#though I suppose if they are stored sorted that takes the fun out of sorting them on occasion

[elericelery]

Me: Hey Girl! We are moving back to college tomorrow! You should go pack something!

A big part of my brain labeled DENIAL as it shoves my rational brain out of the driver seat:

SORT YOUR BREAD CLIPS COLLECTION NOW

[soaps-mohawk]

The Angel and The Devil

Kyletober Day 17: Double Penetration

Summary: In the back of the bar in a booth just barely visible, they are seated. You’ve been eyeing them since you first caught a glimpse, almost drawn to them in a magnetic haze. You can’t help but look, even if you run the risk of being caught staring. You have yet to be so unlucky, as their attention seems to be on each other the most.

Pairing: Incubus!Kyle x reader x Incubus!Johnny

Word Count: 6,688 words

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, explicit smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex, anal sex, fingering, oral sex (m and f receiving), munch!Kyle, costumes, demons, symbolism, slight coercion, alcohol, language

A/N: And here we are! We've arrived at the end of Kyletober for what I think is my favorite fic of the month. It's been a fun month and I've had a good time with these fics and seeing everyone's reactions. I hope you've enjoyed the last month as well and Happy Halloween everyone!

MASTERLIST

The bar is full of all sorts of characters and creatures tonight. 

It’s Halloween which means the bar is fuller than usual, even on a weekend. It had been a last minute decision which led you to the bar. After a rough day at work you needed a pick-me-up and so you had gone to the nearest store, grabbed one of the few remaining costumes off the shelf in favor of not sticking out, and then headed to your favorite bar. 

“Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?”

You’re beginning to regret not looking closer at the costume you grabbed. The cheap angel wings are too tight, the elastic straps digging into your underarms. The halo bobs precariously on your head with every movement, and you’re half tempted to just take them off and shove them in a bin. 

“Yes, actually.” You say, turning to the Frankenstein that has saddled up to you at the crowded bar. “It means I have to listen to cheesy pickup lines all night.” 

You ignore the jeers of Frankenstein’s friends as you turn back to your drink, casting your gaze around the bar again. You’re just here to numb the sting of a particularly awful day at work, and nothing more. 

At least, until your gaze lands on them again. 

In the back of the bar in a booth just barely visible, they are seated. You’ve been eyeing them since you first caught a glimpse, almost drawn to them in a magnetic haze. You can’t help but look, even if you run the risk of being caught staring. You have yet to be so unlucky, as their attention seems to be on each other the most. 

It’s not fair how beautiful some people are. How blessed others can be with good genetics and decent bone structure. The two at the back of the bar may as well be models. 

They’re...beautiful.

The one with the mohawk is all playful grins and boisterous laughter. There’s a roughness to him, more handsy than the other one, even as his bright blue eyes scan the bar occasionally. The other is softer with near perfect skin, short cropped curls, and the most dazzling smile you think you’ve ever seen. That smile still holds a teasing tilt to it though, but he’s not as blatant with it as mohawk. 

The devil horns on his head don’t fit him. He should be the one dressed as the angel. 

They’re both wearing cheesy devil horns and you suppose the matching tails. There’s a cheap plastic pitchfork leaned against the booth next to mohawk. The look fits him perfectly with his devilish grin, though you suppose the devil is supposed to be beautiful, so perhaps it does fit his partner as well. 

You knew they were together as soon as you laid eyes on them. It’s not hard to tell. How close they sit, the way lips brush ears when they lean in to whisper. Smirks cocking lips in upwards turns as hands move under the table. They’re a beautiful couple. Far out of your league. 

Yet you can’t help but imagine it. Screw the angel and devil on your shoulders, you want two devils. One in front, one in back. You can almost imagine the heat their bodies give off, the push of solid muscle on each side, sandwiching you between them. 

Your teeth sink into your lip at the idea. 

You turn your gaze back to them, nearly jumping as you meet a pair of bright blue eyes. You’re shocked for a moment, not expecting him to be looking right at you. His eyes have passed over you a number of times as he’s looked around the bar, but this is the first time he’s ever looked at you. There’s no mistake. He’s not looking at anyone else. His eyes are locked on yours, almost as if he had read your mind, seen your inner thoughts about the two of them. 

Something holds you there, the magnetic energy that had drawn you to them strengthening. Heat pulses between your thighs as mohawk’s tongue darts out wetting his bottom lip. Those lips lift in a smirk and suddenly the spell is broken. 

You whip back around to face the bar, cheeks blazing. The halo on top of your head bobs at the sudden movement, nearly pulling the headband from your head. You steady it with a hand, taking a deep breath. Shaky fingers curl around your drink and you down the rest of it, ignoring the burning in your throat from the strong liquor. 

Of course eventually you’d get caught staring. It’s not like you were being very inconspicuous, out here eyeballing them blatantly. 

“Can I get you another?” 

The voice makes you jump, the empty glass in your hand nearly clattering onto the bar. Your head whips around, eyes widening as you stare at the angel before you. Well...devil before you.

He’s even more beautiful up close. His skin is perfect aside from the scar on his cheek. His eyes are deep brown, and the longer you stare at them, the more you feel like you’re sinking into their depths. You get a firsthand look at that dazzling smile as he flashes one at you, showing off perfect white teeth. 

There’s an edge to that smile, though, something in the back of your mind starting to itch. 

“Can I buy you another round?” He asks again in that smooth, honeyed tone. It’s captivating, almost floating straight into your ears like a song. 

He’s staring at you, waiting patiently for your response. You clear your throat, nodding before you can even think about it. “Y-Yeah. I could go for another.” Your hand reaches up, steadying the halo again as it bobs back and forth. 

His eyes watch your hand for a moment before he grins, dropping his gaze back to yours. He flags the bartender, giving him your order. You’re too busy staring at him, enraptured by his beauty to wonder how he knew what you were drinking. 

“Would it be too cliche to ask what a pretty angel like you is doing here alone?” He asks, leaning against the side of the bar, blocking you from the werewolf next to you that had been eyeing you as you stared across the bar. 

Your face warms, a laugh leaving your lips. “A little maybe.” You should stop there. “Getting some stress relief from that 9 to 5 grind.” The words leave your lips before you can stop them. You’ve lost complete control of your body and your mind in his presence. 

Something is wrong. 

Alarm bells go off in the back of your mind as he turns to the bartender. He slips a note across the bar, telling the bartender to keep the change. You had glimpsed it before it disappeared in the bartender’s hand. It was far more than two drinks would cost. 

The bad feeling disappears from your mind as he turns back to face you, both of your drinks in hand. “Why don’t you come join us?” 

Say no! 

You nod, almost feeling like you’re in a trance. “Yeah, okay.” 

He grins, his eyes flashing with something too fast for you to tell what it is. “Come on.” He motions with his head. 

You slide off the bar stool, the two words almost feeling like a final signature on a contract, sealing your fate for the evening. 

You won’t be leaving alone. 

Your feet move automatically as you follow him across the bar to the booth where the other is still sitting. A tingle runs down your spine as he continues to stare at you. You feel almost like prey being stared down by a hungry predator. 

Perhaps you are the prey. The angel caught between the claws of a devil.

You slide into the booth without even having to be told to, your body still moving automatically as you wind up between the two. Your drink is set down in front of you, and you don’t bother to notice how the one in front of mohawk hasn’t been touched. 

“Aren’t ye a bonnie little thing.” Mohawk says, draping his arm across the back of the booth. “Call me Johnny. That’s Kyle.” He says, nodding to the one on the other side of you. 

You tell him your name, still feeling like you’re in a daze, trapped under his sharp blue gaze. Your wings move slightly, his fingers playing with the feathers strapped to your back. It feels almost ironic being trapped between them. 

You certainly won’t be feeling much like an angel by the time the night is over. 

“Saw ye lookin’ from the bar.” He continues, a smirk playing on his lips. It sends a shiver down your spine, but you can’t tell why. There’s something dangerous in there, some sort of threat raising alarm bells in the back of your mind. “Pretty little angel hoping to catch the attention of a couple of devils, huh?” He adjusts the twisted elastic strap of your wings. It makes your stomach clench, having his hand so close to you, his knuckles brushing against the side of your breast. 

Something feels off, some primal part of your brain screaming, but you can’t quite hear what it’s saying. You’re too caught up in his magnetic presence to care about much else.  

“Like what ye see, angel?” He asks. 

You nod, still caught under his gaze. Your brain feels foggy, like you’re slipping into a daze. For a moment you panic that someone might have drugged your drink, that Kyle might have slipped something in while you weren’t looking. It’s easily done. All it takes is a second and you let him carry the drink all the way from the bar to the table. 

Hands turn you around, the hazy fog disappearing as you meet Kyle’s brown eyes. Sudden clarity washes over you as you’re turned away from Johnny, almost as if he had been holding you under a spell. There’s still a faint buzzing in the back of your mind as you stare at Kyle and his soft grin. It’s so soft and comforting compared to Johnny’s intensity. 

“Such a pretty thing.” Kyle says, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind your ear. His touch is electric as his fingers brush against you, your skin tingling all the way down to your toes and he’s barely touched you. He adjusts your halo as it wobbles, still holding your gaze. 

“Been watching ye since you walked in.” Johnny says, suddenly closer behind you, his breath warm on the back of your neck. 

You know that’s not true. 

You don’t care. 

“Knew ye were watchin’ us.” Johnny continues, his lips brushing the back of your ear. “Knew ye were interested.” He chuckles. “A little angel interested in a couple devils.”

A shudder runs through you as he presses a kiss to the skin behind your ear. His lips are warm, almost hot against your skin. 

You feel warm again, your mind starting to go hazy as Johnny’s lips press soft kisses against your skin. Kyle’s hand drops to your thigh, fingers trailing up your jeans. You almost wish he’d slip that hand between your thighs, but instead he skirts it around to the outside, trailing those fingers up to your hip. 

A couple devils indeed. 

“Well?” Kyle asks, snapping you back into awareness. Johnny is pressed fully against your back, now his lips almost lazily brushing your skin. “Are you interested?” 

Say no. 

Some deep part of your brain is screaming, sounding off all the alarms and raising all the flags, yet you can’t bring yourself to listen to it, much less care. You’re in too deep and the only way out is to go deeper. 

You’re not sure you want to stop. 

You nod, your lips parting as Johnny presses a searing kiss to your skin. 

“Need ye to say it, hen.” Johnny says, his hand closing around your side. 

“Yes.” You breathe. The words feel like the fall of a gavel, the stamp of approval on that contract you signed by agreeing to join them in the booth. You’ve sealed your fate for the night. 

There’s no going back now. 

“Good.” Kyle says, leaning forward to kiss you. 

His lips are soft, incredibly soft as they press against yours. He tastes like liquor, whatever sweet cocktail he had been sipping on. A quiet sound leaves your lips as his tongue presses into your mouth, his hand reaching up to grip your chin. You’re lost in the kiss, mind going blank as your body begins to tingle. Your panties are quickly dampening, the fabric sticking to your skin. Another hand drags up your leg, and you begin to curse your decision to wear pants. Who wears pants to a bar? 

Someone who didn’t expect to pick up anyone tonight. 

Or, well...get picked up. 

Johnny’s hand squeezes your thigh, his chuckle vibrating against your back. “Gettin’ her all worked up.” He presses his face against your neck, Kyle tilting your head so he has more room. “Can almost taste it.” 

His lips brush the side of your neck, his hand trailing higher on your leg. For a moment you hope he’ll take pity on you and slip it between your thighs, but instead he slides it higher, slipping it under your shirt. 

You pull away from Kyle’s lips as Johnny’s warm hand meets your skin. It’s electric, his touch like fire against your body. Your head tilts back against his shoulder, a moan slipping from your lips as your pussy begins to throb. Johnny chuckles again, Kyle’s mouth moving to your neck. One of your hands grips the edge of the table as Johnny’s fingers brush the skin of your stomach, holding on for dear life. 

All he’s doing is touching your skin. What is it going to feel like when he finally sinks his fingers between your legs?

You let out another moan as his hand slips higher, skirting dangerously close to your breasts. Reality slams back into you for a moment. Sure, you might be tucked in a back corner of the bar, but there’s still people around you. You’re still in a public place. You cast a nervous glance around the bar as Johnny’s hand cups your breast under your shirt. 

No one is looking at you. 

It’s almost like they can’t see the three of you at all. 

“I think she’s ready.” Johnny says, pulling his face from your neck as his hand squeezes your breast through your bra. 

Kyle hums, pressing one last searing kiss to your throat before he pulls his head away. “I think you’re right.” 

“C’mon kitten. Let’s go somewhere more private.” Johnny all but growls in your ear. 

You don’t remember the taxi ride home. You don’t remember getting up the stairs to your apartment or opening the door. You don’t remember telling them where you live at all. 

They’re on you as soon as you reach your bedroom, sandwiching you between them again. Johnny in the back, Kyle in front. 

You don’t remember telling them where your bedroom is. 

“Look at her.” Kyle coos, holding your jaw in his hand. His thigh is pressed between your legs, the seam of your jeans pushing deliciously against your throbbing slit as you grind against his leg. 

“Needy little thing.” Johnny groans, his hips grinding against your ass. 

“Could say the same about you.” Kyle smirks, his hand sliding down to your neck. He doesn’t squeeze, just holds it there, solidifying the silent agreement. 

They’re in charge. 

You’re just along for the ride. 

“Want to taste her.” Kyle groans against your lips, his thigh pushing harder against your clothed pussy. 

“Always so impatient.” Johnny says, undoing the button and zipper on your pants. “Yer in for a treat, hen.” 

Your feet leave the floor as Johnny picks you up far too easily. You drop on your bed, the mattress creaking as you bounce on it. His hands curl around the waistband of your jeans, tugging them down your legs in one pull. He spreads your legs apart, staring down at your panties. They’re nothing special, certainly nothing you’d wear if you had been expecting something like this. 

You just went in for a quick drink.

Now look at you. 

“Would ye fuckin’ look at that.” Johnny says, whistling quietly as he stares at the damp spot on your panties. 

“I think you were right.” Kyle says, resting his chin on Johnny’s shoulder, staring down at you as well. “She is ready.” 

“Fuck.” Johnny curses, reaching down to tug your panties off too. You suddenly feel exposed, spread open before them. It’s been a long time since you’ve brought a stranger home from the bar, much less two. 

“She’s thinking too much.” Kyle says, pushing Johnny to the side so he can kneel down in front of you. He tugs your hips until they rest right on the edge of the bed, tossing your legs over his shoulders. The halo on your head shifts at the movement, nearly coming off. You’re still wearing your costume. 

So are they. 

“Then ye best fix that.” Johnny says, pulling his shirt over his head. 

You want to stare at his exposed skin, but you’re distracted as Kyle’s tongue drags through your folds. He knows what he’s doing, applying just enough pressure to make your pussy clench. No time is wasted as he dives right in, his mouth closing over your clit as he slurps at your drenched pussy. He’s like a starving man, pushing his tongue into your hole before licking his way back up to your clit, tasting every inch of you that he can. It’s like only you can satiate him and his need, his hands curling around your thighs to keep you pressed up against his face with no fear of suffocation or drowning. That’s a good thing, because with the way you’re gushing on his face, that may be an actual fear. 

The bed dips as Johnny kneels behind you, crawling up so his knees are beside your head. You tilt your head back, expecting a cock in your face but instead you’re surprised to find him still in his briefs. He’s hard and bulging through the fabric, but still covered nonetheless. His hands land on your chest, slowly dragging down to your breasts. He palms them over your shirt, his thumbs circling over your nipples through the fabric. 

“Johnny loves a good pair of tits.” Kyle says, pulling away for just a moment before his lips wrap around your clit again. 

Your hips jerk, another moan leaving your lips as Kyle gets back to work. Johnny finally relieves you of the angel wings, pulling the elastic down your arms before tossing the cheap cardboard and feathers to the side. His hands slide over your breasts again before trailing downward to the bottom of your shirt. His fingers curl around the fabric, yanking it up, somehow managing to pull your bra with it. Your halo comes off with your shirt and you half expect it to hit the floor with the wings, but instead Johnny pushes it back onto your head. Your shirt and bra get tossed to the floor with the rest of your clothes. 

You’re the only one fully naked, and for some reason that leaves you feeling very exposed. 

You don’t get much of a chance to dwell on that tickling still itching in the back of your mind as Johnny’s hands brush your skin again, his palms cupping your breasts. He leans over you, a set of dog tags hanging in your face. You stare up at them as they dangle over you, swinging back and forth as Johnny massages your breasts. 

“Prettiest fuckin’ tits I’ve ever seen.” He groans, squeezing them gently. 

You glance down, just catching the look Kyle gives him as he licks another line up your slit. 

A yelp leaves your lips as Johnny’s fingers tug on your nipple, a yelp of surprise more than pain. It feels good, something you’ve never been able to feel there before. Then again, everything feels good right now. 

They play your body like an instrument, Johnny teasing your breasts while Kyle licks and sucks on your pussy. They’re so intune with each other, Johnny’s fingers almost a mirror of Kyle’s mouth. It’s almost eerie how they intuitively seem to know what the other is doing, and how to make you feel the most pleasure. 

They’ve done this before. 

Your slick is soaking your comforter but you don’t care, too busy being caught up in the waves of pleasure coursing through your body. You’re just getting started and already your toes are curling, heels digging into Kyle’s back as you get closer and closer to the edge. You’ve never felt this way with anyone else, an energy thrumming beneath your skin. You feel electric, you feel alive. 

“Gonna cum!” You gasp, heels digging harder into Kyle’s back. He offers no complaint, sucking harder on your clit. 

Johnny tugs on your nipples at the same time, intensifying the sensation as your back arches, cumming all over Kyle’s face. He licks up every last drop, pushing you almost to the point of overstimulation. It’s burning deep within you, your fingers curling around the comforter as you pant, sweat starting to bead on your skin. It’s too much and not enough at the same time. 

He finally gives you some relief, pulling away from your pussy before you can reach that point of the uncomfortable sensation becoming pleasurable again. It was right there, right on the edge but you’re denied that feeling as he sits back on his heels. His face is shiny with your slick as he lets your trembling legs drop so they’re hanging over the side of the bed. You can’t move, far too dizzy with pleasure still from your first orgasm. 

It’s only the first and you’re already feeling almost drunk on the sensation. 

“Good?” Kyle asks, pushing himself up to stand. 

You nod, still breathless. “Yeah. Yeah it was.” 

A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips for a moment. “Taste good.” He licks his lips. “Sweet like sugar.” 

“I want a taste.” Johnny says, approaching Kyle. 

For a moment you think he’s going to dip down between your legs next, but instead his hand closes around the back of Kyle’s neck, pulling his face close. Johnny’s tongue licks at Kyle’s skin, lapping at your shiny juices still coating his face. Kyle offers no complaint, his lips parted as Johnny licks him. It ends in a kiss, all tongues and teeth as their bodies press tightly together. Your toes curl again, pussy throbbing at the sight of them together. 

You could probably get off just watching them together. 

Kyle’s hands slide down Johnny’s sides to his ass, pulling their bodies closer. They grind against each other, Johnny almost whining into Kyle’s mouth. You’re more than happy to watch them together, leaning up on your elbows so you can see them better. 

“We’re neglecting our date.” Kyle says against Johnny’s lips. 

“That’s not very kind of us.” Johnny responds, pressing another searing kiss to Kyle’s lips before they turn to look at you. 

You gulp, suddenly feeling very small under their gaze as they stare at you like two hungry predators. Excitement thrums under your skin at the promises their eyes hold. The foreplay was exactly that, a warm up for what is to come. 

You’ll certainly be doing a lot of that tonight. 

