#this coulda been a yes no question but I’m curious

[silverlistenstothings]

(my AO3 account, for those unaware)

[my-unmanageable-mischief]

Flirt

For @artemis1orion Who requested Can I request a James Potter x reader where they’re kinda enemies since the reader was on slytherin. But whenever the reader gets a chance, she/they jokingly flirt with the marauders except james cuz she can’t actually flirt w ppl they actually like. Till like one day, James confronted the reader abt it cuz he also likes her? 

James Potter x Reader

You wolf whistled from across the great hall, causing a plethora of heads to turn your way, including the boys whom attention you wanted. Your eyes met with Potter’s first and you grinned devilishly at him as he glared. The next boy you looked at was Remus, he was no fun though, he never flirted back with you, then Peter, sure flirting with him was a laugh, but not exactly what you were looking for at the moment. Finally, they landed on Black and you grinned wider, blowing a kiss across the room which he jokingly caught and tossed over his shoulder.

“What do you want Y/L/N?” He called out to you. Most students went back to their eating, but some kept their eyes on you, curious about the encounter.

“Nothing, you’re looking fit!” You yelled back, causing your friend next to you to groan in frustration.

“Y/N, leave it.” They demanded but you were just getting started. Black made a face before grinning, winking at you as he took a seat at the Gryffindor table with his mates. Potter simply continued to glare at you. Tosser. Cute tosser, your brain corrected, and hell, you couldn’t argue with that logic. 

“You look pretty fit too, for a slimy snake!” You grinned cheekily at him wiggling your eyebrows suggestively. 

“Come over here, Black, I’ll show you just how slimy I can be!” He laughed at that shaking his head and giving you a choice finger which you returned happily. You dropped it, letting the boys eat as you went back to your own meal. 

“I don’t know why you do that.” Your friend muttered, “They’re Gryffndors, it’s gross.” You grinned and shrugged. 

“It’s fun! And they’re cute, what harm can it do.” Your friend shook their head and went back to their meal, choosing to just ignore you, but that didn’t dampen your mood. 

  A few days later you were leaving potions and nearly bumped into Remus’s back when he suddenly stopped walking. 

“As much as I’d like to bang you, I mean bang into you, I’d also love it if you kept walking.” You commented, Lupin looked over his shoulder at you and flushed before turning and shoving James through the classroom doorway.

“Go!” He demanded, Potter looked over his shoulder at Remus with a grin, and then past Remus at you and his smile immediately dropped, replacing it with a glare. 

“Come on sweetcheeks,” You gave Remus a toothy grin, “Get that cute butt moving,” His blush only deepened, pleading with James with his eyes to get out of the bloody way. Potter moved and Remus jumped out of your way, you reached up and patted his cheek as you went.

“Such a sweetie you are, Third floor broom cupboard later, see you there.”

“No you won’t!” He managed to squeak out, but you merely laughed, sauntering off down the corridor. 

“Want me to hex them?” You heard Potter ask, so you shot him a glare over your shoulder as you walked.

“I’d like to see you try!” James grumbled angrily to himself and Remus rolled his eyes. 

“Come on mate, it’s not biggie. You know they’re just taking the piss.” Remus assured him, but James wasn’t pacified. 

“They’re a bitch.” He stated, arms crossing over his chest, and Remus looked at him knowingly. 

“Why don’t they ever flirt with you mate, they do it with everyone else.” Sirius asked, tossing an arm around his friends shoulder as they walked down the corridor in the opposite direction of you. 

“I don’t know, but I’m glad they don’t.” He muttered and Sirius and Remus shared a look over their friend's heads, Sirius raising a single eyebrow. 

  “Petey,” You smiled sweetly at the boy, leaning on his desk as he sat next to James in potions, “Could I borrow a quill please?” You made puppy dog eyes at the boy and smiled sweetly, watching happily as he turned beat red. 

“I don’t-” He cut himself off and you leaned further onto his desk, ignoring James’ glares. Peter searched through his bag before looking at you with wide eyes, not used to anyone openly flirting with him how you did. 

“I don’t have an extra,” He admitted and you shrugged, plucking the one from his hands, twirling it between your fingers.

“I’ll just take this one then, love.” He went even redder and nodded his head vigorously.

“Okay!” He squeaked out.

“Y/N, give him back his quill.” Potter demanded, and you laughed. 

“Nope.” You responded, popping your ‘p’. James stood up attempting to snatch the quill from your hand but you danced away from him with a wide smile.

“James it’s fine,” Peter tried to interrupt, but Potter was fed up. Finally, you had been trying to get him to this point for months now. 

“Do something about it, Prongs,” You spat the nickname you often heard his friends using at him like it was a vile insult. He flushed, lurching at you, grabbing your wrist and holding it as he snatched the quill from your hands, handing it back to Peter.

“Now kindly,” He glared at you, “Piss off!” You laughed and rolled your eyes before turning to the table behind them where Remus and Sirius watched the exchange with amused expressions. 

“Boys,” You winked at them, blowing a kiss. 

“Y/N,” They replied. 

“Go away!” Potter shouted, causing a few Gryffindors to snicker, but that didn’t bother you, so you went back to your own desk, sitting down and pulling out a quill to Potter’s horror. He wanted to rip your head off. 

A few weeks later, you sat alone in the library working on an assignment for charms, head resting in one of your hands while the other one twirled your quill. You stared at your parchment, wondering if you concentrated hard enough if the essay would write itself. However, so far, you had little luck. 

Suddenly someone plopped down in front of you and you glanced up, surprised to see James Potter sitting in the previously empty seat. You raised an eyebrow, looking around.

“Where are your goons?” You asked and he went from looking mildly uncomfortable to glaring at you.

“They’re not my goons.” You shrugged, looking back down at your parchment again, feeling your cheeks heating up slightly. 

“Whatever you say,” You murmured, sticking the end of your quill into your mouth as you tried to concentrate. Potter didn’t move, so you looked up at him again, “Yes?” You asked, Potter looked as uncomfortable as you felt, shifting awkwardly in his chair, glancing around like he was worried someone might spot him talking to you.

“Do you like Sirius?” He asked suddenly and you scoffed, taking your head.

“No?”

“What about Remus?” You looked at him, blinking a few times before shaking your head. Where was he going with this?

“No,” James nodded his head, playing with his hands that were resting on the table. 

“Peter?” He continued and you barked out a loud laugh, earning a glare from a few Ravenclaws sitting a few tables away. Potter shushed you and you flushed slightly, grinning as you shook your head.

“Definitely not.” You assured, rolling your eyes. “Why the interrogation?” You asked and he shrugged his shoulders looking away from you. When he finally looked back you were still staring at him and he flushed slightly, balling his fists up.

“So why do you flirt with them?” He asked, “And not-” He cut himself off, unclenching his fists and laying his hands flat on the table, “Why?” You considered the question with rosy cheeks. 

“I dunno, Potter, it’s fun?” You offered as an answer but it came out as a question. 

“It’s not fun to flirt with me?” 

“Why do you care? You hate me.” 

“I do not.” You looked at him funny.

“Coulda fooled me.” You stated and he looked down at his hands. You were quiet for a moment, waiting for him to get up and leave. But he didn’t. “Why do you care?” You repeated, James looked at you and shrugged his shoulders. 

“I don’t.”

“Okay.” 

“Okay,” He repeated.

“Fine.” 

“Fine,” He was getting annoyed and you smirked slightly, causing him to let out a small laugh. 

“You’re infuriating.” He decided and your smirk turned into a wide grin.

“Thanks, love.” The word fell out of your mouth before you could think better of it and you both blushed furiously. 

“Do you like me?” He asked suddenly and you dropped your quill in shock.

“What?” James held your gaze but you could tell he wanted to look away.

“I said, do you like me?” He puffed his chest out slightly and ran a hand through his messy black curls. You looked at him, trying to decide if you wanted to lie or not. 

“I don’t... not like you.” You offered. He nodded his head, tongue poking out to lick over his lips, and you watched the movement, afraid if you moved the moment would be broken and he would be gone. 

“Right. Right. Well, I don’t, erm, not like you either.” He responded and you looked at him with wide eyes. 

“Right.” 

“Right.” 

“So...” 

“So?” He repeated, as you both sat there, cheeks red. 

“What... What now?” You asked and James shrugged slightly, looking helpless. He ran his fingers through his hair again and you wanted to reach out and touch his soft curls. 

“Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?” The question came out rushed and all at once. It took you a minute to process it, and for a moment he thought you weren’t going to answer before finally you nodded your head. 

“Alright.” James’ face broke into a grin and he nodded his head, standing up from the table. 

“Brilliant. I will see you then.” 

“We have class together tomorrow.” 

“Right,” He nodded, standing in front of you, “Then I’ll see you then.” He waved and turned to walk away before stopping and coming back to you, you raised an eyebrow when he pointed a finger at you, eyes shining slightly in a way he had never looked at you before. “Stop flirting with my mates.” He stated and you smirked, laughing. 

“Alright, deal.” 

“Good, see you tomorrow, Y/N.” 

“See ya James.”

[ayylovley]

I love your writing! I was wondering if you are accepting requests? I just got my heart broken and was left on/cheated by this girl I was in love with and could use some sexy Chucky/Brad Dourif x reader work to cheer me up 😊 Keep up the awesome work!

I’m so sorry that happened to u and I’m sorry this took so long!😭 But thank you for the request babe!❤️

Warnings: Swearing, drinking, mentions of cheating, kissing, mentions of rough sex, slight smut

Walking alone smelling the cigarettes and alcohol through the streets, whenever you breathed you can see the cold fog from your lips as the coat you were wearing tended to prevent you from getting sick from the freezing Chicago air. Heading straight to a local bar that was more packed with people than you’d like to have it. You were not, in the mood.

Having your heart broken by someone else was tough as it is, but to be cheated on and dealing with it was a lot harder than it seems. Tonight, you decided to just grab a few drinks, head home and take a bath to relive any stress and irritation. A few men had already eyeing you as you walked in after showing your ID to the bouncer to who a little short, but buff and gave everyone a glare before they walked in. He must’ve had a rough week too...

As your high heels clicked on the floor, watching carefully as there was spilled drinks all over from people either throwing them, or dropping them from being too intoxicated. Sitting on an empty booth calling the bar tender over to order your drink, the corner of your eye catching a glimpse of a small group of men looking over in your direction.

Forcing you to look over curiously spotting one of them with long brown hair and big blue eyes chuckling to his two other friends. For a moment you believed they were making fun of you for whatever reason, until the older man in a long coat stood up,

“Well boys. It’s been fun but I feel like gettin laid tonight.”

And he smugly walked up to you with a grin, “Is this seat taken?” Glancing at the empty chair feeling a burning feeling on your face, “Um... no, not at all.” You offered a small smile to him as he placed himself right next to you. As soon as the bar tender placed your alcoholic drink on the counter, the man was quick to take it for himself.

“Watcha got here?” Before you can respond he had already take a swig of your own drink, downing it before placing it back on the counter as the glass was halfway full. Placing his arm on your chair, “Got a name doll?”

The man had a nice suit, black and tight with almost no wrinkles as if he an important meeting before he decided he wanted to head to the bar with a few friends. “(Y/N), yours?”

He offered a genuine smile, but he had hunger and impatience in his eyes. Like he was eager to just find out what you got underneath your threads and coat. “Charles, but for you, ya can call me Chucky, beautiful.”

Feeling that familiar flush on her cheeks you managed to keep calm and smile back. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Chucky.” You held your glass and sipped it down til all that was left was the ice, when Chucky asked, “So... (Y/N), you seemed pretty lonely sitting here. Somethin on ya mind? Someone break up with ya?”

Letting out a sigh a little annoyed at his question but you had a feeling you would tell someone tonight. “Actually... yes. Just a woman who, cheated on me and I guess I needed some alcohol in my system to forget about it...” Keeping your eyes on the counter and not ready for what he said next in your ear, “I can help ya forget with putting other things in your system too doll face.~”

Nearly choking on your own spit, you managed to hide it by clearing your throat and flushing again. “Uh-well... I, wasn’t planning on going home with anyone...” You told him softly stroking some hair behind your ear listening to him click his tongue and hiss softly in disappointment. “Well... that’s too bad. Coulda really helped ya forgot bout that slut but,” He shrugged when you paused.

Before he can get up from his chair you stop him. “Wait... maybe, y-you can stay at my place for a bit?” You offered an awkward blushing smile having him laugh. “You sure babe?”

“Y-yes... I’m sure.” You nodded looking at Charles with curious eyes, as his blue eyes stared back. There can be hunger and desire seen in them. It made your heart flutter in a strange way, but you would be lying if you said you weren’t curious either. “Great, hey bartender!” After paying for the drinks, he looped his arm around yours as you walked out together causing a few stares.

You walked in with a bad mood and a heart break, now you’re walking out with an attractive man on your side that you just couldn’t wait to taste.

Arriving at your apartment, his curiously took the best of him and was looking around already before you can tell him, “Make yourself at home.” Chucky not very patient and gets what he wants first. When you noticed he wasn’t in the living room when you turned your back holding up two wine glasses in your hands, you paused and placed them on the counter with the sound of the glass clicking on top of it before heading to your bedroom, soon finding out he’s laying on your bed looking real comfortable.

Gasping softly and flinching a little, you sigh as he chuckled sinisterly before pulling you closer to him by the hand as your face was visibly bright red in the moonlight shining through the window. Soon, you were close enough to feel his lips on yours. The kiss was soft, at first. When Charles turned it into a more heated and desirable kiss, it had you moaning softly in his mouth.

You’ve never had a kiss like this before, you might even say it was the best kiss you’ve ever had...

Feeling a familiar pressure on your crotch and dripping a bit of slick in your panties, and he was pretty quick to notice when he slipped a hand inside of them and you gasp against his lips. He must’ve known that was coming because he smirked smugly and placed his hand on her lower back, to lay you down and flip on top of you.

“Get comfortable doll face,” Talking in a deep growly voice eagerly, you can feel his digits on his fingers rubbing against your clit as you whimpered.

“Because this is gonna be a long night, and I’m plannin on breaking you.~”

[neonponders]

*sigh* ..... Nobody’s surprised here lol I require very little enabling.

Here’s part 1 of this lil mafia_au ✨ @lovebillyhargrove 💗

This got out of hand quickly orz but I’ll hold onto this for a later time 🔥

And to answer your question.....yes, I do write smut 😘

Billy made Steve cum four times.

Four.

He couldn’t believe it. Once, standing up in his towel with Billy massaging his groin, and twice more while he opened him up. Steve knew he was pent up, but...this was something else.

Billy yanked the towel to fall to the floor and walked him backward into the bedroom, shedding Steve of his t-shirt. Then he spread Steve wide and licked inside his ass. Steve couldn’t really say if the next orgasm was normal, dry, or just a pleasurable spike from being overwhelmed from Billy’s fingers tickling deeper than he thought possible.

Some lingering brain cell chirped at him and he carefully turned over to start crawling over the bed toward the side drawer. He managed to get his fingertips on the brass handle before Billy laid on top of him, flush with his pants open. Steve’s cock kicked to full eagerness at the sensation of Billy behind him, soft skin and strong muscle.

His arm followed up Steve’s to the drawer, where he withdrew the lube. Steve flushed from embarrassment that he gasped against Billy saying into his hair, “I’ll take care of you.”

Steve could only manage, “Condoms?”

“I’m clean. You?”

Steve blinked, lust making his head heavy until he released his weight onto the mattress. “I think so. I haven’t checked.”

The sound of the bottle cap behind and above him. “We’ll get you checked if you want, baby. Lift your ass for me.”

He sluggishly moved his elbows underneath him to do so, but then his voice escaped with his surprise at Billy hefting his pelvis up. “Breathe for me. Let me hear you.”

Steve let his torso recline like a ramp up to where Billy began to push inside. As much as the stretch made Steve’s jaw intermittently go slack and clench, the little, repeated pushes against his prostate made him see stars. The way Billy pulled him back and pushed inside him with a steadily increasing pace...Steve had never just let go before. Was usually entirely devoted to making sure his partner got everything they wanted and needed.

Billy used him and it felt great. To reach behind him for Billy’s hip when he arrived at the pace that ramped up Steve’s panted whines. The soft moan Billy made when Steve pushed against him with stuttering pulses, so close, so so

Steve’s nails bit into Billy’s hip, silently begging him to stay put as he bucked against him, the two at a clumsy impasse as Billy tried to fuck him through it and Steve’s short thrusts negated his efforts but made wet slaps fill the small room.

“Hahh!” Steve exclaimed when Billy’s arm came around his front and he moved them further up the bed. His other hand pressed into the mattress beside Steve’s head. He loosely held onto Billy’s wrist as the man took his pleasure from Steve. The way he just handled Steve into position...

“What?” he grunted breathily above him when Steve laughed. Something twirled in Steve’s belly at how mutually wrecked he sounded.

“Nothing. I just like this.”

Billy came with two more stuttering thrusts that pushed his hips tightly against Steve’s ass. He didn’t know what to expect afterwards, and he was too fucked out and tired to care much. But Billy landed beside him and rolled Steve over to spoon his backside and feel that silk shirt against his skin.

Maybe ten minutes, maybe an hour later, Steve felt Billy easing his thigh up to slot himself inside again. The angle shoved a gasp right out of him, but where before had been fast, Billy took his time now. Relishing each shiver that his nose and mouth caused behind Steve’s ear and on the side of his neck. The moan he got when he slid his hand down the inside of Steve’s thigh, easing it over his own leg to open Steve up further.

When his hand finally closed around Steve’s erection, Steve’s hand overlapped it, guiding him to what he needed. Billy came first this time, but he stayed inside and pumped Steve to his finish.

His last remotely cognizant thought went into noticing how Billy lifted his covers over their bodies as he slipped into slumber.

He shouldn’t have been able to wake up from the little shuffles and belt tinkering after the sun had risen, but Steve opened his eyes to see Billy adjusting his clothes in his closet door mirror.

“Do a turn.”

Billy perked up and looked back at him. He smiled like he’d been caught at something. “What?”

Steve gazed at him as much as he could from where his face was smushed against the pillow. He twirled a finger in the air. “Do a turn.”

Billy laughed softly, and...that was nice. He looked sweet when he smiled. It made a weight land in Steve’s belly, but a pleasant weight. It was even nicer how he held his arms out and rotated for Steve to see all of him. The silk shirt that was a dark, dark green; made the pink of his cheeks and lips pop. The black slacks around thick thighs...Steve wouldn’t mind having those wrapped around him.

“Gorgeous.”

Billy grinned through another laugh and let his arms fall back to his sides. He approached the bed and Steve’s eyes closed against the hand combing through his hairline. “What’s your shift today?”

“Closing,” he exhaled, his voice light with sleep.

He cooed a sound when Billy kissed his temple. “I’ll see you later.”

He hummed two more sounds like, Oh-kay.

Steve didn’t go to work.

His alarm when off, he stood up, and then fell back into bed while reaching for his phone to call his manager and use one of his sick days. Considering the tip he got last night, he could certainly afford a day off.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have been surprised, come dinner time, that a knock came at the door. Steve hauled his whole comforter with him to the door, where Billy immediately looked him over and stepped inside. “I went to the restaurant to see you. What’s wrong?”

Steve chuckled a little through, “Nothing’s wrong. I just called in sick.”

Billy lifted his gaze from the plush turtle shell around him. “You were fine this morn - ”

“I’m sore, Billy,” he droned and began to shuffle his way back to his room, perfectly content with the blunt look of surprise on the man’s face. For good measure, he sassed, “Coulda left me an ice pack.”

