#this is purely me playfully venting as i try to figure out how a head is able to hover over its body without difficulties pls

[hydrangeyes]

How do people like.... actually make games? What is the thought process???

Legit like:

Have an idea, check.

Do some research, ...check? (What kind of research? In what fuckin order????)

Code, ah shit uh check?????

Profit.

HUHHHHH?????

[aewhore]

Hi I saw your post about writing for AEW, would you be willing to write for Austin Gunn. The idea is that the reader has a crush on him and while they're both training, because of the sexual tension she suddenly reveals her feelings. ( if you can't its totally cool ☺ ) thanks xx

   You’re lucky I love you, Idiot. ~ Austin Gunn x reader (Request by @heranimebeautyghost )

You were working out at the gym in Daily’s place. You had been signed to AEW as a wrestler for just under a year now and it was the best decision you had made in your entire career. You had been wrestling professionally for 6 years now but had never gotten a chance to really show off your abilities until AEW was announced and your small but loyal group of fans made noise on twitter about how they needed to sign you and before you knew it you were on a call with Tony Khan. Since you were signed you got to work with your friends you met when you wrestled in japan such as Trent Barreta, Chuck Taylor and your closest friend Hikaru Shida, but you also got to make new friends in Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy and the Jurassic Express. When you started wrestling you had swore to yourself to never date another wrestler because you knew how hectic the schedules were and you knew you wouldn't be able to devote enough time to a relationship as you would like but being in AEW during a pandemic really tested that when you spent more and more time with a certain loudmouth member of the Gunn club, the one and only Austin Gunn.  

How did you get into this predicament you ask? Well because of the pandemic, if you want to use the gym you have to sign up for a time slot and since they lessen the amount of people that could be in an enclosed space you might only be sharing that time slot with 1 or 2 other people. Most people opted to use their own home gyms or public gyms but you stayed with the Daily’s place gym. You knew because you prefer to work out later at night that a time slot would always be open. It just so happened that Austin worked out in the same time slot as you did, so you end up spending an hour or two alone together every two days. As you hung out with Austin more and more you couldn't help but develop feelings for him. He was an utter sweetheart even if he was the definition of a himbo. He would distract you from your workout by trying to be your hype man and making you laugh so hard you have to stop whatever workout you were in the middle of to jokingly call him an idiot. You started to develop a soft spot for the youngest member of the Gunn club soon after your workout sessions began. 

You were getting ready to go to the gym the night after dynamite, you were running late because you overslept your pre workout nap. You were now the number one contender after you defeated big swole on last night’s show so you were preparing for an intense workout but you couldn't help break out into a smile at the idea of talking to Austin about your title shot. You arrive at the gym. You see the time slot is open, you hear Austin music already blaring as you walk into the gym. You place your bag down as you take off your sweatshirt and go to start warming up. “HEY Y/N!! I thought you weren’t gonna show!” You hear Austin yell from the other end of the gym. “I could never miss one of our workout sessions Gunn” You say back to Austin as he pulls you into a bone crushing hug, you can't help but appreciate these small moments of closeness you get with Austin because you just knew in your heart that he doesn't feel the same way that you feel for him so you have to hide your bright blush by burying your face into his chest. Austin holds onto you for longer than you expected before he releases you to go back to your warm up. “How long have you been here before i got here?” You ask as Austin returns to his weights. “Oh you know only about 20 minutes, i wasn’t waiting for you or anything” He adorably laughs out the end of sentence as you look over at him and he quickly looks away as if you caught him staring. “Sorry to keep you waiting hot stuff” You wink at him as you playfully flirt with him. He gives a hearty laugh at your attempt to seem cool.  

Once your warm up is finished you start you to make your way over to the ring that's set up in the center of the Gym. You begin to stretch using the ropes before you notice Austin had finished up on his weight and was taking a quick break to have a drink of water. Your eyes sweep over Austin as his arm flexes to bring his water bottle to his lips. You snap your eyes away from him before your thoughts get rated R. You start to run the ropes to distract yourself from the hunk of a man behind you. “Hey, do you mind helping me run through some moves?” You stop running to hear Austin ask, you’re lucky you're not facing Austin as you start to blush immediately at the idea of being so close to him. “Um yeah sure, i don't mind.” You say as nonchalantly as you can muster up.  

Austin gets into the ring and starts to walk you through a submission move he wants to do in his next match. He was attempting to modify an arm bar to make it more Gunn-like(?) so he claimed. “So.. where do you want me?” Your face goes bright red as you nervously laugh at the implication of your question. Austin does a double take at your question but you see his face go red as you watch his mouth open and close as he tries to format a reply. “Um how about you lay down on the mat?” You and Austin were now dissolving into a full on laughter fit. You lay down on the mat and Austin gets in position for an arm bar, Your arm rests against his torso as he grips your hand in his. He begins to move his legs to hook under your shoulder as he's adjusting himself, he releases your hand and it sits on his well defined pecs and you barely hold yourself back from running your hand up and down his muscular torso. 

You're broken from your lust filled haze by Austin suddenly getting up and offering you a hand up. “Oh did you get it?” You are still seated. “No it’s not working the way i pictured it but it’ll be fine, I’ll figure something out.” Austin says almost saddened that his move wasn’t executing the way he envisioned. You grab Austin hand to help you up but he underestimates his own power and yanks you off the floor so fast you don't have time to find your footing before you brace yourself for the impact of hitting the floor but it never comes instead you collide with Austin's chest as he catches you in his strong arms. Words fail you as you look up at Austin and see he’s already looking back at you. You break eye contact to look down at Austin's lips and then you look back up to his ocean coloured eyes only to see he's looking at your lips as well. “.....Jesus” Austin sighs, your brows furrow “what?” you ask, mentally preparing yourself for the worst. “You look so beautiful right now, it's insane.” 

You were blown away, did Austin really just say that? To you? right now? The air is knocked out of your lungs by pure shock alone. Words fail you as you try to string together some sort of intelligible speech. “Oh my.. Wait, what? You think I’m- really? Are you sure?” If your face was red already now your entire body was on fire. Austin laughed at your jumbled mess of a response. He pretends to think for a moment before he responds. “Yeah I'm pretty sure you're a stone cold stunner” he gave you that thousand watt smile and had you not been wrapped in his arms, your knees would have buckled from underneath you. To hide your ever-growing blush you lean your forehead against Austin's chest as you giggle at his term of endearment. “Aw come on baby doll, don't hide that gorgeous face from me now” You bury your face deeper into his chest as he tries and succeeds to make you blush by showering you with compliments. You're suddenly hit by a sad thought that Austin is just playfully flirting with you like he always does. It's hard not to feel let down by the ideas you had built up in your head not being possible in real life.  You feel Austin’s hand under your chin as he tilts your head up to lock eyes with him. “...please don’t lead me on” you grumble more to yourself than anything but Austin hears you crystal clear and his brows furrowed in confusion as he sees the sadness in your eyes, you move Austin’s arms to allow space between the two of you so you could attempt to control your pounding heart. “Y/N what do you mean ‘lead you on’?” You sigh in frustration as you prepare to tell Austin about the built up feeling you've been having for the last 2/3 months.  

“Listen Austin I know we're just friends but I want to be more than that but I know you don't feel the same way and that’s ok but please don't-” your frustrated venting is interrupted when your pulled back into Austin’s chest and his lips crash onto yours. Your eyes go wide when you realize what's happening before you allow yourself to completely melt into the kiss. Austin's hand rubs and massages your side and trails down to your ass as your hands tangle in his golden hair. You're the one to break the kiss as you rest your foreheads against one another while slightly gasping for air. “Incase that didn't answer your worrying Y/N, I really like you too and I’d actually like to take you out to dinner some time if you'd like” your head was spinning and you were sure if it was from the kiss or from Austin’s confession but you did know one thing for certain. “Yes Austin I’d love to go to dinner with you sometime.” You went to exit the ring to carry on your long forgotten workout when you feel Austin smack your ass. “AUSTIN!!” you say shocked at his sudden forwardness, You look back at him but he looks away innocently “..what? I didn't do anything.” You playfully glare at him when his poker face begins to crack. “You're lucky I love you, idiot.“

[btsqualityy]

Scripted: Part 10

Namjoon x Reader; Jimin x Reader

Genre: Angst, fluff, President!Namjoon, Head of Security!Jimin

Warnings: (Reluctant) open relationship, mentions of cheating

Author’s Note: This part is pretty short so I’m sorry but here it is! Hope you guys enjoy it!

“Jimin, let me go,” you giggled, trying but failing to get Jimin to unwrap his arms from around your waist.

“Noooo,” he whined playfully, pressing a kiss to the back of your neck from where he stood behind you. “I want you to stay.”

“I already let you convince me to stay again last night,” you pointed out. “I have to head back to the Blue House, because Namjoon and I have a dinner that we’re supposed to be hosting together.”

“And you’re really gonna go back there?” Jimin questioned and you sighed heavily as you nodded your head.

“I have to,” you shrugged. “At least until I figure out how to handle all of this.”

“I get it,” he nodded and you turned around in his arms and wrapped your arms around his neck. 

“Trust me, I’d much rather stay here with you and not look at his lying face,” you grumbled, making Jimin laugh at your expression.

“You gotta do what you gotta do baby bird,” he smiled. “But you can call me if you need me, ok?”

“Alright,” you nodded. “You work tomorrow right?”

“Yeah, I’ll be in my office most likely,” he replied. 

“Then I’ll stop by and see you,” you told him and he nodded. “Thank you again, for letting me stay here and for letting me vent. Also, for the amazing orgasms too,” you giggled, recalling how Jimin made you come on his fingers again when you woke up in his bed this morning, with him next to you this time.

“Stop thanking me,” Jimin chuckled. “I told you, I just want you to be happy and I meant that.”

“I know,” you whispered, leaning forward and kissing him gently. “Bye.”

“Bye,” Jimin said as he unwrapped his arms from around you. “Be safe baby bird.”

“I will,” you promised, waving at him one last time before you opened the front door to his apartment and stepped out into the hallway.

................................ 

As soon as you stepped foot into the Blue House, you could both hear and see the hustle and bustle that was going on as the workers were putting the finishing touches onto the house, specifically the large dining room, for the guests that would soon be arriving. 

As you began to make your way to your bedroom, you heard a familiar voice calling your name.

“Y/N!” You turned around and saw Momo running towards you, and a large grin fell onto your lips as she ran up to you and threw her arms around you in a tight hug. “God, I missed you!”

“I missed you too!” You chuckled as you hugged her back. 

“Remind me to never go home for family events as long as I live, ok?” Momo requested as she pulled away from the hug and you nodded your head. “Where have you been though? Namjoon’s been looking for you.”

“Oh, fuck him,” you let slip and Momo raised her eyebrows at you. Knowing that she’d want the full story, you grabbed her arm and pulled her into the first empty room that you saw, which just happened to be one of the bathrooms. Closing the door and locking it behind you, you turned around to see Momo leaning up against the counter top.

“What happened?” She demanded to know.

“I caught Namjoon with Hyejin two days ago,” you revealed and Momo’s eyes widened. 

“Are you serious?” She asked and you nodded your head. “Oh Y/N-ah, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, it gets worse,” you said. “They were in our bed.”

“Your bed?” Momo wondered as she pointed at you. “Like, the one that’s right down the hall?”

“Yeah, that one,” you confirmed.

“God, I know Namjoon’s been a dick but that’s low even for him,” she huffed. “So, what happened after that?”

“I kicked Hyejin’s ass,-”

“As you should have,” Momo interrupted you, nodding her approval. 

“I slapped Namjoon and then I ran out of here,” you told her. “I didn’t know where to go, so I called Jimin and went to his apartment.”

“Wait, why’d you call Jimin?” Momo questioned.

“Oh, I might’ve left out the part where Jimin and I kissed like an hour before I came home and caught Namjoon with Hyejin,” you admitted and Momo’s eyes widened.

“What?!” She shrieked happily and you threw your finger up to your lips, shushing her harshly because you didn’t want anyone hearing her. “Ok, I’m sorry but you and Jimin kissed?!”

“We did,” you smiled softly at the memory. “When I got to his place, I vented about catching them and he let me sleep over. The next day, he made me breakfast and I vented to him about everything. How me and Joon started dating, the first time I caught him with Hyejin, the arrangement, everything.”

“Wow,” Momo huffed.

“After that, he offered to let me stay with him and we did face masks together.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet and pure,” Momo smiled.

“And then I may or may not have let him finger me on his couch and then again this morning but that’s besides the point,” you shrugged.

“Ok, I take that back,” Momo smirked. “Who knew you still had a little hoe in you Y/N-ah?”

“Shut up,” you groaned. 

“So what, are you seeing Jimin now?” 

“I mean, we haven’t really defined anything,” you replied. “We just know that we like each other.”

“Well, I’m happy for you,” Momo said. “I haven’t seen you smile like this in months.”

“Thanks Momo,” you smiled before taking a second to look at the time that was on the clock hanging on the wall. “I guess I better go get ready.”

“Good luck,” Momo told you, giving you a quick hug before you unlocked the door and opened it, the both of you going your separate ways. You walked down the hall to your bedroom, opening the door and walking inside. Namjoon was there, working on fixing his cuff-links, and he looked up when he heard you.

“Hey,” he greeted you.

“Mm,” was all you said in response as you paced over to the walk-in closet, opening the door and going straight for your side of the closet. You found the dress that you had picked out for tonight, and you quickly shed your clothes to work on getting dressed.

“Are you not gonna talk to me?” Namjoon wondered and when you looked up, he was standing in the doorway of the closet.

“What do we have to talk about Namjoon?” You demanded to know as you looked up at him. “If you can’t tell me why you decided to fuck her again, out of all the women in the world, then we have nothing to discuss as far as I’m concerned.”

“It’s complicated,” he tried to say but you cut him off.

“Bullshit,” you spit harshly. “This whole arrangement has been fucked up from the beginning but you literally couldn’t do the one fucking thing that I asked of you, which was to not see her again.” A few minutes of silence passed between the two of you as you pulled on your dress, zipping it up and fixing it on your body.

“Maybe we should just stop fooling ourselves,” you spoke up as you turned around to look at Namjoon. “Maybe we should just say forget this whole thing and you can go be with Hyejin.”

“Y/N-ah, no,” Namjoon stated firmly as he stepped over to you, wrapping his hands around your arms. “We made an agreement and even if we hadn’t, I still love you.”

“How can you expect me to believe that when you don’t act like it or show it?” You asked him genuinely. 

“Have you ever even thought about why I agreed to this whole ‘open marriage’ thing?” Namjoon wondered. “Because I love you and I wanted our marriage to work.”

“But you’re still going out and fucking other women.”

“I didn’t start fucking other women until January, right before the inauguration,” he revealed.

“But, we made the arrangement in October,” you replied slowly.

“Exactly. I didn’t touch another woman for the first three months because I was trying to win back your trust and trying to work things out,” he explained. “You were so closed off, which is understandable, and you would barely talk to me unless we were in public and I didn’t know what else to do. I figured that you were set on our marriage just being the arrangement from now on, so I let it go.”

“You,-” you started to say but you were interrupted by multiple knocks on the door. “What is it?”

“It’s hair and makeup,” you heard your stylist, Joohyun, call out.

“Just a minute,” you replied but your reply was followed by a few more urgent knocks.

“We kind of need to get you in now Y/N-ah, if you and President Kim are going to be on time for the dinner,” Joohyun replied.

“Alright, alright,” you relented, turning to look at Namjoon for a few seconds before stepping around him and walking out of the closet. You started to move towards the door, but you paused when you saw that the bed was still there; the one that you had caught Namjoon and Hyejin in. You turned to look over your shoulder, seeing that Namjoon had followed you out of the closet and was leaning against the wall, watching you.

“And get rid of this fucking bed,” you spat, not waiting for Namjoon to reply before you went to let your stylist into the bedroom.

................................

“And now introducing, President and First Lady Kim,” one of the workers at The Blue House announced and you tightened your grip on Namjoon’s inner arm as he led you into the large dining room, where literally dozens of guests were waiting. Namjoon pulled your chair out for you and you smiled at him before taking a seat, watching as Namjoon then moved to stand at the head of the long table.

“Welcome and thank you all for coming tonight,” Namjoon began, immediately commanding the attention of everyone in the room. “Y/N and I are so happy that you all could join us tonight, as this dinner is something that we’ve been planning since I assumed office.”

As your husband spoke, you found it harder and harder to be able to sit there and at least pretend as though you were actively listening. With everything’s that’s happened to you in the past three days, you weren’t able to pull on your excellent faking skills and put on the face of a woman that was madly in love with her husband. In fact, the more you listened to Namjoon, the more that the feeling of resentment began to bubble up inside of you. He was the perfect President and he was great at portraying the image of being a wonderful husband; so, why couldn’t he actually be that for you?

“So again, on behalf of myself and my wife,” Namjoon sent you a soft smile as he glanced at you. “We’d like to thank you all again and we hope that you enjoy tonight.” Everyone began applauding then and the person that you were sitting next to, who happened to be the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, leaning over to you.

“Your husband is an amazing speaker,” he told you and you immediately plastered on a fake smile.

“He is,” you nodded in agreement. “He’s very good at telling people what he thinks they need to hear.”

................................

Tag List:  @toddsgirl27 @leftieaquarius @joyfulkmusicfan @jennyjq @xcharlottemikaelsonx @pop228 @belatona @babebri144 @dragonqueen01 @paolaa9700 @yiarsan @sunshinein17 @daydreambrliever @lyralefayc @weirdestpersoninearth @peachesandcreamsthings @missseoulite @ramengrace @minyoongi-infiresme @0minabean0 @korkanswers @dchimminie @mysr3 @emily2404xx @leilalago​ @vonvi-blog @btsxdoll @heartfeltscribblings @nooooooooona​ @eternalmoonji​ @lyralefay​ 

[floatingpetals]

Boys in Blue || Pt. 13

Pairings: cop!Stucky x F!Reader

Warnings: Fluffy goodness

Word Count: 3400+

Summary: (Cop AU) There was just one crappy thing after enough that happened to her. It possibly couldn’t get any worse, or so she thought until she saw the dreaded flashes of red and blue behind her. Could things get any worse?

A/N: I did not forget about this story! I swear to you all I didn’t! Things just got crazy back in Nov and I had to take a break. And then March happened, and well... Now I’m here! Thank you all for being so patient! I hope you enjoy this next part and what I have left in the story! Please let me know what you all think and reblog! It helps validate me 😆 Enjoy!! 

The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner.

Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Series Masterlist

Steve didn’t get a chance to talk to Bucky until nearly three days later. Y/N had spent the night over the last three nights, but now she was back to work and reluctantly had to go back home. Steve and Bucky’s night routine didn’t change much, save for having to dance around a third, but not having Y/N there cuddled between them made the two pause when they climbed into bed.

“This is weird, isn’t it?” Bucky sighed and slid under the covers.

Steve nodded quietly and reached for the cord to plug in his phone. He was right, this was weird. He didn’t like Y/N not being there. It felt like a piece of him was missing, a third of his heart gone. He sighed and stared at the lock screen, a selfie of the three of them at the park a few months back. Bucky turned at the heavy sigh, his brows furrowed in concern.

“What’s wrong baby?” He reached out and gently tugged on Steve’s arm, urging the blonde to lay back against his chest. A soft smile spread on his face, and Steve relaxed into Bucky’s arms nuzzling his nose into Bucky’s neck.

“I want to talk to you about what happened at the party,” Steve said after a brief peaceful moment. Bucky ran his fingers through Steve’s hair, nudging him to continue. “I overheard Y/N talking with Maddie. It’s pretty big, to be honest.”

“Anything dealing with Maddie is always big.” Bucky snorted.

“Yeah well,” Steve sighed and sat up. His nerves twisted in his stomach, worried about how this could go. Not that he’d think it would go wrong, but there could be a chance he was reading this wrong. Bucky whined and curled beside him, throwing an arm over Steve’s lap. “This is big. It made me think too.”

“You, thinking? That can’t be good.” Bucky joked, trying to lighten the mood. Steve rolled his eyes and gently dug a knuckle between a rib in retaliation, relishing the squeak that erupted from his occasionally irritating boyfriend.

“Anyways.” Steve continued on with a playful glare. “She was talking with Maddie about us and what she thinks about our future.”

Bucky lifted his head, breath caught in his throat. That’s why Steve was shifting in his seat nervously. This could go one of two ways “Oh?”

“Yep,” He nodded slowly. “She might have mentioned she can’t see herself having a life without us.”

Bucky’s heart skipped a beat. Sitting up, Bucky leaned against the headboard and gave Steve his full attention. He was right. This was big.

“And I definitely feel the same.” Steve muttered, staring down at his hands. “I love her Buck. I love you both. I thought I was lucky to have you but to have you both? Whatever God’s up there must think I done something really amazing to gift me you two to in my life.”

A warm smile grew on Bucky’s face, and he tipped his cheek against Steve’s shoulder. Steve blew out a shuddering breath and nervously stared at Bucky from the corner of his eyes.

“Do you? Love us both, I mean?”

That question made Bucky scowl; a touch hurt Steve had to ask. Was that even a real question? He always made sure to tell her and Steve both as much as he could. He sat up and narrowed his gaze at Steve.

“Of course I do! You know this. What kind of question is that?” Bucky snarled. Steve was quick to take his hand.

“I know, but… I just had to ask. We’ve not had a great track record with being on the same page and all.” Steve chuckled. “She mentioned a week or so ago she was going to have to start looking for a new apartment since her lease is going up and they're bumping the rent price up.”

“Yeah,” Bucky tried to relax and remembered that evening when she came over in a huff. She was irritated, needed someone to vent to and Maddie was busy with her kids.

“It’s too soon to pop the whole ‘til death do us part’ question. That and we have to figure a few things out and such, but I think I want to ask her to move in with us.” Steve said softly.

Bucky’s heart skipped and pure joy exploded in his chest at the image. Yes, he thought with an elated sigh, that sounded like an amazing idea. To wake up and have her there, in their arms in the same bed and not have to dread falling asleep without her that night? That would be a dream. No, that could be his life. A life he desperately wanted.

“I wanted to ask you first-.”

“Yes.” Bucky interrupted, beaming at Steve. Steve blinked and laughed softly, wrapping an arm around Bucky’s waist.

“Well, then why don’t we ask her tomorrow at dinner?” Steve asked against Bucky’s shoulder, softly peppering kisses along his exposed skin. Bucky made a happy noise in the back of his throat and nodded, melting against Steve. They had already spent so much time with each other, Steve and Bucky made room for her a month back to keep things here when she wanted to stay. To take that next step and ask her to move in with them only made sense.

Overjoyed beyond imagine, Bucky’s eyes fell shut and he snuggled closer. He wasn’t going to worry about the what-ifs right now, he was only going to focus on the positives. Y/N wouldn’t say no. She couldn’t, right?

Steve pressed another kiss against Bucky’s neck and hummed. He nudged Bucky to lay down on the mattress and hovered over Bucky with a blissful grin. Even though he didn’t need to worry about his weight crushing Bucky, Steve was still careful. He didn’t want to hurt either of them, he would do anything for them.

