#you could use make all the characters the lone wanderer here

[morning-star-joy]

honey don't feed it, it will come back (Joel x F!Reader)

Pairing: Bodyguard!Joel x Sex Worker F!Reader

Summary: You run a brothel in the Boston QZ, devoting yourself to taking care of your girls. When the safety of one is threatened, you hire a bodyguard in the form of the surly Joel Miller to protect them. Little did you know that you were going to become his new favorite vice, and him your favorite addiction.

Warnings: MDNI Explicit Smut (oral f receiving, v fingering, Joel jacks off while going down on Reader, dirty talk, bit of a sir kink, bit of a brat tamer dynamic). Pet names (baby, darlin’, sweetheart). Alcohol/drug use. Sex work (Joel listens to Reader). Age gap (20 years). Mentions of physical assault (towards minor characters, never from Joel. Not stated to be sexual assault but it can be inferred as such, so please take care of yourselves).

Wordcount: 9.6k (how the fuck)

joel miller masterlist

The world was fucked to all hell and back, and so what did men do in those circumstances?

“Oh fuck,” your customer was grunting as he fucked into you from behind, your hands on the headboard as it rocked against the wall to keep yourself up, breathy moans expertly leaving your lips to spur them on, even if you hadn’t felt an inkling of desire in years.

Yeah.

They fucked.

Fight or flight were often referred to in the first years following the Outbreak, a default of survival instinct that most everybody resorted to in order to survive.

But fucking was the much less talked about, incredibly prevalent third option.

It became clear in the Quarantine Zones that there was a need to be filled here, a way to satisfy that urge in a way that wouldn’t cause a barely held-together society inside high walls to erupt into chaos.

From this need, brothels made an appearance. While FEDRA had nothing to do with the establishments officially, they turned a very convenient blind eye to the street corners where women trying to make some kind of a living in the QZ took up their stations, tempting any lonely man who may wander by into a night of needed release.

It was a dangerous profession, in its own way. Contraceptives were long expired twenty years after the society collapsed, and even if a client pulled out at the best time and you were keeping track of your cycle, there was always the risk of being put out of work for around 9 months if you were unlucky.

And then came the obsession.

Clients could become far too eager far too quickly, addicted to the touch and feeling of a certain girl, mistaking lust for affection and lurking around those street corners before the night even came or, worse, outside the brothel doors.

You’d experienced it first-hand and through other girls, but it wasn’t until one of the younger ones came to you with a black eye and bruised jaw that you had had enough.

“Who did it?” you said in a low tone, breathing deeply in and out through your nose as you tried to control yourself, reigning yourself back in from the need to grab the gun you kept tucked in the top drawer of your rickety old nightstand and find who the fuck had laid their hands on one of your girls in such a way.

After years of being in the business, you had gone from only taking clients to keeping a watchful eye over the other women who made the same living you did. Your glory days were mostly behind you, but you still had your reputation, even after the incident that left you with a jagged scar that stretched vertically across the right side of your face, from above your eyebrow, down across your eye to just below your cheekbone.

Those clients you did still have preferred to fuck you with you facing away from them now, but you weren’t complaining. Not seeing their ugly faces as they used you to cum helped you dissociate, focus your thoughts on how well you were going to eat the next few days because of a few minutes of sacrifice.

The young woman whose lip was trembling as you held her hands gently in yours now was hardly past her early twenties, a sweet young thing who you had taken under your wing when she confessed needing a way to get some extra ration cards for her little brother who had gotten sick recently.

You had snuck Isabel some of your own ration cards with each of her payments, not caring that you had a bit less to eat each night, especially when she had come to you a couple weeks later with a bright smile and the news that her brother’s health had improved.

Now that smile that could light up the whole goddamn QZ was nowhere to be seen, an abject horror darkening her gaze, making her angelic face gaunt as you reached up to gently hold it, tilting it so you could assess the extent of the damage.

Her eyes, a deep honeyed brown that had drawn in the most clients your brothel had seen in years, were avoiding yours as you searched for her gaze, and you gently directed her face back towards you, voice softer as you implored her, “Isabel. Please, talk to me, babygirl.”

A choked sob was the first sound to leave her mouth then at the sound of your genuine affection. The world may be fucked, but protecting these girls was your purpose. And the thought of not being enough to protect them, for one of them to come to you like this…

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” you whispered as her petite form collapsed against yours, holding her close as you smoothed a hand over the tangles in her hair, gently combing them out with your fingers as your other hand rubbed at her back. “It’ll be okay, love. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

Even as you assured her, a fear was creating pressure in the back of your mind, causing the first of many sleepless nights as you tried to figure out how to make sure this could never happen again.

You sat at your little makeshift desk in your tiny room on the top floor of the brothel, a cheap cigarette you had just gotten from a couple smugglers perched between your fingers as you slowly exhaled the smoke, staring down at your incoherent scribbled notes.

With a groan, you pushed yourself away from the desk, standing to cross over to the small window on the wall, gazing out in paranoia to make sure there were no dark shadows lingering nearby, waiting to get a hold of one of your girls if they didn’t want it.

Glancing back down at the lit cigarette, you pondered your few options.

FEDRA was not a viable source for protection. Yes, they turned a blind eye on your activities, but they would never risk their image by offering guards for your girls. Besides, you didn’t trust anybody in one of those uniforms within an inch of your life.

Fireflies weren’t a fucking option either. Those jackasses were so far up the proverbial ass of justice that they couldn’t see the actual struggles of the real people around them, subjecting them to be collateral in whatever useless statement they were making lately.

The cigarette was raised halfway to your lip when you paused, staring down at it as you suddenly had a small epiphany.

Who did you know that had not an ounce of a moral code, but a strong work ethic and determination to get the job done for a good deal that promised a stack of ration cards?

A smirk curled onto your lips then as you brought the cigarette back to them, placing it in your mouth as you took a long drag, exhaling it towards the window and watching it fog up the glass as you realized exactly who you were heading to.

“We don’t do protection,” your smuggling contact was saying, her voice as gruff and no-nonsense as always, and you sighed, meeting her sharp green eyes straight on as you shifted to cross your legs.

“Don’t bullshit me, Tess,” you said flatly back, your voice not harsh, but definitely firm, calling her out on her bluff even as you saw her ever-present guard dog shift a ways behind her at your tone. “You’ll do anything for a good trade. And I have that.”

“I don’t wanna fuck your girls,” Tess dismissed, waving her hand as if to brush the thought away, and you rolled your eyes, even as you couldn’t help a smirk, glancing at your associate with a small hint of mirth that matched her own.

“I’m not offering that,” you replied honestly, slowly drumming your fingers at the small table you were both seated at in one of the back alleys where these deals tended to go down. Public enough to avoid a shootout, but private enough to avoid FEDRA breathing down your backs. “My girls get paid for their work. So would you.”

Tess raised an eyebrow then, leaning in just a fraction, and you knew that you had captured just a fraction of her attention.

Good. You could work with that.

“What are we talking?” she asked in a low tone, voice still disinterested, gaze still closed off, but you knew that would change when you laid out the conditions of the deal.

When you did—offering a heft of ration cards (that they didn’t need to know was almost your entire cut of the brothel’s proceeds) for an able body to keep watch at your brothel during active business hours—Tess leaned back again, eyes flickering over your face as she processed the information.

“You know I’m good for it, Tess,” you implored, allowing a bit of emotion to creep into your tone now as you meet her gaze, hoping she would hear what you were asking for, woman to woman. “And these girls…they need it.”

She frowned then, sympathy flashing over her face as she glanced over yours, hearing what went unsaid.

Tess began to turn her head slightly over her shoulder, though she didn’t bother sparing a glance back as she called, “Joel.”

That was the first time you think you’d heard the name of her silent, watchful companion.

You knew that they were a package deal, but whenever you met with Tess, he lingered in the background, making sure you didn’t lay a hand on her.

Good, you thought to yourself, glancing over at him as he pushed himself off the wall and strolled over just at the unspoken order she gave for him to approach. If he’s who she has in mind, hopefully he does the same for the girls.

It was also the first time you really got a look at the man who Tess finally introduced you, explaining to the both of you how this was going to work at the same moment.

With those thick arms that could be around your neck as fast as you could blink, hardened dark eyes that were already measuring you up and calculating at least six ways to take you out before you could even open your mouth to say hello, you knew that just the sight of him in your brothel would strike fear into the depraved hearts of meeker, cowardly men.

He was older, too. Maybe had twenty years on you, and if somebody had lived that long in the apocalypse, they had to know how to get their hands fucking dirty if they needed to.

“I’ll take him,” you said back to Tess after appraising the man who would be your brothel’s bodyguard, your attention only pulled back to the hunk of muscles when you heard him scoff at your words. “There a problem?”

“I’m not a piece of meat,” he grunted, expression flat as he stared at you, and you arched an eyebrow, unamused by his comment that came right after you and Tess had agreed to the terms of the deal.

“Hate to break it to you, but a bodyguard is nothing but that,” you replied as you gracefully uncrossed your legs, rising to your feet as Tess collected their first payment from you off the table, pushing it into her front pocket as she rose from her own seat as well. “Muscle that can drop a man at a moment’s notice.”

You watched as Joel’s strong jaw ticked, your other eyebrow rising with the first as you stepped around the table, getting closer to the man than you probably should, watching as his tense shoulders bunched up even more around his ears when you approached. 

“And now, you’re my muscle, Mr. Miller,” you said in a perfectly conversational tone, a practiced smile pulling onto your lips as Joel glanced down at them briefly before looking back into your eyes, his gaze narrowing as you added, “Pleasure to be doing business with you.”

Spinning on your heel, you strolled away from the smugglers towards the exit to the alley, but not without saying back over your shoulder before you got too far, “First shift’s an hour after curfew. Don’t be late.”

There was the sound of low grumbling behind you, followed by the smooth low tones of Tess’ voice, and you didn’t know why you felt the urge to laugh at that moment.

You didn’t know why, because you hadn’t laughed in years.

But you brushed that feeling aside, heading back towards your establishment to ready your girls for the change that would be coming in their worlds tonight, hoping that it would give them the peace of mind you all so desperately needed.

Whether you would be able to relax all depended on if Joel Miller could actually do his job.

He could.

One of the very first nights Joel had taken up station in the main hallway in the brothel that led off to private rooms, he had proven his worth, and then some.

You had been down the staircase in an instant when you heard the loud crash, heart racing in your chest, breath quickened from panic as you rounded down to see what had caused the loud sound.

Some thumps and bumps were common in an establishment like yours, but that sounded very much like a body not only hitting the ground, but being thrown down onto it.

What you saw then was an image that etched itself deep into your brain for the rest of your days.

Joel, your brand new, stoic bodyguard who hardly gave so much as a grunt to you or any of the girls he was hired to protect, had a half-naked man pressed to the old floorboards, knee digging right into his back to pin him down, a large hand keeping a tight grip on his neck to stop him from moving.

But what got your attention even more than the struggling client who Joel was snarling at as he roughly kept them down, was the girl who was standing behind him, arms wrapped around herself and subconsciously shifting to stay behind the bodyguard, eyes wide and relieved at the sight of him catching the out of hand customer.

You walked towards the scene that had drawn spectators in the form of clients and workers alike, peeking their heads out into the hallway to watch as you slowly knelt down in front of where the bastard was pinned so roughly to the ground that you weren’t sure he could even breathe.

Good.

You glanced up at Joel then, meeting his hard gaze with one of your own, and you gestured with a jerk of your chin towards the staircase leading down and out of your establishment that he could throw them out.

After rising to your feet, you paused next to Joel, watching from the corner of your eye as he grabbed the man roughly, yanking them to their feet and halting in his task only when you briefly laid your hand on his shoulder.

“Let him know not to come back,” you muttered under your breath, sending a sidelong glance full of unspoken things towards Joel, a tiny smirk curling onto your lips as the whimper of fear from the sick bastard and your bodyguard’s short nod let you know you’d been heard.

You walked straight towards your girl who had nearly been treated in a way you would not tolerate towards any of your women, wrapping your arm around her shoulder and pulling her against you, letting her sink into your warmth as you addressed the rest of the brothel that everything was fine, to resume their activities while Joel shoved the guy down the stairs as they started to beg for mercy.

Luckily, there weren’t many similar incidents after that one, letting you know the investment into a well-abled bodyguard for your girls had been more than worth it.

Because more than the concrete evidence of their safety, it was the palpable shift in energy at the brothel that reassured you that you had made the right choice not only in having a bodyguard, but in who you hired.

Joel never really warmed up to anybody, but all the girls had certainly grown fond of him. There were more than a few crushes on the emotionally unavailable older man who stood like a statue in the halls, ranging from innocent love to lustful fantasies.

There were a handful of times one of your girls had offered their services to him, some even trying to get him into a room free of charge, but Joel turned down every one—interestingly enough, it was never without kindness. Each time a proposition was offered, the detached bodyguard would give a slight shake of his head, mumbling a “no thank you, ma’am” in that deep Southern drawl that soon made almost every girl in that building buckle at the knees.

The fondness your girls had for Joel Miller became ingrained in the way the brothel functioned, and you knew that you couldn’t get rid of him even if you wanted to, even if that meant continuing to share a large portion of your personal livelihood with him.

And maybe you were crazy, but you thought that maybe Joel had a bit of warmth in that tiny, shriveled up heart for your girls, too. Sometimes he’d eye a client up and down before giving the girl with them a respectful nod and a polite murmur of their name as a greeting, and you didn’t know why the familiarity of the stoic man warmed your own barbed wire heart, but it did.

Maybe it was because after all the shit they’d gone through to survive long enough to reach this point, they deserved to experience an ounce of genuine kindness from a man, without having to think about what they had to offer him.

Still, Joel irritated you. Any hint of kindness he had for your girls was never shown towards you, but you didn’t let it get to you. You were his employer, and the only times you ever really interacted with each other were the few short seconds it took him to head up the stairs to your office, collect his payment with you and leave.

Besides, you weren’t exactly the most gentle with him either.

You’d taken up a habit of poking fun at your bodyguard, a little teasing here and there about things like his face getting stuck if he never unfurrowed his brow, a comment that only made him scowl further, the sight pulling forward again that urge from deep within your bones to laugh.

But you never laughed, even as you smirked up at him before turning on your heel and going on about your work keeping the place running smoothly.

That work mainly involved management and finances, but when you began to realize you soon wouldn’t be able to keep supporting yourself with keeping Joel on as a bodyguard, you knew you’d have to start doing something a little extra.

Time to go back to your roots.

For all his time working at the brothel, Joel had never seen you take a client.

In fact, he could probably count on one hand the amount of times he had seen you in the hallways, only to check on a few of the girls from time to time.

But most of the time you were holed up in that small office upstairs, the one he entered for a minute or two at a time, long enough for you to gather his payment and give it to him so he could be out of your hair—or, more accurately, to get you out of his.

Because fuck, you were irritating. You knew exactly how to get on his nerves, and Joel suspected you actually enjoyed doing so, for whatever goddamned reason.

Still, the job paid well. He was living with a bit more comfort in the QZ than he ever had before with those cushy extra ration cards.

And besides, he was actually, maybe a little bit attached to the girls who worked these streets. They were kind, just making a living in the best way they could, and needed somebody to protect them.

Maybe there was also a part of Joel that needed somebody to protect.

He had to admit though, for all his aggravation towards your mere existence, Joel did respect you. You were the person who kept this place up and running, the one who looked after every need of each woman, the lady who had cared for them enough to search for a protector to keep them safe.

Joel had honestly assumed that you didn’t do sex work at all, just judging from how you were never in one of those rooms.