He head Billy shut the door for him and then the same rustle and twinkle he’d heard this morning, only in reverse as he undressed. He put his clothes on the couch until he wore just his briefs and tank top. Steve’s eyes followed him from the bed, because even those were a look. The man couldn’t do anything without a couple hundred dollars on his body.

He brought an ibuprofen and a tall glass of water to the bed. Steve had already taken one, but it had been some hours ago.

“Have you eaten?”

He nodded while gulping water. “Lunch.”

He left the bedroom again and Steve heard him talking on the phone about what sounded like Chinese food. He only paused to lean in and ask, “Steve?”

His bedhead lifted up, just eyes, nose, and hair above his mound of comforter. Billy laughed, “What sides do you want?”

“Crab rangoons,” he returned easily.

When he finished, Billy climbed into bed with, “Come here,” and Steve eased his way onto his chest. He lent some of the comforter over Billy’s legs.

It was nice. Really nice.

By the time the food got there, Steve could sit properly again and Billy respected Steve’s choice in watching Netflix anime on the laptop on the end of the bed.

It was nice. All of it went incredibly well considering Steve didn’t know Billy’s last name. And frankly, he didn’t feel confident enough to ask. Even if Billy filled up every spare minute he had with holding Steve’s body against his chest, pushing Steve’s hair behind his ear, kissing him until Steve didn’t know his own name - even if it was just for a glorious weekend

He was fine with it. Because Steve wanted to be wanted. And Billy unashamedly desired him.

Steve did manage to ask him if the phone number included with his tip was Billy’s. He took the small slip of paper from Steve and wondered, “Who did you think it was from?”

“I didn’t handle your tab,” Steve defended while their legs were tangle together and the room still smelled of sweet and sour sauce. “I didn’t handle anyone’s, and there were like, fifteen people in your party.”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a smirk. “Do you often get numbers tucked in the receipt folder?”

“No,” Steve scoffed while rubbing behind his ear. “I did get a tiny baggie of cocaine once.”

“Someone thought tipping the waiter with blow would be fine? Wow. Did you try it?”

“It could’ve been powdered sugar, for all I knew. I didn’t keep it. I’ll stick to downers like classic THC.”

Billy smiled and Billy laughed. Sometimes he just touched Steve like he was curious, or...checking like he was really there. A finger under his chin. A nose turning into his hair and deeply inhaling. Sometimes he touched Steve’s leg so he looked at him, but when Steve asked what he wanted to say or ask, Billy just shook his head. Like he just wanted Steve’s eyes and attention on him.

Steve really should’ve expected the gifts.

First came the flatscreen television. The men who installed it were generous enough to provide the HDMI cable to connect his laptop to it.

Then came a new internet router.

And Billy started picking Steve up to take him to work. The first time was sweet and a pleasant surprise. Billy drove a luxurious car that looked demure on the outside but boasted upholstery that smelled expensive and the entire dash glowed with neon, indigo lining. He reeled Steve over the center console to kiss him before his shift.

“You’re dating either a criminal, or an heir to something,” Robin declared when Steve met up with her on his day off. Her words were tight due to the sheet mask on both of their faces. Steve folded his up so he could slurp on a Sprite can.

“I haven’t seen any security force, though? Shouldn’t a guy like that have a bouncer with him or a portable secretary everywhere he goes?”

Robin scoffed, “A portable - you mean a personal assistant? I don’t know, probably. Just because you haven’t seen one doesn’t mean he hasn’t got one or six. Make sure he knows I don’t get wet for dinguses.”

“You know, I never needed that,” he grimaced.

What did come as a surprise, though, is that Billy never initiated sex again after that first night. He and Billy kept rather busy schedules despite how often Billy walked into Steve’s life, but he couldn’t help but wonder what Billy’s motivations were. Maybe he just wanted to take it slow for the sake of Steve’s body. Maybe he realized Steve was a sap who could stick around for longer than a week.

He stopped wondering after an accident happened at the restaurant. Steve always did have a talent for landing himself right at the apex of one problem intersecting another problem.

A wine glass fell on the floor - nothing extraordinary - and someone bumped into him as he bent to collect the bigger pieces. His hand caught right on the upright, jagged stem of the glass. Yeah, it hurt like stepping into an oyster bed, but Steve carefully pulled the stem out of his hand and used one of the chef’s gloves over cotton and gauze to finish his shift.

Billy picked him up.

Steve knew what his car looked like now, and clearly Billy wasn’t taking chances on anybody else picking him up -

He leaned on the car as Steve approached, but he stepped off to stride right to him and lifted up his hand by the wrist. Steve’s mouth opened to speak, but no words came. He’d never seen Billy angry before.

The dagger hovered in Steve’s belly.

“What. Happened.”

“It was just an accident,” Steve tried to say, but his voice didn’t fully back him up. Billy’s grip tightened on his wrist. Steve tried again, insisted, “It was an accident, Billy. Someone dropped their glass. It happens all the time. I’m fine. Can we go?”

He couldn’t say what actually made Billy turn around and open the car door for him. But he didn’t take Steve back to his apartment. Or the Emergency Room. Billy didn’t talk during the drive. Steve didn’t know where he was going after Billy parked in a parking garage and he cradled his hand in an elevator that just kept going up.

“My place,” Billy finally said as the doors opened.

Criminal. Definitely a criminal, Steve’s brain declared as he slowly stepped inside the suite that the elevator opened directly into. He left his shoes by the elevator, not daring a speck of dirt on the marble foyer hallway or the carpeting beyond that.

He looked left. He looked right. The suite kept going on either side, like it was meant for a family of eight.

“Come here.”

Steve obeyed and sat on the crushed velvet couch. Billy set a phone down on its receiver. Steve hadn’t heard him say anything into it, but Billy went through a door while he removed his coat. Steve assumed it to be the bedroom. Or a massive closet. He stayed put where he was, petting the couch one way, making the threads look black, and then the other, glistening sapphire blue.

In a matter of minutes, the elevator doors opened again. Steve stood up but Billy reappeared and waved him back down. He was beginning to feel like a trained dog at this point.

“Dr. Owens. Thanks for coming up.”

“Always an obligation, Mr. Hargrove,” came the reply in the foyer.

Hargrove?

“Ah, are you the one?”

Steve’s mouth opened, but what came out was, “There’s only one of me.”

All three of them seemed to be mildly confused and disappointed in that sentence, but they each let it slide. Owens nodded at his bandaged hand. “Would you mind explaining your injury to me?”

He did while Billy sat on the other couch, knees crossed and a hand wandering his mouth. Brooding.

Owens began to look through the case he brought with him. It opened like a makeup kit, with three tiers that opened like stairs with medicine supplies. “I’m going to do some minor injections to numb your hand. Then I’ll need to look around for any lingering glass.”

“What if I’m afraid of needles?”

“You’re going to be more afraid of an infection caused by glass in the hand. If an infection gets entwined far enough with the metacarpals, it’s nearly impossible to clean it out. Hands and feet are the worst places to get injured.”

Steve’s shoulders drooped an inch. “Great.”

He felt and smelled Owens moving an alcohol swab all over his hand, but he otherwise kept his gaze elsewhere during the injections.

Of course he’d have to feel the first two or three.

Billy entered his vision, sitting next to him and curving Steve’s arm around his own, locking Steve to him. Steve’s vision couldn’t quite focus on him. Everything had a blurry edge.

“Lean back.”

The notion didn’t sound great. “I’ll vomit.”

“Then lean into me.”

That proved...more manageable. Billy held firm with Steve’s weight falling into him. He wore a blue shirt today. Just a nice, soft and mundane long-sleeve. He matched the couch. His hair had already grown out past the fade, too. Softly fuzzy against Steve’s face...

“Tell me what happened.”

Steve’s brain didn’t want to cooperate, and with each word he pushed out, confusion intertwined the cogs in his mind. “The...glass. Wine glass. I work in a restaurant - ”

His head lifted to look at him. “You don’t believe me?”

“I want to make sure.”

Steve stared at him. “What? That I can keep a story straight while trying not to pass out or vomit?”

“Keep your hand still,” Owens droned. Steve felt his dull hold on his wrist, and the distantly sharp exploration through his palm.

Billy didn’t respond, and Steve didn’t say anything else until Owens had finished. He rattled a small glass vial, two bloody pieces dancing around in it. “I’ll let you keep these unless you want me to dispose them?”

“I love souvenirs,” Steve remarked.

Owens looked just as pleased to be out of there as Billy looked unhappy at being left alone with Steve. The color had returned to his face while Owens wrapped up his hand, and now Billy paced his living room.

“Am I allowed to leave?” Steve asked the same time Billy said, “Want the tour?”

Billy frowned. “Do you want to?”

With his unharmed hand, Steve rubbed his face. “I don’t actually like staying up until four in the morning.”

Steve didn’t get the tour.

Billy drove him back to his apartment. He didn’t stay, but he said before leaving, “I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”

It didn’t occur until Steve’s head was hitting the pillow that he didn’t have work tomorrow. What could Billy possibly be picking him up for?

So Steve made sure he wasn’t home.

Yes, it’s petty.

Yes, Robin called him a moron one the phone while he strolled through the park.

“You’re gonna die because you refused some rich douche bag’s date.”

“I am not going to die,” he refuted. “I’m just going - ”

“To explain why.”

He startled away from Billy walking beside him, causing the pebbles paving the walkway to go flying. “Steve?” Robin said in his ear.

“I’ll call you later.”

Billy didn’t look nearly as lethal as the night before, but he certainly wasn’t strolling through Disney World. “Why weren’t you at your apartment?”

Steve had a tendency to panic when overwhelmed, all right? He’d reached his limit and exploded, “I don’t know! Because you didn’t say why or when? Because I’m not one of your poodles? I’m a person who’s allowed to live their life like - like - normal?”

Billy blinked at him, his brows lifting until he said incredulously, “Poodles?”

“A trained dog! You know what I mean.” Steve waved his injured hand for emphasis and grimaced for it. “You’re suspicious as hell. Don’t think I’ll do anything you ask just because the sex was good - great. Whatever.”

A smirk began to warm Billy’s features. “Poodles.”

Steve’s hair bobbed over his face as he nodded. “Yeah? My aunt had two of ‘em. They were assholes. What are you not getting here?”

Billy laughed a little and, as he stepped close to him, Steve began to wonder if the park was...emptier, than it usually was on a Friday.

“You’re prettier than a poodle. And more disobedient than I ever tolerate, Steve.”

He tried to steel his jaw, but Steve had long since given up adolescent charades of hauteur. He shrugged, “What does that mean? You want your TV and router back? Are you going to sabotage my health insurance if I say no?”

Billy’s eyes lolled under a slow blink. “I’m not revoking your health insurance.”

Steve’s shoes touched Billy’s even though they had the space of the whole park. “Then what are we doing? I’m just some nobody. You’re clearly a somebody.”

“You’re not a nobody to me,” Billy finished, his breath tickling Steve’s lips. “I don’t want to hear you talk about yourself like that again.”

“Bossing me around isn’t going to end well for either of us. Especially if you can’t even believe me when I’m injured at work with an audience to vouch for - ”

Billy kissed him, but it wasn’t a hard, silencing kiss. It was one of Billy’s little touches. His cravings. To touch Steve. To share his air.

Steve’s brows furrowed and a conflicted moan hummed in his throat. His unharmed hand found Billy’s chest, and the latter took it as his cue to lace his fingers behind Steve’s back.

He’d barely broken the kiss before he started to say, “What we’re doing, is going to my car. You’re going to let me taste your dick behind my tinted windows because I’m done being considerate. Then we’ll go back to my place. I’ll give you the tour, and you’ll choose which room we fuck in first.”

Steve’s eyes ached with lust and how long he’d held them open. He gulped dryly. “This was an inconclusive argument.”

Billy smiled and turned them both to continue along out of the park.

[snuggetfish]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we ever see Majima interacting with modern technology or even struggle with it. I know he didn’t go to prison for years and emerge into a drastically different world like Kiryu and Ichiban, but I wonder what he thinks of modern technology. I could see him possibly struggling with it, or not even bothering to stay up to date on it. Idk, it’s just an interesting though to me lol

Yes, I’ve thought about this a lot too! Especially with how much the series likes to poke fun at the “old guys” for being clumsy with tech. Looking, at you, Taiga “Seedy Rawm” Saejima... 😂 You make a good point, though. All of these dudes - Kiryu, Ichiban, Saejima - have spent decades in prison. It makes sense that they’d be behind on the latest gadgets and I think once you’re behind, it’s easy to keep coasting on an inertia of sorts. “Why learn when I can keep doing it like I’ve always done it?” Don’t fix what ain’t broke.

So on the scale of tech skills, I would say Saejima is tech illiterate, Ichiban and Kiryu are somewhat literate, in that they’ve been taught to use specific devices and/or sites (smartphones for Ichiban, blogs for Kiryu) but are lost when it comes to anything else. And Majima... I wanna say Majima is tech literate, but not always tech savvy.

If I had to sum up how I see his attitude to technology, it’s: inquisitive, but impatient. He’s a curious guy by nature, evident in how he was eager to try that guy’s “cutting edge” bag phone in Y0 and how later on Goromi mentions she’s done a bit of everything throughout life, including “in-game gold farming”. 

Majima will happily give anything a try if it piques his interest and I believe this would extend also to cool new gadgets. For instance, if he spots one of the younger family members showing off their smartwatch, he’ll confiscate it for an afternoon to poke at it and pester Nishida with questions about every button whose purpose he can’t immediately discern. Also, given he boasted that Majima Construction would build Kamurocho Hills by looking it up on the Internet, I think he’s at least aware of search engines, forums and online guides. Even if he somewhat overestimates the usefulness of the info they provide hah.

As with most things, were he to put some proper effort in, he could get the hang of just about any device, however... he gets bored easily and dislikes fiddly stuff. If it’s got lots of tiny parts and needs more than than 10 minutes and 2 steps, Majima’s not doing it. In Dead Souls he tells Saaya he even finds texting a pain in the ass: 

So I think he would only really master simple tech that serves his whims. He spots an ad about a fancy new tracking device, with a big screen and all the bells and whistles? He’s sold. Kiryu-chan better watch out from now on, because he’s not escaping his ambushes any more. He hears a pitch on smart TVs? Nishida’s gonna be hauling one into his apartment the very next day, together with a huge zombie movie collection on Blu-ray.

In a nutshell, Majima’s perfectly capable of adapting to a modern world, but for the most part he’s just too busy or too plain disinterested to adopt every new invention that comes along. And, for things like photos or important messages, his sentimental side wins out. Don’t tell anyone, but he’d prefer to have those in physical form, printed out or handwritten  💙

Ok in closing let me do another comparison between the guys because I had too much fun picturing these:

Saejima is the guy who’s got 5 malware toolbars installed on his browser, all because he misclicked and didn’t even realize what he was doing. He’s also got at least 3 different facebook accounts because he keeps landing on the “sign up” instead of the log in page. Also his taskbar is either on the right or on top of the screen because, again, he dragged it there by accident.

Kiryu is the guy who’s got 10 malware toolbars installed, plus some cursors, because he purposefully downloaded them. He “thought they were cool”. Haruka has to come purge them every 6 months. He’s got one facebook account, whose password he keeps on a sticky note on his computer. He uses it mostly to post dad angle selfies and comment on every single one of Haruka’s posts.

Ichiban is mostly the same, just that his PC is a shrine to his friends. He’s got them as his desktop background and he makes sure to leave one of those sparkly “Hope you have a blessed morning” gifs on their profiles every day.

Majima is the guy whose computer is as barebones as it gets. No personalization, just a folder thrown haphazardly on the desktop, with meeting notes taken by Nishida during the family’s usual “crazy scheme brainstorming sessions”. He gets the occasional moaning porn pop-up because... well, because he’s got a questionable browsing history. Says he doesn’t use facebook, but in fact does have an anonymous account to stalk the people he knows. And when he’s really, really bored, he’ll watch a baseball stream and leave heckling comments like “man, I coulda farted that ball straighter than ya hit it”

[mulletcal]

be mine - a cake fluff fic

a/n: hello  welcome to this single dad!luke x cal fic, i blame @blackbutterfliescal​​ but also thank u brooke cause i never would have written it without the encouragement

words: 2.8k

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, food, heartbreak, lots of fluff, dad!sos, uncle!sos

Luke had never been sure how he would make it the first few months without Sophie’s mom around, let alone the first few years.  Sophie’s mom had decided 6 months into her pregnancy that she didn’t want to raise the child - she felt no connection to her, nor did she believe she was going to.  The idea hurt Luke, but he remained convinced that if she could just look into their baby girl’s eyes for the first time, she would realize; she would feel all the love Luke already felt just from hearing her tiny, rapid heartbeat.  But she never did- Once she had been cleared from the hospital, she headed back to their place, packed her things and left.

It had been almost four years since that moment.  Luke never thought he’d see the day where he could think of Sophie’s mother and not feel pain or anger, but he did.  Sophie made it easier, as every part of her resembled Luke; her blonde curls, her bright, curious blue eyes, even down to the dimples, and her personality.  The love Luke had for his daughter oozed out of him every single day, and you could tell how much Sophie loved him, too.

Something else that helped Luke through were his friends, or even more specifically, Calum.  The day Sophie’s mom had left, Calum was already there with his bag packed, ready to help him however he could.  Calum would stay up late into the night trying to soothe Sophie, while Luke tried to get some semblance of sleep.  When Luke was feeding Sophie, Calum would be doing the laundry, knowing that if he didn’t, Luke would wear the same sweats for a week straight.

“No baby wants to smell you wearing those sweats another day,” Calum had argued.

“My baby loves me just fine!”

“I didn’t say she doesn’t love you, I said she wouldn’t want to smell you.”

As Sophie grew, Calum wasn’t around as often.  He would come over whenever she or Luke asked, but he wanted to make sure that he gave them their space so that Sophie would learn to be social, branching out to make new friends instead of hiding in his or her dad’s leg when someone tried to talk to her.

One brisk February morning, his phone rang, indicating a FaceTime call.  The screen read Luke, but he knew at that hour it had to have been Sophie.  His suspicions were confirmed when he accepted the call, the top half of Sophie’s face appearing on the screen.

“Hi munchkin, what are you doin’ up so early?” Calum asked groggily, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.

“I need your hewp,” She whispered into the phone, looking around the room with wide blue eyes.

Calum grew concerned at the word ‘help’, and automatically became more alert, “Is everything okay? Is your dad okay?”

“Yes, yes.  I otay.  Daddy’s otay.  I want you to hewp me make him a Vawentine,” She whispered again.  

Calum chuckled softly, running his hand over his face, “You called me at 5:30 to help you make a Valentine? Is this so I’ll get the supplies?” His question was met with a nod, which made him laugh again, “Okay bub, I’ll ask your dad if you can come over to have a playdate with me and Duke and we can make it then, yeah?”

Calum couldn’t see her smile with the way she was holding the phone, but the way her eyes lit up told him that she was smiling, “Okay! Wove you Uncle Cal!”

“Love you too angel, I’ll see you later.”

It truly wasn’t hard to convince Luke to let Sophie have a playdate at Calum’s place, citing he needed to go grocery shopping anyways and it was much easier and much cheaper when Sophie was otherwise occupied.

Calum kept the supplies hidden away until Luke was officially gone, just in case he came into the kitchen and saw the bag of red and pink materials.  Everything started off good, Calum was mostly helping her cut shapes so she could make a bunch of hearts for Luke.  

