#usually i just shower. dress up nice. go for a walk. chat with strangers on the street. buy myself smthing nice and talk to my friends

[eatingwhiterocks]

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[catamano]

12:21pm - Charlotte

Two out of my three appointments are finished for the day. I’m here later than I intended to be. Erica hasn’t shown up yet, I’m not sure what time to expect her. My last appointment is at 12:30, I was planning to let Paige handle it, but I might as well do it since I’m here. 

I’m in my office catching up on financials. I’ve been on my feet all day, it feels good to have a break. It was nice to see Margot this morning, I’m glad I was able to help her pick out a dress for her baby shower. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen her, I didn’t even know she was having another baby.

“Hey boss.” I look up and see Paige standing in my doorway. I told her to come get me when my appointment is here.

“Hey, is Christine here?” I shut my laptop. I got most of my work done. I can finish the rest tomorrow.

“Nope, but Erica is,” she says, “need me to steam anything while I’m back here?” Is it that obvious we’re fighting? Maybe she just wants to give us some privacy.

“You can open that box and get started on it,” I point to a large box next to my desk. I’m not sure what’s in it. This is the first of many shipments to arrive for fall and winter. We’re not going to stock it yet, since this is only the first package, but I want to get everything prepared for when we do.

“Will do,” she nods, grabbing a pair of scissors off my desk.

“Thanks, I’ll be right back.” 

I enter the store and see my sister, hands crossed, politely standing by the entrance. I feel nervous all of a sudden. It’s fine, just say hello.

“Hey, how are you?” I ask, smiling. Despite everything, I’m happy to see her. I’m not sure she feels the same about me.

“I’m fine.”

“Nice shirt, I’m jealous.” We picked it out together a few years ago. When I go on buying trips for the store, Erica usually comes with me. The skirt she’s wearing is something she picked out on our last trip.

“Do you not have the same one?”

“I did. The dry cleaners ruined it.” A sad day for me. It was no longer in stock by the time I went to reorder it. That shirt was one of my favorites. 

“Oh, unfortunate.” Her voice sounds distant. I don’t think she has any interest in talking to me. I’ll try anyways.

“Yeah, oh well. You should’ve been here earlier, my friend brought her daughter in, she-”

“I’m not here to chat, Charlotte,” she interrupts me, “I need my bag and I need to get back to work.” Shit. I forgot her purse. It’s still on my desk.

“Are you not on your lunch break?” Erica usually gives herself a couple hours for lunch, I’d be surprised if she went back to work this early.

“I am.”

“I thought you didn’t usually go back until 1:30.”

“Can you please just go get my bag?” Why is she acting like this? She’s treating me like we’re strangers. I sigh, I should just ask her. What if someone walks in? I don’t care. I’m asking her.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“I need to get back to work,” she dodges the question. I’m not giving up that easily.

“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” I state, obviously frustrated. I’m done trying to be polite. 

“Charlotte, please.” Don’t ‘Charlotte, please’ me, answer my question.

“No. Why are you treating me like shit?”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Nothing to do with me, yet she decides to take it out on me.

“Then why are you treating me like it does?” If she let me, I could actually try and help her. She rarely comes to me for advice, it’s always bothered me. We’re both adults, I wish she’d stop treating me like her younger sister. 

“I don’t have time to discuss this right now.”

“You’re not the only one dealing with things, you know.” 

“I didn’t say that I was.”

“No, but you act like it.” Perfect. That’s the word she’s been using to describe me. She knows how much it bothers me when people say that, and that’s still the word she chose.

“I-”

I cut her off, “You didn’t even bother to ask how I am.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry. How are you?”

“Would you even care if I told you?” I ask, regretting it immediately. Too far, Charlotte. I don’t have to make low blows just because she does.

She looks up at me, the first time she’s done so this entire conversation. She swallows, I can tell that hurt her.

“Of course I would,” she says, quietly. 

“I’m not your enemy.”

“I know that.”

“Then stop treating me like it.” 

She runs a hand through her hair and I notice she’s not wearing her ring. That might not mean anything, she usually doesn’t wear it while she’s working. She never lets her patients know too much about her. I hope it’s just that.

Neither one of us is saying anything. I think I said all I needed to say. Erica’s still staring at me, she seems like she wants to say something, but stays quiet. 

I glance at the clock on the wall, 12:21. Christine is going to be here soon, asking me for a million different cocktail dresses. Now would be a good time to go and get Erica’s purse.

“Will you watch the store for a minute while I go grab your purse? Paige is in the back.” 

“Sure.”

“Thanks.” I wish this wasn’t so awkward. 

“No problem,” she replies.

I turn around making my way back to my office. I tried. I don’t know if that conversation helped or made things worse. 

[mummybear]

This Thing Between US

Words: 4479

Warnings: Swearing, Dirty Talk, Smut, Wall/Door Sex, Protective Jensen, Oral (Male Receiving), Fluff. Think that’s it :) 

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x Reader

Summary: After getting a much needed night off from work and finally getting a date your best friend doesn’t agree with you about going, is Jensen right? Is the date doomed or are you about to spend the night with Mr Right?

A/N: This is my submission to @stiles-o-dylan24‘s challenge for passing 1K followers! My Prompt Was - If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to seduce me. A massive congratulations Ellie!! So beyond pleased for you babe, glad that we’ve been friends for as long as we have. You’re the sweetest person ever and you deserve every single follower and so many more! Big hugs babe, hope you enjoy this! :) 

A big thank you to the lovely @ne-gans for reading it over for me too 😘💖

This is also another submission to my @spndeanbingo, for the square (Best Friends)

(This is an AU where Jensen isn’t married and never was. This is a work of fanfiction and should be treated as such, thank you :) )

Ko-Fi HERE :)

You were so excited, you’d finally managed to get some time off work to have a much needed date night. The trouble was that you were nervous as hell, the date you were going on was with a guy you’d met online last week. Despite your best friend and roommate doing his best to put you off of the idea, you were determined to go ahead with your plans. You’d spent the entire day at work distracted thinking about it. 

Jensen’s opinion was always extremely important to you, him not agreeing with your decision must've been playing on your mind more than you’d first realised. As much as you trusted and respected Jensen’s opinion; and you did. You just couldn’t cancel these plans, you’d had them for weeks and you had been really looking forward to them. Plus that would hardly be fair on the guy you were meeting, Tim had seemed like a nice enough guy from what you could gather during your chats.

Your bath is finally how you like it, the steam filling the cool room and you quickly pull off your clothes and toss them into the hamper, before climbing into the tub, groaning in pleasure when your aching body makes contact with the water, it’s like your muscles instantly relax. 

You take your time in the bath, enjoying a little time to yourself to relax. By the time you’re almost finished in the bath, the bathroom door suddenly opens and the intrusion makes you jump. Your hand resting over your heart when Jensen steps into the steam filled room, you allow yourself to relax slightly. Seemingly in his own world, until he stops mid step and locks eyes with you. He immediately covers his eyes with his hand, “s-shit Y/N, I’m sorry!” he half stutters and you can see the blush creeping across his skin. 

“My fault, I should've locked the door.” You reply as you climb out of the bath and wrap your towel around yourself. 

“You can look now,” you giggle a little nervously, noticing the way he’d stiffened when you climbed out. You can’t understand this, he’s never been this nervous around you before.

He hesitantly uncovers his eyes and you give him a small smile when he finally looks at you. The steam in the room suddenly feels like it’s surrounding you, like the air is stuck in your throat. 

“I should… uh. I should go get ready,” you manage to croak out around the lump in your throat.

You don’t give him time to answer, gripping your towel tightly, you practically run from the bathroom to your bedroom, where you slam the door closed and fall back against it, your heart beating wildly in your chest. 

“What the hell was that!?” You demand of yourself out loud. 

Nothing had ever happened between you and Jensen and you’d never intended anything to happen. He was by far one of the hottest men you’d ever known, sure there had been the odd sex dreams you’d had about him. But you didn’t understand what was happening now, he was your best friend and that had been all you’d ever seen him as. Maybe it was just the heat in the bathroom and the hot bath messing with you. That had to be the reason, right?

You decided not to think about it, you didn’t want some kind of fluke or whatever it had been to ruin your night. Taking a deep breath you turn your attention to your outfit hanging on your door, it was a simple black dress with cuffed sleeves and a split up the side, which reached your mid thigh. Your underwear was a sexy black lace set, with white woven in between parts of the fabric, you’d purchased it especially for tonight. 

You did your makeup, wearing a little more than usual and paired it with your red lipstick. You didn’t do too much with your hair, deciding to leave the natural wave you already had. Now that you’re dressed and ready to go, you feel a little more confident, stepping into your heeled shoes. You smile at your reflection as you check yourself over in the mirror. 

When you walk out into the living room, you find Jensen sitting on the couch, clearly he’d had a shower right after you’d left. His hair is still wet and all over the place and he’s shirtless, only his light grey sweatpants cling low on his lean hips. You tried not to notice the few drops of water that rolled down his thick neck. Clearing your throat, you lick your extremely dry lips and focus on his face, where he quickly closes his mouth, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows hard.

“You look… just wow, fuck Y/N.” Jensen rasps, standing in front of you.

You feel yourself blushing and meet his eyes once more, and you can’t help but wonder were they always that green? “Yeah? Thanks Jay. I’m really nervous,” 

“He’s the one who should be nervous, sweetheart, trust me. You don’t have a fuckin’ thing to worry about. You call me if he fucks with you and I’ll kick his ass.” He winks at you and you watch as he chews on his bottom lip and his eyes drop, shamelessly checking you out, before he seems to remember himself and his eyes snap back to your face. 

“So uh, have a good night. Call me if you need a lift home or whatever.” He dismisses, but there’s something about the way he’d said that, that just doesn’t sit right with you.

You decide it’s best not to mention it though, “yeah sure, thanks.” You reply, voice a little clipped and you quickly leave your apartment without looking back.

What the hell is going on between the two of you today? This morning was like any other morning now suddenly, there’s like this weird thing between you and you just can’t explain it.

-

You send a text to Tim and tell him that you’ve just arrived at the restaurant, climbing out of the taxi, you pay the driver, before heading inside and taking a seat at the bar. This place is seriously expensive, so you just order a drink while you wait. You check your phone and still no reply from Tim. 

By the time you check your phone again, your second drink is gone and you’re beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. When you turn back to the bar you find someone is sitting beside you.

“It looks like you’ve been stood up, baby girl.” A deep voice states, clearly he’d been watching you, which is seriously creepy, honestly it takes everything you have not to roll your eyes and you just sigh loudly. 

Turning to look at the stranger, slicked back black hair and brown eyes, moderately good looking but he also looks like a total sleazebag. 

“Not that it’s anything to do with you, but no I haven’t, I’m actually waiting for my boyfriend to finish work.” You snap back defensively, thanking the bartender when he places another drink in front of you.

“You sure about that? You’ve been lookin’ at your phone awfully regular.” He chuckles as you do it again, this time you go through your contacts, in search of the only man who would make you feel safe in this situation.

Before you can press the call button the sleazebags hand lands on your thigh, the feel of his skin against yours makes you feel sick.

“You better move your hand before I shove it up your ass,” you all but growl, slamming your empty glass back on the counter and attracting the bartender's attention.

The guy is undeterred as he leans in closer, the smell of him makes your stomach roll with nausea.

“Come on baby, I can show you a real good time. Fortunately for you, I like ‘em feisty.” He whispers and his cracked lips ghost your ear and you quickly pull away. Before you can tell him to go fuck himself, the bartender is back with another drink for you and the sleaze excuses himself.

“Be right back darlin’ don’t you go anywhere.” 

The second his ass leaves the stool you dial the number, your feet bouncing on the wooden slat beneath your seat.

“Hello sweetheart? You miss me already?” Jensen slurs into the phone and you want to headbutt the bartop. He cannot be drunk right now!

“Look, the guy didn’t show Jay. But I’m getting really freaked out by this creep, he won’t take no for an answer.” You reply quickly, worried about getting a taxi alone in case he tries to follow you.

“Stay right there. I’ll be five minutes.” He responds quickly, all humour gone from his voice. 

Before you can mention the fact that he’s drunk, the line goes dead. You really hope he doesn’t do anything stupid, but at the same time you’re just glad he’s coming. You don’t have time to think about it too much, before you spot Mr creep returning. 

You quickly finish the drink you have left on the bar, feeling that familiar burn in your chest. 

“Did you miss me?”

God that had sounded so much better when Jensen had asked. 

“Yeah, like a fucking hole in the head. Could you leave me alone now. My boyfriend is on his way, he’s the jealous protective type.” You lie easily, although that’s not a complete lie. Jensen is fiercely protective of you, but that was just how he was with his friends, it was one of the many qualities you loved about him. 

“Why don’t I keep you company until he gets here,” the guy smirks, leaning across the bar on his elbow so his face is inches from your own, clearly he still doesn’t believe you.

When you jump back a little too fast, your stool rocks and you almost fall off, but a strong body behind you stops you. You recognise the way he smells immediately and let out a sigh of relief when those strong arms wrap around your body.

“Hey baby, sorry I’m late. I know I said I'd be here sooner.” His lips press against the side of your neck and you feel an unexpected shiver shoot up your spine. 

Your hands drop to Jensen’s and you lean back into his embrace.

“Don’t worry babe, I’m just glad you’re here now.” You tell him honestly, turning back to the douche across from you, who still hadn’t moved.

“Was this dick bothering you?” Jensen growls against your skin and this time you’re sure that you visibly shiver, biting your lip to stop the noise bubbling in your throat, your hands tighten over his. 

The guy looks between you and Jensen and swallows hard.

“Sorry man, guess I misread something. I didn’t realise she was spoken for.” The guy spits out, quickly finishing his drink and you scoff.

“Well that’s bullshit. You should probably leave now.” Jensen suggests, his voice taking on a dangerous edge that you’d never heard before and it affects you more than you might have previously admitted. 

He takes the seat beside you and wraps his arms around your waist, fingers just slightly digging into your stomach. The sleazebag can’t get off of the stool quick enough, and you can’t help but laugh watching him stumble out of the door.

“You are seriously the best friend in the world.” You tell him relieved, turning to him and wrapping your arms around his neck. 

“Thank you Jay, I dunno what I would’ve done without you tonight,” 

When you pull back you press a chaste kiss to his cheek, watching the blush appear almost immediately.

“S’fine Y/N, anytime.” He mutters quietly, scratching at the back of his neck and smiling awkwardly. “Are you hungry? I’m guessing you didn’t have time to eat?” 

You look at him and shrug, a slight smile pulling at your lips.

“Honestly? I kinda just wanna get drunk with my best friend, not really that hungry anymore.” 

-

An hour later you and Jensen are in a shadowed corner booth, the bottle of liquor that sits between you is almost empty. You lean in closer to him, brushing away some fluff from his shirt. “So, did you dress up just for me?” you ask with a grin.

Jensen took a deep breath and met your eyes, your heart suddenly felt like it was trapped in your throat.

“So what if I had, is that a problem?” he questioned gruffly, resting his hand on your thigh, through the split in your dress. 

You suck in a breath at the contact, but the alcohol gives you the boost you need to push away your nerves. Thinking back to how he'd been acting all day, you wonder, what’s the worst that could happen if you gave into what you were feeling?

“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to seduce me, Mr Ackles.” You practically purr, scooting impossibly close, so that you were pressed up against each other.

“Is it working?” Jensen asks with a smirk, fingers curling around the top of your thigh and digging into your skin. You have to bite into your lip to stop yourself from making a noise, very cautious of the people sitting less than a foot behind the two of you. 

“What if it is? What’re you gonna do about it?” Your reply is more breathy than you would’ve liked but you go with it, your hand dropping to his on your thigh and squeezing. 

Clearly the alcohol was giving him a confidence boost, when he leans in close and presses those plump lips to your ear, you’re completely overwhelmed by him. 

“You wanna go home and I can show you, baby girl?” He asks huskily, this time you can’t hold back the whimper when his hand moves further up your thigh.

Taking a breath, you swallow hard, feeling his lips press against the side of your neck, just below your ear.

“This is a bad idea, isn’t it?” You ask, feeling a little lightheaded with him being so close and his lips pause on your skin.  

Jensen pulls back so he’s looking at you in the eyes. 

“I don’t think so, don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it? I know I have.” 

“I guess maybe, I’ve dreamt about certain things happening. But I’ve tried not to let myself consider it, you’re my best friend Jay, I don’t wanna lose you.” You tell him honestly, blushing as you look down at your knees.

“Hey, don’t do that,” Jensen all but whispers, cupping your cheek in his big hand. He always made you feel so small in the best way. He tilts your face until you’re looking in his eyes again,  “Trust me, I have no intention of going anywhere. No matter what happens tonight. You wanna just go home and forget about this then it’s up to you, Y/N. No pressure.” There’s a pause as he leans in a little closer, chewing on his bottom lip for a moment.

“But if you want me to take you home and show you what you do to me, how fucking hard you make me-” You cut him off with those words, resting your hand over the obvious and large bulge in his jeans. 

You swallow thickly at the implication as his thumb brushes over your bottom lip, he’s so close and you’re out of reasons as to why this is a bad idea.

“Show me Jay,” you whisper against his lips.

His hold on your cheek is a little firmer as he presses his plump lips to yours, it’s like all of the air has been ripped from your lungs as your lips move against his effortlessly. The hand holding your cheek slips around to the back of your head and he grips your hair gently and tugs, deepening the kiss. You push your hands into his hair in an attempt to pull him closer, messing it up the way you like it. His tongue slips between your lips followed by a deep groan, the kiss quickly becomes a mess of tongues and teeth, until you’re forced to pull back for air.

Nervous excitement is bubbling under your skin as you wipe your red lipstick from his kiss-swollen lips with your thumb. You pull your dress over Jensen’s hand to hide it, which only gives him more confidence to move it higher, so his thumb is practically brushing over your damp panties.

You’re interrupted when a waiter turns up at your table and clears his throat, “Excuse me sir, sorry to interrupt but your transportation has arrived.” 

“Thank you, this should cover our tab.” Jensen smiles, handing over some cash. The waiter nods and gives his thanks. 

“Oh sir, I like it, it suits you.” You giggle as you both get out of the booth, Jensen scoffs but he’s smiling as he wraps his arm around your waist and you head out to the front of the Restaurant. 

You climb into the back of the taxi, while Jensen gives the guy your address before joining you in the back.

“How’re you doin’?” Jensen asks as the car starts moving, pulling one of your legs over his knee.

You scootch down the seat a little to give him more room to move his hand, “I’m good. Thank you for tonight, I had a great time.” 

Jensen bites his lip as his hand moves between your legs and pushes your dress higher, until he can reach the apex of your thighs, rubbing back and forth over the front of your increasingly wet panties. 

“It’s not over yet,” he smirks, his breath ghosting over your lips. You whimper as he pushes your panties to the side and his fingers slide teasingly through your slick.

“Fuck you’re so wet baby girl.” Jensen groans deeply, resting his forehead against yours as he eases two thick fingers inside you. 

You clench your teeth to stop from moaning, luckily the driver has the music on, so at least your heavy breathing is covered. You’re both lost in your own world as you look into his eyes, feeling yourself clenching around his fingers. There’s a knock on the partition and Jensen gives you a wink before pulling his hand free, “oh come on. You’ve got to be kidding me.” You grumble, voice thick with irritation, as he sucks those fingers between his lips and moans around them. You don’t know whether you want to kick him or kiss him.

Despite your protest Jensen pays the taxi and follows behind you once it’s driven away. When you finally manage to get the keys out of your bag, Jensen presses up behind you, moving your hair over one shoulder. You shiver as his lips move slowly over your neck, he takes the keys from you as your head falls back against his chest and he makes quick work of unlocking the door. 

The two of you stumble inside, giggling like a pair of teenagers, you barely have time to think before Jensen is backing you up against the same door you’d just closed.

“You sure you still wanna do this?” he questions as his fingers ghost over the zipper of your dress.

“Of course I am, I wanna know what your filthy brain has been coming up with.” You smirk confidently, the alcohol giving you the help you need. You grip both sides of his shirt and tug hard, sending buttons flying across the room. You can already see the way his eyes have darkened as he looks down at you.

“So, your bedroom or mine, sir?” 

Jensen starts pulling the zip down slowly, keeping his darkened green eyes focused on you, the anticipation of what’s to come has your heart thudding wildly in your chest. He’s being so gentle and slow, you’re waiting for what you know is to come, you’ve heard the way he’s made girls scream over the years and the thought has your stomach in knots.  

You swallow hard as he pulls his ruined shirt from his body and unbuckles his belt, tugging off his jeans and boxers, kicking them to one side. You can’t take your eyes off of him, unable to stop yourself from shamelessly checking him out, he’s fucking flawless, just as you’d expected. He looks just like you thought he would, but his cock is so much bigger than you would have dreamed. His voice soon pulls you from your ogling. 

“Why bother going upstairs? I could just fuck you right here, against this door.” Jensen muses with that deadly smirk as he lets the dress slip from your body and pool at your feet, his voice has taken that tone again which makes your entire body feel like it’s on fire.

You smile back, pushing your panties down and stepping out of them and your dress, you wrap your arms around his neck.

“Guess you’d better show me what you wanna do to me, huh Sir?” 

“You’re really enjoying calling me that, ain’t you sweetheart?” Jensen smirks, reaching down to pick you up. You giggle as you wrap your legs around his waist, feeling his hardness crushed between the two of you. Jensen lifts you just enough so that the head of his cock is pressing against your entrance, “this what you want baby?” he teases, letting the thick head of his cock push inside you. 

Your fingers push into his hair and you grip tightly, leaning your forehead against his. 

“Please Jay, Please. Fuck me.” You beg breathlessly against his parted lips. He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t need to because as soon as the words pass your lips he sinks into you with one thrust. 

“Oh God, Jensen, fuck.” You gasp out, dropping your head back against the door as your hands grip his shoulders tightly, nails digging into his soft skin. 

Jensen stills inside you with a groan, fingers digging into your ass cheeks. You keep your eyes on his as you roll your hips against him. He’s so much thicker than you’d realised, stretching you out so much, it almost feels like he could break you at any moment if he wanted to. Your pussy hasn’t stopped clenching and fluttering around him. You can feel his cock already hitting spots nobody had ever managed to reach before. 

“So fuckin’ tight and wet for me baby girl. You want me to move? Make you come all over my cock?” 

His voice is deeper than you’ve ever heard it, “yes, move please. I need you so bad, wanna feel you.” You whine loudly, fully aware of just how desperate you sound, but you’ve never cared less about anything.

Jensen pulls out almost all the way, then that fucker smirks, before he snaps his hips forward, pulling a scream from your throat that makes him growl.

“Fuck. That’s my girl.” Jensen grunts before repeating his actions, your head makes a dull thud as it falls back against the door. The grooves of the door digging into your back as he picks up a hard and fast pace that has you speechless.

“Wanted to fuck you so bad in that bar, you felt so fucking soft, looked so sexy in that tight little dress.” 

“I wish you had,” you moan loudly, feeling his cock pulse inside you and your walls flutter around him. You’re so close to falling over that edge.

“Who knew you were such a dirty little girl, we’re gonna have so much fun together.” He half laughs, half groans into your neck.  

“Fuck Jay, I’m gonna come.” You whimper loudly, feeling your entire body beginning to stiffen around him.

Jensen grabs your leg and hooks it in the crook of his elbow, you cry out at the new angle, the tip of his cock is repeatedly slamming into your sweet spot. Your nails are digging into his shoulders as your eyes start to roll back.

“So fuckin’ sexy baby girl. Come on, you can do it. Want you to paint my fuckin’ cock white.”

That’s all you need to push you over the edge, your orgasm smashes into you hard, leaving you extremely glad that Jensen is holding you up against the door.

You can feel Jensen’s jaw repeatedly tensing against your shoulder as he swears under his breath. You feel his hips start to stutter and purposefully clench around him, pulling those perfect noises from his lips.

You press your lips against his ear and groan when his fingers dig tighter into your ass cheeks.

“Want you to come in my mouth, wanna lick you clean.” You all but purr, clinging to his biceps as he pauses and pulls back to meet your gaze.

“Fuck, Y/N. I’m close, you want it baby?” 

You feel your pussy clench around him at the mere idea of it and nod enthusiastically with your bottom lip between your teeth.

Jensen gently pulls his cock free of your pussy and lowers you onto your shaking legs. You smirk up at him as you drop to your knees at his feet. You lick your lips as he fists his cock and starts to pump it in his fist, he holds himself up against the door with his free hand. His eyes are focused on your face as your lips part and you lick them hungrily, leaning up a little higher you wrap your lips around the tip of his perfect cock, tongue flicking back and forth over the slit.

“Shit sweetheart, just like that.” He groans loudly, gently thrusting his hips deeper into your mouth, you moan around him tasting yourself on his cock is better than you could’ve imagined. His hand falls away and moves to grip the back of your head as you take every inch you can manage.

“That’s it baby girl, fuck Y/N. I’m gonna-” He’s cut off when a deep groan fills the room and his come shoots into the back of your throat.

You do your best to swallow every precious bit of it, licking along his shaft until you’re happy you got all of it. He practically drags you to your feet when you pull away and roughly presses his lips against yours.

You squeal as he suddenly throws you over his shoulder and smacks your ass.

“Jay! What the hell?!” You question still half laughing.

You can almost hear the grin in his voice as he makes his way towards the stairs, “I ain’t done with you yet baby girl, not after that! I didn’t even get to return the favour yet.”

You watch his tight ass move as he walks up the stairs with you in tow, realising you wouldn’t want to get out of this even if you could.

