#this is the best worst thing i have ever made

[popcornpoppypop]

Like You

Summary: You're a single mom to an angry teen boy. Jack isn't phased, he can handle the anger. He is there for your son, no matter what. Years later, Pittfest makes them more alike than anyone would wish.

Warnings: Angst, fighting, angry teen, mentions of death, mass shooting, blood, medical inaccuracies, talk of amputation.

There wasn’t a day that passed where you weren’t beyond grateful for Jack Abbot. Most people would have turned and ran the moment they found out you had a 14 year old son. You couldn’t blame them. It’s a lot of baggage. But Jack never blinked.

“Honey, you are the best person I’ve ever met. Why the hell wouldn’t I love someone you made?” He told you the night you had finally let him in.

“He can be angry sometimes, Jack. He might not like you for a while.” You warned, not wanting to sugar coat anything and be left when things got hard.

“I was angry for most of my life. I know what it’s like. I’ll be okay. It’s not about me anyway.” He shrugged.

“Oh my god, just fucking kiss me already.” You sighed as you pulled him into you, his laughter rumbling in his chest,

Your son wasn’t introduced to your boyfriends often. You never really found any that you felt would stand the rough weather. But something in Jack made you trust him. The first meeting went over like a lead balloon. Ended with your son shouting at Jack.

“You don’t care about me! You just want to fuck my mom! Fucking pervert!” Your son,Matt, shouted at him.

“Matthew! Stop that, you don’t speak like to anyone, let alone someone I care about!” You scolded.

“Y/N, it’s okay.” Jack said stroking your arm, trying to calm you down.

“He’s just here to get in your pants! Thinks if he buddies up to me it’ll happen.” Matt growled.

“I know that’s what’s happened in the past, but I promise that is not what I’m doing right now.” Jack raised his hands up like he was calming a wild animal.

“Oh please, you’re just like the rest.” Matt scoffed, pacing back and forth.

“Matt, please just sit down and let’s talk about this.” You plead with the boy.

“Shut up, bitch!” He snapped. Jack stood up fast, the chair flying back from underneath him.

“Hey! You listen to me now! You can talk how you want to me, I don’t care, I can take it. You will never, NEVER, speak to your mother like that. She doesn’t deserve your anger.” Jack growled. Matt stopped looking at Jack in all his intimidating power.

“You’ll never be my father.” Matt whispered before running upstairs. Jack sighed shaking his head.

“I’m so sorry, Jack. I-I didn’t think he’d get this upset. Maybe that was naïve. You didn’t deserve that.” You sighed, head in your hands.

“Honey, I’ve had worst hurled in my direction. He can be angry with me. If that’s what he needs.” He said smoothing your hair from your face.

For months, Jack would come by the house and try to speak with Matt only to be met with insults. Jack saw how it tore you up, tried to console you. You both knew it was part of the process, it didn’t make it easier.

You had to go on a work trip for the weekend, you’d asked Jack to stay at your house to keep an eye on Matt. Matt had broken a glass when you’d told him.

“If I can handle violent psych patients and IEDs, I can handle a teenager.” Jack joked.

Matt had stayed in his room for the most part, running downstairs to grab food and run back to his room. One night, Jack was asleep on the couch, the TV playing old M*A*S*H reruns. His prosthetic leaning against the side table.

Matt watched him for a moment. Seeing the stoic man in such a vulnerable state took him back for a moment. He stalked over, keeping as quiet as he could. He picked up the fake leg and tried to leave with it.

“If you don’t give that back, I’ll have to hop on one leg while I kick your ass and that’ll be embarrassing for both of us.” Jack grumbled as he woke up.  Matt cringed as he brought the leg back. He’d crossed a line he didn’t want to.

“Whatever.” Matt mumbled as he set the leg back down. He stood staring at Jack’s leg for a while. Jack let him, not embarrassed about it, never had been. Occasionally, he’d be insecure when it made certain activities of the sexual nature more difficult. He’d learned how to work around it.

“You can ask.” Jack said, catching Matt off guard.

“What happened? Mom said you were in the Army. It get blown off?” Matt was trying to poke the sensitive parts.

“Yeah. I was a medic on a tour in Iraq. Got shot, blew most of my foot off.” Jack nodded. Matt was somehow not prepared for a blunt answer, even though he got nothing else from Jack.

“What’s it like being less of a man?” Matt hissed.

“I’ll let you know if that happens.” Jack sniffed.

“You’re annoying.”

“Kid, you can say what you want. It’s not going to phase me.” Jack turned the volume up, his ring catching the light.

“Mom said you’re a widow too.”

“Yes.” Jack’s voice ever so slightly tightens, ready for some insult.

“You remember her still?” Matt’s head hung low as he sat at the other end of the couch.

“Every damn day. Always will. Your mother understands.” Jack nodded.

“What happened?” Matt didn’t meet his eyes.

“She got sick. I couldn’t save her.” Jack cleared his throat.

“That’s like your whole thing.”

“Yeah. I know. Some things are beyond our control.” Jack’s eyes didn’t leave the screen.

“My dad watched this shit too.” Matt nodded to the TV.

“He had good taste.”

“He would have liked you.” Matt huffed. Jack looked over at him, bewildered.

“Yeah? Why?”

“You take good care of us. You’re not a real asshole, just like a surface asshole. You want people to think you are but you’re not.”

“I try my best. I care about you too, Matt. I know it’s hard to believe, but I do.” Jack turned to face the boy. He looked like a child more than he ever had.

“I know. It’s…something in my head makes me want to hate you. Like if…if I don’t I’ll forget him.”

“You won’t. He’ll always be around for you. I’m not him, I wouldn’t try to be. Maybe we can try getting along for a bit, see how it feels. I know it would make your mom’s life easier.” Jack raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Try it out.” He chuckled as he got up and left.

After that night, Matt relaxed a little. You were so grateful to have some relief to his anger. Jack felt that same relief.

Life got a rhythm to it soon after. Jack moved in and Matt didn’t argue so much. They would watch the Steelers together and you’d pretend you wanted to, mostly you just enjoyed being one family for a moment.

Three years on and things were comfortable. Matt asking Jack’s advise about girls and school. They would go out to the batting cage every Sunday. Jack always made sure he had Sundays off, time to spend with his family.

“Jack, I’ll be fine. I have enough sunscreen!” Matt groaned as Jack shoved a can of sunscreen spray into Jacks bag.

“It’s going to be hot and there will no shade. Melanoma ain’t something to fuck around with, Kid.” Jack said.

“Matt, humor him so you can leave.” You laughed as you walked out of the kitchen.

“Look,” Jack whispered looking behind to make sure you were out of ear shot. “not just sunscreen in there. You be careful, I put a couple sizes so we didn’t have to get that personal.” He winked.

“Oh my god! Stop talking!” Matt whined.

“He’s right Sweetie! I see way too many teen boys at the clinic with STDs. It’s no fun.” You chuckled as you walked back in.

“I tried to be subtle, that’s on you.” Jack pointed at Matt. “Jake will be there, if you need someone go find him.”

“It’s a concert. I think I’ll be fine. You two are paranoid.” Matt laughed.

“It’s our job. I see too many things go sideways.” Jack sighed.

“Matty, we just want you to be careful. Be back in this house by 10pm. A second later and I will lose my shit.” You smiled.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” Matt rolled his eyes.

“Hey, listen to your mother. You treat that girl well too.” Jack said.

“Girl? What girl?” You asked looking between them.

“Jack! Come on man!”

“Matt, please be careful. Go have fun.” You sighed, not wanting to give yourself more to worry about.

“Call if you need anything.” Jack said. Matt waved you both off as he ran out the door.

“Is 17 too young for a music festival? Did I just make a huge mistake?” You asked, suddenly filled with anxiety.

“Hell if I know. Things are different these days. I would have snuck out to go, so he was probably going either way.” Jack shook his head as he started for the bedroom.

“You want breakfast before you pass out?”

“No. Rough night. Just want sleep.” Jack said. You marveled at how he never let Matt see how heavy his job was. He watched people die and came home and joke about football with Matt. You worked in the low-income clinic attached to PTMC, never seeing half the things he did.

You sat in the sun, enjoying the quiet of the late afternoon. Your garden was the small way you kept your sanity. The flowers blooming made you feel like you weren’t a complete failure at life. You tried to stay out of the house when Jack was sleeping, allowing him some peace.

“Didn’t I just give the melanoma speech this morning?” Jack stood in the patio doorway.

“The day got away from me.” You chuckled.

“Get in here before you fry.” He said, his eyes twinkling.

“Was that an order?” You smirked.

“Yes, it very much was.” He said, he leaned on the doorway, his biceps flexing in the sun. You felt a little dizzy looking at him. You stood, dusting yourself off as you walked up.

“I’m covered in dirt.” You laughed.

“Never minded a little dirt.” He said tilting your chin up with a finger and gently kissing you. His hand tangled in your hair as he deepened the kiss.

“The neighbors are definitely watching.” You smiled.

“Let them.” He said as he pulled you close.

“Take me to the bed, our backs can’t handle the patio bricks.” You chuckled.

“Is that an order?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, Sir, it is.” You bit at his bottom lip. In a swift motion he wrapped an arm around your waist and lifted you over his shoulder.

“Yes, Ma’am!” He said taking you towards the bedroom.

“Oh my god! Do not hurt yourself being an idiot!” You giggled.

“I lift patients all day, you think I can’t carry you to bed? Please!” He threw you on the bed.

“Take your shirt off.” You barked, suddenly desperate to see him. He didn’t waste time, threw the shirt onto the floor. His muscles shining in the sunlight.

“Now you.” He was practically drooling as you undid your shirt and let it sink to the floor. He stood between your legs, running his hands up your arms, across your collar bone, taking his time tracing his fingertips up your throat.

“dispatch sending all available units, Signal 36, Pittfest. Shots fired.” The police scanner buzzed with the warning.

“Jack did that just say-”

“Call Matt.” Jack dropped his hands fumbling to find his phone. You scrambled to find your phone, dialing Matt.

“It’s going straight to voicemail.” Your voice shook.

“Dammit! They probably took over the cell signal.” Jack growled.

“Jack, what do I do!?” You’re breath picking up.

“Honey, breathe. You gotta stay calm.” He said, holding your face in his hands. “You keep trying to call him. Once he gets away from the festival grounds, he’ll be able to reach you. You stay here, let all your neighbors know to watch out for him.” He told you.

“What are you doing?” You looked confused as he started dressing.

“Baby, I gotta go into work. They’ll be overwhelmed with patients. He might head there first, I’ll be there if he is.” Jack sighed.

“Jack, what if-”

“No. Don’t go there.” He stopped the thought before you could finish it. “I’ll have someone monitoring my phone if I can’t. You call me the second you see him. I love you.” Jack kissed you as he grabbed his bag and ran out the door.

Jack was right, The Pitt was overwhelmed almost immediately. He kept his head down, going from patient to patient. Kept asking Dana for updates.

“Jake? Jake, where’s Matt?” Jack ran up to the boy, his leg oozing blood.

“I don’t know, man! I lost him in the crowd. I tried to find him.”

“Okay, it’s okay. Sit down, we’ll fix you up.” Jack said as he assessed the leg and ordered treatments,  running back, seeing the state Leah was in. Robby wasn’t going to handle that well. He kept working, all he could do was keep working.

“Jack…” Dana’s voice brought him back, looking over as Robby crumbled.

“Come on man. You’ve done more for her than anyone else. If this was a different day, she still wouldn’t have made it.” Jack said.  Robby kept pushing meds and doing compressions for a moment, Jack’s words settling into him.

“Stop compressions.”

“Want me to call it?” Jack offered. Robby shook his head.

“Time of death 2104.”  Robby shook his head. Jack patted him on the shoulder.

“I got another red! GSW to the abdomen and right leg! Lost a lot of blood in the field.” Shen called as he wheeled in another patient. Jack tossed his gloves off and grabbed new ones. When he turned he saw the shoes. The shoes he bought Matt for his sixteenth birthday. The shoes he had begged for, never giving you or Jack peace until he had them. The white shoes now red.

“No.” He whispered as he ran over. The pale face of Matt knocked the wind out of him.

“Dr. Abbot, IO is placed. Should I start giving blood?” Princess asked. Jack froze. “Dr. Abbot?” Princess asked, looking at him confused.

“uh…yeah, yes. Start giving blood, we have to get his clothes off.” Jack’s voice shook. “Dr. Mohan! I need you here!” He called, his voice sharp and broken making everyone face him.

“Oh god.” Dana gasped.

“Dr. Abbot?” Samira questioned. “Do you need to step away?” She asked.

“I-I…Robby! I need you!” He cried out. Robby turned, his face red and confused until he saw Matt’s face. He ran over, pushing Jack away.

“Dr. Mohan start intubation.” Robby started barking orders. Dana came over and dragged Jack away.

“Call her.” She handed him the phone and ran over to help.

His hands shook as he hit your contact.

“Jack? What’s going on? Is he there?” Your voice is thick with worry.

“Honey, he’s here. He’s hurt.” His voice was so broken, you’d never heard him like that. The fear ran up your spine and grabbed your heart.

“Oh my god. Okay. I’m…fuck. Okay, I’m on my way.” You cried as you hung up the phone and ran to your car.

Jack watched as his friends worked to save his stepson. Watched as Robby did everything he could after just coding his own stepson’s girlfriend. He felt like his heart was in his throat and he was choking.

“Dr. Walsh, admit this one to surgery.” Robby called.

“He’ll be next in line, we’re finishing up with the other now.” She nodded as she walked with the nurses towards the elevators with Matt.

“Dr. Abbot, he’s okay. He’s going to surgery. Damage to the bowel, his right leg has some pretty bad damage, but he’ll survive.” Dr. Mohan told him.

“Jack, get some air.” Dana said. Jack stood, going straight to Robby.

“Brother…thank you…” He said.

“Yeah. You did the same.” Robby nodded. “Jake’s leg is okay?” Robby questioned.

“Yeah, yeah. It’ll be okay, won’t need amputation.” Jack cleared his throat. Robby nodded and walked off.

“Jack! Jack, where is he!?” You came running in, the blood on the floor almost stopping you. Jack ran up and wrapped you in his arms.

“He’s okay! He’s okay! He’s in surgery. Robby saved him.” He told you as you sobbed into his chest.

“Oh my god, thank god!” You cried.

“The leg was pretty bad, Honey. I don’t know if they’ll be able to fix it.” Jack sighed.

“He’s alive, that’s what matters to me.” You said, finally taking in the state of him. You brushed the sweat soaked hair from his face.

“I froze.” He said, his voice catching as he looked away.

“You got the right people to help him. That’s all you needed to do.” You told him.

“I’ve never froze like that.” He said, trying to stop the tears.

“Jack, your son was on the table in front of you. I would have too. Everyone would have. He’s going to be okay, Right?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s what we need to hold onto right now.” You kissed his temple.

“He’ll be in surgery for a while, you can sit in the break room until I can take you up.” Jack nodded.

“I can help.” You said.

“No, not tonight.” He said as he walked off.

“Hun, come sit with me.” Dana said pulling to the nurses station.

“He’s in shock.” You muttered.

“Yeah. We all are. He loves that boy.” Dana sighed as she handed you a chart to start entering, knowing you’d go crazy if you didn’t do anything.

Jack powered through getting his patients charts in and dealing with any last treatments. His mind clouded but functional.

“Dr. Abbot? Dana said to let you know they called down from surgery for you.” Javadi said.

“Okay. Can you make sure that the patient in bay six gets another round of O-neg.” He ordered as he walked off towards the nurses station.

“He’s getting moved to a room right now. They said Room 314.” Dana told him. You jumped up and followed him to the elevator.

The ride up to the third floor felt like an eternity. The door opened and the quiet on the floor was stunning. You both took a breath before leaving.

“Dr. Abbot, we got your boy over here.” Walsh waved over. “Some damage to the small bowel, we were able to correct, made the repairs to the liver. He’s got a broken rib from the impact. He’ll be on strict rest and NPO for a few days, IV calories strictly so those bowels can heal.” Walsh rattled off.

“Thank you.” You said, wiping the tears from your face.

“Course. I do need to warn you. We did everything we could to save the leg. The damage was too much. We had to amputate. Half way up the shin, like yours.” Walsh nodded. Jack squeezed his eyes shut. He never wanted this for him. He wanted to keep this pain from him.

“Okay. Thank you.” Jack said as if he was still holding his breath. You both entered the room. The breath caught in your throat as you took him in. His face so pale and the wires sticking off of him. The way he lay so still.

“Jack…” You sobbed. He wrapped you up in his arms. His eyes never left Matt’s right leg.

“He’ll be okay.” He said, burying his face in your hair.

You both sat next to him, refusing to leave. He didn’t wake for two days. The agony of waiting was obvious on your face. You were dozing off, head on Jack’s shoulder.

“Mom…” Matt groaned. You both shot awake.

“I’m here, baby. I’m here.” You said as you held his face in your hands.

“Mom.” He started to cry. You wrapped him up in the arms. Jack kept a hand on his leg.

“You’re okay, Matty.” You sobbed.

“it hurts.” He groaned, he tried to sit up. Jack put a hand to his chest and pushed him back.

“Take it easy. You gotta stay down for a while.” Jack said as he hit the call button.

“I remember the shots, I heard everyone screaming. There was a burning in my belly and then nothing.” Matt’s voice shook.

“Dr. Abbot?” a nurse came in.

“He’s in pain. Have Walsh put in an order for more morphine please.” He ordered.

“You got shot in the abdomen, Matt. They repaired it, you’ll be able to eat solids in a few days.” Jack explained.

“Okay. My leg hurts though.” Matt looked confused. Jack shook his head looking at the ground.

“Baby, you got shot in the leg. They tried everything, but they couldn’t save it. They had to cut it off at the shin.” You explained, trying to take the burden from Jack. It was heavy, too heavy for anyone but more so for Jack.

“I lost my leg? It’s just gone?” His voice filled with panic and confusion.

“If they left it, you would have been in so much pain.” You told him.

“We’ll help you through this, Kid. You’re strong. Stronger than I was.” Jack told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“I’m like you?” Matt looked up at Jack, he looked like a child.

“Yeah.” Jack nodded, trying and failing to stop the tears.

“Right now, we focus on getting you better. Then we focus on your leg.” You told him.

“You’ll help me, right?” Matt looked at Jack.

“Always, Matt. I’m always going to help you.” Jack pulled him into a tight hug. The two clung onto each other and cried.

You watched them, your chest tight. The healing would hurt, but you knew your family would make it.