But tonight, you were walking up the staircase from the base floor instead of down from your office, drawing Joel’s attention and subsequent confusion when he saw what you were wearing.

Gone were the baggy jeans you usually wore around the brothel, replaced by thigh-highs that enveloped soft skin he had never seen before. There were just hints of lace at the top of the hosiery from where the tight black dress hugging your curves rode up with each step you took.

It had to have been one of the least scantily clad outfits he’d seen down these halls, but something about the sight of you wearing it caused a lump to form in Joel’s throat, an itch curling inside his veins that needed to be scratched when you turned your head back, offering a sly smile different from any you had sent him towards somebody behind you.

When you ascended to the top of the stairs, Joel saw the man following you, his back stiffening for more than one reason.

The first reason was that he knew this man. Not personally, but he had seen them around—on wanted posters, specifically. They were a higher up in the Fireflies, one who had their eyes on every covert deal around the city, a puppet master pulling the strings.

But it was clear now that you were pulling his, a coy batting of your cunning eyes tugging him after you down the hallway, your body turned slightly towards him in a way that accentuated every curve of your body in its side profile, illuminated in the lowlights of the hall.

When you passed by Joel, eyes meeting his as they shifted into something darker—not lustful, but with clear intent—he knew the other reason he had suddenly snapped to attention.

This man was your customer.

That look you had given Joel, it was an unspoken order to keep you safe in case anything went south with this considerably more…“exclusive” customer, for lack of a better term.

You didn’t spare another glance back as you moved to a door at the end of the hall, one Joel didn’t think he had ever seen another girl enter, slipping into the room as the man followed behind you, and the door quietly clicked shut.

Joel stared at the spot where you had just been in the hallway, feet frozen to the ground until he slowly stepped forward, moving down to lean against the wall next to the room you had entered, following your silent order to stay close and keep an eye out for trouble.

All his time working in a building full of the sounds and smell of sex at every moment, Joel had been unbothered. The moans, the grunts, the cries of “oh fuck” and “I’m coming!” that would echo through the halls, the overpowering scents of sweat and cum when a door next to him would open and a satisfied client would walk out—he couldn’t give less of a fuck. It neither bothered him, nor turned him on to any degree.

But at the very first soft, breathy moan of yours that drifted through the thin wall his back was pressed to, Joel’s breath was catching in his throat, entire body stiffening at the alluring sound.

A few seconds later, there was another moan, longer than the first, and Joel’s head tilted back, resting against the wall as his jaw clenched to the point where it was almost painful.

He didn’t care, he told himself.

Joel had never cared before, he didn’t care now.

But it had never been you before.

You, the stalwart image of the establishment, all business and no pleasure, putting every other person’s needs before your own.

So at the thought of you giving into pleasure now, satisfying your own needs as the sounds of slow, rhythmic squeaking of a bedframe carried towards him through the door, your whimpering echoing the steady echo of skin slapping against skin—

“Fuck,” Joel whispered under his breath, eyes fluttering shut at a particularly loud moan of yours that reached his ears that had tuned in through the walls, and he snapped his eyes back open, straightening back up and realizing with a quiet groan from the movement how painfully hard he had grown in his jeans at the sounds of you being fucked.

He reminded himself then that this was your job. There was no guarantee you derived any real pleasure from it—to think that you did was a delusional male fantasy, and made him no better than the rest.

But his dick wasn’t listening to logic, only growing harder in his pants with the more lewd sounds that you made, and Joel sucked in a deep breath, rubbing a large palm over his face and shaking his head to himself.

You were no different from the others.

Just another girl to protect.

Joel didn’t want you.

“Oh, god, yes!” you were gasping in between keening moans now, and Joel bit down hard on his lower lip, feeling the chapped skin break and bleed a bit as his hand twitched at his side, the urge to do something about the erection straining against his pants so incredibly strong.

He could do it. None of the other girls were close to finishing with their clients. Joel could pull his cock from his pants right now and fuck into his own hand as he listened to you having sex, get himself off from the sounds you were making, imagining he was thrusting into you instead of his palm as you—

“Yes,” you whimpered, the sounds of skin slapping against skin rapid now, the bedframe inside your room slamming against the wall as you repeated yourself louder and louder, higher and higher, “Yes, yes, yes!”

Then you were crying out at the same time your client did, and Joel grunted, hips bucking up into his palm at the same moment he realized his hand had drifted there, subconsciously seeking relief from the ache of burning desire before he snapped his hand away.

“Fuck,” he huffed, shaking his head sharply and cursing himself at how he had nearly jacked himself off at the sound of you having sex without even realizing what he was doing. “Get it the fuck together.”

But his erection hardly eased up even as the minutes passed, and Joel had to fold his hands together, trying to casually hold them in front of the obvious bulge constrained by his jeans when your door opened.

The client walked out first, and Joel stared straight ahead at the wall opposite him, jaw clenching painfully once more as the man walked down the hallway, glancing back to send you a wave as you leaned against the doorframe, bending forward out of it to wiggle your fingers back towards him in goodbye.

Joel’s eyes snapped from how relaxed the gait of the man now was before looking over at you, sucking in a sharp breath at the tattered silk robe you were wearing, seeing the dip of your collarbone down to the soft curves of your cleavage, nearly catching a glimpse of the tempting pillows of your tits from the way you were leaning forward before he forced his gaze away.

You were watching him now—he could feel the familiar intensity of your gaze on him, and Joel resisted the urge to swallow thickly, struggling against the lump in his throat as you pushed yourself off the doorframe.

He expected you to head back up towards your office, preparing himself to keep his gaze off you when you walked past him in that temptation of thin fabric, when you surprised him by speaking.

“Want a smoke?”

Joel froze, his head tilting towards the sound of your voice subconsciously before your words even dawned on him.

When they did, he glanced towards you from the corner of his eye, seeing you were watching him with a thumb pointing back over your shoulder towards the room behind you.

The room you had just fucked a client in.

Oh fuck.

Joel cleared his throat, brows furrowed deeply as he looked back at you, and he half-expected you to make a comment about it like usual, but you were simply watching him with an impassive look, not a hint of emotion or motive he could try to decipher.

Before he knew what he was doing, Joel nodded, feet automatically moving after yours when you walked into the room.

“You can close it,” you said over your shoulder as you walked towards a nightstand next to the bed where—

Joel spun around, trying to control how rapidly he was breathing as he grabbed the door handle, pulling it shut behind him before slowly turning back to face the room again.

He had never actually been in one of them before, but he still should have expected the smell to be so much stronger in one—especially right after it had been occupied.

Still, the scent of sex pulled his attention right back to the bed you stood next to as you perched a cigarette between your lips—one he thinks Tess got you, he realized somewhere in the back of his mind—and Joel’s eyes lingered on dark spots on the mattress, forgetting how to breathe for a moment before your voice brought him back.

“Mr. Miller?”

His head snapped forward, eyes meeting yours to see you looking at him in a question he didn’t know that you were asking.

“Huh?” he mumbled so eloquently, wincing internally as your lips twitched into a small smirk around the cigarette in your mouth before you pulled it out, blowing it into the heady air of the room, nicotine joining the smells of sex and making the space tighter, hotter, before you paced towards a window on one wall.

“I asked if you wanted one,” you said slowly, and Joel just then noticed how scratchy your voice was—from the cigarette, the moans you were making not that long before, or maybe both.

“Uh—no,” Joel shook his head, watching with bated breath as your smirk towards him grew. “No thank you.”

His heart skipped a beat in his chest as you beckoned with the cigarette held delicately between your fingers for him to join you at the window. 

Joel did, almost automatically, cursing himself internally at his blunt eagerness to be beside you while you lifted the window to let some fresh air in, and he turned, resting his back against the open window pane, arms crossing over his chest as he watched you instead of observing the room any longer.

Not all that fresh, considering the perpetual staleness of the QZ air, but it did cut down on how overwhelming the aroma of sex currently was in that room.

If somebody was going to break the tense silence that had fallen between the two of you, Joel had expected it to be you, so he was surprised when the quiet words fell from his lips, “Didn’t know you took clients.”

You huffed out a laugh then, the stream of cigarette smoke leaving your plump lips in puffs with the action.

“The Mistress has to earn her keep somehow,” you muttered, pulling in another drag of nicotine to blow back out the open window, and Joel’s gaze snapped back towards you.

“The Mistress?” he repeated, eyes flickering over your face as he recognized that name in an instant.

Being a man in the Boston QZ, it was impossible not to hear about The Mistress. An elusive sex worker who was very selective about her clientele, but even still, the stories about her stretched far, the name representing the countless fantasies of every horny man who dreamed of a chance to get their cock wet with her.

His recognition must have been noticeable in the tone of his voice, because you lazily rolled your head back to look up at him, smirk growing fully across your lips, swollen from whatever you had been up to, and Joel nearly swore under his breath as he felt his cock stirring in his jeans again.

“You act like you’ve heard of me,” you murmured, tongue darting out to wet your lips before you placed the cigarette between them again, and Joel’s brain short-circuited for a moment before he could find the words to reply to you.

“I just—” Joel cut off, brows furrowed as he shook his head, as if trying to jumpstart his mind, get it to string coherent thoughts together again but Jesus fuck why were you looking at him like that, with dark hooded eyes he’d never seen from you before. “I mean, I’ve heard about her, but I didn’t think—”

“Why not?” you interrupted him before he could finish. The cigarette was back between your fingers, gesturing with it up towards the scar that stretched down one side of your face. “Because of this?”

Joel frowned then because, to his own surprise, he was offended that you would think he’d care about such a thing. That he’d judge your attractiveness off something as inconsequential as a scar, especially in such a time where such marks on your skin were proof of hard-earned survival.

Attractiveness. 

No, no, oh, fuck.

“Just didn’t know it was you,” Joel muttered gruffly, shrugging in a way that he knew must have looked incredibly stupid as he turned his face away from you, only to see the mess of shabby sheets on the bed, and those same dark stains on the fabric.

“Oh, so you have heard of me,” you were nearly goddamn purring the words now, in the same moment his mind was recalling those sweet, sweet moans you were making, the ones that had left your lips and resulted in the cum stains he was now staring at. “What have you heard?”

“They say you have the ti—” Joel cuts himself off again, feeling blood rushing towards his cheeks and somewhere lower, somewhere he should not be feeling any heat as he realized what he was about to say without thinking.

That you have the tightest, hottest cunt you could get in the whole QZ.

“They say I…?” you trailed off as you quietly repeated his words, and Joel’s attention flashed back to you to see you drifting closer to him, one arm crossed over your chest to prop up your elbow as you smoked your cigarette.

The way your arm pressed to yourself pushed your cleavage together to make an alluring dip, lifting your tits so they were almost spilling out of the open collar of the silk robe. Although the fabric was faded and tattered from the years it had survived, it may as well have been the richest texture in the world with the way it caressed your soft skin, taunting Joel as he struggled to look away.

When you shifted just an inch closer, one of the sleeves of the robe tumbled down your shoulder, and Joel sucked in an audible breath as more of your body was revealed, tempting him with how bare you were under that flimsy fabric.

He tried to look back up towards your eyes then, he really did, but the sleeve slipping down to hook around your elbow nearly revealed half of your chest to him. The only thing keeping him from seeing one of your tits completely was the way your forearm was pressed against your nipple.

Was it a peak right now? Were you as aroused as he was? Did you need him like he needed you?

Joel finally pulled his eyes up to yours, and when he saw the smug, knowing look in the heat of them, his desire flared into a fever pitch.

“They say you make sex an art,” his voice rumbled out from deep within his chest, and Joel hardly recognized it with the way his every word was coated in a thick need. “That your body feels like heaven, and you taste even better.”

You laughed at that, head tilting back with the action, and Joel was as distracted at the gentle, husky cadence that left your soft lips—how soft exactly, he wondered—as he was focused on the curve of your exposed neck as it led his eyes down your collarbone to the valley of your breasts.

There was a thin layer of sweat there, he just realized, and he wanted to dip his tongue between the soft pillows of flesh, tasting and tracing you, when your words pulled him out of his fantasizing that was quickly spiraling out of control the longer he was in this sex-tainted room with you.

“Those men don’t know a single fucking thing about how I taste,” you muttered, not bitterly, but simply matter-of-fact as you gazed out the window towards the dark lit streets of the QZ, taking another long drag of the cigarette.

Joel’s brow lifted, glancing over your side profile, noticing the way the deep red lipstick you had been wearing was almost completely faded, smeared a little at the corner of your mouth and down your chin, and coupled with the confession you had just made, he struggled with a sudden surge of an emotion he couldn’t name—or didn't want to, as it would surely become dangerous if he dared to entertain it.

“Seriously?” Joel found himself saying, and you turned back to him, your own eyebrows arching at the odd tone of his voice—almost appalled, but not towards you. “None of them?”

Your lips pulled back then, showing teeth in a grin that was nearly predatory, and Joel’s pulse raced as you answered with your own question, “You really think any man still alive wants to pay to go down on a woman?”

“I would,” Joel said in a heartbeat, and you blinked, surprise flashing through your eyes, and Joel hated the way his stomach flipped at the knowledge of catching you off-guard, as you were usually the one doing so to him.

“You’d pay for sex,” you repeated slowly, and although it was a question, you said it in a flat tone, disbelieving as you glanced up and down his body. “You. Mr. ‘I hate everybody and wish they were all fucking dead’ Miller?”

What surprised him the most out of everything tonight was the way you just made him laugh.

The sound was pulled from him so easily, tugged from his lungs towards you, and he sucked in a breath, as if trying to pull the sound back in as a dark look twinkled in your eyes from where they had fixed on the front of his jeans.

“Maybe you would pay for it, Mr. Miller,” you murmured, and Joel stiffened, his mind filling with a variety of curses in every language he still knew as you surely noticed his erection that still hadn’t fucking gone away.

Your eyes flashed back up to his, long eyelashes fluttering as you leaned forward, and Joel struggled to breathe as the forearm still covering the nipple of your almost completely revealed breast grazed against his chest.

“How would you prefer to take me, sir?” you asked breathily, and Joel’s chest began to rise and fall rapidly, brushing with your own nearly exposed chest with every fast breath he took as he tried to reign himself in, even as you started fucking seducing him. “Are you a fan of foreplay? Would you take your time and go slow with me?”

Your head tilts oh so slightly, hair tumbling down in a way that begged Joel to wrap it around his fist, as you continued to mercilessly tease, “No, I don’t think you’re one for taking it slow. Are you, Mr. Miller?”

Fuck, if you kept calling him that, he was going to lose his goddamn mind and take you right against that window sill if you would let him. He’d pay you all the fucking food rations in the world for a taste, just a taste of how sweet you’d drip for him when you came.

Because if Joel was fucking you, you were going to come.

“You like it hard and fast,” you whispered, your arm finally dropping from your chest, and Joel swallowed down a strangled sound as he finally saw half of your chest completely, your nipple hardened in the air before you pressed it against him and fuck, oh Jesus fuck, “I bet you’re rough too. Big man like you, you like to be in control. Probably gets off on taming brats, hm?”

Goddammit if you didn’t shut up he was about to show you just how well he could tame you, shutting up that pretty mouth by making you come again, again, and again, until all you knew to do was cry out for him every time he wracked your body with pleasure.

“But you’re not a missionary man,” you shook your head as it tilted the other way, bringing your face to hover inches away from his neck, and Joel shivered, actually fucking shivered when he felt your breath caress his skin as you teased, “You like a cowgirl, don’t you, Joel?”

That was the first time his name fell from your lips.

And at the sound of it, Joel lost any ounce of self-control.

His hands were on you in an instant, enveloping your waist in his large palms as he pulled you flush against him at the same moment he turned to push you against the wall.

