#I think it's going to be a while before my queue is empty though

[ikeprimodern]

Titties :3

(Reference found on pinterest)

[notsopersonalcharlie]

Don't Care, Belle

Biker!Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader fluff

Summary: Bucky is capital J-Jealous

Warnings: A guy being overly nice at a bar, drinking at 1pm, nothing else I can think of

Notes: Short little thing I thought of when i was visiting home and witnessing my sister's boyfriend be jealous lol. I just love jealous Bucky sorry not sorry. More Biker!Bucky here

���Oh hey sweetheart, you look lonely over here.” You looked up from where you were engrossed in the book you’d left behind the bar for days just like this, the crew was too busy to talk and the regulars weren’t your favorite. The man wasn’t a regular, not horrible looking and was dressed alright. You were confident he had stopped by because his car was in the shop. The demographic that frequented the bar that was not the vibe that this man was giving off.

“Oh you know, just waiting for my order,” you supplied with a polite smile. He had plopped himself onto the bar stool beside you and raised a two finger salute to Bruce, who was the daytime bartender.

“Waiting for your car?” he asked, “Nice girls like you don’t usually come around here.” Your eyes narrowed, an eyebrow going up.

“I’m a regular. And you? Waiting for your car? Since I haven’t seen you around.” Bruce came over, giving you a look that said ‘if this guy is bothering you I’ll toss him out’ and you knew he would. Bruce “The Hulk” Banner was not exactly known for his polite way of answering rude customers. You shook your head. No need to alienate a customer just because he got a little friendly at a bar.

“What can I get you, man?”

“Whatever IPA you have and whatever the lady is having I’ll put on my tab.” Bruce grinned at that and you were near protesting. You never paid for a thing at the Howling Commando, but you knew Bruce and you knew he was putting your lunch right on this guy’s tab.

“Sure thing.” Bruce turned away.

“Must just have not been around on the same days as you.” You glanced around the bar. It was pretty empty today, but it was still early. Your bosses had required you to use some of your PTO before they had to pay you out for it, and you were truly more than happy to oblige a staycation. After another glance around, Bruce still keeping an eye on you out of the corner of your eye, you decided it would be entirely harmless to engage in conversation.

“Not sure. I’m here every day. Basically. You here getting your car fixed?” You asked again. He gave you another sleazy smile, this one reminiscent of your male coworkers who thought they could get any more than a polite smile or handshake at a work happy hour.

“Waiting for my car yeah. Only place this convenient to get a decent bite and drink while waiting for them to get done.” As if on queue, Bruce slid over your usual burger and sweet tea, and then an IPA for the guy.

“Closed tab?” Bruce asked, putting his hand out for the card. The guy did a suggestive look over at you.

“You know? Keep it open.” You rolled your eyes at your sandwich, slightly regretting that you had begun a conversation with this man, and took a bite. Some of the tomato juice dripped down your chin and you snapped at Bruce to get his attention.

“You’re going to learn one of these days,” he sighed, tossing you a stack of napkins. You chewed and swallowed and then gave him a grin as he walked back over.

“You keep saying that, but I never do.”

“Good luck…” he looked at the tab as he slid it under a cup in front of the man, “Colin… you’re going to need it.” You took a sip of your sweet tea, you knew he didn’t mean good luck with you, or at least not the primary part.

“So you’re really a regular regular huh?” Colin was eyeing you with near a frown as he took the first sip of his beer. The clock behind the bar read a quarter past one.

“Yeah, lots of friends who work here. Just not usually in during the day. Sounds like you’ve been here before?” You took another bite before he could pivot the questioning back to you.

“Yeah, I’ve been before. They did a shit job though…” He started to ramble but you were quickly uninterested when the side door opened and a sweaty, grease stained Bucky Barnes walked in, squinting at a ticket.

“Paulson? Fucking Yelena and her handwriting. This is fuc-oh!” It was almost comedic to see Bucky go from a serious, frowning massive man to the grinning, golden retriever man he became when he looked at you. Bucky attention had turned squarely on you as he walked over, the ticket partially crumpling in his hand as he tried to wipe them off before he got over to you. The grease stains on some of your clothes were impossible to get out just from his grabby hands.

“Paulson, that’s me.” Both you and Bucky turned to Colin, as if he had just returned to existence. Bucky’s eyes narrowed, and you could see them flicker across the length of the empty bar then back to where Colin had seated himself beside you. He knew it had to be him that sat beside you because not two hours gone, Bucky had come in for some water and to smack a kiss to your lips right where you sat now.

All concern for grease stains went right out the window.

Bucky came up behind you, reaching over your shoulder to take a few fries off your plate, the hand with the crumpled ticket going around the other side to hand it to Colin, effectively entrapping you between his arms and away from the guy.

“Your car’s done. You can settle it up in the office.” Colin stared at Bucky, who after handing him the paper, wrapped his arm around you and pressed your back to his chest, chomping on fries and reaching for your sweet tea.

“Did they make your burger good?” Bucky asked, “The new cook got specific instructions.” You elbowed him lightly.

“I don’t need everyone thinking I’m a control freak.” Bucky laughed, pressing a kiss to your temple.

“They know I’m the control freak.”

“I guess… I guess I’ll go get my car then. Nice to meet you.” Colin left his mostly full IPA on the table and forgot to pay his tab, near running out the front door.

“What was that guys problem?” Bucky asked jokingly, spinning your stool so you were facing him. You wrinkled your nose.

“You’re stinky.”

“I don’t think you care,” Bucky rumbled, leaning down to press a long warm kiss to your lips.

“His problem was I was getting ready to deck him,” Bruce said, setting down a pint of Bucky’s favorite on a coaster beside your food. He whisked away Colin’s drink and wiped down the watermark.

“What did he do?”

“Nothing,” Bruce responded before disappearing back towards the kitchen. Bucky plopped onto the stool beside you and waited for you to respond.

“He was just trying to chat me up. That’s all.” Bucky sipped his drink before taking a massive bite out of your burger.

“Hey! That’s mine! Smaller bite!”

“I’m just taste testing the new cook.” You bickered over your lunch as the rest of the garage crew began to filter in, a few of the regulars making their way through the front as well.

“Heyo! I heard someone was trying to flirt with-“ Bucky hit Steve in the arm, but Sam had already heard it from where he was clocking in behind the bar.

“Is he dead?” he yelled. The group devolved into ways that Bucky could have murdered this man. All of you failed to notice Colin walking in the front door, where he paused and stared at the group of massive, tattooed bikers calling out forms of torture that could have been inflicted on him. Sam saw him first.

“Oh hey man, what can I get you?” Everyone turned toward him and Bucky got to his feet immediately, having been the only one who could have identified him.

“Just-“ the man’s voice came out high and you suppressed a grin, already feeling a little bad for him. He cleared his throat, face red.

“Just the tab I left.” There was a quiet murmur of “ooooos” as the group dispersed, keeping an eye on you and Bucky.

"Sorry," you started, but Bucky shifted around the side of the bar, picking up Colin's card where it was sitting by the register. Policy was 20% on any leftover cards and Bruce had already closed it out with your meal on there.

"Here. Get lost." Bucky's expression had gone dark.

"Buck, he didn't know."

"Don't care." Colin took a few steps back.

"Man, I wasn't looking for trouble. I didn't know she was your girl, she was talking to me too."

"Do. Not. Care." Colin fled under the close watch of the bikers.

"You didn't have to do that," you sighed, rolling your eyes at the men around you, "You're going to lose a customer."

"Don't care," Bucky muttered, back by your side, "You're mine, honey. Don't care what anyone else says."

"I am yours. He was just being nice." Sam had started the music for the night, and it whafted through the speakers.

"Dance with me, belle?" You laughed.

"When have I ever said no to that? In fact, kill me if I ever do because its an evil clone trying to take over my life." He laughed, the sound more than enough music to your ears for dancing. Bucky wrapped an arm around you and smacked a kiss to your lips, taking your hand and whisking you off to the dance floor.

[kabr0ztrousers]

hiya it's🦋anon again can I request a fem reader x male vampire, while reader and the vampire have sex he ends up putting his fangs in her neck and he turns her into a vampire.

Today's been busy again so I'm letting this one jump the queue a little because it's a little shorter. After this I've still got about a week's backlog so if you've asked for anything please don't feel put out, it's coming (pun intended(yes even you, Clown Fucker))

Kabr0z Writes episode 40: Sanguinare Vampiris

Also entitled: You have contracted Hemolytic Porphyria

Find the rest of the Kabr0z Writes anthology here!

CWs: death (kinda); blood play; vampires; blood mention; this list expands if you're familiar with Vampire: the Masquerade to include ghoulification; intox; loss of agency/control; possessive/obsessive relationships;

A/N: I am again reminding you all, you can submit any requests, ideas, verbal abuse, et cetera in my asks and DMs, it will most likely get written.

Even that thing you're thinking of.

Especially that.

###################################

Winter time was a blessing. The sun setting so soon meant your lover was able to come around sooner, and didn't have to wake you in the small hours of the morning to escape the scorching rays. In summer you had to go to his Haven, waiting for dusk before he'd wake up, normally in the small hours in the morning, and only until dawn.

A knock came on your door. He couldn't enter without permission, apparently something to do with the specific kind of vampire he is? He was always pretty vague about it, apparently the less you knew the safer you were. Vampire society seemed pretty cutthroat, you weren't sure you wanted to know more about it.

You answered the door. Nobody was there, but you knew better "come in, then" you said to the empty street

He didn't appear, exactly, you more just realised he was stood there. The deep kiss drawing snapping his illusion as he pressed his body to yours, closing the door behind him.

He was cold, almost clammy, he could mimic being alive if he wanted to, the warmth, the breathing, the heartbeat, but it drained him when he did, so you didn't want him exerting himself if he didn't need to. You were with him because you liked him, not just for the sex. Although, the sex was damn good.

He smiled at you "You eaten yet?"

You shook your head and he pulled out his phone, dialling up a takeout "I'll get you something, my treat"

He ordered a Chinese, and you watched a movie as you ate, him just watching. Vampires can't stomach actual food. He tried when you were first dating, but it didn't stay down and wasn't pretty when it came back up.

So your night together drew on, him asking about your day, your work, your friends, then hanging on every word as you told him.

Being an immortal member of the living dead must get lonely.

The film wasn't very good, some action flick without any real plot or substance. You found yourself staring at him as he absentmindedly watched. He dressed casually, a button down and jeans, a nice watch, a pair of practical boots left by your door. He only became a vampire in the 90's, and he's looked like a 20-something ever since. It made it easier for you to explain to your friends, and the age gap didn't really bother you, even though he was turned before you were even born.

He noticed you watching him, eyeing his sharp jawline, his mouth twisted to a smile and he took a breath. You watched as colour flooded his face, the greyish pallor of his skin turning rosy, his eyes moistening and starting to blink. He kissed you again.

It was warm this time, his breath hot against your face. You touched his chest, feeling it rise and fall beneath your hand. You knew what it cost him to do this.

You rolled on top of him, pushing your hips against his, feeling his cock start to grow and harden. You opened your shirt and one of his hands slid around your waist. He bit the other, holding the wound to your lips. You sucked out a mouthful of his Vitae, feeling the strength and vigour it gave you blossom in your chest, making your skin flush and your pussy moisten.

You slipped off his lap onto the floor, unfastening his jeans and slipping his cock out, licking it up and down as it twitched under your attention, coating it with your spit.

Your pants were already on the floor next to you as you fingered yourself, keeping his cock in your mouth and two fingers in your cunt. The way he stroked your hair as you sucked his cock always just made you wetter and needier, your pussy already clenching around your fingers as you toyed with yourself, teasing out a small orgasm before the main event, just enough to quicken your heart.

His breath quickened as he watched you cum, the little noises escaping you making his cock twitch in your mouth but you knew he wouldn't cum too soon.

You pulled yourself back up to his lap, moving his hands to your tits as you lowered yourself onto his cock. He gasped as it slid into you, your spit only helping it into your soaking pussy. He squeezed and rubbed your breasts as you started to ride him. He always managed to hit the best spots inside you, making you whine and whimper with every roll of your hips. He cradled your face, turning you to look into his wine-dark eyes

"You love this" his voice was even, it made your head spin

"I love this" you echoed to him

"You love me" came his voice again, echoing through the corners of your mind

"I love you" you responded, the only things in the world were his eyes and his cock, each one driving you wild

"Cum"

You came. Still transfixed by him, your body jolted and squirmed as you squirted around the cock skewering you, still rolling and bucking your hips, wringing out every drop of pleasure he was giving you

"Again"

You screamed, your pussy clenching and squirting. Your body pulsing in sync with it, white knuckles gripping his shoulders as he pulled you in to him.

The bite was ecstasy. You came again as soon as his fangs pierced your skin, arms dropping to your sides and brain clouding. You felt your legs twitching and shivering. Your fingertips tingling.

Your head spun faster and faster as your breathing got faster and lighter.

The room got cold, and darker, maybe the power was on the fritz?

The sound of the TV was distant, quiet, as though heard from the next room

It's getting colder.

It's dark.

You can't feel your legs.

A kiss.

Your mind explodes. You spasm and twitch as every vein in your body fills with fire. You try to scream, pain searing through you. You can see. You can hear. You can smell.

You hear the sounds of your neighbours snoring, you can see everything in the room as though the lights were on, but the only light is the TV. You can smell... Blood. Yours, your neighbours', carried on the wind. You're so hungry.

He's stood there, licking his lip, sealing the wound.

You get up, strength coursing through you.

He smiles at you. "Welcome to the rest of your life. We can go over the formalities later. For now, let's get you someone to eat"

#################################

Postscript: Wow, that was another fun one to write! Massive thanks to the folks at White Wolf/Onyx Path for the Vampire: the Masquerade system which I couched this in.

If you can correctly identify the clan Vamp!BF belongs to, you get your request fast-tracked, contest closes when the first winner's story is published! Guess early, guess often, send me your requests!

[intrepidacious]

fluffy drabble request: going to a winter market with steve? 🥺

keep me warm

pairing: steve rogers x f!reader

word count: 476

warnings: wintery fluff and nothing else 💛 please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning.

a/n: i literally just went to my first market of the season earlier today and absolutely loved it 💛 also i listened to keep warm by drew sarich a lot while writing this

—

"You didn’t tell me there was a ferris wheel!"

Steve smiles to himself as you tug on his arm again, urging him along towards the far side of the market. The cold air smells like sugar and cinnamon, and a pleasant hum of chatter surrounds the two of you as you pass through the maze of stands.

"I thought you’re just here for the food," he reminds you and you tut at him.

"That’s because you didn’t tell me there was a ferris wheel." You crane your neck. "D’you reckon that’s the line?"

He follows your line of sight past the booths selling scented candles and mulled wine. "I think that’s for those crêpes on the right."

"Perfect."

Immediately, you pick up your pace. Steve just manages to catch your hand in his before you run off and he loses you in the crowd. Your fingers interlace with his automatically, and even though you’ve done it hundreds of times before, it never fails to make a wave of fondness wash through his chest.

"You want to go right now, don’t you?"

"Pleeease," you grin. "You can choose the next thing."

"They haven’t even turned all the lights on yet," he argues half-heartedly. He’s not actually about to deny you when you’re this excited, no matter how he’s planned out this evening in his head.

"We’ll just have to go for another round later," you reply with your most innocent face, and he rolls his eyes fondly.

You pass a child eating a hash brown the size of their head who’s looking at Steve with wide eyes. He tucks his hat down a little, giving the kid a wink.

"Oh, that’s how it is?" he says as you round the corner, the actual queue for the ride coming into view.

"Yes," you tell him happily. "Well, if they let me back on. I still fully intend to eat my weight in funnel cake and potatoes."

"I expect nothing less." He leans closer to your ear as you’re walking, adding, "And I’m not above using my cap card if it means we’ll get to see the lights."

"See, this is one of the reasons I love you," you say, squeezing his hand as you settle into the line.

Honest to god, Steve’s never going to get sick of hearing you say those words. That little felt box is burning a hole into his pocket. Patience, he tells himself. Don’t just blurt it out.

And then you lean back against his chest as you wait, pressing a kiss to the palm of his hand, and Steve … well, Steve doesn’t think he’s ever been this perfectly content before in his life. So if he maybe whispers his question a couple of hours earlier than he’d planned, his arms wrapped around you to keep you warm, well, who could blame him?

[octoberobserver]

The Set Up - a Robron fic

(Read on ao3 here)

Hi! I truly cannot believe that I’m not only back watching Emmerdale (or at least bingeing clips) in the year of our Lord 2025, but I’m writing fic for it for the first time, too. The power of Robron, I swear. Full disclosure, despite having grown up with it, I haven’t actually watched the show properly in over six years, so I’m playing catch-up in a lot of ways. If anything seems off, that’s why.

This fic is also for my Mum, who passed away recently and was a massive Robron shipper, even bigger than I ever was. She always said there was nobody else for Aaron, and Robert would be back, and she was right on both fronts. ❤️

~*~

He let Mackenzie Boyd, of all people, set him up.

Robert knew from the start, right when it was happening over several ill-advised pints in The Woolpack on a Thursday evening in early August, that it was an absolutely terrible idea.

And yet…

“Come on,” Mack nudged his shoulder, taking a large gulp from his fourth pint of the night. “A friend of mine is comin’ down from Aberdeen the weekend. I said I’d show ‘im round, but I have a thing, can’t miss it. So, do me a favour and show ‘im Hotten for me.”

Robert took a much more respectable sip of his third pint of the night. He had been back in the village for a couple of months now and, bafflingly, among the animosity from the Dingles, the hesitancy from his sister, the vitriol from his dear, long-lost half brother, and the soul-crushing heartache from his hus…ex-husband, he had somehow managed to make a friend.

Mackenzie. Aaron’s best friend and perpetual, if well-meaning, new thorn in Robert’s side.

“This friend of yours,” he took another sip, eyes carefully averted. “He wouldn’t happen to be the same one I heard ya makin’ plans to head to the new gay bar with, would he?”

Listen. The village was small. He couldn’t help but overhear phone conversations in the café while waiting for his Americano and trying (and failing) to ignore Aaron’s existence in the queue behind him, even if Mackenzie weren’t a giant motormouth. Which he 100% was.

As if reading his mind, a slow grin passed over Mack’s face.

“One in the same,” he winked. “Logan. He’s thirty-five, brunette, and a bit rough around the edges. Just your type…or so I’ve heard, anyway.”

Robert snorted, putting down his pint and locking eyes with him.

“You’re a lot of things, Mack. But subtle isn’t one of ‘em, eh?”

Mackenzie practically vibrated in his seat, his dark eyes lit up in excitement.

“No, it’s not, Robbie m’boy. Come on, go out with him. I promise it’ll be fun. He’s dead fit too.”

He waggled his eyebrows in a ridiculously suggestive way.

“Aren’t you straight?” Robert tilted his head inquisitively at him.

Mack rolled his eyes. “Mostly,” he smirked, “but that doesn’t mean I don’t have functioning eyes, Sugden.”

He sighed before waving his hand around the half-empty pub.

“What, have ya some other big plans in your lively social calendar?”

Robert rolled his eyes back at him. He was a recently released ex-con who wasn’t exactly Mr. Popular before he went inside, so he was hardly batting invitations away with a stick. And this numpty knew it.

Still, something had his stomach churning.

“And what does Aaron think about his best friend trying to set up his ex-husband on a date with a ‘dead fit, rough around the edges’ type?”

He said it lightly, almost flippantly, but didn’t quite hit the mark. They both pretended it did, though.

After a tumultuous first few weeks back in the Dales, Robert was honouring his promise to leave John (and reluctantly, Aaron) alone. They hadn’t seen much of one another since their last blow-up over a month ago, and it was slowly killing Robert.

Catching only brief glimpses here and there of his hus…ex-husband in the pub or the shop or the café was a quiet torture. Harder than the last six years without him inside had been because this time, this way, he was so close but…just out of reach.

Instead, he had to watch, in real time, as Aaron lived his life without him. Was happy (if he was to be believed, anyway) with someone else—Robert's half-brother, army-medic twat, John Sugden.

Of all people.

But every cloud had a silver lining, and his sheer hatred for John had been what drew Mackenzie into Robert’s orbit.

Because it turned out, Aaron’s best friend hated his new husband and really, somehow liked his ex. And wasn’t that just fucking hilarious?

They’d bonded in minutes.

“Lucky for us,” Mackenzie shrugged, “Aaron doesn’t get to have an opinion on what, or who you do anymore, Robert. And yeah, he’s my best mate in the world, but he doesn’t speak for me and what I choose to do with or for my other friends, either. So. Free country and all that. He knows we’re friends. Accepts it. And settin’ ya up kinda goes with the territory, doesn’t it?”

Robert narrowed his eyes, suspicious of his tone.

“This isn’t another one of your bonkers plans to get us back together, is it? ‘Cause I told Aaron I would speak to you about—”

“Nope, no, my matchmaking days are over, Sugden. Scout’s honour.”

He held up two fingers to his forehead, almost like he was blessing himself.

“Something tells me you were never a Boy Scout, Boyd.”

“And you’d be right,” Mackenzie grinned. “Was kicked out my first week for nickin’ badges. But my point still stands. Ya gotta get back out there, man. See the world, meet new people. You’ve been outta the game for over half a decade. It’s time.”

Robert shifted in his seat.

“And does this Logan know why I’ve been ‘out of the game’ for over half a decade, Mackenzie? ‘Cause something tells me that might be a dealbreaker.”

A trace of a grimace passed over his friend’s face before he gave another shrug.

“He knows you were inside. He has a bit of a past himself, so he gets it more than most,” he sighed. “But I didn't get too into the details. It's not my story to tell.”

Robert nodded at that. And let himself briefly consider it. Being with another man who wasn’t Aaron had honestly never crossed his mind. Not once. He was attracted to plenty of men, sure, had been since he was a teenager, because yeah, he also had functioning eyes, but actively putting himself out there after knowing what he and Aaron had? Could possibly have again if it weren’t for the small, tiny issue of Aaron being married and Robert having broken his trust and his heart all in one foul sweep?

