#took me so long to write this that you're practically coming off hiatus by now

[fountainpenguin]

Blog Stuff

^ Like, "FYI if you want to block tags" stuff

Little announcement here: Factor It In is on hiatus for now, probably for the rest of 2023. I know where the story is going overall and I know where the next chapter's going, but I struggled more than expected with the "Torus" voice (took like 6 weeks longer than the other chapters and all of it painful :'D)

I don't want to face a timecrunch struggle with TJ and Rose POVs (two characters who will be new to me), so I'm taking the bi-weekly update stress away and putting the 'fic on hiatus for now. But I wrote 77k before a hiatus was needed so I'm proud of that <3

We've got some 130 Prompts coming up as well as "Unicorn Years" for Origin in September (and hopefully a special Friday the 13th piece in October). In other words, FOP stuff is still bi-weekly as usual.

-> As a reminder, the 130 Prompts are posted in the order they are for a reason. You don't have to read them all if you don't want to, but extra context is always nice. If you've been dragging your feet on "Looking Back" by any chance... I might recommend that before the next update, which is "Sentry" ;)

On the "off" Friday I'm planning one-shots for various fandoms, especially shorter character studies. Really want to practice capturing a variety of voices, some quicker one-shots, and maybe I'll try some characters I don't use a lot. Or I'll be self-indulgent and focus on my faves... who knows.

Hoping to post more Come What May as well since you guys were excited to see it back <3... and it would be nice to actually finish a non-one-shot 'fic for the first time in. 7 years.

It's probably been obvious, but I also took a long hiatus from digital art. Traditional art is more comfy for me and I've been trying new digital programs, but haven't fallen in love with anything (i.e. I've been a vector artist for 10 years and moving from my safe space to different programs and styles is... painful).

I think I'm ready to start pushing my comfort zone, but be forgiving of my digital style because I'm playing around with new tools and this is a big jump for me, ha ha. I think I'm going to do some silly, low-stress fanfic doodles with very little attempt to make them look good, just testing stuff out.

I miiiiiight have a few PMV / animatic ideas, so we'll see

By nature of me posting art for my own 'fics, spoilers be upon ye if you're not up to date with my writing. Relatively recent stuff and/or stuff I consider "big" will get the #ridspoilers tag, but stuff I wrote 6+ months ago is less likely to get the tag, so that's how that goes.

-> #Dog's Life spoilers will get a unique tag because the weekly updates and drama make me say "Yeah, a special tag makes sense," so if that's a 'fic you think you want to read someday without spoilers, consider blocking that sooner rather than later :)

-> I'm also adding a #Pixels Imperfect tag to stuff from that universe (and I'll go back and add it to the chapters I already posted). "Pixels Imperfect" is the series name on AO3 for my digital gremlin Traffic SMP content (Everyone can freely wander around New Star Station outside the game and just puts on their roleplay hats when they go in, everything under this series fits under one umbrella of universe canon, etc.)

-> #Neighborhood Watch is the series name for "we take the roleplay lore seriously, this is their life, no digital world and no roleplay hat to take off" Traffic SMP content. I haven't posted anything for it yet, but I've got stuff in the works (I'm playing with a couple "making every season as canon as possible in one storyline" pieces and </3 it's big divorce speedrun hours for Clocker fam rn)

As for the other 'fics, I've been posting stuff like Origin, the 130, and Knots for 7 years and I feel okay about how that's going- I don't normally get spoiler Asks, but my general rule is to wait 1-2 weeks before I say anything spoilery on my blog. I think that's been working fine and we've got a good system, so I'm not changing anything there.

Lastly - and this is also part of the reason Factor is going on hiatus - it sounds like Traffic SMP Season 5 is just around the corner. For my followers who don't know much about this Minecraft deathmatch series, the creators only play for a few weeks - I think the shortest season was 6 weeks and the longest was 8 - and each creator puts out one episode a week (usually Friday).

So, it's a pretty short chunk of time and I don't want to be juggling too many things while it's coming out. I think this year I want to jump in and create some nice content while it's ongoing instead of just doodling off to the side and keeping it to myself... I need to dig up my old liveblog doodles I never shared, hm.

-> The traffic story canon gets reset every season (i.e. it's unscripted play, there's no continuous plot, and each season starts relationships from scratch), so if you've been enjoying any of my Traffic SMP reblogs, consider looking into it and riding that wave while episodes come out for a couple weeks and we can be hype together <3

-> Stuff for that season will be tagged #traffic spoilers, which is the tag I use across all the seasons, and I'll make a new post with my Season 5 spoiler tag once we get the name reveal.

-> As is traditional when I liveblog, I'll also use the tag #Riddle watches Traffic so you can block that too if you like. Just wanted to let people know in case I have any Traffic SMP followers who want to go in blind and don't want to risk seeing my posts before they have time to block my spoilers tag. #traffic spoilers still covers everything, including new season.

-> I also need to look into maybe switching from Traffic Life SMP as my blog tag to Traffic SMP because I think that's. the right name and it would probably be smart to tag properly... hm.

I think that covers everything I wanted to say. I'll add a list or link to my pinned post as well so people can figure out what to block for spoilers and stuff.

Thanks for enjoying my blog!

[romecardoso]

WHERE: the honey trap CLOSED for @august-specter​

The club has become such a second home to Rômulo, that he forgets a strip club can be considered something so taboo. The pounding music has become background white noise to him, the dancers are nothing more than incredible professionals doing their job, he's no more entertained than if he were watching a bunch of dentists perform root canals on the floor. And for the most part, customers are regular patrons who show up often enough that they, too, feel like they own the place. Then there's also the odd kid or two that walks into the door, clearly seeing a half-naked body for the first time in real life, and Rome makes sure to check their IDs a dozen times before he serves them. Then there's the guy that walks in tonight.

He stands out like a sore thumb, if only because something about his demeanour screams uncomfortable. Rômulo has a good eye for this sort of thing, so when he squints at the man to get a good look, familiarity hits him. He remembers that face -- a uniform, chaos, a lot of yelling. He was the paramedic. Several weeks ago, some stupid little human had decided they could take more of a dose than they should, and when Rome stopped by to collect his payment, he found his client unconscious. Calling an ambulance had been the right thing to do, which he did (begrudgingly) only because saving this idiot meant he didn't have to lose a client. It was a funny coincidence that the same paramedic who answered that call would end up here -- too big of a coincidence, perhaps, to be true.

He makes sure to slide right towards the familiar stranger, as soon as he reaches the bar. "So we meet again," he greets, neutral. He's unsure of what this encounter will shape up to be -- if the paramedic is here to give him shit about that client, Rome will have to scare him off. "The city's feeling pretty small tonight, huh."

[lvnatiq]

Random Relationship Headcanons | Felix Escellun x gn!reader

a/n: Hey ! On todays menu I am serving you modern au relationship headcanons. I know for a fact that I can’t write headcanons AT ALL yet here we are, out of spite I will keep trying until I can manage to write good shit. I’m going through a chaotic time in my life so please be patient with me 😭

I’m currently working on tattoo artist! reader x Felix headcanons and college!enemies to lovers one-shot. Knowing that Felix’s fav trope is enemies to lovers, I will post it hopefully before his new chapter drops. I used most of the hcs that were sent to me but if you couldn’t see yours, then it will probably be used on the other works.

No beta we die like men.

warnings: curse words, nsfw under the cut, random sage moments, felix being a ‘the neighborhood’ song basically.

You persuade him to start an Instagram account, and because of his family's popularity, he quickly gains followers. His account is practically empty because he would rather spend his time stalking your account on Instagram. You noticed the emptiness and wanted to take him out and take some photos for his account, which turned out amazingly. He is a little camera shy, so be patient with him.

You like to watch him apply his eyeliner but he finds it so stressing to do under your gaze.  He used to be able to do it easily, but it has now become one of his most difficult tasks. You wanted to ask for his assistance in applying eyeliner to you in the hopes of making it simpler for him; he agreed but quickly regretted it when he realized how near your faces would be. You with your eyes closed, waiting for him to drag the line as he was only thinking about how bad he wanted to kiss you. 

Felix has a Polaroid of you and stella in his wallet I said what I said.

When it comes to himself, he can be a pessimist, but when it comes to you, he is the most loving and positive boyfriend you could ever ask for. You have a dream ? He is ready to help you achieve it. Do you want to change in your life ? Go for it, He’s more excited than you are.

He can be quite insecure at times when it comes to your relationship because he feels like you deserve the world but the world is too big for his tiny hands. Will his cuddles be enough ? God he hopes so.

He almost cried when you told him you loved him for the first time. He's also baffled as to how you might feel the same way about him.

Drunk Felix is really clingy and honest. Whatever he can’t say sober drunk felix can and definitely will.

“May the stars let my death be between your glorious thighs amen-“ “Felix-”

Felix is weird but it add to his charm. It’s not unusual for you to wake up in the middle of the night and find the pillow besides yours empty. In the dead of night, you will find Felix munching on some weird ass food combinations.

He also has a habit of doing things that are extremely adorable without even noticing it. Like walking around the house in his oversized shirts, his hand clutching at the cuffs whilst the other one sheepishly rubs his eye.

“Can I lay on your lap ? I promise I won’t fall asleep. I just need to rest for a little.” His voice is so soft and hushed. “Of course, come here.” He throws himself onto you as he comes hopping on his tip toes.

He falls asleep on his desk too often, so you have to carry him back to his room, where he snuggles against you while you lead him there. Once he's in his room, he insists that you stay with him, so you wait until he falls asleep as you play with his hair, and he wakes up thinking it was all a dream.

I firmly believe that Felix’s love language is acts of service. Like making you coffee and bringing you random snacks as you work or wrapping you up in fluffy blankets whenever he catches you slacking on the couch.

He's been romanticizing anything and everything since he met you. When he sees beautiful flowers, he wants to bring them to you, but he also believes that their beauty stems from the fact that they are alive, so he argues and stresses a lot when deciding what to do in simple situations like these.

His edginess belongs to his impulsiveness and his style only at any other situation he's a complete softboy.