“I love you Bucky,” Steve whispered softly. Bucky smirked and tugged Steve down to kiss him once and then twice.

“Love you too, you big sap,” Bucky mumbled softly. “Now get off me so we can go to sleep and ask our girl to live with us together.”

Steve laughed and flopped to Bucky’s side. He slid an arm under Bucky’s back and tugged him against his chest. Bucky reached over to flip off his bedside light and settled back against Steve. Despite all the butterflies causing his stomach to churn, Bucky couldn’t wait to fall asleep. He was ready for this. They both were.

Y/N groaned and chunked her keys on the kitchen table. She flipped through her mail, stopping at the envelope with her apartment complex’s return address. She grumbled and chunked that too on the table. She didn’t want to think about finding a new apartment. She was already annoyed they were raising her rent, despite living here for nearly three years with no issue. Stupid management.

A series of knocks brought a smile to her face when she heard the rhythmic beat. She shook her head and kicked her shoes off, sending them flying under in the living room.

“It’s open!” She called out and headed to her open concept kitchen.

The door swung open and both Steve and Bucky stepped in with a bounce to their steps.

“Hey baby girl.” Bucky was down the hall and scooping her up in his arms before she had a chance to blink. Y/N let out a delighted squeal and wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing when he began to shower kisses across her face.

“Bucky. Bucky. Bucky!” She cackled. Bucky beamed at the sound of her laughter and set her down. “Not that I’m not happy for the reception, but what in the world?”

“Am I not allowed to show my girl how much I love her?” Bucky teased, his eyes dancing with delight.

Steve rolled his eyes at the flirty words and nudged Bucky aside with his hip to take his place. Y/N greeted him with a broad smile, Bucky’s good mood infectious.

“Hi baby.” He said with a kiss. “How was your day?”

“Not bad, better now that you’re here.” Y/N hummed and dragged her hand down to rest on his chest. There was an indignant scoff from further inside the kitchen and the two turned to the sound.

“Just him?” Bucky pouted from the fridge. He had a beer in one hand, and the plate with leftover cake in the other. Y/N scowled and marched over to snatch the plate from his hand.

“Eat the last of my cake and you bet your cute ass just him. Get out of here.” She snapped, playfully glaring at him. Bucky didn’t bat an eye, grinning wide at her remark. He looked over to Steve who glanced up from where he was nosing through her mail on the table.

“She thinks my butts cute!” Bucky snagged another beer and floated over to Steve. His boyfriend chuckled and shook his head. He took the offered drink and pressed a kiss to Bucky’s temple.

“Course she does.” He murmured and turned back to the mail. He spotted the address on the top envelope, and he couldn’t stop being nosey. He plucked the envelope up from the table and flipped it over. “What’s this?”

Y/N groaned and rolled her eyes, pulling out the food she was going to start getting ready for their dinner.

“That’s my I have 60 days to tell them if I want to live here or not letter.” She grunted. Steve and Bucky both shared a look, their excitement barely contained on their faces. Steve ripped open the letter and read over the top letter. Just a basic formal letter telling her to let them know by the end of the week.

“Have you decided if you wanted to stay here or pick someplace else?” Steve tried to keep his voice calm. Bucky was practically vibrating next to him, and it was taking everything not to blurt out the question. Instead, he bit his tongue and let Steve speak. Y/N was none the wiser of the two behind her and dug for a pan under the counter.

“I’m not staying here. Not for the extra two hundred a month.” She huffed. “I should probably start looking for a place now that I don’t have to worry about Maddie’s party anymore.”

Bucky nudged Steve’s side, his eyes wide and jerked a chin to Y/N. It was now or never.

“Or,” Steve let out with a shaky breath. He set the letter aside and slowly stepped around the table. Y/N glanced over her shoulder and stopped short. Steve had a nervous look in his eyes, and she couldn’t tell if Bucky was ready to fly out of his skin or jump across the room to hold her again. “We had another idea.”

Setting the pots down, Y/N turned her full attention to the two. Steve took hold of one her hand and brought her to the table. Nervously, Y/N sank into a seat.

“You do?” She asked as the two sat in empty seats. Steve nodded and bit his lip, glancing at Bucky.

“First, I know we’ve not been together very long,” Steve started cautiously. Which wasn’t untrue. They’ve only been dating for a few months, 9 at the most. Another reason why they were both nervous to ask, she might think this would be too fast. “And we understand if you think this is too fast. But we’ve been talking. Bucky and I-I mean. The timing’s right- You don’t have a place yet. We just-We were wondering-. Would you-.”

“Steve.” Y/N giggled when the man started to stammer. It was cute but she wanted to help him along. She took his hand and squeeze his hand. “You can ask me anything.”

Bucky’s leg shook under the table and her nervous leaned against Steve. His earlier excitement started to fizzle out and now he was just as nervous if not more than Steve. Steve took in a deep breath and slowly raised his gaze to lock eyes with Y/N.

“We wanted to ask if you to move with us.”

Y/N blinked. Did she hear him right? From the anxious expression in his eyes, Y/N realized she had. She peered over to Bucky and he had a similar look of apprehension. Stunned, Y/N didn’t know what to say. She never thought about it. However, as the silence stretched, the spark of hope slowly started to fall from the two’s eyes. Maybe it was too soon.

“You-,” Y/N had to double-check. “You want me to move in with you? Together?”

Bucky breathed slowly and nodded.

“That is the hope. We kind of both are a package deal.” Bucky reached across the table and took her other hand in his.

Y/N didn’t reply. She stared at their hands silently, a thousand thoughts running through her head. Was this too soon? Is this what she wanted? What if things didn’t work out, then what? That made her stop short. She didn’t want things to fall apart. She wanted it to work out with them. Hell, she loved them for Christ's sake. But was this what she wanted right now?

“Y/N.” Steve whispered softly, drawing her back to the presents. “Don’t feel pressured into this. We know that this is soon. Trust me we get it. But we would love for you to live with us.”

“I-I don’t know…” Y/N said uncertainly.

Bucky deflated, his shoulders dropping at her quiet answer. It wasn’t a no, he knew, but it still was upsetting to hear. He reluctantly pulled his hand away and stood, needing to do something other than sitting there and wallow in self-pity. Y/N’s heart skipped when he pulled away. Her eyes snapped up at him, sucking a sharp breath at the dejected expression on his face. He walked over to the stove where she set the pots to busy himself with starting their dinner.

“Why don’t we eat, and you can take some time to think about it,” Steve said, sitting back against the chair. His usually open expression was locked down, his jaw tense.

Y/N swallowed thickly and nodded, her eyes starting to mist. Trying to tamp down the tears she felt growing, Y/N sniffed softly and grabbed her purse she threw on the table earlier.

“I’m gonna go change.” She muttered and darted to her room. Neither of the two men tried to stop her, they simply watched her dejectedly as she slammed the door behind her.

Y/N dug out her phone and frantically dialed Maddie’s number. It rang twice before her friend answered.

“What’s up, babe?” Maddie greeted.

“They asked me to move in with them.”  Y/N blurted, trying to keep her voice down.

“What? Who?” Maddie asked taken off guard.

“Steve and Bucky.” Y/N walked to her closet and squatted down beside the clothes. She tried to keep her breathing steady and to stop her hands from shaking. “My lease is almost up, and they asked me to move in with them.”

Maddie was quiet for a beat, but the disbelief was palpable.

“And what’s the problem?”

“It’s just so fast!” Y/N whined. Maddie let out an irritated sigh.

“Did you completely forget what we talk about at the party?” Maddie grumbled. “How is them asking you, the woman who has admitted to wanting to spend the rest of her life with them, to move in with you ‘too fast’? If anything it’s not fast enough.”

“Yeah but-,” Y/N stopped short. Wait. What the heck was she freaking out about? Maddie was right. This wasn’t that fast if she thought about it. She already at the ‘I love them so damn much I can’t picture my life out them’ stage. Why not take a step in that direction by living with them?

“Quit freaking out.” Maddie waved off her concern. “Go tell ‘em you’ll move in with them for Christ's sake.”

Y/N opened her mouth to reply, but Maddie hung up before she could, effectively cutting off any argument she might have thought of. Maddie was, once again hit the nail on the head. She needed to quit freaking out.

Slowly standing, Y/N decided it was bet to change and give herself a little more time to relax. She was freaking out for nothing. Now she had to go back and fix what she did. Poor Bucky probably thought she was going to break up with them now.

She walked out of her room and stood at the end of the hall to watch Steve and Bucky, their backs stiff. Steve had gone to help Bucky, the two standing side by side in her small kitchen. That made her frown. They were so big, the two were giants made of pure muscle. She remembers how hard it is to move around their closed-in kitchen with them, throw in herself, and it would be near impossible to even turn. Their living room was large enough, but what about their bedroom? Or even their bathroom? It was a tiny little thing. How would all three of them fit in their little apartment comfortably?

Shaking her head, Y/N stepped into the room and walked over into the kitchen. Steve glanced up when she walked in and watched her wrap her arms around Bucky waist. Bucky froze, his muscles tensing.

“I’m sorry I ran.” Y/N whispered softly.

Bucky sighed, set the spatula down and moved the pan off the heat. He twisted in her arms and hugged her back. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and breathed in deeply.

“Nothin’ to be sorry about.” His voice rumbled in his chest. “We didn’t mean to freak you out by asking. We shouldn’t have asked.”

“What?” Y/N gasped and pulled back. “No! That’s not- I’m not upset about you asking me! Of course, I want to live with you! I just- It took me off guard is all. I shouldn’t have run the way I did though. That was dumb.”

Steve and Bucky’s hearts both jumped at her saying yes, only hearing that. She wanted to move in with them. The crushing weight of her rejection was lifted in an instant. Bucky tightened his grip around her waist and made eye contact with Steve, beaming.

“You want to move in with us?” Steve asked breathlessly, needing to hear her say it again. Y/N giggled and nodded.

“I do.”

Bucky let out a shout and lifted Y/N up, spinning her around in the kitchen as he enthusiastically planted kisses all over her face. Y/N squealed and held fast, laughing at the joy from Bucky. He passed her over to Steve, was quick to do the same to her. He set her down, keeping his hands firmly on her hips. The smile he wore only grew wider at her breathless dazed expression.

“Guess we better start packing.” Bucky bounced up next to them, wrapping his arms around them both.

Y/N blinked rapidly and took in a deep breath. Yes, she’d have to start packing, but she needed to bring something else to their attention.

“As much as I want to, how is it going to work?”

“What do you mean?” Bucky cocked his head to the side, confused.

“Your apartment isn’t that big.” She started. “Whenever I stay over it’s always a dance to not step on each other’s toes. Not to mention I have a good amount of stuff, even if I sell most of my furniture. How could we make it work with the three of us?”

Steve and Bucky frowned. They hadn’t thought about that. It worked for them but adding her to the mix could be a little difficult. However, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

“How about we try this out for a little bit and if it doesn’t work out, we can go from there.” Steve answered. Y/N chewed on her lip and considered it. Steve reached up and tugged her lip free with his thumb, a giddy smile on his face. “It’ll work out. Let's finish dinner and we can worry about that later.”

Nodding in agreement, Y/N stepped out their arms and went to see how far they got in making dinner. Steve went back to cutting the vegetables while Bucky stayed plastered to Y/N’s back. He was quite content to stay as close to her as possible. Without batting an eye, Y/N took over and leaned against him. If she could get this every night without having to leave, then she would gladly deal with a smaller space. Steve was right. They’ll figure something out. It always worked out in the end.

[hells-angel]

Two Broken People

|Part 1?

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word count: 1186

Warning/s: some swearing

Summary: you and Bucky is involved in a friends with benefits relationship, feelings got mix as you and Bucky try to keep it a secret

The morning sunlight came peeking through the windows, the light hitting your eyes prompting you to flutter your eyes open. you were greeted by the sight of Bucky sleeping soundly next to you, your legs tangled with his and his breathing was steady as you find it hard to take your eyes away from his peaceful sleeping face.

Before you realize it, your hand move to trace his features, from his eyes, down to his lips then down his neck and then down to his body. This was when you notice, he was naked and so do you. Your clothes discarded lazily on the floor. The fluffy white blanket was the only thing covering your bodies.

Bucky Barnes was not exactly someone you can call your boyfriend, but a friend who help you in times of needs. In short, friends with benefits. It started when you and Bucky were assigned on a mission, both of you frustrated and need to blow some steam, soon enough Bucky had you pinned under him, but what was supposed to be one night turns into another and another.

The only thing you know is that when either of you needed an escape, had a nightmare, upset or depressed, you would seek each others comfort. The sex was consensual but it remained a secret between you two. Right from the start, the both of you agreed there would be no strings attach, no feelings and no relationship, just purely sex. It sound’s horrible but everyone copes in different ways, it just a coincidence that you and Bucky copes in the same way.

“don’t start something you can’t finish” Bucky groggily muttered as he catch your wrist that was moving dangerously low on his stomach, prompting you to chuckle as you pull the covers over your naked body.

“as much as this feels nice, I should probably get up” he said lifting the blanket from his body, giving you a full view of his naked body.

“you doing something today?” you curiously asked

“ training” he simply replied

Bucky rolled over the bed before seating up over the edge to pick up his boxers on the floor and putting on a pair of pants before heading to the bathroom. You proudly smirk as you saw the red scratch marks on his back.

“I’m surprised you still have that so much energy, after what we did last night” you mumbled rolling over so you were now laying on your stomach, the blankets wrapped around you like a burrito as you place your hand under you chin while watching him move around bathroom.

“we should really work out your stamina” he huffed, momentarily glancing your way, his toothbrush sticking out his mouth. a hint of playfulness behind his tone. It’s not that you get easily exhausted, it’s just keeping up with Bucky during sex takes too much energy, he never gets tired.

“it’s not my fault I’m not a super soldier, normal people get tired you know” you commented, slightly pouting at him. But before Bucky can respond back, there was continues knock on his door, followed by the voice of a very familiar captain.

“Bucky?!” Steve called outside the door, you and Bucky exchanged looks as you quickly scramble around to pick up your discarded clothes on the floor, while Bucky finishes up.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows as he heard shuffling from behind Bucky’s door, not putting a lot of though on it, he simply barge it, the door surprisingly not locked.   “I’m coming in!”

“oh shit!” you whispered cursed as you froze when the door swung open, your own clothes on hand, you swear Steve was going to catch you two until Bucky, who was now fully cloth, pulled you towards the bathroom and replace himself to where you were standing earlier.

“did you ever heard of knocking?” you heard Bucky said while you slowly and quietly close the bathroom door, you were a little bit surprised on how he can stay calm on the situation while you were panicking on his bathroom.

“I did knock” you heard Steve answered as you rest your back on the door, trying to calm your racing heart.

“doesn’t mean you can just barge in here” Bucky replied

Steve stared at his friend, something didn’t feel right, He knows Bucky more than he knows himself. So when Bucky avoided looking at his eyes, standing still and thanks to his super senses, his breathing pattern change, Bucky has a lot of strong suits but lying was not one of them.

“you’re hiding something” Steve narrowed his eyes at Bucky before scanning his room.

You didn’t bother to listen on their conversation as you put on your clothes, one by one but once again you froze, midway from putting your shirt when you heard the bathroom door knob opening, once again surprisingly not locked.

Steve was sure Bucky was hiding something, so when he opened the bathroom door he was expecting to see anything or even someone, but instead he was greeted by silence.

“what are you doing?” Bucky strongly exclaimed, but his nervousness was so obvious then even him didn’t believe his own words. Bucky was even more confuse that you disappeared but he can asked you next time, right now he need  Steve to leave.

“I just thought I’ll find something” Steve hummed, slightly disappointed as he closes the bathroom door.  

“like a dead body?”

You breathe a sigh of relief as you heard Bucky’s door closes, with very swift movements you went down from the air vent skillfully dangling before finally letting go and going on the ground. As a former assassin, your training really comes in handy, but never did you imagine you’ll use it like this.

You cursed as you finish putting on Bucky’s sweat shirt that was conveniently laying around, you can’t really use his front door so you ended up using the window to escape. Unfortunately, Bucky’s room was on the other end of yours, so you had to climb out and walk barefoot in only a pair of sweat shirt, around the whole building hoping not one spots you.

Fortunately, the other inhabitants of the building was either still asleep or on their morning run. You easily made it back your room, after crawling on your balcony like a thief. You breath a sigh of relief as you plop down your bed.

A little while later, after showering and throwing in a comfortable clothes you trudge on the kitchen where the rest of the team was already having their breakfast.  Your eyes meet Bucky’s eyes for a second before you quickly glance away.

“you seem happy, did you sleep tight?” Clint asked as he casually handed you a cup of coffee, which you took after muttering a quiet thanks and placing yourself beside Nat.

“you can say that” you mumbled, grinning at him like a kid. Until, Tony came and swing an arm around your shoulder, a grin on his face matching yours.

“that's interesting, cause I went to your room last night and found it empty” Tony chip in, as he stole a nut on the table and popping it on his mouth, while he playfully wink at you, you can already see the teasing he prepared for you for the whole day.

Hearing his words and seeing his actions, an unknown feeling bubbled up inside Bucky, unconsciously he scowled at Tony. “why did you went to her room?”

“why are you interested?” Tony quickly retort, a grin on his lips. Knowing he at least annoyed another member. Luckily, before it can get more heated between them, Nat spoke up.

“speaking of interesting” Natasha said gaining everyone's attention immediately “I saw something interesting this morning”

You remained quiet beside her, peacefully sipping your coffee and just nodding along their playful banters.

“I saw a woman climbing out Barnes window earlier” Nat teasingly smirk towards Bucky, on the other hand the coffee you swallowed went in the wrong pipe causing you to uncontrollably cough.

Seeing how everyone's attention went into yours you quickly shooed them away with your hand.

“this was hot” you lied as you wryly smiled at the team and picking up a towel to wipe you mouth and at the same time hide you probably red face. once again, yours and Bucky’s eyes met but you were quick to divert it away worried that the people on the room might notice.

“I knew it” Steve said accusingly, a look of betrayal on his face as he point at Bucky who remained quiet but deep down he was nervous as well.

“at least one of the grandpa’s adjusting” Tony tease, patting Bucky on the Back.

“but why did she ran away?” Clint asked loudly

“probably realize what a huge mistake it was to sleep with him” Sam answered and that was how another fight begun. You just hope they didn’t put two and two together and figure it out.

A few days later, you found yourself wide awake on your bed, sweating and trembling as another nightmare had hunted you while you were sleep. Calming down for a few seconds you found yourself making your way into his room, barefoot and cold.

You stood there for a couple of minutes, hesitating whether to knock or just go back to your room. Sighing, you made an attempt to knock only for the door to open even before you touch it. Both of you visibly surprised by the other.

“I was just on my way to your room” he quietly mumbled,

“another nightmare?” you asked and he nod

“me too” and just like that he pulled you back inside his room.

Life had broken you just as it had broken him, so what’s better way than to seek comfort to someone who was just like you. Something that was once broken can never be fixed, but maybe, just maybe, two damaged people can make the illusion of something being whole again, something you and Bucky needed but was never found. After all, you and Bucky are just two broken people.

[geronimo-11]

"…to shut them up." for my Pack Parents

Thank you so much!! <3

--------------

Jeremy was used to dancing with the delicate line of authority and diplomacy when the Alpha Council came to Stonehaven.

He knew he was different from the other Alphas, as was made apparent by every snide comment about him being too “soft” in comparison to others in the position before him. The words chipped away at his well maintained composure every time, but he was careful not to let it show too much.

The rest of the Pack was also well accustomed to the barbs and not-so-subtle threats that occurred during the Council’s visits — particularly from Roman Novikov. They knew better than to intervene, or at least not to say anything too damning that would overstep and get them killed.

Katherine, however, was still struggling. 

The Council was as entranced with her as they had been by Elena, but they’d asked to see her twice now. Whereas before they’d wanted to see her for curiosity’s sake, to see the second female werewolf ever in existence, they now wanted to see for themselves if the rumors were true. That Katherine was carrying in the next generation of wolves. 

It would be the first time in the history of their kind that two wolves came together to have a family. Their child would be pure wolf and the Council was beside itself with excitement and curiosity. As much as Jeremy was opposed to showing off Katherine like an animal in a zoo, his protests went ignored.

“Come, Jeremy, let us pay our respects to you and your beautiful wife, hm?” Roman had prodded, and the others quickly agreed.

The second Katherine entered the room all eyes fell to the gentle curve protruding from her stomach, and the air was immediately charged with... something. Jealousy, excitement, curiosity — whatever it was it put them both on edge and Jeremy placed a hand on the small of Katherine’s back.

Roman stepped forward, eyes glued to Katherine’s stomach, and his lips pursed as he slowly came to a stop in front of her. His hands flexed by his sides and for a moment Jeremy thought he was going to reach for Katherine’s stomach — an act he knew would not have been received well, and he wasn’t sure he’d have been fast enough to stop whatever reflex Katherine acted on.

But instead Roman clapped his hands together and smiled. It was a strained, borderline mocking thing, and Jeremy felt his hackles raise in response. He shifted closer to Katherine as Roman began to speak.

“What a blessing it is, to expand your Pack. I know the feeling all too well. But you, well, your child will be the start of an entirely new breed of wolf.” 

Roman chuckled to himself and pointed his finger in Jeremy’s direction. “I certainly hope that was not your intention all along, Jeremy. First Elena, who is with your son, and now your own wife. Both bitten. Both survived. It is, uh...” he shrugged and laughed as if he’d finally reached the punchline of a joke. “It is quite the coincidence, no?”

The implication didn’t go unnoticed, but Jeremy played it off as smoothly as he was able. “Both were unfortunate circumstances that had a happy outcome. We’re all well aware that things could have turned out much worse.”

Katherine bristled beside him, and although she didn’t say anything he could tell what she was thinking plain as day. Her contempt for Roman was written all over her face. He squeezed her hip and she relaxed a little, though she kept a steely gaze on the Russian alpha.

The meeting continued in a similar manner: Roman tried to goad Jeremy, Jeremy countered, and Katherine tried to keep her facial expressions under control every time Roman opened his mouth.

At the end Jeremy invited the Council to use Stonehaven’s grounds to go for a run, if they felt the need before they left the country. Several agreed and said they would take him up on the offer, and Jeremy shook each of their hands as they headed out the front door.

He had only just said his goodbye’s to Roman when Katherine appeared in the doorway to the living room, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. She didn’t say a word, just glared daggers at the closed door before promptly turning and heading down the hallway. Running a hand over his jaw Jeremy followed after her.

When he entered the kitchen, she was pulling a plate of thawed chicken out of the fridge and placing several pieces on a cutting board. Each piece hit the board with a sharp slap and Jeremy watched with a frown as his wife took out her frustration on their dinner. 

“Katherine?” He called gently. She gave a short hum of acknowledgment and he sighed. “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him over her shoulder, face carefully blank. “Nothing.”

