#you can try and convince me this didn’t happen

[luvashli]

ESCAPISM PT.2

SYNOPSIS -> After a night with Ni-ki, Y/N returns to her toxic relationship with Heeseung. But what happens when Heeseung finds out about Ni-ki?

PAIRING -> non!idol!ni-ki x fem!reader x non!idol!ex!heeseung (heeseung is very toxic)

GENRE -> oneshot, romance, drama, angst, suggestive, emotional, mature, toxic love, love triangle

STARTED -> 2/14/2025

STATUS -> complete

WC -> 4k

click here for part 1

click here for part 3

Masterlist

The first time Heeseung calls, you ignore it.

The second time, you stare at the screen, fingers hovering over the answer button before letting it ring out again.

The third time, he sends a message.

"Please. Just talk to me."

And that’s how you end up here—sitting across from him in the dimly lit corner of a restaurant, the air between you thick with unspoken words.

He looks the same. Maybe a little more tired, maybe a little more hollow. But he’s still him. The man you once loved, the man who once broke you.

"I know I messed up," he says quietly, fingers gripping the edge of the table. "I shouldn’t have let you go."

You exhale, forcing yourself to stay composed. "Then why did you?"

His throat bobs. "Because I was scared. Because I didn’t know how to love you the way you needed me to." His eyes meet yours, raw and pleading. "But I do now. And I don’t want to lose you again."

Something inside you clenches.

You should walk away.

You know you should walk away.

But instead, you whisper— "What if it’s too late?"

"It’s not," he murmurs. "Not if you let me fix it."

You don’t say anything. But you don’t pull away, either.

It happens later that night.

You’re standing in his apartment, the familiar scent of him wrapping around you like a memory you thought you’d buried.

Heeseung stands close—too close. His fingers trace up your arm, slow and deliberate, testing the waters.

“We can be happy again," he whispers against your skin, lips brushing the shell of your ear.

You shudder. "Heeseung—"

"Shh." His hands slide to your waist, pulling you closer. "Just let me show you."

Heeseung kisses you like he’s trying to erase the past.

Like he can undo the nights you spent without him, the cold emptiness of your bed, the arms that weren’t his wrapped around you.

And you let him.

Because maybe if you let him touch you, hold you, have you, things will fall back into place. Maybe if you just let him love you like this, everything that was broken will mend itself.

His hands are familiar, tracing the same paths they once knew—along the curve of your waist, the slope of your back, the soft skin of your thigh. He moves slowly, as if savoring the feeling, as if memorizing you all over again.

"You’re so beautiful," he breathes against your lips, voice rough with longing. "I missed you."

Your chest tightens.

Because you want to believe him.

You want to believe that this isn’t just about holding onto what’s slipping away.

But his grip on you is desperate, needy. The way he pulls you onto his lap, fingers pressing into your skin, is laced with something heavier than just desire.

It’s possession.

It’s fear.

"Tell me you’re mine," he whispers, lips trailing down your jaw, leaving heat in their wake. "Tell me you’re not going anywhere."

You hesitate. But then his fingers slide under your shirt, his touch burning, his mouth moving lower—and suddenly, it’s easier to give in.

"I’m yours."

The words slip past your lips, barely above a whisper.

And when he groans softly, tightening his hold on you, you convince yourself that this is love.

That this is how you fix things.

That this is enough.

Even if a part of you knows it’s a lie.

---

The morning after, you wake up tangled in Heeseung’s sheets, his arm heavy around your waist.

For a moment, everything feels right. The warmth of his body pressed against yours, the steady rise and fall of his breathing, the way his fingers absentmindedly trace circles on your skin.

"Morning," he murmurs sleepily, voice rough with sleep.

You turn your head, meeting his gaze. His brown eyes are soft, filled with something that looks like love.

And you let yourself believe it.

"Morning."

---

The first few weeks pass in a blur of soft touches, late-night talks, and sweet apologies.

Heeseung is different now—attentive, loving, careful with his words. He asks about your day, surprises you with flowers, pulls you into his arms like he never wants to let go.

You tell yourself this is how love is supposed to feel.

You tell yourself you’re happy.

But then, the cracks start to show.

---

It’s little things at first.

The way his grip tightens just a little too much when you mention going out with friends.

The way his mood shifts when you don’t answer his calls right away.

"I just don’t want to lose you again," he says, forcing a smile when he catches himself. "You understand, right?"

And you nod. Because you do.

Because this time will be different.

But then one night, you’re getting ready to meet up with some friends—just a small gathering, nothing crazy. You’re slipping into a dress when Heeseung leans against the doorframe, arms crossed.

"You’re going out?"

You hesitate. "Yeah. Just for a little bit."

His jaw tightens. "Do you really need to?"

You pause. The air between you shifts.

"Heeseung, it’s just—"

"I just think," he cuts in smoothly, stepping closer, "we haven’t had much time together lately. Don’t you think you should stay?"

His fingers brush your arm, featherlight. His gaze is soft, pleading.

"For me?"

You swallow. The answer should be no.

But you think about the way he held you last night, the way he whispered that he loved you against your skin.

So instead, you nod.

"Okay."

And just like that, you cancel your plans.

---

Your friends stop calling as much.

Your world starts to shrink, revolving around only him.

And deep down, something in you aches.

Because this isn’t what happiness should feel like.

Because love shouldn’t feel like a leash.

But then Heeseung pulls you into his arms, kisses your forehead, and whispers, "I don’t know what I’d do without you."

And you let yourself believe that this is enough.

That this is love.

Even if it’s breaking you.

---

The evening air outside is cool, but inside your apartment, the tension between you and Heeseung is thick, suffocating. You stand by the window, arms crossed over your chest, eyes trained on the glowing city below.

Heeseung’s voice breaks the silence.

“Why do you have to make everything so difficult?” he asks, frustration lacing his tone. He stands near the door, adjusting his jacket, clearly ready to head out.

Your eyes narrow slightly, your patience wearing thin. “I’m not making anything difficult. You’re just going out with your friends, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s not the point.” Heeseung turns to face you, his face soft but still laced with annoyance. “You know I don’t like you going out without me. You always say you’re fine with it, but I can see how it affects you.”

Your heart drops. You can feel it, the weight of his words, as if he's saying them to make you doubt yourself. But why is he still so controlling? Your own voice sounds small in your chest when you speak, “I told you I’m fine, Heeseung. I don’t see why I can’t go out too.”

Heeseung takes a step toward you, his hand reaching out to lightly graze your arm. “I don’t trust these people you hang around with, Y/N. You know I care about you, and it’s because of that, I don’t want you out there alone. It’s dangerous.” His voice softens at the end, like he's being caring, protective, but you recognize the manipulation beneath his words. The way he always tries to frame his possessiveness as care.

“You think I can’t take care of myself?” you ask, your voice trembling with barely contained frustration. You turn to face him now, standing tall, but inside you're fighting the urge to cave in to his controlling ways. “You always treat me like I’m fragile, like I need your permission for everything.”

Heeseung steps closer, almost too close, and his eyes soften. “I’m just looking out for you. Don’t you get it? I don’t want anyone else getting in your head. You’re mine, Y/N. And I know you understand that. Why can’t you just trust me?”

You feel a sickening twist in your stomach. Why can’t you just trust him? It’s the same argument he’s always used, and for some reason, in this moment, it makes your chest feel tight.

He sees the hesitation in your eyes. “You’ve never had a problem with it before. You trust me, right?”

And there it is, the subtle insinuation—that if you truly loved him, you’d give in. That if you didn’t comply, it would mean you didn’t trust him, or worse, you didn’t care about him.

You hate it. You hate the way he makes you question yourself.

But despite everything, you find yourself nodding. “Fine. I’ll stay in,” you mutter, your voice quiet, surrendering to the weight of his words. You tell yourself it’s just for tonight. That it's no big deal. But deep down, you know this pattern will repeat itself. One night becomes two, then three.

Heeseung smiles, his hand reaching for yours. “Good. I’ll be back later, okay? We’ll do something together tomorrow.”

You nod mechanically, your heart sinking as he pulls you into a tight hug. You’ve given in again. You’ve allowed him to manipulate you with his promises of love and protection, just like he always does.

And yet, even as you feel his warmth around you, a part of you knows that you're losing yourself again. But for tonight, you push that thought aside.

You don’t have the energy to fight anymore.

When he leaves, the door clicks shut behind him, and you stand there in the silence, alone with the heaviness of what you’ve allowed to happen.

---

Your thoughts swirl, conflicting emotions rising to the surface. You want to be free of this. You want to stand up for yourself, for your own independence. But the fear, the guilt, and the years of manipulation cloud your mind.

With a sigh, you sit down on the couch. You don’t want to admit it to yourself, but you know—you’re still stuck in this cycle.

---

It starts with a casual conversation.

Heeseung and Ni-ki sit in a dimly lit lounge, drinks in hand, unwinding from the weight of the week. It’s routine, something they do when schedules align. The music hums low, people talk in murmurs around them, and Heeseung doesn’t think much of it—until Ni-ki starts talking.

"Met this girl a while back," Ni-ki says, swirling his drink. "Shit was crazy."

Heeseung barely reacts, bringing his whiskey to his lips.

"She was all dressed up, drinking like she was running from something."

A pause.

"Kept saying she didn’t wanna feel anything."

Something sharp scrapes the back of Heeseung’s mind.

"Took her to my hotel after. Best damn night I’ve had in a while."

Crack.

The ice in Heeseung’s glass splits. His fingers tighten around it, jaw clenching.

No. It’s a coincidence. Just some random girl.

But then Ni-ki keeps talking.

"She had this way of looking at me—like she was trying to forget someone else." Ni-ki chuckles, shaking his head. "Didn’t tell me much about him, though. Just that he fucked her up bad."

“She also had this cute flower tattoo on her back.“

Blood rushes in Heeseung’s ears.

His stomach drops, nausea curling at the edges of his mind.

Because it’s not just some random girl.

It’s you.

And suddenly, it’s like everything in him snaps.

The next thing Ni-ki knows, Heeseung is shoving back his chair, the legs scraping loudly against the floor. He stands so abruptly the drink nearly spills from his glass.

Ni-ki blinks. "What’s your problem?"

But Heeseung doesn’t answer.

He’s already storming out the door.

---

You barely have time to react when the pounding starts on your apartment door.

Not a knock. A demand.

Your stomach twists, a feeling of dread crawling up your spine.

You already know who it is before you even reach for the handle.

When you open the door, Heeseung is standing there, chest heaving, eyes dark with something unreadable.

"What the hell—"

But before you can finish, he steps inside, slamming the door shut behind him.

Your breath catches.

"Say it.“ His voice is dangerously low.

You frown. "Say what?"

He steps closer. You instinctively take a step back.

"Tell me Ni-ki is lying."

The air freezes.

Your pulse pounds in your ears, but you force yourself to keep your face blank.

"I don’t know what you’re talking about."

But the way Heeseung laughs—low, humorless—tells you he already knows.

"Don’t fucking lie to me, Y/N."

He’s close now, eyes locked onto yours, chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. He looks at you like he’s trying to rip the truth out of you.

You swallow.

"Heeseung—"

"Did you fuck him?"

Silence.

And that’s all the confirmation he needs.

His jaw clenches, his hands curling into fists at his sides. You can see the way his shoulders rise, his whole body rigid with rage, betrayal, something deeper.

"You’re unbelievable." He lets out a harsh breath, shaking his head. "One fucking mistake, and you run off to my friend?"

Your thoughts come to a halt at the word friend.

Your own temper flares. "Are you serious? You ended things with me first, Heeseung!"

"That doesn’t mean you had to spread your legs for the first guy who gave you attention!"

The slap comes before you can stop it.

Sharp. Immediate. Deafening.

His face barely turns from the impact, but the moment it happens, everything changes.

His expression shifts. The anger is still there, but something else lurks beneath it now—hurt, disbelief, something breaking.

Your chest is heaving. So is his.

And that’s when the door swings open.

Ni-ki walks in, brows furrowed. "What the hell is going on—"

Ni-ki just sees a girl.

Sees Heeseung.

Sees the way your hand is still trembling from the slap. The way Heeseung’s entire body is coiled like a snake ready to strike.

Realization crashes over him like a tidal wave.

"You." Heeseung’s voice is venom.

Ni-ki barely has time to register what’s happening before Heeseung lunges.

Ni-ki doesn’t see the punch coming.

One second, he’s standing there, confused as hell, trying to piece together why Heeseung looks like he’s about to murder someone—

And the next, a fist collides with his jaw.

The impact is sharp, sending him stumbling back into the doorframe. Pain explodes across his face, shock flashing through him before it turns into something hot and violent.

"What the fuck?!" Ni-ki spits, touching his jaw, already throbbing.

But Heeseung isn’t done.

Before Ni-ki can fully recover, Heeseung is on him again.

Another swing—this time, Ni-ki blocks it. His arm jerks up on instinct, catching Heeseung’s fist before it can land another hit.

"What is your problem?!" Ni-ki snarls, shoving him back.

And that’s when he sees your face.

You’re standing there, frozen, your breathing shallow.

And suddenly, it clicks.

The girl from the club. The one he spent that unforgettable night with.

It was you.

Ni-ki’s stomach plummets.

"Holy shit." His breath comes out uneven, his mind spinning. "You—her—fuck."

But Heeseung doesn’t give him time to process.

"You knew." His voice is deadly. "You knew, and you still fucked her."

Ni-ki’s eyes snap back to him, something flashing in them. "Are you insane? I didn’t know shit!"

But Heeseung doesn’t care.

He lunges again, tackling Ni-ki to the floor.

Fists fly. Knuckles collide with skin.

It’s raw, unfiltered rage.

Heeseung lands another hit, his fist crashing against Ni-ki’s cheek, sending his head snapping to the side. But Ni-ki isn’t defenseless. He shoves Heeseung off, flipping them over, pinning him down with a hand fisted in his shirt.

"You’re a fucking psycho," Ni-ki growls.

Heeseung spits blood. "And you’re a backstabbing piece of shit."

Ni-ki loses it.

His fist slams into Heeseung’s ribs, making him grunt. Heeseung retaliates with a knee to Ni-ki’s stomach, forcing him back just enough to send another punch into his face.

You snap out of it.

“Stop!" Your voice cuts through the chaos.

Neither of them listen.

They’re tangled in hatred, betrayal, years of unspoken tension.

Blood smears across Heeseung’s lip, Ni-ki’s knuckles are raw, but neither of them let up.

Until you step between them.

Your hands shove against Heeseung’s chest. "Stop it, Heeseung!"

His breath is ragged.nHis eyes—wild.

Ni-ki wipes blood from his mouth, exhaling sharply. "You really think she’s just yours?" His voice is a taunt, reckless. "You let her slip away, and you’re mad at me? That’s on you."

Heeseung sees red.

He moves again, but you block him.

"Enough!" Your voice shakes.

Both of them freeze.

Chest heaving, hands trembling, you look between them.

The room is silent, except for your own breathing—shaky, uneven, raw.

Ni-ki wipes at the blood smeared on his mouth, his chest rising and falling with exhaustion. Heeseung is still seething, his fists clenched at his sides, his lip split from the fight.

But neither of them move.

Because your words cut deeper than any punch ever could.

"Enough." Your voice is breaking, but you refuse to let yourself crumble. Your hands tremble at your sides, fingers curling into fists. "I’m done."

Both men freeze.

Heeseung’s head snaps toward you first, his anger flickering into something smaller, afraid. "Done with what?"

You swallow hard. Everything in you aches.

"With you. With this. With pretending I don’t know how I feel."

Your throat tightens.

You see the exact moment Heeseung realizes what you mean.

The fire in his eyes dims, his whole body going rigid.

"No." His voice cracks. "Please, don’t do this."

But you’re already stepping back.

Already walking away.

Because you know if you stay, he’ll pull you right back into the cycle. And you’ll let him.

And it will destroy you all over again.

You reach the door.

Hand on the knob.

Almost free.

And then Ni-ki speaks.

"Tell me one thing."

You stop.

Slowly, you turn to look at him.

His face is unreadable.

But his eyes—they hold something fragile.

"Was I just an escape?" His voice is quiet. Careful.

A breath shudders from your lips.

Because you don’t know.

Because the answer is complicated.

Because your heart is still split between them.

You meet his gaze, voice barely above a whisper.

"I don’t know."

His jaw clenches.

But he nods.

He understands.

And you leave.

Alone.

Because for the first time, you need to figure out who you are without running into someone else’s arms.

---

The days blur together.

The weeks feel like an eternity, stretching out in front of you like a road with no end.

At first, you were unsure of what to do with yourself after walking away from both Heeseung and Ni-ki. The aftermath of the fight, the heartbreak, and the chaos—it all felt too much to process. But with time, things started to feel… quieter.

Not necessarily better.

But quieter.

You didn’t meet with Heeseung again. You didn’t seek Ni-ki out. The messages stopped, the calls stopped. And for the first time in a long time, you felt a strange relief at the absence.

---

You spent your days in the studio, your work taking on a new significance. The quiet hum of your surroundings, the soft click of your keyboard, the way the brush strokes felt on canvas—you immersed yourself in creation.

You had forgotten what it was like to feel the quiet satisfaction of focusing on yourself. The work didn’t ask for anything in return, didn’t demand attention or affection. It simply let you exist.

It took weeks before you were able to realize that you had stopped thinking about them.

At least, for the most part.

But no matter how far you push the memories of Heeseung and Ni-ki, they linger.

Heeseung—so sorry, so broken, so human.

Ni-ki—so sharp, so raw, so tempting.

Neither of them are easy to forget.

There were still moments—when the world felt too empty or when the nights got too long—but those moments were getting fewer. Slowly, you were rebuilding yourself, brick by brick, without the pressure of constantly wondering if Heeseung still cared, or if Ni-ki would ever text you again.

You found new hobbies, revisiting the old things you used to love—long-forgotten books that had collected dust on your shelf, forgotten music that once brought you peace. You ran for miles in the morning, feeling your heart beat in your chest and your lungs expand. You let your body feel strong in ways it hadn’t in so long.

You weren’t the same person you were when you were with them.

You began to realize that you had always been chasing validation. From Heeseung, from Ni-ki, from anyone who could fill the emptiness you felt inside. They were distractions, temporary escapes from the turmoil inside you. But now, you were learning to find peace within yourself.

And it wasn’t easy.

There were nights when you found yourself staring at the ceiling, the weight of the past pressing down on you. You could still feel Heeseung’s touch, the way he used to look at you with longing and possessiveness. Ni-ki, too—his smile, the intensity of his gaze, the way he made you feel wanted in ways that were both exhilarating and dangerous.

But you were beginning to recognize something you had buried deep down for too long.

You didn’t need them to feel whole.

You didn’t need anyone to complete you. You were learning that your worth wasn’t dependent on the validation of others.

---

One afternoon, you’re sitting at your favorite café, a book in front of you, the steam of your coffee rising into the air, when it happens.

The realization.

You see a couple sitting across from you, laughing and talking with ease. There’s no tension, no discomfort. Their hands are intertwined on the table, their smiles genuine, and it’s like something clicks inside your chest.

You realize you’ve been avoiding love—not just the love of others, but your own love for yourself.

You’ve been so caught up in chasing external validation that you forgot the most important thing: self-acceptance. You have to learn to love who you are before you can ever truly give love to someone else.

You smile softly to yourself, feeling a small but significant shift inside. The emptiness you’d been trying to fill isn’t gone, but it’s becoming something you can live with—something you can grow through rather than hide from.

---

Weeks later, you’re walking through the park, the sun dipping low in the sky, casting a golden glow over everything.

You breathe in deeply, the air crisp with the changing seasons. You’re alone, but for the first time, you don’t feel alone in the sense that you used to. There’s a quiet strength inside you now. A sense of peace that wasn’t there before.

You smile at a child who runs past you, their laughter ringing through the air. You smile at the elderly couple sitting on a bench, holding hands, completely at ease in each other’s company. And for the first time, you don’t envy them.

You understand now.

You are enough.

And that’s when you feel it—the tiniest seed of hope, deep inside. Maybe, someday, you’ll find love again. But it will be because you’ve learned how to love yourself first.

The world is yours now.

You are free.

And for the first time in a long time, you’re okay with that.

Masterlist

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Note: I’m so excited to finally share Part 2! The journey with Y/N, Heeseung, and Ni-ki is far from over, and I’d love to explore more in a potential Part 3. Let me know if you'd like that! Thank you for all your support!

@luvleyylina @crimson-reaper576 @d-dilemma @laylasbunbunny @luv-rizzimura @hoonkishoe

[pretend-theres-a-name-here]

Everybody at the party seems to know somebody (who’s not me) pt. 2

Continuation of Part 1

2919 words | Set before the events of s3 | Rating: G (maybe T&up) |

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next time Steve runs into Brown Eyes he’s freezing in an itchy, too small pair of shorts.

 He hasn’t seen him in—well he doesn’t know how long because keeping time after inter-dimensional shit goes down for the second time gets pretty difficult for him, but he knows he hasn’t seen him in long enough to forget what shade of brown his eyes were or maybe it was just dark and he never really got that good of a look in the first place but that didn’t really matter because he thought he would never see him again, he was supposed to never see him again.

