#you want to pull your hair out your scalp

[ckret2]

Chapter 84 of human Bill Cipher getting a day pass out of being the Mystery Shack's prisoner: so it turns out Bill and Pacifica have a lot in common! And it's not weird at all! It's—it's very normal. Their childhoods were so normal.

(Since this entire chapter is from the point of view of a character who doesn't know the person she's talking to is Bill, a PSA for those of y'all who missed it. Thanks.)

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"Okay, that's as much as I can do to help your hair without deep conditioning it," Pacifica said. "Now let's talk about styling it."

They were back in Pacifica's office, with Goldie seated in his folding chair and Mabel sitting in Pacifica's desk chair (slowly spinning it back and forth) as Pacifica lectured them. Pacifica had given Goldie a spare t-shirt to dry his hair with (you could never have too much spare clothing on hand when you were dealing with farm animals), but he'd just loosely wrapped it around his hair and promptly ignored it.

Pacifica said, "You've got this issue where the weight of your curls pulls the top of your hair down and makes it flatten out near your scalp—but your hair's all the same length, so it really flares out near your shoulders. It's called triangle hair and it is not a cute look."

Goldie and Mabel bit their lips and exchanged a look, and Pacifica got the distinct impression that she'd accidentally reminded them about some inside joke she wasn't part of.

Trying to ignore the feeling that she was being left out of something, Pacifica cleared her throat and went on. "So, uh—you can fix it with like, layering your haircut and stuff? But. I don't actually... know how to do that." All her knowledge of curly hair and its care—much less fashionable haircuts—came from fashion and beauty magazines, which covered things like shampoo and flattering styles but assumed you'd leave the actual hair-cutting to the professionals. "So. I can get your curls presentable, and I guess we can figure out a way to pin it that looks nice? But that's the best I can do without an emergency salon trip."

"You sure we can't leave the triangle hair?" Goldie asked innocently. "I think it's cute. It really feels like me." Mabel clapped a hand over her mouth and snorted.

Pacifica raised her brows. "Do you want to feel like you, or do you want to get the guy?"

"Right, of course," Goldie said. "I almost forgot what's really important!"

Pacifica passed Goldie her phone. "Here—I wasn't sure what kind of look you were going for so I saved a few pictures of curly hair styles, let me know if you like any of these." She searched through the collection of makeup on her desk for the bobby pins and hair ties she'd picked up earlier. "The trend this year is for slicked-back styles, braids, and buns—but your curls are so pretty, I'd hate to hide them." 

Mabel leaned halfway across the desk to try to see the pictures too; Goldie's held out the phone to meet her halfway as as he scrolled—and scrolled, and scrolled, and scrolled. He said, "Good job narrowing down the list to a modest two hundred pictures."

Pacifica said, "Excuse me for wanting you to have options."

Mabel pointed. "Awww, look at that one with all the little butterfly hair clips!"

"It's like butterflies are eating her brain."

"And they look adorable doing it."

"Too juvenile for me. It looks like something Prisma the fairy would wear," Goldie said. "You should wear it."

Mabel's eyes lit up. "You've got to help me make fifty butterfly hair clips."

"You got it." He closed out of Pacifica's pictures, opened up the browser, and awkwardly typed in a search. "Hey, Alpaca, look at this one."

That was the second time he'd called her that. "Do you actually know my name?"

"Rapunzel." He held up a picture of some seventies movie star with thick, feathery hair that fluffed out around her face like the wings of a panicked swan trying to take off. "Think you can pull this one off?"

Pacifica grimaced. "You'd look like my mom." Except even worse and more old fashioned. (She kept that part to herself.)

Flatly, he said, "Oh no, how will I ever convince a male that I'm a prize worth winning if I literally look like a trophy wife."

That would be just about the only part of Goldie that looked like a trophy wife. (She kept that part to herself too.) "And we'd have to give you bangs."

As she suspected, Goldie grimaced and flipped to another image. At least he knew bang weren't for him. "How 'bout this one?"

It looked like a solid helmet of hair, with the ends uniformly curled outward like the embarrassing forced-whimsical hairstyle of the minions of an insane chocolatier. "Ew. That's about the only thing that could make you look even worse than you already do."

"Pacifica," Mabel said sharply. "Be nice!"

"Sorry!" She'd kept so many parts to herself that she didn't have any spare room to keep that part. "I can't do it, anyway. It would need a flat iron and a curling iron, and I don't have either."

"Can't we get some?" Goldie asked. "Any drug store should have 'em, it's a fifteen minute walk to—"

"I don't use them," Pacifica said sharply.

Goldie's stare was like a heat lamp—or maybe that was just self-consciousness heating up Pacifica's face as he scrutinized her. But after several long seconds, Goldie's gaze turned off her face. She quietly sighed in relief.

"Okay," he said. "Then this one." He showed her another picture. It had curly shoulder-length bangs, which wasn't really in style but fine, but behind them was a bouffant shaped like a deflating basketball with a wilting palm tree sprouting out of it.

Pacifica cringed. It was, unfortunately, doable. A note of pleading in her voice, she asked, "Are you really into this look? Really?"

("I think it's pretty," Mabel muttered.)

"Oh, no way!" Goldie said. "Look at that mess! That's way too much effort for a 'do that looks like she did it drunk in the dark in under two minutes."

(Mabel looked at Goldie like he'd personally betrayed her.)

"But," he went on, "it's what our guy is into, and that's what matters here. Right?"

Pacifica studied the picture dubiously. "You're sure?"

"He went through puberty in the 70s! When his libido opened its eyes for the first time, this is what it imprinted on."

Pacifica bit her lip. Well. At least Goldie didn't think it looked good, but. "Can I at least improve it a little?"

"Oh, please!"

She picked up the comb again and grabbed a couple of bobby pins. "No promises, but I'll do what I can."

Pacifica talked a big game, but in truth, she knew a lot more about the theory of hairstyles than she did about actually styling hair. You don't have to film a blockbuster to be a film critic. So at that point, all she could do was experiment with Goldie's hair as she attempted to approximate the picture he'd shown her. She circled around him as she worked—putting in pins, taking them out, occasionally asking him his opinion.

But although Goldie had previously been a non-stop chatterer, the moment she'd started working on his hair, he'd fallen silent.

He only glanced in the hand mirror she'd given him when she prompted him, and then only to give one-word answers—usually "fine." His shoulders were as tense and his mouth as tight as Pacifica's had been the first time she had to wash alpaca poop off the bottom of a boot. And Pacifica had nearly vommed, so, that was pretty serious.

Why? It couldn't be pain. Pacifica had gotten all the knots out of his hair earlier—and even when she wasn't using the comb, it was like she couldn't even move a lock of his hair without him wincing. She kept wanting to apologize even though she was just doing what he wanted her to.

There was something going on here. It wasn't just how uncomfortable he was with being touched. There was also the way he did an awful job of washing his hair even though he knew how to perfectly well. And how he'd rather let Mabel brush his hair into a frizzy mess than comb it out himself. And beyond all that, the first thing Pacifica had ever learned about him was that he'd gotten his hair melted off and needed emergency help to grow it back. "You... really don't like your hair, do you?"

"I like it fine. It's gorgeous." He was speaking through gritted teeth, and he had his legs crossed with his feet under his thighs, palms up in lap, eyes fixed on the blanket Mabel had made, as though having a staring contest with the triangle creep would help him endure the torture without flinching. "I just—don't like messing with it."

"Which is fine," Mabel cut in. "Because I like brushing it!" She quickly amended herself: "Combing it. We've got like a symbiotic relationship going on."

"Yeah! Star girl's my personal stylist! She does my hair and makeup. I wouldn't deprive her of that honor!"

Pacifica nodded slowly. Right—all that, and he was defensive about not taking care of it.

Not embarrassed because he didn't take care of it, it dawned on her; embarrassed because he couldn't take care of it. She had a sense for those sorts of things—a middle school queen bee had to develop that sense—because that was what you targeted if you really wanted to humiliate someone: something that they couldn't help. That was it, wasn't it? He'd said he was apathetic about his body; he didn't care that his hair was messy. Because if he did care that it was messy, he would have done something about it. Unless he couldn't. Like, a mental block.

As she tried for the eighth time to gather the bulk of his hair into an updo that looked sorta fun and casual without looking stupid, she turned over everything she knew about him—about his hair, his apathy, his shame... the things he'd said to her the moment they met, before they even got started.

It wasn't a logical deduction so much as it was an instinct, and just looking at Goldie it seemed impossible; but still she said, hesitantly, "Your mom made you do pageants as a kid, didn't she?"

Mabel sat up a little straighter, confused; but Goldie turned around to stare at her, dumbfounded. "How— What—makes you think that?"

Oh please. He wasn't fooling anyone, it was all over his face. "You're so weird about your hair. It's obviously trauma from your mom."

Beneath his sunburn, Goldie's burned cheeks somehow managed to flush even darker. He gaped at her, wide-eyed and terrified, like she was a psychic who had just told him how his own parents had died. He croaked, "What?"

Pacifica burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, you should see your face! Listen, you're clearly familiar with pageant life. And I saw so many curly girls getting their hair mauled by their moms half an hour before going on stage. I don't blame you for being weird about touching it! I had it easy—" she flipped her naturally straight hair, "—but even at that, I can't stand using a flat iron to this day."

Goldie relaxed, apparently reassured that Pacifica hadn't read his mind. He settled back in his seat. "Oh, I dunno, I find the smell of burning hair comforting! It reminds me of home!"

"Ha! Okay, yeah, you do get used to it after a while." She started attempt number nine to gather up his curls. "I wouldn't have guessed when you came in. You don't look like a... I mean... you know. No offense."

"Well, duh, you can't tell now." He gestured at himself, "I lost my good looks. What I wouldn't give to have my old body back..." He sighed wistfully.

Pacifica held back a snort. Oh yeah. More than anything else he'd said so far, that convinced her he really was a former pageant kid. In her experience, every single pageant mom trying to relive her own beauty queen glory days through her daughter said things exactly like that.

Mabel said, "Aww..." She stretched a hand out toward Goldie, couldn't reach him across Pacifica's enormous desk, and with a grunt heaved herself up to lay across the top—knocking over a couple of the cosmetic supplies Pacifica had set up in the process—so she could pat his shoulder. "There, there."

"Thanks."

She slid back into her seat. "Did you really do pageants? You didn't tell me that." A note of betrayal crept into her voice.

"I didn't tell her either—" he jabbed a thumb at Pacifica, "—but here we are!" (Pacifica shrugged unapologetically.) "I've got a lotta backstory you're still catching up on."

"Well, yeah, but—you said you just did..." She grasped for the right words, and settled on, "build-y stuff with pageants."

"I didn't say that," he said breezily. Mabel scowled at him; but shot a look at Pacifica, and just sat back without saying anything, arms crossed, her feet audibly kicking at the inside of the desk. 

He didn't seem as stressed about his hair while he was talking, Pacifica noticed. (Maybe that was why hairdressers were so chatty? Or maybe just because it was kind of weird to stick your hands in someone's hair for an hour in total silence.) She asked, "Which pageant systems did you compete in?"

"None you'd have heard about," Goldie said. "They weren't on this continent and it was like a trillion years ago." Before Pacifica could pry about which continent, he added, "Hey, fun fact! Didja know that the first beauty contest in Oregon was established here in Gravity Falls?"

"Pff, duh, of course I know that," Pacifica said. "It was established by the town founder, my great-great grandpa."

"Close, but no," he said gleefully. "It was established by the real town founder."

Pacifica grimaced. "Him? The crazy undead guy without pants? Ugh, no wonder we're the only pageant with a mandatory bird calls category."

"The first three competitions were actually won by birds! They only added a fashion category to balance out the birds' unfair advantage at birdsong. Quentin resigned from the judges' panel in protest."

"He should've taken the dumb birdsong requirement with him," Pacifica muttered. "They make the kids pageant do it too. I had to get a private tutor to learn how to whistle."

"That sounds fun, though," Mabel said. "I can do bird song! Grunkle Ford taught me some. Listen to this!" She let out an admittedly impressive moo.

"Not a bad cowl call," Goldie said. "You woulda killed it at the accompanying bird costume requirement."

Mabel gasped. "I can make feather wings. Hey, do you think I could compete?"

"Not unless you move to Oregon."

"Aww."

"We can still make wings, though," Goldie said.

Pacifica had never had to deal with the dumb bird costume requirement, thank goodness. That only started in the teen brackets. Which made her wonder—"How old were you when you quit? Pretty young, right? Like, no offense, but if you need teenagers to do your makeup..." If Goldie was living as a guy now, it'd make sense if he didn't wear makeup day-to-day; but if he'd stuck with pageants past like age ten, he would have at least learned how to do his own makeup.

"Ha! You're right. I started when I was young enough that my mom could dust glitter on my butt without getting weird looks! I quit around... equivalent to third or fourth grade in the States? She wanted me to keep going—so I said, 'You want me to perform? Fine then—I'll put on the best performance you've ever seen.' And that's exactly what I did!" Thoughtfully, he added, "But for some reason I didn't win the talent portion. I guess the judges weren't impressed that I could play the piano and set it on fire at the same time."

Pacifica cracked up. "Okay wow—I retired during the talent portion too, but how you did it is way more exciting. The year I was aging out of the 9-11 bracket, I kinda had a meltdown on stage over losing to some girl with a hula hoop? Yeah, I did not win supreme that year."

"You shoulda won talent just for that scream! You hit some impressively high notes." At Pacifica's odd look, Goldie said, "Saw it online."

Figured. That was probably coming back to haunt her in ten years. "It's weird. There's like... two ways pageant girls go—er, girls or guys or... whatever."

"Whatever," Goldie agreed.

"Yeah. Either they make it part of their identity? And keep up the makeup and fashion and everything, sometimes stick with pageants as teens or start modeling professionally? Which is what I did. Or they totally burn out, don't want anythingto do with the beauty industry, and just, like, wear sweats forever."

With a faint air of wounded pride, Goldie said, "It's the bedsheet sarong, isn't it."

"No offense! I'm just saying."

"I'll have you know it's laundry day and Jesús stole my clean clothes instead of my dirty laundry." (Pacifica decided to forgive him for the weird fish smell.) "You're looking at me at a low point, kid. I was actually a pretty snappy dresser up until... lllast summer."

Hearing Goldie call her kid gave Pacifica a little jolt of surprise. For a moment, she'd forgotten she was talking to somebody with an age; she'd started to feel like she was being visited by the immortal Spirit of Washed-Up Former Pageant Children. As if he'd died and stopped aging the same time he retired. "What happened last summer?"

Goldie looked at Mabel. "Yeah, what did happen last summer?"

"Um." Mabel froze. "He... lost it all in a... um... overseas parrot circus venture! Yeah—all the trained parrots escaped before the opening night of the circus and he lost all his money."

Goldie let out a shrill cackle. "I like that, I'm keeping that."

Okay, got it, it wasn't any of Pacifica's business. "I think... this is the best I can do with your hair." She stepped back. "Unless you want to pick a style that doesn't suck."

He gave himself a cursory glance in the hand mirror, immediately lowered it, and said, "Sucky style's fine!"

"Don't say that, you look so beautiful," Mabel said. "You look like a babysitter!"

"Well, it doesn't get much better than that." He dropped the mirror on the desk. "What's next?"

####

Next—finally—was the part they'd actually come here for: the makeup.

"Okay, I tried to get around the eyepatch while I was doing your hair, but you've got to take it off for this part," Pacifica said.

He groaned, but muttered, "Fine, I've put up with this tyranny so far," removed it, and looked at her with his previously-covered eye squinted against the light—which was the point at which Pacifica realized that he had eyepatch tan lines... around his other eye. How???

There was no fixing that before tomorrow. She bit her lips, shut her eyes, pressed her hands together, and took in a deep breath. Okay. She could handle this.

"Why do you even wear this?" She tossed the eyepatch to Mabel—it was one of those cheap costume pirate-y looking patches. "Is this one of the Mystery Shack's gimmicky touristy things? Both your eyes work! And wearing an eyepatch when you obviously don't need it is just tacky."

"I've got a neurological condition! Seeing through two eyes messes up my depth perception," Goldie said. "I get migraines if I don't keep one covered! Which is admittedly the most fun thing you can do to your brain without involving narcotics, but it makes it hard to keep down lunch!"

"Oh," Pacifica mumbled. Maybe she should just get to work before she shoved her foot any deeper in her mouth.

She started by slapping aloe vera on as much sunburned skin as she could reach, handed over the jar with strict instructions to apply more in the morning, and gave him an emphatic lecture on sunburns and sunscreen and skin damage that petered out when he cheerfully started telling her about skin cancer statistics. She changed the topic when he started listing his favorite kinds of skin cancer.

She stripped off the nail polish that Goldie had apparently gotten during one of Mabel's sleepovers, and repainted it with, at Pacifica's insistence, something more "mature." (She vetoed Mabel's suggestion to paint little hearts. She vetoed Goldie's request for gold. She gave him the choice between white French tips, pale pink, or solid red. He chose red.)

She hadn't anticipated that her customer would be in such dire straits that she'd need to shave him, so she didn't have any supplies for that; but she also ordered him to get his legs as smooth as the surface of a balloon as soon as he got home—"And do you think there's any chance this guy you're after will see your pits?" "He already has!" "Hm. Okay. Yeah, uh, get those anyway."—and informed him that she would report him to the police for vandalism if he "shaved" using whatever depilatory cream he'd previously used on his hair.

As she finished plucking his brows, she said, "Okay, I think you're finally in decent enough condition for actual makeup." She stepped back, took in his face, and said, "Barely." She grimaced. "I wish I'd bought a concealer with better coverage. I didn't know the situation was so bad."

To his credit, Goldie had taken her criticism (and occasional looks of horror) like a champ. He simply drawled, amused, "The body rituals of the Nacirema are as elaborate as they are bizarre."

She picked up a couple of the foundations she'd bought and held them up next to the eye that had been protected by the eyepatch tan line, trying to determine which one was a closer match for whatever his skin tone was when he wasn't burned. "Who're the Nacirema? One of the tribes that used to live around here?"

"They're still in the area. Look 'em up."

Pacifica thought the darker foundation was closer; she tested it on his inner arm to be sure. "So, how much makeup do you already know how to apply? Any?"

"I can do mascara, eyeliner, and mascara."

"Riiight. Okay, both of you pay attention to what I'm doing." She evicted Mabel from her desk chair and dragged it around in front of Goldie's folding chair. "Because I will not be coming over to do this tomorrow, so the two of you will have to repeat this yourself. Here." She handed Goldie a mirror so he could watch her work.

Mabel hopped up to sit on the desk next to Goldie. "You have one hundred percent of my attention!" She immediately looked away from Pacifica at the makeup brushes laid out on the desk, picked up a fan brush curiously, and started dragging it up and down her arm. "Ooh. Tickly." 

"Emphasize my eyes," Goldie said. "They're my best feature. You can forget about everything else, but my eyes have to look good."

Pacifica looked at his eyes. Pacifica really looked at his eyes.

There was something wrong with his eyes.

She decided to stop looking at his eyes. "Okaaay, great great great, you've got suuuper long lashes, that's fantastic. We can totally draw attention there. You don't even need fake lashes. And you've got nice big prominent eyes. Kinda bulgy, but that should be easy to hide with eyeshadow. I'm thinking maybe a smokey eye?"

"What about metallics? Like gold?" Goldie asked innocently. "Kind of a retro 'secret agent villainess' look, don't you think! It'd bring out the yellow in my eyes!"

Pacifica said, "You do not want to bring out your jaundice."

"Don't tell me what I want."

"No gold eyeshadow," Pacifica said. "Period. If you want to experiment with color, we can try a smoky eye in burgundy. Burgundy is hot this year."

Goldie muttered something about welcoming a bottle of burgundy right now, then said, "Fine! Burgundy."

(As Pacifica looked through her makeup palettes for the burgundy, Bill leaned over to Mabel and whispered, "Do we have any leftover gold eyeshadow?" Mabel nodded and winked. Bill winked back.)

"What about the rest of your face?"

"Skip it."

"I'm not letting you go bare-faced aside from your eyes," Pacifica said. "But we can do a natural makeup look."

"That's so boring," Mabel said. She was dragging the fan brush over her lips now. "If it looks natural why's he wearing any makeup at all?"

Goldie said, "Because humans are insane about the most uninteresting things."

As Pacifica worked her way through the foundation, concealer—she decided his sunburned skin had enough of a sun-kissed glow that she could skip bronzer—and contouring, she said, "You are... really good at holding still when you try." He'd gone completely still, like a statue. A statue that was making direct eye contact with her soul. She felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck. She wasn't sure he was breathing.

