#you had days off. you ask if i get a certain holiday off. like i havent worked full days christmas eve and boxing day the previous 5 years

[crushoncaleb]

Be my valentine

Rafayel x reader

Fluff

1.4k words

You try to ask Rafayel to be your valentine. The keyword is try.

A/N. First time I have written something for a holiday or event and actually managed to post it in time! Basically, I couldn't sleep, and Rafayel possessed me. Hope y'all enjoy!

Is this...rejection?

You'd spent some time planning it, even bribed Thomas to get Rafayel the day off. But when you and Rafayel arrived at your usual spot at the beach. He didn't seem to take note of the seagulls at all.

The seagulls you had somehow managed to train into landing in the right order so the letters you stuck to them would ask him to be your valentine. Now, you'd be the first to admit, the whole plan was a little crazy, but with your and Rafayel's history and connection to the seagulls choir, you'd thought it would be cute.

If it had been any more subtle, you might've believed he genuinely missed it. But it's quite hard to believe someone like Rafayel would not see the literal seagull choir the two of you were here to visit. So naturally, you had to assume he was letting you down easy.

Even being let down easy hurt. It completely blindsided you. You were absolutely certain something had been brewing between you and the artist. Hell, last time you'd spent time with him after wearing new perfume, he'd spent about an hour shoving his face against you to breathe you in. You were SO certain that crossed the line of platonic.

You start questioning if perhaps you'd been reading social interactions wrong your entire life, as next to you, Rafayel starts getting antsy.

"Cutie, as much as the sky is beautiful today and I would love to spend time staring at it with you, we should go get lunch now. Thomas' endless texting has tired me out, and I'm huungry. " He speaks, his tone light and whiney as always, and for a second, you consider him world's greatest actor.

You decide that what you felt for Rafayel combined with the effort you'd put into this plan was worth the risk of heartbreak, so in a final effort to get him to acknowledge you, you speak up.

"Don't you want to see your trusty choir first? They're right there behind you. I'm sure they've missed their conductor." You're not sure if you manage to keep your tone quite as light and playful as intended, desperation tinging the edges of your words, but you've spoken them, now he HAS to respond.

A pause, anticipation clogs your veins, and you practically feel your blood pressure rising. "...there's a boat ride with a buffet that might be nice today, since the weather is so nice and all."

Your eyebrows raise, the casual tone of his voice so steady that you almost start questioning if you even did bring it up at all. But the quick look he takes at you and the way he turns away tells you he is definitely doing this on purpose.

It was truly rejection then, your stomach twists and a buffet and a boat ride with Rafayel suddenly sound daunting. You could get over rejection, but maybe not within 10 minutes.

"Hmm, that sounds nice but I'm actually starting to feel a little off," you muse on your excuse "I think I might head home a little earlier than planned today, Rafayel, rain check?"

He turns to face you now, slowly. Eyes wide and brows furrowed, expression reminiscent of that time you gave him a single apple when he checked himself into the hospital. A mix between shock, offense, and a silent command to change your mind.

He grabs your wrist and starts pulling you along. His expression changes in a heartbeat, and it's like you never said anything.

"They apparently have like a super long waiting list, but I got in pretty easily. Guess being well known does have its perks after all, huh?" He keeps talking in that same casual tone of his, which is starting to frustrate you to no end.

"Rafayel, I get that a rain check for the boat might not be easy if it's like that, but I really need to go home." You plead, trying to pull yourself out of his grip but he just turns to you, gives you that same expression that you're convinced only Rafayel can make properly, and then keeps going like you never opened your mouth.

You're baffled at his behavior, and by the time you recover, the two of you are making your way onto the boat.

"Now, I'm going to need you to stop looking so surprised, cutie." He reaches out to gently smooth his fingers over the muscles of your brows, which you will admit are a little tense from how you've had them raised the entire way here. "I need you looking as cute as you always do for the pictures we're gonna take here."

It was one thing to completely ignore what was practically a confession, another to blatantly ignore your request to go home, but the audacity to tell you to not be surprised at his antics? That was too far.

He tries to pull you along again, but you hold steady. He shoots you a questioning look. As if you're the one acting out of the ordinary.

"Rafayel, I want to go home," and you're proud of yourself for standing on business, convinced there is no way for him to just ignore that. In your defense, he doesn't.

Instead, he huffs, his gorgeous features taking on that oh so familiar, annoyed expression. His response is a short "no, you don't" before he takes a step closer to you, only to link your arms and pull you along with the new leverage that gives him.

Then, before you know it, you're standing at the front of the boat as it slides through the water. With no way home except a very prolonged dive.

Rafayel entertains you, and the entire situation had been confusing enough to distract you from his blatant rejection, but now that his weird behavior seems to be settling, reality starts creeping in. You're stuck with him now, so you'll have to keep yourself together until you manage to get off this boat. How vexing.

His first cough doesn't shake you out of the deep thoughts you're in and neither does the second so, Rafayel resorts to nudging you with his elbow when a red fish surfaces with a bottle in its mouth.

You look at him, but he pointedly looks away, like he didn't just practically poke your ribs out. When you lean towards the railing, the fish jumps, and the bottle flies towards you.

You're not actually in the mood to catch it, but your hunter instincts kick in, and in the blink of an eye, the intricate glass bottle is in your hands. You can see a note neatly curled up and tied with a bow, resting inside it.

"Wow, cutie, those are some reflexes." Rafayel feigns being impressed and then presses on. "You should open it. You won the bottle's secrets fair and square once you saved its life."

You narrow your eyes at him. This could not possibly have been more obviously set up by him. Though you will say, his sheer determination to have things go his way is admirable.

You comply, already knowing the only other option was to face his huffing and puffing before then having to comply after all.

The cork takes more effort to open than you'd like, and Rafayel smiles fondly at the slight flush that rises on your face in result. Once you unroll the note, though, your eyes widen.

There, in Rafayel's eclectic handwriting are the very words you'd strung up on your seagulls.

A beat passes, and Rafayel looks at you expectantly. A cute expression on his face, and for a second, you are torn between accepting just to keep him looking like that and raining down righteous retribution on him.

You decide you'd do both. "Rafayel, of course I'll be your valentine, but did you really ha-" his lips halt yours before you could complain at all and you feel said complaints melting away.

The kiss is sweet, Rafayel brings you into his arms as he starts to deepen it, you'd always suspected he'd be a needy kisser, but he pulls away before he gets carried away.

"Sorry, cutie. Couldn't have you interfering with my plans though, you have no idea how long I've waited to make this move." His voice sounds breathy, and his eyes don't leave your lips. His words are so sweet you could almost ignore how he's pretending this was your fault. Almost.

Yet, you'll let it slide. Because as he leans in for another kiss, you just can't find it in yourself to be upset with him.

[voidangxls]

ˋ°•*⁀➷ No Valentine? ʚ♡ɞ

╰┈➤ a part of my valentines special!

pairing(s)- Stiles Stilinski x reader

Summary- You had always been popular but somehow for Valentine’s Day you had no date. A certain buzzcut boy fixes that.

category- fluff

warnings- american school system, season 1 Stiles, not proofread

word count: 3546

masterlist; valentines special; teen wolf masterlist

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You had always been one of the popular kids, ever since elementary school. All the girls and guys wanted you unless they didn’t swing that way, and it only got worse as you got older.

Ever since Elementary school you’ve had Valentine’s, of course back then and throughout most of middle school you didn’t go on dates or anything it was either a playdate or a simple exchange of cards and sweets. Then when you got to freshman year you went on an actual date for Valentine’s Day, just you and a boy.

Now you were in your Sophomore year of high school and Valentine’s Day was tomorrow. People had been asking you to be their date for the special holiday but you blew everyone off. You didn’t know why you did that this time around, usually the first cute one to ask you out you would say yes and get on with it because you knew a real relationship would never come out of it. No one ever fit your standards.

The people who would ask you out were either A. Only asking you out because you were popular or B. Thought they would get sex, C. So full of themselves, or D. Just wasn’t your type, personality and looks wise.

No one knew the real you though, they saw you as this popular girl who loved to shop and only cared about her looks and boys. In reality you loved to read, you were smarter than what people thought, you loved movies, you loved music and you loved obsessing over anything that interests you. You wanted a guy who saw that, you wanted a guy who had some of the same interests.

So this year, without even realizing you had been saying no to every contender you ended up dateless. You had a Valentine every year but somehow it his year you didn’t and you cursed yourself for that.

You were currently on the Lacrosse field, sitting on the bleachers with Lydia and Allison. The three of you sat close to the players bench this time around, you didn’t know why when you guys usually sat towards the middle but o’well.

“I cant believe you don’t have a date, you’ve had a date every year since like Kindergarten” Lydia scoffs

In response you groan while Allison looks between the two of you confused. “what are you guys talking about?” Allison laughs slightly

You toll your eyes and spare a quick glance at Lydia before looking towards Allison. “I don’t have a date for Valentines Day, and I always have a date for Valentine’s Day” you tell her in annoyance, emphasizing the word ‘always’

Lydia looks at you with a bored look while Allison tilts her head and looks at you confused, the three of you unaware of the listening ears.

“Ive seen people asking you out? Like multiple people” Allison acknowledges in a confused tone. She didn’t understand why you were so upset and why you hadn’t said yes to anyone and frankly you didn��t have an answer and you were also just as confused if not more confused on why you were so upset.

You were about to respond when Lydia cuts you off “shes said no to everybody” she says in a bored tone. You roll your eyes and move your eyes from Allison to the redhead next to you.

“I didn’t want to go out with any of them” you try to defend yourself but you knew that it wasn’t like you. You turn and adjust yourself but when you do so you accidentally kick your school bag off of the bleachers and onto the floor. “shit” you hiss, getting off of the bleachers to pick it up.

When you get up you notice a pair of hands reaching for your things. You crouch down in front of the person, also reaching forward to pick up your things. The person in front of you looks up at you and you look at them, you recognized him from classes, his name was Stiles.

The boy looks down and your things, back up at you then back down to your things. You grab your bag and he hands you the pen and notebook that fell out of it with a barely audible ‘here’

“thank you, Stiles” You say, giving him a smile and grabbing your things from his hands, putting them into your bag. At your words the boys jaw drops and he looks at you in shock “you know my name?” he asks, his tone dripping surprise

You let out a laugh and throw your bag over your shoulder. “yeah, we’ve went to school together since Kindergarten” you point out while letting out a small laugh.

All Stiles could do in that moment was stand there in shock, his hands by his side and his jaw dropped. Being this close to you first of all sent his mind into static but you knowing his name completely sent his body into haywire. Also when he overhead the fact that you didn’t have a Valentines date he went short circuited a bit, he knew he never stood a chance but that didn’t stop him from being happy that you weren’t going to be with anyone else. Although he didn’t understand why you didn’t have a date and it made him upset that you seemed upset over it.

He suddenly felt a quick touch on his nose which broke him out of his trance. You had touched him, you had booped his nose, I mean you didn’t make the sound but you still did it! He blinks heavily and takes a deep breath “what?” he asks, he could have sworn you said something.

You let out another laugh at him, god this was embarrassing him so bad. “I asked if you were okay”

Stiles’s posture straightens and he scoffs slightly, his voice raising an octave when he spoke “What? of course I’m okay, I’m completely fine, I’m great actually.”

You nod along unconvinced to his words “right, well I’ll see you” you say, turning around so you could step back onto the bleachers with your friends but you were cut off when Stiles speaks again.

“so uh um h-how are you?” Stiles asks, stuttering over his words. Out of embarrassment he puts one hand on his hip while the other scratches his head. He knew how you were, he overheard your conversation with Lydia and Allison, he knew you were upset but truthfully he didn’t want the conversation between you guys to end.

You turn around and face him again with a small, barely noticeable smile but Stiles noticed it, he noticed everything. “I could be better” you say honestly, looking him up and down slightly.

Stiles face pulls into a frown, no he didn’t want you to go out with anyone other than him because he hopelessly in love with him but he also didn’t want to see you upset. “Im sorry” He says

You pull a forced smile and shrug your shoulders at him “its okay” There was a silence that followed after and you were about to turn around once again but Stiles started to ramble.

“Look i’m sorry but I overheard your conversation with Lydia and Allison and I can take you out on a date tomorrow if you’d like. I don’t even know why I asked that, you wouldn’t want to go out with me now I’m just making a total fool of myself and I’m going to stop talking now”

You look at the boy in front of you in shock, you take a breath and let out a small laugh “are you done?” you ask gently and all Stiles could do was nod hurriedly at you, still seemingly embarrassed. You nod back at him and smile “do you really want to take me on a date?” you ask him, tilting your head at him and analyzing him

“Are you kidding? Anyone would be lucky to go on a date with you” Stiles scoffs, shocked that you were even asking him that question.

You pause, your eyes light up with a certain feeling and your stomach flutters. Making a decision you reach into your bag and grab a pen. You then grab his arm. He looks down at your hand touching his arm then up at you in shock with wide eyes. You pull his arm close to you and begin writing your phone number as well as your address on his arm with a heart. You click your pen and put it back into your bag then turn to Stiles shocked form who was staring at his arm in amazement “pick me up 7 tomorrow” you tell him with a wide smile, then turning around and sitting back with your friends.

“Stilinski!” Coach screams, barely able to break the boy out of his trance. Stiles stumbles when his name was called but doesn’t even glance at the coach, instead he looks over at you with a growing smile and wide eyes. “Stilinski! My grandma hears better than you!”Coach shouts for him again. You give the boy a smile and a raise of your brows, he then finally turns around and heads towards coach, not without almost falling on the way there.

It was now the next day, aka Valentine’s Day. You had just finished getting ready and it was almost getting close to 7, the time you told Stilinski to pick you up. You were dressed in a baby pink turtleneck, a black skirt, a black leather jacket, and pink closed toe heels. For accessories you wore some basic jewelry and your normal makeup. It was 6:50 and you heard a car pull into your driveway.

You look out of your window and spot Stiles talking to himself in his car. A smile makes its way onto your face, he was earlier and he was hyping himself up, it was adorable.

While you wait for it to get closet to 7 you tidy up your already clean room and put your purse onto your shoulder. When you got to your front door you open it and see Stiles standing on the other side of it with 2 different flower bouquets in hand. Your brows furrow and you tilt your head, giving him a confused look but when you get a look at the flowers a big smile makes its way onto your face. Stiles looks up in shock and slight fear when you open the door. “hi” he breathes out, looking you up and down. Hi” you respond.

Stiles then seems to sober up and take in a deep breath. “I got you Roses and Tulips. Roses because those are like the flower of romance and valentines or whatever and then Tulips because I know those are your favorites. Oh! and I got it in purple because thats your favorite color.”

