#they're like figures on two sides of the situation caught together and

[yuanist]

kuroo texts you at 3:52 am, almost three months after you broke up.

admittedly, you probably should've silenced notifications from him by now, but when you roll over—eyes barely open, a little headache from the light—you know you're much, much too late.

a text, from your ex-boyfriend, the big, blue bubble stretched across your phone.

i just moaned your name during sex.

you blink at the screen.

you what?

moaned your name, he sends. totally ruined the moment.

you look up, and then down, and then up one more time to make sure what you’re looking it is real and not some strange, midnight hallucination before typing again.

you’re fucking with me, right?

dead serious, he replies. worst moment of my life.

you can hear his voice in the text, and if you weren’t so caught up in thinking about the poor girl who probably just had the worst sexual experience of her life, you would laugh.

you need to find a hobby or something, tetsurou. you send. and preferably one that doesn't involve tinder.

i have hobbies!

non-sexual ones?

he types for a while before a short, little totally! pops up on his side of the conversation.

and you hate that this is the part of him that’s most intriguing. the unintentional charm, too weird for his own good part that keeps you texting him at four in the morning.

yeah, you send, quicker than you intended. totally.

and suddenly, you're really considering something you shouldn't. before tonight, you hadn't heard from in a while—at least not enough to be thinking about him. you'd resigned yourself to your little, single life and you figured boyfriends might be more harm than they're worth (at least for a while, anyway), but now you have a new little do you wanna come over? typed out into your messaging app, finger hovering over the send button.

you take a minute, trying to rationalize.

the responsible part of you thinks it's way too late to be asking for anything good. you have class in the morning, and you're all tucked into bed, and bringing him here would really stir up some old feelings you weren't looking to bring back right now.

the other part of you—the more fun of the two, you'll admit—knows that you're thinking about him and he's... definitely thinking of you, so what's the harm in indulging a little bit? maybe nothing would happen anyway and you'd just end up staring at each other for a while, but sitting in your bed alone, staring doesn't sound like the worst thing in the world.

you send the text.

there's radio silence for a moment, and you think you might have just fucked the whole we can be exes and friends! thing up, but after a moment or two, he replies.

really?

and you sigh, don't make me change my mind.

he sends an immediate be there in 10, and you flop yourself back into the pillows.

now, okay, you'd be lying if you said you haven't been in this situation before. you and kuroo have always had a strange habit of—gravitating towards each other, to put it politely. it doesn't matter how many times you guys swear each other off, there's always going to be a party, or a text, or a run-in at the grocery store that brings you together (in more ways than one).

the whole i just moaned your name thing, though, that one's new.

your eyes flicker up to the ceiling, then down to your feet, and then, finally, your phone—the reality of this whole thing sinking in a little.

are you supposed to—shave your legs for this? put on your good pajamas: the ones that ride up a little when you bend over? is that where this is going? you're pretty sure it is, but every time this has happened before, it's been a little more spontaneous than this. right now, you have time to prepare and time to think, which you're now realizing is something you really did not want.

you sit there for a minute, coming to the conclusion that this is kuroo. you dated for two years, and you shared a bed at night for more of that time than you'd care to admit, so what does it matter how prepared you are?

you hear a key turn in the front door (the one from under the mat; you took away his actual key you think) and, all of a sudden, you're kind of nervous.

you haven't felt this way in a while, especially when it comes to him. you think you might hate it.

nevertheless, your feet hit the floor and you let yourself pad your way into the entryway, just in time to see someone sliding his shoes into the gap between the doorway and the wall.

you flick the light on, and he jumps a little.

a beat of silence, and then, "hi."

that's all you can come up with right now, truly, and you blame half of it on the time and the other half on the fact that kuroo looks like that.

he's always been pretty, no doubt about that, but right now he looks a little beat up in a way that you have to admit you're kind of into.

his hair's messed up: half of it shifted more left than right, with a little curl to it that he doesn't normally have. his cheeks are red, and he's a sort of out of breath and—did he run here?

"hi," he says, smiling, heaving out a breath.

(oh, he totally did. maybe you're a little more alluring than you thought).

you chuckle out one more, final hi, before he steps towards you.

he smells good—not that that's something you focus on, obviously—but he's still wearing that cologne you bought him last christmas and there's a little tinge of sweat to him that suits him so much better than you'd think.

he has a t-shirt on—one you got from a concert a couple years ago; you can't remember exactly when anymore, but it's clear that the thing has gotten its wear. the hole in the left shoulder is glaring at you from here and you kind of want to poke it.

"i have your key, by the way," he says then, dangling the little thing between his fingers. "did you ask for it back?"

oops.

"i—meant to." you snatch it from him, tossing it onto one of the side tables. "definitely meant to."

his hand lingers there for a second, a big, toothy smile spread across his face. "oh, sure you did."

and you eye him, a short what's that supposed to mean? rolling out of your lips.

he shakes his head, moving closer again—so much so that you can feel the cast of his breath along your cheeks.

"you still like me," he says, and you swear you can see his vocal cords bob in his throat.

"pardon?"

"you think i'm fun—and endearing, and still worthy of a house key."

"i think you're nuts." you say, fluttering your lashes a little. "and really not in the position to be making these accusations."

"you really think so?" he leans in one more time, close enough that his lips brush that arch between your jaw and your neck. "go ahead—tell me all about how crazy i am."

you feel something inside you quiver.

this right here, this is the whole game between the two of you. some sick little cat-and-mouse thing that always leads to something that you regret in the morning and—inevitably—repeat next week.

truthfully, though, you're getting kind of sick of fighting it.

"god, i can't stand you." you back away, edging towards the hallway that leads to your room. "are you coming with me or what?"

and he grins, because of course he is.

reblogs are appreciated! ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

[fxirybun]

🥂 PAC: what is your FS currently doing at the moment ?

FS stands for "future spouse" , the person you're going to marry and create a life together. let's see as to what they're up to at this time !

this is a collective reading ! take what resonates and leave what doesn't. i cannot guarantee 100% accuracy. take the pac reading lightly ჱ̒ ｰ̀֊ｰ́ )

ෆ⸒⸒ pile one

your future spouse is either physically or metaphorically on a journey at the moment. they may be traveling , relocating , or experiencing a transition in their life. i feel that they're currently desiring some kind of movement and how they don't want to be stuck or stay in just one place. they may also want to explore different places that they have never visited before. i'm sensing that your future spouse received some kind of letter ? perhaps a news that allows them to pursue their dreams or to leave this stagnant situation that they're facing.

this opportunity could make a significant impact on their current path. "finally" is what i'm hearing from them. i can see that your future spouse would grab this opportunity and act upon it swiftly. it's like they've been waiting for this moment to happen. there's something about an event that can give this person a sudden boost of energy within them.

i'm getting that this message came from a faraway distance ? an example would be living in a province and you receive an invitation from a city. there may be a person who lives on a different side of a country who's also close to your future spouse who decided to message them. i'm getting multiple messages. "wanna grab something for a drink ?" "there's a party over here" "you should come over".

i sensed that at first , your future spouse seemed to be thrilled to hear this exciting message yet, i'm feeling some kind of confusion coming from them. "this is new to me , i do not know this place". there's something about the location that makes them feel uncertain whether they would want to join or not. i'm also getting as to how they're wary about the people and the surrounding environment.

perhaps the kind of people who are in this place are all so "new" to them , similar to a culture shock moment. i'm receiving a scene from my head wherein the people wear very revealing clothes and how your future spouse feels a bit out of place. "blind date" it's possible that their friend is secretly setting your future spouse up with someone , not letting your future spouse know about their hidden motives.

this person could be a female or someone who has feminine qualities within them. though the "female" is more prominent in this reading. their energy leans more on the sensual side , very passionate and alluring. this person may have soft and delicate features. even so , your future spouse feels skeptical about this female figure once they meet them in person. they feel that this woman is hiding something from them or that they do not know this person at all.

after a while , your future spouse may want to know the truth from their friend as to why they're being set up with someone. they just want to have some fun and peace in their lives and not get caught up or involved with someone in a romantic setting lmao. “i thought this was supposed to be a party ? not a blind date" is what i'm getting from their energy. eventually , your future spouse would brush it off and enjoy the event throughout the night.

ෆ⸒⸒ pile two

your future spouse is currently dealing with heavy burdens in their life at the moment. there seems to be a challenging situation in their partake and how they have the urge to weigh down their responsibilities. i sensed that they were worrying about what the others may say about them ? 'cause i'm getting the word "discussion" + the show "gossip girl" and how prominent it was in this reading. perhaps your future spouse is in a stressful conversation and how it makes them feel anxious.

oohh i'm getting something about "leaked information" ? this is some high school-level drama 😭 it's like someone found out some info about your future spouse and they decided to spread it publicly , possibly being blackmailed or some sort. because of it everyone who is in the same environment as your future spouse is chattering about the so-called rumor.

gurl wait a min-- it's definitely a false rumor because whatever this information was is so far-fetched as to what that leaker may thought of. surprisingly enough it seems that your future spouse was waiting for their medical / lab results ? something that's related to health and how they've been focusing on their well-being these days yet it was misinterpreted as something else to which i cannot seem to point it out.

"one night stand". it's like they thought that your future spouse got into contact with some kind of transmittable disease that is related to sexual acts but it's not 💀 either way , i can see how they're trying their best to ignore those rumors and decided to focus on dealing with their confidential paperwork matters. i'm getting heavy themes of long-term stability , spiritual , emotional , and physical healing.

i feel that they're also grounding themselves amidst the chaos that they're currently facing. "let me do my own thing" , yeah they don't really give a damn about what others may think about your future spouse because they know themselves better than anyone else. i sensed that they're seeking balance in their life at the moment. i remembered earlier how your future spouse is dealing with too much work which lead them to feel fatigued or tired.

they may want to resolve their burdens quitely and in a rational way, a lot of reflecting for this one. all they could ever wish for at the moment is to have me-time and be in tune with themselves , being in a state of tranquility. hoping that the rumor dies down soon and everything went back to normal.

ෆ⸒⸒ pile three

i feel that there's a new female presence in your future spouse's life and how she's planning to take a visit. i'm also seeing them exchanging messages , emails , or texts with one another , discussing their plans for the future. it's similar to how someone is asking you as to what you're going to do after graduation. whoever this woman is , she seems to have something in her mind that she wants to talk about to your future spouse.

there's a swift movement of news that's coming on their way. it's possible that your future spouse may receive important information or messages from this female and how it is something to look forward to. perhaps there's a given opportunity or a project that was being offered to your future spouse that they may want to pursue.

i'm also sensing how this woman is trying to comfort your future spouse and how there's no romantic connection going on between the two of them. whatever this news may be it seems to be a negative one because i feel that your future spouse is experiencing some kind of worriness upon hearing it. they seem to be also stress , it's like they have lost something dear or important to them.

i'm leaning more so on their career side , it's possible that they may have been declined or rejected by a company or job that they wished to work with. for some of you , your future spouse could also be rejected by a university they hoped to attend yet their college application didn't meet what the university is looking for in a student.

"what am i supposed to do ?" there are a lot of what-ifs that are stirring your future spouse's mind at the moment. it was a once in a lifetime moment for them and when they heard about this saddened news they felt disheartened. thinking about it is gradually eroding their peace of mind and how it causes them to feel unease. they seem to want a change in their dynamic in life.

nevertheless , despite these worries that are consuming them , there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel. for as long as they remain an optimistic outlook , your future spouse will experience positive moments that are entering their life that may bring them short-term relief or satisfaction. it's possible that in the near-yet-distant future , they'll encounter an unexpected luck that aligns with their plans.

[hotluncheddie]

Day 4: Edging

"Bi Freak"

Ao3

wc: 3.5 | rated: E | tags: Sub Eddie Munson, established relationship, bisexual Eddie Munson & Steve Harrington, mean dom Steve Harrington (kinda), degradation, sub top Eddie

written for @subeddieweek <3

📸 📸 📸 📸 📸

‘Jesus, are you hard?’ Steve asks, incredulous at how fucking ridiculous Eddie’s cock can be at times. Even walking just behind him Steve must spot how Eddie’s hands shift to tug at his belt buckle, the way his gait is a little more awkward than usual.  

Eddie freezes, readjusting again as Steve saunters past. Cheeks feeling a little hot over being caught. He was Subtle, or so he thought, but his jeans must just not be tight enough to hide his boner. 

They're walking back to the beamer after eating at the diner in town. A few familiar faces around since its summer. The two of them included, back over from Indi for a visit to see Wayne for his birthday. 

Unfortunately, seeing Wayne means staying with Wayne and while that is wonderful, the walls of the trailer are still, absolutely, the width of paper mache. So, Steve had decided the concept of sex was much too mortifying in those conditions. A different consensus from when they first got together, Eddie had pointed out. But, Steve had just laughed and kissed him, in that condescending way that just made the whole situation so so much harder, figuratively and literally.

Its been a week, basically, and Eddie’s getting desperate, and Steve is getting mean. 

Eddie jogs to catch up to Steve's long strides. ‘Did you see her though? Christ Steve she, she's a vision. A fucking goddess dude.’ 

‘I saw I saw.’ Steve shoves his hands in his jacket, Eddie looming in close at his side.

‘Like she was something then, but now? Bigger and better, did you see? You saw them right?’ Eddie moves his arms around, cups his hands, clenches his fingers. A horny interpretive dance. 

Steve sighs, faux wistfully. ‘Every day I almost forget how much of a tits guy you are, and everyday you just gotta remind me, huh? Munson? What's up with that?’ Steve jabs his elbow into Eddie’s side. Grins at the cackle it elicits. 

‘You know I fundamentally disagree with that question, Stevie. No one should be subjected to a choice like that.’ Eddie laughs, swooping in close to Steve's neck for a moment, in that way he loves. Steve’s elbow coming out to make him back away. 

Steve pulls his keys out of his pocket, the car coming into view, parked in the furthest corner. 

‘Your tits are amazing by the way.’

Steve laughs again. ‘Thanks dude, I know. Lucky for you my ego is big enough to handle your crazy libido.’ 

Eddie grumbles, kicking at a can. ‘Only crazy because of the damn “no touching” rule you set.’ 

‘Aww’ Steve coos, ‘baby cant handle a little teasing anymore?’ He smirks at Eddie, unlocking the car but not opening the door, instead watching Eddie slump over, pouting. 

Steve stalks around to the passenger side, opening the door for him and pulling his arm, shoving Eddie down onto the seat with a hand on his head. 

Eddie whimpers, feels pre-cum leak out of his tip and soak into his boxers. Fuck, he’s hard - worse now. Steve’s not let him have more than a peck, more than a nighttime spoon, for days. 

‘Wanna know a secret?’ Steve asks. 

Eddie’s slumped on the passenger seat, feet still on concrete. He rubs his hands over his burning cheeks and peeks up at the sunshine being blocked from above. Steve leaning a forearm in the car hood, looming over Eddie, caging him in. 

Steve steps right up into Eddie space, shoving his knee onto the seat right between Eddies thighs. crushing his cock. Steve leans in even closer, breath ghosting over Eddie's ear, making him shiver. 

‘I know how she tastes.’ 

Eddie feels like all his air gets gut punched out of him, feels his fucking pupils dilate so much his vision goes blurry. He makes a strangled sort of moan. His boxers flooding with cum.

‘…Did? Did you just?’

Eddies panting so hard all he can really do is nod his head. 

‘You’re so pretty.’ He slurs, staring up at Steve, haloed and lovely and how did Eddie get so lucky?

Steve huffs and rolls his eyes, but he smiles down at him, strokes his cheek and looks at him with eyes full of stars. ‘You can go again through right?’ He asks. 

Eddie beams. ‘Fuck yeah!’ 

Steve laughs, shaking his head. He closes Eddie’s door and gets behind the wheel. Puts on his sunglasses and lays his hand on Eddie’s thigh. ‘No touching while I’m driving. Let's go break into my parents house.’ 

Eddie leans back in the headrest, grinning. ‘By break in, do you mean use the spare key?’

‘Sure do baby. They won't even be there.’ Steve says, and pulls out of the diner parking lot. 

-

Back at Steves Eddie sprawls out in his bedroom, familiar in its ugliness but the mattress has always been to die for.

Eddie listens to the sound of Steve moving through the house, not sure what he’s doing. But they’ve fallen into routines like this before, Eddie waiting upstairs while Steve did whatever it was that made a big empty house like this run smooth. He works the same magic on their apartment; structuring Eddie enough to not get overwhelmed by chores and eventually listening to Eddie’s please to not do it all himself. Steve could work himself to the bone and still ask if Eddie needed a glass of water. But now they have a chart, and Eddie’s always had a knack for laundry. 

But, at times like these, brain directly attached to his dick and almost nowhere else, Eddie wants to be directed.He wants Steve to do exactly as much as he wants, do so exactly as he pleases, Eddie almost an afterthought. 

Yeah, Eddie wants that. He shivers, hears Steves footsteps on the staircase. 

‘Unzip your jeans but don’t take them off.’ Steve says, coming into the room, searching for something. 

Eddie complies quickly, standing. Steve walks out of the room.

Steve walks back in with his shirt off. Looking Eddie up and down, face blank. 

