#i’ll find out friday ^_^
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meowrimo · 7 months ago
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good morning and happy tuesday friendz !! the sun is shining & it’s a brand new day ! i hope it treats you all very kindly ! i’ll been cheering you on !! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
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oldbutchdanielcraig · 5 months ago
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Thinking about how for about a month my favorite part of going to the movies was seeing the trailer for queer. like yea girl i think you might like that movie a little bit. wait while we’re here i have a question
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theworstcreature · 3 months ago
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I need to learn about cavetown so I can make the optimal shirt for my friend’s birthday…
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crossbackpoke-check · 1 year ago
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it’s all the rest of what i want with you
connor dewar/brandon duhaime :: 8k
Summary:
“Brandon,” Connor says with a sigh. “There’s no baby in there.”
“Not yet,” Brandon says. Connor feels his stomach twist, almost like what he would imagine a baby kicking to feel like.
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in these trying times of dewvorce, may i offer you 8k of pwp inspired by @stillfertile’s wonderful art which i had. several breakdowns about 🫶 anyway please enjoy!!!
#OFFICIAL FIC ANNOUNCEMENT 🗣️🗣️🗣️‼️‼️‼️ i wish i had pretty fic graphics but alas i have No Skill and also. so much work i should be doing bu#HI SHE’S HERE i would love to say this is a complete surprise drop except i have Anxiety & i needed to ask you guys about it beforehand#in my defense i started writing this in like. january far before any tragedy occurred#because square asked about my tags on their dewey2 art and she spawned like. a million more thoughts about it#including the part where i got absolutely kicked in the face with the lightning vision of those two lines.#like those two lines are the first actual lines of the fic i wrote ajdhkwdiowdjiw ANYWAY please be nice to me i know i am always like#‘this is not the first real fic i ever thought i’d post’ and if i had a nickel i’d have three but this is the first pwp i’ve ever posted#and it’s 8k and it’s not a fic for an exchange (although technically i did very much write this for the dewey^2 hivemind so.)#i have SO many things to say i have so many comments on this doc also i couldn’t pick a title for the LONGEST time and i finally decided on#this one but the full quote was too long:#all the rest of what i want with you that scares me shitless#so. i was angling SO hard to make a yung gravy lyric as a title bc i saw the video of him at a wild game but i couldn’t find a good one#and instead y’all got a very sentimental title l m a o.#liv in the replies#shout out to the extended universe this lives in and also my unhinged comments in the docs.#if you liked fun fuck a baby in him friday i’ll be here all week i promise i am the exact same in the comments as i am in the tags 🫡#the NUMBER of times i wrote something in this by pulling it out of my ass and then actually went back and did the research & was RIGHT is.#far too high. also the amount of coincidental things that dropped while i was writing this (yung gravy song about pregnancy AFTER i wheeze#laughed myself into a yung gravy title the athletic player poll confirming my restaurant & bar choices from googling ‘st. paul good bars’…)#also if anybody got advice on formatting for these little announcements. help. this is different from my miro/luka one &i’m still not happy
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goldensunset · 10 months ago
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hmmm do i Have to do the pokémon world tournaments or is that optional? my rival’s involvement makes me feel like it’s part of the story but idk
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inkandpaintsnowleopard · 1 year ago
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Skid and Pump watching in the distance as their creature friends musically duke it out:
They’re Girlfriend
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fridayyy-13th · 1 year ago
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y’all i’m getting sad about being closeted again
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This weather is fucking me uppp
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feliciacraft · 4 months ago
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fushitoru · 8 months ago
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back to the kittty, cause she's kinda pretty!
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pairings ⸺ (SEPERATE) bf!sukuna x reader x toji, masseuse!nanami x reader, bully!suguru x reader, childhood best friend!choso x reader, best friend!gojo x reader
summary ⸺ jjk men as overused p0rn tropes! (part 2) inspired by this awesome post by the cool and super talented @/osamucide! pls check it out and the rest of his work :3
warnings ⸺ SMUT (mdni), sub!satoru supermacy, porn no plot, vaginal sex, doggy, fem reader, "sloppy seconds," pre-established consent for all, reader accidently eats an aphrosidiac for choso's, bullying in suguru's, oral (m and frecieving), fingering, semi-public humiliation, lowk pathetic toji, art by 3aem, nOT EDITED
a/n choso's is my favorite yet again i love a pathetic man that rails me into next tuesday <3
kinktober masterlist | general masterlist
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KAMO CHOSO ⸺ MY HOT CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND ATE SOME WEIRD CHOCOLATE AND WANTS ME TO DICK HER DOWN!
Your best friend, Choso, was lounging on his couch, flipping through different movie options on Netflix while you were in the kitchen, bending and squinting through the different options. It’s a Friday night, and the both of you opted to stay in for movie night.
“Choso!” You complained, huffing while putting your hands on your hips to shout at him in the living room. “Why do you only have fuckin protein shakes and raw chicken in your fridge?”
All you get is a noncommittal shrug while he pauses on the preview for some shonen anime. “There should be some chocolate.”
Gasping in excitement, you go back to rummaging through his fridge like a raccoon and there you find it—-a pink chocolate box titled “tabs.” Smiling to yourself in excitement, you don’t hesitate before popping on of the bars in your mouth, appreciating the cherry flavor while grabbing another one. With your mouth full, you ask, “Do you want one? These are sooo good, where'd you buy them?”
“Nah, I’m good. Just come over here, you’ve been taking too long.” He sends you a glare and motions for you to sit next to him, to which you set the chocolate back in the fridge and pad your way over to him. “I think Sukuna bought these off the internet and that they were kinda bougie.”
You look at him, slightly alarmed. “Isn’t he going to kill you?”
He looks over at you—a little softly, you note—and ruffles your hair, to your dismay. “It’s okay, I’ll buy it again for him. Gonna blame your big back ass for it being gone.”
“Die.” You stick your tongue out, crossing your arms while settling into his side. 
Choso noted that you were being a bit more cuddly than usual, touching him more as soon as you got onto the couch. He decides to ignore it. “Ok, we’re going with Spider-man, k?”
You nodded into his side—he could tell you were flushed by the way you had continued to grow warmer and warmer, with beads of sweat dotting your temple. He paid it no mind, choosing instead to click on the movie and watch it play.
You were heating up. 
You tried to ignore it, because you hadn’t felt feverish before or done anything in particular to cause you to be sick (your coffee and ramen diet had been fixed after midterms season after Choso got on your ass about it). But about 25 minutes into the movie, you couldn’t bear it anymore, your vision blurring at the edges as you mumbled, “‘ts too hot. Gonna take off my shirt.”
Choso, who had been focused on the movie, tensed and looked at you, eyes slightly widened. “Wh—” Before he could even get a word out, you stood up—eyes slightly unfocused—arching your back while grabbing the bottom hem of your t-shirt and peeling it off, causing Choso to gulp as you uncovered the swell of your breasts in your red lace bra. You went back to borrowing yourself on his side, the softness of your boobs pressing against his arm. 
Choso closed his eyes because there was nooo way he was popping a boner for his best friend. No way. As both of your eyes went back to the movie, Choso focused on reciting the Japanese National Anthem to distract himself from the soft breaths you were letting out near his ears—and the way they tickled them—as well as the rise and press of your chest against his arms as you heaved. 
You, on the other hand, did not feel relieved. At all. There was a stickiness in between your thighs that made you think your period had started, but it had ended a week ago. You were probably just ovulating. Cuddling into Choso further, you put your legs on either side of his torso, burying your face into his neck and taking a deep sniff. At this point, you ignore the movie as you tried the soothe the heat that was going through you.
“What are you doing?” Choso was ram–rod straight and turned to peer down at you incredulously while reciting in his brain, until the tiny pebbles, grow into massive boulders. 
You continued your whiffing—-he just smelled sooo good—and sobbed, “I don’t know, but it hurts.” At this point, the feeling between your thighs was unbearable. You started to subtly grind on the side of his torso, much to Choso’s surprise. “‘M sick, Cho, but I’ve been eating healthy! I promise!” you whined. “Except for the chocolate right now. It hurts!”
At that moment, he knew he fucked up.
These were the tabs chocolates Sukuna was buying for his girlfriend. The ones viral on social media for serving as aphrodisiacs.
“Fuck,” he groaned while you continued to rub yourself onto him, now fully moaning and sighing as you tried to chase relief.  “Fuck! I fucked up.”
“Choso,” you whined loudly, prompting him to leave his state of anguish to look at you worriedly. “I feel so empty.”
Choso snapped.
Bent over, face buried in a pillow on the couch, Choso rams into your creamy, wet pussy, the squelching sounds echoing across the empty apartment. Punctuating his words with a thrust, “is-” plap! “what-” plap! “you-” plap! “wanted?”
“Yes!” you squeal, body bouncing as his rough snaps of his hips jostled you around, “You’re making me feel so good, Cho!”
“Do you know how much of a tease you’ve been?” he growled, balls hitting your ass as he pulled a hand back to spank you, red handprint imprinting itself on your cheeks. He groans at the sight of him leaving his mark on you. “Gonna take my cum, right?”
FUSHIGURO TOJI AND SUKUNA RYOMEN ⸺ I GET MY BEST FRIEND’S SLOPPY SECONDS! (a/n lol im not gonna lie this is just me ovulating and wanting to be creampied by two men)
Whenever Toji was at Sukuna’s place, it was like you, his girlfriend, pretended he wasn’t there. Because why were you always dressed in the tiniest of shorts and a tank top that could barely even hold your tits in and keep them covered? Sometimes, Toji thought it was Sukuna’s play—dangling you in front of him like a piece of meat, reminding him what he couldn’t have. 