[betweensnoopy]

roommate!hamzah

summary: hamzah is the worst roommate ever!

warnings: nsfw! hamzah being a munch frl

roommate!hamzah is such an asshole now that you’ve been living with him for the past six months—the first two months were so great. before this whole thing, hamzah was contributing to cleaning the house, changing the cats litter, even brining you food. now all he does is record videos, eat, play games, and invite girls over just to ghost them a week later.

last week the sink was filled with dishes. cups, plates, bowls, mugs—you name it. and the best part is… they’re barely yours! you’ve been at work and taking double shifts for the extra money while hamzah stayed at home with the cats and doing whatever.

you unlocked the front door to your shared home with your annoying roommate already hearing his loud video game playing in the living room. setting your purse and keys down—you notice the pile of dishes in the sink, once again (mind you, you washed the dishes this morning). ‘oh my fucki- hamzah!’ you groan and roll your eyes. the man groans, already annoyed at you, and walks into the kitchen.

messy curls, has on the same shirt from yesterday, and those black glasses that always makes him look attractive no matter what he looks like.

your eyes look at the dishes, then at hamzah, back at the dishes and then back at hamzah. ‘how did all these dishes get in sink when i washed the dishes literally this morning?’ you smack your lips and walk pass hamzah, slightly bumping his shoulder.

he scoffs and rolls his eyes, leaning on the kitchen counter—hamzah shrugs his shoulders. ‘i don’t know. all i did was make breakfast this morning.’ he yawns. breakfast? so he’s telling you that making breakfast requires a fucking lemon squeezer? oh my gosh what are you gonna do with him?

you stare at hamzah, trying not to cuss a grown man out for acting like a damn 10 year old. ‘can you just clean it please? i told you i have a special friend coming over and i would appreciate it if you cleaned up after yourself.’ you plead, hoping for once—hamzah would do the dishes. hamzah scoffs and walks back over to the couch and plopped his ass right on it and picked up his controller.

‘no. if it’s so important to you and bothering you.. you clean it, y/n.’

it took you everything in your power not to throw your purse at him and strangle him with the strap. you groan and storm to your room ‘your such a fucking asshole!’ you yelled and slam your door. let’s just say that special friend didn’t come over that night..

hamzah grinned to himself as he watched you run your mouth and slam your door, successfully getting on your nerves. that was his goal, it turned him on. you getting mad at him and cussing him out made his cock twitch in his sweatpants. sometimes you things like this happen, he sneaks to his room and quietly (not really) stroke his cock, even pulling up a picture from your instagram—making him cum all over his phone, such a fucking pervert.

❀.

recently, you’ve been talking to this guy who works with you and he has all the things you look for in a guy. sweet personality, caring, intelligent, and.. cleans after himself! and a few days ago he asked you on a date that today.

you finish the last curl in your hair and set the curling iron off. you reapply some more lip gloss and check yourself out in the mirror. it’s been a while since you’ve been on a date so you picked a dress that hugged your curves in all the right places.

bang! bang! bang!

‘y/n! hurry up, i need to pee!’ hamzah yells outside the bathroom door.

you roll your eyes and finish checking yourself out before opening the door, being face to face with hamzah. his whole demeanor changed, going from annoyed and pissed off to caught off guard.

hamzah has never seen you this dressed up before—i mean he’s seen you in a dress before but not one that makes his dick twitch..

‘whoa, where we going..?’ the man looks at you up and down and watch you as you leave the bathroom, following you to your room—his eyes never leaving your figure. you pick up your shoes and favorite purse before answering his question.

you chuckle ‘we aren’t going anywhere, not that it’s any of your business but im going on a date tonight.’ you smile and turn the lights out before leaving your room. date? who would be brave enough to ask you on a date? hamzah scoffs and fold his arms across his chest.

‘oh really? and who is this guy?’ hamzah mumbles, a hint of jealousy in his tone. you smile at hamzah and ignore his question, sliding on some slippers and grabbing your car keys. ‘are you not gonna answer my question?’ hamzah asks, eyes locked on your ass.

‘make sure you replace the cat litter, I don’t need our house smelling like cat shit.’ you say as your walking out the door. hamzah sigh and rubs eyes, not even wanting to look down, knowing there’s a raging hard on looking right at him back.

-

you return home with a disappointed face, heels are off, hair is in a claw clip, and the cat litter is STILL not replaced. you walk in the living room and see hamzah, just sitting in the couch—literally doing nothing. he looks up at you ‘hey, uh.. how’d your date go?’ he asks softly,

you sigh and sit beside him, leaving very little room. ‘it fucking sucked.’

oh.. that wasn’t the answer he was thinking of

hamzah looks at you, at your lips then your face. god damn.. he never realized how pretty you are. ‘the guy was so fucking disrespectful and definitely doesn’t know how to talk to a girl, and the best thing is.. he left me! he ditched me, saying he was going to bathroom… yeah right.’ you ramble, not even noticing you haven’t given hamzah a chance to talk.

he was speechless, how does a guy ditch a girl like you? mind you this man is still going crazy on how he can hate you one day and want to fuck you the next day.

you sigh and look down, fidget with your nails. ‘how come a guy never wants to be with me? i try to be perfect for someone and then they turn around and treat me like shit.’ you sadly mumble. hamzah stared at you while you be in your sad mood.

‘how about i make your night better..?’ hamzah says out of nowhere. you give hamzah a confused look and lightly scoff ‘and how will you do that? finally clean the house?’ you roll eyes. hamzah never did anything to make you happy, it felt like he was literally there just to make your life more miserable.

‘no, i wanna eat your pussy...’

excuse me? your head quickly turn towards hamzah, your eyes wide—surprised by the words that just came out his mouth. hamzah looks at you with a straight face, serious about his request.

you exhale and clear your throat, you don’t know what to say. let’s look at it this way, your messy but very attractive roommate just asked to eat you out, you haven’t sex or anything in months. you were desperate, what else would you do?

‘it’s fine if you say n-’ ‘no no no, you.. you can do it.. just fuck.. don’t tell anyone this happened’ you sighed

hamzah smirks and pulls you closer to him, like you weren’t close to him already. he grabs your hips and sits you on his lap, yours legs on each side of him. he leans in to kiss your neck, your breath hitching each lick, kiss, and nibble hamzah does on your neck. hamzah slowly lays you down on the couch, mouth staying on your neck, creating a dark hickey, marking you for everyone to see.

hamzah moves down to your thighs, pushing your dress up for full access. he planted kisses up and down both of your thighs, teasing you, what an asshole. growing impatient, you slightly groan ‘hamzah, get to it already..’ you say breathlessly. hamzah moves from your neck, a shitty grin on his face. ‘i wanted to take it slow.. but if you insist.’ hamzah removes your wet panties off of you and throws them carelessly to the side.

‘damn, you’re this wet just by me kissing you?’ he teases you. you look down at him with pleading eyes, a small moan coming out of your mouth. you and hamzah maintain eye contact as he gathers the wetness between your legs, sucking them off with a smile. hamzahs head lowers between your legs, your cunt is aching at this point. you feel his warm tongue, gasping at the contact, you mouth makes an ‘o’ shape as hamzah puts his tongue to work.

hamzah’s mouth sucked at your clit, earning a soft squeal out of your mouth. your hand moves to hamzah’s head—fingers softly gripping you blonde tips. wet, loud, and moans fill the living room, fuck, you hope blue and red aren’t in here.

without even noticing, you grind your hips against hamzah’s mouth, trying to get more but hamzah instantly shuts it down. he takes his mouth off of you and looks up at you. ‘stay still or i’m stopping.’ he snarls.

you let out a soft whimper as a response. hamzah goes down again.

you grab the closet pillow next to you and let out a muffled moan. god damn, when did this man learn how to eat pussy this good? hamzah never seemed like the type to actually give a girl pleasure, it felt like he was one of those guys who only cared about themselves cumming. you wrap your legs around hamzah’s neck and you feel his hands rub up and down your sides, you can hear his muffled moans and groans, sending vibrations through out your body.

His tongues goes deeper inside you, basically tongue-fucking you, making you see stars. swirling his tongue around and licking ways you didn’t even know was possible.

‘hamzah.. fuck..’ you moan, removing the pillow so he could hear your moans, and he did. his cock got harder the moment he heard you moan his name. you grip his blonde curls as you feel a knot in your stomach. ‘hamzah, baby.. im gonna cum..’

the knot in your abdomen tightens and your eyes close as hamzah fucks you with his tongue, going in and out. not even 2 minutes later, you explode, feeling your orgasm wash over you, cumming with a loud cry. hamzah doesn’t get off just yet, he’s making sure he gets very single drop, he’s been dreaming of his moment and now that he’s got it, he’s making sure he gets everything.

the man rises up with a smirk on his face, mouth glistening with your cum and some spit. he uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth. your eyes flutter open to see him. hair is messy, eyes are low, and he’s rock hard..

you look down at the bulge in his pants and then into his eyes. ‘you want me to help you with that?’ you say, voice slight hoarse from all the loud moaning you just did. hamzah rises an eyebrow and looks down.

‘don’t worry about me. tonight was all about you.’ he grinned.

sigh.. you really hope he doesn’t tell anyone about this..

hi guys! so.. this is my first time EVER writing smut, um I hope I did okay because omg lmao. you hope you guys liked this, it’s pretty long but oh well. and also thank you for 200 likes on my last post!!! that means sooo much to me! love you guys, bye!

-reneé

[lightlybloomed]

"You Passed?!"

Lando helps you learn to drive. When you come back with your results, it’s all worth it.

You hadn’t planned on asking Lando Norris to teach you how to drive. It just kind of… happened. One moment you were griping about your driving instructor bailing last minute (again), and the next moment he was tossing you his car keys—his car keys—and grinning like it was the best idea he’d ever had.

“Come on,” he said. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Famous last words,” you muttered as you slid into the driver’s seat.

He was, unsurprisingly, a good teacher. He kept it fun, never shouted (even when you nearly reversed into a bin), and offered tips no normal instructor ever would. Things like how to handle corners like a Formula 1 pro—not super helpful when you’re driving a 20mph zone, but still. It helped. He helped.

You’d never seen him so serious and focused and also somehow still so Lando—a mix of technical knowledge and chaotic encouragement, like: “Okay now pretend the examiner’s a race steward and you’ve gotta impress them to keep your license.” “Lando, that’s not how it works—” “Shhh just go with it.”

You practiced until your hands didn’t tremble when you reached for the gearstick. Until hill starts felt less like a panic attack and more like second nature. Until Lando leaned over, unbuckled his seatbelt dramatically, and said, “You’re ready.”

Your test was the next morning.

You made him stay home.

“If you wait at the test centre, I’ll fail,” you told him. “I’ll see your stupid hat out the window and panic.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. But you have to come back here after. Straight away. No detours.”

You nodded.

He grinned.

You drove off.

—

And now, an hour later, you're standing outside his flat, trying to calm your heartbeat. A crisp white pass certificate is folded in your pocket, slightly crumpled from the way you gripped it all the way here.

You knock once.

The door swings open within seconds.

Lando’s eyes land on you, searching your face. You say nothing.

He blinks. “Well?”

You grin.

“I passed.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then—

“NO WAY!”

He practically launches at you, arms wrapping tight around your waist as he lifts you off the ground and spins you in the doorway. You yelp, laughing.

“Lando! Oh my god—”

“You passed!” he cheers, setting you down but still holding you by the shoulders like you might float off. “I knew you would, but I was also like 10% terrified you’d crash into a tree and I’d be legally responsible.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” you say, snorting.

“No seriously—I’m so proud of you.” His face softens, eyes warm and wide and ridiculously pretty. “You’ve worked so hard. And I know how nervous you were.”

You look down, suddenly shy. “You helped.”

He nudges your chin up with his knuckle. “Yeah, but you did the driving. I was just your emotional support co-driver.”

You laugh. “Best one I’ve ever had.”

“Obviously,” he says, mock-offended. Then he pulls you in for a proper hug—warm and grounding, like the kind you didn’t know you needed until now.

You tuck your head into his hoodie. “I feel like I just ran a marathon.”

He kisses the top of your head. “You did. With traffic lights and pedestrians and a man with a clipboard silently judging your every move.”

You stay like that for a moment, wrapped up in each other, until he suddenly pulls back, eyes wide.

“Wait. Does this mean you can legally drive me around now?”

You smirk. “Depends. How well do you behave in the passenger seat?”

He gasps. “Are you saying I’m a bad passenger?”

You raise an eyebrow.

He gasps again, dramatically this time. “Wow. I teach you to drive and this is the thanks I get. I’m heartbroken.”

You pat his cheek. “You’ll survive.”

“Will I?” he sighs, before grinning. “Come on. We’re celebrating. I’m making pancakes.”

“It’s 4 p.m.”

“Exactly. Pancake o’clock.”

You follow him inside, heart still buzzing.

You passed.

And Lando Norris is proud of you.

Honestly? That’s better than the license.

The kitchen smells like vanilla and syrup within minutes.

Lando flips pancakes with far more flair than necessary, like he's trying to win a Michelin star in pancake art. You sit at the island counter, chin resting in your hand, just… watching him. The way he hums off-key, barefoot in his sweatpants, hair still slightly damp from a mid-day shower. The little things that make up the Lando only you get to see.

It hits you then—how lucky you are. Not just because he helped you learn to drive. But because he made you feel like you could do it. Like failing wasn’t even a concept. Just another story to laugh about later.

He slides a pancake onto your plate and nudges a bottle of syrup your way. “Voilà.”

You blink, pretending to be unimpressed. “This looks suspiciously perfect. What did you do, Lando? Bribe the batter?”

“I used a secret ingredient,” he says solemnly, leaning across the counter. “Victory.”

You roll your eyes, but you’re smiling.

He watches you take a bite and light up. “Okay, fine,” you admit through a mouthful. “I take it back. You’re a genius.”

“I knew I’d win you over with carbs.”

You both eat, trading stories from the test—how your examiner had a resting death glare, how you parallel parked like your life depended on it, how your hands were sweating so badly on the wheel it was borderline embarrassing.

Lando listens like every detail matters.

And when you pause mid-sentence, staring out the window, he nudges your leg under the counter.

“What’s up?”

You shrug, but it’s more of a sigh. “It’s just weird. I spent so long dreading that test. Like, it was this massive mountain. And now it’s… over.”

He studies you, quieter now. “You’re allowed to feel weird about that. But I am so proud of you.”

You look over, surprised at the softness in his voice.

“Lando…”

“Yeah?”

You pause. “Thanks for being proud of me. Like, genuinely.”

He leans forward on his elbows, head tilted. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I dunno. It’s just… I’ve failed stuff before. Given up on things. Driving felt like it was gonna be one of those. And you didn’t let it be.”

His smile falters a little, turns into something deeper. “You think I would’ve let you give up?”

You shrug.

He stands, walks around the counter, and pulls you up gently by the hand. Now you’re standing in front of him, pancakes forgotten.

“I need you to listen, okay?” he says softly. “You’re allowed to struggle. You’re allowed to be scared. But I will never be disappointed in you for trying. I don’t care how long it takes. I’ll show up every time.”

You feel your eyes sting a bit. You hate crying. But this kind of kindness—it disarms you.

“God,” you laugh wetly. “You’re such a sap.”

He grins, brushing his thumb under your eye. “Only for you.”

You wrap your arms around his waist and he pulls you in close. It’s quiet for a while. Just the sound of his heartbeat and yours syncing up, his fingers drawing soft circles on your back.

Then, without letting go, he murmurs, “So… first road trip. When are we doing it?”

You snort. “Oh, now you trust me to drive you places?”

“I said road trip, not a death wish. I’ll bring a helmet.”

You slap his shoulder. “I’ll leave you at a service station.”

He laughs, but when he pulls back, he’s still holding you—his arms around your waist, your hands looped behind his neck.

He looks at you like he’s about to say something. Something big.

But instead, he just kisses your forehead.

Soft. Certain. Safe.

And somehow, that says more than words ever could.

You don’t need to hear it. Not yet.

You already know.

Later that night, when he drops you back home (yes, he still drove, despite the license), he waits until you’re at your door, then rolls down the window.

“Hey,” he calls.

You turn.

He grins. “Proud of you. Again.”

You beam. “I know.”

And maybe you’ve just passed your test, and maybe this whole thing started because you needed someone to teach you how to drive.

But somewhere along the way, Lando taught you a little more than that.

Like how to believe in yourself.

How to lean on someone when things get messy.

How to laugh through the panic.

And maybe—just maybe—what it feels like to be loved.

[funnycoolgirl88]

normalcy - part one

a/n - hi guys! i’ve never posted a fic on here before but i got bored and kinda had an idea for a pazzi mini-series…? this might be the worst piece of fiction you’ve ever read, but hey! i haven’t really written these types of things before, so bear with me…!!! please send me any feedback you have, positive or negative, it’s greatly appreciated! thank you for reading, i love you!!! ❣️

themes: fluff, light angst?

word count: 3.8k

synopsis: paige and azzi’s early years

p.s. - this is very lightly edited. got kinda lazy.

p.p.s. - just now realizing the pov changes halfway through. this is lowkey a mess. i promise i’ll fix it eventually 😭

…..

april 2018

paige walked into her tryouts with one thing in mind: make the roster.

but one girl was making it particularly hard for her. she was a little bit shorter than paige, must’ve been a few months younger than the other girls.



“yo, cam. who’s that?”

“uh, that’s azzi. she’s 14. best shot i’ve ever seen. watch out, p,” cam answered, elbowing paige on her side

“she nice?”

“she’s the sweetest girl ever. i kinda love her.”

“nuh uh. she’s probably evil. those eyes aren’t fooling me.”

paige was lying. she was lying through her teeth. azzi’s eyes were the most beautiful shade of brown she’d ever seen in her life. so kind, so inviting.

she was also trying out for point guard, and shit, she was good at it. if paige was a normal person, she wouldn’t have done it, try and make friends with the one girl she was competing against. but she insisted on telling herself that she was only doing it to keep azzi distracted.

only azzi wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. every time paige poked and prodded at her, she was met with that adorable insistent glare.

finally, it was time for a water break.

“yo, azzi, c’mere,” paige yelled from a few feet away.

“paige, i’m literally like, five feet away from you. there’s no need to yell,” azzi replied, a hint of amusement peeking through her face.

