#121; f&

[very-grownup]

Fuck man this is like one of my only skills I definitely believe in and know to be true.

I remember back in my compulsory education they taught us to use the keyboard like this but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a single person type like this ever.

[caramel-mousse]

My jaw has been wanting to clench so bad for days this sucks

[europartsgiant1]

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[jakesimfromstatefarm]

──── YOU USED TO LOVE ME . ↳ one shot // also part of the no doubt series !

✎ᝰ .ᐟ aka jake's #1 hater is...his own girlfriend?

── sim jaeyun x f!reader ౨ৎ wc. 749 ⌗ fluff, crack, rom-com, yn bullies jake, jake still loves her, skinship, cuddles, slice-of-life

↳ IMPORTANT NOTE .ᐟ ── this is part of my no doubt series ─ a sequel series of short drabbles that take place after the events of my fic no doubt, and show jake & reader's relationship throughout their first year together (& how jake wins her trust & love back hehe) ── THIS CAN BE READ AS A ONE-SHOT, however, there will be some easter eggs if you've read no doubt before!

↳ addie's ✉ .ᐟ ── IM SORRY IF THE TITLE MISLED YOU into thinking this was going to be angsty...WHOOPS ! no angst here,,,just lots & lots of downbad loser!jake and annoying cuddles to remind me how single i am !!121!#!$Y@*3723 (totally not crashing out) anywhoozers the next part is the last official part everyone.....·°՞(¯□¯)՞°·. & also! happy comeback era :D

“Babe.”

“No.”

Jake blinks from his spot on your couch.

“Hey, wha—I didn’t even say anything yet.”

You don’t move from where you stand in the kitchen, arms crossed, staring at him with the look of a girlfriend who has seen some things, “Because every time you call me like that, you either ask me to do something insane. Or stupid. Or both.”

Jake feigns a gasp, holding his chest like you just eternally wounded him, “I am deeply offended. Since when have I—”

You lift a brow.

He stops. Blinks once.

“Okay, fine. But this time, I’m serious.”

You peer your eyes at your boyfriend—sprawled all across your couch, hair a tragic mess, hoodie slipping off one shoulder, his limbs haphazardly hanging off the couch.

And unfortunate for you—

You love him. Severely.

“Alright,” you exhale, abandoning the lunch you were prepping on the kitchen island and walking over. “What is it?”

Jake looks up at you from where he’s draped on the couch, then—a small smile plays on his lips.

Oh no.

He points at the floor—right next to where you stand—dramatically.

“I dropped the remote. It’s all the way over there.”

You blink at him.

You follow his gaze.

Then you blink at the remote.

Which is. Literally. Three inches away from his fingertips.

“You—” you start, then cut yourself off—because you need a second to physically restrain yourself from throwing something at him. “Jake.”

“Yes, my love?”

“I’m a second away from punting it even further across the room.”

Jake pouts.

“So mean.”

“I'm—” you take a deep breath, genuinely at a loss for words. “Why can’t you pick it up?”

“I’m so comfy,” he whines, fingers reaching out but barely grazing the remote.

“I can’t stand you.”

“Yes, you can,” he smiles sweetly, his arms now moving to reach for you instead. Then—

He grabs your wrist and yanks you right on top of him, trapping you in his arms before you can protest.

You let out a yelp, half-laughing, half-screaming, “JAKE—!”

“Shhhhhh,” he coos, his hands already patting your head as he nuzzles his face into your hair. “No more talking. Just cuddles.”

You squirm, wiggling in his grip, but the smile remains bright on your face as his arms stay locked around you, his warmth suffocating you in the best way possible.

“Sometimes I genuinely wonder if you were starved of affection as a child,” you mumble jokingly as you manage to wiggle enough to grab his cheeks in your hands. “So desperately adorable.”

He gasps again, “Wow. Bullied by my own girlfriend. Twice. In one day.”

“Oh my god.”

“You used to love me,” he sniffs, closing his eyes theatrically and turning his face away from yours. “Now…now you just berate me.”

You roll your eyes dramatically, poking his cheek before laying your head back onto his chest, “I still love you. I just…also want to throw you into the sun sometimes.”

Jake perks up instantly.

Ignores the solar threat.

“You love me?”

You blink.

“No. Jake. Not this aga—”

“YOU LOVE ME!”

His arms snake back around you as he rocks you in celebration, like he just unlocked a new life achievement.

You’re laughing again, your words of protest muffled as he shakes you back and forth joyfully within his arms.

“You never say it first, this is like—” he pauses, his eyes shining with literal gold specks in them, you confirm, “—this is life-changing. This is monumental. I’m never recovering.”

“Okay, okay, we get it,” you groan against his hoodie, lifting your head up slightly to look at him again.

He grins back at you. Smug. And stupidly gorgeous.

The kind of face you hate to love and love to hate and also just…love.

And then—

“One more time.”

You sigh.

You’re not surprised.

Jake’s lips form a slight pout.

“…Please?”

Then your chest does that thing it always does whenever you see Jake. That warm, stupid, traitorous thing that you love.

A small smile grows on your face. Then, you lean in, kiss his nose.

And whisper—

“I love you.”

And you think he lets out a literal squeak.

A squeak, a squeal, then a squeeze as he promptly rolls over, dragging you with him until you’re both buried in the couch cushions.

“Mine, mine, mine,” he mumbles, peppering kiss after kiss to your forehead, your temple, your hairline. “So, so mine.”

And you laugh endlessly—helpless, doomed, and utterly gone.

The remote never sees the light of day.

<< past || no doubt m. list || next >>

tag list! (open ! // bolded couldn't be added!)

@bluxjun @ki2rins @why-did-i-just-do-this @favoritten @lovialymisc @xylatox @vivimura @leehsngs @puma-riki @lezzleeferguson-120 @enhaprettystars @laurradoesloveu @sievenderz @somuchdard @kristynaah @hinryh @ltfirecracker @lov4hoon @taeheexx @niyzu @chunkzdeluluwife @jakeflvrz @fangirl125reader @0429jw @dreamy-carat @yuons @thestarinstarbucks @miszes @llearlert @ppeachyttae @hoomin10 @teddybeartaetae @tanisha2060 @therealmrsbahng @beomgyu-bears @ikeulove @jiyeons-closet @youngheejay @wxnderingthoughts @fuevrois @soobundle1009 @isoobie @enhypenova @zoemeltigloos @lizdevorak @deluluscenarios @bloomiize @hasuyv @ijustwannareadstuff20 @veilstqr @dreamiestay @jakeyyyjakexoxo

[mattyriddlesbitch]

Cockwarming

Mattheo Riddle x F!Reader

Warnings: Cockwarming

18+ Minors DNI!

You were studying with Mattheo in his dorm. 'Were' being the keyword here as you were currently sitting in his lap at his desk, his pants pulled down a bit, your panties thrown on the floor as his cock stuffed your pussy.

You weren't paying attention anymore and Mattheo knew that. He could feel you squirming and clenching his dick, clearly not focusing on the book in front of you two.

"Princess..." He started, mumbling into your skin as he pressed light kisses along your neck. "You're distracted."

"Sorry." You muttered, readjusting in his lap with a small moan. His cock had been throbbing inside you for the past 10 minutes now, which isn't a long time in general, but when he promised to fuck you after studying if you behave, the minutes felt like hours.

"I know this is boring, but you wanna pass right?" He asked, still murmuring into your neck.

"Uh huh." You nodded.

"Can you focus for me then, sweetheart?" He whispered in your ear now, his hands rubbing soothingly on your thighs.

"I'm trying." You pouted, leaning back to rest your head on his shoulder.

"You can do it. Remember-I said I'd take care of you if you behave." He reminded with a kiss to the side of your forehead, one of his hands moving up your thigh to softly rub your clit. "Don't you want that, princess?"

"Yes." You moaned, letting your eyes flutter shut.

"Then read the page for me, baby." He said, using his free hand to grab your jaw and make you look back at the page.

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff @leandre2006

@yours-truly-5 @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem @brittney-121 @leovaldezsbitch

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@notavailibles-world @tantrumbaby

[animusrox]

MY LETTERBOXD

TOP 10

1.    Dune: Part Two 2.    The Substance 3.    Hundreds of Beavers 4.    Anora 5.    Dìdi 6.    Nosferatu 7.    Nickel Boys 8.    The First Omen 9.    Sing Sing 10.    Civil War

GRADE A 

11.    No Other Land 12.    Robot Dreams 13.    The Peasants 14.    Conclave 15.    Smile 2 16.    Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes 17.    We Grown Now 18.    Memoir of a Snail 19.    The Last Stop in Yuma County 20.    A Real Pain 21.    It’s What’s Inside 22.    Red Rooms 23.    Sometimes I Think About Dying 24.    A Different Man 25.    Better Man 26.    The Brutalist 27.    Heretic 28.    His Three Daughters 29.    Hard Truths 30.    Evil Does Not Exist 31.    Late Night with the Devil 32.    Alien: Romulus 33.    MadS 34.    Rebel Ridge 35.    Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person 36.    Challengers 37.    Strange Darling 38.    Flow 39.    All We Imagine as Light 40.    Longlegs 41.    Saturday Night 42.    The Apprentice 43.    Terrifier 3 44.    The Seed of the Sacred Fig 45.    A Complete Unknown 46.    A Quiet Place: Day One 47.    Juror #2 48.    Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl 49.    Oddity 50.    Kneecap 51.    Touch 52.    Mayhem! 53.    The Order 54.    In a Violent Nature 55.    Small Things Like These 56.    Twisters 57.    Hit Man 58.    Woman of the Hour 59.    Stopmotion 60.    The Wild Robot 61.    Deadpool & Wolverine

[Tap 'Keep Reading' For My Full Graded List]

GRADE B

62.    The Devil’s Bath 63.    The Bikeriders 64.    Sasquatch Sunset 65.    The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim 66.    Monkey Man 67.    Last Straw 68.    Abigail 69.    Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga 70.    Tiger Stripes 71.    The Book of Clarence 72.    The Instigators 73.    I’m Still Here 74.    The Coffee Table 75.    The Return 76.    Problemista 77.    Trap 78.    MaXXXine 79.    Love Lies Bleeding 80.    You’ll Never Find Me 81.    Between the Temples 82.    Marmalade 83.    Blitz 84.    Speak No Evil 85.    Asphalt City 86.    Piece By Piece 87.    Wicked Little Letters 88.    We Live in Time 89.    Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story 90.    V/H/S/Beyond 91.    The Dead Don’t Hurt 92.    Suncoast 93.    Maria 94.    My Old Ass 95.    Immaculate 96.    The Truth vs. Alex Jones 97.    Cuckoo 98.    Daddio 99.    We Were Dangerous 100.    The Outrun 101.    Infested 102.    Monolith 103.    Azrael 104.    The Last Showgirl 105.    Babes 106.    The Fire Inside 107.    Lisa Frankenstein 108.    Here 109.    Thelma 110.    Queer 111.    Out of Darkness 112.    Y2K 113.    Handling the Undead 114.    Bad Boys: Ride or Die 115.    I Saw the TV Glow 116.    Arcadian 117.    Transformers One 118.    Never Let Go 119.    The Piano Lesson 120.    Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F 121.    Wicked 122.    Gladiator II 123.    Carry-On 124.    Blink Twice 125.    Self Reliance 126.    Fly Me to the Moon 127.    Boy Kills World 128.    Kinds of Kindness 129.    Nutcrackers 130.    Skincare 131.    Ezra 132.    The Front Room 133.    Mothers’ Instinct 134.    Inside Out 2 135.    Omni Loop 136.    Girls State 137.    Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 138.    Your Monster 139.    Babygirl 140.    Mufasa: The Lion King 141.    The Greatest Hits 142.    Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 143.    Magpie

GRADE C 

144.    The People’s Joker 145.    Nightbitch 146.    Road House 147.    Young Woman and the Sea 148.    Am I OK? 149.    Music by John Williams 150.    The Killer’s Game 151.    Oh, Canada 152.    Wolfs 153.    Sting 154.    The Idea of You 155.    Don’t Move 156.    1992 157.    Werewolves 158.    The Killer 159.    The Shadow Strays 160.    Rez Ball 161.    MoviePass, MovieCrash 162.    The Fall Guy 163.    Lee 164.    The End 165.    Godzilla × Kong: The New Empire 166.    The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare 167.    Madame Web 168.    Caddo Lake 169.    Watchmen: Chapter II 170.    Watchmen: Chapter I 171.    Salem’s Lot 172.    The Exorcism 173.    The Watchers 174.    Kill 175.    Jackpot! 176.    Rumours 177.    Damsel 178.    My Spy: The Eternal City 179.    Drive-Away Dolls 180.    IF 181.    Spaceman 182.    Joy 183.    Joker: Folie à Deux 184.    Megalopolis 185.    Monster Summer 186.    Lovely, Dark, and Deep 187.    Bob Marley: One Love 188.    Kraven the Hunter 189.    Moana 2 190.    I Used to Be Funny 191.    Goodrich 192.    September 5 193.    Hold Your Breath 194.    Apartment 7A

GRADE F

195.    The Platform 2 196.    Arthur the King 197.    Shirley 198.    Back to Black 199.    Land of Bad 200.    Poolman 201.    Emilia Pérez 202.    The Room Next Door 203.    I.S.S. 204.    Brothers 205.    Knox Goes Away 206.    Mean Girls 207.    Krazy House 208.    Slingshot 209.    Mr. Crocket 210.    Argylle 211.    Sonic the Hedgehog 3 212.    Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 213.    Afraid 214.    Tuesday 215.    Spellbound 216.    Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Three 217.    Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part Two 218.    Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part One 219.    The American Society of Magical Negroes 220.    Subservience 221.    Time Cut 222.    Night Swim 223.    Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire 224.    Red One 225.    This Is Me…Now 226.    Despicable Me 4 227.    The Union 228.    Ricky Stanicky 229.    The Beekeeper 230.    Honeymoonish 231.    Hot Frosty 232.    The Deliverance 233.    The Garfield Movie 234.    Lift 235.    Atlas 236.    Trigger Warning 237.    House of Spoils 238.    Borderlands 239.    Tarot 240.    Venom: The Last Dance

Bottom 10

241.    Imaginary 242.    Unfrosted 243.    It Ends With Us 244.    Dear Santa 245.    The Crow 246.    The Strangers: Chapter 1 247.    Harold and the Purple Crayon 248.    Rebel Moon - Part Two: The Scargiver 249.    Dirty Angels 250.    Miller’s Girl

[ficsilike-reblogged]

Shelter - 5

Summary: You saved Soap's life. And Chicago has its own surprises in store for you.

Pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley/F!Reader Warnings For This Chapter: Continued military and safehouse inaccuracies, slow burn romance, Soft!Simon, mentions of and very light description of childbirth, MDNI

A/N: Thank you all SO MUCH for the love on the last chapter. I don't think I've ever posted so consistently on a fic before. You have all really kept me motivated. Means the world to me. Oh! also, just as an aside, the title of this fic comes from a lyric from the song "Little Words" by The Happy Fits. My brain chemistry was altered by spiltspits beautiful artwork and this is how I now imagine Simon. Please let me know what you think! xx

Previous Chapter

Okay maybe it wasn’t home. But it was still Chicago. After handing over your passport to a woman who definitely didn’t check it, you were shuffled into yet another SUV and you might have pressed your face to the window as you saw the familiar skyline inch closer and closer. You couldn’t go home to your shoebox of an apartment, but Soap did say the hotel where you were staying was nice. Price’s grunted approval did seem to give a little credence to that.