Tags: @chewie-redbird @julzdec @lettersofwrittencollective @stiles-o-dylan24 @mogaruke @all-alone-he-turns-to-stone @dylanholyhellobrien @desireepow-1986 @lilulo-12 @22sarah08 @negans-lucille-tblr​ @deanwanddamons​ @simsadventures​  @charmed-asylum​ @nicole-lynne​ @hazel-eye-coffee-shop-girl-blog​ @defenderrosetyler​ @emilyshurley​ @foxyjwls007​ @mylovelydame21​ @sunshineandwings86 @akshi8278​ @peaches007​ @stylesismyhubs​ @fandom-princess-forevermore​ @hobby27​ @akshi8278​ @littlelonewolfgirl @ladywinchester1967​ @screechingartisancashbailiff​ @maddiepants​ @spnfanfic-reblogs​ @holylulusworld​ @mrswhozeewhatsis​ @sonofabringmesomepie​ @deans-baby-momma​ @mrsjenniferwinchester​ @hhiggs​ @pisces-cutie​ @trina44sb @heartsaved​ @matsumama​ @adoptdontshoppets​ @beth-winchester21​ @doctor-hp-mcu​ @mrspeacem1nusone​ 

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[extremelyblackandwhite]

Hey, i just finished handmaid and to say that I loved it is an understatement. I was listening to flawless by the neighborhood this morning and i was wondering if you could do a drable or something based on the song with any character or actor of your choosing (i was thinking Chris E, but it's totally up to you). i was also thinking maybe a biker! au. feel free to ignore or change this up

💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛💛

aw thank you so much lovely!! i’m so happy you like handmaid. I ADORE FLAWLESS, i pretty much have it in all my playlists so i’m happy to write this or you. i did it with seb bc i never wrote for chris e. but did it biker! au. hope it’s okay ❤️

warning for 18+

the sun was still set high in the sky, the heat was too much to handle yet james “bucky” barnes still stood proudly sat against the pub’s booth in his worn out leather jacket

it was one of those days where the summer day was much too tempting not to go out and nurse a cider at the local pub

usually bucky would just be outside, against his bike, nursing a cold beer bottle but today the heat had forced him inside where the air conditioner was blasting

he was mindlessly listened to whatever steve was saying until she walked in

she had her hair up, a hand on the back of her neck probably to cool her down and a white thin summer dress. his eyes were incapable to leave her figure from the moment he saw her. 

she was not alone, she stood a bit further removed from her group of friends who were not really paying attention to her, instead laughing on her own as she merely nodded and smiled shyly, holding a glass bottle of coke with a red and white stripped straw

how could someone not constantly look at her? she was flawlessly beautiful, angelic even and whenever her lips wrapped around that straw, his mind seemed to undress that flawless facade of hers

“someone’s looking at you” one of her friends pointed out. y/n furrowed her brows at that comment, turning the head slightly behind her to see a man dressed in a leather jacket, white shirt and distressed black jeans. she expected him to avert his gaze once she caught him looking but the gaze only seemed to intensify making her flush and turn her face around.

her friends returned to their conversation leaving her to wonder what do. should she make a move? no, she could barely flirt much less be the one to make the first move. 

luckily, that decision was quickly made for her as one of the waiter approached her table with a small ice cream bowl “it’s from the gentleman in table 6, miss”

she mumbled a small thank you before turning her head back to the table, watching as both the man who had been holding eye contact with him and his friends got up from the booth and started walking towards the exit. shit.

she stood snugly against her seat until they left at which point she excused herself from the table with some white lie and made her way outside.

she watched from the inside of the pub as the two men leaned each against one bike. she felt bad about peeking but there was just a magnetic attraction to the brown haired man.

“ever rode a bike?” he said casually, catching her by surprise. “you are looking at it as if you’ve never seen one” “i’m sorry, i just ... i wanted to thank you for the ice cream. that was really kind of you” “my pleasure, doll” “uhm ... i should go back to my friends” “wanna go for a ride?”

y/n had heard about stranger danger and she knew that getting onto a stranger’s bike just because he was handsome was a big no 

“i, i am here with my friends” “they don’t seem to be paying any attention to you, doll” “they’re well meaning besides how do i know you’re not gonna drive me somewhere and murder me” “oh i promise you, doll, i could never hurt you”

she looked behind her to the table where her friends were and then to him “i don’t even know your name” “i’m james but you can call me bucky” “i’m y/n”

bucky taking her to the park and the two of them just sitting on the grass chatting about various things

he was absolutely certain he was in love with her the moment she giggled at one of his jokes, her hand hiding her little smile out of shyness

the two of them begun dating on the low with bucky mostly keeping her as his little secret as not to introduce her to his world

of course that lasted as long as it could until it just became to hard to hide it 

everyone knew he would have a poker face on until she walked in with those flowy summer dresses or nice sweater knitted dresses and sat next to him. 

he would immediately put his hand on her thigh or lift her to sit on his lap

y/n not being the biggest fan of the bike because she’s terrified of it “doll you are not gonna fall.” “yes i will.  i refuse to sit on that deathtrap” “how about you sit on something else”

oh but bucky ADORES to taint her innocence. 

she’ll be sat next to him and his friends on the bar and he will bring his hand under her skirt and start fingering her 

or laying her atop his bike once he parks it in the garage and just worship her body for hours and hours on end until she’s moaning for him to stop

oh her moaning, bucky swears her moaning is more addictive than drugs

he’ll do everything to hear it which is why he normally kisses her on the neck whenever he can. she always shivers and moans softly which drives him off the edge

y/n wearing his leather jacket over her summer dresses to tease him on purpose 

he does however love her. actually, he is blinded by how much he loves her.

he’ll go to her work place and pick her up, take her to nice dinners at the best restaurants downtown and he will even dress up 

little kisses all the time 

she’ll be cooking and he’ll come up from behind her and kiss her cheek, she’ll be coming out of the shower and he will kiss her forehead

although he keeps it hidden from most of his friends he is incredibly touch starved and loves it when she wraps her arms around him when she gets home

or how she’ll immediately hug him once he gets into bed

y/n likes to be the big spoon and bucky has no problem with it, he actually enjoys it

bucky at the end of the day adores her and he’d do everything for her.

[americasass81]

Love In The Wild

Warnings:- Fluff, M & F Smut (nothing too graphic), Very, very, very Mild Stalker Behavior, Mild Coarse Language, Teasing, Kinda Friends to Enemies to Lovers. Do not read if any of these warnings are upsetting. All mistakes are my own. Feedback and reblogs are welcomed.

By proceeding you are acknowledging that you are over 18 and are consenting to the content below the cut.

Pairing:- softish!Brock Rumlow x Named Female Character

Author’s Note 1:- Okay so this is once again a very special piece for @saiyanprincessswanie as she faces into yet another surgery. Good luck Missy and know that all our thoughts are with you. Hope this lifts your spirits and helps make you smile. {PS:- I also included a little Frank trivia in this but I’m not sure if anyone else will spot it}.

Author’s Note 2:- Thanks goes to @firefly-graphics​ for creating the included Floral Leaves divider. Please go check out Daisy’s work and pass on some love.

Author’s Note 3:- This is also my first time writing for a Named Character and I hope it works okay.

Synopsis:- Meeting a stranger in a place that holds a special place in your heart may be the key to unlocking your future happiness.

Word Count:- 5,378

Sitting out on the porch of the dining area as the morning sun shone its rays towards the ground and the early risers milled around the area, you wished you could wake up like this every morning. Nature was in full bloom all around and listening to the adults chatting while the odd child ran around enjoying their little freedom, you truly felt like you had come home. Finally feeling like yourself again, this trip was simply about reconnecting with nature and finding joy in the little things. Finishing up breakfast, you walked back through the lobby of the lodge and smiled as a small child skipped up to you and handed you some freshly picked wildflowers before running off back to her parents after you thanked her. Sniffing the flowers as you continued on back to your room, you remembered when you too held that child-like innocence and wondering where it went, you hoped that she at least would be someone who could hold onto hers.

Arriving at your room, you opened the door and stepping inside, placed the flowers in a glass of water before picking up the activity pamphlet and looking down the list of activities. Oakridge may have been a nature park, but that didn't stop it from having an impressive choice of activities for those that weren't exactly interested in the great outdoors. Deciding however that you would take advantage of the glorious morning and enjoy a hike along by the river flowing down from the mountains, you dressed accordingly, pulled out your hiking poles and headed off at a leisurely pace. Placing one foot in front of the other, the wind through the trees touched your soul and as you headed along the hiking trail you swore you could hear the voices of those that came before you reaching out across time and space to deliver the peace you had long since sought. Losing yourself in the wonder all around you, step by step your cares melted away as the sound of the nearby river and the local forest creatures reminded you why you were here in the first place.

Bending down to examine a rare plant, while taking a drink from your water bottle, it seemed that a higher power however had something else in mind for you when the sound of a branch snapping off to your right sharpened your senses and focused your attention firmly on your surroundings. Turning towards the sound as a burly, gruff looking man appeared before you, you figured him to be yet another park visitor until he opened his mouth and you identified him as nothing more than an annoyance.

"Well, well, well cricket, imagine finding you out here. You lost? I thought for sure someone like you'd be holed up back at the lodge with a hot chocolate and a nice book." he quipped and all you wanted to do was reach up and slap him. As it was you instead simply ignored him and walked away in the hope he would get the message.

Hope was not to be your friend in this scenario however as he easily caught up to you and began to point out all the ways in which the surrounding woodland was too dangerous for a delicate thing such as yourself. Breathing in the cool crisp air as you ventured further up the hiking trail, you did your best to ignore this intruder into your peaceful activity, but this task proved impossible as his next statement reached your ears. Asking if it was even safe for you to be outdoors and if you could tell the difference between common woodland plants and poison ivy, you finally had enough and rounded on him. "Now listen here you annoying little insect," you spat as he simply stood there looking at you as if enjoying your reaction, "I'll have you know that as a landscape architect this fragile little thing is far more capable of being outdoors than the likes of you."

Looking you up and down however with a smirk you would later come to enjoy, he simply took a step closer and asked what exactly a landscape architect was. After relaying in detail what exactly it was your job entailed, you finally had enough when he voiced his opinion that no such job actually existed and you were nothing more than a gardener. Losing all patience with him and taking in your strategic location, you smiled a glorious smile before placing your hands against his chest and leaning closer towards his ear. "You know what dickface, maybe my work doesn't sound like a real job, but it does give me the strength to do this," and with one powerful push and a huge amount of luck, the stranger found himself sitting in the river as you laughed and walked away from him.

Gazing after your retreating form as the river continued to flow around him and a few more visitors neared his location, he removed himself from his current location and heading back towards the lodge decided that your fiery spirit was definitely something he had to find a way to explore. Finishing off your hike before heading back to your room to freshen up, you hoped the rest of your trip was free of that arrogant stranger while you figured out what to do with the rest of your day.

Stripping off and stepping into the shower in another part of the lodge, Missy's stranger thought back on how he had landed himself in this position. Sure he thought it funny at the time to sneak up on her having secretly loved her from afar over the years, but seeing it from her point of view it probably wasn't the smartest move. Still he had to admit that fire in her was something to behold and he couldn't wait to see what fun they could have together. For now he set aside his desires, dressed quickly and casually and headed to his truck for his weekly trip to the city to pick up the few essentials he couldn't live without. Driving along with his reliable radio blasting his favorite music, he tried to figure out how best to make it up to his precious girl and so, once reaching the city, his first stop was the flower shop to begin his campaign.

Walking into the bright airy premises, it always amazed Brock just how successful this place had become. Browsing until the last customer completed their business, he then headed over to the counter where the owner and his oldest friend stood waiting with her usual smile. Explaining to Samantha the predicament he had landed himself in, she told him it would have been wonderful to see before she finally took pity on him and made up a special arrangement of roses, lilies and tulips. Agreeing to call back for them on his way home, he paid the bill then headed off on his other business hoping that this gesture would help thaw his beautiful little cricket. Two hours later, having finished up all that he needed to do and collecting the flowers with a warning from Samantha not to screw things up, he drove back to the park somewhat more chipper now that he had parts of a plan in place. Parking in the employee car park, he took the flowers to the reception desk and asked Annie to place them in room 37. Then returning out to his truck to begin removing his purchases, he waited to see if his apology would be accepted.

Stepping out of the shower feeling totally invigorated after your wonderful hike and the glorious shower, you dried off, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and stepped out into the living area to be greeted by a beautiful bouquet of freshly cut flowers. Looking around the room and finding nothing disturbed, you went to the door and peeked out into the hall and not seeing anyone around, shut the door and headed back towards the coffee table. Looking at the arrangement before bending down to inhale their heavenly scents, your eye caught the card poking out between the flowers. Reaching out to pluck the card carefully from the vase, a mixture of emotions worked their way through your body as you read the words displayed before you.

Rummaging around in the recesses of your mind for any explanation for the words staring back at you, your hand dropped the card and you contemplated throwing the vase, flowers included, at something when your mind latched on to the early morning events. Not knowing how the stranger had found out your name or which room you were staying in, the sheer audacity of him to think that you should be sorry for dumping his smug ass in the river made your blood boil and erased the peace and pleasure of the morning's activities. Still as you tried to calm down and remember that you were here to enjoy yourself, you instead decided to throw away the card and pretend the beautiful flowers were simply part of the room's decor. Finally happy with your decision, you picked up the activities pamphlet once again and glancing through it decided that the afternoon art class might be just the thing to distract you from the arrogant stranger who twice now had intruded on your peaceful vacation. Heading off back down to the lobby, you stopped by the cafe for a brownie and a coffee before asking for directions to the art class. Being told how to get there by the polite guy behind the counter, you paid for your items, left a generous tip and headed off towards your next adventure.

Talking to Annie and discovering that the flowers had indeed been delivered to the correct room, Brock sat in his office trying to figure out what miscommunication had occurred this time round. Having watched you grow up and mature through the years as you visited the park, first with your parents and then sometimes on your own, he knew you to be a kind and thoughtful soul so he had to figure in the half day that you had been here you couldn't have that many people to apologize to.

Ringing through to reception, he inquired as to what the occupant of room 37 was up to, but when no one was able to shed any light on the matter, he figured he would simply have to allow the whims of fate to hopefully bring you back to his presence. Finding himself particularly frustrated at the events taking place around him with little to no control over them, he headed off to the lodge's gym to try and work off some of the tension making itself at home in his muscles. Of course he could use the equipment in his own quarters, but his parents had taught him that not only should he know how everything around the lodge worked, he should also keep himself in the trenches and thereby better understand what their guests and visitors needed and thus help cultivate an all-round better vacation experience.

Heading off to the gym fifteen minutes later, all thought of working out was pushed from his mind however as he passed the art room and got an eyeful of the exhibition within. Sure he couldn't see much of the naked male model below the assembled easels, but he could clearly make out Missy's ethereal form sitting on the far left gazing at the man before her as her hand moved back and forth across the canvas. Remembering his parents words and seeing an opportunity to spend some extra time with you, he gave up on his workout, moved away from the door and taking out his phone, dialed Elaine and told her of a change of plan for the art class. Then heading to the changing rooms, he stripped down, slipped on an available robe and waited for Julius to be dismissed.

Sitting around and fine tuning the drawing you were working on while the instructor Elaine explained that another model would be taking over, you were the only one shocked when a new guy took the podium and removed his hooded robe to reveal the stranger you had dumped into the river that morning. Choking on the couch that caught in your throat, your cheeks heated up as your eyes focused in on his package and he winked over at you when his eyes followed your gaze. Giving a jerk of his hips that he was certain you had seen by the way the pencil dropped from your hand and how flustered you had become, he smiled to himself as he got comfortable and continued to be the bane of your existence for the next hour until Elaine called time on the class. Removing your drawings and ducking out quickly from the room, you made for the nearest exit and breathed in some lungfuls of much needed air. Meanwhile back in the art room as Brock thanked Elaine and Julius for letting him sit in, he now took pleasure in the fact that he clearly had an effect on you.

Heading off back to your room when your breathing was once again under control, you tried to figure out how this stranger, whose name you didn't even know, always showed up when you were trying to forget about him. Deciding now that the remainder of your evening was a total bust, you headed to the dining room for dinner before retiring to bed with a good book. Ordering the pasta and following Russell, the maitre d to a table by the window, you then ordered a delicious red wine and set your sights on the evening view beyond the glass. Watching families taking photos, couples and strangers getting to know each other around a campfire and children running around being children, you were pulled out of this wonderland when a waitress appeared with your wine.

Meanwhile, walking into the dining room to check on things as he liked to do, Brock caught Jennifer leaving your table and the view that greeted him took his breath away and tightened his pants. Discreetly bringing your glass to your nose and inhaling the pleasant aroma, you sniffed a few more times, taking longer each round. Finally pressing your lips to the glass, you took a sip and allowed the rich bouquet to settle gently in your mouth. Holding it carefully on your tongue as the flavor assaulted your taste buds, you were so wrapped up in your own little world, you had no idea that your actions were being so closely observed by someone who couldn't help but wonder how it would look and feel to have you pleasure his cock the way you did the wine. At last coming out of his fantasy as you swallowed the liquid inhabiting your mouth, Brock excused himself from Russell's presence and headed off back to his quarters, vowing one day soon to recreate the vision he had just experienced.

Thanking Jennifer once she delivered your meal, you tucked into the delicious spaghetti not knowing that your earlier actions had been interpreted as a glorified sex act. Still eating in peace and enjoying every single bite, you headed back to your room afterwards and curling up with the latest romance novel, lost yourself for a few blissful hours in its pages before laying down in bed and closing your eyes. Hoping that tomorrow would prove a more relaxing day, you had no idea as you drifted off towards sleep that somewhere under the same stars and roof as you, a dark haired, hazel eyed walking god was currently using his hand to relieve the tension a day in your orbit had fostered within him.

Waking the next morning feeling fully rested, you showered, dressed and decided to forego breakfast in favor of a little kayaking. Figuring that no strangers could upset your day out on the water, things took a quick nose-dive when you arrived at the kiosk to discover your mystery stalker doing sit-ups on the ground a few feet away. Deciding you were sick and tired of this complete arse ruining what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, you swiftly headed back to the main lodge and stood in line at reception to be assisted. Finally approaching Annie, you explained to her that while it was not your intention to cause trouble, a guest was causing you to feel very uncomfortable and you would appreciate it if management would do something about it. Assuring you that the matter would be dealt with, you told her you would be in your room awaiting their response. Half an hour later however everything you thought you knew evaporated like steam when you opened your door to discover your strange stalker standing before you.

"Hello Missy, I heard you were looking for me. Mind if I come in?" he asked with a little smirk, though he made no attempt to move forward.

Standing looking at him with your hand on the door, you quickly found your voice as your senses returned to you. "Yes I do mind actually. You have spent the last twenty-four hours showing up everywhere I've been and as a result I have reported you to management. Now, I don't know how you got my name or what made you think I asked to see you, but it would be best if you left before the manager arrives."

"Well in that case, how about I do you one better and get the owner?" he asked before reaching out his hand to you. "Brock Rumlow at your service. You really don't remember me?" he asked with slight disappointment evident in his voice.

Flitting your gaze back and forth between his face and his outstretched hand, the cogs began turning in your mind and a vision appeared before your eyes of you as a child playing on the swings with a boy a few years older than you. Reaching out your hand to shake his, your voice began working again as you asked him for identification before stepping aside to grant him entry.

Closing the door behind him as he walked over to the couch and made himself at home, a thousand questions assaulted your brain, but you figured the best course of action was to order something to calm your nerves before dealing with the hunk of muscle before you. Waiting for the drinks to arrive, you took a seat on one of the chairs opposite and played with the hem of your top while Brock occupied himself with admiring just how flustered his presence made you.

Eventually getting up to answer the knock at the door, he thanked the waiter and poured each of you a glass of wine before offering you yours. "Here cricket, this should help with those pesky nerves." he grinned before sitting back down on the couch.

Taking a huge gulp from the glass, you then set it down on the table before facing him. "I wouldn't be nervous if you didn't keep stalking me. And stop calling me cricket." you snapped.

"You never had a problem with it when we were children." he interrupted. " What's happened Missy? Where's that carefree, nature loving girl who stole my heart when I was twelve years old?" he asked, now moving closer to you.

Looking up at him as the sands of time shifted and took you back to that memory, you smiled slightly at the image of that tender boy who had shown you so many wonderful sights around the park. Pulling yourself back to the present and the now grown up adult in front of you, you no longer saw the stranger who was out to ruin your vacation. "I guess she just needed someone to show her the way back." you answered shyly as you topped up your glass and sat down beside him on the couch.

Catching up on all the things that had happened in your lives through the intervening years, two bottles of wine later found you and Brock stretched out on your bed talking through why both of you were still single. Explaining that he couldn't find anyone to capture his attention or understand his love of nature, you were shocked to realize that you too had a similar experience.

Opening your eyes a few hours later to discover you had fallen asleep on your bed in Brock's arms, you thought once more of the fun you had as children and the feelings that friendship had nurtured within you. Sure you would never admit as much to him, but the love he had for nature and the care and generosity he showed to everyone around him were qualities you had looked for in potential boyfriends. Looking at his sleeping form, you had to wonder if fate was playing a hand in your love life right now but swiftly shoved that thought aside when a pair of hazel eyes met yours and a hand reached up to cup your cheek.

"Hey there Missy, you're a sight to wake up to." his groggy voice greeted and you couldn't help the giggle that left your lips as he pulled you closer and threw his leg across yours. Closing his eyes once again as you snuggled into his strong chest and warm embrace you drifted off once more wondering how a childhood acquaintance could stir such feelings in you all these years later.

Finding yourself jolted awake an hour later, Brock once more showed you all his favorite parts of the park before dragging your tired body back to his rooms and ordering up some dinner. Watching you eat while you told him more about your job and your deep seated desire to leave the city, he couldn't help himself when you raised your glass to have a sip of wine. Telling you of the vision he had the evening before as you sat in the dining room, you gulped down the beverage as your eyes moved along his body and your mind traveled places it hadn't been in a really long time.

Continuing on with your meal as Brock dropped hint after hint about what he'd like to do to you, you gave as good as you got even though your panties gave away the fact that he was clearly winning. Finally finishing up your meal, Brock rose from the table and holding out his hand to you, asked if he could show you the other place that owned his heart. Agreeing apprehensively as you expected him to lead you to his bedroom, you were both shocked and surprised when he opened a hidden door and led you into the most glorious personal library you had ever seen. Covered in floor to ceiling bookshelves with double doors leading out to a balcony he conveniently told you connected to his bedroom, the two comfy chairs by the fire along with the beautiful mahogany table completed the look.

Taking your hand and leading you further inside, your eyes scanned every inch of the room as his hands and lips began roaming over your delicate skin. Moving up towards your ear as your head fell back against his shoulder, the words whispered by his glorious lips sent a shiver down your spine. "Tell me to stop Missy or I'll make you mine forever."

Thus far too lost in the majestic splendor all around you to take much notice of the look of pure adoration Brock was sending your way, Missy now turned around in his arms to face the man who was slowly working his way into her heart. "I . . . I can't Brock. This vacation was meant to be about me finding time to relax and rediscovering what was missing in my life." you breathed out as his lips and hands continued to play your body as if they'd known it all your life.

"I think we've both discovered what's been missing in our lives, cricket." he whispered, though the acoustics in the room allowed you to hear every word perfectly. "Let me worship you the way you deserve and if I fail to rock your word, you can go back to the city and forget this ever happened."

"And otherwise?" you questioned, wondering where his thoughts were leading him.

"If I deliver," he smirked, "you come live out here with me. We're not far from the city anyway, you said you hate it there and it sounds like your career allows you to work from anywhere." he reasoned

Thinking over this proposal you had to admit, you were intrigued. Living in nature and working away from the city sounded like a dream, but to also have someone like Brock dangled in front of you as a potential lover, now that just seemed like icing on your cake. Trying to think as his fingers began worming their way under your top, your breath hitched and all coherent thought left you as Brock zeroed in on your tits.

"Of yeah." you breathed out as his fingers kneaded your bra-covered mounds and his lips made themselves in the sweet juncture between your neck and shoulder. "That feels so good. Please don't stop." you moaned out as your fingers found their way into his hair.

Pulling back slightly to work your top off your body, it was now his turn to moan at the glorious sight standing before him. With two perky mounds delicately wrapped in midnight blue lace, he couldn't help but give voice to that old saying. "You know, it's been said when a lady wears lingerie this sexy, she expects it to be seen."

Giggling at this remark as his hands moved down to cup your ass, you leaned forward and taking his lower lip between your teeth, bit it gently before moving your hands along his t-shirt covered abs. Feeling the chiseled structure beneath your fingers, Brock looked amused as your brow furrowed while you thought about what you wanted to do next. Leaning forward to place his forehead against yours, Brock didn't help all that much as he tried to egg you on. "Go do it Missy, you know you want to."

Moving your hands once more along his stomach, you winked up at him before placing your hands in front of his throat and successfully ripping his t-shirt down the front. Squealing as this shocked Adonis picked you up and laid you on the rug in front of the fire, it was now your turn to be surprised as his lips descended on your left breast and his hand grabbed hold of the right. Moaning and writhing beneath him as his own incoherent babbling joined you, all sound was replaced with incessant giggling as he began rubbing his stubbled face along your body. Continuing until you were a laughing, tear stained mess, Brock then moved back up your body to worship your breasts the other way but this time his free hand began to work on your jeans. Moving your hands to help him out, he bit into your flesh and when you yelped and slapped his arm playfully, he grabbed hold of your jeans and pulled them apart.

Now kissing and licking all over your panties, he couldn't hide the smirk at the noticeable moisture present there and as his tongue worked you closer and closer to the edge, you screamed to the high heavens when he moved back abruptly and pulled you from the floor. "Blast it Brock, what are you doing? I didn't tell you to stop."

"I know Missy, but maybe you'd treat me to a dance before I ruin you forever." he said as he walked away towards a sound system you only now just noticed.

"No no no . . . You can't. Brock. Do me." Missy whined as he paused to glance over his shoulder to gaze on your near naked form.

"Oh my sweet cricket, how could I deny you anything?" he asked and you would later suspect that all he had been waiting for was you to give in to your desires. Walking back towards you, he lifted you up and this time placing you on the table, began rubbing his jean-clad crotch against your panties. Watching you lose yourself all over again, you decided you had enough however when he leaned forward and kissed your lips before leaning up on his elbows and telling you it was getting late. Finding the same strength you had the previous day, you reached forward and swiftly undoing his belt, successfully maneuvered his jeans and boxers down his legs before reaching out to grasp his semi-hard dumbstick. Hissing as your fingers closed around his shaft, you swatted his hands away as you sat up and began running your hand along his member while it was now his turn to moan above you.

