#this is a slightly modernized au alright holy fuck

[ourfoxgod]

i think i'm just gonna drop this and run: When Viktor falls into a coma, Jayce is desperate to hold onto him however he can. In a moment of weakness, he decides that he's going to read the transcriptions of Viktor's audio journals, leading him down a rabbit hole of guilt, heartache, and revelations.

read here :)

[bucknastysbabe]

hii, could you write smt abt aegon ii? 🥹 like kinda perv and loser stepbrother!aegon

YES I CAN! Hope you enjoy, getting back into my Aegon ways a bit! Xoxo

Just like that video! - Aegon II

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Loser perv step-bro Aegon, TW: alcohol abuse, underage (17) sexual moment, cocaine use, fat shaming, modern au, Aeg’s a shit but means well, Lannister reader, and they were step-siblings, lots of banter, pnv!sex, chubby!aeg, begging, family interactions, pseudo Incest and they get off on it, the panties were allowed to be kept

Taglist: @arcielee @aemonds-holy-milk @targaryenbarbie @lovelykhaleesiii @sugarpoppss2 @fairysluna @thought--bubble @valeskafics @dr-aegon @targaryen-madness @starogeorgina @fallingintoyourlilaceyes

You had no choice but to come home for college this summer, being a lame freshman. Next year you planned on getting a place off-campus with some of your tennis teammates. You would go back to the mansion this summer, reluctantly.

The stupid mansion your family had inherited over generations. Casterly Rock. Now it was infested with your stepmother's weird fucking offspring, minus Daeron. You liked Daeron. Regardless, the youngest sibling could not protect you from the advances of Alicent's eldest son Aegon.

He was harmless, really. He currently was in a 'gap year' between his junior and senior years. The term gap year was a nice overcoat of gloss. You knew he had a bad coke and alcohol problem and needed to get straightened out. You hadn't seen the fucker since he was absent for most of the holidays in a sober-living program.

You had been home for about three hours now, isolating in your room, watching Hulu, bored as fuck. You had spoken to your father and Alicent while the servants brought up your belongings. Alicent asked politely, "How was nationals? You know we would have come but Daeron was graduating."

"We got our ass kicked, I wish I was there to see Daeron too. Where's his highness?"

Jason grumbled, "Eating the house."

Alicent's face soured slightly at the mention of Aegon. She hummed, "He's just working his program and staying sober until he can finish up school. Mainly mopes around, it'll be good for him to have you here." You nodded, holding your tongue. Jason snorted and said, "Make him get the hell off his ass or something, play tennis, who knows. Dinner's at eight."

It would be a boring summer. Maybe you could call up the Reyne or Tarbeck boys for some fun. You didn't particularly want to hang around your peaked and washed-up fratboy loser of a stepbrother. You remember from when you were younger and excited, your father was marrying into the royal family!

You were met with a toddling Daeron, shy and dreamy Helaena, intense Aemond, and Aegon. Who promptly pointed at your chest and scoffed, "Totally not like the porno huh? That's lame." You stood in abject Lannister horror, planning on his immediate downfall.

Instead, you grew up under the shadows of your strange siblings. Aegon was 4 years your elder and acted like he was still in middle school. He ignored or made fun of his 'stuck-up stepsister.' You had a strange interaction when he was home on a holiday You had just turned seventeen and Aegon was a junior. He was pretty bad off when he first came in with Criston, the guard holding him up.

Aegon was rail-thin, drunk as fuck, and a crying mess. You exchanged a look with Aemond, the other brother making a face of disgust. He whispered to you, "Dumbass is about to get kicked out of school, he's on academic probation right now. Or might I mention his raging alcoholism and cocaine addiction?"

The pair of you watched him get dragged off to your parent's room. You mustered a weak reply, "I knew he was a drunk but not that damn bad." Alicent had put him on Antabuse when he was in high school and then deemed him alright to go to college.

That night you'd gone out with the Westerlings to Lannisport, you had a fake ID yourself. Coming back you managed to score Aegon some blow and a bottle. You don't know why you did. Maybe it was that desire to gain his pointless approval. You did it anyhow, smuggling it into your purse. Criston didn't bat an eye, he thought you were the golden child, soon-to-be salutatorian, and a tennis scholarship to a good school in Oldtown.

You crept down the hall, Aegon had the big room on the corner of the second floor. Knocking on the door, a haggard Aegon moaned, "What? I feel like shit! Fuck off, Cole! Jason! Whoever you are!"

You yell-whispered back, "No dumbass it's me, I have something."

The door opened to a much sicker Aeg, eyes red-rimmed, skinny body trembling under a thick blanket. You gasped "What the fuck is wrong with you? Do you have a virus?"

"No. Withdrawals. What did you bring me?" His violet eyes leered at your bodycon dress, making your cheeks heat up. He was handsome, stepbrother or fiend or whatever. You looked around and handed him the baggie and bottle. Aegon's eyes lit up and his smile brightened. He dragged you into his room, smelling of sweat and alcohol.

"Thank fuck, I needed this so bad, gods you are an angel."

You shrugged, standing there as he chugged some of the liquor, sighing in audible relief. He eyed you and asked, "You got a credit card?" Nodding in slight fear you rifled more in the purse and handed him the card. Aegon locked his door and got busy chopping up the coke. You pulled out your wine bottle and sat down, watching him drinking and shakily chopping up the white powder.

You ended up drunk as a skunk, Aegon absolutely cooked and giddy. He was making you laugh, chatting like you were a friend. Going so far as to inquire about your boring life. He seemed at ease, the dark cloud that would hang over Aegon had melted. The blonde looked at you with glassy eyes and hummed, "M'sorry for being a prick, you're not half bad."

"Sure, you're just happy I fueled your problem. Stuck up Lannister isn't that boring."

He laughed a bit, pretty teeth shining. Aegon asked, "Wanna watch this stupid movie? M'wired up right now." You gestured to the remnants of the coke and giggled, "I'd imagine, yeah come on then." You'd drunkenly climbed onto his huge bed, Aegon plopping on the other side, typing the movie into the big ass television.

It was funny, but somewhere along the way, Aegon had inched his way toward you. You had moved closer to him, snuggling into his side. The voice of reason was screeching in your head. Your stepbrother turned his face to yours, murmuring, "You're so fucking pretty you know that? I don't care how fucked up that is, I am fucked up."

You surged forward to meet his plump lips, Aegon's hand holding your cheek as he kissed you. He laughed darkly, nipping at your lip and sliding in a tongue. As the liplock grew more heated- spit-slick lips and tongues sliding against each other, Aegon rolled his frame atop yours, settling between your spread legs. Your dress rucked up to your panties from the movement, drawing a helpless whine from your throat.

This was disgusting, wrong, awful.

You arched into his touches on your hips, groaning into his mouth as you sensually kissed him, growing messier by the second. Aegon rutted a bit against your pussy, softly moaning and squeezing your waist. He murmured in your ear, "Mm, I know you're all wet for me, stepsis." Skinny fingers crawled to the edge of your underwear.

A deep pang of fear struck you, suddenly withdrawing and backing out of Aegon's amorous embrace. You shook your head, heart beating too fast, shame and guilt pounding your head in. The platinum-haired man stared in confusion, stuttering, "W-What the fuck? Are you okay? Hey!"

You shook your head, chest too tight to speak. grabbing the remnants of your debauchery you skittered out of his room, silent tears running down your face. You felt weird, you drew a line in the sand that would not wash away. With fucking Aegon. You could hit yourself.

The rest of the days he was icy. Icy all the way until he was going into rehab and further treatment. You didn't dwell on the experience until now, eyes darting towards his room. You would have to see him eventually. Passing by his door all you could hear was video game noises.

You locked the door to your room, a bit of anxiety peeping through. For the seven's sake, you were an adult now! You would be a polite sibling, Aegon was obviously sick at the time and trying to get well. He'd written you an apology from his sober living place and you wrote back a brief acceptance and gave well wishes. So it couldn't be that bad?

You'd take a nap and deal with your insane family later.

Sitting down at the dinner table, the normal-sized one, you chatted with your mother and Criston about tennis. Jason prepped some sort of penne dish with a salad. The sound of a chair being scooted back alerted everyone to another presence. It was Aegon. He murmured a quiet, "Hey. Nice to see you sis, sorry 'bout nationals."

"Thanks Aegon, how are you doing? Super proud of you."

You tried not to stare at your stepbrother but he had...changed. His hair had grown out to shoulder length and he'd put on weight. Nothing terrible, but it had to range somewhere in 50 pounds (23kg). The big sweatshirt and too-small joggers didn't quite help his case either.

"Yeah, it's not bad, ready to get back to school or do something before I go crazy."

Jason snarked, "A job is always a good idea huh?"

The awkward silence was permeated by an excited Daeron hugging you, still sweaty from soccer practice. You mock gagged and smiled at the little brother, batting him away. Criston hummed, "Dare's already started practicing at King's Landing U." You grinned, "Hell yeah! I'll come boo you when you play Oldtown!"

Things fell into a familiar rhythm besides Aegon scarfing his food up and excusing himself. Alicent called after him, "Where are you going, honey? Come visit with us." Aegon sighed, "I have a headache, sorry."

Your dad shook his dark blonde hair, rolling green eyes. He scoffed, "All Aegon does is eat and play video games. He'll be a fucking cow sooner or later."

You found yourself speaking up, "Would you rather have him chubby and sober or skinny and tweaked out Dad?"

Jason forked some pasta in his mouth, shaking his head. Criston broke the next stage of awkward silence. "Hey, he's almost at a year now. I'd never think I would see the day." Daeron nodded along. Dinner resumed to normal.

You had helped your father clean up, the conversation stunted and awkward. Lannister men had a tendency to never understand a woman, just a family thing. Some of your friends had fathers who didn't suck. Alicent tried and Criston was the occasionally cool uncle. Even if he wasn't related to any of you, just something that came along with being royal.

You spent some more time playing smash bros with Daeron, laughing and catching up after much needed time. It was late and you glanced at your phone. Marq Tarbeck had texted you back. You ignored it, yawning, "Alright Dare, I think it's time to hit the sack." His sleepy purple eyes seemed to agree as he got up, muttering about 'getting his nasty ass in the shower.'

Daeron split ways with you, going to his room nearby, and you up and across the mansion. Your room was also on the second floor- there was no way but to pass Aegon's room. Part of you wanted to check on him, it seemed like your father was hard on him. The other half said fuck it, he doesn't need to be babied. Still, you paused at his door, listening to the vague background noise of the television.

"F-fucking, god, baby," he groaned, muffled.

Your eyes widened in shock. A drawn out moan of your name made you freeze. Aegon rambled, "Knew you'd be so cute taking my dick stepsis. Gods!" His deep voice made you tremble slightly. Your imagination painted an image of Aeg spread out, fisting his cock, thickened thighs flexing. His plump lips would be extra swollen, those cute chubby cheeks blotchy.

Oh Gods. You couldn't. He was having a private moment and you stood outside his door like a weirdo. Then your phone began to ring. A loud buzzing as you frantically switched it off, fucking Tarbeck! With a pitiful whine you tried to book it away to your room.

"Get your ass back here!" came Aegon's whisper-yell.

You paused, hand over your mouth. Fucking fuck, you thought.

"C'mon, get over here, I heard you."

You dramatically groaned and shuffled to Aegon's doorway, eyes downcast, blushing heavily. A finger tilted your chin up, you reluctantly looking at his smug face. Aegon hummed, "Did you want a look-see or just to listen? You're just slumming it now huh? No Reynes or Tarbecks?"

You gritted out, "I was going to check on you, but then I heard my name. Of course I'd be curious to why you were moaning it."

Aegon rolled his eyes, scoffing, "So. Jig's up. I stole your pretty little lace panties to fuck too. Since I'm a man of honesty now."

Arousal laced up your stomach, pussy throbbing at the actual desperation this fucker was giving off. You panted a bit, shouldering him aside. Your panties were indeed on the bed, thoroughly used. Gaping at Aegon he shrugged, basking in the debauchery. Guess being sober didn't change him from being a little pervert.

You muttered, "I can't believe you."

"I tried to fuck you did I not? I remember how eager you were."

Glancing at his lidded eyes and frankly punchable face you kissed the man, gripping at his oversized sweatshirt. Aegon seemed surprised, inhaling sharply before grabbing your ass and returning the kiss with vigor. He murmured, "You aren't running away- hah- this time." He squeezed your ass hard, lips intense against yours.

Pressing yourself to his soft belly he stiffened a bit, apoligizing, "M'not very in shape, too many sweets, cock's the same." You shrugged, pulling his heavier frame atop your own, a thick thigh slotted between your sinewy legs. He groaned softly, hands pulling at your shirt impatiently.

He grunted while shucking off his sweatshirt, elbow about to take you out. You yelped and ducked, Aegon guffawing. "Sorry?" He chuckled. Shaking your head you pulled on his longer hair and resumed the earlier attentions. The blondie rudely unsnapped your bra, shoving you up the bed at the same time.

Pulling away with a snarl you exclaimed "Fucking hell are you going to manhandle me around the bed or kiss me?"

Aegon deadpanned, "Wanna see you naked. Going to do that for me this time? Nice tits by the way, I can say it's like the porno now."

You growled and shoved down your shorts and underwear, somehow turned on by his shithead attitude and stupid grin. Pointing at him you hissed, "Your turn. Those briefs looking a little tight anyways." Aegon snorted, laughing at you again while shimmying his ill-fitting briefs off. His violet eyes greedily roved over you, the shameless perv.

"Happy Lady Lannister?" He asked while gesturing to his hard cock.

"Much better, get over here."

Aegon pulled you by the legs, thick waist keeping your thighs spread, fat cock rudely shoved flush against your embarrasingly wet pussy. He pressed teasing little kisses across your throat, grasping hands all over your tits and ass. You mewled- rutting a bit against him, utterly pinned by his heavier weight.

"Gods- Aegon, you- gods!" you wheedled, shaky hands digging into his shoulders, slipping down to his plush hips and squeezing. He moaned and began to slide against your slit, eyes rolling erotically. Aegon rasped, "Been so fucking long- know you're tighter than I ever dreamed of. Little cocktease."

He took your mouth again, a possessive hand grabbing your chin, lips and tongue domineering and invasive. You were quickly becoming a puddle, whining as you tried to keep up, unable to focus as the bulbous tip of Aegon's thick cock jerked against your needy clit. Your stepbrother groaned raggedly, "Lion? Mewling kitten huh baby sis?" You whined again, jerking against him to claw at his shoulder.

"That's it, lemme see you try."

You huffed in frustration, nipping Aegon's puffy lips, trying to rut back against him. He laughed into your mouth, rough hands planting on your tits, thumbs swiping across your peaked nipples. You cried out into his warm mouth, shivering as Aegon alternated between dizzying little circles with the pad of his thumb or pinching and pulling roughly.

"Ah, mmm, fuck, fuck you, get- get a condom- oh my gods!"

Aegon groaned in annoyance. "We're literally rich, just go get a plan B."

"Get your lazy ass up and grab it!"

"Sound just like your father, gonna call me fat next?"

You stared at him, waiting. Aegon made a whole deal about heaving himself up and ungainly rolling to his side table, rifling through. "You're not even fat, sure are acting like it though, huffing about nothing," you replied. The prince returned with a condom, tearing the packet with his teeth. As he rolled it on the buffoon asked "Is it that bad? Be honest. The weight, I mean."

Alicent had made some weird fucking kids. You glanced around Aegon's body. He looked better than the last time you fooled around, actually healthy in appearence. The man took the brunt around his midsection, wide striped hips and a soft pooch. It appeared there was a slim layer of softness around his thighs, arms, and face. He seemed nervous now, that creeping insecurity.

"You look good. Healthier than being a skeleton. I don't see an issue. Maybe dress a bit snappier?"

He smirked, blushing and cursing, "Oh fuck off, I guess if you deem it alright. Let's fuck, yeah?"

You nodded with a grin, sealing your lips onto his own, wrapping your thighs around him tight. Both of you moaned as he slipped in, stretching your tight pussy out. Gods it felt good, the girth dragging against your sensitive spots. His hips stuttered a bit, hands clamping on your hips as he swore. You goaded Aeg on, digging your heels into his ass and whining his name.

Aegon pecked your mouth one more time, tucking his face into your neck, thighs heavily smacking your hips as he fucked. You yelped at the sudden movements, shivering in delight. Aegon grunted on every thrust, gasping against your neck before sinking his teeth in to grace your delicate skin.

You could do nothing but take his relentless bullying of your sensitive hole, thick tip drilling your sweet spot as he changed angles with a sharp inhale. Goosebumps littered your skin, sweat building between the pair of you. Your whines and his groans made a lurid cacophony, the slapping of flesh and the squelch of your own cunt.

Aegon panted, "Such a tight fuckin' pussy, made for me, s'good."

You arched feebly into his soft stomach, tits rubbing against his own. All you could manage was crying Aegon's name, tightening around him. You begged "Please, Aeg, touch me, touch me please, m'gonna cummm!" He growled in reflex, hips jerking particularly rough into the soft roof of your pussy.

"Yeah baby? Need your clit rubbed so you can come all over my dick? Beg some more, want you to mean it."

He slapped your thigh, smirking with lust blown pupils. Your eyebrows had knit together, the burning coil of ecstasy tightening into a ball. You just really really really needed Aegon to play with your clit. In the most embarrassing mewl you begged again. "Aeeegon, please! It fucking hurts, m'so swollen for you, please stepbrother, lemme cum, it-it'll feel so good!"

You sobbed in frustration, Aegon rumbling, "Mhm, I gotcha, needy little slut for a step sister. Fuck, you're gonna make me blow." His thumb and forefinger pinched and rubbed your flushed bundle of nerves, your stepbrother slapping a hand down on your wailing mouth. His hips stuttered, eyes rolled again as you clamped down on his twitching cock.

He babbled something, frantically swiping your nub until you released in a gush of slick, shivering from head to toe. Aegon made a gutted noise, his full weight baring down as he sloppily fucked himself out, groaning in near agony. He stiffened and whimpered your name, lips hanging agape as his cock emptied into the condom. Your pussy throbbed and twitched as you stared at the ceiling, hand in Aegon's platinum hair.

He groaned softly, "Ffffucking hell Lannister, you little demon."

Aegon groaned and slid out, laying on his back, pudgy belly heaving as he gathered some breath. You were just as limp, trying to formulate a sentence. Aegon tied off the condom and haphazardly threw it into a trash bin. You wrinkled your nose but managed to make the sluggish movements into his soft side. He was much more cuddly with the extra weight and post-orgasm haze.

Aegon wrapped a lazy arm around you, lips slightly curled up. He hummed, "You aren't going to run this time are you?"

"No. I don't think I will. We can tell Dad we're getting you lots of exercise now huh?"

"Just like the porno."

"Shut up."

[madaqueue]

Practice Makes Perfect | Chapter 5

synopsis: you and yuji have been best friends basically as long as you can remember, and you made a promise to each other to stay friends and help each other be the best versions of yourselves for your future partners. but will things change when yuji finally starts looking for a relationship?

pairing: yuji itadori (18+) x f!reader

themes/content: modern college au (characters aged up to 18+). language, smut. oral (m receiving), fingering (f receiving), gagging. 18+, MDNI

word count: 2.2 k

a/n: i need a fucking cig after writing this chapter lmao

previous chapter | series masterlist | next chapter

Yuji’s eyes grow wide and he nearly spits out his food at your request. He knew you were direct, but holy shit, he never would have expected this. Frankly, you don’t know where the sudden confidence came from either - was it jealousy? Anger? Lust?

He tries to hide a choke while moving his hands down over his lap, hoping you don’t notice the growing bulge in his slacks as he mentally processes what you just asked him.

“Did you hear me, Yu?” you say, leaning over the table slightly so your cleavage becomes more visible. “I said-”

“I-I heard you,” he cuts off with a stutter, his eyes trying to look everywhere but your now exposed chest.

“So, what do you think then? Is that alright with you?” your tone sultry as you bring an elbow up to the table and rest your chin on your open palm.

“Y-yes, of course,” he stutters, face turning red. “When were you thinking? I mean, your date is tomorrow, so I guess now? Should w-we go? We can go now,” he rambles.

You reach your other hand up to his cheek trying to calm him, his skin hot under your touch as you nod. A small “Mhm” purrs through your lips

What has gotten into you? You have never been this direct with anything in your life, and now you’re suddenly asking to give your best friend head? You blame it on being excited for your date with Megumi. Then again, you’re not even sure it is a date, since he did see you on Yuji’s bed the first time you met. You don’t even know if you have feelings for him, you just felt your mind get cloudy when Yuji smiled down at that damn phone and it’s like your body was moving on its own before you could catch up.

Yuji stands up, grabs his wallet out of his pocket and drops a few $100 bills on the table before holding out his hand for yours. You grab it and stand, eyes widening at the cash he just casually dropped on the table. “Holy shit Yu, where’d you get that kind of money?”

“Don’t worry about it,” he says with a sheepish grin as he pulls you through the restaurant and outside. Honestly, it was all of the money he had budgeted for this date and his one next week with Nobara, and it was probably nearly double the cost of your entire meal, but he just couldn’t wait for them to bring the check. He had to have you, now.

The walk back to your dorm was nearly silent, Yuji’s hand not leaving yours the entire time and you could feel his palm getting slightly clammy as he refused to untangle his fingers from yours. You open the door to your room and realize it’s Yuji’s first time ever seeing it. His eyes glance around, noting the off-white bedding and pink pillows, matching the pink rug on the floor. There’s a soft glow from the string lights hanging up around the walls and the soft scent of vanilla hits his nose as he steps in and takes his shoes off. “It smells like you,” he whispers, almost to himself.

You close the door behind him and step out of your heels, feeling the cold ground underneath your feet as you guide him to the bed, hands still linked together. He stands in front of the bed and you start to slowly undo the buttons on his shirt, looking up to him for approval and he responds with a slight nod. You never realized before now, but Yuji was tall. Was he always this tall? It felt like he was towering over you as your hands worked his shirt off. His hands were behind him against the bed, needing the extra support or else he worried he might fall over, his heart was beating so fast.

When you get to the last button he almost instantly tosses his sport coat and shirt across the room, landing in a pile in front of your closet. Now shirtless in front of you, your hands lazily traced down his abs - again, when did he get so toned? He ate like shit, and even though you did recall him mentioning going to the gym everyday, how was this body hiding under those loose sweatshirts the whole time?

His breath hitches as your fingers reach the hem of his pants. “H-hah,” he breathes. “Y-your hands are soft,” he practically blurts out. A moment of silence passes. “So um, what now?” he tries to redirect.

You aren’t quite sure either. You pause for a moment, fingers looped around his waistband. You realize that if this is going where you expect it is, you don’t really want to ruin your dress (it was a wager even wearing a nice outfit around Yuji given the wine-debacle that happened last time), so you slowly take it off without saying anything, leaving you in a similar matching black bra and panty set to the one he accidentally saw you in last time, but this one notably showing more cleavage and ass, although you hadn’t turned around so Yuji could see it yet.

“Wow” he breathes. “All that for me?” he teases, and you roll your eyes in response.

Trying to think of what to do next, you realize it’s probably easiest if Yuji just stays standing where he is rather than trying to fit both of you on your twin bed. You slide down onto your knees in front of him, feeling the carpet rubbing against you as you bring your hands into your lap. Tilting your head, you look up at him. He feels his heart nearly leap out of his chest and his cock twitch at the eye contact, trying to shut down the thought of how pretty you look on your knees. Your hands slide up his pants and back to his waistband, this time undoing his belt, button, and lowering the zipper. You slowly pull his pants down to his ankles and he steps out of them, kicking them to the side. He’s left in only his black boxers, a visible tent forming in the middle.

The scene causes you to shiver, feeling the space between your legs growing wet. You look up at him one more time and he reaches a hand down to your face, his thumb gently brushing against your cheek. You swallow and slowly pull his boxers down, his cock bouncing out and nearly hitting him in the stomach from how hard he is.

Holy. Shit. Yuji is huge. Your eyes widen involuntarily and your mouth starts to water as you try to think through the logistics of what you’re about to do. You look down at your wrist for a hair tie so you don’t have to worry about it getting in your way, but you must have forgotten one today. Of course, you think to yourself, the one day you need it. Almost as if he can read your mind, Yuji reaches his other hand down to the side of your face and pulls your hair back for you, holding it behind your head in a makeshift ponytail. “I got you,” he hums, looking down at you. You smile up at him in acknowledgement before turning your attention back to the task at hand.

You lick your lips, trying to plan where to even start. His flushed tip is almost perfectly level with your mouth, a drop of precum leaking out of it. You reach one hand up to his thigh to steady yourself and one around the base of his shaft. Parting your lips slightly, you lick the precum from his slit as he lets out a soft moan. Okay, so that’s good, you think. You open your mouth slightly farther and move his tip into your mouth, gliding your tongue around it. Another guttural moan leaves Yuji’s lips, this one slightly deeper than the last.

So far so good, but eventually you’re going to have to figure out how to take all of him down your throat. To get a better gauge of how difficult that will be, you pull your lips away and instead move to where your hand rests at his base. Sticking your tongue out, you lick up his length. His hands start shaking as they hold your hair back and his breathing speeds up. “That feel good?” you ask softly, knowing the answer. He looks down at you and eagerly nods.

With your confidence building, you open your mouth wider and begin sliding his cock into your mouth and down your throat. A soft “F-fuck” leaves his lips as you work your way down slowly. Suddenly, you stop. Shit. You can feel yourself hitting the back of your throat, and when you open your eyes you’re barely halfway down his length.

Yuji’s body takes over for him as you feel a pressure on the back of your head. He doesn’t even realize he’s moving you, all he knows is that he needs more. You let out a groan that vibrates along his cock as he pushes himself farther into your throat. “That’s my girl,” he praises without thinking, “take all of me. You can do it”

The words and the feeling of his tip reaching farther into you causes that familiar warmth to pool between your legs. You instinctively start grinding your hips against your legs, trying to get any sort of friction. Your lips hit the hand you previously held around his base, letting you know you’re almost there. You move that hand to his waist and grip him hard, using the force to pull your head towards him. Your nose hits against his pelvis as you take the rest of him into your mouth, desperately trying not to let your gag reflex get the better of you.

You feel his cock twitch in your mouth as your tongue moves along the bottom of him, slowly removing your mouth. You sharply inhale when you finally pull far enough out to breathe again, making sure to keep his tip between your lips as you slowly roll your tongue around it.

Now determined, you suck in another breath before starting back down his length again. This time you do it without any help from Yuji. Your head continues bobbing along his dick, and you feel it get easier to take each time you slide him to the back of your throat. You start paying attention to when he takes in gasps or lets out soft moans, making a mental note of what feels good without having to ask each time.

As you continue, you start being able to feel how you’ve soaked through your panties. Since you no longer need both hands, you move one down between your legs to slowly rub against your needy clit. The action forces a moan out of your throat, something you know Yuji likes because he immediately responds with a deep groan. Only this time, he continues, “Fuck, just like that. Keep going, please,” he practically begs. You take his full length into your mouth as you continue tracing circles around your wet cunt. “I-I’m gonna cum,” he breathlessly groans. All of a sudden his hands start shaking and he thrusts his hips up, pushing himself impossibly farther into your mouth. A sound, somewhere between a groan and a whine, escapes his lips, as you feel ropes of cum shoot down the back of your throat. You swallow it instinctively, barely noting the salty taste. You gently slide your lips off from around his cock as his hands fall away from your hair and down to his side.

Sitting back on your knees, you tilt your head up to look at Yuji, who stands above you with his eyes closed, panting. “You don’t, shit, you don’t have to swallow, I’m sorry-” he starts, eyes still closed.

You cut him off by suddenly standing up and attaching your lips to his, the feeling causing him to shiver against the bed. His hair has fallen forward and is slightly damp with sweat as it brushes against your forehead. Pulling away from the kiss for a moment, you whisper against his lips “Don’t apologize,” before pressing your lips against the side of his mouth, placing a gentle kiss before moving back and letting him catch his breath.

He finally meets your gaze with half-lidded eyes, pupils wide. A lopsided grin immediately forms on his face as he collapses onto the bed behind him. “Wow,” he whispers, “you are like, crazy good at that.”

You can’t help but giggle at the praise as you hop onto the bed next to him. “So, no notes?” you tease, placing another kiss onto his cheek as his smile just continues to grow.

“No notes,” he affirms, relishing in the full-body euphoria he is currently experiencing as he shuts his eyes. “Wait a minute,” he pauses, opening his eyes to look at the ceiling. “You were…you were doing something, during that, weren’t you?” He turns his gaze to you.

“What? Oh, you mean when I was touching myself?” you answer hesitantly.

“Yeah,” he responds, slowly moving towards you, “that.” You’re suddenly face to face with him, and you realize just how fucked-out Yuji looks. His brown eyes are practically completely black from his blown out pupils, his mouth loosely hanging open in a grin. He reaches a hand up to push his pink hair out of his eyes, never once removing his gaze from your lips. “You know, I’ve never had a chance to practice that before.”

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[firefly--bright]

belonging.

jean kirstein x gender neutral! reader (they/them pronouns used)

academic frenemies to lovers, modern au

how was he so good at everything? how did he manage all of it? how did he make you feel like this? how did he see you?

warnings : strained parental relationships, highschool angst, academic pressure, mild eren yeager slander.

a/n : holy shit this turned out longer than i intended it to. making a part two but it might take a while cause i have exams (how perfect) coming up soon :'). anyway, i hope you like this one, kinda self projected alot jdkwjfls im okay i was listening to mitski and hozier while writing this can u tell

tagging : @chuusposts , @a10vely-yutazen (sorry for the late tag!)

• main masterlist is pinned! • taglist is open! • fic playlist •

“the test wasn’t that hard, you know?” you say, completely aware that you were being petty, but god it felt good to be better than him at something.

“I never said it was hard,” he mutters under his breath.

“you submitted it late.” You reply snarkily, seeing his ears heat up in embarrassment.

“whatever, we’ll see how the grades are. Don’t you have anyone else to annoy?” he asks, and you know you’ve won by the way he says ‘whatever’ with the roll of his eyes.

The way he always did when he didn’t have a point to make.

You smiled slightly, pettily, but satisfied. You knew you did well.

You walked to your next lecture after collecting your books, yawning in the process. God, you needed some well deserved sleep. Maybe even watch a movie or two consecutively. But you couldn’t. you felt like you had a target on your back if you took even the slightest bit of a break, or had even the slightest bit of a social life. It didn’t make sense how Jean had both, all from what it looked like, and was still doing good in school. Good enough to compete with you, that was.

Hey, atleast you were doing better than last year.

You took a seat near the window, not paying attention to the way Jean was looking at you while entering the classroom.

It baffled you. how was he able to manage having it all? popularity, no matter how much of a social construct it was, people who loved him, and good looks? you couldn’t even deny it. He had almost everyone in Shingeki High wrapped around one of his knobby fingers that lent you a pencil last year. You didn’t blame them, he was the reason the school won almost every year, the reason everyone who lost hope during the game found their strength again to play. He was the one who persuaded Marco Bodt to rejoin the team. Marco Bodt, too, was like him, just less in the spotlight. He didn’t like the spotlight, you realised.

You didn’t blame him. it wasn’t like you didn’t want attention, but it seemed like the moment you had it, you got anxious, palms sweaty, breath heavy, the whole nine yards.

You didn’t notice Jean slipping his backpack next to your seat until your teacher started teaching the new topic.

You did notice, however, how he kept glancing at you. was there something on your face?

You rubbed your nose, then your cheeks. You adjusted your hair, too, just in case. You didn’t think there was anything wrong with your appearance. Maybe Kirstein had a staring problem. He used to stare at Mikasa a lot, too, before she got hitched with Yeager. A true tragedy in Shingeki High.

You tried to pay attention to whatever Mr. Smith was teaching, but considering the fact that you got almost no sleep last night studying for the test, and the fact that Jean was now shamelessly staring at either you or something out the window, you couldn’t.