Never stopped ya before, a snarky voice that sounded devastingly like Liv echoed in the back of his head.

His heart gave a painful thump.

“Look, I’ve said my piece,” Mackenzie held up his hands, breaking Robert from his reverie as he dug in his pocket and retrieved a slip of paper, sliding it slowly across the table like he was in a film negotiating his price for a bounty.

Dramatic little shit.

“There’s his number. I told ‘im I’d pass it on, and he said no pressure either way, he’s well able to entertain himself till I can grace him with my lovely presence. So do with it what ya want.”

Robert stared down at the eleven digits, the black ink blurring a little as he heard the last words he and Aaron spoke directly to each other, all those weeks ago…

“He stole my husband, my sister, my home, and my life, and I’m supposed to, what, Aaron? Play happy families with the bloke? Shake his hand, send Christmas cards, and share pints down the pub? All while he has you in his bed, Vic in his corner, and everyone else in this godforsaken village wrapped around his little finger? Gimme a break.”

“I’m not asking you to have any type of relationship with John, Robert. But I do need ya to move on. From me and from us. Find someone else. I have.”

Move on. From Aaron and from the life they had together. Find someone else. First Chas, then Vic, now Aaron, all saying the same thing, like it was just the easiest thing in the world. To move on from the one person in the whole world who ever made him happy, ever made him feel like himself, ever made him fall in love with—

“Oi, Mack, where the hell have ya—oh.”

Robert just about managed not to jump as the man of the hour, Aaron Dingle, (or Sugden-Dingle, he supposed he was now, again?), suddenly appeared, storming right over to the table before stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of him sitting with Mackenzie.

“Uh,” Aaron’s brow furrowed as he stared between them for a beat, before he shook his head and gestured at his friend. “I was lookin’ for ya. The footie’s at eight, so…”

Robert stood up, deftly slipping the piece of paper into the palm of his hand and nodding at Mack.

Decision made, then.

“Right, I’ll let ya get on. Thanks, Mack,” he drained his pint and turned, giving a curt nod to Aaron before making his way out of the pub, heading for Vic’s.

Move on. From me and from us. Find someone else.

He wasn’t sure if he was ready to do exactly that just yet, but…maybe, just maybe, a drink with a ‘dead fit, rough around the edges’ Scot couldn’t hurt.

~*~

Aaron watched as Robert, dressed in a tight navy shirt and dark trousers, with perfectly messy hair (styled in the way he knew took him ages), and a leather jacket slung over his shoulder, hopped into a taxi at seven o’clock on a Saturday night.

“Where’s he off to?” Aaron mumbled to himself, hating that he still cared.

He shouldn’t.

But he did.

It had been…weird having Robert back in the village. Well, it had been a lot more than just weird, but he didn’t wanna think about all that just now. Not when he was supposed to be having a quiet night in with his new husband.

His husband. John. Not—

“You okay?”

He startled a little at the sudden voice in his ear.

“Yeah, yeah, fine. Hurry up, will ya, the food’s gettin’ cold.”

John let them into their flat, throwing his keys down and shrugging off his jacket.

“Was that Robert getting into a taxi?” he asked over his shoulder, his tone clipped.

Aaron refused to rise to it. They were supposed to be having a quiet night in, with some takeaway and some Netflix and maybe a quick shag if he didn’t fall asleep halfway through whatever boring documentary John forced him to watch—but none of that would happen if Robert Sugden became the topic of conversation.

“Didn’t see,” he lied, just one of many he’d accumulated over the last couple of months, starting with his wedding day and the kiss he hadn’t told him about.

The same kiss that Robert did eventually tell him about, and all Hell broke loose.

“He and Mackenzie seem to be cozying up a lot,” John continued, despite it being obvious Aaron didn’t want to keep talking about it. “Is he trying to steal your best friend or something?”

“Who knows with Robert?” Aaron sighed as he got out plates and dug through the bag, taking out containers of food, the smell as delicious as always, but his stomach suddenly queasy. “And, Mack’s allowed to have more than one friend, so it’s none of my business…”

He shrugged, hoping the topic was dropped.

(He should’ve known better.)

“Don’t you think it’s a bit weird, though?” John asked, making his way over and folding his arms across his chest. “What, Robert can’t have you, so he’ll take the next best thing?”

“Robert’s not interested in Mack like that, John. Just ‘cause he’s bi doesn’t mean that he wants to get with everyone.”

That wasn’t what he had intended to say. He had no idea what he had intended to say, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t that. Judging by the creases lining John’s forehead, he thought the same.

“I know, Aaron,” he said a little sharply. “I just meant that it’s odd that he could make his own separate friends, but instead is being pally with your best mate. Having pints and talkin’ shop and letting him set him up on dates with—”

“What?”

Aaron’s heart skipped a beat.

John’s eyes narrowed slightly, tracing his face. Aaron kept still, trying to show none of the reaction that the rest of his body was having right now.

Mack set Robert up on a date? Was that where he was going, all dressed up in a taxi?

“I overheard Mackenzie talking to that friend of his from Aberdeen. Logan?” John was saying, almost drowned out by the thundering in Aaron’s ears. “He said something about giving Robert his number and telling him to text him.”

Something clicked in the back of Aaron’s mind. Last Thursday, he had gone to The Woolie looking for Mack, only to find him sitting with Robert. Predictably, Robert had made a pretty hasty exit once he’d seen him (unpredictably keeping his promise about leaving him alone), and slipped what looked like a small piece of paper into his hand before heading out.

Aaron probably shouldn’t have noticed something like that, but then again, when had he ever not noticed every single little thing about Robert Jacob Sugden, even when he didn’t want to?

“Oh, right,” he forced out, gathering his food and making his way over to the couch. “Good for him, then.”

The words were like ash in his mouth, so he cracked open a can and tried to dowse it in the shitty craft beer John insisted on buying from Hotten.

(It didn’t work.)

He could feel John’s eyes on him as he tucked into his dinner, his stomach protesting every bite but forcing himself to swallow it down anyway.

“Yeah, I suppose it is a good thing,” John continued, sitting down beside him, a plate in one hand as he wrapped the other around Aaron’s shoulders, leaning in close, his breath on his cheek. “He can find someone else’s life to ruin, so we can get on with ours.”

A spike of anger flared in Aaron’s veins at that. He had spoken to John before about not understanding what he and Robert had, what they had once been to one another, and having opinions about something he knew nothing about, but as time wore on, he just kept picking and making snide comments, and it was really starting to wind him up.

He swallowed down that anger along with his food.

A quiet night in. He wanted a quiet night in. Food. Film. Fucking. With his new husband. That was what he wanted. Not whatever Robert was up to in Hotten with some mystery bloke Mackenzie set him up with.

“Whatcha wanna watch?” he unsubtly changed the subject, but thankfully John didn’t object.

“Oh, there’s a documentary on submarines that’s meant to be…”

Aaron tuned out the rest, numbly nodding as John, none the wiser, put on the film and settled in.

Over the next, God, he had no idea how long, Aaron tried not to glance out the window or look at his phone or wonder just what his ex-husband was up to. It wasn’t his business anymore. Robert could be friends with whoever he wanted, and go on dates with whoever he wanted, and fall in love with who…

He leapt up off the couch, nausea swirling in his gut as his heart hammered in his chest.

John stared at him, a worried line between his eyebrows.

“Aaron? Are you o—”

“Need the toilet,” he put down his plate of completely untouched dinner and backed out of the room. “Keep the film playin’, I’ll be out in a minute.”

Not waiting for a reply, he shut himself in the bathroom and tried to control his suddenly haggard breathing.

Resting his face against the mirror, he took a deep breath in and slowly let it out.

“Get a grip, Jesus,” he hissed to himself, while digging in his pocket for his phone and pulling up Mackenzie’s number.

It rang exactly twice before a far-too-enthusiastic voice picked up.

“Aaron, mate, I had a feelin’ you’d be callin’.”

He swallowed down every curse word and snappy comeback he wanted to lob at his best mate and growled, “What’s this I hear about you settin’ Rob up with Logan?”

An annoyingly smug chuckle sounded down the phone.

“Heard about that, did’cha?”

“Mackenzie.”

“Oh, fine, it’s not like it’s a big secret, 007,” Mack sighed, and Aaron could practically see him rolling his eyes. “It’s exactly what it says on the tin. Logan’s visitin’, and I couldn’t take him out on the town tonight, so I set him up with an eligible bisexual bachelor instead. It’s called being a good friend.”

“Oh yeah, you’re a saint,” Aaron shot back, tone dripping with sarcasm and hating himself for it.

“I didn’t think you’d mind, considerin’ you’re all loved up with Hubby Number Two,” Mack remarked lightly, knowing well he minded far more than he’d ever admit. “Sugden Lite, Diet Sugden, Sugden Zero—”

“Mack.”

A laugh was bubbling up his chest and mixing with his initial annoyance, but he’d be fucked if he ever let Mackenzie know he found him funny. Sometimes. On occasion.

Robert was the same way. Give him an inch, and he’d take a mile. The bastard.

“Was there any particular reason for this call, Aaron, or can I get back to what I was doin’?”

Aaron stared at himself in the mirror, taking another deep breath and letting it out.

“What were ya doing, anyway, that ya couldn’t meet up with Logan?”

“Jesus, the fuzz wouldn’t even ask me that,” Mack snorted, and Aaron could practically see him wink. “Mind yer ain business, Dingle. Pint tomorrow?”

That was that, then.

Aaron knew a lost cause when he heard one.

“Alright, yeah, see ya then. Judas.”

Another laugh trickled down the line.

“Maybe ask yerself why me settin’ up your ex on a date with a fit Scotsman feels like betrayal, when you’ve said time and time again to anyone who’ll listen that you want him to move on, eh? Ya might figure out a couple’a things and save me the bother next time.”

The dial tone punctuated his point.

Aaron lowered the phone from his ear and gritted his teeth.

Fuckin’ Mackenzie Boyd.

Resigning himself to his fate, he took another deep breath and made his way back out to the living room, only to find John mid-kip in front of the telly, the boring monotone of the narrator the only sound over his soft snores.

Alright. Maybe he’d have that pint now, then.

~*~

Robert hated to admit it, but—Mackenzie was right. Logan was ‘dead fit.’

And funny.

Smart.

Charming.

And, yep, a good kisser too.

(Though he wasn’t sure if Mack knew that last one. Probably not. Maybe? He kinda had his suspicions about him, sometimes.)

He pulled back from the admittedly good kiss and bit his lip, staring down into chocolate brown eyes, hating that he wished they were sea blue instead.

“Pint?”

The word was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Logan was staying in The Grange for the weekend, so of course, the only place close by to get that pint would be…The Woolpack. That was currently full to the brim with his ex-in-laws because it was a day that ended in ‘Y.’

They’d be lambs walking into a lion’s cage.

“Lead the way,” Logan smiled back before Robert could backpeddle and shit, yeah, there was Chas right at the bar, Charity wiping glasses, Sam sitting gormless with Belle and Aaron—

Fuck.

They locked eyes, Robert frozen on the spot, distantly aware that Logan was saying something to him but not hearing a word.

Because Aaron was staring right at him with those unfairly gorgeous blue eyes. Drinking him in with that quiet intensity that took his breath away from day one, over eleven years ago.

Some things never change.

“...Robert?”

“Hm, what?” he dragged his gaze away from his ex-husband and forced his attention on his date.

His date. Logan. Who was looking at him with a far-too-knowing stare.

“I said, what are ya havin’? It’s my round.”

Mumbling the first thing that came to mind, he took a seat, his legs feeling a little shaky, no matter how much he scolded himself.

Aaron went and married his half-brother, for fuck’s sake. Robert, being on a casual date with a man shouldn’t feel wrong. Shouldn’t feel like he’s cheating right in front of him because Aaron wasn’t his anymore. He wasn’t Aaron’s. They weren’t anything to each other anymore and—

And that just isn’t true, is it?

Aaron still hadn’t looked away. Robert didn’t need to be staring directly at him to know that. He could feel it.

“Here we are,” Logan grinned as he placed a pint in front of him and sank down beside him. “So, this is The Woolpack, eh? Mack’s second home, now.”

Robert nodded, trying and failing to ignore the multiple pairs of eyes that were on them now.

The rest of the Dingles had noticed them, then.

Great.

“Yeah, his wife, Charity, owns the place,” he cleared his throat and took a sip of his drink, itching to tear up the beer mat in front of him.

Logan hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah, he mentioned Charity. Was gutted I missed the wedding. Heard it was…unique.”

Robert shrugged, “I couldn’t tell ya, I missed it too. I was…” he trailed off, realising he didn’t really want to delve into where he was and why right this second.

Logan nudged his shoulder with his.

“Me too.”

Robert’s eyebrows shot up his forehead.

“You were in prison during Mackenzie’s wedding?”

“Yep,” Logan chuckled. “I thought Mack told ya I’d been inside too?”

“He… alluded.”

Logan laughed, “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

They shared a smile, and Robert felt himself relax a bit, something loosening in his chest.

“So, the lad at the bar currently glaring daggers into my skull, that’s your ex, then?”

Robert tensed all over again.

“What?”

Logan tilted his head ever so slightly in Aaron’s direction.

“That lad—dark hair, ruggedly handsome, intense as fuck. That’s your ex-husband? Aaron, right?”

“What exactly did Mackenzie tell you?”

“Oh, this wasn’t Mack’s doin’. You’ve mentioned ‘Aaron’ like a dozen times since Hotten. It doesn’t take a genius.”

Robert winced, opening his mouth—

“Don’t apologise. I get it.”

“I’m not sure ya do.”

“Maybe not,” Logan nudged his shoulder again. “But I don’t mind. Let ‘im look. We could even give ‘im a show, if ya want?”

Before he could try to come up with a response to that, a very familiar and very unwelcome figure walked through the door, a thunderous expression on his face.

Unable to help himself, Robert smirked.

“Hello, Johnny. Looking for someone?”

John glanced from where Aaron was now straightening up at the bar, looking oddly caught out, to where Robert sat with Logan.

“Robert,” he gritted between his teeth. “This the next man whose life you’re gonna ruin?”

Before he could reply, Aaron appeared at John’s side, speaking lowly.

“I just nipped in for a quick pint, didn’t wanna wake ya, but let’s go, yeah? Finish the film.”

Robert snorted, gaze trailing Aaron’s face.

“Lemme guess, something boring. A war documentary? Navy ships? Am I close?”

Aaron’s jaw tightened, telling him everything.

Unable to shove down his amusement, Robert turned to Logan, waving a hand.

“John, Aaron, this is Logan, my date. Logan, this is John, my long-lost half-brother, and Aaron, my hus…brother-in-law.”

He caught his slip, but he knew they all heard it. It was also the first time he had uttered the words ‘brother-in-law’ in the same sentence as ‘Aaron’ out loud, and it tasted foul. Like someone had switched his pint with filthy drain water.

He could see Logan’s shocked expression out of the corner of his eye and surmised that Mackenzie had left that little nugget of information out of his lowdown on Robert Sugden.

“Nice to meet you,” John said, sounding like he meant anything but as he leaned closer. “But watch yourself with this one, eh? He’s just got out of prison.”

Logan caught Robert’s eye before leaning in and chuckling.

“Well, there’s a coincidence for ya. Me too. Expect I’ll be alright, so.”

He winked before staring at Aaron, standing up, and hooking a thumb behind him.

“Gotta see a man about a horse,” he murmured, heading for the toilets.

Robert watched him go, sipping his pint.

“Anything else I can help ya with, Johnny boy, or…?”

“I know what you’re doing, ya know,” John growled as Aaron made an aborted gesture to hold him back. “And it’s not gonna work. You’re not gonna flaunt some fling in here in front of Aaron and get him to come runnin’ back to ya or something, you hear me?”

Robert blinked, and before he knew it, he was on his feet.

“Oi!” Chas yelled from across the pub. “I want no trouble in here, you hear me, Robert Sugden? Take it outside, all of ya.”

Shooting his gem of an ex-mother-in-law a smile, he walked out, John and Aaron hot on his heels.

“First of all, Johnny Not So Good,” he said lightly as soon as they stepped out into the night air and the door shut behind them. “What I do or do not do in this village is none of your business. Second of all, I’m not in the habit of manipulating the man I love. I didn’t even know Aaron was in there. Last I heard from Mack was that Aaron was having a ‘lovely, quiet night in’ with you. So, I had no plans to make him jealous.”

John gave a hollow laugh, stepping towards him.

“‘Not in the habit of manipulating?’ That’s not the way I’ve heard it.”

Something painful twinged in Robert’s chest at that, as he couldn’t help but look at Aaron, who wouldn’t meet his eye.

“Yeah, well. Maybe that was true once upon a time. But people change.”

“Not you,” John glared, taking another step towards him and jabbing a finger in his face. “You’re a bad apple, Robert. Always have been from what I’ve gleaned about ya around here. Everyone says it. Chas, Victoria, Paddy…” he trailed off, looking right at Aaron and letting Robert fill in the blanks.

That pain in his chest twisted like a knife.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Robert smacked his hand away. “You’re better than me in every way,” he paused, a slow, smug smirk crossing his face as he finally caught Aaron’s eye, winking. “Well, not every way, eh, Aaron?”

John lunged at him, but Aaron was faster, holding him back as Robert let out a cold laugh.

“I already told ya, Johnny Do Wrong, you should be worried. And everyone knows it. Victoria, Paddy, Chas, Mack, Aaron, hell, even deep down, you. Your marriage was cursed from the start. Not ten minutes before your wedding, Aaron was kissing me, and, the cherry on top, his own best friend, his Best Man, even missed the big day. If that isn’t a bad omen, I dunno what is…”

Robert was on a roll now, the whole world narrowing down to just the three of them as he delivered the final blow.

“Don’t worry, though, Johnny boy, Mack’ll be Best Man at his next one…” he laughed, leaning down to stare right into his brother’s eyes. “Remember, Aaron loved me so much he married me twice. So, whatcha think? Could we go for a hat-trick?”

John lunged for him again, but Aaron held him tighter.

“Give over, Rob,” he growled but didn’t look at him, just as Logan emerged in the doorway, looking puzzled and intrigued.

“What’d I miss?”

Robert turned to him, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“Family drama, it’s rampant round here,” he remarked lightly. “Walk ya back to the B&B?”

Ignoring Aaron’s heavy stare, he strode away, side by side with Logan, letting their shoulders bump together.

He knew it wasn’t fair, was shitty and a low-blow, especially for Aaron’s ears to hear, but he had meant every word he’d said. Despite everything, despite himself, he still had hope.

Hope for them. Hope for what they could be again.

And it was probably going to be his downfall.

So for now, he shoved it underneath all the years of yearning and pain and love for a man that wasn’t his anymore, ignored his tit of a brother and walked his date home.

Robert Jacob Sugden was a lot of things. He was smug, arrogant and cocky with a bad taste in music and who dances worse than Paddy Kirk. But one thing he wasn’t was a quitter.

Neither was Aaron Dingle.

And for now? That was enough.

~*~

Aaron watched, his stomach in knots and his chest tight, as Robert walked away with Mack’s stupidly fit friend.

They had kissed earlier. Just before heading into The Woolpack.

Aaron had seen them from where he had been standing outside, trying to cajole his best friend into a sneaky pint with him from wherever he was hiding, only to look up and feel his whole world tilt on its axis.

Because there Robert stood, his ex-husband and not-so-ex love of his life, twenty yards from him, his lips locked with another man’s.

A man who wasn’t him.

Over the years, he had seen Robert with other people before, sure. Women. More than one. And yeah, it had bothered him, of course it had. But not like this. This felt different. When Robert had been with women in the past, Aaron could fool himself into thinking it was because they, as women, had something he didn’t. They could, as women, give Robert something he couldn’t. But to see him with another man? That he couldn’t fool himself into thinking anything but, see? It’s not that he doesn’t want a man. It’s that he doesn’t want you.

The thought felt like being cut by the sharpest knife and drowned in ice-cold water at the same time.

(And Aaron would know. He’d experienced both in his lifetime.)

He felt like that because it was Aaron who helped Robert accept that part of himself. It was Aaron he wanted to be himself with, and he had fallen in love with and realised that he wasn’t a disappointment with. Aaron. Not Chrissie, or Katie, or Rebecca, or…what was his name, again? Lorcan? No, Logan. Not him either.

And yet, as much as he hated admitting it to himself, watching Robert kiss another man, a man who wasn’t him…hurt in a way he hadn’t expected it to after all this time.

But he had no right to feel that way. He knew that.

He’d gone and married Robert’s brother, for God’s sake.

Hypocrite.

Shoving those dark thoughts to the back of his mind, he practically dragged John back to The Mill, knowing another fight awaited them, but suddenly so, so sick and tired of it all.

“You just couldn’t keep away, could ya?”

He wanted to go to bed, but John’s tone and his glare told him that wouldn’t be happening any time soon.

“John, I swear. I just wanted a pint, that’s all. I had no idea Robert would be in the pub.”

Liar.

“We’re bound to run into each other. It’s a small village.”

Excuses.

“We’ll just give ‘em a wide berth, yeah? As much as we can.”

Empty promises.

The fight lasted well into the night. The same old issues cropping up over and over and over again until finally, Aaron just left the room, heading towards his bedroom and calling over his shoulder, “Follow me, or don’t. I’m going to bed.”

It was another while until he felt the bed dip.

He pretended to be asleep.

John actually fell asleep much quicker than he thought he would.

And all the while, Aaron thought of Robert.

Robert and his dramatic wedding crashing and declarations of love. Robert and his bruised and battered face, still so happy to see him when he got back out of prison. Robert and the love they once had, the life they once shared, the future they had been planning with Seb, and Liv and more kids on the horizon. Robert tonight, in his tight shirt and stupidly messy, ridiculous hair that he wanted nothing more than to run his hands through again for the first time in six years. Robert’s soft eyes and sharp tongue and that same tongue shoved down another man’s throat as he probably fucked Logan within an inch of his—

Aaron was tiptoeing out his front door before he fully caught his next breath.