Steve’s parents came back for all of three days to lecture him about hospital bills, bills he only had because the kids couldn’t tell their parents about the Upside Down. They didn’t ask about the scar that ran down his left arm, they didn’t ask why he was wearing medically prescribed glasses to numb the headaches they didn’t know he got and they didn’t ask if he was okay. The conversation ended with his father telling him that if he wasn’t going to college then he had to get a job to pay back the bills.

So here he was, elbow deep in ice cream that dried in flakes on his skin and pulling at the hem of shorts that couldn’t be his own. Robin must’ve mixed them up again. Hers fell to her knees and she had to pull them up with a huff whenever she moved. 

“Hello and welcome to Scoops Aboy!” She chirped at the kid standing in line, only just able to hide the dead eyed stare she’d had on a second ago, “What flavor can I get for you today?”

The kid stared before pushing one sweaty finger against the glass at the chocolate bin. They were out of chocolate.

Steve sighed because he knew he would be the one who would have to get it from the back freezer when the kid threw a fit and he knew he would be the one who had to clean the glass back to shining.

Robin was desperately trying to sell any other flavor to the kid, “It looks like we’re all out of chocolate, big guy. How about some banana extravaganza?”

The kid shook his head, “Chocolate!” He shouted, voice squeaking. Steve rubbed his temples.

“Hey, dingus, do we have chocolate in the back?”

Steve trudged over to the freezer, bracing himself for the chill, and threw open the door. Carefully arranging the leg of the break room chair to wedge between the door because it got stuck when it shut and the inside handle was frozen over.

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. Exactly one tub of double chunk-o chip chocolate ice cream sat on the shelf. Frozen to the metal, because of course it was.

“Okay, you can do this, just go out there and…be ice cream.” Jesus Christ. Talking to ice cream, Steven, talking to yourself in a dingy freezer.

Steve shook his head, rubbing his eyes to dispel his father’s voice. Steve blew into his hands, rubbing them together so he didn’t get freezer burn for a week—because that was something that happened when the ice cream sat on the shelf for too long—and tugged the bucket down.

When he managed to pry the tub of ice cream off the shelf Robin had already convinced the kid to get another flavor. 

“Thank you so much, Steve,” He dropped the tub on the counter, rolling his eyes, “It means a lot that you go into the freezer with all your migraines and concussions for nothing.” Stop whining, Steven, Harrington’s aren’t babies.

Robin just stared at him, deadpan, and Steve scoffed, grabbing a scooper to replace the chocolate ice cream. It wasn’t like he didn’t like her or anything, she was just weird. That was mean, he wasn’t that guy anymore, he was better than some high school peaking idiot now. He should apologize. He should apologize for a lot lately and so far he can’t say any of it, maybe he’s not so different from the asshole who stood by while his friends—

Robin dropped her scooper and shrugged off her vest, tossing her hat onto the table in the back as she walked past it, heading for the door.

“Hey, wait, where are you going? You can’t just leave me here.” Steve called. 

“Lady problems, dingus.” She didn’t even have to look back for Steve to know she was smirking.

Can’t even take one shift alone, Harrington men are supposed to be independent, Steven. He could—he would be fine on his own, he could handle this, it was just a few kids in a line that got longer and longer and—he was fine.

“Hello and welcome to Scoops Ahoy, what can I get for you today?” He droned on, customer after customer. 

It was nearing the end of his shift when it happened. Steve was grumpy and the lithonia lighting really drills into your eyes, goosebumps dotted his arms and legs. 

He was seconds away from filling his hat with ice cream and throwing it over his eyes to combat the headache forming and to top it all off some kid had dumped their banana split down the front of his shirt because it was ‘too cold’. The scratchy material of this stupid sailor costume was sticking to his chest, sopping wet and catching on the scar on his shoulder as if he needed another reminder that it was there, as if it didn’t already throb every few days just to show him he’d never really be okay again and he wanted to cry—if he hadn’t been in public he would’ve been sobbing on the floor. Get yourself together, Steven, you’re a working man not a pathetic little girl.

The bell rang again and he gave himself a second to prepare before lifting his head and facing the customer.

“Hello and welcome to Scoops Ahoy, how may I help you on this fine—” Steve looked up, breath catching when he saw a familiar face, hazel—they were hazel, “—day.”

“Uh…” Brown Eyes’ eyes darted around, avoiding eye contact.

“Hey.” Steve said, sounding more breathless than he felt but that was stupid, stupid, stupid, fucking hey, “I…uh, I wasn’t expecting—” to ever see you again, to ever think about that night again but that’s lie because it’s all I can ever think about. Because Steve had told himself to forget about it, give up on whatever had happened and live a normal life but now—

“Look, man, I didn’t even know you worked here,” Brown Eyes was putting his wallet away, “if I had then I never would’ve come here, I swear.”

“You wouldn’t?” He hadn’t meant to sound so pathetic. Pull yourself together, Steven, have we taught you nothing. Pathetic pathetic pathetic.

Brown Eyes’ eyebrows crinkled, “No?” But he sounded confused which Steve couldn’t blame him for. 

He’d been confused a lot since that night. Confused about why he let the gap close, why he pushed forward—why he liked it because that’s not something that happens to him. He liked girls, just like every other guy in this godforsaken town who liked girls, he had to because he and Tommy kissed once in fifth grade on a Saturday night after baseball practice just to see if it would feel different and Tommy had pushed him away gagging. Tommy had told him that his dad was right and boys shouldn’t kiss boys because it was gross so Steve didn’t think about why it didn’t feel different and they never talked about it again. Hadn’t thought about it again, until he was ducking under arms and following strangers to get away from Tommy years later at a party he wished would end and maybe it wasn’t as gross as he told himself it was. Maybe—maybe he—

Steve heard the back door open and slam closed and took his chance, “I’m taking my break, Robin!” He yelled as he grabbed Brown Eyes’ wrist over the counter and pulled him around it, walking them both to the freezer and passing an exasperated Robin.

“You already took a break, Dingus, you can’t just decide to take another!”

But he didn’t stop and she just rolled her eyes.

Brown Eyes was glancing around frantically, “Listen I’m sorry! I’ll leave you alone, dude, I get it! You didn’t mean to kiss me, I stupidly thought that was what was happening. It won’t happen again, I swear, man!”

The freezer lights were blinding and the faint buzz was more grating than usual. If Steve were thinking about it he would’ve known he was dizzier than he should have been. If he had been thinking about it he would have picked up on the beginnings of a migraine worming its way in. 

He wasn’t thinking about it, unfortunately, because Brown Eyes was still rambling and he was really cute when he was nervous but Steve wished he wouldn’t. Because Steve’s been doing some thinking since that night, thinking about why it didn’t feel so gross when Tommy kissed him, thinking about why he felt like he’d been strung up and gutted when Brown Eyes took off. He’s been doing some thinking and he’s pretty damn glad he did it before he had to face Brown Eyes again.

The second time they kissed was no more coordinated than the first—probably less so because Brown Eyes was mid apology and Steve flinched when the freezer door slammed shut—

Shit.

Brown Eyes hadn’t moved. He just stood there, mouth hanging open—well opening and closing and then opening again like he didn’t know what to do with it—eyes wide and confused. Because—because Steve kissed him, what the fuck was he thinking? Harringtons aren’t fucking queer Steven. And they weren’t, they weren’t. 

What would your father say? And for the first time since he’s ever really thought about it it was his mother’s voice.

“I’m sorry.” Steve whispered, backing against the cold metal shelf, “I’m sorry.” He muttered again because he didn’t know what else there was to say.

Maybe it was the plummeting feeling in his stomach that did it. The swooping and the dull thud of his heart against his ribs—he didn’t know. But he was doubling over so fast his already throbbing head spun, falling on shaking knees, not fast enough to swallow the bile before he was emptying whatever was left of his stomach into an empty tub of ice cream.

There was a panicked squeak behind him, “Uh, are you—should I—“ and then he was crouching down beside him, “I didn’t realize I was that bad of a kisser, Jesus, Harrington.”

 And Steve couldn’t help the snort that fell out of him even though it made his nose burn and his eyes water.

Brown Eyes hadn’t stopped fidgeting, “Sorry, sorry, that was stupid—I don’t know why I said that, just nobody’s ever thrown up around me and I don’t really know what to do. I guess rambling’s not the most comforting thing in the world and I can’t stop talking. Do you—should I get—I should go get napkins, probably, right? I’ll do that, yeah, just…wait here—”

But Steve reached out, stopping him with a hand on his wrist because he’d been so caught up in his own head that he forgot to stop the door and maybe he should have felt embarrassed for wiping his mouth on that stupid hat but, “Can’t go anywhere, man. Door’s stuck.” He breathed.

“Shit.” Brown Eyes swore.

“Yeah.” Steve sat up, wincing at the bucket and pushing it away, “‘’Sides, I can handle myself.”

“Right, no, obviously—“ Brown Eyes kept spinning a ring around his finger, tapping a pattern on his knuckles, “Has that—does that happen a lot?”

Steve huffed, leaning his head back against the metal shelf and closing his eyes as the sharp pain spiked behind his eyes, “Migraines. Happens if I ignore them.”

Brown Eyes slid down the shelf, he had a chain link hanging from his belt and it clacked steadily down. He opened his mouth again, barely took a breath before he was closing it and then seemed to shake off whatever nervous energy clung to him.

“Why’d—uh, why’d you ignore it?” He asked, and then, “Oh. Shit, man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t realize—”

“Dude,” Steve let his head tip, ear stinging where it pressed into the cold metal of the storage shelf, to look at Brown Eyes, “It’s not your fault, not like you knew about it.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right— obviously. No way I could’ve known, I mean it’s not like we know each other.” He was still moving. An almost jumpy motion to the way he spun his rings, pulled his hair in front of his face, tapped his foot against the tile floor over and over, “I mean we do—or I do. Figure you’ve heard rumors but never put a face to the name, huh, Harrington?”

And Steve caught the almost hopeful way Brown Eyes said his name, the hopeful but shame-filled and god if he didn’t know about shame. The longing that curled bittersweet in his stomach every time he was reminded of a life he could never be brave enough to take for his own. The overwhelmingly dreadful certainty that he would only ever live to settle down, to buy a house and start a family and die a peaceful death beside some woman he liked well enough because technically it wasn’t out of the picture for him. 

Because maybe all this thinking he’s been doing has opened his eyes to the parts of him he was suppressing but it didn’t make the other parts, the parts that wanted a family and small little porch that overlooked a garden that won best in show at the neighborhood fair, just disappear. And he knew the path his life would take him down and he accepted it because he was scared, a fucking coward. Fought fucking demons and you’re still afraid, Steven, always afraid. So he ignored it, the hope. For now.

“’S not like you ever told me yours.” Steve hadn’t meant to sound so pissy about it, he wasn’t owed the guy’s name just because they kissed. Never be anything better than a high school bully, Steven, we raised you better than this—

But then Brown Eyes grinned, snorting a little in surprise. Leaned in fast, close enough Steve could feel their breath mix between them and just looked at him like maybe he was going to finally tell him. Or kiss him again. And honestly Steve would welcome either option.

“Maybe I like the mystery.” Brown Eyes was enjoying this entirely too much.

Steve was about to respond, shoot back some snarky reply because that was okay to do now, it would be reciprocated, when he heard the yelling.

“Hey, dingus! Your children are here!” Robin. She pounded on the door, “Jesus, d’you seriously get stuck again?”

Steve sucked in a breath, ignored the sharp pain that speared through his head as he scrambled off the floor. He caught Brown Eyes’ eye, the resignation in them, and only had a second to feel guilty about what must’ve looked like the embarrassment of being caught together. Only had a second to reach out, thought maybe he could grab his hands—it’s not you, it’s not you, it’s the fear, it’s always the fear and I can’t do a damn thing about it. But that sounded far too much like a break up to say to somebody you’ve only kissed twice. Somebody whose name you don’t even know. It’s not you, it’s me, because I don’t even know you but if I did it’d still be me.

The door swung open, Robin keeping it from closing on them with her foot, “What the hell are you doing in here, dude?” She asked, “We’ve got customers. Your tiny friends.” 

“Right. I’ll—uh,” Steve glanced back at Brown Eyes, helpless to say anything as he pushed himself up and made for the door.

“Thanks for the tour, man but I should really get going.” No, no, wait, not now please wait, Brown Eyes tipped his head at Robin in a little curtsy as he read her name tag and it would’ve been endearing if Steve’s heart wasn’t pounding in his ears, crawling up his lungs and choking him, “All the gratitude for freeing us, lady Robin. See you around, Harrington.” 

Except you won’t, Steve wanted to call out, I graduated, I don’t know your name, stay stay stay—

“Steve.” Robin clapped her hands, “Small children. Waiting for you at the counter.”

When Steve looked back at the door Brown Eyes was gone.

“I got that, thanks.” He muttered.

If he gave Mike a little less ice cream in his free sample when the kid told him he was ‘watching the door wistfully’ he didn’t notice. And if he blamed his sour mood on his headache then it wasn’t technically a lie.

And if anyone noticed anything about it, they didn’t comment.

When Steve got home he hung his jacket up in his closet, bumped the door with his hip by accident and sucked in a breath when he saw the shoes. The ones Brown Eyes left at the party. The ones he’d kept, stupidly telling himself he would return them if he ever got the chance only he’d had the chance and he hadn’t said anything about them. 

Now he never would have the chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part 3?

Fun Fact: I got so much second hand embarrassment from writing Steve throwing up that I had to stop writing for 2 days

PERMANENT tag list (open):

@yesdangerpls, @keepittoyourselftellnobodyelse, @friendlyneighborhoodgaycousin, @tinyplanet95, @gatorguy777, @grtwdsmwhr

[throatgoat4u]

will you be my valentine?

word count: 1.5k

summary: matt's made a valentine, but for who?

warnings: none!

a/n: happy valentine's day lovelies! hope you guys are having an amazing, amazing day! this one is actually surprisingly proofread and so it's probably better than most fiics i put out cause like i don’t proofread…. this is based of this comic. um so yeah… enjoy!

toodles {lovers} ♡

today was valentine’s day and just like every other year, you didn’t have a valentine. it wasn’t that nobody had asked you—plenty of people did—but you turned them all down because you were convinced that this was going to be the year. matt was going to ask you to be his valentine.

“this is the year, guys. i can feel it,” you declare, beaming with excitement.

“i don’t know cutie. you’ve been saying that ever since we were in pre-school. we’re in college now,” violet says with a sigh, earning a nod from patty.

“well… well, this year is different. this year, my gut is telling me.” you insist as you run around the room, trying to find your lucky blue ribbon. of course, you had plenty of blue ribbons to choose from, but this one was special—it was the ribbon matt gave you on your eighth birthday. ever since then, you have worn it on the most important days—birthdays, exams, finals—and it never failed to bring you good luck. you can’t recall a single time that you’ve failed an exam while wearing it (though, to be fair, you’re really smart… but the ribbon makes more sense).

“what are you looking for?” patty asks, a bit concerned as you toss things around in search for the object. 

“my ribbon.”

“cutie… this one?” patty sighs, holding up your lucky ribbon from the vanity. 

“oh… yeah… that one.” you mumble, snatching it from patty’s hand and tying it into a bow at the end of your braid.

after your classes, you head over to the sturniolo house, like always. at this point, it’s a ritual—for (both)  you (and matt)—that you show up and yap about absolute nonsense. you skip up to the door and give it a quick knock. commotion erupts from inside, making your eyebrows knit together in confusion. what the hell is going on? you wait for a moment, until their mother—mary lou—opens the door. she wipes her hands over her apron as she greets you with a hug.

“cutie! i’m so glad you could make it. come inside,” she says quickly, ushering you inside and closing the door behind you. “please excuse the mess—i was making cookies, but someone decided it was a good idea to start a food fight,” she mutters, hooting a stern look at her youngest son, chris.

“hey! i didn’t start it! nick hit me first and i just hit him back with food.”

“don’t put the blame on me! you started it and don’t you even dare lie.”

“nuh uh.” chris says sassily, his hand on his hip, shaking his pointer finger. this definitely set nick off as he began to chase chris around the kitchen. you turn to mary lou, absolutely astonished. you’d seen the boys like this—considering you grew up with them—but the amount of things that just happened barely even rendered through your brain. the kitchen looks like it got invaded by the pillsbury doughboy. nick is covered in flour, chris is drenched in some sort of mystery jam, and mary lou is a mixture of both. to top it all off, they’re running around like feral animals. it feels like you’re watching a live action tom and jerry episode before your eyes right now.

“i- wha- am i- did you- huh!?!” is all you manage to stutter out. mary lou just smiles and shakes her head. 

“they must have eaten something different because i swear they’ve been off their rockers all day. even matt. i saw him making a valentine card for someone. cutie, when i tell you i was beyond shocked. matt has never once in his life done anything romantic for any girl and swore he would never. i just feel like he’s finally found someone and i can’t be more happy.”

“pardon?!?!” you exclaim, a hint of excitement but also nervousness. that valentine could be for you, but it could also be for another girl. well, it can’t be for another girl, it has to be for you. you are his future wife after all.

“yeah, i mean he even looked excited,” she says, a twinkle in her eyes. she’s never ever expected matt to find someone since he was so obsessed with his piano, but she couldn’t be happier that he did. “ hey, why don’t you go check on him now? i bet you could find out who his secret valentine is?” she teases, wiggling her eyebrows and nudging your side slightly. 

you shrug softly, thinking about it, though you knew what your answer was going to be. “yeah… maybe i should.” you turn on the balls of your feet and made your way upstairs. you get to the door of the piano room and knock softly. from the other side, you can hear matt playing a soft melody, one you recognize to be the moonlight sonata. not that you genuinely care to remember, but because matt always gets mad at you for mislabeling it and is always screaming at you about it. gosh, the anger issues that kid has could make the hulk look like a meditation instructor. when he doesn’t answer the door, you knock harder, starting to lose your patience with the kid. but to your dismay, he starts to play louder.

at this point you’re frustrated. you know he hears you knocking. it’s rude to ignore your future wife when she’s knocking at the door, it’s like… common knowledge. you knock a little louder and he starts playing a little louder. you huff, finally at your wits end, and open the door, letting yourself in. you make you way to the piano, your little kitten heels clicking against the floor. matt glances at you, drinking you in for a second. your little blue dress, you white kitten heels, and the way your hair was done—just the way he liked. the loose braid that always made him go feral, the way the front pieces of your hair fell in front of your face. his eyes drift down to the end of your braid, where your lucky ribbon—the one he gave you—rests, its lace slightly frayed from years of wear. | he drinks you in for a moment before turning his attention back onto his piano.

you roll your eyes and huff. you know he knows you’re here—he looked at you! so why won’t he acknowledge you? you walk up to the piano, propping yourself on your forearms. “hey matt,” you say innocently.

“hello,” he mumbles.

“whatcha doin’?” you hum, leaning in closer to matt, resting on the piano

“playing the piano,” he mutters.

“whatcha playin’?” 

“fur elise by beethoven. not only is this one of his most famous pieces, but also it’s my favorite.” he says matter-of-factly. 

elise? who’s elise?

“who’s elise?” you huff, pulling back and folding your arms.

matt stops playing the piano and looks up at you, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes. “you… don’t know… fur elise? why it is only one of the best pieces of classical music written on planet earth,” he snaps, standing up from his seat, causing it to push back creating a loud screech. “how is that even possible? it’s one of the most famous pieces ever composed! beethoven—beethoven—wrote it! it’s legendary!” he throws his hands up in the air, his frustration palpable.

you look at him with a dumbfounded expression, “it’s a song…?” 

“no, it’s not just a song, it’s ART! ART! ART! ART! ART! ART! something you would never understand!” he shouts

“right… got it,” you say, watching as matt sits back down all proper and poised—as if he didn’t just scream his lungs off bouncing on beethoven’s wood—and picks up right where he left off. “so ummm, do you know what today is?” you ask, leaning back onto the piano again

“yes. it is february 14th which also happens to be valentine’s day. the day that everyone pretends they care about each other because society says so.” he states, pausing for dramatic effect, “i’d rather celebrate fur elise—now that’s real love.”

you scoff, shaking your head. “i still don’t understand what’s so great about elise and not me?” you mutter. you shake your head a bit, as if you were shaking off that thought. you needed to know who the valentine was for. was it for you? was it for tessa? was it for elise? fuck elise and tessa. that’s your valentine.

you sigh, twiddling your thumbs in thought until you get an idea, “you know, i find that there is a very big misconception on what and who valentine's day is about,” you say, turning over to your side, “i mean, people make the mistake of thinking you have to be madly in love with someone for them to be your valentine”

“oh. so does this mean that you’d have to love her a little?”

“well no, not necessarily.” 

“sooo what if you only like her and not love her?”

“that works.”

“and if you are just barely being able to tolerate her?”

you turn around once again, finally facing him and his gorgeous face as you rest your arms on the piano. “well that could work but-” 

he grabs a card and hands it over to you, “happy valentines day!” he says with the biggest, cheesiest grin on his face.

your face drops as you look at the card and then back up at him, slumping down into your arms, “rats...”

taglist ♡

@sturns-mermaid. @chonicallyalone. @storyteller32. @mattscoquette. @55sturn. @queen-of-beees. @xoxopetalzblog. @lilysturn. @ilavlilpeep. @weepingdelusionobject. @ju2tm30. @funkybananas101. @xxkylie906xx. @courta13. @p3r3j1l. @sofia-is-a-sturniolo-triplet-fan. @ireadtoofast. @rippeanuts1950-2000. @reigengyattataka. @a-s-h-t-o-n. @anime-4-u. @maggot3647. @watercolorskyy. @matthewsturnsgf. @lemonhoney2460. @snoopychris. @oopsiedaisydeer

nini’s stamp of approval ♡

[ldydeath]

We Were Never Meant To Be | Kwon Ji-yong (G-Dragon)

Summary: You and Jiyong have grown apart and there's nothing that either of you can do or say to fix it.