“Daddy aways say ask a grown up for hewp cutting,” Sophie explained, gesturing to Calum.  He wasn’t sure exactly why she decided to bring that up, but he’d roll with it anyways.

“He’s absolutely right.  You don’t want to accidentally cut your little finger, Daddy would need to put a bandage on it and kiss it better.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment, colouring in one of the hearts, “Why wouldn’t you kiss it?”

Calum laughed, reaching over to ruffle her hair, “I could kiss it better, but did you know Daddy’s kisses have healing powers?”

Sophie’s eyes widened, looking over at Calum as if he revealed all of the magicians secrets.

“It’s true! Think about it, when you get a booboo, does your Dad kiss it better?” Calum asked, leaning forward with a smile on his face, only growing bigger when Sophie nodded, “And doesn’t it always feel better right after?”

Sophie’s giggle in response was Calum’s answer, going back to cutting the paper for her.  The conversation between them was nonexistent for a few moments until Sophie piped up again.

“Does that mean you have to hewp me with the gwitter?”

Calum looked up, thinking for a moment, “Are you going to try and pick your nose with your hand covered in glitter again?”

Sophie placed a hand on her chest, feigning offense far too well for a three-and-a-half year old, “My nose was itchy!”

Calum laughed softly, grabbing the glitter from the bag so they could get to work finishing the Valentine before Luke got there.

Although Valentines Day was still a couple days away, the moment Luke walked through the door Sophie shoved the Valentine into his hands with a giddy smile on her face.

“What’s this my love?” Luke spoke softly, leaning down to Sophie’s height so he could read it.  Calum could tell by the way Luke’s face shifted how much that card meant to him, watching as he hugged Sophie tightly, “Of course I’ll be your Valentine, only if you’ll be mine though.”

Sophie enthusiastically replied with a yes and Luke scooped her up, resting her on his hip.

“Hey Soph, I have a surprise for you back at home but I think Uncle Cal would like to see it too.  Do you wanna ask him if he wants to come over for pizza?” Luke stage whispered to her, his eyes darting over to Calum.

The way he looked at Calum always made his heart stop, though he’d never admit it.  Calum was likely reading too far into it, but there was always something more to the way Luke spoke to him, and the way he looked at him.  A hint of softness, and a sprinkle of mischievous nature.

“Pizza?” Was all Sophie said, extending her hand to Calum as if that was his formal invitation.

“I’d love to join you.  Let me just get Duke fed and let out and I’ll let Roy know I’m headed out.”

It wasn’t long before Calum arrived at Luke’s doorstep, ending up meeting the pizza delivery person at the door as well. Paying for the pizza, he stepped inside Luke’s house like he had done many times before.

“Oh honey, I’m home,” Calum teased, being met by a small shriek as Sophie ran towards him at the door, “Y’know Lu, if you wanted me to buy the pizza, you coulda just asked me to pick it up on the way.”

Luke narrowed his eyes at Calum, taking the pizza from him carefully and turning to head towards the kitchen, “You know I never let you pay for food.”

He was right and Calum knew it; Luke always felt like he owed Calum for all he’s done for them- the long nights, the tears (from both Sophie and Luke)- Calum had been there through it all, so now Luke felt one of his only options was to never let him pay for a meal they shared ever again, which Calum of course didn’t agree with.

Looking down, Calum saw silver glitter all in Sophie’s hair, giving her a puzzled look, “This glitter wasn’t there earlier, was it?”

“Don’t ask,” Luke huffed as he brought out three plates with pizza on them, “She decided arts n crafts time wasn’t over.”

Calum chuckled, scooping Sophie up so they could sit on the couch and eat their pizza together.  Once dinner was over, Luke showed Calum and Sophie his surprise for her.  It was a bookshelf that Luke had built, that was from floor to ceiling and Sophie was absolutely in love.  Her love of reading outweighed any other passion she had developed growing up, and Luke slightly blamed (and thanked) Calum for it, as he had always read her to sleep, and as she got older that seemed to be the only thing to calm her.  Even if Calum wasn’t there, if Sophie was having a rough night Luke would FaceTime Calum and he would read to her from the stack of childrens books he kept at his house; it never failed to make Sophie fall asleep, and Luke shortly after, leaving Calum to be the one to hang up the call after muttering a quiet ‘Love you��� to the two of them.

“When you’re older, I’ll give you a ladder in here so you can reach the top shelf.  I don’t want you getting any bright ideas about trying to fly, ya hear me?” Luke said, pinching Sophie’s cheek as they stood near her new bookshelf.

“But what about the books up thewe,” Sophie argued back, swatting Luke’s hand away.

“Then me or Uncle Cal can reach up and get them for you cause we’re big and tall, yeah?” He scooped her up, lifting her as high as the tallest shelf so she could see, “No books up there right now right?”

“No books.”

“Guess Daddy is gonna have to get you more, huh?” Calum chimed in, tickling Sophie’s belly while Luke still had her held up.  Her loud giggle echoed through her room, little legs kicking frantically as she asked him to stop.  Calum listened, and once her fit of giggles calmed down, Luke set her down so she could explore the books on her new bookshelf.

“I’m sure she’ll ask you to stay and read to her tonight, just a heads up,” Luke nudged Calum, giving him a smirk, “Plan your escape now.”

“I would never,” Calum gasped, nudging him back, “It’s my favourite thing to do.  Don’t know anyone else who cares to listen to me read to them.”

“I do,” Came Luke’s whisper, causing Calum’s heart to skip a beat, “When she’s having a rough night, it’s definitely hard on me too.  Your voice is soothing.”

“Is that why you usually fall asleep too?”

“Honestly? Yeah, it feels safe so I just pass right out.  Not the best for my neck cause her bed is so small,” Luke chuckled, shifting his gaze to meet Calum’s, “But I love listening to you talk.”

Calum was sure Luke could hear his heart beating rapidly now, and he may have kissed him if his daughter wasn’t standing right there; judging by the way Luke’s eyes darted to Calum’s lips, he may have returned the favor, but they were pulled from their world by a loud yawn falling from Sophie’s lips.

“Getting tired, my love?” Luke asked, turning his attention to his daughter.  When she nodded, Luke cooed softly, wrapping his arms around her and letting her bury her face in his shoulder, “Let’s get your jammies on, okay?”

“Will Uncle Cal wead me stowy?” She asked in a quiet voice, big blue eyes looking up at Calum.

“You know the answer is always yes angel.  I’ll be just outside, once you’re settled in your jammies you can pick a story.”

Sophie called Calum back in once she had gotten changed, and Luke made sure to tuck her in and give her a kiss, letting Calum take over with the storytime.  Before Calum dove into the book, Sophie pulled a folded red piece of paper out of her pocket.

“What’s this, lovie?” He asked with a smile, taking it as she handed it to him.

“You give to Daddy,” She said, encouraging him to unfold it.

“Didn’t your Daddy already get a Valentine from you?” Calum chuckled, unfolding the paper to see it covered with silver glitter and shakily drawn hearts.  The silver glitter in her hair makes sense now.

“You give to him,” She repeated, pointing at the ‘to:’ and ‘from:’ written in Luke’s handwriting left blank.  Luke must have assumed Sophie wanted to give it to him, so he wrote on the card for her and was going to let her attempt to write Calum’s name.

“Okay, okay,” he laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her forehead and setting it on her bedside table, “I promise I will.”

Calum proceeded to read to her until she fell asleep, which wasn’t very long after he started the book.  He smiled down at her when he realized she was fully asleep, pressing one more gentle kiss to the top of her head before he slid off the bed, carefully placing the book on the shelf.  Once he dimmed her light into the nightlight she liked, he picked up the Valentine and headed out of her room and down the hall to where Luke’s room was.

“Hey,” Calum called out softly, “She’s out, I dimmed her lights and left her door cracked just in case.  I should head out before it gets too late.”

Luke said a small thank you, before calling out to Calum again, “Tell me a story.”

With a small smile on his lips, Calum leaned against the doorframe, “Sophie really is your twin huh.”

Luke pulled the covers back, patting the spot next to him so Calum could crawl in, “What’s so bad about that? Aren’t I a delight?”

“You’re somethin’ alright.”

Calum just barely caught the pillow that was thrown at him, bursting out in a fit of laughter as he did so.  Crawling into the spot next to Luke, he laid on his side facing him and propped himself up on his elbow, “What kind of story do you wanna hear?”

“It’s almost Valentine’s Day, tell me a love story.”

Calum thought for a moment, an idea coming to mind as he chewed on his lower lip, “Once upon a time there were two boys… Well, four technically, but this story is about the two of them,” he began nervously.  “They formed a band with two of their other friends, and got to tour the world, seeing the sights.”

“Sounds like a fun story.”

“Sh, Sophie never interrupts,” He scolded, poking his finger against Luke’s chest, “As they got older, and became men, they all began to find love.  The two band members found forever love, while the two men in our story only found temporary love.  That is, until an angel arrived, and she showed the men that forever love isn’t always romantic.  Time went on, and the angel no longer needed one of the men as much, so he carried on with his life outside of them.  But one thing he always thought about was the man caring for the angel, and how much he missed spending every waking hour with him, and the angel too.  Slowly, he began to realize that his forever love was right there all along, they both were just caught up in protecting the angel that he was too blind to see it.”

Luke wasn’t breathing, and Calum was nervous that he was taking it the wrong way, until he met Luke’s eyes and saw them brimming with tears, then he really knew he fucked up.  “I’m sorry, fuck Luke I’m sorry.  I should have just told you, not like this-”

He was cut off by Luke’s lips meeting his in a sweet, delicate kiss, “Shut up.  What happens next in the story,” he whispered against Calum’s lips.

“Once they admitted their feelings, they shared a kiss… and lived happily ever after,” Calum smiled, pressing another chaste kiss to Luke’s lips, “I love you.  I think I always have, but I wanted to give you space to heal.”

“Both you and Sophie healed me.  I’ve known for a long time I loved you, but I was scared that I was just in love with the idea of having someone else around.  That’s not the case, though, because I want you, as well as want you to be around.  And I’m sure Sophie wouldn’t complain about you being around longer.”

Pulling the folded Valentine out of his pocket, he handed it to Luke, “Wanna be my Valentine?”

Luke’s mouth fell open, a laugh escaping his lips, “I thought she wanted to give that to you!”

Calum shook his head, “Nope.  She wanted me to give it to you.”

Luke shook his head, squeezing Calum closer, “I’ll be yours if you be mine.”

tag list:  @talkfastromance4​ @calmlftv​ @notinthesameguey​ @loveroflrh​ @mantlereid​ @irwinkitten​ @n-ctarinenga​ @ashtonlftv​ @blackbutterfliescal​ @monimickell​ @treatallwithkindness​ @castaway-cashton​ @tea4sykes​ @begluketostay​ @wheniminouterspace​ @another-lonely-heart​ @myfavfanficsever​ @xsongxbirdx​ @stardust-galaxies​ @karajaynetoday​ @bestyearssos​ @cheekysos​ @suchalonelysunflower​ @aquarius-hood1996​ @wildflower-cth​​ @youngblood199456​​ @uh-huhh-honey​​ @myloverboyash​ @cakelftv​ @f-mu​ @thatscooibaby​ @hoodhoran​ @sexgodashton​ @wildflower-cth​ @becihadshawn

[whumpasaurus101]

Five Past Three

Oki ik i said i was on a writing break but uhmmmmm feck that :) here is some Pheonix content BC THE POOR BEBE HAS BEEN NEGLECTED OMG!!! SO here is some backstory shenanigans that are sorta important to know heheh 👀

CW: drug use (not in too much detail but oc is high.) / i cant think of anything else BUT if i missed anything plz plz plzzzz lmk!!!!!

masterlist

Pheonix collapsed to the ground with a grunt. His whole body was tingling, almost numb. He felt as if everyone in the world was watching him. He lifted his head, no one.

The wind blew more, making Pheonix shiver.

He could still feel the pounding of the nightclub’s music in his head. Not the one he worked at, oh no no, he wouldn't get high at the place he worked at.

He scrambled in his pocket with numb fingers, trying his best to take out his phone. He tried to put in his passcode, 1-7-8-5, try again, 1-4-5-6, try again “FUCK!” Pheonix yelled, throwing his phone across the car park, hearing it crack against the concrete.

“Who’s there?” Came a voice. Pheonix curled up more in on himself. “Son, are you alright?” Phoenix's head snapped up to see an old man standing in front of him. His vision was shaking as he tried to focus in on the man. He could hear him talking but he couldn't understand! He sounded so far away, yet, he was just about a meter away.

“Hey -ah! Ya reak, boy! What did you take?!”

“Wh-what time is it?” Pheonix’s shaky voice asked. “It's five past three in the mornin’, lad. Now, are ya gonna answer my question?” Pheonix shook his head. No. To be fully honest, Pheonix didn’t know himself. He shouldn't have been so reckless! How did he even get in the carpark? He didn't remember walking here.

“This is dangerous! Someone coulda just picked you from the streets and- well, God knows what would happen! You're lucky I saw ya, lad.” His phone! That's what he was doing! “C-could you pass me my phone please, it-it's over there.” The man looked at him, confused at first before he saw the phone lying there. He strolled over and picked it up, studying the cracked screen.

The lock screen came on and the man could see some notifications. Ten missed calls from Sammy, a bunch of text messages from Sammy too and then just some regular notifications. “Well, it seems as if someone is worried about you, ya better call them back before they go absolutely mad lookin’ for ya, ay?”

Pheonix just held out his hand for the phone before asking again, “What time is it?” The man huffed, “Lad, you just asked, it's still five past three.” Pheonix’s eyebrows furrowed, “N-no, you told me that ages ago, th-the- I-”

“Shhh, it's alright, relax yourself.” He passed Pheonix’s phone over and pointed at the time, “See?” He asked in a gentle voice. Pheonix nodded as he saw the numbers through tear-filled eyes.

“I-I- yes, I’m sorry-” “Hey, no need. Now, how about you ring your friend there and we can sort out how we can get ya home. How does that sound?” Pheonix nodded as he tried to put in his passcode once more. His hands were shaking violently as his numb fingers attempted to key in the numbers. Please try again.

“Here, how about I’ll put it in for you and you can do the talking, aye?” Pheonix nodded, “The uh, the passcode is 1-4-5-2. The man put in the code and Pheonix’s phone unlocked. The man opened the phone app and pressed the contact ‘Sammy’. It only took one ring until Sammy’s desperate voice was heard, “Pheonix?!? Pheonix are you okay?! God I'm gonna kill you if I haven't already died from a heart attack!" Pheonix chuckled slowly, " ‘m okay Sammy. Well, kinda. Theres a uh,, a man with me.”

“WHAT?! PHEONIX PUT ME ON SPEAKER RIGHT NOW!”

“Ay, it's okay, he’s makin’ it sound a lot worse than it is,” The man chuckled. Pheonix laughed, almost falling from his sitting position. “It's alright, my name is Hudson Wheeler, I’ll share the location where we are now. I was walkin’ back to my car when I saw your friend here, someone must have roofied him.. Unless he took the drugs himself. Although, I haven't gotten much chat from him.”

Sammy’s breathing was heavy on the other line as he tried to decide whether to believe it. “Alright, alright, stay on the call and send me your location right now.” Hudson went into messages and selected the button to share the location, he waited for a moment before asking, “Have you got it?”

“Yeah, yeah. Jesus Christ, Pheonix. Alright, how long can you stay with him for, Hudson?”

“As long as you need. You know, I can bring him anywhere if you need me to?”

“No, no, sorry, but no. I- I’ll collect him but it might take me a little while.”

“That's alright. No worries, I have all the time in the world.” Sammy let out a sigh of relief, “Uhm, thank you. Thanks for helping him and I’m sorry I was salty at the start. He’s just, well we've had some bad experiences when it comes to this stuff in the past.”

“Hey, it's all good! You're a great friend.”

“See you sooooon Ssssssammmmyyyyy,” Pheonix laughed.

“Mhm… see you soon.”

Sammy hung up and Hudson looked at Pheonix, shaking his head and chuckled.

Sammy rushed out to the driveway of their house and quickly hopped into his car, keys, wallet, water, phone. That's everything, they thought. They quickly turned on the engine and reversed out of the driveway. They pulled up a map on their phone and followed the directions that came up on the screen.

They put the volume of the radio on full volume and drove. He knew he was driving over the speed limit but he had to get to his friend. They had to. Their foot pressed down on the excelerator more than intended but they didn't notice.

They didn't notice until police sirens started to blare. “No! SHIT!” They slammed the steering wheel with all his force, making their palms turn red. They thought about just speeding and avoiding the police, but he had enough things that they could get caught for than that.

They growled and pulled over, running a hand through their hair. A policeman came over and tapped on the window. Sammy blew out a huff of air and pulled down the window, “Hey officer.”

The officer shone a flashlight into the car, making Sammy wince and cover their eyes. “HEY! Hands up slowly, no sudden movements.” “I'm s-sorry officer!”

“It's alright, now, do you know why I pulled you over?” The officer’s thick Southern accent spoke. “I'm sorry, I was going way above the speed limit, I just- I wasn't thinking, I just-” “Hey, hey, hey, no need to get wound up now alright?” Sammy nodded. “Alright, and where are you going to?”

Sammy thought for a moment, they couldn't give away too much. Pheonix had taken drugs. The last thing Sammy would want is their friend to get arrested!! “I uhm, I'm just going to pick up my friend.” “Mhmm, alright. Listen, you seem like a good person, although I am quite curious why you're out this late, but listen. Drive slower and focus, got it?” Sammy nodded quickly, “Y-yes officer, thank you so much officer, I promise it won’t happen again.” The police officer chuckled slightly, “It's alright, safe drive.” “You too.”

The officer patted the window and smiled and Sammy drove off. Slow, slow, easy, calm, relax. They looked to the map, fifteen minutes.

Hudson looked over to Pheonix who was now lying on the ground, eyes wide as he looked up at night sky. Tears streamed down his face. “Hey now, why are you crying?” Pheonix licked his dry lips and shrugged. He could see streaks of pink and green in the sky, he guessed Hudson couldn't see them.

Hudson dug into his backpack, “Ah, I knew I had it!” He took out a water bottle, “Here, sit up.” He supported Pheonix’s back and helped him sit up. He brought the water bottle to Pheonix’s lips and gently tipped the water.

Pheonix was fully leaning against Hudson for support. He gulped the water quickly and whined as Hudson took the bottle away. “Hey, I cant have ya gettin sick alright?” Pheonix whined but nodded. He then turned his body with a groan and cuddled into Hudson as he shivered.

Hudson sighed as he looked at Pheonix, “What are ya doin’ to yourself, lad?” He shielded his eyes as bright lights suddenly shone. “Looks like your friend is here. Hey, wake up.” Hudson slowly stood up, carrying Pheonix by the shoulders with him.

Sammy rushed out of their car and dashed over to Pheonix, “Oh my god, Pheonix, you idiot! Here, can you help me get him into the car please?” “Of course.”

The pair guided Pheonix to the backseat and laid him across the back. Sammy closed the door and sighed. Hudson gave him a sympathetic smile. “Thank you, thank you so much.”

“Of course, my pleasure. I would tell you ways to help him sober up, but I'm guessing this isn't your first rodeo,” He chuckled slightly.

Sammy huffed, “No, can't say it is. But seriously, thank you. Listen, this is all I got but please take it,” Sammy handed a fifty dollar bill to Hudson. “No, hey, that's not necessary at all!”

“No, no, please take it.”

Hudson sighed and took it, “Thank you.”