You look at him in shock, Tulips were your favorite flower but how did he know that. You knew you should probably be slightly scared that he knew your favorite flower considering you guys have never spoke in your life but you weren’t, you were touched. Every Valentine’s Day the person either got you Roses or nothing. The only person who knew of the little things about you such as your favorite flower was Lydia, or so you thought. He also knew your favorite color, you didn’t know how he knew these things but truly you didn’t care. With a smile you gently reach out and grab both bouquets from his hand and bring them up to your nose. “Thank you” you whisper, looking down at the flowers in thought. “Come in while I put these in water” you say, looking up at him and walking further into the house

Grabbing 2 vases you fill it with water while Stiles stands across from you awkwardly, his hands tucked into his pockets. He wore black formal pants as well as a black sweater tucked into it. Once the vases were filled with water you begin putting the flowers into their respected vase. “How did you know my favorite flower?” you ask softly, looking up from the flowers and towards him.

Stiles looks up from the floor to look at you “You were talking to Lydia about it in class once. You were sitting behind me and complaining about how there are no Tulip fields in the area.” he tells you and now you vaguely remember that conversation. “I know I probably look crazy but-“ Stiles goes to speak again but you cut him off as you add the last flower ”No, its sweet” you reassure him in a soft voice. You felt flattered.

The two of you then make your way out of the house and into Stile’s jeep, but not without him holding the doors open for you. When Stiles started the care you noticed him nervously twitching and tapping his finger against the wheel.

You click your tongue and look towards the anxious boy with a smile “you don’t have to be nervous.”

Stiles quickly looks over at you then back at the road, his tapping and anxious movements stopping in the process. “Its kinda hard not to” he lets out a breathy laugh

Tilting your head you look at him in thought and a little confusion “why?” you ask. Stiles’s head jerks back in confusion and he glances at you in shock, shocked that you were even asking that question. “because your you and i’ve had the biggest crush on you since elementary school” he scoffs thoughtfully, not out of anger. His tone sounding reminiscent and insecure.

At his words you’re bewildered and your face confronts into bafflement. You would like to think of yourself as a very observant and thoughtful person, although you were popular didn’t mean you were like Lydia and didn’t notice anything unless it involved you. Not that it was a bad thing, it just wasn’t you. But to think that the boy beside you, the same boy that had already topped all dates ever and its only been 10 minutes has had a fat crush on you for years on end now and you didn’t notice shocks you to your core. “I didn’t know that” you respond to him quietly.

Throughout the drive the two of you actually had nice conversation, you laughed and talked comfortably. Truthfully you have never been able to talk to a guy like you are with Stiles, it was new but it was refreshing. For Stiles this whole thing was a shock, he couldn’t believe he had actually talked to his long time crush let alone take her on a date. On top of that talking to you was so easy, easier than he thought. Of course he was internally freaking out the entire time and he would be for the rest of the night but he was way less scared than he thought he would be, you relaxed him. On your end you felt like you didn’t have to pretend, usually you would have to refrain from talking about something or making a certain joke but with Stiles you didn’t have to. Unlike all of the dates you’ve ever been on this one felt real, this one felt true, like there was an actual connection between you guys and not just physical attraction, it was nice.

The two of you arrived at the restaurant you guys would be eating dinner at, you go to get out of the car but Stiles reaches forward and gently grabs onto your wrist “stay there” he says quickly, looking at you in offense. He then jumps out of the car and quickly rounds your side, opening the door for you and holding your hand as you step out. “you look beautiful” Stiles says as the two of you walk into the restaurant.

You turn your head to your right so you could look at him. “Thank you” you speak softly, currently unable to think of anything else to say.

“you’re always beautiful by the way, not just right now” He tells you, stammering slightly while seemingly very honest. You couldn’t help but blush and smile at the boy, no gut had ever truly had this effect on you.

Dinner between the two of you went very well. You guys sat, talked, laughed and blushed the entire time. No one had ever made you feel the things you felt tonight, no one had ever made you feel so seen, no one had ever made you laugh so much. Stiles still had no clue how he ended up in this position with his long term crush. She made him feel normal, she made him laugh, she geeked out with him about nerdy things, she was the only girl who ever made him feel things like this. Neither of you wanted the night to end. “I knew you liked Marvel because of your keychain but wow, its still shocking” Stiles says

From across the table you looked at him with a shocked expression. “You noticed my keychain?” you asked, with a small shocked laugh.

“Of course I did, you’ve been wearing it on your bag for years” Stiles says with a small shake of his head, not even aware of the weight of his words.

When dinner came to a close answer the both of you were now back into Stiles jeep in the parking lot you spoke up. “Ive never said this on a date before but, I don’t want this to end honestly” you say with a quiet laugh, trying your best to cover your disappointment.

Stiles puts his car into drive “good, because we have one more stop” He tells you, pulling out of the parking lot and driving to wherever. After somewhat of a short drive, Stiles pulls into the parking lot of a school, Beacon Hills Elementary school to be exact. The elementary school you guys went to.

You look towards the school then towards the boy in the drivers seat out of confusion. “what are we doing at the elementary school?”

“I just thought we could sit and talk on the playground, it’s closed and we would be able to spend more time together.” He shrugs, looking over at you. He gets out of the car and comes around to your side, letting you out then the both of you walk towards the playground.

You guys sat on the swings for a little bit, just talking. Thought after a smile it became silent for a moment, so you decided to speak “why did you decide to come here?” you ask, swinging slightly with your feet still hitting the ground

Stiles looks up from his shoes and over at you “this is technically where me first met, and where my crush on you started” Stiles brings a hand to his head, nervously rubbing at his neck.

“thats really romantic actually” you respond softly, looking over at his swaying figure on the swing with a smile.

The night was now over, the two of you left the school after being there for about an hour, just talking and laughing. Now you guys were in your driveway, having just pulled it. “I had a lot of fun tonight. Thank you for taking me out, you didn’t have to.” You tell him as you grab your purse into your hand.

“Of course I did, I wanted to” He looks into yours eyes with a serious expression. He wanted to make sure you knew that he didn’t just ask you out for the hell of it or because he overheard that you didn’t have a date, he truly wanted to and he has since he was a small child. “I had fun tonight too” A smile breaks out onto his face and the same thing happens to you

The two of you were sat in the seats of the car, facing each other just looking into the others eyes with smiles on your faces. It was late and you both had school the next day, the date needed to come to an end. With a smile still on your face your hand reaches forward at the same time as your face begins to swiftly move forward. Your lips meet Stiles’s cheek in a quick peck, your hand resting on the side of his face at the same time.

When you pull away Stiles was looking at you with a bewildered expression, jaw dropped, blush coating his cheeks, eyes wide and practically in the shape of hearts. “you should ask me out again sometime” you tell him as you step out of the car.

With his jaw still dropped he nods at you quickly, unable to form words. You kissed him on the cheek, AND you wanted to see him again!? “I will” he responds in a whisper, one in which you could hardly hear. His anxious and enamored expression and acts were adorable and you loved them, they warmed your heart.

“goodnight Stiles” You call out as you walk towards the front door of your house, looking over at him to see his still shocked expression from inside the car.

Stiles wanted to holler back a goodnight but by the time he was physically able to form the words you were already inside the house.

a/n: I couldn’t imagine season 1 Stiles wearing the fit I gave him but I had to pick something somewhat formal ish to match the vibe. On another note Dylan O’Brien is my mannnnn (post is a lil late oopsies)

[thevoidscreams]

We gettin a bit romantical

Husbandry au Vulkan x Reader

Just some fluff and Vulkan being the goat

Vulkan set his tools aside as he studied the tiny marvel of art before him. A feeling of satisfaction growing as he imagined how delighted you would be when you received it. As gently as his big hands would allow he placed the ring into a small box he'd also crafted by hand. His twin hearts hammered as he heard you coming home. The table was set, the mood and lighting were perfect. He still did not fully understand this holiday or why it was so important, but he'd read so many books and blogs and articles to ensure that this night would be a perfect one.

As soon as you'd walked through the door the smell of delicious food hit you, then it was the balloons, literally, as they bobbed in the entry hall to your home. The next detail you'd noticed was the flower petals and seemingly source-less red glow emanating from further into the house. Then a subtle strain of music caught your attention. Your heart beat a bit faster. Had Vulkan done all of this for you? The idea made your cheeks warm.

He was taller now, taller than you at least, which seemed to be a trend. The two of you had been romantically involved for a while, and you loved him like no other you had ever dated. But he wasn't exactly like any other man you'd dated.

You cleared the wall separating you from the dinning room and gasped. It was like a scene from a romance movie. The picture what most people thought when they heard romantic candle lit dinner. A hand slid down in front of your eyes startling you but you settled as you felt Vulkan's warmth and heard his chuckle. "Welcome home dear."

Turning you in his arms he settled a bouquet into yours and smiled. "Is it.. adequate?" "Adequate? It's amazing. No one has ever done something like this for me." You stood on your tip toes and he met you for a soft kiss. He held you there for a long minute, just indulging in the taste of your lips as the sound of music surrounded the two of you.

"Shall we eat then?" Asked. His voice as soft as the glow of the candles.

"Yes, please. I'm starving." You gasped and he chuckled.

Of course it was your favorites, he must have spent the whole day slaving over the stove to ensure that you could have all the dishes you loved. "I know that I am more a creator of metal works, but I hope that my cooking is as satisfactory."

You nodded enthusiastically as you couldn't really speak around the mouthful of food filling out your cheeks. "Mmhmm!!" You hummed along with the nod. Vulkan smiled, he'd waited till he was sure you'd have enough to be satisfied before he served any for himself. He couldn't take his burning eyes off of you though. Even as you scarfed down the food he'd made you. It only made him feel that much more pleased that he had done well for you. But his fingers itched with the need to simply present you with the ring he'd spent days crafting. Making it and unmaking it over and over till it was as perfect as it could be. He focused his attention on his plates and began to eat with you. Allowing a comfortable silence to fill the space between you.

You felt so full you were half sure he'd have to carry you to bed that night. His big strong arms could do it with no problem of course, and the idea had a certain appeal to it. Vulkan had gathered up the dishes, insisting that you stay put and allow him to treat you, which to him also meant not allowing you to help in the clean up from dinner.

He worked quickly. Eager to get back to what he had planned. He's rarely felt this kind of anxiousness, the anticipation of something so deeply important to him. He found you on the couch where he'd instructed you to wait. Even in your rumpled work clothes you were so stunning to him. He went to you, meeting your smile with one of his own. Something in that moment seemed to call for quiet and as if on cue the playlist he'd put together came to a close as he knelt in front of the couch, taking your hand in his.

"Is everything okay?" You asked softly, sudden worry on your face and in your voice. Vulkan was surprised as you reached out with a free hand and cupped his cheek, wiping away a tear he hadn't realized had fallen. "Yes. Everything is perfect, more than that even. I love you so deeply, my hearts beat in unison for you, you fill my waking thoughts and you feature in every dream that I am fortunate to have. I could not imagine a life better lived here than one with you." His thumb brushed over the back of your hand. He met your eyes, a gesture which used to make you so nervous you'd shake.

It felt like there was more he needed to say so you let him speak, encouraging him to continue by raising your joined hands and kissing his. He seemed lost in you for a moment before he remembered.

He reached for something in his pocket, your heart jump upon seeing the small ornate box. "Vulkan?" He thumbed it open to reveal the most intricately detailed ring you'd ever seen. Every curve pressed with love and every stone placed with purpose and meaning. "That is why, I wish not only to continue living this life with you as your partner.. but as your husband as well. If you'd have me as such."

You were moving before your brain even registered the movement. "Yes!" You cried arms around his broad shoulders, hugging him so tight. "Yesyesyesyesyesyes!!" You peppered his face with a kiss for every yes and he laughed, holding you tight as he found himself holding back more tears of pure joy. He knew that he would always he happy with you, that his life and hearts would feel so very full with you by his side.

[1000plants]

Holidays - Valentines

Bucky Barnes x reader (GN)

Summary: An accidental series centered around the various holidays with my beloved Bucky Barnes  

Warnings- Soft!Bucky (a warning bc oh god I love him he's a cutie patootie), my overuse of italics and commas. 

Word count- 1.2k

Author's Note- Happy (late) Valentine's day! Hope you  are all having a lovely day <3 I was gonna try to have this done on time but college kicked my ass and I decided I’d rather spend my valentines night with my amazing girlfriend lol xoxo

Masterlist

Read 🦃 🎄 and 🎉

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“No, Bucky, seriously,” The words tumbled out of your mouth quicker than you planned, a few incoherent words sputtered out until you got them under control again, “sweethart, it’s beautiful, I love it.”

You placed your hand on his arm for a moment, giving it a gentle squeeze before you let your mind take in the room again. This valentines day was supposed to be simple, considering you had been in a “will they/ wont they” relationship with him since about November. Nothing was even fully confirmed until that new year's party!

Though, Bucky apparently hadn't shared the same sentiment of keeping it simple.

“Are you sure?” Bucky nervously asked, brows pulled tightly together as he studied the way you turned your head around the room. You hadn't ever heard this level of vulnerability in him before, his voice was low and slightly gravely. He hadn't spoken much since he knocked on your door and asked you to join him in the living room.

“It’s… wow,” You mumbled, eyes jumping from decoration to decoration, trying to take it all in. There were balloons on one side of the room, pinned up against the floor to ceiling windows that spelled “LOVE” in red kevlar. In the same type of balloon, hearts were floating up to the ceiling, just a few feet above Bucky’s head with white ribbons dropping down from them.

The couch was decorated with the normal valentines decor that Pepper always set out, simple heart shaped throw pillows and white fluffy blankets draped over it. Alpine curled up tightly on the back of the couch, almost hiding in the fuzz. On the small coffee table in the center was a large vase of your favorite flowers, neatly trimmed and clearly from a nice florist and not just the local corner store. There were valentines themed garland strung around the walls, small pink and red hearts tied together with white twine against one of the other walls. Rose petals scattered on the coffee table (one had very distinct teeth marks from a certain feline), forming a heart around the vase.

It was really sweet of Bucky to do, truly! But, it seemed a bit much considering how long the two of you had been together. It seemed Alpine could read your mind, she uncurled her body and stretched dramatically.

“I just, know, wasn't expecting so much, Buck…” You admit, turning around towards him with a soft smile on your face. You glance at Alpine, scratching behind her ear for a moment before she jumped off the couch and trotted up to Bucky

She had been watching the whole thing unfurl, from Bucky setting it all up hours ago, to Sam and Steve doing damage control, to Bucky anxiously dragging you in. She had been silently watching it the whole time.

Bucky scooped up Alp in his arms almost the moment she came to his leg, “I know, that's my fault,” he nods, mirroring your smile when it was clear you weren't truly upset.

“It felt like a big day, and…” Bucky trailed off slightly, clearing his throat as he looked at you. You took a step closer to him, the biggest block between you being the cat. His eyes were a beautiful blue that you could get lost in, but you could see the way they flickered as he focused on each of your eyes, taking in the rest of your face as he did so. He swallowed thickly, his throat bobbing, “I wanted you to feel special.”