Warnings: Angst, but that's it.

Author's Note: I'm not even going to lie, this made me sad to write. I'm sorry in advance.

It had been happening slowly over the last few months. You’d both felt each other slipping away from each other. At first you’d clung to each other desperate for it to go away. You weren’t ready for it to be over but it was happening. There was nobody to blame for it, you’d grown apart naturally over time. Despite your best efforts, you couldn’t force yourself to stay in love. Neither could he.

“I’ve just got one more box and then I’ll be gone.” Jiyong wasn’t supposed to be home today, but as was life, his plans had changed and he’d been helping you load up your car all morning. Somehow having him here had made it more real.

Not that it hadn’t been real while you’d moved through the house collecting your years of clutter and clothing earlier that week. You’d tried your best to keep it together as you packed everything neatly away. Jiyong had given you space while you grieved the loss of this relationship, as you said bye to his cats that had become partly yours over the years. Your heart was shattering and you could tell by looking at him that his was too. 

His jaw tensed, swallowing all the words he wanted to say as he watched you head over to the last box. He didn’t want you to go, but he knew he hadn’t done enough to keep you here and if he wasn’t his best self for you there was no point in fighting it anymore. Instead of begging you to stay he just nodded his head, his hands finding their way to his pockets so you wouldn’t see them balling into fists. 

Nothing worth keeping ever stayed with Jiyong. Not his friends, not you. Sure, he had his career but it didn’t mean anything without you. What was he supposed to do now without you? What had he done to convince you his world didn’t revolve around you? Why couldn’t he fix it? Why wouldn’t you stay with him? He knew he wasn’t supposed to be here today but the truth was he couldn’t focus on anything but you and maybe if he saw it through he’d be able to let you go.

He watched as you took the last box out of his house and the realization hit that you were really leaving him. He sat down on the couch, burying his head in his hands. He knew he should pull himself together, it wasn’t fair to you to see him this way. You didn’t want him anymore and he’d respect it, but he was human too.

“Ji?” He sat up at the sound of your voice and watched as you made your way over to him. “Are you ok?” 

“No.” You moved to sit down next to him, tilting his head towards you. There was so much pain written all over his face and you looked down, letting go of him. You knew this wasn’t easy for him, it wasn’t easy for you, either. But you couldn’t stay, you weren’t even sure when it had broken or why you couldn’t fix it. You just knew it was too far gone now to keep trying. 

You’d both been hurting for months, refusing to admit that you were putting too much pressure on each other to be better. You had always agreed that you would do right by each other and when the fighting started and never eased you both had agreed that it had run its course. 

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head refusing to let you continue and glanced up at you. 

“I’m the one that’s sorry. Is there really nothing I can do to fix this?” His eyes pleaded with you. You shook your head and stood up. You couldn’t have this conversation, not again. 

“I wish there was something, but there’s not one singular thing and I know you know that. I’m always going to love you, Jiyong, but this isn’t working anymore.”

“I know. I’m always going to love you too.” his voice was small as he spoke and you let out a sigh as he stood up. “I’ll walk you out.” You nodded and followed him to the door.

You paused and turned back around, looking at the place you’d called home for several years now, a singular tear rolled down your cheek and you wiped it away quickly before saying a silent goodbye to your home. You knew leaving Jiyong was going to be hard, you just hadn’t been expecting it to be this hard. For so long he’d been the only person you could’ve ever imagined your life with. Maybe you still did. Maybe in some alternate universe the two of you were sitting down for dinner, laughing at some dumb thing that happened that day and your relationship was thriving.

You desperately wanted to live in that timeline suddenly envious of a fake version of you who was finding a way to make your relationship work. Jiyong cleared his throat behind you and you closed your eyes for a second, composing yourself before you followed him out of the house. You both stood awkwardly at your car for what seemed like hours. In reality, it had only been a few seconds. He blinked before stepping closer to wrap his arms around you.

You allowed yourself to get lost in his arms, sinking into him as his arms tightened around you. If he had it his way he wouldn’t let you go, he’d just guide you back in the house and show you how much he loved you. But that wasn’t what you wanted and as his grip loosened on you, you opened your eyes and offered him a tight smile. 

“Take care of yourself, Jiyong. Don’t get so lost in your work. The fans are important, but you’re more important.” He nodded as you turned towards your car.

“You were the most important.” It came out as a whisper and you pretended you didn’t hear him as you slid into your car. He closed the door behind you and you offered him a small wave as he turned away to walk inside the house.

Maybe you could give him one final thing on your way out. You rolled down your window and stuck your head out. “Ji?” You called and he turned around. “Feel free to write about this.” You teased and he rolled his eyes, a smile appearing on his face as he nodded. It felt good to see him smile one last time before you started up your car and drove away.

You may not have been able to make it work, but maybe now you’d be able to be his muse. Maybe that would just have to be enough for the both of you.

tag list: @wcnderlnds @alosss-blog @sooyasya @dprvivi @infinetlyforgotten @mirahyun @loveesiren

[whump-queen]

Static Between Us

Tags: mafia setting, shock collars, restraints, threats, multiple whumpers, defiant whumpee. Words: 1.7k

༻✦༺

“You know what I just can’t figure out?” 

Amira circled him slowly. 

“That for however many times I’ve hit this button, you still wear that sullen expression on your face.”

She looked down at him as she spoke, sharp eyes meeting nothing. His gaze was firmly affixed to her shoes. 

“What I can’t figure out,” she took a step towards him. “Is that despite all of our,” she paused, “convincing, you continue to refuse to cooperate.” 

She was close now. He still didn’t dare look up. He realized he could hear the electric hum of the gadgets she wore around her wrists and waist. He could hear the half-distant buzzing of the tiny radio in her ear. 

Too close.

“Despite the fact that you know we require so little, and that doing what I say would grant you better treatment, effective immediately.”

Sora’s neck burned. 

He saw—felt—her hand lower towards her left bracelet and he flinched, he felt the muscles in his neck seize—

After a second, he realized she hadn’t touched it— her hand was back on her hip. 

She hadn’t pressed it. 

Hadn’t even touched the remote. 

Amira frowned. 

“You want me to press it for real this time?” she asked, a momentary drop of irritation in an otherwise cool facade. 

“Rather, not just yet. I think if I could simply shock this attitude out of you, it would’ve happened by now.”

Beneath a mess of ash-brown hair, Sora’s eyes widened slightly, but remained trained on that place on the floor. Hovering somewhere on the laces of her boots. 

“You’re lucky I’m so patient. I’m willing to work with you on that. So let’s try something else. Something a little more… out of the box.”

He had barely the time to process her words before—

“Yoojin!*

That snapped him out of it. There was a loud clanging sound, like metal slamming into the concrete wall. Sora winced at the sound, his eyes squeezed shut. It just made the ringing in his ears that much worse. 

He registered Amira stepping away from him, and he briefly, stupidly, felt grateful for the reprieve. 

Then, he heard that terrible, stupid laugh for a second time that afternoon. 

“Fiiiiinally….” Yoojin’s low chuckle reverberated off the walls. 

Sora audibly groaned. He already felt like he was getting a live lobotomy from the inside out. His head sank down to his chest. He was too fucking dizzy for this. 

Not this fucking guy. 

“I was losing my mind back there, you know.”

Sora scoffed. “Too late. She’s already tried ‘bad cop.’

“Oh, you haven’t seen bad cop.” 

He could almost feel it before it even happened. He didn’t see her do it, leaning against the back wall of the room as she was now. But Amira’s finger had tapped at the remote on her wrist, and it had sent white hot pain shot through Sora’s throat—squeezing and twisting the tendons on his neck into a horrible knot that forced his chin down and his features to contort with the pain and the voltage, as though stretched apart so tightly they’d break entirely. 

“Why the—why the fuck—cant you—j- just— turn it—around—fuck—why the fuck is it— is it — .. “ 

‘Why was the voltage box on the collar pressed against the front of your neck?” Amira asked, like she was inside his head.  He thought it had come out less than intelligible. 

“Call it a happy accident.” Amira turned, collected the tablet from the nearby table, and promptly strode toward the exit. 

Sora could feel his eyes on him the moment Amira shut the door behind her.

 “Shit, you don’t look so good, hot-shot.” Yoojin’s voice echoed over the silence, smiling through every word. 

The hot-shot in question was promptly trying to look anywhere but right in front of him, trying to think of anything but the reality of who he had just been left alone with, who just happened to be, in Sora’s fine opinion, the worst one he had met so far. 

“I think it’s time we hear you scream for real. Cmon, I know you can do better than whatever that was.”

Yep, definitely the worst. He’d be surprised if any of these half-witted mafia goons could come up with a worse bastard-piece-of-shit-asshole than this guy. 

“Frankly, I was just surprised you took so many shocks without fucking passing out.” 

Ohh.. to rip this fucker’s tongue out so he’d finally— “Shut the fuck up.”

“Yeah? Giving me ideas?” Yoojin audibly smirked, and Sora looked up just in time to see him sticking out his tongue and making a scissors motion with his free hand. 

He was goating him again. It was no different. Different day, same Yoojin. Sora was so sick of this game. 

But he shut up after that, which left him with nothing to do but hang there by his wrists as Yoojin crossed the warehouse floor, taking his sweet fucking time. 

He willed the pain in his shoulders to distract him from whatever braindead thing Yoojin would say next. 

But he didn’t hear his voice, at least not right away—only a low scraping, trailing along behind nearly quiet footsteps. He was dragging something behind him. Sora could hear it screeching along the concrete, and the pain in his head throbbed—he was so fucking dizzy. 

Okay, maybe he was a little concussed. 

Or just shocked fucking stupid. 

The muscles in his throat twitched again, at the mere thought. 

“What, not even a hello?”

Sora still didn’t look up. Fuck this guy. Sora could hear him smiling. 

The footsteps stopped, taking the awful dragging sound with it.

Sora didn’t look up. 

“Cmon, you didn’t miss me even a little?”

Sora didn’t even want to entertain him. 

“Nothing to say? Aren’t you gonna at least tell me what a big piece of shit I am? Better get some insults out while you still can, right?” 

His boot nudged Sora’s exposed ribs, teasingly, and Sora momentarily lost his focus on that spot on the ground and snapped his gaze up to Yoojin, eyes wild and furious. 

“If you’re asking me to insult you—“

Yoojin’s boot slammed right into his stomach. Sora coughed hard as the wind was gutted from his lungs and his entire body collapsed and cringed over. He rather fruitlessly tried to fold in half as he wheezed and gagged his way back to functioning airways, but the awkward position prevented him. His knees stayed folded below him, his arms strained above his head, yanking against the chains that affixed them to the ceiling, 

“I’m asking if you’d even dare.”

Sora would fucking skin him alive. 

“Go fuck yourself you piece of shi—“ but his words died in his mouth when he saw Yoojin’s hand approach. 

Yoojin gripped his jaw, wrapping around his face before Sora yanked his head away. The sudden movement sent a loud clang down the chains and shot pins and needles through his arms. 

He hadn’t realized they’d fallen asleep. 

Fine. No more sudden movements. Sudden movement fucking hurt. His sore muscles seemed to boil and seize as fresh blood reunited with oxygen-starved tissue. 

“Piece of. Shit.” Sora finished. 

In the time he’d caught his breath, Yoojin had re-strategized. Sora felt fingers along his scalp, roughly grazing before twisting a tight fist into his hair. Yoojin yanked his head back all the way until Sora let out a choked cry.

This was quickly becoming a favorite of his. It always seemed to shut Sora up right away.

“You don’t wanna play nice? Fine. I’ve got something new I’ve been wanting to try out.” 

As if there was ever another option with Yoojin. As if he knew the first fucking thing about playing nice.

Yoojin released his hair and Sora’s head fell forward. He squinted his eyes and flexed the muscles in his neck, trying to ease the tightness at the strain of the past few moments. 

Sora hadn’t even noticed Yoojin had left his side until he felt something sharp press into his back. He felt his blood run cold instantly, nearly freezing in his veins. He felt his heart slow—almost stop—like it would let his cells drift, suspended, through the cold, liquified sludge. 

A knife? A box cutter? What was it? It felt bigger than that. Sturdier, somwhow. But it had an edge. 

“Come on. Whatever you’re planning can you just get it over with?  I’m trying to limit the amount of hours per day I have to see your fucking face.” 

“How sad. It’s like you don’t care at all about having fun. Are you really gonna just sulk the whole time?” 

“I fucking hate you,” Sora seethed. 

Yoojin smiled wide. He seemed to like the insults. It was part of the game to him, Sora had gleaned. 

“Am I going to have to get creative?” He leaned down to Sora’s eye-level. “‘Cuz I’ve got a lot of new ideas, you know. You’re quite a fun assignment.”

Yoojin was too close to cloose—wayyy too close. Again. He leaned in until their noses nearly touched. Sora grimaced. Yoojin smiled. That look was back in his eyes again. 

“You’re inspiring. You really are.”

Sora grimaced. What the fuck was that even supposed to mean??

Yoojin must have read his face, because he continued. 

“I was so fucking bored before you showed up. You know that?”

Sora blinked.

“She had me benched for, like—over a month, I swear. For some fucking stupid reason.”

Sora cocked an eyebrow.

Yoojin frowned. “Shut the fuck up. Don’t even say it.”

“I was gonna say I could name a few—”

Yoojin’s nostrils flared—he swung a roundhouse straight into Sora’s ribs. 

Sora coughed sharply, doubling over for a moment before straightening, his eyes watering.

“…Reasons.”

Yoojin grit his teeth and let out a frustrated grunt as he made contact a second time.

“You think you’re so fucking funny, huh?”

Sora choked on another breath, failing to stay upright. This one must’ve hit something deeper—softer. Organs and all that, Yoojin considered absently.

For a moment, all Yoojin could hear was the ragged sound of Sora’s breathing and the heavy pound of blood in both their ears. Just long enough for him to think Sora would finally shut his stupid mouth for once.

Sora coughed again, voice hoarse.

“Well, someone here has to be.”

༻✦༺

General writing taglist:

  @whumpsday @a-whump-sideblog @whump-it-like-its-hot @wolfeyedwitch

@whumper-soot @unorganisedalienrubbish @hidden-dreamland @whumpedydump @lonesome--hunter

@ashh-ed @whump-in-the-closet @oriantthegiant @banditosong @anonymustyou

@feralwhump @jieunie-23 @whumpasaurus101 @morning-star-whump @whmp @captain-bo-bob-bobby

@the-beasts-have-arrived @spooky-scary-vampires @burningkittypoet @veyroswin @painsandconfusion

@skittles-the-whumpee @demondamage @demetercabingreen-thumb @electrons2006 @long-past-eventide

Just ask to be added or removed!

[sheerfreesia007]

Off Key

Pairing: Hyunjin x Reader

Word count: 1,659

Content warnings: Fluff, bad singing

Summary: Your date match up submission doesn’t go the way you had planned for it to go but Hyunjin who was paired up with you convinces you to still go on the date. But what happens when you warn him that you can’t sing but he still insists on a karaoke date?

A/N: Divider was created by @enchanthings-a, thank you for sharing your dividers with tumblr!

Looking through the stacks of bookcases in the library you’re trying to find a reference book for a project that you’re working on for your group project in Psychology. You cheer quietly when you find the book that you’ve been looking for quickly grabbing it you rush back to the table where your group is working on the project. You hear giggling just as you turn the corner and spot two of the girls in your group looking at your laptop as they type on the keyboard. They whisper to each other and you frown darkly at them in irritated confusion, one of the boys in your group clears his throat and the girls look up before turning to stare at you with wide worried eyes.

”We were just trying to help you out.” Said one of them as they leave your laptop and take their seats once more as you move towards your laptop. You can see the school’s email portal pulled up and the girls had sent an email using your email address to the student council. As you clicked on the email you saw that they had emailed the student council a list of preferences for the Valentine’s Date Match Up event that the student council was holding. You had heard about it from one of your friends and had wanted to send an email but as you read the preferences that the girls had submitted you felt dread fill you. They were the complete opposite of what you’d prefer and as you heard their soft sniggers you knew that they had meant it to be like that. 

“Don’t be too upset. We just want you to step out your shell and enjoy other things than what you normally do.” Said the other girl as she snickered with her friend and you glared at them angrily.

”Well consider me stepping out of my shell with this, I’m out of the group. Enjoy completing the project without me.” You said to the girls and the group as a whole.

”What?! You can’t do that!” Cried out of the boys as he scowled at you while you began to clear up your space at the table. You quickly packed away your laptop and notebooks before scowling just as angrily at him as he did you.

”You didn’t even stop them from touching my stuff let alone sending an email as me.” You snapped at him and he frowned at you before looking down at the table. You scoff at him before turning on your heel and leaving the library with all of them staring after you with wide eyes.

”Nice going assholes. Now we’ll actually have to do the project instead of having her do it for us.” Gripes out the other boy and the girls frown down at the table as the boys scowl at them. 

You completely forget about the email that the girls sent off because you had been busy with consulting with your professor about your group and then being reassigned to a new group which better fit your work ethic. Then preparation for the project and handling any other course work that you received had made you completely forget about the Valentine’s Date Match Up event. That is until you received an email from a hynjinnnn telling you that he was Hwang Hyunjin and that he had been paired up with you for the Valentine’s event. 

You sat at your desk staring at the email feeling dread bloom in your stomach, you had completely forgotten about the event and the email that the girls had sent off in your name. You quickly began to type out a response explaining the situation to him hoping that he’d believe you and take pity on you since he had mentioned that he had planned a karaoke date for the two of you for the evening of Valentine’s Day. You apologized to him hoping that it would make the sting less for him but when he sent a response suggesting that the two of you still go on the date to spite the girls since they were so mean to you.

You laugh at his sass and spite before typing out another response to him, it’s short and sweet and you leave it up to him if he’d like to still go on the date with you after responding to him. I’d love to shove it in their faces that I got paired with someone as attractive as you but Hyunjin I can’t carry a tune to save myself. If you’d like to still go on this date you can text me at XXX-XXX-XXXX.

You stare up at the karaoke building and sigh softly wondering what had possessed Hyunjin to want to continue with the date after you told him that you couldn’t sing at all. Shaking your head softly you smile softly, after the email exchange between the two of you Hyunjin had started texting you almost every day getting to you know you through texted questions. His first question had been if you actually couldn’t sing and you had teased him that he was having second thoughts but he reassured you that he’d sing for the both of you if you truly didn’t want to. 

“Nervous?” Came a soft sultry voice in your ear that had you flinching away from the person behind you. Hyunjin stood there laughing loudly at your quick movement away from him and you scoff at him as a smile slips onto your face.

”More like worried for your eardrums.” You joke and his laughter slips into a delighted giggle before he gestures towards the front of the building.

”After you pretty.” He says with a cheeky grin that has you blushing as you walk towards the front door with him following close.

The two of you are assigned a room and you take a seat on the couch before turning to Hyunjin who grabs the book of songs before peering through the selection. He comes to sit next to you and begins to pick out songs that he’d like to sing and your eyes flit over the selection as well knowing that he’d probably want you to sing at least one. Just then your eyes land on a song that you’re familiar with and you tap it twice.

”I don’t botch this one too badly. I’ll sing this one after you sing.” You tell him and he grins widely at you before nodding his head.He asks you to take a few selfies with him so that he could post them and tag you, he tells you that he wants to show you off as well as rub in the girls faces that sent your email all those months ago. After taking a few you help him choose some for his post. The two of you also order simple meals for the both of you before Hyunjin puts in the first song he wants to sing. Lounging back on the couch you watch as he stands in front of the television preparing to sing.

When he began to sing along with the lyrics your eyes widened in your face as you listened to his soft sweet voice as he sang the words on the screen. Oh you were in trouble. You watched him as he slowly moved from side to side as he continued to sing and your heart began to plummet towards your stomach. He was such a good singer that you really didn’t want to get up to sing after him, you were going to embarrass yourself. But as you watched Hyunjin finish his song and then turn to you excitedly you couldn’t help your own excitement rising to overcome your nervousness.

Hyunjin steps to stand in front of you as you rise from your seat, his excited grin is infectious and you roll your eyes at him while grinning and he chuckles softly at you. Handing you the microphone he pats your shoulder lightly before plopping down on the couch behind you as his eyes eagerly take you in. You stand in front of the television and take in a deep calming breath trying to ease your nerves as the words pop up on the screen. You open your mouth and begin to sing grimacing slightly as you hear your pitch and tone being completely off from what the song requires.

Hyunjin’s eyes widen almost comically as he hears how off key your voice is and he quickly slaps his hand over his mouth trying to prevent himself from laughing but you hear it and turn and glare at him playfully which only makes him laugh harder. As the song picks up it’s tempo he’s surprised that you’re able to keep up even if off key but what makes his eyes soften as they gaze at you is your happiness and excitement during the song. You begin to jump around to the song and Hyunjin grins widely at your energy during the song, he finds you adorable and can’t help the smile that slips onto his face.

