hands off.”

“Fine,” you finally gave in, taking the other glove from Tara and putting it on. You slipped on only half of the glove before you realized something. “Wait. You don’t have pockets.” 

“Okay?” Tara looked at you confused.

“Where are you gonna put your ungloved hand?”

“Oh my God, I’ll be okay. I have—”

“—Warm blood? Yeah, I’ve heard that one before,” you chuckled. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tara asked in a defensive tone.

“You said the same thing when we went to see No Way Home but all I could hear was your teeth clattering.”

“That is not true!”

“People complained!”

After a few moments of silence of seeing who would break first, you finally spoke up. “Okay. How about this, you use one of my pockets. Deal?”

“It’s not that deep,” Tara protested.

“...Deal?”

Tara rolled her eyes, shutting them as she sighed before looking at you again. “Deal.”

She got closer to you before you wrapped your arm around her, giving her right hand access to your right pocket. A smile grazed your face, “See now was that so hard, shortstack?” You teased as you lightly noogied her with your free hand. 

“You are such an ass and a half for that,” you heard her bitterly say.

“Yet you stay,” you said as you were both turning the corner to where your house was.

“I should’ve left you on that street corner where you were standing.”

“But you didn’t,” you remark while getting your key out of your pocket.

“Just shut up and open the door. It’s freezing and my feet still hurt from gym,” Tara complained, never dropping her hand from your pocket.

“Oh? I thought you were—what was it? ‘Warm blooded’ you said?” You smirked, beginning to turn the front door’s lock with your key. Tara started shoving you as soon as you unlocked the door.

“Hush,” she scolded you while taking off her shoes.

“No need to shove.” You kick off your shoes before placing them to the side. You and Tara make your way to the kitchen, placing your stuff down on the way in.

“Your parents already left?” Tara asked as you rummaged through your refrigerator.

“Yeah, they had to go to some funeral. Nobody I was close with though—I think it was a distant uncle,” you filled her in as you gave her one of the gatorades you pulled out of the fridge. “They should be back by tomorrow night,” you continued.

“And I’m assuming that’s your brother upstairs?”

Your little brother and his friends were currently yelling at each other over voice chat, you weren’t really sure what about but you knew it was video game related.

“Of course,” you said after taking a sip of your own gatorade, “Wanna head to my room or the basement?”

“Either’s fine, I’m honestly just beat. Anywhere I can lay down I’m totally open to,” Tara said while stretching out her arms.

“My room it is.”

—

“So,” Tara started; you were both on your bed, her legs on your lap as you both watched a show on your laptop, “what did the ice queen want when I left earlier?” The use of the nickname Tara had for Amber caused you to glance at her.

“Tara,” you said, giving her a look that matched your scolding tone. She mumbled something under her breath before you continued. “She just wanted to know if I could make it to a party tonight. I just said I couldn’t, and that was that.”

“Ah,” she replied in a monotone voice.

“What?” You asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing, that was just a normal ‘ah.’”

“If you say so…” You both turn back to screen, Tara reaches over you to grab one of the snacks before you feel a buzz in your pocket; you looked down to see you got a message from Mindy.

“Who is it?” asked Tara, followed by her shoving a few gummy bears in her mouth.

“Your sister,” you replied without hesitation as you typed. 

She shoved you with her foot, glaring at you for your comment.

“Nah, just Mindy asking if I’ll be at the party—oh, and apparently Wes too.” Tara immediately grabbed the nearest pillow and shoved her face against it, her loud groaning muffled. You laughed at her actions before continuing, “Maybe it’s not as bad as you think. Maybe he really is just curi—nevermind, I can’t even lie.” 

She let out an even louder groan. After a few more seconds, she finally picked up her head as she sighed. 

“We dated for like five minutes. That’s it.”

“You can’t blame the boy for being so obsessed with you. I mean, look at that face,” you teased as you pinched her cheeks. She rolled her eyes, harshly letting her head fall against your bed’s headboard. 

“Ow,” she winced. 

“14 year-old you just had to be polite,” you said while also moving your head to rest against your bed’s headboard. You tilted your head to face her, now looking at each other as you slipped your phone back into your pocket.

“That isn’t …exactly what happened,” her eyes trailed down to her lap.

“It’s exactly what happened. You would’ve felt too guilty to say no because his pet hamster had just died.”

“Ugh.”

“How come you’re never that nice to me?” You feigned a pout while reaching for your phone that was now vibrating in your back pocket. “Uh. I gotta take this. Gimme a sec.”

Tara didn’t have to ask who it was. She already knew from the shift in your demeanor and attitude.

“Hey…” Tara heard you trail off as you left the room. You closed the door, going off to the side and leaning against the wall.

“Hey.” Amber’s greeting was curt and monotone. Nothing good could come from whatever she was about to say next. 

“What’s up babe?” You hoped that your voice didn’t show how nervous you were.

“Don’t ‘babe’ me. What is this I’m hearing about you and Anika?” Shit. You know you should’ve told her sooner, you still would’ve gotten heat for it but at least it would’ve came from you and not a gossiping cheerleader just trying to stir up trouble.

“It’s nothing bad—I just need some help in physics and she agreed to tutor me,” you tried to explain as straight-forward as you could. 

“How do you conveniently fail to mention this? We saw each other not long ago, yeah? So how come I have to hear about this from Daphne?” 

“There’s nothing else going on other than studying. She just—”

“She just what?!”

“She just offered! She overheard me talking to Chad about needing to get my grade up!” 

“Yeah right, Y/N! Everyone knows she has a thing for you, don’t be so naive,” she scolded as if you were a troublesome child. “I bet this is why you didn’t want to come to the party tonight.”

“Are you kidding? I told you, I have to watch my brother tonight. And Anika does not have a thing for me. Why can’t people just be nice to me without you freaking out?” Now you were pacing back and forth.

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to freak out if you would just tell me these things beforehand!” She shouted.

A familiar tightness in your chest grew with each word she threw at you, and your tongue felt as though it was glued to the roof of your mouth. What could you possibly say when you knew it wouldn’t suffice? You knew nothing you said would matter. You knew she wouldn’t have any of it.

“And you fail to notice half the school wants you—but once again, you’re just being naive! But I’m just your lame girlfriend, right? I don’t matter?”

You manage a scoff at her words. “Who—when did I say that?”

“Yeah go ahead, act like I’m insane. That I’m just making it all up in my head,” Amber went on as you rubbed the bridge of your nose. 

“That’s not what I’m saying at all. I’m sorry, I just—”

“So you’re saying I’m not making this all up in my head? That I should worry about this?” This remark only made you even more exasperated from how insane it all sounded. This is insane, right? You’re not losing it? There really is no winning with this woman. 

“What? No! Of course not. Please just tell me what the right thing to say is.”

Then there was a pause that lasted a little over five seconds, but it felt longer. After the pause, you could hear Amber sigh over the phone. “I just need space right now.”

“I feel like… I feel like you always need space,” you confessed, aggravation at the tip of your voice. 

“Have you ever considered this is why? Maybe I wouldn’t need so much space if you would actually learn to listen to me for once,” she sourly shot back. Although she was no longer shouting, you could feel her burning frustration through the phone. You were all too familiar with her pattern of emotions when it came to disagreements with her. 

“I am listening but—”

“Clearly you’re not if there’s a ‘but’ to that.” Amber let out a dry laugh. “This is exactly why I need space; why we need space. When you wanna start acting like my girlfriend—you know where to reach me.”

She didn’t give you a chance to plead your case any further, hanging up the phone just as she spoke her last words.

You let your head hit the nearby wall as you slumped down to sit on the floor, groaning out. You tucked in your knees close to your chest before dropping your head to rest on them.

God, how could you be so stupid? You should know better by now—right? It’s not like you haven't had the same argument with Amber over and over again. It was routine at this point. Literally all your fights go about the same. 

You picked at your jeans, silently murmuring to yourself as you replayed the argument in your head. 

“Fine. Take your space. I don’t care.” Your chin rested on your free arm that laid on your knees as your other free hand continued to pick at your pants. “Are people not allowed to be nice to me? I don’t say anything when she studies with other people. What’s so different about me? I’ve never given her a reason to think otherwise…” 

Just then, the door opened. You looked over to your right, completely forgetting you were just outside your bedroom door. You looked up to see Tara staring down at you as she leaned against the door frame.

“Hey,” she greeted, walking over to sit in the vacant spot next to you on the floor. 

“Hi.” 

"Talking to yourself?" She quipped, jokingly, as a way to lighten the mood.

"You know me," you said. But Tara saw through to your thrown attitude.

“You okay?” She asked once she sat down.

“I’m… alright.” You responded, now looking at her. “Just the usual, you know.” There was a pause and a look that Tara was giving; you broke, sighing as you stared back down to your own fingers before speaking again. “She, uh, found out about Anika tutoring me. I guess she’s not Anika’s biggest fan or something.”

Tara knew she should comfort you. No matter how much she wanted to tell you that Amber was terrible, no good, and a bitch, she knew that would do no good. Reassurance was the way to go in these situations with Amber, no matter how much she hated the taste of her own words. “She’ll come around. She always does.” 

“Thanks…” 

A moment of silence passes before Tara gets up from her spot, your eyes tracking her movement. She reaches her hand out for you to grab before saying, “Come on, let’s play Mortal Combat or something. I’m bored and feel like showing off.”

You laughed as you took her hand and stood up. When you stood up, your fingers interlocked with hers, almost like puzzle pieces. She rubbed her thumb over your hand for extra measure. A sense of warmth flew through you and the tension in your shoulders start to release.

"Thank you, Tara."

-----------

A/N: drama, commence

Taglist: @alyciaddict @tropicals-things @orignalpat @lilbitdepressed27 @nahnahnahwhat @fanboy7794

[storiesforallfandoms]

junker ~ beck oliver;victorious

word count: 2011

request?: no

description: after her car breaks down in front of the dreamy boy’s house, he helps her to fix it

pairing: beck oliver x female!reader

warnings: swearing, one mention of y/n

masterlist (one, two, three)

“No,” you said to yourself as your car began to slow. “No, no, no!”

You hit your steering wheel in frustration as the car came to a stop in the middle of the road.

This wasn’t the first time you had encountered issues with your shitty excuse for a car. It was definitely because the car was older than your parents. It was a miracle it even started in the first place, which, to be fair, it didn’t most of the time. You had no idea what your parents were thinking in buying you this hunk of junk to be your first car. They didn’t have to buy you a brand new sports car or anything, but they could’ve gotten you something from this decade at least.

You got out o the car to inspect what had happened. You opened the hood of the car and inspected inside. You couldn’t tell if anything was off because it all just looked the same to you. There was probably something, but you weren't exactly knowledgeable on cars.

You exclaimed in frustration and kicked the wheel, followed by a string of expletives as pain exploded from your toes.

“Car troubles?”

You turned to see a boy around your age stood at the end of a driveway.

“It just stopped,” you said. “I have no idea what’s wrong with it.”

You sighed, running a hand over your face as you realized how screwed you were. You were a few blocks away from home, so walking wasn’t necessarily off the table, but it would take you a while to get home. Not to mention you had no idea how you’d get the car back to your place, or off the road at all.

“Here, bring it into my driveway,” the boy said. “I’ll take a look at it.”

“How are we gonna get it into your driveway? It’s like...dead dead.”

He approached the car, taking a quick glance at the still open hood before reaching to close it. “Put it in neutral. I’ll push, you can steer.”

You weren’t sure if that sounded like a good idea - one person pushing a car on their own didn’t seem super doable - but you had no other choices. So, you got back into your car, waiting for him to get in place, then shifted the car into neutral. You started turning the wheel, shifting the car towards the driveway. It took a while, but eventually the two of you had managed to get the car into his driveway. You put it back in park as he came around to pop the hood again.

“I’m Beck, by the way,” he said as you got out of your car.

“(Y/N),” you responded. “Thanks for the help. I thought I was screwed.”

“Why are you driving a junker like this? It must be like, a century old.”

“My parents got it for me when I got my license. Something about wanting to get an older car as my first one until I learn responsibility, I guess?”

“So they gave you a rolling death trap?”

You scoffed. “Yeah, basically. I bet they’ll regret that now.”

Beck leaned in to get a better look at something. “When did they buy it?”

You shrugged. “A few weeks ago, I think.”

“Well, they’ll definitely regret however much money they wasted on this thing. It’s completely dead.”

Your eyes widened. “What?!”

Beck stood back up. “There’s not a single thing that works in this thing now. Engine is toast, battery zapped, starting motor gone. It’s a wonder this thing ever worked in the first place.”

You let out a long groan. As if your luck couldn’t get any worse. What were you supposed to do now without a car? You couldn’t go back to relying on your parents to drive you everywhere, and you certainly were not about to start taking the bus to school again.

“Do you have a phone?” Beck asked.

“It’s dead,” you said. “I was on my way home anyways, I thought I’d be fine.”

“Listen, mine is in my RV. You can use it to call your parents if you want.”

You eyed the silver RV in the yard. “You live in there? When there’s...a house?”

He chuckled. “I prefer to be on my own. The RV was the only compromise my parents would come to. If you’d rather not come in, I understand. I can bring my phone out instead if it would make you more comfortable.”

You shook your head. “No, that’s okay. It’s starting to get dark, so it’s probably best if I wait inside instead of out here while it gets cold.”

Beck nodded for you to follow him into his trailer. It was a decent size, big enough for one person living there. It was also evident that a teenage boy lived there given the mess. Beck must’ve noticed, too, because he quickly started picking up dirty clothes and laundry from the floor, mumbling something about ignoring the mess. You quietly giggled to yourself.

Beck passed you his phone. You sat down on his couch and dialed your mom’s number first. It rang for a long time before an automated message told you she was away from the phone. You hung up and tried your dad’s number, only to have the same outcome. You rolled your eyes and hung up, handing the phone back to Beck.

“They must be busy,” you said. “God, this sucks. What am I going to do?”

Beck sat down next to you. He was close enough to you that you could feel his shoulder brushing against yours. You were suddenly very aware of your situation: alone in a trailer with a boy who was incredibly cute. A broke down car, no way to get home until your parents answered your calls. You shuffled awkwardly in your seat, looking down at your lap when looking into Beck’s eyes became too much.

“I could drive you home,” he offered. “Then, when your parents are home, you can tell them what happened and where the car is. Then they can decide if they want to come get it, or they can leave it here and I can salvage whatever parts I can from it.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “You think there’s anything salvageable from that car?”

“Well...the tires.”

You both laughed. You knew you should be getting home, but part of you also didn’t want to leave yet. Sure, you would still see Beck again whenever your parents decided to come get the car - if they decided to come get the car - but after that you may never see him again. He wasn’t familiar to you, and you were sure you’d remember someone like Beck at your school, so that meant he went to a different school. The likeliness of you two ever crossing paths again were incredibly slim.

But you also couldn’t just invite yourself into his place to stay for a while. You were still a stranger to him, and him to you technically. And you probably should get home so you could charge your phone, just so your parents didn’t start freaking out if they tried to call you and couldn’t get through.

So, you took Beck’s offer and followed him to his car. It was definitely a lot nicer than your old piece of junk. You were almost embarrassed that he had to see what you were driving before. The one silver lining to this whole situation was that your parents might actually buy you a good car after all of this.

You knew it was going to be a short ride to your house, so you had to make the most of it. You looked over at Beck and asked, “So, what school do you go to?”

“Hollywood Arts,” he responded.

“Oh! So that’s why I haven’t seen you around. You’re too busy becoming a big star.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess so. Trying to, at least. I’m not a singer like most of the people who attend that school. I’m trying to become an actor after I graduate.”

“Hey, the world needs actors. That doesn’t sound like an impossible dream to achieve.”

He shrugged. You felt like the conversation was drifting away, and you desperately wanted it to keep going.

“I do appreciate what you did for me,” you said. “Most people in LA probably would’ve driven right past me and wished me luck.”

“I couldn’t let you just stay there stranded right in front of my place,” he said. “What kind of a guy would I be if I didn’t offer the pretty girl some help?”

Your face immediately burned at his compliment. You quickly looked away so he wouldn’t see how flustered you were.

“Still, I appreciate it,” you said. “And the ride home. I probably could’ve walked, come to think of it.”

“No way. I wasn’t going to let you walk when I have a perfectly good car that could’ve driven you home.”

“Don’t rub it in.”

He chuckled. You noticed the car slowing to a stop, and when you looked up you saw that you were in front of your house. You almost deflated with disappointment. Your time with Beck was finally, and unfortunately, coming to an end. There was no way you’d be able to see him again, you were sure of that. It was already pretty clear the both of you wouldn’t be running into each other at schooling events, unless you managed to make it out to a performance at Hollywood Arts that Beck just so happened to be starring in.

“This is me,” you said, trying to keep the sadness from your voice.

“So it is,” Beck said with a nod.

You looked down at your lap, trying to stall as much as possible. “Thank you for everything. I don’t know how I can repay you for all of this.”

“You don’t have to.”

“What if I wanted to? I mean, surely there’s something else I could do or give you as a way of saying thanks. Something more than that lump of junk that’s still sat in your driveway.”

He made a face. “No, that’s a terrible thank you gift actually.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m saying I want to give you an actual thank you gift.”

He thought for a moment and you waited patiently for his answer. Finally, he looked back at you and said, “There is something you could give me.”

“What is it?”

“Your number.”

He was holding his phone out to you. You looked from his phone up to his face. You were almost sure this wasn’t real, that you were hallucinating that this was happening. But the longer it took for you to take Beck’s phone and put your number in it, the more his face was starting to show worry. As if you were about to turn him down.

“Yes!” you finally blurted. “I mean...yeah. Yeah, I can...I can do that.”

He seemed amused by your flusteredness. You quickly took his phone and typed in your name and number before handing it back to him.

“You better get your phone charged,” he said. “Otherwise, how am I supposed to try and plan a date with you?”

Oh, he smooth.

You wanted to say something back that was equally as smooth, but you were at a loss for words. Instead, you just nodded your head for a long time, like a crazy person, before finally saying goodbye for real and getting out of his car. You could feel him watching you as you walked up to your front door and let yourself in. He didn’t leave until the door closed behind you, and even then he waited for you to lock it and turn on the light over the door.

Once you were alone, you leaned back against the door and you couldn’t stop the wide smile that broke out across your face.

Okay, at least there were two silver linings to that stupid thing breaking down.

[mullermilkshake]

Yandere! Kento Nanami

Cross posted from my AO3

Tags: NSFW kinda. Yandere themes. Kidnapping. Restraints. Threat of violence.

MINORS DNI ---

Word count - 2.4k

“Don’t be unreasonable.” 

Kento Nanami sat just out of your reach, hunched over on a small upturned bucket, feet planted firmly on the ground, but his personality flying away with him. You couldn’t see his eyes in the darkness of the poorly dim lit overhead light, but he was definitely staring at you like he always did. 

You couldn’t help but laugh until it turnt sour. “Unreasonable? Really?! I’m being unreasonable; you chained me up like a fucking animal! You psycho!”

Oh, yes. He had put you down in his basement for however long after managing to find you again. The train station of all places like he had access to the cameras, he was just always there, in the house seeing your every move, he tried calling you before you even managed to get to the end of the road to dispose of the phone he gave you. 

“You are being unreasonable, I buy everything you want, anything you could possibly ask for, but you never let me in. So yes you are, and this is for your own safety, you were going to leave me.” 

“I don’t know you, I don't ask for anything!” The metal cup on the floor you’d scrambled across the room for flew from your hand and only just missed him, the water never touching him either. 

He was just out of reach, just out of reach to strangle, to beat or maim in a way to get him to hand over the keys and he knew that much too, never bringing the keys with him, a coward's insurance because he must have thought little old you would take his built existence down. 

A fucking coward.

“Then let me, I thought we were past this.” He leant on his closed fist and shifted onto his side. “All I want is to take care of you and you are making this incredibly difficult because I was very concise from the beginning in exchange for your compliance. You had nothing to your name, but I have everything you need. Let me help you.” 

He was looking more gaunt in later days, a scruffy shirt and drawn in posture uncomfortably contorted as his legs folded in half at the knee being so low to the ground. You were on your knees, arms stretched out to lengthen your body past your chained ankle .

You noticed that the skin around his nails was dry and bitten, uncomfortably nibbled with anxiety and stress to which you could only speculate that he hadn’t been sleeping. 

“When was the last time you slept? Don’t go passing out on me.” You would not call an ambulance if he did, but either way it would fuck you getting out.

“Those are kind words.” There was a hint of a small smile on his lips. “If you want to know, I’ve found myself lacking sleep because you aren’t up there to join me. I’ve grown used to it now.”

That was laughable. A man who handcuffed you to him upstairs to make sure you never left, and would wake him every time you moved. You hoped at first when he took the cuffs off he would trust you enough, because he was only human and would have to fall asleep eventually. Then came the nightcaps and warm tea to knock you out until morning with no recollection of anything until you figured it out and found his stash.

But Kento Nanami was an incredibly intelligent man, you had to give him that. He noticed a mile off when you suggested making the tea yourself, what a fucking stupid mistake that was to make when he insisted you drink it first. He was a very sly, knowledge welding demon who came back from anything you threw at him like a cockroach in a nuclear blast, a gross limpet indefinitely stuck to the hull of a boat. 

Anything. Everything. He was three steps ahead. 

“Well you’ll be lonely for a while then.” You wouldn’t sleep next to him again if you could help it and if you had to, you'd just scream in his ear and pinch him to destroy his sleep. Lack of sleep was a dangerous thing.

Part of you wondered if you weren't that lucky you escaped on your own, but rather he had actually let you leave, a sick game to find you and therefore have a twisted reason to punish you. Kento Nanami was undeniably clever and the more you thought about it, that thought cemented inside your head like a tick, burying away into self doubt.

You weren’t lucky, the only luck you had was that he didn’t kill you, but even that he had made clear he wouldn't do, you were sure he’d stop at nothing to keep you there short of forcing you to survive just so you could exist. 

He stood and straightened himself up. “I’m going to sleep down here with you while you learn to behave, I’ll have to teach you manners again on how you should act.” He wandered over to the stairs that lead up to the rest of the house that was out of sight, but you could still hear him clearly. ”No one can see into the future, but maybe I’ll let you take a walk with me when the ground thaws out… If you listen and behave.”

Behave, telling you to behave like a fucking child whilst he had his arms full of sleeping gear for a fucking camping trip. This wasn’t a luxury resort, the basement was freezing and dark, even worse when it rained when the wind whipped against the small vent. 

The shackle chain dug into your ankle, pulling, tugging on the skin which reddened it and rashed. He was so hard to entertain, to say the right things before he retreated into his shell and shunned you for a day to ‘collect himself’. 

Another attempt wouldn’t hurt. You stood up and got as close as you could without appearing pissed off. Maybe desperate would cater to what he wanted instead, because he hadn’t actually broken you yet. Not properly at least. “I’ll behave. I-I will, you'll see. I’ll be the best… whatever you want me to be, ever. I’ll make you proud.” 

Was it a little too strong? Maybe. He stepped forward to you, the overhead light highlighting his features. “Nice try Darling. I know you're still angry at me so please don’t test my intellect.”

You blankly glared at him, he even talked to you like shit in a nice way the fucker, talking down like he was the smartest man in the room, even his friend Gojo had picked up on that when you met him. The pair of them were horrid, more alike than Nanami gave himself credit for. You hated him, you hated the house, the basement and the way the fucking door at the top of the stairs creaked when it opened.  

You hadn’t realised how close he was but you spoke anyway in all of the red you saw. “You fucking-”  

Nanami took a hold of your arm and pulled you towards him, his breath tickled past your ear, but he wasn’t whispering. “You know, Gojo feels about his person exactly the way I feel about you and she isn’t so lucky. You know what kind of man he is, don’t you?”

The vibration of his words made your eardrum tingle and covered you in standing hairs. “W-what’s that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t let go, but squeezed his hand a little, a warning shot you assumed. It didn’t hurt, but you knew he was there. “Gojo plays with his things, because she was exactly like you, trying her damndest to leave him. That broke his heart and he took much more restrictive measures to keep her safe, away from bad influences. I can be like that, would you like to see it?”

“N-no.” You had only met Gojo once and Nanami often mentioned him as a scare tactic and it worked every time. The only thing it seemed that put you in your place.

He huffed a sigh of relief it seemed and loosened his grip on your arm. “Good. Because that would absolutely break my heart Darling. Gojo is cruel to keep the person he loves safe, I don’t want to extend that type of courtesy to you.”

Gojo was arrogant and a bastard. You were uncomfortable before he even stepped foot through the door when he came to the house, you didn’t even try to plead with him when Nanami left the room. He came to you, not the other way around. 

“If you were mine, you wouldn’t have this much freedom.” You always remembered that fucking look in his eyes over the rims of his sunglasses, it would have made most people piss themselves.

You weren’t sure what to say to back to Nanami. “How generous of you.”

He picked up a strand of loose hair and fiddled with it between his fingertips, rubbing the pads on the texture as though to take it in to remember what it felt like. “I know you don’t believe me and I hope you do with time, but I do love you. I would never be like Gojo, not to hurt you intentionally, so please don’t back me into a corner with no choice.”

Nanami always claimed that he was infatuated with you, looking at you with adoring eyes even when you shouted obscenities and threw dishes at him. Gojo, he was nothing like Nanami and that’s what terrified you, that power imbalance was astronomical and the only thing stopping Nanami from doing the things Gojo did was his self proclaimed love for you.

Gojo wasn’t in love, he was a psychopath with far too much power at his fingertips. But Nanami wasn’t in love with you either and you lost so much sleep trying to understand him, to work out why he was drawn to you. 

A blank slate every single time because the situation was totally ridiculous.

He leant in and you were sure he inhaled you. “I hate seeing you upset.”

There was no helping a man like Kento Nanami, so set in his deluded ways that there was no getting through to him. 

You tried your best to explain and maybe if you couldn’t escape, you could make things easier. “If you don’t want to hurt me and prefer it when I’m happy, then let me go from the basement. Maybe we could work something out, but treating me this way won’t make me love you back. Love is earned, built up over time.” 

Though you weren't about to bend over backwards for him. You’d make your escape eventually even if it took a whole year.

“And I have done none of that?” He backed away, his brows lowered in a hurtful expression and narrowed eyes. “You have been here almost a year and you’re still the same from when you first arrived, I don’t know what more I can do.”

A year, already? Everyone definitely thought you were dead, or eloped somewhere. Who were you kidding? Definitely dead.

“I-I’m not saying let me leave from here, just out of the basement. A relationship is built on trust a-and I know I haven’t been exactly trustworthy, but have faith. I won’t disappoint you again; I won't disappear on you again.” It made you want to vomit, a churned stomach at those bullshit words that somehow came out genuine. 

Nanami must have seen it too because he hesitated, just for a moment in his own confliction. Were you telling the truth? Not completely, but he seemed to process it as fact but never confirmed it. 

“I’ll give this a go, but you need to try and trust me. Can you do that?”

Nanami came back to you, so close and bushed down your arms that gave you goosebumps, you wanted to pull away from him, slink into the corner and tell him to fuck off, but you stood your ground in his deafening silence. 

You whispered, breathless enough to entice him, enough to keep yourself from grimacing. “Let's go upstairs, hm?”  

His hands found their way to your cheeks, cupping them like a romance novel, inclined to kiss you softly. You wanted to back away and push him from you, kick his shin, but you stayed firm even when his nose brushed yours. 

He was attractive in your eyes had you met him in a bar or club you probably would have gone back to his for a quick fuck or two, maybe even a casual thing and allowed his twisted self to remain beneath the surface without a care because that’s all he was, a stranger.

To his defence which you regretted supporting, he had never touched you inappropriately that had any sexual undertones. But with the look across his features locked on to you, he had a different thought in mind. 

Would you do it? Could you do it? 

Nanami had his hands at your waist now after dropping from your face, pulling you closer, lips almost touching. “Let me take care of you. I want you to feel good being here with me.”

The first proposition since you had been taken, at least it lasted this long, but could you actually go through with it? Get access to the keys while he slept and smother him with a pillow, that would be too quick, he'd overpower you in. a heartbeat. You would need to play the long game. 

You could do it, no words left your lips so you only nodded. 

His lips were far softer than you thought, though his hands were even more so, holding you there in a firm yet gentle grasp. The weight on your ankle stayed heavy, aching but keeping you grounded enough to see the wood for the trees. 

The kiss was slow, sensual and you tried your best to keep with it and even went as far as to rest your hands on his muscled chest. There was no tongue, not a feverish expression in sight with an almost innocence about it, a first kiss but far more control than you initially thought Nanami had. 

Then he pulled away. “Tomorrow, let's sleep first.”

It was like he knew, but didn’t say and he walked away like it hadn’t happened and picked up his stuff to sleep on. 

Did he know, catch on to your tricks? You didn’t want to know, but the night was going to drag on forever. His guard was up and there wasn't anything you could do that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

You just prayed he would never show a side like Gojo.

[lilacgaby]

day three

~2.3k

chapter select!

she woke up right before her alarm went off.

she saw messages on her phone, some addressed from mirko telling her to "hurry the hell

up or get left behind." some from a new group chat called 'OPERATION [NAME]', and a couple from bakugo.

whatever, she'd look them over later.

she took her time as she showered, got dressed in a civilian outfit, and soaked in the early morning sun from her balcony.

everyone else had heroes who'd stop by later to pick them up in the afternoon, so [name] was pretty much the only person up.

she was startled by a loud noise at the door. she was hanging around in the common room to pass some time, but since she was lost in though she let out an audible squeal at the sound.

she figured it was just mirko was banging on it to get her attention.

and it was.

she opened the door and stepped outside. mirko was dressed casually too, and she was carrying her own bag of belongings on her back.

"be more considerate! people are sleeping!"

"it's only six a.m [name], they have to be getting up at this hour anyways."

"whatever."

"anyways, we have a train to catch so let's go!" mirko then grabbed her hand and started their trek down to the station. they could've got a car,

but they both preferred to walk.

after a bit of walking and sitting in a comfortable silence, [name] decides to get some details on the mission.