“Can I give you a lift back home at all?” Hudson smiled, “Oh that's so kind, my car is actually only five minutes away but thank you.”

“Of course -no of course.”

“Well, you better get that laddo home, hm?” “Yes, yes. Thank you.”

Sammy got back into the driver’s seat and turned on the engine. They looked in the mirror and saw Pheonix asleep. They smiled and closed his eyes for a moment. No, no, get home and then sleep. They widened his eyes and put their hands back on the steering wheel.

The drive home was fine. Sammy didn't play the radio to ensure Pheonix could rest. They kept at the right speed too, they couldn't get pulled over again. They yawned and blinked hard for a few moments.

Once the car pulled into the driveway, Sammy helped Pheonix into their house. Pheonix groaned but Sammy ignored him, “Hey, none of that now. Cmon, let's get you to your room.”

They tucked Pheonix into the guest room’s bed and left a basin on the ground just incase. “Rest up,” they whispered. “G’niiiiiiiiiight,” Pheonix chuckled.

---

taglist: @as-a-matter-of-whump @jordanstrophe @milk-carton-whump @yesthisiswhump @kixngiggles @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @happy-whumper @thelazywitchphotographer

[bobathirstaccount]

Lolita

Boba x fem!reader, young!reader, slowish burn to smut/ romance, 2 chapters

TW: description of near-assault, unprotected sex, age of consent dubious

You’re just trying to make your way in the galaxy, until you run into trouble. Will a mysterious stranger help you?

Translations (Mando’a)

Nehutyc - feisty/gutsy

Cyar’ika - darling/sweetheart

Mirdala - clever

***

CHAPTER 1

You looked up from your soup to see who walked into the cantina. It was another man, older than the others. But more dangerous seeming. The others brandished their guns and loud attitudes; he slunk in nearly unnoticed, scanning the room. A predator. You looked down into your soup before he got to you.

He sat there through the rest of your meal, drinking spotchka that the pretty waitress brought him. You spied on him out of the corner of your eye, curious about his scarring and his dangerous aura. Finally you had no business left there. You placed your credits on the table and quietly left.

A hand grabbed you several allies away from the cantina. It pulled you roughly into the darkness. Another hand covered your mouth before you could scream.

You were thrown against a wall, then punched in the stomach. You doubled over, dazed and in pain. Your hair was yanked up and you were slammed face first into the wall. A foot kicked your feet apart. It registered what was happening. You started to struggle and half a scream escaped your mouth before it was covered again. Frightened tears sprang to your eyes. You struggled but it was no use; you were held fast. Two hands went to your pants, fumbling with the closure. You tried to scream again but your head was slammed into the wall. This time you saw stars. You felt your body being manhandled, but you couldn’t do anything about it. You wondered if you were in some kind of shock. Your pants were pulled down to your knees. Hands pulled at your underwear.

Suddenly you were by yourself. You managed to steady yourself against the wall. You heard a wet crunching noise and soft groaning before quiet. Hands returned to your body, pulling your pants up and fastening them. You were turned around. You furrowed your brow, looking up at your savior. Your eyes widened; it was the scarred man from the cantina. He said something, but you didn’t understand. He leaned in, “Are you okay? I take it not.”

You sniffled. He placed a gentle hand on your forearm, “Come with me.” You followed him stupidly. You ended up in a dingy room. He laid you down in the bed and sat on it, lightly holding your hand. You felt the bed dip from the weight of his body. Your ears had finally stopped ringing and you felt yourself coming back into your body. You turned your head and looked at him, “What happened?”

“You were... being attacked.”

“Did you rescue me?”

“Yes.”

“Where are we?”

”An hourly motel.”

The decor made sense now. You sat up squeezing his hand, “Thank you for saving me. Why are we here?”

“It was a place you could lie down and recover.”

You smiled shyly. “Thank you,” you said again.

He eyed you. “Who are you here with, lolita?”

“What do you mean?” You tilted your head, confused.

“Who are you traveling with?”

“Oh! Just me.” You shrugged at his raised eyebrow. “I’ve been doing okay, mostly...” you trailed off.

“Where do you come from?”

“Oh, another planet...”

”What planet?”

“I’m not going back there,” your jaw tightened.

“Why not?”

”...I left there for a reason.” You glared at his dubious expression. He held up his hands, “Your reasons are your own, I see. Where are you going?” You shrugged, “I dunno. Just trying to find someplace.” You thought about your dwindling pile of credits.

He handed you some water. You accepted it and took a couple swigs before passing it back. You realized it could have been drugged as you swallowed the last of it. You shrugged to yourself as you though, if this man wanted to hurt you, surely he would have already. You looked at him expectantly. He looked back. Finally you said, “Now what?” He looked surprised. “Why are you asking me?” You shrugged again. “I dunno. You’re the one who brought me here.” He looked vaguely amused, “I didn’t know what else to do with you.”

“You coulda just left me. But you didn’t.”

He shrugged. There was a pause for a moment, then he asked, “How old are you?”

You grit your teeth at the dreaded question, “Old enough.”

”I’m not sure of that.”
“Well. I have to be.”

His expression softened at that. “Do you need a place to stay for awhile?”

You looked down, nodding. He exhaled slowly. “Okay. But only for a month.”

You looked up at him. “Why offer?”

He gave you a look you couldn’t figure out. “Because.”

“Okay. Are we going now?” You decided not to press him.

“Do you feel well enough to?”

You looked around, took stock of yourself. “Yeah.”

He pulled you up and into a standing position. You steadied yourself on his forearm. He brushed your hand away, grunting softly.

***

He had taken you out to the edge skirts of town and loaded you onto his speeder. Now you were skimming over the desert, away from civilization. You realized you should be worried. You snuggled into him, trusting that he would continue to be kind.

When you arrived at his ship, dusk was falling. The desert was turning purple, grey. You looked at the ship. Its paint was peeling and there was plenty of scoring on it. The ship of an outlaw. You looked at him, curious all over again. He motioned you inside and you followed obediently.

“This is Slave 1. My ship,” he lead you through it quickly, getting to the sleeping quarters, such as they were. There were several hammocks hung, and cubby holes in one of the walls. You sat down experimentally in one of the hammocks and lifted your feet. It swung freely. You smiled, looking up at him. He half smiled, then said, “Get some rest. You’ve had a long day.” He turned on his heel and disappeared into his ship.

***

You rose early the next day. Finding the ship empty, you walked down the open gangway into the morning sun. It was already getting hot and the suns were still climbing. You went back inside, searching for some food. You found the mess and grabbed a piece of fruit. Eating, you settled down and wondered what you were going to do now.

Your credits were dwindling and Tattooine had not been a good choice. It might help you hide, but it was too dangerous for you to be alone. You’d have to try to get off world. But after this month had gone by. You felt surprisingly safe here, in your outlaw’s ship.

“Good morning,” your host swept into the room.


You looked up from your woes, “Mornin.”

He sat across from you, setting his food down. You stared at him, and he raised an eyebrow at you. You looked down, “Sorry.”

“I know what I look like.”

Your eyes snapped up to him, “No! I was just thinking how lucky I was that I met you.”

He seemed nonplussed and returned his attention to his food. “Not too many people would say that,” he said finally.

You shrugged. You realized you didn’t know his name. You asked. He leveled his gaze at you, “Boba.” You told him your name, unbidden. He looked you over. “Name suits you.” You smiled shyly.

***

“Boba, will you teach me how to shoot a blaster?” He turned to you, eyebrow raised. “You know, so I can take care of myself,” you reasoned.

He smiled softly, looking down. “Yes. Now?”

Your eyes lit up. He smiled slightly more, then turned away. He grabbed a blaster off the table. “Grab some of that scrap metal.” He indicated to you.

You set the scrap metal on an outcrop of rocks, then walked back to where Boba was standing, waiting. His eyes were on you the entire time. When you arrived, he handed you the blaster. You held it awkwardly. His hands went to yours, correcting your grip. “Now, aim,” he commanded.

You raised the blaster up and closed one eye. You tried to line up the sight. “Keep both eyes open, and stand like this,” he kicked your feet slightly further apart. You inhaled, nervous. “Shoot,” he was standing directly behind you. You tried not to be overly conscious of how close he was. You shot, hitting the rocks below the metal. You started to turn around, but he had moved so your back was flush with his torso. He reached around and put his hands over yours. “Like this,” he said, correcting your aim. You shot again, hitting metal this time. You smiled, pleased. He kept his hands over yours, but lessened his grip. “Shoot the next one,” he said into your ear, softly. You shuddered, then tried to line up the sights again. You kept both eyes open, exhaling, you squeezed the trigger. You just hit the edge of the metal. 

“Good job,” he praised. You turned your head to look at him, smiling. You made eye contact. A look passed between the two of you. He moved his hands to your shoulders, then took a step back. “Try again.” He dropped his hands. You turned around, focusing on the metal. You hit it squarely with your next shot. “Good,” you heard him say. You continued practicing until you’d shot all the metal pieces off the rock. “Good start,” Boba said, taking the blaster from you. You smiled, satisfied with yourself. “What about your cycler rifle?” He laughed, turning towards the ship, “Next.”

***

You plopped down next to Boba as he was cleaning his cycler rifle. He nodded at you, not looking up. You inhaled, anxiety filling you. You knew what you came to do, but it was nerve wracking to do it. You licked your lips, then bit your lower lip. He continued to clean his rifle, unbothered. You worked up the nerve. You put a hand on his thigh. You were still unsure, and it showed in your grip. He moved your hand away. You moved it back, more insistent this time. He turned to you, annoyed, “No.” He brushed your hand away again.

”Why?”

He looked at you, “How old are you?”

You humphed. “Who cares? I’m on my own, that makes me effectively an adult.”

“No it doesn’t. It makes you vulnerable.”

“No it doesn’t!” You thought about it. It did, but that wasn’t what you were trying to hear right now. “It’s not like I haven’t done it before.”

”That doesn’t change anything.”

You humphed again. “You know, I’m the age of consent on many planets. So?” You tilted your head at him.

He exhaled through his mouth. “So. I can’t do that.”

You stood and started to strip off your clothing. He watched momentarily, whether horrified or aroused you couldn’t be sure. But he jumped up and caught your hands, stopping you. “You don’t have to do this. You are safe with me.” You tried to fight with him momentarily, but were overpowered.

“I know... that’s why I want to do it,” you countered, glaring at him. He laughed. You glowered at him. He managed to stop his laughing, but his eyes were still full of amusement. “Why are you laughing at me?” You fought back tears of confusion. He dropped your hands and sat back down, “You’re just very nehutyc sometimes.”

You sniffled, “What’s that mean?”

“Feisty,” he looked at you softly.

You shrugged, crestfallen.

“You’re very pretty, you know, lolita,” he said quietly. You shrugged again, not pacified. He changed the subject, “Do you know what you’re going to do when you leave here?”

“Get off world. I’ll find the cheapest ride I can to some other backwater world.”

”What are you avoiding?”
You looked down, “I’m wanted.”

He scoffed.

“I’m serious,” you got huffy.

“For what could you possibly be wanted?”

“I was part of a robbery... someone died.” He stopped cleaning the rifle and looked at you. “I was part of a ring, we would rob rich neighborhoods and pawn their stuff. But someone was home once. Things just went... really bad.” Your memories of the night surfaced. You thought about the glint of the knife before it connected with the homeowner. There had suddenly been so much blood everywhere. You shuddered, wiping a tear off your face.

“Did you kill this person?”

“No, but by law it doesn’t matter... I was there. I’m wanted for murder.”

He snorted, “It matters. You are no murderer.”

You sniffled, “Thank you. But I still have the law to contend with.”

“That’s true. How long have you been running?”

“About ten months.”

He considered, “Not bad.”

You smiled, “Well thanks.”

He sat back, considering. “The bounty for this would be low. My guess is that it will not attract a merc that will be able to trace you this far.”

”How’d you know about that?” You questioned.

He grinned but shook his head, “Just an old man’s feeling.”

***
You woke up in a good mood. Today was the day that was going to change things. You got dressed in your cutest outfit and put your hair up. Next you went to find Boba. You found him in the cargo bay, cleaning one of his weapons. You walked around to his back. You ran a hand up his arm, from his wrist to his shoulder. You ended the motion by placing your hand on his right shoulder, gripping him.
He laughed softly, “What is it now, my lolita?”

“You know what today is?”

“Date or day of the week?”

You squeezed him, and added your other hand on his left shoulder. He tried to shrug you off. You persisted. Annoyed, he put his hands on yours and pulled up, removing them from his person. You grabbed his hands and refused to let go. Instead, you leaned forward so your chest pressed against the back of his head. He stilled.

“Guess,” you demanded.

”I don’t know,” he said tersely.

“My birthday.”

“Mm.”

“Mm? Is that all you have to say?” You kissed the top of his head. He leaned forward, trying to escape you. You let go of his hands and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting your head on his head. He sighed, “You’re still very young. If it’s your birthday.”

“Do you not want me?”

He hesitated, which told you all you needed to know. He knew it, too. He shifted uncomfortably, “This is not happening.”

“There’s no winning with you.”

“No.”


You walked around and tried to sit in his lap. He blocked you. “At least give me a kiss as a birthday present.” Your skin prickled in anticipation.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“You’ll just try to exploit the situation.”

You smiled, “I am mirdala, sometimes.” He was surprised, but smiled to hear you speak Mando’a. You sat down across from him and started fiddling with what he was working on. “It is my birthday, you know.”

”How convenient.”

You shushed him, “I wouldn’t lie. I’m officially older, whatever that means anyway.”

He glanced up at you, then grabbed a piece of metal from your hand. You grabbed his hand. He pulled back, extricating himself. “You are merciless,” he mumbled.
You shrugged. There was a pregnant pause. Finally he said, “Do you know where you’re going yet?”

You licked your lips and looked down. “No.”

“Perhaps somewhere less... dry than here.”

You smirked, “What a helpful suggestion.” You became serious, “There’s also the matter of funds. I only have so many credits, and I can’t risk going to a sketch pilot. Like you said, I’m vulnerable.”

He looked almost sad, “I’ll take you to a planet of your choosing.”

You were stunned. It was his turn to smirk, “I do have a ship. Which we’re currently in.”

“Thank you, that’s very kind,” you whispered. You were both relieved and devastated at his offer. If Boba was going to take you, you could leave any time. The knowledge hung between you.

“Pick a planet today. We can leave later this week.” He looked away from you, turning his head.

You turned away from him, crestfallen. Tears worked their way down your face. You went to the observation room and clicked the viewer on. You started to sort through planets, looking for one near Tattooine. As if it mattered. You cried softly to yourself as you selected a planet. It was only a few light years away, and was lush. More importantly, there was no Imp or New Republic presence there. You could hide there safely. You thought about being without Boba and didn’t feel safe at all. You wrung your hands, but there was nothing to do. You clicked the viewer off.

***

The rain of Cyr was shocking and almost impossible to believe after the parched sands of Tattooine. It fell in sheets. You walked out into it, amazed by the experience. You were immediately drenched. You smiled and stood there, feeling the warm water run down your body.

After awhile you decided you’d had enough. You walked back into the cargo bay of Slave 1. Boba was there, cleaning his cycler rifle again. He looked up at you, a nonchalant expression on his face. His mouth slowly dropped as he continued to stare. You looked down. Your thin dress was plastered to your body. It left nothing to the imagination. You watched him closely as you walked towards him. He managed to close his mouth as you made your way over, but he was still sitting motionless, just looking at you. You stopped in front of him. He looked up at you, eyes dark with desire. You leaned forward and sat in his lap, straddling him and wrapping your arms around his neck loosely. His hands went up into the air. You grabbed them and placed them on your hips. You returned your arms to his neck.

“Kiss me,” you commanded. His eyes flicked to your mouth and lower before returning to meet your gaze. You closed the gap and placed a kiss on his lips. He didn’t kiss back. You pulled away, frowning. “Kiss. Me.” You realized his breathing had become uneven. Frustrated, you ground down into his groin. You looked up at him wickedly, pleased to feel his already hard cock. He furrowed his brow slightly and made a small, strained noise. You licked his lips and kissed him again. He responded very slowly. You rolled your hips against his erection again. He let out a low, raspy groan. You bit his lower lip, making eye contact. He was still watching you. You pulled back so he could get a good view of your drenched translucent dress. His eyes slid down your body, making you smile, satisfied.

You pulled your wet hair off your face and throat. Grinding into him, you leaned forward, exposing your throat to him. You felt his hot breath on your throat and sighed dreamily. He nipped at your throat, then bit you lightly while his hands moved to your waist. You fought back a smile and leaned to kiss him. He let your tongue pass past his lips, reciprocating. Caught up in the long-awaited moment, your hands went to his pants. He stopped you. You redirected and put your hands on his chest, gripping the fabric. You felt his hard cock against your throbbing pussy and exhaled shakily. “I want you, Boba. Before we never see each other again.”

This seemed to stir something in him. His hands went to your hips possessively. He bit your lower lip, grinding you into himself. You moaned softly and moved your hands to your soaked dress. You pulled the sodden fabric up your body. He moved his hands momentarily so you could pull it over your hips. You let it slap onto the floor. You got goosebumps from the air hitting your skin. Soft gloved hands roamed your naked body, warming you up slowly.

You rocked in his lap, making him writhe under you. Before you knew it, he was bucking his hips up into you. You kissed his open mouth and your hands went to his pants again. This time you met no resistance. Instead, you pulled his cock out and rubbed the tip into your pussy lips. A grunt tore out of him. He thrust upwards abruptly. The head of his cock entered you, making you both groan. You continued to fuck just the tip of his cock while you adjusted to his size. Finally you slid your slick walls down his cock. He groaned, grabbing your ass as you sank onto him. You slowly started to fuck him, still adjusting. The two of you were still kissing on and off. When you came up for air, you said, “Fuck me against the wall.”

He stood effortlessly and walked to the nearest wall. He pressed you against it, and wrapped your legs around himself. Pinning your hands above your head, he started to fuck up into you, making you whine. He covered your mouth with his, silencing you. You kissed him feverishly and he matched your fervor, licking and biting you. You moaned his name loudly. “You’re fucking me so good,” you cooed into his mouth. He growled and kissed you, smashing his lips into yours. His cock slammed into you, making your pussy burn deliciously. You felt heat pooling in your pussy and knew you were close. “I’m gonna cum,” you managed to moan out. His strokes became erratic, but he continued to pound into you. He balled his fist in your hair. You felt your orgasm break over your body like a wave. You whined and spread your legs wider as you came, nearly going limp in Boba’s grasp. He grunted and fucked you through your orgasm until you were a whimpering mess. His breathing was labored and ragged. He pulled out of you quickly, panting. You slid down his body to your knees. Wordlessly, you took him in your mouth, tasting yourself. He grunted his surprise and both his hands made fists in your hair. You sucked and twirled your tongue around his cock, gagging yourself freely on him.

“I’m - hn- gonna cum,” he breathed. You looked up at him and kept working him with your mouth. Your hands went to the bottom of his shaft. He came, mouth open, eyes closed. He made no sound, but you could tell he was barely able to stand as his body shuddered and his cock spasmed in your mouth. You swallowed and pulled yourself up his body, using his clothing. He was leaning against the wall, breathing hard. You put your forehead against his right shoulder.

“We should not have done that,” he said when he was able. “I should not have done that,” he shook his head, seeming to correct himself. You kissed him softly. “Don’t ruin it,” you whispered. He looked into your eyes, searching for something. You waited for him to speak. Instead he dropped his gaze and readjusted his clothing. He grabbed a cloak hanging near you and wrapped it around you. “Go dry off,” he said simply. You pulled your wet hair out of the cloak. Playing with it, you smiled to yourself and went to find a towel.