It was cold, and his threadbare jumper and joggers didn’t do much to shield him from it. But Vic’s place was in his sights now, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make himself turn back. Go home. To the bed he shared with his husband. Who wasn’t Robert. Not anymore.

He knocked louder than he would have if he didn’t know that Victoria had taken Harry to visit Diane this weekend.

“Robert?” he yelled through the door, an urgency surging through him, a frantic panic as the thought that maybe he wasn’t home but instead up at the B&B, with fit, Scottish Logan with his tongue shoved down his—

“Aaron?”

The door swung open, revealing a sleep-rumpled Robert, in grey pyjama trousers and loose T-shirt, staring blearily down at him.

Aaron drank him in like a man parched, words flowing from him without thought.

“I think I’d rather never have you back than lose you again. That’s what you said to me once,” he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes as he swallowed the lump in his throat.

Robert looked devastated as he heard his own words from so long ago repeated back to him.

He took a breath. His eyes wide, bright, and gorgeous.

“Aaron, what—”

“Did ya sleep with him?”

Robert blinked, arms crossing over his chest as his face hardened.

“I don’t think you get to ask me those kinda questions since you married my brother, Aaron.”

Aaron winced, knowing he was right. Knowing he was being beyond unfair, but not able to stop himself.

“Okay, let me ask ya something else, then.”

He took another deep breath, stepping closer to him, tilting his head up to look straight into those same eyes he had missed more than anything in the world.

“Is this me losing you, Robert?”

It was soft. Barely above a whisper. But he knew he had heard him, if the kaleidoscope of emotion crossing his face was any indication.

Robert heaved a sigh, reaching out and gripping his arms, tight, but not constricting. Comforting. Warm. Everything.

“You could never lose me, Aaron. I told you. I’m not going anywhere. Never again.”

His thumb swept over his forearm, right where his faded scars lay underneath his sleeve.

“And no, I didn’t sleep with him. I walked him to the door and said goodnight because all I could think about is you, because…well, you know.”

A broken sob tried its best to wrench its way out of Aaron’s chest.

But he kept it together. He had to get this out. He’d waited over half a decade. It was time.

“I know,” he gripped the edge of Robert’s T-shirt, summoning every ounce of strength he had. “So if we…if we do this, Rob, can you promise me, swear to me, that we will do everything we can not to lose each other? Never again. Because that’s what I need, Robert. I can’t…I can’t do what I want to do without being sure of that. Because I can’t lose you again. I won’t. It will kill me.”

Robert reached up and cupped his cheek, his gaze unwavering.

“We won’t lose each other, Aaron. Not again, never again. I swear, I promise, I��”

Aaron leaned up and crashed their lips together, pushing him over the threshold and kicking the door closed behind him.

Robert kissed him back instantly, as if it were inevitable, and maybe in a way it always was, ever since that day on the bridge.

(Ever since the lay-by, really.)

Robert kissed him like it was the only thing he wanted to do for the rest of his life. And Aaron kissed him back.

Because, yeah. It was one of the only things he wanted to do for the rest of his life. That, and so, so much more. With Robert.

It was a terrible idea, and would definitely blow up his life worse than he ever had, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

Because it was Robert. It was always Robert. It would always be…Robert.

Messed up. With him. Forever.

And no husband or blind date or prison sentence would ever change that. For either of them.

He broke the kiss, chest heaving as he struggled to breathe, watching Robert do the same, their breaths mingling with their lips barely an inch apart. And suddenly, a memory came to him, from the deep recesses of his brain, making Aaron smile, his hands coming up to finally rake through that ridiculous hair that he loved so much, because despite everything still unspoken between them, he knew only three more little words needed to be said tonight.

“Right. Upstairs. Now.”

Somewhere, out there, Mackenzie is throwing one hell of a party and filling Charity in on his matchmaking genius🥳

I might do a smutty part two if people are interested? Would love to know what you think. Thanks! ❤️

[angellurgy2]

Pull The Trigger

your favourite freak's writing agaain! you ever wanted to read a story about a homophobic gamer boy getting doxxed and raped? well here u go! ^-^ part two coming soon

cw: noncon, forced gay, slurs, shit like that

sandstone brick, towering ahead. trapped in a corner, waiting, ak-47 comfortable in hand. listening, watching, pixel-perfect gaze. the soft pitter patter of booted footsteps approaching on sand. spin, shoot before you see. three shots of triple-round burst to centre mass. dead. 

multiple pings hit the wall ahead of him, pelted at while his back was turned. losing health rapidly. he flicks and sends his barrel spinning 180 in the opposite direction, blind trading fire. 

he screams into his bulky turtle beach headphones as the body in front of him ragdolls, screen blurring with bloody low health warnings. “YEAAAH FAGGOT, YOU LIKE THAT?”

he’s swiftly popped into the win screen, all chat and winner microphones switched on to offer a chance to flaunt or whine. 

[ALL] TriggerFinger: get GUD fags i’ll wipe u in the next one 2 lmao

[ALL] XxxGr1mR3eaperxxX: dude you suck u just got lucky

[ALL] TriggerFinger: i bet u kno a lot about sucking huh?

[ALL] TriggerFinger: just like your MOM

trigger clicks on to queue for the next game, a satisfied gleam plastering his face as everyone else is gone to the aether.

in the top left of his screen as loading screens trawl pops a message from an unfamiliar user. not on his friends list, rather it looks like they’re in the ‘recently played with’ section. probably just another noob coming to rage.

[PRIVATE] Anonymous-Specter: that was pretty rude, you know.

‘ThAt WaS pReTtY rUde-’ what a beta.

[PRIVATE] TriggerFinger: why shld i care? get a life faggot. lmao

[PRIVATE] Anonymous-Specter: you really shouldn’t talk to people like that.

this guy’s clearly got some form of retardation keeping him from getting the hint. but trigger’s got better shit to do. the loading screen for this game always takes so long. he grabs a pack of shrimp tempura cup ramen off the nearby shelf and fills it with day-old water from his water bottle, shoving it in the microwave for a couple minutes. he numbly trawls through social media feeds, doomscrolling the beautiful faces on instagram before that gets boring, then the stale porn on twitter, then the ragebait on 4chan. nothing satisfying his appetite except this one clip of some guy eating shit on his first try skateboarding, which too is ethereal in the drips of serotonin it gives.

ding!

he grabs his soppy steaming meal and brings it back over to his computer, stirring it with a stray fork before moving back into the screen. the first thing he sees is another message from the same person as before. he rolls his eye and opens the notification.

[PRIVATE] Anonymous-Specter: this you? 78.222.0.13

[PRIVATE] TriggerFinger: TF?? 

he thinks he’s so cool. trigger quickly tabs over to chrome, typing into the address bar ‘whats my ip ad-’ before it autofills. he clicks in, praying for the release of the little ball of stress slowing spreading in his chest. only to have it implode. IPv4… 78.222.0.13

ok. well, he’s probably just trying to scare you. theres not much you can do with a few numbers. he remembers the streamers he’s watched being ddos’ed and how freaked out they’d always get. he can’t find that humour in the angered horror on their faces now, though.

[PRIVATE] TriggerFinger: thats not my fuckin IP asshole. ur not funny

[PRIVATE] Anonymous-Specter: i think it’s pretty funny.

[PRIVATE] Anonymous-Specter: see you soon :)

trigger looks around his surroundings. nothing around, just the same open bland studio basement. mattress on the floor, check. couch, check. tv, check. tiny window that shows literally nothing but a foot of grass? check. its hard for him to hide the scowl of hatred at this empty rotting enclosure. shit, did you lock the door? he runs up and flicks it locked like how a child runs up the stairs when they’re scared a monsters behind them. not because of this ‘specter’ though. just normal precaution. he wouldn’t let another man take up space in his mind like that.

trigger sits. unable to pull his focus enough to start another game, or to divest himself entirely. stuck in a limbotic resting space. he grabs the monster can sitting on his desk - one of many - and pours it down his throat with anxious franticity. after staring at the screen for long enough, with nothing else he can see to do, he types.

[PRIVATE] TriggerFinger: What r u talking about? fuckin weirdo

10 minutes pass.

[PRIVATE] TriggerFinger: hello?

nothing at all. empty threats and childish games. who puts in that much effort just to cause a little scare? freak, probably a faggot too.

he sighs and switches over to spotify, plugging his favourite XXXtentacion album into his grindy bluetooth speaker and grabbing a pre-roll from his weed drawer. a rusted old lighter folds between his fingers. flick, flick. hot choking mist fills his mouth and then suffuses his screen as he blows it back into the stale air. he lies idly spinning in his gaming chair, puffing until its gone and until the words leave his head. empty.

but not for long, apparently.

a resoundingly loud knocking thuds at his door. earthquaking enough to shake him out of his seatlock. but the tremors remain, rocking through his veins. he gingerly lowers his eye to the peephole. a short man looks up from a foot away, holding some sort of black bag. this is it trigger, time to man up. he paces back with soft steps, pulling a steak knife from the block and holding it behind his back. no more games, this is real life. no more being harassed by that bitch landlord, no more bad looks when mom and dad visit. when the police find him beaten and you on top you won’t have to feel bad anymore.

he opens the door.

“Hello. uber for trig?”

he doesn’t remember ordering any food, was he really that faded?

“it’s… trigger. but that’s me, yeah.”

the man passes trigger an unlabelled brown bag from the bigger unlabelled black bag. something liquid seeps out of the corner.

“have a great night, sir!” 

trigger tosses the bag onto the table already scattered with trash. throwing the knife onto the counter along with it. being paranoid is the sign of a weak mind, you need energy. he thinks about the shrooms his bro gave him a couple weeks back, saved for a special occasion in a box under his bed. the devil and angel on his shoulders scream.

he examines the food. taco bell crunchwrap and spilled soda, amazing. he begins to clean it up right as a CLFBKGBNJ clanging from the kitchenette behind his back rings out. he turns to see a tall, muscley imposing man already towering over him from there. backing up slowly, like hes a blind animal that’ll pounce at any moment. 

“hey there.”

“hi???” his words spit out with a spiteful acidity, tantrumic. 

“you must be trigger.” his monotone face twists upwards into a cruel mockery of a smile. he examines trigger up and down, who shivers at being ogled like meat.

he hears his dad in his head. puff up your chest, faggot. you can’t let people walk over you like a little bitch all the time. he straightens his back, stops retreating. his voice mimics a tough deepness.

“you need to g-get the fuck out of my house.” 

specter tilts his head with curiosity. trigger can feel the aftershocks of monster and adrenaline crumpling his heart as he looks into the intruders eyes. a dark jade gazes back, blank. empty. like null space inside his skull, giving off only the aesthetic of a watching being. beyond the entrancing holes, partially hidden behind curtains of frayed brown locks, a jagged scar cuts through his face, curved and serrated with the impression of its assailant. 

“it’s not really your house though, is it?” 

trigger stares back dumbly. specter lifts up a chiseled arm and knocks on the roof, indicating where the landlord resides. “it’s theirs, really.” he takes a step forward.

“what’s your fucking problem man?”

another step back. guarding facade broken as quickly as it was put up. you’re weak. pathetic. he can smell it on you, just like they all can.

“here to give you an attitude adjustment.” he says it so monotone, like reading a script. as if you should know what that means. specter gives a wide scan of the interior. sizing up your crime scene? this won’t be going the way you think it will, buddy. “this is a pretty shit place you got here”

“not any more shit than the goon cave you probably got, bitch” 

the molded smile on specter’s face drops in a second. in 3 sudden steps forward he closes most of the gap between them, the air between the two grows cold. trigger has no choice but to back up more to keep the feeling of safety. the distance between handler and beast, but there’s no leash here. and there’s no medic to save him.

“listen.. s-specter? right?” he looks into those dead eyes with a quiver hes kept hidden for so long.  “i'm sorry i insulted you or- or whatever i didn’t mean it okay? that’s just online shit, this isn’t real.”

specter takes another wordless step, and trigger hits the wall. this isn’t real.

“why so quiet all of a sudden?” his hand reaches out and cups triggers chin, his face too frozen with animalistic chemicals to react. forcing trigger’s weak inebriated gaze to meet his, dead yet malevolent. “are you scared of me?”

trigger spits in his face. “you- couldn’t. scare me.”

untrimmed nails dig sharply into the base of his skull. “i will.”

“my dads the chief of police. you don’t wanna do this.” he tries to put on monotone the best he can, head as swirly with emotions as it is.

specter chortles. “no he’s not”

the music emanating from trigger’s desk scratches hard as it changes into a fast-paced track. specter’s eyes and ears twitch in its direction like a bat.

“this is what you listen to?” his smile almost looks genuine this time. he gestures at the ground below them. “stay here.”

he turns and moves to walk past trigger, when he jumps into action, leaping at the man with a guttural yell.  “AA-”

immediately cut off by searing blunt force ripping through his gut, sending him crumpling to the floor with the force of extraneous gravity. so you’re a warlock, subclassed into gravitational magic, is that it? he gets up onto his hands and knees, a trail of saliva connecting his lips to the dirty linoleum floors. he chokes on each breath he tries to take in. the pain is unlike anything his soft and unexplored body has experienced before. 

specter walks away to the booming speaker, pulling out a black rectangle from the pocket of the black jeans sticking to his legs.. the speakers switch to a new track, unfamiliar to his ears. some kind of aggressive rapping, underscored by a metallic sharp noise groove. he tries to listen for words, analyzing the rhythm and slotting it with memories of other songs to try and figure out what it is. but before he can comprehend the first words to come out, a rigid boot crashes into the side of his ribs.

dazed on the ground, heaving for the little pieces of air that’ll fit through his trachea, cartoons birds twirling over his head as he stares up into the ceiling. 

a sharp sound cuts through his stupor. “you’re funny” says specter, “i really thought you’d have more fight in you.”

PHWACK. the sound of some elastic material slapping against skin, a black glove clinging to specter’s boney hand.

trigger’s shocked by the feeling of cold on his bare stomach, face twisting with rage but the rest of the body betrays him with frozen fear. specter begins to slowly lift triggers shirt, feeling up his concave flesh with rubber digits.

specter flinches back as a red handprint manifests on his cheek. i wasnt even thinking i didnt mean to i just-

a vice grip takes hold of his windpipe, holding it hostage. the hand begins to rise upwards, holding him against a wall that wasnt there two seconds ago, and then he has to fight with his noodlish body to stand up before it rips his throat right out. “you’re so weak. how did you make it so long, bullying people like that?” his other hand then puts itself to use. the cold rises up triggers body slow and nerve-wracking. he tries not to feel it and to just keep his eyes on him. the tangible, hurtable, beast. 

his mind lags from his body, not realizing he’s on the ground before he already is. terrifyingly strong knees spreading his legs apart ever so slightly, invading hand-shaped ghosts pinning him into the dirty floor face-first. months of uncaring habitation coming back to bite him in the ass all at once. his eyes jump from little pieces of dust and crumbs, filling his vision more than their existence is intended for. brought low with the trash. maybe you should’ve listened to mom.

a bottle squirts loudly out of his sight. he tries to spin his head around but he’s just met with increased pressure on his neck, pinning him down like meat on a butcher’s table. fuck this. thrashing out with all the strength in his limbs- it forces specter to change up his positioning, but even then you can’t make a single scratch, slapping at this very real intruder like a whiney little girl. 

“stop it.” he says it like he’s talking to a petulant child, dry and tired.

“fuck you! get off me!” 

a rubbery object shoves itself down his throat as he opens his mouth to yell more obscenities. fingers ripping open his jaw, dispelling his pleas into inhuman garbling.  

“reht rre throo!” 

he looks around, there has to be something he can do. everything is dark blobs because of his eyes wetting from the fingers assault of his uvula. heavy whispers assault the back of his neck, venom in his blurred ears. “i could take out a tooth. how about that?”

he shakes his head, as much as he can crushed between these manly hands. 

water trickles down from the corners of his eyes. fuck, don’t let him see you crying, that’s the ultimate defeat. man card revoked. the only benefit of this positioning is that only the tile can see your face’s treason.

the hand abruptly leaves and moves back to the rest of his body. not preferable, but at least now his eyes will stop coating themselves in water. there has to be something on this floor somewhere if he can look. 

blood coats his vision. bloody floor, bloody nose, face shoved into a pool of it. he can feel his nose contort under the hard material, head bouncing off it with a loud crack.

‘look’, you shouldve known better. thousands of hours of experience watching torture scenes in COD, and you think he’s gonna give you a break? you’re not the shooter like you thought you were, you’re just the dead russian snitch. 

slender hands dip under the waistband of his sweatpants, threatening with slow dragging downwards. fuck, he is a fag. so much screaming in his head, be a man be strong fight back faggot stop being a fucking BETA. but the weak trembling in every inch of his nervous system won’t let go. the part that knows what you are. weak little soyboy. shit, was it the burger king? he looks at the softness of his tiny arms splayed out in front of him, thinking back to all those impossible whoppers he had during that first (and last) year of college. sure there were the conspiracies but- he had to lose some weight and it was right next to his dorm and surely a little bit of hormonal meat couldn’t hurt anyone. well, apparently not. he shudders at the thought of all those tiny little girl particles running around in his bloodstream.

coldcoldcoldcoldcold fuck. something cold and wet drips down his ass, sending rippling twitches through his body. something small pokes and prods, forcing the wet inside, already he feels speared through, he has to purposefully hold his face together to not burst into open sobbing. 

“shhh sh sh. it’s okay. you’ll take it.” 

it pulls out, a hot emptiness filling all feeling. another squirt, and more wetness shoved so deep he cant handle in the choking cries. “please. please don’t. i don’t- i’m not-” cut off by the finger pulling out again, leaving his hole gaped. “Fuck stop im not gay pleasepleasepleasepl”

a sweaty palm wraps over his mouth.

something warm and hard and fleshy begins to rub circles around his hole. pressing up so close his breath hitches in fear it might go in and then pulling back and then repeating.

“be a good boy and stay quiet, trig.”

pushing pushing pushing pushing pushing pushing

“HEEEEELPP WAIT PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE HELP NONONONONONONO STOPP#&$*%9

&$#%^#^%)#!($#$^%

##&% %%#(% %$$*$#&

*#$&$THELP

* * *

specters hard chest presses up close and warm against trigger’s back. hot, heavy breathing forces its way into his ear. they stay there for a moment, frozen in time. a breaking point cut, getting a cinematic view of his own ruination. what a shitty fucking movie this is. 

“mmhng-” specter pulls back, breaking the trance, almost making trigger wish he would’ve just stayed inside. he grunts at the feeling of trembling boyflesh seizing on his cock, shaking with each inch moved in either direction, clenching for dear life. he grips a handful of trigger’s hair and pulls it back, forcing his limp and drooling expression into specter’s vision.

 “so, what was it?” the burning rod of pressure starts to move faster, thrusting with detached force, muscular hips bouncing off trigger’s ass. “dad beat you?” another assault forward, enunciating each bit of words with the slapping of their flesh. “mom molest you?” it hurts sososososososososo bad but he cant feel anything other than the pain nothing but searing waves of some long-forbidden feeling. “or- fuck- you just get bullied too much in those squishy formative years?”

boiling hot rain streams down his face, terror burning his eyes blind. choking sobs spit out little bits of snot and saliva pooling with his tears below him in a sad filth soup. 

“oh c’mon-” specter reaches in closer, thoughtlessly pushing his cock into a switch that turns triggers legs to jelly. a waterfall of tears overlaid with shameful noises, the kind he’d before only ever heard through the speakers of a computer. each one abrading his will even more. he was supposed to be on the other side, not this. anything but this. 

“please stop”

“it’s too late.” his hand brushes triggers cheek, mimicking a comforting motion with uncomfortable skin, “you can never take back what’s already happened… and what’s about to.”

[storiesfromafan]

A/N: Hi everyone, been a little while. I have been working on various stories in an attempt to break the writers block. Finally finished something, though I'm not 100% on how I feel about it. Hope you enjoy.

Mattheo x Fem!Reader

Spin The Bottle

How the Hell did you get here, starring down at an empty glass bottle. Which was pointed at you, and on the other end was none other than Mattheo ‘God’s gift to every Hogwarts girl’ Riddle. That pointed, smouldering gaze boring into you, making you want to slink back to oblivion.

Ah yes, good old days where you weren’t on anyone’s radar. Not even Mattheo fricken Riddles radar. The bliss of not being notice, blending into the students around. Free of social queues, or being social in general besides you’re few friends. It was such a nice existence, and this past month you began to miss it.

But like every teen girl, towards the end of fifth year, you began to feel a bit restless. The need to feel pretty, to be seen by the opposite sex as something to desire. So, during the break you had taken a trip with your parents to Paris to visit family. While there you sort out advice from your older female cousins. They were beautiful, graceful and everything you wanted to be. They took you under their wings. Guided you, and made you over.

So, when it came time to gather on Platform 9¾ and head back to Hogwarts for sixth year, you were nervous but excited. Joyous but also filled with dread. For the invisible nerdy girl finally took off her glasses and used contacts. No longer boxed in by framing bangs, now they are slowly growing out. Along with the growing out your bangs you had ditched tying your hair up every day, instead letting your (colour) locks flow over your shoulders in soft curls, all thanks to your cousins and their tips. Finally, your frumpy clothes were gone, replaced with more fitted and fashionable ones.

Your sixth year was your fresh start. New year, new you. That’s what you told yourself. Unfortunately, your lack of social queues made you oblivious to notice all the eyes that saw and followed you. You were the shiny new penny, with a gleam catching everyone’s eye. Including the Syltherin heart throb that’s gaze was currently all you could notice.