"so mirko, what exactly is this mission about?"

"oh, it's just another couple of villains, except these ones are rumored to have connections to stain."

"stain? the hero killer? but isn't he--"

"dead, correct. but his influence was huge. apparently this group of villains have actually killed a hero already."

"what?!"

"yeah, and that's why we're going in. don't worry though, we'll have backup, or i guess partners, that you'll love."

"what do you mean?"

"you'll see."

"...

okay, where are we going anyways? you never take me on trains."

"oh, i didn't tell you? we're going to tokyo."

"tokyo? for what?"

"oh,

i decided to take on a mission with best jeanist's agency. i told you you'd love it!"

...

"i'm going to kill you."

ꔛ𖤐˒˒

as she sat on the train next to mirko, her finger hovered over the notification from bakugo.

she had to face him eventually, and they had to talk, but she couldn't help but feel deeply embarrassed.

technically they did kiss.

her face felt hot.

"hey, who're you texting? your boyfriend."

"i'm not texting anybody and i don't have a boyfriend. stop asking questions when you know i'll answer!"

"okay okay.

...

so what're you doing then?"

"i'm debating whether or not to text katsuki back."

mirko's smug face took over as she snickered.

"shut up!"

[name] shoved her headphones on, maybe if she didn't hear her she wouldn't have to answer the questions.

the temporary solution did work, but mirko grew agitated that she wasn't answering her so

she took her phone right out her hands.

"mirko! hand it back!" [name] stood up immediately, her heart rate rising almost instantly as mirko held it in her iron grip. the headphones fell out her ears and her music was now blasting in the train,

she'd be publically embarrassed if they didn't have the car all to themselves, but she still just wanted her phone back.

"give it back mirko! i swear--"

"stop ignoring me, im your mentor y'know!"

they chased each other around the train car, [name] just barely behind mirko.

after about a minute of struggle, she tried negotiating.

"okay, just give it back-"

"no way-"

"why? is it because you're scared of me texting back your blasty little crush?"

"that's exactly why so hand it bac--"

they were cut off by a husky, sleepy voice.

"the fuck are you talking about?"

[name] eyed her phone in horror, and mirko did in surprise, mirko immediately threw the phone at [name] and ran to the other side of the train car.

[name] fumbled with it in her grip, until finally shakily holding the phone with one hand.

she was stunned into silence. this had to be a joke.

"hello? flower freak? you there?"

it wasn't just a joke?!

"hello? [name]?"

"i'm here-- fuck. i- uh-- gotta go!"

"wai-"

she cut him off as she declined the call. she looked at the duration of the call.

no way.

it went on for two minutes.

he heard her fight for her life over his messages to her for two minutes.

while she didn't explicitly explain who her crush was, mirko did.

[name] turned over to eye mirko, who was now sitting in a corner pretending to be nonchalantly whistling.

whatever. [name] wearily thought as she sat back down on a seat, picking up her headphones that had fallen out during the confrontation. she put on some music and mindlessly started hoping to anyone that'd hear her out that bakugo didn't hear mirko's remark.

the rest of the train ride wasn't that bad. mirko finally, begrudgingly, apologized for taking it to far, and promised to take [name] out to eat after the mission was over.

they sat next to eachother, mirko promising not to use the truth quirk against her again because of the incident that just occurred.

[name] appreciated the sentiment, but it wouldnt undo the months of late night pondering she'd have of this moment.

she got over it for the moment being, after about another fifteen minutes they finally were let out in Tokyo.

it was really pretty there, compared to musutafu, it was really lively too.

mirko guided them to a very fancy hotel where they'd be staying in one of the very highest floors.

they dropped their stuff off and got ready in their hero outfits.

they took a break to eat lunch, [name] laying out on the terrace of the huge hotel as mirko devoured a large salad next to her. she didn't know mirko meant they'd literally have the floor to themselves, but she wasn't complaining.

it was time for them to head out.

"okay, you ready flora?"

"yes i am prepared.

...

as ready as ever i guess."

"don't be like that! he probably didn't even hear-"

"we were yelling into the phone. he definitely heard."

"okay, and so what? he probably likes you back!"

"no way. just let it go mirko, we have to walk like two miles."

"fine, if you say so."

the walk to best jeanist's agency was actually fun for [name]. she got to walk through all the tourist traps, look around while mirko signed autographs, and even take a couple photos on her phone.

oh yeah, her phone. she had now twenty-two notifications from bakugo since the ordeal, including missed calls, texts, and even voicemails.

she didn't even open them, she knew she'd have to talk to him face to face anyways. she felt a pit of dread settle in her stomach, but looked up at the agency greeting both her and mirko.

they walked in.

⋆ ₊ ☽ ·˚𓍲 *⋆

They were greeted by one of Jeanist's many assistants, who guided them to a meeting room where a briefing was already taking place.

"we're late mirko?"

"yes, it's not my fault though, i did it all for the fans."

"...if you say so."

they walked into the meeting, [name] felt familiar red eyes following her as she settled into a seat next to mirko.

"okay, everyone's here. let's continue." jeanist declared, seemingly unbothered at mirko's tardiness.

[name] took a moment to look over the room. there were a couple other sidekicks, but the only U-A interns were her and katsuki.

she suddenly remembered she had to focus.

on the screen was a couple of locations marked in red circles, depicting different areas where heros reported being attacked by the group.

a lower ranked hero: blast-off, a hero with a rocket quirk, was murdered by said group, and his corpse was found in various places.

brutal. [name] thought.

"these villains aren't confident enough to attack higher ranked heroes such as mirko and i, they are currently planning on targeting another low-ranked hero on their route: genie." jeanist explained.

"what they don't know is that you will be waiting for them to attack genie, and step in as they reveal themselves. not even genie knows." an assistant added.

"wait, so they're basically bait?" [name] questioned.

"in a sense." jeanist replied. "if they knew, they'd likely act aloof and alert the villains. it's a necessary step."

"so, we set out tomorrow?" mirko questioned.

"no, you and i will go out patrolling the town discreetly. tomorrow we will go out accompanied by our interns, with my sidekicks on standby.

i understand you won't want your intern walking back to your arranged rooms alone, so after they go through some training here my assistant will make arrangements to take them."

"i'll go with them." katsuki finally spoke.

"it's settled then. mirko, please stay behind as we prepare for our afternoon scouting. dynamight, take flora to practice. do not push yourselves, understood?"

"understood." [name] replied, while bakugo grunted in agreement.

"dismissed."

everyone went their separate ways. [name] was doing her best to act causally as she and katsuki walked side by side to the practice room.

"so, uh.. nice weather huh?"

"why have you been ignoring me?"

crap.

"what do you mean katsuki? you're acting so crazy right now."

"no, i'm not. you didn't even try to talk about what happened yesterday with me, and then you randomly fucking call me at six in the goddamn morning. and i overhear some argument between you and that bugs bunny wannabe, just for you to decline on me, dick move by the way.

so, what's your deal?

you've been acting off around me since sunday."

he let out a scoff, and jokingly said

"what, you got a crush on me or something?"

"yes."

"what?"

both their eyes widened as the words left her mouth. crap, the whole operation was done for!

"was that a joke?"

"no."

she quickly located the practice room that was just around the corner, and tried to speed walk away.

"are you being serious right now? [name]? [name] we're training together you can't get away!"

she stumbled into the training room.

her life was over, but she still had to train, unless she really wanted her life to be over when she fought those guys tomorrow.

katsuki lightly grabbed her shoulder and made her face him.

"[name] fucking talk to me! stop being so shitty and confusing! why won't you just tell me the truth?!"

"because i'm scared of rejection!"

"i'd never-- i wouldn't reject you. just tell me the truth."

she sighed heavily. she didn't really process his last words, but she decided to tell him.

about the quirk at least.

"okay, so, sunday right? i took a hit for mirko-"

"you're insane."

"let me finish! i took a hit from mirko and got hit by this quirk. it basically makes you tell the truth whenever anyone asks a question, and it lasts a week."

"why didn't you tell me?"

"i was scared."

"who knows?"

"mirko, denki, kirishima, mina, momo, jiro--"

"so everyone except me, huh? damn. and the thing about your 'problems'?"

"a real bad lie from denki."

"so what you said earlie--"

"let's train. i don't want to answer any of that now. and, about what i said earlier..

can i talk to you about it after the mission?"

katsuki's face scrunched up. the emotion he was displaying was incoherent. disgust? anger? rejection?

but he understood her. he always seemed to. after a swift nod, he said

"fine. let's fucking fight though."

the tenseness between them disappeared, replaced by a competitive energy.

"you're on!"

they trained til' the sun went down. they were pretty even in quirk matches, but [name] definitely needed to practice her general strength.

still, in their last match she managed to pin him down.

"remember when we did this the first time?"

"shut up."

they agreed to stop for the day, and kept their wins in mind.

[name]- 8

katsuki-8

an even tie.

katsuki had opted to walk her home, so walk they did.

"if you're just gonna take a taxi back what was the point of walking me?"

"i just needed to talk to you, but we already talked it out earlier so it's fine i guess."

"oh. so, are you nervous for tomorrow?"

"nervous? why'd i be nervous? i'm destined to be number one, all these villains and missions and shit are just stepping stones to me."

"right, right. but they've killed like- pros. they hate heroes. and number one's like you."

"so?"

"so, they could be dangerous."

"i'll kill em' and i'll protect you, so don't worry."

she let a small smile escape her lips, why'd he always know what to say?

"thanks katsuki."

"yeah whatever. go inside loser, it's past my bedtime."

"okay, okay. text me when you get back."

"will you actually open it or leave me hanging like a dumbass?"

"i will, unless i fall asleep."

"fuck off. bye."

he got into a taxi back across town, she went into the hotel and felt butterflies settle in her stomach.

she knew the operation would take a complete one-eighy at the news from today, so to spare herself mostly, she texted that 'we should postpone the operation for today, i'm beat.'

everyone texted back their agreements, seems everyone was weak from the day.

she tucked into bed, and checked over her texts one last time.

katsuki had texted her.

allmightsolos01

yo

i got back to the agency

sleep well or whatever

read 10:37

flowered[name]

sleep well katsuki!

see you tomorroww

delivered

man this truth quirk stuff is so easy.

these last four days are just gonna be a blur.

prev | next!

taglist (comment to be added!): @cc1306 @reads-stuff-quietly @dazqa

[sozila]

convalescence. (sukuna x reader)

synopsis: convalescence noun. time spent recovering from an illness or medical treatment; recuperation. ryomen s. itadori was a disease that infected every part of your life, and you didn’t notice until it was too late.

pairing: best friend's older brother!ryomen s. itadori x pre-med uni student!fem reader.

warnings: explicit content eventually, mdni. mentions of sexual assault.

masterlist | previous | next

you are on: incubation. (part three)

a/n:

i'm so sorry this took literally forever to release! i was writing parts of the nanami fic and this chapter simultaneously, and then got really busy in between :( as an apology, wc for this chapter is 7.3k!! biggest shoutout to @beeh-ive, my one and only beta reader <3 ilysm and you are my iv, my lifeline. mwahs. anyways i hope you enjoy!!

ao3 link here.

incubation. (part three)

sukuna kept the hello kitty band-aids you gave him in his wallet. 

he had no intention of using them, though he kept telling himself they were there if he needed some in an emergency. if that was the case, they wouldn’t be sitting in the photo pocket where he could see anytime he opened his wallet. 

what he forgot was that anyone else could also see them in his wallet, in all their flashy pink glory. that brings him here; when he begrudgingly pulls it out to pay for gojo’s food and he hears the brat start ooh-ing at the sight of them.

“aww ‘kuna, when were you gonna tell me you got a girl?”

he prods around sukuna hoping to sneak a glance at any other evidence. albeit sukuna didn’t hold anything else of yours, he sure as hell didn’t need fucking gojo knowing anything. before he could continue with his trifling, the cafeteria attendant hands sukuna his card back and he shuts the wallet with a quick slap, thrusting the tray into the over-curious man.

“shut the fuck up and eat your damn food. moocher,” he grumbles under his breath as he walks far ahead of gojo, who was skipping behind him like a satisfied child. satoru knew that the band-aids could just be a fluke, but he knew better than to overlook such a detail if it gave headway to bothering his grumpy friend. you think satoru gojo would miss the detail of seeing you on his motorcycle that night? no one was allowed to ride with sukuna minus his family. all he knew now was that he kept an eye peeled for you, the girl that sukuna threw punches for a couple nights ago. 

geto’s eyes flick up from his phone when the two reach the table he and shoko were already sat at and nods in greeting. “got my fries, bossman?” sukuna slides a container of fries to shoko and she puts her palms together in thanks towards him, already digging in. 

geto turns to the older itadori, brows knitted. “i didn’t want to grill you at the house, but todo found out about the mahito shit.” sukuna rolls his eyes and crosses his arms over his chest, sinking more into the chair. “you saw what the fucker did. you think i was gonna let my little bro’s friend get felt up by a frat brother?” geto sighs and puts his phone on the table. “i let you get some in because he touched her. but it’s not a good look when other frats saw an upperclassman beat up his younger out of the blue. todo says he’ll let it slide because of the circumstances, but next time, he’s gonna call an advisory meeting.” 

sukuna was irritated beyond belief. so sukuna was on thin ice, and mahito was facing nothing because he got his shit rocked? he scoffed. this was the exact reason he couldn’t be on the executive board for the organization. “whatever, man. i would’ve done the same even if it wasn’t a brother.” geto nods solemnly. “as a person and your friend, i don’t see anything wrong, trust. but as the vice, i have to tell you this so you’re aware. rules are shitty, i know that the most,” 

geto seemed genuinely apologetic so sukuna lightened up a tad. as the year had progressed, he could tell geto was getting fed up with dealing with social events and conflict resolution at the fraternity house. sukuna was surprised that todo was also slipping in his spirits, considering how proudly he boasted and enacted his duties as fraternity president. there’s no way he was able to make the decision to warn sukuna without feeling bad. todo was big on making the “respect women” rhetoric heavily enforced amongst them– so sukuna boiled it down to the answer that the panhellenic caught drift of the fight and made a push on todo. it checked out. the main board always did drown out scandals and washed blood from the hands of their brothers, unfortunately. therefore, sukuna was grateful this was his last year in the wretched organization as an active. he was only here because his grandpa was an alum anyways. 

“yeah, i don’t give a fuck about that consequence bullshit, geto. mojito got his ass kicked for touching up a girl, the end.” shoko pipes up, not looking up from her food.

satoru bursts into a cackle, his drink spitting out a little. “shoko, his name’s mahito!” 

she gives him a grimace of disgust. “the fuck? mahito, mojito.. bitches need to get better names, i swear to god.”

“...and then megumi told him to eat a dick, can you believe it? i think the guy was too embarrassed to say anything after that–” 

yuuji was raving about something that happened in his design class that you thought was just so yuuji of him to find hilarious. you laugh at his recreation of the scene, only to stop with the sight you caught from across the pavilion.

it was a familiar 6 foot 5 inches of black leather and faded jeans. your cheeks heat at the memory of your last exchange from the past weekend. his hands brushing yours, your eyes watching the drop of his eyelashes, your lips inches from his enough so you could feel his warm breath– you had to shake the thought away. it was inappropriate to assume that anything was even going to happen. you notice sukuna wasn’t alone. he was walking with the same brown haired girl from the party. the pretty one in the little black dress, you remember. she was in deep conversation as they walked, and sukuna seemed awfully in tandem with her. 

what, why did you even care? it wasn’t like you harbored any interest in the older itadori anyways. he was bad news all around, too brash for your liking. did you forget how every person you knew thought he was an asshole, save for his brother? he’s only ever insulted you! you bet he took you home out of necessity, you would imagine he’d get a scolding from yuuji if he found out sukuna could have helped you and didn’t. he was nothing more than your best friend’s emotionally-constipated older brother. 

but.. you didn’t let your brain register that your heart sank at scenarios in your head between him and that cooler girl. she was definitely more fitting to sukuna’s type, you were sure. her style was more mature, and aesthetically matched his. she wore demonias and you had a collection of mary janes. she probably didn’t even own any pink glitter ribbons, like the ones you liked to wear. 

“aww, you always do this! are you even paying attention to me?” you snap out of the gloomy bubble you were ruminating in. you were too focused on a man that didn’t even appear in the same social circles as you, how pathetic! you had bigger things to worry about, too. your shiny new internship was waiting for you. yuuji gave you a whiny tug and leaned his head on your shoulder, enlisting a chuckle and shove from you. he truly had the face of a puppy. “okay, okay! you have my full presence now, you big baby.” yuuji beams at you with a goofy grin. he continues on, animatedly, distracting you from the revelations you’d made. what you didn’t catch was that he followed your line of vision when your mood dropped, and was well aware it had something to do with his brother..? he had every intention of finding out why. 

the both of you enter the lecture auditorium and you tap into your rhythm again, forgetting your gloom. physics was easy for you to lose your brain into as the subject was satisfying once you got the hang of it. on the other hand, yuuji found it unnecessarily confusing and ended up needing your help from time to time. after the three hour lecture, your professor informed the class that you were to work on a project that weighed a quarter of your grade for the course. it was allowed to have a partner, but you could work individually if you wished. while you preferred doing such high-risk assignments by yourself, you couldn’t say no to the same puppy face that mouthed pleads to you. when you pack your things and go down to write your choice on the professor’s clipboard, you add “yuuji itadori” next to your name. “did i ever tell you i love you more than nobara and megs? you should know that,” he loops an arm around your neck and ruffles your hair, tousling the hairdo you had it in. you chortle. “you owe me like, thirty coffees.” “heard loud and clear, cap’n!” you decide that it would be best to start working right away and yuuji tells you they should work at his place so he could shower you with snacks and things (look at him, already living up to his deal). obviously there was no way in hell you’re passing that up, and you get to hang out with your lovely best friend for another couple hours. a total win-win.

10:00 P.M.

whoever said this was a good idea was a big fat liar. you were on the fifth reiteration of the same problem you were trying to explain to yuuji and he looked like his brain was going to spontaneously combust from the words you were throwing at him. “wait, what do you mean hooke’s law applies here?! i’m so loooost!” he threw his hands up in defeat and slumps on the coffee table, face mushed into the glass.

“we need to take a break or i might die…”

you sigh and shut your laptop. “me too. i think i forgot what i said as soon as i told you.”

you pick up an unopened bag of doritos and toss it to yuuji’s head. “nothing like red 40 to clear your sadness, though,” he moans in agreement and reaches for the bag, his head still stationary to the table. you dig in the tray of snacks for a packet for yourself when you hear the front door unlock.

in comes the same leather jacket and faded jeans, along with a bunch of grocery bags in each hand. they looked extremely heavy altogether, but he seemed to carry them with no real effort. he sets them on the kitchen island and peers at the two of you in the living room. sukuna’s face shifts slightly when his eyes land on you. you turn your head away with a jolt.

“got your shit, yuu,” he calls.

the younger itadori lifts his head finally to look for his brother, throwing him a thumbs-up.

you pretend to be immensely busy with your search for chips when you felt him walk by, and out of the corner of your eye you could see him glance at you as he goes up the stairs.

of course he would stop by when you were trying to forget about his existence. but again, why did you care?

yuuji peeks at both of your reactions and frowns. he didn’t like this one bit. at best, sukuna was just being his usual rude self to you. at worst, something was happening between his best friend and his older brother… eughhh. the thought made him writhe a little. he knew that nothing good would come out of it for either of you. growing up with a brother like sukuna.. he knew how he could get. 

“i hate you so much! you’re pushing dad away!” sukuna throws the first thing he sees at the woman in front of him. her eyes are dim with guilt. “ryomen, you know it’s not like that..” her words fall in nothingness, and she falters. what could she say? her red fingernails fumble with the button on her suitcase. “you’re throwing us away! you’re leaving me and yuuji for that ugly stupid man!” he screams in anger, but tears are flowing heavily over his bruised face. yuuji watched as his brother berated their mother, helpless. he wanted to tell him to stop, that this was too much.. he shut his eyes tightly and imagined the day before, when they were going out for ice cream instead. the giggles they had, his mother wiping his chubby chin with her sleeve, the game of hide and seek he and his brother shared at the neighborhood park. “yuuji, my messy boy,” his mother cooed, eyes crinkling with a smile. her blouse billowed with the summer wind. heavy footsteps broke the evocation, and from the crack of the door he saw another figure. no! he clamped his tiny hands over his ears until they went white, knees to his nose. the smell of his mother’s perfume in the dark closet helped him go back– to tune out the muffled sounds of fighting. the voices of his mother, his grandpa, and that man ebbed away. slowly, he drifted, his mind crystal blue.. the only thought left was the taste of chocolate and his mother’s soft caress; a silent requiem.

yeah, fuck that. and fuck him for trying to mess around with your head.

yuuji throws a dorito at you. you make a sound of annoyance and throw one of your own in retaliation. he giggles. “wanna go get banana milk?” you stretch your arms above your head with a yawn, cracking your fingers. “yeah, we could use some fresh air.” he hops up immediately and goes to put on his shoes. “hey, ryo, we’re going to the convenience store for milk, be back soon!” he yells from below the stairs. you hear him give a grunt of acknowledgement from above and you both make your way to take your minds off things. it wasn’t just physics that lay heavy on your hearts.

as soon as sukuna’s saw yuuji’s text that he would be studying with “a friend”, he was already speeding through his last repair at the shop. choso, his cousin-slash-coworker, nearly yells at him with the speed he was screwing the bolts back in on the vehicle. no matter. he’d done this same shit a million times over, it was like clockwork. he changed out of the oily uniform and got on his bike before he could get a proper scolding. he shoots a reply.

“bringing groceries. be there in 20.”

he tucks his phone away before yuuji could deny him. and just like that, he was lumbering to the elevator of yuuji’s complex with a giant load of bags in each hand. it was insanely efficient, if he said so himself( sukuna was conveniently leaving out the part where he switched out his bike and borrowed satoru’s camaro to make the aforementioned grocery trip, but he digresses). 

he entered the apartment with a little difficulty, but it was worth it when he saw the mary janes sitting neatly on the shoe rack.

when he sets the bags on the counter, he looks to the living room to see you looking at him with that gorgeous face of yours. something about your complexion was so naturally saccharine, like you radiated sunlight.

he raises his hand to give a small wave but falters midway seeing your expression flip, snapping away from his gaze with your face flushed with an emotion he couldn’t decipher.

sukuna was mildly confused. weren’t you on new terms since that night? not even a bit?

“got your shit, yuu,” the kid throws a thumbs up.

as he takes off his jacket, he finds himself glancing repeatedly at your now-nervous form. he couldn’t help feel a little irritated. sukuna was seemingly the only one exempt from your natural state, for whatever reason(sukuna’s aloofness to the fact 1. you both met officially only two weeks ago and 2. the amount of times he’s argued with you, was borderline insane). 

you were wearing a different set of ribbons today, a pale lavender in hue. he wondered how many more were in your collection. the outfit you wore was simple but flattering, albeit he couldn’t see it properly.

a chuckle rumbles his throat when his focus shifts to see your face was almost entirely inside the tray of chips, doing anything to avoid small-talk he assumed.

his brother was slumped on the other side of the table as well, and he just shakes his head. it always was hard to tutor yuuji, the little brat was just so hyper. he says a silent prayer for you and walks up the stairs without another word.

he’d talk to you tonight eventually, he would make sure of that.

the street was mostly empty and dark, save for the streetlights marking your path back. the trip was fairly short but you and yuuji were walking at a leisurely pace, sipping on the tiny drinks. yuuji hesitates to ask you about sukuna, so he settles for talking about the party. 

“so how’d you like the party? i was totally shitfaced, so i never got to ask you,” he joyfully perked up. you sigh and look at him with a small accusatory smile. “yeah, you totally left me in the dust, whore. the party was okay, i guess. i did meet this cool guy,” you began. 

yuuji ooh’s and bumps your shoulder with his. “well, don’t just say that and stop! tell me more,” he eggs you on in a lilty tone. “actually, he said he knew you. his name was suguru,” yuuji snaps and shakes a finger in the air. “yeah i do! he’s super chill, one of sukuna’s frat brothers. he’s the vp for the fraternity!” your eyebrows lift in surprise a little. “oh wow. i didn’t know he was the vp,” you murmured, taking the information in thoughtfully. so suguru was more than just affiliated, he was practically running the show. and he was close with sukuna, which was kind of unfortunate. so much for having an interest in someone decent. “yup! he doesn’t seem the type, but he does a good job. or so i’ve been told by gojo and ryo,” he laughs, taking another sip. 

“sooo… anything i missed at the party?” you were hoping he wouldn’t ask, but you assumed it would’ve come up eventually. you nod and sigh, looking up at the dark sky. yuuji slows down to a stop, brows cinched together. “something bad happened?” his voice drops to a lower, more serious tone. 

“when you guys left, i ended up bumping into this really sleazy guy.. i guess he was trying to flirt with me?” you began. 

yuuji looked visibly enraged, his eyes twitching. “go on.” 

“he didn’t end up doing anything crazy because megumi came, but he did.. grope me.” you mumbled. 

this was so stupid, you genuinely wanted to forget it even happened. you hadn’t put a ton of thought on the event until you recounted it, and it left a pit in your stomach. 

yuuji crushed the milk carton in his hand and started walking faster. “i’m calling suguru and figuring out who the fuck that was, there is NO WAY–” 

your eyes widen as his usually innocent and sunshine personality switches to an aggressive demeanor. you catch up to him and stop him from starting a second round of fighting. man, maybe yuuji was related to sukuna�� the way both of them reacted instantly was too alike. 

“wait! oh my god, hold on!” your hands push into his chest and he looks at you incredulously. “he got beat up at the party! he got what he deserved,” yuuji looked properly confused. 

“megumi never told me he beat up someone, what?” 

“it wasn’t megumi, yuu! it was sukuna.” 

his face dropped the confusion and something unreadable replaced it. “...oh, i see. he saw that shit happen to you then?” 

your face blanched. you didn’t think about that. did sukuna just watch you get assaulted? you wracked your brain to figure out the chronological order of events, but the adrenaline in the memory made everything a blur. “i.. i don’t know, maybe!”

yuuji’s face hardened.  “and he did nothing to stop it?” 

you had to defend sukuna, he literally beat up the slimeball for you. there was definitely something you were missing, but you didn’t know what. your voice was wavering. “megumi stopped it, so it’s fine, yuu! can we drop it now? please?” 

yuuji notices that this was getting hard for you to talk about, and his anger for his brother was getting displaced onto you. he softens, shoulders untensing. “I’m sorry, [name]. that was shitty of me to grill you.” he looks away, a guilty look falling on him. you wrap your arms around his torso and squeeze lightly. “it’s okay, yuu. i know you’re just worried for me. i really appreciate it.” he squeezes you back tighter. “i feel horrible that i was trashed and did nothing to help you. that’s so not what a best friend should do,” he says into your hair. you sigh, cheek pressed on his chest. “seriously, i don’t blame you. i just.. don’t know how to feel about it yet, so be patient with me.” he squeezes you tighter. “i’m gonna be here for you always, babe. nobara, megs, all of us okay? if you ever need to talk about it don’t hesitate. i love you so much,” your heart swells with warmth. you knew how much your friends cared for you, you never had a doubt about it. “you’re gonna make a bitch cry, yuuji, seriously,” you fake punch him in the stomach and he doubles over groaning, playing along. “now, i’m going to teach you that physics problem and you’re going to understand it,” you pull away from his chest to shake a strict finger at him, lips quirking in a smile. he gives you a firm salute and starts bounding to the apartments. “sir yes sir!” 

when you entered the flat again, you make a beeline towards the bathroom upstairs. you hadn’t noticed your eyes got teary enough to smudge your makeup during your heart to heart with yuuji. he was bent over with laughter when he showed your raccoon face to you in his phone’s front camera, earning him a smack. 

you’re looking down at your own phone as you walk up the stairs to take a better look, when you’re met with a wall you didn’t notice before. or wait.. a firm surface? sukuna has an arm propped on the wall before the bathroom, and he was looking straight down at you. 

your face goes red immediately, and you can’t back up because you’d end up tumbling down the stairs. a weird checkmate. “so what’s with you avoiding– why are your eyes like that?” his eyebrows go from serious to confused. you frown up at him and start wiping at them. “is it really that bad? god…” a rough hand holds your chin and pushes your head up, the other rubbing under your eye gently with his thumb. 

“you cryin’, sweetheart?”

his voice rumbled in a whisper, breath on fanning on your lips. your heart was pounding so hard in your ears you barely heard him. you were so close you could see his stubble, the scar on his upper lip, even the intricacy of his neck tattoo. 

“no, i wasn’t, well– actually i was, but not for the reason you think-”

 your eyes drift to the bathroom door as you ramble until the hand that was holding your chin is now wrapped around the small of your back, just shy of your ass. 

you shut up. 

he smirks.

“alright, you just look like a panda then. now, are you gonna tell me why you're avoiding me?”

 your face pulls into a mild glower. “i’m not avoiding you, what?” 

“yeah, you are. didn’t say hi to me.” your hands press on his chest to ease from the proximity. you notice he’s wearing a wife pleaser like the first day you met him. what was your mind going to? your eyes flick back up quickly and narrow at him. 

“we’re not even friends, why would i say hi to you?” 

his head leans closer to yours, noses almost touching. "didn't yuuji tell you to get along with me?"

 you glare. "he never said that, asshole." 

sukuna gave you a vexed look. did you expect him to remember the words verbatim? "okay, he said some bullshit about warming up to each other! god, you're so difficult." 

"me? difficult?” a scoff leaves your lips. all you could think was that the audacity of this man was unbelievable. “you are literally cornering me to talk to me!" you gesture to the position you were both in, but he didn’t seem to budge.

sukuna huffs, almost petulantly. you try to push him away, but the grip of his hand on your back wasn’t letting you go. he didn’t get the answer he needed from you, and he wasn’t going to let you leave without it. between the party and now, something had happened for you to act so differently. you were so soft and open with him that night, but now? it was back to square one. 