“sorry. i was just wondering if-“ paige said, cutting herself off when she realized she hadn’t really thought this conversation through. sure, she knew she was going to approach azzi and ask her something. but every thought was drained from her mind because of those eyes.

they were piercing. paige didn’t knew brown eyes could do that. she felt like she was transparent all of a sudden, and nothing was coming to mind. azzi had the type of eyes that could make you cry out of fear and adoration.

shit shit shit she’s beautiful and i’m stupid and why did i come over here and-

“paige. you were wondering if… what? you never finished your question.”

“uh yeah, it’s just—“

still, nothing. paige felt like an idiot. the whistle blew, saving her from the embarrassment of continuing this conversation.

they didn’t talk much for the rest of that week.

then friday came.

…..

“alright ladies! you’ve all done a phenomenal job this week, and i’ve been thoroughly impressed by every single one of you. unfortunately, though, i can only select 18 of you for the roster. you’ll all be receiving letters this week confirming whether or not you’ve made the team. thank you all for showing me your best.”

there was around 50 girls in the gym throughout the week, but paige knew exactly who’d make the team. every single person. she was special like that.

“i’m so nervous,” she heard from behind her. she immediately recognized the voice. knew she had to tell her otherwise.

in an instant, paige turned around and looked azzi directly in the eye. “you were phenomenal. if anyone is making the team, az, it’s you. don’t ever sell yourself short again.”

she stood up and walked towards the locker room, not waiting for azzi’s response. she started packing up her things when she felt an unsure hand on her shoulder. she whipped around, saw who it was, and without more thought, sprinted out the locker room.

when she heard azzi yelling her name, she kept running. was that an asshole move for her to do? maybe, but facing the terrifying truth was worse.

…..

august 2018- dfw international airport

as it turns out, paige was right. azzi made the team. and there she was, in the airport, three seats to paige’s left, next to caitlin.

“okay ladies, listen up,” the coach’s voice cut through the chatters between the girls gathered in the terminal. “your seat assignments are on your boarding passes. please find your seat partner and do not switch with anyone. i can’t deal with any bullshit today.”

everyone bit back at their last line but stood up to compare boarding passes. paige asked everyone, secretly pleading that she wouldn’t be next to azzi.

not that she would hate that— but azzi was so scary. not because she was mean— really, she was the sweetest girl paige had ever met. but because she made paige feel. she made her feel everything. paige hated it. nothing was right about that.

azzi defied every law that paige had ever known. sure, she’d only spoken to the girl two times, but there was something different about her.

she blinked back into reality and was startled by a hand waving in front of her face.

“hey, paige? you okay?”

“yeah. i think-“

“we’re seat partners,” azzi said, smiling. why is she smiling? why does she get to smile and why is her smile the most beautiful smile ever and why haven’t i seen it before and why is she still smiling?

“we are. shit.”

“wow, ouch. don’t sound so eager.”

“fuck, i’m sorry azzi. i didn’t mean it like that-“

“no, you did. but it’s okay. only a, what? 12-hour flight? piece of cake,” she said, not a trace of sincerity in her voice.

“azzi, stop. please,” paige finally says, looking azzi in the eyes. wow she is crazy beautiful definitely hates me. “i’m so sorry azzi. i’ve been such a dick to you. i think it’s amazing that we get to sit together on the flight. i promise i won't be a nuisance. just trust me, please?”

she held her pinky finger out, and sure, it might’ve been a stupid little gesture, but azzi finally smiled again, interlocking their pinkies.

seven years later, paige would find out that sitting next to azzi was a sign straight from god.

….

august 2018 - minsk, belarus

92-40 final

paige shoots the ball from half court as the clock runs out for no real reason. sure, they knew they’d been all but guaranteed to beat the other team, but hey, who doesn’t appreciate winning a world cup?

as soon as the final buzzer sounds, azzi runs straight towards her new best friend. she nuzzles into her neck and whispers an “i’m so proud of you,” that she knows only paige will here.

“azzi. i’m proud of you. fourteen years old and beating everyone’s asses. you’re gonna do crazy things.”

i hope that i can be on her side when she does.

….

march 2020 - arlington, va

they’ve been on facetime for 4 hours now, the first three spent with paige crying after finding out her entire senior year was cut short by covid-19. azzi comforted her best friend, wishing there was something she could to do to make it better. it’d been months since she’d seen paige, school and basketball getting in the way of their visits, and all she wanted was to hug her best friend and hold her as she drifted off to sleep.

except they couldn’t do that. covid was spreading rapidly and leaving their houses wasn’t really an option at the moment — so they’d have to opt for 12-hour facetime calls that would bleed into the early morning.

eventually, the crying stopped (at around 11 PM), and paige started speaking in coherent sentences. so now, here they were, murmuring about random pieces of each other’s underwhelming routines that quickly became super repetitive.

the routine being: wake up for zoom class, join zoom class, nap through zoom class, watch the videos their teachers would post in google classroom, and then nap some more.

at some point, azzi zoned out from whatever paige had been talking about. maybe it was actually interesting for once, but azzi couldn’t look at the girl for more than a couple minutes at a time.

because, the truth was, azzi was madly in love with paige. she didn’t exactly know how it happened, but god must’ve really hated her for cursing her by making her fall in love with her best friend.

she also didn’t know when it happened, exactly, but it didn’t really matter anyways. she never planned on doing anything about it, because her friendship with paige was too perfect to blemish with stupid feelings that would probably go away eventually.

“hello? earth to azzi? did you even hear what i just said? because if you did i feel like you’d have a better reaction. i mean, i’d be pretty excited if you told me you were coming to visit me, but-“

“wait, what? you’re coming to dc? when were you going to tell me?”

“god, you’re an idiot. i just told you, genius. apparently my voice bores you too much to listen, though.”

(it doesn’t, not at all. azzi’s actually tried to listen to paige’s voicemails to fall asleep just to replay them for an hour straight.)

“you’re an idiot! anyways, when are you coming?“

“wow, you must really miss me, huh,” paige says, obviously trying to start a petty argument. “i’m coming on the twelfth of april.”

except azzi can’t really argue with paige, not right now. she tries to think of a rebuttal to paige’s dumb comment, but all she can do is smile. she mutters a nervous “yay,” before she checks the time on her alarm clock, seeing that it’s now 12 am.

she feels herself slowly drift off to sleep, and when her eyes finally close and she hears the soft “you’re so beautiful,” that comes from her phone, she pretends not to. she knows she wasn’t supposed to, anyways.

….

august 2020 - arlington, va

azzi woke up in the morning with bile sitting in her throat. she’d honestly slept like shit, so she was already off on a good start. today was the day she’d come out to paige. she decided to sit up and enjoy her friend’s presence, hoping that it wouldn’t be the last time she’d ever be given the opportunity to do so. paige would be flying out to connecticut the next day.

she sits back on her ankles atop their shared mattress, stroking through the tangles in paige’s hair. she quickly wipes away the lone tear that cascades down her cheek, allowing herself a couple more minutes of peace before quietly walking into her bathroom to take a way-too-long shower.

when she walks out, paige is sitting at the kitchen table, face still puffy with sleep. she was never a morning person.

“took you long enough,” she says with her smile reserved only for azzi, who probably looks like she survived WWIII. paige, always having known azzi like the back of her hand, notices immediately. “hey, everything okay?”

“huh? oh, yeah. i’m good. think ‘m gonna go for a run,” she says, already knowing what paige’s response will be.

“a run? you hate running.”

ding ding ding.

“no i don’t,”

lie. big. fat. lie.

“yeah, whatever. can i come with then?”

azzi panics, taken aback by paige’s offer. paige despises running. why would she want to come? “no, i don’t think so, i’m sorry. be back in thirty.”

the look on paige’s face that follows looks heartbreakingly disappointed, and all azzi wants to do is kiss her all over until she realizes how sorry she feels.

but she can’t really do that, so she walks out the door and runs, already regretting it after only traveling to the stop sign at the end of the road. eventually, she somehow loses track of time after realizing she’s looped through her playlist two times now. she checks her phone and sees that she’s been running for an hour and a half now.

today, 10:36 am

paige 💗: azzzziiiiii

paige 💗: i made us breakfast

paige 💗: hurry pls it’s getting cold

paige 💗: and i want to see ur face

3 missed calls

today, 11:40 am

paige 💗: yo

paige 💗: everything good ??

paige 💗: i’m picking you up

paige 💗: stay where u are

paige 💗: i know ur not about to run all that way back home lol

azzi texts paige back and sits on the sidewalk to wait for her.

today, 11:43 am

az💗: omg ok i’m waiting for you. staying put lol

when paige pulls up to the sidewalk 10 minutes later, azzi readies herself for a long car ride. it’s now or never.

“so. you gonna tell me why you’re avoiding me on my last day here? or do you wanna keep running from your thoughts,” paige starts, already having read through whatever act azzi was trying to put up.

“i don’t know what you’re talking about. maybe i just wanted to get out of the house,” azzi says, knowing how unconvincing she sounds but refusing to let up anyways.

“you know what i’m talking about, azzi. and don’t bullshit right now, you hate running more than anything.”

“actually i-“

“azzi, stop. please don’t dance around the truth right now. i know you. i know you’re holding something back from me. just—please tell me, az.”

“okay, fine. but you have to promise that you won’t get mad or—i don’t know. just please promise we’ll still be friends.”

paige responds with a humorless chuckle, trying to stay composed but looking obviously concerned. “az, of course we’ll still be friends. you’re scaring me, though.”

“i’m sorry.”

“azzi, i’m like, a hundred percent sure you haven’t done anything wrong. stop apologizing,” she responds, offering her a kind smile, grabbing azzi’s hand and gently kissing her palm.

“okay. first i wanna ask you a question.”

paige looks at her expectantly, but not in a way that feels like she’s trying to pry anything out of her.

“okay so like,” azzi begins, nervously chuckling. “i think,” she pauses again. “i think—i think i like girls.

paige’s eyes open in surprise, not expecting that question from azzi. “well, i—wait, az—are you… gay? or..?”

azzi stares at her before lightly nodding just once. the tears she’d been trying to push down for the last four months start rushing down her eyes and she knows she looks terrified. because truthfully? she is. she knows the implications of this and the even more terrifying truth she has to inevitably tell paige.

“oh. well, um. i don’t know if—az, i think we should just go home and talk about this later. you’re tired, i’m tired.”

if she was expecting anything from paige, it definitely wasn’t this. paige is an angel. usually, she’d hold azzi and whisper sweet nothings to her. right now? she seemed like she wanted nothing to do with azzi. she looked almost—disappointed? and azzi, being the person she is, had to know why she’d act this way. “wait paige, are you like.. not okay with that?”

“no, fuck—it’s not that at all. it’s just—i was raised christian, y’know, and like—i don’t know,” she chuckles again before continuing with a frustrated smile “wow. yeah, definitely wasn’t expecting that one. god az, why would you tell me that now? we’ve been together all summer. just like—can we not talk about this? can we just be normal for a bit?”

“oh. okay,” azzi said, silently thanking god that they’d pulled up in front of her house. as soon as paige pulled into the driveway, she was reaching for the door handle, sprinting out of the car as soon as she shifted into park.

“wait, azzi!”

azzi pretends not to hear her and struggles to open the front door. she sprints upstairs and locks her door, flopping onto her bed.

….

she spends the rest of the day there, upset to see that paige isn’t next to her when she wakes up at 7 pm.

when she opens her eyes, she feels disoriented and weird, uncomfortable from passing out in her running clothes. her phone’s almost dead, filled with notifications.

but one person’s name is missing.

she goes downstairs hoping paige is still there, but her hope quickly dies when she only sees jose and jon sitting on the couch watching tv.

jose speaks first. “wow, you look like shit.”

“fuck off. you guys seen paige?”

“nah, not since you got back. maybe check the guest room.”

azzi didn’t even think about the guest room. in all of the times paige has stayed at their house, she’s only slept in there one time, and that was the first night she’d ever slept over.

she knocks on the door and is met with a shaky “come in,”

when she walks in, she sees paige, sitting on the bed with her head in her hands. “paige?”

when paige lifts her head, she looks absolutely destroyed. “shit. hi, az. i’m sorry i look like this.”

azzi, still a little bit scared to come near her, stays leaned against the door, trying to find any words to comfort her. instead, she finds a whole lot of bitterness at how paige had reacted earlier, so she doesn’t think much before bringing it up. “why’d you sound ashamed of me earlier? is there something wrong with me liking girls?”

“fuck no, azzi. i’m sorry i made you feel that way. it’s just—god, i don’t know how to say this,” she says, her voice congested from the tears. “i think i like girls, too. and i think—i think i like you. i think i love you. you’ve driven me absolutely crazy since the day i met you, and i can’t get enough of you. and it drives me absolutely fucking insane. but like, in a good way? and then you said that, and i panicked, so i tried to cover it up, but i just ended up sounding like an asshole.”

she laughs before adding, “i know i probably sound delirious as shit right now, because i’m so tired and i’m so sad that i have to leave you tomorrow. but i had to tell you this. it’s okay if you don’t feel the same. i’ll get over it. but just seeing you mad at me, i never want that again. and—god. the thought of someone else getting to have you scared me more than anything for some reason. so here i am, sitting in your guest bedroom, spiraling. and.. there’s nothing wrong with you, azzi. absolutely nothing. you’re perfect.”

azzi’s standing in front of paige now, who hasn’t looked up this entire time. “paige, look at me.”

paige slowly lifts her head, looking terrrfied to see azzi’s reaction. but instead, she sees azzi’s eyes, and then they’re both crying in each other’s arms, sprawled across the shitty mattress in azzi’s guest bedroom. “i’m gonna assume my apology is accepted?”

azzi lightly pinches paige’s rib before leaning in to kiss her. and then their lips meet, and they’re kissing and smiling, and then giggling. sure, it takes them a few minutes to ease into it, but they couldn’t care less. paige rests her forehead on azzi’s shoulder and then they’re both sobbing, because they know this will have to end eventually.

they fall asleep at 8 pm in each other’s arms, tears soaking the pillows below them.

….

azzi wakes up at 4:30 am and smiles down at her best friend, but is quickly filled with dread after remembering that she’ll be gone in only five hours. so, she does the only thing that makes sense to her.

leaning down to paige, she leaves a long kiss on her forehead and whispers “paige, baby, wake up.”

paige quickly groans and holds her wrist to her eyes, trying to avoid the light coming from the lamp above her head. azzi lifts her arm and whispers again “paige, please. it’s your last few hours here. i wanna watch the sunrise.”

accepting her fate, paige blinks awake and pulls azzi down to her, who only giggles and litters her jawline with kisses. through her laughs, she manages to say “come on! please.”

“no. i just wanna lay with you forever. in fact, i think i need to pull my commitment from uconn. fuck college, actually.”

“oh come on, now you’re just being stupid,” azzi says, wiggling her way out of paige’s arms and walking towards the door. “i’m going upstairs and getting ready to watch the sunset. so either you can come with me or you can stay down here and spend your final hours alone,” she says before lightly shutting the door behind her.

“damn, she’s dramatic,” paige says, but quickly standing up and following after azzi.

they walk outside wearing their own combinations of each other’s clothes, a habit they’ve picked up over the summer, holding hands and talking about everything and nothing, before eventually deciding on silence.

they finally find a bench that overlooks a lake that reflects the early sun and sit down there. still holding hands, they lean on each other and sit quietly.

paige is the first to speak. “so. i think we should talk about this. you know, before i leave.”

azzi’s heart immediately starts racing, not expecting the next sentence that comes out of paige’s mouth.

“i don’t think we can be together,” paige says, regret etched across her face.

“oh. okay. but i thought-“

“i know, i know. it’s just—i’m going to college and i don’t want to hold you back. you’re about to be a senior. and az, i want you to spend this year figuring out if this is what you really want.”

“it is what i want. you are what i want, paige. i thought we settled this yesterday,” azzi says after a moment, eyes glistening with the tears she’s been blinking back.

paige starts wiping the younger girl’s eyes, looking heartbroken. how dare she, azzi thinks, she’s the one who just broke up before we even got to date. “don’t cry, baby, please, i’m so sorry. i just can’t do this right now. i can’t hold you back in good conscience. you deserve so much more than i can give you right now,” and she looks so sincere saying it, so azzi decides she won’t be mad at her. she can’t be. paige is an angel and azzi knows she’s only doing this because she loves azzi. she hugs paige back and they muffle each other’s sobs.

azzi finally speaks again after a few minutes of silence, voice still unsteady from crying. “paige,”

“yes?”

“promise me something. promise me that, if—no, when you don’t find anyone at college, and i don’t find anyone back here, we can be together. or at least try. please. i want to try. it doesn’t have to be now. i can wait for you. i already waited for two years,” she finishes, holding out her pinky for paige.

“okay. yeah, one year. i’d always wait for you, az,” paige responds through her sobs, tears streaming down her face, interlocking their pinkies the same way they did on that flight two years ago.

[eden031]

First meetings

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

MDNI! 18+ Content ahead

Pairing: Jack Abbot x intern!f!reader

Warnings: smut, p in v sex, oral (f recieving), soft sex, love making (?), protected sex, badly written smut, love confessions, sappy,crying after sex (bothJack and reader)

Summary: They go on their planned date.

Again: MDNI! 18+ Content ahead

A/N: Hey everyone! So first of all I have to point out that this is my first time writing smut so please be forgiving, another thing is this it not proof read because I think I might delete this if I proof read this. This was planned to be the last chapter of ‚First meetings‘ but I have decided that after this I will be writing an epilouge (time skip) to take a quiet peek in what happened to Jack and reader afterwards. I hope you enjoy even though this is probably not my best work.

The news had spread like wildfire, well except towards the admin staff. It was like everyone was talking about it and yet no one dared to mention it towards either of them. People gave her knowing glances when she walked through the halls, no one seemed to judge them, though there seemed to be questions, questions that neither her nor Jack would answer or even knew the real question to. Still it was obvious that there were some people that seemed to be confused about the whole dynamic. Since the beginning of the week, since the confession he was harder on her than he had been before. Not rude, not brutally so, but he pushed her harder, made her work on perfection. She wasn’t mad at him, he didn’t do it to give her a hard time, no he did it because he cared, he did it so that no one could accuse him of playing favorites. Something she really understood, something she knew he needed to prove to people.

The week had dragged on like gum stuck to the soles of your shoes. Not because of the work she had to put in, no that had made her realise of what she was even capable of, made her understand that sometimes doubt was her worst enemy and that when he pushed her he overcame that doubt for her in some strange way. He had already done that before, though now it felt like he had stopped holding back. Maybe she had also just gained confidence she needed from the fact that she knew someone had her back. No, the week had dragged on because of the date she was meant to go on. It felt like it was never going to be Saturday night, though on Saturday morning seven thirty felt like it was ages away.