"Oh fuck cricket. Where'd you learn to do that?" he asked as you flicked your wrist before moving down to cup his balls.

Giving a squeeze as you ran your tongue along his neck, your hand returned to his cock as your lips settled by his ear. "Wouldn't you like to know. Now, do you know what to do with that thing or would you like me to show you?"

Laughing that he was getting to see more of that fire he so admired about you, he swiftly removed your panties and running his fingers through your folds, was not at all surprised to find them and you were utterly soaked. Replacing those same fingers with his cock, he moved it back and forth along your pussy a couple of times before plunging it and his fingers into your flower and mouth. Smirking at you as you just lay there, breathing through your nose as he used you how he saw fit, you now knew how it felt to be stuffed to the point of pain and it felt good. Finally removing his fingers from your mouth, you gave voice to the pleasure he was pulling from you as he flipped you over and held your legs as his plunging rod pushed you nearer and nearer to that glorious finish you knew was just within reach. Instinctively knowing you needed a little more, he first decided to have a bit more fun.

"You feel that Missy? Feel what you do to me? Is this what you pictured yesterday as you sat in class ogling my package?"

Biting down on your lip both to keep from crying out at the building pressure and to not answer his question, you stopped being capable of much when he wrapped your legs around his waist, pulled you almost off the the table and held your waist with one hand while his hips pistoned into you at a faster pace. Now grasping the table as best you could while chanting his name over and over and over again, you were shocked that you didn't pass out when his fingers connected with your clit and your walls clamped around him as a powerful orgasm flowed through you.

Whimpering from over-stimulation as he continued to chase his own release, you came once more before you realized Brock still hadn't finished. Begging now for him to stop, he promised you could give him one more, which is exactly what you did as his balls clenched, his thrusts became erratic and you both came to the feeling of warm streams hitting your walls while your release gushed around his still twitching phallus. Easing himself out of your still trembling flower, he picked you up bridal style and carrying you gently to the bedroom, continued into the attached bathroom and turning on the shower, proceeded to wash you both before tenderly laying you down on what felt like a bed of clouds. Whispering words of love as he held you close, you drifted off to sleep in the arms of your childhood friend who years later reminded you that the dreams we dream as kids sometimes do come true.

Tagging: @saiyanprincessswanie

[kooksbliss]

– finishing line || jjk

→ pairing: racer!jungkook x reader

→ genre: strangers to lovers / smut (future) / fluff (future) / street racer au!

→ word count: 6.1k

→ summary: it was a normal, ordinary night out with your best friend, or so you thought. that was before she invited you to a street race, to which you caved into and went. there you met the oh so famous, jeon jungkook. 

→ warnings: hoseok makes an appearance / explicit language / mutual pinning / jungkook makes oc a hot, shy mess / pet names / teasing / this chapter is pretty sfw 

a/n: hi hi hi! hope everyone is having an amazing day <3 this will be more than one part but i don’t think this will be a very long series (i’m thinking around five chapters max) leave me suggestions or any ideas you would like me to write in my ask box! i’m down to do drabbles anytime, hope you all enjoy part one!!

— posted 04.15.2020

masterlist new masterlists | 01 | sneak peek of part 02 | 

You were tired; no, you were drained. Working black friday was no easy task, especially when you work in retail. You stretched your arms as you exited the employee break room after a long awaited break. Once you got back to the sales floor you went up to the cash register to clock back in from your break that’s when you heard someone scoff beside you. 

“It’s about time.” Hyuna stated. 

Hyuna is a co-worker of yours that well, happens to hate you for no reason, no reason you're aware of. She had been working with the company a little over a year before you got employed over the summer and ironically was placed to be your supervisor, meaning you had to be nice to her if you wanted to keep your job. 

“Sorry, Jaehyun needed some help with the stock.” You said as you punched your employee number into the system.

Jaehyun was also a supervisor but for the men’s department, he has been a close friend of yours since you started working here and knows about how Hyuna tends to treat you, unfortunately there's not much any of the two of you can do about it. 

“Well next time come straight out, Jaehyun is a big boy he can take care of himself. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be going on my break.” She said as she walked past you making sure to hit your right shoulder in the process. You looked up at the clock, thirty more minutes just thirty more minutes, you had been working for who knows how long and your feet had been begging for a rest.

Luckily since it was five in the morning there weren't too many people left in the store, but one thing you did know was that your sleeping schedule is fucked after tonight. Suddenly the chime sound from the bell that hung above the door rang out, you looked away from the clock about to greet the person who walked in, well that was until you saw who it was - to which you responded with a roll of your eyes.

“Come on don’t give me that look, y/n! You know you love me~”

“Jennie left about an hour ago, Hoseok.” 

Jennie is your best friend, you two have been friends since middle school and once her family moved next door, there was no separating the two of you. When you both graduated high school you both thought that it would be good for the both of you to have a change of scenery from the small town you lived in, that’s when you made the comment of moving out into the city, which Jennie happily agreed to. 

Jennie is from a wealthier family compared to your own she could afford going to university straight out of high school you on the other hand, didn’t have the financial support so you got this job and plan to work for another year or two before deciding on whether or not you are financially well off to go to university. She decided to move into an on-campus dorm while you found a decently well priced house, that was near your workplace and not too far from everything else, it’s been a year since you two decided to move into the city and you have loved every second of it, life was good.

“Actually I’m here for you, Jennie felt bad not being able to take you home after your shift so she asked me if I could.” Hoseok said as he walked to the side opposite of you at the checkout table.

Hoseok is Jennie’s boyfriend, they’ve been together for about eight months now and met in one of her classes freshman year. You're so glad she met him, you've never seen her happier and you know he’s good for her. As for you not being able to drive, well - a month ago some dickhead rear ended you and you’ve been waiting to see how much his insurance will cover, so you’ve been taking the bus a lot and thankfully your friends - well Jennie, has been taking you to work which is really the only place you go to outside of your house. 

“Oh, okay. Thanks Hoseok, you didn’t have to.” You said feeling bad about him having to be up at five am to take you home.

“It’s no problem, y/n! You know I’m someone you can count on.” Hoseok said as he walked around the store. “You still have thirty mintues right?”

“Yeah, sorry for making you wait.” 

“Y/n. I already said it wasn't a problem. Anyways I wanted to start my Christmas shopping early.”

As you were about to respond a lady came to the cash register.

Your shift was finally over, you clocked out and grabbed your coat from the back thankfully you didn't run into Hyuna, which is a win in your book. You caught up with Hoseok, who was waiting for you near the entrance. 

“You ready?” Hoseok asked as he looked up from his phone.

“Yep!” You exclaimed as you two left the store, looking down at his hands you noticed that he did in fact buy some things. 

Walking across the parking lot you held your coat closer to your body, the crisp November air was chilly especially in the morning. “Thank you again Hoseok.” 

“Of course, y/n. Do you want anything before we head back?”

You were hungry but, you were just too tired to put that before your sleep. “No, that’s okay I’m super tired from tonight.” Hoseok just nodded as you two reached his car, he clicked the door open and the two of you got in. It felt really nice to sit down, your legs were aching and you wanted nothing more than to lay in your bed and sleep the rest of the day away. 

The ride to your house was nice the two of you caught up and made small talk, soon you were arriving at your house. “Well, thanks for the ride! Be sure to have a safe drive back home.” 

“Of course y/n, I’ll be sure to text Jennie to tell her you made it back home safely and that I didn’t kill you.” He joked. You smiled back as you wished him a good night - well morning. Unlocking the door to your house you quickly took your shoes off and entered your bathroom where you took a quick shower, changing into your sweats and t-shirt entering your bedroom. Charging your phone you placed it on your bedside table as you laid down, sleep slowly consuming your thoughts. 

Feeling the sunlight pour into your bedroom you slowly began to wake up. Sitting up you stretch your arms up into the air and reach over to check your phone as the time reads “3:00”. You moan and groan but finally got up to do something productive for the rest of the Friday you had left. You were looking forward to the relaxing weekend you had planned ahead since you got a bit of a break from work as you didn’t have to go until Monday. 

Doing your typical morning routine you went to the kitchen to make an omelet, grabbing your phone off the counter you put your music on shuffle and started making your dish while dancing and singing along to the song.

Once you were done cooking you gave yourself a pat-on-the-back for not burning the house down. Pouring yourself a glass of juice while sitting down on the barstool you started eating your meal while scrolling down your feed liking some memes.

Ping.

You then got a message from Jennie.

You did say you wanted to be productive but really, now all you wanted to do is binge watch your show and wait for your outing with jennie.

Looking at your phone the time read “6:23” you finished the last few minutes of your show and turned off your tv and went to get ready. After you had dressed casually in booties, jeans, sweater, coat and your purse you topped your look off with light makeup. Opening the the bus app you see when the next bus would be coming and headed towards the stop near your house. 

The sun was already setting making you feel uneasy, you weren’t normally out at this time in the dark and definitely not alone. You sped up and felt your nerves calm once you reached the crowded area of the city. 

Waiting for the bus you sat on the bench and got your phone out of your pocket to check where the bus was, saying it was three minutes away.

Once the bus stopped, you got on, paid the amount and walked towards the back and sat down waiting for the stop that was closest to the restaurant. 

You arrived at the restaurant after walking about ten minutes from where the bus had left you at. You called Jennie to ask if she was already there since it was 7:15. She said that she got caught up in traffic and would be there soon and to go ahead and get a table. 

You went inside feeling your once cold cheeks warm up with the heat of the atmosphere, sounds filled your ears and the restaurant's signature dish scent reached your nose. It was busy as usual, you walked up to the main table to get a table for two, the hostess seated you in a booth towards the back. 

“WHAT?” You shouted in the middle of the restaurant causing many bystanders to give you the side eye. “Shush! Lower your voice, y/n!” Jennie whispered loudly.

Jennie had arrived around thirty minutes ago and the two of you had been chatting it up and she suddenly dropped a huge bomb on you. 

“...Wait, so Hoseok is a-”

“A street racer, yeah.” She started, “I know it sounds totally crazy and I know how you steer away from those sorts of things but, you know he’s a good guy a-and it’s been killing me not telling you.”

You stayed silent, never did you ever think that Hoseok was a racer and your mind was still trying to comprehend everything your friend was telling you. 

“And the reason why I’m telling you is because - now y/n don’t freak out or close yourself out but,” biting her bottom lip she continued, “ I wanted you to go to one of the races with me. It’s been killing me having this secret from you, and that’s only if you want to go! I’m not trying to force you either...”

You were not expecting this at all. Your friend was dating a street racer… and now she’s inviting you to one of their very much illegal races. What should you say? You want to say no you really do, it’s not your scene, plus you really just wanted to relax this weekend. 

“When is it?” You finally spoke after a good minute of silence.

“Tomorrow night.” Jennie responded, “Y/n, I just wanted to tell you about Hoseok, and he told me I should ask you if you wanted to go with us. You don’t have to say yes, and there's many more races anyways if you do decide to want to come to one.” 

You thought about what she said, and were happy that they would even think to invite you. “I’ll - I’ll think about and let you know for tomorrow if that’s alright.” 

“Yes of course y/n! Take your time. Anyways did I tell you about what my chemistry professor said yesterday? He totally was like-”

You got lost into your thoughts as you thought about what she said, normally if someone were to ask you to go to a street race you would’ve said no on the spot but for some strange reason you did want to go but you know you shouldn’t.

“Like, that’s just so rude to say and I don’t even understand why he would bring that up in the first place!” Jennie sighed.

The two of you spent the rest of the night gossiping about each of your co-workers as well as the show you were watching, but in the back of your mind you kept thinking about what she said. 

Jennie took you back home and you two wished each other goodnight. 

Walking into your house you went to your bathroom and did your nighttime routine, changed into some pjs and you promised yourself you were just going to watch two more episodes of your show. Did that happen? No, of course not. What you did however is manage to fall asleep on the couch. 

Waking up with an awful cramp in your neck you arose from the couch with a groan. “Gosh I really shouldn’t have slept on the couch.” You spoke to yourself. Today you weren’t feeling up to cook so you just had your favorite cereal and texted Jennie.

Looking down at your phone you sighed. Should you go? A part of you really wants to know about the racing scene and to see. You needed some thrill in your life and maybe this is it, this is your chance. 

You may have seemed cool, calm, and collected over text but in reality you were freaking out. You just agreed you were going to a street race in less than thirteen hours when your previous plans were to binge watch the show you’ve been watching for another season, a lot more tame for what you're now signing yourself onto. But for some reason you did want to go - it's been a long time since you've gone out anywhere else outside of your work. 

Your thoughts were racing, maybe it won't be as bad as you think it is, maybe the media just exaggerates what the reality is, maybe it’s actually super lame. You tried to make yourself feel better about your decision but you can’t help the anxious feeling inside your lower stomach.

It’s 9:49 pm and you've been staring at your closet for the last two hours, at least that’s what it felt like - it was really more like ten minutes, but still! What were you supposed to wear to these kind of things? 

You supposed wearing black is the most common thing, at least you hoped. You digged into your closet and found a pair of high waisted black joggers with vertical lines on the sides of them, a black halter, some all white sneakers and a large oversized jean jacket.  You then went to your bathroom and tried to make yourself somewhat presentable, with some light makeup and styled your hair to your liking. 

You checked your phone for the time “10:42” you felt your heart accelerate, you were excited, nervous, and anxious all at once. 

One minute soon became two, then three, and soon it was already 11:00. Your nerves were on edge. Suddenly your phone rang and you flew up three feet in the air, with shaky hands you picked up your phone Jennie’s contact lit up the screen and you answered. 

“Hey Jennie!” You said trying to sound excited to hide your nerves.

“Hey! I’m outside! Oh, and make sure to bring your ID.” 

“O-okay sure thing!” You said as you began to awkwardly laugh. You grabbed your phone and your small wallet that you slipped into the front pocket of your joggers since you didn’t want to take a purse. 

Well here goes nothing. 

After driving for what seemed like 20 minutes from your house you arrived in a secluded area where there was a pay toll like entrance and a huge line of cars wanting to go in.

“Uh, Jennie? How many people actually come to these things?” You said being genuinely surprised by how many people are lined up behind the entrance. 

“Hm. I don’t really know the exact numbers but it varies to who actually races, if they’re a fan favorite, a newbie, stuff like that.”

You supposed that made sense but still you didn’t think that there would be so many people, you’re assuming that Hoseok and his friends are fan favorite racers. 

It took 15 minutes from you two to make it to the pay toll.

“IDs?” A deep voice rang out. 

Jennie waited for you to get yours out of your wallet and then handed the man both IDs. He checked the two and looked back up at the both of you, then handed Jennie two white bands, as well as the IDs.

“Thank you.” Jennie said as the toll’s gate rose up and drove off, 

“This is so exciting! How are you feeling y/n?”

How are you feeling? You really didn’t know, it was a strange feeling that’s for sure.

“Good, just… nervous.” You softly chuckled as you looked down at your hands that you curled on your lap.

“That’s totally understandable, I was too when I came to see the first race. I wanted to be a supportive girlfriend but I actually ended up liking it.” Jennie said as the two of you arrived at a graveled parking lot, there were cars parked everywhere and you could hear the distant sound of people talking and the car's engines.

“Here you’ll need to put this on.” Jennie said as she put the white band on your wrist and you did the same for her. 

“Thanks.” You said as the two of you got out of the car.

The cold crisp air nipped at your cheeks as soon as you got out. You hugged the jacket closer to your body and met up with Jennie on the other side of the car.

“Okay! Let’s go!” Jennie said as she looped her arm around yours.

After walking for about four minutes you reached a huge crowd of people, once you two had successfully made it past the crowd you could now see the large narrow street that disappeared into the distance.

Jennie then started walking towards the left where there were a lot less people, and stood two large men in front of a pathway.

“Uh, Jennie?” You said as you cuddled closer to her - what is she doing?

“I’m with Hoseok.” Jennie ignored your questioning and spoke to the men.

“What’s the code?” Said the man on the right. Jennie then whispered what you assumed to be the code to one of the men, they both looked at each other and spread apart making room for the two of you to continue walking on the pathway. 

“Uh, what was that about? Where are we even going?” You asked Jennie once you two were a good distance from the men.

“Sorry if that freaked you out, but basically where we are going is like the VIP area for the racers and those are the bodyguards, the racers are the only ones that know the code but they can tell people too, which is why I know it because of Hoseok.” Jennie said as you two approahed two buildings, one was like an open pit stop area for the cars and the other was like a clubhouse - they really take this street racing seriously huh?

“Oh, I see. So do all the racers hang out over here?” You said as you started hearing the sounds of people getting louder and louder. 

“Yep! Hoseok is probably in his car now, getting ready for his race against Jungkook.” 

Jungkook? That name was unfamiliar to you. 

“Who’s Jungkook?” You said a bit confused.

“Oh! That’s right I forget that you don't know him, well you can meet him after the race,” She said pulling her phone out checking the time, “It’s already 12:27? The race starts in three minutes!” Jennie exclaimed and grabbed your arm taking you to the pit stop area. 

Entering the pit stop area there were a lot of people inside making the once quiet outdoors loud with excitement. You then noticed that each of the racers had their own separate rooms and the people inside were either the guests or the actual pit crew of the racer, well it’s good to know they actually have proper protection and safety. 

The racers had a gold plaque above the open room that they were in, Hoseok’s was the fourth room and you happened to notice that Jungkook’s was right next to Hoseok’s. 

“Come on y/n it’s about to start, I’m so excited!!” Jennie pulled your arm onto a couch that was placed in Hoseok’s room. A loud engine sound rang out making you jump up in your seat, it sounded so close you didn’t realise how close you actually were to the street. 

The cars were not in your view of distance yet but you could hear just how close they were, then you saw two cars one red and one black stop right in front of the room you were in. 

Out of nowhere a very slim, tall girl dressed in basically swimwear and heels holding two flags stood in the middle of the two cars, just seeing what she was dressed in made you shiver. An abrupt voice from an intercom then broke the silence.

“Welcome, welcome ladies and gentlemen, hope everyone is doing well on this cool November night. Tonight’s race is a treat for all of you, we got two of our hottest, favorite racers but I’m sure the lot of you already know that. These two don’t need any sort of introduction, of course I’m talking about Jung Hoseok-” the crowd roared out, cheers and screams rang, you felt your eardrums were going to burst. “And Jeon Jungkook.” If possible you heard the crowd scream even louder. 

“Now, let’s get this race started shall we?” The intercomer’s voice faded out and the girl lifted the two flags, “three, two, one!” She said as she lowered the flags. 

The two cars then accelerated passed her, you got up from the couch and moved to the opening of the room and saw the two cars faintly in the distance.

“They go super fast don’t they? I think Hoseok said something about going 130 mph.” That actually scared you - the fast you’ve ever gone was like 90.

“Dang, and how long does it take for them to come back?” You said as you looked down at the black and white checkered finish line that was a couple feet away from you. 

“Hm, it depends really but it usually takes eight to ten minutes. But in the meantime I like getting some snacks while I wait.” She said turning around to go to the popcorn machine that was next to the couch.

You were still looking towards the distance when you happened to look over to Jungkook’s room, there were at least five girls inside, one of which made eye contact with you and flipped you off, you quickly looked away and met up with Jennie again on the couch.

“So uh, this Jungkook guy? He seems to be a ladies man.” You said while reaching over to steal some of her popcorn.

“Hey! Well yeah, he most definitely is. Why do you ask?” Jennie’s eyes suddenly lit up as she smirked, “Y/n are you trying to get laid? I mean I thought you would be one to wait but I mean Jungkook probably wouldn’t mind fucking a virg-”

“Woah, woah Jennie!” You say as your cheeks and ears start getting red. “N-no well I - well for one I’m not a virgin! And two I asked because when I happened to look over to his room there were a lot of girls but also this one girl gave me her middle finger!” You said in almost a pouty matter. 

“Wait, you’re not a virgin? Not that it’s a bad thing if you are but, you never told me that you lost your virginity.” Jennie said a bit surprised and honestly you don’t blame her. Anyone who knows you probably thinks you haven't got a freaky bone in your body. “But as far as the girl who flipped you off - that was probably Lisa for some reason she thinks that her and Jungkook are together when he himself has made it clear that he’s not into her in that way. She even got jealous of me before she found out I was with Hoseok and not Jungkook.” 

“Oh, then maybe that’s why she flipped me off, but I don’t even know him. A-and about that I uh, lost it the night of junior prom with my date.” You said looking anywhere but her, for some reason you always get shy talking about sexual things, also you didn’t see the hype around it your first time wasn’t as magical as you thought it would have been and people hyped sex up so much you just thought it would be different, you didn’t even climax!

“Oh well maybe you can tell me about it at a better time-” The sound cars’ engines could be heard again and Jennie jumped up. 

“Come on! Let’s see who’s in the lead!” Grabbing your arm the two of you stepped into the open area of the room to where you can see the cars in the distance but on the opposite of which they started. The black car seemed to be the one in the lead but not by much.

In a matter of seconds it seemed, the two cars then passed the finish line, but it was so close that neither you or Jennie could tell who won.

“Well, well, well ladies and gentlemen it seems that this race was indeed a close one, but winning by three seconds more, Jeon Jungkook won tonight’s race. Be sure to stick around to see your favorite racers, that’s all for tonight folks have a good night.” The intercomer wished his goodnights and what was left was the cheers from the crowd. 

The sound of the car door opening reverted your attention to the two racers, Hoseok was the first one to come out of the red one, that meant that Jungkook’s was the black one. You and Jennie waved over to Hoseok as he smiled and waved back.

You looked over to the black car once again only to see the girls you saw in the room along with Lisa were swarming him before he even got a chance to get out. Then you heard the car door opening and you felt the world stop.

Jungkook removed his helmet as he flashed a smile and one of the girls, the one you were told was Lisa then wrapped her arms around him. Then you felt your heart in your throat, he looked at you at least you think he looked at you, regardless you blushed and looked away from what seemed to be his stare directed towards you. 

Hoseok then came up to Jennie and kissed her, “Honey, that was a close good race, but you did good.” Jennie said with a smile.

“Thank you, baby.” He said as he leaned back down to plant another kiss on her lips. You felt so awkward, it was like you were third wheeling, you just looked at the ground trying not to make eye contact with your best friend’s makeout session.

“Okay, okay we get it lovebirds.” An unfamiliar voice said, causing you to look up.

And there he was. Jungkook was absolutely breathtaking, you never thought that someone could look this good close up. You were so mesmerized that you didn’t realize you were staring.

“Didn’t your parents ever tell you it was rude to stare, sweetheart?” Jungkook said to you to which you didn’t even reply until you felt Jennie’s and Hoseok’s eyes on you too.

“O-oh I’m sorry.” You said looking down, this is why you don’t go out, you just don’t fit in. You were jizzing your pants just looking at the man who doesn’t want anything to do with you, or even knows your name as a matter of fact. 

“Aw, sweetie that’s alright. No need to get all shy on me, I don’t bite unless-”  

“Jungkooookie!~” Lisa ran up to the group cutting off whatever Jungkook was going to say and hung onto him, “That was such a good race! I knew you would win, no offense Hoseok.” 

“Yeah, none take-” Hoseok started but Lisa, you supposed has a habit of cutting people off.

“So Jungkookie, do you want to go out for dinner with me? It can be a celebratory thing, I even have dessert for you whenever we get to your place.” She said as she sent a wink his way. You could only imagine what she meant making your face red with the thought.

“Actually I might have to cancel-” He answered, removing her arms around his torso. “I was thinking about going with Hoseok, Jennie and-” He paused looking to you. “What’s your name sweetheart, I’ve never seen you around here?” 

You felt your heart stuck in your throat anytime he would even breathe in your direction, the more seconds passed the more you felt yourself grow hot.

“I-it’s y/n.” You said as you mentally slapped yourself for stuttering. “And uh, it’s my first time to a race.”

Jungkook hummed. “Ah, I see. What a pretty name for such a pretty girl.” He said with such sincerity, looking straight into your eyes. You really thought you were going to faint, was he really saying this to you? 

“You're joking. Jungkook, there’s no way you would rather go with them, her, rather than going with me?” He didn’t answer but instead kept staring at you, while you just stared back with wide eyes. 

“Jungkook!” He finally tugged his eyes away from you as Lisa exclaimed and pulled onto his arm.

“Actually I think I would, and I will. Maybe another time hm?” Jungkook said as he looked over to Hoseok. “What do you say? Want to treat me to a celebratory dinner, loser.” He said in a joking matter directed to Hoseok.

“Since you won and I’m such a good friend, I’ll treat you for tonight.” Hoseok said.

“Great-” Jungkook started, “You’re coming right y/n?”

“O-oh I don’t - it’s late a-and-” 

“She’d love to, Jungkook.” Jennie jumped in, you gave her “the look” to which she ignored. “What? Come on, you were taking some of my popcorn earlier, surely you're hungry.”

She was right you were hungry but just thinking about being in a room with Jungkook made you already want to die in a hole from embarrassment, you don't even know the guy and he has such an impact on you. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll go too.” You said still looking at Jennie missing the way Jungkook’s eyes lit up. 

“Uh, what about me Jungkookie? I thoug-” Lisa started, 

“Actually Lisa, can we have a rain check? I want to spend some time with my friends.” 

“Ugh, whatever. You know where to find me when reality hits you.” Lisa said looking at you as she rolled her eyes and walked away with a huff.

“Sounds good, let’s all meet at the restaurant. Jungkook you drove here right?” Jennie asked.

“I did, I drove Hoseok here as well.” Jungkook answered. 

“Hm, well Hoseok can come with me and, y/n, why don’t you go with Jungkook?”

Your eyes almost just shot out of your eyes, was she serious? You’d rather go with them and feel like a third-wheel rather than go in a vehicle alone, with him. You could already see it, you making a fool of yourself.

You felt everyone’s eyes on you as they awaited your response. But you didn’t want to be rude and it’s just a 20 minute car ride, it won’t be that bad, at least you hoped. 

“Uh, yeah sure, if he doesn’t mind.” You said looking over to him only finding him already looking at you. You felt your heart rate increase, something about how he looks at you makes you feel strange, and you couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.