You gasped, the dwindling cigarette falling from your fingers, and Joel lifted a foot to stomp it out, using his knee to nudge your legs apart with the motion. When his hips nudged against yours, erection pressing against the spot between your open thighs, he moaned at the feeling of your heat against the impossibly tight fabric.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he realized the robe you wore was completely open now, and your exposed cunt was pressed right up against his clothed erection, but his entire mind was focused on the way you also moaned at the same time he did.

“You keep running your mouth like that, I’ll show you how fucking good I can tame a brat,” he growled into your ear, one of his hands easily lifting your hip, dragging your folds across the bulge in his jeans, and he sighed as he felt wetness seep against the fabric. “Fuck, you this wet for me already, baby? Just from talking about how I’d fuck you?”

“I-I–”

Suddenly, no words were falling from your lips other than incoherent stuttering, and Joel smirked as he ducked his face against your neck, licking a path along the curve of it, groaning in need and irritation at the salt of sweat from your previous sex that still clung to it.

“Did you come for him?” Joel growled the question against your jaw, now directing your hips to grind against him in a way that put pressure to your clit, his eyes fluttering shut at the soft moan that left your lips—it sounded different than the ones he heard you make before, quieter, a bit huskier as opposed to so high-pitched—before he nipped at the skin just below your chin. “Answer me.”

“No,” you gasped, and Joel loosened his grip on your waist just a bit, wanting to see if you still chased that friction he had been providing against your clit.

When you did, grinding yourself against his clothed erection, Joel smirked against your jaw before asking his next question, “When’s the last time a man made you come, sweetheart?”

A shuddering breath fell from your lips to fan across his face, and Joel pulled back, looking down at how blown-wide your pupils were, his thumb brushing a strand of hair from your face as you muttered, “I—long. Too long.”

Joel wanted to smile at how you were already struggling to form full sentences before he had even started with you, but the anger he felt at you going so long without feeling an ounce of pleasure from being with a man made his jaw tick as he frowned deeply instead.

“Do you wanna come tonight, darlin’?” Joel murmured, his calloused thumb finding your bottom lip to gently pull it out, caressing the wet inner part of your lip while he searched your gaze. “I need you to answer me, sweetheart. I’m not doing anything unless you want me to.”

“Yes, Joel,” your voice nearly broke with the husky whisper, head bobbing in an eager nod, but Joel still waited to hear you say it clearly before he began. “I want you. Want you to make me come, please.”

A shuddering breath left Joel then, and he returned your nod, brushing his thumb across your lip again before pulling it back and leaning down to replace the digit with his own lips.

You were both moaning from the first moment your lips touched, kissing in a way that was much like how you always acted around each other—a battle for dominance, adding gasoline to the fire, but with an underlying respect that neither of you could shake even if you wanted to try.

“Fuck,” Joel mumbled when you allowed him access to slip his tongue inside your mouth, exploring every inch of it with a quiet moan that you echoed with your own. “Taste so good already, sweetheart.”

Every time he tried to pull away, you brought him back in with your lips chasing his, trapping him in another hot kiss, passion he didn’t think he could ever feel again building between you until he needed to taste more.

Joel finally tore himself away from your mouth fully, hands finding the opening of your robe to make sure it was pushed open completely, giving him access to every inch of your soft skin as he pressed kisses down your neck towards the perfect, perky tits that had been taunting him since you leaned out into the hallway.

His large palms cupped them, fingers stroking the soft flesh as he pressed them around his face, groaning into your skin at the feeling of being surrounded by them before turning his face to lap a path up the curve of one with his tongue until he reached that goddamn nipple that had been pure torture to nearly catch a glimpse of during your entire conversation.

Joel flicked his tongue over it, hips nearly bucking up as you gasped at the sensation, back arching to press further against his tongue when he flattened it against the stiffened peak. When he sucked it into his hot mouth, your fingers found his hair, tangling in the strands as you pushed his face further against you, and he moaned through a mouth full of your breast, teeth grazing against the sensitive peak before he pulled back to quickly do the same to the other.

Despite your teasing, he would take his time with you eventually. But tonight he was desperate, a drowning man gasping for air—but no, even that wasn’t accurate.

You were not the air Joel needed, but rather the unfathomable depths that he was drowning in.

He dropped to his knees between your spread legs, grunting quietly at the pain that ricocheted through his old bones at the action, but he couldn’t care less as he found himself facing your hot, dripping cunt.

Joel leaned forward, letting his breath fan across your sensitive folds as he lifted two fingers to run across your wet entrance, dragging the digits up to where you clit was already swollen with the need to be touched, to be pleased by him, and he smiled to himself at the sigh you exhaled above him from the sensation of his touch.

His fingers slid back to your entrance, dipping the rough pads of his fingertips into you just enough to collect more of your desire, spreading it along the lengths of his thick fingers as he swiped them up to your clit and began to rub in slow, tight circles.

You gasped quietly, hips rolling into his gentle ministrations, and Joel smiled against your skin when he ducked his face forward to press soft kisses along your inner thigh and up.

“Gonna take care of you, darlin’, don’t you worry,” Joel murmured against the mound of trimmed hair above where his fingers were slowly working at you, his lips moving down to replace them as he added breathlessly, “Gonna make you feel so good.”

Your hips bucked against his face when his tongue found your clit, a louder, breathless moan tearing from your throat at the heady sensation of his hot, wet mouth sucking around the sensitive bundle of nerves.

“Joel,” you gasped, nails scraping against his scalp as you grabbed his hair tighter, and he groaned around your clit at the feeling, pulling a delicious whine that sounded so much more real, more feral, more needy than the perfect, practiced ones you had made through the wall. “I—oh, fuck, that’s so good…”

He hummed around your clit before flattening his tongue against it, alternating motions until he found the rhythm that made you grind yourself against his face, and his palms found your hips to pull you up against him further, encouraging you to ride his tongue until you found your high.

“Come on, baby,” he murmured in between the moments when he’d suckle your clit, teeth gently grazing it as he resisted the urge to palm himself at the steady stream of moans and muffled curses that were echoing above him. “You can do it, come on. Soak my face, wanna taste your sweet cum.”

When you did just as he told you, Joel thought he really did see the gates of heaven, a sight he was convinced would never grace him after the lifetime of hell he had lived and caused.

He lapped up every gush of wetness that dripped from your folds in your release, dipping his tongue inside your entrance to drink you up, his thumb replacing his tongue on your clit, rubbing gently to prolong the waves of your pleasure.

Once the gyrations of your hips against his lapping tongue slowed, Joel pulled back from your cunt, your release glistening on his mouth and down his chin as he gazed up at your slack-jawed expression.

Your head tilted down, gaze meeting his as a lazy smile curled onto your lips, and Joel tried to ignore the way his heart lurched in his chest at the sight combined with the feeling of your grip loosening on his hair, fingers combing gently through the strands.

“Good?” Joel mumbled, turning his face to press a soft kiss on your inner thigh, and your head dipped down in a nod, humming in satisfaction as Joel smirked against your skin. “Good.”

His mouth opened, teeth gently nipping at your soft flesh, pulling an endearing squeak of surprise from you as he rasped, “Not done with you yet, though, sweetheart.”

When his tongue found its way back to your clit, his fingers went back to your entrance. This time, when he dipped one fingertip in, he didn’t stop, sinking into your tight, wet heat until the first knuckle, smiling against your swollen bundle of nerves as you rolled your hips into him at the sensation of his digit slowly filling you.

He gave a few slow pumps of his finger when he had sunk it in completely before pulling it out, chuckling around where he had sucked your clit back into his mouth at your whine at the loss of his finger before he added it back in with another.

“Fuck, can you feel you squeezing my fingers, darlin’,” Joel grunted against your cunt, lapping desperate licks against your clit, eating you out with increased fervor as his fingers pumped you faster at every mewling moan that left your lips, encouraged by the rolling of your hips to curl his fingers until he found the spot that nearly made your knees buckle.

His other arm wrapped around your waist, giving you support to stand while keeping you pressed to his face, not allowing you a moment of peace as his tongue worked mercilessly at you until you were coming around his fingers this time.

“Oh, fuck,” Joel was whimpering against your cunt this time as he continued to fingerfuck you through your high, sucking at your clit and drawing out every aftershock, his arm around your waist the only thing keeping you up now as the pleasure overwhelmed you.

“Joel,” you whispered hoarsely, fingers tugging at his hair again, and he pulled back to look up at you, his fingers stilling inside your cunt, but not sliding out of you just yet.

“What is it, darlin’?” he rasped, breath trembling as you stroked his lips with your thumb, collecting your own release combined with his saliva on it before raising it to your mouth to suck on, pulling a moan from Joel’s throat at the sight.

“Want you to touch yourself, sir,” you murmured, and Joel’s eyes widened, his fingers finally slipping out of your heat, reaching down to fumble with the button of his jeans at your permission he didn’t even know he was desperate for. “Make yourself cum just from the taste of me.”

“Jesus—” Joel couldn’t even finish whatever he was going to groan out as his hand wrapped around his cock once he pulled it out of its fabric constraints, eyes rolling back into his head at the relief of finally, finally doing something about the erection that had plagued him since he guarded you outside the room while you worked.

“Mouth on my pussy, Joel,” you ordered, and he was diving back into your folds without a second thought, sloppily thrusting his tongue inside your wet heat as his hand pumped his cock, your release still coating his fingers spreading across his length as he felt himself already rapidly approaching climax. “That’s it. You like the taste? You wanna come because I taste so good?”

Joel was nodding against your pussy, groaning into your folds as he lost any rhythm towards making you feel good now, but you didn’t seem to care, your hand in his hair still keeping him pressed to your cunt as you encouraged him this time around, “Do it then, Joel. I want to watch you cum for me.”

If you said anything else at that point, Joel couldn’t hear it through the blood rushing through his head as he came harder than he had in years.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he had felt an orgasm so intense, his vision darkening at the edges as he sucked mindlessly at your wet folds, hips bucking up into his fist as his cum shot out to paint the wall behind you before leaking out steadily over his hand.

You loosened your grip on his hair, allowing him to pull back with a gasp, sucking in air he needed to not black out as Joel’s blurry vision focused back in on your face above him.

There was a small smile on your face, satisfied in more ways than one, and Joel couldn’t help but match it with his own half-smirk as he focused on catching his breath before slowly pushing himself back up to his feet.

“Mm,” Joel moaned quietly as his lips met yours in a lazy kiss, one he wasn’t sure who initiated as he mumbled against your mouth, “Heavenly.”

You laughed then, and he felt himself brighten at the sound, though he tried to ignore it as you gently pushed him away from you.

“Come on,” you sighed, straying away from the wall towards the door on shaky legs while you tied your robe back up, making yourself decent enough as he tucked his dick away and zipped up his jeans. “I’ll get you your payment for today.”

There was a brief moment where you made sure nobody was lingering in the hallway before beckoning him out, and you both made your way towards the staircase towards your office while Joel tried to ignore the foreign thrill at the chance of being caught with you after what you had done together.

When you passed his payment to him, he counted out a generous portion before holding it right back out, earning a scoff from you at the offer.

“You’re not paying me for making me come, Mr. Miller,” you said with a sly smirk, and Joel tried to ignore how oddly disappointing it felt for you to resort to calling him that after tonight. “That wasn’t work.”

Joel slowly arched his brow, but nodded at your insistence, tucking his payment in his back pocket before rumbling out a quiet question of, “One-time thing?”

It wasn’t an offer, nor was he insisting that you did or didn’t do it again.

In fact, he was secretly hoping it would happen again, and Joel felt the treacherous anticipation for even more of you when your exhilarated gaze met his.

“Guess we’ll have to find out.”

taglist: @darkroastjoel @thetriumphantpanda @cupofjoel @dinsdjrn @cavillscurls @tightjeansjavi @sinsofsummers

[cherryredstars]

uhm, well..i did not send that mariah carey and busta ryhmes ask anonymously. however if you do decide you’d like to could you respond to this anonymous one?😭</33

Pairing: Miguel O’Hara x fem!reader

Warnings: 18+, NSFW, Cheating (Reader cheats with Miguel), Penetrative Sex

A/N: Here you are, love!

Unedited

This is below him.

He isn’t some low-level security guard, he’s fucking spiderman. He has a city to protect, entire universes that require his full attention. Yet, he finds himself lounging in front of blue screens with black and white security footage. The chair makes his back hurt, and the blurry, flickering video feed that is beyond outdated makes his eyes hurt.

Miguel doesn’t have many friends in his universe, too busy with so many other things that are completely unfathomable to the normal man. So when an old friend- a friend of a ghost from his childhood that he barely remembered- had contacted him for a favor, the feeling of obligation struck and hooked him in. It would have been wrong of him to say no, especially since the favor was not that great to begin with. A simple house watching gig for the weekend, one that didn’t really need much attention and could be a backdrop as he did out of office work for the Society.

But, it wasn’t just a house sitting job.

He found himself distracted every time the pixels of the old security cameras flickered, eyes snapping up to the screens to see you moving around and going about your day. He was surprised to see you- another fragment from his past that sprang to his head on occasion. You looked older now, but everything else about you was the same. Even the way you quickly had his hands sweating and his heart stumbling.

It was…weird coexisting with you in the same space. You always seemed to find him when he was wandering the house instead of being holed up in the security room. You just suddenly appeared, dressed in your usual nighties used for lounging and stalking past him with a smile and fluttering eyes.

It drove him crazy, his senses picking up on your presence from miles away and zoning in on everything that was you. It made his mouth salivate and his hands itch and for his dick to thicken in his pants. It was painful, having to constantly chastise himself that everything in the house, including you, was like a museum. He could look all he wants, but under no circumstances can he touch.

Doesn’t mean he stopped you when you did, though.

In fact, he welcomed every brush of your arm against his body. He liked the way you held eye contact with him as you tried to squeeze past his hunkering frame, lips slightly parted and forming a brief smile as you walked away. His spine tingled each time you walked by him, feeling the way your eyes tracked his body as he watched you.

He was infatuated, subtly trailing after you like a floating cartoon character every time you entered and exited a room. Physically restraining himself every time you disappeared into your bedroom or the bathroom with a sultry, beckoning look. He hated the guilt he felt when his cock twitched and he had to ignore it because he simply refused to jerk one out in his friend’s house to his girlfriend.

But fuck if he didn’t see how lonely you were through the screens. How you spent every moment where you weren’t riling him up, bored and lost in your own home. It made him wonder how many times his friend has left you like this, traveling away for work and leaving you stuck at home all by yourself. Miguel was a busy fucker too, but his thoughts snobbishly protested that if you were his, he’d never let you go to sleep alone or leave you cooped up in such a big house by yourself.

And maybe you sensed that.

Because you were always trying to coax him like a mythical siren. With pouty lips and smooth swaying hips that paired well with doe eyes. It was embarrassing easy for you to absentmindedly draw Miguel in. Planting small seeds in his head that he could have you if only he let himself. That the only obstacle in his way was himself. And damnit, he deserves a reward for all his hard work.

Even if that reward was as dishonorable as fucking you in the bed you shared with your boyfriend. But was it really? Miguel figures if he wasn’t ever here to keep you company then it isn’t really his bed. It’s your bed. And it wasn’t any of your boyfriend’s business what- or who- you decided to do in it. At the end of the day, your boyfriend had no say because he wasn’t here, Miguel was.

And he was fucking enjoying it.

You made the prettiest noises, mewling into his shoulder as your pussy squelched with each thrust of his leaky cock. You took it like a champ, his head spinning from how fucking tight you were. All lonely and left with nothing but your dainty fingers to stuff yourself with. Your walls practically ushered him in, clinging to his dick until he was balls deep and in danger of shooting his load too quickly.