It was impossible to hold back the stupid grin that spread across your face. He wanted you to feel special? 

Didn't he know that the way your heart fluttered was because you knew he cared? Didn't he know that your brain kinda stopped working every time he silently held the door open or grabbed your coat for you? Did he know you never felt like anything less?

“I do feel special,” You murmured softly, a small laugh bubbling up. Alpine let out a small huff, the sound seemed too big for her little body, “What?” you chuckle, both you and Bucky looking down at her.

Alpine just blinked, the amount of sass in her gaze was absolutely unmatched. BUcky grinned, shifting her weight to one of his arms and petting her with the other. She almost immediately started to purr and melt into his hold. Oh, she was definitely a daddy's girl. Spoiled fuckin’ rotten.

“She’s jealous,” Bucky answers under his breath. You could feel his gaze on you as you continued to pet Alpine.

“She’s pissed realizing you did all of this for me and not her,” You laugh, glancing at Bucky then behind you to the bouquet. One of the flowers in there was a lili, both you and Bucky were completely aware they were dangerous to cats, but Alpine did not eat plants.

She merely decided they deserved to be on the floor instead.

Bucky laughed, a fuller laugh that caused Alp to shake slightly. She only tolerated him doing that, anyone else and she’d leave. He nodded with your statement, “I had to put sticky tack on the vase,” he explains, corners of his eyes crinkling as he talks, “She was hellbent on knockin’ ‘em over.”

You playfully narrowed your eyes at Bucky, shaking your head as if scolding him, “Because they belong on the floor, obviously!” you tease. Alpine seemed to get the hint that she was outnumbered in this, and squirmed out of Bucky's arms. She landed with a graceful thunk on the ground, silently tip-tapping her way back to the coffee table.

“... and she’s gonna try again-!” Bucky quickly realized, stepping around you quickly to grab Alpine before she could jump onto the table again.

He vaguely plops her back down in the doorway of the living room, she glares at him for a moment before doing a slow blink. She then ducks her head to look at you, you give her a challenging look back in return. You raise your eyebrow, both of you in a silent battle that makes Bucky roll his eyes. Alpine acquiesces, with a slow blink and flick of her fluffy tail she stalks out of the room. Presumably to go bother Steve for a second dinner.

“She’s a little hellion,” you murmur, rubbing your face as Bucky closes the distance between the two of you. His arms wrap around your waist, pressing a light kiss to your temple. Your body relaxes into his.

“Mmh,” he hums in agreement, pressing his nose against your neck. You both stood there for a moment before he spoke again, “you sure the room isnt too much? ‘Cause I have a dinner planned too.” he mumbles.

You laugh in disbelief, hands on his biceps as you pull back to look at him, “I thought we were keeping it simple this year?”

Bucky shrugs, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth, “This is simple, darling.”

“Barnes, I swear…” You jokingly huff, eyes rolling. Your protests and following complaints were cut off as his lips pressed against yours. It was gentle and sweet. You grin against his lips, meeting his movements which stayed slow.

There it was…

Simple.

[bonesxbows]

Brain & Heart (Lucifer X Reader)

My Masterlist

It's Valentine's Day; the most romantic day of the year. For most. For you, it's another reminder of just how...different you are. Society, even in Hell, expects you to act a certain way on this holiday, so you do, despite the overwhelming distress it causes you. That is until Lucifer notices just what these expectations are doing to you and he promptly puts a stop to it.

(WARNINGS)

Ace (Asexual) spectrum reader

Female reader

Plus size/chubby/heavier build reader

Talk of pressures of societal expectations

Negative self image talk

Bullying about weight issues

Descriptions of anxiety/panic attack behaviors and feelings

This is dedicated to myself, @heart-of-the-morningstar , and anyone else who falls on the ace spectrum and has a hard time with this particularly bittersweet holiday. I speedran this bitch just to get it out in time before today was over. Have a (sorta) happy Valentine's Day <3

Banners by @strangergraphics

Your insides churned. Your head spun. Your heart pounded in your ears, eyes threatening to pool over with tears. And you wanted to tear your own skin off with the way your clothes consistently rubbed against it all wrong. 

You were going to throw up. Or pass out. Or both. Preferably both, you reckoned. 

Charlie had insisted on throwing a party at the hotel tonight to celebrate the human world holiday. Valentine’s Day, they called it, though you had stopped paying attention to it long before you had even arrived in Hell. It was still well and thriving down in the fiery depths, however, fake love and sex appeal amplified to eleven all week. It was driving you absolutely mad.  

But you could hide away from the populace and the advertisements til this all blew over, that wasn’t the hard part. What was sending you into a frenzy and had tipped you over the edge into insanity had been the invitation to this blasted party. Lucifer had been ecstatic to go, excitement coursing through him like a puppy once he learned that his daughter had once again invited him to something, and you didn’t have the heart to tell him you’d rather chew your own leg off than be surrounded by certified Love Day vomit. 

So here you were; hyperventilating in a fitting room in some shitty clothing store in the middle of Pentagram City instead of being locked away in a cozy cocoon of blankets, watching dumb comedy movies and halfway lost in a tub of ice cream like you had been doing for the past week. 

No one had told you to come here. No one had insisted that you needed to buy a new dress for tonight. No, you had decided that all on your own, you had thrown this misery onto yourself. But it was expected of you, wasn’t it? If you didn’t show up tonight on Lucifer’s arm in something revealing, flashy, and seductive, then you’d be the laughingstock of the whole hotel. Whether they said it to your face or not. It was Valentine’s Day, and that equaled sexiness. Or so the rest of the Pride Ring told you so. 

But for you? The whole idea made you want to reel in disgust. It was just so…unlike you. All this lace, and frills, and low cut necklines, and high slits, and too tight corsets, and barely there straps. Trying to find anything that fit comfortably was becoming an uphill battle. 

This was now the third store you had been to and currently you had on a black velvet dress; corseted at the waist and flowing down to your knees, a high slit sliced up to your hipbone and two pieces of fabric draped off the sides of the top of the corset to act as sleeves. You could barely breathe as it smushed your chest in all the wrong places. Tears pricked at your eyes as you nearly tore the wretched thing off of you, throwing it into a black heap on the ground. You aggressively wiped your eyes as you got dressed in your own clothes. 

When you exited the room you found a store attendant, politely handing her the dresses that you had taken with you. Swallowing your embarrassment you asked her, “Would you by chance have any other dresses besides these? Perhaps…um…in a bigger size as well?” 

She looked you up and down, her snake eyes burning holes into your skull. You wanted to disappear right then and there for even asking her. Either she didn’t recognize who you were, didn’t care, or felt particularly brave because Lucifer wasn’t currently with you. “I don’t think we’ll have anythin’ that’ll fit you, hon. We don’t sell dresses that flatter your…certain…body shape. Too form fittin’, if you ask me. You’ll wanna hide…all a’ that, try the shop down the street. They cater to your clientele.” She snatched the dresses out of your hand, avoiding contact with you as if the mere touch with you was gross to her, before she strutted away, her too-tall heels clicking condescendingly against the floor behind you. 

You bolted out of the door before anyone else in the store could see you. 

It took about another hour but you finally worked up the courage to finally walk into another clothing store. You couldn’t go back empty-handed, but you’d take anything at this point, just so you could go home. 

A tiny bell jingled above your head, a small frown etched into your face at the task laying in front of you. There was a wild assortment of dresses to choose from, in a wide array of colors. You sighed, already defeated and on the verge of giving up. You weren’t sure how many more humiliating dressing room incidents you could handle. So you grabbed the first basic dress you saw; a blood red simple-looking thing vaguely in your size. 

You sulked to the dressing room and went through the motions for the umpteenth time that day, pulling the satin fabric over your body. It wasn’t super unflattering per se, the babydoll shape sitting right at your waist and the bust fitting more or less comfortably. You could at least breathe without struggling this time. But there was still that infuriating slit, revealing your entire thigh, and the neckline sat way too low for your liking. But it was good enough. It would have to be. You were done. You just wanted to go home.

Lucifer was waiting for you when you arrived home, nearly toppling you over as he pounced on you as soon as you stepped foot inside. His arms wrapped around you tightly, his smile lighting up the room as he lifted you up and spun you around. 

“Ducky! You’ve been gone nearly all day! Where’ve you been?” He placed you back down on your feet but still held you in his arms. 

“I uh…went shopping. For tonight.” Your voice was flat, exhausted. Dreading putting that blasted dress back on in a mere few hours. 

He eyed the bag in your hand, a small smirk growing on his lips. Guilt seeped its way into your veins. You knew what he was expecting and what you had ended up choosing was not the same. 

“Oh? Bought something special, did you? A surprise, or do I get a sneak peek before everyone else?” He cocked an eyebrow, his look turning sultry. Your stomach twisted into a knot. Satan, you hated today. 

“Um…we’ll see, Luci. I…I need to go get ready.” You needed to be alone. Is what you wanted to tell him, but you didn’t want to douse his excitement. You weaseled out of his grasp, slinking down the hallways toward your shared bedroom as fast as you could. 

He followed you for a spell, rushing after you, his smirk replaced with a look of concern. “Wait, ducky, are…are you okay?” He reached out towards you, but you had reached your bedroom door before he could get a hold of you. 

“I’m fine, Luci. I just need a moment. Please.” You told him fleetingly, shutting the door in his face as soon as the words left your lips. He stood staring at the wooden surface, eyes wide, unsure of what to do. 

You were going to explode. 

You grabbed at your hair, tears flowing down your face at what you had just done. You wanted to scream. Instead, you grabbed the nearest pillow off the bed and chucked it against the wall. A dull thud resounded against the plaster. You huffed angrily, half stomping into the bathroom and aggressively pulling out everything you would need to make yourself look at least half decent. You owed him that much after how you had just treated him. 

Makeup and hair tools and various jewelry littered the bathroom counter, but yet nothing was looking right. You were on your third makeup look attempt; a subtle red eye look with a sharp eyeliner, mascara, and matching dark, blood-red lipstick. You weren’t satisfied, but you were running out of time. Sighing, you finally slipped on that awful dress before searching the room for the highest pair of heels you owned. You’d probably break an ankle by the end of the night, but at least they would make Lucifer happy. That was all that really mattered tonight. 

Again he was waiting for you by the door when you opened it, though this time he seemed more nervous, waiting for you to come to him instead of rushing towards you like before. His eyes lit up at the sight of you, though you didn’t notice at first, with your head downcasted towards the floor. 

“You look absolutely breathtaking, ducky.” He whispered. You finally turned your gaze up to meet him, being met with a downright impressive sight when you did. He had changed into an outfit you had never seen before, all black leather, a skin-tight high V-cut crop top accompanied by extremely low-cut pants with heart netting cutouts near his thighs, topped off with a new black and red ringmaster coat around his shoulders. He looked amazing compared to you. 

You kept silent, too afraid that your words would betray you and release the waterfalls all over again. You couldn't risk ruining your makeup. Again. So you instead gave him a small smile, the best you could muster through your inner turmoil. He seemed to not notice was what hidden behind it. 

He walked forward, taking your arm in his, snapped his fingers, and led you through a glowing portal straight into Charlie’s hotel. 

The place was already buzzing with people, music, and lights. 

You regretted coming already. 

Though you were grateful Lucifer never let go of you as he went around saying hello to all of his daughter’s friends, staying well and clear away from the mop of red and black hair that peeked above the crowd. You were lost in your mind the entire time, seeing the colors and shapes move around you but not really hearing what was happening. You were holding on to Lucifer with a death grip, not letting him leave you for a second. You could feel a thousand eyes on you, everyone in the crowd staring at you, the queen of Hell, half exposed for a few dozen of people to see. On this day of all days, with sex on everyone's mind, you were nothing but eye candy to them. Something to ogle at. A piece of meat to be caught and savored. 

You wanted to disappear. You were suffocating from their views. 

“Hey,” You heard someone call out. A hand came to rest on your forearm and you instinctively flinched. Whoever it was pulled their hand away immediately when you did. “Sweetheart?”

“She seems a bit tense. You’re sure she’s alright? Perhaps our queen isn’t much of a partygoer.” You heard someone else say with a mocking tone. Static threatening to tickle your ears with their words but you closed your eyes and blocked them out. 

“She’s fine.” A closer voice snapped back. “Come on, ducky.” They continued. And then you were being moved, led through the hotel’s hallways with someone’s arms firmly around you. You were brought to a door and once it was opened you were led outside onto a balcony, the city of Hell sleeping below you. 

The cold air hit your face like an icy slap, sending a shiver down your spine and forcing you to gulp in a deep breath. It felt like icicles in the back of your throat but it relieved some of the tension in your mind, the cold working its way through your system like a soothing syrup. 

You wrapped your arms around yourself to cover your exposed skin, continuously drinking in the frigid air in steady, deep breaths. Like…like you had taught Lucifer to do during his panicked episodes. 

“Ducky,” You heard him timidly call out your nickname next to you. He had let go of you as soon as you had stepped foot onto the balcony and now he seemed afraid to touch you, a horrid mixture of fear and worry stuck to his face, uncertainty controlling his limbs. 

You flicked your eyes back down to the city below, guilt once again gnawing at your insides. You had ruined the night. “I’m fi-”

There was a gloved finger placed on your lips before you could finish your two-worded sentence. “Don’t, sweetheart. I know you’re not okay.” He removed his silencing finger, not caring about the lipstick that had smeared onto him, and went to lace his hands with yours. “Tell me what’s going on. Please. Let me help you.”

You nearly burst into tears at his words. Your bottom lip trembled and your jaw ached from the building pressure. You swallowed the lump in your throat. “I…I…” But the pressure snapped, muddy blackness pooling at the corners of your eyes and dripping down your face. “I ruined everything.”

A look of confusion flashed across his face as he instinctively went to wipe away your tears, doing his best not to smear the watery makeup all over your face. “What?”

“I ruined everything, Luci!” You sobbed, your tears flowing in earnest now, too quickly for his fingers to keep up. He resorted to just cradling your face and listening to you as you continued. “Tonight was supposed to be special, everybody says it’s supposed to be special, but I don’t even know what that fucking means half the time! Why is it that romance is all about attractiveness and sex and being seductive on this stupid ass holiday? It makes me feel so…so gross!” You screwed your eyes shut and stomped your foot. It was childish, but it felt good to finally say how you felt out loud. “Never mind the fact that I don’t even have the body for it! Do you know how hard it is trying to find a dress that isn’t revealing down here? Let alone one that fits me?” You pulled at your skirt, knocking your knees together in an attempt to keep the slit closed, to no avail. 

