#great shift. didn’t even sweat through my bun. more of this please

[fingertipsmp3]

Guys I actually had such a nice work day today

[stvllioner]

Kinktober Day 1

dabi 

☠️ warning(s): 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕥 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕪, somnophilia, fingering, loss of virginity, con-dubcon.

☠️ genre: smut, holiday special.

☠️ words: 2.9k words [11 minutes, 40 seconds].

☠️ read more: kinktober(uary)

☠️ summary: dabi wanted to preserve you for as long as he could, until one morning your beauty was too much for him to just observe.

The sun's beams were what woke him up. His nocturnal nature surprisingly let him sleep in this time, the presence next to him making it possible for him. Not hiding the secret factor of Japan's summer heat doing him in as much as the rest of the league's humid rooms.

He rolled over to blatantly look at you, hiding back the feeling to smile at your peaceful slumber. His eyes scanned as you also fell victim to the hot heat, small amounts of sweat coating your skin. Dabi couldn't help but let his cyan orbs wander, the more his eyes traveled your body the more his mind started to race. He couldn’t help but feel like you were something sacred, the times you did ask him about certain topics lived rent-free in his mind. Most times, your questions were raised when the off-hand perverted comment was made  by Shigaraki with no filter, opening an opportunity for you to talk with Dabi about certain topics.

“You’d like to try it?” Dabi asks looking over at you, his head tilting to look at your face better and smirking playfully at your blush.

“I-I mean yeah! If you wanted… I know you have more experience in this stuff…” You ramble off, shyly hiding into his hoodie. “Just take care of me, okay?”

You two hadn't done anything… intimate yet. Most times Dabi had to teach you things, and the furthest you had ever gone was letting him touch and show you how to pleasure yourself to your embarrassment. As much as you showed disdain for not knowing as much as an adult your age knew, Dabi loved it. It was something about your innocence that always made him want to wait. To hear you beg for him to take you, to show you what other things you could learn.

His actions were teetering on the right and wrongs, his thoughts slowly but surely egging him on to move closer to you. Dabi was taking a heavy leap of faith, not wanting to lose a relationship over a loss of control. The bed moved a bit, the slight movement accentuating the subtle jiggle of certain places that made him smirk. His hand moved to carefully sweep any miscellaneous hairs on your face that either fell out of your bonnet or lost its way in your poorly done bun. 

His hand took a minute to rub your cheek, his free arm moving to support him on the pillow as his other hand ventured down your body. His touches were light, almost as if a ghost was touching human flesh for the first time in a while. His front had successfully pressed up against your back, his growing boner pressing against your underwear-clad butt. He felt you shift just a bit at the feeling, a small but mischievous glint coming to his face as your body unknowingly snuggles into his.

The forgotten hand now rested on your body, his unnaturally warm hand played with the bottom of your tank. His hand slipped under just a bit, his hand softly caressing your skin and letting his hold slowly make it up to your body. He didn't miss how your breasts strained against your struggling top, his hand not helping it either. His palms started to heat up, noting the way your body positively responded to the touch. 

His fingers grope one of your tits, playing with the bud of your hardening nipple. The feeling of your breast pressed against his palm was doing wonders to him; your innocent and sleeping form adjusting slowly to his soft and sensual touches. Dabi leans down to kiss at your neck, his other coming up to take its place with you playing with your chest, the other tugging down your underwear enough to expose your cooter to him. His deep groan comes from his chest as his left-hand heats up in fondling you, tugging the bud before rubbing the erect nipple. His right hand cupped your sex, his fingers testing the waters and pulling away from your neck to see your face. To his delight your face had increasingly softened, your lips now slightly parted and your brows scrunched just a bit at the sensation he was giving your nerves. 

Dabi decided to up the ante, using his middle finger to rub your clit. His eyes caught the way your hips moved to ride his digit, making the corporate decision to warm his fingers. Your breath slowly picks up in an aroused cycle, your untouched body not sure what to do with itself. He continued to rub your clit, observing once your cunt started to slick up and you had finally stirred from your slumber.

You had no proper words to start or explain the sensation you were feeling, the thing you could was let the sounds of pleasure leave your lips. “I -- haaaah…~” You breathed out. Your eyes looked up at his with a loveful lust, his cock twitching in excitement at the confused but trustworthy gaze in your eyes. 

“Good morning,” He starts teasingly, pressing his hips into your ass to emphasize his morning wood. “I hope you don’t mind, I couldn’t help myself~” He leans down to give your lips a peck, the familiar feeling of your plush lips against his making him softly moan. He lets his two fingers rub and tease your opening, moving his position to your side and having you lay on your back. His arm was back to supporting himself next to your head, his face merely inches away. “I’m going to put them in, okay?” He asks, his thumb never slowing to keep your hormones running.

“Please give it to me, Dabi, please…” You softly whine, thighs moving apart to give him room. 

He nervously gulps at that -- for what reason? He doesn’t know himself. It wasn’t like it was his facetime breaking someone’s innocence. The feelings of this going further than you two had ever anticipated rained in the back of his head, the very thought made him want to rush but also cherish this time. 

He leaned down to capture your lips in a kiss again, this time his fingers successfully being able to enter your needy cunt. His mouth ate up all your wanton moans, fingers slowly pumping in and out of your cunt to prepare you for proper comfort. His tongue invaded your mouth, your muscle desperately moving against his and falling submissive to his sensual and loving touches -- the feeling with a hint of deviousness you hadn’t encountered with Dabi yet. The movement was almost hard to do with your virgin cunt squeezing at his fingers, legs spread open for his fucking. His calculated fingers stroked your walls, the new sensation leaving you quivering already. Dabi couldn’t help but speed up his fingers, the erotic sounds of your cunt taking his thrusting making the experience much arousing for both you and him.

When he pulls away you both are light of breath, the room no longer hot but a heavy humid -- only an ambiance of sensuality running through the air. “You like it when my fingers are deep in you like this, Doll~?” He taunts you, smirking as you once again nod your head, one hand designated on holding onto his arm close to your head as the other clung to his snapping wrist that quite literally held your pleasure in the palm of his hand. He positioned his fingers to hit a bit deeper, the change of angle prompting him to hit a spot inside that you weren’t ready for.

A moan shrieked from your mouth as he does, thighs immediately moving to clench around his thighs. Much to his surprise, it was what took you to cum on his fingers. He watched in amazement as you tried to pull his unrelenting fingers away, groaning deep in his chest as your pussy sucked in his fingers, heating his thumb to give your thumb some more stimulation as he rubbed into.

“Dabi--!” You breathlessly called out for him, never mind the other tenants that housed in the building. The pleasure was too great and your body was moving on its own. “Baby, it’s t-too much hnngn~!” You tried to reason, your needy pleas falling on deaf ears.

Dabi was too drunk on your essence and visuals, he glared down at you once he realized your words. You knew the look wasn’t anything but mean, only serving the purpose that he was in charge. “Is it too much for you, babygirl?” He inquires, noting the way your pussy dripped and his fingers. “Can you be a good girl and take another one for me~?” He asks, slowing his fingers to let you catch a breath, his hot fingers still shooting bolts of arousal through your veins. 

For sure he knew he was pushing your limits, how else would he make this fun? Had you been any other simple person he wouldn’t be doing this. It was the desperation in your eyes that pulled him in, using his skillful hands to draw you closer and relish in the feeling of your cute thighs squeezing his arm for him to keep even though you were pulling it in.

Dabi had no mercy in stroking your g-spot, the one spot making you tense and the heat of his fingertips not helping any better either. He was pleased to watch your eyes roll back, a shiver running over your body as he urged another orgasm out of you. He slows down and mumbles reassuring words into your ear, pulling his fingers out slowly and watching as your slick drenches his fingers. He quickly gets up from his bed, getting a towel to clean you up. He holds his smirk when the rough but soft fabric brushes against your throbbing and sensitive clit, tossing the towel behind his back. He reaches over to give you your water bottle, helping you sit up a bit and holding your chin up to his careful hands.

He didn’t communicate anything as he helped you take a sip of water to calm you down, his gaze holding nothing but deep adoration for you. His heart hammered as he took in your panting state, hair now messy and face hot, the few strands of hair sticking to your skin. He hums in content once you hand him back the bottle, screwing the cap back on, and leans down to give your lips a peck before he rests the water bottle back onto its post on the nightstand. His hand moves to hold your cheek, his thumb rubbing your bottom lip.

“Do you think you can go further, or would you like a bath, Doll?” He asks gently. Your adoring eyes stared up into him, pondering on it before slowly nodding your head. He sighs softly, his hand coming up to grip your jaw and tilt your head at a better angle to look at you better. “I need to hear you say it, Y/N.”

“Please, use me as you see fit…” You ask just as told. His eyes only softened just a bit, wordlessly getting off and reaching over for his draws. You see him pull out a bottle that had the label as “lube”, your face scrunching up in mild confusion at it. You watched him get comfortable between your legs again, his hands coming up to get your tank top off leaving you embarrassingly exposed in front of him. You bit your lip as you watched him prepare, not having enough brain capacity to really ask him what is in the bottle when he finally whips out his dick. The question of wanting a condom is almost going over your head since you were so caught up on his erect dick. You had never seen one before, much less even thought about seeing it in a person or on technology.

It is sure as hell was intimidating. Dabi couldn’t have had a normal pecker, no. His cock looked almost 7.5 inches long and not too shy on the thicc side either. His impressive length curved upwards just a bit and his tip had precum at the tip of its head. Your eyes widened in surprise at the piercings on his length, the proud studs that lined up perfectly on the underside of his cock. You watched as he took a generous amount of the translucent liquid into his fist to get himself lubricated fully. You gulped as you witnessed him lube his cock up, his actions alone stoking you up for the next event's activities.

“What? You surprised doll~?” He teases once he’s done, using the remaining lube on his hand to lube up your already slick labia. You purse your lips to keep yourself from moaning out from the feeling, trailing your gaze up to his dark and lustful one.

“Y-Yeah… is it going to fit?” You ask worried, jumping once he carefully presses it against your opening. He pauses and grabs your thighs from the back of your knees and holds you open.

“I mean, it’s not supposed to hurt.” He says ‘reassuringly’, speaking to you as if the underside of his pierced cock wasn’t giving the lips of your cunt a wonderful massage. “If it ever hurts, let me know, okay?” He asks softly, nodding his head in affirmation before he pulls his hips back a bit to allow him some space to have his tip press at your opening once again. He aligns himself before carefully aligning himself. He slowly thrusts himself in, testing the waters and watching your face to see whether to continue or not. When he sees your confirmation he continues, his cock almost halfway in when he managed to grab a whimper from you. The sound was almost too magical for him, the sweet reward of obtaining his sweet, innocent, and beautiful girlfriend’s virginity. The sound makes him pause before he checks on you again and finishes the process with bottoming out. He buries his face into your neck to softly kiss at your skin once he’s fully in, prompting you to wrap your arms around his shoulders.

He lightly kissed at the old marks on your neck, moving to new spaces to bite and create new marks by sucking on them. Being the gentleman he is, he kept a regular pace for you until you gave him the go. As much as he wanted to demolish your cunt, he sure as hell didn’t want to tear it on his first time with you. So he did as said, starting from his comfortable pace before picking it up. Dabi had his hips angled so he could rub against your clit each time he rutted in you, the vibration of his growl against your neck made you shiver along with the feeling of his dick piercings massaging the insides of your cunt walls.

“Daabi ahh~” You cry out for him, your nails digging into the skin of his exposed back. The pain elicits a groan from him, his hips smacking into yours in response. His hold on your thighs was tight and strong, holding you up high and ready to be rawed by him this early in the morning. He smirks against your skin once he hears your loud and annoyed whimper at the feeling of his mark, his tongue unapologetic ally licking the spot to make it better.

At this point, Dabi was successfully bottoming out inside of you and it made you feel wonderful. You had no idea how to shut up from the sensations you were receiving and it did nothing but fuel Dabi’s ego. Your heels dug into the dip of his back, legs keeping him in close as he rides out his pleasure in you. Your cunt was impossibly tight around him and it was so very hard to keep himself from going all the way to his usual pace -- also keeping in mind the studs could just easily hurt you as well.

You didn’t take the time to warn him you were going to cum. The given factor of your sweet words slurring as you tried to catch yourself, head tilting against the pillows and body tensing up in hot pleasure. He watched as you finished on his cock, your erotic face spurring on his as well. Dabi was more skilled in pushing it back to draw yours out. His teeth bit at his bottom lip as he held back from cumming in you and pulling out last minute. His hand easily glided his cock as he eased himself to cum on your untouched and pure skin. A deep groan came from his chest, one short of a deep groan that sounded like a growl.

His white substance coated your skin and gave you a nice look, the sperm landing on your stomach and lips. Dabi smiled sweetly as you tried to catch your breath, your skin glistened with sweat and inappropriately displayed just for him. “I’ll run you a nice bath, you’ve earned it.” He leaned down to give your lips a loving peck as he carefully picked you up in his arms, allowing you to wrap your arms around his shoulders and face nuzzle his neck. He makes his way to the shared bathroom that is connected to your room, his smile quickly changing into one of a mischievous grin.

He couldn’t wait to do more with you in the future~

[sup-hoes-its-me]

Adore You (Yamato x Reader)

A/N: hi guys. Yamato is your secret admirer and you are desperate to find out who's been leaving all these gifts at your doorstep. Civilian reader. Will be two parts, and since i just found out i have the coronavirus and cant leave the house, i’ll be putting out the second part very soon.

Ps i headcanon that yamato would be very shy and awkward with his crush. i also think that when he is nervous he definitely has really sweaty hands. idk thats just the vibe i get from him lol. please enjoy.

Word count: 4500

Y/N walked down the street after a long day of working in the bakery, kneading dough and icing cakes and sweets. It was a great job, and she really enjoyed the company of the two elderly owners. In her arms was another small picnic basket filled with sourdoughs and garlic loaves and cinnamon raisin buns. Those leftovers served as her breakfast, lunch, and dinner most days and it saved a lot of money on groceries.

Sometimes, she gifted the bread to friends and family though, like tonight.

As she walked the bustling streets, people walking home from work for the night, she noticed a couple of familiar faces sitting in the windows of a nearby restaurant. Feeling a little social, she walked into the restaurant and turned the corner, walking through the tables and past other booths full of people talking and drinking. It was busy tonight in Konoha, everyone getting ready for the weekend.

She came to a stop beside their table, and shifted so her basket rested in the slight curve of her hip. With her free hand she waved to the men, a small smile gracing her lips.

“Kakashi, Yamato,” she chirped, “I saw you guys in the window on my way home from work and thought I’d stop in to say hello.”

“Y/N. What a pleasant surprise.” Kakashi hummed, peering over his glass of golden liquid at his friend, who he could tell was struggling to figure out what to say or do. Yamato wasn’t normally nervous; he was very cool headed. How else would he become such an important Anbu member? But around Y/N, this woman with flour dusted in her hair and the smell of cinnamon and chocolate on her clothes, he crumbled. Just that smell alone could make Yamato lose his composure. And Kakashi knew that very well. “As a matter of fact, we were just talking about you.”

Yamato coughed on his drink, covering his mouth with his arm to keep from spitting up on the table. Even if they were just talking about her, it was completely uncalled for for Kakashi to stab him in the back like that. He turned to face the young woman who looked down at him with curiosity in her eyes.

“Really? What about?” she questioned, raising a brow.

He averted his eyes to the table again where his hand rested clutching at the glass. “We were just discussing the bakery,” he explained sheepishly, a hand going to rub the back of his neck. He felt the stress coming on, and sweat was beginning to gather on his palms. He felt ill, and more importantly, upset with the friend sitting directly across from him, smirking under that damn mask.

What an evil bastard.

“Mind if I join you guys? I could definitely use a drink.” She motioned to the seat next to Yamato, and he scooted closer to the wall to make room for her. She made sure her basket was sealed and secure before reaching over the table to Kakashi. “Can you sit this next to you? I don’t wanna take up the whole table.”

“No problem.”

She slid into the seat beside Yamato, and he realized just how small their table really was. The chair was clearly made for one person, or maybe two small people. They were just inches away. He could literally feel the heat of her thigh beside his. He was losing his mind, he was sure of it. There was absolutely no reason to act or think this way just because of a woman, a little baker from the village. No reason. It was inappropriate.

He took a deep breath and sipped on his drink. Everything was cool. Y/N L/N was cool.

“What kind of goods are you bringing home tonight?” Yamato asked calmly.

“Uh, lets see. A sourdough loaf and a garlic rosemary loaf. Also, I have about eight cinnamon buns in there,” she listed off the top of her head, “Why? You wanna take some home with you, because that’s fine. I’m not gonna eat all of it.”

“No, not this time.”

“You, Kakashi?”

“Yeah, I’ll take whatever.” It was a free meal for the next day? How could he say no to that?

The waitress came around, and Y/N ordered a tall glass of some sweet drink, something she knew wouldn’t taste like shit but would get her all warm and cozy quick, fruit juice covering up the taste of poison. “So, what were you guys talking about before I came around? I didn’t mean to interrupt you.”

“It’s good you came around, actually. We could use a woman’s opinion here.” Yamato glared at Kakashi, pleading with everything he had for the copy nin to just leave it alone. Kakashi was set in his goals though, and pushed forward with what he was saying. “It’s about Tenzo.”

An even brighter smile grew on her lips, one full of mischief and curiosity. “Oohoho? I see. What’s got you men stuck?” She loved to gossip, it was just something so interesting in her mundane life. Surely, it wasn’t as interesting to shinobi who almost die all the time and always have something to do, but for a village girl who goes home every night to read and eat bread, and then go to work where she just makes and sells said bread, a bit of juicy personal information really intrigued her.

“It’s honestly not a big deal-”

“Our boy here, he’s got a crush.”

Her eyes widened and suddenly, she felt the urge to down even more of her drink. He was interested in someone? She never expected that. He was always so quiet and calm, and kept to himself. He didn’t seem like the type to ever care about someone in that way. She sighed, taking a long sip on her drink, which tasted like peaches and oranges. At least it was sweet enough to help her curb the impending sadness.

Maybe she was stupid for it, but she cared for Yamato. He was such a sweet and kind man, so earnest and gentle. He was everything good about her mornings, when he would walk in and ask for the same hot cross bun to start his day. He would smile and compliment the cake decorating she was working on, and tell her about his missions and what he had to do for the day.

Perhaps Y/N had the tiniest of crushes on Yamato. It was something she would never reveal to anyone else, but it was true. She couldn’t deny herself that fact.

Kakashi stared at the woman, gauging her reaction to the statement. From the way she immediately went to sip away half of the drink in her glass, and the way her shoulders curled in on themselves, he could guess how she was feeling. He wasn’t usually a fan of meddling in other people’s business, but he was beginning to feel tired of Yamato complaining day in and day out about how he could never get the girl or express his feelings. He was afraid of rejection, as sad as that might be.

He was just there to give them a push in the right direction.

“I see.”

“What do you think he should do? What do the civilian girls like?”

This crush was just another civilian. It would be one thing if he fell in love with a kunoichi, someone she would never be able to compete with, but the thought of him choosing another normal woman over her, the envy practically oozed from her pores. What did this other girl have that Y/N didn’t?

Y/N ordered another drink when the waitress walked by. And then another after she drank the second one. Might as well get more down and drown out these jealous thoughts.

Meanwhile, she listed off things that random women normally like when men do for them, things she didn't really care about like chocolates and asking them out to dinner and giving them stuffed animals. Boring things. Things they all already knew. Kakashi agreed that the advice was kinda bland, and he could have come up with that easily.

Yamato eyed her down nervously as she practically chugged the rest of her drink. The woman wasn’t a big drinker, just a couple innocent cocktails here or there, never with the intention of getting drunk.

“You okay, Y/N?”

“Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” she told him smoothly. “Anyway, I’m not done telling you all about us village girls.”

The third drink came by and she sighed, taking another long sip. At least it tasted good, that made it easy to drink and drink and drink.

“Maybe you should slow down.”

“Maybe you should worry about yourself. I’m grown. I can handle myself, Yamato.” He felt a pang in his chest at her sharp words, ones that he’d never really heard directed toward him. She scolded Kakashi on the daily for being a pervert, but only kind words met Yamato’s ears previously. “Anyway, about this girl. Have you tried getting her anything as a gift? The things I listed before? Love notes? That sorta thing?”

He shook his head. “Well, no. I haven’t tried anything yet.”

“That’s the thing about you, Tenzo. You’re so modest. If you want the girl, you need to go in and get her. You need to show her what she means to you, since you can’t bring yourself to just outright tell her.”

“The whole bold displays of affection aren’t my thing.”

She hummed, her head lolling from side to side as she twirled the straw of her drink in between her fingers. “Maybe you should try some roundabout approach since you’re so scared of rejection. Send her anonymous letters and gifts, give her little clues that it’s you and see how she reacts.”

“Like a secret admirer?"

“Exactly! That’s sooo romantic. I wish some guy would do that shit for me.”

Kakashi raised a brow. “Oh, really?”

“Of course. I’m almost 27 and I’ve never had a long lasting relationship. I just want some guy to really, I don’t know, just love me. Love who I am, not hook up with me for my body or-or only pretend to like me for coupons on bread,” she complained, quite loudly as well. “Fuck those guys and their bread discounts...”

“Y/N-”

“I’d suggest you do something like that for your crush. Make her feel like you really care about her mind and soul.” Y/N clutched her hand over her heart and squeezed the front of her dress. “So many men nowadays act like horny teenagers, and us ladies are sick of it.”

She really did not need to go into such detail, and Yamato could tell she was drinking too much. Y/N would never say these things aloud if she were completely in her right mind. He felt rude just sitting there letting her rant on and on, exposing her own feelings to the table. But at the same time, he was grateful to know what she wanted in a lover. She never really let on what her romantic life was like, other than single for the most part.

That is what he and Kakashi were discussing before she came around. He was desperate to sweep her off her feet and woo her, to make revealing his feelings easier. Kakashi told him to just go to the bakery and tell her right then and there, but that was just too bold. He wasn’t going to go in without a plan, it was irrational.

“Yamato, I’m telling you, if this woman rejects you, she’s fucking stupid. You’re a catch. You and Kashi over there, both of you could get any woman you want, and that’s a fact.” the woman waved her hand to emphasize her point, only to knock the rest of her fourth drink over into her lap, sticky syrup soaking into her apron and through to her skirt. “Oh man.”

“I think it’s time for you to head home, little miss Y/N,” Kakashi chimed in, “This is exactly why we don’t bring you to bars, you know.”

“Shush. I am fine.”

Yamato sighed, motioning with his hands for her to move to the edge of the seat. He rolled his eyes at her words, knowing she was talking out the ass. “Yeah, yeah. Just get up, Y/N. I’m taking you home.”

Both men were surprised when she lifted her hand and pushed him away from her. Her glare was intense, anger behind those eyes. “No! Not you. I want Kakashi to walk me home.” The man was taken aback by the harshness in her tone. She was normally calm tempered, but her head was spinning and she was obviously growing moody.

“That’s fine by me. Yamato, you’ll pick up the bill for us and uh, clean this mess, right?” Kakashi smirked as he slid out from the booth and picked up her bag of baked goods. She followed suit, climbing out of her seat and grabbing onto the shinobi’s arm tightly. He really couldn’t care any less about her nonsense. It had been so long since they became friends, he’d seen her in every mood imaginable, and much drunker than this. He’s walked her home more than a few times in their past years.

“Curse you, cheap-ass.”

“Gotta go.”

With that, the white haired man walked out the restaurant with a woman in tow. They lived in the same direction, so he started down the street as she stumbled after him, tripping occasionally on pebbles. He felt bad for his friend, really. But the answer was clear as day now. Y/N cared for Yamato a lot more than she let on. It was just up to one of them to make a move. He couldn't do everything for them.

She tripped along beside him, letting her head fall against his shoulder a few times. Her eyes slid up to the man’s masked face, and he felt her hands begin to quiver a bit around his arm, just a tiny bit, but it was still there. Those little, very-telling, tremors.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?” he asked gently, knowing she would immediately spill whatever was stuck on her mind.

“Kashi, why does Tenzo want some other village girl?” she questioned, her cheeks puffing out and her eyes getting watery with tears. “Why doesn’t he want me? I want him so badly, it hurts right here.” she placed her free hand over her stomach and gagged. “I might throw up, it hurts so much.”

“Trust me, it’s gonna be okay,” he hushed, a tiny smile on his lips. He didn’t want to reveal too much to her, but it was just so amusing pulling the strings like this. Two of his friends, one a subordinate and the other a sneaky baker, falling for each other right in front of him. With all the work piling up, this was definitely a refreshing take.

“Also, you shouldn't throw up. It'll burn your throat, you know.”

She nodded, and just clutched onto her stomach as they made their way down the narrow alleyways toward her small apartment. He unlocked the door for her when she struggled to fit the key into the tiny hole that blurred together with everything else. He was a good friend, she thought, and made a mental note to thank him next time she saw him. Well, she tried to make a mental note, but when her body hit the mattress in the corner of her small studio, she found herself drifting away.

__________

God, her head hurt so badly she thought her skull was cracking open right then and there, as she lifted her head from her pillow. Light shined in through the window only to make things worse than before. She looked around the room and noticed that her coat was hung up properly on the hook and her shoes were sitting by the door. Her basket rested atop her counter.

Most importantly, on her nightstand sat a glass of water and a couple pills, ready for her to take the moment she woke up. Kakashi or Yamato must have walked her home and put her to bed. They were very nice men, she enjoyed having them as friends, she just worried she had made a drunken fool of herself last night in front of them. She rarely drank heavily, for that reason. She couldn’t even remember what happened, just that she met them at the restaurant and then the rest fell empty in her mind, little images blending together until she couldn’t decipher a thing that happened. She was more than ashamed.

How could she lose control of herself so casually, she wondered. She never even wanted to drink, much less enough to give her this searing headache. Something must have happened last night that influenced her decisions. Maybe she had a drinking contest with Kakashi like that one time before. If so, that was completely uncalled for on the man’s part. He knew her tolerance.

Nevertheless, she needed to get ready for work. A hangover wasn’t enough to heed the workings of the bakery.

She took the pills, and threw off her covers, walking over to her counter to take out one of the cinnamon rolls, taking a big bite to curb her hunger pains. After taking a moment to compose herself, she got ready for work. If she was late, she knew the owners would be forgiving, but she still felt bad regardless. She was going to walk in looking like a complete disaster.

As she headed out her door that morning, she stumbled on something sitting right at the foot of her doorstep on the welcome mat. Resting there, in a tiny little ceramic pot, stood a bonsai tree, trimmed and cared for perfectly. Her eyes scanned the area for who could have set it there, but met only empty space.

Hesitantly, she picked it up and brought it into her home. There was no note attached, nothing to signal who’d given it to her. Just a little tree that she would put on her window sill. It was strange, she had to admit that, to receive an anonymous gift at such an hour. She’d have to ask her friends about it later on to see if one of them had given it to her, for reasons she didn’t know.

But as the days went by, and those days turned into weeks, she continued to receive gifts every few days. More tiny trees in pots, sometimes flowers in little glass vases. None of them at first had anything attached until the most recent piece which when she picked it up to take into her home, a folded piece of paper sat beneath the vase. She made sure to pick it and put it in her apron to read on her break when she went to work. She didn’t have the time when she woke up only about 20 minutes before she was due at her job.

She was more than grateful for the little garden she was accumulating on her window sill, the beautiful flowers and trees somehow surviving despite her little knowledge of taking care of them. She stopped by a flower store in town to get some fertilizer just to keep them alive. It would be a shame if they died since someone was being so kind as to give them to her.

With her boring life, the flowers brought a smile to her face and a warmth in her heart that she hadn’t felt before. Regardless of who was leaving the items there, she felt like she was important to someone. Some person was taking time out of their day to show they cared about her.

Truthfully, she’d be lying if she said she hadn’t wished it was Yamato leaving her gifts. She’d been attracted to the man for quite some time, ever since they met really. He was just so strong and brave, and awkward in a cute kind of way. He was truly the only man of her affections, and she could only dream she was the object of his as well.

It was more than unlikely though. He was a strong ninja of the leaf. The chances of someone that amazing wanting to be with someone as simple as the town baker were lower than she wanted to admit. He most likely had his eyes set on some gorgeous kunoichi like Shizune or Kurenai. Someone he could relate to, really.

It was embarrassing to even admit she had a crush on him. It made her feel so tiny and weak, knowing that she wasn’t his ideal.

So she pushed that thought from her mind. Yamato would never be interested in her, and he most certainly not the one leaving her little notes and plants.

What she did know was that this person was a shinobi. Maybe not Yamato, but they were definitely a shinobi. She set up a trap, at least one she thought a normal person would fall for. Right before her door, she set up a tiny trip wire made of floss at the perfect level for someone to pull loose when they walked up to leave a gift on her welcome mat. Her room was at the very end of the hallway, so there was no way anyone else except her secret admirer was the one to set off the trap. Any normal person without the high perception of a shinobi would set off the trap and she would be able to narrow down the results to a civilian.

Only, the morning after she set up the trip wire, when she opened her door, there sat another bouquet of flowers, as well as an untripped strip of floss.

This person had to be a shinobi. She concluded. It was the only explanation in her mind, desperate to find out who the mystery person was all this time.

As she walked the streets that afternoon after the store had closed, her eyes honed in on Yamato, who stood next to a vegetable stand picking up some groceries. Immediately, she turned on her heel and cornered him between the squash and the sweet potatoes.

“Yamato, I need to talk to you. It’s urgent. Do you mind?” she practically demanded, and his eyes widened. He did not expect such an abrupt conversation between them. He shifted awkwardly to rest his grocery bag in the crook of his elbow and lean on his left side, arms crossed over his chest.

He knew what she wanted to talk about. It was about those gifts that he had been giving her. It was just a matter of whether she had figured out it was him or not, that was the question. He was kinda hoping she didn’t know yet. He was not ready to face what came after the reveal, rejection or otherwise. He really hadn’t thought it that far out yet. How could he. Just thinking up love notes and what plants to give her next was more than enough to worry about.

But damn, when he looked down at her, hair dusted with flour from a days work, a smudge of cake batter still on her forearm, apron a complete mess, he wanted to cave and tell her everything. She was just so beautiful, so clumsily perfect he couldn’t help but lose his train of thought. He swore he’d never seen a woman more perfect than her, not even Naruto’s sexy jutsu could come close to this girl.

He found his ears heating up and no doubt turning red at the thoughts running through his mind, and he was quick to smother them down. He was not irrationally emotional. Hell, he was ANBU, he should be able to control his emotions down to a tee.

“Yes, Y/N?”

“I have a secret admirer, and I know they are a shinobi.”

He felt himself growing nervous. How had she deduced that? “Ah, that’s definitely exciting for you. How do you know it’s a shinobi?”

“I know because I set up a tripwire last night and the person didn’t set it off, so I know they are coordinated enough to avoid it. This isn’t just some random village boy. This is someone skilled.”

“Y/N, he could have very well just avoided the trap with his natural gait, don’t you think?” he tried to reason with her, try to get her off his trail. Admittedly, he thought she was quite clever for setting up the trap. When he walked over it the night before, he swore it was just a spider web. He didn’t even consider the possibility of a trap in his way.

If only he could throw her off his scent. He needed more time. He couldn’t confess to her now. It was too abrupt, too sudden. He would probably die.

“No, I’m convinced it’s a shinobi.”

Shit. “Well, what are you going to do now?”

She thought for a short moment on what she was going to say, tapping her foot on the ground beside her. Her eyes widened and she smiled at the thought that ran through her mind. Of course, it was so obvious. “The gifts come sporadically, so I know that the shinobi can’t leave gifts when they are on missions. Next time there is a long break in gifts, I will just ask around to figure out who has been on a mission for a while. Bam, I’ve got my answer. It’s foolproof.”

She really had thought this through more than him. She was too good, and he felt himself panicking. He had a weeklong mission in 3 days, and if she asked anyone, they would tell her it was him. He felt moisture gather up at his brow, and he internally cursed his situation. He had to find some way out of this mess without her figuring out it was him.

“Yeah, that could definitely work. I hope it all works out for you, Y/N,” he lied through his teeth.

“I know. I’m just smart like that, aren’t I?”

“You sure are,” he muttered, but honestly, he just wanted to go off and find Kakashi. He needed to talk to him. His eyes slid away from Y/N and he sighed. “I’ve got to go, but I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course. Don’t forget to stop by before your next mission to get some of our special food pills, okay? I just made a new batch and you can try them free of charge. Anything for a fella as handsome as yourself.” She laughed, shifting her weight to press a hand to her hip.

Jeez. There was no good reason for her looking so adorable. Calling him handsome as well? It was all too much for his heart to handle. Needless to say, he felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t walk away right then. With that, he simply nodded before patting her shoulder. “Like I said, gotta go.”

“Oh, okay. See you around.”

“See you.”

He walked away quickly, heading in the direction of Kakashi’s apartment, knowing he just had to do something about the mess he was currently in, and ways to avoid the inevitable. His heart was racing so fast he thought he might be having a heart attack. How could he be swayed so easily by a pretty face. He had no idea, but he really wanted it to stop. For the sake of his sanity, he needed to learn to be calm around her.

He would tell her soon, get all this off his chest and share his true feelings. He just needed a bit more time.

[coconutstars]

Right people at the wrong time p.IV

Part I | Part II | Part III 

Pairing: Stiles + reader   Prompt: Perhaps, we were the right people at the wrong time Summary: Reader and Stiles finally get to talk things out and figure out if they are, finally, the right people at the right time (of course they are, I’m not cruel) A/N: HELLO, HOLA, BONJOUR. This is it. This is the thrilling conclusion. It’s long, it’s cute and every chic-lit lovers dream. Fair warning, it’s not proofed at all so be ready for some mess- ups here and there. I did my best. Hope y’all aren’t too disappointed! Thank you for all the kind comments on the other parts, they’ve warmed my heart so much. Anywho, enjoy my lovely friends.  ♡

[ :: ]

“So… are we just not going to talk about you and Stiles?” Kira was laying on your bed, flat on her stomach, supporting herself on her elbows. Her eyes were practically twinkling with curiosity. It was the end of your first week and the two of you were cooped up in your room, eating chips straight out of the bag with a sappy soundtrack playing in the background. With a sigh, you lifted your gaze from the toenail you were painting. You could tell the curiosity as to why Stiles and you had been avoiding each other like the plague was eating Kira alive.

“It’s…” you began, searching for the right words to describe the situation. You really wanted to tell Kira about Stiles but where would you even begin? It wasn’t as simple as just ‘we had a fight two years ago’. There was so much more to it. Explaining it all would take time, and a lot of energy. It would mean having to tap into old feelings, insecurities and heartaches and you just weren’t sure you could deal with that right now. “Complicated?” Kira asked, interrupting your train of thought. Your lips curved into a soft smile. “Something like that”   Kira let out a breath and rolled over on her back. “Yeah, I’d know a thing or two about that” “Oh?” you questioned, pulling your knees up to your chest. “It’s Scott” she exhaled loudly. “I don’t really know where we stand” You nodded thoughtfully. You’d sensed that there was something between Kira and Scott. They’d get… mushy when they were around each other. Kira would get all flushed and Scott’s gaze would always linger just a little too long in her direction. “I mean not that we’re…we’re not dating or anything, or I mean, I don’t know if we are… it’s all confusing and when we’re talking” Kira stammered. “Hey” you interrupted calmly “Don’t worry, I get it” Kira let out a breath of relief and rolled over on her stomach again. Her eyes met yours and she curved her lips into at silent conclusion. “Complicated” You nodded in conformation, your smile mimicking hers. “Complicated” [ :: ]

“Uh… Apparently there’s a party going on” Kira exclaimed in the middle of the romcom you were watching. She angled her phone towards you so you could read the words on the illuminated screen.

From: Scott Received 9.42 pm. Hey I know it’s late but there’s a party at Danny’s. You coming?