“...you’re still in the way! seriously sukuna, what do you want from me?” you were exasperated at this point. his insistence would be endearing, if he wasn’t such a major fuckwad. honestly, out of every girl he could have bothered, he had to choose you? where was that other girl he was so stuck to anyway? why couldn’t he have just called her instead of holding you hostage and bombarding you with questions about your attitude? your irritation was growing, and his lack of response only proved to increase your frustration. why was he just looking at you?

sukuna was wracking his brain to form a coherent thought after you dropped that bomb on him. what did he want from you? this was unlike him to chase after a girl, and to almost harass her over a simple ‘hi’? he was obsessed over what? fucking hello kitty band-aids. he’s barely keeping his hands off of you with the way you were staring at him, assessing his every feature. your cheeks were puffed and rosy, your eyes still blotchy with mascara but god, you looked so perfect standing before him. he wanted to kiss you. he wanted to kiss you so bad. he wanted to kiss you that night when you told him his eyes were sanguine red. what the fuck did that even mean? he had to look that shit up and lo and behold, it was the perfect shade match. you were so fucking smart it pissed him off. he enjoyed riling you up by telling you otherwise. he wanted to yank those lavender ribbons out of your hair and never give them back. it was so perverse; the way he was holding you wasn’t enough for him. you smelled like honey and sandalwood, he couldn’t get that out of his head ever since you rode behind him on his motorcycle. he wanted his bed to smell like you. he longed to wake up there and it would be the first thing to hit his senses. this was testing his restraint in ways he didn’t know existed. he knew he couldn’t cross that line, this was mental to even consider doing! what was doing him in so badly?? even he didn’t know what had gotten into him. all he knew was that he felt a little more than just irked you were taking precautions to avoid interaction, especially when he was dying internally to merely hold your gaze.

 “y’know, i really need to go to the bathroom, so if you have nothing to say to me, i’m leaving. stick to teasing other girls.” a pregnant pause. his face fell at your last sentence, it definitely held some edge on your tone. sukuna shifted, a hand going up to your cheek. you scrunch your brows in flushed inquisition. he looks to the side before bringing his eyes back to you. they appeared poignant, almost wistful. you weren’t able to discern why, though. his voice was more delicate this time.

“..did you feel–”

“you okay babe?” yuuji’s voice from below snaps both of you out of your heated exchange. sukuna’s hands drop from you like they never belonged there to begin with. you take the opportunity to finally go to the bathroom, accidentally shouldering sukuna as you push past him. yuuji’s worried expression immediately becomes one of annoyance as he watches his brother come down instead, sourness cast on his rough face. “are you kidding me? what was that about?” yuuji had his arms crossed, jaw ticking. sukuna halts and turns to face him. “mind your fuckin’ business, brat.” yuuji bites back an insult, opting to check up on you instead. he knew he couldn’t start something with sukuna when you were home as well. 

yuuji knocks on the door of the bathroom. “did sukuna say anything to you?” you were in the middle of splashing water to cool your flaming cheeks. “no, it’s fine! don’t even worry,” you call back loudly, drying your face in a manner that was definitely too rough on the skin. 

your mind was racing with images of sukuna, his lips, the feel of him holding you, his cologne stuck in your nose– coming to do physics at the apartment was supposed to be a distraction from what was going on between you two. how come when you threw yourself more into your work, this idiot would weasel his way back to you! 

you look at yourself in the mirror and you cringe at the sight. yikes. the combination of no makeup and your blotchiness was not the best. as you go to pick up your phone from the counter, you see the time flash. 2:35AM. you were an hour past the time you wanted to leave, you had an 8am that next day. technically, it was already the next day.. you wince. sighing and opening the door, and there was yuuji. “i know i said we need to finish the problems, but i’m really tired yuu,” you admit with a nervous laugh. “i have anatomy and physiology at 8 tomorrow, and i can totally explain it to you at lunch! right?” this had got to be the lamest excuse. coming from you, the person who never avoided doing work, it was suspicious to say the least. the morning class was buyable, but procrastination was not in your vocabulary. yuuji suffered firsthand from you about it. he raises a brow. “aaalright, no worries. don’t have to tell me twice.” he laughs back weakly. this was becoming extremely awkward. both of you were acting off and the silence that followed did not help either of your cases. “okay! so i’m just gonna head home, get my things, yup!” your voice was weirdly pitchy and before yuuji could question it, you were already down the stairs in a blast. “wha– girl, it's way too dark out!” he calls after you. 

you start collecting your computer and belongings into your tote bag, quickly moving. you almost trip over while putting on your shoes, slipping them on carelessly. sukuna had rounded the corner from the kitchen upon hearing your commotion, yuuji on his tail. “whoa, you’re goin’ now? it’s too late at night, let me–” you throw a hand in sukuna’s face. “you’re not giving me a ride, i brought my car.” having another experience of prolonged close proximity with him in the same night was too much for you to handle. besides, this time you thankfully had a saving grace. barely. “at least let me walk you down, it’s dark as hell outside.” sukuna looked sincere in his concern, but yuuji was eyeing him indignantly. “you okay with that, babe?” yuuji gives you a face that says it was okay to say no, but you nod your head in reassurance. “yeah, it’s fine. i’ll see you tomorrow, yuu.” you blow him a small kiss with your two fingers like you usually did, and he mirrors it back. sukuna puts on the first pair of shoes he sees, already halfway out the door when you turn back around. he gestures to you to get a move on with his head, earning an eye roll from you. 

you walk out and he closes the door behind you, giving yuuji one last wave. the walk down to your car was wordless, and sukuna didn't look at you once. better than him looking at you fervently, you suppose. when you step into the driver’s seat and reach to close the door, he stops you. his tall figure crouches down to meet your level, now meeting your gawking stare. again? 

“you didn’t let me finish earlier.” 

your eyes dart to the console, fingers fidgeting. “okay, out with it then,” you mumbled. 

“i wanted to ask you if you felt the same shit i felt that night when you told me that stuff about my eyes.” 

his body language was firmly attentive to you, but his voice had a weird waver to it. he remembered what you said about his eyes? what did he mean, feel the same shit? the silver chain around his neck dangled between the both of you, glinting in the streetlight as it moved. you noticed he was breathing deeply. nervously? what the fuck. “what are you talking about?” he silently cursed and readjusted his footing, clearly uncomfortable with the fact he needed to spell it out. he wasn’t exactly in touch with his emotions. “you really are the most difficult fuckin’ girl i’ve ever met, fuckin’ hell. just tell me what you meant by it.” you peer at him from the side of your eyes, trying to search his face. you were pretty confused at what he was trying to get at overall, but you just answered his question. “nothing. your eyes are just sanguine red. i like that color.” his lips quirk up and he angles his head at you. “you like my eyes?” your face flames. “i said i liked the color! what is it with you and mishearing people?” you throw back. with a huff you turn the key to turn on the engine, which prompted him to move out of the way so you could shut the door, him laughing at your irritation. he knocks on the window and motions you to lower it. you oblige angrily. 

“you literally have 10 seconds or i swear to god i’m running over your toes.” you seethe. 

his stupidly handsome face was just egging you on. his hair was tousled, the wind breezing through it gently and he looked unfairly good. you shivered with the chill going up your neck. he licks his lips and you watch it shamelessly. he notes this. 

“just tellin’ you that you got lucky with your car today. whenever you think about getting an uber, don’t. you’re not getting in a car with any other man besides me.” 

your heart skips a beat. nope, that was just a palpitation. your heart does not skip for sukuna, you did not consent to it. before you can register it, he flicks your nose with a grin. you rapidly blink, enlisting more cackles out of him. you punch him in the arm before he’s running back to the apartments. “not fucking happening!” you yell after him, head sticking out of your window. you fume all the way home, your music turned up to drown out the pounding in your chest. 

when sukuna opens the door, he’s met with a really pissed off yuuji. “you need to leave [name] alone, ryomen.” sukuna knew this was coming given that he witnessed your altercation to a certain degree, but he was definitely overreacting. he’s kicking his shoes off and trudges to the couch, unbothered. 

“i’m not doing shit to her, yuu. it’s just teasing.” 

sukuna leans to grab the remote off the table when yuuji grabs it instead. “i’m fucking serious. stop fucking around with my friends.” 

sukuna looks up at him with a raised brow, jaw flexed. “i said, i’m not doing shit to her.” 

yuuji laughs bitterly and shakes his head. “i’m not four anymore, ryo. i can see what you’re doing and you need to quit now.” he jabs a finger on his brother’s chest, which garners him to stand up and face him, his height paralleling yuuji’s. sukuna was just as irritated now. looking down at yuuji, he takes a moment before he speaks so it doesn’t end up in curses. 

“you forget you’re speaking to your aniki, brat.” he grits through his teeth, fists balled up on either side of him, shoulders tense. 

yuuji’s eyes narrow. “she doesn’t need someone like you fucking her life up, ryomen. i don’t care if we’re brothers, if you toy with her and she ends up hurt, i’m killing you.” 

sukuna suddenly gives him a shove to the chest. “and you need to mind your fuckin’ business like i told you to!” 

yuuji’s face flashes with mild shock at sukuna getting physical, backing up with a stutter. “so what, you’re gonna fucking hit me now? what is wrong with you lately!” yuuji throws his hands up in the air and paces the room intensely. 

sukuna’s stony face falters, his arms relaxing. what was he doing?

 “you always do this shit! you talk about respecting women and you can’t seem to fucking treat one right! is it because of mom? how much longer are you going to hold on to that?!” 

sukuna begins to bound towards him to give him a real piece of his mind but yuuji throws the remote on the couch towards sukuna, cutting him off and gesturing aggressively. “but you know what? that’s not my shit to figure out. if you want to distract yourself from your baggage, that’s fine by me, but like i said, [name] deserves SO much more than someone like you.” he spat, chest heaving from his tirade. “i’m going to bed. you can see yourself out.” the younger itadori brother’s stomps fade into the apartment as the other is left speechless, thoughts muddy with guilt and a reopened wound.

the next day you had plans to meet with nobara at the university coffee shop, which made you mildly uneasy. with your permission, yuuji had told nobara about the party situation and her reaction was similar to his, and she had approached you at lunch to talk about it. it went rather smoothly so you didn’t feel so horrible about retelling your thoughts– nobara just understood.

what you hadn’t told her was the events of yesterday with sukuna, and those were definitely going to be coaxed out of you over coffee. she had a knack for making you empty your guts with her. it was her evil superpower, you say.  your shoes clack on the tile floor of the small joint that resided by your university as you made your way inside, head flitting to search for your redhead. it was a cozy spot, mostly run by employees that were also students at the university. the owners were an old couple that were alumni and had the place built on the courtyard spot they had first met at. the story was widely known by students and carried the spirit of the place, pictures of them and other former students littering the walls. you found it absolutely adorable as a hopeless romantic. you finally spot nobara waving at you by a window table and make your way towards her. “you look cute today, any special occasion?” you shrug, a small smile on your lips. “it’s 10 degrees warmer today, so i decided to celebrate.” “well i’m loving the skirt, don’t be surprised when i borrow it.” you giggle, sticking your tongue at her. “you mean steal, not borrow.” nobara pretends to weigh the two words with her hands. “steal, borrow, it’s all very subjective babe.” you set your bag down on the chair next to yours, a stray piece of hair falling in front of your face in the process. “hey, you.” your head spins to where you heard the deep voice and finds a tall black-haired man. “oh hi, suguru!”

nobara looks at you with a question mark on her face, eyes flicking to him and then you. you give her a little “stop it!” look with your eyes, hoping he didn’t see it. geto was awfully observant and a smooth talker to boot, so you were generally screwed much to your oblivion.

he leans a hand on the back of your chair and tucks the stray hair piece behind your ear. “you look pretty as per usual,” his grin was mind melting. your clothes suddenly felt too warm even though they were the most ventilating pieces you owned. you throw a hand in flattery at him, gushing. “oh stop, you’re too sweet!”

if nobara didn’t have questions before, she certainly did now. from the corner of your eye you could see her gaping at the scene unfolding before her.

you feel embarrassed with the display you had created and changed the subject quickly. “oh, this is nobara, by the way. you probably didn’t see her at the party but she was the one with the green haired girl.” suguru snaps and points at her. “you were the one fucking up the dance floor! i remember,” he sticks a hand out and nobara shakes it firmly, a too-sugary smile plastered on her lips. you could tell she was assessing the guy to his very bones.

“that’s me! and the girl with me was my girlfriend maki.” suguru nods in recollection. “well it’s nice to officially meet you, outside of the frat stuff! it can be a lot sometimes," he glances back at you and frowns apologetically. “which is technically why i came over to talk. i really wanted to say sorry for what went down. the pres, todo, is handling mahito’s consequences so i hope that reassures you,” he looks at you with a face of worry and concern.

“i’m glad not all frats are shitty,” nobara tells him vaguely, code for “thanks for doing your fucking job for once”. he chuckles nervously and nods in thanks. “well, i’ll leave you guys to your coffee now. sorry again,” he pats your head and beams, vanishing out the door with a jingle of the bell overhead. instantly, nobara slammed questions down back to back in hushed screams. “what the fuck was that?! and he tucked your hair? what is this, bridgerton? you didn’t freaking tell me about meeting a GUY at the party, you bitch!” you begged her to quiet down as people started paying attention to the wild hand movements she was doing. nobara, oh my god please! it’s been literally two days!” “yeah, two days of girl code betrayal! i needed to know this shit like yesterday!” she squealed at you and shook your shoulders. you wince at the bombardment and wave an imaginary flag of surrender.

“okay, okay fine! at least let me order my coffee?” she abruptly stops for a moment and notices that you in fact had nothing in front of you. “oh em gee i didn’t even peep that, my bad.” she holds her hands together in a “please forgive me” position. you both immediately burst into giggles. “buy me a cookie?” “you got it.”

you walk up the register and ask for your favorite drink and nobara’s cookie. the girl that took your order was really nice to you for some reason, but you weren’t complaining. she was giggling a lot when she rang you up, which was odd but.. okay.

“your boyfriend is so sweet, by the way. i wish mine tried half as much,”

ohhhh. she must’ve seen you and suguru talking. you let out a small laugh and brush it off. “oh, he’s not my boyfriend,” you say. her brows furrow in confusion. “the pink haired guy with tattoos? he literally told me to give this to his girl in green ribbons!”

you notice there’s a pain au chocolat on the bill that you didn’t put down. pink hair.. there’s really just two choices in that description. you flip around to see if yuuji or sukuna were around, and from the outside of the cafe in the courtyard, you see sukuna leaned on the bricks, smoking. he gives you a small wave, cigarette in hand. you roll your eyes in disgust and ignore him. insistent asshole and a nicotine addict, great.

you turn back to the girl and give her a nervous smile, awkwardly accepting the free pastry. you didn’t tell nobara about the occurrence because you could handle only so much whiplash from shaking in one day. she just took it as another freebie from you and ate it happily.

you rub your temples and sigh. something tells you you’re going to have to be a lot firmer with sukuna going forward.

ahh! this was lowk a pain to format but i hope you loved it :) also, some people wanted to be in a taglist!! here they are:

@kawliflo @deepcloudspyhairdo just so i don't lose track, my taglist will tag you for any of my works! if you choose to opt out, please message/inbox :) also, i will cap it eventually! don't worry about this because i cross-post on ao3, and they also have a subscribe feature that can notify you when i post :)

peace luv bathtub!!!

© sozila 2024, all rights reserved. please do not plagiarize, translate, or repost any of my work on other mediums or sites. cross-posted on ao3 and tumblr under same alias.

[thatsmzbitchtoyou]

Emerald Hallow FINAL Chapter 8

Summary: Steve Rogers wants to move on.  He wants to forget Peggy, and dive into the 21st century.  But this man of the past doesn’t know how to navigate being an Alpha in a modern world of skittish Omegas.  He prides himself on his self control, never wanting to harm or scare them, until something just smells too damn good…and he’s not the only one who notices.  

**plus size reader 

Warnings: abo!dynamics, smutty smut smut, name calling, eventual threesome, voyeurism, rough sex

Previous chapter

“Hey you,” Bucky greeted Steve in the conference room he’d been holed up in for the past week.

“Hey,” Steve smiled as he stood.  He hugged Bucky and then cupped his face in his hands and kissed him.  Bucky smiled against him as his hands wrapped around his back, giving him a squeeze.  Steve’s thumbs brushed along Bucky’s cheekbones as he pulled away.  “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Bucky sighed, rubbing his nose along Steve’s nose.  “Just ready to go home.”

“Me, too,” Steve said.  He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone.  He hadn’t checked it all week, since all his focus was on the mission and all communication went through separate phones.  He checked his messages and then froze.  “Shit.”

“What?” Bucky asked, fishing his personal phone out of his bag.

“Y/N’s in heat,” Steve breathed.

Bucky’s head whipped to look at him.  “Fuck…” He quickly grabbed his things and headed towards the door.  “Let’s go.”  Steve followed him out.  When they got in the car Bucky drove, focusing solely on getting home as fast as possible.  “When did she text?”

Steve looked at the message again.  “Yesterday.  About 11 p.m.”

“Dammit,” Bucky said gruffly.  “She’s been alone for almost a full day.”

Steve nodded, looking at the road ahead.  He wanted to get home, make sure she was okay, but was feeling a lot of hesitation.  He had not had sex with her since his rut a couple of months before, feeling scared of what he was capable of and not wanting to hurt her again.  The three of them had done some group therapy to try to work past it, but now he didn’t really have a choice.  His mate needed him, and he was going to have to help her through it.  

The second they opened the door to the apartment they were hit with her scent.  It was all-encompassing, potent, and Bucky let out a low groan as he inhaled deeply.  Steve held back, letting Bucky lead the way to the bedroom.  They were met with the sight of Y/N on the bed, barely covered by their shirts and the blankets in her nest.  She was sweaty, her cheeks were tear stained, her hair a haphazard mess on the bed around her.  When Bucky entered the room her body responded immediately to the Alpha.

“Buck…Steve…” she whispered hoarsely.  A cramp wracked through her body, making her stiffen and cry out.  

“Omega,” Bucky quickly walked over to the bed, shedding his clothes and his boots.  “We’re here.  I’m so sorry we didn’t see your message till I got back just now.”

“I understand, it’s okay–ungh!” Y/N whined.  She reached for Bucky as he crawled up the bed toward her and settled next to her.  He climbed behind her and held her close as he nosed her scent gland at her neck and started licking and sucking at it to help soothe her.  She sighed then looked at Steve who was still standing at the doorway.  “Steve?”

Steve was breathing heavily.  Her heat was enveloping him, his Alpha instincts screaming at him to take care of her, but he was still frozen.  “I…I don’t…” he stammered.  He was afraid, not wanting to lose control of himself again.  What if her heat triggered an early rut?  What if he got overwhelmed and took it too far again?  He didn’t want to hurt her.

“Steve,” Y/N slightly sat up.  She held a hand out to him, and she gave off a scent that made his shoulders slump and his eyes slowly close.  It was calming, reassuring, her way of saying she was safe with him.  “My Alpha.”

Steve shuddered at the intonation in her voice, the feeling washing over him giving him the courage to take that first step toward her.  He slowly removed his clothes and shoes and crawled up the bed to her.  He settled his face into her outstretched hand, nuzzling her palm and kissing it lightly as her fingers softly scratched his beard.  He sniffed her scent at her wrist and started kissing up her arm.  When he reached her face he looked at her, carefully searching her face for any hesitation.  “I don’t want to hurt you again,” he muttered.

“You won’t,” Y/N whispered back as she held his face.  Bucky behind her nodded as he looked at Steve.  He reached a hand out and squeezed Steve’s bicep reassuringly.  

Steve’s eyes fluttered shut then he nodded.  He pushed forward and kissed her gently.  They had kissed since his feral incident but only ever short pecks, so as he let himself kiss her longer he melted into it, pulling his body flush to hers.  She enveloped him in her arms as she kissed him, deepening it and moaning against his mouth.  Bucky snuck his hands between them and palmed her breasts, tweaking her nipples.  She arched her back so her butt pushed into his crotch, his cock hardening as it rubbed between her buttcheeks.  She reached one hand back and ran her fingers through Bucky’s hair as he bucked his hips against her ass.

Steve’s hand moved down and split her legs apart, making her leg hook back around Bucky’s leg.  He started palming her pussy, rubbing his fingers between her lower lips.  She was already wet from how much she had tried taking care of herself, her slick sticky on her thighs.  A fresh gush oozed from her, coating his fingers.  His thumb started rubbing against her clit while his long fingers eased into her.  Y/N moaned, her hips bucking against his hand.

“So pretty, honey,” Bucky groaned into her ear.  “Smell so good.  We’ll take good care of you.”  He pushed Steve’s thumb away and started flicking her clit with his metal finger as Steve thrust his fingers in and out of her.  

Y/N finally broke the kiss with Steve to gasp, her fingers digging into Bucky’s hair and her arm tightening around Steve’s shoulders.  “Oh fuck!” she breathed.

“That’s it, love,” Steve said, watching his fingers disappear in her.  “You’re doing so good.  Our pretty baby.”  Bucky’s finger sped up and Steve’s fingers curled deep inside her, fucking her fast with them.  Y/N grunted and stiffened, cumming hard against them, her slick covering everyone’s hips.

“Holy shit,” Bucky moaned as he watched her.  He continued flicking her clit until she twisted her hips away and he brought his hand to his mouth, licking her off of his fingers.  “Who do you want first, honey?”  

“I don’t care, just please fill me!” Y/N said, her hips still shaking.  “I can’t wait any longer, please!”  She was begging, something that neither of them had heard or expected to hear from her.  

Bucky and Steve looked at each other, having an unspoken conversation.  Steve nodded then wrapped her leg that was around Bucky back to him and over his hip.  He lined his cock up with her and swiped it through her lips, then slowly started pushing into her.  Y/N wrenched her head back into Bucky’s chest, gasping for air at the delicious feeling of being full and stretching around him.  She’d been denied him for too long.  She reached her hand back and started stroking Bucky’s cock firmly.  He bucked his hips against her ass again, burying his face into her neck.

As Steve fucked her he could feel her pussy getting even more wet than usual.  She was rolling her hips into him just as much as he was rolling his into hers, and a frown painted her lips.  “I need more…more…”

“What do you want, love?”  Steve asked, massaging her thigh over his hip.  

“Both of you, in me…please?  I wanna try…” she groaned as Bucky’s cock slipped between her legs, slightly rubbing against Steve’s cock as he rutted into her.  

“That–mmh, that’ll be too much for you, honey,” Bucky gasped at her request.  “Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t…please,” she pleaded, looking back at him.

Bucky looked at Steve again, who stopped moving his hips.  Bucky moved her leg back over his hip.  Steve didn’t move as Bucky pumped himself a few times before prodding the tip at her entrance carefully.  He watched her face warily as he started to push in.  Y/N’s mouth dropped open, her eyebrows furrowed as he stretched her further.  Her pussy opened for him, her heat making her slick work to his advantage.  Bucky’s face pinched as he pushed himself in, the tightness making him question his stamina.  Steve heaved a heavy breath at the increased tightness and the feeling of Bucky’s cock against his own, each veiny slide causing his eyes to roll back in his head.

“Jesus Christ, Buck, you feel so good,” Steve moaned as he watched the two of them be swallowed by her pussy.

“You okay, honey?” Bucky asked once he was fully seated inside her.

Y/N was shaking, a jittery excitement coming through her scent.  “Fuck yes, oh God.  Fuck me!” she cried as one hand grabbed Bucky’s ass behind her and the other scratched Steve’s chest, her nails against his nipple making him rut into her.

“Oh my god,” Steve moaned.  He started to do smaller thrusts into her while Bucky did bigger ones behind.  The delicious stretch and slide was already putting him on the brink of cumming too soon.

“God fucking dammit,” Bucky yelped.  A deep growl reverberated through his chest into Y/N’s back and she shivered.  

Y/N was nearly lost to her pleasure.  Steve recognized the look on her face from his rut months before, but it didn’t scare him this time.  “Look at her Buck,” he said as he kissed her forehead.  

Bucky twisted himself so he could get a look at her face.  When he did he whimpered.  “Is she…?”

“Cock drunk,” Steve groaned as he picked up the pace.  “Feel good love?  We’re filling you so perfectly.  God you’re so fucking hot,” he said.  “Gonna take both knots, huh?”

Y/N frantically nodded, her breathing erratic as her body jiggled between them.  “Made for us,” Bucky said quietly.  Tears started streaming down her cheeks as she shrieked from a particularly hard thrust from him.  Steve reached his hand down and flicked her clit fast then kissed Bucky hard.  Y/N’s face was scrunched against Steve’s chest and she started licking at his nipple.  

“FUCK!  I’m gonna cum!” Steve blurted out against Bucky’s cheek.  He flicked her clit faster and Y/N stiffened, screaming as her orgasm zapped through her.  Her pussy squeezed them so tight that they both roared, Bucky into her ear and Steve into her hair.  Their knots inflated fully and stuck her to them, causing another rush through her and she shook against them as she came.  They filled her, Bucky whimpering and Steve moaning loudly.

As the collective orgasm faded they all panted, a messy heap of limbs on the bed.  Bucky huffed a laugh and leaned over to kiss at the tears he could reach on her face.  “Wow,” he breathed.  He nuzzled into her neck where his bond mark was and scented her again.  “Sweet honey, you did so good.”

“Pretty baby,” Steve murmured.  “Taking both of us.  That’s new,” he shuffled carefully so as not to pull at where they were connected for a while.  “You–” he looked down to see Y/N unresponsive.  “Y/N?”

She barely responded, her head lifting slightly before falling back to where it was.  “Oh God, we fucked her to death,” Bucky smiled.  

“Fucked till she passed out, poor thing,” Steve chuckled.  “Sleep, love.”

Y/N snuggled closer into his chest, her hand intertwining with Bucky’s that was still holding her breast.  They both looked at her lovingly.  Bucky kissed her ear and whispered, “Love you, honey.”  He then looked up at Steve.  “Love you.”

“I love you,” he whispered back, then down to Y/N, “love you, Omega.”

**I hope y'all liked this one! Again, I'm not a big Stucky fan, so this was an attempt at a threesome dynamic with rougher elements. Let me know what you thought. Thanks for all the likes, comments, reblogs and follows! If you have any requests or ideas, let me know. LOVE YOU ALL!

[sp00kymulderr]

lost, found

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x gn!reader

Warnings: homophobia, unsupportive family, bad family relationships, drug use, alcohol use, implied poly relationship, sex mentions, angst angst angst. There is an ezra in this, whether he is our ezra or not is up to you. writer projecting their emotions on to their favourite character.

Word Count: 1.9k

Summary: When Dieter is hurt by the words of someone else, he turns to his art to help him. What he really needs is you.

A/N: As part of the follower celebration, @ozarkthedog asked for the prompt "I need a hug" and @schnarfer asked for "I don't want to be alone". Then I had some big bad emotions this weekend and decided to use them to write a fic which is very personal to me. Unedited and I wrote this in an hour so forgive me for mistakes.

The garage turned art studio on the side of Dieters house is something like a sanctuary to him.

A place for Dieter, and Dieter only – lucky individuals might be invited in from time to time but if there was one place on this earth that was home to him, the studio was it.

You've been in there once or twice. Those times he has wanted to paint you, brush to canvas as he muses on the art of your body. Other times he’s called you in with a proud smile to show you a finished piece. Those time are some of your favourite; unlike his acting work, Dieter was often proud to look on the art he had created in a particularly inspired period. You were proud of him too.

There had been that time too when he’d found you and Faye and Ezra all in bed together, not an unusual happening at the house, and he had demanded you all drag your naked asses down to the studio so he could watch you fuck while he painted the scene.

Dieter was different in the studio, it seemed to change him. Like stepping through a hazy veil to become another person; one who could shuck off their mask and let emotion take them completely. He would transport himself away from the duties of a public life in the times, finding a solitary world to call his own in that small space of other.

There have been times he would stay in there for days. Painting, drinking, getting high, not sleeping only to emerge three days later red eyed and covered in paint, ready to collapse in to bed with you and whoever else he’d find along the way. You never minded when he’d pull you in to bed so he could finally fall asleep, all too happy to hold him until he drifted away to a much needed slumber.

Dieter hadn't planned to paint today. Not that you know of. The two of you were supposed to be attending a movie premiere in a few hours. Your outfit was laid out on the bed waiting for you, but he’s been in the studio for three hours already and you’re starting to think you’ll be staying in tonight. You could go with Ezra, you suppose, though he always said how he hated going to those events without Dieter.

So did you. Hollywood events are so tedious, Dieter whispering lewd stories about other attendees and groping you under the table always made them better. No, you’d stay home and enjoy a quiet evening instead.

Besides, something in you was telling you to worry about Dieter. He’d taken a phone call out in the garden this morning and had been agitated ever since. Checking his phone with every ping, fiddling more than usual, quiet even when you’d straddled him to kiss him good morning and massaged his scalp just the way he liked. He’d even scowled at the gummy edibles you’d brought home yesterday, though he still took some for himself before mumbling something as he headed off to the studio.

It wasn’t like him to be quite so dour with you of all people.

Hours pass by. The stylist is cancelled, the car too. You hang your nice outfit back in the wardrobe with a quiet sigh, you’ll wear it next time. You entertain yourself with some tv and a good meal. Leftovers in the fridge for him, he’ll be hungry whenever he eventually comes back out.

You should resent him for this a little, but you don’t depend on each other like that. You both enjoy time alone, in fact with him you need it.

So perhaps he needs it right now.

Dieter is aware that everything is going fuzzy at the edges. His head thrums in a half pleasant, half sickening way. The air in here is thick and sticky around him as his brush drags burnt umber up the canvas. He’s not even sure what the painting is going to be. He knows he doesn’t like it.

Paint covered fingers scratch at his chin, smearing some new colour there. Doesn’t matter. It doesn’t fucking matter, he thinks.