Lucifer was still, silent, his brow furrowed as he absorbed your words. But after a moment he seemed to make up his mind, being broken out of his frozen state. He let go of your hands and shrugged off his coat, but before you could ask what he was doing he had thrown the warmed clothing over your shoulders. You looked at him, your mouth trying to form words, but he didn’t notice, being occupied by trying to guide your arms into the sleeves of his jacket and clasping the front shut, effectively dressing you in his coat. He looked practically naked without it, being left in his leather crop top and pants, and the cropped nature of the jacket didn’t do much in the way of covering you, but the warmed leather on your bare arms and the smell of sweet apples wafting off of his collar was more than comforting. You weren’t home, not yet, but it was close enough to feel like it. 

He looped his arms around your neck, pulling you closer to him, using his body to cover everything that his jacket still left exposed. His touch worked to slowly melt away the rest of your stress. 

“Would you like to go home, love?” He asked, his fingers finding the nape of your neck and massaging it soothingly. 

“Huh? No, Luci, this is- Charlie invited you and- you were so excited…isn’t this important to you?” You were on the verge of rambling, your eyes going wide at his suggestion. You hated the idea of making tonight about you. Wasn’t that the opposite of what you were supposed to do? 

“Not as important as you, ducky. Charlie’ll understand. Sooo, what’ll it be? Choice is all yours, my beautiful angel.” You smiled sheepishly at his compliment, your gaze falling down to the ground. A grin grew onto his face, sharp teeth fully on display. 

“I…I’d like that. I’d like to go home. Please.” 

“Done! Just let me say goodbye to Charlie, okay? Two seconds, love bug, I promise.” He kissed you on the forehead before letting you go to step through one of his portals, the bustling party just on the other side. The glowing circle zlipped closed as soon as he was through, leaving you alone on the balcony. The silence was deafening, but not overwhelming. It was comforting compared to what the party had sounded like. 

A cool wind blew past you, ruffling the tails of Lucifer’s coat and the ends of your skirt. You pulled the sides of his jacket tighter around you, fighting off the chill that threatened to run through you and trying to hide what the wind wanted to expose. 

As soon as the wind died down another portal opened up and Lucifer stepped back onto the balcony. He grabbed your hand and laced his fingers in yours as the portal shifted behind him. The slightly distorted view of the party died out and was instead replaced with the comforting sight of your shared bedroom. 

In one swift motion Lucifer scooped you up into his arms, being extra careful to not let your clothing sway out of place from the quick movement. You shrieked out of surprise, throwing your arms around his neck and clutching onto his shoulders for support as soon as you were lifted off of your feet. He chuckled softly, shifting your body against his so that your front was facing him, what was left of your exposed skin now blocked by his frame. 

He carried you through his portal, back into the familiar comfort and safety of your home, and placed you on your bed. He turned on a bedside lamp to get rid of the surrounding darkness and then he left your side for only a moment, making his way to a nearby dresser. You took the time as an opportunity to start shedding your horrid outfit. The sooner the better.

But he heard your movements and stopped his search through the various dresser drawers, turning back around to face you. You were halfway done working off one of the clasps to those infernal heels when he interrupted you. 

“Oh no no no, allow me, sweetheart.” He rushed over, kneeling in front of you and placing his hands on top of yours to stop your motions. He swatted your hands away and started unbuckling the clasps himself before you could argue. 

“You don’t have to, Luci, I can do it.” You told him regardless. Three seconds later he had one heel off. You hadn’t realized how much your feet had been hurting until they started screaming at you once the shoe was off. 

“But I want to, ducky.” He retorted, working at the buckles of the other heel, his claws making short work of it. He stood up and walked back over to the dresser, taking the discarded shoes with him. You didn’t have the energy, or the heart, to argue with him anymore, so you sat patiently and waited for him to return. 

When he did he held two pieces of clothing in his hands, two pieces you instantly recognized. A hoodie and matching pair of sweatpants you always wore, particularly on days when you wanted to hide yourself away from the world. He laid them on the bed beside you for now. 

“Do you want me to help you with your dress or would you rather change in private?” He asked, giving you full control over the situation. You merely shrugged off his jacket and stood up, turning around to give him access to the dress’s zipper. He worked quietly, unzipping the dreadful thing and letting it pool to a heap at your feet. It was soon replaced with your hoodie coming over your head. “I figured you’d wanna be in something more comfortable after…all that.” He said as his hands guided the shirt down over your body as your arms instinctively found the sleeves. “I’ve always seen you wear this, so I assumed it was a safe option.” His eyes never wandered, not even once, as he knelt down again to help you into your sweats. Both articles of clothing were extremely oversized, hanging off of you like a blanket, but that was what made them so appealing on days like this. 

You pulled the drawstring of the sweatpants tighter, tying it into a bow to keep them from falling down. “It’s perfect, love. Thank you.” A small prideful smile found its way onto his lips and he leaned over your shoulder to give you a gentle kiss on the cheek. He snapped his fingers and his leather clothing was soon replaced with his duck-print button-up pajamas, his look now more matching yours on levels of comfortability. 

“Cuddles, my angel?” He asked as he began to run his claws through your hair. 

“Cuddles.” You agreed, nodding your head. He hopped up onto the bed, situating himself with his back against the headboard before he pulled you on top of him. You locked together like puzzle pieces, your face buried in his chest, his arms wrapped around your shoulders, and your legs tangled together. You sighed contently for the first time that day. 

His claws continued to card through your hair soothingly, being careful not to pull at any strands. “You didn’t ruin anything, you know.” You looked at him, and he continued once he had your attention. “I didn’t care what we did today, so long as it was with you. Besides Charlie, you’re all that really matters to me, not some silly rules made up for a human holiday.” He kissed the top of your head once he was finished. 

You didn’t know what to say, exhaustion starting to settle in your bones in earnest. So you just hummed in understanding, to let him know you had heard him and acknowledged what he had said. Your eyes fell closed from his rhythmic motions against your scalp and his heartbeat thumping underneath your ears. An angelic lullaby reserved only for you.

A silence fell over the two of you for a while. Long enough that you were almost on the verge of sleep before he called out to you again. “I remember what you said, you know, about yourself. I think you’re beautiful, ducky. Gorgeous, even. No matter what your body looks like,” He paused, using his free hand to lace your fingers in between his, squeezing it gently. “You’ll always be beautiful to me.”

[ducksido]

Valentine’s Day arrived at Night Raven College, and the atmosphere was a mixture of excitement and nerves. Though the students at Night Raven weren’t exactly known for their romantic prowess, there was something undeniably charming about the holiday, especially for Skully—a human student who had been part of the past.

Skully had always been a bit of an enigma to the other students. Though he wasn’t the most talkative or overtly expressive, there was a certain way he looked at things—like he was always paying attention, always thinking. And on this Valentine’s Day, he wanted to show Y/N, someone who had become special to him, just how much he appreciated them.

Y/N had just finished another day of running errands around campus when they spotted Skully leaning against the wall near the courtyard, his hands stuffed into his pockets. His usual nonchalant expression was replaced with an almost bashful look, his gaze avoiding theirs until Y/N approached.

"Hey, Y/N," he said with a nervous smile, pushing himself off the wall. "Got a minute?"

Y/N tilted their head, a bit puzzled but smiling all the same. "Of course. What’s up?"

Skully took a deep breath, as though gathering his courage. He then pulled out a small wrapped package from behind his back, his hands shaking slightly.

"Uh, Happy Valentine’s Day. I, uh, wanted to give you this," he said, holding the gift out toward them.

Y/N smiled warmly as they took the package, their curiosity piqued. "You didn’t have to get me anything, Skully."

He flushed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I know. I just… I’ve never really done this before, and I figured it was time I try."

Unwrapping the package, Y/N found a small hand-carved charm, its intricate design resembling a star surrounded by delicate vines. It was simple but beautiful—just like Skully.

"I made it myself," Skully added, looking more embarrassed than ever. "I know it’s not much, but it’s for you."

Y/N’s heart melted at the thought and effort he put into it. "It’s perfect, Skully. Thank you."

Skully’s eyes flickered up to meet theirs, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief. "I’m glad you like it." He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his voice quieter this time. "I guess… I just wanted to let you know you mean a lot to me, Y/N. You’ve always been kind, and I think… maybe I’m starting to feel something more."

Y/N’s expression softened, and they reached out to gently touch his shoulder. "I think I feel the same way."

Skully’s gaze brightened, and without another word, he took a step closer, his hand gently brushing Y/N’s. The warmth from his touch was enough to make both of their hearts race, but neither of them seemed in a hurry to move away.

And then, almost instinctively, Skully leaned in—his lips brushing against theirs in a gentle kiss, a sweet, unspoken promise of the feelings they had been harboring.

When they pulled away, Skully looked slightly stunned, as though he couldn’t quite believe he’d actually done it. "Did… was that okay?" he asked hesitantly, his voice barely above a whisper.

Y/N smiled, their heart racing from the kiss. "That was more than okay."

Skully let out a small, almost giddy laugh, and the two of them stood there for a moment, in the midst of Valentine’s Day magic, feeling something new and beautiful bloom between them.

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

@fantasybookgeek09 this was such a fun prompt, thank you!! I've never written a modern au before so I hope it came out okay!

“Since we only have five days left until the holidays, I’m going to go easy on you guys this week. You’ll be doing some fun group work— but it still counts towards your final grade, so don’t slack off.”

Rayla slumped in her chair, not quite sure if it was out of relief or disappointment. She was thrilled not to be getting a third essay to work on over the Christmas “break”, but group projects could be… unpredictable. 

“I’ll be assigning you into pairs—" the typical wave of groans erupted from the student body— “to write and illustrate a short original story based on the themes we’ve been discussing in class. You can divide up the work however you see fit, but you have to contribute at least something to the writing and the art.”

Okay. Rayla could work with that. The short story she’d done in her freshman year had won an award, and she was certain her recent work was even better. And as for the art? Well, she could do some stylized swirls or something. Crossing her fingers under her desk, she prayed to be paired with someone better at drawing than she was. 

“…Ram, you’ll be working with Andromeda, and Rayla, you’ll be working with Callum.”

Rayla bit her tongue to keep from groaning out loud. She just had to make that wish, hadn’t she? 

Callum was a good artist, but that was about all he was good at. She’d been sitting two desks down from him all semester, and not a single class had gone by where he hadn’t been doodling instead of listening. She might as well kiss her grade goodbye. 

The bell rang, the more fortunate students around Rayla gathering into pairs to discuss their plans and get their project rubrics on the way out. But Callum just stowed his sketchbook in his bag, picked up his pens, dropped his pens, and scrambled to stow them, avoiding Rayla’s eyes all the while. She didn’t move, crossing her arms and staring him down. He wasn’t getting off that easily. 

Finally, he looked up at her. Or, slightly to the left of her. Rayla would take it.

“I want to figure out the plot of my— our story before we start working on it tomorrow. Are you free this afternoon?”

Callum nodded, a single, sharp jerk of his chin. “You could come over to my house?”

Well, that was easier than anticipated. Rayla had expected to cut through three excuses at least before he realized he couldn’t worm his way out of it. “Sounds like a plan.”

…

Another infuriating thing about Callum was that Rayla hadn’t needed to ask for his address, or even for directions to his house. Everyone knew where he lived, because it was an enormous mansion roughly the size of seven of Rayla’s houses put together, pretentiously seated on the hill over Katolis, visible from anywhere in town. And it only got more ostentatious up close. 

Pulling into the driveway— and circling around the fountain in the middle of it— Runaan let out a low whistle. “If they ask you to stay for dinner, make sure you smuggle out some of the cutlery. It could probably keep us in food for a year.”

Rayla laughed. “There isn’t enough money in the world to get me to stay for dinner. Nice try, though.”

Runaan smirked in return, clapping Rayla’s shoulder as she slid out of the car.

Rayla was fully expecting a butler to answer the door, so it came as a shock when it swung open to reveal Callum’s ten-year-old brother bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“Hi, Rayla!”

“Hey, Ezran. How’ve you been?”

“Good!”

She smiled, relaxing slightly as Ezran waved her into the house with a flourish. They’d been on speaking terms ever since Rayla had pelted some kids with snowballs for teasing Ezran about talking to birds, and he was a sweet kid. A bit strange, but then, so was Rayla, in her own way. 

“Rayla! You made it!”

Rayla followed Callum’s voice to find him standing at the top of a real, actual marble staircase, framed by railings of golden filigree. Maybe she should try to make off with some cutlery.

“It was pretty hard to miss,” she said drily.

Callum flushed, but Ezran just laughed. 

Recovering, Callum managed to lead Rayla into a “living room” roughly the size of Katolis High’s gymnasium. At least it gave them plenty of room to spread out.

“All right,” Rayla said, pulling out the planning sheet they’d been given. “I already plotted out the storyline, so I just need you to tell me which sentence you want to write and what you want me to do for the illustrations.”

“Which sentence I want to write?”

Rayla glanced up at him, surprised by the offense in his tone. “Well, yeah. I want this to be good. I have a grade-point average to keep up, and—"

“And you think I’m a bad writer?”

“Writing well requires practice, Callum, and I’ve never seen you so much as take notes. You’ve always got your nose in that sketchbook. You’ve got it with you now!”

To prove her point, she snatched it up from the cushions between them. Callum yelped, reaching out for it.

“This thing must have hundreds of pages, and I’d bet you’ve done half of them in class.”

“Don’t!” 

Callum lunged for it, Rayla pulled back, and the sketchbook clattered to the floor to reveal…

Drawing after drawing of her.

Rayla froze. Callum buried his face in his hands.

“So you must think I’m pretty creepy.”

Rayla wasn’t sure what to think. She reached out and picked up the sketchbook again, and this time, Callum didn’t stop her. 

The sketches were… incredible. They looked like her— all the things she liked about herself, and all her imperfections. He’d captured the way she tugged at her braid when she was nervous, the way she tilted back in her chair when she was bored. She could tell when many of the sketches were done by her expression alone: focused eyes the day before their first exam, a wrinkled nose the day Soren had come into their classroom to dribble a basketball around the desks for no apparent reason, a drawn mouth the day her parents had been deployed. 

“Why?” Rayla asked quietly, tearing her gaze from the drawings to meet Callum’s eyes.

His face was red as fire, but his voice was steady. “I’ve always liked people-watching. You can learn so much about them by how they dress, how they sit, what their expressions are. There are whole stories there, if you look for them. Ever since you stood up for Ezran, I… I’ve wanted to know what your story is. You’re so smart, and confident in a way I don’t understand at all, and you’re… good. I wanted to know what makes you that way. But… I didn’t think you’d tell me.”

Blood was rushing to Rayla’s cheeks now, her throat clogging with an unexpected shame. All this time, Callum had been looking at her. Had really seen her, in a way no one else at school seemed to. And she’d taken a few glances at him, built him a false image, and never thought to question it. 