“Of course I don’t mind babygirl.” He saids with a slight smirk walking towards you whereas you felt yourself heat up with the pet name. “Now, shall we?” 

The walk to Jungkook’s car was short and quiet, maybe he came to the earth revolving revelation that you really weren’t that special and that he’s wasting his time. Being captivated in your thoughts you didn’t even notice that Jungkook, who was beside you, stopped walking.

“Woah, woah babygirl, are you already trying to escape?” Jungkook said with a chuckle. 

“Huh?” You turned around with a confused expression painted onto your face. You then noticed that he stopped at a parked car with keys in his hands. “W-well how was I supposed to know this was your car!” You said walk towards his car.

Jungkook put his hands up against his chest as a surrender, “Yes, you’re right, my fault.” Walking to the other side of the car you open the door still very nervous due to the fact that you’re about to be in a confined space with him.

Whipping around to put your seatbelt on, you felt your phone vibrate, causing you to accidentally drop it in the cup holder between the two of you. Reaching over to get your phone, Jungkook did the same thing causing the two of you to rub your hands against each other. “S-sorry.” You said as you pulled your hand away, still feeling his hand lingering next to yours, it’s almost scary how your body reacts towards him. Man you really needed to get laid again. 

“No worries it is your phone after all.” Jungkook said as he held your phone up, he didn’t mean to look down at your phone but he just happened to, “Hm, who’s Kyle?” Kyle… Kyle??! Why is he messaging you, you grabbed the phone out of his hand and looked down at the message. Just a simple “Hey” was displayed on your screen, why is he messaging you after all these years?

“Oh, he’s nobody just someone I went to high school prom with, I really don’t know why he’s messaging me.” You said as you looked down confused at your phone, but decided not to respond. 

“So do you know where we’re going?” Jungkook rang out, “Oh! Not yet but let me text Jennie.” You responded. As you waited for her response you felt this awkward tension as you looked at the plain grassy field in front of you. “So, uh Jungkook?” You said turning to look towards him, “What got you into racing?”

“Hm, we haven’t even gone out and you’re already asking for my life’s story?” You suddenly felt super invasive, “Sorry I didn’t mean to seem nosy.” You said as you look away, staring back towards the field. You felt cold fingertips graze the side of your right cheek as Jungkook turned you to look towards him. “You didn’t babygirl, I just- don’t really like to talk about it.” He said as he stares at you, you begin to blush, surely he could feel it as his hands are gripping your face. You felt electric, you never met someone that had such an effect on you and you didn’t really know why. You knew you really have, but you just couldn’t resist as your eyes moved down from his eyes and onto his lips, he must have seen this as he then began to move towards you.

“J-jungkook…” He stops moving and just stares into you, removing his hands away. Jungkook cleared his throat looking straight on as you stayed in the same position, shocked. You almost just kissed a man you didn’t even know, it’s strange - you don’t even know him yet it feels so right being with him. Maybe it was only you that felt this way but you could have sworn you could see a rosy hue on his cheeks. 

Ping. 

You felt your phone vibrate as you got another message, this time from Jennie.  

You choked on your own spit as you read the message in your head, you were going to kill her.

“Woah, what’s wrong are you okay?” Jungkook said as he looked over to you, “Y-yeah uh, Jennie said that something came up so it’s just us two, y-you can just drop me off if you like. We don’t have to do anything-”

“Y/n. It’s fine, I don’t mind, really.” He said as he put the car in reverse, “Now, let’s go get something to eat babygirl.” 

taglist: @krystle1990, @lurkerarmy​, @olivialovemason88​ @eclivpses @hinawariinoue97 @chimshoe95​ — (let me know if you would like to be added!)

© kooksbliss - all rights reserved

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 67 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Previously: Bianca introduced the world to her scandalous new girlfriend (in spite of strong disapproval from her friends, especially Fame), and Violet worried about Sutan’s friends accepting her.

This Chapter: Team Adult gather at Fame and Patrick’s for their annual chosen-family Christmas party.

***

“No, no, not that one!” Fame stepped in front of the catering girl, picking up the wine glass she had just put on the dining room table. Fame held it up, catching the rim of it on the light, a smudge of white haze clearly clinging to the glass.

“Look at this!” Fame handed it to the woman, “Rewash. Now.”

The girl ran off, and Fame sighed, annoyance at the inconvenience of it all crawling under her skin. It was incredible how she always had to go through everyone's work with a fine-tooth comb, the ability to do things right the first time worryingly rare.

The dining room was almost complete, a crisp white table cloth spread out, glittering baubles in silver and glass placed in between plates and cutlery.

They would start the evening in the parlor, the bartender she had hired ready to make drinks for everyone as waiters moved through the crowd with trays of hors d'oeuvres. After that, they’d come here to the dining room for dinner, while dessert would be served in the living room.

Fame had perfected the seating chart, making sure to put Raja and Sutan on separate ends of the table so they wouldn’t speak Indonesian all night, Karl and Raven kept separate as well so they wouldn’t snap at each other, while Bianca had been sat as far away from Detox as possible so he couldn’t question her about anything related to the very unfortunate situation of Courtney.

(Fame had every expectation that it would all crash and burn, and honestly, the sooner it happened the better, Bianca’s newest brain damage doomed to fail from the start.)

She moved a fork with the tip of her finger, making sure it was perfectly straight, another wave of annoyance rolling over her at the thought.

“Having a good time?”

Fame looked over her shoulder, just to see Patrick stand in the doorframe, a smile on his face, his hair still wet from the shower he had taken after Charles’ evening walk. He was wearing the outfit she had put out for him, the blue wool sweater making him look absolutely fantastic, the new chinos she had ordered perfect on his legs.

“Are you giving me attitude too?” Fame fought the impulse to roll her eyes, Patrick always poking fun at her attention to detail, even though he never complained when she made sure their life ran like clockwork.

“Oh never,” Patrick pushed away from the door, the smile still on his face as he walked over. “But you deserve it sometimes.”

“You’re so fortunate I promised for better or worse when we got married.”

“If this is for worse,” Patrick leaned in, placing a sweet kiss on her lips. “I’m sure I can manage.”

***

Karl braced himself from the cold as he pressed down the doorbell, a piece of opera he didn’t recognize playing out because Fame never did anything halfway, ever.

He had come directly from London, only stopping at his hotel for a quick shower and a change of clothes, the catnap he had taken in his first class seat barely enough to tide him over. He’d planned a week in New York to see his friends and get some work stuff done with the American head office of Elite before going home for Christmas with his family.

The door opened, and Karl looked up to see Patrick stand there, a big smile on his face.

“Karl!”

“So good to see you,” Karl smiled, responding to the tight hug Patrick gave him, the man quickly taking his coat and directing him upstairs to the parlor.

It was always exciting to see what theme Fame had gone with, the live string quartet that was seated in a corner promising him one of her more extravagant moods.

In spite of his desire to always play it cool, a smile immediately broke out on his face at the sight of his friends.

God, he had really missed them.

Raja and Detox were standing near an enormous white Christmas tree decorated with silver ribbons and glass baubles, the usual Persian rug exchanged for a pure white one he was fairly certain had been bought just to fit this year's Christmas aesthetic.

“Raja, De!” Karl grinned, his friends greeting him with hugs, Raja pressing a kiss against his cheek, the patchouli scent that always clung to her wonderfully familiar. She was wearing a blue suit with a deep neckline, several golden necklaces hanging from her neck, one of them so long it was tucked between her tits. She was stunning as always, but he loved Raja’s bitchiness most of all. The years had made her more diplomatic,however, the judgemental asshole was still in there--now, it just took a cocktail or three to get her out.

“Love the hair,” Karl raised an eyebrow, trying to convey how sarcastic that compliment was, Detox’s hair a shade of bright, fire-engine red. “Dyed it for the holidays?”

“How’d you know?” Detox smirked. He was reliably the worst-dressed in every room, tonight donning a red velour blazer, white shirt, red bowtie and white pants, hair only slightly more horrible than the entire ensemble. “It’s gone over better than the Halloween green.”

“Much better,” Raja drawled with a grimace, and they all laughed, which drew Fame over.

“Karl!” Fame smiled, opening her arms. “Oh look at you!” She pulled him in for a hug, pressing a kiss against his cheek, her hands as always surprisingly cold.

“Look at you,” Karl took a step back, holding Fame’s hands in his so she wouldn’t run away, Fame constantly fretting and correcting in her evergoing quest to be the perfect hostess. “Fucking stunning.”

Fame giggled, the flattery clearly getting to her, and Karl couldn’t help but love her. She was wearing her signature white, a structured dress ending just above her knees, the neckline classy and sexy, her blonde hair in a curly updo.

“Where’s your drink?” Fame tilted her head, her teeth biting into her red lip.

“I’ll go get one.” Karl released her, making his way across the room, but first stopping when he saw Adore. She was in a black dress and her typical loosely-tied combat boots, hovering over a waiter to snag appetizers from his tray. It was comforting, Karl realized, how much these people never changed.

“It might be time,” Karl slung an arm around her neck, his cufflinks almost catching on her hair, “to start paying a little attention to your diet, hon.”

“It’s the holidays,” Adore grinned, her mouth full, and Karl couldn’t help but laugh.

“You don’t have to listen to me,” Karl released her with a shrug. “But when you’re fat, I will have no sympathy.”

“I just love you fashion people,” Adore rolled her eyes. “Obsessed with superficial nonsense.”

“Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels, my dear,” Karl smiled.

“Well that’s a fucking lie,” Adore grinned, pushing her hair over her shoulder as she took his arm and led him towards the couches. “Have you ever had the cheddar biscuits at Red Lobster? Or any form of fried cheese?”

“Oh god,” Juju groaned, already sitting amongst the plush white pillows, her belly basically a perfect ball on her tiny frame. “I would kill for those cheddar biscuits right now. But I guess I’ll settle for you...Hi, stranger!”

Juju reached her arms up towards Karl and he laughed, bending over to kiss her cheek.

“Nice to see you too, Juju. You’re looking...uh…”

“I’m a fucking whale, you can say it,” Juju sighed, shaking her head.

“Nah, it takes all the fun out of it when you say it first,” Karl told her with a cheeky grin.

“Leave her alone, bitch! She’s glowing and gorgeous!” Raven came up behind them, looking exactly like the supermodel she was, not a hair or an inch of fabric out of place. She handed a full plate of appetizers to Juju, adding, “Here you go, love.”

“Really? You didn’t have to!” Juju smiled brightly, taking the plate. “You’re the best.”

“Come on Juju,” Karl grinned, tapping her leg. “You know she’s only doing that in case she ever gets pregnant, so we all have to kiss her ass and wait on her hand and foot.”

“Hey!” Raven exclaimed, a hand on her hip. “I resent that.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Well, no.” Raven laughed, leaning over to give Karl a hug and a kiss.

They chatted for a bit, catching up on everything that had happened since he was last in New York. If anyone had told him twenty years ago that his closest friend group would be mostly lesbian women and straight couples, he’d have laughed in their face. But now, years later, here he was, hearing about Adore’s newest lesbian punk band, Juju’s pregnancy, and Raven’s search for the perfect wedding invitations.

“Karl!” He turned around to see Fame, arms crossed and brow furrowed, voice scolding as she asked, “You still don’t have a drink?”

“Sorry, sorry!” He laughed, making a sweeping gesture towards Adore, Raven and Juju. “I guess I just got distracted by all this feminine grace and beauty.”

“Eat a dick!” Adore retorted, mouth full once again.

“Happily,” he shot back. “Who’s serving?”

Fame wrinkled her nose, taking Karl by the shoulders and gently guiding him towards the bar, where he was met by a bizarre sight, Patrick and Bianca standing side by side and chatting, both smiling and drinking what looked to be schnapps.

Karl had honestly expected Bianca to be public enemy number one of the friend group right now. Raja had caught him up in an email after he saw the pictures of Bianca with her newest blonde, who was apparently Fame’s assistant, Raja always the one to go to if you needed a detailed update on the alliances and altercations in the friend group.

He wouldn’t lie--he was a bit excited to witness the drama of it all. Unfortunately, in this moment, everything seemed disappointingly copacetic.

He was just about to say hello to Bianca when a blood-curdling scream came from upstairs. Detox took off, running up the stairs two at a time to attend to whichever one of his twins was having a meltdown.

When Kelly was little, Karl understood why they had to drag her around to events. But now, both Detox and Juju had established careers and plenty of money to afford child care at home, so it made no sense to him that they were there with the nanny instead of home with the nanny--though at least they knew enough to keep them blessedly out of sight, probably parked in front of a TV upstairs.

“Jesus christ,” Bianca groaned, and Karl nodded, the screams of children surely their own category of horrible.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he chuckled, and Bianca grinned, pulling him in for a hug.

“We need to get him a drink,” Fame said to the bartender, apparently unable to relax until he was properly lubricated.

“You’re been spending a lot of energy trying to get me drunk,” Karl said. “You don’t have any ulterior motives, do you?”

Bianca guffawed. “You two would truly be a match made in hell, huh?”

“You’d know all about matches made in hell, wouldn’t you?” Karl asked, a mischievous glint in his eye.

Bianca narrowed her own eyes at him for a second, then laughed slightly, shaking her head. “Good one, bitch.”

“Karl,” Fame whined, gesturing towards the bartender.

“Alright, alright. Uh, can I just get a triple tequila on the rocks?” He turned to Fame, asking, “Happy? This’ll catch me up quick.”

Fame gave a satisfied nod, but then Karl was distracted by his name being called from across the room.

“Karl!”

Karl turned around to see Sutan at the top of the stairs and he instantly abandoned everyone at the bar to go greet him.

“It’s so good to see you!” Sutan smiled brightly, pulling him into the tightest hug and holding him close, the two men locked in an embrace.

Karl had really truly missed Sutan, emailing or calling not the same as actually being with his friend, even though they were in contact almost every single day. He was so overjoyed that he almost didn’t notice the dark-haired woman standing at Sutan’s side, a pair of crutches under her arms.

“Violet, this is Karl, one of my closest friends who unfortunately abandoned us to go live in London,” Sutan said, punching him affectionately on the arm. “Karl, meet Violet.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Violet said, balancing one of her crutches to shake his hand.

If anything positive could be said about Sutan’s dreadful taste in women, it was that they generally had a strong sense of personal style, and this one was no exception. She wore a deep green dress with a high neck and long sleeves, the cut flattering on her slender frame and hiding her cast.

For a moment, he was almost impressed- until he noticed that she was barely paying him any attention, her eyes all over the room behind him like she was looking for something.

“You too, Violet,” Karl said. “I love this dress. Is it Versace?”

“Yes.” Violet glanced at Sutan, who put an arm around her, looking very proud of the incredibly mediocre first impression his girlfriend had just made. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” After a moment of awkward silence, Karl gave a tense smile.

Good lord, this girl was dull as rocks.

It never failed to astound him how Sutan wound up with such basic bitches. He supposed that it had something to do with how laid-back he was: he almost never chose the girls; they chose him.

Although if his idiotic grin could be believed, he was strangely gaga over this one.

Karl knew he should have told him to just call Violet back in September, being ignored by her clearly terrible for Sutan’s critical thinking skills and decision making.

“Karl, you left without your drink,” Fame said, handing over the glass, and suddenly Karl was grateful for her relentless hounding, taking a huge swallow and letting the tequila burn down his throat.

“So…” Karl looked back at Violet. “I hear you two have been shacking up.”

He loved Sutan with his entire heart, but the man wasn’t easy to live with since he always put work first, wasn’t easy to be around - not even with a broken foot. But if Sutan’s emails were to be believed, there hadn’t been any issues at all, which meant Karl had to do his own digging.

“How’s that going?”

“It’s been great,” Sutan laughed, “Right, lovely eyes?”

Karl had to use all of his strength not to retch at that particular nickname, studying Violet’s reaction. Upon closer inspection, her face was not quite as pretty as she looked at first glance, especially the set of her lips--resting bitch face was an understatement, everything about her mean and distant.

“Yes. Great.”

Karl couldn’t pinpoint it, but her tone was terrible, dry and uninterested, like she’d rather be anywhere else.

“Can I-” Violet looked around the room. “I need to sit down-”

“Right. Sorry!” Sutan looked around, spotting empty seats near the bar. “Come on Karl!”

***

Bianca wandered towards the girls with her drink in hand, dropping a kiss to the top of Juju’s head before gesturing to the sofa.

“Mind if I sit?”

“Go ahead!” Juju smiled up at her, one of her hands resting on her belly, “Although at the rate I’m growing, there may not be room for you much longer.”

“Ha!” Bianca sat down, placing her drink on the side table. “So I guess I shouldn’t ask how you’re feeling?”

“I’m feeling like a cow,” Jujubee complained, though she was rubbing her thumb up and down, gently petting her belly. “Thank God this is the last one, and that there is only one this time. Another set of twins would have killed me.”

“I’m very glad to say I can’t relate,” Bianca laughed.

“Oh, come on, Bianca, you’ve been a mother,” Raven said, her voice silky smooth, lashing fluttering as she continued, “I mean you practically raised Adore and just adopted a new baby, right?”

Bianca knew, of course, that this was Raven’s sad attempt at a joke about Courtney’s age, and she rolled her eyes, asking, “Wanna get to the punchline, cunt?”

“There’s no punchline! I just think you’re a great person for being so generous with today’s youth,” Raven said proudly, and Bianca responded with another eye roll.

“Where is your little conquest tonight, anyway?” Juju asked, sitting up straight as Detox came back down the stairs, thankfully without a toddler on his arm.

“Working.”

“Oh...what a shame,” Raven clucked. “I was really looking forward to having her catch me up on Sesame Street.”

“Princess please, she’s obviously watching a big girl show like Dora the Explorer,” Raja cut in, settling down beside Raven on the loveseat.

“You know what, you’re both assholes.”

“Maybe we just think you can do better, Bibi,”  Raja shrugged, putting an arm around Raven.

“Exactly,” Fame piled on, perching delicately in a chair. “I mean for god’s sake, Bianca, I’ve seen her wear neon. You can’t be with someone like that.”

“Yeah, well, neons are back,” Bianca grumbled.

“Neons are great,” Detox grinned, settling beside his wife. “Very in amongst high schoolers.”

Bianca attempted a smile, but it came out more like a sneer. She’d been expecting this, of course, but it was still annoying. She looked around, craning her neck to try and spot her sister.

Where was Adore? Surely she’d be just as annoyed at everyone talking shit about her best friend, but she was probably sneaking a cigarette on the back terrace or hiding upstairs with the kids.

“I think she’s great,” Juju said, and Bianca was grateful for at least one person on her side, ignoring the eye rolls from the peanut gallery as Juju continued, “She’s sweet, smart, spunky, I totally get why you like her.”

“Thank you! See, this is why you’re my favorit-”

“But she’s too young for you,” Juju finished, and Bianca scoffed. She should have known there’d be a ‘but’ coming.

“I’ve always hated you,” she said flatly, taking a swig of her wine as the others laughed. “But come on. She’s in her 20s, what’s the big deal?”

“She’s on the wrong end of her 20s,” Juju said with a light grimace, Detox nodding at her side.

“No, she isn’t. She went to school with Adore. So she’s what, mid 20s? That’s not even-”

“She’s 21,” Adore said, choosing that moment to return, flopping down onto the floor next to the sofa with a full plate of snacks, casually adding. “She graduated early.”

“When are you flying to New Orleans again?” Bianca asked, and Adore laughed.

“Listen, don’t be mad at me. I totally ship it; you know that,” Adore said, handing Bianca a napkin with a mini quiche as an apology.

Bianca took it, chucking her sister on the cheek before barreling on.

“By the way, you’re all a bunch of hypocrites, because nobody gave Tan shit like this when he started dating Violet!" Bianca gestured towards the bar where Sutan and Violet were chatting with Karl and Patrick.

“Wait, we didn't give him shit?” said Juju. “Oh man, I gotta think of some jokes.”

“Bianca, listen,” Fame said. “The real problem is that she’s barely competent-”

“Rude,” Adore muttered, and Bianca rewarded her loyalty with a shoulder squeeze.

“I’m just saying, she already has enough trouble focusing on her work. I don’t need you breaking her heart,” Fame said pointedly.

“Look, she really has improved since she first started,” Raja said, continuing with an arrogant wave of her hand. “I see her growth, as minimal as it is to me. I just don’t think this is the best idea you’ve had regarding relationships.”

“Duly noted,” Bianca snapped, gripping her glass tightly, more than ready to change the subject.

When they finally moved on, she did her best to follow the conversation about everyone’s vacation plans, but found herself still feeling tense and irritated. She excused herself from the group to go get another drink, then instead headed upstairs to have a moment of peace and quiet.

***

Courtney pulled her coat tighter around herself, grateful that at least she now had protection from the freezing cold wind and rain whipping around her.  It had been a long couple of days--weather miserably gray, full of stressful end-of-year fire drills. She’d finally finished putting together the long list of Miss Fame’s business contacts so that she could approve gifts and holiday cards, and was anxious to get home.

Her stomach clenched when her phone began to buzz in her handbag, praying that it wouldn’t be some urgent task that required her to turn around and go back to the office. Surely Miss Fame had her hands full tonight with her party.

When she saw that it was Bianca calling, a big smile broke out on her face. She stepped under an awning to answer.

“B! Hi!” Courtney exclaimed, “I figured you’d be busy with your friends all night.”

“I decided to take a break from the festivities,” Bianca said flatly, and Courtney laughed.

“Having fun, huh?” She tilted her head, hand twirling a lock of hair.

“Oh yeah. What about you? Are you still at work?”

“No, I’m walking to the train,” Courtney said.

“How would you feel about hopping into a cab and coming to my place instead?” Bianca asked.

Courtney looked at the time on her phone, confused. There was no way they already ate dinner, it was barely 8.

“Aren’t you gonna be there for awhile?”

“I think I’m gonna skip out early,” Bianca said with a sigh. “I’m just not feeling it tonight. So, whaddaya say? Thai?”

“Are you sure?” Courtney asked, holding her breath. Of course, dinner and an evening with Bianca was about a thousand times better than the night of cup-o-noodles and Netflix on her phone that she had planned, but she also knew how important Bianca’s friends were to her. “I don’t want to take you away from them if-”

“I’m sure. Please come. I really want to see you.”

Warmth filled Courtney’s chest as she took a deep breath, her smile now so big that it threatened to crack her face in two.

“I’m on my way.”

“Great. See you soon, angel.”

***

“Where do you think you’re going?” Fame demanded, a hand on her hip. She’d noticed Bianca slip from the room earlier and had followed her, her friend now coming downstairs, coat on and cell phone in hand.

Bianca looked down at Fame, a slightly guilty expression on her face and Fame instantly felt her stomach clench.

“I’m...I’m sorry, blondie, I’m just not feeling up for the whole thing tonight.” She let out a sigh, adding, “I’m sorry.”

“You said that already,” Fame informed her, brow furrowed. She had no idea why Bianca was being like this. Of all people, Fame would think that she’d be the first one to be able to take a few jokes about her ill-fated relationship.

She’d certainly dished it enough to all of them over the years.

“Well, I am,” Bianca said, but made no move to remove her coat or put it back as she came down the last few steps, still clearly planning to leave.

“Wait Bianca, what about dinner?” Fame exclaimed, finding it easier to focus on food than her feeling of being abandoned by someone she considered her closest friend on such an important night, her stomach in knots. “We haven’t even had the first course!”

“Would you rather I left in the middle of the meal?” Bianca asked.

“No, I would rather you stayed and had a good time and stopped being so...so…” Fame was looking for the words, anger and fear and worry swirling in her guts.

“Please,” Bianca pressed a kiss to Fame’s cheek. “I’ll owe you one, okay?”

“No. No. This is not okay!” Fame burst out, refusing to accept how this conversation was going, how Bianca was being so incredibly selfish, the fact that she already owed her several ‘ones’ clearly forgotten by her friend. “It’s not okay. I really don’t understand this, we’re just looking out for you.”

“I know. But I’d rather skip ahead to the part where you guys are happy for me.” Bianca sighed, rolling her eyes, and it hit Fame like a punch to the stomach. “Which I assume you will be, eventually.”

Fame groaned. It seemed like Bianca was determined to take this little fling way too seriously, daring to prioritize someone completely new over all of them.

Fame only hoped that when it all crashed and burned, she’d have a functioning office. She shook her head, resigned to the fact that Bianca really was leaving early, skipping out on what was usually her favorite night of the year.

“Merry Christmas, blondie.”

“Merry Christmas,” Fame grumbled back, barely patting her on the back when Bianca hugged her goodbye.

[notalwaysthevillian]

My Whirlpool of a Life

Ships: Kaminari/OC

Word Count: ~2.k

I will not be doing a tag list for this fic.

Masterlist

Chapter 3: First Day of Class

My eyes fluttered open the next morning, meeting an unfamiliar ceiling. It took a minute before I remembered that I was in my dorm.

At UA!

My chest felt bubbly as I got up and started getting ready for the day. The shower was nice, the perfect amount of water pressure alleviating the nerves I was feeling.

Once I was all dressed, I twirled in the mirror. A lot of my shirts were babydoll tops in different styles, but all of them were quite flowy. I knew that would be a problem for combat, should I be caught in civilian clothes, so they were all long enough to tuck into my dark skinny jeans.

Feeling ready, I slid on my black and blue sneakers before heading down to the common area for breakfast.

A few of the others were down there already. Iida seemed as though he’d already finished eating, and was packing up his bag. Todoroki was sitting at the table, plate in front of him. Midoriya was chatting with Iida as he ate; something about a Reciproburst.

Tsu seemed much better, munching on her breakfast at the opposite end of the table. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down with her.

“Uraraka said you weren’t feeling so good yesterday. I hope you’re doing better now?” I gave her a smile. “If you need any medication for anything I probably have it.”

“No, I’m all better now. But thank you!”

“Okay! Just let me know if you ever do. Us girls have to stick together.”

Tsu nodded and I finally saw a big smile. “We do. There’s way less of us than boys in the class.”