Sitting in front of the mirror she had tried to calm her nerves, already ready she checked the clock again, it had been seven fifteen. Trying to keep her nerves at bay she fiddled with the hem of the dress she was wearing.It was mid length, showing off everything she wanted to show off, though the most important thing about this dress was that it made her feel pretty, made her feel gorgeous even, confident. Masie and Tommy had been angels the entire day, helping her out with picking the dress, as well as the jewelry and other accessories. Masie was a lot more excited about the whole endeavour than Tommy.

It had felt kind of weird to give Jack the address of the apartment she shared with Masie and Tommy, telling him that she was able to get to the restaurant on her own, but he had insisted on picking her up. Jack had shown up at seven twenty five, holding a bouquet of white lilies. It was beautiful and she had put in a vase on her nightstand, offering him to come in, though he had politely declined.

The place he had taken her to was nice, a mexican place, the owner an old friend of his. The food had been some of the best she had ever eaten and the company had been almost as good. They had spoken softly with each other, their voices always slightly hushed, their hands brushing together. It was like someone had cast a spell on them, like they were in their own little world while they ate. Time flew by and it got late when they walked out of the restaurant, their fingers intertwined, the blazer jacket Jack had been wearing draped over her shoulders after she had shivered slightly when the cool air had hit her skin. His smell swirling around her like some kind of promise.

As they stood in front of his truck Jack gently cupped her face, his thumb brushing her cheek, the skin of the pad of his thumb rough against her flesh. Leaning into his touch she let out a soft sigh of content, the cool air whirling around them. Jack gently coaxed her towards him, so that she would look at him. His second hand also went to her face, gently squeezing her cheeks as she smiled at him.

“You look so beautiful tonight,” he whispered softly as he leaned in closely, their lips brushing once again. He pressed his lips against hers, slowly moving them, she joined in his rhythm, his tongue slipping between her lips. Her hands had found their way into his shirt, clutching the dark fabric at his sides, trying to pull him closer. As they broke apart it felt like she was fighting for every breath, wanting to kiss him again was an overwhelming urge in her mind. The feeling of him pressed against her, even with their foreheads simply resting against each other, their breath mingling together as they kissed again, this time quicker, but a few kisses in succession. The stubble on his face tickled her slightly.

“You know…” she paused softly, trying to speak as quietly as possible, “That suit looks really good on you, but I think it would look a lot better on your bedroom floor,” as she finished speaking, she pressed a soft kiss to his throat. He tutted softly as he pulled her back slightly, a soft glimmer in those beautiful hazel eyes.

“You are going into dangerous territory there, sweetheart,” his voice was slightly gravelly as he looked down at her, his pupils blown wide. A slight tingle settled in her lower stomach as she smiled coyly at him, batting her lashes as innocently as possible.

“Am I?” she tried to sound as innocent as possible while blinking slowly at him, eyes wide. A small smile on her lips as she saw his jaw clench.

“Yeah, how about we go back to my place?” he suggested, trying to keep his composure. Like it wasn’t what both of them had been planning for. Nodding softly she grabbed his hand, gently squeezing it. Jack opened the door to the passenger seat with his other hand, letting her get in the car before he closed the door and rounded the truck before plopping into the driver’s seat. The ride back to his place was filled with playful banter and soft laughter.

The moment Jack had parked the car and they were in the elevator to his place their lips met again, moving in a familiar rhythm, his hands holding her waist tightly as he pulled her close. Jack’s lips found her neck, coaxing her head into her neck he pressed hot, open mouthed kisses to the column of her throat. A soft gasp escaped her lips as he sank his teeth into the soft skin where her throat met her shoulder. Pressing into him she closed her eyes, sighing as he carefully pressed a gentle kiss to the spot.

A soft bing and the elevator halted. Jack moved, though her mind stalled for a moment, he had taken her hand in his, urging her to move. Opening her eyes she followed him out of the elevator, the heat in her stomach and the tingling between her legs almost consuming everything as she followed him through the hallway.

It was like the hallway grew longer with every step she took, his hand in hers like a burning reminder of his presence. His smell clouded her mind as he stopped in front of his door, the sound of the key turning, the lock clicking, it was all just on the edge of reality. A quiet squeaking from the hinges of the door was the only indicator of Jack pushing open the door. Quickly they moved inside, Jack dragging her along, carefully closing the door behind them he was on her again.

He backed her against it, his hot ips on her jack, carefully biting, kissing, moving up towards her mouth. Their lips met again, moving together, her hands travelled up his torso, gently stroking his belly as she let out small whimpers. One warm hand had wrapped itself around her waist, gently keeping her put, pressed up against the door, the other had found its way into her hair, gently tugging on it while they kissed. Moving her hips slightly she tried to grind down on him, her arousal growing with every passing second.

“Jack,” she whispered softly as they drew apart, the hand that had been on her waist now hovering above her breast, the tips of his fingers ghosting over the still covered flesh, not quite touching yet.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” his voice was slightly strained, she tried to move her head forward, but the grip on her hair was too tight for that, though it did not hurt. Moving her hips against his she felt the bulge in his pants, grinding down on him as best as she could.

“Ah, ah, sweetheart,” he whispered softly, gently pressing another kiss to the column of her throat, “What do you want?”

“Please!” she whimpered softly, trying to get more friction from him. Arching her back against his hand she hummed softly as she looked at him.

“You have to tell me what you want, darling,” Jack hummed softly as his hand slowly travelled from her hair towards her jaw, cupping it, pressing a thumb against her jaw.

“Please, Jack, please touch me,” she whispered softly, the slickness between her legs warm and aching. Her hands slowly went upwards gently brushing over the fabric of the shirt he was wearing.

Suddenly Jack grabbed her, a squeak escaped her as her feet left the ground, throwing her over his shoulder she had to laugh involuntarily letting herself be carried to where she knew the bedroom was.

As the door fell shut behind Jack and the light clicked on she was gently placed on the bed, laying on the edge with her feet dangling off the mattress. Toeing off her shoes she watched as Jack tossed the blazer she had previously worn onto the chair in the corner of the room. A small smile on his lips as he looked at her, those hazel eyes burning with something she could only describe as hunger locked on to her.

Slowly she sat up from the bed, opening the zipper on the side, then letting the dress pool around her waist, blinking slowly at Jack as he seemed to have frozen in his movements as the black lace bra she had opted for became visible.

“Damn,” he whispered softly, stepping towards her his hand hovering above her breast, fingers twitching like he was fighting with himself not to touch her.

“Please,” she whined softly, puffing out her chest slightly, the soft flesh brushing against his fingers. Carefully he cupped her breast, giving it a gentle squeeze as his other hand went into her hair again, pulling her upwards slightly. Hot lips pressing against hers again, moving in a slow and deliberate rhythm as he slowly brushed his fingers against her breast. Trying not to break the connection she shimmied out of the dress, letting it fall to the ground beside the bed. A soft whine came from her Jack’s lips left her, the whine turning into soft moans as he began to suckle and bite into the soft flesh of her neck. Gently nibbling on some spots. Reaching out her fingers brushed against his bulge, carefully palming him through the dress pants. Low groans and moans came from Jack, his hips bucking into her hand as he continued his assault on her neck. She was sure that there would be marks of his little adventure in the morning.

A gasp left her lips as she felt a finger brushing against her slit. Jack hummed against her neck as he repeated the motion, slowly stroking his fingers from her entrance to her clit.

“So wet for me,” he whispered in her ear as she bucked against his fingers, trying to get more from him.

Slowly the hand which had been on her breast moved to her back, unclasping the bra with ease. Carefully he pulled off the bra, discarding it on the ground, pushing her back on the bed, latching onto her nipple, swirling his tongue around it. Soft gasps and moans came from her as she arched into him, his legs settled beside her hips, keeping her in place.

She clawed at the shirt he was still wearing, the pulsing between her legs getting worse as she whined and writhed. Slowly Jack moved away from her breast, his hands ghosting down her sides as he pressed hot, open mouthed kisses on her ribcage and stomach. Gently nibbling at the skin from time to time until he reached the panties that had matched the bra. Slowly he pulled it off her hips, discarding it somewhere.

“Come on pretty girl,” he gently coaxed her, her thighs falling open. In one smooth motion he knelt at the edge of the bed. His head between her thighs as a cool gust of wind hit her she let out an involuntary whimper, the bastard had blown air at her core. Writhing slightly she tried to reach for his head.

“Shsh,” he gently brushed away her hand. He started at her knee, pressing gentle kisses to it, then travelled up her thigh, stopping at the junction between her hip and leg, the moment she thought she might finally get the sweet relief of his lips on her he drew back again. A whine escaped her as she looked at him.

“Please, Jack,” she whined softly, trying to get him to speed things up a bit. A chuckle and a shake of the head later he repeated the process on the other leg, then finally his mouth met her core. His lips pressed soft kisses along her slit before he licked a long, slow stripe from her hole to her clit. It was like something inside of him snapped after that. He ate her out like a man starved, like he had not eaten in years and she was the first thing he saw.

“So wet for me,” he hummed softly against her, the vibration sending shivers down her spine. With every lick, every movement the tightness in her stomach got worse, the tingling spreading to her legs, which were beginning to shake slightly. As he slipped in one finger a mewl left her lips grinding down on his mouth and hand she tried to get him to move more. Soft pants leaving her lips as he moved his finger inside of her, finding the spongy spot that made her see stars every time he hit it. Soon a second finger was added and the coil in her stomach became too much to bear.

“Come on, sweetheart, I know you can do it,” he encouraged softly. That made her snap, she felt herself fluttering around him, her visions going blank for a moment before she came back to reality, breathing heavily she looked at Jack. His mouth glistened softly, licking his lips and fingers like he was savouring every single drop she had given him.

“You taste so damn good,” he groaned softly as he looked at her, still dressed in the shirt and suit pants he had been wearing during dinner, hair dishevelled, more so than usually. A soft groan left her lips, the shaking in her legs not quite gone yet.

“Fuck, you’re so hot,” she muttered into the blanket as she turned her head to the side, feeling her face get hot from the sight of Jack kneeling between her legs. A soft chuckle came from him as she heard movement as she looked at him, his eyes glistening softly in the light of the room.

“You doing okay?” his voice low. She knew that there was more to the question than just asking if she was okay, he was asking if she was okay to keep going.

“I am doing fucking fantastic,” she grinned at him, she paused for a moment, “Though I think I would be doing a lot better if would get rid of that suit,” she hummed.

“With pleasure,” Jack hummed softly. It was slow, but he rid himself of the shirt, revealing the toned pecs and soft belly, something she loved so much about him, the well trained shoulders moved as he opened the belt of the pants, then sat down on the edge of the bed, cursing quietly as he took off the leg, then shimmied out of the rest of the pants. He glanced over his shoulder, giving her a silent command with his stare. Scooting up the bed she placed herself against the headboard, the pulsing and need getting more again, like they hadn’t ebbed away a bit a few moments ago.

Slowly Jack crawled up the bed, the black boxers doing little to conceal his straining cock as he hovered over her. Carefully lowering his head, their lips met again, moving together, she could taste herself on his lips, drawing a soft moan from her. She could feel him moving then a kick, slowly reaching towards his cock she felt the soft skin of him, gently running her fingers from the tip to the base. A low moan came from Jack as he thrust into her touch. Drawing away Jack looked at her, moving away he sat on his knees moving slightly to grab a condom from the nightstand, quickly opening it and putting it on before he came back down to her their lips meeting again, hot and slow, their mouths moved. As he drew away again his held her gaze, slowly moving to push into her, the stretch was delicious a quiet moan escaped her.

As he started moving slowly it was strange for a moment. This was different from the first night they had spent together, not bad, but there was no urgency, there was something else behind his slow thrusts, her arms wrapped around his neck, keeping him close to her. It was like they were both trying to melt together, like they were trying to become one single entity. His movement never faltered, he kept the same pace, one hand finding her clit, gently drawing circles, she wasn’t sure how long they kept going, both her and Jack whispering soft encouragement, soft praise, then Jack’s movements began to stutter.

“I’m gonna cum soon,” he muttered softly, she moaned softly as she nodded, the tightness in her lower stomach close to snapping.

“Yeah, me too,” she whispered softly, pressing a kiss to his lips as she felt him press himself farther into her than before, hips twitching as he came, his hands did not still and soon she followed him over the edge. It was intense, everything around her became blurry, the smell of their bodies suddenly became more intense than it had been before, the feeling of their skin pressed together the only thing she could feel. She was not sure how much time had passed, but she could feel hot tears running down her cheeks, Jack had buried his head in the crook of her neck, his body resting on hers, his arms pressed up against her ribcage. Her arms still wrapped around his neck, gently she threaded her hands through his hair, the tears still running down her cheeks.

“I think I love you,” she whispered, her voice rough, a soft sniffle from her, she felt hot liquid hitting her neck, a gentle kiss to where her pulse point was, though she received no words, she did not need them, knowing that this was his way of telling her that he did too.

—————

Tags: @antisocialfiore @fudosl @smileykiddie08 @darksparklesficrecs @tommosgirl06 @rosieposie88 @moonshooter @wowitsafemale @qardasngan @starlightmoon2020 @loonyloomis

[fandomnerd9602]

Home on the Run (5)

Yelena Belova x Venom!Reader

Set during Thunderbolts*

Wheels were up and the jet was high above the clouds. Bucky steered the military jet on a course to New York. Alexei found himself downing a couple shots of vodka, already pitching his ideas for the team.

“I say Winter Soldier and I can be co-captains of the team” Alexei says proudly.

“We’re not a team” Walker shakes his head.

Yelena snuck away to the military jet’s restroom. You and Venom snuck away after her.

Yelena, in the privacy of the jet’s bathroom, stripped off her jacket. Her body was marred with bruises and cuts from the last few hours. She became so focused on trying to patch herself up that she almost didn’t hear you enter and shut the door behind you.

Her eyes locked with yours. Months of longing and need coming to the surface between the two of you with a simple little glance.

“Where does it hurt?” You gently ask your wife.

“Everywhere” she answered. Even with Lash rapidly healing her injuries, there was one wound that a symbiote couldn’t heal.

Yelena hugs you tight, wrapping her arms around your neck. Yours wrap around her waist. She practically jumps up, wrapping her legs around your waist.

Little tears and whimpers escape her lips as you hold her close, kissing her exposed shoulder. You gently sit her on the bathroom sink.

She pulled at your shirt, kissing you eagerly, hungrily. You pulled your shirt off at her silent wish before kissing her again.

Yelena suddenly put a hand to your chest, gently pushing you away a little.

“I-I’m sorry,” she whispers, “…it’s been awhile and I’m…I don’t know if I’m ready for us to…”

“It’s okay” you caress her cheek, nodding, “I completely understand”

“Can you just hold me?” She begs.

You gently hold her close, chest to chest, her legs comfortably wrapped around your hips. You gently raked your hands down her spine, just enjoying a moment of quiet intimacy in the storm that you call life.

New York wasn’t much better. You and the Thunderbolts made your way to the old Avengers Tower and found Val’s plan. Using Bob as her Sentry, she would restart the Avengers as a one man army, giving her the leeway to never be impeached. And worst, you and the Thunderbolts were her canon fodder for Bob to show off his powers.

“Guys,” Bob said nervously, “please. Just turn yourselves in”

“Bob,” you try to approach him, “Val doesn’t have your best intentions”

“She just wants you as her lapdog”

Yelena stays on your hip, “please Bob we know you”

“I’m beginning to think you don’t” Bob says only for Alexei to try and attack. Sentry was fast to slam Alexei into a stone wall.

You tried to wrap him in your tendrils, Venom was practically begging him, “Bob! We are your friends! Please stop”

Sentry began burning the tendrils with his heat vision. Venom shrieks and shrinks into you.

The fight only last less than a minute but all of you were forced to flee into an elevator. And yet as the doors closed, you could see regret and hurt in Bob’s eyes.

You all limped out of the old Avengers Tower. Yelena huffed and puffed as you all remained silent.

“Okay we will regroup” Alexei says a little hopefully.

“Regroup?” Yelena looks at him exasperated, “Alexei you are a failed propaganda tool. Ava’s a heartless assassin. Bucky is a failed congressman. Walker is a loser and Y/N…is the greatest thing that ever happened to me”

“Thanks baby” you give her a soft smile.

“We are not heroes” Ava shakes her head.

Yelena walks off exasperated and desperate to express herself. You and Alexei quickly follow her.

“I’m just going to keep walking!” She called out as you followed.

“And im gonna keep following you until you’re ready to talk” you answer back.

“You don’t get it!” Yelena practically in tears, “malysh, I have so many regrets! I have done so many mistakes!”

You, Alexei and Venom all look to each other and then to her. “Yelena” Alexei said softly, “when I look at you I don’t see your mistakes”

“Me neither”

“Nor I”

Lash forms and nuzzles Yelena, “I don’t see your mistakes Momma”

You all embrace Yelena and just hold her close. Your wife relaxes in your arms.

Then came “hero time” as Venom would call it. Chaos was unleashed as the Void attacked. You could faintly see the outline of Bob as the Void caused several helicopters to crash.

Ava rescued several people. So did you and Venom. Yelena, Lash and Alexei worked in tandem. Bucky aided several older citizens. Even Walker tried to keep a giant slab of concrete from crushing someone.

The weight became too much so you all got right under the slab next to Walker and helped him push it up and over.

The giant slab of concrete came down with a slam. You, Venom, Yelena, Lash, Alexei, Bucky and Ghost stand together among the crowd of people.

“Look at us” Alexei says softly as the crowd cheers.

“We are the Thunderbolts!” Venom says excitedly. Bucky let out a little laugh at that.

“We never agreed on that, bud” you say quietly from within Venom.

And the Sentry, drenched in black descended and began spreading out his shadows.

People were vaporizing left and right. Alexei and Walker tried to get people off the streets.

Your phone buzzed with Peter Parker’s phone number. You answer, “hello?”

“What’s with the giant shadow spreading over New York?!” Peter exclaims. “No matter, I’m one minute from your location.”

“Who’s that?” Bucky asks.

“Backup.” Venom explains as he sees Spider-Man swinging in. “Oh there he is! Our friendly neighborhood-“

Instantly the web slinger is turned to shadows. “There he isn’t” Lash remarks.

You and Venom tried to keep people and families from being turned to shadows. Yelena stood frozen, looking up at the Void that was once Bob.

“Yelena?” You called out.