He lifts the hem of Eddie’s t-shirt and shoves it in his mouth, saliva soaking the fabric between his teeth, cool air hitting his exposed nipples. ‘Show me.’ Steve says, calm and neutral, like Eddie is his doll to play with.

He pulls at the waistband of his boxers and his eyes burn as he watches Steve. Refusing to blink, refusing to miss the look on his face once he sees the mess. 

Steve’s eyes roam Eddie’s face for a moment, steely and almost cold. He looks down, raises his eyebrows. Eddie feels his cock twitch at the attention, at the judgment. 

Steve looks back up. ‘Look at it.’ And Eddie glances down, breath hitching at the sight of his cock covered in his own cum, some of it starting to crust but the tip still shiny and wet, leaning against the sodden fabric of his boxers. 

Eddie looks back up at Steve, sees that he watched his whole reaction. Pupils blown wide and Steve's hand has migrated up to tweak at his own nipple. Jealousy burns in Eddie’s gut; that he’s not allowed to touch Steve like that, not yet. 

Eddie whimpers again, he wants to kiss him, wants to eat him. 

‘Fuck’ Steve murmurs, like he can read Eddie’s mind. Maybe he can, or it’s just how good Steve has gotten at reading Eddie’s face.

‘Colour?’ Steve asks.

‘Super fuckin’ green.’ Eddie says around the fabric, grinning, watching Steves smile bloom right back 

‘Good’ Steve pecs his top lip. Eddie surging forward, chasing, letting the wet hem fall. 

Steve stops him with a finger on his chest. His expression smoothing back into one of mild disgust. ‘So needy.’ Steve drawls. ‘Take off everything but your boxers.’ And he’s gone again, leaving Eddie to struggle out of his clothes in a rush. 

Steve walks back in, now only in his boxers too, Eddie can see the outline of his cock through the material and it makes his mouth water. It takes him a second to register that Steve’s holding the Polaroid camera now too. 

‘Show me, like you did before.’ Steve says, fiddling with the camera, waiting. 

Eddie does as he’s told and he feels goosebumps dabble over his skin, heat rushing south so fast it makes his nipples hard. 

Steve takes a photo of eddies cock covered in his own, slightly crusted, cum. The flash taking Eddie’s breath away. 

But Steve just leaves again, without a word. Eddie stands stock still and hears the shower turn on, the faint sound of the camera again. 

Steve comes back in flapping the polaroids. He sets the camera down and walks back over to Eddie, handing him a damp wash cloth. 

‘Clean yourself off.’ He says, leaning on one hip, looking board. ‘And fold your clothes on the desk, boxers on top, they need washing.’ Eyes flashing to Eddie’s, bitchy and judgmental. Eddie moans, even more heat rushing south, his gut churning. 

But Eddie does as he’s told, ignoring the heat between his thighs, Steve’s eyes on him as he settles the clothes in a neat pile. ‘Good. Now grab a pillow and kneel down. You’re gonna watch my photos develop while I shower. That sound okay?’ He asks, condensing, but the question is laced with sweetness, infused with the knowledge that Steve knows Eddie loves him like this, loves being talked to like this. But he can end it any time. Any time either of them want. 

Eddie just nods, bites his lip, turning to the bed to grab a pillow and situate himself on the floor. 

Steve bends and lays the photos in front of where Eddie’s kneeled. Then strokes his cheek with a thumb, making Eddie preen, blinking his eyes closed slowly. 

The crack of the slap registers after the feeling, Eddie’s head turned slightly to the side. Low moan distant to his own ears. 

He blinks his eyes back open, looking up at Steve’s and his pretty face. He thinks there must be spit sliding down his chin, because Steve’s thumb comes to wipe something away, dipping into Eddie’s parted lips gently, for a moment. 

And then Steve turns swiftly for the door, stopping just at the threshold. Eddie eyes snapping back up from where they were looking at his ass and Steve’s stifles a smile. Eddie’s own growing slow and dopey on his face. 

‘You can touch, I want you hard once I’m back. But if you cum again I’m not doing anything with you for a week.’ He says and Eddie blinks at him. Nodding as the words filter through his brain. 

He closes his eyes once Steve leaves and the water turns on. Lets his fingers dance towards his cock, cheek hot and tight and he moves it at the same time he wraps around himself, shoulders hunching around another guttural moan. 

Then he remembers the photos. 

He looks down and laying in front of his bent knees there’s two polaroids. The one of Eddie is almost fully developed, his dark thatch of hair speckled with globs of his own cum, white in contrast and just as noticeable in half crusted patches over the pink flush of his cock. It’s a mess. 

Eddie works himself at the sight, getting to full hardness with a strangled gasp. Remembering Steve eyeing it, remembering what he’d said that caused Eddie to finish so quick. 

The other is still only half developed. But the photos edges are rendering sections of the familiar Harrington bathroom, white tiles and blue walls, shower curtain and the edge of the large ornate mirror. Tan skin starts to become clear, Steve’s big hand holding the camera aloft, taking his own photo using the mirrors reflection, the back of his head. 

Eddie’s hand speeds up and he watches, wide eyed, as Steve’s broad shoulders come into view, the arch and strong length of his back. Eddie bites his lip again, harder, as Steve’s back ends in his bare ass perched on the counter.

The dark ring of a plug just visible between his cheeks. 

Eddie strangles a cry, gripping himself hard at the base, stifling his orgasm and feeling tears spring at his eyes. Steve’s must’ve been wearing that all through their time at the diner, all through the day. Stretched and wet and Eddie clenches his thighs together, covers his mouth with his palm and squeezes his eyes shut. 

‘Fuck. Fuck!’ He mumbles behind his hand, breathing shakily through his nose. Steve is something else.

Finally the shower shuts off and Steve returns. Eddie still kneeling, panting heavily, cock hard and leaking between his thighs. Still coming down from the brink. Steve just smirks at him, running a towel through his hair. 

He lays down on the bed, settling against the headboard. He trails his fingers over himself, tracing his nipple and stomach before giving his cock a few tugs, getting it hard. 

Eddie watches the whole thing, hands still gripping his thighs. 

Eventually Steve’s eyes slide open, that little smirk on his face. He opens his arms for Eddie, motioning him in. 

Eddie scrambles up and into them, kissing and sucking at Steve’s neck and shoulders. Cock already grinding desperately between Steve’s damp cheeks. 

‘You liked the pictures baby?’ Steve whispers, smile in his voice, mouth hot on Eddie’s ear. 

Eddie shivers and pulls back, disbelief on his face. ‘I can’t believe you.’ He gushes. 

Steve smiles at him and his cheeks are flush from the shower, his damp hair is falling into his forehead. ‘Fuck, you’re so pretty.’ Eddie says, always always amazed by Steve. He needs him, wants to be inside. 

He grinds again, catching Steve’s hole, relishing in Steve’s eyes rolling slightly. ‘Get me wet first.’ Steve demands pulling at Eddie’s hair, shoving his head away. 

Eddie bites his lip, cock twitching, he pulls at Steve’s thighs, bending him in half. Dips low to lick a long wet stripe across his ass. Tongue pressing at Steves hole, breaching the already stretched muscle and fucking his tongue in until there’s spit sliding down Steve’s crack. 

Eventually Steve pulls Eddie off by his hair, chest all flushed and nipples hard. 

Reaching over Steve gets the condom and lube from his bedside table. He doesn’t live here anymore, hasn’t for years. But the remnants of their sneaking around before Steve up and left with Eddie and Robin are still there. He never completely fell out with his parents, but he didn’t really tell them where he was going either. They continue to essentially ignore Steve and Steve continues to sneak into their house whenever he’s in Hawkins and fuck his boyfriend in whichever room he pleases. It’s not ideal, but it works. 

‘Gonna show me what that useless cock can do?’ Steve goads, sitting up to roll the condom onto Eddie and slicking him with lube. 

Eddie whines. 

He hitches Steve’s thighs up, forcing him Back flat, hands beneath his knees. Steve sighs into the touch and Eddie watches his length get slowly swallowed by Steve’s tight, wet heat. 

Eddie bottoms out, watching his length disappear. He feels his balls draw up, ears ringing and he’s so close. He’s so close. 

The slap makes him stutter, eye wide as he stare at Steve. ‘Do not cum.’ Steve seethes, finger in eddies face, like he’s a misbehaving child. Eddie moans, gripping Steves thighs to hold himself still, breathing deeply through his nose to stave off his orgasm. 

He stays buried in Steve, willing himself back down. Panting, he feels tears prickle at his eyes again. ‘That’s it.’ Steve soothes, hand coming up to stroke over the red mark he left on Eddie’s face. 

Eddie breaths, eyes closed, feels the tendrils in his gut uncoil slightly. No longer right on the brink. 

Eventually he opens them, Steve’s eyes on him. Eddie leans down, hands either side of Steve’s face. He starts moving his hips again, building a steady pace. 

‘You should’ve touched yourself in front of her today.’ Steve says, looking up at Eddie with that closed off look again, haughty and judgmental. Eddie moans. ‘What do you think she would’ve done? If you got your stupid needy cock out in the diner, you think she would’ve laughed?’ Steve asks, voice mean and even, the only sign of arousal the flutter of his eyelashes as Eddie thrusts especially deep. 

‘Fuck Steve.’ Eddie pants, thinking about it. ‘I used to think about that while you were at Scoops’ He admits, eyes watching Steve, watching his smirk broaden. 

‘Yeah? You would’ve got your big dumb cock out on the counter for me while I scooped ice cream?’ 

Eddie’s hips stutter, he’s getting close again. ‘Yeah, used, u-used to go jack off in the bathrooms after seeing you at that mall. In that outfit. Fuck Steve, wanted you so bad.’ Eddie whines. 

Steve coos, finger trailing up Eddie’s sweaty neck. ‘Who knew the freak would be so needy’

Eddie whimpers feeling a blush spread down his chest. He moves his hips faster, wanting to get in deeper. 

Steve cracks, moaning. ‘Fuck, make me cum baby, get me there.’ Steve says, gripping his own cock now. Other hand holding him in place with the headboard. Eddie going faster, deeper, grazing that spot he knows so well inside Steve. 

Steve throws his head back, releasing all over himself with a shout, soft hair splayed across the pillow and cheeks flushed pink. Eddie slows, grinding. He’s so close again, so achingly hard he can feel his pre dripping out, filling the condom. 

‘I think I would’ve let you. Maybe Played with your cock while I worked.’ Steve pants. ‘But only if you cleaned up after yourself.’ And he scoops up some of the cum from his stomach and chest, feeding it into Eddie’s slack mouth. 

Eddie sucks, swallowing and tasting salt, flooding his mouth with saliva, some slipping out down his chin. ‘’Teve.’ He pleads, garbled. Begging for permission. His eyes wide and wet, hips unable to stop. 

‘You wanna cum baby?’ Steve asks, holding Eddie’s jaw with his spit slick fingers, fucking his own hips down onto Eddie’s cock. 

Eddie nods, whining, digging his fingers into the sheets, trying not to think about what will happen if he comes too soon. 

‘What are you baby? Are you my little freak, my little perv?’ Steve teases. 

Eddie shivers, nodding, his whole body shaking in an attempt to stave off his orgasm. Shame writhing filthily in his gut, threatening to spill. 

Steve pulls Eddie closer, kissing his cheek and letting him burrow his face in Steve’s neck. Eddie licks over his moles, wants to mark him, burrow his cock inside and never leave. ‘Thats it, my dumb thing, fucking me so good.’ Steve pets over Eddie’s hair as his hips speed up, thrusting into Steve harder, the sounds of skin slapping echoing through the house. 

‘Cum for me.’ Steve whispers, hot breath sending shivers down his back. Eddie’s rhythm turning sloppy and desperate as he thrusts deep one last time. Cumming and crying out into Steve’s neck, tears slipping onto Steve’s skin and Eddie clenches his teeth so hard his jaw cracks. 

He cums for so long he’s almost numb, shaky and boneless as he falls on top of Steve. 

Steve holds him close, threading his fingers through Eddie’s sweaty hair and whispering praise in his ear. 

Eventually Eddie moves slightly from on top of Steve, letting his softening cock slip out and his head rest on Steve’s chest. Listening to his heart beat. ‘Good boy, you’re my good boy Eddie.’ Steve says softly, threading his fingers into Eddie’s curls to massage his scalp. 

Eddie groans, boneless and satiated. ‘Was I too mean?’ Steve asks from above him. 

‘Fuck no. Made me cum my whole brain out.’ Eddie slurs, pressing his forehead between Steve’s hairy pecs. 

Steve tsks him, tugging at Eddie’s hair. The sharp pain making Eddie hiss and he sucks one of Steve’s nipples into his mouth, clamping down on top of him so he can’t wriggle away. 

‘Okay, okay! Quit it, you monster.’ Steve laughs, shoving Eddie’s face off. 

Eddie sits back in his heels, laughing, finally taking the condom off and tossing it onto the floor. ‘You want another shower before we head back to Wayne’s?’ He asks, petting distractedly at Steve’s pink hole, still shiny with lube. 

‘Ye just gimme a sec.’ Steve says, stretching, making Eddie’s fingertip slip inside. ‘And quit playing with that, what are you, a perv?’ He asks, smirking up at him. 

Eddie grins, lunging back on top of Steve and biting his shoulder. 

Steve yelps and Eddie scoops him up, carrying him bridal style to the bathroom. 

‘Oh! Stevie, remind me to put those polaroids in my wallet. I think I’ll get a lot of use out of ‘em.’ Eddie says, dumping Steve on the closed toilet and turning the shower on. 

📸 📸 📸 📸 📸

Tag List: @pearynice @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @scoops-aboy86 @chickensinrainboots @cheesedoctor @marvel-ous-m

[loveandleases]

I read the text of Mc's dream in a threesome with Cam and Ardent and how perfect, seriously you have a huge talent Lea. But a debt, in a poly Ardent x Mc x Cam, and Mc asked the other two to kiss, would the boys do it? Like just a little kiss to please Mc during sex?

And another thing, your Rosés are so perfect and beautiful😭

Seriously, beautiful faces, perfect bodies, beautiful hair and eyes, they all look like models and now I have serious doubts if there are so many beautiful people in Chicago like them.

🫣 You're too kind! I can only imagine two reasons they would kiss: by accident or because they're arguing and MC tells them to apologize to one another, but they're both too stubborn for that.

Thank you~ I worked hard on them. 😭 Thought I would do a lil drabble for the situation.

The room is dark, the moonlight the only light that dares to penetrate the room. The room in which Cam, Ardent, and you lay pressed against one another. You sigh, shifting to get comfortable despite the aches in your body – a price well worth it.

Ardent lay on one side, his arm draped over your waist. Cam lay on the other, his hand holding yours and inching closer every time Ardent’s grip on you loosened. You should’ve expected what happened next, a tug-of-war with you caught helplessly in the middle.

“Stop pulling them.” Ardent growls, his tone sharp as his arm tightens around you. He shot a glare at Cam, who met it with one of his own, a small smirk on his lips suggesting he knew exactly what he was doing.

“I’m just getting comfortable,” Cam says, head propped up on his hand. “Now can you shut up? We’ve got work in the morning.”

“So do I!” Ardent barks through clenched teeth.

Cam closes his eyes as if conceding, only for his hand to creep over to rest on your waist – right above Ardent’s – pulling you ever so slightly closer to him.

“See? You’re doing it on purpose.” Ardent says, shoving Cam’s hand away. Once satisfied with Cam’s scowl, Ardent presses a kiss to your neck and attempts to settle back to sleep.

Cam squeaks, and sputters out some form of reply that gets lost along the way as he yanks you toward him with exaggerated force.

You groan, burying your face in your hands. “Guys, I’m right here. I’m not some chew toy for you to fight over.” However, the marks on your skin say otherwise.

It was like you hadn’t said anything at all. The argument escalates, their voices growing louder with each exchange.

 “Enough! That’s enough!” You sit up abruptly pulling yourself free from their grasp. Fixing them both with a glare, you say“You two need to figure this out, or both of you are sleeping somewhere else.”

They stare at you, stunned into silence, but it doesn’t last. Their bickering continued once more.

Before it spirals further, you raise a hand between them to cut them off. “You’ve got two choices,” you say, voice firm. “Either apologize to each other or find another way to prove you can share a bed with me without fighting.”

“Apologize?” Ardent balked, his brows knit together in disbelief.

“Not happening,” Cam says immediately, his arms crossed. “Hell would freeze over first. There’s a better chance of us kissing than apologizing.”

You stared at them, deadpan. “Well, what are you waiting for, then?” Silence falls over the room, the weight of your words settled between them. They stare at each other, wary, each waiting for the other to break first.

Cam groans, dragging a hand down his face.  They don’t move, don’t speak, the tension thick enough you could cut it with a knife. You sigh, intent on leaving and finding somewhere else to sleep for the night, but their hands dart out, each grabbing one of your wrists.

“Okay, okay. Just… don’t leave.” Cam says softly, his thumb brushing over the back of your hand.

Ardent looks like he’d rather be anywhere else – or rather, like he’d prefer Cam to be anywhere else. But he doesn’t argue. Instead, he mutters under his breath, “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

What follows is every bit as awkward as you’d imagined. They lean in stiffly, movements jerky and hesitant. Somehow still battling for dominance – if not the upper hand, then the upper lip. Their lips collide in an uncoordinated mess – noses bumping, teeth clinking. The kiss is over in an instant, and both pull back with identical looks of disgust.