Jeremy raised a brow but didn’t press her. She grabbed a knife from a nearby rack and started slicing the chicken on the counter. Walking over to the stove Jeremy put the kettle on a burner and made himself some tea. When he had a steaming mug in hand, he headed to the kitchen table and took a seat.

He’d learned from experience — and the help of Simon —that figuring out what was bothering Katherine was more of a waiting game than anything. She would speak when she was good and ready, and not before. 

So he sat at the kitchen table and waited. And waited. Finally, after a particularly harsh slice sent her knife scraping loudly against the cutting board it seemed she couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Who does he think he is?” She hissed. Jeremy smirked, sipping at his tea as she started to vent. Katherine grumbled to herself, gradually growing louder as she worked herself up.

“-and then he sat in your chair. Apparently not for the first time, either!” She was recounting the meeting in a fury now, the chicken long since forgotten behind her as she ticked off everything from the evening that had grated on her nerves. As if he hadn’t been standing next to her the entire time. “I wanted to tell him what else he could sit on.”

Jeremy tried and failed to hide his smile. At first he’d thought she was mad that the Council treated her like a bit of a spectacle, but it seemed that was only part of it. She was mad that Roman had disrespected him in their home. He felt warmth kindling in his chest and stood from his spot at the table. He approached her slowly.

“And the way he spoke to you, I just, I wanted to-“ she stammered and threw her hands in the air. Shaking her head, her hands fell absently to the swell of her stomach and she tapped her foot against the floor. “I don’t know.”

He was standing in front of her, not bothering to hide his smile anymore. Katherine still wasn’t looking at him, staring off into the distance and letting her protectiveness boil under her skin. Her brows knitted together in frustration, and she had her lips pressed in a firm line. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“‘It is quite the coincidence, no?’,” she mocked. “How has no one ever punched him in his smug-“

She never got the chance to finish as Jeremy placed his hands on either side of her face and kissed her. 

He swallowed her words, his fingers threading through the silky strands of her hair as her hands scrambled briefly before they found their home against his chest. He tilted his head to deepen the kiss and her hands slid up to his neck as she pulled him closer. 

Jeremy let himself linger for a moment, basking in the warm feeling of being protected and loved and wanted, before he pulled away. His thumbs stroked the apples of her cheeks and he smiled at the slightly flustered look on her face. 

“What was that for?” Her breath fanned against his lips and he resisted the urge to kiss her again. 

“For always being so fiercely in my corner,” he told her. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear and fixed her with a slightly more serious look. 

“But I also need you to take a moment, and realize that Roman is dangerous. None of the Council are particularly fond of me, but Roman has more of a chip on his shoulder than the others. He wants my territory, and he needs little provocation to try and take it.”

Katherine sighed, her mouth twisting in a frown. She knew where he was going.

“So watch my mouth?” She finished for him.

Jeremy chuckled at her phrasing.

“Only when there are other people in the house. I don’t need word getting back to Roman that my wife is threatening him in our kitchen.” He looked pointedly out the window where some of the wolves that had accompanied their Alphas were still in the yard. 

“But,” he dropped his hands to her shoulders and lowered his voice. “When we’re alone, I personally don’t mind hearing about the different places you think Roman should sit.”

Katherine laughed, swatting playfully at his chest. Jeremy pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I think I did okay earlier,” she told him. “Not saying anything,” she clarified at the confused look he gave her. Jeremy’s brows rose to his hairline and he nodded slowly.

“Yeah.” His voice was just a pitch too high to be believable and Katherine latched onto it immediately. 

“What do you mean ‘yeah’?” She demanded, though she was still smiling. Jeremy shrugged, giving her shoulders a comforting squeeze.

“Let’s just say your poker face could use some work.”

Katherine gaped at him but then she laughed, seemingly embarrassed. Then she smiled -- a small quirk of the corner of one side of her mouth that always made his insides feel like jelly -- and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pulled him as close as her stomach would allow. 

“Okay, I’ll work on that.” She bumped his nose with her own, her drawl thick as she spoke. He felt the warmth in his chest spread lower. “You gonna watch my mouth for me in the meantime? I’m expecting a fast and thorough intervention.”

Jeremy grinned, reaching up a hand to cup the side of her face.

“With pleasure.”

[madpanda75]

“Snow Day”

Rafael Barba x Reader

Prompt 7: Snow for @thefanficfaerie‘s Christmas OTP Challenge

Rafael walked down the hall, his apartment door just a few feet away. His entire body sighed in relief. The weekend was finally here. While Rafael would normally use that time to catch up on paperwork, he walked into his home that Friday evening, wanting nothing more than to relax and spend the next two days with you.

“Y/N?” he called out, only to be greeted with silence. Figuring you were still at the office, he shrugged off his coat and headed into the kitchen where he spied a note on the counter.

“On the roof. Come meet me.” It read in your loopy, cursive handwriting.

As odd as your request was, Rafael complied, taking the elevator all the way to the top of the building. A strong gust of wind smacked him in the face the minute he opened the door to the rooftop.

Rafael instantly spotted you, leaning against the ledge, your hair whipping around as you gazed out at the city. He smiled and walked towards you, past Mrs. Kwan’s flowerbeds and Mr. Russo’s boxers frozen on the washline. Wrapping his arms around you from behind, he placed a tender kiss on your cold cheek. “What are you doing up here, mi amor? It’s freezing,” he purred.

“Do you smell that?” You asked, completely ignoring his original question.

Rafael sniffed the air. “I smell garbage and vent fumes.”

“Not that.” You turned to face him. There was a slightly wild look in your eye. “I smell--”

“Y/N,” he warned. “Don’t say it. Please don’t say it.”

“Snow!”

Rafael threw his head back and groaned. Over the years, he had learned that you had an uncanny way of predicting when there was going to be a snowstorm. It seemed as if all you had to do was say the word “snow” and the next morning there would be 6 inches on the ground. “Y/N, how do you know this? It’s been sunny and clear all day.”

“I have a sixth sense about these things. It’s in the air. I can feel it in my bones.” You shivered and closed your eyes. “That cool sharp sting that makes your skin tingle.”

Rafael arched a brow. “I think that’s called hypothermia.”

“Don’t tease your wife,” you said, playfully smacking his arm. “You watch, tomorrow morning you will wake up to find snow covering our street.”

“Well then we better get inside before we get caught in the storm,” Rafael teased, rubbing your arms to bring some warmth back into your limbs.

*****

Later on that evening Rafael lay in bed, checking on some emails while you were brushing your teeth. The 11 o’clock news playing on the TV suddenly switched over to the weather report.

“Alright folks, get those shovels out! Stock up on that toilet paper and bread because it looks like we’re getting some snow,” announced the meteorologist.

You ran out of the bathroom and pointed at Rafael. “Aha! See! What did I tell you!” You exclaimed with a mouthful of toothpaste before going back to the sink to spit.

“Ok, you were right,” Rafael said with a sigh. He shut down his laptop and placed it on the nightstand, getting comfortable under the covers.

You walked out of the bathroom with a smug smile on your face. “I usually am.” Turning off the lights, you went to the window and pushed back the curtain, looking out at the street below. Your hot breath fogged up the glass. “I love when it snows. The city always looks so beautiful. The world becomes soft and quiet. It’s so peaceful.”

Rafael snorted a laugh. “Sure, if you think treacherous ice, grey slush, and delayed trains are peaceful.”

“Says the man who arranged our ski trip to Gstaad next month,” you retorted and crawled into bed.

“Gstaad is different. That’s a vacation. I can ski and then just relax by the fire with you.” Rafael wrapped his arm around you, nuzzling his nose against the top of your head.  “It’s not like in New York where I slip on black ice in my new Italian loafers and end up in a dirty snow bank that a homeless man just used as a urinal.” At that last part, you tilted your head up to meet his gaze. “Hypothetical situation,” he replied.

You sat upright, a light bulb going off in your head. “You know what you need? A snow day.”

“A snow day?” Rafael repeated and sat up, his eyes widening.

“Yep, tomorrow you and I are gonna go outside and play in the snow. Who knows, maybe we’ll even melt that icy heart of yours.”

Rafael playfully pinched your side causing you to giggle and squirm. “Says the woman that ended up marrying the man with the icy heart.”

“Actually it was the suspenders and gorgeous green eyes that did it for me. Besides deep down I know you’re a total softie.” You booped his nose with your index finger. “Come on Rafi, unleash your inner child. Have a snow day with me. Please.” You cupped his face and gave him a slow, sensual kiss, your tongue brushing up against his before pulling away with one last playful nip to his bottom lip.

“Not a very fair tactic.” He leaned forward for another kiss only to have you place your hand against his mouth, effectively stopping him.

“So does that mean yes?” You jut out your bottom lip and pouted while batting your lashes, giving him big doe eyes. You knew he wouldn’t be able to say no.

Rafael rolled his eyes and took your hand off his mouth. “Fine, I’ll have a snow day with you,” he grumbled.

You squealed with joy and lunged towards him causing you both to flop back down onto the mattress.

“You know I can’t say no to you, cariño,” he purred, kissing you deeply.

“You’re too good to me. Best husband ever.” You laid your head on Rafael’s chest and dropped a tender kiss over his heart. “Trust me. A few hours outside in the snow and your mind will be forever changed,” you said with a yawn. In a matter of minutes you both were fast asleep, your limbs entwined while outside the snow began to drift down.

*****

You bounced on the balls of your feet, watching Rafael eat the snowflake-shaped pancakes you had made for breakfast. You had already scarfed down yours, excited to go out and enjoy the winter wonderland that seemingly appeared overnight. “You’re doing this to torture me, aren’t you?”

“What’s the rush, Y/N? We have all day,” Rafael said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“I’m just excited to spend the day with you but you’re right. I’ll just sit here and patiently wait for you to finish eating.” You sat down next to him, drumming your fingers on the counter and jostling your legs. Rafael leisurely swirled a forkful of pancake around some syrup before slowly putting it in his mouth. It was pure agony.

As soon as he had finished his breakfast, you hopped out of your seat. “Ready to go!”

“I guess so,” he mumbled, finishing the last dregs of his coffee. “What’s first on the list?”

“I’m glad you asked that.” You smiled and led Rafael to the hallway closet, pulling out two sleds. “Surprise!”

He shook his head incredulously. “Where did you get those?”

“I have a few tricks up my sleeve,” you said with a wink. “Now come on. Let’s try these babies out!”

You walked arm in arm with Rafael to Central Park, making your way over to Pilgrim Hill which had the steepest slope. Although it was still early, there was already a crowd of people beginning to form. Rafael glanced around nervously. He hadn’t gone sledding since he was a little kid. Aware of the fact that he wasn’t a spring chicken anymore, he couldn’t help but envision himself sliding down the hill and shattering his hip bone.

On the other hand, you didn’t seem to worry at all about breaking any bones as you sat in your sled at the crest of the hill. “You excited?”

“Something like that,” Rafael replied, getting in his sled.

You planted your hands on the ground on either side of you. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, THREE!” Using your hands as leverage, you propelled yourself forward by pushing off the ground, careening down the hill.

Rafael could hear your whoops and laughter all the way down. Now it was his turn. Cautiously, he wiggled his body forward, his sled teetering before falling over the edge.

You looked around for Rafael, finally spotting him flying down the hill. Just as he was about to make it to the bottom, he hit a snowbank. Rafael’s sled caught some air, hovering several feet off the ground only to come crashing down. He fell out of the sled, landing face first in the snow.

“Rafi!” You ran towards him and rolled him over, wiping snow off his face. “Oh my God, are you ok? Are you hurt?” You asked in a panic, scanning his body for any injuries.

Rafael sat up, a smile slowly spread across his face. “Let’s do that again!” He grabbed his sled and started to run back up the hill. “Come on! I’ll race you down next time. Loser has to buy the winner hot chocolate!”

You laughed and ran after him. “Hey! Wait for me!”

*****

You lost track of how many times you and Rafael raced down the hill. When you both were exhausted and no longer in need of your sleds, you decided to give them to a nearby family and went to a coffee shop. Rafael may have ended up winning the majority of the races, but he still insisted on paying for your hot chocolate. The pair of you sat at a small table by the window, watching people enjoy the snow.

“So what’s next?” He asked, after finishing up his drink.

You stood up and took hold of his hand. “Follow me.”

There was a lot more in store for Rafael’s snow day— building a snowman, having a snowball fight, and just enjoying each other’s company. By the afternoon, you both were starving and stopped by your favorite Italian restaurant, only this time Rafael was the one with the surprise.

You left the restaurant to find a horse-drawn carriage waiting by the curb. “Thought we could take this home instead of a cab,” he said.

The carriage was white with plush red cushions. Evergreen garlands and sleigh bells adorned the outside. You approached one of the horses and softly stroked his chestnut brown fur. “How did you plan this?”

“You’re not the only one with a few tricks up their sleeve.” Rafael beamed and opened the carriage door for you.

Once inside the carriage, Rafael lay a blanket across your laps as the driver picked up the reigns, signaling for the horses to go. The sun was just beginning to set and a light snow started to fall. He smiled watching your face light up while riding through the snow-covered streets. You were absolutely radiant, a free-spirited woman who he had fallen madly in love with. You brought so much joy to his life.

“What?” You asked when you caught him staring.

“Nothing. I just had a wonderful time today,” he replied, wrapping his arm around you

You clutched your chest and gasped. “What’s this?! Could it be that Rafael Barba actually had fun in the snow?!”

“Yes, I admit it. You were right.”

“I usually am,” you teased and kissed the tip of his nose where a snowflake had landed. “Get used to it.”

Rafael glanced down at your mouth before looking up to meet your gaze. Cupping your cheek, he kissed you deeply. His tongue parted your lips, gently caressing yours. You shivered and pressed your body up against his.

“You’re incredible,” he whispered against your lips. “How did I get so lucky?”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” you replied, passionately returning the kiss.

Moving your scarf out of the way, he dropped a kiss to the sensitive spot below your ear as his hand slid underneath the blanket, stroking your knee. “Want me to warm you up when we get home?” Rafael purred, biting down on your earlobe, his hand inching up your inner thigh.

You nodded and softly moaned, tilting your head to grant him further access. “Excuse me?” You called out to the driver. “Are we there yet?”

***** 5 weeks later*****

It was Rafael’s first week back at the office after your ski trip in Gstaad. He had been working late every night, trying to catch up on what he had missed. Luckily, he had managed to leave early on Friday and come home to surprise you. “Y/N?” He called out when he opened the door. Only you didn’t respond.

An overwhelming feeling of deja vu began to sink in. He set his briefcase down and took off his coat, walking into your apartment in search of you. “I hope she isn’t on the roof again,” Rafael mumbled to himself before calling your name again.

“I’m in the bathroom,” you softly replied.

Normally Rafael would give you your privacy, but you were acting strange. In fact you had been acting strange ever since your vacation. “Are you ok?” He asked through the bathroom door.

“I’m fine,” you said after a long moment. “You can come in if you want.”

He opened the door to find you sitting on the edge of the bathtub. “Mi amor, what’s going—” Rafael immediately went silent when he noticed the pregnancy test lying face down on the sink. “Is that what I think it is?”  You bit your lip and nodded. Rafael’s eyebrows shot up into his forehead. “Are you...I mean does that mean you think you’re...” His voice trailed off, unable to finish his thought.

“I don’t know. I think so. I took a test when we were in Gstaad and it was positive but I wanted to be sure. Did you know Schwangerschaftstest means pregnancy test in German?”

“Nope, didn’t know that one.” He ran a hand across his face, warily eyeing the test. “So..ummm..what can I do? Do you need anything?”

“Will you just sit with me? We still have two minutes on the timer.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Rafael sat next to you and took your hand in his. Neither of you said a word to each other. It was the longest two minutes of your lives. Finally the alarm on your phone went off.

You audibly gulped and nervously glanced over at Rafael. “You check. I’m too scared.”

“Of course,” he said, squeezing your hand in reassurance. He went over to the sink and flipped the test over to see the results. Rafael’s heart skipped a beat. Two lines. You were pregnant. A smile slowly spread across his face as he showed you the test. “It’s positive.”

“Really?!” You exclaimed and instinctively pressed a hand to your stomach.

He nodded, his eyes shiny with tears. You screamed and stood up, immediately jumping into his arms. Rafael laughed and held you tightly, kissing every inch of your face that he could reach, your happy tears melding with his.

You sniffled and looked down at the test. “You know, I’m pretty sure we conceived this baby during our snow day.”

“You mean that night after the sledding and the carriage ride, we did this?” He asked, gesturing to your stomach.

“What can I say? It was the snow,” you said with a shrug.

Rafael grinned and placed his hand over your lower abdomen, gazing down at his child’s home in wonder. Bending down, he kissed your stomach before standing up to pull you into his embrace, giving you a tender, sweet kiss.

From then on, every first snowfall of the year, Rafael would think back to that perfect day and the beautiful miracle that came along with it. All because of a little snow.

@glimmerglittergirl​ @southern-magnolia​ @sweetcannolicarisi​ @delia26​ @obfuscateyummy​ @sass-and-suspenders​ @eclecticminded​ @thatesqcrush​ @katmstanton​ @amirightcounsellor​ @beltzboys2015-blog​ @letty-o​ @sonnysdoll​ @lyssa1385​ @sweetsummertime99​ @burningsorr0ws​ @gibbs274​ @izzythefanfreak​ @riodallas​ @babypink224221​ @livxrafa​ @esparza-army​ @obsessionprofessional​ @ottosuricato​ @melsquared79​ @dreila03​ @frenchiefoxy​ @tropes-and-tales​ @thecraziestcrayon @goodluckfindingone

[beerecordings]

i just read your piece about eric derekson on ao3!!! ahh!! i'm in love with all those big bad soft boys who love 1 very sweet and anxious boy 💚💚💚 ;w; especially google and dark! i absolutely love your take on them!! and host as well, the opening of the whole fic is just fantastic! do you have any future plans to write more of the iplier-egos? if you do i can't wait to read it!

ahh anon thank you this is so positive and sweet wow!!! i’m so glad you liked it because i actually still enjoy that fic so much and yes actually i think the iplier egos are so much fun. dude kskdngdf i do have this fic i’m working on that’s all about Google, kind of a sequel to the Newcomer - I would call it the Soldier because it’s all about him being Dark’s right hand (Dark is the only being he respects and he does whatever he tells him) but as he begins to feel more and more emotions he starts to get scared Dark will see him as weak and throw him out. but it’s also about him taking care of the twins and Eric and Host, him being friends with Ippy and trying to get along with Bing, and him and Bim fighting at every chance they get. but i really should stop even mentioning it because i can never seem to get it finished!!! but i hope i will someday :) it’s about 20,000 words so far. can i offer a sneak peek in exchange for your nice words? i’m excited to share it haha

“Do you think I've changed?” asks Google the next night, when the clinic is empty except for him and the doctor.

Iplier sets his pen down, turning slightly in his chair. “Do I think you've changed?”

The clinic smells like sanitizer and orange-scented handsoap and the piney, slightly over-powerful cologne that Google's come to associate with the doctor. There's a woodpecker working on a tree outside and it's a little too hot. Google sits stiff in the same spot he's sat for more than an hour, his knees drawn up to his chest as he bounces a stress ball at the wall.

Back and forth, back and forth. Iplier waits for Google to look at him, but he doesn't. He sighs and leans back in his chair, trying to figure out exactly what it is he's been asked.

The clinic is little more than a closet, hardly large enough to fit Doc's desk and a cot for somebody hurt. Google has never really understood why Iplier spends so much time in here. Then again, he himself spends a lot of time in here too, sitting tucked in the corner beside the desk while Ippy works quiet at his side.

“Yeah,” says Doc finally. “Are you asking me if you've changed from when you were created? Yeah, you've changed.”

“Hey,” he adds, when Google doesn't answer. He reaches out and shoves, almost playfully, at Google's head, making the android scowl. Ippy laughs softly, looking down at him with concern. “Hey, hey, come on. Stop throwing that, tell me what's wrong.”

Google clenches the stress ball in his hand, his teeth gritted tight in his mouth. “Nothing wrong.”

“Whatever, yeah.”

They sit together for a long time.

“Don't know what's happening to me,” chokes Google.

Fear in his voice.

Iplier is out of his chair in a second, Iplier's at his side in a second, and he's asking him, low and urgent, “what's wrong, are you hurt, what do you mean, I've never seen you act like this – ”

Google just hides his face in his hands until Iplier is calm again. Until they're sitting in silence again. They've spent long hours sitting in silence together, and it is because of that that Google trusts Iplier more than he trusts anyone else in the world.

“I'll kill you if you ever tell anyone this,” Google whispers, tucking his hair behind his ears and trying to stimulate breathing steadily. “I'll show you trepanation up close and personal.”

Ippy just laughs. His hands are warm on Google's kneeplates. “Okay,” he says. “Tell me anyway.”

He means to say something like, “I'm having a cognitive malfunction” or “my emotional processor is out of control,” or “yesterday I looked at a stupid Francisco Goya painting and decided that I hated it, that it was revolting and awful and I didn't want to see it again, and how can that be when I was made to know but never to understand?”

But what comes out is just fear.

And he says, “Edward, do you think the darkness would get rid of me if I stopped being useful?”

The clock on Iplier's desk ticks softly by. The air conditioner kicks on in the next room over and cool air filters down through the vents. The stress ball under Google's fingers has burst, and he just sits, and waits, for Iplier to speak.

He has dark eyes and a kind mouth. He's grown his beard out heavier than Mark's and he's wearing his lab coat even though there's no one to see right now but his friend.

“I don't know,” he says finally, reaching out to adjust the glasses fallen down on Google's nose.

They've never lied to each other once in their lives. Not on purpose, anyway.

“I don't know if he would throw you out.”

They sit together for a long time yet.

“But I wouldn't,” adds Iplier gently. “No, shut up, let me be here, okay? I wouldn't throw you out, Google. So you focus on figuring this out. On finding out who you want to be. And I'll be right here when you need me. Okay, buddy?”

Google sighs. “Don't call me buddy.”

Iplier ruffles his hair and makes him growl. The doctor laughs and Google manages not to smile, reaching out to shove gently at Iplier's chest, where his human heart beats fragile beneath twelve pairs of thin white ribs.

“Everything's going to be okay,” says Iplier, and Google, in an act that he knows is pure human, chooses to believe him.

[forever-your-soldat]

Baby Girl

Part: 1 // 2

A week.

It’s been a week now.

Natasha, much to everyone’s relief, was less tense now and she was often less angry with the guys. It was all thanks to Y/n. When they all got back after Y/n’s proposal, they took note of how differently the spy was acting.

At first they assumed that she just really needed to cool down, but when Clint pointed out the bead ring on her finger, he put two and two together when Y/n was grinning widely at the redhead while gripping her hand. His eyes went as wide as saucers before he had taken Natasha out of the room, leaving Y/n pouting as she stood alone in the corridor until Tony came around and scooped her up into his arms to bring her down to the lab.

