#totally. nothing bad ever happens when two guys decide to start a diner

[sunbun-fnaf]

i hate fnaf so much because it makes me want to start a restaurant with my best friend(s) where i get to be a silly little guy in a rabbit costume who entertains children and host silly parties and where kids will have the best birthdays and parties they'll ever have in their whole lives. thats normal. right. thats a normal want.

[wish-that-i-was-buckys-girl]

Hey! I just discovered your blog and I was wondering if you'd be okay doing a Lance tucker x reader where they get in an argument but it has a fluffy ending where they're closer than they were before? Maybe they confess their feelings to each other? I totally understand if you're not able or comfortable to write this.

Merry Christmas! 🎄🤶🎅🌲🎁

Authors Notes: Hey! I hope this is something similar to what you were looking for. They��re expressing their feelings in some way, just maybe not the way you’d think. I hope you like it!

Lance Tucker x Reader

Warnings: Arguing, swearing, insinuation of possible cheating, and some downright shitty friends.

Word Count: 3K

Trouble in Paradise

(Not my gif)

_______________________________________________

It was New Year’s Eve. The year had been stressful to say the least but even worse, Lance’s buddies were coming over for a party. It’s not that you didn’t like his friends. Well, it was that. You didn’t like them. Ever since you and Lance got together three years ago, they have done nothing but try to convince him to date hotter women. “Date” being a loose term.

Overheard conversations during football games and dart/pool games and the basement went something like this.

“Oh, come on Lance you saw the chicks you used to pull. They were smokin’. Why don’t you just live again? Or better yet, you don’t even have to break up with her! Just, you know, tell her you got competitions and when she doesn’t suspect it, book a couple hotel rooms. What’s the harm?”

“Lance, buddy, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you don’t exactly have a trophy wife. Aren’t you the one with the gold medal? Shouldn’t you be looking for a gold medal wife instead of a bronze one?”

“I like her Lance, I really do, but remember that Victoria’s Secret model you hooked up with regularly like 5 years ago? What was her name... uh... Serenity! Yeah, why don’t you give her a call. You guys seemed to really click.”

The worst part of it all was they never really got to know you. They brushed past you while you cooked some food for them in the kitchen. You and Lance took turns cooking but somehow you always found that you were cooking when his friends were coming over. You had never really put much thought into it, until tonight.

“Honey! I’m home from the gym!”

You were making taco dip, guacamole, homemade Mac and cheese, and Buffalo chicken dip for the big party. You ordered pizzas, subs, and other sides to top it off. You never knew how much 8 men could eat, until you started cooking for 8 men.

Lance came up behind you and gave you a sweet kiss on the cheek as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “How’s my pretty girl doing?”

“Fine, I guess.”

You both knew you weren’t fine.

Lance sighs loudly. “Angel, what is wrong? You know I just want to help you.”

“We can talk about it later. Right now, I just want to get in my cooking zone and not think about anything.”

Lance puts his hands on his hips and stares at you authoritatively.

“Well, I’m gonna go quick grab a shower and come back down to help you finish cooking before the boys come.”

“Sounds good” you said with a half-smile. You were dreading tonight.

_______________________________________________

True to his word, Lance came down and helped you finish cooking the rest of the food. It remained quiet for most of the time you spent together. Lance could feel the tension in the air but didn’t want to ask again if anything was wrong before the party. It was New Year’s Eve, he was supposed to be celebrating with his friends, not trying to start a fight with you.

You were infuriated Lance didn’t bother to ask you why you were so upset. You always felt second to his friends, why is that? The first year you were dating it wasn’t like that. You were the center of attention in all regards, you didn’t want to be, but he treated you like the only girl in the world. Now?

“Hey babe I’m going out with the guys I’ll see you tomorrow.” You knew full well he would drunkenly slip under the covers at 3AM. Why was he out so late? What was he doing?

“Sweetheart the guys are coming over to play pool do you mind ordering us some pizzas?” Why couldn’t he do it himself?

You really did not mind that Lance had friends. You encouraged him to hang out with them even though they said horrible things about you, but enough was enough. There’s hanging out with your friends, and there’s being with your friends 24/7, leaving your girlfriend to stay home and watch movies by herself.

After you finished cooking you went upstairs to the bedroom to watch a movie. By yourself.

Surprise, surprise.

You heard the front door open for the first time tonight. You wondered if any of the guys would bring over their girlfriends or “hot dates.” You didn’t know if that would relieve your stress or infuriate you even more. If they did bring someone, they wouldn’t be so focused on it being a “boys’ night.” However, if they did bring someone, why couldn’t you come downstairs to hang out with them?

You heard a slap of hands exchanged and what you assumed to be a half hug after it.

The men continued to pile in around 8PM. Some of them brought a date, but others didn’t. However, you noticed one of the guys brought two girls. Why would he do that?

You decided to put on some nice clothes to go downstairs. Other men were bringing their dates, and this was your house. You deserve to celebrate too.

You worked your way down to the basement, wanting to spend time with your definitely above average looking boyfriend. You were so happy to call him yours, even though he frustrated you to no end sometimes. From what you overhear, he never sticks up for you.

You strutted over him and placed your hand on his back gently. He quickly turns around, angry almost and begins to say something “I told you I don’t want.... oh, hi baby.”

You looked at him confused. What was that about?

“Hi... what’s uh, what’s going on?”

“Oh nothin’. Just Evan and I got into it earlier about something and I thought he was coming to bother me about it again. But then I turn around to see your pretty face and that doesn’t even matter.”

He brings you in for a tight hug and rests his chin on your head. You loved him. You loved him so much.

Out of nowhere Evan comes up behind you, noticeably drunk, the scent of liquor oozing off of him. There’s a girl attached to his right arm. She’s tall, slender, and blonde. You thought she was too attractive for Evan, until he started to speak.

“Lance, meet my girl Lindsay here. She’s really interested in you and wants to talk to you about your gold medal.”

You can’t say this never happened. You were used to women throwing themselves at Lance. You were always so proud to call Lance yours, but other women wanted that opportunity as well. It got so bad to the point where women would send random lewd photos to his work email to gain his attention. It never worked thank god. Every time you saw pictures like that you got suspicious, but every message read “don’t you want to see what you’re missing out on?” or something to that degree. Lance was always patient and kind with you about it, knowing you were easily frustrated and cautious of him because you knew what he was like before. However, you knew he wouldn’t cheat on you, and he always has an explanation if he thought you were ever worried.

“Excuse me?” You said looking at Evan.

“Come on Y/N. Let the man have a little fun.” Evan retorted.

“This isn’t letting him have ‘a little fun.’ Letting him have ‘a little fun’ is hosting this party, not you trying to actively encourage him to cheat on me, right in front of me no less.”

Lindsay sneers at you. “Who are you? Get in line sister. Evan told me I would get to talk to him.”

You raise your eyebrows in disbelief.

“I don’t know if I have to spell it out for you, if you can even spell, but I’m his girlfriend.”

“Y/N come on baby it’s not that big of a deal. She just wants to talk to me about my gold medal that’s all.”

“The gold medal you won in the Olympics or the one tattooed around your dick Lance?”

“I’ll only talk to her about the one I won in the Olympics and you know that.”

You had had it. You were so incredibly tired of Lance never sticking up for you when it came to situations like this. You never threw a fit when his friends would make stupid remarks, but this was the last straw.

“I don’t care anymore Lance! Talk to her about your dick tattoo. Hell, let her even see your dick tattoo close up while she’s sucking you off. I’m done.”

Without giving him a second glance. you turned on your heel and walked upstairs to grab your car keys.

Lance sprinted up the stairs after you, shouting your name. You didn’t care. You ran to the garage and hit the button to open the door. Lance thought you went to your room, so he sprinted to the third floor thinking you were there. He finally realized you were actually leaving when he heard the start of your car. He saw you back out of the driveway like a bat out of hell, and all he could do was watch from the window.

_______________________________________________

You drove to the nearest diner, hoping they would be open even though it was New Year’s Eve. Thankfully, they were. You always comforted yourself with food when shit like this happened. Who doesn’t love food? You can’t say that entirely though. You also tended to starve yourself in situations like this as well. Neither coping mechanism was healthy, but it got you through it.

You ordered a breakfast meal, quickly glancing at your phone to see if anyone had texted you.

24 missed calls from Lance❤️🥇

You knew he was worried about you, but you weren’t ready to call him back yet. You knew he couldn’t come searching for you either, all of his friends still being inside, waiting for the ball to drop. This was going to be the first year you and Lance wouldn’t kiss at midnight, all because of his stupid friends who hate you for no reason.

You ate your meal as you saw Ryan Seacrest introduce one artist after another on the television.

The clock was nearing midnight. You didn’t seem to care. You contemplated going to your friend’s house, knowing they would gladly accept you and support you, especially when they knew how much of an ass Lance’s friends could be. You decided against it, not wanting to bother anyone.

You glanced at your phone again.

28 missed calls from Lance❤️🥇

Not only that, but it had looked like he texted you as well.

“Where are you going???”

“Y/N???”

“Baby come back here please I’m very upset and I want to talk”

“Baby please come back and talk to me.”

And about 15 other messages similar to those.

You were heartbroken. You wanted to go home, but you knew you needed to stand your ground.

As the many thousands of people in NYC count down to the New Year you sat and ate your bacon and pancakes.

Lance saw all of his buddies laughing and having a good time. He couldn’t have a good time until he knew you were safe and that he would have everything fixed. He knew he fucked up big time, but he thought you were overreacting to the extreme. Was it really that bad you needed to leave right away?

His annoyance throughout the night grew as Lindsay began to pester him about his interests.

“Lindsay, I don’t know how to tell you this in a nice way, so I won’t. I have a girlfriend. She’s the sexiest, smartest, and sweetest woman on this planet, and that’s all that matters to me. Now please, go bother Johnny or somethin’.”

Lindsay didn’t like that. So much so, she dumped her whole glass of whiskey on his brand-new Nike shoes. He didn’t care she was upset. All he cared about was you.

Evan came back up to Lance for the last time of the night.

“Heyyuh pal. I didn’t mean to make your lady run out on ya.”

“But you did Evan. You fucking idiot, you stupid fucking fucker. You ruined this night for not only me, but my girl who is probably out sobbing to her friends about how much of a shit boyfriend I am. And you know what? I don’t blame her. I deserve it.”

“C’mon man don’t be so *burp* hard on yourself. Hey, at least you can go have fun with Lindsay eh?” He says while wiggling his eyebrows.

Lance was fuming. “Evan if you don’t get the fuck out of my face, I’m going to floor you in about 6 seconds.”

Evan held up his hands and backed away, finally getting the hint he was becoming a nuisance to not only Lance, but the party itself.

He listened to all of his friends count down to the new year in a drunken haze. He slouched over the home bar, drinking himself into a stupor with his seventh gin and tonic. He didn’t care about any of the calories he was consuming. He didn’t care about anything. He knew he wouldn’t have his Angel to hold and kiss into the new year. He wanted nothing more for this night to just end.

_______________________________________________

You snuck back into the house around 4AM, hoping Lance wasn’t awake. You drove around for hours after the ball dropped, the diner closing at 1AM anyways. You listened to 80’s music, calming yourself down. Music always helped you meditate.

As you slowly closed the door you saw Lance sitting miserably in his recliner. He was no longer drunk. Just incredibly depressed.

He turned to look at the door, hoping that the door opening and closing wasn’t just some sleep induced hallucination. As soon as he realized it was you, he jolted up and ran to give you a hug. You stuck your arm out before he could reach you.

He looked devastated.

“I want to talk Lance. I-”

“No, no I fucked up. Let me do this. I have been shit. I have been absolute and utter fucking garbage to you when it comes to my friends. I let them talk to me like I’m still a bachelor. I know you overhear the things they say, and it hurts you. And I let them do that. I don’t know why. I have no reason. It was so fucking stupid of me. You have to know I don’t want any other woman on this planet. You’re my day and my night. I would be lost in this depressing ass place of a world if it wasn’t for you my sweet Angel. My beacon of light.” He stopped his rant briefly to cup your face and stare into your eyes lovingly.

“It all stops here. No more stupid guy shit. You’re my number one and you deserve to be treated that way. If any of my friends continues to disrespect my baby, they’re out. I don’t care who they are and how long they’ve been around. You’re my baby. You’re the only thing that matters.

It felt like a weight had just been lifted off of your chest. You loved him. You really did.

He pulled you in for the tightest hug that he could have possibly ever given. He kisses the top of your forehead for what seems like a hundred times.

You look up to him while he’s still embracing you.

“I like Johnny. Johnny can stay.” You say with a smile.

“Keeping Storm it is, got it.” He returned with a smile.

A lightbulb goes on in Lance’s head. “Oh! Come here, come here, come here. I saved this for you.”

You follow him into the living room, your hand wrapped in his. He flicks through the TV menu, clicking to find the recording from earlier.

It was the ball drop.

“I recorded this for us. I didn’t want to miss kissing my baby into the new year.” He said with a smile.

“Lance Tucker, you are the sweetest man alive, do you know that?”

“C’mon, you know I’m still an asshole. I just have my moments.” He says with an eyeroll.

You slapped his chest playfully as you both slightly laughed.

As the seconds ticked down to midnight for the second time of the night, Lance stared into your eyes with the most love you have ever felt from a person.

“10!”

“Where did you even go anyways?”

“9!”

“Our spot.”

“8!”

I’m gonna take you on the best date there ever was. Just you wait.”

“7!”

“I’ll be counting on that Tucker. A promise is a promise.”

“6!”

“I’m really good at keeping promises.”

“5!”

“Oh really? Just like that time you promised to give me a castle made out of gold?”

“4!”

“You’re still getting that y’know.”

“3!”

“What other promises have you kept huh?”

“2!”

“I promised to love you forever. And I always will.”

“1!”

“I love you too, Lance.”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

He kissed you with a ferocity you didn’t know existed. He took your bottom lip into his mouth and held it there for what seemed like forever. Forever was okay though, as long as you were with him.

Lance finally broke the kiss, pulling away softly and cupping your face in his left hand. He whispered.

“Check your cardigan pocket.”

You looked confused. He knew you would be. You felt a tiny box in you right hand pocket. It was covered in felt. You slowly pulled it out to see that it was a ring box. You opened it and it had a ring pop inside.

“Ha-ha. Very funny Tuc-”

You looked down to see Lance on one knee. Holding the most beautiful ring you had ever seen in your life.

“I’m going to love you forever, Y/N. Will you marry me?”

You were stunned.

“...Yes.... oh my god, YES!”

He smiled, standing up and wrapping his arms around you as fast as he could.

“I’ll love you forever too, Lance.”

[statticscribbles]

Rivalry

Summary: Sweet Pea/Reader,  Rival’s are just one confession from lovers TW: Smut 

You expect Sweet Pea to chicken out like every other time. You’ve riled him up before, making snide comments and snapping back at him when he calls you a Northside princess. This is no different you’d been joking with Toni and Cheryl about where you’d get a serpent tattoo and Sweet Pea sneered and claimed you wouldn’t be able to make it past the trials. You recited each of the laws and stalked up to him.

“I could easily be a serpent.” “Not any kind I’d want.” He retorts and leans over you. You step forward craning your head upward, expecting him to move back, to straighten up when you snap forward intent on shouting next to his ear. An attempt to startle him, but he doesn’t move back, instead he turns slightly, your mouth misses the side of his face, past his cheek and you end up kissing him on the lips. You stagger back eyes wide as he smirks. “Aw didn’t know you felt that way about me; always thought you’d kill me before you did that.” “I’m not the one that grabbed me into them now am I?” You spit out and Toni laughs as Sweet Pea looks away. “I hate you.” He fires back glaring at Toni and Cheryl. ————————————————————————-

You’re not surprised when he avoids you the rest of the day; you know this means you won and cheer when Toni offers to buy you Pop’s “It’s only cause you managed to shut Sweet Pea up for the rest of the day. I don’t ever think I’ve seen him so lost in thought.” “You don’t think it was like too far do you?” You nervously glance at him and Fangs talking in the other booth. “Too far? Since when are you concerned about too far? You practically scream at each other every day.” “Well yeah but it’s just that, screaming, it’s never been physical.” Toni rolls her eyes. “You accidentally kissed him, not punched him in the face, he’ll get over it.” “Who’ll get over what?” Cheryl asks. Jughead and Betty sliding in next to her as she sits next to Toni. “Y/N kissed Sweet Pea earlier.” “Oh he finally actually said something about his crush, thank god; I’m so tired of listening to him pretending to hate you, maybe I’ll actually get some peace.” “His what?” You stare as Toni and Cheryl shake their heads at Jughead.

“So that’s a no then.” “So burger’s or just shakes?” Betty asks. “Wait no, can we go back to Sweet Pea having a crush on me?” You ask. “He doesn’t.” Cheryl states sipping her shake. “Jughead just said he did!” “No I said I was relieved he said something; which he hasn’t so no proof.” “Fuck this.” You stand sliding out of the booth to sit on the opposite side of Sweet Pea at the other end of the diner. “Jughead just told me you have a crush on me. Is that true?” “No hello or anything then?” “Answer the question.” You snap and Sweet Pea smirks. “What question?” “Do you have a crush on me?” You frown at him watching as his smirk grows. “Sounds like you want me to have a crush on you, is it cause you have feelings for me?”

“Feelings of hatred! Tell me!” You smack your hands on the table and Sweet Pea laughs. “Are you trying to threaten me? Cause that’s not working at all. You’re about as scary as hot dog.” “I’m going to murder you and they won’t find the body. Is that enough of a threat for you?” He rolls his eyes. “Come back when you either have proof, or an actual answer for me.” You narrow your eyes at him. “I asked you first.” Fangs snorts ducking his head when you turn your glare onto him. “Wow really digging deep into your brain to have an articulate comeback aren’t we.” “I hate you.” You spit and he nods. “I hate you more.”  You don’t respond returning to sit at the booth. Jughead trying his best to not smile.

“What Jones.” “Nothing, just that was actually the best attempt at getting a confession from Sweet Pea I’ve ever seen. Totally nailed it you did.” “I’ll murder you after I kill him.” Betty smiles. “I think what he means Y/N is, well look.” She nudges you and you turn back to see Sweet Pea glaring at Fangs; face flushed as Fangs laughs. ———————————————————————–

“He does like you, you know that right?” Betty asks as you walk towards everyone at lunch “Well why on earth would he act like he hates me so much, I’ve never met someone who acts so pissed off just at the sight of me.” “Really, I could’ve sworn your mirror and me have that in common.” Sweet Pea nods to you and Betty and you scowl at him. “Don’t respond, I want to actually eat lunch in peace.” Jughead groans. You nod at him and stay quiet; Sweet Pea glares. “What no witty comeback.” You smile. “No I figured if I’m joining up with the serpent’s I should actually respect the leader.” Sweet Pea stiffens and turns to Jughead who doesn’t respond. He glares at you. “I hate you.” He speaks and frowns at you; Jughead continues to ignore your spat. “I hate you more.” He rolls his eyes when you respond. ———————————————————–

“Seriously Sweet Pea, she can do whatever she wants. I’m pretty sure she was joking but if she wants to join I’m not going to say no.” You’re sure Jughead is rolling his eyes but you keep yourself hidden behind the bleachers at the back of the field next to the gym entrance. “You have to. She can’t join.” “Listen just cause you hate her or whatever doesn’t mean I’m going to turn her down if she genuinely wants to join.” “Jones, please, please don’t let her join.” “Give me one good reason then. And none of this ‘she’s a bitch or my mortal enemy or rival’ or whatever the fuck you two are.” “I-“ Sweet Pea starts and you can hear him sigh. “When she finds out what we’re really like, she’ll hate me for real.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” “Right now, she thinks we’re a gang for kicks, if she joins, she joins for life, like all of us, she’ll be marked as one of us. She has dreams Jones, I’m sure she wants to go to college and meet a nice guy and have a family, can’t do any of that when you’re in a gang, we’re all one bad job away from a coffin.” “Jesus Christ lighten up Sweets, that’s not going to happen in the next few years.” You peek around to see Jughead put a hand against his shoulder. “It’s not really about that is it?” “If she joins, or even if I tell her I do love her, if we date, I’m dragging her into that. If anything happened to her it would be my fault.” Jughead laughs. “Sweet Pea that’s her choice to make. You can tell her all that, tell her your worries, and see what she decides.” You decide it’s best to leave, slipping from behind the bleachers and into the side door for the locker rooms, changing from your Vixen uniform to walk out and pretend to interrupt there now finished conversation.

—————————————————————————————- You’re a little shocked when Sweet Pea appears on your doorstep, nervously holding out a history book. “Sweet Pea?” “Betty said you borrowed it and she asked if I could return it.” “Because you just happened to be in the neighbourhood?” You ask and he shrugs a little. “Come in, my parents are out for the night; it’s why its so quiet. Well thanks for the book.” You nod stepping farther back confused when he steps with you. “Can we talk?”

“Sure, soda?” You’re waiting for him to say how he saw you eavesdropping, how he knows you heard everything and it was just for show. He shakes his head and you sit in the armchair across from him in the living room. You wait for him to start when he doesn’t, simply fidgeting with the blanket he’s pulled over. “Sweet Pea?” You prompt expecting him to answer. “Did something happen?” You stand up stepping forward and placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine.” “I didn’t ask that; what’s going on Sweets? What happened?” You step back when he stands up, watching as he sighs before tensing his entire body. “Y/N”

“Yes?” “I really hate you.” You watch the way his eyes don’t look at your face, and how you swear his face flushes slightly. “Oh, it’s like the Princess Bride.” Sweet Pea turns looking confused at you. “Like what?”

“Never mind it’s not important, now why’d you come all the way over here to give me your history book then.” You smirk flipping the cover open to point to his name. “What do you need to talk about then?” You put the book down and reach out for his arm. “I hate you.” You nod. “You’ve already said that Pea.” You can see him fighting with himself and you wait watching how his eyes flicker back and forth, seemingly arguing, before he comes to whatever conclusion he’s settled on.

“Fuck it.” He steps forward pulling you towards him and kissing you on the lips. You return his kiss leaning into it when he deepens it hands tightening their grip on you. You pull back slightly. “I hate you.” He hums, before returning to your lips, pulling back to kiss against your jaw and slightly down your neck. “Sweet P-pea.” You stutter slightly. He pulls back slightly and you whine; he smirks stepping forward so you walk backwards.

His hands gripping your waist head moving down to kiss you as he pulls you flush against him moving your hips against his as his tongue parts your lips. “Y/N?” You nod as he lifts you to press you against the wall your legs wrapping around him as he pushes your shirt up to let his hands roam around your body. His head dips from your mouth to leave hickeys and marks against your neck and trailing down as far as your shirt lets him. You pull back, and he hesitates about you place you back down, but you shake your head, face flushing. “Hm Y/N, what’s going through your head right now? “ Your flush only deepens and you can feel your face growing warmer. “My bed’s upstairs.” He nods slowly placing you back down onto the ground, he laughs slightly as you frown. “I’m not going to walk up the stairs with you, can’t risk hurting you.” “I thought you hated me.” “As you wish.” He nods bumping his forehead against yours. “Oh you caught on.” He smirks nodding at you, as he follows you up the stairs, you point towards your room waiting for him to tug you towards it, instead he pulls you back towards him, lifting you once again so you wrap your legs around him. He’s smiling when he kissed, pushing you against the wall next to your door.