When you finish you turn to him and he laughs once more at your bright happy face before you come a plop down next to him. You grin happily at him and he chuckles while shaking his head at you.

”You weren’t kidding huh?” He asks teasingly and you laugh at him while shrugging your shoulders.

”I warned you.” You singsong to him and he flinches back slightly causing you to laugh loudly at him as he grimaces. He takes the microphone away from you.

”Let me take that away before they toss us out.” He says teasingly and you laugh loudly once more, endearing yourself even more to him as he sees that you can laugh at yourself and not take things too seriously. He smiles warmly at you already planning your next date before the first has finished.

SKZ Taglist: @intartaruginha, @kayleefriedchicken, @babigriin, @simpforleeknaur, @inlovewithstraykids

@channiesrightasscheek

[patrickispinky]

Valentine's Day Headcanons

Wally Clark x Reader

Warnings: Slight ep.5 spoiler but not really, its the brief mention of a scene but not actually what happens. fluff

-

This man would go all out for valentines day… well as out as he can while trapped in the school. 

I'm talking spending hours making a bouquet of paper flowers for you. Technically he could probably get some from the greenhouse but that's not as romantic as making them himself. 

Most of your gifts will be stolen from living students on valentines day. Okay just about all of them but still he makes it seem romantic.

Movie night, huge stuffed bear, and a shit ton of chocolate. It’s a perfect night. You don’t like chocolate? Don’t worry he's got eyes everywhere watching for someone to walk in with something that you like. Technically it's just him and Charly but he makes it seem all dramatic like he’s got every ghost looking out. 

Sweet little makeout session in the greenhouse while you ask him why he didn’t just get you normal flowers. He’d shut you up with another kiss because he ain’t got time for all your questions when he's trying to get freaky.  (Ignore me i'm losing my mind after the pool scene) 

I’ve said it once and I'll say it again, cuddles cuddles CUDDLES. He doesn't care when or where he always just wants to wrap you in his arms and smother you with love. Sweet gentle kisses and whispers of praise. (SOMEBODY SEDATE ME) 

You’d force him to watch A Walk to Remember and he’d cry like a baby. “And they say romance is dead.” Said through pitiful sobs. 

He’d make you slow dance with him. I mean SLOOOOOW. Like staring into your soul with the biggest smile imaginable while you two hold onto each other and barely move. More sweet kisses and gentle words as he rocks you back and forth. 

(Okay thats all. I swear I'm working on Sex, Drugs, Etc. I just needed a break from all the sadness. Anyways imma go convince my friend to be my valentine because he has no free will in our friendship. Hope you enjoy my descent into madness. 😀)

[darkserenity24]

𝑭𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒐𝒔 - 𝑪𝒉. 11 (𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 2)

Loki x Reader

𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙎𝙪𝙢𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙮: 𝙃𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙡𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘈𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 12𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘉𝘌𝘈𝘛 🥱. 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘰 @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘨𝘶𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘤, 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦, 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵! 𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬, 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚?

As you stood there still clad in your rumpled pajamas, you struggled to make sense of what was happening at that moment. Loki, on the other hand, watched you intently, his narrowed green eyes burning with outrage as if you had committed some great offense.

You shook your head, still too tired to understand what he was accusing you of doing. 

“Huh?”

“Do not pretend to be dense.” He chided. “It is unbecoming of you.”

“Loki, I have no idea what you-” you paused, face falling as the realization of what he was talking about dawned on you.

Your jaw dropped as you looked at him with wide eyes. “Did you invade my dreams just to get me to talk to you?”

He raised a sharp brow, not looking one bit ashamed. 

“Loki!” You exclaimed. “That is so not cool!”

“How else was I supposed to get you to tell me what you were so clearly trying to keep from me?” He argues.

“I don’t know,” you shook your head and raised a hand in the air. “Maybe by waiting for me to tell you myself on my own time?”

“You’ve been avoiding me for days and I was getting sick of it. You were never going to say anything to me at the rate you were going, so I had to take matters into my own hands,” he grumbled. “In retrospect, I never should have chosen that dopey movie. You become oddly distracted even in a state of unconsciousness.”

You considered arguing about his blatant invasion of your dreams but decided it wasn’t worth the effort. It was too late. He had already gotten his way, discovering that you were planning to ask him to go along with Steve and Tony’s plan of dating Sarah.

You dragged a hand down your face, shaking your head in quiet exasperation. “Whatever, it’s done now. You know what I wanted to talk to you about and I know you have questions, but can you please promise not to do that again?”

He crossed his arms tightly, lips pursing into a thin line. “I’ll consider, it at best. Now, tell me who has convinced you to change your mind about this idiotic idea?”

“No one,” you answered. “I just had more time to think about it and realized that it may be a good thing for you to do.” 

There was no way you were telling him it was Steve.

“It was Rogers wasn’t it?” he questioned, expression dark with displeasure.

“What? No…”

“Do not lie to me. I overheard that irritating buffoon stopping you in the hall a few days ago. I didn’t catch what was so pressing, but tell me, does it not strike you as odd that you’ve been keeping your distance from me ever since?”

“Loki,” you sighed. “I just think it’s a good idea. I know you can’t see why now but I really think you should do it.”

“And why in hel would I do such a thing?”

“Well, because…” you stumbled in your words, trying to come up with the most convincing explanation you could find without revealing to him what you knew. You doubted he’d sabotage his return to Asgard, but knowing Loki, he probably wouldn’t care if the Asgardians disapproved of how close he was to you.

“Because it would help your overall image for people to see you around a woman that’s not… me.”

A dark brow raised high on his head as he impatiently waited for you to elaborate. When you did not say more, his frustration only grew stronger.

“Are you hearing yourself right now?” he asked sardonically. “Are you truly as ill as you claimed to be?”

The bewildered look in his eyes had you close to folding to his whim, and throwing the whole plan out the window as you initially wanted to. But if you were truly his friend you would do what’s best for him regardless of your own feelings, so you had to double down.

“I’m being completely serious, Loki. This will be a lot better for you than I had initially thought. Sarah is the perfect woman for you to be seen with right now. She’s beautiful, kind, and she seems pretty smart from what I’ve seen so far. Being seen with her is not the worst idea in the world.”

He blinked, appearing as if he was having a hard time comprehending what you just said. 

“So, if I am understanding this correctly,” he began. “You desire for me to enter into a false relationship with a woman I know nothing about, and whom I have never spoken to before.”

You nodded slowly, the tension in your expression betraying your nerves.

“Um, yes… essentially.” 

Your heart sank when you saw disappointment flicker across his face.

“Look, I know it sounds crazy but you’ll just have to trust me. As Tony said, this will take the media’s eyes off us and soon enough things will simmer down.” You explained with a hint of desperation in your voice. “If you could do this for just a little while, things will eventually go back to normal and you will never have to see her again. That’s of course if you don’t want to…”

Loki's eyes clouded with confusion as he studied you, his shoulders falling as though he had just lost a battle he never saw coming.

“I do not understand,” he solemnly stated. “The other day– I thought we had– I–.”

He paused and lowered his head, eyes closing shut as if he was trying to gain more control over himself. When he did, he lifted his head and faced you, resignation strong in his eyes.

“I loathe this idea entirely… but if it’s truly what you want, I will comply."

Your mouth parted, not having expected him to agree with it so… easily? Easily wasn’t the most appropriate word but you really were expecting to debate with him for days about this. Loki wasn’t known to give in to things he did not want to do so quickly.

It was the outcome you had wanted, for certain, but you could not explain why your stomach sank at the thought of Loki agreeing to date Sarah.

You swallowed down the lump in your throat, daring to look him in the eyes.

“O-okay.” your voice was barely above a whisper. “Thank you, Loki. I really appreciate you doing this. I’ll inform Tony that the plan’s back on.”

He said nothing, refusing even to meet your gaze as he stared past you. You knew he was upset, but there was nothing you could do to fix it. If there had been any other way to spare him from the Asgardians' wrath, you would have taken it, anything but asking him to parade around with Sarah.

You felt sick to your stomach, and this time it wasn’t just because of your underlying condition.

******

“This will never work if you don’t at least pretend to look like you like her. She’s a gorgeous woman, make some eye contact for Christ’s sake!” 

You sat at an empty table in the back of a large hall, attempting to do your classwork on your laptop while simultaneously eyeing the three people standing on the opposite side of the room from you. 

Tony dragged out a sigh, dramatically slapping a hand on his forehead. He looked as if he was dealing with a couple of teenagers instead of two fully grown adults.

Loki mumbled something under his breath that only Sarah and Tony were able to hear, causing Sarah to purse her lips as if she was holding back a laugh and Tony to snap his head over to Loki with a deep frown.

After you had the dreadful but much needed conversation with Loki about pairing him with Sarah, you pathetically sauntered to Tony’s office the next day to tell him that the plan was on after all. 

He almost spit out the coffee he was drinking. 

“Seriously!?”

He immediately started to yap, most likely going to question why you suddenly had a change of heart after you cracked down on him about how stupid the plan was the day before.

However, he stopped himself mid-sentence, taking a deep breath and raising his hands in surrender. 

“You know what, I’m not even going to ask.” He remarked, though you knew he was holding himself back immensely from doing just that. “I agreed to let you take control of the situation so that’s exactly what I’m going to do. Even though you're seriously giving me whiplash here, kid,” he muttered that last part.

He was right. You did backtrack on some of the things you said to him yesterday, but at least you were still able to convince him to make your own decisions regarding Loki. Without his unnecessary input, that is.

Later that day, you met with Loki to go over the details of the plan. He didn’t say much, but his expression spoke volumes. You had to remind yourself that you were placing him in an unusual and uncomfortable position. How else was he supposed to react?

There was a charity banquet coming up in less than a week, and many media outlets were planning to be there. It was the absolute perfect time for Loki and Sarah’s public debut, and while you were still the official leader of the plan, you let Tony take the lead in instructing Sarah and Loki on the best way to go about appearing as an established couple to the public.

Hence why you currently found yourself watching the two men engaging in a heated debate, while Sarah observed with uncertainty in her features.

Clearly having had enough of Loki’s backtalk, Tony swiftly spun around to grab your attention.

“Kid,” he shouted across the hall, annoyance clear on his tired face. “Can you please get this guy to behave? I’m this close” He held his fingers barely an inch apart from each other. “to canceling the whole banquet just so I don’t have to deal with this mess.”

Cautiously, you glanced over to Loki who stood many feet away from both Tony and Sarah, silently brooding with his arms crossed over his chest. He tried not to look at you but eventually gave in. Once his annoyed eyes met your silent but pleading gaze, he dropped his arms with a sigh and returned his vexed gaze to Tony.

“Much better,” Tony praised. “Sarah, scoot a little closer to tall, dark, and brooding.”

Sarah did as instructed, of course, sending Loki a smile as she did. He did not smile back.

“Now I want you to wrap your arm around her waist. That’ll be a great way to showcase that you’re an established couple. The longer it stays there, the better.”

“That is quite unnecessary.” Loki voiced. “Standing in such close proximity to one another should already indicate what you are trying to accomplish here.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Tony deadpanned. “Now stop being a whiny baby and do what I said. You’re just lucky I’m not making you kiss her yet.”

You flinched at Tony’s words, not really liking that idea at all.

“You are treading dangerous territory, Stark,” Loki warned, face darkening. “That would be utterly unnecessary. Besides, no one with functioning eyesight will be fooled into thinking I am courting this woman.” 

Your eyes widened at Loki’s blunt words, and when you glanced at Sarah, she merely raised an eyebrow.

“That woman is your new girlfriend so you better start acting like it. The banquet is this Saturday so you don’t have a lot of time to get your act together.” Tony chastised. “Do you really want to bomb the whole plan because you can’t bear to look at a pretty girl? Is she intimidating the big bad god? Is that it?”

When Loki took a menacing step towards Tony, you knew you had to step in and do something before they actually did kill each other this time. All Tony had to do was say one word and F.R.I.D.A.Y. would have him suited up and ready to fire in less than a second.

But yet again, Sarah stepped in before you could. 

“Tony, I think what Loki is trying to say is that he’s not fully comfortable around me yet to engage in any physical touch. I mean, of course, he wouldn’t, he doesn’t really know me.” she shrugged.

Tony crossed his arms, facing her. “Sorry, Sarah, but that’s no excuse. You don’t know him either yet you’re doing a damn great job of pretending to enjoy standing next to him. I can only imagine how hard that is. I, for one, could never do that so easily.”

“But you’re forgetting one little detail, I’m a professional,” she pointed to herself, “I do this for a living so I’ve had lots of practice with these types of situations. I’m assuming that Loki hasn’t. Maybe the best thing to do right now is for us to get to know each other first. Maybe we could go somewhere and chat a bit. Then I think we can get into the groove of things.”

Tony placed his fingers on his chin in thought. “You know, I don’t hate that idea.” he nodded. “You two need to go on a date first. Get chummy with each other and all, yada yada. Then maybe rock of ages here will thaw that icy cold exterior of his.”

“I do not think-.” Loki’s opposition was cut off by Tony.

“It doesn’t matter what you think. Remember, you don’t make the calls in this relationship.” he pointed his thumb in your direction. “She does.”

Tony swung his head over to where you were sitting in the back of the hall. 

“So, what do you think, kid? Date or no date?” 

You looked up from your laptop in surprise, not expecting for him to ask for you opinion. Then you remembered that Tony wouldn’t officiate any plans without your say so because well… you had told him not to.

Did you really want Loki and Sarah to go somewhere private and spend time getting to know each other? The real answer was no. But you couldn’t say that so you had to go with the complete opposite way of how you felt. You had to keep in mind that this would be for Loki’s benefit in the long run.

You closed your laptop and slowly rose from your seated position. “Sarah is truly the expert on this. If she thinks it’s a good idea then go for it.”

“Great! Then it’s settled.” Tony exclaimed, turning back to Loki and Sarah. “Alright, class is over. You’re both dismissed. You two have some homework to do, and so do I. See ya!”

With that, Tony left for the exit, leaving you, Loki, and Sarah alone in the spacious hall.

Loki stood there, tense and unmoving, while Sarah began to speak to him about their plans.

“No better time to start than now! I’m free for the next few hours, so maybe we could go down and have dinner at that fancy seafood restaurant on the third floor. What do you think?”

Loki threw her a dismissive glance, ignoring her and turning to face you instead. 

“Is this truly necessary?” he asked, voice laced with irritation.

Not wanting to leave Sarah in an awkward position, you reluctantly confirmed.

“Yes, Sarah is right. You’re more likely to be more convincing if you take some time to get to know her.” You turned to Sarah with a small smile. “Do you mind if I have a quick word with him? When we’re done, I’ll personally escort him to the restaurant myself so you can have your date.”

Sarah nodded, looking back and forth between you and Loki with an indiscernible expression on her face. “Sure, no problem at all.” She agreed, “See you soon, Loki.”

It was once she left that Loki began to freely express his extreme displeasure with the situation.

“For the life of me, I cannot fathom why I am doing this,” he groused. “Not only is this uncalled for, but it is a complete and utter waste of time and will not work.”

You looked at him guiltily. “I understand, I really do. I know Tony isn’t making this any easier for you, but he knows more about this romance stuff than I do so that’s why he’s the one helping you instead of me.” You explained. “I don’t like this either, but the sooner you warm up to her, the faster we can get this whole thing over with, okay?”

He shook his head, his expression dark with discontent, but remained silent.

“Also, can you do me a favor and promise me that you’ll stop being so cold to Sarah? She’s really trying to meet you in the middle with this, which is really sweet of her.”

“It is not sweet,” Loki snarked. “It is the woman’s occupation. She is being forced to do this as well, the only difference being she is getting rewarded for it and I am not.”

“She’s not being forced, and you aren’t either, remember.” You reminded him. “You still have free will. You can stop this at any time if you really wanted to. I would never force you to do anything.” And you meant that.

“And yet, that would only earn your disapproval.” A weary sigh escaped him, his eyes clouded with sadness as he slowly shook his head. “I do not desire to see you unhappy with me.”

“I wouldn’t be unhappy,” you glanced down at your feet as you struggled to explain. How could you tell him that him walking away from this would actually make you happy? “I just know this is probably for the best. At least for right now.”

“You still have not given me a valid reason on why that is.” His face fell, sadness and confusion evident on his features.

“I just… I just think you should trust me on this one. Just a little longer, please?"

He studied your face in silence, his lips parting as if to speak, only to close again in quiet resignation. Slowly, he took a step back, putting distance between you.

“Loki…”

Your eyes followed him as he walked out of the hall, leaving you standing there alone and feeling horrible.

You stared into space, feeling the tightness in your chest grow stronger. A strange sensation settled near your heart.

Everything about this felt wrong, but what else could you do? In the end, you had to do what was best for Loki. What Steve had revealed to you truly put you between a rock and a hard place, and you were slowly getting crushed between both of them.

You didn’t see Loki for the remainder of the day, and when you didn’t receive any manic calls from Tony complaining about Loki’s refusal to cooperate with Sarah, you assumed he did what was requested of him and went on the date like you asked him to.

Then days passed by with no word from either Tony or Loki. You felt sick to your stomach knowing that you were the reason Loki was spending so much time with Sarah. He was placed in a position he didn’t feel he could say no to and you hated that. You didn’t know when or how but you were going to make it up to him when this was all over. 

Despite everything else in your life making each day a struggle, you realized that the worst part was not having Loki around. His distance from you was what truly made your world feel like it was falling apart.

******

It was late in the evening when Kayla picked you up from the tower. 

When she called you that morning and offered to take you to her family’s practice, you immediately took her up on her offer for two reasons. One was that you really needed to find more treatments for your illness since Dr. Cho was limited in her ability to do any more than she had already done for you. None of her usual treatments seemed to be doing you any good anymore since the cells were starting to mutate at a more rapid rate than they were before. 

The second reason was that you didn’t own a vehicle yourself and needed one if you were going to make it all the way to Long Island. It never crossed your mind before since you lived in Manhattan of all places and could walk or take the subway anywhere in the nearby area, and if you ever needed a car, you always had a driver on call to take you wherever you wanted.

But there was no way you were asking a driver who worked for Tony Stark to take this specific destination.

Kayla picked you up later in the day as you requested her to do, when everyone else in the tower was too distracted to ask about your whereabouts. 

Loki was still busy preparing for the banquet with Sarah, or at least that's what you assumed. When you agreed to Sarah’s date idea, you didn’t know that entailed him spending every single minute of his time with her. And if he wasn’t with her, then what was he so preoccupied with that he couldn’t even give you a minute of his time?

Against your better judgment, you texted him anyway, telling him you were going to visit Lana tonight, who you conveniently asked to cover for you if anyone decided to be bold enough to confirm if you were actually with her or not. She agreed to do so without asking why, but you could still hear the mild curiosity in her tone.

To your disappointment, Loki only responded to your message with a thumbs up. You felt another crack form in your heart as you stared at his uncharacteristic response. It was basically worse than no response.

Regardless of how you felt, you had to move on with your plan. You covered all the bases you needed to to make sure no one knew where you’d be. You were no rookie anymore when it came to keeping things a secret. You had to stop being so careless about it if you were going to continue to risk keeping this from everyone.

Kayla finding out had been your last straw, and you knew that if anyone else did you’d be done for, but her discovering that you were sick happened to be a blessing in disguise. Instead of yelling at you and making you feel guilty like Wanda did, she provided you with one more potential option to consider when you needed it the most, and you had to thank her for that. 

But you still hadn’t met her uncle, and you didn’t know if there was anything he could do that would help you. Yet you still had to try. 

Another reason why you jumped at the chance to meet with Kayla was because of what Tony had let slip about his last conversation with her. You couldn’t imagine why she would go to Tony instead of telling you that she was worried about you, so instead of continuing to plague your brain about it, you took the opportunity to ask the source while she was sitting right next to you.

You were surprised by how unusually quiet she was being. It was about thirty minutes into the ride and she barely said more than two sentences. However, it was getting pretty late and you assumed she was just tired. You didn’t know what she got up to nowadays but you were sure she was a busy woman. You both were.

“Hey, Kayla, can I ask you something?”

Your voice was barely audible over the loud music coming from the jeep’s sound system, but she still heard you and turned the music down to a normal level.

“Yeah, sure,” she said, giving you a quick glance before returning her eyes back to the road. “What’s up?”

Your lips pursed as you thought of what to say to her, not sure what was the best way to go about this besides asking her directly. “Did you mention to Tony what’s been happening with me at school?”

She seemed unphased, her eyes narrowing just as touch as she nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Oh, okay.” You slowly turned away from her, leaning back in your seat. 

“Why do you ask?” she inquired, peering over at you.

“Well, I guess I just thought it was kind of strange.”

You heard the sound of her lightly chuckling.

“What? Was I not supposed to go to him or something?” She asked. “You know, I’ve known Tony for ages, maybe even longer than you. You’re not the only one who can speak to him about things.”

Your brows furrowed and you whipped your head in her direction. “No, I wasn’t saying that at all. I was just-.”

“Besides,” she interrupted. “I was really concerned for you. You should have seen how much of a mess you were when I walked in on you in that stall. How could I not be?”

“You didn’t tell him about that too… did you?” You tentatively asked.

“No, of course not!” she frowned. “That would have been so stupid of me. I didn’t tell him anything else besides how rough it was for you on campus. I knew you wouldn’t want him to find out about… well what we’re trying to get fixed now. We already spoke about how it’s your choice to let people know about this, not mine. Your secret’s safe with me.” she winked.