“What’s with the look, squirt?” He asked lightly when they reached the elevator and headed down. Y/n looked at him, pout still present as she snuggled in his arms. “Clint stole Tasha.” Was her simple response and the billionaire had to prevent himself from laughing at the claim.

God, even as a child Y/n was still clingy with her girlfriend, though she was less discrete now that she was a child.

“Well, I’m pretty sure you can get her back, later? I know that she doesn’t like being away from you.” He told her and it was enough to bring a smile to her face. “You think so?”

“I know so.”

Tony may have been a pain in the team’s ass, but he was caring, especially to the younger people in the group. He had a hard time showing it, but he was able to take on a father figure without even realizing it.

When they got to the lab, Y/n was put down on her feet and she quickly walked over to Tony’s work bench, waving to Bruce when she passed by him and he smiled back at her. “We’re almost done with the antidote. We just need to run a few tests before actually trying it on her.” He informed them, though mostly talking to Tony.

“Got it.”

Y/n sat on her usual place, legs swinging as she watched the two science bros did their magic. It always amused her to see the things they were doing and they’d even gone so much as teaching her few of the basics that they were doing.

“So, what have you and Nat been up to when we were away?” Bruce asked as he observed the reaction of the chemicals he was studying. The memory of the proposal replayed in Y/n’s head and she smiled brightly. “I’m going to marry Tasha when I grow up!” She said with a squeal.

Tony accidentally dropped his wrench and Bruce looked up in surprise. They both thought that she was merely making a joke, but the pure happiness and excitement on her face was enough for them to know that she was being serious.

“That’s... That’s amazing, pipsqueak.” Tony said with a light smile and Bruce walked over to ruffle her hair. “I’m sure she’s going to take good care of you.” He chuckled and Y/n beamed. “I’m going to take care of Tasha.”

Meanwhile, Clint was groaning on the floor whilst Natasha sat on her bed, arms crossed over her chest and one leg went over the other as she gave her best friend an unamused look. “Are we done here?” She asked him but he was quick to sit up and shook his head.

“No, no. You haven’t told me yet if what I said was true or not.” The archer was basically buzzing in excitement. Sure, Y/n wasn’t actually in her proper mind, but to know that she wanted to get married to Natasha even in that state brought a swell of pride and happiness in his chest.

Natasha tried to suppress the blush that was crawling up her neck and glared at the male. “If I told you, you’re still not going to leave me alone.” She hissed as he gave her a dopey grin. “I mean, yeah, but it doesn’t make it any less interesting.” He quipped playfully.

“Fine, yes. She asked me to marry her when she gets older.” The admission had Clint squealing like a schoolgirl as he clapped his hands. “Oh my god, this is perfect!”

“What’s with the screaming?” Wanda asked as she peeked her head through the crack of the door and Natasha gave her a tired glance when Clint jumped up, pointing at the redhead. “They’re getting married!″ He exclaimed and Wanda’s eyes widened slightly before a smile reached her face.

“Really? Since when did you get engaged? Y/n has been a child from what I remember.” She mused as she finally stepped into the room. “Yeah, but Y/n still asked her to marry her when she gets older.” Wanda awwed at that and Natasha could no longer hide the red that was staining her cheeks.

“That is so adorable. I’m so happy for you both!” The young witch giggled and Natasha groaned. “Guys, come on. I’m sure that when Y/n goes back to normal, she doesn’t even know and she probably still isn’t ready for it yet.” She tried to reason, but saying those words out loud made her feel a tad bit hurt.

Did Y/n really want to get married?

She knows for a fact that she was in love with her, but was Y/n ready to finally reach that step and open to her fully?

She hopes so.

“Hey, don’t think about that.” Clint told her as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Y/n loves you no matter what. Getting married is a big step, but I’m sure she’s up for it if you are.”

Wanda nodded in agreement. “I see the way she looks at you, and though she isn’t exactly herself at the moment, I know that she’s the one for you and vice versa.”

Hearing the reassurances from her friends made her feel a bit at ease. She was able to push her worries aside and smiled before nodding her head. “Thanks.” She breathed out before she finally stood up, only to realize that Y/n wasn’t with them.

“Shit. Where’s Y/n?” She asked and exited the room, the other two following behind her. “She wasn’t with you?” Wanda asked confusedly while looking around. “No. Clint just yanked me away and she slipped from my hand.” She answered worriedly.

“I’m pretty sure she’s around here. Maybe she went with Steve or Vision.” Clint told them as he started to walk to the common room, only to see Vision being the only one there. “Hey, Vision, have you seen Y/n around?” He was pretending to be calm, but deep down he was close to pissing himself in the event that Y/n did get lost without any of them to be with her.

Natasha would kill him.

The android looked to the three, confusion written on his face before shaking his head. “The only people I’ve seen so far were Captain and Sam.” He replied before concern appeared on his face. “Is something the matter?”

“No, no! I’m pretty sure she just ran off somewhere.” Clint said with a nervous laugh, but when he looked, Natasha was already running off in search of her girlfriend/fiancée.

He curses and Wanda shoots him a look then shakes her head. "FRIDAY?" She calls the AI and Clint facepalms when he realizes that he could have asked. "Yes, Ms. Maximoff?"

"Where is Y/n?" She asks and the AI takes a while to answer where they could actually hear the smile in her voice. "She's currently in the lab with boss and Dr. Banner."

"Thank you."

The young witch then makes her way to the elevator to head down to the lab, her boyfriend and the archer both deciding to follow her lead. Natasha seemed to have already gotten a clue as to where her girlfriend may have run off to.

Y/n loved being around to watch Tony and Bruce make inventions and experiments. She liked it more than just watching Steve and Sam beating each other up. She often found it more exciting with the two geniuses, and Tony would sometimes engage in a playful dance off, his music blasting from the speakers, much to Bruce’s dismay, but seeing Y/n so happy made up for it.

When the three arrived, Natasha was already there, arms crossed and a deadly look on her face. Y/n was there, as she expected, covered in grease that her cheek even had smudges on it. But the wide smile on her face was enough to warm Natasha’s heart that she ended up just glaring at Tony instead of anything else.

"This is going to be hard to clean." The man just grinned back in response, knowing he was capable of getting away as long as Y/n was present. "Well, I tried to not get too much dirt on her." Natasha grunted before she picked the girl up and Wanda smiled while waving to Bruce, Clint nodded to Tony.

Vision smiles when Y/n looks to him and waves joyfully at the android. "I helped Tony build a robot!" She cheered, causing the rest to smile. “It’s not a robot, Y/n. It’s my suit.” Tony corrected her and she tilts her head, confusion on her face before nodding. “It’s Tony’s fancy clothes.” She says with a proud grin and Clint snorts in amusement while Wanda giggles.

Natasha shook her head and smiled before she turned back to head out of the lab. “Right. We’ll be going and clean you up.” She said, making the little girl pout. "But Naaaaat." She whined and the redhead sighed.

"We're going." She stated, ignoring her girlfriend's protests and Wanda laughed as she and Vision followed, deciding on picking out Y/n's outfit for the day and Vision was more than happy to help out and spend time with his girlfriend and the little girl.

Clint waved at the two scientists, going off to the vents like he usually would. He would be telling his wife about the news later, but right now, he would be needing to escape Natasha’s hidden plan of killing him for nearly losing her girlfriend.

Meanwhile, in Natasha and Y/n’s shared room, Wanda kept rummaging through the clothes they had for Y/n whilst Natasha was washing her face and hair. Vision picked up one of the onesies in confusion. “I don’t quite understand why you would like to dress children as animals.” He mumbled, earning his girlfriend’s attention and she laughed lightly as she took the clothes from him.

“It’s cute. Plus, Y/n isn’t one to usually dress up so this is a nice opportunity. She’s always wearing baggy clothes or just a tank and shorts. There’s no in between for her and she doesn’t care much for fashion.” The witch replied as she grabbed a shirt then looked at the outfit she had prepared, nodding to herself once she was satisfied then placing the clothes on the bed.

“But do children not feel irritated when dressed as such?” Vision inquired. “Some kids don’t like it. But there are others that don’t mind since they can’t think about what they like or dislike that much.” She explained, looking at the bathroom when Natasha came out with Y/n wrapped in a big and fluffy white towel.

Wanda was grinning with the smile she saw on Natasha’s face. She’s been seeing it a lot more frequently now and she’s happy that her friend was able to express herself more.

Natasha placed Y/n on the bed and she giggled while burrowing herself more in the towel. “Come on, N/n, time to get dressed.” Wanda told her, carefully tugging at the towel before Y/n’s face popped out from behind it, her wet hair sticking to her face.

“Boo!”

Wanda pretended to be surprised, a hand to her chest as she gasped. “Oh no! You scared me!” She told her and Y/n grinned widely, giggling as she reached one hand to touch her cheek. “Don’t be scared! I’m sorry!”

Natasha smiled fondly, watching as Wanda dressed Y/n up, playing along with her little jokes and laughing. Wanda would be a great mother, she thinks. And then she thinks back to her and Y/n.

If they were to get married, would Y/n want to have kids? Natasha wasn’t capable of bearing a child, but it didn’t mean she didn’t want one. Ever since Y/n’s been turned into a toddler, she’s been thinking about it a lot. She loved the idea of having a child with Y/n and seeing her as a four year old made her think that if they did have a child. they were sure to take after Y/n’s traits and looks.

“Are you alright?” Her train of thought is cut off when Vision speaks and she quickly wipes her cheek while nodding. “Yeah, sorry. I was kind of thinking.” She murmured softly. “About Y/n?” He asks her. “Sort of.”