Sukuna and Toji did have a bit of a…competitive friendship—one of good nature, of course. Toji, nonchalant as he is, didn’t really care whether he lost or not in the little skirmishes they had, whether it be seeing who can lift the most at the gym or walk somewhere faster. But he’s definitely seen Sukuna eye his groin in a mental competition to see if he was bigger or not.
Safe to say, Sukuna relished in the win. In a sense, he was obsessed with the submission. Not that Toji could care. He didn’t care when he flaunted his girlfriend around, groping you in front of him just to make him feel jealous…right?
Because why was his dick hard, him all hot and bothered as he listens to your moans and the plap! plap! plap! and squelches of Sukuna’s dick drilling in you? You’re both in the room, and Toji’s in the living room, confused as to why the fuck Sukuna asked him to come over when you clearly had a dick appointment with him. 
“Mmm, Sukuna you’re making me feel so good!” You whine, and Toji curses, closing his eyes and cursing whatever god was out there to make him subject to such torture. In his gray sweatpants, his bulge is undeniable as he hears Sukuna pleasure you. 
Then, he hears Sukuna call out to him, jumping as the other man yells, “Yo, Toji. I know you’re out there, man. Come in!” He then laughs meanly, speeding up to silence whatever protests you were making. Toji curses once again and moves to open the door just for his eyes to widen at what he’s seeing.
There is an obscene amount of cum oozing from your hole, it looked battered and swollen from the abuse Sukuna has dealt to it. There are tears in your eyes, a pretty pout on your face as Sukuna continues to use you as your fucktoy. And Toji realizes that Sukuna is looking at him while his hips languidly gyrate into you.
 “‘kuna–” you sob, embarrassed and cheeks heating up even further as you felt Toji’s eyes rove over your form, utterly decimated by Sukuna.
But you’re interrupted out of any potential protests you can make as Sukuna smacks your ass—Toji’s eyes not missing the jiggle—as he abruptly pulls out and motions Toji to come closer. “I’m gonna let him borrow you, okay baby? You see, Toji’s kind of pathetic here. Might as well give him sloppy seconds, right?”
With that, Toji is moaning as he slowly enters you, your pussy sweetly clamping on his dick as he can literally feel Sukuna’s cum every time he thrusts. The utterly debauched feeling of his still-hot come lubricating his every thrust makes his eyes roll back, lost in the feeling of your pussy as you whimper and squeal everytime he hits your g-spot.
“Yo,” and Toji’s attention is temporarily swayed to Sukuna, who’s watching the both of you with darkened eyes, manspread in a chair. “Come inside, okay? It’s my treat.”
NANAMI KENTO ⸺ DIRTY MASSEUSE GIVES HOT BABE A DEEP TISSUE MASSAGE! (WITH A HAPPY ENDING)
Working in corporate was hell.
Sitting in a chair all day slaving away at spreadsheets and emails was definitely not something your younger self imagined you doing, but alas, you were only but a slave to capitalism. Even your hip flexors could feel it—they were tight, and your upper back hurt a lot.
So, here you were, in the waiting room of this bougie massage salon that you decided to treat yourself to. After all, you’ve been a good girl with your savings, making sure not to spend loads on stress-virtual-shopping so you can blow lots of bucks into this 2 hour service. The lobby is neat and glamorous, as you wait while rubbing your back. You’re currently engrossed in watching a compilation of Moo Deng videos until a deep cough interrupts you. “Miss?”
You turn to face the rich, baritone voice that’s said your name, and then suddenly reeling back. In front of you was probably one of the most handsomest men you’ve ever seen, with blond hair and sharp cut facial lines. He’s rubbing his palms together, which seem laden with oil as he looks at you plaintively. “Shall we take it to the massage room?”
“Y–yes. We can do that,” you nervously affirmed, gathering your purse and belongings to tightly follow behind him. 
When you arrive at the room, the stoic man motions for you to get changed. “Please put on a towel. We’re going to be doing a deep tissue massage, so the towel will serve as a protective measure.”
You blush at the thought of this man seeing your body covered in nothing but a towel, but follow his directions regardless, putting your belongings in a corner while you step out of the changing room and into the massage room once again. You try to preserve your modesty as best you can as you go to lie down on the table. The only things you hear from him are the clinks of bottles as he rummages through different oils, uncovering them. The smell hits you dead on, soothing your senses already with the essential oils. 
And then, his rough, big hands are on your back, pressing into your shoulder blades. You jump, like a scared deer, and he lets out a deep chuckle. “My bad. I’ll be doing your back side first.”
“Okay,” you whisper in response, already closing your eyes in bliss with the way he’s roving his thumbs over the planes of your back, pressing in deep as he works out the kinks in your back.
In one particular spot in your lower back and hips—the one that’s been hurting like a bitch because of your endless time sitting in a chair—he presses his thumbs with the exact right pressure, and you moan.
You can’t help it—the chronic back pain has always been there, but he makes it disappear with a languid movement of his fingers over your back. But he pauses slightly as soon as the whimper comes out of your mouth. “Miss, are you alright?” Flushing, you are quick to affirm. “Yes, sorry.” With a lower voice, you say, “That was, um, that was just really relieving.”
He laughs melodically and continues his ministrations, going even lower, but pausing right before putting his hands on your ass. “May I pull the towel up? Direct contact will be helpful in this region for a deep tissue massage.”
“Y-yeah,” you say softly. “You can do that, you’re the professional.” He’s just doing this for massage reasons, right? With your consent, he slowly inches up your towel to uncover your bare ass to him, you clenching your thighs with the fact that he can see everything.
He then puts his hands on the fat of your ass, moving his hands in a circular motion that spreads your ass every time he moves in an outward rotation. Kento’s trying really hard to stay professional, but seeing your glistening wetness makes him groan inwardly. “Miss,” you perk up slightly as he refers to you, “I’ll continue with the deep tissue massage as requested, okay? There’s a spot that I believe really needs my attention.”
Innocently, you nod, and Kento can’t help but feel so aroused that you’re so naively believing him, letting him touch you as if it’s an appropriate part of his job. His hands inch closer and closer, and soon enough he’s fingering you while languidly licking you up.
“Does this feel good, miss?” Kento is out of breath as he nudges his nose deeper into your pussy while you’re squealing at the feeling of his fingers slamming into your g-spot, sending jolts of pleasure down your spine. Your eyes roll to the back of your head as he goes in, sucking at your clit just perfectly.
“It’s rude not to answer someone,” your masseuse gives you a slap, and quickly soothes it over. 
“‘M sorry!” you squeal, bucking your hips as soon as you feel like you’re getting closer, “It feels soo good.” With that, he pauses his ministration to give you a gentle kiss on your pussy, and the plush of his lips is enough to set you squirting, riding his face as you drench him in your juices. Safe to say, you were feeling very de-stressed.
GOJO SATORU ⸺ BEST FRIEND CATCHES HIM MASTURBATING, JOINS IN ON THE FUN!
Satoru groans, squeezing his ball at the base to avoid cumming prematurely. What he was originally doing was trying to find some porn to empty his balls to, releasing stress and gaining dopamine from masturbating. But eventually—like he’s been doing a lot these days—his fingers direct him to your Instagram profile. You, his best friend.
 Satoru does this in secret, waiting until he’s alone in his and Suguru’s apartment to go into his room, close the door, and sin by thinking of you in a way friends don’t of each other. So, he’s trying not to bust too early while he zooms in on your tits in the cute bikini picture you posted just last week, the ones he took of you. The pixels of your magnificent breasts zoom in, sweat and water glistening off of them as your bra hugs and makes them sit just right. He groans, throwing his head back as he feels his cockhead pulse again, deciding to end his edging to cum. 
In his focus on stroking his dick—the squelching and whines echoing in his room—he doesn’t notice the sound of the door opening. Nor of the footsteps heading towards his door, because he moves his hand up and down, up and down, up and down until he’s so close to cumm—-
“Satoru! I got us some mochi!” You yell loudly, and Satoru screams in return, albeit for a different reason. As your head whips up to look at him, alarmed at his shout, you register that his cock and balls are out. And that, in his left hand, is a photo of you. 
You blink, and Satoru blinks back, except with a red, throbbing length in his hand. Then, slowly, you ask, “Why is my picture open, Satoru?”
Satoru swallows, already hearing funeral bells and utters out, “I—I—that was a mistake. I meant to be on Pornhub. Haha! I mean,” he continues on rambling, “why would I be looking at your picture? Obviously, my hand slipped while I was jerking off I mean—” he cuts himself off, because in his yapping, he’s failed to notice how you’ve stalked over to his bed, now straddling him while spitting on his cock.
“Fuck,” he curses, as his pupils dilate watching the thicky, frothy mix of your spit ooze down from your pursed lips onto his dick. “W–what are you—” You motion for him to stand up, orienting yourself so that your throat was hanging off the bed and you were on your back on his mattress. 
“Since you’re so desperate,” you give him a deadly sweet smile as he stands, dick above your face. You give his tip a little kiss, and he shivers. “You can fuck my throat.”
Satoru definitely takes you up on that offer.
He can’t even believe that he’s here, you deepthroating his dick so nice. “Thank you, thank you,” he whines, gyrating his hips sloppily into the tight, wet heat of your mouth as your lips suckle on him. “Needed this so, so much.” You’ve even uncovered your tits, them bouncing nicely as Satoru continuously lodges himself in your throat. “Please, please let me cum.”
You gently push against his hips, indicating you want him out of your mouth. Raspily, you wipe the trail of spit that’s left your mouth and laugh meanly and give him a deceptively sweet kiss on his balls. “You have to last at least 10 more minutes, okay?”
And Satoru can do nothing but obey you, driving himself to the hinge of climax but never over, whimpering as your mouth swallows him up. 
GETO SUGURU ⸺ BIG DICKED BULLY FUCKS CUTE ANIME GIRL INTO SUBMISSION!