Now back to the question at hand; how the Hell did you get here. Chalk it up to teen insecurities, some ambition and lack of male attention. That’s how you got here. Along with your friends pestering you to finally go to a Slytherin House party. They had begged, no pleaded with you. And reluctantly you gave in. Though a small part was intrigued. The stories over the years of House parties always piqued your interest. And going from an ugly duckling to a beautiful Swan made you think you should go. But you did not expect to play spin the bottle, nor have Mattheo land on you!

The boy should be outlawed for being so good looking, as well as charming and over all dangerous to the female population! And just like all the other girls, you had a small crush on the guy. But what female student didn’t? And if they said they didn’t, they are lying. For Mattheo was every girl’s type. All girls like a bad boy, and Mattheo was the definition of bad. He had the looks, the attitude, smokes, drinks, skips class, pulls pranks...you get my drift. Mattheo was the bad boy every girl wanted to save, or sacrifice themselves in the process.

“It’s you” Ella, one of your friends whispered nudging you.

Her words brought you back to reality, which also made time seem to return to normal. Releasing the breath you had been holding you looked to the bottle and then back to the Slytherin before you. Now came the time for the game to claim your first kiss, and with Mattheo.

Shakily you moved to your knees and moved to lean over the bottle, Mattheo following your movements. You both met over the bottle. He looked into your eyes, which no doubt showed how frazzled you were. A soft, sweet smile formed on his lips, which seemed to settle your nerves.

“Eyes on me” Mattheo said softly. “Forget everyone else, it’s just you and me...”

With some ease in your eyes and body, Mattheo didn’t wait for that spell to break, for he was the one to close the distance. The feel of his soft lips against yours brought you back to reality. Mattheo Riddle was kissing you! (First name) (Last name) were locking lips with the most crushed on male in your year, no school!

Slowly Mattheo moved his lips against yours, his tongue coming out to run along your bottom lip. Your body stiffened. First your first kiss, and now your first French kiss he wants to take!? Who did he think he was?

Noticing your hesitance, Mattheo pulled back and looked at you with questioning eyes. He hadn’t forced his tongue into your mouth, nor did he take your first French kiss. Part of your heart skipped a beat at how the bad boy had some gentleman in him. The ohhhs around you both brought you back to the present. You had just kissed Mattheo. In front of a group of your peers.

Feeling the heat in your cheeks, you averted your eyes while moving back to your spot. But before you took your turn you decided to make a quick exit. You couldn’t play on. You shouldn’t have played in the first place! Some groaned and protested of your choice to leave. But Ella saying she’d spin instead helped ease those around you.

It didn’t entirely matter to you. You were a mixed bag of thoughts and emotions. Escaping the party, which was in fine form, you headed to a bathroom. You need a moment of as much silence you can get so you could sort yourself out. Once in the nearest bathroom, you turned on the tap at the sink. Cupping the cold water you were about to splash your face but stopped, you remembered the make up you wore. Instead you let your hands cool before placing the cool, wet hands on the back and around your neck.

‘I’m an idiot!’ you thought with a groan, as reality sunk in.

After kissing Mattheo you practically ran from the circle of your peers. Who does that? No one had ever done that before. You knew that because there has never been any gossip of someone kissing and running. Until now. You will be the talk of the school. How pathetic you are to kiss the schools heart throb and then run away like a baby.

Then you replayed the kiss in your mind. Mattheo had been gentle, and not forceful. From the way other girls talk about him, he was meant to be some scoundrel that takes what he wants, but does it in a way that makes you want more. He might be a bad boy, but he still was respectful. You touched your lips with your fingers. It was a perfect first kiss. You smiled at that. Only for it to fall knowing you’d had ruined your chance by taking off like a spooked animal.

‘Good job’ you scolded yourself, looking at your reflection. “Just perfect” you huffed.

“You or the kiss?” Came a curious voice behind you, making you turn around and clutch the sink behind you.

Upon turning around you were greeted by the boy on your mind, Mattheo Riddle. He gave you a soft smile placing his hands in his pockets.

“Personally, I think both are perfect” his voice was soft and slightly echoed against the walls.

It took a few minutes before his words sunk in. Mattheo Riddle just said not only was your kiss perfect, so are you. No doubt the look on your face marked with confusion and some horror. He thought you to be perfect. Was he crazy? Possibly. Or was this some big joke? More likely.

“I...I don’t understand...” You said in disbelief. “I’m far from perfect...”

Mattheo gave a soft, genuine smile. “I think you are”. He slowly moves across the bathroom. “I think your caring, smart, thoughtful, attentive, adorably cute...and that was all before your change”.

He stopped before you as he finished his words. Once again you were floored. Mattheo has noticed you all along! He saw you when you thought you were invisible, or rather thought you were invisible. You always thought your friends, some of your house mates and teachers always saw you. You had only became visible when in your first broom riding class in first year when you fell off your broom while a few meters off the ground. Also the numerous times you had been a klutz and fallen down staircases, quiet ungraceful too. Being uncoordinated and smart, every mistake or accident got your peers laughing at you.

“I-I don’t understand” you said softly. “You noticed me before?” You asked, needing an explanation.

Mattheo brought his hand up and moved a bit of hair out of your face. “It’s hard not to when you were the first person I encountered on the train in first year. You were all alone in a carriage. Dressed like a boy with crazy hair” he chuckled.

A light bulb went off in your mind. How had you forgotten that moment? He had asked if he could share the carriage, and you had meekly said yes. You both sat quietly, studying the other. Finally Mattheo took the initiative to talk, though he had been rude. After seeing you jump, he realised you were nervous, maybe a bit scared.

“First time away from home?” He had asked with a sigh.

You nodded your head watching him with big (E/C) eyes.

“It’s like that” he offered with a softer tone of voice. “Your parents were sad to watch you go. But they were just like you, leaving their family to go to Hogwarts”.

Once again you nodded your head, but slowly.

“Look at it like this, you’re on an adventure” he sat back further with a genuine smile. “Every moment away from home you are learning, exploring and making memories, all stories to tell your parents when you see them”.

Mattheo had shown a moment of kindness to you. But looking back over the years there were other times he had been kind to you. From opening a door and letting you enter first, to helping take potion ingredients that are too high on a shelf down for you, to stopping you from falling into the lake a few times when students had tried to push you in. Mattheo Riddle had always noticed you and had been so kind.

“You were always kind to me...” You said slightly dumbfounded.

Mattheo playfully rolled his eyes. “Don’t let everyone hear you say that. I have a bad boy rep to keep intact”.

You laughed at his words. “Sorry, I won’t go broadcasting it”. Mattheo then laughed.

Once you both stopped laughed, you both looked at each other. You took this time to study the boy before you. He had changed so much since first year. He was cute back then but now he was handsome. Much taller now, you had to tilt your head up to look at the male before you. His gorgeous brown eyes shining with humour and delight, a rare sight to be seen, as they usually show coldness and boredom.

“You’ve changed so much since the tomboy with crazy hair” Mattheo chuckled.

You rolled your eyes, “shut up” you chuckled playfully pushing him.

Before you could retract your hand, Mattheo reaches out and took your hand in his. Watching you closely he brought your hand to his lips, leaving a chaste kiss to your knuckles. You felt your breath hitch at his ministrations. He was being charming, like he would with many other girls, but with you it was real.

“I didn’t mind the tomboy you. Nor did I mind the frumpy, nerdy look you had going” Mattheo stated, thumb caressing the back of your hand that was still in his hold. “But I would be lying if I said I didn’t like your new look. I want you to know I have always like you, the you on the inside”.

If your brain was working you would have either melted, knees would have gone week at his confession and actions. He was making it hard not to fall head over heels for the boy before you. Than you asked yourself why he followed you? Why he has said what he has?

“Why? W-why tell me this now...” You thought out loud.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mattheo asked. “I thought I was being apparent, and I thought you were smart” he joked. “(Y/N/N), I like you”.

You were shocked. The school bad boy just admitted to liking you. And possibly liked you for sometime. Any girl would swoon and kiss Mattheo for such a confession. But you weren’t like those girls. You pulled back your hand and moved away from Mattheo, thinking of running from the room. Running was something you liked to do recently.

“Where are you going?” He asked watching you with slight worry but a lot of hilarity. “Going to run away again? Might have to call you Cinderella”.

You stopped and shot Mattheo a dirty look. “I’m not like Cinderella”.

“Yes you are, you ran after we kissed” he stated matter-of-factly walking towards you.

“I-I” you spluttered trying to figure out what to say as you move backwards, Mattheo moving with you.

Feeling your back coming in contact with a wall, you jumped. Mattheo taking no time, placing a hand on either side of your head blocking you in.

“No running away this time Cinderella” he said softly, holding your gaze with his deep brown eyes.

Seeing as you weren’t going to speak, or run, Mattheo moved his left hand to caress your cheek. The contact made you jump, but the soft movement slowly soothing you.

“I serious (Y/N/N). I like you. Past, present and future” his words held sincerity that made your heart flutter. “And I hope I’m part of that future...”

Mattheo’s words left you speechless. You had never heard him speak so much to you, let alone hear how much depth he had in him. The Hogwarts bad boy, Slytherin heart throb was opening up to you. Mattheo Riddle likes you. The ugly duckling, turned beautiful Swan, as stated by your friends.

“Are you going to say anything?” Mattheo asked, fear leaking into his voice. He of all people was the last you’d think to be self conscious.

Snapping out of it, you stood up straighter. “I like you!” You blurted out not thinking. Once realising what you just did you groaned and hung your head.

Mattheo started to laugh, but it wasn’t malicious. It was hearty and warm. As his laugh died down, Mattheo lifted your head up. He looked you in the eyes, nothing but warmth and joy in his eyes.

“You are too cute love” he said softly. “And I’m glad you like me back”.

You smiled threw your embarrassment. Before you could say anything, or try to say anything, Mattheo took the opportunity to capture your lips. Shocked you tensed up, but feeling him lace his fingers in your hair relaxed you. He was soft, tender with you. But then his tongue ran along your bottom lip, causing you to jump a little again.

Pulling back Mattheo looked at you reassuringly. “It’s alright love, no rush”.

Mattheo took you into his arms and held you close. You rest your head against his chest, muttering sweet things in your ear.

Unfortunately that was the moment a few girls walked into the bathroom, and came across you both. You all looked at each other, before you felt your face heat up and you pushed Mattheo away. Not waiting for him or the girls to speak, you took off out of the bathroom. Without skipping a beat, Mattheo took off after you and the girls found themselves giggling at what they walked into, or what they could have walked in on. If Mattheo’s reputation was correct.

Feeling a tad humiliated you didn’t listen to Mattheo and his calls to slow down or stop. You had decided you were done for the night. And hoped tomorrow’s gossip mill isn’t about you.

A/N: as always, happy for feedback :)

[horoscope1078]

:)

Riccardo had not expected to meet the love of his life while waiting to pay for a plate of carbonara. But there he was, standing in the queue of a charming little trattoria in Rome, tapping his card against his palm absentmindedly. The restaurant was packed, the warm scent of garlic and basil filling the air, and the murmur of conversation created a cosy buzz around him. And then he saw you.

You were standing just ahead of him, a slight frown creasing your brows as you rummaged through your purse. Your tray held an empty plate with only traces of tomato sauce left, and you seemed to be struggling to find your wallet.

Riccardo, ever the observant type, immediately noticed the way your cheeks flushed in embarrassment. You let out a small, frustrated sigh and bit your lip, something about the way you did it made his stomach do a weird flip.

“Ugh, I swear I had it in here” you muttered under your breath, giving your bag another desperate shake.

Without really thinking, Riccardo took a step forward. “Everything ok?”

You glanced up, your eyes meeting his, and for a second, he forgot how to breathe. You had the kind of eyes that could steal a man’s focus entirely, warm and expressive, like an open book he suddenly wanted to read every page of.

“I... um, I think I lost my wallet” you admitted, looking both apologetic and mortified. “I must have left it in my car or at home. I feel so dumb.”

Riccardo didn’t hesitate. “Don’t worry, I got it.”

Your eyes widened. “Wait, what?”

“I’ll pay for you” he said with an easy shrug, already sliding his card into the machine before you could protest.

“No, no, you don’t have to do that! I can just-”

“It’s really no problem" he shot you a small, reassuring smile. “Besides, I was going to pay for my meal anyway. What’s one more plate?”

You looked flustered, shifting on your feet. “Are you sure? I can pay you back, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about it” he said, then grinned. “But if you really feel guilty, you can just let me sit with you for a bit.”

You blinked, your expression somewhere between amused and surprised. “You… want to sit with me?”

Riccardo chuckled. “Unless you’d rather run away now that your meal’s covered.”

You let out a laugh, the tension melting from your shoulders. “No, no running away. That would be rude.”

He gestured toward an empty table by the window, and after a beat of hesitation, you nodded. You sat down, and for a few seconds, there was silence as you folded your napkin neatly on the table.

“So” you started, tilting your head curiously. “Do you do this often?”

“What?”

“Save damsels in distress at the restaurant register.”

Riccardo smirked, leaning back slightly. “Only when they look as panicked as you did.”

You rolled your eyes, but he could see you were smiling. “Well, thank you. I really do appreciate it. I swear I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “You already are.”

“How?”

“By sitting here and talking to me.”

Your smile softened, and Riccardo felt something shift in the air between you, something subtle yet significant. You started talking about your favourite pasta dishes, about how you had randomly chosen this place because it had good reviews, about how Riccardo had been coming here for years. He didn’t bring up football, and you didn’t mention recognising him, which was refreshing.

At some point, you glanced at your watch and sighed. “I should probably go check if my wallet’s in my car.”

Riccardo nodded, though he was reluctant to see your leave. “Yea, of course.”

You stood up, hesitating for just a second before looking at him. “You know… I’d feel really guilty if I didn’t at least buy you a coffee as a thank you.”

He grinned. “Is that your way of asking me out?”

Your cheeks turned pink. “I... what? No! I mean-”

“I’m kidding” he chuckled, standing up as well. “But I’d love to get coffee with you.”

Your expression softened into something shy but pleased. “Ok... tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow” he confirmed.

As you walked away, Riccardo found himself staring after you, smiling to himself. Who knew? Maybe the best things in life really did happen when you least expected them.

[hearts4golbach]

The Night Shift.

Johnnie Guilbert x Fem!Reader.

Chapter 23.

"Is that taco bell breakfast i smell?" jake said, sounding as if he was about to start floating to locate the smell. he turned the corner into the kitchen, where i was sitting with tara.

it was 7 in the morning, and the 4 of us were about to go finally pack up my old apartment. they insisted on helping despite me saying i could get it all done myself since i didn't own much anyway.

"Yes, jake." she rolled her eyes, tossing him his usual order. he squeeled like a little girl before tearing into the wrap.

"im gonna go get johnnie up." i walked down the hall towards our room and walked in silently.

johnnie laid on the bed with a peaceful look on his face. his arms were tucked awkwardly under his head as his legs were tangled in the blankets.

i gently shook his shoulder, placing a kiss on his forehead. "Good morning, sleepy head. we have breakfast."

he rubbed his eye, black eyeshadow transferring to his finger. "mornin'." he pulled me in, kissing me softly before sitting up. "When you were asleep, i organized the closet. you can fit your clothes in half of it now."

"Oh my god, really?" i furrowed my eyebrows, a small smile growing on my face.

"i mean, yeah. where else are you going to put your clothes?" he slipped on his socks and stood up.

his fingers tangled with mine as he led me back into the kitchen and sat down next to me. he rested his hand right above my knee as Jake immediately started a conversation with them. i passed johnnie his breakfast, and he dug in, clearly starving.

jake looked down at his phone, "what time do you think we'll be done?"

"Well, im not too sure. i mean, theres 5 of us packing up my tiny apartment, so it's probably around noon." i thought outloud, earning a 'hm' from jake.

everyone had finished their food. jake and tara went to get their shoes on and start the car while johnnie went to take off his makeup. i sat in the kitchen on my phone, waiting for johnnie to be done.

"Ready to go?" he asked, his clean face making me smile. it wasn't often i got to see him without makeup.

"mhm." i stood up and stretched. i put my hair into a messy bun to get it out of the way before walking out the door, johnnie not far behind me. "Thank you again for helping with all of this."

"Don't thank me." he hesitated as if he was going to add onto the sentence. he gently rubbed my lower back.

i hummed, "Okay, then."

Johnnie and i sat in the back of jakes car while him and Tara were up front. I zoned out. thinking about my old apartment made me nervous. although i wasn't going alone, something still felt off. after the incident and how easily i got imhured, i didn't want the same to happen to them. Or maybe it was the fact that my creepy old neighbor lent me a piece to a vaccum, and i still need to give it back, but i seriously doubted that was the reason. i decided to shove my paranoia down as i didn't want to let it ruin my day.

it was if i had blinked and we were already there. i picked my head up, rubbing the cheek that was leaning on my arm.

"i was room number 206," i commented, pulling the keys out of my pocket.

"i can't believe theres not a fucking elevator. This bitch has 5 stories." Jake complained as we tromped up the stairs.

"Just be glad she's not on the 5th one," tara wiped smudged lip gloss off the corner of her mouth.

"Exactly," johnnie nods, slightly out of breath.

i unlocked my front door and pushed it open, revealing my still messy apartment. "Oh, i never came back to clean up." i admitted, even though it was plain to see.

"dont worry about it, missy." jake teased in his southern accent.

tara and jake covered the kitchen while johnnie and i started in the living room. we all added songs to the spotify queue and got to work. i was smart enough to keep boxes stored in my closet. There was always a just in case thing. The living room was nearly empty, the only furniture consisting of a rug and a small sofa that i planned on putting by the trash for someone else to take. i didn't have much decoration, either. All that i had was a painting, my mother had made me and a thrifted portrait of marilyn monroe. The only other things on the wall were some empty colorful vases on a small shelf.

we quickly wrapped those up while tara and jake stacked all of my plates and bowls in between wash cloths. I announced we were moving to a different room before heading into the hall to focus on the closet.

The closet didn't take much work. We shoved blankets and towels into one big box before moving on to my bedroom.

my room was a much bigger task, considering this was the room i spent most of my time in. i sat at my vanity and began packing it up while Johnnie took over the closet.

"i want to stream later, and i was wondering if you wanted to be on it." Johnnie mentioned, bagging up clothes that were hung up.

"Sure, that sounds fun. im still kind of nervous though, what if your fans don't like me?" i glanced over.

"They'll love you, i promise." he smiled at me. "i was thinking i could do your makeup for the stream."

"fuck yeah." i agreed, standing up and making my way to my side table. "Didn't we make those plans a while ago?"

"Yeah, but then a bunch of shit happened. and i figured since we're together now, everyone should get to know you a little better." A light blush spread across his face.

"Good idea. im down," i agreed.

The rest of the house was packed up within the next 3 hours. Jake and i moved all of the furniture down to the garbage bins, with little help from tara and johnnie. i took one last look at my empty apartment before locking it up and turning in my keys.

[daydreamgoddess14]

Support System pt. 10 - The Finale!

CH1 | CH 2 | CH 3 | CH 4 | CH 5 | CH 6 | CH 7 | CH 8 | CH 9

MASTERLIST

It's the end doo doo doo doo! The final match of the season, the ending. I really hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. I've had the best time and I'm really proud of this one! 💜

Chapter 10

You hadn’t considered that footballers or their coaches would get nervous. But the tension in the run up to the Man City game was palpable. The whole town seemed on edge, Roy included. He’d spent each one of your Lexie nights at your house, it felt a little odd that he was there observing your boring mum routine of washing, cooking and carrying the mental load of knowing where Lexie needed to be, when and everything else in between. He didn’t ask to stay, even though you’d wanted him to, he’d said goodnight each evening and gone back to his place. By the time Lexie was back to her dads, you’d worked out that he’d been there every evening not just because he’d wanted to be, but because he’d needed to be. The build up to the game had him restless and distractible and the time with you and Lexie managed to relax him far more than sitting in an empty house, or going over and over the match with Jamie, or Nate or whoever else was free for a pint. When you’d gone to him just a day before the match, the only solace he’d found from the plays, the tactics and the team, was in you. He took his time, undressing you slowly and kissing every inch of skin as it became exposed to him.

"Let me take care of you," you whispered. You felt his head shake as he kissed down your neck. 

"I've never needed anyone like I need you." He muttered, swiping a calloused thumb over your hardening nipple, "you look so fucking beautiful like this." You rolled your hips against him, 

"Please, Roy. I need you-" you all but begged. All night he'd taken the lead and given you everything, losing himself in the feel of your body against his. When they won the next day, you were euphoric. Lexie and Phoebe had been in bits when the camera had focused in on Roy and Nate discussing something over an iPad and they could see that Roy was wearing his Richmond colours friendship bracelet. The late journey back from Manchester and the subsequent celebrations meant that it was Tuesday morning before you saw him again. You’d joined the slip road to the school, queuing for the carpark with the windows down and blasting 90s dance music when his car had pulled alongside yours. You and Lexie had been so engrossed in singing/shouting Robin S ‘Show Me Love’ - complete with 'big box, little box' hand dancing - that you hadn’t even seen him until Phoebe had called through the open windows. 

“Morning. Congratulations on the win!” You’d called out.

“Morning. Nice dancing.”

“Especially for you.” You winked. You’d ended up parked at different ends of the carpark so he and Phoebe had waited for you by the gate as you walked down to them. You’d pulled out your phone to take a call from a recruitment agency so he’d walked alongside you while you talked and the girls ran ahead. “And that’s in Richmond? Wow, ok that sounds really interesting. Absolutely yes, send my CV over if you think I’m in with a shot. Actually, just send it over anyway - I’d be mad not to at least try,” at the front of the queue at the gates, you handed Lexie her bag and gave her a kiss whilst still on the phone, “Ok, could you just hang on one second please?” You moved the phone away from your mouth and stepped up on tiptoes to give Roy a lingering kiss. The other playground parents looked on, wide eyed. “I have to go, I love you. See you later.” You whispered, taking up the phone again and going back to the car, your hand holding onto his until you couldn’t reach any further. Lexie was with her dad during the beginning of that week so that she could go with you to the final Richmond match at the weekend, so after work you’d gone straight to Roy’s. You hopped up to sit on the counter while he cooked.