Vision looks back to the two on the bed before he folds his hands behind his back. “If it’s any consolation, I think Y/n would actually pull through with your engagement despite the age she proposed. You have been together for seven years and counting. I feel that she is more than sure to spend her life with you.” Natasha smiles at the comfort the other was giving her and she thanks him.

~~~~~~~~~~

When the morning comes, Natasha is woken up by the bed shifting. She groans and turns, going to wrap her arms around her girlfriend, but her eyes shoot open when there’s no body next to her. She sits up fast and looks around the room.

“Y/n?”

There’s a sound coming from the closet and her brows knit together before she moves toward it. “Y/n, I told you to wake me up if you aren’t comfortable with your clothes.” When she reaches the closet, she opens the door fully, but she’s surprised to see Y/n standing there, just in her underwear, staring confusedly at the children’s clothing that was inside the closet.

She was back to normal!

Her head turns to look at her girlfriend, holding the ripped shirt in her hands then pointing to the other pile. “Nat, why do we have those?” She asked her but Natasha doesn’t answer her. Instead, she’s throwing herself into her girlfriend’s arms and pulling her into a deep and much needed kiss after being deprived for a whole week.

And despite her surprise, Y/n gladly returns the kiss, hugging Natasha and holding her close as she deepened the kiss. Truthfully, she doesn’t remember much of what happened. Hell, she was even surprised to wake up next to Natasha when she remembers being on a mission.

When they pull away, Natasha buries her face to her neck and Y/n runs her fingers through her hair in a soothing manner. “What’s up with you, babe?” She asks softly, but Natasha just shakes her head, pressing light pecks on her neck before she holds her face and smiles at her.

“I missed you so much.” She whispered and Y/n crinkled her nose before grinning a bit. “Babe, I’ve only been gone for a little while.” She told her, but there was so many emotions in Natasha’s eyes that she realizes that something may have, in fact, happened while she was out.

When Y/n is dressed, they go back to bed, just cuddling. But Y/n is still curious with the clothe in their closet. “It’s weird, you know? I had a dream and you guys were all there.” She mumbled after a few minutes of silence.

Natasha smiles, her fingers drawing patterns on Y/n stomach while her head rested on her chest. “What was it about?” She asks quietly and she feels the vibration from when Y/n hums in thought. “Well, I don’t remember much, but you were all babying me a lot.” She chuckled at the oddity of the dream, but made no comment about it.

“Then I...” She trails off, suddenly wondering before she’s looking at Natasha and kissing her forehead. “I want to marry you, Nat.”

Those words were enough to make her heart leap and Natasha decides that maybe she should finally tell her girlfriend what actually happened, but Y/n isn’t done talking.

“I don’t want to keep guarding myself anymore. I know that you’re there for me and that you’re always loving me. You let your defenses down and it’s not fair that I’ve just been so scared to do the same despite all the years we’ve been together.” By then, Natasha was staring back at her, smiling as her hand moved to the side of her neck and her thumb ran along her jaw.

“I want a family with you.”

And that was enough before Natasha closes the distance between them. The kiss is sweet and full of emotions, and she has to admit that this was probably the best kiss they’ve shared.

Their eyes are closed when the kiss ends, both with smiles on their faces before Natasha chuckles and opens hers first. “You proposed to me already, actually.” She whispers and Y/n’s eyes open, confusion swimming in them before Natasha shows her left hand, where the bead ring sits on her finger.

It’s the same one in Y/n’s memories and she blinks. “You mean I really...”

The redhead nodded, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing and Y/n groans quietly. “God, please tell me I didn’t do anything stupid.” She pleads and Natasha sits so she gets a better look at her girlfriend.

“You were actually a really behaved kid, though you were full of energy. It was cute, especially when you asked me to marry you.” The small huff pulls a chuckle out of her. “You asked me if I could marry you when you get older, and I was honestly not sure how to react to it because....”

Y/n seems worried and she sits up, her hands falling on Natasha’s. “Because what?” She asks softly before the redhead smiles at her.

“Because I really wanted to marry you, too.” She whispers and Y/n soon mirrors her smile. “Then I guess we can have that arranged.” She muses then presses their foreheads against each other again. “I’ll get you a proper ring, don’t worry.”

But Natasha shakes her head and her eyes lock with Y/n’s. “I like this one. The next ring you put on me, I want it to be our wedding ring.” Y/n stares at her for a while before she grins widely and nods her head. “Deal.”

It was a little while later that the two exit their room and head to the kitchen to join the rest for breakfast, and the sight of Y/n back to normal has them all surprised. “We were almost done! What the fuck?” Tony yelled and Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “Language.”

“Fuck off.”

Wanda beamed at the sight of her best friend and tackled her in a hug, causing her to release Natasha’s hand as she caught the brunette. “Woah! Careful there.” She chuckled and Wanda pulled away to grin at her. “I’m so happy you’re back, but I must admit that I’ll miss the little you, too.” She giggled, making Y/n roll her eyes.

“Yeah, don’t worry. Another little me is going to be around in the future.” Hearing that caused the whole team to make a chorus of surprised noises and Natasha smiles when Y/n takes her hand again.

“So you’re really getting married?” Sam asks them and they nod. “Congrats!” Bucky told them. “I can’t wait to tell Laura and the kids.” Clint chirped when he whipped his phone out and started to dial his wife’s number.

“You couldn’t have at least waited for us to finish the antidote for you?” Tony said in mock irritation but Y/n just laughs while waving him off, catching him off guard. “Sorry that my body refused to wait for your slow ass.”

There was no hostility in her voice like she usual had. It was playful, and Natasha’s smile only widened at it.

“Come on, Tony, at least she’s back to normal.” Bruce laughed lightly then smiling at the couple. “Congratulations, you two.” They thanked him before Y/n looked at Vision, giving him a small smile.

“Thank you, for looking after me and everything.” She told him and Wanda. “Nat didn’t give me details, but she’s told me that you two were the ones helping her throughout the week.” Wanda shook her head while she hugged her boyfriend’s arm. “You’re my best friend, Y/n, it doesn’t matter that you were a child or adult. I’ll still be there.”

Y/n smiled gratefully before she takes a seat next to Natasha, kissing her temple as she did then pecking her lips.

Natasha snuggled into her side, resting her head on her shoulder as she sighed in content, happiness radiating from the two.

The week may have been a roller coaster of emotions for her, but she was glad that it happened. It helped her realize the things she’s never seen in Y/n before and it made her understand her more than she already did.

And now, she was more than happy to get married and have kids with the only person that held her heart.

I know that I said that this would be the last chapter but I’m really torn on whether or not I’m going to write the wedding and the whole pregnancy and having a child for them. For now, I’ll leave things here and I hope you all liked it.

[1987vampire]

Need A Moment

Fandom: Peaky Blinders Relationship: John Shelby x reader Word Count: 1847 Warnings: cussing, alcohol, splash of sadness Request: none, just ain’t been writing in a bit.  A/N: I’ve missed writing...this is nice. Wanna do a Finn Shelby imagine too and an Isaiah Jesus one if I can think of something. If y’all want, send in a song and a character you’d like to see an imagine based off of. (specifically Peaky Blinders if u can) Extra:

The song this was inspired by

John Shelby was a mystery altogether. Of course, everyone knew of him; it would be dumb to think anything other than that as he was a Peaky Blinder, after all. However, nobody knew him. How could you. Even with the family’s very public lives, on both the legal and illegal sides of life, they were very private.  

Their roles were very simple in the people’s minds. Tommy Shelby, though not the oldest, was the leader of the Shelby brothers. Nobody could argue against Tommy. He got what he wanted, no matter the cost. Arthur Shelby was the oldest and arguably the funniest of the group, though he had a temper like no other. He was a killer, but he was probably one of the sweetest out of the siblings. Finn Shelby was the youngest, but people knew not to mess with him. No matter how much you could see his family making fun of him, if anyone else said anything mildly rude, they would find themselves in boiling water. Quite a few had gone missing only for rumors to come out that they had said something to Finn Shelby. Polly and Ada were the least known about out of the family. As the women, everyone knew they also weren’t to be messed with, but they also knew that it wouldn’t be the boys to attack if something went wrong. Polly and Ada may have been seen as feminine figures, but they fought harder than any boy the town had seen.  

That left John Shelby. People thought they knew John the most out of the family, but they were wrong. John was someone who held himself in a way that made him seem consistently relaxed, happy even. But if someone paid even the slightest bit more attention, they would notice that it was a façade. Hell, at least his family hid it a bit better than him. He just seemed tired.  

The poor boy had been through a lot in his short life, and I pitied him just a bit. His wife had died a short while back while he was still in the war, and he seemed to be coming to the bar more and more. As I worked behind the counter, I watched him. Normally, he would go to a back room with his family, or he would at least sit far off into a corner, but tonight, he was in front of the counter. His head was pressed against the cool countertop as he mumbled quietly to himself. His façade was slipping.  

The pub had begun clearing out about an hour ago, and now all that was left were a few bums that didn’t have a home to go to and the drunkards that couldn’t walk by themselves. John hadn’t seemed to notice, and if he had, he didn’t care.  

I pitied him, really. I couldn’t imagine living the life he did. The war would have been enough to make me go mental if the stories I heard were right, but the life of a gangster. The constant thought of someone coming after you looming over your shoulder constantly. Being ordered around by your family to do whatever they wanted. The pure idea of never having full control of your life. Well, it was enough to drive someone insane.  

Harry placed his hand on my shoulder as he walked by, whispering that I needed to wipe off the counters and he would get the others out. I nodded and took a cleaning rag from under the counter, soaking it in soap and water before running it across the surface, trying to keep a decent distance away from John’s head.  

He still hadn’t come around, even as Harry ended up having to literally throw out one of the homeless men. Instead, John kept mumbling to himself. I could faintly hear something about his children, and for the first time in about an hour, he tapped his glass on the counter, signaling he wanted another drink.  

I looked up at Harry who nodded to me as he began stacking chairs on the table. Even with the confirmation to give John a drink, I didn’t want to. He had drunken more than three-fourths of a bottle of whiskey. He probably couldn’t even lift his head to drink it.  

John tapped his glass again, and I took the glass from his hand, filling it with water instead. I could deal with his anger if he lashed out for it.  

“You doin’ okay there, John,” Harry questioned, stacking another chair.  

I placed the glass in John’s open hand as he responded. “I’m just fine, Harry,” he mumbled, lifting his head and knocking back the shot. I watched as he waited for the burn to hit, but when it never did, he gave me a confused look. “Oi, what was that,” he questioned, not anger but rather confusion filling his voice.  

“Water,” I responded, placing a full glass of it in front of him. “You need to drink some, John.” This was a bold action considering I had never even talked to the boy before with the exception of taking his order.

John stared at the glass for a second before sighing and bringing it to his lips. “Yeah, whatever,” he mumbled. He took a few gulps, downing half the glass in a few seconds before wiping his mouth against the sleeve of his suit. I shook my head and handed him a few napkins before continuing to clean the counter.

Harry came up behind me again, this time moving to the register where I watched him count the bills quickly. He had done it so many times, it was practically second nature to him. He knew how much the pub needed to run and give change. The rest would be going into a bank account. He used to place it in a vault hidden in the floorboards, but everything in it had been stolen a few too many times, so he switched.  

“Can you close up for me tonight, y/n,” Harry questioned loudly before leaning down to whisper in my ear. “I don’t really want to leave you with John, but he seems quiet today, and I got a date at a restaurant a bit away. Remember Mrs. Shelly? It’s her.”

“I got this,” I responded, patting his shoulder. “I’ll make sure everything's locked up, and I won’t be here much longer. Make sure to have fun.”

Harry chuckled a bit. “I’ll be having a bit more than fun.”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him playfully. He left with a little pep in his step and a hum in his voice. Then, my attention was diverted to John. I had to get him out somehow, but I wasn’t even sure he could walk.  

I took the now empty glass from in front of him and watched as his glazed over eyes stared at the wall across from him. What could he possibly be thinking about?  

“John,” I began, fishing the keys from under the counter. “What’s wrong? You don’t really have to tell me, but I don’t like seeing people so down.”  

John blinked a few times before looking at me, and I realized he wasn’t staring absentmindedly, he was crying. I paused, not knowing what to do as he wiped his hand across his face, obviously trying to hide it.  

“Oh, god, did I say something wrong? I’m sorry!”  

John shook his head, laughing a bit. I suppose that was a good sign. “No, I just-” He swallowed harshly before he let out a loud sob. “Gimme a second.”  

I waited, as he had instructed me to do, but his crying didn’t seem to be slowing down. “Is there anything I can do?”

John shook his head. “I need a moment. I didn’t mean to do this, especially in front of a pretty girl like you.”  

I chuckled a bit. “I don’t think this is the best time to flirt, John.”

He laughed too. “This is the perfect time,” he joked, wiping his eyes again. His face was blotchy from his crying, but he still looked so cute. I never thought that I would see someone as beautiful as him, but here he was, crying in the pub I was closing.

“John,” I spoke as he settled down. “You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I mean, we’ve only known each other for a bit. But, well, whenever I have a good cry, I find it’s best to talk to someone to let it all out. I mean, normally it’s Harry I vent to because he’s one of the only people I know, but -”

John cut me off with another laugh, and he took off his cap, placing it on the counter. “I get it, I promise. Come sit over here, and maybe, I’ll rant a bit.”  

And he did rant for nearly an hour, and we both got drunk off the cheap kind of whiskey, and I got to know John Shelby more than I ever thought I would. He was stressed, so stressed, and he felt underappreciated. He wanted somebody to listen for once, and he was scared he wouldn’t be a good father. He feared a lot of things. For someone who seemed so happy all the time, he had a lot of built up emotion.

By the end of the night, we were both holding onto each other for dear life as we made our way down the cobbled street. I had successfully locked up everything that needed to be, and John had suggested taking me home. I had responded that he couldn’t walk himself home with how much alcohol he had in his system. He mumbled something about his kids, and we had both agreed to stay at his house for the night. He didn’t want to leave me alone, but he couldn’t make it five feet without me holding him steady.  

The walk seemed to take barely any time at all, but that might have been because we were laughing the whole time. At one point, we had both ended up on the grimy, cobblestone path after he had jokingly pushed me away after I made a dirty joke. I fell over onto the ground, pulling him down with me without thinking about it.  

By the time we made it back to his house, I could see the sun rising, and I was dead tired. His house was nice, a bit dirty with all the kids running around, but it was something I could see myself living in.  

“This is a nice home,” I said, running my hand along the couch. I could see toys stuffed haphazardly under the coffee table.  

John grinned from where he was leaned against the door. “I’m glad you think so.”  

I stumbled a bit as I walked back towards him. “I’ll sleep on the couch, if that’s okay.”  

John shook his head. “You can take my bed. I couldn’t let you sleep there. It’s fuckin’ shit, it is. Slept on it once and my back was fucked for weeks.”  

“Well, then, why would I let you sleep there? I don’t want your back to be hurt!” I giggled and leaned into him, wrapping my arms around his neck. “That wouldn’t be very good, would it?” My breath fanned across his neck, and John shivered.  

“Well, I think I have the best idea yet. We can both sleep in the bed.” John leaned back again before leaning forward and kissing me. I reciprocated quickly, but it was a languid kind of kiss that had me melting into him. I’ve never kissed someone let alone gone home with someone this soon into knowing them, but John was different. I felt like I could trust him.  

I pressed my forehead to his shoulder again and sighed. I was tired. Working in the bar took a lot out of me and getting drunk certainly didn’t help.  

John seemed tired too, and we both stumbled around the apartment before falling into his bedroom and directly onto his bed. I barely had the sense of mind to take off my shoes before promptly falling asleep.  

I couldn’t deny that waking up the next day beside a half-naked John Shelby was the best morning I had in a while, even when two of his daughters came running in, yelling about the night they had at Polly’s. The happiness only intensified when John woke up and turned, pressing his lips to my cheek and asking me if I’d like to have lunch with him. Sober.  

[anotherriceball0326]

***SPOILER ALERT***

This is a short Fruits Basket fanfiction that I've been working on. It takes place shortly after the group returns from the beachhouse. This is my very first time writing fanfiction so please be kind. I'm always open to constructive criticism/suggestions to improve my writing. It's a work in progress so new chapters be released asap.Hope you all enjoy what I've written ❤.

Summary

While Shigure is away for the weekend, Kyou sees the time alone as the perfect opportunity to confess his true feelings to Tohru. Sadly, his plans are quickly extinguished by a group of uninvited guests.

Chapter one: "I Need to. Talk to You"

It was a crisp, Autumn night. The moments they shared at the beachhouse were now precious memories. It was time to put Summer behind them and focus on what's ahead.

Shigure was gone for the weekend at a writers convention, leaving the teenagers home alone. It was the first time they were entrusted to be left alone for more than a few hours and they didn't want to screw it up.

Yuki was looking forward to some quiet time where he could focus on his school work, student counsel priorities and prepare for his upcoming exams. Tohru, of course, was still adamant about getting housework done.

And Kyou....well Kyou wanted nothing more than for that damn rat to disappear for the weekend with Shigure so he could really enjoy this time with Tohru... but the current circumstances would have to do.

"I'll be upstairs if you need me Ms. Honda." Yuki smiled, but quickly changed his tone after glancing at Kyou "Don't do anything reckless, stupid cat."

The nerve of this guy!

"Grrr.... SHUT UP YOU DAMN RAT! WHAT I DO IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Kyou shouted. He knew that Yuki was just trying to screw with his head, but he wouldn't let him ruin this.

Not tonight. Not this moment.

This was the first time Kyou had been alone with Tohru since the beach house. The first time he'd been alone with her since he finally admitted to himself that he loved her.

He loved her... he loved her so much.

It was so easy for him to say that in his head. It was so clear to him now. Why had it taken him so long to come to that realization? Why had he not figured it out sooner?

There was so much time that he wasted trying to pretend as though he felt indifferent. Hell, it took him months to admit that he even considered her a friend. How long had he felt this way? How long had he longed to pull her in close.... how long had he wanted to hold her in his arms and never let go? How long had he wanted to feel her soft, rosy lips against his?

Kyou's heart began to race as thoughts of their first embrace played out in his head. He felt his palms begin to sweat. He knew something about this moment felt different. Almost like something big was about to happen. That thought scared the crap out of him.

"Kyou? You okay? You don't look too good.." Tohru asked.

"Huh?...Oh uh....no! I mean..... Yes...." Kyou felt himself start to panic. What the hell was he doing? This is Tohru. The girl he's grown so comfortable sharing everything with... The girl who saw his true form. The girl who accepted him at his ugliest and most terrifying.... Why is he suddenly unable to speak to her without sounding like a complete idiot?

He knew why... he knew that this moment was different. She was no longer just his warm hearted friend that was easy to talk to or a kind soul that he could vent his problems to...

No... she was so much more than that now. He now felt the overwhelming feelings of desire. The desire to make her his forever and to never leave her side. The desire to hold her in his arms and drown her in his affection.

The thought of it made his ears feel hot and brought redness to his face, but also an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, like he may throw up if he uttered a single syllable.

"Okay, well... as long as you're sure" Tohru hesitated. "I'm just gonna start dinner, okay?"

Say something, idiot!

"L…let me help. "Kyou finally released a coherent sentence.

Tohru's face lit up. "That would be wonderful!" She exclaimed.

Damn it.... why does she have to be so cute.

He always thought Tohru was cute of course. That day she discovered their secret, he remembered thinking those thoughts. Her cuteness was obvious. Anyone with half a brain could see that.

But now... now he saw her as a woman. He noticed every small detail about her. The smell of her strawberry scented hair. The way her hair flowed as she flipped it away from her face. The adorable crinkle in her nose when she thought something was really funny. The melodic sound of her voice when she said his name. The warmth of her brown eyes as she listened with sincerity. The sway of her hips as she walked...

Stop! Stop it you pervert!

Kyou hated having those thoughts about her. The thoughts that extended beyond her cuteness. The thoughts that made him desire her in a way that he's never wanted any girl.

It felt wrong. It felt wrong because Tohru was so pure and innocent. He didn't want to taint the image of such a perfect person.

But he couldn't help it. He wanted her. He wanted all of her. All to himself.

That must be what love is. Kyou had never fallen in love before, not like this. Only love that was shared between a parent and their child or a platonic love that you have for your friends.

Okay, snap out of it or Tohru will worry.

Kyou began helping Tohru in the kitchen by chopping vegetables. His hands shook dramatically as he worked but he did his best to control himself. He tried to use the breathing techniques that his Master had taught him over the years.

Tonight needs to be the night. She needs to know how I'm feeling.

Kyou was beginning to suspect that Tohru possibly shared some of the same feelings he had for her. He noticed the way she looked at him sometimes and how bashful she became when they accidentally touched or how flustered she would get after he teased her.

I need to know. Honestly, what do I have to lose?

Kyou looked over at Tohru. The steam from the pot of stew she was making left a thin layer of sweat on her face. He could not help but stare and admire the beautiful features of her face. Even drenched in sweat, she was perfect.

“Kyou? Are you sure you're okay?” Tohru questioned, looking even more concerned than she did earlier. “You look like you're about to pass out. Are you feeling under the weather?”

As she said that, Tohru placed a hand on Kyou's forehead. It sent a shiver down his spine. Even just a hand to his forehead was enough to weaken his resolve.

“I said I’m fine….quit your worrying, okay?” Kyou smiled and grabbed Tohru’s hand as he removed it from his forehead.

Instead of immediately letting her hand go, he hesitated. He looked down at her soft, petite hands and smiled.

“You really do worry too much.” He said as he finally released her hand, hoping she didn't notice him shaking

“Okay. Well in that case, thank you for helping me tonight. It's always more fun when I get to cook with you.” She beamed.

I can't take this anymore! This is torture! I need to. .. No! It's too soon….

“Of course, dummy. What else would I be doing?” Kyou joked as he playfully bonked her on the head with a closed fist.

Kyou finished helping Tohru with dinner. They ate together with Yuki and mostly exchanged small talk that involved asking each other how their day went and sharing things that had been happening at school. Kyou was secretly begging for Yuki to leave so he could be alone with Tohru.

But how would I even start? Where do I begin? Do I just tell her in the kitchen or do I take her somewhere romantic? What if rat boy heard? Ugh! This is so confusing….

Kyou sat there, mostly silent as he contemplated how he was going to tell her.

“Are you all done, Kyou?” Tohru asked

“Uh…um…oh yeah, sorry. Here, I'll clean up.” He responded

“Thank you so much, but I don't mind helping" Tohru said as she stood up.

Before she could walk into the kitchen, Kyou extended his arm out to stop her. He was unable to make eye contact so instead he looked at the floor as he spoke.

“Tohru…I…I need to talk to you…about something important. I was thinking. . Would it be okay for us to go and talk on the roof. You know…so we're alone? Kyou’s voice shook as he finally gathered the courage.

Tohru’s eyes widened. He could immediately tell she was surprised by his request. They’ve had conversations up on the roof before, but never any that were planned. Kyou wondered if she knew what he wanted to say.

“Of course! Let me just go and grab a sweater. You should grab one too, Kyou! It's a little chilly out tonight.”Tohru replied with a glimmer in her eyes.

Kyou suddenly felt a flutter in his chest

This is it…this is my chance!

Kyou finished cleaning up as quickly as he could. He ran to his bedroom, grabbed a warm sweater and sprayed just the smallest splash of cologne on his neck.

His heart was pounding.

He met Tohru downstairs. She was wearing an adorable pink fluffy sweater that he wanted to fall into.

Kyou smirked as his nose quickly filled with the aroma of perfume, which he knew wasn't there earlier. His confidence grew even more knowing that she was putting in the effort the way he had.

“Shall we?” Kyou asked as he extended his arm for her to hold so he could escort her outside.

Tohru giggled as she grabbed his arm “Yes, let's go.“

As they approached the front of the house,  they were suddenly startled by a loud knock at the door.

Who could that be? And at this hour?

As Kyo opened the door, his heart immediately sank.

“Yo.” A deep voice exclaimed. Despite it being so dark, Kyou immediately knew it was the voice of Hatsuharu. At the door stood Hatsuharu, Momiji, Kagura, Arisa, and Saki. They all carried small overnight bags.

“What the hell are you all doing here?! Do you not realize how late it is?!” Kyo growled. 

“We’re here to party!” Momiji shouted as he jumped up and down. Momiji grabbed Tohru by the hands. “We’re going to have so much fun this weekend, Tohru! We’ll dance and start a campfire and roast marshmallows and...ooooo maybe even watch a scary movie! This is going to be so much fun!”

Yuki came down the stairs quickly after hearing all the commotion. “What's going on?” he asked.

“We heard you guys were going to be lonely all weekend so we came to keep you company.” Said Hatsuharu with a blank stare on his face.

ALONE…. WE WERE GOING TO BE ALONE… YOU MORON!

Kyou looked at Tohru. He wondered if she could see the disappointment painted all over his face. Tohru looked back at Kyou with a big goofy smile and squeezed his arm.

She unlocked arms with Kyou and began to greet all her friends.

"Welcome everyone!" She exclaimed as she helped them with their things. 

[orangeseoks]

low-life // k.sj

[ disclaimer! ]

this is of pure fiction and is NOT to be taken seriously! this was literally written for fun,, i might make it a series btw let me know what you think! :))

- i also write using ‘ i ‘ rather than ‘ you ‘ ,, fanfic writing habit xD -

buckle up and enjoy the ride,, love you all!

[ unedited ]

[ all rights reserved @orangeseoks ]

Chatter, constant chatter, that’s all that’s heard and probably all that my poor ears ever will hear.

With a frown, I kick my legs back and forth in an effort to occupy myself as I listen to the conversation between my dad and one of the staff members at the loaners. Or in other words, the only place we get money from.

Sure there’s the bank but they pay piss all and is we come to a loaner, at least we can enough to pay for rent etc.

Scoffing, I look up and watch as a tall man with broad shoulders walks past me, tossing me sly side glance. Gulping, I sit up and adjust my simple black shirt giving him a small smile to be polite.

The man merely chuckles and tips his head toward me before he’s greeted by a staff member. My senses gradually calm as the man has his back facing me- sure, he’s handsome and all, but am I going to be like fifteen year old me and check him out as often as possible?

I bloody hope not.

“Oh fuck me,” I mutter oh-so quietly to myself as my eyes somehow find my way over to his broad figure. I hate myself for doing but I can’t stop.