“You’re mine.” He hums and you try not to moan when his grip around you tightens. “Say it.” He hums. “I’m yours.” You shiver as his hips press against you; as he walks with you still wrapped around him so he places you gently on the bed crawling on top of you. “You’ll be good for me?” You nod as he smirks leaning down to kiss you as he pulls your shirt up. “So pretty.” You turn your head away to avoid looking at him for the moment. “You know I’m right.” He smirks and you raise any eyebrow. “I guess, I mean the bra is pretty enough, it is why I bought it after all.” He shakes his head again. “Not what I meant.” “Oh?” you tilt your head smirking, shuffling slightly to sit up as you pull your shirt off and unhook your bra. “Did you mean this then?” You shift slightly; hand tilting his chin so he looks you in the face, he swallows nodding. “Hm sorry what was that, I couldn’t hear you.” “I hate you.” He huffs and you laugh nodding. “You know;” He starts kissing you on the lips for a moment before he moves downwards looking up at you from your chest. “I was going to ask if the bra was a matching set.” He nudges his fingers past the waistband of your leggings hesitating for a moment. “But?” He watches as you nod urging him to continue. “Since you got rid of it I guess we’ll never know.” He pulls his hands back moving his face back to yours to kiss you. Your hands snake around his neck pulling him closer and he breaks from the making out to change positions, so you now sit on top of him, he nudges your face back towards his, and you roll your hips a little as you kiss him. You smile satisfied at the muffled groan he makes. You repeat yourself smirking when he groans each time. “Well don’t you look pleased.” “Are you not having fun?” You shift slightly resting more on his legs lightly pressing your hand against the bulge in his jeans. He arches an eyebrow at you as you shimmy farther down hand moving to unbutton his jeans; he shakes his head pulling you back up so you rest straddling his hips. “Haven’t you ever heard of ladies first?” He pulls you back in for a kiss and you feel him flipping you so he once again hovers over you. “What do you want Y/N?” he hums into your ear as his hands tug at your leggings moving them off your hips and downwards. “You.” “Well you have me.” You huff at his answer, lifting your hips slightly and trying to pull your leggings off yourself. “Hold on.” He shifts on your bed, pulling both his shirt and jeans off as you discard your leggings. “So it is a matching set then.” He smirks fingers returning to the fabric of your underwear. “It makes me feel pretty.” “You really don’t need this to be beautiful to me, it’s just a bonus.” You flush embarrassed. “Well if I don’t need them on..” You trail off as you kiss him again, you can feel one of his hands moving down. “Are you sure?” You blink at him nodding. “Yes Sweet Pea, I want you, in anyway you want to give yourself to me.” He freezes at that, you watch his face flush and he swallows nodding slowly like he’s trying to compose himself. You give him a moment, just watching his face as he calms himself nodding once more and grinning up at you. “As you wish.” You smile about to quip back to him, but you hiss slightly, his fingers tracing against your underwear in between your legs. He looks entirely too pleased with himself as he moves from kissing at your neck and breasts lower until you can almost feel his tongue on your core. He pulls back and you frown about to complain before he nudges your underwear. “Off.” You waste no time pulling them off, fingers reaching for the edge of his boxers but he pushes your hands back. “Ladies first remember.” You nod. “Yeah clothes wise that’s been-“ “I wasn’t talking about the clothes Y/N.” He smiles as he kisses you, tongue parting your lips as you make out, one of his hands drifting lower once more, this time unobscured by the underwear now on the floor.  You moan into the next kiss his fingers brushing fully over your core. - You whine and squirm trying your hardest to bring him closer.  Sweet Pea laughs a little into the kiss pulling his head away, you huff when his hand pulls back as well, but watch in interest as his head drifts lower. You raise an eyebrow when he looks up at you from between your legs. “Figured you might hate me less after this.”  He smirks tongue darting out to replace where his hand had been. You close your eyes letting your head fall back onto the bed as Sweet Pea’s tongue finally touches the skin of your thigh. You yelp crying out as he sucks on your clit suddenly, before swiping his tongue in your folds and returning to draw circles around your clit as he slides a finger into you. He pauses once his finger is crooked inside you and you whimper slightly Sweet Pea smirking as he moves his finger against your walls. You can feel yourself tense and the warmth coiling inside you is pulled closer to its snapping point. He’s just barely brushing your sweet spot, watching you writhe as he teases you. He pulls back slightly and you yelp when you feel another finger pressing into you as his tongue covers your clit. “Come on love, just let go.” You whine writhing against Sweet Pea as he smirks up at you pausing his tongue’s movement. He moves his mouth down licking and sucking slightly which has you keening and arching your back off the bed. He hums against your clit and the vibrations send you over the edge that had been building since you’d entered the bedroom. You legs flutter slightly against Sweet Pea’s head as he pulls up, pressing sloppy kisses against your stomach and breasts, moving up the side of your neck, he bites down, rubbing his fingers against your oversensitive walls as he sucks a dark bruise into your neck. “Mine.” He hums into your skin nipping your collarbones and moves his mouth sucking a deeper bruise leaving you whimpering and on the edge of another orgasm as he continues to drive his fingers deeper and faster. - You hear Sweet Pea groan slightly and you cry out as you orgasm and clench around him as his tongue teases your clit. He looks slightly surprised and you flush all down your chest embarrassed. “Sorry I just, felt so good and I-“ “It’s okay sweetheart, it’s okay.” He pulls himself back up towards you kissing you, before he curls around you. “As much as I enjoyed that doesn’t seem fair on your end you know.” He nods nuzzling his face into your neck. “I’m not going to say no to anything.” “So we should put our clothes back on and learn how to pay taxes.” You laugh when he scowls. “You did say anything.” You tease him laughing, your hand reaching under his boxers to stroke his dick. He nods moving slightly to pull his boxer off, he’s about to return to his normal position on top of you but you stop him, shaking your head. He misreads it, about to grab his clothes but you nudge him so he’s back sitting on the bed as you straddle him. You grin yourself against his dick as he stutters slightly and moans when your hand reaches out to wrap around it; you move your hand against him a few times, making sure there’s enough wetness between you that you slide onto him effortlessly. “Fuck.” He hiss and you smirk moving your hips slowly as he does the same trying to match your rhythm together. -You’re sitting up more now, legs wrapped around his waist. You curl your head against his neck. “There’s a good girl. I’m going to move now is that-“ “Please.” You moan as he shifts his hips and moves slightly inside you. He leans you back intent on laying you down so he can watch as he thrusts into you. You hear the quiet curse as his dick slips out of you as you settle against the bed sheets. You bite your lip to keep from laughing as he reenters you. The laugh you’re trying to suppress turns into another moan as he speeds up smirking as you arch towards him. He’s moving in and out of you in a way that leaves you gasping and whining. Your nails scrape against this back as he speeds up.  His hand snakes behind your head pulling it closer towards his so he can kiss you, shifting your positions so he can hit deeper inside you. “Sweet Pea please.” You whine against him feeling yourself closer to orgasming again. “Not yet baby, can you be good for me and wait?” he pants slightly and you can tell he won’t last much longer. You nod as he sucks another bruise onto your neck, his thrust becoming more sudden and desperate until he finally orgasms inside of you leaving you shaking as his thumb slowly circles your clit, leaving you coming around him. “So;” You hesitate as Sweet Pea curls around you pulling a blanket over both of you. “Yes?” “You don’t hate me, just to be clear on that?” You watch, as he looks bemused as he laughs. “I’m pretty sure that proved I don’t hate you.” “Could’ve been a hate fuck.” You shrug and he pulls you against him. “I’m not built that way.” “You’re certainly built that’s for sure.” You laugh into is chest. You look up to see his face flushed. “What are you not used to compliments?” “Most people take one look at me being a Serpent and write me off as-“ “A massive cuddler who can’t take compliments, such a shame isn’t it.” You smirk as he tightens is arm around your waist. “Don’t know what you’re on about.”

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[midnightsnyx]

Consequences - Matthew Tkachuk: part 7

summary: you absolutely hate Matthew Tkachuk so it’s just your luck when you wind up pregnant with his child.

a/n: we’re near the end! i hope you guys enjoy this part and thank you for reading <3

word count: 2.1k

warnings: none but FLUFF

Part 7

32 weeks

Ignoring tradition, you and Matt decided to have a single baby shower with everyone invited instead of a separate shower and a pamper party. It was more convenient for everyone and one party was less clean up, so bonus. What you weren’t expecting was for so many people to show up. You knew Matt had a big family but you didn’t think so many of them were invited. But, you did give Chantal and Taryn free reign to plan it so really, you shouldn’t be that surprised.

Most of his family was great and you get along with them wonderfully, especially some of his cousins who are around your age. But then there are the older women who are supposed to be mature, yet are giving you dirty looks and whispering things to each other.

It makes you self conscious because you know exactly the kind of things they are thinking and saying. It’s the exact same thing you’ve seen from some of Matt’s “fans”. Comments about how you got pregnant on purpose, and how it’s a shame now that Matt is stuck with you. You knew the comments were just people who were trying to get under your skin but knowing that some of his family and friends might be thinking the same was hurtful.  

You do your best to ignore it though and focus on the people who are actually nice to you, answering all the questions they have about potential baby names, what brands you’re using for the baby, and other purposeless things. But the feeling is always in the back of your mind so at one point, you slip into Matt’s bedroom so you can just breathe for a moment.

This, of course, just gives you more time to worry about what people are thinking about you and how they’re judging you and before you know it, you feel like you might cry.

Stupid hormones.

A knock on the door breaks you from your thoughts and you look up to see Matt standing there.

“Hey,” he says quietly, shutting the door behind him and walking over to sit next to you. “you disappeared.”

“Just needed a minute.” You tell him, hoping he doesn’t notice the way your voice cracks but the looks he gives you says you should know better by now.

“What’s going on inside your head?”

You shrug, not knowing how to explain without insulting his family. You don’t want him to think that you don’t like them, but you know he won’t leave you alone until you tell him why you’re upset.

So you try an approach you think he might understand.

“Do you ever feel like you’re being judged?” You ask quietly.

“All the time.” He answers easily. “Comes with the job description.”

“So you understand how it feels.” You say and he raises an eyebrow at you.

“Is that what this is about?” He nudges you. “You can’t possibly think they’re judging you, Y/N.”

“But they are! I see the looks some of your family and friends give me. It’s like they think I got knocked up on purpose.”

He shakes his head. “Who cares what they think?”

“You should care about what they think.” You say slowly, raising an eyebrow at his dismissal. “They’re your family.”

He shrugs. “You’re my family too.”

He says it so casually, so effortlessly and it’s like something just clicks in your brain and suddenly you have this overwhelming want, no need, to kiss him.

And that’s exactly what you do.

He doesn’t move at first when you press your lips to his, almost like he’s unsure about what to do and for a moment, you’re worried that you’ve ruined everything but then his hand comes up and cups your cheek and he kisses you back. You feel like you might melt straight through the bed and floor when he smiles against your lips and it’s absolutely perfect until Brady barges in the room.

“Where’d you guys- oh.” Brady freezes, eyes widening before he smirks. “Oh. I see what’s happening here. I’ll give you two a minute.”

“Brady.” Matt whines, dropping his head on your shoulder. “You’re ruining the moment.”

“Sorry! People were asking where you went!” He starts backing up and winks. “I’ll come up with a cover story. Have fun kids.”

“Brady.”

“Leaving! I’m going now!” He says, darting out the door and shutting it behind him.

Matt lifts his head, resting his chin on your shoulder instead of moving away. His eyes study your face as if he’s searching for any sign of regret but you smile to ease his worries.

“That was nice.”  

He raises an eyebrow. “Just nice? I think I can do better than that.”

“Okay, it was better than nice.” You giggle, feeling giddy. It’s a bit of a foreign feeling.

“Kind of overdue, huh?”

You raise an eyebrow. “You been wanting to kiss me, Tkachuk?”

“Oh, just since we met. Y’know, not that long.”

“Matthew.”

“What? I’m serious.” He says and then sighs. “I know I kind of fucked up when we first met. I was a bit of an ass-”

“A bit?” You tease and he gives you a dry look but you know he’s not actually mad.

“Hey, I’m trying.”

“Sorry.” You say solemnly. “Go on.”

He presses his lips together to hold back a smile. “You were funny and witty and kind from what Johnny had told me so I asked him to introduce me. Probably wasn’t the best idea to do it when I was drunk but he’s always had bad timing.” He shrugs. “He’d mentioned that you were fresh out of a tough relationship and I just… I don’t know, I just said the first thing that came to my mind and drunk me thought it was funny. Which obviously, it wasn’t.”

“I know we’ve already kissed-” he points to your stomach. “clearly, but I’d like to think of this as our first kiss.”

You grimace. “That works for me because honestly, I don’t remember much of that night.”

“I must have been doing something wrong, then.” He jokes.

“Guess you’ll have to show me again.”

He grins. “Deal. But first, I’m taking you on a date.

. . .

“I knew he’d come around.” Taryn grins, finishing the last of your makeup. When she heard that Matt was taking you on a date, she begged you to let her help you get ready. You were going to ask her anyway because you wanted to spend as much time with her and Chantal as you could before they went home. It was unlikely you would be able to see them again until after the baby is born and that thought freaks you out because you’re nearly 33 weeks and your doctor told you that you can deliver as early as 37 weeks.

So you only have about a month left to prepare yourself for childbirth. Luckily, Chantal has been so helpful, answering any questions you have and you feel so blessed that you have her to help you through this.

“I knew it was coming too.” Chantal says from her spot on the bed. You’re half certain you saw tears in her eyes when you told her that Matt had asked you on a date but you cried too so you can’t make fun.

“You guys have been hoping for this, haven’t you?”

Chantal shrugs and hides a smile. “Maybe.”

Taryn nods. “The way you two look at each other totally gives away your feelings. It’s weird seeing Matt like that.”

“Like what?”

“Nice. Honestly, a little unsettling.”

“Taryn.” Chantal scolds and the youngest Tkachuk raises her hands.

“I’m joking.” She mutters. “Kind of.”

Chantal just sighs but smiles when she looks at you.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart.”

Your face turns pink from her compliment but it does mean a lot knowing that Matt’s mom approves of you despite the unusual circumstances. You know that some parents might have had reservations about the situation you and Matt are in but Chantal and Keith treated you with nothing but respect and kindness since the start of this and you will forever be grateful.

“Well, you’re all done.” Taryn says, stepping back to admire her work. “You’re going to knock his socks off.”

“Even being 8 months pregnant?” You ask hesitantly.

“Especially being 8 months pregnant.” Chantal assures you.

Her assurance makes you feel a little better but when there is a knock on the door, you’re suddenly extremely nervous.

“Come in!” Taryn yells and Matt pokes his head in with a grin on his face. When he looks at you, his eyes go wide and mouth drops a little.

He stutters over his words which makes you feel better.

“Cat got your tongue, Tkachuk?” You ask, trying to hide the pleased look on your face.

He shakes his head and grins, walking over and taking your hands in his. “Just admiring how beautiful my girl is.”

“Your girl? Awfully presumptuous.” You joke but your heart warms at his words. You can hear Chantal literally awe.

Matt just grins and leads you out of the apartment and to his car. He even opens the door for you and you raise an eyebrow but don’t comment.

“Do I get to know where we’re going?” You ask when he slides in the drivers seat.

“Nope.” He says, sending you a sly grin.

You know it’s pointless arguing with him so you just smile back and rest your head on the seat, watching out the window until you reach your destination.

. . .

Matt knows you better than you thought because instead of bringing you to a fancy, high end restaurant, he brings you to a small but cute diner the two of you frequently go to. He knows it’s your favourite and it make you happy knowing that he notices small things like this.

“This okay?” He asks once the two of you are seated. He looks a little nervous and you want to get rid of any worries that he has.

“It’s perfect,” you assure him. “I love it.”

And you, you nearly say and you almost fall out of your seat at the realization.

Do you love Matt? You care for him deeply, that’s not a question and you know your feelings for him have been shifting lately. The kiss proved that, but were you confusing love, with infatuation? Or were you starting to actually have those feelings for him?

The better question is whether it’s a good idea to let yourself have these feelings right now because while this is nice, the two of you are about to be parents and any strong feelings like that can make things messy, especially if Matt doesn’t feel the same way.

You know you’ll have to acknowledge and deal with these feelings soon but for now, you let yourself enjoy the night, stealing fries off Matt’s plate while he pretends not to notice and arguing playfully about baby names.

It’s a problem for another night.

......

a/n: i wanna be like OH WE GOT THE FIRST KISS but technically this isn’t the first kiss because, well, you know 

[missjanjie]

Taste of a Poison Paradise | Chapter 9

Title: Taste of a Poison Paradise Summary: Life at Jackie Cox’s strip club, Poison Paradise, isn’t just lapdances and g-strings. There’s enough drama, lust, and heartache to rival any soap opera. None of the girls know what to expect on any given shift, especially while navigating their torrid, complicated relationships. Word Count: ~2.9k (this chapter) / ~27.2k (total) Relationship(s): Lemyanka (Lemon/Priyanka), Crygi (Crystal Methyd/Gigi Goode), Sportsdoll (Jan Sport/Nicky Doll), Jaidie (Jaida Essence Hall/Jackie Cox), BVK (Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo/Kameron Michaels), Rosnali (Rosé/Denali Foxx) Rating: E TW: mentions of alcoholism

Read on AO3 | Ko-Fi

Chapter Summary: In the wake of Lemon's outburst at the club, those closest to her process the fallout and realize something needs to be done before she spirals to the point of no return.

-

“Okay, I think that’s the last box,” Juice remarked as she dropped herself down onto the couch. “So, why’d your cousin kick you out again?”

Lemon scoffed and rolled her eyes as she piled up the empty boxes. “She didn’t kick me out, we both decided it was time for me to move.” She decided her college friend-turned-roommate didn’t need to know about the argument she had with Rosé. And she certainly didn’t need to know that she’d rejected her ultimatum of, “if you want to stay here, you can’t keep getting drunk every day.” It had been a week since the incident at the club and she was going to recover from it on her own terms.

“Alright, cool,” she shrugged as she took out her phone and began aimlessly scrolling. “You wanna do something tonight?”

The blonde perched herself on the armrest of the couch, swinging her legs. “We could go to a club and get shitfaced,” she suggested.

Juice shook her head without looking up from her phone. “You can. I mean, I’ll totally go with you and turn shit up, but I don’t drink.”

“More for me.”

Her friend looked her over with a concerned expression, eyes finally pried away from the screen. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked gently. “I mean, I know you’ve been through a lot, have you considered talking to someone about it?”

Lemon shook her head. “I’m fine, I don’t have the emotional capacity for therapy.” She got back up and looked around. “Shit, I guess you don’t have any liquor in here then. I’ll be back,” and after putting her shoes on and grabbing her purse, she was out the door, leaving a concerned new roommate in her wake.

------

Rosé sighed as she passed the joint back to Mik. “This doesn’t make me a bad person, right? I mean the last thing I want to do is make Lemon’s issues about me. But god, that really is what made me realize that I have to do this.”

Mik shook her head as she took a hit. “It’s not your fault, you saw a trainwreck and realized you needed to keep your ass on the tracks.” She finished off the joint and put it out. “Listen, the last thing you wanna do is be that girl who pines over the person she’s sleeping with until it’s too late.”

“You’re right, I know. I’m gonna talk to her,” she exhaled deeply as she pushed herself up. “If Lemon comes around, please don’t have sex with her.”

“Oh fuck off,” she huffed, “that delayed her mental breakdown by at least a week.”

Rosé rolled her eyes as she left. She wasn’t mad at Mik for that, if anything maybe it did help Lemon temporarily by giving her a distraction. But she had so much more on her mind, things that have been brewing since the club incident.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she knocked on Denali’s door, evening out her breathing while she waited for her.

“Hey Rosie,” Denali smiled warmly as she opened the door, leading her inside and shutting it behind them. “What’s up? You usually text me when you’re on your way over.” They sat down on the couch as she spoke, a tinge of concern in her voice.

She swallowed thickly, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. “I know I’ve been distant lately with everything that’s been happening with Lemon. But through all the chaos, I realized something, that keeping your feelings bottled up is dangerous.” Another deep breath, this time she forced herself to look into Denali’s eyes, eyes that she found warmth and comfort in every time she gazed into them. “What I’m trying to say is that I have feelings for you. I don’t just wanna be fuck buddies, it’s not enough. I need all of you.”

Denali blinked, taking her time to process Rosé’s confession. At first it was pure surprise, but once she let it sink in, it clicked that she felt the same way, that she had been falling for her all along without realizing it. “You have all of me,” she told her, cupping her face and pressing a deep kiss to her lips.

In that moment, a weight lifted from Rosé’s chest. If only for the duration of a kiss, she could pretend nothing in the world existed outside of Denali’s apartment. She could stop thinking, stop worrying. It was only them, everything else faded to black. “Are we alone?” she asked against her lips.

“Mhm,” she nodded, a slight smirk tugging at her lips, able to fill in the blanks from there. Her hands traveled down Rosé’s body, tugging off her shirt in one swift motion, her own following suit, though they took their time undressing each other, letting their fingers and lips gently caress each other’s skin.

By the time they were both completely undressed, they had gotten each other thoroughly worked up. Rosé had Denali sit up on the couch, then got on her knees in front of her, pushing her thighs apart. She moved in between them, dragging her tongue along her pussy before circling, then sucking on her clit as she eased a finger into her.

Denali’s head lolled back to rest against the back of the couch, a pleased moan escaping. “Mm, Rosie…” she exhaled, her hips pushing up when Rosé slid in a second finger. “Baby, just like that, feels so good.”

She basked in the praise, continuing her movements, occasionally switching her tongue and her fingers, but never leaving her unattended. She was focused and fervent, bringing Denali to an orgasm as quickly as she could, as if she were setting it as a challenge to herself. Once she’d won her game, she pulled back with a smile, gazing up at her. “God, you’re beautiful.”

“And you’re sappy,” she teased affectionately, leaning down to kiss her. “Come on,” she got up and pulled Rosé to her feet, “we can cuddle until I gotta get ready for my shift.”

------

Nicky watched Jan with a concerned expression. She wished she knew what to do, how to talk to her and help her. Ever since the incident at the club, she had been quiet, withdrawn, two words she would never think to associate with the bubbly woman she loved so dearly. It killed her to see her girlfriend hurting, enough for her to put her aversion to emotional conversations aside as she sat beside her on the couch, gently taking her hand. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You haven’t been the same since what happened with Lemon and I’m worried about you.”

Jan chewed on her lip, her gaze downcast. Logically, she knew she couldn’t avoid this conversation forever, but it didn’t make it any easier. “Lemon is like a sister to me and I’m worried about her. I know what alcoholism looks like… and I know what it can do to someone, it’s not pretty.”