Your safe haven is your library. There, the man who’s been torturing you for most of your college career, Suguru Geto, doesn’t know where you hide, nor does he frequent the place. You’re focused in on your assignments right now, having fallen behind due to Suguru’s antics of bothering you and disturbing your peace to humiliate you across campus. It’s late at night, and there’s not a lot of people to disturb you. You thought.
You’re wrenched out of your state of focus as someone harshly pulls your chair back, grabbing your chin to meet your eyes with his. Your bully, Suguru.
 You gasp in surprise as he roves his eyes over you and what you’re wearing. A short skirt, one he dare wouldn’t admit made you look cute, and a sweater. Silently, he sits down while you tremble, looking at him with shaky eyes that makes his cock swell in his pants.
He smirks. “You thought you could hide from me?” He then ticks his head towards your textbook. “Whatcha reading? Recite it to me.” 
Even though you were confused as to why he would have you do that, you hurried to do as he said. Meanwhile, his siren eyes roved over your form, choosing to settle in between your thighs.
“Schroedinger’s theory had proved classical physicists wro—-“ You’re interrupted by your own gasp, because Suguru’s laid a hand that’s gently caressing your inner thigh.
“Go on,” he purrs, getting closer and closer to the heat of your pussy.
You swallow and go on. “…had proved classical physicists wrong, showing that unexplained phenomena in spectroscopy and atoms demonstrated discrete—-“
Meanwhile, he’s inched his hand inside of your panties, softly rubbing at your clit in a manner unbecoming of the mean Suguru you know. Before you know it, your orgasm was creeping up on you, and your legs were trembling while Suguru buried his face in your neck, giving you soft kisses. 
“Cmon, you slut,” he whispered, the softness of his voice contrasting with the harshness of his words, “are you too stupid to read?”
You whimper as he delves a finger into your hole, collecting the ooze there and going back to your clit. “…atoms demonstrated discrete properties, referred to as quanta—-“ It’s with a nasty lick to the shell or your ear that you’re cumming, squealing loudly as you cream on his fingers, humiliated at the show you were forced to put on in the library.
Suguru pulls his fingers out and sucks on them languidly, looking you in the eye. “Now slut, you’re going to do that seated on my dick. Got it?”
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kinktober masterlist | general masterlist
a/n hiii pookies this was late sorry </3 but ANYWAYS im excited to write (and ride) cowboy geto and spiderman!gojo next! consider joining my kinktober taglist if you're interested <3 part 1 of this here btw
comment and reblog to let me know ur thots :p
TAGLIST
@sugoroo @ryutotsukai0824 @sharkubi @lisvanrouge @mxlktae
@samisfunky @achbbys000 @xd3pr3ss3dx @jottositto @cheescakebroom
@r0ckst4rjk @callmeagardengnome @rottmntrulesall @blankwashed @sindulgent666
@honeynanamin @obsessgurlll @starrnai @herefor-tojis-tits
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fingertipsmp3 · 10 months ago
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This fucking cardigan I’m making for my stepdad’s niece’s kid is going to make me tear my hair out I swear to god
#i CANNOT. get my stitch count on the sleeves consistent. it’s such a MESS#i’m now on attempt 3 with this sleeve#i was just going to leave it uneven but it truly looked AWFUL#and i was so proud of the body of the cardigan. couldn’t send it out into the world looking crazy like that#and i’m running out of yarn LOL#i knew as soon as i finished the body of the cardigan that i didn’t have enough yellow yarn for the sleeves as well#so i was like ‘okay i’ll add in cream as the accent colour’#but i don’t have enough cream to make BOTH sleeves in cream#i have enough yellow to make somewhat stripy sleeves#i’m considering unpicking all of this and just knitting both sleeves even if it completely changes the texture#not to mention knitting will definitely fuck up my eczema#(thank you to the anon who mentioned petroleum jelly; i did try it and it soothed the really dry patches#but putting it on the dyshidrotic part just makes the bumps feel even more gross and itchy unfortunately)#i wish i hadn’t been all gung ho like ‘yeah of course i can finish it by friday’#do you think they’ll find it weird if i essentially send a vest? a gilet?? a short sleeved cardigan???? i cannot take this#it’s breaking me down to my bare essentials genuinely#like i don’t think this end product is even going to be that good. i think i’m spending all this time stressing about it#and they might put it on him once. like why do i care#i’m just gonna have to keep checking my stitch count after every row i think. i haaate this#personal
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geminiwritten · 2 months ago
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domestic fantasy ; jake 'hangman' seresin
fandom: top gun
pairing: jake x reader
summary: your ex is coming back to collect some things he left behind and you accidentally tell him that you have a new boyfriend, so hangman accepts the role of your new (fake) boyfriend
notes: did i spent the last three days writing for 8-10 hours a day? yes... am i going slightly insane? also yes... but guys!!! fake dating!!! i don't know how i vomited this fic up so quick, jake is just so easy for me to write (i think it's because i love him but not in a soul-crushing way like the way i love rooster?) anyway, PLEASE enjoy and please, please let me know what you think!
warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, reader is shorter than hangman (just want to mention it), allusions to sex, and it's pretty horny so 18+ ONLY please! let me know if i’ve missed anything!
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word count: 10937
“This weekend?” Your voice is unsteady, but you hope the crackling from the poor phone reception is enough to mask it. “I’m not sure if I can do this weekend.” 
Spencer sighs, clearly frustrated by your repeated attempts to keep him away from San Diego. “Look, I know you don’t want to do this—and honestly, neither do I—but it has to be done. I’ll only be in town for a couple of days. I’ll grab some boxes, hire a van, and get them shipped straight to my condo. Don’t you want your spare room back?” 
You gnaw nervously on your bottom lip as you glance out at the open-plan office space, hoping none of your coworkers are listening too closely to your phone conversation. 
You broke up with Spencer six months ago, after dating for nearly four years, and he left in such a rush that almost an entire room of his stuff stayed behind. It isn't anything important—mostly old sports gear and college memorabilia—and it’s not like he’s needed any of it. The breakup hit him hard, and he spent the following four months backpacking around Europe to clear his head. He’s only been back at his condo in Upstate New York for two months, and during that time, he’s been relentlessly bugging you to let him come pick up his things. 
It’s not like you want to hold on to anything that reminds you of him, but you desperately do not want to see him again. You offered a few times to pack up his things and ship them to him, but he flat-out refused. He even called it a violation of privacy now that you’re no longer together. So, about a month ago, you told him you’d find a free weekend for him to come by and collect the rest of his stuff—and you’ve done everything you can to avoid it since. 
“Okay,” you mutter, turning away from the office to face the window overlooking North Island Naval Air Station. “But you can’t stay at the apartment.” 
“What?” Spencer snaps. “Why? It’ll be so much easier. I’ll be in an out in three days, tops.” 
“Three days?” you echo. “Spence, that’s my whole weekend gone.” 
“There’s a lot of stuff,” he argues. “I could bring Harry with me, if-” 
“You are not bringing your brother, Spencer.” You stomp your foot, despite the conversation being over the phone. “Look, if that’s how long it’ll take, then fine. But you are not staying at the apartment. You can’t. My boyfriend just moved in last week.” The last few words slip out before you can stop them. 
Fuck. 
There’s a beat of silence before Spencer speaks again, his voice wavering. “Boyfriend?” 
You tip your head back and take a deep breath. “Yes, boyfriend.” 
Another awkward stretch of silence. 
“Okay... I’ll stay at the motel around the corner,” he says. 
You nod, even though he can’t see you. “Good.” 
“See you Friday, then.” 
“See you Friday.” 
You pull the phone away from your ear and tap the red button, watching Spencer’s caller ID photo flicker out before the screen goes black. With a sigh, your arms drop to your sides, and you lean forward until your forehead rests against the windowpane with a soft, dull thud. 
What the fuck did you just do? 
Gravel crunches beneath your tires as you swerve into the parking lot of The Hard Deck bar. You pull up beside a familiar Ford Bronco, yanking the parking brake just a little too hard before practically stumbling out of the car. Your feet carry you across the lot and through the front door before coming to a stop as you survey the room, searching for the familiar face you came here to find. Across the bar, tucked into the booth closest to the pool table, are your friends. They’re sipping beers and chatting happily, blissfully unaware that an electrical storm of stress and anxiety is headed right for them. 
You weave through the tables and other patrons with determination, your breath coming and going in quick, anxious bursts. Your feet only stop when you reach your friends’ table, and their conversation quickly dies as they each turn to look at you. 
Jake’s brows pinch. “Hey, are you okay?” 
You suck your bottom lip between your teeth and bite down nervously, unsure how to reply. 
Javy, who was sitting next to Jake, stands up and nods toward the bar. “I’m going to grab another drink. Want anything?” 
You nod. “Whatever you’re having.” 
He gives you a cheeky wink before striding off toward the bar. You watch him for a few seconds before turning back to the booth and sliding in beside Jake, leaning into him and letting your head fall on his shoulder. 
Natasha sits across from you, her head tilted and a curious glint in her narrowed eyes. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 
“Not yet, I haven’t,” you say, before letting out an exasperated sigh. “My ex is coming back this weekend.” 
She rears back and sits up straight, her brows raised. “Coming back to stay?” 
You lift your head from Jake’s shoulder and shake it softly. “Nah. He just wants to pick up everything he left behind.” 
Jake shifts beside you, his arm sliding around your lower back almost possessively—but you know he only means to comfort you. “Including you?” he asks, his tone playful but laced with a hint of uncertainty. 
You snort and turn to face him, a little startled by how close those piercing green eyes are. “Of course not. Or at least, I hope not. I mean, I think I made it pretty damn clear he wasn’t getting me back, even if he was planning to try.” You trail off, turning away, unsure how to bring up the real reason you came here tonight—the question that’s been gnawing at you since your phone conversation with Spencer. 