Nice…was not the word you would have used as you looked up at the immaculate stone and glass building in front of you, your vision only a little obscured by the ballcap Soap pushed over your head before getting out of the car. This was opulent. Expensive. A different tax bracket.

Simon nudged you toward the entrance when you stared a little too long. The building was old, probably from the 1800s, but impeccably kept and renovated to modern standards. Everything was a sleek white and gray with modern art on the walls.

“What kind of safehouse is this?” You muttered to yourself as your group joined the small line to check in.

“It’s off the books,” Gaz whispered in return. “Think of it more like a CIA funded vacation.”

“But we are safe, right?”

He reached out and squeezed your arm before his eyes flickered over your shoulder to Ghost…Simon. “We’re going to be fine.”

When you reached the front, a beautiful woman, dressed in a designer suit, gently brushed the clerk away from the desk and arched a brow as Price approached. “Hello John.”

Oh. Oh…there was history there.

(And apparently Price’s first name was John.)

“Laswell called you?”

The woman nodded, letting Price’s lack of greeting roll right off her back. “I have you all up on the twelfth floor. All of the hotel’s amenities are at your disposal.”

Price nodded and wordlessly took the key cards she handed over and then started to herd you toward the shining elevators on the other side of the lobby. You quickly told her ‘thank you,’ earning a laugh, and then were almost immediately pressed into the corner of the elevator. Both Simon and Soap stood in front of you, massive forms basically shielding you from anyone in the lobby seeing you. But you did manage to see Price press a key into a hole beside the button for the twelfth floor and turn it before the elevator started to rise.

The ride up was smooth and silent, even as Price handed out key cards. Plush carpet quieted your footsteps as you stepped out into the windowless hallway and five doors spaced apart evenly. If you were a betting woman, which you definitely were not, you would guess that all the other floors had more than five rooms.

Price stopped at the first door, 121, and then turned to you, handing you the last key card. “Figured you’d want your own space. I’ll have to explain the rules in a bit. But I’ll let you get settled.”

Rules. Of course there were rules. You’d probably not be allowed to leave your room without an escort or leave the hotel at all. And you could live with that. You could. Kirby was waiting for you. You’d keep your promise. “Got it. Thank you.”

The door beeped softly after you tapped the card against the lock. Like the rest of the hotel, the room was beautiful, leather couch, huge bed, a small kitchenette. The bathroom was a work of art in white and silver granite with sleek knobs and spouts. You didn’t even bother looking in the closet tucked beside the bed, too nervous to see if it was as big as your entire apartment across town. And it wasn’t as if you had clothes to put away anyway. That was probably something you would have to talk to Price about when he came in. The cityscape glittered on the other side of the giant window and you knocked your knuckle against it, welcoming yourself home. It sounded a little strange, like the window was extra thick. Whatever.

Your throat still hurt and you wandered back to the bathroom and pulled the arnica lotion from your pocket and wiped a bit across your skin. It was still discolored and tender—and you knew it would be for a while. Your eyes were still red. The bags under your eyes were prominent and tender, too. All and all, you looked rough. Kirby would ask questions but she’d probably be appeased with a simple “I was mugged, yeah they know who did it” explanation. It would be another lie, but it would be for the best.

You nearly jumped out of your skin when a knock came at the door. You hustled over to it and then froze. They did say you were safe but… The knock came again, followed by, “‘s me.”

Simon.

You still looked through the peephole to make sure—which you immediately winced at because you’ve seen too many movies and television shows where someone gets shot right through those—and saw Simon’s hulking figure on the other side. He’d swapped his usual skull balaclava for a simple black surgical mask somewhere between the plane and lobby. The door opened and he stepped in, bringing the scent of gunsmoke and something woody and expensive. He hadn’t been wearing cologne on the plane but you weren’t about to complain. After telling you where you were headed and giving you your passport, you had fallen into a quiet conversation with him. He was funny. Charming, in a dry, dark humored sort of way. The way your heart squeezed in your chest whenever you looked at him was just a coincidence. Really!

“I want to show you something,” he said instead of a greeting. You were almost used to it now. And you trotted after him as he neared the bed and you definitely ignored how your eyes darted between the surely-high thread count sheets and the behemoth in front of you. After all of this was done, you needed to download an app or something. Let Kirby make the profile for you like she’s been dying to do for years so you could focus on that and not how you could see the hints of another scar slipping out from the edge of the mask near his mouth and curling up toward his ear or how blond hair poked out from under the shadow of his hood. You curled your hand into a fist to avoid touching it. You never thought he’d be blond.

Still, you watched his gloved hand slide across the paneled wall and then press down. There was a soft click and the wall slid open.

“A secret passageway? That’s so fucking cool.” The words tumbled out of your mouth before you could think of something less childish to say.

“This is my room,” Simon said, turning to you. “If anything happens, you come to me. Yeah?”

“I thought this was supposed to be safe?”

He shrugged, which wasn’t exactly comforting. “So was the safehouse. But this is me trying to keep you safe.” He paused and you couldn’t find it in yourself to say anything. “You know I’ll come for you.” His heavy gaze didn’t move away from your face and you might have squirmed if it was anyone else but you felt yourself sagging.

He had come for you back at the other safehouse. He had kept you safe. And now he was right next door. Something warmed behind your ribs but you weren’t quite sure you wanted to try to name it. “I know.”

You couldn’t look away. Not yet. Not when the dark of his eyes was so inviting. So strangely comforting when everything else seemed to be slipping through your fingers.

“I promise not to make too much noise. I won’t keep you up by, like, blaring music or anything.”

A small smile pushed at her mouth and Simon once again couldn’t look away from the curve of her bottom lip. He wanted to trace it with the edge of his thumb. Wanted to know if it was as soft as it looked. A selfish, mean urge. He knew it. He was a selfish bastard.

A knock at the door saved him from acting on that urge and he watched her smile twitch, nervous, before she answered the door. Pride rumbled in his chest when she warily checked the peephole first. But it was only Price on the other side, right on schedule.

Simon listened to Price tell her the rules of the hotel. Don’t go anywhere without one of them. Do not leave the hotel grounds under any circumstance. Order room service if needed—it was on the CIA’s tab so cost was no object. She laughed at that.

But then she asked if she could order clothes and toiletries through room service, too. “I only have this,” she waved a hand at the clothes Simon had given her on the plane. “And while these are comfortable-”

“Your flat’s across town? Make me a list of what you need.”

And that was how Simon found himself and Kyle across the city and in the midrise building after following her instructions to buzz Missus Pirowski, an octogenarian resident on the ground floor who would let anyone in if they asked politely, to get in and then procuring the spare key she hid, taped to the upper edge of the door.

The apartment was nice. Probably expensive for this part of the city. And everything smelt like an expensive candle and something soft. The couch was worn but well taken care of and a half dozen blankets were tucked into a basket beneath the window. Everything was clean if not sparse.

And the more he looked, the more he realized it looked more like a staged house than a home. There was neutral, mass produced art on the walls. Everything was in shades of grey, white, black. The kitchen was organized neatly in glass containers, each filled three quarters of the way up. It wasn’t until he stepped into her bedroom that he saw any sort of life. There was a map pinned over a cork board with color coded pins all over the place. Green pins for places she’s been. Gold for places she wanted to go. Gold vastly outnumbered green and it made Simon sad in a strange way. And there were two and only two pictures on her bedside table, tucked behind a stack of books with bookmarks in each of them.

The first picture was small in Simon’s grasp. The gold frame was fragile, old. The picture behind the thin glass was aged, too, and looked like it had been folded in half several dozen times before being stuck in the frame. It was obviously her, somewhere around 8 and holding an infant in a careful hold on a couch.

The next was her, again, aged 16 or so. Her arm was thrown over the shoulders of a girl who was probably 8. Her smile was smaller but it still lit up her eyes. The smaller girl was beaming at the camera, ice cream in her hand dripping over her fingers. That must be Kirby. Behind them stood an older man, hands on each of the girls’ shoulders and a proud smile on his aging face. There was no resemblance between her and the man, but he and Kirby had a few similar features. Who was he?

The frame clacked as he set it down while Kyle stepped out of her bathroom, a bag of her toiletries in his hand. “Find everything?”

Kyle nodded. “It was color coded.”

Of course it was. Everything of hers in the apartment, anything she might consider valuable, was probably easily moved. Like she was ready to leave at a moment’s notice, which was odd because the lease agreement for her apartment had been renewed eight times according to Simon’s research. But Simon knew the same could be said of him and his flat in Manchester. Easily moved. Easily forgotten.

They turned to the closet and drawers next, referencing their list as they went. Her clothing was color coded, too. But most of it was black, white, or grey. Kyle took what she requested from her closet without much fanfare but Simon did pause, only a little, when her knickers were on his share of the list. (And he knew Gaz did it on purpose, even if the easy smile the other man gave him betrayed nothing. Cheeky.) They were neatly folded in the top drawer; bits of silk, lace, cotton that had his mouth going dry. Like he was a kid again. His thumb brushed against one of the tiny bows as his mind wandered. Did they cut into the side of her hip? Did she have a favorite pair? Did the lace feel good against her skin? He didn’t know the answers but they were all soft in the palm of his hand as he grabbed a handful and shoved them into one of the bags Kyle brought him from the closet.

He followed the rest of the list she’d given them diligently and then spotted a perfume bottle. She’d had a travel sized one of the same brand and scent at the safe house, too. This one must be her favorite if it being half empty with another tucked behind it was any indication. It wasn’t on her list, but if it would make her smile-

The thought crumpled before he could finish it. He tucked the sole pair of running shoes into the bag and saw Gaz had grabbed a pair of boots, too. He needed to get out of here. But he still snatched one of the photos off the nightstand before he left.

It was nearly orgasmic to be able to use your own body wash and lotion after a couple of weeks without it. What did this say about you? What would your therapist say about it? What were the confidentiality parameters when it came to this? Surely you couldn’t just tell Kirby and there were ethics guidelines with therapists, right?

Whatever. You knew you weren’t going back to therapy.

You toweled off, trying hard not to look too long at your discolored throat and monster eyes. Kirby was going to freak out. You needed to practice your speech about getting mugged and telling her not to worry. You didn’t lie to your sister. She knew that and it had caused some friction a few years ago. So, maybe she’d just believe you. She needed to because there was no way you could or would explain the shit show that your life had become.

You pulled the second bag Gaz had dropped off in your room before your shower and your heart hiccuped when you spotted the picture of you and Kirby sitting on top. You’d once kept this one in your tiny wallet after you’d graduated from high school, folded it to make sure it wouldn’t slip out. A prized possession. If it came down to it, your apartment was on fire and you could only save two things? You’d save the pictures with your sister.

Any warm and fuzzy thoughts evaporated when you noticed they’d been placed atop a neat stack of your underwear. You knew it was going to be packed—you had asked for them to be. But it still felt a little strange knowing Gaz had packed them so carefully. You needed to make him another breakfast for being so kind to you. Maybe you could use the hotel’s kitchen if you asked nicely. The manager—the woman who’d checked everyone in, you learned—had been nice when she’d given you a razor when you’d forgotten to ask Gaz to bring you one from your apartment. You definitely owed him after you spotted your favorite perfume carefully packed in between your clothes, too. You hadn’t asked for it, not wanting to be too demanding.

At least it wasn’t Simon. And you knew it was childish for you to think about a man touching your underwear when he was just doing his job. And it didn’t matter anyway because Gaz did it!

Really. What was wrong with you?

All of this would be over, hopefully soon, and you would probably never see any of these people again. So, you grabbed your favorite pair, the ones with the soft cotton lace and tiny bow, and tried to press the thought of Simon and his dark eyes (and your underwear) out of your mind.

The tiny cellphone you’d been given was sitting on the bedside table. It only had Kirby’s number and Price said it was a secure line, whatever that meant, and you shouldn’t even attempt to call anyone aside from your sister. Not a problem. You didn’t really have anyone to call. And it was…perfect, to be able to just call your sister. She was spending the last few days of her pregnancy out of town at a spa retreat; something about seaweed wraps, Swedish massages, and clay face masks being part of her birthing plan. Everything seemed to be running on her schedule, no matter how loose it was.

She’d giggled throughout your short conversation. “I hadn’t heard from you in a while! Thought you weren’t going to make it—I shouldn’t’ve doubted you.”

It was like a shot of pure sunlight right to your veins.

You were going to make it. You’d keep your promise.

That happy thought carried you through the rest of the day, even as Gaz easily beat you at every single card game he tried to teach you and then stole half your fries from your dinner with another megawatt smile. Soap called dibs on trying to teach you a traditional Scottish dance tomorrow with a grin you knew meant trouble.

Price was off somewhere else and, while you didn’t know him very well, you had a feeling it had something to do with the pretty hotel manager downstairs.

Simon had been in his room and Gaz and Soap had both said he was following up on a lead from Laswell. And you promptly ignored the whispered thought that he was avoiding you. He hadn’t seemed the type to be easily annoyed but maybe your long-winded conversation on the plane had worn down his social battery and he just needed a break. Yeah. Sure.

After another layer of cream on your neck, you settled into the ridiculously soft bed and fell asleep, hoping to truly feel rested by the time you woke up in the morning.

The tunnel was dark. Strip lights across the tracks cast darker shadows across the bombs that littered the ground. There were so many of them. Everywhere you looked, there was another, each with curled wires and red numbers that counted down the seconds left in your pitiful existence.

But this was okay. You were alone. No one else would be hurt.

Movement to the right caught your eye and a scream stalled in your throat as your sister leapt onto one of the bombs, landing on the wires without a sound.

“Kirby!” but the scream you could feel building in your throat came out as a whisper. She couldn’t hear you.

Kirby laughed and waved, jumping from one bomb to another with her usual grace and poise. She even spun on one, that same smile on her face.

You went left, she went right.

There were too many barrels between you now. Too many bombs. You’d never catch up to her. You could hear her laughing but when she opened her mouth again to say something to you, the first lines of a Russian lullaby spilled out instead, not matching at all with how her lips were moving.

Bayu Bayushki Bayu…

One by one, the bombs started to go off in slow motion. Fire and scraps of metal inched their way into the air as Kirby continued to dance away, still singing the Russian lullaby. She turned away from you and spun, dress fluttering.

And then she jumped right onto the next bomb just as it exploded.

“NO!” The scream tore its way out of your already mangled throat as you snapped to sitting up in your sweat-soaked sheets. Your pillows flopped uselessly to the ground behind you. A shaking hand pressed to your forehead. “Just a dream,” you muttered. “It’s just a dream.” But the image of Kirby dancing into the explosion had been seared into the backs of your eyes.