“Bob’s still in there” Yelena answers determined. “We have to get him out!”

You take her hand, “there’s no telling what will happen in there”

“We find each other. No matter what” she gives you a nod. You give her one back.

“We go together”

“As a family”

There was no telling where the Void was gonna lead. But neither of you were about to leave Bob behind to deal with it all on his own.

You and Yelena stepped into the shadows and immediately disappeared from view.

To Be Continued…

Tags @sparks123123 @baylegend6 @deafeningsharkslimeempath @marveldcfandom @ma1egamer @russianredassassin @pinklawyerwinnerzonk @multi-fandom-enjoyer @supercorpdanbeau @scarletquake-n7 @texaswolf23 @julieromanoff @sweetheartlizzie07

[foldingfittedsheets]

Hello! I have a couple bed/mattress stories/anecdotes for you, I think your stories are quite fun and I'm curious what you think of these two.

The first one is kinda a horror story. One of my roommates, the one with the most stable job and best income, has a mattress on the floor as his bed. It's been that way for all the five or so years I've lived with him. Worse, he doesn't seem to use sheets or a protector of any kind. It's gross and unsanitary but I don't care about him enough to try to convince him of that. (He's that worst kind of stubborn and frugal.)

The second story is moreso silly, and a two parter.

My (now ex) partner and I had just moved into an apartment from college dorms, and while we had some furnishings gifted/foisted upon us by family, a bed was not one of those things. My experience with buying beds at that point was taking trips to IKEA with my parents, and I don't know if my partner had ever gotten a new bed before, so we just searched Google maps for 'mattress store'. I think there was only one hit, and the store required you to make an appointment, which we did with some trepidation. When the time of the appointment approached we drove to the location of the store, which, given our limited knowledge of the area and the lack of light (sunset having been over an hour ago), seemed rather sketchy. I tend to be of an optimistic nature, so leading the way I took us to the door. It was locked but the incredibly friendly sales guy rushed over to let us in. We chatted a little about what we liked in a bed, and I think we ended up deciding on the very first one we tested. The price made us both wince a bit, but we still had a parental safety net so we signed for a mattress and box spring, and at my insistence also got a (crappy) frame. (At the time I just wanted to have space under the bed for storage, now after reading all your stories I'm really glad I insisted.) We set a time for everything to be delivered, and I figured there was probably someone else in the company that would deliver it. But no, it was the sales guy. I have mad respect for him though, because we lived on the 4th floor at the time and he managed to get the stuff up mostly by himself. I left him a glowing review, because what else could I do?

The bed was pretty nice, but I'd grown up with memory foam mattresses so when some acquaintances mentioned they had a full size memory foam mattress that had been shipped to them instead of the queen size one they ordered that they had to get rid of, I begged my (ex) partner to drive me over so we could get it. They reluctantly agreed and so we went and got a box of memory foam mattress that we shoved in their back seat and took home. We wrangled it up the 4 flights of stairs and then opened it up so it could air out and decompress from having been rolled. After that was done we just, kinda, stacked it on top of the spring mattress. It was actually super comfortable. And tall. Unfortunately though, mattresses aren't really designed to stack so the top mattress kept trying to slide off the lower one. We tried getting a mattress protector to go around both mattresses, but - idk if we just got a cheap protector or what - it was super plastic-y even through sheets and neither of us could handle the texture so that ended up being a bust. I'm pretty sure we also tried a rug grip, one of those funky rubbery sheets you put between rugs and the floor so the rug doesn't slide all over, but it didn't help much either. Pretty sure the final solution was just some cardboard wedged in the corners of the cheap frame and pushing the mattress back into place any time we got off the bed.

That relationship ended somewhat as a dumpster fire, and we moved out very shortly after, and my ex got frame/spring mattress/box spring, while I got the memory foam mattress and an IKEA bed frame that my parents had but were no longer using. It's been about 5 years and the memory foam mattress doesn't seem to have nearly as much support anymore, so maybe I should be looking into getting a new one. Maybe once my current partner gets back from working a few counties away. I know they can sleep on just about anything, probably including a rock, but they deserve nice things so I want to include them.

This- This is… Don’t. Please don’t do that. You took a boxed bed (evil, no support) and put it on top of more bed (even less support).

It’s not surprising your boxed bed is giving out, they tend to only have a modicum of back support for 4-5 years. Treat yourself to a good adult bed with back support, go with your partner. Don’t get a boxed bed.

[nephilimeq]

And the beginning of the next season starts off like this...

Buck shrugs as he's on the phone with his sister, and says, "Yeah, I still haven't found a place yet, but I'm still looking. It's amazing how hard it is to find an apartment when you don't have a girlfriend in real estate," he jokes.

Maddie is quiet for a moment...and then she replies, "Are you? Still looking?"

Buck balks at the question.

He stops in the middle of cooking up Tommy's dinner for later, hand pausing midair with the knife, and he genuinely thinks about how to respond.

"I, uh...yeah. I mean, of course I am, Maddie! Why, why would I not be seriously looking? Tommy and I are just friends. I've been staying in his guest room, and we're just roommates..."

He can practically hear her eyeroll through the phone.

"Yeah, roommates. Lemme guess, you're making dinner for him right now for when he gets off shift because you'll be at work later? You'll put it on a covered plate in the fridge, with a note on top of it, I'm sure. With a heart?"

Frustrated with how accurate she is, he slices back down into the potato with probably more force than he needs to.

In a pathetic attempt to defend himself, he says, "It... it's not like that, Maddie," and she snorts.

"Oh, please! You two have basically been living together for the past 4 months and I have never seen you more at ease with yourself. The only thing you two aren't doing is sleeping together," she adds, and Buck silently agrees while still resenting the fact that she sees right through him.

"Mads, I...just..."

He hears the front door open and immediately freezes. Tommy wasn't supposed to be home yet.

"I gotta go," he says, quickly hanging up on his sister and doing his best to ignore the fact that there's a flutter in his chest when Tommy calls out and says, "Hey, Evan! I, uh...I got sent home. Looks like they're taking me off shift for the next couple of days..."

Buck notices his voice sounds strange, and moves around the kitchen island and then Tommy comes in to view.

His eyes are red, his nose is red, and he looks downright miserable.

Shaking his head, Buck says, "You're sick," and immediately goes into mother hen mode. Without thinking about what he's doing, he reaches out and takes Tommy's jacket from his shoulders and hangs it up on the coat rack and then ushers him towards the bathroom, saying, "Take a shower, get into comfy clothes, and get in bed. I got to make a couple phone calls, and then I'm going to make you some soup."

Tommy attempts to argue, but he quickly brushes him off with, "Nope! I'm not taking any arguments! Go!"

He knows the airman is sick because the burly pilot simply nods and plods heavily into the bathroom, even his footsteps echoing his misery.

Shaking his head a second time, Buck reaches for his cell phone, dialing the 118 first.

Hen picks up the video call.

"Buck? What are you doing calling me? You're about to see me in a few hours."

He gives her a look.

"Yeah, about that," he drawls, and his friend gives him a look, to which he replies, "Tommy's sick. The 217 sent him home because he's useless and I would feel like a bad roommate if I left him here to suffer. If you think I'm a bad patient, you've never seen Tommy sick before. He is the biggest baby, with the worst stubborn streak I've ever seen. Last time he was sick was when we were together, and I was barely able to get through it then. Can I have the next couple days off to help him out?"

He finishes it off with what he hopes is an endearing smile...

...and let's out a sigh of relief when Hen shakes her head and rolls her eyes and says, "Sure, why not. Go ahead and take care of your boyfriend," and he glares at her.

"He's not my boyfriend, anymore! We're roommates!"

"Uh uh, sure. Keep telling yourself that, Buckaroo."

She hangs up and Buck glares down at his phone, wondering why everyone insists that he and Tommy are back together when the airmen had made it very clear that he was not interested in him in that way anymore.

Reluctantly, he calls Maddie back.

"Hey, why you calling so soon? Miss me already, little bro?" she quips, and this time he's the one rolling his eyes.

"Tommy's sick. I'm going to be here for the next couple days taking care of him."

There's a moment of silence.

...and then she says, "And this is different from your situation already how?"

Buck huffs and thumps his fist against the counter.

"We're just roommates!"

She laughs, and her voice carries through his phone as she says, "Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you might actually believe it."

He hangs up on her, and then immediately begins making the soup. It's nothing fancy, just one of the chicken and noodle soups that Tommy keeps in the pantry. He adds a few seasonings that he knows will help with the congestion and then grabs the tray that they had used once or twice before for breakfast in bed and quickly plates his lunch.

As he walks into the bedroom, he sees Tommy only just getting into bed, still looking like death warmed over.

"Hey, I made you soup."

"Mmm, sounds good. I'm not feeling very hungry though," Tommy murmurs, already looking halfway asleep, but Buck knows that he needs the hydration and the nourishment, and quickly makes his way to the bed (as quickly as he can with a bowl full of soup on a tray), and says, "Hey, now. Eat this now, then you can go to sleep."

Tommy gives him a look, and he opens his mouth as if to argue...but Buck shoots him a look of his own, and it suddenly reminds him of the last time the older man was sick and how he had had to practically tie him down to the bed to keep him from making himself worse. He thinks Tommy remembers the same thing as there is a look in his eye that tells him probably more than he meant to.

Settling back into the pillows, the man says, "Alright. Soup. Then sleep."

Buck smiles, glad that Tommy is listening to him.

He sits there and tells the airman some of the new things he recently learned from his new documentary podcast that he'd been listening to.

Tommy finishes and then slowly sinks under the covers.

As Buck gathers the tray table and the empty dishware, he finds himself lingering in the doorway of the bedroom, staring at the man's profile as he falls asleep, marveling at the fact that even when he was sick and exhausted he was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen...

...okay.

Maybe they weren't roommates.

The season should end with Buck knocking on Tommy’s door.

“Do you mind if I– If I stay here for a couple of days until I find a place to live?”

And he ends up staying forever.

[bunnyburrowsys]

you guys don't realize how badly i want to cover this fuckass thread arguing against every single claim against taco.

so i did :3

and it.

is

LONG.

so watch out. eat up :3

(also, if you find out or know who made the thread, for the love of starclan do NOT harass them. the most you should do is block them.)

(This is a description of the image above including inputs from me because i can :3) Fucked up shit Taco has done on this episode:

Force the contestants into talking about issues they still weren't ready to talk about. (Rubi: Mephone already was going to do that. He set it up. He made the challenge. He literally said "I can respect the whole therapy but twisted". Off to a great start. (sarcasm))

Immediately replaced Mic with Mepad, because well. She said it herself; having someone helps her think.(Rubi: Because she was isolated for years after season 1. Taco also stole Mepad for teleportation but having him as a companion is not "replacing" anyone.) Mepad was the closest and easiest to manipulate on doing that. After all... Mepad just left Mephone4's side(Rubi: Taco kidnapped Mepad. Mepad never "left" Mephone. Taco was only using Mepad for teleportation so Mic could win the challenge in EP 14, she didn't try to convince him she was a good person nor to quit his job). Of course Taco would use that against him.

Sang about "how much she regrets everything" while still purposefully, and consciously, wanting to make things worse for everyone. (Rubi: Taco's Tirade was Taco acknowledging her own flaws and insulting herself while also projecting on the contestants. it was not a self pitying song.)

Make fun of Suitcase's situation and messed with her(Rubi: which is false btw!), despite the fact Suitcase genuinely thought that Taco was a hallucination.

She practically forced Suitcase to talk about something she still wasn't ready to talk about (Rubi: False but also Mephone was going to do the same exact thing.). In front of everyone. Pushing someone to talk about her hallucinations is kind of messed up. (Rubi: No one, including Taco, knew Suitcase was suffering from hallucinations)

Kept feeling bad about herself but never did anything to actually try to be better. (Rubi: Taco is not self-pitying. She thinks she's a horrible person that is too far gone to be redeemed. She wants to improve but isn't confident it will be worth it.)

Used Mic's self elimination as a reason to why everyone should leave despite the fact that she was the reason as to why Mic left in the first place.(Rubi: accurate but this implies Taco doesn't know this already)

Kept pushing Knife to talk about Mic and expose her.(Rubi: inaccurate. Taco, at the very least, wanted everyone to know Knife knew of her presence in the game. From what I remember, she made no illusions to Knife protecting someone. Knife said that on his own Looked back at the episode. Taco did make references and implications about helping someone and Knife knowing. Still didn't name drop. In short, she wanted to ruin his reputation with everyone when they learned he knew she was there all along and that she was a potential danger.)

(Continued description)

(Rubi: This one is the worst) Died from stress because despite the fact that she willingly did all of that, she couldn't face Pickle. Not yet. (Rubi: Blaming someone for dying from stress or whatever, no matter if it was their fault, is the stupidest thing ever. Also, she didn't want to face anyone because her plans were gonna be foiled. If Mephone did these same exact things and almost short circuited from someone calling him out, everyone would've felt bad. but not Taco who is coincidentally the female character. Yes, I am pulling the misogyny card.)

Made it all about herself and completely disregarded how everyone felt under the excuse of "this is the best for all of you". (Rubi: Vague. What exactly was best for all of them? Interrogating them or telling them to leave the show that was ruining their relationships? Taco, while doing bad things, did bring up good points. The show -- the prize was what they were really after and Taco recognized that and learned that it was all for nothing. And mind you, Mephone was going to do the same thing except for his own enjoyment.)

Made Baseball and Suitcase end out on terrible terms when they were just reworking their relationship. (Rubi: False. All of this. In the episodes after Nickel's elimination, Baseball and Suitcase avoided eachother. They interacted once in Mine Your Own business where Baseball told Suitcase "Don't let me hold you back". They did not attempt to rework anything between them because what Suitcase had with the Armless Alliance wasn't what an alliance was to her. She wanted nothing to do with Baseball. Baseball left understanding how Suitcase felt, not hating or resenting her and definitely not vice versa.)

Essentially manipulated Mepad because of not showing him the full story aside from her regrets. (Rubi: Taco isn't going to rat out Mic's cheating like a Tattletail. Claiming Taco is dishonestly influencing Mepad into thinking she is innocent or good or whatever this claim is trying to say is so very wrong. Mepad didn't ask and since the cut of Mic leaving is still fresh, it wouldn't be easy for Taco to talk about. Additionally, Mepad is a free thinker. He was proven himself that the show is harmful. By Marsh and by Taco. Did Marsh manipulate him too?)

"No more hiding" despite the fact that she very well knows Pickle doesn't answer her letters for a reason, and that Mic left from how much pain she caused her. (Rubi: This is a blatant misunderstanding of what Taco said that it is laughable. Taco was saying "no more hiding" to herself. She was literally looking at the invisibow that she has been using to hide from others and she has also been hiding from the responsibility of apologizing to Pickle.)

Thats it! I hope all of the Taco likers like this and Taco haters cry to their mommies or whatever :3

If you have anything to play devil's advocate or add on, please do so! I like talking :3

Fronting: Raichu/Julius/Rubi - {He/They/Mew} & Lollipop {She/He}

[atomufreak]

At the Movies

Cw: NSFW, Public (ish) sex, Omorashi / piss,

background: This takes place a couple years after the end of the club but before the epilogue. Bills about 20-25 years old and you're dating him already. Also, this is my first fic in literal YEARS so sorry if its not the best :p

You and Bill were in line at the local theater. Today was the day the amazing Spider-Man movie came out, which Bill was excited about. He could barely keep himself still, fidgeting with the cuff of his sleeve, and rambled and rambled about it.

"I mean, I liked the Toby Maguire ones, of course. There was a lot of good stuff about them, but I think this one's gonna be a LOT better. You remember the trailers I showed you, right?"

"Uh huh,” You nodded, Bill's words coming through one ear and heading out the other.

"They look good, right! Like super good. This movie's gonna be great," Bill said with a smile. You couldn't help but smile back. He was right, that movie did look good.

"Yeah, it'll be great."

After the long line, you two were finally inside and at the concession stands, ready to buy your tickets.

"Could we get some snacks too? It's a long movie and I'm gonna be hungry."

"Oh, come on, two hours isn't long. But sure, whatever. While you're at it, get me a large Coke," Bill said as he paid for his ticket, leaving you to pay for your own and the snacks.

In the theater, you sat down next to Bill, who was already slurping away at his Coke.

"Geez, Bill. You've almost drunk half your soda, and the movie hasn't even started yet." You say, opening your bag of candy. Bill looked down at his cup.

"Ah shit you're right, you'll let me drink some of yours, right?" Bill said, continuing to sip.

"Sure, I guess,"  You said, knowing that if you said no, he'd do it anyway.

Bill talked all the way through the previews, explaining things about Spider-Man you probably already knew, but you let him.

As the movie started, Bill shushed you, even though you weren't speaking. You faced the screen as the movie started, but out of the corner of your eye, you saw Bill grab for your soda, his was already empty.

Bill's eyes were locked onto the screen, he had been waiting for this day for years. He always thought that he'd see this movie with the members of his old club. But they disbanded years ago, he thought he was over it. He was over. But he couldn't help but feel a weird pit in his stomach as the movie began to play. No-not his stomach, lower.

An embarrassing feeling of fullness plagued Bill's body, a tightness in the lower half, no doubt from all the soda he had just drunk. Bill let out a low sigh. The movie just started and he already has to piss. But it was too late for him to go now, no way would he miss any second of the movie he's been waiting YEARS for. His body would just have to shut up and hold it.

The first 30 minutes were easy, Bill could fully enjoy the movie normally. Andrew Garfield wasn't the worst at being Spider-Man, but he couldn't help but compare it to the past Spider-Man movies. But as the movie continued to play, he would think less and less about the movie and more and more about the ever-growing fullness in his bladder. He squeezed his legs together to try to stop some of the aching, but it seemed to just continue on, stronger and stronger.

Bill rocked back and forth while his eyes were glued onto the screen, yours on the other hand, couldn't help but look over at the squirming bill.

“Bill? Are you good?-”

“Shh, don’t talk in the movies,” Bill said, not even looking at you.

“Fine, fine,” you whispered, looking at Bill for a moment before returning your eyes to the screen.

As the movie went on, Bill's bladder began to spasm and twitch. He bit his lip, trying to hold back any groan that tried to escape. He hated how it felt; his spasms spread throughout his body. They made him feel weak, like he couldn't control something as small as his own bladder. Each spasm made him collapse down on himself, but he had to stick it through.