They break apart, the bulges between their legs prominent as they stand before you. 

“Tell us where ye want us, hen.” Johnny says, stepping up closer so he can drag his fingers over your thigh. Goosebumps form on your skin from the soft drag of his calloused fingers against the sensitive skin. 

Your eyes dart between them a couple times, your pussy fluttering at the ideas flashing through your head. 

One on each shoulder. 

“One in front, one in back.” You stutter out, another rush of arousal coursing through you. 

“Fuck yes!” Johnny cheers, pulling away from you to drop his briefs instantly. 

“You just made his night, love.” Kyle grins, face still shiny from a mix of your cum and Johnny’s saliva. 

Johnny’s briefs land somewhere as Kyle begins to undress, pulling his shirt over his head. You take the opportunity to truly look at them. They’re both fit and muscular, Johnny thicker and broader than Kyle’s lean figure. Kyle’s muscles flex as he reaches down, undoing his belt and jeans, giving you a good look at his abs. You lick your lips, watching his pants fall and then his briefs. 

Both of them are still wearing their devil horns, but neither of them make a move to take them off. 

“Lube?” Johnny asks. 

“Drawer.” You say, pointing with your toes towards the dresser. 

Johnny opens the top drawer, letting out a groan when he sees your panties. 

“You’re going to lose a pair.” Kyle says, maneuvering you on the bed. He’s finally naked, cock hanging heavy between his legs. He’s almost perfectly built, thicker than he is long with a little curve. 

Your pussy gushes at the sight of him. 

He’s perfect. 

He gives you a grin, something shivering down your spine as you stare at him. Warning bells are going off in your head, but they’re too drowned out by the need pulsing in your brain. Kyle lays himself out on the bed, fisting his cock in his hand. He relaxes back against the pillows, slowly pumping his cock as he stares at you with lidded eyes. You kneel between his legs, batting his hand away so you can wrap yours around his length. You lean down, dropping a glob of spit onto the tip of his cock before spreading it on his skin with your hand to lessen the friction. 

You meet his gaze again, a shiver running down your spine as you find yourself captivated in those deep brown eyes. They look almost black in the light of the lamp on your desk behind you. They opted for that light instead of the overhead one. You don’t think too much about it. You always hate the bright fluorescent overhead light anyway. 

The bed dips behind you as Johnny kneels on the mattress, his hands maneuvering you so you’re on your knees, your ass in the air. His hands smooth over your ass as you continue lazily pumping Kyle’s cock. The cool drip of lube on your ass makes you jump, your hand squeezing around Kyle for a moment. He lets out a groan, his head thumping back against the headboard. You keep that pressure as Johnny’s finger circles your hole, spreading the lube around the tight ring of muscle. 

“Fuck,” you breathe, trying not to squeeze your hand any tighter around Kyle’s cock as Johnny pushes the tip of his finger past that ring of muscle. More lube hits your ass as his finger sinks deeper and deeper in. 

You’re going to need more than one finger, from the glimpse you caught of his cock. 

You close your lips around Kyle’s tip as Johnny continues to work you open on his fingers, pushing a second one in with more lube. He’s cautious and gentle, something you wouldn’t have expected from such an eager man. 

Just the fact he’s even prepping you is shocking enough. Then again, they seem more than eager to be the ones giving you pleasure over themselves. 

“Ye like that?” He groans, pushing his fingers into your hole. “Feel good?” 

“Mhm.” You moan around Kyle’s cock, pushing back against his hand as he pushes in a third finger. 

Your pussy continues to drip, your entire body clenching around his fingers as he sinks them in as deep as he can. You take Kyle as deep as you can into your mouth, his back arching up off your pillows as he moans. It’s the sweetest sound you’ve ever heard, like angels singing. 

“Screamin’ Jesus.” Johnny groans. He pulls his free before slapping a hand down on your ass. “Go sit on Kyle’s cock for me.” 

You release Kyle’s cock, licking your lips before doing what you’re told. You scramble up over Kyle’s hips eagerly, taking his cock in your hand again. 

“Hi, love.” He grins up at you. 

You can only let out a groan in response as you line his cock up, slowly lowering yourself onto him. He’s perfect, stretching you open deliciously. It burns a bit, but you don’t care as you continue to work him into your dripping pussy. Your legs are shaking already by the time you’re seated completely on him, your hands pressing against his lower stomach to keep yourself upright. He’s solid under your hands, but his skin is warm, almost hot under your touch. 

He’s still staring up at you with those lidded eyes, his hands sliding to your thighs. “Good girl.” He grunts as you squeeze around him, his fingers digging into your thighs like he’s trying to hold himself back. 

Maybe he is. 

Johnny’s hand pushes between your shoulder blades, bending you down so you’re resting against Kyle’s chest. It moves his cock inside of you, a breathy moan leaving your lips at the change in position. Kyle releases his grip on your thighs, instead lifting his arms to wrap around your back. It feels intimate, the way he holds you. Far too intimate for just a one night stand. 

Your fingers lift to brush the dog tags around Kyle’s neck. He’s wearing them too, the metal shockingly cold despite the furnace-like warmth of his body. You can’t read what’s on them in the dim light, but you don’t really care to know at the moment. 

Johnny’s hand slides down your spine, smearing lube across your skin but you don’t care. It’s the cool drip of more lube on your ass that pulls you from your daze, the bottle snapping shut before hitting the bed somewhere beside you. Something thicker than fingers presses against your hole, your body clenching in anticipation. Kyle lets out a groan, his hips pushing up against yours as you squeeze around him again. 

“Relax for me.” Johnny groans, pushing the tip of his cock against your hole. 

You let out a long breath, willing your body to relax as much as you can. Johnny’s hand presses against the base of your spine, Kyle’s arms still holding you against his chest. His lips press against your forehead, something tingling against Johnny’s hand as you find yourself relaxing more and more. 

A breathy moan leaves your lips as the head of his cock presses into your ass, stretching you despite the prep he’d given you. He’s so thick, almost spearing you open as he rocks his hips, pushing more and more of his cock into your tight ass. Kyle stays still, holding your body as Johnny continues to work his way in. He’s so thick you can feel every inch of Kyle’s cock inside of your pussy. You can’t do anything but lay there and moan in pleasure from the mix of sensations. 

There’s a moment of silence, a deep breath as Johnny’s hips meet your ass. You’ve never been quite so full before, not like this, not so perfectly. They’re perfect, fitting into you like a glove, hitting every spot you could ever want them to. 

It’s almost too perfect. 

The thought is erased from your mind as Johnny begins to rock his hips, Kyle’s arms tightening around you as you begin to move against his chest. 

“Fucking christ.” Johnny breathes as you squeeze around him, pussy clenching as Kyle begins to move under you. 

“Bloody hell, love.” Kyle groans, pushing his hips up into yours, finding the rhythm of pushing in as Johnny pulls out. 

Your nails bite into the skin of his chest as the pleasure continues to build. You were worked up before they stuck their cocks in you, and now having them both inside of you is almost too much. 

Johnny bends over your back, changing the position of his thrusts. It pushes his cock against Kyle’s inside of you, pushing Kyle against that spot, his cock dragging against it with every movement of his hips. Johnny’s dog tags drag across your skin as he thrusts into you, the metal cool despite the moist heat of your bodies beginning to warm the room. Goosebumps erupt on your skin from the dual sensations, the warmth of their bodies, the cold of the metal against your back, the push and pull of their hips. It’s all so perfect. 

They do the work for you, playing your body like an instrument again with that uncanny understanding of each other. Kyle’s cock pushes in as Johnny’s pulls out, keeping you on the precipice of pleasure as they fill you completely. You’re rendered helpless as you lay there, unable to do anything but moan as your second orgasm of the night continues to build. Your entire body is trembling and twitching, all of your weight resting entirely on Kyle, but he offers no complaint. 

It doesn’t seem to bother him at all. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” You squeal as Johnny picks up the pace, thrusting into you so hard your headboard begins to knock against the wall. Kyle’s arms tighten around you, holding you still and using you for leverage as he thrusts up into you. “Please, please, please...” You repeat it like a mantra, your entire body on fire with pleasure. 

Something tickles in the back of your mind, getting stronger and stronger the more you get closer to your orgasm. You can’t place it, you don’t care to, as your body writhes with pleasure. 

“That’s it.” Johnny groans, “Fucking take it!” 

“Gonna cum for us?” Kyle grunts, still thrusting up into you. “Gonna give it to us?” 

“Yes! Yes!” You cry, your back arching as you push yourself up against Kyle’s chest. 

The light behind you on your desk casts your shadows along the wall behind the bed. Your eyes watch the way they move and dance as you push yourself up so your back is against Johnny’s chest. Kyle’s arms drop from around you as you push yourself back, the new angle nearly blinding you with pleasure. 

The halo still on your head rocks forward and backward almost violently as Johnny continues to drive his hips against your ass. His arms wrap around you, holding you up against his chest. 

Perhaps it’s the pleasure numbing your mind, but you swear the room starts to get darker, the shadows lengthening as you stare at the dancing shadows on the wall. Johnny’s hand reaches up, tugging the halo from your head, letting it fall to the floor. 

You’re frozen there, captivated as his shadow almost seems to get bigger, the fake horns still on his head starting to lengthen and twist. Something unfurls from his back, spreading across the wall as the shadows continue to press inward around you. 

Wings. They look like wings. 

White hot pleasure blinds you as Johnny pushes your face down into Kyle’s shoulder, his own body folding over your back. You’re sandwiched between them, unable to do anything but take the pleasure they’re bringing you. Your clit drags against Kyle’s stomach as he gives over control to Johnny, letting Johnny’s thrusts rock you on his cock. Your hand curls around Kyle’s dog tags, the metal still somehow cold against your fingers. They feel bigger now, thicker and wider than what they had looked like. 

No, there’s not two of them anymore. 

It’s one pendant on the chain, some kind of pattern imprinted on the smooth metal. Your fingers trail over the smooth surface, tracing the raised lines. You can’t tell what it is, far too lost in pleasure to rationalize what is happening. Kyle’s hand wraps around your wrist, pulling it from his dog tags. He uses it to pull you up, pressing his lips to yours in a kiss. Warmth floods your body at the press of his lips, your mind starting to go fuzzy. 

“That’s it.” Johnny groans, grinding against your ass. “Give it to us.” 

Your ears begin to ring as more and more pleasure builds, drool slipping out from your lips as you pull away from Kyle, your entire body tingling. There’s something coming, something building within you so strong you almost can’t take it. It’s too much, it’s not enough, it’s not coming fast enough. 

“Come on.” Johnny says, pushing himself up just slightly to drive his hips downward against your ass. 

You nearly let out a scream as the pleasure hits you all at once, fluid gushing out of you and soaking Kyle’s lower body. Your entire body writhes and shudders between them, the pleasure never seeming to end as Johnny continues thrusting almost violently against you. Kyle’s hands reach up, gripping your hips as he moans, his head falling back. You’re squeezing around them so tightly you’re shocked at how Johnny is still moving. 

“That’s it.” Johnny groans. “That’s it.” 

You feel like you’re floating, barely registering the way Johnny and Kyle kiss over your shoulder, groaning against each other’s lips. Your body twitches as you get further and further away, almost floating right out of your body. You’re exhausted, the energy and life draining right out of you as you milk their cocks of their own cum. It’s hot as it spurts inside of you, filling you up almost impossibly full. 

Kyle’s hand presses against the back of your head, his voice low in your ear. “Sleep.” 

You’re hungover. 

You can’t bring yourself to open your eyes as you lay there on your stomach. Your head is throbbing, body weak as you groan in annoyance. You forgot to close the curtain last night. 

The sun is streaming in, warming your room. It smells like sex, your skin still sticky with sweat. Memories from the previous night begin to fill your mind as you come more and more into awareness. It barely feels real, almost like last night was a dream. Did you really catch the attention of those two beautiful men at the bar? Did you really bring them home and fuck them both? 

It feels like a dream, it might have been a dream. 

You crack your eyes open, letting out a groan. You are alone, the only remnant of the night before the scent of them still lingering in the air. They smelled good, sweet and musky, so strong you could almost taste it. They smelled good, even sweaty from the heat and exertion.

You can still feel their touch like a phantom left behind in your memory. The brush of their lips and fingers, Kyle’s head between your legs, the fullness of your body as they fucked you into one of the best orgasms you’ve ever had. It was addicting. You’re not sure you’ll ever be able to feel as satisfied as you did last night, even with the way your head is throbbing and your body feels drained of all energy.  

It was all so perfect. 

It must have been a dream. You had too much to drink and fell asleep dreaming about two perfect men fucking you to the point you couldn’t remember your own name. There’s no way two men were such perfect matches for you and for each other. Perfection doesn’t exist. 

You roll over onto your back, your limbs heavy with exhaustion. How long had the three of you gone last night? You can’t remember much past your first orgasm. You’re not even sure you remember your first orgasm. 

It must have been a dream. 

Something catches your eye as you roll over, tugging the blanket up around your chin. You squint through the blurriness and the haze of exhaustion, staring at your nightstand. peripheral vision

No, it wasn't a dream. 

It was very real. 

There's a set of dog tags sitting on your nightstand. 

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[flamingtouya]

𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞) —

pairing: dabi + f!reader

word count: 4381

cw: getting to know each other (against your better intuition), flirting, bad flirting,some explicit language but nothing too bad, no quirk AU, dabi commits a crime or two

summary: In which Dabi meant to text Toga instead of a random stranger. But these things happen, and you were never one to shy away from troublesome men. This whole thing is told entirely through text messages.

a/n: check out my AO3 for different formatting! :)

Mar 02  10:07 PM

Unknown: Grab bleach while you’re out Unknown: And paper towels

You: who is this??

Unknown: So funny

You: u got the wrong number my guy 

Unknown: Shit Unknown: You don’t happen to have some bleach at your disposal rn? 

You: try the convenience store You: where’s the body at, anyways

Unknown: Ohara street by the fitness park, you should come check it out

You: sounds enticing You: i’ve always wanted to be on a true crime podcast

You: sort of expected myself to be the alive one though

Unknown: I was taught that women tend to be smart about stranger danger and stuff Unknown: You're out to prove me wrong

You: how’d you know i’m a woman? 🤨

Unknown: U sound cute Unknown: And men don’t listen to true crime

You: that’s so sexist You: and correct You: you'd do numbers on reddit

Mar 03 00:16 AM

You: hey don’t leave now

Mar 03 00:34 AM

Unknown: Had a body to take care of

You: you didn’t wait for me? :(

Unknown: … Unknown: Are u fr

You: ofc not You: i don’t hang out with edgelords

Unknown: Whatever u r probably boring anyways

You: entertaining enough for u to keep texting me

Unknown: We all have our moments of weakness 

Mar 03 01:09 AM

Unknown: So wyd

You: you don’t have anybody else to bother?

Unknown: I do Unknown: I want to bother you tho

You: damn, what’d i do to deserve this

Unknown: Is that a complaint

You: i have uni tomorrow and ur buzzing keeps waking me up

Unknown: Mute your phone, stupid 

You: can’t mute unknown numbers

Unknown: Save this one then Unknown: Or block me idc

You: what name should i put it under

Unknown: Dabi 

You: lmao i knew you were an edgelord

Dabi: Stfu

You: good night to you too

Mar 03  07:58 AM

You: fuck

Mar 03 3:56 PM

Dabi: Did you miss me that bad 

Mar 03 4:32 PM

You: i overslept and am blaming you entirely

Mar 03 5:19 PM 

Dabi: Sucks to be a useful member to society

You: why what do you do

Dabi: I'm actually a bit of a part-time freelancer, you regular uni folk just wouldn't get it

You: freelancing around ohara at 1 in the morning sounds like the truly fulfilling purpose we all long for You: did you just get up

Dabi: Hey now  Dabi: Yes  Dabi: I’m still in bed technically, looking at the ceiling fan is so interesting when I don't want to move a muscle

You: you are everything I am jealous of

Dabi: I promise you it’s not that good 

You: first time a guy’s been honest right away. i applaud u

Dabi: Omg no way 

Mar 03 5:40 PM

You: no way what

Dabi: No way you said something witty 

Dabi: Maybe you’re fun after all

You: i’ll have u know that deep down, i’m just a fragile being trying to make it thru this bitch of a world, running on fumes and caffeine all while chasing a childhood dream that i'll never be able to reach anyways because of my parents' expectations of me crushing my soul

Dabi: Damn, being vulnerable already 

You: your turn

Dabi: I’m not sad. My life is great and my parents never expected anything of me

Dabi: That was a lie 

You: so you’re a liar

Dabi: I suppose I might be

You: that counts as being vulnerable. i’m so proud of us. <3

Mar 03 9:12 PM

You: you probably have daddy issues

Mar 03 11:34 PM 

Dabi: Mind your business 

You: so i’m right

Dabi: Nosy sounds more like it

You: that’s a yes then

Dabi: When I tell you he SUCKS so bad 

You: LMAO You: i’m guessing you don’t particularly like your family then

Dabi: It's not the type of stuff I'd tell anybody, especially not to some nosy individual whose number is one or two digits off

You: alright i’ll stop digging You: wait how old are you You: am i talking to some 50 y/o dude You: please no

Mar 04 00:02 AM

Dabi: Chill I’m 48

Mar 04 00:06 AM 

You: say sike right now You: if u rly are then i’m half your age

Dabi: You thought Dabi: Are you actually 24 tho

You: give or take a few days lol

Dabi: When’s your birthday 

You: do you want my social and tax numbers while we’re at it

Dabi: Stfu I wanna see if I’m older 

You: 🤨 You: it’s at the end of this month

Dabi: Baby 

You: are u flirting with me or insulting me

Dabi: Can’t I be doing both 

Mar 04 06:30 AM

You: love me a guy who can multitask You: did you ever get your bleach and paper towels

Mar 04 11:11 AM

You: it’s 11:11 make a wish

Mar 04 2:02 PM

You: my wish is that you’d commit to a humane sleeping schedule

Mar 04 2:59 PM 

Dabi: Anybody hear sum 

You: i heard you’re a lazy bitch You: who doesn’t even do his own grocery shopping

Dabi: Maybe I do. Maybe I got the bleach all on my own like a big boy

You: X

Dabi: What's that mean

You: X for doubt You: it’s a meme

Dabi: Here I thought we were about to get spicy 😔

You: ew

Dabi: I was joking  Dabi: …unless 

You: has anybody ever told you that your flirting is immaculate

Mar 04 7:10 PM

Dabi: What do you study 

You: are you trying to find out my location

Dabi: Let it be known I’m terrible at geography and if I wanted to stalk you I'd already be on it

You: that’s a consolation You: forensic science You: i actually can’t wait for the semester to be over bc my professor is one of the most annoying individuals i have ever had the displeasure of meeting

Dabi: So you do have bleach 

You: never said i didn’t

Dabi: What do I have to do to make the list of annoying individuals. What's my current score

You: we haven’t met You: and i’m not sure if i’d survive u

Dabi: You have a point, I'm super nice tho

You: bet You: are you handsome You: asking for a friend You: the handsome ones are usually more annoying

Dabi: I'll say I’m frighteningly unique-looking 

You: ...well played

Mar 04 10:09 PM 

Dabi: My boss is making me do errand work in the morning like I'm some kind of functioning human being with principles Dabi: The next piercing I’m getting is a lobotomy 

You: thought you were “freelancing”

Dabi: Freelancing only gets you so far. You'll understand when you're my age

You: can't imagine what the back pain must be like You: do you have a tongue piercing 👀

Dabi: Perhaps I do

You: u r so mysterious You: tell me an opinion 

Dabi: Mint ice cream makes my teeth feel weird 

You: that’s not an opinion 

Dabi: Alright, more foods should have mint in them. And coriander. I want to make things inedible for 80% of the human population

You: nvm keep your opinions to yourself 

Mar 05 02:26 AM

Dabi: I've gotta burn this number. Txt u in a few 

Mar 05 05:16 AM

You: what are you, some kind of druglord This message could not be delivered.