“Okay,” Nat says, “so, what’s the big deal?” 
You suck in a deep breath, filling your lungs as you gather every shred of dignity you still have left. “I told him he couldn’t stay at the apartment because… my boyfriend just moved in.” 
Natasha’s brows shoot up toward her hairline and her mouth pops open. Amusement dances behind her eyes, but she has the decency to hold it back as you drop your head into your hands and let out a groan. “I fucked up.” 
Beside Natasha, Mickey leans forward. “But you don’t have a boyfriend?” 
You look up at him and scowl. “No shit.” 
“Oh.” He nods slowly, fighting the grin that tugs at his lips. 
“So, what are you going to do?” Reuben pipes up from the other end of the table, looking just as amused as the rest of your friends. 
“Well...” You lean back, pressing your shoulder blades into the vinyl of the booth as you twist your neck to glance at the man beside you. “I was going to ask Jake if he could help me... pretend.” 
Jake’s smirk fades, and a flush creeps into his cheeks. His green eyes widen, the usual cocky confidence replaced by startled confusion. “What? Why me?” 
You shrug, trying to act nonchalant about asking the man you regularly fantasise about to be your fake boyfriend. “It just makes the most sense. I’ve known you the longest.” Your eyes flick toward the other boys at the table. “No offense, but Jake and I just have better chemistry—and Spencer knew it. He was always a little threatened by our friendship.” 
You shift your gaze back to Jake, who’s still looking stunned, his lips parted slightly. 
“Plus, I only broke up with Spencer six months ago. I couldn’t have met someone new and asked them to move in that fast. It has to be someone I already knew.” You widen your eyes and bat your lashes dramatically. “Please, Jake. I’ll do anything.” 
He blinks at you, cheeks still tinged pink. “Define anything,” he says, that cocky smirk slowly starting to return. 
“Whatever you want,” you reply, planting both hands on his thigh closest to you—oblivious to the fact that it makes his dick twitch in his jeans. “You know I’m good for it.” 
Jake coughs into his hand, shifting slightly, trying to hold onto his bravado while making sure your touch doesn’t creep any higher. “Alright,” he says, voice a little rougher than before. “I’ll do it.” 
You raise a brow. “That easy?” 
He lifts a finger. “On one condition.” 
You narrow your eyes, suspicious. “Which is?” 
He leans in, that cocky smirk curling at the edge of his lips. “I want a home-cooked dinner. Every night I’m there. Candles. Music. Maybe a little wine. You know... boyfriend perks.” 
Natasha snorts across the table. “You mean domestic fantasy perks.” 
Jake just shrugs, eyes still locked on yours. “Hey, if I’m going to play house, I want the full experience.” 
You swallow hard, but your mouth moves before your brain catches up. “Deal.” 
He grins wider, and this time you’re pretty sure it’s not just cockiness—it’s anticipation. 
You pace in circles around your kitchen island, one arm tucked under your breasts, holding your opposite elbow as you anxiously gnaw on your thumbnail. Jake is supposed to be here any minute, and the cork in the bottle of nerves rattling around in your stomach just won’t stay put. 
You’ve known Jake for years. You met in college and, despite the distance with his deployments, have been metaphorically inseparable ever since. But physically? That was a little harder, obviously. 
You’ve always had a soft spot for Jake—a bit of a crush, but you were never foolish enough to think anything could come of it. You’ve been perfectly content being his friend, never pushing for more. But every single one of your boyfriends? They hated him. You can’t blame them, really—Jake has that effect on people. That cocky, irresistible charm that makes it impossible for anyone else to ignore him. 
Still, you can’t shake the guilt creeping in. Fooling Spencer into thinking you and Jake are together? After all those times you promised him there was nothing more than friendship between you and Jake? It feels wrong. Even if Spencer never really took your word for it. 
A knock at the door pulls you out of your spiralling thoughts, and you hurry to answer it. Jake is standing on the other side, looking even more irresistible than usual. There’s no uniform today, no flight suit or polished boots. Instead, he's wearing a simple white t-shirt and jeans, and somehow that makes him look even better. His hair is messy, not gelled like it usually is, and the scruff on his jaw—a day’s worth of stubble—only adds to the allure. He looks... delicious in a way that’s totally different from the polished, put-together fighter pilot you’re used to. 
“Hey, girlfriend,” he says with a smirk, “sorry I’m late.” 
Your brain and mouth have completely short-circuited, leaving you with no choice but to smile, nod, and step aside to let him in. He’s got a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and a box of random belongings in his arms—little odds and ends that someone might have lying around their apartment. 
Jake drops the box onto the kitchen counter and turns back to you. “What time is Spencer the Snob getting here?” 
You roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “In about an hour. Do you think you can manage to be civilized?” 
“Yes,” he replies, his voice sharp as he props his hands on his hips. “Can he be civilised?” 
“Spencer is always civilized.” 
You walk over to the box and start pulling out items, mentally sorting them. But Jake isn’t done. 
He scoffs, shaking his head. “Spencer is not always civilized. He’s just really good at hiding what a complete dick he is.” 
You turn and lean your hip against the countertop, raising one eyebrow. “You only don’t like him because he didn’t like you first. And let’s be honest, that’s because you bought me lingerie for the first birthday that I was with him. He didn’t get the joke and thought it was way too suggestive.” 
Jake snorts, his jade eyes lighting up with mischief. “Yeah, that was a good one. I’ll never forget the look on his face.” 
You resist the urge to laugh and roll your eyes again, turning back to the box. “I’ll admit, Spence is a little snobby. But that’s just how he was raised. It’s not his fault he’s got money.” 
Jake’s expression darkens, and he narrows his eyes at the affectionate nickname. “Spence?” 
“Sorry,” you say, your cheeks flushing pink. “Force of habit.” 
The two of you move quietly around the apartment, slipping into an easy rhythm as you make space for Jake’s things. You tuck two framed photos of his family onto the bookshelf, nestled between your novels, and slide one of his official Navy portraits beside them—one you definitely wouldn’t mind keeping. 
He hangs a jacket and a couple of worn caps on the hooks by the door and drops two pairs of his boots beside your own lineup of shoes. You clear off a bedside table for him to clutter with his things, and listen to the soft clink of bottles as he unpacks his toiletries in the bathroom. 
Finally, you add a towel for him to the rack beside the shower. And for a moment, you let yourself imagine it: the two of you in there together. His hot, slick skin pressed to yours, the steam curling around your tangled limbs. His hands sliding soap across your body, rinsing you slow and thorough. He’d wash your hair too, fingers working into your scalp until your eyes fluttered closed—and then you’d return the favour, watching his mouth part in bliss beneath your touch. 
“Hello?” Jake waves a hand in front of your face. “Anyone home?” 
You blink rapidly and turn to face him, only to find him standing way too close with that maddening smirk tugging at his lips. Your eyes flick up to his, and the look he gives you is downright dangerous—curious, cocky, and just a little bit amused. 
“You good, sweetheart?” he asks, tilting his head. “You’re lookin’ a little hot under the collar.” 
Your mouth opens, but nothing comes out. Instead, you let out a weird half-laugh, half-scoff and sidestep him like he’s radioactive. “I’m fine. It’s just warm in here. Is it warm in here?” 
Jake leans back against the bathroom doorframe, arms crossed and eyes glittering. “Could be. Or maybe you were just thinkin’ about something real steamy.” 
You choke on air. “Excuse me?” 
He shrugs, all faux innocence. “Just sayin’... you’ve got that look. Like your brain wandered somewhere it probably shouldn’t have.” 
You grab a towel—any towel—and smack him in the chest. “Shut up.” 
Jake laughs, catching the towel with one hand like he knew it was coming. “Whatever it was, must’ve been good.” 
When he finally steps aside, you scurry past like lingering too long might scorch your skin. Only once you’ve turned down the hall and reached the kitchen—putting a safe stretch of space between you and him—do you exhale the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. 
“Okay,” you say, planting both palms against the cool, marble countertop. “Spencer is going to be here in half an hour, so we have exactly thirty minutes to practice being a couple.” 
Jake smirks like this is nothing—like he’s been in this exact situation a hundred times before. “You tell me what you’re comfortable with, darlin’.” He steps up to the other side of the kitchen island and leans forward, mirroring your posture. 
You tilt your head slightly, a playful smile tugging at your lips as you narrow your eyes at him. “We need to look convincing. No weirdness, no pulling faces. Just... act natural.” 
Jake cocks an eyebrow, clearly enjoying himself. “Natural, huh? So, no kissing? Not even a little peck?” 
You try to focus, but the way he’s leaning across the island—just far enough to make the space between you feel electrified—throws you off. “Uh, no. Nothing like that. We’ll start slow. Hold hands, sit close... you know, the easy stuff.” 
Jake’s grin widens, his gaze flickering down to your lips before locking onto your eyes. “Hold hands, sit close. Got it. But what if I make you want to kiss me? I’m really good at that.” 
You feel the heat spreading through your chest, but you refuse to let him see it. “You think you can make me want to kiss you?” You raise an eyebrow, trying to match his cockiness. 
He leans even further toward you and drops his voice low, the teasing edge still there but with a smouldering intensity you’re having a hard time ignoring. “Oh, sweetheart. I know I can. All I need is the right moment.” 
You can’t help but laugh nervously, your pulse quickening as he stays there, so close you can feel the heat of his presence even if the island bench is still separating you. “Well, we’ve got thirty minutes to see if you can keep your hands to yourself, Seresin,” you tease, but there’s an edge to it now—a hint of challenge. 
Jake leans in a little more, his gaze fixed on you, like he’s seconds away from crossing the line. “Trust me, darlin’. I can keep my hands to myself... but only if you can keep your hands off me.” 