“Oh, Nami! I’ve been meaning to ask you about your quirk.” Midoriya sat down next to me. He glanced between the two of us. “Oh, sorry, if I’m interrupting I can ask later!”

“I think we’re good?”

“Yes, we’re good. I’m gonna go find Ochaco.”

Tsu literally hopped off down the hall. Midoriya laughed a little at the expression on my face. “You’ll get used to some of the stranger things we do.”

“Yeah, it’ll take a bit of getting used to for sure.”

“So your quirk! How does it work?”

I went into the same explanation I’d given the girls. Midoriya was frantically writing, so I slowed down a little so he could get it all.

“Thank you! I’m sure the more I see the more I’ll understand.” He flipped his notebook shut. “I have notes on basically everyone in the class, and after training I write down anything new that I noticed.”

“Really? That’s so smart, it helps you get a leg up on everyone else.”

He flushed red. “Uh-huh. Not everyone gets that, so when I start rambling about techniques and stuff they usually tune me out.”

“I’d love to look over your notes sometime. It could really help me catch up a little easier with the rest of the class.”

Midoriya’s face brightened. “Anytime! Just let me know.”

“Midoriya, are you flirting with my girlfriend?” An arm fell across my shoulders. I turned to see Kaminari smiling at me, still looking a little sleepy. “Morning, beautiful.”

“I wasn’t flirting!”

Midoriya’s face was bright red. I couldn’t help but giggle at how panicked he looked. “Deku, he’s just teasing.”

“Relax, Midoriya.”

The green-haired boy took off, leaving me and Kaminari sitting at the table. I could hear the rest of the class slowly filtering down for breakfast.

“Are you going to finish that?” Kaminari pointed to my plate, before stealing the rest of my bacon and popping it in his mouth.

“Hey!”

He grinned, giving me a peck on the cheek. “We’re dating now, we share.”

“Now that I know you’re a food stealer I’ll just make double in the mornings.” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“You two are so cute!” Hagakure said, her gloves floating into the kitchen.

Jirou followed, making a face at us. “You’ve been together for less than a day. It’s sickeningly sweet.”

Kaminari made a face back. “Just making up for all that time that we didn’t know each other.”

“Awww!!!”

The rest of the morning passed by in a blur, and before I knew it we were on the five minute walk over to the main school building.

“Nervous?” Kaminari asked.

“No.”

“You’re lying.” He squeezed my hand. “Your grip gets stronger the closer we get.”

I relaxed my hand, feeling myself blush. “Sorry. It’s just…new school and all. What if I’m not good enough for the hero course?”

“No way, you’ll do great!”

“Do you even know what my quirk is?”

Kaminari opened his mouth for a second, before closing it again. “No.”

“I can manipulate water. It’s not the coolest thing in the world, but it’s useful.”

Midoriya appeared next to me. “Are you kidding? I have tons of ideas of how you could utilize that in combat!”

Todoroki turned around. “If it’s anything like how my ice or fire works, I could give you some tips.”

I blinked, not used to the attention. “You guys are so nice, thank you. The Pussycats are nice too, but usually I’m left on my own to train because they get busy.”

“You train with the Pussycats?”

Midoriya stared at Kaminari for a second. “She’s related to the boy who lives with them.”

“OH, RIGHT!”

We entered the building, some of us laughing at Kaminari’s reaction. He winked at me, rubbing a thumb across the back of my hand. “You’ll do just fine here, I know you will.”

The bell rang and everyone sped to their seats. I noticed there was an open desk behind Momo. As soon as I sat down, the door opened and Mr. Aizawa walked in, looking as exhausted as ever.

“Alright. The main focus of the summer is going to be getting your provisional hero licenses. This will allow you to act as the pros do, but only in an emergency. Any other unauthorized use of your quirks could get it taken away, so don’t do anything to cause it to be removed.”

The class broke into murmurs, silenced by a mere look from Aizawa.

“To prepare yourselves, today you’ll be working on creating something new.”

The door opened, revealing Cementoss, Midnight, and Ectoplasm.

“You’ll be creating two new moves.”

“I don’t even have regular moves.” I mumbled, earning a pat on the head from Momo.

Mina, Sero, Kirishima, and Kaminari looked ecstatic. “A test is boring school stuff, but this is hero work!”

Ectoplasm stepped forward. “An ultimate move is something that will ensure you win against your opponent.”

“It’s something so unique to your person, and your quirk, that no one would be able to copy it.” Cementoss added. “You must lean into your strengths.”

Midnight flicked her hair over her shoulder, and I could swear I saw Mineta drooling. “Most of us pro heroes have an ultimate move. Those who don’t are fools. Now, hurry up and change into your costumes, and meet us in Gym Gamma.”

I raised my hand, speaking once Mr. Aizawa had nodded at me. “My costume isn’t here yet.”

“Just put on your gym clothes.”

The class moved, everyone else putting on their costumes while I threw on gym clothes. I was going to stick out like a sore thumb.

Mina must’ve seen the look on my face. “Don’t worry about it! I’m sure your costume will be here soon. You’ll have to show me your sketches, I wanna see how amazing you’ll look.”

“Thanks, Mina!”

We walked to Gym Gamma together, as most of the boys had raced on ahead. Deku was walking with Ochaco, the two of them talking about something I couldn’t hear.

“They’d be cute together.” I nodded over to the pair.

Mina looked over. “Oh, they so would! And I think she likes him.”

As we entered the gym, Midnight pulled me aside. I could hear Cementoss and Aizawa explaining why the gym was made.

“I know you’re pretty new to this, so we’re going to have you show us what you can do first. But not in front of everyone else, they’ll all be doing their own thing and working with Ectoplasm and Cementoss, okay dear?”

A breath of relief fell from my lips. “I thought I was going to have to move straight into an ultimate move.”

“Oh, you will.” Aizawa said as he walked up. The rest of the class had taken off to go work on their moves. “But we want to see how you handle yourself. The Pussycats said that you usually helped out with forest fires, but they’d been working on your combat abilities. You’ll be sparring me.”

“But if you’re trying to see what I can do, shouldn't I spar with someone else? Don’t you erase quirks?”

He sighed. “I won’t be using my quirk against you, just my own combat abilities.”

“That makes more SENSE!” I rolled out of the way as he whipped his scarf at me.

Guess we’re starting now.

Aizawa didn’t let up, coming after me again. I grabbed the water in the room, throwing it in front of me as a shield. As the scarf hit the water, I wrapped it around, using the momentum to leap over him. The water caught me as I landed, becoming an extension of my mind and body, just like the Pussycats taught me.

“Good, you can block. Now show me an attack.”

“I don’t want to hurt -”

The scarf came at me again, wrapping around my leg as I dodged too slowly. I forced water between the fabric and my leg, before expanding it so I could escape.

“You might have to hurt a villain!” Aizawa called out, continuing his own attacks. “If you hesitate, you’re dead.”

The image of my parents at the morgue filled my brain. My ears popped as I whipped a stream of water at him.

There was a loud CRACK, and he was thrown backwards. As he glanced up at me, I saw a welt across his cheek.

“Good.” He rubbed his face. “I have an idea of what you can do. Today’s not about combat, so get to work on your special moves. Midnight will help you.”

He walked toward the rest of the students, observing what they were doing.

“That was impressive.” Midnight put a hand on my shoulder. “He’s quick, it’s hard to land a hit on him.”

“Usually I use that move to help chop down dead trees.” I explained, moving the water around with my hands and demonstrating more of a blade than a whip. “I tweaked it a little so I wouldn’t cut him in half.”

“Heroes often have to adjust their power output to not kill the villains. That’s a sign of a good hero.” She gave me a smile. “Now, I’ve got a few ideas for special moves for you. Can you bounce off the water? Or launch yourself up in any way?”

“I can try.”

“Let’s work on that first.”

It took the rest of the class period for me to figure out just how much pressure to put under my feet to spring myself up, without sending me to the ceiling or not high enough.

“Good work today! Learning a new technique can be difficult but you’ve tried your hardest.”

The praise made me blush. “Thanks! I just hope I can nail this down quickly.”

“I have complete faith in you.”

Kaminari came running over as soon as the bell rang. “Your quirk is amazing, Dew Drop!”

“Dew Drop?”

“Oh, I know you didn’t want me to call you - well, you know. So I came up with a different pet name.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “If you don’t like it I can -”

“No, I love it!” I interlocked our fingers, pecking him on the cheek. “It’s cute.”

“You can just call me Babe if you want.”

The look in his eyes told me that he would be okay with that, but I could tell that he wanted a cutesy nickname too. Even if he wouldn’t say it out loud.

“Mmmm, I think I prefer Lightning Bug. As long as it’s okay with you.”

The smile on his face seemed to light up the room. “It’s perfect.”

[honeybunny-sawamura]

Chapter 3: Misunderstandings

Genre: slight Angst to Fluff

Warnings: appearance by Tetsuro Kuroo

Word Count: 1.6k

It was like all the air and sound was sucked out of the room as Daichi and Nozomi stare at each other from across the restaurant lobby; both arm in arm with someone else.

The woman Daichi has his arm around is a beauty; fair and tall with perfectly curled hair wearing a stunning red dress that clings to every curve. She matches the man she’s clinging onto; Daichi dressed in all black with a crimson tie, looking all kinds of handsome. Nozomi feels childish with her own baby pink floral dress that just flares out; making her look like she should still be in high school. She clutches the fabric of said dress when she sees the other woman lean over to whisper something in the officer’s ear.

Daichi knows Kuroo is smooth, charming, and treats any woman he courts respectively. To see sweet and pretty Nozomi, with her starry eyes and soft pink cheeks, shower the once Nekoma captain with blinding smiles and twinkling laughter when they had strolled into the restaurant made Daichi clench his fists in jealousy; they look so… prefect together.

“Oya? Sawamura? Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” Nozomi bristles as the air and sound come rushing back when Tetsurou addresses Daichi, the soft jazz and small clinks of cutlery almost deafening now. The taller man waves at his captain buddy and pulls the figure skater along with him. Her legs feel like lead as they make their way over to the other couple and her heart is in a jumble of emotions; nervousness, jealousy, dejection, sorrow… Daichi’s stare starts to get more intense the closer they approach that it makes Nozomi look away in shame. She grips Tetsurou’s arm tighter and wishes she was anywhere but here.

Daichi’s heart aches when Nozomi looks away from him and his fist clench tighter. He greets her and Kuroo through a strained smile and clenched teeth then introduces his date. The other man smiles appreciatively and returns the introduction with his own and Nozomi’s. Daichi HATES how smooth the figure skater’s name rolls off his rival’s tongue; It sounds like it belongs in his mouth. “Nozomi…” he tries under his breath and frowns at himself. It sounds rough coming from Daichi; too rough. He watches her lift her head to look up at him when she catches him calling her by her first name. It’s always Miss Hoshikai; even when he’s off duty or texting her, he addresses her as such. Hearing him say her name so softly has her heart yearning to hear it again. Daichi and Nozomi stare at each other while their dates chat beside them; not knowing what to say but wanting to say everything. ‘My colleagues set this up on me.’ the police officer thinks. ‘Tetsurou’s just a friend…’ the figure skater tries telepathically.

“Table for two for Kuroo-san?”

“Ah, that’s us. Well, we’ll leave you two love birds alone. Let’s go, Zomi?” Kuroo purrs. Nozomi tears her eyes away from Daichi. She wants to tell Tetsurou, no… That she’s no longer hungry or in the mood to be out. She wants to tell him to take her home and let her cry about how much it hurts seeing Daichi with such a beautiful woman. She wants to tell Daichi that this thing with Tetsurou is just a dinner; That she’s not into him at all and she’d pick the kind police officer over and over again. But…

“Yeah… Okay…” Nozomi responds softly and walks along with the taller man. She spares a glance back at Daichi and her heart breaks when she thinks she sees hurt and dejection set on his face. Or was it just the lighting? She has to bite her lower lip to stop a sob when she watches Daichi turn to his date with a smile and a chuckle.

“ - a friend…” Nozomi hears and she whips her head back to keep walking away, clinging to Tetsurou like her life depends on it.

---

Daichi enters the skating arena and scans the rink for Nozomi. He couldn’t shake last night from his mind and when he parted ways from his date, he spent a good hour or two staring at his phone; contemplating what he should say to the pretty figure skater. It hadn’t been long since they’ve exchanged numbers and they were still getting over the awkwardness of it all. While Suga commended him for getting her number, he still berated Daichi for not taking the chance to ask her out. “What are you waiting for? You like her, she likes you! Ask her on a date!” the silver haired teacher nearly yells at him from the other line. Daichi would tell him and Asahi that he doesn’t know why he’s hesitating, but deep down he knows why. There was something about Nozomi that made him feel a tad vulnerable. He’s usually so composed around strangers; people can see and feel his authoritativeness by just his posture alone. But the moment he met her, he had been nothing but a bumbling mess. He wonders how a girl like her can fall for a guy like him?

His heart does a flip when he spots her sitting on the rink’s sideline; skates still on but swinging her legs idly as if in thought. He slowly makes his way towards her, a bunch of questions he wants to ask her running through his mind. How long have you known Kuroo? Are you dating him? Is he your type? Do you know how pretty you looked last night? Do you know you look pretty all the time? Daichi stops just a few feet away, unsure of how to greet her. The last time he came looking for her at the rink, he’d been on duty. Today is his day off and he’s got on a varsity jacket over a plain white shirt and jeans; looking plain compared to his uniform he thinks. Sensing someone behind her, Nozomi turns from where she’s sitting and Daichi watches how her eyes light up and how her cheeks turn a pretty pink shade. His heart does another flip.

“Hi.” He greets weakly.

“Hi.” She responds back just as much. They stare at each other for a moment searching the other’s face for the answers they needed.

“About-“ “How was-“ they both try to speak at the same time. Nozomi bites her lower lip and gives a bow of her head as an apology while Daichi motions with a hand for her to continue.

“How was your date?” Nozomi asks hesitantly, unsure if she wants to hear the truth or not. Daichi reaches up to rub the back of his neck before he answers her,

“It uh… It was okay. She was nice.” The figure skater bites her lip harder and looks away, so he won’t see her eyes starting to mist over.

“Don’t think there’ll be a second date, though.” He continues. Nozomi sucks in a tiny breath at that, hoping filling her chest.

“O-Oh?” is all she can utter as she looks at him again. Daichi’s reassuringly smile is what greets her.

“Yeah. I… She’s not my type. The guys at the precinct set me up with her. They mean well but… It just won’t work out.” He confesses, recounting last night on how he couldn’t pay attention to the woman across his own table and his eyes kept glancing over to where Kuroo and Nozomi sat. In fact, he cut the date short: not in the mood to entertain someone he didn’t fancy and his thoughts and feelings in disarray.

“How about you?” How did the date with Kuroo go?” Daichi decides to bite the bullet and ask. Nozomi, finally riding out the wave of relief when he confided to her about his date, looks at him with determination.

“We were celebrating me getting a big sponsorship. Tetsurou is a friend of mine and he’s been helping me find companies that would sponsor me for the nationals.” Nozomi admits; finally clearing the air once and for all. Daichi takes in all that she said and replays it in his head once or twice more. The skater watches him process his thoughts while a smile makes it was across her lips.

“I see…” Daichi let’s out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. It was like the sky over their heads cleared of any rainclouds that brewed from last night. Both of them could feel that something else was on the horizon; something good. Daichi takes a step… Then another… Then another until he’s standing next to where she’s sitting on the rink’s sideline. He’s staring at the ice, remembering the first time he saw her; gracefully gliding over the ice and enchanting him with her smile and blush alone.

“So… Just a friend you say?” he verifies, still staring into the rink.

“Yes.”

“Is he… Uh… Is he your type?”

“Mmm… Not really.”

“What is your type?” Daichi inquires. There’s a pretty long pause as Nozomi takes a while to answer so he peeks at her from the corner of his eye. Her head is tilted, and she has a finger to her chin as if she’s mulling over his question. He’d be nervous if it wasn’t for a playful smile she’s got on.

“Well… There is a very handsome police officer that I keep running into. He’s definitely my type.” She finally responds. Daichi’s face burns in red while the figure skater giggles at his reaction.

“I-Is that so?”

“Mmhmm.”

Daichi ducks his head to hide his red face and wide smile. Nozomi leans over to nudge his shoulder gently with hers.

“Maybe this police officer can take me out for coffee? If he’s free right now?” she suggests. Daichi’s head shoots up and he gives her a hopeful look. Her face is a pretty pink and there’s hope too dancing in her eyes.

“Do you… Do you wanna go grab some coffee with me?”

“I’d love to.”

Taglist: @tsumtsumland​ @ceo-of-daichi​ @daichis-kitty​ @karasimpno​

[softweebqueen]

👋 hello 👋 I’m new so can I get some spicy sero smut, I saw that you did sero so I was like yess let’s ask, that’s if your ok with it! But thanks a whole bunch!!!👌👌💕💕

~ So I broke this up into two parts because I know I would never post it if I didn’t. So this is the first part and part number two will be up soon. I just am really bad at the spicy stuff so I need so much help from my friends. Also it’s like 3 in the morning while I’m posting it and I have not done any editing to it so ignore my mistakes.~ 

Fun Fact: Characters are aged up. 

The lights were low in the hazy smoke-filled room. The reek of stale beer and burnt out cigarettes swirled around the air burning those nostrils of anyone who walked in from outside. Bodies filled the tables and the booths while music played in the background drowning out the sounds of their conversations. The bar was surrounded by those who had already drunk too much and found pleasure in harassing the bartenders. The occasional single attractive female would find herself sitting on a stool with a drink in her hand but would soon retreat back to her group of friends when approached by the bar’s seemingly endless amounts of creeps. Their hands traveling places where they didn’t belong and their mouths speaking words that no girl would ever want to hear from a stranger. 

You couldn’t help but wonder how in the world you ended up here in the place you hated the most. Of course, you’ve been here before on lonely nights. Those nights were never as busy as it is now. You were unaware of the reason for it being so busy but you were forced into being at this bar by one of your roommates. It was a rare occasion that everyone was able to get together. Someone was always busy or none of you could agree on one thing. This was a difficult task when there are six of you living under one roof. 

Some times you question why you chose to move in with the rowdy group that you call your friends. You would soon remember how convincing your best friend Mina is though. She was the reason all of you moved in together. The reason you put your sanity on the line to live with four boys and one other girl. There were perks to being in the same house as these nutcases though. Katsuki always cooked due to him hating how awful everyone else’s food tastes. Eijiro is surprisingly a clean freak so he does most of the chores. Denki was the idiot of the group which provided everyone with entertainment. Mina is like the house’s personal therapist and everyone’s best friend. Hanta… Well, Hanta was a completely different story. Living with him came with perks that only you benefitted from. 

It started on a lonely night when the two of you were home alone with a cabinet full of liquor. Gentle experimental touches were exchanged that night. It soon turned into late-night texts when either of you felt like you needed to feel something. Your roommates began to suspect that the two of you were sleeping together, however, the two of you would very quickly deny it. There was a time where you were almost caught in the shower with him. After that incident, you guys agreed to be ancient history. Your agreement didn’t last long. The two of you were right back at it within a week, continuing your late-night fucks almost weekly now. He was just so… intoxicating. When you were with him with your bodies pressed together, it was a whole different type of high. There also came along the certain thrill of being able to sleep with someone whenever you pleased without the commitment.

“This is lame.” Hanta Sero grumbled as he sat in the seat to the right of you. “Where is everyone else?” The two of you had been sitting at a table waiting for your housemates to join you for the past hour. You passed the time by drinking more thanyou should have, however, you couldn’t stop due to the tall lean boy bringing drinks back to the table for you. In fact, he had just come back from the bar to place a drink right in front of you. You wasted no time downing the drink, feeling the buzz of the one too many drinks coursing their way through your system.

“You know they probably aren’t going to show up. It wouldn’t be the first time.” You pointed with a small shrug of your shoulder. It was usual for them to be late when all of you would get together. Sometimes they wouldn’t even show up. You didn’t mind the little bit of alone time with Sero though. He is good company even when the two of you aren’t fucking. He is laid back, funny, and has such a calming effect on those around him. 

“I wouldn’t mind some alone time with you. It’s been a while.” You leaned in close to him whispering in his ear. Your lips brushing against the soft spot just below his ear before moving away. A loud familiar voice pulled your attention away from the boy who sat next to you. Across the bar was a rowdy group that you called your friends. The ash-blonde boy arguing with the two other boys. The short pink-haired girl, waving frantically when she made eye contact with you. Her lips were moving but the other sounds of the bar filled your ears. You watched as they slithered between the groups of people just to get to the table. Your eyes scanned their figures. If you said they clean up nicely, you wouldn’t be lying. Mina had to have something to do with it because there was no way in hell Denki and Eijiro dressed themselves. They both looked too good. Not too fancy. But not too casual. Just the right mix that made your foggy mind start to wander places where it shouldn’t. 

“I’m sorry we’re so late! It was impossible to get Ei to change out his damn crocs.” Mina grumbled as she sat at the table, noticing just how many empty shot glasses and pints littered the top. “You guys didn’t wait for us?!” Her laughter was so light and playful that you couldn’t help but grin. Without her, you were sure this group would have fallen apart a long time ago. Maybe not fall apart but you all would not be living in the same house. 

“I couldn’t help myself. You know how I am when there’s liquid courage around.” You admitted sheepishly as your eyes locked with Denki’s. The corner of your lips tugging up into a smirk. Oh, the hell you were going to put him through just for the sole purpose that he was the unlucky fool who sat across from you. “I do have to say that you look pretty good right now, Denki… However, I think you’d look better on top of me.” Your coy smile not matching the words that came out of your mouth. A brief silence fell over the table while all their eyes flashed between you and Denki. The table shifted from the weight of you leaning forward and resting your chin in your hand. 

“Alright… You need to calm down and lay off the drinks, you nasty.” Mina scolded you, throwing a paper coaster at you playfully which you tried to catch but only failed terribly. It was a sure sign that you were a bit tipsier than you’d like to admit. It was the childish smile that you flashed in her direction that made her shake her head, laughing. “Well since we’re all here, I can finally explain why we had to come to this specific bar on this specific night.” She looked down at her phone only to check the time as she spoke. “Here in about thirty minutes, karaoke night begins and we all need to loosen up and enjoy ourselves!” The collective groan she earned from the lot of you only coaxed a devilish grin out of the pink girl. How you guys were stupid enough to fall for such an obvious scheme was a whole mystery. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The night quickly passed by as the hours were filled with chit chat, mindless flirting, and downing a few drinks here and there. Your friends even convinced you to sing a solo but other than that you wouldn’t go up unless one of them was singing with you. Most of the time it was just you and Mina having the time of your lives. The time speedily approaching the early hours of the morning. At this point, you were drunker than the others who sat at your table. Denki had joined in with you when it came to drinking, almost catching up to you but didn’t quite get to your leg. A large portion of the night, the two of you becoming touchy and flirty with each other. As this went on, the lean boy next to you only grew tenser, watching the way you acted with the blonde across from you. 

He had stopped drinking a while ago just so he could keep an eye on the two of you. It was driving him insane. The way you would pull your bottom lip in between your teeth as Denki spoke to you. How you would lean in only centimeters away from the other boy’s face just to say something to him. All the snide and dirty comments leaving your lips. It was really starting to get on his nerves. Hanta Sero knew that there was nothing between the two of you that would make you tied down to him however that didn’t stop the jealousy that rose up in his chest as he watched your feather-light touches brushed against Denki’s skin. You were his plaything and he wasn’t just going to let some ripoff Pikachu steal you away.   

You finally noticed how tense the boy next you was as you leaned against him, holding your stomach as you tried to suppress the giggles that Denki pulled from your lips with a stupid joke that would normally only make you roll your eyes. When you finally pulled yourself together, it was impossible to hide the smirk on your lips. It took long enough for Sero to get so worked up. You were unsure if you would be able to keep up your game with Denki for much longer. Of course, you loved Denki but you could never imagine yourself doing anything with him. He was like a brother to you. 

“A little tense are we? Do you need some help loosening up?” You whispered and leaned in close to the raven-haired boy. Your lips brushing against the shell of his ear while your hand came to rest just above his knee. Laughter threatened to spill from you when you saw the stupid look on his face. He seemed to be frozen in fear. Neither of you had ever been very touchy with each other in public so he had a right to be taken aback by your actions. “Just relax… I’ll help you loosen up.” You purred quietly before laying your head on his shoulder, looking at your other friends who were engaged in a seemingly heated argument about something you couldn’t care less about. 

Feather-light touches brushed against the rough material of Sero’s jeans as your fingers trailed up his thigh, stopping to squeeze gently when it seemed his attention was pulled away by someone at the table. You continued the conversation that you had been having with Denki all the while. Though you drug out your teasing touches, Sero prayed that time would slow down. He wouldn’t be able to control himself if your teasing continued to work it’s way up his thigh. It wasn’t long until all eyes were on him, mouth agape from the gasp that your touch pulled from him. Your fingers brushing against the tent in his ever so tightening jeans, the innocence and fake concern plastered on your face as you looked at him like everyone else only frustrated him more. Tonight was going to be a long night for you. 

“Bro, you okay? Do you need anything?” Kirishima was genuinely concerned for his friend considering how Sero was squirming and gritting his teeth like he was in pain. The raven-haired boy scrunching up as his brows furrowed together, breathing as if he had just run a marathon. If only his friends knew the torturing he was enduring. How the feeling of your hand cupped against the bulge in his jean, applying light pressure as you rubbed him up and down, was driving him so far up the wall that he almost considered bending you over the table. He considered fucking you in front of all of your friends and everyone else in this bar so they knew just how much of a slut you are for him. 

“Hanta… Do you need some water?” Your sweet voice filling his ears as he turned to glare at you, the root of his current problem. To prevent this from going any further, his fingers wrapped tightly around your wrist as he mumbled something about being perfectly fine. He applied more pressure to your wrist as he moved it away from his crotch before letting it go and drop to your side. His head turning to meet your gaze, giving you a look that could mean that you were completely and absolutely both figuratively and literally fucked. 