At a very important scene that Bill had been looking very forward to, he focused in on it, obliviously letting his body relax. He held back a yelp as he felt a leak escape his body, his hands going straight to his crotch to help him hold, his legs squeezed together tight. He was lucky for the darkness in the theater. He felt absolutely humiliated in this pose. He could feel the slight warm dampness in his crotch, making him cringe.

They were only an hour or so into the movie, there was still so much left to go. Bill worried that his weak bladder might not be able to hold it throughout the whole movie. He worried even harder about what would happen if he didn't. He thought of the moviegoers laughing at him, a loser who couldn't even hold his bladder for two hours. He wondered how you would react, would you be disgusted? Angry at him? Maybe even break up with him for this? He couldn't let that happen; he hated to admit it, but you were all he really had right now. He also realized the risk of getting up to use the bathroom now at the climax of the movie, what if he missed a super important part of the movie and everyone talked about it online, and he would have NO idea what they were talking about! He’d be the laughingstock of the forums he was in.

Bill shook his head. He vowed to himself not only to hold it in, but also to sit through the whole movie no matter what. He was NOT going to miss a second of this movie for his weak failure of a bladder. Much easier said than done.

Throughout the rest of the movie, Bill's hands were wedged in between his thighs, practically grinding on them to prevent any further leakage. At the two-hour mark, it started not to work. He whined quietly as he felt droplets trickle into his briefs, making his now cold, damp underwear warm again. How that warm feeling was teasing, so comforting and warm yet so dangerous and humiliating.

You looked over at Bill once more, seeing his pathetic attempts to stop himself from pissing himself. It was obvious to you now what was happening to him, his flushed face, heavy breathing, legs forced tightly together, hands gripping his crotch, it would be obvious to anyone near him that he needed to piss, and bad.

“Bill,” you whisper. He doesn't answer, clearly too focused on the predicament he was in.

“Bill.” You say, a little firmer than before.

“What?” Bill whined, not turning to face you, his eyes barely looking at you, purposely avoiding contact with yours.

“C'mon, let's go to the bathroom, you need it,”  you said, tugging slightly on his arm. “And move your hand from there, we're in public,” Bill's arm didn't budge, though, firmly locked into its position.

“No. The movie isn't over yet, I'm fine. Shh”

“Don't shh me, you're about to piss yourself. You can miss a couple of minutes of the movie.”

“You know I can't, especially right now! I'll go when it's done.”

“I don't understand your bill. We're seeing this movie again tomorrow, right? What does it matter if you miss a couple of minutes now, you're gonna see it tomorrow anyway. Is it really worth being in pain?” Bill fully looked at you for a second before looking back at the screen.

“Yeah, it is. Didn't I already explain to you the importance of first, second, and third viewings? Whatever, I'll explain it to you again later. But hush for now, I'll be fine.” You knew Bill wouldn't be fine, you didn't even think Bill would last till the end of the movie. But what could you do? You knew Bill wouldn't listen to you and would suffer the consequences of his actions eventually.

Finally, the movie drew to a close, and the credits started to roll. You stood up and stretched, man, that movie really was good, just as you expected. You looked over at Bill.

“You ready to go?”

“Yeah, just give me a second.” Bill's brain was flooded by two thoughts: how cool that movie was, and how much pain his body was in. His legs felt tight, his bladder tighter. He tried to stand up but immediately felt a spurt of urine leak into his boxers.

“Fuck…” Bill whined, squeezing his hand tighter on his crotch. He tried to stand up again, but the same thing happened, a little more urine came out.

“Bill, come on, the lights are on now, move your hand,”  you said, a little embarrassed for him.\

“I can't get up.”

“What?”

“I can't get up, I'll…I'll piss myself if I get up,” Bill admitted, his face red.

“Really?” Your embarrassment turned into concern, fully examining the fragile state of your boyfriend.

“You hold yourself, okay? I'll help you up,” you said as he gently helped Bill stand up. Bills' legs wobbled slightly, he felt himself leak a bit more, but not as much as before. He knew he didn't have long, though, he had to get to a bathroom quickly.

You slowly helped Bill make his way to the restroom, each step was painful for him. Thankfully, the people in the theater seemed too focused on talking about the movie rather than on the desperate man you were with.

You opened the door to the bathroom and rushed yourself and Bill into the biggest stall. You stood behind Bill, letting him rest his body weight onto you. You unbuttoned and unzipped Bill's jeans. His voice was heavy and loud, his whole body trembling, urgent for release. You helped Bill out of his pants and boxers, his tip leaked spurts of urine before you even aimed it at the bowl.

Bill moaned as he finally let his body relax, letting both the tension and piss flow out of his body. He leaned back into your body, his head resting on your shoulder. You could see how red his face was, how his eyes slightly fluttered, how his chest moved up and down with every breath. The restroom was filled with the sounds of his whines and heavy breaths, and the splattering sound of urine hitting the water.

After a minute or so, Bill was finally empty. He let out a long sigh as you gently shook his dick, making sure every drop was out.

“Do you feel better now?”

“Mmh…yeah…” Bill groaned, his whole body felt sore, especially around his sides. But still, he was empty, that burning feeling was gone, but was quickly replaced by another. The wonderful burning sensation of need, the feeling of his cock in your warm hand. It never took a lot to get him hard, but you holding his dick was one of the easiest ways. You could feel him grow and throb in your hand.

“Hey…could you…you know…” Bill asked, but the glossy look in his eyes made it clear it was a beg.

“Bill…we're in Public,” you said, trying to listen around the bathroom to see if anyone had come in.

“Come on, I'll be quick, I'll be quiet, please,” he whined. If Bill's desperate words didn't convey how bad his need was, the twitching of his cock in your hand showed how much he craved your touch.

“Fine, real quick.” You sighed, gliding your hand down to the base of his below average sized cock. Stroking it slowly before speeding up your pace.

“Fuck…” Bill whined; he was never aware, nor cared, for how loud he was being. He thrusted forward into your hand. “Cmon, faster, go faster,” You obliged to his demands, your strokes becoming firm and fast. Bill became more vocal, letting out strange-sounding grunts, groans, and moans.

It always amazed you how much pre would come out of Bill's tip, it had already coated his whole cock and the underside of your hand. He was close already; it didn't take much to please him, nor did it take long for him to reach his climax. Bill bit his lip as he whined, his hips bucked as he came into the toilet bowl. Finally, all the tension and need from Bill's body was gone. He relaxed against you as he caught his breath. You wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him for a minute before helping his pants up.

You two left the stall and went to the sink to wash your hands. Bill seemed a little dazed and tired, but very very happy. He never knew how to start a conversation after having an intimate moment, but as you both left the theater he spoke.

“So…the movie was pretty cool, right? Let's go out to eat so we can talk about it.” Bill grabbed your hand and dragged you to the nearest fast-food place. A nonverbal thank you for your help and for being there for him. He hated being vulnerable around anyone, yet you knew he knew he could be vulnerable around you. You smiled and let him take you, even though you knew you were going to be the one paying for whatever he ordered.

[scrubbinn]

In Stars and Systems (ISAT AU)

Isabeau

41 days since the King’s defeat

Odile stares at you, waiting for an answer. Her gaze makes you squeamish..

“Well, Isabeau?”

You sigh. Please, Change, anything but this conversation right now.

“Look, I get it, Sif has been acting kind of weird.”

“KIND OF?!”

Woah! You didn't expect Odile to raise her tone like that.

“M'dame! You're gonna wake the whole inn!”

…It's been over a month since Mirabelle froze the king with his own attack. Over a month since you found out your bestest bud in the whole world was stuck in a time loop for a year. Over a month since you… confessed… to him. It makes you feel warm everytime you think about it.

The nurse from Dormont’s house had only recently given the ok for the party to travel. It took a whole month for Sif to finish recovering from the worst craft exhaustion that anyone had ever seen. The first stop on your new journey was traveling to Bambouche to deliver Bonbon back to their sister. Before that, everyone was stuck keeping Sif company while he healed.

NOT THAT YOU HATED IT!! But it was rough, seeing them in that state. Unable to tell you anything that happened and answer any of the questions you had about the time loop or that star person.

You wished you could've been by his side more. He was in rough shape after everything that happened. Not to mention, when he went to give the party's thanks to Loop, you found him passed out in front of the favor tree. No Loop in sight.

That first week was bad, they could barely form sentences. It was a gamble that any food they ate would stay inside him long enough to digest it.

Things started getting strange after that. During the end of the second week, they woke up, panicked, and tried to run away from the house. They only got to the hallway outside their bed before they broke down. You don’t know exactly what happened, so you did your best to reassure him. When they finally calmed down, they looked at you with such sad eyes. It was probably just a nightmare, but something in their face made you worried. It was like they thought you were a ghost or a zombie or something.

The weird stuff kept happening. Some days Sif would be like how you remembered, but other times they'd be distant. Either not saying a single word, or way too bright and cheery. But no matter the mood, they always avoided you…

Then there was tonight's incident. It was the first snowfall of winter. You had to push everyone to walk those extra kilometers to reach the next town, Voiralters. You were all exhausted, and so you thought you'd all go straight to bed as soon as you checked in at the inn's front desk. M’dame Odile, wanted to catch up on some reading in the lobby, instead. That's when she noticed Sif slinking out of the building. She found him lying in the snow, resting. And when she tried to check up on him, reach for him…

She woke you and Mira up soon after. The cut wasn't too serious. Mira healed it perfectly as always, but the fact that Sif was the one responsible, it made it look ten times worse. The party decided on Mira to go out and look for Sif. You wanted to go out and find them but…

“Look! Sif is just under a lot of stress!”

“Isabeau!”

She sighed and regained her composure. “We've all been through a lot. But it's clear Siffrin is hiding something again and not telling us. The way they're acting has made that clear.”

“But… maybe they're just trying to deal with what happened? In their own way? He still hasn't been able to talk much about what happened with the loops. Maybe he just needs more time.”

“Look, even when Siffrin was having a breakdown, and nearly destroyed the whole world… he never attacked us. Even at his lowest point.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“We learned a lot that day. Time craft, Wish craft, time loops and star people. Is it so weird to think there might be a craft to take over someone's mind? Is Siffrin still Siffrin?”

HUH?! “UM, YES? Who would they be otherwise?”

“I don't know Isabeau! That Loop character? This universe god? The King? Does it matter? Something is wrong. They're not acting right! Maybe it’s more subtle than that day, when Siffrin confronted each of us… hurt us… Something has clearly changed. Whatever is wrong, we need to fix it.”

Your body is shaking, you don't know what to say. To convince her. To convince yourself.

Thank change, the sound of the entrance bell ends the conversation. But you see Mira walk inside about to cry.

“Mira! Are you ok? Did you find Sif?”

She shakes her head, dejected.

“I-I'm Sorry Isabeau. I couldn't… I couldn't find them anywhere.”

You felt your throat tighten. Why didn’t you go out with Mira to search………… 

You're not dumb, you've caught on the same things as M'dame Odile. Something is wrong with Siffrin. They weren't acting like themselves. But you didn't want to think about it because… what if was true. What if the one you loved was gone, or they still didn't trust you. After everything, they still couldn't bring themselves to trust you! You are a coward. What was the reason you quit being a defender? Because you wanted to help! Even when everyone else was too scared… You're sure showing them, huh.

Does it matter if it's Siffrin or not? There's someone out in the freezing cold and probably scared out of their mind. You swallow down your fear. Your body moves on its own and the door swings open once more.

Odile looks at you in surprise. “You know it'd be better to wait right. Siffrin isn't so foolish as to spend an entire night out-” 

concern washed over her face. After the few stories Sif did share, none of you really know what they'd do. 

“Perhaps we should wake some of the townsfolk for help?”

“Well…” Mira starts running a bunch of ideas through her head. “I'm sure there'd be a lot of people willing to help. But there'd also be a lot of people who'd get upset.”

Odile smirks, “I think they'll be fine if it's a request from the saviors of Vaugarde.” 

Mira didn't like using the title of savior for anything but it has been useful lately. It’s not like you all had the money to stay at a cozy inn like this.

“You and Isabeau can ask for help, I'll watch over Boniface. I don't exactly do well in the cold.”

“Ok! We'll do our best to find Siffrin! And then I’m going to kick his crabbing butt until he starts talking to us!”

M'dame smirks “Good peptalk.”

You can tell Mira is trying to pump herself up. It's so cool she can push herself like that. Hopefully, it'll be enough inspiration for you too.

You and Mira step out into the night. The cold wind hits you all at once How can Sif handle cold nights like this? Mira looks so comfy in her fluffy overcoat. You really should have bought one yourself, but it was expensive, and you were hoping for an excuse to cuddle up with Sif. You hope you find him soon. 

It's not long before you notice a shade In the darkless snow. It must be blood from when Sif… you push that thought into the back of your mind and continue. The snowfall already hid any footprints they might have made. With their cloak on, it's no wonder Mira couldn't find them. It was only a small town but there were still so many alleys and crevices for someone to hide in.

It's freezing out. The air bites through your clothes. The new snow layer brightens up the night, but it’s still hard to spot any details not illuminated by the street lamps. You've been knocking on any door you can. Some wake, listen to your story, do what they can to help. That good ol’ Vaugarde support is coming in real handy right now. It’s not long before twenty other people are helping you search, with some going to wake up even more. Poor Mira is feeling awful right now involving so many people, she’s doing her best to keep up a brave face. You're only starting to feel confident because of her. Voiralters is only thrice as big as Dormont. This shouldn’t take much longer. You keep telling yourself that, but it doesn’t make it more believable.

Gotta stay positive! Sure, you haven’t seen a single sign of them in an alleyway. No one has found them hiding out in a shed or under a bridge. Just stay positive, at some point a friendly face is going to shout out that they found him. Sure, a lot of the people are looking a little tired. You’re getting tired too. You should have gone to sleep hours ago. No, you can’t think like that! You’ll find Sif! No matter what!

The cold is starting to get to you. You’re feeling dizzy, ears and fingertips hurting. You want to see him again. Your throat is starting to hurt from calling out. The townsfolk all say the same thing, No sign of the savior in darkless clothes. Mira is thinking you should wait until morning before continuing. You curse under your breath each chance you're alone. Cursing at the crabbing cold, the crabbing situation, at anything to keep your mind running.

Think. Think! Where would Sif go to hide? Would they hide next to a house? No, if they wanted to be alone they would avoid any chance of someone hearing them outside. An alleyway? You’ve triple checked all of them… The nearby woods? Where would you even begin to search? But, it is the only place you haven’t searched yet. And Sif should know how dangerous it is. But it's the only place left. You slap your cheeks. This is no time to doubt yourself! You’re Isabeau! If there’s a change Sif is there, you are going to take it! No more hesitation! Sif wouldn’t ever give up, so you can’t either! You won’t leave him behind again!

You're not the biggest fan of forests. Well, the favor trees are neat and all, but you were never the type to go running into the woods when you were a kid. The ground is so uneven. You end up tripping on a branch, and slam your head into a stump. It hurts, but you can't give up. Blood runs down your forehead, not important, gotta find Sif. Thoughts are starting to tell you that it's hopeless, that you should regroup to the others. The back of your mind only has so much space. Do you even know the way back home? You feel all turned around now. It's hard to make out your foot prints. Wait… footprints! They're way too small to be yours. The canopy was doing its best to slow the descending blanket of snow. With that, you see the footprints leading further in… He's there.

You wouldn't have recognized him without the shaking. From your distance and light, he would have looked like a lump of snow and some moss. But they were shivering. No? Getting closer, you see he's, hyperventilating.

Before you can get closer, he snaps his attention towards you and jumps back. they're getting ready to run. Your mind is, confused. Trying to process so many things at once. Thoughts are fighting each other to swim to the surface, and, the one that comes to mind first is… that you're tired. Your body gives out on its own and you sit down on the snowy floor. Things are a lot clearer now that you're not running everywhere. Sif’s eye is so wide. He looks like a scared prey animal ready to dart away or attack.

“Oh I get it. You were scared when M'dame Odile was checking up on you. Jeez Sif, way to scare everyone like that.”

Sif looked confused. Poor thing. This is just like those times you've needed to coax a cat out of a tree or ditch.

“Oh! How about we try doing a breathing exercise! That usually helps right? Here follow my lead. Breath in…”

Sif seems to relax a bit as they follow your lead. How long were you supposed to hold your breath again? Now is a good a time as any.

“And out!”

They've calmed down a bit, you think. They're looking at you with caution but curiosity as well.

Be reeeal nice if you had some of Bonbon's snacks right now.

“...Sif, we're all worried about you right now. I mean what you did tonight, and how you've been acting the past month. It's clear there's something you're hiding from us.”

Sif raises their guard again. Moonlight bounces off their dagger.

“But, we won't force you to tell us.”

That eases their stance, and also seems to confuse them. You're starting to get a bit uncomfortable by how one sided this has been.

“I mean, unless it starts ending the world again and then you'll have to talk, but like, take your time bud!”

….

“...”

What would Sif do?

“Ok, let's try easing the tension. Tell me if you've heard this one before. What's the best pace to carve something?”

“..?”

“Whittle by whittle!”

“...pfft”

You can't help but smile as Sif tries to stifle his laughter. Yes! Yes!

you're not sure how long you spend, telling puns out in the freezing cold. The others are probably worrying about you by now, and you should definitely get this head injury checked. But… It's nice.  With enough patience, Siffrin begins to creep closer before collapsing near you. Finally feeling safe again.

You let out the sigh of tension you've been holding all night. It's nearly daybreak. It won't be hard to find your way back. You look down at your sleeping companion and get ready to carry them back. You have to accept it now.

This isn't Sif.

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

Hi! to everyone who follows us. I hope you won't mind us working on this project. ISAT has meant a lot to us over these past couple of years and we wanted to contribute our own story to it's beautiful community. So we hope you'll stick around to enjoy it.

And to everyone who's new and found us through a search or tags. Thank you for reading. Just the fact you read our story means the world to us. We hope you'll stick around to read more.

[a-bad-case-of-the-stephs]

Do we ever see Steph in a mentor type roll in the comics? I’m trying to write something for her and I’m not sure how she would act if she had to be a mentor to someone younger. I can’t tell if she’d be good at it or not. Maybe she would in a non traditional way?

Not really, unfortunately.. Funny you ask, as there was an idea for a comic w Steph mentoring a group of young heroes floated a while back that never ended up getting made. However, Steph is pretty consistently portrayed as good with kids! The closest thing to what you’re looking for I can think of is probably Steph’s interactions with Damian in Batgirl 2009! While not quite a mentorship exactly, it might be a good basis for how you might want to write her interacting with a kid she saw as is need of her guidance. Checking it out might be a good idea!!