"He's super good," Mabel agreed. "It's kinda creepy."

"Thanks!" And just like that, he was smiling and alive again. "I do a lot of meditating! Gimme a focal point to watch and I can go like two billion years!"

"You didn't learn from...?"

"Pageants? Ha! No way, I was the wiggliest little demon you've ever seen. It drove my mom nuts when she was trying to do my lashes. She used to say 'If you love me, hold still' to keep me in place—but you know how contrary kids are when they're mad! Eventually I got fed up and said, 'Well then, maybe I don't love you!' And she didn't speak to me for three days." Goldie laughed. "Ahh, I had the most dramatic mom."

"Wow, my mom would kill me if I ever tried something like that—especially if it was in public where people could see us," Pacifica said. "She hired makeup artists so I'd struggle against them instead of her. Your mom did your makeup? Did she ever hire anyone?"

"Nooo way. We ran our operation on a razor-thin budget to maximize the profits from my winnings. The name of the game was efficiency!"

"My mom's sure wasn't," Pacifica said. "(Shut your right eye, I've got to get your eyeshadow.) We went through like, fifty makeup artists or something. Sometimes more than one while prepping for the same pageant." She lowered her voice a tad, "A couple times when the makeup artist was a creep, I messed up my own makeup just so Mom would fire them."

"Ha! Suckers. Yeah, that's probably how it woulda gone if my mom had handed me off to a makeup artist. I was not afraid to sic her on adults! We didn't have any hired help when I was that age, but the principal was terrified of her. And if another kid at a competition was getting on my nerves, I'd go crying to her that they pushed me and oh, man, she'd come down on their parents like the asteroid on Chicxulub."

"Me too! There was this girl in third grade who was so... I don't know, just—" she pulled a face, "eugh, you know? I complained to mom about her and got her family blacklisted by the whole town. They had to move out of the state just to get a job."

Goldie laughed loudly. "Now that is impressive!"

Pacifica's gut shifted uncomfortably. Was it? "Other eye now." She didn't speak for a moment as she tried to get both eyes matching. "Actually... it was... kinda scary?"

She'd asked her mom if she could puh-lease get this girl out of Pacifica's class. She'd just expected the girl to be switched to another teacher.

Instead, over the next few weeks, she heard about the girl's mother losing her job, then her father. Her older brother got kicked out of the local Future Lumberjacks of America chapter. One day the girl came to school in tears after being cut from the softball team. A couple months later, the girl's friends—the two that hadn't drifted away from her as her family became pariahs—threw her a tearful goodbye party during lunch with a mall-bought cookie cake; and the next day, she was gone forever.

After that first time Pacifica had complained about her classmate, her mom had never once mentioned the girl or her family. She never asked if Pacifica had any more trouble with her. Not even when they left town. It was as though, after her mom ground them under her heel, they were beneath her notice. Just four crushed ants.

But Goldie was staring at her, frowning in confusion, like she didn't make any sense. "What—scary for the other kid?" he asked. "Sure. It's supposed to be, isn't it?"

Pacifica didn't reply for a second. I'm afraid of how good she was at doing exactly what I asked her to do without realizing I was asking for it—that sounded stupid. Finally, she said, "Don't wrinkle your face like that, I haven't set your foundation yet. It'll make it cake up."

"Your moms sound insane," Mabel said. While they'd been swapping stories about their childhoods, she'd been staring at them, chin in one hand, chewing on the fan brush's bristles. "Were you guys tortured growing up?"

"Pfff, what? No, of course not!" Pacifica said. "My parents would never. You've only seen my mom's worst side, she's not really that bad. I mean—not to me. She's horrible to poor people, but that's different."

Goldie said, "Yeah, my mom was my biggest defender! If anyone tried to hold me back, she'd rip them a new one."

"But—forcing you to do pageants until you have a breakdown?" Mabel said, glancing between Goldie and Pacifica, mouth twisting up like the words tasted sour. "Guilting you into wearing makeup and attacking other parents and stuff? That's nuts."

"It's not like that," Pacifica said automatically, then tried to figure out what it was like.

"Now we're calling a kid's temper tantrum a breakdown? You've got a future career in propaganda, star girl," Goldie said wryly. "It's a mom's job to bring out a kid's potential, right? Sure, it drove me nuts at the time—but kids don't want their potential brought out, kids are lazy!" He shrugged, "Yeah, my parents weren't perfect—they didn't really 'get' me, they held me back from reaching my full potential because they couldn't see what it was—but I'd never have gotten on the road to unlocking my potential myself if they hadn't put me on the right path as a kid."

Pacifica nodded. "Totally! That's just normal mom stuff! My parents are exactly the same—they don't get my alpaca business at all—but there's no way I'd be running a business at thirteen if my mom hadn't pushed me to be the best I can be. Or supporting my alpacas through modeling if I hadn't learned how to present myself in the pageant system. Even mini-golf was just a hobby until my parents got me a coach and started taking me to competitions."

"And I wouldn't be the huge success I am today without those early lessons in public speaking!"

Mabel shot Goldie a meaningful look. He pointed at her. "Don't say a word. I've had a bad year, you can't judge me by that. Anyone could've lost their parrots in a freak accident."

"And some kids had it way worse," Pacifica said. "Some parents would hit their kids or scream at them for messing up their routines or getting distracted? Those girls never lasted long, you can tell if a contestant's just going through the motions because she's scared. I was never treated like that. My pageant coach taught my parents to use a 'warning bell,' when they rang it that was my warning to stop goofing off and focus on practicing or listen to them or whatever. They'd pay me in chocolate if I got back in line."

"Ha!" Goldie smacked the desk, "Oh wow, that's hilarious! Pageant coach Pavlov. My parents would have loved that when I was in the toddler competitions."

"Right?!" Pacifica laughed. "Now I'm like, wow, I used to be bribable with a piece of chocolate? Kids are sooo easy to manipulate."

"But hey, it's a good life lesson: the occasional reward and the fear of punishment is a lot more effective at keeping people in line than actual punishments."

Pacifica nodded thoughtfully. "Wow. That's so insightful."

"See?" Goldie beamed at Mabel. "Pageants teach kids all kinds of useful things! Ambition, poise, charisma, self-confidence, social skills..."

She grimaced. "Yeah, but... all the restrictions and pressure and trauma and stuff? That really sounds bad."

"I think you're just bitter that you can't enter the birdsong contest."

She kicked his arm. "I'm serious!"

He pushed back her shoe and waved her off dismissively. "It only sounds bad to you because you were never in the pageant world! It's got its own rituals and expectations, of course it looks weird to outsiders."

"And everyone judges pageants so much more harshly than other competitive sports—which is what pageants basically are," Pacifica said. "Like, pageants and competitive mini-golf took just as much practice, just as much coaching, just as much time and money—but in real life, knowing how to make myself look presentable and talk to adults has helped me way more often than knowing how to knock a ball into a hole. Mini-golf only saved my life once."

"Charisma will get you everywhere," Goldie agreed. "It's the most effective form of mind-control you can do without psychically rewiring someone's neurons."

"Basically! But getting a medal at the Sportlympics has everyone talk about how skilled and hard-working and dedicated you are, and getting a tiara in a national pageant gets people who have never even watched a pageant calling you a bimbo. Like, what?"

"Blatant double standards!" To Mabel, Goldie said, "Both your parents work in Silicon Valley. Their priority is intelligence and grades instead of looks and charisma, so that's why you and your brother get pushed in school—but it's all the same! Parents push their kids to be successful whatever way they know how."

Mabel stared into space. "Huh." She fell silent, gnawing on the fan brush's handle—pondering whether her parents worrying about her so-so grades was comparable to the pageant moms desperate for their daughters' straight hair to be straighter and curly hair to be curlier.

Smugly, Goldie went on, "If anything, the pageant circuit was more useful than school. I—"

"(Stop moving around, I've got to do your other eye.)"

Goldie obediently leaned forward and shut his other eye. "I went from pageants straight into public speaking. I had an entire career before I was out of school. Everyone loved me! I was a natural in the spotlight!"

"Really?" Pacifica said dubiously. She could buy that he might have been a competitor as a kid, but honestly, he seemed pretty creepy to her. Enough confidence could carry you pretty far, but...

He rolled his open eye. "Don't take that tone with me. It was before you were born! And like I said—I've lost my looks. I used to be..."

He trailed off, staring down at his nail polished hands like he didn't recognize them.

He muttered, "I used to be so much better than this."

Mabel reached out and rubbed his upper arm comfortingly.

Sometimes Pacifica caught her mom staring in a mirror, studying her face with an expression somewhere between nervous and depressed, gently touching her fingertips to the thin lines beginning to appear around her eyes and mouth as though she were examining gruesome wounds. Her mother had always said that looks are everything; and even though she didn't talk about her feelings directly, from the way she sometimes snapped at Pacifica to keep up her skincare—moisturizer, sunscreen, hydration, don't frown too hard—Pacifica thought maybe she wasn't worried about Pacifica's face so much as her own.

Goldie only had the faintest traces of the start of wrinkles, unnoticeable if Pacifica hadn't just spent the past few minutes plastering foundation on his face. She wondered how old he was. She wondered whether he had the same fear her mother did: that his body was letting him down, slowly dying all around him.

You don't go through the child pageant world without learning two things: everyone wants you to look and act older than you are; and the older you get, the less anyone wants you.

"I've got to do your lips," Pacifica said, picking out a couple of options: a red so bright it was nearly orange (totally in this year), a nice glossy nude that ought to be a close match to Goldie's natural lip color. "Did you want to stick with the natural look, or...?"

He glanced up from his hands at the offered lipsticks. "What the heck," he sighed. "Let's make it red."

Pacifica nodded. "Pooch your lips out for me, like this." And that was the last they spoke for a while.

####

(Here's your regular TBOB report: no actual plot was changed due to TBOB. I added in a few lines referencing it: the imagery of Priscilla grinding normal people beneath her heel is meant to be reminiscent of Pacifica's giant nightmare on TINAWDC; the "meditating" for specifically two billion years is a direct reference to the barber pole, although I'd already headcanoned that Bill can meditate/dissociate for absolutely vast quantities of time; I already had dialogue where he goes on the importance of charisma and how much everyone adored him as a kid, but I tossed in another sentence or two about charisma just because of how strongly he emphasizes it in TBOB; and originally I had dialogue where Bill went on about what big supporters his parents were, even though he privately feels like they didn't get him—all I changed was deciding to make him admit to some of those feelings out loud, since it's something he says outright in TBOB. I've imagined that he tends to swing between "they were the best/they were the worst" based on how he's feeling at the time with no neutral ground in between—whiiich lines up pretty well with what TBOB gave us.

And unrelated but I spent way too long researching makeup & hair trends in the 70s and in 2013. I had no idea orange lipstick was hot for a while. My idea of doing makeup is painting my nails once every six years.

Hope y'all enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to hearing y'all's thoughts! I've been eager to dive into this aspect of Bill's backstory and Pacifica's POV for a while.)

[arkhamsbrat]

are you sick of me? would you like to be?

jason todd x reader

jason couldn’t help the constant feeling of being out of place, even with your invitations. your constant, incessant invitations. one night sleepover? come have dinner? sincerity poured out of you. warmth, goodness, everything he wasn’t, couldn’t be.

why were you so insistent on having him around? smiling at him with teeth that wouldn’t tear his skin open. he’d let you, if you asked. shred him up and leave him behind. at least he’d see you smile at him again. its all worth it.

he waits for the day you get tired of him. or bored, scared, disgusted even. one day itll happen. whether it be when he tells you about Red Hood, how he let his rage get the best of him- or when he finally breaks. when he shows you just how badly he needs you. it felt like his ribs were cracked open, with you consistently pulling his heart into your hands, squeezing tightly. he waits for the day you drop it onto the concrete, for you to watch it roll away in the grime.

you don’t. your teeth nip at his arm affectionately when it wraps around you at night. your hands tangle in his hair rather than his veins. you just keep letting him in, practically begging him to stay. gentleness is in your nature, at least with jason. it’s clear he hasn’t been treated kindly, you could tell that from day one.

you were selfish, well, in your own opinion. creating a safe space for him so he did need you. but its only because you needed him just as much. ghosts chase him from a life you hope he’s left behind while he sleeps. his arms tug you closer and you fight back that proud feeling in your chest. you press a kiss against his forehead and whisper that you’re staying, for him. no one else but him.

he’d asked you if you thought he overstepped, took up too much space. you scoffed at him, and leaned against his arm. you wanted to crack him open, wanted to crawl in and never leave the safety he provided you. the guilt would leave him, eventually, when you started demanding he add “his touch”. you wanted it to look collectively like you both lived there. not just you. you started coming home to little things. his books moved from the box under your bed, to your bookshelf. he hung his jacket by the front door

it’s unspoken when the rest of his things slowly migrate to your apartment. one drawer for him on weekends turns into half of the dresser, the closet, the bathroom. your shoe rack has his only three pairs, an extra key for the apartment found its way on the ring that hung by your front door. he didn’t need to ask- you didn’t want him to. what was yours was his. coffee, toothpaste, towels, blankets, anything. all of you.

you tug him with you when you shower, smiling at the false grumbles. his hands massage at your scalp, knowing the favor will be returned when you look back from the shower head. his fear is never gone in full, but it slows. quiets down. he gets to be selfish too now. trap you in his embrace and hide you from the world. from anyone who would ruin this for him.

the feeling of belonging seeped into him every day he came home and there was two plates on the table. when you’d come home from your snack run with two new drinks that you thought looked gross, but you wanted to try with him. when the holidays came around and there were two pairs of disgustingly ugly socks because “we needed them, jason.”

“your apartment” became “our place”. your shared safe haven that would have to be ripped from him piece by piece. you couldn’t leave him, even if you wanted to. jason had cracked you open, crawled to the depths of your heart and chained himself to it. he’d made a home he felt safe in. he’d stopped feeling panicked at the realization that you did the same. he’d take his own hands and tear his chest apart to let you in.

all you have to do is ask.

[soleilapproves]

ex-convict!sukuna tries to talk to burnt out!reader about her feelings but she dismisses him. not proofread, sorry :(

prompt for more context

Anxiety lathered your back in cold sweat as you received your exam sheet from your TA, not bothering to look twice at your haphazard state before moving on to the next person.

You knew there was a reason why your paper was given to you faced down while your friend received hers with bright red numbers beaming up at her. You knew it was just your insecurity speaking to you, but it really did feel like the entire classroom of seventy-five people were staring at you. Even if your seat was all the way in the corner and Sukuna’s faded brown leather jacket basically cloaked you into invisibility.

You weren’t sure how you accidentally snagged it in the first place, all you remember was that you had slept with him the night before an important exam and rushed out with his jacket instead of your oversized hoodie that you sported for the Walk of Shame. It was the only thing comforting you at the moment. The familiar smell of nicotine and wet grass clouded your senses as you imagined him holding you close with his fingers stuffed in your cunt and his lips on your neck after yet another failure.

Just how many times were you going to go to him to comfort yourself? It was starting to become a habit that shaved you to your bones.

Your chest tightened as the ceiling got lower and lower to the point where you could feel the bright fluorescent lights burning the brittle hair on your scalp. The brick walls engulfed you till yours bones crunched and your muscles tightened.

Without thinking twice, you grabbed your worn denim satchel as you silently raced out the lecture hall, trembling like a fawn. Your boots splashed against the wet ground as you walked towards the back of the building and slid down on the wall while hugging yourself.

Your closed palm held your failure. Your crushed and creased exam sheet. A part of you wanted to grind it to nothing under your boots, but a part of you still had a sense of accountability so you shoved it in Sukuna’s jacket.

While fishing around in his pockets, you found two very interesting things—a leaf of acetaminophen tablets, and a pack of cigarettes. You knew he smoked with the way his jacket smelled but you’d never seen him do it. The leaf of tablets led you to believe that he must’ve been trying to quit.

You’d never been a smoker, always worried that you’d get addicted once you started, becoming a slave to the little white cylinder, but today was different. It was your last chance at passing the class. The last quiz you could get good grade on before failing the entire class even after giving the final.

You assumed he could always quit faster with one less cigarette in the box so you decided to look for a lighter and found one in his inner pocket.

“What the fuck are you doing?” A large, tattooed hand snatched the cigarette and lighter from your grasp. Sukuna stared at you like you’d betrayed him. You groaned to yourself as you rubbed a hand down your face. You’d forgotten you had texted him to pick you up after class.

This confrontation was of your own design.

“Smoking, what do you think? Give that back,” you got up and tried to snatch it away, but he had managed to grab the box from you as well and thrown it down on the ground, immediately crushing it with his boots.

“I can’t believe you’d destroy pricey cigarettes like that,” you quipped as you shrugged off his jacket, but he grabbed on to your shoulders, preventing you from doing so. “It’s cold.”

Of course, a man of few words when it finally came to talking about something than yourself. “Come on, I’ll drop you home,” his large hand grabbed yours as he briskly walked to his jeep that was parked nearby.

Like clockwork, you pulled him into a rough kiss as he got into the driver’s seat, but he pulled away, a string of saliva thinning into air as held you in place by your shoulders. “What’s wrong?” Your usual routine with him was very predictable—you’d call him to let out some stress, make out a little in his car once he’d come and get you, then go to his place.

Not once had he complained, except for a few instances where he’d insist on fucking you after making you come, not even bothering to ask you to return the favor; a strange occurrence for a ‘friends with benefits’ arrangement. Especially with someone as rugged as him.

Usually jail would harden a man up, turn him into an insensitive boor, but it felt the opposite when he’d treat you rather gently: a hand on the small of your back as you’d try to get into his monstrous jeep, or checking in with you after you’d pass out as soon as he pulls out.

It was unexpected yet strangely welcoming.

“You look terrible,” he grimaces. Your cold sweat begins to dry up with the heat of your rage. “Wow. I know I’m not the hottest girl out there, but you really didn’t need to rub it in. I’m out.” He grabs your satchel before you can leave with it. It hangs between you both much like your relationship.

“Don’t get out. I didn’t mean it like that. You just… look really tired.”

You stare at him for a long time before you place your bag back in your lap. You stare ahead at the expanse of fir trees and grass as you lean back in your seat. “Since when did you care about any of that? Let’s just go to your place.”

“When was the last time you had a full night’s rest?” he asked as he started his car. He snatched your satchel and threw it in the backseat. A usual practice for him, although, it was you in the back with him while your bag sat in the front.

“Why are we even talking about this? You’re being weird.” Sukuna’s knuckles turn white at your comment, gripping the steering wheel harder. Your mind races about all the possible ways he could kill you right now. You never really argued with him because you were too afraid to see what he’d be like with his patience on its final thread.

However, you pushed that line today. He was over the edge. You could tell with the way his brows furrowed and his lips flattened ever so slightly. The jeep hadn’t picked up speed. Thank goodness for that.

“You’re in college. You need to take care of yourself,” he flatly said as he made a turn towards his apartment complex.

“Why do you care? You’re not my bo—“

There it was. The taboo word. He sure as hell wasn’t your boyfriend, but he didn’t like the reminder of it either. Only replying to you in grunts and hums when you’d say it. And it wasn’t like you both were that talkative with each other in the first place.

“I’m just worried about you.”

Now he was crossing the line. A boundary you built with ever so shaky hands, so thin that you’d topple over to him if he’d show the least bit affection. You knew he wanted in. You could tell with the way he’d hold your face when his lips would slot themselves on yours. When you’d taste yourself on his tongue.

But you couldn’t let him. It wasn’t right. You’re both fucked up, albeit, in different degrees, but still very messed up with the things going on in your lives.

You did not want him to know what really went on in your mind. Never open the door for a stranger. Even if he knows all about how your body sings for him when he caresses your core.

“Stop the car.”

“What the fuck? We’re about to reach.”

“I said, stop the car. I’m gonna walk home.”

“It’s raining, at least let me drop you off.”

“Stop the car or I’ll jump out.”

You didn’t look back at Sukuna’s face as you walked away. Nor did you tell him that you’d see him later. You both knew he would. Your texts would always come in when you’d be feeling even lower than you presently were.

And then from Sukuna’s jacket (that you were still wearing), you took out a singular, slightly bent cigarette.