You lifted you gaze to meet Kira’s. “You wanna…go?” she questioned slowly, biting down on her lip. You knew she wanted to; her body language practically scream it. You suspected it had something to do with the opportunity to be close to Scott. “Uh...” you made an indifferent gesture with your hand. “yeah sure” you said with a pressed smile. Truth was you’d rather stay home. You wouldn’t really know anyone at the party except for Kira and you really didn’t want to be third wheeling it with her and Scott, especially if they were trying to figure out their “are we or aren’t we” situation. So while they did that, you’d probably end up squeezed in on a couch between some passed out kid and a couple making out. Great. Kira must have sensed your unwillingness because she suddenly got up on her knees. “I mean-“ her voice was anxious “we don’t have to! Seriously! I love what we’re doing…” she stressed. You felt bad. If Kira had the chance to… evolve or clarify her feelings for Scott, you didn’t want to be the one to stand in her way. “Kira” you began with a calm smile. “It’s fine, I want to go” Her entire face lit up in a smile. “Really!? Cool” she jumped off the bed and started pacing like she didn’t know where to start or what to do. “Wait” she suddenly said, her smile fading. “I don’t really…”. She looked down at her leggings and zipped hoodie. “Don’t worry” you grinned “I got you”

[ :: ]

Stiles POV

It was crazy how often he thought of her. He wanted to reach out but didn’t know how. It wasn’t as simple as just walking up to her and going ‘hey sorry for being a dick two years ago’. He needed to show her he meant it but how was he supposed to do that when he could barely even look at her without the guilt taking over. Hell, just being near her fucked him up. His hands would get sweaty, his pulse would rise, and his ability to get out a coherent sentence would momentarily non-exist.

Once again, Stiles eyes searched the crowded room hoping to catch even a glimpse of Y/N, but she was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was a bunch of kids playing beer bong over a trashed kitchen table, a guy from the team puking in a corner while his friend filmed it with their phones and a girl from English making out with a guy who wasn’t her boyfriend.

“She left ten minutes ago” a familiar voice declared. Scott appeared beside him, red solo cup in hand. Stiles considered playing dumb but knew there was no point. Scott was his best friend and brother; he didn’t have to be inside his head to know what he was thinking. Besides, he’d been picking up on his emotions all week. “I’m not sure she wants to talk to me” Stiles answered truthfully “Wouldn’t be so sure of it, man” Stiles let out a deep sigh. “I wouldn’t even know what to say” Scott curved his lips into a crooked grin.

“Then figure it out”

[ .. ]

Y/N POV You’d convinced Kira to stay at the party. Not that it took a lot of effort. Scott and her had been talking non-stop ever since the two of you walked through the door. You on the other hand had been hit on by some drunk guy in a Hawaii shirt, offered molly from a girl who looked like she went to Sunday school and had your favorite top ruined by a freshman with shaky hands. He’d apologized and offered to have it dry-cleaned but everyone knew beer stains were textile hell, even for professionals.

Slipping into a pair of printed sweat shorts and a hoodie, you tied your hair into a messy bun and made your way to the kitchen. You hadn’t eaten anything besides the bag of chips you’d shared with Kira. You’d planned on ordering pizza but got to busy getting ready for the party.

Raiding through the fridge you realized pretty quickly your parents hadn’t stocked the fridge before leaving for their “healing retreat” this weekend. It was some stupid trip their therapist had advised them to take every month to “heal the hole” in their marriage.

Closing the fridge, you grabbed a box of cereal with way too much sugar and made your way over to the couch. Taking a few seconds to flip through the different titles on Netflix, you ultimately settled on some new original series and watched passively while digging your hand into the box.

Getting back up, you were just about to grab something to drink when there was a knock on the door.

Shit.

Shit

Shit.

What the hell was Stiles doing here?

Full of panic, you stood in the hallway like a moron, chewing the mouth full of sugary flakes you’d stuffed your face with only seconds earlier. Why. WHY did he have to show up the one night you’d chosen to wear the shorts with fricken mermaids and seashells on them!? For a moment you considered pretending not to be home but realized pretty quickly that you couldn’t. The lights were on and your car was in the driveway. Besides, a part of you was kind of curious as to why he was at you house 11 p.m. on a Friday night when there was a party going on. 

Running your hand over your mouth, you sure to get rid of any crumbs or powdered sugar before opening the door.

“Y/N!” Stiles exclaimed, almost surprised. He’d been running a hand anxiously through his hair but moved it towards you when you appeared in the doorway. “You’re…You’re here” You furrowed your brow; you were determined to act cool even though there was a storm of emotions raging inside you. “Yeah… I kind of live here” you said, going to fold your arms over your chest only to realize you were still holding the cereal box in your hand. Sigh. For once. Could someone give you a goddamn break

Stiles shifted his gaze and started flexing and unflexing his hands. “yeah, no, course” he cleared his throat. There was a moment of silence between you.

“so, you’re uh… probably wondering why I am here” Stiles said with a nervous chuckle. You nodded slightly; lips pressed together. You still couldn’t hold his gaze for more than a few seconds.

Stiles cleared his throat again. Seems his plan of action only stretched as far as showing up at your house. “Yeah, so I came to say that…are you… eating that out of the box?” Stiles asked, nodding towards the cereal. “Yeah, so?” you asked defensively. “It’s dry” “I happen to not like milk” Stiles furrowed his brow. “What? You used to love milk? You literally drank like half a gallon when Melissa baked those fudge cookies for Scotts twelfth birthday” You remembered that party. You and Stiles were the only ones that came.

“Please, it was hardly half a gallon and I only drank it” you began, suddenly lowering your tone to a whisper “because those cookies were dry” You were acting as if Melissa was around the corner at risk of hearing you bash her baking skills.

“They were well-baked” Stiles whispered back. “More like burnt. They were literally black Stiles” For a moment it was like the two of you were kids again, sitting in Stiles room, discussing which superhero was the strongest. Stiles eyes searched yours and for the first time since seeing each other again, none of you looked away. “I’m sorry” Stiles mumbled softly. It was strange, and insanely cliché, but something inside you seemed to happen when he uttered those words. You wouldn’t call it heal but it was definitely along those lines.

“For what?”

The muscles in Stile’s jaw flexed. “everything” You looked down for a moment. Stile’s voice was low, and you could tell by his tone that he was being genuine. “I didn’t mean it” he continued. “I was mad, and…” he threw up a hand before letting it fall again “I snapped. I shouldn’t have but I did. But none of it meant anything”. “It’s fine, I get it. I shouldn’t have said those things about Lydia..especially since the two of actually....” For a moment it looked like Stiles had absolutely no idea what you were talking about. “Oh” he said as the realization hit. “Oh no, no me and Lydia aren’t... we’re friends. No, you were right about us” He paused for a moment. “My feelings, what I felt for Lydia...It wasn’t-” he searched for the right words. “Real. I made this, I had this idea of who she, of who I...” he shook his head. “anyway it doesn’t matter. What does though is that I never should have said the things I did. I ruined everything and...” He looked at you with such an intensity you wanted to look away but forced yourself not to. 

“I’m sorry” You leaned your body against the doorframe. You hadn’t realized how much you’d craved an apology until you got one. Suddenly it was like your hurt and anger didn’t matter as much as it used to. Perhaps it was the raging crush or mere wishful thinking, but you believed him. Believed him when he said he hadn’t mean it. A part of you must have always known, or at least hoped, that your friendship had been to real to not have meant something to him.

Your tone was low and soft. “It’s okay”

Stiles shook his head. “No, it’s not. But I’m going to make it up to you. I’ll do...”

You had a feeling the sentence was going to end with something along the lines of ‘I’ll do anything to fix our friendship’ or something equally as cheesy and you had to stop him. Not because it would be awkward as hell but because he needed to know you still had a crush on him and that being friends probably wasn’t the right way to go. You wish you could handle a friendship, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t be around with him without being with him. Your heart ached for him and knowing he didn’t want you in the same way you wanted him made it impossible to be near him. 

“Stiles…” you began, creasing your forehead. “I don’t think we can be friends” Your words clearly took him by surprise. “What? Why? Is it because?... I mean is it because of what I said? I swear, I really didn’t…” “It’s because I’m still love with you” you blurted. There was a moment of instant regret and you could feel every fiber of your body wanting to slam the door in his face, dive into bed and hide under the covers for the next few years.

Stiles stood there looking at you for what felt like hours. You sucked in a breath, feeling the panic in your chest “So… yeah that’s why and…”. Warm hands found their way to your cheeks and before you had a chance to finish your sentence, Stiles had pulled you in and pressed his lips to yours. It took a few seconds but when you were finally able to wrap your head around what was happening, a rush of ecstasy ran through you and you eagerly kissed him back. 

“Stiles” you whispered after a while. You didn’t want to end the kiss but knew you had to. Stiles, however seemed to have other plans and started trailing his lips down your jaw down to your neck. 

“Stiles, I’m literally standing on my front porch, dressed in mermaid shorts, holding a box of Frosties”

With a laugh Stiles pulled back. “Yeah, I meant to comment on those mermaids” he said. Rolling your eyes, you turned around to walk back into the house.   Stiles arms instantly found their way to your waist and he pressed you to him as he walked behind you. “What? I was going to say there are very fashional” “It’s fashionable, and I know” you said, not being able to hold back your smile. It was insane.

Seems like the two of you were finally the right people at the right time. 

Taglist: @loulouloueh

[jjaybank]

Makeover || JJ Maybank Request

[gif credit to @rudypankows]

Request: Anon- ‘Can i perhaps get a JJ Maybank x reader, she’s been part of the pogues since forever and shes kinda boyish, like the way she dresses and acts so other boys have never hit on her or looked twice and its bothered her since cause she wants to be girly but doesnt know where to start. So Kie & Sarah gives her a make over for a Kegger and it leaves the pogues & even the kooks speechless because wow she’s beautiful and JJ doesn’t know how to be himself around her anymore? 😭❤️❤️’ Okay so I’ve changed this a tiny bit I hope that’s okay?? Just because, I don’t think JJ needs someone to dress a certain way in order to fancy them. I hope thats okay!!! xx Warnings: Under-age drinking, tiny bit of jealous JJ Word Count: 1.5K A/N:  It was so nice to write non-angsty JJ for a bit - it’s good for the soul.

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

JJ had always known that you were beautiful.  You always had your hair pulled up in a bun and out of your eyes, and your clothes were more practical than fashionable.  But despite the number of times he’d seen you drenched in sweat from the sun, or emerging, winded from the sea, after being wiped out by a wave, he just knew that there was something about you.  It annoyed him slightly, that other boys barely seemed to show you any attention, and then when they did you were completely oblivious. He’d often catch himself gazing for too long at your sun kissed skin, sparkling with seawater. Or watching the way you scrunched up your nose when you were concentrating. So when he sees you, face made-up and in a bardot sundress, he chokes on his beer.

You were sat in John B’s spare room, face to face with two very insistent girls.  You had protested Kiara and Sarah’s suggestion of a makeover at first.  It didn’t feel very you, but they were stubborn, you’d give them that.  You finally cracked when Sarah stuck out her bottom lip and started packing all her outfits back into her bag at a snail’s pace, shooting you over-the-top sad glances the entire time.

‘Okay, okay – fine.’ You sigh, kind of playing up to how much of an inconvenience they were being.  There was definitely a part of you that was excited by the prospects of embracing your feminine side.   Sarah looked like she’d won the lottery, and tipped her bag up on its end, spilling a variety of thin, slippery, short items of clothing onto the floor.  

The brushes and powders made you sneeze, and Kie accidentally poked the mascara wand into your eye.  You try on every combination of the outfits at least four times, growing more and more reluctant. Until Kie finally helped you settle on a simple yet elegant dress.  You couldn’t remember the last time you wore a dress.  Perhaps your Christening?  Sarah struggled for a while to tame your sea salty hair, and then finally they turn you to look in the mirror.  You audibly gasp.  Every element of yourself is still there; the slightly wild hair, the bruised knees, and wide toothy grin – but it’s all slightly more refined and you look, dare you say it, pretty.   You sat with a drink in hand, waiting for the other two to finish getting ready.  It wasn’t too much longer before all three of you made your way outside to where the boys had been waiting on the hammocks. John B stared a bit as you crossed the yard to them and you suddenly felt absolutely ridiculous.  Sarah and Kie noticed you slowing down, and each grab you by and arm and practically frogmarch you over to your friends. ‘Don’t be nervous,’ Sarah reassured you, ‘you look amazing!’ You give her a weak smile, but it didn’t reach your eyes.   ‘Y-you look – you guys look great!’ Pope stuttered as you reach them.   John B tipped his beer towards you all and asked if you could leave for the party now. JJ turned around in his hammock and was about to complain about how long you had all taken, and that was when he choked. The others all pealed with laughter as beer dripped down his front, and he laughed too but not before giving them a reproachful glare.   You felt a bit self-conscious.  What if he thought you looked ludicrous?  Wasn’t the dress a bit short?  You shifted a bit, trying to pull it down as much as possible.  Kie noticed and slapped your wrist sternly.   ‘Stop it, you look awesome.’ She hissed. But JJ couldn’t stop looking at you, and while he always knew you were beautiful, it stunned him to see you embrace it for yourself. ~ You didn’t see the looks you got that night. You were having far too much fun with your friends to take note of the boys who checked you out as you danced past them.  But as you twirled with Kie in the moonlight, beer in hand, JJ did notice.  And additionally, he noticed how annoyed it was making him to see Kooks and Pogues alike obviously ogling at you.  It was as if he hadn’t admired the way the light shone on your bare shoulders, or how your loose hair rippled as you moved.  He was sat on an empty keg, observing the scene before him, occasionally frowning at people who asked him for a drink from the barrel in front of him. He grew increasingly frustrated when an arrogant looking Kook walked up to you and attempted to catch your attention.   He watched, seething, while the guy with his slicked back hair tried to convince you to leave your friend and dance with him instead. You looked confused and shook your head firmly.  It pleased him to see you turn him down.  He didn’t stop watching you, as you and Kie walked over to where he sat.   ‘More beer, Y/N? Wow you really are on a roll tonight’ he flashed you a tight-lipped smile, reaching out to collect your cup.  You obliged, and hugged yourself against the slight chill of the night. ‘Did you see that guy hitting on Y/N’ Kie chirped ‘Yup.’ Said JJ curtly, feigning concentration on the keg.  He couldn’t look you in the eye for fear that he wouldn’t be able to tear his gaze away. You eyed him suspiciously but tried not to think too much of it.  He’d been looking at you strangely all night, and you wished you knew what you’d done to irk him so.

~

The night was almost over before you saw JJ again.  You were speaking to some Pogue guy you had seen around a lot before.  You were sure he had introduced himself, but his name had slipped you mind almost the moment it had left his lips.  He kept touching your arm and trying to move in closer.  He seemed sweet, but he really wasn’t your type.

Speaking of types, you were somewhat relieved to see JJ bobbing towards you through the throng of youths.  

‘Elliot!’ He cried, clapping the boy on the back, oh yeah – that was it. Elliot. ‘There’s a friend of yours looking for you down by the water.  Didn’t catch the name.  Vague looking guy.’ JJ had a huge fake smile slapped on his face as he ushered the boy away from you.  

‘But-. ‘Elliot looked at you, puzzled.

‘Bye, Elliot’ you waved.  JJ saluted at him, as Elliot threw up his arms in defeat.

‘Thank you.’ You laughed, ‘I really don’t know what that was all about.’  You gestured towards the retreating figure of the boy who had been bothering you.

‘I think I might.’ says JJ, gently moving you through the crowd of people and away from the centre of the party.  His fingers were wrapped lightly around your wrist as he guided you.  You were being bumped by elbows and sloshed with beers, and JJ tried to shield you with his arm.

‘What?’ you asked innocently, looking up at him as he finally gets you both out of the writhing mass of teenagers.

He looked down at you in disbelief.

‘You really can’t see it can you?’ he asked.

You were suddenly aware of how close he was. And unlike with the other boy, you felt at home at this proximity with JJ.  He hand was still on your wrist and you felt a strange buzzing sensation from where his fingers made contact with your skin.   He laughed incredulously at how oblivious you were to all of the attention you had been getting.

‘All the people here tonight,’ he gestured to the crowd as he spoke, ‘they’re all just realising how beautiful you are.’

You blushed fiercely, staring sceptically at the mixture of drunken souls moving with the music on the beach.

‘I mean it, Y/N.’ he said, and then he seemed to suddenly realise what he had said, and his face glowed with a rosy hue.

You smiled widely despite yourself.

‘You said I’m beautiful’ you teased, poking at his side.  He rolled his eyes and laughed,

‘Yeah don’t get too used to it.’  He winked at you, pulling you slightly closer.

‘Were you jealous of them?’ You asked suddenly.

‘Of who?’

‘All the other guys.’

He swallowed thickly.  

You looked up at him, swaying slightly from the alcohol you had been drinking like water all night.  

And maybe it was the haze from the beer, or the heated atmosphere of the kegger, but before you knew it you were closing the distance between the two of you.

You stood on your tiptoes to press you lips against his.  And at first it was soft.  His lips tasted of smoke and alcohol.  You weren’t sure if he had momentarily frozen in shock, but suddenly his hand twisted in your hair and his arm wrapped around your waist and pulled you flush against him. You clung onto his shirt.  The kiss was all-consuming.  You could barely hear the sound of the party anymore – it was just you and JJ, surrounded by the thrill of each other.  He tugged slightly on your hair, eliciting an involuntary moan from you.  You felt him smile against you, and you were intoxicated in the delight that was kissing JJ.

He pulled away for a moment, but only to murmur,

‘For the record, I’ve always known that you’re beautiful.’

You grinned.

‘Knew it,’ you said triumphantly, looping your arms around his neck, ‘you were jealous.’ -------------------------- Ah I’m so tired so i hope you liked it!  Please let me know ☺️

My requests are open xx

[roman-writing]

no great revelation (2/8)

Fandom(s): The Haunting of Bly Manor / Star Wars

Pairing: Dani Clayton/Jamie Tyalor

Rating: T

Wordcount: 7,223

Summary:  Jamie just wants to enjoy a drink after a hard day's work on the  Telosian Restoration Project. The last thing she needs is to get herself  caught up in a mysterious woman with a lightsabre at the local bar.

Aurthor’s notes: Please don’t expect anything from this story. I’m just doodling in between writing ch11 and ch12 of ‘bring home a haunting.’

read it below or read it here on AO3

II.

—

Jamie laughed. 

It wasn’t the best reaction, but it was an honest reaction. Sometimes in life you just had to laugh. With deep incredulity. 

“I have a hard time believing you -” she gestured towards Dani, blonde-haired, pastel-silked, wide-eyed damsel in distress Dani, “- killed a Jedi.”

“I told you,” Dani insisted with a scowl which spoke volumes regarding how she felt about Jamie’s reaction. “It was an accident.”

“Even as an accident. No,” Jamie corrected, sitting up straighter on the couch. “Especially as an accident. Do you know how hard it is to kill a Jedi?”

“Well, I -”

“Don’t answer that. Because you’re wrong. Because you don’t know.” 

Jamie pushed herself to her feet and crossed over to her bedroom. She shook her head and muttered to herself as she pulled out two pairs of pajamas from the drawers built into the wall. “Killed a Jedi. And I bet Telos has a moon now, too. Fuck’s sake.”

She began to strip down to change. Never mind that there was no wall to protect whatever virtue she had left. That had all gone out the window long ago. The Temple wasn’t exactly a place that left one with their dignity intact. Not when she’d spent her years crammed, tip to tail, in every other padawan’s space. One quickly learned to grow accustomed to the notion that ‘personal space’ was non-existent. 

“Can’t you go into the bathroom to do that?” she heard Dani ask from the couch, sounding exasperated.

“Too late,” said Jamie, tugging the baggy shirt over her head and adjusting the soft elastic band of the pants around her waist. “Already done.” 

She tossed the small mining laser onto a table without any care if it actually landed there or not. She smacked another panel on the wall, and her dirty boilersuit got shoved down the laundry shaft that flipped open. She closed it with her knee, then scooped up the other pair of pajamas on her way back to the couch. 

“Here.” Jamie tossed the pajamas onto Dani’s lap. “We’re roughly the same height. Should fit you fine.” 

Dani started slightly when the folded up fabric hit her legs. She stared down at the pajamas — the shirt dark-washed and splashed with a loopy neon print for Figrin D’an and the Modal Nodes — and her fingers slowly curled around the cloth, gripping it tight. She was so quiet that Jamie frowned.

“Hey. You all right?” 

“I know,” Dani whispered, almost too soft to hear. 

“What?” 

“I know how - how hard it is to kill a Jedi.”

Jamie opened her mouth to reply, but the words died in her throat. Dani’s hands and shoulders were shaking. 

“He just - He grabbed me in the transport, and then I - I don’t know what happened but he was suddenly on the other side of the cabin and -” Dani continued, her voice ragged and raw. “He drew his lightsabre and started yelling, and he kept looking at me like he was terrified and I didn’t - I was so tired and my head hurt - my head hurt so much. I couldn’t - I didn’t mean to - to -”

A broken note escaped Dani then, and Jamie just stood there, feeling like an asshole while a pretty woman started crying on her couch. And not the nice cute kind of crying, either. Soon Dani was pressing her face into the pajamas and trying to muffle great hitching sobs into the fabric, her whole body trembling. 

“Okay,” said Jamie and she hesitantly reached out to pat the top of Dani’s head in what she hoped was a reassuring manner. One of Dani’s hands clutched at the hem of Jamie’s shirt like it was a lifeline, and she pressed her head into Jamie’s stomach so that Jamie could only stand there awkwardly while a stranger cried her eyes out and made a mess of it, too. 

"I'm so tired,” Dani mumbled again, when the sobs had faded away into sniffles. “I’m so tired."

At some point Jamie had placed a hand on Dani’s shoulder, and her other hand had begun to absently stroke through her golden hair. "Okay. All right. Let's get you to bed.” 

It took a bit of gentle convincing to get Dani to her feet. Jamie prodded her towards the bathroom to change and wash up. By the time Dani emerged, Jamie had already dug around in the closet for a spare blanket, which she was now tossing over her legs while she made herself comfortable on the couch. 

Dani’s eyes were still red-rimmed, but the blotchiness had gone from her cheeks. She filled out Jamie’s pajamas better than Jamie ever did, and she blinked at Jamie from the doorway of the bathroom. 

“You don’t have to -” she started to say. 

“Just take the bed,” Jamie sighed. She lifted her hand and waved it for the motion sensor, and the holo feed turned off. “Be warned. I wake up early for work.” 

Dani nodded and made her way uneasily towards the thin mattress, pulling back the sheets. “Do you -? I mean - Am I supposed to stay here while you -?” 

Jamie spoke through a yawn and burrowed down into the lumpy couch cushions. “Dunno. We’ll figure it out in the morning.” 

Another wave and the lights went out, plunging the room into darkness. With no light pollution bleeding through the barred windows, the little apartment was a mass of shadow and shapes looming in a jungle through the night. Jamie could have manoeuvred through it all with her eyes closed — and had many times before — but she heard Dani shuffling around before the mattress finally creaked. 

Jamie shut her eyes. She tried to tell herself that it was a night like any other night. She tried to pretend that it was a day off tomorrow, and she had indulged in too much drink downstairs at Ho’kyn’s, that she had only managed to stumble to the couch, half dressed, before falling asleep to the dull sound of the holo feed. Except the presence of another person in the room was too unfamiliar to ignore. Dani tossed and turned. Every time Jamie thought she had managed to slip away into sleep, another shuffle of the blankets would jolt her awake once more. And worse, Dani started crying again at some point. Quietly. But not as quietly as she probably thought.

Jamie groaned. She scrunched up her face and pressed a spare pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the noise. 

It was going to be a long night. 

—

There was a dip in the cushions, as if someone had just pressed their weight against the couch. It was the first thing she noticed apart from the cold. Shivering, Jamie blinked awake blearily, her back sore, her hair a mess, her brow furrowed in confusion. Even through the blanket and the warm spring night, she could feel an icy edge cut near to the bone. It took her a moment to register where exactly she was. That she had fallen asleep on the couch. And that there was someone kneeling over her, holding a lightsabre to her throat. 

That certainly got her attention. She was definitely awake now. 

A kickstart of adrenaline sent her heart hammering into overdrive. Every breath plumed from Jamie’s mouth and nose in little bursts of white steam that clung to the cold. Jamie had to quell the urge to flinch, to move in any kind of way that might end with her neck a gaping cauterised wound. The lightsabre hummed gently. She could feel the heat of it against her skin, and she winced when she swallowed reflexively. 

The blade was the only source of light in the apartment. It drenched the air with a deep crimson haze. Dani was crouched atop her, hands holding the lightsabre steady. Her face was illuminated in a wash of red light, and her eyes — both her eyes — gleamed an eerie unblinking gold through the night. 

And with a smile that never touched her eyes, Dani slashed the blade down in a single fluid motion.

Jamie jerked awake with a gasp. She flailed against the blanket that had tangled around her legs in the night, and in an attempt to clutch at her throat, she nearly toppled right off the couch and onto the floor. Managing to catch herself before she collapsed in a graceless snarl of limbs and blanket, Jamie scrambled to her feet, fists up, ready to punch the absolute living shite out of some air molecules. When it was clear there was no present danger, she kicked the blanket away and reached up to feel at her neck.

Her unblemished, completely lightsabre-free neck.

Still breathing heavily, Jamie looked around. Sure enough, Dani was sound asleep in her bed, curled up beneath the sheets in a tiny ball, her mop of blonde hair barely visible.

Jamie closed her eyes and tilted her head back to breathe towards the ceiling in relief. Just a dream, she told herself. Just a really vivid fucked up dream. Running a hand through her dark unruly curls, she trudged off towards the bathroom. She didn’t bother being overly quiet while she took a shower and pulled on a fresh set of clothes for the day — a supposedly sweat-resistant pair of leggings and undershirt to go under a Corps issued boilersuit — and yet when she emerged from the bathroom Dani had not stirred in the slightest. 

Jamie twisted her damp hair into a messy half bun at the back of her head; it wasn’t long enough for anything else. Then she zipped up the boilersuit to midway up her chest. Grabbing her work boots, Jamie sat on the other edge of the bed and stomped her feet into them one at a time. 

“Hey,” she said, not unkindly but not softly either.

Behind her Dani stirred somewhat, the sheets shifting as she rolled over with a wordless grumble. 

Jamie bent over to tie up the laces of her boots. “I’m going to work. There’s food in the fridge. Don’t leave the apartment unless you want to be spotted.” 

No response. 

Sitting up straight, Jamie leaned over and gently poked Dani’s shoulder. “I need an affirmative. Or I’m going to keep annoying you.”

That earned her a sullen noise. “Yeah. Okay,” Dani mumbled as she pulled the sheets completely over her head and burrowed further into the pillows. 

With a shake of her head, Jamie rose to her feet. She had the front door open before she patted at her leg. She turned back around to grab the mining laser from where it had rolled onto the floor at some point during the night, and strapped it to her thigh before strolling out into the grey pre-dawn of Telos IV. 

By all accounts, it was a day like any other day. Anybody watching her would have noticed nothing different about Jamie’s routine. She caught the railspeeder a few blocks down and rode it from Thani all the way to the forests just past the grasslands in quadrant two. Chodo Habat Parkway was empty at this time of morning, but in just a few hours it would be a bustle of activity. The railspeeder flew over the Parkway and Jamie watched it from the window with barely registered interest. The only other person on the train that she could see was a Rodian dead asleep on the other side of the cabin, his antennae drooping. 

By the time Jamie made it to the edge of quadrant two, the sun had risen over the horizon and washed the planet in muted green and gold light. Far below the railspeeder, the grasslands rippled in a breeze. She eyed it with a touch more interest than for the Parkway. The previous generation of AgriCorps members had managed to get the grasslands to take, but only two species. It had taken Jamie and her team four years to introduce a handful of other grass species robust enough to cling to life in this dirt. She sat up a little straighter in her seat and tracked the varieties she could spot from this distance.

Turned out that even after three hundred years, an orbital barrage rendering an entire planet ground zero could still have an adverse effect on soil leaching. 

God damn fucking Saul Karath and the damn Sith. 

It was another half hour until she reached the drop off point. When the railspeeder slowed to a halt, Jamie dragged herself upright and hopped off. A few people passed by to get onto the railspeeder for the next stop, but the outdoor station on the forest outskirts of quadrant two was largely full of people coming to work, not leaving. She paid a few credits for a dietary supplement being sold by a dented droid vendor behind a small stall with a leaning canopy. 

“You should eat actual meals sometimes, Jamie,” the droid admonished even as it deposited the tablet-sized supplement into her outstretched palm. 

“I’ve tasted your swill before, C-87,” said Jamie. “I’ll take my chances with the supplement, thanks.”

C-87 gave an affronted sniff, but handed her a compostable cup that was filled with steaming stimcaf. “On the house.”  

She took the cup and washed down the supplement with a heady swig. “You’re a legend, mate.”

“I am not at all well known outside of Thani,” C-87 said in obvious confusion. 

She shook her head with a smile. “It’s just an expression.”

“Oh. Right. I will add it to my database with the others.” 

Jamie continued down a ramp to the broad dirt path that served as a crossroads for the area. A turbo-tractor dragged piles of gear down the track, leaving a cloud of dust in its wake. A ruddy-skinned Ithorian was directing teams in shifts for the day, handing out new jobs and gathering feedback on the screen between his hands. Jamie walked towards him just as a small group departed with waves, their expressions tired but not unfriendly. 

“Morning, Murr,” Jamie greeted.

Murr’s only reply was a deep reverberation of hello. It sounded more like the shifting of tectonic plates than actual language.  

“I saw some patchy sections over the grassland outskirts of quadrant one,” Jamie said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the railspeeder behind her. “Can we get the scrubs to take a look this afternoon?” 

Murr was already tapping away at his screen. The translator device at the top of Murr’s long neck blinked, and through his rumbling subvocalisations a robotic voice said, “I will send a team to check the clay capping has not been permeated.”

“And make sure they don’t forget to test the aquifer this time,” Jamie insisted.

Murr’s throat sack expanded and he made a low booming sound that she had come to learn was a sort of derisive snort for his species. The robotic voice said, “You have little faith. You should consider revisiting your Temple.”

“Sounds almost as boring as one of your jungle Herd meets.”

He waved her away, but she saw him make an extra note on his screen nevertheless. 

“Cheers.” She gave him a brisk pat on the shoulder before striding off towards the treeline. 

From one of the pockets of her boilersuit, Jamie fished out a key. She hopped onto a rusting old swoop bike and turned it on with a twist of the key. As she sped off into the forest, she chucked the now empty cup of stimcaf over her shoulder, where it would dissolve into the nitrogen rich soil with the next scheduled rainfall. 

Work was dull, repetitive, yet fulfilling. Technically Jamie supervised a team of new AgriCorps entries, most of them young idealists who’d chosen this Service out of a sense of obligation to the Restoration, as though it were some kind of symbol against the tide of red creeping across the galactic map with every passing day. They hadn’t been parcelled out to the other branches like loose change that never quite added up to a whole number. They found her dry pessimism inharmonious with their convictions, and so they only ever came to her for direction as a last resort. 

And honestly it was the best for everyone involved. As far as Jamie was concerned, she was the last person who should be teaching anyone. Especially starry-eyed kids who looked like they’d only just graduated from being younglings at the Temple. 

Even out in the far-reaching forests of Telos, Jamie felt like she was being watched, like someone would know exactly who she was hiding in her apartment. She kept a sharp eye on the treeline as she worked. At one point she nearly gave herself a second degree burn with the mining laser when a new entry snuck up on her with a question. Jamie sent them scurrying off with a gruff answer — ‘No, don’t plant them beneath the allelopaths, you prat’ — and returned to her careful pruning with a scowl. 

By the end of the day, she was exhausted and paranoid and she still had a two and a half hour rail ride back home. To really spice things up, a huddle of officers shuffled into her rail car at one of the station stops. They went around questioning passengers about whether or not anyone had seen a woman of familiar description — blonde, pretty, mismatched eyes. When they reached Jamie, she shook her head. They glanced at the AgriCorps logo on her boilersuit, thanked her for her service and dedication, and went on their merry way. 

She was bouncing her leg up and down when the railspeeder finally pulled into her station. She tried not to look like she was fleeing, but the officers had congregated at the far end of the rail car to chat amongst themselves, and the last thing she needed was to be pulled over for a candid discussion about the latest Restoration Project updates. 

Telosians. Nosy fuckers. The lot of them.

The sun slanted towards the horizon as she walked home, her steps brisk, her shoulders hunched, her hands jammed into her pockets. Her boots rattled against the metal staircase leading up to her apartment. She held her breath while she punched in the passcode to open the door, half expecting the place to be empty, or to be a complete wreck. Dani gone. Dani taken. Dani just another strange memory to add to a list of strange memories. 

Dani was, in fact, still there. Indeed, Dani was wearing a spare set of Jamie’s clothes and an apron, and she was puttering around the kitchenette. Her hair had been tied back in a braid and she was unpacking a few bags of groceries. Jamie recognised the logo stamped on the recyclable bags as belonging to a little market stall a few blocks down. 

Jamie shut the front door behind her and locked it. “I thought I told you not to go outside. How did you even get back in without me?”

“I saw you enter the passcode last night,” Dani answered without looking up from what she was doing. She opened a cupboard and pulled out a pan that Jamie couldn’t even remember buying. It must have come with the apartment. “And you didn’t have any food.”

“There’s food in the fridge,” Jamie said.

In answer Dani opened said fridge, which was nearly barren. She gestured towards its bare shelves and said, “I’d hardly call dietary supplements and alcohol ‘food.’”

“Do you want to get caught? Because this is how you get caught.” 

“Just -” Dani shut the fridge again and turned back to her previous task with a sigh. “Let me cook dinner. And then you can teach me some lightsabre forms afterwards.” 

Jamie was in the process of tugging off her work boots, and she nearly fell over hearing that. “I’m sorry - I can do what?” 

Turning on the electric stovetop, Dani pulled out some pre-packaged protein and sauce. “If I’m going to have it, then I at least want to know how to use it.”

“First of all,” Jamie finished taking off her shoes and left them by the door. Then she crossed the room so she could lean against the counter to talk to Dani. “Nobody just starts off with a lightsabre, all right? That’s not how it works. You need to do all sorts of inner peace bantha-shit before they even let you harvest kyber to make your own lightsabre. There’s a whole right of passage.” She gestured to herself emphatically, tapping her own chest. “I never got to make a lightsabre.”

There was a very attractive, very distracting curve to Dani’s smile when she replied, “Failed the inner peace part, huh?” 

“Very funny,” said Jamie, not laughing. Dani moved to start cooking in earnest, but Jamie reached out to grasp her wrist. “Hey. Is this really what you want?” 

Dani went still. There was no leap of electricity between them, not like that first night down at Ho’kyn’s. Still both of them hesitated, waiting for it to happen again. 

When it didn’t, Dani’s jaw squared bullishly. “I want to be able to defend myself. Against -” she waved at Jamie with her free hand. “- you know.”

“Force sensitives.”

“Yeah.”

Jamie tapped her finger in a thoughtful manner; it took her a moment to realise that this meant she was tapping at Dani’s wrist while Dani watched her in confusion. Snatching her hand away, Jamie said, “Fine. C’mon.” 

Pausing to rummage through one of the grocery bags for a bread bun, Jamie walked to the middle of the room and motioned for Dani to join her. 

Dani blinked. “Wait - right now?” 

“Are you gonna wait until I change my mind after dinner?” 

Immediately, Dani switched the stove off and removed the apron. Come to think of it, Jamie couldn’t remember buying an apron either. Before she could dwell on that thought too hard, Dani had rushed over to the bedside table to scoop up the lightsabre, and was now standing before Jamie in the middle of her living room/kitchen/spare bedroom. She bounced eagerly on the balls of her feet, lightsabre hilt held unsheathed in one hand, awaiting instruction. 

Fuck, but Jamie was bad at the whole teacher thing. Six months in the EduCorps had been enough to remind her — and everyone in her close vicinity — that she was Not Great at patience and bookishness. In fact, moving from the EduCorps had been her first Reassignment, and the Council had never put her back there. A decision which was met with universal relief. Especially from Jamie. 

“Ground rules,” Jamie started.

Dani nodded to show she was listening.

“If I tell you to sheathe the blade, you sheathe it. If either you or I feel uncomfortable or in danger or — whatever — you sheathe it. If you hit something you shouldn’t, you sheathe it. If you drop it -” Jamie paused, then grimaced. “Don’t. Just don’t do that.” 

Dani nodded again. “Okay.” 