Rayla forced herself to look back up at him. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For… seeing the best in me, I guess? For wanting to get to know me, even though I’ve been such a jerk. I’m sorry I said you weren’t a storyteller.”

Callum laughed. “You were right, actually. I really am a bad writer. I mean— except for poetry, I think? But no one’s ever read those, so who knows?”

“I didn’t say writer, I said storyteller.”

Callum’s eyes widened, and then he smiled. It was the first true grin Rayla had ever seen him make, and it transformed his whole face, making dimples appear in his cheeks and his green eyes gleam. Rayla’s breath hitched in her chest. 

“So… does this mean I can write more than a sentence?” he asked.

“You know what? I’d bet we can fit some poetry in here for you to write. But first, I want your opinion on the plot. You might have some ideas I didn’t think of.”

“Oh— wow. Thank you.”

Callum reached for their planning sheet, but Rayla placed her hand over his. The contact sent a jolt through her fingers, and she quickly withdrew them.

“Before that, though, I think it’s past time I asked about you.”

“About me?”

Another spike of shame shot through Rayla at the confusion in his voice, but she smiled through it, settling close enough to him on the couch for their shoulders to touch.

“Why don’t you tell me a story?”

[sparklehoard]

Aaah. So it's neverending huh.

[cuntwrap--supreme]

"It's so disgusting that you have to work on memorial day!" says the woman who ordered 6 packages from Amazon that have to be delivered by today.

[sophiamcdougall]

I am never going to complain about Greek Duolingo again

I mean, I am. But still.

So, as some of you know, my family has been coming to this tiny Greek seaside village for several years. Just over a week ago I came out here with my mum, under the impression that early September, after the height of the summer heat, would be a good time to have a holiday. ANYWAY Storm Daniel had other ideas about that. Locally things are improving (I'm actually really pissed off about the disaster-porn tone of most English-language media coverage, but that's another post). The power is back on, there's running water most of the time, and though the latter is not drinkable, a truck from the government came and handled out free bottled water yesterday. But we are currently kind of stuck. Can't do tourist things. Can't go home. There aren't any local flights out until Saturday and the road to Thessaloniki is still closed.

So this evening, feeling kind of aimless and depressed, I go down to the nearest beach with a couple of binbags and start cleaning up in an effort to at least do something positive. I always try to do this at least once out here and obviously, after the storm, there's a lot more plastic and rubbish than usual.

At some point I find this large, round bit of metal - some kind of machinery part, I think -- that's too big for the bag, so I take it to the bins on its own, leaving the rubbish bag on the beach. And when I come back for it, something among the stones beside it moves.

Specifically, it pulls its head sharply inside its shell

So, meanwhile I've been trying to learn some Greek with the help of Duolingo.

I currently have a 33-day streak and... I have questions. Shouldn't I be able to use the past or future tenses by now? Shouldn't I be able to say "x is like y"? I can't do those things. But one thing I absolutely can say all day long is έχω μια χελώνα : I have a turtle.

This is far from the limit of Duolingo Greek's turtle-related content. "An obsession with turtles" is my mother's characterisation. I can inform you that the turtle is not a bird, and, improbably, that the turtle is drinking milk. I can introduce you to a turtle in company with a horse and an elephant. As far as Duolingo is concerned, it really is turtles all the way down.

Now this, you may be able to see, is not a turtle. It has claws rather than flippers. It is a tortoise. I know there are wild tortoises in Greece: my aunt once rescued a pair of them shagging in the middle of the road -- but that was up in the mountains. I've even seen one myself, but it was also on a road and very dead.

I am 95% certain they don't belong on beaches. There's nothing for it to eat, except, unfortunately, a lot of plastic. Even if it gets off the beach it will immediately find itself on a road where it could get hit by a car. I'm pretty sure it must have been washed down by the floodwater and has been just sitting there, dazed, ever since.

Now obviously the first thing I want to do on encountering this unusual animal is to go and tell my mummy, so I do. The tortoise immediately brightens her day. She agrees that the tortoise is not happy on the beach and needs to be taken somewhere safe. it gets surprisingly wriggly when picked up so we put it in a carrier bag with some grapes and cucumber and go looking for somewhere to rehome it.

We find a path leading up between the houses towards a likely-looking field, but before we get very far a dog in a yard goes berserk and a man's head pops over a fence and demands to know what we're doing. He does this in English, as evidently we're just that obviously tourists.

"I found a tortoise on the beach!" I explain. "We want to find somewhere to put it."

"A what," he asks.

"It's like a, you know," I begin and then to my astonishment I find myself saying... "μια χελώνα"

"Oh! A turtle!" he says.

"But from the land. δεν είναι χελώνα", [it is not a turtle,] I say, as I am worried he will tell me to put it back near the sea where I found it. As it turns out it actually IS a χελώνα, Greek does not distinguish between turtles and tortoises, but I don't know that; I can't even name the days of the week or identify any colours other than pink yet, give me a break.

The man's entire demeanour changes and thaws. He does not worry about my turtle-that-is-not-a-turtle conundrum. He knows where οι χελώνες come from and where η χελώνα μας belongs. He leads us through a gate into a courtyard area.

"[somethingsomething] μια χελώνα," he explains to the assembled onlookers, of whom there are, suddenly, a surprising number.

"ΜΙΑ ΧΕΛΩΝΑ!!!" crows the throng of delighted small children, who are, suddenly, everywhere.

"μια χελώνα!" I agree, accepting that at least for current purposes, that is what it is.

"Μπορούμε να δούμε τη χελώνα σας; [can we see your turtle?]" asks an adorable little girl, shyly, and I understand??

The children fucking love looking at the χελώνα and showing it to them is kind of magical?

I finally put the tortoise down on the grass of this wild area off to the side of the courtyard, and marvel aloud that it is weird that I barely know any Greek except how to say μια χελώνα.

"I think she will soon run off," a kind lady called Aspasia assures me, seeing I remain slightly anxious about its fate. "I don't know why I'm saying 'she'. I suppose because χελώνα is feminine in Greek."

"Yes! I know that!" I exclaim, thrilled.

"Well done!" she says. And also she asks if we are OK for drinking water after the storm and if we need any help with anything and is just generally incredibly lovely and now we know more of the neighbours!

So "μια χελώνα" has just become, by a long way, my most-used and most understood and all-around most conversationally successful phrase in Greek. So I guess I have to admit I was wrong to doubt Duolingo's wisdom: it is correct to be obsessed with turtles. And I concede that prior to learning how to count to ten or to distinguish right from left, the simple ability to yell the word TURTLE over and over again is, it turns out, a crucial element of the responsible traveller's social skills.

(I am pretty fluent in Italian and turtles haven't come up in conversation even once?)

[rowanhoney]

just a girl who can never do right and is always in the wrong <3

[saeist]

dating a soccer prodigy isn't exactly for the weak.

especially when he's always away for games and even worse, when he lives across the world from you

it was hard at first, obviously. adjusting to the time differences, the long distance and all that. given that the sae itoshi was your first long distance relationship at that

somehow, you two make it work.

it made your relationship even more special whenever he was around. when you actually get to be with him physically and not through a screen

holidays together is another thing. luckily, you aren't too keen with celebrating holidays in general, though there's an exception with celebrating valentines day

throughout your relationship with sae, you had never celebrated valentines day together

yeah sae sends you gifts through the mail, lets you borrow his card for your weekly shopping spree, lets you have a spa day and etc. sae may not be present physically but he relentlessly shows how much he cares about you through gift giving— his love language.

it was valentines day and you had already gotten all your gifts from sae

for this year, sae had gifted you a van cleef jewelry set that matches the color of his hair, 1095 roses bouqet (each rose represents the days you two have been dating) and his recent jersey with his cologne on it

sae can really be romantic if he wanted to

you are now in bed after celebrating love day alone again with sae, who was on the phone

"did you like my gift this year?" you hear him ask through the phone. you let out a hum as you rummage through the giftbox, showing off the green velvet box to the camera

"do i like it? i love it!" you smile widely, "it even matches your hair!"

sae chuckles, watching your face light up like a christmas tree. his heart swoons at the sight. how he wishes that he was with you in that very moment to see your reaction in real time

"had to call every van cleef boutique around the area. heard they sold out fast" sae shares, recalling the time he had to yell at his poor manager to find more van cleef stores that sells that specific color

"i'm sure they had one in case a certain red head soccer prodigy would call at their door" you joke, making sae scoff playfully

"you're pushing it"

"oh, am i?"

sae smiles at the camera before he sighs, muttering "it's so fucking annoying i can't be there right now"

your eyes widen hearing his words that basically translate to "i miss you" and its not all the time you hear sae admit that he misses you

"looks like someone misses me" you say in a sing song voice

sae rolls his eyes, clicking his tongue in annoyance

"would you rather have me not miss you? because i think i can do that"

"you just contradicted yourself. you just said you think you can but in reality you can't"

you let out a loud laugh watching his face contort into annoyance. whether he likes it or not, you were right. he can't nor will he be able to do that

sae itoshi loves you so fucking much that he might give you the whole world if he could

"well, i haven't told you my gift for you yet" you bring up, grabbing something from your bedside table

sae raises an eyebrow, waiting for you to elaborate further. you got him a gift?

you show off an envelope. sae cocks his head to the side, what's that for?

"i can't be the only one to have gifts this valentines so this is my gift to you. i'm coming to spain!" you cheer, showing off your plane ticket to madrid

it takes a few seconds for sae to understand everything as he processed your words carefully. sae is a man of a few words so just seeing his reaction was enough for you to feel his excitement with the way he sat up on his bed, eyes wide

"happy valentines, sae. see you soon"

[leona-hawthorne]

LEONA-HAWTHORNE’S FICMAS

december 23rd. mattheo riddle — he’s mine!

mattheo riddle x fem reader

summary ; it seems to be a little hard to get into the christmas spirit when your little sister is hogging your boyfriend! words ; 1.4k warnings ; fluff, established relationship

navigation ficmas masterlist

It had been your idea to bring Mattheo home for Christmas. Of course it had. You’d argued for it, certain your parents wouldn’t mind—and they didn’t. In fact, they’d been surprisingly enthusiastic about it. They liked Mattheo, for one, and they knew enough about his home life—or lack thereof—to see why he might need an escape for the holidays. Besides, the thought of leaving him behind in that cold, empty manor while you went off to bake cookies and trim trees with your family felt unbearable.  

What you hadn’t planned for was your little sister.  

The moment she saw Mattheo, her eyes went wide, her lips parted in a tiny gasp, and for once, she didn’t have a single smart remark. You’d expected her usual groaning protest of Ew, boys are gross or Whatever, he’s probably boring. But instead, she just stood there staring up at him, as though he were some sort of fairy tale prince who’d stepped straight out of one of her bedtime stories.  

“Hey,” Mattheo had said gently, crouching down to her level. He had that rare, soft smile on his face—the one he reserved only for you, and apparently now, six-year-old girls. “You must be the famous little sister. I’ve heard all about you.”  

Her face had turned scarlet, and she’d ducked behind your leg, clutching your jeans for dear life. You’d raised an eyebrow at Mattheo, trying to stifle a laugh. Well, this is new. 

From then on, it was as though she’d claimed him. Every time you turned around, there she was, dragging him off for some new adventure. At first, it was cute. Endearing, even. She’d taken him by the hand to show him the ornaments she’d made for the tree, chattering on about how she’d painted the reindeer one herself. He’d listened patiently, nodding and smiling as though her ramblings were the most fascinating thing he’d ever heard.  

But then it escalated.  

By the second day, you found them at her little pink tea table, tiny porcelain cups in hand. Mattheo’s long legs were awkwardly folded beneath him as he pretended to sip imaginary tea. You’d leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, biting your lip to keep from laughing.  

“Really?” you’d asked, grinning. “A tea party?”  

“She made me a very convincing argument,” Mattheo replied, deadpan, though the corners of his mouth twitched with amusement. “Also, I think this is her way of letting me know who’s in charge here.”  

You’d laughed then, shaking your head, but something about the way your sister beamed up at him had made you pause.  

It wasn’t long before her demands grew bolder. She’d roped him into baking cookies—flour dusted all over his dark jumper—and insisted he give her a piggyback ride around the house. And though Mattheo obliged her every request with good-natured patience, you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of annoyance.

Because every time you tried to steal a moment alone with him, she was already there, wedged firmly between the two of you.  

On the third day, you figured maybe it was time to steal back your boyfriend.

“Where is he?” you muttered, stalking through the house. The smell of gingerbread lingered in the air, and somewhere, you could hear your sister’s giggles echoing down the hall.  

You found them in the living room. She was perched on Mattheo’s back, her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck as he crawled on all fours, pretending to be a dragon.  

“Really?” you said, crossing your arms as you stood in the doorway.  

Mattheo glanced up at you, his curls falling into his eyes. He was grinning. “What?”  

“She’s hogging you,” you said, your voice teetering on the edge of a whine.  

“She’s six,” he replied, raising an eyebrow. “You jealous of a six-year-old?”  

“What? No, I just– you know what? You two have fun, I’m gonna go help my mom with wrapping.”

And by the fourth day, you’d had enough.  

You didn’t know whether to scoff or to smile as you watched Mattheo from the doorway of the kitchen. He stood at the counter, sleeves rolled up, flour dusting his dark shirt as he helped your little sister roll out sugar cookie dough. His hands were comically large compared to hers, yet he moved with such careful precision, as if afraid to crush her tiny fingers by accident.

Your sister giggled, a sound that echoed through the space like a bell, and your chest tightened at how easily Mattheo coaxed that sound from her. It was endearing—no, more than endearing. It was heartwarming. But also…infuriating.

You stepped into the room, leaning against the counter as you folded your arms. “How’s it going in here?”

Mattheo glanced up at you, a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s going great. We’re making masterpieces, aren’t we, kid?”

Your sister nodded vigorously, her pigtails bouncing as she beamed up at him. “Mattheo says my snowman looks perfect!”

You raised a brow, biting back a smile. “Perfect, huh? Even though his head is sliding off his body?”

Mattheo chuckled, brushing a streak of flour off his arm. “It’s an abstract snowman,” he said smoothly, turning back to the dough. “He’s got character.”

Your sister giggled again, clearly thrilled by his attention, and you felt the beginnings of that familiar pang of annoyance. You’d invited Mattheo here for you, not so he could spend every waking moment entertaining your sister.

“Right,” you said, stepping closer and nudging him lightly with your hip. “Well, I’m stealing him now. We were supposed to watch a movie, remember?”

Mattheo looked over at you, his dark eyes sparkling with amusement. “Baby, are you jealous of a six-year-old?”

Your mouth opened, indignation flaring to life, but before you could respond, your sister tugged on his sleeve. “Wait! We still have to make the reindeer cookies! You promised!”

Mattheo crouched slightly, bringing himself to her level as he smiled at her. “And we’ll make those, I swear. But your big sister’s giving me that look, and I think I’d better listen to her before she drags me out of here.”