Something- Something about him just attracts me, and its killing me.

“-Lets go.” My dad says as he shoves the new green card into his pocket and waits for me to gather myself. I give him a blunt ‘yeah’ and grab my bag whilst the two of us exit the large building.

Me being me, I turn my head almost every step of the way just to look at him; that man. And hopefully- hopefully have him staring back at me just the same.

Like one of those romance movies where the two mains find their soulmates.

Stupid, I think as I face forward to push the heavy glass door open. Once stepping outside I take one last glance before crossing the street, and to my utter shock there he is; the man. His lips parted and his eyes right on me, the staff member in front of him growing annoyed at this.

Smiling shyly, I tip my head and run across the road in a hurry as my father is already much ahead of me. 

_________________________________________

Upon our arrival home I can’t help but think of that man and who is, if he’s some sort of idol. Or maybe a restaurant owner, or maybe even some sort of business man!

“Ahhh!” I cry out, throwing my bag across my room, not caring about what’s knocked over by it and toss myself onto my bed face first. “Stop thinking about him you frickn loser.” I tell myself angrily, pissed at the fact that I haven’t gotten over some gorgeous stranger I saw when getting a loan.

Pouting, I face my ugly ceiling and contemplate on my life, if its all really worth it.

Sighing loudly, I face palm myself, my body automatically sitting up so I can change out of my current fit. 

I stare at myself in the mirror and I tie my hair into a tiny-ass ponytail, but because its been cut so short its harder than usual. Twirling just a little I watch as my loosely fitted shirt puffs with the air flowing through my room.

Rolling my eyes, I stomp out of my room to pig out on the fruit we have stored at the bottom of the fridge, tucked nicely into a drawer beneath the lower shelf is.

Grabbing a plum along with a nice red apple, I march back into my room and check my notifications that continue to fill the screen of my laptop, sighing I clear the ones that aren’t that important.

“Oh-” I start as an unexpected notification comes up from Twitter, chuckling I open the app and respond to the message sent by my close friend. 

@/taco_desu

- i’ve been banned from my phone again,, so i had to come back to twitter 

                                                                                                         me

                                                   and that concerns me how exactly? -

@/taco_desu

- oh cut the attitude you piece of shit

- i sent you a message to ask if you wanted to go out tonight

                                                                                                        me

                               hmm, sure,,,,,,, where exactly are we going btw -

@/taco_desu

- dunno yet :))

Clicking my tongue I push my laptop away from me as I find myself looking for another set of clothes to change into.

_________________________________________

With a sigh, I ruffle my hair as I follow behind the awfully large group of people my friend has decided to bring along with us, I knew there’d be quite a few, but I didn’t expect a whole class worth.

“Oi, Jess,” I speak out of the blue tapping the preoccupied girl on the shoulder. She growls at his and turns to face me with an annoyed look on her caked face, “what is it?” She questions bluntly.

“Oh, I dunno..” I start pausing for a moment so I can glare at her, “maybe its just the fact that there’s a mix of strangers and our actual friends here.”

“So what?” She snaps back with an eye roll following after, “so what?” I repeat, trying my hardest not to lose my temper with her.

“I don’t know these people, man, at least tell me before hand.”

Jess sighs and places her arm onto my shoulder and continues to walk forward along with the rest of us, “you need to socialise. Being all cooped up in your room isn’t healthy.”

“Besides, you might enjoy tonight,” Jess finishes with a mere raise of the eyebrow. My jaw dropping I stare at her in shock, “no. You wouldn’t dare-”

“-Don’t under mind me missy, I did pass mathematics after all.”

Scoffing, I playfully shove her away from me with a low chuckle erupting from the depths of my chest. Jess laughs at this and decides to run off towards the front of the group, shaking my head I grin and shove my hands into the pockets of my hoodie.

Maybe things won’t go badly, a bit of banter won’t hurt.

Kicking a stone, I watch as it hops along the concrete and onto the road getting hit immediately by a passing car. Scrunching up my nose I let out a frustrated huff and find something else to pass some time, our large group not seeming to stop anytime soon on our walk.

_________________________________________

My eyes wide and my mouth gaping, I stare in complete shock at what is before me, “your kidding!” I yell, turning to face everyone. “We’re not going there!?”

“Don’t worry about it!” One girl shouts from the back of the crowd, tossing me a reassuring smile. “Yeah, its not like your going to sing anyways.” Jess adds with a cheeky smirk.

Poking my tongue out at her I follow behind and embrace the incredible design of the room we’ve rented for karaoke.

Nodding my head, I settle with whats to come and just enjoy the many snacks and beverages on the coffee table. “They even have cup ramen!” Jess chimes in amazement.

Holding back a smile, I take a can Pepsi and sip at the refreshing drink. “Hey,” I start taking another quick gulp of my drink, “isn’t this your uncles workplace?”

Clearing her throat, Jess scratches her neck and stuffs her cheeks with sweets. “That explains all the extras.” I finish, leaning back and kicking my feet up on the coffee table.

Jess rolls her eyes at me, harshly switching on the large t.v, along with the speaker and mics.

And the singing begins.

Screaming on the top of our lungs, we sing loud enough to cause an earthquake, our bodies jumping to the beat of the music and coming up with our own dance moves.

Myself and Jess both share a mic, our voices combining with one-another as we practically own the rap. Occasionally stopping for a random laugh or just to catch our breaths.

Breaking into a fit of laugher, I drop to my knees and hold my gut as I can feel it tightening with each small breath I draw in between laughs.

“You guys suck!” A girl screeches as she teasingly hits someone, a giggle escaping her lips, I smile at this and crawl over to a clear spot on the floor and lay down in an attempt to calm myself down since I have the sudden urge to go full crackhead.

I let out a low breath, closing my eyes as the hot room temperature finally hits me and the slight sweat that coats my face now annoying me. Patting my covered hand along my face, I get rid of any sweat that I can feel and push my bangs out of my face so my forehead can breathe.

“Aish! Where’s the air con!” I yell from the the floor, completely frustrated but not enough to make me stop laughing. Chuckling, I sigh and fan myself. My body gradually growing limp and tired, my eyes eventually close and I fall into a blissful current of angelic sleep.

_________________________________________

Groaning, I rub at the corners of my eyes and sit up, tired and in a lot of pain I look around the room to find no-one. Not a single soul, only the mess left behind and a mic torn from its wire, along with snack wrappers stuffed into vent spaces.

“Of course,” I sigh, scratching my cheek. “They ditched me and left all the mess.”

Slowly, I stand up, “oh-” a voice speaks from behind me. Surprised, I jump almost a mile high, clutching my chest as I turn to face them.

“You scared.. me-” My sentence trails off as I find myself face-to-face with the man from earlier today. Swallowing hard, I grow somewhat awkward around him and clear my throat.

“I saw you earlier, you were waiting for someone, right?”

“I, um.. Yeah.” I respond shyly, pulling the cuffs of my oversized sweatshirt over my hands in a way to distract myself. The man snickers at this, following a nod.

“It- It was my dad actually,” adding onto my sentence I mentally face palm myself for stuttering, how embarrassing.

The man smiles and brushes past me, “you were out for awhile.”

“I what?”

“You’ve been knocked out over there for almost four hours, I’m surprised you haven’t noticed the time.”

Time. Oh my god-

The time!

My eyes suddenly grow wide as I eagerly search through my pockets to find my phone, holding it up I check the time and to my complete shock I see that its pretty much 11PM.

And I arrived at around four.

“I need to go home, holy shit.” Mumbling under my breath, I hurriedly pick up some of the rubbish that’s laying around and toss it into a nearby bin. My legs instantly picking up their pace and racing toward the door.

“Where a-bouts do you live, I could drop you off?”

Halting my steps, I turn to face the man- giving him a soft smile. “Thank you, but I can get home on my own.”

Humming, the man stops what he’s doing and walks over to me. Gulping, I take a hesitant step back and stare up at this tree of a man.

A handsome tree of a man.

“Jess gave me your address so I can drop you off, its not like I’m some weird creep anyways-”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I raise a brow and nod, “sure thing.” I reply dryly earning a tsk from the man in front of me. “Jin, I’m Jin, you know that cousin she’s always talking about?”

I nod, “yeah well that’s me. Do you still think I’m a creep now, huh?”

“I dunno..” My response is far from polite, I give the man a cheeky grin and raise both my eyebrows in a way to annoy him. He laughs at this and takes out his car keys.

“Hurry up before I change my mind.”

“I-” My mouth hangs open as Jin brushes past me with the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen, his round cheeks standing proud and his lips plump as ever.

I think I’m in love.

I quickly hit myself in the head, breaking into a jog to catch up with Jin, “snail!” Is all he says as the two of us enter the parking lot, the lights of a clean black car shining in the distance.

With a huff, I walk beside him with my hands buried in my pockets.

Jin laughs, opening the passenger door for me, I scoff and seat myself in the comfortable car that smelt of sweet vanilla, a hint of cologne also wandering the inside of the car.

“You seemed nicer in the stories I was told,” is all I say whilst pulling my seat belt over me. Jin hums at this and drives out of the large parking lot, his side profile catching me off guard.

“You shouldn’t stare a people, its rude.”

_________________________________________

The two of us walk over to me doorstep, being sure not to trip over anything in the process. With a sigh I place my onto the doorknob, turning to face Jin.

“Thanks.. I guess.”

Jin smiles and looks down shyly before looking back up at me, his eyes bright and sparkly despite the ever growing darkness of night. 

“Anytime,” and with that he tips his head just as he did in the loaners and walks off and away from me. His figure never leaving my sight.

“Drive safely!” I call out to him, raising my hand into the air, watching as he waves out to me. “I will! Goodnight!”

A soft smile graces my lips as he pulls out of my driveway, the back lights of his car just visible from the road.

And then.. He’s gone.

[its-rockin-pete]

113 with Peter pls ;)

113. “I prefer blondes.”

Her golden hair was now messy from running around and defending herself. Although her long yellow locks were untidy and quite frankly a mess, her hair still managed to catch whatever light there was left in the darkness of the night. She could pull off the messy look though; her soft natural beach-waves made it all possible.

She rushed up the stairs and observed her surroundings quickly before beginning to run across the roof-top as fast as she could. Her teammates were engaged in the fight against Eric’s team, and she figured that they were distraction enough to allow her to get closer to the flag’s location, but she was quickly proven wrong. 

Suddenly, she was completely put to a halt by a sharp pain that pulsed through her entire leg. She stumbled forward trying to keep her balance, quickly realizing that she’d just been shot in the back of her calf. The situation mortified her because she knew that if she fell forward, she’d be an easier target to keep down- but at the same time, standing meant an imminent shot to the back. Despite her attempt not to, she fell forward onto her knees and tried her best to scoot somewhere safe.

Suddenly, she felt someone from behind grab her by the collar of her vest and hastily pull her behind a vent duct.

“You suck at this game. Are you purposely trying to get shot?” Peter playfully scoffed at her

“Why- wait- what?? I’m not even on your team, why are you helping me?”

“Because watching whatever the hell that was was absolutely pathetic.” He smirked, crouching down beside her to try and stay hidden. 

“I should shoot you right now just for being an asshole, but you’re being a nice asshole so you’re safe this time…” She rolled her eyes at him as she took a deep breath and pulled the dart from her leg.

“Do you even care about finding our flag?” She huffed

“Of course I do. Pulling you aside makes one less member of your team going for our flag, so that compensates for me doing jack-shit right now.” He abruptly stood up and turned around after speaking to shoot down two people who were a little too close for comfort, one of which was on his team, and the other on hers. Once he was sure they were safe, he ducked down behind the vent again and squatted next to her.

“That’s a horrible excuse, now, why did you really help me?” she raised her eyebrows inquisitively.

“I told you, you’re miserable at capture the flag, I honestly don’t know how you made it this far without help.” he kneeled beside her and rested his gun on his lap.

She looked at him, purely perplexed by the whole situation. She knew he was bullshitting his way out of a real answer; Peter was never nice to anybody like this, so it made her wonder why she was an exception. She thought about the fact that they did talk pretty frequently, but whatever time was spent with him was usually spent bickering like siblings. Sure, it was playful banter, but she never really thought of him as a close friend- more like an acquaintance.

“Why aren’t you out there helping your girlfriend or something? Aren’t there people on your team that actually need help?”

He turned his head towards her with genuine confusion reading through his facial expression. “Girlfriend?”

She curved her lips into a slight frown and raised an eyebrow, “You know, the tall brunette you’re always hanging out with?”

He immediately put his hand over his face and then sighed in disappointment, “You’re not serious are you?”

She smirked and watched him rub his face, flustered.“…You guys aren’t-?”

He looked at her and shook his head with disgust written all over his face, “Absolutely not. Me- and Molly?! Are you out of your damn mind?”

He looked her dead in the eyes and smirked after a few seconds of silence had passed- “I prefer blondes anyways.”

After that comment, he stood up and patted her on the shoulder, knowing exactly how he was about to leave her feeling. “Now, get lost,  I’ve got a game to play. We can continue this discussion later, hot-shot.” He winked at her and began to peel away but quickly leaned back to look at her one more time; “Oh, and try to remember, you’re supposed to dodge darts, not let them get lodged in your body.” He teased before getting back into the action, leaving her to sit there in shock with her cheeks hot with a rosy blush wondering what the hell had just happened.

[thepaintedtoe]

I enjoy writing as a hobby. It’s a nice therapeutic outlet.

“Sexy shower time with wifey”

I got home from a long day at work. Walking thru the door as dusk started to set in I took off my shoes in the foyer and dropped down my work bag. I sat down on the bench and grabbed my slides and began stretching my neck to wash away the long day of travel.

I heard the soft pitter patter of my wife’s flip flops walking up to me. “ hey baby I thought I heard you come in. Hard day for you?” I dipped my head into her stomach and sighed a big relief, “ yeah it was exhausting.” I pulled my arms around her waist and just held her as she stroked her fingers thru my hair and massaged my scalp. “Well dinner is almost ready, and the munchkin is at my parents for the night. Perhaps after dinner, I can.... help destress you.” I look down and notice her lovely pedicured toes are painted a shiny fresh coat of black. She wiggles them in a taunting and teasing manner and scrunches her toes around the thong post of her flip flops. “I am totally on board with that plan.

All thru dinner we traded dirty thoughts between me venting out my work day. As I sipped the last of my beer and she finished her wine, I felt the familiar pressure of her toes on my balls. I eased back in my chair and just took a deep breath. “I’ll clean up dinner if you want to go ahead and hop in the shower babe.” As she flicked her toes on my slowly growing erection I smirked and finished my beer. “Say no more.” I scooted my chair back and walked over and kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

I watched her grab the plates and walk into the kitchen. Her wonderful figure was accented well in her yoga pants and long flowing t-shirt. The soft pitter patter of her black havaianas continued my excitement. I watched as her flip flops exposed her beautiful soles when she squatted down to grab a towel. I snapped into reality as she caught me watching and I headed into the shower.

I got undressed and got the shower warming up. the rain shower feature is my favorite part of the shower it created a nice relaxing noise that mimicked rainfall. I stepped in and adjusted the spray to aim at the tiled bench. Call me lazy but I prefer to sit and wash up. As I washed up wifey yelled in, “be there in a minute!” I quickly responded “ok!” I closed my eyes and began shampooing my hair. I felt a change in air temp and heard the glass door shut so I knew wifey came to join in. I felt her hands take over massaging my scalp rinsing away the shampoo. Opening my eyes to my delight I watched the suds and bubbles land on her perfectly black pedicured toes and black flip flops. The white suds was a perfect contrast to her olive skin and pedicure. My dick quickly twitched in anticipation.

I stood up after rinsing off and sat wifey down on the bench. I slowly began washing her with her favorite body wash that had aromas of Citrus and cedar. She grinned and sighed as I massaged and washed from her neck to her thighs. I took another handful of soap and slowly massaged her thighs down to her calves. The aroma filled the shower air and I began to get turned on even more. I took her right foot into my hand and slipped off her soapy flip flop. I took my thumb and kneeded the soap into the ball of her foot and down her sole. I could hear her coo with pleasure so I knew I was hitting all the right spots. After massaging each of her toes I switched to her left foot and repeated the same on her left foot.

By this time my dick was at full attention and rock hard. Wifey aided in that by grazing her toes across the head of my dick while I massaged her left foot. I finished up and slipped her flip flops back on and then I poised up on my knees. I locked eyes with wifey and quickly said “I love you so much.” She promptly responded with a passionate kiss and said “I love you too.” I grabbed her thighs and gently spread her legs to give me a wonderful view of her pussy. Her neatly trimmed bush topped her soaking and very hot snatch. Wifey was oozing from being turned on and a faint odor of her juices mixed in with her body wash.

I ran my fingers over her clit and she leaned as far back as she could to invite me into her pleasure. Without hesitation I leaned in and kissed her clit. Taking her breathe away I continued to make out with her pussy. Between sucking and licking there was not a single inch of her wonder vagina that I missed. Wifeys moans got faster and louder as I inserted a finger to explore the inside of her vagina. I took her clit in my mouth and sucked really hard and held it in. As I fingered her hole, she let out a huge sigh and a squeal as the combination of pleasure had reached her breaking point. She came hard on my mouth and I pulled my finger out snd began flicking her clit with my tongue. She continued to orgasm and she placed her flip flopped feet on my shoulders.

As the second orgasm began to hit, her rubber soles began to dig into my neck as she was climaxing hard. It kinda hurt but I didn’t care. As wifey came down from her high she took her feet off my neck and just head my head in her pussy. She breathed quickly trying to regain her composure. I gently kissed her thighs while she enjoyed the weightless feeling of her orgasms. She was such a beautiful sight to see with that drunken smirk on her face.

I stood up as wifey postured up. My swollen dick and tightly wound balls met her lips at perfect height. Without hesitation she opened her mouth and took half my cock with ease. She fondled my balls and slowly mouthed my dick like she needed it to live. To her my cock was her life line. With every pass of her lips she took a little more length of my aching erection. Before long wifey was taking every inch I have with ease. All the while she’s massaging and tugging on my balls.

I begin to feel my orgasm building close. “Get on your knees on the bench.” I said. Reluctantly she does so. Wifey almost seemed disappointed to not have my cock in her mouth. She knelt of the bench and looked back at me with her soft green eyes. I locked eyes with her as I inserted into her already swollen and puffy vagina. That first insertion, that very first thrust, you know the one that feels like it goes forever. It was amazing. “

“Ooohhh my god baby! Jesus your dick!” Wifey sounded as if she was in tears as I took her breathe away again. I pulled out and reinserted only going halfway but paced my thrust with her breathing. I heard something fall and noticed her toes were now unable to hold her flip flops on as they both fell to the shower floor. “Ok oh oh oh oh god I’m cummingggg!” Wifey yelled. I stopped thrusting and just waited and felt her pussy walls collapses and pulsate around my cock. It was such a joy to feel and a sight to behold watching her lose herself in the moment.

Wifey calmed down and she pulled off of my still agonizingly hard dick. She looked at me as she slipped her sandals back on. “Sit down on the floor.” I did as I was told and sat down against the wall facing the bench wifey sat on. We looked at each other because we both knew exactly what I wanted. And her eyes said that she was determined to make that happen.

Wifey stretched her left leg out and placed her sandaled foot on my chin. “ you can kiss my toes if you’d like.” She said. Without hesitation I slowly kissed each of her toes around her flip flop. Just then I felt an immense pressure on my balls. Wifey took her right foot and started pushing my balls against my body. It was a great feeling. It hurt but it was a good hurt.

“You can take my flip flop off to get a better taste.” Wifey directed. As I reached with my hand she quickly stopped me. “Just use your mouth.” I gently mouthed the end of her sandal just in front of her toes and as I pulled she slid her foot out. I released my grip and it fell to my side. Wifey then took more control and inserted all five of her toes in my mouth. I was in absolute heaven. I worshipped her foot and sucked every toe she had as her other foot rubbed and massaged my ball sack.

“How much more can you take baby? You ready to cum? Or you want more?” Wifey playfully asked. “ I want more!” I exclaimed. “Ok, suit yourself.” Wifey got down off the bench and took her other flip flop off. She sat between my legs with her pussy grazing my cock. She placed her now wrinkled soles on my face. My heart raced with pure ecstasy. “ make love to my feet baby. Just like you did to my pussy.” Wifey directed.

As told, I grabbed her feet and took a deep breath in. Her body wash was still prevalent and it drove me wild. As I kissed and licked her soles she scrunched her toes around my nose. We both were feeling the love. Wifey sat back and enjoyed watching me indulge in my love for her and her feet. I began to feel my orgasm approaching and as I huffed and grunted, she took notice. “Keep doing what your doing babe, ill take this from here.”

She slid down a little further and took my cock into her hand and placed it on her pussy. As I continued to mouth her toes she slowly rubbed the head of my cock on her pussy. “You like that baby? You like me rubbing your dick on my pussy? It feel good?” Her dirty talk continued, “ you gonna suck on my toes or my soles when you cum? Huh? I bet you put my whole right foot in your mouth! Go on do it! I want to feel your mouth around all my toes!” I dropped her left foot and took all five of her wonderful toes down to the ball of her foot in my mouth. She wiggled her toes in my mouth as she rubbed my dick on her pussy. “Oh god babe oh god that’s so hot! Suck my toes babe!” She panted! And that’s all it took.

My cock had enough teasing. I spewed my cum in ribbons and covered wifeys hand and pussy. I held her toes in my mouth as I came down from my explosive orgasm. We sat in the shower for a minute to collect ourselves not realizing the water began to turn cold. We locked eyes again and exchanged a few passionate kisses. “We have the best sex babe!” Wifey mentioned. “Yes we do.” I agreed. Let’s dry off and go lay down.

We toweled off and slipped into comfortable pajamas. Snuggling up in bed under the covers we flipped on a movie and dozed off shortly after wrapped up in each other. The last thing I recall before falling asleep was the smell of her body wash and the feeling of her foot rubbing on my leg.

[i-am-made-of-memoriies]

Portals, Clones, and Time Travel. Oh My! (part 4)

Part 3 

Sarada watched her father stare at Sakura in pure disbelief before his body swayed and pitched forward. She leaped right in front of him and caught him before his limp body hit the ground.

Naruto took one look at Sasuke’s unconscious body before sniggering quietly.

“He really couldn’t handle all that information?” Naruto asked between smug giggles. “He acts all tough like that and passes out after figuring out he marries Sakura?!”

“Naruto this is serious.” Sarada chastised, “We need Sasuke at his full strength if we want to be able to fight this crazy demon lady!”

“I’ll wake him up.” Mitsuki volunteered cheerily, “My parent has provided me with several foolproof ways to bring a sleeping person back to consciousness.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Boruto said, “Go ahead and wake Sasuke up. Now since we’ve all revealed some crazy-ass secrets, can you tell us this? Is your parent your mom or your dad?!”

“I have no incentive to reveal that to you.” Mitsuki stated, waking Sasuke up.

“Come on man! I’ve been wondering forever!”

“We have more important topics to worry about. We’ll discuss matters that don’t concern you later.”

“Just wake my dad up damn it!” Sakura vented, glaring at Mitsuki with her sharingan active.

“Of course!” He squeaked, “Almost done!”

Sasuke sat up slowly. His vision was still blurred, but he could make out a head of blue hair and bright yellow eyes directly above his face. As his vision began to focus, he noticed that Mitsuki was indeed leaning over his face, looking worried. Sasuke reeled back in surprise, pushing himself away from Mitsuki. In attempt to escape the genin, he backed into Sakura’s legs.

“Sasuke,” She began, her voice soothing and sweet, “Take it easy for a second, you just woke up.”

Sasuke jerked his head to face Sakura, his cheeks bright red. He nodded quickly, stumbled to his feet and went off to sulk in the corner. The edges of Sakura’s mouth were raised in the beginning stages of a smile. That was probably the least dignified she had ever seen Sasuke. Honestly, it was hilarious.

“Get back here Sasuke!” Sarada commanded, “We’re going to need you for battle strategizing. Get over yourself and help us.”

Sasuke shot her a signature Uchiha glare.

Sarada retaliated with a near identical look. “I’m an Uchiha too.”

“Will you two stop your Uchiha glares and moodiness?!” Boruto whined, interrupting the angry glare session.

Sarada turned promptly on her heel and faced the group. “Anyway,” she started, sticking her tongue out at Boruto, “as I said earlier, when the creepy lady shows up again, Naruto’s gonna need to ask the Kyuubi for a little help.”

“I really don’t think he’ll listen…” Naruto muttered.

“Like hell he will.” Sasuke growled, rejoining the group, “I’m an Uchiha, my sharingan can help control him.”

“Sasuke are you sure that’s a good idea?” Sakura looked at him worriedly, “It’s the Kyuubi we’re talking about. From what I’ve heard, even Madara had trouble controlling him.”

“I’ll manage.”

“Don’t forget, we have two pairs of sharingan!” Sarada butted in, displaying her dojutsu.

“You should scratch that idea now and forget about it.” Mitsuki added, his voice light and uncaring. “There’s no way that two young Uchiha, both of which lack the mangekyo sharingan, would even be able to convince the Kyuubi to sit. Naruto will have to get really mad, then his true powers will be released. Same goes for you Sasuke. If you want that curse mark to lend you any power, you have to get rather angry. Of course that’ll be easy for the Uchiha given his moody disposition…” Mitsuki stopped his slight rambling and took a good look at the genin surrounding him. “Oh, did I say the wrong thing? My apologies.”

“Mitsuki,” Boruto started, patting his teammate on the shoulder, “If we survive this shit, we’re going to need to talk about how to interact with people. I don’t think you really get it.”

“I’d be happy to learn more about human interactions with you Boruto.” Mitsuki replied sweetly, “Was that better?”

“Shut up and tell me how you know about the mangekyo sharingan.” Sasuke had grabbed Mitsuki by the arm and was glaring at him with his sharingan active.

“My parent told me all about the sharingan’s different forms. I can tell your eyes are slightly underdeveloped for your age, you must have awakened your sharingan late. Unlike our Sarada here. She awakened hers before even graduating from the academy!”

Sasuke gave Mitsuki a bestial snarl. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Actually I know a lot about you Uchiha-san. You will become a large part of my parent’s life when you get older, trust me.”

“NONE OF THAT’S GOING TO MATTER IF WE DON’T SURVIVE THIS!” Sakura yelled, interrupting Sasuke’s rage-driven argument. “STOP ACTING LIKE BABIES AND WORK WITH THE PLAN. IF ANY ONE OF US DIES, THINK OF ALL THE TIME-STREAM PROBLEMS THERE WILL BE. GET OVER YOURSELVES!”

The genin instantly quieted at Sakura’s furious outburst.

“Your mom’s scary as ever.” Boruto whispered to Sarada, inching away from the furious pink haired girl.

“For you Sasuke,” Sakura growled, glaring at the Uchiha boy, “would you stop being so damn suspicious of everyone around you. No one in this group is trying to kill you, focus on the lady actually trying to take your life!”