“Be careful,” Jamie warned. “Usually they start you off with a practice sabre. That -” she pointed to the hilt in Dani’s grasp, “- is the real deal. One wrong move, and you will kill someone. Probably yourself. Or me. Honestly I would prefer if it wasn’t me.”

“Okay,” Dani repeated, sounding exasperated this time. 

Taking a step back so she was well clear of any sweep radius, Jamie bit into the bread bun and mumbled around a mouthful, “Go ahead.” 

“What? Just -?” Dani gave the unlit hilt a little wave. 

“Yeah,” said Jamie, chewing. “Go on.”

Dani’s thumb hovered over the silver activation button, and then she pressed down. The blade extended from the hilt, a deep and brilliant blue, blue as a Tythonian sky on a cold winter’s day, blue as an evening star. For a long moment Dani simply held it outright, the blue light washing out her face. Then she gave it an experimental slash through the air, the sound of the plasma blade like nothing else. 

“It’s -” Dani said in surprise, “- heavy.” 

Jamie hummed around another mouthful. She took the time to finish chewing before she answered, “You haven’t connected with it yet.”

Dani scrunched up her nose. “It’s just a fancy sword.”

“If that’s what you believe, then we should just go back to making dinner. Maybe you can use it to cook those steaks you bought.” 

Dani pursed her lips. She lowered the blade, holding it loosely at her side so that the tip was pointed towards the ground. “No. Teach me.” 

Studying the determination on Dani’s face, Jamie leaned back against the wall. She propped her foot back, crossed her arms, and said, “Lower your stance. We’re going to go through the forms, now.” 

If nothing else, Dani was a quick learner. At least, that must have been the reason why this was going so well. It certainly couldn’t have been because Jamie was a decent teacher, because everyone from the Outer Rim to Tython knew that wasn’t true. Yet Dani, after an hour spent barefoot and wearing pajamas in Jamie’s living room, already looked more at home with a lightsabre in her hands than Jamie ever had after years of training in the Temple. 

At one point, Jamie tore off a chunk of bread and threw it at the floor near Dani’s legs. Dani leapt back a step unsteadily and pressed the deactivation button so that the blade slid back up into the hilt. 

“What was that for?” Dani asked.

Jamie jerked her chin towards her. “Pay attention to your feet. Look how narrow they are. Your opponent can put you off balance, take ground from you, force you to retreat.”

“You can just tell me that. You don’t need to throw food at me.” Dani knelt down to pick up the piece of bread and toss it into the sink. 

Now that Jamie was actually looking at the floor more closely, she asked, “Did you vacuum today?”

“Yeah.”

“Since when did I own a vacuum?” 

“It was in the supply closet behind your pantry.”

“I have a pantry?” 

Dani walked over towards the kitchen side of the room and hit a panel on the wall that Jamie had never cared to fiddle with in the past. A whole section of the wall jutted out then slid sideways to reveal a whole host of kitchen items and cleaning supplies that Jamie had never even knew existed. 

“Well, shit,” Jamie muttered, scratching at the back of her head. “I have a pantry.”

Hitting the panel again to make the wall shut, Dani took her place back in the centre of the floor. “Can we keep going?” she asked, and she already pressed the activation button to unsheathe the lightsabre once more. 

Jamie lifted her eyebrows. By now she had crouched down against the wall, one leg outstretched as she idly fidgeted with the zipper of her boilersuit. “Start from the top. One. Two. Three -”

Eventually Jamie didn’t even have to mime the movements for Dani to follow along, and Dani — looking utterly pleased with herself, her smile radiant — finished a whole set without a single discernible flaw. 

"This isn't so hard," Dani said. She gave the lightsabre a bold flourish as she turned on the spot.

Which of course meant that the blade cut right through Jamie's couch.

Dani scrambled to hit the deactivation button, nearly dropping the lightsabre in the process, but the damage was already done. The couch was cut cleanly in half. Slowly it buckled as they watched, slumping to the floor in the centre where it was no longer self supported. The cut through it smoked gently and smelled of burning hair. 

Jamie glared.

Clutching the now unlit sabre hilt, Dani winced. "Sorry."

Jamie pushed herself upright, dusting off her hands. "I think that's enough lightsabre training for one evening,” she growled.

The worst part was how Dani kept apologising all through dinner. 

“I’m sorry,” Dani said, hovering at Jamie’s elbow while Jamie loaded dishes into the automatic wash machine. "I can buy you a new couch.” 

"Save your credits for the trip to Tython."

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t -” Jamie cut herself off. She shut the front-loading machine a little more firmly than was perhaps strictly necessary, then turned to face Dani, whose expression was positively doleful. “Don’t be sorry. Be better. Don’t get cocky just because you got through one set of the most basic lightsabre form there is.”

“Sor -” Dani started to say, then changed course. “I won’t.” 

The lightsabre itself was propped atop the counter on the far side of the room, where Dani had hastily put it down moments after the incident. 

Reaching for a dish towel, Jamie shook her head and started to wipe down the kitchen countertop. “You need proper training. Not whatever rubbish I can offer you.” 

“I don’t want to go to the Temple. I don’t want to learn about -” Dani’s mouth snapped shut and she frowned down at her own feet. 

“Being Force sensitive isn’t just something you can run away from, you know,” Jamie said. She ran water over the dish towel and rung it out before continuing where she’d left off. 

“I told you,” Dani grumbled. “I’m not Force sensitive.”

“Fuck’s sake. This again?” 

“You don’t need to teach me about the Force. You can just teach me the basics of a lightsabre.”

At that, Jamie laughed. She stopped mopping up the counter and turned to face Dani. “Fuckin’ hilarious that you think those two things are different somehow.” 

With a huff, Dani turned aside. She crossed her arms and glowered at the maimed couch. 

When it was clear she wasn’t going to speak, Jamie tossed down the towel. “Nothing you say will change the fact that you’re -”

“Stop,” Dani said through grit teeth. “Just - stop it.” 

Jamie didn’t stop it. Because if there was one thing Jamie knew about herself, it’s that she didn’t have a lick of good sense. “What do you think will happen if you try to run from it, anyway? Do you think nobody will notice? Forever? Because even I noticed, and I’m about as Force sensitive as a tree stump.”

While Jamie spoke, Dani’s jaw clenched. “You think I want some Council to dictate my whole life? You think I want -?” she asked with a broad sweep of her hand towards Jamie’s apartment without finishing her sentence. 

Jamie narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Nothing.”

“No, go on.” Jamie took a step forward, and it was gratifying that Dani didn’t back down, that she held her ground. “If the Jedi don’t find you, the Sith will. You think my life is bad? What are you gonna do? Run forever? Why are you -?”

“Because! Because this will get worse!” Dani burst out, and there was a ragged edge to her voice that gave Jamie pause. “Because if I use it — if I do that then I’ll -!”

She stopped abruptly, hand flying to her head with a wince of pain. Concerned, Jamie reached out, but the moment she touched her, it was like being struck by lightning. Like a chorus of song branching out in all directions. Dani staggered away from her with a gasp, breaking the connection, and her eyes were squeezed shut, arms raised as though to ward off an incoming blow. 

“I’m - I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to -! I didn’t -!” Dani was saying, apologising over and over, and all but cowering. 

Jamie stared at her, hand still outstretched. Slowly she rubbed her fingertips together, half expecting a flicker of sparks to leap between them. The thrill of it still echoed around her ribcage and the roof of her mouth. 

This time when Jamie reached out she was careful not to touch her. “Dani,” she said softly. “Nothing happened. It’s all right. Hey. You’re all right.”

Hesitant, Dani opened her eyes, peering around the room as if surprised that everything was still intact. She worried at her lower lip, her hands clenched at her sides. Finally she looked up at Jamie, and the fear was painted openly across her face, pleading and alone; it gleamed in her eyes.

"The Force isn't what you think," Jamie murmured. "You can't run from yourself."

Dani opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it again. She dropped her gaze and sniffed. For a brief terrifying moment Jamie thought she was going to cry again, but then Dani simply nodded. If anything her expression was a mixture between miserable and embarrassed. Jamie patted her upper arms, and for a brief second Dani tensed, only to relax when nothing happened. 

“Now,” said Jamie. “Let me finish washing up. I’m afraid that if you help, you’ll cut my kitchen in half, too.”

Dani let out a watery laugh. 

Jamie grinned in return. “I’m serious. My kitchen’s small enough as it is. Don’t need it drawn and quartered as well.”

Dani was biting back a smile when she looked up at her. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re kind of a jerk?”

Jamie pretended to look thoughtful and shook her head, but what she said was, “All the time.” 

That earned her another snort of laughter. Dani wiped at her cheeks with both hands. 

Picking up the dish towel once more, Jamie snapped it feebly in Dani’s direction. “Go on, now. Get.”

Dani lifted her hands in mock surrender and moved away, leaving Jamie to finish up in the kitchen alone. Jamie didn’t pay much attention to the sounds of rummaging in the apartment behind her. At one point the bathroom door shut, then she heard the hiss of water in the shower. She took the opportunity of Dani’s absence to strip down and get into pajamas without making her guest blush scarlet. As tempting a proposition as that was. 

When Dani finally emerged from the bathroom, hair damp, pinning a towel to her chest with her fingers, Jamie was bored and flipping through the holo feed from the bed because the couch was — well, the couch still smelled like burning hair for starters. Bit unpleasant, that. Jamie wouldn’t be rid of the stench for weeks.

Getting to her feet, Jamie squeezed past Dani for her turn in the bathroom with a murmured, “‘Scuse me,” while Dani shied away from her, still looking guilty, like she was expecting Jamie to throw her out at any moment. Which, honestly, was a bit rude, to be honest. Jamie was an excellent host. Minus the whole ‘no food’ thing. 

When Jamie emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later, scrubbed and tired and ready to sleep, she stopped dead in her tracks. On the ground beside the bed, Dani was fluffing up some of the couch pillows in a makeshift mattress. She had changed into the same spare set of Jamie’s pajamas, and was now settling herself atop the cushions. 

"What are you doing?"

"Well, I thought -" Dani started to say, but she trailed off, her hands curling in the blanket she had drawn up her legs. 

"Just -" Jamie sighed and went over to her usual side of the bed, where she pulled back the sheets. "Get in."

While Dani sat on the floor trying to make up her mind, Jamie waved off the holo feed and the lights. With a groan, Jamie clambered into bed, listening to the pop of her joints. She wasn’t exactly ancient, but maybe she was getting a little old to be scaling canopies hundreds of feet in the air for hours at a time. She might start training some of the new recruits in mass pruning tomorrow. Provided they didn’t display an alarming propensity for loss of limb when wielding a thermal saw. 

Beside her, Jamie felt the mattress dip beneath a new weight. Dani slipped beneath the sheets and curled as close to the edge as she possibly could, far away from Jamie. Honestly that suited Jamie just fine. She wasn’t too keen on a cuddle, either. Grabbing a spare pillow, Jamie hooked it beneath her arm and rolled over. She wriggled deeper into the mattress and settled in for a kip. 

Until the bed trembled slightly, that was.

Without opening her eyes, Jamie frowned. There was shuffling behind her, sounding like Dani was trying to wind herself into as tight a ball as possible. She was, Jamie realised, shivering. Jamie sighed. She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. A quick trek across the apartment, and she returned with a spare blanket, which she threw over Dani without saying anything. Dani’s form went very still, and Jamie crawled back into her own side of the bed, punching her pillow into shape before resting her head upon it. 

After a long moment of silence she could hear Dani’s soft voice through the night. “Thank you.” 

—

She didn’t have the same dream again. Though she didn’t sleep well either. She wasn’t used to having another person in her bed. Especially when said person kept fidgeting and sighing and rolling over, unable to fall asleep. 

And when Jamie did eventually sleep, the dreams were fragmented and red. They were shards of glass and metal in a clenched fist. 

—

When Jamie stepped off the railspeeder the next morning, bright and early, she approached C-87 for her usual dietary supplement and stimcaf combo. The droid perked right up when it saw her coming.

“Jamie -”

“Mornin’,” Jamie said around a long yawn. “Don’t suppose you could make it a double shot today?”

“Jamie,” the droid said again in as serious a tone as it could muster.

“Yeah, that’s my name. What about it?”

In answer, C-87 swivelled its head around. With a frown she followed its gaze, and then she felt the blood drain from her face. 

There at the end of the ramp stood Pillock One and Pillock Two. She didn’t need to see the Czerka logos on their kit to recognise them. Their backs were towards her and they were talking to Murr. Ithorians didn’t typically have what she would call expressive faces, but Murr’s large brown eyes were wide and he had retracted his neck like a turtle trying to hide in its shell. 

“Shit,” Jamie swore and she ducked down behind C-87’s stall. Without question the droid reached up to adjust the canopy so that it hid her better. “Did they talk to you?”

“Negative,” C-87 replied. “They were questioning a few other AgriCorps members, and then they started speaking with Murr. I took the liberty of moving your swoop bike so that it was more easily accessible, should you require it.”

Shuffling around on her hands and knees, Jamie dared to peek around the edge of the stall. Sure enough, her swoop bike was within easy reach. Murr spotted her, his throat sack swelling up in surprise as he drew in a deep breath. Pillock One started to turn, but Murr pointed towards the treeline, where her swoop bike would’ve been parked had C-87 not moved it.

Pillock Two made a rude gesture towards Murr before setting off in the direction he had indicated. Pillock One followed after him, unholstering the very large blaster rifle slung across his back. When they’d gotten far enough away, Murr gestured sharply at Jamie in what was very clearly a shooing motion. 

C-87’s head popped around the corner so abruptly that Jamie jumped with a curse. “I think you should take the next railspeeder back to Thani as soon as possible. Alternatively, you should drive your swoop bike,” the droid told her.

“Yeah, you think?”

“I have been thinking that for several minutes, in fact.” 

“It’s just an expression,” Jamie sighed. “We’ll work on your sarcasm module some more next time, all right?” 

“Very well, Jamie.”

She didn’t wait to see if Pillock One and Pillock Two were heading further into the forest. She jumped on the back of her swoop bike, started it up, and sped off towards the next railspeeder station. There was no way a short-distance bike like this could make it all the way back to Thani in good time. She had to wait at the next station along the grid, anxiously tugging at her boilersuit zipper, wishing she had a hood or something to hide herself even a little bit. The swoop bike she simply abandoned at the station, jumping onto the next rail service with the sort of pent up jitters that had her half vibrating out of her skin. 

It was perhaps the longest two hours or so of her life. In recent memory, anyway. She spent the whole time folded up in a back seat in the rail car, trying to make herself seem inconspicuous. When a random ticket officer droid trundled by, requesting to see her ticket credentials, she fumbled with the laminated pass so badly that she nearly dropped it. And when the railspeeder finally pulled into her station, she bolted out as quickly as she could without drawing too much attention.

Back at the apartment, Jamie burst through the front door. Dani, who had been flicking through the holo feed from the bed, started with a yelp. 

“You scared me,” Dani gasped, hand over her still heaving chest. 

“Change of plans,” Jamie said. She rushed across the apartment, grabbed a rucksack from beneath her bed and started to shove clothes into it at random. “We’re leaving.”

“What? Now?”

“Yes. Now.” 

For all the confusion on her face, Dani jumped to her feet and began gathering what little items she’d brought with her. “What happened?” 

“Czerka.”

Dani’s eyes widened and she dropped her nanosilk cloak to the ground. “They know where I am?” she asked, swooping down to snatch up the cloak.

“Yes,” said Jamie. Then, “No. Maybe. They know where I am now, anyway. Showed up at work, and — Look. We have history, all right?”

“What kind of history?”

Jamie darted into the bathroom to gather up a few necessary toiletries for the trip. Dani followed, watching her from the doorway. 

“Jamie,” said Dani, voice sounding both stern and worried all at once. “What kind of history?” 

“I know their leader. Peter fucking Quint. I may have -” Jamie opened the mirror cabinet and just pushed a few rows of stuff into the open bag in her hand. “- gotten his arm chopped off at one point.”

“You what?” 

“It was his own fucking fault!” Jamie hissed. “I just helped! A little! And he’s still, y’know -” She zipped up the bag and shrugged. “- sore about it. Some people just hold a grudge.” 

“Oh, sure. Can’t imagine why he’d do that,” Dani said, and Jamie didn’t have to look at her to hear the roll of her eyes. 

Jamie turned around and stomped past her from the bathroom. “At least he’s still alive. Which is a hell of a lot better than what you’ve accomplished.”

Dani glowered at her, still leaning in the doorway with her arms crossed. 

“Do you want to wait around until Czerka finds us?” Jamie asked, pointing towards the front door. “Because they’re on their way.”

With a huff, Dani relented. She grabbed up her small bag and clipped the lightsaber to the belt at her waist. “No. I don’t.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

[harmony88]

Absolutely love your writing, I've been binging both series for the last week and I am obsessed. I was wondering, if you want to do it in your universe or not I'd love it - but you would be able to write something where the Doctor and Rose end up cuddling after a really hard day? If there is snogging I won't be mad. LOL . Thanks for your stories! They're great!

Hi there! Oh you made my WHOLE day! I'm so glad you like them! And I'd be happy to write something up! I just jotted this down, hope you enjoy! :)

It didn't proof it and I didn't write it as if it was part the verse you've been reading persay, but I suppose it could take place prior to the start of those series if you want, or just be a different AU entirely. I'll let you decide! Thank you!♥️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They stumbled onto the TARDIS covered in mud and smelling a little bit like death. Normally, a hyperbolic thought of that nature would cause him to smile, then ramble, then run to the library and pull down all the texts he could find to prove his point disproving the hyperbole, but that wasn't going to happen today.

He was finding letting go of her hand rather difficult, if not impossible, and she stayed by his side as they approached the console table and returned to the Vortex, where time and space lingered in limbo, just as they liked it.

He glanced over at her, noticing the dirt that was caked onto her cheeks, and he resisted the urge to rub it off with his thumb. She didn't say anything, but she did lean against the controls and sigh, watching as he shifted his focus from her face to the bloody wires that always seemed to his constant companion when it came to deflecting, and she bit her lip.

"I'm going to go take a shower," she whispered. He nodded, still playing with the wires. A moment passed, and she inched her way a little closer to him. "Can I have my hand back?"

"Sure," he said, choosing not to banter. even though he desperately wanted to. "Sorry."

"No one got hurt," she told him.

He stiffened, but he smiled and shrugged the way the words settled in his stomach off, and gestured toward to hallway. "Off you go, Rose Tyler."

She hesitated, and she almost kissed his cheek, but the mud and sweat that was illuminated in the light of the console room convinced her not to, and instead she smiled at him, her tongue doing it's usual thing, and she wasn't entirely surprised when his eyes dropped to her lips for a moment before they returned to the wires. "I'll see you soon?"

"Not if I see you first," he replied, and they both felt the sheer awkwardness of this conversation reach a new point, making her dart down the hallway, desperate to wash away this entire day.

The moment she was gone he collapsed into the pilot's seat, and he buried his face in his hands.

He's had her back for two weeks, and he was trying so hard to make it feel like she never left. He was boisterous always, (except right now he supposed). He was constantly bringing up the past, making jokes and reminiscing, but on each adventure they had gone on so far, in the back of their heads it was there - the lingering dread, the utter fear that the universe wasn't going to let this last, and they were on edge. All the time.

They were falling through space and time. Clinging to the skin of this tiny little world, unable to fathom letting go. Not after everything. Not after losing each other once, and that intrinsic fear was more than he could handle at any given second.

But her smile made it worth it.

He'd burnt up a sun, and he would burn a thousand more if meant he got to keep her.

He was telling himself it would get better, but so far none of their trips in the last couple of weeks had been very quiet - from meeting a fiery red head in a wedding dress to today, where she was taken to a dungeon and nearly beheaded because they apparently didn't follow proper greeting customs in the 190th century (he had sworn handshakes were still culturally acceptable, but apparently he was wrong), and she spent three hours trying to escape while he spent three hours trying to break in, and well...

They did a lot of running, and a lot of fighting, and somehow they were covered in mud. And all he could think about the entire time was how bloody close he got to losing her again, and he wasn't okay.

He wasn't even a little bit okay.

But he stood and walked to his own ensuite, showering the evidence of his fear down the drain, and eventually he walked out into the library in a fresh suit, with a fresh fire and a fresh pot of tea, and he settled into his armchair with a book he didn't really pay attention to the title of, when he suddenly sensed her waiting in the archway.

He looked over his shoulder at her, his breath catching in his throat when he saw her golden locks tucked up in a rather damp messy bun. She wore a loose t-shirt, one that was a little tattered and clearly loved, but it was her rubber duck pajama pants that was making his hearts break, because he knew what they meant.

She wasn't okay either.

"Hello," he chimed, flashing her a smile.

"Hello," she whispered, and she began to rock on her feet a little awkwardly, playing the bottom of her shirt. "Can I come in?"

"You don't ever have to ask that," he told her, his voice more serious and more tender than he intended, and he swore she blushed. He clenched his jaw and turned his attention back to his book, but he set it down of the table next to his chair and watched her cross to the sofa, tucking her body into a fetal position on the cushions.

She suddenly looked so small it made him want to run to her, but he stayed where he was. Neither spoke for many minutes, but when he saw some tears fall onto her cheeks he was there, curling up behind her, and he pulled her onto his chest.

"It's okay," he whispered.

"It wasn't even that big of deal," she whimpered, her tears growing more uncontrolled. "I'm sorry. I'm going to go -"

She tried to pull away, but he caught her hand before she could and gave her a careful look, and she couldn't help but notice his freckles as they danced against the flames of the fire. For some reason it felt...powerful, or something, she didn't quite have the words, but it was impossible to look away from him and she began to trace her lips with her tongue, lost in thought.

"What?" he whispered. "What are you -"

"Nothing."

"Rose -"

"I'm okay," she insisted. "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm alright," he said, sniffing and leaning back against the sofa. "Think I'm just going to wipe handshakes from my memory, though."

She smiled, and he smiled back, eyes locked and hearts thudding madly in their chests. "What about hand holding?"

"What about it?" he asked.

"You still okay with it?" she said so quietly he barely heard her, and the smile he gave her sent her heart straight to her stomach and her head tripping over her heels.

"Well," he began, the word croaking in his throat, "I s'pose they are loads better than warp drives or wormhole refractors."

He was doing it again, calling back to the past in hopes it made her feel at home, and she bit her lip, slipping her hand in between his and settling back onto the cushion properly, but this time they stayed sitting up. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her as close as he allowed himself to let her be, and the impulse to kiss her hair was nearly all-consuming.

He didn't.

He just squeezed her hand.

"Thank you," she whispered. "For coming to get me."

Her words were soft, but they were loaded, and he knew she didn't mean today.

"You don't have to thank me for that," he replied. She smiled.

"I do."

"Please don't."

He looked down at her, tracing every curve of her face slowly, oh so slowly, so slowly it was rather unfair, because it was stirring a heat and a need and a desire in her that she knew she'd never be able to act on. And before she could stop herself, she brought her hand up to his cheek and gently rubbed the line of his jaw, her fingers ghosting over his skin, warm to the touch and soft as silk, and he shuddered.

She watched his Adam's apple bob once, then twice, and she knew it was just a matter of seconds before he pulled away and started telling her about their next big adventure.

Any second now.

Any second.

"Rose..." he whispered, his breath hitting her cheek.

Any second.

The room started to feel warm in a way a she knew had nothing to do with the fire. Her skin was prickly, wishing so much that it was closer to him, as close as she could be, tangled around him and lost in his arms. It was unbearable, the centimeters between their chests, and his gaze was intoxicating, burning into her, and she noticed his chest was starting to rise and fall in a way he hadn't been before.

His lips parted ever so slightly, and his eyes fell from her face back down to her lips, which she licked before she could stop herself. "Doctor -"

"Stop talking," he said breathlessly and urgently, and he next thing she knew he had his hands on her lower back, pulling her onto his lap, and he was kissing her. She moaned at the suddenness of it, and at the way they seemed to skip a few steps and go straight to grinding against each other with their clothes still on, and he deepened the kiss so his tongue found hers, then snaked his hands under her baggy t-shirt and stopped when he realized she wasn't a bra.

"It's okay," she nearly screamed, but he seemed to realize what was happening and just cleared his throat, and he slipped his hands away, leaving them at his side. "Doctor, please?"

"Not like this," he said, surprising himself. She was stunned and just stared at him, and he made a face of embarrassment. "I meant. Not that I've thought about it, or, just....Maybe not when we're both feeling. Well..."

She smiled, placing her lips back on his slowly, and he couldn't stop the moan from escaping his throat. "Stop talking."

He swallowed hard.

"I'm never going to leave you," she whispered, her hands finding their way into his hair. "Do you believe me?"

"I..." he stammered, closing his eyes. "Yes."

"Good," she hummed. "Then dance with me."

He opened his eyes, but to his surprise she was sliding her body off of his and walking over to the record player in the corner of the room, turning it on and letting a soft melody filter into the room. He stared at her, captivated entirely as she reached out her hand and wiggled her fingers. He took her hand, but rather than stand and sway with her amidst the sea of books and glow of the fireplace, he tugged her back down onto the couch, and he gently laid her down. He hovered above her, kissing her softly, and his hands stayed on her hips, rubbing small circles over her t-shirt. She wasn't going to push him, but she responded in kind, her arms wrapped around his neck, and he groaned her name, still not trying to escalate anything beyond the snog, and she was finding she was absolutely okay with that.

"I think we should move to the bedroom," he said in her ear, and she changed her mind instantly.

"Yeah," she said, but before they had a chance to move, the TARDIS jolted and knocked them off of the couch, their heads clanking and subsequently spinning. "OW."

"You okay?" he asked, and she nodded, standing up with him as they ran to console to see what the hell was wrong. He sighed.

"Fancy a trip aboard an intergalatic war machine?" he asked her with a gleam in his eye.

"Do we have a choice?" she teased. "I'LL GRAB THE PSYCHIC PAPER!"

She was running to her bedroom to change clothes, and he watched her go, sighing and rubbing a hand over his face.

Oh, he was in trouble.

[kimmietea]

Double Yikes! Part 1 (Ben Hardy x Reader)

Summary: Ben and Reader go on their date.

Warnings: Dirty thoughts, cursing...sickly sweet touching moments

Continuation of Yikes!

A/N: Wow ok hi everyone! Is this actually happening? Im actually posting this! So i decided to break up Double Yikes into 2 parts. First of all because it has been way too long and i feel awful for making you all wait and 2 because I’m struggling with the end and I'm hoping this will buy me some more time. I don’t bite so please tell me what you all think. Do you hate it? Love it? Want more? Tell me all of it. I love to hear from you. Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for when part 2 is finished. Ok I think that’s it...oh don’t forget Italics is reader thinking to herself in her head. Alright let’s do this!!

TagList:: @borhapqueen92  @radiob-l-a-hblah  @gwendolyns-stacy @coincidence-ithinknots-blog @mythicmazzellos  @hardforbenhardy @onceuponadetectivedemigod

*********************************************

“Wait wait, read it to me again.” Morgan said stuffing the last bit of her lunch into her mouth. You were both sitting in your office for lunch, talking about Ben and your upcoming date that night, when he texted you as promised a few hours before.

“It says 'Do you mind if I pick you up for our date? I really want to be a perfect gentleman.' Then there are the fingers crossed emoji and in brackets '🤞(please say yes).' You read and flipped the phone around to show her.

"Want to be? Hell he already is."

"I'm so nervous. He still didn't say where or what time. What if I don't get out of work in time to shower? Oh god I'm gonna smell on our first date. What am I gonna wear? If I don't have enough time to shower then I might not have enough time to change. Oh god what if i wear what i'm wearing now. He's gonna look and smell so good. All showered and sexy in whatever he's got on and I'm gonna be this gross, smelly potato still in her clothes from work. Im freaking out!" You were spiraling.

"Alright calm down. One thing at a time. Let's come up with a reply. Do you want him to pick you up?"

"Of course I do." You smiled. "Better chance of a goodnight kiss."

"Or a good morning kiss" She muttered.

"Morgan!" She held her hands up in defense.

“I’m just saying what you’re thinking.”

She’s not wrong

“Oh shut up and help me.”

 Together you came up with a reply and he responded with the time he would be by to pick you up and the dress code, to which he described as 'Fancier than work but not the royal wedding.', because he refused to tell you where you were going, causing you to stress about it for the rest of the day. At least you would have enough time to shower and change.

By the time you left work, you were nothing but a big nervous mess. When you got home you had 2 hours to get ready before Ben would be there. You went straight to the shower making sure every bit of you was clean and any place that needed shaving was taken care of just in case things ended the way Morgan said they would.

You were definitely not the type of girl to sleep with a guy on the first date but there was something about Ben. A pull you just couldn't explain. A need to be close to him but at the same time a need to be far away because you were so nervous you may vomit all over him. Plus this very well could be the last time you see him, him being an actor and his career on the verge of skyrocketing and all. So why not make the most of it if the opportunity arises.

After your shower you spent way too long in the closet trying to pick something to wear. You finally decided on what Morgan called your "Posh Spice Dress". It was a simple black dress that stopped mid thigh, with thin straps.

Hair and makeup came next and you kept things simple. Minimal makeup and a simple, messy sort of bun with a few pieces falling around your face. You received a text from Ben notifying you that he was on his way.  Shoes on, wallet and keys in purse. You snapped a quick picture in the full length mirror and sent it off to Morgan as promised.

The knock at the door made you jump and almost drop your phone.

Jesus that was fast.

You could feel your hands start to sweat and your heart pound as you walked to the door.

Breath you manic, it's just a date. Breath.

You opened the door and the breath you just talked yourself into taking was stolen from you. Ben was dressed in a wonderful black suit and dark green shirt, making his eyes stand out. His hair was tousled just enough so a piece hung over his forehead. He was looking at the floor but when the door opened he looked up. He shook his head to get the stray piece or hair off his forehead but it did nothing but make you weak in the knees.

Fuuuuck! You beautiful bastard. My god, I'm gonna be distracted all night.

The effect he had on you must have shown on your face because his cheeks were a light pink.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Hi." You managed to get out. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to your cheek. You were grateful you were still holding the door otherwise you'd be on the ground.

"Wow you look... absolutely stunning." You looked to the ground to try and hide the furious blush that was now burning your face.

“Oh um these are for you.”  He handed you the small batch of daffodils you hadn't noticed he was holding.

“My favorite. How did you know?” Trusting your knees wouldn't fail you, you moved inside and gestured for him to follow. In the kitchen you found a vase and filled it with water before turning to face him.

“I may have called the office and asked Morgan.” His bottom lip pulled between his teeth. You clenched your legs together and did everything you could not to moan out loud.

How inappropriate would it be if I jumped him right now?

“Sorry. That’s kinda creepy now that I say it out loud.” He laughed.

“No it’s not creepy. It’s thoughtful. They’re beautiful, thank you Ben.” You reassured and touched his arm gratefully. He nodded and when you turned to place the vase on the counter he let his fingers brush where you had touched his arm.

“Ready?” He asked, clearing his throat.

“Yep.” You grabbed your things and headed out the door to Bens car that was waiting in the parking lot of your apartment building. Keeping up his promise of being the perfect gentleman, he walked you to the passenger side and opened the door for you. His hand on your lower back the entire way. Once you were both settled in the car he passed you his phone, spotify was pulled up.

“Alright D.J. do your thing.” He said, pulling out of the lot and onto the street. You laughed and took the phone from him.

Ok do NOT fuck this up!

“Ah the real test.” You scrolled for a little.

“You probably think I'm going to play something Queen.” You saw the smirk on his face but he stayed silent.

Don’t be a cliche bitch.

“While i do love Queen, I'm sure that's all anyone ever plays for you now and I refuse to be that person.” You hummed and scrolled through his playlists. Surprisingly you had a lot of the same taste in music.

Should I pick something funny? Maybe a love song? No, to mushy.

“Oh I got it.” You said before clicking the one you had chosen. ’Thank you’ from Led Zeppelin. Just the right amount of lovey without being obvious. You watched his face as the music started. The smirk faded and a soft smile appeared.

“Why yes boys, she’s not just a pretty face, she’s got great music taste too.” You joked. His face didn’t change. He turned to glance at you before returning his eyes back to the road, smile still in place.

Oh shit. No real reaction.

“So, how’d I do?” You asked. You felt almost nauseous with the butterflies in your stomach. He looked to you again, a look you couldn't place.

"Perfect." He answered in almost a whisper. There was something more to that answer, you could feel it. There was tension in the car. Not a bad one, not a sexual one. Just an energy, an electric charge. This wasn't going to be just a regular date.

I wonder if he can feel that too.

Before either one of you could break the tension your phone chimed with a text message. You took your phone from your purse to see a message from Morgan.

‘YAS you sexy bitch! Get that dickin’ down girl!’ You couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled up and out of you.

“What’s so funny?” Ben asked.

Oh shit

You put your phone on silent and put it back in your purse after texting her back a thumbs up and a winking emoji. The mood in the car shifted, it was light, fun and you could breathe normal again.

“Just Morgan being Morgan.”

“Is that the ‘Let me know if you need me to get you out of this awful date and I'll make something up.’ text?” You laughed and shook your head.

Nope, just my best friend wishing me good luck on tryin to sex you up tonight.

“No, actually believe it or not, we didn’t even have that conversation.” You told him truthfully. The thought of coming up with an escape plan in case things went south didn’t even cross your mind. His smile grew.

“Feelin’ pretty good about this date then?” He chuckled, doing his best to joke but you could hear the nerves in his voice. You turned your full attention to him and put your elbow on the middle console, your chin resting in your hand, a warm smile on your lips. He pulled up to a stop light as you answered.

“Very good.” He turned to look at you, his smile still soft, that look in his eyes you couldn’t place was still shining at you. You watched as his eyes moved all across your face, as if he was doing his best to capture every inch of it, commit it to memory so he would never forget.

Oh my god please kiss me.

The mood shifted again and you found it hard to catch your breath.

There is no way he isn’t feeling this. It’s too strong.

He brought his hand up and let the back of his knuckles gently run along the side of your face.

How have I not noticed how full his lips are. I bet they feel amazing.

“Me too.” He whispered.

Oh god I'm in trouble.

The light turned green, the mood shifted again and Ben continued to the restaurant. As if that intense moment hadn’t just happened. All the mood changes were making you dizzy.

The rest of the ride was nice, you chatted about little things, his upcoming projects, how the rest of your work day was. When you pulled into a spot at the restaurant, Ben jumped out and ran around to your side of the car opening the door for you and offering his arm. You grinned at him and looped your arm in his.

Once inside and at your table, a perfect cozy spot in the corner, Ben pulled your chair out for you. You recognized the name of the restaurant, ‘Ember’ . It was the new hot spot. It was only open a few months and already the reservation list was booked up till a year and a half from now.

How did he get us in here? He doesn't seem like one of those actors to use his name or the fact that he’s an actor, to get what he wants.

You stopped looking at your menu to look at him, his eyes were roaming the page.

“I have to say, I’m a little impressed you were able to get us here on such short notice.” He laughed and glanced up at you.

“Don’t be. The head chef, Ryan, is a close mate from back home. I had to beg him for about an hour after I left your office to get us a table.”

Ugh. The cutest.

“That and while i'm in town I owe him 3 nights of babysitting his 4 year old daughter, Olivia, so him and his wife can go out. So yeah not too impressive.”

Jk, that was the cutest. And now I'm picturing Ben with a 4 year old. I am fuckin done for.

“I wouldn’t say that. I find the fact that you called my office to find out my favorite flower, begged your friend for a table at his restaurant and gave up 3 of your nights to babysit all to have dinner with some girl you just met 10 hours ago kinda impressive.” He smiled and set his menu aside.

"Well she's definitely not just some girl." You also put your menu aside, your head tilted sweetly to the side.

"Oh no?"

"No, she's special." Your heart skipped a beat. That same electric feeling from the car was back.

Fuck.

"Well she thinks you're pretty special too." His face went red and he looked down at the table to try and hide it. The waitress approached the table. She was young, early 20s for sure, pretty and clearly recognized Ben. The electric feeling was gone again.

"Hi, I'm Kate. I'll be your server tonight. Can I start you off with a drink?" She said a little too sweetly. She angled herself towards Ben, her back slightly to you. You could already feel yourself getting agitated.

Please do not fuck up my night with this man you little hoe.

Ben ordered a bottle of wine for the two of you after looking to you for the okay which you gave with a smile and nod. Kate leaned into him just so as he ordered an appetizer for you to share. You were not normally a fan of guys who ordered for their dates but something about the way Ben did was incredibly sexy.