—

more ex-convict!sukuna fics

[bttrflybb]

serendipity ❤︎ variety.

summary: naruto men and some of their favorite little symbols of love you give them.

wc: 1.3k

feat. gaara, yamato, kakashi

a/n: honestly, this whole thing should be classed as a ramble. sorry if it's a bit funky at times ;; just some ideas i wanted to get out hehe

GAARA

gaara loves it when you push his hair up out or his forehead so you can plant a kiss on the kanji carved there. part of him was worried it’d make you uncomfortable- like you’d be put off by the fact that he put it there himself. not once did you show any adverse reaction to the marking, the story, or the meaning. you always accepted gaara. every part of him.

“missed you.” he hummed into the curve of your neck, holding you from behind. he had just gotten home from a drawn-out council meeting. poor boy, dealing with some of those personalities takes so much out of him. “i missed you too, cutiepie.” you always treat him like such a baby. he didn't hate the nickname, it was just so... lovey. sometimes a bit of a shock to hear. he'll admit it grew on him though. he loves whatever you call him- because it's you. “you hungry? ‘s almost done.” you wiggled, trying to escape his grasp so you could stir the veggie medley you had going on the stove. he relented, steps quieting as he disappeared to shed his vest on a rack and reappeared on the other side of the island counter, pulling out a stool to settle into.

you put extra care into making his plate, loading it with some extra meat and rice. not gonna let him get by without some veggies though. you set both your plates on the counter, shuffling around to sit on gaara’s left. he always waits.

you pull the plates towards the two of you and look to gaara with pride. “smells good,” he hums, snaking an arm around your side to pull you into a kiss, “thank you, lovely.” you beam, cupping his cheek to pull him into one too. one on the cheek, and one on the kanji. “thank me by eating your veggies this time.” you tease.

your focus is back on the food before you can notice the blush crawling up his face.

YAMATO

yamato can’t take it when you’ve got your fingers in his hair. he’s like a puppy, in a way. scritches, pets, brushes, all of it has got him instantly relaxing in your arms.

“morning, pretty lady.” you hear your husband rumble. ah, you’d fallen asleep. eyelashes flutter to find him, settling on his smooth, barely clothed figure above you, ruffling his hair with a towel. “mm. how long have you been home?” you murmur, the smell of eucalyptus and mint hitting your nose.

“not long. wanted to shower before i cuddled up to you,” he states, that sultry smooth voice washing over you. he tosses the towel to the side and is quick to get underneath your blanket. observant, this one is. he’s already got all the lights off, doors locked, showered and clean for you. just how you like it. you’re a sensitive sleeper- and a bit of a neat freak, always chewing him out for getting his “outside clothes” in the bed or under a blanket.

“mm. how was today?” you murmured, voice still coated in sleep. you pulled yourself up a tad and spread your legs, coaxing him to lay his head on your chest. “fine, mostly just surveillance.” his voice vibrates into your chest, “kakashi had us swap places though- he hates paperwork. always wants to make me do it.”

you can hear his pout. he hates it too. everyone does. and there is so much of it. “my poor baby,” you purr, pulling him further into an embrace. one hand caresses circles into his back, the other coming to rake through his hair. immediately, he sighs and the process of turning him to mush begins.

“mhmmm.” “yeah? you’re my poor baby?” “mm, sure.” “are you fallin’ asleep already?” “mmmmm… no.” amid your little scalp massage, your nails scratch with just the smallest bit of extra pressure, warranting a tiny cry. “what was that for?” he fusses. “lyin’ to me.” “mm-mm. not sleepin’- just comfortable. missed my wife.” the sudden intimate confession makes your heart skip a beat. “hehe- i missed you too, sweetheart.” your fingers go back to combing through each damp strand, coming down to scritch his sideburns and the nape of his neck. he’s practically purring.

enough time has passed for you to assume he’s knocked out on top of you, and before sleep makes you their next victim- you curl in slightly to leave a kiss on the top of his head, running your thumb over the patch before you lay back down. before you can- hooded inky eyes look up to you expectantly. needy man. another kiss, this time on the forehead. you think you’re cute, teasing him this way. with a huff he’s lifting himself up, hovering over you to give you a short-lived kiss on the lips before he’s setting himself down, this time nestled on your shoulder.

such a pampered man. you don’t mind it. his neediness was something you came so close to losing. with that thought you can’t help but squeeze him closer, resting your cheek on the top of his head.

KAKASHI HATAKE

kakashi loves it when you offer to shave his face for him. when you waddle into the bathroom to brush your teeth, just to be greeted by his foamy face- the way your eyes widen with aggravation is the funniest thing to him.

“why didn’t you ask me?” you pout, setting yourself up on the counter in front of him with a huff. “thought you were gettin’ ready for bed.” he hums smugly, relinquishing the single-blade razor to you as you grip the underside of his chin. “not goin’ to bed without you. ‘s quicker when i do it for you too.” your annoyance quickly fading and being replaced by concentration. so cute, he thinks, watching your brows furrow and lips slightly part while you focus on the left side of his face.

he’s in bliss, letting you tug his jaw, chin, ear, whatever it may be, to get at every angle. getting bitched at and manhandled by your pretty little self while he gets to squeeze at your hips and butt? a dream come true.

he doesn’t want it to end, heart stuttering at the feeling of you shifting beneath his grasp and the sound of the razor getting folded in on itself and set down. ‘nooooo…’ he quietly whines, reaching out for you and making the most pathetic grabby hands. grown ass man, by the way.

“quit fussing,” you giggle a bit- quit, you’re supposed to be mad at him. you grab a small washcloth from the rack of neatly folded towels, turning back to his smug little face watching your every move. so annoying, you roll your eyes. you love his attention.

you beckon him to lean over after wetting the cloth. you wipe his face with warm water so gently- like he’s gonna break underneath your touch. it’s nice. you’re gentle with him. so so gentle. “looks good.” you hum. “always looks good when you do it.” he hums back. “you’ve not even looked.” “don’t gotta. i know you always do good.” so cheeky. you use the hands you have on his face to turn him to the vanity mirror. “see? jus’ like i said. always looks good.”

it really does. kakashi’s looking at himself like he’s the hottest guy he’s ever seen. honestly, he probably is. little twerp. you won’t admit it, but the praise he mumbles while he admires your work is going right to your head.

after you pat the alcohol into his skin and give him a kiss for enduring it like a ‘big, strong man’ you’d coo in the most demeaning tone, you’re finally able to brush your teeth. kakashi is in heaven this entire time, unable to keep his hands off you and definitely unable to keep his eyes off.

the nighttime routine the two of you share is one of the best parts of kakashi’s day. he makes that fact known when he’s sleeping outside during a mission and wailing over the fact that his face feels dirty or dry. bless his teammates. though, it’s less the actual routine and more you being there with him during it all. taking care of him.

before you know it you’re being scooped up in his arms and lightly tossed into the bed. he’s just so full of feelings- feelings for you. others may not have guessed it (they probably have with how much he whines when he's away from you,) but this man is such a sap.

[thecoochiefairy]

soon az i get home. onyankopon.

𑄽𑄺 warnings 𑄽𑄺 6.8K word count. blackfem!reader, r&b artist coded! onyankopon, grumpy! onyankopon, sweet!onyankopon, dominant!onyankopon, size kink, black woman, vaginal penetration, lil bit of sweet talkin’, lil bit of aggressive talk, creaming, oral [f], choking, praising, LOTS of dirty talk, squirting, riding, condomless sex, kissing, spanking, minors aren’t welcome!

━━ 𝒄𝙤𝒐𝙘𝒉𝙞𝒆𝙛𝒂𝙞𝒓𝙮 𝙩𝒉𝙤𝒖𝙜𝒉𝙩𝒔 .ᐟ reference to the title, this song did inspire this fic. teehee.

𝓐ᥫ᭡ :: onyankopon pays you a visit when he touches down in the city.

visual. visual. visual.

SHINE N’ JAM LATHERED YOUR FINGERS AS YOU TOOK A FINAL SWIPE TO YOUR CLIENTS HAIR. Bohemian box braids had been the style of choice, 613 the full color from her permanently dyed scalp. It wasn’t a color you would’ve chosen for yourself, but it looked beautiful along her chocolate brown skin. She pulled it off flawlessly.

“Niggas wouldn’t know what to do with me if I could pull off being a blonde,” you sigh, giving a light smile as you’re on the final braid, your fingers moving effortlessly against the hair being pulled between your knuckles.

“They barely know what to do with me as it is,” she playfully rolled her eyes, “How much longer to go?” 

As she held her phone up, you took a peek in the mirror, able to tell she was on FaceTime. No doubt with her man again.

“I’m on my last braid, babe. Promise,” you reassure, knowing you’d said that before. You had a habit of creating more spaces along your clients scalp, unable to finish your work until you felt that the hair looked entirely full.

“You sure?” 

She smirked at you through the side view mirror, her brown eyes twinkling, “The last time you said that, I had to call off work.”

It had only been about six months since you began doing house calls, meaning you were more relaxed in the comfort of your condo—but that didn’t mean you had to drag with your appointments.

“I’m sorry, okay? I know I went over my time a bit. I just want you to feel…” you turn her chair towards the illuminating mirror, mahogany brown wood wrapped along the outside of the LED lights, “Pretty, hm? Tell me you like it since you wanna complain so much.”

“You want to hear that I love it so desperately,” she smiled, standing up from the chair to inspect herself. She didn’t bother with a cape anymore, her black tank showing off her collarbone and arms. The braids fell just behind her shoulders, “You know I love it. Always do.”

She glances back as you begin sweeping strands off the floor, raising an eyebrow, “You’ need help cleaning up for the night?”

“No, no—you’re fine,” you shake your head, “I got one more client coming. Asked me to squeeze him in,” you briefly explain. 

You can feel her gaze against you, raising your eyes to a smirk as you say, “What, girl?”

“One more client, huh?” she folded her arms over her chest, the smirk still there, “Girl, please. It’s after ten,” she lightly laughed, “Who is it?”

You roll your eyes with a sigh. She was one of your regular clients, and you talked like sisters. You couldn’t help but be honest. 

“Look, don’t go opening that big ass mouth. It’s Onyankopon, okay? He still comes back down to get his hair braided by me.”

Everyone in New Orleans knew him—he’d actually been successful in making it out of the city, becoming a world renowned R&B artist. You’d been braiding his hair up for years, keeping the relationship you had with him extremely private as he didn’t want anyone ruining your privacy.

“Onyankopon?—You lying right now,” she gawked, slapping a hand over her mouth, “Nah, I got to take a picture—I promise you I won’t tell nobody,” she bit her bottom lip, “I promise!”

You rolled your eyes, “Girl, no. He doesn’t want people to know his location in the city—he hates that,” you take some Lysol, spraying down the chair.

“Just one picture, beloved, please? I’ll give you—I’ll pay you,” she took her wallet out, shuffling through her cash, “I know the man is finer in person. You be trying to be so secretive with these Niggas—“

She pauses, “Hollon’—y’all got something going on? That’s why I can’t get no picture?”

“Girl, what? No,” you scrunch your nose, “I just do the man’s hair,” you began pulling out the products you needed for the upcoming appointment, now hiding your face from your client.

You wouldn’t say you had a thing with him. Your relationship started the moment he DM’d you. He said he remembered you from high school and asked you to be his braider—he also mentioned you were pretty—but that wasn’t relevant to the situation. With each appointment, you never treated him as if he was some celebrity. He was just…Onyankopon. He liked that about you.

“Aht, aht,” she shook her head, “If it isn’t nothing with that man, lemme’ get a peek then!”

You rolled your eyes, “Now you ain’t getting shit. I’ll see you in five weeks,” you shooed her behind with your hands, pressing the elevator within your condo.

“Whatever, hoe.” 

She stepped on the elevator, looking back at you with a smirk, “You can kiss that tip goodbye!” 

Then she was off, the doors closing behind her. You finally had a moment of peace. You allowed the instrumentals of Brent Faiyaz’ Wasteland to thrum along your living room as you cleaned, suddenly feeling a sense of anxiety. You don’t know why you feel yourself becoming so nervous due to the previous conversation you had—but you felt your stomach bubbling at the thought of the elevator doors opening with him on the other side. You’d never felt like this before.

Then, your phone rings. Your eyes glance down—ONY—it reads, and you have to swallow down the racehorse running within your mind as you mindlessly answer, “Hello?”

“You know I’m coming, right?”

 A deep, monotone voice that’s smooth like butter spoke through the phone.

You almost roll your eyes, “I’m aware, Onyankopon. C’mon, boy. I’m getting sleepy.”

A deep chuckle fills your ear from through the phone, “I bet yo’ ass gon’ stay up for me though.”

You hear the elevator ding and a slow creak as the two metal doors begin to open, the phone and your hand slightly falling as you glance over to the tall figure entering your condo. He’s dressed in a sable jersey with cargo pants, the oversized top still able to show the silhouette of his muscular frame. The tattoos that litter across his arms pop under the lights of your home, silver chains along his neck that match with the watch on his wrist. He smells like a mixture of musk and tonka bean—his fro is sprawled around his head, jaw locked as mint gum is trapped in between his full dark pink lips. 

You sigh in reply to his words as you hang up the phone, “Imma’ do what I need to do to make my money, you know that.”

He shut the elevator doors behind himself, “I know your ass finna’ charge me extra for me being late,” he chuckled, walking towards the chair. He paused in his steps for a moment, eyes raking over your body, “What’s up, baby?”

Baby. It was a simple term of endearment he used, an accent prolific with that specific word. Your eyes run over him—the ink on his face, the goatee and facial hair along his jaw and cheeks, even with his hair sprawled everywhere— he still looked good. 

“Hey,” you give him a faint smile, “Was getting here okay? No paparazzi?” You tease. 

“Nah, not tonight, at least. They been on my ass though,” he huffed, “A nigga can’t even go get a carton of milk without somebody following me.”

“They’re just excited, Ony,” you give a soft laugh, reaching into your drawer of supplies as you pull out a rat tail comb, “Did you wash your hair already?”

He nodded to show you he had, sitting down on the forest green chair. You never understood how someone like him could be so intimidating, his gaze being enough to make you crumble on the spot.

On the other hand, sometimes he wondered if you knew what you looked like. Strawberry red hair falling in layers down your back, no middle or side part within the style—it just flowed wherever you went. Your army green baby tee and matching drawstring yoga pants that clung to your body, and you always scented bergamot with a milky vanilla. The cute way your black square glasses always tipped at your golden nose ring, it made you so— pretty. 

“Why are you in town anyways? You got’ a show or something?” You ask him, going over to your kitchen island, washing your hands of the previous grease and hair products used on your last client.

“Doing a lil’ sum’ at the Smoothie King center, nothing too crazy. I’m surprised you ain’t hear about that,” he glanced towards where you’d been, only able to see the back of your head along the mirror, “But you stay under the rock. I ain’t even gon’ hold you.”

You come up behind him as you shake your head, “I’m sorry. I ain’t mean it like that— I just hadn’t checked your socials since you texted me asking for an appointment,” you apologize, not trying to seem indifferent to his status, even if you knew he didn’t care about that.

His head tilted, his eyes narrowing as he looked at you with a small smile, “You always apologizing,” he muttered, reaching his hand into his pocket, “You needa’ stop doin’ that. I know you got me when I come here. I ain’t tripping on that.”

Your dark lashes flutter, your reflexes pushing your glasses closer up against your face as you feel your cheeks becoming warm. You instinctively dig your fingers into his scalp, pulling at the soft coils to assess his hair, “You’ still tender headed?”

He smacked his teeth before giving a small wince at the sting, “You’ don’t see me about to cry?” He glared, “You a pain,” he huffed, tilting his head to look back up at you, “Why you always tryna hurt a nigga?”

You roll your eyes, “Ony, please. It’s only been two months since you last saw me,” you stare blankly through the mirror, mentally preparing for the fight he always gave before you actually started.

“I don’t like you no more. You hate me. You tryna test me,” he began, going down a small list of your wrongdoings, “I’mma’ find another braider. You want me to feel pain.” 

He saw the look in your eyes, his large hands already gripping the handles of his seat. Every appointment was like this, and you knew it. He got comfortable around you—more than he should’ve—maybe it was because you grew up around each other in high school. He knew you—and you knew how to be patient with his ass.

You flip the rat tail comb in your fingers, “You need the teddy bear I give my babies that can’t handle getting their hair braided?” You raise an eyebrow, “You’ getting on my nerves already, boy.”

“I ain’t no damn boy,” He gave you a stern look—but it only got you to smirk. He grumbled under his breath, turning his head back towards the mirror, “Do yo’ thang.”

You begin parting his hair into six straight backs, PARTYNEXTDOOR 4 now playing each song throughout the album, humming quietly in the background. You were always efficient with your fingers, swapping product in between his scalp the millisecond after you parted. He was sensitive when it came to his head, but after about ten minutes, his jaw clenched as his eyes closed, relaxing under your touch. Sometimes he’d even fall asleep, and you’d just adjust to how he laid in that moment. 

You ask him, “You’ excited for the show?”

Though his eyes were closed, he nodded his answer, a low hum in his throat. You honestly loved when he got like this—his head would drop to the side, allowing you to braid easier. He trusted you. 

“They gon’ go crazy,” he mumbled, the corner of his lip lifting up in a smirk.

“I’m sure,” you muse, “The women love your big headed ass.”

“The niggas fuck with me too,” he smiled, opening an eye to look over at your reflection in the mirror, “You don’t like me?” 

You glance at his opened eyes through the mirror, still continuing to perfect the parting spaces in his head, envisioning the style as you softly reply, “I like you. You know that.”

He was always able to see the way you held back your smile, but his grin only widened as he looked at you. 

“I know yo’ ass love me,” he began, “All up in my hair, touchin’ me and shit.”

“Not too much,” you laugh, “I touch you cause you pay me to. Them’ girls outside would braid you’ up for free, I don’t play like that,” you smack your lips, “You’ seen your family since you been here?”

His grin faltered in the slightest, the question souring his mood. You’d grown to learn it was a sensitive subject—especially for a young man who wanted the world, but only had a couple people in his corner. You could see the way his facial features turned stern, Onyankopon chewing on the gum in his mouth before he opened his eyes, looking in the mirror to answer. 

“Yeah,” he muttered, “Spent some time with momma before she had to go to work. I got to visit my grandma for a little bit too. She always askin’ about you.”

“Bout’ me?” You raise an eyebrow, “I thought you ain’t tell nobody you came over here?” 

But that wasn’t what you really wanted to say. It made your face a bit warm to know he’d mentioned you to his family. So you clear your throat, knocking the warmth of your face away as you correct, “I ain’t know your mawmaw remembered me.”

“‘Course she remembered yo’ ass,” he grinned at the sight of you blushing—he always did manage to make you do that. 

“Always said you was built like a grown woman, pretty in the face. Real smart, she knew you’ was gon’ be somebody.”

“She’s sweet,” you giggle, “I’m sure she thought I was one of them’ fast tailed girls tryna get your attention.”

“She knew better than that. When did you ever try to get my attention?” He challenged, staring you in the eye. It was a question he’d always had on his mind, but the fact that it finally came from his mouth made the words almost feel tangible.

You think about the question for a moment, beginning to work on the braid closest to the shell of his ear. You pull his head back a bit to start at the root, your scent wafting along his face as you hum, “Mmm, I always thought you were cute. But you know you’re cute, you didn’t need another girl in line to tell you that. I wasn’t tryna’ be a groupie. But you always had a nice voice, and loved the spotlight. It was meant for you.”

He was a grown ass man—nearly nearing thirty, which had passed the age of embarrassment. But you could see the slight tinge on his cheeks, his ears flushing red for a moment before his mouth curved into a grin. 

“You like me, huh?” He raised a brow, looking down into his lap to hide the smile on his face. That’s when he noticed the time on his phone, glancing up into the mirror, “Damn,” he huffed, “I’m bout’ to be here all night wit’ you. You needa’ get faster.”

“If I go faster it’s gonna hurt,” you remind him, looping the hair in your fingers just a tad bit tighter, watching as he grimaced in response.

"Ayo!" He flinched, reaching back to try and pry your fingers off his head. You were quick to let go in response, but it proved your point. 

“You don’t got’ to pull like that…” he groaned.

“You gon’ let me do my job?” You raise an eyebrow, “You’ being irritating. I’m not the one who came over ten at night, Onyankopon. You’ got somewhere to be?”

He smacked his lips again, “I was just sayin’...“ 

In truth, he wasn't trying to leave your place immediately—he wanted to be around you. You always seemed to know exactly where to touch him. That, and your perfume always made his head spin.

"You gon' tell me who you dating, or you got a line of niggas?" He countered, his gaze meeting yours through the mirror.