She furrowed her brows, shifting closer to the younger woman. “What do you mean?”

“Well, um…” she swallowed thickly, “my dad’s five years sober now, but it hit a nasty low before it got better. I-I don’t know what that low would be for Lemon, I’m afraid she’s hit it, but I’m even more afraid she hasn’t.”

Nicky nodded as she listened. She had suspected Lemon might have developed a bit of a drinking habit, but not the severity, and certainly not the effect it would have on Jan. “I am so sorry about your father, and about Lemon. Is there anything we can do?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “My dad went to rehab while I was away at college, but I imagine my mom laid down some ultimatums, but I don’t know if Lemon thinks she has anything left to lose.”

“There has to be some way, and I'm going to help you find it,” she promised.

------

“Thank you all for meeting me here,” Juice said as she looked around the two pushed-together tables in the diner. “For those of you who don’t know, my name is Julia - Juice - and Lemon moved in with me about four days ago.”

“What happened?” Rosé immediately asked. “Is she okay?”

The blonde hesitated and looked down at the table. “Technically yes, she’s nursing a hangover at home right now but otherwise fine, unless she’s started day drinking. But there’s a bigger issue, and I’m sure you guys have started to suspect as much. What I’m trying to say is she’s developing an alcohol problem, and if we don’t do something about it now, it could get much worse.”

Everyone else had similar expressions - sadness, concern, anxiety. But none of them were surprised. “What do we do, then?” Rosé asked, breaking a tense moment of silence.

“Listen, I’m not claiming to be an expert. I’m twenty-two, sober for eight months now, so I can relate to how she’s feeling. What she’s going to need is everyone to rally around her, because it won’t be easy to convince her to get help.”

“So can we stage an intervention?” Jaida asked. “Do you have someone we can talk to?”

Juice nodded. “I can talk to my sponsor and have her put us in touch with someone who can get her into a detox, put the whole thing together. It goes so far beyond just telling her to stop drinking, especially in a club environment.”

“Speaking of the club environment,” Gigi chimed in, “we have to address the elephant in the room. What are we gonna do about the Priyanka situation? She told Crystal she’s taking a day job until things cool off, but if Lemon gets help… maybe that’ll expedite the process.”

Jackie sighed, but agreed. “I can open auditions to take on another dancer temporarily, I don’t know how long she’s gonna need, but assuming she chooses to get help, I want her to know she has a place to come back to.” She was quiet for a moment, then added, “I’m going to reach out to Priyanka too, I know she hasn’t been answering most of our calls or texts, but I think I might be able to get through to her.”

“My god, we’ve been so caught up with Lemon, we’ve barely kept up with Pri. Are we bad friends?” Jan asked, feeling a mix of guilt and sadness.

Juice shook her head. “No, of course not. Everyone here is doing their best. You guys reach out to Priyanka and figure out a way to get Lemon to the intervention when the time comes, I’ll do what I can on my part.” From there, they all just had to hope for the best.

------

Jackie took a deep breath, making sure she was calm and collected before knocking on the door. When a woman with black hair and tattoos opened the door, she greeted her politely. “Hi, you must be Scarlett. Um, can you tell Priyanka that Jackie’s here to see her?”

Scarlett nodded, disappearing back into her apartment. There was a solid few minutes of waiting, but Priyanka eventually came to the door. “Hey,” she greeted meekly and led Jackie inside.

Jackie sat at the edge of the bed in the guest room Priyanka had been staying in. “How have you been? You know we’re all worried about you.”

Priyanka’s gaze never left the floor. She picked pieces of lint off of her shorts as she sat down as well, swinging her legs aimlessly. How could she even begin to tackle that question when everything she had ever known had changed overnight? How can anyone process that sort of thing? “Scarlett convinced me to try therapy. I’ve had a couple sessions so far… It helped, I think, but it’s just scratching the surface, you know?”

She listened attentively, nodding along. “I’m proud of you for that. How did your family react when you and Mark broke up?”

“It’s funny, as angry as he was, he didn’t out me. He said it’s clear I have my own problems to work through. My mom was furious that the wedding was called off, so I threw in the ‘I like girls’ news because, well, it couldn’t get any worse,” she sighed. “I don’t think it’s fully hit her yet. She asked me if it was an excuse to get out of the wedding. I haven’t heard back since I told her it was the truth, and I haven’t heard from my dad at all.” She laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I couldn’t even say that I’m gay. It’s too much, I can’t just be gay,” she sat back up and grabbed a tissue, quickly dabbing the corners of her eyes. “How do you get past it, Jackie? How do you stop being afraid of yourself?”

Jackie pressed her lips together as she tried to articulate an answer. “There’s no easy solution, but I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now. I don’t think I was ever ready to be gay, one day I just came to terms with the fact that I was miserable trying to avoid my own truth and that the only way I was ever going to be happy was by loving even the scariest parts of myself.”

Priyanka went quiet again, crumpling the tissue in her hand and staring at it as if the answers were there. “So you don’t think I’ll be able to be fully happy until I embrace being gay?”

“That’s for you to decide. But think of it this way; when you think about your future, best case scenario, what is it in your life that’s making you happy?”

The answer for that wasn’t in her hand, it was in her heart. It made its way into her throat, choking her from the inside and making her pulse race. After everything, it nearly made her angry that it felt inevitable. “Lemon.”

------

“Juice just texted me that they’re on the way,” Rosé read off her phone, her free hand squeezing Denali’s tight, her leg bouncing anxiously.

The woman they’d brought in to help Lemon, Widow, nodded calmly. “Remember, at the end of the day we are here to help her. We’re not punishing or lecturing her, but we have to be firm.”

After another review of the plan, they heard the door open and looked up to see the two girls walk in, Lemon’s expression immediately becoming confused as she looked around. “Are you guys fucking intervention-ing me?” she asked as she took the empty seat to the right of Rosé.

“Lemon, your friends and family are here because they care about you and are worried about your health,” Widow explained. “Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘this bitch wants to send me to some random rehab until I come back sober for good’, but this isn’t like that. We get that you’re twenty-one, fresh out of college, no history of addiction.”

“So why am I here?” Lemon interjected.

Rosé arched her brow. “Well, for starters, you haven’t been sober a full twenty-four hours in nearly three weeks, you’ve been acting completely unhinged every time you get trashed. You’re actively trying to alienate yourself from everyone who cares about you, you-” She stopped short when Denali squeezed her hand, her cue to reel it in. “You’re going down a dangerous path and we don’t want you to get hurt.”

“This isn’t one of those ninety-day programs either,” Jackie chimed in. “It’s only three weeks, and the first five days are just for detoxing. We’re not saying you have to be sober for good, this isn’t AA, it’s a program that’s going to give you the support and help you need to still enjoy things in moderation instead of relying on alcohol as a coping mechanism.”

Lemon nodded and listened as the rest of the group said their pieces to try to convince her to go. And she took it in, but she was also looking around and at the door. After a while, it became clear that she was waiting for - hoping for - another person.

“Priyanka wanted to come,” Jackie told her. “But we weren’t sure how you would react and decided it would be better if she waited at least until after you detox to contact you. You have to know, though, she really does care about you.”

She sunk further into her chair, not angry, but embarrassed. It shouldn’t have had to come to this, she knew that, knew better. And she hated that everything they said was right, that she did need help. “Fine,” she mumbled, “I’ll go.”

There was a collective sigh of relief as the tension dissipated throughout the room. “Rosé and Juice will go back with you to your apartment so you can pack, we’re going to get you checked in tonight,” Widow explained. “The facility is in Westchester, you won’t be more than an hour away and visitation is every Saturday.”

Rosé looked at her younger cousin and could tell she was doing her best to cover her fear and anxiety. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. “You’re going to be okay, baby,” she promised, “they’re gonna take good care of you, and you’re gonna be better than ever once you’re done.”

Lemon nodded quietly, wiping her eyes. “I just wanna get this over with,” she mumbled, still unwilling to allow herself to be vulnerable in front of everyone, though the group anticipated that from her and let it be. All any of them could do now was trust the process.

[when-they-write-stuff]

Fluff 15 - “She’s/he’s not my boyfriend!”

To hell with the supernatural; that’s what Stiles would like to say.

To hell with the supernatural and all that came with it. He didn’t want to deal with these things anymore, thank you very much. No more constant danger, no more nursing bruises every other day. 

Stiles couldn’t look in the mirror anymore without seeing dark circles underneath his eyes and half-healed bruises marring across his skin. He came out in only a towel once and his dad looked at him like he was seeing a ghost; Stiles hadn’t looked himself in the mirror for two days after.

To hell with the supernatural, right? Except he could never say that, not exactly. He could condemn it all he wanted in his mind but every time Stiles tried to go through with it, he got lost in grey-green eyes and ended up shutting his mouth so fast, he bit his tongue.

The blood always tasted a little bit like a warning. But Stiles had never been good at making the wise decisions.

It was all a matter of mindsets he supposed. Stiles was sorely exhausted all the time. And he was doing his best. But then sometimes he fell asleep at Derek’s loft underneath an old blanket and the man always looked a little sad when Stiles woke up again, sitting in the armchair a few feet away just watching him.

Stiles had long grown used to Derek’s stalker tendencies. He wasn’t used to feeling like Derek might actually care.

And maybe it wasn’t always the supernatural messing with his head. No, it was what came with the supernatural. The near-death experiences, the nightmares that followed him in and out of waking hours. But then there were the good things; the movie nights, the ghosting touches along the back of his neck

The occasional pair of red eyes that Stiles could’ve sworn he could see through his window when he least expected it.

But where was he? Oh yeah. To hell with the supernatural.

Or better yet, to hell with Derek Hale.

Stiles brushed a few fingers over his lips and just stared at the reflection in his bathroom mirror, wide amber eyes gazing back out at him. For the first time ever, the marks that went down his neck weren’t because of some stupid supernatural threat and Stiles felt a little woozy as he looked at them.

To hell with Derek Hale. That’s what Stiles was supposed to be thinking, right?

Dammit.

He dragged out his phone and gazed at it for a moment. The first time Derek had shoved it into his hand with a slight growl and the words “only for emergencies” Stiles had nearly had a heart attack. And he’d decided then that yeah, he was only ever using that for emergencies.

He didn’t have a death wish or anything. 

But as Stiles scrolled to Derek’s name now, thumb hovering over the man’s name, he wondered if maybe he did. Maybe they both did. Because Derek had kissed him first, hadn’t he? Goddamit, Derek Hale had kissed him. Lips on his own, rough hands through his hair, and Stiles couldn’t even remember what they’d been fighting about.

Stiles’s thumb lingered over Derek’s name and he debated dropping it into the toilet and calling this entire thing quits. Because Stiles didn’t have the heart for this anymore, alright? He was a senior in high school feeling like he’d turned sixty years old only a couple of days ago.

He wanted to sit back, watch TV all day, and maybe live off of hard candy. Yeah, that’s something he could do.

“Stiles?”

Stiles startled so hard, he nearly did drop his phone into the toilet. He looked at himself in the mirror for a second with wide eyes, before yanking up his hoodie and nervously opening the bathroom door a crack. His dad arched a worried brow.

“You’ve been in there for over an hour, kid.”

“Oh yeah, um. I was shaving.”

“Shaving.”

“Yeah, pops! I’ve got some serious stumbling growing in these days. I think it’s coming with all these grey hairs and supernatural crazies. But you know, I’ve totally got this. Didn’t nick myself once! It’s all about the right angle of the blade.”

His dad looked at him for another long moment. It was a look Stiles was used to; as if he was trying to decide whether Stiles was pulling excuses out of his ass or he was really telling the truth. Eventually, though, the man nodded and Stiles’s nearly slumped to the ground in relief as the man turned away, waving a hand over his shoulder.

“Don’t make a mess of the sink. And I’ll be home for dinner tonight!”

“I’ll make dinner then, don’t you dare eat out!”

He didn’t get an answer but Stiles was pretty sure he was plenty threatening, thank you very much. Which brought him back to the current problem. Pulling his phone back out, Stiles clicked to Derek’s name and punched in a quick ‘We need to talk’ message.

Yeah, he was plenty threatening. Stiles had no doubts Derek would know better than to ignore him.

The entire Saturday morning passed with Derek ignoring him.

Stiles tried not to think about it, he really did. But he couldn’t concentrate for longer than five minutes on his homework, he’d paced the living room a dozen times already, and Stiles was starting to feel like he was going crazy. He was literally losing his mind. And Derek was still ignoring him.

This time, when Stiles dragged out his phone, he didn’t even bother with the texting. He scrolled to Derek’s name and punched the call button, bringing the phone to his ear.

It rang once, twice. Three times. The man didn’t answer and Stiles cursed, dialing his number again.

This time, Derek picked right up. And Stiles’s heart skipped a beat.

“What, Stiles?”

Nevermind, he was still pissed.

“What? What? Dude, did you not get my text, or were you just choosing to ignore it?”

“I’m kind of busy, Stiles.”

“Busy with what, asshole? Reading a book? Trying to pretend like this token human doesn’t exist? Because I’m three seconds away from coming straight over to the loft and wringing your little wolfy neck myself—”

“Stiles,” Derek said cutting him off. And he would have been a little peeved if he’d known exactly where he was going with that sentence. But to be honest, Stiles was just rambling at this point. “Just meet me at the diner in an hour and we can talk then. Okay?”

Stiles blinked dumbly at the opposite wall for a second. Because what?

“Stiles?”

“The diner?”

“The one with the curly fries you like.”

Once more, Stiles was staring at nothing, feeling like an idiot. This was not how he’d imagined this conversation going. And he couldn’t tell if that was a bad thing or a good thing. Eventually, he shook his head and swallowed hard. “Sure.”

“One hour.”

“... One hour, big guy.”

It felt like a lot longer than one hour.

Stiles spent most of the time pacing back and forth again. He ran a hand through his hair until it stuck up in all directions and then wondered if this was Derek’s way of saying ‘the kiss had been wrong’ or ‘it had been an accident’ and Stiles was never allowed to come back to the loft again.

He was so nervous, he nearly fell over his own feet when he looked at the clock and realized it had nearly been an hour. After fighting down a panic attack, Stiles managed to pull on fairly clean clothes, do something with his hair, and then he was stumbling out the door.

He still sat in the parking lot of the diner for longer than was probably necessary.

Derek knew he liked this place. Derek knew this place was his favorite. Of course, that could always be brushed off as the pack always coming here after their late-night ‘nearly dying’ sessions. But it wasn’t like Stiles went around proclaim what he liked best. He’d eat curly fries from anywhere thank you very much.

So was them being here a good or bad thing? Was Derek trying to be nice or was he offering some sort of comfort?

Stiles closed his eyes and just tried to breathe out. Then he pulled himself out of the car and all but stumbled inside, nervously moving to the front counter.

“Uh, I’m here to meet someone?”

The waiter looked up, raising an eyebrow, and Stiles blushed, running a hand through his hair. And probably messing it up all over again.

“Uh, sorry. He’s big and growly. Kinda looks like a serial killer on his off day?”

The waiter pressed his lips together and glanced down at the list in front of him before nodding. “Big and growly? Yeah, your boyfriend came in a few minutes ago. Two tables down and to the right.”

Stiles was pretty sure his heart skip a few beats. “He’s not my boyfriend.”

The waiter gave him a bored look in return. “Sorry.”

“Definitely not my boyfriend.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Stiles swallowed once, twice, and then forced himself away. He was pretty sure this was a huge mistake. He so totally shouldn’t be here. Maybe he could go home and make up some kind of excuse and he and Derek could talk about all of this over the phone.

That would be easier than getting turned down in his favorite diner, that is. Stiles was never going to be able to eat here again.

Sure enough, Derek Hale was sitting two tables down and to the right. Stiles froze for a moment and grey-green eyes snapped up, locking on where he stood. They both stared at each other for a moment too long and then Stiles stumbled forward, right as Derek stood up.

“Uh.”

The man’s face turned bright red. Slowly, he sat back down again, and Stiles slid into the booth opposite of him.

“So.”

Derek made an abortive move to push the second water in front of him across the table and it nearly tipped over. Stiles yelped, Derek caught it at the last moment, and once more, an awkward silence fell over the air. Stiles chuckled nervously, even though he felt like there was a pit gradually growing larger and larger in his stomach. He wasn’t even hungry, which was a first.

“You can just say what you need to say, Derek, and I can be on my way. It’s fine.”

The man’s eyes sparked. “What?”

“Seriously,” Stiles said, smiling even though he didn’t feel it at all. “It’s fine. You can’t be seen in public with the token human, that kiss was never supposed to happen, and what are accidental angry make-out sessions supposed to mean anyway?”

Derek continued to stare like Stiles had grown horns. The man’s eyes traveled down a little lower then, focusing on Stiles’s neck, and he felt his face turn hot as he remembered the marks.

Quietly, Stiles tugged the neckline of his sweatshirt up a little higher, trying to cover them. Derek’s face did something strange.

“Stiles, why you think I asked you here?”

Stiles blinked at the man. Then he frowned, feeling his face turn even warmer. “Do I really have to go into the details, dude?”

Derek raised a brow. Stiles silently cursed everything.

“You know, you could just say it was all a mistake instead of making me say it out loud. That’s kind of a low blow, dude.”

“Stiles, that’s not—”

“I mean, I get it. I’m Stiles Stilinski, the token human of the pack. You’re Derek Hale, the unfairly hot and broody Alpha werewolf. We’re in two totally different leagues! And mine’s not great. I just… Just...” Stiles felt his stomach clenched, dropping his eyes. “Just don’t be too harsh, Derek.”

“Stiles, that’s not what I was trying to say.”

Stiles blinked back up at the man. Because he’d heard wrong, hadn’t he? He must have just heard wrong. “Uh, dude? What?”

“That’s not…” Derek turned red again and the man dropped his gaze. “I was busy before this.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

“Because I went down to the station.”

Stiles froze. His stomach clenched and he leaned across the table, poking Derek experimentally in the face. When the man growled and batted his hand back, Stiles supposed this had to be Derek Hale. Which left so many other things unexplained. 

“I talked to your father.”

Well, that was something explained. Stiles still felt like maybe he’d died or something. “You what?”

“I talked to your father, Stiles.”

“Oh my god,” Stiles said. “Was the kiss really that bad? Did you tell him everything? Did you get a restraining order? Oh my god, I’m so grounded. For the rest of my life. Derek, you could’ve just said you didn’t want to see me again or something!”

“Stiles, calm down.”

“I will not calm down!” Stiles shouted, shoving himself up. And they were getting quite a few stares now. “Dude, what the hell did you want with my dad? He’s going to kill me, literally kill me. Why am I even here?”

“Stiles, I asked him permission to date you!”

Once more, Stiles froze. He could feel people starting but for the moment, all that mattered was the man in front of him. The very real man in front of him. Slowly, he sat back down, and Derek rubbed a hand over his face. 

“Stiles, I was—”

“Asking permission.”

“Yes.”

“To date me.”

Derek gave him an exasperated look and nodded. Stiles swallowed hard, grabbing his water and chugging half of it before glancing at Derek over the top again. The man just looked tired. 

“Why?”

“Because I kissed you.”

Stiles narrowed his eyes and lowered the cup again. “That’s what this is? What, is it some kind of weird werewolf thing? You kiss a human and then you have to marry them? Because I’m totally not ready for marriage, dude.”

“Stiles, I’m not asking you to marry me.”

“Then why the hell would you want permission to date me?”

“Because I like you, idiot.”

Stiles blinked. His jaw snapped closed and he stared at the man. Then, reaching across the table, he tried to poke his face again, but Derek caught his hand before he could. Stiles stared in shock as calloused fingers intertwined with his own and then Derek Hale was holding his hand.

So, that’s not what he had expected.

Stiles still hadn’t quite figured things out when the waiter came over. It was the same man from earlier and he glanced between them before giving Stiles a judgemental look. Stiles felt his face grow hot— Derek growled— and Stiles was pretty sure he’d started dreaming at some point.

Maybe he’d passed out and never made it to the diner. Maybe none of this had ever happened at all. Or maybe Derek had ripped his throat out after accidentally kissing him and Stiles was dead right now.

He was dead. Yeah, he could roll with that.

But then he was so busy staring at the hallucination of a man in front of him, he barely realized that Derek had ordered his favorite meal and the waiter was gone. Derek raised an eyebrow at him and Stiles opened and closed his mouth a few times before snapping back to reality. 

“Dude, you want to date me.”

“Yes, Stiles.”

“Like, date-date me?”

“Is there any other kind?”

Stiles narrowed his eyes. “You’re not gonna like, werewolf court me or something, are you?”

The corners of Derek’s mouth twitched. He leaned across the table and moved the collar of Stiles’s jacket down, thumb brushing over the marks. Stiles shivered and Derek leaned back with a grin. A literal grin. “I don’t know, Stiles. Do you want me to?”

“... I haven’t decided yet.”

“You just eat your curly fries,” Derek said. “And we’ll see what happens.”

Screw Derek Hale.

That’s what Stiles would like to say, right? Screw Derek Hale and his smug looks, his perfect face, his unfairly hot everything— Stiles blinked a few times and took another long drink of his water. Screw Derek Hale. Yeah, that’s what he’d like to be doing.

Wait—

- -

Okay, I had so much fun with this one! I also really want to write a werewolf courting fic at some point so... maybe an eventual part two? Thank you so much for the prompt, Matt!

[cottoncandyjester]

Happy holidays! what would the yan ocs dream winter themed date look like? Please

Happy holidays!❄️

My first request for them..I'm so happy💖

Warning this story contains: yandere topics slightly, mostly wholesome but some are suggestive but nothing outright nsfw.

Theodore

A wholesome date

It's snowing and he honestly doesn't want you to get sick so he would have you two stay inside

Prepare for a baking date

From gingerbread to peppermint bark

He of course takes control of the date and makes sure to keep you away from sharp things

He will try to do everything by himself because he worries about you getting hurt

After you stubbornly decline that he has you be the taste tester

After each treat he gives you a kiss to taste it himself

He loves being with you in the kitchen cause baking + his angel= happy boy

If you try to start a food war he will scold you

After baking you two would cuddle while watching Christmas movies, eating sweets, and drinking hot cocoa

"sweetie, can you pass me the frosting I'm almost done"

"hmm? Oh sure theo!"

You passed the tub of bright red frosting to the male only for him to finish decorating the gingerbread cookies once done you both carried all those sweet treats to the living room table before setting up for movie night, you looked out the window with a soft sigh

"can we go outside tommorow?"

"hmm for a little bit but it will be cold"

"we can make a snowman!"

"sweetie, being in the cold for too long isn't good how about we do something else"

You gave a pout as theo sat on the couch looking at you hating your upset expression he sighs as he fixed his glasses

"fine, only for a little bit sweetie but for now come here..relax in my arms okay?"

You had a bright smile as you walked over plopping down in the male's lap feeling his arms wrap around you tightly

Hikaru

holiday Shopping

Will dress up in an adorable holiday costume

Forces you to dress up too cause matching outfits

He wants to buy you cute shoes

Yeah it's snowing hard...but like snow boots!