"Is that alright my darling?" He asked. His eyes were wide and innocent, a slight blush on his cheeks.

He's so considerate. And completely oblivious.

You could see the annoyed look on Kate's face as he addressed you. You smirked.

"Of course, whatever you want. I trust you." You said and placed your hand on top of his that was resting on the table. His smile grew so wide it took up his entire face.

He's gonna kill me with that smile.

He flipped his hand over in yours so he could hold it properly. He glanced down at them then back up to you, a questioning look on his face. You smiled and squeezed his hand in reassurance. His wide smile was back again.

"I'll go put this in." Kate said, trying to pull his focus.

"Thank you." He replied and held the menus out of her to take. His eyes never leave you. You felt a surge of confidence pull through your whole body. She huffed, took the menus from him.

"Don't we need those to order?" You asked.

"Oh, Ryan said he wanted to make us something special. For us to just order an appetizer and wine and he would take care of the rest."  

Wow VIP treatment. I'm seriously impressed.

Kate rolled her eyes and turned to leave.

"Oh Kate, could we also get some water please?" You smiled at her. You couldn't help that it was a little smug. Before she could answer Ben brought your joint hands up to his lips, placing a kiss to your knuckles before returning them to the table.

Perfect timing you charming bastard.

"Of course." She answered with a fake, forced smile and left. Your eyes returned to Ben. His smile was shining, addictive and contagious. You could feel yours growing to match. The conversation flowed easily. You talked about everything. Gone were any awkward moments. It was like you had known each other for years vs. only a few hours. You both were still shy and nervous at times but were growing more confident and comfortable as dinner went one. After you both had the amazing meal Ryan prepared for you, he came over to the table.

"Well well if it isn't little Jonesy." He laughed and threw his arm around Ben's shoulders, pulled him close and tousled his hair.

"Mate come on. I'm on a bloody date. Stop it." He struggled to get out of his friend's hold. Ryan laughed and placed a big smacking kiss on Ben’s cheek.

“Muah! Missed you mate.”

“Yeah yeah I missed you too. Now get off of me.” He shook him off but he was grinning the entire time. Ryan shoved at his shoulder with a matching grin before turning his attention to you.

"You must be Y/N, It's a pleasure to meet you." He said, offering his hand to shake.

"And you. Thank you so much for that meal. It was amazing. You are very talented" You gushed and met his hand with yours.

"Great taste and extremely beautiful." Ryan said letting your hand go and leaning into Ben's side.

"That she is." Ben answered, his eyes trained on you. Your heart fluttered.

"She's far too good for you Jonesy." Ryan joked.

"Don't I know it." You were sure your face was red and flushed.

Well that couldn't be more untrue. I'm so worried you're going to realise I'm just an average girl and then you'll be gone.

"Alright shove over, let's catch up for a bit." Ryan said grabbing a chair from a nearby table and pulling it up to yours. Ben slid his chair over to make room.

Oh shit, here we go nerves.

He was now sitting next to you rather than across. His arm instinctively draped over the back of your chair.

Okay, okay deep breath. Fuck he smells so good. No more deep breaths.

The boys chatted away, mostly about what they've been up to and Ryan's family. Ryan asked what you did, you told him and explained that was how you and Ben met.

"You know I would love to do a piece on you." You said taking a sip of wine. Having Ryan there had calmed your nerves, took some of the pressure off. You were relaxed and you could tell Ben was too. He leaned back in his chair, arm still draped over the back of yours. You were lent forwards, elbows on the table engaged in the conversation.

"Me?" Ryan laughed surprised.

"Yeah, I think the people would love to learn about the head chef at the new hot spot. I mean only if you're interested that is. You don't have to. Just a thought."

“That sounds good. Jonesy can give you my number, give me a call and we’ll set it up.” You smiled, feeling proud.This was gonna get you some serious points with your boss.

“Alright, I'm going to stop hogging your date and get back to work. Y/N it really was a pleasure meeting you. I look forward to seeing you again.” He said leaning over to place a kiss on your cheek.

“Jonesy I’ll see you soon for babysitting.” He laughed, hugged his friend and whispered to him.

“She seems perfect for you mate, don’t fuck it up.” Ben laughed and kissed his cheek the same way Ryan had upon arriving at the table.

“I’m sending you guys some desert so get comfortable.” He said before leaving. You turned to look at Ben over your shoulder, he was grinning at you.

"What?" You asked, now matching his grin. He brought the hand that was draped over the back of your chair, up to your exposed back and let the tips of his fingers run across the skin. Despite feeling hot all over, you shivered and goosebumps appeared.

"I've never seen him take to someone so fast. Especially someone I'm interested in."

Ok butterflies, calm down.

“I guess that means I'm pretty awesome.” You joked and leaned back in your chair, turned towards him, your knees now touching. His hand moved to the side of your face. He brushed a piece of hair behind your ear and let his finger gently continue over the shell of your ear, down your jaw and across your chin. Your heart was hammering in your chest. His touch was so soft and gentle you couldn't help but lean into him slightly.

Fuck. Me. Up.

“I’d say pretty awesome doesn't even begin to cover it.”

I swear if you don't kiss me right fuckin now i will exploed.

As if he was reading your thoughts he leaned in slowly, giving you the chance to pull away. He was so close now, you could feel his soft, warm breath across your face.

"Here's your desert." Kate, the waitress interrupted and placed a plate of chocolate covered strawberries on the table between you.

God damn it!

She had a satisfied smirk on her face.

Bitch

Ben pulled back, cleared his throat and offered a weak smile to Kate. It took everything in you not to huff and pout like a child not getting the toy they wanted.

"Chef asked me to give you this." Kate said and passed what looked like the check to Ben before leaving again. You watched as his eyes traveled over it and a grin spread across his face.

"Cheeky shit." He laughed and handed it to you. It was a note from Ryan.

Dinner is on me. Not because of you Jonesy, cause your beautiful date. She charmed the pants off me. The wife's gettin lucky tonight! Hope you are too.

A warm blush spread across your cheeks.

"Well that was very sweet of him." You said trying not to focus on the "hope you get lucky" comment.

"He likes to embarrass me." Ben laughed and nudged the plate towards you. "Strawberry?"

You both ate your dessert and continued to chat. You couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to him. Sure you still got nervous and giddy when he smiled at you and your heart would speed up, making your hands sweat but for the most part your nerves had calmed down enough for you to hold a conversation without stumbling over your words and flushing at the smallest up turn of his lips. When you finished Kate returned to the table to remove the plate and ask if you needed anything else.

“Actually may I borrow your pen?” Ben asked. She nodded and handed it to him. A hopeful look on her face. He took the note from Ryan, turned it over. You watched over his shoulder as he wrote:

Thanks for dinner you sexy man. See you soon for babysitting.

And signed it with a heart.

Kate looked disappointed.

Ha!

“Oh me next” You said, getting an idea. You searched your bag for your lipstick. Red lipstick wasn’t really your style but Morgan had convinced you to buy it once and it’s been in your bag ever since. You put it on, making sure to get it in the corners and lay it on thick. You could see Ben watching you out of the corner of your eye. His mouth was parted slightly and his eyes followed your hand as it traveled across your lips. You smirked at him a little as you rubbed your lips together before pressing your lips to the paper, leaving a perfect kiss mark. You wrote a quick thank you next to it.

“He’s gonna love that.” Ben said, his voice deep and a little rough.

Holy hotness batman

He gave Kate her pen back and asked if she would pass the note back to him. She agreed and left with the plate and note. Ben stood and held his hand out to you.

“Ready love?”

Your heart jumped a little.

Fuck I hope i never get used to hearing that

“Ready” You slyly wiped your sweaty hands on your dress before placing your hand in his. He helped you up and intertwined your fingers, pulling you close to his side as you both walked out of the restaurant. The car ride back to your apartment was filled with laughs. Ben was telling you stories about him and Ryan and all the crazy things they used to do, how they met, how Ryan met his wife and when Ryan asked Ben to be Olivia’s godfather.

When he pulled into the parking lot of your building he insisted on walking you to your door. ‘All part of the perfect gentleman package’ he told you. He took your hand again during the elevator ride up to your floor and swung your connected hands slightly as he walked you to your apartment and released it when you stood in front of the door.

Ok, goodnight kiss, let's do this!

"Thank you Ben, I had a really great time." He took a small step forward and placed one hand on your hip, your heart sped up. His hand felt heavy and the heat coming from him being so close spread through your entire body.

"So did I. Thank you for agreeing to go out with me tonight. I never do this kind of thing but I couldn't leave your office without a definite way to see you again." He laughed a little to ease his nerves, his head leaning slightly closer to you.

Oh god ok, breath

"Well I'm very glad you did." You said, much softer than you intended. Ben had his bottom lip trapped between his teeth as his eyes traveled over your face, landing on your lips. He was close and you could feel his breath across your face again, like at the restaurant. His heavy hand still firm on your hip, his thumb now rubbing along soothingly.

Please kiss me

He brought his other hand up to the side of your face, letting the tips of his fingers run over your cheekbone.

Pleeeease kiss me

You took a chance and placed your hand at the nape of his neck, letting your fingers intertwine in his hair. He smiled and licked his lips.

PAH-LEEAS KISS ME DAMN IT!

"Y/N, can I kiss you?" He whispered.

FUCKIN FINALLY!

Too afraid you'd actually say what you were thinking, you nodded. He smiled and leaned in slowly to close the space between you. You instantly felt an electric shock travel through you causing you to move closer towards him and tug on his hair. He moaned into the kiss and slid his hand from your hip to your back, pulling you flush against him.

You sighed at the feeling of him being pressed against you and your lips parted. Ben wasted no time and slid his tongue along yours. You moaned and let your unoccupied hand glide up his torso, feeling his tight muscles under his shirt to rest on his chest. Ben's hand that was near your face moved to join his other on your back.

Your entire body was on fire, your head spinning, either from the intensity of the kiss or the lack of oxygen, you weren't sure. Just when you were about to pull back to see if he wanted to move things inside, he slid one of his hands down to rest on the curve of your ass.

You whined and pushed back into his hand. He moaned and gripped your ass roughly, causing you to involuntarily snap your hips forward into his. He moaned again and finally pulled away. Ben was panting heavily, his lips were swollen and red, his cheeks flushed and warm. You were sure you looked the same.

Alright, say something cool and invite him inside

You opened your mouth to speak but he beat you to it.

"I can't do this." Your heart dropped and you could feel the color drain from your face.

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger but i need to make sure you come back! Don’t hate me!

[bluebaby123]

Love Bakugo: Pt 4 A New Perspective

Think of a man who done you wrong and input his name for the  ____  (that’s the shit boyfriend’s name)

He had known that Y/n had been good friends with Bakugo in there UA days but he hadn’t been aware how close. She was working for his agency now and he couldn’t believe it. Not to mention, her first day working there had been the exact same day that his embarrassing high school year book photo was flashed at the staff meeting. Of all days, the day his girlfriend started working there. Maybe it was a good thing, a distraction so she wouldn’t catch on to his deceptions. It was horribly embarrassing that he had to confess to his boss that it was actually him. “You don’t look like this guy…” Bakugo had said. Which made it all the worse, the explanation of the nose job and all. He shut the door to the bathroom in his apartment softly behind him and pulled out his phone, ‘I miss you, call me’ He instantly felt calm seeing the text. ‘actually can I come over, we need to talk’ ‘of course’      ‘bring wine ;)’

_____ went into his ringtones and pressed the demo for his work calling ring tone. As soon as the sound stopped, he spoke. “Hello?” he said, and waited the appropriate amount of time to make the fake phone call sound convincing. “I can’t believe it, gosh he’s been here 2 weeks and- I’ll be right over.” ____ grabbed his coat and rushed into the living room. His girlfriend was curled on the couch reading a book. “Hey, work emergency, I think I’ll have to go out for a while...”  She looked up from her reading. “Oh what happened? Is everything okay?” she asked concerned. He shook his head, “it’s fine, there’s just something wrong with the engines on some of the new jet packs and we’re gonna be doing the demo tomorrow. For a corporation who might want to distribute them to hero’s world wide.” He smiled, as he watched her eyes widen in surprise. She broke out into a grin, “wow that’s amazing! you’re so smart _____.” He wished that were true now that she seemed so impressed with him. “That’s a huge achievement,” her eyes narrowed, “why didn’t you tell me?” He was kicking himself now for trying to impress her. He could have just left it at ‘presentation tomorrow’. Fuck. Looking at her now he got the feeling he always got when he looked at her long enough, the feeling that she was too good for him, the feeling that she would one day realise this and that one day she would leave him. “I’ve just been working so hard, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She smiled, “ I understand, but it really hurts my feelings when you leave me out of these parts of your life...” She paused then and look up at him with a gentle expression, “I can’t help but feel you’ve been distant lately...” Does she know? Am I caught? Fuck. “I’m sorry, work has just been really out of control lately with these new recruits,” he said hoping that she would buy it. She nodded her head slowly. “Just be honest with me...” He froze. Oh god, she did know, she knew everything, or maybe she suspected. Part of him hated himself for lying and the other part of him loved the thrill.  “Is this about me working with Katsuki?” It absolutely was about her working with Bakugo. _____ hated that she said his first name so casually like that. Katsuki. Katsuki. Ugh! But she looked guilty, like she felt bad. “No, honey, it’s just a work thing, nothing to do with you at all.” She nodded, “okay, I just wanted to make sure...” _____ grasped her shoulder, “I love you, nothing you say or do could ever change that,” he said before grabbing his keys and heading out the door. And he meant it.

He picked cheap bottles of Chardonnay and Rosé from ‘buy one get one half off’ shelf at a liquor store that was on the way to her apartment. UA was visible as he exited from the fluorescent store. He cursed UA for brining Bakugo together with Y/n.

The elevator doors opened to a long hallway with a single door at the end. _____ knocked their special knock, and the door opened a few moments later. “Hi Echo,” he said taking her in. She was wearing his shirt and a pair of underwear, her hair pulled on top of her head in a messy bun. She was pretty, in an ordinary sort of way. Her features were all aesthetically pleasing, but there was nothing unique or special about them. Her quirk was similar. Everyone called her Echo, and always had, even though that wasn’t her real name at all. She had the ability to make anyone repeat what she said as long as she was looking at the person, and they heard what she said. “Oh you did bring wine!” she said as she pulled him towards her couch. She set the bag down in her chair and climbed into _____’s lap as soon as he sat down. She began to kiss his face. “I missed you,” she said and went back to her kisses. _____ kissed her back but hesitantly. “I missed you too,” he said in between kisses. “I really do want to talk though,” he said trying to get on track. “About what?” She hummed against his mouth questioning the type of talking that he would be doing. “I’m serious,” he said and Echo pulled back looking at him with big innocent eyes. “It’s about Y/n, she’s working with Bakugo,”_____ said waiting for her reaction. A big smile crossed Echo’s face. “I know, it’s amazing! Bakugo is a great boss. A little bit brash but he’s amazing. I’m so happy for her!” Echo went back to affections leaving _____ confused and slightly frustrated. “But that’s bad, because you’re going to be working with her too.” Echo furrowed her brow, not liking _____’s tone. “Duhhh, it’s not like I’m gonna say anything to her about us... It was just nice to meet her. She’s an amazing hero,” Echo said. Yes, Y/n was that for sure. “Wait… you met her?” Echo nodded, “yup, she’s just as lovely as everyone says she is,” Echo giggled then wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to look ather. “But you love me more right?” she asked. He didn’t know what to say, he loved Y/n but he loved how Echo made him feel more. He decided it would be best to change the subject. “But we have to be sneakier than usual and probably no more fun in the office anymore.” Echo groaned, “you’re such a kill joy,” she leaned close to his ear, “isn’t the almost getting caught the most fun? She had a point there. _____ took off his shirt and reached for Echos but she stopped him. “Now what do you have to say to me?” she questioned. _____ was silent, he wasn’t sure. “I love you Echo,” she said. “I love you Echo,” _____ said.

Work emergency? Work emergency your fucking ass. Why couldnt you see it before? You thought about that a lot. Ever since Katsuki told you your boyfriend was a big fat cheater the signs were so obvious. As soon as _____ left you’d called Katsuki letting him know the plans were a go. You pulled on some black yoga pants and a black sweat shirt. You grabbed the $50 that you stole from ____’s wallet and went outside to meet Katsuki. He was waiting in front of your building in his car. You hopped in the passenger seat, “hey, you wanna get ice cream after this? My treat,” you said holding out the fifty. Katsuki began to drive towards his agency. “Would love to get ice cream after, but you’re paying for nothing.” You brushed your fingers against the collar of your shirt. “Well, it’s not my money,” you said giving him an impish smirk. Katsuki shifted gears, “in that case…”

As Katsuki parked on the top floor of the parking deck, you felt defeated. There weren’t any other cars in the garage, except the van for the midnight cleaning service. Part of you, an idiot part of you, had hoped that possibly, maybe, your boyfriend’s car would be there. That it really was a work emergency. That Bakugo had made a terrible mistake and it wasn’t him after all. It was another close colleague that happened to look just like him. The worst part was how stupid you felt that you even hoped that was a possibility. You could feel tears welling in your eyes. But you pushed them back with your palms. “Hey, let’s go- wh-what’s wrong?” Bakugo was standing with his face pressed against the glass. “I-I’m fine!” you said a little too enthusiastically as you got out of the car. “If you don’t want to do this anymore…” You shook your head and walked through the doors.

It was 3 floors of installing cameras in and around closets, stairwells, and locker rooms, and offices later that Bakugo said something other than a few gruff instructions about drill assembly. He was standing on a ladder, but stepped down a few rungs to look at you. “I need to ask you something and I was gonna wait for a good time but, doesn’t seem like there will be a good one for a while…” he paused, was he scared? “Did you ever read the letter?” Your heart dropped, “Katsuki I-“ He nodded his head slowly to himself, “so you did huh?” He went back to installing the tiny camera in the ceiling vent. “I didn’t know what to do with it, no one had ever been so nice to me-“ “Listen, I said in the letter it was fine, I just would have liked an answer, ya know, back then.” He didn’t sound angry, which was somewhat comforting, but he sounded sad, which was way worse. “I know,” it was all you could say.  

You finished installing the cameras together. You tried making things lighter again by reminiscing about UA, it helped but there was still a lingering sadness between the two of you. After drilling in the last screw, for the last camera, Katsuki climbed down the ladder. Maybe it was seeing a tall strong man holding power tools, maybe it was that this super tough man just finished another 2 hours of doing a favor for you, but something took over you. You grabbed his waist and held him close to you. You could feel the tears again but didn’t have the strength to push them back. You didn’t have the strength to lie to yourself or to him anymore and the truth bubbled out of you like silver water from a fountain. “I wish I’d picked you. I would have been so much happier. And I’m so sorry that it’s taken me so long to figure that out and I know it’s too late now…” He didn’t say ‘it’s okay’ because it wasn’t and you knew that. You’d fucked up by not responding to what he had written so long ago.

He drove you back to your house, “I really can’t thank you enough, there aren’t words…” He smiled and brushed his fingertips against your hand. You got out of the car, wrapping your arms around yourself, guilt seeping deep into your whole self. “Hey Y/n,” he’d gotten out of his car and the look in his eye was determined. “It’s not too late, unless you want it to be.” It what? You stuttered something back, frozen where you stood. He approached you and before he could reach you, something lit up in you. You were so fucking in love with Katsuki it wasn’t even funny. You ran to him, and kissed him. For the second time in your life, but the first where you initiated it. You’d wondered for years if the movies got anything right… It wasn’t until now you understood why some people say ‘like fireworks’. As he pulled away you realized there was a lot you had to do to prove yourself to him after practically ignoring the letter. Actually, it was time you reread it…

Tag List: @rebel---black​ @random-fandom-girl-24​ @unawi13-blog​

[naerysthelonesome]

Time spent together

Part 6:

The narrator returns

Apollo and Lit are very, very close to Artemis’ place now. Apollo looks splotchy and nervous. I don’t like it. Clashes too much with his outfit. Lit, on the other hand looks cool and calm. That’s weird. Probably a façade.

Apollo finally makes a turn, and pulls into a driveway in this really nice neighborhood. I’d consider living here, if I could… live, you know? He parks the car and just sits there, like an idiot. I’m sure Lit notices because he punches Apollo lightly in the arm, and steps out. Apollo follows soon after, and Lit moves to the backseat to get his bag, but the former flaps at his arms in impatience. Boi does he not look the epitome of grace today.

Lit shoots him a look, and shoulders his bag anyway.

They both make their way to the front door of the pretty, baby blue house. It looks quaint, and cozy, and not really someplace I’d imagine Apollo’s cool sister Artemis living, but maybe she’s into the whole cottagecore thing. I wouldn’t know. I’m supposed to keep focused on Apollo and Lit.

Speaking of, Apollo is trying to look collected and nonchalant as he knocks on the door, but it’s (incredibly) clear that he isn’t. Lit inches just a little bit closer, trying to offer his support, but of course Apollo doesn’t notice. At least not at first. Then Lit’s hand brushes against his own, and, I kid you not, his eyes spark. His breath hitches in his chest, and he goes completely still. Simp.

The door bangs open to reveal a silver woman. No seriously, she’s silvery all over. Her hair and eyebrows have been dyed a most mesmerizing silvery-white, her skin glows in places (silver highlighter methinks), and all the delicate silver jewelry over the lacy, dark green tank top and gray shorts makes her look ethereal and fairylike. DAMN she is really taking the Artemis thing seriously.

“Big brother!”

“We’re twins, and you’re unoriginal”, Apollo says resignedly. Like he’s had this exact conversation before. He probably has. Artemis simply smiles.

“Aw don’t be like that!”

She turns toward Lit, who’s been standing there awkwardly, and offers him her hand. Palm facing down, snowy white fingers curled, like she expects him to kiss it.

Lit looks like he’s visibly restraining himself from turning to Apollo in bewilderment.

“Aren’t you going to take my hand?” Artemis asks, with a fake pout.

Lit reaches out and takes it, completely unsure of what to do next. He just holds it like it’s an unwanted bug someone’s placed in his hand.

“Must all your dates be so rude, Apollo?” Artemis questions, with a huff.

“Must you always act like a twat that doesn’t know what century it is, Artemis?” he replies, turning to Lit. “She’s just playing with you”.

Artemis laughs, and walks away. It’s a normal laugh, no tinkling wind chimes, or tumbling rivers. I don’t even know if that’s humanly possible. Stephanie must have been on something.

“Something tells me it’s best if I play along”, Lit says, following Apollo through the door.

“Definitely. Oh, and leave your shoes here.”

Two of the girls Artemis lives with are insanely pretty. (But then, all humans look insanely pretty to me… oh to have a physical form). And they look like polar opposites. The bigger one is wearing a flowy summer dress that perfectly complements her wheatish skin, her pink and brown hair in a neatly curled high pony, winged eyeliner on point. The other one has her orange-red hair hanging about her face, some of it still fixed in the messiest messy bun I’ve ever seen. She stays seated on the sofa, in her dull grey sweats, and simply turns to wave at the boys when they walk in, eyes still on the tv.

“Hi! I’m Arson”, says they pink-haired one, “And that’s Claire. She’s normally the active one, but it’s shark week so she’ll just lie there like that all day, useless”. She (they?) swiftly catches they pillow that’s been chucked at them, and grins. “Oh and Thalia’ll be out in a sec”.

“Your name’s Arson?” Lit asks, politely trying not to sound shocked or confused.

“Heh yeah. Of all the non-binary names someone like me could have picked, right?” They say, with a short laugh. “It was a close call between this, and Twig.”

“Her pronouns are she and they, btw”, Apollo says walking up from where he’d been talking to his sister, to envelop Arson in a hug, “Hey Ari!”

“Ah jeez. The hugging still isn’t over?” A raven haired girl says, walking into the now slightly crowded living room. “Well I’m Thalia. Do no touch me”. That last part was spit at Apollo. Her tone is menacing, but her little smirk shows otherwise.

“Hey Thalia”, Apollo says, reaching over to pat the red-head, Claire, on the shoulder, and ruffle her already ruffled hair. Please somebody comb it already!

“This is Lit, Apollo’s newest fling”, Artemis says, gesturing to the boy who looks like he can’t decide whether he wants to live here, or run away. He gives the room a shy smile. (Aww)

“Great! Now that we all know each other,” Get out of Pridelands? Sorry sorry. Just couldn’t miss out the opportunity to quote Lion King: Simba’s Pride. Artemis simply continues on with something about lunch and rotisserie chicken.

It’s been quite an uneventful couple hours, but oh, how could that possibly last? In a room full of people, half with names with mythological roots, and the one named after a crime? There’s bound to be some drama. No, calm down, there isn’t going to be a fire. Unless it’s Lit’s heart flaming for Apollo, or vice versa. ANYWAY I’m going way off script.

“So Lit, how’d you guys meet?” Claire asks around a mouthful of veggies, feet nestled comfortably on Arson’s lap. I’m starting to think they might be more than friends, but what do I know?

“Oh we had to do a project together. Obviously, we’d seen each other around before then, but yeah… that’s the first time we really interacted”, Lit answered, awkwardly trailing off at end, as if he thought he’d said to much. Seriously Lit? That was barely anything.

“And how long ago was that?” Arson asked.

“Uh-”

“About a month ago”, Apollo supplied, lacing his fingers through Lit’s, their hands clearly visible from the sofa they were seated on.

Lit’s adam’s apple bobbed, and he shifted slightly in his seat, but managed to keep calm, even lifting their conjoined hands into his lap.

“Huh. How long have you guys been together, then?” Thalia asked, staring to look interested.

“A couple weeks.” Apollo’s voice was calm, at startling odds with the red of his face.

“Oh?” Artemis said finally, her eyes moving from their linked hands, to Apollo’s face. “You move awfully fast brother.”

“Well, we both wanted it”, Lit tried to cut in. The sudden tension between the twins is so thick, even oblivious Lit notices.

Artemis ignores him and continues, “Don’t you remember what happened last time you moved this quickly?”

“Artemis, please”, Apollo says, starting to sound irritated, “You wanted me to stop fucking around, and I did. You seem to have a problem with everything I do.”

“Oh is that why you’re dating him? Because of me?” Oh shit… we’re getting awfully close to the truth now, huh?

“No. No, of course not”, Apollo lies quietly. Lit manages to discreetly untangle their fingers and pull away, looking a little hurt. “I like Lit”. So not all lies then? If only Lit knew that, then he’d stop looking like a kicked puppy.

“Just make sure he isn’t another Daphne”, Artemis says, a challenging look in her eyes.

“That was a mistake and you know it! When are you going to stop bringing it up?” Apollo spits angrily, before he gets up and walks out the front door.

Lit sits there in shock for a second, before deciding that an angry Apollo was easier to deal with that a room full of upset and curious people, and follows behind him. Damnit! I wanted to stay behind and listen to the gossip. Would you mind terribly if I did that?

Yea, I suppose you would.

Lit is leaning against the wall of the house, hands in his pockets, while Apollo leans over the porch railing, and stares at his car.

“So who’s Daphne?”

Apollo sighs in defeat, before saying, “My ex. One of my only two exes”. Then he turns around before almost hastily adding, “Exes being people I’ve actually dated, that is. Not just people I’ve slept with”.

“Of course. Of course you still care about your reputation as a fuckboy”, Lit says, sounding disappointed more than anything else. Look, I’m a sucker for drama, but what the hell is this?! I don’t like this.

“What? No”. Apollo sounds... scared? “No I’m just trying to be as clear as possible.”

Lit doesn’t say anything.

“Besides, why are you even mad? It’s not like we’re actually dating”.

“No.” Lit whispers, “We’re not”.

“Hey”, Apollo pleads, “I can’t handle you being mad at me too, Lit. I’m sorry you got dragged into this shit”.

Lit waves the apology away. “Why is Artemis so mad about Daphne?” If I were even a little less intuitive, I would’ve missed the hopeful tone of that question.

“Oh. Um- Daphne was one of Artemis’ best friends. That’s how we got close in the first place. Sometime last year, we started seeing each other, and eventually became official. We’d moved really quickly, and honestly didn’t have much in common except Artemis” And divinely good looks, if Apollo’s many flings are anything to go by. “But everything went great, nonetheless. Better than great, even. I started to think I loved her. Until it didn’t. Around the three month mark, things started to go sour. We’d disagree about pretty much everything, and we’d fight and argue all the time. Then it started to get monotonous and boring and we were just going through the motions. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I broke up with her, and…” That’s the one place he hesitates. “Left. I just left for college, and Artemis had to deal with Daphne, who apparently took it hard. I didn’t speak to her at all until just a few months ago.

We’re okay now, by the way. She says that I’m a better friend that boyfriend, and I can’t say I disagree. Lucky for you that we’re just faking it, right?” I notice the slight hitch in his voice, but Lit apparently doesn’t. He lets out a dry chuckle. “Artemis, on the other hand, is still obviously pissed. I don’t blame her. She said that Daphne only dated me at all because I seduced her. At first, I thought that was ridiculous, but if all the hoes on campus are anything to go by, it seems that was entirely possible”, he finishes bitterly. Well... that was quite a speech.

“I don’t know whether to be impressed or exasperated by your unwavering level of self-confidence”, Lit says tiredly, after a brief pause. “Well that wasn’t as bad as I expected”.

“Yea, Artemis has been known to overreact”.

“I think her reaction was warranted”. Lit himself looks surprised at having defended Artemis.

“Maybe it was”, Apollo amends, eager to get back on Lit’s good side, I suppose. “You’re not still mad, are you?”

“I’m not mad at you, no” comes the curt reply, suggesting that he is still mad at something. This whole situation, probably. This trip was supposed to be romantic for God’s sake!

“Good, because we have a little party to attend this evening”.

[princecharmingmendes]

Valentine's Day | Raul Mendes

"When you think you're going to be alone on Valentine's Day, your friend with benefits simply shows up and takes you away on a surprise road trip, the only problem is that you and Raul swore that no feelings were allowed, and it gets harder every second that passes by to keep that promise"

                                              Shawn |  Peter

*I'm so incredibly sorry I took so long to finish this, but here it is, the last part of the Valentine's Day triplets "collection/series", hope you enjoy it!

*Word Count: 7.3K+

*Warnings: cursing, a lil bit of angst, haunted house content and clowns (just in case).

*Posted: February 24th, 2020.

                                                       -*-

The “v” day. I think I can say that for most people I know, or you’re so excited to spend it with your loved one or mostly bitter cause you’re so single it hurts/ dreaming about the perfect day, there are obviously exceptions, but this are pretty accurate. I’m pretty much in the second category. I had flings and untitled relationships before, but never had the chance to actually do all of those cliche things, like go on a fancy dinner or have a chill date at home on sweats and fuzzy socks, never got flowers at school/work, cute messages and chocolates. I didn’t even wanted expensive gifts and flash mobs on Times Square, just wanted to feel loved and cared for by someone that’s not my parents and friends. And this is year it’s not going to be different.

I’m technically single, I just have a fuck buddy and he’s not taking me out on a romantic stride through the park. I mean, Raul’s not that type of guy, at least didn’t show me any signs. We met through Peter since I’ve been working on the same place as him for a few years now and since then we had an agreement, no feelings allowed, only sex. He works a lot and all the time he has, he likes to dedicate to his family, for me was awesome for the same reason, I focused so much on studying and working that I had no time left for a serious relationship, so this seemed perfect at the time. The only problem was the “no feelings allowed rules”, I fucked that up pretty badly.

At the beginning wasn’t hard, we would meet at his place or mine, have sex and the other would leave as soon as possible, and it was great, he might seem as a cold person but he’s a really great lover. The problem started when he came to my place at a particular hard day at work and I insisted on him opening up, that I was there for him. We ended up not doing nothing besides cuddling and he stood the night, and from that things changed drastically. He started asking me to stay the night, we would randomly go out to eat and we would talk a lot. Raul understood where I was and so did I, he tended on shutting people out cause he didn’t want so seem fragile but deep down he’s softer than Peter, he just showed that rarely and to his family, the reason? Trusted and loved the wrong person, and I wasn’t very far from that.

The problem? I fell for him and he didn’t. Not that I asked or anything, I just knew, he would always shut me off when we got too close and he kept saying that this situations between us was perfect the way it is, and he’s really grateful that he has me on his life and that understand his needs. So yeah, not admitting that I actually do have feelings for him and screw this up, I’d rather have him like this than not at all. That’s why I’m sitting on my living room one day before valentine’s day, considering leaving tomorrow after work to my grandparent’s ranch or the beach. That’s why I almost had a stroke when my phone started ringing, Raul’s name lighting up the screen.

“Uh, hey... everything okay?”

“Oh, hey, darling, are you busy?”

“Not really” I said scrolling down the site for plane tickets just in case I wanted to go somewhere else “I just wasn’t expect any calls”

“Oh, sorry, what’re doing tomorrow?” he asked and my heart dropped.

“Tomorrow?! Nothing?! Normal Friday stuff, maybe go away for the weekend, why?”

“It’s valentine’s day!”

“I know, that’s why I’m leaving” I said chuckling.

“Oh... do you have anything planned specifically or bought?”

“Like plane tickets?”

“Yeah”

“No, I’m going through options right now, any suggestions?”

“I actually do”

“Oh, okay, I’m listening”

“Why don’t you come with me on a trip?”

“Hm... what?”

“Oh, come on, I know you hate this day and probably will be stressing yourself if you stay at your home alone” he said and suddenly U couldn’t breath.

I told Raul once that I didn’t like this date in particular, too many expectations were broken on this day, spent a lot of v-days crying or moody cause some stupid boy didn’t think I was good enough. I didn’t expect him to care enough to remember.

“What are you talking about, Raul?”

“I... do you want to go with me on a road trip?”

“Don’t you have shifts to cover or things to do?”

“No, got my schedule clear in caw you wanted to go out with me”

“Oh... but I...”

“You’re the boss on your section” he said cutting me out “and I talked to Peter, he’s going to cover for you”

“Hm... I...”

“Stop trying to find excuses, princess, c’mon, let me take you on an adventure”

“An adventure?”

“Yeah, what do you say about camping? You told me you never camped before”

“Oh, you remember?”

“Of course... so, what do you say?”

“Okay, I guess I don’t have a choice”

“Mhmmm, you’re right, so... can I pick you up at seven?”

“When are we coming back?”

“Sunday after lunch”

“Okay, okay, seven it is”

“Great! I gotta go now, but I’ll pick you up tomorrow”

“Do I need to take something specific?”

“Oh, yeah, it gets cold, but we’re staying in a cabin, so it’s not going to be that bad and I’ll be there, ooh, and please don’t forget that pretty lace baby blue set you bought last Sunday, I assure you you’re not going to regret it”

“Fuck you” I said chuckling and he giggled.

“I gotta go now, princess, text me if you need help with anything”

“Okay, bye, Raul”

“Bye, baby” he said hanging up.

Baby?! What was that?

                                                      -*-

I swear that I tried to keep calm and not read too much into it, but it was impossible. Why did he invited me out on Valentine’s day? How he remembers that stuff I told him?! Why does he care?! It’s impossible not to feel anything.

I couldn’t sleep at all, I spent the whole night playing possible scenarios in my head and checking every single thing that was on my bag. When the alarm rang in the morning, I felt like I was about to die, out of excitement or out of lack of sleep. But I got up and started getting ready for the day, I opted for almost no makeup, hair in a messy bun and comfy clothes that still looked cute, just in case. At seven I was already on the lobby of my building waiting for him, and when I saw his jeep parking right in front I almost died. Raul got out of the car and waved at me, so I walked to him, only to be squeezed in his huge arms in a bear hug.

“Happy valentine’s day” he said in a playful tone.

“Haha, very funny, mister cupid”

“What?”

“Well, you helped both of your brothers on V day”

“Oh yeah, true, so... excited?”

“Yep”

“Great, so am I, can we start this weekend?”

“Sure” I said and he kissed my cheek softly, leaning down and grabbing my small suitcase from me and putting it on his trunk, walking to the passenger’s door and opening it for me.

My heart stopped when I saw a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers on the seat and I froze.

“You told me you liked sunflowers” he mumbled with his hand gently placed on my lower back.

“I did” I said barely louder than a whisper and looked up at him “why?”

“You said you never... you’ve never received flowers before... and I thought maybe you’d like it” he said looking away and scratching the back of his neck with his free hand, a slight blush raising up his cheek.