“There,” Cam said, wiping his mouth with such force you worry for his skin. “Happy now?”

“Not even close,” Ardent mutters, rubbing the back of his hand over his lips as though he could erase the memory.

A laugh threatens to fall from your lips as you look at them. It was unexpected, you were certain they'd fold and apologize to one another. Hell, you would’ve bet money on it. “You two are too stubborn for your own good."

Ardent and Cam avoid each other’s eyes, muttering something under their breath.

Despite yourself, you smile, climbing back into the bed. They follow soon after, settling back into their respective places. Maybe sharing a bed with the two of them wasn’t going to be easy, but at least it wouldn’t be boring.

[drabbles-mc]

All Settled

Rick Flag x F!Reader (past: Rick Flag x June Moone)

For @the-slumberparty's Bingo Challenge! Bingo square: caught in a storm

Warnings: 18+, language, pining, arguing, light angst

Word Count: 3.1k

A/N: They're aruging, they're pining, they're stuck in an airport together. We love to see it! also idk i might write more for these two eventually I'm not sure i just don't know but there are Vibes i might explore later lmao

Suicide Squad Taglist: @garbinge @artemiseamoon @beardburnsupersoldiers @words-and-seeds (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

It was perfect, really. Not in the way that it was good, but in the way that it happened and all you could do was laugh, shake your head, and think to yourself, “Of fucking course.”

“This funny to you?” Rick asked, clearly not as amused as you as he dropped his bag to the floor with a loud thud. It wasn’t nearly as loud as the clap of thunder that sounded right before he’d spoken to you, though.

“I mean,” you said with a shrug, also letting your bag slip down off your shoulders, albeit with less drama, “it’s a little funny to me, yeah.”

He shook his head, scuffing the toe of his boot along the tiled floor. You could tell by that and the tightness of his jaw alone that he was fighting the urge to punt his own bag across the floor. “Glad you think so.”

You didn’t let it faze you—Rick and his short fuse weren’t anything new to you at this point. “Yeah, because getting mad about it like you are seems to be so much better.”

He opened his mouth to fire back at you, but he stopped himself when he saw the traces of amusement on your face, that you were just going to take whatever he said to you in that moment and flip it right back onto him. You were one of the few people in the world that he would request time and time again to assist with Task Force X whenever he could, whenever he got enough leash to bring in an extra body on his side of things. But it didn’t make him any less annoyed with you in moments like this.

“Don’t get your panties in a knot, Flag,” you said as you dropped into one of the many empty chairs behind you. Lightning flashed outside, bright light coming through all the airport windows for a split second. “We’ll be outta here first thing in the morning.”

He shook his head, trying to figure out if he wanted to pace and be angry about the situation, or sit down next to you and be angry about it instead. His exhaustion won out just enough to get him to sink down into the chair beside yours.

“Made it through all that shit, and we get stuck on the layover. That’s,” he shook his head, “that’s just…”

“Perfect,” you finished for him with a laugh. You looked over at him, watching as he shook his head and tried not to look like he wanted to laugh right along with you. “Look at the bright side,” you stretched your legs out in front of you, crossing one over the other, “least we didn’t get stuck in this storm with the rest of the team.”

The sigh he puffed out turned into a laugh, shaking his head as he thought about the scenario you’d just put into his head. “Fuckin’ A.”

“Exactly.” You let your head drop back to rest against the top of the seat. You stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds in silence before saying, “We should’ve gotten a hotel room.”

Now it was his turn to laugh at you. “Seriously? We’ve been stuck out,” he gestured vaguely, not wanting to say exactly where even though there weren’t many people around, “you know, and you’re gonna bitch about sleeping in an airport?”

Turning your head to look at him, you raised your eyebrows and replied, “I’m off the clock, Rick—I’d like to sleep in a real bed if at all possible.”

He chuckled, shaking his head at you. “Poor thing,” he mocked.

You laughed, elbowing his arm off the rest that separated your chair from his. Like he had any right to give you grief about complaining at this point. “Fuck you.”

Neither of you said anything for a bit after that. The two of you sat there in your insanely uncomfortable airport chairs, with posture that wasn’t fit at all for the caliber of soldier that the both of you were. Both of you were watching the few people who were stuck at the airport with you. Your flight had been one of the last, but it seemed like a couple others that were scheduled to leave late got pushed off until the morning. No one was dedicated enough to getting a hotel room to go outside in the rain and wind to get a cab. So you watched everyone putting together makeshift beds of their own out of their luggage, draping themselves across chairs. Whatever it took to be at least mildly comfortable.

You’d been still and quiet for so long that Rick thought that you might’ve fallen asleep. Tilting his head, he glanced over at you to find you very much awake. Your eyes were fixed on the small cluster of people who were at the gate across from yours. Among them was a woman with two children, young enough that they thought this was all so fun and exciting.

“Why do you always say yes?” he asked you, watching you as you watched everything around you.

Your face contorted in confusion but you still didn’t turn to face him. “Hm?”

“When I put in the request for you, why do you always say yes?”

You chuckled, finally facing him. “Why do you keep requesting me?”

“’Cause I know you won’t let me get shot.”

You laughed at that, trying not to be too loud as everyone continued to hunker down to go to sleep. “Yea, I guess that’s fair.” You pulled your legs up, feet resting on the edge of your seat as you wrapped your arms so that your hands interlocked and rested on your shins. “Maybe I just like making sure you don’t get shot.”

He smiled, a tiny grin that was briefly illuminated by another strike of lightning. “Can’t like it that much.”

You arched your brow. “Want me to start saying no? Leave the big bad Colonel all on his own?”

He shook his head at you. “Not what I said. I just, I don’t know.” He crossed his arms, letting them rest over his stomach as he looked at the same place you’d just been looking. “You always seemed like you were looking to settle down. This,” he laughed, “this shit ain’t settled.”

You hummed in amusement as you nodded. “It’s not.” You paused. “I’m just, I don’t know, guess I haven’t really found someone to settle with yet. Not gonna give this up with no reason to.” You waited for him to look at you. “Lucky for you, though, huh?”

He nodded, gave you a quick smirk, but he didn’t say anything else in response. You couldn’t tell if there was more that he wanted to say. Either way, it didn’t matter much. He sunk down a little farther in his chair, long legs stretched out in front of him. The heel of his boots rested just on the far side of his ridiculously large duffle bag, ensuring that no one would be able to try and snatch it without him noticing. You shook your head at the precaution—it didn’t seem like anyone in present company was going to want any of his fatigues and t-shirts that hadn’t been washed in a week. You let him have that, though. You watched as his chin dropped and tucked towards his chest, eyes falling closed even though he probably wouldn’t actually fall asleep for a long time.

“Think you’re ever going to?” you asked, propping your chin on your knees as you did.

His eyes were still shut as he asked, “Ever gonna what?”

“Settle down?”

His eyes slowly opened, muscles tensing as he processed the two-word question. “I don’t know.”

You were nearly kicking yourself for ruining the moment. Things were fine. You didn’t have to pry, but you did it anyway. You just couldn’t let things lie—it was a habit you always meant to work on and never got around to it.

“Sorry,” you said, your voice tentative in a way that it hardly ever was with anyone, least of all with Rick.

He looked at you, brows meeting in confusion. “For what?”

You knew that answering the question was just going to dig a deeper hole, but you also knew that you weren’t going to be able to ignore the question, either. Stubbornness was one of the traits that you and Rick shared.

You shrugged, wishing that you could pull your legs in farther, make yourself smaller and disappear out of this conversation. “It’s not my business. I know that…it’s just…I know since June you sorta just—”

“Got it,” he cut you off.

You fought the urge to sigh with everything in you. You were annoyed with yourself, but you were annoyed with him too. “Right.”

There was just enough of a shift in your tone to keep him hooked into the conversation, even though it was evident that neither of you wanted to continue it. “What?”

You shook your head. “I’m not doing this with you, Rick.” He went to try and argue but you kept talking before he could. “You don’t wanna talk about it so we’re just, we’re not gonna talk about it. Forget I fuckin’ said anything.” There was a long stretch of silence and before you could use any impulse control you said, “But to be fair, you asked me first.”

He sighed. “We doin’ this right now?”

“What this are you referring to, exactly?” you snapped, voice hushed. The rain beating down and echoing against the roof helped to hide some of your conversation.

“Since when do you wanna talk about that? About all my shit? About, about June?” He hesitated on it but he still managed to get the question out. You couldn’t remember the last time he actually said her name.

You were too caught up in your frustration to empathize about it though. “Are you serious?” You let your feet drop back to the floor, adjusting yourself in your chair so that your entire torso was turned and facing him. “You’re gonna sit there and pretend that I’m the one who never wanted to talk about it?” You scoffed. “Fuck’s sake, Rick. The only reason I found out the two of you broke up in the first place was because Boomer made some asshole comment and you nearly tossed him out of the helicopter. You have never wanted to talk to me about all of that. About anything, really.”

Rick’s fists were clenched at his sides, trying to keep himself from getting too defensive but you weren’t making it easy for him. You never did. He didn’t make it easy for himself, either. “Hey—”

“Actually, now that I think about it,” you cut him off, “you never talk to me about anything outside of work. You know all about me, but I don’t know shit about—”

“That’s not true,” he interjected, voice firm enough to give you pause. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”

Your shoulders slumped in defeat at that. He wasn’t wrong. But you weren’t completely wrong either. You both knew plenty about each other but there were always a series of walls that Rick kept up, ones that you never got around to building for yourself. Moments like that made it hard not to feel the distance.

“Whatever,” you finally said, not wanting to give in and actually tell him that he was right.

He was still shaking his head at you as he went back to staring at his boots. “Don’t know why you care so much anyway—not like you ever liked her.”

“What? I,” you sputtered as you shook your head, “I had no problem with June. What are you talking about? I barely even knew her.”

It was true. Outside of the events of Midway City, you had next to no contact with June. Rick was pretty much her sole protective detail, hence how the rest of their entire situation played out. You were part of his team that time around too, although despite being his right hand, you were far from the top of his priority list the way that you were all the times after that when you guys handled ops together. But that was the only time you ever really spent around June, and to say that you really spent it with her would’ve been a stretch even under the most forgiving circumstances. But still, you never had a problem with her.

He let out a sound that was somewhere between a sigh and a chuckle—either way it was full of attitude. “Right.”

You huffed, shaking your head. “Fuck you.”

You angled yourself away from him, turning your body so that you were facing forward again. Part of you wanted to get up and walk to another part of the airport. It would’ve been pointless, though. In just a few more hours the two of you would be sitting next to each other on the plane anyway. There was no escaping him until the trip was over. For a split second, you let yourself indulge in the thought that maybe next time you’d say no when he asked you to tag in.

“Should’ve gotten out when she did,” you mumbled.

You heard the sound of his clothes rustling as he turned to look at you. “What was that?”

You didn’t hesitate, not looking at him but speaking just a little louder, and a whole lot clearer. “I said you should’ve gotten out when she did.” You turned and looked at him, wanting to hit him with the full weight of what you were going to say next. “Maybe then you’d still—”

“Don’t fuckin’ go there,” he said, tone low but brimming with anger.

You rolled your eyes, slumping back against the chair. “Yes, sir.”

There were only about ten seconds between your response and him speaking up again, but those seconds felt like hours to Rick as he tried to force himself to just be honest instead of angry for once. Or at least be honest while he was being angry.

“It was because I wouldn’t give it up,” he finally said, bitterness coating his voice.

Your face scrunched in confusion for a moment before you turned your head to look at him. “What?”

“She left because I wouldn’t give it up. She wanted nothing to do with any of it after everything that happened. I got that. She was just waiting for me to walk away from it too.”

“You got into this shit for her—why didn’t you walk away?”

“Think Waller was just gonna let me walk?”

You shrugged. “Not at first. But she’d get tired of fighting you eventually.” You paused. “She probably would’ve ended your entire military career though.”

“Yeah,” he scoffed, “no thanks.”

“How long did it take her to realize you weren’t gonna quit?” you asked, figuring that if he was gonna open the door you might as well take a peek inside.

He shook his head. “Longer than it should’ve for someone as smart as she is.”

“Love makes you stupid.”

He let out a laugh, one that was one part sadness, one part humor. “Yeah, it does.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. Not on you.”

“You really love this shit, huh?” you asked, really processing the full weight of what he was telling you. Rick had turned his whole life on its head to save June. He said it himself that she was the only woman he’d ever really cared about. From the way he was acting during everything leading up to what happened at Midway City, you were certain that he would’ve done anything for her. But apparently not.

If he laughed you couldn’t hear it over the rumbles of thunder. “’Bout as much as I hate it.” He looked over at the windows for a moment, able to see the rain pelting down in the dark, then he looked back at you. “Stupid, right?”

You chuckled quietly. “That’s how you know you love it.”

“What’s your excuse, then?” he asked. “Because I know you sure as shit don’t love this.”

You rolled your eyes, smiling in the hopes that it would hide all of the thoughts that were racing through your brain because of his question. “Just an adrenaline junkie now, I guess.” You looked over at him. “Regular military ops just don’t do it for me anymore.”

He was slowly starting to let the tension drop out of his shoulders, his guard slowly coming back down as the both of you began to get back to some sort of common ground. “That’s it, huh?”

It wasn’t the time to get into it. It probably wouldn’t ever be the time to get into it. “That and, like you said, someone’s gotta keep you from getting shot.”

He was shaking his head at you, but at least this time he was almost smiling while he did it. The two of you had always had that going for you—no matter how quickly things tensed up between you, you usually managed to cool back down almost as quickly. Some of that was from all the years and hours you’d spent together, some of it was because in the situations you found yourselves in out in the field, there was no time for grudges so it was best to just let shit go if you could. But for yourself, you also knew that there was an element of not wanting to hang onto that, not with him. It’s why you’d always say yes when he asked you.

For a few seconds it was quieter than it had been. The rain lightened enough to not be echoing as it fell against the roof. The thunder and lightning subsided, and the conversation between you hit a lull. So when Rick cleared his throat, it seemed louder than it really was.

You turned to look at him and found him already staring at you. You raised your eyebrows, silently prompting him to say whatever it was that he was gearing up for. His brows scrunched for a split second, a final hesitation but he was still going to go through with it.

“We’re…?” he trailed off, his tone enough to fill in the rest of the question for him.

You smiled, nodding. “We’re good. Don’t worry,” you shifted in your chair so that you were leaning against his side, your head resting on his shoulder, “I won’t leave you hanging next time you call.”

He chuckled, wanting to shake his head and come back with a snarky remark, but he didn’t have it in him. Tilting his head, he looked over at you and for the first time in a long time, he felt a pull of something deep in his chest. A feeling that he wasn’t sure he could afford to put too much stock in. He let his head drop to rest against yours. “Thanks.”

[vidavalor]

Why do you think Crowley didn't just get another apartment?

Hi! Thanks for the ask. I have French buttercream chocolate cake tonight. I know, right? It's amazing. *cuts you a slice*

To answer your question, I think we have to look at the whole thing with where Crowley parks The Bentley and when (in both seasons) and, also, the scenes that emphasize Crowley and Aziraphale avoiding being seen together anywhere in the mornings and what all this has to do with what he says is his living situation in S2.

Meta on Crowley "living in his car" in S2 under the cut.

For Crowley and Aziraphale, what has always been what *absolutely cannot happen* is Heaven/Hell figuring out that Crowley will stay in the bookshop until very, very late into the evening, as that is the one thing they'd have trouble justifying. If Crowley parked The Bentley in front of the bookshop in the afternoon/evening and it was still there at 7am the next morning, it would send a message to anyone watching that their relationship isn't just intelligence business, it's not just friendship...and it's not even really just sex. If Heaven/Hell saw The Bentley outside the bookshop all night often enough, they would assume that Crowley and Aziraphale are in a romantic relationship and this is the one thing that Crowley and Aziraphale do not want them to figure out. They can hatch a wild plan if they get caught to justify any of the rest of it and maybe get away with it but there's no way out if they get caught out being in love when they're supposed to be sworn enemies... so, if they want to spend time alone together in the privacy of the bookshop, how do they work around the problem of potentially being noticed? The show actually showed us subtly in S1 before a little more overtly in S2.

When Crowley is going to come over for awhile-- and especially when it's going to mean that he's there into the evening-- he doesn't park The Bentley in front of the bookshop. He parks it in the vicinity but not too close-- around where it was when Aziraphale called him in 2.01. Two or so minutes' drive out, on a side street. (A two minute drive is a 15 or so minute walk so not that far but a bit away.) If he's coming to the shop alone, he'll probably use the side entrance to the bookshop but if he's been out with Aziraphale-- like he was in their 'fuck everything, the world is ending' lunch at The Ritz in 2008-- they'll walk back to the bookshop. If anyone notices Crowley entering it, it'll be during the day, right? While not ideal, it's innocuous enough. Aziraphale's bookshop is theoretically a business and is also an angelic embassy and Aziraphale could say that he's trying to turn Crowley to the light and make him into an informant if they were caught. Conversely, it couldn't hurt Crowley-- whose job, like Aziraphale's, is to spy on his counterpart-- to seem like he's gaming the corruptible angel and getting intel to further the demonic goals of Hell so he could say he's luring the angel to trusting him. Being in the bookshop during the day, during what are (for normal businesses lol) business hours, when the business is also an embassy, is one thing. It's the evening that's the problem for them. At that time of day, the bookshop is nothing but Aziraphale's residence and Crowley's presence during those hours becomes much riskier. So, how to get around that?