“Ted’s staying.” He told you, hands on your thighs.

“Really? That’s great!”

“He got to work this morning and Rebecca was in his office. She only fucking told him she was in love with him, that she’d help his ex get a job here if she wanted to move, she’d help them find a school for Henry… pretty much told him she’d do fucking anything if he’d say.” You leaned forward, eager to hear more,

“And did he tell her?”

“Yeah, told her he was in love with her. We walked in to find them nearly going at it in the office.” You shrieked,

“Oh god that’s so cute! At least you all know before the weekend as well.”

“Settles the lads down a bit, bunch of fucking kids sometimes.” You slid forward to wrap your legs around his hips. “Any news on that job from this morning?” His hands move up your thighs and around your waist so he can kiss your neck,

“Not yet, the agency is putting me forward. It’s in Richmond though, which would be amazing. I should hear more tomorrow.”

“And how you feeling going into your last week?”

“Happy. Scared. Nervous.”

“We’ll figure it out, you know. I won’t let you fucking drown. Season finishes at the weekend, so this time next week I’ll have loads more free time for a few weeks. I can help with Lex while you do what you need to do.” He’s turned the pan off and pulled you off the counter, taking you over to the sofa, dinner forgotten for now.

~~~~~~~

You took a further call from the recruitment agency the following day. Their client was interested in meeting you but needed an informal off-site meeting. You arranged with the recruiter to meet with them towards the end of the week just outside of town. To say you were surprised to see Keeley Jones and Rebecca Welton being led to your table was an understatement. You shook hands and sat back down before your legs could give out. The mums might have been all good, the kids, but maybe you were about to be ousted by two of the most influential women in Roy’s life? You clearly looked terrified because Keeley, to her credit, took your hand and held it,

“Oh fuck, you look so scared! I’m so sorry we ambushed you, are you ok?” You think of the night before when Roy had cooked your favourite meal while you’d taken Lexie to swimming lessons and then onto her dads. When you’d sat in his lap and pushed your fingers into the knot in his shoulder to try and relieve some of the stress of the final week of the season. When he’d lost all patience and decided on a different way to unwind, which had mostly revolved around keeping his head between your thighs for as long as you let him. You think about your 4am wake up call that morning, and the 6am follow up, where he’d interlocked your fingers above your head and pressed you into the mattress as he whispered “I could do this forever”. Whatever had changed their mind in the time since the gala, you couldn’t let it derail your future.

“Look, if you’ve suddenly come to the realisation that I’m not good enough for Roy then that’s your opinion and you’re entitled to it. But I’m not going to be scared off. He loves me and I’ll take that for as long as I possibly can because I am so, so in love with him and I will spend forever making him happy in any way I can. I’m really sorry, I’m sure you’re both lovely women and I know he values your opinions, but if he’s ever going to change how he feels about me then he’ll do it himself and he’ll tell me himself. And congratulations by the way,” you turn to Rebecca, “I heard that Ted is staying and that he finally told you he loves you. I’m so happy for you.” Keeley smiled at you while Rebecca looked curiously. 

“Are you sure about this?” She asked Keeley,

“I’ve been doing some digging. Trust me, Rebecca.”

“We’re not here to try and break you and Roy up.” Rebecca said finally,

“Oh. Well then I don’t understand?”

“I’d like to interview you for a job.”

“Sorry, what? Shit, have I just fucked it up completely?”

“Nahh!” Keeley said quickly.

“Well-” Rebecca interrupted.

“No, she hasn’t. We probably scared her half to death, Rebecca! Give the poor woman a minute to recover.” You finish your water and take a deep breath.

“I’m sorry, really I am. I got completely carried away and I shouldn't have gone off like that.”

“Thank you,” Rebecca said, smiling at last. “And thank you for letting me know just how much you care about Roy.” You nod, making peace. Keeley whipped out some paperwork from her bag.

“So! Like Rebecca said, this is I guess, a final stage interview without all the previous stages? We already know about you, we'd love to know more. Our previous Director of Comms was Leslie Higgins, he moved into the Football Ops role quite a while ago now and there’s never really been the need to replace him. He and Rebecca have sort of taken on the various tasks and it’s worked fine.” She pauses for Rebecca to step in and continue,

“Now though, we’re one game away from maybe winning the Premier League just one season after coming back from relegation. That’s practically unheard of. The huge, growing success of the club, the opportunities with the Champions League next season and our plans for the future mean that we need to strengthen the internal team. KBPR can only do so much - they have other clients and I can’t ask Keeley to devote all of her time to the club.”

“We think,” Keeley started, “that with us, and Leslie and you… we could be a real Fab Four. The core AFC Richmond decision makers - with the coaches input of course.” You are stunned, to say the least.

“When you say you’ve done some digging, what exactly do you mean by that?”

“Well, when you told me who you worked for and what you’d worked on, I realised that we’d met before. I’ve been asking around people who have worked with you or who have come across you in a professional capacity to learn more. When I liked what I saw, I took it to Rebecca.”

“With Ted confirmed as staying now, I have some big plans ahead for Roy. We have some very big plans ahead as a club.”

“And you don’t think it would be weird? Me working with you, for one,” you gesture to Keeley, “or with Roy?”

“I’ve been at the club probably at least two or three times a week since the day you blocked him in on the school car park. He came in ranting and raving about some idiot driver and every day, I’ve heard him fall more in love with you. If he found out there was a way to have you in the same building every day, I think he’d be beating Rebecca’s door down himself. And working in the same building doesn’t necessarily mean you spend every waking hour together. You still have crucial jobs to do. And as for me, I'd love to work with you.” Rebecca nodded in agreement.

“The job is nothing you don’t already know, the only difference is the industry.”

“Exactly, my football knowledge is… limited at best!”

“We’re a family, we wouldn’t let you drown.” Hearing Rebecca use the same phrase as Roy struck a chord with you.

“I take it you have a job spec, contract, everything I need to read through and make a decision?”

“An interview is as much about you deciding if we’re the right fit for you, as it is for us to decide. I think you’ll find that the club's current standing means we can afford to give you a generous package, and the locality means we can support a better work-life balance.”

“Take this, read it and see what you think.” You take the folder.

“As his friends, do you think I should tell Roy now, or decide based on him not knowing? I assume we’ve met here because he doesn’t know, and inviting me to Nelson Road would be a dead giveaway?”

“Perhaps tell him about the role first and then bring in where it came from. Let him help offer an opinion based on the job alone.” Rebecca suggested. “And I do so hope you’ll agree to join us, I think you could be a truly great asset to the club.”

~~~~~~~~

You’d kept the folder at your house, not daring to leave it in a bag or your car in danger of accidentally taking it to Roy’s. Being at yours also meant you could be ‘busy’ and have Lexie as a buffer and it also being your last week at your current workplace, this also gave you an excuse for being more distracted than usual. The last game of the season was doing the same for him so his being distracted also helped you. The intimacy of spending time alone at Roy’s exposed all of your vulnerabilities. You’d spent so many nights laying in the dark in his arms listening to him talk about his family and career, and have him ask about yours, it was impossible to hide anything from him. You’d mentioned the role to him, you’d had to since he knew about the original recruiter call, and he’d reacted to it exactly as you hoped he would - excited for you to have such a great opportunity, close to home, with a package befitting your knowledge and experience. You wanted to wait until after the West Ham game to tell him exactly who the role was for. Lexie was spending the night before the match at Phoebe’s for a sleepover. The night before the Man City game meant you knew exactly how he'd want to forget the West Ham match and this time, you'd planned accordingly. You'd finished your final day at work early and had blown the cash from your leaving card on the most beautiful lingerie set you'd ever seen. You'd come back via Nelson Road to borrow his keys, and gone back to his to cook. When he got back late that afternoon, you'd set up outside under the secluded canopy in his garden with soft lights, blankets and cushions. You handed him a beer and led him outside, brought food out - including dessert, and then when you'd eaten and cleared up, you stepped in front of him and slipped your summer dress down your body. He reached out and took your hand, you'd sat in his lap with your legs either side of his. He ran his finger over the cup of the bra, 

"Holy fucking shit, you're perfect," 

"Distracting enough?"

"Yeah I'd say so." He said gruffly. “It’s a good fucking job I just need to stand on the side of the pitch now.” He laughed. 

The match was intense, unexpected drama on the sidelines and Isaac’s incredible goal had everyone holding their breath for another goal or for news from the Liverpool game. When the win came, no one seemed to care what the final table result was. The fans flooded the pitch to be with their team. You, Sara and the girls had stayed back a little, you could see better as Coach Lasso danced with his team surrounding him. When you let the girls onto the pitch, they run straight to Roy and he ends up with Phoebe on his front and giving a piggyback to Lexie at the same time.

“Don’t come crying to me later when you can’t walk.” You tease, finding a route past Phoebe to give him a kiss.”

“You’re not gonna fucking take care of me?” He asks, faux outraged.

“Every. Single. Day.”

“Dad!” Lexie calls, she taps Roy’s shoulder and he lets her down. Andy is coming across the pitch from the away fans side.

“Alright love.” He scoops her up and hugs her. “Congratulations,” he says to Roy who nods without greeting. “Dunno what old Mannion was doing. Made us look like fools. Do you ehh, do you know if our gaffer is ok?”

“Yeah, that old twat is fine. Just a bruised ego and a picture of his balls on the front of every paper tomorrow.” Andy shrugs.

“I uhh, I wanted to apologise to you both. I was a real dickhead-” Roy snorts a laugh, “worse than that, then. I’m sorry. I’ve been watching since the game finished. You look happy.” He turns to you,

“I am.” You say shortly, unsure whether to trust the apology.

“Good. I mean it, you look happy together. And Lexie tells me so all the time. I’m… happy for you.” You thank him and he heads off with his mates to the pub. You’re left with the feeling that you might never be friendly, but you can at least be cordial. Relieved of carrying the kids, Roy pulls you into his arms.

“He’s jealous.”

“Of me?” he laughs,

“Of me, you muppet.” He leans down to kiss your cheek and whisper in your ear, “because you're the one. You're it. You're the only one I want for the rest of my life. And he knows he fucked it up.”

“Hmm, you're pretty irresistible yourself.” The kiss you leave him with leaves you both breathless,

“Think we can find somewhere-”

“No way, there are hundreds of people here. I need to tell you something later.” He looks curiously at you, but you both get caught up in another ‘Richmond til we Die’ chant when Jamie, Keeley and a raft of players come over to find Roy. A little further through the crowd, you see Ted sweep Rebecca into his arms and kiss her. Even an hour after the game had ended, the club was still heaving with people. The fans had gone on to celebrate elsewhere but the families and friends of the players and staff remained. Rebecca had instructed the bar to stay open, insisting that she’d cover the bill. Phoebe and Lexie were still running around on the now empty pitch with Leslie’s younger children and other player’s and staff kids. You’ve told Sara about the job and you can’t wait to tell Roy. He’s sitting with Nate, both of them animatedly discussing Jamie’s Oscar winning performance with Coach Beard. 

“Have you got an answer for me yet?” Rebecca asks, sitting next to you in the dugout.

“Yes, I think I do. I’d like to run it by someone in particular first though.” You catch Roy’s eye, he looks surprised but happy to see you talking to Rebecca. She waves her hand to call him over.

“Coach Kent, congratulations.”

“You too.”

“I meant your excellent girlfriend, not the match.” He cocks an eyebrow at her,

“Thanks then. She’s fucking brilliant.”

“I know. Thought I might poach her from you?” The furrow in his brow deepens with his confusion. You stand up and kiss the frown away.

“The amazing job I’ve been offered? It would be here. Working for Rebecca.” You tell him, trying to keep your voice light but nervous for his response.

“Here? Every day?” 

“Yeah,” you start to mistake his hesitation for annoyance, “but if you think that’s really fucking weird, then I can tell Rebecca to stuff it - no offense, Rebecca - and I can carry on looking and something else will turn up-”

“I don’t think it’s really fucking weird. I think you should say yes. You should definitely fucking do it.”

“Yeah?”

“Fuck yeah.” 

“You’d better come over tomorrow then, sign your contract.” Rebecca says with a smile. “Welcome.” You and Sara party on the pitch with the team until the girls start to flag and it’s time to go. You insist Roy stay,