“Poor girl.” Miguel practically growled, pressing his hips against yours and drawing out those pretty sounds as he grinded into you, “Been so lonely with no one here to take care of you, yeah?”

You nodded shakily, mouth dropping open with a hum as you bucked your hips. Miguel’s hold tightened around them as he hissed, giving you a small thrust to sedate you momentarily.

“Just needed someone to take care of you and this pretty pussy.” He cooed, hand traveling into your hair and cupping the back of your head.

“M-Miguel,” you sniffled, desperately trying to get him to move inside of you. “Please.”

He gave you a devilish smile, slowly pistoning his cock into your gummy walls. “Hmm, what is it mamí? This what you need, huh? Use that pretty voice to tell me what you need.”

You sobbed, hands digging into his shoulders as you nodded. “More. Please, Miguel.”

He groaned, eyes locked on the way your chin wobbled with a pout as you begged so sweetly. His sweet, lonely girl. Miguel gave you a sweet smile, kissing the corner of your lips before withdrawing his hips and snapping them forward. The gasp you let out was beyond beautiful, hands raking down his back as you arched into him.

Miguel had to be careful about marking you. He couldn’t follow his instincts and bite marks into your neck or leave hand shaped bruises on your ass or hips. They’d never heal before your boyfriend came back. Instead, while you left lined welts on his back, he’d have to work on molding your pussy to the shape of his cock and filling you to the brim with his release.

And you would happily take it all.

You sound like an angelic chorus with the pearly string of moans you gifted him, eyes rolled back as you clench around him. He can feel his cock nudging against that pretty spot inside of you, making him twitch as he draws the two of you closer to release. Your smooth skin quivers under his hands, your body jolting with each of his thrusts and your tiny clit throbbing each time his pelvis brushes against it.

Your tiny hole stretches so beautifully as he pulls in and out, stomach showing just how far he reaches inside of you. It takes less than a second for you to explode around his cock as his finger traces the outline of it, your legs locking on either side of his waist. Miguel can feel the vicious grip your cunt has on him as you try to milk out his release, his hips stuttering until his tip is right against your cervix.

A weak, fluttery moan tumbles from your lips as you get filled with his warmth. Your head falls into the crook of his neck and shoulder, breathing beginning to normalize as you come down. Your walls weakly pulse around his softening cock, and Miguel’s eyes stray to the red, blinking light in the corner of your room.

He’s definitely saving that recording.

[obsessive-valentine]

Omg we need more Yandere!Ex-Military man. He’s soooooooooooooo😩😩😩😩😩

Yandere!Ex-Military Man x GN!Reader

A creep at work seems to have a crush on you and isn’t letting you let him down gently, so your jealous bear of a man decides to personally give him a one final warning.

Just a short blurb for character building purposes. He definitely is a heart throb, for us at least, glad you like him ❤️

It didn’t take much convincing to be dragged to his house again, you liked it here much more than your small lonely apartment. It also helped that you are deeply in-love with the man who owned it.

You lay back on his chest wearing one of his warm jumpers and watching to you had begged him to watch a musical with you. He made it clear it wasn’t his style but didn’t put up a fight about it, you both knew you had him wrapped around your fingers.

And if you said you didn’t take advantage of that you’d be lying and if he said he didn’t like it, he’d be lying too.

His hands subconsciously wandered as he held you and the rise and fall of his chest is calming, just what you needed after a long day of work. You are so relaxed that you didn’t even pay attention to the buzz of your phone, nor the second one that followed close after. But the comfortable pillow of a man behind you did.

By the 3rd message notification he mentions “someone’s trying to get ahold of you” you turn your head towards the side table and click onto the Home Screen, seeing who the messages are from. You don’t bother reading them and turn off your phone “just a co-worker, he’s a bit weird like that. I bet it has nothing to do with work” you reply a bit irritated.

The co-worker was a bit of an odd person, at first you assumed he was just trying to be friends but then it got a bit to much and borderline flirty. So you’ve been giving him the silent treatment and blunt replies so as to not lead him on, you’d even mentioned your long-term relationship a few times but he’s not gotten the message or just ignored it.

You went back to watching the tv but then another buzz made you sigh “He’s a bit eager don’t you think?” What you didn’t see was the growing irritation on your lovers face “yeah sorry, I’ll mute him” when you picked up the phone and went to your pursuers contact he watched from over your shoulder, taking note of his name.

“Tell me about his creep” it sounded like a light hearted joke but he was deadly serious, he hated that someone is making you uncomfortable at work. But he didn’t want to make you worry that you were the one causing him this growing irritation. You went on to explain -finishing by assuring him that you’ve not got a ounce of interest in him and would never come close to cheating on him.

You waited for a response watching the cogs turn in his head “I’ll stick my head in tomorrow, how’s that? Just show him you’re all mine” he pulled you back against him “That might make him lay off the creep behaviour” anger was bubbling up in him, he wanted nothing but to have a good smoke and think of all the ways he can fuck up that pesky co-worker of yours.

Instead he stayed by your side as you finished watching the movie, and tried to think rationally. That co-worker will have one chance to sort out his act, out of the kindness in his heart no matter how much he wanted to pound the guy into the ground and not in the fun way.

...

And he did come in during your lunch break.

“Where’s this guy at then?” He asked quietly after giving you a peck on the lips, you pointed across the room secretively. And before you knew it he was unapologetically pulling you across the room headed straight for the man. You tried to protest “shh just trust me love” he tried to ease your worries without taking his hungry gaze off the man.

When you both reached him your co-worker glanced up at him and then with confusion at you, before you could introduce them both your boyfriend stood in from of you and went in for a hand shake with a pleasant smile.

“Hey, it’s good to meet you. I’ve heard plenty about you” unbeknownst to you when he went in for the handshake he got a good grip on the creeps hand, not letting him pull back as he began to crush his hand uncomfortably. What you did see was the creeps face drop into an uncomfortable expression and even more so when you boyfriend leaned in and whispered something in his ear not even letting your co-worker get a word in.

“Well it was nice to meet you” he straightened up towering over the creep defensively and a faked smile. He loosened his grip and watched as he pulled his hand back rubbing away the soreness from the violent grip “yeah you too” he almost stuttered out before scurrying away.

“That seemed to do the trick he?” He turned to you with a smile -you let out a little amused laugh back “let’s have lunch together before I leave” his hand rested on your lower back guiding you out the building and to his car. “What did you say to him?” You asked curiously “Just poking fun about how much he texts you after-hours” he shrugged it off.

The creep didn’t seem flustered like it was a joke but rather scared and intimidated -but you believe your boyfriend and chalked it up to the creep being intimidated by his sheer size rather than anything he said.

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI BRACKET ROUND 1

Propaganda:

Gerald Robotnik/Black Doom:

Scientist who wants to blow up the world and his evil alien boyfriend

Dude they had a son together and his name is shadow the hedgehog

They created Shadow the hedgehog together. Yes Shadow the hedgehog. This is canon. Theyre also super divorced just trust me on this.their old man yaoi is real

we as a society would not have shadow the hedgehog without their old man yaoi

old man fucks alien so he can bring his daughter back from space safely, gives birth to sad gay hedgehog

you KNOW they fucked

they’re shadow the hedgehogs dads. Like canonically. black doom is an alien god guy and gerald is eggmans grandpa who didn’t love him enough and gave him daddy issues. he also went insane after the government killed his granddaughter (who he loved instead of eggman) and tried to kill humanity :3 these two are like bitter exes to me. they’re both dead. the devil from the bible fucked that old man

Black Doom and Gerald Robotnik are Shadow the Hedgehogs dads. Gerald is a (silly, slightly insane) old scientist and Black Doom is a two thousand year old alien who wants to destroy the Earth. Its not canon but Shadow's gay dads mean everything to me. They kiss and hold hands on the space colony.

IM DOING MY PART!!! GERALDOOM SWEEP BAYBEEEEEEE!!! GO SHADOW’S GAY DADS!

Sheo/The Nailsmith:

It's really nice because you unlock it after the nailsmith asks you to kill him with the pure nail and you refuse and walk away. He then says he was wandering hallownest without purpose until he found sheo who helped him discover that there was more to life than just one calling. These two are probably the only characters in the game to have a genuinely happy ending

The nailsmith loses his purpose in life after finishing his ultimate masterpiece, his lifelong goal, the pure nail. He requests the protagonist to try the nail on him, but If you refuse, he will find sheo who helps him to find new meaning in life and realise that there is more to life by teaching him different crafts. They can then be seen sculping figurines together, and sheo is also painting the nailsmith.They share a common love for art and crafts and inspire each other. Sheo's story is that he was a nailmaster, but got tired of it, and put down his nail to pick up a paintbrush. I think it's beautiful that he could help the nailsmith realise what he himself did. They both also used to live in solitude without even realising how lonely they were, and I think it's cute tuhat they can do art together now :]

They are two bugs retired from their career and making better lives for themselves and they’re gay about it. Nailsmith believes at first that he has nothing left after creating the perfect nail and asks the knight to strike him down, and if you don’t, he meets Sheo, a retired nailmaster finding a new calling in painting and sculpting. They find a shared love in creating things and Nailsmith finds a new calling in art as well. The achievement you get for uniting them is called “Happy Couple”

Gay bugs gay bugs gay bugs (Cw mention of suicide) They both used to pursue their one passion in life: forging the perfect nail (sword) for the Nailsmith and the art of combat for Sheo. Sheo realized he could just leave that life when he lost his passion for fighting, and he found himself a new purpose in life: art. However, he always seemed very lonely, completely isolated by all other bugs in his hidden house in the middle of a thorn jungle. When The Nailsmith achieved his goal and forged the perfect nail, he lost his purpose in life and his will to live. He asks the player to kill him. However, if the player refuses, he can later be found in Sheo's house, modelling for Sheo or sculpting figurines with him. He thanks the player for not fulfilling his request, because he has found a new calling in life here, making art together with Sheo. They both express how happy they are to no longer be alone. This also gives you the "Happy Couple" achievement, confirming that they are a couple.

THEY'RE CANON!!! They're fucking canon!!! You can talk to them at one point after doing a Bunch of Stuff to get them to meet each other and you get an achievement called "Happy Couple"!!! Gotta love old man yuri

[limerence-17]

leave the door open

based on: number 7.

˚ ༘♡ ⋆｡˚

masterlist

warnings: 18+ mdni p in v (bc mentioned,) explicit language, oral sex (f receiving), fingering

word count: 1.6k

A/N: all characters are 18+ here. obx season 4 didn't have to make rafe this sexy but here we are and i hope u all enjoy <3 also psa yes i know kinktober is over but i feel kinky all year and what about it

i wasn't going to touch myself. in fact i wasn't even thinking about it, and yet here i was about to spend the night at my best friend sarah cameron's house and all i could think about was the way her older brother looked coming into the house after getting off his motorbike. the way his hair swayed as he ran his hands through it, and the way he grunted as he walked by us in the kitchen.

he didn't even make eye contact and yet i couldn't stop myself from staring right at him as he walked by.

but here i was laying in the guest room, in this giant house that i still couldn't wrap my head around the fact that my best friend lived in and all i could think about was god damn rafe cameron.

────── 〔✿〕──────

that night, it was rather warm out, but i was feeling tired, dazed perhaps. sarah had come into my room, told me john b wanted to see her which was predictable as usual and snuck out through the guest room window. she told me she'd be back by 7 am which meant i'd be spending the night on my own. i didn't mind it but it could get lonely.

the sun was setting, and i felt strange spending such a lovely summer evening inside getting ready for bed but i suppose that was alright considering i spent the entire day out and about.

i nustled my legs smoothly against the satin sheets. something about staying at the cameron's house always reminded me of staying in some nice hotel. everything just smelt clean, like oranges and fresh air.

my shorts rode up my ass slightly, but i paid hardly any notice to them. it was so hot out anyway. i turned over, glancing outside the window. it was quiet out, too quiet and yet my mind wandered back to rafe in the kitchen. his hair falling ever so slightly in front of his eyes, the way he smelt. like sea salt and expensive cologne.

i couldn't help but shift my body so that my back laid against the bed, slowly arching my back as my hand glided to my shorts, placing soft slow circles against my clit. slowly, but i applied more pressure the more i circled. i couldn't help but let out a moan and had to cover my. mouth as i continued on. i wanted to take off my shorts as i thought about rafe. his hands, his hair, god his hands.

"holy fuck...rafe..." i moaned out in a hushed whisper.

my eyes kept closed, but my fingers continued to roam beneath the sheets until i heard a creak that was louder than i would've thought. i stopped dead in my tracks, moving both of my hands up over the sheets pulling them up swiftly to my chin.

oh my god it was rafe cameron. standing there with his zip up sweater, and clean cut pants. but the way he looked at me, well i couldn't tell what he was thinking but his eyes were wide. very wide.

"shit i didn't mean-"

"swear to god i wasn't listening or anything," said rafe dumbly. he ran his right hand over his mouth, looking at the ground.

"whatever you think you saw or heard or whatever the fuck you didn't rafe!" i was too embarrassed to muster up anything else. i just held the covers high.

"hey it's no big deal seriously... i mean i jerked one off like six hours ago so like-"

"jesus rafe, i mean it! delete this from your mind or i swear to god i'll-"

"see the thing is i can't really delete that from my mind. you moaning my name and all..." rafe closed the door behind him and took a few steps towards the bed.

"oh fuck you heard that?" i was mortified. just mortified. what was wrong with me?

"now the thing is...you're my sister's best friend so so like... i mean that's kinda fucked up-you thinking about me while you touch yourself and shit," rafe said in a drawl, using his hands to express it. rafe was now sitting at the edge of the bed. his eyes were glancing around quickly, his thoughts clearly racing.

i lowered the sheets but made sure that they were still just above my chest. but holy fuck, i was soaking wet now.

"but hey it makes sense- the way you look at me, always thought it was in my head and shit but-"

"it's not." i interrupt him. the more he looks at me the more i just picture his tongue in my mouth and i'm starting to get needy, my legs are clenching together now.

rafe's eyebrows raised, and he froze for a moment. but then his hands slowly crept up the sheets grabbing my thigh. i gasped feeling his hand there. his eyes widened, watching my expression.

"this what you were thinking about, huh?" his hand crept up agonizingly slow. i couldn't get a word out. just stiffled moans until eventually the sheets were down below my chest.

i let out a longing sigh as i felt his sturdy hand cup my pussy, using his other hand to move the bedsheet off completely, exposing me completely.

he looked up, asking for approval as his hands slowly tugged at the hems of my shorts and i nodded quickly.

"yes rafe."

rafe obliged immediately, pulling my shorts down, i pulled my tank top over my head. my legs lifted in the air as he threw them onto the floor. he slowly separated my legs, ogling at my obviously wet cunt.

he used his middle and ring finger to slowly trace a line up against my folds and i gasped at the touch.

"god damn my sister's best friend is a little slut huh? you're wet as shit and that's all for me huh?"

all i could let out was an innocent "mhmm," since the feeling of his fingers tracing against my folds was driving me lust drunk.

"yeah... i'm gonna need to taste you...." he said, now crouching so that his head was between my thighs.

"wait rafe-" rafe stopped immediately, glancing up at me.

"take off your shirt."

rafe smirked, obliging as he pulled it over his head, and i felt my eyelids grow heavy from lust as i looked at his chest. jesus, he was ridiculously hot. my best friend's ridiculously hot older brother was about to eat me out.

this time, more aggressively he separated my thighs and before i could comprehend it his lips were against my pussy. his tongue moved up and down, circles against my clit. as if it was instinct, i gripped at the bedframe. but it didn't last long as he gripped my hips, pulling me in closer to him. my thighs tightened against his head and it felt insane. i'd never had someone eat me out like this. so hungrily and quickly. he was incredible.