“Nobody at the moment. I’ve been too busy with work,” you reply shyly, finishing up his first braid with a tight end, moving on to the second patch of hair, “My male clients usually have girlfriends—who want to be on the phone the entire time to watch me,” you chuckle.

“So that means you ain’t gon’ give me no love?” He grinned, reaching a hand behind him to press against your thigh, squeezing it gently. Your entire body shivered at his warm palm along your skin, the hand nearly wrapping against your entire leg. 

"A nigga just want to talk to you, be on you. You be’ all shy and shit," he grumbled, "Maybe I will find another braider for real, yo' ass stay bein' mean to me."

You giggle at his touch, even if it makes you nervous—maybe a little horny. You smacked his hand away, “So you flirt with all the people that work for you? That’s what I’m getting from this.” 

“Nah. Just you,” he replied without missing a beat, a confident smile on his face. “C’mon, say somethin’.”

You didn’t even need to look into the mirror to know he was staring at you—that alone made your insides twist. 

A loud sigh left your lips as you shook your head, “You’re gonna mess around and get yo’ feelings hurt. I’m just doing your hair, Onyankopon. You’ll have thousands of girls to choose from at your show tomorrow.”

“We ain’t talking about them. We talkin’ about you.”

He wanted you to look at him. But he knew you wouldn’t do such a thing until you finished his hair. 

So he relented, pulling out his phone to check his messages—there wasn’t much to see, though. A silence had become between the two of you, comforted by the music playing in the back. His fans had been bombarding his team for the past few days, ever since the news of his new album came out. And, sure, he’d be surrounded by girls tomorrow. But those girls weren’t going to be you.

“You gon’ be at my show since you know about it now, right?”

You were now on the fourth braid, pulling his head back a bit to look at his face. Your eyes narrow, almost having the urge to roll them as you say, “You know I don’t have a ticket, Ony. I’ll watch it after it’s posted.”

He looked up to see the scowl on your face, a laugh escaping his lips, “Don’t even worry about all that. I don’t want you watchin’. I need you there.” 

When you reach out to knock the side of his head, he catches your wrist, bringing it to his lips to plant a sloppy kiss there. Your heart hammered beneath your chest, an unsteady thump resounding through your ribcage.

“You smoked before you got here?” You question, “You’ real touchy—feely today.”

He grinned in reply, “Nah I didn’t, maybe you’ just real fine today. Every day.”

He was laying it on thick. The worst part? That it might’ve been working. You’re now on the final braid, your body unfortunately hot, and a throb between your legs at the sight of him. He was murmuring the music to himself, his deep voice now ringing in your ears.

“You want me to line you up after I’m done braiding, or are you gonna do it yourself? I bought new clippers,” you ask softly, fingers swiftly pulling his hair into a neat bind.

He looked at your reflection, watching as your fingers moved swiftly through his hair. The feeling was pleasant, the sound of your voice even more so. 

“You always do it fine, so yeah,” he murmured. 

The next time you’d reach for his hair, he’d stop you—his hand cupping your wrist to bring it down to his chest. 

“I appreciate you, you know that right?” His voice was low, but you could still hear the sincerity beneath his words. He was staring at you now, his eyes warm.

You blink a bit at his words, and the sincerity makes you smile innocently. 

“I know that,” you nod, “I’m glad you trust me enough to keep coming back.”

His free hand came to cup the side of your cheek, feeling your soft skin beneath his tough palm, "You got some soft skin," he murmured as he stroked your cheek. His thumb lightly brushed your lips, "Pretty lips too, y'know that?"

Your heart is hammering in your chest at this point. He’s fine, full lips moisturized, goatee and facial hair aligned perfectly along his face, jaw structure deadly for him to have his hair braided back. His brown skin was clear—fucking hell. 

You give a nervous laugh as you try to pull yourself back, “…You’ still got one more braid, Ony.”

"You sure you wanna keep going?" He questioned, "You lookin' like you want something else right now."

Your mouth parts a bit at his words, but quickly closes as you try to figure out your reply. You then say, “Yeah, I’m almost finished. I know you’re getting antsy in my chair,” you pull yourself back behind him, quickly maneuvering into finishing off his final braid.

He had to give it to you—you were hard to crack. But that didn’t mean you were good at hiding it. You watch his face become more serious than you’d ever seen, it’s a mixture of something—admiration, lust, need. 

"Yeah, aight. Line my shit up. We gon’ talk.”

You can feel your nerves bundling at the pit of your stomach as you finish off—a tension now palpable in the air. Clippers buzz along his hairline as you lean yourself  close to his chest to get a good angle, your body feeling warm as you’re close to him—you adjust yourself as you softly say, “…Sorry.”

“Nah, you good. Come closer,” is what he says instead, reaching a hand out to grasp your thigh. He grips you gently, but firmly, to get you closer to him. You’re in between his legs now, which he spreads a bit further so you can settle in.

Your hands are trembling. You usually had no issues with this part of your service, but the tension was becoming heavier second by second. You exhale a bit, breathless in your nervous giggle as you confirm, “I’m gonna put some oil on once I’m done—loosen up your braids a bit, okay?”

“Take your time,” he murmurs, voice smooth and low. 

Slowly but surely, he begins to rub his hand back and forth against your thigh. Eventually, it begins to move towards the inside of your thigh, rubbing at the flesh there. You bite your lip, trying to fight back the desire to whimper. 

“You’ quiet now, what’s up with that?”

He’s really getting to you. The simple touch makes your eyes want to roll back. You admit, “Just tryna’ focus while you’re being distracting.”

“I ain’t done nothin’ but rub on you, you’ really that sensitive?”

His lips brush the side of your ear, his warm breath tickling your neck. “How I look, mama?”

You wanna pull back from him, but you’re unable to. You quickly snatch the clippers back as you sit them on the small table beside the chair, giving him a warning look as you caution, “Ony.”

“Why you sayin’ my name like that?” he grunts, fingers gripping the back of your thigh, holding you there. 

“C’mere—Lemme’ taste you.”

You breath hitches at his words, and your mouth is only centimeters from his. Your hand finds its way to the fabric of his shirt, gripping the cotton fiber as your voice is weak, “C’mon, Ony. Stop playing.”

His eyes are hooded at this point, “Who playin’?” 

His mouth captures your bottom lip, slowly dragging it between his teeth. You actually whimper at the feeling, your thighs squeezing together beneath your shorts. Pulling you fully onto his lap, he kisses you, not letting you pull away as he cups the back of your head to keep you there. His tongue is rough inside of your mouth, a satisfying hum heavy against your lips as he makes out with you.

You’re shuddering against his mouth, a frown pulled at your eyebrows at how good his kiss is. It makes your entire body thrum, clutching the material of his shirt even tighter. It’s like you’re having an orgasm—all he’d done was kiss you. 

The heat of his skin, the smell of his cologne is all intoxicating. He’s pulling your head back so that he can kiss your throat. His lips are smooth as he’s sucking the skin—your body feels like jelly. 

Your hand clutches the side of his neck, “W—Wait Ony…mmph,” ” you pant. 

When his mouth comes back down to meet yours, he kisses you deeper, groaning into your mouth. You attempt to keep him in one place, but you know you don't have the strength to keep him from having his way with you.

You gasp softly as he tugs up your baby tee, brown nipples dropping straight into his mouth the moment he drags his tongue out to catch them. Your eyes lock down to the way his mouth moves—it’s effortless. 

You’re latching along his hair, trembling above him as you suck air down your throat, “T—They’re s—sensitive…” he’s lapping your breast into his mouth, your skin becoming hot on his taste buds.

“Got a nigga acting greedy as fuck.” 

He’s almost mad at the sight, sucking harshly and letting your nipples drop out his mouth, milliseconds later catching your entire breast back in between his full lips. The skin is starting to bruise, your legs squeezing against his lap as a deep relaxation comes over you, a warming tingle in your spine.

You were writhing on top of him, your hands gripping his shoulders tightly as he sucked and nibbled on your nipples— you’re trembling, “Oh god... oh fuck..." you’re panting as if you’d run a marathon, biting your lip as you felt yourself growing wetter and wetter between your legs, “Don’t…stop…”

His mouth was almost aggressive at this point, a loud popping sound leaving his lips each time he pulled away. The music within the room is dousing your brain. 

His voice was low and raspy, "You look’ soooo muhfuckin' sexy right now. Take all this shit off. Need you naked as fuck.” 

He reaches down between the both of you, pressing his palm against the front of your shorts, the contact making you whimper as he groans, “Ooh shit, pussy drenching them shorts—I know that shit glistening all pretty. Nasty ass bitch,” The heat continuously develops in between your legs, wetness creating more and more by the second. 

He starts rubbing his hand against you, back and forth, the heel of his hand grinding against your clit. It’s making your head spin, your hips move with his hand, whining softly as he starts kissing you again, lips soft against yours, sucking your bottom lip between his teeth.

Dark brown eyes stare into yours, his expression serious—intense. You jump as he slams his palm down on your ass, grunting, “Up,” your body complying as you stand halfway above him to remove your shorts, allowing your top to quickly follow— you’re now completely naked on his lap.

He’s nothing like you had before. With that, he dips his hands in between your legs to pull you back up in a standing position against the chair, palms locked against the back of your thighs as he scoots himself lower, tugging your body down so quickly that your entire pussy rubs against his jaw. 

A mixture between a deep chuckle and groan comes from his mouth as he’s already running his tongue chaotically against your clit. Your lower lip drops open as you gasp, pressing yourself into his arm to not fall, riding his face within the air.

His mouth was a mess as he grinds you down on his tongue, so deep in between your folds that he’s tasting himself. His tongue was strong, heavy, eyes closed as if your body was a rarity. Onyankopon’s facial hair was coated, dripping against your thighs as he eats you out. He was being lazy with it, almost too comfortable within the chair, hands digging into the back of your thighs as he forced himself deeper, nose pushing against your mound. He was choking on your pussy—but he was enjoying every single bit of it.

“Oh— my g—god!” you pant out, gasping in between, “Ony…ohshi—Ony!…” he’s bouncing you against his face, using his free hand to spank the skin of your ass, flesh shaking in his palm. You’re losing nerves in your brain, dropping your face down as you whimper, “You’ in my pussy, baby…fuck…”

“‘Could tell you ain’t never had a nigga eat you like this—shit a muhfuckin’ delicacy, I’m just slurping this shit the fuck up—fuckin’ love this shit," he said, moaning it, slurping, slurping, his voice was almost like a murmur, "Fuckkk, imma’ have you squirting on this big ass dick."

Onyankopon was growling against your clit, a wet noise coming from his lips as he sucked on you, his mouth covered at this point. His hands were grabbing at your thighs, spreading them apart so he could see your juices rolling down the skin.

There was a rhythm to it—his mouth moved like a metronome as if he were making a song, a steady beat as he eats you out.

He was almost high from the taste, his mouth watering as he lapped up everything you were giving him. His chin was daubed, tongue flicking up to catch a bit of the spit as he was using it to lubricate your pussy, trying to make it easier for his tongue to slide inside. Again, again. 

His tongue is long, rolling around from the bottom of your entrance all the way up to your clit. He's eating you like he loves you, mouth open, tongue sloppy, just groaning,  licking—you’re feeling faint. 

He was making a mess of your pussy. 

Your eyes are rolling at this point, a discomfort beginning to form in your legs from the way you’re hovered above him. But it’s all so good—you’re spinning. Shaking. Trembling. All of the above. 

“Ony….I t—think I’m cumming,” you softly cry, beginning to rotate your hips in a circle along his face as you weakly whine, grasping a hold of his hair as you whimper, “I—I’m c—cumming…”  

“I hear that gushy ass pussy, that bitch singing to me.” 

At that second—you hear yourself gush against his face, squeezing your thighs against his head, body shuddering like a harsh chill had taken a marathon against your spine. You’re robbed of time to come down from the orgasm, Onyankopon pulling you back down to sit along his lap as he grunts, “Come pull this dick out.”

You whimper in response, dipping your fingers into his pants nonetheless. Your acrylics graze against the hefty weight of his tip you feel for—and it’s big. 

You’re pulling, pulling for more than two seconds, watching as it slaps a little over his belly button. Dark pink, a beautiful brown matching his complexion. Your eyes widen a bit, the gasp your throat that wanted to release now caught in his palm as he’s holding you by your neck. 

He tugs you forward, “Spit in my fuckin’ mouth.”

He’s nasty. You pull him into a sloppy kiss, letting your saliva run against the tip of your tongue, meeting with his mouth that makes him glare at you, “Freaky ass lil’ bitch, huh? I’m finna’ do you in witcho’ pretty ass. Come sit on this shit.” 

“Too big, Ony…” you whimpered before you thought about your words, knowing he was already arrogant. 

And you weren’t wrong for thinking that. His mouth twists in amusement against the shell of your ear, hand rubbing along the curve of your ass before smacking it, “You either gon’ bend over so I can watch my dick go in and out this pretty ass pussy, or sit that shit on me.”

Your eyes glance back down—his dick was standing straight up, swollen at the tip, thick veins running across the shaft, and a toned belly for you to grip onto. But you knew he wasn’t repeating himself. 

He murmurs, “Go slow, baby. I got you,” easing your anxiety, moving his hand around to the back of your neck, pulling you into the softest kiss he’d given you this entire time.

You adjusted your hips as you rubbed his tip along your folds throughout the kiss, mouth falling open as you whimpered again, his throat humming, nodding gently for you to continue. Your folds stretch apart as you begin sinking down, keeping yourself kissing him to distract from the immediate discomfort you feel. You pull your mouth back slightly to press your forehead against his, also holding the back of his neck as your breathing becomes chaotic, chest heaving a bit as you whisper, “…Oh my…” you suck in a breath, “goddd…” you drag your words so lowly, and he hears every syllable.

“Yeah?” He grunts, “Why you’ squeezing’ my shit like that?” 

He’s cooing to you. His balls slap lightly against the weight of your ass, hearing the slick of your pussy as he pulls you back up. Onyankopon dips his fingers into your mouth, coating them before he lowers his hand to massage your bruised walls for a millisecond, making it easier to push his dick back in.

He helps ease you back down, fingers rubbing at the back of your hips as he drops you fully down his length. Your eyes clamped shut as you cried out, eyes rolling as you dragged out a whine, “Onyyy…” all while he sucked on the spot between your neck and collarbone, moaning into it to keep you open. 

You pull your face back to meet him, keeping your foreheads connected as he begins raising you halfway up, dragging you back down, dick disappearing between your thighs. Your arousal is splattering in between your skin stuck together, ripping apart each time you’re pulled back up, clapping as you come back down.

“This all you needed, needed this pussy played with. Shit pretty as fuck. Makin’ art on my dick.” 

He was getting used to the rhythm, leaning his head back against the seat to look at you. His hands were planted on the back of your thighs, the muscles rippling as he helped pull you back up before slamming you back down, his mouth open, eyes half-lidded.

He was watching you—The way you were crying out, the way you were cursing him out, the way you were begging for more, and the way you were fighting for breath.

He was watching it all—taking it all in. You were perfect. 

Each time you protested, “Babyyyy,” he tugged you down harder, the pressure rubbing against your pussy, the warmth of it making you shudder. He’s talking, “I hear you, Mama. Fuck, you drenching my shit.” 

His hands were firm against your hips, helping to guide you up and down. He was almost wrestling you, a dominant nature he had coming out the longer he fucked you. Your ass is applauding against his thighs, breasts bouncing, your mouth releasing breathless sounds you’d never heard before. It makes you feel like those final nerves within your brain were no more, wrapping your arms around his neck as you let him take you—pouting as you talk to him, “This your pussy baby…” you whine, softly crying, mewling the words to him. You’re making promises.

“That’s how you feelin’?”

He slides his palm against your asscheek, gripping the skin there as he moves his index finger over your hole, the feeling making you tense. You lean yourself forward a bit as he’s nudging the tip of it into you, using the rest of his fingers to keep you bouncing down. You whimper deeply, the pleasure and pain knocking you every which way as he’s filling you up in both places—he was trying to kill you.

Nonetheless, you keep yapping, “Your fuckin’ pussy, Daddy…gonna come to your show…”

You drag your tongue along his neck, sucking there petulantly as you look down, seeing as you cream on his length, coating the shaft white. You’re so horny, even if he was fucking you at this exact moment.

“No you not. Finna’ be sleep all day after this,” he grunts, “You creamin’ on my shit. Pretty as fuck.”

His hand wraps around the back of your neck to pull you down for another heated kiss, sucking the taste of yourself off your tongue. His other hand held you by the hip, moving you faster, finger thrusting in your hole deeper.

He’s strong—in lost time, he stands from the chair as he places your legs over his shoulders, taking a step forward to place you right along the mirror you used to show your clients their finished hairstyle. He was tugging at your neck, making sure you were locked in his arms as he began dropping you on his dick, making you squeal, a moan spilling from your lips as you whine, "Oh shittttt.” 

“Look at you, fuckin’ bad girl. Yeah, look at me, look at you, look at that shit gushing for me.”

He was pounding you from the bottom, his balls slapping between your folds, your arousal making the sound reverberate through the room. A feeling you never felt before surrounded your aura, a pleasure so good that you felt emotional, your eyes beginning to form tears as you suck in a breath, releasing as you sobbed, “Ugnh, fuck.”

He’s fucking you so hard that the mirror across began steaming up, showing only a faint outline of your body. You flick over to it, seeing the strawberry tresses of your hair sticking to your face, your expression ruined. 

Your mouth was dangerous as you writhed, “Ony,” a way that was close to a shout, talking through each thrust, “Love. This. Dick. Baby…”

His mouth came to yours to stifle the sounds, hand clamped around the back of your neck. His teeth were scraping your lips, his tongue slipping inside to fight yours as he’s pounding you in place, the sensation making you shake.

"You gon' cum? Gonna squirt all over his dick? Pussy gettin’ tight as fuck…damn…” he groans, locking his eyes down to see himself go in and out, in and out, in…and out.

“Gonna squirt all over you,” you sniffle in a small gasp, unaware of your own mouth at this moment, “Harder—please…” 

His mouth was a mess, tongue thick and long, lapping against your neck and collarbone, sucking the skin there, his mouth wide open, slurping the taste of you up. He squeezed your hips so hard that you were crying out. He was slamming himself into you, a groan of pleasure spilling from his lips as he buried his face against your throat, sucking it up as he grunted, “Finna’ have you at every fuckin’ show. Up in the private rooms, gon’ fuck you after every song.”

You’re gone, becoming entirely silent as your eyes are filled with tears that wouldn’t stop, nodding your head to every word as you hold onto him. The silence, listening to the sounds of your skin coming together in music, a sound rips from your throat before you could realize—pure bliss, a scream projecting out as you squirt, the arousal spouting, pushing him far enough for his tip to now be halfway in. Your body feels exhausted, eyes back into staring inside your head as you cum. 

And it broke him, he was moaning into your throat—mouth open, eyes closed, pulling himself out as his tip rubbed against your inner thigh, cumming against the warm skin. Your body was tired, exhausted, satisfied. 

You struggled to keep yourself wrapped along his neck. As the both of you caught your breath, you brought your eyes up to him, using the last bit of strength you had to give him a soft peck against his lips. Onyankopon couldn’t help himself—You looked so pretty at this moment, yet the innocent kiss makes him chuckle lowly, holding you up more as he questions, “You aight’?”

You press your face within his neck as you murmur, “Mhm,” your eyes feeling heavy, “Don’t think imma’ make your show, Ony…” you pout sleepily.

He laughs at how cute you were being—it’s a stark difference from your usual reserved demeanor. 

“It’s straight, baby. You’ll be on my mind the moment I get there—that’s fasho.’” 

He pecks your forehead, “You want me to stay tonight?”

Your eyes won’t open at this point. You could figure out the meaning of this moment later. You just wanted to be wrapped in that damn scent of his—tonka bean.

“If you’ actually plan on sleeping, you can stay…” 

“Damn, no late night nookie?” 

“Onyankopon.”

“My fault. Night, shawty.”

[trendywaifus]

idk if it’s bc I have iron deficiency but I really wanna suck some tits (esp Jane’s 🤤🤤🤤) rn, it’s the only way that can satiate my hunger

LET ME SUCK SOME TIDDIES OR ELSE I’LL DIE… DONT LET ME DIE 😭😭😭😭😭😭

im anemic asf so she’s exactly what I need too. I don’t want no one else’s tits but jane’s to suck on! LET US PLEASEE. yes i wrote a drabble about sucking jane’s titties. ik y’all r starving for a crumb of content so take this while I finish my drafts! cw: fem!reader. yay girl on girl action.