“I’ll see you tomorrow, go - have an amazing night, you’ve earned it. I’m so fucking proud of you.” You kiss him and he waves you off. 

~~~~~~~

You’re reading in bed when the door knocks so quietly you think you might have imagined it. Lexie is practically comatose in her bed, the combination of exhilaration and fresh air has completely wiped her out. You creep down the stairs in one of Roy’s t-shirts and open the door. Jamie Tartt is on your doorstep with an arm slung around Roy.

“Tried to get him to come to a club with us, but he made us bring ‘im ‘ere instead.” You stifle a giggle, you can see that Roy’s nowhere near as drunk as Jamie but he’s still looking at you with total adoration.

“Thanks Jamie, I’ll take it from here. You have a good night,” you look around him to the taxi down the path. Isaac and Colin are both waving madly at you. “Be safe, boys.” You wave to them and blow a kiss before slipping your arm around Roy’s waist and guiding him inside.

“Night Coach,” Jamie grins.

“Night Tartt, fuckin’ love you man. Fuckin’ love all of you.”

“We know. And we wouldn’t have been on that fuckin’ pitch without you.” Jamie gave you both a little salute and ran off back to the taxi.

“Come on, coach. Time for bed.” You lead him upstairs and sit him on the bed so you can take off his t-shirt, then you drop to your knees and unlace his trainers. You pull his hands to get him to stand up, running your hands around the waistband of his dark jeans and pulling them down. Once they’re free of his hips, he sits back down. “Come here,” you whisper, climbing into bed and pulling him with you, his body between your legs and his head on your heart. 

“Feels like I won the whole fucking thing.” He whispers against your skin as he falls asleep.

[starlnightx]

Hogwarts DR : storytime ✨🧹

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Hey, I decided to share a bit about my experience in my Hogwarts DR. There is a lot to say, so I won't be able to tell everything but I hope what you'll read will be motivating enough for you💗

Feel free to ask me anything (questions, details about certain aspects of my experience, etc)

Reminder : certain aspects of my DR might be different from yours

For context: I scripted that I was 13 year old when I first shifted in this DR, but I had already spent two years at Beauxbatons before transferring to Hogwarts. So technically, I was in third year, but since it was my first year at Hogwarts, I arrived the same way as the first years. I scripted it like that because I wanted it to be my first year at Hogwarts, without aging myself down too much

First day at Hogwarts

(idk if this part is interesting.. but it's very detailed so it's quite long)

• So I did a sleep method to shift in my DR. I fell asleep around midnight in this reality (I think), and when I woke up, I was on the Hogwarts Express. At first, I kept my eyes closed, and I felt that I was sitting up instead of lying down. I could hear people talking, but it was all blurred out and I felt my body moving from the train's motion. I opened my eyes and I was in a compartment, alone. My bag was next to me on my left while I was seated on the far right next to the window. The first thing I did was take in my surroundings before looking out the window. At that moment the train was passing right beside a river with a mountain in the background. I knew that I would wake up in an empty compartment, and that the train wouldn’t arrive at Hogwarts until 5:25 PM. So I reached for my pocket watch in my bag, and it was around 4:30 PM. (This is what I scripted bc I wanted time to adjust to this reality and prepare mentally) that's why I also scripted that I had a book in my bag to occupy myself, so that’s what I did, I started reading a few pages. But honestly it was hard to focus because I was so excited for what was about to come. Throughout the ride I kept looking out the window while imagining all the things I was about to experience. I did manage to read some pages of the book though.

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade station, Hagrid was there waiting for the first years, while the others had to go in carriages by themselves. Once the train came to a complete stop, I heard people walking toward the exit. I decided to wait a bit because I didn’t want to be the first one to leave the train as I wasn’t sure where to go🫠 Based on who was passing by my compartment, it wasn’t the first years leaving the train at first, so I waited to hear them pass by so I could follow them😅 After leaving the train, I walked directly to Hagrid with the other first years. Some were clearly looking at me with confusion because they probably noticed I wasn’t as young as they were. We followed him to the boats at the Black Lake, the boats were enchanted to move on their own and follow the main boat, which was Hagrid’s. Each boat had four seats. While we were heading to the boats, I saw the other students heading towards the carriages. We could even spot them in the distance while we were on the boats. I noticed some students in the carriages waving to those of us on the boats, but after a while, they disappeared from view as they took a different path. They were much faster than us so eventually they were too far ahead. Anyway, I was on the third-to-last boat in the line (the boats followed in a queue) I was sitting next to a boy, while two other girls were behind me. Apparently, they knew each other as I could hear them chatting behind me. I tried to start a conversation with the boy next to me but he seemed a bit stressed, so I asked him if he was excited about his first year at Hogwarts, and he told me that he was intimidated by how huge the castle looked. His name was Liam and he had short brown hair and blue eyes. He was really nice, but he didn’t say much and I didn’t have much to say either😬 (a bit awkward) At one point, he asked me my age and why I was with the first years if I wasn’t one, so I explained to him how I transferred to Hogwarts. After that I don’t rlly remember much of our conversation. When we reached the other side of the Black Lake, Hagrid was leading us toward the entrance of the castle. As he did, he told us about Hogwarts, like how it had been founded and how we shouldn't worry too much, even if all of this is new to us. I remember walking beside Liam, but he didn’t talk much as he was listening to Hagrid.

When we reached the entrance, I remember how most of the first years would make sounds of awe every time Hagrid pointed out something interesting while leading us to the Great Hall. It was honestly pretty funny bc some were actually loud, I’m pretty sure the other students in the Great Hall could already hear us coming 😭

Hagrid stopped right before the doors (which were already open btw), and I could feel the students who were already sitting at their house tables looking at us as he explained how the Sorting Ceremony would unfold🫠 Tbh, I was way more focused on looking around the room to spot people like Harry, Hermione, Ron, Luna, etc. Like I was so excited to see them irl.

After Hagrid finished explaining, we walked straight into the Great Hall, in front of the High Table where McGonagall was standing just in front of it, next to a stool and the Sorting Hat

She gave us a quick reminder to come forward when our name was called, sit on the stool and stay still while the Hat sorted us. Then she unrolled a parchment and started reading names aloud. Bc of my last name, I was one of the last ones to be called

When the Sorting Hat was placed on my head, it felt kind of weird, it's like having something alive on you. It was super light, but you could feel it move a bit when it spoke or when it breathed. Idk it gave me goosebumps bc of the way it made my hair move slightly whenever it talked (I'm so bad at explaining I'm so sorry 😞)

So I was sorted into ravenclaw and went to sit at their table, I sat next to Roger Davies, who was rlly polite and easy to talk to (All of this was scripted)

After Dumbledore's speech, it was time for dinner. The food actually didn’t just pop in out of nowhere. You could actually see this sort of swirling effect in the air above the table just before it appeared, like a shimmer. It was gradual, so it didn’t startle me

After dinner the prefects from each house were asked to guide the first years to their common rooms. They were waiting for us near the exit of the Great Hall and had lists to make sure everyone was heading off with the right group. The ravenclaw prefects were actually the first to lead us out so we ended up leaving the other houses behind. Btw, Liam was sorted into Hufflepuff so I didn’t even have time to talk to him again after the Sorting

I thought we’d take our time heading to the common room since none of us really knew our way around the castle yet. But the Ravenclaw prefects were actually walking pretty fast. I think it's bc there are loads of stairs to climb before you reach the ravenclaw tower, and I guess they didn't want to waste too much time getting us there

While we were walking, the prefects explained how the entrance worked, they also mentioned a few basic rules, like no shouting in the common room and things like that

Eventually we reached the door. One of the prefects stepped forward and knocked, and the eagle asked a riddle. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I recall part of it—something like, "I whisper through the window, but you can't trap me, what am I ?", and I don't remember the rest😃 but I know the answer was the wind. The prefect got it right anyway. For me, the common room smelled like old parchment and lavender. They gave us a quick tour of the space, just pointed out the basics, and then handed us our keys for the dormitories by calling out our names. Each key had a little tag with our names and year so it was pretty organised. They showed us which staircases led to each dorms. There are two separate staircases : one leading to the boys’ dormitories and the other to the girls’. Both staircases go downwards. Each floor you descend corresponds to a different year, with a door on each floor leading to a corridor where all the dorm rooms for that specific year are located. For example, the first years' dorms are on the top floor, just a short way down, while the eighth years’ dorms are on the lowest floor at the very bottom of the staircase.

I made my way to my dorm on the third floor. My dorm, which is n° 305, is close to the main door of the floor so it didn’t take me long to get there. When I entered I dropped my bag and checked the time. It was around 7:20 pm I think. My trunks were already in the room, along with my uniform and timetable. The dorm had three beds, and since there was no one else there yet and all the beds were all free, I chose the one on the right, which was closest to the door. I think I fell asleep pretty quickly as I was still nervous from the ceremony. So I don't remember doing anything else before going to bed but that's basically it

• For me, using magic was the best part of shifting to this reality. Every time I cast a spell, I would feel this rush of energy go through my torso, down my arm, my hand and fingertips. After casting, the tip of my wand would feel slightly hot, and so would my fingertips but it felt more like the heat was coming from the inside rather than the outside

I scripted how my own wand would be like and it felt very light. I know some wands can be heavier, but I definitely prefer a lighter one because it makes it easier to cast spells quickly. Spellcasting is actually quite easy (at least for me, since I scripted it that way) But when it comes to duelling, the hardest part is reacting fast enough with the correct movement. I was in the duelling club, so it wasn't too hard for me, but you really need good reflexes. I couldn't predict everything but I found a trick: I’d pay attention to how my opponent was standing. Some spells are best cast from a specific stance, so if I saw their posture shift a certain way, I could sometimes guess what spell was coming. For example, if someone leans back slightly and raises their wand high, they might be going for something like Expelliarmus or Stupefy : something strong and direct

Honestly, magic made life so much easier. I didn’t have to worry about little things anymore. I miss not being able to use magic when I'm in this reality Also, I don’t know how to explain it exactly but I could feel when magic has been used somewhere, or when a place is magical. For me, my energy would spike a little. It’s hard to describe, but I think you feel it because it’s part of you, and bc magic connects every witch and wizard. That’s what my Charms professor told me once. And I think magical creatures can sense it too.

About classes : I scripted that there wouldn’t be much homework, and honestly I recommend doing that if you want to fully enjoy your time there. You’ll want to spend time with friends or just do your own thing. Walking to classes is exhausting. By the end of the day I was so tired from going up and down the castle that I couldn’t imagine sitting down to do homework

My favourite classes were Potions and Divination. Before shifting I wouldn’t have expected Potions to be a favourite, but it’s actually really fun and super rewarding once you’ve finished brewing something. It’s all about precision. Every drop and every second matters. I also learned that the quality of the ingredients can affect both the taste and the duration of the potion’s effect. During Potions, it’s always quiet; even if you want to talk to your friend, you really can’t bc you have to stay focused. The only thing I hated was the smell. Some potions have a really awful scent, especially when you heat them up

Professors were usually patient, as long as you were willing to learn. I never had issues with any of them. I think it helps that you live at Hogwarts with them ; seeing them even on weekends makes things feel more personal and closer

On weekends, we didn’t have to wear uniforms, and not everyone stayed at the castle. Students who lived nearby would sometimes go home. I usually stayed bc it’s just amazing to live in a castle with your friends. But now and then I’d go back home to see my parents and get a bit of distance, simply bc it can be hard to find privacy at Hogwarts. When I wanted to leave I’d send a letter to my dad on thursday so he could come pick me up (he’d use Apparition)

Also, Hogwarts Castle is amazing, there’s always something new to discover. I think that’s one thing everyone should do when shifting there: explore. I once had a conversation with an eighth-year (who, in my DR are 18–19 years old), and she told me one regret she had was not taking the time to explore more. Most students stick to the same paths to get to class and I think it’s bc they’re scared of getting lost. So I used to spend some of my free time walking around the castle, trying new corridors, and I’d often find empty halls or corners because no one else used them

When I shifted in my DR, I did age myself down (I’m 18 here, but 13 in my DR). It wasn’t for any weird reasons—I just wanted to experience school life at Hogwarts like in the movies. When I first woke up in my DR I didn’t notice any changes right away, I was too focused on the fact that I had shifted. I usually feel a little anxious at first because of the new environment. But the next day I noticed changes, both physically and mentally. Sometimes I’d act more clueless, like a kid with less life experience, but It felt natural at the time. But looking back after shifting back, I’d think “What was going through my mind back then??” Physically, my voice was a bit higher and it just felt weird in general to be back in a younger body (but I got used to it after a while)

About my common room (Ravenclaw); climbing all those stairs was the worst, especially after a long day (I would get headaches from it 😕). Sometimes I also had to leave my friends earlier just to make it back before curfew. But I wouldn’t trade it for any other common room bc after a while, it just feels like your own little home that you share with other ravenclaws. It always slightly smelled like old parchment in there, and I loved the mini library section—it saved me so much time. I didn’t have to go all the way down to the main library bc I could usually find what I needed there. The room was always warm, probably because all the windows were shut. That’s the downside of being in a high tower; there’s a lot of wind, and it wasn’t ideal for studying with loose parchment since it kept blowing around

Now, about riding a broom… I wasn’t sure how it would go at first bc I’m scared of heights in this reality. So I scripted that I had been riding a broomstick since I was little and that I wasn’t afraid of heights. The first time I tried it in my DR was during Quidditch tryouts. I had scripted that I’d be really good at Quidditch, so I joined the Ravenclaw team. Later, I realised it wasn’t for me; the training took up too much time, more than any other club, and I wanted to have time for other things. But the riding a broom felt totally natural, and my balance was great. The only thing that bothered me was the wind. Flying can be really fun if you take your time and just enjoy the ride. But during Quidditch, you have to go fast, so I didn’t enjoy it as much. Still, some people love it; it gives you such an adrenaline rush. Being high up and seeing everything from above is also amazing. But again it depends on the weather; when it’s too cold, I don’t even try to fly

I think flying definitely helped me get over my fear of heights in this reality, though. I can still remember the feeling of flying, and when I think about it, it reminds me that I can overcome my fear—even if it was in another reality

About Hogsmeade I scripted a ton of extra shops in there, like a cosy little place that’s both a library and a café, where you can read muggle books while eating and drinking. It quickly became one of my favourite spots, and Hermione was actually the one who first brought me there. We’ve grown really close over time, partly because of our shared love for books, so it’s kind of our go-to place whenever we want to relax together

One of my favourite shop was also Ollivander’s wand shop. I never broke my wand, but I did go there a few times with friends who needed replacements. I was always fascinated by the vast variety of wands you can find there.

Another shop I loved was The Mended Mirror, a small place tucked between the Three Broomsticks and the stationery shop. It sold enchanted jewellery and pocket-sized magical mirrors that could send private messages. It smelled like aged silver and incense and the owner always recognised returning customers, often offering a charm suggestion or sharing a story related to a jewel.

But honestly, just walking around Hogsmeade was magical in itself. It’s always full of life with all the shops packed along the cobbled streets. I also tried butterbeer; it’s really sweet, with this kind of caramel-butterscotch taste that hides the hint of alcohol in it, but it still gives you this floaty feeling in your head after a couple mugs. Since I’ve got a sweet tooth, I could easily drink more than I should

I stayed in this DR for about 7–8 months. The reason I shifted back is because, even though it was amazing to experience magic and life at Hogwarts, there was still a rhythm to keep up with, and I wanted a break from school. But I think I got to experience a lot during those months I spent in this DR, and I’ll definitely shift there again someday

Remember : you can do it too, you can shift, and it’s very much real

💗 Happy Shifting 💗

[xiyouyanyi]

Modern Era At Last: Spider Queen Special

My original idea for this AU starts with "Filling up the Celestial Realm", so we'll just say that S1 works more or less the same unless otherwise specified, and let the real diverging point start at the Spider Queen Special.

-Hell no, the trigram furnace isn't kept in the throne room, it is where it is in Tusita Heaven, Lao Tzu's place. And the place is quite empty and quiet when they aren't refining elixirs and the flames have been extinguished.

-Which means MK and Pigsy/Tang wouldn't be going to two different buildings, just two wings of the same building.

-It's also Lunar New Year, during which all the Kitchen Gods went back to submit their reports to the Celestial Host, so most of the officials and guards are gathered around the administrative halls.

-To celestials, it's more of a daily meeting, though. A.k.a. "Those last few hours where you are stuck in the office, desperately wishing you are somewhere else."

-Red Son has access to the place because PIF, as the former Grand Mistress of the Wind Bureau, keeps a backdoor key. The spider minions sneaked in by turning themselves tiny and latching onto the jet's wing before the formation activated.

-The gang landed in the Wind Bureau sky-harbor, right next to Lao Tzu's place, and immediately ran into Lady Hanzhi, known to Red Son as "Auntie Wind"——which, coincidentally, was not too far off from her most well-known title nowadays, Feng Po. 

"Please, that name makes me sound so old! Why not Sister Wind?"

-She acted like she always does: your overly helpful, enthusiastic, pushy aunt who seems to delight in embarrassing the youngsters, and immediately jumped to conclusions, asking Red Son if he was taking his cute dragon girlfriend on a date.

-Upon being met with an unambiguous "NO!" and some desperate attempts at backtracking ("We are just…not hating each other at the moment!") she chuckled, but was perceptive enough to understand they were in a bind, and immediately agreed to help out before Red Son even got the full story out.

-Naturally, that left Mei a little suspicious. "Uh, we are like, stealing your stuff? Ya' really don't have a problem with that?” 

-Hanzhi just laughed and was like, "You think I care about my job? Or want to be here? Even though Little Red's mother left me quite the mess to sort out, I'll take an old friend's kid over The Reasons We Are Here at any time of the year!"

-Which, to her surprise, failed to be assuring when she opened her Wind Sack and told Red Son and Mei to get inside.

"Okay, not to be mean or anything, but that's just…sus." "As suspicious as a bunch of mortals sneaking around in funny modern day robes? My, whenever I thought your fashion standards could not get any worse than these awful queues and melon hats…but ah, I'm rambling." "The point is, your friends are going into Tusita Heaven while the furnace is unlit. No one will be there, except for the new furnace-fanning boy and…That Lady." Hanzhi wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, the old witch with a broom. Pretty easy to fool, but remember, stay at least five Chi away from her, or your entire mission is a bust." "You two, however, are going into the Peach Garden. With actual guards and visitors, and one of my junior brothers as its new warden. You are not getting in, or out, without someone leading the way."

-Kui Mulang is still working as a furnace-fanning boy——he could have been done with it long ago, had he not intentionally fucked up during the Three Rhino Kings fight out of spite and got his sentence prolonged. When the place is not in use, he's put in a cangue and chained to a pillar in the storage room.

-When Pigsy and Tang entered the lab sector in search of the golden pill, he took the latter hostage through a combination of deception and the space-warping magic of stellar gods. 

"Now, hog, pick that vial of liquid off the shelf, and pour it on these chains," The Wood Wolf Star exposed his teeth in a feral grin, as he poked at Tang's back with the ethereal dagger,"very, very carefully. If you spill a single drop on me, my hand may just slip."

-Jiang Ziya's dead and deified ex-wife, Ma The Broom Star, makes an appearance as the cleaning lady on duty.

-She can passively curse people AND immortals with bad luck: not kill-your-entire-family, ruin-your-life level of bad luck like what the Taisui Star or the Dipper Mansion deities are capable of, but things like making people slip and fall on their butts, sneeze/burp at the most embarrassing time, arrive late to urgent meetings, etc.

(Also, firing comets out of her broomstick like a true witch.)

-MK, affected by her Aura of Inconveniences, fell right into the (unlit!) furnace while trying to sneak past her using the building's support beams. She heard the scream, but thought he was one of those bratty immortal acolytes and responded to his cries for help like the bitter old lady she was. 

"Serve you right for horsin' around, boy! Now sit in there and think about what you've done, till I'm done cleaning this place! Goodness gracious, I'm never so glad to have a daughter, not that my good-for-nothing ex-husband didn't try turning her against me, yeah, some Grand Master of Strategists you are, Jiang Ziya…"

-MK then committed the grave error of asking "Huh? Jiang Ziya? Who?" and was subjected to a long, incensed, caustic rant, most of which he tuned out for the sake of his own sanity.

-Meanwhile, at the Peach Garden: Hanzhi walked in without much of a problem, using the excuse that she is bringing her junior some tea right after getting dismissed from the meeting. Said junior is one of the 28 Lunar Mansions: Bi Yuewu of the White Tiger Mansion, a.k.a the Moon Crow Star.

-In ancient Chinese astrology, the Bi Star was seen as having power over rain, and the section of the sky it was in charge of housed the Tianyuan constellation, or "Heavenly Orchard". His Stellar Beast form, a one-legged crow, is based on Shang Yang: a mythical bird that would dance before every huge storm like a goofy weather forecast guy.

-He excels at controlling cloud formations, to the point he got "borrowed" by the Wind and Thunder Bureau more than some of the Water-aligned stars after deification. That did not translate to battle prowess, though, and he mostly relies on his formations to misdirect, trap and stall enemies for the rest of his team to handle.

-After Kui Mulang's sentencing, Star Lord Mao had taken over as the substitute leader of the White Tiger Mansion stars. As a fellow bird star and the anxious secretary to Zi Huohou's shy intern, Bi looked up to him, a lot. 

-Today happened to be his shift——one of the 28 Lunar Mansions is exempt from the daily meetings, to watch over their sector of the sky. Like most celestials, he was used to Hanzhi just walking around, finding people to chat the moment she was off-work, and wasn't surprised when she came out of the treasure storage room without her Wind Sack.

"Little Red, you've actually been here before, I trust you know where the kitchen is? Go there, grab a peach, get out, and please please please don't try to go into the garden proper if you can't find one. Just return to this room and wait, Auntie Hanzhi will handle it." As the shrill screech of a defensive formation triggering echoed through the pavilion, and Bi leaped out of his chair, Hanzhi could not help but sigh and thought, Of course these kids tried to go into the garden, why wouldn't they.

-Except they didn't try to go into the garden. It was the spiders, and a tiny immortal girl with an embroidered ball.

-Yep, it's Li Zhenying, Nezha's little sister, only mentioned once in JTTW! Here, she's a bit older and the holder of one of Nezha's magical weapons, the embroidered ball.

-In Zaju plays, this ball contains a shit ton of demons and evil spirits, subdued by Nezha and now working under his command, but that's not safe for kids so it just has a mouse inside now.

-Specifically, Lady Diyong, who's serving her prison sentence in there after her second capture and acts as Zhenying's unwitting hamster-slash-playmate. 

-The way the ball works: it can keep beings captive and enable the holder to use their powers, like a magical Pokeball. Once something is inside, it can only be released by the one who initially captures it.

-So Li Zhenying used Diyong's power to get under and past the defensive formation undetected, because…she's bored and wanted to practice some Cuju, and just happened to run into two very lost and frustrated spider demons.

-They decided to stalk Red Son and Mei together, in their mini-spider forms——it was the former who had the backdoor key, after all, and without that, they wouldn't be able to get back to the mortal realm safely after snatching up the three items.

-So they crawled into the Peach Garden and lay in wait. And waited. And waited. And no one came. Then, when they tried to leave, they couldn't, and kept circling back to the same place until a 12 year old popped out of the ground and yelled "Stop right there, bug people!"

-They laughed. They stopped laughing when one of them got sucked into the embroidered ball like a Pokemon. The sight of a huge, muscular spider guy desperately running away from a little girl was still pretty comedic, though.

-He didn't last for long. Diyong started screeching inside the ball because ewwwww, spider people, gross! She's not into that and she doesn't want them as her future neighbors! Get them out of here, at once! 

-Zhenying found her terror quite amusing, but ended up doing so because all the screaming was getting annoying. And that was what Hanzhi and Bi saw when they charged into the depth of the formation: Li Jing's youngest kid, swinging her toy around in a circle and sending two black dots flying into the sky.

-Hanzhi let out a silent Oh no at the sight. Bi let out a loud "You WHAT?!" as Li Zhenying explained her encounter with the spider people, and commented that pest control must be quite hard if all the bugs in here could grow into people. 

-Bi proceeded to have a nervous breakdown because I let a spider demon infestation happen right under my nose and trapped Devaraja Li's daughter inside my formations, oh fuck, oh fuck, I'm so dead.