Movement out of the corner of your eye nearly had you screaming again but it stalled in your throat when you realized you recognized the enormous looming shadow. A light from a single lamp behind Simon made him look even larger than he already was, the bulk of his hoodie still wrapped around him and his surgical mask looped over his nose and mouth.

“Is that a gun?” you asked, already knowing the answer. And maybe you should’ve cared more at the moment about him charging in with a weapon but you couldn’t. Not now. Not when the low light caught his dark eyes and the barest hints of his blond hair.

“‘eard you screaming.”

“Sorry.” What else could you say? The embarrassment started to tug at the back of your mind—you’d woken him up in the middle of the night—but the nightmare persisted. It was strangely comforting to know he’d come so quickly anyway. Just like he did at the safehouse.

He walked further into your room, the door still slightly open behind him. “Nothing to be sorry about. Need something?”

You dropped your hands and looked at him, feeling the sweat cool on your skin. “N-no, I’m fine. Sorry I woke you up.”

“Was already awake.” He didn’t move. Not for a stretched moment before he holstered the (giant) handgun.

“Do you ever have nightmares?” The question tumbled out of your mouth before you could stop it. How fucking rude and ridiculous could you be? And so, instead of forcing him to answer, you just kept talking. “I used to get them all the time. My therapist said something about trauma or whatever. But I haven’t had one like this in years. I was doing good. I used to be so good. Almost normal.” Another stuttering breath slithered out of you. You weren’t even sure what you were saying or why you were saying it. “Am I just putting her in danger by going to see her? She’d never forgive me if I didn’t go but what if something happened to her because of me? She’s having a baby. Her baby’s going to need her. Kirby’ll be a good mom. Even if we both had crap examples, she is going to be a good one.” You were definitely rambling now. But the past handful of weeks and everything fucking else that had happened was starting to spill out like a shaken up bottle of pop.

You sucked in a handful more unsteady breaths, your tattered throat still protesting. And the embarrassment started to burn, too.

“Sorry. I guess I broke my promise of being a good neighbor.”

Simon was still an immovable mass in the shadow of the doorway but then he stepped closer and slowly, slowly lowered himself onto the edge of your bed. The warmth of him bled across the rumpled blankets but the sharp claws of your embarrassment continued to tighten around your lungs.

“You don’t have to stay.”

And Simon stood again.

“But you can if you want!” You hurriedly added.

He slowly sat back down and you buried your face in your hands with a groan. This was…this was not how you thought tonight would go. But, God, he was being kind. Kind to you again.

“I’m sorry.” Your lungs ached and it felt like you’d tried to line your esophagus with fine grain sandpaper.

“‘s fine.” He paused for another moment and you were too nervous to look up to see if he was staring at you. “Promise.”

And then, to your horror and surprise, his hand landed on your shoulder. It just stayed there, unmoving, and you froze, scared that if you moved too fast, he’d leave…like a feral cat or something. But you slowly lifted your head to see his heavy-lidded gaze anchored on you. And you weren’t sure what compelled you forward—god knows you hadn’t wanted any sort of physical affection since you were a child—but you moved, pressing your hand over his on your shoulder. Soon, your head lolled to the side, smushing your cheek against your tangled fingers.

Simon’s grip tightened just a fraction. Small, firm circles soon pressed against your shoulder a moment later, pulling a stuttered breath from your aching throat. He was warm. Solid. Kind and quiet. And you should not be having these thoughts. It was easier, smarter, to be in the shadows of this all. Friends had been few and far between for you for most of your life. It was easier to keep people away.

It was what you should do with Simon. You knew that was the smarter choice.

But you didn’t move.

Didn’t move until he shifted and his other hand carefully smoothed over your upturned cheek. Your heart hammered against the cage of your ribs but you couldn’t recall a time when you’d felt calmer. His thumb arced across the ridge of your cheekbone as your eyes shut again.

And maybe you could have said something, or maybe he was going to—but your phone chirped. And then chirped again. And again.

Simon’s hands slipped away and you stood, haphazardly running around the bed to grab your tiny phone from where you’d left it atop the opposite nightstand. You quickly read the texts before turning to Simon, almost unsurpised to see him standing beside you. “Kirby’s having the baby.”

And then you were off, shuffled into the back of the SUV and careening across Chicago. And you pointedly ignored Soap’s gaze when he tried to look at you in the rearview mirror. No, you would not explain why Simon had come out of your room with you. Thankyouverymuch.

The hospital was quiet this time of night, or at least the entrance you used was, far away from the emergency room intake. But that only meant you caught the eye of the nurses behind the desk much easier. Kirby had texted you her room number and you just needed to-

“Excuse me, you can’t just walk in here. You need a visitor’s pass.”

You were absolutely not going to get one of those—with your luck, Kirby would already be crowning by now and if you stopped you’d miss everything—but Price, Gaz, and Soap all beelined toward the desk and effectively blocked you (but not Simon) from the nurse’s stare and Simon stood in front of you as you entered the elevator. It took you a moment to realize he was blocking you from being seen by the tiny camera in the corner. His face was still mostly covered and Gaz had made sure your ball cap was firmly on your head before you even left the hotel. They were protecting you. Again.

The elevator opened with a soft ding and you hurried down the hall, following the arrows leading toward labor and delivery. You pressed the button at the door, saying your name and Kirby’s and it thankfully opened without much fanfare. You counted the rooms until you found Kirby’s and let yourself in, a small bit of tension finally falling from your spine.

Kirby was radiant. She always was, to be honest. Even during the standard awkward tween years, she’d been beautiful. The little hospital-issued gown did little to detract from it—she also had a full face of glamorous makeup on, her hair curled and magazine worthy. Her bright eyes widened as she looked at you.

“You look like you’ve been-”

“I was mugged,” you said quickly, waving a hand. “Guy’ll get caught eventually. I’ll be fine.”

Kirby’s eyes narrowed and you could feel her gaze rove over your neck before meandering up to your discolored eyes. You could see her filing it all away and then, in the next blink, it was settled. “Is that why you have that ridiculously long number now?”

“Yeah,” you said, thankful she’d given you a way to explain away a few things. “My phone’s gone. And this number is just temporary anyway. Everyone thinks I’ll get some of my stuff back soon anyway.”

Kirby nodded and then her eyebrow twitched before her hand pressed over her stomach. “I’m glad you’re here. Means a lot to me.”

You reached out and swept your sister into a hug that she quickly reciprocated as best she could from the hospital bed. It was a tight embrace, the points of her fingers lining your vertebrae before smoothing up to your shoulder blades. She’d always hugged you this way, something she’d come out of the womb doing. You’d always tried to respond in kind, wordlessly telling her that she meant the world to you.

As you pulled back, you swept a hand across her forehead, ignoring the sweat now on your palm. “What do you need from me?”

“I would kill for a double cheeseburger after all this. Right now I’m only allowed to have ice chips, which seems a little cruel.”

“I’ll get you that double cheeseburger,” she said. Of course she did. And Simon had no doubt that she would. But still, he pulled out his phone and texted Johnny, telling him to find a burger place that was open.

It was interesting to see her actually interact with Kirby. She called her a sister, but this seemed more like a fretting, doting parent. Even from his “hiding” spot just outside the door, he felt like he was intruding.

A doctor stared at him as he walked by. Or tried to. Simon crossed his arms and the doctor hurried his steps a little. Security here was a joke. But for now, things were okay and he turned just enough to see into the room again.

“I’m trying really hard to be zen.” Sweat dotted Kirby’s hairline and the slightest wobble of her bottom lip betrayed her struggle. But if it were anyone else, Simon thought she might actually look like she was “zen.”

She reached out toward Kirby and held her hand. “Well, if you want to squeeze my hand as hard as you can instead of screaming, you have my permission to break my fingers.”

Kirby took her sister’s hand and kissed her knuckles before patting the back of her hand. “You look rough enough. I’ll try not to break anything.”

The attempt at zen lasted longer than Simon anticipated. A flurry of nurses had come in and out and yelled about dilation and then the command to “push, push, push” came quickly. Very quickly. A nurse or two had remarked about how fast the labor was going. Kirby groaned and huffed. But no screaming. Simon could respect that.

But above it all, he heard her. “Breathe with me. You got this.”

Kirby let out two short breaths.

“She’s nearly here. Come on, Kirbs. You can do it.”

And then there was a shrill cry. A baby. Something long dormant cracked in the recesses of Simon’s chest. And he looked back. It was quiet in the room for a little as the baby was placed against Kirby’s chest. The baby squirmed a little when Kirby started to cry, zen broken.

“You did so great,” she whispered. “She’s beautiful. Healthy. And she’s got a great set of lungs, just like her mom.”

Kirby laughed and pressed a series of short, careful kisses against the baby’s head. The quiet continued, all of them content for a moment. “Want to hold her?” Kirby asked, already holding the baby out to her.

She paused, just for a moment, before carefully taking the small bundle into her arms. Her face crumpled and he watched tears quickly start to slide down her cheeks. “Hi, honey. I’m your aunt. I already love you so much.” She leaned down and pressed a featherlight kiss against the baby’s cheek.

The crack in his chest widened.

He listened to her coo over the baby and her sister, whispered, happy words as the medical team continued to come in and out. He didn’t move. Not when he could see her smile like that.

Simon could feel Johnny staring at him before he even slowed to a stop. The scent of the requested cheeseburger wafted up from a greasy bag in his hand. “How’s our girl doing?”

Simon almost smiled. Our girl. He liked it. His girl.

Next Chapter

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Your comments really keep me motivated and I love reading all of them. Please let me know what you think! xx

[avendjarin]

500 FOLLOWER SPECIAL — 500 DR IDEAS !

thank you SO much for 500 !! this account and all of you hold such a special place in my heart, so i hope this can pay back some of the love you all have shown me over these past few months 🫶🫶🫶