You could catch up though. You’d already read the chapter he was currently prefacing.

“alright, class, I know you will be dreading this, but I will be giving everyone a group project,” Mr. Smith’s voice boomed, as the class erupted in low chatter. Everyone turned to the people they knew, but your face remained motionless.

You wanted this to be over with. You wanted, no, needed a fucking break.

Bet your brother didn’t need a fucking break, your mind whispers.

“I will be assigning everyone their partners.” Mr. Smith spoke up. everyone groaned, as jean’s head turned towards you again.

You joined the collective groan, as you turned to the boy sitting next to you. “why the fuck do you keep staring at me, kirstein?” you ask in a harsh whisper.

Jean shrugs, “you seem tired.”

What?

He noticed?

More importantly, he cared?

You tried not to show how flustered it made you feel. Big deal, he did the bare minimum. Besides, it was obvious you were tired, it wasn’t like you were trying to actively hide it. At least, you weren’t anymore.

“well, I am. a little. I just need sleep.” You mutter, and you know he heard it, but he continues to look at you with… pity? pride?

no. resolve.

His brows furrowed, his jaw locked, his hands resting on the table. you had seen that look before, while he was taking tests. The same face he made while he was at practice and you were under a tree, drawing the scenery before you.

You shivered slightly. Because of the wind form the window. Yeah, the wind.

Jean turns his head to the board again, as mr. smith names pairs of students to do the project together. You didn’t know what jean was going to do, but you knew he would do it. Jean Kirstein, a man of his word.

“yeah. You need sleep, it shows.”

Ah, yes. Jean Kirstein, an honest man.

You rolled your eyes.

“jean kirstein and (y/f/n).” you heard, snapping you out of whatever daze you were in.

Fucking amazing.

Jean turns to you again, and you can almost hear the smirk in his voice as you will yourself to not look at his pretty face. “goodie. Can't wait to do everything by myself.”

The bell rings, and you pack up whatever you had laying around.

“be my fucking guest.” You say to him as you walk away.

He, of course, follows. “what, you want me to take credit for it? Would that look good on your report, (l/n)?”

"my report would still better than yours after it, so.” You snap back. You really were not in the mood for this. “when do you want to meet up for the project?” you ask, “will after school today work for you?”

You hated to admit it, but this was probably the only “break” you’d get. Your parents only ever let you go out if it was for studying, and even that was rare, since they claimed they didn’t trust anyone in your school enough to let you go off with them.

But jean, however, had seen your parents. He had managed to charm them, even, at your middle school’s science fair, with his big words and sources and incredible topic. If you told your parents you were with the boy that got second place in the competition, they would maybe allow you to take some time in the café, away from them.

jean winced, “cant do today, sweetheart. Got practice. Tomorrow, though? Does that work for you?” he asks. You weren’t sure if he was trying to get you flustered or mad because of the nickname, but nevertheless, you were both.

“yeah, im free tomorrow. Have fun at practice. Don’t trip and fall on those untied shoelaces.” You say, glancing at his feet, speed walking away before he could reply.

You turned around only a bit, seeing him check his shoes, marco bodt standing behind him and looking at him confused.

You turned ahead and allowed a small smirk.

--

You tried your best to not focus on your mother’s words, you really did. But by god it was harder to do that by the second.

“you know, when I was small, younger than you, people would see my art and want to copy it,” she boasted, holding your sketchbook. “I was really good.”

“well I guess I inherited it from you then, huh?” you ask, deciding to humour her, the edge in your voice was sharp enough to cut paper.

“you still have a long way to go.” She says.

She gets up from her place on your bed, leaving a dip in your mattress. “anyway, what fruit should I cut up for you? and don't ask for watermelon, the season for that has passed.”

“im not hungry. I had coffee.” You say, turning back to your homework as you hear her say something about how coffee will shorten your life span while walking away.

You glanced out the window and sighed. The clouds were pretty grey today, and you wondered if it was going to rain. You wondered if you should go out for a run if the gloomy weather subsided. Maybe if your brother was up for it, you could take his car and go to the pizza place a block away late at night.

The pizza was pretty crappy, but it was the only time your brother and you ever held a conversation. Whether it was about your school, his college, some show you were watching, anything.

You were glad you both put your differences aside after you turned 14. He was the only one who ever made you feel seen with parents who made you feel like you didn’t exist for majority of your childhood.

It was nice. You hoped he wasn’t in one of his crappy moods tonight.

A notification rang from your phone. Assuming it was just a spam number, you went back to writing the essay you had to write for English, legs shaking under your table.

Another notification.

You ignored it once again.

Your phone vibrated twice, indicating that you were getting a call this time.

Finally snapping out of your focus, you turned to your phone to see the words ‘jean kirstein physics’ calling you.

Oh, yeah. You forgot you had his number since the last time you were paired up with him.

You picked up, rolling your chair far enough for you to lean back and stretch your legs.

“hello?” you spoke into your speaker.

“hey, practice got cancelled ‘cause it looks like it’ll rain. Do you wanna hang out?” he asks, and you can hear soft music playing in the background.

You shrug . “yeah, sure. Also, we wont be ‘hanging out’, Kirstein, we need to work.”

You can hear his smirk again. he never tries hiding it, atleast not when he’s speaking to you with that cocky tone. “whatever you say, sweetheart. Come on, get ready. im out your door.”

Your eyes widen as you roll towards your window, seeing his car infront of your room. “how the fuck?”

You can see him wave through the window of his car. He’s leaning forward slightly, his hand resting on the steering wheel as he waves with its, his phone in the other hand. He’s smiling.

“I know your address from last time, babe. Come on, I don’t have all day.”

You roll your eyes as you flip him off through your window. “ill be down in ten. Oh, say hi to my mom before you pick me up. she’ll think im using you as an excuse.”

“oh? You’ve used me as an excuse?”

“no, dumbass, I don’t need to. She’ll think I am, though. Also I think she likes you. or, she tolerates you more than Ash, anyway. Something about their hair makes her bitchy.” You check your door to make sure its closed.

You hear him laugh. A swarm of butterflies make their home in your belly. You slip a small smile of your own. “okay, then. I’ll say hi. be downstairs quick, though.”

“yeah, yeah, whatever.”

True to his word, jean kirstein does knock on the door to let her know he’s the one picking you up. your mom doesn’t complain as you slip your shoes on, which you assume is a good thing.

You save him just in time, though, as your mom smothers him with questions youre sure he hasn’t thought about yet. His face and shoulders relax when you tell him you should leave.

“bye, ma. Be back by 9.” You say.

“8 o clock! No more!” you hear her shout as you close the door.

“well that went better than I thought it would.” You tell jean, who has a hand on his heart, eyes still wide.

His neck snaps towards you, and you try not to laugh at his expression. He continues to walk towards his car as you trail behind him.

“well? That’s well for you? jeez, I felt like I’d have a heart attack with all the questions,” he exclaims. You put a hand on his shoulder, feeling him relax under your slight touch.

“you’ll live.”

He opens your passenger door for you to slip in. you thank him quietly, letting yourself get comfortable in his car. His cologne was even more present in his car, and a poloroid of him and his friends hung from a string from his rearview mirror. The flash was bright, and you recognized most of them. Jean had his arms around sasha braus and connie springer, as armin alert squatted infront of them, sporting a bright smile of his own. Behind the trio was marco bodt, smiling, ofcourse. You doubted you had ever seen him not smiling and you wondered how he didn’t get tired. mikasa was next to armin, squatting and laughing at eren yeager, who tried to squat but was falling down as the picture was being taken. On armin’s left was annie leonheart, with her hands in her hoodie pockets, a slight smile playing on her lips. rare of her to do, but not unusual when she was with armin.

You hadn’t talked to armin well in about a year. The last time you had talked to him was the winter formal as a sophmore, where you both agreed you’d be better of as friends anyway.

He didn't reply to your texts much after that.

Jean slipped into his seat, buckling himself in.

He hands you his phone. Taking it, you look at him questioningly. He cracks his neck, running a hand through his hair as he speaks, “play whatever music you’d like.”

Surprised he’d trust you with the greatest honour of letting you pick music, you played a song you knew he’d like, hoping he hadn’t listened to it already. The music flowed through the car as did the cool air from the ac.

“where are we heading?” you ask as jean starts driving. His left hand, the one he has doodles on, grips the steering wheel while he drives, as his right one rests on the gear, his fingers thrumming against it to the beat of the song.

“do you remember that café from last time? There.”

You take a moment to sit in stunned silence. Jean didn’t seem to realise that you were basking in a new feeling.

He remembered?

It wasn’t a surprise that you remembered, considering that their coffees were one of the most expensive yet the best tasting coffees you had ever had. You remembered him paying for you. maybe that’s why he remembered? there was nothing memorable about the last time you got paired up with him, if you thought about it. You genuinely thought he had forgotten about the place.

But as it turned out, he did not forget.

“oh. The one with the expen-“

“expensive coffee you really liked? Yeah. Honestly, theyre more of milkshakes than coffee, but to each to their own, I guess.” He says, glancing at you before taking a turn.

“of course you wouldn’t appreciate the good coffee,” you say, crossing your arms in front of your chest, “which ones do you like, anyway? Black coffee to be pretentious and feel grown up?"

“hey, black coffee is good!” he exclaims.

“predictable,” you mutter under your breath, knowing he had heard you anyway.

He shakes his head, gaze still locked on the road. “I don’t really like their coffee. I can stand their cheesecake though. And hey, if anyone’s pretentious here, its you. youre the one who likes their coffees” he says, arguing childishly. In his defence, you were technically enabling it.

A smile plays on your lips, “its not like go there all the time! Only for a treat.”

“a treat? So, like, everyday?”

“haven’t been there since three months, actually. And the last time I did go, like a couple weeks ago, they were closed.” You defended yourself.

You saw jean’s lips quirk up as he shook his head. “today is a treat then? With me?”

“don’t flatter yourself.”

“admit it, sweetheart. You think im a treat.”

“I do not. Youre the one who insists on paying for my drink. You don’t have to put on the gentleman act for someone who is going to accomplish much more than you.” you say, not really meaning your words. He knew, of course, he knew what you meant. He side eyes you and the previous butterflies seemed to have multiplied.

“im not acting like a gentleman. If you want the whole package then ask me out for dinner first, then we’ll see. And fine, if you wanna pay so bad-“

“I never said that-“

“then you can. Be my guest, waste your money.”

Your bickering went back and forth, and you realised how much you credited jean for his conversation skills. If this was ash, or even your brother, they’d be sick of your constant petty jabs, but jean wasn’t.

Another thing about jean kirstein that you found yourself mentally noting : he pushed you to be… better? You didn’t know if the bickering counted as being better, but academically speaking, he was the top of the list when it came to you pushing yourself to be the best you could be.

The one time you felt seen was when you were with him. Ash would always talk over you, and you liked that about them, you really did. but was it so bad for you to want to be heard? Just for a bit? Even if it was only for a while, even if it was only about studying, you liked jean to be the one you were competing with.

And as much as you hated to admit it, you also liked being partnered up with him. it was like a superpower you had discovered while being paired up with him the last time. You realised how much you could accomplish when you were with him. like he was your driving force, in a way.

The last time you had been paired up with him, he had introduced you to almost everyone in his friend group. You didn’t get particularly close to any of them, but you were glad to be a part of their little group anyway. Ash, connie’s… crush? Friend with benefit? They hadn’t put a label on it, but you could tell that Ash was glad you were coming out of your shell as well.

That was until winter formal, before armin said you two should be friends after being the one who asked you to go with him in the first place. you weren’t mad at him, per say. You knew who he was, and what he was was a good friend. you didn’t expect him to officially ask you out, anyway, so it was all water under the bridge.

After he started to distance himself from you, you did the same for him. he needed his space, and you respected that. you didn't know how that translated to you distancing yourself from the rest of the group, but somehow, you did. The only person you sort of kept in touch with after that was jean, and even that was only rarely. You and him never went out of each other’s ways to make plans, hangout, or even text after that. Yet, whenever you talked to him, you felt like you were on cloud nine.

Which was dangerous. Jean had… a reputation. He was pretty, it was obvious. He was smart, and he was good at soccer, and practically everything else anyone could ever be perfect in. after mikasa and eren finally started dating, he started dating, too. some people here and there, you heard Ash tell you about his new partner almost every two months. He wasn’t a heartbreaker, though. He was always respectful about his relationships, but it still felt forced. Like people were only dating him because they saw him being perfect all the time. like people saw himself as how they wanted to and not who he really was.

You remembered him telling you about it once, before the winter formal. He told you about how he felt the need to be perfect because if he wasn’t, people wouldn’t like him. more importantly, he felt like people should like him, because for the longest time people hadn’t . the moment he started to achieve things was the moment he was noticed, if not loved. the moment he started showing himself, even if wasn't the version he wanted, he was praised. He didn’t want to lose that.

You remembered hugging him after that. He hadn’t cried, but his eyes were glistening as you sat on someone’s bed at someone’s party. You patted his back, rubbing circles there, as he kept his hand on your thigh.

You wondered if you were the reason your friendship with him changed. You wondered if your brother moving away for MIT was the reason you started not caring about how people viewed you and more about how your grades would look.

You wondered if jean would… like you if you had persisted and stuck with him when he started to distance himself.

“y/n?” jean calls out to you, as you snap out of your thoughts drowning you.

“hm?”

“we’re here, dumbass. We’ve been here since two minutes. Where’s your mind?” he asks, flicking your forehead. He does it gently though, to not hurt you.

You shake your head. “nowhere important.” You unbuckle your seatbelt, stepping out of the car, as jean follows behind.

--

Jean ended up paying for your drink before you could stop him.

You didn’t complain this time, mainly because you were too focused on your textbook and the way jean’s shoulder was brushing yours.

It irritated you, of course. Stupid jean’s stupid warmth, stupid perfume, stupid stubble. He’d grown so much since sophmore year, you almost didn’t recognize him. he grew out the aforementioned stubble a little, only a little, and you could almost tell that he spent the entire summer growing it out. His previously short and choppy hair grew out floppy and sometimes fluffy hair that, in your and everyone else's opinions, suited him. you had heard him talking to Marco about getting a mullet in the future. as someone with common sense and eyes, you didn't deny how good he looked, with or without the mullet.

And as someone with common sense, you also didn’t tell him just how pretty he was. You were sure he knew already, with his smug face and almost everyone lining up for a night with him. it didn’t help that he had a good personality, too. it would’ve been so much easier to act like you hated him if he was actually a terrible person.

But no, he was a good person, and you were reminded of that fact when jean passed you a tissue after you devoured your milkshake-esque coffee, and offering you a piece of his cheesecake.

After a good three hours of studying the topic and coming up with things to put in your project, jean stretches his arms up, letting out a yawn in the process. His shirt rode up a bit, as you averted your gaze and focused on packing up your books and pens.

It was almost 8 pm, and you were surprised your parents hadn’t called you home yet. Did they really trust jean that much? Or was the text you sent to your brother enough to lay them off for a while?

You stood up letting out a breath, trying to even out your breathing. Maybe they did trust jean to let you stay so late. They wouldn’t be mad at you for studying with someone, right? And if they asked, you could show them the notes. Nothing to be stressed about. Then why was your heart beating so hard?

Jean placed a hand on your shoulder. “let me take that,” he says, pulling the bag from your arms.

You were too tired to complain, as you followed him to his car like a lost puppy.

The ride home was also peaceful. No bickering, no discussions, no questions. You guessed jean was tired, too. the song you picked out for him played softly as you reached home.

You unbuckled your seatbelt, collecting your bag and phone. Before you could push the door open, however, jean grabbed your wrist, making your head turn towards him.

The headlights of his car reflected on the inside, making his brown eyes glow a slight yellow from the side. his noes and eyelashes created beautiful shadows on his face. “are you sure youre okay?” he asks in a low voice, almost whispering. “you know that im…. im here for you, right? We’re friends.” He says.

Your heat beats faster. You swallow, feeling a lump forming in your throat. He said you were friends. Like the casual type that you’d call up at random times to tell them about your day, like the ones that went to grab coffee together, the ones that invited eachother to parties and introduced all of your other friends to.

Its not like Ash wasn’t your friend. right? Just because they were hanging out with connie a bit more didn’t mean they were completely ditching you right?

God, were his words really enough to make you feel seen?

You shrugged. “of course I’m okay.” Leaving it at that. You didn’t tell him about how much your mother’s words from earlier had hurt you, or how much you wanted to feel included in something. It was embarrassing. And coming from jean? Even more so. How had he noticed? Didn’t he stop talking to you after the formal? Wasn’t he the one who only talked to your for your notes?

Wasn’t he also the one to lend you a pencil a good four months after said formal? Wasn’t he also the one who asked how your test went, starting a conversation between you two after almost five months of almost nothing except waves from across the hallway?

Again, why was this affecting you more than it should have?

He was looking at you, concerned and not convinced. “I just need some sleep.” You clarified, hoping that will make whatever was going on in his mind stop.

His hand left your wrist and you immediately missed the warmth he provided. He sighed, blinking. “well….if you ever need anything, im only a text away, alright?”

He smiles. And not in the typical, smug, I-want-to-look-good smile, but the soft, gentle smile. The corner of his eyes crinkled, his eyebrows and shoulders relaxed. He looked like him again, like the night he thanked you for holding him after his rant at the party, like the day you and him went out for coffee without telling your parents, like the day he invited you to a party and introduced you to all his other friends, like the day he had called you to tell you about his surprisingly good day.

You gave him the same smile you returned to him all the previous times.

“I know.” You whisper.

You didn’t want to leave. You desperately wanted nothing more than to stay here, basking in his cologne and smile and warmth for the rest of your days. You could rot here and flowers could bloom from your skeleton and still be content.

But by the time you could do any of that, you had already gotten up from your seat, turning to shut the door.

Jean was looking at you then, when you crouched down, meeting his eyes again. he was looking at you the same way he was when you drank that milkshake coffee in under two minutes. “im here for you too, jean. Don’t forget that.” You say, smiling. You turn and close the door before he can answer.

Before entering your house, however, you turn around.

He’s looking at you, smile still present, one hand stretched on the steering wheel as the other waved at you.

you waved back.

---

it was almost 1 am when you got the notification.

Jeankirstenoutoften sent you their story.

Stretching your legs from under your desk, you slump onto your bed, phone in hand. When you open the message, you see a story with a picture of you drinking the coffee, and another picture of you leaning down and writing in your notebook, with an emoji of a daisy on the side of the story along with your username tagged next to it.

The song was the same youd made him listen to in the car, which surprised you, to say the least. You didn’t know he would pay attention to your choice of songs, or even care, and the fact that he remembered to add that made yet another swarm of butterflies fill up in your belly.

You liked the story, adding it to your own with a green heart emoji, knowing jean’s favourite colour like the back of your hand.

Jean instantly messaged you after that.

Jean k.:

Why are you awake??

Why r YOU awaje, kirstein

Jean k.:

Cuz I wasn’t the one complaining about being tired, sweet heart

Also you have to get up at what

7? Tomorrow?

Your brows furrowed.

How fo uou know that?

Okay yes I a m tred but that doesn’t mean

that

I’ll actally skeep

Sleepig is fir looserd

Jean k.:

Jesus

Maybe you should sleep

The amount of typos youre making

It givbed charafter

Mayve you shuiuld look iy up

He was right. You were tired and sleepy, but you werent about to prove him right. He didn’t know you as much as he thought he did.

Jean k.:

Are you just trying to prove a point?

Well, shit.

Dint u habe practive tonroow?

Tonroow.

Yes I do

That’s besides the point

HYPOCRUSY

Ojg maybr we shoukd nap un ur car

Im not bringing my car tomorrow sweetheart

If you wanna sleep with me that bad

just ask

I dubt wabt to skeep with yu

I wabt to NAP wuth u.

they r complwtely diffebrbet

"diffebrbet" wasn't even close to different

Y/n

Please sleep

NI

Do u tgink beyobce skept

…

Beyonce?

Are you asking me if beyonce slept??

Youre proving my point you need to sleep

Wgats ur fac fkower

Why does that matter rn?????

Ander tge dan qyestion

Fine

Tulips.

Is this twenty questions?

Is it my turn omg

Whats ur fav time to sleep?

…

Sweetheart?

y/n?

replied to themself

Whats ur fav time to sleep?

question answered

its now.

Sleep well, y/n :)

See u 'tonroow'.

Jean smiled. He quickly turned off his phone, putting it to charge after making sure he turned his alarm on for tomorrow.

Tonroow.

Maybe he shouldve stopping smiling so wide only because of a couple stupid messages from you, but he couldn’t.

Didn’t you get the hint? Didn’t you know that he only called you sweetheart? That he would never treat everyone else like how he treated you?

Maybe he was putting you on a pedastal, but in his eyes, its where you belonged. On a pedastal, with your sparkling eyes and pretty smile and sarcastic remarks. Maybe it was the way the chapstick you wore accentuated the smike, maybe it was your signatue earrings that moved slightly evertime you nodded that added to your.... yourself.

He wished he hadnt stopped talking to you. he knew what was happening to him, he knew what he was feeling and he was scared. So, like the idiot he was, he decided to push his affections elsewhere. Mikasa Ackerman never looked at him. not in the way he wanted her to, atleast. Mikasa Ackerman was an unattainable goddess, only having eyes for one person, who seemed to be reciprocating her feelings, even if he was below her level. Then again, so would Jean be if she ever were to glance his way. But he didn’t stop his “crush” from foring on her. It was better than it forming on you, someone also unattainable, but in a completely different way. You and him had been…acquiantances if not frienemies since what felt like forever. He couldn’t risk ruining that.

Even if he went ahead and ruined it anyway. He started ignoring you, slowly distancing himself after the formal, never once asking if you were okay after that. Never once asking what you were up to. Soon enough, you grew apart to the time inmiddle school, where the only words spoken between the two of you were insincere insults along with continous bickering, surface level jabs as if you didn’t see him almost break down in the room while a party raged on downstairs. As if you werent his close friend, as if you werent the only one who really saw him at one point.

He missed you. painfully so. He knew why he did it in the first place. he regretted everything about it, but he also didn’t do anything to stop it. He was…okay, right? Without you? life was better, he had gotten closer to marco, been accepted by this big group of friends who he knew cared deeply for him.

But he missed you. his group of friends werent you. they didn’t have the warmth you so openly offered to him without hesitation. They were amazing, really, but they didn’t hold him the way you did. they didn’t make his skin shiver the way you did, they didn’t make his car feel like the safest haven on earth with music playing softly, they didn’t smile like you did, they didn’t…. they werent you.

So, he did what he should've done in the first place. he had no intention of starting the project today, with the sumbission date being more than enough for him to cram in a week and still get a good grade on it.

But he wanted to see you. the real you, not the one you kept hidden in school. The person he saw sitting by the window, knees shaking, dark circles prominent under your eyes. He knew you knew he was staring, but he didn’t stop. You were sitting right next to him and yet you seemed so far.

Guilt swallowed him up whole along with regret. he was going to make an effort. He promised himself right then and there that he’d grow closer to you again, regardless of the fact that his too-strong feelings for you never really faded away, regardless of how scary said feelings were, he was going to try.

His forearm relaxed on his forehead as he closed his eyes.

And you looked so pretty today, the glow of his headlights illuminating the side of your face as you crouched to his eye level to tell him that you cared, that you’d listen to him if he ever needed it and oh, he needed it. He needed you. even if all the two of you did today was study and get work done, it was one of the most….full day he had. He felt full, content, and even if the table stretched in silence for most of the time, he felt like he wasn’t hidden.

He fell asleep feeling happier than he had since when he was crushing on mikasa.

--

Maybe he shouldve slept sooner. His eyes felt like they were on fire, the burn only calming when he closed them by blinking.

Connie passed him a cold red bull, noticing his tired state. Jean thanked him silently as he chugged half of it in one go, ignoring the stin that came with the cool liquid.

“did you not sleep like….at all last night?” eren asks, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. his front bangs stick to his forehead despite the cool weather. Coach ackerman had gone easy on the training today, and that was saying a lot. jean still felt like his bones were breaking.

“I did sleep. Got a late night that’s all.” Jean says. Despite eren and jean’s obvious dislike for eachother, they still considered the other a friend. they could be civil sometimes, when they felt like it. Which was rarely, but it still counted.

Pulling out his phone, he checks his phone.

3 unread messages from (y/n) <3

FUCK I FELL ASLEEP

This proves nothing.

Im still winning.

Jean smiles, opening your texts.

Uh huh. Keep that imagination going.

Is debate club over yet? I saw a couple of

the students hanging around the field.

Yeah I just finished

Got done early today for some reason

Same

Wanna come here so we can walk together?

My mom made omletes

I think she packed an extra one if youre hungry

Oh

Ur mom’s omletes do sound rlly good rn

Only if theres extra tho

Im pretty sure there is

she always packs more than I need

Although that was true, jean had specifically asked er to pack one more today, one for him, one extra, and one for you.

I'll be down in two :)

Drink water, kirstein, not just redbull

Jean smiles slightly, chugging the rest of his red bull.

“whats gotten you so smiley?” reiner asked as he ruffled his hair.

“is it (y/n)?” marco follows up with his own question, and jean feels like digging a hole and burrying himself in it right then and there.

“oh, (y/n)? I havent seen them around since sophmore year.” Eren says.

Jean shrugs while uncapping his water bottle. “yes, its (y/n). theyre coming down here right now.”

reiners brows furrowed. “you guys are talking again?”

jean hated the way he said it. He hated that everyone he knew also knew about how close you and him used to be at one point, however brief.

Yet, jean maintains his uncaring exterior, and shrugs. “never really stopped talking,” he lies.

Marco shoots him a knowing look as jean drinks his water, pretending to not notice it.

“talking about your grades doesn't count, horseface.” Eren says, getting up before jean could react.

He sees mikasa waiting for eren near the field, the latter greeting her by grabbing her hand and kissing her knuckles. Jean didn’t feel the jealousy he wouldve felt three months ago, he simply observed without the familiar feeling of subtle rage and sadness crawling up his heart.

One by one, everyone left to do god knows what, until only him and marco were left. They were sitting on the grass, jean’s body resting on his eblows with marco copying his stance.

“do you still like them?” marco blurts out.

If it was anyone else, jean would've denied any feelings towards you. that was the only thing he was probably jealous of armin for; the fact that the blonde was a far more convincing liar then jeabever could be.

Jean sighed, glancing at his phone, screen now blackened. “I think so. I don’t think my feelings ever….went away if that makes sense. Like, I hoped they would go away but they didn’t and now I just feel…”

“like a dick?” marco finishes with a small smirk.

Marco bodt was known in the school for his good looks and even better personality. He was kind, but not in the pushover way. he knew all the right things to say to someone under any circumstance. Jean was pretty sure that the only person who saw him crumble once was jean himself, when he reassured marco that hed do well in the match despite his then recent injuries.

But what everyone didn’t see was how…smug marco could be. He could be witty when he wanted, and his teasing would almost combat the one jean faced by you, too. it was in the good way, of course, and jean was glad marco felt comfortable enough with him to be open with him. jean would be caught dead voicing his affections, though, just like he would be if he ever gathered the courage to tell you about how he’d been pining you since before you and armin ever met.

Jean purses his lips, trying not to show his friend that he was right. Jean was sure he knew, though. Marco, somehow, like you, always knew. “yeah. Like a dick.”

“well, its good youre trying to patch things up with them now. Better late then never, yeah?” marco says as he gets up, wiping off the dirt on his hands. “see you in class. Have fun with y/n” marco winks, and jean catches the innuendo.

“its not like that!” jean shouts behind him, watching his back shake with laughs. Jean hopes his blush isnt too prominent for you to notice when you greet him.

Which you do, after another minute of him waiting on the grass.

“did you drink water? Your face is red.” You say, sitting down next to him, slipping your bag fro your shoulders.

“and how is water supposed to help with a red face?”

You shrug, tucking a strand of hair behind you ear. “water solves 99% of your problems.”

“will it make you less annoying?”

“it wont, but it’ll probably help you dance, maybe.”

Jean blushes even more. “oh my god, that was a year ago.”

You snicker. “but youre still terrible at it. Im pretty sure my toes are still bruised with the amount of times you stepped on them.”

“that’s not even possible, and also, you werent that good, either.”

“sure, jean-bo.”

“don’t call me that!” his blush was still on his face, now darkening furiously. You chuckle, which makes his heart skip a beat.

“lets just eat that damn omlete, yeah?”

--

[jthebeauty]

Dishes of Punishment.

Pairing: Step-dad! Naoya x Step-daughter! Reader

Genre: Smut, Modern Day AU

Rating: 18+, Explicit - Minors & Ageless Bios DNI!

DISCLAIMER: I do not defend Naoya’s actions in the manga or anything of that nature. I am simply a writer — that’s all.

Summary: Naoya hates your boldness. When you deliberately ignore his orders regarding the dishes, he takes matters into his own hands to make sure you never disregard his orders ever again.

WARNINGS: DARK CONTENT — NONCON STEPCEST, Reader is an Adult in College, Biting, Choking, Coercion, Cursing, Dacryphilia, Degradation, Face Fucking, Fighting (Verbal & Physical), Gagging, Hair Pulling, Heavy Misogyny & Sexism, Humiliation, Implied Age Gap, Infidelity, Manhandling, Mentions of Breeding & Death, Restraints, Sadism, Size Difference, Slapping, Spanking, Spit, Unprotected Sex, Pull Out Method.

Word count: 6.5k

Credit: Naoya’s Jujutsu hub pfp is made by Shimeko_45133 on Twt — I got permission to use it!

A/n: This fic is my entry for the Jujutsu Hub collab, coordinated by the amazing @suna-reversed! If you haven’t done so, please go through the masterlist & support the other writers who participated in this fun event! Thank you Vee for not only creating this collab, but also allowing me to participate in it!​ Thank you all for reading & take care! ♡

“Yeah, no— no, I said I’ll be there in about like... twenty or thirty,” you reassure. “Imma grab my keys ‘n dip.”

Nobara clicks her tongue in annoyance. “We’re going to Balenciaga first, then.”

“Woah, woah, I thought we settled on g-”

“I’m getting the Ville XXS Top Handle Bag today,” she interjects. “Y’know, someone could have their hands on the second last one right now as we speak.”

“If you’re that concerned, then fine,” you sigh, sliding your legs into your denim jeans. “As long as we get my sweaters right after.”

“Well, as long as I get my bag, then we’re good— no problem! Call me when you’re like five away or so, ‘kay? I’m finishing up here.”

“Alright, I’ll get to driving as soon as I find my ke-” you freeze, eyes widening as you stare at the entire surface of your desk. “Holy shit, Naoya might have them, actually.”

“Yikes…” an awkward moment of silence passes between you two. “I don’t know how you’re gonna get them back, but... y’know? The purse and whatnot.”

Regardless of her current mini-tantrum over a purse, Nobara is a fantastic friend. She’s stylish, cute, and a ride-or-die. She has always admired your strength and independence ever since the day you met her. It’s thanks to your similar personality traits why you two are best friends in the first place. In addition to her unique character, she’s always willing to listen to your vents about Naoya— big or small.

Of course, she knew you invariably told the truth. Still, everything wasn’t 100% confirmed until she came over two months ago for movie night and met Naoya for herself. Although their interaction was very brief, it was sufficient for Nobara to avoid repeating the experience. To say the least, she definitely wasn’t a fan of the bastard. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that your sweet, kind mother settled for a controlling piece of shit like him.

“I’ll figure it out,” your eyes glance over at the empty spot on your desk. “Damn, he must’ve taken them this morning while I was in the shower,” you mutter more to yourself than to your best friend.

“Double yikes… best-of-luck!” She quickly utters. “Don’t forget today’s main goal, my purse!”