-He was too busy curling up in a ball and rocking back and forth to notice Hanzhi slipping away, an immortal peach hidden in her sleeves, to retrieve Red Son and Mei. Back at Tusita Heaven, however, the rest of the gang weren't having a good time. 

-Ma had finished rambling about Jiang Ziya's great-great-however-many-times-great-grandson, the "Biggest Shame of Qi", and was about to narrate the start of their lineage's miserable downfall with a spiteful glee in her voice.

-MK asked her why she was so angry, which just made her more angry.

"Why am I so angry? Oh, I have no idea! Maybe it is because my bastard ex-husband wrote my name onto his oh-so-mystical-scroll and made sure I can't even DIE PROPERLY, boy! I raised his daughter after he divorced me and ran off to fight a war with his sorcerer friends, and this is how he repaid me——" "No, I mean, why are you so angry at people you've never met before? They are your kids and grandkids too, right?" "Exactly! I never got to meet them, and that's why they are a bunch of pathetic, dull-headed degenerates who got played like a fiddle by their own noble clans!" MK severely doubted that. "I never got to set them on the right path, grab them by 'em ears and scold them properly, match them up with good wives that weren't their own half-sister——for heaven's sake, that Duke Xiang, what was he even thinking?!" She paused. When she started speaking again, the indignance had drained away. "I never got to see any of them with me own two eyes, or speak to them, because I wasn't in their ancestral temple. I never got to meet any of them, and now they have been dead for thousands of years, and I…I couldn't even blame all of that on Jiang Ziya."

-For the first time since MK met her, the old woman fell silent. He was about to return to his own crisis of self-confidence when the entire furnace shook and violently toppled over, spilling him out onto the floor with a yelp.

"Go." She said, the tip of her broom still smoking, without sparing a single backward glance. "Scram back to your quarters, boy, before more of the Broom Star's bad luck rubbed off on you——"

-Then the lab's other wing exploded.

-Let's rewind back to the moment before this, when Kui Mulang was holding Tang hostage and threatening Pigsy into destroying his chains with a vial of corrosive chemicals. 

-With no other choice, he complied, and the moment the last chain came apart with a sizzle, Kui Mulang shattered the cangue via his Stellar Beast transformation——but not before trying to stick the dagger into Tang anyways and failing, due to his golden barrier triggering in a panic.

-Turns out, it was these magical chains that truly shackled him and his powers, and the cangue was just additional humiliation. 

"Ah, a thousand thanks to you," the beast's eyes narrowed into a slit, as it turned towards Tang, who was desperately trying to scramble away inside the golden bubble, "Golden Cicada. Now that you are a Bodhisattva, I bet your Body of Manifestation would taste even more divine."

-What ensued was a pure horror movie chase sequence, as the pair ran for their lives, toppling over shelves, throwing anything they could get their hands on at the Stellar Beast in the hope of slowing it down.

-The explosive reaction between two reagents did end up accomplishing that. Not hurting it permanently, but the big bang managed to draw Ma and MK's attention and stopped the former from asking too many questions.

-Turns out, being one of the 28 Lunar Mansions didn't actually protect you from the Broom Star's field of mundane bad luck.

-It wasn't enough to defeat Kui Mulang, and her comet attacks were doing no lasting damage, but he kept missing his targets by a tiny margin, or tripping and falling like a Looney Tunes character, or MK's staff just happened to knock a chunk of the ceiling loose and pin him down briefly…

-The problem was, her bad luck field worked on her allies too, and there were a lot of mutual misses and wacky fails, and the consequences were worse for MK than for their opponent.

-Red Son and Mei were on their way back with Hanzhi when they saw the commotion from afar; they basically dashed right into that one Community meme. 

-Hanzhi assessed the situation briefly, told them she'd deal with Kui Mulang, while they went and grabbed their mortal friends, as well as whatever they needed from the lab, fast. Then she stepped back and unleashed the full might of the Wind Sack.

-The giant AOE attack caught all three combatants, lifted them off the ground, and firmly slammed them into the nearest standing wall, allowing Red Son to grab a very disoriented MK and rush away in the chaos.

-The fight was still ongoing when the gang hurriedly dragged the furnace into their drone, activated Red Son's backdoor key, and blasted off into the mortal realm. It didn't last much longer after the Thunder Bureau reinforcements arrived, led by Heavenly Lord of the Nine Thunders, Wen Zhong.

-Wen Zhong was a loyal man of principle in life, even more so after his deification, when he was basically made the head of the Celestial Justice Department (Thunder Bureau isn't just in charge of weather, but also divine retribution and punishment.)

-He's what a lot of people think Erlang should act like: grim, serious, utterly dedicated to maintaining order and justice, and an absolute powerhouse (he also has a third eye, btw).

-Hanzhi knew she wouldn't be getting any leniency from her senior brother this time, so she didn't even try to argue when he ordered his Thunder Generals to detain everyone involved and take them away for questioning.

-Bi Yuewu was interrupted from his mental breakdown by Star Lord Mao, who, like the majority of officials, had just been released from their end-of-day meeting when the Thunder Bureau received an emergency message from Tusita Heaven and flew off in a hurry.

-Putting two and two together, he quickly guessed that their old squad leader had broken free, and went to gather the rest of the White Tiger Mansion stars for their own emergency meeting. Bi was the first person he seeked out, and the situation…didn't look all that great.

-But Rooster Man, being the good bro he was, listened patiently to Bi's story, and told him it wouldn't be a problem. He'd take Li Zhenying home to her brothers, let them come up with a cover story, while the spider problem…well, that was what his Stellar Beast form was for, wasn't it?

-A few miles below, two tiny spiders, still falling towards the mortal realm, suddenly heard a rooster's crowing and were struck by the worst headache they ever experienced.

[massivedrickhead]

i’d love to see 11/22 from the worry prompts if you get the time!

Thanks for sending these and for waiting so long for me to get to them!

Those prompts worked really well together so I combined them, hope you like it!

11. “Eventually you’re gonna have to tell me what’s on your mind.”

22. “You’re never this quiet.”

Prompt taken from here.

Read on AO3

-

“Eventually you’re gonna have to tell me what’s on your mind, you’re never this quiet,” Beca said, chancing a glance at Chloe, who was still frowning at her phone.

“It’s nothing,” Chloe replied. “I’m fine.”

Beca sighed and hit pause on the TV show neither of them was watching. “Chloe.”

“What?” Chloe asked, finally looking up from her phone, the crease still prominent between her eyebrows.

“Talk to me,” Beca said. “What’s going on? You’ve hardly said two words since you got home.”

“I’m fighting with Chicago, if you really need to know,” Chloe said, sounding irritated as she focused her attention back on her phone. “He was supposed to be coming home next week, and now he isn’t.”

“Oh,” Beca said. “I’m sorry, that sucks. Did he say why?”

“He wants to go to Florida for a week with the boys,” Chloe said. “He only gets one week before he’s back overseas, and he said he wants to relax.”

“Right,” Beca said. She bit her tongue, holding back what she really wanted to say.

“So now I feel like a bitch,” Chloe said, “because I’m mad that he’s choosing to spend time with his army buddies - who he sees every day - instead of coming to see me.”

“Why would that make you a bitch?” Beca asked.

“Because he has a tough job, and he deserves to be able to relax while he’s on leave,” Chloe said.

Beca didn’t reply, but Chloe heard her sigh and she rolled her eyes.

“This is why I wasn’t going to say anything,” Chloe said. “You always get weird when I talk about Chicago.”

“I’m not being weird,” Beca said. 

“I know you don’t like him.”

“I don’t have a problem with him,” Beca lied. “I don’t really have any opinion, I hardly know the dude.”

“But? I’m sensing there is one,” Chloe said.

“No buts,” she said. “Besides, it doesn’t really matter what I think, as long as you’re happy.”

“Of course it matters,” Chloe said. “You’re my best friend.”

Beca sighed again. “Do you really want to know what I think?”

“Yes,” Chloe said, though not actually sure if she did. It was one thing to suspect Beca didn’t like her boyfriend, but it might feel different if she heard her say it.

“I think you can do better,” Beca said. “It doesn’t feel like he treats you like a priority, and I think you deserve to be with someone who does.”

“You always say that about people I date,” Chloe said, rolling her eyes again.

Beca shrugged. “You asked what I thought.”

“He’s a nice guy,” Chloe said. “And besides, it’s not exactly like I have a queue of people ready and waiting to sweep me off my feet and make me their number one priority.”

Beca shook her head. “Just because you don’t see them, doesn’t mean they aren’t there.”

Chloe frowned, her eyebrows pulling together in confusion. She watched as Beca stood up and grabbed their empty dinner plates from the coffee table. “Do you want anything while I’m up?” Beca asked, carrying them into the kitchen.

“No,” Chloe said, the frown still on her face as she focused her attention back on her phone.

Chicago: Are you seriously upset about this? 

Chloe: I mean, kinda? We haven’t seen each other in months.

Chloe: I was really looking forward to seeing you. I miss you.

Chicago: I miss you too, babe. Please don’t make me feel bad about this, I really need just some time to destress. 

Chicago: Please don’t make this a big deal.

Chloe: It’s fine. Do what you need to do, and I’ll see you when you’re next on leave.

Chicago: So now you’re going to guilt trip me? You’re so fucking controlling sometimes.

Chloe: I literally don’t know what you want me to say.

Chloe: Like what response were you hoping for?

Chicago: I guess I just hoped you’d understand that I needed this without being all passive-aggressive about it. 

Chloe: I’m not being passive-aggressive.

Chloe: Do what you want Chicago, I clearly can’t win no matter what I say.

Chicago: How is that not passive-aggressive?

Chicago: I need to get back to work. We can talk later once you’ve had time to cool off.

“Here,” Beca said, handing Chloe a glass of wine. “You look like you need it.”

Chloe hadn’t even realised tears of frustration and anger had started spilling down her cheeks. She cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. “Thanks,” she said.

“If you keep staring at your phone like that, you’ll get a headache.” 

“Yeah,” Chloe said. She locked her phone and put it face down on the sofa. She grabbed the remote and hit play on the TV again, the silence in the room being quickly replaced by their 50th re-watch of Friends. The sound of the studio audience laughing felt oddly out of place.

Chloe took a drink of wine and glanced at Beca, who was scrolling on her phone, holding a beer in her other hand.

“I’m sorry I was off with you before,” Chloe said. “None of this is your fault, and you were just looking out for me.”

“It’s okay,” Beca said, her eyes flicking up from her phone for long enough to shoot Chloe a tight-lipped smile. “Sorry if I was out of line with what I said. It doesn’t matter what I think about him. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

There was a pause in which neither of them said anything. Beca scrolled on her phone, and Chloe watched the TV without really watching it.

“That’s the thing,” Chloe said. “I don’t know if I am.”

“Don’t know if you’re what?”

“Happy.”

Beca looked up now. She locked and pocketed her phone, and turned her body so she was facing Chloe.

“You aren’t?”

“I thought I was, but…” She tossed Beca her phone so she could read through the texts. “If this is how he is after eight months of dating, what’s he going to be like in the future?”

She could see Beca’s jaw clench as she read through their last few messages. She handed Chloe’s phone back to her, and she took a long drink of her beer.

“If I showed you my phone, and that was how my partner was speaking to me, what would you say?”

Chloe swallowed and felt tears stinging her eyes.

She remembered the last few months of Beca and Jesse’s relationship. Remembered the heated arguments they’d have in person, over the phone, and in text.

She remembered how she felt watching Beca - the strongest person she knew - dissolve into tears nearly every night. 

Chloe had felt so helpless.

Helpless and angry.

When it finally came to a head and they ended things, Chloe didn’t know if she’d ever felt more relieved.

“I’d tell you to leave them,” Chloe said. “I’d tell you that you deserved better.”

Beca nodded. “Maybe you need to listen to your own advice.”

Chloe bit down on her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I don’t want to be alone.”

“You won’t be,” Beca said. “Not if you don’t want to.” Beca took hold of Chloe’s hand and squeezed. “Whatever you decide, I’ll support you,” she said. “But don’t force yourself to stay in a relationship that makes you unhappy just because you don’t want to be on your own.”

Chloe swallowed and squeezed Beca’s hand back. She nodded. “You’re right,” she said.

Beca felt some of the tension leave her shoulders, and she let out a steady breath. “You deserve more than he’s willing to give you,” she said. “I hope one day you realise how amazing you are, Chlo’. I hope you realise you’re worthy of being loved wholly. Fully.”

Chloe gripped Beca’s hand tighter. “So are you,” she said.

Beca shrugged and gave her a small smile. “That’s why I’m holding out for the real thing. I can wait for her.”

Chloe tilted her head. “Her? You have someone in mind?”

Beca laughed softly and shook her head in disbelief but not denial. “Yeah, there’s someone. She just needs to ditch the shitty boyfriend and actually open her eyes.”

Chloe felt something in her chest tighten.

She’d never allowed herself to hope, or dream, that this would happen.

Had never allowed herself to acknowledge that her feelings for Beca went way beyond a crush. That they’d always been way beyond a crush.

There were tears in Beca’s eyes now, and behind them, Chloe could just make out a glimmer of hope and fear.

Beca spoke with confidence, with calmness and self-assuredness, but Chloe could see in her eyes that Beca was terrified.

Beca was taking a chance, a leap of faith, that Chloe might pick up on what she was saying. That Chloe might reciprocate.

“I never… I didn’t think you’d ever actually feel the same way about me,” Chloe said. “I, um, after you and Jesse broke up and we still didn’t… I guess I kinda gave up hope. I tried to move on.”

“I know,” Beca said. “And I’m sorry that I never said anything. Your friendship is the most important thing to me, and I couldn’t… I still can’t lose that.”

“You won’t,” Chloe said, her thumb brushing across Beca’s knuckles. 

Beca nodded. “But?”

Chloe shook her head. “No buts. I just need to know… Is this real, Bec? Is this really how you feel about me?”

“Yes,” Beca said, her voice little more than a whisper. “I’m… I’m so in love with you, Chloe.”

Chloe’s breath caught in her chest and tears made their way quickly down her cheeks.

“Beca.”

“You don’t need to say it back,” Beca said. “And I understand if I waited too long and now you’re… You know, if you have moved on, it’s okay. I just want you to be happy, Chlo’.”

“Being with you would make me happy,” Chloe said. “And I can’t say it back yet, but I will. I want to, I just… I need time.”

“Take all the time you need,” Beca said. “I can wait.”

Chloe pulled Beca into a hug and held her tighter than she ever had before. “I want to kiss you so bad,” she said, causing a teary laugh to erupt from Beca.

“Me too,” she said. “But not while you’re with Chicago.”

“No,” Chloe agreed. “No, I know.” She ended their hug and cupped Beca’s face in her hands. “Are we really doing this? I’m not dreaming, right?”

“If it is a dream then I don’t want to wake up,” Beca said.

Chloe laughed and quickly wiped away a tear before her hands went to rest on Beca’s shoulders.

“That was kinda cheesy, huh?” Beca said.

Chloe nodded, still half-laughing, half-crying. “I’m gonna break up with him,” Chloe said. “And then, once the dust has settled, I’m gonna ask you out on a date.”

Beca smiled. “And I’m gonna say yes. And when it’s over, we’ll walk home, and before we open the door, I’ll invite you in for coffee.”

Chloe laughed and shook her head. “We live together.”

“So I know you’ll say yes,” Beca said. “And then I’ll kiss you, and then the next bit of our life together gets to start.”

Chloe closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against Beca’s. “I can’t wait,” she said. 

[eteisvalssi]

gig report joker out at cvetličarna night 1 and 2

i spent a full week in ljubljana, completely fell in love with the city, and honestly can't wait to be back some day. here are some of my thoughts from the concerts

cvetka night 1:

- i had a general entry ticket and only entered the queue when the first batch of people got let in

- speaking of which, it was a complete fiasco. the security were letting in people from the general entry line at the same time as the early entry line and when they were in they couldn't get them out anymore and so there were lots of non-ee ticket holders in the front rows watching the soundcheck

- i was in no rush and so i checked out the merch table at first and bought the new cd and the tote bag

- i don't really know what to think about their merch for this tour. i mean it's a fun idea that they were involved with the stamping of the merch but that also means that you can't really wash some of the items and that limits the actual use of it

- i wanted to find a spot on the balcony but ended up on the floor and luckily got quite near on the right side and with no tall people directly in front of me. it definitely wasn't a perfect spot though bc there was a group of women right next to me who seemed very drunk, they were very loud and just kept pushing people while dancing. not fun.

- i'm a huge fan of jet black diamonds as well and so i of course was very excited to see them. they performed well even with the limitations of the stage setup and lots of people around me were also singing and vibing along :)

- i feel like urban could've talked a bit more in english because they were right in front of their potential international target audience. the trick to get people to follow them for a merch raffle was effective though (had to unfollow and refollow them lol)

- we've all seen so many clips from the concerts that i won't be going through most of it but there's still a few points i'd like to make

- moving nace over to the left side was a very unexpected choice and unfortunately that left the right side very empty at times. there were some moments when there was literally no one there and all four of them were just packed on the left side

- i loved what they did with stephanie. jure just looked so happy walking around the stage :)

- actually i loved all the new songs so much. i was waiting to see how they would pull them off live with the songs being more synth-heavy, but in the end there was nothing to worry about because live versions were even better than the ones on the album

- the only one that did not really work yet was the beginning of lips bc bojan was off-key at the lower parts :/ in the soundcheck the day after he already sounded better though

- after the gig we gathered together with our little joblr group, i did some jbd merch shoppin, and it took us a while to realize that the band was actually inside the venue stamping stuff

- on the first night it was all very quick. the music was loud, they were dancing and singing along on their spots (especially kris looked like he was having the time of his life dancing and stamping). i got my cd stamped and didn’t know to ask for anything more so i just left and we left the venue pretty much after that (click here for a picture of the cd)

cvetka night 2:

- i hung out in the queue for longer because i had an ee ticket for this night. i brought some ananaslonkero with me and gave three of them to my dear joblr mutuals, two to some other nice people in the queue and that left me with one extra (which will play a huge part later)

- the staff had clearly taken the constructive criticism from the day before into account and they were checking that everyone had an ee ticket this time around and it was all very organized

- there was a barricade this time and i managed to get it and i was on the right side, again

- i feel like most of ee ticket holders were non-slovenian and so they did the soundcheck in english and played lips and proti toku

- i hadn’t slept well and i guess i was kinda overstimulated from just before doors to the beginning of jbd so it feels like i completely missed the soundcheck even though i was there :( also nace was right in front of me after the soundcheck and stopped to take pictures with everyone around me and i froze completely and it felt like it looked like i ignored him on purpose and i feel so bad i’m so sorry nace

- during jbd i happened to be in a bubble where most people around me were vibing and some even singing along but i later heard that there were people on their phones during the whole gig in the front rows and like… the disrespect??

- the setlist was the exact same and i don’t want this to get too long so i don’t really have anything new to add from yesterday. would’ve loved to see some changes but the setlist already had their most popular songs so there was really nothing that could’ve been switched off

- now that people actually knew about the stamping the queue for it started forming right away. i waited in the queue for a while but then decided on getting some water instead and i just sat on the floor for a while (and also štras just walked right by me before getting stopped for some selfies)

- when they started the stamping i went back into the queue and got my notebook only stamped at first. i then returned back to my friends, got my jacket from the car and doing that accidentally smuggled in my one leftover ananaslonkero, that i then went to give to the band and got some signatures in my notebook as well (and a PELIÄ from bojan). i talked about it in more detail in this post

and so that was basically the two nights for me. it was so nice to see so many familiar faces yet again and hang out with my little joblr discord server group 🫶 oh and the concerts were great too lol

you can find the rest of my cvetka content from these links:

cvetka 1

cvetka 2

[babbiweeb]

it's always been you-kyojuro rengoku

(anime in gif:unknown)

tw:arranged marriage, short mention of abuse (shinjuro rengoku)

initial tags:pre-established reader background, kyojuro rengoku, female reader, demon slayer:kimetsu no yaiba, kyojuro rengoku lives au

genre:romance, slow burn (attempted), angst (if you squint. maybe?)

story playlist:

let you break my heart again-laufey ft. philharmonia orchestra

here with me-d4vd

in the embers-sleeping at last

tv-billie eilish

i’m with you-vance joy

authors note:the last few days have just been filled with so many potential ideas that i haven't exactly fleshed out (yet). today is the day i (hopefully) feed my moots with more kyo content! talk to you later! enjoy!

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

Morning breaks as it brings a sheer glimpse of hope for the new day. The first rays of subtle light pour into the windows of two separate bedrooms. The marriage of two young souls illuminates in such a way that would shock many. Two bedrooms across from one another. One holds the secrets of a man who is shrouded in complete mystery. While the other, holds the heart of a woman who yearns for more. 

They married in the fall with hopes that in the upcoming new year, a child would be conceived. However, the pair still hadn't even shared their first kiss. A marriage with an empty marital bed and empty hearts. A constant reminder of what was always meant to signify their relationship-

Simply an arrangement.

__

Walking along The Flame Estate halls, a woman of poise and grace emerges. You would expect nothing less from such a woman born into such prominence. Perhaps this is what annoys him? Perhaps she is overwhelming while in his presence? For over a year, each conversation they surprisingly had was always filled with slight tension. As if her mere existence brought pain to the man of the house. She never understood why, her mind just filled with constant doubt-

”Why marry someone you don't entirely agree to?” ”How can one hate me so much?”

Her thoughts echo throughout her mind. Despite this, she is determined to remain by his side. Playing the role of his perfect wife-

Because while he would never admit it…you are the perfect wife.

You are perfect for him.  

__

My mind races as I walk towards our kitchen. My fingers trace along the hem of my robe, before finally grabbing hold of the soft fabric. Ruby red that compliments my delicate skin-the red boosting the radiant fire within my heart. I was a fool to think this would catch his attention. Nothing seems to ever do just that. Oh how I wish to be more than just strangers. 

Breathing deeply, I prepare a few bowls and place them on the countertop, careful to keep the noise to a minimum. However, before losing myself, he makes his presence known. At this moment, I take time to watch him. Pulling a chair out from the dining table, he takes a seat.

“Good morning Kyojuro! Perfect timing, I was just about to start breakfast!”-I spoke with a familiar fondness. I can’t help but crave for more, my voice makes that abundantly clear. 

A grunt of satisfaction for my duty leaves his lips. As if this is my queue, I begin to cook-

All for him.

__

His father was estranged for a time from the young boys of the home. Senjuro, being the youngest, had a hard time remembering his mother. As if the young boy couldn't go through any more hardship, his father grew distant and abusive after her passing. Though, from my understanding, the relationship between the three grew recently. 

Kyojuro, after dancing with death, had survived the events of The Mugen Train. The battle with an upper moon demon had changed his heart according to many. During his recovery however, the light grew brighter on the other side. While he lost the battle, he gained what their dear mother would have wanted. 

Now, though not officially retired, he still takes on light missions to remain active duty. I never pried where I felt I couldn't, at least…not to him. His father approached my family over a year ago, believing marriage would help ease his eldest  son into a more relaxing life. I was deemed the perfect match for such an outstanding man. A young woman who was raised in the same prefecture as the Rengoku family truly would have been the ideal fit-

If only he had seen it sooner.

__

  Serving his breakfast on a tray, I place it in front of him as he sits patiently at the table. I took the time to make his favorite. Most mornings, while he never explicitly said, I cook his breakfast and excuse myself. 

“There you are.”-I speak softly with a hint of disappointment. The same disappointment he is far too familiar with. 

“Thank you Y/N”-He spoke,

Kyojuro didn’t know what was wrong. Thoughts running wild as he catches her every movement. The sunlight that grows and pours into the window captures her skin beautifully, illuminating her purity. He looked down at the tray as he caught that familiar sense of tension, though it seems as if it isn't as prominent this morning. His heart feels warm.

“You’re welcome Kyojuro”

“Please let me know if you plan on leaving for duty today…I will pack your things.”-

Her voice was alluring, even with the slightest hint of sadness. Kyojuro watches intently as she removes her apron. Her kimono underneath is now on full display. 

“You are gorgeous. You always inspire awe within me.”*-His thoughts ran.

“I-I…-He stayed quiet for a brief pause. He was about to ask you to stay. To not leave him, for once. He wanted to ask you to stay by his side until he left…but he knew he couldn't-.

“I’ll be going out for a mission today”-He tried to ignore the sadness growing on your supple face.

Before leaving, Y/N looks into his eyes with a softened gaze. Her words flowing freely-

“O-Oh…a mission? Again? I-I mean of course! You are The Flame Hashira! I will pack your things right away! When will you be leaving?”

With a sigh, he responds.

“Within the hour.”

“I see. Well, if you’ll excuse me”-

Another day without him. It seems this is all we are meant to be. Two people sharing one roof without any love. 

Walking to the back of the Estate, I enter his own bedroom. Immediately, I pack all while my eyes trail to his room. His unmade bed with blankets teasing the floor. 

“Such a large bed…and yet we don't share”-I thought as my hands placed firmly atop his bed. My fingers trace his sheets. The bed smells like him-I like it. I wish we could be more. I wish he would try.

Eventually, I grow weak with emotion-I find myself sitting on his bed, caressing what little bit of him I can have.  

Kyojuro-