⋆⭒˚ . MOVIES ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆

1. 10 Thing I Hate About You

2. 13 Going on 30

3. 27 Dresses

4. About Time

5. The Adjustment Bureau

6. The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl

7. Alice in Wonderland

8. Amélie

9. Alvin and the Chipmunks

10. Avatar

11. Back to the Future

12. Barbie

13. Beetlejuice

14. Big Hero 6

15. Blade Runner

16. Bottoms

17. The Breakfast Club

18. Bring it On

19. Bullet Train

20. But I’m a Cheerleader

21. Challengers

22. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

23. Cinderella

24. Clueless

25. Coraline

26. Corpse Bride

27. Crazy Rich Asians

28. DC

29. Dead Poets Society

30. Descendants

31. The Devil Wears Prada

32. Dirty Dancing

33. Divergent

34. Do Revenge

35. Dune

36. Ella Enchanted

37. Encanto

38. Enchanted

39. Equestria Girls

40. The Eternals

41. Everything Everywhere All at Once

42. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

43. Fantastic Four

44. Fast and Furious

45. Fear Street

46. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

47. Frozen

48. Gladiator

49. Good Will Hunting

50. Grease

51. The Greatest Showman

52. Guardians of the Galaxy

53. Harry Potter/Marauders

54. Heathers

55. High School Musical

56. Hocus Pocus

57. The Holdovers

58. The Holiday

59. Hotel Transylvania

60. How to Train Your Dragon

61. Howl’s Moving Castle

62. Hugo

63. Inception

64. The Incredibles

65. Indiana Jones

66. Instant Family

67. The Internship

68. Into the Woods

69. It

70. Jumanji

71. Jurassic Park

72. Kingsmen

73. Knives Out

74. Legally Blonde

75. The Life List

76. Little Miss Sunshine

77. The Lorax

78. Lord of the Rings

79. Love Actually

80. Luca

81. Maleficent

82. Mamma Mia

83. The Matrix

84. MCU

85. Mean Girls

86. Meet the Robinsons

87. Men in Black

88. Midnight in Paris

89. The Mitchells vs. the Machines

90. Moana

91. Moonrise Kingdom

92. Monsters, Inc.

93. Mr. Peabody and Sherman

94. Night at the Museum

95. The Nightmare Before Christmas

96. Notting Hill

97. Now You See Me

98. Ocean’s Eleven

99. Paddington

100. Passengers

101. Peter Pan

102. Pirates of the Caribbean

103. Pitch Perfect

104. Pixels

105. The Polar Express

106. The Princess Bride

107. The Princess Diaries

108. Ready Player One

109. Rise of the Guardians

110. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

111. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

112. Scream

113. Secret of the Wings

114. Shazam!

115. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

116. Spiderman

117. Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

118. Spy Kids

119. Stand By Me

120. Stardust

121. Star Wars

122. Suicide Squad

123. Tangled

124. Terminator

125. Thunderbolts*

126. Top Gun

127. Transformers

128. Tron

129. Treasure Planet

130. Twister

131. West Side Story

132. Wicked

133. The Wizard of Oz

134. Wonka

135. Wreck it Ralph

136. X-Men

137. Zathura: A Space Adventure

138. Zombieland

⋆⭒˚ . TV SHOWS ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆

139. The 100

140. 9-1-1

141. Abbott Elementary

142. The Addams Family

143. Adventure Time

144. Agatha All Along

145. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

146. Alice in Borderland

147. The Amazing Digital Circus

148. The Amazing World of Gumball

149. Anne with an E

150. Arcane

151. Arrested Development

152. Attack on Titan

153. Barbie Life in the Dreamhouse

154. The Bear

155. The Big Bang Theory

156. Bob’s Burgers

157. Boy Meets World

158. The Boys

159. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

160. Bratz

161. Bridgerton

162. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

163. Chainsaw Man

164. Charlie’s Angels

165. Charmed

166. Chicago Fire

167. Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

168. The Clone Wars

169. Community

170. Cowboy Bebop

171. Criminal Minds

172. Dance Moms

173. Daredevil

174. Deadly Class

175. Death Note

176. Demon Slayer

177. Dexter

178. Doctor Who

179. Downton Abbey

180. The Dragon Prince

181. Elena of Avalor

182. The End of the F***ing World

183. Euphoria

184. Ever After High

185. Family Guy

186. Friday Night Lights

187. Friends

188. Full House

189. Futurama

190. Game of Thrones

191. Gilmore Girls

192. Glitter Force

193. Good Omens

194. The Good Place

195. Gossip Girl

196. Gravity Falls

197. Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies

198. Grey’s Anatomy

199. H2O: Just Add Water

200. Haikyuu

201. Hazbin Hotel

202. Henry Danger

203. Heroes

204. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

205. How I Met Your Mother

206. House MD

207. Hunter x Hunter

208. iCarly

209. Invincible

210. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

211. Jessie

212. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure

213. Jujutsi Kaisen

214. Kim Possible

215. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts

216. Law and Order

217. The Legend of Korra

218. Liv and Maddie

219. Loki

220. Lolirock

221. Love Island

222. The L World

223. The Mandalorian

224. Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

225. Misfits

226. Mob Psycho 100

227. Modern Family

228. Moon Knight

229. Monster High

230. My Babysitter’s a Vampire

231. My Hero Academia

232. My Life with the Walter Boys

233. My Little Pony

234. Nana

235. Narcos

236. Naruto

237. NCIS

238. Ninjago

239. NYPD Blue

240. Obey Me

241. The O.C.

242. The Office

243. Once Upon a Time

244. One Piece

245. Our Flag Means Dearh

246. Outer Banks

247. Owl House

248. Parks and Recreation

249. Phineas and Ferb

250. The Pitt

251. The Powerpuff Girls

252. Power Rangers

253. Pretty Little Liars

254. Prison Break

255. The Queen’s Gambit

256. The Real Housewives

257. Rick and Morty

258. Riverdale

259. RuPaul’s Drag Race

260. Sabrina the Teenage Witch

261. Scooby Doo

262. Scream Queens

263. Seinfeld

264. Severance

265. Sex and the City

266. Shameless

267. She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

268. Sherlock

269. The Simpsons

270. SK8 the Infinity

271. Skeleton Crew

272. Smallville

273. Sofia the First

274. South Park

275. SpongeBob

276. Squid Game

277. Star Trek

278. Star vs. the Forces of Evil

279. Steins;Gate

280. Steven Universe

281. Stranger Things

282. Strawberry Shortcake

283. Succession

284. Suits

285. Supernatural

286. Totally Spies

287. Teen Titans Go!

288. Teen Wolf

289. That 70s Show

290. To All the Boys I Loved Before

291. Tokyo Revengers

292. Total Drama

293. Twin Peaks

294. The Umbrella Academy

295. The Vampire Diaries

296. Victorious

297. The Walking Dead

298. Wednesday

299. White Lotus

300. Winx Club

301. The Witcher

302. Wizards of Waverly Place

303. The X-Files

304. Yellowjackets

305. Yellowstone

⋆⭒˚ . VIDEO GAMES ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆

306. Animal Crossing

307. Baldur’s Gate 3

308. Bendy and the Ink Machine

309. Call of Duty

310. Castlevania

311. Cats and Soup

312. Cozy Grove

313. Cyberpunk 2077

314. Dead Space

315. Destiny

316. Detroit: Become Human

317. Doki Doki Literature Club

318. Elden Ring

319. The Elder Scrolls

320. Fallout

321. Final Fantasy

322. Five Nights at Freddy’s

323. Genshin Impact

324. God of War

325. Good Pizza, Great Pizza

326. Halo

327. Haunted Chocolatier

328. Heavy Rain

329. Hogwarts Legacy

330. Honkai: Star Rail

331. Kingdom Hearts

332. The Last of Us

333. The Legend of Zelda

334. Life is Strange

335. Mario (any of them)

336. Mass Effect

337. Minecraft

338. Outer Wilds

339. Persona 5

340. Phasmophobia

341. Pokémon

342. Portal

343. Potion Craft

344. Red Dead Redemption

345. Resident Evil

346. Sally Face

347. Scribblenauts

348. Slay the Princess

349. Slime Rancher

350. Starbound

351. Stardew Valley

352. Terraria

353. Tomb Raider

354. Twisted Wonderland

355. Uncharted

356. Undertale

357. Until Dawn

358. Watch Dogs

⋆⭒˚ . BOOKS ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆

359. Babysitter’s Club

360. Chronicles of Narnia

361. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

362. Dork Diaries

363. Fourth Wing

364. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder

365. The Great Gatsby

366. Heartstopper

367. The Hunger Games

368. Little Women

369. The Maze Runner

370. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

371. The Outsiders

372. Percy Jackson and the Olympians

372. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

374. Pride and Predjudice

375. Rainbow Magic

376. The Rosewood Chronicles

377. A Series of Unfortunate Events

378. Shadow and Bone

379. Six of Crows

380. The Summer I Turned Pretty

381. Twilight

382. Warrior Cats

⋆⭒˚ . MISCELLANEOUS ⋆ ｡˚ ⋆

383. Actor

384. Ancient Egypt

385. Ancient Rome

386. Angels and Devils

387. Apocalypse

388. Astronaut

389. Athlete

390. Author

391. Backrooms

392. Bakery

393. Ballerina

394. Band

395. The Beatles

396. Better CR

397. Big City

398. Boarding School

399. Cat

400. Celebrity Assistant

401. Cheerleader

402. Chef

403. Childhood

404. Circus Performer

405. Coffee Shop

406. Comedian

407. Cooking Show

408. Cowboy

409. Crossover DRs

410. Dancer

411. Dark Academia

412. Demigod

413. Detective

414. Director

415. Disneyland

416. Dungeons and Dragons

417. Empty mall with unlimited money

418. Escape the Night

419. Fairy

420. Fanfic

421. Fangirl

422. Fantasy

423. Farmer

424. Farmer’s Daughter

425. Fashion Designer

426. Figure Skater

427. Food Critic

428. Formula 1 Driver

429. Formula 1 WAG

430. Futuristic

431. Gender Swap

432. Goddess

433. Greek Mythology

434. Grunge

435. Gymnast

436. Hallmark Christmas Movie

437. A Heist/In Space with Markiplier

438. Influencer

439. Interior Designer

440. Interviewer

441. Inventor

442. Kardashians

443. K-Pop

444. Last person on Earth

445. Librarian

446. Library of Alexandria

447. The Magnus Archives

448. Mermaid

449. Model

450. Movie Critic

451. Murder Mystery

452. Music Producer

453. Musical

454. Musical Theatre

455. Nascar Driver

456. Nepo Baby

457. North Pole

458. Old Money

459. Olympic Athlete

460. Painter

461. Paranormal Investigator

462. Parent

463. Photographer

464. Pirate

465. Podcast

466. Poet

467. Psychic

468. Rapper

469. Rockstar gf

470. Royalty

471. SCP

472. Screenwriter

473. Shifting School

474. Singer

475. Siren

476. Skateboarder

477. Small Town

478. Smosh

479. Socialite

480. Soulmate AU

481. Spy

482. Steampunk

483. Streamer

484. Summer Camp

485. Surfer

486. Swimmer

487. Tattoo Artist

488. Teacher

489. Therapy

490. Timeloop

491. Vacation

492. Vampire

493. Van Life

494. Vlogger

495. Waiting Room

496. Werewolf

497. Winter Wonderland

498. Witch

499. Your mind (inside out type of thing)

500. Youtuber

[bakukatsuki]

— i will always find you.

pairing: katsuki bakugo x f!reader contains: no NSFW, no quirks, minor gore (blood n zombies obv), angst but a happy ending, kissing, aged up, & no manga spoilers.

★ ! zombie apocalyspe. a few months after graduating high school and now in college about to finish your second semester when all of a sudden the society you once lived in turned into an outbreak. you find yourself searching for supplies to survive until you meet someone after going solo.

author note: this is SUPER long but ive always had a spot for whenever I come across someone's work and it's based off of the zombie apocalypse so I decided to finally write my own. please enjoy reading! ‧₊˚✩彡

it wasn't supposed to be like this. you were supposed to be in your college class like any other regular day, going to grab a coffee with friends or studying for your next exam until the world has done a complete turnaround. you always thought it would only happen in movies, joking around with your friends if a zombie apocalypse were to happen until it became a reality.

the virus was quick to get people turning them into lifeless parasites. the zombie apocalypse had become a reality. you remembered the screams of your friends who tried to defend one another when the campus started to flood with zombies. standing in your place too scared to do anything as you watched all of your friends either crying for help or screaming at you to run.

and you ran. you didn't look back as you held back tears and prayed for your friends as you ran off campus to your parent's house. grabbing your keys from your pocket you unlocked the door before slamming the door shut. you shut your eyes as you heard screams going on outside. shaking your head, you called out for your parents as you ran around the house before running upstairs.

standing there as your keys fell from your fingers to the ground you read the letter they had left you in their room. they left without you and told you that they had gone north to go see your older brother who was in the military for safety. it didn't feel real. you knew you didn't have the best relationship with your parents as they always favored your older brother the moment you were born but you didn't know you were that unworthy to them that they had left you behind to see your brother.

but that was approximately 121 days ago which means it's been four months since the outbreak started and its been four months since you've been alone. you stayed at your house for a month before the area got too populated with these lifeless parasites. you had to leave. packing your bag with all the essentials you needed and left without looking back.

you didn't know where to go but north. although you didn't want to see your parents for abandoning you back at home the moment the world started crashing down. you wanted to see your brother. he was your best friend from day one and he was the only reason for you to keep fighting every day, traumatizing yourself with constant fear of having to fight for your life every day.

here you are now, packing a few items to bring with you as you set off for an expedition for supplies. you had found a place that seemed safe for now before finding another place to crash at.

heading your way to the pharmacy you had found while finding the place you slowly peeked inside, examining the store to make sure the place was clear before entering. holding one hand near your back pocket where you had your knife you looked through the aisles, grabbing a few things such as snacks and bandages before you heard a noise from the entrance you came from.

you held your breath as you looked over the shelf, seeing a tall, slim but built blonde enter the pharmacy. your hand grabbed onto your knife as you watched his every move before accidentally leaning onto the shelf and causing a noise. seeing as he looked in your direction you held your breath as you hid behind the shelf.

''come out with your hands in the air,'' he spoke. his voice was somewhat deep but raspy. ''what are you doing here.'' you asked, standing your ground behind the shelf as you heard slow footsteps coming closer your way. ''i'm not gonna hurt you, idiot. I'm here for supplies like you are but it seems like either there was nothing or your ass took everything.'' you inhaled deeply as his voice got closer.

''do not come closer. i-i have a weapon!'' you mentally cursed to yourself for stuttering as you tried to sound intimidating. you heard him chuckle before he came around the corner of the shelf and stared at you. you gasped, moving back as you held your knife out to him. ''i'm not scared to use this on you.'' he rolled his eyes as he looked at you from top to bottom. ''you wouldn-'' he stopped as you both turned your head to the entrance.

a herd of zombies was heading your way. ''shit, they might've heard us.'' the blonde cursed to himself before grabbing your hand and running to the back exit. ''what do you think you're doing?!'' though, you didn't retract your hand away from his. he continued holding onto your hand as he got the both of you away from there. ''just saved both of our asses, you idiot!''

the two of you ran near the place you had been staying. ''well, thanks but I didn't need your help.'' you said before looking at his hand still holding onto your hand. ''oh, sorry..'' he mumbled before letting go.

''bakugo.'' you gave him a look. ''what?'' he deeply sighed, ''my name is bakugo now are you gonna tell me yours?'' you stared at him for a second before telling him your name.

and that was the last time you saw bakugo. after running into each other you for some reason decided to trust him enough to bring him to your hideout that you've been crashing at. the two of you decided to stick together after that. a solid two months of just being the two of you. you had told him that you were going north to see if you could find your parents and brother who were most likely at the military base and surprisingly he was heading in the same direction too.

you've developed feelings for him. you never thought you would after everything that had happened to the world. not thinking it was possible to do or feel human things that you felt back then until now. the two of you had gotten close and soon opened up to each other about what happened or what you were doing before the virus crashed upon earth. you learned that he was attending a college not too far from yours and was studying for an exam in the college library on campus before a student started acting out and launching themself onto another student. he didn't tell you much about his friends or family and you didn't wanna push it.

its been a month without him. the two of you have moved to a different location as you both continued to travel up north until you two went on an expedition for food when a herd of zombies was heading your guy’s way, too many the both of you can handle. that was when he had yelled at you to go back to your guy's hideout as he distracted the herd to the opposite way, promising you that he'd find you. you refused to leave his side, crying for him not to and to just run with you. you couldn't lose another person.

he held your hand before bringing you into his arms. ''I promise I'll find you, I'll always find you,'' he reassured you before placing his lips onto yours. you melted into the moment the two of you had before he pushed you away, yelling at you him not to look back.

for the entirety of the one month without bakugo you had decided to give him a day before heading out to find him just to come back empty-handed. you had stopped crying yourself to sleep, reminding yourself that he wouldn't go down so easily until you had decided to listen to what he had told you and headed north but not before leaving a note behind if one day he showed up.

here you are traveling solo once again as you continue to count the days from the last time you saw bakugo. it wasn’t the same anymore. although you looked for food and supplies you had gotten thinner. it was starting to get colder as winter was heading its way. you were tired and starved. you felt as if you couldn’t make it anymore but the hope of being reunited with bakugo was the only hope you had to keep going.

your vision had started to blur. you were thirsty for water. from a distance, you can picture a place, no, a base perhaps? you couldn't think anymore before you landed on the ground unconscious.

-

you wake up confused. your eyes blinking to regain their vision before seeing that you're in a room. 'it's warm' you thought, sitting up before feeling your head pound. you must've hit your head pretty hard. you tried remembering how you got here but nothing seemed to come to mind. as you were about to remove the sheets off of you and wander off to find someone the door opened and you were met with those familiar crimson eyes you missed so much.

''baku-'' before you could even say his name you were engulfed in his arms. ''you're alive..'' you heard him mumble against your neck as his arms tightened around you as if he was scared to lose you again. he moved slightly to take a good look at you, looking to see if you were hurt and letting out a sigh of relieved to know that you were okay. ''where have you been..'' you asked, your voice cracking as your eyes slightly watered from seeing him again.

''i thought i was never *hiccup* going to see you again..'' he shook his head as he sat on the bed near you, not letting you go. ''i was going to come back but the herd drained everything out of me and i lost consciousness before i could get back to you before waking up in the same room. i tried to leave before realizing this was a safe place for you if i found you, for us'' your tears fell as you continued to listen to him, nodding and smiling when he wiped your tears with his thumb with a slight smile of reassurance. ''i guess you found me instead'' he said as he chuckled. he still couldn't believe that you were alive and here with him.

''but i promise you, y/n. i will always find you and that's a promise.'' you believed him of course. as the two of you sat in comfortable silence you looked around the room again. ''where are we?'' you asked before he replied, ''we're in a safe place, a really safe place. we're at the military base that we both wanted to find. your brother is here and so are your parents.'' you gasped, ''my family is here?'' he nodded. ''rest up, i promise you'll see them.'' you laid back comfortably in bed as you still held his hands, enjoying the feeling of being back with bakugo.

[alex99achapterthree]

Phantom Friday...

A U.S. Navy McDonnell F-4G Phantom II of Fighter Squadron VF-121 at NAS Miramar in 1966. This Phantom is one of the short-lived USN-F-4Gs, 12 were converted from F-4Bs with AN/ASW-12 two-way datalink communication system and approach power compensator which, coupled with the shipboard AN/SPN-10 radar and AN/USC-1 datalink allowed hands-off carrier landings. 150642 was converted back to an F-4B in October 1966 an again converted to an F-4N in October 1973.

Although similar looking, this wasn't the Air Force SEA green camo. This experimental green-on-green scheme was used by the Navy on several Phantoms, Skyraiders and Intruders. Eventually the Navy decided that camouflage paint did not hide the aircraft to any great extent, and was found to be a negative factor when attempting to move an aircraft around the carrier deck at night.

[kuu-tamo]

GIVE ME BACK MY GESTALT

Tfe constructiprowl :) Based heavily on this:

I haven't seen anyone do a fic about this specific idea, and I am craving for it. So I guess I have to do it myself.

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

Prowl looked on as the constructicons talked about their plans to create accessible energon and how to make accommodation for cybertronians.