For all the syrupy drip in his mind, he can still hear the ping of his phone. All the way upstairs and covered by his pillow but he can’t stop hearing it. His body tenses up with each pernicious, imagined burst of noise. His hand smacks the side of his head, makes him even more dizzy for a promising passing moment.

“Fuck” Dieter sighs, stepping back from the canvas and grabbing the bottle of bourbon.

A long swig. He can feel it all warm sloshing down him inside. Mixed with the other shit in his system, it swaddles him in a thick blanket of warmth that muffles some of the noise in his head. He can’t hear her as loud for now, at the very least. He doesn’t want to hear her ever again.

There’s a stash of pills behind the paintbrushes. He takes one more, chases it down with the bourbon and unsteadily shuffles himself back to the canvas again – contemplating with increasingly bleary eyes.

For a short moment they focus in on the painting before him, and he lets out a pained groan before stumbling backwards.

It’s a memory from his childhood; the view of his home town from the roof above the window of his parents house.

You give Dieter a few more hours and it’s well in to the night. He has yet to emerge, and you’re struggling to sleep in the too-big bed on your own tonight. It’s not often you’re completely alone here, even if it’s not Dieter there is another friend or visitor to share it with.

Tonight the loneliness is seeping in to your bones, the cold of it permeating from the studio downstairs.

You know there’s an unspoken promise to leave him be when he’s in his sanctuary, but you can’t help the feeling in your gut. You need to check on him, so you make your way back downstairs and towards the door where there seems to be silence on the other side.

“Dieter? Baby?” You whisper, knocking quietly once and then again when there is no answer. Taking a breath, you open the door and enter.

Your heart falls when you see him.

He’s sat on the cold concrete floor, nothing but his grey shorts on. Cuddling his knees to his chest, muttering under his breath. You can tell from the way he talks that he’s taken a lot, drank a lot.

“Hey, Dee?” You murmur, moving in to the room and standing a few steps from him.

He takes a moment to react, then looks over at you with unfocused eyes. He doesn’t answer you, just nods and turns back to the painting.

“I’ll...I’ll leave you alone. Just thought I should check-” Your cut off by his quiet voice.

“I don’t want to be alone”

You hear pain. Fear. Doubt. It tears your soul in two. You’re by his side immediately, sinking to the floor. His face is wet with tears, you realise when you see him up close. It breaks your heart to see him like this.

He’s looking at the painting again. He doesn’t seem proud, not at all. He doesn’t seem happy about it. But he can’t seem to stop looking at it, so you look too. It’s beautiful like most of his work, but it’s bleak, all dark colours and shadows and heartfelt emotion laced in to the brush strokes. Your breath hitches when you recognise the view.

“You’re thinking about home?” You ask softly, placing a gentle hand on his forearm.

The sombre mood after the phone call this morning is starting to make more sense. You slide your hand down to lace your fingers with his. Home, family, it’s complicated for Dieter. He barely talks about it, but he’s told you enough that you know that.

He nods again, silent to your questioning. He looks almost out of it. A lump forms in your throat at the knowledge that he’s in pain, painting not working to quell the sadness in him like it usually does. This isn’t a haven for him right now, it’s the opposite.

He’s easy to move, pliant as you get to your feet and haul him up. He doesn’t need to be in here, not now. You pull Dieter out of the studio and over to the couch to sit him down a cover him in the softest blanket you have. He just leans back and closes his eyes, but holds on to your hand with a squeeze for a moment before you head to the kitchen.

You give him food, water, gently wipe some of the less dried-on paint from him.

“Dee...please. What happened?” You whisper to him, trying to keep every motion tender and quiet towards him while he’s in this state.

Dieter lets out a long breath and pulls the blanket more securely over himself. He feels pathetic, but you don’t seem to care that he is.

“My aunt…” He finally says, voice a little clearer but barely.

“She called you today, right?”

“I told my cousin I’d try and come home for his birthday. She must’ve found out, told me not to bother-” Dieter nods, the words still a little slurred, breaking mid sentence, “Said they’d seen those photos of me and Ezra at the gala the other week”

You nod and stroke his hair as he talks, try to soothe him. You know which photos he means, paparazzi shots of the two of them kissing outside the venue. They hadn’t been trying to hide it; Dieter never usually gave a shit what anyone thought of his relationships. But his family...they still had their way of making him feel small and wrong.

“She said they were all praying for me, still hoping to get me back to normal one day. S-said I embarrassed mom and dad again” Dieter stuttered over the last words, a tear slipping from his eyes.

“I don’t even fucking care. I don’t. It’s just. Just...I need a hug...” He finally let himself break.

“Baby...come here” You’re quickly pulling him to you, wrapping yourself around him under the blanket. His head rests on your chest and you rub your hands up and down his back. It’s heartbreaking to see how even now, a fully grown man with his own life and his own world, they can make him feel like this.

“It’s okay. It’s okay, yeah? You’re perfect, Dieter Bravo. You’re free and you’re here and they’re missing out on knowing just how fucking amazing you are all because they can’t see past something as little as who you like to kiss” You whisper loving assurances in to his messy hair, kissing the top of his head occasionally.

He lets out a tiny sob muffled against you, some mumbled words you can’t quite make out.

“Fuck them. You’ve got me, you’ve got a family here…you know that, don’t you?”

Dieter sniffles and raises his head very slightly to look up at you. He looks so tired. Your shirt has paint on it now. You don’t care, you only care that he knows.

“Yeah. Yeah, I know” He answers quietly, clinging on to you still as his eyes droop with physical and emotional exhaustion. He snuggles back in to you and lets his breathing slow, mumbling a few more words

“You’re right, I’ve got all the family I need…you’re my family”

[theidiotwhowritesthings]

The Art of Failing [2]

Werewolf!Joel Miller x F!Reader, Vampire!Din Djarin x F!Reader

Series Warnings: violence and mild gore, mentions of blood and injures, reader is described as active and able to fight, eventual smut, loss of a child, angst to fluff, more warnings to come based on individual chapters

Chapter Warnings: violence, mentions of blood and injuries

Word Count: 9.6k

Summary: The Division of Mythological Affairs was created to protect and serve the supernatural community while keeping the knowledge of their existence a secret. You hoped to become an Agent of the DMA like your mother before you. Just as your dream begins to fall apart at the seams, you stumble across a missing persons report that could change everything. You are desperate to solve the case, to prove your ability, and you find yourself with unlikely allies⏤ a werewolf running from his pack and a vampire shunned from his coven. The stakes are high, lives are at risk, and success hinges on the three of you learning to work together.

[a/n: sorry this came out a day late, but thank you to everyone who wished me luck on my interview😌]

DANGER AT DUSK

"you better hold on tight, spider monkey." -twilight (film)

The idea you came up with overnight was by no means ideal. After getting back to your apartment, you and Joel traded phone numbers and you said you’d text him in the morning with an idea. Tossing and turning all you could come up with was a finding spell. The finding spell itself was a good-ish idea, but with only a name you’d need someone especially skilled to cast it. That was where the problem lied. The best person you’ve ever met when it came to finding spells was your ex-boyfriend who you avoided like the plague.

However, this situation was obviously dire and you weren’t going to let your discomfort get in the way of reuniting Joel with Ellie.

Standing in your kitchen, still in your pajamas despite it being late in the morning, you sent Gavriil a text requesting his help and he, unsurprisingly, responded very quickly. ‘So good to hear from you, my queen. I’ll be eagerly awaiting your arrival.’ You blanched at the nickname and groaned. You typed out a text to Joel as well telling him he could start heading over to your apartment to discuss the plan. He didn’t respond immediately, and you set your phone down to search through the fridge for some juice. 

A knock nearly made you spill the juice you were attempting to pour. You nervously padded toward the front door and your first thought was Roberts had shown up since you weren’t answering his calls. However, a quick glance through the peephole relieved you of that worry. You unlocked the door and pulled it open with surprise, “Joel??”

“Hey.” He nodded. The flannel he wore was a different color but the overall outfit looked the same. You stared at him, your sleep heavy mind trying to wrap around the sight of him, and Joel took that time to drag his eyes up and down your body. You remembered you were just in your pajamas and squirmed in place. “Can I come in?”

“Right!” You stepped to the side and Joel passed you to enter. “I… I just texted you. How are you already here?”

“I was already in the neighborhood.”

“Already in the…” You blinked. “What time did you leave your house?” 

You walked back towards your kitchen and Joel followed without answering your question. He sat down at the small dining table off to the side of your kitchen and cleared his throat. You raised your eyebrows and he sighed, “I didn’t go home.”

“You didn’t… Joel, did you sleep in your car?” You asked in shock. Joel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Why??”

“Don’t trust fangs.”

“The Mandalorians? Did you think they were gonna follow after us?”

“Dunno.” Joel drummed his fingers against the table. “Wasn’t gonna risk it.”

Your gaze softened at his words. It was touching that Joel essentially stood guard overnight because he didn’t trust that the Mandalorians wouldn’t come after the both of you. Your lips twitched into a small smile and you rubbed your arms. “Well, you should’ve told me. You could’ve, I don’t know, slept on my couch?”

“Didn’t need to. Not the first time I slept in my truck, won’t be the last, I reckon.”

“Still. Thanks.” You replied. Joel had been staring at his hands, but he lifted his gaze to finally meet yours. He gruffly shrugged away your appreciation, but a nervous energy lingered in his eyes. You pointed behind you to the counter, “Coffee?”

“Please.” Joel nodded. You turned to make a pot of coffee and the silence that filled your kitchen was far from uncomfortable. The machine was prepped with the pot in place and you were pressing buttons when Joel chimed up. “What’s the plan today, sweetheart?”

“Well,” You finished with the machine and turned back around, “I think our best bet is a finding spell.”

“Thought we talked 'bout this last night?” Joel shook his head. On the drive home yesterday, you had asked him if he attempted anything other than coming to the DMA for help and he confided in seeking out a Finder that came up with nothing. Either Ellie specifically was hidden or the location she was at had a charm to reflect finding spells. “Didn’t work.” 

“For Ellie.” You held up a finger. “I want to use a finding spell on the Mandalorian⏤ Din Djarin.” 

Joel furrowed his brow and rested his arm on the back of the chair so he could face you. “Thought you needed more than a name for that kind of spell.”

“Usually, yes, but I, uh, I know a guy.” You mumbled. The sound and smell of the dripping coffee swirled in the air around you. Joel took a slow deep breath and you assumed it was to soak in the comfort that came with the smell of morning coffee. “He’s a Xagrim warlock.” Joel’s face folded in a mix of surprise and wariness. The Xagrim clan of warlocks didn’t have the greatest reputation. The dark magic they chose to play with made them more weird than evil, but there was no denying that they had skilled members in their ranks. As you well knew. “So we’ll go see him.”

Joel nodded. “How do you know he’ll help? They aren’t known for their generosity.”

“Mhmm.” You grabbed two mugs and poured coffee in each. You asked if he needed anything for it, and when he shook his head you brought him over a mug and sat next to him. “He will definitely help us.”

“He owe you a favor or somethin'?”

“Something like that.” You said. Joel took a sip of his coffee and you shrugged and mumbled. “I, sort of, used to date him.”

Joel choked on the sip of coffee he had taken and it took him a minute to clear his throat. Finally, he motioned to you, “Really?” You bit your lower lip and gave an awkward nod. Surprisingly, Joel’s cheek twitched in amusement and you briefly saw a dimple before he coughed to hide a chuckle. “You dated a Xagrim warlock?”

“He seemed nice!”

“Was he?”

“Well, no. It wasn’t a, uh, good relationship by any means.” You sighed. Joel’s amusement vanished and you watched his eyes harden. He straightened up in his seat, and you could see the question in his eyes. You held a hand out. “No! It wasn’t⏤ He wasn’t abusive or anything. He was just… weird.” 

“How’s that?”

“It’s kind of hard to explain.” You tried to find an easy way to explain it without diving into the entirety of the relationship. “I hate using the word obsessed because it makes me feel conceited or something, but… He was obsessed with me. In a weird way.” Joel’s shoulders had relaxed marginally and you shrugged. “But hey, you know what they say about hindsight.”

Joel raised an eyebrow at you, “He’s a Xagrim warlock, sweetheart. Seems to me like regular sight should’ve caught that one.”

You couldn’t help but laugh and you got to see a flash of that same dimple before it disappeared again. Joel took a long sip of his coffee and when he settled the mug back down his solemn air returned. That same understandable worry and anxiety clouded his vision. 

“I’m gonna get ready, then we can get going.” You shot him a tight lipped smile.

“Thanks.” He murmured.

You picked up your mug to carry with you to your bedroom so you could finish it as you got ready for the day. It felt unusual to be getting ready for some place other than work. This time yesterday you had been pulling on your blazer and high tailing it to work to get coffee orders. You pushed aside the dress clothes in your closet to find something less formal. It still felt odd to wear what used to be your mother’s shoulder holster, but Gods forbid you need it and not have it. The last thing you pulled on was the same jacket from yesterday with the badge in the pocket. 

When you stepped out of your bedroom, Joel stood at your kitchen sink washing his coffee cup. You carried yours over to stop him, “Hey, you don’t gotta do that.”

“Ain't nothin', sweetheart.” He mumbled and reached out for your mug. “You done?”

You hesitated before shooting him a smile and handing him your empty cup. It was an oddly domestic task to watch a man wash dishes at your sink, and it reminded you of how painfully single you’ve been. Your last date was a couple months ago and it hadn’t been terrible, but it also hadn’t led to anything. As for an actual relationship, that had been over a year ago and you were going to go see him right now. Joel turned off the water and it jarred you back to the moment. Joel shook his hands dry, and you got your head back in the game.

Gavriil lived in a neighborhood where the supernatural tended to drift toward. There was no specific area designed for non human housing specifically, but like found like. His house was a small one nestled in a cul de sac, and if you remembered correctly Gavriil had a few warlock neighbors as well. When you pulled outside of his house, you heaved an involuntary sigh.

“You sure 'bout this?” Joel asked.

You forced a broad smile, “Yes! Absolutely. Gavriil is gonna cast the spell, we’re gonna find this Din Djarin guy, and we’ll have our next clue to get us to Ellie.”

“Alright.” Joel replied slowly. 

He still looked skeptical and you gave him a thumbs up before climbing out of the car. Before you could lose steam or determination, you sped walk to the front door with Joel only a step behind you. You rapped your knuckles against the front door and heard Gavriil calling out that he was coming. His voice alone made you cringe. The door swung open and Gavriil beamed at you. He was tall like Joel, but whereas Joel had strong, broad shoulders, Gavriil was skinny. Gangly would actually be a more apt term. 

“My queen!” He cooed with a smile. He reached out for a hug and you held out an arm to awkwardly pat his shoulder and keep him from wrapping his arms around you. Just as you remembered him, he wore a full, elaborate suit with a bow tie. His blond hair pushed back and out of his face. “It is so good to see you again.” His blue eyes raked up and down your body and you resisted the urge to shudder. “Oh, how I have missed you.”

“Thank you for having us, Gavriil.” You sighed. “Appreciate it.”

“Of course, of course! Come in!”

Gavriil turned to hurry back into his house and you hesitated for only a second before stepping in. Joel’s hand wrapped around your elbow and your eyes widened in surprise at his touch. Joel’s brow furrowed in confusion, “You dated that?” 

 “Uh, yes.” You replied with a bit of shame. “It was… a phase?” It wasn’t an entire lie. Back when you first started dating Gavriil, a portion of the decision had been focused on annoying your mother. “It wasn’t a long relationship.”

“You seem uncomfortable, sweetheart.” Joel replied as he shut the door behind the both of you. “Are you sure you’re okay bein' here? I don’t like the way he looks at… I just don’t like him.”

You appreciated him looking out for you. It must have been a wolf thing. Joel was just naturally protective. “It’s fine. I promise. I know he’s kind of odd.” The two of you walked deeper into the house through a foyer hallway and into a living room. You scrunched your nose at the pea green color of Gavriil’s walls⏤ recalling the familiar walls with disdain. “But he’s a nice guy overall. He’s just…” Your words came to a halt as your eyes landed on a two foot by two foot sized picture of you and Gavriil still hanging on the wall. A table covered in rose petals and unlit candles sat under it. “…insane.” 

“I cannot express to you how happy I was to receive your text, my queen.” Gavriil sighed. He must have noticed that you were still staring at the wall in shock. He chuckled, “I know. Beautiful, right? That was such a wonderful day.”

To be honest, you literally could not recall the day he was referencing. You were obviously in the picture and were out with him, but for the life of you there was no memory of that moment in your mind. You slowly shook your head, “Gavriil, this is…”

“Yes?”

“Look, I thought I made the text clear, this is strictly a business visit.” You said firmly. You motioned back to Joel. “This is Joel Miller. I’m currently working with him on a case⏤”

“I know what you said, but I can read between the lines.” Gavriil hummed. This had always been the problem with the warlock. He was delusional with the state of your relationship, and the pedestal he had placed you on was so uncomfortable. It tended to make your skin crawl. It wasn’t devotion or loyalty⏤ it was possession and obsession to a dizzying degree. “Let me get the two of you a drink. We can get around to the spell, and then afterwards the two of us…”

Gavriil was reaching out for you again. You were prepared to sidestep him and reiterate your boundaries, but Joel’s hand snapped out making you jump in surprise. Gavriil yelped as the wolf’s hand clamped down around his wrist. You turned your head to see his confusion from earlier had melted away into irritation. “It’s clear she don’t want you touchin' her.” Joel stepped closer but didn’t let go. “So either you keep your damn hands to yourself or I’ll rip 'em off. Got it?”

“G-Got it. I understand.” Gavriil blurted.

Joel roughly shoved the warlock’s hand back toward him. He focused back on you and you sucked in a sharp breath at the intensity of his gaze. Joel Miller was a werewolf with razor sharp claws and a snarling bite designed to kill, but the deadliest thing about this man had to be those brown eyes. Joel nodded, “You okay with that picture hangin' or you want it gone?”

“I… I’d like it gone.” You replied.

Gavriil jumped to try and pull it down, but Joel beat him to it. The wolf pulled the frame off the wall, slammed it onto the table so the glass of the frame shattered and tinkled to the floor, and when it was in pieces he took the picture itself. Gavriil watched, with terrified eyes, as Joel tore the picture to shreds right in front of him.  

“This makin' my point clear or do I need to spell it out for you?” Joel demanded.

“Nope! I am⏤ I am on the same page.” Gavriil stumbled over his feet as he backpedaled down the hall. “Let’s do a, uh, spell! Spell time. Yeah, we can⏤ okay.” 

The warlock rushed into a room stiff as a board and you let out an amused chuckle. Joel was already watching you when you shot a glance his way, and you shook your head, “You didn’t need to do all of that for me.”

“Was nothin'.” He shrugged.

“No, it was… thanks.” Joel gave you a small nod. “Anytime I’m mean to him, he just thinks I’m flirting with him.” You rolled your eyes.

You both drifted further down the hall. Joel shrugged, “I don’t think I’ll be havin' that problem with him.”

“Yeah, no, I don’t think you will.” You grinned and pointed to your own eyes jokingly. “The homicide in your eyes really gets the point across.” Joel chuckled. “But who knows? Maybe next time we have to hustle the warlock for a spell there’ll be a Joel Miller shrine hanging up.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

Gavriil’s casting room was as you remembered it as well, though you hadn’t spent much time in here at all. Dark walls to match the deep red carpet, windows painted black, a circular table at the center covered in an ivory colored cloth, and the bookshelves lining the floors were overflowing with more than just aged books. Bones, greenery, feathers, and things you couldn’t even recognize from a singular glance. Tools and tricks of his trade. When you stepped in, you scrunched your nose at the sharp smell of magic hanging in the air. It tickled your nose the same way antiseptic cleaners would but there was a sickly sweet undertone lingering with it. 

“For fuck’s sake.” Joel barked out gruffly.

“Sorry, I’ve been prepping for the spell.” Gavriil said while pulling things off his shelf to stack on the table. He rustled through a cabinet to find a golden thin, metal bowl that he set at the center of the table. “I know it’s strong. If you want you can wait outside⏤”

“Tryin' to get her alone??” Joel replied gruffly.

“Gods, no!” Gavriil balked and stumbled over his words before burying himself in boxes of his ingredients. He murmured under his breath and you could almost see the cold, panicked sweat dripping down the back of his neck. His hand shook as he found candles to light.

You sat down at the table and Joel took the seat beside you. A chuckle left you, “You’re just screwing with him now.”

“Maybe.” Joel shrugged and you loved the sight of the slightly crooked smirk that briefly graced his face. “Can’t say it’s not fun.” Joel being intimidating Gavriil just to be a little shit hadn’t been a side of him you expected to see, but you found it amusing. He tilted his head, “This seriously your type though, sweetheart?”

“No. I told you it was a phase.” You argued. “I don’t have a type. Not really.” Joel raised an eyebrow at you mockingly and you resisted the urge to shove him. “I don’t! And if I did, my type wouldn’t be gangly, obsessive warlocks.”

“Gods, I hope not.”

Gavriil glanced over his shoulder, “You know I can hear you, right?”

“Yeah?” Joel scoffed. “So?”

“Right.” Gavriil turned back to his work. You shot Joel a dry look and the wolf just shrugged at you nonchalantly. A minute or so later, the warlock was sitting down across from you and Joel with an armful of supplies. “This spell won’t give you an address by any means, but it will allow you to see what the person can see. Hopefully, you can identify their location based on that. It’s a quick look, only a minute at most. The tricky issue with finding someone by name is names can be common. Can you shut the door?” Joel leaned back in his seat and stretched his long arm out to swing the door shut. The room darkened so the only light came from the candles now lit on the table. “I can limit our search area which helps but…”

You shook your head, “Our guy’s name is Din Djarin. As long as you limit it to Austin, I think we’ll be good.”

Gavriil pointed at you in agreement and began to dust out a crushed red powder in concentric lines on top of the ivory cloth and surrounding the bowl. He poured water into the bowl, about halfway up, and sprinkled more ingredients into it. In terms of magic, you knew a spell or two off the top of your head, but those were two part spells that any chump off the street could pull off with the right materials. Nothing to the immense degree that Gavriil was putting together right now.

“The more minds working on this the better.” Gavriil said. “Place your hands on the basin and think his name in your head. Focus only on that name.” 

You settled your hands on your side of the basin alongside Joel, and his fingers pressed against yours. His skin was warm, unsurprising for a wolf, but you didn’t expect to fill you with a heat of your own. From where his fingers rested on top of yours, up your arm, into your chest, and down to your core, you felt ablaze. Enough so that you nearly pulled away in shock. If Joel was affected by the touch, he didn’t show it. His face remained folded in careful, gruff concentration. You forced your gaze to the rim of the bowl and tried to shove every other thought out of your head save for the Mandalorian’s name. It didn’t extinguish the fire now burning in your chest, but it would have to do.

Gavriil began to murmur words in a language you didn’t recognize and an unusual breeze filled the air. The water in the basin began to swirl and the ingredients that had been floating at the top drowned into the water and dissolved until the water itself began to glow a light blue. 

You were yelling the Mandalorian’s name in your head desperately. If this didn’t work you’d be back to useless with nothing to offer the wolf but condolences. Gavriil shouted a few more words and the candles blew out leaving the room in the dim glow of the water. An image began to swirl to life and simultaneously the three of you rose from your seats to peer in. 

“That’s funny.” Gavriil hummed. You narrowed your eyes at the image glowing in the bowl. It was a plain hallway with ugly pea green walls and the door Din Djarin was apparently staring at looked suspiciously like the door you had walked through only moments ago. “Looks like my⏤”

The realization clicked with both you and Joel at the same time. Unfortunately, it was the same second that Din Djarin kicked down the door. The vampire came barreling through the door in his armor and slammed it directly into Joel who was sent to the ground with a grunt. In one movement, the Mandalorian flipped the table to take Gavriil down, not that the yelping warlock required much work, and a gloved hand clamped around your throat. You clawed uselessly at the hand as Din dragged you out into the hall to slam you into the wall. 

You hissed in pain and your eyes widened as you found yourself staring at your own reflection as the Mandalorian’s helmet sat inches away from your face. In a low, deadly voice⏤ modulated by his armor⏤ he spoke a string of rushed Mando’a followed by English.

“Why are you searching for me? Who sent you?” He squeezed tighter around your neck and you winced in pain. Din pushed you harder against the wall as he barked out, “Where is Grogu!?”

You didn't have the air to voice your confusion, but it didn't matter. A large body tackled the armored man and you dropped to the ground gasping for air. You rubbed your neck instinctively and stared wide eyed as a monstrous sized, brown wolf wrestled the Mandalorian to the ground. They were a blur of russet and silver.

“Joel!” You cried out in concern. It was hard to see who had the upper hand. Every time Joel seemed to get ahead the vampire managed to slip out of his jaws, and whenever Din Djarin had him pinned down the wolf managed to twist away. All that actually mattered was the flash of red. They were crashing through Gavriil’s furniture, but the smears of red blood against the warlock’s carpet called out to you like a siren’s song. Joel was bleeding.

You sprinted back into the spell room and cursed when you saw a bookcase of materials had been knocked over. Based on the shreds of clothing scattering the floor by the splintered wood, you assumed that had been Joel. Quickly, still hearing the sounds of the fight, you scrambled for two familiar ingredients. You found the first, phoenix ash, but the second was eluding you.

“Gavriil! Where’s your dragon’s breath!?” You yelled. Gavriil whimpered in response as he hid under the remains of his table. You picked up a book and threw it at him. “Gavriil! Dragon’s breath! Now!”

The warlock crawled to the side, wincing when another loud crack came from the living room, and rooted inside a drawer before holding out a thin circular jar filled with the volatile air. You snatched it from his hand and opened the first lid to push in as much of the phoenix ash as you could then rushed back out to the living room while shaking it in your hand. You could feel the glass beginning to grow hot.

Din and Joel remained tangled with one another in a fight and as much as you wanted to help you knew getting in between the two able bodies would crush you in a second. Their combined strength would grind your bone to dust.

The jar was beginning to burn against your skin, but the moment you waited for came. Din grasped Joel by the fur and threw him hard enough into the unlit fireplace that bricks shook loose. You sprinted forward to jump onto Din’s back⏤ wrapping around him like monkey. Din’s hands reached back to grab you by arm and he flipped you over his shoulder. You hit the ground, losing all the air in your lungs, but as he was bent over and still in your face, you clapped your hands together and smashed the thin, burning glass in your hands. A bright flash of burning light went off directly in his face. Helmet or no helmet, with the bottled sunlight going off so close to him, Din grunted in pain and fell back and collapsed in a heap of silver armor. 

That bought you at least a few minutes.

The downside to setting off the spell directly into Din’s face was that it had also succeeded in blowing back on you. You weren’t a vampire so it didn’t knock you out, and you had closed your eyes in time to avoid blinding yourself, but your cheeks burned as if you had been out in the sun too long. You felt shards of glass resting on your face but your hands stung too much to try and rub them away.

“Fuck.” Joel’s voice was suddenly in your space, he grunted out your name. Those same hot hands cupped one side of your face while the other carefully brushed away the shards of glass. “Sweetheart, open your eyes.” You slowly blinked your eyes open, wincing a bit, and were met with Joel’s eyes blown wide with worry. “There you go. Good girl.”

“Got him.” You croaked followed by a groan. Joel was kneeling beside you and he helped you sit up. “Are you…” Joel’s nose was bleeding and blood covered his teeth and stained his lower lip. Bruises lined his body and you caught sight of a cut on his side, but your gaze was derailed. Your eyes had set out on an innocent mission of ensuring he was safe and took a sharp nose dive into admiration. Joel had freckles on his broad shoulders, ones born of being out in the sun, and somehow he looked even more broad naked. Your gaze traced down his chest, peppered in dark and silver hair, to the small pudge of belly and then down to⏤ Your eyes snapped back up to his and you didn’t know how it was physically possible but your face burned hotter now than it did seconds ago with a literal handheld bomb going off  above you. “Okay.” Joel’s brow furrowed and you cleared your throat. “Are you okay?? The fight?”

Joel shook his head, “I’m fine, sweetheart. Don’t worry 'bout me.”

“You don’t look fine.” Mindlessly, you reached out and brushed your thumb against the corner of his mouth where a bit of blood escaped. The touch lasted a second before you were snatching your hand back into your own personal space. “The um… the vampire.”

You turned in place, away from the very naked Joel Miller, and over to where Din Djarin still laid on the ground. Gavriil had come out of the room and your eyes widened when you saw he had drawn a large containment circle around the fallen vampire. He gave you a tight lipped smile, “I helped.”

“You did.” You blew out a tired breath and glanced back at Joel with a tight lipped smile. “He did.”

Joel groaned in exhaustion.

You sat cross legged on the floor staring at the vampire who was bound to wake up soon. Joel was off with Gavriil seeking out a pair of pants or some kind of covering, and you absentmindedly rubbed at your neck. Of all the parts of you that hurt, your neck was the least of your problems, but being pinned against the wall by your throat at the hands of a Mandalorian had been jarring. The entire moment had been so high adrenaline. You were only just now grasping everything that had happened.

There was a quiet gasp and you straightened your posture as the Mandalriaon sat up quickly. His head swiveled to the sides taking in the scene before landing on you. You awkwardly gave a wave, “Hi. Me again.” You shrugged. “Sorry about the bottled sunlight, but you were tossing around my friend so… I think we’re kind of even, you know?”

“Who are you?” He demanded, voice hoarse. 

You quickly introduced yourself then motioned to him, “And you are Din Djarin. Right?” The Mandalorian didn’t respond. “That’s okay. Don’t actually need confirmation.” You cleared your throat and rubbed at your neck again. “So, is Grogu your kid?”