On my opinion on the type of mentor Steph would be, that’s a great question, I think a lot of it would be a natural product of her own experiences w mentorship.

Steph has had some truly shitty mentor experiences in her past (looking at you Bruce Wayne cough cough), and I think that would make her very cognizant of certain things. For instance, I think she would want to be very open with a mentee, as one of the biggest things used against Steph during both her stints working with Bruce was how much information was kept from her and how far she was held away. We can see some evidence for that openness with how Steph interacts with Wendy Harris (Proxy) during Batgirl 2009, Steph basically tells her everyone’s secret id and backstory with no compunctions. So I think Steph would absolutely be very open with a mentee and would try not to keep secrets from them. On the other hand, one of Steph’s flaws is she is kind of a secretive person, she’s introspective and she likes to figure stuff out by herself, so I can see this being an internal conflict for her, where she is very willing to tell a mentee important secret info, but still holds more emotional stuff close to chest.

Another thing abt how I think she’d act as a mentor, Steph is extremely dedicated and determined, and tends to see things in a black and white sort of ‘giving up is weakness’ kind of way? I think she’d have to balance her 1) incredibly determination and focus causing her to want to push her mentee to be the best they can and 2) Steph’s (again) terrible experiences being mentored by Bruce making her not want to push too hard / berate / not provide enough verbal encouragement to her mentee. It’d be a balance, but she’d probably end up being super encouraging and verbally affirming to a mentee while holding them to a pretty high standard.

Just generally, when it comes to Steph interacting with kids, she has had a pretty regular habit of projecting her own experiences and traumas onto them. Not a bad thing per se, just she seems to tend to see her younger self in abused kids particularly and it engenders her to be protective of them.

If you want to take that to explore a flaw Steph might have as a mentor, you could write her projecting her own past difficulties or past feelings onto her mentee in a way that isn’t helpful or accurate.

All in all, I think Steph could be a great mentor! She gets along well with children and is stubborn when it comes to making friends and forming bonds, and has experienced pretty much the worst case scenario mentorship wise (dropped by BOP, dropped by Batman. Twice. Being insulted/used as a tool/held at arms length etc etc) which has pretty much given her a valuable perspective on exactly what NOT to do! However, those very same experiences might also hinder Steph’s abilities as a mentor. She might fixate on screwing up with them like she was screwed over, or project herself onto them. No matter what, I think she’d try very very hard to be present as a mentor and would want to be there for her mentee no matter what. Hope this was helpful, thank you for the ask, and good luck with your writing!!

[liedownquisition]

Dickroy people hyperbolically insisting they will kill themselves if Royjay wins and I have to use all my strength to keep myself from going you promise? in response because I have some sense of decorum and basic appropriate conduct 😔

akljdkjl They're SO DRAMATIC about it. Guys it's not that fucking deep. Other statements I've seen include "If DickRoy doesn't win then I'm going to kill YOU" and so on and so forth.

(Sorry Anon, I'm going to use this ask to complain about a different argument)

And the one that's really been getting me because holy fucking shit is the argument that "DickRoy is better because Roy is an actual person in it."

You know, I considered arguing that, actually, there's a lot of great fanfiction out there that doesn't minimize Roy and that the sanitization of his character is largely due to the batfanon black hole that everyone acknowledges most of the time but for some reason with JayRoy it's like a whole separate thing and not a by-product of popular tropes that are generally Bat-centric with everyone else as their accessories.

And by the nature of typing that paragraph I have, in a way, made that argument, but I've also somewhat changed my mind on how I want to really discuss this because I think there's a larger issue at hand here:

Fictional characters aren't people, you cannot erase their personhood because they don't have any.

I'm so sorry about whoever lied to you about that.

A lot of people are mad that JayRoys are willing to engage with and discuss Roy's addiction in an interrogative and compassionate way. They're not going to phrase it like that though. Because if they did phrase it like that it would betray the fact that they would rather ignore that part of Roy's character entirely except perhaps for brief little one-off references

You know, like how Dick Grayson only brings it up every now and then to throw that fact in Roy's face as an insult every time he's feeling pissy, especially when Roy is telling him something honestly kind of fucking true that he doesn't want to hear.

Frankly... I don't actually think I care if most of the shippers did or do erase Roy's "personhood." If I don't like their content I won't engage with it. There are plenty of ships, plenty fo fandoms, where this same phenomena happens all the time. Especially because we are talking about FANfiction.

AMATEUR fiction which is often clumsy and raw and inexperienced, that doesn't know how to realistically step back and have extensive focus or reference to more than one characters' struggles at a time. Even the worst fanfiction is a learning experience for the writer. Over time they might get better, or they might not. It doesn't matter. All that matters is t hat they enjoy themselves, and that other people sometimes enjoy it too!

We're all just out here doing our best, and trying to have a good time. We're not out here to make award-winning fiction, we're here to make the blorbos kiss, because they're not people, they're imaginary dolls and we can do whatever we want with them because it's not for you, we're not appealing to a broader market.

It's just for fun, and I think when you start arguing about character personhood, you're taking it too seriously.

Would I, personally, prefer to engage with depictions that display a degree of understanding of canon and respect for the characterization that's been laid out over decades? Yeah, I won't lie. I like that more. But, what I consider that to mean and what YOU consider that to mean and what THEY consider that to mean are all very different perspectives and interpretations.

There are sooooo many comics. And it's not a fucking crime to not read all of them and remember that in Bleebus Bongo Adventures Volume 4 Issue #516 Beefgus said he doesn't like Lemon Cake when you write your bakery AU and have Beefgus pick Lemon Cake off the menu and claim it's the best one they've ever had and that because they've had so much good Lemon Cake and have a lot of opinions about it in their life it's a real compliment.

There's nothing wrong with changing around character dynamics and relationships for an AU. And, technically, by nature, most fanfiction is already an AU, because it's not canon. And, maybe if they're trying to argue it's canon compliant then maybe it's a little more like "I don't think you and I read the same canon" but I don't really see that tagged a lot on SHIPFIC unless it IS a canon ship which obviously JR isn't lol.

They're just... Look if other people are playing with dolls in ways you don't like then I'm not sorry. That's their prerogative. Stop being so dramatic, you look like a child throwing a tantrum.

And I'm getting really tired of being the bigger person about it when they're taking every chance they can get to be anything but.

[saturnville]

Let's Stay Together | David Cliff (Kelvin Harrison Jr.)

Pairing: David Cliff (The High Note) x Black Fem OC (Sybelle Selene Jackson) Summary: Sybelle is determined to make up Warnings: Angst, fluff, suggestive language. WC: 2050 Reference: Loosely based on Let's Stay Together by Al Green AN: Because @youreadthatright asked about David and Sybelle...part 3. I hope it doesn't break your heart, friend. Please let me know your thoughts! Remember: likes are appreciated, but reblogs, asks, and comments are encouraged!

"Hi," she said, breath catching in her throat. "My name is Sybelle Jackson-Cliff. Yes, hello! Um, you made a cake for my husband recently--David? I wanted to know your turnaround time—I need one in about two weeks...thank you, kindly!"

She hung up with a loud sigh. 

She felt awful. The disappointment lingered in the air, heavy and stale. Some weeks had passed since the bust, she called their wedding anniversary. When people asked her how it was, she plastered a smile on her face and claimed it was 'everything a girl could've asked for.' They couldn't know she didn't ask for her husband's tear-filled eyes and disappointed tone to suffocate her until she closed her eyes.

He claimed they were fine, but things didn't feel fine. He was present, but distant. He responded when she spoke, but there wasn't anything behind his eyes. No excitement. No flare. No...David. He stayed on his side of the bed at night, resisting the urge to turn and wrap her in his arms. They ate together in silence, save for utensils scraping against thrifted china. He hadn't touched her much, either. Sure, a kiss before he left for the day, but she'd yet to be reminded of what it was like to be pressed into the mattress and chest to chest with the man she called her lover and friend. 

Sybelle wasn't the type to bring others into her relationship, but she couldn't resist wailing like a child to her best friend once David had gone to sleep that evening. 

"I'm the worst wife ever! Like...he did all this and I was..." Her words could hardly be made out over her sobs and heaving breaths. "I messed up so bad; what if he decides he doesn't want to be with me anymore?" 

Her friend, the trusted Kayla Marie, sighed deeply on the other line. "I don't think it'll go that far. But, this is a wake-up call, B. You cannot marry someone and still be in an unhealthy relationship with your job."

Sybelle sniffled. "I don't want to choose."

"You don't need to choose--David has made that clear. But, he shouldn't be second behind the stuo. Let him know you're trying. Intentionally trying. Do it because you mean it and because you value him and your marriage."

It hit her like a ton of bricks. It wasn't what she wanted to hear, but what she needed to hear. How could she become one with a man and treat him like he was number two, three, four, five, and six? She couldn't blame him for his distance, but she didn't like it. She despised it, truthfully. He'd forgive her, eventually. Hell or high water, they'd be okay, she was determined. 

It started simple. He'd been going on and on about a new microphone for a while, but was stuck on which one to choose. She'd understood how he may have assumed his comment had gone over her head from lack of response, but he hadn't known that she'd been in communication with some of the best music technicians, engineers, and instrument productions companies to find the one to suit his needs the best for their home studio,

It was meant to be a Christmas gift, something she hid under their bed and forgot about until eating turkey and drinking hot cider transitioned to eating ham and drinking hot chocolate. She determined now would be the perfect occasion. 

When he was out for the day, she called a series of technicians to install the microphone in their in-home studio. It was quick process, thankfully, as he'd returned just 30 minutes shy of their departure. 

He hadn't noticed at first. But when a shiny logo, unlike the one he was used to seeing, caught his eye, he was intrigued. David's fingers traced over the microphone softly, like it was the finest piece of china he was afraid to break. His eyebrows furrowed. "Slim, you been in here?" He called loud enough for her to hear over the clamoring noise she made just a few feet away in the living area. 

"Slim...?" He said, unsure.

"Wasn't me," she replied. "Had some folks come by."

"This...this is new?" he asked.

The sound of her heels against the laminate floor had his head turning toward the door. She was half dressed--nothing but a black bra, black slacks, and her favorite stilettos. In her hand was a blazer. He exhaled slowly. 

"You're the singer.  You got a new mic. Hope you like it. I've got the dinner soon. Do you want anything?"

David, gobsmacked by her appearance like he'd never seen her before, and by the new microphone that she gifted (though she tried to act like she didn't). It wasn't what he'd expected for a Tuesday afternoon. He swallowed thickly and shook his head, glancing over at his new music equipment. 

"No, no. I'm okay. Enjoy the dinner." 

He turned to press a kiss on her cheek, oblivious to the way her smile faltered just slightly when he intentionally missed her lips,oblivious to how her smile wavered when he chose her cheek instead. She stood straighter and nodded. This was only day one. She still had more time...she hoped. 

-

David sat at the dining room table, soothing sounds of jazz filling the atmosphere. His fingers moved swiftly across his laptop keyboard as he finished scheduling studio time for the next morning. His eyes cut toward the electronic clock on the stove. 5:05. The handle of their front door jingled. His eyebrow raised. "Slim, is that you?"

The click-clack of expensive heels against laminate answered for her. She huffed lowly and peeled her sunglasses off her face when she came into view. Breathtaking as ever, he noted. She donned straight leg pants that did wonders for her figure, a white tank top, a pink blazer, and tan heels. She smiled shyly. "Hi."

She dropped her keys and phone in the small bowl on the side table beside the couch. "Gonna shower. Anything you want for dinner?" 

David's eyebrows furrowed, and he stammered, confounded. She walked through the door at 5:05, which meant she left the studio at 4:45 PM, before the workday officially ended. Her phone joined her keys in the designated bowl. He noticed. And now, she was showering and ready to make dinner.

David blinked, mouth agape, as he tried to piece together what he was witnessing. Had his prayers been answered? He reminded himself to mark his prayer as complete before he went to sleep. 

"No," he called after her, voice hoarse. "I'm good."

She didn't respond, but the soft thud of the bathroom door closing was enough. A few moments later, he heard the water running. He sat back, brows still knitted, and glanced toward the bowl again. 

Her phone lay in the bowl. Abandoned. Silent. A part of her he often had to compete with. But it was there. Along with her keys. Like she wanted to be here. To be present, not just at home. That alone told him more than any apology could. 

His eyes returned to his laptop, the blinking cursor on the unsent email now an afterthought. He didn't want to get his hopes up. He couldn't afford to. But he couldn't ignore the strange feeling pulling at his chest. Hope. Hesitation. Confusion, for sure. He shook his head. 

"How was your day?" Her voice pulled him out of his thoughts. David cleared his throat and sat up. His eyes followed her as she moved gracefully around the kitchen. Her work attire had been traded in for one of his shirts and her college sweatpants. Her dark hair was clipped back, and her makeup had been washed away. Sybelle, the woman you are. 

"It was good," he said carefully. Sybelle hummed and leaned against the counter, her eyes trained on his despite her phone buzzing in the bowl. His eyes cut toward it, then back to her. She remained unmoving. "Not gonna get that?" 

She shook her head and shrugged. "I told them I was leaving at 4:45. They can leave a voicemail. Decide what you want?” She turned on her heels and started toward the fridge, rummaging through the neatly organized shelves, racking her brain for recipes. “I can make sausage and peppers…”

She rattled off a list that seemed never-ending, but he couldn’t focus. 

“Sybelle.”

She paused. “Yes?” 

David tried not to sound suspicious and accusatory when he asked, “What is this about?” 

Sybelle shrugged a shoulder and rummaged through the drawers for a can opener. “I was putting everyone else above you. It wasn’t fair, and it’s not right.” Oh. His heart fluttered. “Sausage and peppers or something else? Work with me here.” 

David smiled slightly and nodded. “That works.” 

They ate dinner together that night. Nestled side-by-side as they murmured about the highs and the lows of their days. For once, undistracted and undeterred. 

-

David stared at the closed studio door. A note was taped to it in her unmistakable cursive: "Dress nice. Trust me. Love you."

He spent the drive home racking his brain, searching for explanations on what she could have up her sleeve. Things had changed recently. Lately, he felt like a priority. The number one on her list. Yet, he struggled to embrace it. 

Sure, she could do all these things now. And when things got rough, when work got busy, when the going got tough, he'd slide down the totem pole and be back at square one where he began. 

But when he opened the door and was ushered into the ambiance of the candle-lit dining room, a dining table lined with a full-course spread, with a small heart-shaped cake in the middle, all his hesitation and suspicion went away with the wind. "What is this?" 

Sybelle smiled shyly and shrugged. She exhaled shakily and said, "I saw the way you looked at me across the table—like I was a stranger. I hated that. And...our first anniversary was supposed to be grand and magical just like you planned, but..."

Pause. 

Sybelle twiddled her thumbs nervously, then pitched the side of her light blue sundress."I messed up. I can't take it back. I can't turn back the clock, even though I've tried. I can’t undo that night. But maybe… you’ll let me try again?” Her voice slid an octave as her confidence dwindled and her statement turned into a question. 

She stilled under his gaze, unable to read his expression. His lips were pressed in a line. His eyes darted between the table and her. His hands clenched and unclenched like he was fighting an internal battle. And her anxiety was through the roof. It was her last chance, she felt. He'd put up with so much for so long; she couldn't be angry at him if he decided to throw in the towel. 

He didn't. 

Instead, he beckoned her over with the nod of his head that made her weak in the knees when they crossed paths in the studio two-and-a-half years prior. Sybelle stood in front of him. She raised her head slightly, damning her lack of heels for their lack of eye-level contact. 

The corner of his lips raised, and he raised his hand to trace her chin. She leaned into his touch. Sybelle had done many things. Some of which he didn't like, others of which he adored. She had to fight tooth and nail to make a name for herself in the industry, and some of those tendencies bled into their relationship. And her heart. Her big, beautiful heart softened somewhat to recreate what he thought was lost. 

"I appreciate you, Slim," David said lowly. "Can I show you how much I appreciate you, baby?" She whimpered and nodded. He bent down to press a kiss against her cheek, which marked the beginning of a trail of marks being left on her neck, collarbone, and chest. She'd complain about it tomorrow. All she could do was bask in her husband's hands around her thighs as he hoisted her into his arms and marched up the steps. 

Well, she thought. At least she wasn't the one who forgot about the dinner this time. 

-

Tags: @kirayuki22 @greedyjudge2 @notapradagurl7 @irishmanwhore @honeytoffee @theogbadbitch @jazziejax @kumkaniudaku @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @youreadthatright

[inawickedlittletown]

Through The Darkness To The Dawn (BuckTommy) - 8x17 coda - (1/2)

Notes: I started writing this right after watching the episode. I wanted to get into Buck's head and also sort of deal with the Eddie of it all because I really do think he has quickly become my least favorite character in 9-1-1. I don't think I'm alone in that.

The title comes from Nobody Knows by The Lumineers

Summary: Buck is grieving and Eddie is just kind of the worst. 8x17 coda.

Words: 3.4k

Read on Ao3

-

Part One: It Seems So Easy 'Til You Try

The moon was more than half full, big and yet so far away a bright spot in the middle of the dark clear night. The stars were small tiny pinpricks of light and there had been a time where it was all Buck had and he would sit atop the hood of his Jeep and just stare out at the great expanse wishing that he had someone to share it with. 

The sky was different in LA. Light pollution cloaked everything unless you were deep in the woods somewhere. Buck hadn’t trusted himself to go into the woods, so the beach it was. 

It had only been four weeks since Bobby passed and Buck felt all of it settling harshly right into his bones. It felt like months had passed rather than just weeks and at the same time, like no time at all. It was no wonder he’d had to come out to the beach all on his own in the middle of the night. 

Did he not ask what it was like for Eddie to find out? 

It was a thought that just kinda rattled in his head because he did, didn’t he? Except that, Eddie hadn’t been in LA by his own choice — a choice that absolutely made sense because Chris needed his dad. Instead, Buck had had no way to get to his team when they were trapped in that lab. He and Athena had run all over LA to get the antidote, Buck had even called Tommy and Tommy had answered and then in the end, Buck had been the one there when Bobby brought the door down between them. None of that had given him time to think about Eddie and how he wasn’t there. 

Eddie had thrown that at him too…how he hadn’t been there to make any difference. Did he not realize that none of them knew about Bobby until the very end? That they had done everything and would have done more but Bobby didn’t clue them in? That there was only one dose. Eddie hadn’t been a thought to any of them because he was in Texas. They had far more important things to worry about. 