Will force you to try on like 60 pairs of shoes

Will also take a ton of selfies with you while getting boba

Will spoil you with affection while you two are out

If you act up though he will degrade you just a bit to get you to behave

All around good date but he can be a bit annoying

"hey hikaru can we go home? My feet hurt"

"don't be such a little baby [y/n], don't you want to look cute?"

You looked over at your boyfriend who was dressed up in an adorable santa sweater, black tights, and black heel boots to match. He forced you to be his raindeer and honestly it was a little embarrassing but he seemed to be having a good time

In your hands were bags upon bags all being outfits or shoes that hikaru bought for both you and him, he was a grinning mess but he saw your frown and couldn't help but falter..were you truly not having fun?

With a huff he simply linked his arm with yours before pulling you along towards the mall food court, it was time for you two to relax from all the walking

Once you two sat down at a table with boba and food hikaru was far more loving and affectionate even being as sweet as to hold your hand while resting his head on your shoulder

"ah, I pulled you along everywhere huh?"

"mhmm.."

"heyyy! Don't give me those bored responses! We had fun! I spoiled you today so the least you can do is thank me!"

You were going to speak more but jolted at the feeling of a rough kiss along with someone's to the shoved down your throat. With a startled moan you kissed back before pulling away seeing hikaru lick his lips happily

"so yummy huh baby? I say that was a good thank you, when we get home we can do things that I know you will like..after all you can't say no to me"

Haha you're in danger.

Axis

Firework Festival date!

He likes the sounds of the bustling of people and the smell of good food

You don't really know why he's so obsessed with fireworks when he can't see it but it makes him happy

You two play a bunch of games and eat yummy food

Idiot wore shorts and a tank top so he's freezing cold but of course he was way too excited to care about coldness

Is like a giddy kid

Once the fireworks start he's in utter awe

Wants to get as close as he can

"what do they look like..?"

"bright and kinds like glitter"

Both you and axis sat on the grass staring at the sky as the fireworks popped and lit up the dark snowy sky, your fingers interlaced together tightly as the sounds of popping made axis only grin more

"fireworks, even the name sounds pretty..I always wanted to see what they look like. I mean I can feel it on my face but I bet they look pretty huh?"

"ax, you're crying.."

Axis reached up touching his cheeks only to feel tears, he let out a nervous laugh and wiped his eyes before a wave of embarrassment hit him hard

"ah! Sorry sorry! I get all emotional! Ah I just love you and I love this date! Are you having a good time? Oh God what if you aren't having a good time?! [Y/n] are you enjoying yourself cause we ca-"

"axis, I'm having fun! It's okay so relax..I mean..you look so happy its honestly so cute"

Suddenly axis wrapped his arms around you kissing you all over with a happy laugh

"[y/nnnnnnn]! Marry me! Just marry me already okay? I love you! So much!"

You petted your boyfriend on the head before your eyes landed on the beautiful fireworks and you simply couldn't help but smile as nothing but love filled you both

Prince

Okay so originally he wanted to just screw you and call that a date but apparently that's not romantic

Decided on taking you to a Christmas party as a date

He kinda just wanted to get drunk and make out with you

Ends up having a good time

Seeing you laughing with his friends made him happy

He got to dance with you so that's always a plus

Getting you drunk was really fun

It's been a while since you two just got wasted and had fun so it felt nice

Hearing you slut your words made him chuckle

"babyyyyy!"

"yeah babe?"

Prince watched as you landed in his lap with eggnog in your hand, you clearly had way too much to drink but of course he wasn't stopping you cause this was amusing to him

"I think, you're the hottest guy like everrrrrrr~"

"oh yeah?"

"hmmm I want santa to give me you for Christmas"

Prince grinned as he turned his head away now chuckling before feeling you press sloppy kisses on his neck and cheek. He honestly didn't mind the pda but he didn't want it to go too far

"alright alright, cool it before you do something crazy"

"noooo, let me love youuuu"

At this point he was just laughing as he held you close now softly kissing your cheek before lifting you up in his arms, walking out the house and towards the car

"I love you prince, so much.. you're.. perfect"

He watched as you started to fall asleep and felt a flushed feeling come over him as he out you in the back seat of the car

"I love you too baby, more than you could ever know"

Yuki

He really didn't want to go out he just wanted to sleep

But there was this new movie you wanted to see so he figured a date night should happen

He was never a fan of overly cheery Christmas movies but you seem to be a fan so he endured

He promised you he wouldn't fall asleep during this date

During the movie he totally fell asleep so he took you at to eat as an apology

You two went to Walmart at like 2am and we're chaotic as hell

He filled the cart up with ramen cups while you kept telling him to put it back

Just a chaotic date all around

He honestly liked it though

To end the night/early morning you two went to eat waffles

He liked how sleepy yet weird you acted

He could watch you talk for hours

Hearing you talk was better than any movie

"hey yuki, do you like me?"

The question shocked the male as he looked at you from across the diner table as he took a sip of coffee, what would make you ask such a thing. He couldn't respond very well cause he was in shock but he gave a steady nod

"oh, you do? That makes me happy..you don't really say I love you so I sometimes forget yknow?"

Yuki reached out grabbing your hands and looking you dead in the eyes, his bright green eyes making you blush

"I love you. More than sleep"

The praise made you blush more as you leaned forward to kiss the male only to hear a sharp cough from the waitress. The teo of you looked over and yuki scowled lightly at the person for ruining his moment

"excuse me, it's 5am...are you two finished"

"oh yeah, sorry about tha-"

"no."

You tensed at your boyfriend who was blunt as ever and locked eyes with the worker using a scary glare to spook them off, you couldn't help but sigh

"but yuki, it's late we have to go yeah? Aren't you tired?"

"I'm not done saying how much I love you."

With that the male sat there for the next hour spilling his true feelings and as the snow came down you felt nothing but love though you did feel bad for the worker who looked terrified and was currently writing their will incase yuki slaughtered them.

[artificialqueens]

Taste of a Poison Paradise, Chapter 9 (Multi) - Joley

Chapter Summary: In the wake of Lemon’s outburst at the club, those closest to her process the fallout and realize something needs to be done before she spirals to the point of no return.

ao3 link

“Okay, I think that’s the last box,” Juice remarked as she dropped herself down onto the couch. “So, why’d your cousin kick you out again?”

Lemon scoffed and rolled her eyes as she piled up the empty boxes. “She didn’t kick me out, we both decided it was time for me to move.” She decided her college friend-turned-roommate didn’t need to know about the argument she had with Rosé. And she certainly didn’t need to know that she’d rejected her ultimatum of, “if you want to stay here, you can’t keep getting drunk every day.” It had been a week since the incident at the club and she was going to recover from it on her own terms.

“Alright, cool,” she shrugged as she took out her phone and began aimlessly scrolling. “You wanna do something tonight?”

The blonde perched herself on the armrest of the couch, swinging her legs. “We could go to a club and get shitfaced,” she suggested.

Juice shook her head without looking up from her phone. “You can. I mean, I’ll totally go with you and turn shit up, but I don’t drink.”

“More for me.”

Her friend looked her over with a concerned expression, eyes finally pried away from the screen. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked gently. “I mean, I know you’ve been through a lot, have you considered talking to someone about it?”

Lemon shook her head. “I’m fine, I don’t have the emotional capacity for therapy.” She got back up and looked around. “Shit, I guess you don’t have any liquor in here then. I’ll be back,” and after putting her shoes on and grabbing her purse, she was out the door, leaving a concerned new roommate in her wake.

——

Rosé sighed as she passed the joint back to Mik. “This doesn’t make me a bad person, right? I mean the last thing I want to do is make Lemon’s issues about me. But god, that really is what made me realize that I have to do this.”

Mik shook her head as she took a hit. “It’s not your fault, you saw a trainwreck and realized you needed to keep your ass on the tracks.” She finished off the joint and put it out. “Listen, the last thing you wanna do is be that girl who pines over the person she’s sleeping with until it’s too late.”

“You’re right, I know. I’m gonna talk to her,” she exhaled deeply as she pushed herself up. “If Lemon comes around, please don’t have sex with her.”

“Oh fuck off,” she huffed, “that delayed her mental breakdown by at least a week.”

Rosé rolled her eyes as she left. She wasn’t mad at Mik for that, if anything maybe it did help Lemon temporarily by giving her a distraction. But she had so much more on her mind, things that have been brewing since the club incident.

Before she could talk herself out of it, she knocked on Denali’s door, evening out her breathing while she waited for her.

“Hey Rosie,” Denali smiled warmly as she opened the door, leading her inside and shutting it behind them. “What’s up? You usually text me when you’re on your way over.” They sat down on the couch as she spoke, a tinge of concern in her voice.

She swallowed thickly, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. “I know I’ve been distant lately with everything that’s been happening with Lemon. But through all the chaos, I realized something, that keeping your feelings bottled up is dangerous.” Another deep breath, this time she forced herself to look into Denali’s eyes, eyes that she found warmth and comfort in every time she gazed into them. “What I’m trying to say is that I have feelings for you. I don’t just wanna be fuck buddies, it’s not enough. I need all of you.”

Denali blinked, taking her time to process Rosé’s confession. At first it was pure surprise, but once she let it sink in, it clicked that she felt the same way, that she had been falling for her all along without realizing it. “You have all of me,” she told her, cupping her face and pressing a deep kiss to her lips.

In that moment, a weight lifted from Rosé’s chest. If only for the duration of a kiss, she could pretend nothing in the world existed outside of Denali’s apartment. She could stop thinking, stop worrying. It was only them, everything else faded to black. “Are we alone?” she asked against her lips.

“Mhm,” she nodded, a slight smirk tugging at her lips, able to fill in the blanks from there. Her hands traveled down Rosé’s body, tugging off her shirt in one swift motion, her own following suit, though they took their time undressing each other, letting their fingers and lips gently caress each other’s skin.

By the time they were both completely undressed, they had gotten each other thoroughly worked up. Rosé had Denali sit up on the couch, then got on her knees in front of her, pushing her thighs apart. She moved in between them, dragging her tongue along her pussy before circling, then sucking on her clit as she eased a finger into her.

Denali’s head lolled back to rest against the back of the couch, a pleased moan escaping. “Mm, Rosie…” she exhaled, her hips pushing up when Rosé slid in a second finger. “Baby, just like that, feels so good.”

She basked in the praise, continuing her movements, occasionally switching her tongue and her fingers, but never leaving her unattended. She was focused and fervent, bringing Denali to an orgasm as quickly as she could, as if she were setting it as a challenge to herself. Once she’d won her game, she pulled back with a smile, gazing up at her. “God, you’re beautiful.”

“And you’re sappy,” she teased affectionately, leaning down to kiss her. “Come on,” she got up and pulled Rosé to her feet, “we can cuddle until I gotta get ready for my shift.”

——

Nicky watched Jan with a concerned expression. She wished she knew what to do, how to talk to her and help her. Ever since the incident at the club, she had been quiet, withdrawn, two words she would never think to associate with the bubbly woman she loved so dearly. It killed her to see her girlfriend hurting, enough for her to put her aversion to emotional conversations aside as she sat beside her on the couch, gently taking her hand. “Please tell me what’s wrong. You haven’t been the same since what happened with Lemon and I’m worried about you.”

Jan chewed on her lip, her gaze downcast. Logically, she knew she couldn’t avoid this conversation forever, but it didn’t make it any easier. “Lemon is like a sister to me and I’m worried about her. I know what alcoholism looks like… and I know what it can do to someone, it’s not pretty.”

She furrowed her brows, shifting closer to the younger woman. “What do you mean?”

“Well, um…” she swallowed thickly, “my dad’s five years sober now, but it hit a nasty low before it got better. I-I don’t know what that low would be for Lemon, I’m afraid she’s hit it, but I’m even more afraid she hasn’t.”

Nicky nodded as she listened. She had suspected Lemon might have developed a bit of a drinking habit, but not the severity, and certainly not the effect it would have on Jan. “I am so sorry about your father, and about Lemon. Is there anything we can do?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “My dad went to rehab while I was away at college, but I imagine my mom laid down some ultimatums, but I don’t know if Lemon thinks she has anything left to lose.”

“There has to be some way, and I’m going to help you find it,” she promised.

——

“Thank you all for meeting me here,” Juice said as she looked around the two pushed-together tables in the diner. “For those of you who don’t know, my name is Julia - Juice - and Lemon moved in with me about four days ago.”

“What happened?” Rosé immediately asked. “Is she okay?”

The blonde hesitated and looked down at the table. “Technically yes, she’s nursing a hangover at home right now but otherwise fine, unless she’s started day drinking. But there’s a bigger issue, and I’m sure you guys have started to suspect as much. What I’m trying to say is she’s developing an alcohol problem, and if we don’t do something about it now, it could get much worse.”

Everyone else had similar expressions - sadness, concern, anxiety. But none of them were surprised. “What do we do, then?” Rosé asked, breaking a tense moment of silence.

“Listen, I’m not claiming to be an expert. I’m twenty-two, sober for eight months now, so I can relate to how she’s feeling. What she’s going to need is everyone to rally around her, because it won’t be easy to convince her to get help.”

“So can we stage an intervention?” Jaida asked. “Do you have someone we can talk to?”

Juice nodded. “I can talk to my sponsor and have her put us in touch with someone who can get her into a detox, put the whole thing together. It goes so far beyond just telling her to stop drinking, especially in a club environment.”

“Speaking of the club environment,” Gigi chimed in, “we have to address the elephant in the room. What are we gonna do about the Priyanka situation? She told Crystal she’s taking a day job until things cool off, but if Lemon gets help… maybe that’ll expedite the process.”

Jackie sighed, but agreed. “I can open auditions to take on another dancer temporarily, I don’t know how long she’s gonna need, but assuming she chooses to get help, I want her to know she has a place to come back to.” She was quiet for a moment, then added, “I’m going to reach out to Priyanka too, I know she hasn’t been answering most of our calls or texts, but I think I might be able to get through to her.”

“My god, we’ve been so caught up with Lemon, we’ve barely kept up with Pri. Are we bad friends?” Jan asked, feeling a mix of guilt and sadness.

Juice shook her head. “No, of course not. Everyone here is doing their best. You guys reach out to Priyanka and figure out a way to get Lemon to the intervention when the time comes, I’ll do what I can on my part.” From there, they all just had to hope for the best.

——

Jackie took a deep breath, making sure she was calm and collected before knocking on the door. When a woman with black hair and tattoos opened the door, she greeted her politely. “Hi, you must be Scarlett. Um, can you tell Priyanka that Jackie’s here to see her?”

Scarlett nodded, disappearing back into her apartment. There was a solid few minutes of waiting, but Priyanka eventually came to the door. “Hey,” she greeted meekly and led Jackie inside.

Jackie sat at the edge of the bed in the guest room Priyanka had been staying in. “How have you been? You know we’re all worried about you.”

Priyanka’s gaze never left the floor. She picked pieces of lint off of her shorts as she sat down as well, swinging her legs aimlessly. How could she even begin to tackle that question when everything she had ever known had changed overnight? How can anyone process that sort of thing? “Scarlett convinced me to try therapy. I’ve had a couple sessions so far… It helped, I think, but it’s just scratching the surface, you know?”

She listened attentively, nodding along. “I’m proud of you for that. How did your family react when you and Mark broke up?”

“It’s funny, as angry as he was, he didn’t out me. He said it’s clear I have my own problems to work through. My mom was furious that the wedding was called off, so I threw in the ‘I like girls’ news because, well, it couldn’t get any worse,” she sighed. “I don’t think it’s fully hit her yet. She asked me if it was an excuse to get out of the wedding. I haven’t heard back since I told her it was the truth, and I haven’t heard from my dad at all.” She laid back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. “I couldn’t even say that I’m gay. It’s too much, I can’t just be gay,” she sat back up and grabbed a tissue, quickly dabbing the corners of her eyes. “How do you get past it, Jackie? How do you stop being afraid of yourself?”

Jackie pressed her lips together as she tried to articulate an answer. “There’s no easy solution, but I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now. I don’t think I was ever ready to be gay, one day I just came to terms with the fact that I was miserable trying to avoid my own truth and that the only way I was ever going to be happy was by loving even the scariest parts of myself.”

Priyanka went quiet again, crumpling the tissue in her hand and staring at it as if the answers were there. “So you don’t think I’ll be able to be fully happy until I embrace being gay?”

“That’s for you to decide. But think of it this way; when you think about your future, best case scenario, what is it in your life that’s making you happy?”

The answer for that wasn’t in her hand, it was in her heart. It made its way into her throat, choking her from the inside and making her pulse race. After everything, it nearly made her angry that it felt inevitable. “Lemon.”

——

“Juice just texted me that they’re on the way,” Rosé read off her phone, her free hand squeezing Denali’s tight, her leg bouncing anxiously.

The woman they’d brought in to help Lemon, Widow, nodded calmly. “Remember, at the end of the day we are here to help her. We’re not punishing or lecturing her, but we have to be firm.”

After another review of the plan, they heard the door open and looked up to see the two girls walk in, Lemon’s expression immediately becoming confused as she looked around. “Are you guys fucking intervention-ing me?” she asked as she took the empty seat to the right of Rosé.

“Lemon, your friends and family are here because they care about you and are worried about your health,” Widow explained. “Now, I know what you’re thinking, ‘this bitch wants to send me to some random rehab until I come back sober for good’, but this isn’t like that. We get that you’re twenty-one, fresh out of college, no history of addiction.”

“So why am I here?” Lemon interjected.

Rosé arched her brow. “Well, for starters, you haven’t been sober a full twenty-four hours in nearly three weeks, you’ve been acting completely unhinged every time you get trashed. You’re actively trying to alienate yourself from everyone who cares about you, you-” She stopped short when Denali squeezed her hand, her cue to reel it in. “You’re going down a dangerous path and we don’t want you to get hurt.”

“This isn’t one of those ninety-day programs either,” Jackie chimed in. “It’s only three weeks, and the first five days are just for detoxing. We’re not saying you have to be sober for good, this isn’t AA, it’s a program that’s going to give you the support and help you need to still enjoy things in moderation instead of relying on alcohol as a coping mechanism.”

Lemon nodded and listened as the rest of the group said their pieces to try to convince her to go. And she took it in, but she was also looking around and at the door. After a while, it became clear that she was waiting for - hoping for - another person.

“Priyanka wanted to come,” Jackie told her. “But we weren’t sure how you would react and decided it would be better if she waited at least until after you detox to contact you. You have to know, though, she really does care about you.”

She sunk further into her chair, not angry, but embarrassed. It shouldn’t have had to come to this, she knew that, knew better. And she hated that everything they said was right, that she did need help. “Fine,” she mumbled, “I’ll go.”

There was a collective sigh of relief as the tension dissipated throughout the room. “Rosé and Juice will go back with you to your apartment so you can pack, we’re going to get you checked in tonight,” Widow explained. “The facility is in Westchester, you won’t be more than an hour away and visitation is every Saturday.”

Rosé looked at her younger cousin and could tell she was doing her best to cover her fear and anxiety. She wrapped her arms around her and hugged her tightly. “You’re going to be okay, baby,” she promised, “they’re gonna take good care of you, and you’re gonna be better than ever once you’re done.”

Lemon nodded quietly, wiping her eyes. “I just wanna get this over with,” she mumbled, still unwilling to allow herself to be vulnerable in front of everyone, though the group anticipated that from her and let it be. All any of them could do now was trust the process.

[storiesforallfandoms]

fixed ~ machine gun kelly

part one

word count: 1893

request?: technically yes

description: after months of trying to prove himself to her, colson decides to do the ultimate gesture to prove his love for her

pairing: machine gun kelly x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist

Months passed and Colson and I began dating again. It wasn’t my intention to let him back in that fast, I was going to make him work for it. But after being together for five years, Colson knew more about me than I even knew about myself, meaning he knew how to win me over very quickly.

Although we decided to resume our relationship, I still didn’t completely trust Colson yet. Every time he talked about having to leave for tour I cringed, whenever he went out with friends I got paranoid about who he was with, and whenever he posted pictures on Instagram or sent out tweets I was always scoping out to see who was commenting and liking (specifically, if Sommer was commenting and liking).

I tried to keep all this hidden at first as I didn’t want Colson thinking I was being clingy or anything, but then I realized I had every right to be acting this way. He didn’t give me any reason to trust him, not after he cheated on me with a girl he was constantly telling me he didn’t care about. So I decided to confront him about it.

“Do you still talk to Sommer?” I asked one day while we were cuddling on the couch.

Colson shook his head. “Nope, haven’t heard from her in months. Last I heard from the guys, she went back to her boyfriend and everything is all fine between them.”

I cringed to myself, although I wasn’t exactly one to talk considering I was back together with Colson. I wondered if Sommer’s boyfriend even knew that she cheated on him. The pictures the paparazzi had taken managed to hide her face, it could’ve been easy for her to play it off as if it wasn’t her.

I tried to stop thinking about it. Thinking about her was going to make me so angry when I really didn’t have to.

“Why?” Colson asked, moving so he could look down at me.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing, sorry I asked.”

“No seriously, tell me.”

I sighed heavily and sat up. Colson propped himself up against the arm rest to look at me. I couldn’t face him as I began to explain. “Part of me is still just...paranoid I guess. Whenever I see that you’ve posted something I keep looking at it expecting to see her in the comments, or on Twitter. And I feel bad about it but at the same time you gotta understand that you still haven’t completely won my trust back yet, especially when I really don’t know if you are still talking to Sommer, or if she’s still trying to interact with you despite everything that’s happened.”

I let my words hang in the air for a minute. Colson’s face was unreadable. Part of me was wondering if this would result in a fight, and if it did what should my reaction have been? I wasn’t going to feel sorry for not completely trusting him just yet. It had only been a few months, trust isn’t rebuilt that fast. If he was angry because of that, maybe it would be best to breakup. But at the same time, I did feel like a prying, untrusting girlfriend, even if I did have a reason to be that way. I felt conflicted, and the longer the silence lasted, the more my heart raced with worry and nervousness.

Colson held his arms out to me. Confused, I leaned into his embrace. He turned me around so I was sitting with my back against his chest as he grabbed his phone from the coffee table in front of us. He went to his contacts first, scrolling till his found Sommer’s name. My eyes widened in shock as he not only deleted her number, but blocked it from his phone as well. He went on to delete their text conversations (the last of which being from the day after the incident, where he told Sommer it would never happen again and Sommer left him on read), and to unfollow and block her on all forms of social media.

“There,” he said, placing his phone back on the table once he was finished. “Let’s see her trying to reach me after that.”

I looked at him in shock. I wasn’t sure what to expect to happen, but it certainly wasn’t for him to do that.

“I love you more than anything, (Y/N),” he told me. “Honestly, I’d block every slutty groupie that tries to slide into my DMs if I could, but that would take me hours. Although I can’t do that, I hope this small act of blocking Sommer will show you that I’m serious about our relationship. I don’t want to risk losing you again, and I will never do anything to risk that ever again.”