You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t help the way your lips twitched upward. “I’m not giving you a look.”

“Oh, you’re giving me a look,” he teased, standing to his full height and brushing his hands off on a towel. He leaned closer, lowering his voice so only you could hear. “You’re practically glaring at me. I’d almost say it’s cute.”

“Don’t push your luck, Riddle,” you muttered, though your cheeks burned at the way his breath ghosted against your skin.

Your sister pouted, crossing her arms. “But Mattheo—”

“I’ll be back,” he promised her, giving her a playful wink. “And when I am, we’ll make the best reindeer cookies anyone’s ever seen. Deal?”

She huffed, clearly not pleased, but she nodded anyway, her pout softening.

You grabbed Mattheo’s wrist, tugging him toward the living room before your sister could protest again. “Come on. You’re mine, remember?”

He let you pull him away, laughing softly under his breath. Once you reached the living room, you rounded on him, poking a finger at his chest. “You’re supposed to be spending time with me. Me, Mattheo. Not my sister. Me.”

“Is this really happening right now?” he asked, smirking down at you. “You’re actually jealous of a six-year-old.”

“Okay, first of all, I’m not jealous,” you shot back, though your words sounded more defensive than you intended. “I just don’t like sharing, especially when it’s you. And second, it’s not my fault she suddenly decided she loves boys after swearing for years that they had cooties!”

Mattheo grinned, his hands coming up to rest on your hips. “So what you’re saying is…I’m irresistible.”

You groaned, dropping your face into your hands. “You’re impossible.”

“And yet, you still love me.”

You peeked at him through your fingers, finding his gaze soft and affectionate, his smirk less teasing now and more genuine. Your frustration melted away as quickly as it had come, replaced by a warm, fluttery feeling in your chest.

“Yeah,” you admitted, dropping your hands and stepping closer to him. “I do.”

“And for the record,” he murmured, leaning down until his lips brushed your temple, “I’m yours. Always.”

​​ficmas taglist: @winnie1emon @ur-local-wizard @satosugu4-ever @ankoluvs @superstargirll @slytherin-princess-x @abeoavita @mattheoriddle101 @georgiastars13 @smoooore @mattheoriddles-sluttt @2dloveshp @mattysprincess @catching-fire-in-the-wind @revesephemeres @esmerai-artemis @clar2aa @iamaconfusedpan

© leona-hawthorne 2025. please do not copy, translate or repost any of my writing.

[elixirfromthestars]

Tangled Up In You

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Avenger!Reader

Summary: When you and Steve get tasked with decorating the living room of the Avengers Compound, it seems like the perfect opportunity to spend some time with your crush. However, a certain tangled mess of lights would prove to make decorating a bit more difficult than you had anticipated.

Word Count: 1.5k

Warning(s): none. pure fluff. established nickname -> angel

Prompt/Event: @the-slumberparty december daze -> putting up christmas lights isn't as easy as it looks

a/n: And the secret is out! ₊˚⊹☆ This little winter drabble event was started because I wanted to do some gift giving for the holiday season. ˚୨୧⋆｡ So this fluffy fic is my holiday gift to you my dear Jo!! @neverthatsirius-jo ♡ I know how much you adore Steve, so I knew I had to write something for him just for you!! Thank you for reading! ₊˚⊹♡ Likes, comments, and reblogs are much appreciated!! ♡♡♡

main masterlist ♡ || fluffy winter drabbles masterlist ❆

You grumble an incoherence under your breath, stepping back and looking at the piles of cardboard boxes littering the living room of the Avengers Compound. Each one is filled with various holiday decorations you and Steve have been “tasked” adorning the living room with. 

Last night, during the team’s weekly game night, it was decided that the two people who lost the most games by the end of the night would be stuck with the responsibility of decorating the only undecorated room left in the Compound—the living room. 

Unfortunately—or maybe fortunately for you—you and Steve were the two losers of the night. You didn’t mind having to decorate on your day off, and you certainly didn’t mind spending the afternoon with Steve. He was one of your closest friends—a friend you have been secretly crushing on for months. You were hoping that this time together could help you muster up the courage to finally ask him out on a date.

Fingers crossed that, unlike last night, luck would be on your side when asking him. 

While Steve brought in the remaining boxes from the storage room, you were going through each of the cardboard boxes to try and get an idea of what you had to work with. This was your first holiday season at the Compound, so you didn’t have last year's decor to reference back on.

You make your way over to one of the larger cardboard boxes, one whose height goes up to your waist. You notice the word lights scribbled on the side of it in black permanent marker before you open it. Inside, as you expected, are an abundance of Christmas lights. All an extensive tangled web of cords and bulbs. You couldn’t tell how many sets of lights were inside, but you did know whoever stored them previously did so without a care in the world. Now, they were left in a mangled knot you’d have to find the patience to undo.

Maybe luck wasn’t on your side today…

You huff as you begin pulling the strands of lights out of the box. Your eyes go wider by the second as they appear to be never-ending. Almost as if you were pulling the lights from a magician’s hat, yards upon yards of string poured out. It made you wonder if Wanda had enchanted the box for it to have been able to fit so much.

By the time the box was empty, you were in the midst of the pile of lights, carefully trying to make a path by sweeping the cords on the ground with your foot. This backfires on you quickly as the cords end up around your ankles. When you try to free them, your wrists somehow end up joining in on the vine-like restriction.

The pattern of you trying to free yourself from the web of lights only to end up getting more entrapped by them continues until you can no longer discern where you start and where the lights end. You don’t know whether to laugh or cry at the ridiculous situation you have gotten yourself into.

“I think there’s only—” Steve's words freeze in midair along with himself as he walks into the living room and sees the predicament you’re in. The Christmas lights cover you from head to toe as if you had been decorating yourself in them. His eyes sparkle with amusement, but he keeps his lips in a tight line to stop himself from laughing. 

“Y/n, how did you…?”

“Please help.” 

Embarrassment bubbles within every ounce of you—to say the least—and with no dignified explanation of how you got like this, you look everywhere but at Steve. Staring intently at the ground when he sets down the boxes in his arms and carefully makes his way over to you. 

“I think you took out the lights Tony used last year to outline the roof. That’s why there’s so many of them,” Steve explains kindly as a way to make you feel better, delicately pulling at the lights around your body to find the ones easiest to take off of you first. Your eyes slowly make their way to meet his baby blue ones. Your embarrassment melts away at the gentle way he’s staring at you—no judgment in sight. However, you don’t miss the way the corners of his lips twitch as he holds back a smile.

“You can laugh, it's okay. This is pretty funny.”

“I’m not going to laugh at you, angel.” 

“Laugh with me then.”

The nickname he uses only for you is enough to bring a smile to your face, but when a few light chuckles leave his lips at your permission—your smile widens until your soft laughter joins his.

What happens next will forever be unexplainable to both of you. Somehow, in the midst of trying to untangle you, the string of lights find themselves around Steve’s chest constricting his movement. You try to help him, but you’re not in the best position to. So from here on out, you go back and forth trying to help one another only to end up enveloped further by the lights. 

You both laugh it off until you realize how close the lights have tangled you to each other. If you step any closer you’d be pressed up against Steve, the mere possibility sends your heart racing. Your nerves get the better of you, attempting to step back only to almost slip backward if it weren’t for Steve reaching out to catch you before you did. 

Ultimately, pressing you up against him so you wouldn’t fall. 

“You alright, angel?” He asks you tentatively, scanning you over as if you had fallen. 

You nod slowly, the words getting caught in your throat at his proximity. The scent of his cologne, an earthy spice that is mixed with something that is entirely him fills your senses, causing the butterflies in your stomach to flutter dreamily.

Your eyes gravitate to his lips and when they do his breath hitches. Your gaze shoots up to meet his and in his pretty blues you swear you see the same desire you hold. 

You’re dying to kiss him, and you think he is too.

Steve’s eyes lock on your lips, and that’s all the confirmation you need to gather the courage to pull him in for a kiss. It starts hesitant, yet sweet, both of you testing the waters of what it feels like to kiss one another. It doesn’t take long for Steve to deepen the kiss, wanting to pour his feelings for you out in the open. The dilemma of the lights is long forgotten as the kiss consumes all of your thoughts. 

The snapping sound of a phone camera isn’t enough to break the kiss, but the flash that follows it is. You look over to see Bucky smirking proudly at the sight of his best friend kissing you and Sam making fun of Bucky for not knowing how to take a photo without the flash on. 

“Seriously, you two?” Steve shakes his head at his friends, his cheeks rosy with a hint of bashfulness at the way his best friends are acting. You can feel your face getting hot as well, knowing there was no way you were ever going to live down getting tangled up in Christmas lights with Steve. 

As for the picture of the kiss…you were definitely going to ask Bucky for a copy later.

When you tune back into their conversation, Sam has a shit-eating grin on his face, “You should make that this year's Christmas card.” 

“Sam!”

You giggle at Sam’s teasing and at Steve’s attempt at scolding him. Steve seems mortified until he notices the way you don’t seem to mind the teasing. He stares at you with a fond expression, wanting more than anything to be alone with you again.

“Don’t you two have chores to do? Y/n and I are kind of busy here,” Steve motions to the web of lights that cover you and him from head to toe. Despite that, the twinkle of mischief in Sam’s eyes tells you he’s not done with either of you yet. 

“Kissing or decorating?”

“Sam!”

After a few more rounds of teasing that leave Steve wondering when the earth will swallow him whole, Sam and Bucky finally retreat—leaving him alone with you once more.

“I’m sorry about that. I’ll make it up to you angel—I promise,” Steve apologizes to you, an endearing embarrassment on his features. You shake your head with a soft smile, intending to tell him not to worry about it until an idea pops into your head. 

“How about you make it up to me tomorrow? We can check out that new coffee place down on Orchard if you’d like,” you suggest, your heart beating wildly in your chest as you await his answer. He lights up at your suggestion, “I’d love to. It’s a date then?” That last part comes out as a whispered question, wondering if you’d see it the same way he did. 

“It’s a date,” you confirm, moving against the restricting lights enough to place a soft kiss on his cheek. 

So it seems luck was on your side all along after all.

[mapis-putellas]

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒅𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒈

Pairing: Leah Williamson x reader

Words: 1235

Warnings: none

Summary: Of all the people Leah thought she’d be jealous of, one of them was most certainly not the goddamn dog.

Leah wasn’t a jealous person. Honest to god she wasn’t. She doesn’t care who your friends with or what you do when she’s not around. There had been several times, in fact, where you’d innocently flirted with someone right in front of her, to get free drinks at all exclusive restaurant and she hadn’t even batted an eye. She doesn’t get possessive either and she most certainly doesn’t stop you from doing whatever the hell you please. She doesn’t even mind when someone gets a little too close for comfort, because at the end of the day, it was her you went home with. Her you kissed.

But this moment, right now, was as close a she’s ever come to feeling either of those emotions. And no. It wasn’t because you were flirting and making eyes at someone, purposely trying to rile her up and make her jealous. In fact, she’s certain you’re not even aware you were doing it and that makes the whole thing ten times worse.

His name was Bruce. Bruce was handsome. Brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes, seemingly enraptured by your own. Not an ounce of attention was being sent her way and the worst part? Bruce wasn’t even human. Bruce was a goddamn dog. A goddamn dog you were looking after for your friend whilst they were away on holiday. You’d barely known him a day and you were all over him!

She’d been home for an hour, and you’d barely looked her way let alone asked her how her day was like you typically tended to do. You were too busy fussing over Bruce who had taken residence in your lap way before she’d even gotten home.

“Who’s a good boy? It’s you isn’t it? Yes you are! You’re the goodest boy ever! Oh I love you so much!”

Leah’s jaw clenches as she watches you lean forward and kiss the dogs face. Several times in fact of which Bruce was quick to return. When your hands come up to ruffle his ears earning a happy grunt, Leah’s resolve snaps. She, as gently as she could physically find it within herself to do so, pushes the goddamn dog off of your lap before situating herself in his place.

Your eyebrows raise in mild surprise as your hands rise to rest on each of her hips. "Can I help you?" You question, your voice tinged with amusement.

Leah huffs as she wriggles herself as close to you as physically possible. "Yes. It's my turn." She demands.

You laugh softly as your hands slip beneath her shirt, resting on the warm, smooth skin of her back. "Your turn?"

"Yes!" Leah grunts, shooting a harsh glare to the dog who was currently chasing its own tail, seemingly unbothered by the chaos he’d caused, When she looks back at you, that same annoying grin was still on your face. "Stop smiling like that." She slaps her hand over your mouth.

You immediately lick it, earning yourself a groan of disgust as she wipes her now wet hand off on your shirt. "I'm sorry darling. I didn't realise it was your turn for some attention." You tease, Leah huffing as she attempts to climb off of your lap. If all you were going to do is wind her up, then she definitely didn’t want your attention anymore.

"Oh, no no." You muse, tightening your arms around her waist holding her front flush to your own. "You want my attention, so my attention you shall get. You want ear scratches first? Or belly scratches?” Your hands threaten to dart to her stomach.

Leah yelps as she bats your hands away before they could reach their destination.

"No?" You question as return your hands to their previous positions, eyes glimmering with mirth. "You want butt pats instead?”

Leah’s cheeks tinge red in embarrassment, and you can’t help chuckle softly as she covers her face with her hands . “No! Stop making fun of me!” She whines, voice muffled.

“I wasn’t,” you feign innocence, gently pulling her hands away from her face. Leah’s cheeks were still tinged red, her bottom lip forming a small pout. “You said it was your turn. I was only giving you what you wanted.” You remind her, the blonde huffing again as she pulls hands out of your grasp and crosses her arms against her chest.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She grumbles.

“Oh come on,” you murmur. “don’t be such a spoilsport pumpkin.” You circle your arms back around her waist and pull her into a hug, Leah remaining stubbornly rigid in your arms. You slip your hands back beneath her shirt and let out a soft sigh, internally amused at her little show for you knew should this situation be reversed, the teasing you’d receive would surely go on for days. Apparently miss sulky pants couldn’t take it as well as she dishes it out.

You let go of her waist, bringing your hands up to cup her cheeks. “Smileee.” You coo, trailing the pads of your thumbs against the skin beneath her lower lip. Leah continues to glare, and you stare right back at her for a moment before leaning forward slightly and placing a gentle peck to her nose. Leah’s eyes narrow, and so you do it again, this time to the skin just heath her eye. This time, Leah’s lower lip twitches, and you knew you nearly had her. You lean forward again and kiss her left cheek. Then her right. Then her forehead. Cheek. Nose. Chin. You’re fully prepared to go in for an eyelid kiss when Leah finally cracks and pushes you away from her with a soft laugh.

“There she is.” you smile, the blonde huffing quietly as she finally allows her arms to settle around your shoulders.