And I'm certain he knows a variety of card tricks. He enjoys showing off, and he enjoys it even more when you become fascinated and beg him to share the trick.

If you're a morning person, you'll probably spend your mornings alone in solitude, finishing work before the day begins, but if you're a night owl, you and Felix will go out for night walks and Felix would go out for night walks, sharing headphones to play some music, enjoy each others presence and develop a habit of watching the sunrise together.

Felix makes you playlists at the most random times and with the most random names. Until one day he sent you a playlist at around 4 a.m called “you”, filled with his favorite music. He usually sees music as a safe space for himself and now that you are his safe place too it’s only appropriate for him to do so. This only further proves how he spends his time thinking about you.

I feel like Felix would have what most would call "attachment issues" but it’s mainly because of his protective tendencies. This is not to say that he’s this "overly jealous toxic" character; rather, he has never had anyone to truly call his own in his entire life so he would do anything to protect it.

Felix is also big on astrology, so if you want the perfect birth chart, he'll give it to you. Also he owns a lovely deck of tarot cards, and if you ask him for a love reading, he can't manage to keep his words and feelings to himself so he modifies your reading according to him and his desires. Let the boy abuse his powers for the sake of love.

His style could be described as dark academia, his wardrobe mainly consists of dark colors, lots and lots of blazers and a lot of oversized shirts. He also loves jewelry so he owns a lot of rings and chains. Just so you know, if you're wearing any of his rings, his heart is doing cartwheels.

Is it obvious that he loves it when you place your hand in his and play with his rings with your fingertips.

Spoil him. Buy him that baby blue hoodie with cat ears.

“Ah, you look adorable.” “Isn’t it a bit too b-big ?” “You could say that. Do you mind ?” “No, I like it that way.” “I would know.” You smirk followed by felix’s gasp. “If you so desperately wanted a cat boy you know you have me right ?” Nudging your shoulder, Sage leapt into the conversation. “What is he talking about ?”  Felix grumbled, only to notice two fuzzy triangular fabrics on top of his head as he brushed his fingertips over it.

He’s obsessed with your hands, kissing your knuckles, drawing circles in your palm. At a certain point it became an involuntary gesture he does it quite often without realizing.

He’s also canonically extremely blushy but he would never admit it. You’re convinced he uses some sort of make up because it is not possible for the pink dusting his cheeks to look this good.

He insists that you’re cold even in the warmest weathers because he wants to see you in his coat.

Sage forces Felix to take his thirst trap Tiktoks.

He really appreciates it when you add to his herbal tea collection without him noticing and he considers it a sign of affection because he takes his tea very seriously.

He loses it when you call him baby he gets flustered and frustrated but it’s all because it rolls off of your tongue so nicely that he can’t get enough of it.

Felix owns a broad collection of scented lip balms some of them are tinted. You didn’t hear this from me.

He never once took anything the Sage says seriously until he saw how well you two got along. He never thought that he would be standing there taking relationship and flirting advice from the frat boy.

Felix is a complete asshole when he wants to. He’s very verbal about it too. Consistent sarcastic remarks and eye rolls. I mean it runs in his blood, look at Escell.

You love it when he suddenly whips out the confident Felix, it’s not a daily occurrence you know.

When Felix is concentrated, he’s lost and there’s almost no way you or anything else can distract him. So it’s time to grab some colorful hair clips and ties to fuck around with his hair.

Felix is not the best at verbally expressing his gratitude towards you. He doesn’t know what he would do if you weren’t there for him at the lowest points of his life where normally he would close himself and bare the weight of his family problems and personal life issues that he can’t seem to get out of. Now he has you, someone who’s willing to listen to him and offer him a warm embrace when he needs the most. 

While you to play games together, when he wins he wears that iconic shit eating grin of his with pride looking at you through the corner of his eye. “Shit, what do you want me to say to that felix ? Perhaps I should call you master now that you won ‘one’ fucking round.” He is praying that the screen light is covering the fact that he is a blushy mess after hearing you say that.

NSFW

I cannot stress this enough but he is extremely vocal in bed. Whining, trying to restrict himself from making too much noise but failing miserably.

Muffled pants, choked sobs and lots of pleasure infused tears.

He loves getting praised during sex but what he loves more is to get praised after it’s all over. Like you telling him how great he was, how well he behaved, how good he made you feel. He experiences sub drops a lot so please assure him that he did well :(

He’s into power-play but not in a submissive or dominant kind of relationship, it’s more of a psychological thing where the fact that he can see how good he makes you feel gives him a rush of confidence and adrenaline.

I believe that this motherfucker is a masochist, pain makes him more excited than getting an update on his favorite author who went on a year long hiatus and that is saying a lot.

Bite him. Scratch him. It is so stimulating for him he can reach his high just from those actions.

Fuck do anything to his ears bite, lick, pull, blow on it. He is extremely sensitive so anything you do will basically drive him out of his mind. It will most definitely lead to him trembling beneath your fingertips.

You must think that you are the only one who is such a tease but you’re wrong. Felix teases you quite often mostly to direct your attention towards him or to keep your attention on him. He’s quite greedy when it comes to you and your hands on his body. Unbuttoning unnecessary amount of buttons on his shirt to show a little skin that he knows you’ll notice. Playing with his necklace placing the chain between his lips dragging it towards the inside of his bottom lip teasing the metallic charm with the tip of his tongue. He definitely ain’t oblivious he knows exactly what he’s doing and he makes sure that you know exactly what he’s doing.

When he’s in the mood he will tug the hem of your top meanwhile his eyes are glued to the floor or graze the temples of his glasses between his lips, his teeth lightly nibbling the pointy edge. He loves to play dumb too. When you question him, he acts like he doesn’t intend anything and that you need to get your head out of the gutter.

At the end of the session Felix looks divine. Drool leaking down from his bottom lip to his jaw line towards his neck, his bangs sticking on his sweat coated forehead, his chest rising up and down quickly. His eyes rolled at the back of his head, his hands still clutching tightly to the sheets. Faint whimpers and deep breaths filling the air.

Leading up to the after care, his shy self returns. He buries his face to your chest hiding his blushy cheeks beneath the palms of his hands.

He likes to experiment a lot and you are his favorite subject.

It shouldn’t be surprising to find random kink definitions or role-play ideas on the search history of your laptop. After all Felix just asked for it to write an email, that’s all there is to it. That’s until you offer to try them out.

He doesn’t act upon his jealousy, what he does instead is that leaving marks on you especially around your neck and your chest where he knows it will show. Don’t cover them up if you don’t wanna deal with him.

“People just don’t appreciate art anymore.” “Felix these are, hickeys.” “Oh so now you are judging my art medium ?” “Since when proving Sage that I got railed by you is a form of art ?”

I didn’t see anyone point this out but whenever he is in the sub space he tends to be more on the bratty side. He starts of shy but his confidence builds up as the tension rises. Meaning that you should be ready to get your patience tested.

When you two are in separate places your suggestive words and tone leads up to phone sex, which Felix secretly fantasized about a lot. What made everything even more dirty was the fact that you didn’t know that he was laying on your bed surrounded by your scent and humping your pillow. Once you come back home you are greeted with a fresh pair of sheets on your bed. Apparently Felix decided to do you a favor and clean your room as well as the the whole house. He’s crossing fingers that you don’t notice because he knows that he’ll never hear the end of it.

Felix knows a lot about sex but his knowledge is based upon fiction rather than experience. So, naturally, he is more interested about learning specifically how your body responds to certain actions, what you enjoy and what you’re interested in so teach him. He’s a good student and oh well he’s a quick learner.

Pull his hair pull his hair put his hair pull his hair pull his hair pull his hair pull his hair pull his hair.

When he settles between your legs as he ties his hair, he places the hairband between his lips and looks up at you with half lidded eyes. It’s his definition of torture.

Even though he doesn’t give off that vibe, he is very freaky if you would’ve known what his AO3 tags consisted of you would agree.

Tag list is open

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Inked

Still on hiatus. But I found an old piece of writing and I revamped it just a smidge! It was originally published in 2018 on calumh-excess. Which is now deactivated. Hooray for finding pieces!

Calum's been watching Jay for a while. She's cute, talented, but a bit of mystery. Should he really give into her? What will it take for him to admit he has a crush?

Enjoy my masterlist (on hiatus)

______________

He watched her sometimes for far too long. The way her tongue stuck out as she pulled the skin and her hand worked steadily with the needle made it hard for him to resist. Her face always seemed to catch the harsh fluorescent lights and reflect it back so that it twinkled against her skin. A slight sheen, but nothing just of ethereal. He wasn’t even interested in any new ink, not seriously anyway. He had slowed on the ink train, but the shop his tattoo artist owned was a nice place to hang out sometimes. When he wanted to get out of his house but didn’t want to actually go somewhere, he could hang out here, listening to the buzz of the tattoo gun, poke his hand at trying a design here or there. They weren't great. He hadn't considered him this kind of artist, but the shop felt like a second home.

Besides, having her around was a more than welcomed bonus.

He wasn’t even sure what it was about her. She showed up about a year and a half ago, under an apprenticeship. Calum’s artist was unsure of her, much like everyone else that asked to work under him. A hazard of the job, according to the job, according to Calum's artist. However, her drawings spoke volumes; the colors and line work were impeccable. She had talent and knew it without being cocky about it. Well, sometimes she wasn’t. Calum watched her run into the occasional asshole that tried to belittle her; she always put her foot down in those situations. He didn’t fault her.

Today’s no different. When Calum walks in, he greets the guy at the front desk, eyes searching for her. He spots her in the back with her oversized frames creating a small glare over her brown eyes. He never quite got the appeal of the grandma-shaped glasses trend, but on her, they worked. She looked wise but soft. The glass pulled him in, felt like she was seeing into his soul. Maybe she was; maybe the pain made people more vulnerable than they anticipated--entrusting someone, a stranger in some ways, to permanently mark you and not fuck it up. Whatever the reason, looking at her felt timeless. Like she had seen it all, and you are just waiting for you to spill all the secrets.

“You finally going to get some new ink?” Calum’s artist teases.