“I liked it, just didn’t expect it” I said and he looked down at me, I stepped on my tip toes and kissed his cheek.

He pressed me tighter against his chest and wrapped the arm that was already on me around my middle, keeping me close to kiss me. I wrapped my arms around his neck for support as he deepened the kiss a bit more.

“Good morning” he said in a deeper voice and with a smirk laced on his features, but his eyes were still soft.

“Morning” I said chuckling “can I get in the car?”

“Oh, sure” he said giggling and letting go of me.

I hopped on his car as he went to get in on his side, quickly leaving his spot and driving to I don’t know where. He started driving away and turned up the radio, humming to the song lightly and placing his hand on my thigh. Right there, I felt my heart on my throat and I couldn’t breath for a second. He can’t do that and expect me not to fall for him, I mean, that’s fucking impossible, how could you not?

An hour later, he stopped at a diner in the middle of the road and got out of the car, and I was so distracted, lost on my own thoughts, that I didn’t notice him coming by my side and opening the door for me. He chuckled at my wide eyes and little shocked noise while he helped me out. He picked a table at the corner of the place and sat down beside me.

“So... what is your kidnapping plan?”

“Well... I though that we should have breakfast first and I love the food in here”

“Great start” I said and he giggled.

“Thanks, princess, then we’ll go to the campsite for you to get to know the place and get settled in our cabin, and then... well, it is supposed to be a surprise”

“More surprises?”

“Do you want me to ruin it?”

“I... yeah?” I answered and he chuckled.

“I’m taking you to a carnival that’s near the place we’re staying... you also said you missed this kind of things”

“If I didn’t know you, I’d say you’re after my heart, Mendes”

“I might be” he said winking at me and giggling.

Poor thing, didn’t even know that his sort of joke almost killed me every single time.

                                                      -*-

Around 1 pm we decided it was time to go, after all I was starving, we’ve been walking since we got here. The place was breathtaking, there were so many beautiful views, but nothing will beat the lake that’s actually kinda close to our cabin, that’s absolutely adorable. It really seems like a dream come true. We spent a lot of time talking and he told me he’s so happy that his brothers are finally in a relationship that’s healthy and apparently going to last a long time, but he said he also felt kind of empty, since even his baby sister had a boyfriend. Quickly we changed the subject cause it was getting a little bit emotional, I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with his soft and fragile side without saying how I feel, so I’d rather avoid it, even though it seems kind of selfish.

The ride was not too long and very pleasant. Raul knows how to have a good time and he also makes sure everyone around him, at least that he cares about, feel the same way. He parked perfectly and smoothly, and when I hoped out of the car, he had a cocky grin on his face that he just justified as ‘you looked amazed by parking skills’ and I decided not to say the opposite to avoid a fight. He can be very competitive in everything. He bought our tickets and we got in, practically sprinting to find something to eat, at least I was starving.

After a whole bunch of food and his predictable not so funny jokes, we finally started taking a look around to decide where we would go first. We decided to go to the craziest rides first so we wouldn’t get the worst lines since people were eating or didn’t arrive yet. After that, I decided I wanted to get a henna tattoo on my forearm like I did so many times as a kid. Raul was patiently sitting beside me with his tattooed arms showing and attracting many curious looks from kids and other type of curious from some giggling teenage girls and even grown up women.

“Hi” the little voice sounded from behind us and we turned around to see a little girl standing there, holding a backpack.

“Hey, are you lost?”

“No, sir, mommy’s right there” she pointing to a woman standing beside the line on her phone.

“Okay... how can I help you, missy?” he asked with the softest look on his face.

“Did you got all of those with her?” she asked pointing to the girl that was currently drawing on my skin.

“I did not, these are from a few months ago”

“But why don’t they have any color?”

“I think they were out of ink” Raul said and the girl seemed to be thinking about the possibility.

“Can I make them prettier?”

“Of course, how’d you do it?”

“I have some markers, can I paint them?”

“Yes!” he said offering his right arm to her and she grinned big, showing of her missing tooth right in the middle.

She grabbed in her little backpack a pencil case and revealed more than what seemed like a thousand markers, so she started going through the colors and picking a bright pink one, starting to fill Raul’s tattoos with the girly shade. Raul has a beautiful smile gracing his features as he looked so intently at her artwork, her little tongue poking out between her lips in concentration, the scene was absolutely adorable, so cute it was starting to hurt physically.

“Is the pretty girl your girlfriend?” she asked as she was picking out another shade.

“Her?” he asked pointing at me with his free hand.

“Yes, is she your princess?”

“She is, she’s my girl” Raul said as he looked at me, making me blush furiously.

“Helen! What are you doing?? I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry” the woman the little girl pointed earlier as her mom got closer and grabbed her backpack.

“It’s okay, she said she could make them prettier, I really don’t mind” Raul said smiling at Helen and she smiled at him.

“They are prettier, right?” Helen said.

“They are so much better, thank you, Helen” Raul said.

“Thank you, and I’m sorry” Her mom said holding her tiny hand “we gotta go now, your dad is waiting, say thank you to the couple and say goodbye”

“Thank you, princess, thank you...”

“Raul” he said smiling at her.

“Thank you Raul, bye bye” she said waving.

“Bye” I said smiling.

“Thank you again, and I’m sorry, have a nice day” her mom said and walked away with her.

“She’s cute”

“She is”

“You do this a lot?”

“What?”

“Let random kids draw in your arms?” I asked playfully.

“Actually I do”

“Really?”

“Yeah, sometimes at the hospital, when they’re too sad I kinda feel like I should do anything to help, you know? I mean, it sucks for us to be there, now imagine for a little kid”

“That’s actually really sweet, but I should’ve guessed it”

“Why?”

“Remember when I asked you if you could see my friend’s son? Julia’s son?”

“Wait... yeah, Lucas right?”

“Mhmmm, let’s say you made a good impression and not only by your looks”

“So you’re saying I’m attractive?”

“I wasn’t... but I also can’t deny, anyway...”

“Why are you blushing?” he asked with a boyish smirk.

“Am not”

“Yes you are! You look so red it seems like you’re ‘bout to explode”

“Fuck you!”

“Language, princess, there are kids nearby”

“Anyway! As I was saying... she couldn’t shut up about how good you were with her son, how dedicated and sweet, and she was also drooling over your appearance”

“I wouldn’t blame her” he said winking at me.

“Your charm doesn’t work on me”

“I doubt that” he said leaning closer to me slowly, eyes trailed on my lips.

“You shouldn’t, I’m imune to you and your tricks”

“That’s a lie” he said lower and I could literally feel his breath on my lips.

“It’s not”

“Oh it is, princess, and I can prove it to you” he said brushing our lips together.

“All done here” the girl drawing on my skin said stopping me from giving in.

“Thanks” I said getting up and checking her drawing.

It was a beautiful drawing of a Lily, my grandfather’s favorite flower.

“Hey! I love lilies” okay, I wasn’t expecting Raul saying that.

“So does grandpa”

“Cute” he said placing a strand of hair that fell form my bun behind my ear “ and oh... by the way, I’ll prove it to you later” he said before placing a quick kiss on the spot behind my ear that always made me weak on the knees for him “we should get some ice cream or something, at least it’s dried, don’t want to ruin her artwork”

“You’re probably right” I said cleaning my throat.

“Would you ever get a real one?”

“What? A tattoo? I’ve wanted one for a while but never got the guts to do it”

“I can take you if you want”

“Really?”

“Yeah... how about next weekend?”

“Yeah, I can do that”

“I can’t believe you’re actually going to have a tattoo, can’t wait to see that, princess” he said wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

                                                      -*-

We spent pretty much the whole day going to those attractions and I have to be honest, I was having the time of my life. He’s been treating me like a princess and doing all of these cheesy couple-ish things, and even though that’s all I’ve been dreaming of recently, this is also making me feel like we could be more than what we are, but I also have to keep in mind that this isn’t happening and I could almost feel my heart breaking. He’s just so sweet and so funny, and this feels like a date all the time, even though I know this is just so I don’t feel miserable, but at the same time... Ugh, I don’t know, this is just confusing.

Currently we were sitting by a food truck eating ice cream, and I couldn’t stop myself from watching all of his features closely, letting the imagine sink on my brain. He looked so soft with a pink and baby blue ice cream cone as the sunset light his his face on the right places, making me feel something fluttering inside of me. We were talking about the most random topics possible, but he was cut mid sentence and I just stood there staring at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah... it’s just that there’s something in your face”

“Oh” I said rubbing my cheek “there?”

“No, let me just...” the phrase trailed it off as got closer and tried to wipe my face with his thumb, and I swear my breath got caught in my throat. His thumb gently whipped my face and he sucked it clean, and I simply couldn’t stop starring “there you go”

“Thank you” I mumbled softly still too caught up on his hazel eyes.

“What do you want to do now?”

“Haunted house?” was the first thing that popped in my mind that wasn’t too flirtatious.

“How old are you? Three?!”

“No, just think it’s a fun thing to do”

“You can go, I’ll wait here”

“Are you scared, Mendes?”

“No, just don’t like it”

“Why?”

“I just don’t see the hype on it”

“It’s pretty cool, c’mon”

“Fine, only if our last attraction is the ferris wheel”

“Really?” I asked biting my lower lip.

“What? Afraid of heights, princess?”

Not really, just scared of being completely heartbroken on valentine’s day.

“Naaah, you’re the one scared here’s thought you’re tough, Raul”

“I am” He said straightening his posture to seem bigger than he already is.

“Cut the act, if you’re not afraid of it you’re going with me”

“Fine, but you’ll come with me to the ferris wheel then”

“Okay, deal, now let’s go” I said getting up and grabbing his arm.

“What? Now?”

“Yeah, you promised me marshmallows and a campfire”

“Okay, let’s do it then” he said getting up as well and grabbing my hand.

We went to the line that wasn’t really that big and from the corner of my eye I saw Raul  bouncing on his feet. It was pretty hilarious seeing a guy this big, who dealt with a lot worse situations on a hospital as pediatric surgeon, with a bunch of tattoos (a few colored with pink ink by Helen) and piercings, nervous about a hunted house made for teens.

“Raul... if you don’t want to go... it’s”

“I’m going” he said cutting me off and looking at me.

“Okay, okay, good, cause we’re next”

He took a deep breath and pulled me into the house. It was a classic hunted house at the beginning, with some stuff jumping at us and screaming, it was fine. But as we got deeper into the space, things started getting a little bit scarier. It was no longer machines, but people with really great makeup on actually starting to follow us around, making us actually run through the rooms like our life’s actually depended on it. I was actually having fun, giggling through the process until one of the last rooms. We got in and it was all dark, with only one light in the middle of the room that was pretty low. I could hear water running somewhere and there were a bunch of piles that I couldn’t recognize, and that was all the noise and shapes I could actually see.

“What do you think this is?” I whispered to Raul who was standing behind me with one of his hands on my waist.

“I don’t know, princess, but it’s oddly familiar” he said pulling me closer to him.

“Yeah, I think it’s from...” my sentence was cut in half as that song started playing and the light lit up enough to see a pile of ‘bodies’ laying around.

It was the classical scene from ‘It’ in the swell. When I looked to one of the corners, there he was, someone dressed as Pennywise smiling wickedly at us and I felt my heart stop. When I was younger, I was so damn afraid of clowns, but as I grew older, I thought that fear was gone, I haven’t been scared for ages and I don’t what it was, but this was the creepiest things I’ve ever seen. I guess Raul sensed that I wasn’t okay and grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the house before anything could happen. He gently sat me down on a bench that was behind the house and offered me his water bottle, that I gladly took and chugged it down.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly as he crouched down to be on my eye level.

“Yeah, just got a little...”

“I know” he said holding my hand and kissing my knuckles.

“I’m better now”

“Sure?” he asked and I just nodded “wanna go see if we can get a huge teddy bear?”

“Why?”

“It’s valentine’s day, princess, I think you deserve it”

“Okay, then” I said smiling and getting up.

Raul took the opportunity to place his hand on my lower back, slowly trailing down to end up on my back pocket, giving me the opportunity to stop him. That’s one of the things that always makes my heart beat a little faster. He’s known for his one nights stands and temper, but very few people know he’s actually a really selfless lover and always makes sure the other is extremely comfortable with everything that’s going on, and he can also be extremely sweet if he wants too. And that’s the problem, he rarely shows this side of his to people, so that’s why no one knows what he’s really like.

We went to a tent where we had to drop as many cans as possible to reach to the huge bear, with ping pong balls. The guy said we could make a pair and try it, but no one got the teddy bear yet. I think Raul felt challenged and said we could do it without blinking, he payed and turned to me, placing the bucket with balls in front of us. The guy started the timer and we started shooting as much as we could, throwing three balls at once and it was simply impossible to drop on of the cans specifically, even though we hit it a bunch of times. The guy announced time was off and that we didn’t make it, with a cocky grin on his face.

“There’s something wrong with that can, we shot it a million times, you’re fooling everyone” Raul said.

“Sorry you couldn’t impress your date, maybe you should find someone who could actually drop a few cans”

“I could if you didn’t glue it or something, and she’s not a date, she’s my girl” he said playing with his rings, which meant he was nervous.

“Yeah? Prove it, pretty boy”

“Look...” Raul started saying but I placed my hands gently on his chest and his voice died on his throat.

“Let me just see if I get it” I said turning my head to the guy from the tent and batting my lashes at him “all I have to do is drop all the cans with the bucket we gave to us, right?”

“If you want the teddy bear, then that’s it, but you can pick the prize from the last round”

“Okay, can I play again and then pick the prizes?” I asked as sweetly as I could.

“Sure, ma’am”

“We’re not going to play again” Raul said looking straight at the dude.

“Please” I asked turning my face to him and rubbing his chest gently “just trust me” I asked pouting and he sighed, nodding.

“Fine”

I smiled at him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips, making him grin.

“Ready?” I asked Raul as we got back to our places and he nodded “go!”

We started throwing everything again and dropping all of them again, and as I imagined, the same can didn’t seem to even move even though we kept throwing all the balls on it. I suddenly grabbed the metal bucket and threw everything and was on it on the floor, throwing the bucket itself and finally dropping the last can. I turned to both of them smiling widely and they stared at me in shock, Raul’s face quickly turning into a boyish grin and the guy seemed angry.

“That’s not valid, I said...”

“You said that I had to drop all the cans only with the material you provided me, I’m pretty sure you gave me the fucking bear and that cute set of pillow of ‘Mr. Right’ and ‘Mrs. Always Right’”

“No fucking way, you can’t...” the guy started but Raul grabbed him by the colar.

“Give her what she asked for, you’re the little shit here who cheated on the first place, now, the fucking bear” Raul said in a raspy voice that almost had me and the guy both fainting, but for very different reasons.

“Okay” he said grabbing both of the requested items and giving it to us.

“Ferris wheel?”

“Do we really need to go?”

“Yeah, I went to that haunted thing, you’re coming with me”

“Fine” I said and went to wait in line while he placed the bear and pillows on his trunk.

The line was a little longer than usual, sunset was starting so it would be a pretty view when you hit the top. Raul has his arm around my shoulder as soon as he got in it with me, we had a casual chatter until it was our turn to hop on the seats. He placed my legs over his lap, keeping a hand on my thigh as the other one held my hand. There was a pleasant breeze hitting us and I payed my head on his shoulder as the attraction started working. I could easily picture us as a real thing when he acted like that, so soft and sweet, without the whole sex part of our relationship’, but unfortunately I had to remind myself every time that this was just that, nothing less and nothing more.

“You’re gorgeous” I heard his raspy and low voice and turned to face him.

“You are too” I said as I felt the blush rising on my cheeks.

“And cute” he said chuckling and turning a little bit sideways, so I was still comfortable with my legs above his, but he could pull me closer and keep his arm on the backrest of the seat “do you ever wonder about the future?”

“Hm, yeah, I want to be able to still live in Toronto, but also would like to expand my job a bit more”

“No, I know that... I was asking about your personal life, I love to hear about your job but that’s all you seem to talk about”

“Well, that’s all I think about”

“Don’t you think about a serious relationship or settling down?”

“Sometimes, I just try not to focus too much on it... you?”

“Me?” he asked and looked straight ahead, giving me the opportunity to analise his face better with the orange and pink glow lighting up his greek god like features “I’ve never really thought about it, at least not since my last girlfriend... I mean, I know I’d love to be a dad and getting up to do pancakes on a Sunday and all that cute shit, I just thought for a long while that I wasn’t ready for that yet”

“She didn’t deserve you” I spilled it out before I could hold it back and he just chuckled looking at me through the corner of his eye.

“I wasn’t the best boyfriend”

“That’s a lie and everyone knows it except you, Raul” I said and he just shrugged “I’m serious, I’m not your girlfriend and you did all of these little things for me, I can’t even imagine what you did for her, and... are you even listening?” I asked as I noticed that he was staring at me but his mind was somewhere else.

“I’m sorry” he mumbled cupping my face gently with one hand “it’s just... you look so good right now, I just keep getting lost in your eyes”

“Any girl would be lucky to have you, or to call you hers”

“It’s a shame they can’t though” his gaze kept falling to my lips as he spoke.

“At least they get to kiss you”

“Hmm no, they don’t, but you do” he said softly as he crashed our lips together on a tender kiss, the ferris wheel on top, just like those cliche movies I like to say I hate but at the end of the day I’m always watching them and crying my eyes out.

His hand on my face kept lightly caressing my cheek with his thumb as the other pulled me closer by my waist, placing me practically on his lap. I threaded my fingers on his chocolate locks and moved without breaking the kiss to actually sit on his lap, earning a little strangled moan from him. His lips were moving in sync with mine in a way I haven’t felt before. It was obviously filled with desire and passion, but at the same time was loving and like he had all the time in the world to kiss me, deepening it slowly, letting his hand on my leg trail and gently squeeze my thigh.

It was vicious kissing him and I couldn’t stop myself from getting lost in all the sensations he was providing. I could feel him everywhere -on my tongue, on my lips, on my cheeks, on my sides, on the back of my neck, under me; his scent was all I could smell and he was all I could taste. The only sounds I was able to hear were the soft ones we couldn’t hold back and my heart beating wildly in my ears. It’s like my mind went completely blank and I swear I never felt this way by only kissing him or anyone without second intentions. Even though it was passionate, it wasn’t with sexual intentions, it was something much deeper than that.

He pulled back for air after what felt like a lifetime but not enough time altogether, but his hands didn’t let me go anywhere, not that I actually wanted to. He rested his forehead in mine as we caught our breaths, the two of us grinning like idiots as the wheel started going down. He placed a chaste kiss on my lips one more time and just stared into my eyes, like he could see my soul.

“I wasn’t going to talk to you about it today but....” he mumbled softly, his voice deep and with the raspy tone I love way too much “...when you asked me about the future, I said and still try to say that I’m not ready yet and that I don’t know, that I don’t think about it, but that’s a lie, I’ve thought about it recently and that’s all that’s been on my mind lately, and maybe it is time to settle down”

Holy shit, that’s what this whole trip thing is about. He’s about to say that what we have is over. That was a goodbye kiss or something like that, oh my God, that’s what Peter meant when he told me to be careful when he first heard about us. Raul’s collection of broken hearts were huge and everyone knew it. I should’ve known better.

“Raul... I don’t want to talk about it, please” I said getting away from his touch to clear my head

“But, Y/N” shit, he didn’t even called me ‘princess’ or whatever.

“Don’t, please don’t do this to me, I don’t want to go through this again”

“Okay, do you want to go back to the cabin?” he asked and I nodded, bracing myself as I finally felt the temperature falling “are you cold? Do you want my jacket?” he offered and I shook my head.

We hopped off the attraction as soon as we could and walked to the car in a deafening silence. The drive to the campsite seemed longer than it actually was, he kept stealing glances at me with a concerned expression all over his face, but I kept my glare outside the car, curled into a ball on the passenger seat. As soon as the car went into a full stop in front of where we would spend the night, I got out and went straight into the bathroom, locking the door and sitting on the floor, finally letting all the emotions I was holding back flow out into tears.

I finally thought I’ve found someone who could be the one for me, he actually treated me right and cared about me, but apparently I don’t get to have a happy ending. I’m just tired of always being the second choice or the ‘good time call’. And with him, I finally felt like I might’ve been the one. I guess that’s why everyone falls for him. He makes us feel special and then get bored, just to mine onto the next one. And the worst? He doesn’t do it on purpose, he told me he’s not the one to catch feelings and he did everything the promised, I was the one reading too much into it. And it’s all my fault.

Once I got over my pitiful situation, I got up and decided to shower, taking my sweet time to try to relax and get that boy out of my head. When I was done with it, I went back to the room wrapped up on a towel and there was no sight of him at all, but his stuff were still there, so I took the opportunity to grab a pair of a white lace lingerie (since all the pieces I brought were similar, I had to pick one), sweatpants and a hoodie. I changed into it and braided my hair loosely, grabbing a pair of uggs I went out to try to find him. Only to see him sitting by a campfire with a backpack beside him, wrapped in a blanket and holding a stick into the fire with a marshmallow on the end. I don’t know if he noticed me, but if he did, he didn’t show, he just stood there, staring at the flames with a sour expression.

“You should grab a blanket or go back inside” he mumbled after a while, making me jump because I wasn’t expecting him to talk to me at all after my little shit show.

“Hm, actually, can I talk to you?”

“Sure” he said sighing and eating the sugary treat, I took a deep breath and sat beside him on the wood improvised bench.

“You did the campfire”

“You said you wanted one, I wanted to do as many things you wanted today, and besides, I’ve already brought the wine and marshmallows”

“Yeah, I noticed your efforts, thank you for that” I said and he nodded.

“It was worth it” he said and the awkward silence was starting to come back until I decided to break it.

“I’m sorry, about the way I acted, there’s just no excuse for what I did, you’re trying to talk to me and I just snapped at you for no reason, I’m so sorry” I said looking at the fire.

“It’s not your fault, maybe we weren’t ready to talk about it”

“No, it is, I got everything wrong and didn’t even let you finished... we’re friends, it’s my job to listen to you and help you when you need it”

“I’m sorry”

“I’m sorry too” I said softly and curling myself into a ball to not freeze to death.

“Hey, come here” he said opening his blanket for me to get closer to him, and I obliged happily, being quickly engulfed in his warmth and his scent “if I give you a marshmallow, will we go back to normal?”

“Sure” I said smiling at him and he chuckled.

He offered me a glass of wine and I could not refuse it. We spent what felt like ages just talking about random stuff and eating marshmallows, holding each other to keep us warm. Raul really is amazing and I don’t know if I’m ready to loose all of this, I hope we can still be friends after this.

“So... can I ask you why you’re crying?”

“I wasn’t” I said hating myself from being so transparent.

“Princess...”

“I just... it’s stupid really... and you probably already imagine why so...”

“Oh, yeah, sorry about that”

“So... who’s the lucky girl?” I tried changing the subject a little.

“Lucky girl? Honey, you’ve had like a glass of whine, are you already drunk?”

“What? Don’t act like I’m the crazy one, I know okay? I’m over it, I just want to be a good friend and get to know her”

“Get to know who, Y/N?!”

“The girl you’ve been thinking about settling down and stuff, there’s a girl, right? Isn’t that why you want to end things with me?”

“What the hell are you... oh my God, Y/N!”

“What?” I asked and he started full on laughing “it’s not funny, you know?”

“Shit, sorry, princess” he said trying to hold back the laughter “there’s no girl, I’m not seeing anyone but you, thought you knew that already, and I’m not ending anything! Are you crazy? Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know, maybe you got bored and I don’t know, Raul, I just... I guess I got too confused about today and then you started talking about how you never thought about the future until now”

“Oh no, no, you got all wrong, there’s no other girl and I’m not bored, how could I be bored around you? You’re everything that’s been keeping me sane lately, I need you so fucking bad” he said looking quite desperate to make me believe on him “I know I suck at communicating and I need to work on that, but I thought that this was already too obvious”

“What?”

“You don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Jesus Christ, you don’t know? What does all of our months together and today mean to you?”

“That you’re very loving and caring when you can, and the best friend I could ever had”

“Is that all? Nothing else came to your mind?”

“Hmm... no?”

“I’m fucking head over heels in love with you, dumbass”

“Wait a second... what?!”

“That’s what you heard, God, I can’t believe you didn’t notice!”

“How could I?”

“I took you to my parents, I dropped a lot of shifts just to cuddle the fuck out of you when you have a bad day or are your period, you’re the only one besides my family who’s seen the softest side of me, the only one besides my brothers who I tell everything to, the one I took five days off work to organize and take you to this trip on valentine’s day to keep you from being sad and also taking you on a date without freaking you out, to me we’ve been a lot more then special friends for ages now and I’m so sorry for that, I made the rule about no feelings allowed and I broke it, and I know you don’t feel the same, I just never thought you’d be so sad about it, or I wouldn’t even mention the subject of the future...”

“Shut up for like a second” I said cutting him off “are you telling me you’ve been in love with me this whole time and didn’t say a thing?”

“You’re crying half an hour ago, how did you expect me to tell you that earlier?!” He had a point. And I can’t believe I never noticed all the stuff he did for me and only me “Hm... can you say something?”

“Well, I guess I’m pretty dumb, cause I was crying cause I thought you wanted someone else and that hurt like hell cause I fell for you too”

“Are you kidding me?” he asked with the biggest smile on his face, he could literally light up the whole carnival if he wanted.

“Nope”

“You actually fell for me? Like I did for you?”

“Just like that” I said grinning like a freak.

He cupped my jaw with his massive hand and pulled me in for a kiss. It was like there were fireworks everywhere. His lips molded into mine like they’re made to be glued together forever. His tongue swiped on my bottom lip asking for me to open my mouth, which I did without even blinking, making Raul let out a soft groan, pulling me to straddle his thighs as he deepened the kiss, and not long after, trailing the down my neck with opened-mouth kisses, making me whimper lightly and soon I felt his smirk against my skin.

“Not the worst valentine’s day, eh?” he said kissing my forehead as we tried to recover from the kiss.

“Nope, definitely the best” I said cupping his face and kissing him all over again.

                                                       -*-

*Last piece inspired by the valentine’s day!

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

: @fivefeetapartt

[wheresmynaya]

Two Ghosts Ch.29 | Brittana

Holy shit, one more chapter and this baby is complete. WILD!

Also available on ff.net (x) ao3 (x) & below the cut!

The last time Santana harbored a secret of this magnitude she’s was hiding so deep in the closet that she was basically in Narnia. The difference this time though is that when she thinks of this particular secret, she can’t help but feel giddy. Like a good giddy, a great giddy! This secret is going to change her life, it’s going to change Brittany’s life, and she really can’t contain the joy that it brings when she thinks of it.

She’s going to have to get it together though if she wants to pull this thing off, because although she has a bit of a track record when it comes to blurting things, she doesn’t want that to happen with this. She already jumped the gun when it came to asking Britt to be her girlfriend and asking her out on a date, she doesn’t want to do the same thing when it comes to proposing. It gets harder everyday though, because every little thing Brittany does has Santana itching to just drop down on one knee right then and there.

But she won’t do it.

She has spent some time thinking about this, from the flashy grand gestures to intimate moments with just the two of them, she has thought of it all and she thinks she has finally devised the perfect plan. So she can’t just blurt it out because Brittany decided to surprise her with breakfast in bed one Sunday morning or because Brittany said something really cute in her sleep or because Brittany coaxed her into an impromptu dance party when Santana was feeling grumpy about her favorite show being cancelled or because Brittany simply brought home flowers for her on the anniversary of her Abuelo’s passing.

Santana has to find some type of self-control because what she has planned is going to be perfect and Brittany deserves that.

\\

Santana is in the middle of getting dinner ready – which just means checking that the oven is still preheating– when her phone buzzes. It’s Brittany telling her that she’s on her way back to the apartment now and Santana smiles at the kiss emoji she ends the text with. She knows Brittany has been having a rough week with balancing dance classes and finalizing the Cheerios’ Nationals routine, it’s like the girl doesn’t have an off switch because even when they don’t have Cheerios’ practice, she’s putting work in at the dance studio.

Brittany’s never been one to complain though, she just puts her head down and does what she has to do. Santana figured she’d do something nice and come over while Brittany’s still in class and cook up all of her favorites to see if that might help cheer her up a little.

When Brittany breezes through the door 15 minutes later, Santana is still in the kitchen finishing off the salad she decided to make at the last minute. Brittany’s strong arms wrap around her waist and then she settles her chin on Santana’s shoulder. Santana grins at how Brittany instantly relaxes against her.

“Hi,” Brittany greets then tilts her head just a little so that her lips brush against Santana’s cheek for a lazy kiss.

“Hey B,” Santana replies and twists around in Brittany’s arms to face her. There’s blonde hair falling from Brittany’s loose bun and she smells like sweat and lavender laundry detergent. She looks so tired and Santana smooths out the little crinkle in her brow as she asks, “How was class?”

“Very, very intense,” Brittany sighs and drops her forehead on Santana’s shoulder. Santana takes the brunt of her weight and starts to rub up and down her back, “It was a good intense though, I think we might be able to incorporate some of what I’ve learned in the routine for Nationals.”

“That’s awesome,” Santana grins while Brittany lifts her head again.

“Yeah, I’m thinking of maybe using Alex? She’s the best tumbler and this stunt I’m thinking of needs someone with her skill level,” Brittany explains and Santana can tell she’s about to start thinking out loud, “I could put her in after the basket toss? No wait, I can put her in before and it can lead to the basket toss? But the transition… I could use Kelly? She’s the next best tumbler? What do you think?”

“I think whatever you decide is going to look great, but maybe let’s give that genius brain of yours a rest?” Santana suggests once she sees the deepening crease between Brittany’s brows return. She goes to smooth over it again, “At least just for tonight, okay? Don’t want you to burn yourself out.”

Brittany softens at that but her smile falters. She pulls away from Santana goes to pour herself a glass of water, keeping her back to Santana as she says, “This is nothing compared to how I was at MIT. I was on 24/7.”

“Yeah, you’ve told me and how did that work out for you?” Santana challenges with her brow quirked. She can see Brittany’s shoulders droop a little before she turns to lean against the sink.

“I don’t know,” Brittany says sarcastically, “It got the job done, didn’t it?”

Santana’s surprised to hear that tone, but she doesn’t take it personally. Instead she calls out Brittany’s name warningly, “Britt. You don’t have to do that again, I know how hard it was on you. I don’t want to see you put yourself through that.”

“This routine has to be perfect, San,” Brittany tries to tell her with determination in her eyes, “We have to win, we have to do this for Sue. It was like…her dying request and she specifically asked me, asked us. I don’t want to let her down and I don’t know what happens if we fail, maybe 100 years of bad luck?”

Santana can see Brittany slowly getting stuck in her head but she chuckles dryly, “I really don’t think it works that way.”

“Well, I don’t want to wait around to find out. Things just started to turn around for me, I think I’m finally getting somewhere and I don’t want to mess that up with losing Nationals. I feel like I’ve found what I’m meant to do and what I’m meant to do is get this team to Nationals and win,” Brittany pauses to catch her breath before saying, “You and Quinn and Sue and the whole squad are counting on me to choreograph this routine and if I have to work my ass off to get us there then so be it.”

Santana can clearly see now that Brittany’s wound up so tight she’s just about to explode from the stress and pressure. She had a hunch that it might be taking a turn with the extra hours Brittany was putting in at the studio, but she didn’t think it was like this. Santana feels a twinge of guilt for how long she let this go on for. Brittany was always the master of hiding her feelings, especially when it came down to things like this where she was so worried of letting people down.

“Britt, you’re no help to anyone if you push yourself too hard,” Santana says softly but Brittany just glances away. Santana sighs at that and moves to close the distance between them, “Listen, you’re a great choreographer and everyone is so grateful for the amount of work you do but, babe, you have got to give yourself a break too.”

Brittany bites her lip at Santana’s words.

“You’re clearly the one with the most experience, but Quinn and I have some experience too. After all, I did spend some time at UofL and I’m pretty sure Quinn came out the womb with pompoms in her hands,” Santana was pleased to see Brittany crack a small smile at the joke and took the moment to wrap her arms around her waist, “We can help you if you need us, all you have to do is ask.”

When Brittany doesn’t say anything, Santana squeezes at her hips and gives her sweet smile, “What do you say, hmm?”

Brittany rolls her eyes but she can’t fight the smile that begs to match Santana’s, “How can I argue when you’re pulling a face like that?”

“That’s what I thought. Now enough of that for tonight,” Santana then rolls up to press a quick kiss to Brittany’s lips before asking, “Are you hungry? I’ve got chicken nuggets in the oven and there’s mac and cheese on the stove. I also made a salad that’s in the fridge so we can still feel healthy. Oh! And also got that wine you like.”

“Those are all of my favorite things.”

“I know,” Santana winks.

“That’s perfect,” Brittany beams as she runs her hands down Santana’s arms, “Thank you, baby.”

“I figured I could do this since you’ve had such a busy week,” Santana replies casually, feeling a little bashfully beneath Brittany’s gaze, “You’ve been working so hard.”

“You’re the best,” Brittany tells her and dips down to kiss the tip of her nose, “Do I have time for a shower?”

Santana glances at the timer then back to Brittany, “Yeah, I just put them in so maybe like 20 minutes?”

“Sweet,” Brittany starts to smirk as her hands settle on Santana’s hips, “Do you have time for a shower?”

Santana giggles at that and doesn’t even have to say yes before she’s dragging Brittany to the bathroom, leaving a trail of clothes behind them.

\\

An hour later, they’re sitting on the couch freshly showered and their bellies full. Brittany has her head on Santana’s lap while they watch some new reality show and Santana plays with the damp curls along Brittany’s neck. Neither of them have said anything for awhile now and if it weren’t for the occasional chuckles, Santana would’ve thought Brittany had fallen asleep.

It’s then that Santana glances at the time and remembers the pile of laundry that she had forgotten to put on before she left for Brittany’s. She hadn’t realized how late it was getting so she starts to shift out from under Brittany to start cleaning up their empty plates.

“Where you goin’?” Brittany pouts once Santana is free.

“I’m just going to clean this before I go,” Santana tells her as she gathers the plates.

“Go?” Brittany frowns and moves to crouch on her knees, following Santana with her eyes as she heads for the kitchen. She rests on the back of the couch and watches Santana take everything to the sink.

“Well yeah, I’ve got so much laundry to do. I completely forgot about it,” Santana sighs as she starts the water.

“Do you have to though?”

“I’m dangerously low on panties.”

“Since when is that a bad thing?”

Santana glances up to find Brittany smirking at her from the couch. She lets out a giggle as she shakes her head, “What’s the point in buying all these cute sets from Victoria Secret if I don’t wear them?”

“You have a point there,” Brittany nods with this far away look in her eye, no doubt drifting into the gutter.

Santana leaves her with those thoughts and continues to do the rest of the dishes. She’s so preoccupied with washing that she doesn’t catch what Brittany says a moment later. She looks up when Brittany stands from the couch and starts to walk over to her looking perkier than before.

“I didn’t hear what you said,” Santana says because she feels like she’s missed some joke or something but Brittany just smiles anyway.

“I said that you should just live here with me,” Brittany repeats through her grin, “You should move in.”

Santana’s brows rise at the request and surprisingly she’s a little taken off guard. Why? She has no idea, it seems like the next step to take anyway and it really would save time on having to go back and forth. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t lived with a significant other ever in her life and this is kind of big so naturally she’s going to freak out a little.

Brittany seems to notice and starts to chuckle as she turns the water off and reaches for a dish towel to pass to Santana. The brunette dries off her hands but remains silent, thinking about Brittany’s words.

“You practically live here already,” Brittany explains, “You’ve got my spare key and a drawer in my dresser full of your clothes and everything. You might as well have some closet space too and maybe one of the shelves in the bathroom? We can have dinner together every night and you won’t have to go home to do your laundry because I have a washing machine. We can go to sleep together and wake up together, it’s like a never ending sleepover! Doesn’t that sound awesome?”

Santana blinks and she doesn’t realize she’s smiling until Brittany’s poking lightly at her dimple.

“You gonna say something or are you just gonna keep standing there being all cute again?” Brittany teases with this lopsided grin.

“I think that moving in with you is a capital idea,” Santana finally says and her chest wells with pride. She planned on saying more, but Brittany had wrapped her up in a hug so fast that the rest of her words were knocked out of the way. Instead, she just laughs and hugs her back even tighter.