I lunged into Colson’s arms the minute the last word was out of his mouth, knocking the air out of him and causing him to start laughing. He wrapped his arms around me and I kissed him deeply and passionately.

Okay, maybe the trust was beginning to be rebuilt just a little.

~~~~~~

A few days later, I came home after work to find all the nights off in our house, with the exception of a glowing light coming from the kitchen.

“Colson?” I called as I approached the kitchen slowly.

The kitchen was set up with a handful of candles placed around on the counters and one in the middle of our dinner table, which had two places set across from one another. Colson was leaning against the table, wearing a pair of jeans and his nicest dress shirt. He smiled at me as I walked in.

“Welcome home, baby,” he said, crossing the room to give me a hug and kiss.

“What is all this?” I asked, motioning towards the table.

“I decided I wanted to set up a stay at home date night for us,” he explained. “You know I’m an awful cook, so I hope you don’t mind that I ordered some delivery instead. I even bought you a new dress to wear, too.”

I looked up at him with slight suspicion, but I definitely was not about to pass up a beautiful dinner date and a new dress.

I raced upstairs to our shared bedroom, where I found a beautiful black dress waiting for me. It came down to my knees and hugged me in a way that showed off my every curve and my cleavage, which I’m sure was Colson’s goal when he bought it. Still, I wasn’t about to complain. It was gorgeous. Usually, I would do my hair and makeup for a date with Colson, but since we were going to be staying home I decided to just take my hair out of its ponytail and leave it however it decided to fall, and went back downstairs with my neutral work makeup still on.

Like a gentlemen, Colson held my seat out for me and pushed it in as I sat down. He poured the both of us glasses of red wine and took his seat across from me.

“Okay, who are you and what have you done with my boyfriend?” I teased. “I don’t think you’ve been this romantic in our entire five years of dating.”

“I totally have!” he argued. “Our first date I took you to a fancy restaurant.”

“You tried to take me to a fancy restaurant. But then you realized you needed a reservation, and you didn’t have one, so we ended up going to a local diner or something.”

“You loved and still do love that diner, don’t even try to say you don’t.”

“Yeah you’re right, I do. It’s better than most fancy restaurants.”

“I’ll cheers to that.” I laughed as Colson tapped his wine glass against mine. “I just wanted to plan a nice, surprise dinner date for us. I may or may not have googled the idea, though, so you have caught me at being an awful romantic.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is hopeless, because you’re not awful. I love it, thank you baby.”

The date went perfectly. The food Colson ordered was delicious and we spent hours just talking and drinking the wine until the bottle was empty and I was starting to feel as though I had definitely drank at least half a bottle of wine.

Colson cleared away the dishes, absolutely refusing to let me do anything to help, so I just sat and waited to see what he had up his sleeve next. With the kitchen so dim besides the candles, I could only faintly see him as he walked in and put the dishes into the sink. He paused there a moment, and I figured I was about to be have another surprise, and I was right, but I could never expect this surprise.

Colson returned from the kitchen with a nervous look on his face. I looked up at him in concern and opened my mouth to ask what was going on, but my question quickly faded into a gasp when he lowered himself onto one knee and produced a ring from behind his back.

"I know the timing of this...probably could not be any worse,” he started. “I know we’re still in the process of fixing our relationship, so I understand if you say no, but I wanted to even just ask to see what you might say. (Y/N), I love you so much. I have since we first met. These past five years have been the best of my life. I couldn’t be happier with anyone else. I had planned to do this when I got back from tour, but of course I managed to royally fuck up our relationship before that. I can’t picture a future that doesn’t have you in it, whether it’s as my wife or even just as my girlfriend. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. (Y/N), will you marry me?”

Tears started to form in my eyes, and I was definitely very glad I decided not to do my makeup.

My words were caught in my throat and I couldn't get them out. I could see the concern growing on Colson’s face the longer I stayed silent. Finally, I managed to control my head enough to nod and a smile so bright that I was sure it could light up the room brighter than the candles broke across Colson’s face.

“Yes?” he asked.

I nodded and finally managed to get the words out. “Yes, Colson. Yes, oh my God yes, I’ll marry you!”

He lifted me from the chair and held me in his arms, kissing me so passionately that my head was beginning to spin, or maybe that was from the excitement of being engaged, and also the wine.

“Can I have the ring?” I asked when we finally managed to pull apart from one another.

“Oh yeah, yes. Here.”

He took my left hand and slid the ring onto my ring finger. It was gorgeous, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of it until I looked up at Colson and attached my lips to his again.

“I love you so much,” I said.

“I love you too, (Y/N).”

[ghastily]

✎ — Gravity (2/??)

➥   Wolfpack x Reader | 3741 | Ao3

⚠️  Panic Attack

Life is hard, sometimes it rewards you with three boyfriends for your efforts.

You’re nearly asleep on Boost’s chest when Sinker finally comes home.

In your haste to get up you accidentally elbow Boost in the stomach and he lets out a loud ‘oof’. A quick kiss on the cheek in apology and you’re up and bolting for the door. You throw your arms around Sinker's neck as soon as he steps inside the door, clinging tightly to him. He laughs, and maneuvers a large duffel bag out of the way, with a free hand Sinker reaches up to cup the back of your head, and leans down to claim your lips with his own. It’s painfully short and not nearly enough, and you greedily chase after him when he ends the kiss.

“Well, hello to you too.” He teases, releasing you and letting his hand fall away from your head and back to his side. You’re a tiny bit embarrassed, trying to settle down, “Sorry. I just.. Kind of missed you?”

Sinker’s gaze is soft and full of affection, “Don't be. I missed you too.”

Boost comes up behind you, arms wrapping tightly around your waist, as he rests his chin on your shoulder. “I missed you too!” Boost puckers up and bats his eyes, making loud kissy noises. Sinker smirks and flicks his brother’s forehead, their antics make you laugh and lean back into Boost’s chest as he whines and rubs his forehead.

“Yeah? I’ll give you a kiss with this fist,” Sinker shakes a clenched hand in his brother’s face, “Come help me with this, Boost. Got us some civvies.” He pats the duffel bag, maneuvering around the two of you and heading for the bedroom.

“I’ll heat up some leftovers while you get comfy, Sinker.” You gently pry yourself out of Boost's grip, much to his displeasure, and plant a kiss on his cheek to pacify him. He pouts and follows after his brother.

You watch the two bicker as they make their way down the hallway and into your bedroom. Something had been feeling off recently, but neither of the guys had mentioned anything lately. Sinker and Boost were as affectionate and jovial as ever but sometimes, when they thought you weren’t looking, there was tension and worry in their faces.

They were soldiers and there was a war going on, they had every reason to be on edge sometimes. Maybe it was nothing and you were just overthinking it, either way you decide you’ll ask them about it later if only just to clear the air. You shake your head and let out a heavy sigh as you head over to the kitchen, loading a plate up with left-overs and warming it up. Nothing worse than cold food.

You make your way over to the sofa and get comfortable once you're done. The guys return a few minutes later as you’re flipping through channels on the holovision. If they were handsome in their gear, they were even more handsome in the loose, dull colored, and insanely comfortable looking civilian clothes. They looked more like people and not just tools of war, and thought only made your heart ache more for them.

The clones deserved so much better.

Boost drops down onto the sofa beside you, stretching his arm over the back and behind you. You smile and snuggle into his side, nestling your head against his shoulder. He smiles and tilts his head, pressing his lips into your hair. He’s so warm and things are peaceful, quiet aside from the show that’s playing on the holovision. Sinker takes the plate you left for him and eats his dinner at the small table in the kitchen. You wait until he’s done eating to bring up what’s been bothering you.

“We want to—”

“So, is everyth—” You begin and quickly stop as your voice overlaps Sinker’s. The two of look at each other in surprise. Boost, the jerk, cackles.

You lightly elbow him in the side.

“You first.” Sinker sets his plate down in the sink and goes to where you and Boost are sitting. Carefully, he tests the strength of the coffee table with his hand before perching on the edge of it so he can face you — and most likely block Booster’s view of the holovision.

“It’s nothing really,” Boost tries to kick his brother in the shin, you place a hand on Boost’s knee in hopes he’ll settle down, “Just lately you guys seem to have something on your mind? Is.. Uh, is everything ok? It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it or whatever, I just—”

Sinker grabs your hand from Boost’s knee, stopping you mid-ramble.

“Yeah, there is.” Boost sighs and you glance over at him, watching him run a hand over his head, “And we’re glad you asked cause we weren't sure how to bring it up with you.”

So there was something wrong.

There’s an intense silence, most likely everyone waiting for the other to speak before Sinker finally gives in and goes first. “This won’t change anything between us, ok?”

He squeezes your hand and your heart sinks. It’s about your relationship then.

“It’s, uh, usually not just the two of us.” Sinker swallows thickly, clearly nervous but here goes nothing, “There’s three of us. Commander Wolffe. We’ve been through a lot together and.. He knows about this, us, but he’s being difficult.”

You squeeze your eyes shut and sigh.

Boost jumps in, quick to reassure you of where you feared this conversation was heading. “We like you and whether he’s in it or not, we wanna keep this going.”

They weren't breaking up with you and that’s.. A little better, you suppose. The potential addition of Wolffe though makes your head spin. Sinker looks at you in concern, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles of your hand.

“So,” He begins softly, “We realized we hadn’t told you about that, and we wanted to know how you felt it. If you'd be okay with Wolffe too.”

You weren’t sure. You had barely managed a relationship with one person before much less two at the same time. Stranger things have happened though, you never expected Sinker and Boost to barge into your life either — so what was one more.

You open your eyes to see their worried faces staring intently at you. A soft breath escapes you, “This is new for me. I’ve never been in a relationship like this before.. but I’m willing to try if Wolffe is. I really like you both too and I don’t want this to end..”

The two troopers look relieved. You can't help but smile a bit, watching Sinker and Boost exchange happy smiles of their own. Apparently they had been expecting a much worse reaction.

You interlace your fingers with Sinker’s, affectionately squeezing his hand. “So, tell me about this Commander Wolffe.”

Their faces light up in delight, and for a moment there may have been a mischievous glint in their eyes. Sinker settles onto the sofa on your other side, eliciting a squeak from you as you’re squished between him and his brother. With everyone’s worry eased, you spend the rest of the evening listening to the guys tell you wild stories of their favorite missions involving Wolffe.

The following days are blissful and easy-going, no garbage launcher mishaps, nor were there any fights in or around the diner. It was strangely peaceful and you were honestly starting to feel a bit on edge, it was like a calm before the storm and you were just waiting for the chaos to rain down.

And rain down it did.

It was still dark when you woke up, rain pelting against the window just above your bed. You sigh and roll into the spot where Sinker usually slept only to find a fading warmth in its place. The guys must have recently left for the barracks, which means you need to get up and leave for work soon too.

Ugh. So much for sleepy, rainy morning cuddles.

You pout and roll out of bed to prepare for the day. The rain began to pick up when you were leaving, turning into an outright tsunami by the time you arrive at work. You were ill-prepared for the rain to go sideways but you weren't about to let a little rain sour your mood. Thank the Stars you had the foresight to keep an extra pair of clothes at the diner, initially for any food related mishaps but now was as good as time as any to bust them out of your locker.

Except it’s been a while since you dropped these clothes off, and the pants fit a little too snugly around your middle and digs into your stomach. You sigh loudly, frustrated, and suck in your gut. Hopefully no one will notice once you put an apron on.

This sucks.

The rest of the day is remarkably uneventful, not many people were going to be out in this bad weather but you can’t shake this odd feeling of being watched. You look through the window into the dining area a few times hoping to catch whoever may be looking, a few times you even thought you saw Sinker or Boost sitting at a booth. It couldn't be though, since your guys never came in through the front and would always greet you.

You finish drying a plate, setting it aside and smile to yourself remembering all the times they’d come over and kiss you. It made your heart flutter with just how much you loved them.

“Oho, thinking of something dirty?” Harmony’s teases, leaning through the window as she typically does when she’s not swamped. Your cheeks burn, and you hastily turn your back to her untying your apron. “I am not!”

Harmony hums, folding her hands under her chin and watches you fuss about the kitchen, preparing to leave now that the diner was closing for the day. “There were two clones here today, one kept ordering caf so I couldn’t kick him out.”

“Oh yeah?” You try and pretend you’re not interested, hanging up your apron by the sink. But you are definitely curious, especially if it involves the clone troopers. They rarely come around CoCo Town except for Sinker and Boost.

“Yup!” Harmony pops the p at the end and smiles, “Well, the cute blonde one left earlier, totally my type by the way, but the other one stayed. He was missing an eye, all broody and grumpy looking. Kept giving FLO these nasty looks—”

Wow, did Harmony always talk this much?

“Wait, you said he’s missing an eye?” You cut in, causing Harmony to pause long enough to nod before picking up where she left off. You frown. Sinker and Boost had told you that the most distinctive feature that set Wolffe apart from the others was his missing eye.

Then the eyes you felt on you all day, could it have been Wolffe? A million questions raced through your mind; was he evaluating you? Maybe Sinker and Boost had finally convinced him to talk to you, or was he determining if you are a security risk? Why didn’t he just ask for you?

Stop.

Worrying like that wasn’t going to help, Sinker and Boost said they would stay with you no matter what. You took a deep breath and chased the whirlwind of thoughts away. Everything was fine. You’re fine.

“I’m heading out now,” You smile at Harmony, and she pouts. It makes you feel a little guilty for not paying attention, you resolve to make it up to her in the future. Maybe with a cake. You grab your clothes from this morning and head for the back door, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Harmony! Good night, Dex!”

“Be careful!” Dex calls out, nearly drowning out Harmony’s little ‘byyyeee’.

It’s a small blessing that the rain has finally let up as you step outside, now just a gentle shower rather than the downpour it had been during the day. The only downside was that it was dark. Darker than it usually is when you go home. You clutch the folded clothes tightly to your chest and take a deep breath, beginning the familiar trek home.

You’re almost half way home when you feel someone staring again. This time though it deeply unsettles you, and the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. It feels malicious . You start to walk a little faster, scanning the area around you for someone, anyone, who might be following you. That’s when you hear it — footsteps behind you, matching your pace and everything inside of you screams.

Then you're running, heart in your throat and adrenaline spurring you on. Whoever is behind you takes off after you, you can hear the sound of their feet smacking puddles behind you. The world around you blurs, there's not another person out at this hour, not in this rain. No one that would actually care enough to intervene anyway. You aren’t even sure where you are any more but something inside of you says go home — where it’s safe.

You can feel the person behind you get closer, so you make a sharp turn down an alley, shoes sliding on the wet street. A decision you instantly regret as you begin to lose your footing, only to feel someone’s hand grip your upper arm, pulling you back up. A scream is caught in your throat, out of the corner of your eye you see familiar white armor rushing past. You stumble to your feet, unsteady and swaying, finally looking behind you.

And just like that the threat was gone. Wide-eyed, you watch a trooper with blue markings easily disarm a Rodian, twisting his arms back, and slapping a pair of stasis cuffs on him. The two yell at each other but you can’t make out a word of it with how loud your heart is pounding, it feels like it might explode. You don’t even hear the expletives coming out of the Rodian as he’s hauled away.

The trooper that stopped you from falling stays at your side. You recognize the gray markings and instantly you feel a wave of relief flow over you. Those are Wolfpack markings, you lean in closer hoping it was perhaps Sinker or Boost. You stop when his face is illuminated by the lights and you spot the false eye — it’s Wolffe.

“I’ll drop him off for Fox to deal with.” The other trooper announces and Wolffe nods. He looks over at you, a trembling and shaking nervous wreck. No doubt your face flushed red and panic stricken.

“Breathe.” He commands, and you do, loudly, gasping as your knees finally give out from under you. Your lungs burn and your entire body feels like jello, weak, and not doing anything you want it to do. Wolffe catches you easily once again, grasping under your arms and hauling you back onto your feet. You lean heavily against him, oblivious to the way he gently grips your sides to keep you steady.

“When you’re ready, I’ll walk you home.”

You nod, lips quivering with the urge to cry. You really didn’t want to, not in front of Wolffe, but when you press your forehead against the cool plastoid of his armor you can’t hold it back. Today had been rough, and that had been too much.

True to his word, Wolffe walks you home at a slow and steady pace.

You've never been so happy to see the dumpster that guards the front door to your place before. You also never thought you’d look at the dumpster and think home and safety either yet here you were, shakily unlocking the door and letting Wolffe guide you inside. His presence helped calm and soothe your frayed nerves on the way home, but you were still a little unsteady and uncoordinated. Wolffe easily maneuvers you around the coffee table in the pitch blackness of your home, and eases you down on the sofa.

“Let go.”

Huh?

You blink at the gentle command, unsure of what Wolffe means until he gestures at the clothes that you’re clutching so tightly to your chest that your knuckles have gone pale. You mumble a soft ‘oh’ before letting go and Wolffe gently removes the crumbled clothes from your grasp, setting them down on the coffee table. You flex and stretch your fingers, feeling the aching stiffness in each one. Wow, just how hard were you digging your fingers in?

“Do you want me to stay?” Wolffe ask softly, and you nod quickly without hesitation.

And he just stands there in front of you, not making any attempts to move or do anything at all really. It’s too dark but that doesn’t stop you from staring up at him, although it’s so dark you can barely make out the features of his face, he’s unbearably handsome. You find that your heart is beating a little faster now for an entirely different reason.

“Um, wanna sit?” You pat the empty space next to you. Wolffe just stares at you for a moment longer before seemingly giving in and sitting beside you. The side of your thigh presses against his armor clad one, and it makes you feel a little nervous. You feel like a teenager again on a first date trying to see how far you could go with physical contact. It’s like you weren't even terrified and running for your life just moments ago.

“Sinker and Boost talk about you a lot,” Wolffe begins to speak and you look at him curiously, “And I’m sure one of them has informed you of our situation?”

You nod. Sinker explained it a little more in depth to you later that night after he and Boost told you about Wolffe. They were the only survivors of their original squad and through all the hardships of war their bonds grew deeper — it was never romantic but it was something. Something they didn’t have a label for but whatever it was, wasn't that unusual for clones to experience. Sinker mentioned, for example, that Fives and Echo are just as close as they were.

“Did they tell you why I wasn’t getting involved?” You shake your head. It never crossed your mind that Wolffe may have a reason to avoid you aside from just not liking you. You see him take a deep breath before he speaks again, “We had tried this before and it didn’t work out, it just made everything difficult.”

“Wolffe..”

“They would throw a fit and ignore us every time we left for duty, got jealous and would try to make us pick sides, pitting us against one another,” He lets out a frustrated growl and clenches his fists, you wanted so badly to reach out and soothe him, “I’m not going to let that happen again.”

“Wolffe, I didn’t know. This whole relationship, dating more than one person, is new to me, and I’m surely going to make mistakes.” You let out a soft sigh, nothing felt like the right thing to say but you felt that you needed to, “Sinker and Boost make me happy.. I want them to be happy too, and that includes you Wolffe. You don’t have to like me the same way they do, but it would be nice if we could be on good terms—”

There you go, anxiously rambling again but Wolffe’s words stop you in your tracks, “Let’s go on a date.”

HUH?

This is not a conversation to have in the dark, you need to see his face, to hear him say it again so you know you aren’t just imagining it. You clap your hands loudly and the lights come on, temporarily blinding both of you with the sudden flood of bright light. “A date? You want to go on a date?”

Wolffe, once he can see again, turns to stare at you like you've suddenly sprouted a second head, and maybe a few extra limbs. He points at the ceiling, “You have clap activated lights?”

You’re almost offended by the sheer look of disbelief on his face, “That's not important right now!”

He claps his hands and the lights turn off, shrouding you both in darkness again. You can hear him trying to muffle a laugh, so deep and warm that you want to make him as laugh as much as possible in the future — but not right now, you're trying to be mad at him. You grab one of the pillows on the sofa and smack his shoulder, at least you think it’s his shoulder.

“Don’t laugh at me! Asshole!” You squeak.

“I can't..” Wolffe hides a smile behind his hand, taking a deep breath to collect himself. “You need to tell me why you even have these lights.”

You collapse back into the sofa with a pout, “Look. Harmony installed them when I first moved in, and they come in real handy when you’re sick on the sofa and don’t want to get up to turn them off or on! Don't judge me!”

Before anything more can be said the front door opens with a harsh woosh, startling both you and Wolffe. He's on his feet in a heartbeat with a hand on his weapon, prepared to draw. He lets out a relieved sigh when he sees Sinker and Boost stumble through the door, elbowing each other when they briefly get stuck trying to enter at the same time.

Sinker slams his palm into the light switch on the wall, and the lights come back on. The two clones are momentarily caught off guard to see their Commander standing in front of you, but it doesn’t stop them from dodging around him to get to you. They're firing off a million questions a minute, checking you over for any injuries.

“Guys!” You hold up your hands, “I’m not hurt. Just.. Shaken up.”

The pair look like they don’t believe you, their brows are drawn together in worry. Your cheeks burn under the intense scrutiny of their gazes, touched that they cared so much for you. You reach up to wrap an arm over their shoulders, pulling the guys into a hug. Boost leans in easily, burying his face against your neck. Sinker’s cheek presses against yours as he twists an arm around you to hug you in return, tightly clutching the back of your damp shirt.

[justimagaine]

Jensen Ackles

Supporting each other was a very important part of a relationship. When someone wanted to do something that would make them happy, it was important the other person supported them. Sometimes it would end up hurting the other person in the end, but knowing your loved one was happy would be enough. But still there were times a person would feel forgotten and oh so lonely.

Things were starting to get crazy for Jensen on set. The end of a season was coming and there was a lot to do. Jensen was directing few episodes, so he had more work then before. Being the supportive partner you were, and being happy for him, since directing was something he really loved to do. You did your best to help him when he needed, even if it was just a hug, a kiss or dinner to be made. You were very proud of Jensen, he had worked really hard to get where he was. 

Jensen knew you supported him and were going to be there for him when he needed, no matter what. But there comes a point where you need him. When you have a bad day and need a hug from him, a kiss from him. And lately he wasn’t there. You didn’t want to make a big deal about it so you said nothing. So every time he’d come home from set you’d have dinner prepared, a beer ready for him and as he entered the house he’d talk about how things were on set, the problems he had and the good stuff too. He’d talk and talk until it was time to go to bed. So he’d give a small kiss on the cheek and go to bed,leaving you with the dishes and a heavy heart.  Not once would he now ask how your day was, how you were feeling. It had gone to the point where even on the weekends he’d bee too busy. You’d wake up on a Saturday morning expecting to see him sleeping next to you, but he was already gone out with his friends and co-workers.