Calum shakes his head, turning his attention away from her. “You finally took her training wheels off?”

“Your girlfriend’s got mad skills. I couldn’t baby her forever. Jay works hard on each piece, learned fast. Got a steady ass hand and pretty gentle for handling a needle.”

“She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, because you haven’t hardly even talked to her. Go for it, you wuss. What’s the worst she says? No?”

Calum exhales a chuckle. "I mean, the worst she stabs me with the tattoo gun. But considering the ink I'm already sporting, I doubt that's really all that bad.”

“Jay would not do that unless you asked for it, ff course. But really, go on, ask her out.”

Calum glances back at Jay. It’s a nickname. No one in the shop calls her by her full name. The only reason Calum heard it was when a client came asking for her. Jay was quick to correct them.

She wipes, clearing excess ink, before dipping back into the small cup. Jay smiles up at her client. Calum's sure they appreciate the reprise. Getting tattoos weren't always fun, but bearable enough to forget about it and get more.

Calum turns his gaze away. “I recommended you to a friend,” he says, hoping that he’ll escape the teasing. It’s not likely to happen. But at least he tries to minimize the ridicule.

"I appreciate it. Are they a first-timer?"

"A second-timer, but they're visiting town and want some new ink. I figured best not to fuck them over."

The two men laugh before Calum's escorted back to look through some new designs. Just in case something sparks his interest. Calum's visit is supposed to be short, but there's not much else on his to-do list for the day. He could kill a few hours here.

When Calum comes out from the back, after spending too much time pretending art was ever a talent of his, he looks for Jay again. She’s not in her corner, nor is she at the front. Calum shrugs, figuring she might have gone for lunch, or home depending.

As Calum walks to his car, he checks his phone. Nothing major's happened.

“Leaving so soon?” A voice states. Calum knows that voice, a little gravelly, mostly sweet. He’s dreamt of it every so often. He prays to hear it when he visits the shop.

He turns to Jay, who leans against the bricks. A vape is wrapped in her fingers. “Gotta get some dinner, maybe make a run to the grocery store," Calum returns. "I've gotten lazy."

She nods. “This reminds me that I can't survive off BLTs forever," she laughs.

"You could try, but I think you'd need other vegetables and some fruit in that mix too."

She pushes up on her glass with a nod. "Ah, yes, gotta get the whole food pyramid." It goes silent between them and Calum gives another nod, raising a few fingers to signal his departure while still keeping his phone in a secure enough grip.

"Hey, wait!" Jay calls out again, taking a half step forward. Calum turns to her. "Can I give you something before you leave?”

Calum nods, not trusting his voice. What would she give him? She nods back to the front door, taking back that initial half-step. “It's inside. Give me like two minutes.”

She disappears inside and Calum stands, his phone still in his hands, staring at the spot she once stood. Just as quickly as she disappeared, Jay reappears. In hand is her portfolio. She flips through before stopping and slides the heavy-duty drawing paper out.

Calum stares down at the green and black drawing. It’s his face, for the most part, that stares back at him. It’s distorted by a crystal ball that glows green. Inside are some instruments and something else, but right now he can’t really put it all together. His eyes keep moving over the lightning bolt, the crystal ball, the uncanniness of his face on a piece of paper, his three-dimensional face somehow translated perfectly into a 2-D space.

“Holy shit, this is amazing,” he breathes. “Thank you,” he says looking back up to her.

She shrugs with a smile. “You’re welcome.”

“Seriously, this is so fucking awesome. I’m going to frame it,” he gushes. He’s too excited to be nervous, or be embarrassed. "What are the dimensions?"

“I'm just really glad you don’t find it too creepy. I was watching you a couple weeks ago when you stopped by. It just sort hit me, the image of the crystal ball and lightning bolt; I had to draw it,” Jay elaborates. "And it's 8.5 by 11--standard printer paper size."

Calum shakes his head, staring over the drawing again. It feels so delicate suddenly in his hands. It’s almost like Jay recognizes the change in his handling. She shuffles her load in her hands and pulls out an empty plastic over. “Here,” she laughs handing it over. “So it doesn’t smudge or anything if you're worried."

Calum slides it in. “Thank you. Again. Seriously.”

“You’re welcome, Calum. Good luck with your grocery store trip and dinner,” Jay nods and then heads back inside. Calum watches the way the denim stretches across her hips, the way her hair billows just a little in the breeze of her strut.

For a moment, Calum can't move. The weight of the paper in his hand is hardly ounces, but it holds him--traps him to the point of the sidewalk. Jay thought enough of him to draw him. What did it all mean? Should he have found the courage to ask her out? He could walk back inside. But what if she didn't like him like that? Would it be too weird?

Calum blinks up into the hardly settling sun and thinks to himself, the second he can come back here, it better be with a bit more courage and possibly a gift certificate. No one can be made about free food, right?

It’s months before Calum can visit the shop again. The tour is a whirlwind and he only gets a few days off between legs. Not long enough to get back home or feel like he had any energy to drive out to the shop. But now that he's settled back in at home, he knows exactly where he's going.

It’s not his typical practice to just walk in and ask for a tattoo. But given the ink already on him, worse things could happen. When he pulls open the door, he notices it's kind of slow. Jay greets him at the front desk. “Hey, stranger,” she grins.

“Hey, how are you?” he asks in return.

“Pretty good. How was it? The tour? See any cool places?”

He nods. “Yeah, got to explore a few cities.” He taps his fingers against the wooden desk. “Do you have an appointment anytime soon?”

Jay shakes her head. “My 2 o’clock had to reschedule. I’m here until 4 before I see anyone. Why? What's tickling your fancy?”

“I was wondering if you could do a tat for me? I know this is very last minute and if you need me to come in another day this week, I totally can.” His words run into each other; his palms start to sweat. He wipes them on his jeans.

Jay laughs, holding up a hand. “Whoa, pump the brakes. One, what are you looking for?”

“You know that drawing you did for me?” She nods. “I was kind of hoping you could create something with just the crystal ball and lightning bolt. I know the drawing itself is kind of big.”

A grin lifts her cheeks; Calum’s heart settles for a second. “I think I can do that. Where are you thinking to put it?”

“Inner bicep.” He watches her gaze land on his arm. The t-shirt is baggy, he at least thought about that with enough advance.

“Give me 30 minutes to come up with some sketches.” Jay pushes away from the front desk and heads to the back, but not for calling to the shop to watch the front desk.

Calum slides into the seat at the front, leg bouncing as he settles down. This isn’t even his first tattoo, but the nerves flood his body. His scalp tingles. The thirty minutes move by too fast, but also too slow simultaneously. The seconds feel like hours but move by milliseconds.

Eventually, Jay resurfaces, waving him over to her. He walks back and looks at the sketches she places out in front of him. There are two different ones. One’s a bit more minimalistic, which is her style, with the lightning bolt in the background and a simple crystal ball at the point. The other is a bit bolder, the ball has a slightly warped edge where it connects to the bolt. It looks like the bolt is melting the glass ball.

“I can whip up more if neither one of them are quite right. But I wasn’t sure if it wanted something a bit more crisp and sharp or not,” Jay explains.

Calum admits that most of his tattoos are more cleaned up and sharp. He likes the idea of playing with a new style. “I like the second one,” he says, tapping it.

“You sure?” He nods, he’s never been more sure of something in his life. “Which bicep? Let me line it up and make sure it’ll fit.”

Calum lifts his left arm up for her. Laying the stencil over his skin, Jay notes she has to make a couple small tweaks. But after that, she’ll be ready. They discuss full color, or just outline, or shading, price, and a few other details before Jay concludes with, “Hop in my seat. I’ll be there soon.”

Calum nods and walks over to her station. Her stuff is already laid out, probably for her canceled 2 o’clock. It’s about five more minutes before Jay returns with the final stencil. Calum rolls up the sleeve of his shirt before she places the stencil. Happy with the placement, he stretches out on the table.

Jay gets herself ready before she brings the needle over his skin. The first puncture always makes him jolt a little, the first jab of pain causes his heart to race. “Do you plan on relaxing now that you're back home?"

"Yeah, for a little bit. I might go see my family, but I know we'll be back in the studio soon. Anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

"I mean exciting things happen every day at this place. But it's not like I could recall them all now."

Calum hums, acknowledging her statement, but not quite sure what to say next. Luckily, Jay's faster to fill in the silence. "You do realize you didn’t have to get a tattoo to have a real conversation with me?” Jay teases, pushing up her glasses.

Calum’s cheeks heat. “It’s not like that,” he chuckles.

“Well, that’s how it seems.”

“You were always busy when I stopped by. I didn’t want to interrupt.”

“Not always,” she laughs. “But it’s alright. You’re going to have plenty of time while I’m stabbing you to say all those things you didn’t.”

A chuckle escapes him; of course, Jay would have this sense of humor. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m paying so much for people just to stab me and act as a therapy. Maybe I am a masochist.”

“So are a lot of people. Sometimes you just take the emotional pain out in the physical realm.”

“I always imagined people that worked in a tattoo shop to be more heavily tatted,” Calum hums, taking in scattered ink across her arms and one pokes out from the V in her t-shirt.

“I focused it more on my back and legs and not so much my arms. I’m getting there. So, why this one today?”

Calum goes to shrug, but stops himself as he hears the gun nearing his skin again. “Not really sure. It looked cool. I guess it also serves to remind me that fate isn’t linear. There’s going to be twists and turns, maybe some trouble. And that’s okay. Don’t be afraid of the journey. Also, it's really fucking cool art.”

Jay hums her laugh, “Why thank you. Wise brain you got there. Besides, it seems like you also have people you keep close to you.” She eyes the initials and the name under the bird. “Whoever they are to you, I hope you all stay close.”

“Those are my parents' initials,” he explains. “And my sister’s name. They’ve been with me through it all--I love them dearly.”

“So sweet. I wish my parents and I were closer. I tattooed my brother’s jersey number on me. It was my first tattoo.”

“What did he play?”

“Soccer, or for your kind, football.”

“Hey now, it’s played with the feet, it makes much more sense.”