You: I knew it This message could not be delivered.

Mar 0512:03 PM

You: ayo are you still there This message could not be delivered.

You: this is only funny if you come clean right now This message could not be delivered.

Mar 05 4:16 PM

You: "text you in a few" minutes? hours? days? This message could not be delivered.

You: just know that if it takes to long i'll forget about u This message could not be delivered.

You: won't even miss u This message could not be delivered.

Mar 06 09:00 AM

You: hello is this thing on This message could not be delivered.

Mar 07 3:15 PM

You: my social security number is 6007 0023 6799 0324 This message could not be delivered.

Mar 07 8:46 PM

You: eggs, vinegar, panko, sprite, sliced ham, parmesan, deodorant sencha if they have the good one ground pepper, lemon juice This message could not be delivered.

Mar 08 04:44 AM

Unknown: Am I still the man of ur dreams

You: I'm killing you You: violently

Unknown: I was hoping softly Unknown: With your song

You: are these messages being monitored You: am i a suspect

Unknown: If they were, could I write that I'm a ruthless baby killer anti-government fuck the police pro abortion the prime minister is an idiot bomb. bomb at the airport, terrorism, detonate Unknown: I guess now they are

Dabi was added as a contact.

You: just when i thought i'd have to find another witty asshole with a tongue piercing

Dabi: Aw you missed me Dabi: Does my tongue piercing make me hot be honest

You: what are my chances of getting an explanation for the past few days You: are u a murderer fr, that would be so cool You: i totally didn't use our abandoned chat as a grocery list btw

Dabi: The only thing I slay is pussy 😎

You: somehow i have doubts about that statement You: animal abuse is no joke

Dabi: I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 100, if you guess it correctly I'll tell u everything

You: 69

Mar 08 08:21 AM

Dabi: It was 72 Dabi: Because you were so close I'll give u one free question. But I want another one in return

You: you're a dirty little gremlin who plays dirty little games You:: do i get to ask a follow-up question

Dabi: No

You: in that case You: which of the following activities did you partake in? 1.) vandalism 2.) drug dealing 3.) drug trafficking 4.) violent crimes 5.) violent crimes that resulted in the death of one or more individuals 6.) assisting someone in a violent crime 7.) assisting someone in a non-violent crime 8.) theft 9.) robbery 10.) hate crimes against a minority 11.) politically motivated acts of defiance 12.) consumption of illegal substances 13.) running and/or hiding from law enforcement 14.) domestic terrorism 15.) human trafficking 16.) money laundering 17.) having a good time

Dabi: What the fuck Dabi: What is this, a multiple choice? Dabi: 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 13 Dabi: My turn Dabi: What's your favourite food

You: fr, just like that You: that's your one question out of everything you could ask? am i really that boring

Dabi: I ask what I ask

You: spicy miso ramen with minced pork You: can we go back to the part where you ran from law enforcement

Dabi: Don't we all have demons that we run from Dabi: Mine are just a bit more persistent

Mar 08 10:52 AM

You: i want another question

Dabi: If you come up with one that's not related to the past few days, go ahead

You: fine i'll take it You: have you ever been caught and gotten in legal trouble for one of your… dubious activities

Dabi: Yeah

You: …and?

Dabi: That's another question. Gonna trade?

You: fine

Dabi: When I was 16, two Officers Of The Law 🐷 caught me dumpster diving behind a 7/11 Dabi: The dumpster diving wasn't the crime but because it was on private property they charged me with trespassing

You: damn, that's a lot of truth from u in just two sentences You: i wanna know ur tragic backstory so bad

Dabi: You could try to get me all sentimental for the 6 minutes after really good sex before the post nut clarity sets in

You: uh huh, taking notes You: anyway. you get one question. think hard

Dabi: If you couldn't have minced pork on your ramen, what would your second topping choice be

You: you're impossible

Mar 08 1:27 PM

You: tori karaage or extra ni-tamago i guess

Mar 08 2:23 PM

Dabi: Doesn't the Karaage lose its crispiness if it's in the broth for too long Dabi: I wouldn't know

You: please let me recommend you a good ramen place, you seem like you'd need it

Dabi: You have no idea. Take me out

You: like romantically? or are you asking me to murder you

Dabi: I love surprises

You: i just laughed out loud in the middle of my lecture

Mar 08 7:18 PM

Dabi: Need your forensic expertise for a sec

You: …oh no

Dabi: It's a purely hypothetical scenario

You: alright lay it on me big boy

Dabi: If a 176 cm tall and 67 kg heavy person were to climb over a 4,60 meter high fence that has electrical wiring on it Dabi: What would the most likely way for them to die be?

You: this is not forensic at all You: how strong is the electricity You: is there a way to shut it off You: where would you hold onto the fence You: can it be damaged

Dabi: Not me, a 176 cm tall and 67 kg heavy person

You: where would THE 176 CM TALL AND 67 KG HEAVY PERSON HOLD ONTO THE FENCE

Dabi: The only points that provide decent grip surface are the hooks holding the wires in place

You: so the most likely way to die would be electrocution You: will that be all

Dabi: How would one determine whether the electricity has been properly shut off Dabi: In the theoretical scenario that you couldn't get close enough to hear

You: the 176 cm tall and 67 kg heavy person should tap the wiring from the bottom with the back of their hand You: that way their fingers curl downwards and not around the wire You: so the person won't DIE from ELECTROCUTION

Mar 09 00:08 AM

Dabi: Excellent Dabi: Gonna do some field research Dabi: Will report back in maybe a day

Mar 09 08:01 AM

You: i'm gonna be so mad if you die before you've had decent karaage This message could not be delivered.

Mar 11 6:10 PM

Unknown: So it turns out that the person did not have to climb the fence after all. Pliers are such useful tools Unknown: Thanks for the electricity tip tho

Mar 11 6:39 PM

Dabi was added as a contact.

You: you're so hot when you're alive 

Mar 11 9:14 PM

Dabi: Do u think I'm a catch 😏

You: judging by the way law enforcement is trying to get their hands on you, i'd say you're pretty slippery

Dabi: The slipperiest Dabi: You couldn't handle me

You: i'd trap you using cheese and a paper box  You: put you in a jar and turn you into spicy miso broth 

Dabi: Would you hold the jar tight at night and tell me everything's going to be okay 

You: of course 

Dabi: I'm liking this scenario 

Mar 12 01:07 AM 

Dabi: Ever thought about what Mint Karaage would taste like

Mar 12 01:23 AM

You: i need u 

Dabi: Tell me more

You: to shut your mouth

Dabi: Are you trying to romance me

Mar 12 07:15 AM

You: i'm actually so upset right now  You: can i vent

Mar 12 07:27 AM

Dabi: Listening Dabi: Am I gonna have to get the tissues out

You: you're not empathetic enough for that 

Dabi: How would you know 

You: call it a woman's intuition  You: i just need someone to bother about my hot girl troubles

Dabi: Let's hear it girl  Dabi: Men ain't shit 💅

You: damn right they aren't You: but unrelated to that You: i ran out of my medication a few days ago and thought if i stretched the remaining 3 pills to last me 6 days i'd be able to make it till the end of the week  You: now my doctor's office is closed and i can't seem to get an appointment anywhere You: and i'm super jittery and on edge and almost had a panic attack just trying to make coffee

Dabi: What type of medication 

You: Ativan You: it's prescription only

Dabi: Nothing is ever "prescription only" 

You: i'm not gonna try some experimential backalley drug You: just feel like dying rn

Dabi: Who said anything about backalley? You actually came to the right guy for this  Dabi: What's the name of the nearest druggery 

You: ...fukuju pharmacy

Dabi: So I've been talking to a Setagaya girl 

You: only moved here for uni, hate to disappoint if ur expecting a wealthy maiden 

Mar 12 10:02 AM

Dabi: Don't you feel like getting a snack from the vending machine  Dabi: Specifically the one next to the pharmacy  Dabi: A bag of skittles sounds nice, doesn't it?

You: ? ? ?

Mar 12 10:34 AM 

You: did you commit a crime for me  You: how did you get your hands on actual fucking Ativan this fast

Dabi: I don't kiss and tell

You: did you follow me home  You: is this how i die

Dabi: You make it so hard to be nice to you Dabi: What do you think I am, a creep

You: if you were here i'd suck you off so good rn

Dabi: Whore Dabi: (Respectfully)

You: lmao ur right You: thank you for real though

Dabi: Stfu

Mar 12 1:33 PM

Dabi: Do u like cats

You: yes

Dabi sent an image.

Dabi: Noodle thieving menace 

You: 🥹 You: that has got to be the fattest street cat i’ve ever seen

Dabi: He’s hella fast 

You: how does it feel to be the one chasing the culprit for once

Dabi: Not nearly as thrilling as being the one committing the crime 

Mar 13 00:00 AM

Unknown: Congratulations! You have been selected as an eligible member for a free trial of Osaka Daily Post. Unknown: If you would like information about your benefits, reply 'BENEFIT' Unknown: If you would like to stop receiving these messages, reply 'STOP' 

You: i know it's you shithead

Unknown: Your message could not be processed. 

You: this is the unfunniest you've ever been ngl

Unknown: Your message could not be processed. 

You: you're truly one of the most annoying individuals in my life

Unknown: Your message could not be processed. 

You: STOP

Unknown: LMAO you thought

Dabi was saved as a contact. 

You: i'm reconsidering if the tongue piercing is really worth it 😤

Mar 13 04:55 AM

Dabi: Any particular reason why you chose forensics 

Mar 13 06:09 AM

You: i've always admired criminals but been to scared to become one You: and if i know about psychotic assholes it might help me to steer clear of them, or so i thought

Dabi: Is it working

You: evidently not

Dabi: Use me in ur thesis  Dabi: I'll be your lab rat

You: nah you're more beneficial to me when you're not stuck behind bars You: what do you have me saved as in your phone

Dabi: I don't save contacts  Dabi: Especially not yours  Dabi: You mean nothing to me 

You: aww do you know my number by heart, that's adorable You: i'm kinda genuinely impressed at how persistent you are at bothering me, it's almost like you like me or smth

Dabi: No fr though lmao if anybody finds my phone you'd be on a list

You: do u delete these chats

Dabi: Always

You: that's so romantic You: admit it you're actually a softie

Dabi: Would that make you more interested in me  Dabi: Then I'm the softest 

You: what do i need to do to make you the hardest

Dabi: ... Dabi: There's absolutely no correct way for me to respond to that  Dabi: You've left me speechless 

You: 🥵🥵

Dabi: What's your worst quality  Dabi: Besides being an irresistible smartass  Dabi: *irritating 

You: was that a freudian slip You: you're so obsessed with me it's adorable

Dabi: Proving my point so diligently 

You: you don't seem like the kind of person who would use words like 'diligently' You: i'm rather talkative at times You: to the point where it gets unbearable to listen to me

Dabi: I never would've guessed

You: what's yours? You: besides the obvious

Dabi: Still putting up with you 

Mar 13 7:45 PM

Dabi: Wyd 

You: i burned my rice a little You: but it's edible

Dabi: Don't you have a rice cooker? Who raised you 

You: my very strict but sweet and committed grandmother who made the best teriyaki salmon in the whole world You: i'd kill another human being to eat her home cooked food one more time

Dabi: So your parents ain't shit either 

You: eh, they're alright You: they're Business People overseas and aren't around a whole lot, means i get my own place though You: so i can have visitors at any desired hour 😏

Dabi: Omg sick Dabi: Me next

You: it was implied

Mar 13 11:11 PM

Dabi: Ok but do u actually wanna meet up sometime  Dabi: No strings attached ofc 

You: i'm down

Dabi: What if I'm a creep after all

You: if anything, it means i won't have to attend my lecture about carbon dots tmrw

Dabi: I can't tomorrow  Dabi: What about the day after Dabi: I'll give u my credit card info if it makes you feel more safe, don't bother trying to buy anything with it tho, you'll be disappointed

You: you may not show it a whole lot, but are you actually a considerate person? You: the day after sounds good

Dabi: Preem

You: oreryu shio ramen, right by harajuku station You: about time you had some good karaage You: my treat You: unless that's too far away for u

Dabi: I would fly across the world for u Dabi: Yes Harajuku works fine

Mar 14 08:49 AM

You: how will i recognise u You: what do u look like

Dabi: As my dad once said. I'm impossible to miss 

You: i laughed

Dabi: Guess it was all worth it then  Dabi: Do tattoos scare you

You: i was gonna ask cause there's no way you got only a tongue piercing and nothing else You: stand there with your tongue out

Dabi: Shouldn't we at least get to know each other before 😳

You: don't get any ideas  You: i don't intend to fuck u You: ...for now

Dabi: That's a relief, I thought I might have to file a restraining order afterwards 

Mar 14 1:42 PM 

Dabi sent an image. 

Dabi: If u see this guy u can still run the other way 

You: hhh fuck You: are u trying to intimidate me You: how do you have so many tattoos but no bedframe

Dabi: Cut me some slack, I just moved into this place 

You: fair warning i'm not as hot as u

Dabi: Bet 

You sent an image. 

Dabi: Why do women always lie. I thought you were better. I thought you were different

You: 😳 You: i'm actually worse

Dabi: We're such a good match

You: don't get ahead of urself. u r still a guy with no bedframe

Dabi: Please shut up

Mar 14 4:16 PM

Dabi: To be clear I'm not bringing flowers or anything  Dabi: And I'm actually willing to let you pay this time lol 

You: you have such a unique way with words 

Dabi: A bit tight on money rn but I'll pay u back some other way 

You: can we make that the first line in our sextape  You: dw i said it's my treat and i mean it You: does that make you feel emasculated

Dabi: Who would I be to say no to free food tf Dabi: If there's a next time I can take you out for drinks  Dabi: Nothing fancy but an old friend of mine owns a bar downtown and his girlfriend mixes a killer mule 

You: if you're gonna poison me after gaining my trust over my favourite food i will be incredibly sad 

Dabi: Give me some credit here. I'm trusting u to not rat me out to law enforcement 

You: you're giving me ideas You: is there a bounty on your head

Dabi: I'm not that important 

Mar 14 9:44 PM

You: so you're just too good to get caught

Dabi: Both flattering and factually correct Dabi: For the record I've never harmed anybody that didn't deserve it 

You: thanks for clarifying  You: i feel so safe now 

Dabi: Anytime  Dabi: If you're having second thoughts lmk before 10 am so I won't spend time getting ready for nothing 

You: 10 am is crazy  You: u r so vain 

Dabi: Alright then I won't 😔

You: i take it back You: be pretty for me

Mar 15 5:30 AM

You: can't sleep 

Mar 15 7:12 AM

Dabi: How the turntables  Dabi: Are you alright

You: yes  You: it's the good kind of sleepless 

Dabi: It's fine if you're having second thoughts, I won't hold it against you at all  Dabi: Just texting like this is nice too

You: fuck no i wanna meet the man behind the screen You: the myth, the legend, the crimelord himself 

Dabi: I'm never showing consideration for ur wellbeing ever again 

You: should've ghosted me before i got attached

Mar 15 9:54 AM

Dabi: Last chance to bail gracefully  

You: you make it so tempting 

Dabi: Getting out of bed then 

You: it's not a bed if it doesn't have a bedframe

Dabi: Shut, and I mean this in the gentlest way possible, the hell your mouth

Mar 15 12:08 PM

Dabi sent a location pin.

Dabi: Is this the place

You: that's the one  You: be there in a few minutes 

Dabi: I'm waiting outside 

Mar 15 12:13 PM

You: omg i think i see u You: im shy

Dabi: U literally have so much blackmail material on me 

You: give me a second You: alright I'm coming over This message could not be delivered.

[specialagentlokitty]

Sherlock x reader - my type

Hello, how are you mate, could you do a fic where reader is a pretty young lady with lots of male admirers and Sherlock thinks she’s out of his league. But he didn’t knew she was actually into him. Thanks! - Anon💜

Walking into flat with you looked around for your older brother but you couldn’t find him anywhere, but you did find his flatmate.

“Hey Sherlock, have you seen my brother?”

Sherlock looked up from the laptop.

“John isn’t here?”

You smiled a little, shaking your head at him and you walked over to him, leaning over the back of Sherlocks chair, you looked at what he was doing.

Sherlock glanced at your arm next to him but he said nothing about it.

“Why are you looking for John?” He asked.

“He was supposed to come to the shopping centre with me.”

Sherlock nodded his head and carried on scrolling through whatever webpage he was looking through.

It was silent for a moment.

“Come with me.” You said.

“Why?”

You smiled a little and walked back around the chair, placing your hands on your hips as you looked at him.

“Because I want you to come, it’ll be fun!”

“I’m busy.”

“No you’re not don’t lie to me Sherlock Holmes. Come on! Do you really want to leave a lady walking around the city alone?”

Sherlock went back to looking at the laptop and you huffed a little.

“Please Sherlock? I don’t wanna go alone.”

Sherlock sighed, closing the laptop.

He stood up and grabbed his coat and you beamed brightly at him as your an down the stairs.

“Thank you Sherlock!”

He complained the whole way to the shopping centre, but he went wherever you went even if he didn’t want to.

You were in a store looking for new tops and jackets, and Sherlock stood looking around.

He noticed how a lot of men would stop and look at you and he furrowed his brows slightly.

Sherlock looked at you.

You didn’t even seem to pay the other men any attention, you simply went about your business shopping for what you wanted.

“Hey beautiful, wanna grab a drink later?”

You looked up at the unknown man and blinked.

“Not interested.”

You walked away, grabbing Sherlocks arm so he would follow you.

“This is why you didn’t want to come alone.” He said.

“Yeah, John usually scares them away.”

Sherlock nodded his head and looked at the red shirt you were looking at.

“That’s not your colour. Here.”

He reached out and handed you a light blue version of the top and you smiled slightly.

“Thanks.”

You happily went to pay for everything, and started wondering again.

Sherlock noticed more and more men trying to hit on you, some offering to get you lunch, pay for your things, take you out.

You declined them all, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt him slightly.

Sherlock wasn’t one for human emotions.

But you were beautiful, even he had to admit that. You seemed to have a sort of glow about you thay no matter where you were he could easily pick you out in a crowd.

You were absolutely stunning, he was sure if you wanted too you could’ve been a model.

And even though you declined the advances of other men it hurt him they had the courage to hit on you when he didn’t.

He didn’t know how.

But not just that, he was certain that there was no way you would date someone like him. He was sure of that.

He sighed softly, and glanced at you, seeing you stopping by a small bakery.

“Are you hungry?” He asked.

“A little. I just want to look.”

Sherlock nodded and gestured for you to go in, and he followed you, watching as you showed interest in different things.

“I’ll be out in a moment.”

“Okay!” You beamed.

Sherlock went back around and gathered a few of each thing you seemed to like or he knew you liked and brought them.

Walking outside, Sherlock held the bag out to you.

“Sherlock?”

“Well take it then, it’s for you.”

You took the bag and looked inside.

“Aw Sherlock you didn’t have to!”

“You wanted them and couldn’t make up your mind, so I got them all. Are we done shopping?”

You looked up at him and you smiled softly, nodding your head.

“Yeah, we can go home now.”

You got a cab back to the flat with him and happily skipped up the stairs, and you sat on the arm of his chair.

Sherlock walked over and sat next to you, and you held out the bag of baked goods.