Your shoulders relaxed, feeling much better now that you had cleared things up with her. You couldn’t be upset with her because she was right—about everything. She had the right to speak to Tony just as much as you did, and you didn’t want to make her feel like she couldn’t. Plus, she didn’t divulge any truly important information that would have led you to getting caught.

Guilt formed in your chest at the fact that you had second guessed her intentions, and there she was driving you to her uncle’s practice which was over an hour and a half away from the city just so her family could help you.

Kayla wasn’t perfect, but neither were you. Even though it wasn’t your fault, you carried the weight of knowing what happened to her brother and you still accepted her help.

It was really selfish of you but you couldn’t help it. At this point, You were running out of options, and desperation was setting in.

By the time you arrived, rain was falling in heavy streaks, turning the building into little more than a shadow behind a curtain of water.

You stepped out of the car and rain pelted your face as you looked up at the building. You barely heard anything Kayla said to you as your mind raced wildly, trying to decide if you were making the right decision or not. You had no reason to feel uneasy, but you did.

Your unease was most likely coming from the unknown. You had no idea what Kayla’s uncle was capable of, but she seemed to think he could be the answer to all your problems.

It felt like every choice would lead to regret, but choosing was inevitable. Every thought you had seemed like it could be your last, yet you had to try as hard as you could to fix this. You couldn’t let your nerves get the best of you, so you took a deep breath and moved forward.

From the outside, the building looked pretty inconspicuous. It was basically in the middle of nowhere, with only a few other buildings surrounding the area. It did not look like a research center, nor a doctor's office from the outside, but it became clear that it was a pretty well run facility once you got inside. 

Oddly enough it took even longer to get through security than it did in the Avengers tower, but once you got through, you stared in awe at the modernistic architecture of the facility.

Noticing your distraction had slowed you down a bit, Kayla urged you to follow her.

“Come on, my parents are waiting for us,” she said, waving your forward. “ they’re in my uncle's office.”

You blanched, having forgotten that they would also be here. You still weren’t completely sure of the reason, but moved along anyway.

She led you to a contemporary office that looked way too spacious for just one person. There, on a loveseat sofa in the middle of the room sat Mr and Mrs Bale. Though Kayla had given you a heads-up about their presence, that didn’t stop the anxiety from entering your chest.

Kayla’s mother, Joanne Bale was the first to speak. “Hello, darling,” she stood to give Kayla a hug and a kiss on the cheek, taking you by surprise when she did the same to you.

You had only met the woman once in your life and there she was hugging you like she’s known you forever. You did your best to not be too tense, and awkwardly returned the favor.

“My apologies,” the older woman chuckled lightly. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other. It’s so good to see you again.”

“Yeah—um good to see you too.” you stammered.

Then another pair of blue eyes caught your attention. Kayla’s father, Bill Bale was staring directly at you as he stood beside his wife. As soon as your eyes met his, you stood frozen for a second. You had forgotten how much he favored his son. The blonde hair, blue eyes, facial structure—really everything seemed like a carbon copy of Jacob’s, just older.

Eventually, you broke your stare when he held out his hand towards you. You reluctantly shook it, trying not to wince as he held onto you a bit tighter than necessary.

“Glad you could make it,” he remarked. “When Kayla told us about your situation, we knew we had to do something about it.”

His voice, which was also similar to his late son’s, made chills run down your spine.

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Bale,” you acknowledged, pulling your hand from his and taking a seat next to Kayla on the sofa opposite of her parents. “That’s very generous of you.”

Joanne waved her hand. “Nonsense, sweetheart. With you being so close to Tony, you’re practically family to us. And please, call us Joanne and Bill.”

You weren’t sure if you were comfortable with doing that but you surely would try.

“My wife is right,” Bill interjected, “Stark holds you in high regard as I’ve said before, and my little girl here always gushes about how great of a friend you are.”

Kayla gave you a bright smile and a wink.

“Though, we’ve heard some very interesting news regarding you and a very unsavory figure that you seemed to have gotten caught up with. I am surprised that the Avengers are allowing him to walk free. God knows how much terror he’s able to cause. However, you seem to be well thought of in our inner circle which is a sure sign that you are good to have around. We can’t have something so silly as cancer take such a bright young mind away from us.” Bill finished.

Your brows lifted as you searched for a response. You didn’t know him well, but you hadn’t been prepared for him to say all of that.

“You know,” Joanne voiced, “my boy Jake was always so fond of you.”

Your whole body stiffened at the mention of her dead son, who you were still positive she was not aware was dead.

“It is such a shame he’s not here. He would have enjoyed seeing your face again.”

Bill let out a low hum in agreement, his unwavering gaze still focused on you.

You smoothed back a stray hair behind your ear nervously. “Y-yeah, Kayla, had mentioned that you all haven’t been able to get a hold of him lately. I’m sorry about that.”

“Sorry?” Bill raised a brow. “Why are you apologizing for my son’s absence?”

Your heart rate picked up as you looked around at each member of the Bale family. You were lost for words.

Was it the wisest thing for you to apologize for Jacob being MIA? No. But really, what else could you have said to them about that?

“The only person who should be sorry is my bull-headed son himself. Unlike my daughter here, he transforms into a spoiled brat whenever he doesn’t get what he wants. He’s done this before, just not to this extent.”

Your shoulders relaxed a touch, feeling relieved that the family still seemed to believe Jacob was just fucking off somewhere like usual, and not becoming suspicious of you in any way.

“Well, I hope he reunites with all of you soon.” You forced out a small smile. “And thank you again for inviting me here.”

“There was no way we were leaving things up to chance regarding your health if we could help it.” Joanne chimed. “My brother is one of the best medical professionals in the country, even better than that Dr. Cho you were seeing before.”

Your brows lightly pinched together. “You know Dr. Cho?”

“Yes,” Joanne confirmed. “We have met a couple of times before, but my brother is more familiar with her. They worked together some time ago.” 

“Speaking of the devil,” Bill smirked. “There he is now.”

You looked over your shoulder, watching as a brunette-haired man dressed in dark a suit casually walked into the office. You studied him as he greeted the family, giving Bill a slap on the back and Joanne and Kayla a peck on the cheek. 

“Uncle Brad,” Kayla grabbed his attention. “I’d like to meet my friend. She’s the one who will require your services.”

“Ah,” The man pulled off the jarring white sweater he was wearing around his neck and placed it on the desk behind him before stepping forward to meet you. 

“So this is the lovely woman you’ve been telling me about.”

He held out his hand toward you and you placed it in his, assuming he was going to shake it. You were taken by surprise when he leaned down to kiss it instead.

Quickly slipping it away, you held your hands behind your back, feeling extremely overstimulated from all the touching this family did.

“Yes, nice to meet you, doctor…” You trailed off, not knowing what to call him.

“No need for doctor, you can call me Brad,” his perfect white teeth gleamed at you as he smiled. 

“Doctor Brad Wolfe.”

******

When the day of the charity banquet had arrived, you woke up that morning filled with absolute dread. You considered calling out sick so you didn’t have to attend, but it was ironic since you were actually feeling the healthiest you had in a long time.

After Kayla’s uncle arrived, Brad, as he asked you to call him, you all gathered around while he educated you more about how his cancer research facility was created.

A couple of years ago, it was a government-owned lab, but when the cost of maintaining its specialized materials and personnel became too high, no one could afford to keep it running. That’s when the Bale family stepped in and purchased the facility, ensuring the research could continue. From then they had transformed it into their own specialized research center.

The mention of how expensive the treatments were had made you nervous since you were not particularly wealthy, however, Kayla’s parents dismissed your worries, claiming that they would take care of all the medical bills for you, and refused to take no for an answer.

They won the battle when you eventually gave in, and they seemed to be pleased with being able to help you. You stopped fighting and tried to tell yourself that’s just what rich people did. What else would they spend their endless amounts of money on?

Before you could move forward with the treatments, you had to sign a bunch of forms and waivers, more than you’ve ever signed in your life. In one ear you had Brad quickly explaining what each and every document was for, and in the other, you had Kayla gently encouraging you to sign whenever you hesitated for more.

It took about half an hour for you to sign all the papers, but even then you still weren’t done. Brad placed you in front of a camera so you could verbally state that you consented to all of Dr. Wolfe’s future treatments and that he nor the Bale family weren’t responsible for anything that did not work the way it was intended to.

If this wasn’t such a standard thing to do when signing up for any medical treatment, that would have worried you more than it should. The only odd part about it was that you had to verbally say it on the record.

A whole hour later after completing the intake forms, Brad moved on to discussing the type of treatments that he had planned for you after reading your medical file. He was honest about not being able to promise to cure your illness, but he would do his best to ensure your quality of life was dramatically improved.

And you had to say it had been certainly improved.

With only one shot of some sort of serum his lab had concocted just for you, you started to feel better before you even left the building. You weren’t exactly back to your previous state of health, but it was definitely better than how you were feeling before. 

You were allowed to leave once you sat for about twenty minutes just so they would be able to catch any possible side effects from the serum. Once you were done, Brad scheduled you to come into his facility for monthly treatments. 

It was truly amazing how one simple shot made you feel a thousand times better. Too bad you were still in a bad mood because of what you would have to witness in a couple of hours.

When you sent a check-in message to Tony asking if the plan was still on, he replied with a thumbs up and a smiley face emoji, indicating that things were still going well between Loki and Sarah.

What was up with everyone sending you a thumbs up lately?

It was around five o’clock in the evening when Natasha came by your room to help you get ready for the banquet.

You styled your hair but she chose your outfit and was currently doing your makeup.

“I invited Wanda to join us but she declined. Said she had some things to take care of.” Nat shrugged.

“Oh, yeah. That’s okay.” you smiled sheepishly. “I’m sure she’s just really busy or something.”

“I guess, but if you ask me, she’s been acting kind of weird lately. Weirder than usual. Not sure, but I think something is up with her. Too bad I don’t have the ability to read minds like she does.”

“If you did, you’d literally be unstoppable.” you joked. “So I’m glad you don’t have any powers at all. You’re already super shrewd, stealthy, and strong. Having powers would just be completely unfair.”

“You may be right about that,” she snorted. “It’s a blessing for all of us that I don’t.”

When she was finished with your makeup, you slipped into the dress she chose for you. It was an all-white homecoming style dress with flowers etched in black lace running across it. It stopped about mid-knee, and you paired some sheer tights and black heels with it.

“You’re looking pretty good if I say so,” Nat smirked.

You nodded in agreement, turning around to view yourself in the mirror. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

She raised a brow at your reply. “Never thought I’d see the day where you actually enjoyed wearing a dress. I must be getting old.”

“Well, neither did I, yet here we are.” You smiled, turning around to face her. “Thanks, Nat, I really appreciate your help. I know you have other things to get to so I won’t hold you up any longer.”

She bit her lip, her expression shifting into something unreadable.

“Before I leave, I did want to talk to you about something.”

You blinked, curious about what she wanted to say. “Yeah?”

"I saw you and Loki coming from Tony’s office the other day," she said slowly, as if piecing her thoughts together. "Things looked pretty… intense."

“Oh, that,” You cleared your throat with a nod. “Tony and Steve were giving Loki a hard time about this plan and I was just trying to calm him down.”

She nodded slowly, processing your words. “Hmm, okay. I understand that. It’s just…”

“Just what?” you asked while biting the inside of your cheek nervously.

She pursed her lips and stared at you for a while before sighing. “I don’t want to assume anything, it’s just that you two seemed pretty… close. You know you could tell me if something was going on between you, right?”

Your face fell as you realized what she was trying to say.

“Not you too.” You grumbled, irritation heavy in your tone. “Did Steve put you up to this?”

“No, he didn’t, but I’m guessing he said the same thing to you, didn’t he?”

Your arms defensively folded over your chest. “I don’t know what any of you are talking about, but I guess those rumors really got to your head. It’s getting really ridiculous and I’m over it.” 

She raised a brow, giving you a challenging glare. “Nope. Don't deflect just because you don’t want to answer the question. What is going on between you two?”

“Nothing!” You exclaimed, raising your hands in the air. “Have you not seen Loki with Sarah already? He is with her, not me. I haven’t even seen him in days. I…” you trailed off, face going slack. No one was more surprised than you when your eyes began to well up with tears. It wasn’t just the weight of everyone’s accusations pressing down on you—there was something else, something you had been desperately trying to ignore deep down.

You took a deep breath before finally answering her question. “There’s nothing between us, and anything that could have had a possibility of happening… I think I ruined it already.”

Natasha said nothing at that, silently observing you as you attempted to pull yourself together. The overwhelming sense of regret was affecting you more deeply than it should have.

She sighed, walking over to sit on your bed, and patted the spot next to her. You reluctantly trudged over and sat beside her. 

“The last thing I want to do is cause you to be upset. That’s really not my point in bringing this up,” she said. “But I know what a guy looks like when they’re pretty enamored with someone, and not only does he have that look when he sees you, you do as well.”

You stared down at your lap, hearing the similarities between what Steve had said to you the other day and what she was saying to you right now.

“Loki may not be on the top of my list of people that I approve of—In fact, he's definitely at the very bottom, or not even on the list at all-.”

“Nat,” you pressed.

“Sorry, I just had to get that out there,” she smirked. “But regardless of what I think, I just want you to do what’s best for you, and for you to be happy.”

“I’m trying,” you sighed. “I really am. It’s just really hard, and I’m trying to figure out my stupid feelings about everything and I just-.” you paused, not realizing that tears were running down your face until she handed you a tissue.

You accepted gratefully, trying not to ruin your eye makeup as you dabbed at the corner of your eyes.

“I am trying.” you sniffed.

“I know you are. I can see that.” Nat softly acknowledged. “But sometimes it seems like you’re working against yourself, rather than for yourself. You spend so much time doing what’s best for everyone else except for you. Something tells me that you didn’t want to go along with the plan of getting Loki a girlfriend, yet you went right ahead and basically pushed him into another woman’s arms.” She scoffed. “If that’s not the epitome of self-sabotage, I don’t know what is.”

Your jaw dropped as you stared at her in disbelief. “Are you seriously laughing at me right now?”

“Yeah, I am. Sorry, it’s just such a you thing to do. Has anyone ever told you you’re not good at handling your feelings? We really need to work on that. It’s very concerning.”

You gasped, lightly slapping her on the shoulder. “Here I am crying and you’re making fun of me. I thought you were supposed to be helping?”

“I’m really trying, hon, but you don’t make it easy for yourself,” She laughed. “But seriously, I just want you to be careful, okay? I’m certainly one of the last people who should be lecturing you about all of this, but I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t at least say anything to you.”

“I don’t know Loki very well,” she began, “but I can’t deny what I see when I watch him interact with you. It’s a strange thing to witness, really. He's super careful around you which made me very suspicious of his intentions at first. But the more I watched the both of you together, I realized that he actually is different in a more positive way, and maybe it’s because he wants to be.”

She didn’t sound one hundred percent sure about that, but you understood it was her trying to analyze Loki from her point of view.

“I don’t really know, but what I do know is that I want you to be careful, not just around him, but with him. I don’t think that Loki is the type to protect someone he cares about in a normal, non-violent way. I don’t mean to keep bringing it up and granted the asshole deserved every single bit of it, but look at what happened to Jacob.”

You swallowed. “I know, but you have to know that I would never ask Loki to hurt someone on my behalf.”

“You won’t have to. He’ll do it regardless.” She retorted. “To say that he doesn’t have many friends is an understatement. You’re the closest person to him, even closer than Thor, so I’d imagine he’d protect you with every ounce of his being. You’re sort of like precious gold to him, and he would probably hate to lose you to anything.” she paused, seeming hesitant to say what she was going to say next. “And I think those feelings have amplified the more he realizes he feels more for you than just friendship.”

You snapped your head in her direction, looking at her in bewilderment. “More? Yes, I agree that Loki and I are close but why would I think that he would actually be interested in… more?”

Nat looked at you as if you said something crazy. “Why? The real question is, why not? Do I really have to spell it out for you? Besides all of the trouble you went through and the effort you put in to save his ass, you are just an incredibly great person to have in his life and he should feel more than lucky for that alone.”

Her words took you back to the moment you had in the alley, and for some reason, you still couldn’t wrap your head around it. Why? Was it because you’ve known him since you were a child? Because he was older than you? More experienced? 

None of those things truly mattered to you but maybe they were affecting you more than you thought.

Or maybe it was because you didn’t think you were worthy of someone like him. You weren’t on the same level, as Kayla has said before.

Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you turned to Nat.

“Even with knowing all of that, I’m still struggling to feel that way about myself I suppose. To be honest, I think my experience with anything regarding romance was ruined by Jacob.” 

Her face darkened as she shook her head. “Yeah, he really fucked with your head for sure. I don’t condone murder anymore but, I’ve never been so glad to see someone getting ripped to shreds.” She blew out a breath, attempting to shake off her anger. “Sorry, I’m not going to talk about that anymore. It’s already been dealt with, but I do want you to open your eyes and see that things can be much better than what you experienced before. Jacob was the rare exception. Don’t let your past fears get in the way of what you truly want. Alright?”

Your chest rose and fell as you took a deep breath, nodding at her words. Now that you realized what was holding you back, you would try to fight against it for your betterment.

“Alright, I’ll try,” you promised.

She sent you an encouraging smile. “I have faith that you’ll figure things out.”

Then she stood up from the bed to collect her things. 

“Well, I think my job here is done. I have some stuff to take care of before the event, but call me if you need me, okay?”

You nodded, smiling sheepishly at her.

“You got this.” she gave you one encouraging look before leaving your room.

About an hour later, the event was in full swing. You sauntered around the room, greeting your fellow colleagues and coworkers as you searched for your table. You eventually found it, preparing to take a seat until you noticed the other occupants who were already there.

“Lana?” you said in surprise. 

She looked over your shoulder, face lighting up at the sight of you. 

“Oh, hey, girl!” she chirped, causing Bucky, who was sitting in the seat next to her to turn his head.

“Hey, doll,” he greeted smoothly.

“Well, hello to the both of you,” you said, sliding into the seat next to her. “I had no idea you were going to be here.”

“Yeah, me neither,” you noticed the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks. “But I couldn’t say no when I got an invitation.”

“Did Tony invite you?” you asked.

“Nope,” Bucky commented. “I did.”

“Oh. Oh,” you said, not being able to hide the surprise on your face. “ Well, that’s great!”

“Yeah, it is isn’t it,” she said, taking a peek over at Bucky who you could have sworn was blushing as well. “Where’s your guy?”

“My guy?” you repeated.

“Yeah, Loki. I figured he wouldn’t be too far behind you. Hopefully, he didn’t get lost in this crowd.” She joked. 

“Oh, um, no,” you shook your head awkwardly. “He’s not with me tonight.”

A frown instantly marred her face. “Why not? Did something happen?”

“Sort of you, but it’s nothing bad, per se, he just has some other engagements he needed to attend to.”

She didn’t look convinced at your excuse as she was really good at reading people, especially you.

“Okay, then. Hopefully, he’ll stop by later?” 

“Yeah,” you shrugged, “I think he will.” and you were dreading it. “I think I’m gonna go and find Tony, I’ll be back.”

You kindly parted from them and searched for Tony, wanting to get an update on how things were going with Loki and Sarah. You knew they couldn’t already be in the room, as two of the most beautiful beings on Earth wouldn’t go unnoticed for a second.

Your search was halted when you heard the shrill of a familiar voice. You spotted Kayla a few feet away as she called out to you, waving you over. She was talking with her parents and a couple of people you didn’t recognize. 

Strangely enough, you were surprised to see them there, but why wouldn’t they be? It was a charity banquet after all, and they had tons of money to give.

Deciding to briefly pause your search for Tony, you walked over to greet the Bale family. It would have been extremely rude of you to pass them up, especially after everything they’ve done for you.

“So, how are you feeling?” Kayla pulled you aside after you greeted her parents. “Did my uncle’s treatment work on you yet? Notice any difference?” 

You were grateful for her keeping a low tone just so no one else could eavesdrop on your conversation. Though the room was filled with lots of chatter, so you doubted anyone would hear either of you even if they wanted to.

“Yeah,” You nodded, exhaling with genuine relief. “It really has. I haven’t felt this normal in months so it’s kind of insane. Thank you again for all your help. I really don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for your family’s generosity.”

“Of course! Don’t mention it, really. I’m just glad that you’re doing better. I mean, how else were you going to keep up with Mr. Gorgeous?” She laughed. “Speaking of, where is he? I’ve been looking all around and haven’t seen him anywhere.”

“Oh, Loki?” you scratched your neck awkwardly. “He’s kind of busy right now.”

Soon after you said those words, the low murmurs that filled the room suddenly increased, causing you and Kayla to look around in mild curiosity.

When she paused and a look of bewilderment came upon her face, the anxiousness you were feeling rose ten-fold. 

“Is that…?” she trailed off, and you turned to see what everyone was looking at.

There they were, both Loki and Sarah, standing at the entrance of the hall. You almost choked on your own saliva when you saw how perfect they looked together.

They strolled into the room in unison, arm-in-arm. Loki donned a black suit with a green bowtie and Sarah wore a matching colored silk dress that fit her body perfectly.

Kayla turned to you with wide eyes. 

“Why didn't you tell me that Loki had a girlfriend?!” she accused.