“I mean, how could I forget now?” you mumble, slightly breathless from tugging and hauling your belt loops upwards. “Knowing him, it’s probably something small, and he wants to be a dick head about it just because he can.”

“You want me to come over there and fuck his shit up with my hammer? I’ll get my hands dirty if that motherf-”

“I’ll handle it,” you fight back a laugh, the smile in your voice unmistakable. “Just sit tight, ‘kay? I’ll call you when I’m about five away.”

“I’ll-”

“Shit,” you accidentally hang up before Nobara finishes her sentence. It was probably about the bag anyways.

On your wooden desk, you retrieve your stained coffee mug from its coaster. Cup in hand, you do a full 180 to face your full-body mirror on the wall, taking one last glance at your outfit. With pursed lips, you lean closer to the reflective glass and sigh through your nose. A headache- no, a migraine, is bound to transpire by the time you finish speaking with Naoya.

“I fucking hate this guy,” you mumble, grabbing your bag off the hardwood floor.

Lightly jogging down the stairs, you set your bag on the last step of the staircase. You quickly scan the area before heading over to the sink in the kitchen— two of your senses vigilant for your mother’s husband. Slowly, you place your mug in an empty space beside the other grimy stacks of dishes, careful not to cause any clatter.

Upon turning around to leave, you’re greeted by the last person you’d want to see right now. But you have no choice this time— he has what’s rightfully yours.

Naoya leans against the doorframe, clad in nothing but grey sweatpants. He’s somewhat breathing heavily; his forehead down to his waist coated in a light sheen of perspiration. By the looks of it, he went for a run while you were in the shower.

“What the actual fuck,” you clutch at your chest, hand over your thumping heart. “You’re a real dick head, you know that?”

Of course the sly bastard is aware, tell him something he doesn’t know. This is always the case when he wants to speak with you (without your mother around). Unlike the ‘normal’ step-dads in TV shows, he never knocks on your room door before entering— let alone asks you how your day went.

Whenever your mom is around, Naoya often distances himself and runs errands, ensuring your mom doesn’t get suspicious of any bad blood— it’s pleasant.

But without your mother around, conversations are never worthwhile; a prime example being right now.

“Where are you off to dressed like that? The sink isn’t clean.”

“Out to places, it’s not really your business,” you dismiss, rolling your eyes. “You took my keys off my desk?”

“Ah, you mean...” Naoya reaches into his left pocket, slowly pulling your keys out before raising them at eye level. “These?” he teases with a smirk, swinging them by your lanyard like a pendulum.

You stare directly into Naoya’s eyes as the several pieces of brass sway left to right, chiming from colliding with each other.

“Yeah,” you stretch a palm out. “You can give them back now.”

“You know, I was waiting for you to ask me about them,” Naoya runs his tongue across his bottom lip. He then shakes his head in disappointment, placing your keys back into his pocket. “I told you to wash the dishes last night, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, exactly. That’s the problem. You didn’t ask me.”

“Ask?” he interrogates, unable to hold back a peart laugh. “You think I need to ask you to wash the fucking dishes?”

“I mean, do you really think I-”

“No, do you really think I need to ask you to do shit ‘round here?” Naoya halts your question with a question of his own. “Especially when both you and your mother live in my house? That’s more of the important question, sweetheart.”

You shudder at the last part of his sentence, vexation quickly starting to pool in from your head to the rest of your body. Yes, it is in fact, Naoya’s house. Yes, both you and your mother live there— but you’re only there to save money while attending college. If it wasn’t so expensive to comfortably live alone, you would’ve packed your bags months ago and never return. You’re an adult, your mom would be just fine without you… right?

Still, the bastard has no right to order you around like some dense maidservant. Who the fuck put a gun to his head and told him to marry your mom? No one!

“Keep thinking I’ll wash them then. In fact, you might as well tell my mom to wash them when she gets back from work,” you sneer. “She’s your wife, no?”

“I’m telling you to wash them and do it right. now.”

“And I’m telling you,” you point a finger for emphasis. “I’m not going to do shit for you until you learn some respect. I really hope you don’t talk to my mom like this since she lives with you too.”

“Y’know why all of this is happening right now?”

“Because you’re an entitled piece of shit who thinks you can tell me what to do all the time?”

“No, it’s because you haven’t made the connection yet,” he pokes at his temple. “You don’t have any fucking manners either.”

What fucking connection? And how dare he even begin to talk to you about manners? The sweaty bastard can’t even ask you to do something with a ‘please.’

“No, you fucking dumbass!” you throw your arms up. “It’s because last time I checked, I’m not your fucking child! Not because of some fucking ‘connection’!” you make air quotes with your fingers.

“Lower your voice when speaking to me.”

With a heavy sigh, you close your eyes and count to three, steadying your breaths. Upon reopening your lids, you cross your arms and shift your weight to the other hip.

“Give me my keys,” you utter, your voice calm and soft.

“Wash the dishes first.”

Bloody hell.

“I really don’t have time for this,” you kiss your teeth, glancing at your bag on the stairs behind his tall frame. “My last name ain’t Zen’in. I don’t have to take shit from you.”

“Oh?” he raises an eyebrow, smirking amusingly. Sass from any other woman probably would’ve had Naoya fuming by now, but there’s something about you that makes him want to give you a pass for now. Perhaps your sass is perceived as something more playful rather than disrespectful? Who knows? Only he knows.

His patience forever remains thin though.

“I have places to be,” you rub your palms on your jeans, smoothing out the small waves of wrinkles before straightening up. “I don’t care anymore, keep the fucking keys. I’ll just take the bus at this point.” You take two steps forward to the stairs, attempting to get around him.

Naoya’s large hand shoots out to grab your forearm, restraining you from fleeing the kitchen. Your head quickly snaps upwards to his face. The smirk that was once there a few seconds ago, is long gone now.

Not only did he try to talk to you about manners earlier, but now he’s putting his hands on you? The bastard has officially lost his god damn mind.

“Let g-”

“Did I say you could leave?” his sharp eyes meet yours, irises slowly darkening with rage and annoyance. “Didn’t you learn any manners from your mother? How to not only clean up after yourself— but after the entire household you live in? How to obediently listen to a man when he speaks to you? How to be a fucking woman?”

“How to be a woman? Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“If I were you, I’d be very careful of who I’m talking to right now.”

“Fuck that!” you jerk your arm. “Let go of— ouch!”

“I told you to lower your voice, didn’t I?”

Once more, you attempt to retrieve your arm from Naoya’s tight hold, pushing and drubbing at his clammy chest with your free hand as hard as you can. Naoya rolls his eyes and swiftly pulls you flush against his front. His free hand snakes around your waist and squeezes it, holding you in place.

“Stop moving,” Noaya says through clenched teeth.

“Let go of me!” you angrily cry out, nails scraping the skin of his lower back. “It fucking hurts!”

“It fucking hurts,” he mocks with pouty lips. “You know it doesn’t since you’re so tough right?”

Oh, but he knew it hurt. It even sparked something within him as he watched you hopelessly tussle and brawl against him.

“What about my feelings? Don’t you have a heart?” he sneers. “I really thought we’d get along well, gave you enough space ‘n everything.”

“Fuck you and your feelings!” this time, your nails dig into the muscle of Naoya’s lower back, but he doesn’t seem to be fazed by it. “Don’t give a shit.”

“Fuck me? So much profanity in your vocabulary. Not very lady-like,” he tsks. “But since you’re so demanding, how can I refuse?” Naoya’s lips slowly alter into another wicked smirk.

It’s obscure how someone like you could have the guts to stand up to someone like him. How did your mother manage to raise such a bold daughter, yet it appears that she as his wife listens to every word he says?

But does it even matter at this point when Naoya has plans to make sure that this never happens again? To make sure that you never even think to argue with him again? At this point, you’re too deep to even turn back. Hopefully, Nobara can forgive you if all fails with today’s plans.

In a matter of a few nanoseconds, his brain generates obscene thoughts. Shall it be the kitchen counter? Or better yet— should it happen at the spot where you should’ve been last night?

And since you two are practically pressed together, you’re forced to feel the result of his perverted thinking.

“You make me sick,” you glare at him. Your arm may be slowly growing numb to the feeling, but deep down, you’re slowly losing the will to continue this senseless fight with him. “Let go.”

“Go wash... the fucking dishes,” his grasp on your arm still tenacious. “Or we’ll do more than just dance here. I can promise you that, sweetheart.”

“Wash them your fucking self,” you scoff, looking away at the window. “Taking my keys over some fucking d-”

Naoya reacts quickly, removing the hand around your waist to shove two large fingers into your open mouth. You make a sound between a shriek and a gasp in response, staring up at him with wide eyes.

The hand that he used to hold onto your forearm quickly replaces his other hand, keeping you fixed against the anterior of his brawny, mesomorph body. Naoya squeezes your waist again, this time his four fingertips rhythmically tapping against your side one by one as he grows impatient.

“Don’t even think of finishing that sentence or biting me, yeah?” he lightly thrusts the thick digits against your tongue, pushing them deeper into your wet aperture. You squeal and frown at the salty, brackish taste of them, tempted to bite his fingers. “God, you talk so fucking much for a woman your age. I can’t stand it.”

You start to gag while rustling against Naoya’s front, attempting to push his large frame away and create some distance between you two— but it’s pointless. He doesn’t budge one bit.

“It’s hard for you to keep quiet, huh?” he gives you a pitiful laugh. “Maybe I do like talkative women in some cases.”

Although it feels like a decade, it’s only been about six months of living under the same roof as your mother’s husband.

From the first week, the two of you had clashed heads more frequently than before he married your mom. As pleasant as it was living only with your mother back in your small apartment, it was nice to finally have your own room with much more space to work with it. Not only that, but there’s more room in general throughout the whole house. There’s a pool in the backyard, a basement where you can do as you please; watch movies on your projector or workout. For goodness sake, you have your own king-sized bed, bathroom, and walk-in closet!

But is a bigger room within a big ass house really worth the bullshit and headaches you put with at least once a week?

“I think I’ve been more than patient with you now, don’t you think so too?” Naoya gazes down at your staggered face, oh-so-generously giving you a few seconds to give some sort of reply around his fingers. “I asked you a question, so I expect an answer— almost immediately.”

Naoya retrieves his glistening fingers from your agape mouth, creating a thin string of saliva that’s connected to both your bottom lip and his fingertips. He then firmly places his hand back on your waist, awaiting your answer with curious eyes.

You promptly clear your throat, panting at sudden removal. You grin at your step-dad’s stupid face, using the back of your dominant hand to wipe the dribble from the corners of your mouth and chin.

“I think you should go to hell,” you quickly accumulate saliva in your mouth, head tilting back to aim for his face. You swiftly hawk it in his direction, hoping it’d at least reach the fucker’s nose.

But instead, your spit lands on his tense neck— right at the adam’s apple. You smirk in satisfaction anyways, watching as the spittle speedily makes its way down between his pecs due to the force of gravity.

Fuck you, Naoya.

“Nasty, nasty bitch,” he huffs. “I’ve lost my patience with a brat like you.”

Naoya’s hands abruptly leave your body to wipe the spittle off his neck and chest. You take this chance to escape, rushing toward the steps.

But before both of your feet could leave the floor, you’re met with brute force— a force that wasn’t present from before. The motion happens quickly, leaving you flat on your butt and your shoulders with an odd lingering feeling of soreness.

The sudden impact to the cool, rigid floor tiles causes you to momentarily clutch at the front of your head. You open your eyes and redirect your focus above to see blurred clones of the brawny man approaching you. You unclamp your forehead, panic rapidly replacing the anger you’ve felt this whole time. You scurry backward on your hands, pushing off your heels and sliding your denim-covered butt across the floor until your back is met with the firm door of a cabinet.

Shit.

“Look I-”

“On your knees,” he grits through clenched teeth, a prominent vein on the right side of his tight neck. “Right fuckin’ now.”

“Th-”

“That’s not you bratting out again, is it?” Naoya reaches down and grips a handful of your locks, pulling you up off your butt. “I won’t say it again.”

“O-okay,” you oblige, using your sore palms to slowly maneuver yourself onto your knees.

For once, you’re actually following Naoya’s orders— but solely out of fright. Does it matter to him, though? Fuck no, obedience is obedience.

“Good,” he grins. “You’re making the connection now, aren’t you?”

“I don’t-”

You’re interrupted by Naoya’s palm colliding with your cheek. You squeal, immediate sting and heat pooling in from the impact.

“I’ve heard enough of your brave bitch speech,” he clicks his tongue. “If I ask you a question, only reply with ‘yes.’ Matter of fact, you could even nod if you really want me to be happy. Understood?” The less the bastard hears your pathetic voice, the better.

You nod with burning eyes, subconsciously bringing a hand up to rub the spot he smacked, but that only angers him more.

“Hands on my strings, not your face,” he rips your hand away from your cheek with his free hand. “Untie the knot, or I’ll give the same treatment to your other cheek.”

With fidgeting hands, you reach up to the stretchy band of his sweatpants. You swallow thickly, placing your fingers on the braided cotton string by their dark grey metal aglets.

Heart palpitating against your sternum, your palms start to grow clammy. You stall as you undo the two tight bows, softly tugging the aglets— hoping and praying Naoya wouldn’t notice your hindering too much.

“Hurry the fuck up,” he roughly jerks your head back, kissing his teeth out of annoyance. “You deaf?”

You whimper from the tug, quickly obeying his order. Immediately, you yank both aglets and watch in trepidation as the strings become undone.

Naoya then grabs one of your hands, placing it on his lower abdomen— right at the band of his sweatpants. With his large hand enveloping yours, he forces you to rub his semi-hard cock through the grey-colored cotton.

It feels... wrong? Perverted? Unethical? There’s no way to extensively describe such an infrequent feeling like this.

Naoya has severely crossed the line several times today. He confiscated your keys, neglected your personal space, put his hands on you, and constrained you to perform inappropriate acts on him. Something is seriously wrong with him.

But now, things are dangerously escalating. Escalating to a point where you’re petrified of his next move and the move after that. If you knew beforehand that things would get to this point, you would’ve left the house an hour ago and taken the transit. Nobara would understand, right?

“I was actually on my way to the basement,” his hand is still over yours, stroking his erect cock through his two layers of clothing. “I was gonna do some bench pressing and enjoy the afternoon I had all to myself.”

Naoya grunts, lightly throwing his head back before meeting your fearful eyes again. “But I’m glad I caught you just in— no, you couldn’t leave without your keys. You were going to ask me for them anyway.”

His motions over your hand grow tedious before they come to a complete stop. With one hand still entangled in your hair, he uses the other one to grab your free hand.

Naoya then brings your unoccupied hand up to his groin, positioning both of your hands on the stretchy, elastic waistband.

“Pull ‘em down,” he licks his lips, tilting his head to keenly watch you. “I don’t have to tell you twice this time, do I? I know you wouldn’t want that, sweetheart.”

“What I want is for someone to kick you so hard in the nuts, you fucking die.” is what you want to reply with so badly.

But what would your mother’s husband have to say or even do about that? Would he tug on your locks like it’s rope again? Would he smack the other side of your face like he promised he’d do? Would he even dare to go as far as—

You vigorously shake your head no, but it’s not in response to the question he queried just a few seconds ago. Blinking away the tears that scorch your eyes, you give yourself a quick pep talk before the man in front of you possibly grows impatient and loses his shit again.

Just do what he says and you’ll get your keys back.

Muscles opposing in your strained throat, you swallow thickly again and focus on the task at hand. Fingers tucking in past the two cotton-blend layers, your knuckles brush against the trail of coarse hair at Naoya’s navel.

“Look at you,” he hums in satisfaction, palm sliding from front to back on your head like a disciplined puppy. “So you can be obedient? You just choose not to, hm?”

You nod again in response, just the way Naoya likes it. With a quick, low exhale, you curl your fingers around the stretchy band of both layers— hooking them before swiftly tugging his sweats down.

Almost immediately, you’re faced with Naoya’s throbbing, rigid cock. You watch in both shock and repugnance as a fresh bead of precum forms at the swollen, red crown of his tip. Is Naoya really getting off to the fact that his defiant step-daughter is on her knees, obeying his every order? Of course, the sick bastard is.

“There’s absolutely nothing else in this world that I love more than a woman who knows her place,” he gloats, using his free hand to guide the tip of his cock to your agape mouth. “That’s the connection.”

To say he feels accomplished is most likely an understatement. To put it more accurately, Naoya would say that he feels like his own version of a successful construction man. His tactics are genius in his eyes; he forcibly destroys your strong-willed cement walls with only a few swings of his coercion-filled wrecking ball.

“Suck,” he orders with several taps of his tumescent tip on your lips, lightly smearing pre on your once-glossed lips.

You mentally curse at the command with a nauseous stomach, the uneasiness in your body too great for you to move a muscle. He can’t be serious— is he serious right now? Is he out of his-

“You don’t want me to repeat it again,” the fingers knotted in your locks tighten, pulling at your tender scalp. “Open your fucking mouth and suck it. Right now.”

“Ah- okay, okay,” you surrender, breathing quickening as you slowly open your mouth.

Naoya doesn’t even think twice to give you a warm-up for somewhat complying this far. With a quick slam of his hips, his cock mercilessly enters your mouth— seeking beyond the back of your tongue. Your gag reflexes immediately take effect as you bring both hands up, placing them on the quadriceps of his sturdy thighs for support. You start to choke, tears welling up in your eyes as the prominent vein on Naoya’s cock repeatedly brushes against your uvula.

“I know you’ve sucked cock before,” he groans at the delicious feeling of his cock head probing the warm depths of your throat. “Don’t play amateur sweetheart, suck it properly or I’ll have to get a lil’ rough with you.”

With several warm, salty tears rolling down your cheeks, you stretch your tongue out to caress the underside of Naoya’s cock. When his grip on your hair gets tighter (expressing disapproval), you hollow your cheeks. Buccal now tightly cushioning his pulsing cock, you attempt to bob your head on his length.

“That’s fucking good,” he throws his head back, jaw falling slack. “Just like that.”

Placing both hands on the back of your head, Naoya takes matters into his own hands again. Roughly rocking his hips, his heavy balls harshly slapping against your chin.

“Please-” you make an effort to communicate your discomfort through tears, but it resembles muffles and gags coming straight from your throat. “No more.”

“Shut your- ugh fuck,” Naoya shudders from his sensitive tip being persistently engulfed by your warm throat. “Shut your mouth. You’ll know when I’m- hah, done.”

Your vision grows even more blurry with every tear created in your lacrimal glands. Breathing at this point only gets more challenging— it’s basically nonexistent as Naoya gets his way, exploiting your throat for his pleasure and satisfaction.

Saliva continues to seep from the corners of your mouth, lubricating the fucker’s cock while also wetting the tiled floor below you. Your arms grow tired from clutching tightly onto his thighs, and your sore jaw only gradually continues to ache.

You’re moments away from letting go of your only source of physical support when Naoya abruptly pulls out of your mouth. Worn out and exhausted, you lean your head back into his hold with your palms planted on the floor, gasping and coughing for the air you once took for granted.

“Upsy-daisy,” he smoothes his fingers from front to back over your head. “Fun’s just-”

“No, no, no, please-” you choke out mid-cough, the uneasiness in your stomach reaching its peak as he looks down at you with a grin. Your eyes start to tear up again, both angry and fearful of the unhinged fucker standing in front of you.

“No?” Naoya’s soothing touch once more becomes aggressive, jerking your head by your hair. “Who are you telling ‘no’ to?”

“You!” your hands reach above your head to grip Naoya’s wrists. You attempt to pry off his hands, but his hold on your hair remains firm. “You’re going to regret this when my mom-”

“She won’t find out,” Naoya grabs more locks of your hair and pulls upwards, forcing you to stand up. “Because you’re not gonna tell her, and I’ll make sure of that— now get the fuck up.”

You don’t budge, choosing to ignore his command and claw at his rugged hands. You recognize this only angers Naoya more, but if you were going down— you wouldn’t go down without a fight.

Mid brawl with your step-dad’s hands in your hair, you manage to land a downward slap on his infuriated face— making sure your nails scrape his skin in the process. Naoya’s forbearance is nonexistent as he increases the force he exerts on you, no longer giving you second chances to correct your actions.

“I’ve had enough of these games,” is all you hear him say before everything moves fast, your brain unable to keep up with his movements. “If you’re going to fight me, here’s a piece of advice— don’t.”

He was quick with it, manhandling you through your screams and punches until your hips are pinned against the sink countertop. His front presses against the posterior of your figure, trapping you between him and the counter. Naoya then grabs hold of your wrists and restrains them behind your back to prevent you from further scratching him.

“This is wrong!” you shout, wiggling your hips and attempting to jerk your hands from his grasp. “And you fucking know it too! The fuck is wrong with you?!”

Transferring both wrists into a hand, he uses his free hand to reach over you and turn the sink on. Your brows furrow at the random act. Why is he just letting the water run?

“It’s not my fault we’re doing this,” Naoya grits through his teeth. “It’s your goddamn fault.”

“My fault!? You’re just an entitled piece of-”

Your sentence is cut short when you notice Naoya undoing the clasp on your jeans. Ignoring your wails and kicks, he swiftly pops the button open before hauling down your zipper. Heart hammering in your chest, you struggle to regulate your breathing— tears quickly returning to your eyes again.

“Naoya, stop this-” you clear the lump in your throat. “You’ve gone too-”

“Too far? Me? Too far?” he snickers. “You deserve this.”

“I hope you die a painful death,” you sniffle. “Worst way possible too.”

“Aw, you’re too kind,” his smile diabolical. “It’s nice to know that you want the best for me— even if it’s the worst at the same time.”

You don’t respond, staring at the water that flows from the tap with warm tears running down your face. Naoya, however, makes the next move and reaches over you again, cupping his hand at the stream.

“See this?” he splashes the clear liquid in your face, causing you to yelp and pull away. You exhale through your mouth before clearing your throat to recover. Naoya suddenly repeats the action again, his hand smothering the aqua all over your eyes, nose, cheeks, and mouth. “It’s water that should’ve been used for what?”

You know it’s bad enough to keep quiet, but why should you keep answering someone like him? Someone whose only goal is to disrespect and demean you for being an independent, bold woman. Screw this guy and his entitled mentality-

“Answer me!” Naoya growls, using his wet hand to land a sharp blow on your denim-covered ass cheek.

“Dishes!” you yell, swinging your heel backward to kick him in the shin. “For the fucking dishes, you asshole!”

“Watch yourself,” he warns. “Actually— you know what? Enough talking now.”

Naoya forcefully hooks four fingers into your back pocket, his thumb gripping the outside. He yanks at the denim material with a grunt, bringing your pants and underwear down to your thighs.

“Stop!” you slam a foot on top of his. “I said st-”

“What a shame,” he chuckles. “One minute you’re all high and mighty, next minute you’re screaming ‘stop!’ Pick a fucking side. Are you a brave bitch or a weak whore?”

“I’m-”

“Oh god,” Naoya rolls his eyes, clamping his calloused hand over your open mouth. “I don’t care for your answer.”

Through the loud ringing in your ears and the vibrations of your muffles, you hear what sounds like Naoya spitting. Your eyes widen, shock freezing every muscle as your reality finally registers.

“No more words from here on out,” he unclamps his hand. “But if you start to enjoy it, then different story.”

Naoya rubs the makeshift lube in, grinding the underside of his cock head up and down your slit. He curses under his breath, bringing the tip of his cock to tease you, circling your sensitive nub. You jerk your hips from the electrifying feeling, a strained moan leaving your throat in the process.

“Yeah,” he lines his cock at your entrance with a smirk. “Only noises like that should come out of your pathetic mouth.”

Naoya starts to push inside of you with a guttural groan, his free hand switching to grip at your bare ass cheeks as he sinks in deeper into your tight, warm cunt.

“Fuck,” he throws his head back, hips moving to create a pace. “Don’t even think the spit was needed. You fucking wanted this, didn’t you?”

“You’re-”

“Why is it so hard for you to stay in your place and follow orders, huh?” Naoya lowly grunts, teeth grazing your earlobe before he abruptly bites down on it. You wince and crane your neck, your back instinctively arching from the sting. His hand leaves your ass and travels up your body to your throat, fingers squeezing at the throbbing pulse as his hot breath makes you writhe beneath him. “Is this what you wanted all along? You like being fucked into submission or somethin’?”

“No-” you gasp, nails digging into your palms. “No, no, no-”

“You’re-” Naoya grunts into your ear, feeling your walls pulsate and flutter around his length. “A horrible liar.”

“Please-”

“That’s more like it,” he grins, fingers snaking up to grab your chin and redirect your focus to his perspiring face. “When you want something from a man, you beg for it. Now open, I think I should repay you for what you gave me earlier.”

Oh god. You know what’s coming, but you don’t want it— you’ll never want it. There’s no way to avoid it either.

You weakly open your mouth and close your eyes, further separating your parched lips as Naoya slows his pace. With two fingers, he briskly presses on your bottom row of teeth and tongue before hawking a sizeable amount of spit into your mouth. His spit is distasteful and vile as it sits in your mouth, mixing with your own saliva— but what’s to come next is another nightmare.

“Drink up,” he growls, squeezing your cheeks together. “Or I just might have to do it again and again until you learn.”

Naoya stops thrusting just to watch you ingest the warm liquid, staring intensely at your face and throat as you do so.

“Say ahh,” he smirks as he inspects your mouth. “Good.”

Pushing your head forward, Naoya’s hand grips onto your shoulder as he picks up from where he left off. He starts to thrust inside of you again— this time at a swift, overwhelming speed that has you throwing your head back with fresh tears prickling your eyes.

His ego is solely fed by your inability to do anything but moan and shriek as his cock sinks deeper and deeper, making your cunt uncontrollably squelch and squeeze around him.

The roughness of his strokes causes him to tug harder on your shoulder and bound wrists until they ultimately burn with soreness. Several warm tears continue to stream down your face as your hips repeatedly bump into the granite countertop— a bruise sure to make its appearance by the morning. Through your cries, you attempt to still yourself and clench your cunt, hoping it’d force Naoya to slow his swift pace.

He has to give you credit. Even in a precipitous situation like this, you can still think of ways to interfere with his tactics. It’s clever— but it’s a wasted effort when the bastard is both stronger and taller than you.

“Stop that shit,” he scolds, spanking a bare cheek with his large palm. “Arch your fucking back or I’ll finish inside.”

“No, no,” you mutter, teary eyes blinking away the dreadful thought. “Not inside.”

It doesn’t occur to you at the moment, but there’s absolutely no way Naoya would cum inside of you— especially not while he’s married to your mom. As extreme as this punishment is already, he would never get so wrapped up in the feeling that he finishes inside.

But nonetheless, his severe tone alone leaves you with no other option but to obey.

“That’s more like it,” Naoya watches as you arch your back into the counter, hoping it meets his expectations. “This is how it should always be.”

You discern the slight decrease in his Naoya’s pace as he lets go of your bound wrists, allowing you to grip the edge of the stainless steel sink for support. One of his large hands blindly extends down your body to your swollen clit, rubbing the nub in tight, rhythmic circles. Your hips jerk in response with each rub at the bundle of nerves, fortuitously meeting Naoya’s brisk strokes.

“And they just keep coming, huh?” he sneers, bringing his other hand up to your debauched face, harshly wiping the tears from your wet cheeks before shoving them into your agape mouth. He’s once again thrusting the thick digits against your tongue— this time ensuring you’ve tasted the salt and defeat of your disgraceful weeping. “Tastes like... the tears of a weak, needy bitch, doesn’t it?”

His words sound faint as he retrieves his fingers; they don’t even register in your head as you struggle to keep yourself on two feet.

Skin slapping against each other, your moans, Naoya’s grunts and scornful laughter— they all primarily fill the kitchen. His hands routinely add to the noise, striking your ass each time your arched form becomes dull.

With a hand secured on your hip and fingers still relentlessly rubbing at your puffy clit, your cunt starts to cream and gush around his cock. Your teary eyes are squeezed shut as a high-pitched moan leaves your throat and your whole body becomes undone.

Naoya fucks you through your orgasm, ignoring your cries of overstimulation as he chases his own release. He snaps his hips up into you, your cunt squelching and sucking him back in with every thrust. The sounds of his erect cock thrusting into your wet cunt are beyond embarrassing— it’s incredibly humiliating. You’re only continuing to milk him at this point and you can’t stop it.

With a low grunt, he abruptly pulls out— spurts of warm, thick semen painting the contour of your ass as you collapse over the sink. Jerking the last few drops of his release onto your skin, the bastard smirks, taking pride in the canvas he just painted white.

Naoya wipes the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand, taking a step back as he tucks his half-limp cock back into his pants. Still smirking, he briefly watches your fucked out hole spasm— clenching and unclenching around nothing.

He stands back up to full height before reaching into his pocket, hands searching for what you sought earlier.

“Go see your lil’ friend,” he tosses your keys on the counter with a flick of his wrist. “Ah right, you might want to wipe that off... or take another shower. If you’re smart, maybe this time you’ll take your keys with you.”

Naoya steps out of the kitchen but turns his head towards you once more, deciding to say one last thing before heading to the basement.

“You should always do as you’re told,” he advises, recalling how this predicament started. “Or keep disrespecting me— your choice. I’ve noticed that bratty girls like you love to underestimate men like me.”

jthebeauty © 2021 — all rights reserved. Do not repost or recommend on other platforms, modify, translate or copy.

[xamaxenta]

Something cute I just thought abt, modern au stuff, I guess college ages here

Sabo frequents an arcade and regularly makes first on the leaderboards

Until a new name thats just AAA pops up in the first slot on most of his favourite games, incensed Sabo wants to find the fucker ruining his streaks and challenge him or her fair and square

Koala thinks he’s being stupid but Sabo holds his grudges and needs to know, figures out by the times hes gone and taken first place back that when he returns after dinner rush at the diner he works at, the AAA fucker was back and learns through small cues that this person must also be a student, has a membership, and is extremely good at dance games

He starts asking the staff if they’ve seen a new regular around, roughly his age, what do they look like

Gleans new info until his Biochem professor has them all pair up for a project that will calculate towards the entirety of their grade this year and a guy named Ace ends up matching his number pair, Sabo stares him down, from look alone, Ace fits the “new regular nerd on the block” descriptions from the arcade staff

And the first thing out Sabo’s mouth is something along the lines of: Are you the bastard that keeps beating my score in Time Crisis?

And Ace looks at him in confusion, “time what?” And Sabo hates that he thinks he’s cute

“AAA?” Sabo knows its him, can feel it in his bones.

“I dunno what you mean.” Ace replies, and has the audacity to look away to root around in his bag for something clearly unimportant to their conversation.

“Besides, why do you care, are you like some mega nerd who cares about keeping score?“ Ace asks blandly, pen in hand as he hunches over their project outline.

Koala stifles a laugh from where she’s seated behind them in the auditorium. Sabo makes a rude gesture at her from behind his back.

“That’s funny, considering you keep beating me, which makes you an even bigger nerd!” Sabo retorts, unwilling to let this go now he’s found his perp, “you’ve beaten me in everything from Starblade To Nightslashers?”

“Are you SBAO?“ Ace asks suddenly and Sabo squints at him suspiciously.

“Holy shit, you spelt your own name wrong?“ Ace snickers and circles something Sabo can’t be bothered to check just yet.

“Says the guy who registered under AAA.”

“Nah you can’t blame that on me dude, AAA is my little brother.” Ace sits back against their bench, his smile half amused at how seriously Sabo was taking all of this.

“I just provide the wallet he needs for the membership but I tag along to watch him play. I’m shit at videogames.” Ace explains and Sabo flusters slightly, both at how cute Ace looked when he smiled but also at accusing him so strongly, he can practically hear Koala’s radiating smugness.

“Wait. How old is your brother?“ Sabo asks with growing trepidation.

“He’s twelve.” Ace says and signs off his name at the bottom of their project sheet, sliding it over to Sabo to add his own.