The developing feeling of warmth quickly becomes bittersweet. My mind fills with thoughts of her and grows immensely each time we meet. The past year has been difficult for us both, moreover, it has been incredibly unfair to her. 

Growing up, my parents loved one another deeply. Their electrifying love inspired me to find something similar-

“Will I ever have love?” “Of course sunshine–you’ll never be alone.”

__

I haven’t even touched my food. The food she made. My thoughts became too overwhelming-

“So much for ignoring my feelings.”

Soon, I get up from my seat and slowly find my way back to my bedroom. She’s there, I know it. She’s in my bedroom, taking care of me even if we live separately. 

Quietly, I round the corner nearing my room. I don’t want to startle you. Entering the cracked door, I see you running your fingers through my sheets. 

“My body is stiff, why? My cheeks are hot? Why?”

I can feel myself growing, almost…jealous? Why am I feeling this way? Taking a deep breath, I speak-

“Y/N? What are you doing…?”

An audible gasp leaves her beautiful lips as she frantically finds her own words. Something about losing her train of thought? How cute-

__

Y/N-

“I-I finished packing y-your bag!”-My voice is frantic as I slowly approach him with his belongings in hand. Slowly, I bite my lip, nervously attempting to rationalize my desire to be close to him. I want to be husband and wife. But it’s clear he doesn't feel the same. 

Kyojuro was silent for a moment. Although, I would take his silence over his single word any day. A single word that further sends me down my own spiral. 

“...Okay.”-He speaks.

As I stand a mere few feet from him, I hold out his bag and keep my head low. The embarrassment is all too much for me to handle. A sigh releases from my mouth-

“I-I know you don't like me, and it seems that you never will. I’m sorry for pushing the boundaries this morning.”-Without looking up at him, I walk past him and out the door. My heart stings ever so faintly at the prospect of such a sad excuse of a marriage. 

For a moment, I felt the release of tension. A pause that abruptly ended as the sound of movement echoed behind me. My wrist turns hot as I feel his hand wrap around me. 

“Wait”

This is the first time he’s touched me. The warmth of his hand travels down. His fingers lace with mine perfectly. The calloused hands signify the hardwork and dedication he carries with him. My heart skips one, two, three, maybe four beats- 

“...I…I don't dislike you-”

That came out awkwardly, and I think he noticed. His hand shakes slightly. This innocent touch was enough to make me do the same. 

“I don't dislike you Y/N.”-While the facade of confidence stuck out like a sore thumb, his awkwardness was rewarded by my own delicate smile. My body straightens as I look into his eyes. Slowly, he starts to shy away. 

“O-Oh I see…”-I whisper softly as I relish in the feeling of our warmth combining. 

“Kyojuro? T-Thank you for telling me that.”-Hesitantly, I removed my hand from his. As I walk away again, I whisper.

“You should get dressed. You must leave soon-your mission? Remember?”

With this, I begin to calm myself from such a high. A simple touch from him is enough to send me over the edge. He’s never been so forward before. We’ve never touched each other before. I can’t help but feel…happy.

__

Kyojuro-

Shocked. I couldn't grasp the sudden quick action I had just taken. I can’t stop the way my heart is racing. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I can’t do this to her. But what if? What if I had one more touch? What if I hugged her? To feel her frame against mine? To feel what they had? The idea of being alone never worried me. I was always confident love would find me. Now…I fear for my future. Simultaneously, I’m bringing her down with me-

Confused. I enter back into my room, sliding the door shut. My hand still has her lingering warmth attached to it. My lips curve into a smile as I begin to feel euphoric. The emotion she brings out of me makes me feel like I still have a chance to earn her affection. Those few seconds when I touched her hand, and that smile that appeared subtly on her face. 

I didn’t realize this at first, but my heart yearns for more. I want more of this. 

I want her. I do.

__

As the morning continues to build within the home, the once apparent loveless void is finally growing. The cracks in the foundation being nurtured with the first touch of romance. Suddenly, being apart for now doesn't seem all that bleak. 

Y/N silently sits by the open deck. A book in hand as she awaits her husband. Though, she fools no one. She wears her heart on her sleeve proudly. The flush in her face never fading as a certain glow fills her to the brim. 

__

Y/N-

Moments pass and soon, the faint sound of his door sliding open and shut can be heard. While the thought of him sacrificing himself weighs heavily on my heart, I can’t help but feel honored to be by his side. As Hashira, he is responsible for our safety. He dedicates his entire being to protect the weak, and this is just one of the many traits I fell for. His manhood is defined by protecting those that deserve to lead simple, full lives. Yet, there is a part of him that remains gentle. 

“I’m ready, Y/N.”

As those words ring in my ear, somehow, I feel different. My lips release a soft hum as I slowly stand from my spot. Book in hand and feet moving, my fingers brush against the spine nervously. 

“So that you are…”-I smile to hide my growing disappointment. The last thing I want is for him to view me as a sad burden. He has gone on many missions since we were wed. Most of them lasted longer than a week! But this? This time it’s different. Our hands touched, and we held each other for just a moment. We had shared the first blossom of a new found bond. Just once, just for a moment, I finally felt as though we were meant to be. 

“How long will you be away this time?”

To my surprise, he smiles as his voice becomes bright-

“Just a day. I’ll be back tonight…Y/N.”-Just like this. Every time he leaves, we remain in this dance. Almost as if we both have more to say. But, that’s impossible-he still doesn’t see me as his wife. Biting the plush of my lip, I nod my head as my words fail me for now. 

He’ll be back tonight. This is enough to bring me some comfort-

__

Kyojuro-

As we sit in a short, yet peaceful silence, our eyes meet. Words no longer deemed necessary. Taking one last glance at her, I grab my bag. My lips relax as my smile begins to fade-

Content. It has been such a long time since I felt this liberated. She makes me feel as though I am more than capable of letting go. 

Reaching the edge of our back garden, my hand goes for the latch. Almost gone-until she calls out for me. As I stop completely, I turn around and meet her gaze. 

“Yes, Y/N?”

Once more, the air grows thin as I feel entirely lifted. Two simple words that I’ve heard over and over again. But this time, it’s different. The subtle desperation in her voice send tidal waves of emotion to overflow within me. 

“Be safe.”

I have nothing to say. Nothing seems to be enough. I can’t help but just simply stare back into her eyes. The same eyes that I have come to adore so much. Everything about her makes me feel…oh so many things. I’m supposed to leave now…but would it be so bad to stay? Would it be so bad to hold you close? Her words. Two simple words drive me crazy. They make me feel as if all that truly matters is…your love.

“I will…”

I finally said. 

__

The hours for each of them had played out differently. For Y/N, her morning had quickly gone. Her morning after he departed was spent taking care of the home. Every detail must remain unchanged and perfect. Perfect for him. She never minded all the housework-

“Always a pleasure to take care of the man that provides for me”-

Despite the relationship, Y/N had always found herself taking care of their every need. Including taking care of his father and brother. Senjuro had grown quite close with Y/N. Always wanting to be near the pair, and each time he visited, Y/N could not help to wonder when it would be her turn to experience motherhood. A woman with big dreams, yet grounded to the prospect of having her own family. Senjuro truly fueled her passions.

Ruka would be proud. 

For Kyojuro, time slowed. His mission sent him off to a nearby village. Sightings of a low ranking demon lurking within the shadows. Thankfully, during the report, Kyojuro was relieved to find out there hadn't been much damage to the community. As always, he is still determined to fight till the bitter end. 

The wonders of her plagued his mind. But, he did not mind it. In fact, he welcomed his emotions to take over his mind. How could he let her roam this life alone for so long? To be married but not welcomed? The never ending fear of leaving someone behind due to his responsibility conflicts with his true feelings. 

“I could not forgive myself if I left her alone”-

Dancing with death truly changes a person.

__

Kyojuro-

Home. That’s what I see. The sun is setting behind me as I clutch my bag tightly. My nerves begin to rise the closer I get to home, to her. I wonder what she’s doing? Is she resting? Have I crossed her mind today? Perhaps she thought of me as I did her? Everything I felt then, I crave to feel again. 

As I approach our Estate, my feet begin to pick up the pace slightly. The excitement grows as I shed away the feeling of secrecy. To fall for her is my greatest pleasure. I just hope she accepts. 

Just then, a shadow passes in front of a window. It’s her. She’s pacing back and forth, seemingly frantic. A small chuckle escapes my lips. She seems nervous. Reaching our gate, I haven’t once left her. My eyes feel full as I watch her every move. I can't help but stare. 

“Y/N?”-Calling out to her as I enter our home, she stops in her own tracks.

“God she’s radiant”-

__

Y/N-

Just then, a familiar voice echoed, my lips curving slowly. There he is, my husband. His uniform is slightly dirty and wrinkled. His hair flowing down behind his broad shoulders. His face was soft despite the hardships of the day. 

He doesn't seem injured! No blood, no scratches! Good. 

Walking towards him, now standing a few feet in front of him, my eyes finally reach him. 

“Welcome home Kyojuro.”-My voice is soft and gentle as I take in him completely. A certain fondness hidden within my demeanor. His eyes stare back at mine as we take in each other's peace. He took a step closer now-

“Y/N.”

Nervously, I stutter. The way his smooth voice says my name brings joy to my full heart. 

“K-Kyojuro! H-How was your mission? Was it successful?”-Shyly, I begin to fidget with my hands, a nervous tick. 

“Yeah, it was. And now, I’m back home safely.”-Home? Home? He’s inching closer now. His warmth reaches my core as his arm reaches forward. He looked at my hand briefly. He’s never been so close before. I’m enjoying every moment with him, however I can't help but feel myself slowly shy away. To spend an entire year with my husband, and not have any form of contact, to then suddenly be given a bit of affection? How strange? 

“May I…hold your hand?”-My ears ring as I flush red. As if we could just simply ignore the sudden call to such intimacy, I attempt to change the subject. Poorly might I add. 

“I-I’m glad to hear it! Oh! Before I forget! I-I made you a small dinner. You must be hungry!”-Biting my lip, I await his reply. I do not know if this is okay for us to do. This all feels so foreign. 

__

Kyojuro-

Inching closer to her, allows me to feel her warmth. Her being captivating me as I look at her soft supple skin. Her small hands that work tirelessly for me. My lips curve before I can even think. To hold her hand would be a divine pleasure I would love to indulge in. A simple touch. That’s all I ask. 

My shyness is killing me, but she shamelessly makes me weak and brings me to my knees. An uncharted wave of feeling that I want to explore with only her. 

“Changing the subject? How cute.”-I thought.

“Thank you, I definitely am hungry…”-For just a moment, I tease her with a bit of relief. A pause allowed me to capture her once more. Her lips. The temptation becomes my downfall as I feel myself grow impatient. I want to hold her hand–so, so badly.

“Hold out your hand, Y/N.”

An audible gasp escapes as her cheeks glow a faint pink. A small simple word melts me-

“Y-Yes…”

Her delicate hand lifted in front of me as her eyes shone with anticipation. She’s eager. This is everything I had imagined about. Soft, puppy love taking hold of us, finally. My calloused hands reach for her, as we meet, I smile. A true, genuine smile. One that signifies my readiness. I want to fall for her-

“May we walk together?”-There is nothing else on my mind but you.

__

Y/N-

“A walk? B-But your dinner? It’s getting late Kyojuro!”-My blush deepens. I can feel it. His hand squeezes mine slightly. This affection he is granting me–everything I have been craving for is finally mine. He finally sees me. 

He wasn't listening to you. He couldn't bring himself to hear your words. Your lips, your soft and delicate hands. He wanted nothing else than to just have your company. The bright smile creeping on his face told you enough.

“Let’s just walk, just for a while”-With his words came a sudden rush of pure euphoria. My shy skin sheds as my comfort grows. He is all I need. And I’ll be damned to lose this opportunity. He is mine. I simply nod my head as he takes the lead. Time had slowed as he took gentle care of me. Our garden being the perfect spot for a time such as this. The moon is now rising as remnants of the sun slowly disappear. 

The long silence, while calm and inviting, breaks as we make time to sit side by side. 

“Y/N…”-His voice trails before he lets out a short sigh. His body shifts as he turns to face me. His knee brushed against mine. Yet another foreign touch-

“...why haven't I held your hand until now?”-His question stumps me as I look up at him. Could he be genuine? Shall we take the next step and break these walls? To be honest and undone? 

Making up my mind quickly, I speak in a hushed tone.

“I-I do not know Kyojuro. Your mind is a mystery I’ve wanted to explore for a while. However, you're not alone…”-I pause to catch my nerves. My words carry me as my thoughts try to catch up.

“I’ve spent many nights wondering why we are the way we are. You have brought me a great sense of relief asking me such a simple question. Thank you.”

The sound of the night beginning to fall upon us amplifies as the silence becomes apparent once more. Flickers of light begin to pop like small fireworks. Lightning bugs surrounding the nearby shrubbery. The sound of rustling brush fails to hide the feet of critters passing through. Oddly enough, I feel no tension. The air is clear and so is my mind. 

His hand squeezes mine as if to let me know he’s still here. Right by my side. 

“O-Oh…you’re welcome. I-I feel as though I really didn't do much. In fact, I know I haven't done much…”-His voice lingers for a bit before continuing his train of thought out loud. 

“This marriage must have been difficult for you. I’m not exactly a man that you would be proud of.”

He’s right. This marriage has been difficult. I had such expectations for us. I fantasized endlessly during the weeks leading to our wedding. I always chalked up his cool demeanor as just nerves. Though, my dreams finally broke apart the evening after we had announced our nuptials. The heartbreak I felt gradually took over, until eventually, I allowed myself to get lost within my own marital duties. That was all I had. Although, the Rengoku family as a whole still welcomed me and made me feel somewhat comfortable. His father kept reassuring that his son's behavior truly was out of the ordinary. Being a veteran to the corps, Shinjuro understood all too well the pain his eldest son felt. Shinjuro suffered just as much-

“Just give him time, he’s been through hell and back. This second chance has been granted to him while feeling as if he isn't deserving of such a thing.” 

“Kyojuro, you may not be the husband you expected yourself to be. But please, do not cut yourself short. I am still proud of you. You are a man worthy of praise and admiration. You have been blessed with the perseverance of a true warrior–your mother would be proud.”

Treading lightly, I speak from my soul. I’ve waited an entire year to finally have a moment to share with the man I married. His father shed well deserved light on the hardships of their livelihood. Shinjuro lost his wife to terminal illness. Losing the spark to his flame, he burnt out. Turning to alcohol as a way to temporarily forget his pain. Senjuro grew up having only faint memories of their mother. His brother, having to sacrifice his own youth to raise such a gentle boy. Regardless of such tribulations, I firmly believe Ruka Rengoku would be immensely proud of her son. 

I am wholeheartedly proud of him. 

Slowly, my gaze returns to him. Not knowing what to expect, I began to admire his eyes. His eyes filled with a spark I had never seen before. Wide and bright, I smile softly as my eyes soften. This is all I need. His attention directly focused on only me. As if I am the only woman in the world. 

__

Time is frozen as the two share a slice of heaven on Earth. At this moment, Kyojuro had finally seen Y/N in all her glory. Reminisce of his mother found in her. The woman he had neglected had given him yet another chance to prove himself worthy of her love. They are absolutely smitten. 

Kyojuro-

Her words tug playfully at the strings of my heart. She’s delicate and careful with me. She doesn't see my behavior as something to fear. She sees the man crying out for something, someone–she sees me. My waterline stings painlessly as I feel the flow of water. Looking at her, keeping her hand within mine, I can’t help but feel seen. The soft curve of her face that carries the many expressions yet to discover. Her lips curve into a smile that I never want to fade. The bridge of her nose that my eyes follow to meet her caring gaze. 

You are so beautiful-

“Y/N? C-Can I ask you something?”-With a smile, all I have now is the aching thought of her lips against mine. I don't know where to go from here, all that is certain is that I crave her more. She is my undeniable cure to my own loneliness–I’ll be damned to ever let her go. Without hesitation, she speaks-

“Y-Yes! Of course”-Our faces close as the setting of such serenity illuminates the ethereal beauty that sits before me. Tightly, I grip her hand and lead her towards my chest, laying her palm flat. My heart is pounding-

“Do you-As the hardest question undoubtedly brings back the tension within me, I breathe in and out deeply before asking. My heartbeat skips as her fingers tease the buttons along the front my uniform-

“Do you…love me Y/N?”

Intimate and vulnerable. How I want to be with her always-

__

Y/N-

Do my ears deceive me? Perhaps the otherworldly glow of the moon hazes me. No? If that were true, why does he hold my hand against his chest? Why does his heart beat so quickly? Why do I feel so dizzy? So lightheaded…

“I-I am unsure if answering will benefit us in any way…considering the state our marriage is in…”-Taking a deep breath, I lower my head. Looking at my lap, my one lone hand clenched the hem of soft fabric. I feel myself choke up, full from the intensity of such a telling question. 

But–

“H-However, if you must know…Kyojuro. I do. I do love you.”-My voice just above a whisper as I close my eyes. My confession out and in the open air. The moon and stars as my witness. 

The way his hand slowly lets go of mine, I keep my hand firmly upon his chest just for a moment longer before swiftly reuniting my hands with one another. My body heat rises as I begin to realize how absolutely vulnerable I am now.

“Y/N…”-He whispers my name as he moves even closer. The space between us is almost non-existent. His hand travels up my arm as his finger trails the fabric of my sleeve. Soon after, he reaches the curve of my face. Caressing my cheek gently-A foreign touch welcomed.

“Y/N? May I kiss you?”-His voice melting me once more as a hint of pure love falls from his beautiful mouth. Looking up cautiously, his touch became needy. 

“W-What? K-Kyojuro? The sudden shift…the affection? Why now? This isn't like you!”-

As they sit together, the touch of his hand becomes needy as he pulls her close, alluding to his desire. If you would let him, he would love nothing more than to touch your skin all night long. 

“Y/N, I’m only doing this because of you. You’ve changed me. Your touch, your skin, your lips–everything about you is a never ending addiction. I’m affectionate because of you.”

My face is filled with anger, confusion, and love. All hitting me at once. My slight anger stemmed from the surprising shift of romance. To have me wait for what felt like an eternity, is truly cruel. My confusion gives me up with the furrow of my brow. Why now? We’ve never kissed, and yet…

“I’ve been holding myself back from you. I was such a fool to treat you so coldly from the very beginning. You deserve a man. If you would allow it…Y/N, I want to be that man.”

And all at once, my doubts and questions fade away from my mind. In an instant, my dreams of being his piece back together. The water that had built along my waterline trickled down in short streams. One tear, then two, now three-

All he could do is just look at you. Every inch of you is becoming more and more addicting. Why hadn't he noticed your beauty before? You made him feel so intense, and yet it took him almost too long to finally acknowledge this love. Dipping his face closer to yours, he wipes your tears as he stays mere inches from your lips. 

Kyojuro daring to not move an inch closer until he knows. His eyes peered into yours silently begging for this. And as the angel you have become in his eyes, you had blessed him-

Your lips meet each other as you both close your eyes. The warm, foreign feeling of velvet melting together perfectly brings you both to each other's complete devotion. He kept quiet as he wanted to hear more of that gentle whimper. For once, he allows his heart to take over-

Our lips move in sync as now both of his large hands caress my face. Drawing me closer to him, leaving no room for us to leave. As if I ever would. 

The dance we share is more intimate than anything we had ever shared before. Our first kiss together is electric. His soft tongue running against my bottom lip as our continued passion exposes our hidden desires. The sound of almost lewd noises fall from my mouth and pour into his. The crisp night breeze being the only thing that cools me down–chills raising the hairs along my arms. In an instant, he pulls away, whispering against my lips. 

“Y/N…”-His hands fall from my face as they drop to hold my frame. His embrace reassuring me. 

As I whisper his name back almost breathlessly, I rest my head gently on his shoulder. My face is glowing with love. 

“I love you too…”

__

As if a part of Y/N had already known this, she let out a deep breath of relief. Nuzzling close to him, her face buried into his warmth. You had done something to him truly. Your warmth against his body felt perfect. He couldn't get enough of you, he never wanted to stop having more of you. This was all his soul needed. The beat of his heart now belongs to you. 

Their long awaited love now slowly unraveling before their eyes. Neither wanting to ever let go of the pure joy they’ve been blessed with. Kyojuro had finally found the one to set his heart truly ablaze. 

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈

authors end note:not gonna lie, i had such a hard time ending this. i knew i wanted to leave it quite open, (just in case i decide to write a smutty pt. 2 teehee), but whew my head hurts. re-reading, me thinks this is just fluff wanting to be something it's not (angst). oh well, as long as you enjoy it, i’m happi! did anyone catch the callback i did to the infamous kyojuro comic done by @/kammi.lu!? i adore their art omgggg! the rengoku family deserves such happiness. it’s what ruka would of wanted. oh, and i tried switching pov’s. not really sure if i did good. i’m telling you, it’s been so long since i’ve written ficccss! this is harder than i remember! props to the authors that pump out stuff daily! y'all work harder than the devil. okie! goodbye for now! (kyojuro brainrot is real)

word count:5763

many thank! -babbi₊˚⊹♡

-08/05/23 (my birfday)

[insomniac4000]

Sneak Peak

So this is a sneak peak of a fic I am writing and have discussed before, it does have a couple of sad themes in it around bereavement so I would really love to know people's thoughts before I post it.

“Go on boys get this down you!” Mae shouted over the music before picking up one herself, a sambuca. George joined her in picking up a sambuca both wanting to stay clear of the tequila, they toasted before downing it quickly. There was a scramble for the rest as people tried to get their preferences, some failing and grumbling at what they had been left with. They chatted for a while, Chris took over twenty minutes going to the toilet and back as he had been spotted and started posing for photos, even though she was without her dancing partner for the night Mae was keen to get back out there. George, Arthur Hill and to her surprise Danny agreed to go with her, Arthur didn’t mind dancing, George knew he would get it in the neck from Chris if someone didn’t go with Mae and Danny wanted to check out some of the girls. This left Harry looking after a very drunk and very sleepy Arthur TV who was finding the blonde man’s shoulder very comfortable in that moment.

The dancing spot they had landed in was to the side of the dance floor, this allowed Danny to stand off and watch and would also allow Harry and Arthur to join them if they so wished. It wasn’t too far away from some steps which meant they could easily be seen and Aaron, who was the guy who had pushed in front of the bar queue earlier and touched Mae had his eyes firmly set on her. When his group of friends, three male and one female had caught him up he pointed to the empty space on the dance floor next to Mae and they all made their way. Slowly but surely Aaron shifted closer to Mae dancing as he went, not being put off when she used Arthur as a shield first of all and then George. One of Aaron’s friends, Riley and his girlfriend Casey ended up standing next to Danny as they didn’t know the next song and they were thinking of calling it a night.

“Is that your mate?” Danny asked Riley before taking a sip of his beer, Riley nodded.

“I think he’s got a thing for your mate,” he replied, even though he was shouting as loud as he could Danny could barely hear him over the music.

“Well tell him she’s single, keep pushing it and she’ll be all over it.” Danny shouted back.

“No she fucking won’t be Danny!” A stern voice came through Danny’s other ear, it was Chris who had finally dispersed from the crowd that had been around him. The club was hot but Chris’s face was deep red, he was incredibly pissed off.

“How can you say that? You don’t know her at all!” The smaller man continued.

“It’s been a while I just think she could do with a good shag that’s all,” Danny replied shrugging his shoulders and taking a swig from his beer, not seeing what the big problem was. Chris resisted every single urge in his body to not punch Danny’s lights out.

“I can’t fucking believe you sometimes,” Chris spat out before making his way over to the group. “We’ve been spotted I think it’s time to call it a night,” Chris advised and pointed up to their booth where a crowd had now formed, unfortunately some people who recognised Chris had also recognised Harry and the poor man was trying to wave his hand no with one hand while propping up a very drunk Arthur with the other.

“Aww but I’m having a good time,” Mae whined until the girl Casey spoke up.

“OMG you’re the girl who’s baby died!!!” She screamed, Mae sighed.

“I was having a good time. Okay lets go,” said a now deflating Mae as Chris grabbed her hand and led the group up the stairs with Danny bringing up the rear still not understanding what he had said that was so offensive.

“Arthur can’t find his cloakroom ticket,” Harry said when the group had got to them and started to grab the stuff they did have.

“I’ve got them all in my bag,” Mae explained as she picked up said Chloe Drew from the seat and swung it over her shoulder. As the group made their way out Mae handed a ticket to each of the Arthur’s, Harry and George as well as holding onto the one she had for herself. Chris didn’t bring a coat so he stood to the side while the others went to fetch their belongings.

Chris was adamant that he wanted to see Mae home, George and Arthur Hill floated the idea of Arthur TV staying on their sofa, believing someone needed to keep an eye on him and everyone agreed. Being a big boy and still half sober Harry was fine going back to his flat and Danny ultimately decided to stay so Chris and Mae split an Uber to her place.

“Sorry the night fell a bit flat in the end,” Chris said sadly when they were at Mae’s door and not just the door to the building, he insisted on taking her right to her front door.

“I had an amazing time though, thank you so much for inviting me. Although we always have a good time don’t we? You and I.” Mae smiled before drunkenly stumbling over her feet a little, it wasn’t a lot but it was enough for Chris to try and catch her. “Oops. Wanna stay over? I feel awful you needing to wait for another taxi home and that way if Arthur wants your bed he could have it,” Mae suggested as she fumbled with her keys to open the lock.

“Sounds like a plan. Although if Arthur is sick in my bed I will kill him” Chris slurred as the pair walked into the apartment, Mae laughed.