He looked up.

“They’re yours.”

“And I want to share with you.”

“Thank you.”

Sherlock took one and you smiled, leaning against him and he couldn’t help the fact his heart skipped a beat a little.

“So, why did you turn down all of those men?”

You hummed a little.

“They’re not my type.”

“You have a type?”

You nodded.

“Oh yeah. Tall, brown messy hair, blue eyes, really smart but kinda oblivious to normal emotions, lives with my older brother and he buys me food from the bakery.”

You jumped up and beamed brightly at him, giving him a wink you grabbed your stuff and ran away while he sat there processing what you said

[arc852]

Stuck

Summary: It's the second day of spring break and Jimmy is left alone for a bit as Joel and his parents go to the store. As Jimmy explores more of Joel's room he finds something that he wished he hadn't...and in the worst way possible.

Warnings: Feeling helpless, feeling trapped, inhumane mouse traps, panic, fear, worry, and mentions of death

Word Count: 4095

AO3 Link

Okay, it took me a second to figure out how to go about this but I figured out that the only place this would really make sense to happen is at Joel's house. So, this happens right after Sweet Tooth and before Eepy!

Strap in guys, this one is pretty angsty. And kind of long. It sort of got away from me. I hope you guys enjoy!

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

 “Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?” Joel asked, still nervous about leaving Jimmy alone. Especially for such a long period of time.

 Jimmy nodded and gave Joel a reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine Joel. Besides, going to class with you is one thing. But going to the store seems…a bit much.”

 Joel let out a sigh but he could see Jimmy’s point. “Yeah, that’s fair. You would just be in my pocket the whole time too, which probably wouldn’t be very fun for you huh?”

 “Yeah, not really. At least here I can explore your house some more.” And Jimmy was excited to do so. He hadn’t even gotten through half of Joel’s room before he had come back with dinner the night before, so he was excited to see the rest of it. And maybe even the rest of the house.

 “Alright. Just be careful.” Joel said and then headed toward the door. Before opening it though, he looked back at Jimmy again. “I should be back in a couple of hours.”

 “Have fun!” Jimmy said with a wave and then watched as Joel quickly opened the door, walked out, and closed the door. He did it fast, just in case one of his parents were walking by. He heard the footsteps leave and then Jimmy was alone.

 Jimmy stood up and stretched for a moment, before getting out his rope and stabbing it into the nightstand. He then shimmied down the rope and decided to keep it there just in case he wanted to go back up later. Jimmy figured he would mostly be sticking to the floor anyway, so no reason to take it with him.

 He looked around the room, taking in his options. He had already explored underneath the bed, the nightstand, and the dresser that Joel had pushed up against the wall. So, it seemed his next exploration was to be the closet on the opposite side of the room. Thankfully, the closet door was already open, so he wouldn’t have to worry about squeezing through the bottom of the door or anything like that.

 Jimmy made his way toward that direction, walking casually and taking in the sights around him. If he was being honest, it was a little weird being back in an actual house. He hadn’t stepped foot in one since…well, since Jimmy had left home when he was 12. It brought back a lot of memories.

 It was different from the dorms, in the sense that it had a more homey feel to it. It felt more lived in, more cherished. Many college students may have lived in the dorm buildings but none of them saw it as permanent. It wasn’t supposed to be. But this house…this was permanent. Joel had lived here with his family since he was little and while Joel may move on, his parents were sticking around. And Joel would always see this house as his, in one way or another.

 Jimmy didn’t have that. His childhood home was long gone. He didn’t even know where it had been. He never had a reason to pay attention to something like that before. And he was in too much of a bad head space when he decided leaving was best for him to pay attention to how far the college was from the house. 

 Jimmy shook his head. That was not a bundle of memories he wanted to get into right now. It had been a long time since he had thought about his old home, of his parents, but it seemed being in a house again was making everything come back.

 Jimmy focused back on the task at hand, which was exploring the closet. He had made it to the opening, staring up at the darkness that awaited him. It was a walk in closet, so plenty of room to explore. Jimmy squinted his eyes to try and see into the darkness. Ever since becoming friends with Grian and Joel, and staying out of the walls, his once keen night vision was all but gone. Grian said it had something to do with getting used to the light, that his eyes had soaked up too much of it and was now more similar to a human’s than a borrower’s.

 Jimmy missed it less than he thought he would have but at times like these, he did wish his eyesight was back to how it used to be.

 Still, the longer he stared into the darkness the more his eyes began to adjust. It still wasn’t as much as he could see before but it was better than nothing.

 He made his way into the closet, looking around for anything interesting. There were some shelves above him but they were much too far up for Jimmy to reach even with his hook. So he focused on the floor, seeing something back in the far corner of the closet. It appeared to be a small box, small enough that Jimmy should be able to open it and look inside. Maybe he would find some old trinkets of Joel’s or maybe just some clothes but Jimmy was excited to find out.

 He walked towards it, staying close to the wall as he did so. But as he got further into the closet, the darkness became too much again. The light from the room not quite reaching as far back. Jimmy blinked, trying to get used to the darkness once more but as he took another step, his foot caught on something and he tripped.

 Normally, a trip like that would be no big deal. Especially with the carpet to break his fall, it was more embarrassing than painful to trip like that. But something was different this time. As Jimmy fell, it was not the softness of the carpet that met him.

 Jimmy landed with a strange squelching noise, his body landing on top of some sort of pasty substance.

 Jimmy landed in a way where both his arms were up at an angle and his head was tilted to the side, the right side of his face getting the brunt of the fall. The rest of his body lay flat on the mystery surface.

 Jimmy groaned, the impact more surprising than painful but still. Jimmy sighed and moved his arms to get himself up. Except…they didn’t move. Jimmy blinked and tried lifting his head to see what was wrong but he didn’t get far. His head was stuck too and the only thing that happened was his skin and hair got pulled, causing a sharp pain that made Jimmy yelp and stop what he was doing.

 Jimmy laid there for a moment, processing what was wrong and why he couldn’t move.

 And then it hit him.

 This was a glue trap.

 A deep sense of panic overtook Jimmy’s entire being as he realized this. Glue traps were awful, one of the worst traps that could be set up. They were dangerous, so very dangerous. If a borrower got stuck in one, then there was no way out. Either the human found you or, what happened a majority of the time, you died. You were completely and utterly stuck until you eventually just died.

 And that was if you had fallen into the trap the ‘right way’. Jimmy had heard a few stories when he was younger from his parents, of borrowers who had unfortunately fallen into the trap face first. They had suffocated to death in just a few minutes. But his parents had told that story with the underline of how lucky those borrowers had been. 

 Despite what his parents had thought, Jimmy was very happy that he hadn’t fallen face first.

 But still, he didn’t have a way out. The more he pulled, the more he stuck and the more painful it was to even try. Jimmy had no choice but to still and try to control his breathing as much as he could. 

 The only thing keeping him from truly panicking was the fact that, unlike other borrowers who had found themselves in this situation, Jimmy actually did have someone who could help him.

 The only problem was Joel was still gone and would probably be gone for at least another hour. But Jimmy didn’t have another choice. He was stuck. He just had to wait and breathe through it. He couldn’t let the panic that still festered deep in his gut to take control. He would be fine. Joel would get him out. He wasn’t going to die here.

 He just had to wait.

  ***

   Jimmy perked up as soon as he heard the bedroom door open close to an hour later. He had managed to keep his breathing steady but his heart still raced and now that the very fragile calm had been interrupted, the panic was coming back.

 “Jimmy? I’m back. Where are you?” Joel called out into the room after closing the door behind him. His eyes scanned the room, refusing to move until he saw where Jimmy was. He saw the string dangling from the nightstand so he could only assume he was somewhere on the floor, but Joel didn’t know where. 

 Suddenly, his entire body tensed and panic replaced every other feeling as he heard a faint but clear voice.

 “Joel! Help!” Jimmy screamed, trying to be heard from where he was in the closet.

 “J-Jimmy?!” Joel yelled back and Jimmy wanted to cry in relief that Joel had actually heard him. “Where are you?!”

 Joel was rapidly scanning the room now, wondering what kind of trouble Jimmy was in. Was it a spider? A rat? He needed to find him, to save him.

 Jimmy took a deep breath. “I’m in the closet! I-I’m stuck!”

 “Stuck?” Joel’s gaze went to the closet and he finally allowed himself to move to get over to it. He stopped at the doorway and turned on the light, scanning the floor, looking for Jimmy or anything else out of place. His eyes widened as he finally saw where Jimmy was.

 “Jimmy…” Joel said softly, gently moving so he was now kneeled down on the ground next to where Jimmy was stuck in a glue trap of all things. He held his hands out, like he wanted to reach for Jimmy but he kept them frozen like that, unsure how to even start going about this. “Oh gosh, are…are you alright?”

 Jimmy winced. “I’m…not hurt.” Jimmy decided to go with. Because otherwise, he was very much not okay.

 “Okay…okay, okay.” Joel couldn’t believe this. “I’m…I’m so sorry, I had no idea this was in here. My parents must have--”

 “I know, Joel. I know.” Jimmy said, cutting Joel off. “Just please, get me out of here.”

 “Right! Right. Uh…” Joel looked at Jimmy stuck in the trap, trying to figure something out. Finally, he reached out his hand, hovering it over Jimmy. “I’m gonna touch you, okay?” Joel wouldn’t normally announce something like that but with how this situation was, and with both of them panicking, he thought it would be a good thing to do.

 Jimmy hummed in response and shut his eyes tight. Joel slowly let his fingers grip the side of Jimmy’s body and he carefully tried to pull him up and out of the trap.

 As Joel started to pull, Jimmy’s eyes widened in pain. “Stop! Stop! Stop!” Jimmy suddenly and loudly screamed. Joel let go of Jimmy faster than if something had burned him. Joel’s eyes widened, guilt crowding his features. 

 “Sorry, sorry!” Was all Joel could say, moving his hand far away from where Jimmy was. Jimmy took some deep breaths, trying to calm his panic and let the pain subside.

 “Let’s…Let’s not do that again.” Jimmy said after a moment. Joel only nodded, feeling incredibly bad for having just hurt Jimmy. He had never hurt the borrower before, even when they first met he tried his best to be careful. He never wanted to hurt Jimmy and now he had. 

 Jimmy tried to shift a little, of course not getting very far. “There’s gotta be another way. Right?” Jimmy asked after Joel didn’t speak for a moment, worry etching his features.

 Joel blinked and shook himself out of his little funk. Jimmy needed him right now, he needed to focus. “Yeah, I can google it. Hold on, let’s get you off the floor.” Joel hesitated slightly but reached out his hands again. “I’m going to pick up the trap.” Joel warned before doing so, making sure to avoid the parts with the actual glue on it. The last thing he needed was to get his hands stuck right along with Jimmy.

 Jimmy braced himself as Joel lifted up the trap and Jimmy along with it. Joel was careful to keep his hands steady as he stood up and walked over to his desk. “Okay, setting you down now.” Joel said, warning Jimmy again before he gently placed the trap down on top of the desk. Joel let out a little breath and then decided he needed to sit down for a second, so he took the seat at the desk and then got his phone out to try and figure out how to get Jimmy unstuck.

 Jimmy was faced toward Joel and so he couldn’t help but look up at the human like this. After being with his humans for months now, he was used to strange angles and different perspectives. But it was different this time. Jimmy was being forced down, unable to move himself, forced to look at Joel from an angle that still made Jimmy’s heart race, just a little bit.

 He felt helpless, for the first time in a long time.

 Jimmy closed his eyes, trying to stop his tears from falling. He took in a shaky breath, trying to ease his mind. Unfortunately, after months of being around Jimmy, Joel noticed and looked away from his phone for a moment to show concern for the borrower. “Jimmy? Hey, it’s okay. I’m gonna get you out of this.”

 Jimmy sniffed and opened his eyes, doing his best to meet Joel’s. “I know.” And he did. He was sure Joel would get him out. It was just…being put in this situation in the first place was really not doing good things for Jimmy mentally.

 Joel looked like he wanted to ask him something else, catching onto the fact that there was still something wrong. But he decided the best thing to do was get Jimmy out of there and so he just nodded and went back to searching it up.

 “Okay, I got it.” Joel said a minute later, reading the instructions carefully. “I need to get a few things though.” Joel looked down at the borrower with a slight wince. “I'll be right back, okay?”

 If Jimmy was being honest, he really didn’t want Joel to leave him. But he knew that wasn’t possible right now. “Okay.”

 Joel nodded and left, being as quick as he could in collecting the things he needed. It was a bit difficult with his parents there but he managed to hide the fact he was taking the cooking oil from the kitchen. The last thing he needed was his parent’s questioning him on why he was taking it up to his room.

 He was back in less than five minutes, putting everything he had gathered onto the table. “Right, so it says rubbing oil on the parts that are stuck will help it to unstick.” Joel explained as he put on the gloves. “Ready?”

 Jimmy hummed and Joel grabbed the bottle of oil. He hesitated for a moment before squirting some on the edges of Jimmy’s body, as well as some extra on his gloved hands. Jimmy shut his eyes, the oil feeling weird against his skin and hair. Once Joel had poured out a generous amount of the oil, he put it down and switched to gently rubbing it in. Carefully moving his fingers in gentle motions across Jimmy’s tiny limbs.

 Jimmy opened his eyes briefly, seeing Joel’s face in deep concentration. Jimmy let out a deep breath. He couldn’t even let himself get lost in the familiar touches of Joel’s hand, because the glove was a foreign thing that almost made Jimmy jump in a panic at being touched by it. He reminded himself that it was Joel though and tried to keep himself relaxed.

 Slowly, but surely, the glue started to come off and Jimmy felt himself be able to lift his arms up. Joel took the opportunity to get some more of the oil underneath Jimmy’s body, where the majority of him was stuck. It felt like hours but really was only about ten minutes before Jimmy felt the rubbing stop.

 “Okay…I’m gonna try lifting you up again.” Joel said and Jimmy nodded, something he could actually do now. Joel lowered his gloved hand, gripping Jimmy’s sides gently between his fingers. He went slow, incredibly slow, giving Jimmy plenty of time to tell him if it was starting to hurt again. But Jimmy didn’t say anything and so Joel continued until he was able to fully lift Jimmy up and off of the glue trap. 

 Immediately, Joel switched his hold on the borrower, moving so he was now holding him in cupped hands. Jimmy was still dripping in oil and covered sporadically in leftover glue, but he was out. Jimmy let out a small sigh of relief.

 “There we go.” Joel said, smiling in relief himself. “That wasn’t…too bad.” He winced at his own words and very quickly continued. “Uh, come on. I’m sure you want to get cleaned up.”

 Jimmy just nodded, not trusting himself to speak yet. Joel held him close as he opened his door, checking for his parents before quickly making his way to the bathroom. Once in, he carefully set Jimmy down on the counter and set up the sink so Jimmy could take a bath in it, just like he had done the night before when Jimmy had made a mess with the chocolate cake.

 Once the bath was set up, Joel left some soap and a hand towel on the counter and then glanced back down at Jimmy. “I’ll be back in a bit with some clean clothes for you. Okay?” Joel asked. When Jimmy just nodded, Joel frowned sadly. “Okay.” Joel said again and then left the bathroom.

 As soon as Joel left, Jimmy wasted no time in taking off the glue crusted and oil covered clothes. He left them on a pile on the counter, though he wasn’t sure they could be saved. Jimmy didn’t have a lot of clothes but he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to even try and wash them.

 Jimmy dipped into the tub and immediately started scrubbing with the soap Joel gave him. Thankfully, with the oil mixed in, the last bit of glue came off easily and the oil wasn’t far behind. As Jimmy moved onto his hair, there was a brief knock on the bathroom door before it opened, Joel coming in with a hand in front of his eyes. “It’s just me. I’m not looking.” Joel said and Jimmy couldn’t help but chuckle a little.

 Joel’s hands were now free of any gloves and he held a small pile of borrower sized clothes in his hand. He blindly set them on top of the counter. “You almost done?” Joel asked.

 “Yeah, just gotta finish my hair.” Jimmy said. “Give me ten more minutes?”

 Joel nodded and then left the bathroom once more. Jimmy finished up quickly, rinsing his hair out and double checking he got all the glue off. He seemed all clean, thankfully, so he hoisted himself out of the sink and dried off.

 Joel knocked on the door just as Jimmy finished getting dressed. Joel opened the door a little bit. “All good?”

 “Yeah.” Jimmy replied and only then did Joel walk in. He sent Jimmy a small smile, glad to see him cleaned up and looking a bit better. Though Jimmy’s mood was still down. He glanced over at the pile of dirty clothes and motioned to it.

 “What did you want to do with these?” Joel asked and Jimmy frowned as he followed Joel’s motion over to the pile of clothes. Jimmy quickly turned away.

 “You can just throw them away.” Jimmy said, not wanting to look at them anymore. They were ruined anyway.

 Joel bit his lip. Jimmy never threw things away, it was against a borrower’s nature, according to Jimmy. Grian and Joel always had to convince him to throw certain things away. But, after what Jimmy had gone through, Joel couldn’t really blame him. “That’s fair.” He settled on and then quickly lifted the clothes and dumped them in the trash. 

 He washed his hands after touching the oily clothes and then gently scooped Jimmy up in his hands, taking him back into his room. As they entered, Jimmy noticed the glue trap was already gone and he couldn’t help but be very thankful for that.

 Joel walked over to the nightstand and started lowering his hand to set Jimmy down but Jimmy scooted back, further onto Joel’s palm. Joel looked at him confused and Jimmy looked down with a slight blush on his cheeks. “Can…could you hold me just for a bit longer, actually?” Jimmy asked, not making eye contact with Joel.

 Normally, Joel would jump on the chance to tease Jimmy about this. But he knew this situation was delicate and he couldn’t help but feel warmth blossom in his chest at the thought that Jimmy wanted his comfort like this. And honestly, he hadn’t wanted to put Jimmy down anyway. “Yeah, of course Jim.”

 He brought his hand back up, closer to his chest, and then glanced around the room, his eyes falling on his laptop. “Do you wanna watch a movie?”

 Jimmy hummed. A movie sounded nice, though he wasn’t sure if he would really be paying attention to it or not. Joel grabbed his laptop with his free hand and then climbed into bed, leaning back against his pillow and headboard as he set up his laptop on the bed right in front of his crossed legs. 

 Jimmy stayed in his hold, soaking up the warmth and comfort of Joel’s uncovered hand. As the movie started, Joel’s hands moved a bit lower, resting on his lap as he added his other hand to give Jimmy more room.

 Jimmy had been right, he didn’t pay too much attention to the movie. Wasn’t even sure what they were watching. He was too focused on the way Joel’s finger rubbed up and down his back in a steady and grounding way.

 “Joel?” Jimmy said, glancing up at Joel.

 “Yeah, Jim?” Joel said, already looking down. It seemed Joel was having a hard time focusing on the movie as well.

 Jimmy bit his lip and let out a small breath. “Thank you. I don’t…I don’t know what would have happened if…” Jimmy couldn’t even finish the sentence. He was lying too, he knew exactly what would have happened if Jimmy didn’t have Joel. It was those thoughts, paired with the overwhelming feeling of helplessness in that situation, that was causing him to be so down.

 Joel blinked and looked down at Jimmy sadly. Even though Jimmy didn’t finish, it wasn’t hard to guess where Jimmy had been going with it. “Of course. I’m just…I’m so sorry that that happened to you.” Joel let out a sigh. “I’m gonna talk to my parents tomorrow. Make up a story about the glue trap. Maybe saying I stepped in it? Found a mouse in it? I don’t know yet, but I’m gonna try to convince them to get rid of all of them.”