Here's them walking back to the bookshop from wherever Crowley's parked The Bentley on a side street after lunch in 2008/Eleven Years Ago in S1:

During lunch in 2008, they already planned for Crowley to come back to the bookshop with Aziraphale and since there's no plan for him to leave in any hurry, Crowley is already not parked in front of the bookshop so no one can recognize his car there late at night. This is practiced between them; they've been doing it for awhile by this point. They still are in S2, when we have several scenes of Crowley in The Bentley parked on a side street near the bookshop.

Since Crowley can't be seen then leaving the bookshop once the sun is up or it'd defeat the purpose of the car not being parked in front of it, whenever he comes over, he leaves the bookshop through the side door at some ungodly pre-dawn hour, walks to his car a few streets over (apparating into it would be suspicious to anyone who might have found it so he usually walks, looking like he was just out late causing demonic trouble), and then, in the past, would drive back to his apartment in Mayfair. That way, when the sun came up, anyone who might be watching his place would see The Bentley parked in front of it. Didn't see Crowley leave the bookshop from the afternoon? You must have missed him in a crowd on the sidewalk somewhere because there's his gorgeous, old, very recognizable car, parked in front of his place in Mayfair, gleaming in that early morning sun.

No one was ever the wiser to the fact that on some of these nights, Crowley was not home in his apartment or out raising hell all night but was actually in the bookshop nearly until dawn.

Is it kind of miserable for Crowley to have to leave every time in the middle of the night and for him and Aziraphale to never really know what it's like to wake up together? To never get to have breakfast and mornings together? Of course. But it keeps them safe so they deal with it. As a result, though, they have a thing about mornings.

In 1.01, when Crowley calls Aziraphale in the middle of the night and they both have separately learned of Armageddon, he tells Aziraphale that they "need to talk" and then they both, without further discussion, are at their bench in St. James' Park the next day. During their talk, they decide to go to lunch and go directly there, which means that they met up sometime around 11am-12pm. So even Crowley calling in the middle of the night and setting up the meeting in the park with their code phrase means that the time of the meeting is always predetermined to be at least 11am, no matter what they need to discuss. Even after learning of Armageddon beginning, they waited until almost lunch the next day to meet up and talk about it because they never want to be seen in public together in the earlier mornings. They're afraid of someone seeing them going for a walk or getting a coffee together before midday and thinking they spent the previous night together. Crowley is always gone from the bookshop before the sun starts to come up and they never meet before 11am in an effort to keep anyone from figuring out that they are often in the bookshop-- and Aziraphale's bed-- together through the early morning hours.

Which tends to make this, their first time getting breakfast even if Crowley knew it wasn't really that because Aziraphale's "problem voice" was on, even more hilarious...

Crowley's like I left you blissed out and half-asleep in your bed *four hours ago*, angel... how on Earth is there a 'naked man friend' in your bookshop right now? He knows that Shax told him there's something going on and that Aziraphale called with a problem but this is the only time of day they usually spend apart and they always do so if Aziraphale is going to cheat on him-- which he's not lol-- this is when he would and based on the fact that Aziraphale panics at Crowley thinking there's another guy in the bookshop and based on Crowley's wtf? face at hearing there is, these two aren't sleeping with anyone else anymore and have a monogamous thing, even if they probably sort of forgot to have a discussion about it. Crowley can tell from Aziraphale's reaction that there's some misunderstanding here and then just gets bemused about it but also about ready to kill whatever guy, naked or not, is causing Aziraphale problems, only to find out that it's, well, the guy who tried to kill them.

In 2.01, when Gabriel makes his rather noticeable arrival on Aziraphale's doorstep, it is the mid-part of the morning-- probably somewhere around 9am as Maggie was just getting ready to open her store for the day, Nina was still busy but her more immediate pre-work coffee rush seemed to be winding down, and Aziraphale was having his breakfast tea on yet another day that his shop was not opening lol. The most major character to miss Gabriel's arrival is, of course, Crowley. Crowley's meeting with Shax is just before/happening in tandem with Aziraphale at Maggie's shop and then Gabriel's arrival and actually opens the storyline in the present in S2. The point is that Crowley misses Gabriel's arrival because he is not in the bookshop in the early mornings, which is then something that is heavily emphasized through Crowley and Aziraphale's first scene of the season via Nina to not just be about this particular early morning but all mornings.

When Aziraphale calls Crowley and has him meet him in Give Me Coffee, Nina has never met Crowley before. Give Me Coffee is fifteen steps across the street from the bookshop and sells coffee, tea and baked goods and Nina doesn't know Crowley. Nina has been there running it since post-S1. She knows Aziraphale though and, until the morning of 2.01, she thought the old bookseller a confirmed bachelor. In the span of 20 minutes, he gets a naked man possible deliveroo strippergram on his doorstep in front of the whole neighborhood and then then this other hot-- and surprisingly clothed-- Ginger Goth guy shows up to meet him for coffee. Nina's best guess for why the bookseller and his Crowley have never come across the street to her shop before and seem like they've literally never gotten breakfast together while they also "go way back" and have chemistry and affection for one another for days is that they're having an affair. Nina correctly guesses that their relationship is a secret and applies the most logical presumption that a human without knowledge of Heaven/Hell could-- that it's infidelity, not that they could be murdered if they were found out-- because these two live in London Soho in the year 2023 but are still afraid of being found out.

So, all of this shows how there's no Crowley in the bookshop in the morning. Neither of them have ever slipped across the street to bring back coffee and croissants for two at 7am or gone over to Nina's together. Aziraphale has been to Give Me Coffee alone before. Crowley and The Bentley are always nowhere to be found near the bookshop at this hour, which is how Crowley missed Gabriel's arrival.

So what does this all have to do with why Crowley doesn't just get a new apartment ahead of S2?

When Hell showed up in the form of Shax to reclaim the place in Mayfair in which Crowley was living, it really left Crowley with two choices. He wasn't about to tell Aziraphale because Aziraphale would feel like he had to ask him to move in with him for real and it was too dangerous. They can't have that so why bring it up and hurt them more? The two choices Crowley felt he had were to either get a new apartment or to just keep on as he's been living because the truth is... he hadn't been home to Mayfair that much lately anyway.

Before, Crowley and Aziraphale would try to go some amount of time between seeing each other but after S1, maybe with some exceptions around the Covid lockdowns but definitely not since they were lifted, they just stopped bothering that much. They were already together on borrowed time with no idea how much time they had until Armageddon: Round Two would start and they just wanted to be together so they kept up their whole routine of Crowley out before dawn and no mornings but Crowley had been more or less living in the bookshop for awhile ahead of S2.

As Aziraphale says here:

Meaning: they live together. Crowley's there all the time. Aziraphale does not mind. It's been months of Crowley in the bookshop every night. Aziraphale loves it. He hates him having to leave in the middle of the night as he always does but they've settled into a little domestic thing the best they can with the situation they have. The line is also laden with innuendo, suggesting they're not always just up talking and listening to old records until 4am but are regularly, ya know, setting off some alarm bells in Heaven together. (Couple Aziraphale's innuendo in the "plenty of use" scene with why Crowley says Muriel needs to leave the bookshop when he says he wants to take Aziraphale to breakfast at The Ritz. "We need a little 'us time'" meant all amnesiac angels and assorted representatives of Heaven and Hell need to get the Someplace out of this bookshop right now so I can finally watch that angel eat some pancakes and then take him to bed in our bed without worrying about someone needing a hot chocolate in the middle of the night.)

Their level of domesticity is actually shown to be pretty cute with this bit:

This is the most living together thing ever because it's saying that Crowley is just frequently in the bookshop while Aziraphale is out now. He's not even just there to see him but he spends time there alone while Aziraphale goes to the bank for change for the four books he sells a month and to his appointment with his barber and all his other little errands. You know Crowley likes waiting inside because he likes having a little time alone in a place where he's safe and won't be disturbed but also really the whole little domestic bliss of Aziraphale coming back and being all "Crowley? There you are" and showing him what he got at the shops and such. It's the most normal married thing imaginable and feels like they really live together and Crowley loves every minute of it.

So Hell taking his place in Mayfair back leaves Crowley with two options because it's still too risky for him and Aziraphale to just full on live together entirely: he can get a new apartment or he can basically just keep living with Aziraphale for most of the day and then spend the mornings in The Bentley/out.

If he gets a new apartment, he'd have to actually go there sometimes. He'd have to be seen moving his stuff into it and he'd have to get a new bed and he'd have to spend nights there sometimes to prove he's living there. It couldn't be suspiciously close to Aziraphale's place, so now he's got to drive more in the early morning hours. He's been spending so much time with Aziraphale, the thought of sleeping alone and spending the evenings alone again, even for a few nights now and then, is depressing. It was miserable before and now he can't to back to it again and he doesn't think Aziraphale would want to, either. He also doesn't exactly know how to tell him he'd have to be away some nights again without hurting him. They've both been alone more often than not for most of their existences and Crowley can't do it anymore. There's also, though, that getting another apartment also doesn't do much to help keep Heaven & Hell from thinking he and Aziraphale are involved... but pretending he's living in his car just might.

The only being of Heaven or Hell still talking to either him or Aziraphale is Shax and Crowley has to keep meeting up with her to get information on what's going on there and try to get a sense of how much time he and Aziraphale might have before Round Two. If he tells Shax that he's living in his car, then it makes him look less close to Aziraphale. Everyone knows Aziraphale has a private residence upstairs in the bookshop and that, if he and Crowley were really close, he'd have offered for Crowley to stay with him if he lost his apartment... so what if Crowley can make Heaven & Hell think they aren't that close, they just teamed up to stop Armageddon? He's even homeless now and the angel won't give him a place to stay. He tells Shax to tell Hell's Finance Office to send his bills to his car and Shax actually bought it and said she tried. Shax has been reporting back to Hell that Crowley is living in his car, which is what Crowley wanted her to think was the case.

Let Hell think they've won over him and taken his place and left him living in his car on a side street, let Shax keep meeting him in the early morning hours in his car on that side street... so that none of them figure out that he's actually living in the bookshop with Aziraphale.

In the meantime, no new apartment means no more nights away from Aziraphale. No commute back to it after picking up The Bentley on the side street means more time he can be with Aziraphale before he has to slip away in the early morning. He can just keep going from the bookshop to his car a few streets away each morning like he has been and that's the funniest part of it to him. Hell thinks they left him homeless and abandoned him and, really, they just made it easier for him to hide from them the fact that he's living with the angel he loves. All he has to do is bullshit them and he's good at that.

Crowley talking about living in his car is basically this in attitude, on steroids:

His pre-S2 conversations with Shax were like... Fuck, Shax, the crick in my neck from *sleeping in my car*... if Hell's Finance Office wants to find me, they can send the bills *to my car*... Bastard angel owns half of Soho, probably why I can't find a place... tell Lord Beezlebub if they're looking for me, they can go fuck themselves but if they absolutely have to contact me, they can find me *in my car*...

...and three hours or so earlier from every one of those conversations, Crowley was actually curled up in bed with Aziraphale in the bookshop.

[gugugyuu]

best friends - beomgyu x reader

warnings/genre: mild suggestiveness, fluff

beomgyu has been your best friend since god knows when. you both grew up together. from being teenagers to young adults, and you knew everything about him. his strengths, weaknesses, secrets, and unfortunately...

his awful taste in girlfriends.

this week alone, you had seen him with two different girls and each time, you couldn't help but roll your eyes.

he used to be someone who dreamed of true love, always chasing it and getting his heart broken in the process. but now, watching him move from one girl to the next, you wondered if he had changed.

maybe this time, beomgyu is the one doing the heartbreaking.

you saw him kiss another girl goodbye and walk over towards you and your friends, you quickly gathered your things and left. you didn't want to talk to him.

and it wasn't jealousy, of course not. you just couldn't stand seeing him act like that, as if none of these girls mattered. and the fact that his best friend is also a girl? it only made it worse.

later inn class, beomgyu wouldn't leave you alone. he kept poking your arm, touching your hair, and pinching your cheeks, trying to get you to react. you tried to ignore him but couldn't help to be annoyed. "shut it or i'll hit you."

his loud laughter finally caught the professor's attention and beomgyu, without hesitation, he pointed at you and lied that you were cracking jokes.

you panicked, quickly denying it. you're confused by his sudden childish behavior. beomgyu just laughed harder, making the teacher kick both of you out of the class.

he finally managed to isolate himself along with you, he didn't even know why he wanted to be alone with you or what he was supposed to say.

should he apologize? but for what? he also wasn't even sure why you're angry.

thankfully your friends were nearby, breaking the awkwardness between the two of you.

a girl called beomgyu's name from a distance and he casually waved back. yeonjun's eyes lit up with a realization.

he clapped excitedly. "i've been trying to figure out all day who she reminds me of!" he said, grabbing everyone's attention.

beomgyu's heart skipped a beat, he turned to looked at you then turned to yeonjun as he panicked. "he-hey, don't be an-"

but before he could stop him, yeonjun pointed directly at you.

"me?" you asked, confused.

everyone nodded, agreeing with him.

you rolled your eyes, feeling annoyed. "this is stupid." you muttered before walking away from the group.

they called out your name but you didn't bother looking back.

"all of you are idiots." beomgyu shook his head as he sighed, feeling bad about you being compared to others.

taehyun chimed in, "well, all your girlfriends really do really kind of look like her. same face shape, long hair, similar personalities-"

"except that they're cheaters and none of them are prettier." soobin interrupted, standing up suddenly. "i'll go after her." he said then ran to catch up on you.

you felt frustrated by the comparison and the teasing, still couldn't shake the feeling of irritation building up.

the last thing you wanted was to be dragged into beomgyu's romantic mess. you weren't like those girls and the fact that everyone kept saying you look like them... it made it even more frustrating.

soobin caught up to you, panting slightly. "hey, wait up!" he called out, jogging to your side. "don't let them get to you."

you gave him a small smile, grateful for his concern but too annoyed to respond properly. "it's fine." you replied.

the entire situation felt uncomfortable in a way you couldn't quite explain.

you walked together with soobin in silence, you found yourself thinking about beomgyu, how he had changed over the years.

sure, he was still the same playful guy who would steal your snacks and complain about his grades, but there was something different now.

later that evening, beomgyu showed up at your place unexpectedly. you opened the door, surprised to see him, especially after the weird conversation earlier. "can we talk?" he asked, his voice quieter than usual. "best friend?" he called out.

you hesitated but stepped aside to let him in. he didn't waste any time. "look, i'm sorry about earlier. i know everyone were being stupid but... i don't know. i guess it's been bothering me, too."

you blinked, caught off guard.

beomgyu ran a hand through his hair, suddenly looking nervous. "i mean... them saying that all my ex-girlfriends kind of look like you. it's weird, right?"

you didn't know what to say. and yes it was weird because you're starting to see it too. but you hadn't really thought too much about it until today. "i guess..." you said slowly, unsure where this was going.

beomgyu sighed, leaning against your wall. "i don't know what's wrong with me lately. i feel like i'm messing everything up and i don't even know why I'm dating these girls anymore. it's like... i'm always looking for something and everything's not working."

you stayed quiet but your heart started beating a little faster, wondering what he was trying to say.

"and then yeonjun pointed at you... i freaked out." he admitted, laughing nervously.

you stared at beomgyu, waiting for him to continue.

he looked up, eyes meeting yours. "so maybe i've been looking in the wrong places..."

you gulped, your breath caught in your throat. what's he trying to say?

"i'm an idiot." beomgyu said with a weak smile. "i've been chasing after these random girls..."

you took a step back, only to feel the wall against your back.

beomgyu walked towards you, gently taking both of your hands. he hesitated for just a second, waiting for you to put up a fight.

none.

he then leaned in, pressing a quick, soft kiss to your lips.

your heart raced and you stood there, completely frozen. this is beomgyu, your best friend.

the one who drove you crazy, made you laugh, one you never thought would look at you like this.

he pulled back just enough to meet your eyes, his expression turning serious. his voice dropped to a whisper, filled with uncertainty yet laced with vulnerability. "so if i'm messing this up, tell me now." "but i need you to know... i can't keep pretending everything's normal between us anymore."

before you could respond, beomgyu buried his face in the curve of your neck, his breath warm against your skin.

his grip on your hands tightened slightly, as if he was both afraid of your reaction and desperate for you to understand the weight of his words.

you'd spent years convincing yourself that your feelings for beomgyu were just friendly, that his endless string of girlfriends didn't matter to you.

but now, hearing him pour his heart out... you realized it.

you've been hiding your feelings, just like him.

go to: title || masterlist

[cannibaltamau]

Van der pog and 'heat'?

wishing everyone a good night (oops it's very late) and a happy 2021 tirreno-adriatico winner's room :)

Mathieu really should have been more ready for it than he was, when Pogačar picked him at the end, after the time trial on the coast. He’s still two years new to road proper, trying not to think too much about lining up for his first Grand Tour in July when the Olympics are so soon after.