“We’re so grown up now,” Brittany jokes a moment later, “Living together and stuff.”

“And stuff,” Santana mocks lightly, “I honestly don’t know when it happened…growing up.”

Brittany just shrugs before kissing Santana’s cheek, “Neither, but I’m glad I’m doing it with you.”

Santana swoons on the spot and nearly drops down on one knee right then and there too.

\\

They’re all at practice the following Monday when Brittany starts to introduce the new routine to the squad. She ran it pass Santana and Quinn the day before and they’ve both given her any feedback they had, but it wasn’t much because Brittany continuously comes up with amazing routines. Her background in dance and gymnastics combined with her years of cheerleading have created this awesome combination which makes her a fierce choreographer.

Santana’s so damn proud of her. To think that Brittany almost gave this part of her up for good when she was at MIT, it blows Santana’s mind. The sheer talent just oozes off of Brittany and the best part is that she’s such a great teacher as well. She’s the perfect amount of strict without being bitchy and the kids love her for that. They actually push themselves because they want to make her proud.

They want to make all of their coaches proud.

For the most part, they do. But there are some days when practice just drags on because the girls are just off of their game for some reason whether it be some outside distractions or drama. On those days, Santana gets to be very strict and she finds some joy in that.

Today though, it’s a little bit of both. Santana can tell there’s a rift going on with a couple girls which effects everyone else on the squad but there’s also some excitement around learning the new routine so it balances out a little.

Santana’s watching like a hawk though while the girls stretch and quickly spots some laziness.

“Excuse me, what is this?” Santana asks as she walks around one girl. She nudges at her foot, “Point your toe, I shouldn’t have to say this to you when we’re this far into the year.”

The girl cowers away and corrects her mistake while Santana moves on but she doesn’t get very far when she spots another error.

“Come on!” Santana groans and nudges the girl’s foot too, “Why are we acting brand new, ladies? If I have to tell one more person to point their toes…”

Lucky for them, Santana doesn’t spot any more of that and they’re able to move on from warm-ups to conditioning. This is where Quinn takes over while Santana and Brittany hang back to watch everyone’s form.

“You think Alex can do a back hand spring to a full?” Brittany asks quietly, “She’s the top tumbler.”

“She’s also the best flyer and base. She’s probably one of the only ones on the team that can do all three,” Santana replies, “But don’t tell her that, I don’t want her head getting so big that it topples the pyramid.”

“Like she doesn’t know she’s the best already,” Brittany chuckles then calls out for Alex to come over.

“Yes Coach B?”

“Can you do a back hand spring to a full?” Brittany asks.

“That all?” Alex smirks before turning to walk over to the mats.

Santana and Brittany exchange a knowing look before watching what Alex can do.

It’s really no surprise that she pulls it off effortlessly on the first try.

“Was that what you were looking for?” Alex asks upon jogging back over.

Brittany nods and jots down a note on her clipboard, “Yup, you’ll need to work on your connection but I’ll let you know if I decide to use you there. You can return to conditioning.”

Alex looks a little surprised by Brittany’s feedback but returns to the squad anyway.

When Santana glances over at Brittany’s notes, she finds the blonde drawing a picture of a flower.

“I just wanted her to think I was writing something important,” Brittany whispers, “But I’m totally going to use her for that one part. That was so awesome.”

“So sneaky,” Santana chuckles before they meet up with Quinn to run through the first 8-count of the new routine.

//

It’s one of their more elaborate routines and definitely the hardest by far, but no one ever won Nationals by doing something easy. With the Cheerios’ reputation and history of winning, there has to be certain standards and if anyone knows that, it’s Santana, Brittany and Quinn.

They’re about halfway through practice when a couple of the girls that Santana noticed at the start of practice begin to argue. She knew it was only a matter of time judging by the stink eye one was giving the other during warm-ups, so she was ready for this.

“Guys, chill!” Maddy tries breaking up the argument herself but the girls only go louder. When the pushing and hair pulling started up, Santana was quick to shut that down.

“Let go of each other right now or you’re both out of here,” Santana snaps as she pushes one girl away while Quinn moves the other. Santana grits her jaw and glares at the both of them, “I don’t know what kind of drama is going on here and I don’t care. I can tell you that it’s not going to fly at practice though. You understand me?”

“Well if she wasn’t so dam – “

“What?! Wasn’t so what?!”

“Jesus,” Santana groans before clapping her hands together, “Enough!”

The girls settle again, crossing their arms over their chests while Santana glares.

“You’re a team, you have to trust each other and have each other’s back because that is exactly how people get hurt. Whatever you’ve got going on, figure it out before you come in here. If you can’t do that then there is no space for you on this team.”

That threat surprised a lot of the girls, “But Coach S, Nationals is only four months away! We can’t find a replacement that close.“

“You’re right we can’t,” Santana cuts off and whirls back on the two troublemakers, “So you two better do everything you can to sort this out or you’ll cost the entire team Nationals. You want that? This is the last year to compete as a Cheerio for some girls here, you want to be the reason they can’t win?”

“No Coach S,” They said in unison, already looking remorseful.

Santana smirked at that, “Good. Get it together then.”

Then she returned to her position in front of the squad where Brittany had been watching. The blonde smiled proudly at her before clapping her hands and taking a step towards the squad.

“Alright, let’s take it from the top!” Brittany calls out then starts running through the counts.

It’s taking everything in Santana to not bite her lip at the sight, because nothing is hotter than Brittany being strict. She makes these little sound effects when she’s in the zone and Santana really can’t help but let her thoughts drift a little.

“I think this is Brittany’s best work yet,” Quinn comments as she comes over to stand next to Santana. She’s got her eyes on the girls, watching how they slowly get better and better after each run through.

Santana nods, “She’s been working really hard on this one. Well, she works hard on every routine but more so this one. A lot is riding on this.”

“We’ll pull this off,” Quinn says without hesitation, “This is a hardworking bunch so I’m not worried one bit. We’ve got this.”

Santana soaks in Quinn’s words and nods to agree. They’ve got less than four months to get this right, less than four months until they find out whether or not all their hard work has paid off.

\\

10 Weeks Until Nationals;

The coaches stand back and anxiously watch as the squad attempts their 14th full out. It’s rough at best and they can barely get through the entire routine without making at least five mistakes, but at least they’re getting through it now.

“Push! Push! Push!” Quinn yells out over the music as Alex tumbles across the mat. Her technique is there but you can tell she’s tired from the slight waver in her connections, but she pushes through and lands the final stunt perfectly.

“Yes!” Brittany cheers and she’s jumping on her feet as the Alex returns to her position and they shift into the next 8 count. The blonde is nodding along with the music as she calls out the counts along with Santana.

“Get her up there!” Santana yells as one of the flyers struggles to get in position. They’re going off beat now as they try to get her up there, but the coaches are proud of their determination.

“Let’s go, let’s go!” Brittany chants as they try to recover the lost time and move onto the next stunt. If they pull off this and the next stunt, this will be the first time they’ve executed the entire routine without the pyramid crumbling.

Quinn’s bouncing in her spot while Brittany and Santana just look on while holding their breath.

Maddy completes the first basket toss, perfect. Denise is next and it lands, perfect. Lastly, it’s Alex and she’s launched into the air but Santana knows the minute that she lands that it’s not good.

Her side of the pyramid collapses as Alex crumples to the mat holding her foot.

“Shit,” Santana says under her breath and Brittany is quick to turn off the music. Quinn and a trainer are already running over to Alex while Santana is telling everyone to clear the mat and hit those crunches. She hangs back with Brittany while Quinn speaks with the trainer and they look over Alex.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Alex groans as she writhes from side to side in pain. She’s going red in the face as she slams her fist against the mat.

“Hey, easy. You’re alright,” Quinn hums as she tries to comfort the girl, “You’re going to be fine.”

By the looks of it, Santana can tell Alex is already starting to beat herself up about this and it’s hard to watch. She and Brittany continue to wait off to the side though, not wanting to crow them.

“It doesn’t look broken,” Brittany comments as she goes to squeeze at Santana’s shoulder. She gives her a hopeful smile, “I’ve seen enough broken bones by now to tell the difference.”

“Let’s hope it isn’t,” Santana sighs.

The trainer looks over Alex’s injured foot for a moment before finally breaking the news, “Bad news: it’s a sprain. Good news: it’s minor.”

Alex slumps back, a mix of relief and annoyance, and asks through gritted teeth, “Will I still be able to cheer at Nationals?”

The trainer looks uncertain, “Possibly. With enough rest, it should heal up in time but that’s a big if.”

“Great,” Alex grumbles and soon Quinn and the trainer are helping her off the mat. Once they’ve got her tended to on the side, Quinn jogs over to Brittany and Santana to give them the news.

“What happened?” Santana asks urgently.

“Is anything broken?” Brittany questions just as eagerly.

Quinn shakes her head, “No, but the trainer is saying it’s a sprained toe.”

“That’s it?”

“Santana!” Brittany scolds.

“What?” Santana softens, “The girl has nine more.”

Brittany and Quinn both shake her heads at her for that.

“You can come back from a sprain and Alex is a tough kid. She’ll bounce back,” Santana tries to recover, “We’ll be okay. We’ll just have to put someone else in her place for now.”

“Like who?” Brittany asks and Santana can already see the worry forming.

“We’ll use Kelly,” Santana is quick to say then gives them both an encouraging smile, “She knows Alex’s routine anyway.”

Brittany nods like she’s letting the thought roll around, “True, she just needs to work on like…everything.”

“Better get back to it then?” Santana smirks.

Brittany doesn’t seem comforted but Quinn jumps in next with the encouragement.

“She can do it, Britt. We just have to push her a little harder,” Quinn says, “We’re 10 weeks out, we’ve got to start testing those back up plans.”

“Quinn’s right,” Santana adds, “You didn’t spend hours and hours coming up with them for nothing. How about it?”

That seems to break Brittany out of her thoughts long enough to smile, “Okay yeah, we go this.”

\\

8 Weeks Until Nationals;

Quinn and Brittany are cheering on the squad as they attempt another full out. With Kelly in Alex’s place, things have been a little choppy but it’s getting there and the coaches are really pleased with the squad’s improvement.

“Hold it,” Quinn urges as one of the base girls struggles to lift a flyer up. She wavers but soon she’s locked in place and the pyramid holds. That’s the first time it has happened so far.

“Yes!” Brittany yells and she’s bouncing up and down while pumping her first.

Quinn’s right there with her and clapping her hands, “Great job, ladies!”

It’s not the prettiest sight, but it’s getting better and they’re progressing fast. Santana can’t stop glancing over at Brittany as she praises everyone, she’s just so perfect in this role and she loves to see her girl this proud.

Santana smiles but then catches sight of Alex with her leg propped up on a bench off to the side. She’s clapping for her teammates and on the surface she looks proud too, but Santana knows her better than that.

“How’s the toe?” Santana asks after waltzing over.

“Put me in and we’ll find out,” Alex challenges without missing a beat. It makes Santana toss back her head with a hearty laugh.

“Not a chance, kid.”

“Come on, Coach, I need to get back in there. I’ll wrap it and I’ll be fine,” Alex just about pleads.

“You want to risk injuring yourself even further?” Santana shakes her head, “No way.”

Alex frowns and slumps back against the wall, “This is stupid.”

“Sure is,” Santana chuckles then pats her on the top of her head, “You’ll be back in soon.”

When Santana leaves her side to rejoin Quinn and Santana, they’re breathless from all the cheering.

“That was so awesome,” Brittany beams while the squad winds down amongst themselves, “I bet they’ll perfect this by next week.”

“Definitely,” Quinn agrees then calls for the squad to gather one last time before being dismissed. They’re slow to come over, drained from such an intense practice and quickly packing up the mats.

“Great work today, everyone!” Brittany tells them happily, “Like really awesome job, we’re going to crush it at Nationals for sure.”

The squad looks pleased with the feedback as they start pumping each other up.

“Rest up, tomorrow we’re focusing on stunts again,” Quinn tells them and the rest of the coaches wave to everyone as they all begin to gather their belongings. Quinn goes off to lock up the equipment room which leaves Santana and Brittany by the bleachers packing up.

“God, I can’t wait to go home,” Santana sighs as she stuffs everything in her duffle, “I’m ready for a hot shower and I think we should order take out from that one place you love so much too and like veg out on the –“

Santana’s words are cut off when she feels Brittany’s lips press against her cheek. It catches her off guard but she turns to her and smiles like a dope.

“What was that for?” She asks when she finds Brittany grinning.

“You said home,” Brittany tells her simply, “You called the apartment home. You’ve never called it that before.”

Santana blushes at the fact and suddenly she feels a little shy about it, “It just came out.”

“I know,” Brittany smirks as she pulls her bag onto her shoulder, “That’s what makes it so great.”

Santana bites her lip at that and lifts her bag to her shoulder too. Soon Brittany’s hand slides into Santana’s and their fingers thread together. It’s warm and soft and it makes Santana feel grounded.

“Let’s go home.”

“Okay,” Santana grins and squeezes at Britt’s hand before calling out over her shoulder towards the equipment room, “Hurry up, Q! We’re about to leave your ass!”

\\

6 Weeks Until Nationals;

Santana watches alongside with the rest of the coaches as Denise is tossed into the air and nearly collides with Maddy when securing her position. The shaky movements have the base girls struggling to get their footing and soon Denise crashes into Maddy and the two come toppling down. Their falls are broken so no one gets hurt, but that kind of mistake shouldn’t be happening this far into practice.

“Listen to directions people!” Santana scolds, “Laura and Steph, you have to hold it. You can’t just walk away, you have to try and save it. I’ve told you this so many times already. You have got to listen if you’re gonna work on a team. This is how accidents happen.”

“Sorry Coach,” They frown and go to shake out their arms.

Santana just shakes her head, “Go back to conditioning.”

She’s got her hands on her hips and she’s doing everything she can to keep Snixxx at bay. Brittany tries to comfort Santana as she puts some distance between the squad and her.

“You okay?” Brittany asks hesitantly as Santana goes for her water bottle.

“That could’ve ended so badly,” She says after taking a drink. She glances over to where Quinn is working with Alex in some easy conditioning and adds, “Maddy and Denise could’ve been injured. We could’ve been down three girls.”

“Yeah, but that didn’t happen,” Brittany tries and she places a comforting hand on Santana’s arm, “It could’ve but it didn’t. We’re just going to have to make sure it never happens.”

Santana sighs but nods along with Brittany in the end, “Why is this job so stressful? You know I found a grey hair last night? Just ridiculous, I did not sign up for this.”

Brittany chuckles at her dramatics and pokes at Santana’s side, “You make a great coach, babe.”

“I guess,” Santana grumbles playfully and plasters on a look of confidence before turning back to the squad, “Alright, let’s do this again! We’re not stopping until we get it right.”

\\

4 Weeks Until Nationals;

“Check this out, Coach S!” Alex calls out and goes to take a running start before tumbling across the mat. She hits a back hand spring to full and lands it perfectly, showing off a proud smile. Her teammates are jumping excitedly from the sidelines and Santana swears Maddy’s cheers come be heard above them all.

“Glad to have you back,” Santana smirks, “Now if you’re done showing off maybe we can get back to this pyramid?”

“Going full out today,” Alex nods resolutely and she jogs off as everyone takes their position.

“Let’s see it then,” Santana smiles proudly and turns back to Brittany and Quinn, “Record this. I have a good feeling about it.”

Quinn nods and gets out her phone while Brittany waits by the speaker for the signal to start. Santana nods and turns back to the squad as they begin with the routine. Everyone is hitting their stunts and it’s actually looking pretty flawless; even Alex falls back into place as if not time had been lost. Kelly looks even better than before with all the extra practice she’s been putting in to fill Alex’s place and it really rounds out the entire routine.

“Okay, here we go,” Santana mumbles to herself as Maddy is thrown up, followed by Denise, then Alex and it all holds to form a perfect pyramid.

“Hold it, hold it!” Brittany chants and the girls hold their positions for a couple seconds longer before turning out and landing in their next position. Brittany claps and pumps her fist in the air, “That’s it! Yes!”

When the music fades the girls are all cheering for each other after pulling off their first full out with Alex back that was more than perfect.

“I think we’re almost there,” Quinn comments quietly after stopping the recording, “That looked really good.”

“Just need to stay on them,” Santana adds, “It has to be perfect. They’ve got to be doing these moves in their sleep.”

“They probably already do judging by that last full out,” Brittany smirked.

The coaches all exchange a look of relief before breaking off to dismiss the girls for today’s practice.

2 Days Until Nationals;

“I want you all to understand something before we get on this flight tomorrow,” Quinn says once the squad gathers after another grueling practice. Santana and Brittany flank her as she speaks seriously, “These next couple of days aren’t going to be a vacation just because we’re in a new place. We’re going to L.A. on a mission. We’re going to win, there is no other option. When we go anywhere, you’re representing this school and the long line of Cheerios that are looking to you to uphold this legacy. It is very serious and you all need to keep that in mind when you’re out there. Understand?”

“Yes Coach,” The team says in unison.

“Good,” Quinn nods and looks between the other coaches, “Anything to add?”

“We’re really proud of the progress you’ve made over the last few months,” Brittany says through a smile, “Trust each other, know what you have to do. Go out there and do your job and represent us well.”

“What Coach B said,” Santana agrees, “And everyone please show up on time tomorrow morning. I know it’s early but if I have to be up at the crack of dawn then so do you. I don’t want to hear any complaints other than my own.”

The squad nods and once they’re happy with their final words until L.A., they dismiss the team for the night.

“This is it,” Quinn says to Santana and Brittany. They all let out a sigh and the nerves are already there, but Santana’s not sure they ever really left.

“Yeah, it is,” Santana nods and they all exchange a look before she says, “We’ll see you in the morning.”

\\

The trip from Lima to L.A. goes smoothly and after everyone gets checked into the hotel, the coaches are able to sneak off for an hour to meet up with Mercedes for coffee. It’s not a whole lot of time, but they’re happy that they’re able to catch up with her and get a little break from the cheering even if it’s only for an hour.

“You guys are going to kill it,” Mercedes tells them, “I can’t wait to see. I’ve never been to a cheer competition before.”

“It’s intense,” Brittany says after taking a sip of her iced latte, “The energy there is like no other. These kids have really been busting their butts the whole year just for this moment. I guess it’s kind of similar to Glee Club but no one gets thrown in the air for that.”

“It’ll be awesome,” Santana adds and she squeezes at Brittany’s thigh from under the table which earns her a smile, “Britt did an amazing job choreographing.”

“So is this what you’re planning to do now, Britt?” Mercedes asks, “You were always a bomb choreographer and I figured you’d go towards dance but sounds like you’re doing a great job with cheerleading. You could open a studio or something? I heard Mike was doing something like that out in Chicago.”

Santana’s interest is piqued because she actually hasn’t ever heard Brittany talk about what she wanted to do for a career. She knows she has a degree, but like Santana, she isn’t really using it. Britt’s just a natural when it comes to teaching, she lights up when she dances, but Santana stays quiet as she waits for Brittany’s reply.

“A studio would be cool, but I haven’t really made any concrete plans,” She shrugs and chances a shy glance towards Santana, “Just going with the flow for now.”

For some reason, the look makes Santana’s stomach flip.

“That’s cool,” Mercedes nods and looks to Santana, “How about you, Satan? Any big plans when the school year ends, you gonna stay in Lima?”

Santana’s stomach flips again. She wants to ask what’s with the twenty questions but she knows Mercedes is genuinely curious. She’s just a little on edge because she and Brittany haven’t actually talked about what happens after the year is up. She has a plan, sort of, but it’s not too in depth career-wise so she just speaks truthfully.

“I’m going wherever Britt goes,” Santana replies and chances a glance at Brittany to find her grinning back.

Thankfully Brittany’s too busy staring at Santana to notice the knowing look Quinn gives them both.

They spend the rest of the time catching up but soon they’re back at the hotel, gathering the squad for practice. It’s a different kind of energy practicing at the pop-up gym designated for the competing teams, but Santana can tell that the squad is pumped. Every full out is executed perfectly and they’re at the point now where there are no longer any slip-ups.

But even with that in mind, once they get out there tomorrow anything could happen. They could perform the routine perfectly in practice like they have been but go out there end up making the easiest mistake. She has seen it happen to even the top rated squads so no one is exempt now matter how much you practice. All they can do know is hope that all their work pays off and that they’d done everything they can to prepare the squad for this moment.

\\

Waking up the next morning, Santana can already tell it’s going to be a day. Her stomach is still in knots after her shower and she can hardly keep her breakfast down. Brittany looks to her like she’s going to fall apart at any moment, but Santana is tough.

Or at least, she can put on a brave face in front of everyone else.

“Here babe, drink this,” Brittany offers Santana a bottle of ginger ale she must’ve picked up downstairs. Quinn’s off showering while Santana sits at the edge of her and Brittany’s bed trying to get thoughts together.

“Thanks,” Santana smiles and starts to sip the drink slowly. She always hated how worked up she got for these sort of things. No matter what kind of pep talk she gave herself, she always ended up with an uneasy stomach.

Brittany comes to sit at the edge of the bed next to Santana and starts to rub comforting circles between her shoulder blades. When it came to competition day jitters, Brittany always handled them way better than Santana. Granted, her secret was waking up two hours before their alarm to go for a run to clear her mind. You couldn’t get Santana to do that even if you bribed her with sex afterwards.

“I hate this feeling,” Santana grumbles after taking a deep breath. She brings the bottle up to her lips again and goes for another sip, but she still feels so nauseous.

“I know you do,” Brittany gives her an apologetic smile and continues to rub at her back, “They’re going to be great out there, you know that.”

“Yeah,” Santana hums, “I know.”

Quinn emerges a moment later and looks to Santana, “Still feeling shitty?”

“I should be good to go once I finish this,” Santana says as she raises the bottle.

Quinn nods and sets off to finish getting ready while Santana and Brittany count down the minutes left before they need to start checking on the girls. With the start of the competition just a couple of hours away, they need to hurry up and get out there. The most practice they can get in before it’s their time, the better.

\\

“Love it. You look stunning. Great. Beautiful. Amazing,” Brittany compliments each girl that passes her as the squad enters the practice space in a single file line. There are other competing squads around so the tension is already in the air.

“Did Jessica do this poof?” Santana smirks as another girl passes her by, “It looks so good! Snooki would be very proud.”

“Higher the hair, the closer to God,” Quinn comments as she gives each girl an approving nod.

Once everyone gets settled on the mat, the coaches go to stand in front of them. They eye everyone from their hair to their make up  to their uniforms and everyone looks on point. That’s an easy ten points right there! They go on the perform their routine in its entirety and even gain the attention of a couple other squads that aren’t in the same bracket as them.

The coaches fill with pride upon seeing the awed expressions of the little audience they’ve gained. With completing another flawless execution, the onlookers clap and compliment the squad before dispersing. It’s great for the girls’ confidence and even settles some of Santana’s nerves that are still hanging around.

Santana has entered the fight or flight mode level of her anxiousness and is working on pure adrenaline for the time being. In front of the squad, she still rules with an iron fist and drills perfection into everyone’s heads even if she feels like puking every five minutes. With just fifteen minutes left until it’s their time to perform, the start making their way to the stage.

Everyone’s holding their heads high, determination in their eyes, as they walk through the sea of their competition. They all look fierce and the crowds part for them easily. There’s just something about the Cheerios that have always commanded attention; is it the amount of wins or is it their reputation? Santana doesn’t know, but she’s not going to ask questions either. This is one of the awesome perks of the Cheerios legacy, everyone knows who they are.

It’s also terrifying because Santana, Brittany and Quinn can either continue the tradition of winning or they can run the legacy right into the ground. Was Sue’s faith in them misplaced or did she know something the three of them didn’t? Did they do everything the can to secure a win? Did they do everything they can to prepare the squad?

These are the kind of thoughts that race through Santana’s minds as the squad gathers backstage.

“Okay girls, listen up!” Quinn calls out and everyone quickly comes together for a huddle. They’re all holding each other’s hands tightly as Quinn speaks, “This is your moment, this is what you’ve been working so hard for all year. You’re going to go out there and kill it. You already know what to do.”

“No matter what we place,” Santana adds, “You will wait and accept the award with a smile on your face. Then you will go over to whoever won first place and you will congratulate them. Get me?”

The girls all nod before Brittany begins to speak next.

“Who run the world?” She asks, trying to hype the girls up.

“Girls!”

“I said, who run the world?” Brittany calls out again, this time a little louder.

“GIRLS!”

“That’s right,” Brittany grins proudly then nods to the stage, “Go get’em.”

\\

It’s the most nerve-racking 2:15 minutes of Santana’s entire life, but she gets through it without passing out so that’s a plus. She had been screaming her lungs out along with Brittany and Quinn from the front of the stage where they were allowed to watch. Her palms were sore from smacking them so hard against the mat and her voice was hoarse but she’d do it all over again because their girls fucking did the damn thing.

There were a couple places that were shakier than they were in practice and there might’ve been a close call halfway through the routine, but nothing too detrimental. At least, not in comparison to some of the other teams’ mistakes she saw.

That First Place trophy was there’s, it has to be!

\\

The top five teams gather on stage and Santana’s squeezing Brittany and Quinn’s hands so tightly that she’s beginning to lose feeling. She has to remind herself to breathe as she watches the man slide open envelope after envelope. They watch anxiously as the remaining awards are slowly given away and the feeling only intensifies the longer the Cheerios stand there.

It’s a good thing, that means they’ve still got a shot at first.

The announcer couldn’t be any slower though as he reads out the team names and Santana hates the ridiculous build up as he finally gets around to calling out the team who placed third.

It takes her a moment to realize it, but she’s actually shaking from anticipation when he finally announces the Third Place winner.

She doesn’t hear the name of the squad, she doesn’t care.

All she knows is that it isn’t their girls.

The Cheerios are now in the top two.

“Please, please,” Santana hears Brittany mumble as the three of them watch on with high hope.

They worked their asses off, the coaches worked their asses off, they’ve got to win this!

The year has been full of development and Santana needs to hear their name, she needs to because these girls deserve it after losing their previous coach and having to deal with the three of them who have little experience.

She needs to hear their name because they need to be rewarded for how hard they worked for this, they need to be rewarded for the blood, sweat and tears they put into this.  

She needs to hear their name because she, Brittany and Quinn never would’ve pictured themselves in this position. They never dreamed of being coaches; they weren’t even talking before Sue roped them into doing this and now…to see how far they come, it would be gut-wrenching for them not to bring this win home.

“In Second Place,” The announcer starts off before taking a pause, “With a score of 98.4633…”

Santana just about blacks out as the announcer calls out the Second Place winner. He waves his hand towards the designated squad as his colleague presents them with a significantly smaller trophy.

The Cheerios remain stoic, just as Santana told them, as they watch the trophy get handed out.

Santana squeezes on the hands she’s holding a little tighter because the trophy is going to the team standing adjacent from the their girls.

“So in First Place with a score of 98.4751,” The announcer is suddenly speaking quickly, “The William McKinley High School Cheerios!”

\\

Santana hasn’t felt this kind of high since winning Nationals in New York so she can only imagine how the kids feel toting around the giant Nationals trophy through the halls of WMHS upon their return to Lima.

Faculty and students watch on as they make their way through the halls and Santana can hear is the sound of We are the Champions playing through the loud speakers.

She’s been replaying the moment the trophy was handed to the girls on stage back in L.A.; how Brittany lifted her in the air and spun around just as she always does, how Quinn scrambled to get climb on stage and nearly busted her ass getting up there, the feeling of pure accomplishment as they all gathered to have their picture taken.

They did it, they actually fucking did it.

They took this squad and managed to coach them all the way to Nationals without a bit of experience coaching and won.

They put their lives on hold and took on Sue’s random proposition and succeeded.

So now what?

\\

“Welcome Coaches!” Figgins greets loudly and he’s standing behind his desk with his arms held out. If the desk wasn’t in the way, Santana’s sure he would go in for a hug, “And National Champions, congratulations!”

The three coaches bow their heads in thanks as they settle into their usual seats.

“As you know, Sue enlisted you three to lead the Cheerios to another win and you have accomplished that. Sue also promised a bonus if you were to place at Nationals.”

“Yes. We know,” Santana replies, already over the anticipation.

Figgins’ smile falters as he goes to reach beneath his desk to retrieve a stack of tapes, “Sue left these behind as well. There is a tape for every instance you may have encountered,” He starts to squint at the labels and read out the titles, “Didn’t place at Sectionals? Disgrace. Didn’t Place at Regionals? Shameful. Didn’t Place at Nationals? Outrageous.”

“None of those apply to us,” Quinn states with furrowed brows.

Figgins smiles grows, “Yes. I have a tape for that too.” He leans over to slide the tape into the VCR – why is that even a thing still, Santana will never know.

Soon the screen fills with Sue sitting at her desk. There’s a proud smirk on her face as she greets the coaches, “Well, well, well…looks like you three aren’t completely useless after all. If you’re watching this, that means you actually took the squad all the way to Nationals and won. If that’s not the case, Figgins…you’re fired.”

“She can’t fire me,” Figgins assures them, but the girls remain focused on the screen.

“You’ve managed to take this team worthy of greatness and lead them to victory. Without my tutelage, they would’ve failed but I had faith in you that you three would be able to carry on my legacy and – look at that – I wasn’t wrong. Congratulations ladies, you’ve earned this. Figgins! Hand out the envelopes.”

Figgins nods as if Sue is really there and starts to pass out three envelopes.

“I am a woman of my word so inside those envelopes you will find the bonus checks I promised to you at the beginning of the year.”

Santana’s eyes go wide as she counts the zeroes, “How in the hell?”

“Don’t question where it comes from, Sandbags,” Sue points out and Santana pales at the call out. Maybe Sue really is there in spirit? “You’ve earned it ladies, I’m sure the squad put you through hell but maybe now you can understand why I am the way that I am. Or was? I’m technically speaking to you from beyond.”

Brittany chuckles at that but Santana’s still in shock from the amount of money jotted down on this check.

“The odds were against you this year and truthfully, I didn’t think you’d get this far. Maybe place first at Sectionals, because anyone can place first there, but Nationals is a whole other thing. You exceeded my expectations of you and for that, I have one thing left to ask.”

“Here we go,” Quinn mumbles as the three of them scoot to the edges of their seat in anticipation for what’s about to come.

“You’ve managed to take this team all the way to Nationals with little experience and you won,” Sue reiterates, “That is the making of true greatness, I would know. Not just anyone is worthy of this role, so extend the offer to you three once more. Coach the girls again, bring home another win, uphold the Cheerios legacy. Give it one more year. The same offer will continue to renew for as long as you decide to stay.”

Then the tape cuts out and the screen goes black.

Santana, Brittany and Quinn are left there staring at the screen as if it’ll give it more answers. Santana doesn’t know what to think, she doesn’t know how to react. She just sits there and lets it all soak in.

Another offer. One more year. Stay in Lima.

“Well Coaches, the decision is yours,” Figgins says after a moment, “You have time to think it over, but I do hope you return. We would be so lucky to have you all coach for us again.”

\\

Santana doesn’t really hear anything Quinn says as she stands, but she takes note of Brittany’s movements too and follows them both out of the room when they turn to leave. Her mind is moving a mile a minute and the bonus check weighs heavily in her hand. She made enough money over the year to return to New York and this bonus check is enough to find a way nicer place than she had before.

But that’s just a big chunk of money that she’ll have to chip away over time, how long will it last? Could she return to working at the Spotlight Diner just to make ends meet when it all runs out? Could she even go back to that after the kind of accomplishments she earned while coaching? Does she have any idea what she wants to after this?

“You look like you’re going to explode,” Brittany comments as she nudges Santana.

Santana blinks slowly and realizes that they’re out in the parking lot. She sees Quinn hanging back a little while Brittany rests against the car. Santana tries to smile at them both, “It’s a lot to take in.”

“Yeah,” Brittany chuckles lightly and reaches out to hold Santana’s hand.

“Like Figgins said, we’ve got time to decide,” Quinn shrugs as she takes out her car keys, “You guys talk about it and let me know what you want to do. Okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Brittany nods and looks to Santana expectantly.

“Yeah, I can do that,” Santana says too.

“Okay, well I’m going to head off then,” Quinn replies and goes to hug them both, “I’ll see you both on Monday.”

Once Quinn leaves, Brittany and Santana linger by Brittany’s car. They don’t move to get in, just rest against it in silence. It’s not awkward but there’s some tension there that Santana’s starts to hate the longer it stays.

“Do you want to – “

“It’s good money, Britt,” Santana blurts out and she’s already so deep in thought. She has been since leaving Figgins’ office.

Brittany softens, “San – “

“There’s benefits and it’s stable, the hours aren’t ridiculous and the kids aren’t so bad,” Santana starts to list aloud. She pauses for a moment, “But it’s Lima and I don’t know how I feel about staying here…because it’s Lima. We always said we’d get out of here and we did but coming back was never part of the plan. But the plan…it’s not exactly what it once was because none of this was apart of the plan. The plan involved living in New York – “

“You don’t have to do this now,” Brittany offers as she turns to look at Santana, “There’s time to talk about this.”  

Santana can see what looks like sadness or maybe worry in blue eyes and Santana wonders why that is as she says, “I know but I can’t just push it aside, not when it’s something this big. I’m just going to keep thinking about it until we decide.”

“Wait…We?” Brittany questions and suddenly the sadness fades, “As in, you and I?”

Santana smiles at her surprised tone, “Well, yeah? You’re my girlfriend, Britt, we do things together. We decide on things together. This isn’t just my choice, not when it effects you too.”

Brittany blinks like she’s taken aback and that surprises Santana.

“I – I thought…” Brittany stammers and a shy smile finds its way onto her lips as she shakes her head, “Nevermind, it was a silly thought.”

Did she think they weren’t going to do this together? Did she think she was going to leave her behind again? Santana can’t help but wonder.

“We’ve done the whole trying to do what’s best for each other without actually talking about it and that never ends well,” Santana adds as she pulls Brittany towards her. Her hands settle on her hips and Brittany’s instantly run up Santana’s arms, “And like I’ve said all year, I want to do things right this time. I want us to work. So I think we should go home and talk about this, because I don’t want to make this decision without us both being on the same page. Does that sound alright with you?”

“Yes,” The smile Brittany gives her is the brightest, most hopeful Santana’s ever seen before. It’s almost has her dropping down on one knee for maybe the third time all week.

Next Friday really can’t come fast enough.

[americanopouroverplease]

Sweat It Out: Chapter One

Seokjin X Reader

Word Count; 5,604

Potential Warnings: Blatantly poor use of French terminology, genuinely bad choice in nicknames, Seokjin making terrible dad jokes at the gym, scene stealing jungkook wearing muscle shirts & generally being an adorable muscle bun. 

Thank you to @ksmuttherapy​ & @shadowsremedy​ for beta reading for me!

Please Note! -- Reader in this story is plus sized! As such, certain descriptors will be used and if this detracts from the story for you then I hope you are able to find something else that rocks your frock! 

If pain had a soundtrack you were certain it would be the incessantly upbeat elevator music blaring through the speakers as you grunted and suffered your way through yet another sweat soaked set of heaving sumo squats. Your thighs were spread wide for all the wrong reasons as the lycra blend of your leggings were being stretched to their absolute limit. The grimace pulling at your lips was inherently reminiscent of the principal from Matilda and you were absolutely sure that in this very moment she was prettier than you.

“Dig deep! 10 more!” The trainer was already getting on your nerves with his ridiculous abs and insanely thick biceps. He was getting paid to stand off in the corner of the room while you wheezed and wailed like a dying animal. There wasn’t a single drop of sweat on his perfect skin while you groaned, dropping your weight low only to huff with the effort of lifting your substantial bulk upward once more. “Don’t let yourself down! You’re almost done!”

“How is this legal?” The screech escaped you before you could even think to stop yourself. Of course the only response your trainer gave was a low chuckle as he crossed his arms over that absurdly large chest of his. 

“It’s legal because you pay him.” One of your fellow suffering souls offered as he too continued your joint endeavor in self inflicted torture. “Look at him, he feeds off this.” 

“If you have time to complain you have time to do single leg lunges!” If you weren’t so preoccupied with the burning pain consuming your hamstrings and the complete lack of stamina you’ve built up over your years of working a desk job and eating cinnamon rolls you would fire off your best shots at the trainer. Instead, you settled for fantasizing about using your thighs to crush his big gym rat skull. 