 Jimmy nodded. “That…Yeah. That would be great. Thank you, Joel.”

 Joel nodded, he was going to make sure nothing like this ever happened again. To anyone. 

 Joel brought his hands up a little, bringing Jimmy to eye level. “Are you okay?” Joel asked again, now that everything was over.

 Jimmy took in a shaky breath���and then shook his head. Joel’s eyebrows knit together in concern but Jimmy spoke before Joel could say anything. “I’m really not.” Jimmy blinked back a few tears. “But…I will be.”

 And as Joel brought him to his chest and they shared their own version of a hug, Jimmy knew that with Joel, and Grian, by his side, he really was going to be okay.

[foreverautumn89]

One thing you should know is that Steve spoils the hell out of Jonathan whenever he can. Yes Steve's parents are rich but he works at the video store so Steve doesn't have a lot of money, but the little money he does have, he uses it to take Jonathan out or get him gifts.

His lack of money doesn't stop him from trying to spoil Jonathan. Even though Jonathan usually pays for himself because he doesn't feel right when he doesn't, but over the years of being together hes allowed Steve to pay for him more because Steve likes to give him gifts like that. Steve gives him all sorts of gifts. Sometimes its taking Jonathan out on an 'adventure' and other times its actual gifts. Steve knows that Jonathan isn't like the majority of girls he dated before.

Jonathan doesn't expect Steve to spend his money on him and Jonathan likes gifts that are from the heart which don't always require money. Jonathan doesn't like some generic gift like chocolates or flowers, but gifts that show you really know the person and want to give them something that will truly make them happy. And most of the time time that doesn't require money to give Jonathan something special and make him happy.

Jonathan is just as happy when they go walking through the woods holding hands and hanging out by the lake. Jonathan is just as happy when they don't go out anywhere and just stay in and cuddle and watch a movie Steve sitting up right while Jonathan is cuddling with him, his head resting against Steve's chest while Steve has his arms wrapped around him. Or even when they stay in listening to music in Jonathan's room with the window open the breeze softly drifting in as they smoke and playfully argue about music.

But then there are times where they save up their money or Steve's parents treat them and they go out on adventures that do cost money like to the water parks, amusements parks, Christmas light shows [Jonathan loves lights especially Christmas lights], haunted houses ext ext... They just love seeing and trying new things together a different haunted house than last year for example.

They want to explore and see everything try new things/explore new places/live their lives to the fullest and they always make the most of it when they do and have fun being a couple and being free from the people of Hawkins for hours. This is why they usually end up sneaking away and making out somewhere when they go out. Free from anyone from Hawkins seeing them. Well...except for the kids who always find them and look amused yet unimpressed with their shenanigans as if they're the parents in this situation because they're done with the cotton candy or treat that one of them bought now and want to go explore. And except for any friends they bring with them like for example Argyle Eddie and Robin who were supposed to be watching the kids and look just as amused finding them like that.

.

to be continued. this isn't a story but rather a bunch of headcanons that were in drafts that keep getting away from me and trying to turn itself into a story. I meant to get Stonathan stuff posted for years and never write it down. So this is me trying to change that. I realized that I have so much Stonathan content going on in my head all the time 24/7 and none of you know about any of it really. The Stonathan I have going on in my head is so advanced and a long term established relationship and there is so much to tell you and yet none of you know cause I don't post it. I usually try to perfect things before I post them but if I keep doing that these will never see the light of day. So its not always going to be great entries but I figured its better than me not doing it at all and trying to play catch up later when its too late.. Expect delivery to be very slow though because I have so much going on...

[sl-vega]

♫ 00; ↠ TEAR DROPS ON MY GUITAR-(prologue)

↳ my heart beats for you-a scaramouche smau

The door of the CRUX swung open, the familiar jingle of the door chime sounded as you entered the building. You were greeted by some familiar faces frantically running around the room.

Some employees were rushing around, frantically trying to salvage what they could from the flood waters that had recently devastated the CRUX. Guitars lay broken and waterlogged on the floor, while sheet music and CDs floated in the murky puddles.

Kokomi and Furina were holding rusty buckets, and they placed them underneath leaky spots from the ceiling. Yoimiya was helping Mona move a busted keyboard outside, and Lumine was holding a box full of old records and CDs.

"Oi!"

You turned around to the source of the voice, it was another one of the employees. She had dark hair and deep blue eyes, she would've been awfully pretty if she wasn't too busy scowling at you.

"Hey Furong..."

"Don't "hey Furong" me!"

She shoved a heavy box in your arms, and another smaller (but still very heavy!) box on top of the one you were already carrying. "And get out of the door frame! Being Beidou's favorite won't earn you any special treatment from me."

"Speaking of which, do you know where-"

Furong stormed off to scold more of her fellow co-workers before you could finish your question.

"-she is..."

Lumine passed by you, her hands also full.

"Don't mind her, she's just jealous."

"Well who wouldn't be?"

Lumine chuckled before gesturing to the back of the store. "We're supposed to move the CD and record boxes to the studio, Beidou wants us to sort through all of them."

You nodded and let Lumine lead the way, your vision was obscured due to the boxes in your arms, so you had to rely on Lumine's directions to make your way into the CRUX's music studios.

"Archons, I don't know how much longer I can hold these things. Why the fuck are these boxes so heavy? They're CDs!"

You complained as you almost slammed yourself into a shelf for the hundredth time.

"Tell me about it." you heard Lumine groan. "I should've forced Aether to come, could've unloaded all this work on him."

"Like he'd actually do all that for you."

"Never said I had to be the one he was working for⁓"

You could hear the smirk in her voice, even though you couldn't see her expression. Your face started heating up, you were suddenly grateful for the boxes hiding your head. Lumine adored poking fun at her brother's crush on you, she'd lessened up with the jokes after your break-up, but alas, there was no escape from her wrath.

"Shut up..." you muttered, your face growing redder by the second.

"What? It's true ya know." she continued, she must've noticed your silence, which she mistook for discomfort rather than embarrassment.

"Okay, I'll stop."

You heard a door creak, which must have been Lumine opening the door to one of the studios in the building. You set down the boxes, feeling relief from the absence of the heavy objects in your arms.

You looked around the room, the studio wasn't a professional recording studio, not by any means. It was a simple room with a few power outlets and speakers, but it was more than enough for you and the rest of C✧LESTIA.

You and Lumine sat down on the floor, taking out some of the contents of the boxes and laid them out in front of you. Lumine sorted the piles by genre, while you sorted them by colour.

"You know, maybe this isn't so bad, there are only a few boxes, so it won't take as much time as I thought-"

Lumine's hopeful thoughts were cut short as Furong and her co-worker Xinyan, along with several other employees dropped ten more boxes in the room (and big ones at that!).

"Thanks you guys, you're the best!" Xinyan gave you a big thumbs up as she exited the studio with the rest of her co-workers.

"-I take that back" Lumine sighed, at the pile of brown cardboard cubes. "I really should've forced Aether to come here..."

The two of you heard the studio door creak open again.

"You girls need help?"

It was Furina! Along with all the other C✧LESTIA members too! The others joined you and Lumine on the floor and helped sort the records and CD's. You and the girls chatted for a bit, brief small-talk about school work and a few rumours that have been going around about your classmates.

You heard Yoimiya groan as she was rummaging through a box for a certain CD. "Lumineee! Why didn't you just ask your brother to come! He would've done all this for us!"

"Believe me, I wish I did." she sighed, and glanced over to you.

"Okay, what's with you guys and using Aether for free labour?" you joked. You had lost count of all the times Lumine had baited the poor boy into doing favours for her under the pretext that "(Y/N) would be so grateful if you did this for her!"

"He's my brother, and he still has a crush on you, who happens to be my best friend, who wouldn't take advantage of that?"

"He doesn't have feelings for me Lumine-"

"Ooo, who doesn't have feelings for (Y/N)?"

You whipped your head around after hearing a familiar voice come from behind you.

"Beidou!"

You stood up and tackled the older woman into a hug, she returned the gesture, ruffling your hair while doing so.

"Hey kid!" she pulled away from the hug to squish your cheeks together, which made your lips pout. "I missed you, ya know."

She looked towards the rest of C✧LESTIA, who were still on the floor, sorting CD's and records. "Thanks for doing this for me you guys., I appreciate it."

Suddenly, you could hear Mona clear her throat from her side of the room. "We're getting paid right?"

"Mona!" Kokomi exclaimed scolding her friend.

"What?"

"Nah it's fine, but I don't think I can afford to pay you guys properly, sorry 'bout that."

Mona sulked, clearly disappointed in the lack of rewards, though her expression quickly changed after Kokomi swatted her shoulder, clearly ashamed by the astrologist's behaviour.

"No Miss Beidou, it's fine really, you've already done so much for us." Furina said, expressing her gratefulness, making up for Mona's lack thereof.

"You letting us practice here is more than enough!" she continued. Furina glanced around the room, just realizing the terrible condition the room was in. "We'll still be able to practice here, right...?" she asked.

Beidou's expression darkened slightly, as she looked up at the ceiling, observing the leaks, and cracks, even without the flood affecting it, the studio was always in terrible shape.

She took a breath, "Sorry girls, but you'll probably need to find a new place to practice, and to perform."

Suddenly, you and your fellow bandmates let out a chorus of "What? Why?"s and several other expressions of disappointment and grief.

"This whole room looks like it's going to collapse any second, the last thing I need is a lawsuit because one of you guys got hurt." she sighed again. "I'm sorry girls."

"But hey! I'm sure Furina can use her actress connections to find you guys a new venue."

"I don't think the Opera Epiclese is looking for amateur rock bands, Beidou." Yoimiya said as she sighed, still sorting through the contents of the boxes.

You, and the others heard a faint voice in the distance calling for Beidou, it was probably Xinyan or Furong asking her for help.

"I'm coming!" she shouted back, before she left the room, she gave you another hug, this one longer and more tender.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure something out, you always do."

She opened the creaky studio door once more and waved goodbye to you and the rest of C✧LESTIA.

You decided to not tell Beidou how lost you were, and how there was no way you guys could afford to rent another studio, much less find a new place for gigs.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out!"

You hoped that she was right.

additional notes:

-GUYS I DID IT

-I FINALLY WROTE SMTH

-i am SO sorry for not posting any fics recently

-i lost motivation, and i had an exam to study for and lots of stuff has been happening lately

-BUT I'M BACK YOU GUYS

-(partially)

-anyways additional notes on the actual plot:

-it might seem a bit strange that lumine is joking about y/n's ex, but you and aether ended it on good terms so there's no malice in it

-ngl i'm starting to see a pattern where my prologues r super boring, srry abt that you guys

-xinyan being an employee at the crux just fits yk? and furong actually is a member of the crux crew in game, i just chose the first name i saw on the genshin wiki ngl

masterlist

<prev ll next>

Pairing: [BASSIST!] Scaramouche x [GUITARIST!] Reader

Genre: rivals/enemies to lovers, rivals to friends to lovers, fluff, crack (?), comedy, angst (?), slowburn, high school au, band au, modern au, social media au, smau

Synopsis: You're the lead guitarist for your band, C✧LESTIA and Scaramouche is the bassist of 5WIRL. The two of your bands have a friendly rivalry, but you and Scaramouche don't. On top of being academic rivals, you and him have never been on good terms. Always one-upping each other in grades and in music. Even your bandmates have grown tired of your constant bickering with each other. But when your usual practice hub gets flooded, you and the rest of C✧LESTIA are forced to find a new place to rehearse. So when 5WIRL offers to share their studio with you who are you to refuse? Of course, this forces you to spend time with your sworn rival whether you like it or not. But maybe the two of you can overcome your differences and actually be friends?

Or maybe even more?

(OPEN) TAGLIST: @featuredtofu, @levianamor, @danfelions, @thatoneswordgirl, @lolmeowing, @bananasquash, @xiaosantenna, @glxssmemories, @kaitfae, @mujiwuji, @peaceindreams, @freyao7, @rinquinq, @justpeachyteastea, @ladyninggs, @b2ne, @skyoverkill1, @scaradooche, @morallyrainyday, @adres-tia, @justadvena6, @agaygothicmushroom, @huanator, @seaofdata, @kyon-cherri, @aether-darling, @ukinya, @sketcheeee, @ibawa, @shutingstar, @eutopiastar, @kunimix, @wonderful-worlds, @ectomotive, @yourfavoritefreakyhan, @b4tm4nn, @h3xi2g0n3

(names in bold mean i can't tag you)

[writing-whump]

Heart

Isaiah was happy. So very happy he could burst.

That's why, when he woke up on Sunday with a squeezing sensation around his chest, he decidedly ignored it. There was no way he was going to let any of that ruin the happiness he found.

He managed incredible things this year. A pack, sort of a balance between his duties and job, his girl, his brothers...everything was working out. Better than he planned, better than he hoped.

Isaiah was healed. The heart troubles started when he left the Wolfson pack—when the years of his father's abuse and damage to his shadow tore through once he was somewhat safe—but that was over now. The issues were fixed, the hurts were mended, the wrongs were righted.

His soul was healed. There was no reason why his shadow or his heart should be giving him any trouble.

It was very early in the morning, but Isaiah liked to wake up that soon. He could make breakfast, enjoy the peaceful morning, get himself ready before turning his attention to everyone else.

So he was feeling a little lethargic today. Nothing specifically wrong or hurting, just this strange general feeling of malaise, like he was coming down with something. Simple fatigue he could shake off.

Maybe he was a little lightheaded as he was making coffee. There was this mild tingling in his jaw and arms, like tiny needles prickling him there.

Isaiah decided he better shake that off before anyone noticed. How lucky was he that he always managed to get through his heart episodes without Seline noticing? It was the key to happiness.

Cause he was going to fix it. Himself. By being happy.

"You are awake early," Matthew greeted him with a yawn, hair all ruffled from sleep.

Isaiah put the freshly made coffee on the table, tugging at the collar of his shirt. "I'm glad you are taking a break from running. Feeling better again? You can go back to sleep."

Matthew huffed at him but ended up on the couch, eyes still sleepy and gluing together. "Where are you going? So dressed up and ready."

Isaiah shrugged. "I think I'll go for a quick walk before Seline wakes up and stop by the store and make Tiramisu. We need cakes that don't need to be baked in this heat."

Matthew shook his head at him. "Aren't you overdoing it a little?"

"But it's so fun," Isaiah said with a giant smile spilling on his face. "Be right back."

Isaiah left quickly after, walking briskly. The streets were still empty this early on Sundays, it felt like he was the only resident in a town of ghosts. He relished the quiet.

And the fresh air. Surely this fatigue or what it was could be shaken off.

Isaiah didn't want to slow down, but once he reached the big shopping mall, he was panting for breath. Maybe he was the one who should start running. Workouts and sparring were good, but he was not supposed to be out of breath this quickly.

Ah whatever. He would shop, make the cake. It was a good excuse to invite Hector and Arnie over as well. Having them all in one place, making them closer could be fun.

The needle prickles were growing more intense as he reached the inside. Isaiah braced against the wall for a moment, catching his breath. What was with the tingling? He was also covered in sweat, though it wasn't hot yet. Come on, now. He wasn't walking that fast.

Everything was fine. He was fine. There hadn't been a happier phase in his life. It couldn't be more alright than it was.

Then why was his chest squeezing and heart flipping like something terrible was about to happen?

Isaiah made a few more steps towards the glass railing with the view of the underground floor with the shops. The world was coming in and out of focus, black spots dancing in his vision. Like he was about to pass out.

He hadn't eaten yet; he had just had some coffee. It was hunger. Or he was exhausted; that should be it. His stomach was clenching like a fist was in his insides, pulling it in. Heartburn from yesterday?

It was fine. He was fine.

His left arm, jaw and neck were prickling. A persistent ache demanding his attention. A sudden retch had him pushing away from the railing.

He was fine.

Though maybe he should find a bathroom first. Something wasn't agreeing from yesterday. That was it.

He stumbled towards the public bathrooms and locked himself inside the stall. Sweat was covering his face, his arms, his neck, he was overflowing with it. His chest felt constricted like he couldn't get enough air in. Not around whatever the big rock was, that was currently crushing his ribcage.

Isaiah doubled over. His limbs were shaking so much he had to kneel on the floor, retching towards the toilet. The coffee came up with a violent splash.

He couldn't breathe. He grabbed at his shirt, ripping the buttons away to free his neck up. Clutched at the left side of his chest, where his heart was beating at crazy speed along his harsh breathing. The prickling turned to pain, shooting up from his chest towards his back, his arms.

He retched again. His chest was being squashed, his ribs turning into dust. The sense of impending doom worsened, blood rushing in his ears.

Not now. Please, not now. He was happy, he didn't have time for this.

People died because they succumbed. He had read about experiments with prisoners who were told they had poison applied to their veins although it was nothing toxic and died from believing it. He would let no such thing happen. He would will himself to fight back.

He would not lose this. Not now. Just not now.

His body sank under gravity towards the floor. He couldn't really feel it, he couldn't feel anything past the overwhelming pressure over his chest, unrelenting and all-consuming.

It had never felt this bad before.

The last thing he remembered was someone knocking at the door, asking if he was alright.

...

Isaiah was taking a long time with that shopping.

Seline woke up earlier, impatient to see him. She was so happy after everything from yesterday she couldn't wait. When he wasn't coming while she sat in the living room next to dozing Matthew, she even went up to change. Get all ready so they could make the cake together. Have breakfast on the balcony before it got too hot.

She ended up texting Isaiah where he was, but he didn't read it. Weird.

Then an unknown number appeared on her phone. Seline was tempted not to take it, but oh well. It would work as a distraction.

She took the call. Had to stand up while she listened and then leaned against the couch so suddenly she thought she would fall.

Isaiah Wolfson, yes? Emergency contact. Hospital. Can you come?

Seline didn't feel her lips or how she said she would be there soon.

Something about her tense voice must have woken Matthew up, because out of the blue he was standing too. Likely simply heard what was said in the phone.

He took her hand as he grabbed Isaiah's car keys. They were out of the apartment in the next ten seconds.

...

...blocked coronary artery...he regained consciousness in the ambulance...symptoms have been going on for several years...a condition called unstable angina...a type of chest pain caused by reduced blood flow to the heart...occurs when the arteries that supply blood to the heart—specifically the coronary arteries—are significantly narrowed or blocked by plaques...when they rupture, it leads to the formation of blood clots...

..without immediate intervention, the affected heart muscle begins to die, which is why this situation is so critical...

...stress and ongoing strain can aggravate the condition significantly...had several smaller episodes and cardiac arrests before, the tissue is scarred...

...performing an operation called angioplasty as we speak...

Seline was pretty sure she was dreaming. The guy in the white coat was blabbering on and on about symptoms and medications that will be needed to prevent heart attacks in the future and for managing pain.

"I have never seen such extensive damage on someone so young. And he is a shadow wolf too. I'm sorry, but we had to use silver instruments. His shadow healed our interventions, but not the blockage."

At this point, Seline wouldn't have been suprised if the guy sprouted wings and flied away. It would be just as likely as this.

Isaiah had a heart attack. At 25. At the mall. Just like that. Despite being healthy, a shadow wolf, undiagnosed with any heart conditions, never complaining about any kind of discomfort.

"But how...how?" Seline managed to say.

"It's common for coronary artery disease to progress gradually, often over many years, until a severe event like this happens. The good news is that with the operation we're doing, we can restore blood flow to the heart, and with the right medications and lifestyle changes, we can manage the condition going forward."

"So the cause..."