Din tensed, shoulders went stiff, before he jumped to his feet. You startled at the sudden movement, but Joel’s voice barked from down the hall. “Hey!” You pushed to stand and Joel rushed over. He wore a silk, kimono style bathrobe that ended mid thigh and strained against his wide shoulders. A laugh slipped out of you, and Joel turned to watch you slap a hand over your mouth. The navy blue silk decorated with a Japanese landscape and flowers was tied at his waist but you could still see most of his chest. Joel gave you a dry look and you shook your head⏤ keeping your hand locked over your mouth. Joel grumbled and turned back around. “Back off, bloodsucker.”

His voice still managed to carry the weight of his threat despite the ridiculous robe on him. You set a hand on his arm in reassurance. Joel held your stare for a beat before sighing and backing away from the trapped vampire. He crossed his arms and stood a step right behind you like a kimono covered guard dog. When you looked back to Din, you finally noticed the black ichor on his side. Vampires didn’t bleed⏤ not like we did at least.

“Shit.” You blurted and leaned to the side to try and see the origin of his wound. The suit under his armor was saturated in the black blood like fluid that oozed from his wound, and you could see torn material, but you couldn’t make out the degree of the injury. “You’re hurt.”

“Good.” Joel blurted.

You gave the wolf a glare that he didn’t wilt under and Din seemed to still no react to your reaction of his wounds. The air around you hung awkward and tense. Finally, you sighed and shifted your weight. “I think we got off on the wrong foot here.” You tried again. “You probably don’t recognize me, but yesterday morning⏤”

“I remember you.” Din cut you off curtly. “You were in the hallway. DMA Headquarters.”

“Yeah!” You nodded. “We passed one another. I spoke to the Captain right after you and I saw that you filed a missing persons report for your kid.” You motioned back to Joel. “This is Joel Miller. He came in later that afternoon for a similar reason. Him and I are working together to find his daughter and any other missing kid⏤ there’s been a weird amount of them this last month.” Din’s helmet tilted marginally and you wished you could see his face to garner a guess at how this was going. “We went to the Mandalorian coven to find you in hopes that maybe something you knew could help us.”

Din crossed his own arms, mimicking Joel’s stance, “I know. I was tipped off that someone was looking for me. That’s why I found you. I don’t need a human and a wolf chasing after me and getting in my way.”

“Fuckin' Mandalorian⏤” Joel grumbled.

You shot the wolf a light glare over your shoulder before turning back to Din. “Look, I know this isn’t an ideal situation by any means, but the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” You pasted on the best friendly smile you could muster. “Ipso facto, we’re friends!”

Joel and Din responded at the same time in an unsurprising way.

“We are not friends.”

“We ain’t friends with him.”

You blew out a breath and tried to get a handle on this again. “Look. I get it. Werewolves and vampires have been at each others’ throats for a millenia.” You clasped your hands together then winced at the stinging wounds that brushed against one another. “But you’re not that different.” Both men began to argue. “You’re both fathers.” Joel and Din went silent. “You’re fathers who would do anything to protect your kid, and right now that’s all that matters. Whether you guys like it or not, we’re on the same side.”

After a long pause that you prayed would end with agreement, Din shook his head, “How do you expect me to trust you either, human? You’re DMA and their hands have been in all of this. If the wolf had half a mind he wouldn't trust you either.”

“Well, actually I’m not officially⏤ wait, what?” You blurted. Din’s gaze was covered by dark glass, but you could still feel his stare boring into you. “The DMA… What the hell are you talking about?”

“You don’t know?”

You stepped forward, panicked and frazzled, and Joel’s hand wrapped around your wrist but you didn’t turn around, “Don’t know what??”

“The Division of Mythological Affairs is involved. Either in covering it all up or directly, I don’t know yet.” Din responded. Your jaw fell open to argue, but the words got caught in your throat. “I have an inside source. A siren that works with the DMA as an informant. She let it slip. That’s why I haven’t been back⏤ why I’m handling this alone.”

One of your hands lifted to rest on your forehead as you tried to wrestle together an argument. There was no reason to trust a vampire who had hearsay from a siren. There was no reason to believe that the DMA would have their hands in something so dirty. There was no reason for you to doubt the organization your mother had been a part of, the one you wanted to be a part of, except… Deep in your belly, there was a vague nagging suspicion. Not enough to vocalize, not enough to stomach, not enough to grasp. It left a shadow of doubt in your mind though and that made you nauseous. 

You needed to talk to Captain Roberts. 

Not listen to his voicemails or call him back.

No, you needed to sit down in front of him and demand answers.

At the very least, he could restore your good faith in the DMA and help you find the missing kids. 

“How long has your child been missing?” Din suddenly asked. 

Joel’s hand around your wrist, the one you just now noticed was still there, tightened at his question. He hummed, “It’ll be 48 hours tonight.”

“I assume they were taken from your home.” Din said. “Do you live in the Dripping Springs neighborhood?”

“Yeah, how’d you⏤”

“That’s where we were. The area at least, my son and I.” Din replied as his shoulders sunk. His next words were mostly mumbled to himself, “I never should have left him alone. I thought it would be safer, I was on a hunt, but…”

Determined, you tugged your hand away from Joel to kneel down and begin rubbing a break in the containment circle. Joel grasped your shoulder with a warning hiss. Gavriil, who you thought had stepped outside to hide, cried out in alarm. You hushed away their worries and broke the circle. When you stood back up, Din was closer. Nearly chest to chest, but you kept your shoulders back and your chin high.

“We’re gonna save them. Ellie.” You motioned back to Joel. Then you nodded toward Din, “Grogu.” The vampire stiffened. “All the kids. We’re gonna find and save them, but we’re stronger together than apart.” You sucked in a breath to settle your nerves. “Please, Din, will you help us? Will you let us help you?”

The silence that filled the room was achingly long, but Din finally gave a curt nod of his head. You couldn’t help but breathe out a sigh of relief. It was official. You had managed to string together the weirdest team in history, but it was a team nonetheless. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. 

“Now, to catch us up to speed, I assume you’ve already tried a finding spell?” You asked. Din tilted his head at you deadpan. “Right. And it didn’t work. So, taken from the same region about the same time, both your son and his daughter can’t be found via tracking spell. I think that’s enough evidence to say this has to be connected. Although, I can’t figure out what the kids would have in common. A vampire and⏤”

“Grogu is not a vampire. Not… entirely, at least.” Din said. “I don’t think his other half is human, but to be honest I couldn’t guess the other side of his genetic makeup.” 

“So, he’s mixed, just like…” You glanced back at Joel who looked surprised himself.

It wasn’t surprising for a Mandalorian to adopt a non-vampire child. They had a tendency to pick up stray humans as well. But if you had learned one thing from your mother it was this⏤ there are no coincidences in this line of work. If you didn’t have a good enough reason to visit Roberts at DMA Headquarters before you sure as hell did now. You wanted to look at the other missing person cases and see how many of those kids were mixed.

“I need to meet with someone. Joel, I’ll drive you to my place first so you can pick up your truck.” You said. “Then we can meet up at my place later today? After I, uh, get some more information.” Joel seemed agreeable and his dark eyes stayed narrowed at Din as if waiting for the vampire to annoy him in some other way. However, Din just bobbed his head once⏤ ignoring the wolf. You passed Din to step into the kitchen and rooted through a kitchen drawer to fetch a notepad and pen. “Here. Let me write down my address.”

“I already know where you live.” Din responded as you scribbled it down.

“You already…Wait, you already know where I⏤” You looked up to question him further but somehow the vampire was just gone. You scanned the living room as if his large, silver form would be hiding behind Gavriil’s skinny form or if he’d be cowered under the remains of the couch. “Oh.”

“Fuckin' fanged stalker.” Joel grumbled.

You tossed aside the notepad. If Din knew where you lived already, you wondered if that meant he had been following you and Joel all morning⏤ or even last night. Gavriil cleared his throat and you and Joel focused on him. He wrung his hands, “This has been fun, and it has been so good to see you, but erm…” The warlock scrunched his features up as he sought out his words. “Can you both leave?”

A sheepish smile flickered on your features, “Right. Thanks so much, Gavriil. Sorry about the…” You motioned out to the absolutely wrecked living room. “The mess.” The warlock was quick to usher you both our of his home and the last word you got in was the promise to send him some money to make up for the damages⏤ though you doubted you had the kind of money to fix much of this. 

Standing outside his door, Joel hummed, “Good news, I don’t think he’ll be botherin' you ever again.”

“True.” You nodded and shot him a smirk. “Also, you got that really cool robe.”

“That’s not funny.”

“It’s a little funny.”

The best part of screening all your calls, and purposefully ignoring Roberts’, meant that you had technically not been fired yet. Can’t be fired if you refuse to talk to your boss. Nima had called you on your way in to check in on you after yesterday, and you got to inform her that you were working with a werewolf and a vampire to find missing children. Not just any werewolf or vampire either. A werewolf with no pack and a vampire shunned from his coven. You managed to render Nima speechless which was not an easy feat.

“Just please, please, please be careful.” She pleaded over the phone. “This sounds dangerous as hell.”

“I will, Nima.” You reassured.

“Yeah? Because from what I hear, you’ve already been choked out by a Mandalorian and you visited your weirdo ex.”

You nodded. “In my defense, the Mandalorian didn’t choke me out. He just…grabbed me roughly.” Without saying a word, you could hear her skepticism somehow. “Plus! Thanks to Joel, I don’t think Gavriil is gonna bother me again.”

“Really??”

As you walked into the Headquarters, keeping your head down, you told her about what Joel had done for you. You were half distracted during your story telling trying to keep an eye out for any face that could mean you trouble. 

“We also destroyed half his house so that could be part of it.” You mumbled at the end of your story. You peered around the corner to see Captain Roberts’ personal assistant still sitting at the desk outside his office. The Captain usually ended up staying late. He had a bad habit of letting his work seep into after hours, but he never forced his assistant to linger with him. She left on time, and being that it was a few minutes after five she had to be leaving soon. 

“Interesting.” Nima said. You pulled back around the corner and hid off to the side on your phone. “Sounds like he was very… protective over you.”

You snorted, “He’s a wolf, Nima. That’s kind of their thing.”

“Yeah, for their pack, which you said he does not have,” Nima replied, “Or…”

“Or?”

“Babe, do I really need to say it?”

“That would be helpful, yes.”

Nima scoffed, “He’s into you!”

You shook your head immediately as if she’d be able to see your disbelief, “No. His daughter is missing and⏤”

“I’m not saying he’s gonna be making a move. Obviously, his priorities are on his family as they should be, but I think it speaks to some level of interest that he’s instinctively protective of you.”

“That’s⏤ You’re⏤ No.”

It was a weak argument, but you couldn’t let your mind get stuck on that line of thought. It was distracting enough that you could easily recall the strong lines of his bare body. If you started picturing the taste of his skin on your tongue, or the warmth the brush of his hand alone could bring, you’d drown in your desire at just the sight of him. Right now, with the stakes being what they are, you couldn’t afford to let anything slow you down.

Nima began to argue when you spotted the very pregnant assistant leave her desk and start walking down the hall away from you. “Nima, I gotta go.”

You waited until she was in the elevator and off the floor entirely before hurrying around the corner to Roberts’ office. The door was locked with a code, but it was one you knew by heart. Once in, you shut the door behind you and began to search his office. Any missing persons report got stored with the Captain for at least a few months. Once enough time had passed, or if the case was solved, it got moved to the digital records alone. All of the kid cases you wanted to see would still be active. 

The stack you were able to find in the filing cabinet was about half of the ones filed. You couldn’t find any others, but this would at least be a start. You dropped down into the Captain’s chair and began to flip through the case files. The main information you were seeking didn’t take long. Half-nymph. Half-vampire. Half-siren. Half-fae. Half-djinn. It was the trend you thought you might find. Just like Ellie and Grogu, all the other kids were mixed. You threw aside the folders and sunk in the chair. This was plainly obvious to see. It was a pattern that anybody off the street could look at and notice. 

How could an entire organization, skilled and trained Agents, look at this and not see it?

Din’s words haunted you and you felt ill. 

Realistically, you should leave now before you got caught, but you needed answers. You needed someone to look you in the eyes and admit to this disaster. You sat in Roberts’ chair waiting, knowing he’d have to be back eventually, but after ten minutes of wallowing in the worst case scenario thoughts that flooded your mind you began to nosily root around his desk drawers. In the drawer on the same side of his computer, you found a picture of Roberts and your mother. It reminded you a lot of the picture you kept of you and your mother at your graduation. They were celebrating and there was pride in Roberts’ eyes.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Your eyes snapped up to see the Captain standing in his doorway with his eyes narrowed at you in annoyance. You shook your head, “Nobody has fired me yet.”

“First, that is not the winning loophole you think it is.” Roberts replied and came around his desk. You stood from the chair and circled at the same time so your positions were reversed. “Second, I meant what are you doing in my office?”

“Finding answers.”

“Did you find them?”

You stayed silent and just stared. Roberts’ looked more worn down than before, exhausted, and the tired lines were carved into his aged features. He sat down in his chair and readjusted the mess you left on his desktop. “The missing kids.” You blurted. “Tell me the DMA is working on solving the case and they aren’t involved in any other unsavory way.”

“Cases. Plural.”

“No. Case.” You corrected again. “And the fact that nobody else sees that makes me seriously question what’s going on here.” Roberts remained silent. “You not giving me a straight answer isn’t helping, Roberts.”

“Kid, it’s not that simple⏤”

“No.” You repeated yourself, and you felt anger began to boil under your skin. “It is that simple. Hell, it’s black and white. Is the DMA looking the other way on this case purposefully??” 

Roberts leaned back in his chair and his fingers drummed against the desk. You were too amped up to sit down. It was a miracle you weren’t pacing the floor in front of him. Finally, he flattened his hand on the desk and sighed, “The DMA now is not the DMA your mother was familiar with. Things have changed and not for the better.” You knew what his answer was most likely to be, but hearing it in his voice made it all the more real. “We are not actively pursuing the case.”

“Are you fucking kidding me⏤”

“Look⏤”

“They’re kids, Roberts!” You slammed your hands on his desk. “Literal children! The youngest I saw in the case files I found was a 2 year old!” Roberts at least had the decency to look ashamed at your outburst. “You’re okay with this??”

His eyebrows furrowed into a glare, “Of course, I’m not⏤”

“Then why aren’t you doing anything!?”

“My hands are tied!” Captain Roberts roared. It was the loudest you had heard him raise his voice at you and it was filled with desperation. “I’m damned if I do, damned if I don’t, and the powers that be will not allow a low level Captain rock the boat.” Roberts always seemed to carry so much responsibility and respect that hearing him refer to himself as low level felt wrong. “They’ll get rid of me in a heartbeat and put someone in this office who will actively try to please them instead of just appeasing them when necessary.” Roberts scoffed. “The system is broke.”

You threw a hand up, “Then let’s fix the system.”

Roberts stared at you for a long moment before sighing, “You sound just like your mother.” He locked his jaw and rubbed his face once before adding. “She thought she could change the world too.”

“Roberts…”

His eyes darted beyond you, up to the wall where a clock sat, and he stood up, “You need to leave.” You began to argue. “This is not up for debate, kid.” Roberts pulled out a drawer to root around until he found one of his business cards. He flipped it over to scribble on the back. Roberts came around the desk to shove it into your hand and began to push you toward the door. “Find Agent Brancato. He’s undercover and I’m not the lead on his unit so I can’t offer any leaders, but he can help.”

“Roberts, come with me.” You turned on your heels to face him. “Help me find him and solve the case. Together we can⏤”

“I can’t, kid.” He sighed and reached out to squeeze your shoulder. His eyes scanned your features, “Your mother meant a lot to me. She was the daughter I never had and…” Roberts shook his head. “I wish you would let this go, but I know you won’t because she wouldn’t. Just please be careful.”

“I will.” You mumbled. A million more questions lingered in your mind, but Roberts was shutting his office door before a single one could be uttered. You stood there a little longer in hopes that the Captain would reopen the door and offer you more concrete answers, but it remained sealed shut. You heaved a sighed and began to leave.

The card in your hand had the name ‘Tim Brancato’ written on the back with no further information. It wasn’t a name you were familiar with, but if he worked in the undercover world that made sense. He wouldn’t be very good at his job if you had heard of him. You could always twist Gavriil’s arm into another name finding spell, but this name was a lot more common if you had to guess. Plus, most Agents warded themselves against that kind of spell. 

The parking garage was empty which wouldn’t normally worry you at this time, but a ball of anxiety sat heavy in your gut right now. Maybe it was just the talk with Roberts that had put you on edge. You took steady steps to your vehicle but they slowed when you spotted someone by your car. Miles Jackson had his arms crossed as he leaned against the back of your car. You tensed at the sight of him. He caught your eye and lifted his hand to give you a mocking wave. Before you could react, rough hands grabbed you from behind and a bag was pulled over your head. 

You screamed in alarm but a thick and heavy hand clamped down over your mouth through the bag. Multiple hands manhandled you and dragged you across the parking garage floor. You threw your elbows back and tried to kick out, but without a line of vision your attacks were useless. A car door slid open nearby, one found on a van, and you were suddenly shoved forward. You grunted in pain when your knees hit the metal of the van’s back. 

“Get off me!” You screamed and thrashed but a knee pressed down in the middle of your spine.

As soon as the pressure was applied it was immediately taken off and you heard the familiar sounds of a fight filled the air. You scrambled to get the bag off of your head as something heavy hit the van hard enough to shake the entire thing. The second you had the bag off, you flipped over to face out the door and drew your gun. Panting, you held it at the ready, but the person standing outside the van door hadn’t been what you expected.

“Din?” You breathed. 

He had his hand tangled in the jacket of an unfamiliar man who was half unconscious and weakly thrashing. Din’s helmeted gaze met yours and with little effort he threw the man in his arm back. You heard the heavy body hit the ground. 

“Are you alright?” Din asked. You were still trying to let the shock wear off, and Din surprised you by holding out a hand. It shook you out of your disbelief. You took his hand and he helped pull you out of the van⏤ letting go of you as soon as you were on your feet. Two other men were lying unconscious at Din’s feet. 

“Where did you… How did you…” You tried to decide which question you wanted to ask first.

“I didn’t trust you.” Din responded. “No offense.” You blinked and slid your gun back into the holster. “I saw you were coming here and I had to be certain you weren’t with them.”

“With them?”

Din nodded back toward the building you had left, “The DMA.”

You rubbed your face briefly and scanned the ground. “There should be one more guy. Miles Jackson.”

“A man got into his car and sped away. I didn’t give chase. Should I have?”

You pushed past Din to reach the barrier of the parking garage and peered over the edge. You were on the third floor and as you scanned the roads below you spotted Jackson’s flashy, red camaro. As he sped away, the vehicle faded into the distance⏤ merging with the red and orange hues that decorated the dusk skyline. “No.” You heaved a sigh and shook your head. “We gotta get out of here. I got the info we needed.”

“And that is?”

You reached into your jacket pocket and pulled out the card to hold out to the vampire beside you. His gloved fingers took it from you so he could read both sides. “That man. Tim Brancato. We find him, we find answers.”

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[fr3sh-tragedies]

Busy Confession

[Mean Girls 2004] Janis Ian x Female Reader

Word Count: 5.81k

Proofread: No

Content Warnings: Language, anxiety, and feelings of rejection

[A/N]: Story three for Janis--I'll be working on another character soon. I still have a couple of characters I want to write for, but then I'll upload the master list I'm currently making and start answering requests.

[A/N] #2: Sorry this one took longer than the others. I've been trying to post every Saturday, but I could not for the life of me figure out how to write this one. I haven't proofread this yet, so let me know if there are any mistakes.

Enjoy!

 “Oh come on, turn red already!” Janis hollered, her voice raising towards the end as her nails dug into the material of her steering wheel. Her hands had begun to cramp in the past few minutes, and she knew it was from her white knuckled grip that she had on the wheel during the entirety of her drive, but each time she tried to loosen said grip to help her tense, aching muscles relax, they’d return to their firm grasp at the mere thought of the text she had received.

Logistically speaking, Janis knew [Y/N] wasn’t trying to come across as flirty or teasing. In the emotional part of her mind, however, she wondered if it was actually the opposite–if the girl she had been crushing on for years was finally picking up on it and was now taunting her with semi-flirty responses. Usually, when her emotions would spiral out of control the way they were in the moment, she’d head to [Y/N]’s house to rant about it and ask for any kind of advice. Since that was who was causing what she was feeling, however, she knew she had to resort to her other best friend: Damian. Too jittery from her gay panic, Janis only managed to call him long enough to let him know she was headed over.

He had tried to say something to her before she hung up, but she was in too much of a rush to get in the car that she didn’t comprehend a word he said. She hopped into her car after barely remembering to snag her keys from the hook by the door, scolded herself when she struggled to get the key into the ignition, then sped off out of her driveway toward the direction of Damian’s house.

On the way there, she continued to glance anxiously over at her phone, which she had tossed over into the passenger seat. She feared that [Y/N] would notice her going silent and say something, but she herself couldn’t think of anything to say. With anyone else, she could blurt out a clever retort or crack some kind of joke. With this girl, however, she always seemed to find herself falling silent. The last thing she wanted to do was say something weird or make the situation worse and lose [Y/N]. She was aware that wasn’t how it would happen. After all, she had known [Y/N] far longer than she had known Damian, and even knew her before Regina George changed the course of her life back in middle school.

But that was exactly why she was suddenly so cautious over her words around her. She didn’t want to ruin all of those years together and lose the one person who genuinely seemed to love her for who she is. As far back as she could remember, [Y/N] was the one person she could always rely on without the constant worry of being talked about behind her back. She didn’t want to ruin that by assuming [Y/N] felt the same way about her that she did.

Eventually, after what felt like hours, Janis finally made it to Damian’s house. There, she practically fell out of her car with her phone tugged tightly against her chest. Quick footsteps beneath her was all she could hear as she more or less ran to the front door. Subconsciously, her arm raised far enough for the side of her fist to pound against the thick wood of the door now in front of her. Almost immediately after, it swung open, revealing Damian standing there with a conflicted look. Before he could say anything, however, Janis pushed her way past him and dashed into the kitchen. She froze in the doorway upon seeing Cady standing there as well, visibly confused at her desperation.

“Janis? What’s going on?” Speechless for a moment, Janis could only stare at her. At length, Damian stepped in and cleared his throat, moving to stand beside Cady. “Yeah,” he started, “I was trying to tell you that she’s here, but I guess you weren’t listening. Which, I mean, your face right now kinda confirms that for me.” Finally, the goth managed to blurt out a small, “oh,” before glancing at her feet to avoid eye contact with the redhead still glancing at her in puzzlement. “Am I interrupting something?”

A heavy sigh slipped past Damian’s lips as his hand shifted up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “No, but I think I’m not the only one here that’s “too gay to function.” Not sure if she even heard me at all before she hung up.” Finally, a look of understanding crossed Cady’s features. “Oh,” she mumbled as she once again turned to gaze at Janis. Although she was still averting her eyes from Cady’s focus, Janis managed to sneer up at Damian at his words.

Now worried she was in the way, Cady slipped past the two having a one-sided staredown and made her way over to the front door. “Well, I was just about to head out anyway.” Janis glanced up at this, looking slightly relieved. “But, uh…I’ll give you a call about our plan later on, Damian.” The exhausted teen, at the mention of his name, looked over at Cady as well and nodded. “Yeah, sounds good.”

With that, the redhead vanished through the door and began walking home. Only waiting a moment to make sure she was really gone, Janis quickly whipped her phone back up and powered it on, clicked over to her recent messages, and turned the phone for Damian to see. “Dude, I don’t know what to do. What the fuck do I even say after that? Do you think she knows how I feel about her? What if she does? I don’t want her to hate me for it. How would she react if she really did know? Would she–” Two hands landed heavily on her shoulders, halting her babbling and forcing her to look up and away from the screen.

“Janis, calm the hell down, holy shit.”

He huffed when she managed to settle a bit, then took the phone from her hand to read the screen properly. At the sight of the words [Y/N]’s had chosen, he chuckled and ran a hand down his face. “Good lord, I have no idea how you’re gonna survive if the two of you actually start dating.”

“That’s exactly why I came here, Damian: if I don’t ask her out soon, and if she starts talking like this all the time, I’m going to fucking die of embarrassment. Problem is, I have no idea how to ask her out without ruining everything. I need your help, man. Please.” Damian let out a laugh, crumbling whatever sense of confidence Janis may have had. “Oh my god, you and Cady are the bane of my existence today. How did I manage to not be busy the exact same day you both decided you needed relationship advice?” At his words, the goth tilted her head and hummed in confusion.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you over the phone: the reason Cady was here was because she was trying to figure out how to ask Aaron out on a date without Regina ripping her to shreds.” Janis’s brows shot up in surprise. “Oh, shit. Seriously? Is that what the phone call she mentioned was about?” Damian only nodded in reply, crossing his arms as he suppressed another groan. A moment passed where they only stood there in silence, and Damian was internally grateful his parents were at work as Janis had an existential crisis in the middle of their kitchen.

Finally, a smirk replaced his bothered grimace. “So, she wants to kiss you, huh? Wanna do that with her?” He teased, leaning down to nudge her shoulder and gain her attention again. Janis scoffed and shoved his arm away. Her head turned and lowered in an attempt to hide the growing shade of red on her face, though she wasn’t able to bite back the small grin that painted her lips. “You know damn well I do,” she murmured almost silently.

Damian snickered, cupping his ear and leaning toward her in a mocking manner. “What was that? Speak up–you know I’m selectively deaf.” Janis sighed, forcing herself to speak in a louder tone. “I said you know damn well I want to kiss her.” Upon finishing her statement, she stormed over to the kitchen table and planted herself in one of the chairs, crossing her arms on the tabletop and burying her face in them with a drawn out groan.

As she struggled to gather her thoughts, Damian moved to sit next to her, cackling softly to himself at seeing how uncharacteristically distressed his best friend was over a girl. “But it’s not just kissing you wanna do, is it?” He questioned after a moment. Janis shot up from her slouched position and gestured wildly with her hands. “Of course that’s not it! You know it isn’t! But I just…” She glanced down again, her fingers tangling themselves into her fringe and tugging harshly at the strands as she wordlessly went to war with herself, unsure of what to actually say.

“I just don’t wanna mess everything up,” she all but whispered in a broken confession, returning to her previous position of hiding her face in her arms.

The sound of a chair squeaking followed by something landing softly on the table and being slid her direction made her glance up again. Damian had slid her phone back over to her, though now it was face-down and powered off. “I know. I know you love her–pretty sure everyone does at this point. You’re terrible at hiding it.” Janis jabbed him in the arm again, making him chuckle. Upon seeing how distressed the goth was, he sighed, his voice taking on a much softer tone.

“But I do know that she’s one of those people too, even if that’s not what you wanna hear. Trust me, she feels the same. I’ve got quite the eye for these kinds of things.” Defeated, Janis sighed. She leaned back against the chair, dropping her head back to glare up at the ceiling. “Even if that were true, how the hell would I confess without sounding like some sort of loser? I don’t want her to think I’m a creep or something.”

Her friend hummed in thought at this, his eyes seemingly scanning everything and nothing in front of him at once. “Well, why don’t you make it count then? Make it special–your confession, I mean. Just add a whole bunch of stuff she likes. I mean, she loves going to the movies, eating out at restaurants, playing random sports and board games…there’s all kinds of stuff you could do.”

Janis remained silent for a while, prompting Damian to question if he said something wrong, or if she had even heard anything he said. Finally, right as he parted his lips to ask if she was alright, Janis slowly looked up with a growing smile, almost as if realizing something. “That’s a good idea,” she murmured. “Uh,” Damian started in reply, glancing around nervously as she pocketed her phone and began to stand. “Which one?”

“All of them.”

Over the span of another two and a half weeks, Damian managed to help Janis set up a plan where she could finally confess her feelings to [Y/N] and ask her out. The day had come that they agreed to put it into motion. Janis had never felt so nervous before. Not when she had a class presentation, not during any of the art contests she had participated in, and not even when she came back to school after leaving for the final half of her eighth grade year. She knew how to handle those levels of anxiety, but not this.

Never before had she confessed to someone–let alone someone she could actually picture a future with. In the past, when she found herself developing some sort of crush on another girl in her class, it was short lived. She never had to deal with the feeling long, which is why her feelings for [Y/N] became very evident after reflecting for a while.

In the days leading up to her confession, Janis more often than not found herself sketching [Y/N] on everything. She wasn’t able to focus during classes, so she’d pretend she was taking notes or working on an assignment to hide her inattention from the teacher. Even when [Y/N] wasn’t there for her to see, Janis was still doodling her from memory on anything and everything available to her.

Her sketchbook had been filled to the brim with illustrations of the girl before, but the closer she got to the end of the book, the more the pages seemed to be occupied by her face. No matter what she tried–playing video games, watching movies, going to work after school–she couldn’t get [Y/N] out of her head. More than usual, anyway. Tucked away in the corner of her  room, hidden by a thin white sheet, she kept a canvas propped up on her favorite easel. Underneath the cover lay a portrait of [Y/N] she had spent weeks on, always finding another flaw that had her repainting over the dried, flaking pigment.

In her mind, Janis could picture the girl so easily. She could recall every little marking, whether it be a scar or a freckle of some kind, it was so vivid. On her canvas and on paper, however, she just couldn’t seem to get it right. She wanted the illustrations and paintings she made of her to be perfect because that’s how she saw her.

That’s how she had always seen her.

It felt nice thinking about someone she loved so much, but it also worsened her anxiety for her upcoming plans.

She waited until school had been let out for a holiday toward the end of the second semester to carry them out. It would allow for her to set up an outdoor date that would hopefully take place past the beginning of her and Damian’s ideas, as well as give her time off from both school and work.

After making sure [Y/N] was ready for the day, Janis let her know she was headed in her direction to pick her up. The entire drive there, everything about her was shaky, including her breathing. By the time she arrived, her mind was numb and her limbs were tingling. She barely managed to type out a coherent message to let the girl know she was there. Her breathing only got worse once [Y/N] was in the car with her, sat so close to Janis, yet so far away somehow. When she greeted her, her voice cracked and shook, furthering her embarrassment. [Y/N] giggled at her, so she looked down. “God, fuck my voice,” she mumbled.