Jay laughs, wiping off excess ink. She cocks her head to the side a little, then goes back in for the black ink. “I’m only teasing. Us Americans are so dumb sometimes. Like why is our football not called something else? Literally, the only thing that happens with the feet is the running. We carry the fucking ball.”

“I’ve wondered that as well!” he laughs. "Does your brother still play?"

“Yeah, the whole knucklehead still plays for his college.”

“What position?”

Jay laughs. “I'll have you know my job as the older sister is to show up and cheer him on. Something defensive? I don’t remember off the top my head.”

“I’ll give you credit for that. I’m sure he appreciates it.”

“He does until he sees with me in face paint on and then he’s acting like he doesn’t know me. Oh, oh wait, I think remember what he does. It’s defensive,” she pauses, lips pursed together, “something fielder.”

“Defensive midfielder?” he asks.

“Yeah, that. But like I said, I show up when I can and scream. That’s it. When he’s old enough, I’ll buy him a beer after his games too.”

“How old is he?”

“Nineteen, we’re three years apart.”

“The only sibling you have?”

“Nah, got a baby sister too. She’s fifteen. If you’re impressed by my eyeshadow thank her. Because she’s the one that taught me how to do it.”

Calum finds himself staring at the red and gold coloring her eyelids. “It looks really nice,” he breathes.

“Why thank you.” She pauses to bats her eyelashes. “I even managed to get those godforsaken falsies on right too. They look good, but the raise hell.”

“I think you’re the first woman I’ve met in LA that’s not obsessed with makeup,” he notes.

“Oh, you were doing so well. There are a lot of people of who aren’t huge in the makeup scene.”

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he tries to backtrack. “I’m sorry. In my experience, it’s not like that. They’re hiding the fact they aren’t wearing makeup--embarrassed by it or something.”

Jay nods, pushing up her glasses yet again. “Yeah, it’s not easy. We’re told to be perfect, but in reality, we’re just like everyone. We’re human, imperfect and flaw-full and beautiful.”

“Not in spite of, but because of.”

“Exactly,” she chuckles. Silences settles in around them. Calum wonders why she said she was closer to her family, but the way she talks about her siblings doesn’t match. She’s cheering her brother on at his game; she’s sitting down to learn makeup with and from her sister.

“Can I ask a bit of a personal question?” he asks.

“What kind of personal? Do I get a lifeline?”

Cal exhales a laugh. “You can always say no.”

“Hit me with it.”

“Why say that you’re family isn’t close but you clearly take a lot of pride in your siblings?”

“An observant one on my table, I see. It’s my parents. They don’t like that I’m pansexual, say I’m going to hell. My siblings don’t fucking care. I’m still the crazy-ass sister that loves and supports them.”

With a hum of acknowledgment from Calum, it goes quiet again around them for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. He knows it doesn’t really fix anything for her; it doesn’t take away the potential years of her suffering. It’s the only thing he can offer her though. It feels right to say.

“Oh, no need for you to be sorry. It’s not like you threw me out of the house.”

“Ouch. You’re making it though right?”

“Yeah, now that I work here, things are on the up and up.”

“That’s good; I’m glad.”

“Thanks.”

“Favorite tattoo you’ve done?” he asks, wanting to hear her voice again.

“This one,” she laughs. “Though I had someone ask for a pin-up witch, which was also pretty fucking cool to do.”

Calum remembers seeing that on her Instagram. “That one was amazing! Her lips looked so good; I know that’s a strange thing to admit.”

“Don’t worry. I am quite proud of that myself.”

“Do you have a favorite tattoo on you?”

“The blue jay on my shoulder. My parents would take me on walks when I was still an infant. According to the legend, while they were sitting on a park bench a blue jay landed on me. I didn’t cry; it didn’t hurt me. It just landed for a second and then flew off. They called me Blue Jay ever since. I just shortened the nickname as I got older.” She gives one more wipe. “Finished. Check it out.”

Calum sits up, walking over to the mirror. He grins seeing the melting ball sitting against his skin. He grins over to Jay. “It looks amazing. Thank you.”

“No problem.” They head back over to her station. Jay cleans it and wraps the fresh ink. Calum carefully gets his sleeve back down with a little help from Jay. He pays their agreed price with his card, but slides two fifties over to her. “You do know that’s more than double a twenty percent tip right?”

Calum shrugs. “Is it? I’m bad at math,” he grins. “Treat your sister to a new palette or something. Treat yourself to something.”

“Thank you. Now next time, you come by, I hope we don’t talk while I’m stabbing you repeatedly.”

Calum shakes his head, a grin still on his face. Of course. He had forgotten to get the gift certificate. But possibly asking Jay to dinner wouldn't be such a bad idea. “Give me your number and I can promise the next time we talk, it won’t in your chair.”

She holds out her hand, waiting. He hands her his phone, after unlocking it. She puts her number in. She goes to hand the phone back but just before his fingers touch it, she draws it back. "I mean it--actually text me. I adore memes, dogs, TikToks, your favorite songs."

"I'll actually talk to you. I promise."

Jay hands over his phone with a smile. Calum steps outside the glass doors. Why should he wait? He could do it now. For fuck sake, the last hour had been the groundwork for a clear sign a date was absolutely an option. His fingers hovering over her name. He taps it, and then presses for a call. Holding the phone to his ear, he listens to it ring for a second.

“I can still see you, you know?” Jay laughs.

Calum turns around, catching her leaning against the front desk. “I told you the next time we talked you wouldn’t be inking me.”

“What can I help you with, Calum?”

“Dinner, tonight-- I may have ordered too many appetizers for just little old me."

Her laugh trickles in over the speaker. She drops her head, giving it a shake before looking back up to him in the afternoon sun. “I think I can help you with that. Give me the time and place."

Calum rattles off the name of a restaurant that he had been wanting to try. Nothing too upscale, but not something that would be too casual. "How does 8 sound?"

"I love it there. I'll see you at 8."

“Bye, Jay.”

“Bye, Calum.” As he walks to his car, his phone buzzes yet again. This time a text from his artist, I’m being fucking replaced, I see. I can’t be too mad since it’s Jay. Calum laughs as he slides into his car. Maybe he is getting replaced; maybe he’s not. Calum’s not sure. He is sure that he needs to figure out if he can make reservations and what to wear for tonight.

[paradox-psyc-hoe-sis]

Remus Lupin dating a hufflepuff would include...

Remus lupin x hufflepuff!reader, the marauders x platonic reader

Word count: 2.2k

Warnings: no smut but talk of sexy times (sfw)

A/N: I'm back, babey! Recently took a smol hiatus but I'm back and better than ever. Here are some headcanons of what life would be like dating young Remus Lupin as a hufflepuff; I might do something similar with the different houses and the other marauders, but idk yet. As per usual, if you want a request then by all means shoot me a message! I write for the umbrella academy, marvel and Harry Potter so feel free to request anything :)) - Aphrodite

(Also I'm sorry I didn't spell check this, please forgive me)

• Every moment between you two was adorable!

• Being the semi-traditionalists that you were, it was a mutual agreement to take things slow and steady. But Remus was so infatuated with you - and you with him - that neither could deny the ever growing spark you shared.

• He'd always invite you on study dates in the library every Saturday, but most of the time it was just an excuse to see more of you.

• You'd always bring along a snack from the kitchens to the library, a different pastry or bake every week.

• "Guess who brought muffins!!!"

• When you aren't looking, he likes to leave cute messages on post it notes and hide them in your bag or throughout your books.

• "The only thing sweeter than those muffins is you, my love"

• You totally know when he does it, you've caught him a few times.

• However, you like to return the favour.

• "Maybe next time we 'study', you can let me Slytherin to your arms for cuddles"

• He loves the puns you make. Despite always being followed by an eye roll, he really does love them.

• He keeps all his notes from you in his bedside table and will read them after a particularly rough full moon 🥺

• Obviously, Remus was terrified to tell you his secret, but it went less dramatically than he thought it would.

• When you acted so truly selfless and reassured him that you'd be there for him no matter what, it really made him tear up. You promised to always be there after every full moon.

• You two can always be found cuddling in the gryffindor dormitories, 24/7.

• When you have a free period or a day free from studying, Remus will sneak you past the common room and into the dorms, where you'll just lay in his bed. All day.

• He's definitely the big spoon, he loves to hold you as tight as he can. But sometimes you'll lay your head on his chest, facing the ceiling, and he'll run his fingers through your hair.

• The boy is a human radiator, so you could practically hug him and his warmth all day long.

• One time you slept over with the rest of the marauders, and upon waking up, realised you had started your period. On Remus's sheets.

• "Hey, it's alright. I know this stuff happens, let's get you cleaned up."

• He was so mature about it all that you probably fell in love there and then.

• While you had a shower and changed the sheets, he went to Hogsmeade with James to get you some pads and snacks.

• Not needing a heating pad because he's just so damn warm gosh darn it

• While you and Remus were growing closer, you had an unexpected friendship with Sirius.

• I say unexpected, as when you first met you were positive he'd be trouble.

• "Moony, you never told me you were dating a hufflepuff! What a cute little cupcake she is." (Delivered with a wink)

• Let's just say, you may or may not have threatened to "shave off your pretty little locks if you call me a cupcake again."

• Although, this rivalry soon turned into friendship when you realised your senses of humour were identical.

• When Remus is busy and can't hang out with you, Sirius will take you to hogsmeade or play a game of chess to pass the time.

• Funnily enough, Sirius became oddly protective of you, letting Remus know that if he ever hurt you he'd be dead.

• Remus was always calling you a cute name, despite the circumstance.

• His favourite things to call you were babe, sweetheart, love, and snickerdoodle.

• You just stuck with calling him Remy, Moony, or honey (he'd never admit it, but he loves when you call him 'honeybuns')

• Remus is smart, and so are you. But when you're together, you share half a braincell.

• He's literally such a dumbass.

• "Babe, do you think toads can sense fear?"

• Cue you looking into the camera like Jim in the office.

• Whenever somebody tries to make any comments about Remus being a werewolf you are the first person to defend him.