“ can i? “ you ask against her addicting lips, voice falling under a cute plea which made jane smirk coyly. a prolonged hum crawls up her throat while she pretends to think for several dragging moments. impatient hands slip under her white, over-sized t-shirt that was previously tastefully ridden up her inner thighs, showing a glimpse of black panties as she’s comfortably stretched out on the bed with only the upper half of your body over hers. the end of her tail lazily drag up your spine through your shirt, pulling a forced shiver from you. eager palms explore the milky canvas of her toned stomach.

you caught onto the idea that she’s purposely stalling and gently trapped her bottom lip between your teeth then tugged it free. “ jane. .”

“ hehe, “ she titters, putting a hand on the nape of your neck. “ sorry, sorry sweet girl. knock yourself out. “

you grumble but still seek for her soft lips a few more times, not getting enough of the taste of bubblegum candy she snacked on earlier. after a few moments, you depart away with a satisfying smack and boldly pulled up her shirt just over her plump tits. “ so pretty. “ you awed under your breath, mouth near salivating at the sight below you. picking up your compliment, your rat thiren’s ears flicker with satisfaction and a hint of proudness.

after lowering yourself downward to her chest, you waste no time to attach your mouth to her soft nipple and suckle. almost immediately, a cute noise audibly slips out from her throat. slightly tilting her head to the side to get decent view of the tv, she seemingly returns her attention back to the screen, ignoring that hot mouth of yours. jane’s hand rest on the back of your neck, occasionally rubbing at it and idly playing with baby hairs.

your tongue flick and swirl around the hardening bud before suckling again, this time harder. “ huh. .” a low, breathy sound resembling to a moan squeezes out of jane’s chest. a swell of hotness whirls within you from her small little reactions. your right hand supports the underside of the right breast and gently squeezed the supple fat. saliva builds up in your mouth and dribbles out like drool as you tug at the swelling bud with your teeth. then with both hands, you cup jane’s breasts together and attach your shimmery lips over to the neglected bud. “. . .shit, now you’ve done it, “ she curses then follows up with a strained laugh, “ can’t even focus on the tv anymore baby. .” diamond shaped pupils flickers down at you and stays glued to your every movement.

your pretty eyes are fluttered closed, the look of bliss adorning your face as you roll the ball of your wet muscle around her areola. the tips of her ears are slightly red, almost matching the same red hue on her creamy cheeks. “i think i want you like this more often. .” she confess softly, pupils visibly dilating as your eyes peel open to connect intimate eye contact with her. jane’s chest starts to rise and fall faster, red nails glide upwards toward your scalp. you offer her a playful smile, lips shining with saliva, thin threads of it connecting to her pink, pearly bud, the color of her cyan hues switches to a glowing red.

“ it’s time to switch things up, pretty thing. “ her tail slips under your shirt and reaches for your bra. skillfully, she unclasps it while bringing your head up to hers for a heady kiss by the firm grip of your hair.

jane’s lips move passionately with yours, hot breaths combining into one as your hips deliciously collide with hers once you’ve successfully slide on top of her. her tongue traces the soft fat of your wet, bottom lip and you quickly caught the wet muscle with your mouth and sucked on it.

your position over her was short lived because within the next moment, you’re flipped on your back with jane rightfully straddling you. she completely removes the loose article of clothing from over her head and carelessly tosses it somewhere on the bed. she runs a quick hand through her silky locks and flirtatiously smiles down at you, pretty teeth baring.

“ now. . .“ jane starts smoothly, delving that same hand down under your shirt and up towards your chest. thanks to undoing your bra earlier, she easily slips under the loose thing and cups your right breast in a teasing manner.

“ can i? “ jane asks mockingly, not hiding the lust brimming in her lowered gaze.

[minorlyatfault]

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓 ! j. todd x f!reader

𝒮ypnosis: after a rough(er than usual) night, jason peter todd seeks comfort in your arms.

𝒲arnings: ooc jason todd (?) grammatical errors (?) (my poor attempt at being poetic & my writing while half asleep.)

𝒩ote: reader is slightly(too) girly(im sorry), reader has a bunny named mr. bugs bunny. the pastel color of reader's bed was not specified, so you decide which shade of pastel reader 's bed is.

jason's already spent by the time he opens your apartment door. his body is lead, bruised, scraped, & he has no idea what the hell else he beat himself up over tonight. his leather jacket weighs him down more than it should, his boots drag along the floor, & all he wants to do is collapse into something soft and forget the world exists.

& that's just what he does.

&, for some reason, the moment he catches sight of you curled up in bed, wrapped in your cocoon of pastel blankets & surrounded by stuffed animals, something about him just… melts.

your(that is now 'ours') room is ridiculously cute. like, embarrassingly so. fairy lights dangle in the walls. everything is surrounded in this gorgeous warm pink light. there is a bookshelf full of novels, tiny knick-knacks, & far too many candles. scattered around on the floor, there are pastel pillows, &, of course, mr. bugs bunny—the oldest stuffed rabbit there is, right next to jason, chilling away.

it was nothing like anything jason had known. nothing he was familiar with. nothing he's used to.

he would feel out of place in your room—big, scarred, forever covered in blood & gunpowder. but somehow it doesn't. it couldn't.

it just feels like home.

he exhales, running his hand through his hair before shedding his jacket, letting it flop over the back of the chair. his boots land on the floor with a thud; he rubs a tired hand down his face. normally he would try to shake off the weight of the night before getting into bed. and normally, he'd have to take a shower. he refuses to be close to you by the end of the day, & he, having the scent of smoke.

but tonight he just doesn't have it in him.

the mattress dips as he climbs in beside you, & you stir, blinking up at him sleepily.

"jay?"

your voice is groggy, soft, & he feels his chest tighten just hearing it. you barely open your eyes, just enough to see him, & instead of saying anything, you just lift the blanket in silent invitation. an invitation for him to get closer.

& jason doesn't think twice.

he slides under the covers, the blanket's & your(mostly yours)warmth immediately surrounding him, & instead of pulling you to him like usual, he does something he rarely does—he rests his head on your chest.

usually, it's you who rests on his chest, as it makes him feel like he's protecting you, even when unconscious. it allows you to feel vulnerable while he guards you (in the most non-sexist way, this man KNOWS not to underestimate a woman).

but this time, he lets himself be the one who is protected, the one who is vulnerable. & you never felt prouder than when he does this, trusting you—not that he already doesn't—to witness a side of him where it's him who is asking for protection.

it's quiet for a moment. the only sound is your heartbeat, steady & slow beneath his ear.

& holy hell, jason almost melts on the spot as your arms wrap around him, fingers threading into his hair, nails scratching lightly at his scalp.

it's ridiculous how good this feels.

"you okay?" you murmur sleepily.

jason just hums, nuzzling further into you, like he can bury himself in your warmth & stay there forever.

your fingers continue tracing lines through his hair, slow and gentle, & every once in a while, you press a soft kiss to the top of his head. he shudders a shaky breath, some of the tension in his muscles; disburden.

rough nights are normal for him. he's used to them. but this? this—you, your warmth, your heartbeat steady against his ear—this is not normal. it's… something else. something better. and gods, he loves it.

"bad night?" you ask after a while.

jason sighs against your skin. "something like that."

you hum softly, rubbing slow circles into his back. "wanna talk about it?"

"not really."

you nod, "fine." you don't push, don't ask for details. you just keep holding him, keep running your fingers through his hair, & somehow, that's better than anything else you could say.

& jason?

jason lets himself sink into it.

because he doesn't get this often. he doesn't do this often. letting someone hold him, letting himself be held—it makes him feel vulnerable in a way that still freaks him out. but right now, he just doesn't care.

right now, he just wants you.

& you want him to realize that he can experience this as much as he wants. you will make him realize that he's always welcome.

"you know," you murmur, voice teasing now, "for someone so big & "scary", you make a pretty good teddy bear."

jason groans, tucking his face further into your chest. "don't start."

you laugh, & he can feel your laugh vibrate beneath his cheek.

"just saying," you say, your fingers brushing through his hair again. "the red hood, gotham's biggest badass, currently snuggled up in a pastel colored bed, cuddling a stuffed rabbit—"

"i am not cuddling the damn rabbit."

you tilt your head a little, gazing down at him with a smug little grin. "jay. you literally are."

jason scowls, shifting slightly, &—goddammit. sure enough, mr. bugs bunny is half-squished beneath his arm. he glares at it like it personally offended him.

you snicker. "guess that makes him your new best friend."

jason lets out the heaviest sigh of his life. "i hate this."

"you love this."

"no."

"you love me," you sing-song, dragging your fingers through his hair again, making him shiver.

jason groans dramatically. "yeah, yeah. that, i do."

you giggle, leaning down to press a kiss to his forehead. "then you’re just gonna have to accept the fact that you & mr. bugs bunny are besties now."

jason huffs, but instead of responding, he just pulls you even closer, tucking his face into your neck.

you smile & wrap your arms tighter around him.

& then neither of you say anything.

gotham is cold & dark & loud. so dull. with so many bloodshed. so many crime. but in this ridiculously pastel bed, in the fairy lights & pastel blankets, all pressed against the one person that makes him feel like he has a place—everything's warm.

everything's quiet.

he is safe. you are safe.

& jason, for once in his goddamn life—

lets himself rest. in the arms of the woman he cherishes.

call it what you want, but at long last, the knight who has silently stood watch over his beloved princess falls onto his sword, surrendering himself into the softness of sleep. he allows her warmth to be the one protecting him. trusting her to guard him as well. & she, his guardian, holds him with such care, in safety, & one day, the norm will be reversed.

© minorlyatfault

[silent-stories]

𝐖𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x reader

Summary: taking care of Noah's hair.

Noah had a love-hate relationship with his hair. He liked how it looked, liked the way it framed his face and fell over his shoulders when he performed. But when it came to actually taking care of it? That was another story. Brushing it was a nightmare, washing it was a chore, and styling it? He barely put in the effort.

You had long since taken it upon yourself to help, whether he wanted you to or not. And most of the time, he acted like a stubborn kid about it—complaining, resisting, insisting he could do it himself even when it was clear he had no idea what he was doing. But the truth was, and you knew it, he secretly liked when you helped. He just had too much pride to admit it.

Like right now.

Noah sat on the edge of the bed, shoulders tense, one hand gripping his hairbrush while the other tried—unsuccessfully—to work through the tangled strands of his long, brown locks. Every few seconds, he let out an irritated sigh, yanking the brush through his hair with little patience. The strands snagged, pulling at his scalp, and he groaned dramatically, holding up the few stray hairs that had fallen loose.

“That’s it,” he muttered. “I’m going bald.”

You, watching from the doorway, crossed your arms and leaned against the frame with an amused smile. “You’re not going bald.”

He turned to you with a serious expression, holding up the evidence between his fingers. “Oh yeah? Then what do you call this?”

“I call it brushing your hair like you’re fighting for your life,” you teased, stepping into the room. “You’re being too rough.”

He let out another frustrated sigh, dropping his hands into his lap. “I'm trying.”

You shook your head, walking over to where he sat. “Move up.”

He eyed you suspiciously. “Why?”

“So I can fix this mess.”

Noah hesitated for a moment but eventually scooted forward, leaving enough space behind him on the bed. You climbed up, settling yourself behind him with your legs on either side of his hips. Reaching forward, you gently gathered his hair over his shoulder, your fingertips brushing against the back of his neck.

“Give me that,” you said, plucking the brush from his hand before he could protest.

He sighed again, but this time, it wasn’t frustration—it was surrender.

You started at the very ends, carefully working your way up instead of forcing the brush straight through the knots like he had been doing. The first few strokes made him tense out of habit, but as the tangles smoothed out, you felt him relax against you.

“You’re too impatient with it,” you murmured, dragging the brush through again, this time with even slower, more deliberate movements.

“Feels different when you do it,” he admitted, voice quieter now.

You smiled softly, running your fingers through the sections you had already brushed. His hair was thin, slightly wavy, and softer than he gave it credit for. You took your time, smoothing down stray strands, making sure to be gentle with every motion.

The room was quiet except for the soft sound of the brush gliding through his hair and the occasional deep sigh from Noah, his body gradually melting into yours.

At some point, he shifted just a little, resting his arms over his knees and letting his weight fully relax against your body.

“This is nice,” he murmured, almost as if he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.

You smiled, setting the brush aside as you ran your fingers through his now-detangled locks. “Told you.”

He huffed a quiet laugh, his voice laced with drowsiness. “Yeah, yeah. You love being right, don’t you?”

You leaned forward, letting your lips brush against the side of his neck before pressing a slow, lingering kiss just below his ear.

"What was that for?"

You nuzzled against him, “Just rewarding you for sitting still.”

Noah let out a low chuckle, tilting his head slightly to give you better access. “Mmm, I could get used to this.”

You pressed another soft kiss to his skin, letting your fingers trail down the length of his hair before resting your hands on his shoulders. He reached up, fingers lightly grazing over yours, his touch warm and absentminded.

“You gonna let me brush your hair more often now?” you asked, smirking against his neck.

He sighed dramatically, but the small smile tugging at his lips gave him away. “Guess I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“Not really.”

He chuckled, squeezing your hand before finally turning his head slightly to look at you. “Didn’t think so.”

And then, there were the times when he showed up with something so weird on his head that it would be too polite to call it a "bun."

You walked into the kitchen, ready to start the day, only to be greeted by Noah standing there with a ridiculous, lopsided bun on top of his head. A few stray pieces of hair were sticking out at odd angles, making him look like he’d tried to put his hair in a bun while half-asleep and then just gave up halfway through.

You stared at him, trying to keep your face neutral, but the sight of his botched attempt was too much.

“What is that?” you asked, unable to hide your amusement.

Noah glanced up at you, his expression a mix of pride and defiance. “It’s a bun.”

“A bun?” You raised an eyebrow, crossing your arms as you eyed the mess on his head. “I don’t know, Noah. That looks more like a bird’s nest after a storm.”

He scowled. “It’s fine. It gets the hair out of my face.”

You laughed. “Out of your face? It looks like it’s about to fall out of your head at any moment. Come here.”

“No, seriously, it’s fine—”

But before he could finish, you grabbed his sleeve and make him sit on the couch next to you, redoing his bun with careful precision, your fingers running through his hair and untangling the mess.

You worked quietly, fixing it just the way you knew he liked it. You made sure no stray strands stuck out and that the bun wasn’t too tight but still held.

When you were finished, you stepped back and eyed the results with satisfaction. “There we go. Now that’s a bun.”

Noah reached up, feeling the newly styled hair. Then, he looked at you with a sly grin, “So, where’s my kiss?”

You blinked, confused. “What?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Every time you help me with my hair, I get a kiss. I want my kiss now.”

You blinked at him in disbelief before you started laughing, unable to hold it in. He watched you with a satisfied expression, clearly enjoying the effect his request had.

He leaned in even closer, the playful glint in his eyes never fading, and suddenly, before you could catch your breath, he was completely over you, supporting himself with his arms so he wouldn’t crush you. He kissed you, his lips soft and warm, teasing and sweet, as you laughed against him.

You pulled away, breathless, still giggling, when you heard a voice from the doorway.

“Please don’t have sex on the couch,” Ruffilo said, his tone deadpan, but the disgusted grin on his face made it clear he was joking.

Noah hid his face in the crook of your neck, muffling his laughter as he tried to keep the situation light, his shoulders shaking with barely contained giggles. You couldn’t stop laughing either, feeling his chest rumble with each chuckle.

Ruffilo, standing in the doorway, rolled his eyes and shook his head. “I sit there all the time, c’mon, be decent,” he said as he walked away.

Once he was gone, Noah pulled back just enough to look at you. “I guess I’ll have to keep needing help with my hair, huh?”

You grinned, your fingers brushing the hair at the nape of his neck. “Oh, don’t worry, I’ll make sure your buns are always perfect.”

Noah’s grin widened, clearly pleased with both the hair and the attention, his laughter still lingering in the air as he lowered himself on you a second time to kiss you again.

And there were the nights spent doing nothing and just cuddling.

Nights like these were your favorite—just you and Noah curled up in bed, the soft glow of the TV casting a dim light over the room as some anime played in the background.

The blankets were piled over both of you, and Noah was sprawled out with his head resting on your stomach, completely at ease. His long hair fanned out over your shirt, strands slipping between your fingers as you absentmindedly played with them.

You scratched his scalp lightly, running your nails over his skin in slow, soothing motions. He hummed, a deep, contented sound vibrating through him, his eyes half-lidded as he let himself melt into your touch. His body was completely relaxed, one of his arms draped lazily across your waist as he focused on the TV.

You took a loose strand of his hair and twirled it around your finger, watching as it coiled and then slipped free again.

The soft, silky texture was familiar now. You loved it. You loved the way it suited him, the way it made him look like some sort of dark fairytale prince but also your own personal 6'3'' teddy bear.

Then, out of nowhere, he spoke. “I was thinking about cutting it.”

Your fingers paused in his hair, and your eyes flickered down to look at him. “Cutting it?”

Noah let out a small sigh, staring at the screen but not really watching anymore. “Yeah. Just… I dunno. It’s a pain to take care of sometimes.” He hesitated for a second, then added, “But I feel like I’d look so fucking ugly with short hair.”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes playfully as you flicked the strand of hair you’d been twirling. “That’s dumb.”

He snorted. “Wow. Thanks.”

You smiled, your fingers resuming their gentle movements in his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp. “I just mean… you’re always going to be handsome, Noah. That’s not even a question.” Your voice softened a little. “But… I do love your hair like this.”

His expression shifted, and though he didn’t lift his head, you could tell he was smirking. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you murmured, twirling another strand around your finger.

Noah hummed again, considering your words, but he didn’t say anything else. He just let himself relax, his body sinking further into you as his breathing slowed. You didn’t speak either—you just kept running your fingers through his hair, scratching lightly at his scalp, twisting soft strands between your fingers.

The room was quiet except for the soft sounds of the anime playing in the background, the occasional flicker of light from the screen casting over his face.

And then, slowly, the tension in his body faded entirely. His breathing evened out, and without even realizing it, he had drifted into sleep.

And then there was the more intimate moments. Like when you and Noah showered together. The steam from the water fogging up the mirrors and the sound of running water filling the bathroom was calming as you stood together under the warm spray of the shower, the hot water cascading down around you both, washing away the stresses of the day.

Noah’s tall frame was a little too much for the space, and his head, even slightly bowed, was still a bit out of reach for you when it came to washing his hair. But you loved doing it anyway.

“Can I wash your hair?” you asked softly, your hands already reaching for the shampoo bottle, hopeful.

Noah turned toward you, a mischievous glint in his eyes as he smirked. “I can do it. I’m perfectly capable.”

You pouted, crossing your arms over your chest. “But I wanna do it.”

He chuckled, ruffling your wet hair with his big hand. “You really wanna wash my hair that badly?”

“Yeah,” you said, a hint of playfulness in your voice. “I like it and I know you like it too. So c’mon, let me do it.”

With a sigh that was more out of amusement than reluctance, Noah sat down on the shower floor. His tall frame had no choice but to sink down so you could reach his head.

You smiled at his obedience, loving the way he let you take care of him sometimes. He sat on the cool tiles, legs crossed, looking at you with that soft, trusting expression of his.

“Comfortable?” you asked, your voice soft, already working the shampoo into your hands.

“Yeah,” he replied, his voice warm and amused as you carefully massaged the shampoo into his scalp and worked your fingers gently through his hair.

It was intimate andsimple, and you took your time, savoring the way his body seemed to relax under your touch, his head tilting back slightly as you massaged his scalp. The smell of the shampoo filled the air, mixing with the steam and the scent of his skin.

You rinsed the shampoo out slowly, making sure to get every last bit. Then, you applied the conditioner, working it through his hair as carefully as you had the shampoo.

The way his hair felt between your fingers was so familiar now, comforting. It wasn’t just about the act of washing his hair—it was about being this close to him, being able to care for him in such a simple, loving way.

Once you’d thoroughly rinsed the conditioner out, you helped Noah back to his feet even if he didn't need your hand. He stood tall again, water cascading down his body, droplets glistening on his skin. You smiled up at him, heart swelling at how much you loved this man. Without thinking, you reached up, cupping his face in your hands, and covered him in soft, lingering kisses.

His eyes widened, but a laugh escaped him as you kissed him over and over, on his cheek, on his lips, on the corner of his mouth, each one sweeter than the last. His hands moved to your waist, steadying you as he smiled through your affection.

“That’s because I let you wash my hair, huh?” he teased, his voice full of that playful tone you loved.