"shit you taste fucking unreal-" he grunted and gasped before licking me once more.

rafe's tongue moved quickly but he pulled away, moving so that he was now on top of me. he made eye contact before inserting a finger into me and i gasped. it was only a few pumps, hard and fast before he pulled out.

"taste yourself-" he said and i obliged, sucking on his finger. rafe licked his teeth, letting out a low hum of a laugh as he watched.

"you are fucking wild-" he said. my hands reached towards his pants and he looked down and then back up at me.

"what- you wanna feel me too?"

"rafe i wanna feel all of you- i want you inside me."

that set him off and he quickly reached to his pants, pulling them down along with his briefs. he was hung, like way more than i ever would've imagined. and hard too.

"looks like i'm not the only one whose this turned on either huh?"

rafe let out a sarcastic laugh "ha...ha...."

he got on top once more, this time pinning my legs higher in the air.

"yeah fuck i need to see all of you when i fuck you," rafe commanded.

"you're on that girl pill or whatever it is right?" rafe asked. i let out a quiet snicker.

"birth control, rafe? yeah i am," i said running my hands through my hair.

rafe nodded quickly, obviously thankful since it was clear neither of us brought condoms.

he positioned himself so that his tip was directly against my folds and then slowly pushed himself into me. i gasped, immediately reaching my fingernails against his back.

rafe grunted as his pumps started slow, but eventually quickened up. he moved quickly, thrusting and grunting into me. i let out stifled moans and he clasped his hand over my mouth.

"hey...hey... you've gotta be more... quiet than that... holy....fuck" rafe moaned between thrusts.

his paced quickened, his strong arms now moving to my waist as he pulled me to the edge of the bed. he thrusted deafening quick and i clenched my fist placing it against my mouth in a stupid attempt to silence myself. he was too fucking good at this. too strong, too fast, too fucking hot.

"don't stop! rafe jesus i'm gonna cum!"

"shit... me fucking too..."

it only took a few more thrusts before i let out a stiffled sigh and rafe collapsed, falling on top of me. both of us sweating, exhaling and my hands running through his hair.

he pulled away, laying beside me. i turned over to meet his gaze, my hands still running through his hair. he looked back at me.

"alright round two-"

[maddymoreau]

Part 3:

Why is everyone in Fallout 3 extremely hot

[zylophie]

Furina meeting someone in fontaine who somehow doesn't know them... Sounds refreshing and fluffy!

꒰⌗´͈ ᵕ ॣ`͈⌗꒱৩ — furina

✿ — ♬ ⌨️ᶻᶻᶻ : x/modmafuyu is typing... ✉!

✿ — ↻ SYNOPSIS : Furina meeting a fontainian(reader) who doesn't know her.

✿ — ♯ GENRE : Fluff(mostly), bittersweet

✿ — ⊜ CW : Nil

✿ — ↠ NOTE : Hi hi Anon~ Thank you for requesting~ I had a lot of fun making this fic and I hope you'll enjoy reading it ! I know you wanted fluff but I accidentally made a bittersweet ending. Hope that's alright!<3

Timeline would be Furina still acting out her role. So that this fic would not go too far out of character.

Just a warning, 4.2 spoilers.

[h/c] - hair color

[e/c] - eye color

✿ — ♪ REMINDER : reblogs & likes are appreciated, in doing so will motivate us to continue delivering stories to you, thank you for all of your supports ~ !

Extra: if you would like to request, click here and read the writing rules for each writer !

✿ — ♭ ⁿᵒʷ ᶜᵃˡˡⁱⁿᵍ... : ...No one

✿ — ► ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Furina

CLICK CLACK CLICK!

A petite girl was seen running out of the Palais Mermonia in the Court of Fontaine. As she took off running as far as her legs could take her.

-----------------FLASHBACK-----------------

"...Miss Furina, I do hope you know the prophecy will come sooner or later. Even if Fontaine hasn't experience any deleterious flooding.. yet.. We must act fast to ensure all our citizen are safe and won't live in fear. Who knows how long till they believe in those 'rumors'"

"I do know that! ...I promise I'm doing something useful to help everyone."

"I can clearly sense that you are hiding something from me. Please, just tell me what is it that you are covering up."

"I-I'm telling you! I'm not hiding anything. I am your archon, could you PLEASE stop doubting me?!"

...

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

'How much longer..'

pant pant pant

'So lonely..'

pant pant pant

'Please let this show end..'

THUD

The petite girl collided with the ground due to exhaustion. She began looking around, upon seeing no one, she felt a little relieved to see that no one had spotted her being in a mess from earlier.

..Well probably except for the Chief of Justice.

'..Way to go Furina, if he wasn't already suspicious of me, he definitely is now..'

As the girl slowly picked herself up from the ground and continued to wandered mindlessly, wanting to get her mind off things for a bit.

Furina strolled leisurely while admiring the scenery upon her. She usually doesn't have time to be curious and as carefree while playing the role of the archon.

'Where am I anyways? I've.. Never been out of the city before'

As Furina came across a sunny and bright view. Where the sun is beaming while waves crash into one another, accompanied by golden rocks.

Although it is an unfamiliar surrounding, Furina only felt comfort feeling the breeze of the atmosphere as she slowly trotted over to the sea.

'What is this place? I've never been here but it feels really easy to relax..'

As Furina slowly took in the sunlight and windy zephyr and sighed. If only she could adventure and explore the world even more..

Being lost in thought, the petite girl did not notice someone in the distance sneaking up behind her.

'..It's really hard being an ar-'

"BOO!"

"AHHH?!"

Furina out of instinct, quickly lifted her arms into a defensive pose to shield her from whatever is coming after her.

"Ahaha! You should've seen the look on your face."

As Furina slowly opened her eyes, she saw a unfamiliar [h/c] person with [e/c] eyes. Realising they were a fontainian, she immediately cleared her throat.

"What look? I was preparing to attack you, you're lucky I took the flight response or else I would've seriously injured you!"

Furina folded her arms looking really displeased with whoever scared her.

"Ahaha.. Sorry, you just looked a little bit depressed. Anyways, I'm [name], nice to meet you. Now, may I ask why such a beautiful lady was looking quite down?"

"B-beautiful?!"

"Mhm! I've heard my friends say that the hydro archon was really pretty. At this rate I might mistake you as them!"

[Name] looking quite content with their response, giving a close-eyed smile.

"Ahem! A-Anyways, to answer your question. I was simply dreading about my workload. I'm fine, don't worry about it."

"Oh really? Guess it isn't a big issue. I'm glad."

'They're glad? I'm just some stranger though, I'm not sure why they're that relieved..'

"So, how's the beach? Pretty relaxing huh? I usually come here after I run my errands."

"Oh.. So this is called a beach, I've never seen one my whole life until today. It really isn't that bad at all to spend a day off here."

Furina then turned her view back to the waves, wanting to treasure this moment before returning to her dull stage.

Suddenly Furina felt something. Only to turn to see [name] placing a rainbow flower in her hair.

"Eh?! What's up with the sudden flowers?! Forget that, how did you even get them?!"

"I did mention I run errands, and that is when I go flower hunting to find beautiful flowers to add to my garden. I decided to give this rainbow flower to you as a gift. It's fitting for a beauty like you~!"

"W-wha-"

"Also, just want to ask, do you work for the hydro archon? You called me a mortal, surely the hydro archon must've have cute colleauges!"

"..."

[Even-More-Fluff Ending] - Optional to read

"Do you not know who the hydro archon is?"

"..Not really, I live on the country side, but I do hear adventurers say that she is dazzling and charismatic. Although it fits into your description.. Surely I'm not talking to the hydro archon."

"...Yeah you're right, I'm not the hydro archon ahahaha! I-I'm her coworker. Yep, pleasure serving under her!"

'God damnit Furina! What are you doing?!'

'...'

'Maybe they are the person I can confide in.. However I know that's impossible, but it does feel nice to not need to put my guard up as high..'

[Bittersweet Ending: continuation of Even-More-Fluff Ending] - Optional to read

When Furina returned to her office in Palais Mermonia. She sat in her chair recounting her recent encounter with [name]. Hoping to see her again.

So she began having meetups with [name] more frequently. Of course, this caught onto Neuvilette's attention since Furina never leaves the city much. So he decided to follow her on one eventful day.

Only to see the archon with a mortal. He didn't know much about this other person that was with Furina so he decided to interrupt their conversation.

"Miss Furina?"

"Huh?! Neuvilette?! W-What are you doing here?"

"Well the hydro archon has been frequently leaving the city for quite a while so I wanted to check it out. Whose this other person you're with?"

"W-wait.. Furina?! You're the hydro archon?!"

[Name] stared in disbelief, immediately apologising for their rude behaviour towards her.

'Well there goes my identity.. Oh well it was pretty fun while it lasted."

[doomzidle]

What is the canon route for DSaF 3?

There's been a lot of confusion on what is the canon route for DSAF 3, and for good reason. Direct Doggo says that no single route is canon, which originally didn't make any sense because the start of DSAF 3 looks like it follows DSAF 2's 'Perfect ending' (The ending where you and Peter rig Dave's suit, and springlock him, effectively turning him into Davetrap.) But, if you follow any 'Dave' route in DSAF 2, Dave never becomes Davetrap, which doesn't make any sense with Doggo's claim, because in the third game you will ALWAYS find Dave as Davetrap.

How ELSE would Dave become Davetrap? Fortunately, we've found the replacement for the perfect ending, and how Dave becomes Davetrap even when you side with Dave There's a DSAF spin-off, not many people know about, called Project: Save the Kiddins. Doggo made it as a fundraiser. It takes place after the events of DSAF 2, and before DSaF 3. It's canon. basically FNAF 1, but with DSAF characters, and you have the ability to wander around the map freely.

(look at the lil guy.) Jack has gone to work the nightshift under a false name, and it seems like he’s doing this to fix what he’s done, hence BJ’s deciphered dialogue. We also know this HAD to of followed a Dave route as well, meaning Jack had killed kids before this.

Dave's tapes.

Here's more evidence this is a former 'Dave route', he's literally alive and NOT springlocked, and just look at the way he's talking to Jack. This also takes place a few years AFTER dsaf 2. The fact Dave's not already davetrap itself tells us it that DSaF 2's 'Perfect ending' ISN'T the canon route the third game follows. (these are 2 of the nightly messages Dave leaves for the nightguard)

``Old sport! It must be you. Nobody else could just lob their ass down and survive four nights like it’s nothing at all. Old sport oh, how I’ve missed you. You came back. You Always come back. Have you come back for me, Old Sport? Have you come back for ol’ Davey? I knew it! I just knew that you really loved me! Look, I have to go, Old Sport, but, I’ll be right back tomorrow night. Okay? Stay alive, old sport. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, Sportsy.``

And the following night, Dave sill say this;

''Old sport! I can’t believe you’ve come back. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. How much WE’VE missed you. We’re a family, Old Sport. Freddy’s is a family, I thought you had abandoned us, Old Sport. But now it’s clear to me. You can be part of us again! You don’t have no idea how lonely these last few years have been, Old Sport. My life was dead without you, but you were lost and now you are found. I’m coming back for you, Old Sport. I’m going to come back and find you, I’m going to come find you, I’m going to come find you.``

Dave's still kicking, and Jack's trying to makeup for his wrong doings.

Now, if we go to the ending of Project: Save the Kiddins, we see the only other way Dave would've become Davetrap.

The kids trick him into entering the suit, and he dies, right there and then. Bro is DEAD, GONE, DECIMATED. This is also the UTAH location, I believe. The same location you find Davetrap in while salvaging in DSaF three.

This makes Doggo's claim of no single route being canon make sense. Project: Save the Kiddins servers as a replacement for how Dave becomes Davetrap. There's also more evidence in the flipside, you can walk up to any bonnie poster to get the dialogue tree. Jack will say he's seen Bonnie without a face at three locations, Dave will ask 'three? but I only remember seeing you at two locations.'' Jack will reply 'I know, that's because I worked the night shift. You wouldn't of seen me.''

ANYWHO, have this big hunk of lore. I usually have a LOT of lore discussions in several servers, so I'll probably just post stuff I find here, too... because why not?

[lilisettean]

Can you write more zayne x reader and implied!caleb? I’m a Zayne’s girlie and love to see more of the love triangle and dynamics between them three 🫣

(and let’s pretend Caleb’s still alive)

Hey! Sorry if this is delayed, was really busy recently so haven't updated much. And yes, I will write more of that love triangle! Jealousy is my jam and I LOVE it (in fiction ofc). I'm just waiting for Caleb to come back to have a bit more insight into his character and see if the game explores on their dynamic at some point!

For now though, please have this drabble and I hope you will like it :)

Custom Made | Zayne/Reader + Caleb/Reader

About: Zayne never minded paying for you. If anything, he liked buying you gifts; and if given the chance, he would gladly spoil you. However, he hadn't realized that he wasn't the only one.

Pairings: Zayne/Reader, Caleb/Reader

Notes: A somewhat part 2 to Unspoken Rivalry! Can be read separately though. Still follows the events of the Valentine's event but not by much.

AO3: Read here!

Warnings: Implied love triangle.

Zayne wandered around your apartment as he waited for you to get ready for the banquet. This was hardly the first time he had ever been to your place, but he hadn’t had the time to look around then. Usually you were ready by the time he even considered looking around. So when you claimed you needed more time to look presentable and told him to make himself at home while he waited, Zayne nodded and told you to ask if you were to need help or a second opinion.

Not that you needed it anyway. Zayne was sure whatever you did, you would look stunning.

But Zayne understood why you needed time. If the situation was reversed and you asked him to accompany you to some event wherein he would meet your colleagues, he would’ve taken time to pick a suitable and flattering outfit as well. Hence why he was now walking around your apartment, taking in your tastes and interests as he waited patiently.

Your place was very much… you, he found. A large plushie here, a few cushions and a throw blanket there. Combined with the fresh flowers and natural lighting you preferred, this place felt homely; a stark contrast to his modern and sleek, yet somehow impersonal, residence. 

Stepping away from the balcony, Zayne was about to approach the mirror perched on the cabinet to examine his appearance when something caught his eye. 

It was a lone empty photo frame settled next to the mirror, and under it, was an assortment of pictures taken. 

Unable to stifle his curiosity, Zayne gathered up the scattered photos and shuffled through them. There was one with Grandma Josephine, a few with whom he recognized as your colleagues, one with a sleeping blond hair man with squiggles drawn all over his face, and one with a famous painter whose name he cannot recall at that moment. 

What made him pause the longest while examining however, was one with your mutual childhood friend, Caleb. You two stood side by side in front of a house, his arm around your shoulder while you tucked your hair behind your ear, caring not to have it tangled with your earring, and smiled for whoever– Josephine perhaps– was behind the camera.

Normally Zayne would’ve continued on, looking through the other photos as if he had not seen it and pointedly ignoring the fleeting what ifs that spawned in his mind. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t stop staring at the look Caleb had on his face, his mind unable to stop thinking at what the soft smile on his face meant while he was looking at you, instead of facing the camera.

Caleb gazed at you as though you were the only person that mattered, as though you were the only reason for his entire existence. 

Zayne knew that look. He had seen it on countless people’s faces. On his patients, on his colleagues… and even on himself, on a picture with you. The same picture he had secretly used as your chat background.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, staring at the picture as though he could burn it with his gaze alone, until you snuck up to him, peering at what he had on his hands.

“What are you looking at?” Your voice snapped him out of his suffocating thoughts, his form rigid as your hand came contact with his. 