“I think it’s best to be the time that I go…” You rubbed the side of your neck with a small smile. Your friends now shifting their attention from Sero to you. Pouts forming on Denki and Kirishima’s lips. They began to beg you to stay awhile longer. Stay for a couple more drinks. Sing a song or two more with them. There were many appealing offers however you know if you stayed longer and drank anymore, you’d get yourself in even more trouble. 

“Just one more song. Sing for us one last time.” Mina begged with big sad puppy dog eyes burning into your soul. To deny her request would be like denying a starving puppy a bite of your ham sandwich. It was impossible to deny her request. Even if you weren’t already drunk it would be impossible. The table teetered slightly as you used as an aid to stand up from your seat. 

“One last song then I’m gone. Out of here.” A quiet sigh escaping but you couldn’t hide the smile on your lips as your friends cheered for you.

~ Heh. I promise the second part will have the spice you desire. It may not be good spice but it will be spice. Also gotta tag my favorite Hanta Sero lover @fourteenow ~

[jelly-drabble]

Last First Date Jitters (1/?)

Synopsis:  Men are pigs. Josef will tell you that with confidence. When he tells you some men are wolves, you have to wonder which he is. Warnings: None (yet) Pt 2 Ao3 Link:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/25568362/chapters/62046643

Ping

You lift your phone screen and glance at the notification out of the corner of your eye. More often than you’d care to admit, you would browse Tinder after work as a way to blow off steam. Something about the swiping was pleasing. Though that was usually as fun as it would get for you.

With every passing day, you were becoming convinced that there wasn’t a single person worth talking to on there. So was it even worth it to check tonight?

You drop your phone again and lie flat on your back. You were still in your work clothes but your bed was just so inviting…

You jolt awake, realizing you’d started to doze off for a moment. With a drawn out sigh, you force yourself to sit up and get undressed. After tossing the dirty clothes into a hamper, you slip into some worn out sweats and a t-shirt that had been banished to the pajama drawer.

Perfect, now you’re awake. Now you had an excuse to needlessly judge strangers for half an hour before you inevitably succumbed to exhaustion. Once again you get comfortable, before opening the standard notification letting you know your profile had gotten likes.

After only a few minutes you’re starting to feel bored with it though. Maybe it was just starting to lose it’s novelty. You swipe a few more times absentmindedly, but snap out of your trance as you land on “Josef”.

He isn’t half bad looking, and his bio is simple if not a little cheesy. It says he’s looking for an adventure, and lists a few of his likes and dislikes. To his credit, this is the first profile you’d seen that mentioned Interview With The Vampire to any capacity.

There wasn’t any harm in swiping on him, it certainly wasn’t hard to block people when things went poorly over text.

You swipe right, and you have to admit you’re a little surprised to see you’d matched. There wasn’t anything about your profile that really screamed “adventure”, you didn’t think.

As you look through his photos again, just to get a better idea of what you’re dealing with, you get a message. It’s from him. Had he using the app at the same time? You glance at the clock, which reads 2:30 AM, before opening the new message.

“Hey, Y/N!”

The typing bubble is still on the screen so you don’t bother responding right away.

“You can probably tell I’ve never done this, so I’ll be blunt. I’m looking for a partner in crime, a real adventurous soul.”

This time you do start to try to piece together a reply, but before you know it he’s typing again, so you delete it without a second thought.

“Or were you just looking for a hookup?”

You snort and quirk your eyebrow, staring at the screen in confusion. It wasn’t exactly the most polite opener you’d ever gotten but it was far from the worst.

This time you get a moment to think of something to say, and you feel like he’s just watching his own screen eagerly.

“I’m just going with the flow.”

After you’ve sent it, you can’t help but physically cringe. What a lame fucking response.

But he’s already typing, he’d started almost as soon as you’d hit send.

“That’s the spirit! Would you like to meet up some time? I know a great local spot.”

Immediately your mind is throwing excuses to bail at you. It seems your time chatting with other users had made you somewhat jaded. It would be nice to go out for coffee though, even if he wasn’t a good date, what’s the worst that could happen?

“Sure, where and when?”

“Free tomorrow?”

“I can be.”

He sends you the address, it’s not a place you recognize but it isn’t out of the way. When you thank him, and dismiss yourself for the night, he doesn’t respond. Maybe he’d passed out himself.

————————

In the morning you struggled to find the motivation to get up and ready for your date. It had been so long since you’d even been on one at all, let alone a good one. When your phone buzzes you perk up a little.

Come on, Josef. Give me something.

It isn’t him though, it’s someone else on the app. They open with “Hey”, and you decide you’d rather take the risk by going on a date instead of subjecting yourself to 10 dead-end conversations a day.

Getting into the morning routine helps a little. Once you’ve had a nice, hot shower you feel more energized. Time was passing a little faster than you’d like though, you’d spent so much of it trying to decide on what to wear, you were going to have to leave shortly after getting dressed.

Much to your own surprise, you make it there right on time. Now… did you order first or look around for him? Assuming he’d already arrived.

“Y/N?”

When you first glance around, you don’t see anyone even looking in your direction. You assume you were just hearing things. Until you turn back around and jolt back. There stood Josef, beaming down at you. You hold your chest and sigh, chuckling a little to yourself.

“Nice to meet you too.”

“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he says with an infectious smile.

“You weren’t waiting here long, were you?”

“Just a minute or two, don’t worry.”

He takes a few slow steps forward, leading the way to the line. Is it rude to assume he’ll pay? You brought your wallet anyway, but usually when the other person asked you out-

“What can I get started for you?”

The cashier’s words interrupt your needlessly frantic train of thought. Now you had something else to panic about.

“Just a coffee; cream and sugar, please.”

Maybe it’s just your brain trying to torment you but you feel as though Josef’s eyes are boring into you. Judging or admiring, who could say.

“Same for me, thanks.”

He does thankfully foot the bill, and doesn’t seem to think twice about it.

“Where do you want to sit? Or, and I know this is crazy but hear me out, we could walk around the park for a little bit.”

You can’t help but smile when that silly grin spreads across his face. It was nice enough out, and you weren’t completely lost in the area. Plus, it’s a park, there would be plenty of people around.

“A walk sounds nice.”

[toohardtoforgetcth]

Too Hard To Forget

Chapter One

Warnings: swearing, angst, moody Cal cause who doesn’t love that, hospital setting

3,923 words

A/N: this is the first chapter of my musician!Cal series! there is a prologue too but it’s optional as it could potentially be triggering for some. it’s my first piece of writing i’ve ever posted so feedback is appreciated! hope you guys enjoy :)

Parker Daniels could barely keep her eyes open. She was at the tail end of her night shift, just finishing up her rounds before she called it a night and crawled into her bed. She didn’t usually work nights, but a colleague called in sick and she was the only one available to cover, so her typical ten-hour shift turned into a draining 16 hours. To say she was brutally exhausted was an understatement.

“Parker, honey,” Diane, the night shift office administrator, sounded softly. “You look beat. We’ve got things covered here. Go home and get some rest.”

Parker shook her head. “I’m almost done. Just have to give Mrs. Jordan her meds.”

“Hannah just got here, I’ll have her do it,” she insisted. “Go home, dear. You need sleep.”

Parker flashed her a grateful, but tired, smile. “Thanks, Diane. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

She disappeared into the staff room to gather her things and exited through the back door of the building into the staff parking lot. The warm July air ruffled her hair as she dug through her bag for her car keys, the neon red lights from the emergency sign on the hospital connected to Westhill Retirement Home illuminating her face in the darkness. Parker unlocked the door of her black Honda Civic, dropping in and letting her head fall back on the headrest. She closed her eyes for a brief moment, then started the engine, grateful for the short ten-minute drive back to her apartment.

As soon as she opened the door, her grey tabby, Loki, meowed incessantly at her feet.

“Hi, handsome,” she whispered, crouching down and scratching his head. “Sorry I was gone so long.”

He trotted over to his food dish and sat, waiting for her. Parker filled his dish, dropped her bag on the kitchen counter, and shuffled down the hall to her bedroom. Thankful that she didn’t have to work in the morning, she washed her face, changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. She was fast asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

• • • • • •

“I just sold out of my last copy yesterday, but we should be getting more tomorrow. I can set one aside for you if you like,” Calum offered begrudgingly.

Sometimes—actually, quite often, Calum wondered why on earth he had a job in customer service. His love of music drew him to Rudy’s as a teen, but now, in his mid-twenties, his cynical and less-than-sunny disposition made him question what he was still doing here. When he was a kid, he would spend hours sifting through the vinyl albums, fooling around with the instruments, and saving up his allowance for his first guitar and a new CD every time he could afford one. He gladly accepted when Rudy offered him a job, but it was more for the staff discount than anything—Calum really hated dealing with people. He had a short temper, and this particular customer was testing what little patience he had left. He’d been browsing around the store for the last half an hour, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem with this guy was that he was asking Calum stupid questions every time he tried to get back to work, like the prices and aisle location of every single record he was interested in, even though both were clearly labeled on signs above the shelves. Calum was getting annoyed—he had shit to do.

“Can you check in the back? You must have more somewhere,” the man asked, gesturing to the stock room behind Calum.

“Listen, buddy, I don’t have any more, in the back or otherwise. If you don’t want me to put one on hold, then leave and let me get back to work,” he snapped impatiently.

The man’s jaw dropped, shocked at Calum’s blatant dismissal. Shaking his head, the man left the store, muttering under his breath about disrespectful kids. Calum was hardly a kid, but he couldn’t be bothered to argue. He didn’t give two shits what anyone thought of him.

He was about to head back to the last aisle he had attempted to do inventory on, when Tom, Calum’s boss, cleared his throat. Calum whipped around, facing the old man.

“Calum, my office, please.”

Calum rolled his brown eyes, following the short, bald man into the stock room and then into the little utility closet that doubled as a makeshift office for the owner of the store. Rudy passed away earlier this year, and his jackass of a brother took over ownership of the shop. Rudy was much nicer, and although Calum didn’t particularly like much of anyone, he most definitely preferred Rudy over Tom. He wasn’t sure Tom even liked music. He gestured for Calum to sit in the chair opposite his desk as he sat in the armchair behind it.

“Calum,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and closing his beady eyes. “If you don’t stop scaring away my customers, I’m going to have to let you go. You need to get your attitude in check.”

“My attitude? Dude has been hounding me for the last 30 minutes, Tom. I haven’t been able to get anything done. You want your customers inhibiting the productivity of your staff?” he replied sarcastically.

Tom shot Calum a disapproving look. “I mean it, kid. This is your final warning. My brother may have let you get away with murder, but I will not tolerate this kind of behaviour,” he said sternly with a wave of his hand, dismissing Calum.

• • • • • •

After cashing out his last customer just after eight, Calum shut off the lights in the store, setting the alarm and locking the front door behind him. He pulled a cigarette out of the pocket of his leather jacket, lighting it and taking a long drag. He inhaled deeply, feeling the nicotine drift down his throat and into his lungs. Calum knew it was a bad habit. Gram hated it. But it was a habit he couldn’t seem to kick, no matter how many times he tried for her. It calmed him, relaxed him. And after today, he needed it. He stepped out into the cool night air, one hand in his pocket as he walked, the other holding his cigarette. He finished just before he reached the front of a one-story brick building, stubbing it out under his boot as he stepped through the sliding doors.

Calum nodded his head at the receptionist, having walked these halls many times before. He turned left into the last room at the end of the hall, the permanent scowl on his face replaced with a genuine smile at the sight of the only woman in this world he loved.

“Hey, pretty lady,” he grinned, kicking off his boots and sliding onto the bed beside her. “How was your day?”

The old woman smiled fondly at her grandson, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “My day was just fine, dear. Got up nice and early, ran a marathon, found a cure for cancer, you know. Just small stuff,” she winked.

Calum chuckled, folding his hands behind his head. “Impressive. Wish my days were as productive as yours.”

Gram wrinkled her nose, catching a whiff of smoke from the cigarette Calum had just put out. “Oh, Calum. When are you going to quit that awful habit of yours?” she chided. “You’re going to land yourself in this hospital bed right next to me if you keep it up.”

“I can think of worse places to be,” he shrugged, resting his head on her shoulder.

• • • • • •

Just after nine, halfway through their second episode of Golden Girls, a woman dressed in scrubs knocked on the door to Gram’s room. Calum glanced up, shifting slightly on the bed to allow the nurse some space to look her over. She checked her vitals, then handed Gram a dixie cup with an assortment of pills, along with a second cup of water to wash them down. When she was finished, the nurse tossed the cups into the trash can beside her bed. Calum noticed Gram’s eyelids fluttering.

“Are you getting tired?”

Gram gave him a lazy smile in response.

Calum chuckled. He slipped off the bed, tugging on his boots and jacket. “Get some rest. I’ll see you Tuesday, yeah?” He planted a kiss on Gram’s forehead. “Love you, pretty lady.”

“I love you too, dear,” Gram smiled as he disappeared from view.

» » » » » »

Parker slept in late on Monday morning, a luxury she was rarely afforded. She woke up feeling rested and ready to enjoy her day off, which consisted of making breakfast, going for a run and cleaning her apartment. Around one, she stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a towel before checking her phone. She had a text waiting from her best friend, Jenna:

Yo bitch, meet me at Enzo’s. New café on Fifth. Lunch. You have half an hour. ;)

Parker laughed to herself. Jenna was charismatic and about as blunt and upfront as they came. She had a give-no-fucks attitude, and she was also one of the most genuine people Parker had ever known. They’d been friends since college, and no one in this world knew her like Jenna.

• • • • • •

“Hi, babe,” Jenna pulled her into a tight hug. “How’s life? How’s work? It’s been a long time.”

Parker laughed, rolling her grey eyes. “I saw you on Friday.”

“I know, I know. But it feels like ages.”

It was a cool, breezy day for the middle of July, so they opted for a table on the patio to enjoy one of the milder summer days. The girls caught up over nachos and a pitcher of beer. Parker was not, nor had she ever been, one of those people that felt satisfied after eating a salad. She was happy to work out regularly if it meant she got to continue eating the greasy, carb-loaded foods she loved. They chatted about work and family and how Jenna was struggling to choose between the three boys she’d been talking to. She was still rambling on when Parker became distracted by a tall, dark and handsome stranger, walking in their direction on the other side of the street. He was the textbook definition of a bad boy—dressed head to toe in black, complete with a leather jacket, a cigarette between his lips.

Jenna noticed Parker’s distracted expression, following her gaze to the dark-haired man.

“Uh-uh, no way,” Jenna shook her head. “Honey, that boy’s middle name is trouble.”

Parker’s grey eyes drifted from the stranger back to her friend, tilting her head questioningly. “Do you know him?”

“Of course not,” Jenna furrowed her brows. “But look at him. He reeks of heartbreak and bad decisions.”

Parker glanced across the street again, but the stranger had already disappeared. The girls paid their bill, left the café, and Parker never gave him another thought.

» » » » » »

Calum didn’t start work until noon on Tuesday so around nine, he decided to bring breakfast for Gram—coffee and donuts from her favourite bakery downtown.

He entered her room holding up the bag of donuts, and Gram’s face lit up. “Have I ever told you that you’re my favourite grandson?” she beamed, taking the bag from his hands.

“I’m your only grandson,” Calum rolled his eyes.

He sat on the bed and handed Gram her coffee. Around 11, a nurse peeked her head in the doorway. “Morning, Grace!” she chirped brightly.

“Oh, come in, Parker, dear,” Grace motioned with a wave of her hand. “This is my grandson, Calum,” she added, taking notice of Parker gazing at the man sitting next to her on the bed.

He was handsome. No, that didn’t even begin to cover it. He was gorgeous. He looked oddly familiar to her, though Parker had no idea where she knew him from. She supposed she could ask, but he didn’t look to be in a chatty mood. In fact, he didn’t look to be all that approachable at all. Parker took in the outfit he was wearing—black shirt, black jeans, black boots—and then her eyes drifted to the chair beside the bed. Laying on the arm was a leather jacket, and Parker noticed the edge of a pack of cigarettes in one of the pockets. That’s when it occurred to her—he was the stranger from the street outside the café. Calum glanced up and said nothing as he gave Parker a curt nod.

Grace elbowed him in the side. He shot her a look, then he stood, shrugging his jacket on over his broad shoulders.

“I gotta get to work, but I’ll stop by after, yeah?” He bent down and kissed Gram on the cheek. He brushed by Parker a little too forcefully without so much as another glance before he disappeared down the hallway.

Grace wore an apologetic look when Parker’s eyes finally found hers. “Don’t mind my Calum, he’s—” she paused for a moment, contemplating her words. “Well, he’s a little rough around the edges is all.”

Parker forced a smile. “He seems nice,” she lied. He didn’t seem nice at all.

Grace looked at her knowingly. “I may be old, dear, but I’m not dumb,” she chuckled. “I know he’s not the most pleasant, but he’s good to me, and that’s more than I can ask for.”

“I’m sure he’s lovely, Grace,” Parker assured her as she set Grace’s medications on the table beside her bed.

» » » » » »

Parker saw Calum several more times throughout the rest of the week. Although he clearly lacked basic social skills, noted in the way he gave Parker the cold shoulder every time she saw him, it was obvious how much he cared for Grace. Parker only ever saw him smile when he was with her. He was there twice a day almost every day—sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for hours. Grace took every opportunity she could to tell Parker that he wasn’t all bad. She wasn’t convinced, but that didn’t stop her from trying to be friendly towards him, even when he ignored every attempt she made. She even talked herself into believing he was having an off day when he bumped into her in the hallway. He knocked everything out of her hands, including her coffee cup which spilled all over the floor. He said nothing—just continued walking like nothing had happened. People have bad days, she thought. But she was starting to think maybe Calum was just an asshole.

» » » » » »

Parker and Jenna were walking downtown, window shopping and wasting time in the sunshine on Saturday afternoon. Parker stopped outside one of the shops, grabbing Jenna’s hand and dragging her in. “I wanna get the new All Time Low album,” she explained upon seeing Jenna’s confused expression.

“Why don’t you just listen to it on Spotify like a normal person?” Jenna muttered. Why anyone would pay for music you could get for free was beyond her, but Parker just rolled her eyes and tugged her inside.

She browsed through the aisles until she found what she was looking for, bringing it up to the front desk with Jenna trailing behind her. Parker set it on the counter, waiting for the man standing behind it to finish what he was doing so she could pay. Parker found herself admiring him from the back, even though she couldn’t see his face. He had tattoos snaking up his hands and arms, disappearing under the sleeves of a faded black t-shirt. The shirt hugged his biceps tightly and he had a wide, muscular frame that was obvious even under his shirt. She didn’t realize who it was until he turned his head to the side.

Calum.

Parker blushed, embarrassed at herself for checking him out. She didn’t even know he had tattoos. She had never seen him without his signature leather jacket, which struck her as odd, since it was the middle of summer, and who wears a leather jacket in the summer?

Calum reached out, sliding the CD on the counter towards him, scanning the barcode without looking up.

She smiled her most genuine smile. “Hey!” she greeted brightly.

His brown eyes finally flicked up to meet hers, not a single spark of warmth in them. He took the debit machine out of its holder and set it on the counter in front of her without a word, looking utterly bored.

Parker frowned. She was becoming a little bothered by his blatant disregard for her. Did he not recognize her? She tapped her card on the machine, waiting until the approved message flashed on the screen before picking up the CD. She glanced up at Calum again, but he wasn’t looking at her. In fact, it seemed like he was intentionally avoiding her gaze. “Right. Well, see you around, I guess.”

Jenna waited until they were out of the store before she questioned Parker. “Was that—do you know that guy?”

Parker nodded.

“How? And more importantly, what the hell was that about?” Jenna demanded.

“I have no idea,” Parker admitted truthfully. “I met him the other day at work,” she explained. “He’s the grandson of one of my patients. Actually, I’ve bumped into him a couple times this week. But he obviously doesn’t remember me,” she muttered.

“Or,” Jenna countered, “he’s just a big ol’ douche with a stick up his ass.”

“Yeah, he’s a ray of sunshine, isn’t he?” Parker laughed.

“Hot as hell, though. I’ll give him that,” Jenna mused.

• • • • • •

Calum finished work late on Saturday night, after Tom demanded he finish the inventory that he couldn’t be bothered to do himself. Calum was already on thin ice with Tom, so in the interest of keeping his job, he kept his mouth shut and stayed. Calum hated most aspects of his job, but inventory wasn’t so bad. He closed the store at six and put a Radiohead album on the record player while he worked. He might have finished an hour earlier, had he not been distracted by thoughts of a grey-eyed girl with a pretty smile. He replayed today’s encounter back in his head. Parker was the last person he expected to walk into the store that afternoon. He was taken by surprise, even more so when she walked up to the counter with one of his own favourite albums. He had been rude to her—on several occasions—he knew, but for some reason he couldn’t explain, she rubbed him the wrong way. But Calum had to admit, Parker was beautiful. There was something about her eyes—steel grey with flecks of blue, and her brighter-than-the-sun attitude that never seemed to falter. Calum briefly wondered how much it would take to make her angry. She kept popping into his head at the most inconvenient times, and it pissed him off.

» » » » » »

Parker was sitting behind the reception desk, eyes glancing up at the sound of the front door opening. Her heart stopped momentarily when Calum walked in. She cast her eyes down quickly, avoiding eye contact. He said nothing to her nor to the other two women sitting behind the desk next to Parker, his path clearly set for Grace’s room at the end of the hall.

Parker had seen Calum at Westhill two more times since their meeting at the record store, and there was no way that Calum hadn’t recognized her—she deduced that he just wasn’t fond of her. He made that point painfully obvious, but she was bound and determined to change his mind, being that he didn’t have any good reason. She was perfectly polite and she took good care of Grace. Usually, Parker wasn’t bothered by people who didn’t care for her, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, it irked her that Calum didn’t. At noon, armed with her tray of medications and Grace’s lunch, Parker headed down the hall to Grace’s room with the intent to strike up a conversation with Calum and kill him with kindness.

As she was about to go inside, she overheard Calum talking to Grace. He didn’t usually have much to say—Parker could count on two hands the number of words she had ever heard him utter—and she was intrigued by the sound of his voice. It was deep and raspy, and Parker swore she could hear an accent she hadn’t picked up on before. She wondered why Calum had an accent and Grace didn’t.

Parker leaned against the doorframe for a minute, just listening to him talk animatedly to his grandmother. She wasn’t really listening to the words he spoke so much as the way he spoke them. His voice was surprisingly soothing, and for the first time she noticed he had an infectious laugh that made Parker smile.

She was distracted a moment too long because when she looked up, Calum was outside the door and levelling her with an angry stare. The smile slipped off Parker’s face immediately.

“You make it a habit to eavesdrop on people?” he snarled.

“Oh—no,” she tried to explain, looking down at her tray. “I was just—”

“Just what?” he cut her off, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just being fucking nosy and invading what little privacy we have here?”

“Honestly, I—I wasn’t—” Parker stuttered, but words failed her when he lifted his hand, slamming it next to her head on the wall. She wanted to kick herself for flinching—now he had no doubt she was afraid of him.

Calum leaned in close, close enough for Parker to see the spark of anger dancing in his brown eyes. “Stay the fuck out of our private conversations, understand?”

Parker instinctively backed further into the corner she had been standing in, feeling incredibly threatened by Calum. His expression was deadly—Parker couldn’t even utter any words to explain herself, looking dumbly up at him while her heart pounded and her hands shook so violently she almost dropped her tray. So much for convincing him not to hate her.

He lingered a moment longer before dropping his hand, the fire in his eyes burning into hers once more before he turned down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, Parker let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She closed her eyes briefly to compose herself before entering Grace’s room, quickly setting the tray on her nightstand and leaving before she could say a word.

If Parker was on the fence about Calum before, she wasn’t anymore—he terrified her.

• • • • • •

Calum was beginning to get fed up with Grace’s irritatingly sweet nurse. Or rather, fed up with the things she was making him feel. He would be lying if he said it didn’t excite him, the way he got a rise out of her when he cornered her outside of Grace’s room today. He had seen her coming with that stupidly sweet smile on her face, and their encounter couldn’t have gone better if he’d planned it. She reacted exactly how he had hoped, and seeing the fear in her eyes—fear of him—gave Calum a sick sense of satisfaction. Maybe now she’d leave him the hell alone and he could let his mind wander in peace without worrying about thinking of her.

[girls-scenarios]

EXID as Older Sisters

Prompt: EXID as older sisters?

A/N: I hope you all enjoy! - Admin Kiwi

♡ Tip Jar♡

Solji:

She’s almost like a second mom to you

Probably a lot older

Takes care of you even as a kid

Would cry if she accidentally hurt you when you were little

Always there when you need her

Keeps photos of you in her wallet

Cool and composed

At least, she is to your friends

You know that she’s secretly a weirdo

You’d have photos of her that are so embarrassing she’d kill you if they got out

Loves to laugh and play games with you

Sings loudly in the shower and hogs all the hot water

Gets really loud when she’s excited or upset

But becomes mature when you need her to

Can flip between silly and serious in a snap

She’d drive you and your friends places when you were too young to drive

Probably took you to school too

Would empty out her pockets for you

Bought you a pet even when your parents said no

Always takes your side

Even if the two of you argue, she’d always be first to apologize

Despite her fun nature, she’s really mature and determined

She’d try not to let you see her cry

You’d really look up to her because of how strong she is

And how much she cares for those around her

LE:

She’s really cool and feminine

She’d also probably be a lot older than you

When she was younger, the two of you would play with legos and toys

And she’d do voices to make you laugh

You’d be a bit intimidated by her when she was in high school

Mostly because she’d be in her rebellious phase

And the two of you would argue a lot

Especially if you interrupted her while listening to or making music

But even if the two of you weren’t super close during that time

She’d secretly protect you from behind the scenes

Scaring off any potential bullies with a well-placed glare

The two of you would get closer over time

If you were interested, she’d teach you how to do different makeup looks

And how to dress for any occasion

She’d turn you into a bit of a fashionista yourself

Always buying you the best if you wanted it

Her closet would be full of clothes that you could borrow if you asked

She’d also be happy to do your nails

Chatting with you as the two of you sat letting the nail art dry

As she got older, her old silly side would come out again

She’d have a very loud laugh that would make you laugh too

Even if the two of you couldn’t see each other much, she’d text you with photos of where she was

Or to show you funny rap lyrics

She’d also really value your opinion for her songs

She’d probably scare off some of your potential dates with her strong look

But the ones who stayed would learn that she just wanted the best for you, and that she was actually really nice

Even if she was a little bit awkward at showing it

Hani:

She’s a very caring and doting older sister

She’d fawn over you when you were a baby

Always wanting to carry you around

The two of you would be super close from the very beginning

Pretty much always hanging out together

Even if she would embarrass you when you were in high school with some of her antics

She’s really smart and athletic

And you’d strive to keep up with her, especially since your teachers would compare you to her

At first, this would make you upset at her

But once you realized that she wasn’t doing it to hurt you and she got upset when you thought that way, you’d drop the subject

The two of you would have friendly competition after that

Since she’s shy around strangers, you’d usually do the ordering when out to eat, or be the one to talk to people and make friends

But she’d be... really strange at home

Sometimes you’d walk in on her doing something weird in her bedroom and just sigh and shut the door

She’d burst into your room whenever she learned a new trick

“Hey look (Y/N), I just learned how to take a picture with my toes!” “That’s so gross, I don’t want to see!”