"We aren't exactly sure what is causing the unstable angina, just that it must have been developing for a long time to get to this stage. CAD is the most common underlying issue, but with him being a wolf...it's a very unique case. That is why we assume his shadow has to be damaged as well, or the stress wouldn't be able to leave such lasting marks on him."

"Right." Seline looked between the middle-aged doctor and Matthew standing by her side.

"It's not an uncommon problem. The operation is going well so far, almost at the end. We'll be able to tell you more in a few hours, but we are very positive right now."

Oh, they were positive. How reassuring.

"You are members of his pack, yes? How often did he mention this to you? Sometimes people brush off these things as minor. Has he been complaining about chest pain or discomfort more often recently? Did he ever mention any episodes of dizziness, nausea, or sweating? Do you know if he’s been under a lot of emotional strain lately?"

Seline stared at the doctor uncomprehendingly. Mention? Complain? Noticed? Huh?

Matthew cleared his throat. "It's been going on for some time. Couple of months, but not more often lately or anything."

Seline turned to stare at him.

"How often would you say?" The doctor asked casually, like he didn't notice the floor just shattered underneath them and that the planet just stopped in its tracks.

"Several times a month?" Matthew answered thoughtfully. "Usually from stress. Last time he had a fever it got a bit worse too, but..."

The doctor wrote something down. Asked a couple more questions. His voice faded in and out.

There were more promises happening that they would keep them updated, and more guesses about the estimated duration of the surgery.

Seline floated down the hall towards the chairs, completely numb. This could not be real.

Matthew sat down beside her. He was silent for a long minute.

"You knew?" Seline made herself say what was obvious.

Matthew looked at her, lips pressed together and nodded.

Seline mirrored the movement. "I see." Funny, despite the numbness, she knew exactly when her heart broke—right in that moment.

A flood of emotions followed. Shock. Disbelief. Betrayal. Shame. Another blast of betrayal. A profound sense of failure.

Pain, pain, pain.

She shifted away from Matthew, his knee next to hers feeling too close. Her hands wrapped around her chest as she shrank into herself.

"Seline, I-I'm sorry. He begged me not to tell you and he felt so humiliated as it was...you know how scared and irrational he gets about needing help- and I was worried that if I insisted, he wouldn't let me be there for him even for that bare minimum he did-"

Matthew reached for her shoulder and she flinched away.

He froze.

Seline stood up slowly, whole body turned away from him.

"Sel-" he whined.

"Right. I get it," she said, voice cold. "Leave me alone for a minute."

Of course she would be back. Compared to Isaiah dying on that table, to the treatment and medication he would need to be taking, to his recovery were her feelings entirely insignificant.

Even worse, they could be a burden right now. She couldn't let them stop her from doing what needed to be done. To not be there for him, when he needed her and Matt more than anytime before.

Did he need her though?

She walked down the hospital hall like a zombie until she reached the bathrooms. Braced against the sink, she watched her expression in the mirror.

There were things to be done. More than anything she needed him to survive. To be okay. Everything else could come later.

It didn't matter what they could have done to prevent it or what they haven't done. Or whose fault it was. What the cause was. It didn't matter now.

Seline just needed to put all those flooding emotions back. Cut them off. She could do to. She had done it many times.

It was harder this time. After she had let them out so consciously, after she let herself feel them, it was so much harder to put them back into boxes and forget.

Maybe for just a bit she could get some release so she could concentrate better. On the operation, on what Isaiah needed.

She went to the stall, locking herself up. At least the bathroom was quiet. Glad she chose a place by the window, she slid down the wall.

Hugging her knees to her chest, the first tears sprang to her eyes. Then sobs. Ugly and loud. She didn't hold them back. Just this once.

Cry and let go. Just so she could concentrate. Just this once.

The rest would come later.

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

HEY HEY HEY so I’ve never requested anything before bc I’m new to tumblr and idk if this is even where I’m supposed to request thing so if i’m wrong then I sincerely apologise.

BUT, if I am then slay I have a funky idea for a tangerine fic that I think you would write so well :)

So I saw you said you’re British but idk if you ever went to a youth club? Like where they have 5-12 year olds come for group games in a sports hall and they do arts and crafts and play with the big rainbow parachute thing on the ground?? Well anyhoo I’ve been stuck on this non hitmen au where I can see reader being one of the leaders who takes the club and usually lemon is the other one, but for whatever reason, maybe like a recreational injury, he needs tangerine to fill in for a few weeks. So this is reader and tan meeting for the first time other than Lemon mentioning him and obviously Tan isn’t used to being around kids and is a grumpy dude and doesn’t know how to talk to them while playing the games but reader finds it funny because she knows them all well. Some funny Tangerine and kiddio interactions results in him catching her attention and the two become better friends while the group are away with the arts and crafts leader. Maybe they get up to some interesting stuff after a few weeks in the sports supply store room?? I just think it’s a fun little thing and the idea gives me nostalgia because if my old youth club lol

HI HI HII!! don’t worry you did it right! okay so, for this I had too many ideas (as it felt so nostalgic to write) I kinda added too much but not enough and feel as though it may not make any sense (like I waffled) I really loved this idea and don’t know if I did as well as I could’ve. but thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌

uncle lemon’s brother

tangerine x f reader

wc || 1.2k

warnings || none

masterlist + rules

taglist

Most days, you worked at the local youth club, where you'd lead all sorts of fun activities for the kids. Whether that be arts and crafts, sports in the indoor hall or nature walks, whatever it was that kept the kids entertained, you did it. 

Luckily you have a work partner that helps lighten the weight of the kids' intense energy. He's much like a child himself, so he fits in perfectly. When he first joined several months back, the kids gave him a nickname before he could even introduce himself, naming him Lemon, well, Uncle Lemon. There was no reason behind the nickname other than it was 'funny'.

You and Lemon were quite a pair when handling the kids. You had worked out a system that allowed the children to do as much as possible in the short time you had available. You'd lead the artsy sessions, and Lemon managed the sporty activities. 

Last week, during one of the after-school sessions, Lemon ironically injured his wrist on one of the climbing apparatuses while on lookout duty. So for his temporary replacement, he asked his brother to fill in. You've never met his brother before, only hearing bits of him when Lemon would share stories or memories. You were a little uncertain if he would be a good substitute considering how much of a grump he was described as. 

-

Today is his brother's first day, so you were patiently waiting by the front desk to give him a quick tour before the kids arrived. Hearing a car pull up out front, you hastily organise the schedule for this afternoon, flicking through the papers as you make your way to the entrance.

"Hey, 'lright?" the man greets, extending a hand.

"Hi," you reply, shaking his hand as you hold his intense eye contact. "You're Lemon's brother, right?"

"Yeah-- Lemon?" he questions, his head slightly cocking.

Snickering. "Yeah, the uh- kids gave him that nickname when he joined. Clearly, it's stuck. How is he doing, by the way?"

"So dramatic," he scoffs. "Acting like he broke his whole body. Can't believe the knob-- sorry, the idiot broke his wrist on a climbing frame," he snickers, following after you. 

"Yeah, that sounds about right," chuckling. 

-

It took a little time for Lemon's brother to settle into his new role. It was quite clear that he was not used to being around kids, but as the afternoon went on, he grew more comfortable, and his demeanour began to change. Soften, even.

He was 'coaching' a game of dodgeball while you entertained the eliminated kids, telling them stories until the next round. 

"Bob..." a little boy asks, lightly tugging on your hand.

"We're still calling me 'Bob'?" you question, your features playful as you act displeased. "But, yes, munchkin. What's up?" you ask, ruffling his hair.

"What should we call him?" he asks, blatantly pointing across the hall.

"I think something funny," someone else adds, giggling.

"I think we should call him turd man,"

"Turd man?" you entertain, pretending to be disgusted. "That's so disgusting."

"I like turd man,"

"Me too," another adds.

"Mr Grump,"

"Don't forget he's Lemon's brother, so we should call him something similar?" you prompt, trying to ease them into a less disgusting name. 

"BANANA," a young boy calls out, practically jumping in excitement.

"Apple,"

"Orange,"

"Lemon number two,"

"Oh, how about something citrus-like. Something sour, maybe?" you chuckle, occasionally catching eyes with the new replacement across the way.

"Satsuma," a little girl calls out, pulling the small orange from her shoe.

"Sweetie, that's a tangerine," you smile.

"That's a good name,"

"We should call him that,"

"Please can we call him that, Bob?"

"Please..."

"Hm, I don't see why not," you laugh, ushering the kids along to join in the new game.

"Tangerine," a young girl calls out, rushing over.

"Tangerine!" another screams. 

"Why the calling me that?" he whispers, his head hung low as he leans towards you. 

"Ask them," you snicker, talking close to his ear. "Could be worse. They call me Bob,"

"Okay, yeah, you're right. That's much worse," he chuckles. "'lright," he claps, gathering the kids together. "We got time for one more game, ain't we, Bob?"

Grinning. "Yeah, I think so, Tangerine."

After one quick game of dodgeball later, you, Tangerine and the kids walked back to the main rec room to wind down before hometime. All sat in a circle as you all took turns to share your favourite part of the day.

"Where are you from, Tangerine?" a little boy asks, picking his nose as he poked him with his free hand.

He turns to look at you, his features begging for help as he leans away from the bogey picker. "Um... from my house,"

"Me too,"

"And me,"

"I'm from Poland,"

"Me too,"

"My daddy is from Ireland,"

"Where is that?"

"Near Spain,"

"No, that's an island,"

"You're wrong,"

Listening to all the kids blabber on, you face Tangerine, masking a snicker when you see his exasperated expression. "Hang in there," you mouth, a smile pulling on the corners of your lips. 

Playing along, he checks the time on his watch. "Almost there," he whispers. 

As the days went on, Tangerine grew a lot more comfortable with the kids, and he looked as though he was starting to enjoy his time with them. There was something so endearing about seeing a burly, attractive man acting so juvenile while entertaining kids, how soft and gentle he could be while speaking to them. 

-

The two of you had spent lots of time together over the last couple of weeks, hanging out and chatting whenever there was a moment free. Tangerine was very slow to warm up, very reserved, but once you got past the first layer, you realised just how decent a person he is. 

The kids had just left for the day, so you and Tangerine had to pack away the equipment in the sports cupboard that was left out.

"Hey, pass us that, would ya?" he asks, nodding to the bag of balls behind you. 

"The ballbag?" you grin, reaching over the messily organised area. "You gotta say it. That's the rule round here," you joke.

"Ballbag," he says flatly, extending a hand. "Now give it," 

"Yeah, one min, my legs stuck,"

"Stuck?"

"Yeah," you sigh.

"Don't move. I'll come help," grinning.

"You're a funny man,"

He parts the boxes to the side as he makes his way over to you, moving the equipment out of the way so he can crouch to the floor beside you. His hand is warm and firm as he grips your ankle, slowly guiding it from the crack, looking up at you. 

He coughs in his fist, clearing his throat. "There we go," he says, glancing away from your admiration-filled gaze.

Clearing your own throat, awkwardly looking away. "Thanks,"

"Yeah," he nods, meeting your eyes once more. 

He slowly stands up, keeping his eyes glued to yours. His head hangs low as he brushes a strand of hair away from your face, his eyes darting over you. "No problem," he whispers. 

"We should get going," you whisper back, practically pulling away.

"Don't worry. I weren't gonna kiss ya," Tan chuckles, lacing his hands into yours. Smirking. "Not yet, anyway."

@tangerinesgf @kpopgirlbtssvt @v1ntage-daydr3am @earth-elemental18 @ashlynhasmanyhyperfixations @idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser @thewinterv @navs-bhat @ilovetangerinewithallmyheart @theredvelvetbitch @randomawesomeperson102 @lov3lypeaches7 @princess-pebbles-things @astermath @dynamitehacke @ugh09876554444 @boldlyimportantface @charmedkim @fruitlovertangerine @psiiconic @bubblezuku @sporadiccherryblossomfan @landryslove

[cheolsfae]

Can u make seventeen as bestfriend? Thank you~

𑁍SVT as your best friend!

Requested: Absolutely

Genre: Platonic Fluff

Warning(s): None

Requests are open!

S. Coups

Snack runs!

Didn't matter how late.

"Wanna go with me to get [insert snack here]?"

"Thought you'd never ask!"

Movie nights!

Heavy blankets thrown on the couch, you both cozied up on either side of it, laughing at whatever was on.

Coups was kind of protective of you.

He really didn't like it if you came over completely upset.

"Who the hell hurt my child? Who's ass do I have to kick?" type of thing!

Wonwo

Remember that trend where people would go to thrift stores and blindly pick clothes? That's what you guys did but with books.

You always ended up with the really weird ones!

One time, it had been smut written about the grinch...

Somehow, Wonwoo always got lucky and got a decent one.

He gives me grandpa vibes, lmao! But like in a good way.

You guys watched a lot of game shows together. Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. That kind of thing.

You guys liked to poke a bit of fun at some of the contestants on the shows. Mainly the ridiculous answers they gave.

Mingyu

Loyal as they come! ✨️

Gets pouty when you hang out with other friends other than him.

"I'm supposed to be your best friend!"

"You are!"

This was always a goofy little argument you guys had.

Spa nights were pretty frequent. Face masks, pedicures, manicures...!

"Can you paint them? I don't want to."

"Gimme them fingers!"

Expect the nail polish to be messy! He tried his best though!

Vernon

You guys would have the most chilled out, relaxed type of friendship.

I get the vibe he's a floor sitting type of person.

Whenever he's at your house, there is a perfectly good place on the couch/bed for him, boy opts not to sit there.

He picks the floor, every single time. And he just sprawls out on it.

You often do the same though so it all works out.

He often comes over just to sit in silence with you.

You guys didn't have to be doing anything in particular. You guys just simply existed together like 90% of the time.

The other 10% of the time, was you guys having serious conversations about things going on in each others lives

Or maybe even talking about the most outlandish conspiracy theories. Like if Big Foot was real or not lmao

Joshua

Coffee dates at least once a week.

It was a time for you two to talk about your week.

It was a cozy little friendship.

I think he'd do handmade gifts for you.

I mean, yeah, we know he makes bracelets and things like that, but I think sometimes, he'd make you matching T-shirts.

Mainly if you guys were going on vacations together, things like that.

"Do I have to wear this?" you would ask.

"Yes! you have a tendency to get lost! I need to be able to find you easily!"

He gives hovering mom energy but in the most positive way possible lmao

Jeonghan

"It's for the plot" sort of friendship.

You guys feed each other your delusions about whatever.

He had a crush on someone, you'd be right there saying "oh I know they really couldn't stop staring at you!" When in reality, the person just happened to look in his direction.

That type of vibe

One to clown on you! 100%!

You fell asleep first at the little sleep over you guys were having? Better believe he's taking pictures of you and posting them on IG or something. And if it isn't that, he's drawing all over your face in permanent marker.

You also did the same type of thing to him.

One time, you'd put clear tape over the bathroom door, when he tried to walk through, he got tangled all up in it!

Woozi

I think late night drives are pretty common for you two.

Chilling out in silence.

Listening to whatever was on the radio.

Such a vibe

Tons of deep talks

Lots about how you guys wished things turned out differently

Or how things could have been better if...

If it wasn't things like that, it was silly little inconveniences through out the day.

"This idiot cut me off in traffic and then flipped me off"

"It's what you deserve"

A little bit of a dark humored type of friendship I think.

Dokyeom

I think there would be a whole lot of sleepovers at one another's places.

You guys would be stuck together like glue

Nothing could separate you guys!

You did everything together!

He had to go to the grocery store for groceries — you were right there going along with him.

You had a doctor's appointment, he'd be sitting in the waiting room for you.

Almost codependent.

Seungkwan

This man is the best friend anyone could ask for!

You guys love to spill the tea with one another, similarly to the boyfriend thing.

"[Insert name here] is so rude"

"They are! Oh my god!"

The looks you guys give one another from across the room...

No words even need to be spoken!

You guys just look at one another and immediately know what the other is thinking!

He feels exactly like your soulmate in best friend form!

Hoshi

This goof!

You know that video where the kid says "Do the roar"? You'd say this to him and he'd end up doing his infamous tiger thing.

To be honest, it was kind of funny.

I think random presents from one another is something the two of you did.

Yeah, 90% of what he'd gifted you was little lion themed things and he'd received a lot of tiger things from you. A sort of match-y, match-y thing.

Speaking of match-y, match-y things...friendship bracelets were a thing!

If you didn't wear it, he would be so upset! Please never forget to wear it!

Jun

He is so cute!

He doesn't try to make you laugh all that often but he does unintentionally.

That's a pretty common occurrence.

You guys would text each other about every little thing through out the day

"I think I'm getting a pimple on my nose. Looks like it's going to be HUGE one...you wanna pop it?"

"Dude, I stubbed my toe on the couch corner."

Little things like that, it was a constant thing.

Minghao

Personal photographer!

He gets your best angles!

"Tilt your head a little more...perfect." *click*

He also really likes to pick out clothes for you. If doesn't he'll tell you exactly what he doesn't like about the look. Even if it stings a bit.

He'd always tell you the dress code for some event you guys were attending!

I think, he'd be the time to have meditation sessions with you, or at least attempt to but really couldn't focus because you would kind of laugh in between the awkward silences.

He'd lightly tap you, trying his very best to stay focused on the guided meditation but sooner or later, he'd join in on you laughing.

Dino

Hypes you up! Constantly!

He tries to teach you some of their choreography

He's so patient with you! Even if you are a little clumsy and mis-step a bit.

Another one who loves to clown on you, it feels like one of his favorite pass-times.

"You look like a racoon!" he'd tell you before laughing his ass off about how goofy you looked. It wasn't like you had much of a choice in staying up all night to finish that project! You'd put it off for the night before it was due

Another thing he'd do is give you encouragement when you most needed it.

He was always the best at that.

Trash day? He was right there with you on the couch ripping every single part of your day up with you.

[laurzvahll]

8, 9, and 15 for the self insert ask meme?

hihiii thank you for the ask!! this batch was kind of fun to do (warning this one might get long)

8. what is your self insert’s orientation?

Truth be told, Sol has a bit of a hard time with labels, or at least used to. It took them a good while to be comfortable in their identity, and a lot of the time they put off even thinking about it due to feeling like they already had so much on their plate LOL. For orientation, they’d never felt connected to any label like bisexual or pansexual and etc. They identified as different ones growing up but now as an adult, they don’t really care I guess you could say, and they’re much happier just calling themselves Queer. Sol likes who they like, no matter the gender and that’s just how it is :3. And they are also Ace, which took them way longer to figure out, but they feel really content in that aspect of their identity.

For gender identity which I felt is also important to mention.. If they were a char in the show I’d want their gender to be like part of this fun bit where it’s never confirmed or anything and so a lot of the other characters often have this moment where they wonder… is that a pretty guy or a handsome girl? Yk, being confusing for funnies, but they just “are”. Like they aren’t a gender, they’re just Sol LMFAOO. And in the non gag anime way, their gender identity is a little more complicated. To strangers and the public eye, they’re comfortable with being seen as a man , even tho though don’t feel like one or identify as one, at least not fully. It’ll always be confusing for them, maybe never fully clear, but as long as they’re happy and comfortable presenting in whatever way they want, the label doesn’t really matter to them in the long run.. so Non binary is what feels right for now. (Fun Sol fact.. they’ve also had top surgery!)

9. who are your self insert’s closest friends?

I lovee this question.. I’ve mentioned them before, but in Sols story their closest friends before they grow close with karamatsu and later the res of the matsunos, their closest friends are Beck and Mimi :D my friends ocs!