You paused, looking up at him with a smile, your fingers brushing along his jaw. “No,” you whispered, leaning in to kiss his lips once more, “just because I love you.”

His expression softened, the teasing replaced with something softer. “I love you too,” he said quietly, his lips brushing against your forehead in a gentle kiss. “I love you too."

Tags: @anything-more-than-human @ladyveronikawrites @iloveyoutodeathbutimdrowning @collisionofyourkissmakesitsohard @fadingangelwisp @xmads-omensx @iwasntstable @thisbicc @pathion @flowery-mess @into-the-grey @lacy1986 @tosoundlessdarkistare @stardustsirenmelody @thewrstinme @hurricanesfollowyou @ichoosetenderomens @chey-h @alwaysfightforwhoyouare @follow-me-down-to-wonderland @missduffsblog

[starredblood]

NOWHERE GIRL

PART TWELVE

kang sae-byeok x fem!reader

synopsis: when ji-yeong goes missing you and sae-byeok go on a fever dream goose chase.

wc. 4.1k

warnings: a bit of physical altercation and the usual angst TT

(nowhere girl masterlist)

Your first day after cutting ties with your parents officially was dull. But in the best way. Your entire day was just waking up to head to school and then you headed straight to the art gallery. The workaholic trait both your parents have finally rubbed off on you, it’s addicting to stay away from home so you can’t bear the thoughts that try to consume your mind.

But now that the day is officially over, you enter the apartment. It’s so quiet and dark once you enter, it frightens you all the time.

You groggily remove your shoes and rip off the buttons on your button-up shirt, ready to let sleep overtake you.

When you finish doing to night routine and put on your comfiest pajamas you throw yourself onto the bed and let your muscles finally get some rest.

It was only eight o’ clock but were so tired that you didn’t even do your usual phone scrolling down a social media rabbit hole tonight.

The loud banging coming from the entrance door distrusted your half lulled state. You gasp yourself awake and press your palm to your beating chest. At first you thought you were experiencing a nightmare but the banging continued. It was like whoever was standing on the other side wanted to tear the door open.

As you descended down the stairs you take a deep breath before looking into the peephole. You cross your fingers hoping that danger isn’t lurking next to your apartment.

Your heart skips a beat when you see that it was Sae-byeok all along. Without further thinking you open the door with a great speed.

“Hey, are you—“

“Ji-yeong never came home since she left yesterday.” Sae-byeok says, her voice shaking horribly.

Her body was stiff, pale in the face, and she looks like she had seen a ghost.

Your stomach twists up hearing the news. “W—What?”

“Please, help me.” she begs, her deep voice replaced by something small and desperate.

“Yeah, of course.” you say without further hesitation. “But, Cheol—?”

“I dropped him off with my neighbor.”

You nod. “Let me get my jacket.”

It takes you less than a minute to head out the door. You didn’t put too much thought into the fact that you still had on your pajamas or that you were sporting your indoor slippers.

“Can you track her on your phone?” you ask her once you both ran out the building.

“Yeah, but it says she’s offline.” Sae-byeok says, running her hands through her short unruly hair in exasperation. “Fuck, I’m scared what if Deok-su actually got to her?”

“Come on let’s think before we jump into the worst conclusions.” you reassure her, reaching to grab her arms to prevent her from ripping her hair off of her scalp. “You said she had to do something important yesterday, right?”

Sae-byeok’s eyes move around rapidly, trying to collect her thoughts quickly as possible. “She went to visit her dad in Daejeon prison. I—I called but they said she left last night.”

“Maybe she got lost or something and could be wandering near the prison?”

“Could be.” Sae-byeok says, breathily. “But Daejeon is a big city how the hell are we going to find her?”

“Let’s think of a way to get there first and we’ll move on from there, okay?”

Sae-byeok, who’s at this point hyperventilating, doesn’t seem convinced but she doesn’t have a better plan than that so she just nods.

You pull out your phone to find the directions to the prison. “That’s a pretty far commute. We have to take the subway then the bullet train. That’s the only method of transportation she could take to go that far.”

“I—I can’t afford a twenty dollar ticket.” Sae-byeok mutters.

“Just pay me back by buying me a meal one of these days, okay? Let’s go!” you say, yanking Sae-byeok’s arm and running on foot to the nearest subway station.

After the twenty minute subway ride, you got dazed by the complicated maze that was navigating the railway for the bullet train. Running around like headless chickens, Sae-byeok finally figured out the location of the bullet train that was departing in five minutes.

“I should’ve brought water bottles.” you say, out of breath. You sink down in a seat after successfully making it the last second inside the bullet train.

Sae-byeok’s heavy breathing was loud beside you. She presses the back of her head on the seat and stares at the ceiling possibly still in fight or flight mode.

“It’s an hour train ride what if—what if we can’t make it on time?” Sae-byeok whispers, her eyes shinier than usual.

You’re in disbelief that her of all people would cry so you convince yourself that it was just the reflection of the light perfectly hitting her irises.

You check your phone’s map again. “We could look around any late night spots near the prison like…like restaurants, or motels, or convenience stores. Oh, do you have a recent photo of Ji-yeong?”

Sae-byeok is unresponsive. You shot your head up and saw that her eyes are shut tightly and her lips quivering. So you go and place your hand gently on of top of one of her trembling ones, waiting for her to look at you.

“If we can’t find her tonight we will report her missing to the police but let’s stay hopeful, okay?” you reassure her. “Ji-yeong is strong and resourceful.”

Sae-byeok still remains silent, the stress of losing her best friend is overwhelming. You understand that this is a weight too unbearable to sit on and that Sae-byeok isn’t going to be rationally thinking until Ji-yeong is found safe and sound.

Your head began throbbing due to dehydration and the stress of coming up with a thousand scenarios to what might’ve happened to Ji-yeong.

Back in high school, Ji-yeong was always known as a rebel child often defying her elders. You would often hear stories about how she used to like wandering around the neighborhood in the middle of the night smoking and drinking because her home life was unbearable. There was a point in your life when you judged her for it. But when she came to your doorstep the summer before senior year, you welcomed her in after seeing the look of distraught on her face. Like she witnessed something unimaginable to the human psyche.

Ji-yeong never revealed why she ran away from home but you had the rumors and the various hints she left. And with the piece of viable information Sae-byeok gave you, you probably have a few assumptions never to be spoken aloud. It astounded you how much grit and determination she had to keep trudging forward. And you are sure that if she truly got lost in the streets of Daejeon, that she would find a way to maintain herself. But you just hope that she isn’t scared shitless right now.

“This is it.” Sae-byeok low voice breaks you from your looming thoughts. She nudges you in the ribcage to get off your seat.

“The prison isn’t far from the station. So, I guess we can start looking around here.” you say a once you both get off the train station. “Maybe she’s in a train lobby or somewhere with customer service.”

After an hour, you guys searched every section of this large train station. You knocked out on very stall and talked to any workers that were still around this late at night but not a single sign of Ji-yeong was seen. Your legs are cramping up but you try shaking the feeling away.

You could visibly see the hope in Sae-byeok’s eyes die down with every minute that passes by. That’s when you suggest to look around the nearby areas.

The streets of Daejeon was bustling with activity as it was a Friday night and it was time for partygoers to arise from hibernation of the weekday. However, it wouldn’t be too hard for Sae-byeok to spot her with her height difference compared to yours. Her eyes dart around the crowds of people like an eagle.

After last nights rain, the air was hot and humid and you already began sweating profusely not to mention being surrounded by other peoples clammy bodies. You were feeling delirious and your heart couldn’t stop racing but try to hold it together. Deep down you know Sae-byeok needs you to be the calm one in this situation.

“There’s a motel nearby, let’s go ask there.” you suggest and lead her to where the map is suggesting you should go.

A ten minute walk lead you guys to the small motel secluded in this bright lively city.

“Hi, ma’am,” you greet hurriedly at the clerk. “our friend is missing, do you know if you’ve seen this girl possibly rent a room here?”

Sae-byeok whips her phone out and shoves the picture of Ji-yeong at the clerks face, startling her.

“Sorry, I haven’t here and I’ve been here since noon.” the worker says after inspecting the photo carefully.

“Fucking hell.” Sae-byeok groans.

“Thank you, ma’am.” you quickly bow and lead Sae-byeok out the motel, ignoring the scowl growing on the motel workers face.

“What’s your great plan now, huh?” Sae-byeok scoffs.

“Hey, I know this is a high stress situation but don’t lash out on me right now, okay?” you snip and go back to your phone.

Sae-byeok paces back and forth in front of you while your fingers rapidly type other possible motels nearby you can ask.

That’s when you hear Sae-byeok mumble your name and tug the hem of your sleeve. You look and question at the person she’s pointing at.

“Is that Ji-yeong’s purse?”

Sae-byeok’s face turns stone cold, but her dilated pupils tell a different story. She looks like she’s ready to pounce on whoever she’s glaring at. You swallow thickly peering ahead and look at the homeless man lying against the wall of a closed shop. He’s layered in multiple blankets and beside him is a bright orange flap purse you vividly recall seeing before.

“It—It looks like it.” you mutter. Now, it was time for you to panic.

Next thing you know, Sae-byeok is on the other side of the street and on top of the man who desperately tries calling for help.

“Sae-byeok!” you cry out and run in the middle of heavy traffic to get across. When you make it Sae-byeok has her pocket knife pressed on his neck.

“You’re seriously asking for help right now when you stole my friend’s purse?!” she bellows, her grip on his coat getting tighter as she shakes him violently. “What did you do to her?!”

The man starts vibrating in fear, his eyes popping out of his skull. “I—I—I stole it earlier today from a lady at—at—“

“Hurry up and say it!”

You glance around nervously, a few people in their cars and passerby’s are throwing looks and you’re scared one of them might get the police involved.

“At the train station!” he answers fast.

Sae-byeok adds more pressure to the pocket knife on his skin. “You’re lying, fucker.”

“No, I swear! I ran—she chased me all the way to the supermarket but she ended up losing me there. I—I swear please!”

“Is it, Local Food Farmers?” you ask him after searching the nearest supermarket.

“Yes, yes that one! That’s the last place I seen her yes!”

Sae-byeok throws him back on the ground with mighty force, making him land with a thud. She snatches the purse back and pulls you to run away from the scene she just caused.

“I don’t see any cash on here.” Sae-byeok growls, rummaging through Ji-yeong’s purse. “I should go back and—“

“Hey, stop it!” you hiss, pressing a firm hand on her chest to prevent her from turning back around. “Fighting a homeless man isn’t going to help us find Ji-yeong faster.”

Sae-byeok sighs in defeat and continues walking, still inspecting every item in Ji-yeong’s bag.

Of course, the supermarket was closed a long time ago and nowhere around the vicinity were there any signs of Ji-yeong as all the surrounding shops had been long closed as well besides a club down the road. While you were biting your nails, anxiously trying to find a solution on your phone maps, Sae-byeok’s sinks down on the edge of the sidewalk and burys her face on her hands.

“She’s nearby, Sae-byeok. You have her purse so we know she has to be here.” you say reassuringly, bending down to pat her back. “It’s so obvious now what happened. When she left she got mugged just as she was about to go to the train station and I bet her phones probably dead too so she’s trying to find a way to contact us.”

“If her phones dead wouldn’t she ask for someone else’s to call me?” Sae-byeok says muffled as her face was still covered.

She was right but you didn’t want to agree to make her more nervous. So, you pry her up and suggest walking around the block one more time. You didn’t want to admit it but you were also starting to lose hope.

“It’s midnight.” you sigh. “Should we go to the police?”

Sae-byeok removes her hands off of her face and becomes expressionless, like she was trying to dissociate from the situation. It was starting to worry you more.

“I think it’ll be more beneficial if we go—“

You stop mid sentence and gasp at the feeling of a cold sticky hand touching slight skin on your waist.

“What’re you doing out here in your pajamas, hon?” slurs a drunken man. You whip around to face a business man whose outfit is sloppily thrown on. He stumbles backwards to eye your entire body before skidding to get closer to your face. “Looks like you’re trying to make it to the bedroom quicker.” he reaches over to grab your arm.

Your flight or fight response kicked in and you use all your strength to hit him square in the face. Immediately, you felt awful watching how he stumbled backwards and landed on his rear end. You don’t know why your brain made you feel so guilty, he deserved it.

“Fuck that hurt!” you wince clutching your bruised knuckles.

“You little bitch I think you—you fucking broke my nose!” he stammers, dropping his bottle of alcohol to clutch his nose. The club goers down the block began watching and recording the commotion, you could hear their murmuring. “I’ll teach you—!”

The man tries getting back up to lurch towards you again until Sae-byeok goes and kicks his chest causing him to fall back down on the sidewalk. She grabs your non injured hand and quickly drags you both away from the scene.

“Where are we going?” you whine, your knuckles still throbbing in pain.

“A convenience store to get an ice pack for that.” she says, throwing you a quick frown. “I think I saw one down here.”

“But the police station is on the store side!”

“You’re injured—!”

“We are going to waste time, Sae-byeok!” you say, putting your foot down. She scoffs at your stubbornness. “Hey, don’t look at me like that! The pain will go away—“

“Your hand is all red!”

“It’s not like I broke any bones!” you protest and start walking the opposite way and hope that the man you just punched isn’t still there. Sae-byeok tries to pull you back but you swat your arm back. “Stop it! If it still hurts after we go to the police station then we will go to a convenience store, okay?”

“Ugh! Why are you being like this?” she barks back. “You’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever met.” she grumbles lower but you heard it clear as day.

You huff in frustration and keep marching to the police station with her stomping angrily behind you.

There was heavy tension between the two of you the entire walk to the police station. You felt bad for throwing a fit when Sae-byeok was trying to help, but her last comment to you pained you a little and got in the way of you apologizing.

“Hello ladies, how may I help you?” says the police officer unenthusiastically at the front desk.

You send Sae-byeok a glare, hearing her mutter how annoyed she was with you again. But you quickly clear your throat before speaking.

“Hi, sir, we’d like to report a missing person. Her name is Park Jiyeong and she was last seen near here last night after getting mugged by a homeless man.” you explain, forcing a tight lipped smile.

The officer doesn’t respond right away and gives you an odd look. He turns around in his swivel chair and whistles over to one of his co-workers.

“Hey, Officer Lee, didn’t you arrest a young lady last night named, Park Ji-yeong?” he calls out to the worker.

“What?!” you and Sae-byeok say in unison.

The co-worker, in the middle of his meal, pauses mid-chew and nods casually before going back to eating.

“What did she do?” you say, appalled.

“Fought a homeless man and injured one of our officers—accidentally I think is what my partner said but let me figure that out.” he says with a sigh and stands up from his seat. You and Sae-byeok exchange worried glances. “To bail her out one of you needs to fill out the paperwork. Take a seat in the waiting room first and I’ll have you fill it out.”

When you both sat down in the waiting room, Sae-byeok starts shaking her legs uncontrollably, clearly freaking out. You bite your lip trying to decide whether you should try to talk to her or not. But you decide against it, feeling like you’ll only irritate her more than she already is. At least you stopped thinking about your swollen hand.

When the officer comes back you stand up to go fill the paperwork.

“Do…” you hesitate speaking as you read over the paperwork. “Do we have to pay any bail money?”

“Although she elbowed the officer by accident. However, legally speaking she needs to await trial,” he explains. That’s when your body starts leaving your soul. “but it’s been a long day so just fill that paperwork out and…stay out of trouble.” he raises a brow at your bruised hand which is of course your dominant one that you’re singing the paperwork with.

“Oh my god, yes of course officer thank you thank you we will!” you beam and deeply bow before finishing off the paperwork grinning ear to ear.

“Ji-yeong!”

After twenty more minutes of waiting, Sae-byeok throws herself on top of Ji-yeong once she arrived at the waiting room, squeezing her tightly. This reconciliation made tears brim from the corner of your eyes, you couldn’t believe it just yet.

Ji-yeong looked a mess. Her mascara completely smudged, her hair was tired up messily and she had a faint scratch mark on her chin. However she had a huge smile of relief seeing you both in front of her—you are sure she thinks you two are a figment of her imagination as well.

“About fucking time.” Ji-yeong sighs in relief. “I can’t wait to charge my phone and catch up on my—“

“Why the hell didn’t you call me?!” Sae-byeok queries loudly. Your breathing pauses when you actually saw a tear roll down the stone faced girls cheek.

“I don’t know your phone number but I asked the officer to look up your bakery and call them but no one answered and I could only make one call!” Ji-yeong whines, rubbing the sides of her temples. “My dad is a heartless monster, I got robbed, they threw me in jail and now you’re yelling at me…So, can we just go home so I can go to my room and cry?”

“Have you eaten anything yet though?” you frown. “Do you want to get something here on me?”

“No, let’s get out of here I want nothing to do with Daejeon anymore!”

“You’re fucking unbelievable.” Sae-byeok hisses, wiping her tears furiously with the end of her sleeves.

“I’m sorry,” Ji-yeong frowns. “to both of you. Thank you for coming for me though. I—I was starting to believe for a second that no one would actually come looking for me.” she mutters softly. You can’t even imagine to have the braveness Ji-yeong possesses. She starts sniffling but trying her best not to become teary like you two are. “Can we go now please?”

No one muttered a single word the entire ride back home. It was hard to process the events that unfolded and every so often you would check up on the girls who sat in between you, dazed in their own thoughts. You are sure they both share the same migraine you are suffering through right now.

By the time you all arrived at their apartment it was three o’ clock in the morning. The girls didn’t question your presence once you entered inside with them. It was like you never left back in March.

Sae-byeok enters two minutes later with a groggily Cheol who she was cradling like a baby over to their room. You hear Ji-yeong slam the door to her room loudly while you were heating up water on a pot to make tea to help calm any unsettled nerves.

“You still remember where everything is?” you heard Sae-byeok’s faint voice behind you. You turn and see her leaning against the doorframe of her room.

“Nothings changed here.” you mumble. “You want tea right? I’m making for three.”

Sae-byeok nods and starts approaching you. For some strange reason, your muscles start to get tense when she leans against the kitchen counter getting awfully close to you.

“I don’t think, Ji-yeong will want anything right now.” she says, looking sullen again. “We should give her space—she went through a lot.”

“Yeah, you’re right…”

You quietly pour the boiling water into the mugs and dip the tea bags inside.

“Your hand…is it still swollen?” Sae-byeok asks, timidly.

After remembering the small argument you two had earlier, your heart sinks. The hurt you felt by Sae-byeok’s words came back.

“A bit but it’s nothing.” you mumble and then sigh in defeat knowing that there’s no way around avoiding the awkward tension. “And I’m sorry—“

“Do not even finish that sentence. I’m the one who should be sorry. We were both frustrated and scared and I said things I didn’t mean.” Sae-byeok says firmly. “So, I’m sorry.”

“…You’re forgiven.” you say quietly and you hear Sae-byeok let out a breath of relief. Did she think you weren’t going to accept her apology?

“And you’re sleeping here tonight, right?” she asks you after you pass her a mug.

You finally look at Sae-byeok and notice how her eyes shifted now. What was once a look of fright and desperation is now replaced with security and comfort. They’re completely softened over.

“You’re finally letting me stay here? I never thought I’d see the day.” you say sarcastically and she rolls her eyes playfully. “Joking. But yeah if that’s okay with you? It’s already late so...”

“I’ll get you a blanket and pillow then.” she announces quietly and heads back to her room.

When you made your way to the living room couch, you managed to hear Ji-yeong’s muffled cries making your stomach knot. You wanted to head over to her and try to soothe the pain she must be in, but Sae-byeok knows her better and if she says to give her space then you need to do that.

A minute later, Sae-byeok comes back with the pillow and blanket. You mutter a thank you and was ready to call it a night but to your surprise she sinks down beside you. She takes a few sips of her mug before clearing her throat.

“By the way, you can take a shower and borrow something of mines for now I know we both did a lot of running and sweating tonight.” she says in her casual flat tone of voice. “I know you hate my taste in clothes but—“

“I never said hate. I told you to experiment.” you scoff with a playful smile on your lips. “I would love to take a long hot shower right now so thank you for offering.”

Sae-byeok nods and finishes the rest of her tea to your bewilderment as yours was still piping hot.

“I…don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t there to help me. So, thank you for that.” she says, sincerely.

You are too nervous to look at her. Thats when your stomach began to flutter with butterflies, a common sensation you began feeling nowadays. “Of course.” you gulp.

“And it was admirable seeing how calm you handled—well everything.“

“Admirable?” you laugh.

“I don’t know that’s the best way I could describe it.” she shrugs, scratching the back of her head.