Sabo visibly feels the blood drain from his face, that can’t be true, there’s no fucking way—“you’re telling me your kid brother is kicking my ass at Dungeons and Driveout?”

“Yeah.” Ace looks awfully proud of this little brother of his.

“Are you his guardian?“ Sabo switches tracks, trying to find some kind of flaw with the cute guy smiling up an adorable storm beside him.

“Yup.” Ace tucks his pen behind his ear for safekeeping, which Sabo finds enormously endearing but he will never ever say it, this guy and his kid brother were the enemy!!

“And you let him play video games for that long?“

“What we do with our time is not really your concern.” Ace says smoothly, “And I don’t need anyone telling me how to parent my brother. He’s a good kid and I want him to have fun.”

Koala kicks at Sabo from under the bench, forcing him to apologise for his insensitive mouth.

“None taken.” Ace relaxes visibly, and Sabo kind of likes how he was so ready to protect the things he cares about.

“Alright, I need to know one more thing and then I’ll sign your stupid form,” Sabo flicks at the corner of the page Ace has been wiggling at him from across the desktop for the past ten minutes.

“Shoot.” Ace indulges him.

“The dancing games. There’s simply no way a twelve year old is gonna get those combos.”

“You’re right. Those are my scores.” Ace smirks and Sabo feels vindicated at last.

“So you are AAA!”

“In a sense. But we share the account, I can’t afford more than one.” Ace has the nerve to look sheepish over that, of all things.

Sabo can’t help but glance him over, takes in his build and the long sweep of his legs—

“My eyes are up here dude.” Ace drawls and Sabo glances back up with a scowl, annoyed that he was caught looking.

“Ugh. Give me that.” Sabo slaps a hand over the form and drags it over to scribble his signature along the base so they can finally pass it back down to their professor.

“You me, Dancerush Stardom at 7?”

“Without dinner first?“ Ace asks in mock surprise.

“Dinner after,” Sabo shoots back and stands noisly from their bench to take the sheet back down to the front of the hall.

“I think he likes you.” Koala says conversationally, leaning over the gap Sabo’s made and Ace turns to look at her thoughtfully.

“Think so?”

“Yup. He’s obsessed with you actually.”

“I’m not fucking obsessed—“ Sabo shouts from the base of the stairs.

“Yes you are sweetie!” Koala hollers back at him before smiling at Ace who shrinks back at the leer in her eyes.

“Be nice to him, he’s got like zero friends, excluding me.”

“Uhh okay?” Ace glances between the rapidly approaching Sabo and the girl behind him.

“He’s just excited to talk to someone his age with the same interests, he doesn’t bite.” Koala adds when Sabo vaults over their bench row with the intention of silencing her.

“Shut the fuck up,” Sabo seethes after wrangling her into a not so gentle headlock.

“Or what?“ Koala goads and then promptly elbows her friend in the stomach.

“You’re gonna scare him off by being fucking weird again!”

“Hey, I’m still here and I’m getting pretty hungry.” Ace cuts in, his pale silvery eyes creasing up in what Sabo recognises as a positive emotion, he can work with that.

“So dinner?“ Sabo repeats and Ace nods, Sabo glances at Koala who sticks her tongue out at him.

“Uh now?”

“It is almost seven.” Ace says agreeably.

“Oh shit. Yeah okay.” Sabo holds out his hand for Ace to take, and then regrets it because his palms are so so damn sweaty—

“Awww. You two be nice to each other now.” Koala looks between them as her tone takes on a sugary kind of quality.

“I want him home by ten.” She addresses Ace first who looks caught out for a brief moment before playing along, salutes her charmingly with his and Sabo’s linked hands.

“And you, you be nice. I don’t wanna have to bury another body okay?”

“Wait what—“ Ace tries to process that quip as Sabo drags him out of the auditorium, Koala waves them out, neither confirming or denying her statement.

Cuties. She thinks this relationship will last.

[davyjoneslockr]

okay i need to know. what would your take on modern au/high school fugio be. OBVIOUSLY naramis too

Yes yes okay so. If you don’t mind me derailing this slightly, I do have a modern college AU that’s been living in my brain for years but I haven’t written anything for. I have little storylines for like all the JJBA characters but obviously Fugio and Naramis are there.

So all the Joestars are like. Extended family. Cousins mostly and some of them are siblings. They’re also distantly related to Giorno, and nobody knows how, but Jolyne and Josuke think he’s cool so they figure he must be alright, even if he’s also a Brando somehow. The Joestar and Brando family trees are very complicated.

Giorno goes to college to study like. Biology. Probably with minors in entomology and zoology. And besides his distant relatives (who he’s not that close to yet), he doesn’t know anyone because he doesn’t exactly have any friends. Then, at orientation, he meets Bucciarati, who’s his RA. He says he knows Giorno’s roommate, Mista, an upperclassman he was randomly placed with, and once the school year starts, he meets him and the rest of the World’s Worst Friend Group.

Fugo is a sophomore who skipped a grade back in K-12 and went to college a year early, so he’s in the same year as Narancia and Mista. He’s also an honors student, pre-law, math minor, and absolutely at his fucking limit. He was originally going to go to this super prestigious university, but when he was there for orientation/some research he’d already started, backstory stuff happens. Only difference is that his grandma is still alive, and she takes him in after his family disowns him. His admission is rescinded from that school, so he goes to The School All The Main Characters Are At instead. Narancia’s his roommate and is pulling the Best Strat Ever by majoring in aerodynamics/aerospace engineering while being dogshit at math (but not really – he’s actually quite good at it, but finds traditional teaching methods/curriculum hard to follow, so Fugo has to help translate certain things into Narancia Language). I haven’t really decided on Mista’s major lol, but he and Giorno quickly become besties and get along well as roommates – except for the fact that like. There’s an almost definite line between Giorno’s side of the room, which is pristine and orderly, and Mista’s, which is a disaster and could definitely use some air freshener.

Naramis Fugio timeline is like: Torture Trio’s freshman year, before Giorno (and Trish) join the group, Fugonara happens. They break up and quickly learn why people say not to date your roommate. Drama ensues. Mista’s sort of stuck in between it. Being vague bc I might write a fic about this someday. They reconcile eventually and all is well.

Mista and Narancia have always been close, but towards the end of freshman year and into that summer, they start getting really close. Like, having a whole encyclopedia of inside jokes and cuddling during movie nights close. But they’re not dating, and they’re very insistent about the “no homo” thing. This is a charade. They have massive crushes on each other.

Giorno develops a crush on Fugo pretty quickly. Only Mista knows about it. He thinks it’s hilarious. The gang goes out to parties a lot, so I’m thinking of some Man in the Mirror fight parallel that’s like. Stereotypical Rowdy College Party Gets Broken Up By The Cops thing, and Giorno and Fugo get into some wacky hijinks to escape without getting caught, and once they’re safe and the adrenaline dies down and they’re just laughing over how ridiculous it was, Fugo has a moment where he’s like. Holy shit. He’s cool. Oh shit I think I like him.

Naramis gets together partway through first semester. Nobody is surprised. Fugo keeps getting kicked out of his room so Narancia and Mista can make out and/or watch Sharkboy and Lavagirl for the 100th time without listening to him complain. He always ends up hanging out with Giorno, whether that’s in the library, the local coffee shop, the campus flower gardens, or his room. Silly dramatic slowburn romance ensues. Stupid college shenanigans with the gang also ensue. Really this AU is just a set of scenes in my head that are all just dumb hijinks and stuff. Maybe when I’m done with the Mista fic, I’ll put it on my to-do list and write a oneshot or two.

[isitbussinjanelle]

Raya and the princesses (This is a modern AU)

“Alright, follow me you two.”

A storm trooper leads Namaari, and Raya threw the business of ‘Oh My Disney!’. With Raya and Namaari being the newest Disney princesses, they now had to accompany the other prior princesses in their dressing room for online Disney events. For Raya, this experience was out of this world. With the song ‘Let it Go’ playing in the background while Star Wars ships zoom across the sky along with dumbo, she was overwhelmingly excited. She felt like a kid in a Candy store.

For Namaari however, this was something she struggled to find enjoying. Namaari loves peace and quiet when she has it and will often spend her time reading a book or reading a Fang legend to a bunch of Fang children when she doesn’t have sparring sessions or piles and piles of Fang documents and contracts to sign. Namaari followed alongside the storm trooper while keeping her hands very close to her sides to avoid touching one of the happy square-headed people roaming around. Namaari also happened to be claustrophobic, so this wasn’t helping whatsoever. But when Namaari took one glance at Raya beaming with enjoyment and her eyes glowing, she decided that maybe enjoying her time there wouldn’t be terrible.

“OMG NAMI!!” Raya yelped. Nami was one of Raya’s many nicknames for the fang princess.

“What? What is it?” Namaari said frantically.

“It’s THE buzz light year! THE BUZZ LIGHT YEAR NAMI! Can we please go say hi? I wanna give him my best impression of himself,” Raya said with pleading eyes.

With Namaari being Namaari, she obviously couldn’t say no, because its Raya for Christ sake.

“Ofco-,”

“No. You both are already late for preparation for the ‘Which Disney princess are you’ quizlet. Let’s go.” Barked the storm trooper. Damn, who spit in your congee? Raya wondered.

Raya looked back at Namaari with a, can you believe this asshat, Kind of look. Pursed her lips and rose her shoulders in a, it is what it is, kind of look. Namaari and Raya were great at reading each other like this. They did it all the time when they had fights.

After a few more stops with Raya’s stalling, and more of the storm troopers eyerolling (which you couldn’t tell because of his helmet but it was obvious), they eventually made it too the ‘cast members only’ section. There they found Nick wild, Grumpy the dwarf, tinker bell, and hei hei.

“Ahh ha ha, so these must be the new princesses,” Nick walks towards the trio of the storm trooper and the Kumandran princesses. His words trail off as he looks at them both up and down.

“I gotta ask- no poofy dresses? Whats that all about?” Nick asks, direction his attention towards raya, then Namaari.

“Nah, dresses make it way harder to beat Nami at sparring,” Raya responds as she shifts her wight to her right leg and crosses her arms in a cool way.

“Please- like you’ve ever beaten be binturi,” Namaari blushes and mimics rayas arm cross. Nick gags at the mini flirting session.

“well, gotta hand it to ya princess- I think I like you more without the dress. I guess I owe Flash 10 bucks.” Nick says as he sticks a lollipop in his mouth and puts his shades on and walks away.

“Did a fox just try and flirt with me?” Raya laughed. Namaari was a little mad that anyone except her would talk to Raya flirtatiously, but brushed it off.

“You two are running short on time. You, go through that door, and you through that one.” The storm trooper points at two doors that are directly across the hall from each other. Namaari and Raya find this odd, especially because they’re both princesses- shouldn’t they be in the same room?

Namaari goes off through her door while Raya is ushered by the Storm trooper to go through hers.

“What an ass.” Raya mumbled to herself.

The Moment Raya looks up, she is bombarded with the smell of perfume, and sweet sounds of angelic singing. Raya looks around at the beautifully designed room. She stares over at the other women in the room, primping each other’s hair or mingling amongst themselves. She straightens her hat. She saw one princess playing jump rope with two others. But the jump rope was…hair? Raya was confused. Raya begins to “walk” over too where the other princesses are but struggles to actually move her legs because she’s not great with people. Especially because she hasn’t had much interaction with them for 6 years. She starts rehearsing in her head good things to say to someone, like compliments, and asking, “How’s the weather today?”. Small talk. Raya hated the concept.

She eventually builds up the courage to stop standing in her own embarrassment and walk over to the princess area but fails as she lands back first on the floor. She slipped in something.

The princesses immediately notice this because Raya was quite dramatic about her fall when she did. She groaned in agony as a beautiful princess rushed towards her.

“Oh! Are you okay? I am truly sorry. Raja must have peed on the floor again. Bad kitty!” The princess scolds her giant cat- tiger that lays on the long blue couch. He cocks his head in confusion when he heard his name. He ignores her and licks his left paw.

“OMG. Are you the new princess? Guys! She’s the new princess!” Another princess rushes over. This girl has wet curly hair with a black and white pig by her side. All of the other princesses file in over Raya. They all begin to clap whilst a princess begins to sing angelically in celebration.

“FINALLY! I’ve been waiting for another badass warrior chick to show up. Sick sword girl! Where’d you get it” A girl with short straight black hair grabs raya by the arm and walks with her around the room.

“oh- thanks! It belongs to my Ba.” Raya says as the puts one arm behind her head in nervousness.

“Whats a Ba-“ A princess with long read hair and rosy cheeks asks with a head cock. She’s cut off by the next princess.

“Holy crap! How are you’re arms so muscly??” One of the princesses asks as she squishes raya’s biceps, which makes her highly uncomfortable. Raya begins to back away from the large crowd of girls- which was a mistake.

“Um- yeah I guess so…you should see My girlfr-“ Raya is cut off when she trips over something on the ground and lands on something warm and fury- Raja.

Raja growls and purrs at raya, but then begins to lick her because he senses her fear. Raya leaps up.

“Gah! Don’t hurt me orange serlot!” Raya exclaims as the goes into the sideways feat position on the ground.

“Raja, play nice!” Jasmine says. Raya couldn’t tell it was here as she was rolled up for the sake of her life.

“What’s a serlo-“The same princess from earlier who asked what a Ba was asked. Shes interrupted once more once an unexpected guest makes an appearance.

“Ride Like the wind ya big fur-bug!” A girl with curly red hair flys’ around the room on- Tuk Tuk? He was here! Meredith nocks over a bunch of chairs and startles Raja.

“Fur-bug? TUK TUK!” Raya gets up in relief to finally see a familiar face- a face with a big wet nose. Tuk Tuk stops rolling and galops over to Raya, much to Meredith’s disappointment. All of the other princesses share an “aww” as Raya nuzzles Tuk Tuk with her nose.

“Boo! I was having fun ey? He sure is quite a ride tho. Ought to give the lad that.” Meredith said as she shoulders bumped Aurora. Aurora clears her throat and steps away from Meredith slightly.

“Glad to see you bud!” Raya said. All of the other princesses gather around Raya and tuktuk, who are still near the door. She never got to get fully settled in after being bombarded with questions and perfume.

“Now lady’s, I think it’s about time we all gave the new gal a proper introduction.” Tiana says with her hands on her hips, gesturing her statement towards Mulan and Cinderella, who were the main ones who asked Raya questions. They both giggle in agreement.

All of the princesses introduce themselves and show raya their power if they have one, or just tell her about their past and how they became royalty. Raya listens to each of them in awe but gets distracted during a few of the short speeches only to be wondering how Namaari was doing in the other room. She hoped Namaari was okay. They last few minutes mostly consisted of years and uh-huhs from Raya’s side as she listened to all of the princesses’ backstories. After a while, the very last princess told Raya about her backstory.

“And that’s how I saved the world with my good friend Maui, shape shifter, demigod of the wind and- “Moana goes on but gets cut off.

“Okay but for real, for once just say Maui and drop the formalities.” Anna groaned with impatience as she twirled her red strands of hair.

“Hey, I gotta give my man his credit. Put some respect on his name, you know?” Moana says all hyped up. Mulan screams “PERIOD” from across the room as she sharpens her sword. Pocahontas rolls her eyes at the childish ness.

“Period is so old now Mulan- no one says it anymore,” Pocahontas says.

“You right you right… SHEEEEEEESH” Mulan says as she connects two fingers to the crease of her forearm. She bits her lips and widens her leg stance. Moana dies of laughter at this.

“Maui does that all the time and its so fricking annoying,” Moana says. Raya laughs at all of this; she felt like she almost found her place. Raya loved making others laugh and enjoyed doing it in the form of 10-year-old boy humor. She was glad that these girls matched her energy.

“Guy’s, were kinda getting off track- New girl. How did you become a Disney princess? Who’s your prince? Or were you already born into nobility?” Tiana asks as she brushed Rapunzel’s long gold strands.

Raya pursed her lips. She hated speaking in front of large crowds. She was never the best at presenting school projects in her child days and doesn’t enjoy it now either. One of the many reasons why she is in no hurry to become Chief of Heart. Raya suddenly notices all eyes on her. Oh shit, they actually want me to speak? Fuck no-

“Um…” Raya starts. “Well, I guess I was born into nobility. My father is chief of my homeland Heart, a land in Kumandra,” she said nervously as she looked down and played with dead skin on her finger.

“And as for a prince- I don’t have one? I have a girlfriend named Namaari whos’ a princess of Fang, another land in Kumandra…” Raya noticed all of the princesses staring at her in awe and interest. Even belle put down her book once the Heart land princess mention a female love interest.

“Yeah…We kind of went from enemies to lovers. She sorts of stabbed me in the back when we were kids and caused our world to face 6 years of apocalypse,” Raya Gained some confidence s=once she realized her audience was enjoying her story. “But eventually I had to realize that maybe putting my faith in Namaari was the only thing that could save us. Kumandra. When the druun, which was the cause of the apocalypse, was closing in on me, Namaari, a baby named Noi, A buff winter soldier named Tong, and one hell of a cook named Boun, I decided that the only way to get us out of there was to use the one thing sisu wanted us to do; trust each other. I put my faith in Namaari, and she came through. And she has ever since.”

Raya finished. She looked around to see the other princesses gathers around her on their stomachs with their chins on their hands like little preschoolers.

“Woah.” They all said.

“Damn girl! That’s some powerful shit!” Mulan said as the rapped an arm around Raya’s shoulder in approval. Mulan was slightly taller that Raya, about Namaari’s height. Raya smiled sweetly as the other princesses Hollard in agreement.

“So how did you find all of these people? Noi, Tong, all of them?” Jasmine asked. She was sitting on her magic carpet with Raja purring by her side.

“Oh! I kinda scooped them up with me along the way. You see, I had to travel to each of the four kingdoms, Fang, Talon, Spine, and Tail to get these gem pieces that would save the world. I found Boun in Tail- He was my getaway driver-“

“From whom? Were the druun chasing you?” Elsa asked eagerly.

“Namaari. Namaari was chasing after me because…Actually, I had no idea why. Before she was chasing me, I had just gotten a Gem piece from Tail. Namaari showed up out of no where all of a sudden and mention something about the dragon scroll that I stole from Fang, which was useless to her which makes me wonder why she needed it; She was also holding my hair pin which is also kinda odd- “

“I KNOW WHY! SHE LOVED YOU RAYA WERE YOU BLIND? WHY ELSE WOULD SHE KEEP YOUR HAIR PIN THINGY?” Belle jumped up in excitement. She felt like this was some kind of good book.’

“Nah, it wasn’t love. I think Namaari wanted to get RIPPED TONIGHT-“Mulan shouted as the fake flexed her arms.

“RIP THAT PUSSY AYYEE!” Moana moved her arms and hips to copy the Tiktok trend. Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned at the immaturity. Raya was Hot red and covered her face to hide it- did Namaari actually like her at the time? I guess it would make sense, seeing as how Namaari always called her Dep la, which meant strangely beautiful.

“Ladies! Let her finish!” Tiana snapped. Raya could tell that Tiana was the mom of the group.

“Anywas, after I found Boun in Tail, I picked up baby noi in Talon, where she conned me- she faked cried so she could steal my gem piece,” Raya shook her head in laughter at the memory.

“That baby new what was up.” Pocahontas chimed in.

“I eventually caught her and her gang of Ongis and helped her earn some honest loot by helping me get the gem piece from the chief of Talon.” Raya concluded.

“We took Noi with us and went to spine, where tong captured me and sisu, and the gem pieces. Tuk tuk, Boun, Noi and the Ongis thankfully came to our rescue, but that was exactly when Namaari showed up in spine.” Raya said.

“Yes! More Namaari moments! Did you guys kiss?” Moana asked eagerly.

“Oh, they totally did more than that moana.” Mulan said with her eyebrows quirked and her arms crossed.

“Shut up! We didn’t do anything! She actually beat my ass.” Raya should choose better wording.

“EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” All of the princesses squealed, except for Meredith, who was busy trying to stop tuk tuk from eating cold beignets Tiana had made so they could go on another joyride.

“NO WAY. NO WAY. YALL DID? SHE DID? PERIOD NAMAARI AHHHH YESSSS!!” Mulan was jumping on the couch in happiness. Raya was blushing so hard that she had steam coming out of her ears.

“Uh, g-guys? If “Beat my ass” means what I think it means, then I think Eric might have beaten mine last night…” Ariel said with a blush. Mulan, moana and Pocahontas had their jaws wide open. Cinderella had her hand over her mouth to try and hold back her laugh.

“ARIEL! YOU NAUGHTY GIRL! I DIDN’T KNOW ERIC HAD IT LIKE THAT! WAS IT GOOD THOUGH?” Moana asked loudly, hoping eric would hear from across the hall. Ariel nodded. Ariel was known at the innocent one of the groups, so this was a huge shock to everyone.

“Same Ariel! Naveen gave it to me good last night if you know what I’m saying…” Tiana said as she poked her lips out. Moana and Mulan couldn’t help but squeal. Raya was on the ground dying laughing with Pocahontas at what Tiana said.

For the next few minutes, the girls all went on rants about their sex life, except for the ones with know love interest. They laughed a whole lot that day. Raya felt lightheaded the entire time she was there due to laughing.

Eventually, the girls decided to settle down and all watch the Lion king. Mulan made the popcorn, while Belle gathered the drinks. Raya had never seen the lion king before because this was her first time actually watching a movie with friends. The movie was great, but the loud commentary about the movie made by mostly moana and Mulan was even better, and the other princess agreed to this with laughter. During the Hakuna Matata scene, Mulan played Timone, and Moana was Pumba, while Raya tried her best to copy Simba’s lines for the mini skit.

“WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG WART HOG,” Mulan sang badly.

“WHEN I WAS A YOUNG WART HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGGGG!” Moana sang worse, which made the other princesses laugh.

The other princess enjoyed this. Raya didn’t that much, because she had to eat jello and pretend it was the bug Simba ate in the movie.

“WHAT IS THIS TEXTURE?” Raya shouted with a mouth full of goo. Jasmine died laughing from Raya’s response, along with Aurora.

“EAT IT YOU PUSSY!” Mulan shouted, breaking character.

All of the girls got emotional during the, can you Feel the Love tonight song. The all sang in harmony, except for raya because she didn’t know the song. Raya did however cry during the scene where Simba and Scar fought on pride rock and Simba almost died multiple times.

“NO NOT SIMBA!” Raya shouted at the screen.

“Don’t worry, he lives.” Meredith shouted from across the room, still trying to get tuk tuk up.

Raya Couldn’t help but enjoy the time she had they’re with the princesses. She felt at home. Obviously not like Kumandra, for that will always be her home, but she felt like she found her people. Namaari usually tool Raya’s jokes to seriously, or just pinched her the bridge of her nose and chuckle when Raya mad 10-yearold boy humor. Raya was just finally glad to find some girls who were wild like her.

After the movie ended, the girls clapped and cheered.

“Hey, didn’t when have a Disney princess quizlet to attend?” Elsa asked. Everyone else shrugged and ignored it. They actually didn’t have anything to attend, because as we know, ralph broke the internet, so nobody was able to go online and take the quiz.

“Quick question for you Raya- Is Boun Single, I mean, a man that can cook; that’s what I need” Moana said as she pointed to nothing.

“Preach.” Mulan commented.

“MOANA BOUN IS 10- DID I KNOW MENTION THAT?!” Raya said. All of the other girls busted out laughing.

“…I mean…A six year age difference is that-“

“MOANA OF MOTONUI!” Tiana shouted as she threw a pillow at moana. The other girls couldn’t help but laugh. Raya was going to have a fun time with these girls.

Credit: @gioistrying

[sometimesiwrite]

The Way It Is

Prompt: Fake Dating

Pairing: Lambert & Essi Other Characters: Julian (Jaskier), Eskel/Geralt

Rating: Teen Content Warnings: No Archive Warnings; platonic/queerplatonic dynamics; pressure to engage sexually; coarse language; alcohol/intoxication; modern AU.

Summary: When Essi and Lambert are setup on a blind date, they don’t expect to get along as well as they do. However, when they decide to keep their relationship platonic and non-romantic, they realize they might face some uncomfortable pressure. For the sake of simplicity, they decide to tell people they’re dating, but is it sustainable? 

@witcher-rarepair-summer-bingo​

Essi fidgeted with the bent corner of her cafe menu, looking around at the various styles of local artworks hanging on the walls. She was early by about ten minutes, but that didn’t stop her from checking the pearlescent dial of her watch every thirty seconds. Finally, the bell above the door tinkled and a man walked in. Essi could tell from the way he was looking around that he was there to meet someone—her. The only other people sitting alone in the cafe were working on laptops and tablets; no one else waiting for a date. And this man was most certainly looking for one. 

He was handsome in a ruffled sort of way, though he’d clearly put in a bit of effort. His black casual dress shirt and slim light-wash jeans fit his lean frame impeccably, and a subtle quantity of mousse was clearly doing its best to tame his short, scruffy brown hair. Even his bristly beard appeared to have been trimmed recently. Though there was nothing particularly remarkable about his clothing, there was something striking about the way he carried himself, a devil-may-care sort of presence that Essi appreciated. For a blind date, she thought, it certainly could be worse. Allegedly, they knew each other, at least based on his abruptly out-of-the-blue text, and the closer she looked, the more her memory of him crystalized. 

A loud ping! emitted from Essi’s phone and the man looked up from his own cellular device, clearly having just texted. 

“Uh, Essi? Essi Daven, right?” He took a step towards her and leaned in, pointing to his phone screen. 

“Yes,” Essi stood to shake his hand, “hi.”

“Nice to see you again. Lambert.”

They sat down awkwardly, both struggling to find the will for smalltalk. 

“So…” Lambert had become keenly interested in a black-and-white digital photograph behind Essi’s shoulder.

“Listen,” Essi could feel the words start to tumble out of her mouth, and it was too late to do anything about it. Lambert raised an eyebrow,  “I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just going to be honest and probably regret it later: I don’t really do this. Dating. I find it strange and uncomfortable and if I’m perfectly honest I think I’d rather die.” She didn’t cringe apologetically, which would have been the expected behaviour to accompany an outpouring of disinterest. Instead she stared at him, wide-eyed, lips slightly pursed as a muscle in her neck twitched, waiting for his response.

Lambert laughed. Genuinely laughed—a joyful release of tension and dread, “Oh, thank Fuck!” Essi blinked in pleasant surprise and watched as Lambert began to relax.

“Excuse me?” Her startlingly blue eyes widened in amusement. 

“No, no, I just mean—I would absolutely and one-hundred percent, without a doubt, rather die in a hole than date,” Lambert slotted the edge of the menu under his fingernails and let his eyes wander a little more freely around the cafe. 

“So then… why?” 

Hm. Direct, frank, amusing lack of filter… the memories were starting to come back from what limited, heavily inebriated, time they’d spent together.

There was something about the straightforwardness of this endearingly odd woman that made Lambert feel infinitely more comfortable. Usually, any kind of interaction with the potential of building mutual interest made him feel like he was playing a game he didn’t know the rules to. The signals, the code words that never meant what they said: having sex on the first date means you’re a slut; not having sex on the third date means you’re a prude; grabbing coffee means this; having dinner means that; if they your arm but don’t invite you up, it means that they’re actually a KGB operative and need to give you the launch codes for a super secret missile...

Fuck that, we have words for a reason. Say what you mean and don’t waste my time. For that reason alone, Essi was already scoring quite well in Lambert’s books. 

He shrugged, “You somehow remembered me from the KM Christmas party almost six months ago, and still asked for my number. I figure that at least deserves a coffee and a conversation.”

Essi was bewildered, “I didn’t ask for your number, you texted me.”

Lambert shook his head, “Impossible. No offense, but I absolutely guarantee you I did not.” He produced their short text exchange and scrolled to the top of their conversation: 

Hi, is this Lambert? From the KM Christmas party? 

You might not remember me, we got talking about 

the political situation in Kashmir after about…

Too many drinks. Eeep! 

Anyway, I’d love to get a coffee sometime, if 

you’re interested. 

Sorry, this is Essi Daven. 

You called me Goldilocks at one point and 

seemed amused XD 

Hope you’re well! 

Essi snatched Lambert’s phone, shocked and slightly outraged as she reached for her own device, opening her thread with Lambert. The text at the top was not from her, but from the man across from her: 

Yeah, hi, this is 

Lambert-from-the-KM-Christmas-party. 

As it happens, I remember you and our 

conversation quite well. Not many folks 

happily get into drunken political discussions

You know what, I wouldn’t mind grabbing a 

coffee. 

Let me know if you’re free in the next couple 

weeks! 

Lambert gestured emphatically at Essi’s phone screen, “In what world is this an acceptable way to ask someone out?! I wouldn’t have said yes to that!”

“I don’t know,” Essi fired back, “It was straightforward! I found it charming, okay? Is that a crime?”

“No, but I have some serious concerns about your taste in men.”

“Like you’re in such a fine position to judge after the hollow, paltry invitation you accepted—which I absolutely did not write, by the way. I want to make that perfectly clear.”

“Alright, alright, cool your jets, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.” Lambert narrowed his eyes as he passed Essi’s phone back to her, “You didn't fire the first shot, so who texted me from your phone and cleared the history?”

Essi nibbled the inside of her cheek, “I can think of a few.”

“Okay, next question,” Lambert pocketed his phone, “who added you to my contacts before you texted. Because we did not exchange numbers six months ago, but your name was already there when I received it.”

Essi shrugged, “Who has access to your phone?”

“I dunno. Really just Eskel and Geralt and neither of them would—”

“Geralt.”

“Why him?”

Essi’s bright blue eyes turned steely and murderous, “Julian… They’re working together.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Are you telling me that Geralt the-last-thing-I-need Rivia and Julian Alfred these-aren't-my-pants Pankratz think we're so helplessly undateable that they decided to secretly set us up?” 

“Eskel doesn’t know me that well; he wouldn’t try to set you up with someone he hadn’t vetted. Who did you talk to first when you got that text from me?”

Lambert’s eyes widened, “Holy shit, they’re working together.”

Essi nodded, a flood of embarrassment warming her cheeks. “Sorry to waste your time. You’re very nice but, um, I should just…” she got up to leave.

“Wh-hey, hold up. I mean, if you wanna go, go, that's fine, but there's something you might want to know first.”

Essi tossed her yellow bangs out of her eyes, “Oh? What's that?”

“This,” Lambert produced an Amex credit card from his breast pocket, “is Geralt's.” The cheeky glint in his eyes was a very convincing argument.

“Fine then. Coffee and a conversation.” 

The coffee was hot and decent, and the conversation meandered through the usual topics of music, movies, and television, but also dipped into deeper waters as they grew more comfortable with each other’s company. Of course, it didn’t hurt that neither of them had any stakes in the outcome of this “date”. It made it easier to be frank and open, which in turn led to them quickly enjoying their time together. So much so that coffee turned into lunch, which turned into a long walk in the pleasant weather, which finally landed them outside Essi’s apartment, just around dinner time. 

“I have to say, this was actually a pleasant encounter,” she said, turning to face him with a characteristic toss of her bangs. 

“Yeah, who’d’ve thought two people forced together by meddling friends would actually find it enjoyable?” 

“In light of that,” Essi squared her shoulders and found Lambert’s hazel-brown eyes, “I think it’s fair to say I want to see you again.”

He cringed regretfully and scratched the back of his head, “Ahh, yeah, so… I don’t know if that’s really--”

“Oh, relax,” Essi smirked with a casual touch to Lambert’s forearm. “I don't mean like that. I just mean--you're interesting and fun and, well I don't have many close friends and I feel like we connected well today.”

“Well…”

“I'll make it even simpler: I absolutely, one-hundred percent, am not interested in dating you.”

“Easy there, you know I love it when people get all straightforward with me.” 

“I mean it, I just want to be friends,” she toyed back, trying her best to look sultry. It kind of worked.

Lambert bit his lower lip in mock arousal, “Mmm, oh yeah...”