[skylights2000]

Switch! (Gundham x Fem! Reader) Part 7

~

Music poured softly from the speakers as you drove home. You’d stayed late at the workshop to finish up a dresser that was being picked up tomorrow. The sun was setting, turning the sky a lovely shade of purple.

You were finally starting to get back into your routine, with a few exceptions. Sonia and Gundham came by to drag you out of your house at least once a week. Sometimes, they just randomly came over to hang out.

Sure, you hung out with them before. You were friends, after all, but you weren’t as close to them, especially not Gundham.

You were almost thankful for the whole switching places thing just because it finally broke down the wall between you two.

It felt like you really were friends now, not just awkward acquaintances. Not to mention, it brought you closer to Sonia too. You found that you actually had more in common with each other than you thought.

You’d both grown up mostly by yourselves. You were in an orphanage, and Sonia’s parents were always busy, so she was raised mainly by her governess, Sarah. You both had felt out of place in your own countries and found a real home here in Japan.

You both shared a strange fascination in the supernatural, though Sonia was the one that actually ventured into it. That was actually how you met Gundham.

Sonia had called you one day, saying she found ‘a master of the dark arts’ that she wanted you to meet. That’s how you were introduced to the mysterious and eccentric Gundham Tanaka.

Looking back on it made you smile. You never could’ve guessed the chaos and good memories that would follow that meeting.

You were knocked out of your thoughts when you reached your house. You parked in the driveway and got out. Winter was coming, and it was cold outside. You were making your way up the little path that led to your front steps when you noticed something.

“Is that..blood?” You crouched down to inspect the red stains on the concrete. The second you did the coppery smell of fresh blood hit you. Then you noticed something else. It wasn’t just that one spot. There was a trail of blood leading up your front steps.

You hesitated before rushing up the front steps, only to freeze completely at what you saw. There was a dog on your doorstep, it’s fur matted with blood.

“Oh shit.”

~Time Skip Brought to You By My Lazy Ass~

You’d called Sonia on the way, and after very frantically explaining the situation, you asked where Gundham lived. She gave you his address and said she’d call him to let him know you were coming.

Sure enough, the second you got there the front door burst open. You wasted no time carefully lifting the dog out of the passengers seat.

“I patched her up as best as I could, but I wanted to make sure she’s gonna be okay. Please tell me she’s gonna be okay.” You pleaded, already on the verge of tears.

“Come inside.”

You nodded and followed after him quickly. Neither of you spoke as Gundham checked over your work on the wound. After a minute, he gave an approving nod and looked to you.

“You did well, mortal. This hellbeast-“

“Mavis.”

“Excuse me?”

“Her name is Mavis.”

He blinked several times, wondering if he’d imagined that. “You..named her?”

You nodded awkwardly. “I was panicking. It was something to calm myself down.”

Again, he stared at you for a moment before looking back to Mavis.

He cleared his throat. “She will thrive again once she has healed. For now” He got to his feet and guided you into the kitchen. He turned on the sink and turned to you, motioning to your arms, and you suddenly realized how crazy you must look.

Your forearms and shirt were smeared with blood, and you moved to the sink. Gundham disappeared for a minute, and you washed your hands and arms, watching in a grim kind of fascination as the water ran red.

Once you were done, you dried your arms and straightened up. You heard footsteps approaching you, and when you turned around, Gundham stepped through the kitchen doorway.

“Here, you may wear this.” He held out black sweater to you. “Some mortals will make accusations if you traipse around covered in blood.”

You thanked him as you took it, and he turned away from you so you could swap shirts.

The sweater was big on you, falling off one shoulder and dipping just below your collarbones. You rolled the sleeves up until you could at least see your fingers. It was warm and soft, and you smiled as you thanked him again.

He turned to face you again before pausing. He turned on the sink long enough to dip his fingers under it before turning it off again.

“What are you-“

He held your head gently and ran his thumb across your cheek. While he was occupied, you just looked at him. You’d always been fascinated by his eyes. When you first met him, you assumed he wore contacts, but no, his eyes were really like that. You’d heard many people call them strange, but you found them weirdly beautiful.

You found Miu’s words coming back to you.

“How do you feel about Gundham?”

You weren’t lying when you said you’d never thought about it, but now that you were thinking about it, you couldn’t help but wonder, as well.

How did you feel about Gundham?

You felt something brush your leg, and when you looked, you found Mavis sitting beside you, tail brushing the floor as it wagged. You smiled and crouched down to pet her. “Hey there.” You greeted her happily. “How ya feelin’?”You giggled when she licked your face.

“What tribe did you belong to?”

You stared up at him for a long moment, eyebrows drawn together in confusion before your eyes lit up. “Oh! Are you asking if I’ve ever had a pet?”

“I believe that is how the mortals refer to it.”

You smiled and went back to petting Mavis. “I used to have a dog. My foster mother, Hinako, got her on the same day that she adopted me. We grew up together, but she passed away a while back.”

Knowing she was gone still stung, but you had so many good memories with her that you couldn’t help the way your heart warmed. “I wish you coulda met her. I think she woulda loved you.”

Maybe he sensed your sadness, but Gundham crouched down beside you, petting Mavis gently. “I see she was very loved.”

The words were enough to bring the smile back to your lips. “She still is loved.”

Gundham had a soft kind of smile on his face. It was just barely there, but it was somehow the most genuine smile you’d ever seen from him.

“Hey, can I ask you something kind of personal?”

He shot you a curious glance before nodding.

“What happened to your father?”

He paused, hand hanging briefly in mid air before he resumed petting Mavis. “He was slain in a car accident.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

He just waved his hand dismissively. “Do not be. I do not miss him.”

“Huh?”

Gundham’s expression turned stony, his eyes glowing coldly. “He was cruel to my mother and I.”

You hesitated, wondering if you really wanted to push, but you wanted to know. You wanted to be there for Gundham. “Was he..?”

You didn’t have to finish because Gundham knew what you were thinking.

“Yes. He was abusive.” He admitted somberly.

Your hand stilled in Mavis’ fur. “...So those scars on your arms and shoulders..Were they from him?”

“So you saw them.”

It wasn’t really a question, but you nodded anyway. He sighed softly.

“Yes, they were his doing.”

You felt tears well up in your eyes, and they slid down your cheeks before falling to the floor. You lunged at him and wrapped your arms around him, effectively knocking him backwards.

He stiffened up, but you didn’t let go, and eventually, he curled his arms around your waist. He patted you softly on the back until your crying died down to little sniffles, and you pulled away, wiping at your eyes.

You smiled bashfully, feeling a bit embarrassed by your outburst. “Sorry about that.”

“There is no need to apologize.” He assured you. “It was..nice.” He murmured, so quietly that you almost didn’t hear it.

You quickly realized that you were practically in his lap, and heat flared in your cheeks. Suddenly, there was fur in your face as Mavis burrowed in between you two, licking Gundham’s face before moving to lick yours too. You burst into a fit of hiccupy giggles, almost falling over from the weight of it as you got up.

You held out your hands to him, and when he took them, you pulled him up with an amount of ease that surprised him.

“You are stronger than you appear.

You raised your chin and grinned playfully. “Don’t mind me. Just the female Hercules.” You flexed very dramatically, and it was well worth it because Gundham laughed. Not the maniacal laugh or that deep chuckle. This was a full blown, unrestrained laugh, the kind that made your shoulders shake and your eyes water.

You just stared at him in complete awe. “Damn.”

At first, he thought you were disgusted by his laugh; then, he raised his eyes to find you grinning wider than he’d ever seen. Your eyes seemed to shine when you smiled like that. They crinkled at the edges, turning into little crescent moons.

“You have a beautiful smile.”

He didn’t even realize he’d said it out loud until you flushed and looked away from him, smile turning shy.

“Th-Thank you.”

He felt his own face reddening, so he quickly changed the subject. “Do you wish to keep her?”

You looked down at Mavis and did something that surprised him.

“What do you wanna do?” You asked her.

To your surprise the fluffy white dog stood up on her hind legs, placing her paws on your stomach, her tail wagging wildly behind her.

You grinned and ruffled her fur, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I’ll take that as a yes, okay?”

Mavis barked happily, earning a giggle from you and a satisfied smile from Gundham. He always loved seeing an animal go to a good home, and when he remembered the terrified look in your eyes as you held Mavis, he knew she would thrive in your care.

[lettersnorth]

It didn't surprise Aislinn an onze that Mivo'to had up and disappeared on his attendings one sun. Nor was she all that concerned. He had knocked himself out due to a miscalculation. It certainly wasn't the worst thing the clinic had seen. And he had clearly recovered. Win-win all around. She got to work stripping the sheets from the bed and cleaning  up the now vacant room.

Cravendy wandered into the clinic in search of fresh bandages and ointment. She could still feel the pressure pushing down on her bones, the smell of ceruleum burning after the explosion...and it didn't seem like it was going to go away any time soon. When she stepped in, she noticed Lin and called out to her on instinct. "Lin!"

An armful of sheets, Aislinn rounded the divider just as Cravendy called out. She halted, surprise flitting over her face for a brief moment before her expression pulled back to neutral. "Cravendy." she nodded a greeting and then scooted around the Seawolf to the waiting laundry basket. "What brings you in here? Everything alright?" she asked as she shoved the ball of sheets down into the overfull basket. Guess the wash was next on her list.

Cravendy awkwardly pressed herself against the infirmary partition to give Lin more space to walk, and got the feeling that she's not exactly a welcome sight. At best, a nuisance to entertain while there were chores to be done. With a shrug, she headed over to the cabinets and began pulling out all kinds of medical supplies. "Oh, ye know. Smartin' after the battle, lookin' for somethin' to make it all feel better. What about yerself? 'ow are ye 'oldin' up?"

"Me?" Aislinn asked as she straightened and brushed a flyaway wisp of hair from her eyes. "Aside from pulling Mivo'to out before the whole place went up I didn't do a damned thing that woulda caused me to be banged up." She eyed the collection Cravendy was haphazardly pulling from the potions cabinets and picked up a bulbous glass jar filled with a warm, golden liquid. This, she passed to Cravendy. "Drink two spoonfuls of this. Three if it doesn't take the edge off." she then nodded to the drawer below the cabinet. "You need a patch up? Afraid G'lewra is out so if you do, I can do it the mundane way. Or you can wait for her to aether-heal it."

“Could ye?” Cravs muttered as she gave Lin a curious stare. “I’m used to patchin’ myself up at this point but...I bet ye could get the ‘urt out faster.”

Cravendy grabbed the jar of golden liquid before heading back to take a seat. She twisted the medicine open and gave it a good sniff or two. "Bleh. Anyway, even if ye didn't do a thing, it's not every day ye survive an explosion. So, well, there's that. That and..." Cravs trailed off. "Well. I was surprised ye didn't use yer fancy math shields."

Aislinn paused, shooting the Seawolf a look of concern as she pulled the needed bandages and supplies from the drawers. The pain must be bad if Cravendy wasn't willing to wait. She went and joined the woman on the couch, setting a tray of the necessary items next to her. Careful not to meet the Seawolf's eye, she gave a half shrug at the observation. Silence reigned as she gingerly gestured for Cravendy to show her the burns. It filled the space until finally, with her time at the hot spring fresh in her mind, she let go a sigh and broke it. "I can't." she admitted, finally. "I can't use my shields or...any of it. Not since....not for awhile."

Cravendy unbuttoned her shirt, revealing bandages tied across her chest and around her back. There's also a significant scar on her lower abdomen that looks like it's healing weird, but healing nonetheless. "I applied ointment a few days ago, but it's 'ard to reapply it to my back. If ye could..."

Cravendy trailed off at Lin's admission, unsure what to say. She was originally going to poke fun at the situation, joke that Lin needs to practice the basics again. "Oh. Well, uh. What're ye doin' about that, then?"

The conversation was momentarily forgotten as Lin gathered the full measure of Cravendy's injuries. "Gods above, Cravendy. Why the hell didn't you come in the moment  you got back? Or say -anything- out there in the field. I coulda done something -then-!" To be fair, Cravendy had done a decent job, all things considered. She obviously wasn't new at this. Even so, the oddly healing scar drew Aislinn's attention and she carefully inspected it closer, her aether sense stretching out. She could, at least, still do that much.

"I assumed everyone got just as roasted! Figured, I could still move, so I could treat my own wounds. Bah, this was a mistake..." Cravs leaned a little away from Lin, nervous to show vulnerability. But when she noticed Lin drawn to the scar on her stomach, Cravs brought a finger to her lips. "Risin' gave me that one. Don't tell 'er though."

Cravendy tugged her shirt around herself so she's wrapped from the elbow down for the sake of modesty, though it really doesn't add much. "Anyway, ye were sayin'? About yer magic bein' broken?"

Aislinn jerked her chin up as Cravendy began to draw away, the look on her face all but daring the Seawolf to just try and keep it up. Small as she was, she wasn't letting Cravendy out of there without proper treatment. "No. Waiting to come here was the mistake." she chided. She shook her head in exasperation at the mention of the weird wound coming from Rising.

She could only imagine what raucous bout had caused that. "I have this way about me," she said, quickly surmising that if she kept talking, Cravendy would stay put. "Of absorbing curses. Cursed energy, hexes..." she trailed off as she motioned for Cravendy to turn around so she could get the ointment on her back. "Turns out, a person can only do that for so long until all that bad energy needs a place to go. It's made my aether...a touch unstable. I *could* cast a spell. I just don't know what'll come out."

Cravendy saw the face Lin was making - the same sort a parent would give a fussy toddler - and pouted. But she was already here, bandages exposed, back turned and ointment ready. It'd be even more dumb to get up and leave after getting so far. "Fine, but be thorough, eh? I want to be better by the time we 'ave to get blown up again."

Cravendy obliged to whatever Lin needed her to do in order to work and listened quietly, face forward and staring unfocused into the room. "Weird. So if I put ye in my room, would ye absorb all of the bad vibes? In the east, there's all this shit about Feng Shui and harmonizin' with yer surroundings."

Cravendy glanced back at Lin to see if her joke landed.

Aislinn blanched at the thought, even though she knew it was more than likely that Cravendy was just being a smart-ass. "Who knows...probably. Apparently I've been walking around for years just absorbing ambient refuse. Now I'm full up. Or close to it. It's...painful to be close to anything like that. Like I'm burning up from the inside. That's when I first realized something wasn't right." she said quietly as she cut away the old bandage and carefully pulled it back with delicate fingers.

Cravendy let out a disappointed breath at Lin's reaction and went back to looking forward. "That sounds...painful. I wish I could 'elp, but don't know the first thing when it comes to magical ailments. But I will say, ye should 'ang back until ye get this under control. Last thing ye need is suckin' up more bad energy and makin' worse."

Cravendy scowled as she revisited what Lin had just said. Burning up. Absorbing curses. A worrisome theory forms. "'ey, uh. When did this start? Just casually one day?"

"That's me, a walking bad luck charm." Aislinn muttered as she dressed the new bandages and applied them to Cravendy's back. "Don't worry, I've asked someone to fill in for me on the next job in Coerthas while I try and get this problem sorted." The ointment was cooling and numbing all at the same time and would dull the pain of the burns as the medicinal herbs got to work healing the skin underneath. Aislinn was quiet long enough that it was obvious she was trying to decide how to skirt the question.

She started reassembling the supplies back on the tray. When she rose to her feet, she figured the only way any of this between her and Cravendy was going to work was if she stopped hedging and just be honest. No matter what. "Probably ramped up while we were trying to find the Helm." she said as she took the tray over to the sink.

Cravendy tensed when the ointment is first applied, but breathes a sigh of relief quickly after. "Ah, thanks, already feels better. And the person coverin' for ye...is it that string bean fella I saw ye talkin' with in the library? What's 'e like? Don't often see 'im around. Guy looks painfully serious, the kind to take offense at small talk."

Cravendy was silent for a while after, staring at the partition rod as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. Finally, loudly and suddenly, she groaned. "Shit.”

"Shit! That really pisses me off!" Cravs stood up, shirt still dangling around her arms, and paced around in a circle. "Fuck! Goddamnit. Ahhh, bloody...Lin, why didn't ye say somethin' earlier?!"

Turning away from the basin, Aislinn leaned back against the sink with a faint air of amusement. "Aye, the string bean fella." she waved a hand up through the air. Anything more she might have had to say on the subject was lost in the wake of Cravendy's agitation. Caught up short, her eyes flicked away and then back to her. "Because I didn't know what the problem was. Only that these sudden burning sensations would flare up every so often. And then once I did, it was all said and done. What good would it have done to bring it up to you after the fact except to put you in a state like this?" she gestured to the anxious pacing the Seawolf was currently succumbing to.

Cravendy wanted badly to grab Lin by the shoulders and shake some sense into her, or maybe, just shake her until somehow she got better. Cravs nearly snarled, hearing reason in Lin's words but not having it. She clenched and unclenched her fists, not sure what to do with this sudden anger.

"Even worse, ye die a slow an’ painful death! I like to know when I've messed up so I can do somethin' about it!" Cravs huffed. You could practically see the steam hiss out of her ears.

In the face of Cravendy's anger, Aislinn breathed easy, slow breaths. Matching the Seawolf's temper had never worked for either of them in the past. It was on the tip of her tongue. The correction that if this would kill her, it wouldn't be slow but violent and sudden. She decided that really was besides the point right now. "How did -you- mess up? You weren't there. And what would you do about it?" she asked, trying to get Cravendy to see reason.

"Ye don't understand. This whole shitty business with the Helm...If I didn't suggest raidin' that Garlean ship. If I 'ad the balls to stick around and save my crew. If I didn't summon 'er, then, maybe..." Cravs breathed heavily until she was light-headed, but it worked to calm her down. She fell back down into the couch with a hand over her face to cover her reaction. "...Shit, I don't know. Maybe ye'd find some other stupid way to get yer fill of cursed energy and die anyway. I don't know. Maybe.”

Cravendy spoke, words muffled in her palm. "Lin, I. The fireball. That..." Cravs shook her head. "...doesn't matter. I don't know what I'll do about it, just that I'll do /something/ about it."

Aislinn heaved a sigh and pushed off from the sink, coming to join Cravendy on the couch. "And then you'd be dead, right? Isn't that how it all worked? Honestly, it was only a matter of time. It was always going to catch up to me at some point. The Helm business just ushered it along." she paused. "Which isn't to say that fireball that Wyda hit me with didn't hurt like hell. Hard not to take something like that personally." she said, in a rare attempt to lighten the mood.

She turned to look at Cravendy, mustering a smile. "Look. I'm working on it. A friend and I are tracking down someone in Ishgard that'll know about my problem. And...hopefully what to do about it."

Cravendy puffed up her chest, about to come up with a rebuttal to Lin's answer. As usual, she came up empty, and then similarly let out a tired sigh. "Feh, yer always so logical, even about all heavy shit like this. I....guess that's what I like ye for though. Just - just. I don't know. Leave the stupid to me."

Cravendy would take comfort in the fact that Lin was actively looking for someone to diagnose the issue, though this would linger in the back of her mind for long after. With or without Lin's blessings, she'd find a way to help. This was either going to lead to great success, or equally great disaster.