He’s sat on the bed when Mathieu opens the door, small in his usual team jersey. They’d had to bring him out on the podium for everything but the points, and even in that Mathieu’s been told he was second.

“Ah, Mathieu! Nice of you to come here, yes?” Tadej wraps his voice around Mathieu’s name a little oddly, not getting the first syllable quite right.

“Not like I could choose,” Mathieu half-laughs. It's a little chilly in the room, and he crosses his arms.

Beyond watching the Tour last year, Mathieu hardly knows anything about the guy – he's young, younger than Mathieu and an absolute monster on the bike. He had chased him down for the entire fifth stage, Christoph radioing the timegap coming down and down. Now, in an anonymous hotel room with nothing to mark it from any of the thousand others in the world, Mathieu’s caught.

“What do you want to do?” Mathieu makes a gesture, “Hands?” He’s not been on enough of the receiving ends of these rooms to figure out how different riders like to use their time. No one talks about it, and it’s not like in the cyclocross when everyone’s too cold to bother stripping any more clothes than are absolutely necessary. Bib shorts are more than stretchy enough to stick a hand down and the field is small enough that they're all at least acquaintances, the guys that win enough.

For a second Mathieu worries he’s been too presumptuous and Tadej doesn’t want anything of the sort, then he speaks:

“No, I have plan. You sit down here, and,” he pats the bed beside him, then slides off the mattress to kneel on the carpet, “I go down here.”

Mathieu shuffles around and gets himself situated. Reaches already for the zip of his jersey, assuming Tadej will want his bibs off at some point –

“No, no, no. Keep it on.” Tadej leans up, grabs Mathieu’s hand in both of his own. They’re so close, close enough to feel the warmth of Tadej’s hands and the side of his body where it brushes against Mathieu’s knee.

“What – I thought you wanted to, eh, suck me off?” Mathieu furrows his brows. The entire peloton’s had less than a year to learn what Tadej wants but the smile that blooms across his face tells Mathieu he’s just as uncontainable here as he is on the road.

“Hah – maybe another time. But no,” Tadej pats Mathieu's thigh and kneels down again, pulling Mathieu to lean forward slightly. Then, he puts Mathieu's hand on the side of his face, palm against cheek. He can feel the heat of Tadej's skin, smooth to the touch and fine muscles moving when he smiles. It’s all part of the sport – maybe Mathieu’s least favourite part – this hour out of the real world, where anything goes.

“Little odd, maybe, but hey – it’s my room, no? Okay, Mathieu. Want you to hit me.”

His words take a split-second to register before Mathieu pulls his arm back like he’s touched a hot stove. “What the fuck?”

Tadej shrugs, casual as anything, as if he’s not kneeling between Mathieu’s thighs with that unreadable smile on his face, as if this is any kind of normal situation to be in.

“I like it. Like, hit with your palm – slap, that’s it. I figure it out in 2019, then Covid stopped everything – stop these rooms, too.”

Mathieu blinks, looks over Tadej’s shoulder at a vague stain in the carpet. Two years ago Tadej was the youngest winner in the World Tour and Mathieu was showing off to the world at Amstel and Flanders. Now they’re here, together, and Tadej’s asking him to slap him in the face. Mathieu tries to remember that this will all be over in an hour and he’ll be back in the real world where no one talks about these rooms and he won’t see Tadej until the Tour, most likely.

“Come on, Mathieu,” Tadej says, licking his lips, “You wanted to hurt me on the road, yes?”

He reaches to grab Mathieu’s wrist again, pressing a kiss to his palm that would have surprised Mathieu ten minutes ago, before putting it against his cheek. “Now you get to do it."

[leahrintarou]

🎃 Semi Eita - Humiliation

Warnings: sub!semi x dom!reader, humiliation, they're exes, mentions of blackmail with explicit (sexual) vids, degrading, handjobs, reverse pleasure, enemies to..enemies ig, he's a slvt fr. Word Count: 3k

"you're out, y/n." he said sternly. y/n was a bit astonished by semi's newly told information. She'd been a part of his band ever since it was founded. Infact, she was the one who pushed him to start a band since his desire for it was practically unexplainable yet so strong. He didn’t have enough confidence in himself so with that extra push, he finally said 'fuck it'. Later on into this journey of theirs, it became more serious. They even added three other individual members to their group overtime and together their band was finally complete.

Four years into the founding of their band, y/n and semi matured and grew to realize their feelings for each other. While everything went smoothly for the three years of their relationship with the exception of a few bumpy roads here and there. Recently however, those few bumpy roads became plenty and the two reached a breaking point when a rumor spread across social media that y/n had been cheating on semi with another one of their bandmates. This rumor was false of course but semi needed and excuse and right now was the perfect one.

They ended things a month ago and while they ended things on a decent note, the remaining facts of the truth were something that the two never discussed. The tension between then was thick in the air that encased them and that air triggered arguments every other day. Their bandmates were over it since it was getting in the way of their work and even during interviews, meet and greets, or live streams, fans will pick out the tiniest details, clip them, and make up and entire situation pertaining to who, what, where, and why.

Recently, a clipped part of an interview went around where it showed that y/n and semi weren't wearing their matching Jewlery pairs in which included two rings and two necklaces. When this news spread like wildfire within their fanbase and was labeled as "y/n really was a cheater!", semi realized how much of a problem that it was really causing, so when y/n entered the studio as requested, the word's that left his lips caught her completely off guard. "what?" She questioned dryly.

"you're out, y/n."

"oh, so you can find another bassist in time for the tour?" She smiled in amusement when he sighed with an eyeroll. Clearly he was unbothered so y/n figured he had everything under control..except for her. Out of their long years of lasting relationships of the sort, semi could never control y/n and strangely, it's something that bonded them. She always held her ground whether people took her side or not and right now was one of those times. The three other members of the band sat on the couch or on a beanbag in the corner of a room. They didn’t speak and they weren't surprised by semi's words which meant they might've talked this out prior to her arriving and agreed on this choice. Without her.

"you're staying for the tour, but after that, it's over, y/n."

"after that my ass. You think I'm gonna suck up and play on tour knowing damn well it'll be my last because my shitty ex can't handle a little rumor?" She scoffed. Now semi had finally seemed to be reacting to her words. "you'll be paid the same like alwa-" y/n cut off the voice of one of her bandmates with a sharp glare. "it's not about the fucking money".

"then what's it about, y/n?"

Semi stood up, approaching y/n's figure. She reached for his wrist, pulling him out of the room as three pairs of eye's followed them with curiosity. "what's all this about?" Semi raised an eyebrow when y/n pulled out her phone, swiping the screen with a small grin. She clicked up the volume of her phone and although it was faint, semi heard the sound of his own pathetically moaning voice emitting from the speakers. "why do you still have that video, you sicko?" His facial expression was full of anger as he tried to reach for her phone. y/n didn’t defend herself, making him snatch it from her hold with ease. shrugging as he was about to throw the device to the ground, she spoke.

"that video is also on a flash drive and my laptop. Breaking my phone won't do a thing."

His arm lowered and semi stared at y/n in shock. He was so recklessly stupid back then. Allowing y/n to record their moment of intimacy since he claimed that he got a kick out of it (which was true). That moment of intimacy soon faded into a video of semi letting y/n do as she pleased to his body while he laid there and enjoyed every moment. She tied him up, blindfolded him, used various toys on him, edged and even overstimulated him. All of it. And it was all on video footage.

If it weren't for the stupid tattoo that he'd gotten a few years back while drunk on the night of a party, his body wouldn't have been that easily recognizable. However, that wasn’t the case and the large array of stars tattooed along his pelvis and up the sides of his ribcage was basically one of his personal trademarks. In the video, y/n even made it obvious that she never said his name once so it couldn’t possibly be her fault if his identity was unveiled.

All of the blame was on semi at this point and the guilt paired with the regret was practically leeching off of his being. "stop by my place later, semi." And with that, she took her phone from his loosened grip before grinning at his glare and state of being at a loss for words and actions.

The only action that he could do was the one that y/n had just told him.

----------

"why do you want me here?" Semi questioned, patience thinning before he could even take a seat. "you're not kicking me from the group. me leaving it will make people believe the cheating rumors are actually true." she said, letting him enter her home. Semi took a seat on her sofa and y/n sat next to him. "so you plan to blackmail me with that video so you can stay?" he seemed frustrated and was struggling to keep his composure. "yup, basically."

"why do you still have it anyways?"

"cause, you look pathetic in it. it's nice to see that you could be that vulnerable every once in a while." she smiled, feeling amused with semi began to look like a ticking time bomb. It was a matter of seconds til he'd break and y/n was only making it worse. "shut up. you'll never get me to do that shit again." he said, voice coming through his gritted teeth. y/n leaned back into the couch, matching semi's own positioning.

"really? you think so?"

"positive." it was now when semi shifted his hips and tugged on the fabric of his pants when y/n realized that his words were most certainly a bluff. "so, can we make a deal? you don't kick me and ruin my reputation and the world won't see how much of a pathetic person can be." she let out a laugh when he rolled his eyes. "fine..for now at least. If you lose that video of me, then you're fucked." he mumbled, focusing on the screen on the tv that was being displayed in front of them.

"won't happen."

----------

the late night soon began to approach and y/n was slightly dozing off. semi on the other hand was wide awake and the discomfort forming within the area of his lap was getting unbearable. His pride was getting in the way of aiding in his current problem. He shifted a bit away from y/n which awoke her slightly. she examined his figure and semi let out a sigh when she leaned closer to him. "what's wrong?"

"nothing. I'm going home since its getting late.

"you don't think it's a good idea to get rid of that?" when semi stood up, y/n was able to see his current situation and probably the real reason why he needed to leave her home. "if you're trying to get at what i think you are, then give up. I'm going home." y/n smiled since despite his words, he had yet to take any steps to her front door. "why? are you scared?" she knew a simple tease could threaten his ego so when he glared at her, y/n knew that she was getting somewhere.

"scared of what?"

"not being able to handle it. Last time you only lasted three-"

"that was so long ago. you're never gonna let me live that down, are you?" y/n shook her head with a smirk on her lips. "not til you prove otherwise." semi rolled his eyes almost cursing himself when he fell right into her trap. y/n tend to do that to him often and it worked almost every time. He sat down next to y/n, sighing when he realized his own decision. He could've left. y/n didn’t directly tell him to stay. This was all his own will and reactions to her teasing words. He knew this, yet the ache of his member was becoming so unbearable that he didn’t think he could drive home safely in the first place.

'this is the last time with her'

He said to himself. It was probably a lie because he said the same thing last time and here he is now, tensing at y/n's touch against his thigh. He was fully clothed yet, he felt incredibly vulnerable. y/n's palm traveled to his lips as she watched his features contort into one of discomfort. y/n was taking her sweet time while he just wanted to get this over with and leave. If he were to say something, she'd probably take even longer so he kept his mouth shut, biting his bottom lip to restrain any possible sounds. His body language game himself away when he flinched as her fingertips grazed over the head of his member.

"why are you so hard already, semi?"

Her voice had an unreadable tone and semi couldn’t bring himself to look at her, let alone hold eye contact. He knew just how aroused he was, but for y/n to say it aloud made him feel all the more pathetic. Especially since he knew what got him riled up in the first place. He thought he could keep that fact to himself buy y/n's next words along with her touches guided him down a different path. "answer me." she said. y/n used her free head to guide his face in the direction of where she sat. Semi made eye contact with her for a split second and he crumbled.

"I-I don’t know" he stuttered out. Y/n made quick movements, unbuttoning his pants before pulling them down to his thighs along with his briefs. The cooler air made him shiver and just as y/n was about to directly grip his erection, he held her wrist. She looked up at him unamused as he physically deflated but brushed it off. "don’t overdo it."

Before he could get a response from y/n, semi didn’t notice that his grip had weakened, making her slip out of it to finally encase his erected member in a warm fist. He bit back a moan and it came out more like a grunt after he covered his eyes with his inner elbow. He tiled his head onto the back of the sofa when y/n let go and instead caressed the tip of his member with the pads of her digits, spreading his precum around the entirety of his length. She took her time and the slow yet effective pacing was getting to him a bit fast than he'd like and a bit faster than y/n expected.

"did you actually get turned on over the fact that i have that video of you?" She scoffed, smiling when his chest hitched along with his breathing. "or was it the fact that I said I'd leak it if you kicked me from the band?"

"neither," y/n knew his words were a lie and it was easy to tell since after her question, he twitched against her touch, giving her the correct answer along with reassurance. It didn’t take a lot to overwhelm semi and she knew this all too well. He was driven by emotions and whether it'd affect him positively or negatively, he still hated it. How easy it was to get him excited, angry, sad, and at this time; how much easier it was overall it was to get him aroused. "are you gonna cum already, semi?" y/n asked after seeing how he began to tense with her touch.

"I can't help it." His voice came out as a whine since y/n could practically read him like a book. He lost all control over his own boy and at this point, y/n's voice was the only thing keeping him grounded. "take your arm from your face. Can you not bring yourself to watch just how turned on you are?" She reached up, gently gripping his elbow to remove his arm from over his eyes. He was reluctant to open his eyes but once he did, they landed right to his lap and he almost wanted to crawl into a hole when he saw how much precum was leaking from the tip of his member.

He regretted his words from earlier. How he told y/n he could hold out longer, but it was a lie and he didn't want to believe that. When she tightened her fist, he couldn’t bring himself to hold back the moan that fell from his lips, y/n's stroking along the length of him was so secure and so effective by the way his hips jerked and the way his panting pace increased. "I haven't even been touching you that long and you're already about to cum.." She spoke mostly to herself but the words were aloud and she was sure semi heard them since the whine that past his lips felt all the more real.

"and from what exactly? The fact that the video I have could ruin you with the click of a button?"

"y-y/n stop" his words sounded desperate. His once sturdy voice was now small and fragile. Her words where getting to him and he hated how his body was finding it so amusing and pleasureful. Her words were true, but what felt all the more true was the fact that he was about to cum. "you can't handle your truth, semi?" She asked, using her free hand to guide his field of sight to her own face. The expression on features soon turned into a look of pity when she saw how fucked out he was becoming. She couldn't bring herself to feel all that bad though since it was more so his fault for becoming so aroused at a simple touch.

"y/n please let me cum. Don’t stop." he panted. y/n tended to do that almost every time she was in control of semi's body. She'd stop just when he was about to tip over the edge and make him start all the way from square one. If she was feeling particularly mean, she'd do that process more than once. Tonight however, she had other plans in mind. She nodded to his words and his shoulders only relaxed partially since the grin on her lips weren't all that convincing. "I'll let you cum only because you look so pitiful."

He was about to reply with some sort of snarky comment to cover up his embarrassment, but when y/n leaned closer to him to place a kiss to the sensitive area of his collar bone, he could only let out a whimper and the pace of her jerking hand sped up so suddenly that semi couldn’t help but meet his high right there and then. y/n made eye contact with him for a small second and with a sinister smirk on her lips, she let go of his member, watching as he came untouched. Semi let out a desperate whine at the lack of contact and even though he did come to his climax, he felt incomplete and unsatisfied from y/n's brutal actions.

His member twitched against his abdomen and he was about the reach for himself to ride out his own high, but y/n gripped both of his wrists, forbidding him to do so. A whine fell from his lips and he looked at to y/n, chest heavying as he mumbled his next words. "why did you do that?"

"so I could do this-"

y/n let go of his wrist as he slowly settled down and once again; gripped his member in a fist. It seemed as if all air left his lungs when his body jerked forwards. Y/n shifted her body to straddle his thighs and keep him a bit more still. She jerked his overly sensitive member as he let out uncontrolled and whiney moans. "f-fuck, y/nnnn" he desperately gripped a nearby throw pillow as y/n watched in amusement. She used her free hand to push down on his chest, keep his body sturdy. "you wanted me to touch you, right?"

Semi tried to bare through the oversensitivity but it was too much and he couldn’t handle another second of it. He let out a choked moan, eyebrows contorting while his abdomen tensed and his hips jerked up against y/n's figure. "o-okay, okay. Enough." He finally managed to say, making her slowly let go. She smiled as he visibly relaxed, panting as he threw his head back onto the back of the couch, trying to pull himself together.

"you're fucking brutal, y/n."

ngl, this is so mid AND it was a requested scenario so i feel so bad 😭 either way though, i hopeee some you enjoyed this a little bit. tysm for the support! reblogs and notes are appreciated!

Taglist: @meowmeowmau @jiwooahae @sunaemoby @diana7was7here @msbyomimi @chocoweird0 @riiceandsoup @issllaaa

[writingquestionsanswered]

Tricky Enemies to Lovers Situation

[Note from WQA: I answered a question yesterday that went missing after it was queued, so this is my best effort to recreate the original question and my answer efficiently...]

Anonymous asked: I have an enemies to lovers story where there's no opportunity for the characters to get together where they wouldn't immediately fight one another. How can I give them the opportunity to get to know each other and fall in love in a way that's believable?