Prowl felt himself smile the longer he kept looking at his gestalt.

He could have never seen himself part of a gestalt, but Primus had other plans. It was a freak accident that got him the constructicons.

Prowl remembers it well.

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Get energon and leave, but in war everything escalates. Prowl isn't quite sure what happened, but he saw a large explosion coming from the warehouse. Then Prowl remembers the smell. The familiar smell of a cybertronian being burnt alive.

At the time he wasn't sure who died, but it became really apparent when the constructicons' leader Scrapper wasn't with them.

They didn't even fight back when they took them under custody. Later it was confirmed that Scrapper had died while detonating an unstable energon bomb.

It was decided very soon after that the constructicons were Prowl's responsibility. He remembers not being very happy about it at the time, but now Prowl is very thankful for Optimus.

The first thing Prowl remembers seeing was the constructicons in incredible pain and something in him felt sympathy for them. So he did something he hadn't done for anyone else, he comforted them.

The first couple of weeks were tense between them, but little by little they started to bond. At some point Prowl was spending all his free time with the constructicons, and he felt sad when they broke out and left. But he knew that he would meet them again.

On the battlefield to be specific. Surprisingly this time they were fighting a common enemy. It was a tough battle that only got resolved, when Prowl with the help of the remaining constructicons formed Devastate.

Ever since then, Prowl has been involved with the constructicons . He is embarrassed to admit it, but they managed to captivate him. Scavenger's clingy nature, Bonecrusher's art, Mixmaster's cooking if you can call it that, Long haul's longing for battle and Hook's perfectionist tendency charmed him.

One thing led to another and now Prowl is basically married to them. They haven't conjunxed yet, but Prowl feels that it won't take long until they are official.

If it weren't for the fact that the war had ended, they would be called traitors.

Prowl still couldn't believe that the war had ended. After millions of years of war all it took was to get stranded on Earth and get the spacebridge destroyed.

After that Megatron had joined the autobots. Prowl wasn't too happy about that, but it helped to end the war, so he wasn't complaining. The constructicons were pretty neutral on the situation, they had simply shrugged their shoulders and said that it would happen eventually.

But now that the war was over they could finally live in relative peace.

"HEY, PROWLY. WHATCHA THINK!?" Mixmaster shouted.

"Look's good. Mixmaster."

"See. It's perfect." Mixmaster turned to look at Hook, who was giving Mixmaster a death glare.

The constructicons have been building something for a while now. They said it was a secret, but Prowl had an idea what it could be.

He still couldn't wait to see.

Prowl longingly stared at the constructicons. He is content, even happy right now.

.

But that peace and quiet was soon disturbed by G.H.O.S.T. cars and their personnel.

Prowl didn't trust the G.H.O.S.T. since their plan was always ambiguous enough to make him question their motivation. Prowl wasn't sure why Optimus allied the autobots with them, but Prowl trusts Optimus' judgement.

That still doesn't answer why they are here.

"State your business and the reason for why you have come here." Prowl said commandingly. Alerting the constructicons.

One of the humans came forward, "We have come here to detain the decepticons."

"What? Why?" Prowl took a step towards the humans, the constructicons were close behind him. "The war ended years ago. We are trying to live in peace on Earth. . You have no right to come here and detain my gestalt."

"Orders from the upper ups." The human answered.

"I demand to talk to Optimus. I can prove that they are no longer dangerous to humans."

"Hmm, no thanks." The humans said casually and made a sign, "Take them."

Before Prowl could blink, he felt a sharp pain near his spark. Prowl fell down on the ground in pain.

"PROWL!" Scavenger shouted, getting closer to Prowl, but before he could get to him. He was shot with something that made him lose consciousness.

It didn't take long for the others to fall unconscious right after Scavenger. Prowl watches helplessly as his gestalt was taken away from him.

The human who he had talked to walked up to him and crouched down to Prowl eye level. "I expected better from an autobot. . . You out of anyone should have known that the war is not over."

The human aimed his gun towards Prowl's right optic, "Good night."

The human pulled the trigger and destroyed Prowl's right optic, causing him to go into stasis lock. The last thing Prowl remembers was him reaching out to his gestalts, before everything went dark.

From that day on Prowl status was labeled as killed-in-action and his body was dumped in to a nearby cave.

But if there was something the humans forgot is that the Cybertronians are not killed until their spark is completely destroyed.

Part 2

[dangerousthingobservation]

A U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121 taxis the flight deck aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) while underway, June 29, 2022. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Gabriel Durand

[mattyriddlesbitch]

Size Kink

Mattheo Riddle x F!Reader

Warnings:

18+ Minors DNI!

Mattheo was always so much bigger than you. He was taller, much more muscular, and he used it to his advantage, though you weren't entirely sure if he was conscious about doing it or not about it. Could've just been instinct or habit or something else how he would crowd you against a wall when talking to you, or when he would pick you up like you weighed nothing, or when he gave you his clothes and they would swallow you up.

Or your personal favorite, him trying to fit his cock fully inside you. The preparation was always intense; him fingering you and eating you out until he could fit four fingers in you to stretch you out. That doesn't even include the amount of lube he uses as well. And it doesn't matter how many times you've taken him or how long you've prepped, he still seems to stretch you out more and struggle with the last few inches.

"Just relax, princess. I'm almost in. You can take it, can't you?" He'd coo softly even though you could see the strain of holding back as he tried to ease into you.

"I can take it." You nodded, trying to hold back the whimpers threatening to leave your lips.

"Good. I don't wanna break you. Just yet." He smiled at you, trying to relax you a little more. You chuckled a little at his words and he hissed. "Don't do that. You fucking clench me when you laugh like that."

You giggled a little more before muttering a "sorry" and he continued easing into you until he finally bottomed out. The feeling always had you squirming, feeling too full, but also not full enough. "Please, move, please." You'd mutter and it was now his turn to laugh as he leaned over you, taking up most of your vision as he caged you in.

"I got you, princess. Don't worry."

Taglist:

@jeannie-beannie @mixvchelle @helendeath @evaslytherpuff @leandre2006

@yours-truly-5 @hpnsfwaddict @mayamonroem @brittney-121 @leovaldezsbitch

@dracoslovergirl @littlemadamred @mattheoriddleluvbot @acornacreacure @opheliamalfoy236

@demieyesore @akira1246 @queenshu @prettypinkprincess15 @starryslytherin0

@jolly4holly @st0n3dbarbi3 @kurumbukaari @whydoireadanymore @sweet-afternoon

@ilovehpb0ys @princessluvssleep @satosugu4-ever @reys-letters @mattiesgirl

@alwayslatetothefandoms @satosugu4-ever @whydoireadanymore @reys-letters @mcdonaldshelppage

@shaquilles-0atmeal @feistyfox47 @gillyweeds @pluto-9456 @jooniebluesworld

@hereticdance @lxserriddle @cindyss @saint-marvel @atadoddinnit

@simpforromance @yours-truly-5 @kenjikishimotoswifey @fallingblackveils @simpforromance

@strxwberri-s @nickirae @esmerai-artemis @blu3b3rrymuff1ns @m1lilachp

@roseofsharron438 @abeoavita @rafesba @ter-luer @slutsluvpaola

@lhotse8801 @eneywey @suna-rintired @maxsisly @emmynotawards

@notavailibles-world @tantrumbaby

[usafphantom2]

US Navy F-4J Phantom from VF-121 "Red Nose" at NAS Miramar, CA, in 1969.

@perpetuaosombro via X

[mei-mei-fics]

submission requests!

rules: send an ask under my “talk to mei” submission box on the idol(s) and prompts (up to 3) u would like to see, ill come up with a plot & i’ll replay with a fanfic based off what u request! (ill pick the ones im feeling the most obviously, the better detailed, more likely it is to be picked!)

requests: full! i’m currently writing as we speak </3

the prompts

kinks:

101. cnc

102. exhibitionism

103. filming/sex tapes

104. humiliation

105. size kink

106. somnophilia

107. punishment

108. orgasm denial/edging

109. overstimulation

110. sensory deprivation

111. pet play

112. roleplay

113. daddy kink/ddlg (no sexual age play)

114. bdsm

115. spanking/impact play

116. public sex

117. cuckolding

118. knife play

119. hypnotism

120. wax play

121. bondage

122. double penetration

123. oral (f receiving)

124. oral (m receiving)

125. deepthroating/face fucking

126. dry humping

127. corruption

128. collaring

129. threesome

130. bimbofication/objectification

131. choking

132. dacryphilia

133. dick worship

134. gags

135. sadism/masochism

136. breeding

137. phone sex

scenarios:

201. non-au

202. hookups

203. bdsm club

204. a/b/o

205. teacher/student

206. office workers

207. strip club

208. royalty

209. magic

210. coworkers

211. dystopian

212. yandere

213. dark/dead dove

214. neighbours

215. fwb

216. college

217. tattoo shop

218. power imbalance

219. idol x idol

220. idol x fan

221. rock/band au

222. idol x company worker

223. arranged marriage

224. fake dating

225. mafia/crime

226. cult

227. vampires

228. rivals

dialogues:

301. “you think you deserve that?”

302. “i know you’ve been watching me”

303. “seems we have an audience”

304. “hands behind your back”

305. “don’t look at them, they’re not gonna help you”

306. “look at you taking it”

307. “you’re all messy, baby”

308. “what did you say?”

309. “do you need a reminder?”

310. “i’m not done with you”

311. “i’m taking you home”

312. “louder. i wanna hear you”

313. “show me”

314. “she’s always sensitive. aren’t you, baby?”

315. “this is what you fantasised about, right?”

316. “i said you had my permission. i never said i’d help you”

317. “remember what i taught you? let me see”

318. “i want you sore”

319. “louder.”

320. “come here”

321. “that’s what i thought”

322. “who’s in charge here?”

323. “you can’t hide. not from me”

324. “i love you like this”

325. “you know what to say”

326. “you know what to call me”

327. “i’ve got you.”

heavily inspired by @mulloey ‘s 2k special event! (pls view their page, their work is amazing! ೄྀ࿐ ˊˎ-

[joelalorian]

Fevered Flame

Marcus Pike x F!Reader

Summary: When Marcus Pike lost himself in work after that debacle with Theresa, he didn’t expect to take on a sizzling new case in the quirky town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Nor did he expect to meet you, an up-and-coming agent also looking for a fresh start. An unprecedented heatwave, mind-boggling art thefts, ancient Aztec legends, this case had the works. How would he ever solve the case with the temperature rising between you both?

This fic is my contribution to @iamasaddie's Little Lady Kinky May writing challenge. Prompts were Marcus Pike and Temperature. This is my first time writing Marcus Pike and I hope I did him justice. I learned a few things about myself during this process, the most important being that I am incapable of writing porn without plot, or a romantic angle, apparently. This story turned out waaaaay different than intended because of that. I apologize now for the plot heaviness between sexy bits.

WC: 10.4k – I’m sorry, I have no idea where all these words came from

Warnings: Explicit 18+, too much plot, heat making people cray cray, sexy sweatiness, lots of cursing (I’m from New Jersey, I can’t help it), nonsensical crime stuff, a plot that came straight outta left field, protected and unprotected sex (p in v), pussy eating and cock sucking, inappropriate use of an ice cube and hot springs. No use of y/n. Reader has a nickname and boobs, otherwise, I tried to keep her a blank slate. Some terms of endearment. IDK, there’s probably more but I can’t think right now.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this utter ridiculousness. Dividers by the wonderful @saradika-graphics. Moodboard by me.

Masterlist

Still reeling from the aftermath of Theresa Lisbon choosing that pontificating windbag Patrick Jane over him nearly a year ago, Marcus Pike buried himself in work. The transition from Texas to DC and adapting to leading a whole new team took his mind of his misery. However, the lonely nights in his new home, the one purchased with hopes of building a life with Theresa in mind, were untenable and he took on more fieldwork than someone at the director level typically would. Hence why Marcus found himself driving through the desert to some quirky small town in New Mexico called Truth or Consequences.

What the fuck kind of name was that for a town, he wondered idly as his right hand pumped the rental car’s AC to full blast. Having already stripped off his suit jacket and tie, Marcus sweat clear through his lavender dress shirt within minutes. The heat was ungodly. Surely it couldn’t be normal. How could people live like that?

Eyes scanning the dashboard display of the mid-size SUV the agency rented for him, they nearly bugged out of his head at the temperature reading. Lit up in glaring red, the numbers 121°F taunted him as sweat dripped down his temples.

Jesus Christ. Death Valley had nothing on this place.

Marcus steered the vehicle toward his hotel, opting to change into something a little more suitable for the local climate before checking in with the agent representing the local field office. The FBI put him up in a supposedly nice hotel, though he didn’t have high expectations of what that meant in a town like this. As long as the AC worked, he’d survive.

Thirty minutes later, Marcus took his second shower of the day, this one much colder than the last, and jumped back into the SUV in an outfit more typical of a golf outing than an FBI investigation. It was the best he could do with what he packed. The local agent texted him the address of an art gallery, the first in a series of apparent crime scenes, and he plugged the address into the GPS.

Normally, you didn’t mind the heat, preferring that to cold winters, but this current heatwave was beyond ridiculous. You sweat just by simply existing. You never experienced anything like it in the five years you’d been stationed in Albuquerque, and you suddenly found yourself longing for the bone-deep cold of a northeastern winter as you waited for the DC agent to arrive.

The chilling sea breeze of a New Jersey winter sounded like heaven right now.

A sleek silver SUV pulled up next to your government-issued sedan and you watched with an assessing gaze from the driver’s seat as Director Marcus Pike exited the vehicle clad in khaki shorts and a turquoise polo, trendy aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes from the glare of the desert sun. His dark brown hair was short and styled back off his forehead, and a neatly trimmed scruff lined his top lip and jaw.

You knew from a quick glance at his FBI profile that he was a decorated agent, but his government photo did not do him justice. The man was fucking gorgeous in person. Exiting your own vehicle before he caught you staring, you introduced yourself.

He flashed you a smile full of boyish charm when you gave him your name, causing your heart to thump double time. “You can just call me Jersey, everyone else does,” you finished, holding your hand out to shake his.

“Marcus Pike, Director of the Art Crimes Squad in DC,” he replied, his larger hand engulfing yours in a firm, yet not overbearing, shake. “Just call me Marcus.”

The two of you gazed at each other, the sun beating down on you both like laser beams. Holy fuck, Marcus was even hotter up close. Yeah, his FBI file photo did not do him any justice at all. Not wanting to make things uncomfortable by staring too long, you gestured toward the door to the gallery.

“Shall we?”

Marcus cleared his throat and nodded, following behind you as you strolled casually through the entrance. “Wanna give me a rundown of what we know so far?”

“Sure,” you replied. “We’ve had paintings stolen from several galleries in town. Despite its odd name and small-town status, Truth or Consequences has a rather robust art scene. Lots of expensive art showcased in these galleries.”

Marcus nodded as you gave him some background. He likely read most of this in the file on his flight out here, but you could appreciate the necessity of running over it again verbally. Repetition was the mother of… whatever the fuck that saying was. Your brain was already too fried from the heat.