[petri808]

Secret Santa fic for @fawn-eyed-girl enemies to lovers trope. Happy Holidays :)

Helping others was something Kagome Higurashi really enjoyed doing on her time off. There were so many people in need in their city with its large homeless population, it was an easy decision to join a local organization that did things for them. From food drives to holiday meals, they’d visit shelters, or scouted the back alleyways looking for anyone that was struggling. Especially the children, oh those broke her heart and fueled her desire to do what she could year after year. Of course, there were dangers when going into the seedier areas because they weren’t just full of homeless people. Drug users, thieves, gamblers, prostitution. Most steered clear of people like Kagome, but on occasion her pepper spray came into use.

On a summers night as she made her rounds near a bar, two drunkards with a loss of inhibition saw a pretty young woman and decided she’d make for a great way to end their evening festivities. Kagome tried to be nice at first, noting the heavy stench of liquor on their breaths. It wasn’t the first time she’d dealt with men like this. But talking was getting nowhere and before she could pull out the pepper spray from her pocket, one of them grabbed her from behind. If it had just been one man she could have fought back, but not two. Kagome screamed for help, praying that someone from the bar would hear her.

“Stop being such a bitch!” the man who held her growled as she fought fiercely in his hold.

The second male grabbed her face and squeezed her cheeks to silence her screaming. “Behave or this’ll only get worse.”

At that moment, a flash of white ripped the man facing her away and her eyes widened as the guy is flung against the building 10 feet away. Next, the one holding her suddenly let go and took off running, but he doesn’t get far and is tossed through the air into the darkness of the night. Kagome stood there frozen, heart racing, just watching her white-haired savior. She’d never seen him before in the area and assumed he must have been a bar patron.

“Are, you okay?” The white-haired male questioned Kagome.

“Yes. T-Thank you, sir.”

“Good, but what kind of stupid woman are you to be in this kind of area late at night alone?! You got a death wish?! If I hadn’t heard ya screamin’, they would’a made you their bitch!”

Kagome was taken aback by this strangers outburst. He wasn’t wrong, but did he have to be an asshole about it? “I’m not stupid okay!” She crossed her arms, “I’m here doing something important.”

“Keh! Picking up idiots at the bar? You don’t look like a pro.”

“Cause I’m not a pro! I help homeless people. And what do you do sir? Bouncer at the bar cause you have no education?”

“For your information I’m a thief. You know, like Robin Hood.”

“Pfft, I doubt that. You’re a common criminal who’s just as bad as the other nasty elements I deal with, so get off your high horse in berating me and look in a mirror!”

“Look wench,” the man towered over Kagome. “Criminal or not I coulda just let them kidnap you!”

But unafraid, Kagome stood on the balls of her feet and glared right back. “And I said thank you!”

The man seemed shocked by her attitude because he stepped back while still pointing a finger angrily. “J-Just, stop being so reckless!”

He then literally jumped away, scaling the building next to them. Well, at least it was over. Kagome huffed and let out a long sigh. Good riddance! Sure, she was happy to be okay but geez, he was so mean! She hoped to never see him again!

Over the course of the next two years, her wish never came true. Which confused Kagome. Before their first encounter, she’d never seen him in the area, but after, she couldn’t go a month without running into the guy. So, after six months had passed, she’d had a friend in the police department search their records to see if this stranger had a record. Kagome never got the man’s name, but his appearance was very distinctive. Long white hair and dog ears perched atop his head. Sure, enough he was in their system. Inuyasha Taisho. Mostly petty theft, nothing major, a few fights, but often ruled defensive. Okay so he didn’t start fights, but he ended them. Even more curious is who Inuyasha’s parents were. Kagome expected to learn he had grown up in a poor area or something that lead him into thievery, but it turned out the family was wealthy.

The rest of their encounters weren’t as explosive as the first one had been, but still as irritating as ever. Someone would start to harass Kagome and Inuyasha would scare them off. He’d snap at her for being reckless, then jump away as she screamed at his fleeting back. In a few strange incidences, Kagome suspected he was nearby because she’d hear footsteps following behind her and suddenly, they would disappear. She didn’t know if he was following her or had stopped someone else from doing so, but the alleyway would always be empty when she turned around.

Don’t get her wrong, she appreciated his protection. But what had she done to illicit it in the first place? Kagome suspected Inuyasha stole things out of boredom, so was watching her his new line of amusement? And fine, since he’d never done anything to hurt her, she could tolerate his knight in white armor routine if he wasn’t such an asshole when he spoke to her!

It was maybe around the first year mark that Kagome had noticed a change in some of the activities. The amount of people bothering her had slowed, left mostly to the more foolish elements who were hell bent on trouble. Certain crowds fully stayed clear of her, especially organized elements like gangs. She wondered if word was traveling through the underground to leave her alone or face his consequences. Kagome had to admit the thought brought a flutter to her chest. Because okay, he was an ornery asshole, but he must have a heart to protect a woman... not to mention he wasn’t exactly ugly. Quite the opposite in fact...

“Yeah Sango, I just got here,” Kagome balanced the phone on her shoulder as she turned her car off. “I’m gonna unload the gifts for the kids Christmas party. Oh... okay, see you soon.”

She clicked off her phone and got out of her car, popping open her trunk before pocketing the phone. There was a lot to do before the small holiday dinner they had prepared at the community center for homeless families in the area. Gifts for the children, food, a Santa Claus was coming, tables to set up, games and decorations. As she leaned into her trunk to grab gifts, Kagome ran down her to-do list in her head.

“Don’t move.”

A chill runs down her spine at the deep voice right behind her and something poking into her back. Kagome’s body stiffened up instantly as all the blood drained from her face.

“Don’t turn around, don’t make any sudden movements if you wanna live.” The hard object pressed deeper into her side. It was cold like the muzzle of a gun. “I know money is kept in the office to pay vendors, so you’re gonna get it for me,” the male voice instructed.

Kagome whimpered. “Okay, I’ll get you whatever you want, just please d-don’t hurt me.”

The man forced her away from her car towards the building, keeping constant pressure to remind her he could fire off his weapon at any time. This was the first time since the night she’d met Inuyasha that Kagome had felt true fear. So many things were running through her mind, her family, friends… What if this man killed her and left her for dead and the children saw it? Those kids had it hard enough. They don’t need to be traumatized further. All she could do was pray in her head to be spared.

She fumbled with the keys to open up the side door, but Kagome’s hands were shaking so badly, she drops them. “S-sorry!”

“Stupid bitch!”

“I’m sorry!” Kagome cried out and braced for some kind of backlash, but instead is greeted with the most demonic sounding growl she’d ever heard. In seconds, she’s knocked to the ground, pushed out of the way as white hair flies past her vision. It was Inuyasha fighting with the robber! She scrambled away, pressing herself against the building as the two men battled on the ground. Inuyasha was trying to wrestle the gun away and strike at the same time. But unlike the other attacks, this stranger was much, much stronger. She covered her ears to the growls and curses, the sounds of her own screams ringing in her ears but couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Until a loud boom, followed by a flash of light made Kagome’s scream cut off. She instantly shielded herself in reaction and all noise was replaced by a buzzing sound. The gun had gone off! Inuyasha let out a guttural roar at the impact, but it didn’t stop him, only made him ten times angrier. She watched in a mixture of horror and intrigue as his eyes turned red and purple markings appeared on his cheeks. He slashed deep into the strange males chest and abdomen, once... twice... not to stop but to kill. At the third raising of his arm, Kagome cried out, snapping Inuyasha back to reality. He stopped, hand raised, staring down at the man who was semi-conscious, and fatally injured without immediate medical treatment.

Kagome stumbled and rushed over to Inuyasha, ripping her jacket off in the meantime. “Oh, my god you’ve been shot!” Tears are clouded her vision and her hands shook, but she pressed her jacket against the wound in his stomach. “Keep the pressure,” she instructed while pulling her phone out. “I need to call 911, y-you need to get to a hospital.”

“Tch, don’t worry about me. I’ll live.”

His nonchalant response made her stop what she was doing and sent Kagome to such a level of anger, it took Inuyasha completely by surprise. The tears that clouded her vision now freely poured down as she rapidly punched his shoulder as hard as she could. “You asshole! You asshole! You asshole!! You’re not invincible! You just got shot because of me! Why?! Why would you go this far to protect me?!”

More sounds appeared around them. A car, running footsteps. Her friend Sango’s voice, talking, yelling about hurry and emergency. But all Kagome and Inuyasha could do was stare at each other oblivious to it, he wide-eyed, and her crying and shrieking.

“Tell me!” Kagome beat his chest one last time before slumping from exhaustion. “Why do you keep protecting me?”

Inuyasha turned his head away in embarrassment, cheeks the color of a tomato and ears pinned down. He mumbled, “Because I like you,” then braced himself to be cussed out and/or completely rejected.

What he gets in return is a snorting laughter from the woman who quickly grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the lips.

“You dumbass!” Kagome snapped at him through smiling tears. “All you had to do was talk nice to me and ask me out!”

“I’m not good with women, and besides I didn’t think you’d like a guy like me.”

Kagome is moved to the side when the EMT and police arrived to treat Inuyasha, but it doesn’t halt the conversation. “Well, you will need to behave yourself if you wanna go out with me, but that doesn’t mean I won’t give you a chance.”

Inuyashas ears perked back up. “You’re serious?!”

Kagome smiled. “I believe that everyone deserves a second chance, why else do you think I do the things I do?”

“So, when I get out of the hospital, can I take you out for dinner?”

“It’s a date.”

[tuiccim]

Brassy (Part 4)

Pairing: Loki X Reader,  Bucky X Reader

Words: 1881

Warnings: Language, PTSD, Smut (18+, NSFW), Casual sex, some angst

Summary: You’re in a friends with benefits situation with Loki and some of the other Avengers aren’t happy with the arrangement. Reader and Bucky finally have it out. 

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

———————————-

You rode Loki until you exhausted yourself. A while later you felt him shift out of the bed. You grab his wrist and say, "Stay."

"What?" He says surprised.

"Stay."

"Are you certain?"

"On one condition." 

"Name it, darling "

"Wake me up fucking me."

"My pleasure." 

You smile into your pillow and fall asleep.

As promised, you wake up spooned against Loki as he slowly works himself into you from behind. His left arm curled under you playing with your breast and his right hand making slow circles around your clit. "Ohhh…yes." you breath as the pleasure washes over you. Loki continues his ministrations at a leisurely pace while whispering in your ear. "Is this what you wanted, my darling? Hmmm...you're so tight. So perfectly tight. Ohhh. So wet for me, my darling…"

The feeling of his breath on your ear, his hands swirling their magic around your breasts and clit, and the steady rhythm of his cock moving in and out of you drive you to the edge. Your release is strong and prolonged as Loki never pauses from his duties. When he finally succumbs to his own release, you're spent. Eventually, you turn to face Loki. You lean into him for a kiss, saying, "In answer to your question. Yes, that was exactly what I wanted." You say with a soft giggle. 

Loki smiles. "Am I being kicked out now?" He asks half-jokingly. 

"When do you have to go back?" You ask. 

"Tonight."

"Spend the day in bed with me, then." You grin winningly. "Unless you think you'll be bored."

"Not if you're in it with me." Loki pulls you to him and begins nibbling along your collarbone. You hum contentedly and smile knowing the day will be spent pleasurably. 

That afternoon you and Loki were sitting on your bed eating the lunch you had brought from the kitchen. 

“How come you didn't fall in love with me?” Loki asks.

“Oh, god, where is this coming from?” You say rolling your eyes.

“Don’t worry, darling. I’m just curious.”

“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Tony last night. I’m not the fall in love kind.” You say.

“What does that mean?” Loki  queries.

You shrug. “It means I don’t fall in love.”

“Ever?”

“Nope. Just, I don’t know, Loki. I feel emotions. I just don't fall in love.” You paused. “Besides, like I said, I’d hate you if you weren’t so good in bed.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” He grins.

“True. You are rather fun. I’m glad we’re friends.” You say in a rare moment of transparency. 

“With benefits?” Loki says with a smirk. 

“Hell, yeah.” You laugh. 

Before Loki left that evening he looked at you and said “Next time?” as he always does. 

“Look forward to it.” Your rote response. 

You are glad to have him as a friend. Loki didn’t judge. You could laugh, make mischief, or just be quiet together. You didn’t have to worry about his emotions running away from him either. You understood each other. Loki made things easy. And that’s the way you liked things.

Sunday morning you, Natasha, Clint, and Sam were sent on a two day mission. Nine days later, you all returned worse for wear but having accomplished your mission. Clint and Natasha helped Sam to the infirmary for some stitches. You went looking for Steve to check in. 

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., where’s Cap?” you ask. 

“Captain Rogers is in the training room.” F.R.I.D.A.Y replies. 

You see Steve and Bucky sparring as soon as you walk in. You watch them for a minute and then yell out, “On your six!” distracting Steve and giving Bucky the upper hand. Steve’s back slams onto the mat and you chuckle despite your exhaustion. 

“Really, (Y/N)?” Steve rolls to his feet.

“Payback for the shit mission we got.” You counter.

“Everyone okay?” Steve looks at you with concern. 

“Sam’s getting a small gash on his leg stitched up but that’s about it. Intel we gathered has been uploaded. I’m going to bed.” You start to turn. 

“Rest well.” Steve says. Bucky stayed silent for the entire exchange.

“K, thanks.” You say as you walk away not bothering to turn back. You take a hot shower and hit the sack. 

You awake from a nightmare with a start. 3am. You just want more sleep, but knowing it to be futile you decide to head to the kitchen. Your stomach feels absolutely empty and you still feel drained from the mission. It hadn’t been an easy one physically or mentally. You’re nearly finished making a sandwich when Bucky walks in. 

“Hey.” you say and turn back to your sandwich. 

“Hey.” he says back and goes to the fridge.

“Want a sandwich?” You ask, unsure why you’re offering to make one for the asshat.

“No...thanks.” He says and you see him start to leave. 

Setting down the knife and taking a deep breath, you say quietly, “What did I do wrong?”

“What?” Bucky turns back to you. 

“What did I do wrong?” You say a little louder. 

Bucky stares at you but says nothing. 

Frustrated you say, “I’ve wracked my brain. Gone over every discussion and interaction we have had and I can’t figure it out. What did I do to you?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He turns to leave.

“Bullshit, Barnes! There has to be some reason you hate me!” You say vehemently. He just keeps walking and your temper gets the best of you. Grabbing your half drunk water bottle, you hurl it at him hitting him square in the back. “Talk to me!”

“Did you throw a water bottle at me?” Bucky says in disbelief. 

“You’re lucky it wasn’t the knife, Asshat.” You counter.

“You’ve lost your mind!” Bucky yells.

“Why do you hate me so much?” You holler back. 

“I DON’T!” He screams. 

“YES, YOU DO!” You scream back.

“WHY HIM?” 

You stare at Bucky confused. “Why who?... You mean, Loki?” 

"He's using you."

"What? No he's not."

"Yes, he is. He doesn't love you."

"I don't love him. It's not like that."

"What?" Bucky looks at you in shock.

"Loki and I are not together. We're just friends with benefits." 

"What the hell are friends with benefits?" Bucky says.

"Fuck buddies. A mutually agreed on arrangement between friends to include sex with no strings and no emotions." You explain. 

Bucky gapes at you, "And you don't care what that makes you?" 

Your blood runs cold. "What that makes me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Bucky backpedals.

"You think there's a name I haven't been called? I was a runaway at 14. How the fuck do you think I fed myself?" You say venomously. "Men used me my entire life. And now that I am the one that says when and who and where, I'm supposed to dress it up with hearts and flowers. Fuck. That. I'll do who and what I want."

"That's not what I meant." Bucky says. 

"What did you mean?" You glare at him.

Bucky looks at you and his face softens. "I meant you deserved better. You should be loved."

"Some of us aren't meant to be loved." You turn to go back to the kitchen but Bucky grabs your hand. 

"Everyone is meant to be loved. You are meant to be loved." Bucky says quietly. 

"No. I'm not." You say pulling your hand away. 

"Why would you say that?" Bucky pushes.

"Because I'm not someone people love. I'm not someone anyone loves. I never have been." You explain.

"That's not true." Bucky says.

"Look, Bucky, I know most people grow up with people who love them. But I didnt. I don't deserve love and I don't need it." You finish making your sandwich. 

"You're wrong." Bucky turns you around to face him. "God, (Y/N), you're so wrong. You deserve love. You deserve everything."

"You have to see the irony that the guy who hates me is the one telling me I should have love." You scoff.

"I don't hate you." Bucky says.

"Coulda fooled me." You said.

"I was jealous." He confesses. "I was angry you were with Loki."

"Why?" You say, genuinely confused. "Because I wasn't sleeping with you?"

"Because I like you, (Y/N)!" Bucky says exasperated. "You're smart and funny and beautiful and strong." 

For a moment you're stunned speechless. You couldn't meet his eyes any longer and looked away. "Don't, Bucky. Don't like me. I'm not the fall in love type. I'm not...I'm not worth your time."

"Can't I be the judge of that?" He asks.

"You don't know anything about me. And if you did, you wouldn't ask that. My past is not pretty." You say.

"I was a brainwashed Hydra assassin. I've got a pretty sketchy past, too."

"You…" 

Bucky puts his hands to your lips to stop you. When you finally look up to meet his eyes, he moves his hands to frame your face. "I don't know anything about you? On mission, you are always willing to take the shittiest job to spare anyone else. You bake treats for everyone all the time and know what everyone's favorite food is and how they take their coffee. You go out of your way to help others. You never leave a room without asking if anyone needs something. You go shopping and come back with nothing for yourself but little gifts for everyone else. You always have a joke at the ready but an apology on your lips the minute you think you've offended someone. You have the mouth of a sailor on you but the minute a kid or old folks are around you are the most charming person on the planet. You want everyone to see the brash facade you put up but you wear your heart on your sleeve without even realizing it. Whatever is in your past, is your past. We all make shit decisions in life. The person I see, she's amazing. And she is worthy. And she deserves love. She deserves everything."

You stare up at him and whisper, "I don't see her."

"She's right here. She offered to make this total 'asshat' a sandwich just because he walked in the room. Even though he's been a complete jerk to her."

"Well, Steve always calls you jerk so I figured it was your default." 

"There's that humor I mentioned." He stares into your eyes. "Give me the chance to prove you deserve love."

"I'll hurt you." You say shaking your head.

"You're scared. I'm scared, too. We can go as slow as you need." Bucky caresses your jaw.

"I don't know how to do this." You say.

"Let's start by being friends. We'll figure it out as we go." Bucky smiles at you. 

You look at him wondering how the hell this just happened but somewhere deep inside you felt a kernal of joy spring forward. Part of you wanted to believe you did deserve everything he was saying. The other part was screaming that this was a trick and you were an idiot.

Bucky can see the war going on inside you. "Gimme a chance, Doll. Please." 

You smile at him. "So...you wanna sandwich, asshat?" 

Part 5

[seriously-smitten]

When did you know

“Daddy?”

“Hm?”

“When did you know you loved Mummy?”

Remus looked up from the Daily Prophet and down to the seven years old boy at his side. Twinkling blue eyes watched him patiently, filled to the brim with the typical curiosity of a child. He gave an overly thoughtful hum and Teddy rocked on his heels in anticipation for his answer.

“That’s a hard question Ted,” Remus admitted.

Teddy deflated instantly, hair darkening to a stormy day gray and bottom lip slipping into a pout. Remus fought back a chuckle at his son’s dramatic response and lifted the boy onto his lap. He poked Teddy gently against his nose and he giggled, hair turning back to his favorite vibrant turquoise.