The Abandoned Mission: the first thing you have to establish--which you probably have since you mentioned (in the lost ask) that you had their arcs fleshed out, knew why they fell in love, etc.--is what allows this love to flourish despite starting on opposite sides, because what you don't want to do is have one say, "I know you're trying to destroy my village, but I love you, so heckin' go for it!"

-- one starts to come around, realizes their side is wrong, and switches sides

-- both sides unite against a common/far worse enemy

-- both realize that the fight is pointless/futile/both sides wrong

This will be part of their character arcs... or at least the arc of whoever changes sides... as they start to see the truth through getting to know the other one, start questioning their beliefs, and begin to change their mind.

Accessibility: Your first challenge is finding a non-combat way to get them together, or at least get them talking if not face-to-face. It all depends on your story and what makes sense within it, but some ideas:

Supernatural Communication - Is there a supernatural way for them to be face-to-face or at least communicate? Think of the mental connection between Alina and the Darkling in Shadow and Bone, or the force bond betwen Rey and Kylo Ren in the Star Wars movies. It could be a telepathic connection, a magical connection, or even a magical object that allows them to be in the same place or simply communicate.

Technological Communication - Or, maybe your story takes place in our world, in the recent past or near future. Or perhaps in a far-future sci-fi world. Is there some sort of technology that could allow them to be in the same place or easily communicate? Something like a hologram projector, "holodeck" type area that can be accessed by people in two different places, or even simply video calls or text messages?

Old School Communication - Even if a supernatural or technological form of communication doesn't work in your story, you can always rely on good old-fashioned handwritten letters.

Stuck Together - Another option is for them to somehow get stuck together in some situation where they're both vulnerable. Like, maybe there's some disaster when they're both in the same place and end up in a survival struggle together. Or, maybe they're both abducted by an even worse third party, and have to work together to escape. Maybe the villain's resolve is weakening, so they're overthrown by someone within their organization, imprisoned, and then it's this faction who imprisons your character (and not the love interest villain), forcing them to work together to escape.

All you have to do in any of the above scenarios is figure out how and why they start communicating in the first place. Maybe the villain reaches out to the MC thinking they're a weak link that will spill information, or maybe the MC intercepts a courier carrying a letter from the villain to an ally--and the MC decides to write back. Maybe the villain is a little extravagant and holds a party via their version of a holodeck and your MC sneaks in and is caught... but this opens up the door for them to continue meeting this way. Even if they just meet once out in the woods, bathing in a lake and caught totally off-guard, there are always ways to get these two characters "in the same room" outside of a combative context. You just need to brainstorm a little.

The Ice Breaker: once you get them face-to-face or communicating in whatever way, there needs to be some sort of ice breaker to get them talking about something other than the conflict at hand. This could be one noticing and commenting about something they have in common... like noticing the other is wearing a cultural bracelet and realizing they have that culture in common. Or one realizing the other is fluent in their language, and coming to learn they were born there or their parent was born their. It could be one observing the other experiencing a red flag from their side and pointing it out with commentary. (Like: "See the way they lie to you? That's what they do to my people...") It could be one making a joke, a snarky quip, or illustrating some knowledge or skill that intrigues the other. It could even be a rendering of aid... maybe one catches the other when they trip, one patches up the other's injury, or one provides a translation or other nonsensitive data. Again, it just all depends on the situation in your story and what's believable.

The first version of this ask was so, so much better. I'm hoping against hope that I inadvertently replied privately instead of sending it to the queue. But I wanted to do my best to recreate it in case it really did get eaten by the Tumblr goblins.

I hope this version is still helpful!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[s-creations]

Midnight Thoughts

Really, it was a small question, shouldn't have been that big of a deal.

So why did Mario feel himself being torn apart?

Fandom: Super Mario & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen and Up Audiences Relationships: Luigi & Mario (Nintendo), Mario/Peach (Nintendo) Warnings/Additional Tags: Late night thoughts, Worried about the future, Mario's thrown off by a rather innocent question.

@elitadream - I blame you for this.

It happened around midnight. Right as the days turned and tomorrow became today. That’s when the deeper thoughts emerged. 

At least, that’s how it was for Mario.

Eyes staring up to the dark ceiling with his hands clasped together and resting on his chest. There was barely a silhouette of his window draped across his bed from the minimal light the moon provided. It was quiet. It was always quiet. Because everyone was supposed to be asleep right now.

But not Mario, at least not for tonight. A dangerous habit that started years ago. When he was on Earth, he was worrying about rent and bills, making sure their company was cared for, going through the list of jobs he would need to worry about the following day. 

Now, however, it was the wonders of what Bowser was up to. Would the day start off calm or would it be absolute craziness? Maybe an invitation would arrive that would no doubt whisk him off onto another adventure. 

These were part of his new normal routine, Mario figured. Worries for his business, just a different job title. 

But recently, there was a new thought. A very personable one. That only entered his head when asked a rather innocent question by a Toad child.

“Mr. Mario,” the tiny voice squeaked, “Will you be our hero forever?”

It was a pure inquiry. One that Mario merely gave a jovial laugh to. Patting the child’s head gently and answered with, “Of course, it’s my job.”

But as the child was called away, as he was left to his thoughts, a different question entered into Mario’s mind. 

What if he could go back?

What if the Warp Pipe opened up again? What if he could return to Earth?

Mario couldn't even call Earth ‘home’ any more. Even if he and Luigi had only lived in the Mushroom Kingdom for a few years. Mario felt more at home, more at ease, in this crazy world with all these strange dangers than he ever did on Earth. 

Truthfully, there was nothing left behind in that other realm for Mario to worry about. It had been Mario and Luigi, alone, for so long. Parents gone, no other living family members, they’ve only been able to stay together because Mario fought for it. Even though they're twins, Mario was the older of the two. It was his job to keep Luigi safe, keep them together, by any means. 

Living on Earth was a struggle.

The rush of this realm, however, was somehow more manageable. Even with all the people trying to rule, to control, it was better than the worries that Earth had. Because there were so many people in this world who supported the brothers. Mario had felt so much worry being lifted from when they arrived here. The friends they’ve made, the citizens they saw everyday.

Princess Peach. 

Mairo let out a slow breath. Rolling onto his side to stare out his window. Which was honestly just as dark as the ceiling. Did not provide any help towards his situation.

It took a painfully long time for Mario to truly admit his feelings for the princess. Feeling further like an idiot when Peach gave her own confession directly after his. Even with it all out in the open, there surprisingly wasn’t a drastic change in how they interacted. At least, not in the Toad’s eyes, as they all desperately asked when the wedding was going to happen. 

The most the pairing did was being a bit more honest with their adoration for each other, more open.

Mario wasn’t ashamed to admit he loved Peach. Flustered, sure, surprised that he’d caught the attention of someone as amazing as the princess. But he would yell about his love for her at the top of the highest mountain if asked to. Head over heels, jumbled emotions of devotion and affection for someone that he was sure only graced his life because of strange circumstances. 

He couldn’t hold back his smile every time she walked into the room, sat a little closer to him. Fascinated whenever they could just casually hold hands, talk about anything and everything for hours and never feel bored. 

Mario knew he would do anything for Peach, and he knew he meant anything. 

So, really, when it was all laid out, there was no reason for Mario to worry about leaving. He didn’t need to. His life was great here. Why would he ever have to toss the question around in his head if he was so certain? 

Mario’s eyes flickered over to his bedside table, where a small clock was resting. Numbers saying it was about 1 in the morning. 

His legs itched. He needed to move.

The sheets were pulled off and Mario’s feet touched the carpeted floor. Padding over to the bedroom door to peek out into the hallway. It was as quiet and dark as his bedroom. Mario paid no attention to it. Merely leaving his bedroom and making his way towards the other. Peeking in just as slowly to make sure he didn’t wake the occupant. 

He could barely make out the lump that was his brother. Hearing Luigi’s soft breathing that indicated he was fast asleep, only his head and one hand poking out from the mound of blankets that he had. Luigi was sleeping on his side facing the gently glowing night light. Something he insisted on having after the King Boo/haunted mansion incident. He looked completely at ease, unaware that his brother had just walked in. 

Slowly sitting at the edge of the bed, Mario gently placed his hand over Luigi’s. His younger brother twitched in his sleep, but didn’t wake. 

Even with all the positives he could list off, Mario knew the deciding factor of staying here all came down to what Luigi wanted. While the younger brother always put on a brave face, ran into whatever adventure was put before him with fists raised, it was also clear that Luigi wasn’t always thrilled with their new lifestyle. He never complained, but Mario was worried if Luigi felt pressured to do all of this just to make Mario happy. Did Luigi prefer the quiet lifestyle they had on Earth? 

Mario knew, if he had to choose between his life or Luigi’s, he’d always pick Luigi. It would hurt leaving all of this behind. Mario couldn’t lie about that. But if the Warp Pipe opened once more and Luigi wanted to go back to Earth, Mario would follow. The pain of leaving the Mushroom Kingdom couldn’t compete with the soul crushing feeling of losing Luigi. 

It was the hard and honest truth. While Mario loves Peach, loved this realm, Luigi was his entire world. 

It didn’t make his stomach churn any less at the idea of leaving. 

“Mario?”

So lost in his thoughts, Mario wasn’t aware that Luigi was waking up. Said twin rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Mario attempted to pull his hand away, but Luigi had a tight grip on it. 

“H-Hey Weegee,” Mario whispered, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Are you okay? Did something happen?” Luigi mumbled weakly. 

“Oh, just…couldn’t sleep.”

“...What were you worrying about?”

He forgot how easily Luigi could read his emotions. Mario let out a sigh before asking, “If the Warp Pipe back to Earth opened up…would you want to go back?”

“Go back to Earth?” Luigi let out a wide yawn, shoulders slumping as he thought about it. “I mean, no, why? Do you want to? Did it open again?”

“No, no, it’s still sealed up. Just…it’s something that entered my head and…” Mario held back a smile as he watched Luigi. Slow blinking with furrowed brows as his sleep heavy mind thought it over. 

“I mean…” Luigi started slowly, “There are a few things I miss from Earth… A good pizza’s on the top of that list. I really miss Punch Out Pizzaria… But nothing so large that I feel like I would want, would need, to go back.”

“Even with how…safe Earth is?”

“Safe? Are we thinking of the same place?”

“Well, I mean, in comparison to here…”

“At least there are Power-Ups, my Thunderhand, and training on my side. As well as so many people here supporting us. I feel way better living here.”

“But…”

“Mario, I know you know that I don’t like fighting. But I can defend myself here. I couldn’t back on Earth.”

Mario stared at his brother as Luigi’s words bounced around in his head. “So, even if we had a way back, you wouldn’t want to go?”

Luigi shook his head “No, I’m happy here… Did you think I would want to?”

“...Sort of…”

Luigi let out a quiet laugh as he wrapped his arms around Mario. “You’re silly. How long have you been worried about this?”

“...A few weeks.” Mario flushed softly when Luigi laughed again. 

“I wish you would have talked to me sooner. I know how you get…”

“Sorry.” The older brother laughed softly when Luigi gently patted his cheek. 

“Silly brother…”

Warmth and relief spread through Mario as it finally hit him that he had his answer. Feeling himself relax as he wrapped his own arms around Luigi. “Guess I am…”

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, good, now go back to sleep.”

“Alright, okay…” Pulling away slightly, Mario brushed Luigi’s bangs back gently to place a kiss on his brother’s forehead. Standing afterwards. “Sleep well.”

Luigi gave a small hum as he laid back down, already snoring when Mario reached the door. The hallway and bedroom didn’t feel as dark and heavy as they'd been only a few moments ago. Mario felt exhaustion gently pulling him down to sleep and he didn’t fight it this time.

[chiefdirector]

Just Forget the World | Tony Dinozzo | NCIS

No. 21: Blood loss

Despite what many may think, it wasn't always easy to separate your professional and personal lives. It was something Tony had always struggled with as he constantly brought up his sexual escapades, or sexapades as he had once referred to them as, or other like stories to lighten the tension in the office. Sometimes he wished he could be more like Gibbs, it was almost as if the older man had a switch in his brain for each of his lives; he could toggle it on and off in an instant.

If he had learnt to differentiate then maybe he wouldn't be in this position. He could've have a happy life, taken a desk job somewhere in the agency and retired happy. He wouldn't have fallen in love with his co-worker. Tony laughed at that thought, there was no way he wasn't going to fall in love with her.

From the moment he saw her sitting at her desk nervously flipping through some files; she only a probie agent, that much was clear, but nothing else about her was. Not for the life of him, could Tony Dinozzo figure this woman out, it was only through trial, tribulation, and constant questioning (pestering would have been a better word) did he begin to unravel the mystery of Agent (L/N).

Eventually, her guard did fall, and she found herself just in love with Tony as he did her. It was almost as if fate had aligned to bring them together, but if fate had come together to to that then fate had a sick and twisted sense of humour. Or maybe it wasn't fate's doing, maybe it was karma who took her from Tony.

The gunshot had rung out quickly, Tony almost didn't hear it among the harmony of church bells that celebrated their matrimony.on instinct he had caught her and lowered her onto the ground, one hand supporting her and the other pushing pressure onto the wound as it seeped red onto her once pristine gown.

"Hey, hey. I've got you. It's gonna be okay?" Tony felt the words tumble out of his mouth, almost as if he was trying to reassure himself alongside his bride. "You're not going anywhere. I'm right here."

"Tony," She said, voice cracking as she barely spoke above a whisper.

He shushed her, adjusting her so all of her body weight was against him. Still keeping pressure on the wound, he took his free hand to gently move her face to align their eyes.

"I've got you baby. Gibbs is going to figure this out but we need to focus on you. Someone will be here soon, and then they're going to patch you up. You see? Everything will be okay?"

The noise of their guests panicking had long since died down into silence, not that Tony had noticed in the first place. McGee had called an ambulance before herding any civilians back to the cars. Ziva and Gibbs had sprinted after the shooter. It was only the two of them left in the room as they waited for help to arrive.

"It'll just be us but you need to stay awake," he gently shook her as her eyes began to flutter, "I'm sure Vance will approve us some time away. We can go anywhere and just forget the world. But you need to stay awake for that, baby."

Tony shook her again, this time she seemed a bit more alert as she reached for the hand which he had pressed against his side.

"I'm sorry," she breathed out. If the room wasn't as silent as it was, Tony wasn't sure if he would have heard her confession or not.

"What for?" He could have laughed at that, and in any other situation he would have. "You have nothing to be sorry for?"

"You know... this."

Before he could muster up a response, McGee burst through the doors once again, paramedics close on his heels. Carefully, Tony shifted her into his arms so he could place her onto the gurney the medics had brought. They barely spoke a word as they rushed her out of the room and towards the ambulance.

Tony watched as she disappeared through the doors, stood in the same spot as he was when he had watched her walk towards him, the only difference now was his tux was forever stained in her blood.

Hours could have passed and he wouldn't have noticed, it was only as McGee spoke did he snap back to his reality. "She'll be okay, Tony.'

But for the first time in a long, long time was he unsure. The only thing he knew was that if he had kept his personal life to himself then the love of his life wouldn't be bleeding out; if he kept his personal life to himself, her tomorrow would be guaranteed and not just a 'maybe.'

Masterlist | Whumptober Masterlist

@ailesswhumptober @callsign-ember @happygirl-0408

[englandsgirl18181234]

For your Naruto fic ideas, what's your centering one lkke? Like, are they all battlefield scenarios, or is there an enemy-of-my-enemy situation, or random encounter in an area Tobirama can't run away from?

Yes, I was hoping someone would ask about these! I have no one IRL to talk to about them and I love them so much!

Also, these are all actually fics I've been posting as well! I can put the links in a separate post if anyone wants them

And also also, they're all Hatake Tobirama AU's because that trope is my absolute favorite Naruto trope to both read and write.

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that, of the three Centering fics, two of them technically count as battlefield scenarios, but probably not in the way you're thinking.

Those two, that I call My Sanctuary and Hunter's Moon respectively, both involve Kagami and Tobirama getting caught by a human trafficking ring.

(putting the rest under a cut because this turned into fic descriptions and I'm trying to keep it from becoming a mile long)

In Sanctuary, Kagami is about six when he's taken and then thrown in Tobiram's cell as a way to get rid of him when they realized he didn't have the Sharingan, leading to Tobirama being viciously protective of him and essentially mentally adopting him.

Three months later, the Uchiha finally figure out where Kagami was taken and go to get him back, leading to Madara to Center on Tobirama when he finds the two in the cell.

In Hunter's Moon though, Kagami is a lot older when he's taken, roughly 12 to 13.

This leads to Tobirama and Kagami actually being able to escape, only to find themselves all the way on far side of Wind Country, two and half countries away from Uchiha and Senju territory.

They're then on the run from this utterly massive trafficking ring together for the next six months as they work to get home alive.

They eventually manage to make it back to Fire Country, with the traffickers dogging their steps the whole way

Tobirama's on his last legs by then, having gotten extremely hurt over the course of their journey, and knows he won't be able to protect himself if they go to the Senju, much less both of them at once. So he decides to take them both to the Uchiha instead, knowing he's going to be killed for it but willing to make that sacrifice as long as it meant Kagami was finally safe.

The traffickers catch up to them again only a few hours out from the Uchiha compound and chase them literally to the gates.