Again, [Y/N] chuckled, but planted her hand gently on the goth’s shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze. “Hey, I don’t know why you’re getting so flustered about it. Do you not remember when we first met back in elementary school? You know. When I was crying?” Janis sat up a little straighter and smirked. “Because another kid ate one of your dino nuggets during snack time? Yeah, I remember that. Squeakiest voice I’ve ever heard, even to this day.” [Y/N] faked a gasp and a look of offense, bringing her free hand to her chest in an exaggerated manner. “How dare you say that when Karen Smith exists in the same town as us?”

Finally, Janis snickered at her, turning back to the wheel and shifting her gear into drive. “Fair point,” she replied. She leaned over a bit. “You’re definitely the runner up, though.” A scoff and a playful shove was what she was greeted with in reply, prompting her to finally let out a proper laugh. Her smile visibly faltered for just a moment at the feeling of [Y/N]’s hand sliding off of her shoulder a moment later and moving back to rest in her lap in the passenger seat.

“So, what all are we doing today?” At this, Janis’s anxiety spiked once again. “Well, I thought we could go see a movie and then go eat somewhere before I show you the surprise I have for you.”

[Y/N] leaned over a bit, drawing out a long “oooh” with a dorky grin. “What’s the surprise?” Janis laughed and gently pushed her back, even though she didn’t want to. “If I told you the surprise, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Again, the girl in the passenger seat faked a look of hurt, though it was quickly replaced with a smirk. “Okay, okay, fine. Fair enough.”

As Janis began leading the car in the direction of the nearest movie theater, [Y/N] slipped her phone out from her back pocket and began typing away and swiping through her apps. Unintentionally, Janis continued to glance over at her and her screen periodically, some unknown feeling bubbling up underneath her skin and causing her throat to fall dry. Her hand slipped to the side to turn the AC’s settings up higher, then drove upwards to run down her face as she sighed. Whatever it was that she was feeling was making her burn up.

[Y/N]’s attention was drawn to Janis’s motions, her head perking up and turning in her direction. “You good?” The goth only nodded, desperately trying to scrounge up some sort of excuse as to why she was suddenly far more flustered than she previously was mere moments ago. “Yeah, I just…I’m really hoping you’ll like the surprise when we get to it. I worked really hard on it.” A small pause. “Oh.” Another pause, one that had Janis fighting the urge to scratch or pick at something with her fidgety hands.

“I’m sure it’ll be amazing, Jan. You don’t need to worry about anything.”

With a bit of force, Janis managed to convince her lungs to work properly again. She sucked in a deep breath, trying to hide her struggle in the motion, and let it slip back out in the form of a heavy sigh. “Yeah, okay,” she replied softly. Thankfully, before things could grow even more awkward, Janis pulled into the parking lot of the movie theater. She switched the engine off and tucked her keys away in one of the pockets of her black, baggy cargo pants. “Well, I guess we should get inside if we wanna get through the long ass line for concessions,” she explained as she pushed her door open and slipped out of the car.

Without thinking too much about it, Janis sped over to the passenger side and tugged the door open for [Y/N], who glanced up at her with a confused stare. She quickly chuckled, however, and stepped out, moving over far enough for Janis to close the door again and lock the car. “Such a gentlewoman,” she teased, prompting the goth’s pale face to flush red again. She still laughed, even through her slight embarrassment, and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks,” came her reply, though it was accompanied by a small bump against her shoulder. She had turned to walk towards the entrance, but [Y/N] had almost immediately caught up with her and nudged her arm with her own. Janis grinned at her and double checked that her car was locked before they got too far. As she stuffed her hands into her front pockets, Janis found herself glancing around at the other people littering the street nearby.

She subconsciously let her teeth hook against her bottom lip as she spotted the couples walking in and out of the building, each one leaning against each other and sharing light conversation or cracking jokes. Her fingers bent upwards, allowing her to toy with her rings as she managed to tear her eyes away from a pair sharing a quick kiss and focus on the ground in front of her. For just a moment, her eyes glimpsed over at [Y/N], who was squinting to try and read the movie posters lined up on the wall still halfway across the parking lot.

Janis couldn’t bite back her small smirk at her focused expression, though she let her gaze drop back down to continue watching her feet leading her forward. Too caught up in her thoughts, Janis let out a startled gasp when she felt two arms wrap themselves around her left one. One hooked around her elbow, the other sliding down so a hand could rest on her forearm. She turned her head to face who had clutched onto her, her cheeks and ears bursting with color as [Y/N] stepped closer and beamed up at her. “A-Ah, you okay?” Was all she could manage to ask between stuttering breaths.

“Yeah, I just like your jackets. They’re cozy, even if I’m not the one wearing them. Like, this sleeve?” [Y/N] gently patted the section of Janis’s sleeve covering her bicep to clarify, making the other girl jump, “it’s soft. Not sure how. Looks really rough, but it’s not.” She giggled to herself for a second. “Kinda like you.”

A darker shade of crimson dusted Janis’s already reddened face. “What?” [Y/N] smirked at her reaction. “Well, I mean, a lot of people are scared of you–specifically the freshmen–but I’m pretty sure it’s just because of your style. You’re really good with comebacks too, and even when they’re mean, they’re still funny as fuck. I think people are just afraid to confront you because they know you’ll destroy them. But you’re actually the sweetest person I know. And you’re really cool. I don’t think you and I have ever really gotten into an actual argument, but I also think it’s because you make sure to listen to me and hear me out.

“Most of the time. Unless you’re trying to lecture me on my gaming skills.” Janis smiled at her last statement, though her heart hammered against her ribs for the small speech before. She thinks I’m sweet? And cool? Unintentionally, she tuned out the majority of what the conversation was about as they both headed inside, the wide, sheepish grin never leaving her lips.

They got their tickets checked, stepped into line, got their drinks and snacks, then headed to the room playing the movie they were there for. As they sat in their seats toward the back of the room, Janis finally felt her spiked nerves subsiding a bit, realizing they could both focus on the movie and avoid having to make awkward conversation.

She didn’t pay attention to most of the film. Although her anxiety had calmed, it was certainly still there. Each time she thought of what she had planned next, another wave of trembling shot through her body. Roughly halfway through, [Y/N] shivered, shifted in her seat, and grumbled something under her breath, gaining Janis’s attention. Sensing eyes now on her, [Y/N] made eye contact and sent a nervous smile in her direction. “Sorry, I just keep forgetting how cold this damned theater is.”

Janis hummed, and almost instantly, after putting her box of small chocolates down, she slid her jacket from her arms. She leaned over a bit, motioning for [Y/N] to lean forward. When she did, the goth dropped the jacket gently on her shoulders and pulled it around her a bit before moving to sit properly in her chair again. She fought the urge to glance back over at [Y/N], but from the corner of her eye, she could see the girl tug the jacket snug around her frame. She let out a gentle sigh at the warmth.

Janis cracked a smile without realizing. She picked her overpriced sweets back up and pulled another one from the box, popping it in her mouth before scooching over enough to take a sip from her soda. For the remainder of the movie, the two sat in silence, simply enjoying each other’s presence. When the film ended and the lights came on, they got up and wordlessly left the theater. Once they were in the car, Janis finally fully looked over at [Y/N], sucking in a breath at the sight of the jacket now fully on her.

Sometime during the ending, [Y/N] had ultimately slipped her arms into the sleeves to wear it properly. Janis beamed, feeling a strange sense of pride. “So,” [Y/N] chirped, snapping her out of her trance. “Which restaurant are we going to?”

Oh, right. Her plans.

Janis, to distract herself momentarily, turned her car on and began the journey to the restaurant she had made a reservation at prior to the movie. She checked the time before answering. “Ah, it’s that new Italian place down by the mall.” “Oh, cool! Have you heard if it’s good?” “Yeah, it’s got a lot of good reviews online. It was also honestly the only place I could find that the two of us haven’t both been to.” [Y/N] laughed gently. “Yeah, but who knew we’d end up being drawn to so many different places here?”

The time at the restaurant, much like the theater, was hard to pay attention to for Janis. Throughout the meal, even when she didn’t realize it, she could be caught practically staring at [Y/N] as they both ate their dishes. She managed to focus enough to answer any questions thrown her way and keep the conversation going, but had anyone asked what they talked about, she wouldn’t be able to answer.

By the time they had made it back to the car, [Y/N] was able to tell something was wrong. As soon as the car started and Janis pulled out onto the road to head toward her next plan, [Y/N] tapped her arm to get her attention. A hum slipped from the goth to show she had acknowledged the touch, though she kept her eyes on the road. “Are you alright? You’ve been really…quiet. Like, all day.”

Shit.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m still just really nervous about the whole surprise thing. Which…is where we’re going now.”

After she pulled up to an empty parking lot, Janis took a breath, practically freezing in her seat as [Y/N] slowly got out of the car. A moment or so later, at the sound of a knock on her window, the goth finally pulled her attention away from the steering wheel to find [Y/N] standing there, confused. Finally, she managed to pry herself out of the driver’s seat and close the door. She locked the car with trembling hands before wordlessly walking in a random direction. With a small squeak of surprise, [Y/N] jogged to catch up with her, immediately questioning where she was headed.

“Oh, right,” Janis muttered, glancing up at the now concerned girl for just a second. She turned around to face where she was walking again. “Sorry, I’m just…I’m leading you to where the surprise is, I just forgot to say that somehow.” “Oh.”

Too anxious, Janis couldn’t force herself to blurt anything out, too afraid of making small talk as they headed to where her source of anxiety was originating from. The entirety of the walk, [Y/N] trailed behind her and quickly told herself to just look around at the scenery. They had stopped at some kind of large park, though the part they were headed toward looked more like the entrance of the woods. The sight at the darker shade under the trees caused her nerves to spike, though she calmed down when Janis finally managed to mumble a really soft–almost inaudible–“we’re almost there.”

The closer they got to the wooded part of the field, the more concerned and puzzled [Y/N] grew. Finally, just as she was ready to ask if they were lost, or if Janis planned on killing her–which in her mind made sense, considering the goth had started acting weird in the past hour–Janis sighed and stepped to the side. She lifted and waved her arm, motioning toward a small setup partially in the shade. “We’re here.”

[Y/N] turned her focus to the setup, which made her gasp softly. It was a classic picnic scene: a red and white checkered blanket laid out neatly underneath a large oak tree, a small woven basket weighing one of the corners down, and a cooler for the drinks. However, a decently sized gift was wrapped up and was propped up against the bark. “Surprise,” Janis murmured, snapping [Y/N] out of her surprised trance.

“Oh, Janis,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.” Janis seemed surprised at her words, a small smile finally painting her lips again. “Really? I figured you’d find it cliche or something.” [Y/N] chuckled and gently nudged the goth’s shoulder. “I mean, you know I love a good cliche. It’s not a bad thing.”

After sharing an awkward grin, the two of them headed over to the blanket and sat down. They picked a few snacks from the basket on the corner, as well as a drink from the cooler, then ate slowly as they did their best to strike up a normal conversation. This worked for a very short amount of time, but [Y/N] eventually gave in and finally asked what it was all for, to which Janis grew nervous all over again.

She tried to find a way to segway smoothly into her confession, but eventually realized there was no point in trying to appear confident. She had blown that long ago. With a heavy sigh of defeat, she stared down at her lap, fiddling with the tab of her soda can to pull her attention away from the set of eyes on her. “Okay, I can’t keep this up anymore,” she began.

“I brought you here because I–” She swallowed hard and shut her eyes. It was just a confession. How hard could it possibly be?

“I brought you here, and did everything else today, to tell you that I really like you. Like, I’m in love with you. A-And I wanted to bring you here to ask you to be my girlfriend.” A moment passed where the two just sat in silence, and although she didn’t want to, Janis finally managed to open her eyes again to glance up at [Y/N]. She worried she had been completely ignored, but she mainly feared she was about to be made fun of by the one girl she actually had serious feelings for.

Instead, she was greeted with the sight of [Y/N] blushing for the first time that evening, a small smile cracked across her lips. “Uh,” the goth stuttered. “It’s fine if you say no. When I told Damian about wanting to ask you out, he said I should make the whole thing special, so…here we are.” More silence, though Janis couldn’t tell that it was only there because [Y/N] couldn’t find the right words to express how she felt. After what felt like a whole hour to her, Janis finally sighed and put her drink down, readying herself to stand up. “This was a mistake, wasn’t it?”

As she began to lift herself off the blanket beneath her, a hand grasped her wrist, halting her movements and prompting her to sit down again. “No, I’m sorry, Jan! It wasn’t a mistake, I just…I never thought you’d actually ask.”

Janis could only gawk at her, mouth agape. “Huh?”

[Y/N] giggled at her reaction. “I would love to be your girlfriend, Janis.”

More laughter stemmed from Janis sitting there, purely dumbfounded as she visibly tried to process the words. Finally, a bright smile graced her lips, one wider than ever before. An excited glimmer shone in her eyes. “Wait, really? You would?” “Yeah, of course!”

Janis finally let out a laugh, then a sigh as she shifted to fall over and let her head land in [Y/N]’s lap. “Oh thank fucking god,” she blurted, causing the girl to chuckle and gaze down at her in slight bewilderment. “I’m so tired. I spent so much time planning this whole thing out. I wanted things to be perfect. I didn’t know you were going to say yes like it was the most obvious thing on earth.” They shared a laugh, the previously thick tension finally lifting.

“Yeah, no, I was always gonna say yes. But don’t worry, I really loved everything we did today. Uh, well, except when you were leading me to the woods and started acting weird. Thought I was about to be wiped from this planet.” Janis snickered again. “Nah, I wouldn’t do that to you.” She grinned softly up at her, shifting to lean against [Y/N]’s stomach. “But I am glad you liked everything today. That’s a relief.”

[Y/N] beamed wider and nodded. She drove her free hand upwards to let her fingers rake through the goth’s dark strands, causing her to let her eyes to flutter shut and lean into the touch. They stayed like that for a while, but [Y/N] eventually had a small reminder pop into her head. “Oh, what’s the box against the tree for by the way?”

Janis’s eyes shot open again, a deep crimson red dusting her cheeks. “Ah, well…” She hesitantly sat up and stood long enough to pick up the present and hand it to [Y/N]. She sat back down next to her and watched as she carefully peeled open the gift. Once it was mostly torn away, [Y/N] gasped gently at the sight of a canvas with a portrait of her, glazed over nicely with Janis’s signature down in the bottom left corner, right next to a small note.

To the one person who has always seen the best in me and has never treated me poorly. I hope this painting does you justice.

Silently waiting for a response, Janis kept glancing over between the portrait and [Y/N], trying to gauge her reaction. When she got nothing, the overly anxious girl cleared her throat. “Do you…like it?” Finally, [Y/N] turned to face her. “Are you kidding? I fucking love it,” was her reply. Janis huffed out a sigh of relief from the reassurance and smirked, leaning against the other girl’s shoulder and closing her eyes again. “Jesus Christ, another huge relief. I love you so much.”

Softly, [Y/N] nuzzled her head against Janis’s, slipping one hand from the partially unwrapped canvas to lift it and cup the girl’s cheek, her fingertips lightly grazing her raven hair.

“I love you too.”

[light-yaers]

Take Care: Chapter Five

Fic Masterpost | AO3 | Chapter List

Warnings: swearing, eventual smut, emotional themes.

Listen to the Take Care playlist!

A/N: I love a story when it gets MESSY don't you? We're officially over the 40k word mark! Huzzah!

Word count: 6.5k

Chapter Five

You considered yourself a punctual person, but this time you were late. After finishing the article, you collapsed as soon as you got home. You didn’t set an alarm for the next morning, nor did you expect to sleep for a staggering fourteen hours, but when you woke up less than an hour before the bus left Richmond for Liverpool, you almost had a heart attack. 

You ran to Nelson Road with wet hair, no make-up on and so much random crap in your bag that you genuinely didn’t even know if your wallet or keys were in there somewhere. As you rushed into the stadium car park, you let out an abrupt sigh of relief to see that the bus was still there. Everyone was on board, and you’d felt your phone buzz in your pocket several times during your rush, but you hadn’t stopped to look at the messages. 

Only when you stepped on board the bus and allowed yourself to breathe, did you let yourself smile and laugh at your idiocy. 

“Hey!” Ted was the first to erupt in greeting, but the rest of the guys followed suit immediately after. “Did someone miss their wake-up call?” he asked. 

You sighed deeply, stepping further onto the bus as the doors finally closed. “Don’t ask. All the missed sleep finally caught up with me.”

Ted nodded in understanding. “Well, you’re here now. Go cop a squat with the guys.” 

You smiled as you walked down the small bus corridor. The guys all greeted you in their own ways, and you were thankful that you’d decided to join them instead of sitting out. As you approached the back, a circular group of seats that reminded you of sitting at the back of the bus at school, you caught Roy’s eye. There was a spare seat beside him, which he gestured to for you. You dropped into the seat next to him, bashing your shoulder against his softly, before the bus started moving.

“We all thought you’d bailed,” Roy said. “You didn’t reply to my texts.”

“You texted me?” you asked, quickly grabbing your phone from your pocket. There were several texts from Ted and a few missed calls, and a few from Roy. You winced. “Sorry. I’ve only been awake for forty minutes, I passed the fuck out last night and forgot to set an alarm.”

Roy hummed, almost like it was his own version of I told you so. You shot him a playfully annoyed look, and he raised his eyebrows at you in response, a small smile curled onto his stoic face. You huffed to yourself, settling in for the journey up North. Despite sleeping for so long, you were still fucking exhausted. You’d thrown clothes and toiletries into a backpack before rushing out, and you couldn’t face looking at the mess that you’d created just yet. You were glad the game wasn’t until the next day, because you still had an awful lot of sleeping to do. 

As the bus lulled to a pleasant buzz, you found yourself sinking deeper into your seat. You brought your knees to your chest and curled yourself into a ball comfortably. Next to you, Roy had his earphones in and was listening to an audio book of some kind. You peered over him, gently resting your head on his shoulder for a moment, to take a look at the title. 

He peered down at you softly, before he plucked one of his earphones out. “It’s The Grapes of Wrath. Wanna listen?” he asked, and you quickly pulled away to meet his eye. 

You looked up at him tiredly. “That’ll definitely send me to fucking sleep.” 

Roy huffed, sending you a perked brow. “I thought you were a fucking writer?”

“I am. But even I have my reservations about the classics.”

“You’ve read it before?”

You nodded. “Three times. It made me cry every time, just to warn you.”

Roy digested your words for a moment, before he offered his opposite earphone to you. You took it gently from his fingers and slotted it into your ear. “I can take it,” Roy muttered to himself, as both of you sat back in your seats and got comfortable for the ride. 

After an hour, you’d dozed off heavily. Roy leaned all the way back in his chair, allowing you space to lean against his shoulder gently. As the bus bumped on the motorway, you shifted slightly, and fell into his chest. Roy peered down at you softly, letting out a gentle cough to clear his throat. He positioned himself to the right slightly, and let your head rest against his breast bone. You snoozed softly, almost silently, as he started playing the next chapter of the audio book. 

Opposite him, Colin Hughes and Isaac McAdoo saw the scene unfold before them. The gentle tilt of Roy’s body to accommodate your sleepy head, the almost imperceptible smile that lay on his lips, the shallow way he was breathing to stop his chest from moving too much. The look on his face was blunt and plain like normal, but with every stare that he sent down your way, the boys saw exactly what was happening. 

Colin elbowed Isaac silently, shooting a look at you and Roy. A smile upturned on Isaac’s face. Something boyish and playful that every man could recognise at one point or another. When he moved his gaze upwards, he was shocked to meet a steely stare from his Captain. Roy looked at Isaac and Colin in turn, and it was enough to make them both recoil and sink into their chairs awkwardly. 

Roy cleared his throat again painfully. He acted like nothing was happening. He pretended like he didn’t want to fall asleep beside you, all the way until you reached Liverpool. 

You slept like a baby that night. You hadn’t slept this much in your entire fucking life, but upon arriving you’d had about two hours of energy after your bus nap, before you had to retreat to your room and rest for the remainder of the evening. You missed out on team movie night– the guys watched Sleepless in Seattle– which was a fucking bummer, you knew, but you’d rather be alive for the game. 

You were at the end of the corridor to the guys, near the rooms of the Diamond Dogs. Ted’s room was next to yours, which you knew from your abrupt awakening– you could hear his over enthusiastic Southern drawl through the thin walls on the morning of the game. He woke you up after answering a call with What’s shaking, Kevin Bacon! 

You got yourself up and dressed, and joined everyone for breakfast at the hotel. It was utterly silent as everyone ate their meal. Even Roy looked more pissed off than usual as he cut into the golden yolk of a fried egg. Next to you, Ted happily sliced into another sausage. Gently, you leaned towards him. “Has someone fucking died or something?” You looked around at the glum faces of the guys. “Why does everyone look like they’ve been slapped?”

“Oh, well.” Ted started. “Richmond haven’t won an away game at Everton for six years–”

“Sixty,” Beard interrupted, correcting Ted. 

Your eyes widened. “Sixty?” you whispered harshly. “Sixty fucking years?”

Ted let out a hum. “Oh, yeah. That’s my mistake. It has been sixty years since they’ve won.” 

As you ate your breakfast, you understood why all the guys looked so fucking defeated already. Even on the way to the stadium they stayed the same way, silently contemplating and accepting another loss before the game had even begun. You tried to send them all reassuring smiles, but none of them matched your energy for more than a second at a time. It was fucking miserable. 

You jumped off the bus when you arrived and stood with Sam and Roy before splitting up. “Good luck, Sam. Bring the heat like you know you can, alright?” you said, before you gave Sam a tight hug.

He hugged you back fiercely, as if trying to inhale all of your good vibes. “Thank you. Having you in the crowd is good luck for us, you know?” he said, before pulling away. 

“What?” you let out softly, shooting him an amused look. 

“It’s true! I am not a superstitious person, but about this, I am. You bring good luck.” He beamed at you, and you huffed at him in subtle embarrassment. 

“Thanks, Sam,” you said, before he disappeared into the stadium with the others. 

Roy milled about a bit longer, making sure all the guys got off the bus safely. You stayed put next to him the entire time, trying to think up something smart to say that would ease his nerves. You didn’t know what any of them were feeling, but that didn’t stop you from wanting to understand them better. If you could put yourself into their shoes then you’d be able to cater for them in different ways. 

You peered up at Roy for a split second, ready to say some words of encouragement, but he cut you off before you could. “You sitting in the owner's box?” he asked, sending you a stoic look. You gulped back your prior words and nodded instead. Roy hummed. “See you on the other side.”

Roy left before you could say anything coherent. He strolled past the press with his mouth in a straight line, leaving you behind at the bus on your own. You watched him go until he entered the stadium, seeing the strong way he walked and the way his fingers were balled into fists. As much as you’d wanted to, not wishing Roy good luck was something he preferred. He felt the nerves, the anxiety, for himself and his teammates, and you knew that well. Wishes of good luck only ever seemed to make him madder. 

You sucked in a sharp breath and entered the stadium then, readying yourself to scream for your fucking life for your team– for Richmond. 

Needless to say, the atmosphere was second to none. You sat with Rebecca and Keeley in the owner’s box, on the away side, and didn’t calm down for ninety minutes. The guys played electrically, moving as a fierce unit like never before, and everytime they scored you went absolutely insane. You cheered and screamed bloody murder, jumped up and down on the spot, and didn’t give a shit what anyone thought. 

In the second half, near the end, the guys were slowing down. You took it upon yourself to sing their praises to oblivion, but not even you expected to be so into it. During the final goal, Roy assisted Sam to get it into the box. When you saw him, pumping his arms to hell before he tackled one of Everton’s boys and got the ball to Sam, you held your breath until everything exploded. 

During the eruption after their final, winning goal, you jumped up and leaned against the balcony edge of the owner’s box. You inhaled sharply, and realised it strongly, alongside a “Go on, Roy!”

It echoed throughout the stadium, reverberating off the walls and slanted ceiling loudly, until it hit the player’s ears. Roy was doubled over in exhaustion, but he lifted his head when he heard it. It took him no time at all to seek you out– he’d asked you where you were sitting beforehand, after all– and when his eyes hit yours, you couldn’t stop yourself from whooping and hollering in his favour. 

You didn’t care if it was embarrassing, you were overly proud of them. When they bound their way back to the locker room after the full time whistle, you practically jumped to follow them. Keeley laughed beside you triumphantly, and followed behind you as fast as she could in her tall heels. You slalomed through the press all the way to the away locker room, before you burst through the door. 

“You fucking thrashed them!” you screamed upon entry, and the guys matched your energy tenfold. 

Sam was the first to encase you in a hug, before you were overtaken by multiple sets of limbs. Isaac lifted you off the floor when he wrapped his arms around you, and you let out a much needed pent up sigh as you stepped back afterwards. You took in their pristine faces, and you thought that, perhaps, you’d never felt more like you belonged. This all started out as a slap in the face, but with everyday that passed, you felt more and more a part of this incredible family. You felt lucky, and that was saying something, when before you’d been so unlucky to step through the doors of the Dogtrack. 

You leaned against the cinder block wall for a moment, remembering the scene that played out before your very eyes. This would become a core memory in time, you decided, and you knew that when your year was up, these were the times you’d think back to. Their elated faces, their hugs of affection, their love bursting from every pore and crack and crevice that it was almost suffocating to withstand. 

“You can fucking yell,” Roy said, appearing on your left suddenly from the rabble. 

You breathed out. “Roy,” you greeted him softly, over the fucking moon. “Congratu-fucking-lations!”

“Sam was right,” he said, placing an abrupt but welcomed hand on your shoulder. He squeezed you affectionately. “You bring us good luck.” 

You rolled your eyes at him, but nevertheless felt your cheeks warm. He raised his eyebrows at you playfully, happily. You enjoyed every moment the stoic look on his face was replaced with something different, something soft and joyful. Now was one of those times. 

Suddenly, Roy hoisted himself onto one of the benches, and let out a loud “Oi! Listen up!” to his teammates. They all stopped celebrating to listen to their Captain. “None of you are going back to the hotel tonight! ‘Cause we did something today that no one thought we could do, including us! So we’re going out, we’re celebrating, and we’re gonna rub it in this city’s fucking face!” 

The locker room erupted once more, and before you could peer up at Roy, you were pulled into the mob of players as they started to chant– Richmond till we die! We’re Richmond till we die! We know we are, we’re sure we are, we’re Richmond till we die!

Keeley let you get ready in hers and Rebecca’s suite. It was huge, and kitted out with lavish decor and a fully stocked mini-bar. Keeley applied her lipliner in the bathroom, while you sat on one of the plush sofas and sipped from a glass of champagne. You felt content, you felt known. It had taken you half the fucking season, but you finally felt happy where you were. 

Despite the familiarity of going out with the team, you felt that today was different. Not just from the way the guys all loved you, but from the increasing tension that buzzed between you and Roy that you simply couldn’t ignore anymore. You wanted to tell him about the article tonight, wanted him to read it before you did anything rash, but there was a part of you that didn’t want him to think that was all you liked him for– your career, your assignments, your degree. Roy Kent was fast becoming someone that you simply enjoyed being around, more than anything. You didn’t want him to think of himself as less. 

“Babes?” Keeley called from the bathroom. 

You breathed in and left your jagged thoughts. “Hm?” you replied. 

Keeley shot her head around the frame of the bathroom door, lipstick finally applied. She took one glance at your back, slumped and in thought, and furrowed her brows. “You okay?” she asked, and you twisted yourself around to face her. 

You sent her a genuine smile. “Never been better,” you said, and you found yourself believing it. 

Keeley rushed towards you and jumped on the sofa. She picked up her glass of champagne and made a show of hovering it before yours. “Shall we toast?” she asked. 

You raised your glass next to hers. “Always, but to what? The team?”

“No,” she said. “To you, and your article.”

You scoffed. “Oh, please.”

“I’m being serious!” she exclaimed. “Only you could make Roy sound so… human. It was emotional, strategic, but above all– you made me care about Roy Kent as more than a footballer. You should be fucking proud.”

You felt bashful, but nevertheless smiled at her compliments. “Thanks, Keeley,” you said gently. 

She raised her glass higher. “To you becoming a writer, any fucking day now,” she said. 

You chuckled lightly, and clinked your glass with hers, before both of you downed the contents. Bubbles fizzed up your noses, almost being spat out as you spluttered with laughter, but the two of you held it together. It was a matter of time before things got crazy, and you knew you wouldn’t be prepared. As you left the suite with Keeley, a bag across your body and spring in your step, you told yourself to enjoy it– at least while it lasted, before all of this ended in a matter of months.

Thanks to Keeley brainwashing everyone, karaoke was definitely on the cards. The guys booked a private room for the whole team, and upon arrival you were all coerced into requesting songs for one another. You sat on the sofa with Keeley, chatting away with Rebecca and her friend Flo, aka Sassy. The guys were ecstatic, and you were happy to be part of it all. Even Roy had a permanent smile fixed on his face, next to a beer in his hand at all times. 

As the songs went on, you found yourself enjoying yourself more. You all settled into it, enjoying one another's company, joking around as the guys queued songs to embarrass someone, but you’d be lying if you hadn’t been overly aware of Roy’s presence all night. He never went out with the guys in London, never joined in for post-match pints or a night on the town, and you’d been waiting for a moment like this with him. Yet, you couldn’t move from where you were. You stayed back and let him be, all the while wondering if he was ever going to approach you himself. It was childish, and made you feel even more so like a schoolgirl who was crushing hard, but the thing you were worrying about the most was the bomb you were going to drop on him– you’d finished the article, and you wanted him to read it before you submitted it anywhere. That was the goal. 

After Bumbercatch had performed Sex on Fire, you went back to chatting with Keeley, but that was promptly interrupted by an abrupt “Oi!” from yours truly. You twisted yourself on the sofa to meet his gaze above. Roy peered down at you, empty beer glass in hand, and a small smile on his tipsy face. “Need a refill?” he asked, and you smiled immediately. 