There were other people in your life you could talk to, but for such a long time Jensen was the one you’d go to. The one who would hold you tight, tell you everything would be okay and that he was there for you. He’d give you great advice and amazing support. Lately you didn’t get any of that and it hurt. At late nights when you couldn’t sleep your mind would start to wonder. Maybe he was done with you. Maybe he didn’t love you anymore or need you. Sometime you could shake those thought away from you, but with time it got worse and worse. He’d come home later and later, but you knew he was working his ass off, but you just were so lonely now and scared, Scared of what was next to happen with the two of you.

You woke up on a Friday morning and went to make him breakfast and coffee. Jensen walked in the kitchen just as you finished the breakfast. 

“Morning” you said smiling at him, Jensen smiled at you while nodding and took a sip of the coffee. “So I was thinking since today is a Friday and it’s a short day on the set, maybe we could go out and have dinner” you talked while looking at him to see what his reaction would be. “we haven’t done that in a while” there was a slight fear in you, he’d be upset about your idea. Having this fear was something new you felt, something you didn’t like. A while back you didn’t fear asking him to go out, he’d be happy about that idea. Jensen would actually be the one a lot of times to make date night plans. You waited for his answer. He seemed to think about it as he drinking his coffee and then slowly nodded, bringing relief to you

“Yeah, sure. Sounds great” he looked up at you from his drink and smiled. Jensen didn’t eat much of the food, before he was out of the house. Luckily he didn’t leave before giving you a quick kiss. Usually he’d give you a long passionate kiss that told you he was going to miss you, but you hadn’t gotten one of those in a long time.

While Jensen was on set working you did some house work and then started to get ready for dinner plans. You had called your and Jensens favorite restaurant and told them you two wanted to have dinner there. Since that was your favorite spot you had went there many times, so many that Jensen and you knew the owner of the place. Him hearing you two were coming in made him very happy. He hadn’t seen the two of you in a while. Just thinking about having a dinner date with Jensen and just being the two of you. You hoped the two of you would talk about something other else then work. So while getting ready you came up with some topics you could cover. There was such excitement in you it was crazy.

You put so much effort in your looks. Found the dress you knew Jensen loved on you. The same one you wore the day he told you he loved you, that was an incredible day. You curled your hair, did your make up just how you knew he’d like. Looking in the mirror you were happy to be dressed up and ready to go out with your man. You just couldn’t stop smiling while you sat in the living room waiting for Jensen to arrive and he should’ve been home soon. 

An hour past and he wasn’t home, so you called him, but there was no answer. You thought that there was no need to worry, he probably was a bit held up at work, these things happened, so you kept waiting. Another hour and one phone call later there still was no sign of him. You started to lose the excitement and sadness started to come over you. Trying to take your mind off the sad thoughts you went on instagram but wish you hadn’t. After just one scroll you landed on a post by Jered. He had posted a photo of him and some of the cast and smack dab in the middle was the man you were waiting for at home, all dressed up. You couldn’t believe it. Jensen ether forgot about your plans or decided not to show up. You felt like a fool. There you were everyday waiting for him with food, support and love. Even in your worst days you were there for him in his medium days. The one time you hoped he’d understand that you needed him. One time you hope Jensen would show up when you needed him, when your relationship needed him. Seeing that photo was like a slap in the face and suddenly anger came over you, pure rage.

As fast as possible you changed out of the dress, packed up some stuff and left the house. But before you ran out you left the dress you were going to wear on the diner table with a note on it. Note that just said “Thank you for the lovely evening. Hope YOU had fun”. It might be passive-aggressive, but that was better then waiting for him to finally come home, if he was even coming home and then yelling at him. Yelling wouldn’t solve anything, but you were so damn hurt, alone and just unappreciated you wanted to be away, anywhere else.

When Jensen finally came home it was already really late. He casually walked in, going into the kitchen to get a beer, obviously he hadn’t had enough at the bar. Jensen took a sip and made his way to the living room, but before he could reach it he saw the dress on the table. Confused he walked over and saw the note 

“Shit” he said letting out a heavy breath. Jensen shook his head and turned around and walked to the bedroom. On his way he started to think of things to say to make sure you weren’t too upset about him. Knowing you he thought you’d probably would be still up, just laying in the bed. So Jensen opened the door and started 

“Baby, i’m really sorry. The guys...” he stopped when he turned the light on and realized you weren’t there. His eyes darted around the room, there was no sign of you. Even though the bathroom was dark he ran to it, just to make sure if you really weren’t there. That’s when he noticed the opened drawer, running up and pulling it open he saw that it was empty “oh fuck. No, no, no” Jensen panicked, he searched his pockets for his phone but couldn’t find it. “FUCK” he yelled out while running to the kitchen where he found his phone. That was the first time he looked at it in a while and saw that you had called him. Quickly he called you back “Please pick up, please, please” but you didn’t. 

You were looking at your phone and had a hard time keeping yourself form picking up his call, but you were done being there for him when ever he wanted it, when ever he was in need. When you left the house you drove to your parents house, they welcomed you with open arms and promised you that they too wouldn’t answer Jensen when he’d call and he was gonna. Right after he called you he called our parents and they did as you asked. They declined his calls, many calls. 

With all the crying and pain you thought you weren’t going to fall asleep, but after a while you had no more energy so you slowly fell asleep. There was no way you were going to get a good nights sleep, but this was better then not sleeping at all and spending that time thinking about Jensen, about all the good memories. Asking yourself where it all went and was this really it. You didn’t know how long you were sleeping before you woke up to loud voices, angry loud voices. After a few seconds of adjusting you realized the voices were coming from the backyard, it sounded like your dad and Jensen. With a jump you ran to the window and saw your dad yelling at Jensen 

“You need to leave now. I swear to god, I will just..” you dad was furies but still trying his best not to punch the man in front of him. Not wanting an actual fight to happen you ran down to the back yard, you got there right when your dad told Jensen “do you even realize how much you’ve hurt (Y/N)? I have never seen so much pain in a persons eyes. You don’t appreciate the things (Y/N) does for you. I should just ill you right here and right now” you walked closer to them, as you stepped in the light Jensen saw you 

“(Y/N)” he called out and tried to run up to you, but your dad stopped him. 

“It’s okay dad. We need to talk” you said placing a hand on his shoulder and giving him a small smile. 

“You sure?” he watched you nod, he then gave Jensen a angry look before walking back in the house. You knew he wasn’t going to actually leave you there alone. he was probably standing in the kitchen watching you.

“Baby, I’m really sorry. I totally forgot about dinner”Jensen talked and tried to touch you but you moved back. that shocked him and also confused. Seeing how he was looking at you and what he had said made you realize he had no idea what was the real problem

“You don’t get it do you Jensen? I don’t care about the stupid dinner anymore. Jensen you don’t care about me anymore” you did your best not to cry 

“That’s not true” he said making you laugh a bit

“When was the last time we talked and I mean both of us and not just you. When was the last time you asked how my day was?” as you kept talking, it was harder to keep your tears in “When was the last time you hugged or kissed me. For real. Not a quick hello and goodbye” Jensen now was seeing the pain your dad was talking about and he couldn’t believe he was the reason for your hurt. Jensen started to think and you were right, he couldn’t remember. “Jensen I love you, I love you so fucking much, but I can’t be in a relationship that is one sided. I can’t be the only one that gives And I’ve given you so damn much. I’ve given all of me to you” there were tears running down your cheeks and voice cracking. You were letting go, showing your pain and slowly letting go of him. 

“(Y/N). I’m sorry” Jensen said as now he was tearing up. “I’m so sorry, you’re right I’ve been neglecting you. I got used to you being there for me, I’m...” he was trying to find the right words that would get you to forgive him. Forgive him enough to come back home with him, so he could start to make it up to you/ But the look in your eyes, the way you were stepping away from him bit by bit, physically and emotionally told him he had really fuck up. “I’m so sorry” 

“I know you are Jensen. But that’s not enough. I’m just so drained. I can’t do this. Don’t get me wrong I’m so happy for you and all the things you’ve accomplished. I’m so damn proud of you and I’ll always will me. And don’t think I was asking for you to put me before your work, I would never do that to you, but lately it felt as if there wasn’t even a small sliver in your life for me ”  Jensne listened to you. For the first time in a long time he was listening to you and just wished he had done it sooner. If in only he had listened to you before you two wouldn’t be in this situation.  He knew what was coming 

Tears started to role down his own cheeks. He wanted to turn back time, fix his mistakes, so he wouldn’t be losing you, so wouldn’t be the one to bring you pain

“Please (Y/N). Please don’t do this” he pleaded with you, but there was no use in it “I love you” you both cried looking at each other. There was a part of you that wanted to just walk up to him, wrap your arms around him and just forgive him, but then again you were so hurt and for the first time in your relationship with Jensen when you looked at him, instead of feeling at home and happy, you just felt alone and so empty. 

“I love you too Jensen, and I don’t know if I’ll ever stop, but I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be your rock all the time, while I’m falling apart inside and you don’t even see it. I just need time to be me again” you wished you could hug or kiss him goodbye, but you knew if you did that you’d take your words back. So you just said goodbye and walked back in the house leaving Jensen in the night, tears going down his cheeks and a whole in his heart. He knew he was the blame for his own hurt, but he didn’t care that he was in pain, he hated himself for bringing pain to to you, for not seeing how much you needed him. 

Deep down he hoped that one day he’d get you back, and if he did, he’d never make the same mistakes. He’d treat you better then he did before. He’d do anything to see you smile again, hear you laugh. The thoughts of maybe, just maybe one day being able to hold you in his arms and kissing your lips helped him getting out of the bed every morning. Every day he prayed you were becoming happier even if he wasn’t the one making you happy anymore, he just wanted to you to be happy. 

[winifredsandersonsbitch]

Stripper with a Heart of Gold

Spike x Reader, BTVS

Warnings: minor spoilers for S5, cursing, PG-13 action but nothing else.

Description: Spike promised you he’d get the money, so he picks up a job. You’re out with your coworkers when you catch him in the middle of his shift at the Sunnydale Strip. It’s more than a little awkward.

Clearly, I have a thing for bad boys who offer financial security 😫

When you come in for the night, Spike’s waiting. He’s been slipping twenties in your pocket lately like you wouldn’t notice (who else but Giles has that kind of cash?) and you haven’t brought it up despite your guilt. You really need the help. Keeping the three people in your household fed + all of your frequent visitors is expensive, especially because Buffy burns through so many calories daily. Plus the water bill, the electric bill, and all of the crazy damages that you have to somehow try to budget for in your monthly expenses...

Tonight he follows you up to your bedroom while the girls are downstairs watching TV and closes the door behind you.

“Spike, if you think—”

There’s a huge wad of cash in the hand he holds out to you. For a moment, you can only blink at it, mystified.

“Take it. It’s for you.”

You reach out for it as if in a trance, then recoil like you’ve touched something scalding.

“I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I can’t accept this,” you say, but it comes out quiet and not at all assertive.

“I want you to have it.”

There’s a little furrow between his eyebrows that deepens when you pull away. He doesn’t understand you. He’s seen you at the diner, working yourself to the bone, plastering on a smile for all of the customers even when they cross a line. You hate it there, but you do it for the money. Now he’s offering you enough to get through the whole month, as long as there are no surprise visitors, and you won’t take it.

“I don’t like to be indebted to anyone.” You’re shaking slightly from exhaustion and the unexpected gift, so you lower yourself onto your bed and clasp your hands in your lap.

“No, you’re worried about where I got it from. Isn’t that right, pet?” He sits down next to you, placing the money on your nightstand and patting it twice. “There. Now it’s passive. You don’t have to take anything, I just left you an early birthday present.”

“Spike.”

“I got a job, all right?” He turns your face to his, examines the bags under your eyes. “You’re not the only one with a work ethic around here.”

“I can’t support you going back into smuggling. Or gambling. Or—”

“It’s an honest job. I work the night shift. That’s why I haven’t been around so much lately.”

You hadn’t noticed, if you were being honest. You were too busy trying to keep everyone you loved alive and fed. Maybe that was his point.

He strokes the side of your cheek with his thumb and it’s an effort not to lean in, to pick up where the two of you left off only the week before.

Was this what he had been like with Drusilla?

You force yourself to pull away, removing his hand from your face and threading your fingers through his to keep him still. He’s been so touchy recently. You can’t trust your reaction to it.

“If that’s true, it’s still not right of me to take it from you if you’re under any impression about—” You swallow. Your palm starts to sweat under his. “We’re not— I mean, I can’t ever— I know we’ve been close recently and if that’s the reason why you’re giving me this, because you think it’s going to make us... if you think what happened last time is going to be some kind of recurring thing—”

He’s watching you stumble with open amusement, without any indication that he’s going to come in and save you from yourself.

“If this money is meant romantically, I can’t accept it,” you say finally. “I don’t want the strings attached.”

“Full of ourselves, are we?” he asks, slipping his hand out of yours. The loss of contact seems to bother you more than him.

He heads for the door, leaving the money next to you. You skim the bills with your fingers as if possessed, almost salivating at the thought of relative financial security. You could get your friends real presents for Christmas and focus on paying off your loans with your next paycheck. Maybe even—

He catches you in the act and you jerk back guiltily. Spike only shakes his head. Then he stuffs his hands in the pockets of his jacket and his smile slips.

“You and I both know that money is the last thing you need to be worrying about right now, what with Glory after the little bit.”

He’s right, but you’re not happy about it. You make up your mind. You try to keep your expression neutral as you hand him back the bills. He can’t know what it’s costing you to turn this down.

“I can take care of it,” you say. You look him in the eye. “I will take care of it. Thank you, Spike, but I don’t want your help.”

“It’s hard for you to lower yourself to my level when you don’t know how long I’ll be around.”

The observation makes you blink and the cash crumples as you ball up your fists. He’s right, but how dare he say it?

Spike places his hands on your shoulders to keep you from charging. You have the same look on your face that Buffy gets right before she slams him up against the wall and rattles his brains.

“I get it. I’m still the same old evil Spike who’s tried to kill you and your friends so many times we’ve lost count. But I’ve got this chip in my head and I’m bloody bored anyway, so let me do something for the one person in this house I can stand, all right?”

You’re wavering, but it’s not enough. Your hand just opens and closes on the cash robotically as you try to process what you’re hearing, calculate the odds of this self-destructing, decide what the right thing means in a situation like this. Before you can revise your morals to fit, Spike goes in for the kill.

“You said once that we were friends for now. That as long as I wasn’t killing people and wanted to hang out, you’d be there, because you thought everyone had the capability to do good. You thought you could change me.” He’s fond of this memory. You can hear it in his voice that he still thinks it’s bullshit, but it gives him the warm fuzzies anyway. “I don’t care about the world or the superfriends or the ethics of vampirism. I care about you. If we’re friends like you say, let me do this for you.”

You open your mouth and then close it, like a very stupid fish. Spike chuckles and pats you on the head the way you might soothe a puppy.

“If it would help you to believe this is the first step in me developing some kind of moral compass, go right on ahead, love.”

——

You had only started your day job about a month ago and you were only working part time, but you know how important it is to make friends in the workplace. So when they finally invited you out for the night, you were ecstatic.

They told you there was a bar just off the highway that they liked to frequent. We’ll carpool, they said. You’ll love it, they said.

It’s a strip club.

Fluorescent lights stripe across the top of the building, supporting a flashing sign with a topless girl with tasteful silver stars over her nipples. The bouncer at the door has definitely done hard drugs at some point and the music blasting from inside is deafening even out in the parking lot.

After a moment’s hesitation, you roll with it. You know how to relax, even if everyone else thinks otherwise. You can play the necessarily part, share giggles with the others as you watch the show. You can slam back tequila shots and find it in you to order a round for the table. This is an opportunity, you tell yourself, to pretend everything’s normal for a night.

The “bouncer,” who is probably only there to flatter the older customers by checking their ID, lets you all through and your coworkers drag you to seats in the front. There are poles at various stages sprinkled casually throughout the main area and scantily clad men and women are visiting tables. Every so often, they lead a patron into the back for a private dance.

You’re not a total innocent, but it’s still hard to keep yourself from blushing as you walk past them, unsure if you should make eye contact or not. It’s been awhile since you were anywhere remotely as recreational as this. It’s harder than you thought to shake off your big sibling persona, so you head to the bar with Marie and bring the first round of drinks back to the table.

“This place is special,” she tells you, sipping her Cosmo. She pats your hand in a way that’s near maternal, though she’s only older by two years. “It takes a little getting used to at first, but don’t be scared.”

“Scared?” you laugh. The scariest thing you see is a guy sitting in the back corner trying to coax over a stripper who clearly knows better. You could take him, if it comes to it. Easy.

“It’s a Sunnydale special, that’s all. But it’s a clean business. Perfectly safe, as long as you follow the rules.”

You’re about to ask what those would be when one of the dancers slips off the pole and bites a customer. You bolt from your seat, searching for anything stake-like, but Cara rises to put a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, relax. It’s okay. Watch.”

Watch? That vamp is going to drain that girl dry, you can’t just sit back and—

The dancer removes herself after about thirty seconds, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and blowing her partner a kiss. The girl’s table congratulates her with wolf whistles, slamming back another round of drinks.

“See?” Cara says. You sink down slowly, still watching wide-eyed. “You have to pay extra for biting, but it’s worth it.”

Gina puts a cool hand to your forehead. “Are you feeling all right, sweets? I know it’s a little different, but you said you’d lived in Sunnydale for years. We figured you were familiar with the undead populace.”

“I was.” You’re a little dazed. Mentally beating back your fight-or-flight reflex with a shovel. “I mean, I am. Only not like this.”

“Capitalism at its finest,” Marie sighs.

“Yeah, it’s regular symbiosis,” you agree absent-mindedly.

Things were so much easier when you were helping Buffy kill demons outright. All this moral gray is confusing as hell.

“Everything all right, ladies?”

Oh, shit.

The lighting is low so you duck your head and pray that he doesn’t see you cowering behind Gina, but luck is not on your side today. Cara has decided you’re being too uptight.

“I’d like to buy a private dance for my friend,” she purrs, pointing a manicured finger to you. “They’re new, so be gentle.”

“I’ll do my best,” he says with a wink, making the girls giggle. “What’s your name, love?”

Then his eyes meet yours and you inhale a breath that catches in your throat. Gina elbows you, like Hot, right? You elbow her back and pray he chooses not to embarrass you.

Spike’s pupils are blown. He’s tucked into nothing but tight black briefs and a tie that hangs down to his navel. The rest of him is laid bare for your view and you are really, really trying not to look.

After a beat of surprise, he takes your hand and pulls you out of your seat to lead you to the VIP area in the back. The girls are calling out behind you to have fun, already chatting up another stripper.

He sits you down in an open booth. On the other side of this smaller, darker room, there’s another vampire with a customer. She waves at Spike and then continues gyrating on her guy’s lap as he pours out all of his problems about his ex-girlfriend.

“I didn’t know you worked here, I swear,” you whisper, turning your attention back to him. “I wouldn’t have come if I did.”

“I don’t mind, pet.” He lowers himself onto you before you can protest, leaning in close. You swallow hard. “Your friends seem fun.”

“They’re coworkers, really. This is the first time we’ve been out together. I didn’t know we were coming to a, um, club.”

“I believe you.”

He’s steadying himself with his hands on your shoulders now, his breath ghosting over your face. He’s been surprisingly sweet about this so far, but there’s a bite to him. He’s still, as he frequently reminds you, evil. He’s taking this opportunity to demonstrate it.

“You’re tense, love.” His knees spread to either side of you and he rises up on them so that his chest is level with your face. You have to tilt your chin up to look at him. To make sure you look at nothing else. “Let me help. After all, we want your friend to get her money’s worth.”

He’s so close that he’s practically on top of you as he moves, swaying his hips back and forth, squeezing his knees to the outside of your thighs to keep him steady. It doesn’t matter that nothing below the waist actually come into contact with your skin. You can feel it. Him. Tremors shoot through your nerves as he leaves behind any semblance of stuffy British politeness and grinds down on you, grinning wickedly the whole time, like all roads lead to him and this club, like he somehow planned the whole thing. Then he leans back and holds out the end of his tie to you and you make a decision. You tug him towards you.

He’s everywhere, insistently parting your lips to slip his tongue in, knotting his hands in your hair, making you moan in a way that’s still completely indecent, despite the setting. Your eyes close and you briefly wonder if the other vampire and her client are still here, if they’re enjoying the show, but then you can’t think of anything except him.

His fingers begin to massage your lower thigh, creeping upward to trace the sensitive skin left exposed by your very short shorts. He’s drawing hearts, but you’re certain it’s not love he’s thinking of. It’s about blood. Isn’t it always?

“Wear these to tease me?”

“You wish,” you pant. You keep your palm wrapped around his tie like it’s the lifeline between the two of you, the only thing keeping you from drifting off into space. He presses back into you, this time giving you a taste of the show everyone else comes to see.

There’s nothing tender about this part. It’s gasping and bruising and pent-up frustration, maybe on your side more than his. It’s harsh, consuming. It feels like you’re being swept out to sea by a riptide. There’s no life vest in sight.

Then you’re coming down from your high and he’s working you through it, murmuring to you about how rightly jealous your friends are going to be at the bright hickey on your neck. He’s taking care of you, just like he said he would.

He smells like graveyard dirt and cinnamon. You’d make some quip about it being the cologne of the season among undead strippers, but you have to focus on breathing.

You’re disgusted with yourself. You’re elated. It’s confusing, but there’s no doubt that you’re disappointed when he takes his thumb to swipe away a strand of saliva that’s been left hanging and pulls away.

He untangles himself from you, leaving your lips pink and swollen and glistening, and tugs you out of the booth.

“Your friends will be wondering where you are,” Spike says. He’s sweating a little. You can see it beading on his chest. You’re proud. You caused that.

“And you need to get back to work.” You straighten your top, combing through your hair with your fingers, trying to compose yourself when you don’t know if you’ll ever be fully coherent again. You don’t know the etiquette for situations like this anymore, so you offer him a half-smile and stuff your hands in your pockets. “I’m sure the club’s missing their best dancer.”

He’s never been one for humility, so he just nods. He can’t help biting his cheek in satisfaction as you walk past him, all hot and bothered, hair mussed and cheeks pinkened. He did that.

When you get back to your table, your coworkers demand to know all the dirty details, although they’re busying themselves with throwing money at one of the pole dancers.

Spike stops by on his way to another table with some excuse about returning your bracelet, which he no doubt stole off your wrist during your “dance” for this exact purpose. He folds it into your palm, then bends to whisper in your ear.