• Nobody was afraid of you lashing out because you're "just a harmless hufflepuff". Their opinions changed when you punched a Slytherin prefect in the face for calling Remus a monster.

• At night, you'll both sneak out of the common rooms and meet in the kitchens for midnight snacks.

• You making some tea, and him eating some chocolate while talking to the house elves.

• You were always the best in your year at herbology, Remus however didn't stand a chance. He wasn't terrible at it, but certainly needed your help during lessons.

• "Y/n...what in God's name is that!?"

"...babe that's a celery."

• The summer between fourth and fifth year, he had the worlds biggest growth spurt.

• He was a little bit taller than you before, but when you returned to school for fifth year, he towered over you like a half-giant.

• This means that you could steal his fuzzy jumpers with them falling down to your knees.

• Sleepovers at the gryffindor dorms were a common occasion, but sometimes Remus would come to your common room late at night to have a dance party.

• Quietly playing the mixtape he made for you while you both danced around the area.

• You both had your first kiss towards the middle of fifth year, almost a year and a half after you first started dating.

• Remus came top of the class on an important DADA test. When he told you, you instinctively kissed him.

• You pulled away almost straight after, apologising for not asking for consent. Before you could say another word, he pulled you closer to him and placed another kiss on your lips, running a hand through the back of you hair.

• When you broke apart, you rested your forehead in the crook of his neck as he whispered in your ear.

• "I love you, y/n."

"I love you more, Remus."

• He wasn't really a big fan of PDA, but would happily do whatever you wanted.

• When the marauders were planning a prank, Remus made sure you were as far away from the action as possible.

• "What if we get y/n to be the bait? She could get-"

"James, there is no way y/n is going to jump into the great lake with weights ties to her ankles."

• You both did it for the first time near Christmas of sixth year.

• Peter was long gone home. James and Sirius had both left that morning to go back to the Potter's, offering you both a place to stay for the holidays. However, you were both happy to get some alone time.

• In the evening, he lit candles in the dorm and did cute stuff like that.

• He was so so nervous, but was still a gentlemen through and through, always asking if you're comfortable and making sure what he's doing is okay.

• It was really sweet, and both of you were really happy afterwards.

• Sometimes you'd share a bath with him in the prefects bathroom. The rest of the marauders always joked about how there'd be a bit more than bathing involved, but they were wrong.

• When you would share a bath, Remus would bring a book and read to you, doing silly voices for each of the characters just to see you smile. Neither of you ever did the Devil's Tango in the prefects bath, as it was always just for a nice relax.

• Speaking of books, Remus was always reading one. Sometimes you'd cuddle up next to him while he read, and he'd quietly read each line.

• Sometimes you'd do the same, reciting small poems from muggle books.

• He never told you, but after you had your first kiss his boggart changed. It changed from the moon to himself as a werewolf, holding your dead body.

• Gruesome, he knew, but it was significant to him.

• Along with his boggart changing, your patronus changed. In your third year you learned how to conjure a patronus, and yours was a porcupine. Yet in your sixth year, you discovered it to be a werewolf.

• Remus full on cried happy tears when he found out.

• After the worst full moon yet, Remus ended up in the hospital wing for 5 days. He was found unconscious, and woke up 2 days later to see you and Madam Pomfrey by his side.

• You took notes for him in class, brought him a few new books and bars of chocolate, and spent every free moment in the hospital wing with him.

• He had three long slashes across his face when you found him in the shrieking shack, yet he looked so calmly asleep.

• "When you told me you wanted to start having lie-ins, I didn't think you'd sleep for two days straight."

• You were the first person he wanted to see after such a terrible night, and despite your jokes, he was so grateful to have you next to him.

• "I hope you're not going to break up with me now that I'm ugly."

"You? Ugly? How could you ever think such a thing?"

• On valentines day, he enlisted the help of the marauders to make things perfect.

• After a date at Madam Puddifoots, you returned to Remus's dorm to a beautiful view.

• Fairy lights were strung along the bed frames, rose petals in a trail along the floor, your favourite scented candles burning on the bedside tables, and a teddy bear bigger than your entire body sat on Remus's bed.

• Turning around to face your boyfriend, you saw that he held 3 boxes wrapped in red paper.

• "Happy valentines day, m'love"

• Placing the gifts on the bed closest to him, he picked you up and wrapped you in a bear hug.

• You crocheted him a jumper in his house colours and got him a leather bound copy of his favourite book.

• He made you a bar of chocolate with your favourite flavours, bought you a chunky cardigan that he knew you wanted, and placed a painted, small wooden box in your hands.

• "Open the box, love." He stated with a smile. He seemed a little nervous, but eased up as he saw you smile.

• Inside the box was two aeroplane tickets to Paris.

• "It's not much, but I was wondering if you'd come with me this summer?"

• This was followed by a lot of happy screams, to say the least.

• When quidditch season came around, you both loved to support the other's house.

• You'd sport Remus's red and yellow jumpers when gryffindor was playing, and he would go all out with yellow and black spirit when it was a hufflepuff match.

• However, when it was hufflepuff against gryffindor things got way too competitive.

• You didn't speak to Remus for a week after gryffindor won.

• "Come on babe, just talk to me! I didn't mean it when I said that hufflepuffs are as good at quidditch as they are at their owls!"

• Professor Mcgonagall didn't really know much about you, being from a different house and all, but she saw how much Remus changed being with you.

• He seemed really well taken care of, and for once he was unconditionally happy.

• After dinner one night, Mcgonagall asked to see you in her office.

• "I just wanted to say thank you for taking such good care of Mr Lupin. It may be unprofessional for me to see him as a son, but I do, and I'm grateful that he has someone like you to support him."

• From that moment forward, she saw you as a daughter, and invited you to have tea with her every week.

• You didn't know it, but every full moon she'd add 50 points to hufflepuff, she could never thank you enough for looking after Remus.

• After you both graduated, you almost immediately moved in with each other.

• With the help of James and Lily, you bought a small cottage a few hours away from hogwarts.

• Every other wednesday, Sirius and Lily come around for a girls night while Remus and James catch up.

• A few months after you moved in together, Remus realised what he wanted, and for once he wasn't afraid to ask for it.

• It was a beautiful Saturday evening, the sky was purple from the sunset. Both of you were sat on the porch swing in your back garden, surrounded by magical plants and flowers, when he got down on one knee.

• "Y/n y/l/n, I've loved you since the day we met. I couldn't wish for anyone better than you, and it would be my dream to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"

[simeonstan]

i wanna quickly introduce the characters of REWIND, yes theyre the same characters from Obey Me! but in this universe they're different than in canon game. First off, this AU contains SENSITIVE TOPICS. i started this au to help me step out of my comfort zone and expand my writings and creativity. there WILL be nsfw, death, drugs, drinking and cussing. if you have any questions feel free to message me or send an ask. i do plan on future fics, but i wanna start this one strong. my other planned fics will be more lighthearted.

YOU

- You're a college student, 21 years old. You want to be a fashion designer once you get out so you took up an internship in college. You're best friends with Lilith as you have classes with her and she used to be your roommate freshman year. Your ex is Solomon, you've dated for 6 years but ended the relationship as it got unhealthy. You live alone not far from the campus.

LUCIFER

- jackson wang from got7

- Lucifer is a 27 year old model, streetcasted by Diavolo. He has a degree in law. He's the eldest of his family. He has parental issues and ptsd. He bought a house for his siblings to escape their parents, has trust issues and occasionally hooks up with Diavolo.

MAMMON

- taeyong from nct, superm

- A 25 year old narcissist. Kind of like canon Mammon. Except he's an up-and-coming actor. Somewhat of an alcoholic, hopeless romantic, and paranoid. He likes attention to make up the lack of in his early years.

LEVIATHAN

- jimin from bts

- He's 24, does online school. He's insecure and deals with depression and suicidal thoughts. He knows he shouldn't but he lets hate comments get to him. He works part time at Belphie's restaurant. He and his younger brothers were his parents favorites. Let's Asmo dress him up so he feels better about himself.

SATAN

- jeonghan from seventeen

- His mother's favorite, he is a 23 year old man that picked up smoking while abroad in France. Tends to close himself and is rather mysterious. He does have a temper. He's an author and has published multiple award winning books. His work is a bit questionable though.

ASMODEUS

- taehyung from bts

- Also 23 years old. Wanted to be a hair stylist and usually practices on Levi, Beel, and Belphie. He took a couple classes at a small low budget beauty school and he was streetcasted to be an idol. Knew they'd pay well so he took the offer and ended as a soloist. He's currently on a hiatus from his occupation as a worldwide phenomenon.

BEELZEBUB

- jooheon from monsta x

- 22 years old. Was in dancing lessons throughout his childhood, seeing as his parents would believe he had "feminine features" when he was younger. Grew a passion for dancing and goes to a dance academy. Likes to perform and usually has a big appetite. Usually helps Asmo with performances. He has self doubt issues and has gone through an eating disorder in his early teen years. He has trust issues as well, being cheated on before multiple times.

BELPHAGOR

- san from ateez

- 22 years old. Younger twin of Beel, he kind of grew in the shadow of his twin. He is a little spoiled though. He is rather anti-social and can be naïve. He takes night classes after work. His local cafe is doing well and plans to open more locations around his city. He does suffer from depression and only cooking or his paintings can make him feel better. Does get annoyed easily and acts very impulsive.

LILITH

- jennie from blackpink

- The youngest of her siblings, 21 years old. Didn't have a bad childhood as her brothers would care for her. Was born prematurely and has a chronic illness, will be revealed later. Has a talent and her brothers never seem to realize what kind of power she has. Her on and off again ex is Simeon. She's your bff and a fellow college student. She majors in Veterinary and wants to own a farm. She's currently a beauty guru on youtube, which helps her pay for her doctors appointments and hospital bills.

DIAVOLO

- kai from exo

- A 28 year old independent man. A side character but important. He streetcasted Lucifer, he'll never admit he first used Lucifer to explore his sexual fantasies but has now gained feelings for him. A very influential man that has been in the entertainment industry for more than half his life. He isn't a bad guy but growing up where he was handed everything, he expects what he wants whenever he wants it. Comes from a rather rich family that helped Lucifer and his siblings live somewhat a stable life.