“Yes, please,” you said, as you stood up and followed him to the bar. You slalomed through other people enjoying their night out, until you both ended up at the main bar. The music was loud, and the place was packed, but you felt at ease next to Roy. “I’ll get these!” you yelled over the noise, but if Roy heard you at all then he chose to ignore it.

He ordered two more pints and tapped his card against the machine without hesitation. You pouted as you zipped up your bag again, looking at him sternly as he passed you your pint. “One of these days you have to let me buy you a drink, Roy.”

He shrugged. “I don’t fucking mind. Not when it’s you.” 

You looked at him quizzically. “Why?”

“Because you don’t expect it. Everyone else does when you’re a footballer. They expect the drinks and food and the fucking bill sorted, but you never have,” he explained.

You scoffed. “Yeah, because my mother raised me with manners.”

“Good woman,” he said, before he clinked his full glass against yours. All you could do was laugh, as the two of you took generous sips of your drinks together. 

You took a moment to glance around the main room of the club. It was bustling to the brim. People danced and drank joyously, and a few managed to scramble onto a small stage and use the pole that was there. You hadn’t been out to a club like this in a long time, and it made you even happier to think about the people you were with. A stellar team, a kind group of guys. You couldn’t believe how much you’d lucked out with them all. 

Roy gently leaned to your ear, his beard skimming your cheek softly. “Need some air?” he asked, and as much as you wanted to say yes, you knew you had a song queued in the karaoke room. 

You leaned into his ear in return, savouring being close to him like this, even if it was brief. “Keeley queued a karaoke song for me!” you said, and the mischievous face that Roy sent you was one that you added to his expression bank in your mind. 

“Come on, then!” he yelled over the noise, before he offered you his arm. 

You took it as the two of you made your way back to the private room, but within the space of five minutes, the rest of the club was on the brink of bursting. As Roy took no prisoners and shoved people out of his way, you dealt with the opposite. You tried to stay glued to him, but it proved useless when you tried to cross a packed pathway. As Roy pushed himself forward, you were caught in the crossfire and pushed away. Your arm twisted out of his own, and you stumbled backwards abruptly. Your beer sloshed in its glass, and trickled down your fingers as you tried to compose yourself. You couldn’t see Roy anymore, just the bobbing heads of other club goers. 

“Oi!” Roy boomed from further in the club. It was then that the crowd parted, like Moses with the fucking Red Sea, and he stomped his way towards you sternly. When he reached you, he peered down at you strongly, before he snaked his hand around your waist for a moment. “You go first,” he said into your ear, and you walked forward with him right behind. His fingers gently bobbed upon your lower back, always near, just letting you know that he was close. 

“Are you Roy fucking Kent?” one of the club goers yelled out, and Roy abruptly turned to the person in question. He looked no older than a university student, and had a very distinct Scouse accent. 

“Yeah. What of it?” Roy replied, and the kid before him all but backed down. 

“N-nothing,” the kid stuttered out. “Nice playing today.”

The crowd around the kid erupted suddenly, questioning his loyalty to their local team. You didn’t stick around, though, as Roy gently pushed you forward and towards the karaoke room once more. When the crowd died down more, he moved himself to your side, but kept his fingers on your back, just grazing there, in case he needed to step in again. 

An attendee pulled open the curtain to the private room for you both, and you finally let out a sigh of relief. “Jesus fucking Christ, thanks for that,” you let out, and Roy nodded at you.

“I have no patience for little fuckers that get in the way,” he said. 

You scoffed, and took a sip of your beer. “It’s a wonder why you have so much patience for me, then.”

Roy furrowed his brows at you, amused. “Don’t fucking push it,” he joked. 

You shot him a beaming smile, one that had your cheeks hurting as soon as it encased your face. At the front of the room, Keeley snatched the microphone from the previous performer. She tapped it once, alerting everyone to the stage. “Hey!” she spoke through it, her voice booming through the room. You and Roy turned to her immediately, and she caught your eye. She smiled. “Come on! You’re up!”

“Oh, fuck,” you muttered under your breath, and took a few large gulps of beer before you headed to the stage. Roy gently grabbed your drink before you could leave, and propped them both down on a table as the guys went crazy. 

They cheered and screamed as Keeley passed you the microphone, and you tried to keep it together. You’d done karaoke before, just not when you were this sober and coherent. You didn’t even know what song you were fucking singing, until the large TV for lyrics flashed the title– Womanizer by Britney Spears. 

As the song started, Roy watched on from the crowd. Over his dead body would anyone sign him up for something like this, but seeing you fumble through the initial nerves was endearing to witness. Keeley, Rebecca and Sassy egged you on to oblivion, alongside the chants from Ted and Beard, as well as the members of your fan club– Sam, Colin and Isaac to be exact. It was impossible not to smile as you performed, getting more confident as the song went on. 

Roy crossed his legs where he sat, right opposite the stage, as you towered above the rest of the team. Tonight was a good night. He was surrounded by his teammates, his bosses, you, after a win that no one had been expecting. The only thing that could possibly make it better was the opportunity to talk more with you, in a different setting, socially. There was no doubt in Roy’s mind that you were the life and soul of any party, especially from the upbeat way you sang and laughed at yourself on stage. When he thought about it, about you, he often found it hard to find anything to criticise. He couldn’t even rightfully say that you were pushy anymore, not after he’d jumped at the idea of your article before. 

It was then that he realised, while watching you fail to hit high notes from laughing too hard– Roy couldn’t fucking say no to you. Even when he wanted to, even when he needed to, probably, he couldn’t fucking do it. 

When the song finished, you thanked your lucky stars that it was fucking over. You breathed heavily as applause broke out everywhere, and when you jumped off the stage you found that your legs had turned to jelly. You stumbled as you made your way back through the crowds, and dropped yourself down next to Roy as if you’d been close to collapsing. 

He huffed as he handed you your beer, and you downed half the glass as fast as you could. When you finished, you met Roy’s overly amused face. “How did I do?” you breathed out. 

“Well, no one’s ears are bleeding. I call that a win,” he replied. 

You scoffed, embarrassed, but nevertheless embraced your shit performance. “Fan-fucking-tastic,” you let out, and Roy chuckled beside you warmly. You leaned back on the sofa only to realise that Roy’s arm was draped behind you. Neither of you moved. You were comfortable this way. 

As Beard got up to perform Lady Gaga, Roy leaned closer to you. You could smell his cologne when he did, as you gently leaned forward to let him find your ear. “Need some air now?” he asked, and you smiled to yourself, before you gently nodded at him in agreement. 

The two of you shuffled out of the room again, and headed to the smoking area out the front, missing the crowd of drunk people inside. As he emerged into the cold outside, Roy gently looked back for you. You caught his eye with a smile, before the two of you found a secluded area to perch upon outside. You both sipped at your drinks in silence, thankful for the space and quiet for once. As much as you were enjoying yourself, you’d been dying to get out for some breathing room. 

You sighed, content. Roy copied you, as your white breath surrounded one another before disappearing into thin air. “I can’t believe we fucking won,” Roy said first, and you turned to him gently. 

“You all played amazingly,” you added, and Roy peered down at you softly. “Seriously, and I obviously know what I’m talking about.”

Roy raised his brows at you. “What’s the offside rule?” he asked. 

You waved him off playfully. “Don’t go making new rules up, that’s just not fair,” you said sarcastically, and when a small chuckle burst from Roy’s lips you felt validated. You felt it whenever someone laughed at your jokes, but with Roy it felt extra special. 

Roy shuffled on his spot, and his shoulder gently bumped into yours. You were struggling to balance the nerves in your gut, made even worse by the fact he was so close to you. There was that feeling, one that told you, if you lingered on each other for just a second too long, that you would wind up kissing. You sucked in a sharp breath, before you swilled your beer around in its glass, just to do something with all your pent up anxiety. 

Innately, you knew that now was as good a time as any to bring up the article. You’d have to do it sooner or later, or risk not submitting it at all. You thought back to Rebecca’s words, about how she’d been too quick to assume that Roy wouldn’t give a shit, but you still wanted to try. If he was indifferent, it was still OK to actually submit it, surely?

You cleared your throat gently. “I finished the article,” you said, and Roy’s face hardened slightly, but he was still listening. “I know that you hate this kind of thing.”

Roy growled, but when you turned and caught his eye, you knew it wasn’t a full blown pissed off growl. It was more like a growl in agreement. You smiled at him, genuinely, flicking your eyes over the features of his face softly. “Yeah, I do,” he said abruptly. Your smile disappeared slowly. “But, if it helps you do something great, that’s a good fucking thing.” When he peered down at you, you felt immediately at ease. 

You huffed affectionately. “Really?” you asked, just to double check. This was what he did– made you feel special, made you feel heard. “That’s great, Roy, really.” You sighed in relief. “I was so nervous you wouldn’t like it at all, and when you get around to reading it I can make changes to anything you really don’t like–”

You were cut off by Roy laughing suddenly. It wasn’t a sound you’d heard often, but nevertheless it was something you welcomed. What he was laughing about, however, had you confused. 

“What?” you asked, smiling. 

Roy took a sip of beer before he met your gaze. “I’m not gonna fucking read it.”

Your heart dropped into your gut suddenly. “What?” you let out again, as butterflies tore their way through your internal organs. 

Roy breathed out. “I was never going to fucking read it. But, I did the interview and everything you wanted, right? That’s enough, isn’t it?”

You struggled to compute his words, and instead let out a chuckle instead of coherent words. You placed your glass down and took a few stumbling steps away from him, trying to figure out why the fuck he let you interview him, write about him, all of it, if he was never going to fucking read it in the end. This wasn’t how you rolled. You didn’t want people to do things like this for you if they didn’t want to, and Roy definitely fit in that box– even more so. The last thing you wanted to do was piss him off. 

“I– I’m just confused with this,” you said, trying not to lace too much annoyance within your words. “Why would you agree to this, if you were never going to read it when I was done?” Roy shrugged, but the pained look on his face revealed that there was more there. You stepped forward. “Why, Roy?”

“Because! I– fucking hell,” he exclaimed. He put down his drink as he found his words, and let out a sigh before he spoke. There was an exposed look on his face, one that you recognised as when someone was about to admit to something. “I struggle… saying no to you.”

Your blood boiled. It was a miracle you didn’t erupt on the spot, but you were too busy trying to stop your legs from turning to jelly, and your fingers, and your limbs. You peered up at Roy with wide eyes and the strangest urge to fucking bury yourself beneath the ground you stood on. If there was one thing you never wanted to be, it was an annoyance. Yet, with those six words, Roy had just admitted to how he’d never wanted to do the article in the fucking first place, but placed himself in that situation from not being able to deny you. 

It made you feel stupid. It made you feel mortified. How had you not noticed that he’d been utterly against it from the start?

“Oh my god,” you muttered, gobsmacked. “I’m an idiot.” Roy reached out for your arm, but you abruptly slalomed out of the way. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

“How is that a bad thing? It meant you could still fucking write it, right?” Roy said, but he didn’t get it. He didn’t get how it felt when you realised you were nothing more than a blight on someone who didn’t actually give a shit. Someone stuck to his side, following him around, asking for things that he didn’t deny, just to appease you.

“How is that a bad thing?” you repeated him, raising your voice. “You never wanted to fucking do this in the first place, Roy, but you made me think that it was okay! Oh my god.” You smacked your hand over your mouth abruptly. “I stayed at your house for six fucking hours!”

You felt embarrassed. You felt like a nagging, boring uni student. 

“I don’t see why this is such a fucking issue,” Roy said, matching your anger.

“I never wanted to put you in an uncomfortable position, I wanted to write something good-”

“You did all that, so why do you need me to fucking read it?”

“Because I wrote it for you, Roy!” you exclaimed, and Roy’s mouth shut instantly. “I wrote this for you. I wanted to write something about you that you’d actually like reading.” You frowned at him, your eyes glassy. You weren’t expecting this to blow up in this, nor were you expecting Roy to completely ignore what you’d actually written. 

You desperately wished he’d read it and told you he hated it, instead of this outcome. 

You remembered what it had been like before. His attempts to avoid you, so that you wouldn’t bug him. His easiness at telling you to leave him the fuck alone. His aversion to being around you. All of this could have been fixed if he’d set up boundaries with you– boundaires to back the fuck off, ones that you would always uphold if you knew they’d been in place. 

“I don’t think anyone will be able to write something about me that I actually like,” Roy let out, and it only made your heart sink more. “That’s not on you. That’s on me.” He took a step towards you, but you only backed up when he did. 

“I won’t submit it,” you said suddenly. 

Roy furrowed his brows. “Why the fuck not?”

“I was never going to submit it without getting your approval first, Roy,” you said lowly. 

“I fucking approve!” he let out. 

You were shaking your head before he was even done talking. “I’ve made up my mind,” you said, before you forced yourself to look at him. You felt tearful, you felt childish, but most of all– you felt embarrassed of yourself. “I’m so sorry I roped you into this to begin with.”

“Hey,” he said strongly, and finally reached out to grab your forearm. “This isn’t a big deal.” You inhaled sharply when he got in close, trying and failing to make you believe anything different. He’d said how he felt so clearly that nothing was going to make you change your mind, and all you wanted to do now was give him space. 

“I beat myself up about asking you to do this,” you started. “I spoke to Keeley about it and everything, and she reassured me that it would be okay, that you’d say no if it was something you didn’t want to do. For fucks sake, Roy– this is a big deal,” you pleaded with him. “I stayed up all night to write it, I pored over old news stories about you, I fucking worked hard to make this something you’d like, was so excited about it, just for you to tell me you’d never planned on reading it from the beginning. Do you understand why I’m upset now?”

Roy’s expression softened. He hadn’t thought about it that way, hadn’t thought about the impact it would have on you when he spilled his true intentions.

“If you’d told me the truth from the start then it would have saved all of this from happening,” you added, and you gently tugged your arm out of his grasp. 

You sniffed, and let out an abrupt laugh from a lack of what else to fucking say. You felt gutted, worse than you’d feel if he’d read it and laughed about it being shit– that you could have taken on board and worked with, but this was a different ball park altogether. This was Roy not respecting his own boundaries to try and make you happy, only to have all your work, time and effort mean nothing at the end of the day. It felt like a slap in the face. 

You rationalised your feelings then, as quick as you could. You couldn’t deny the hurt you felt at Roy’s blatant dismissal of your work, but you also understood that he didn’t have any intention to hurt you. With that in mind, you turned back to him and softened your expression. You tried not to show how upset you were, you didn’t want to make him feel any fucking worse. 

“Next time, just let me know if you don’t want to do something, okay?” you said, but the wobble in your voice was noticeable. It hit Roy in the chest harshly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. 

You shuffled back to where your glass was and picked it up. You downed the rest of your beer, ignoring the painful bubbles in your chest, before you looked back at Roy and forced yourself to smile. “I need a refill. I’ll head back inside,” you said, and you didn’t give Roy a chance to respond before you entered, through the main door, back into the club. 

CHAPTER SIX

Tag list: @atjamesbbarnes @20th-centu-fairy-girl@royalestrellas@weakmoony-stuff @ironmanmagnetfridge @lemonpiegurll @hellomagicalsouls @her-fandom-sanctum @gothicwidowsworld @old-enough-to-know-better73 @djarindroid @afraidofshrimp @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog @queen-of-dumbasses @sogoodtoheritsvicious @lznnph1l @crav1ngc4ke @onceuponaoneshot @jamieolivia27 @dadbodfanatic-x @kelp-dreaming @harrypedro465 @lonely-escape-artist @abeeabeeabee @nicklet94 @libsybum @cha0sdreaming @toomany24s @kashee-h @infinetlyforgotten @secretnook @cluelesslilsharkie @callmecasey81 @deepdarkvelvet @twiceinabluemoon 

[sammysstolenbirks]

silver storm

chapter II

I'm really enjoying writing this so far so i might just speed run it atp 💀 also there might be some typos, I've been righting bits and peices at like 3am but I'm trying

WARNINGS

angst, swearing, mention and uses of drugs and alcohol, mentions of mental health issues, death, smut (eventually)

JOSH POV

i wake up to the sound of my alarm blasting in my ear. i quickly shut the annoying sound off and check the time. 6:30. perfect. i get up and stretch before heading to the bathroom. unsurprisingly sam is already in there, no doubt styling his hair. and they call me a diva. i bang on the door "Cmon sam other people live here too"

Sam yells through the door "i got here first, you can't wait 10 minutes?"

"We both know your gonna spend an hour in there. Hurry your ass up."

I hear Sam yell something else but its too late for me to hear as i walk back to my room to check my phone. I smile as I see a text from y/n.

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐢 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐢 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐢 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐥. 𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥?

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐇𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭. 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐤?

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 :)

i smile at my phone before hearing Sam finally getting out of the bathroom. I run to it before he has a chance to change his mind and take another 40 minutes. I finish up my morning routine which consists of showering, personal hygiene things, getting dressed and grabbing all of my stuff before walking downstairs. Im just about ready to leave when I hear Sam behind me.

"Hey Josh? Can I catch a ride to school? Jake took my car to see valerie again and he's not back yet, surprise surprise.

I consider telling him no, as I'm sure he doesn't want to see y/n this early, but that thought is quickly replaced with the possibility of them getting along.

"Yeah sure Sam let's go"

Y/n would never come if she knew Sam was invited, and Sam would try to find another ride if he knew where I was going. So I decided not to tell either of them. Maybe they could put their differences aside for one morning, and maybe that could turn into a couple mornings, and before I know it I'll be an uncle. Okay maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but it would be nice for them to be friends at least.

Sam and I get into the car and drive. I see his confusion through my peripheral vision as were not driving on the road we normally go to school on.

"Uh Josh? Where are we going?"

"Oh did I not tell you? Were getting coffee this morning... With y/n." I try to fight off the grin creeping onto my face, but just let it take over. Sam looks at me like I just shit in his Cheerios. He scoffs writhes in his seat like a toddler. Typical sammy

"Are you kidding Josh? Yeah I think you forgot to mention that. Asshole."

I chuckle "youll thank me one day"

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean"

I simply shrug my shoulders and smile. as we pull into the parking lot I see y/n through the window of the tiny shop on her phone. i smile at the sight, while I'm sure Sam had a completely opposite expression. I park and have to bribe sam with a free coffee to get him to go inside with me. We make it inside and make our way to y/n, whos jaw clenches as she sees sam dragging his feet behind me. I say a silent prayer that this won't go nuclear, But knowing them, this will be world war three.

Y/N POV

As I see Josh come around the corner, i smile widely. but as he closes the gap between us, i see the raven haired boy strolling behind him. There goes my hope for a good morning. i get up to greet Josh, pulling him in a hug, also preparing to reprimand him for bringing Satan himself.

"Hey kid" Josh says, searching my face for a reaction.

"Hey" i lean up into his ear to whisper, "why is he here?"

"He needed a ride since jake still has his car, seeing you know who"

I nod and feel my eye twitch "can he stay in the car"

Josh chuckles "itll be fine y/n, who knows, maybe you'll enjoy it"

I roll my eyes and chuckle. We sit down and a waitress comes to take our order with a smile

"good morning guys, what can I get y'all?"

Josh answers first, reading the lady's name tag, "good morning to you too, 𝘚𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢, Could I get a chai tea latte please?"

"Of course," she says smiling at him, clearly charmed by him already. Josh always had that affect on people. "And how about you guys?"

"Matcha latte" "Matcha latte, please" Sam and I say at nearly the same time. We look at each other, both of our muscles tensing, making a cloud of tension overcome the quiet little corner of the shop. we stay like this until he clears his throat, "actually just a coffee. Black" he says as he fixes his gaze onto his interlaced hands resting on the table. Sabrina nods, clearly confused. She smiles and says "yeah I'll be right back with those" Josh sends her an apologetic look which she smiles at and walks away to the counter.

Josh chooses to ignore what just happened, turning to me and starting up a conversation. Every so often I would catch myself looking at Sam from the corner of my eye, finding him in the same position as before. I think about why he decided to change his order. he was probably just being childish, not wanting to have anything in common with me. I laughed internally at it, but a part of me was slightly hurt, and I didn't understand why.

Sabrina eventually came by with our drinks, and from the corner of my eye, I swore I saw Josh pass her a napkin, but when I gave him a confused look, he only offered a shrug and a smile.

When it was time to go, we cleaned up the table the best we could and made our way to our cars.

"See you in a bit kid" Josh says as he smiles at me with a wave

"See you" you return his smile and we all drive to school.

The morning classes went pretty normally as most do, apart from the lingering thoughts of this morning swirling in your head. Why did it upset me? Sam is just an asshole, i should expect these types of things from him. Whatever.

Lunch finally rolls around as i sit at my table with my friends, well, acquaintances, making sure to keep an open seat for Josh like I promised. I finally see Josh roll in, about 10 minutes late (shocker) and he makes his way over to me. he reaches the table and smiles and sighs as he sits down.

"Who knew being an assistant could be so stressful?" He chuckles

"Well you know who our director is, shes crazy. shes going to drive you crazy too."

"Yeah.. I guess I shouldve known, Mrs. Vanderbilt is.... yeah"

"I bet you're doing great though. What are you doing for the play so far?"

"Well right now shes focused on making sure we have plans for the set, doesnt want to make the same mistake as last year"

Josh laughs as he refers to last year's play, where in the middle of the most heart wrenching scene, a wall fell down, making everyone break character and it was a mess.

I laugh and nod and I continue listening to him tall about his new duties. As he finishes up, he adds a comment that makes me jaw clench.

"So have you thought at all about your audition?"

"Not really.. Ive never really done plays before, well aside from little kid ones. But never ones like this. I don't even know what I should prepare, what I should wear.. " i feel my mind start to spiral, but Josh quickly puts a stop to it.

"Well consider yourself lucky, you have a man on the inside who knows exactly what she's looking for" Josh says as he smiles widely at me, "besides I can always bribe her too, she's weirdly obsessed with subway" Josh says with a wink.

I smile and try to listen to his advice. Maybe I really could get the lead. And maybe this would just be the beginning. The push I need to finally put myself out there. Maybe.

JOSH POV

After helping y/n with her audition, I finish up the rest of my assistant duties and head home for the day. I see jake sitting on the couch as I walk in the front door.

"Hey Jake, finally home I see"

He rolls his eyes at me and smiles "Valerie wanted to hang out longer, I couldn't say no"

I sigh and laugh "yeah I get that, but next time, get your car fixed and don't take Sam's. I had to take him to get coffee with me and y/n this morning."

"Oh man, how was that?"

"Wasnt as bad as I thought it was going to be actually. Who knows, maybe they'll finally get along soon"

"We can only hope" Jake says with a laugh. I nod and laugh as well before heading upstairs to my room

The rest of my afternoon is filled with editing some lyrics to show to the boys later. This song has been in the making for many, many years, y/n being the muse. I wrote this so when we eventually have to leave each other to go to college, or in my case travel the world, hopefully, she can always come back to it and it would remind her she's never alone, no matter how it may seem. This song also helps remind me that home is where ever the people you love are, and I hope she interperates it the same.

as I'm finishing up, I hear the front door open. 3:13.

I hear shuffling up the stairs and I open my door to investigate. I see sam basically dragging himself up the stairs. He notices my presence and looks up at me. On his face I see a purple tinted bruise protruding around his eye. He looks pissed.

"Hey what's up, you look like hell"

"Dont fucking talk to me right now."

I stop him with my arm before he has a chance to walk by me

"Hey, im here for you, you know that right? Talk to me. What's going on?"

He sighs, accepting defeat, "I got in a fight."

"Yeah I gathered that" I laugh "why? What happened?"

"Just some kid I had to put in his place"

"Okay, did they call mom"

"Yeah, she said they made an arrangement so I wouldnt get suspended or something like that. I dont know. She said she was gonna call me tonight and let me know what they thought"

"Okay, that's good. It doesn't sound like it'll be too bad" I sigh with relief and put my hand on his shoulder, "if I can help you out with it, I will okay?"

He looks at me and offers me a small smile, "Yeah, thanks josh"

"No worries, little brother" I say as I ruffle his hair. He laughs a little before pushing me away softly and going to his room and shutting the door.

I continue on with writing before I see the time and decide I should make some food.

I go down stairs and start on my signature dish, chicken alfredo. As im draining my noodles, I see my phone light up, its y/n

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐡𝐞𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐡 𝐈 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐭.

I exit messages and google Romeo and Juliet. I scroll for a bit before finding the perfect one. Mrs. Vanderbilt's favourite scene.

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝟒 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝟑. 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. 𝐌𝐫𝐬. 𝐕 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 😉

𝐲/𝐧 ☀

𝐨𝐤𝐚𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐮

𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡

𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐝

I smile as I shut my phone off and finish up my dinner. I yell at everyone in the house that its ready, and my twin and sister come barreling down the stairs.

Jake is the first to say anything "hey thanks, 𝘮𝘰𝘮"

"Yeah whatever asshole, you wouldn't be eating this good if I wasn't here so shut up and grab a plate" I laugh at Jake and see Ronnie comming up to me

"Thanks J, im starving"

"Yeah of course, wheres Sam?"

"He should be comming? Im sure he heard you, how could he not, you probably scared the whole neighborhood" she says as I lightly shove her head away on my way upstairs.

I reach Sam's door and lightly knock, "hey dude I made dinner, you hungry?"

"Hey no, but could you come in here for a minute"

I walk in to see Sam sitting at his desk with his head in his hands

"Hey what's up? Are you okay?"

He sighs before looking at me "mom called."

"Yeah? What, is it bad? Theyre not sending you to boarding school are they?" I laugh, trying to cheer him up

"No, worse."

"Tell me already Sam, what?"

"Theyre making me do the fucking play."

My jaw drops as I fight a smile from creeping onto my face

"Oh. Well, i mean that's definitely not the worse thing that could happen. Why are they having you do that though? That doesn't seem like a punishment"

"Well yeah to you it wouldn't."

"That's fair. What are they having you do? Stage crew or something?"

"No. I have to be fucking Romeo. This is all your fault. She said that no other guys fit the role and they thought since im your brother I 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 be as 𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 as you. Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is? My friends will have a fucking field day with this."

"Sam it'll be okay, Ill help you out, im helping y/n too. Maybe you guys could work together?" I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth. That'll just make this worse right now. My thoughts are proven to be correct as he speaks again "just get out. I need to sleep or something"

"Okay, are you sure you dont want any good? Its alfredo."

"I said no, just get the fuck out dude okay?"

I sigh and nod as I walk out and shut the door behind me. I walk downstairs and give a look at Jake, who immediately understands to not say anything to me right now. He strikes up a conversation with Ronnie to get the attention off me as I take my plate and head up to my room. I eat and think about my interaction with Sam. This can't be that bad, hes just being dramatic. Who knows? He might end up enjoying it or getting something out of it. Same with y/n. I know they both can really benefit from this. I just have to show them.

My thoughts are interrupted by my phone lighting up, I smile as soon as I see the notification.

☕️

𝐇𝐢, 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐬𝐡?

A WEEK LATER

AUDITION DAY

Y/N POV

Ive been dreading this all day. What if im not good enough? What if all this staying up late, memorizing a huge monologue was all for nothing? No. Josh said it would be fine. It'll all work out. I step into the auditorium, immediately searching for josh, who I see on stage giving pointers to some helpless freshman who looks absolutely petrified. That's gonna be what I look like up there. I make my way down to the seats, taking an aisle one about 5 rows away from the stage. There's a good amount of people in the room, some doing vocal warmups, some doing last minute read throughs just to make sure they have everything memorized. Every one except one person. a boy, slumped into his chair, hood up, sitting on his phone. I studied him for a minute, wondering who it was before my curiosity was satisfied. The boy sits up in his seat, looking around the room to see everyone who showed up, before his eyes stopped on me. I see Sam in an auditorium. No, that can't be right, I do a double take before realizing that it is, in fact, Sam.

He notices my double take before smugly smiling at me and returning to his phone. I roll my eyes and revert my focus back to Josh, he sees me and basically jumps off the stage and runs to me

"Hey kid, are you excited?" He says with the biggest smile

"Trying to be" I say, forcing a smile which he notices

"Hey, it'll be great. I know how much you practiced and Mrs. V would be an idiot to not cast you. Maybe don't tell her I said that.. I don't want to end up dead by tomorrow." He laughs and hugs me "I have to go but I'll see you up there! Remember, you can do anything you set your mind to" he says with a wink

I smile back and repeat his advice over and over in my head. I can do this. Josh will be here and even if I don't get cast, I can say I tried. More than I could've said 5 years ago.

As the time grows closer for my audition, I feel my hands get sweaty and my breathing increasing. Why is this so hard? It's just reciting a paragraph and moving my arms as I speak. It shouldn't be this nerve wracking. My mind continues to spin and I barely notice the presence stepping up behind me

"Y'know I can hear you breathing from across the room right?"

I turn around to see Sam, once again

"Well sorry if my breathing annoys you sam. Not my fault I need to to live."

He rolls his eyes "your just being dramatic about this. It'll be fine."

"Shut up I didn't ask you for advice. What are you even doing here"

He starts to speak before he is interrupted by my name being shouted across the room. I turn around to see Josh and Mrs V waving me over. It's time. I take a deep breath and wipe my hands on the front of my jeans before making my way onto the stage. I am immediately blinded by the big lights, making this experience feel more real and terrifying.

"Whenever youre ready y/n" Mrs V says with a smile. I look over to josh, sitting next to her, for one final boost of confidence. He smiles at me and blows me a kiss. I smile and take one more breath before starting

"God knows when we shall meet again. I have a faint cold fear thrills through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life.... "

I go through the motions of what I imagine Juliet to look like, giving looks of desperation, throwing my hands up in defeat, stumbling to my knees. I start to get a little emotional as I finish up my last line

"Romeo! I come! This do I drink to thee"

I bow my head, signifying her death, as I wait to be excused from the stage. Instead I am met with silence. I dare to look up and see Josh, his jaw slightly dropped, and Mrs. V with tears in her eyes.