Your chest rises and falls faster than usual, your head spinning slightly from all the extra oxygen surging through your blood. You part your lips, ready to fire back something just as cocky—something to keep the volley going—but the sharp chime of your phone slices through the tension, and both your gazes snap to where it buzzes on the countertop. 
You settle back onto your heels, and reach for your phone, huffing out a small, frustrated sigh before sliding the answer button and pressing it to your ear. “Hey, Spencer.” 
“Hey, how are you?” 
Your eyes slide toward Jake, who is looking almost as frustrated as you feel. “Fine. How far out are you?” 
Spencer chuckles, and something inside of you instinctively recoils, even though the sound itself isn’t particularly offensive. “I’m great, thanks for asking. The flight was fine, a little bumpy, but we made it. I’m just waiting at baggage claim, so I’ll be about twenty minutes.” 
“No worries,” you say, “see you soon.” 
You hang up before he even finishes saying goodbye, drop your phone face-down on the bench, and glance back at Jake. “Alright, let’s go over the details. We started dating three months after Spencer left. You asked me out, and I was a little surprised.” 
Jake frowns, already halfway to an objection, but you cut him off with a raised hand. “Just go with it, okay? It keeps my integrity intact. You have no idea how many times I had to convince him I wasn’t into you.” 
His frown fades fast, replaced by that maddeningly smug smirk. “Go on, then.” 
You roll your eyes, but continue. “I was surprised, but everything just... clicked. Being best friends made the relationship feel natural. That’s why things have moved fast. You were already here most nights, your rent went up, so you moved in two weeks ago.” 
Jake nods like he’s logging it all away. “Okay, but more importantly—how’s the sex?” 
You stare, deadpan. “Seriously?” 
He shrugs, hands raised like a saint. “What? It’s a legitimate question. Spencer might ask.” 
“I highly fucking doubt it.” 
Jake chuckles. “Yeah, fair. Still worth a shot.” 
With a long, theatrical exhale, you walk around the kitchen island and stop in front of him. “Alright, let’s talk touching.” 
His eyes light up, devilish. “Now you’re speaking my language.” 
You ignore him. “I’m ticklish, so don’t touch my ribs or ghost over my arms—I will flinch.” 
“I know.” 
You pause. “Okay…” You shake your head, ignoring the question trying to form. “I’m not huge on PDA, but I like lingering touches. Just small things, to remind each other we’re there.” 
“I know,” he says again, that smirk glued in place. 
The question in your head itches a little louder, but you push it aside. “And if we go out—which I really hope we don’t—make sure you’re always sitting next to me. I hate it when couples sit across from each other. I don’t want to gaze into your eyes, I want to feel your warmth.” 
Jake’s smirk splits into a wide, boyish grin. “I know.” 
The floodgates crack. “How the fuck do you know everything?” 
He leans in just slightly, voice soft but sure. “Because I know you. I’ve watched you with every guy you’ve dated. Just because I wasn’t the guy doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention.” 
You blink, reeling from the quiet truth in his tone. It hits you like a gust of wind—real, unshakable. You actually have to take a step back to steady yourself. There’s no teasing in his voice, no smug edge. Just Jake, earnest and open in a way that’s rare. 
And it almost wrecks you. 
Jake might be cocky and insufferable ninety percent of the time—but when he loves, he does it fiercely. Deeply. Fully. And you’ve always known you were lucky to be one of the people he loves. 
But for the first time, you let your mind wander somewhere dangerous. What would it be like to be loved by Jake Seresin—not just as a friend, but as his person? His everything? 
“So,” Jake says, cutting through the tension like a hot knife through butter, “where should I touch you first?” 
You close your eyes for a beat, reminding yourself that this is still Jake—insufferable, irritating Jake. “You don’t have to be weird and over the top about it. When he gets here, you can just sit on the couch, then I’ll join you and sit close. You can put a hand on my thigh.” 
Jake’s brows furrow, his face contorting with mild disgust. “I know you’re trying not to make him uncomfortable, but that’s not going to work. Think about it—your ex is coming over, and your current boyfriend is just sitting casually on the couch? Not buying it.” 
You roll your eyes again, hoping to avoid yet another pointless argument. “Jake, this doesn’t need to be-” 
“You told him you’re dating me,” he interrupts, poking his chest with a finger. “And if this was real, I’d be making damn sure I had a hand on you at all times.” 
You raise an eyebrow, trying to ignore how your body reacts to his proximity and his words. Heat floods your chest and settles behind your hipbones, desire tightening in places you don’t want to think about right now. “You don’t need to stake your claim, Jake. Spencer isn’t here to win me back.” 
Jake steps closer, cutting the distance between you until there’s barely two feet separating you. “You don’t know that.” His voice lowers slightly, making the air between you feel thick and electric. “And yes, I do. If you want him to believe we’re dating, then you need to let me do exactly what I would do if this was real.” 
You’re not sure whether he’s just being cocky or trying to show off, but damn it, he’s making a good point. “Okay, fine. But don’t make him uncomfortable.” 
Jake’s smirk widens, taking on that familiar, smug edge. “No promises, darlin’.” 
You spend the next ten minutes pretending to clean—wiping already spotless counters, rearranging throw pillows, and dusting things that definitely don’t need dusting. All while Jake lounges on the couch like this is the easiest job he’s ever had. 
“It’s three days, sweetheart,” he says. “By Sunday, Spencer will be back in his overpriced New York apartment sipping single malt and Googling himself.” 
You snort but say nothing. Three days. Just two dinners and one brunch. You’ll keep the visits restricted to daylight hours, keep Jake close, keep your story straight—and by Sunday afternoon, Spencer will be out of your apartment and out of your life. 
That’s the plan, anyway. 
But as you glance over at Jake—sprawled out, so completely at ease in your space, looking infuriatingly good even in his most relaxed state—you start to question the rest of it. 
Because it’s not Spencer you’re worried about fooling anymore. It’s yourself. And when Jake turns his head and catches you staring, smirking like he knows exactly what you're thinking? 
Yeah. This might be harder than you thought. 
The intercom buzzes, loud and sudden, startling you from your task of rearranging the flowers on the dining table. Your heart launches into your throat, pounding like you’ve just jumped from a plane without a parachute. 
Jake chuckles and rises from the couch, strolling over to the intercom with infuriating confidence. He presses the button and leans in. “Come on up.” 
You force your feet to move, carrying you toward him and not stopping until you’re right beside him. You press yourself against him and the moment your body meets his, heat blooms under your skin. It’s not new—you've touched him before—but it feels different. More charged. More deliberate. Jake’s arm slides around your waist without hesitation, and his fingers curl into your hip, firm and possessive. There’s a subtle squeeze and the pad of his thumb grazes a sliver of skin just beneath the hem of your shirt. 
You feel it everywhere. 
He leans in, his lips brushing the shell of your ear as he murmurs, “It’s showtime, sweetheart.” 
Your breath stutters. This is just pretend. 
Your heart pounds against your sternum, each beat like the tick of a countdown clock. The elevator dings. Footsteps echo down the hallway. Closer, closer. You draw in a deep breath and hold it, ignoring the sharp ache it sends through your chest. 
“Relax,” Jake murmurs, pulling you tighter against his side as he reaches for the doorknob. 
The second the footsteps stop, he yanks the door open—no chance for a knock. 
“Spence!” Jake beams, like they’re old frat brothers reunited. “Come in, buddy. How are you?” 
You nearly snort. The absurdity of his enthusiasm bubbles up in your throat, but you bite your lip hard enough to keep it down. 
Spencer looks good—but all it does is remind you how little you miss him. His perfectly coiffed blonde hair hasn’t changed one bit, but he’s tanner than you remember—courtesy of the European sun, no doubt. He’s not as tall as Jake, but he’s got that same overinflated ego. The difference? Jake’s cockiness comes from… well, let’s just say it’s probably anatomical. Spencer’s is inherited—passed down with a trust fund and a country club membership. 
He’s dressed exactly as you expected: a sky-blue Ralph Lauren polo, crisp white pants with a crease so sharp it could slice bread, and tan boat shoes—an ironic choice, considering he’s terrified of boats. 
But it’s his face that really seals the moment. Jaw unhinged, eyes wide, staring at Jake like he just opened the door to a ghost. Or maybe something worse: the ghost of his ex-girlfriend’s new sex life. 
“Jake?” Spencer finally says. “Your new boyfriend is Jake Seresin?” 
Jake’s grin is unbothered—like this is the moment he’s been waiting for his whole life. “The one and only.” 
You feel his hand press a little firmer into your waist, anchoring you there like you might suddenly run—and you’d be lying if you said you weren’t tempted. 
Spencer steps further into the apartment, his eyes glued to Jake’s smug face. “I thought you said there was nothing going on between you two.” 
Your stomach twists, but you keep your voice even. “There wasn’t. Not back then.” 
Spencer glances at you. “You told me I was being paranoid. That he was just your friend.” 
Jake chuckles. “I remember you telling me about that.” 
You shoot him a look that’s supposed to say “not helping,” but he just smiles innocently and shrugs. 
Spencer looks seconds away from spontaneously combusting. “I trusted you,” he says, starting to sound like the whiny, private-school rich kid you always tried to ignore. “You promised me nothing would ever happen with him.” 
“Yeah, that was then, and this is now. Things change, Spence—and this has nothing to do with you,” you say, tone sharpening. If he’s going to act like a child, then you're going to treat him like one. 
Jake’s hand slides from your waist to the small of your back, his thumb sweeping in a slow, easy circle like he’s soothing a spark before it ignites. “People change, bud. Timing is everything.” 
Spencer folds his arms, visibly rattled. “So, what—he swooped in the second I left?” 
Jake tilts his head, eyes full of mock offense. “Swooped? Come on. Give me a little credit. She came to me.” 