“I punched a guy so I don’t know if calm is the best way you should describe of my behavior.”

“That pervert deserved it.” she says, scoffing when she replays that moment in her head. “Also, was that your first time ever punching someone?”

“Yeah and hopefully my last because that seriously did hurt at first.” you say, pouting at your slightly swollen knuckles.

Sae-byeok snorts a your comment and rises up from the couch. “Okay, I won’t keep you up any longer I’ll go get you the clothes and a towel.” she pauses abruptly to look down at your feet. You look at her, puzzled. “By the way, nice bunny slippers.”

“Oh, fuck off!” you hiss, your face turning bright red.

🏷️: @monroesturnns @knfthxv @jumpedthenfell-13 @peelover25 @karli6 @kissedberries @bitchybananaflower @laurenkenss @saebyeokbliss @everly-summers-solace @we1rdth0ughts

[yoursmutsorcerer]

Just another night with Satoru Gojo

The night was quiet, save for the slow hum of the city outside. The dim glow of the moon filtered through the blinds, casting silver lines over the tangled sheets. Satoru Gojo lay beside you, his breath warm against your skin, his fingers tracing lazy patterns along your bare shoulder.

"You look exhausted," he murmured, his voice dripping with amusement as his lips brushed against your temple. "Not that I blame you."

Your body still tingled from his touch, a shiver rolling down your spine as he pulled you closer. His presence was overwhelming—everything about him was. The way his silver hair fell messily over his forehead, the slight smirk tugging at his lips, the way his fingers teased at the curve of your waist like he had all the time in the world.

"You’re insatiable," you whispered, but your voice betrayed you—breathless, needy, still aching for more.

His laughter was low and sinful, his lips pressing against the shell of your ear. "And you love it."

He shifted, pinning you beneath him with an effortless grace, his weight pressing into you in all the right ways. His eyes, usually hidden behind those dark shades, bore into yours—brilliant, endless, knowing. His hands roamed, slow, teasing, as if savoring every inch of you.

"You still have energy left," he mused, lips trailing along your collarbone, nipping just enough to make you gasp. "Guess I'll just have to wear you out properly."

The night stretched long, filled with whispered promises, stolen breaths, and the kind of pleasure only Satoru Gojo could give.

And he wasn’t finished yet.

Satoru’s fingers dragged slowly down your spine, the heat of his touch leaving a trail of fire in its wake. His lips followed the same path, lingering at your shoulder, pressing kisses so soft they made your breath hitch. He was teasing, savoring the way you trembled beneath him, his smirk growing with every shudder of your body.

“You’re so sensitive,” he murmured, voice deep and laced with something undeniably wicked. “I could do this all night.”

His hands mapped your body like he was memorizing you, exploring every inch with a deliberate slowness that bordered on torturous. He knew exactly what he was doing—every kiss, every touch, every whisper against your skin was calculated to leave you desperate for more.

When his lips found yours again, the kiss was deeper, hungrier. His hands tightened on your hips, pressing you closer, pulling you into him. He wanted you to feel everything—to know that no barrier, no space, no hesitation could keep him from claiming you completely.

“Mine,” he breathed against your mouth, voice husky with desire. His teeth grazed your lower lip, tugging just enough to make you gasp, and he swallowed the sound with another kiss—this one rougher, more possessive.

Your fingers tangled in his hair, nails grazing his scalp as he let out a low, satisfied hum. “I love it when you do that,” he admitted, his breath warm against your neck before he dipped lower, lips trailing over the rapid beat of your pulse.

The world outside didn’t matter anymore. Not when he was here, worshiping you with hands that knew how to break and mend in the same breath, with lips that tasted like sin and promises of something deeper, something endless.

And from the way his body pressed against yours, from the whispered curses and hushed praises spilling from his lips, you knew—this night was far from over.

Satoru’s hands gripped your hips with just enough force to make you feel utterly claimed, his fingers pressing deep into your skin as if he couldn’t get enough of you. His breath was hot, uneven, and every deliberate movement sent another wave of fire spiraling through your body.

“You’re so perfect like this,” he murmured, voice husky with satisfaction. His lips found yours again, deep and possessive, stealing what little breath you had left. His body moved against you, slow at first—torturous in its control—before he pressed harder, deeper, making you arch beneath him.

The room was filled with heat, with the sounds of your breaths tangling together, the way your bodies melted into one another like a slow-burning fire finally consuming everything in its path. He knew exactly how to push you closer—how to draw out every ounce of pleasure with practiced, deliberate precision.

“Satoru—” Your voice was barely a whisper, lost in the intoxicating haze of his touch, of the way he knew your body, responding to every movement like he was attuned to your every desire.

His lips ghosted over your ear, his voice dark, teasing. “Say my name again.”

He moved against you again, sharper this time, drawing a helpless gasp from your lips. His smirk was sinful, his satisfaction clear in the way he held you, the way he refused to let a single second pass without making sure you felt everything.

The tension built like a coil winding tighter and tighter, his rhythm relentless, his grip unwavering. Every whispered praise, every teasing brush of his lips against your skin sent another shock of pleasure through you, pushing you to the very edge.

And then—everything shattered.

A rush of pure sensation crashed over you, overwhelming, electric. Your body trembled beneath his, his name spilling from your lips in a breathless, uncontrollable cry. He held you through it, guiding you through the storm with whispered praise, his touch never leaving you, never relenting.

When the haze finally cleared, you found yourself pressed against him, his arms wrapped around you as if he had no intention of letting go. His lips brushed against your forehead, his breath still ragged, a satisfied chuckle escaping him.

“You look stunning like this,” he murmured, fingers tracing lazy circles along your spine. “But I hope you didn’t think that was the end.”

His smirk was unmistakable, his hands already teasing lower, sending another ripple of heat through you.

“Because, sweetheart…” His voice was a promise, dark and full of wicked intent. “I’m not nearly done with you yet.”

[laseracronym]

So They Know (Todoroki/Reader)

Summary: Shouto has a request.

MHA-MHA-MHA

"Can we kiss?"

You're in Shouto's dorm room, on his bed. You've both just finished the homework for tomorrow when he asks the familiar question.

He always asks before he kisses you, and you find it so sweet and so endearingly Shouto. You set your notes aside and smile at him, "sure," as if you would ever turn down a kiss (or two or twenty) from your boyfriend.

His eyes light up with delight, a small grin on his face. It's so subtle but you've gotten good at reading him. He shuffles his notes aside as well, more careless about it than you are, and moves closer to you. His hand finds your face and he's kissing you eagerly.

You close your eyes and wrap your arms around his neck, pressing closer with a satisfied hum. You thought Shouto would be reserved with his affection when you first started dating him, but he's surprisingly bold at times and very affectionate, especially in private. He craves your affection, and you're eager to give it to him.

Shouto nudges forward, encouraging you to lie back on his bed, and he comes to hover over you, licking his way into your mouth. Your mind hazes over pleasantly as he does this, one of your hands threading through his silky soft hair. He makes a soft, pleased noise as you lightly massage his scalp, one of his hands running up and down your side.

Time passes, it could be minutes, it could be hours, but you don't care, you could continue doing this forever, surrounded by Shouto's scent, the taste of his addictive kisses on your tongue.

Eventually, Shouto pulls back, but only slightly, "(Name)..." he murmurs, his breath brushing against your cheek. "Can I..."

"Hm?" you prompt when he doesn't continue. Your eyes are half-lidded and you're relaxed and warm. You run your hand in a gentle caress between his shoulder blades encouragingly, "what is it, Shouto?"

"I want to..." he sounds hesitant as his hand reaches up, the back of a single knuckle tracing down the side of your neck, "mark you."

Your breath hitches at the quiet declaration, the haze of your mind giving way to a bright awareness, "like, a hickey?" you ask him.

"Mhm," he nods, staring down at your neck where he continues to trace your skin. The action makes you shiver lightly. "If that's alright."

Heat blooms throughout your already warm body and you find yourself nodding, your stomach doing an excited flip. "Yeah...go ahead." You tilt your head to the side, baring your neck to him.

Shouto hums and pulls his hand away from your neck to brush some of your hair out of the way, "thank you."

Your heart skips a beat as Shouto's lips find your neck, his earlier hesitation gone now that you've given him permission. He's so gentle, featherlight kisses trailing over your skin as he takes his time with you. Your eyes slide closed in response to the subtle pleasure, the intimacy of what he was doing.

"Are you okay?" he asks softly, "your heart is beating fast."

"You can feel that?" you chuckle, your voice is quiet, anything louder feels like too much. "I'm alright. It feels good."

You've been taking things slow together, extended makeout sessions and some shy hands over clothes. This feels like a step further, but you don't mind. You like it.

At your reassurance, Shouto continues, his tongue poking out occasionally to taste your skin. You let out soft sounds of enjoyment, your hands on his shoulders serving as an anchor. You're enjoying yourself as much as Shouto is, your teeth pressing into your lower lip as his mouth closes over a spot of skin and he starts to suck softly.

"Mm..." a quiet little moan leaves you and you're almost embarrassed, but Shouto's answering groan, equally as quiet as your own sound, soothes your nerves and kindles a small fire within you. You're not ready for anything more than this, but you can't deny how exciting it is, the effect it has on you.

After a few minutes, Shouto pulls back with a soft "chu" sound. You both are slightly out of breath, equally affected. You blink up at him and find his expression particularly tender, with a heat in his mismatched eyes that you're not quite used to.

Shouto lifts his hand and touches the pad of his thumb to the wet spot on your neck, presumably where he's left a hickey. "It didn't hurt, did it?" he asks, always so concerned that he's handling you too roughly.

You shake your head. It didn't hurt at all.

"Hm," he studies the mark, transfixed, the way he runs his thumb over it is almost worshipful, "I like it. I like the idea that you'll see this and know I left it there. Anyone who sees it will know it, too, and I won't even have to say anything. They'll just know you're mine."

He says it so casually and yet his words make your mouth run dry, your skin feel electric. Completely lost for what to say, how to express exactly what you're feeling, you pull him back into a kiss, more heated and fervent than before.

The next day, when the collar of your shirt doesn't quite cover up the small red mark on your neck, you catch the stares of your classmates and your heart flutters.

They know.

(Requests open!)

[rainix13]

It's Okay

masterlist

inspiration was this by @mommyownsmee

Natasha Romanoff x Agent!Reader

words: ~2k

description: after a few exhausting days and not talking about it, it gets too much to comprehend at last

Genre: angst / comfort (mostly comfort I think??)

Warnings: angst, mental breakdown, not really edited/proof read

It's litteraly 7am and I haven't slept yet, my brain is cooked

I don't know if anything makes sense

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Sighing you entered your shared appartment, bringing the groceries straight to the kitchen.

"Baby?" the familar voice came from the office and despite your exhaustion immediately a smile makes it's way to your lips.

You hung your coat over a nearby chair and before you could even turn around, two strong arms wrapped around your waist.

"Hey Natty" you murmured, letting yourself melt against her. "How was your day?"

The redhead grunted in response and adds "Paperwork and recruits."

You chuckled, knowing exactly what she means. You had them just before they went to training with Natasha.

"How was your day princess?" She asks kissing your shoulder.

You turned around , letting your arms hanging loosley around her neck "Was goood"

"Mh, you look exhausted" she stated between to short kisses but you shooke your head.

"Not more than usual" You lied with a smile. It's an easy lie, a casual one. Not necessary but you didn't want to ruin her good mood. And Natasha bought it.

After another quick peck you pulled away completely. "I'm just gonna take a quick shower and then I'll make dinner, okay?"

"Okay, I'll finish my work 'til then. What are you cooking?"

"Pasta!" You shouted over your shoulder, already halfway in the bathroom.

As the hot water runs down your body it felt like everything just washed off. The build up exhaustion faded as you stepped out of the shower, leaving you with something raw. Something that made you balance so close to the edge of a mental breakdown even you began to notice it. You sighed, somehow hoping to get rid of that weight that makes it hard to breath. You looked up, in the mirrior meeting your own empty eyes. Natasha was right, you do look exhausted. Like something drained the last bit off energy from your body. And if you were honest with yourself, you'd know that that's also exactly how you've felt for the last few days. But instead you've drowned that in even more work and exhaustion so it couldn't surface. Not until now at least.

A familiar dizziness formed in your head and you had to sit down. Have you eaten today? Yes, you had a sandwich for lunch. Or was that yesterday? No. Nevermind, it was yesterday.

Stop that's not relevant, you want to breathe. Why did that exhaustion suppress everything else? Why does this come up now? Can your emotions chill for a second? Can your mind please chill the fuck out? Why is this happening now? You need to get up again. You've got things to do. Why do your thoughts feel so loud. Just shut u-

"You alright angel?" Natasha's concerned voice pulled you out of your own thoughts immediately. You eyes snapped up to her standing in the door looking down at you on the floor.

"Uh yeah. J-just sound zoned out a bit" you desperately tried to safe it but your voice was far too shaky to appear convincing. Even if you're voice didn't give you away, you're trembling hands probably would have.

Natasha said nothing, instead she walked over, pulled you on your feet and into a hug. Instinctively you bury your head in her chest, holding in to her as the dizziness came back almost immediately.

Your senses all focused on her now. The faint scent of vanilla mixed with her shampoo. How you felt her breath against your scalp, her hands on your back and in your hair. You heard her breathing. You closed your eyes, trying to let her presence ground you. Tried to let everything overtune your own thoughts.

"What's wrong hun?" the pure softness and concern in her voice were the last straw to make everything fall apart.

Hot tears almost immediately streamed down your face, you buried your face in her neck and clutched onto her shirt. An unwanted sob escaped you and before you realized it would happen, your body collapsed against the redhead. She reacted immediately, picking you up, holding you as close as possible.

Natasha carried you to your shared bed, laying down with you still in her arms. Her heart broke at how small and helpless you seemed to be. How broken your sobs sounded and how desperately you hold on to her. Like you feared she mights disappeare if you'd let go.

"Just breathe, I'm here" she whispers. You try to follow her deep breaths and after a few tries you're starting to get there. Your breathing was still short and shaky between your sobs but less ragged now. "Overstim-" your voice broke off into another sob and Natasha tries to pull you even closer. "It's okay, I understand" You knew she did. It's not the first time you were at the verge of breaking down because people were just too much in that moment and it wasn't the first time Natasha was there to keep you in touch with reality. It was the first time you had a breakdown, especially that bad tho. The first time she had to see you like this and you didn't appreciate that. She wasn't supposed to see you like this, you're supposed to be there for her when she needed you.

While she got up and left you for a second, you went down that spiral, getting stuck in a cycle of 'Get your shit together' and 'She deserves better'.

But a moment later, before you can get too far with those thoughts on your own the redhead came back, helping you to put on one of her hoodies before she pulled you back into her embrace.

"What do you need angel?"

"B-being alone-" you choked out and Natasha immediately retreated. Not rushed but without hesitation until you held her back and she met your pleading eyes. "w-with you? i-if than m-makes sense" you asked unsure. Part of you didn't want her stay, didn't want her to see you like this. But the stronger oart craved the feeling of safety and acceptance. Craved the way she could ground you and keep you in touch with reality. She nodded, getting back to you "Don't worry, it makes sense. We can be alone together," she reassured you. She was glad you wanted her with you. Glad you trusted her enough to be so openly vulnerable.

You were hit immediately with gratitude but when you tried to speak again you're choking in your own sobs again, slowly growing annoyed at your own inability to exist. Natasha noticed the way your muscles tensed at the failed attempt, she could almost feel you slip away again.

"shh it's okay. You're safe with me"

"I-I it's just too much suddenly. The past days were so exhausting a-and I don't know. I kept it going and e-everything went okay a-and no one noticed" you finally managed to say.

"I've got you, don't worry" Natasha said, pulling you even closer to her, if that's even humanly possible, for a short moment.

"It's just so sudden. I- I-"

"shh it's okay. Just breath, mkay?" she created just enough distance to look you in the eyes "In and out, yeah?"

You take a shaky breath, hands still holding on to the redhead's hoodie as if your life depends on it.

She just holds you tight, one hand softly combing through your hair.

She knows that you don't actually want to talk right now, that words don't make it better. She knows that hearing things would just add to the chaos in your head. So she just holds you, letting you breath her in until you calmed down again. You close your eyes and relax. Her even heartbeat, her scent, her hand on your back. All of her grounded you and finally shuts down the thoughts in your head. You knew she wants to say that she loves you and that it's alright. And she knew that you can feel everything she didn't verbalize.

You let yourself dwell in the feeling of safety as your own heartbeat normalizes again.

"Thank you" you mumured softly, taking a last deep breath before you untangle your legs from hers and want to get up.

"Where are you going?" Natasha holds you back and searches for your eyes.

"Making dinner, Nat. Haven't cooked yet" you explain and try to loosen the grip the redhead has on you but to your surprise she pulls you back, and wraps her arms around you, your back now pressed against her.

"It's okay, Nat. Just dinner" you softly argue, your voice still hoarse from crying.

"Stop being my over independent strong girl for now okay? I love you. Let me take care of you today" she pleads, her nose burried in your neck. You hate worrying her, adding to the stress she already has.

You sighed in defeat and nod "Okay. But I'm fine, really"

Natasha just huffed, picked you up and throwed you over her shoulder. "Nat let me dooown"

But she shook her head "mmh no, your my little princess" You can hear the satisfied smile on her lips, making you giggle. "Nattyyy" You try to wiggle out of her grip, still laughing and finally she obliges. "Okay, okay stop moving"

She sits you on the counter, pressing a quick kiss on your nose. "You stay here, I make some pasta" leaving no room for an argument.

So you just watch her, sitting on the counter, dangling your legs. How she moved so effortlessly. In a strange way her calculated but simple movements like chopping onions or just stirring the sauce made you calm down even more. You began to feel the slight burn in your eyes from crying, the actual softness of Natasha's hoodie and how ut smelled exactly like her. The stress began to fade, letting you breathe again.

After you ate you end up in bed again, watching some show you didn't really pay attention to. Your head was buried in Natasha's chest still craving every bit of comforting, grounding touch. "I love you" you whisper so quiet you're not sure Natasha could hear it. Any maybe that wouldn't be so bad because you know that she's able to detect the silent apology with it

But of course she did. She pulled you closer once again, her hand finding it's way to your hair combing through it. "It's okay angel. Just...try not to overdo yourself, okay? You don't need to handle everything on your own" You sigh at the statement, burying yourself deeper in your girlfriends hoodie. "But I should. Especially when it's just fixing something that's my fault anyway. And it's okay. I can handle it ...most days" Your breath turned hot and tears welled up in your eyes again. "I should." You add, angry at yourself.

"That's not true" The redhead pulls away and cups your cheeks, forcing you to make eye contact.

"No one can handle everything on their own. We're a team, remember? You help me all the time. Patch me up. Mentally and physically. So why wouldn't I be here to do the same for you?"

"Because you already have your own stuff to deal with..." You mumble hesitantly. You don't want to be a burden. You don't want to annoy her with your stuff. Not when you can or at least should be able to handle it on your own.

Natasha sighs, pulling you back in. "Did or would you ever not listen to me or try and help me just because you have your own things?"

"No..." you reply not sure how to explain that it's different then.

"Will you tell me when it gets too much next time?"

You take a deep breath, tightening your grip around the redheads waist. "I'll try"

"Thank you angel"

"I love you" you said, this time not saying it as an apology.

"I love you too" Natasha answered.

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[00valentina-writes00]

✞⛧ Clinging to Her ✞⛧

Warnings: soft moments of affection, comfort in a relationship, light teasing

Word count: 1.3k

The morning light filtered softly through the heavy curtains of your shared bedroom, casting long, golden beams across the room. The bed was warm, the air filled with the scent of lavender and the faint trace of leather from Ambessa’s armor that she hadn’t bothered to remove the night before. Ambessa lay beside you, her form a towering presence even when she was at rest. The curves of her muscular body were relaxed under the sheets, her dark skin glowing in the soft light. Her short, silvery-streaked hair spilled across the pillow in wild waves, framing her sharp, angular face. Her eyes, when they opened, would carry that calculating, focused intensity—but for now, they were closed, her breathing slow and steady as she slept.

You could feel the weight of her presence beside you, the soft rhythm of her breath lulling you into a sense of peace that only she could provide. You had learned long ago how to love the stillness of the moments shared between the two of you—the calm before the storm of her duties and the weight of her responsibilities. Yet, today, you couldn’t bring yourself to let go of the moment. You didn’t want her to leave, not yet. The world outside the room, with its demands and expectations, could wait for just a little longer.