“The thefts started almost a week ago, not too long after the start of the extreme heatwave this area is currently experiencing. There has been one painting taken every other day so far, always at the peak heat of the day when the townsfolk are too overheated and tired to pay much attention. No eyewitnesses and the thief artfully avoided any surveillance or security cameras so far.”

You watched Marcus jot down some notes, tapping the end of his pen against the small notepad as he reviewed the information.

“So, three paintings taken so far, and it’s still early in the day. I’m guessing we can expect another theft today?” You nodded and Marcus tapped the pen against his bottom lip this time, causing you to avert your gaze before he caught you ogling the plump flesh.

“Have there been any patterns identified?”

You could practically see the wheels turning in his head. “Just in the types of paintings taken so far. They all depict scenes of cool, serene landscapes.”

Dark brown eyes held your gaze. “So, the exact opposite of the current weather situation.”

Again, you nodded. “That’s the only pattern so far. We haven’t been able to determine any order to the galleries hit and, unfortunately, this town doesn’t have the law enforcement manpower to guard all of the galleries and still attend to their normal duties. We do have unis posted at the galleries that haven’t been hit yet, just in case. That’s the best the townies could do though.”

Humming in thought, Marcus walked around the gallery, causing you to scramble to keep up. It was fascinating watching his mind work, his big, brown eyes taking in every minute detail around him. When he stopped in front of the empty spot marking the first stolen painting’s former home, you paused next to him, debating on sharing the only other piece of information you had so far.

“There’s, uh, something strange that may or may not be related to this case.” That got Marcus’ attention and his eyes shot to you once again, brow arched curiously.

“Do tell,” he replied with an encouraging smile. You blinked slowly, trying in vain to maintain your concentration in front of such a handsome man.

“I will on the way to the other galleries. Just… just promise to hold judgment until I finish telling you everything. It’s a little… unorthodox compared to what we’re used, I’d say.” You led the way back to your car, gesturing for Marcus to get in on the passenger side. It made more sense to ride together. Thankfully, you left it running while inside the gallery, making the interior still nice and cool.

Once seated, his head cocked to the side endearingly, the tilt of his lips bordering on an indulgent smile. “Ok, I promise.” The cadence and depth of his soft-spoken voice set you aflame and you had to practically shake yourself to not fall to your knees in praise of this man.

Jesus Christ, Jersey, have a modicum of professionalism and self-respect, will ya, your inner monologue chided. Your libido hyperfixated on the veritable stud before you whether you wanted it to or not. It’d been too long since your last tumble in the sheets, apparently. Recentering your focus, you pulled out onto the main road heading to the next crime scene.

“Good,” you croaked. Feeling the heat creep up your already overheated flesh, you cleared your throat. “I’m sure you can tell, the weather here is ungodly hot – hard to miss it. This is not entirely normal, from what I understand. It’s tempting to chalk it up to climate change, except for one strange thing. Drive twenty or thirty minutes outside of town and the temps are far lower, though still hot by some standards. The temps within the surrounding towns are in line with the more normal averages.”

Brows furrowed, Marcus’ dark eyes searched your face, clearly looking for more context clues. “The heat certainly seemed excessive on the ride over from the municipal airport. I had to stop at the hotel and change or I would have melted to the pavement in my suit.”

You chuckled. “I know the feeling. The average temperature here is supposed to be in the low 90s this time of year, not thirty degrees higher. And the usually cooler desert nights haven’t existed for the past couple of weeks. It’s very strange.”

“And it’s just this town, you say?”

Pulling to a stop in front of the next gallery, you nodded. “Strange, right?”

“Very,” Marcus replied, deep in thought as he followed you inside.

It carried on like that the rest of the afternoon until the heat became just too much after checking out the last crime scene. Like everyone else in town, you sought refuge in the coolest place you could find, which happened to be a hole-in-the-wall pub just off the main street.

Just when Marcus thought things couldn’t get weirder with this town, you led him into a dark and dingy little pub, settling right up to the aged bar. If you weren’t a certified agency employee, he would be terrified that you were luring him to his untimely death.

As it was, the scraggly old barkeep gave him the creeps when he shuffled over, eyeing the pair of you with the same attention he would three-headed aliens. “Coldest beer in town. Two pints?” The man’s voice as rough as he looked, he didn’t wait for an answer.

Marcus shot you a look, eyes wide and uncertain, but you merely shrugged in return. He didn’t normally drink on the job, but between the heat and the early start for traveling, Marcus decided his day was finished. He chugged at the frosty draft when the barkeep placed it in front of him. The old man was right, the pint glass was frozen and small chunks of ice floated in the foamy beer.

“Damn, that’s good,” he nearly moaned, feeling refreshed.

“I know, right?” you replied, nearly half done with your own pint. “I don’t normally like beer, but I could drink it all day long when it’s ice cold like this. Especially in this heat, you know?”

The first round went down easily, and quickly, and the old barkeep, whose name turned out to be Harry, placed another round down before Marcus even thought to ask. The pair of you settled into easy conversation, getting to know each other outside of the job. The more you drank, the more your Jersey accent started to peak through. He found it cute and kept asking you questions just to keep hearing you talk.

Soon enough, any thought left in his mind about Theresa evaporated. How could he still think about his ex-fiancé when a hot, smart, sweet little thing like you sat before him, chatting, and flirting away the evening. Theresa had nothing on you.

It took exactly a fraction of a second to be struck by your beauty that morning. Confident and intelligent, not mention damn good at your job, he quickly realized your natural beauty served as icing on the cake. You were the entire package, and he was trying his damnedest to not charge ahead trying to get you into bed.

Turned out you both had similar relationship history, married too young and divorced, no kids, longed for a dog if only your job didn’t call you away so often. You were practically the female version of him, Marcus thought. It made him all the more curious about you.

Before long, you both ordered some bar grub and went back to talking about the case. Neither of you could make sense of what you had so far. There were vital pieces of the puzzle missing, that much was apparent.

Harry unceremoniously dropped plates full of burgers and fries in front of you, not even trying to hide the fact that he eavesdropped on your conversation.

“You think your case has something to do with the heat?” the old man questioned, leaning heavily on the bar top.

You and Marcus shared a look before you nodded.

“There’s some local lore you might find interesting, then,” Harry said, pausing for dramatic effect and you gestured for him to continue. “Well, as the legends go, the Flame of Quetzalcoatl was hidden somewhere in town centuries ago. They say it was a gem gifted by the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl himself, but who the recipient was no one knows. The gem is said to hold the power of the sun and the wielder of it has the ability to control heat.”

You and Marcus sat there in silence, absorbing the tale Harry just shared. After a few minutes, Marcus glanced at you, doubt clear in his expression.

“This town just gets fuckin’ weirder by the minute, I swear,” he said, sipping at his pint once again. “I might actually believe that little story if I was a few more beers in.”

You laughed, but your face didn’t hold the same doubt as his. “I don’t know, Marcus. If living out here for the past few years has taught me anything, it’s that these Aztec legends are often too close to the truth to blow off.”

Harry harrumphed. “I’d say so, little lady.”

“Besides, it’s the best we’ve got right now,” you said, nudging Marcus’ shoulder with yours. “Couldn’t hurt to play that angle until a better lead pops up.”

Marcus found himself agreeing, much to his surprise.

Over the next few days, you and Marcus researched as much as possible about local lore related to Aztecs, searching for any hint of what Harry told you. In that time, three more paintings were stolen. The thief started leaving little clues as if to goad law enforcement.

The first cryptic clue further convinced you of the potential voracity of the Aztec legend. Written in drip red paint in the spot where the fourth painting had been located, Marcus suspected the thief meant it to look like blood.

When the feathered serpent sheds its skin, the heat will rise.

“Holy shit,” you gasped when you first read it. Turning to Marcus, you declared, “Quetzalcoatl was known as the Feathered Serpent.”

His dark brown eyes widened, meeting yours in shock. “No way.”

You nodded, flipping through your notepad to find your most recent notes on the case. “Yes way. That book we borrowed from the Historical Society talked about it. Remember?”

Marcus nodded slowly as the information came back to him, his eyes searching yours, trying to make sense of this completely bizarre case. “Didn’t the book say something about Quetzalcoatl being a signal of transformation? Think the clue has something to do with that?”

“Yeah, could be.”

The pattern continued the next day with another clue left behind.

Where the earth boils and the water steams, the gem of the sun awaits.

The pair of you debated the meaning of the second clue over cold beer at Harry’s pub. As the case evolved, so did the connection between you and Marcus. You both flirted unashamedly when you weren’t talking about the case. It turned out the agency put you both up at the same hotel – your rooms on the same floor even. You were beginning to hope that he would make a move, yet completely terrified of that happening at the same time.

Despite your best efforts, the thief remained one step ahead of law enforcement, somehow managing to steal from galleries you had actively guarded. How in the world was this guy doing it?

Things were slowly coming together once a third clue was discovered.

Seek the place where fire and water dance, and there you will find the sun’s heart.

Without a local FBI office to work out of – the Albuquerque one you worked out of was over two hours away – you’d decided to setup camp in a quiet booth at Harry’s. He kept you full on pub grub and refreshments – soda and water during work hours, of course – and chipped in with his local knowledge whenever he thought it needed.

In fact, it was Harry who guided you toward understanding the latest clues.

“Have you two heard about the hot springs? This town is famous for them.” The old man dropped the nugget of knowledge along with a plate of fries and shuffled away, leaving the two of you to stare after him.

Marcus turned to you; his lips pursed in thought. You ached to nibble on the plump flesh of his bottom lip, to feel the gentle scratch of his facial hair against your soft skin as you did so.

“Where the earth boils and the water streams,” Marcus recalled the second clue in that delicious, soft-spoken voice of his, sending a wave of gooseflesh over your skin. “Seek the place where fire and water dance.”

Shaking your head free of naughty thoughts, you focused on the clues and the knowledge bomb Harry dropped, picking right up on Marcus’ thought process. “Fire, heat, and water... The hot springs!”

Marcus beamed at you; eyes sparkling as he came to the same realization. “It has to be. Makes sense, right?”

“Sure does,” you agreed, grinning back at him. “But there must be a ton of them. How would we ever find the right one?”

Sitting back in his seat, Marcus shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ll have to keep digging. Do you still have that book from the Historical Society? Maybe there’s something else in there to help us.”

“It’s back in my room,” you reply. “Fancy ordering room service at the hotel while we go over the clues again?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

What was he thinking, agreeing to go back to your room to continue working on the case.

An unwitting temptress already, how was he supposed to control himself when you invited him into your room for dinner, drinks, and after-hours casework?

In the already excessive desert heat, Marcus was sweating bullets as he followed you into your room, conveniently located only a few doors down from his own.

“I have a bottle of cab, is that good?” you questioned, kicking off your shoes with a sigh before reaching for the screw cap bottle.

Audibly gulping, Marcus squeaked out an assent and wiped his sweaty palms on his shorts. He glanced around the room to distract himself, noting happily that you were a tidy traveler, much like himself.

“I have bottled water as well. Would you like one?” Marcus nodded. With an indulgent smile, you held out the small ice bucket. “I like mine over ice. Would you mind?”

Eager for a moment to clear his head, Marcus grabbed the bucket. “No problem.” The echo of your chuckle followed him as he rushed out the door.

“What is wrong with you, dude?” he whispered to himself as he strolled down the hall to the ice machine. “You don’t even know if this woman wants anything more than just reviewing the case. Calm the fuck down.”

Feeling a little calmer and more under control after his private pep talk, Marcus knocked on your door with the full ice bucket in hand. You let him in with a broad smile that nearly made his heart stop.

“Perfect.” Plucking the bucket from his hands, you returned to the makeshift kitchenette area to fill two cups with ice and water. Two glasses of cabernet were already sitting on the tiny table in the small designated sitting area of the hotel room.

Marcus joined you on the couch, case file in hand, seated close due to the limited space. You dove right in to discussing the case, easing his nerves. The pair of you compared the facts of the case, debating theories and potential connections. Without any physical evidence, you still didn’t have any viable suspects, which was incredibly frustrating for both of you.

“I’ve never had a case like this,” Marcus said. “It’s hard to believe that this could all relate to a myth about an ancient god. It feels weird even saying that aloud.”

“I know. It’s giving me Twilight Zone vibes.”

With the lack of viable suspects serving as a brick wall in furthering the investigation, conversation switched to other topics.

“You’re from New Jersey?” Marcus asked. “What brought you out here?”

“Yep, born and raised at the Jersey Shore,” you replied, that northeastern accent peeking through as you drank more wine. “Classic reason for relocating – I followed a guy, the one I told you a little about. We got married young and one day he woke up and decided he wanted a change of scenery. I followed along without argument, and we wound up out here. Biggest mistake of my life.”

“Ahh,” he said with a nod. “That asshole.”

“Yeah, that asshole.”

From what you told Marcus about your ex-husband, he knew the guy was a real piece of work. Classic narcissist who beat you down emotionally the entire time you were together. Marcus was happy that you kicked the guy to the curb two years ago and the divorce finalized last year. No one deserved to be treated like that, especially you.

“Are you going to stick around here now that’s all over with?” He found himself curious about your future plans.

Shaking your head, you laughed. “Hell no. I put in for a transfer already, for anywhere on the east coast closer to home. I’m no picky.”

Marcus perked up at that. The DC headquarters always had openings. He’d get to see you again if you were transferred there. “I could put in a good word for you, if you’d like. You’re a great agent from what I’ve seen so far.”

Ducking your head bashfully, you peeked at him through your lashes. “That’s pretty high praise coming from a director,” you deflected.

“I mean it, Jersey.” He kept his voice low, using your nickname for the first time, and watched in delight as you shuddered.

The air in the room shifted, sexual tension thick and nearly overpowering. Marcus watched as your pupils dilated, lust overtaking the previous sparkle. He gulped when your tongue darted out to lick your lips tantalizingly.

Shifting ever so closer, your scent washed over him. You smelled fucking delicious, hints of cocoa butter and salty sweat, reminding him of the beach. His shorts suddenly became tighter, his cock twitching to life. He wanted to devour you.

The next thing Marcus knew, your lips were pressed to his as you basically ripped the clothes from each other’s bodies, the now empty bottle of wine knocked from the table to the carpeted floor in the process. Despite the cool air pumping from the air conditioning, your skin felt hot to his touch.

Licking into your mouth, savoring the taste of you mixed with the bite of wine on your tongue, Marcus steered you backwards until your hamstrings bumped against the mattress. He eased you down onto the bed, detaching his lips from yours to take in the electrifying sight of your naked body splayed before him.

“You’re breathtaking,” he murmured, his fingertips tracing down your smooth skin slowly, teasingly from your neck to your toes.

Your eyes, blown wide with need, burned into his before dipping down to take in his naked body with a gasp. His cock bobbed eagerly as you stared.

“I can’t believe this is happening,” Marcus said, his soft voice filled with awe, matching the wonder in his eyes.

“Me either,” you replied, “but I’m happy it is. You are so fucking gorgeous, Marcus.”