“Why are you asking, hm?” Remus asked rubbing a thumb under Teddy’s eye, across the dapple of freckles. He observed the smudge of yellow paint he had wiped off and Teddy’s cheeks turned pink.

Remus raised an eyebrow and Teddy wiggled free off of his father’s lap. Tonks was walking into the kitchen and he watched him maneuver quickly around his mother who stumbled. She shouted at the flash of blue hair zipping by her legs.

“Edward Remus Lupin what did I say about running in the house?!” Dora yelled.

The resounding slam of a door upstairs was her reply and she huffed, readjusting the laundry basket on her hip. Remus chuckled and cleared a spot for her to place the basket on the table.

“I swear he’s starting to listen to us less and less every day,” Dora sighed folding the laundry.

“I still think he’s the best behaved amongst the children,” Remus said with a proud tone as he helped his wife fold clothing.

She smiled at a pair of small trousers pulled from the pile and her nose wrinkled, “He is the oldest, but I don’t know though, Victoire is fairly mature as well.”

Remus’ head perked up and raised his eyebrows. Dora looked at him like he had sprouted a second head, “Sweetheart?”

Remus smiled to himself then, shaking his head and waving his hand.

“Nothing, love. Nothing at all.”

- 6 years later -

Remus knocked on the door in front of him a second time and waited. It swung inward as he went to knock for the third, and Teddy greeted him. Pounding music, concealed by a silencing charm to his bedroom now spilt into the hallway. Remus flicked his wand and the familiar lyrics of one of Dora’s old Weird Sisters Christmas edition albums cut off. Teddy frowned for a moment but shrugged and stepped back into his room.

“What’s up Da? Could you hear the music? Coulda sworn Mum reinforced the charm the other day,” Teddy said.

Remus looked about the room, always intrigued by some new drawing or painting Teddy hung about. The blue walls could barely be seen and he eyed the stack of sketch books leaning precariously in the corner. Teddy’s school trunk sat open at the foot of his bed, still packed for when he returned after holiday.

Teddy plopped back down into the chair at his desk. He ruffled his hair and Remus sat down on the bed across from him. His bones ached in protest and he sighed rubbing at his wrist. Teddy frowned at him but Remus waved his hand, “You know I’m fine. Your mother’s clumsiness has just rubbed off on me. Sprained my wrist is all.”

Teddy nodded but didn’t look entirely convinced. Remus looked up towards the ceiling where the drawings started to encroach. There was this beautiful circle of papers magically attached to one another above Teddy’s bed. Each picture had a moon phase and a family of three wolves that moved from one page to the next in the moon cycle. Now the family of wolves was sitting looking up at a freshly waning moon. It was a wonderful little enchantment thought of and drawn by Teddy and charmed by Dora and Sirius.

���Da? Everything alright?” Teddy asked.

Remus looked back at Teddy and felt the clenching in this chest that had begun recently. He looked so grown up now and he wished time would just stand still, just for a little bit. Now, at thirteen years old, he was taller than Dora and an inch or two away from Remus’ nose. It seemed only yesterday that his little boy was still crashing into his shins and tugging at the ends of his robes.

“Your Mum and I invited some guests for Christmas Eve dinner. I expect James, Albus and Fred will want to bunk with you,” Remus said.

“Oh everyone’s coming? Brilliant!” Teddy grinned.

“Yes - including Bill and Fleur...”

Teddy’s grin vanished and instead of blushing, Remus watched Teddy’s hair turn to the same pink his mother’s did.

“Oh so L-Louis will be coming...”

Remus nodded.

“A-and Dominque?”

Remus nodded again and Teddy swallowed.

“Victoire too?”

“I do believe that if Bill and Fleur are coming then their children will also be,” Remus grinned.

“Right. Yes. Wonderful. I, um, I have to start tidying up then I suppose!” Teddy announced standing and pulling at his pink hair which he failed to notice had changed.

Remus reached out grabbing Teddy’s wrist and he looked over to his father who nodded to the spot next to him on the bed. Teddy sat beside him and Remus interlaced their fingers, staring down at their hands.

“I remember one time you asked me when I knew that I loved you mother.”

Teddy looked up at him with those same curious blue eyes framed by freckles. Remus squeezed his hand and shrugged.

“I never really thought about it. There was never a moment that I could pinpoint. I fell in love with your mum without ever realizing I had. Loving your mother is as easy as breathing to me,” Remus said with a fond smile at the wedding band catching the morning sunlight.

Teddy, yet having his question answered, seemed even more disappointed. Remus watched his face fall and his shoulders sag. Hair fading to that melancholy gray. Remus looked at him sadly as he leaned against his arm, head cushioned on his shoulder and grip tightening on his hand.

“But I thought you had doubts...”

Remus felt a twist in his gut and his knuckles turned white as his grip tightened on his son’s hand. Remembering the awful ordeal of being honest with Teddy about their past. Watching hurt flicker across his eyes and knowing that for a moment there had been doubt about Remus’ love for him. He shook his head a little to try and clear his mind of those thoughts, “I never once wavered in my love for your mother or for you. I made wrong and foolish decisions thinking they were the right ones. You are both my greatest loves. Don’t ever doubt that.”

He kissed the top of Teddy’s head as his son nodded.

“I think - no, I know I fancy Vic. I just don’t know if I love her,” Teddy sighed.

Remus laughed pulling his hand away and instead wrapping his arm around Teddy‘s shoulders, “Edward-“

His nose scrunched in displeasure, “Dad!”

Remus ignored him and carried on, “You are thirteen years old. You don’t have to decide what you’re having for supper tomorrow, let alone decide if you’re in love with Victoire Weasley. Understand?”

A smile tugged at the corner of Teddy’s lip and he nodded, “Yeah, guess you’re right. Thanks da.”

“Of course. Although I must say she is very pretty and very sweet so do try not mess things up.”

“Da! Pressure!”

Remus barked with vicious laughter as Teddy’s hair turned bright pink again and he shoved his face into his hands. Remus ruffled the hair on the back of his head and Teddy swatted at him. The older wizard stood and gave his son’s room another look around while Ted grumbled on the bed. His eyes settled on one drawing stuck about waist size next to Teddy’s desk.

It was nothing compared to the other drawings he produced now, after years of practice. However, what made it stand out was the girl in the drawing, who was holding hands with a blue haired boy, and had bright yellow hair.

Remus’s eyes crinkled warmly. Teddy finished his muttering and was focusing on his now purple hair, trying to get it back to his favorite shade. Nose scrunched up, and lips pouted in concentration, all Remus saw was Nymphadora in his boy.

He gave Teddy’s shoulder a squeeze and turned to go. He stumbled forward for a moment as Teddy collided into his back and wrapped his arms around him. He could feel his nose poking between his shoulder blades as Teddy spoke, “I love you Da.”

“Love you too, son.”

[orange-waterfalls]

Can We Talk?

Bim Trimmer x m!reader

ty @just-bts-trash-00 for the request!

A/N: WHOOOOOOO BOY HOWDY, GUESS WHO'S BACK. It's been uh. A while. I'm sorry? School has been hectic and my mental health is SHIT, but i fucking finished it holy god. Anywaaaays, angst. Y'all remember Bim's crush on Matthias? Yeah that's the plot. It's pretty long and I think it's pretty shit but uh here I guess.

Word count: 2.9k

--

You hummed quietly as you fixed dinner for you and your boyfriend in the kitchen. Normally, you didn’t cook. Neither did Bim. Therefore, one of you had to be the cook in the relationship, and you supposed it had to be you. You couldn’t just get takeout until the end of time.

Well… maybe if you really wanted to.

But you didn’t. You wanted to cook for your boyfriend. He’d said something about “Jewish burgers” one day, and you didn’t know what that meant. At this point, you were too scared to ask. You’d found a recipe for shawarma, and he’d liked that shawarma place you went to the other day, so you were making shawarma. At least… you did your best.

You yawned and rubbed your eyes, quickly hissing because you somehow forgot there was a bunch of shit on your hands. You quickly turned the faucet on and put your eye under the stream to clean it out.

As you dried your face, you heard a car pull up to the driveway, along with three short honks. You smiled. Finally. You wiped your hands on a rag and turned around to greet your gameshow host.

“Honey, I’m home!” He said in a sing-songy voice as he looked around for you. He saw you leaning on the kitchen counter and smiled. He shrugged off his suit jacket and sat his bag down. He walked towards you with his arms open. You pushed yourself off of the counter and fell into him.

“Hi…” you whispered. He chuckled and held you tight.

“What’s up?” He sniffed the air. “And what’s cooking?”

“Shawarma…” you said, your voice muffled in his neck.

“And uh… what’s wrong?” You brought your head up and squinted at him. “Ah, of course. The process of making the shawarma. What else would it be?” You shoved your face back in his neck with a grunt of affirmation. He snorted and patted your back. He directed you towards the couch, where you plopped down on your back with a groan.

“Dinner…” you whined. He sat his phone on the coffee table and took his shoes off.

“I’ll finish it up.” He patted your stomach.

“Thank you…” He kissed your forehead and walked away, letting you have your rest. You felt kinda bad, he’d been working all day, and it must be tiring having to sound so happy all the time. Then again, YOU worked all day too, AND you tried to make dinner. Your small rest was earned.

You closed your eyes and sighed, relaxing into the sofa. You startled a bit at the notification sound coming from his phone.

“Bim, your phone… binged…” You called. Binged? Was that the word?

“I’ll be done in a minute.” He responded.

Dinged! That was it.

You glanced at the phone. It didn’t sound like his usual texting sound, and he didn’t have any games as far as you knew. Maybe it was an email.

Your curiosity got the better of you and you checked the lockscreen.

Yup! Email. From someone named… M? Who was that?

You shrugged and put it back down. None of your business.

Bim walked back into the living room holding two plates.

“Dinner is served!” He said in a bad English accent.

“Woo…” You cheered weakly and sat up. He put the plates on the table and went back towards the kitchen. “Oh, I bought wine earlier. The good shit, that Dark gets sometimes.”

“Damn, really? How much did that cost you?” He asked in disbelief.

“It was on sale.”

“Why would the good shit be on sale?”

“Some people just don’t have taste.” You smiled when you heard him laugh. He walked back in with two wine glasses and the bottle. “Oh, you have an email from someone named ‘M’.” He tensed up when he heard the name.

That’s… weird…

“O-Oh, uh… thanks…” He scrambled to grab his phone and shoved it in his pocket. You quirked an eyebrow at him. Suspicious…

“Uh… no problem…” He looked nervous as he poured wine for you two. You squinted at him a bit, wondering why he was so anxious. You trusted him, of course you did, but this was… weird.

You two sat and ate your dinner in silence. You kept trying to look at him but he avoided your eyes. When you finished your food, you poured more wine into your glass and downed it.

This was gonna be one of those days.

--

Yes, okay, you were drunk. Not blackout drunk, but drunk enough to not exactly know what was going on. You knew that Bim was a bit drunk as well and you two were laughing at… something… but other than that, you got nothing.

“I’m ju-I’m jus-I’m…” You paused and blinked a couple times to process your own words. “I’m just saying that Twilight coulda been sssssoooo much better… if the portag… protagonist… fuck’s her name again?”

“Bella?” Bim chuckled.

“That’s the bitch!” You slammed your hand down on the table. Bim wheezed. “If she’d just had… a little-a little more e-mo-tion, a little more person… personality… then Twilight coulda been better! But noooooo, she had ta be… the most person-boring person in cinematic history. Bull. shhhhhit.”

“Well, she’s… she needs to… young girls have to… relate to her!”

“Okay, but like… she’s a got-damn plank o’ wood.”

“Tha-hahahaha! That’s not fair!”

“She is! She never-she’s not-she-oh god, I’m drunk…” You squeezed your eyes shut and leaned forward, face angled at the floor in case you got nauseous.

“Yeah… me too…” He sighed.

“Hey, hey Bim?” You opened an eye and turned to him. He hummed in response. “Who’s ‘M’?” He tensed up again and you frowned.

“Uh, nobody. Nobody! D-Don’t worry about it!” He cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.

“Suspicious…” you mumbled.

“Huh?”

“Nothin’.”

You tilted your head at him, half trying to figure out who it could be(which was very difficult in your drunken state) and half trying to read his mind. You supposed he got kind of uncomfortable because he said:

“I’m gonna… go into my office… and check some things…” He stood up and shuffled into a small room that he’d claimed as his office. You sighed and sunk back into the couch, thinking about your options.

First step was communication. You tried to talk to him, but he was being evasive and didn’t honestly answer the question. Suspicious.

Second step was… looking around the house for clues as to who it was like you were Sherlock Holmes? Absolutely.

You brought yourself to your feet, only stumbling a little, and tiptoed to your shared bedroom. You closed the door behind you as softly as you could before walking over to the closet. You opened it and looked for a moment before deciding it wasn’t worth to actually move things around. You shut the door and moved to the drawers. If anything was gonna be anywhere, it would be in the sock drawer, right? You reached out and put your hand on the handle. You tugged a bit, cracking it open, just a little. Your brain kept telling you that you were already there, just get it over with.

But your heart(well… still your brain, but whatever) was telling you that you needed to trust your boyfriend if this relationship was going to work.

You sighed and shut the drawer, flopping face-first onto the bed.

Bim wasn’t the type to cheat. Well… you didn’t think so, anyways. You loved him and… well, you hoped he loved you. You were going to have faith in your boyfriend. No matter how curious you were.

You shifted around in the bed so you were laying in the correct direction. You were still on your stomach, and you closed your eyes, facing the wall opposite of the door.

After a few minutes, you heard the door quietly creak open. The lights turned off and you heard footsteps make their way towards the bed. You smiled a bit and turned your head to look at Bim. Your smile fell as you saw him open the sock drawer and pull a napkin out.

“Hi Bim.” you said. He screamed and shoved the napkin back in the drawer, slamming it shut. You blinked at him.

“H-Hi, darling, I-I didn’t know you were awake…” He stuttered.

“I was.” You raised your eyebrows.

“Well… I can see that…” He laughed nervously. You looked at his hand on the drawer.

“What were you looking at?” You asked.

Please tell me the truth, you begged in your head.

“Oh, uh… n-nothing important, haha…”

Dammit, Bim.

“Okay, well… come to bed?” You suggested. You smiled at him as best you could.

“Uh… I’m kinda busy…” He scratched his head. You frowned.

“Please?” You begged and held your arms out. He opened his mouth to oppose, but he decided to make eye contact for the first time tonight since dinner. He visibly relaxed and smiled at you, and you smiled back. He sighed and took his glasses off. You scooted over so he could climb in next to you. You wrapped your arms around him and snuggled into his chest.

“I love you…” you whispered. He didn’t say anything for a moment before he chuckled.

“I love you, too. Night, darling.”

“Good night.”

--

You woke up feeling cold. You reached out to your boyfriend, but he wasn’t there. You rolled over and looked at the time. 3:00 am. Jesus, what was Bim doing? You slowly stood up and got out of bed, still feeling very tired. You walked around for a bit, searching for your partner, before pausing.

Was he… talking to someone? At this hour?

You walked towards the bathroom, where Bim’s voice was coming from. You put an ear against the door, trying to listen.

“Why can’t he just leave me alone, why can’t he just let me live my life?!” He whisper-yelled. “I’m perfectly content with how I am now. He didn’t want me when I was available, and now I’m unavailable, and suddenly he loves me?! What kind of bullshit is that?!” You frowned, not knowing who he was talking to. You were worried because of how upset he sounded. You softly knocked on the door.

“Bim? You alright?” You asked quietly. You heard a small thump from inside and flinched.

“Y-Yeah! Just… Just give me a minute!” He yelled. You walked away from the door and looked into the office. You saw your jacket on the floor and scoffed. How’d that get there?

You walked to the other side of the room and grabbed it. As you were walking back, something caught your eye. Bim hadn’t turned the computer off. You figured you’d do it for him. As you went to click out of the open tab, you saw messages on the screen. From ‘M’.

M

Do you love me?

B

Sure

M

So, you’ll get me on your gameshow again?

B

I’ll try.

M

Oh. I see.

B

I’ll try my best. I’ll do anything for you.

M

Anything?

B

Yes

M

Leave your boyfriend

Hello?

Trimmer? You there?

Your vision started to blur and you were confused until you felt the tears start down your face. You were still drunk, right? That’s why you were so emotional.

Yep. That’s it. That’s the only reason.

You wiped your face and went back to the bathroom door. He was still talking, but more quietly so you didn’t really hear him. After a minute or two, he sighed and unlocked the bathroom door. You stepped away and leaned on the wall opposite the door. Bim walked out and yelped.

“Oh my God! Hi!” He laughed. “I-I didn’t know you were still out here, uh…” He looked at you and furrowed his eyebrows. “Your… eyes are kinda red… are you ok?” He reached out to touch your face but you avoided his hand.

“No, no. I’m fine. Just… need to use the… bathroom…” You said, managing to not have any voice cracks or slur any words. Nice.

“I… ok…” He dropped his hand and walked towards your bedroom. You went into the bathroom, shutting and locking it behind you. You hiccuped a bit before tears started streaming down your face. You leaned your forehead on the door, just letting it all out. You hadn’t cried in a while, that’s all.

That is the only reason.

You stood there and cried for a bit before walking over to the sink and looking at yourself in the mirror.

God, you were a mess.

Your eyes were all red and puffy, there were tear marks on your cheeks, you kept sniffling like a goddamn third grader.

And it… hurt.

Not just your eyes stinging from the tears. Although that hurt too.

The fact that he was hiding from you, that he wouldn’t talk to you, that he didn’t trust you.

You sighed and shut your eyes. You turned the faucet on, splashing water on your face, wiping all the evidence away.

You turned the water off and stared at your face, dripping wet, looking a bit shit.

“I’ll talk to him in the morning…” you promised yourself. You went back into your bedroom, finding Bim already asleep. You climbed in next to him, but didn’t hold him like you usually did. You curled up and turned away.

You’d talk to him in the morning.

--

You went to the living room after waking up and getting ready. You were supposed to go into work, but you told your boss you were having “family problems” and might come in later. You sat on the couch and watched a bit of tv while you waited for Bim to wake up. He had the day off, so he didn’t have to worry about anything. He was

You sat with your knees tucked in. You lifted your head a bit when you heard th shower turn on. You sighed and thought about what you were supposed to say.

Hi, Bim. I’m worried about you. Is there anything you want to tell me?

Hi, Bim. You’ve been acting weird recently. Everything ok?

Hi, Bim. I went through your messages. Are you cheating on me?

You groaned and buried your face in your hands. Why was this happening? Was he not happy? Were you doing something wrong?

As you were overthinking, the shower turned off. You uncovered your face and turned the TV off. You sat and waited for Bim to enter the living room.

Okay, just… tell him what happened.

Bim walked in wearing a T-Shirt and sweatpants. He went to the door and grabbed a jacket.

“We need more chicken, I’ll head to the store and-”

“Can we talk? Can you sit down for a second?” You interrupted. He froze halfway through putting his jacket on and stared at you.

“Um… okay…” He said slowly. He put the jacket on the back of his chair and sat. You sighed and put your legs down.

“Last night, when you were in the bathroom, I went into your office,” you explained. His eyes widened. Not a good sign.

“Why-Why did you do that?” His voice cracked as he spoke.

“I saw my jacket on the floor.” His face twitched into a scowl for a millisecond.

“Okay… and?”

“And… I figured I’d turn your computer off for you.” You avoided looking at him. “I s-saw some messages, and I wanted to ask-”

“I’m not cheating on you!” He claimed loudly. You blinked and looked at him. He looked scared. Kinda panicked.