“You okay?” You asked, gasping when you felt his icy fingers against yours as you turned the picture towards you. The edges of it were coated with tiny ice crystals, its frost melting away as you wiped it. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.” Zayne replied after shaking his head, purging his mind of the coiling jealousy that took root. The past did not matter; you were here with him now, instead of with Caleb.

“Are you ready to go?” Zayne asked after flipping over the picture and slipping it under the pile. He awkwardly sidestepped your question, hoping that you would pick up on his reluctance and drop the matter entirely. He quietly sighed in relief when the dubious look on your face changed, replaced with a hesitant smile.

“Yes. What do you think? Am I overdressed or under dressed?” 

Zayne watched as you stepped back to allow him a better look at your outfit. Despite your protests, he had paid for the dress and heels in full, citing that it was only right for him to provide as he was the one who added you to the guest list. 

“You needn’t worry about that. You look immaculate.” Zayne said after giving you a once over, pleased that the dress he had picked out for you was to your tastes and suited you perfectly. He would’ve chosen accessories that would’ve gone well with the dress as well, if it weren’t for your insistence that you had the perfect match for it already. 

Well, Zayne took the liberty to pick out an accessory for you anyway as a gift. But that was not the focus now. 

Speaking of which… “Those earrings suit you well.” He stated as he admired the visage before him. The pair of earrings you chose were elegant in its design, subtly accentuating your features whilst drawing people in. It was as though they were tailor made for you and you only.

Despite having never seen you wear them before, a sense of déjà vu settled in. He had seen them somewhere, but he couldn’t name where…

“Really? Thanks.” You replied with a laugh, unaware of his sudden fixation upon your earrings. “They were a gift.”

“From who?”

“From Caleb! It was a gift for passing the licensure exams!”

A gift? Caleb?

Something immediately clicked within him as soon as repeated those words to himself. The picture of you and Caleb quickly appeared in the forefront of his mind, linking the two seemingly unrelated pieces of info together.

Of course. The earrings you were wearing now were the same ones you wore in the picture. 

While you told Zayne how you unsuccessfully tried to figure out where Caleb got the gift from so you could pay him back, Zayne examined the earrings you wore with great scrutiny, wondering where Caleb had gone to purchase these while listening to your failed attempts at espionage. 

The earrings you wore had a unique charm to them, and lacked the sterility and sameness that came with other pieces seen in boutiques. Zayne quickly drew to the conclusion that these were not only custom ordered, but handmade as well, with how well made they were.

There were only a select few stores that did handmade jewelry in Linkon. And to this quality… There was only one place that would be able to craft such a timeless art piece.

Zayne had to admit– albeit reluctantly– if these earrings were ones that Caleb had chosen without any prompting, or even designed himself, he had quite the taste, and an excellent eye for what would suit you the most. 

“...Zayne?”

Zayne blinked, realizing that he had unconsciously leaned forward to inspect your earring in detail. Pulling his hand away after tucking your hair behind your ear once more, he straightened himself and replied. 

“I know where they are from.” He said, huffing in amusement when he saw your face lit up at his response. “No. It would be impolite of me to reveal that.” 

“But Zayne–”

Said man huffed in amusement as you tried to persuade him, citing that you wanted to repay Caleb somehow. But Zayne remained silent, only replying with a small smile. 

It would be a horrible idea to do so. Despite the earrings being a gift from someone his darker, more jealous side considered as a rival, it was not his place to speak of its origins. But that was not the main reason why he maintained his silence.

Zayne slipped a hand in his slacks’ pocket while you were busy getting ready to leave, thumbing over a slim velvet box that contained a ring commissioned from the same place Caleb went to for your earrings.

It would be quite troublesome if you were to figure out how much they had spent, and were willing to spend, for you, after all. 

[midnigtartist]

Fuck it more SpellBomb fic snipits

Gale rubs a hand over his furrowed brow. “I can feel myself growing weaker by the moment, and without my ability to manipulate the Weave I’d only become a burden on the others, on you.” He sighs, the sound lodged deep in his chest. “You know, sometime I do wonder if wandering off into oblivion would be best”

“It wouldn’t be whats best for me” Dotty says softly.

“Really?” He says. “Perhaps I could understand I were still useful, weigh the pros and cons of having a walking cataclysm in your mist, as it were. Magic is my life. Without it - well, I’m hardly deserving of your shelter.”

She’s staring at the fire, fingers twisting anxious knots in her lap. If only it were his place to sooth her.

“I suppose I can’t understand exactly how you feel, but I understand not feeling worthy.” Dotty says. “I’m useless. All my life I’ve been useless. A useless daughter, a useless bride. I dont have anything of worth to offer anyone, aside from my name, and even that’s not worth much all the way out here. But I think- we might have spent our lives around the worse types of people.”

The firelight reflects like a sunset in her pearlescent eyes as she turns her steady gaze towards him.

“Because there are people out there who will treat you well just because you’re you, that care about you just because you’re you. I know it can feel impossible to hear but, we’ve found people like that, havent we? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as kind as Wyll or Karlach before. Or anyone as kind as you.”

“And I care about you.” She continues, untangling her fingers and resting her hand on the ground between them. “Just being around you makes me happy.”

“Perhaps it would ring hollow from the mouth someone so recently filled with self doubt, but you are anything but useless.” Gale rushes to say. “The breadth and depth of your character could fill libraries innumerable.

“It is hard, to imagine someone might care for me simply as the man I am, and even more difficult to accept, but I would be wise to take your words into consideration—— You make me happy as well, very happy indeed”

Dotty smiles over at him, small and shy and tinged with sadness, rather than the typical laughter that seems to soak into her every word. He doesn’t need the Weave to feel the anticipation that envelops them. Its covered them like a heavy clock since their return from the goblin encampment. He can feel it, the way it hums like a stray current reaching from her fingers, now tangled up in the grass, towards his own cautiously questing pinkie. A feeling he’d very much like to embrace, but like a kitten dissatisfied with with its owners preoccupation, the orb in his chest flares, pouncing to rack its claws across his ribcage from the inside.

Gale winces, then cursed, then retreats. At least her sympathetic smile is able to somewhat soothes his frustrations.

“Well-! Thats enough self pitting for one evening. I’d best let you get some rest.” He stands, ready to retreat to his tent for another lonely night. But not without saying: “Thank you, so ofter do I find solace in your presence. Sleep well”

[mischiefmaker615]

Thoughts at Dawn

Summary: It's not easy stalking a witch

Rating: PG

Requester: Lonely Forest Fairy (Quotev)

Note: you know what's funny? I'm finding writing difficult when it's not involving smut LOL *sweats*

Soft footsteps could be heard, being sure not to get the attention of the one being Loki favored in this entire damned tower. It was almost sunrise, everyone was clearly still asleep but after months of being stuck here until they felt his “parole” was finished, he’d selected to entertain himself by memorizing this witch’s routine which quite surprisingly matched his.

They both usually were the first to rise, keeping to themselves but taking advantage of the quite space when it was rarely not filled with earths mightiest heroes. Of course, he knew she was unaware that he would wake up about the same time as she. How he would often quietly watch her work about in the kitchen with the use of her powers she thought was kept a secret. How he would catch sight of her reading on the balcony with one of his books she thought he wouldn’t noticed was borrowed.

This witch- no.. this creature was nothing less than a goddess in his eyes and she didn’t even know it. she was admired from afar, and just her mere scent alone would have him brush his palms anxiously against his pants to rid of the wanting feeling to hold her.

She would have been extremely powerful with him.. by his side. Her powers, much like Scarlett character he tended to avoid, would have been a great addition to his army just a couple months ago if things didn’t turn out the way they did. They would have won, together.. if she hadn’t been on the wrong aside.. yet if he had to settle in this spacious prison just a bit longer if it meant he would still be blessed to see her every day, he didn’t necessarily regret anything in his past to have turned out to be here..

Keeping quiet now, as he always has, he took his usual place by the doorframe and leaned against it for comfort, prepared to stay as long as possible for however long she would take working about in the kitchen. Every now and again he would wander about, looking inside any of the cups and pans she would sometimes fill while he kept up his cloaking spell. Sometimes even close enough to take in her sweet scent he loved so much, but she could never see him. eventually when he would hear the others start to ready themselves and he would disappear back to his room as if he to was just waking up. Oh how he longed to spend these mornings visible to her.. conversing, reading.. perhaps a bit more if he didn’t think she would view him the same as the others. Yet she has never treated him like them.. she was kind, her humor ran on the sarcasm side which would still get the corner of his mouth to curve. Her offers for whatever she was making to share was always abundant and yet.. he still stopped himself.. admiring in silence in these precious hours of dawn.

Today she was wearing her skinny jeans that framed her ass perfectly. A loose top that indicated she would perhaps do a bit of upper arm training when the day began. Over all, dressed her a casual day. His heart seemed to beat just a little bit faster at this, knowing this would mean it was her day off rather than when she would appear in her usual skin tight SHIELD uniform that hugged every delicious curve of her frame. Which meant.. he would have a larger chance at seeing her a bit more around her.. unless she was rarely called into work or she found herself going out. That was the difference- among many he supposed.. she was quite the introvert and would rarely join the others elsewhere, so he had hope that he would take her in a bit more today undisturbed by her disappearances.

His heart skipped a beat then when she turned with her coffee mug, leaning herself against the island by her mid section of elbows while she lazily took sips here and there. She was unaware if he would just drop his spell, they would be facing each other from where he watched in the door frame with only five steps apart. A soft sigh left his nose in just the thought as his eyes slowly took in her features once more.

She was undeniably lovely with her pale eyes and dark hair, the gentle lines of her face and body that hid lean muscle that she undoubtedly had from her training as a SHIELD agent if not from some sort of previous training, and that determined, slightly obstinate personality of hers that was tinged with cuteness. He'd have to remember to compliment her more later to coax more of those delightful blushes from her. He'd like to see her become even rosier... it'd be a worthwhile accomplishment, he was sure of it. their relationship was based off teasing and mild flirtatious.. some in which he wasn’t sure if she took seriously or not when his intentions tried to speak from his heart. His presentation seemed to have lessened his advantage of being taken seriously when he wished to truly flirt with her.

Before he could begin the journey down with his eyes, she had turned from the counter, stopping shortly as her elbow came in contact with the bottle of cooking oil as it topped over the edge. His quick movements took over before he could properly think and his hand lashed out and caught the end of it, just at the same time as hers grasping the top of it. by the look on her face, she knew someone was before her with her wide eyes searching and he knew the gig was up. He couldn’t play out of this and inhaled before his spell dropped and he appeared before her.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly as they stared at each other in their kneeled position, neither one of them moving or letting go of the bottle as she bit her lip. ‘’..thank you..’’

This was a signal, Loki assumed to let go and his fingers loosened their grip as they both stood up, neither one of them breaking eye contact. ‘’your welcome..’’ his expression hide a sheepish look as he leaned himself back against the counter behind him. ‘’..how long have you seen me love?’’ he says with a playfulness in his voice with not an ounce of regret in his situation.. yet he tucked away just a sliver of embarrassment.

Her cheeks reddened as she carefully set down the bottle more in the middle of the island counter, being the first one to break eye contact. ‘’..i suppose I’ve always sensed a presence.. I just shook it off as a ghost.’’

Loki’s eyes rose up to hers in question only to find her offering him a playful look and he chuckled. ‘’perhaps a ghost would have been more preferred..’’

A slight seriousness took over her expression as she shook her head and she picked up her mug again, not sure what to do with her hands as her eye contact faltered. ‘’no.. this is fine. A ghost wouldn’t have been able to catch the bottle’’ she teased. ‘’.. I’m surprised you’re awake this early,’’

He pushed himself off the wall, strolling leisurely, "I used to be a prince, you know. I was not afforded the luxuries of sleeping in much, can't afford to be lazy when one is royalty and a whole realm is watching you. I had duties and responsibilities to fulfil, lessons to study, and training as well." he tried keeping the bitter note from his voice. How long ago those days felt. Not that he missed them too much. ‘’though I suppose being stuck here for a bit does give one plenty of time to do.. much less of things.’’

A small pain seemed to flash in her eyes as she looked down at her mug she had set down. she seemed to hate the fact that he was stuck here as much as he did. Its funny how that went though when she was the very Avenger they had picked to be his babysitter in the first place here.

Why? Perhaps its because her powers were evenly matched.. if not a tiny bit more powerful than his so if they thought he would try to do anything, she would have a better chance at stopping him. or perhaps it was the fact that it was her kind heart, that it would maybe rub off on him someday and rehabilitate him rather than him trying to take advantage at the fact that he.. maybe.. could have swayed her into helping him rule.

How powerful they would have been..

‘’they’re thinking about ending it soon..’’

Her words made his eyes lift as he looked at her in question. Could she perhaps read minds?

‘’parole I mean..’’ she clarified and bit her lip. ‘’the time you’ve spent here being monitored has gone well, no mischief or chaos’’ she lightly teased but a small cringe to her expression at how others took it seriously. ‘’SHIELD is thinking that perhaps you’d be given a choice when the time comes.’’

‘’oh?’’ he asked, wishing for her to continue as his heart beat fast with his still expression. Had she perhaps put in a good word for him?

‘’they want to offer if you’d like to go back to Asgard.. stuck there but with a bit more leave way to move about through the palace..’’ her words were hesitant about his homeland, unsure if her terminology was correct at how things went about in that realm but carried on. His lips would have smiled in amusement if he wasn’t taking this matter seriously.

‘’or remain on this planet and take up a job with SHIELD- like us.. helping these people from any threats..’’ her eyes flashed down a bit as she hesitated. ‘’you’d be comfortable.. free to go in and out, have a room here and do what you like, until they call you in..’’ she clarified, as if offering the positive side to it would make it less horrible to work for SHIELD, let alone live on Midgard.

The gesture was appreciated, and Loki offered a smile that weakly faded as his eyes wandered off. As much as he hated earths mightiest heroes.. how beneath him he saw Midgard.. that would give him the perhaps opportunity to keep seeing this woman. It’s the only perk he really cared about as his eyes looked back to her hesitant ones and she seemed to speak in panic by his prolonged silence.

‘’I know I probably shouldn’t have told you- so early in the morning.. it’s just something to think about and plan for- they don’t tell you anything, and that’s not fair and you deserve a bit more kindness tan what they show sometimes-‘’

She was rambling, almost her own way of apologizing as if she said something offensive and it was adorable. She was worried for him.. and that worried him. why go out of her way to give him such information that was probably classified?.. was she perhaps worried she wouldn’t see him again? His well being? As Loki thought, and as she rambled, the more his eyes widened with realization.

She liked him. she liked him back.

Before he knew it, his hand slowly reached out and took hers, her words slowly fading off into silence as she shared the same look and of wonder. Her hand was soft in a way, and yet he could feel the callouses of her palm and fingers earned from training no doubt. That was how she was, wasn't she? Soft and beautiful, yet strong and forged by the trials she'd faced. He could respect that. In fact, he was kind of surprised how much he respected this woman who he'd originally thought would be nothing but a bother. He adored teasing her, yes, but he was truly starting to see her as a worthy companion. With her hand in his, he was determined not to let go as he pulled himself together to speak.

‘’darling..’’ he began, praying to the gods he hadn’t read the room wrong but she at least deserves to know how he truly felt about her.

‘’whatever the choice may be, whether it may change or not, I am quite determined it will work out in my favor..’’ he began, as cocky as it sounded as she bit her bottom lip once more with her eyes shyly traveling down. none of that. His other hand gently rested under her chin, guiding her eyes so she could look upon him instead. ‘’so that I can continue being able to enjoy myself around you.’’

He could see her breath hitch as her eyes held with his, finding that his words may have seemed misunderstood at her silence, or perhaps he wasn’t skilled at reading her as much as he thought and found himself rambling.