Marcus couldn’t help the blush that pinkened his cheeks. Reaching behind him to the bucket, he plucked a large ice cube from the slowly melting pile. His eyes remained locked on yours as he popped the frozen cube into his mouth, sucking lightly before his tongue pushed forward and his lips puckered as a portion of the ice cube stuck out.

The breath left you when he dipped his head down to run the cube along your clavicle and down across your breasts. Your nipples pebbled beneath the chilly wetness as Marcus directed the ice cube back and forth a few times. He watched delightedly as goosebumps peppered your skin when he moved the cube down your belly in a zigzag pattern.

“Oh, fuck.” Your chest heaved and fingers tightened their grip on the bedsheets when Marcus dipped further down, running the quickly melting cube over your mound and through your slit. The cold nearly shocking to the overwhelming heat of your labia.

Using his tongue to increase the pressure, Marcus circled the ice cube over your clit until you cried out, one hand loosening its grip on the sheets to tangle your fingers in his thick hair. He shifted, plunging the cube into your entrance, pushing as far as his tongue would extend, then leant back to watch your pussy suck the cube further until in melted into mere dribbles of water.

You laid there panting, eyes hooded and wanting, as Marcus dove back in, using his tongue to continue the work he started with the ice cube. He lapped and sucked at your clit, two thick fingers slipping inside you, until you became a blubbering mess, blurting out unintelligible words and moans, finally falling apart beneath his ministrations.

Marcus slurped at the evidence of your long overdue release, savoring the sweet, tangy taste of you. His hips thrust against the mattress of their own accord, his body seeking any sort of friction against his aching cock it could find.

“Your mouth is a lethal weapon, Marcus,” you said breathlessly, hands reaching under his shoulders to drag him up your body. “Now let’s see what you can do with your cock.”

His hair flopped forward over his forehead from your fingers tangling in it and he grinned in satisfaction at your comment. His boyish charm proved too much to handle, and you yanked his face down to yours, tongues tangling in a scorching kiss. You nibbled on his plump bottom lip between fervent kisses, savoring the plushness between your teeth.

Whining when he pulled away suddenly, your fingers grasping for purchase to pull him back, Marcus winked at you when he slid off the bed. “Don’t worry, baby. I’m coming right back.”

Digging in his shorts to find his wallet, Marcus pulled out a long-forgotten condom from the tri-fold leather and checked the date on the foil packaging to make sure it hadn’t expired. Content with the remaining half-life, he ripped the package open with his teeth and slid the latex material over his cock.

You beamed at him when he climbed back onto the bed. “I knew you were a smart man.”

Marcus slid up beside your body, turning you so your back pressed snug against his chest. “Safety first, baby. Wrap it before you tap it, right?”

Your laughter became strangled when he slid inside you, splitting you open on his cock. “Oh my god. You feel so good!” you cried when he began to move inside you after a long pause to let you adjust to the sheer size of him.

Marcus started at a slow pace, getting a feel for the way your walls tightened around him. Gripping the bed covers with your right hand, you reached your left hand up and around to tangle in his hair behind you. He picked up the pace as you tugged gently on his locks, his lips peppering your neck with soft, wet kisses.

When, at last, Marcus began pounding into you, you reached between your legs with your right hand to rub your clit. Despite the cool air blowing over your bodies, the heat between you had your skin glistening with sweat. You cried as Marcus hit a particularly pleasurable spot deep within you, his own moans morphing into grunts as you clamped down on him.

“Fuck, baby. You’re so tight around me. I can feel you clench every time I hit this spot.” His words were murmured into your ear, barely audible over the sound of skin slapping against skin. Marcus plunged forward to hit your g-spot, proving his point when you clenched tightly around him once again. “Yeah, just like that.”

You plunged clear over the precipice then, crying out his name and any number of praises as an orgasm overtook you. Marcus talked you through it, his voice like sugary syrup, while he never once let up on his thrusts. Minutes, hours later, he followed you into the overwhelming bliss with a shout of your name followed by a string of curses.

“That was amazing.” Marcus nuzzled your neck as his hips slowed, the last shots of his cum dribbling into the condom. “You are amazing.”

Lost for words, you just hummed in agreement. Knackered from the excessive heat, long day of investigative work, the alcohol, and the mind-blowing sex, you hovered on the edge of sleep while Marcus got up to dispose of the condom. He returned with a wet cloth and cleaned you up with tender dedication. Tossing the cloth aside, he paused, standing naked and uncertain next to the bed.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Hell yeah, I do,” you replied sleepily, tossing the covers down so you could both slide under them. “I hope you like to cuddle, Mister.”

Grinning at you, Marcus wrapped his arm around you, curving his body around yours. “You bet your ass I do.”

You both fell into an exhausted sleep feeling hopeful and satiated for the first time in a long time.

Waking up in Director Pike’s arms was not something you expected would happen on this case. You fantasized. You hoped. Sure, all of that. But you never, ever expected it would actually happen. But it did and it felt fucking incredible.

You already knew he was damn good at his job. It was impressive to see that his single-minded focus and massive talent carried over to his skills in the bedroom as well. You replayed the night before in your head as you showered, remembering with fondness all the ways Marcus surprised you, how cherished he made you feel, the sheer pleasure he brought you.

How were you supposed to focus on the case now when your mind was completely overcome with thoughts of Marcus. You were almost relieved when he slipped out of the room after sharing a cup of hotel room coffee with you. You weren’t sure you could keep your hands to yourself if he stayed much longer, the rumbled, sleepy look proving almost too adorable to resist.

Marcus met you in the hotel lobby, two large cups of iced coffee and a brown paper bag clutched in his hands an hour after waking up together. “Good morning, Jersey girl,” he greeted you with a wink, dark brown eyes sparkling in the soft morning light filtering through the windows.

You chuckled at the variation of your nickname, already knowing that would become his signature endearment for you. “Good morning, handsome. Long time, no see.”

His grin grew wider. “Come on. Let’s ride together. No sense in taking two cars anymore.” He handed you one of the iced coffees and the paper bag, pulling the keys to his SUV out of his pocket.

Clad in gray cargo shorts, blush polo shirt, and a pair of boat shoes, Marcus looked ready for a day spent on the water rather than investigating art theft. The sight made your mouth water and you gulped at the iced coffee. As he drove, you both munched on the bagels he picked up along with the coffees while waiting for you.

“I figured we’d start taking a look at some of these hot springs to get a feel for them and see if anything else in the clues pops out at us,” Marcus explained between bites. He always chewed with his mouth closed and waited until after he swallowed to speak. You loved a man with impeccably manners.

“Great idea. I put a list of them in the file.”

“I know,” he beamed at you. “I saw it last night, before… It’s what gave me the idea. Thought we’d start with La Paloma and work our way down the list. What do you think?”

You nodded, sitting back in the passenger seat contentedly. Much to your surprise, there wasn’t an ounce of awkwardness between you two after last night’s surprising turn of events. Everything felt natural, like it was meant to turn out this way and you basked in the effortless interactions between you and Marcus.

Marcus spoke to the manager upon your arrival at La Paloma Hot Springs & Spa and the gentleman gave you a quick tour of the facility before allowing the two of you to investigate on your own. You split up to cover more ground, the scent of mineral-rich water tickling your nose as you worked your way through the facility.

Searching the private soaking tubs, you ran your hands along the edges looking for evidence of hidden compartments that might contain the artifact. Still uncertain if that was what you were actually looking for, it didn’t hurt to search. When you found nothing, your focus shifted to the vintage décor including the old photographs hanging on the walls, looking for any signs or symbols that might be a clue.

An hour later, you and Marcus reconvened at the front desk, disappointed that you both came up empty, yet undeterred in your drive to figure out this case.

You visited a number of other hot springs, conducting the same kind of searches yet never finding additional clues or evidence.

“It’s like we’re missing something,” Marcus said as you both climbed into the SUV, burnt out and sweaty, after your latest search came up empty. You’d spent the entire day running from hot spring to hot spring across the small town to no avail.

“Yeah, but what could it be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s not just any old hot spring? We need more to go on.”

Just then, your phone buzzed with an incoming call from the TCPD. Another painting stolen right under their noses – or rather, right behind the officer’s back as he turned around while patrolling one of the galleries. The thief had lightning-fast reflexes, apparently.

“Alright, thanks Chief. We’ll head over there now.” You ended the call and relayed the information to Marcus.

“This guy sure is brazen. I’ll give him that,” he lamented, carefully spinning the SUV around to head toward the latest crime scene.

“He’s got some balls, nicking a painting while an officer is standing right there. It’s like he’s begging to be caught.”

“That or he’s just a fucking lunatic.” Marcus met your gaze for a long moment after parking the vehicle. “Is it wrong that part of me hopes we don’t catch him too soon?”

Your heart thumped in your chest, lips quirking upwards into a shy smile. “No, not after last night…” you admitted. “We could always stay a few days after solving the case and explore this.” You gestured between the two of you.

Shutting off the car, Marcus bobbed his head. His previously styled hair fell across his forehead, the heat having worn away the product he used this morning. “I’d really like that.”

The TCPD officer met you at the door and led the way to the scene of the latest theft, his shoulders hunched in shame. “I never saw him; he was there and gone in seconds. Managed to leave this behind though, taped where the painting had been.”

Marcus accepted the paper, holding it up so you could read it.

Where the serpent bathes in earth’s warm embrace, beneath the soothing waters, the heart of the sun lies hidden.

“This message is different. Different, but the same. I mean… I don’t know what I mean,” you sighed frustratedly.

Marcus patted your shoulder in a manner appropriate for a professional audience. “No. I get what you mean. It’s tying the clues together in a different way. Giving us more hints at once.”

Heaving a sigh of your own, you nodded. What a great relief to feel understood. “Exactly.”

Conferring with the forensics team first, you and Marcus departed when they confirmed the thief left no trace evidence behind. No fibers, fingerprints, or hair. Nothing to clue you in on who the thief could be. Nothing, not even on the adhesive used to tape the clue to the wall or the paper itself. The perp was either lucky or extremely tidy.

Seated once again in the corner booth at Harry’s dingy pub, Marcus devoured his burger while you daintily nibbled at your fries. The extremely high temperature ruined your appetite. The case file sat open on the table as you placed sticky notes on a photocopy of the latest clue.

“’Where the serpent bathes’… that has to refer to the hot springs, right? And the serpent would symbolize this Quintessential guy?”

“Quetzalcoatl. The god’s name is Quetzalcoatl, for Christ’s sake,” Harry chimed in as he dropped off a fresh round of cold draft beers.

“Yeah, that guy,” you said, pointing a fry at Harry in thanks. Marcus laughed at your adorable ridiculousness. You made investigating this mind-boggling case fun.

“Right. And ‘in the earth’s warm embrace’ refers to the warm waters of the hot springs as well. That’s caused by geothermal activity, is that correct, Harry?” Marcus questioned.

The grizzled old barkeep lingered by your table, too caught up in his own curiosity to return to his duties. “Mmhmm, that’s what they say. I’m no rock scientist, mind.”

“You mean a geologist?” you chirped, a shit-eating grin gracing your pretty face.

“Yes, you mouthy little shit. Don’t sass me or I won’t help solve this case,” Harry grumbled. For a moment, Marcus worried you would be offended by the old man, but your tinkling laughter convinced him otherwise.

Marcus stifled a laugh when you rolled your eyes playfully and re-focused his attention on the clue. “That could be the earth’s warm embrace part, then. And ‘beneath the soothing waters’ refers again to the hot springs.”

“Uh huh,” Harry chimed in again, pulling the case file closer to him, aged eyes squinting to read your notes. Neither of you would normally let a civilian get so involved in a case, but Harry proved himself integral to solving this particularly challenging and unusual case. Pointing an arthritic finger to the final line of today’s clue, beneath the soothing waters, he added, “It refers to the artifact being hidden there, beneath one of the hot springs.”

Harry slipped into the booth on your side, and you flashed Marcus a smile. The old man was fully invested now. Thankfully the bar was empty but for a few regulars who could help themselves as far as Harry was concerned.

“Ok, so to summarize, we know the hot springs are involved,” you stated, processing the facts aloud as well as in your head. “And we know that the artifact is hidden beneath one of them. The question we’ve been chasing all day is which one, right? So, do any of the known hot springs have a serpent symbol or painting or something along those lines associated with it?”

Marcus shook his head as you flipped through pages of notes. “Definitely didn’t see any in the ones we checked out today.”

“Oh, for the love of all that is holy, you two idiots will be my age by the time you figure this out,” Harry stood from the booth, his voice gruff with annoyance, though whether that was from dealing with the two of you or the effort it took to stand with aged, arthritic bones was anyone’s guess. “You’ll want to check out Riverbend Hot Springs in the morning. You’re welcome.”

Mouths agape, you both watched the cantankerous old man shuffle back to the bar, grumbling to himself the whole way.

“Did he just solve the case for us?” Marcus asked when his gaze shifted back to you.

“I think so,” you laughed. “Thank fucking goodness. My eyes were starting to cross from looking at this file so much.”

Looking it up on his phone, Marcus confirmed that the Riverbend Hot Springs were closed until morning. Knowing their work was done for the day, he flashed you a heated look. “Want to go back to my room? Maybe cool off in the shower?”

Marcus had a nicer room than yours, the walk-in shower encased in glass and large enough to fit a few people. The perks of being a director, you guessed.

You barely glimpsed at the room before Marcus backed you against the already deadbolted door. His mouth pressed against yours, tongue dancing along the seam of your lips, begging for entry. You let him in eagerly, tongues tangling and teeth clashing with urgency. His hands were everywhere, stripping away your clothes and sliding against already bare skin in turn.

Once you both gave into the spark, stoking the fire into flames last night, the want turned into a blazing inferno that neither of you could extinguish. Not that you wanted to, anyway. No, you were content to burn to a crisp as the fire raged.

Marcus had you stripped naked within minutes, his mouth having never left your own in the process. Eager to return the favor from last night, you sunk to your knees, undoing his belt and shorts as you stared up at him. Marcus tore off his shirt while you shoved his shorts and boxer briefs down his slim hips to pool at his feet.

“Oh, fuck,” Marcus moaned as you wrapped your hand around his hardened length, testing the girth and weight of it in your grip. You tugged playfully a few times, getting to know the feel of him. Still staring into his lust blown eyes, you slowly leaned forward to glide the head of his cock around your plump lips before slipping him inside your mouth. A delicious whine fell from his lips when your tongue lapped at the little droplet of precum without breaking eye contact.

Not wanting to torture him unnecessarily, you began to move, taking more of his cock into your mouth until he bumped the back of your throat. Bobbing your head, you soaked his cock with your saliva, sucking every now and then to increase the sensation. Your left hand tugged the base of him where your mouth couldn’t quite reach, twisting with each upward stroke to further enhance his pleasure, as your right hand massaged his balls.

Panting heavily above you, Marcus slapped his palms against the door to support himself as you continued sucking his cock. Experimenting with how far you could take him, you hollowed your cheeks, easing farther down his length and breathed through your nose.