“Don’t listen to him.” Your agonized counterpart called out. “It’ll only make this worse in the long run.” In between each lunge you chanced a glance away from the trainer and over to your new partner in complaint. His cheeks were full, but his lips were even more generous as he pursed and let out huge puffs of agonized breath. He didn’t seem to be out of shape at all, which made you hesitate in appreciating his finer attributes. The muscles filling out his sweat-soaked t-shirt were clearly defined, but what really took your breath away (besides all these squats and lunges) was the fact that his shoulders would obviously enter any room before the rest of him did. Was he even real? Or were you just swept up in an endorphin and exercise fueled haze of fantasy?

“3...2...1!” The trainer’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts only to force you to realize that this entire time you’d been staring at the broad shouldered giant flexing his thighs almost directly in front of you. If your face wasn’t already beet red from exercise the mortification and sheer embarrassment would do it for you. “That’s time!” 

You ran your own business, you were strong and independent. You sank down to the floor, sprawled out, and shut your eyes as you pretended to catch your breath in an attempt to avoid making any potential eye contact with the currently sweaty, also currently gorgeous and far too athletic man for your own good. You were a smart woman who knew how to pick and choose her own battles. 

“I regret everything.” The wheezing prattle sounded just beside you, surprising enough to be the perfect catalyst in opening your eyes. “I blame myself. I can’t stop eating, food is an addiction and there is no cure.” Shoulders was flopped on the floor right next to you in all your sticky, sweaty, stinky glory. He didn’t seem phased by your appearance in the least. 

“You should regret everything, hyung. How did you eat seven lobsters anyway?” The trainer, at some point, moved to join the two of you on the floor. “I thought you were going to make yourself sick.” 

“You know each other?” You were sitting up now, curiosity flaring as you shifted around and began to stretch. Truth be told, you hated every aspect of stretching, but if you didn’t the muscle ache would be that much worse tomorrow. 

“We’re related.” Your trainer smiled, big bunny teeth on display as he watched you push yourself forward and reach toward your toes. “That’s a great stretch, you can also lay flat, then draw one leg up toward your chest and rock. It’s really good for your back and spine.” 

“Cousins, and how do you even have the energy to move right now?” The breathtaking man was still pressed to the floor, cheeks puffed out as his chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm. “Jungkook if I weren’t already dead I would kill you for this.” 

“You’ll thank me when you’re old and don’t have type 2 diabetes.” Jungkook grinned, “Y/N, the lump on the floor is my cousin, Jin. I’m currently trying to save him from himself.” 

“This face will still be handsome even if it has diabetes.” Jin retorted, then dragged himself up from the floor just enough to face you with a smile. “I’m worldwide handsome, but I do answer to Seokjin.” He lifted his hand, only to blow you a kiss and wink. What were you supposed to say to that? 

“I see.” Was he used to people staring at him? He didn’t seem surprised or offended when you openly admired his body. He couldn’t be a model if he routinely ate as much as Jungkook implied. The only thought that sprang up from this conclusion was a lurid amount of jealousy over his apparent metabolism. “I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.” 

“Hyung! She didn’t even blush!” Jungkook wasn’t rolling on the floor with laughter but he was obviously amused by your lack of reaction to Jin’s flirting. He had one hand clasped on his cousin’s shoulder as he leaned exceptionally close to the man’s sweaty face. 

“I only have two options now.” Jin responded with an air of solemnity. His eyes were hooded, expression far too serious for a gym floor as he shifted his weight closer to your form. “I’m going to give you my greatest joke, and if that doesn’t work I’m going to beg you to let me take you out on a date.” 

“Excuse me?” You felt stunned, not only because the subject matter seemed so scattered but had this man actually just casually asked you out after seeing you at your worst? It was 7 pm on a Wednesday night just after you spent the past forty-five minutes heaving your weight back and forth in an attempt to convince your metabolism to decide it was finally okay for you to go from a generous 2X to a reasonable medium or large size pant.

“What do runners eat before a sprint?” You blinked once, twice, and then realized he actually expected you to give him an answer. When your glance shifted toward Jungkook the overgrown muscle simply shrugged his shoulders and grinned. 

“If I say that I don’t know, can we move on?” You pressed gently, not wanting to be rude, but also feeling a little out of your depth. You were well aware that your body type was not considered conventionally attractive. It felt suspicious to have the seemingly undivided attention of someone who could snag any woman or man he wanted with his looks alone. No one flirted with you unless they had a fat fetish, and you always steered clear of those types. 

“Nothing, they fast!” The joke was terrible, but the laughter that followed was even worse. You could only describe the sound escaping Jin’s throat as something eerily similar to windshield wipers scraping along the glass. It took a full minute of you staring at him with wide eyes for the laughter to subside. 

“She didn’t laugh hyung.” Jungkook was still grinning wide, leaving the rest of Jin’s previous declaration unspoken. 

“Do I need to beg, Y/N?” Instantly all signs of humor were gone; replaced by soulful eyes fixed directly upon your face. Jin shifted and knelt in front of you, his palms pressed together as he appeared to be carefully hopeful. “I will.” 

“For what?” You hedged, feeling confused at best, and uncomfortable at worst. You had signed up for this exercise class in order to try and lose weight, to build up your confidence. Nowhere in the gym agreement was there a clause including fit men who seemed out of your league flirting with you and asking you out on dates you weren’t ready for. Was he serious? 

“Please, Y/N, will you let me take you out for a nice dinner and delightful conversation?” 

“Where and when?” As entertaining as it felt to watch a man kneel and beg for your time and attention there was no helping the wariness you felt. Prior experience was a masterful teacher and you weren’t interested in being the butt of anyone’s joke.

“I wouldn’t dream of making your decisions for you.” Jin readily replied, his cheeks full and round as he smiled widely. “I’ll let you choose, anything you want.” 

“Anything?” You sounded skeptical, and didn’t bother trying to hide it as you crossed your arms beneath your breasts and stared at the man before you. He nodded, almost eagerly. 

“Any restaurant you want, I promise I’ll find something I like to eat. Food is a passion of mine.” You heard Jungkook snort beside you, but chose to ignore him in favor of coming up with the most expensive restaurant you could think of. 

“Fine. Take me to Le lapin blanc.” You didn’t feel nearly as calm and collected as you sounded, but he didn’t need to know that. All he needed to know was that he had to shell out serious money to prove his interest. 

“Perfect, does tomorrow work for you?” Shock registered, and then disbelief. Le lapin blanc was the most expensive and exclusive restaurant in town. There was no getting into the building without a reservation, and you couldn’t just get one overnight. 

“If you can get us in, sure.” You agreed, immediately convinced this was all a joke and you would be canceling your gym membership by the end of the week. 

“Perfect, would you like me to pick you up at seven?” He had to play the part until the end, you supposed. With a quick nod, you assumed the conversation would be over and moved to push yourself up from the floor. “Y/N, do you happen to have your phone with you?” That question caught you off guard. 

“Yes, why?” 

“I’d like to give you my phone number so that I can contact you.” Jin responded affably. “How else will I find out where to pick you up?” Ah. Right. With a little bit of reluctance you fished your cell phone from your pocket and handed the device to him. He smiled once more, patiently waiting for you to unlock it before pulling up your contact list and adding himself to it. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.” You took your phone back once he was done, then gave him a grin of your own. “I don’t split the bill, you’re paying.” Jungkook’s snort was no more elegant than the first upon hearing this and the chortle that followed actually came from Jin. 

“I wouldn’t have it any other way, beautiful.” 

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You finished work at four the next day, which left you with entirely too much time on your hands when it came to getting ready for this date. What should you wear to an expensive restaurant that had napkins that could cost more than your net worth? You decided to go with one of your favorite thrift store finds that fit tightly beneath your breasts and flared out further down your stomach. A girl’s best friend was always a nice empire waistline...Unless it made her look pregnant. 

The cap sleeves looked almost demure, which you appreciated since it was the middle of summer and you were not about to suffocate stuffed into a dress with full length sleeves or a high neckline. Makeup wasn’t minimal, but you also didn’t waste any time lining your eyes when all that would do for you was make you look like an actual trash panda once ten pm rolled around. Instead, you focused on your hair and took the time to style it and smooth out any stray ends or hairs. 

The chime of your text tone echoed from your living room, drawing you away from fiddling any further with the upswept style of your hair.

Did he really send you a picture of himself with a cut out heart? What sort of man was this? When Jin asked you out the night before all you felt was suspicion. Now you were convinced he was simply missing at least sixteen of the screws required for his mental clarity to function. You neglected to respond to his text, and elected to grab your purse before locking the door to your apartment behind you. 

Were you waiting for him outside? Yes. If you were fair to yourself, which you always strove to be; being early was on time and being on time was considering yourself late. You weren’t looking forward to this dinner, sitting across a table of refined food from a man who was so good looking you felt just a little bit stupid. No, you were just being punctual. Right?

Then again, Jin might not show up at all, even if he did send you that ridiculous text message assuring you that he was already on his way. Assuming that he wouldn’t, you could give it another ten minutes before you went back inside, changed into your favorite pajamas, and settled in for a nice long night of playing Stardew Valley. 

Unfortunately all your bucolic hopes and  8-bit dreams were dashed as soon as you saw the cherry red convertible pulling up to your lot. Of course, by this point in your evening you shouldn’t have been surprised that the exceedingly symmetrical Disney prince look-alike also had an expensive car. If he wasn’t even phased by the idea of shelling out for ‘the aesthetic’ it made sense that he would also like to drive fast and live rich. 

“Y/N!” The vehicle rolled to a stop, idling as its driver made a quick leap from the front seat just to sweep you up in long arms. You felt the ground disappear from beneath your feet and questioned reality as you gripped broad shoulders so tightly your knuckles turned white. The world spun around you slowly, not fast enough to make you dizzy but noticeable to the point that you didn’t know how you felt about being picked up in the first place. 

“Jin, it’s nice to see you again.” You smiled, surprised to realize just how happy you were he did take the time to show up. If nothing else he hadn’t stood you up, and he was so very fun to look at that all you wanted to do was indulge yourself for one night. Especially if that singular night meant ritzy food that you couldn’t actually pronounce on your own. 

“You mean it’s wonderful, stunning, amazing, and spectacular to see me again? That’s how I feel about seeing you.” His hands were still settled against your waist, but they were oh so gentle as he set your feet back on the ground. “I was thinking about you all day.” 

“That sounds exhausting.” You teased, drawn in by the easy humor he still displayed even after your repeated attempts at dissuading him from showing any interest. 

“Not at all, I find every thought of you to be invigorating.” Jin replied sweetly, his soft lips pressed flush to your rounded cheek before he led you straight toward the convertible. “It isn’t every day that I get a chance to see a woman’s thighs in action without being called a pervert.” The joke should have fallen flat, but it didn’t. You were caught off guard as you settled back into the seat and reached for the seatbelt. 

“You must have a great poker face if you’re a pervert.” That earned you nothing more than a good natured snort as he pulled away from your apartment complex. The drive itself was short, barely taking more than ten minutes. Altogether, he tried to hold your hand no less than six times. Once the convertible finally pulled into the parking garage you managed to successfully evade his grasping fingers for no reason other than the exasperated and melodramatic wails that filtered past his full lips. 

“You’re a heartless woman, Y/N! How can you say no to this face?” The door was already shut behind Jin, and before you could even begin to unbuckle your seatbelt the door to the passenger side was open while your suitor took the time to free you from his vehicle. You found yourself a mere breath away from his face and suddenly realized why every single romance novel was exactly as cheesy as it was. 

“Impress me enough and I won’t say no.” You whispered, eyes wide and fixed upon the chocolate and nutmeg brown irises that threatened to overwhelm you. Temptation washed over you, begging you to let your eyes drift downward toward the plump lips curving upward into a knowing smile. Instead, you pulled away and began that short walk toward the seating area. 

“Is that a challenge, butterbean?” 

“What sort of nickname is that?” You asked, absolutely appalled by the concept of being a butter bean, much less any one specific person’s butter bean. 

“My pet name. For you, so long as you’ll let me have it.” Jin purred, his large palm pressing gently and warmly against your lower back as he maneuvered you through the slowly gathering crowd of the early evening diners. If he noticed the shiver his touch sent down your spine he chose not to mention it. 

You chose to say nothing as the waitress led you toward a table at the far end of the highest floor. The further you followed the more you questioned just how Jin was able to get this type of reservation on such short notice. The entire restaurant was usually booked out months in advance, and the most exclusive of tables were on the top two floors. By the time you realized you were going -above- the top floor and out onto the roof you felt speechless. 

“Right this way, if you please.” The waitress spoke with a heavy accent, one arm out swept toward an enclosed pavilion that reminded you more of a greenhouse than anything else. Fairy lights were strung across the ceiling in a rambling sort of pattern that draped gracefully around the countless flowers filling the room. There was a walkway, but it was surrounded by flowing water with only one bridge that could lead you over the threshold. 

“Jin. How?” You were too busy admiring the lush atmosphere, the live quartet playing soft music in the far corner, the sound of the fountain as it burbled and pushed the water through the avenues threaded through the walkway and flowers. The lights, the scents, everything was just this side of too much decadence and opulence. It was perfect. 

“Would you believe me if I said I have a few connections?” Jin asked with raised eyebrows. Eventually a table was revealed toward the center of what appeared to be a man made island in a glittering lagoon. 

“Well, tell me how to make these connections because this is the manner in which I wish to become accustomed.” You joked, eyes focused on the riot of Peruvian Lilies heaped upon one plate. It came as no surprise when Jin led you directly to the side of the table with the flowers, then proceeded to assist you in sitting down. 

“It was all sheer dumb luck, my sweet and precious butter bean.” Your eyelid twitched at the terrible name, but you refused to let it ruin what was otherwise a magnificent night. This restaurant was gorgeous, and you felt like a princess transported into a new and far away realm. The only thing that could make this better would be unlimited dessert. Did Jin have enough money to get you unlimited dessert?

“Would you like to start with a Château Margaux this evening?” The waitress was, apparently, not a waitress for she had all but disappeared and in her place was a seemingly young, also seemingly condescending man who held a bottle of wine over his arm as if it were the most dazzling thing to ever display. 

“I suppose that would be fine, Marcus. What else would you suggest?” Jin didn’t sound haughty, necessarily, but he did appear to be a little less concerned with the menu and more interested in staring into your eyes. A point that you promptly avoided by burying your own face in the menu full of letters and words you didn’t quite understand. 

“I wouldn’t dare dream of making recommendations to you, Sir.” The bottle of Margaux bobbled, ever so slightly. Jin let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh. 

“We’ll have the Pauillac, Château Mouton Rothschild.” Jin replied, his gaze still fixed upon your face as the original bottle vanished, only to be replaced nearly as quickly by the desired red. 

“Is the 2005 alright, Sir?” This was met with a nod while Jin’s long fingers slowly but surely wrapped around your own. His smile was for you, though he didn’t completely ignore the man. 

“Yes, that will be fine. Pre-fix menu, tonight?” A subtle negative shake of the head, and then a notepad was produced. “Butterbean, my darling, what would you like to have for dinner?” 

“If you insist on calling me butterbean it might just be your balls.” You simpered sweetly, smile entirely saccharine as you squeezed his hand as hard as you could. The resulting wince was delicate, though the wink he sent your way was playful. 

“It’s an absolute relief to know you aren’t a vegetarian.” His fingers flexed slightly once you released them before he picked up the menu once more. 

“Well, I could always eschew meat to spite you.” This suggestion was met with the exact amount of warmth and eagerness you expected. None. The menus were flung to one side of the table as you found your hands clasped in Jin’s fingers once again. 

“Butterbean, darling! My wonderful, beautiful, incandescent paragon of virtue!” Your eyes widened slowly but surely with every additional adjective piled onto his sentence. “Don’t break my heart! You’re too great a woman to do such a thing!” By the end of his plea your fingers were intertwined with his and his grasp was so firm that there was no escape. 

“We’ll have my usual.” Jin didn’t bother tearing his eyes away from your face, which was almost intimidating even as the waiter cleared the menus from the table. Your erstwhile suitor took this chance to drag his chair closer to yours. Now, instead of sitting across from this broad shouldered adonis, there was barely any space between the two of you. “This is much better, don’t you agree my bean?” 

“I will pay you real, actually money to stop calling me that.”  You let out between grit teeth. Contrary to your own expectations this man was getting under your skin in the best possible way. He was charming, goofy in a gregarious sort of way that put you at an amused disadvantage. 

“You couldn’t pay me enough. Ever.” He hadn’t let go of your hands yet, and merely leaned closer so he could press his face close to yours before performing an exaggerated imitation of a wink. You could feel the echo in your chest as your heart fluttered. Soft was beginning to become an understatement when it came to how you felt about this man. Was that even possible?

“You would force me to resort to blackmail?” Your lips turned downward, plumped into a pout as you failed to extract yourself from his warm grasp. 

“I wouldn’t dare to force you into anything.” Seokjin began proudly, his voice carrying as he straightened in his seat. “I am not above letting you ask me to force you though.” Your fingers flexed then, breath catching in your throat at the implication. 

“You couldn’t ask me what my favorite color is first?” You did your best to cover your response, though it was hard to tell if Jin was observant enough to catch your behavior. 

“I could ask you while you’re breathless and panting beneath me.” The offer came at the exact same time as your appetizers, which caused a distinct flush to warm your cheeks as the waiter set down two plates and multiple dishes. Wine was poured while your eyes drifted firmly to the table in front of you. None of this stopped you from feeling how direct and heated your date’s gaze was as he kept one hand cradled around yours. 

“That was blunt.” In all your years of living there wasn’t a single memory of any man wining, dining, and propositioning you so openly and with so much confidence. Then again, there wasn’t any point in which someone as handsome as Seokjin showed any interest in you either. History and experience was enough to tell you this wasn’t adding up. 

“You’ve seen me at my worst, bean. I can hardly look any worse so I feel my odds are pretty high for success.” Your hand suddenly felt cold as he plucked his knife up from the table and began buttering some bread. “I know exactly what I want from you. The question is, do you want anything from me?” 

You took your time considering this query. The table was filled with various food, most of which looked as if it wouldn’t fit into your calorie count for the day so you reached for the wine glass in front of your plate instead. 

“I hardly know you, I doubt I really know what you have to offer in the first-” You paused, eyes widened as you watched your date place little bits of each appetizer on your plate before he ever put a single piece of food on his. 

“Yes, my darling butter bean?” Jin’s eyes were wide, nearly sparkling as he smiled at you with all the charm and charisma of a seasoned politician. If he noticed your confusion he didn’t mention it. 

“Why did you put food on my plate?” Mortification set in quickly, your hands clasped in your lap beneath the table as you internally questioned every life choice you ever made. Was it just Jin that caused you to ask stupid questions? Or was it the atmosphere? 

“It gives me pleasure to do so.” His response was entirely effortless, his attention focused on piling his plate just as high as yours before commencing with a truly astounding performance. His mouth didn’t seem all that big, but somehow he managed to take bites of food that were so large you worried he was intentionally choking himself. The noises that escaped him were an uneven mixture of pornographic and cute. Perhaps you didn’t need to feel embarrassed after all. 

“Okay then.” You began to let yourself relax, hoping that tonight’s meal wouldn’t set your goals back too far. Besides, cheat meals were acceptable every now and then, weren’t they?

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“I know it’s cliche but I had a wonderful evening.” Jin’s car was parked in the lot next to your apartment building, his shoulder pressed into the driver’s seat as he leaned further toward your space. “I’m hoping desperately that you’ll allow me to bask in your presence again.” His voice was quiet, gentle and burnished velvet as he nearly whispered. 

“This might be a personal question.” You began your response, gaze directed toward your hands as your fingers grasped the seatbelt holding you in place. 

“Anything, butter bean, I’ll tell you anything and everything.” His answer was immediate, decisive, and firm. 

“Do you have to unhinge your jaw when you fit half a steak in your mouth all at once?” You asked your question, whispering this time so as not to break the hushed atmosphere yourself. He was being entirely too romantic for anyone’s good. 

“How is that even personal?” Jin exclaimed, shattering what was once a peaceful and nearly intimate moment. The expression on his face was comical, mouth dropped open and eyes widened in shock as he sputtered. “This is worse than telling me you’re a vegetarian!” 

“Oh hardly!” You soothed, grinning as you released the latch on your seatbelt before gathering your purse. “It’s a genuine question as to the mechanics of your jaw. This question is purely for scientific purposes.” You barely touched the door handle before Jin was out of the vehicle and making his way to your side of the car. 

“Science, you say?” That soft tone was back, though it clearly carried an undertone of heat to it. “You know the best way to find out is through experience.” He held the door open, his free hand waiting for you to take with his palm held up. 

“I’m not even wearing pants, how are you trying to get into them?” With your hand clasped in his, the two of you ambled slowly toward the entrance to your apartment building. You were surprised at how comfortable you felt in Jin’s presence, even if he did insist on calling you butter bean. 

“Never underestimate the power of your beauty, Y/N.” Oh. This was unexpected. What were you supposed to say to that? Was this man even real? Obviously he was, but could you really believe what you were hearing and seeing?

Thankfully you were saved from responding by the front door of your apartment. The two of you lingered in front of the steps, the beginnings of an awkward silence beginning to build. One breath, two, and then you opened your mouth to speak. 

“I had a great time too.” You mumbled, uncertain now that you were in entirely uncharted territory. You had been on dates before, but never really interested in going on another with the same person. 

“Does that mean I can cook for you next time? Or should I resign myself to only being allowed to see you as we suffer the agonies of my cousin’s training programs?” Something akin to mortification settled in your chest at the idea of Seokjin seeing you sprawled out huffing and puffing with a shining, sweating face once more. You would have to switch your sessions if you wanted to maintain any sense of romance. 

“Ah, I think I might actually switch my gym schedule.” You hesitated, frowning at the thought before you continued. “When’s a good time for you? For dinner, I mean.” Somehow you felt an absolute sense of shyness take over you. Coupled with the butterflies filling your chest the only explanation was an oncoming heart attack, right?

“And deny me the satisfaction of suffering with you?” Jin’s hand immediately clapped to his chest, fingers spread as he took on a truly legendary pout. This man should have been an actor. He was making it nearly impossible to deny him at this rate. 

“Give me one good reason not to.” Your last ditch attempt at maintaining your distance was a good one, or so you thought while the two of you stood in the cool evening breeze. Your door was just a few steps away, your humble yet cozy apartment just beyond a few locks and stairs. 

“Will this be good enough?” Jin’s face hovered barely more than a breath away from yours, chocolate eyes centered on your face as his hands traced up over your arms toward your shoulders. You’d barely opened your mouth to ask him what he meant by the time his plush lips made contact with yours. 

At first, you didn’t know how to respond. The kiss itself was unexpected, then the soft sound building and releasing in his throat was even more surprising until you felt his fingers threading through the strands of your hair. After that you discovered this was not a one-sided activity. Your arms wound around his shoulders while your head slanted to one side so you could deepen the connection. It wasn’t until he pulled away that you realized both of you were out of breath. 

“So, my precious butter bean, did I give you what you wanted?”

[embeanwrites]

Finding Home Gavin Reed x Reader

Chapter 13

Masterlist

The taxi pulled into his driveway. I stepped out; his jeep was in the driveway which was a good sign. For a second, I stopped and thought about how impulsive this was. I didn’t know if he was home, if he had company, or if he even wanted to see me. 

I walked up to the door and knocked lightly as the taxi pulled away. No one came to the door, so I knocked again, this time a little louder. 

“Please answer Gavin.” I mumbled under my breath. 

“I’m coming, Jesus Christ.” The door swung open. Gavin was wearing a plain white t-shirt and grey sweats. His hair was a mess and he looked exhausted. Dear lord, that shouldn’t be such a good look for him, but I could see the outline of muscles through the white shirt, his bicep muscles pulling the sleeves taught around his arms, and those sweats, I couldn’t look at them.  Nope. That would be too much. Even his messy hair was attractive, mussed in every direction from sleep. 

He said nothing, but looked me up and down for a moment, before settling on my face, his own expression showed just how pleased he was to see me at his doorstep. 

“Did I wake you up?” He glared at me. 

“Yes.” 

“Can I come in?” I tried gesturing behind him with a smile.

“Why?” 

“Because I just left your brothers house and I want to talk to you.” He grunted, turning and leaving the door open behind him. As he walked ahead of me, all I could focus on was the shifting of his shoulders through that damn t-shirt, my eyes trailed the movement lower, and I could feel the blood rush to my face, he must take fitness very seriously, the rough outline of his ass was just as fit as the rest of his body.

I shook my head to chase those thoughts away and drew my focus to the room around me. There were blankets on his couch and a pillow. “Do you have a guest? Shit I’m sorry if I was in-”

“No.” He interrupted me as he grabbed the blankets and threw them on the floor.

“Oh. Were you sleeping on the couch then?”

“Why are you asking so many fucking questions?” He asked as he threw himself down on the corner of the couch furthest from me. Startled by the noise, Lucy bolted from under the couch and ran deeper into the house. I almost asked if I could sit down but figured that may make him more upset, so I walked over slowly and sat next to him, leaving a cushion between us so I wasn’t invading his space anymore than I already was by inviting myself over. Immediately Sassy jumped into my lap and I absentmindedly started petting her. 

“You’re mad at me because I’m friends with your half-brother.” I said softly. “Gavin, I didn’t know. There was no way I could’ve known that before meeting you.” I looked over at him. His face remained neutral and facing forward. “Gavin?” Still no response. “Do you want me to go?” I turned away from him and waited for an answer that never came. “Okay.” I gently picked up Sassy and sat her next to Gavin. I stood up ready to leave, when he grabbed my wrist. I turned back to him, his expression was still blank. “You have to talk to me. I can’t stay if you’re not going to talk to me.”

“Okay I will, just sit down. Please?” He didn’t look at me while he spoke, his eyes focused on his hand around my wrist, only turning to my face for a moment when he said ‘please.’ I tentatively sat back down, this time he guided me to the cushion next to him, our shoulders and thighs touching. He didn’t let go of my wrist. He took a deep breath and exhaled it fully before he spoke, still focusing his gaze on the wall in front of us. 

“Elijah is an asshole. He has been since we were kids. He got everything he ever wanted and look at him now. He’s so successful, he’s all our dad talks about. It doesn’t matter what I do.”

“You’ve been successful too.” I said softly. He shook his head. “Hey, what happened to the badass detective I was talking to yesterday?” I asked with a smile. I gently removed my wrist from his grasp and held his hand. He sighed softly, finally turning to face me. His expression was troubled, his mouth a thin line and his grey eyes stormy like Lake Michigan in the winter, emotions cresting and swirling inside of them.  

“It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what I do or how successful I become, I will never be as good as him.” He squeezed my hand.

“Gavin, just because you weren’t a CEO, or have a dumb man bun doesn’t mean you’re not successful.”

“His hair is really stupid.” I smiled at him. 

“That’s why you don’t like androids. Because of Elijah, right?” He nodded. “I’ve only known you for a couple of weeks, but I’ve heard stories about you.” He tensed. “You pointed a gun at Connor, you tried to beat him up, you’ve insulted my dad, and I’m sure there’s plenty more things that you regret doing.”

“Thanks, you’re really making me feel better, (Y/n).” I squeezed his hand.

“Let me finish, please.” I smiled at him, a small encouraging one, and sighed before continuing. “You’ve done some things that pissed me off too, but…I can see you’re not all bad. You’re partners with Nines, you brought me lunch, and bought me dinner. And even when you’re pissing me off, you’ve been challenging my views in ways I didn’t think anyone outside of academia would. I like your company and I want to get to know you better, but you’ve got to let go of some of this anger and talk to me. If you just keep getting mad at me when I say something wrong and then you don’t tell me why you’re mad I can’t do anything to fix my behavior.”

“You really want to deal with me?” 

“I mean, I gotta do something in between classes.” He snorted. “Tina wants me to give you a chance.”

“Why?”

“She said there’s something about both of us that makes her think we would work really well together.”

“I’m not as good as Elijah.” He whispered.

“If I wanted to date Elijah, I wouldn’t have left his house to come see you once I got the truth out of him.” I looked down at his hand, I started rubbing my thumb across his knuckles, a gentle comforting motion my mom used to do for me when I was upset. 

“I’m the child of an affair, (Y/n).” He took a breath before continuing, looking into my eyes, clenching his hand harder around mine. “After my mom got pregnant, my dad didn’t give two shits about either of us. She died of a drug overdose and he only took me in because apparently that was the only way he’d get what little money she had.” 

“Fuck, Gavin. I’m so sorry.” He averted my eyes, looking back at his lap, at Robin who was winding between his legs. I squeezed his hand; he didn’t respond to the touch. 

He turned and looked at me, his face devoid of the emotions he was showing a second ago, sneering, eyebrows furrowed and pulled his hand from between mine. “What happened to calling him Eli?” He snorted; I rolled my eyes. 

“What? Where did that come from?”

“Since you’ve been here you have been saying Elijah not Eli.” 

“Gavin, I’m not here to fight you. I’m not taking that bait.” His sneer fell into a frown, his eyes downcast. He looked awful. The bags under his eyes looked more prominent now, purple and heavy, his leg was bouncing up and down. I looked down to see Robin was rubbing his face against Gavin’s leg, like he was trying to get his owner to stop shaking. 

I reached my hand back out, and placed it on top of his hand that was resting on his knee. We sat like that for a moment, before I felt like I needed to say something. I sighed. “What are you doing for lunch on Monday?” He shrugged. “Well, if you’re free, why don’t you pick me up at my office and we grab a quick bite to eat?” 

“You wanna go out with me again?” I laughed. 

“Yes, Gavin. I would like to go out with you again.” He smirked and had a mischievous glint in his eyes, though I could still see he was a little shaken from our conversation. 

“Alright, yeah Monday lunch sounds great.” 

“Can I ask another favor?”

“Hey, I paid for dinner on Friday!” I laughed.

“No. Can you give me a ride to my dad’s house? I told Connor I would come over for dinner.” He frowned. 

“Do I have to park at the end of the street again?” 

“No and I shouldn’t have asked you to do that in the first place. If you’re free for dinner I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you joining.” 

“Nines and I have some case work that I have to go into the office for, but I’ll still drive you there. Let me go get changed.” I nodded, as he got up Robin ran away, and Sassy gave a sad meow. Those cats really seemed to love Gavin. I got up and walked around the living room. 

Near the TV he had a small bookshelf that had a couple beat up books. I knelt down and saw a picture pushed to the very back. I turned around to make sure Gavin wasn’t behind me and I picked up the picture. 

It was of a small boy with brown curly hair next to a blonde woman. The boy was missing his front teeth and had bright gray eyes. The woman was wearing a plain looking dress, but she was beautiful. They both looked so happy.

“That’s me and my mom.” Gavin grunted behind me. I jumped up and held the picture behind my back and gave him a nervous smile. 

“Sorry, I like paper books and I got curious.” He nodded and held out his hand. Sheepishly, I handed him the picture. “She’s really beautiful.” He nodded again, staring at the photo. 

“It’s the last picture that I took with her.” He said softly. I got out my phone and quickly scrolled through my pictures. I held up my phone and he looked at the picture.

“That’s me and my mom about a month before she passed. It was one of the last days she was able to get out of bed.” 

“Hey, we should start a club. Dead mom society.” Gavin joked. He gave me a playful smile, which caused me to give a small laugh. 

“Only if I get to be President.” 

“No way, my mom’s been dead longer, I have seniority.”

“Fine, but I’m vice president and I get to pick what snacks we have at the meetings.” We both laughed. He sat the photo down on the coffee table and I shoved my phone back into my pocket. 

“Come on, pipsqueak.” He grabbed his keys and gestured for me to follow. We both got into the car, but Gavin hesitated starting the car. “Hey, I’m uhh…glad you came over.” 

“Me too, Gavin.” He flashed me a cocky smile. 

“You like me.” 

“Oh, shut up and drive.”

[rikumorimachisgirl]

Heyyyy girl could i please get the other boys reactions to finding out mc accadently got married to gavin. I'd imagine they be really shocked/upset that she said she was pleased with the arrangement

Hello! I was gonna write something else, but I couldn't resist your prompt. This was a little difficult to write. Here is my attempt at their responses, and I hope you like it. 🙈

Title: Regrets

Pairing: Gavin x MC

Prompt: What is the reaction of the other guys to MC marrying Gavin?

Word count: 2,000+

7:30 am

You rolled on your back, your heart still racing from your passionate lovemaking. Beside you, Gavin did the same and the fine sheen of sweat that covered his body reminded you of how sexy he looked when he held your gaze as he thrust his engorged cock deep inside you until you rode out one orgasm after another. 

"You've got a funny smile on your face, " he teased. "Don't tell me you're ready for round two."

"Am not, " you replied, bringing the covers up to your neck. 

"Oh, come on. Can't you let your husband show you how much he loves you?" 

You were so caught up on playing hard-to-get, you almost failed to hear the creaking of your front door as it opened. You froze and looked at your husband, who had already wrapped a towel around his waist and tossed his shirt at you. 

As you slipped into his white undershirt, you heard the sound of the voice you've been dreading to hear. 

"Honey, I've brought you breakfast. You can't still be mad at me for - oh."

It was Lucien - top-notch neuroscientist, next-door-neighbor, and until yesterday, your lover. He held a bag of hot buns in one hand, and his gaze shifted from the half-naked police officer to you a few times. 

You sighed. He rarely used the spare key you gave him in the past, but you were so upset yesterday, he must've felt he needed to do something special. "Lucien, " you called,  your voice snapping him out of his reverie. "I'd like you to meet Gavin..."

The scientist looked at you like you had lost your mind. Really, he must've thought, why would you be standing in front of him introducing the guy you had just slept with, whose shirt you had on? 

"... My husband."

Your last line struck him like a punch in the gut. His eyes drifted to the ring you now sported, and his heart sank. So surprised by your unexpected announcement, the usually calm and collected Loveland University Professor dropped the bag he was holding, the buns rolling out of the bag. 

Thinking fast, Gavin bent over to pick up the buns and place them back in the brown paper bag his wife's former flame had just dropped. "Here you go."

"Uh, thank you, " the scientist replied in his usual monotone, before shaking his head. "Oh, where are my manners? Congratulations to you both. I'm sorry for intruding your privacy. I should go."

You watched in silence as he fished the spare key of your apartment from his pocket, and placed it on the table before walking out the door. You felt the weight of your guilt vanish as he took one step after another away from you, and when he finally closed the door behind him, you knew for certain you weren't going to see him again. 

One down, two to go. 

10:30 am

LFG was bustling with activity as the employees went about their daily grind. On the top floor, the CEO paced back and forth in his office. He had been feeling restless since last night, but he had no idea why. Throughout the sleepless night, he typed messages to you several times but never sent them. He smiled wryly at the thought that you might be getting the wrong impression once again. 

But you had an appointment with him at ten in the morning, and you were never late for your meetings. Until today. 

His head snapped when he heard the light rap at his door. Soon after, you poked your head in to check if he was busy or not. 

"You're late, " he said, not sparing you a glance. 

"Yes, and I'm sorry, " you replied silently, as you entered the room.

He looked up from his paperwork and sat back. "Not offering an excuse for me this time?"

"I have none, " you said. "But I have an explanation."

"Do you know? Let's hear it, " he gestured with his hand, encouraging you to speak up. 

You took a few deep breaths to calm yourself. Though he never admitted it, you always felt that he treated you differently - like you actually mattered to him - and what you were about to say to him would probably break his heart. 

"I… I… well, I…"

He frowned as you stammered, and he watched you twist your fingers together. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, " you nodded. "The truth is, I was gonna send Anna to take my place today, but I thought that would be improper."

He narrowed his eyes as you spoke, silently assessing what could be wrong. And then he saw it - a faint glimmer as the light hit your wedding band. "I see, " he said. "I have to change my evaluation of you. Up to now, I thought you were the worst idiot to walk this earth. Apparently, there's someone even stupider than you…"

"Hey -"

"Who's the unlucky man?"

"His name is Gavin, he's a police officer, and he makes me happy, " you replied, stressing on every word to get the message through. 

The twenty-eight-year-old executive was silent for a while. He knew the guy - he was rough around the edges, but he was an extremely talented Evol Agent, probably the best in the force. He sighed in resignation. 