"My stars, Y/n. Who is this new person? That was absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much dear." She says, smiling wide.

I blink in disbelief. I did it. And they seemed to like it. I sigh with content and make my way to the seats. I trip over my own feet coming down the stairs and try to protect my head from the impact of the floor. But to my surprise, it never comes. Instead, I am met with the feeling of something holding me up, maybe my guardian angel, probably Josh. I open my eyes to see Sam looking down at me, his face softened. I look back at him and blush a little bit before straightening myself back up and looking to the floor before my attention is drawn back to the front row, where Mrs V and Josh are sat. I hear her say "So you've met our Romeo I see". My head whips to Sam, who has a sour expression on his face, obviously not happy about it either. I chuckle involuntarily, and it only grows as he gives me a dirty look, rolling his eyes.

"Wow... Acting? I could never imagine you doing that"

"Yeah well I couldn't imagine me doing it either, but here we are. Actually, I could never imagine you doing this either. Thought for sure you'd choke up there and go running back into the arms of your precious little Josh. Oh well, it's not too late. Maybe it'll happen on opening night" he says with a fake smile, obviously trying to upset me. I glare at him, trying to speak, but nothing is comming out. "What's wrong? Nothing to say?"

I sigh with frustration and start, "listen, asshole. Unlike you, I actually tried to get a role instead of just sitting back and it falling into my lap."

"Yeah well this wasn't my first choice, believe me."

"Oh of course. Sam Kiszka always has more important things going on. Thank you so much for gracing us with your presence. Y'know I feel bad for whoever Juliet will be, they'll have to put up with you all the time"

He glares at me before leaning towards me, making me walk back and hit my back on the ledge of the stage, "Oh yeah? Luckily for both of us, you'll never be Juliet."

That stung a little. But it's Sam, he has no idea what he's talking about

"Fuck off"

I say as I storm past him, shedding off the burden of our conversation in my trail. I decide to just head home. I'll see Josh in the morning and we can talk about everything then

Right now I need a break.

SAM POV

I don't know why I'm forced to sit in this godforsaken auditorium watching all these girls audition for a part they're most likely never going to get, except for the 𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺 girl who does. She'll get so excited over something so miniscule as a couple lines in a mediocre high school production of a Shakespeare play.

They're all so desperate.

I think back to my conversation, well, argument, with Y/n. I don't know how Josh ever got her to do this. Her audition wasn't even that good, yet Josh and Mrs V seemed to be eating it up. I mean, sure, she spoke clearly... and slowly... beautifully- I shake my head before my thoughts go too far. Its only beautiful because Shakespeare is beautiful, Not a compliment to y/n. She probably won't even get the part anyway, so this was just a waste of time for her. She's lucky not to be given a part. This is going to be torture.

Hours and hours of rehearsals, my friends inevitably calling me names in the hallway, trying to create chemistry with whoever my love interest is..

This is my own personal hell

And it could've all been so easily avoided.

That fight was ridiculous. Why did I care so much what he said? It's not like it's anything I haven't said before. My mind starts re-enacting the scene in my head,

"𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩 𝘥𝘶𝘥𝘦, 𝘺/𝘯'𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘑𝘰𝘴𝘩 𝘬𝘪𝘥. 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘳𝘥. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤."

𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺/𝘯'𝘴 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦. 𝘉𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘸 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳.

I bring my mind back to reality and shake my head. It's all 𝘩𝘦𝘳 fault. Why does she constantly plague me and my thoughts even though I resent her?

Still,

Why do I care about her?

Taglist! (Idk if I'm doing this right)

@fleetingjake

[czenzo]

Missed Call

[ao3] Skullyle Internet Friends Series: [1 – Pretty Boy] [2 – Missed Call]

summary:

[00:13] Missed call from Skull Lucy frowned at her phone for the hundredth time that morning. “Has he said something horribly controversial again?” Holly said over her shoulder. “No, nothing like that," she said. "He, er— he called me. Or, tried to. It was just gone midnight, I was asleep.” “And this is bothering you because…?” Lucy finally looked up from her phone. “We’ve never spoken over the phone before.” One missed call sends Lucy spiralling. She begins to question her feelings towards her strange, snarky online friend.

words: 3,440 rating: T

notes: to all the lovely people in the comments for Pretty Boy who said they’d read more, this is for you!

edit: @vryfmi made some absolutely STUNNING artwork of a few scenes from this fic, and @edmeom's art of barista lucy and holly is GORGEOUS – please go check them out and give them loads of love!! vry and galri I owe you my LIFE you're amazing

[00:13] Missed call from Skull

Lucy frowned at her phone for the hundredth time that morning.

“Has he said something horribly controversial again?” Holly said over her shoulder. Lucy jumped so intensely she almost pulled a muscle; it was easy to forget how quiet her coworker could be when she wanted to.

“No, nothing like that,” she replied after her heart rate steadied. “He, er— he called me. Or, tried to. It was just gone midnight, I was asleep.”

“And this is bothering you because…?”

Lucy finally looked up from her phone. “We’ve never spoken over the phone before.”

“Ever? You’ve known each other a while though, right?”

“About half a year.”

“And you talk every day?”

“Near enough.”

Now it was Holly’s turn to frown. “And you’ve… never called? Never heard each other’s voices?”

“No.”

“Not even sent a silly voice note here and there?”

Lucy shrugged. “I’m not a voice note kind of person.”

A long, slow nod was her only response, which was more unnerving than Lucy would’ve liked to admit. “Is it weird? That we only ever text?”

Holly made a vague gesture. “If I were in your shoes, I’d think it a little odd, but—”

“Can I get some service, or is this establishment closed for gossip hour?”

Lucy’s head whipped around to find a customer waiting at the till, red irritation blooming high on his cheeks. She bit back an instinctive snarky response.

Luckily Holly had a knack for dealing with difficult customers, and rushed over to serve him with a beaming smile. “Of course! I can’t apologise enough for being distracted. What can I get for you?”

Lucy decided she was in dire need of a break. She set a timer, threw together a cup of tea and drifted off into the break room, finding comfort in the battered settee with with so many cracks and tears the original leather was barely visible.

She drew her phone out of her apron pocket. The missed call notification still sat there, taunting her for not knowing how to reply. Skull himself hadn’t said anything, either, which was incredibly unusual for him. It was bobbing on three p.m.; normally by now he would have sent at least two obscure memes, three colourful insults, and one post from their shared paranormal forum with added commentary on how stupid OP was. Instead, she hadn’t heard a peep from him.

‘Unusual’ was a massive understatement.

Her teeth worried the skin of her lips. What if something serious had happened, and she was too hung up on a silly missed call to check up on him? What if she’d done something to severely piss him off, and the missed call was his last attempt to hash it out?

Or—the most likely scenario—what if he clicked the call button without realising, and she was making a huge deal over something hilariously insignificant?

She took a swig of her scalding tea, let her head fall back to stare at the ceiling for a long, excruciating moment of contemplation, then eventually opened their chat.

The cursor blinked. Lucy steeled her nerves and reminded herself that she was being a complete tit.

[Joan] did you mean to call me?

There! Message sent; she was officially no longer a cowardly over-thinker. She relaxed and sunk further into the chair, but stiffened as soon as she saw that Skull was typing. Okay, scratch that—she was definitely still a cowardly over-thinker.

[Skull] yea we need 2 talk

Shit.

It took an embarrassing amount of time to type her response.

[Joan] shit, is everything alright? [Skull] no its p serious [Skull] thought it wldv been easier 2 talk abt it over the phone [Skull] but ur probs at work rn so ill just text it [Skull] hold on

Lucy straightened and waited with bated breath, tea all but forgotten about. In the time Skull took to type, Lucy involuntarily went through all of her worst-case scenarios one more time, and suddenly felt the need for a drink much stronger than tea. Christ—why was this bothering her so much?

[Skull] ive been diagnosed with [Skull] huge dick syndrome [Skull] its fatal. im so sorry

Lucy slowly placed her phone on the settee, counteracting the urge to lob it directly at the nearest wall. She gave herself a moment to breathe—in through the nose, out through the mouth, just like Holly taught her to do when a customer really got on her nerves—before cautiously picking it back up again.

[Joan] you’re a fucking menace [Joan] don’t pull that kind of thing again. [Skull] HAHAHAHAHAHA [Skull] dont lie joanie. i got you GOOD [Joan] I knew you could be a proper knob sometimes but I didn’t think it was this bad [Skull] clearly u gotta get 2 know me better [Skull] in all honesty tho i didnt mean to call u [Skull] the call button is right next 2 the block button [Skull] an idiotic design choice if i ever saw one [Joan] you ought to send the developers a strongly worded email [Skull] who the fuck says ought in a casual conversation [Joan] it’s a perfectly normal thing to say?? [Skull] yea if ur from the middle ages [Joan] ok shut up we’re not changing the topic [Joan] if you didn’t mean to call me, why did you go radio silent? [Joan] surely the normal thing to do would’ve been to say “Oops, my bad, didn’t mean to call you” [Skull] Oops, my bad, didn’t mean to call you [Joan] dick [Skull] huge one, yeah [Skull] its a serious condition [Joan] 🖕 [Skull] i didnt even realise id butt dialed you lmao [Skull] fell asleep right after. woke up like 10 mins ago [Skull] im a different creature past midnight [Skull] unaware of and unliable for my actions [Joan] good luck getting that to hold up in court [Skull] id charm my way into acquittal [Skull] all the lady judges would love me [Skull] actually so wld the non lady judges [Skull] im just that irresistible [Joan] more like irritating :/ [Joan] they’d declare you guilty so they never have to see your ugly mug again [Skull] u have no proof i have an ugly mug [Skull] for all u know i cld b on magazine covers [Skull] flexing. smouldering. [Skull] rock hard jawline [Skull] rock hard abs [Skull] rock hard thighs [Joan] I’m stopping that list right there [Skull] buzzkill. [Skull] i bet your manager keeps u in the back so ur face doesnt scare off the poor customers [Joan] I’m practically the face of the company [Joan] everyone loves me [Skull] this is some next level delusion [Skull] does ‘everyone’ include Pretty Boy [Joan] this is some next level obsession [Skull] im not obsessed with him [Skull] im far superior than him anyway [Skull] if he saw me in the street hed drop dead [Skull] out of pure shock [Skull] from seeing my rock hard jawline, [Skull] rock hard abs, [Joan] STOP [Skull] my sexy voice alone could crush his ego [Joan] I wasn’t aware voice cracks and nervous trembling could do that [Skull] kiss my arse joan [Skull] you have no idea what i sound like [Joan] and same vice versa

Lucy’s eyes narrowed. She had an opening here—should she take it? She took a sip of her tea, now disgustingly lukewarm, and decided to go for it.

[Joan] is it weird, that we talk so regularly but only ever over text? [Skull] cant say its ever crossed my mind [Skull] why wld that b weird [Joan] I don’t know [Joan] it’s just something a coworker mentioned [Skull] so THAT’S why the missed call got under ur skin [Skull] ur so painfully transparent [Joan] no I’m not? [Skull] denial is not a good look on u [Skull] if it bothers u so much we can just call [Skull] like any normal fucking ppl wld do [Joan] I suppose [Skull] its not a big deal [Skull] unless u swoon so hard at my voice u get a concussion or smth [Skull] which is highly likely [Skull] considering ur delicate disposition [Joan] wtf is that supposed to mean [Skull] last time Pretty Boy called u by ur name u almost dropped ur phone in coffee [Joan] in hindsight [Joan] mentioning that to you was a mistake [Skull] it wasnt [Skull] its a great addition to my joan blackmail bank [Joan] har bloody har [Joan] you’re a comedic genius [Skull] oh em gee its so nice 2 see my talent finally b acknowledged

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Her break was up. Startled that the time had flown by so quickly, she checked the clock on the wall, only to find she was indeed due back on the shop floor.

On the bright side, she no longer had to worry about the possibility of Skull being a) dead, or b) eternally pissed off at her. Instead, her mind focused on the very real chance that she’d be talking to him on the phone in the near future.

Lucy was by no means completely inept; she could handle a phone call when it was necessary. However, phoning her old insurance provider to get them to remove her from their annoying mailing list and calling a close (could she consider them close when she knew so little about him?) friend acquaintance for the first time were very, very different things.

A hot burst of air greeted her as she emerged from the back and settled behind the counter. She’d been a barista at this cafe for so long everything was muscle memory. It was a mostly handy skill, until someone once switched the syrups around and she almost handed a hazelnut latte to someone with a severe nut allergy. Besides that, and… her tendency to text on the job… she swore she was a virtue to the company.

“Got a clearer head now?” Holly said over the sound of milk being steamed.

“Yeah. I brought it up, and now we might actually end up calling.”

“Ooh, how exciting!” Holly beamed, then added quietly, “Unless he turns out to be a creep, that is.”

Lucy took moment too long to reply. “I’m sure he isn’t.”

“…Yeah!” Was Holly’s response, full of fake optimism that was far from convincing.

A third voice—one Lucy was becoming more familiar with these days—came from the other side of the counter. “Who might turn out to be a creep?”

Lucy rushed to meet Lockwood at the till. Even on a Saturday, he was still dressed smartly. “Oh, no one. Just— er, a friend of mine.”

“They only ever text! He could be anyone,” Holly stage-whispered to him.

Lucy gently batted her out of the way. “You don’t need to spill my private life to customers, thank you.”

“But he’s our best regular.”

Lockwood beamed. “Glad to hear it.”

She playfully rolled her eyes and tapped the till screen out of standby. “Your usual?”

“No, actually,” he said, sounding ridiculously pleased with himself over something so trivial. “I’d like to try that new gingerbread latte, please.”

“A sucker for a Christmas special, are we?”

He shrugged. “Who can’t resist a bit of seasonal marketing? I’ll also have a slice of lemon drizzle too, if you’ll allow it.”

A huff of laughter escaped her. “Wow, you’re really branching out today.”

He gave her another one of his toothy grins. As he paid, he quirked a curious eyebrow. “What’s this about a maybe-creep you only ever text, then?”

“Oh, I can’t believe Holly told you about that.” Actually, she could—over the past month or so, Lockwood’s visits had become less by-the-script, and the two of them had learnt more about him than they ever expected to. Of course, it was a two way street, and as a result Lockwood gained a firm grasp on Lucy’s sarcasm, weakness for confident smiles, and now her friendship with a random guy on the internet.

She’d managed to avoid mentioning Skull to him, up until now. She was surprised the secrecy had lasted this long, though she was unsure why she’d been so keen to keep quiet about him.

“We met online,” she said slowly. Thankfully, putting Lockwood’s order together kept her hands busy and her brain occupied, which meant she had less energy to overthink how she’d explain her situation. “Met through a shared interest. We were— er, well, honestly we argued a lot, at first. I’m not sure how it turned into a friendship, but it did, and now we talk pretty regularly.”

“Every day,” Holly added.

“For…?”

Lucy shrunk in on herself slightly. “…Six months? Ish?”

Lockwood whistled, long and slow. “That’s quite a bit of time.”

“Exactly!”

“Holly, shut up,” Lucy said with very little venom. “We’re going to call. We’re going to talk. It’s not an issue.”

He leaned on the counter, watching her dust ginger onto his drink. “Right now?”

“What? No, not right now. That’d be mad.”

“Could be interesting.”

She slid the drink and plate over to him. “Don’t be nosey.”

“It’s in my nature, Luce.” He winked, taking a sip of his drink. “Gossip at heart.”

Lucy’s stomach did a funny flip. She playfully waved him off under the pretence she was in a rush to serve the next waiting customer, and was harshly reminded she forgot to put her phone on silent when her pocket was met with a barrage of vibrations.

As the atmosphere lulled once all customers had been served and seated, she returned to her chat with Skull. Most of it was pure gibberish, a poor attempt at grabbing her attention again by way of spam.

[Skull] did u fucking die??? [Joan] when will you get it into your thick skull that I have timed breaks [Joan] and once said timed breaks are over [Joan] I go back to work [Skull] yet here u r, still txting on the job [Skull] what a rebel u are, joanie [Skull] its cute u spend ur entire allocated free time talking 2 me [Skull] clearly u have ur priorities straight [Joan] if that were true I’d have blocked you ages ago [Skull] oh no, my ego [Skull] has PB swung round yet today [Joan] he just did [Skull] and? [Skull] come on. give me the details [Skull] don’t deprive me of the gossip [Joan] nothing really happened [Joan] he changed his order up [Joan] asked about you [Skull] he fucking what [Joan] my chatty coworker told him :/ [Joan] and he got curious [Skull] did u tell him abt my rock hard jawline, [Skull] rock hard abs, [Joan] stfu that wasn’t even funny the first time [Skull] lies + slander [Skull] what did u tell him [Joan] I didn’t expect you to care so much about what he thinks [Skull] i dont. [Skull] im looking for openings to bully him [Joan] I just told him how we ‘met’ [Skull] is that it?? [Skull] thats so fucking boring [Joan] I mean [Joan] we also briefly spoke about the whole Only Texting situation [Skull] christ. what did he say to that [Joan] he thought I was going to call you right there and then [Joan] on the shop floor [Skull] is he stupid [Joan] hypocrite [Skull] my intellect is vast and varied tyvm [Skull] y is everyone obsessed with the calling thing [Skull] whys it such a big deal

Lucy glanced at her phone sidelong as she wiped down the counters. Why was it such a big deal?

She dwelled on it for a moment or two, but was cut short at the sight of the whole screen lighting up with Incoming call: Skull.

At first, she simply stared. Pressing the red decline button would mean everything stayed as it was—no awkward first phone call, no pressure to make their casual, stupid online friendship something more meaningful, no caving to the expectations of the more socially well-adjusted people around her. But pressing the green pick up button would mean… well, it would mean talking to Skull. Like actual friends. What would they even talk about?

Curiosity gnawed away at her.

Lucy pressed the green button.

“You were staring at your phone wondering if you should pick up, weren’t you?”

She wasn’t sure what she expected Skull to sound like, but it wasn’t quite this. He didn’t sound significantly older or younger, though his voice had a slight rasp to it, and she could hear his smile—knowing him, it was more likely to be a smirk—through his words. It was unfamiliar, yet so undeniably Skull that she couldn’t help but smile a bit herself.

“No. I told you, I’m at work. Busy day.”

“Busy enough that you picked up the phone in the middle of your shift?”

She rolled her eyes fondly and signalled to Holly she’d be back in five minutes—emergency, she mouthed, gesturing to the phone at her ear—and Holly gave her a knowing look in return.

London’s wintery chill nipped at her skin as soon as she stepped outside, but the fresh air was nothing short of lovely.

She squinted up at the sky; grey clouds loomed overhead. “Why now? Why not call later?”

“Got sick of you awkwardly bringing it up over text,” he said, then added: “Wanted to see if you’d pick up.”

“Well, here I am. I picked up. Now what?”

A short pause. “You were the one that was so bothered by it all.”

“I wasn’t that bothered.”

“Er, yeah you fucking were. So, my voice: what’s the verdict? Are you swooning?”

She gave a harsh huff of laughter. “You bloody wish.”

“I can hear you moved outside. Needed some fresh air to cool your blush?”

“Shut up? You’re not funny. Besides, my voice is miles better. I bet you almost tripped over your own feet when I first spoke.”

“I’m nothing but elegant and graceful,” he said, playfully indignant, “even when faced with a really annoying, nasally voice.”

“Charming.”

A beat, then: “I didn’t know you were northern.”

A small, ugly snort escaped her as she contemplated this. At the beginning of their acquaintanceship they’d stuck to an unspoken rule of avoiding delving into their personal lives, but as time passed and they became more comfortable with brutally bullying each other under the guise of friendship, details had come out here and there. They were both English. She worked at a cafe. His go-to drink order was an espresso martini (I’d had you down as a guinness kind of guy, Lucy had said, to which he responded thats the worst fucking insult). The drops of info were random and sporadic, and ended up so Lucy knew Skull had a really stupid tattoo on his left arse cheek, but he didn’t know she was northern—and this, in her opinion, was downright hilarious.

“You do now,” she said. “Look, I really can’t talk for long. I already spend way too much of my shift on my phone.”

“This was an emergency,” Skull said dryly, “you had to succumb to social pressures and modern friendship conventions.”

Lucy huffed in disbelief. “Friendship?”

“Slip of the tongue. I meant rivalry.”

“Of course you did. Denial is not a good look— er, sound, on you.”

He scoffed playfully. “Don’t throw my own words back at me. It’s not my fault you’re desperate for my attention and companionship.”

“And it isn’t my fault you’re projecting.”

“Ooh, you’re pushing it,” he said, and Lucy really could hear his smile. “I could just hang up right now and never contact you again.”

She sighed wistfully. “That would truly be the dream.”

“A nightmare for you, more like. You couldn’t survive without m—”

Lucy took great satisfaction in hanging up on him, and waltzed back into the shop with a lazy smile on her face. To her surprise, it wasn’t Holly whose eye she caught first upon her return, but Lockwood’s. He narrowed his eyes for a moment before flashing a grin—it was his split-second of hesitation that made Lucy wonder if he’d been watching her call Skull through the window.

“So,” Holly drawled, leaning in close as Lucy returned behind the counter, “how was the emergency?”

“Awful. Three wounded, one fatality.”

Holly’s teasing smile froze; it was clear she still hadn’t fully accustomed to Lucy’s sense of humour.

“It was fine. It’s nice to just have that over and done with. Now I can stop thinking about it.”

“What was he like?”

“Exactly how he is over text— no, wait, his ego was actually more inflated. He’s a bit insufferable.”

“The smile on your face counteracts your words, Luce.” Holly playfully nudged her before diverting her attention to a waiting customer, and together they fell back into their routine. After the line had gone back down, she stole a glance at her phone, and held back a snort at the notifications waiting for her.

[Skull] how DARE you. how fucking dare you [Skull] next time we call I’m getting my revenge

[bakhiu]

Bad Desire

Nanami helps you understand why dating him would be better than casually sleeping with your boss Gojo.

read it on AO3 Pairing: Nanami Kento x Reader Rating: Explicit Tags: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Office Setting, One-sided Feelings, Jealousy, Referenced Boss/Employee Relationship, Implied Gojo/Reader, Oral Sex, Alcohol Word Count: 1,623

“What kind of man should I be with then?” you asked with a dejected look. “Someone serious, someone like me.” Nanami replied without hesitation.

Last minute dinner dates are high up on the irritability list for Nanami Kento. Unfortunately, this does not apply to you. The two of you have worked together for a few years, your desks right across from each other in a shared office. 

Your frequent sighs and glances at your phone were not work related stress. You and Gojo have been casually seeing each other for six months. Nanami only knew this because you casually let it slip that you and Gojo hang out after work. You would show up the following day with badly concealed hickies on your neck. It was obvious it was much more than hanging out. 

The multiple scorned lovers of Gojo Satoru making an uninvited appearance to the office and causing a commotion was enough for Nanami to know Gojo was not the serious relationship type. You witnessed this firsthand seven months ago. His ex berated you, accused you of sleeping with him before storming down the hall screaming for Gojo to come out.

And yet, a month later, you and Gojo began casually seeing each other. He was currently working at the second office location and based on your reactions, he was leaving you high and dry. 

“Need help with the end of month reports?” Nanami asked as he glanced up in your direction. 

“Sorry, I’m just distracted.” You sighed as you put your phone in your desk drawer. “Hey, want to go out for a drink after work? We can celebrate finishing these reports!” 

“Oh, well I was planning–” 

“Nevermind!” you interrupted, your face slightly flushed. “What a silly thing to celebrate, especially at the last minute.” 

“I was planning on going to the bar on 5th street, if that sounds good to you.” Nanami responded, forcing himself to glance back at his computer. 

“I’d love to.” you replied, a huge grin replacing your embarrassed expression.

You swirled your straw around your half empty drink, sighing in the process. You were three drinks in with Nanami close behind, on the verge of finally asking why you are so down. Before he could interrupt your sighing, you interrupted. 

“Y’know Nanami, you seem like such a great guy.” you rested your cheek on your palm, glancing up at him with a soft smile. “How are you still single?”

Nanami took a long sip of his drink, keeping his eyes locked on yours. Eventually you broke eye contact, finishing the rest of your drink in a big gulp. 

“I’m sorry, that was so inappropriate.” you stuttered, still too embarrassed to meet Nanami’s gaze. 

“I’m just waiting for the right time to make my feelings known to someone.” Nanami replied, finishing his own drink. 

“How do you know when it’s the right time?” you asked. 

“You will know when the time is right.” Nanami motioned for the server to order another round. 

You both ordered another drink, promising it was the last round. Nanami was a responsible and logical person; you contemplated asking for advice on your relationship with Gojo. Your friendship (if you would even call it that) with Nanami was limited to friendly conversations in the office and courteous inquiries about what you did over the weekend. 

The server returned with your final round, check placed between the two of you with a reminder that the bar closes in thirty minutes. You immediately reached for your drink and took a gulp. It was now or never and if it ended badly, you would chalk it up to drunken shenanigans. 

“Nanami, what do you think of Gojo?” you asked, easing into the conversation. 

“As our boss, or something else?” Nanami questioned back, a small smirk following. 

You choked on your drink, not expecting a response like that. So he knows… you thought to yourself as you coughed and took a sip of water. After clearing your throat several times and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. 

“I guess as a romantic partner.” you replied, holding your breath as he contemplated a response.

“He does not have a good track record.” Nanami answered flatly. “You were verbally harassed by one of his exes.” 

“Technically she wasn’t an ex, just a one night stand.” you retorted. “Gojo told me that she would not leave his apartment and had to call security.” 

Nanami stared at you with a blank expression, waiting for you to realize just how ridiculous you sounded defending Gojo. You took another sip of your drink before inhaling deeply and deciding to be honest.

“So, Gojo and I have been casually seeing each other. He said he doesn’t want anything serious but I really like him and–” 

“He doesn’t want anything serious and you still want to confess to him?” Nanami interrupted, rolling his eyes in the process. “Please respect yourself and stop engaging with Gojo. Not only is he unserious, he is also your boss .” 

You gripped your glass, the cool condensation making your fingers slowly slide down. You knew he was unserious most of the time, but he made up for it in other ways. You had some great conversations…sometimes. You would go out to dinner…rarely. The more you thought about it, the more you realized it was a convenient hookup for Gojo. He did the bare minimum to keep you interested. 

Nanami reached for the check and left his card inside, setting it on the edge of the table for the server. You didn’t bother trying to argue about paying for your half, too wrapped up in your own thoughts surrounding Gojo. You had fun with him, isn’t that what matters? You could easily convince yourself to stop wanting a serious relationship, right? 

“What kind of man should I be with then?” you asked with a dejected look. 

“Someone serious, someone like me.” Nanami replied without hesitation.

The time between leaving the restaurant and being thrown onto Nanami’s bed was a blur. You stared up at him, pupils blown wide as he grabbed your face and pressed his lips against yours. Heart hammering in your chest, you watched with your lips parted as he slowly kissed down your torso, his eyes locked on yours. 

He pressed a soft kiss on your clothed cunt and groaned at how wet you were. He gently pressed a finger on your clit, smirking when you squirmed at the minimal touch. Nanami continued his ministrations over your pussy, intentionally ghosting his finger over your clit. You gave an annoyed sigh, bucking your hips as a silent plea.

“Please stop teasing, Nanami.” you inhaled sharply as he pushed your panties to the side and raised his eyebrow. 

Without missing a beat, he licked a long stripe against your slit, paying a little more attention to your clit but not enough to satisfy you. You moaned and pressed your thighs together, glancing down to watch as he slowly swirled his tongue around your clit. 

You were a leaking mess, your clit throbbing for more pressure. Nanami slipped a finger inside your pussy, but just barely. You threw your head back, feeling equally annoyed and aroused. He was definitely teasing you, or punishing you for wanting Gojo so bad. 

“Why are you teasing me?” you sighed as he slowly curved his finger in your walls. 

“You think this is teasing?” he mused as his thumb started circling your clit. “I could be worse.” 

You bit your lip, wondering if you should try and rile Nanami up by using your previous hookups with Gojo. You weren’t sure how Nanami would react but figured whatever outcome would result in you cumming…eventually. 

“Gojo teases me a lot.” you whispered, anxiety coursing through your veins. “Sometimes he doesn’t let me cum until the next day when we hookup.” 

Nanami raised his eyebrow as he pulled his thumb away from your clit, his tongue circling around it, savoring your essence. You gulped, unable to gauge Nanami’s reaction as he raised himself away from your body. 

“Lucky for you,” Nanami began as he loosened his tie. “I plan on making you cum multiple times.”

At least, that’s what Nanami wished had happened. He wished he could truthfully express his bad desire to be with you.

In reality, before you could question Nanami further, the server appeared and handed Nanami his card back. Nanami gave them a confused look before the server cleared their throat, motioning towards a customer sitting at the bar. 

“The gentleman over there covered your bill.”

You and Nanami turned around at the same time but had very different reactions. Gojo gave a smug grin and raised his glass to you both. Your heart skipped a beat, resisting the urge to run over to Gojo. Nanami clenched his fist and ground his teeth, annoyed that Gojo once again gave the bare minimum for your attention. 

“Should we go say hi?” you asked excitedly, already reaching for your handbag. 

“You two enjoy your time together.” Nanami answered flatly, placing his card back into his wallet and excused himself. 

You watched as Nanami walked away without acknowledging Gojo or saying good night to you. You hesitated for a moment, recalling your conversation a few minutes ago with Nanami. Was it really worth it to pursue this relationship with Gojo? Before you could ruminate further, Gojo appeared behind you, placing his hand on the small of your back. 

“You missed me so much that you entertained Nanami’s advances?” Gojo whispered into your ear, guiding you back to the bar. 

“Advances?” you questioned, leaning against Gojo’s arm. “We were having a few drinks as friends, er, coworkers.” 

“Sure, baby.” Gojo smirked as he helped you climb up on the bar stool. “Let’s get one more drink in ya before we go have some fun, as coworkers.”