You snap your head toward him, about to object, but his grin is wicked and the mischief in his eyes dares you to play along. 
“Well...” You drag the word out, buying a few precious seconds to stitch your story together. “Technically, yes. I was upset after the breakup, so of course I turned to my best friend for comfort.” 
Spencer’s blue-grey eyes narrow. “You broke up with me.” 
“That she did, pal.” Jake tries for a sympathetic look, but you know better—he’s enjoying this a little too much. 
“Just because I ended things doesn’t mean it didn’t rattle me,” you shoot back, trying to shift the focus away from Jake. “We were together for four years, Spencer. That’s a long time. I just had the guts to do what you didn’t. So, forgive me if I’m not in the mood to explain myself to you. I don’t owe you anything—and my new relationship? It’s none of your business.” 
You see his expression twist into an offended scowl, and anger flickers in your chest. The nerve of him, acting like you still owe him something just because you pulled the plug first. 
“For the record,” you continue, voice cool and firm, “yeah, I leaned on Jake. And somewhere along the line, I found something a lot deeper.” 
Then, without missing a beat, you glance at Jake—who’s already wearing that cocky smirk—and let one of your own curve across your lips as you look back at Spencer. 
“Actually,” you say, eyes narrowing with satisfaction, “I think it was Jake who found something a little deeper… if you know what I mean.” 
Jake snorts, slapping his hand over his mouth, but he can’t suppress the gleeful chuckle bubbling from his lips. Spencer, on the other hand, looks utterly humbled—his cheeks are bright red and his jaw is hanging open like he’s just been slapped across the face. 
You step away from Jake, waiting for his hand to drop so you can grab it. The second your fingers slide into his, a rush of warmth zips up your arm, and you try to ignore how good it feels, but damn, it’s hard. 
“Get your boxes,” you say to Spencer, keeping your tone cool. “Jake will help you pack some stuff this afternoon, but it’s date night, so you’ve got exactly two hours. You can come back in the morning.” 
Spencer's lip twitches, like he's about to argue, but then he stops himself. He nods curtly and unties the fancy cashmere sweater draped around his shoulders, hanging it carefully on a hook by the door. He hesitates when he notices Jake’s clothes tossed haphazardly alongside yours. After a moment, he huffs, shakes his head, and stomps out of the apartment. 
You fight to suppress a grin as you turn to Jake, but he’s already beaming at you. “You’re amazing, you know that?” 
You pretend to flick your hair off your shoulder with theatrical flair. “Oh, I know.” 
He chuckles. “I can’t believe you just told your ex I’ve got a huge dick.” 
You shrug, one shoulder rising nonchalantly. “You’ve got the ego to match, so I figured I could make an educated guess. Besides, it’s not like Spencer will ever know for sure.” 
His brows shoot up. “Oh, so you were just guessing?” 
Heat floods your cheeks, and suddenly his eyes are too intense to meet. “Well, obviously.” 
He leans in, his hand tightening around yours, voice low and teasing—laced with a challenge that feels dangerously not like a joke. “Want to find out for real?” 
Your breath hitches. Words abandon you. All you can do is stare at his face—too handsome and too tempting. 
“Because I’d go a hell of a lot deeper than that weasel. So deep, you’d be screaming-” 
The intercom buzzer cuts him off, and you’re hit with a wave of relief and frustration all at once. Your pulse is racing, your chest tight, and the thrum of your heartbeat fills your ears. 
Jake chuckles, clearly amused by the timing, and leans back, releasing your hand to press the button on the intercom. He glances over at you, winks, and casually strides toward the lounge, sprawling out like he owns the place. Like he’s some modern-day Adonis—there to wind you up and then claim your couch like it’s his throne. 
You force your limbs to move, opening the door for Spencer and helping him carry in the flattened cardboard boxes tucked under his arms. You lead him to the spare room—where all his abandoned belongings have been gathering dust for the past six months—and leave him to it. 
You don’t have to ask Jake to help. The second you return to the living room, he stands, crosses the space without hesitation, and steps right up to you. His palm finds the back of your head as he pulls you in, pressing a warm, gentle kiss to the top of your hair. 
You know he’s just doing what you asked—pretending to be your boyfriend. But the tenderness of the gesture feels heartbreakingly sincere. It sinks into your skin, fills your chest like warm water, and when he pulls away, he takes the comfort with him. 
Your eyes trail after him as he walks toward the spare room, and you shamelessly ogle his ass on the way out. Then you collapse onto the lounge where he’d just been sitting, curling up in the lingering scent of his cologne. You tug a blanket from the wicker basket beside the couch and wrap it around yourself, clicking on a show you barely register—because all you can think about is the way Jake Seresin touches you. 
This might not have been such a brilliant idea after all. 
Spencer uses up his two hours like he paid for them, waiting until exactly 5:59 PM to dust off his palms on those stupid white pants—as if he hadn’t made Jake do all the heavy lifting—and announce that he “better get going.” 
You give him a tight smile as you hold the door open, already half-relieved just watching him walk out. It's not that pretending to love Jake is hard—you do love him. It’s the reminder that all the lingering touches, the soft smiles, the stolen glances—they’re just an act. That’s what’s draining you. 
The second the door clicks shut, you let out a long, theatrical sigh, like you’ve been holding your breath for the full two hours. “Oh, thank God. I don’t know how I’m going to survive a whole day tomorrow.” 
Jake chuckles, but there’s something tight about it—like he’s forcing it out through gritted teeth. “Am I that hard to love?” he asks, and though his tone is teasing, something flickers behind his eyes that doesn’t feel like a joke. 
Your brows knit. “No, it’s not that. It’s just...” 
He steps closer, invading your space like he’s done all day—and you hate how much you don’t mind it anymore. In fact, you kind of want him to stay right there. 
“What is it?” he murmurs, voice low and rough enough to make your skin prickle. 
You swallow hard, suddenly aware of how close he is, how good he smells, and how charged the air between you feels. “It’s just Spencer, you know? Having him around is... exhausting.” 
Jake’s lip quirks, but his eyes are sharp, studying you. “Oh? So you’re not struggling with this fake relationship thing at all? Not even a little confused? Frustrated? Having trouble remembering it’s not real?” 
You blink, stunned silent. You’re not sure how, but you’re starting to believe Jake Seresin might actually be a mind reader. 
“I-” The words catch in your throat, strangled by the weight of his stare. His piercing green eyes pin you in place, make you forget how to speak, how to breathe. 
Then, just when it feels like you might combust, his smirk cracks into a grin and he takes a step back, letting the tension snap like a rubber band. “Alright then,” he says, clapping his hands together, “what’s for dinner, gorgeous?” 
You inhale like you’ve just broken the surface of the water. Your lungs burn. Your head spins. This man is giving you whiplash. 
It takes almost a full minute to regain control of your body, and when you finally do, you walk straight into the kitchen without giving Jake an answer. You can’t even look at him right now—but he has no trouble looking at you. 
He watches you like he’s starving and you’re the feast. It makes focusing on dinner nearly impossible. 
You busy yourself preparing the meal you planned yesterday—Italian sausage spaghetti with a pull-apart garlic loaf. You don’t usually go all out for dinner, but you’re using Jake’s presence as an excuse to cook something hearty and delicious. Maybe after eating, you’ll both be too full to maintain this unbearable sexual tension. He can crash on the couch, and you’ll curl up in bed. Or maybe you’ll take a long, steamy shower and do what you need to do to unknot the tension pulsing behind your hipbones. 
Dinner comes together quickly, and after a few casual questions from Jake about the food, he drifts back to the couch, half-watching whatever show has been playing in the background for past few hours. You set the dining table just the way he asked—candles, wine, and soft music humming from the speaker on your bookshelf. 
Finally, you place two full bowls of pasta on the table—opposite each other. Because you’re not really dating, so why would you sit beside him? To feel his warmth? Let him rest a hand on your thigh? 
The thought alone sends a shiver down your spine. 
You try to shake it off and glance at Jake—only to find him already watching you. 
You clear your throat. “Lieutenant Jake Seresin, your dinner is served.” 
He grins like a kid in a candy store, pushing off the couch and sniffing the air like a Loony Tunes character. “Damn, I think Phoenix might’ve been right. This is a full-on domestic fantasy.” 
You roll your eyes and duck your head, hoping he doesn’t see the heat rising in your cheeks. “Just sit down and eat, Hangman. I’m tired and hungry.” 
You flick off the kitchen lights, leaving the room bathed in the soft glow of the candles. The atmosphere feels far more romantic than you intended. Is this what Jake wanted? 
You don’t give yourself time to overthink it—because the food smells amazing, and there’s a very attractive naval aviator sitting across from you, looking like he was plucked straight from a dream. 
You spend the first few minutes eating in silence, both too busy shovelling pasta into your mouths and tearing into buttery garlic bread to speak. Somehow, Jake even manages to make slurping spaghetti look hot—and you hate when people make noise while they eat. 
“So,” you say, slowing your pace and setting your fork down, “did you want to stay here tonight or head back to your place?” 
He keeps his eyes on his plate, as if avoiding yours will mask whatever he’s really thinking. “Up to you, darlin’. Whatever you’re comfortable with.” 
“Well, Spencer did seem pretty suspicious about the whole thing… so I think it’s safer if you stay.” 
His head snaps up, and that signature smirk spreads across his lips. “Is that so?” 
“Yeah,” you say, fighting the heat rising to your cheeks, “he might sniff around tomorrow. Like, literally. He might be a creep and notice your towel’s untouched, or that your side of the bed hasn’t been slept in, and-” 
“You want to share the bed?” he asks, looking far too pleased with the idea. 
You shrug, feigning nonchalance. “We’ve shared a bed before.” 
“Yeah,” he says, a low chuckle slipping out, “blind drunk.” 