There would be a lot of playful wrestling and fighting between the two of you, especially as kids

Even as adults, the two of you would tease each other

Trying to get on each other’s nerves and “win”

“You must really look up to me, right?” “Nope, you’re just weird.”

Despite all of this, she’d really care about you

Always checking in to make sure you were okay

And calling you whenever you both had time off from busy schedules

Hyerin:

She’s been weird since she was born

She’s also been loud since she was born

As a kid, you’d think she was the funniest person in the world

She’d always make you laugh with her funny faces and sounds

And she could make even driving or taking tests fun

She’d rarely be serious about anything

She’d love to tease you as well

Poking at you until you poked back or chased her around the room

Easily excitable

She’d be a ball of energy and laughter

And she wouldn’t care what other people thought of her

Completely okay with being her weird self

In high school, you’d be a bit embarrassed of her

But at the same time, she’d be able to teach you how not to care about other people’s words

And it would be a big help while you were going through puberty

As you got older, you’d realize that she was secretly caring and helpful in a lot of ways

She’d tell your parents to give you some of her allowance when you mentioned saving up to buy something

And she’d help you study when you were really upset over school

Even though she was working hard as a trainee and then an idol, she’d send you gifts and money if you needed them

Behind her playful attitude, she’d be a hard worker

Her positivity would get you both through some rough times

“Just smile and keep your head up. I know you can do it.”

Her laugh could almost always brighten your mood

Surprisingly, she’d give good advice over a glass of wine

Then would be right back to her silly self

Pinching your cheek and telling you how glad she was to have you as a little sibling

Jeonghwa:

Even though she’s older, she’d sometimes act like the younger sibling

She most likely wouldn’t be much older than you

When the two of you are younger, you’d probably fight a lot

Especially for your parents attention

However, the two of you would still be close

Pretty much attached at the hip

Yeah, she’d love to tease you until you threw your pillow at her

But only SHE could tease you

She wouldn’t fight for you herself

But just a flutter of her eyelashes would bring an army of admirers to her side who would easily overrun any bullies

Your friends would all be in love with her

To them, she’d be beautiful, angelic, and perfect

Especially since she’d play the piano and dress perfectly

She’d bring you your lunch or take you to school because she’d love the attention she got from your classmates

They’d never believe you when you said she was mischievous at home

She’s a bit clingy too

Whines and annoys you when she wants you to do something with her

Would totally drag you out shopping with her

Or to the concert of whatever her favorite idol happened to be that month

Or to work out with you because she wouldn’t want to go alone

Once she started training, though, she’d become a lot more mature

Surprising you when she came home during a break

The two of you would stay close, visiting each other as much as possible and doing video calls late into the night

She’d still be a bit annoying, teasing you and laughing loudly

But she’d also listen to all your problems and would give you sound advice about life

Her gifts would always be well-wrapped and thought out

And she’d always greet you with a hug and a smile

Excited to see her “adorable little sibling” again

[imaginary-portal]

Interview

Tom Hiddleston x Reader

Y/N = your name

Warning: gets a little sexy :))

Masterlist

Enjoy :)

————

You step out of the uber suprised to see flashing lights in your face and to hear strangers shouting your name. “Y/N! Is it true that you and Tom Hiddleston are dating?” You ignore the paparazzi and push through the crowd. When you finally make it to your apartment safely, you lock the door and the bolt. You sigh and sit down on your couch, pressing the tip of the bridge of your nose with your fingers. The answer to the question is yes. You and Tom are dating, but you are both keeping it quiet for privacy reasons. However, it is impossible to live in a big city and keep yourselves hidden in public. Rumors and hidden camera shots spread like wildfire. Before you knew it, you had gotten thirty thousand Instagram followers overnight. Random people spot you in public, asking if you’re his girlfriend. People at your work treat you differently. People who never bothered to talk to you want to get to know you all of the sudden. You realized this risk of losing a normal life, but Tom makes it worth it. He is a incredibly smart, handsome, and talented guy. He charmed you from the get go and you couldn’t resist temptations.

You both met at a small cafe in downtown Los Angeles. What are the odds right? The line to order was long and you both got to chatting right away. You ended up drinking your coffees together and he asked you out on a date. It’s only been three weeks since then, and it seems like the whole world knows you now. There have been a few instances where Tom and you had to leave a restaurant because of paparazzi or fans disrupting. It is hard because you can’t blame fans for being excited and you can’t be rude to paparazzi because they can record it and spread it around the internet. Tom and you get so little time together as it is with both of you having such busy schedules. As if on cue, you get a text from Tom. “I want to see you :) Are you busy Thursday night?” You groan. You have an ‘important’ meeting for one of your projects at work. You reply. “I want to see you too :)) but I have a work meeting Thursday night. Does Saturday work for you?” It has been a lot of this back and forth texting to find a time that works for both of you. Once, you both went on a short date during your lunch break because there was no other time. “Yeah I can do Saturday night, during the day I have interviews.” You smile with delight. “Sweet! This time it will be my treat ;)” Tom usually coordinates the dates, but now you want a turn.

Saturday came dreadfully slow. Tom and you texted a few times during the week, but not much. You figured out what to do on the date one day at the office. Nothing better to do right? The two of you will go to this nice restaurant that you have frequented ever since you moved to LA. Then, you will drive him to this ‘secret spot’ you found in the woods on a hike one day. Obviously it isn’t a complete secret since you can take your car up there, but that is besides the point. You are going to sit on a blanket, drink some wine (because you have to drive him home), and watch the sun set. You are now at home, your tv playing in the background as you pick out your outfit. The show host brings up Tom’s name, and you suddenly become alert. You struggle to find the remote amongst the pile of clothes on your bed. You are trying to stay away from what the media says about Tom. Sure, hearing the good stuff is nice, but you never know when something unexpected will come up. Tom is introduced on the show and the crowd cheers. You watch him walk on stage. You let out a pleasurable sigh. He looks really good today. Who are you kidding? He looks really good every freaking day. You finally find the remote and you struggle with whether or not you want to change the channel. You decide not to. How bad could things get on daytime television?

The host thanks Tom for coming on the show and he thanks her for inviting him. They talk a bit about his career, his philanthropy, and then they talk a little bit about his personal life. They start with his childhood and his family and then the host squeezes in a question about you. You quickly press a button on the remote to change the channel before the camera could move to Tom. You don’t know why, but you didn’t want to keep watching. You pick out your outift and neatly put away the rest of your clothes. You shower and pamper yourself real good and get dressed. You had to admit, you looked good tonight. Not too fancy, not too casual, but also smelling good. It was the perfect recipe for a date night look. You took notes down in your phone of what you did to get ready so you can remember for next time. Your phone buzzes. Tom says “I’m excited to see you :)” You get butterflies in your stomach. “Me too :))” you don’t know why but you always feel compelled to send a goofy double chin. Before you knew it, it was time for you to leave to pick up Tom. You drive to the location he instructed for you to go to. It was a building in between a hotel and the famous Hollywood studios. You parked out front and texted Tom that you were there. You see him walk out of the building looking nice as always. You unlock your car doors and he hops in the passenger seat. “Hello Y/N.” He gives you a kiss on the cheek. The furthest you two have gotten so far is a quick peck on the cheek. “Hi Tom. How are you?” He smiles. You look into his blue eyes. “I’m fantastic, how are you?” You smile back. “I’m doing great.” You pull out onto the street. “So where are we off to?” He inquires. “First, I want to take you to one of my favorite restaurants, and then the second place you will know when we get there.” He smiles. “I like the element of secrecy.” You smile. There is a silence for a few seconds. You want to know what happened during the interview, but you don’t want to bring it up. “How was your week?” You ask simply. “The usual. How was your meeting on Thursday?” You sigh and roll your eyes. Tom laughs. “Boooring. It was a complete waste of time since they sent everything that was discussed in an email anyways. I wish I could’ve skipped it to go out with you.” Tom pouts. “Aww, it’s all right, corporations get like that sometimes.” You arrive to the restaurant and park. “Have you ever eaten here?” You ask. Tom says no, and you reply telling him he’ll like it. You get in and tell the host about your reservations. He gets you to a table right away and hands you both a menu. The restaurant is pretty casual, but with quality food. You order a panini with fries and an iced tea and Tom gets the same. You both eat and get to know each other more, talking about traveling, childhoods, and likes and dislikes. It was a lot of fun, and a lot of jokes were shared.

After dinner, you both get in the car. The sun was still out, which means your timing is going to be perfect. “So where is the second place?” Tom asks and you smile. You like making him eager. “I told you that you’ll know when we get there.” Tom laughs. You turn on the radio and let it play low. You start driving a little more into the country hills of California. It was a beautiful day. You rolled down the windows and let the warm breeze gently roll into the car. When you arrive, you get out of the car and go to the trunk. Tom follows. You pull out the blanket and a basket that has the wine and glasses in it. “Here let me help you.” Tom offers, but you decline. “It’s all right I got it. But thank you.” You smile. You lead Tom further up the hill. It was a little bit of a walk but nothing exhausting. You set out the blanket and put the basket in the middle. You slip your shoes off and sit down with your legs criss crossed. Tom joins you. “Wow. This view is breath taking.” You watch him stare into the distance. The sun’s golden rays illuminate his complexion. “Yeah my view is pretty breath taking too.” Tom looks over at you, notices you were looking at him, and chuckles, and you just smile. The moment felt like it was slowing down, as if time started to not matter anymore. But it was too early for that. “I brought wine.” You break his gaze and look down to the basket. You open it and pull out the bottle. “Do you want some?” You look back up at him to see that his gaze never left yours. “Sure.” You both smile. You screw off the cork. You pour him a glass and then you pour yours. You lift your glasses up, clink them and take a sip. “That’s very good, thank you, Y/N.” You smile. “Of course, Tom.” You look out ahead to the view. “How did you find this place?” He asks you. “I was on a hike one day, probably about a year ago. I found this on a detour trail. Now I usually come here when I need some time to think.” You take another sip of your wine. The sun starts to set. You move the basket behind you. You scoot closer to Tom. He wraps an arm around your back. You rest your head on his shoulder. You both just sit there, watching your view, enjoying each other’s embrace, sipping on the wine.

When the sun can no longer be seen, Tom speaks up. “I heard you were bombarded by paparazzi the other day. I’m sorry about that.” You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head. “You don’t have to be sorry, it’s not your fault.” You take your last sip of wine. The sky was still pink and the air was still warm. “I was at an interview today, they asked about you. It caught me off guard...” You shift in your seat a little. “Did you say anything?” Your heart races, you were afraid of what he might say next. The wine already gave you enough of a buzzy feeling. Tom pushes up his glasses. “Yeah, I told them I was seeing someone, but that we are keeping it quiet for now. And um, then they wanted to know more about you so I told them that you are a wonderful person who understands me very well.” You say “Aww.” and Tom says “Yeah, that’s what the audience said too.” You smile and look up at him. “Well I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Tom smiles. You look up into his blue eyes and he looks into yours. You move up closer to reach his lips. He cups your cheek with one hand and leaves the other around your waist. You can feel his breath on your lips. He looks up at your eyes and then down at your lips. You close your eyes and close the gap between your lips. The kiss was smooth and warm. You could taste the wine off his lips. Your arm wraps over his shoulder and the other plays with his beard, which made him smile into one of the kisses.

When you break away from the last kiss, you both smile. “That was a good kiss.” You say and you both laugh. “Yeah it was.” Tom kisses you unexpectedly once more. The sky was now starting to turn a dark blue. “I hate to be a mood killer, but I think we should get going.” You say. Tom nods and helps you pack up the wine and glasses. You both fold up the blanket and when you walk close to each other for the last fold, you kiss him on the lips. You feel his warm hands on the blanket. You carry the stuff down to the car and put them away in the trunk. You hop in the car and start driving. “Am I dropping you off at the same place I picked you up?” You look over to Tom, who looks like he is contemplating something. “Yeah, I’m staying at the hotel next door.” You nod and keep driving. You held the steering wheel with one hand, the other resting on the arm rest. Tom grabbed that hand and held it for the duration of the ride. It was a quiet ride and soon enough you reached the hotel. You didn’t want to depart, you just wanted more time. You put the car in park. “Y/N, thank you so much for tonight, I had a great time.” You smile. “Me too.” You both give each other a kiss, and another, and another. Your lips were like magnets, you just couldn’t stop kissing his sweet lips. Before things got too heated you pulled away. “Do you want to come in, stay for a little while?” Your heart beats a little faster. “Do you have to be up early in the morning? I don’t want you to be tired all day.” Tom shakes his head. “No we have time.” He kisses you again, much slower this time. “I’ll bring the wine.” You say and you both giggle.

You go up to his room with him, the bottle of wine in your hand. He unlocks the hotel room and you both enter. You take off your shoes. “Sorry it’s a small room, I would’ve gotten a larger one if I expected company.” You put down your purse on a chair. “It’s all right, Tom.” You both spent the next hour drinking wine and talking about anything and everything. Once you both got fairly drunk the lust completely took over you. The hungry kisses, the tongue, the tugging on his hair, both of you pulling the other’s body closer, the undressing, the neck kisses, the moans, the heat in between your legs, it all happened that night. You woke up the next morning, almost forgetting where you were. When you looked over at Tom, sound asleep with his arm wrapped around your waist, the events of the previous night flashed back. You smiled. You fell back asleep, and woke up to Tom kissing your neck. “Good morning beautiful.” Tom says, his breath tickling your neck. “Morning Tom.” Tom ordered room service for breakfast and you both showered together, having a quickie along the way. You ate breakfast together while wrapped in robes. You were going to get dressed in the previous night’s clothes, but Tom insisted you borrow a pair of his sweat pants and a t-shirt. Tom said he had somewhere to be at noon, and the two of you were in his hotel room making out until 11:59. “You’re already going to be late.” You told him in between kisses. “Well this is worth being late for.” When the kisses end, you pull away, neither of you wanting the moment to end. “Really Tom, you got to get to work. I will see you again sometime this week, yeah?” You pick up your purse and your clothes that Tom folded for you. “Yes, you will.” He opens the door, letting you walk out first. He gives your butt a little squeeze and you squeal, causing Tom to laugh. You take the elevator down to the lobby and finally departed at the front doors, where there, unfortunately, was a crowd of paparazzi.

You went back to your apartment, where you watched a video of Tom’s interview on YouTube, which made your heart absolutely melt. You also saw articles written about you and Tom leaving the hotel this morning, which made you laugh a bit. You looked so ridiculous in his clothes, and the conclusions the journalist made were outrageously false. Again, as if on cue, your phone bings from a text Tom sent. “Are you free on Tuesday?”

————

Sorry for being inactive lately. I had to take a short break to make sure my mental health was in check. But I’m back so if you have requests send them in!

[inawickedlittletown]

I’m With You (4/?)

Summary:

Having a crush was nothing to be ashamed of...lying to the family and friends of said crush about being the guy’s boyfriend, that was a whole other problem. When Buck saves the life of Andrew Diaz and accidentally makes a nurse think that he’s Andrew’s boyfriend, Buck soon finds himself lying to Andrew’s firefighter friends/coworkers as well as Andrew’s family including Andrew’s very suspicious and attractive brother, Eddie.

Based on the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping.

Words: 4,476

Notes: This is a chapter that I had such a blast writing in part because lots of Buck and Eddie interaction. Enjoy. 

Read on Ao3

Masterpost

Previous Chapter 

--

Buck got home late after the dinner, but he still grabbed the bag of Andrew’s belongings and took it with him up to his apartment. He dumped it on his kitchen island and then went straight up the stairs and into his bathroom for a shower. It was while he was fully soaked and getting shampoo in his hair that he allowed himself to think about the dinner and about Andrew’s friends and family and how he’d failed at telling them the truth. 

Buck hadn’t even gotten to talk to Chimney about the whole thing and he had no idea how the other man felt about the lie. Buck had also gone and put his foot in his mouth with all that talk about Andrew cooking. He was so dumb. He’d gotten lucky, but the possibility of any of them asking another question he didn’t know the answer to was more than likely and Buck would probably strike out again and depending on the question it would be a dead give away. He needed to come clean. 

When he’d gotten dry and into pj bottoms, Buck just slipped into his bed, already yawning and it wasn’t long before he was asleep. 

The next day was at least his day off, so he slept past his usual wake up time and had plenty of time to make himself breakfast. It was when he sat down at the island with his eggs, bacon, and toast that Buck remembered the bag of Andrew’s things. 

He opened it and dumped everything on the counter space next to him. There seemed to be more things there than he’d originally noticed. Buck still didn’t quite understand why the hospital hadn’t just kept his things until Andrew was awake. 

Buck looked at Andrew’s phone first. It was an iphone — the newest model it seemed like. When he tapped the screen it came to life on a picture of a firetruck. It was password protected so Buck couldn’t open it so he set it aside. He took a few bites of his food before he looked at the keys. They were car keys but house keys were also attached with one single key chain of an elephant. Andrew’s wallet was there too and Buck didn’t bother to open it for the moment. He just set it aside and grabbed the dog collar. The collar itself didn’t look like it was new. It was worn in places. But the name tag was new. 

“Who are you Legolas?” Buck asked. Did Andrew have a dog? And if he did, then had anyone gone to feed it or let it out? 

No one had mentioned a dog or going by Andrew’s place for that matter. Maybe they had all expected Buck to do it since he was the boyfriend?

Buck ate the rest of his breakfast and considered it. Should he go over just to make sure there wasn’t a starving dog waiting for an owner that was still asleep in a hospital bed? His fingers played with the keys for a while before he reached over and grabbed the wallet. Andrew’s license was the first thing his eyes were drawn to. The picture on it didn’t do him any justice but his address was right there. His apartment wasn’t close, but it wasn’t too far either. 

Buck looked through the rest of the wallet. There were a few credit cards, a debit, and then a couple of business cards too. One of them was to a pet grooming place which made Buck pause. Andrew had to have a dog. 

“I have to go,” Buck said. “It’s for the dog’s sake.” And if he were to be truthful with himself, he would admit that it was also to do with how he wanted to see Andrew’s place and maybe find out more about him. So he gathered all of Andrew’s things back into the clear bag and went up to get changed before he headed out. 

The address on Andrew’s license led Buck to a house but it was one of those two family homes. Buck parked out in front of the house and then walked up towards the house. He let himself in and paused when he was inside. Was this crossing another line? Probably. It would only be justified if Buck found Andrew’s dog. He really hoped Andrew had a dog, but no dog had appeared when he opened the front door and that seemed entirely like a bad sign. 

“Dog!” Buck called as he stepped further inside. 

The house was nice. The living room had a big tv, a couch, and what looked to be a few dirty glasses and beer bottles on the coffee table. Andrew had also left a pair of shoes right by the couch and Buck thought he spied a t-shirt too. So maybe he was a little messy. No one was perfect. Then, Buck spotted the bra hanging off a lamp. He was also probably very very straight and none of this was going to end well for Buck. 

“Dog, where are you?” Buck called. 

He walked into the kitchen. There were a few plates in the sink but the rest of it was clean. A door off of the kitchen led to a bathroom. Buck climbed up the stairs next and called out for the dog again. Did Andrew somehow have a deaf dog? Or one that was scared of intruders? 

In the upstairs there was a bathroom and two bedrooms. The first looked like a guest room going by how plain and kinda dusty the room was. The next had to be Andrew’s. There were clothes on the floor, the bed hadn’t been made, and there was no dog to be found. 

Buck was just about to look under the bed or try and find other signs that an animal lived in the house when he heard the door open downstairs. It made him freeze. He had no idea what to do or who might have arrived. Maybe he’d made a mistake by coming at all. Buck was just so dumb. He was making the lie and the misunderstanding worse by the minute.

—-

Has anyone been by Drew’s to check on things?

The text from Hen was the first thing to wake Eddie, the second being his alarm actually going off signaling that it was time to get his son up and ready for school. Eddie had the day off at least so he had planned on getting back home and sleeping a bit more except that Hen’s text on the group chat had him thinking. Had Pepa or abuela gone by Andrew’s house? Probably not. They were probably spending any spare time at the hospital.

I can stop by after I drop off Christopher at school. 

He sent the text before finally getting out of bed and then went to wake Christopher. Chris was splayed out on his bed, his curls sticking out by the pillow. 

“Time to wake up, buddie,” Eddie said and he shook his shoulder gently until Christopher was blinking at him and rubbing his eyes. It took Christopher a moment longer before he sat up. “Need help?” 

“No,” Christopher said like he did every morning. 

Their morning routine was pretty much the same every morning and by the time that they were dressed and fed, it was time to head out. After dropping Christopher off, Eddie drove over to Andrew’s house. He parked behind a grey Jeep and walked up to the door. He was surprised when the door was unlocked but looking back he didn’t recognize any of the cars that were parked. Maybe Andrew had forgotten to lock it when he left the last time. 

As he stepped inside, Eddie noticed nothing amiss. Andrew always kept a slightly messy house. He walked towards the kitchen and opened the fridge. Without knowing how long Andrew was going to be in the hospital, Eddie figured he’d check and see if his brother had anything in there that would go bad. Of course, the fridge was empty other than a couple of take out containers and beer. 

Eddie closed the fridge door and pulled out his phone to text the others when he heard a noise from upstairs. Without thinking, he headed to the stairs and he didn’t expect to find Buck coming down them. 

“Oh,” Buck said. “Hi.” 

“Hello,” Eddie said. “I didn’t think I’d see you here.”

It was more than a shock. Buck was in Andrew’s apartment which made the whole boyfriend thing so much more real. 

Buck looked nervous, but he stepped down a few more steps. “I, uh, I figured I’d stop by,” he said. 

“How did you get in?” Eddie asked and the question sounded stupid even when he asked it. 

“Keys,” Buck said. 

“So you must spend a lot of time here, then,” Eddie said. 

Buck just shrugged. “Uh — I — well, someone had to check on the dog. Although—”

“Dog?” Eddie asked. Things were getting only stranger and stranger. 

“Legolas,” Buck said.

—-

Why did he have to mention the dog? Buck could have hit himself or just let himself fall down the stairs. He was just so dumb. And the way that Eddie was looking at him, frow burrowed and like he wanted nothing more than to call Buck out on the lie, it made Buck want to just disappear right there where he was standing. Somehow, though, right at that moment a dog came running from the kitchen. Buck was glad that Eddie was looking at the dog and missed his surprise at actually finally seeing a dog. Legolas. 

He was a golden retriever and at the moment his golden fur was covered in grass and dead leaves and twigs. He stopped right by Eddie and looked up, mouth open. He was panting a little. 

“Oh, there you are,” Buck said. “Legolas meet Eddie. Eddie, Legolas.” 

Legolas barked at his name and Buck tried to contain his glee at there actually being a dog there but he could tell that Eddie was thrown off. 

“I — I had no idea Andrew had a dog,” Eddie said as Legolas barked again. “Looking at him, the name seems to fit.”

“I don’t know about that but he must be hungry,” Buck said and he continued down the stairs.

Eddie moved out of his way in a sort of daze. Buck reached the dog and Legolas had to be the friendliest of dogs because he let Buck pet him like Buck wasn’t a stranger to him. He actually nuzzled into his hands and rubbed his body against Buck’s legs. 

Legolas followed him as he walked to the kitchen and Buck almost tripped on air when he spotted the bra on the lamp from earlier and he hoped that Eddie wouldn’t notice it. Of course, Eddie did. 

“Is that a bra on that lamp?” Eddie asked. 

Buck took a long moment before he looked at Eddie. 

“Uh...do you really want to know why that is there?” Buck asked. 

Eddie glanced back at him and Buck had no idea what to make of Eddie’s expression because there was confusion and also he didn’t seem to know if he should ask Buck to elaborate or not. Buck hoped he would drop it. 

“I guess not,” Eddie said eventually, cautiously. 

“Uh...yes, food for Legolas,” Buck said and he continued on towards the kitchen where Legolas was already waiting. Buck had no idea where the dog food was. He checked a few cabinets but found nothing. “Don’t know where he keeps the dog food,” Buck admitted. 

Eddie chuckled but he moved to help and Buck was hoping that Eddie had already moved past the whole bra thing. 

It was Eddie that found the food. “Aha,” he said. “And there’s a dog plate in here too.” 

Eddie took it upon himself to get the kibble on the plate so Buck figured it was a good time as any to grab the collar. He was in the middle of it putting it around Legolas’ neck when Eddie turned. 

“Andrew was picking up a new name tag,” Buck explained. 

“Looking at him, it makes sense he called him Legolas,” Eddie said. 

Buck still had no idea where the name came from so he shrugged as Eddie placed the plate on the floor and Legolas practically lunged forward to get to it. 

“Oh, poor thing,” Buck said. 

“No one’s been here since Andrew left for work two days ago,” Eddie said and it was more statement than question.

“No,” Buck said. “So much happened.”

Eddie nodded. 