But, then he did call Eddie. Eventually. Knew that Eddie would want to know as soon as possible because Buck would have wanted to know sooner rather than later. 

He’d been spiraling and trying to really let it all sink in so that he could believe it and come to terms with how he would never see Bobby again and still he’d taken the time to call. Told Eddie Bobby was gone. Meanwhile, he had been trying to rationalize it all. 

Buck hardly remembered the call with Eddie. Just that he’d done it and then the hours after that had been a blur. Bobby had been on his mind most of all, how he couldn’t ask him for advice. How he couldn’t ever text him with any kind of question. How he could never check on just what the secret ingredient in one of his recipes was. Bobby was gone. 

Gone. 

Gone. 

Gone. 

Bobby’s words had felt more important and so he leaned into them. Did his best to check on everyone starting that very night and then he had made it back home somehow…the whole of it was hazy, but he did think Tommy had been there. There in the quiet empty place that had once been Eddie’s, when Buck was alone, Buck allowed himself to feel it again. 

He cried. He screamed. He passed out on his couch. 

Hen was in the hospital. Chim was in the hospital. 

Maddie was busy dealing with her husband almost dying and Buck had to be strong for her. For Jee-Yun who had already almost lost her mom some months earlier and then come so close to losing her dad. 

Of course there was Athena too. 

She put up a strong front, but Buck had seen her right after. He didn’t want to crowd her, but he did check in on her and May and Harry. He cooked for them, baked for them and knew that it couldn’t be enough. Nothing was ever going to be enough. 

Eddie was in Texas. 

He wasn’t there in front of Buck falling apart like the rest of them were and in all of their phone calls and facetimes, Eddie barely wanted to talk about it. And Buck, well…he needed to be okay. Bobby told him he was going to be okay. So, he had to be. He needed to be.  

So maybe he didn’t ask. Maybe he was more concerned with making sure Eddie made it to the funeral. That they all made it and honored Bobby the right way. 

Buck was so focused on that, that he ignored several messages from Tommy, after responding to the first one, knowing that he couldn’t answer a question about how he was doing without actually facing just how much he missed Bobby and how much he wished that he could change everything. Bobby had told him they would all need him and that Buck was going to be okay. 

Buck had held on to those words. But it wasn’t really true. 

Then, it was two weeks after and they were all supposed to be back at work. 

Gerrard was Captain again. Buck didn’t even have it in him to feel anything about that. He was worried about Chim. He had May updating him about how Athena was doing. He spoke to Eddie in between, keeping him up to date especially once Bobby’s body was released and the funeral had a date. He went to all the department mandated therapy sessions and they helped, he was cleared to go back to work. 

He picked Eddie up from the airport the morning of the funeral even though it meant that he had to ask Ravi to pick up his uniform. Tommy had messaged to let him know he’d be one of the pallbearers and Buck had wanted to ask if they could get ready together. In the end, he didn’t.

Eddie wasn’t doing any better than the rest of them, but Buck had known to expect that. Ravi was probably holding it together best of all, but he’d known Bobby less time, and it was hitting him too. Buck saw how rattled he was, but he held strong. 

He didn’t get to talk to Tommy at the funeral, but their eyes met when they were getting to their seats and he felt Tommy’s hand on his shoulder before he dropped his hand away. 

Afterwards, none of them really felt like much of anything. Eddie led Buck away and neither of them said a word. It wasn’t until they were in his car, that Buck wished he’d talked to Tommy. Checked on him. Had anyone checked on Tommy? Somehow, he doubted it. 

Instead he asked Eddie how long he’d be staying and offered him his couch. 

They got drunk on that couch that night and Buck got a picture sent to him from May. Bobby was in Minnesota laid to peace with his kids. 

He showed it to Eddie and Eddie just nodded, lips pressed tight together. Didn’t say a word. Buck waited until he was in his room with the door closed before he broke down into tears over it.

As much as Buck hated the circumstances, he did like having Eddie around. He didn’t leave after a few days like planned and Buck liked that he could keep an eye on him and see how he was doing. He liked that his house — Eddie’s house — wasn’t empty. Although Eddie had sort of eaten all of Buck’s food, but at least he’d said he’d get the groceries next. Not that it wasn’t strange that Buck would head into work and leave Eddie to his own devices which usually meant he went to see his Aunt Pepa. 

He researched grief, tried his best to figure out how to traverse it for himself and for the others too. Asked them questions to figure out how they were doing and fessed up with an explanation once he couldn’t hide what he was up to. He could tell that Hen thought he was being ridiculous. Chim mostly tried to joke his way through it which for Buck seemed like a sign that he was doing better. Ravi, if he was annoyed by it, didn’t show it. Eddie had rolled his eyes but answered Buck’s questions. No one asked any of the questions back at him. No one seemed interested in seeing how he was doing. None of them told him anything outside of Buck pressing them. He didn’t get it. 

Work was good at least. It kept him busy. It kept him focused. It also reminded him of Bobby. 

They didn’t eat together anymore. No one dared to try to cook and Buck, who was probably the most capable after all the lessons from Bobby, felt like he might fall apart if he tried. Cooking in his own kitchen was one thing and wholly different at the station. But he wanted to. Some hope that it would lead to some kind of normality. Not that things would ever be normal again. 

Then Ravi called asking if he needed to buy a present for Eddie. 

“It’s not his birthday,” Buck had said, thinking about how they had all forgotten Hen’s birthday not that long ago. 

Ravi laughed. “No. It’s for Eddie’s surprise barbeque. Hen’s throwing it to celebrate him getting that job in Texas.” 

Hen was throwing a surprise party just weeks after Bobby died. They all discussed it behind his back. None of them needed him. He’d heard Chim talking to Hen about building the crib for the new baby. Even Athena was back at work. It all felt like a return to normal whatever normal meant when Bobby was gone. 

Ravi knew about the job and Buck had no clue even though Eddie was sleeping on his couch. So, Buck got a little mad and when he realized there was no food at home because Eddie still hadn’t gone to shop despite how he wasn’t even working, he went out and shopped and made plans for what he might cook for dinner. Maybe he’d go see Maddie and bring her something. Check in on her. Maybe that was how he got to normal, once Eddie was gone again and he was back to being all on his own. 

Buck wasn’t even mad that Eddie would return to El Paso. That was a given. He wasn’t stupid. Eddie had already moved there. He’d only come back for the funeral and him sticking around longer was nice, but it wasn’t going to last. Chris was still in Texas after all and Eddie needed to go back to be with him if nothing else. It was that Eddie had felt the need to hide it…that everyone seemed to think he was fragile and in need of kid gloves. 

As if Buck couldn’t hear it or be happy for Eddie. 

Somehow, it was all turned around on him and as Eddie yelled at him, finger pointed at Buck, with the counter digging into him, he was left wondering if he’d asked about how it was for Eddie to find out in Texas over the phone. Probably not, but why would he? Why didn’t Eddie bring it up earlier if what he wanted was to talk about it. Why hadn’t he mentioned it when Buck was asking him how he was doing? Why hadn’t it mattered then? 

Buck didn’t even bother with dinner that night. He felt drained. Shaken. Like the bucket where he’d put all of his anger and disbelief and pain had gotten a hole and so it was spilling over as well as leaking and Buck couldn’t contain it. 

He thought about calling Tommy. Then again, he always thought about calling Tommy. But the thing about that was that it felt needy. It felt unfair, because Buck’s issues — his grief — couldn’t and shouldn’t be fixed by his ex-boyfriend no matter how Buck felt about him. He couldn’t put that on Tommy. Calling him because his Captain who was also kind of like his father had passed away felt like the wrong reason. 

Instead, he cried into his pillow until he fell asleep. Maybe Eddie was right…maybe that was why Chim was always seeking out Hen and vice versa, leaving him on his own. Maybe that was why Ravi was hyperfocused on the job. No one wanted to deal with Buck’s feelings on top of their own. He sort of got that, except that it also meant he couldn’t be there for them. 

By morning, he decided that maybe he and Eddie could talk it out. But, Eddie was gone. A note was all he left behind. 

Eddie couldn’t even face him in the daylight it seemed and…well, the relief he felt at having his house back made him feel more than a little guilty. It had been Eddie’s house first and having Eddie there had been a reminder of that. It had been starting to feel more and more like Buck was the guest even with Eddie on the couch. 

Except, Eddie was there when he returned after his shift. 

Anger flooded right into him at the sight of Eddie in a way that Buck almost hadn’t expected. It had simmered and he was ready to boil over. 

It abated the moment he saw Chris and then Aunt Pepa. He hadn’t seen either in ages and Buck loved Chris. He liked Aunt Pepa. Most of the night, he spent talking to Chris and Aunt Pepa. Catching up on what Chris had gotten up to in Texas for all the time he’d been away. The moment she brought up Bobby, he felt a little something like relief. 

Her perspective was helpful. When she started getting ready to leave, he pulled her into a tight hug. 

Eddie and Chris had picked up an air mattress and it didn’t take long to set it up in Chris’ old room. Buck hadn’t really figured out what he was going to use the room for yet, and he couldn’t say it didn’t feel good to see Chris in it. 

After Chris was set for the night, Buck went to his own room, ignoring how Eddie was sitting on the couch with a beer in hand and another on the table that might have been meant for Buck. 

There was something of a dissonance in it. Eddie acted like everything was good. Like he hadn’t diminished Buck’s loss of Bobby in favor of his own feelings. Like he had assumed that Buck would have a problem with him getting that job in El Paso. Buck didn’t want to face him. He didn’t want to say something he might regret especially with Chris within hearing range. 

A thought crossed his mind that maybe that was why Chris was there in the first place. 

Eddie hadn’t left like Buck thought that morning, but he had definitely made Buck think he had. And then, he brought a buffer. 

Buck wanted someone to talk to. He wanted…well, he wanted Bobby. 

Bobby would have heard Buck out. Bobby would have given him perspective. Wasn’t it strange to think that Bobby was the one that always made time for him? No matter what was going on in his own life, Bobby had always made time for Buck. But…Bobby was…Bobby was gone. 

He remembered what the priest had said, how he still could talk to him. 

Eddie was still on the couch when Buck left his room, glanced at him as Buck grabbed his keys. 

“Where are you going?” 

“Out,” Buck said and opened and closed the door. 

He drove to the beach, not sure why, but maybe because it gave him clearer sight of the sky than most other places. 

In the dark, the sky almost blended in with the water except that the seagulls were flying over the surface and dipping in to catch their prey, their white and grey plumage standing out. Waves came in, foaming up and crawling onto the sand. 

“Bobby, I’m really not okay,” Buck said, “but I want to be. I don’t mean to make it about myself, but you were the first person that saw me and thought I could be more. You were the thing that held us all together and now it’s all falling apart. I’ve tried to be there for them, but they don’t need me. They don’t need me to burden them with my feelings. They lost you too and it’s hard for all of us and nothing is ever going to be the same again.” 

Buck took a breath. He could smell the salt of the ocean in the air. 

“Eddie said I didn’t do enough. God, I wish I’d done more, that I had realized somehow that you were infected too. But I know…I know that you never would have let Chim die. I know why you did it, why it was the way it was. But you left this big gap and no one can fill it.”

He wiped at his eyes but more tears came, blurring his vision. 

“You told me they would need me. They don’t, Bobby. I think I’ve been trying so hard to make sure they’re all doing okay that I just…” he trailed off, groaning. “We got into a fight. Me and Eddie. I’m still mad and it sucks. He’s back at…well, at his place and Chris is here and I just wish I could go back to my loft and not see anyone because it’s hard to be okay when I’m really not and I keep thinking about how when I lived there you were still alive. How you dropped by after the lightning strike all the time just to see me. I wish we’d done more of that lately but you were building your house and I was learning how to be alone.” 

He was sobbing as he got out those last words. He sank onto the sand, wrapped his arms around his knees and let it all out. In the very depths of his heart, he wished that there was someone else there with him, someone with strong arms that could maybe hold him together. 

The waves fell upon the shore, the seagulls flew into and out of the water. Buck’s sobs mingled into the soundscape. 

It could have been minutes or hours, Buck had no clue, but he stood. His leg throbbed, his joints were stiff. He rubbed his hands together. Buck didn’t even care, he kind of liked that the numbness was in his body in physical form as much as mental. 

When he got back to his car, he didn’t even know where he was going to go. 

He didn’t want to impose on Maddie and Chim, not when she was so close to the end of her pregnancy. Going home felt…that place wasn’t really home. It had started to feel that way, but since Eddie had returned it was feeling less and less like it. Buck hadn’t known that he would miss his loft, but he did. 

Home had been so many places for Buck over the years. His Jeep — the one Maddie gave him — that had been his home for some years there and then it had been the room in the shared house and then it had been Abby’s apartment and then the loft. Moving into Eddie’s had felt like a step in the right direction, it had felt like he was finally growing except that the place had felt completely wrong until…well, until Tommy. He’d made it feel like home and Buck had opened himself up to the idea, but it was as if Eddie had removed that somehow. 

He took a glance at his phone, more for the time than anything else. It was after midnight. 

There were a few texts from Maddie just checking in. One from May thanking him for the last batch of muffins he’d dropped off. Ravi asking about if Hen was going to take over as Captain anytime soon. Gerrard hadn’t been that bad this time around. Softened somehow by Bobby’s loss, but he was still Gerrard and none of them wanted him in the role of Captain. 

Then, Tommy. 

Tommy: Hey, just wanted to check in and see how you were doing. It’s been a few weeks, but I know what he meant to you. I’m here, Evan. 

Buck: Are you home? 

He got an answer right away and started driving. 

[makingfanfictionstosleep]

theirs to share

a/n : jjk characters not mine. contains heavy lemons / mature scenes as the story progresses. reverse harem. femoc x nanami/geto/gojo. jjk alternate au. Wattpad Link : Theirs to Share status : 𝑜𝓃𝑔𝑜𝒾𝓃𝑔 <…previous ... next…>

ᴍɪɴᴏʀꜱ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴀᴄᴛ

TWENTY.

Next Day…

You woke up with the worst hangover known to mankind. And you have no idea how you ended back in your room or whose shirt you’re wearing.

You threw yourself back into the mattress of your bed, trying so hard to remember what happened last night.

You remember drinking… A lot.

And there was a bowl with folded papers…

Images… Hold on… Memories of you… Suguru… Satoru… Kento….

“Fuck,” you laid in your bed defeated, until you remembered the culprit — Mei Mei. You closed your eyes, trying to recall everything that had happened before the damn alcoholic game.

You remember her voice, teasing and low, when she passed you the bowl with a silken ribbon tied around its rim.

“I expect you all to play properly. Treat each other.” Mei Mei smiled sweetly. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be... delightfully honest.”

Satoru raised a brow. “And you just happened to gift us this little game?”

Mei Mei only winked.

“It responds best when you’re all present. Together. I’ll leave you to it~.”

You remember the way Suguru narrowed his eyes suspiciously, how Nanami’s jaw tightened ever so slightly, and how Satoru just grinned like a cat sensing a trap—and jumping in anyway.

Still, the four of you gathered around the bowl like moths to flame.

And none of you questioned it.

Not when the dares made your heart race.

Not when the touches grew hot, personal, reverent.

Not even when you realized—you couldn’t stop playing.

The unspoken vow had taken hold.

And somewhere far away, Mei Mei probably sipped tea in a private lounge, legs kicked up, whispering to herself with smug delight— “Checkmate.”

You wanted to be mad at Mei Mei, but then again if you’d be truly honest with yourself… there wasn’t anything you didn’t like last night.

And you also promised the boys that you’d be thinking about it.

And Mei Mei gave you a sneak peak of all the possibilities if you agree to the arrangement.

But how would you face them today?

Simple. You try to disappear.

Try.

But the problem is you're not the only one who remembers every moan, every gasp, every tremble.

So much for trying to take things slow.

GETO SUGURU

You thought you were safe in the east wing, hiding between lesson plans and dusty chalkboards. But as you turned the corner into the dimly lit classroom, the door clicked shut behind you.

"Running away?" Suguru’s voice was a velvet threat.

You froze.

He was leaning against the desk, arms folded, one brow arched. That signature smirk was back, dangerous and devastating. "After everything we shared last night? You’re breaking my heart, sweetheart."

You turned to speak, but he was already in front of you—so close, so slow—his fingers brushing your cheek, trailing down your throat.

“You sounded so sweet screaming my name,” he whispered, pressing you back against the desk. “Let’s see if I can get a repeat performance.”

And when his mouth found your neck, your resolve crumbled. You arched into him, gave in, fingers curling in his hair as he took his time unraveling you again—right there between stacks of forgotten textbooks, his hands under your shirt while you press your abdomen against his thick, hard cock under his pants.

GOJO SATORU

You left the classroom on shaky legs, swearing you'd be smarter. Stay in public spaces. Avoid shadows. But Satoru’s never been one for rules.

He found you anyway.

"Peekaboo~" His voice sang out, and before you could duck away, his long arms were around your waist, pulling you into the nearest alcove, hidden behind a pillar near the staff offices.

“Trying to ghost me already?” he whispered into your ear, lips brushing the shell of it. “That’s mean. Especially after how well I made you scream last night.”

Your breath hitched.

“You’re insatiable,” you hissed, trying not to melt into him.

“Mmhmm,” he grinned, eyes sparkling behind his blindfold. “But so are you. You just don’t wanna admit it.”

He pinned you gently against the wall, hips pressed just right, mouth descending to steal a kiss so dizzying your knees nearly buckled. And when you clung to him, gasping as he nibbled your bottom lip, he whispered—

“Still running?”

You didn’t answer.

Because you were kissing him back, your hands trailing his abs under his shirt.

NANAMI KENTO 

You told yourself this was strictly business. Yaga asked you to pass off a report. Professional. Simple.

But the moment Nanami opened the door and saw you, something shifted behind his eyes.

You placed the folder on his desk.

He didn’t speak. Just stepped forward, took the door, and clicked it shut.

And locked it.

Your heartbeat stuttered.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said, walking toward you slowly, like a predator scenting blood.

“I wasn’t—”

He reached you in two steps, his hands finding your hips, guiding you back until your thighs hit his desk.

"You weren’t there for breakfast," he murmured, voice low and steady. "I told you, my routine starts with you in it."

“I had errands,” you lied, breathless.

Nanami leaned in close, lips barely grazing your ear. “Liar.”

Then his mouth claimed yours—firm, commanding, hungry. And when you gasped into the kiss, he pulled you flush against him, lifting you onto the desk like you weighed nothing, like he needed to feel you again.

And gods, you needed it too.