“I’ll come by the house after my shift.”

Your friends practically swoon.

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

It's 2007 and somehow, miraculously, Supernatural survives yet another rocky (?) season of mediocre ratings to come back for a third season, or at least, half season, but that season starts out with a real bang! Like, just a real solid trio of an opener for season three. It reminds me of all the things I love about SPN and also it reminds us of all the things that frustrate the hell out of me on SPN. So where did we leave things off?

First up, there’s Dean, who sold his soul to the devil in order to bring Sam back from the dead. Sam, you’ll remember, was part of some overly complicated ponzi scheme to find the perfect vessel to open a door - yep, open a door - and lost to Aldous Hodge who just straight up murders Sam in the season finale. So Dean get’s Sammy back, but in exchange, he’s only got one year left before he permanently moves down south. Oh! And even though they got Sam back and Sam kills Aldous Hodge (RIP pal), they neglected to keep the door from opening. The door to Hell, that is, and now they’ve allowed a shiz ton of demons out to freely roam the earth. Way to go, boys, you lost again! They are two for two on these season finales guys!

OH but they DO kill the Yellow Eyed Demon, so that’s a plus, but not before he plants the most perfect seed of doubt in Dean’s mind - “How do you know what you brought back is all Sammy?” Like, ugh, UGH, ugh!!!! What a way to drive the knife in deeper! What a way to make the heart of this show slowly start to crumble! C’est Magnifique!! *chef's kissy fingers*

So with all that emotional baggage weighing us down, how do we start season 3? How else - with a threesome of course! And also some technicolor grading, it’s wild guys.

Oh boy guys, let’s talk about this opener for a hot sec. I got into it a little bit last season, but as much as I love Dean, you HAVE to admit that that boy is gross. Just like...he’s a little gross. I’m also old enough now to see exactly how many red flags he’s raising through the last 45 episodes. Like, sorry Little Me, but he is not boyfriend material. Not to mention that all this debauchery is 1,000% him distracting himself from the consequences of his own actions, but we’ll get into that later.

Meanwhile, Sam is doing something constructive and trying to figure out how to reverse the curse and save Dean’s soul. And here we have the culmination of two seasons worth of character development - faced with the imminent demise of Dean Samuel Winchester, Sam tries to step up and take care of his brother for once in his life; Dean parties like it’s 1999. There were two things I thought of during this episode - 1) isn’t this not unlike the sort of behavior you see in suicidal people who have finally decided to take their own life? Which is just, like, further held up by the fact that Dean’s big monologue at the end literally has the line “Truth is I’m tired, Sam. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel.” and like...dude, you are NOT ok! Why isn't??? ANYONE??? ADDRESSING THIS????? And 2) Dean is sharing a lot of similarities with the demons in this episode.

Because MEANwhile, there’s demons! So many demons! Specifically, the Seven Deadly Sins ones, but also, spoiler alert, Ruby, who is gettin’ reeeeealll into that ketchup.

All these baddies just really taking advantage of their time topside cuz Hell is, as they so artfully put it, it’s like Hell, so they’re just livin’ it up while they still can ~almost like foreshadowing or something~?!?!?

Real talk though, it being a real long time since I’ve watched this season, it’s these kinds of details that I’m impressed with this time around. There is so much character work that goes into this show and it’s something I definitely connected with the first time around, but not on conscious level. Now I can look at it through time and experience and articulate what I’m seeing, which makes this re-watch infinitely more enjoyable.

Episode 1 of this season continues what they started in season 2 and just keeps building out that Hunter Community. Like, there really is a whole Community out there that keeps in contact and works together and makes sure everyone’s up to date on the latest hot goss, and it all makes John Winchester come off like a real creepy splinter cell lone gunman type. And that in turn makes the Winchester sons look like total, unprofessional boneheads who managed to open a portal to Hell. “UGH Great Jorb Guys, but can we blame them? They’re John’s kids,” is a conversation between hunters that I am headcannoning, but also 100% support.

Honestly, I love the idea of the Winchesters being just these real, like, b-grade, Walmart Brand Hunters that other Hunters are just SO done with. We kind of see a little bit of that with Isaac and Tamara, but by the end of the episode, the Winchesters prove that they’re...better Hunters? I hope somewhere in the next 12 seasons I get an episode that is told from another Hunter’s POV who is legitimately better/more emotionally balanced than the Winchesters and the whole episode is them just, like, cleaning up a bunch of Winchester messes like, SONuvabitch, these two ASSholes. I think we see a fair amount of episodes from the POV of people who are less qualified than the Winchesters who end up being mentored by them, but I’d be stoked for them to run into just a group of people who hate them for totally legitimate, professional vs amature reasons.

Bobby does not count because Bobby signed up to be their Dad and so he agreed to take care of their messes when he took that job.

And then we get to “The Kids Are Alright” which showcases one of my fav changes for this season - BRIGHTLY! LIT! HIGH! SATURATION!!!! And of course, by fav, I mean, Most Hilarious.

I do walk a fine line on this one truth be told. Like, season 1 was definitely going for A Look. It’s super gritty and high contrasty and stylized. Now, I got what they were going for but I wasn’t always crazy about it, mostly because the quality on the DVD’s was terrible. Quick tip for everyone: in order to get 2+ hours worth of content on a DVD, you have to compress the final edit of the program to a pretty small bitrate. When we drop videos onto DVD’s at my work (it isn’t often, thank goodness), the discs themselves only hold, like, 2GB worth of content and that is NOT A LOT when it comes to video files. The more compressed a video file is, the less detail you’re gonna get in the visuals. Watching episodes on Netflix (where everything’s probably at a higher bitrate and therefore is a better quality visual), it’s not bad, but on my DVDs, the compression is so heavy that we get SUPER hot highlights and SUPER crunchy shadows - what a lot of people would called “crushed blacks” because you’ve lost all the detail in the shadows and you’re left with a grainy, noisy, black hole on the screen. Like I lost so much detail in the pilot episode guys, I could not make out this guy’s face.

A rough approximation of my DVD quality. Still recommend it over Netflix for the Accurate Soundtrack tho.

Season 2 SPN toned that Look down a lot, like, a lot a lot. Enough that you still got the general vibe they were going for but not enough that you couldn’t make out faces anymore. But through this whole process, the CW execs kept pushing for the show to look lighter, more colorful, less film noir more...well, CW. And in season 3 it finally happened!!!

I get what those execs were going for, but also, I feel like the colorists on these first few episodes just REALLY went wild out of spite. Lookit this shot from “Magnificent Seven” right before Envy causes some rando innocent bystander to beat a girl to death for her shoes -

GREEN GREEN GREEN GREEN!!!! I WONDER WHICH SIN THIS GUY IS????

Then in “The Kids Are Alright” the birthday party looks like everything is coated in day-glow neon.

The Winchester Bros look like they just got back from 3 weeks in Aruba - LOOK at the saturation levels in these skin tones! LOOK AT THEM!!

My screencap ability aside, only in SPN can a cemetery at night have brighter lighting than a diner in the middle of the afternoon.

This is definitely a thing I will be tracking the rest of the season because I have a distinct memory of a future episode where the brothers have been magically gifted completely different lives where they were never Hunters, they know nothing of Hunting, and they’re completely normal until the end when everything gets snapped back and the episode literally changes colors. V. Excited to see just how saturated this season stays through the end.

But maybe more importantly in “The Kids Are Alright” we learn that Dean does NOT, in fact, have a son. Not that he would be a good father...well...maybe? I mean, this Dean, this season 3, definitely-suicidal, completely-reckless, can’t-keep-it-together Dean, is not good Dad material. Later seasons Dean? Probably fine? Earlier seasons Dean might ALSO be fine? And if he’d found out that Ben was his legitimate kid, it could have made a WORLD of difference, who knows. I know he ultimately does become father-like to Ben and that gives me a lot of feelings. But this Dean is not in a good place to take care of anyone, including himself and really, someone ought to do something about that.

I gotta say, this is an actual bummer. I can’t remember if, in the later seasons, they do any clarifying on this or not, but I am legitimately bummed that Ben is not Dean’s kid and that as far as we know, Dean has no natural children floating around out there with surly attitudes and soft hearts. Dean’s motivation from Day 1 has always been family and despite what comments he may make in early seasons, Dean’s secret desire is to have the wife and the kids and the dog and the white picket fence. And honestly, we’re only 3 seasons in and I just want Dean to have nice things!!

And then guys, we come to “Bad Day at Black Rock,” and I just...WHAT a masterpiece. I had almost NO memory of ever watching this episode before and I don't understand why. What a glorious masterpiece this episode is. Let’s make a list -

More Hunters™, who should be really annoying but were actually kinda charming in a Marx Brothers kind of way

Gordon’s in jail, where he belongs, but also is masterminding a coup against the Winchesters which is A+ spooky stuff

Slapstick comedy that I didn’t know I was missing from my life

Bela F*cking Talbot

Guys, I think this is my fav episode so far purely because I felt, while watching it, that the last 10 years of my life were not in vain and that I had in fact grown as a human person. I remembered hating Bela Talbot. Like, I DID. NOT. LIKE. HER. To the point that I questioned if her British accent was even real. It is, her mother is from the UK and she lived there for a time, but like, honestly, the audacity of Little Me.

This time around? Oh she’s defs my new fav. Just everything about her is like, A+, Great Job, Why-Did-We-Cancel-Her??? Like, oh yeah, probably because somewhere in here they try to shoehorn a romantic side plot with Dean. I don’t actually mind rioting over shoehorned romance, but also, if they’d let this play out for a season or two and then got the two of them to bone? I’m on board. I’m 100% on board.

Maybe it’s just that she is unapologetically out for herself, maybe it’s the fact that she is definitely a match for the Winchesters in a non-murdery way, probably it is both of those things. She's smart, she’s crooked, she has impeccable taste, she’s honestly a helluva lot of fun and I am so excited to see more of her and so BUMMED that she will not make it past this season.

Despite the fact that I absolutely adore all three of these episodes, they also bring up the problem that I was starting to see in season 2 - WHO is this show about? Isn’t it supposed to be about the Brothers as a whole? But the majority of these first three lean pretty heavily on Dean’s emotional arc. Granted, it makes sense. I mean, of COURSE Dean’s demon deal is gonna be the BIG thing in a season where he is literally staring down the barrel, but knowing that there’s a side plot about Is Sam Evil?? seems like...something we should really explore more? I believe it comes up in season 4, or at least, Sam’s demon-blood powers become a bigger deal in season 4, but I would have enjoyed seeing Sam have a more active stake in this season. I can see planting some weird new ticks being planted for Alive-Again Sam that just get weirder and darker and then a mid-season finale or a run up episode to the end of the season where Dean (finally) decides he needs to stop his demon deal because he needs to stick around so he can keep Sam from going completely off the rails. As much as I love Dean 5ever, I do think the show works best when the emotional weight of the season is distributed equally is all. And to be fair to the writers this season, there could have been a bigger plan for something like that but they ran out of time - their season was cut by about a third due to the Writer’s Strike.

Still, all in all, a solid opening to the third season. I want to say that these episodes feel like Classic SPN, but then I remember that this is season three out of fifteen. These ARE Classic SPN. Mostly self contained with enough emotional drama to remind us of the overarching plot. Maybe a little heavy on the emotional drama, but Dean’s only got a year to live and the show’s only got 16 episodes to resolve that crisis, so it’s fine.

[chicgeekgirl89]

Country Roads, Take Me Home: Chap. 4

Fandom: NCIS LA

Characters: Marty Deeks, Kensi Blye

Read Chapters 1-3 Here

                                    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Deeks and Kensi were up early the next morning to start their drive to Nevada. All was quiet from Bill and Carol’s RV and they were able to leave without saying goodbye to their whacky neighbors. 

They stopped for breakfast on their way out of town at a small local diner that, according to one Yelp review, had “the best donuts in the world.” Kensi couldn’t disagree, they were pretty amazing.

“So, onto Nevada?” she said around a mouthful of Boston creme.

“Great Basin. Should be awesome. I thought we could tour the Lehman caves and maybe do some stargazing.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Although thanks to your creativity we both already saw stars last night.”

She kicked him good-naturedly under the table. “That was a one time only. You have to come up with your own creativity next time.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said with a grin. His gaze caught on something above her head and she frowned. “What do you think happened there?”

Kensi turned to follow his gaze. On the wall was a large blank spot with some exposed wiring. “Looks like there used to be a TV there,” she said.

He raised his eyebrows and Kensi immediately shook her head. “I know what you’re thinking and there’s no way. It is not possible that we’ve stumbled onto yet another crime. Not on this vacation. We promised. We said nothing like this could possibly happen this year.”

“Can I get you anything else?” Carmen, their server, interrupted their conversation.

Deeks nodded toward the empty spot on the wall. “Hey Carmen, something happen to your TV?” “Yeah,” she said. “So weird. Somebody stole it the other day. Emptied the register too. Owner’s pissed about it.”

“You didn’t catch anything on your security cameras?” Kensi asked.

She shook her head. “We only have the one and it’s at the back door. Police are investigating, but it’s not a high priority, you know?”

“Sorry to hear that,” Deeks said. “I think we’re all set here, just the check when you have a second.”

“Stop thinking about it,” Kensi said as they walked back to the RV.

“How do you know what I’m thinking about?” Deeks asked. “You’re not in my head.”

Kensi rolled her eyes. “I know you and your detective brain. You’re still thinking about that TV.”

“Well you have to admit it’s a hell of a coincidence,” he said. “Bill and Carol show up with a TV, a TV near the campsite goes missing…”

“Maybe you need to stop thinking with your detective brain and remember with your lawyer brain that that is called circumstantial evidence and will not hold up in a court of law.”

“I’m not saying we need to do anything I’m just suggesting…”

“Well stop suggesting and start driving. Our cave tour is at three and we don’t want to miss it.”

Kensi dozed off as Deeks drove, waking up as they crossed the border into Nevada. “Hey there Sleeping Beauty,” Deeks said as she stretched and rolled out her neck. “Welcome to ‘The Silver State.’ Want to make a detour to Vegas and get hitched?”

She rolled her eyes at him. “We’re already married.”

“Vow renewal?”

“Only if I get another wedding cake out of it.”

“I think I can make that happen.”

They made it to the RV park with plenty of time to spare before their cave tour. “Stay here,” he said after he’d parked.

He stepped outside and made a big show of looking around.

Kensi wrinkled her nose. “Deeks what are you doing?” 

He poked his head back in. “Checking for Bill and Carol. Coast is clear. You can come out.”

“Oh thank god,” she said, walking out to check out the view. Even from the parking lot it was beautiful. “I’m ready for some peace and quiet.”

“No baseball games.” Deeks wrapped his arms around her.

“No dogs.”

“No sex advice.”

Kensi nodded. “Definitely no sex advice.”

Half an hour later they met up with their guide and a small group of other tourists including a few kids at the mouth of the caves. “Okay everyone, my name is Marcus, I’m going to be your tour guide today,” he said. “We’re just waiting for a couple more people so we’ll give them about five more minutes and we’ll get started.”

“Nope! Hey! No need to wait! We’re here!”

“No…” Kensi said in quiet horror as she and Deeks both turned to see none other than Bill and Carol hustling toward them.

Bill was dressed in his finest vacation dad attire; a pair of cargo shorts with about twenty pockets and socks pulled up to nearly his knees with hiking boots. Carol on the other hand was sporting a necklace that, had it been real, would probably have been worth hundreds if not thousands of dollars and was definitely not standard spelunking attire.

“Bill and Carol Weekes reporting for duty!” Bill said, both of them out of breath. “Sorry we’re late. Had a dog problem.”

“That’s okay,” Marcus said. “All right everyone please listen carefully I’m going to go over a few of the rules for our tour today.” “I cannot believe this,” Kensi said under her breath as she plastered on a smile and answered Carol’s excited wave. “How is this possible?”

“Did you tell Carol our entire itinerary when we met them on the side of the road?” Deeks hissed.

“No! I mean…I mentioned some of the places. But I never expected them to decide to follow us the entire trip!”

“Hi! Please make sure you’re paying attention,” Marcus said pointedly, causing them both to clam up and continue listening to directions about not disturbing or touching anything in the caves and to watch out for low spots in the ceiling. 

“Make certain to watch your step and if you have children with you please keep track of them at all times. We don’t want anybody left behind,” Marcus finished. “Now you can all follow me single file as we enter the caves.”

Try as they might Kensi and Deeks ended up directly in front of Bill and Carol and once they were inside there wasn’t really any space to move further up in the group. “What a surprise,” Bill said, clapping Deeks so hard on the shoulder that he almost stumbled into a stalagmite.

“Yeah it really is,” Deeks said.

“Well you know we were just thinking about how wonderful it would be to see these caves so we rushed right over here and wouldn’t you know, we made it just in time!” Carol said excitedly.

“Once my Carol gets an idea you can’t get her off it!” Bill chuckled. “She wants to see a bunch of old rocks, a bunch of old rocks it is!”

They proceeded through the entire tour with Bill cracking jokes and elbowing Deeks in the ribs like they were old pals, while Carol oohed and aahed with every new rock formation. They’d opted to take the longer tour, and Kensi regretted every single second. The caves were beautiful, but the company was not.

By the time they exited the last cave Kensi had a raging headache and Deeks looked more sour than she’d ever seen him. The only saving grace was that Bill and Carol hadn’t obtained a parking slot within the park, but instead had needed to park at a separate campsite nearby. “Oh please come on over for dinner, I’m making beef stew,” Carol pleaded as they walked down the trail.

“Next time,” Deeks said. “The little lady’s got a headache, gotta get her home.”

“You two are racking up quite the number of rainchecks!” Carol said. “All right then, have a good evening. Toodles!”

With a little wave she and Bill scooted away to hopefully go wreak havoc on some new neighbors.

“Have I mentioned that I hate them?” Kensi asked, rubbing at her temples.

“Me too.” Deeks wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. Let’s get you back so you can take a nap and get rid of that headache.”

She woke an hour later feeling considerably better. When she sat up she found Deeks sitting at the table, laptop in front of him. “What are you doing?” she asked as she sat up.

“Sending pictures of Bill and Carol to Eric so he can run them through facial rec.”

She sat up. “What?!”

“Did you see that necklace Carol was wearing today?” Deeks asked. “She didn’t have that on the other day.”

“Women change their jewelry Deeks.”

“Remember the cruise ship? And Hawaii? And Jacksonville? When you just knew something was up?” He looked at her pointedly. “And your loving husband humored you and you turned out to be right and we took down the bad guys together?”

She rolled her eyes and scooted to the edge of the bed so she was closer to him. “Yes, I remember. Are you saying it’s my turn to trust your intuition?”

“I just feel like something’s up. We’ll run the background check and then we’ll know.”

“And then we can continue our vacation in peace?” She bent over and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“Yes, then we can continue in peace.”

They’d just finished dinner when Eric called. “Hey Eric, you’re on speaker,” Deeks said, setting down his fork.

“Hi Eric!” Kensi said.

“Hey Kens, how are the parks?”

“Gorgeous. We’re totally loving it.”

“That’s awesome. So listen Deeks, I ran background checks on both Bill and Carol Weekes and they came back pretty clean. A couple parking tickets here and there, but no arrests, no domestic disturbances, nothing that would make them seem at all suspicious.”

Kensi shot Deeks a pointed look. “You’re sure Eric?” Deeks asked. “No incidences of dog violence?”

“Um…no?” Eric asked confused. “I didn’t specifically check for that though.”

“That’s okay,” Kensi said. “Thanks Eric, we appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You didn’t mention this to anybody, right?” Deeks asked.

If he had, they’d never hear the end of it. “No I didn’t, but is everything okay?” Eric asked, tone turning concerned.

“Yep, everything’s great, just my paranoia kicking into overdrive,” Deeks said quickly.

“Are you sure? Sam and Callen could be there in—“

“Bye Eric!” Deeks hung up. “How long do you think he’ll hold out before Callen and Sam interrogate it out of him?”

“Depends,” Kensi said. “If they’re at the mission right now we probably have until tomorrow morning. If they’re not, we might have until tomorrow night.”

“We could ditch our phones and turn off the wifi.”

“Eric would just track our plates. They know our basic plan, we won’t be hard to find. Was it worth it?”

“I guess.” He shook his head. “I just really had a feeling something was up with those two.”

She reached across the table for his hand. “It’s okay if you’re losing your touch. You are getting older.”

“Hey!”

She stood, pulling him along with her. “Come on old man. The stars are waiting. Unless it’s past your bedtime already?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Pretty soon you’ll be wearing cargo shorts and talking about how the price of cable keeps going up…”

He growled catching her around the waist and hoisting her over his shoulder. “Oh, I’ll show you who’s an old man!”

[snarkwrites]

12 | gangsta; sweetpea

NOTES:

It's been a while. I've had these two chapters written for a while now but I haven't had time to sit down, edit them a little better and post them. Since I have time now, I thought I'd go ahead and do that, whether you guys asked for these next two chapters or not.

Sorry this took forever! Sorry I'm so slow, I've been settling into a new house and taking care of some IRL stuff / taking a little break. I swear, I'm going to update everything sooner or later. >.>

I love you guys.

WARNINGS:

NON/ LOOSE CANON COMPLIANCE - this is the biggest warning, so if you’re into things that follow exact canon plot you are… definitely not going to like this. ANGST & SLOW BURN, HEAVY SEXUAL TENSIONSTARTING NOW, ACTUALLY - this is just so everyone who started reading this thinking the smut would transpire in a hurry knows that apparently, it is not. VIOLENCE / SWEARING & FIGHTING, POSSIBLE UNDERAGE DRINKING AND OTHER SHENANIGANS- look.. it’s high school. shit happens. also apparently, my ofc Alyssa uses the word fuck like all the time?…EVENTUAL SEXUAL CONTENT / A VIRGIN ORIGINAL CHARACTER- this one is self explanatory. yes, i plan to write a smutty chapter in this at some point. when? i don’t rightly know. it’s got a while before we get there. STALKER TW - this chapter marks the true appearance of Alyssa's ex, Dave Novak. It's hinted heavily that he's a gross asshole who likes to play mind games.

If you're under 18+, probably not a good or wise idea to continue reading this series. Because there are going to be a few dark and adult themes within. I'll warn here, of course, but you need to understand that I don't control you. If you continue to read after having read the warnings and you're upset or don't like something... Totally on you, friend.

PAIRING:

Andrews!Sibling OFC x Sweet Pea.

TAGGING:

@brithedemonspawn is the only person on my Riverdale tag list. If you want to be added, the link to do so is below.

OTHER PARTS:

ONE - TWO - THREE - FOUR - FIVE - SIX - SEVEN - EIGHT - NINE - TEN- ELEVEN - soundtrack

OTHER STUFF:

[ about my writing - tag list doc ]

T W E L V E.

[773 - 589 - 7956] attachment

[773 - 589 - 7956] I think I decided how you can repay me, scarlet…

[773 - 589 - 7956] Better enjoy your quiet and happy little life while you still have it, scarlet. Because soon it’s all going to be ripped right out of your pretty little hands.

[773 - 589 - 7956] That boyfriend of yours isn’t even gonna be able to save you this time, scarlet. You’re mine.

[773 - 589 - 7956] See you soon, scarlet.

Each new text that came in had me tensing up. Careful to keep my phone out of sight of anyone who was nearby. My heart was about to beat right out of my chest and my stomach felt like it sank to the floor. I was barely listening to anything being said around me and I guess it was more obvious than I thought because Toni cleared her throat, nodding to the phone in my hand.

Gazing at me in concern.

“Everything okay? You look like you’re going to be sick.”

“Yeah,yeah. Everything is fine.” I lied. I think at that particular point in time, I was just trying to convince myself that this was all some kind of bad dream. Or worst case scenario, Dave was making empty threats.

Toni eyed me suspiciously. I tried to give her a convincing smile, but I’d have had to be an idiot to even think for a second that she believed me. She eyed my phone and reached for it. I managed to shove it in my pocket.