“It’s sort of a new thing,” You muttered distractedly, watching Sarah walk beside Loki with complete and utter grace as he led them around the room.

She smiled and waved at people as they passed by, only pausing to pose with Loki whenever the cameras started flashing their way.

And then there was Loki… who did not seem to be phased one bit. He searched around the room calmly, letting Sarah do the talking as people were no doubtedly asking them if they were dating. The way he let her touch his arm as she laughed at someone’s joke sent a strange, heavy feeling churning in your gut.

At that moment, it became painfully clear—no matter what Loki had told you before, no matter how hard you tried, you could never measure up to a six-foot supermodel with flowing dark hair and striking green eyes that were similar to his own.

Your moment in the alley meant nothing just like you thought. You still convinced yourself that he was simply trying to make you feel better. He didn’t truly confess anything, only saying that you should hold yourself in higher esteem because you deserved to. 

As sweet as that was, that was not a reason to take his words for more than what they were. They were just words of encouragement because that’s what friends do. 

That fleeting moment couldn’t compare to the way he was looking at Sarah right now. Their time spent together must have shown him that he really did like her after all. You couldn’t blame him, it was your fault for pushing him into getting closer to her in the first place. Now here you were, aching after someone who realized they could have a lot better than someone like you. 

Your body and face suddenly felt hot as you stood frozen in place, unable to stop staring at them.

You were only able to tear your gaze away from them when Kayla nudged your side. 

You blinked, head snapping over to her in surprise. 

She was frowning now, observing you as if there was something wrong, and maybe there was.

“You okay?” she asked cautiously. “You don’t look too good.”

“Yeah, I’m okay,” you forced out. “Or at least I will be.”

“You sure? I’ve never seen you look this…” She eyed your current state of overwhelm. “frazzled.”

You had no idea what Kayla was going on about but you also didn’t care. Before you could stop yourself, you began walking in their direction, ignoring Kayla’s questions as you headed straight toward Loki and Sarah.

They were all the way on the other side of the hall, finally finished with the ridiculous photos. 

Loki now was doing what Tony had wanted him to do during the rehearsal, his arm was wrapped around her waist as she spoke to several people who came by them.

Sarah was the first to notice when you arrived, gently greeting you with your name.

“It’s so good to see you!” 

Her voice was starting to really irritate the hell out of you.

You offered her a faint, uneasy smile, muttering a quick greeting before shifting your gaze to Loki, only to find he was already watching you.

He greeted you softly with your real name which immediately threw you off guard. Your heart dropped at his oddly formal greeting. 

Not even a ‘dove’...

“Hi Loki,” you greeted stiffly in return. “I see you both made it, which is good I guess…”

“Yes! I’m so glad that we could follow through with the plan,” Sarah said. “And in case you’re wondering it’s been going really well by the way.”

You raised a brow. “Yes, I can tell. You two look great together.”

“We do, don’t we.” Sarah smiled, placing a hand on Loki’s chest. 

You balled your fist tightly behind the back of your dress. There was no need for her to rub it in.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight," Loki murmured, his gaze sweeping over you. Oddly enough, that only made you feel more upset than you already were.

How dare he lie right to your face when a literal green-eyed goddess was standing right next to him, touching him freely as if she was very familiar with him? 

Almost too familiar. 

You had no idea what they’ve been up to, but the way she was looking at him was making you want to throw up.

“We did it,” Loki said, a small smile forming on his face. “We’re here together, just as you wanted us to be. Now there is no need to worry anymore.”

Even though he was doing something he claimed to have no desire for, he didn’t sound like his usual reluctant self. Instead, he sounded almost… elated?

“You’re right, you did it.” You snapped. “This is really great for you, isn’t it?”

The small smile he had on his face faltered at your strange reply.

“For me? I do not follow.”

“This,” you gestured between the both of them, “makes perfect sense to the world. I mean, why would anyone think you’d ever want to be with me? It’s completely laughable, right?”

Sarah blinked at you in confusion and Loki tilted his head, narrowing his gaze on you.

You felt a lump form in your throat and tears formed in your eyes before you could stop them. Great. Now you’ve embarrassed yourself.

“Now everyone can see the type of woman you truly want to be with, and not just the type you happen to be stuck with out of unfortunate necessity.” you shrugged, faking a smile. “No one will ever make the mistake again of thinking that you’d ever want me. Certainly not me.”  

His mouth parted slightly, emerald eyes searching yours as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

Before he could utter another word, you choked out a hurried goodbye, and without waiting for a response you spun on your heel, your steps quick and unsteady as you rushed toward the exit. The tears you had desperately tried to suppress now spilled freely down your cheeks.

You left the hall and stalked towards the direction of the elevators, angrily wiping the tears from your face. You completely embarrassed yourself, and for what? Because you were jealous of something you couldn’t have? Someone you couldn’t have?

You had never behaved in that way before and surprised yourself most of all. You couldn’t forget the look on Loki’s face when you said those words to him out of your mind. You hoped that he didn’t completely hate you after this. 

Now that everyone didn’t think you were in a relationship anymore, they’d probably not think you were friends either because Loki certainly wouldn’t want to be around you after this. You didn't even want to be around yourself right now.

You took a deep breath, trying to steady yourself as you waited for the elevator. But just as you thought you had a grip on your emotions, a voice shattered the silence, calling your name.

Your heart pounded as you braced for Loki’s inevitable wrath. But when you turned, your shoulders sagged in relief. 

It wasn’t him.

“Hey,” Steve jogged up to you, concern evident in his blue gaze. I saw you run out of there, and you didn’t look okay. I had to make sure you were alright. Talk to me, what’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing,” you sniffled. “I just needed to get out of there. Too many people in the room, I guess.”

Steve’s expression hardened, doubt flickering in his eyes. “Are you sure? Did someone say something to you? Just tell me who, and I’ll take care of it.”

You immediately denied his claim. “No, that’s not it, Steve. I promise. I just need some time. Alone.”

You faced the elevator doors, grateful when they finally slid open.

You stepped inside and pressed the button to your floor, however, Steve stepped inside with you right before the doors closed. 

“What are you doing?” you asked him.

“I’m being here for you,” he said, “because the last thing you need to be is alone. Not in this state.”

“I’m fine, Steve,” you sighed. 

“No, you’re not. I can tell some jerk made you cry in there. I don’t know who it was but I’m going to find out and give them a piece of my mind when I do.”

You shook your head, a small smile coming on your face. “That’s kind of you, but funny enough you’d just be scolding me. I’m the jerk who made myself cry.”

His brows rose in amusement at your words. “Well, that wasn’t very nice of you then. Regardless, I really don’t want to leave you alone like this. How about we get out of here?”

Your brow quirked. “What do you mean?”

“Let me take you out tonight,” he repeated. “Some place nice, out in the city, and away from the tower.”

“I don’t know,” you said hesitantly. “Shouldn’t you be at the banquet? People will notice if you’re gone.”

“No, they won’t, and even if they did I wouldn’t care. I’d rather be hanging out with my best girl.” he smiled softly. “I don’t care where we go, really, I just want to make you feel better. So what do you think?” he breathed nervously. “Will you go out with me?”

You thought about it, being out in public was the last place you wanted to be right now, but was it really worse than locking yourself in your room all alone, just to cry yourself to sleep?

When you finally reached your floor, you slowly trailed out with Steve following behind you.

Biting your lip, you turned to him and gave a small nod. “Okay… I’ll go out with you.”

Steve’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Alright, it’s a date then.” He grinned. “I’m going to change out of this stuffy suit. Meet me here in ten?”

You agreed and you both went your separate ways. Instead of going to your room and changing out of your dress, you found yourself on the rooftop taking in the fresh air so you could calm your nerves.

You lingered near the edge, careful not to step too close, your gaze sweeping across the vast city. Your hair and dress swayed in the evening breeze as the lights shimmered below like scattered stars trapped on Earth. You wished you could see the real ones, but the sky was empty, drowned in the city’s glow.

Time blurred as you stood motionless, staring out into the distance. But then, a voice behind you cut through the silence, pulling you back to reality.

You turned, expecting to be met with friendly blue eyes, but your breath caught as you found yourself staring into striking green ones instead.

Your mouth parted in shock and shivers ran down your back as Loki closed the distance, each step slow and deliberate

“Loki,” you said nervously. “What are you doing here? Where’s Sarah?”

“She’s gone,” he stated, watching your reaction closely. “She departed not too long after you.”

Your face fell at his words. Did you just ruin things for him?

“Oh, no,” you sighed, shutting your eyes. “I ran her away with all my weirdness, didn’t I? I’m so sorry. I don’t know why I’m always messing things-.”

“Dove,” Loki said, gently placing his hands on your shoulders. “Stop.”

Your chest tightened as you held his gaze, fingers twitching at your sides as you braced yourself for what was to come. You needed to face whatever words he had for you—no matter how much they hurt. What you did was selfish, and now, you had to accept the consequences.

“Do not concern yourself with Sarah, or anything you assumed you did to her,” Loki said calmly. “That is not why I am here, though, I have to confess, your words had triggered something deep within me that I had no choice but to act on.”

You nodded, anxiously waiting for him to continue. 

“There is something I have carried in silence for far too long. I have never known an emotion so powerful, so utterly consuming, and yet so impossible to articulate. It has unsettled me, changed me, and I find myself unable to fight it any longer.”

You let out an audible gasp when he stepped closer to you until you were merely inches apart, taking an errant curl of your hair and gently placing it behind your ear. His dark curls blew gently in the wind, the city lights shimmering around him like a magical aura, a quiet reminder that he was never meant to be ordinary.

“I have spent too long pretending this wasn’t consuming me. It is unfamiliar, intoxicating, and far beyond my ability to suppress. And no matter how I try to escape it, I simply cannot.”

You stared into his soft eyes, and witnessing the strong mix of emotions they held had you feeling almost lightheaded. You were completely lost for words, hypnotized by his voice and gaze as you tried to say something, anything.

“Loki,” You whispered. “W-What are you…?”

His chest rose and fell in a slow, measured breath, his eyes slipping shut for a moment. When they opened, the storm of emotion within them was enough to make you feel lightheaded.

"Dove, I want you to know," he murmured, shaking his head as if the words weren’t enough. "No, I need you to know that I am deeply in—"

“What the hell is going on here?”

You were so startled by the interruption that you jumped back from Loki, your wide eyes locked onto Steve as you froze in place like a deer in headlights.

“Steve,” you gasped, realizing that he’d probably been looking for you this whole time. “I-I’m so sorry. I forgot-.”

“You forgot about our date?” He sneered at you, brows furrowed deeply. “Are you serious?”

You frowned, taken aback by the sheer animosity in Steve’s tone.

“What?” Loki’s whisper was fragile, almost broken. His gaze, dark with an immense amount of disbelief and betrayal, searched yours. “A date?”

Your gaze darted between both men, panic clawing at your chest as shock and confusion left you speechless.

What the hell was happening right now?

𝘈/𝘕: 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘓𝘖𝘛. 𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 11 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘎𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘰 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘨𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬). 𝘉𝘵𝘸, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘦𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘬𝘪’𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝. 𝘗𝘓𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘌 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘦s 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳- 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴. 𝘐 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. - A. 💚

Story Masterlist

✦ 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘰. 𝘙𝘦𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 🤍

✦ 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰, 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘒𝘰-𝘧𝘪 ✨: 𝘩𝘵𝘵𝘱𝘴://𝘬𝘰-𝘧𝘪.𝘤𝘰𝘮/𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺24

𝘛𝘢𝘨 𝘓𝘪𝘴𝘵: @aintnooooway @mischief2sarawr @talesofadragon @cass0419 @lcolumbia1988 @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @dind1n

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Selina Kyle’s younger sibling

Selina Kyle x sibling!reader

warnings:

a/n: anon ur a star thank u for bearing with me <3 it’s kind of short!!!!

prompt: anonymous: “Can I please ask for some headcannons for what it would be like being Selina Kyle’s (Patterson) younger sibling?”

selina was severely protective of you

gotham was rough, but sometimes she forgot you grew up in the same gotham

“i don’t want you walking out there alone at night” -selina

“you do it all the time, selina. i have a weapon, i’ll be fine” -you

you wanted to work with selina, but she absolutely wouldn’t let you come anywhere near the iceberg lounge

“selina, i need a good job! can’t you just put in a good word?” -you

“it’s not a ‘good job,’ y/n, you’d have a better chance working in a restaurant or a grocery store” -selina

she really was looking out for you there, that was no place for you. dealing drugs and meeting high profile men who loved power. you would have hated it

you two lived together, but she carried most of the weight of the bills

she really urged you to go to school and get out of there, but you wanted the same for her

“i’m fine where i am, kid. it’s you i’m worried about” -selina

“don’t i know it” -you

you missed your mom, maybe that’s why she stepped up the way she did

“remember when mom used to bring us to the club? falcone used to bring us stuff to draw with?” -you

“yeah, i don’t really want to think about it” -selina

“you say that, but you still have the drawings” -you

she annoyed you sometimes with her overbearing-ness, but you knew deep down she wanted what was best for you

she’d kind of stalk you when you went out with friends

and she’d swear up and down that “wasn’t her”

“i saw a pink wig” -you

“lots of people have pink wigs” -selina

she’d pick your outfits for the day

(if you like her style) she’d lend you her clothes

she never lets you leave the house without a “love you”

when you found out she was wearing a mask and sneaking out of the house, you were mortified

“you’re gonna get yourself killed!” -you

“you have no idea what i’m doing, i’m fine” -selina

“selina, i know exactly what you’re doing. i can’t live without you—i don’t know how to!” -you

her team up with the batman to avenge annika worried you greatly, but she didn’t listen to you

but you were close with her too and heartbroken to find out what happened

“just dont end up like her, selina” -you

the batman saved you one night in all of this, as you had gone off on your own to prove to selina you were capable of helping

“you need to stay away from my sister” -you

“i’m trying to help her” -batman

“help her by stopping her from getting involved in all of this” -you

“she seems like she’s been involved long before i met her” -batman

she told you about her attempt to kill falcone after he died, you were glad it wasn’t her who pulled the trigger for many reasons

but after that, she convinced you that it was time to leave gotham

“of course i’ll go with you, i’ve been dying to get out of here” -you

after a few obstacles (the flooding of gotham and assassination attempts on bella reál and batman) you were finally able to get the hell out of gotham

and say a goodbye to batman

“i guess i should thank you for being there for her” -you

“keep her out of trouble” -batman

“are you kidding? she finally thinks i can handle myself since i helped save your ass, we’re getting into trouble together” -you

“alright, y/n, let’s go before he decides to follow us” -selina

you guys settled down outside of gotham, adopted a few cats, had each others backs

and soon selina reached out to your sister sofia, a new opportunity awaits

taglist: @summersimmerus // @wild-rose-35 // @more-multifandom-of-madness // @girlmythlegend // @shepsgotthoughts // @diansaprince // @theseawakes // @locke-writes // @deanzboyfriend // @zoeyserpentluck //

[rummikubcube]

*Valkyrie arrives to help her gf*

Kamala: wlw, 17K words, Heroes To Friends To Lovers, Carol Danvers whump, Marval, hurt/comfort.

[lesbiansanemi]

Currently trying not to vomit over the fact that I essentially just lost almost a thousand dollars brb

[uglygirlstatus]

currently trying desperately to convince my friend that Riverdale is a camp masterpiece and one of the greatest shows of all time and to watch it with me but they refuse to believe me...they are convinced its stupid and dumb and nothing more...how do I change their mind

unfortunately some people are simply beyond help. I have been unable to convince many of my friends to watch for years now. I somehow got my forty year old coworker to give in but she was a HATER the whole time and gave up in season 4. you just have to let go and hope Riverdale finds them when they are ready.

[petrichormore]

also still seeing the idea that Forever’s excuse for throwing bad in jail over the mass furniture theft is an actual logical reason. and um. it’s not it’s complete bullshit. he made that shit up on the fly after he realized pretty fast that it was a fuck-up and that he couldn’t undo it because he was being pressured by the other islanders. because he’s the president.

like I understand why he’s sticking to that story, q!forever is always put in the most difficult positions. It makes total sense for him to do it and it’s not even that unreasonable - but this isn’t one of those situations where q!bad is misrepresenting the situation and trying to trick q!forever into believing he did something he didn’t do. it’s fully q!forever that’s doing the misrepresenting in this case - his flawed reasoning is an excuse for him to hide behind and it’s not meant to be logically sound. if you think about it for more than 2 seconds it falls apart completely.

[tiredf-o-u-r]

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh super mega community have an ounce empathy for more than two white guys challenge please please please

[sideeve]

⠀⠀⠀“WHAT?! SEX BAN?!”

﹅ contains ;; gojo satoru , kento nanami , choso kamo , toji fushiguro , ryomen sukuna , geto suguru

﹅ alt title ;; how long the jjk men can withstand the sex ban

﹅ warnings ;; sorta sub!choso , whiny!choso , toji's part is more explicit than the others , this is my first time writing for some of the character so i'm sorry if i didn't describe them well

GOJO SATORU (3 days)

“are you serious?” gojo groans, slumping forwards. gojo watched in disappointment as you crossed your arms, looking away from him. "you did it so you have to pay." for weeks, you've been trying to tell gojo to separate the colors from the whites while doing laundry. him just wanting to get it over with, he dumped them all in the same load, ruining some of your favorite pieces of clothing.

"baby, please. i won't do it again," he begs, kneeling in front of you. but to no avail, you stood your ground.

it only took him 3 days to convince you to wave your white flag, surrendering to his seduction. "you look good in my shirts." gojo's hands caress your hips as he presses his chest to your back. "i would be in my clothes if you would just listen to me." you huff, "i never said i was disappointed." gojo whispered, his hard-on pressing on your ass.

“please. just drop the ‘sex ban’. i said i was sorry.” his lips make a trail of kisses on your neck. you needed him too. whenever he wasn’t around, you would use your toys, trying to not let gojo know you were sexually needy. but they didn’t work.

RYOMEN SUKUNA (not happening!)

no. just no. it’s funny that you even thought about putting that in motion. sukuna was too desperate for sex but never wanted to admit it.

“no,” he stood above, crossing his arms, making himself seem bigger than you (as if he even needed to do that). “you can’t deprive me of sex, woman.” he grunts. “but i can, kuna. that’s what you fail to realize.” you tut, standing up to walk away.

one of his four arms wraps around your waist, throwing you back on the soft surface. "you're not going through with this." he growls in your ear, crawling go top of you.

how dare you even think such a thing? you were his woman, his twin flame. you were the only person he showed the littlest respect to and you decide to do some foolery like this.

he tugs your shirt over your head, your bra coming next. his rough hands slide over your chest. "such beauty..." he whispers. "i'll make sure you never think of this again.

KENTO NANAMI (it was on accident)

his job was taking him away from you. between being a jujutsu sorcerer and a businessman, he couldn't find time to be a partner for you.

due to the lack of attention you were receiving, you became sexually pent up, having the urge to pleasure yourself at the worst times. the feeling of neglect was creeping up on you. some days, you forgot nanami even lived with you.

"love, i'm home." nanami tugs off his tie, tossing it to the side. "i don't know how long i can take of this." he rubs his temples, deeply sighing as he led himself to your shared bedroom. before his hand touched the cold metal knob, he heard your muffled moans and the squelching of your cunt.

he slowly opens the door, peeking in the room before fully entering. "it seems i've neglected you." he watches as you quickly cover yourself as if he hasn't seen you naked many times. he unbuttons the top of his shirt as he saunters to the edge of the bed, removing the covers off you.

"seems like i have some things to make up for."

CHOSO KAMO (not even a day)

"please." he whines, his head resting on your lap as he looks up at you. ever since you shared your first time with choso, he's been going at it with you like rabid dogs. if he wasn't inside you, his head was squished in between his thighs.

"choso, i need a break." you sigh, trying to remove him from off you. his grip on your legs was tight as he put his face in between your thighs, shaking his head. he was acting like he couldn't survive without your cunt somehow being involved.

"i swear, i'll leave you alone after. just please," he whined. you couldn't resist him for much longer. you hated when he got all whiny like a baby. he was spoiled because of you.

"fine." you undo the tie of your sweatpants before his hands swatted yours away, tugging your pants and panties off. "i promised you." he kisses your inner thigh before his tongue began flicking away.

TOJI FUSHIGURO (mans was balls deep in you the second you said it)

"you really think so?" he darkly chuckles, rubbing himself on you. "toji, i'm sorry. please." you whine, wiggling your ass on his cock. "i don't think you are." he teases, stepping away from you.

you whine, following him. "it was a joke." you press your hand on his chest. "did i laugh?" he tilts his head, smirking at you. you sigh, "toji, i'm sorry." you press yourself against him, your chest touching his.

"fuck." you knew he couldn't resist the feeling of your chest on him. it was like heaven to him. "turn around." he grunts, gripping your hips to turn you around, bending you over.

he easily slid inside of you due to how wet you got over time. "don't say stuff you don't mean, baby." he laughs, thrusting into your backside. it was worth it.

GETO SUGURU (you gave in after implementing it)

you wanted to test geto's limits, giving him an extra nnn moment which made you realize something. it was always you initiating sex. "geto, please. i give up." you whine, following him around the house.

he chuckles, "everyone must deal with their consequences, my love." he turns to you. he plastered a sinister smile, taunting you. he saw how much you needed him but he wasn't caving in until he heard you say it.