I had to draw them for this one bc I love them so much. Sol meets Mimi at their convenience store job almost immediately after moving to Japan, and spending almost every day together leads to them quickly clicking and becoming friends, soon beginning to hang out outside of work ��� and becoming even closer when Sol confides in Mimi about their whole situation with their new painful blue friend that starts slowly snowballing into something bigger…. It takes a little while longer for Sol to become friends with Beck, since Beck actually meets Mimi first through his new friend Jyushimatsu, who is also friends with Mimi! Along with Ichimatsu and Todomatsu :P my friend Otter only recently made Beck so there’s stuff we’re still figuring out story wise, but rest assured they all get into silly antics together and get to hear Sol ramble on and on while they yell at them to open their eyes and accept there’s something that changed and is definitely going on with them and their friend.. I have this really funny lore bit with Mimi and the three youngest matsus that want to post about sometime soon.. but we shall see

Last but not least, 15. how does your self insert play a role in the plot of the story? do they help directly defeat the villain, support the heroes, etc.?

Sol was never meant to play any sort of role in the story, and I’d still say that they barely add anything to canon at all.. but im not sure how to explain. Sol was always meant to be a background character, but like in a literal sense. Show wise. They weren’t supposed to have a name, or friends or a past, they were just supposed to exist in the background and appear every once in a while. Even after they arrived in Japan. That was until they met the sextuplets, and it’s like they were suddenly aware. Like those silly posts you see about people talking about when they gain consciousness LOL, but literally. They were sort of shoved into this whole new world with new BIG overwhelming feelings and memories, almost as if a life had materialized from thin air, and one that had not treated them kindly in the past.

They still don’t play any sort of role in the canon universe, but something definitely changed. A change that they were not ready for, but became grateful for.. in the long run.

[theloveinc]

Asking you to talk more on sukuna nd feet 😛😛

of COURSE !!!

I'm just still stuck on thinking about Sukuna being HELLA ancient and that really only coming through in his ... sexual preferences, and by extension... his preferences for the body, right? Which ik we're thinking is his liking for the body as it comes naturally, naked and untouched and etc...

SO, it makes perfect sense that he loves a nicely done-up foot because ... even if you're wearing clothes, a healthy looking, decorated foot is one way to show off the quality of your body without sacrificing much of your integrity, or the appearance of that specific body part... for EXAMPLE:

You can be wearing whatever kind of clothing you want, but with a beautiful mani-pedi and nice shoes, people look at you and KNOW you take care of your skin !!!

And for Sukuna, that's literally... nut-worthy automatically. That his woman is so cared for she, not only has hands, but FEET too, that instead of showing the affects of hard work on them... are pampered beyond belief and always look delicious.

Even if you do use your hands for work, or have hands that show that kind of hard work on them, the second Sukuna attaches himself to you, that's one of the first things he demands you fix (by paying for your spa appointments, of course)... and ain't no way in hell he's taking no for an answer.

(I don't even think it's something he cares about until he realizes he can care about it. He's just chilling, living his best, king-of-curses life... and then one day he notices you putting lotion on your heels before bed and the next time your legs are in the air, he's pressing your feet to his face. Or you put on an anklet just for the day and he doesn't let you take it off ever again, ONLY ever change it so he can hear the sound of it jingle when he's fucking you better. Or you come home with white toenails after a pedicure with your friends and suddenly he's kissing your toes before he eats you out every. single. time. No brain ONLY boner from there on out.)

When he finally gets into the groove, tho (or in an automatic, non-curse AU), Sukuna is definitely picky about what kinds of designs and colors you get during mani-pedis. It's so weird of him because he's a full on evil CURSE, but I know he's walking into that salon right along with you and not just watching your toes get scrubbed and painting, but helping you pick out the colors and diamonds too....

He scrutinizes your poor nail tech sooo hard, one of those guys who takes off from the tip immediately if they accidentally nick you with the clippers, or file something a little too roughly. His inspection face is so funny, because even though he's supposed to be there spending time with YOU, his eyes are on your tootsies the whole time (like a freak).

You can convince him to let you get fun colors (and tbh, you ARE the one who put him onto including crystals or doing frenchies in the first place), but I know he's a such a particular man when it comes to making sure your nail colors are ALWAYS elegant. Loves a classic nude or pink, sometimes lets you experiments with white or a couple crystals... but the whole point is that he never has to see your feet covered again, only ever decorated and in strappy-heels for the rest of TIME.

(And don't even get me started on how much he gets off on watching you do your skincare, too. Anything to do with taking care of your body he loves, adores, is obsessed with; you doing your hair. Putting on your lotion or oils. Washing yourself, your leg up on the side of the bathtub.

Plus, he never wants to see you in makeup or shaving or anything of the sort. He only wants you bare and raw the way you were made... and yes that means he will buy you ¥50000 korean skincare essence but refuse to buy you foundation from the convenience store.)

THANK U FOR ASKING, ANON, LOVE U!

[tuliptired]

Hiii!!! I love your fics sm ahhdhsbsb 🤭🤭🤭

Can I request a Ray or Egon one-shot with a GN or male rockstar reader? It could be present time or college days, I think them having a bit of gay panic would be fun, have a good day!!

Warrior in Woolworths

Pairing: Ray Stantz/Rockstar!Male!Reader

Warnings: Minor violence/blood

Shoutout to the Ray fans out there I salute you all

Better formatting on Ao3!! (italics and such)

 Ray pulled his trusty leather jacket closer to himself, hands in his pockets when a chill ran through the dark street. If he was going to this thing, he was gonna look the part.

He was given two tickets to a concert held in a venue he just couldn’t find. They were a gift- given to him by the short redheaded girl in his advanced algebra class for bringing all her work when she was stuck with tonsillitis.

“Gee, thanks!” Ray took the two slips of paper from her in the empty hallway. He pursed his lips, willing to take a chance. “Would you like to come with me?”

Her smile weakened. “I’m sorry. My boyfriend wouldn’t want me to.”

That crossed one person off the list, at least. In the moment, he wasn’t really trying to insinuate any sort of date. Back in high school, most of his friends were girls, and they loved live music. Their moms would get tons of pictures before they left and thank him for being such a good friend. College was surely complicating things.

He would’ve asked his sister, or one of his cousins, but they had their own things going on. Besides, the name of this band seemed a bit too extreme for his Aerosmith family. Where was this place, anyway? He’d circled the block at least twice, and the little part of New York felt more like a place where good kids whose parents paid for tuition shouldn’t be strolling around.

He had his friends- they were guys. Apparently guys were the ones to invite to concerts. But Peter wanted to have an early night. Which corner store did he have to solicit to get directions around here? Egon was a laughable option. Ray finally stopped his aimless wandering when a few kids in denim ran down the street, skipping down some steps and into the basement of a dimly lit dive.

Ray followed, the excitement and body heat of the minuscule hall spilling out when he opened the door, squeezing through and trying to hand a ticket to someone he assumed was supposed to handle them, though he was slumped back on a stool, smoke surrounded him. Ray just slipped the paper into a cardboard box filled with others, suddenly anxious at how packed it was. Even more smoke hazed up the air, floating up to a skylight and dancing above the heads of those who chose to hang off a balcony that wrapped around the room. He found himself imagining what this place used to be, velvety red remnants of what was once a hidden and cozy Italian place or even a comedy club covered up by large stage lights, posters, and spray paint.

Your little group made it out amidst screaming. Lots of screaming, so loud that the uproar alone shook his shabby barstool from the ground up. It was dark, the only things visible above countless people were the silhouettes of instruments and their attached handlers.

No introduction, no opener, just pure noise. Even bigger than the screaming, bass and bass drum fighting for capital over the space. Guitars cut through everything like a laser, sharp and clear. Everyone was going absolutely insane, and Ray just needed a second- just a second to pick apart sound and voices and words. 

The first song was over as soon as it started, a commotion of applause around him. The lights finally came up, ever so slightly, and he was starting to understand the hype. 

There you were, guitar around your shoulders and gripping a microphone like your life depended on it. You looked like you’d gone mad, in chunky boots and reflective leather.

“I’m pissed,” your voice rang out into the mic, and you were greeted with cheers across the board. When those died down, you started again. “People are trying to change what we do. They’re trying to make it something it’s not.”

You really knew how to get a crowd going. And maybe the butterflies in his stomach coming out of their cocoons- you sounded nothing like he expected. “Rock isn’t digestible. It isn’t a commodity. It’s dirty, it’s improper, it’s starved.”

The next song started after that. Harder, more aggressive, but more vocals than anything. You sang even better than you sounded. Ray could feel his bones rattling, hair sticking up on every part of his body as your fingers glided across your guitar. You played even better than you sang.

He stopped keeping track, at some point just feeling like pure energy. He was in a vacuum while the drummer hit the snare, a raging and vibrating vacuum. But it was far from unpleasant. This was a room full of people who had been wronged, downtrodden, ignored, and this was their release, musical or otherwise. Someone brought out a saxophone, something he could appreciate as a fellow woodwind. It helped that the frontman- frontperson? Was pretty damn good at what they did.

There was a slower song, sardonic and dark, where you were practically having relations with the microphone stand. Everything about you was teeming with a gnarly power, and Ray couldn’t even make out your features. Only the shine of white light bouncing off your clothes and accessories. You kept playing guitar like it’d kill you otherwise, and it all made him incredibly flustered. He clutched his hand over his heart. He wanted you bad, and he couldn’t even tell if you were a girl or not.

Ray wished it would never end, feeling the adolescent indignance and passion flow through him like it was intravenous. But, all good things had an expiration, and your band was backstage not long after midnight. He felt he’d be imposing if he mingled among the revolutionaries, but he needed to walk a bit, before he got too excited and tried to hit something.

When Ray found his car the next street over, he could barely get off the sidewalk when a police officer blew into his whistle.

“How long have you been parked here?” The man had his hands on his hips.

Ray blinked. “About an hour or three. Is that a problem?” The officer pointed up to a sign, which read that parking had been restricted here for most of the night.

He pulled out a pad of paper, muttering about “college kids” and “no one listens”, when Ray’s pulse quickened, clammy hands rubbing the nape of his neck. He’s never gotten a ticket before- whether that was because he was a good driver or conveniently avoided the cops was beside it all. There’s no way he had the money to pay for it, and no way he’d wanna bother his parents for it. How much were tickets, anyway? 

“What’re you doing?” An unfamiliar voice sounded from down the sidewalk, somewhat hidden in darkness.

The officer squinted and went back to scribbling out the fine. “Mind your own business and go home,” he shouted back.

“You can’t give him a ticket, I know that guy!”

He looked between Ray and the stranger, pen in hand. “You know this guy?”

“Duh.” There was a second of silence. “That’s Steve.”

The policeman stared at Ray like he was a felon, and Ray stared back just as dumbly. He’d go along with anything, if it kept his record clean. He stuffed his things back in his blue shirt pocket, stalking off slowly and continuing to talk of “damned punks” and “too old for night patrol.”

Ray stood under the orange street lamps, dumbfounded with his back against the passenger door. His wallet’s savior emerged from the shadows, and his breath hitched when he got a better look. You were the one on stage! With the guitar and the voice and a lot of dark stuff under your eyes. Crazy hair, at least to his understanding. You don’t see more than 5-6 different styles at an Ivy. Chains and rips on taut black leather- you definitely don’t see that at an Ivy. You had your jacket tied around square hips, exposing arms and shoulders with discreet tattoos. Self-done, perhaps? Regardless, that was NYU behavior, not Columbia. And you weren’t a girl. Should he still want you?

“I don’t think your name is really Steve.” 

His mouth opened and closed while he tried to remember English. “No. No, it’s Raymond.” He cringed inside. Why use the objectively lamer version of his name? He’s embarrassing himself in front of the funky rockstar. “Ray,” he corrected.

And the funky rockstar smiled at him. “You gotta fight back, Ray. Don’t let them take your $2.”

“You lied to a policeman over $2?” Ray questioned some of the virtues he’d been raised on.

You shrugged. “Money is money. You shouldn’t get hassled for parking on the street.” Huh. He’d never thought of it that way. “Did you enjoy it?”

“Enjoy getting a ticket?”

“No, dude, the show.” 

Oh yeah- he was at a concert for a super awesome band and their frontman, as he just found out, just covered for him. “Yeah, it was great.” It was more than great, dummy. It was electric, exhilarating, galvanizing, bewildering. “It was really, really great.”

Ray felt a tinge self conscious as you watched him, unblinking, fearing he had offended you somehow. “You don’t go to these things often.”

He nodded, guard dropping a bit. “What gave it away?”

You pointed out the clunky glasses tucked into the pocket of his shirt. “My mom said I should bring them wherever I go,” Ray laughed bashfully, pulling them out and sliding them into his dark jeans. 

He felt proud at making you snicker. “It’s cool. Half my bandmates wear contacts.”

“Where are they, anyway?” Ray realized you were out and about without them. He was probably holding you up from something. 

“They’re around here, somewhere. We’ll run into each other eventually.” Your attention shifted to his Camaro, running a hand over the paintjob. “Your car’s awesome, man.”

He already knew that, but the confirmation was nice. “Really? It still needs work.”

“Can’t even tell,” you peered into the passenger side window, “I’ve only seen these when they’ve been stolen.”

Ray didn’t wanna just leave you here, if that was true- even though you seemed more than capable of fighting off a few muggers. Perhaps he just wanted more time with the cool musician. “Wanna take a drive?” he ran a thumb over the back of his own knuckles. “See if we can find your friends?”

Ray went to a concert, alone, got a parking violation, and there’s a really peculiar guitarist sitting in his passenger seat, Doc Martens on his dashboard. And he couldn’t even bring himself to care about your shoes scuffing the interior fabric. 

“Where’re you looking to go?” He took note of how empty the city street seemed, the only light coming from lamp posts and 24-hour shops and restaurants, occasionally poking out of home curtains.

“Wherever you’re willing to take me.” Ray swallowed, bringing the car to life as you sat back, hands behind your head. He hadn’t been with many girls romantically, but they’d never been so comfortable so soon- not even his other male friends, let alone a stranger. A very alluring stranger.

You turned your head to face him casually. “No one gave you shit, right?”

He drove slower than you should on a residential road. “I don’t think so. I was at the bar the whole night.”

“Good.” Your belts and chains made clinking sounds as you crossed one ankle over the other. “The bar’s no fun. Find the guy messing with the speakers and tell him you know the color of my underwear, that’ll get you up close.”

“I’m not sure my guess will be correct.”

“It’s always green on show nights, I can show you-” Ray struggled to keep his eyes on the turn he was making when you shimmied up, thumbs in the hem of your pants.

“I believe you,” he successfully got onto another street without veering onto the sidewalk. “When’s your next show?”

Ray had a small grin as you slumped back down. “Not for a crazy long time. Not here, at least.” That news sucked. He should hassle you for a phone number, if that wasn’t too bold. So you could be pen-pals, obviously. “We’re friends, right?”

He kept driving, not entirely sure of where he was going and scared he’d instinctively take the route back to his dorm, but at ease at the feeling of rolling rubber on asphalt. “In all of 10 minutes.”

Your laughter filled his car. “If- when we find them. We usually bounce around a few more shows, drink some, crash somewhere for the night. Wanna come with?”

Ray would’ve leapt at the opportunity to have the night with his new friend, but his old friend needed him. Peter went to bed early to be rested to see his dad the next afternoon. He wanted Ray there as a buffer, in case his day at home was as grating as he expected it to be. “I’m sorry, I promised my friend I’d go out with him in the morning.” he frowned, seeing that it was already past his bedtime.

He’d like to think you were a bit disappointed. “No problem,” you pulled out two little white things, “the least I could do is treat you to a smoke.”

The car slowed at a fairly useless stoplight in the desolate intersection. You lit his own before he lifted it to his lips, but the one in between your fingers refused to ignite next to the sparking lighter. “Outta fuel,” you uttered.

Before Ray could finish gazing down at the center console for his own, your calloused palms held onto either side of his jaw, pressing your unlit cigarette to his ablaze one. It was so close to a kiss that he found himself wondering where to put his hands, one gripping the steering wheel and the other the firm shoulder of the seat next to him. Which was stupid, because kisses were reserved for his mother’s cheek. And girlfriends who called him Raymond and kissed him at the door but never ended up calling again. And girl friends who called him Stantz and only kissed him at the door to get their moms off their backs.

You definitely weren’t his mom, or a girlfriend, or even a girl friend, and Ray felt himself wishing, deep down and with sweaty palms, that there weren’t two rolled partitions between you both. Something about your presence made him want to let go of the engineering department, cutting the lights during the day to save energy, always having his glasses in case of an emergency. The casualness in which your fingers framed his face while the embers burned from one end to the other made him wanna be something dirty, improper, and starved.

Someone appeared behind them, probably waiting a while, and mashed their horn impatiently. Ray remembered that he was behind the wheel, green light reflecting into the car when he hastily pulsed the gas. His father would be incredibly disappointed with his son- nearly sullying his record (for $2), letting a stranger dig their heels into his leatherwork, smoking. Pretty much half his extended family smoked, they just managed to hide it from each other. The shame was still there. Blowing nicotine inches away from the face of another man when you had a duty to everyone else on the road. Dirty, improper, starved.

The car rumbled along. Ray wouldn’t call himself innocent or inexperienced. 6-foot-something and pretty solid, he drank, cursed, had to shave every so often, got into plenty of trouble. It just didn’t seem like your kind of trouble. But was that always a bad thing? 

You had your nose pressed to the glass of the window, suddenly taken by something outside. “Pull over real quick! You’ve gotta try this one place.”

He did as you said, parking in the white glow of a Chinese spot, following you in after you took a final drag, crushing the tobacco under your heel. “I’m telling you- instant hangover cure.” you held the door open, jacket now back over your shoulders.

“You’re hungover?” Ray questioned, eyes adjusting to the bright ambiance. It was a smaller place, not unlike any other takeout spot in the city, void of customers at the late hour.

 “Not yet,” you smirked over your shoulder. Ray watched timidly as your hand slid a few wrapped, green candies to a girl sitting behind the counter. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

The girl, who probably should be in bed, fought you quietly in Cantonese, and you simply apologized. “Alright, I’m sorry. Two of the usual. Oh, and two beers. Please.”

Ray took the liberty of grabbing two frosty bottles from the freezer, not missing how the girl disappeared up the steps into her house, rather than the restaurant’s kitchen. “How much?” he asked over your shoulder.

You shook your head fervently. “Doesn’t cost anything.”

“You’re stealing?” he whispered harshly.

“No!” you whispered just as intensely. “They never make me pay.”

“Oh,” Ray dropped his defenses, following you to a round table in the middle of the square floor, “how come?”

You leaned back in your seat, wooden legs an inch or two off the ground. “Some guys tried to rob the owner. I stopped ‘em, watched the store a few nights, and now she lets me eat for free.” Ray’s eyes just short of popped out his head when you lifted the hem of your shirt over a bit of your abdomen. “It’s how I got this.”

There was a dark, running scar close to your ribs. “How- why- are you okay?” He fretted, astounded at your laissez faire attitude.

“It’s fine, it’s old. I knew he had a shiv.” you slung your arm over the back of the chair, having opened your beer.

“You knew, and you still spat with them?” He could imagine you in a narrow bathroom, attempting to stitch yourself up. “That’s…brave,” he couldn’t lie.

You leaned forward, opening his drink for him. “Just community. She made sure everyone was fed at night, anyway.” 

“That’s your movement,” Ray ran a finger up and down the damp glass, “isn’t it?” Getting shanked in the dark to keep a small business safe was definitely the unseen side of the subculture you subscribed to. 

He watched as your eyes lit up with the same passion you had on that stage. “Yeah! Community, safety, liberation- can’t survive if we’re all taking from each other. It’s why I make music.” Ray smiled at your selflessness. Handsome and heroic, in a roguish way. He was wrong. He still wanted you, bad. 