“Jersey girl… ungh. Please, I’m gonna come down that pretty little throat if you don’t stop.” You could feel his thigh muscles flex and twitch with the effort of not blowing his load down your throat as he stuttered out the words.

Taking pity on the man, you eased back until his cock audibly popped out of your mouth, a string of saliva connecting you until Marcus severed the link by stepping backwards on shaky legs.

“You are too good at that, my little minx. Come here.” Marcus helped you up, leading you into the shower once you regained your balance. He kissed you deeply as the cool water from the shower head cascaded over you both.

The water felt good on your overheated skin and Marcus pressed you backwards against the sturdy glass. Hiking a leg up around his waist with one hand, he gently cradled the side of your face in the other. Your gazes locked as he reached around your thigh and teased your clit.

“So wet for me, my Jersey girl.” Already on edge from sucking his cock, you were drenched and ready for him. “Did sucking my cock turn you on that much, my Jersey girl?” You mewled and, with the slightest shift of his hips, Marcus notched his cock at your entrance, feeding you inch by inch until your walls gripped his entire length tightly. “Fuck, you feel like heaven.”

Droplets of water rained down your bodies as he thrusted into you, your lips pressed open-mouthed against each other, noses bumping, exchanging breaths and moans without actually kissing. The stretch was intense but pleasurable, and you could feel every ridge of him inside you.

You suddenly realized why that was.

“Shit, we forgot a condom,” you said in between moans, your hands grasping his plump ass to make certain he didn’t stop.

Marcus showed no signs of stopping, his hips almost seemed to pick up the pace. “Do you want me to stop?”

“Fuck no!” you gasped; eyes fluttering shut as he nudged that spot inside you just right. “Please don’t ever fucking stop.”

“Ok,” he breathed against your lips. “I’m clean and it’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone.”

“Same,” you replied. “And I’m on birth control, so please, come inside me.”

Marcus groaned deeply at that, his head shifting so he could nip at your neck, soothing the sting with little kitten licks of his tongue. Pulling back, he murmured, “Turn around.”

You did so, whining as he slipped out of you. With a gentle hand, Marcus pushed your upper body against the glass and pulled your hips closer to him so your back arched perfectly. Your tits were pressed up against the glass wall of the shower and, just beyond it, you could see your reflections in the mirror. Only a slight mist of steam swirled in the air from the temperature of the water, and it didn’t hinder your view at all as Marcus closed in behind you, slipping his cock back where it belonged.

You watched your reflections, mesmerized, as he fucked into you, his wet hair flopping over his forehead when he bent forward to kiss along your shoulders and neck. Your hands came up on either side of your head to brace yourself against the glass, hoping that the strength of his thrusts wouldn’t cause it to shatter.

Marcus reached a hand around your thigh, slipping between your legs to pluck at your clit as you fucked you. Every single cell in your body felt aflame, ready to burst at the pleasure racing through you. It didn’t take long for you to explode, eyes squinted shut as you keened.

“That’s it, baby. Just like that. Come on my cock, my little Jersey girl. I can feel your cum gushing around me. Fuck, baby.” Once again, Marcus talked you through it in the soft voice of his. He continued thrusting as your walls trembled around him, driving him right over the edge after you, rope and rope of cum splashed your walls as he made the loveliest sex sounds in your ear.

You stayed like that, pressed up against the glass with the weight of Marcus leaning against you, chests heaving, until you both came back down from the high. Taking a few minutes to actually wash the day off each other, you settled on the bed wrapped in towels afterwards.

The two of you talked long into the night and, unable to keep your hands or mouths off each other, you had sex twice more before falling asleep.

Unable to come to an agreement on whether backup would be necessary at this point, you and Marcus finally decided to bring one officer to investigate the Riverbend Hot Springs with you. An extra pair of eyes could be useful, on that you both agreed.

Known for its scenic outdoor pools on the banks of the Rio Grande, visitors usually flocked to Riverbend. The facility not only had the hot springs, but hotel rooms and spaces for recreational vehicles as well. The manager was less than pleased when Marcus informed him that any guests present would have to stay in their rooms and out of both the common and private pools during the search. The last thing the investigation needed was public interference or contaminated evidence.

Searching the private pools first to appease the guests and resort manager, Marcus swiped his hand over his sweaty face when you found nothing.

“Let’s check the common pools now,” he sighed, wondering if it would be another fruitless adventure.

Another two hours of searching – lifting stones, moving decorative displays, going inside the pools themselves, even going so far as to request a shovel from the grounds crew to poke around in the landscaping – turned up nothing.

“At least there’s only one pool to go,” you said, trying to stay positive about finding something. “This has gotta be the one, right?”

“Let’s hope,” Marcus replied. Drenched in a mixed of sweat and mineral water, he wanted nothing more than to slip between cool sheets with you and an ice-cold drink. This case sucked.

Located at the far end of the property, overlooking the Rio Grande, a rock wall encased the final pool for support given the topography on the side along the river dipped lower. Marcus directed the officer to start at one end while he joined you in working your way up from the riverbank. Thorough in your search, you left literally left no stone unturned. One particular large slab placed in the landscaping next to the pool like a decorative display required your and Marcus’ strength combined to lift, and you gasped when you saw what sat in hiding beneath it.

“Is that a fucking trap door?” Marcus asked with a grunt as he glanced down and pushed the rock slab to the side.

“Yeah, it fucking is.” Bending down to open it, Marcus stopped you.

“Wait a second, Jersey girl. We don’t want to just go rushing down there.” He called the officer over for a quick chat, asking him to find the manager and see if anyone knew anything about where the trapdoor led.

Minutes later, the manager and resort engineer joined the group. No one knew a damn thing about what they found. It wasn’t depicted on the as-built drawings or any other schematics the engineer had on file. That did not bode well. Turning to the officer, you asked him to call for back up.

“We’ll head down to scope it out. Come down once backup gets here. In the meantime, please keep the guests away from this area,” Marcus directed the officer and manager before turning to you. “Ready, Jersey girl?”

Pulling your service weapon from its holster, you nodded confidently. “With you at my side, I’m ready for anything.”

Marcus flashed that boyish grin before wrenching the trapdoor open. As suspected, narrow steps carved into the stone descended down into darkness. Before Marcus could ask for one, the facility engineer handed him a flashlight.

Stepping carefully down the steps with the flashlight held high in one hand and his service weapon in the other, Marcus descended into the dark unknown with you right on his heels. At the bottom, a pathway led through more rock, dim light visible in the distance. You reach out while walking along the pathway to find the rock is surprisingly warm.

“I expected it to be cool to the touch,” you murmured, not wanting to make too much noise in case someone or something waited in the shadows.

“Hmm?”

“The walls,” you pointed when Marcus turned around. “They’re warm.”

Directing the beam of light in the direction you pointed, Marcus touched the back of his hand to the wall and looked back at you with a questioning brow. “How?”

“I have no fucking clue,” you shrugged.

“Latent heat from the surface?” he took a guess.

“Your guess is as good as mine. We’re below ground deep enough that it shouldn’t be this warm.”

Marcus continued on down the path, the rock walls growing warmer the farther you progressed. Finally, you turned a corner into a dimly lit chamber, the air filled with oppressive heat making it hard to breathe. You both scanned the room for threats, finding none. The chamber was oddly free of spider webs or bugs or people, aside from the two of you, but a pool of water bubbled inside a ring in the stone floor. Above the pool, an abnormally large, fiery opal appeared to float in the air, the glow from it the only source of light in the chamber aside from the flashlight in Marcus’ hand.

“What the fuck?” you questioned, confused as all hell why the gem just floated in air. “I’m getting some real X-Files type vibes and I DO NOT like it.”

Marcus couldn’t help the twitch of his lips even though he was just as confused as you. “This must be the Flame of Quetzalcoatl.”

“Ya think?” Your nerves made you snarky, a trait Marcus found profoundly adorable and endearing.

Stepping closer to the artifact, Marcus shielded his eyes from the fiery glow. He reached out with one long finger, nearly touching the object when the grinding sound of rock against rock reverberated through the chamber. Jerking back instinctually, both you and Marcus drew your pistols on the sudden intruder.

“Who the fuck are you?” you blurted at the man, your nerves shot to shit, your FBI training the only thing holding you together at that point.

Wild-haired, with oddly composed attire, the man practically vibrated with energy, a glint of insanity in his eerily green eyes. Under one arm, he carried another landscape painting, likely just stolen from another gallery. As if by magic or something equally befitting the utterly odd nature of this entire case, the other stolen paintings appeared, strategically placed along the rock walls rounding the chamber.

“I really don’t like this, Marcus,” you said through gritted teeth. His concerned gaze met yours briefly. “Me either, Jersey.”

It happened, as these things tend to do, suddenly and unexpectedly. The man lunged forward, dropping the painting without thought, and reached a trembling, emaciated hand toward the artifact. Marcus matched the man’s movement, reaching for him rather than the floating, glowing gem. In the process, a glass pedestal you didn’t even know was there, nearly invisible but surely the reason the artifact appeared to be floating in air, toppled over, sending the artifact flying.

You watched, awestruck and frozen in shock, as Marcus tackled the crazy man to the hard ground and the artifact shattered against the rock wall, simultaneously. Almost immediately, the temperature plunged until a damp coolness filled the formerly stuffy chamber, and the man shrieked in despair.

“No! No! No! You’ve ruined everything!” The man continued screeching. Moments later, TCPD officers rushed into the stone room, a few assisting Marcus with securing the thief in cuffs.

Among the backup that just arrived, the police chief stepped up to your side as you gave Marcus a hand in getting back on his feet. “Strangest thing,” the thick-bearded, squat man in uniform said, “the temperature dropped at least twenty-five degrees out of nowhere, just as we started making our way down here. Am I to believe it had something to do with whatever happened down here?”

You and Marcus shared a look before shrugging at the police chief. “I have no clue what even happened down here,” Marcus admitted. Tilting his chin in the crazy man’s direction, he added, “Your boys will bring him in for questioning? We’d like a shot at him, too.”

“Of course. We’ll get him processed. Come by the station whenever you’re finished up here.” The chief followed the officers escorting the man from the chamber, leaving behind a forensics team to gather evidence.

Standing above the shattered artifact, you sighed. “How the hell do I write this up in a report?”

“Very carefully and creatively,” Marcus replied with a smirk.

The interrogation didn’t take long, the man caving like a deck of cards in the wind. His name was Edmund Fawkes, a local starving artist driven mad by the excessive heat. Already obsessed with ancient mythology and local lore, he discovered the hidden chamber containing Quetzalcoatl’s Flame and, seeking the power and prosperity described in the legends, decided to take possession of it by appeasing the ancient god with landscape paintings.

It didn’t work, clearly, but Edmund was relentless in his insanity, continuing his thievery until you and Marcus caught him.

None of it made sense and there were so many things that could be attributed to entirely coincidental circumstances that you didn’t really care how the pieces fit together. The thief had been caught, the paintings returned to the appropriate galleries largely undamaged, and the town was no longer in the clutches of a deadly heat wave. That was all that really mattered.  

On your way out of the police station, the case solved as far as the bureau was concerned, you turned to Marcus. “How long are you sticking around?”

Gazing at you with those chocolate puppy eyes, his lips twitched into a grin. “I have several weeks of PTO saved up. Figured I’d use some of that. Maybe all of it if I have a reason to.”

You grinned back at him. “I’m sure we could find a reason for that.”

An hour later, the sun dipping past the desert horizon, you found yourselves naked and neck deep in the soothing mineral water of a private hot springs pool. Given that business was completed, you checked out of the hotel the bureau set you both up in and reserved a room at the best resort in town for a couple days of relaxation.

“I’m going to miss this odd little town, especially Harry and his dingy pub,” Marcus said, pulling you closed to his side as you soaked in the soothing water.

“Me, too. I’m going to miss you most, though. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know you, both professionally and otherwise,” you admitted, leaning your head against his bare shoulder.

Marcus stilled for a moment before tightening his hold on you. “Why don’t you come back to DC with me?”

“What?” Your head tilted back to meet his eyes.

“You said you put in for a transfer back to the east coast, right?” You nodded and he continued. “Well, come back with me and we’ll have that transfer fast tracked. I’m certain there’s a position for you in DC. We won’t be on the same team, but that’s probably a good thing.”

You giggled at the boyish grin he flashed you. “If you’re sure, I’m game. I just don’t want you to feel like we’re rushing into anything.”

“Pssh, rushing, smushing. I’ve waited long enough to find someone like you. Now that I have, I’m not letting you go,” Marcus insisted. Gesturing between you, he added, “I mean it. There’s something amazing here, I know it. We can leave in a few days, spend a week or two exploring the city and each other before getting back to work.”

At a loss for a worthy response, you pressed your lips against his. The soft kiss quickly turned heated as you spun, straddling his lap, with your hands gripping the stone edge of the pool. Marcus ran his fingertips down the slick skin of your bare back as you squirmed into place, his cock swelling to life at the feel of you above, against, around him.

“I haven’t gotten a chance to ride you yet,” you murmured against his lips, grinding your bare pussy down on him.

“Now’s your chance, Jersey girl,” Marcus gasped through a moan. “Take me and use me, baby.”

Overheated despite the contrasting bite of cool air on your damp skin and warm water engulfing half your body, you eased yourself down onto his cock. You’d never get used to the exquisite stretch as he split you open. Drawing out the anticipation, you slid down his length with agonizing slowness, eliciting delicious whines from Marcus.

“Don’t torture me, baby. Please,” he begged to no avail. Peppering his handsome face with kisses, you kept the pace slow and torturous until he writhed beneath you.

At last, you took his full length inside you and started to move, bouncing eagerly on his cock with your head thrown back in pleasure. Marcus’ eyes stared at your breasts, bobbing along the water line and glistening from splashes of the mineral water as you moved on him. Mesmerized, he could look nowhere else, and his fingers shifted to pluck at the hardened peaks of your nipples.

The air temperature continued to drop as night set in, steam rising up from the warm water of the pool, dancing along your skin in beautiful swirls of water vapor. The clear, starry sky the perfect backdrop to your love making – for that’s what it was now, so much more than sex this time as you gave your whole self over to this wonderful, unexpected man who changed your life in a matter of days.

Overwhelmed with feelings, you keened as his cock nudged at all the right placing, your clit stimulated by grinding on his lap. “Fuck, Marcus. I’m gonna cum.”

Marcus thrust his hips upward at that statement, eager to drive you straight over the cliff into that beautiful abyss. “Do it, baby. Come all over my cock, my beautiful Jersey girl.”

Always good at following instructions, you did just that. Your eyelids slipped closed as you spasmed around him, head thrown back in ecstasy, his name falling like a prayer from your lips.

“That’s it, just like that,” Marcus crooned, pressing soothing kisses to the sensitive skin of your neck. “You’re strangling my cock, baby. Gonna make me come too, sexy girl.”

A few more erratic thrusts upward and Marcus came with a fury, cock pulsing with rope after rope of his spend deep inside you. Breathless and exhausted, you clung to each other until shivers settled in from the plunging temperature.

“Let’s get inside, my Jersey girl. We’ll clean up, climb under the covers, and cuddle while we make plans for the future.”

fin