Sasuke looked at his feet in embarrassment. The last person he’d expected to call him out on anything was Sakura. And here she was, chastising him like he was an ignorant schoolboy.

“Sarada, stop trying to take absolute control over everything. I see that you get your bossyness from me, but reign it in! You’re not an omnipotent queen or an omniscient battle strategist. You’re a genin like the rest of us, step down from your imaginary pedestal!” Sakura shook her head exasperation. She was about to go through every person here and give them detailed criticism in hopes that they’d shape the hell up.

Sarada nodded slowly. She wanted to feel embarrassed or shameful, but all she felt was a calming sense of familiarity from the pink-haired kunoichi.

“Boruto, Naruto, this isn’t a joke. Act like shinobi.” That’s all Sakura had for the father and son duo. Honestly, what else was she supposed to say?

“Yeah, I got it Sakura-chan.” They responded in unison, glaring at each other afterwards.

“And Mitsuki,” Sakura was at a loss for words. “I don’t even know what to say about you. All I know is that I’ll have a serious talk with your ‘parent’ at some point in my life. This person seems like a real piece of work.”

“Uh, you do realize that our entire plan is foiled right?” Boruto pointed out meekly, “If Sarada and Sasuke don’t have a chance in controlling the Kyuubi, what the flying fuck are we going to do?”

“I HAVE A BRILLIANT PLAN!” Naruto exclaimed, his eyes lighting up.

“This is a bad sign, a really bad sign…” Sasuke muttered.

“We set up pitfalls!” Naruto formed his arms into a circle, “We set them up all around the clearing, then we wait! I’ll lure the creepy lady in with my sexy jutsu then she’ll fall splat into one of the holes! Bing, bang, boom, we got her!”

“You know,” Sarada started thoughtfully, “that’s not a terrible idea! One addition, we add exploding tags at the bottom of the pitfalls so that she’ll blow up upon contact.”

“Hold on,” Sakura grinned playfully, “for once I agree with Naruto’s plan. I advise we have Sasuke or Sarada cast a genjutsu on the lady so that she doesn’t see the blatant pitfalls. It saves up from accidentally falling in them if we forget where they are.”

“We need someone to act as a decoy.” Sasuke added, much to everyone’s surprise. “Someone who can use shadow clones really effectively should crouch in the corner of the clearing, appearing to be hurt in order to lure the creepy lady to the pitfall. Naruto, you’ll do it. Scratch the sexy jutsu idea, it’s dumb.”

“I actually thought the sexy jutsu idea would be cool.” Boruto whined, crossing his arms and pouting.

“What did I say about growing the hell up?” Boruto felt an icy cold presence behind him. He turned his head slowly, dreading the sight of what was lurking right behind his back. When the creature was in his range of sight, he saw a pair of the most terrifying eyes; the two spheres were full of pure, unadulterated malice. The sight of an angry Sakura was even more terrifying than the glare of an Uchiha.

“My most sincere apologies Sakura-hime!” Boruto cried, falling to his knees right by Sakura’s feet. “I promise to act like a strong shinobi from now on, just don’t kill me! Please!”

“Good Boruto.” She purred, smirking lightly. “Now stand up and help initiate the plan.”

“Yes Sakura-hime!”

The genin began their preparations. Naruto sent five shadow clones into the forest as look outs in case the crazy lady managed to find them more quickly than expected. Mitsuki seemed to have a strange affinity towards digging deep holes rather quickly because of some ‘jutsu my parent taught me in case I was ever in the need’, and Sakura was using her precise chakra control to scale the walls of the ditches in order to place the exploding tags inside. Boruto had (rather stupidly really) volunteered to be the Uchiha’s genjutsu guinea pig and was currently being subjected to having his brain be taken over time after time again. After the tenth-or maybe even twentieth attempt at a good, synchronized genjutsu, the two Uchiha finally achieved their goal.

“Perfect!” Sarada exclaimed, “If everyone else is ready, we should get into position.”

“Hn.” Sasuke replied, entering the clearing. He walked towards Sakura with extreme caution; falling into a pitfall and getting blown into pieces was not high on his list of things to do.

“Oh hello Sasuke-kun!” Sakura greeted, standing nonchalantly on the wall of a pitfall, several exploding tags in her hand. “This is the last hole. I’m almost done. How’d the genjutsu go?”

“Well actually.” He responded, “Our genjutsu styles are rather compatible.”

“I mean you are related.” Sakura attached the last exploding tag to the wall of the ditch. She exited the ditch using a chakra enhanced jump and landed smoothly next to Sasuke.

Sasuke nodded jerkily, a small blush creeping up his cheeks. “Now that you’re finished, we should get into position.”

“That’s a good idea.” Sakura nodded her head. “I’ll make sure Naruto gets his shadow clones all set up.”

The genin crouched in the trees, masking their chakra as well as they possibly could. Sarada and Sasuke sat near the entrance of the clearing, sharingan active. After a few minutes of tense anticipation, Sasuke spotted the enemy. He nudged Sarada’s shoulder gently as they both activated their synchronized genjutsu. Sarada watched how the woman’s chakra flow was slightly altered, proving their success.

“Phase two!” She whispered so that only her teammates could hear.

The enemy spotted Naruto’s shadow clone at the end of the clearing. Naruto really was one hell of an actor. The way the shadow clone whimpered and shook was extremely convincing. The enemy walked slowly up to the shadow clone, ready to ambush it.

Sakura held her breath in anticipation. The first pitfall was only a few feet in front of the enemy, and Sakura suspected that she wouldn’t be able to avoid it. Much to the genin’s delight, the woman fell right into the ditch, setting off all the explosive tags. After the explosion had run its course, Sarada jumped down from her perch in the branches and struck the ground with a chakra infused punch in case the enemy had done the impossible and survived the shit storm they had been through.

“OUR PLAN WORKED!” Naruto exclaimed, scanning the now decimated clearing.

“Whew!” Boruto sighed, patting Naruto on the back. “Now all we need to do is find the crazy mastermind, save the world, and find a way to go home! No biggie.”

“Well at least we got that out of the way.” Sarada pointed out, “I’m still really curious about why that lady wanted Sasuke’s sharingan so much. And if she was after a sharingan, why wasn’t she seeking out mine. No offense Sasuke, but mine is more developed.”

“None taken.” Sasuke muttered, “Sakura, do you remember the whole forest of death incident.”

“How could I forget?” Sakura sighed, recalling the horrible details, “The snake bastard. Orochimaru or something. He-she-it wanted your sharingan, correct?”

“Hn.”

“Well this whole fiasco seems like something that ass-face would think up don’t you think?”

“It does. Not to mention, the crazy lady sent to hunt me down hardly seemed human. I heard that Orochimaru was exiled from Konoha because of his horrendous experiments on humans.”

While Sakura and Sasuke were talking, they failed to notice Sarada futilely trying to hold back giggles.

The Orochimaru of their time must have been way different than the one that came to Mitsuki’s parent teacher conference with their hair braided intricately at the top of their head while wearing a bright pink kimono. She thought, remembering her utter surprise when she had walked into parent-teacher conferences with her mother, expecting to see the usual parents. Her mother had been sitting in the waiting room sipping her coffee daintily, accidentally crushing a mug or two (more like twelve) if someone made a sly comment about Sasuke when Orochimaru came strutting into the room, Mitsuki tailing closely behind him. He had greeted Sarada rather sweetly, asking how her sharingan was developing and how Sasuke was fairing. The teachers, of course, were not as used to Orochimaru’s spontaneous arrivals as the Uchiha’s were so they were practically dripping pools of sweat when they saw the sannin/ex-criminal waltz nonchalantly into the school. Sarada really wondered how terrible Orochimaru had been all those years ago. She suspected he was pretty terrible, given the fact that Sasuke visibly flinched every time his name was brought up.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Boruto shrieked, interrupting Sarada’s train of thought. “I swear to god this woman is indestructible. Also, this is becoming one hell of a cliché. Sakura, smoke bomb please?”

Sarada turned her head to see the rather macabre sight of their pursuer’s body reconstructing itself right in front of her eyes. Definitely not human. She thought, shuddering. No way that thing’s human.

“Damn it! I thought our plan was really good! I never factored in the possibility that the crazy lady was immortal!”

“Give me Sasuke Uchiha!” The immortal pursuer demanded. At the moment, she was only a torso (with chunks missing), a bloody head, and some form of legs, making her seem at least 50 times more frightening. “I’m Jinora and Master Hiroyuki has ordered me to fetch Sasuke Uchiha. Do not interfere!”

“Tough luck bitch!” Naruto spat, sticking out his tongue as Sakura threw her last smoke bomb into the clearing.

Part 5

[alexandramontague]

new years day | alex & brandon

Who: @alexandramontague and @brandonriley When: January 1st Where: The beach and then a fancy brunch restaurant Summary: Brandon surprises Alex for the start of 2018, ft. a polar plunge into the ocean and a definitely-not-a-date brunch

Alex: Alex had no idea what Brandon was planning for the day, after all, what kind of plans included a nice dress and a bathing suit? In January no less? Still, come that morning she grabbed the bag she'd packed the day before, a pretty navy blue dress and a pair of heeled booties inside. Under her jeans and sweater she was wearing right now was one of the few suits she owned. The bag had a warm, thick scarf and leather gloves inside as well, new things she'd bought the money Oz had so generously given her and come noon she checked everything over once more and grabbed her jacket, thoughts running rampant as she waited for him to arrive.

Brandon: Brandon had wanted to do something special for Alex. After all, she was one of his closest friends, and that's what friends did for friends, or that was what he kept telling himself over and over. He was knocking on her door at noon sharp, shivering a bit as he'd only worn his swimming trunks and layered with a long sleeve shirt and jacket. He grinned when he answered the door, even as his teeth chattered. "You ready to go?"

Alex: Alex smiled when she heard the knock, surprised by how punctual he was and she immediately went to the door, her grin turning into an incredulous one as she huffed out a laugh, "Are you nuts, it's freezing out!" She shook her head as he looked him over, noting the trunks and the chill even in the hallway. Still, she grabbed her bag, throwing her wallet and keys into it as well and throwing it over her shoulder, "Is your plan for us to get hypothermia together?"

Brandon: Brandon laughed, shrugging as his body shivered. "I guess you could say that, but there is a reason to all of this. A way to start the New Year off right." He winked at Alex, starting to walk back down the hallway. "Are you a good swimmer? Guess I should've asked that first before all of this..."

Alex: "I hate to break it to you, but you lost a few sexy points with the shivering." She teased, smiling up at him as she nodded and walked along with him down the hall and to the exit of the tower. She rose a brow at the question, biting her lip, "I'm alright. I'm still wondering just what you have up your sleeve though. With swimming in /winter/..."

Brandon: Brandon nudged her gently, smirking as they walked back out into the cold. "Please. You know I'm sexy whether I'm shivering or not." He winked as he pushed the door open, letting her through first. "Ever heard of a famous little event called the Polar Bear Plunge? They hold events all day on New Year's Day. A way to start off the new year... refreshed."

Alex: Alex laughed softly, nudging him back and unable to resist it as the urge came over her and she leaned up enough to kiss his cheek, "Maybe." She conceded, walking outside when he opened the door and immediately feeling a shiver run down her spine at the chill in the air. She paused as he spoke though, eyes widening as she whipped back at him, "Wait..--/seriously/?" She looked up at him like he was crazy even as her lips tugged up a bit into a smile, "You....you want to start the new year off by jumping into the freezing ocean?"

Brandon: Brandon laughed as well, freezing when she stopped to kiss his cheek. That level of affection was foreign to him, make his gut twist. But he was determined to push past it - they were just friends, after all. Friends that liked fucking each other. "Yes, seriously," He replied, making a beeline toward his car. "It's a thing people do on New Year's. Then we're going to put on regular clothes and go get lunch."

Alex: "You're ridiculous." She replied, but she didn't say no. It was crazy.../insane/, but it could be fun. Besides, no better way to wash off the last year and start fresh than literally diving into the ocean. She climbed into his car, shivering and letting out a breath as she settled, all the while listening as he spoke. Now things were making sense, the bathing suit and then the dress. Still, he'd told her to wear a /nice/ dress.. She immediately halted those thoughts, biting the inside of her cheek. It was just lunch. Two friends going to get lunch and beginning the year together, that was /it/. "That's if we don't get pneumonia first."

Brandon: "Now who's being ridiculous? You don't get pneumonia from the cold. I would know." Brandon smirked a bit as he started the ignition, turning the heat on full blast to get them warmed up before the plunge. "At least not me or you, who are relatively healthy people. We could get a slight case of hypothermia, but who needs fingers and toes, right?" His elbow nudged her gently as he put the car in drive. "The place we're going to after has fancy hot chocolate to warm up with, if it's any consolation. They have a good brunch."

Alex: "Whatever you say, Doctor." Alex teased back, smiling still. She let out a content little sigh as the heat kicked on almost immediately, turning the vents a bit towards her more as she rolled her eyes, "As long as you're prepared to write me a note to get out of work if I catch a cold or lose any extremities." she warned, nudging him back. She listened as he spoke about where they were going after, smiling at the mention of brunch and hot chocolate, "That sounds a lot more up my alley ..Even if I'm going to look a mess after all this, nice dress or not." She laughed, shaking her head and just dropping it back as she groaned a bit, "I can't believe I'm letting you have me do this."

Brandon: "You won't catch a cold, I promise. And I wouldn't let you lose your extremities. If you do, then you have my full permission to kick my ass for it. Sound like a deal?" Brandon chuckled, popping on the radio for some background noise though he kept it down low. "You won't look a hot mess, you'll look just fine. Better than most of the others who go in there anyway. Besides, I'll be just as messed as you. Hair all damp and wet. I think they can deal with it."

Alex: Alex laughed again, looking him over before finally nodding, "Okay, okay, deal. This is still..pretty crazy though." Her smile softened as he continued, figuring it wouldn't be too bad if they both looked like drowned rats. Besides, his was really the only opinion she really cared about given she probably wouldn't see any of the other people there again after today. She was quiet for a few minutes as he drove, enjoying the easy feeling between them. The air wasn't awkward, she didn't feel the need to fill the silence with mindless conversation. It was easy with him. Still, a question kept prickling in the back of her head and she looked over, "Why'd you want to do all this with /me/?"

Brandon: Brandon wasn't quite sure how to answer her, if only because he wasn't sure what answer she was looking for. Truthfully, this isn't something he'd usually do with a woman he'd slept with. He'd always been very consistent with his hit-it-and-quit-it ideology. But with Alex, he couldn't just drop her. She had become too good of a friend, and he wanted to look out for her and protect her. Brandon sighed slightly, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel absently. "You're my friend, Alex," he said simply, not wanting to dive in deeper. "One of my best friends, perhaps even my best now that Tristan seems to have fucked off into the ninth dimension. I like doing things with you."

Alex: "He did just up and vanish, huh." She mumbled in agreement; Tristan had become a good friend of hers too and she didn't know how she felt about him disappearing. Maybe it was all the more reason she should try to be better at not letting people get too close. Before coming to Verona, she never really had friends, and the only family she had was her mother.. she'd basically spent her whole life alone. And it was better that way. Less painful when she lost someone. Her thoughts fell to her mother for a moment but she pushed those away too. She wasn't going to start off the new year with a break down. Nope. "Good answer. Especially since being my best friend is the only reason I'm agreeing to this insanity." She replied, wanting to keep the air between them light as he got them closer to the ocean.

Brandon: "Yeah. I need to call Diana, ask if she's heard from it. It worries me, y'know?" Brandon was sure everything was fine - Tristan had a way of turning up eventually, but still. He shook off the thought, determined not to let it interfere with the day he had planned with Alex. "Oh really? You wouldn't go polar bear plunging with me otherwise? I'm almost hurt." Brandon smirked at her, taking the exit to the shore. Cars were already lined up in some of the beach parking lots, full of other people choosing to do the same thing. "We won't be there long. Just run in, get soaked, run back out and quickly change in the car."

Alex: "I..I'm sure he's fine. He'll turn up eventually." She huffed as he continued, playfully rolling her eyes even as she grinned, "I plead the fifth." She looked out the windshield as they got closer, feeling her heart skip a bit because this was /insane/... but she also felt the beginning of nervous-excitement bubble up inside her. She saw people laughing and cheering excitedly outside, stripping off outer layers and looking a bit ridiculous in swimsuits and hats, but it just all made her smile, made that nervousness turn into pure excitement. "You ever done this before?"

Brandon: "I hope so..." Brandon murmured, shaking his head a bit. He watched as she looked out the window excitedly, grin spreading across his features. It was crazy, but that was par for the course for Brandon. "Only once before when I was still in medical school. I'd been wasted the night before, a guy in my class suggested we get up and go do it for a 'cleanse'. A way to get ourselves ready for the next night." He found a place a park, then looked over at her, grin still on his face. "You might want to get undressed to your swimsuit here. Give you a few extra minutes in the warmth."

Alex: Alex nodded as he spoke, watching the people still, and when he finally parked she huffed, pursing her lips a bit, "Had I known just what you'd been planning I probably would've dressed a bit more appropriately. Like a wetsuit or something.." As it was, she was wearing one of the few she owned, a simple black and white two piece that didn't really cover much...especially not when she was about to dive into freezing cold water. Oh well. She let out an exaggerated sigh as she unbuckled her seatbelt and pushed the seat back, giving her enough room to tug her sweater up and off ad she bit her lip, looking over at him, "I can't just half-ass it and keep my jeans on?" She asked hopefully.

Brandon: "No, it's not fun to be prepared for things." Brandon tsked, shaking his head. "This way, you'll get to experience the full, bitter cold. It'll be awesome. Think of all the life experience you're gaining from this magical trip to the ocean." He winked at her, shedding his own jackets and shirts until he was down to his swim trunks. "Of course you can't half ass it. We whole ass everything."

Alex: "You're being a whole ass right now." Alex replied with a rather petulant pout and another sigh as she toed off her boots and socks and lifted her hips as she tugged her jeans off now too, a shiver already rippling through her even with the heat on in the car. A group of people ran by the car screaming excitedly and she looked over, shaking her head even as a smile started pulling at her lips, "Alright, alright....I guess we better get this /life experience/ going."

Brandon: Brandon turned off the ignition, casting a grin over at Alex. "Alright - the plan is to run like hell into the ocean, then run like hell back before anyone steals my car." He put his hand on the doorhandle, starting to countdown. "Alright, this is it. Three... two... one..." He pushed open the door quickly and started a full run down the beach mimicking the other polar bear plungers. "C'mon, Alex, this is it!" He hollered, grinning over at her as they ran.

Alex: Alex looked at him incredulously for a second. She didn't think it was literally run in and out, that he'd leave the car on and everything.. But next thing she knew he was making his way out of the car and she scrambled to follow, her heart pounding but a smile on her face as she climbed out of the car, adrenaline pumping so hard that she hardly registered the frigid air around them, "Wait up!" She called out, running to catch up to him and grabbing for his arm to run the rest of the way with him along with dozens of other people are rushing and screaming excitedly around them.

Brandon: Brandon reached for her, taking her hand as they started running through the sand, laughing with her. As soon as his foot stepped into the frigid water, he hollered, though he kept pressing forward. A swell met them halfway, crashing over them, and Brandon hollered again, huge smile on his face despite the freezing cold. "This is awesome, right?" He asked, wrapping his arms around Alex to dunk them both under the water one good time.

Alex: Alex gripped his hand tightly as she ran with him, letting out her own scream the moment she felt the water hit her feet. Next thing she knew though a wave washed over them and she screamed even as she laughed "This is cra--!" She didn't even get the words out before Brandon was wrapping his arms around her and tugging her down, making her yelp as she was dunked under the water.

Brandon: Once they popped back up, Brandon kept his arm around her, keeping a hold on her as they fought the rough water and streams of other stupid people. "You alright?" he asked once they were out of the water, huge grin on his face even as he shivered. "Come on! Let's get back to the car. There's towels to dry off with and we can put real clothes on!"

Alex: Alex gasped for breath even as she laughed, her hands shaking as she tried to push her wet hair out of her face ad she nodded, "O-Other than being /completely/ numb right now, sure!" She told him through her laughter. Her adrenaline was still pumping through, making her heart race even as her body trembled and she let him hold her up, keeping close to him so she wouldn't fall over with how rough the water was. It was definitely a memorable way to ring in the new year. She nodded and started trudging through the water, letting out another yelp as a wave crashed over their backs, soaking them even more.

Brandon: Once they were back on the beach, Brandon let go of her waist, taking her hand instead. "C'mon, run! It's too fucking cold out here!" He laughed, taking off in a sprint. He grabbed towels from the backseat, tossing a couple to Alex before all but diving into the front seat, back into the heat. "Fuck, that was colder than I remembered..."

Alex: Her whole body was trembling once they reached the beach, almost reluctant for him to move away since it was at least some semblance of warmth but she immediately took his hand and ran off with him back to the car. Dozens of others had done the same, now wrapped in towels and laughing around their cars and Alex happily took the towel given to her, wrapping it around her shoulders like a blanket and rushing back into her seat. She just started laughing as she settled in, curled up on the seat even as she shivered and shook her head, in disbelief that she'd actually done that.

Brandon: Brandon turned on the heat as high as it'd go, then reached over to turn on the seat warmers for them both as well. He turned his head to face her, smile on his face. "Something for the bucket list?" He asked, pulling the towel tighter around his shoulders. "We can find more crazy shit to do - make it a tradition for the new year."

Alex: Alex sighed happily as he turned on the seat warmers too, still trembling but she was at least starting to get feeling in her fingertips again. She angled towards him, running her fingers through her wet hair to get it away from her face as she laughed and nodded, "Something I never knew was /on it/ but..yeah, definitely." She smiled even wider at the thought of doing something like crazy like this yearly, at the thought of having someone in her life on a long term enough basis to /plan/ things like this and she nodded, "Deal. Although I should be allowed veto rights, otherwise you might have me going cliff jumping next." she teased, smiling at him still as she shifted to lay her head against the seat, "That was..pretty incredible though. Definitely not something I don't think I'll ever forget."

Brandon: "What's wrong with cliff jumping?" Brandon asked, grin on his face. "We'd wait until the summer though. There's a spot just outside of Verona known for the cliff jumping. Hell, by that time, you'll already have a semester in the books. We'll be celebrating straight A's." Brandon chuckled, feeling his body stop shivering as he finally started to warm up. "Good. I wanted to do something you wouldn't forget easily."

Alex: "Didn't I just say /veto/ in the same sentence as cliff jumping?" She replied even as she didn't quite say no.... the thought of capping off her first semester with him and doing something crazy like that /was/ pretty appealing. She'd just need a few drinks in her system beforehand if that was the case. She let the towel fall from her shoulders then, leaning forward more to be closer to the vents to warm up her mostly-dried body and she looked back at him, smiling softly at him, "Mission accomplished then."

Brandon: "Oh, c'mon - you can't veto cliff jumping. Veto something really stupid, like free climbing or eating sushi from gas stations." Brandon winked at Alex, reaching in the back for his bag stuffed with clothes. He ran the towel through his hair, finishing getting dried off, then reached in for his sweater, pulling it over his head. "You should make a list. Fun shit to do. Every milestone, we'll do it."

Brandon: "Oh, c'mon - you can't veto cliff jumping. Veto something really stupid, like free climbing or eating sushi from gas stations." Brandon winked at Alex, reaching in the back for his bag stuffed with clothes. He ran the towel through his hair, finishing getting dried off, then reached in for his sweater, pulling it over his head. "You should make a list. Fun shit to do. Every milestone, we'll do it."

Alex: "I don't like sushi /period/, so that'd definitely get a veto." Alex piped back with a roll of her eyes. "And as a doctor, should you even be condoning those two things as viable options?" She tacked on, smiling ruefully at him. She looked back to her own bag, biting her lip before grabbing her sweater that she'd come wearing, "Can I get changed again once we're wherever this place is?" The dress was nice,per his request, and she didn't want to just throw it on without even looking into a mirror.

Brandon: "Technically, I'm not a doctor, so there's that," Brandon replied, grinning. He grabbed some boxers out of his bag, shoving off his wet swim trunks before putting them on. "You can, if you want. Or if you're really cold, you can just wear that. The place is nice, but they won't care too much if you choose not to wear a dress. Whatever you want, sweetheart." He reached in the bag again, grabbing his pants to slide them on next.

Alex: "Technicalities." She rolled her eyes, smiling still. She couldn't help but watch him, feeling a blush coloring her cheeks that was probably clear as day considering how pale and cold the rest of her body still was. She kept her back to the door's window as she undid the ties to her bikini top to take it off and moved to pull the sweater on before she shook her head, her blush just darkening no matter how much she tried to stop it, "I um....I bought the dress for today, so I wanna wear it." Tru had taken her out for her Gala gown and when Alex had told the other woman about today she'd helped her pick another dress for today too, so she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

Brandon: Brandon couldn't help but smile as she changed, enjoying the view more than he knew he should. "Alright, then I'm sure it'll be no problem for you to bring your dress in and change. I can get our drink orders going, some appetizers while you change. How would that sound?" He asked, biting his bottom lip.

Alex: Alex smiled happily when he agreed, moving her hair out of her face again as she nodded, "That sounds perfect." She agreed, reaching behind them again to grab her jeans and she took a minute to put them on, needing to wriggle into the tighter material since her legs were still a bit wet but she managed and nodded, "Okay, let's go."

Brandon: Once they were acceptably clothed, Brandon started toward the restaurant. It was a new, sort-of hipster place that specialized in brunch. He relaxed in the driver's seat now that the heat was flowing, finally feeling fully warm. When they arrived, Brandon finished putting on his socks and shoes, then headed inside with Alex. "Bathroom's through there if you want to get changed while I check in with our reservation."

Alex: Alex felt more like a human again with the heat on and she settled in for the rest of the trip. Once they were there she bit her lip, looking out the window. The place definitely looked nice and she was really glad she bought the new dress. She grabbed her bag from the back, double checking it before getting up and out with him. She quickly walked inside with him, ducking away from the cold and once inside she nodded "Okay, I'll be back soon." She gave him a smile and then headed that way, going into the bigger stall and the got to work. She put on an actual bra and changed out into the dress she bought, a pretty navy one with A cute collar on it and a pair of heels Tru all helped her get. Her hair was still damp so she picked it up, managing to put it in a messy bun with a few tendrils around her face. All in all she thought she looked okay and she steeled herself before heading back out, the hostess directing her to the table Brandon was at and she headed over, smiling bashfully as she got there "Do I look more presentable now?"