“Trust me.” I pleaded. She gave me a wary look and sighed, grumbling “Fine, okay. Alright.” under her breath.

And I did my best to push the texts out of my head. Jumping in the conversation she had going on with Cheryl and Veronica. Laughing and talking as if nothing were wrong.

Lying through the skin of my teeth.

XXX

“What’s got you so jumpy?”

The question caught me off guard. I wanted to tell someone what was going on, I really did, but… I didn’t want to worry anyone, either. I was at least 99.9 percent sure that there was absolutely no way that Dave would show up in Riverdale, at least that’s what I was hoping.

I did my best to play it off. Shoveling french fries into my mouth just so I didn’t have to answer right away. My cell phone lit up and I flinched before I could stop myself.

Toni reached for it and I quickly grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket. She gave me a concerned look and I muttered quietly, “Probably just Reggie...again.”

“Reggie’s with that new girl though?” Cheryl spoke up. Gazing at me thoughtfully. My breath caught in my throat because if anyone would catch on to there being something truly wrong with me or something off in the way I was acting, it’d be her or Polly.

So far, I’d managed to fool everyone else into thinking I was alright, even my dad and my brother.

,, Dave won’t come here, it’s not worth the hassle. He’s just playing mind games. That’s all this is. Pull yourself together.” the thought came and I managed a smile, shrugging.

“You’ve been acting weird all week, now that I’m thinking about it.” Cheryl was the one who said it and she gave me an expectant look. Waiting.

“I have not.”

,, I do have one secret I can spill. Maybe if I tell them about my crush on Sweetpea…” and so that’s what I did. Sighing as I reached for the shared plate of fries between the three of us. Raking my fries through my vanilla milkshake and taking a few deep breaths to kind of collect myself, both from Dave’s harassing texts and what I was finally about to get off my chest about having feelings for Sweetpea.

“You have. Start talking.” Toni spoke up, watching me. Sizing me up. If I had to guess, I’d pin money on her sitting across the booth, trying to figure out what was up with my jumpy attitude all week.

“Okay, alright. Fine. But what I’m about to tell you two does not leave this table, okay? It.. It can’t. If Sweetpea ever found out, pretty sure he’d start avoiding me and things would get weird.”

Toni and Cheryl exchanged a look and then Toni nodded. Chewing a mouthful of fries as she muttered calmly, “Go on.”

“ I may or may not have a crush on Sweetpea.”

“Oh, you definitely have a crush on him. It’s kind of obvious.” Cheryl gave a soft teasing grin and I sighed. Dragging my hand through my hair and taking a few seconds to let her words sink in. I almost dreaded asking, but I felt like I had to given that she said it was obvious. “Oh god.. He doesn’t suspect anything.. Right?”

“Oh, he’s the only one whose oblivious. But the rest of us, we’ve known a while.” Toni teased me. Then asked calmly, “Is that all? Why’s that have you so jumpy?”

“Because I know how bad I am at hiding things, okay? I was kind of… I dunno, freaking out I guess.” I eyed her, waiting. Searching her face in the hopes that she accepted what I said and didn’t keep pushing. A few seconds passed and she laughed softly. Took a sip of her strawberry milkshake and asked with a smirk, “Are you gonna do anything about it?”

“Probably not. Every time I even think about it, I manage to talk myself right out of it. He’d laugh his ass off, okay? Besides, remember all the flirting he was doing with Josie when they had to work together during the play?” I pouted as I pointed it out.

Cheryl and Toni exchanged looks and Toni laughed. “He was doing that to make you jealous. Or that’s what I think he was doing. Either way… I think you should do something. He’s not going to and trust me… I’ve known the guy my whole life. I know him well enough to say that I know he has a thing for you. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so cranky when you two first met?”

“I thought he was just naturally grumpy?”

“Oh, he is, but the way he was towards you was totally different. He’s only that grumpy when he’s trying to keep his defenses up.” Toni informed me before finishing off her shake.

The door to the diner opened and Sweetpea walked in, Fangs in tow. The two of them were laughing about something. I gave both Cheryl and Toni a pleading look and Cheryl seemed to pick up on my unspoken plea to change the subject thankfully, because she asked, “Are you going to F.P’s retirement party at the Wyrm?”

“Yeah.” I answered, finishing off my milkshake. Sweetpea flopped into the booth beside me, carelessly slinging an arm over the back of the seat. His hand brushed against my shoulder and I swear just the small brush against me felt like someone had taken a livewire and dragged it over my body real slow.

Toni smirked at me, nodding at Sweetpea while he was too busy wolfing down french fries to notice and I shook my head.

“I dare you. No… I triple dare you.. Flirt with him.” Toni gave a teasing grin as she mouthed the words to me and I swallowed hard.

She’s not playing fair. She knows I can’t turn down a dare.

I happened to glance out the window of the diner and when I thought I saw Dave standing there, leaning against a streetlamp, one hand in his pocket and a cigarette dangling between his lips, I nearly choked. This prompted Sweetpea to start hitting me on the back lightly as he laughed and looked at me in concern. “Damn cherry, are you trying to kill yourself?”

Toni’s brow raised and Sweetpea explained what happened earlier in the day, how I’d nicked myself with the scalpel in our first period class while doing a dissection. What Sweetpea didn’t know was that when it happened, it was because I thought I’d seen Dave standing outside in the parking lot, only to blink and the parking lot be empty.

I have got to stop letting his stupid mind games get to me. It’s just because he’s texting me again. It’s just because he knows how to work me up and get me all scared, he used to be good at it when we dated.

He’d never come to Riverdale. He’s just doing this to me for his own sick amusement and every single time I let him get to me, especially when I’m to a point where I’m so paranoid I’m imagining that I see him everywhere lately, it’s letting him win and that pisses me off more than anything.

I’m supposed to be stronger than that, damn it.

Toni eyed me suspiciously and I braced myself. When she didn’t bring up my skittish behavior, I relaxed a little.

I wanted to tell someone what was going on, but at the same time, why? I’m pretty sure this is just Dave, being an absolute bag of dicks.

It has to be that. It has to be.

XXX

He stood outside some podunk little diner right in the heart of town. The hazy red neon gave off a comforting and inviting warmth and he lit his cigarette, fuming in anger as he watched her sitting inside.

“I know you’re not ignoring me, scarlet. I know you’re not.” he muttered, mostly to himself as he turned the collar of his leather jacket up against the wind and started to walk towards the South Side.

Maybe it was time he paid his old buddy Eric a visit. Eric was out of prison. Eric was the one who’d told him where Alyssa was to begin with, though he didn’t realize it.

Dave chuckled and shook his head as he walked towards the shitty apartments on the opposite end of town where Eric lived. Eric owed him a few favors. He was coming to collect.

“Did you really think I was jokin when I told ya I have friends all over? That you weren’t ever gonna get away from me?” he mused to himself as he knocked on the door of a first floor slum apartment.

Eric opened the door, leaning in it lazily. Blinking at him in a daze and smirking. High fiving him as he asked him why he was in town.

Dave whipped out his phone, showing Eric a picture of Alyssa. At first he gave him some story about her running off while he was in the pen. Eric wasn’t buying it, he could see it written in the expression on his face. And that only made him angry. Eric owed him. He was here to collect the favor owed. All he wanted was for Eric to help him out on this one little thing.

Eric shook his head, chuckling in disgust. Gazing at him with a brow raised. “I think you need to leave, man. Now. You don’t want the heat this is gonna bring down on you. And I’m not about to get on a Serpent’s bad side, even if the Serpent in question is just a damn kid.”

“See, I’d like to just put this all behind me, man... but she’s the whole reason I even went to prison to begin with. Then I get out and find out not only is my girl not loyal, she’s also the one who snitched on me?” Dave eyed Eric. Getting irritated because this was not how he saw the conversation going.

“I’m telling you, you need to leave. Forget about Alyssa. I see her around all the time with some kid… Sweet Pea or Green Bean, some shit. The Serpents are not people you fuck with, man. Not around these parts.”

“You know the Serpents aren’t shit to me… Right?” Dave quipped, smirking. “I’ve got this under control. I just need you to help me out a little… C’mon, man. You owe me.”

“I don’t fucking care. I’m not helping you do whatever it is you’re here to do. What I oughta do is put a bullet in your fucking head for even thinking I’d be down for this shit. She’s a kid, man. A fucking kid... Favor or not, man… I’m on the Serpents side with this. Not yours. You need to leave.” Eric warned, giving Dave a firm glare as he folded heavily tattooed arms over his chest.

“Oh, so that’s how you’re playin, huh? Okay. Alright. All I wanna do is see her again. I’m not going to do anything. I just want to straighten things out. Get a little closure on the situation...”

Eric scoffed. “This coming from the king of overreaction. I don’t trust you.I’m breakin code of my gang by even talking to your ass. Nope. The answer is no. I’m not helping. Do whatever you have to do to me, but I’m not about to help you scare some kid. I’ve got better things to do with my time, buddy...”

Dave’s arm shot out and he pinned Eric against the door of his apartment. Smirking at him calmly. “I know you haven’t forgotten just how much your sorry ass owes me. Because that’s what this sounds like.”

“I guess that’s what it is then. Because I’ve seen what the Serpents can do. I’m not about to bring all that down on my head.” Eric stepped back inside his apartment, slamming the door in Dave’s face, leaving him to glare at the closed door and take a swing.

“Guess I’m doing this all by myself.” Dave mused as he turned and wandered down to a shitty dive bar nearby. He needed to have a few rounds. Come up with a plan.

And a little after midnight, after finding himself a few new talkative friends in some local Ghoulies, things were starting to look up for him. And he was slowly forming a plan.

Now he just had to wait. Pick his moment. Toy with her a little more.

“I’m so close I can almost touch you, scarlet. Soon… Soon you’re going to pay for running your mouth to mommy about me...” he smirked to himself as he unlocked his hotel room and stepped inside.

[un-piorthos-et-tous-pour-un]

The thrilling adventures of a PA - Chapter Five : One man’s loss is another one’s gain. (Adam Sackler x Reader)

The nights have been short after what happened. You couldn’t find sleep, your mind kept rehashing that night, what you have said or done that might have laid to this, what you’ve could have done or said differently after he didn’t say anything all night long. It was tiring to say the least, combined with your work and the day to day life. It was starting to show, dark circles under your eyes, your shortened attention span and increased coffee consumption were obvious signs but working with actors rubbed off on you since you managed to fool the others until now, pretending everything was ok. But of course, you were not, and it was driving you crazy. Why were you stuck like this, knowing this must have been just a game for him, hoping for something that’ll never happen and hurting yourself for nothing ? It was ludicrous, completely laughable and once again you remember Stew’s words. So as you’re sat at your table, (barely) eating your lunch, you decide to move on, to stop been that wreck you’ve become and this time, you’ll stick to your plan. No more distractions, no more foolish hopes. You’ll do your job, perfectly, be nice and all but it’ll be it.

After you’re done, you go to the trailer park, walking mechanically towards Adam’s and you knock at the door. You hear footsteps inside, and you take a step back, knowing it’ll open in a few seconds, revealing the actor and you ready yourself for what’s to come. You take a deep breath and smile when he gets out, greeting you with a small ‘hello’. - ‘’We’re expected in 25 minutes on stage 8, are you ready to go ?’’, you ask him quietly, feeling he’s grumpy by the way he’s standing there, hand clenched on the doorknob. - ‘’Just give me a second, I’ve got something to finish first’’, he answers, getting back in the trailer and you nod, waiting as you cannot really do anything else for the moment. You cannot really hear what he’s saying but he seems pretty tensed. You jump a little when a loud thud resonates from the inside, the sound of a phone getting crashed on the floor it seems. You wonder what’s going on but just after you remind yourself that you’re not supposed to care about him anymore. - ‘’Adam?’’, you simply ask, as suddenly he rushes out, closing the door behind him in a loud clash. - ‘’I’ll need a new cellphone, can you get one for me ?’’, he simply throws at you as an answer, storming towards the stage without looking back. - ‘’Of course, you’ll have it tonight’’, you reply, brows furrowed for a second before you start walking behind him, letting him deal with whatever this is on his own. It’s not your problem and it never was after all. The rest of the day goes by in almost total silence but it’s not a bad thing in the end, it allows you to detach yourself, Once you’re home after getting some food from the little grocery store near your beuilding block, you check your mail and start preparing diner as tonight you’re hosting a small party at your place with some coworkers. Of course Shirley & Stew are going to be there along with Oona and the others but also some other technicians you’ve made friends with over the weeks. Nothing too fancy, just some snacks and drinks, a little chill evening to unwind after a hard day at work. Last time it was Oona’s turn to host and it was a nice setting as she had access to her building’s rooftop, so you try to make it up for it with a large variety of snacks. You’re not a good cook but you’re creative so you’ve come up with many different dips for the crips & vegetable sticks you’ve prepared for the occasion. You just hope you’ll be able to make the evening enjoyable for your guests, you all deserve a break and it would bother you to fail to provide that tonight. Once you’re all set, you take a quick look around and you’re pretty satisfied, the place looks cosy, invinting and the food is spread equally, if they don’t want to move too much they’ll be able to taste everything in one spot. Being a PA as also rubbed off on your organizing skiils, you tend to anticipate more, think ahead and it shows. A few months ago, such a party would result in utter choas because you’d have second guess yourself about everything, trying to please everyone to be accepted, leading to disaster because time would have fly by, leaving you with only one option, to order everythin & empty your meager savings just to save face. That xas progress, in the right way even & it made you smile. Who would’ve thought it possible only a few months ago ? Not yourself, for sure.

Before the first guests arrive, you go change your attire for something a bit more fitting but still quite comfy. You’re not going out after all, might as well just do the bare minimum, it’s not like you’re trying to get someone’s attention these days... A last look at yourself in the mirror and you go back to your living room, waiting for your friends who should be there in only a few minutes now. The first to knock is, not a surprise for you, Oona, who got her arms full of boxes, each containing her famous cupcakes. - “I think I’ve overdone myself this time”, she says laughing a bit as she comes in but knowing the others, there would be none left by the end of the evening. - “If you ever consider a career change, I suggest you open a bakery, I’ll be your most loyal customer, your cupcakes are to die for”, you tell her as she puts the boxes down on the table before she turns over to hug you. - “I’ll keep that idea in mind, maybe i’ll do it on the down low, like some people do it on Etsy or something”, she answers smiling before making herself at home. “Need a hand for something?” - “Nope, I’m all set as you can see but you’re sweet to ask.” Before you can say anything else, the others start arriving and so the party begins. You try your best to be a good host, it’s not easy for you as usually you’d rather stay home, by yourself and watch tv shows & stuff like that but for once, you’ll make an effort. Your little group made you feel accepted & competent so you kinda owe them that, and you could survive being a social animal for one small night, right ? It’s 2 hours into the party when you see Shirley coming your way with a big smile on er face and you’re not sure what it bodes for you so you try to match her attitude but still weary deep inside. She wants to congratulate you for the party, saying it’s one the chilliest she’s ever been to but you can’t help but think she’s only saying that to make you feel better (that’s so Shirley after all). Without missing a beat though, she changes topics and mentions that there is someone here that seems very interest in you and she points (not so) discreetly towards him, making him wave back at the both of you. - “So unconspicuous, thanks now I’m blushing for no reason”, you joke with her but your cheeks feel warm still. It’s Dominic. He’s working as a gaffer for the studio and you’ve talked with him a couple of times already. He seems to be a nice guy, geeky like you. last time you two chatted together, you’ve spent a good 20 minutes debating which composer was the best when it came to original movie soundtracks, something any other guy would probably consider boring and trivial. - “Maybe not for no reason... I mean dearie, he’s kinda cute. Plus he’s clearly into you. You should go talk to him, like right now”, she says still smiling but you can sens it’s not really a recommandation, more like an order. - “You’re never going to leave it alone, are you?”, you reply  you know the answer already. - “You deserver some love too darling, so go on, he doesn’t bite... maybe if you ask nicely though...” - “Shirley!”, you utter disapprovingly as she waddles away from you chuckling. But the deed is done, you notice that Dominic is coming towards you & you smile politely as he stops in front of you. - “Quite à party you’ve thrown here, congratulations”, he says jokingly as he points out to all your coworkers around, busy chatting while emptying the plates & drinks you’ve set out in the appartement. - “Thanks, you’re sweet to say that but I know it’s pretty basic. I didn’t have the time to come up with something as elaborate as the others”, you defend yourself. - “Yeah but at least you did your best, that has to count for something, right?”, he remarks and you nod slightly. - “Oh, now that’ I’m thinking about it, did you have time to watch the movie I talked you about the other day?”, you ask, more than relieved to change subject. - “Not yet, no, but I’ll give it a try soon, it’s on my watch list”, he answers chuckling a bit. - “So you’ve got one too, I’m not the only one who keeps tracks like this”, you admit chuckling too. And off you both go into a conversation about your most anticipated tv shows and without noticing it, the party is over and you’re left on your own to clean up the place but your friends are nice people, they collected the glasses and plates so you just have to pick everything up & put it in your sink. After the last bit is set to dry for the night, you crawl to your bedroom and fall on your bed, drowsing off into sleep with ease. The following days when you cross path with them, you got some compliments for your little spree and you must say, it uplifts your spirit after all that happened. Plus, as days go by, you’re starting to get closer to Dominic. Often you’re spending your lunch break together, chatting about your hobbies and stuff like that, discovering that you have a lot in common. As you thought, he’s nuce, not to narrow-minded but not too opiniated either. He loves animals (he showed you loads of pictures of his dog already and he’s as cute as his owner you must admit) and he loves the same old tv shows such as Xena or McGyver. It’s almost as if you made him in a computer (to continue the references to vintage tv shows you both like of course). So obviously, you’re on your guard. You’ve learned that if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably a trap and you’d rather avoid falling in another one right now. Plus the fact that you like the same things doesn’t mean anything, just that you had similar tastes and backgrounds as you’re roughly the same age too. But you’re not going to lie, you wouldn’t mind going out with him if the possibility should present itself some day. As for how things are going with Adam, you’re not exactly sure where you’re standing. Still not a single word regarding the kiss and he’s been pissed ever since that phone call the other day. So you do your job, daily and as good as ever even if the mood has clearly changed between you two. It’s a bit hard for you to force yourself not to care since it’s part of the job in a way but well, not that way and you know it. You’re not far from him as you both walk to the set and you yawn a bit, you watched the last season of How To Get Away With Murder yesterday’s evening but you sacrified your resting hours to know how it ended & it shows. - “Another party ?”, you suddenly hear coming from him, making you furrow your brows. Was that a jab at you ? It certainly feels so... - “No, not that it’s any of your business even if it was”, you remark maybe a bit too hastily but you don’t wanna hear any more innuendos regarding what you do or might be doing at night coming from him. He has no right to comment on that. “I’ve left the new pages of the script on your table, there’s only 3 lines that changed. I’ve marked them to save you the pain to go through it to found out which”, you add then to change the topics and open the door to the set, letting him enter first. He just nods to thank you and that’s it for conversation. You go join the others on the side and gladly chat with them after that new spat with Adam. Stew gives you a compassionate pat on your arm and you smile back at him, content that none of them ask what put you in that mood. The usual chatter sets your mind aside and the rest of the day arrives sooner than you thought, allowing you to get home early, giving you the opportunity to treat yourself with a feel good movie & some comfort food. But even that doesn’t really help because you can’t stop asking yourself what game he’s playing with you, ignoring you one moment and asking personal questions the other, like he’s some kind of Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. But luckily, you’re tired so you doze off, your mind finally giving you a break & cherry on the to of it all, you’re not coming back to work before noon the next day. As you join Shirley & Oona at their table for lunch, you catch Dominic in the distance. He’s waving at you so you wave back & see Shirley smile a bit as you sit down. - “What? He was saying hello, I just waved back”, you defend yourself, knowing what that smile means coming from her. - “I didn’t say a word darling”, she says a little bit too cheerfully to your taste. - “No need for that, you’ve got your ‘I’m judging you pout’ going on”, quips Oona, visibly amused too by your conversation. - “Ah! See, you’ve got that face, I’m not the only one saying it”, you remark as you sip on your drink with your straw. - “But she’s got a point though, you’re flirting with him”, Oona points out sipping hers too, making you almost sneeze yours out. - “I’m not, I’m being polite, you two should try it some time”, you retort, knowing they’re saying the truth but for now you ant to avoid confronting it, you’re not in the right mindset to start a relationship. They both chuckle and you end up chuckling too, making you think the topic was over but as usual, Shirley doesn’t give up that easily. - “Just be careful if you go out with him, don’t give him any false hope”, she adds, all wisely. - “Why would I do that?”, you ask, brows furrowed, not really knowing where this is coming from. - “You know why”, she says giving you the ‘you know who I’m talking about’ look. “The guy’s into you but don’t let him get close if your heart & mind are still hooked somewhere else”.

She just hit the spot. You always felt like she was some sort of a mind reader and this just confirms it for you because it’s like she knew what was going on inside your brain and strangely, you both knew it, given the look you two share at this point. Feeling the silence is getting awkward, Oona throws another subject out of nowhere and lunch goes by with you thinking about way too many things to really enjoy your food. You’re still processing that whole exchange during the afternoon, warranting yourself some side glances from Adam from time to time, which you deliberately chosoe to ignore. And it kinda pisses you off that he cares now but still not enough to talk to you about wha happened. Another reason you really should start to forget about him & you know it but it’s not that easy since you’re by his side all day long. Deep down you know what you have to do, it’s obvous but that’ll ask a lot for you & you’re not sure you’ll be able to hold the distance. Despite your slight shyness, you’re someone who cares about people (some may even say you care too much) so for you to cast your feelings aside even though you know that’s what needs to be done, it’s gonna be problematic. On your ride home, you nearly miss your stop because you’re deep in your thoughts and as the evening goes on, you feel a headache forming up, making you officially brand the day a crappy one. The next morning you arrive on set, completely on auto-pilot, the two coffee you already took didn’t have any effect on you until now but you pull through, the last thing you xant is hearing another remark coming from Adam about how you look tired, assuming you went out even though he’s part of the reason you’re in that state. But nothing comes and you’re relieved, avoiding yet another spat with him makes your day easier. In order to keep your cool for the day, you decide to eat your lunch next to the costume department building, knowing almost nobody goes there during the break. After a good thirthy minutes, you return to the real world and you cross path with Dominic, who’s leaving for the day, lucky him. You chat a little and when he leaves, you feel lighter. It’s stupid, you curse yourself to be that way, so unstable in your emotions, such a mess when clearly you should know better with what to expect from someone like him, playing with people just because he can. That’s where you’d like to have a dog, to keep you company in times like this, to cheer you up with its cute face. And at least, he wouldn’t play with your feelings like someone else did. But it would be unfair to him, as you wouldn’t be able to xlak him when needed, plus your building rules don’t allow pets in the appartments so... You just hold your pillow close & wait for sleep to come and get you so you can finally call it a day.