"Well, I suppose I owe you a present for your wedding, " he finally said as he took out an envelope from his drawer and tossed it across his desk to you. 

Curiously, you opened it and saw two tickets to a Carribean cruise. He watched as your eyes widened and your lips stretched to a smile - the widest and most beautiful you've given by far. As you held the tickets in your hand, he felt his heart sink. He did intend to give those to you today, but he had hoped it was him you'd be taking with you on your well-deserved vacation, but fate wasn't so kind. 

"Now get out of my office and tell Anna to come. You need to go on a proper honeymoon as commoners do."

"You know you could be less of a jerk about it, " you said, faking a frown. In reality, you felt relief wash over you as the regular rhythm of your banter returned. "Thank you for these, Victor!"

He waved you off and waited until you closed the door before he picked up his phone. 

"Goldman, I'll be taking the rest of the day off today. Cancel my appointments. I won't be reachable for the next twenty-four hours."

One more to go…

2:30 pm

On your way to pick up Gavin, you made one last detour to B.S. Entertainment. Kiro was guesting in your new talk show tonight, but you wouldn't be around to watch it so you thought of cheering him on early. 

As you made your way up the elevator, you silently wished he wasn't shooting anywhere today. 

"I didn't expect to see you this early. Have you come to pick up Kiro?"

You smiled as his agent greeted you quite warmly. Normally, he'd be too swamped with phone calls to even nod at your direction. 

"Quiet day today?"

"It's quiet now. It was crazy this morning, " he replied, scratching his head. "If you want to see him, he's in the studio rehearsing for tonight."

An enchanting melody filled the air as you walked to the recording studio. You recognize the sound - Canon in D - your favorite, being played beautifully on a solo violin. You snuck inside the closed room and were immediately entranced by the vision before you - Kiro with his eyes closed, playing so exquisitely, you couldn't help but applaud when he finished. 

"Hey! When did you get here, Miss Chips?"

You laughed at his term of endearment, which he never seemed to get rid of, after all this time. 

"That was so amazing, Kiro!"

He blushed slightly and then regained his composure. "Of course, it is. I'm rehearsing because I'm playing your favorite tune tonight," he said, as he bounded over to you. "So what brings you here this early?"

The earnest look in his eyes made you want to cry. You haven't been anything more than friends, yet it felt like you were going to do something horrible and your heart couldn't take that. 

"Hey…, " the superstar said, taking your hand in his. 

You notice his eyes widen as the cool metal of your band touched his palm, and he suddenly brought your left hand up to inspect closely. 

"New ring, Miss Chips? It's cute… and it almost looks like a wedding ring…"

You cleared your throat. "That's because it is."

As his gaze drifted from the hand he was holding to meet yours, you could have sworn you saw a tinge of hurt in those blue eyes for a split second, and he forced a bright smile on his face to cover it up. 

"Really? That's amazing!"

"Yeah, it is. He's a great guy. I wish you could meet him, " you trailed off, as you let his hand go. "But anyway, I'm here now because I won't be able to come to the show later. We're going on a trip for a few days, so I thought I'd come to cheer for you before I go."

"Aww… You didn't have to do that, " he joked, messing up your hair. "But thank you for dropping by. I- 'll dedicate the song I play later to you."

"That's so sweet of you, " you beamed. "Thank you, Kiro!"

"No problem, " he said, his smile plastered upon his handsome face. "So, I guess I won't be seeing you for a while."

"Yes, but I'll bring you back a souvenir from our trip!"

"I'm sure you'll have lots of fun, " he mused happily. 

"I sure will, " you seconded. "But right now, I gotta go. Gavin should have been done filing his leaves by now."

"Yeah. Well, take care and don't overeat!"

"I'm not you, Kiro, " you called out as you waved and turned to exit the room, your head on the clouds as you thought of your trip with Gavin. So caught up in your daydream, you failed to notice the smile disappear from the pop star's face, as he brought his hand up to brush away his tears. 

7:30 pm

Willow texted that Kiro was up next, so you turned on the television to listen to him play.

"I'm still surprised we got a present from one of your business partners on such short notice, " Gavin said, as helped you pack. "Pretty lucky, huh?"

"I'm pretty lucky, " you replied, hugging him from behind. "Because I'm married to the best guy ever!"

He chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Of course. Where can you find a guy who would shop with you without a complaint, carry all the bags, and then help me pack for our honeymoon?"

"Mmh… either he's great or he's just crazy for you, " he said, turning around slightly to plant a kiss on your forehead. 

"And speaking of great, he's pretty great in bed, too." 

He smiled at your sly comment and straightened up. "Is he now?"

"Absolutely."

"And do you care to give him another chance to show how great he is in bed right now?"

Throwing your arms around his neck, you stand on the tips of your toes until your lips hovered just below his. "I thought you'd never ask, Babe."

In the background, you could hear that the host had just turned the floor over to Kiro and that he was going to perform anytime now. But all that was forgotten as your lips hungrily sought Gavin's, and he matched your passion with his. He made quick work of your clothes until you were stripped down to your panties. He lowered you in bed and kissed every single part of you, as Kiro played for the audience, a song he dedicated to you. 

A few doors down, Lucien lay on his bed, attempting to read while the TV was on. The apartment felt unusually cold and empty tonight and the Finale of Tchaikovsky’s 6th symphony that Kiro played beautifully on the violin did nothing to lighten the mood. He sighed and dropped his book, defeated. While it pained him to admit, he had everything and let it go - and now he had nothing. Nothing without you. 

Down the road, Victor took another shot of whiskey and asked his personal bartender to refill his glass once more. He lost count of how many glasses he's had as he played billiards by himself. The bartender turned up the volume to listen to Kiro's performance, and he paused briefly to listen. He'd never felt regret until now - for treating her the way he did, for not being honest about his feelings… for not having the power to turn back time and change things - for if he did, then he would've been the man she was making love to at this moment. 

And as Kiro played the last chords of the symphony, he finally allowed his tears to fall. 

[for-bucks-sake]

An Apron is Just a Cape On Backwards (Not a Superhero).

Pairing: Stucky x Reader Word count: 6K. This is a whole beast. I hope that’s not too bad.  Warnings: all the fluff!, some angst, smut!! (threesome, DP, fingering, attempt thigh riding.) ,some bad language, LOVE. And for the mad people who haven’t seen it yet: Endgame spoilers.  Summary: Everything was lost, but then it wasn’t. Reader, Steve and Bucky have to make up for lost time. Soon they find it not as easy as they thought, especially because one of them didn’t actually lose anything.  A/N: Some guy was annoying the shit out of me, trashing Steve and Bucky’s friendship, so I cheered myself up by writing a second part that literally no one asked for (also I might’ve written this only bc I’m obsessed with naming my fics weird shit). So this is part 2 of Missing Is a Recurring Theme! Hope you like it! (Also, I am a whore for artist!Steve.) **If anyone is interested, I actually have some spare time, so...Requests are open!

Gif is not mine.

“Hot Stuff Coming Through?” Y/n squinted to read the printed words on Bucky’s ridiculous apron, realization hitting her and she threw her head back, ringing laugh pleasantly filling the room, “when did you get this?”

Bucky was the only one standing in the kitchen. No sign of Steve. His growing hair was tied up on the top of his head in a failed bun, miserable strands of hair escaping it only to be coated with sweat and unidentified powders. Somehow, he managed to already severely stain the black apron and the breathable black t-shirt he wore underneath, spatula in one hand and a knife in the other.

“We got it yesterday,” he said innocent enough, flexing his impressive biceps in different poses, showing off his great new purchase. Y/n breathed, shaking her head, “Wait until you see Steve’s, and yours, of course! Which reminds me, get out of the kitchen!.” “You called me here!” She protested, hitting Bucky with the book she held; Oh, how she wished it wasn’t a paperback. “We’re working on a surprise for you, Darling. You have to keep your eyes closed, or at least stand with your back to us.” “Sure thing, Hot Stuff.” She chuckled, turning around just in time to face Steve going through the kitchen door, wearing a nearly identical apron, clear bag in his hand.

“I got the colors but I’m not sure we have enough blu-“ startled, he stopped talking when he saw her, just in time to hear Bucky’s loud demands he shuts the fuck up. “Colors? What are you two planning? It’s not even my birthday.” Steve gifted her with one of his loop side smiles, “I only said it to throw you off, sweetheart.”

He went around her and passed the plastic bag to the metal arm reaching for him in a sleek motion, pausing for a second above her head indecisively before  kissing the top of it. Bucky’s heart nearly skipped a beat.

Y/n touched Steve’s shoulder as a response, brushing the bare spot the white fabric of his shirt didn’t cover, it was somehow quieter than before.

Bucky cleared his throat, “hypothetically speaking, if we wanted to bake a cake.” Y/n opened her mouth, but was cut when he continued, “hypothetically! Do we really need to add eggs? Back in the day only flour and water were enough.”

“OH MY GOD.” She groaned at Steve’s amused face,

“So…Is that a yes?” Bucky asked again, looking genuinely lost,

“I’m out of here!” Y/n almost sang, stressing the the last words. She left the room, unlocking her phone while imagining the horrors said room is going to go through.

She stepped back, pulling herself closer to the kitchen space, but never entering - only her head visible - “I sent you a link, there are thousands of recipes for cakes. Just choose one.”

They looked grateful, hands petting their pockets, already looking for their phones, “thank you, doll”

She nodded, almost leaving again; “you sure you don’t need help?” She asked on a second thought, blinking and bringing her arms to her sides,

“We’ll be okay,” Bucky said, “besides, this is supposed to be a surprise, c’mon, let us do something nice for you for once.”

She bit her bottom lip and sighed, “Ok, whatever you want.” She stepped out of the kitchen again, “Just, please don’t paint the kitchen with food coloring, it’s going to be a hell to clean up.”

“I told you, there would be no colors involved!” Steve yelled after her, followed by a not so subtle snort from Bucky.

“I thought superheroes weren’t supposed to lie!” Y/n fired back, making herself comfortable on the sofa, opening the book at the marked page. She heard Bucky laughing again, this time joined by his partner in crime,

“Well, good thing we’re not ones anymore!”

Domestic really suited them, she then thought, and happiness might make her explode.

-

“Stevie, this is…I’m at a loss of  words. It’s amazing.” Bucky always did love to praise him, all the way back to the 20th century. He could feel him, soft man inside soft clothes, behind him. Breath warm and light on his neck, making the small hairs erect from the proximity.

“It’s not even finished yet, you really think she’s gonna like it?” Steve eyed his work, melting into Bucky’s touch as he wrapped solid arms around his waist, kissing his shoulder and humming into his skin.

“I know she will.”

Steve shifted his body, turning around to meet a beautiful pair of eyes, today more grey than blue; like ocean skies early in an April morning. It’s a little game he likes to play with himself - what did Bucky’s eye color resemble today? In all the years he played, he didn’t get the same answer twice.

“What?” The skies in his eyes chuckled along when Steve stared too long, the skin around Bucky’s eyes wrinkled, a pleasant reminder of how his life had changed, laughter so acquainted with his face it decided to leave a permanent mark.

“Nothin’.” Steve smiled at the thought, feeling the hands around his middle tightened, “I just love you.”

Bucky licked his lips, gaze falling quickly to a pink, delicious mouth he could never resist. Their breaths were heavy, warm, mixing in the small space between them until Steve reached for his hair, resting his elbows on Bucky’s broad shoulders as he found his bun, fingers digging into it, messing it up impossible more, strands of hair falling to frame his face.

“Steve,” Bucky swallowed, nose brushing against nose, so close to him, he spoke into Steve’s own lips.

“Yeah?” He breathed, teeth nibbling at Bucky’s bottom lip, beard grazing his smooth jaw,

“Kiss me.”

Their mouths connected, Steve’s hands still in Bucky’s hair, knotting and pulling harder, forcing him closer; Bucky gasped, head tilted right as he found a better access, his tongue moving slowly over Steve’s lips, sucking on the corner of his mouth. Steve panted Bucky’s name, releasing one of his hands from his hair and bringing it to cup his jaw; right hand pulling his chin up, allowing Steve to trace his tongue on the warmth of Bucky’s, pressing his teeth lightly into his lower lip. 

They smelled like baking, with the faintest hint of sweat. Bucky’s pulp lips sugary to the taste, probably from all the bites he snuck into his mouth, ignoring Steve’s protests.

Metal hand soothed up and down his back, chilly material still unusual to the skin even through a t-shirt. Steve leaned his back against the counter, parting the kiss with a wet sound. Bucky smiled lazily, eyes hooded  as he nuzzled his face into Steve’s neck, fluttering kisses into his most sensitive spots,

“God.” He signed, brushing lips against the sharp edge of Steve’s jawline, “I miss your beard.”

-

Screams from the kitchen was all she heard before she threw her book to the side, cursing everything in the world she had to abandon the last ten pages unread.

Muffled swearing, a terrified “Steve.”, a burnt small and when she entered the kitchen, grey smoke.

“What happened?” Y/n asked, catching her breath but still very much alarmed.

“Nothing!” One of them said in an unnaturally high squeak she couldn’t recognize. Steve cleared his throat, “nothing.” He said again, more composed, fanning furiously the smoking oven along with Bucky.

Once the loud beeping sound stopped - smell still strong and unpleasant in their noses, but the black screen died down - they faced her, the epitome of innocence with their boyish smiles, posture hunched as they fiddled with their hands, looking astonishingly alike.

“We’re sorry.” Steve said, eyebrows furrowed as he struggled to look up, “it’s m’fault. I was so busy paint- working on something else I got distracted-“

“No no, we both know it’s on me, I should’ve-“

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” Y/n said, arms crossed against her chest as she cut them both sharply, they could be so serious sometimes. “All you did was burn half the kitchen! Lighten up guys.” She continued before they had a chance to speak, “there are no faults, I’m not mad.” She smiled, as to convince them she was telling the truth.

Both men exhaled at the same time, relieved the mess they made wasn’t gonna get them in trouble. “I can’t be mad at you, c’mon.” Y/n said wholeheartedly, bringing her arms to the side and walking forward, nudging their shoulders as to cheer them up, “I’m just upset you worked all day for nothing.” She sighed, searching for their hands, she took Bucky’s metallic palm in her right, and Steve’s in her left.

“It’s not entirely for nothing.” Bucky motioned, cupping her face, calloused flesh holding delicate features. He smiled at her, then at Steve, standing inside their impromptu circle made of limbs- “Now,” a dopey grin smudge his red lips, looking proud of himself, “we can get pizza!”

-

“You seemed a little too keen on throwing out all the food you’ve worked on, don’t you think? And look at the road!”

Bucky chuckled, stirring his gaze from her to the black sedan in front of them, “I’d much rather look at you, sugar.” He teased in a sickeningly sweet voice, y/n rolled her eyes, pretending to puke. “No one is moving anyway.” He hit the wheel in frustration, she swore she heard it creaks, “and for your question, darl’,” Bucky looked at her again, “I am extremely,” he stressed, “bummed out it didn’t work. And I mean EXTREMELY. Besides, it wasn’t the main surprise, Steve’s still working on it at home.”

“Yeah, yeah,” she huffed, gently touching his jaw and guiding it to face forward; he opened his mouth, tilting his head down to try and bite her finger, he grazed it with his front teeth and kissed it. Her smile turned to a loud laugh as a very enthusiastic driver honked his horn off behind them, universal way of signaling someone to fucking drive. Bucky didn’t have to look to see the “I told you so” all over her face.

“Shut up.” He muttered under his breath,

She pursed her smiling lips, looking innocent as ever, “I didn’t say anything.”

-

They drove in silence, Bucky hummed to the beat of her fingers drumming on the window.

“Is something wrong?” He said suddenly, making y/n jolt herself up.

“Is there something that should be wrong?” She asked, confused by the unforeseen question,

He sighed heavily, “with you and Steve…I mean.”

Oh shit. “I don’t think so, no.” She swallowed, picking at her fingernails.

“I thought superheroes weren’t supposed to lie.” Damn them, both of them and their way of knowing exactly what she feels.

“I’m not a superhero.”

“You are to me.” He said quietly, both looking intensely at the road.

“I’m not lying,” she exhaled, bringing her abused nails to her lips, biting, “it’s just… Everything is good, you know? Great. I love you, I love you both more than ever.” She shifted in her sit again, visibly uncomfortable.

“We never talked about this.” Her voice was quiet now, barely above a whisper, “I mean really talked about this. When you were gone…it was hard to keep going like everything was normal, so we somehow adjusted to a new normal, our normal. And then you came back, which I’m grateful for, everyday.” She bit her bottom lip, bringing her legs closer to her lap.

“I wake up and I see you, I see him, and I want to cry. Cry because I never thought I would be this lucky again. But when you came back we had to discover the old normal again, remember it, face the damage our previous poor way of coping did to us. Five years is a long time, Buck.”

She was holding her breath, Bucky could tell, the way she was holding her thoughts up until now.

He often forgot. He hated the feeling of memories disintegrating from his grip, in small, unnoticeable bits that he worked so hard scraping together. Most of the things come back to him eventually, the good and the bad. But this was a different type of forgetting; this time he had nothing to remember.

Sometimes it just hit him, when he watched them. How everything so drastically changed when he was gone. He saw it in the dark circles around her eyes, never seemed to fade or to brightened, no matter how much time had gone or how well rested she was. Sometimes it was in the new crease on Steve’s forehead, a grounding reminder that they, too, can run out of time. Sometimes he saw it in their faints attempts to wake up early for morning runs, can’t keep up even when they do. Sometimes it was in the hesitation in Steve’s eyes, every time he came in contact with her skin, almost afraid she doesn’t want his touch anymore.

For Bucky there was nothing to remember, but for them- there was too much to forget.

And he hated it, blaming himself in true Bucky Barnes fashion. Like he had any say on the matter. Sometime, he thinks that if he had, he’d tell them to move on.

Bucky’s life were hard on him, cruel, even - but they also taught him that time was invaluable. Precious seconds and moments had to be clenched on to, not be wasted, not be overlooked; that’s how he knew they should’ve let go. Instead of latching onto the memory of him, distant fading version of  the man he is in their minds, they could’ve started over, make their new normal a permanent one. They could’ve learned to love each other without him. They could’ve healed.

In a greedy, ugly pit inside the dark depths of his heart he was glad they didn’t, selfishness getting the best of him, thinking he might have killed himself if he woke up only to realize he doesn’t have anyone to wake up to.

Five years is a long time.

He gripped the wheel harder with two hands, nearly creating small valleys in the shape of his fingers, “He loves you.” He hushed, in a way that was almost intimate, like a secret.

“I know.”

“Sometimes I think he is going to break. He lost me so many times. Too many times in one lifetime. If he didn’t have you…He would’ve.”

“I would’ve, too.” Y/n whispered,

“I know.” He said softly, body loosen up as he spoke, “you kept each other together, you saved each other from falling apart. That’s love.”

She stayed quiet as Bucky found a parking spot, squeezing the car in a tight fit.

Her mind was roaming, she had a lot to think about.

“Let’s go?”

-

“God I missed this place.” Bucky beamed at the smell, his entire demeanor changes as they walked into the small pizzeria. Fresh dough was baking, a game was on on the beat up TV screen near the freezers, fluorescent lights planting small stars inside his eyes. Suddenly, y/n felt different, too.

They found their way between the tables, an old woman with a child were sitting to their right, a young couple to their left, some elderly men yelled at the television, heating up in a meaningless argument over the players.

They reached the cashier, first in line. His eyes looked tired, yet he treated them with a smile accompanied with a cheerful “what can I get ya?”,not letting the long shift get to him. “We’d like two large pizzas please, one with extra cheese…” Bucky’s voice faded as she dived deeper into her thoughts. His left hand was light on the small of her back, chilling the narrow strip of skin revealed when her t-shirt rode up.

Y/n looked around, tuning down the talking and the noise even more, only to catch a glimpse of a familiar face, now very less bearded, somehow younger looking. A small towel in a soft yellow hung from his shoulder, and the friendly smile that was always there didn’t disappoint, directed to her yet again. He nodded as their gazes crossed, an undisputed spark of recognition floating inside his eyes as he glanced quickly at Bucky.

The old man didn’t stay much longer, responding to the loud “dad!” calls from the back by returning quickly, not before he caught y/n nodding back, latching Bucky closer.

-

They drove in silence. Y/n trying to balance the square boxes on her lap as Bucky allowed himself to steal a slice, taking a bite every time they stopped at a red light.

“This is,” he announced with his mouth full, defying the quiet, “the best pizza ever!”

She chuckled, tightening her grip around the sides of the steaming carton, “save the declarations for Steve, I don’t really care for it either way.”

“You have to decide which side are you on!” Bucky said, finishing and swallowing his bite, looking at her, “playing both sides isn’t going to work any longer baby.”

“ROAD!” She grunted, momentarily losing her balance and falling forward, almost covering her entire sit with cheese and sauce.

“Y/n? You okay?” Bucky’s voice was concerned, and he was looking at her, again.

“I’m fine! Stop looking at me!” She moved, adjusting to a more comfortable position,

“C’mon now, you know I can drive us safely with my eyes closed.”

“I’m sure you can, you’ve had a lot of practice, too?” She scuffed,

“As a matter of fact,” he tensed, smiling sadly, “I have.”

They didn’t talk for the rest of the drive, and Bucky didn’t stir his eyes from the highway.

-

“Time for the surprise!.” Bucky announced after they sat down, eating wordlessly except from his occasional blissful moans, and Steve’s grumpy noises of disgust.

Y/n looked down at him, baffled. Her hands paused their continuant motion in the past twenty minutes. He sat between her legs, hard feelings long forgotten - placated by tender twining of fingers through his hair; chipped nails gently scratching his scalp and slowly descending to the top of his shoulders.

Steve looked up as well, tossing his pepperoni slice back to the box, willingly abandoned. “Sure. I’ll go get it.”

Y/n glanced at Steve, immediately bringing her gaze down to Bucky again, “C’mon, you really shouldn’t have.”

They both dismissed her, getting up and disappearing in the kitchen.

Y/n followed them with her gaze, despite her protests she was giddy with excitement, what it was didn’t matter - the thought of how hard they worked on it all day was enough to make her happy with whatever they made.

Blond head emerged from the room first, quicker than she thought, followed by Bucky- their hands bearing gifts;

Steve held three aprons, and what looked like a tray with a knife on it, laying next to something that was covered, she couldn’t see what it was.

Gently pushing the nearly empty pizza boxes, Steve placed the tray on the table, tossing each the matching clothes.

“Are we really gonna wear them?” Hers was different, printed colors all over it, and even in its folded state she had a vague idea what was on it.

“Open it!” Bucky clapped after he finished tying his behind his back. He was a little too enthusiastic. She caught a glimpse of Steve smiling conspicuously, can’t keep a straight face as she unfolded the apron, revealing a picture of a very detailed, hairy belly. Rolls that seemed like they were acquired by abusing the use of beer, and a pair of man boobs that horrifiedly were too similar to her own for her liking.

Both men howled with laughter, can’t contain themselves any longer when she put it on.

“Do you like it?” Bucky snickered, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.

“You know what?” She raised an eyebrow, checking herself out, “It’s kinda growing on me.” How unbelievable it was that technically, those men were over a hundred years old.

“Good.” Steve tried to keep a straight face, failing miserably, “because you’re never, you’re never taking this off.”

“Oh, never? Not even for…?” Y/n bit her lips suggestively, looking at them as they looked at each other. She was just teasing, getting them riled up as a payback. She was trying to be funny, but their expressions weren’t as playful.

She stayed in her place, untying the ridiculous apron, unbuttoning her jeans and letting it fall down to her hips.

That was quick, she thought as they walked towards her in unison, trapping her between them and the couch.

Bucky pushed down the denim, letting her step out of it while he sat, parting his legs and pulling her down for a kiss.

Steve tangled his long fingers in her hair, smoothly pressing her against Bucky’s lips, deepening the kiss as she moaned into his mouth; Bucky groaned, hoisting her up on his lap, desperately seeking more friction. His metal arm clutched her waist with a force she knew was going to leave bruises, his other hand was holding her head in place, replacing Steve as he began to kiss her neck, sucking at the skin until it was red and angry. He smirked when she cried out, breaking the kiss only for Bucky to pull her back in. Steve licked at the ruptured blood vessels, soothing them with his tongue before he moved to a new patch of skin.

Y/n gripped Bucky’s shoulder, dire for even the slightest relief, grinding against his clothed crotch, using him to keep her balance. She was suddenly stopped when his arm held her hips steady, not allowing her to move.

“Uh, uh sweetheart,” She heard Steve rasping in her ear, biting at her earlobe, making her squirm under him, “you’re not getting off that easy.”

It was like they found their rhythm again, like buying a new record of old songs; they held her between them, undressing themselves and what’s left of her clothes, not even bothering to leave the couch.

Being so close to them was like a cure; nothing could touch her, nothing but them. She felt the weight of Steve’s lips on hers, tracing his soft tongue on her teeth, breathing lightly into her, opening her mouth for him. She didn’t need anything else.

Bucky found her right breast, bare and soft, with only the contrast of her hardening nipple reacting to his slow circles around it, only stopping to pinch her pink nub, rolling it between his fingers. He chuckled softly when her breath hitched, clinging to Steve’s naked chest and pushing her ass closer to Bucky’s cock.

She shifted on his lap, somehow; now facing Steve, mouth on his, and her back to Bucky, allowing him a better access to her sex.

Slowly, he lowered his hand, the cold of the metal meeting her heat, creating a contrasting sensation that made her whole body shiver with pleasure.

“Look at you,” he whispered in her ear, syncing the movements of both of his hands on her, “you’re so wet.”

Y/n hummed in response, hand shaping into a fist around Steve’s bicep when he caught her other breast, giving the same attention to it as Bucky.

“You’re so good for us doll.” He kissed the edge of her jaw, “Such a good girl, so wet for us.”

She groaned as Bucky slid a smooth finger inside her, slowly pumping it in and out, stretching her enough to insert a second finger between her folds.

“Faster, please.” She cried, mouth now free as Steve resumed working on marking her skin, sucking at her collarbone, allowing her to be as vocal as she wants.

“Steve, Bucky,” she bit her bottom lip, unable to divide her attention; Bucky moving faster inside her, thumb teasing her clit, and Steve squeezing her tits, bringing one of them to his mouth and scraping her sensitive nipple. It was all becoming too much.

Her hips buckled, breaths becoming more urgent as she moaned their names,

“Do you want to cum, darling?” Bucky asked from behind, not any less urgent than her, his cock becoming uncomfortably harder against his stomach and her ass by the second.

Y/n nodded furiously, swallowing a sob when a third digit entered her, “oh shit, I’m so close.”

Steve caressed her cheek, tracing the shape of her red lips with his thumb. She kissed it, taking it in her mouth fully, tongue spiraling its form and coating it with her saliva, hollowing her cheeks around it.

The heat rose to her face, knots tying up inside her stomach and going higher and higher, taking her closer to the edge.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. Come for us.”

She didn’t know who said it, too caught up in her own pleasure, but it was enough; The waves of her orgasm hit her all at once, she moaned loudly around Steve’s thumb, as Bucky didn’t stop, riding her high with her, fingers still being pushed in and out of her, milking her of her pleasure with sweet reassurance in her ears.

Bucky kissed her shoulder as she came down, still sensitive when he pulled his fingers from her heat. He growled when he saw how drenched they were, the metal collecting a good amount of her juices, “Fuck, baby.” Bucky smirked, both men fascinated by her reaction to them as if it was the first time, “I always miss your taste so much.”

He brought two wet fingers to his lips, relishing on her cum, moaning in pleasure for how sweet she is. Steve shuffled closer, bringing himself so close he was sharing Bucky’s lap with her.

He bit his lips, hungrily eyeing Bucky’s forefinger, untouched, still dripping with her. 

Steve secured his hand around the metal wrist in a firm grip, waiting for Bucky to lick his fingers clean, and taking the third one into his mouth, sucking at it until there was nothing left.

Bucky swallowed, cock twitching at the sensation of Steve’s tongue on his body. The subtle reaction captured Steve’s attention, and he moved even more forward, squeezing y/n between them, her eyes hooded in a post orgasm bliss, renewed arousal starting to form in her core again when she felt the weight of Steve against her sensitive pussy.

“C’mere.” Steve motioned, voice deep from lust. Bucky swallowed again when he felt a tug at his hair, pulling him forward. Steve crushed his lips on his, the delicious flavor of y/n still on their tongue as they tasted it off each other, breathlessly exploring. Steve took a hold of Bucky’s thick shaft, stroking him from the base to the tip, removing the precum with his thumb and smearing it on y/n lips blindly, not breaking the kiss. She whimpered, eagerly licking it off.

Steve’s hips jolted involuntarily, forcing them to part, barely catching their breath.

“Fuck, Steve…Please.” Y/n moaned at the new friction, suddenly needy for more. He positioned himself farther, just in front of her entrance, teasing her with his tip, as Bucky parted her thighs, holding her in place.

She shifted, head shaking as she turned to Bucky. “I want both of you.”

His breath hitched in his throat, the clutch of his fingers tightening around her, “it’s been so long, baby. Are you sure you’re read-“

“Please? Bucky, Steve?” She was begging now, voice small, eyes pleading, the pink blush on her cheeks matched the scarlet color of her lips, reminding Bucky of a rose. The red tint casted a celestial shadow across her face, highlighting the splatter of freckles on her nose, her dilated pupils overpowering the color of her eyes. There’s so much self restraint a man can have.

“Okay.” He said hoarsely, barley able to control himself, “whatever you want, darling.”

She smiled, biting her lips to obscure it. She didn’t care it’s been years since they were both inside her. She wanted them. Needed them.

Bucky dipped his fingers inside her soaked core, coating himself in her fluids. She gasped when he pulled them out, slowly, his other hand was parting her asscheeks, searching for her entrance.

“Shh,” Bucky kissed her left shoulder, rubbing circles around the tight ring of muscles, using her own juices as a lubricant, “relax for me, baby.”

Y/n sighed, feeling Steve length on her folds, still not pushing inside her. He stroked her hair, leaving fluttering kisses on her neck, so different from the aggressive lovebites he previously left there.

She felt her muscles loosen around Bucky, slowly but surly opening her up for him.

“Buck.” She inhaled sharply as he managed to get a finger inside her. Steve was rubbing lazy circles on her clit, and she thought she’ll cum again, the familiar coil in her guts starting to form.

“Again already?” Bucky chuckled behind her, recognizing her rapid breaths and the clutching of her walls around him. He added a second finger, sliding inside her smoothly, “I guess we’ll have to pick up the pace.”

A couple of pumps later, and he pressed a third digit into her hole, it was a tighter fit, muscles resisting it at first, but he was persistent.

“So tight.” He exhaled, humming at the nape of her neck. Y/n opened her eyes, not realizing how hard she shut them, only to see Steve’s hungry look on them, devouring both of their naked forms.

She felt the fire igniting in the pit of her stomach, a softer pleasure washing her when she came, panting and hiding her face in the crook of Steve’s neck.

Steve chest vibrated with laugher, placing a hand on her back, “Are you okay?”

Y/n nodded, leaving the safety of his neck to look at him, words too difficult to form.

“We’re almost there,” Bucky reassured, gathering her newly found slick to coat his cock, pulling out his fingers. He moved himself to her entrance, stretching her painfully even with all his caution.

“Yes, just like that baby, you’re doing so good.” He praised her while caressing her arm, moving another inch deeper until his base hit her ass.

She let out a strangled gasp, shutting her eyes and correcting her breaths. Steve squeezed her palm, signaling her to open her eyes. She looked at him, already looking wrecked; “Are you sure, y/n? It’s okay if you-“

Y/n bit her bottom lip, smiling at him as sweetly as she could, “pretty please?”

The man huffed, letting out a low chuckle and placed himself against her dripping cunt, thrusting his hips into hers, gradually filling her up.

“Oh shit.”

It was always overwhelming at the first thrust. Being so full she forgot how empty she used to be. The stretch opening her up, reminding of something she hasn’t felt in five years. Right now, she might’ve felt complete.

She wasn’t ready, until now, having them both in the same level of intimacy like before. But this was so impromptu, so raw, so them; it was only natural for her to feel like herself again.

They stayed still inside her, giving her the time to adjust, already twitching, and she felt every inch of them against her damp walls, clenching around them, making it unbearable for them not to budge.

Y/n was the one to initiate. Recognizing how restless they grew, she rolled her hips, a whine escaping her lips just when Steve and Bucky moaned deeply, holding onto her.

She did it again, this time it stung less, her body getting accustomed to the presence of them inside,

“Y/n.” Bucky groaned, holding her hips in a steel grip.

“Yes?” She blinked at him, innocently.

“Stop that.”

“Why?”

“You’re hurting yourself.”

There was a pause, “I’m not, it’s okay.”

Steve and Bucky shared a look above her head, brief but meaningful. Steve pulled himself back slowly, stopping at the half of his length, only to pound into her again; she shut her eyes, her hands on Steve’s bare chest, feeling the flex of his muscles under it.

Bucky did the same thing- he drew himself out and pushed back in, knuckles tightening around her middle.

Beads of sweat formed in the valley of her breasts as they slammed harder each time, picking up a pace between themselves, moving in turns and then together, whispering words to sooth her pain.

Y/n was a mess under them, being so completely full, any discomfort long gone or replaced by pleasure.

“Guys,” she whimpered, “I’m close.”

Her eyes teared up, head shot back and met Bucky’s shoulder; she squirmed, able to taste her edge now. She couldn’t take it, her hips shifting involuntarily to the sides as they fucked into her.

They held her still again, nearly collapsing over her from how close they were, how good she took them.

She was the first one to come. Waves on waves of pleasure striking harder than before. She could taste her salty tears and hear herself screaming, nails clawing at anything she could find.

“Fuck!” Bucky grunted, hips thrusting into her repeatedly until he came inside her, leaning his head on her neck, holding her close for Steve to continue until he got his release.

“Shh, baby." Bucky whispered, “It’s okay, we’ve got you.” Steve rocked her body, crushing his hips into hers desperately, his eyebrows furrowed, cheeks rosy. He was close too.

She whined, clutching walls around him for the last time, not having any energy left in her to do anything else. Steve inhaled sharply, the tightness of her pushing him over the edge.

He spilled hot shots inside her, nearly collapsing on top of her in a tangle of sweaty bodies.

They stayed like this, not daring to move, still buried deep within each other.

“We forgot the cake.” Y/n laughed breathily.

“You weren’t supposed to know it’s a cake.” Bucky muttered, toying with a couple wet strands of her hair lazily.

“We kinda gave it up, Buck.” Steve admitted, “I’m pulling out, sweetheart.” He gave her a few seconds to prepare -say goodbye to the comforting warmth of the both of them surrounding her- lifting himself up using the arm of the sofa. In one slick motion he was no longer inside her, the sudden emptiness alien and unwanted. A mix of her juices dripped down her legs slowly, blending with the shots of cum Bucky left in her, too, as he mirrored Steve’s actions, removing himself from her hole.

It was awfully lonely all of a sudden.

“C’mon baby.” Bucky lifted her up as well, handling her as gently as he could, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

“No, no.” Y/n protested, “I wanna see the surprise.”

“It can wait for tomorrow.” Steve said, piling up the boxes on the table, cleaning up after them.

“You didn’t spend all day making it so I would see it tomorrow, show me.” She was stubborn, persistent, they knew too well it was a losing battle once she sat her mind to something. And she was already set on the couch again. They exchanged looks, sighing and sitting down to her sides.

“It’s not much.” Steve said, suddenly feeling self conscious about his work.

“It’s amazing,” Bucky reassured, knowing Steve isn’t going to uncover it himself so he did it instead, peeling the cover off to reveal it.

Y/n gasped, drinking in the work of art in front of her; It was a rectangle shaped chocolate cake, completed with white frosting evenly spread on top.

There was a painting drawn into the cream, light strokes of brush that only one person could create, a beautiful mess of blue and red, like watercolors fighting to create harmony between them. It was them, it took her a while to find sense in the chaos, but eventually she recognized three figures, fitting into one.

 Beautiful.

“Steve.” She breathed, “we’re never eating this.”

“We’re not sure how edible it is, anyway.” Steve laughed in relief, embracing her and kissing her temple.

“We are.” Bucky all but jumped on them, wrapping his arms around the two in an awkward yet loving hug, their laughs ringing together in a gracious melody, “It’s not.“