As the soft rays of sunlight kissed her skin, you found yourself reaching out instinctively, your fingers brushing over the taut muscles of her arm. She stirred slightly under your touch, a low rumble escaping her lips, but she made no move to pull away. A slow smile tugged at the corner of your mouth as you tugged at the sheets, bringing them closer to her, a protective barrier against the cold reality that waited outside this safe space.

But you weren’t ready to let her go yet.

You draped your body against hers, a silent plea for her to stay. Ambessa, always the one in control, didn’t need to be told what you wanted. Her large, calloused hand brushed gently through your hair, and though her eyes remained closed, you could feel her awareness of your every move. The weight of her touch on your scalp was grounding, yet there was an undeniable strength in her fingers, a reminder of the battle-hardened woman she was.

Ambessa’s lips twitched, the faintest of smirks playing at the corners of her mouth as you clung to her. She knew you—knew how you could never seem to let go once you had her within your reach. Her arms, wrapped around you, tightened slightly, but it was an embrace that held you securely, not in an effort to escape but to keep you close.

“Ambessa…” you whispered, your voice soft, almost pleading.

“Hm?” she murmured, her voice deeper than usual, thick with the remnants of sleep. Her eyes flickered open lazily, the soft glow of gold in her pupils catching the light. She regarded you with an unspoken question, her gaze sharp yet warm in a way that only she could manage. Her commanding presence never seemed to fade, even in these quiet moments between the two of you. The way her gaze locked onto yours was both comforting and intense, an unspoken promise that she would always be there—but only if you didn’t let go.

“I don’t want you to leave,” you confessed, burying your face into the crook of her neck. The scent of her—leather, steel, and the faintest trace of lavender—wrapped around you, comforting in a way that only she could. “Not yet.”

Her body tensed beneath you, though not in surprise. Ambessa was never easily surprised, but there was a hint of something softer in her posture when she heard your words. The warlord, the strategist, the calculating leader, was momentarily subdued by the vulnerability in your voice. She didn’t speak immediately, her fingers tracing light circles on your back as though measuring the weight of your words.

The silence between you stretched for a few moments, filled with the simple warmth of being held by the woman who had always been larger than life to you. And then, as if making a decision, Ambessa shifted, her strong arms pulling you closer, enveloping you in a safe cocoon. Her presence, as overwhelming as it often was, now felt like a comfort—a fortress. She didn’t say anything, not at first, just held you with that quiet intensity she reserved only for you. Her chest rose and fell steadily beneath you, and you could feel the faint vibrations of her voice when she finally spoke.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured, the words soft but assured. “I’m not going anywhere.”

But even as she spoke, you could feel the tension in her body, the pull of responsibility that would inevitably call her away from you. Ambessa was never one to allow herself the luxury of staying idle for long, and she knew how quickly the weight of her position would catch up to her. Still, you clung to her, refusing to let go of the comfort she gave you. You could feel her muscles shifting beneath the sheets, the lean strength of her form pressing against you as though she was already preparing for the inevitable moment when she would have to leave.

Ambessa chuckled quietly, the sound vibrating through her chest, a deep, rumbling laugh that only made you hold her tighter. “You’re a handful,” she teased, though her voice was soft with affection. “Always clinging to me like I’m going to disappear.”

You responded by pressing your face into her chest, the heat of her skin soaking into you. Her body, warm and solid beneath you, was like a promise. “I don’t want you to go,” you muttered, your voice muffled against her. “Not today. Just a little longer.”

She didn’t answer right away, her fingers now gently running through your hair, caressing the strands with a tenderness that was rare for someone like her—someone so accustomed to control and dominance. But when she finally spoke, her words were grounded in something more profound than mere affection.

“I’ll always come back to you,” Ambessa said, her tone firm and certain. “No matter how many battles I fight or how many worlds I conquer, you’ll always be here. You’re my home, you know that?”

The simple statement, filled with the weight of her own unspoken truths, caught you off guard. You had always known the depth of Ambessa’s loyalty, her commitment to her family, her power—but to hear it now, in the quiet vulnerability of your shared bed, brought a warmth to your chest that had nothing to do with the sheets.

You raised your head just enough to meet her gaze, your heart thumping in your chest as you looked into her eyes. For a moment, there was nothing but the two of you, the weight of her words hanging between you.

“I know,” you whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the center of her chest. “But it’s hard to let you go.”

Ambessa didn’t respond immediately, her gaze softening as she looked down at you. The stern warlord was gone, replaced by the woman you knew so intimately, the one who could love fiercely without hesitation. With a deep breath, she sighed softly, her fingers tracing over your cheek in a slow, comforting motion. “I don’t want to go, either,” she admitted quietly, her voice more vulnerable than you had ever heard it before.

For a few precious moments, you both lay there, wrapped in each other’s embrace. The weight of the world outside the room didn’t matter—not in this space, not now. In Ambessa’s arms, you felt safe, cherished, and loved. And for a little longer, you clung to that feeling, unwilling to let go just yet.

[sxmmerberries]

Sweatshirt Snuggles - choi yeonjun x reader

✦ genre: fluff

✦ pairing: choi yeonjun as your boyfriend

✦ word count: 783

✦ summary: cuddling with your boyfriend, yeonjun, wearing his favourite panda sweatshirt to chase away your fever

“Awww, is my baby finally awake?,” Yeonjun cooed in adoration seeing you groggily waddle to him, wearing his oversized panda sweatshirt.

It was big enough to almost come up to almost your knees, and the sleeves were too long, making it seem like you were drowning in soft material.

“I thought a nap would help, but I still feel like crap,” You frowned, sitting beside him on the couch. You rubbed your eyes, feeling the soft fabric of Yeonjun's panda sweatshirt wrap around you, making Yeonjun look at you fondly.

Yeonjun couldn't help but smile at your adorably dishevelled appearance, "Someone looks cozy.”

"I am cozy. Your sweatshirt is like a warm, fluffy cloud. I feel like a real panda in it,” Yeonjun chuckled upon hearing your words as you leaned your head against his shoulder.

“You look like one too with the dark circles and all,” Yeonjun teased, his hand coming up to ruffle your hair affectionately as you glared at him for his remark.

You rolled your eyes but couldn't deny the warmth and comfort the oversized sweatshirt provided. It was like being wrapped in a cozy and warm hug from him, which was strangely comforting even in this uncomfortable situation.

Yeonjun's expression shifted from amusement to concern as you let out a small sneeze. He reached out and touched your forehead, checking your temperature, his expression becoming more worried. "You're still feverish.”

“Let me go and get your medicine. You'll feel better,” He was getting up to go to the kitchen when he was stopped by you grabbing his wrist.

“Can't you just stay here with me? We can cuddle,” You looked up at him as you frowned, not wanting him to leave you. Yeonjun paused for a moment, taken aback by your response.

"Sweetheart.. you need to take medicine,” He said gently, not wanting to leave you in pain. But at the same time, you were being so cute and clingy right now, and he didn't want to leave your side either.

“I'll take them later. Let's cuddle now, please,” You patted the spot next to you impatiently so he would lay down.

"Alright, I'll stay, but when you wake up, you'll take your medicine, okay?” He sighed as he laid on the couch, pulling you closer to him so you could lay on top of him and rested your head against his chest.

He wrapped a blanket around the both of you, wanting to keep you as warm as possible.

“Are you comfortable, honey?,” He softly asked, gently running his fingers through your hair.

“It feels really warm,” You rubbed your head against him, making him want to pinch your cheeks due to your cuteness.

“Of course it's warm. It's me after all,” Yeonjun chuckled softly, his chin gently rested on the top of your head.

“No, it is the panda sweatshirt,” He raised an eyebrow as he watched you groggily slump against his chest, trying to get all the warmth you can from him. You let out a small yawn as you lifted your head up to look at him, giving him a weak smile.

“Whatever floats your boat,” He grinned as he noticed how you were slowly getting sleepy and pulled the blanket tighter around the both of you.

"Tired, huh? You can always sleep, sweetheart,” You sleepily nodded as you closed your eyes, his fingers resuming to run through your hair, gently massaging your scalp.

His eyes wandered over your face. He loved how you looked so peaceful right now, you looked so adorable that he wanted to bite your slightly flushed cheeks.

He couldn't help but notice how adorable you looked. Despite being sick, your flushed cheeks and the oversized sweatshirt covering you like a blanket was so endearing to him.

“Yeonjun?,” You sleepily mumbled, clutching the fabric of his shirt in your fist, barely conscious.

“Yes, baby?,” He softly asked, placing a small kiss on the top of your head.

“When I get better, I'll wear all of your sweatshirts,” You sleepily murmured, making him lovingly gaze down at you and chuckle at your demand.

“Of course, you can wear whatever you want,” He chuckled, giving into the temptation and pinching your cheeks. He could feel how you were nuzzling into his chest, leaning into his touch and he loved it so much.

You tiredly lifted your head up a bit to look at him and asked, “Even the one with the little froggies on it?.”

“Even the one with the little froggies on it,” He confirmed, softly smiling as he saw you let out a sleepily little “yay” before fully resting your head against his chest and slowly drifting off to sleep.

©sxmmerberries

more txt fics

networks: @moadiarynet @kstrucknet @k-films @starlit-network

[captain-bubble-wrap]

I'm having a bit of a downtime. I feel so conscious about my appearance. May I have Quinn reassuring me that I look good?

My love, I'm sure you're absolutely stunning. Chin up, buttercup! 🩷

Quinn hadn't participated in practice today. While he caught up on some rest, you had decided to go into the city for a little retail therapy of your own. Only it hadn't quite gone the way you had hoped. Everywhere you looked, there was a girl you felt was prettier than you, looking at something you had been interested in for yourself. It was easy to look at her, then at yourself, and convince yourself that you couldn't wear it near as good as she could. Self-sabotage and insecurity were bullying you into a early shopping trip.

It didn't matter what you did, they were all beautiful while you felt like trash. What did Quinn see in you, you wondered on the drive back to his apartment. He could have his pick of any Instagram model he wanted, so why had he chosen you? You would beat yourself up the entire time, resigning to tears after parking his car.

You had returned empty-handed.

"What are you doing back so early?" Quinn asked, seeing you walk through the door unexpectedly. He had been in the kitchen making himself some lunch, and had he known you were headed back, would have made you something as well.

"I wasn't feeling it." Your eyes were still red as you caught sight of your reflection in the mirror by the door. Quinn was bound to notice soon enough. "I think I've got a migraine starting."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, babe. Do you have anything you can take?"

"Yeah."

He was genuinely being helpful, but you had blown him off and shuffled past the kitchen towards the bedroom. As he watched you go, your eyes down to avoid making eye contact, he knew there was more to it than the headache excuse. He'd let you go for now, not wanting to push you too much that you just shut down completely.

In the bedroom, you had gotten under the covers, hugging Quinn's pillow like you did when he was away on the road. You didn't want to cry anymore, but you had hurt your feelings so badly that there were no good thoughts left to give you even a drop of confidence in anything.

"Sweetheart?" Quinn asked, darkening the doorway some time later. You had almost drifted off to a nap when he called out to you, and could have faked being asleep, but you weren't trying to be mean to him.

"Yeah?" You mumbled into the pillow.

"Are you alright?"

"Sure."

You could hear him sigh from across the room and soon the feeling of him climbing in to bed with you would finally make you give him your full attention. He had laid his head against the pillow of his you were clutching. His pretty eyes waiting to catch sight of yours desperately.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asked softly, his hand getting lost amongst your hair.

"Bad day."

"You seemed happy when you left." His brows pulled in slightly, trying to guess what had triggered the bad mood. "Did something happen while you were out?"

You bit your lip, pulling your eyes from his face. Why did he have to be so good at figuring out what was bothering you. "Just..."

Patiently, Quinn looked at you, his fingers giving you the gentlest scalp massage while he kept his hand buried deep in your hair.

"I just didn't feel like being shopping, that's all."

"Y|N, why don't you want to tell me?"

"Because it's a stupid reason," you choked out, eyes flicking back to Quinn's in haste.

His gaze softened, "Nothing is a stupid reason if it makes you feel like this, but I won't make you tell me. I just want to know you're alright."

"Why are you attracted to me?"

Quinn's expression twisted slightly. That was about the last question he would have dreamed you'd ask him. "What do you mean? In what way?"

"Why me over some model or something?"

He'd raise his head, propping himself up with his right arm. "I wasn't attracted to you because of your looks, sweetheart. That's just an added bonus. Do I come off that petty?"

"No, you don't. I just-- it's hard to not judge myself against all the other girls that could have my spot. I told you it was a stupid reason."

There was deep concern in Quinn's expression. There were few things he hated more than when you got down on yourself.

"As cliche as it might sound, looks eventually fade and no longer matter. What makes you, you, is your personality, baby. It's what shines through any amount of makeup or outfit. You can't fake a personality, not a real one. You know, as good as I do, that there are plenty of girls faking all of that just to get with any of us. They can't keep up the charade, and away they go, and another takes their place. Do you know how refreshing it was to meet you? How you genuinely smiled? That little snort you let out when you laughed at yourself for being nervous asking for that autograph? Do you remember how bad I blushed? I could hardly sign that jersey. I thought I was going to have to replace it because my signature looked like a fake."

You laughed softly remembering that day. He had been a little bit of a bumbling mess but it was so cute.

"You kept popping up in my head the whole rest of the day. Your eyes, your smile, hell, even that perfume you had been wearing. Drove me crazy all day. I see beautiful women everyday, but not a one of them are waiting for me back home like you are. I don't picture any of them waiting for me, wearing one of my t-shirts like you do. Each time I hear your voice when I'm away, I melt, because I get to hear it every--single--day."

You had been chewing on your bottom lip to keep the tears at bay and Quinn had noticed. The hand that had been lost in your hair moved to hold your face, and his thumb would coax your lip from between your teeth.

"You're the only person I have eyes for -- the others are just people. You're my baby, and I love you. They don't mean anything to me. You have my heart."

"Quinny~" you whispered, knowing everything he said was his raw, unfiltered truths.

"I mean it, all of it. You might think the other girls are prettier than you, but I don't. Not for a second. You're the only one I want."

You didn't know what to say. His ability to melt away any bad mood you were dealing with, soothe any hurt feeling you had, and reassure you through it all had been a natural talent. It was times like these that you didn't feel like you deserved him, but you'd never tell him that. You knew already that he hated when you put yourself down and when you thought you should have less. Instead, you'd try to be thankful for him taking the time to explain his reasonings to you.

"I'll reassure you more, if you want me to. I just need to know. I'll do whatever I can to make you feel better, just to keep stuff like this from happening. I just don't want you to shut me out, okay?"

You'd give him a nod. "I'm sorry to be this way."

Quinn smiled, "It's alright. Do you think I don't wonder why you put up with me half the time?"

"But I love you!"

"Exactly! Because I know you love me -- that you truly love me for me and not the other stuff-- I don't have to worry about anything else; I don't let the other stuff rule me. Does that makes sense?"

"Mhm," you nodded.

"And before you say it, you don't need to be sorry. Things happen, and sometimes we just need a little more to see what we've been overlooking."

The air went out of you like a balloon. Quinn's ways with words left you speechless more times than you thought he realised.

"If it would make you feel better, I'll take you out sometime next week and let you know how beautiful I think you'd look in anything you try on. Anything you like, it's yours. No limit."

"Quinn~"

"I mean it. If it makes you smile, I want you to have it."

"You make me smile."

He laughed softly, "You have me already, silly."

You'd roll over on your back as he climbed on top of you, lips hovering just above each other's. "Unless you're wanting something more. Then I can give you that, too."

[its-hitoshi]

a place to call home (sevika x reader)

sevika and reader domestic moments focusing on massage, silence, and books :) [will have p2!]

content warnings: angst

If Sevika had a purpose, she would never say, but think that she was born to work. First it was in the mines for her family and now towards the freedom of Zaun. Breaks consist of nights at the bar, gambling and drinking with a cigar pinched between her teeth. Ah, what the hell. She smoked everywhere. It was one of the things she inherited from her father, after all. That and her drinking and her gambling, though she remembers being told at some point, her father shouting at her with bloodshot eyes, that her mother drank too. Did she think this was only his sin? No, her mother was worse. Shared whiskey with others while on the clock. It’s why she died. Did Sevika want him to die too? He will. Shut up about his drinking. He won’t be around much longer.

(Sevika knows now that the whiskey her mother drank was often a method used to keep workers warm in the mines, when they reached areas the sun could not. It was easier to supply than proper protective equipment, not that Sevika had ever heard of such a thing before she became a councilor. Did many eventually end up abusing that whiskey? Yes.)

When she was very, very young, her mother would massage her fingers into Sevika’s scalp, combing through her hair. She sat on her mother’s lap as she sang and hummed songs into Sevika’s ears, the words lost to time. Sevika wonders if that sickly sweet scent on her mother’s breath was whiskey. Once upon a time, she hadn’t known what that was. Now she does and she can only remember her mother through song and the smell of whiskey.

That’s why your touch means so much more to her than she’ll ever say. If she tries, her tongue gets heavy and thick in her mouth. Thank you is the most she’ll offer up if she’s in a good mood. Other days, she’ll bring by whatever you like – a flower, a new dagger. You get the drill. Touch for the two of you is simple. Fleeting, really, but it’s enough. You know.

It starts, one day, with the both of you sitting on the couch. She’s leaning back, groaning with her eyes squeezed such. It emphasizes the crows’ feet at the corner of her eyes – it’s cute. You never comment on it though. It’s the way you both are. You chat about her day at the council, and inexplicably, Sevika’s feet end up in your lap. Perhaps she also fell asleep at some point, and you helpfully adjusted her.

“What are you up to?” She croaks out, squinting at you.

You smile. “Trust me.”

So she does.

You start with her feet. Stretching them gently before you press your thumb into the arches, and Sevika hisses as you do this. You’re pressing and squeezing sores spots as you move up to her calves, thick and stiff. The Lanes never left Sevika, even as she spends most of her days in a hoity toity room filled with hoity toity people she hated. On her off days, she did patrols around her city, making sure all was well.

It's quiet, slipping out of her mouth like a soft sigh. You feel her melting into your hands as you continue to your work. She had told you once, that her name meant servant of god. Which god, she doesn’t know. Janna, maybe? That’s the goddess all the children pray to down here, you included.

(there’s no need to anymore. For the first time in your life, you breathe in fresh air as you walk through the lanes. Sevika did it.)

This becomes part of your routine as well, though by your own hand more than Sevika’s. She sits next to you on the couch as you both read, refusing to just prop her feet up on your lap. You have to wait until her she nods off, head dipping into her book about Shuriman theology you found for her before you take the book out of her hands yourself and pull her legs up. She’d brought you a fountain pen today with a full set of multi-colored ink.

(late at night, when you both are tucked into bed besides each other, Sevika makes sure to take your hand in hers, as though she’s examining it. And she is, looking at your writing calluses, if there’s any weakness in your fingers, before rubbing her thumb into the center of your palm. Your shoulders relax, your head bumping against her shoulder. Once she’s done with your other hand, she presses it to her lips. Good night. Sleep well. I— )

Another day, you’ve come home late from work . She’s sitting on the couch you both share.  Not only did your school have an absurdly long meeting today, but the librarian had asked you if it was possible to have a ‘quick meeting’ about the latest project regarding Zaun’s history. With Zaun being its own nation now, it needs to have its own history. Yet most of the written history within Piltover’s libraries paint it as only a ghetto, a place where the impoverished and deplorables live. There are no records, written or oral, detailing the worship of Janna within its depths and the reason why. Piltover is a city of industry, of progress – where does all its detritus fall?

The fail-safes for all its machinery lie deep underground, right next to Zaun’s lands. Oil and chemicals dripped into Zaun’s waters.

When you were six, there was an earthquake that shook your home. It turned other houses into rubble – even caused a cave-in within the mines. Only now, pouring through Piltover’s records of extremely rare and unfathomable accidents, are you able to know its cause: an attempt to mine deeper than what was typical in an attempt to reach the dormant brackerns below the earth to see how they could be used. The brackerns were in fact, not, dormant. Only two Pilties were injured, one killed, the one operating the machinery.

No deaths in Zaun were recorded, nor injuries. Your best friend had a lame leg after she was pinned under the rubble.  You remember your parents talking about the incident in low voices. So many slips of paper had been burned the following week.

You’ll help remember them. But for now, you tip-toe behind your wife until you’re just behind her. She must be really exhausted if she hadn’t turned around by now.

Sevika. You murmur.

Her head snaps up, finally. Gold-rimmed reading glasses frame her grey eyes so beautifully. You cup her cheek. I’m home.