His eyes are too pretty, too intense, and your chest feels tight under their weight. You look away, eyes darting around the table until they land on the wine bottle. 
“Well then,” you say, picking it up and refilling his glass, “drink up, Seresin.” 
Two bottles of wine later, you’re both loose-limbed and laughing—less awkward about the day’s chaos, and a lot less anxious about sharing a bed tonight. 
You giggle at one of Jake’s ridiculous jokes while clearing the table, and when he insists on helping clean up, you swat him away, telling him it’s all part of his domestic fantasy. He rolls his eyes but still hovers, drying dishes and pretending not to notice the way you keep throwing him side-eye glances every time he guesses wrong about where something goes. 
“Do you want to shower?” you ask as you finish wiping down the stovetop. 
His green eyes go wide, that crooked grin slipping across his face like sin itself. “Is this you offering?” 
Your stomach flips, heat crawling up your chest. “I meant—do you want to shower first?” 
“Oh,” he chuckles, almost disappointed. “Yeah, sure. If you don’t mind?” 
“Wouldn’t have asked if I did,” you mutter, turning back toward the lounge. 
You listen to his footsteps fade toward the bathroom, then collapse onto the couch, burying your face in a pillow that smells maddeningly like him. 
What the fuck are you doing? 
Yes, you’ve always had a little crush on Jake, but you’re not delusional. He’s out of your league. You’ve made peace with that. You’ve always been happy just being his friend. So why does all of this feel so good? Why is it getting harder to remember that he doesn’t see you the same way? 
He’s thrown himself into this charade like it’s more than just pretending, and it’s messing with your head. Does he want something more? Something casual? A few nights, maybe? Or... does he want you—the whole messy package? 
The shower starts, and you groan into the pillow. You’re confused. You’re also so fucking horny. Red wine was a terrible idea. 
Ten minutes later, the bathroom door creaks open. “All yours,” Jake calls, his voice smooth and casual as he walks toward the bedroom where he left his duffel bag. 
You drag yourself upright, every step toward the bathroom a battle against the mental slideshow of naked, wet Jake. You shut the door, strip down, and step into the shower, letting the hot water calm your skin and chase away the ache blooming low in your belly. 
You don’t have the guts to do what you really need to make that ache go away—not with Jake just a paper-thin wall away. The thought creeps in, bold and reckless, whispering what if you just called him in here? But then you laugh softly under your breath and shake it off. As if. The idea of Jake rejecting you would be a level of humiliation you’re not prepared to face tonight. Or ever. 
You shut off the water, swipe a towel from the rack, and give yourself a quick dry before wrapping it snugly around your body. The bathroom is thick with steam, your skin flushed and dewy, your pulse still thudding from thoughts you shouldn't be entertaining. 
You open the door to let in some air—only to nearly collide with Jake. 
He’s right there. Shirtless. Grey sweatpants slung low, a towel around his neck, and an annoyingly cocky smirk on his lips. 
“Damn,” he says, leaning one arm against the doorframe, eyes roaming blatantly. “I was coming to see if you drowned, but now I’m thinking maybe I should’ve brought more wine.” 
You try to step back, but he follows, slipping inside like he belongs here. You grip your towel tighter. 
“Jake,” you warn, eyes narrowing. “What are you doing?” 
“Just enjoying the view,” he says casually, his eyes far too warm for comfort. “This your idea of torture? Walk out here looking like a damn dream and expect me to just keep pretending?” 
You’re not sure what’s pretending and what isn’t anymore, and you have no idea what his words mean. Is he just messing with you? He has to be. 
“I didn’t ask you to come in.” 
“And yet,” he says, grinning, “here I am.” 
The heat in the room is stifling—and it's not just the steam. Jake moves in closer, crowding your space, eyes flicking from your lips to your towel and back. His fingers reach up, slow and deliberate, and tug lightly at the edge of the fabric resting on your collarbone. 
“Think this is regulation towel length?” he teases. 
“Do you want me to report you to HR?” you ask, trying not to smile. Your voice wobbles on the last word when his fingers brush across the swell of your breast. 
“Only if HR gives out spankings,” he says with a wink. 
You laugh, then immediately regret it, because the movement loosens the towel just slightly—and his gaze drops. The air between you crackles. 
“Jake,” you murmur, breath hitching. 
He leans in, his lips brushing your temple like he’s not even aware he’s doing it. “Say the word,” he whispers, voice lower than a dare. 
You turn your face toward him, your lips just inches from his—and then: 
BZZZZZZZZZZZT. 
The intercom buzzes loudly from the living room, startling you both. You jump, and Jake curses under his breath. 
“Saved by the buzzer,” you mutter, half annoyed, half relieved. 
He takes a step back, eyes still dark with want, running a hand through his hair. “Or maybe cursed by it.” 
You give him a pointed look. “Shut the door on your way out, Hangman.” 
He backs out slowly, smirking the whole way. “You know I’m not going to forget this, right?” 
You roll your eyes and wait for him to close the door before locking it for good measure. After drying off, you go through your usual skincare and haircare routines, trying not to think about whatever the hell just happened between the two of you. But one glance down the hall as you exit the bathroom makes your heart plummet. 
Spencer is standing by the front door. And Jake—still very much shirtless—is looking smug as hell. 
“Hey, darlin’,” Jake drawls, turning to Spencer with a wink. “We just finished up in the shower, if you know what I mean.” 
You freeze like a deer in headlights, towel clutched to your chest. You feel like a naked model caught mid-pose in front of a life drawing class—except your ex is the one holding the sketchpad, and Jake is… well, Jake. 
“Spencer,” you bite out, “what the fuck are you doing here?” 
“I-I forgot my sweater.” He holds up the creamy cashmere one he’d left by the door, eyes darting anywhere but your body. 
You raise a brow. “And that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” 
He opens his mouth, then shuts it again—clearly trying not to ogle you while very aware of the broad, half-naked man beside him who is allegedly your boyfriend. Jake’s green eyes darken the longer Spencer’s gaze lingers. 
“I’m sorry,” Spencer mutters. “I guess I didn’t think-” 
“Yeah, thinking’s never really been your thing, huh, pal?” Jake cuts in, clapping a firm hand on Spencer’s shoulder. “Now if you don’t mind fucking off, I’d like to get back to round two with my very satisfied girlfriend. And just so we’re clear—if you show up before 9AM tomorrow, all you’re gonna hear is her screaming my name in ecstasy.” 
Your body lights up like a struck match. You don’t even look at Spencer as Jake all but escorts him out the door. Your focus is entirely on the shirtless man—the ridiculously hot, dangerously cocky, fake boyfriend who just made you feel completely and utterly claimed. 
You’re not sure if it’s the wine or the caveman behaviour, but suddenly, the idea of crossing that line doesn’t seem so dangerous anymore. In fact, it sounds like the best idea you’ve had in years. 
Jake shuts the door and flicks the deadbolt before turning those dark green eyes on you. “Keep lookin’ at me like that, darlin’, and you’re gonna make my dreams—and Spencer’s nightmares—come true.” 
His dreams? 
Your breath catches in your throat. Then, like a startled chicken, you turn and bolt to your bedroom, slamming the door shut behind you. Your head spins as you scramble to grab the pyjamas stashed under your pillow. Every inch of your skin feels hypersensitive, like Jake’s gaze alone has lit up your nerve endings one by one. 
Once you’re dressed and your face isn’t quite so scarlet red, you head for the bathroom. You hang up your towel—deliberately ignoring the sight of Jake’s hanging next to it—and start brushing your teeth. But the flutter in your stomach is relentless. 
Jake appears a moment later and joins you silently, his eyes finding yours in the mirror. You try to avoid them, but your gaze keeps drifting back, always checking, always wondering. And every time, he’s still watching. 
You rinse and spit, then flee the bathroom before your knees give out. You don’t bother with the rest of your night routine—you need sleep, or space, or maybe a total reset of your entire hormonal system. 
You crawl into bed and flick on the TV perched atop your dresser, the hum of background noise a small comfort. But it does nothing to quiet the static under your skin when Jake steps into the room. 
He flicks off the main light, shuts the door with a soft click, and then sits on the bed beside you. The mattress dips under his weight, and it feels like the whole room tilts with him. 
He doesn’t say anything at first. He just sits beside you in the dim glow of the TV, his body so close you can feel the heat radiating off his bare skin. 
You pretend to be engrossed in whatever’s on the screen, but your heart is thundering, and you can feel his gaze on you like a brand. 
Then his voice, low and rough, slices through the quiet. “You always wear shirts like that to bed, or is this part of the fantasy?” 
You try to scoff, but it comes out a little breathless. “You think everything’s about you.” 
Jake chuckles. “You’re sitting here braless in a tissue-thin shirt, biting your lip like you want me to devour you—and I’m the one with the ego?” 
You turn your head, ready to throw back some snark, but he’s already watching you with that look. That look that makes your insides clench and your breath catch. Like he’s starving. Like you’re the first real meal he’s had in days. 
“Jake…” 
His gaze drops to your lips, and his voice is rough around the edges when he says, “I’m not gonna make it through this night if you keep lookin’ at me like that.” 
“I’m not looking at you like anything,” you whisper, but even you don’t believe that. 
Jake leans closer. “No? Then why’s your chest rising like that? Why are your pupils blown wide? Why is every part of you screaming touch me?” 
You don’t answer. You can’t. 
He shifts toward you slowly, like a predator moving in, until his thigh brushes yours and his hand finds your jaw. His thumb drags lightly along your cheek, then down to your bottom lip, tugging at it just enough to make your breath stutter. 
“Tell me to stop,” he murmurs, eyes locked on yours. “Just say the word.” 
You stay frozen, heart galloping in your chest. 
“Because if you don’t…” he leans in, voice barely audible now, “…I’m gonna lose every ounce of self-control I have left.” 