She swayed her shoulders forward and back, doing her best to emulate the seductive actresses and models of the 1950s, “I want to Netflix and chill with a documentary about Soviet propaganda.”

Her last comment prompted a playfully stern look from her companion, “Careful now, you’re wading into actual turn-on territory.” 

“You're such a weirdo,” Essi chuckled, giving him an endeared shove. “Seriously, though, would you like to do this again? Friends?” 

He nodded sincerely, “Yeah, I think I'd really like that. Just one problem, though.”

“If we claim not to be interested in each other but keep hanging out we’ll never hear the end of it?” 

“Bingo.” 

Essi hummed thoughtfully and nibbled the inside of her bottom lip, “Well… we could always… pretend?” 

***

“Sounds like you two are hitting it off. I’m glad. I know Essi’s been feeling a little isolated between work and being new to the city.” Geralt closed the fridge with his foot and headed towards the sofa, popcorn in one hand, three beers in the other. “I’ll take my card back, by the way.” 

Lambert reluctantly handed the Amex back in exchange for a beer and perched on the arm of the sofa. “She’s really something. We’re, uh—yeah, hitting it off is a good word.”

And hitting it off, they were. The last ten days since their first “date” had been more enjoyable than all the dates he’d had in the last year combined. Essi was a fantastic companion: sharp, witty, kind, took no bullshit… They had done absolutely nothing but hang out, and no one had pried them for many details about the nature of their relationship. As far as their friend group was concerned, they were simply dating in the way that most adults dated. This also meant more time to themselves without unwanted interruptions (namely Julian barging in with his spare key to gossip about whatever fires were currently alight on twitter). The first night Lambert had been over, it took Julian all of five minutes to “grab something from the fridge” before parting with a knowing wink. 

To her credit and imagination, Essi had expertly fielded her cousin’s initial barrage of questions when she first announced their “involvement.” It wasn’t that she didn’t like her cousin, Essi adored Julian, but she was also the first to admit that the man had no boundaries. What he lacked in that arena, he certainly made up for with opinions, which he was always more than happy to bestow on his younger cousin—usually dating advice, almost always unsolicited. Lambert had a much easier time convincing his side that he and Essi were taking it easy to see where things went. Between Eskel being a consummate gentleman and Geralt having his own Delicate Sensibilities, neither of them had demanded any details. 

“As long as you’re both happy and everything’s healthy, that’s all that matters,” Geralt’s partner reiterated, reaching into the bowl on Geralt’s lap. 

“Jesus, Eskel, you sound like my Nonna.”

“That's no way to talk to your father,” Geralt smirked into his hand of popcorn

“You're no better,” Lambert took a swig from his beer, lips popping as he lowered the bottle. “I swear, you've turned into a couple of mother hens since you two got together. Quit fussing and watch the game.” 

Geralt put his arm around Eskel’s shoulders, “We have gotten a little soft haven’t we?”

Eskel huffed out a laugh, “Probably. Hey, Lambert, don't fuck it up or I'll kick your ass into next week.” 

“Thank you. See? Was that so hard?” 

“Eh,” Eskel shrugged, helping himself to another handful of popcorn, “I stand by my original statement. Geralt agrees.” 

“It's true,” he said between mouthfuls. “Essi’s a good woman. Smart, talented, kind, attractive.” 

Eskel cleared his throat.

“Eskel, she is, it's just a statement of fact it doesn't mean that she doesn’t have other…”

“I know it doesn't but I still think you could bear to be a little more…”

“Funny thing,” Lambert interrupted, “I still can’t figure out how this smart, talented, kind, attractive woman’s number programmed itself into my phone. Because I may have been drunk the night we first met, but I have never in my life forgotten a successful number grab. Fess up, fellas. Who was it?”

Eskel’s eyes widened, “Geralt, you didn’t.”  

“I… may have… helped Julian gain access to Lambert’s phone.”

“Unbelievable. The betrayal,” Lambert shook his head, eyes still on the game. “If only there was some way to square things up…”

“You charged everything to my company card, didn’t you?”

“First two dates and a fresh pair of pants. Thanks, bud.” Geralt accepted a pat on the back as Eskel began gently but sternly berating him.

Lambert shook his head, smirking as he took another swig of beer, leaving the two lovebirds to bicker amongst themselves. His hip pocket buzzed and he checked his phone: Essi. 

Next Wednesday? Pizza and a movie?  Still can't believe you haven't seen  Ocean’s Eleven. 

Yeah, okay, fine. Jeez :P 7:30 my place? I'll provide beverages. 

If by ‘beverages’ you mean watery beer…

Fuck off, I'll get the good stuff. Unless  you prefer Arbor Mist or some shit. 

*gasps* I am offended! (but also it's delicious)

*sigh* do you want me to get you some?

*turtles into hoodie* ...peach or cherry pls? 

Haha okay, fine, I'll get a bottle. Can't promise  I won't judge you forever, though ;) 

It's okay, I deserve it.  g2g, see you tomorrow! xox 

***

Lambert groaned contentedly, massaging his stomach as he sprawled back on his aging brown sofa, long legs resting habitually on the coffee table. The now-empty pizza box lay abandoned on the far edge, accompanied by four empty beer bottles, and a nearly-empty, unfavourably warm Peach Arbor Mist. The toilet flushed and Essi emerged. Her dark gold hair had long ago been pulled into a messy bun, but her indigo skinny jeans had been replaced by soft-looking grey leggings. 

Lambert shook his head in amusement as she settled back next to him on the couch, "I still can't believe you brought your own lounge pants"

"That's because I'm a genius," she quipped, crossing her legs and adjusting the height of her waistband. "Besides, when else will I have the opportunity to actually be comfortable during a date?" 

"You took your bra off, too, didn't you?" Lambert asked without missing a beat, eyes never leaving the screen. 

"Yup!" Essi confirmed, her sparkling blue eyes glinting with joy as she raised her glass to her lips.

The movie continued as the new friends settled into comfortable silence, their food-drowsy, alcohol-fuzzy states lulling them into a new level of comfortability around each other. Legs fell asleep, positions were adjusted, and shoulders leaned on as the two sought maximum comfort for minimum effort. Soon, an arm was around Essi's shoulder as she settled her cheek on a comfortable spot on Lambert's chest. 

"You good?" Lambert asked, only half-irritated at her seemingly endless search for the perfect angle. 

"I'm sorry, I thought I'd found a good spot, but..." A few more adjustments of her head and Lambert couldn't take it anymore. 

"Jesus, woman, here. Get up for a sec."

Essi sat up as Lambert rearranged himself into a sort of semi-recline with one foot on the floor so his other leg could make room for the tiny pain-in-the-ass that was taking up the rest of the couch space. At his invitation, she wriggled up to the crook of his arm and quickly settled in. Lambert hadn't really thought about what they were doing. Not when Essi had harmlessly leaned against his arm; not when their weight settled into each other; not when Lambert had put his arm around her; not even as he was rearranging to get to where they were now. It had all just... happened. Now, though, with Essi lying still, Lambert felt the weight and warmth of her body shifting gently against his, and it dawned on him that this had the potential to be, well, weird.

But the strange thing was, it didn't feel weird. He'd fucking cuddled before, but there was always a sense of holding back, a tension in his body, being on the lookout for signals from the other person to move onto the Next Step. But now, he actually felt comfortable. There wasn't anything that was supposed to happen after this. Nobody was asking anything of him, no one sending signals he could pick up on but never read properly, no sinking feelings of dread as the other person moved in for a kiss that always felt too soon. Essi was just there, breathing, content. And Lambert was relaxed.

The woman half-on top of him gave a twitch as the credits started to roll, and Lambert let out a private laugh, "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, show's over." 

Essi inhaled heavily through her nose and lifted herself up, "Hmmm?" 

"Movie's over." 

"Did I fall asleep? I'm sorry!" she sat and rubbed her eyes, taking a sip of water to rinse the stale taste from her mouth. 

"Eh, only a little." Lambert exited Netflix and tossed the remote back on to the table. "Thought you might wanna start heading home before it gets too late." 

Essi nodded in response as she grabbed the pizza box and brought it to the kitchen trash, leaving Lambert to bring the empties. 

"You going to finish this atrocity of a beverage?" Lambert waggled the near-empty wine bottle at Essi as he passed on his way to the sink. She merely scowled and shook her head, letting him pour it down the drain 'where it belonged anyway'.

Essi gathered her things and met Lambert by his front door, checking her pockets for her phone and keys one last time before putting her shoes on. 

"You okay to walk? Want me to come with?" 

It was only 10:30 on a weeknight, and she appreciated the gesture all the same, but it was fine to walk. "Thanks, though. And thank you for tonight. I really needed to get out of the house. I hope, um..." 

She trailed off, not sure how to ask. She didn't have the same physical boundaries that most others seemed to have. She was affectionate—often overly so, and it had led to more than a few misunderstandings in the past. She didn't want Lambert to feel as though she had ulterior motives when the simple fact of the matter was that she hadn't really been thinking. Between the instant relief of not actually being on a date and Lambert's easy manner all evening, she'd forgotten that most friendships didn’t generally involve that much physical contact. Would Lambert be confused now? Thinking they were onto something more than friendship? Had he been wanting more? Had she pushed past a point of no return and doomed their friendship?

She inhaled, "Were you comfortable tonight?" 

For a split second, Lambert flailed, wondering whether he’d made her uncomfortable. Fuck, she'd seemed comfortable, if anything it felt like he’d been following her lead but maybe...

"I—yeah. That was, I enjoyed that. Were... were you not—?" 

Essi smiled and Lambert relaxed again, "No, I was. I wanted to ask in case, that's all. Boundaries and all that. I'll text you when I'm home." 

Lambert opened the door and waved her off toward the elevator, "'Kay. 'Night!" 

The door clicked shut. 

Okay, alright. Fine. Did they cuddle? Yes. Did he enjoy it? Fuck yes. He absolutely didn’t care what anyone might think about how he chose to enjoy his time with other people. However, this didn’t stop him from acknowledging that he was in uncharted friendship territory. More than anything, he was worried about how Essi really felt. Of course, she had no reason not to be honest with him. But the last thing he wanted to do was play fast and loose with someone’s emotions, especially not a friend, and definitely not one as close as Essi. Time would tell. As Lambert’s head hit the pillow, the memory of her warmth and weight settled over him again, and he slept soundly for the first time in months.

***

“Yes Poppet, but have you slept together yet? Honestly, you’ve been dating for almost three weeks now, what could you possibly be waiting for?” 

Oh, I don’t know, hell to freeze over? You to mind your own business? Whichever comes first… 

“I mean, you clearly adore one another, I’ve never seen you happier. What’s there to lose?’”

Essi scoffed. 

Julian placed his hands on her shoulders, “I know it’s been a while for you, but I think you can afford to let yourself go a little, have some fun, hm? Besides, it’s better to find out sooner rather than later if you’re sexually incompatible.”

She took a deep breath, “That’s a very good point, Julian, I’ll think about that.” The dating act was starting to wear a little thin, but it was worth not having to explain to anyone that they weren’t doing exactly what it looked like they were doing. 

Julian took time to give his cousin a scrutinizing look, “Well, by the look of things it won’t be long anyway. If you spend all of your time together as tangled up as you were the other night when I came over, it’ll happen sooner rather than later. Just trust your gut, and when in doubt, a little hint never goes awry.”

Needless to say, Essi more or less ignored her cousin’s advice.

As the weeks stretched on, it became evident that they were quickly becoming what most people would consider to be more than friends. The first time they pulled the covers back and climbed into bed, each on their half of the mattress, they were aware that yet another boundary of friendship had been pushed a little farther into the grey zone. But, they woke up the next morning feeling happy, content, and refreshed, and surely there was nothing wrong with two people sharing a comfortable bed. Essi had woken up with crust in her eyes and her nightgown bunched around her waist. Lambert had woken up with morning wood and his hair a mess. Neither of them cared. People wake up in the morning, big deal. 

Still, it didn’t stop the questioning that oscillated in the background of Lambert’s mind. Was he unknowingly leading Essi on by allowing her so much closeness without a clearly defined relationship? She’d made her own disinterest clear enough on their first “date”,  but feelings change over time. What she’d told him three weeks ago might not be true anymore… 

And then there was that soft warm tingle in the middle of his chest every time she lay her head in his lap, every time he ran his fingers through her hair. He knew he wasn't in love. Not that he was an expert, but what was all that "when you know, you know" bullshit if he couldn’t trust his own feelings? He loved her, sure, but more like a... not a sister, that would be weird. He didn't know what like. Whatever. Fuck it. Eskel had said it best three weeks ago: “As long as you're happy and everything’s healthy, that’s all that matters.” Yeah, sure. We’ll stick with that.

As far as Lambert and Essi were concerned, it was what it was, and whatever it was was working… wasn’t it?

***

"Fuckin' finally!" 

The door to Essi's apartment clicked closed as the tenant wilted against it, emitting an exhausted groan, "Two. Hours. It took me two hours to get home!" She toed off her penny loafers and abandoned her purse and jacket in a pile by the front door, ignoring the hook three inches to her left. She flopped heavily onto her living room carpet. 

"I see you found my spare key," she added, not at all surprised that Lambert had managed to let himself in. 

"Yeah, you should probably put that in a less obvious spot," he answered, crossing to the door to hang her things up. "So, I see it's a lying on the floor kind of evening. Can I interest you in a drink to start? Vodka pairs well with the general vibe of Done-With-This-Shit, or we also have tequila if you feel like shouting out the window after a couple shots. Alternatively, there's gin if you want to cry later." 

Essi smiled with her eyes closed, feeling her body slowly relaxing into the spongy throw rug underneath her, "You know me so well." 

"Vodka?" 

"Vodka. Euch, I need to vacuum!," Essi peeled herself to a seated position as clinks and clatters began in the kitchen. She hopped in the shower to rinse the day off, and after a few minutes, there was a knock on the bathroom door. 

"Yeeees?" she called, playfully. 

"Drink delivery!" Lambert hollered back, "you want this now or later?" 

"Why are you so good to me?" 

There was a draught of cool air as Lambert opened the bathroom door, "Because you only marginally annoy me. Here," he passed his hand between the shower wall and the opaque fish-scale-patterned curtain. "What's on the docket for tonight?" 

Essi groaned, "I don't know, I'm sorry. I used all my brain cells trying not to murder people on the streetcar." 

"Okay," Lambert sat on the lidded toilet, "here's the thing. I kinda maybe figured that might be the case so I kinda maybe picked up a few things to make dinner." 

A shampoo-piled head poked out from behind the curtain, "You're kidding." 

"Nuh-uh." 

"I love you." 

Lambert chuckled, "Yeah, you're alright. Come on, hurry up, this bathroom's a fuckin’ sauna, and I don’t want the croutons to get soggy." Essi burbled an answer about conditioner and almost done, and Lambert took that as his cue to leave.

Dinner was simple: pan fried Salmon with crispy skin (delicate and buttery on the inside); wax beans in butter (tender and not overcooked); grilled brussels sprouts (just beginning to brown on the edges); and a fresh caesar salad. Everything done to perfection. Full, content, and ready to take their relaxation to the next step they settled themselves on Essi’s blue-grey sectional to begin the arduous task of deciding what to watch. 

This was proving particularly difficult with the addition of Essi's caveat that whatever they chose not be "too plot-heavy" which so far had included Masterchef, an interior design show, and program about shepherding in the Orkneys. 

"Sweetheart, you gotta give me some slack here. I thought I was on track with the sheep!" 

"I know, I'm sorry!" Essi muffled into his shirt sleeve. "I do like animals..." She gasped loudly. "BLUE PLANET."

Lambert stopped the endless scrolling and pushed play as the soothing voice of David Attenborough filled the small living room.

"Hey! Why'd you pause it?" 

Lambert was standing up, "If we're going to do this, then we're doing it right. Hang on." 

Essi slumped on the sofa as the microwave kicked on. In a few minutes, there was popcorn in their laps and half a bottle of vodka on the table with an ice bucket and lemon wedges in a bowl. Lambert read off his phone screen.

"We will take a drink when: 

-David says 'Extraordinary' -David uses a clear understatement such as 'But then again, living in an active volcano is not without its risks' -An animal is being eaten -An animal is mating -There is sped up footage of a plant growing."

"Oh no," Essi lamented, chewing her popcorn ungracefully, "I'm going to get so drunk." 

"You got it, Goldilocks. Fill up."

And with that, they were off, taking it slow with their vodka twists, but nonetheless feeling the warm buzz start to tingle under their skin. The box of microwave popcorn was empty by halfway through, and the remains of Essi's exhaustion had almost dispersed entirely.

"Ooh! Understatement! Drink!!" 

By ten o’clock, pink-cheeked and feeling boisterous, they had finished with their favourite parts of Blue Planet, or at least the ones they had patience for, and had moved on to Planet Earth II.

“Holy fuck, that’s a lot of snakes—Go, you little fucker! Go!”

The drama on the screen had caused the two to separate from one another while Lambert invested himself in the success of the small lizard. Once the baby Galapagos Iguana had made it to safety, they were once again able to recline without Essi risking an elbow to the face.

She bundled against him, scooting farther between his legs where he leaned in the corner of the sectional. He gathered her hair and draped it over her left shoulder so it wouldn't get caught in his buttons—they'd learned that the hard way. It was still damp, cool to the touch, and smelled like verbena sea salt shampoo. He felt a pulse of affection ripple through him as her weight resettled. He loved that feeling. It had taken some time to get used to it. But now it was high on his list of favourite things. He was happy. And it was healthy. And that really was all that mattered. 

Right?

Eskel’s words turned themselves around again in his mind as he wrapped his arm around the front of Essi’s shoulders. He let himself indulge in the texture of her cotton knit nightshirt under his fingers. He relished in the peace of mind at being able to just be there with someone who meant something to him and made absolutely no demands. He let himself relax. 

Essi felt a kiss land on the top of her head with a playful, "Muwah!" 

She giggled quietly, "Thank you!" Then, upon further thought… Did he want to kiss her? Her mind did a double take as she tried to get on top of the ball.  

It wasn’t impossible. They were close after all, and she wasn’t opposed to the idea. She’d recently found herself in a balancing act of realizing she could, in theory, have a deeper kind of feeling for Lambert. Only if, for whatever reason, it turned out he felt the same way. These weren’t the helpless uncontrollable feelings of ride-or-die infatuation; they were malleable, translatable, general feelings of affection and fondness that belonged in any number of different relationships and dynamics. 

No sense risking it, she thought. They'd found a liminal space of comfort and safety that she'd never experienced with anyone else before, and if the options were between being a little confused and ruining everything, the choice was an easy one. Then again, if Lambert was developing feelings for her, she didn’t want to miss an opportunity. Shit. Her cheeks burned as she felt the question rise closer to her lips. 

"Lambert?" she sat up abruptly and turned to her friend who was still moulded into the corner of the couch, watching the mating rituals of exotic birds with bewildered skepticism. 

He jolted at Essi’s sudden movement, "Hello, yes." 

Her bright blue eyes were now slightly unfocused, "Do you—? Nevermind." She lay back against him, suddenly skittish..

"Mm, nah, try again," he said, sluggishly. "What’s up, buttercup?" 

She swayed a little when she sat up, "Are you happy with what we are?"

Lambert blinked, caught slightly off-guard. The question was easy enough to answer, "Yeah! I mean I don’t know what the fuck we are, but I’m feeling pretty good about it. Shit, why? Are you not? I can be less… whatever. Or… more?" It wasn’t like he was repulsed by the idea of anything else happening between them—in theory it was a possibility. In practice, however...

Essi put an emphatic hand on Lambert’s knee, her glassy eyes going wide, "Do you want more?" 

"What? No! I dunno, I—maybe. I haven’t really thought about it. I mean…” Lambert searched Essi’s face for any clue that might help him know how to proceed, “I don’t not want anything else. Fuck, I don’t know! I’m used to doing things the other way around. You know the drill: uncomfortable date, smoosh faces together, have sex, hope feelings fall out. Lather-rinse-repeat. I dunno, do we have to… But what if we try something and...? I don’t wanna lose this." 

Essi leaned in close and whispered, “I have an idea.”

"Why do I feel like I'm going to regret this?" 

"We should kiss."

Lambert nearly swallowed an ice cube, "What?!"

"Just once. Quickly. Just... in case." 

"You want me, Lambert, to kiss you, Essi Daven, on the lips."

She nodded sincerely, "For science."

There was a brief pause during which Essi felt the beginnings of panic brewing in her stomach, but by the time she'd finished grappling with potential consequences, Lambert was filling their glasses. 

"Alright. Fine. My friend wants me to kiss her for science? Fuck it. I'll drink to that." 

They downed their drinks and squared up, knee to knee on the edge of the sofa as they each prepared for their best form—or as good as they could offer given the circumstances. They counted down, 3-2-1...

The kiss was quick, over as soon as it had begun, and both friends pulled away with questioning looks. Inconclusive. They tried again for a little longer, still returning with the same quizzical expressions. They went in for a third time, committing more thoroughly, and for a brief moment it seemed they might have found the semblance of a spark. But it didn’t build. It felt… fine? But no different than if they were lying together on the sofa. It was just another thing they were doing. They each tried to find the right word for what they were feeling, but were soon distracted by the oddness of it all.   

Essi started to giggle. Less than a second later, Lambert joined her, and they both pulled away, thoroughly satisfied that their experiment had yielded a strong No on the subject of More. There was a dull thud as Essi slid from the couch and onto the floor, still holding her drink in one hand and laughing hysterically. 

Lambert sighed and shook his head, "I think it’s time we got you to bed."

Headaches and dry mouths greeted the two friends the next morning when they blinked awake. Essi’s hair was a cotton-candy mess, having still been slightly damp when Lambert put her to bed. The brunet himself didn’t look much different from his usual scruffy state as he gathered Essi up in an armful of duvet and squeezed tight.

“Gods, Lambert, I still need to breathe,” Essi chuckled, pressing her back into his chest. 

“You’ll get over it,” he teased and self-indulgently nuzzled even closer. “You feeling alright? I mean, aside from the hangover. About last night?” 

“Oh no,” Essi groaned, “I’m so sorry, Lambert. I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just—you kissed my head and then that got me wondering about whether you might want something else, and then I didn’t really know what was happening and—” 

“Hey, easy on the rambling, okay, I’m running on limited brain cells, here. Look,” Lambert sat up to find those big blue eyes, now shining brightly, “I have no idea what the fuck this is that we’ve got going on, but I like it fine just the way it is.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And we can keep talking about that. Just, you know, maybe next time something’s on your mind, don’t wait ‘til we’re wasted at 2am?”

“Okay, deal. Can we go get bacon now?”

Lambert chuckled, “Yeah, alright, fine. Make me put pants on, I see how it is.”

Their conversation continued over strong coffee and eggs benedicts. Between their check-in that morning and everything that had happened the previous night, it was well-established that they were perfectly happy where they were. Rather, the main topic of conversation was their growing desire to level with their friends about the nature of their relationship. Eskel and Geralt, they both agreed, would be the easiest—Lambert could tell them that evening. Julian and Essi’s friends on the other hand would be a little more difficult. 

Telling Julian together would be best, Essi thought. He was bound to have questions, and if both she and Lambert were there to answer them definitively and explain that no, they didn’t have secret feelings for one another; and yes, they really were just friends and not at all interested in exploring the relationship further thank you very much. Exactly when this discussion with Julian would occur still wasn’t clear. Realistically, they could pick any time, but they decided to wait until Lambert could tell the Old Men. At least then they were assured some less invasive support. 

Their reaction was easy enough to predict: Eskel reassuringly repeated his standby “As long as you’re both happy with things…” and twirled a forkful of pasta; Geralt tilted his head thoughtfully and said, “That sounds very nice. I’m happy for you.” Lambert had expected mild disapproval, concern that they were deviating too far from the norm and into a complex dynamic that would be too messy to manage. Instead, Geralt simply said it ‘sounded very nice.’ Lambert smiled into the open refrigerator on his way to get a beer. 

The following weekend was Julian’s birthday, and, as per their annual tradition, the group all gathered on Friday evening at the birthday boy’s favourite restaurant—Vegelbud’s. The two decided to tell him the week after his birthday so as not to detract from his Big 3-0. Just one more week, and it would all be in the open. Easy breasy.

The afternoon of the dinner, Eskel and Geralt received a group text: Haven’t told Julian the details yet. Keep the beans to yourselves please (I’m looking at you, @Eskel). 

“Why me?” Eskel turned to Geralt over his paperwork, looking a little hurt. 

Geralt chuckled, “You have a slight tendency to overshare when you want to be supportive.”

“I do?” He turned on the bar stool to follow his partner on the way upstairs.

“It’s not a bad thing, but…” Geralt sighed, “Lambert has always needed to feel in control of situations like this. He doesn’t want one of us bringing this up before he’s ready to talk about it, especially in a public place, you know how he gets when he feels cornered. And Julian is Essi’s cousin…”

Eskel raised a hand, “You’re right, you’re right. All points taken. Are you showering?”

Geralt smirked as he headed for the stairs, “Come on then.” 

Four hours later and halfway through dinner, everything had gone swimmingly. The food had been expectedly delicious, the company and conversation excellent, and so far no one had felt the need to bring up Essi and Lambert’s relationship on any level. That is until Julian got a few drinks under his belt, and decided it was time to document the occasion. Geralt and Eskel were the first victims. 

“Aww just look at you two! So in love, so vivacious and full of adoration,” Julian held up his phone as Geralt touched the side of his head to Eskel’s. Beep-Chk! A perfect image of a happy couple was captured and posted to Instagram (#julianturns30 #dinneratvagelbuds #dinnerout #cutiesofinstagram #favoriteotp #gaycouplesofinstagram #livelaughlove…). There were a few more photos of the three of them together, the white chocolate raspberry cheesecake with the candle in it, a group shot taken by the waiter. It was all so close to being over, Essi could practically taste the refuge of the streetcar. 

"Come on, lovebirds, show us a smooch!" Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. Essi’s stomach lurched and she felt her cheeks start to warm. Lambert’s hand landed gently on her knee under the table, his fingers pressing firmly into her leg as she desperately tried to think of something to say. 

"Oh, um..." 

Across the table, Geralt and Eskel shared a wordless communication: de-escalate, distract, redirect.

“You’ll want to eat that cheesecake before it gets warm” Geralt offered. “I hear it’s so light it’ll disintegrate in a heartbeat.” Eskel nodded in encouragement, taking a bite of his own. 

“I know, I know,” Julian shrugged, “Just a quick one. Say Cheese!”

"Not right now, Julian," Essi tilted her head, her eyes flashing a little. 

"Oh come on, Poppet! I know you don't like PDA, it's just one little picture--"

“Don’t call me Poppet.”

Eskel cleared his throat loudly, "Doesn't seem they're that keen on it. Maybe let's try for one another time." 

"It's past your one-month-a-versary, let everyone see how in love you are." 

"Julian," Geralt growled, "leave it." 

Julian covered his mouth in alarm, "I’m so sorry, have you not used that word yet? I didn’t mean anything by it, I just want the world to see how happy my beautiful cousin is!" 

“Really Julian, it’s not necessary we—” Essi’s fingernails were starting to dig into Lambert’s palm from the sheer effort of maintaining composure. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to cry or disappear, and with neither of those being an option, it seemed the only possible escape was for them to kiss. They’d done it before. No big deal. It would feel off, but they’d just go back to her place and drink about it after. 

“Essi, what’s the matter with you, it’s just one little picture, and we all know you’re not camera-shy. On three, ready? One, two…”

"For fuck's sake we're not dating!" 

The table all silently turned their attention to Essi whose cheeks had been turning progressively redder. 

“What?” Her cousin laughed incredulously. 

“We’re not a couple, Julian. We’re friends. We have been from the beginning, but we didn’t want to tell you because we knew you wouldn’t fucking leave us alone until you could boast about having set us up.”

Lambert shared a brief look with Eskel before lowering his eyes to the tablecloth, his hand still firmly clutched in Essi’s. 

Julian gaped, “So, it was all… the cuddling, the laughing, that time I came over and you were asleep on the couch, that was all… a ruse?” 

“No, Julian, that was real. I told you, we’re friends.”

“That’s not friends! Since when have friends watched a movie half-on-top of each other?” 

“Two people can enjoy each other's company lying flat, Julian,” Eskel’s rich voice interjected across the table and the discussion ground to a halt. 

Geralt shrugged with his tea at his lips, “It is the twenty-first century after all.”

Julian’s cornflower blue eyes flitted back and forth between the two friends, utterly bewildered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Well what with your complete and utter invasion of privacy for the sake of hooking us up, we didn’t necessarily trust you to believe us,” Essi answered curtly, her hand shaking slightly. 

“Poppet, you could have just told me—”

“Stop. Calling me that. And I did tell you, Julian!” she exploded. “I told you the first day I moved here. The first. Day. I said, ‘Julian, I think I want to take a break from dating until I’ve been settled for a year.’ And what did you do? Conspired with my well-meaning former mentor to hook me up with someone I had one good conversation with at a Christmas party. And do you know what? We are happy. But we’re happy in our own way. And maybe our boundaries with each other seem a little strange to you, but we’re not fooling ourselves. We don’t want to kiss each other, we don’t want to have sex, and we don’t want a relationship. And even though it’s absolutely none of your damn business, I’ll tell you anyway: we’ve talked about it. All of it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I don’t think I want to be here anymore.” 

The chair legs scraped against the floor of the restaurant as Essi stood to leave, throwing her purse over her shoulder as she went. Lambert looked hesitantly around the table, “I should probably, you know…” He gestured after Essi with his thumb. Eskel gave Lambert the go ahead and he quickly stood to follow his friend out of the restaurant, leaving a very stunned Julian with the other two. He found her perched on the parking barrier in the small lot to the left of the front doors. He called to her and she looked up. Eyes shining, mascara running... 

“Ah shit, you know I’m no good with this kind of thing.” 

“I’m sorry, Lambert, I just—” she blew her nose, “—he just wouldn’t stop and I didn’t know what to do or say, and it all just came pouring out. I didn’t want it to. The whole time I was begging myself to stop, but I just couldn’t, it’s been bottled up for so long and-and—but it’s his birthday, and—oh, he must feel so awful! I didn’t want to make him feel bad, but—and with Eskel and Geralt there too! They must think I’m horrible! I’m so sorry, Lambert, I didn’t want it to be like this, I wanted to have him over and sit him down and be patient, and instead I’ve just made a complete mess of things. And on his birthday! It’s his birthday, oh God, this is the worst thing I could have done.” Essi choked back bitter tears as she tried desperately to stem the flow with her soggy tissue, “Are you upset with me, Lambert? If you are, I understand. Maybe we should take a break of some kind, you know. Not see each other for a while and—”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it right there. Look, I’m probably not going to say any of the right stuff here, but I am absolutely not upset with you. You got that? And for what it’s worth, I don’t think us taking a break from spending time together is going to do anything. Unless you’re looking to punish yourself by taking away a nice thing which, okay. But the fact that you’re willing to ditch me instead of Arbor Mist says something about our friendship I’m not too pleased with.” 

Essi turned her wide, pleading, bloodshot eyes to Lambert who cracked a smile, “Jesus, I’m kidding! You adorable fucking mess, c’mere.” He pulled his petite friend into a hug and rested his chin on the top of her head until she quieted down. Neither of them was quite sure how much time had gone by, but Essi found herself wishing it had been long enough for everyone to have gone home so she didn’t have to face whatever aftermath she’d left behind. 

Meanwhile, Eskel and Geralt had settled the bill and offered to give Julian a lift back to their place for a night cap, not wanting to leave the evening on such an unsettled note. Essi needed space, and whatever company she needed, Lambert was clearly capable of providing. It was for the best, they suggested, and dissuaded Julian from trying to call her. 

“Best to sleep on things,” Geralt said, tucking his card back into his wallet and giving the waiter a nod in gratitude. “We can meet for coffee this weekend and sort this out. For now, just let her cool down.” 