Brandon: Brandon had a seat at their table, ordering mimosas for both of them and a couple of different tapas for appetizers. Even though he was dried off and in warm clothes, he still felt a bit of a chill, figured it would go away soon enough. He'd gotten a bit lost in reading the menu when Alex came back, looking up when he heard her voice. He grinned at her, eyes shamelessly raking her up and down. "You look really great," he replied, nodding toward her seat. "I ordered mimosas for us, couple of appetizers I thought you might like."

Alex: Alex put her bag under the table for now, grinning as he spoke "Thank you." She replied, definitely noticing as he looked her over. She moved to sit across from him, settling in and nodding "that sounds perfect. I passed a table and someone was eating an amazing looking omelette, so I think I'm already set without looking at the menu." She joked even as she grabbed the menu to look through it.

Brandon: "Oh, I know you can do better than an omelette," Brandon chuckled, eyeing the menu himself. He sipped on his mimosa, sort of wishing there was a bit more to it, but didn't say anything. "There's chicken and waffles - I think that's what I'm going for. Something substantial. Going to need it to work off last night's hangover."

Alex: Alex bit her lip but shrugged, smiling a bit as she glanced at the breakfast options, "I mean, in that case I could get the big breakfast with french toast, bacon, /and/ eggs.." it actually sounded delicious and her stomach grumbled at the thought, making her blush as she reached for her own drink and took a sip, "I think I got away relatively unscathed, just a minor hangover when I woke up, but I think jumping into the ocean cured that."

Brandon: "Go for it," Brandon winked, his eyes raking over the menu one last time, just in case he spotted something he'd rather have. "Yeah... lucky you. I don't even think I drank that much, just had a pounding headache when I woke up. Oh well, such is life." Truthfully, Brandon was used to the headaches. He was pretty sure it was a case of dehydration - an IV bag would most likely fix his throbbing head. "I'll drop by my office later. Fix it once and for all."

Alex: "If you keep letting me have a free for all every time we go out to eat you're gonna give me a complex. Pretty soon I'll stop sticking to just the appetizers menu." She teased lightly, trying not to focus on prices for once and just ordering the things she thought sounded good. "Maybe you should start keeping a pack of water bottles by your bed, make your life easier even when you're drunk." She advised, knowing from experience to always keep water by her when she went to sleep after drinking. She settled on what she wanted to eat and looked back over to him, smiling, "Either way though, I'm glad I went last night. I had a lot of fun. And it was nice....wearing a fancy gown and getting all dressed up. It's no wonder it's everyone's favorite party of the year."

Brandon: "You shouldn't stick to the appetizers menu," Brandon half-heartedly admonished. "Get what you want, I mean it. I'll never spend all of the money I've earned since joining this family. Might as well shower some of it on someone else." Brandon shrugged, smiling at her before taking a drink of his mimosa. "And, nah, drinking too much water directly makes me feel sick. Would must rather just give myself a quick IV after particularly heinous nights..." Or days when he couldn't quite shake bad headaches. "Yeah - glad you went too. You know there will be more parties like that through the year? Plenty of time to play dress up and get into trouble."

Alex: "How about whenever I come out with /you/ I won't. Fair deal? I'll let you spoil me all you want." She replied teasingly, smirking at him from over the rim of her glass as she took another sip. The waitress came by then with the various appetizers Brandon had ordered and Alex smiled, ordering her meal and letting him do the same before continuing, "I've thankfully never had to do something like that and I'm hoping I never do. Needles and IVs and hospital stuff..." She shook her head, pursing her lips a bit and taking another sip. "Looks like I'll need to start caving and buying more dresses then. And /trouble/, hmm?" She asked, quirking a brow at him.

Brandon: "Fair enough. I'm sure you'll find ways to pay me back, after all," Brandon smirked. He picked up one of the little puff pastries stuffed with sausage, popped it in his mouth. "Oh, needles only hurt for a minute. Get some who's good and experienced, you won't hardly feel it all. We're nothing but big ol' blood bags anyway - nothing to be scared of." He finished off his first mimosa, deciding to stick to water afterward - no need in getting drunk so early in the day. "Of course, trouble. What's the point of living if you aren't getting into trouble?"

Alex: "I'm sure." She kept the same teasing smirk on her lips, knowing she had a few ideas in mind if she ever needed a bargaining chip. She ate one of the pastries as well and picked at a few pieces of fruit on a platter as well, smiling at how good everything tasted before she laughed, rolling her eyes, "I'll keep it in mind next time I need a shot or something. I'll just go to you since I'm not afraid to swat you away if it hurts." She wasn't quite yet done with her drink but as the waitress came by she nodded for another, figuring why not- with all the food they'd be eating, she figured she'd be fine. "You're a bad influence on me, Mr. Riley."

Brandon: "Better not swat me away. It'd only make it hurt worse if you did," Brandon chuckled, popping another pastry into his mouth. He was a bit surprised Alex took another drink, especially when he'd turned down his, but he didn't say anything. He'd be driving, after all. "I see that I am," he chuckled. "Just know I'm a hypocrite, so if you start going down the path of alcoholism after me, I'll put a stop to it." He winked. "Not /that/ bad of an influence."

Alex: "Again, I'll keep that in mind. I might need to like, do a physical for school or something and I think I'd trust you more than a random doctor." She saw the look of surprise on his face when she ordered another drink and she rolled her eyes, giving him a little smile, "I like fruity drinks, remember? Besides, it's not that strong /and/ I thought we were celebrating a new year?" She shrugged as she popped a grape into her mouth, rolling her eyes even as she smiled, "Is that your way of sayig you plan on watching out for me?"

Brandon: Brandon shook his head, small smile on his face. "Afraid if you needed something official for the school, nothing I did would hold count. I'm a doctor, but I'm an unlicensed doctor. But, if you need to go see someone, you can go to Drew Capulet. I studied under him. I'd trust him." Whatever their history, Drew was a good doctor, someone Brandon had wanted to be like at one point in his life, even if he didn't care to admit it. "Yes, yes - celebrate all you want, sweetheart. I am watching out for you and would never let your habits get as bad as mine." He winked.

Alex: She nodded, figuring he had a point. She knew that while he had the knowledge, he didn't have the licensing..but still, if she found herself getting sick at any point in the future, she'd go to him first. She was surprised when he gave her a name though and she tilted her head, thinking about it. "Drew Capulet...okay. If I need to go to a /licensed/ doctor, then I guess I'll go seek him out. But again, I'm not a big fan of hospitals so..hopefully I won't need to go visit him any time soon." She spent far too much time in hospitals with her mom, too much time sleeping in uncomfortable positions on hard chairs, inhaling sterile air, breathing in sync with the beeping of monitors. She had to watch her mom waste away. She'd rather not set foot in another hospital for a long, /long/ time if she had any say in it. "See? I'm in good hands. Ones I trust." The waitress came by moments later with her second mimosa and a glass of water with lemon for Brandon and she smiled, playfully clinking her glass against him.

Brandon: "No, hopefully you won't," Brandon agreed, nodding. He offered her a smile, clinking their glasses together when the waitress came by with another refill. "That's what it means to be apart the family, you know. Being around people you trust. We all want to see each other succeed, want to see you succeed."

Alex: Alex nodded along, sipping at her drink. "I guess I missed out on all that growing up, having a big family and having a lot of people looking out for you and wanting you to succeed. It's nice to have it now. And for the record? I want you to succeed too." She nudged him with her foot, smiling at him til their food came by a moment later and she grinned, eyes widening slightly at the /amount/ of food, "there's enough food here for my next three meals."

Brandon: "I'm succeeding just fine," Brandon protested, though he knew that wasn't quite the truth. He was getting by just fine financially, sure. But his personal life was a mess all over the place. Alex had already had too many glimpses into it that he wasn't sure he was wholly comfortable with. Luckily, the waitress brought out their food before he could dwell on it much longer. He rubbed his stomach with a grin. "Exactly - that's the point. Leftovers." Brandon winked.

Alex: "Mhm." She hummed, clearly not completely agreeing with him. She couldn't say much else on the subject though as the food was served and she thanked the waitress before grinning and grabbing a piece of bacon from her plate, humming happily at how good it tasted and she offered him the other half as she nodded, "Guess the money spent is worth it if you consider it's food for multiple meals." She conceded as she grabbed the syrup to basically douse her food in it.

Brandon: Brandon happily took the other half of the bacon, popping it into his mouth as he waited for his turn for the syrup. He doused his chicken and waffles in it as well, fully anticipating a sugar high as a result. "It's money well spent if it's enjoyable." Brandon shrugged, cutting a piece of chicken and waffle together. He set the neatly cut bite on her plate before making another cut for himself. "We'll get you there one day, sweetheart - enjoying things for reasons other than their practicality."

Alex: Alex's favorite meal of the day had always been breakfast, always loved that it was totally acceptable to eat sweet, sugary foods and it was considered okay. She swiped some of the powered sugar on her french toast with her finger, letting out another happy noise as she finally grabbed her fork and knife, laughing as she watched him equally dive into his own food-- even if she'd never quite understood eating chicken for breakfast with a waffle. But oh well, as long as he was enjoying it.. "I have no doubt you'll keep working on it. And til then...you said for yourself you need someone to spoil, so.." She gave him a happy, teasing grin, finding it starting to get a bit easier about even just joking about money being spent.

Brandon: "Yeah, well, I would've spoiled Tristan, but he's too much of an asshole. Plus, he's a professional gambler. Dude probably has more money than I do," Brandon chuckled. "Lucio's really the next person I'd consider a friend, and why I don't know. Always insulting me and shit." He made a face, rolling his eyes even as his mouth curled into a fond little grin. "But I'd never spoil him. Asshole number two. You're my only friend that also happens to sweet and deserving of my spoiling."

Alex: "He's another who's stolen my coffee just like you, so I don't blame you." She replied lightly in between bites of food. She cut off a decent piece of french toast with extra powdered sugar on it and swiped it through the syrup before passing it to him for him to try. "Maybe the insults come from a loving place. At least it means you're comfortable with each other." She tried, shrugging. She smiled as he spoke, her expression soft, "If I'm the only one then I'll have to work doubly hard to make it worth it." She nudged him gently again under the table, smiling still, "And I think I can get used to it too- being spoiled. Lord knows you're not gonna relent on it any time soon."

Brandon: Brandon took the bite of french toast from her, popping it into his mouth with a satisfied hum. "No, Lucio just likes to bust my balls. And I like to annoy him, so, we're even." Brandon winked. "You don't have to work doubly hard, sweetheart. Trust me. And it won't be too long before you'll be able to spoil yourself with your fancy degree."

Alex: "I guess that works then." She agreed with a laugh. She was vaguely aware that to the outside eye, anyone passing by the two of them would assume it was a date or something, and she quickly banished that thought away in favor of taking a sip of her drink. "I'll take your word for it then. Although it's gonna take more than a degree for me to feel okay with 'spoiling myself'. I've practically doubled my wardrobe already since moving here so...for now I think that's good." Granted, she barely owned five or six articles of clothing when she moved here, but still. Baby steps. "Any plans for later today?"

Brandon: "You'll get there. Wait until you buy your first pair of Louboutin's," Brandon winked, reaching for his glass of water. "Other than dropping by my office to hang an IV for a bit? Not really. Might sleep off last night. It was crazy."

Alex: Alex rose a brow at that, tilting her head, "I don't think the first crazy thing I'll want to get is /shoes/." She wrinkled her nose up a bit. She loved how pretty a lot of them looked, and would be lying if she said she didn't sometimes think about wearing gorgeous designer things, but she was always too practical for it. "Maybe like...buy a car one day. ..After I learn and get my license." She shrugged a bit, a little bit of pink on her face at admitting she didn't know how to drive yet. "You did go pretty hard last night from what I saw, so maybe that'd be best."

Brandon: Brandon raised his brow a bit, grin on his face. "Don't know how to drive? Hell, you should go ahead and learn. You can borrow my car to learn with. I'm sure others will let you borrow theirs too if I'm not around." Brandon wasn't going to give her too much crap over not knowing how to drive; cars were expensive, after all. But he did figure she needed to learn. "Yeah... guess you saw everything then, huh?" He asked, a bit quieter. He didn't know why he felt a twinge of guilt thinking about fucking Lola in the coat check room. He and Alex were just friends who happened to like having sex with each other. Nothing more.

Alex: "Not really. I wanted to learn but...classes where I lived were easily like..a hundred bucks, and then having to pay for the actual written test and the lessons...." She shrugged, "Paying my mom's medication was more of a priority." Another little glimpse into Chapter Two of her life. She was surprised as he offered to lend his car though, brows raising but a little smile on her face, "Yeah? You're not like...worried I'll crash it?" She teased lightly. She might take him up on it though, it'd be nice to learn. Her smile fell slightly as he spoke, eyes dropping for a moment as she hummed. She had no right to be jealous. He wasn't her boyfriend, he wasn't /hers/ to be jealous of. ...She just needed her heart to get on track along with her brain, "It was the biggest party of the year, everyone should be having fun, having a great time- which you did." She smiled at him, hoping it reached her eyes.

Brandon: Brandon could see how her smile faded a bit. His stomach churned slightly, wondering if he was letting this go too far. He liked Alex a lot, liked hanging out with her, liked fucking her, liked having her around. But it was clear that her words were half-hearted and her smile never quite made it to her eyes. Brandon had known she was likely to get attached and he'd been an asshole for continuing anyway. "I hope you had fun too," Brandon said carefully, reaching for his water again. "You should be out having a good time too. Plenty of Capulet doms that might catch your eye." He winked.

Alex: "I did." She told him immediately, genuinely, because she /did/. "Miss Tru picked the dress and...I really liked it. It might've been the first time I actually felt..beautiful, I guess." She blushed as she said it, a bashful smile on her face as she looked down and shrugged, taking another bite of food. She rolled her eyes as he replied again, humming a bit, "Maybe. For now, with school around the corner, I think I might just focus on that for now. Besides, if it comes down to it, remember I told you...I told Lord Oz I'd be okay with an arranged claim if needed in the end.."

Brandon: "You did look beautiful," Brandon said truthfully, small smile on his face. "And I can't believe that's truly the first time you've felt beautiful. Have you seen yourself?" He winked at her, wondering if maybe that was something he shouldn't have said. He was encouraging something he couldn't really give her. "Makes sense to focus on school, but you'd be foolish to enter into an arranged claim. You should meet someone you actually like..." It stung to think of her getting claimed by someone she might not hardly know, someone who might give a damn about seeing her succeed. But Brandon knew he wasn't good for her, couldn't be the one to claim her, and it was wrong to keep giving her bad ideas.

Alex: Alex rose a brow slightly but just smiled down at the table for a moment before back up at him, "I guess I'll just have to take your word for it." She replied softly. She took another bite of her food, already getting full so she slowed down a bit, just sipping at her drink as she hummed, "Right now school is the priority. as for meeting someone...I guess I'll just see where the cards lay. A claim isn't a priority for me right now." And it was true. She could practically feel him tensing up and she wanted to divert the conversation, not make things awkward. "Is it sad I'm already getting full?" She asked, trying to casually change the subject as she sat back in her seat a bit more, just sipping her drink.

Brandon: "A little bit sad," Brandon replied, grateful for the subject change. He finished off his glass of water, set it aside for a refill. "But if it makes you feel any better, I'm almost done too." He'd finished about half of his food, which was a lot considering. He was finally starting to feel a bit better, less queasy than before. Maybe he'd skip the IV, save it for a worse hangover. "At any rate, I feel better, don't you? Once you get home, you should get all nice and bundled up. Knock off the chill."

Alex: Alex gave him a smile, nodding, "It does- especially since I know just how much you can eat." She teased lightly, glad he took the subject change. She didn't want to think about claims and relationships anymore than knowig she'd seen Brandon hook up with someone else--because knowing was one thing, but /seeing/? That stung in a way she knew she shouldn't let it. This was just about hooking up and having needs met, that's it. That's all it could be. "I do feel a lot better." She hummed softly, nodding, "I'm not frozen anymore, but putting on sweatpants does sound like a good idea. Plus, I have to finalize my list for classes to register tomorrow. Are...you still okay with tagging along?"

Brandon: "Yeah, of course. I'm free in the morning. After that, I should really probably spend time at my office. I've been kind of neglecting it for a minute." Not that many patients had been coming in. After Lilith's kidnapping, the family seemed to be dotting their i's and crossing their t's, making sure that violence was hold at least until all the claims had been finalized. Still, he'd been lax with his little clinic and needed to focus on what was most important.

Alex: "Okay, great. The office opens at seven so...maybe around eight? Or do you need your beauty sleep first?" Alex asked with a grin, still wanting to keep things lighter and easier. The waitress came by again and took the plates so it could be put into take-out containers and promised to come back with the bill. "And it shouldn't take too long, so yeah, after I can take the bus back home or something so you can go straight to work."

Brandon: "No, no - I'll pick you up about seven-thirty so we can be there at eight. Sound like a deal?" Brandon asked, smile on his face. "We can take the rest of the day to get our beauty sleep in, yeah?" He asked. Surprisingly, the thought of going out again was utterly exhausting. Brandon wasn't much of a home body, but that was exactly where he wanted to go. "I can still take you to work. I don't see any mishaps happening, especially with Lord Montague's claim ceremony days away - but still. Better safe than sorry."

Alex: Alex thought about it before finally nodding, "Okay, sounds like a deal." She echoed in agreement, smiling at the thought, "That's another thing I'm getting used to, having days to just...lounge around, sleep in. It's nice." For the quickest of seconds she was about to ask if he just wanted to come over and watch movies or something, but she held it back and just finished off the rest of her mimosa, smiling over at him, "That's a good point. Everyone seems to want to be on their best behavior, even if things are calm now since there's been three claims...and that the whole Adriana thing was been solved." It felt so odd to talk about a murder so casually, but she hadn't known the woman, so it hadn't outright affected her. "Hopefully things all around are just calm now."

Brandon: "With any luck, we'll get through these ceremonies without any more headaches," Brandon said, though his voice was unsure. When had anything ever worked out the way it should in Verona? "I suspect if anything happens, the Prince will want even more claims submitted. Or he might make do on his promise..." Brandon hoped not. He didn't know anything else but Verona, didn't want to know anywhere else. "The violence has been worse though, in the past. Surely the quiet has to count for something."

Alex: "Here's to hoping." She nodded, leaning back more in her chair as she hummed, giving him a tiny little smile, "Hey, weren't you the one that was telling me you thought the decree was a bluff? That he wouldn't throw us out? ..You need to keep that hope alive for the both of us." She told him softly, going quiet for a second, "If we had to leave here....I don't even know where I'd go. I grew up in Florence but..I don't know if I'd want to go back. Too many memories.." she bit her lip, shrugging a bit, "This is the first place that's actually felt like /home/ since I left there.." She blinked back up at him, nodding and taking his word for it, "I hope so.

Brandon: Brandon shrugged. "I know... I still don't think he'd go through with it. But with Lilith getting kidnapped, the Commander getting shot - it's a lot of high profile violence. No one cares about the violence that happens to the little people..." he scoffed. "The claims are a good start at making sure it doesn't happen at least." For a moment, he paused to consider where he would go. "Florence, huh? Makes sense you're a Florentine girl." He smiled, shrugging his shoulders again. "Rome, I guess, is where I'd go. Where I imagine a lot of people would go."

Alex: Alex nodded again, only pausing for a second as the waitress stopped by with their leftovers and the little folder with the bill. "Maybe they should start caring. The little are who make up most of the population anyways. Without us there's not much left." She shrugged, giving him a smile and a roll of her eyes at his comment, "What's that supposed to mean?" She asked teasingly as she reached over to grab his water to take a sip and then nodding again, "I've never been there. Actually...that was next on my list. After leaving Florence I spent time in Milan and some time in Venice. Little towns with motels and places in between. I was planning on going to Rome after Verona, but clearly plans changed."

Brandon: "They should," Brandon agreed, pulling out his wallet for his card. He slipped his card inside the folder, leaving on the edge of the table. "Mm, just means you're a girl with refined tastes, of course." Brandon winked before shrugging his shoulders. "I haven't either - I just imagine that's where everyone would fit in best. Somewhere huge where Montagues and Capulets don't make up so much of the population. I figured if that didn't work out, I could always go to Naples. Maybe further south to Palermo where there's more sun." He grinned. "I'm glad you made a pitstop here instead of continuing on..."

Alex: Alex stopped herself from looking at the bill, from offering to at least pay half- stopped herself from feeling guilty over having a meal that she didn't even know the price of. It was a new year now...time to start learning new things and trying to kick old habits from her old life. "Refined, huh?" She grinned, tilting her head slightly, "I'll take the compliment." She thought about that, everyone going to a big city, and he made a fair point. The families dominated the population here, but in a place like Rome they'd be outnumbered. "Still, imagine Oz trying to carve out his own little corner of the city. He'd probably try and have it all under his control in months." She laughed at the thought, shaking her head ruefully at herself. "Palermo looks beautiful. Oh, and Amalfi..." She practically sighed it out, a smile on her lips as she thought about how beautiful it looked in pictures. Traveling had always been a pipe dream when she was younger, but now it could actually happen.. She blinked back up at him, the same smile on her face as she met his eyes, "I am too."

Brandon: Brandon chuckled, figuring that even outnumbered, Oz could make a dent in a huge city like Rome in no time. His family would no doubt choose to follow him wherever he went and it wouldn't take long for them to build something for themselves again. "Yeah, no doubt about that. Oz is nothing if not resourceful in that regard..." he agreed. "Well, beautiful as they sound, I hope I'm never forced to go there. Only by choice. Something to look forward to though." The waitress came to pick up the little folder, pay their bill. "Maybe that's something you can do your second or third year in college - study abroad. That could be fun."

Alex: Alex laughed softly, nodding "He'll definitely make it work. And who knows...maybe I'll just follow wherever he goes, then at least I won't end up completely alone again." She meant it jokingly but her smile held a bit of sadness in it as she shrugged. Once everything was paid for she took another sip of his water and passed it back, smiling as she nodded "Maybe. That could definitely be fun, I never thought about it....or at least a vacation. ..never had one of those either."

Brandon: "You should. You know Oz would pay for it since it relates to your education. And it would be a good thing for you to do. We need more worldly Montagues, tell us what the outside world is like. Sometimes it's easy to forget there is a whole wide world outside of this city..." Or at least for Brandon it was. He'd stubbornly refused to continue his education outside of Verona, felt too entrenched in the city to ever leave. It was foolish and even he could admit that, but he couldn't imagine living somewhere else. "I had friends in college who travelled studied somewhere completely foreign. Like, New York. Or Buenos Aires. Tokyo. Places like those almost seem made up, y'know?"

Alex: "I'll think about it..for now I think I wanna just at least get my foot in the door with college and start my first semester before I start thinking about going abroad." She teased lightly, nodding "Whej I was little I used to have a list of places to go. New York is on there, and Vegas. But then other countries like Greece, France... itd just be nice to travel. But baby steps. I think I've travelled enough in the last few months for a while." She smiled at him, letting out a breath and shifting "So..we ready to head out?"

Brandon: "I can definitely understand," Brandon replied, nodding. "Just, something to think about. And yeah, I think I'm ready to head back. We've had our share of excitement for the day." He winked at her, finishing off the last of his water. "I'll take you home. Then tomorrow, we'll get your classes sorted. Sound good?"

Alex: "Yeah, sounds perfect." She was excited to get a start on her classes, getting everything finalized to /finally/ get the ball rolling on potentially being a teacher one day. Alex moved to stand then, tugging her jacket on to mentally preparing herself to brave the new wave of cold in her dress after finally being fully warmed up. "Let's go."

Brandon: Brandon tugged on his jacket as well, heading out Alex. "Race you to the car?" he asked, grinning at her before opening up the door. "Three, two, one..." To the chagrin of the wait staff, he tore open the door, racing out through the parking lot with a grin on his face. He unlocked the car door, sliding into the driver's seat before looking over at the passenger side. "Oooh, too slow."

Alex: "Wait, wha--" Before she could really process it he was off, yanking at the door and she laughed, giving the staff a (not so) apologetic grin and ran off after him, laughing as she rolled her eyes because she couldn't exactly match him while in heels. Still, she got there a few seconds later, a bit flushed from the cold but a grin on her face, "Jerk." She told him in between laughter.

Brandon: "Yeah, yeah - but see? We got out of the cold so much faster that way." Brandon chuckled, turning on the car to get some heat rolling. "Always a method to my madness." He turned the radio down low as he started toward Alex's place. The drive to the Montague Tower didn't take too long, especially with most citizens in Verona at home nursing their hangovers. He pulled up as close as he could, then unlocked the doors. "Alright, sweetheart - tomorrow, 7:30?"

Alex: "Sure, we'll go with that." She deadpanned, rolling her eyes fondly at him as she settled into her seat and soon enough they were off, the ride seeming much quicker than usual and before she knew it he was pulling up in front of the tower, their day together coming to an end. She undid her seatbelt, making sure she had all her things before she looked back at him, "Yes Sir." She told him with a grin, the title more teasing than serious. She hesitated for a second, pausing, before just leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you for today. I can safely say it was a morning I'll never forget."

Brandon: Brandon let her kiss his cheek, offered her a smile in return. He was too worried he was encouraging something in her to do anything else. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Go on and get some rest, alright? I'll see you tomorrow bright and early. Good night." Brandon waited until he could see she was through the doors of the tower before he finally pulled off.

Alex: Alex rolled her eyes at him but smiled and nodded, "I will. And you too. Get some rest and you won't need that IV drip." She moved to open the door then and climb out, turning to him once more, "Bye Brandon." She smiled, closing the door behind her and then headed inside, refusing to let her thoughts go to places she knew they couldn't when it came to him. Brandon was just her friend, and that's all he'd ever be.