Madara comes out leading a bunch of soldiers to figure out what's going on and Centers when Tobirama meets his eyes as he passes him Kagami, with Tobirama leaping back into the budding battle before Madara can fully realize what just happened

The third one, which I call Heart, is both a random encounter and an enemy of my enemy situation. It's basically a combination of the other two but with Madara getting caught after a mission gone wrong instead of Kagami.

He's tossed blindfolded into a cell with Tobirama, who was caught by them after he was betrayed and stabbed in the back, literally, mid mission six months before, with the traffickers basically deciding to see which of them will kill each other first since they've lost Way too many people trying to subdue or kill Tobirama, even as restrained and weakened as he is.

Instead, Tobirama helps Madara remove the blindfold, Madara Centers, and then they escape together and have to make it all the way from Lightning back to Fire, specifically before the Solstice if Madara wants to not be declared dead, all while the traffickers that weren't in the hide out at the time of their escape hunt them down for revenge

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Silly au idea]

Hmm... I'm most intrigued by The Split Soul Route - partly from the oddball and what sort of Nature Vs Nurture can occur here - but I also think the Found Baby in the Dumpster AKA The Bao Route is cute too. Because that's how Pigsy got MK and by the time the group could/does realize who Bao is, they've already gotten too attached to do anything to her.

[In the Shadowpeach route of my "Reincarnated LBD" au idea;]

But I do love me an immortal killing daughter of the Great Sage. Hard choice. Maybe a poll is needed.

[basically Macaque ends up "holding on to" the wild un-reincarnated soul of LBD]

Considering the shit she did, I doubt that he's just 'holding on to', that monkey probably put the soul in a jar and is shaking it like a madman several times a day - like Tom from the Chuck Jones era of Tom and Jerry in the invisible Jerry episode. But more maniacal laughter.

[Will it attach itself to the recently-reconcilled Sun Wukong and Macaque, becoming Yuebei Xing like in the au? Shadowpeach screaming ensues.]

HMMM!

What if they didn't know? Certainly, a ton of adrenaline petering off and a near end of the world could make everyone a little less observant of a stray soul going for a new host?

Don't know what she could even do in that form, but stay tucked away and wait for the chance to get a new body - like, unless she can manage to make Mac horny enough to go to SWK for relief and that's how they make the kid (sort of exes-with-benefits and maybe figuring-it-out-hate-sex), BUT!

By the time Macadoodle figures out he's got a bun in the oven - that's when the Brotherhood thing is happening. He was gonna tell SWK that day, but it all got derailed like the trains in Persona 5, so he kept it to himself until it got resolved.

Then he tells SWK, maybe after the beach party? Just, putting the other's hands over the still-small-bump and him putting it together.

TMKATI-Mac got lucky he didn't indulge too much in his first pregnancy...Yuebei Route-Mac did not get so lucky. Maybe as a sort-of final 'Fuck you' from LBD? XD

They'd figure it out later, but, like in the Bao Route, they're too attached.

And asking Pigsy for help/advice a lot. Pig-daddy raised a good kid, so they're taking notes.

current posts on the "Reincarnated!LBD au"; here (og post + very cool idea for the Ironbull side), here (shadow twins got made on accident), and here (Shadowpeach done goofed).

I'm leaning towards the "Split Soul" route cus I like writing around the chaos of the gang realising that there isn't just *one whole* super-ancient demon soul floating around. Almost mirrors the situation with the Rings of Samadhi.

Basically in her death; LBD attempted to "Piccolo Junior" (ty @dorothygale123) herself into a fresh new body - only for her soul to splinter into pieces. Two were able to be caught in the direct aftermath and stored away for the meantime - but Reincarnation has a 49 day deadline, and if those days pass without a solution the Underworld will repossess the soul fragments themselves.

So whats easier than for the Fragments to become New Souls instead of potientially reforming into LBD? ¯(ツ)/¯

[What if they didn't know? Certainly, a ton of adrenaline petering off and a near end of the world could make everyone a little less observant of a stray soul going for a new host?]

Hehehe.

Lets just say the adrenaline of fighting your possessed former-mate, making him remember what he's fighting for, and showing your parental side, is a Big turn on for a certain pair of monkeys.

But yeah, no one paid attention to how many Soul Fragments got formed in the aftermath.

[-that monkey probably put the soul in a jar and is shaking it like a madman several times a day-]

The thought of Macaque's storage solution for part of LBD's soul being a jar is hilarious. MK probably yells that he's "just making her angry!" when he catches him doing it.

Of course this form of torment is the reason Maccadoodle realises that the soul fragment is suddenly missing after he and Wukong make up...

Downside; Macaque does spend S4 el pregante and not telling anyone. First person to realise whats up is Nezha, who found out completely on accident. ("I turned my back for ONE SECOND, and you and Sun Wukong have two infants, with one on the way?!").

Also at least one member of the Brotherhood smelled that something was Off with Mac and mentioned it to the rest of them. Azure had a blue-screen error moment when he tried doing the math. Mac still kicks asses when he decides to fight, even with Peng taking a moment to mock his "egg-burdened" appearance. Peng gets shadow-slapped into the horizon.

[Then he tells SWK, maybe after the beach party? Just, putting the other's hands over the still-small-bump and him putting it together.]

Omg thats the perfect scenario for how Mac tells Wukong about the baby. They're sharing the shade, in addition to a pair of sleepy shadow monkeys, and Mac just takes Wukong's hand when he's offered the peach popsicle and brings it to his middle.

Wukong's eyes blink gold for a second before he starts sobbing with joy. Lots of loud, gross, sappy kissing ensues.

Bonus+: In theory each of the four New Souls represents an aspect of LBD that was too great for one little kid to inherit.

Yuebei (aka the Shadowpeach baby): Is much like how she is in the TMKATI au. Is a big, kinda-ugly, baby who's started cooking around the time of S4. Messy black fur, pale skull-shaped face marking, six ears and a shocking amount of strength for a newborn. Represents LBD's wrath.

Bao (Freenoodles): Dumpster piglet. Found in the trash during the post-battle clean-up of the noodle shop. Looks like the chubbiest little piglet with wispy white fur & black spots. Was assumed to just be a street urchin orphaned/abandoned in the chaos of LBD's destruction. By the time they realise Bao is even a Fragment of LBD, she's already Freenoodles pride and joy + MK's beloved baby sister. Represents LBD's hunger for power.

Guǐhuǒ (Ironbull baby, name suggested by @aokolpvxs): PIF and DBK planned to have a big big family together long before the complications with Red arose. So when Red Son explained to them about this little unreincarnated soul needing a "home"... who are they to turn down the chance at having a second born after so long? Red didn't even suggest it to them, they insisted. And you *know* that little half-bull princess is gonna have DBK wrapped around her little finger before she even arrives. Represents LBD's pride/decorum.

Shísuàn (Spider gang baby): Part of LBD's soul that got trapped in spider silk, and by-proxy became a spider (specifically a Diving bell) demon egg. Egg is lime green and about the size of a basketball. Despite initial reservations, the whole gang are soon fighting over who gets to name/take care of the spiderling inside. At least until the ginger-haired spiderling hatches and starts screaming with colic. Huntsman finally ends up asking Sandy and the Monkie Kid gang for help once the late nights get too much for him. Turns out the baby spider was just gassy. Has specific "favorites" among the gang, which includes new friend the Scorpion Queen. Represents LBD's mischief/discourse.

The Mayor is hanging around too. Got to keep an eye on where His Lady is after all. Gets beaten up by the gang the second he shows up anywhere. Later even gets beaten up by "His Lady" in the form of baby Yuebei deciding he failed the vibe check.

[that-one-anxious-mango]

Hi love your stories!! Do you have any more??

Summary: When a news outlet puts out some compromising pictures of Austin and his co-star, you could feel yourself wanting to crumble. And in your time of need you turn to four of the people who know you best.

Contents: Pretty good amount of angst. Sad and worried reader. Introduction of reader's friends. Mentions and insinuations of infidelity. Supportive friends. Eventual fluff toward end.

Pairing: Austin Butler x Black Reader.

A/N: Hello beautiful humans. I hope you're all doing well. I figured that we haven't had a good taste of angst yet with our lovely couple. So here's a sample of more to come. I hope you all enjoy. Side note: A debrief on the friend group will be posted separately for fun.

And thank you anon for your sweet message. This is dedicated to you :) Happy reading.

Much Love *hugs*

" Maybe this isn't what it looks like babes. They're probably just hanging out as friends." Your friend, Beatrice, reasoned from her spot on your couch trying her best to diffuse the impending situation.

A snort could be heard from the love seat across from her, " Yeah right. Fat chance. The proof is in the pudding. And by the looks of it, the main ingredient is deceit. I really don't know why we're even considering the latter." Alana, your other friend countered making sure to point feverishly at the images shown on the iPad you were holding.

" Because she loves him Alana and this is about the last thing you'd wanna hear about your boyfriend while he's thousands of miles away in a different country." Beatrice snapped not really liking how seemingly okay her friend appeared with just writing off their friend's relationship.

Alana went to raise a pointed figure but was stopped, " Alright guys let's take it down a couple notches. Okay? " Your bestfriend Phoebe proposed earning two nods and a begrudging whatever. " No one can be for sure what the context behind these pictures are. Let's just try and piece together what we're for sure we know." She said turning to look at you next to her.

Even between all their bickering and antics. You still hadn't let your eyes stray away from the pictures displaying on the screen. You felt sick at what you were seeing.

What were you seeing?

There were three pictures.

To the average person what it looked like was two people, ( possibly lovers or possibly friends) lying together on a blanket, on a beach, enjoying each other's company.

But to you what it looked like was, your boyfriend and his co-star whom you'd before caught mindlessly flirting with said boyfriend, lying both their sweaty half naked bodies together. Closely on the beach.

When you'd been out this afternoon taking Magnus for a walk around the block while you thought of different things to bake for Austin when he got home for a upcoming filming break. You'd gotten a text from your co-worker pretty much saying that she didn't know that you and Austin had split. And that she was here for you if you needed.

Laughing it off as a weird random idea, you replied telling her that not only were the two of you still together. But you were also doing quite well as a couple.

After that text you just continued to stroll along in slight uneasiness, until minutes later her text of the pictures came in and your heart dropped to the soles of your feet.

There they were.

Clear as day.

Soon after many friends, family members, and other nosy people that probably still shouldn't have your number began texting and rolling in with a thousand questions you just didn't have the answers to.

You could feel the tightness in your chest begin, and water sting your eyes.

You'd let Magnus finish his due diligence in peace before quickly ushering you both home.

Going to the kitchen pantry you grabbed Austin's jar of smooth peanut butter and Magnus's favorite treat toy filing it up to the brim. Once you set it down in front of him you'd figured it would keep the usually aware pup occupied while you slipped upstairs.

Your head felt oddly heavy and your chest was beginning to tighten as you made your way to your down the hallway.

Going into your bathroom to try and calm yourself down, you called the only four people that you knew could help you see the light at a seemingly long, dark and scary tunnel.

Your girls.

Phoebe Wesley, Beatrice Cortina, Alana Montgomery, and Alexandria Kross.

It took them all of two rings for them all to answer the conference call. They immediately began asking if you were alright and to know what was going. Unfortunately though, they weren't able to get much coherent information due to the sobbing that ensued from you.

You felt overwhelmed.

Frantically informing you that they were all on their way! You waited for a quick twenty minutes before Phoebe appeared at your home first, taking you into her arms and guiding you to sit on the long sofa. Not long after Beatrice joined, Alex notified you she had a work meeting and would be updated via Beatrice. And finally, came Alana who told you that'd she would have made it sooner but she'd stopped and got a bacon pizza with feta bread. 

One of your favorites.

But you weren't hungry.

And now that takes you to the current moment of madness, " Y/N did you talk to Austin last night? He didn't mention anything about him and Olivia going to the beach together? " Came a question.

You just shook your head still not completely in the moment.

" Not a thing. We talked about each other's day. He talked a little bit about some of the new prosthetics makeup he was going to be wearing now that they had started to shoot different scenes as older Elvis. I told him about the new book I had started and the incident with Magnus and the neighbor's yorkie. That was pretty much it." You uncomfortably recalled the phone call last night.

Everyday you and Austin made the effort and commitment to call and talk to each other about whatever for some time.

It was always around five pm your way in California and eleven am his all the way in Australia. So when you were telling him about how your day went, he was telling you what he had up with his.

" Well again let's not get into too deep." Beatrice reiterated, " Let's just take it a minute at a time. Okay."

A text could be seen popping in from Alex.

Kriss Kross Boss: I agree. Let us stay rational until we don't need to be..

You nodded.

From there they all went around the room one by one saying different things to reassure you of your situation.

Phoebe started first, " Y/N you know this man is absolutely crazy about you in the best way. I don't really believe that he would ever do something that would purposefully jeopardize his chances with you. I mean have you seen the way that man looks at you! It's..intense."

Beatrice nodded, " Yeah, like it gives Edward Cullen vibes minus the violence, manipulation, gaslighting, and overall icks." She clarified.

You grinned a little at her reference.

" I would have compared it more to like Phantom of the Opera tease. But I see you point." Alana pointed out playing with a eager Magnus.

Kriss Kross Boss: I could see that. The room continued to compare your relationship to famous fictional pairings until you heard a familiar ringing fill the room.

It was your phone.

And in that moment you knew it was Austin, and you knew you couldn't answer it.

Like something out of a movie the four of you stared around at each other. No one moved a inch. The air was unchanged.

Of course it had to be Alana though who broke the pregnant pause, " So...no one's gonna answer it? " She questioned looking between her friends and the buzzing device on the coffee table.

Barely above a whisper came from you ," I can't."

It was true. You didn't know how to face him at this exact moment of time.

If the mere mention of his name was enough to make you almost create a whole new ocean of tears to add to the world map.

Imagine what actually hearing his voice and speaking to him would do.

" So it's settled we just let it go to voicemail." Phoebe clapped allowing the buzzing noise to again become background noise in the room, " As we were saying..."

Once it stopped you felt a good five seconds of slight relief before it's started buzzing again

This time you felt your eyes water. You knew he was probably gonna call at least one more time after this one.

After that he more than likely would wait a bit and then start up with the texts asking where you were and how you were.

Sure enough after that buzz session ended another one ensued earning the same result as the last.

Nothing.

Finally after about seven minutes of Beatrice and Alana now beginning to butt-heads about theories pertaining to if he knew you knew yet, is when you seen the messages begin to flash across the screen over the course of the following thirty minutes.

Sweet Baboo: Hey love. Was just calling to talk to you about something.

Sweet Baboo: Call me when you get this baby.

Sweet Baboo:  Please.

Sweet Baboo: Y/N  I don't know if you're getting these but if you are baby please say something

Sweet Baboo: I love you.

Sweet Baboo: Y/N seriously I need to talk to you. Please don't ignore me.

Sweet Baboo: Just answer the phone sweetheart.

As soon as you finished reading the message his face flashed across your screen , only this time you reached only to suddenly stop your own self.

Noticing and watching, Beatrice asked , " You gonna pick it up, hun? I mean maybe it'll be good to just hear him out about what he might have to say. Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding." She encouraged.

" I agree." Chimed Phoebe, " I mean hey...it's Austin. I'm sure he's probably gonna sort this whole thing out. Like BB said, it's more than likely a big misunderstanding."

You nodded hearing both of their words and acknowledging them, but oddly their friendly support and optimism didn't ease the achy feeling you felt swirling around in your chest.

Instead you felt it amplify until you once again felt your eyes turn into mini sprinklers as you broke down in tears, " I-I *sniffle* I d-don't think I c-can do it." You nasally spoke out looking down at the picture of Austin's face across your screen causing you to cry all the harder.

It was of him laying on the backyard ground of his condo next to you. He was smiling really wide because had had just asked you to officially be his girlfriend to which you of course practically screeched a yes for all of the poor neighbors to hear. In the picture your newly promise ringed hand was cupping his face while he happily gazed at you. You guys had, had the best day!

He was so happy!

So, when did he stop being so happy to the point of going as far as cheating!

Your heart sped up at the " C " word entering your mind, but you quickly placed a hand on your chest in efforts to try and slow it down. I mean the two of you had talked about this. And he knew that this was a definite dealbreaker for you. So there was no way he'd take a risk like this...right?

You knew you were getting ahead of yourself.

But part of you started to feel even worse.

In the beginning you had feared this. Getting into a relationship with Austin, only for him after a while to come to his senses that him being with you, the normal quirky black girl, was a phase he now found himself out of. And then he would decide to leave you for someone who would usually be more his speed.

Someone like Olivia DeJonge.

You were unfortunately about to start the long list of comparing yourself to her in your head when your pity party was suddenly interrupted by Phoebe's loud gasp.

" Oh shit. Austin is calling me." Phoebe panicked looking down at her phone.

"Um...what should we do." Beatrice puzzled.

Kriss Kross Boss: I say answer it

Seeing this now you felt your heart strings pull. On one end, you felt like you didn't wanna hear his voice let alone what he had to say right now. But on the other hand, you felt you owed to him to hear what he had to say since before he'd never given you any reason to suspect cheating or doubt his honesty.