Eskel clapped Julian encouragingly on the shoulder as they made their way into the damp summer night air. As they turned into the parking lot, they came face-to-face with Essi and Lambert who had clearly just turned to come back inside. Both cousins looked like they had seen better days: Essi’s eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks blotchy and streaked with inky makeup stains; Julian was perhaps less dishevelled, but the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced, his boyish features now dejectedly weighted down with remorse and hurt. 

“Juian, I’m so sorry, I didn’t—” 

Essi’s cousin raised his hand, “Don’t. Please don’t. Essi, I am so, so sorry. I never meant to push you like that, I didn't realize... you both have been so happy this last month and—"

"It's okay, really, we can talk about this all another time. I'm just so sorry I ruined your birthday. We wanted to sit down with you and talk properly but..." Essi's tears welled up again, and Julian smiled weakly. 

"But we both did what we always do?"

She sniffed, nodding emphatically with a tearful, "Yeah.” Julian pulled his cousin into a fond embrace while the other three clumped together to watch the reconciliation. 

“Oh! Here,” Essi reached into her purse and pulled out a small, neatly-wrapped box. “Happy birthday!” 

Julian opened his gift without a second thought, his face brightening instantly. The box contained a set of premium ultra-light guitar strings and a pair of concert tickets. The perfect gift. Overwhelmed with gratitude, and the atmosphere having been recovered, Julian suggested they all attend brunch together that Sunday morning, his treat by way of apology. Geralt offered to split the bill as a peace offering for his part in the initial setup, and the five made a date. 

A fresh start, a promise of spending time together with fewer secrets and, Julian conceded, a few more boundaries. 

[stonedstozier]

hey yeah can we get some wholesome stozier getting high together? they could be in highschool and already dating as well :))

a/n: first off! you’re an absolute angel for requesting this. it made my heart so happy to write. 

okay some context (changed it up a bit i’m sorry), modern day au, they’re in their senior year of high school - 18. they aren’t dating, but mutually in love with each other, just too scared to say anything. and lastly, i would so i don’t condone smoking under age, but then i’d be a hypocrite. so, if you are underage and smoke, have fun but also please be safe about it <3

-

Stan and Richie are sitting upon Stan’s roof, watching the sun fade from a prepossessing pink-orange to a bruising blue and profound purple. Stan is sitting in Richie’s lap, leaning his back against Richie’s chest as Richie’s arms are wrapped loosely around the other’s waist. This isn’t something unusual for the two. When it’s just them, all alone, Stan will more often than not be in Richie’s lap. 

Stan closes his eyes, feeling completely relaxed and content when he hears the chirping of a bird. He notices it right away, but keeps his eyes closed. He can tell by the tone of chirping what kind of bird it is. Since he’s seen this type so many times before, he decides to keep his eyes closed. 

“Stan, look!” Richie says enthusiastically, shaking Stan’s left shoulder lightly. “A Yellow-rumped warbler! Your favorite!” Stan opens his eyes quickly, seeing that Richie is actually correct. He sits upright and turns to face Richie. 

“You remembered?” Stan looks at Richie, trying his best to hold back his smile that’s so badly wanting to shine through. 

“Well, duh!” Richie says, tapping Stan’s nose with his finger gently. “How could I forget Stan My Man’s favorite bird?” Stan feels heat rise to his cheeks, batting his eyes shyly as he does everything in his power not to glance at Richie’s lips. Richie smiles at him, Stan returning the grin as they stare at each other for what feels like eternity. “So, you ready?” 

“Huh?” Stan asks, snapping himself out of his love-filled daze. 

“To get high, silly goose.” Richie chuckles, ruffling up Stan’s curls as Stan slaps Richie’s hand away playfully. 

“Yes, I am silly... but never a goose.” Stan furrows his brows. “They’re like you; annoying.” He shifts his eyes downcast, slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. 

“Oh, you love me.” Richie scoots closer, cupping Stan’s chin and lifting up. 

‘I do’, Stan says in his head, never daring to speak it out loud. 

“Stanley?” Richie asks. Stan’s heart sinks to his stomach instantly. Richie only calls him Stanley when he’s being absolutely dead serious. 

“Yeah?” Stan gives a soft sigh, melting into Richie’s hands. 

“Are you sure that you want to do this?” 

“Richie, we’re not doing another blood oath, we’re just getting high.” Stan sits upright again, noticing he’s wrinkled his button-up a little bit as Richie is snorting with laughter. 

“You know, besides me, I think you’re the funniest out of the others,” Richie speaks honestly through his laughter. 

“You’re ridiculous, Trashmouth.” Stan rolls his eyes, pretending like the comment didn’t just make his heart skip a beat. 

“Okay, okay,” Richie gains control of himself again. “Stay here, I’ll go get the stuff.” Richie carefully crawls his way back through the window as he gathers what he needs. 

Stan sits there, watching as the sun keeps fading away. He sees the same bird Richie pointed out earlier, except this time he came back with a partner. Stan squints his eyes a bit as it’s getting too dark to see clearly, but all he can make out is shadows flying away. 

“Okay,” Richie says, surprising Stan out of his concentration as he sits back down. Richie turns on his phone flashlight and gives it to Stan to hold. 

Richie then starts rolling a few joints for them, doing it with much ease as he’s done this way too many times. Meanwhile, Stan sits silently in awe. He’s never seen anyone do this before so he’s immediately impressed. He watches Richie roll the last one up perfectly, licking the wrapping paper to make it complete. 

“There we go!” Richie says in a terrible British accent. Stan lets out a silly snicker as he looks at Richie with pure astonishment. Richie takes his phone back and props it up where the light shines better. “Alright,” Richie says as he grabs one of the joints and the lighter. “I’m going to light it and take the first hit, then you can.” 

Stan nods his head as Richie puts the joint to his lips, lighting it and inhaling for quite a while before pulling it away and slowly blowing out smoke. Richie smiles at him as he puts it up to Stan’s lips. 

“I’ll hold it, you just inhale for three seconds and stop. Hold the smoke in and breathe out.” Richie explains as best he can. 

Stan nods with a hum as Richie keeps the joint pressed to Stan’s lips and he starts sucking in. Stan can’t help but think about how this was just in Richie’s mouth moments before, getting as close to kissing him as he can get (aside from the time they played drunk seven minutes in heaven with the other losers last summer. Richie and Stan ended up making out in the closet… They’ve never spoken about it). 

‘Doesn’t count’, Stan thinks to himself. 

“Okay,” Richie says, pulling the joint away, snapping Stan back to reality once again. He tries to hold in the smoke, but he chokes, throwing himself into a coughing fit. 

“Holy shit,” Stan breathes out heavily, still coughing. Richie tries his best to hold back his laughter but he’s unable to. 

“Oh, Staniel!” Richie snorts, slapping at his arm playfully. 

“If you push me off this roof I’m taking you down with me!” Stan threatens, grabbing at Richie’s shirt. 

“Oh, relax, we’re fine.” Richie says, regaining his and Stan’s balance, taking another hit. Stan watches in awe again, seeing the way the smoke leaves his mouth, swirling out into the air and evaporating. “Okay, your turn.” Richie says, Stan breathing in, able to hold it for a second or two… and more coughing. “That was a little better,” Richie smirks slightly. “How ya feelin’?”

“I feel-” Stan is cut off by his own giggles. “Umm, I-” more laughter. 

“Oh, you’re a giggler.” Richie chuckles as he takes a few more hits. “Want to take one more?” Stan nods and takes his last hit, only coughing slightly this time. 

“Richie,” Stan says with a happy hum, his head starting to feel fuzzy, body all warm. 

“Yeah?” Richie asks, throwing what was left of the joint off the roof. 

“You know, I… I think you’re really funny.” Stan lets out another soft giggle. “Like the funniest out of all of us.” Stan meets Richie’s gaze, nodding his head at his own words. 

“You’re stoned, Stan.” Richie shakes his head, pretending like the comment didn’t make his heart stutter. 

“Okay, and?!” Stan sighs happily, leaning his side into Richie. “I still think you’re the funniest.” Stan leans more into Richie, closing his eyes, getting lost in thought, not realizing how open and relaxed he is. 

Richie looks at Stan, the full moon making his curls glow slightly; resembling a halo. Now Richie is the one that’s blushing as he’s frozen in place. He doesn’t want to move an inch because he likes the way Stan feels all curled up against him. Richie takes a deep breath and leans his head against Stan’s. They sit in comfortable silence, Richie about to close his eyes when Stan breaks it.

“Richie?” Stan asks, his voice shaking slightly and Richie catches it. 

“Stanley?” 

“Do you…” Stan stops himself, trying hard to grip onto his words. “Do you think It will ever come back?” Richie goes stiff again, trying to process the other’s words. 

“I don’t know, why?” Richie speaks gently, wrapping his arm around Stan’s shoulders and pulling him in even closer in a protective manner. 

“I just- I don’t think I could go through all of that again,” Stan whispers. It takes Richie a few seconds to realize what Stan actually means. 

“Stanly, don’t. Don’t talk like that…” Richie fully embraces Stan now. “If I lose you, then I’d lose my sanity as well.” Stan sighs, finding solace in Richie’s words. “Come on, let’s go inside, it’s fucking freezing.” Stan agrees, the two getting up carefully, grabbing their things and climbing back inside. 

“Pick whatever,” Stan says as he watches Richie walk over to his closet. Richie takes his shirt off, Stan’s eyes go wide. He turns around quickly, hiding the blush that’s clearly painted on his cheeks. Stan starts to unbutton his shirt with shaky hands, heart pounding rapidly in his chest. He lets his shirt fall to the floor before turning back around, seeing that Richie has his favorite sweatshirt in his hands. “Hey! No, I want to wear that one!” Stan walks up to Richie, completely forgetting he doesn’t have a shirt on. 

“What?” Richie shakes his head. “Stan, you literally said ‘pick whatever’!” Richie lets out a confused laugh. 

“Okay, well I still want to wear it.” Stan crosses his arms. 

“Well, so do I.” 

Stan scowls and grabs at the sweatshirt, trying to yank it out of Richie’s hands when, instead, he ends up pulling Richie close to him. 

“Jesus christ, Stan.” Richie laughs. “You’re stronger than I thought,” a light smirk pulls at the corner of his mouth. 

“Than you thought?!” Stan asks, slightly offended, pulling on the sweatshirt even more that it knocks them both to the ground. Stan laughs as Richie falls next to him, both still fighting and wrestling for it before Stan is on top of Richie, pinning him down completely. “What are you going to do about it now, Tozier?” Stan taunts.

“Damn,” Richie giggles as his body relaxes in defeat. “You got me, you win.” Richie laughs some more. Stan’s frown shifts into a smile, joining in on Richie and his laughter. 

The two eventually stop and are stuck staring at each other, Richie slowly sitting up with Stan still in his lap. Their faces are inches apart, both fixated on each other’s lips. Richie’s hand comes up to cups Stan’s cheek. Richie then brings their lips dangerously close.

“Stan-” Richie tries, but Stan cuts him off by colliding their lips together. 

Richie’s a bit startled at the sudden action, but quickly kisses back. Richie’s arm then snakes around Stan’s back, pulling him even closer in his lap. Stan hums into Richie’s mouth as he tangles his fingers in Richie’s thick, dark hair. Richie licks at Stan’s bottom lip, Stan opening his mouth right away, Richie sliding his tongue inside. Their tongues dance around, Stan following Richie’s lead as he isn’t as experienced as Richie. Stan moans, Richie letting the kiss linger a bit before pulling away. Stan whimpers at the loss of contact, leaning in to try and kiss Richie again. 

“Stan,” Richie chuckles, placing a hand against Stan’s bare chest. “Take a breather.” Stan exhales heavily, nodding his head. 

“I’ve wanted to do that since-”

“The party,” Richie cuts off Stan, finishing his sentence. 

“Yeah,” Stan lets out a breathy laugh. 

“Me too,” Richie agrees, resting his forehead against Stan’s, smiling. 

“Then why didn’t you?” Stan asks softly, his hands going from Richie’s hair to resting on his shoulders. 

“I was scared,” Richie admits with a slight shrug. 

“You- you were scared?” Stan tilts his head to the side like a confused puppy. 

“Yes, Stan, I get scared too.” Richie trails his finger gently down Stan’s nose. “I’m not brave all the time, only when I need to be.” 

“But you show no fear,” Stan furrows his brows now. 

“When you’re confronting fear, you can’t show it.” Richie stares into Stan’s honey-golden eyes. 

“I wish I could be brave like you,” Stan looks down, feeling ashamed about his coward-like mindset. 

“I can be brave enough for the both of us,” Richie smiles, kissing Stan again. “C’mon, let’s get changed and we can watch a Disney movie.” 

“Disney movie?!” Stan gasps excitedly, a wide smile on his face. 

“Peter Pan?” Stan’s smile only shone brighter. 

“Of course,” Richie smiles back, taking Stan off of his lap. The two standing up, changing into comfy clothes, climbing into bed as they quickly fall asleep in each other’s arms.

[bitterlikesweets]

Love Bites Ch 8

This is the eighth chapter of a modern/vampire AU ereri fanfic. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8

Next

Gray-blue eyes darken like a storm cloud.

“You want to kill the vampires who killed your mother.”

It’s not a question, but Eren nods, and Eren watches as thin black eyebrows dip slightly, Levi’s lips pulling into a tight frown. For a moment, Eren expects Levi to reprimand him, to tell him that he shouldn’t stoop to their level, or some other self-righteous bullshit. He hasn’t told anyone about the burning in his chest, the desire to hurt those monsters as bad as they hurt his mother. He’s been hesitant to admit the desire to himself, a part of him truly afraid that revenge will make him a monster too—as if he has any humanity left in him.

But he also knows that he’d want to kill them even if they hadn’t turned him. He wants them dead with every fiber of his being.

Maybe Eren was already a monster, even before he was turned.

So, he waits for it. The disgust, the disdain, the feelings he’s felt towards himself these past few months. He expects to see it on Levi’s face, for Levi to view Eren as he views himself. Levi has willingly given up killing vampires because he thinks that they’re still human. Levi has put that sort of violence behind him. He was a vampire hunter from birth, and he chose to quit.

Eren is the opposite.

Where do his mother’s murderers fit in Levi’s criteria for vampires who deserve to live and vampires who deserve to die? Where will Eren fit if—when he kills them?

Levi pulls his hand out of Eren’s, and Eren braces himself, his gaze locked onto the table.

“We need to go.”

It takes Eren a moment to process the words, and by the time he raises his head, Levi is across the room, his hand already on the break room door.

“Go where?”

“Somewhere I can teach you properly.”

That’s how Eren ends up following Levi into the parking lot, and then driving with only the taillights of Levi’s car to guide him through the darkened streets. Levi hasn’t said a word since they left the restaurant, so Eren just blindly follows, taking turn after turn until they’re in a suburban neighborhood Eren has never been in before.

Levi marches purposefully to a narrow, two-story house after parking on the sidewalk, and Eren hurries to follow him.

“The easiest way to kill a vampire is to ambush them in their sleep and drag them into the sun,” Levi says as he unlocks the door to the house.

He steps inside and swerves to the left, throwing open the door to a coat closet just beside the entrance. Eren watches him curiously, closing the door behind them.

“Obviously, you can’t do that, or you’d die too,” Levi continues, kneeling on the floor as he rummages through the small closet.

Eren glances around the still dark house. Levi has yet to turn the lights on, but Eren is more than comfortable in the dark these days anyway. He scans the area, takes in the living room, the winding staircase and the small kitchen down the hall from the entrance. He doesn’t know what he’s looking for—though perhaps a part of him was hoping that Levi would have a wall of knives and stakes and weapons, like a vampire hunter from a movie—but there’s nothing unusual about the place, other than the fact that almost all of Levi’s furniture appears to be black.

Levi emerges from the closet and tosses something at Eren’s feet. Eren frowns once he realizes what it is.

“So I should use a water gun?”

“It’s a possibility,” Levi says. “It was a personal favorite of mine when I was younger. I’d fill it with holy water and spray them in the eyes; it doesn’t kill them, but temporarily blinding them provided good opportunities for other tactics.”

Eren swallows, staring down at the colorful toy with a mix of awe and apprehension. He can imagine it for a moment. Young Levi—in his early teens maybe?—armed with a water gun and a stake, spraying vampires in the face and stabbing them while they claw at their eyes.

Eren is extremely glad he’s on Levi’s nice list.

“The most important thing is the element of surprise,” Levi continues, back to sorting through his closet. “I’m human, so vampires have every advantage over me. Strength, senses, healing… For you, the vampires you want to kill will likely have more combat experience than you. You’re at a disadvantage by default, so you need to create your own openings.”

The next thing that Levi pulls out of the closet is a metal crossbow, and Eren stares incredulously at the weapon as Levi holds it out to him.

“This is always effective; it’s quick and simple,” Levi explains as Eren takes it into his hands, trying to make sense of the mess of metal bars and wires. “But only if you nail the first shot. You have to get them in the chest.”

Eren frowns.

“And if I miss?”

“Best case scenario, you’ve alerted the vampire to your presence but have injured them enough that you have a chance at close combat.”

“What’s the worst case scenario?”

“You didn’t hit them, and you die.”

Eren’s not sure why he asked.

“In any case, you need to prepare for close combat no matter what method you choose.”

Levi gets to his feet and kicks the closet door closed. As he turns back to Eren, he throws something, and Eren is used to the man’s sudden tosses, so he catches it with ease. As he examines the object in his hands, he realizes it’s a wooden knife, blade and all.

“Alright,” Levi says, stretching his arms out for a moment before crouching slightly, flipping the knife in his hand. “Try to kill me.”

Eren blinks.

“...What?”

Levi rolls his eyes as if Eren is the ridiculous one here.

“It’s a simple task, brat. Try to kill me.”

“I’m sorry—what part of what you just asked me to do is simple?”

“Don’t get queasy now. You’re the one who wanted to learn how to murder people.”

“Yeah, but—”

“I’ll give you ten seconds, or I’m striking first.”

Eren’s gaze locks on the knife gripped in Levi’s hand.

“Ten.”

“Levi—”

“Nine.”

“Will you just—”

“Eight.”

Eren watches the man’s grip on the wooden handle tighten, sinking a bit lower into his crouch.

“Seven.”

“Oh for fuck’s—”

Eren grips his the knife tightly and it feels large and foreign in his hand—and a part of his brain realizes how fucking stupid he is because how the hell is he supposed to murder a vampire if he doesn’t know how to hold a knife—and he rushes at Levi, knife raised. He’s halfway to him, pushing his feet to run as fast as they can in the small room. He’s looking at Levi’s chest, trying to pretend that the hunter is a vampire. He pulls the weapon back like he’s pulling back for a punch.

When his arm shoots forward, he accidentally glances up at Levi’s face because the man has yet to move a muscle, and he swears for a moment that Levi is on the verge of a smirk—

Levi catches Eren’s arm before he can land a blow on him, twisting the limb sharply until Eren yelps and drops the wooden weapon. A swift kick to his ankles sweeps Eren off his feet, and Levi releases his arm to shove him to the floor, dashing any hopes Eren had of regaining his balance. Eren’s eyes squeeze shut as his back slams into the ground, and when he opens them again, Levi has a hand against his throat and the point of the knife hovering above Eren’s chest, where his dead heart is unable to portray the panic surging through his veins.

“You sure you thought this through?” Levi asks.

“I have!” Eren exclaims at first, but a raise of Levi’s eyebrow makes him frown and avert his gaze. “Maybe not so much about the execution of the plan, but…”

Levi scoffs and pulls away, tossing his knife in the air and catching it with enough ease that it makes Eren want to snap at him for showing off.

“Again.”

“Can’t you at least give me a few pointers about what I’m supposed to do—”

“Ten.”

“Are you really going to—”

“Nine.”

Eren glares at Levi, but the man tilts his head slightly, sinking back into his defensive stance.

“Eight.”

“Fuck you.”

Eren closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before scrambling to his feet. Okay. Trying to just rush him from the front is stupid anyway. He needs to think of something else.

“Seven.”

By the time he rushes towards Levi, he has not thought of something else.

He pulls back his arm and then practically throws himself forward. Levi reaches out to grab his arm out of the air like he did before, and Eren watches the movement, thinking that he can just dodge Levi’s grasp and try again—

Except it’s far harder to stop his own momentum than he thought it would be.

Levi grabs him and yanks Eren closer, and Eren feels the knife on his chest before he sees Levi’s arm move.

“You’re too slow,” Levi says, and Eren grits his teeth, yanking himself away.

He rummages around in his pockets, dropping the knife on the floor once he finds a hair tie in the back pocket of his pants. He’s already sweating, and his long hair flying in front of his eyes is not helping. Levi simply stares as Eren pulls his brown hair into an impromptu bun.

When Eren bends down to pick up the knife, he hears, “Ten.”

Eren scowls, but he readies himself. He switches the way he holds the knife, trying to hold it the way Levi does. Levi's grip is a bit looser, with the blade angled upward, sharp end facing out.

“Nine.”

He stares at Levi, trying to understand why he’s positioned the way he is.

“Eight.”

Eren plants his feet firmly on the floor and bends his legs slightly.

“Seven.”

He looks at Levi’s feet. The man is leaning forward slightly.

“Six.”

Eren leans forward, puts his weight on his toes and the balls of his feet.

“Five.”

He gets it, for a moment. It’ll be better for when he moves. It’s like he’s poised at the starting line of a race, waiting for the gun to go off.

“Four.”

Eren pulls his arms up in front of himself, shielding his face and his chest. He doesn’t know about knives, but he’s been in more than his fair share of fist fights.

“Three.”

He clearly doesn’t know anything about attacking just yet.

“Two.”

Maybe he’ll be better at defending.

“One.”

If nothing else, he’ll have the chance to observe Levi’s approach.

Eren watches Levi dash forward, and he pulls his knife in front of himself, thinking he can block Levi’s attack—

Levi’s arm moves like a flash, and Eren’s vaguely aware of pain in his hand before he takes in the crack of wood slamming against wood, before he realizes that thing flying through the air is his knife. He sees Levi shift his feet, his arms low, and Eren tries to jump out of the way, but Levi is too quick, his arms shooting upwards and forwards, and Eren can fucking hear the air whizzing around Levi’s arms, and for a second he thinks, this is where I die—

The wooden knife stops an inch away from his throat, but Eren is still trying to lean away and he loses his balance, stumbling backwards and falling on his ass.

Levi stands over him, knife loosely in his hand. He’s frowning, but there’s something different about his eyes. Eren isn’t sure if he’s imagining it, but something in Levi’s eyes looks like it’s shining, like there’s something about this whole ordeal that excites him, thrills him.

His voice does not carry that same excitement.

“Never let the vampire attack first.”

Levi turns abruptly on his heel, marching back to his previous position. Eren takes a deep breath, wiping the beginnings of sweat from his forehead.

“Again,” Levi snaps, and Eren hurries to his feet, scrambling to find his knife as Levi continues to count down.

~ ~ ~

An hour later, and Eren is a tired, sweaty mess on Levi’s living room floor. He’s just been knocked off his feet for the umpteenth time. His chest is heaving, damp locks that escaped from his hasty bun sticking to his face like thin strands of glue. Levi is still standing, staring impassively at the big vampire sprawled on his carpeted floors, long limbs spread out, besides the arm over Eren’s face.

“Fuck,” Eren says, and Levi huffs.

“Let’s stop for today.”

“No!” Eren exclaims, hurriedly pushing himself upwards, though the action makes him dizzy, and he falls back to the floor. “Not until I get you at least once.”

“Eren,” Levi says, “today was just practice. You don’t have to be ready within one day.”

“Maybe I would do better if you explained something instead of just beating me up,” Eren grumbles.

“Today was just for me to get a sense of how you fight. You’re not going to magically be ready to hunt even if I told you what I thought you should do.”

Levi sighs, and Eren shifts his arm away from his face to squint up at the man.

“In any case, this is how I learned. I don’t know any other way to teach you.”

“Pity me,” Eren says, covering his eyes with his arm again. “We’re not all prodigies.”

“That’s why I’m telling you we can stop for today, you shitty brat.”

“No,” Eren says again. “One more… give me one more try.”

“Eren—”

“Just one,” Eren insists, pushing himself to his feet. “Then I’ll stop.”

Levi sighs, running his fingers through his own damp hair.

“Fine. One more.”

They slide back into their positions, and Eren takes slow steady breaths. He’s tired, but he’s not exhausted—his brain is far more fatigued than his body is. Eren wants to get it, and he wants for it all to click. Because he wants to kill those bastards who hurt his mom, and he fears that they’ll be out of his reach if he waits for too long.

He barely remembers what they look like, and it was months ago, for fuck’s sake. He’ll be lucky if the vampires are anywhere near enough for him to even attempt to find them.

“Ten.”

His chest is burning and not just from exertion. His muscles tense at just the thought of those fuckers getting away. He’s pissed at himself for not going after them right away, or at least sooner than this, even though he knows that his lack of knowledge and experience would’ve gotten him killed.

“Nine.”

Eren grits his teeth, and his fangs feel heavy in his mouth. He doesn’t care about the reality of the situation. He doesn’t care if it’s reckless or if he’s not ready. He wants to find them, and he wants them dead. He wants to be the one who kills them. He wants to make them pay.

“Eight.”

He wants to make them scream, just like his mother did.

“Seven.”

His body feels incredibly light as he rushes forward. The knife is in his hand, but he’s rushing face first, fangs bared, his mouth open and ready to snap. He sees his mother’s throat in the back of his mind, bloody and fragile, and it’s far too easy to envision those red-eyed monsters in front of him, thanks to the darkness of Levi’s house—

Levi.

The man’s eyes are wide, and even though Eren sees that his hands are already coming up to block, even though he knows that Levi is a vampire hunter, that it’ll be easy for him to dodge, he freezes midstep, close enough that he can hear Levi breathing.

The fire in his chest has stopped burning, and he feels sick to his stomach.

“Eren?”

Eren’s whole body feels stiff. He brings his hands up to cover his mouth and looks back to the spot where he was previously standing. He moved so fast. He doesn’t remember taking more than a single step.

“I’m sorry,” Eren says, his voice muffled by his hands.

“For what?” Levi asks, trying to step into Eren’s line of sight, but Eren jerks his head away. “That was good; we should’ve been practicing like that this whole time. With the way you are, sometimes I forget. But you should be using all your abilities. Your fangs are a better weapon than any shitty knife.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t—I don’t want to practice like that.”

“Why not?”

Eren wants to vomit. He squeezes his eyes shut, and he’s reliving that day again. But it’s different. He sees himself at the party, thrashing about. He’s throwing his cake off the table, breaking all the windows in the house. His mother is screaming at him, Stop Eren, please! He’s the vampire. He’s the red-eyed monster tearing his mother’s throat out.

His mouth—his fangs throb.

It’s not true. He knows it’s not. He was human before that night.

But a memory that is most definitely real flashes in his brain. One he’s been trying to push down.

It’s the morning after his birthday. He’s in a panic, calling the police, begging them to save his mom even though she’s already gone. And he sees himself in the reflection of the glass scattered around the house. There’s blood on his mouth. He wipes it off, and that’s when he sees the scar, the fangs. And somehow, a part of Eren knows that the blood in his mouth isn’t his own.

“Eren!”

Levi’s voice drags him back to the present, and Eren is still pressing his hands over his mouth. He’s crouched on the floor, curled in on himself, and there’s something wet spilling over his cheeks, his hands.

Levi kneels down in front of him, and Eren realizes he’s crying. Again.

He feels pathetic.

“I don’t—” Eren chokes out. “I don’t want to fight like that. Like them.”

“Okay,” Levi says, and his voice is soft.

“I don’t wanna be like them,” Eren says, “but I… I—”

“It’s okay,” Levi says, “you won’t be.”

“But I—”

“Eren,” Levi says, and his firm tone makes Eren press his lips together, dropping his gaze to the floor.

He feels a hand on his shoulder, and then it slides lower, to the center of his back. And when Levi pushes his unsteady body forward, Eren falls without complaint. His head drops onto Levi’s shoulder, and he feels like a child as he reaches out to grasp Levi’s shirt in his hands. The man’s arms wrap around him, and Levi sits there, silent, as he lets Eren cry into his shoulder, wide shoulders shaking with the effort to regain control of himself.

“Am I a monster?” Eren asks, his already quiet voice muffled as he speaks the words into Levi’s shoulder.

“No,” Levi whispers, and his head drops to rest on Eren’s. “You’re human. Fuck, you’re more human than me.”

“What do you…?”

Levi just shakes his head and pulls Eren closer. Eren sighs, sagging against Levi.

“Don’t wanna be like them,” he mumbles again.

“You won’t be,” Levi whispers. “You won’t be.”

[kierthehecc]

A bit of news

Kylo Ren x Reader // One Shot ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (modern au!) Kylo Ren is the CEO of the newspaper you work for, called The First Order. You're one of the higher up reporters, and have been tasked to learn more about your boss. Why the company thought this would boost the selling of the newspaper, you didn't know. But you would of never thought that Mr. Ren himself is more than just an angry business man. ________________________________________________________________  "FUCK OFF!" Yelled (Y/N)'s boss, the CEO of The First Order, a known newspaper. Apparently some of the lower level employees were messing with him. That usually messed up the work day. Nobody liked when that happened. And how often does the work day get messed up? Three times a week. The work load people had on the days when the CEO wasn't as mad.. it was a lot. The lower level employees really liked to get on their nerves. Sure, they knew their boss was kind of uptight, but it irked them that things in the building would just stop because someone decided to mess up a simple task. Now sure, Mr. Ren gets mad over a lot of things, but if something that is bound to be messed up, gets messed up, he doesn't give two shits. But when its a simple task that people do all the time? He goes fucking crazy. Breaking the printer in his room, or punching a hole through his file cabinet. This man is strong, and it kinda scares (Y/N).        (Y/N)'s assignment for the week was interview the anger-stricken boss of theirs. Of course, it was a good day to do so. Since the man wasn't yelling in his large office. It was common for them to hear the screams, since they worked on the same floor as the CEO. A gentle knock on his door, and a 'come in'. "Hello Mr. Ren." Greeted (Y/N) to the tall man. "Hello (L/N). I heard from our editing department that you were going to come see me today. I wasn't informed of what exactly you're coming for." He used a hand to prop his head up, seemingly bored of the medial tasks of being a CEO. "Oh!" They sat up in the chair. "I was supposed to come here to interview you-" "Interview?" A confused look landed on his face. "Yes.. the media team thinks that will bring in more sales if people knew more about you-" (Y/N) started to feel sweat drip down their back. This was not going to go well. "Well, The First Order does have a decent media team. Alright, I will let you interview me. But not here. I don't want anyone overhearing this until the editing team gets the report, okay?" They nodded to what he said, the nerves still making them sweat profusely. "Meet me outside the parking lot after you're let out." Kylo Ren then shooed his employee from his room. Well this sure was gonna be an experience.        Hours later, and (Y/N) met up with their boss. "Hello Mr-" "Please, call me Kylo when we're not in that building." He said, in his normal baritone voice. "... okay.. Kylo.. uh.. where are we going?" "My place." Well that sure made (Y/N) blush. His place? That's a bit more informal than they thought. Oh boy- "Just follow my car." The only other car in the parking lot, other than (Y/N)'s, was a fancy Jaguar. Of course he had one of those. It seemed like the car has even been modified. The car itself was mostly black, but the interior was all red leather. And the tire rims were also red. Fancy. Of course, (Y/N) just had a (Car Make), which was not as fancy as that car.        A small drive later, and the two arrived to a large house, practically in the middle of nowhere. ".. woah.." The person said in their car, so the boss man had no clue what their first reaction was. "Wait holy shit-" Yeah, this man had a four car garage. (Y/N) just noticed. "Okay wow.. this is sure gonna be eventful." The cars pulled up the driveway, and parked. Kylo got himself out of the car, and locked it. The employee did the same, but felt their nerves kick into overdrive. "Are you alright?" They didn't notice that they started to shake in an anxious manner after they started to walk to the house. ".. uh.. yeah. I'm fine-" (Y/N) held their laptop and papers closer to their chest. The male opened the door for them, and immediately, they were mesmerized by what they saw. The foyer was the peak of class. There was a large statue in the middle of the circular room, and a door leading to a sort of mudroom. ".. uh.. so where do I put my things?" "I'll take them-" Their boss being a gentleman sure surprised (Y/N) even more. He took their coat and shoes into the mudroom, and then came back out without his own coat and shoes. "Come with me-" Kylo lead them to his study.        (Y/N) gathered so much information about their boss, and realized how calm this man could be outside of the building they worked at. He seemed to enjoy calligraphy, and poetry. Both being very calm things. This man could also speak a couple more languages than just English. The things they found out was astonishing. "I think I've gathered enough for an article. Thank you so much for doing this." The person gave him a gentle smile, of which he returned. "I'm glad you were patient with me, unlike some of those pesky lower level people.." He put a hand on his head, obviously mad about how they like to mess with him. "I totally understand. They get on my nerves too." (Y/N) nodded, agreeing with him. This brought another smile to Kylo's face. Someone else knows how agonizingly annoying the people that work on the lower level are? Well that sure took a large weight off his shoulders. His meaty, muscular-.. OFF TOPIC. "Did you want to stay for dinner? It is pretty late-" The man stood up, and looked in the direction of his kitchen, and then back at them. "Uh.. if you don't mind-"        A meal of creamy risotto and New York strip steak. What a treat. Something that was surely fancier than what (Y/N) usually ate for dinner. And all of it was made by the CEO of The First Order. He even wore an apron while making it. They swore that this was strictly professional, but those romantic feelings.. (Y/N) was catching them for their boss. "Here you are-" A plate of steak and risotto was put in front of them. ".. this looks amazing.. and smells amazing too.. I don't think I could ever repay you for this-" "You don't. I know how to treat my guests." He smirked slightly. Huh. He even has a bit of humor to him. Wow. "...well.. thank you. This is lovely.." Kylo nodded at them, and then took a seat as well. The dining table both people sat at was very lavish. Like the house itself.        The two talked through the meal, since Kylo decided he should learn something about his employee. They did seem quite interesting. (Y/N) was okay with answering the questions, because they didn't seem to be very personal questions. After the meal was finished, there was one last question asked. "Would you like to out on a date sometime?" That sure sent (Y/N)'s heart on a joyride. Their face was bright red as they nodded. They couldn't turn down the offer from such a gentleman.        As (Y/N) walked with Kylo to the front door, it was silent. It was a decent walk from the dining room. The tall male took this to his advantage. Halfway to the door, he took (Y/N)'s hand. Again, a red faced person. It just make him chuckle. "I hope you liked how today went-" "It was perfect." A smile was shared between the two. "I will see you tomorrow." He gently kissed the back of their hand. This sure was gonna blossom into something magical.