“You suck.” She grumbles, toying with the hair on the back of your neck.

You rests your hands against the bare skin of her sides, thumbs grazing just beneath her ribcage. Leah shivers a little in response, but otherwise leaves you to it. “And you’re jealous of a dog.” You muse.

Leah drops her arms with a scowl. “No I wasn’t!”

“Oh you so were,” you tug her closer, hands sliding down her body to rest on the small of her back. They playfully snap the waistband of her sweatpants earning yourself soft gasp of surprise. “Oh miss Williamson,” you muse. “What am I to do with you?”

Leah’s hands instinctively rests against your chest to help keep herself supported. “Shut up about the goddamn dog and kiss me?” Her voice was close to demanding, and you can’t help but laugh.

“Now now, is that how you ask nicely?”

Leah groans as she throws her head back. She would have your ass for this. She swears it.

“Please.”

You tilt your head to the side. “Please…what?”

“I’m going to kill you.” she threatens, and you grin as you bring your hands up to cup her face, smoothing out her frown lines with your thumb. Leah exhales heavily as she leans into touch. Her forehead comes to rest against yours, and your smile softens at the way she gently nudges her nose against your own. You could feel the tickle of her breath as she speaks.

The quiet please, kiss me murmured against lips was just loud enough for you to hear, but it was all it takes for you to finally press your lips against hers.

**

Tags:

@codiemarin @girlgenius1111 @marysfics @ceesimz @xxnaiaxx @goldenempyrean @liloandstitchstan

[jarofstyles]

The Favor 12

It’s been 800 years and I’m sorry 😭 now that we reached this point inspo has come and gone so fast. But I got this part done and the next one on Patreon now! I would love to hear thoughts and suggestions, I’ve already implemented some of what you guys have asked for in my planned parts 🩷 enjoy! And happy holidays

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WC- 6.6k

Warnings- mentions of a Dom/sub dynamic, anxiety mention, misogyny, we hate Danny club tee shirts being passed around, tooth rotting fluff, mentions of relationship trauma

Danny hadn’t always been a bad boyfriend. 

At first he had been kind and sweet. With him being a tad bit more outgoing than Y/N, he had brought her into his friend group and integrated her as one of them. He had brought her flowers for their 6 month anniversary, they went on dates on the weekends twice a month, and it was nice. Solid, steady. 

Until he got a little too comfortable. 

Y/N could see it now that she had removed her heart from the equation. Danny was lazy, and it had shown more and more as the year mark hit, and then two years, and she had to remind him of Valentine’s Day, make the birthday plans, schedule the dates, or go along with the plans he’d made with his friends. He would get her gifts on those occasions, yes, but the most stereotypical things. It had lacked thought. Flowers and chocolates on Valentine’s Day were nice! She didn’t want to come across as ungrateful ever- but when he’d gotten her dark chocolate when he should have known she really disliked it, it made it a little less sweet- pun intended. 

If someone were to ask Y/N why she stayed so long,  she wouldn’t have one singular answer. Comfort? Familiarity? Routine? Perhaps lack of self esteem? She wasn’t sure. Being raised to think you had a specific way of doing things, of dating, engagement, then marriage, she hadn’t really been given many other examples. Growing up, her parents had been high school sweethearts, as had both of their parents. There was no breaking up, it was a one and done type of deal. 

She wasn’t sure if that was set in stone, though. It was an unspoken rule, something left unsaid like a thinly veiled threat in the night air. They spoke of the great love story of finding your one and only and it made her feel like she had to stick to that too. She’d never asked her mother about it, because she never really entertained the idea of having any other partner. 

It was easy with Danny in the way that she knew what to expect. She knew his habits, she knew his work, his schedule. She knew his friends, his plans for life, there were no surprises. Nothing that would jump back out and bite her, catch her off guard as he slowly leaned into being less attentive.&

Maybe that’s why even when she started having doubts she had stuck them to the back of her mind. 

There was no denying that Harry had been a very, very big part in all of it. The funny part of it was, she wasn’t sure that the sex bit was what truly got her to reconsider even if it had started it all. As incredible, euphoric as she felt- it was the way she felt afterwards. Before, even. When they sat in his bed and he stroked her cheek, feeding her cubes of cantaloupe or strawberries sliced in half, or when he’d picked up a carton of her yogurt and granola after mentioning what she usually had for breakfast at home. 

It was how gentle he handled her not only physically, but emotionally. He checked in, he cared, he asked her multiple times what she liked and what she didn’t. If it was okay to touch her certain ways, if he could kiss her. Just little things that seemed so minuscule in size if you looked at it from the outside but felt so big to her that it tore at her heart. 

He’d gotten her that damn water bottle, he’d gotten used to washing her hair when they shared showered, he used that tender tone of voice that had her bones feeling flexible as she melded into him each and every time. 

And another thing she had found to like about Harry, was the fact that he was just… dominant in most regards.

It wasn’t overly so. He wasn’t this complete alpha, macho man, fists banging on the chest sort of guy. He didn’t walk into the room and demand to be the biggest and baddest in the room. It was understated, quiet. If you looked at him you could just… see. Feel it. You could see he held it together well, that he liked control in the way he kept things organized and held eye contact regardless of who it was. He very rarely shied away from a situation. In fact, Y/N felt very special for being one of the only people she had seen make him blush or get flustered. 

It was second nature to him to just do. To pick up where she left off. So it did make her wonder what else she could do for him. How she could help him relieve stress. Yes, there was the sexual aspect that she was more than willing to hand over whenever he wanted (no exaggeration- any time, any place) but she wanted to be the person he allowed himself to loosen up with. 

She’d seen glimpses. Silliness and joking, that sort of tenderness that he didn’t seem to give to anyone else, but she wanted to make his life easier. Researching the dynamics between dominants and submissives, she had some questions- but the first thing she needed to do was cut off the dead weight- the only thing holding them back. 

—-

Meeting at the park was a good idea. She could tell by his face that he had a clue what was going to happen and as much as she tried not to, she did feel a tiny sliver of guilt. 

Y/N didn’t necessarily cheat, no. She’d had full permission, ecstatic permission, actually. He’d handed her over to Harry. Being realistic she knew he didn’t realize it would be an option that he wouldn’t get her back. Danny was headstrong in a way she found a lot of men were. He didn’t consider the possibility that she actually did know what she wanted and once she had a taste, she would want that for herself all the time.

“You’re leaving me for him.”

“Not necessarily.” She sighed, crossing her arms around her body. “It isn’t just about him. It’s about the fact that we aren’t compatible anymore, and we haven’t been in a long time.”

Danny scoffed, tilting his head towards the sky. “So, what? I’m nice? I let you go and see and play around to explore that shit and now you’ve gotten addicted to that sort of stuff? We can get you to therapy, because it isn’t healthy. But obviously it was a mistake to hand you off to him-“

“Yes. If you loved me, if you truly wanted me, Daniel- you’d never, ever want someone else to touch me.” She remembered how Harry had said he didn’t want to share her. Look, sure. But never touch. “You said the shit I’m into is weird, you shame me, then pawn me off to your friend which… it’s dangerous. The both of us are lucky Harry is genuinely an amazing guy-“ she shot him a look as he let out a noise but continued anyways. “Harry is amazing and kept me safe. He taught me the safe ways of doing things. And I liked it. I’m not going to lie to you, I really liked all of it and I know you aren’t into it.” For once, her face softened.

“And you don’t have to be. I don’t judge you for not wanting to do it. I never have. I was upset by your reactions and how you made me feel bad, but I would never ask you to do something you truly aren’t comfortable with. But if this is something I want, something I find myself needing to be fulfilled, I’m not going to try to change you or myself to try and salvage a relationship that was barely working anyways.”

“Barely working?” Danny looked genuinely confused. “The fuck are you talking about.” Again, her anger bubbled under the surface, but the exhaustion of the whole thing kept her from exploding. 

“Danny, you barely gave me attention. When you apologized the first time and we went out to the bar, you brushed me off the whole time. You treated me like an accessory. There was no passion to our relationship.” Y/N wasn’t sure how he didn’t see that. “We had the same conversations every day, barely had any excitement. I don’t think you loved me- I think I was convenient. And I don’t hold that against you either, but I think I was convenient to you.”

“That’s just how relationships are! They even out and get a little boring.” He defended, nostrils flaring as he was obviously offended with her observation. She had a feeling he would get that way. It was just another reason why they needed to end things. 

“To a degree. After years of marriage and things settle down, your partner is supposed to become your best friend. And we barely speak to each other if it isn’t about plans, or something you want to. If I feel like talking about something I can physically see you tune me out. This was happening far before you even handed me off to Harry.”

“And he’s going to give you that?” He sneered, looking at her like she was some sort of idiot. It had been very clear since the beginning that Danny really did put people into boxes, and Harry was in the sexual deviant one. He had no ability to see the depth in people and that had always been something that bothered her about him, but seeing it now towards someone she was falling for made her angry. 

“I don’t know.” She snapped. “But regardless if it is him or not, you need to stop that. You just… you learn something about someone and you completely disregard them as people. You knew he was into some different stuff and all of a sudden he’s a whore, some kind of sexual deviant that can’t commit. He’s had partners, long term. He’s caring. He’s kind. He listens to what I have to say. It isn’t just sex every time I go over to his place, you understand that right?” 

He didn’t, obviously, but the way his brows pulled together and he looked at her like he didn’t know what she was talking about. “Did you expect him to string me up and hit me with a paddle a few times and me to run back to you?” She was positive that was the thought process as it was as soon as she saw the face he made. “We bond. We make breakfast or go out for it, we watch shows, we take his dog on a walk- the dynamic of this whole thing goes far past just sex, Danny. It’s trust. I know you did minimal research into what this actually is, but I’m telling you that we weren’t just going at it like bunnies. I’m not hypnotized by his dick. He’s so nice to me, and he listens, and he….” Y/N could feel herself getting emotional, so she had to reign it in. He didn’t need this sort of response from her. 

“Listen. I’m sorry. I know we had plans, but they’re not for me anymore. I have no idea if Harry wants to actually date me or not. I have no clue where my life is going, but I just don’t see us being together anymore.”

——

It was a bit anticlimactic. Danny couldn’t really argue with her, (even if he did try a few times). Not when it was so abundantly clear her mind was made up. It was over. Regardless of what he thought about Harry or her sexual preferences or anything she liked, it was her opinion that mattered. She’d been coasting for so long that she had forgotten how it felt to actually be behind the wheel. As terrifying as it was to navigate- it felt good. 

“A mixed box, please.” Y/N politely asked the worker at the donut shop, knowing Harry was a bit of a fiend for a donut with his coffee. “An extra chocolate though, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course! Half or whole dozen?” 

“Whole, please.” 

She checked her phone to see a text waiting from him, her mood lightening immediately as her eyes traced over the screen. 

H: You alright, sweetheart? Please text me when you’re on your way here x. 

H: p.s. I miss you a little. 

Her heart felt like it grew too big for her chest as she took a shaky inhale, thumbing over the keyboard to reply to the man. It had been ages since she had gotten giddy over a man texting her, Harry being the first one since she’d left school honestly. It wasn’t that she wanted to constantly compare her past relationship with him, but it was hard not to when everything felt so much better.

Y/N: hiiii ❤️ I’m good. I made a stop but as soon as I’m done here I’ll be on my way. Maybe 20? 

Y/N: p.s. I miss you a little bit too 

Tucking her phone back in her pocket, she thanked the girl and checked out at the register, tapping her card before taking the box and walking back out to her car. 

She was a single woman, now. Sort of? That was sort of a mystery. She was Harry’s. The fact was clear both in her heart and the bruises sucked over the swell of her breast, also coincidentally over her heart. The question laid in his hands, if they were an actual item or not. He’d proclaimed she was his what seemed to be a million times but how far did that go? 

It wasn’t like she was dumb- she knew there were feelings in both ends. Men didn’t act like that unless they were actually wanting you. She knew she wasn’t completely naive for feeling somewhat confident that Harry would want her, but it was the question of in what way. As a submissive? As a girlfriend? That question would be asked tonight, but right now she really just needed a hug. 

There was no need to knock anymore as she scales the porch steps and approached the door, instead punching in the code to his security system and pushing the door open. The clicking of nails alerted her to Buttons before she even saw the pup, eagerly running towards her with a happy yip. 

“Hello, my darling.” She cooed, hanging her purse up on the hook and toed her shoes off. “These are not for you, M’sorry. We can get you a treat though. Where’s daddy, hm?” 

“Kitchen!” He called through the house, making her smile widen. She could smell coffee, the dark roast permeating the air as she padded towards the room. It was one of the best times of day to be in the room, sunlight pouring through the wide windows. Even better to frame him as he leaned against the island, waiting for the coffee to finish brewing. 

He was always beautiful, but seeing him in this light- literally and metaphorically- had her tummy swirling. His hair fluffy from the shower this morning and pushed off his head, the facial hair he had let grow because she said she liked it, the tee shirt tucked into linen pants, all of it was enticing. It felt more intense now that there was no real barrier holding her back from allowing her to think those sorts of things about him. 

“Excuse me, miss? What’s in that box?” His voice tilted as his smile grew, looking at the familiar pink box. 

“You know what’s in the box.” She hummed, placing it down next to him. “It’s where I stopped. I’m sorry to say I broke into them and ate a chocolate one on the drive here, but there’s 11 others in there for you to choose from.” 

“How will I ever forgive you.” His eyes rolled as he uncrossed his arms and pulled her into them, seeming to know what she needed before she could even utter a word about it. He knew what she went to do and while it was exciting, he knew she had been slightly anxious about the reaction. “You alright, darling? Seriously?” 

Y/N wasn’t sure if it was being in the safety of his arms and realizing that he was the only one she felt this safe with, if it was the slight exhaustion from not being able to sleep well, or the emotion of letting go of something that had once felt like her life, but she felt the wall hit her. Nodding into his chest, she stayed buried there as the tears bubbled over her lashline. 

“Oh, Angel. M’sorry. That’s a dumb question.”’he sighed, curling his hand around the back of her head and gently running his fingers through her hair. “I know. S’been a lot, the last few weeks. But you’re safe here, yeah? We don’t have to talk about it, or we can. It’s up to you.”

She knew he did want to. He wouldn’t press her because he was a good man and he was considerate of her feelings, but he wanted to know what happened and considering the entirety of this, she wanted to. It just… needed to be in a minute. Arms wrapped around his form as she took in unsteady breaths, trying to calm herself down. It was easier said than done when he felt like the lifeline now, but she didn’t want to cry over it. 

“We can.” She gave a watery laugh as she turned her cheek to rest on him, letting herself breathe properly instead of keeping herself shoved against his body. “I’m not upset because we broke up. I-I don’t really care about that, actually. I’m glad. He didn’t take it well but he also didn’t throw a tantrum. It just upset me because I was seeing him for one of the first times as who he was instead of m-making excuses and I felt a little dumb for staying for so long.” It was embarrassing.