SIMEON

- ten from nct

- 20 years old. Lilith's on-and-off boyfriend. A DJ and Stoner, came from a religious family and was close to Lucifer in their younger years despite the 7 year age gap. Also a student and double majors in Cyber Security and Computer Science. A side character and plays somewhat of a supporting role.

LUKE

- woozi from seventeen

- An 18 year old that got stuck being roommates with Simeon and Solomon. He majors in Marketing and Advertising. Comes from a very religious family and disagrees with Simeon smoking. Scolds quite a bit but he will defend his friends and overall doesn't care about them doing drugs as long as he isn't being pressured to do any. Usually gets dragged in adventures. You may form a closer bond to him whenever the siblings are being weird. He works at the same internship as you.

SOLOMON

- yoongi from bts

- Your 21 year old ex. He still misses you and wants to work something out between the two of you. He's roommates with Simeon and Luke. He picked up smoking after and is a college student majoring in Video Game Design. He's also a skater and works part time at a coffee shop (not Belphie's) and at an arcade. Supporting character.

[lhugbereth]

Big fan of you, bby. any tips on writing fanfic after about a five year hiatus? You seem to know what you're doing

lmao, follow up to that fanfic question, I realized that was too vague. Any tips on writing smut fic that flows and doesn't have a rushed pace?

Hahaha lol thanks friend, not sure how I tricked you into being a fan, but I’m glad you’re here!

Hmm. Well, my guess is that everyone is different when it comes to getting back into a hobby. But writing is also kinda like riding a bike - you never really forget how to do it, you may just need to brush off the rust and practice :) I took a long break from writing, too, actually. But when I picked it up again (and looked back at some of my old stuff) I found that I had grown quite a bit. 

If you want to pick up (smutty) writing again, the first thing to do is just start. Pick up a pen, or open a word doc, and begin a story. Don’t worry about grammar or flow or anything - don’t even consider posting it, you’re just writing it for you. When you finish, set it aside. Start another story. Then another. The shorter and weirder (i.e. kinkier) the better :) 

After you’ve finished a few, you can finally go back and read them. You’ll be able to tell while you’re reading what sounds choppy, what doesn’t flow well, where you switched a couple letters and your ‘dick’ is now a ‘duck’.  Reading outloud (so long as you’re alone lol) works best! Make some edits, send it to a friend, and start posting once you feel ready :) 

OH! And for really handy practice, I recommend doing something my friend used to call “100 Word Snippets” (they probably have a real name I just live under a rock...or on one). Use a random word generator to pick 10 prompts, and write 100 words (EXACTLY! unless you’re a filthy cheat like me) to match the theme. It’s a really challenging way to get your smutty brain flowing :) 

[theartofbeinganerd]

Hi! Love your writing. Thanks for keeping up such a steady stream of great fic so far this hiatus. If you're still open to prompts, how about Fitzsimmons as newsreader/weatherperson who constantly bicker/flirt shamelessly to the point that even viewers are shipping them.

Oookay so I’m super late posting tonight, but that’s because this fic really got away from me and by the time I finished it, my wifi wasn’t working and it’s just...a whole big mess. 

Anyway, thank you for the prompt, and of course, I’ve really been enjoying writing so much fic! I ended up going more with a morning TV show host feeling, a la Good Morning America, etc, but I hope this is still okay!

(Ao3)

-

“Here with us this morning we’ve got a young woman whorecently won her town’s local marathon – andbroke the record for fastest time, which has stood for fifty-two years,” Jemma introduced, layering the appropriate amountof shock onto her tone as she leveled a wide-eyed gaze at the camera.

“Wow,” Fitzcommented, arching his eyebrows and shaking his head in proper disbelief. “Theonly record I can set is how long Igo between doing loads of laundry.”

Jemma rolled her eyes at his little improvised remark,muttering under her breath, “Ugh Fitz.”But, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from adding, “It’s like I told you, ifyou just separate them into proper piles aheadof time, it –” But, remembering that they were on live TV, she stopped herself,curving her lips into her practiced smile. “Well, anyway, here she is, ElenaRodriguez.”

Both she and Fitz clapped as Elena stepped onto the set fromwhere she’d been waiting with May, taking the third seat they’d had waiting forher. “Thank you for having me,” she said, throwing a little smile in thedirection of the camera.

“So, tell us, what was it like winning the marathon and then finding out that you’d broken therecord?” Jemma asked, leaning forward slightly to show her interest in Elena’sanswer.

“I was very tired,” Elena replied, arching her eyebrowsslightly. “I had just run a marathon.”

Fitz gave a quiet snort, lifting his hand to cover his mouthand the laughter he was clearly trying to choke back. At Jemma’s narrow-eyedglare, he hastily cleared his throat and prompted Elena, “Did you ever imaginethat you’d be the one to break the record? Fifty-two years is a long time,after all, and I’m sure it was a great feeling to be the one to break it.”

Elena gave an exaggerated shrug. “I just ran – I wasn’tthinking about breaking anything.” Then, she frowned and added, “Except my legor my ankle, or something.”

Even Jemma had to press her lips together to hold herlaughter at Elena’s bewilderedly honest answers to the questions. “Have yougotten much recognition from your neighbors for setting this new record?”

She gave a great, heaving sigh and told them seriously, “Itis all anyone can talk about! I run all the time, but they only want to talkabout it when I have broken some silly record!”

There was a muffled guffaw from somewhere nearby, andstartled, Jemma glanced up to find their cameraman, Mack, covering his mouth ashis shoulders shook. When she noticed Elena looking over as well out of thecorner of her eye, she worried for a moment that she’d think they were making funof her. But, to her surprise, Elena just threw an oddly…flirty smile in Mack’s direction.

“Does that mean that you plan on entering other races,then?” Fitz asked her curiously. “Maybe try some in other towns or states, try yourhand at breaking other records?” However, when Elena didn’t answer and insteadcontinued to focus instead on Mack, he released a quiet chuckle and told thecamera, “Ah, well, it seems that Elena is more interested in chasing after ourcameraman rather than a new record to break.”

“Fitz!” Jemma gasped,shooting a subtly incredulous look at him that she hoped the camera wouldn’tpick up.

Fitz just gave another chuckle and tossed a teasing, “Jemma,” back at her, before turning toface the camera and saying, “That’s all the time we’ve got for today. Thank youto Elena Rodriguez for the entertaining interview on her marathon win, andthanks for waking up with us, Washington.”

Even though it was slightly frazzled, Jemma gave the cameraa winning smile as May counted them out, and once they camera was off, shegroaned and dropped her head into her hands. “Fitz,” she hissed, the sound slightly muffled by her palms.

“What?” She heard his chair creaking as he got up and nodoubt started stretching after sitting down for almost an hour. “As if itwasn’t already obvious. ‘Sides, Daisy and Coulson are always saying that theviewers love when we’re honest.” She felt his hand as it landed gently on hershoulder, and he added lowly, “It wasn’t even that bad, Jem. I’ve said worse onlive television, if you’ll remember.”

“Yes, but…” Jemma lifted her head from her hands to findFitz standing right in front of her, a concerned furrow to his brow, and thatElena had disappeared at some point. “All those other times we weren’t incompetition with another morning show.” She and Fitz had been the hosts of Wake Up, Washington! for roughly threeyears now, after spending a fair bit of time working their way up the ranks oftheir local TV network after they’d successfully obtained internships therewhile at university.

When they’d finally gotten the jobs as hosts, it’d beenunderstandably overwhelming, but the viewers seemed to have taken to the almostconstant bickering that such a staple of their friendship, and it had made thetransition a bit easier. Jemma had to admit that she didn’t really understand why that was – all of their otherfriends seemed more annoyed than anything when she and Fitz started arguing –but since she’d always hated to watch herself on TV, she’d never gotten thechance to truly see what the viewers saw.

Recently, however, another local network had started uptheir own morning show, Good Morning,D.C., with its aesthetically-pleasing hosts and their rotten boss, GideonMalick (who, of course, only bought the network in order to put his daughterStephanie on TV). Ever since, they’d been in competition to gather more viewersthan the other, though Malick seemed to have been edging them out as of late,worrying Coulson sick.

“Like anyone’s gonna stop watching our show just because Iimply that one of our guests is flirting with Mack,” Fitz pointed out, giving aclearly exaggerated roll of his eyes.

“Honestly,” Daisy called as she approached them from herweather set nearby, “if you’d started fighting him on it while the cameras wererolling, it would’ve been gold. For every ‘ugh Fitz’ you utter, there’s alwayssomeone new tweeting about ‘Fitzsimmons’.” As proof, she waved her phone atthem, scrolling so quickly through the tweets featuring #Fitzsimmons that Jemma couldn’t read what they actually said – butshe got the gist of it.

“This isn’t a realityshow, Daisy,” Jemma reminded her asshe finally got up from her own chair and stepped closer to her and Fitz.“We’re a morning news show.”

“Fine, fine,” Daisy tucked her phone back into her pocket, “whateveryou say.” She moved to head toward the refreshment table, which was stackedwith doughnuts and other sugary breakfast foods, but she paused and called backto them, “Oh hey, before I forget, Coulson wanted to see you guys in hisoffice.”

Startled, Jemma shared a glance with Fitz, but when heshrugged to show that he had no idea either, she simply offered him a weaksmile and said, “Perhaps he wants to talk about our guests for the week?”

Fitz looked skeptical, but nodded in agreement nonetheless.“Could be, yeah.” He gestured then for her to step ahead of him as they exitedthe sound stage and strode down the long, narrow hall toward Coulson’s officeat the end. His door had the faded words ‘Network Exec’ painted on it, andJemma reached up to tap her fist lightly against it.

It was barely a moment before he called for them to come in,and Jemma turned the knob to led the way inside, hearing Fitz shutting the doorbehind her as she took one of the two seats in front of Coulson’s desk. “Youwanted to see us?” she asked, absently tapping her fingers against the arm ofher chair.