[is0gild]

Ice Cream and Fire Oven Pizza - Chapter 29

Pairing: Elsa x Lea/Axel || Side Pairing: Riku x OC

Summary: Modern AU. She's an introvert ball of nerves who works at Ice Palace, a mall food court ice cream shop. He's the outgoing, sassy goofball who works at the Pizza Planet across the way. Hilarity, snark, and fluffy romcom hijinks ensue.

Word Count: 8,417

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

Credit for super friggin’ cute and super friggin’ amazing cover art goes to the super friggin’ talented ky-jane here on tumblr!

"What the everliving fuck, Lea?! Why the hell are you naked in our kitchen?!"

Riku's muffled shout had me jerking awake and shooting up in bed, my hand clutching the blanket.

"Er, heh… laundry day?"

Lea's response.

Both voices had come from the other side of my closed bedroom door. I heard a ruckus out there ensue - possibly the sounds of a chase? Wincing at the sunlight pouring in through my window, I glanced towards the clock on my nightstand. Ugh, we'd only gotten to sleep a few short hours ago.

...speaking of…

I lifted my blanket slightly away from me as I looked down at myself.

Yup.

Not a stitch on me.

Not sure what else I could've possibly expected.

My door suddenly burst open and I gasped, hugging my comforter to my chest once more as Lea came barreling in. Okay, at least he wasn't completely naked. He had one of my bed sheets wrapped around his waist. Thankfully. I don't think that my heart could have survived such a visual otherwise at this precise moment.

He leapt into bed with me, sniggering as he hid behind me. Or rather, tried to anyway. My frame was far too small to be concealing such a large man. "Mornin', gorgeous!" he chirped, planting a swift peck to my cheek.

Face heating and groggy brain still trying to catch up, I began, "I- Wha-"

"Why, Lea?! Just… why?!" Riku yelled from the other side of the door, which seemed to have hit a wall and bounced back to almost closing again. It was now just barely open a crack for us to clearly hear my annoyed roommate's voice through it.

"Was trynta scrounge something up for breakfast!" Lea called back. "El was hungry!"

...I was?

My stomach growled.

Oh. Apparently, yes. Yes I was.

...oh gosh, it hadn't been gurgling in my sleep, had it? How embarrassing.

Riku's voice snarled, "You couldn't have put some goddamn pants on first?!"

"It was an emergency! Hadta get some food in the woman, stat!"

There was a loud angry huff from the other side of the door. "Whatever, you just better not have sat on anything out here or I swear…"

It hadn't escaped my notice that Riku hadn't followed Lea in here. Perhaps the implications of Lea barging in first in his current state of undress had not been lost on him and so he was staying out there to preserve my modesty.

Rayne on the other hand…

My door banged open for a second time to reveal her suddenly standing in the threshold, a huge ear-to-ear grin splitting her face in two. "Oh my god, it finally happened!"

Rayne had no such compunctions.

She squealed before running further into the room, holding something up in one hand. "Ahh, I'm so excited! So, so happy for you guys! Oh dear lord, you have no idea how frustrating it's been watching the two of you just dancing around each other this whole time but not bloody doing a damn thing about it! It was driving me up the goddamn wall!" Turns out that thing in her grasp was her phone, or so I came to realize when she shoved it in my face, "But finally! The day we've all been hoping for is here at last! The day you've become," pause for dramatic effect,"...a woman! Halle-freakin-lujah! Do you have any words you'd like to commemorate this momentous event with?"

"Why the phone?" was my oh so moving speech as I scrunched up my face and put my hand to the device, pushing it away.

She beamed and shrugged. "I'm recording this."

"You're what?!" I blanched.

"Yup! To immortalize this historic occasion! Plus, I need video evidence cuz otherwise there is no way Anna will ever believe this. She's gonna flip her-" she suddenly gasped, free hand shooting forward to brush my hair back off my shoulder while getting in close with her phone again. "Holy Jesus H Christ, Lea, what the hell did you do to the woman's throat?!"

I jerked back from her touch, brow furrowing. "My...?" I brought my hand up to brush a finger to my neck. Huh. It was rather sore…

"Dude," she fixed me with a pointed look from the other side of her phone. "It's absolutely covered in hickeys."

"H-?!" I choked on the word, eyes widening and face an inferno.

"Seriously. That thing is more bruise than neck at this point." Rayne leaned in even further with her mobile, fascinated. "Would you lookit that? All the lil ones are coming together to form - dun, dun dun," her voice dropped to intone with deep reverence, "the Mother Hickey!"

I slapped a hand over the spot, trying to cover it up.

She snerked then cackled. "Oh, sweetie. Your hand would have to be the size of an extra large, double stuffed pizza to conceal that monster! Damn, Red, for real… that's a masterpiece!"

Lea gave a sheepish laugh beside me, fingers ruffling his wild bedhead hair. "Guess it is some o' my best work, huh?"

Squeaking, I burrowed into my blankets to hide from the rest of the world.

"Alright, no further comment, show's over now. Riku!" Lea gave a sudden shout. "Come corral your woman!"

I heard a slow creak from my door, then the sound of feet awkwardly shuffling in. "Sorry about-" There was a thud and Riku hissed, "Ow! ...about this, Elsa. I pr-" Whump. "Gah! Promise I'm not-" Bang. "Goddamn it! I'm not-"

"Oh for the love of…" A sigh from Rayne. "Riku! You can remove your hand from your eyes, you goob! She's hiding under the sheets."

"I think I'll keep my hand right where it is, thank you very much!" he grumbled back. He could be heard shambling about for a bit more, peppered here and there by him bumping and crashing into a few more things, before finally, "Ah-ha! There you are!"

"Ack! Riku!" The sounds of what could only be described as a kerfuffle followed. "Put me down, brat!"

"We'll, uh… go get breakfast going and give you two some… privacy," Riku grunted out. Pretty sure I could hear him now literally dragging his wife out of the room. How he managed that one-handed (as I could only assume the other was still being used to shield his eyes), I'll never know. Eventually, mercifully, I heard my door click shut.

Lea gave a soft snort. "So… wanna come out and show me your beautiful face?" he then coaxed gently.

Twitching slightly, I gripped harder at the fabric of the comforter - aka my sanctuary. "Hmm… mm-mm, no, I think I'm good in here, thanks."

There was a brief pause. Then, "Alright. Guess me and my beautiful face are just gonna have to come in there instead." The blankets abruptly lifted, but only just enough for Lea to scooch in next to me under them before tucking them back down around us once more. His shoulders hunched, sheet overhead smooshing his hair down as he shot me a grin. "Hi."

Oh gosh, it was bad enough that he'd been naked before. Now he was naked and close. Not that I could really see anything below the waist - he was still wrapped in sheet down there. Still, even though I couldn't see him in all his nude glory, didn't mean I wasn't one hundred and ten percent fully aware of it and that thought alone was enough to send the blood rushing to my face all over again.

Ugh, calm down, cheeks. You'd think after last night, there'd be nothing left to get so red over.

"Wanna talk about it?" he tipped his head to one side.

"Hm?" I hummed absently, dragging my eyes up to meet his. While the actual goods were currently out of sight, I was still finding just the sight of his bare chest rather, hrm… distracting.

He gave a small shrug, "Whatever it is that's bothering you."

I gnawed on my lower lip and glanced away, clutching the undersheet more tightly to my chest.

...last night had been…

...amazing…

...slow and tender at times, and… heated and passionate at others, as well as, er… how shall I put it... enlightening? Sure, let's go with that. But also, it'd been…

...confusing.

I mean, not in the moment itself, it hadn't been. But now…? Well, it was just… we hadn't really talked about anything beforehand. Frankly, we'd let hormones do all the talking. Hormones were a new experience for me. I'd never even had so much as an inkling of a single solitary hormone ever before and last night I'd been struck by a whole raging tsunami of the damn things. Who knew they could be so, er… persuasive. It'd been all too easy to get swept up in the torrent. But now that the storm had died down, now that morning was here and I could think more clearly, I…

Well, I didn't regret it. No, not one bit. But… I guess I just had questions. Like where did this leave Lea and me? I hadn't forgotten the little detail that he'd never really been the relationship type before, and I had no real solid reason to believe that that was about to change just for me. And what about his whole "no girls until graduation" rule? Just what had this been for him then? A temporary lapse in judgement? A moment of weakness? Yeesh, I didn't want to be one of those girls who got all, "What does this mean?" after they sleep with a guy, but…

You know what? No, there was nothing wrong with being one of those girls. Those girls were valid. Those girls had a right to know and so did I, damn it! I deserved to know if this had actually meant something to him or if I'd just been a… another notch on the headboard or… or if he'd just been sowing his wild oats or-

"Oh gosh, was I just an oat to you?!" I suddenly blurted out, snatching the comforter down off my head with a huff.

"Uh…" Lea fought with the blanket a bit himself before his top half broke free to join me out here, blinking at me owlishly. "...no?" he tried, his guyliner-smudged eyes squinting uncertainly.

Right. Good job, mouth. Way to make me sound like a total crackpot.

Inhaling deeply through my nose and then puffing out a slow breath, I gave it another go. "...was last night just a…" The blush returned as I struggled for the right words. "...a one night stand?"

His shoulders stiffened as his head rocked back. "What?! No. God no! El, I-" his hand was reaching for me, but it stopped just short of my arm. He frowned, pulling it back to instead rub over his mouth then drag along the nape of his neck with a sigh. "Shit, we're always doing things so backwards, aren't we? Kissing before we'd even so much as said our first hello to each other… Going steady before we'd even been on a single date… Now hopping into bed together before taking a minute to tell each other how we really…" he trailed off with another sigh, leaving the thought unfinished.

I remained silent, just looking down as I drew my blanketed knees up, hugging them to my chest.

Lea shifted around so he was instead facing me now, clasping his own sheet to keep it firmly wrapped around his waist. Pulling one knee up himself, he propped an elbow atop it as he bent forward to my eye-level. "Do you remember the story I told about how we met?"

My eyes blinked. "You mean the plot of Before Sunrise?"

Grinning softly now, he said, "If you'll recall, that movie starts on the train. But that's not where the story I told began."

A crease formed between my eyebrows. "No, it started with the lantern festival."

"That's right," he nodded. "...I was there, El. I was really there, same time as you."

My spine snapped straight as I inhaled, small and sharp. "You were?"

"Yup! Everything… seeing you there, the lanterns going up, even the bit about me faceplanting into a lamppost… all of it, and I do mean all of it, was true."

I gaped slightly before shaking my head slowly. "But… you said you'd never seen the lantern show."

"I haven't. Oh sure, I was there, but I was too busy watching you instead," he chuckled, tapping me on the nose.

There was a small flutter inside my ribcage. Still, I frowned. "But… but I was the one who said the city we met in was Corona."

He snorted, scratching a spot behind his ear, "Yeah, and I was floored when ya did. Thought for a sec that maybe you actually had noticed me at the festival. But nope, turned out to just be a lucky shot in the dark!" Lea laughed, then paused with a wistful smile. "...obviously in the real story, I didn't end up following you onto that train, but shit, you dunno how bad I wanted to. But I'd just sworn off girls to focus on college only the day before, and I didn't wanna be so weak as to go tossing that out the window less than twenty-four hours in." His lips then pursed to one side, eyes downcast. "In a way, maybe it was for the best. I don't think the time was right for either of us yet. I… wouldn't have been ready to be the person you needed me to be."

I didn't know what to say to that. Even if I did, I'm not sure if I would have been able to get any words out past the tightening in my throat. So instead, I just settled for reaching for his hand.

Flashing me a grin, he brought it up so he could press his lips lightly to my knuckles before going on, "But man, did I regret letting you get away without even so much as talking to you. Was kicking myself ever since, thinking I'd never see you again." His eyes crinkled as he leaned in closer now, "So imagine my shock 'bout a year later when I spot a very cute, very familiar new girl working the ice cream counter across the food court from me. It'd seemed fate had decided to give me a second chance with the divine creature from the lantern festival. I just hadta meet her."

One corner of my mouth tugged up, "What about your dating hiatus?"

"Hey now, I was just trying to get to know you! You were the one who kissed me first, remember?" his lips twisted into a smirk and I rolled my eyes, feeling heat creeping up the back of my neck. His gaze turned serious however. "...women have always kinda been a weakness for me. I'd practically made a career out of skirt chasing. Whenever it came down to making a choice between the ladies and getting my shit together, I picked ladies every time. But when I finally decided, and I mean really decided to buckle down, I cut that part of my life out completely. I thought it would be hard, but it actually really wasn't. Turns out they'd just been a bad habit I hadta kick. Having them around had been a distraction.

"But when it came to you…" his eyes softened as he reached for a lock of my hair to fiddle with. "The more I got to know you, it… The distraction was… not having you around. I couldn't concentrate on anything else… not school, not work... I was thinking about you all the time. Couldn't get you outta my head. Not for a damn second."

"Lea…" my hand came up of its own accord to brush along his cheek.

He covered it with his own, turning his head slightly to kiss my palm. "...you know with crushes, or love at first sight, or whatever the hell you wanna call it… they say you're not really falling for the person, but rather just the idea of them. That you're just building 'em up in your head, putting 'em on a pedestal… but that when you actually finally do get to know the person, it'll be a letdown. That they won't turn out to be who you wanted them to be." Pressing our foreheads together now, he nuzzled the tip of his nose to mine, "But you turned out to be so much better than I ever coulda imagined."

I scoffed, face burning as I muttered, "Sounds like someone's been watching too many of those cornball movies."

"I mean it, so shush, you," he chided, biting back a grin. Then he was shifting a little closer to me. "What I'm trying to tell ya is that you're stuck with me. I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours, if you'll have me. I am all in."

My breath hitched as I stared into those stunning green eyes of his. I hesitated for a second, my thumb idly stroking along where he still had my hand clasped to his cheek. Then I bent forward, giving him a gentle kiss. "...I'm all in too."

"Yeah?" he murmured, grin twitching wider. "So how 'bout it then? Can I be your boyfriend for real this time?"

I hummed a soft laugh, nodding. "I'd like that very much."

"Good." Lea curled a finger under my chin, pressing his lips soundly to mine. Then he used his hold on my chin to carefully turn my head to one side, eyes half-lidded as he got a closer look at, er, heh… at the Mother Hickey. "Hmm, I really did do a number on this side of your neck, huh? Gotta a bit carried away." He planted a quick peck to the tender skin there, making it tingle pleasantly. Then he was sweeping my hair forward over that shoulder and turning my head the other way, tsking, "While this side," a kiss to said side, "is looking rather neglected. You're rather lopsided here and we can't have that, now can we?"

"No?" I breathed, shivering as I felt his lips graze over my skin, my hand drifting down to trail along his chest.

"Mm-mm. Why don't we see what we can do here to correct this oversight," he said, voice low as he began nibbling at my throat. I could feel him hooking a finger into where I had the blanket hugged to my torso, giving it a gentle tug and-

My door abruptly flew open for the third time. "Elsa! I need to talk to-" Anna - that's right, Anna - gasped from where she stood in the doorway now, slapping a hand over her eyes. Lea and I jerked apart, me clutching the comforter more fiercely to my body than ever. My sister parted her fingers for a peek, then snapped them back closed with a giggle. "Oo la la! You two really go the extra mile to sell this girlfriend-boyfriend act! You do remember calling the whole thing off yesterday though, right?"

Lea hung his head and sighed heavily while I scooted off the bed with an annoyed little growl. Keeping the blanket firmly wrapped around me like a misshapen, makeshift dress, I narrowed my eyes and marched over to her. "What are you doing here, Anna? Why didn't you just call?"

"Your phone's been-"

I snatched her hand down from where it was still covering her eyes, since I refused to hold a conversation with her while she looked so silly. She blinked a couple times before a tiny laugh bubbled out of her, "Oh hi!" I merely drooped my eyelids at her and she cleared her throat, expression hardening. "Your phone's been going straight to voicemail and this couldn't wait!"

That's right. My phone was still dead and I never got around to charging it last night. I'd been a little otherwise, ahem… preoccupied.

I pinched the bridge of my nose with an irritated huff. I didn't want to deal with this right now. Taking hold of Anna's shoulder, I spun her around and pushed her back towards my door, "Fine, then just... try calling me again later."

"What?! No, wait!" Her hands flew out to grab either side of the doorframe and she dug in her heels, bringing us both to a lurching stop. "Sis, I really, really need to talk to you!"

"Well I don't want to talk to you!" I snapped back, pressing my shoulder into her back and putting my full weight into trying to get her moving again. No dice. She wouldn't budge.

"Elsa, please!" she whirled around to face me once more, unleashing the full might of her devastating pout on me.

Fudge. I'd never been able to say no to those big, sad, puppy-dog eyes of hers.

I puffed out a small breath with a scowl. Then I grumbled, "Fine. Just give me a minute to get-"

Dressed.

That's the word I'd been about to say.

However, Anna's excited squeal cut me off and she grabbed my elbow, yanking me along with her as she ran out into the living room. I tried to resist, making a desperate grab for my doorknob but only succeeded in slamming the door shut behind me before it slipped free of my grip. Before I knew it, Hurricane Anna had plonked me down on one of the living room sofas with her flumping down beside me.

"Ugh, not you too," came Riku's groan from the kitchen.

Glancing over, I saw him standing next to a pan sizzling on a stove burner, one of his hands holding a large spatula while the other blurred up to clasp over his eyes. Rayne sniggered at him as she pulled something out of the fridge.

"Hey, I tried to change," I shot back before turning my accusatory gaze on my sister. She merely beamed and shrugged in response. Rolling my eyes, I primly adjusted my blanket-dress with as much dignity as I could muster to ensure I remained one hundred percent PG. My other hand went to my hair, which was still gathered forward over one shoulder, thankfully covering the Mother Hickey.

No need for Anna to spot that, thank you very much.

"Come on, hon, let's get you somewhere where you're free to see," Rayne snorted, relieving him of the spatula and taking his hand in hers so she could start guiding him towards their bedroom.

I shot Anna a dull stare now, waiting with a frown.

Her cue to begin.

"Alright, first of all, we're going to have to come back to that later," she waved a hand towards my bedroom door. "Because okay, wow!"

"I know, right?" Rayne chimed in with a laugh, not having quite reached her room yet. I fixed her with an unamused look and she winced. "Sorry," she whispered, returning all her focus on getting her temporarily blinded husband out of there.

Once they'd disappeared through their door, Anna sat up a little straighter, squared her shoulders, and tugged at her skirt, straightening out its wrinkles. Then she took a deep breath, "Right. Okay, where to begin… well, for starters, I did not - you hear me? Not," she reiterated, striking up a finger for emphasis, "suggest the whole you and Lea thing just to keep Mom and Dad from getting mad about the whole Hans and me thing."

I gave her a flat look, quirking a dubious eyebrow.

"I didn't! I swear I didn't! My actual reasons were threefold. Count 'em, three," she held up the matching number of fingers, wiggling them slightly. Then she ticked off the first one, "A, as I brought up yesterday, I figured having him backing you up would give you the courage to face Mom and Dad. B, I thought that big, scary, redheaded ox of a man would make Mom and Dad think twice before still trying to tell you what to do. Which, in hindsight, kinda backfired… but hey, was worth a shot at least, right?" she gave a nervous chuckle.

I did not laugh with her.

She cleared her throat and hastily pressed on, "And C, it was so obvious that you and Lea had the total friggin' mega hots for each other, so I thought I might play cupid and help that along a lil." Her eyes darted to my bedroom door again before she leaned in closer, waggling her eyebrows, "You're welcome, by the way."

Now I full on glowered at her.

Sense the tone, brat.

She gulped, pulling back again, eyes darting about as she fidgeted with her fingers. Then she huffed, "And fine, okay sure, did I realize you two playing lovebirds in front of Mom and Dad might keep some of the heat off of me and Hans? Yes, but that was more of a… an afterthought! Ya know, like… a nice lil perk on the side. Was it a perk I should have taken advantage of? No. Should I have figured out a different weekend to drop the Hans-bomb? Maybe. But-"

"Sorry, sorry!" Rayne suddenly popped back into the room, sneaking past us towards the kitchen. "Just don't want the bacon to burn. Pretend I'm not here."

Returning my attention to Anna, I saw her frowning, deep in thought and possibly trying to think up a different tactic here. Then she was opening her mouth again, "Look, Sis... he and I didn't mean for this to happen-"

I scoffed, "You said that already yesterday."

"No, let me finish! We didn't mean for it to happen, but it did and nothing can change that now. And you know what? I wouldn't want to change that. I am not sorry." I looked at her sharply and she swiftly amended, "I am sorry if it hurt you. So, so sorry, you have no idea! But I'm not sorry that it happened. You have to understand, he and I… Elsa, it's nothing like I've ever known before! It… it's like fireworks! It's amazing and magical and-"

"He who?" Rayne was suddenly next to us in the living room, making me jerk in surprise.

Jeez, I hadn't even heard her leave the kitchen!

Hand covering my rapid, startled heartbeat, I told her, "Hans. My ex."

"Oh…" the corners of her mouth turned down. Then a blink and a louder, "Oh!" Followed by her eyes narrowing on my sister with a disapproving, "Anna!"

"Fireworks, Ray-Ray! Fireworks!" she snapped back in her defense.

Shaking her head, Rayne directed my attention to what she was holding in her hands - a small bowl of mixed, sliced fruit. "To tide you over until the rest of the food is ready," she explained, depositing it onto the coffee table before making her way back over to the stove.

I stared blankly at the little snack, as if not quite sure what to do with it. Then my stomach gave another growl to remind me.

Oh yeah. That.

"The point," Anna steadfastly insisted, "is that we both know you didn't love him. But I-"

A derisive snort escaped me as I started poking through the fruit. "That is so not the point and you know it."

Her face pinched in annoyance and she spat out, "But I do!"

Snagging a grape, my brow furrowed. "...do what?"

"Love him!"

My eyes widened briefly, then I shot her a dull stare. "...you can't love a man you've just been dating a few weeks."

"And why not?" she glared at me as I popped the grape into my mouth. "You and Lea have been only pretending to date for a few weeks and you're in love with him!"

Cue choking on said grape.

Blasted things are hazardous to your health!

Face roasting as I banged a fist to my chest to dislodge the damn thing and let blessed oxygen back in again, I wheezed, "I'm not- We're not- I mean, it's just-"

"Oh please!" she rolled her eyes. "It's you, Elsa. You. You're the very definition of ice queen. You don't just go around having crazy wild monkey sex-"

"Oh my god, Anna!" I buried my face in my hands.

"Don't oh-my-god-Anna me! It's true! You don't! You never do this! So the only obvious conclusion is that you-"

I clamped a hand over her mouth, fixing her with a tiny scowl. Then I said calmly and evenly, "One, it is not the only conclusion. And two, this isn't about Lea and me. This is about you and Hans." I slowly started to lower my hand but when I saw her sucking in breath to go off once more, I quickly gagged her again. Then I shot her a warning look, silently demanding that she zip it. Her eyelids drooped and I took that as reluctant consent. Taking my hand back now, I looked to the bowl of fruit once more. Hm… maybe a banana slice? Yeah, that seemed less likely to murder me. Bending forward to reach for it, I went on, "Now I know you might think you two are in love, but-"

She abruptly gasped, "Holy friggin' cow, what's that?!"

Suppressing a groan at being interrupted, I grumbled, "What's what?"

"That! On your neck!" With a start, I realized some of my hair had slipped back behind me, no longer concealing the Mother Hickey. The monstrosity had broken loose to wreak its unholy havoc. Anna gaped in pure awe, "Damn, Sis, what was that boy trying to do to you? Draw blood, the friggin' vampire?"

"She liked it!" came Lea's voice suddenly as he exited my bedroom, shutting the door behind him with a smug grin.

Cheeks bursting into flames, I grabbed a raspberry to chuck at him for oversharing.

He caught it easily and sniggered. "Thanks, babe!" he chirped, tossing it up into the air before catching it in his mouth.

Then I looked at him. Really looked at him and came to a realization.

That jerk now had clothes on.

"Hey, no fair! How come he got to get dressed and I didn't?!" I snapped, hand balling more tightly into my blanket-dress in my continued effort to keep the thing together and in place.

Anna whined in frustration, "Sis, focus! We're talking about something important here!"

Says the girl who just got sidetracked by the Mother Hickey.

"Okay, maybe Hans and I haven't been dating for long," she began as out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lea poking about the living room in various places, searching for something. "But just like you, I grew up with him. We've known each other all our lives. I know him, Elsa. Really, really know him." At last he seemed to spot it - his leather jacket, which he snatched up now from wherever he'd tossed it last night. He came over to me and draped it around my shoulders, ducking down to brush a peck to my temple as he did so. "Know him and… and care about him. I actually feel like this has been a long time coming, Sis. That he and I were just meant to be. It's the kind of stuff that cheesy romcom flicks are made of, what everyone's singing about in all those sappy songs. Ya know… true love."

"Come on, Anna," I sighed as I tugged Lea's jacket closer, grateful for the added bit of coverage. Thumb idly running up and down the metal teeth of the zipper, I muttered, "Thought you outgrew fairytales a long time ago."

"What's with the shit-eating grin?" I heard Rayne asking Lea as he moved to join her in the kitchen.

He shrugged, plopping down into one of the dining chairs, "You'd have one too if El had just agreed to be your girlfriend."

"Oof, point taken."

"Fairytale or no, I love him," Anna said, drawing my focus back to her. "And he loves me! And I'm sorry that we went about it in the way wrong way and hurt you in the process. I really, truly am! But what's done is done. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness so soon, but I'm asking… hoping, really, that you'll still give it… because I need you right now, Elsa."

She reached out for my hand, squeezing it as her face fell as she momentarily paused. Then, "I need my big sis. Hans' parents… they're furious about all this. They didn't want their son with the second Fryse daughter, they wanted you. They're blowing a friggin' gasket, which is making Mom and Dad blow their own stupid gaskets too. Which is whatever, fine, I can take it… but not if you're mad at me too." She sniffled, eyes downcast and bottom lip quivering. "...I could really use you in my corner right now, Sis. Please."

I frowned at her, eyebrows knitting together and not saying anything right away. Then, "...you two… really love each other?"

"Oh my god, so much," she gave a weak wobble of a laugh, fingers swiping at the corner of her eye. "I love him with all of my heart and I know he feels the same way about me too."

I inhaled and exhaled softly. Then I covered her hand with mine. "Fine. I forgive you. And I'm here for you, whatever you need."

"Really?!" Anna cried out. I nodded and she broke out into a huge grin, eyes welling up even further to the point where tears escaped. Then she was tackling me in a hug that knocked the wind out of me. "Oh thank you, thank you! You're the bestest, most amazing, most beautiful big sis ever!"

Who was I to stand in the way of love?

True love, no less. Apparently.

As she pulled away, she was now a blubbering mess and I had to stifle a snort. She'd always been such an endearingly ugly cryer. Jamming the heel of her palm to her nose in an attempt to dam the flow of snot, she asked, "Can I take a minute or two to clean myself up in your bathroom?"

I gestured a hand towards the restroom door and she got up, starting to make her way over to it. "Anna," I said abruptly and she stopped in her tracks, glancing back over her shoulder at me. I hesitated briefly, gnawing on my lower lip and almost losing my nerve. But then finally I began, "Would you… that is, later, would you maybe like to…" my lips clamped shut. Oh gosh, I was getting so awkward over such a silly little question. Taking a steadying breath, I then braved a tiny smile for her, "...do you want to make some scotcheroos?"

...would she even remember?

She blinked. "You mean… as in like when we were…?" Then it seemed to click and her face did this funny thing were it both lit up and brimmed over with even more tears. "Yes! Yes, I'd like that very much! I… Just gimme a sec, I'll be right back!" Then she hastily disappeared into the bathroom, clicking the door shut behind her.

I jolted in surprise as Lea suddenly one-hand vaulted himself over the back of the couch, quick to take the seat next to me that Anna had just vacated. He gave me a toothy grin as he slung an arm around my shoulders, tugging me closer to him.

...okay, this was going to take some getting used to.

A couple weeks of fake dating had in no way prepared me for the real thing.

However, as I felt him pressing his lips to the top of my head and nuzzling his nose into my hair as he did so, I relaxed a bit into his side.

I might... enjoy getting used to this.

Now if only everything else could be so simple. In particular, my family-

"Oh gosh, my family!" I suddenly stiffened.

"Hm?" his hand rubbed up and down my arm outside the jacket. "What about them?"

I groaned, "I just finished telling them yesterday that you and I weren't dating. Now we have to tell them that we are."

Lea squinted up at the ceiling, pursing his lips to the left. "...do we though?"

"Yes! I mean, maybe not right now, but eventually."

His free hand came up to scratch the tip of his nose, then he smiled down at me. "Hey, lookit the bright side though. Now we don't have to explain any of this craziness to the mall or tell 'em we broke up or anything like that."

I fixed him with a deadpan look. "Not helping."

"Doesn't it though?"

I narrowed my eyes up at him. Then I relented with a small huff, "...okay, maybe a little."