‘’perhaps let me try again..’’ he hesitated, his words in broken pauses. ‘’…no matter where I am.. I want to still see you.. have you apart of my daily life as I have so much gotten used to you being in it.. er.. I am happy when I’m around you-‘’

His words were cut off as he felt her soft lips press against his own, shutting up. Thank the gods is rambling was put to a stop- he was beginning to feel like a fool as his smoothness faltered. Yet she kissed him.. kissed him! his mind and body seemed to relax and melt, his thoughts resting at ease as his hands rose a little and paused, a bit unsure of where to place them as his eyes fluttered closed and felt her rise herself a bit to accommodate the height difference.

Just as he was about to bend a bit to help, she pulled away, her gaze locking with his in a relaxed and loving expression he’s never seen before on her. He didn’t want it to stop, he wanted her to look at him like that forever yet at the same time the heart race emotions finally had his hands cup her cheeks and a smile came to their lips as he pulled her closer.

He bent down ever so slightly, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair as he brushed his lips against hers gently, almost teasing as his eyes closed before pressing her firmly against his mouth. A moan hummed from her lips as her hands rested on his shoulders, pulling her down more or raising herself up as she deepened the kiss. Gods this was perfect.. she was perfect.. and he didn’t want it to end before there was some noise coming from down the halls, doors opening and closing with footsteps at numerous paces.

With a hidden disappointment, Loki slowly pulled away, resting his forehead to hers as they caught their breaths with her hands resting hers over his against her cheeks. She gave him a knowing smile at how the morning was soon to begin with loudness and people, but she took a small step back. His hands hesitated before he felt her grip tighten and hinted at pulling him along.

‘’how about we spend the morning on the balcony? You might be familiar with a certain book I’ve been meaning to speak to you about..’’ she teased as she grasped his hand and he began to follow with a mischievous look on his face.

How long as she known he had been watching?

‘’darling, that sounds like a wonderful idea..’’

Tag List: @foxherder @asgards-princess-of-mischief @fire-in-her-veinz

[mondaymelon]

my darling experiment. (dottore x gn!reader)

warnings! tw needles, dottore is pretty cold to you at the start, innocent/clueless reader, use of petnames

(a/n) i might not have captured his character right but overall i think i did a pretty good job⋆｡°✩

˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚*ੈ✩‧₊˚

"Tch. Crying already?" Dottore's voice was cold and cruel. You could tell he was making a displeased look, even under his mask. The way the corners of his lips pointed downwards whenever he was upset, and the slight rigidity of his figure... it had taken you a while to get used to. A tense, gloved hand gripped your shoulder in a way you wish you could describe was gentle. As you stilled, he clucked his tongue approvingly, and you could hear the smile in voice. "That's a good darling." Readying his syringe that was filled with semi-clear blue fluid, his mouth formed a smirk.

Just seeing the metallic, repulsive tip made your skin crawl. Tears began pooling at your eyes again as you trembled. "D-Do we really have to-"

"Be quiet." Dottore's voice came out as a snarl as you felt his gaze bore into you menacingly. Flinching, you clamped your hands over your mouth immediately, but the tears just couldn't stop. They spilled down from your eyes and landed on the floor like little raindrops.

A burst of pain surged through your body as Dottore, without warning, inserted the syringe and emptied out the fluid in your veins. It hurt, and not in a dull way, but in a sharp manner. Fear gripped your heart, and your breath hitched, eyes wide. As the last of the blue liquid was dispensed, the man withdrew the needle and smiled. "There we go. That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"D-Doctor could I have a bandag-"

"Yes, yes. Always so impatient, it seems." Dottore sounded exasperated, but strided over to the white cabinets lined on the wall and rummaged about for a minute or two. "Here." He stated, handing you a bandage and watched you put it on yourself.

Letting out a sigh of relief that it was finally over, you blinked at Dottore with your doe eyes. "Doctor, doctor, when will the shots finally be over?"

"Ah..." Dottore seemed to ponder that for a moment as a smirk made its way across his face. "As much as I'd like to say, not long, and smile at you, that isn't the case." The man paused as he saw your figure sag. "It's just that you're such an obedient little patient that I couldn't bear to let you go."

He laughed under his breath as he saw you immediately perk up. "Really, doctor?"

Dottore hummed his satisfaction, stepping forward and running a hand through your hair, an almost innocent movement if you didn't know who you were facing. "Yes, really. I'll never let you leave my side."

"Hehe, thanks...?" You weren't exactly sure if it was a compliment, but you thanked the blue-haired man nonetheless. From where you sat, swinging you legs back and forth on the metal examining table, Dottore's six foot figure towered over you intimidatingly. "Speaking of which... doctor, how come you never take off your mask?"

"Ah..." Dottore had expected this question eventually, knowing your curious nature. Yet, he still paused to let his thoughts wander.

"Oh!" Suddenly, your eyes grew sad. "Is it because you're sick?"

Dottore chuckled deeply and shook his head, smiling. "No, darling. I'm not sick at all. My face is a part of my past to which I have left behind."

"...Oh."

There was a moment of silence as Dottore began scribbling something down on a pad of paper. His handwriting was nearly unintelligible, and you were only able to catch snippets of the words, exceptional and perfect. You weren't really sure why he was writing these things about you, but they sounded like he was praising you, so you didn't think twice about it. After all, it surely wasn't often that Dottore was this nice to you. Today was already a blessing in itself.

"Then..." You began, glancing at Dottore as he looked up from his paper. "Do you get lonely sometimes?"

The man seemed at a loss for words, only shaking his head and saying, "I'm not quite sure what you mean."

"Well, you said you left behind your past, right? Won't your friends and family miss you a lot?" You cocked your hand innocently at the blue-haired man as he let out a guttural laugh.

"Ahaha...! Family and friends, you say... now that's a new one."

"Doctor...?"

"I don't need them. Not anymore. Not when I have you, my lovely specimen." Dottore smiled at you sweetly, a look of obsession clouding his red-eyed gaze.

"So you wouldn't ever leave me, would you?"

"I would never dream of it."

"That's my darling experiment."

masterlist ✩

[rascalentertainments]

Wish Granted: The Startosphere 🌙🌠🌌

Since Star will be coming in chapter 3, I thought it'd be a good time to talk about Star's home, which is The Startosphere!

In this special space, its located in a cosmic space between the the mesosphere and thermosphere. In this space, millions of stars travel across the galaxy as nomads. They go around seeing different nebula formations, constellations and other wonders of the galaxy! All of the star people have cosmic power, but its never been used to the extent of actually changing their own form, let alone turning into animals or a human.

They don't have solid forms, and since there's no gravity, the star people sort of glide across space. Their outer appearance look like human people, but they're outlined like constellations with a blue, white or yellow tint. (See this Helluva Boss GIF below as an example.) Like when a person draws an animation test for a character's movements.

It can however, be a lonely life. Especially for our Star(boy). See, Star has a family. A big one in fact, but he hasn't seen them in years. And because stars are nomadic, its hard for him to make friends. He could be pals with one, but the next day he won't find them again. So he just wanders by himself, even though there are plenty stars around.

Many of the star people can see Earth from afar, but none of them have ever visited the planet itself. The stars just admire it from afar and go on about their business. Star however, was fascinated by Earth from the start and dreamed of going down there and meet the humans who all looked fun to him. He could spend hours watching them below, go away somewhere else, but always come back to Earth as if something there pulled him in like some kind of wind.

When stars reach 18 years of age, and they can pick their own names to go by. Sometimes they get them from the humans, and other times they create their own. Our Star hasn't chosen a name for himself yet, so Asha nicknames him "Star" to make things easier. Though after the adventure is over, he just might have an idea of what to call himself...

Normally, stars can't grant wishes, that's a human belief. However, Star creates his own way to do it: Going right down to Earth and helping Asha however he can. Lastly, there are a few star nomads who heard rumors of a star with more power than any other in the galaxy. One so powerful, they could grant wishes to not only humans, but other stars. But none of them have actually seen this so called "Wishing Star".

Star nomads can hear humans, but only when they pay attention to Earth. Most of the time they're too busy looking for the next exciting thing, so Earth just doesn't hold their attention like it does for our Star. However, there is one human that ends up catching his attention the most, through beautiful singing...

In the Wishverse, Star is excited to meet other Starboys because not only have their been others who've been to Earth, but now he can make Star friends and he knows he can see them again, no matter how long it's been. Not only does he gain Earth friends, now he has star friends too. He couldn't be happier. 😁⭐ (Plus he loves to hang with Suñeo and Cielo the most, surprisingly)

Hope you enjoyed this little worldbuilding here. Like I said, this is my first fantasy story. I mostly write and watch media that are sci-fi, superhero, and action. I do like fantasy, but there usually has to be a twist on it to get me invested, and Wish's concept was one of them! So I took the sci-fi part I know and used it to create this system for the star nomads. More will be revealed as the story goes on, so I hope you continue to read Wish Granted as it unfolds!

Stay awesome! 😉

@uva124 @oh-shtars @signed-sapphire @chillwildwave @tumblingdownthefoxden

@annymation @spectator-zee @lazytitans-world @kenihewa

@mythartist21 @gracebeth3604 @flicklikesstuff @emptyblog7

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI BRACKET ROUND 2

Propaganda:

Sheo/The Nailsmith:

It's really nice because you unlock it after the nailsmith asks you to kill him with the pure nail and you refuse and walk away. He then says he was wandering hallownest without purpose until he found sheo who helped him discover that there was more to life than just one calling. These two are probably the only characters in the game to have a genuinely happy ending

The nailsmith loses his purpose in life after finishing his ultimate masterpiece, his lifelong goal, the pure nail. He requests the protagonist to try the nail on him, but If you refuse, he will find sheo who helps him to find new meaning in life and realise that there is more to life by teaching him different crafts. They can then be seen sculping figurines together, and sheo is also painting the nailsmith.They share a common love for art and crafts and inspire each other. Sheo's story is that he was a nailmaster, but got tired of it, and put down his nail to pick up a paintbrush. I think it's beautiful that he could help the nailsmith realise what he himself did. They both also used to live in solitude without even realising how lonely they were, and I think it's cute tuhat they can do art together now :]

They are two bugs retired from their career and making better lives for themselves and they’re gay about it. Nailsmith believes at first that he has nothing left after creating the perfect nail and asks the knight to strike him down, and if you don’t, he meets Sheo, a retired nailmaster finding a new calling in painting and sculpting. They find a shared love in creating things and Nailsmith finds a new calling in art as well. The achievement you get for uniting them is called “Happy Couple”

Gay bugs gay bugs gay bugs (Cw mention of suicide) They both used to pursue their one passion in life: forging the perfect nail (sword) for the Nailsmith and the art of combat for Sheo. Sheo realized he could just leave that life when he lost his passion for fighting, and he found himself a new purpose in life: art. However, he always seemed very lonely, completely isolated by all other bugs in his hidden house in the middle of a thorn jungle. When The Nailsmith achieved his goal and forged the perfect nail, he lost his purpose in life and his will to live. He asks the player to kill him. However, if the player refuses, he can later be found in Sheo's house, modelling for Sheo or sculpting figurines with him. He thanks the player for not fulfilling his request, because he has found a new calling in life here, making art together with Sheo. They both express how happy they are to no longer be alone. This also gives you the "Happy Couple" achievement, confirming that they are a couple.

THEY'RE CANON!!! They're fucking canon!!! You can talk to them at one point after doing a Bunch of Stuff to get them to meet each other and you get an achievement called "Happy Couple"!!! Gotta love old man yuri

Jean-Luc Picard/Q:

theyre kind of the ogs. q fucked that old man for SURE. if they arent old enough for you in the next generation (1987-1984) they probably will be in picard (2020-2023). also when i went looking for the pic i included i googled “star trek picard q in bed” and there were actually multiple different instances of that happening that popped up

um it’s unclear what age Q is supposed to be in TNG but in Picard they’re both undeniably old as balls. Q has godlike powers that he just uses to hang out with this bald old man in increasingly strange and annoying ways. And call him “mon capitane” like a freak and materialize next to him in bed and say Good Morning Darling and lounge all over the Enterprise like a fruit anyways I think they’re abnormal and I like them

what if you were an all powerful nearly omnipotent being who has been worshipped as a god on planets across the farthest reaches of space and the first guy to just not give a shit about you makes you fall madly in love with him

I can’t get my thoughts clear right now but they mean so much to me. They’re meant to be with each other ok. the sequel to spirk. they would be canon if paramount werent COWARDS

if I were an entity as old as the universe itself and I kept visiting some old guy on a spaceship trying to justify the existence of humanity it would 100% be for gay reasons and Q understands this concept on an intimate level actually

[edges-of-night]

Heyo! I was wondering if you could write something about the lotr characters meeting a modern!reader that starts crushing on them once they show up in middle earth? (Preferably the 4 hobbits) Happy writings!

I hope I did your request justice! Enjoy!

･ﾟ✧ Frodo.

Sure enough, Frodo had heard the gossip about a strange human showing up in the Shire – not only one of the big folk, but dressed especially strangely, and talking even weirder. Being the gentleman that he is, Frodo would not investigate or snoop around any further than that. Surely that human had enough helpful hobbits around them by now… Little did he know that nothing could be further from the truth!

Your time in this strange place had been nothing but miserable. No electricity, no internet, indeed nowhere to charge your phone – it wasn’t like your navigation apps were of any help out here, recognising absolutely nothing – but still you dreaded losing your only connection to home. None of the people here could tell you where you were. They looked like D’n’D halflings, with their pointy ears and short bodies, but all they did was pretend they didn’t understand you or shoo you away with whatever tool they were holding.

When your phone eventually died, you broke down crying in the grove you had been wandering. Covering your face with your hands, you sobbed with your back against the tree. It should be cruel that you were so lonely in such a beautiful place…

Somewhen, you heard light – well, as light as these big-fooded halflings could walk – steps coming toward you. A polite and quiet voice asked, “Excuse me… Can I help you?”

You looked up with a sniff. Before you stood a halfling with the brightest and biggest blue eyes you have ever seen. He carried a book under his arm. His words and demeanour were careful, as though he tried explicitly not to scare you.

“I don’t know,” you said truthfully. As soon as the words left your mouth, a comforting warmth spread in your chest – you had already given up hope of ever finding a friendly face here! You broke into a relieved laugh.

“I thought I heard someone crying,” the halfling smiled with a wave of his book. “And from the sound of your voice, you could use a glass of water, couldn’t you?”

You rubbed your eyes. “That’d be great, yeah. Haven’t had something to drink for almost a day now. I guess. I don’t know how time works here.”

“It’s the twelfth of July,” the halfling said gently, huddling down in front of you.

You sucked in a breath – such blue eyes could only mean you were in some kind of fantasy world! “The same day I left home,” you uttered, hoping your heart would not jump out right into his face.

“And still you seemed to have travelled quite the distance,” he said and smiled. “Come on,” he offered with an extended hand, “you can rest at my home in Bag End.”

“Thank you,” you breathed. But when you took his hand, you suddenly got the feeling everything would turn out okay after all…

.

･ﾟ✧ Merry.

In the hope that it would make you seem smaller, you ducked your head – but the halflings’ eyes were still firmly on you. You’d already been in their world for days, and yet they gawped at you as though you were an alien.

Well, considering you hadn’t seen any other humans in their little halfling town, maybe that was sort of true.

“The same as always,” you asked the bartender. Meaning: left-over bread and a bit of water.

“Right away,” she smiled. She was friendly – your only source of food for the past few days – but even her eyes were cautious. As though you might break something just by standing at her small bar counter. You suppressed a sigh and mumbled a quiet, “Thank you.”