"i'll do anything. my hand isn't even working anymore." you simper. it was starting to become frustrating seeing how calm he was about all of this as you were suffering.

"i need you! is that what you wanted to hear?" you shout, earning a grin from him. he walks closer to you, his finger tracing your jawline, "why didn't you say that sooner, love?" he chuckles.

[joelsgoldrush]

“guilty pleasure” | 8.6k

worst!logan howlett x f!reader

SUMMARY: After saving Earth-10005 from impending disaster, Wade convinces Logan, the alcoholic and easily irritated mutant, to stick around for a while. He’s convinced that nothing good can come out of this experience, until he meets you: the charming bartender with a soft spot for swearing that matches his own. Suddenly, sticking around doesn’t seem so bad after all.

WARNINGS/TAGS: mdni - smut 18+ fluff. drinking. dirty talk. slow-burnish. grumpy!logan x sunshine!reader. reader is really kind but cracks a lot of jokes. age gap (25 vs 200 - they’re basically the same age). oral sex (f receiving). fingering. finger sucking. soft dom!logan. wade being the funniest asshole. logan calls reader "kiddo/kid”.

A/N: HI! first of all, i'd like to thank you for all the support you showed me on my recent post. let me just tell you that i’m LOVING writing for logan. but none of this would be possible without YOU, so yeah, i fucking love y’all.

** regarding this story, i was planning on making it even longer, but writing these two has been so much fun, and i didn’t want it to end just like that (i have attachment issues as you may infer from this note). therefore, i’ve made the decision to write a second part to this fic, which will contain fluff and other stuff (you already know the drill). i don’t know when i’ll be posting it, but i’m sure it won’t take me that long.

*** i’m also working on other one shots (purely fluff/domesticity because i want this man to cradle me in his arms). anyway, i don’t know if anyone’s going to read this, but still, all I have to say is THANK YOU FOR READING MY WORKS! i hope you really like this silly story i made up :)

**** english is not my first language so if you come across any mistakes don’t hesitate to tell me :)

special recognition to @zloshy who allowed me to rant about my own fic 😭 the sweetest human ever

The bar is far from packed, but then again, it never truly is.

Studying your regulars has become your favorite hobby. Soon you end up knowing their names, the drinks they like, and what time they come through the door. It’s what happens when standing on your own two feet and refilling glasses lose all their charm. A part of you thinks you also do it to make them feel safe. No matter how much you try to deny it, you truly care about their well-being.

Is this your dream job? Nope. Definitely not. You’re pretty sure that holding some stranger’s hair while they empty their insides wasn’t on your bingo card for this year. But sadly money doesn’t grow on trees, and university isn’t going to pay itself. Plus, this was the only job in which your resume was not immediately rejected. It should also be stressed that the drunks happen to love you. 

Perhaps this isn’t the life you had always imagined for yourself, but you were getting closer to it. You’d often talk to Adam, a retired psychologist in his seventies. He was without a doubt one of the most loyal clients you’d ever encountered. In the past, he’d even given you free advice on some of your failed hookups. You once told him that in less than two years, you’d be just like him when you got your degree in Psychology. To your surprise, he replied: “You’ll be much better than me, doll. I’m a mess, can’t you see it? You don’t wanna be like me,” his voice was hardly above a whisper as he continued. “I should be at my daughter’s birthday right now, but I didn’t get an invitation this year. Believe me, you don’t want to end up like this old man.” 

Like Adam, most of the men who frequented the bar day-to-day saw it as an opportunity to hide within the shadows. In comparison to the other pubs in the area, the one you work at doesn’t receive that much attention from the general public. A dimly lit place where only music from the 80s is allowed. You’re certain that if a health inspector ever came down here, you’d be in serious problems. But hey, you know what they say: do not worry about tomorrow; instead, live in the now.

The atmosphere of the bar shifts dramatically as the main door slams shut with a resounding thud, pulling you abruptly out of your daydreaming. You turn to see who’s arrived, but as soon as your eyes meet his, you’re compelled to look away. Nevertheless, the brief glance you catch of the stranger’s features is enough for you to unlock your phone and send a quick text to your best friend. 

You:

cutie patootie alert

there’s this really handsome guy at the bar

i don’t think i’ve ever seen him before

i think i’m in love with him

my night just got a 100% better

Allison:

age

what does he look like

is he bald?

You:

he looks like he could be in his early fifties??? it’s hard to tell UGH i wish you were here

brown hair, beard, 6’2 if i’m not wrong 

i didn’t stare at him for too long

otherwise that would’ve been very weird

and no he’s not fucking bald

that happened only once and i was not aware of that gentleman’s lack of hair 

Allison:

so you’re dating retired now

get it grandma!

You:

oh fuck you allison 

Allison: 

it’s okay girl we all have our flaws

just make sure it’s nobody’s father

wait it’s not mine right?

You:

nah your dad’s way hotter don’t you worry about it

Allison:

bitch 

Even with the music blasting through the speakers that are attached to the ceiling, you can still hear the low murmur and the whispers. The mysterious stranger seems to have attracted the attention of the other patrons, some of whom have even raised their phones to take photos. Your eyebrows draw together. Why would they do something like this, approaching the man as if he were a celebrity? Since curiosity never fails to kill the cat, you decide to get involved.

“Do I have somethin’ on my face?” you hear him ask the crowd, his raspy voice making your knees wobbly. He sounds enraged. You step on your tiptoes, trying to see what all the fuss is about, albeit it’s pretty hard considering how these men are caging him with their bodies.

The glow of a phone’s flashlight catches your attention, and suddenly, a chair is dragged without much elegance. “Enough of that, y’hear me?”

Enter you now. “Okay, gentlemen, I’m sorry. I’m gonna need you to make some space for me, alright?” you mumble as you gently push them aside. “Thank you, thank you. Y’all can be real sweethearts when you put your minds to it.”

Then you spot him, and it becomes clear why everyone is making such a fuss. 

Gary, your worst client ever, steps forward. His nasty breath clouds your senses as he rests one of his sweaty hands on your shoulder. “Doll, it’s the fucking Wolverine. Don’t ask him for a picture, though. He doesn’t seem to be in the mood for that.”

The last thing you needed to see today was a fight (despite your knowledge of who would be the winner). You locate yourself amidst them, shaking your head like a disappointed mother, so as to add a tiny bit of drama to the situation.

“Guys, what you’re doing here is completely inappropriate. I thought I’d taught you better. Imagine if I were to pull this crap on you. You wouldn’t have it.”

Adam presses his lips together, flushing a bit. “She does have a point.” 

“Thank you, peanut. You’re still my favorite,” you flash him an honest smile. Scrutinizing the rest of the men, you continue with your speech. “You can still make up for it and fill my tip jar all the way to the top. Deal?” they all scoff, barking their disagreement. “Oh, you don’t like the sound of that? Then leave him alone, okay? Class dismissed! Back to your places,” you clap your hands repeatedly, signaling them to go away. “Chop chop. All this alcohol won’t be drinking itself.”

Just like that, everything goes back to normal in the blink of an eye. Wolverine sits back down in his chair, leaning closer to the table and resting both elbows on it. He examines you, lifting his chin while his brown eyes take in every inch of you.

“Thank you,” he utters, his eyes still trained on your features. 

“No need to. It’s what I’m here for,” you point to your work clothes, which consist of an antiqued apron and a silly sticker that has your name written on it. “Can I get you anything to drink? It’s also Burger Night. You can get one for half the usual price.”

(No. It’s not fucking Burger Night. You just happen to find yourself deeply attracted to him.)

He doesn’t seem too eager to hear you talk. “Not hungry at the moment. But I could use some whiskey.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, kid. Very sure.” Well, now he does look annoyed.

“Great. I’ll be back in a minute,” you move as if you were in a race, returning to him after a hot minute. Setting his glass down on the table, you fill it with some old whiskey you don’t even know the name of. Still, he omits that detail, gulping down two-fingers of whiskey as if it were water. “I see you’re thirsty.”

“Could you leave the bottle here?” those brown puppy eyes are begging you to do as he says, and although you’d be happy to oblige, rules are rules. 

“Actually, I can’t. The bottle stays on the counter. But you can always join me at the front,” your proposal doesn’t appear to have the desired effect on him. “I won’t talk to you if that’s what you want.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” he rubs his neck, drawing a long breath as he stands up. 

You can feel many pairs of eyes searing into your soul. The others ask you for more drinks and you pour them, pricking up your ears when you hear them talking about him.

“What a weirdo. Didn’t you see it on TV? He’s not even from this universe,” Gary explains, looking for accomplices to hate on Wolverine. “Let me tell y’all something: he shouldn’t even be here. He’s fucking dead on this earth.”

Yeah… that you knew.

It had been all over the news for weeks. Some would even swear that he was back from the dead, but that was until the representatives from the TVA spoke their truth. If someone would’ve told you a month ago that multiple universes were a thing, you would’ve laughed in their face.

As if that weren’t already difficult to process, your mind does the job of reminding you that there’s a man with metal claws sitting a few meters away from you. Despite that, you can’t seem to be scared of him. There’s something magnetic about his personality and that don’t-come-near-me-or-there-will-be-consequences expression that he has. Why had you promised not to speak to him? Dammit.

“I can hear your thoughts,” a muscle in his jaw twitches after knocking back another glass of whiskey. He squeezes his eyes shut before tapping the table with two fingers, silently asking for a refill.

“I thought you didn’t want me to talk,” you raise one of your eyebrows, and you behold how the corners of his mouth turn up for an instant. “I can assure you your liver hates you.”

“Alcohol won’t kill me, so don’t be afraid. Keep ‘em coming.”

For nearly twenty minutes, he does nothing but drink. He attempts to light a cigar at some point, and you stop him. “You can’t smoke in here.”

“No special treatment?” he inquires, placing the cigar between his parted lips and tilting his head back. He’s so… dreamy. He has to know it.

“I saved your ass today. The least you can do is not cause me any trouble.”

His eyes widen at your words, blinking owlishly. “You saved my what?”

“Your goddamn ass. You were about to start a fight.”

“Blame the idiots you have for clients,” he says, jerking his thumb toward your direction. “I was just mindin’ my own business. They came for me, not the other way around.”

“Look, Wolvie. I–”

“Wolvie?” giving a bitter laugh, he rams a hand through his hair. “That’s the worst nickname I’ve heard in a long time,” he looks at you through his lashes, getting rid of his leather jacket. “It’s Logan.”

“Wow. Your name is very boybandish.”

You succeed in making him laugh once again. It’s the perfect opportunity for you to observe his face without feeling like you were just about to get caught. He has deep creases and worry lines etched between his eyebrows, a brown beard that perfectly frames his jaw, and a few white hairs scattered in his sideburns. Pearly teeth that go hand in hand with one of the most impeccable smiles you’ve ever seen, and a pair of brown eyes that make you feel weak in the knees. You know for a fact that he’s a lot older than you; his exact age remains a mystery, but his appearance is enough for you to start fantasizing.

Shit, you want him. You should feel sickened by the mere thought of being with him. He was born God knows when, has lived hundreds of years. Still, the idea of tracing his cheekbones with your fingers while lying on his chest doesn’t leave you. This is fucked up. You are fucked up. A fucked up Psychology student. The joke is pretty much self-explanatory.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding, you preening slut. Can’t even bother to answer my calls now?”

The tension between you shatters like a glass dropped onto the floor. He doesn’t dare to look in the direction of the owner of that voice, not even as the seat next to him gets taken. He pinches the bridge of his nose in frustration. “Wade, what the hell are you doin’ here?”

“It hasn’t been exactly easy, raising our kid on my own. I don’t even have money to hire a babysitter, Lo. I spent nine months carrying your child, and for what? You end up going after a bartender,” the masked man turns to you, giving a sly wink. “No offense, baby. You must be a real sweetheart. In fact, do you want my number? The name’s Wade, but you can call me whatever you like.”

“You dumb fuck. Are you flirtin’ with her?”

“No shit, smartass. You’re the future of this country.”

A soft giggle escapes you despite your attempt to hold it back. You take a step back, admiring the two men. “Well, aren’t you two a beautiful couple?”

“You should see our little munchkin. He’s got my eyes and Logan’s hair. His first word was gubernatorial.”

“Would you like to have a drink while you’re here?”

“A beer would be great. Thank you, sugarbear. You’re the cutest,” Wade sinks back into his chair, resting his chin on his palm. He jerks his head in Logan’s direction, bumping his shoulder. “She’s the cutest. Are you two together?”

Logan rubs his forehead, speaking through gritted teeth. “How did you find me?”

“It's the power of love, baby. I had It’s All Coming Back To Me Now on repeat for hours. Couldn’t stop thinking about you.”

Handing Wade a cold beer, your eyes scan Logan’s face. “I didn’t know patience was your strongest suit.”

“Me neither.”

“Enough of that! I can’t stand not being included in a conversation,” Wade throws his hands in the air, and you look at him. “There you are. So, what about you? Are you even allowed to be here? Did bars change their policies?”

You can’t help but snort. “I’m 25.”

Wade looms closer, lowering his voice. “Now that I think about it, you could totally be Logan’s caretaker. He’s been having some issues recently, given his age. Do you… know anything about adult diapers?”

But then Logan’s face contorts, turning crimson. He rises from his seat, grabbing Wade’s arm. “That’s it. We’re leavin’,” his eyes lock on you for a moment. “How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s on the house.”

The things you’re willing to do for a man, right? You should be ashamed of yourself.

(But you aren’t.)

His mouth hangs open in disbelief. “Kiddo, are you–”

“Completely sure,” you finish his sentence for him, bowing your head and clasping your arms behind your body. A tight-lipped smile takes over you. “Just don’t tell my boss.”

Wade shifts his gaze back and forth between Logan and you. “I usually don’t mind third-wheeling, but I sort of feel left out.”

“I’m gonna sew your mouth shut, Wade.”

“Oh, come on! I was just making small talk,” the masked man tries to excuse himself while Logan pushes him towards the door. “It was a pleasure meeting you, sunshine. I’m free on Thursdays. Hit me up if his whiskey dick fails to impress you! Mine’s way more agile and young!”

As you watch them leave the bar, you remain frozen in your place amidst the clamor of ongoing chatter and clinking glasses.

What the fuck had just happened?

“Patrick’s normally the first one to get wasted during weekends,” you explain to the blonde woman sitting in front of you, and she writes that information down in her notebook. “He can usually handle himself, but at some point, he’ll try to call his ex-wife, and that’s when you know you need to stop serving him.”

She clicks her tongue, the color draining out of her face. “This is… definitely a lot to remember. I think I already forgot half of what you said.”

You shake your head, shoving your hands in your pockets. “You’ll get used to it, believe me. I’ll be with you at all times, so if you have any doubts, just ask me.”

After a whole year of working solo at the bar, you finally get to have a coworker: Gwen, a mother of two teenagers in her forties. You had met her at the grocery store, and in the process of helping her find a specific brand of cookies, you found out that she had recently lost her job. One thing led to another, and now she’s your trainee.

Your savior complex strikes again!

It has been four days since your first encounter with Logan. The thought that he could show up at any moment makes your heart race and your hands sweat. Allison had received countless voice messages where you narrated the entire experience in full detail. 

Touching your arm softly, Gwen’s face lights up. “Another man came in. Is he a regular? I don’t think you told me about him.”

Fuck, it’s him. Manifesting does work wonders. He locks eyes with you and raises a hand in greeting.

“Leave this one to me,” you tell her as your feet take you to where Logan’s sitting, contemplating the way in which his leather jacket hugs his wide frame. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, kid,” he grins. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Nobody has puked yet, so that’s a good thing,” you crinkle your nose, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “Whiskey?”

“You know me so well,” a smirk takes place in his lips, and he smiles cockily. “Though this time, I won’t be leavin’ without payin’.”

“We’ll see about that,” you go back to your usual spot behind the counter, looking for a glass. Your cheeks kind of hurt from smiling so hard. Next to you, Gwen studies your reaction to seeing Logan. “Is that your boyfriend?”

You almost drop the whiskey bottle. “God, no. He’s not my boyfriend. Barely know the guy.”

“It’s funny,” she says, raising her eyebrows with a knowing look, as if she knows something you don’t. “He hasn’t stopped looking at you since he arrived.”

“It’s probably because of this,” you reply, lifting the bottle in her direction before pouring a small amount into a glass. Just as you’re about to walk over to him, a girl slides into the sit beside him, her long blonde hair swept up in a ponytail. She’s wearing a stunning red dress and black heels. You wonder if she’s a model, because she certainly looks like one.

Her hand creeps up his arm, fingernails scraping against the worn leather. Although Logan’s expression is hard to read, he doesn’t even flinch.

“You know what? Here’s his drink– You take care of it. I’ll stay here,” you don’t give Gwen a chance to talk back, instead staying behind the bar, engaging in small talk with other clients. 

“Doll, are you okay?” Adam asks you after noticing you struggling to open a beer bottle. He takes it from your hands and opens it with ease. “There you go.”

“Thank you, Adam. I’m fine, never been better. Why you ask?

“You sure?”

“Affirmative.”

“You mixed up our drinks,” he explains in his most psychologist-like voice. “This never happens to you. Michael has my wine, and I’ve got his martini.”

“Fuck! I’m so sorry. I just— I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” you chew on your bottom lip, rubbing your temples. “I feel stupid.”

“Oh, please. Don’t say that. You’re far from being stupid,” he sits up straight, reaching for your fingers and giving them an apologetic squeeze. “If you ask me, I think you’ve got your mind on someone else,” he must notice how you visibly get tense because he adds: “Remember: I know when you’re lying. You didn’t charge him the other day, which means that you must really like him,” taking a tentative sip of the martini he didn’t even ordered, Adam shrugs. “I’m a great observer. That’s all.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see the blonde girl from before returning to where her friends are chatting. Logan is left alone, and you watch him grab his glass and head towards the counter.

“As I said, your mind’s somewhere else,” Adam sighs, a tiny smirk tugging at his lips. “Go get your man. I’ll survive.”

“Not my man. But thanks, older-and-wiser-version-of-cupid.”

Pretending not to have seen Logan, you continue with your work. He remains silent for some minutes before finally saying: “Hi.”

Hi? It sounds so out of character for him.

“Hey, claws,” you force a smile, still avoiding to meet his gaze. “Do you need anything?”

Logan points to his empty glass, like a toddler asking for more cereal. “I also wanted to talk to you.”

“I thought you were busy over there,” you say, surprisingly managing to sound nonchalant, despite the jealousy bubbling underneath your friendly tone. “Did you get her number?”

“What? No.”

“Why not? She’s cute.”

Yeah, maybe you don’t sound as collected as you think.

Whether Logan notices it or not, he chooses not to mention it. He folds his arms over his chest, fixing his brown eyes on you. “I’m not interested.”

“And what is it that interests you, champ?” your question elicits a low chuckle from him. Just as he opens his mouth to seemingly reply, Gwen appears out of nowhere to ask you about the price of a certain drink. Your gaze shifts between her and Logan, who remains focused on you while sipping his drink.

After that, Gwen leaves. The man in front of you goes poker-faced, pursing his lips, and his abrupt change in demeanor alarms you. “Wade wants to have dinner tomorrow at his apartment– well, our apartment. I live with him now. It’s complicated,” he adds with a dismissive wave of his hand, and you laugh. “Anyway, he asked me to tell you that you’re invited. I know we don’t know each other that much, but… he said you seem like someone worth havin’ around,” he mumbles awkwardly, eyes downcast. “I think the same as well.”

You could die at peace.

“You’re a lucky fucker because I don’t work on Sundays,” you quip, smiling. “I’d be more than happy to attend your feast.”

“Great. I thought you would turn down the invitation.”

“Now why would you think that?”

“‘Cause you barely know me– us,” he corrects himself rapidly. “Plus, Wade’s annoying as hell when he puts his mind to it. You’ll see.”

“Marital problems?” he actually in response. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. Oh, I’ll bring the dessert.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I do want to,” you tilt your head in an effort to hide your longing for him.

“Just want to get under my skin, huh? I can see why Wade likes you,” Logan beams, reaching out to tuck a $100 bill into the pocket of your apron. “The tip’s included.”

“I don’t know how things work in your universe, but you’re giving me way more money than you’re supposed to. I can't accept this.”

“Oh, but you will,” his gravelly voice fucks your system up, and you’re glad he can’t see how you squeeze your legs together behind the bar.

He writes down Wade’s address on a random napkin, holding his breath as he stands up. “I should get goin’. See you tomorrow then.”

Before he walks out the door, you stop him. “Logan? You didn’t answer my other question.”

His back shakes momentarily with laughter. Turning around to face you, his stare leaves you even more confused. “Good night, doll.”

This is becoming a habit: every time he goes away, you feel as though you’ve just run a marathon with no water available. Your mouth is completely dry, your fingers are numb and there’s a knot in your stomach that’s becoming all too familiar.

“Would you mind telling me where you got him?” Gwen’s voice makes you almost jump out of your skin.

“He’s not from around here. I think he’s Canadian.”

You’ve got this. You’ve got this. You’ve got this.

Knocking softly on Wade’s door, you step back, the container holding the tiramisu cold to your touch. It’s your first time trying out this recipe, so you’re expecting it to at least not taste like shit.

Wade answers the apartment door, acting surprised when you remain silent. “Well, look what the wind blew in: if it isn’t my husband’s lover. How dare you? We’re still going to couples therapy.”