"Can I come out yet?" came Riku's rather pathetic call from his bedroom.

"Not yet, she's still naked!" Rayne shouted back as she used her spatula to shift the eggs frying in the pan. In response, Riku made an annoyed noise that was half growl, half moan.

Reaching for a blueberry now, I asked her over my shoulder, "Hey, were you two out all night?"

"Mm-hm!" she hummed back chipperly.

"They were just walking through the front door when they happened upon me in the kitchen in nothing but the bed sheet," Lea supplied, biting into a strawberry.

Glancing her way, I cocked my head. "Where were you guys?"

"Riku surprised me with a romantic weekend getaway!" Rayne beamed, opening the fridge back up. "Speaking of, I noticed as I was dropping my bag off in the bedroom this morning that our room seemed to be a bit, er… tossed about." She wrinkled her nose, "I seriously doubt it, but you two didn't… you know... in there, right?"

My cheeks flared up. "Oh god, no! That was, um…" I cleared my throat, my fingers fiddling with the zipper clasp on the leather jacket, "...Lea was just looking for, uh… for protection."

Rayne glanced at him, eyelids drooping. "And you weren't packing any of that already, stud?"

His fingers ruffled his hair with a chuckle, "Stopped carrying anything like that on me a year ago when I called it quits with the ladies. Didn't want any excuses to give into temptation."

"Ah," she shook her head, stepping back over to the frying pan. Then her shoulders tensed and her head snapped up as a thought suddenly seemed to strike her. "Heh… you, er… didn't happen to find the, uh…"

"Pumpkin spice flavored condoms?" I said dryly and she twitched. "Yes, we did. And Rayne? You have a problem."

I felt Lea's whole body rumble with a laugh, "Yeah seriously, Raindrop, what the actual fuck?"

Turning several shades of deeper and deeper red, her eyes flicked nervously about. "S-someone gave them to me as a gag gift, I swear!" Yeah, wasn't buying it. Didn't help that Lea had found the box already opened. "You, uh… you two didn't actually… use those, right?"

"Heh… needs must when the Devil drives!" Lea snerked as I facepalmed.

Rayne silently squirmed where she stood for an uncomfortable moment as she poked the spatula at the eggs some more. Then, "...let's never speak of this again."

"Agreed," I gave a single, firm nod. Then I was standing up, slipping out of Lea's jacket and leaving it behind on the couch as I started heading towards my bedroom. "And on that awkward note, I think I'll go put clothes on."

"Lemme help ya!" Lea grinned, hopping up to his feet behind me. However, he didn't get very far.

"Ah-ah!" Rayne was suddenly beside him, snagging him by the ear. He gave a pained hiss through grit teeth as she yanked on it, forcing him to hunch down to her height so she could glare at him. "Getting clothes on that girl is the absolute furthest thing from your mind, bucko."

He clasped a hand to his chest in mock offense. "You insult me, madame! I promise I had only the purest, most honorable of intentions!" She stared at him blankly before pinching his earlobe harder, forcing a tiny yelp out of him. "Okay fine, my intentions may of been hovering, teetering towards the slightly dishonorable."

She sighed, "Need I remind you that that room is a future baby nursery?"

"And oh if those walls could talk, the stories they would tell your future bouncing bundle of joy."

Rayne scoffed, dragging him by the ear back towards the kitchen with him grunting the whole way. Shoving him down into one of the dining chairs, she snapped, "Now sit your ass down here and if you even think about taking so much as one step closer to her bedroom door, I'm gonna neuter you with this thing," she poked him in the nose with her spatula. "Capisce, loverboy?"

He held his hands up in surrender, "Capisce!"

I'd almost made it to my room when my stomach gurgled again. I swiftly made a u-turn and went back for the bowl of fruit, picking it up and carrying it back with me. For the road! As I ate a kiwi slice, Riku called out again, "Now can I come out?"

"Almost, Hon! She's heading for her door now," Rayne yelled back as she started taking plates out of the overhead cupboard, still maintaining a wary eye on Lea the whole time.

"Finally!"

However, I was only halfway across the living room when abruptly there was loud, frantic banging on the front door, nearly making me drop the whole bowl.

Ugh, now what?

"Elsa! Are you in there?" called a voice from the other side. A voice that made me stop dead in my tracks and whip around, wide eyed and cheeks bulging with fruit. More thunderous knocking. "Please answer the door, I have to see you!"

That… sounded like…

"...Hans?" I squeaked after choking my food down.

What on earth was he doing here?!

Lea's whole body went rigid as he quickly looked from me to the source of the hammering. Both eyebrows shot up Rayne's forehead. Then she was turning off the stove burner and wiping her hands on her blue plaid shorts as she made her way over to the door. She unlocked it and opened it a crack, politely but cautiously asking, "Hi, can I help y-"

Hans was suddenly shoving his way inside, pushing past her and shouting, "Elsa, where are you? We have to-" His eyes landed on me and he froze. Then determination seared across his eyes and he was marching towards me, "Elsa, I need to talk to you!"

I'd been hearing that an awful lot this morning.

I blinked, taking a step back and shaking my head, "Hans, what are you-"

That's when he finished closing the distance between us, grabbed me by the shoulders and brought his lips crashing down onto me. This time, I did drop the bowl, sending mixed fruit tumbling everywhere across the carpet. Rayne and Lea gawked at us.

I- Wha- Th- Huh-

Just what...

...the actual hell...

...was up with this friggin' morning?!

I mean, come on! More had happened to me in the past thirty minutes than usually happens to me on any normal given week!

And all while I was still wearing nothing but a stupid bedsheet, for crying out loud!

It took a split second for the shock to wear off, then I was scrabbling to wedge my arms between us, shoving him away and furiously scrubbing my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Oh hell fucking no!" Lea was on his feet in a heartbeat, green eyes flashing dangerously and face twisted into a snarl.

However Rayne stopped him with a hand on his chest. "Cool your jets, Red, and shush!"

"But-" he spluttered, apparently too outraged for words. Instead he settled for gesturing both hands angrily towards Hans with a growling huff. Rayne just struck up a warning finger at him.

Fingers abusing the fabric of my comforter as I clutched it to me desperately now, I frowned, "Hans, what is this? Why are you here? How did you even know where I live?"

His brow furrowed and he stepped closer as I hastily took another step back. "I asked your parents and they had Gerda give me the address. But that's not what's important right now. What's important is I want you back!"

Um… excuse me?!

Riku's voice once more came calling from beyond his bedroom door, "What's going on out there? Who's here?"

"Shush!" Rayne snapped back, eyes wide and unblinking so as not to miss a single second of the little soap opera now unfolding in her living room. "Things. Just. Got. Interesting!"

"But-" Riku tried again.

"I said shush, damnit!"

I just stared at Hans, jaw hanging open in disbelief. "...I'm sorry, you what?"

I must've misheard. Yeah, that had to be. It'd be the only thing that'd make any sense and-

"I want you back."

Nope. Heard him right the first time.

"Elsa, sweetheart, we were good together, right? I mean, we weren't perfect, but what couple is? We had a nice thing going though, didn't we? We belong together," he was saying now, his words soft and soothing as he started to reach for me once more.

I swatted his hands away and walked past him, away from him. Unfortunately he moved to follow, pursuing me around the room. "Hans, did you forget I left you at the altar?"

"And I'm willing to look past that!" He grabbed my elbow, making me stop and face him once more. "If I can put that behind us, then you should be able to too. Think about it, sweetheart. Things could go back to the way they were with us. We were happy, weren't we? We made sense!"

"But I don't want to marry you!" I snapped, jerking my arm free of his grasp.

How was he not getting this? Just… how?

He brought up hands in a placating gesture, "And that's fine, we don't have to get married! Not right away, anyway! It was too soon and you weren't ready, I understand that now. Getting married is not the important part. What matters is that we're together. I still care about you and after yesterday, I know that you still care about me too."

"...after yesterday?" Huh? I glared down at my crossed arms, thoroughly confused now. "...what about yesterday gave you that idea?"

"That whole little speech you gave your parents," Hans stated, as if it were obvious. "I could tell how sad and full of regret you were. Regret over breaking things off with me." Uh… what now? "I could tell you wanted me back, that you went through this whole ruse to pretend like you were okay about the way things ended between us, but you really weren't." I wasn't? That was certainly news to me. "I know you're worried you could never earn my trust back, but it's okay, sweetheart. I forgive you." ...gee, thanks? "I want you back. I need you back." He was reaching for me again, this time for my hand, "Please, if we can just-"

I wrenched my hand back, "Why are you saying all of this? You've never talked like this before. Why are you-" I inhaled sharply, suddenly hit with a thought. "...this isn't you… this is your parents talking through you, isn't it? What'd they do? Threaten to cut you off? Oh Hans, you can't just let them-"

"This isn't about them or anything they may or may not have threatened me with!" Translation: yes. Yes it was. "This is about us! This is-" His words abruptly stopped as he blinked, eyeing me up and down. "...are you wearing nothing but a blanket right now?"

Was Mr Perceptive just now realizing this?

Also, kill me. Kill me now.

"And what did you do to your neck?" he squinted, brushing my hair back off my shoulder.

And the cursed Mother Hickey strikes again!

Swear to god, I was going to friggin' kill Lea for giving me the dumb thing!

Hans gave himself a shake, face hardening. "Doesn't matter! What matters is," he snatched up both my hands now, clasping them together between his, "I love you, Elsa!"

...what was this day even?! I mean, seriously! I had absolutely zero clue what was even happening anymore!

However, his words sent a shock of a reminder through my system and my eyes darted over to the bathroom door, which Hans currently had his back to. Still closed. Still with Anna in there. What with the whirlwind the past five minutes had been, I'd all but forgotten she was still here. Oh gosh, could she hear all this?

Licking my dry lips, my gaze returned to Hans and I weakly shook my head. "You… you don't mean that. What about you and Anna? I thought you two were-"

"A mistake," he said firmly, his grasp around my hands tightening. "That's what we were. A mistake. You have to understand, sweetheart, I was… was hurt. And weak. I did something I'm not proud of. But it meant nothing to me, understand? Absolutely nothing! It's you, Elsa. It's always been you. You're the only woman for me."

"But Hans, she loves you!" I argued, wrestling my hands free of his. I could see the bathroom door behind him slowly beginning to creak open now.

He gave a derisive snort. "No she doesn't! She's just naive and thinks she does. Trust me, Anna will be fine. She'll get over it. Anyway, forget about her. The only thing I want to talk about right now is you and me."

My sister stood in the doorway, expression unreadable as she just stared silently at Hans' back. Oh Anna. Poor dear, sweet Anna. She wasn't like me. She didn't know how to guard her heart and not let people in. She wore her emotions on her sleeve. This was going to break her. What would she even say? What would she even do? How-

"YOU BASTARD!" she suddenly roared, charging towards him.

He whirled around with a startled, "Anna? Wha-"

She bodyslammed into him hard, sending them both crashing to the ground where she then proceeded to start royally whaling on him and calling him every nasty word under the sun while I and the rest of the room's onlookers just watched blankly.

...huh.

Apparently, that's what she'd say and do.

Welp. Guess that answered that.

Author's Note: Oh gosh, this really WAS a lot to happen to Elsa in the space of… yeah, 30 minutes sounds about right xD All with only that infernal bed sheet to keep her modesty intact! I just have too much fun torturing my precious awkward penguin, it's all done out of love, I swear xD Anyhoo *throws confetti and blares trumpets* it's official, Lea and Elsa are a couple for REAL this time, huzzah! Did anyone guess that Lea had actually been at the lantern festival? I dropped hints throughout the story, but dunno, maybe they were too subtle… or too obvious and just no one said anything to me xD Anyhoo, not much left to go now, just a lil bit of wrap up!

Next time, how will things unfold from here on out for our newly minted couple? Will Elsa EVER actually get to put on clothes? Will Riku EVER get to leave his own bedroom ever again? Just HOW deep does Rayne's pumpkin spice addiction really go? Is the Mother Hickey ACTUALLY proof that Lea is secretly a vampire? Will Anna LITERALLY get away with murder by the time she's through with Hans? Sorry, running on empty with questions at this point, got nothing but silly ones left for ya'll xD Anyway, stay tuned!

Thanks for reading, I super duper appreciate it! And an extra BIG thank you to those of you who’ve liked, reblogged, and followed so far, seeing those lil notifications always brings the biggest, goofiest smile to my face!

FIRST CHAPTER || PREVIOUS CHAPTER || NEXT CHAPTER

[one-piece-dumpster-fire]

Headcanons/reactions for a modern au of Kid, Bellamy, Katakuri, Law, and Basil's girlfriend showing them the "how is pregant formed" video by J.T. Sexkik on YouTube

lolxD

„Howis pregnant formed?“- their modern reaction

Kid

„okay,why- oh shit, (Y/N)?!?!?! DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE PREGANAT TOO!“

thereis serious confusion written on his face at first. Why did you showhim this weird and unfunny thing…?

OHHHHHHgirl you’re making fun of him aren’t you?! Because he oftenmispronounces and misspells it as well! Holy shit (Y/N), that is shady…

or…oh god… are you perhaps pregnanernt too and this is your weird way oftelling him about it?!?!?! Aw hell no (Y/N) this shit ain’t funny andhe’s gonna take you to a… uhhh… ‘Baby disappear’? clinic rightfucking now!

Bellamy

„Hyahahaha,oh man… those people! Haha, they don’t even know-! Hah, you’re sofunny babe!“

heis the only one who finds it seriously funny lol

forreal, I mean that shit is so random yet suprisingly funny- and ofcourse only you could find that and present it to him! And that’s why heloves you haha

immediately after the video is over and he calmed down a bit, Bellamywill pull out his own phone and look for a funny video to show you inreturn- no way he isn’t going to repay that favor!

Katakuri

„ha…ha………..well,alright.“

ayayayayaayyaythis is such an awkward moment for him

Imean Katakuri knows that you were showing this video to him in hopesof getting a laugh out of him, but… this… other people’s blatant stupidity isn’t really his type of humor xD

buthe doesn’t want to make you sad or uncomfortable, so Katakuri willforce a small and very dry laugh out of his throat and sweetie youdon’t know how much this took from him he is dying inside because of it

Law

„…Ihave some questions, (Y/N)-ya. No, not for the video… for you.“

literally,,,what was the point of this?!?

isthis really your type of humor? Do you actually enjoy watching stufflike this? Oh dear, seems like Law will have to show you some realentertainment! Something far more complex and fitting for your developed mind!!!

it’sa video of a skating chipmunk wearing a funny hat

Basil

„verywell, (Y/N). I have to admit, this caught me offguard.“

asmall smile. That’s what you’re getting. It’s not much, but at leastyour boyfriend found it somewhat amusing to watch

yoursense of humor is quite intriguing, even if Basil’s own one slightlydiffers from it. And this video was… something, that’s for certain

he’sstill going to consult with his cards to make sure that you aren’t actually pregnant though lol

[inkedmyths]

It's too perfect an opportunity to pass up

Weekly prompt for the LU Discord which is a disaster

Modern AU featuring @draconiswinters Darks!

-

---

-

Target spotted.

Warriors slowly walked up closer to his doppleganger, who was too busy on his phone to notice his approach. Hylia only knew what Conqueror was doing on there, and right now he didn't care. No. He had more important things on his mind right now. Like what an excellent reaction he wad about to get.

He pulled out his own phone, made sure the volume on his speaker was all the way up, and pressed 'play' on the song he had queued up on repeat.

"Hiya Barbie!"

"Hi Ken!"

Conqueror froze. He slowly turned around, already angry face turning livid at the sight of Warriors. Who was grinning and on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"You want a ride?"

He turned, fists clenched, and charged with out a second thought.

"Sure, Ken!"

Oh shit.

"Jump in!"

-

Legend leaned against a wall. He sighed, checking his phone again for texts. Warriors was usually here by now. While it was entirely uncommon for him to be late, it was incredibly boring to wait for the tall blond.

Hang on. What was that?

It sounded like Warriors laughing, and a song was blasting-

Oh no.

"I'm a Barbie girl in a Barbie World!"

Warriors ran by, cackling like a madman as he blasted Aqua's Barbie girl at the absolute loudest his portable speaker would go.

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic!"

He vaulted over a table and nearly tripped over a chair in an effort to go as fast as he possibly could to get away from his pursuer.

"You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere"

Legend wasn't surprised to see none other than Conqueror hot on his heels, face contorted into rage as he charged forward, leaping over the same table so as not to lose ground on his target.

"Imagination, life is your creation"

They vanished around a corner, the goddess-awful song fading as they ran off. Legend shook his head, snickering slightly. It was pretty funny, even if there was a good chance Warriors was going to have be his ass beat. In fact, that made it funnier.

-

Wind was bouncing a basketball in the park. He wasn't really a basketball player, but it was fun sometimes to try and shoot hoops. He bounced it again and prepared to shoot-

When his older brother charged in front of him, nearly knocking him over.

"Come on Barbie let's go party!" He sang along with his speaker, which was an impressive feat at a full sprint.

Conqueror, who was right behind him, screeched in response. He looked like he was going to explode from rage.

Wind started laughing. Barbie Girl, that was perfect. "Nice one!" He yelled after his brother, who flashed a grin at him before running out of the park with his angry double following.

-

Time was flipping through his shopping list outside the store. Malon had said they needed shampoo, and Twilight wanted root beer floats tonight... was there anything else he'd forgotten? Hopefully not, but he had to make sure. He pulled out his phone to make a call.

"Everything alright, hun?" His wife asked when she picked up.

"Yeah, I was just double checking to make sure there isn't anything I forgot to write down on the shopping list. I have-"

His train of thought was interrupted by cradhing in the distance. He saw several chairs get knocked over, a familiar blue scarf running through them. And what was that he was hearing?

Oh Hylia help him.

"I'm a blonde bimbo girl in a fantasy world"

He hated that song.

"Dress me up, make it tight, I'm your dolly"

It was awful on so many levels.

"You're my doll, rock'n'roll, feel the glamour in pink"

He wasn't the only one who thought this, apparently. Conqueror picked up one of the fallen chairs, looking as though he intended to smash it over Warriors's head.

"Kiss me here, touch me there, hanky panky"

He couldn't blame him.

"You can touch"

Conqueror chucked the chair.

"You can play"

It missed.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

Warriors waved at Time as he ran by, laughing madly. Conqueror screamed something unintelligible and resumed his chase of the blond, his orange scarf trailing behind him. They vanished around another corner, taking the horrid song with them.

"What on earth was all that noise?" Malon's voice drifted out of the receiver, bringing Time back to the present.

"Don't worry about it," he said tiredly. "Just some of the boys being stupid."

"Fair enough."

-

Hyrule whistled a tune from his perch on a tree branch. He wasn't sure what had driven him to climb up here, but it was kind of nice to watch people pass by below him. Scanning the area, he smiled when he saw Warriors round a corner towards him. Then frowned. He was running. Why was he running? And was that... music? Wait a second...

"I'm a Barbie Girl in a Barbie World"

What.

"Life in plastic, it's fantastic"

Oh my Hylia why was he blasting that- oh. Conqueror was chasing him. That explained it.

"You can brush my hair, undress me anywhere"

They ran underneath his tree, Warrior laughing and Conqueror swearing.

"Imagination, life is your creation"

They turned the corner, disappearing.

Hyrule shrugged. He'd seen weirder, although he was fairly sure this would be the weirdest thing he'd see all day. Would make for an interesting story.

-

Four spun a stick in his hand, pretending it was a sword. He may be a bit too old to be doing so, but he didn't care. It was fun. Besides, he could get away with it because he looked so young.

Shadow was sitting nearby, snickering at him. "You look ridiculous."

Four was about to quip back, but was interrupted by a song blaring behind him.

"C'mon Barbie let's go party"

He turned in time to see Warriors sprint by, along with his doppleganger looking murderous.

"I'm going to strangle you for this you petty bitch!" He could hear Conqueror yell as he ran by.

As they disappeared, Four shook his head. Same ridiculousness as always. He hoped Warrior would be in one piece by the time this was over.

"Wow," said Shadow. "Excellent song choice."

-

Sky was peacefully reading a book. Howl's Moving Castle was a great book in his opinion, and he loved the movie. After his lunch at the café, he decided he'd go home and watch it.

His peace however, was quickly shattered.

"Make me walk, make me talk, do whatever you please"

Sky looked up in horrified surprise as the song came blasting along with a tall blond in a blue scarf.

"I can act like a star, I can beg on my knees"

Warriors was laughing, which was followed by a yelp as he got hit with a rolled up napkin of silverware from one of the tables.

"Come jump in, bimbo friend, let us do it again"

The source of the projectile was Conqueror, who furiously threw a vase at him next.

"Hit the town, fool around, let's go party"

That projectile missed, smashing against the pavement. He cursed, then flung himself forward to charge again at Warriors.

Sky rubbed his forehead after the two had gone. Why oh why, he wondered, could he not have a moment's peace and normalcy anymore without something happening? Something that almost always involved another Link? He sighed, then tried to get back into his book and forget what he just saw.

-

Twilight groaned as Wild clambered up onto a wall. "Can you not try and do parkour right now?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe because we're not somewhere you should be doing parkour?"

"Parkour is for everywhere."

Twiliggt groaned at this, before stopping suddenly. "Do you hear that?" Wild went quiet, listening.

"You can touch"

"Wha-"

"You can play"

Twilight turned around just in time to be barreled over by Warriors, who was for some reason blasting that one song by Aqua.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

Twilight fell over to the side. Warriors quickly got up with a breathless "Sorry Twi" before resuming his mad dash.

"You can touch"

Conqueror pounded after Warriors, leaping over Twi's sprawled form so as not to lose ground in pursuing the object of his hatred.

"You can play"

Wild was laughing, nearly toppling off the wall as he stopped focusing on keeping his balance in favor of watching the scene below.

"If you say 'I'm always yours'"

The duo vanished behind the other end of the wall, leaving Twilight on the ground and Wild still chuckling on the wall.

"Maybe you should have parkoured up here to get out of the way."

"Shut up."

-

Savage grumbled at his phone. "He's stopped answering."

Acidic shrugged. "Moron probably got distracted by something stupid."

"He'd better hurry up. Eternal's going to be pissed if we're late."

Tempest groaned. "Do we have to do this?" he whined.

"Yes, now shut up!"

"COME ON BARBIE LET'S GO PARTY"

Startled, the three of them looked up at the shouted song lyric. Across the parking lot they were standing in, a familiar blue scarf flashed into view. Close behind him was Conqueror, screaming in absolute fury. And all along the way, that damnable song was blasting.

As the two went out of sight behind another building, Savage muttered "So that's why he wasn't answering his phone." His words went unregistered, however, because Tempest and Acidic were roaring with laughter.

"Barbie girl, holy shit," Acidic wheezed, tears streaming down his face.

"His face!" Tempest howled, falling onto his back.

Savage groaned. Eternal was going to kill them all when they arrived late. He only hoped that Conqueror being far more late would divert most of the anger onto him.

-

"I can't believe you're still alive, you moron."

"C'mon Legend, have a little more faith in me. Like I would let that idiot catch up to me."

"That was a great prank though! It's a shame I don't have a good nickname for Tempest..."

"Look what you're teaching your brother."

"Teaching him how to be awesome!"

"That's not the term I was looking for. Try 'stupid'."

"You wound me."

-

"I'm going to murder him."

"We know, you've said it a million times."

"I'm going to strangle him with his own scarf, then tear off his limbs."

"Aw, are you feeling a little upset, Barbie?"

"YOU WANNA FUCKING DIE YOU GODDAMN ORNAMENT?"

"Ow! Bring it you bitch!"

"Would somebody pull those two imbeciles off of each other?"

[readyourimgaines]

Chapter One: A Change of Pace

This is the first chapter to a modern AU Les Amis fanfiction. A huge shout out to @board-certifiedbastard for helping with ideas and to @thatbarricade for helping with further ideas and beta reading. I hope you all enjoy this. You can also find it on my Wattpad. -Freddie 

P.S. Other than the gif being from the movie, it has nothing to do with the story. 

Combeferre paused the video game he was playing with Courfeyrac when his phone rang. “Enjolras!” he greeted. “What’s up?” 

“Are you busy?” 

“Not terribly. Why?” 

“Any chance I could spend the night at yours?”

“Tonight? That shouldn’t be a problem. Courf is staying over too, but you know there’s enough room for you too.” Ferre jerked the controller away from Courf when the other tried to press play. “You okay? You sound a little off.”

“I’ll explain when I get there. I’m on my way.” 

“Do you want a ride?” 

“I’d rather walk, but thank you.” Enjolras just wanted to hang up so he could cry for the next three blocks and compose himself during the fourth. 

“Thanks in advance, Ferre.” Then he hung up. 

As he walked, Enjolras allowed himself to cry but kept quiet so the people living in the houses nearby wouldn’t think anything of it. It was dark- around ten o’clock- so almost no one was out. Well, considering it was a Tuesday in July and most people had to work in the morning, he didn’t have to worry about being stopped as he walked. 

It took another 15 minutes before he got to Ferre’s apartment. The blonde took a deep breath, slowly releasing it before opening the door and walking in. When he entered, he heard the music of their video game stop, followed by the sound of footsteps getting closer to him. Ferre stopped in his tracks. 

“Who the hell hit you?” He tilted Enjolras’s head back slightly so he could get a better look at the still darkening black eye. 

“I came out.” Enjolras closed his eyes for a second. “I didn’t mean to. I got into an argument with my parents and I just..I blurted it out.” 

“You’re staying here.” 

“I promise I won’t be here long, I can-” 

“No. Julien, you’re staying here, meaning moving in. The guest bedroom is yours, anyone that sleeps over can have their pick of the couch or the chair in the living room. You having a safe place to live is my main concern,” Ferre explained. 

“I’ll get a job and help with the rent or food, or anything that’s-” 

“Enj,” Ferre placed his hands on the blonde’s shoulders. “One step at a time. For now, just breathe, okay? We’ll get things sorted out later. For now, unpack your stuff, wash up if you want, then come relax and hang out with us.” Slowly, reluctantly, Enjolras nodded. 

“Come on.” Ferre took Enjolras’ hand in his own and lead him to the guest room.

*****

“Is he alright?” Courf asked when Ferre came out from the guest room 15 minutes later, the shoulder of his t-shirt damp. 

“Stressed, exhausted, and shaken up a lot. But he’ll be alright. He’s tougher than he looks.” Ferre ran a hand through his hair. 

“I’ll get the rest of his stuff tomorrow, bring it here.” 

“I’ll text R; see if we can use that truck of his so we’re not flattening my car’s tires by piling more stuff on my shit.” Courf already had his phone out, fingers tapping rapidly.

“R doesn’t know Enj.” Ferre sat next to Courfeyrac on the couch. 

“It’s R. He’s just going to have fun storming a homophobe’s house.” 

“When are we doing this? Did he bring clothes, or is this gonna be the most terrifying wake up call his parents have ever gotten?” Courf chuckled. 

“He’s got two days worth in his bag.” Ferre said. “Holy shit do I want to knock out his father. I knew that man was worthless… I just didn’t expect this from him. Then again, I guess disowning your gay son sounds more noble than keeping your gay son locked in his bedroom- fuck.” Combeferre ran a hand through his hair. “At least I know he’s safe here.” 

“How do you and Enj know each other?” Courfeyrac had known Enjolras for about as long as he’d known Ferre. Combeferre was 19 and had graduated from High School in May. Every once in a while Enjolras would go to Ferre and Courf’s shared apartment to hang out or spend the night. He didn’t know much about the slightly younger blonde, only that he was into politics, LGBT rights, and could probably recite half of the DSM V. 

“He’s a year behind me in school. Going into his senior year.” 

“How old is he?” Courf wondered. Just starting into his Law studies, he knew there were certain things that had to be done if they had a minor on their hands.

“He turns 18 in August, so you aren’t going to say a word to anyone until then. He’ll be 18 before school starts again, so we just change his home address on the school info packets and there we go.” Ferre stood up and headed the kitchen. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Making popcorn.”

*****

When morning came around, Enjolras was already awake by the time Ferre and Courf woke up. They found him sitting on the couch, playing a muted video game. What made Ferre smile was that the younger boy was still in the pajamas he loaned him the night before. 

"Where'd the twenty on the table come from?" Courf asked groggily.

"A forward on rent…" Enjolras trailed off. "I- uh, it's most of my allowance." 

"How much is your allowance?" Ferre asked.  

“Twenty every two weeks.” Enjolras said as he stood from the couch. 

“I know it’s not a lot, but I’ll start looking for a job today.” Combeferre ruffled Enjolras’s hair as the younger boy glared at him. 

“If I wasn’t still half asleep, I’d fight you.” 

“You’ve got bed head anyway.” Ferre laughed a little before turning serious. “Like I said last night, man. You being safe is the most important thing right now. If you find a job, great. If not, we’ll figure something out, okay? I’m not going to kick you out into the streets. I’ve got you.”

*****

Grantaire came in through the backdoor of the apartment. “When are we storming this bastard’s house?” 

“Around noon so hopefully they don’t call the cops,” Ferre answered. 

Grantaire looked out the window and spotted Enjolras hanging the clothes he’d washed that morning. “Ferre? Why’s there teenage girl in your yard hanging the wash?” 

“What? Oh.” Combeferre laughed. “That’s not a girl; it’s Enjolras.” As he spoke, Enjolras turned around to get another shirt from the basket. 

“Fuck.” Grantaire whispered. “That’s not a girl, alright, that’s a god.” The comment was to himself but Courf heard it. 

“He’s not of legal age till next month,” Ferre pointed it. 

“I’ll wait.” Grantaire said quickly, a dreamy look taking over his face. “Damn. I want to paint him. You said his name’s Enjolras?” 

“Julien Enjolras.” Ferre nodded. “He insisted on doing chores… I keep telling him… Ugh!” He threw his hands up and walked away from the window. 

“He’s the one that we’re getting the stuff for, then?” Grantaire checked. 

“Yeah.” Courf patted Ferre’s shoulder. “We got him, bud; he’s good.” 

Enjolras came back inside, the empty basket balanced on his hip, and placed it just inside the door. “Hey,”he greeted. Enjolras had never seen Grantaire before. The dark haired man was slightly shorter than he was, stubble covering his jaw, and deep, blue eyes. 

“Grantaire.” Grantaire held his hand out for a handshake. 

“Enjolras.” He shook the outstretched hand with a faint smile. “Nice to meet you.” 

“You’re gonna be good here if we’re gone for about 40 minutes?” Ferre asked the blonde. 

“I’m not ten.” Enjolras replied, scowling. “I’ll be fine. I just don’t see why you can’t let things scab over a little before tearing off the bandaid and the stitches with it.” He shook his head and Ferre caught the look of despair in his eyes.

“Well, I for one, want to hit at least one of your parents,” R spoke up. 

“Oh god. He knows?” Enjolras looked horrified. 

“Just that you got kicked out.” Courf pointed out. 

“I don’t care if he knows I’m gay- the worst possible thing that could possibly happen with me coming out happened already .” Enjolras turned his back for a moment, ran his hands through his hair, and turned back. Any sign of annoyance hurt was gone from his face. 

“Sorry. What I mean is that things are probably only going to look up from here.” The only one that could see the smile was forced was Ferre. He walked to the living while Grantaire watched him with wide eyes. 

The artist turned to face the other two. “What the fu- He’s going into acting, right?” 

“Law.” Ferre corrected. Grantaire shrugged. 

“Same thing with less fame.”  

Ferre scoffed. “Don’t let Enj hear you say that.” 

“Would dancing circles around someone on their ignorance of the court systems cheer him up?” R had an odd twinkle in his eyes. 

“Uh...I don’t know.” 

“Hey Enjolras, what are your thoughts on the modern court system basically being a less publicized play?”  

Enjolras paused his game, looked up, and met Grantaire’s eyes with an incredulous gilt. “Do you have any idea how amazingly ridiculous that question is?”