“Belay that order, Rosie! They’ll have a summer vegetable ragout,” a rough voice next to chimed in. “And how about some redcurrant juice? Better than water all day. We’ll have a carafe.”

You shifted, elbows on the counter. You weren’t in the mood for petty halfling nonsense – you just wanted something to eat and get back to the tree you were hiding behind…

“On your tab, Merry?” Rosie asked, eyebrows risen in amusement.

“Yes, yes, everything on my tab.” He downed his beer and leaned further onto the counter. “My treat!”

Nothing in his voice suggested malice, so you did turn around. Next to you sat a bright-eyed halfling in a yellow vest. His cheeks were puffy from grinning. “Sorry if you looked forward to that ol’ bread,” his voice rasped. “Hope I didn’t ruin your evening.”

Something about his shamelessness made you smile. “You didn’t. Thank you.” You swallowed, but your next words left your mouth before you could stop yourself: “That’s the kindest thing someone around here has done for me.”

“Ahh, don’t give a horse’s shit about other people,” he went. “I was never averse to the big folk, and neither are the Tooks. And the Baggins’, needless to say. And, yeah, I’m a Brandybuck, so…”

Gears turn in your head – you’d heard all those names around town before. “Oh, you’re – what’s it – Merry?”

His head spun around, bright eyes staring at you. “Yeah,” he uttered. “That’s me.” He put his drink down and fumbled with the curls that had fallen into his face. You chuckled at how flustered he was all of a sudden – it was very cute! “And, and,” he stuttered, “you are…?”

You leaned in to tell him your name over the crowd’s noise. He smelled of apples and summer meadows…

When you pulled away, Merry gave you the brightest grin. “What a beautiful name!”

“Thanks,” you laughed, blushing at his smile.

“Now that that’s settled…” He shifted to give you a conspiratorial look. “We’ll get your ragout and juice, and then we can dance and sing together, what do you say?”

You laughed in disbelieve. “What?”

“Yeah! My friends are sitting over there! We can join them and teach you all the songs you need to know in the Green Dragon.” Though Merry’s enthusiasm was unmistakable, he still glanced downward, as though he was nervous about asking this of you. You thinned your lips in order not to smile like a lovebird – he was pretty charming! “I’d love to join you, Merry. Thank you.”

His joy practically exploded: “Great! Great, now then let’s go!”

“What about the ragout…?”

“I’ll teach you to dance first!” he called and took your hand to pull you with him.

.

･ﾟ✧ Pippin.

Halflings, or Hobbits, as they called themselves, were a strange little people. When you had crashed into their town last Tuesday, their initial reaction to you had been rather hostile. Especially older people did not want you around, let alone talk to you.

With younger Hobbits however, the story was very different.

Children, insofar their parents wouldn’t hold them back, loved when you came to town to get food and water. They asked if you knew “Gandalf” and all other sorts of names you didn’t recognise. They also whispered secrets into your ear, about this or that sibling of theirs who had a crush on you. While amused, you shrugged it off as children’s nonsense, just the same as in your world. Until… you found a letter by the tree trunk you’ve made your home base. It was a neat and tidy letter, gorgeous handwriting, and even a seal.

Your tall figure and round ears have enchanted me…

It was a love letter! Your heart skipped a few beats – and then you laughed. Hobbits were impossible! And impossibly charming, as it would seem.

Soon you learned that they all had such tidy handwriting and beautiful stationary. The letters multiplied. Each day you found more by your home. It was getting ridiculous – so few would talk to you in person, and then apologise for it in the most beautiful letter you’d ever seen.

One day, when you found another seven letters by your base, a voice stopped you from reading them right away. “Here’s another delivery for ye!”

You turned around to find a boyish Hobbit with dishwater blond curls and blue eyes heading your way. He had a shoulder bag around his turquoise coat and marched straight toward you. You laughed when he did a little tip-toe-dance toward you.

“Wow. Then all of these are yours?” you asked.

“Wha’?” He stopped in his tracks, giving you a wide-eyed look with his lips falling open. “No, no, you couldn’t be further from the truth! Everyone’s been givin’ me letters for you, but none of it my own, I swear!”

You smiled at his charming accent and outraged expression. He even raised his hands in defence, thereby holding up the envelopes he meant to give you earlier.

“So, you’re my little messenger?” you asked, trying to ignore the urge to hug him. He was too precious!

“Somethin’ only a Took would do,” he said with a proud grin. “I bet no one’s asked you out for a bowl of Second Breakfast strawberries in person, right?”

“No?” you went, a bit unsure – was he…?

“Then I’ll do just that,” he grinned, pushing the envelopes into your hands. He smiled up at you so brightly you needed a second to understand.

“Only if you like the freshest, juiciest, reddest strawberries, that is…”

You chuckled. “What a question.”

He jumped a little, beaming like the sun. “One best asked in person, I figured. Come on, then. I’m Peregrin, by the way, but everyone calls me Pippin. Or Pip is fine, too, if you prefer that – Merry sometimes calls me that – you might know him, my first cousin, Meriadoc Brandybuck. I’m also cousins with Frodo Baggins, up in Bag End, I’m sure we can pay ‘im a visit later and play cards, that’d be a blast! And speaking of Bag End…”

Truly, you thought with a blissful smile as you walked down the hill, all that would’ve been a bit much to fit into one letter.

.

･ﾟ✧ Sam.

For Samwise Gamgee, it was an ordinary day to the plant market and back. He was thinking about trying some of that summer lilac this year. The butterflies loved it, and the East side of Bag End could use another arboret anyway. It was heavier to carry than he had expected – but nothing rolled-up sleeves couldn’t handle, even below the warm late afternoon sun. With that, he was on his way back home.

You, on the other hand, were headed in the other direction. One second you were walking down the street, looking at your phone, and then…

A gust of wind made you raise your head. You had to squint your eyes against the suddenly bright and golden sun. Insects chirped around you. You were standing by a field! Below your shoes was a gravelled path, above you the clearest blue sky you’d seen in a while.

Just when you turned around, you bumped into a child coming from around the corner of the high wildflowers – or so you thought. After your initial confusion and an autopiloted “Oh, sorry!”, you realised the stranger was far from a child. Before you stumbled a tanned man with blond curls falling into his freckled face, sturdy and kind. His broad arms, exposed by a rolled-up old-timey shirt, carried a potted plant that he now steadied in-between you.

“Oh, not to worry!” he let you know. He grunted when he realised that raising the plant like this would block your faces. Rearranging it gave you time to further scan him – his feet were naked and big. And very, very hairy – “You’re a halfling!” you realised.

“Aye, sure hope I am,” the man replied. A smile tugged at his lips when his brown eyes met yours. “And you’re a human, as it looks to me.”

You laughed. He was very good at this. Had you wandered into a fantasy festival? “Yeah, um – sorry, again,” you babbled, stealing a glance at your phone. No reception.

“No worries,” he assured you. He tilted his head. “What’s that magic tablet you’re carryin’?”

You were on the verge of replying that this was just a phone, not a tablet, when he instantly straightened his posture. “I mean, not to make any assumptions, but we don’t get big folk visitin’ very often. People might stare if someone walks around with magic stuff, not to mention a beauty such as you.”

“Beauty?” Your heart picked up pace when the halfling looked at you shily from below his dark eyelashes. Your own eyes fluttered. Where were you…? “I was just walking down the street,” you mumble, “and before I knew it…”

“I know the feeling!” the halfling agreed. “One step and you don’t know where you are anymore.”

You studied him – something made you trust him. “Yeah.”

“Were you on your way to Hobbiton then? I can accompany you, very well, if you want to,” he offered you in his simple and charming manner. You couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. Thank you!”

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

I'll Be Your Hero

I did a quick 1,562 words based on this picture this morning:

I'll Be Your Hero (1562 words) by NeverlandPoet Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley, Tommy Kinard, Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Karen Wilson, Athena Grant, Vincent Gerrard, Maddie Buckley, Howie "Chimney" Han Additional Tags: Fluff, firefam - Freeform, Evan "Buck" Buckley Loves Tommy Kinard, Tommy Kinard Loves Evan "Buck" Buckley, Speculation for 9-1-1 (TV) Season 7, Season 7 episode 9 speculation, speculation based on promo pics, POV Tommy Kinard

Read under the cut or on AO3 (see above for link)

— Choose your own part, make it worth and return —

"We get a medal and cake, I could get used to that," Buck whispers in his boyfriend's ear.

He’s enthusiastic, almost brimming with energy, it’s adding to the delicate whiff of his breath on Tommy's skin. A stimulating mixture, alas, it’s the wrong time and place for this kind of thoughts. Tommy just smiles, clutches his plate of cake and wishes the celebrations would come to an end.

Buck is quite distracting. Since he has this medal around his neck, he looks like a Labrador puppy who has been given his first treat. That's a praise kink, for sure, and Tommy just knows he's gotta store this information deep in his mind. Most of all, the man just looks so happy. So content. Tommy never knew that seeing someone else so happy could be so important to him. He looks at Buck – his boyfriend, for goodness sake, how did that actually happen? – and his throat constricts, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he has stuffed far too big a piece of cake into his mouth.

Tommy is nervous for reasons not entirely clear to him. This accolade is superfluous, he thinks, and maybe it has something to do with that; after all, what they did was a certain gray area. However, a small voice inside him is more indicative of the people who are here today. Gerrard is here, for example. And Tommy, known to be so confident, so serene, realizes that he is not quite so calm inside.

Buck is, of course, responsible for this. Evan. A name that melts in the mouth like the sweetest candy. A man that has melted Tommy’s heart, in several ways. But also the reason for his restlessness. Buck is so excited, so happy, but also... sensitive, in a very good, but vulnerable way. And Tommy would hate to see that happy face crumble over a stupid remark.

Tommy feels Buck's hand on his arm. Damn, that uniform adds something to the man’s hotness, he’s hardly listening to the words tumbling out of this beautiful lips.

"... with Christopher, I'll be right back," Buck says.

He’s gone in a flash, and Tommy feels strangely lonely in a crowd of people to whom he should also belong. It’s nobody’s fault but his own he still feels disconnected. He’s used to not getting too involved with people. This façade has crumbled quite a bit since he started dating Evan, though.

He gives himself a jolt and wanders around, the plate of cake still firmly in his hand, without actually knowing exactly what kind of cake it is and how it tasted. Hearing his name startles him, he almost drops it.

"Tommy!"

This is Hen and her wife Karen. He remembers Hen talking about her. She looks nice. So why is he nervous?

"Hey," he says, undecided where to put the plate of cake, so he keeps clutching it. "Karen, right? You must be proud of Henrietta."

It's just small talk, harmless, but Tommy wonders why the two of them are ... scrutinizing him like that.

"Oh, I only call her that when she's up to something," Karen replies, smiling.

"Must have received her with Henrietta! then, when you found out about the ship," Tommy says, overemphasizing the name with raised brows.

They laugh, he feels like he's broken the ice, and Karen says, "I'm glad this achievement is being recognized. Yours, especially, Tommy. I'm glad you brought them all back in one piece."

"More or less," he shrugs, watching the women exchange affectionate glances.

That's us, he thinks, at some point. A pleasant idea for someone who – perhaps for a moment – thought that the 118’s pretty boy was just in for a one-night stand. This turned into a few nights, the best nights Tommy can imagine, and he found out that Buck is, contrary to the rumors, a man for more. Tommy can think of a lot more.

"We wanted to talk to you about something," Hen interjects, and now they exchange another look, but Tommy can't quite interpret it.

"Oh?" he says, something's up, clearly, and he holds on to his plate like a lifeline for some reason.

"We're happy for you, really," Karen says, and Hen cocks a brow as she looks at her wife.

"Why the telling off, then?" she asks.

"Never said I'm not happy for them, Hen."

So, Karen is clearly the strict one in this relationship, fine, but they both seem to have forgotten that Tommy is still there, and he blinks in confusion.

"I’m not sure what…" he starts, but Karen cuts him short, and now her whole demeanor says this is serious.

"We care for Evan," she says. "Extended family, so to speak. He means a lot to Hen, and therefore he means a lot to me, and we don't want him to get hurt."

"I don't intend to..."

Karen raises a hand, now she strangely looks like his elementary school teacher, and Tommy sees Hen gently push her hand down.

"He's been hurt a lot," she continues. "And all of this is new to him."

"We've suspected for years that he's not as straight as his girlfriends suggested," Hen interjects, and now the tension drops noticeably, and they share a laugh.

"Just be good to him," adds Karen.

Looking at her, Tommy thinks how strange it is to hear this from a woman he has only known for two minutes, but that she’s so right. He wants nothing more than to be good to, good for Evan.

"I promise."

Tommy feels like his voice doesn't quite belong to him, and there must have been something in it that softens the faces of the two women in front of him.

"That's all I need," Hen says warmly, patting Tommy's shoulder encouragingly, "and if you ever need help, come to us."

"Help?" asks Tommy with a crooked smile, slightly confused.

"Oh, you don't even realize what you've gotten yourself into yet. Evan Buckley is a force of nature."

Giggling and waving, the two walk on and Tommy stays behind, blinking. A force of nature, yes, that's for sure. He looks at the cake on his plate, realizes he's had his thumb in it the whole time and licks it, indecently reminded of Evan again. Where is that man anyway? Tommy looks around and sees him sitting at a table with Christopher, and it's unclear who’s talking whose ears off.

Indecisively, he moves in this direction, carefully avoiding Bobby. They only locked eyes for a minute, and the captain instantly had a look on his face that said "he needs the talk."

However, he can't quite escape Athena, the woman suddenly builds up in front of him saying, "Tommy! I hope you have a minute later, Bobby and I would love to chat."

They've already thanked him for the rescue in private, but of course that was before they knew about him and Buck, so Tommy knows exactly – thanks in part to Hen and Karen – what kind of conversation this is going to be.

"Sure," he says with a disarming smile and escapes her for now.

He doesn't get far, because there are Howie and Maddie, arms linked (God, all the couples here are so sweet).

"Oh, Tommy," Maddie says, and Howie next to her just goes, "Uh-oh, Tommy."

Maddie gives her husband a stern look, and he continues, "She wants to give you the Buck talk."

"You'll have to get in line."

Howie laughs, while Maddie looks confused. Fortunately, Buck arrives at this moment as if he’s heard his name, and as always it seems like the sun rises for Tommy. Buck is still pretty wound up, and although Tommy knows the man can take care of himself, he also knows he's going to need some time to calm down after all of this.

"Oh God, that's his Tommy face, let's go," Howie says, pulling Maddie aside before she can say anything.

If that's his Tommy face, then... Tommy's throat is getting tight again, and he hasn't touched the cake for a while. Buck, at any rate, looks at him with shining eyes, an almost longing smile, his head slightly tilted, his hair a little tousled; damn, Tommy wants nothing more than to press a kiss to those tender lips right now. He clears his throat.

"All good?" he asks.

Buck's expression changes slightly, his smile deepens.

"I'm doing great, what about you?" he asks quietly as he puts a hand on Tommy's arm.

The touch burns in the best way possible. Before Tommy can answer, Gerrard approaches. There’s the hint of a frown on Evan’s face, and Tommy braces himself. His boyfriend seems to notice the tension in his muscles, because he gives him a look that is not just affection, but... understanding.

"Buckley, Kinard," says Gerrard, "good job."

Quite a bit of praise from this man's mouth, and many years ago that would have been important to Tommy. Evan has witnessed the man himself, but many things he knows only because Tommy has told him, and Tommy already knows what he thinks about the former captain.

"To Tommy's credit," Buck says. And then he looks at Tommy, puts an arm around him, and Gerrard's eyes go wide as he adds, "I'm extremely proud of my brave boyfriend."