“Okay…”

“I-I don’t like him anymore! That was like a joke message! I didn’t mean it, I just wanted to know if he actually felt anything for me, or if I was just being used by him! It was from a while ago! I-I know I shouldn’t have messaged him, I know a-and I’m sorry, but I don’t know why he’s messaging me again now! I want nothing to do with him I promise!” You hummed and looked away. You heard a shuffle before Bim appeared on his knees on the floor in front of you.

“Wha-Bim?” You flushed.

“Please, please, please believe me! I never wanted anyone but you! I just… It wasn’t recent, it was a while ago! I wanted to know if he ever actually liked me, and… I had you! There wasn't any reason to go back to him! And I don’t want to lose you! I-I can be better, I promise!”

“Okay, h-how ‘bout we calm down-”

“I do love you, I-I do! But… if you don’t trust me anymore, that’s fine! I-I just want you to be happy and-”

“BIM!” You yelled. He looked up at you with misty eyes and a quivering lip. You shook your head with a small laugh.

“Wh-What’s so funny?” He sniffled.

“I’m not gonna leave you! I understand! You wanted to know if there was anything ever there, if he ever felt anything for you instead of just being a manipulative bastard.” You smirked.

“Yes! Exactly!” He nodded his head hard.

“You could’ve… said that. I would’ve understood…”

“You… You would have?”

“Bim, you’re an adult. Do you not know how to communicate?”

“Uh… not… really?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

“Okay, we’re gonna have to work on that, and I think you might have trust issues too… ” You shook your head.

“Do I need therapy?”

“Yeah, therapy’s good for this sort of thing.”

You moved forward and kissed his forehead. He wiped his eyes and kissed you gently.

“Are we gonna be okay?” He asked after pulling back. You leaned your forehead against his.

“Yeah… we’ll be okay?”

[alex-ruins-everything]

Turning Pages - Chapter 6

Intrulogical bookshop au! Read the whole thing on ao3 here.

“Roman, that’s no fair! I called dibs on the car days ago!” Remus argued, chasing his brother down the hall.

“And I told you! Virgil and I are going to the mall, so I need it!” Roman replied, dodging Remus’ attempted swing when the other got too close.

“Well it’s your fault for breaking your own dumb car!”

Remus had been waiting for this day since he had somehow miraculously gotten Logan to agree to go on a date with him. Logan, the uptight nerd from the bookshop with a jawline that could cut glass and eyes Remus wanted to be waterboarded in. He had texted the number on the back of the receipt immediately upon getting it. A simple ‘hey itz Remus ;-3’ to which Logan replied with perfect grammar and punctuation. Gah, he could be in love. They had gone back and forth about their plans for the aquarium and Remus had promised to pick Logan up. Then the conversation turned to other things and Remus got to know more about Logan other than the fact that he was gorgeous. He liked astronomy (which is different from astrology apparently),  he drank his coffee black, and he had been working at the bookshop since he was sixteen. Remus had never committed to anything that long, that was insane. For every question he answered he asked one in return and Remus couldn’t remember the last time he’d held someone’s attention that long in a positive way that wasn’t Janus or Roman.

Roman, who was currently trying to sabotage their date it would seem by putting his own first. Remus had to resolve this quickly or he’d risk being late to pick Logan up.

“Roman, you know how pumped I’ve been for this. I’m taking the car,” Remus argued, watching Roman pluck the car keys off the hook and fully getting ready to pounce on his brother.

“Take your bike! You have options, I don’t!” Roman replied, holding the keys away from Remus.

“Fine! Fine. But you so owe me a big one.”

Roman cheered at winning the argument as Remus plucked the keys to his motorcycle off the hook and headed out to the garage, grabbing his jacket on the way. It might have been hot as hell outside but the aquarium could be chilly plus he never rode without his jacket. He shoved the helmet on his noggin and grabbed a spare for Logan before zooming off to the address his date had given him. It was an easy enough to find building, balconies lining the outer walls and large brass numbers over the front door. Remus parked his bike and pulled his helmet off, finding L. Berry on the doorbell system and pushing the appropriate button.

“Hello?” Logan’s voice answered after a while.

“Your noble steed awaits, Specs. You ready?”

“Ah, yes. I’ll be down in just a moment, Remus.”

Remus went to go lean against his bike, resting his helmet on the ground so it didn’t get knocked off. It really was just a moment before Logan emerged from the building’s front door causing a smile to break out on his face. The nerd walked over and Remus opened his arms for a hug to be met with a hand extended for a handshake. He laughed and went for that instead.

“We aren’t going on that...are we?” Logan asked, eyeing the bike warily.

“Ro totally hijacked the car this morning,” Remus explained. “You’ve never ridden one before?”

“No. Motorcycles are highly impractical and-” “Lemme stop you there,” Remus said, handing Logan the spare helmet. “It’s not as dangerous as you think it is. All you gotta do is hold onto me nice and tight and before you know it, we’ll be at the aquarium making kissy faces as the fishies.”

“That’s not generally how I spend my time at the aquarium...is that how you spend your time at the aquarium?” Logan questioned, taking the helmet hesitantly.

“Sometimes, yeah,” Remus laughed, sticking his own helmet on and getting onto the bike, motioning for Logan to do the same.

Once Logan was on and he felt long arms secure themselves around his waist Remus headed off to the aquarium. He looked in the mirrors every once in a while to check if Logan was okay and after about a mile of panic the other seemed to relax a little bit and almost looked like he was enjoying the ride. The only thing Remus didn’t like about this was that he didn’t get the chance to converse with Logan, but there was plenty of time for that once they got to the aquarium itself. Besides...silence was a pretty good payoff for having Logan hugging him from behind. It wasn’t a terribly far ride to the aquarium and they were there quite quickly.

“See? That wasn’t so bad was it?” Remus asked, getting off first and holding out a hand to help Logan do the same. “And now you can check that off your bucket list.” “No...it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be,” Logan admitted, accepting the hand offered to him for help. “Though I do not have a bucket list, I don’t think riding a motorcycle would be on it. I never had any desire to do that before...but it was rather exhilarating…”

“You use a whole lotta fancy words, Specs. I like it.”

Remus held out a hand for Logan’s helmet to secure it on the bike with his own. He thought he almost saw the hint of blushing on the other’s cheeks but that could have been the summer sun beating down on them. Logan didn’t have sunglasses like he did, just his regular ol’ glasses.

“I got a membership to this place so I’ll get the tickets, they’re free with it,” Remus said as they walked into the large building, the lighting inside much darker and slightly blue tinted.

“I’m a member as well, actually,” Logan replied. “I’m a member of all educational facilities in the tristate area.”

“Oh be still my beating heart...cute and a member at the aquarium? You’re really turning out to be the whole package here, Logie.”

Logan opened his mouth like perhaps he wanted to protest the new nickname or that he wasn’t any sort of package, but the duo was called up to the ticket booth before he could. Remus went ahead and asked for two tickets anyway, flashing his membership card and getting two stickers to show they had been cleared for admission. He stuck his own on his chest before sticking Logan’s on his tie and moving them off the line and towards the first set of tanks.

“So...you wore a tie to a date to an aquarium, huh?” Remus asked, starting up conversation as they looked at the colorful fish swimming around.

“Oh- yes,” Logan said, looking down at his now stickered tie. “Admittedly, I did have to research how to dress for a date and the articles I read mentioned ties. I wear them often so I thought it was the best route. Was I not supposed to wear a tie to the aquarium?”

“No, no. You can wear whatever you want, Lo. I was just curious,” Remus assured, pausing a moment. “You had a look up what to wear for a date?”

“Well, yes. I, ah...don’t go on very many. Or...any...”

“Aw…” Remus cooed, gently nudging Logan’s shoulder with his own. “Then we’ll make this a good one.”

The two of them walked around, pausing to look into the different tanks. Remus coulda sworn he almost saw a smile on the other’s face at some of his enthusiastic bouncing. Turns out Logan had a whole lot of fish facts to share and Remus eagerly listened, sharing a few of his own though they weren’t as cool as the ones Logan shared. When they got to the archway tank a shark swam right overhead of them and Re excitedly pointed it out, the pair stopping to watch the shark swim around for a while. Shockingly the aquarium wasn’t too busy on a Thursday afternoon, only a few groups of camp kids in brightly colored matching shirts. Finally they got to Remus’ favorite exhibit.

“Look!” he said, grabbing Logan’s hand and pulling him over to the octopus tanks. “God- aren’t they fuckin’ awesome…”

“You’re quite fond of octopuses, aren't you?” Logan questioned, nodding to the tattoo on display on Remus’ arm since the other had cut the sleeves off of his shirt at some point.

“I really couldn’t tell ya why...I just think they’re neat,” Remus explained, smiling when Logan pointed out his tattoo. “This octopus is actually here! He’s somewhere in this tank but y’know, camouflage and all.”

“You got a tattoo of one of the octopuses from this aquarium?” Logan asked for clarification, his eyes going from Remus to the tank in an attempt to find the creature in question.

“Yeah, Duke. When I was like twelve or somethin’ I won a raffle to name their newest octopus. I made the poor nanny drive me here like every day so I could see him.”

“That’s actually...quite nice.”

“Oh! There he is,” Remus said, pointing out a small bit of movement in the sand at the bottom of the tank. Now that they knew where to look it was easy to spot the octopus. “Did you know octopi have three hearts? Oh! And blue blood.”

“I did know that, but it’s very interesting,” Logan nodded. “They also lack bones and are quite intelligent.”

“They’re just so cool!”

They stood and watched Duke the octopus for a long time, swapping facts about cephalopods. The octopus eventually did move and Remus was able to show off the similarities between the creature in the tank and the tattoo on his arm. The resemblance was striking. Eventually they moved on, continuing to talk about they fish they passed until they ended up in the gift shop.

“I always loved the gift shop of museums,” Remus said, moving over to browse a rack of postcards. “It was almost like a reward for making it through the boring stuff.”

“You didn’t seem to find the aquarium boring,” Logan stated.

“Oh, yeah. Aquariums don’t count. I just...don’t like museums as much. They’re cool and all - especially the art museum that has all the medieval armor and weaponry - but no one will go with me because apparently I’m too loud for museum culture.”

“I quite enjoy that museum actually,” Logan said. “Perhaps we can go there together. I do have a membership.”

Remus thought he was gonna vibrate from excitement. Logan had just asked him on a second date, right? That’s what had happened? He gave an enthusiastic nod, his eyes catching on something along the wall. Ties!

“Oh! Oh, wait here,” he said, running over to the display.

Sure enough they had a few different designs. Remus immediately fell in love with a navy blue tie that had a green octopus towards the bottom. He pulled it off the rack, not bothering to check the price and moved back to show Logan.

“I’m gonna get this for you,” he said, holding the tie up.

“Wha- Remus, no. You don’t have to do that,” Logan replied. “It’s a very lovely tie, but you don’t need to buy me a gift.”

“I know I don’t need to. I want to...so I am.”

“I’m not going to be able to convince you to put that back, am I?”

“Nope.”

“Very well,” Logan nodded. “Your turn to wait here.”

Remus did as he was told, looking over the rack of postcards again. He found one with an eel on it and picked one up to give to Janus. Eels were like water snakes, right? Janus did love his snakes. Not too long after he walked off Logan came back with a small stuffed octopus in his hands.

“I’m going to buy this for you,” Logan said. “Is that- is this something you’d like?”

“Lo, I will literally cherish that for the rest of my life,” Remus grinned, bouncing on the balls of his feet with excitement. “Hell, I’ll be buried with it.”

Logan’s shoulders seemed to relax a little bit at Remus’ approval. Remus moved over to the register, flashing his membership card again for that wonderful 10% off he got as a perk. Once he was done Logan got rung up, showing his own card.

“For you,” Logan said, holding out the stuffed octopus.

“And for you,” Remus replied, exchanging the tie for the toy. “Y’know...all this walking around the aquarium has me heavily craving some coffee. You game?”

“I- yes. I would also appreciate some caffeine right now,” Logan nodded.

“It’s no Remy’s place, but there’s a cafe like a block away, c’mon,” Remus said, grabbing Logan’s hand again to lead him away from the aquarium and towards the sidewalk.

The coffee shop was much busier than the aquarium but the smell of roasting beans was pretty much divine as soon as they walked in. The seats inside were all full but there were a few spare seats outside that hopefully wouldn’t be snagged before they got their orders in. The two of them continued to chat during the walk and while waiting on line. Remus placed their order, getting a black coffee for Logan and his own personal drink which he liked to call the Gamble With Death.

“Surely that cannot be good for your heart,” Logan stated after hearing Remus say eight shots of espresso.

“It hasn’t killed me yet,” Remus shrugged. “If it ever does I promise to let you know.”

“How would you let me know? You’d be dead?”

Before Remus could think up an answer for that his name was called out and he went to go grab the two cups, handing Logan his. They grabbed a table outside and Remus stuck his new octopus in the middle of the table.

“He needs a name,” he said, gesturing to the stuffed toy.

“It does?” Logan questioned, sipping his coffee.

“Of course he does!”

“You could perhaps go with a nod to H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu and name him that,” Logan suggested.

“Hm...I like that, I like that,” Remus nodded, getting an idea. “Cthuwu. Y’know, like ‘uwu’?”

“Tell me if I use this wrong but, ah...cursed.”

Remus broke into laughter at that, assuring Logan that was the right context but it was more the delivery that caught him off guard. Apparently Virgil works with Logan to get the adorable nerd up to date with modern slang. The guy had flashcards which Remus absolutely needed to see now. They stayed at that cafe table long after their coffee cups had been drained, until suddenly the sky was a mass of pinks and oranges.

“Ah, shit. I totally kept you out longer than I had promised,” Remus said, stretching in his chair.

“Oh,” Logan looked up, blinking like he had just been pulled out of their little personal bubble. “Yes. I should probably get home. I do have work tomorrow and I have my nightly routine to keep up with.”

“So...organized,” Remus grinned, standing up and tossing his empty cup into the trash bin. “Then home we go, Logie.”

Logan stood up as well, discarding his cup and following Remus back to his motorcycle. Remus was able to fill any void of silence by running his mouth. He was currently telling Logan about the first time he took Janus on the bike. He hadn’t been too fond of it. Remus handed Logan his helmet and stuck their purchases in his side bag, before long they were back off towards Logan’s apartment.

“Y’know, Lo...I had a lot of fun today,” Remus said once the engine was killed and they were parked by Logan’s front door.

“I...actually did too. You were certainly a wonderful companion for the aquarium,” Logan replied, handing back his borrowed helmet. “Thank you for not letting me die on the back of the motorcycle.”

“Nah, Specs...I would never let someone as cute and clever as you die,” Remus winked, pulling the tie out of the side bag and sticking the helmet in there with Cthuwu. “I’ll see you around, yeah? I’m almost done with that book you recommended.”

“Oh? I’m so glad you’re liking it,” Logan grinned, books seeming to be a topic he rather enjoyed talking about. “Well...I’ll start building a list of recommendations for you.”

“Absolutely cannot wait,” Remus returned the other’s smile, pausing for a moment before taking a step closer and kissing Logan on the cheek. “Bye, Specs.”

He shoved the helmet on his head and sped back home after making sure Logan made it inside alright. He looked a little dazed after that kiss on the cheek which was just so damn adorable. Remus was absolutely on cloud nine. Now he got to go home and gush about it all to Janus over the phone.

TAGLIST:

@theiwatobiicepic

[jeawrites]

Dinner

(i HAD A SUDDEN URGE TO WRITE FOR THE DERBY AU SO TAKE THIS IG-- its just a relationship test)

Ship: Nogla/Moo

Warnings: None

Word Count: 807

“Ye know,” David began, picking a fry off of Brock’s plate, “You coulda invited anyone else out and ye chose me? Why is that?” He plopped the fry in his mouth and watched in pure entertainment as Brock’s face turned a light shade of red.

“Well- er- I just wanted to- well,” he gestured roughly into the air. “Maybe I wanted to bond a bit,” he rolled his eyes and moved his plate towards him as David went to grab another fry. 

Which, in response, gained a pout. 

But, then David regained his smile and leaned back into his seat. “Well I’m glad you invited me,” he decided, reassuring in his tone and part of Brock did feel relieved by the confirmation.

“Is that so?” Brock asked, shoving a fry into his mouth after dipping it into some ketchup.

David nodded confidently. “Of course! It’s been really fun-- all things considered.”

Brock raised a brow. “All things considered?” he repeated.

David nodded again and took Brock’s moment of confusion to reach a long arm over and snatch another couple of fries, brushing his hand over Brock’s which caused the American to jump. 

Brock glared. “You shoulda just ordered your own!” he whined, but he wasn’t actually too mad about it.

“It wouldn’t be fun to steal fries off of my own plate,” David argued, winking teasingly at Brock.

“You’re unbearable,” Brock huffed, using his other hand to cover his face, but he also pushed the plate towards the middle of the table.

“Yet ye still invited me out,” David said as he reached for a fry in victory.

Brock smiled a tinge behind his hand, giving into his defeat. “Touche,” he said, “But, fuck you anyways.” 

The two shared a laugh and shared some fries.

The night was still young by the time they finished, but the diner didn’t close for a bit and Brock insisted that David tried a cookie.

“They literally make the best cookies here-- I promise you’ll love them!” he said, nearly bouncing in his seat which gained a fond smile from David.

“Okay- okay, I believe ye Brock,” he laughed, a tad awkward as he held his hands in front of his chest, surrendering. 

“Yes!” Brock grinned, waving down their waitress after kindly calling out her name. she happly took his order for half a dozen cookies- “John’s gonna want a few”- David didn’t complain much, instead became rather curious on just how much of a regular Brock is- he did know most of the staff.

“Did ye work here at one point?” he asked.

Brock blinked, calming down some with the question and shaking his head. “No,” he trailed off and then giggled. “I used to come here every weekend when I was younger so I’ve come to know the family that runs it,” he explained. 

“Oh,” David nodded. “So it’s family run still?” 

“Mostly,” Brock answered, “The man who opened this place- our waiters dad- is retired now, so the guy who owns it now is actually a close family friend, but they all get along.” 

David nodded again and then he grinned. “Why’d ye visit so frequently?” he asked.

Brock raised a brow, resting his arms on the table. “I came here with my family once and really liked it so I would just treat myself every weekend- if I didn’t have practice.” He paused then, and tilted his head. “Why are you so curious?”

David shrugged. “I like hearing ye talk, and I like learning about ye,” he said. 

“Oh.”

He laughed. “Sorry, was that a weird thing to say?”

Brock shook his head quickly, chuckling a little. “No- no, it’s fine, just... not what I was expecting to hear,” he answered.

But, before David could ask, the waitress dropped off a box of cookies with a little wink and handed Brock the check before leaving. 

Brock paid and tipped before leading David out to the car. 

The ride to the apartment building was fun, mainly because Brock was right and David did love the cookies- “I told you so!” “Shut up- I’m trying to enjoy it!”- They soon did get back though and the night came to an end once they got to their floor. 

David stalled by Brock door, rubbing the back of his neck as he held a cookie in his hand. “Thanks for treating me, Brock,” he said with a smile. “I owe ye a dinner,” he added. 

Brock laughed. “I’ll hold you to that,” he said. “But, I’m glad you came. I hope you have a good night, David,” he gently patted his shoulder.

“Ye too, Brock,” he said. “I’ll see ya at practice tomorrow,” he added, before beginning down the hall. 

“Yeah, later,” Brock called, watching for a moment with a fond smile before he headed inside, locking the door behind him.