You show him the container, and he squints at it. “Tiramisu. You want it or not?”

“I hate twenty-somethings,” he says with a defeated sigh, stepping aside to let you into the apartment. 

Leaving your purse on the nearest surface, you scan the living room, wondering where Logan might be. There’s a small mirror beneath the couch, and you check yourself for the hundredth time tonight. “Don’t get too excited. He’s still showering,” Wade’s voice rings in your ears, and you turn to look at him, your eyebrows knitted. “Yeah. I noticed. You’re already drooling over that big piece of metal between his legs.”

“Keep quiet!” you cover his mouth with your palm, noticing the scarred state of his skin up close. “Wade, you fucking dog. Are you licking my hand?”

“Couldn’t help it. You taste like mascarpone cheese and espresso.”

Then Logan emerges from the bathroom, with only a white towel draped around his waist. Droplets of water fall from his wet hair, tracing the muscle of his abs, ending somewhere beneath his happy trail. Your eyes keep flickering between him and his torso until he clears his throat. “I thought you were comin’ later.”

“Me too, but I…,” you trail off, your brain struggling to catch up, “I didn’t know what else to do at my place.”

“It’s fine. Just– let me put on some clothes.”

“Please don’t,” Wade murmurs next to you, but Logan only scoffs. “I was just being honest. Communication is key.”

When Wade and you are alone again, he lets out a harsh breath. “That was probably the hottest thing I’ve ever seen. My pants are really tight right now.”

“Thin walls, buddy!” Logan shouts from his bedroom, earning a laugh from you. 

Like A Prayer starts playing. Wade moves his hips to the beat, getting lost in the melody. “Is that your phone?”

“Yeah, but I always take a few seconds to dance to it. Such a banger!” he says, then picks up his phone, accepting the call. “Hey, Ness! What´s up?” Wade covers the speaker before telling you: “It’s Vanessa. My ex-girlfriend. We fuck once a week, sometimes even twice.”

From behind, Logan nudges your arm with his, looking at you. ”Hey, kid.”

“No, I’m not busy at all,” Wade exclaims, grabbing his crotch and thrusting into the air. “I’ll be there in ten, cupcake. See you,” he spreads his arms wide and whistles. “Someone’s getting laid tonight!”

“You made me come all the way here… and now you’re leaving?”

“What? My friend Wolverine wanted to invite you over. I just had to provide the apartment,” in one quick movement, he presses a kiss to your cheek, then does the same to Logan. “Shave yourself, will you?”

“Go fuck yourself, will you?”

“Love you too, honey. Hope you two lovebirds have a good night, because I know I will!”

Wade throws a wink over his shoulder before heading out, the apartment going dead silent. Logan and you stand frozen, staring at each other, although he quickly drops his gaze, unable to maintain eye contact. A giggle threatens to escape you: he wanted to see you. Could he possibly enjoy your company as much as you enjoy his?

Logan watches the spot where Wave had just been. The absence of his chaotic energy makes the room feel strangely empty now. He coughs lightly, the sound awkwardly loud in the quiet room.

“So... I, uh, bought pizza,” he says, his voice a little too casual, as if trying to cover up his nervousness. Averting his eyes, he focuses on the pizza boxes on the table.

You catch the hesitation in his tone, your curiosity piqued by his discomfort. Tilting your head, a teasing smile forms on your lips. “Pizza, huh? You sure know how to impress a girl.”

Logan chuckles, the sound strained, as he scratches the back of his neck. “Yeah, well, I figured it was a safe choice. Didn’t want to ruin it, y’know?”

You move closer to the table, the warmth from the pizza boxes radiating against your hands as you open one of them. The rich smell of melted cheese and pepperoni fills the air, a comforting scent that makes your stomach growl softly. “Thank you. I’m a big fan of pizza.”

He sits in the chair across from you, taking a bite of his slice. You watch him quietly, your own thoughts churning. The truth of his origins had been a shock at first, but now, it just made you want to know more about the man. What was his life like in the other universe? Did he miss it? Was he happier here, or was he longing to return?

“Logan…,” you begin, your tone gentle but probing, “Can I ask you something?”

He glances up at you, eyes widening. There’s something in your eyes –an understanding, maybe– that makes him feel like you could see right through him. 

“Sure,” he replies, trying to sound more at ease than he really feels. “Ask away.”

You hesitate for a moment, not wanting to push too hard. “I was wondering... would it be okay if I asked you some questions? About, you know, your life. Where you're from.”

The bite of pizza suddenly feels heavy in his mouth. He hadn’t talked much about his world, not even with Wade. Partly because it was too painful, and partly because he wasn’t sure how to explain how things turned out for him. He nods slowly, setting his slice down. “Yeah, it's okay. I’ll answer what I can.”

“I just... I want to understand you better.”

“Well, first and foremost, I’m no hero. You should know that by now.”

“I beg to differ.”

“Kid, I’m the worst Logan. A complete failure. Of all the variants out there, Wade just had to pick the one despised by every living soul on his earth,” Logan looks away, his voice low and heavy. You’re wondering if doing this was a good idea. “I need a drink.”

He gets up and you follow him into the kitchen. He rummages through the fridge, in search of a cold beer. Meanwhile, you attempt to find the right words. “I don’t think–”

With a sharp flick of his wrist, three metal claws sprout from between his knuckles. A gasp catches in your throat as he uses his claws to pierce the beer can, drinking from the punctured holes. Once he’s done, he goes back to staring at you. Your gaze, on the other hand, is still glued to the now-empty beer can. “What?” he asks, exhaling slowly.

“That was completely unnecessary,” you mutter, and he lets out a bitter chuckle, tossing the can into the trash. “But, back to what you said before– I don’t think you’re the worst Logan.”

“You didn’t know me back then, darlin’. I fucked it up,” he leans against the counter, arms crossed defensively over his chest. “Like the Logan from this universe, I once belonged to the X-Men too. I remember that Scott used to beg me to wear my suit. So did Jean, Storm, Beast– All of them,” his gaze grows more distant, and you can tell that memories are flooding his mind. “Wanted me to be part of the team, but I wouldn’t do it. Told them they looked fucking ridiculous.”

The pizza’s long forgotten. You take the risk and get a bit closer to him, your eyes never leaving his. 

Logan’s silence stretches for a moment before he speaks again. “One day, while I was off on my own, the humans came. They went mutant hunting.”

Your heart clenches at the pain in his voice. He still remembers everything as if it had happened yesterday. “I can guess the rest. You don’t have to–”

But he cuts you off. “No, let me say it. I need to say it,” he takes a deep breath, lowering his head. “By the time I stumbled home, shit-faced from the bar, it was too late. They were dead. They called after me and I walked away.”

Reaching out, your hand gently brushes against his. He doesn’t pull away, but instead searches for your eyes. “My suit's all I've got to remind me of who they were. What I did. I found them and they were… dead. I started killing, and I couldn’t stop. I didn’t want to stop. I turned the whole world against the X-Men.”

You tighten your grip on his hand, knowing there’s nothing you can do to change how he feels. “You’re not a bad person, Logan,” he shakes his head, mumbling something you can’t quite catch. “I mean it. What happened back then doesn’t define you. You took the blame for their deaths upon yourself. I can tell you loved them deeply, and I’ll never fully understand the pain you feel. I wish I could. I wish I could take it away, make you forget somehow, but I can’t. That’s not how life works. But you got your second chance: you saved this world. My world,” gently cupping his face in your hands, you allow your fingers to caress his cheeks. He leans into your touch, watching you with half-lidded eyes. “You’re my hero. I’m your biggest fan– after Wade, obviously, which is a lot to say.”

He grins, letting out a laugh. “Easy there, bub.”

“Should I give you some space?”

That’s the last thing he wants from you right now. You already know that as he looks you up and down, placing his hands on the small of your back, his thumbs drawing small circles on your skin. There’s no turning back– The warmth between you feels almost like a fever dream. “For a long time, all I wanted was to disappear. I couldn’t stand waking up every morning, knowing that another day awaited me.”

“And what happened?” your breath mingles with his, his closeness becoming nearly intoxicating. “What changed?”

“I met a pretty girl at a pub, that’s what happened,” he murmurs, his dilated pupils flicking up to meet your gaze. “I’m gonna kiss you now.”

“Do all your kisses come with a warning?”

“God, do you ever shut up?”

You don’t have time to respond because he kisses you there and then. His stubble scrapes your skin as your mouths meet again and again, needy hands that hold you as if you were prone to breaking. Logan licks into your mouth, sliding his tongue against yours and swallowing every one of your whimpers.

“So this is what it takes to shut you up, huh?” he murmurs against your lips. You can feel him smiling, and it makes your heart skip a beat. 

“Keep talking and you won’t get a single bite of my tiramisu,” you tease him, kissing him again, the taste of beer numbing your senses. “I really like kissing you.”

“The feeling’s mutual, but now that you’ve mentioned that tiramisu…”

“Am I that easily replaced?”

“No. You’re just a pain in the ass.”

Jokes aside, you’re as happy as a clam.

Since that night you and Logan kissed, you’ve been living your best life. Like a freaking schoolgirl with a crush. Some things never seem to change.

He hasn’t been to the bar in three days. Yes, you’re counting them. No, you haven’t lost your mind. You want to see him, but there’s something about making the first move that gives you the chills. What would his reaction be if you showed outside of apartment?

It’s been a long time since you’ve been with anybody. On top of that, all the guys you’ve dated were your age. Being with someone that older than you certainly wasn’t no your plans. You’d be lying if you said that the mere idea of being with him in that way didn’t excite you.

Oh boy, you miss him. You miss his scruffy voice, his gorgeous hair. And you two aren’t even official yet. To be honest, you don’t even know what he wants from you. Is he even the type to be in a relationship?

“Nighty night, gentlemen,” you say to Gary and his friends as you find yourself in front of them, smoothing your apron. Gwen had called in sick tonight, so it’s just you at the bar babysitting a bunch of grown-men.

“What’s up, doll? You’ve forgotten about us. We miss you coming in here to chat,” Gary’s eating his burger at the same time he speaks, something you find repulsive, but you’ve seen worse. “Y’know, I’d love to take you out someday. I have a place you’d like.”

The other men laugh and punch him in the back, just boosting his ego. Pathetic. 

“I’ll let you know when I’m free,” you reply with the most polite smile you can offer, intending to go on. “What are you having tonight?”

“You always pull that shit, baby. I don’t think you’re so busy that you can’t accept a date.”

You hate the way he’s looking at you, as if you were wrong for not being interested. As if you didn’t know any better.

“You’re reading minds now? Shocking, Gary.”

“Oh, doll. That attitude of yours shows you’ve never been with a real man like me, that’s all,” he leans back in his chair, resting one of his arms on the table and the other one near his crotch, manspreading. “It’s alright. I like you bratty.”

“I’ll be back when you finally have something to order,” you attempt to turn around but he grabs your wrist, pulling you closer. Your eyes lock, and he seems to enjoy this: being in control. Like a predator hunting his prey. “Come on, Gary. I don’t want to have to kick you out.”

“It’s not that you don't like me, right? You’ve already got your mouth full.”

“Careful.”

“What? Don’t tell me you’re not fucking that useless mutant. I see you like ‘em older. Pretty little things like you drive me wild.”

You laugh in his face, showing him your teeth. “It was never about your age, Gary. You’re right: I do like them older. I’m just not into bald, vertically-challenged pricks.”

His entourage of idiots goes silent after that. He looks up at you, eyes burning with hatred. His grip on your wrist tightens, probably leaving a mark. “Fucking bitch.”

“Get your hands off her.”

Logan’s voice forces the two of you to look in his direction. It seems that he’s just arrived at the pub, his jacket still on. 

“You joining us? We’re just getting started here, big boy.”

“Did you not hear me?” Logan lunges forward, his nose almost touching Gary’s. “The fuck is wrong with you?”

“Easy there, cowboy. I’m just having a chat with your girl. She’s one of the good ones, I’ll give you that,” arching a sly brow, his forehead puckers. “You don’t like sharing? We can even take turns.”

Logan clenches his jaw, lips set in a grim line. “Say one more word, and I’ll fucking kill you.”

“I’ll give you a full sentence instead: can you even get it up?” 

The tension in the air is thick, every second stretching out as Logan's anger simmers dangerously close to the surface. Gary’s smug grin only makes it worse, pushing him to the edge. Before you can react, Logan’s fist swings forward, connecting with Gary’s jaw with a sickening crack. Gary staggers back, realising your wrist. Blood seeps from his nose, his white shirt becoming stained with it. “You fucker! You broke my nose!”

“We’re just getting started here, big boy,” Logan mocks him, repeating his previous words.

“Stop!” you shout, moving quickly to grab his arm, trying to pull him back. But he’s beyond hearing, his rage blinding him to everything else. He shakes you off, and with a fierce growl, drives another punch into Gary’s stomach. The latter doubles over, gasping for air, the wind knocked out of him. He then falls to the floor, curling into a ball. People start to gather around you, and soon your beloved bar becomes a box ring.

“That’s enough, Logan! He’s barely conscious,” you murmur under your breath, stepping between them, hands up in a desperate attempt to create some space. Logan pauses, chest heaving, fists still clenched, as he finally looks at you. The wildness in his eyes starts to fade, replaced by a dawning realization of what he’s done.

“He deserved it,” he nods vigorously to himself, as if trying to explain his point. “He was hurting you.”

“If you keep that up, you’re going to kill him. My bar is not a fucking cemetery,” your voice trembles a little bit, expecting to talk some sense into him. “I won’t let you do this.”

The room is quiet now, the only sound being Logan’s heavy breathing as he stands there, still tense, still processing. You turn to Gary’s friends, cold fury in your eyes. “Get him out of here,” you watch as they haul him up, practically dragging him to the door. The other clients continue to stare at Logan, their mouths hanging open. “Everybody out, right now! Go home. We’re closing earlier tonight.”

Adam is the last person to leave, slamming the door behind him. You rush to the counter, searching for a mop to clean the fresh blood off the floor. Still agitated, the images of Logan hitting Gary flash in your mind. He approaches you from behind, his fingers circling your forearm. “Bub–”

“Don’t. Now is not the time.”

“I was protecting you.”

“I told you to stop, and you didn’t. You just shook me off,” you snap, glancing at his knuckles which are not even bruised. Slamming your eyes shut, you get to your feet and wash your hands in the sink, the remaining water becoming reddish for a moment.

Logan moves closer, resting his chin on your shoulder. He wraps his arms lazily around your middle section. ”I’m sorry.”

You turn in his arms, your back flushed against the sink and your nose in the air. “Why didn’t you call me?”

“I don’t have a phone.”

“But– Jesus, Logan. You could’ve come sooner. I thought you regretted what happened the other day,” you say and the muscles in his face twitch, his body stiffening at your words. “Thought you no longer wanted me.”

“No, bub. I– I still want you. I want all of you, trust me,” he murmurs, and you allow him to press his body against yours, the scent of the cigar he must have smoked recently enveloping your senses. “I just… don’t know how to do this. I have a habit of ruining things, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to be with you without hurting you.”

“Pushing me away also hurts,” your eyes flick up to meet his gaze again, and he whispers under his breath. “I can’t read your mind. You need to tell me what’s going on in that ancient skull of yours.”

His face falters, flashing you a mischievous look. His hand creeps under the fabric of your shirt, fingernails scrapping against your spine. “I’m sorry, princess. I truly am.”

“You can’t just say ‘sorry’ with that voice and expect me to–”

You’re cut off by his lips crashing down onto yours. You melt into the kiss, unable to deny what your body has been craving for the past days. 

“I thought your kisses came with a warning,” you say, detaching your mouth from his, a smile spreading uncontrollably in your face as you see his toothy grin.

“Shut up and kiss me, will you?”

In a clash of tongues and teeth, your mouths meet once again. Tugging the hair at his nape, you feel him growl against your lips. His strong hands trace every curve of your body, kneading the flesh of your hips and undoing the knot at the back of your apron. You’re becoming one with the sink, but in a moment like this, you couldn’t care less. Logan’s hard on nudges your lower stomach, and he ruts against you like an animal.

“You said you wanted to know what’s on my mind, right?” his teeth nibble on the skin of your neck, syrupy voice going straight to your core. “Well, I’d love nothing more than to touch you right now.”

“Right here? On the counter?”

“Yeah, on the fucking counter,” he grabs you by your thighs, hosting you up and placing your body on top of the cold bar. He nudges your knees apart, his bulge meeting your clothed cunt deliciously. “Will you let me, baby? Can I make you come in here?”

“Please. I’m glad we have such a low budget. Camera installment is t–too expensive these days.”

“Do you always talk this much?” he slowly unbuttons your pants, and you help him to remove them.

“Yes. Next question,” your breath hitches in your throat as you feel the pad of his thumb circling your clit through your panties. Your eyelids drop, your head lolling back. “Fuck, that feels good.”

Logan hums, mesmerized with the way your hips roll into his hand, your whimpers sounding like music to his ears. “You have any idea how I felt when I saw him touching you? Wanted to rip his hands off you,” his eyes drift to your chest, how it rises and falls with impatience. “But it’s me who gets to have you like this. He can fantasize about you all he wants: I’m the only one who touches you, ain’t I right?” you sigh with content as his fingers graze your slit, aimlessly bucking your hips. He doesn’t go any further, and you tug at the collar of his flannel, needing more of his callousand hands on you. “Nuh-uh. You want something, you gotta use your words. Got it?”

“I w–want your fingers inside me,” you don’t even recognize your own voice at this point. The few guys you had slept with had never been very talkative during sex. But Logan isn’t like them. This is just the beginning and you’re already starting to realize that he has a dirty mouth, that expectant look on his face as he waits to see your reaction to his words. “Please, Logan. I want you so bad.”

“Oh, I know, bub. There’s something about me I don’t think you know,” he inserts one of his fingers in your cunt, your slick coating the palm of his hand. “These claws I have… they didn’t come on their own. Let’s just say my sense of smell is… pretty good,” Logan can almost see the gears turning in your head as you try to think coherently. He moves his middle finger in and out of you, stretching your walls. “And you… have been wet ever since the first time you saw me. Always nice to everybody, making sure they feel at ease,” you feel like you’re being stretched even further, another one of his fingers sinking into your warm pussy. “But you’re so needy, too. How long has it been since someone touched you like this?”

“Too long, f–fuck. Too long,” you’re squirming, a totally whiny mess. He retratcs his wet fingers and instead goes back to flicking your clit, this time with much less delicacy. His left hand squeezes your tits, and you hate the fact that you’re still wearing clothes. “Shit, Logan. I need you to fuck me. Please. Need your cock.”

His face comes to rest at your neck, and you feel lingering kisses and bites that keep you grounded to earth. “Not here. I need a bed to fuck you properly. You’re only getting my fingers now,” he positions them inches away from your entrance, testing your patience. “Tell me who owns this pussy.”

“L-logan–”

“Tell me and I’ll make you come,” his husky voice is making you dizzy, tears shimmering in your eyes. “Come on. Know you want it as much as I do.”

You succumb to the tentation, like divinity turned to sin. He kisses you roughly, and you struggle to find the correct words. “It’s you, Logan. You own my pussy. It’s f-fucking yours.”

With that, he goes back to nudging that spot that makes you see starts, that filthy squelching sound getting mixed up with your moans. The knot in your belly keeps growing tighter the more he pumps his fingers in and out of you. 

“I said you were only getting my fingers for now, but fuck… I need to gest a taste of this sweet cunt.”

He’s on his knees in an instant, urging your legs apart to make room for his body. Your thighs tighten around his face as he licks a hot stripe up your folds, tracing a heated path on your cunt, not wishing to waste a single second. Pleasure builds quickly, your breath hitching as your hands find their way into his hair, pulling him closer when your body begins to tremble. 

“I’m close,” you pant, breathing hard, grinding your hips against his face. “I’m so close.”

“That’s it. Come in my mouth like the good girl you are.”

Who had given him a damn script for this?

The release is explosive. Like the peak of a roller coaster: you go up up up, ascending higher. You think you almost see Jesus, but at some point, you also have to crash down with force. Your shoulders slump, your entire body cramping up; yet he doesn’t let you go that easily, his fingers still working, scissoring within you while you ride out the final waves of your high, drawing out every last moment of ecstasy.

Once you finally manage to open your eyes, there he is, staring down at you. He taps your lower lip with his fingers, and then mutters: “Open.”

And you do, because you’re just as messed up as he is. Your mouth parts, and he slides his fingers between your lips, dragging them smoothly across your tongue. His knuckles brush the back of your throat, and you gag around the intrusion, tasting yourself. He pulls his fingers out of your mouth, clearly satisfied with the way you’ve cleaned them off.

“I think we should really pay a visit to your apartment,” he suggests, groaning in defeat, and you feel his bulge poking your hip. He must be painfully hard. “I meant what I said earlier. I need a bed if we’re going to fuck. My back’s hurting.”

You raise an eyebrow, the corner of your mouth curving into a smirk. “Why not go to yours?”

“Wade’s in there. I wouldn’t be able to concentrate.”

You can’t help but laugh, pausing a moment to collect your thoughts, heat rising to your cheeks. “So we’re going rodeo?”

Aiming to silence up, Logan kisses you, pinching your chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Only if you can handle it.”

part 2: “GIVE ME THE FIRST TASTE”

dividers by: @/cafekitsune thank you!!! :)