So you simply said, " Go head. Answer it. But put it on speaker."  While wiping away the tears from your overflooded cheeks.

" Are you sure?" Phoebe asked for confirmation holding the device.

Hesitant you nodded, " Yeah go head."

Nodding Phoebe answered putting the phone on the coffee table, " Hello? "

And then his voice filled the room, " H-hey Phoebe. How are ya' ?" He greeted. You could sense his nervousness even a ocean away through the phone. His words sounded rushed and a bit strained not the usual calm and collected tone you were used to.

He was stressing.

" Doin' alright Austin. Can't really complain....much. What do I owe the pleasure of this call? ."

" Oh..I..uh.Mmmm." He cleared his throat obviously trying to form the words, " I was.. uh.. calling you because I've been trying to reach Y/N for the last couple of hours and I haven't had any luck. I was wondering if you had talked to her at all today? "

Phoebe looked to you only to gain confirmation when you shook your head no, " Uh. Nope I actually haven't really talked to her since this morning after she told me about something with Magnus. I've been spending the day with Noah at home while he's here from deployment." She white lied.

And it was partially true. Her intention was in-fact to spend the day with her darling military captain hunk. But her friend was in need, and him being a army captain of all people, he understood that.

" Oh wow. Happy to hear that. I think I remember Y/N telling me he was coming home sometime soon.  Glad he's back safe." Austin congratulated.

" Yeah. It's only for two months but rather that than nothing so I'm grateful."

" Right, I completely understand. Wish I could come home and visit Y/N. " He sighed, " Man that girl just makes my entire world spin. I hate working away from her like this. Rather be home with her." He said.

You felt your cheeks heat.

Kriss Kross Boss: Hmm

" Hmm I see." Phoebe sounded looking over to you who'd instinctively grabbed the pillow next to you to clutch. " So Austin being yours and Y/N's friend. I have to ask while you're on the phone. Have you seen the pictures that the DailyMail put out of you and Olivia DeJonge today? Because I've got to tell you buddy, that they don't exactly look good." She prodded looking around the room at you all.

A tired groan escaped through the phone, " Yeah Phoebe, I have. And I've had my team working overtime to try and get a handle on this thing. Because it's everywhere in the media right now. And not a lick of it is true. All these cheating allegations and break up rumors couldn't be farther from the true. But I know you know that."

" I get that. I do. Things aren't always what they seem. But Austin I can't lie and say I wouldn't appreciate if you'd please give me some type of context to what's going on here. Because the amount of messages I've gotten in the last two hours from our other friends since this whole thing appeared is absolutely ridiculous." Phoebe furthered.

" Tell me about it, " He nervously laughed, " I've got people calling and texting me up the ass wanting to know what's going. Ashley actually called me about twenty minutes ago to chew me out. She's pretty upset with me like I imagine you might be unfortunately. But like I told her, nothing happened. The weather out here spiked, and we had to shut down filming due to heat hazards. So, some of the cast got together and thought it'd be nice if we all went to the beach. Which I thought was all fine and what not'. Until I got there and found out that everyone else had backed out last minute and only Olivia and I showed." 

Seemed reasonable enough to you.

Just then a text from Alana lit up your phone:

Mrs. Reynolds: Sounds fishy tbh

Kriss Kross Boss: Let's let him finish...but yeah little bit

" At that point I didn't just wanna be rude and leave her out there by herself, so we hung out a little bit. Got in the water. Laid around and talked awhile. And then we both left. Separately. The end." He finished making sure to put an emphasis on the last part.

Even though Phoebe said that she was by herself Austin knew she wasn't. Not only had he heard glasses slightly clinking in the back and the familiar whine of a puppy named Magnus, and what sounded like muffled bickering which he could guess was Alana and Beatrice.                              

He also knew his girlfriend's friends well enough to know that they wouldn't just let her be at home by herself during a time like this.

He could bet his bottom dollar that Beatrice, Alana, Alex, Phoebe, and his lady were all crowded right around the phone listening to his every word. And that's exactly what he needed. 

You to hear the truth.

And if this was the only way. So be it.

Phoebe hummed, " Sounds alright to me. Only.." She paused looking to you for silent conformation to which you nodded her forward, " I have to ask why you guys were like..kinda..super close laying on that towel together. Like you two looked quite comfy...like really comfy." Phoebe questioned looking to a Beatrice who threw up a thumbs up waiting to hear the reaction.

" Yeah about that. Olivia forgot to bring a towel with her and I had mine. She said she didn't wanna get sand in her hair and I tried to be a gentleman and offered for us to share. I just was trying to be nice is all. Was a bit awkward tell you the truth..." He trailed.

" Understandable." Phoebe concluded

"  Ask about the restaurant rumors." Alana whispered grabbing a disgruntled Magnus and setting him on her lap in efforts to quiet him.

" And finally...and I promise this is the last question. What's the deal with people saying they've seen you and Olivia out at restaurants looking rather friendly with each other recently. Couple late nights out there..." Phoebe inquried perring over to you as you slowly and quietly inhaled a tiny breath to hold.

" It's nothing to it. " Austin quickly affirmed, " Just two co-stars running lines with each other at times that worked for the both of us. Being with the schedule constantly moving around due to covid and whatever else its a get in where you fit in situation. ya' know. Most happen to be nights unfortunately. " He finished.

" Honestly..I-" He started but stopped short, contemplating if he should even say what he was about to. But fuck it she needed to know, " There.." He cleared his throat, " Had been a couple of times she tried to invite me back to her place. BUT I've always declined. Out of respect for not only myself and her. But especially out of the respect and love I have for my relationship with Y/N...I could never do that to her." He finished feeling like a huge weight had been lifted knowing everything was all out.

Your ears rang.

She'd done what? WTF.

Now you couldn't lie. The short amount of times Austin had brought you around the cast before he'd left you'd noticed Olivia's abnormally friendly behavior. But you hadn't ever thought it'd got that far. Because all in all you trusted Austin.

Your palms got hot as images flashed through your brain of Olivia brushing her hand against his, rubbing his forearm, she'd even slickly called him babe in the ' non-friendly ' manner a couple of times. But never did you think she'd go this low.

Just then your phone buzzed, 

Kriss Kross Boss: THAT HEIFER! How tf dare she! 

Mrs. Reynolds: THAT PART! DONT GET GOT BLONDIE

Phoebe cleared her throat, " Wow! I mean...man I get it! And honestly Austin....I believe what you're telling me is in-fact the truth. I just hate that this presents the way it does. It's not a good look on your part, and it certainly isn't a good look on Y/N's " She added & looked over to your expression.

You sat up pacing yourself.

He took a deep breath, " I know...I know. And that's why I've been trying to get ahold of her, but her phone keeps going straight to voicemail and my messages all still say delivered. So, that makes me think that she's already seen it. And it worries me because the last thing I wanna do is have her thinking that there's anyone other than her. I couldn't imagine my life without her at this point. That woman is just about one of the only things that makes me wanna get up in the morning. She's it for me. She's mine and I love her."

she's mine and I love her.

That's what he said.

He said that you're his and he loves you.

As stubborn as were, you couldn't help the warmth that filled your heart. It was like a million little embers setting off at once. Sure you guys said I love you to each other all the time. But it still never got old hearing him say it. Especially when you weren't 'technically' around.

Just then you seen your phone light up with texts for Alex, Alana, and Beatrice:

Kriss Kross Boss: PERIOD! IKDR! Look at that man all in love and junk!

Mother Bea: YOU GUYS THATS SO STINKING CUTE! I CAN'T

Mrs. Reynolds: *sighs* I agree. the fucker sounds genuine.

You looked to the other side of the couch to see Beatrice fighting off tears while Alana offered her a tissue with disgust plastered on her face.

You loved your friends.

You glanced over to Phoebe who held a somewhat content smile on her face looking at the group chat messages. Turning to you she mouthed a " Call him please." To which you nodded.

" Phoebe you still there?" Austin sounded making everyone snap out of their emotional moment and return their attention to the phone.

" Yeah, I'm still here. Was just reading something. But,uh, Like I said Austin. I really do think you sound sincere and I'm sure that with the right conversation so will Y/N , trust me." She motivated shooting you a wink.

Austin sighed, " Right. If I can get her on the phone." He pointed out.

" Well. I'll tell you what. I actually have to go do this thing for Noah so after we hang up why don't you try her again. Maybe you'll have better luck this time." Phoebe  coyly suggested motioning for you to pick up your phone and shoo you out the room.

Doing as you we're directed you skeptically picked up the phone slowly backing out the room toward the kitchen being quietly cheered on by your friends. It was all of forty-five seconds after Phoebe yelled to you that they hung up, that you're phone buzzed.

Staring at the screen you couldn't help how your thumb hesitated over the bright red button.

But you couldn't do that.

Not after what you'd just heard.

You owed it to yourself and him to pick up.

And in a split it second you quickly tapped the button answering.

It was sheer silent for a moment, nothing but small breathing could be heard until the voice came through the receiver, " Y/N. Baby you there? "

You took a deep breath, " Y-Yeah I'm here."

You heard the large sigh he let out of relief, " Hey, baby?" You could hear him trying to even out his breaths so he continue talking, " So, how much of it did you hear?" He questioned.

" Enough." You simply replied.

On the other end the man was running his hand down his face for the thousandth time it seemed trying to formulate words now that part of this burden had been lifted: The not speaking to you part. He now had to figure out how he was going to say all the things he wanted to say while fighting the urge to hop on a plane to be with you.

" Listen. Baby-" 

You cut him off, " You don't have to re-explain I pretty mu-"

" Yes. I do, though bec-" He tried countering but still you cut in.

 Aus I-" But he cut you of again putting on a more stern front this time.

" No baby. Wait a minute. I'm trying to say something that is super important to us both so I want you to listen to me. Can you hear me alright? "

" Yes, Austin ." You replied.

" You sure. Sweetheart cause you can't miss not even a syllable of what I'm about say." He solidified dropping the octave in his voice .

" Yes." You anticipated.

" Y/N. Baby. I love you. And I love you something serious. You are amazing and  mean more to me than I could have ever fathomed imaginable. And I'm so happy that you're mine." He started. You could few your cheeks starting to heat up.

" Words can't explain how sorry I am that I ever put you in a situation like this for you to feel embarrassed, but more importantly for you to question whether or not I love you and I'm faithful to what we're building."

" I made a promise to you when I gave you that ring that I hope to god is still on your finger. The promise that I love you and only you, baby. And it will only ever be you. Always, Forever, and Beyond." Austin continued. " You're it for me Y/N M/N L/N. Only you. And I want only you." He confessed.

By now your face for what seemed like the umpteenth time was damp again. But at least this time it was all for the right reasons. In your mind you now felt silly about the assumptions and idea that you had earlier. How could you think any of that after hearing this declaration.

" Did you get all that? " He asked while you carefully wiped tears for the corner of your eyes.

" Yeah I did." You sniffled.

" And do you believe all that? Truly believe it?" He furthered with a tinge of desperation that he was trying to mask. He needed you to know how he felt.

" Yes I do. I know that you love me." You affirmed putting more confidence in your voice.

Feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders he said, " Good. Because like I told you before, I don't know many times I'll have to tell you I love you before you realize that I'm absolutely crazy about you and only you." Austin said running his fingers across the green pattern crotchet blanket that was laid across him.

About a month before he was set to move to Australia to start filming Elvis, you'd enlisted Beatrice to help teach you how to crotchet a blanket for Austin as a six month anniversary gift. And when it was time for him to pack for a small trip one weekend, you slipped it into his luggage for him to find later. And when he did, he couldn't erase the fuzzy and gooey feeling that consumed him.

Always thinking of me. He thought before bringing the item up to his nose to take whiff. He was beyond satisfied when the scent of mangos and vanilla entered his senses.

It smelled like you.

From there, Austin brought the blanket with him to Australia and pretty much slept with the thing almost every night. It was so special to him.

Nodding to yourself you replied, " Yeah I'm crazy about you too Austin. " You giggled knowing what you were about to say next would make him laugh, " You almost made me find a flight to Australia just to show you how CRAZY about you I really am." You tease thinking back to all of the more cooky musings you'd had when you believed that he may have been creeping around on you earlier.

Spoiler Alert: They weren't good...or legal.

Just as you thought would he did laugh running a hand down his face, " Oh man. I wouldn't have minded. Even if it would have meant seeing you set a blaze to half of the set." He said as a eerily scary imagine of you entered his mind.

You smiled" Nah. Never that. I'm not really a fire kind of girl. There are more effective methods than that. Plus no reason to punish everyone else working to feed their families. They may just have had to have found two new leads for the movie..that's all." You played with him. Austin laughed, " That's my girl. Always thinking of others." He commented, "But really. If you can have all of your work things fixed I'll arrange to have a jet come and get you out of LAX for you to come visit. All you need to do is give me the earliest convivence of when you can come, babe. And I'll take care of the rest. Because I really wanna see you." Austin explained already going to grab his laptop to start curating emails as he spoke.

You grumbled, " First off I'd love to come visit you so I'll see what I can push around. But secondly, you don't have to send a jet for me. I'm a big girl and I am more than capable of buying my own ticket to come see you." You cemented.

Austin smiled to himself, " I know you are, baby. But that doesn't mean that I can't do this for you."

" Austin I know b- " You began before being cut off, " But you're gonna let Daddy take care of this, alright. He messed something up and now he's fixing it. So pack your things up and when the time comes have your little pretty ass ready to take a prearranged flight, okay. " Austin voice husked now sporting a lower and sexier octave.

You could the trickles of something begin round yonder against the better judgement of your mind you from hearing his tone, " Okay." You peeped feeling every bit of feminism you had leak from your body.

Pathetic.

" Okay." He parroted back, " Now that we have that settled. How about you grab the journal, honey. So we can write all this down. " He suggested. You smiled.

Something unique about yours and Austin's relationship was the journal.

The journal was something that was used as a healthy relationship exercise. The two of you together would write down the triumphs and hiccups of your romance to be able to look back at for reference going forward as you both tried to always continue to better your relationship. Everything from recollections of your first meeting, to your first fight, and even some details of the first time you made love were written in it's pages.

For privacy reasons it stayed with you in a special place for when it was needed while Austin was away. Otherwise he was the usual keeper of the journal.

" Yeah we can do that." You said moving through the halls past your friends. Once you seen them you gave a thumbs up and motioned for them to put on a movie or something if they'd like before you proceeded upstairs to have a in-depth talk about everything from today with your man to put it all on paper. 

[spindle-girl]

Flare 2.3

Back at it fresh into some new horrors

There were things to be said about it, about the militaristic tilt of the group, the way the PRT and the Protectorate had broken in such a way that the Wardens had sprung up from one large chunk of the image, presentation and ideals.  Crystal’s parahuman miltary thing was crudely forged from another chunk of what the PRT had been: the PRT’s old laws, rules, and discipline.  A military-esque force without a government to serve or a hard and fast system of law to back it up.

i really can't see how this ends up with a better image than other groups all things considered

“This isn’t about powers,” she said.  “But I wouldn’t rule them out.  They helped and they may be part of this.  The key thing is that a lot of the building materials and resources we used to get started came from other worlds.”

this isn't a bad explanation by any means, but it does make out Scion's rampage across the multiverse as a little less impactful if the other worlds are happy and able to be providing assistance. is this one of those, Cauldron-in-the-background kind of deals?

“The two construction groups are collaborating, banding together, the areas rezoned, contracts reworked.  They say workers signed and agreed, and there are no longer ‘dibs’, as you put it.” “For something that matters as much as home and shelter, with that many employees, you’d think someone would have read the contract thoroughly enough to figure that out.”

oh these workers are def getting screwed over

“I know,” I said.  “I’m going to go get changed and see if I can find footwear.  If you have a minute, could you find any belts?”

FF Vic skin, limited edition

“South side of the building,” he said, pointing. “Stand on the dotted line, try not to stare down the crowd or antagonize them. Be gentle if they get rowdy.”

"try not to antagonize them" oh boy this is going to go well if that's the orders they're getting

“Just a design, not an emblem,” I said, turning my back to him to show him the rush job we’d managed with the heat-transferred image, my sweatshirt lightly singed in places.  It was a circle with lines intersecting it, almost like a sun, but with the lines running into the circle.  The image was offset, so the lines were shorter to the left and top of the image.  Crystal’s idea and design, and I’d had no objection.

is there any meaning behind the symbol i'm not getting or is it just a thing? i guess it goes with the rest of the arc titles, with it being a sun

“You happen to beat me to the scene, and then you use your secret identity, condescension and anti-parahuman shit to take me down a notch? And then you want a place on Advance Guard?”

i suppose Shortcut was the first hero the protagonist met, but it doesn't guarantee he'll get the Defiant treatment so he should really stop playing Armsmaster

It hit me like a blow to the head.  An image in my mind’s eye, a feeling, a sense of something greater.  Forgotten in the same instant it occurred.  I dropped out of the air, and I caught myself a moment later.  Crystal did much the same.

aw, no gold morning images?

End Notes:

the flirting was rough to get through listening to it while driving, ngl. nothing really standing out to me, but i know this doesn't turn out well for the people involved in the broken trigger. i'm guessing we'll get to Sam's friend later down the line when the Wardens mess up handling her situation