“Yes, I did,” Coulson replied, pushing aside a small stackof papers that he’d been looking over before they’d entered the room. “I don’tthink it’s a secret how popular you two are with the viewers.” Jemma released asilent sigh of relief, thinking to herself that the words “you’re fired”couldn’t possibly follow a compliment like that one. “May and I have beentalking, and we’ve decided to take advantage of that and introduce a newsegment, with hopes of bringing in the younger demographic that we’ve beenmissing.”

Slightly puzzled but willing to listen, Jemma exchanged abrief glance with Fitz before nodding. “Alright, what have you got in mind?”

“Well, as you’re both aware, there are plenty of colleges inthe area, and how do college kids like to spend their free time?”

There was a beat, before Fitz asked unsurely, “Drinkingthemselves stupid?”

Coulson leveled a look at Fitz across the desk, thenanswered pointedly, “No; they go outon dates. We thought it’d be a great idea to spotlight local restaurants andother businesses, ranking them on how romantic each place is for a date.” Heraised his eyebrows, an excited grin tugging at the corners of his lips. “Whatdo you two think?”

“Do you really think that will work?” Jemma askedskeptically, a small frown curling the ends of her lips. It sounded good enoughin theory, but she couldn’t imagine that two TV hosts pretending to go on dateswould be enough to get young adults to tune into an early-morning news show.

“I’m confident that it will,” Coulson assured her, noddingfirmly.

“Well…” Jemma turned to Fitz, and found him already watchingher. When their gazes locked, he offered her a slight shrug, telling herwordlessly that the final decision was up to her, so she took a breath andfaced Coulson once more. “We’ll give it a try, then. It can’t hurt, I suppose.”

-

The next day, Jemma found herself sitting across from Fitzin an otherwise empty Italian restaurant, just down the street from thenetwork’s building, with cameras set up around them. At first, neither of themwas really sure what to do (they were both rather used to live television, andif they weren’t reporting on the latest news or interviewing guests, what werethey supposed to say?), but after awhile, they both seemed to forget that theywere even being filmed, slipping into their normal, easy friendship.

“It’s been ages,”Fitz was saying, absentmindedly chewing his breadstick as he glanced around therestaurant. “Remember how great their food used to taste at ten-thirty atnight?”

Jemma laughed at the memory, nodding in agreement; it did seem like it had been ages sincethey’d first started at the network, getting off their horrible shifts in themiddle of the night and stumbling tiredly down the street to the convenientrestaurant for a very late dinner. “We should really do this more often,” shetold him, unable to help the fond smile pulling at her lips.

“Yeah, for sure,” Fitz agreed, grabbing for yet anotherbreadstick from the basket on the table between them.

Eyeing the nearly empty basket, she added with an amusedchuckle, “As long as you don’t eat all the breadsticks.”

Fitz groaned, giving a rather impressive roll of his eyes ashe said defensively, “I don’t eat allthe breadsticks – you just take forever to eat one, so by the time you’ve finished, I’ve gone through the wholebasket!”

“That is honestly the most ridiculous hyperbole…” Jemmashook her head in exasperation. “I simply eat like the average human being; youknow, one that hasn’t been starving in a desert for the past week!”

“So I have a healthy appetite – what’s wrong with that?”

“What’s wrong with…” Giving another shake of her head, shethrew up her hands and insisted, “Someday you’re going to eat yourself out ofhouse and home, Fitz!”

“Now who’s throwing around hyperboles?” Fitz muttered, butthe smile he gave her soon after showed that he wasn’t taking their normalarguing personal in the least.

Their “dinner” (it was actually closer to lunch, to tell thetruth) went much in the same  vein, withperiodic bickering and reminiscing, given that it had been so long since they’dbeen able to just sit down and talk.It wasn’t until the end of the meal that Jemma remembered that there was a reason for it, and she quickly clearedher throat as she turned to face the camera so that they could finish up theirfirst “date” with a romance ranking.

“If Fitz and I were a couple on a real date,” she started,shooting a surreptitious glance in Fitz’s direction to make sure he was alsofacing the camera, “I’d certainly appreciate the romantic atmosphere here, aswell as the wide selection offered on the menu.”

“Yeah, and if you eat ‘em quick enough, there are more thanenough breadsticks,” Fitz added, the smug smirk obvious in his voice.

Taking a brief moment to scowl at Fitz, Jemma then went on,“I’d give it a rating of six on the romance scale.”

“Sounds about right,” he agreed, thankfully not turning this into a debate as well.

-

Much to Jemma’s excitement, the following day found them atthe local bowling alley, which had been cleared out for their taping, and afterthey’d changed their shoes and got their lane set up, she pointed out to Fitz,“It’s been even longer since we bowled together, you know; at least since wewere in our final year at university.”

“Oh, I remember,” Fitz assured her, hefting one of thebowling balls and inspecting it carefully. “Dunno who’s idea this was, but theyobviously didn’t know how scarily competitive you get when it comes tobowling.” Lowering the ball, he turned to her with a sudden smirk. “I seem toremember, though, that there was never a clear winner of our unofficialtournament.”

“That was only because you refused to admit that I’d won!”Jemma snapped back, picking up her own ball and stepping closer to the lane soas to roll it at the waiting pins.

With a huff, Fitz replied for the hundredth time, “That’sbecause you didn’t.”

As Jemma’s ball rolled speedily down the waxed floor, it hitthe pins in a thunderous collision, taking all ten down with it. With atriumphant grin, she whirled back to Fitz and let her strike speak for her,sauntering over to put in her score as he groaned and rolled his eyes so hardit was a wonder that he didn’t end up with a headache.

They spent most of the game shooting teasing insults backand forth, playfully trash-talking each other and constantly attempting toone-up one another, and it was with a jolt of surprise that Jemma rememberedabout halfway through that they were being filmed. For a moment, she felt a bitbad that she’d forgotten and was wasting film by just goofing around with Fitz,but then she reasoned that it didn’t really matter – they were no doubt goingto significantly cut the footage down and only use bits and pieces of it forthe segment anyhow.

By the end of the game, the score was quite close, and asJemma watched Fitz taking his last turn, she was unbelievably antsy, bouncinganxiously on her toes in her borrowed bowling shoes. She desperately wanted to win (especially if they were going tohave filmed proof of her victory), but as Fitz’s ball began to roll down thelane, her shoulders sagged as she realized that he most likely had more thanthe four pins he needed to win.

But, the ball suddenly went off course then, knocking intothe pins on the very edge and taking down only… Jemma squinted and tilted herhead to try to get a good look, counting and recounting just make sure that ittruly had been just three.

When she was sure, she burst into action, jumping up anddown, crying excitedly, “I won! I won!I told you that I was the better bowler, Fitz! I told you!” Even as she was rubbing her victory in his face, Jemmathrew her arms around his neck for a hug that he was quick to return.

Chuckling against her temple, he told her, “I’ll want arematch, naturally.” Their embrace lasted a beat longer before he leaned back abit and asked, “Shall we do our romance rating now?”

Hastily, Jemma stepped back, having forgotten once againthat there was a reason she was outbowling with Fitz in the middle of the day. “Of course.” Giving her hair aquick pat to make sure it wasn’t a mess from the jumping around, she turned toface the camera with a bright smile. “Now, I wouldn’t say that the bowlingalley is the most romantic of places–”

“But it certainly is fun,” Fitz cut in, taking the wordsright from her mouth (as usual), “especially for new couples hoping to breakthe ice a bit.”

“Exactly,” Jemma agreed, giving Fitz a grateful smile. “Forromance, I’d give it a rather low score, perhaps a three. But, for a fun date,I’d have to give it something more like…”

“A seven?” Fitz offered.

She nodded in immediate agreement. “Yes, a seven soundsperfect, Fitz.”

-

Over the next couple of weeks, they featured a few morerestaurants, as well as nearby museums and even, memorably, took a cookingclass together (Jemma refused to even look at an oven for a week straightafterward). Today, however, they were switching things up a bit by visiting thezoo, on Fitz’s suggestion (or pleading was more like it).

Predictably, he made a direct beeline straight for themonkeys almost as soon as they’d arrived and gotten the cameras set up. Jemmaput up with it for a little while (and that was only because he was adorablyexcited by each new species of monkey they passed by), but eventually, shereminded him, “Fitz, you know, there areplenty of other animals to see here – why, just think of all the fascinatingcreatures in the reptile house alone!”

But, Fitz grimaced in response and insisted, “But Jemma, themonkeys are the best part!”

Sighing tiredly, Jemma threw a look at the nearest camera,lowering her voice to a stage-whisper to advise to their viewers, “Ladies,hopefully on a real date, your partner won’t be this difficult – or obsessed with monkeys.”

With an insulted huff, Fitz asked, “Oh come on, can youreally blame me? Just look at them, Simmons! With their little tails and theiradorable little hands and –”

“Excuse me?”

Surprised, Jemma and Fitz both turned at the same time tofind a young teenage girl approaching them, a wide grin on her face even as ablush spread across her cheeks.

“Can I…um…can I have your autographs?” the girl asked,holding out a pad of paper and a pen with slightly shaky hands.

Biting her lip, Jemma shared a tiny smile with Fitz beforeshe told the girl, “Of course,” and took the offered pen and paper from her.She scribbled her practiced signature, then handed it over to Fitz to do muchthe same.

As they were doing so, the girl began gushing excitedly, “Ilove seeing you both on TV every morning, you just start the day off on such agood note. And of course, your dates are my favorite part of the show. Is thatwhat you’re filming now?”

With a laugh, Jemma handed the pen and paper back as sheanswered, “Yes, that’s what we’re filming. They’re not real dates of course, but thank you.”

However, the girl looked incredibly confused as she glancedfrom the autographs on the paper and back up to Fitz and Jemma. “But…thesegment is called ‘For the Love of Fitzsimmons’ and it just…it makes it seemlike you guys are dating for real.”