Legolas finished his food quickly enough and Eddie looked to Buck before pouring a bit more and while Legolas didn’t finish eating all of it, he ate most of it. Legolas walked off then and Buck followed because he still didn’t know where he’d been the entire time that he was looking for him. Apparently there was a doggie door on the kitchen door that led to a deck and to a backyard. After Legolas went through, Buck opened the door and stepped outside. A dog water fountain sat right by the door and still looked like it had plenty of water. There were a few chew toys thrown about and a dog bed. 

The yard wasn’t huge, but there was plenty of space for Legolas to run around in. It was peaceful and nice and of course this was Andrew’s place. Of course he had somewhere like this to go and relax. 

Legolas picked up a tennis ball and brought it to Buck, barking at him and wagging his tail. 

“You want to play, don’t you?” Buck asked. 

Legolas barked again. 

Buck had all but forgotten about Eddie as he walked with Legolas down the steps and he threw the ball and Legolas went running after it. Legolas brought it back and dropped it at Buck’s feet for another throw. When he went to get it this time, Legolas didn’t return to Buck. Instead, he ran to Eddie who had followed them outside. 

“You are a good boy, aren’t you?” Eddie asked, rubbing the dog’s head and tossing the ball. “So, when did Andrew get a dog?” 

“Uh, not that long ago,” Buck said. 

“You know, when we were kids I always wanted a dog,” Eddie said. “Begged our parents. My sisters wanted a cat but my mom’s allergic to cats. And then I almost made my mom give in but Andrew wanted nothing to do with a dog and because he didn’t want one my parents just decided it was better not to. He’s never been fond of animals. That’s why I’m so surprised to see one here.”

“And surprised that he has a boyfriend,” Buck added. 

Buck didn’t look back at Eddie, instead he bent down when Legolas ran at him, petting him down his back. Legolas tried to lick him and Buck laughed as he tried to avoid the dog. He really was perfect. 

—-

Buck laughing and playing with Legolas made him somehow even more attractive, especially when Legolas jumped at him and Buck was on his back and Legolas was finally licking his face. Buck’s laughter carried over to Eddie and he was just so joyful and happy as he hugged the dog and sat up. Eddie somehow couldn’t picture his brother in Buck’s place actually playing with a dog and having a good time. Andrew wasn’t a dog person. Or an animal person at all. 

A call a few months earlier had made it obvious how little Andrew’s feelings about animals had changed. A dog had dug a hole and gotten trapped in mud and despite how much Andrew worked with him and Chim to dig the dog out when the dog tried to go towards him, Andrew had drawn back and it was Chimney that had grabbed hold of the dog and pet it. 

Eddie had gone over to join Chimney, checking over the dog for any injury but also glad to have the dog out of the hole and alive. 

“So, you’re not a dog person,” Hen said later when they were heading back to the station. 

“Did one bite you or something?” Chimney asked. 

“Just not a fan,” Andrew had said and left it at that. 

So, why did Andrew have a dog? Why did Andrew have a boyfriend? Why was his boyfriend Buck...someone that Andrew just didn’t deserve and that as far as Eddie could tell was just good. Or at least decent. And it just didn’t make sense that Andrew could have landed someone like Buck. 

“No,” Eddie said, “I didn’t expect someone like you.” 

“With your brother,” Buck said and he looked at him and his eyes looked so big and so oddly innocent and Eddie sighed.

“It’s just that I never expected Andrew to settle down, I guess. To have a real relationship. I don’t know. He has a dog and that’s not something I ever saw coming.” 

Buck looked odd, like he didn’t know what to say or he was weighing the different things that he could say. He looked almost as surprised and stricken as the moment back in the living room when they came upon the bra. 

Eddie had questions about it...but he also had an imagination and the implication that it had been used during some sort of role-play made his but squicked out because the last thing he wanted to think about was Andrew and sex or role-playing games, but then there was the Buck aspect and maybe thinking about Buck that way was a little too easy. 

“So, maybe you didn’t know him as well as you thought,” Buck said. 

“Maybe,” Eddie said but he still didn’t believe it. “I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you last night. And I guess if we’re going to be family I should get to know you.” 

Buck smiled a little. He was still sitting on the grass and he threw the ball for Legolas who went running but came back almost at once and dropped the ball at Eddie’s feet. He threw it and the dog ran off again but he seemed to be done with the game because he came back and laid down next to Buck, chewing on the ball. 

“What do you want to know?” Buck asked. 

“Are you from here?” Eddie asked. “LA, I mean?”

Buck shook his head. “Pennsylvania,” Buck said. “My parents are still there. My sister probably is too. I’m not entirely sure. I haven’t spoken to them in ages.” 

“You haven’t spoken to your parents in ages?” Eddie asked. 

Eddie could be lucky if he went one week without being pestered by his parents about something or other. 

“After I left, there wasn’t really a point in keeping in touch,” Buck said with a shrug. “And my sister got married and she hasn’t answered my calls or texts in years.”

“I — I’m sorry,” Eddie said. 

“You have nothing to do with it,” Buck said. “To be honest, my parents weren’t very interested in being parents when I was with them and leaving them behind felt like the right choice. The only choice.”

Buck stood up and he shook his legs a little, patting himself down to get grass blades off. Eddie grinned watching him as he hopped around. Legolas seemed to think it was a game because he started jumping around too, lunging at Buck who just laughed and then started to chase Legolas around. Eddie was trying his hardest to look at it from Andrew’s perspective and yet despite how much he personally found an appeal to Buck in all kinds of ways, it didn’t mean that Andrew felt the same way. Andrew could like him, sure, and find him an interesting person but that in no way meant that Andrew was interested in Buck romantically.  

“So, um, how did you meet, anyway?” Eddie asked.

—-

Buck couldn’t be sure, but he could tell that Eddie was skeptical of the whole thing and Buck couldn’t blame him because for one thing it really was a lie and for another Buck was a horrible liar. Well, not horrible, he just seemed to make things worse for himself. And of course, the whole bra thing hadn’t helped matters. So when Eddie asked about how he and Andrew had met, Buck knew that he had to give Eddie something of a believable story. 

“He came into Coffee Time. I work there and we just started talking,” Buck said. It was what he’d told Chimney right before Chimney found out the truth. Somehow, Buck didn’t think that Eddie would take to the truth as well as Chimney had. 

What Eddie did give him was insight into how he viewed his brother. Eddie didn’t think that Andrew was the settling down type. He also was sure that his brother hated dogs and yet there was a dog running around Andrew’s yard. Buck kind of loved Legolas. He also loved the contradiction that the dog offered Eddie’s idea of who his brother was. 

“He picks up coffee for us before every shift,” Eddie said. 

Buck nodded. “He was in a lot and we got to know each other.”

Legolas nudged him and when Buck glanced at him, he realized that the dog had brought him a leash. He wanted to go on a walk. The poor thing probably hadn’t left the yard and the house in days. 

“I guess it’s time for a walk,” Buck said and maybe he was glad to find a reason to escape the conversation. 

He clipped the leash onto the collar and Legolas turned in a circle in his excitement. When Buck glanced at Eddie, he was smiling. Buck didn’t expect for Eddie to go with him, he was actually glad to have an escape, but then Eddie motioned for him to follow him. 

“Come on, then,” Eddie said and he walked towards where the fence had a door. 

Buck followed with Legolas and they stepped out and walked to the front of the house. Legolas sniffed everything he could and he lifted his leg against the first tree and then the second and the third. 

“Marking his spot, I guess,” Eddie said. 

It was a nice neighborhood. Calm and quiet with not many cars around and even fewer people. 

“How’s your son?” Buck asked eventually. 

“At school now. He’s good.”

Buck nodded. “He’s very sweet. And completely adorable. His mom couldn’t make it last night, then? I noticed she wasn’t around.” 

Eddie didn’t answer at once and Buck had to wonder if he’d put his foot in it again. 

“Um, I guess you wouldn’t know. She’s...she’s not in the picture,” Eddie said. “Hasn’t been for a while.”

“I’m sorry. That must be hard,” Buck said. 

“It is and it isn’t,” Eddie said with a shrug. “It’s been long enough now that it doesn’t even matter.”

“But Christopher must miss her,” Buck said. 

“He remembers her and he talks about her sometimes but kids...they adapt to things quickly,” Eddie said and left it at that. 

They walked in silence for a while until Eddie asked about Buck’s plans for Legolas if Andrew had to be in the hospital for longer than a few more days. 

“I don’t know,” Buck admitted and then looking at Legolas while he was sniffing a flower. “I can stop by at least once a day to feed him and take him out. I think he’d be better off here though with the yard and everything.”

Eddie nodded. “I, um, I think Christopher would love to meet Legolas.” 

It was weird the way that Eddie was looking at him like he was asking for permission to visit his own brother’s house and dog as if Buck somehow had more authority there. 

“You should,” Buck said and he turned to look at Eddie, smiling at him. “I’m sure he would absolutely love it. I think your son is adorable.”

When they were getting back to the house, Buck’s phone rang. He fished it out of his pocket. It was Pepa, so he answered it at once hoping that she didn’t have any bad news for him. 

“Hi, Buck,” she said at once. “How are you?” 

“Oh, I’m good. And you? How is Isabel?” 

Eddie tugged at the leash and Buck let it go and nodded at him. Eddie shot him a smile. 

“She’s doing well today, thank you for asking. I was wondering if you were going to stop by the hospital today. Andrew is the same but the doctors think it’s good for him to have company. I also wanted to thank you for coming last night.”

“Oh,” Buck said. “Yes, I’ll stop by today. And I’m glad I went last night. It’s nice getting to know everyone.” 

They made it into the backyard and Eddie took care of letting Legolas off his leash. 

“I’m glad to hear it,” Pepa said and Buck could practically feel her warmth right through the phone. “I don’t know if you’ll be here before we go, but I do hope to get coffee or something with you soon, Buck.” 

“Of course,” Buck said and he felt so guilty for already loving this woman who was so warm and so welcoming and wonderful. And here he was painting this lie. 

When he got off the phone, he found Eddie watching him. 

“Pepa,” Buck said. 

“She’ll be calling you a lot,” Eddie said with a chuckle. “That’s who she is.” 

Buck shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think I mind that at all.” 

“Did she want anything?” Eddie asked. 

“Just wanted to know if I was going to stop by the hospital today. I was planning on it after stopping here. He’s the same, you know. No changes. I guess it’s supposed to be a good thing for his recovery.” 

Eddie nodded. “It is. He’ll wake up in no time and things will go back to normal. Well, he’ll have to face a lot of questions but it’ll be normal again.” 

And Buck would be out of their lives. He would have to come clean and they would all hate him. Eddie would hate him. Somehow that felt like the biggest blow even though he barely even knew Eddie and as far as Buck could tell, Eddie was suspicious of him but he was still a good guy and that made it hard for Buck to dislike him. 

“I, um, I should get going,” Buck said. “Go see Andrew.”

“Sure. Sure. Maybe I’ll see you there later. Christopher wants to go see him and bring the card he made.” 

“Looked like a lot of glitter went into it,” Buck said and Eddie just groaned.

--

Next Chapter

Notes: One of my favorite things about this chapter was bringing Legolas into it. And yes, Buck does not get the LOTR reference. 

Hope everyone enjoyed this one, let me know what you thought. And if you want to be tagged for future chapters just let me know. :)

Tagging: @tranquility-or-chaos

[lia-jones]

Growing Stronger - Chapter Twenty-Eight - The Life-Changing Word

He loved how her hair smelled. It was a scent he couldn’t really figure out; it didn’t smell like anything in particular, yet it was fantastic. It reminded him of lazy afternoons by the lake, and vigorous nights of lovemaking, and peanut butter cookies. It was sweet and floral, with a fruity freshness to it. It was his favorite scent in the whole world.

He watched her sleep, his nose close to her curls, admiring her pink and slightly parted lips, her soft breaths a melody in his ear. She was his, and soon, the whole world would recognize it officially. The thought made his heart swell with pride, gratitude, and love, and he felt like holding her tight and kissing those cupid lips, and burying his face in the nape of her neck.

But she was sleeping peacefully, and he would let her. Time to take a shower and make some breakfast.

Eggs, sugar, milk, softened butter, vanilla. Flour and baking soda. Victor beat the egg whites to soft peaks, mixed the liquids and added the solids. He stirred the egg whites into the batter slowly, softly, a labor of love for the one he loved. He remembered how soft and warm her skin felt in bed, and basked in the knowledge that he would feel that every morning, for the rest of his life. She gave him so much happiness that flipping pancakes was the bare minimum he could do to make her morning brighter. But he also knew that she drew great pleasure from these very simple things. Andrea was all about the small gestures, the planted kisses here and there, the sweet I love you s without much thought or reason.

Andrea entered the kitchen freshly showered, her still damp hair in an intricate bun, wearing a woolen dress and leggings with knee-high boots, going to Victor for her morning hug. Snaking his arm around her, he pecked her on the lips, the silent greeting they had come to share every morning. She sat at the table and Victor silently plated the pancakes, filling both their mugs with freshly brewed coffee. He knew she was still too sleepy to chat, so he simply took in the warmth of her presence in silence.

“Hmmm.” She moaned with the first bite of pancakes, sipping on her coffee while she checked for any new emails on her phone.

He watched her as she ate quietly, her mind still a bit foggy with sleep, like she was a beautiful painting of days to come. Suddenly, he had an idea and reached for his phone. He had an announcement to make.

“Elise knew.” She smiled at Victor, completely awake and ready to engage in conversation. “She helped you prepare all of it. She knew I wasn’t meeting the Norwegian guy.”

“She was great. She even went to work early so the delivery man could get all the flowers in your office in time.” Victor confirmed.

“God, you are like the mob, making connections everywhere.” Her laughter echoed in the kitchen. “You’re the Godfather.” She teased.

“Either I’m the Godfather or I’m Batman.” Victor concealed a smile while sipping his coffee. “Can’t be both.”

“Hmmm… I don’t know. How do you look wearing a fedora?” She playfully narrowed her beautiful brown eyes at him.

“If you must know, very exquisite.” He smiled slyly.

“Ok, so all you have to say now is that you have an offer I can’t refuse.” She teased.

“Don’t even think about it.” He feigned annoyance, although he was too happy to hide the smile. “I refuse to participate in your shenanigans again.”

Before Andrea could retort, her phone rang.

“It’s Diane. What does she want at this time of the morning?” She frowned at the phone, picking up.

The shriek that could be heard from the other side of the line was so high-pitched and loud that Andrea had to hastily pull the phone away from her ear, having Victor fear for her poor eardrums.

“Ok, you need to stop doing that!” She scolded Diane. “What’s wrong with you?” Victor could hear Diane’s excited tone. “How did you know?” Andrea frowned again. “Oh he did, did he?” She smiled widely, turning to Victor, who pretended to be busy with his phone, oblivious to their conversation. “Thank you, Di.” She paused. “Yes, you were right.” Andrea playfully rolled her eyes. “I need to go now, are we still having lunch tomorrow? Ok, talk to you then.”

Victor focused on his breakfast, not caring to hide the smug grin on his face.

“You posted our engagement on Moments.” Andrea smiled widely. “Let me see… Here. It was you.” She showed her her phone.

“I thought it would be a good way to share the good news.” Victor started collecting the breakfast dishes to load the dishwasher. “How’s your evening today?”

“Uneventful.” Andrea finished her coffee, handing Victor the mug. “Why?”

“We’ve been invited to this benefit soccer game. I wasn’t sure I would be here when I received the invitation, but since I’m here…would you like to go?”

“Sure, should be fun.” Andrea answered while taking her purse. “I need to go now. See you later, handsome.”

“Be home at six.” Victor pecked her on the lips. “Have a good day.”

While being driven to LFG, Victor grabbed his phone to see the reactions to his announcement. He laughed at some of the reactions.

Victor Lee posted: It’s remarkable how a simple yes can be so meaningful and change the course of a lifetime.

Joshua Jones commented: Nice! Welcome to the family, man!

Henry Goldman commented: Congratulations, Sir!

Diane Goldman commented: About time! :P

MC Bai commented: Yes, the world needs more positivity! I need to say yes more often too, I’m so negative.

Victor couldn’t help the chuckle as he walked into LFG. That Mia was an oblivious idiot. He made the mental note of replying to the comments later, saving a mockery for her.

Victor would never notice the day go by, if not for the meals and breaks Goldman reminded him to make. He had started funding a new company in Switzerland, and the different laws between both countries were making him extremely busy, the legal department calling him incessantly to confirm terms. He was relieved when Goldman announced it was 5:45 pm, time to go home and get ready to attend the game.

“Best benefit gala ever!” Andrea was pleased, looking through the hangers in their walk-in closet. “I’m so sick of having to dress up every time you have an event. Ooo, do you think I can wear these jeans?” She showed him a pair of dark blue jeans.

“Can’t see why not.” Victor offered as he put on his shoes.

“Ok, so these, and a black turtleneck sweater, because it’s going to be cold, my boots and a leather jacket.” Andrea thought out loud. “You’re not going to wear a suit, are you?”

“Does this look like a suit?” Victor asked, showing her his black pants and a dark red sweater.

“Are you wearing a suit jacket with that?” She knowingly raised a brow at him.

“Shut up.” Victor retorted, making Andrea laugh. “Are you ready? Can we go now?” He whined, feigning impatience.

“I’m starting to think suits are your casual clothes. Hard to upgrade that for the wedding.” She teased.

“Ye of little faith.” He smiled. “Don’t think I have shown you all my cards.”

The stadium was almost full when they arrived, and Victor led Andrea to their private cabin. Andrea didn’t seem happy with the idea.

“Can we sit with the other people? It’s so much fun in the bleachers.” She pleaded. “It’s a way better experience, I promise!”

“We’ll be more comfortable in the cabin. It’s windy today, you’re going to be sick.” Victor had no intention of sitting with strangers. But Andrea wouldn’t have it.

“What, you don’t want to sit with the commoners?” Andrea teased and Victor glared at her. “Besides, when have I ever been sick since we met? I’m not that fragile!” She took his hand and led him downstairs. “It’ll be fun, I promise!”

They were able to find a spot that was pretty much empty, and Victor acknowledged sitting on the bleachers was not that bad, provided there were only a few people around. He took the pamphlet he was given at the entrance, and started reading the names of the famous football players that would be playing that night.

“Do you recognize this one?” Victor pointed at Cristiano Ronaldo’s name.

“He’s going to play?!?” Andrea gasped. “Oh my God, I need to take a picture of that pamphlet and send it to Josh. He will be so jealous!”

“You can do better than that.” Victor smiled mischievously. “He will be at the dinner after the game, Chances are he will be sitting at our table. I’ve attended a few events with him before.”

“You know him?” Andrea looked at him with wide eyes, making him chuckle. “My boyfriend knows Cristiano Ronaldo and I’m hearing of it just now?!?”

“I don’t know him, we’ve sat at the same table a few times and engaged in idle conversation, that’s all.” Victor tucked one of her curls behind her ear. “And I’m not your boyfriend anymore, I’m your fiancé, soon to be husband.”

“I didn’t forget.” Andrea smiled. “How could I possibly? This thing blinds me every time it catches the light.” She raised her hand, showing him the ring.

“Mhm.” Victor hummed in approval. “Let’s see who else we have here...Kylian Mbappe, Neymar… Messi is also playing.”

Suddenly Andrea jumped on her seat.

“Look, we are on the kiss cam!” She quickly pecked him on the cheek, surprising Victor with the unexpected move. The crowd booed, unhappy with just a kiss on the cheek.

And that, Victor could not have. He would not allow himself to look so cold in the eyes of the public, having Andrea merely peck him on the cheek, as if she was begging for attention. He would show the world how much she loved her, how much she meant to him. Throwing caution to the wind, he held her and gave her a passionate and proper kiss, making her immediately melt in his arms. The crowd applauded, and although he usually didn’t care much for public approval, he felt good about himself. Proud even.

“Victor…” The flustered look on her face only inflated his ego more, he had done his job right.

The game proved to be a rather amusing experience, as Victor could have sworn he had never seen Andrea so excited before. The way she vibrated with each pass of the ball, screaming with every goal just made him chuckle in his seat. And apparently her energy was contagious, as he found himself increasingly more engaged with the game as well, excitedly jumping from the bleachers like she did, his voice shouting in unison with her. Andrea was absolutely right. The game was more captivating when watched from the bleachers. It proved to be an impressive adrenaline rush.

Although having an informal note, the party was still exquisitely prepared. It did not have the refinement of a gala, but the decorations were sober and fitting, giving a sophisticated look to a not so elegant event.

As they entered the decorated ballroom, they heard a familiar voice coming in their direction.

“Victor! And Andrea! So nice to see you both!”

Andrea tensed slightly as she saw the voice’s owner approaching with her husband.

“Hello, Mia. “ Victor greeted. “And Gavin.”

“Good evening.” Gavin answered somewhat dryly, with his hands in his pockets.

“Gavin, this is Andrea, Victor’s girlfriend-” Mia started introducing.

“Fiancée.” Victor interrupted. “Andrea, this is Gavin, Mia’s husband.”

“Pleased to meet you!” Andrea extended her hand, and Gavin shook it.

There was an awkward silence for a moment. Although she had never really verbalized it, Victor could clearly see Andrea did not enjoy Mia’s presence. And judging by the few times he had met Gavin, Victor could guess that the other man didn’t like him much either. Fortunately, Miss Bates came to their rescue.

“Victor, you came! And you brought Andrea!” She greeted them, completely ignoring Gavin and Mia with all the excitement.

“Miss Bates!” Andrea hugged her happily. “I didn’t know you were coming!”

“This is an event that can’t be missed, everybody who is somebody is-- Andrea! What is that on your hand?!”

“My engagement ring.” Andrea beamed at Miss Bates.

Miss Bates almost shrieked with enthusiasm.

“You and I.” She took Andrea by the arm. “We need to talk, no men allowed. We need to discuss the matter of the wedding dress.” Miss Bates started walking away with Andrea, as she looked back and mouthed an apology. Victor chuckled, nodding in approval. He would rescue her later.

As he looked forward, he noticed Mia and Gavin were still there, Gavin looking at him like he was the spawn of Satan. Victor cleared his throat.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have to greet some associates.” His hand went to his chest to straighten his tie, except… he wasn’t wearing one. “Enjoy your evening.”

Victor walked up to some of his business partners, who were engaged in a stimulating exchange.

“Victor! How are you? I haven’t seen you in a while! How’s the financial market treating you?” One of them shook his hand.

“Adequately.” Victor greeted the others with a handshake as well.

“You look different.” One of them said. “New haircut?”

“No.” Victor frowned. “Nothing changed.”

“You look good though.” Another chimed in. “You’ve been hitting the gym?”

Victor was utterly confused. What was happening?

“I haven’t had the time, yet.” Victor tried to think of a new topic to divert attention from him.

“Victor definitely looks different. Almost like he is… taller?” Another chimed in. Victor had to make an immense effort not to roll his eyes at him. This conversation was starting to become ridiculous.

“Excuse me. There’s someone I must talk to. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.” He excused himself hurriedly.

Victor frowned as he walked away. That was an odd conversation, to say the least. He was absolutely sure that he hadn’t changed anything about his appearance lately. What could possibly have changed that was so noticeable to others but not to him? Victor brushed the thought aside, closing the subject with the usual and often correct assumption: people are idiots.

He found Mia again, this time alone, leaning against a column, pouting.

“Lose the frown. It doesn’t become you.” He poked her forehead playfully. “Where’s your husband?”

“He’s getting us drinks.” Mia’s frown deepened. “Did you notice Miss Bates didn’t even talk to me?”

“Quit being an idiot. She didn’t even see you.” Victor replied. “She was too excited with the engagement. I’m sure she will be happy if you go talk to her.”

“That’s right, you’re engaged! So that’s what your post on Moments was all about.” Her expression changed to one of excitement.

“Did you think I had suddenly converted to that New Age nonsense?” Victor glared at her. “You really are dense.”

“Well, how should I know? “ Mia defended herself. “Besides, maybe it would be good for you to be more positive. You’re always so snarky.”

“I am extremely positive.”  Victor stifled a laugh. “I am positive that you are an idiot.”

Mia pouted again, but said nothing. Victor’s mind wandered to the weird conversation that happened a few minutes ago.

“If I ask you something, will you promise not to make a big fuss over it?”

“Of course.” Mia nodded. “What do you want to ask me?”

“It has come to my attention that people think I have changed something about my appearance. Do you think I look different?”

Mia eyed him carefully.

“You know, now that you mention it… Yes, I do.”

Victor glared at her.

“Care to elaborate?”

“You look… happy. Especially when you are with Andrea. Your face softens, your eyes sparkle, you smile immediately. Yes, I think that’s the major difference. You smile a lot more now. You don’t look as standoffish. You look happy and… serene.”

Victor took some time to ponder on her words. Maybe she was right. This was the best he felt in decades.

“Hm. I guess even a broken clock is right twice a day.” Victor joked again.

Victor did feel happy. And it wasn’t mere contentment, or infatuation, or the excitement of a new romance. Victor was so exhilarated that he wanted nothing more than to shout out to the world how lucky he was, and show how good it was to have Andrea in his life. He was so proud of her, as she was so strong, had endured so much pain, had so much taken away from her, and yet she didn’t have a cynical bone in her body, always so loving, so honest, so ethical.

Like a moth to a flame, his eyes were magically drawn to her. She was somewhat hidden in the crowd, busy talking to a few businessmen. Of course, now that she was working with so many companies for her study, she was bound to become more popular in the business world.

Victor admired his loved one like a fine piece of art, basking in her honest smile, in her enthusiastic expression, the bounce of her golden curls as she spoke. He noticed how everyone’s eyes were also set on her, drinking in her knowledge, appreciating her insights. Victor’s heart filled with immeasurable pride. She was truly precious, one of a kind.  

All of his fortune, all he had attained, was nothing compared to the feeling of having her in his arms. He would give it all up in a heartbeat if that meant he could have her in his life forever. Andrea was all that mattered, all he lived for, all he cared about. The one and true love of his life.

At that moment, Victor made a vow. He would do right by her. He would honor her and what she meant to him by giving her a wedding she wouldn’t forget, creating a magical day for her. Andrea would have no doubt of how much she meant to him. Their wedding would be more than just a public acknowledgement of their love. It would be the crowning of his Queen.