“You’d be a hot drummer.” That certainly caught him off guard, almost sending alcohol flying out his nose. 

Ray put a hand to a dry nostril, just in case. “What?”

“I mean it,” you bent at the waist over the table. “Little hairspray,” you mussed his growing hair, “little eye-gunk, tighten the shirt, shoulder tat- you’d be perfect.”

“You’re just saying that,” Ray sat obediently as you tried to dry-style him. He’d let you do that all night, if you felt like it.

An older woman, probably the owner, came down the steps, carrying two bowls in pink pajamas. You sat back, leaving his hair a mess when you rubbed your hands together in excitement. “Thank you, Mrs. Tsang.” you passed him a set of chopsticks. “You’re not ready for this.”

“Where to next?” You asked Ray, stepping out onto the sidewalk.

“Wherever you want,” he tried his best to etch your image into his long-term memory before you both ran into some guys.

Tall, big, guys, managing to tower over you both, each in more leather than you had in your closet. You didn’t look as scared as Ray felt, his knees threatening to buckle, as you just held onto a plastic bag holding the remains of your dinner. “Were we in your way?”

“The old lady around?” the biggest one grunted, getting awfully close.

You stood, unfazed. “Yeah, and I am too.”

He jabbed his finger into your chest, barely far from nose to nose. “You wanna get cut again?”

“Barely felt it last time.”

The drop of sweat on Ray’s forehead hardly had a moment to roll down before a fist flew to the middle of your face, a grotesque sound ricocheting off the walls of the empty street. The gang of strangers, once they saw you were sufficiently hurt, bolted into the night, Mrs. Tsang appearing in the window of her establishment.

“Are you okay?” Ray panicked, helping you steady yourself inside, collecting your gushing blood in your cupped hands, ignoring your complaints about how he made you drop your noodles. His heartbeat raced as a few drips got onto his shirt, feeling even more disoriented when the owner said a few things in another language.

“Bathroom,” you pointed a red finger down a hallway near the steps. Ray got the door open, and you woozily sat on the sink, body weight leaning away from the mirror at your back. “Aid kit in the cabinet.”

You were right, and it was sitting next to a half full bottle of liquor. He slowly pried your hands from your nose, bracing himself. “Let me see,” he coaxed you, cringing at the air you hissed out through your teeth.

It wasn’t all bad, Ray could tell that underneath all the blood was just a little discoloration and a deep gash. “At least it’s not broken,” he said shakily, ducking behind you to let some cold water run over a towel he found in the little white box.

“Another point for me,” you managed to get out through pained groans, blood trickling into your mouth. 

Ray tried to remember his boy scout training, bringing himself to wipe away some of the drying nastiness from your face. “This happens often?”

He scarcely touched you when you recoiled in pain. “Why d’you think they kept this stuff in here?” you attempted a weak smile.

This wasn’t gonna get done without some outside help. He grabbed the bottle by the neck, passing it to you, hands on his hips as you pretty much emptied the entire thing. Ray resumed, and the gentleness of the cool cloth, combined with the alcohol, seemed to relax you. “You’re pretty dauntless.” he stood in between your legs.

You hummed lazily- apparently a pretty crazy lightweight, at least when you were losing liters. “Someone has to be.”

When all the reddish brown was gone, Ray inspected that wound. It was fairly deep for a punch, still red and open to the air. Stitches, this needed stitches. “You’re gonna hate me for this,” he frowned, plucking a suture from the sterile container.

“I’d never,” you half-slurred, though you swallow at the sight of the barb.

Ray was halfway done, stuffing his fear and channeling a camp counselor as he brought the thread in and out the skin of your nasal dorsum. He didn’t know where he was expecting this impromptu outing to go, but definitely not here. But he didn’t really mind, either- he’d stitch you up a thousand times over if it meant he could hold your face. He couldn’t be bothered with what that said about him when he had your skin under his fingers.

“Taking care of me,” you muttered, not even flinching when the needle dove out to be tied in a knot.

“Someone has to,” Ray stepped back, pleased with his medical handiwork. His mother would be proud. “How’s that fee-”

“Be in my band.”

“What?”

You looked catatonic. “Go to Canada with me- California- wherever.”

Ray had a humorless chuckle, doing his best to wash his hands behind you. “You’re drunk,” he rationalized with himself, not looking into your eyes when he put a child’s bandage over the now closed wound.

You tried to turn to him completely with your butt perched on the edge of the sink, but you lost your balance and had to be held upright by him. “I’ll teach you the drums- something. I just don’t wanna lose you. Forget about that stuffy school.”

Hands on your ribs, he so desperately wanted to agree. To do what your spirit had been begging him to do and run away. Dirty, improper, starved. You changed his perspective in a matter of mere hours- shouldn’t he have to?

“I have to stay here,” he forced out, “I have things here.” 

Your eyes were partly pained, partly glazed with your intoxication. Your green Lamb Chop adhesive stuck out like a bullseye somewhere below knitted brows. “Can we compromise?”

“I don’t understand how this is a compromise,” Ray sat mortified in the 24-hour tattoo clinic.

You laid on your stomach, pants hiked down just under your tailbone, where a tattoo gun was currently inking you with “R.S.”. “You didn’t wanna run away with me,” you laughed drunkenly, the humorous part of being inebriated manifesting itself.

He shrunk, a pang in his chest somewhere. The tattoo artist eyed Ray for a moment. “I’m sorry-”

“Don’t be sorry,” you let your eyes close. “I don’t wanna remember you sorry.”

“Are you sure you don’t want one?” you nabbed a marker from the front desk as you both left. 

“I’m sure,” Ray nodded, trying to figure out where to go. He should find your friends- drive morning and night until he found them, before he dropped everything and drove out the state with you in the backseat.

A few accented voices interrupted him, and he abruptly realized that he was grasping your hand. Your bandmates, hobbling over after their own adventures.

“This is where you went?” the British bassist started. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”

Ray heard you groan, and you wordlessly started pulling down the collar of his jacket, exposing the tag. “Can I?” you clumsily held up the stolen marker.

He let you, and you meticulously scrawled your initials into the white slip of fabric. A reminder, for as long as he kept it- almost like a tattoo for those who weren’t ready to be dirty, improper, starved. And he was never getting rid of this thing.

You finished, adjusting it for him and just taking a moment to hook your fingers in his pockets. Ray was gonna miss you, so hard. He felt like a teenager again, except this time he didn’t feel like he wasted your time, in an uncomfortable suit, spending date money his parents trusted him with. Maybe he could learn to live like you did, if you’d wait long enough.

“Could you and your boyfriend hurry?” your friend complained. You sighed, booze still in your system.

“You won’t forget me?”

“Never.”

You reluctantly peeled away from him and down the street with your friends. Ray watched your retreating figure as you walked off into the darkness, until you turned fast on your heels, sprinting over and jumping into his arms. The kiss was messy, and rushed, probably splitting your stitches and aggravating your sinuses. Laced with the fact that you’d be scattered around the country for an unknown amount of time. But it was the realest one Ray’s ever had.

[ladylooch]

I'm still so behind on my reading - fall is far from over so I'm still very optimistic that I will soon be curling my toes while reading Mackdavid, Connor/Lucie, Lio & Sav and the list goes on. But while I was doing a bit of grocery shopping this morning, I kept thinking of David following Mack along the grocery aisles as she just sort of meanders along, and he's got his eyes fixed on her ass - maybe knowing the sexy set she's sporting under her clothes. Are they taking a detour on the way home?

Trust that all the AUs will be here when you are able to read 😘 Also I adore you and your support so much, MWAH!

As for your thought, enjoy a lil grocery store fun below!

Warning: Mature-ish Content below

Mack pushes the metal cart down the premade section of Hy-Vee's deli, scoping out their pre-packaged food. Her and David are supposed to be going to a cook out with his high school friends this afternoon. Mack was going to make something, but ran out of time trying to meet her writing deadline. David would usually step in to help, but the farm has required a lot of his attention so far this summer.

The wheels of the cart slowly press forward as she takes a step. The cool air of the refrigerator has goosebumps rising on her exposed legs. But then a big body comes behind her, two big hands rest next to hers on the cart handle, then comes the familiar press of lips on the back of her neck.

"What are you finding, honey?"

"A lot of Jell-O salad, which I cannot wrap my head around." David snickers then gently grazes his teeth on her shoulder next to her tank top strap.

"Have you tried it?"

"No! And how is that a salad? It's sugar."

"Can't knock it til you've tried it." He insists. He takes one hand off the cart, then leans into the cooler to grab a pink, mush looking thing. "Oh this one has mandarin oranges. Healthy!"

Mack makes a face, then pretends to vomit into the cart.

"I'm not eating that."

"You need to assimilate, My Swiss Princess." Mack scoffs.

"You cannot make me eat that."

"I bet I can." His direct and slightly husky response has Mack's hair standing on end. She shivers, for a completely different reason than the cool refrigerated air. Then she shakes her head defiantly. He continues, "You try this and I'll do that thing you liked from last night."

"You're gonna do that again anyway." She smirks back at him, grabbing the salad from his hands and tossing it into the cart. David chuckles, then slaps her ass so hard she jolts forward in surprise. "Still in public." She mutters.

"Yeah, but I'd still do that thing I did to you right here... where everyone can see." Mack tucks her chin to her chest, hiding her flaming cheeks as he rubs himself up against her butt. "What are we bringing to this thing?" He asks her.

"This Hell salad." She points down to it. David sighs.

"I feel like you aren't taking this cookout seriously. We can't show up with that. We were told to bring an appetizer."

"It's salad." Mack argues back at him. He doesn't say anything. Mack turns around and sees him looking down at her ass as she walks in front of him. "I feel like we aren't even gonna make it to this cook out." Mack mumbles through a smile then stops in her tracks, rolling her ass back into his zipper when they collide. He grunts, then brings a hand to force her still against him.

"Wanna go home?" He asks into her ear then kisses down her neck to the sweet spot that makes her sing to him. Mack inhales sharply, then sighs.

"Mhm."

After they tumble through the front door, and satiate their needs, they lay on the entry way rug, stroking each other's bare skin.

"Admit it. You don't like Jell-O salad." Mack pokes at a spot just above his belly button. David chuckles. "And you think it's weird." She looks up at him, jokingly glaring.

"It's not my first choice at the cookout." He confirms, fingers trialing down her spine to rest on her butt. "Snickers salad is great though."

Mack's mouth drops open and her eyebrows cave in on one another.

"You're teasing me?"

"I am not."

"Babe." Mack groans, dropping her forehand to his sternum. "That is NOT SALAD!"

"I can't wait until you're my little housewife, homemaker when we have been married for 50 years and you're whipping up Snickers salad for me after a long day plowing fields. Maybe I'll still be able to plow you then too." Mack laughs.

"I will never make Snickers Salad or Jell-O salad or..."

"Watergate salad?" David fills in.

"None of it!" She confirms. "But I will still plow you in 50 years."

Then she reaches down his stomach to begin doing just that again.

[edosianorchids901]

Bright and Beauteous

@flashfictionfridayofficial prompt - "little pink houses"

At this point, Crowley was used to discovering Aziraphale in an explosion of new craft supplies. Practically every week, he walked in and found his angel happily tackling a new project. Most of those projects would wind up being abandoned, mind, but the important bit was that Aziraphale was having fun.

Yarn was the most common addition to the cottage, buckets of the stuff for whatever overcomplicated project Aziraphale had picked up now. Sometimes those projects did get finished. For instance, Mr. Slithers, Aziraphale’s massive snake plush. Or Mr. Quackers, Crowley’s not-so-massive duck plush. But most of the time, the yarn ended up in carefully organized storage bins somewhere in the cottage.

As Crowley stared at the living room, he desperately hoped he wouldn’t need to find somewhere to store all of this. It would clash with the decor, for one thing.

“Why the deuce are you painting a whole bunch of little houses?” he finally asked. “And why are they pink?”

“Oh!” Aziraphale jumped, and his paintbrush went flying. Crowley snapped his fingers to stop it from hitting the beige carpet. “Hello, my dear. Didn’t hear you come in. Did you have a good drive? How are you?”

“Mystified.”

“Ah, yes. I suppose this is a bit…” Aziraphale glanced around at the chaos, chunks of wood and sawdust and drops of pink paint on the dark brown coffee table. “Well. I know this isn’t quite my ordinary hobby.”

“Not exactly, no.” Wincing at the ache in his hips, Crowley sank down to sit on the floor too. At least this would take the pressure off his feet, which were annoyingly sore. “Seriously, though. Why are you woodworking in the living room?”

“I suppose the garage might have been a better place,” Aziraphale said thoughtfully.

“It would not.” Crowley shuddered at the thought of pink paint spattering his Bentley. “Look, if you decide this is a hobby you wanna pick up, I’ll build you a workshop.”

Aziraphale beamed at him. “Oh, you are sweet.”

“M’ not.”

“At any rate.” Aziraphale gestured to the plethora of pink domiciles. “I was out for a walk in the garden, just enjoying the butterflies and birds and flowers. And it occurred to me that we don’t have any bird cottages!”

“Birdhouses,” Crowley corrected.

“Oh, I think bird cottages sounds so much cuter, don’t you?”

“No.”

“So I thought, well, I can create all sorts of things now! I’ve had an awful lot of fun with all of them. And I thought that if I could figure out how to make Mr. Slithers,” Aziraphale indicated the massive snake plush, which looked as unimpressed with the state of the living room as Crowley felt, “I could certainly master woodworking. I think it’s going rather well, really.”

“Er, yeah. It is.” Crowley studied the birdhouses. Some of them were kind of wonky, like the first several pairs of socks Aziraphale had made. But the later ones looked terrific. “Out of interest, though, why are they all pink?”

“Oh. Um.” Frowning as if it hadn’t occurred to him, Aziraphale studied the bright pink birdhouses. “Hmm. It’s just such a beautiful color. And it seemed like it would match well.”

“Match?” Crowley gave a meaningful look at Aziraphale’s outfit, and then his own. Then he looked around at all the decidedly not-pink decor of the living room. “Match what? We don’t have anything else that color.”

“Oh, no. Not in here!” Aziraphale waved a hand towards the window. “Out there, in the garden! It’ll match your roses and such.”

That was an annoyingly good point, and Crowley had to scramble to think of a protest. “Most of my roses are red.”

“Not all of them. And anyway, pink is a sort of red.”

“It’s not.”

“It is!” Aziraphale pouted a little, and Crowley growled. “I wanted to paint little flowers and such on them—I have other colors right there—but I don’t really know how. I haven’t painted much.”

“Looks like you’ve painted a lot,” Crowley said as sarcastically as possible, indicating the village of pink birdhouses.

“But not flowers.” Aziraphale pouted even more dramatically. “You’ve painted so much, though. Will you help me?”

He turned on the big pleading eyes. Crowley sighed, reaching for a paintbrush of his own. “Of course I’ll help you, angel.”

After laying out a plastic drip cloth—the already painted bits of the carpet could be miracled away later—Crowley helped with the flowers, leaves, and tiny little birds. Aziraphale watched for a bit, then joined in on the painting.

“This is so fun,” Aziraphale said after a bit. “I think I ought to have started painting simply ages ago! Perhaps I’ll take that up, as well.”

“Please, for Somebody’s sake, let me put you in a proper studio for that.” Crowley set down the birdhouse he’d just finished annointing with white flowers. Some of the others were still tacky, but the first group had dried enough to decorate. “You’ve turned the living room into a construction site, and a messy one at that.”

“I’m afraid I did go a tiny bit wild flinging paint around.” Aziraphale bit his lip, painstakingly adding yellow centers to his flowers. Then he blew out a long breath and moved to sit beside Crowley. “Oh my, that was such fun. Can we hang them up now?”

Crowley glanced at the rows of houses. “We’ve only painted four. There’s still a dozen left.”

“Oh, I think it’s more than a dozen.” Giggling, Aziraphale caught his paint-spattered hand and squeezed. “But those can wait. I want to hang these bird cottages up as soon as they’re done drying! And then get a snack.”

Which meant the other ones would definitely wind up in storage until the next time Aziraphale got a whim to continue. Squeezing his hand, Crowley leaned over and kissed him. “Sure, angel. Whatever you like.”

[sergeantsporks]

Hi sporks! This is kiiinda a weird ask but do you have any ideas/resources for beginners learning to sew?

I know you've been at it for awhile, and idk where else to look lol

Oooo, okay, so I have Resources for Free Patterns

CholyKnight has a bunch of free patterns, and they're also rated by difficulty, so you can find ones that work for your skill level. There's also some explanations of how to do sewing stuff like darts and whatnot. Definitely great for beginners.

Mood Sewcity, more free patterns

Free Sewing, Patterns, these you can adjust with your measurements

Fleece Fun, these are relatively simple. It's where I got my cloak pattern. You do have to sign up for emails, but lots of patterns for free, and fleece is relatively inexpensive. Fleece is pretty good for starters, too, because it's a relatively strong fabric that doesn't fray but isn't too thick to sew through

As far as actual resources for learning, I don't really have much because I was taught to sew by my older sister and my mom, and I figured most other stuff out on my own. So I made some short things of basic stitching stuff

This one is called a running stitch. It's the first one I learned, and is really easy. Just back and forth through the fabric. I made the stitches pretty big here and in opposite colors from the cloth for visual reasons, but you want to pick thread closer to your cloth color, and the smaller your stitches are, the stronger they'll be. There is an exception to this, it's called "basting" and it's basically doing the running stitch but really big and loose. It's supposed to be temporary and just holds pieces in place until you do something else

This is just a way to anchor your running stitch with a knot. I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to do this, but I'm paranoid about my stitches coming out, and when you're doing it by hand as a beginner, they probably WILL come out, so. Yeah.

This one's called a "whip stitch" (I learned recently. I've been doing it for ages, didn't know the name). You're basically popping the edges together and sewing in little circles around them.

This one is a ladder stitch/slip stitch/invisible stitch, and I'm doing it kind of messily here, but the objective is to make your stitch invisible when you pull it tight. You're sort of sewing on the "inside" of the fabric, folding it over and making the thread go behind the fold so it's hidden, then pulling it over to the other side. I use this one to close up my plushies mostly.

Other Random Tips and Stuff:

A "seam allowance" is how much extra cloth you can put on the other side of the seam

You don't need a special cutting board/table for your fabric, I literally just use the floor or the kitchen table

Tacky glue is great for tiny pieces you don't want to sew, like eye shines. It does take some time to dry, though. I put books on top of the fabric to press it together. It will wash out, though, so don't use it on things you intend to throw in the wash

Get pretty good at hand sewing before you try messing with a sewing machine

Fabric scissors really do make a difference in cutting from regular scissors

If you look up "free fabric samples" a lot of cloth places will send you a few little squares of fabric. These are great for practicing and also figuring out different materials, and you don't have to pay for them

Felt is also pretty inexpensive and you can get it at most craft stores, even if they don't sell fabric by the yard. It's also good for details on plushies, like eyes. It is scratchy, though.

Pins are very helpful, but watch out because they will stab you

Little details and things are usually easier to sew by hand rather than machine, especially if there's curves on it. It's just not worth the hassle.

If you're making a plushie, pull the stuffing apart before you stuff it, or the stuffing isn't as soft/it clumps up.

Don't start with a huge major sewing clothes project. My first sewing stuff was making dresses for my barbies when I was 10 and they were literally just tubes with straps on them. I was pleased with this. Trying a big project first will probably just be frustrating, so get used to basic sewing stuff first.

Yeah, I think that's most of it! Let me know if you have any other questions or let me know what you end up making! Other sewing people feel free to add on