Stunned speechless, Jemma barely heard it as Fitz tenselythanked the girl, barely felt it as he gently tugged her by the arm out of theflow of general foot traffic. “They…they’re…they used us,” she whispered, her wide eyes beginning to fill with tearsof frustration and anger. “How could Coulson do this? Is he really that desperate to beat Malick?”

“I don’t…” Fitz shrugged helplessly, seeming just asconfused by the whole thing as she was. “I don’t have the answer to that, I…”

“Well, I know who does.” With a sudden determination, Jemmagrabbed Fitz’s hand and began stomping in the direction of the exit, rollingcameras be damned – she was going to get to the bottom of this immediately.

-

“Yes, okay,” Coulson admitted not much later, after Jemmaand Fitz had stormed into his office and demanded answers (or rather, Jemma haddone the storming and the demanding, while Fitz provided silent support). Eventhough his expression seemed to be truly chagrined, Jemma refused to feel badfor him or forgive him for such a transgression. “We did use your popularity togain more viewers – you should have seen all the tweets, the social mediaattention you two were getting, all these youngsters talking about ‘shipping’you and about how ‘cute’ you were together. It’s worked better than we evercould’ve imagined it would, really.”

“It doesn’t matterhow well it’s worked!” Jemma snapped, curling her fingers tightly around thearms of her chair. “You tricked us!”

Coulson nodded sadly, dropping his eyes to the desk betweenthem. “I should’ve told you the truth from the start, but I wasn’t sure if youwould agree, and I just didn’t want to risk it. I know now that I made thewrong call, and for that I’m sorry.”

Jemma turned to Fitz then, who, truthfully, had beenunusually quiet since they’d left the zoo earlier, and met his concerned gaze.Coming to a decision, she released a sigh and faced Coulson once more to tellhim solemnly, “I’ll continue on the show until I can find something else, but Irefuse to be treated this way – Fitz can, of course, make up his own mind.”

Not wanting to drag this out any longer and feeling that sheneeded to have a good cry, Jemma stood up and left the office, not stopping totalk to anyone and simply heading straight to her nearby flat. After she’dchanged into comfy sweats and curled up on the couch to cry a bit into the pintof ice cream she’d had in her freezer, she came to the sudden conclusion thatshe had to see it for herself. She couldn’t truly know how bad it was, afterall, until she’d seen it with her own eyes.

So, reluctantly, she turned on the TV to find the past fewepisodes of the show; she always made sure to record them, even if she neverwatched them, just in case. It wasn’t long before she’d abandoned herhalf-empty carton of ice cream, watching in disbelief as she and Fitz flirtedrather shamelessly on the screen.

Through her complete shock (had they always appeared to be flirting rather than bickering?), Jemma hadto admit that it was no wonder everyone had assumed that they were real dates –that hug at the bowling alley wasrather damning, and the way that they stared into each other’s eyes…

The segment turned out to be much longer than she’d imaginedit would be, and featured snippets from all throughout their “dates”.Grudgingly (because she was still mad at this all being done behind her back),Jemma could also admit that she could see why it was pulling in viewers – ifCoulson had just come to them andbeen honest from the beginning…

But, even then, Jemma knew that she wouldn’t have gone alongwith it. It wasn’t right, lying to everyone like this, and it wasn’t fair toher and Fitz to have to pretend to be something that they weren’t (even thoughnone of what they’d done on those dates had been even slightly fake, but shecouldn’t think about that now).

Even though it hurt to think about leaving all of herfriends at the network, she knew that the right thing to do was to simply severties and to try to start off fresh somewhere else, hopefully working for someonea bit more honest – and hopefully, with Fitz still at her side.

-

Bright and early the next morning, Jemma showed up at thestudio, as per her verbal agreement with Coulson, but was surprised to findthat only Daisy was waiting there, going over the predicted weather for thenext few days. “What are you doing here?” she asked Jemma, seeming just assurprised to see her. “Aren’t you supposed to be out filming on location foryour next date spot?”

With a sigh, Jemma shook her head and stepped up besideDaisy’s little desk, leaning heavily against it. “That’s over.”

Daisy’s confusion only seemed to grow then as she swiveledaround in her chair to look at the empty set. “But…I saw Fitz leave with thecrew a little while ago, and he told me that was what you guys were filmingtoday.”

Now just as confused as Daisy, Jemma stayed only long enoughto receive a written address of that day’s location from Daisy before rushingoff to it. It was still dark when she arrived at what appeared to simply be agrassy little hilltop, and she wasn’t even sure that she was in the rightplace.

Frustration pulsed through her as she shut her car doorbehind her, beginning the trek up the hill. She was upset with Coulson for thiswhole big mess, she was upset with Fitz for not letting her know ahead of timewhat was going on, and she was upset that she was in heels and a dress as shestumbled her way up the gentle slope.

When she reached the top, Jemma was relieved to find thather climb wasn’t for nothing, and Fitz was waiting there with their regular cameracrew. Her relief only lasted a moment before she demanded to know, “What is happening, Fitz?”

He hastily whirled around to face her, his eyes rounded withwhat she assumed was surprise at her abrupt appearance, though he did also seemquite nervous for some reason. Then, he took a deep breath and gestured to thehorizon behind him as he explained, “Today’s date is watching the sunrise.”

Sighing tiredly, Jemma told him, “Fitz, that’s a wonderfulidea, but I thought –”

However, he cut her off there to say quickly, “I don’t wantyou to leave, alright? The whole date thing, it wasn’t…it wasn’t just Coulson’sidea – sure, Coulson did all the research and found out that we were popular,but…but it was me who suggested the dates, because I was too afraid to…ask youon one myself.” He inhaled another long breath, his shoulders sagging as hereleased it. “I thought that it would get easier if we had some…practice dates,but…” He closed his eyes and shook his head in clear frustration. “I justmucked everything up instead, and if anyone should leave and find a new job, it’sme.”

Stunned speechless by Fitz’s long-winded confession, Jemmacould see the slightest bit of pink and orange peeking over the mountainsbehind him as she attempted to gather her suddenly scattered thoughts. Finally,she asked what she considered to be the most important of the questions on hermind, “How long have you…felt this way?”

Fitz gave a shrug that had his shoulders up by his ears andshoved his hands into his pockets as he admitted, “Well, I dunno how long…Imean, I just know that I realized maybe I felt a bit more than friendship whenwe did that interview with the doctor who had found the cure to some raredisease. I know, I know, it’s crazy, but…you were just so interested and you weren’t even faking it ‘cause your eyes were alllit up and I just…spent the whole time staring at you because…well, how could Inot?” With a dry smirk, he went on, “I think that’s when viewers started…y’know,‘shipping’ us, so I’m sorry.”

Jemma blinked a couple of times, seeing out of the corner ofher eye as the sun slowly began to rise, and she couldn’t help but feel that itreally was dawning on a new day. She closed the space between herself and Fitzthen, murmuring, “Fitz, you can’t leave.”

“I will if it means that you don’t have to,” Fitz insisted,giving a firm shake of his head.

Jemma gave a shake of her own head then as she told him, “No,Fitz, I don’t want you to leave, or for me to leave; I want you to stay here, with me.” As his eyes began to grow wideonce more, she took the last few steps between them and slid her arms aroundhis neck, tugging him in until she could find his lips with her own. He wasclearly caught off-guard at first, his hands fumbling at her waist, but as shemoved her lips over his, encouraging him to respond, he eventually melted intoit, and it was perfect.

When they broke apart some time later, it was simply to grinrather stupidly at each other, gazing into each other’s eyes in the way shehadn’t noticed until just yesterday that they’d been doing for years now.

After a moment, a soft laugh slipped past Jemma’s lips andshe gave Fitz’s shoulder a playful shove. “I can’t believe you thought thiswhole convoluted idea was easier than simply asking me out!”

Making a face at himself, Fitz nodded shamefully. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“No, I mean, it issweet, in a way.” Rolling her eyes fondly at Fitz’s hopeful little smile, shepecked his lips once more before she leaned away from him a bit, so as to watchthe sun as it finished its ascent into the sky above them. As they were turningaway from the sight, however, her gaze landed on the cameras that she’dcompletely forgotten were there and rolling this entire time. Groaning incomplete disbelief, she elbowed Fitz sharply in the ribs and glared up at him. “Fitz.”

“It was Coulson’s idea,” Fitz explained, rubbing a hand overthe back of his neck and smiling sheepishly. “If you don’t want us to air anyof it, then we won’t, beating Malick be damned.”

Jemma mulled it over for a moment, pursing her lipsthoughtfully, before a slow smile began to spread across her face.

-

The following day, Jemma cuddled up closer to where Fitz wascurled up on the couch in her flat with her, the newest episode of Wake Up, Washington! playing on the screenof her television. As the footage of her and Fitz on the hill with the sun risingbehind them played for the final ‘For the Love of Fitzsimmons’ segment, sheburied her smile against Fitz’s shoulder, letting out a laugh as she watchedherself yanking Fitz in closer for a kiss.

“It’s no wonder we’re the most popular morning show now –just look at that kiss,” she pointedout teasingly, glancing up to catch Fitz’s gaze as she asked, “Why haven’t webeen doing that for years? I mean, since we look so good while kissing eachother, it’s practically a crime that we’ve waited this long.”

Letting out a sharp laugh, Fitz wrapped his arm more securelyaround her shoulders and dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I certainly wouldn’thave complained – and neither would the viewers apparently, since the video ofmy…er…confession and our kiss is trending almost worldwide.” At her curiouslyraised brow, he waved his phone and explained, “Daisy’s been texting me updatesalmost every twenty minutes; oh, and she’s also very sorry for playing a partin tricking you yesterday.”

Giving a mock-dramatic sigh, Jemma replied, “Well, I suppose that I can forgive her, giventhat I’m quite happy with how things turned out.” Then, with a little smirk playingon her lips, she told him, “You know Fitz, I do love competing against you, butI think I love competing with youeven more – we really can do anything when we put our minds together.” Hersmirk morphed into a sly grin as she corrected pointedly, “Or, in this case,our lips.”

And then as they both dissolved into laughter, Jemma leantup to catch said lips with her own, leaving only their voices coming from thetelevision set to echo through her now otherwise silent flat.