Harry knew she wasn’t done so he didn’t interrupt, continuing the soothing strokes as she stayed leaning against him. “He puts people in boxes. Like he… he thought you were one dimensional and so was I. Thought that I didn’t actually know what I w-wanted, and that we were just fucking this whole time. Couldn’t believe that we were actually bonding and that you could possibly like me, or vice versa, outside a bedroom.” Her scoff made him chuckle just a bit, leaning his head down to kiss the top of hers, inhaling the scent of her shampoo. 

“And it really hit me how he couldn’t fathom that you have feelings that go past sexual deviancy or that I actually know what I want and I wasn’t just addicted to sex or something. Did you know he used to get me chocolates for Valentine’s Day but he’d get dark, and I hate dark chocolate.” She sniffled. “Or he’d make me plan stuff because I was ‘better’ at it. I just felt in charge of everything except plans with his friends, unless it had to do with getting a gift for a wedding or baby shower or birthday. Then I could handle it because… I don’t know. I was leading the whole thing and I wasn’t getting anything in return and I’m just now realizing how shitty I felt the whole time. I think I just coasted the whole time b-because my family did the whole high school or college sweetheart things and I felt like I needed to, too.”

It made a lot of sense to him, now, why she felt she needed this. The dynamic. Naturally submissive, he knew, but being forced to take the role that she didn’t want for the sake of a relationship she was trying to keep afloat merely because she felt a responsibility? His poor fucking girl. 

“I’m sorry.” He whispered. “I know it isn’t exactly the sort of thing you want to hear and it won’t make it better, but I’m sorry. It hurt you, it made you feel under appreciated and taken for granted. You didn’t deserve any of that.” 

It wouldn’t make a difference now but he wished he had met her first. Met her before Danny had gotten to her and been able to snatch her up, give her the sort of attention she properly needed, take care of her the way she had always been craving. For someone who didn’t naturally have that sort of instinct he had to imagine it was exhausting. Harry took pride in being the planner, the provider. He liked being in charge and knowing what was happening, making things easy and smooth. But for Y/N who already didn’t want to be doing it, he knew it had to have felt like she was trapped. 

“M’never going to make you do those things.” He murmured. “Not if you don’t want to. I don’t… it isn’t something that I’d ever want you to do if you didn’t want to. There is no right or wrong way to have a relationship, but the burden shouldn’t fall on only one person if they don’t want it to.” He smeared his lips in a ring of kisses around her hairline. “I know you don’t need me t’tell you that how you were treated wasn’t right, but I hope you know that you can tell me if you ever feel that way. If you… if you don’t want to do something, you don’t have to.” There was a pause. “When we’re not playing.” 

“I was gonna hold you to that.” She laughed against him, pulling her head back to look at him. “So, um.. I didn’t want to assume anything, but I’m gonna now and think that you want to.. that you like me enough to keep me around?”

Harry looked at her for a few moments before shutting his eyes, dropping his head to rest on hers. “If I hadn’t made it clear before, I think M’gonna make it even clearer now.” 

Y/N didn’t have a chance to breathe before he scooped her up to sit her in the counter, their lips fused together in a kiss she hadn’t fully felt before. Something he had held back, it lingered under it all as she easily melted into him.  It felt different, like a barrier had fallen off with the way he handled her. It was still delicate, still tender, but there was no hint of hesitancy in the way he led the kisses, smoothing his thumbs over her cheeks as he cupped her face in those massive hands she loved so much. Unhurried, unrestrained but no sense of urgency. 

Like he knew now he didn’t have to rush, that he had more time to prove to her that he meant every unspoken word he poured into this. 

The slight salt of her tears reminded him to pull back, to pace himself. Oddly enough, he had no urge to have sex right now. Everything was soft. Silky. Lovelaced and sweet, hinted with the motivation to give her the relationship that she deserved. It meant he’d have to ask her what she would want, but right now he just wanted to bask in the feeling of her in his palms and the warm sun and sugary donuts in the box and the strong coffee finishing its brew across the kitchen. 

“Hi.” He smiled lightly as he pulled back, eyes hooded as he watched hers peel open to meet his own. Her lips were bare of anything but chapstick he had faint taste of- strawberry, he was positive of it- and slightly puffy from the kiss that had gone on for a bit longer than they should have been able to breathe. 

“Hi.” Her voice was a peep as the shyness took over her face, but Harry didn’t let her move from it. As much as she wanted to burrow back into his chest, he kept her chin up. The energy was palpable, giddiness rocking his belly as he tugged her lip from her teeth. No biting of lips near him, not right now. Even if it was cute. 

There was a lot to speak about in regards to them as a pairing, but he wanted to soak in this warmth for a bit before getting down to the gritty bit of it. The girl had brought him his favorite sweets, and he wanted to enjoy them with her.

“Do you want some coffee?” 

“Tea, please.” 

—

Harry hadn’t been positive Y/N would go through with it. 

That wasn’t a fault or doubt of her person, not at all. But he knew that she really didn’t like hurting people. That much had been something he’d learned very early on in knowing her. She had been mindful of Danny’s feelings the whole time, trying not to flaunt any of it in his face and not giving details unless he asked- which he hardly did. 

They’d not really gotten any sort of response about what they’d done in front of him but Harry knew he wasn’t going to say anything about it because he would be too ashamed to admit it. He wasn’t shocked, though, when he got text messages during the day while Y/N slept soundly on his lap while watching a movie as Harry worked on his phone. She never could stay awake when the movie turned on and he played with her hair. One hand had been gently massaging her scalp while the other typed on his screen when the message popped up on his screen. 

D: I don’t know what the fuck you did to her but I hope you’re happy. I trusted you with her, man. And you fucking stole her. She was mine. That shit you’re into is disgusting and you’ve brainwashed her or something, it’s fucked up. 

Harry almost laughed at the message until he remembered what Y/N had been so upset about. The fact she hadn’t been seen as a person with her own emotions and feelings during the duration of the relationship had hit her. It may have started out good but it ended badly when she realized that he didn’t think she could choose what she liked. This was a prime example of it. 

HS: I get being upset, but I didn’t steal her. She isn’t property. She’s capable of making her own decisions and you texting me something like that proves you don’t trust her judgment yet again. I’ll do my best to make her happy, I care about her more than you can fathom. 

HS: I won’t be by any group gatherings, so don’t worry about that. Bye. 

Harry muted the conversation. 

It really wasn’t something he needed to talk to about with him anymore. He wasn’t sorry, he didn’t regret anything, he didn’t think what they did was fucked up. He could go back and forth about how Danny had been the one to hand over his girlfriend and push her right into Harry’s arms but at what cost? Why would he bother? 

She was curled in his lap, head on his thighs with soft breaths puffing against his shirt. Buttons laid at his dog bed near the fireplace and he felt that happiness bubble up in his stomach again. This was what he wanted. 

The dominant and submissive dynamic was something he loved and he enjoyed, absolutely. But the base level of his desires was wanting a real relationship with this before all the rest of it fell into place. Happiness at the most base level, trust, peace. Finding the delicate balance. 

His eyes traced over her features as his mind wandered a bit. Was a full dynamic what she wanted? Was she looking for commitment right off the bat? Or did she need a little breathing room? 

That didn’t seem as likely considering how she’d come right back home to him. 

The knowledge that she didn’t have anything holding her back was something that pleased him endlessly. He didn’t have to worry about stepping on toes. While they hadn’t expressed out loud that they wanted to be in a full and committed relationship, he knew she wouldn’t be here if she didn’t want to be. 

If he was honest with himself, he knew that an emotional affair had played a part in it. The both of them had been feeling things for each other for a bit, at least for him it had been a while. Y/N had poured her trust into him and he had taken that very seriously. He’d done his best to keep himself in check but now he really didn’t have to. 

It was astounding how fast emotions could form, how feelings could grow from a seedling planted in the pit of his belly to a full bloom that burst through his chest. She’d made a garden inside of him and he wanted her to see just how beautiful it could be, if she gave him the chance. A real one. 

Harry the dominant was one part of him but it wasn’t the whole part. He was a fully fleshed out human with faults. He was picky about keeping his house clean, he could be a bit pushy sometimes, he tended to isolate when he was upset about something. There was hints of insecurity and possessiveness in his personality, jealousy. God, he was a pathetically jealous person even if he tried to keep it under wraps. These were things she hadn’t exactly gotten to see, even if there were glimpses here and there. The underlying anxiety was there and prevalent that maybe she’d see those parts and not like him as much. 

The reminder that Y/N wasn’t that cruel circled back around and called him some, smiling as he felt her stir and scoot closer to him. Her nose nuzzled into his stomach, slow breathing evening out as she got comfortable again pressed up against him. The reminder that she also had faults that he hadn’t exactly seen yet was a comfort. He doubted that anything would truly scare him away, though. The obsession was already in place. 

“M’gonna do my best.” He whispered quietly, letting the back of his hand brush her warm cheek as she snoozed, unaware of his tender words under his breath. Unaware that it felt like he was holding the world in the palm of his hand now, and it was slightly terrifying as he tried to ensure he wouldn’t break it. “Gonna take care of you, sweet girl. Promise.” 

——

Their dinner was quiet. Harry had put on jazz music that was understated beneath their talking, the food was good, but there was no denying that they both knew a conversation laid ahead that would be a defining factor. 

As much as Harry tried to be calm about it, he was slightly nervous. Y/N looked slightly anxious and he tried to keep his shoulders relaxed but it was hard to when he was unsure what part she was anxious about. Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long. 

“I’m over Danny.” She blurted out. The dam had splintered and she felt like she couldn’t keep it back anymore. “I think I was over him for a long time. if he was in love with me, he would have never sent me to fuck around with someone else. If I was truly in love with him, I wouldn’t have agreed. I wouldn’t have been so eager to come and see you. It has been bothering me for a bit thinking maybe I was a bad person for wanting to move on so quickly but I think I had accepted subconsciously that it had been over for so long that it made it easier for me to feel almost single when I was around you.” Taking a gulp of air, she continued. To his credit Harry didn’t interrupt, merely folded his hands on the table and looked intently at her. 

“The last thing I want you to consider yourself is a rebound, though. I’ve been torn because… while I know I like you a lot, and I do- I really do like you,” she paused to give him a nervous smile. “I wanted to make sure that you understand that I never saw you as someone to move on with when I wasn’t distracted by him in the first place. Every single time we were together I forgot about him. As cruel as it sounds… maybe the first time I had thought about how much better it was and how this was what I was missing, that I knew he’d never be capable of the things I wanted- but being with you was never about him for me.”

Y/N knew she was a flawed individual and it wasn’t a secret. It wasn’t morally right to most people and she understood that. But this had felt like a natural turn of events for her.

“You’ve been at the forefront of my mind since we first met up at the coffee shop. I always thought you were slightly intimidating and very handsome, very kind- but once I had the go ahead to think of you as more, it never stopped. It only grew.” Her eyes dropped to her mostly finished plate as she took a deeper breath. It felt like an avalanche of words were trying to come out, all the things she had held back coming out now that she felt safe enough to. 

“I thought at first it really was a favor to him, that you were doing this because you were a good friend. But I… I’d like to think I have good enough senses to know that you enjoyed it too. You paid me more attention than anyone else ever has. From the texting to check in and remembering things I said off hand, to getting me things that are so unique to me and our conversations… it blew me away.” Her fingers fiddled with the napkin before she braved his eyes again. 

“I just wanted to tell you that I… I really would like to try. With you. The um, the dominant stuff too, but… more? If that's something you’d want.” 

“It is.” There was no hesitation in his answer, knowing she was losing steam in her rant. “It’s what I’ve wanted for a while. I tried very hard to be respectful at first, you know…” he swallowed, trying to find the words. “I wanted to be respectful because of you. I didn’t want to get out of turn. And then… I started to care less about it when I saw how little he cared about your relationship himself. I didn’t take the favor on directly because he asked me.” This was a revelation, just a bit. “I took it on because I knew you, I knew the… I know how it is wanting to try something and feeling like you’ve got no options. I also know how dangerous it could be with the wrong hands on you. And I cared for you, back then more so as a friend but I cared and didn’t want you to have a bad experience. I wanted it to be safe and pleasure filled and selfishly, I was attracted to you as it was.” 

He may have fooled himself into thinking it was for Danny but he knew deep down why he had done it. 

“I think that you took me by surprise. How well we worked together from day one. It felt like… you were made for me. Y’know?”

“Yeah.” She peeped. “I felt the same.”

The small smile on his lips was a reward for her, the table being a good divider for now. If it wasn’t there he knew he would be distracted by wanting to touch her. “Good. I was taken back by it and I wanted more n’more, I got selfish and greedy for a bit. I broke a little, having you in the cafe bathroom. Doin’ that, it was selfish for me. For us. There wasn’t anything pre planned and I knew by how you reacted I wasn’t exactly alone in the want to do more but I didn’t want to make you feel guilty, so I kept it back for a bit.”

It had been so difficult not to beg for me. Ask her to come over during the week when he felt especially lonely. Even just to have her sit in his bed and leave her scent all over the sheets or hear her padding around while he worked. That was the domesticity that he wanted. “It’s been more than sex for me for a while. I know the dynamic is more than that too, but I found myself wanting you around more. Wanting to do more things with you than what we were supposed to do. When we went out the first time together, had me all sort of nervous in the good way and I realized I was getting myself into something that could be really good, or really bad.” His heart had been on the line the whole time. 

“Listen.” Leaning forward, he clasped his hands together again as he had her eyes. “I want t’be with you too. I want more. I want… the fun side where we play and go to the club, all of that. But I want more, too. The dinners and having you in my bed, without fucking. The softer things. I know that in the past you mentioned you had to control everything in your last relationship and I wanted to warn you that m’not like that- I like control in all areas of my life. It’s one of those things I’ve tried to work on a bit. Not necessarily of you in the traditional sense but… I like t’plan the dates. I like to feel needed, don’t mind bein’ the one to take care of you as long as you save that softness for me. Jus’ like you loving on me and being that sweet girl that you’ve shown me so far, and it’ll make me happy.” His hands itched to grab her. “Does that sound like something you can deal with.”

“It sounds like it’s perfect.” A shaky laugh left her as she felt slightly like she was dreaming. “I want to know more about how I can give back to you if you’re doing all the controlling but I… I really like that idea. I don’t mind you being the one to do all those things.” His version was exactly what she wanted. 

“Good.” The sigh of relief was enough to relax his shoulders. “Now c’mon over here. You’ve been far away from me for far too long.”

Y/N scrambled up and rounded the table, a shy smile lighting up her face as she sat in his lap and giggled in surprise as his mouth met hers, eager and languid as his large hand held her hip. She felt safe. Giddy. Warm. She could get used to this.