Still, you say nothing. Can’t say anything. 
Jake’s eyes search yours for a second longer. Then— 
“Fuck it.” 
He crashes into you like a storm. His mouth slants over yours, hot and possessive and desperate, like he’s finally giving in to something he’s been denying for far too long. His hands cup your face, then slide down, over your neck, your shoulders, gripping your waist like he needs to ground himself. 
You gasp into his mouth, and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, tongue sweeping in to taste you. It’s not gentle. It’s fire and tension and not just one day, but years of pretending finally snapping all at once. 
Your fingers thread through his hair, tugging, pulling him closer. He groans against your lips and pushes you back into the mattress just slightly, moving over you, his body caging yours in without touching more than he has to. 
You arch up into him, chasing his heat, his weight. And when his hand slips under the hem of your shirt, resting just above your waistband, your breath catches in your throat. 
He pulls back just enough to look at you—his pupils dark, his lips kiss-bruised. “Still pretending?” he breathes. 
You shake your head, dazed. “Not even a little bit.” 
You wake up warm. Too warm. 
Jake Seresin is sprawled across half your bed, one leg tangled over yours and an arm wrapped around your waist like you’re his personal body pillow. His bare chest is pressed to your back and his breath ghosts hot across your neck with every slow, sleepy exhale. 
You’re painfully aware of two things: one, you’re very, very naked. And two, so is he. 
And then... you remember everything. 
The kissing. The touching. The downright Olympic-level sex. The way he looked at you like you were something he’d been starving for. 
Your body aches in the best way, but your brain is in full meltdown mode. You try to untangle yourself without waking him. Emphasis on try. Because the second you shift, Jake groans and tightens his arm around you. 
“Nuh-uh,” he mumbles, voice still rough with sleep. “You’re not goin’ anywhere.” 
You huff, trying to wriggle free. “I have to pee.” 
“Fine,” he says, releasing you with an exaggerated sigh. “But don’t even think about climbing out the window. You’re mine now.” 
You roll your eyes as you slip out of bed, grabbing the closest shirt—his shirt—and tossing it over your head. It hangs low on your thighs, smelling like him and sex and very bad decisions. 
By the time you return from the bathroom, Jake’s propped up on one elbow, watching you with the same hunger in his eyes as last night “Damn, you look better in my shirt than I do.” 
You scoff and head for your dresser. “Don’t you get tired of hearing yourself talk?” 
“Not when I’m this right.” 
You grab a pair of shorts, but before you can pull them on, Jake is already moving. He slides off the bed, all muscles and tan skin, and corners you against the dresser. 
“You know,” he murmurs, eyes dark and wicked as his fingers slip under the hem of his own shirt you're wearing, “you didn’t officially wake me up yet.” 
Your heart kicks up a notch. “Is that a thing now?” 
“Absolutely.” He leans in, brushing his nose along your jaw. “You gotta wake me up right, darlin’. Or I’m gonna be all cranky.” 
You arch a brow. “Define right.” 
He grins, lips brushing yours. “Tongue. Teeth optional.” 
You laugh into the kiss he gives you—hot, deep, and toe-curling. His hands roam down your back, tugging you flush against him. You can feel he’s already half hard again, the cocky bastard. 
But before things can spiral into round two, your phone buzzes loudly from the nightstand. 
Jake pulls back with a dramatic sigh. “If that’s Spencer again, I swear to God-” 
You smirk. “Jealous?” 
He kisses the corner of your mouth. “Jealous? Sweetheart, I just spent the night making you scream my name.” 
You roll your eyes, fighting a smile, and he grins like he just won the damn lottery. 
To Jake’s great disappointment, it is Spencer. He’s on his way over, and the motel he’s staying at is only five minutes away. You both overslept—but can you really be blamed? No way. You were up most of the night tangled together, doing something that definitely didn’t feel pretend. 
“Come on, Romeo,” you say, tossing Jake his shirt. “Get dressed before Tybalt gets here.” 
Jake pauses, one brow arched as he tries not to stare at your naked chest. “Did you just imply that you used to date your cousin?” 
A light laugh bubbles out of you. “Not intentionally, but I’m surprised you know Shakespeare.” 
He grins, smug. “A little knowledge never hurt anyone. Helps win the ladies over, too.” 
He’s joking, you know he is—but the way he says ladies—plural—hits you like punch to the gut. That’s what Jake is: a ladies’ man. It was stupid to think this could be anything more than a bit of fun. Some stress relief between two friends who spent all day teasing each other until they snapped. 
If anyone can do casual sex, it’s Jake Seresin. It doesn’t matter how many pretty words he said last night—you can’t let yourself believe he actually meant them. 
“Hey,” he says gently, catching the shift in your energy. “You okay?” 
You nod a little too quickly, offering a smile that doesn't quite reach your eyes. Your nose starts to sting, and you blink fast, trying to will the emotion away. Who the hell cries after the best sex of their life? 
You gather your clothes and retreat to the bathroom, needing a buffer between you and Jake’s curious, overly perceptive eyes. You dress quickly, trying not to think about how good his shirt felt against your skin. 
It isn’t long before Spencer buzzes the intercom again, and you’re almost grateful. Jake doesn’t get the chance to press you, to ask about the look on your face that feels like it could crumble into a sob at any second. 
You’ve really fucked up now—because you let yourself believe it might’ve meant something. 
The two men spend the morning in the spare room, exchanging nothing more than grunts and sidelong glances while packing Spencer’s things into boxes. You don’t bother checking on them—you're not sure you can look at Jake right now anyway. So, you remain firmly planted on the couch, stuck in a spiral of your own damning thoughts. 
Around midday, you consider offering them lunch, but then you remember the mischievous glint in Jake’s eyes when he said that “it helps win the ladies over,” and you quickly decide against it. Instead, you grab your keys, tuck your phone into your back pocket, and head toward the door. 
“I’m heading out for a bit. Won’t be long,” you call out, not waiting for a reply before stepping out. 
“Wait,” Jake’s voice calls after you as the door swings shut. But you pretend not to hear. 
You stride toward the elevator, pressing the button more forcefully than necessary, but it doesn’t arrive fast enough. By the time the doors finally slide open, Jake is already in the hallway, his brows furrowed in concern. 
“Hang on a second,” he says, stopping right beside you, raising a hand to hold your jaw gently. 
When you step back, his face falls, confusion and dread flickering across his features. 
“What’s wrong?” he asks. 
“Nothing,” you answer, stepping into the elevator. 
But he follows you in, jaw ticking with tension. “Darlin’, if you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna start thinking I broke you.” 
You shake your head. “I’m not broken.” 
“Then what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours, hm?” His voice softens, but the underlying concern is still very present. 
You take a deep breath, averting your eyes to the floor of the elevator as you try to carefully assemble your thoughts. You don’t want to hurt him, but you also can’t ignore how wrong everything feels in your gut. 
“I just... I can’t do this, Jake,” you say, your voice almost cracking. 
He looks absolutely gutted, like you’ve just sucker-punched him. 
“I know it shouldn’t be a big deal. Plenty of people do it without any consequences,” you ramble on. “But I think there could be some huge consequences if we keep doing this. There’s just too much on the line. And while the sex was—God, it was mind-blowing—I just don’t think I can handle you doing it with other people while I’m over here trying to... figure out what this is.” 
The hurt on his face quickly morphs into utter confusion. “What the hell are you talking about, sweetheart?” 
“This,” you gesture between the two of you. “Last night. Us having sex and the whole ‘friends with benefits’ thing.” 
Now, he looks genuinely offended. His eyes widen, green irises flashing with disbelief. “You think that’s what this is?” 
Your heart races, the pulse in your throat thrumming. “Isn’t that what you want?” 
Jake lets out a short, humourless laugh, running a hand through his hair. He glances briefly at the elevator doors before locking his gaze on you, intense and unyielding. 
“Is that what you think?” he asks, his tone a low warning. 
Suddenly, you feel very small—not in a sad way, but in a vulnerable, exposed way. He steps closer, stalking toward you with predatory intent, and you instinctively back up against the elevator wall. His presence fills the small space, and the hunger in his eyes is unmistakable. 
You swallow thickly and nod. Just a small movement, but it’s enough to make him pounce. He presses his body to yours, trapping you between him and the wall, the metal rail digging into your lower back as he cages you in. 
“I thought I made it pretty fucking clear last night, darlin’,” he whispers, his voice low and almost dangerous. “But if I didn’t, then let me say it now.” 
He pauses, eyes burning into yours as you breathe in each other’s air, hearts racing in sync. 
“I want you. Only you. All of you,” he growls. “I’ve been waiting years to do what I did last night. And now that I’ve had a taste?” He lets out a deep, throaty chuckle. “I’m never letting you go. You’re mine.” 
Your mind goes blank. Your mouth is dry, and your heart’s thundering in your chest as his words hit you like a freight train. 
“Say it,” he whispers, his lips brushing against yours as he pulls you closer. “Tell me you understand.” 
“I’m yours.” The words fall from your mouth before you can stop them, but they feel right. Like they were meant to be said. 
Jake smirks, a wicked, cocky grin that makes his eyes sparkle with unspoken mischief. “Good.” 
And just like that, his lips crash into yours—urgent, fiery, and full of need. The kiss is wild and untamed, teeth clashing, tongues battling for dominance. His hands drop to the curve of your ass, lifting you effortlessly, forcing your legs around his waist as he presses you harder against the elevator wall. 
Every inch of your skin hums, the heat between you two scorching. You can’t get enough of him, his touch, the rawness of this moment. You claw at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against yours, and before you can even think, you're already lost in him, all logic and restraint flying out the window. 
But then, right on cue, your personal cockblock arrives. The elevator dings and the doors slide open. Spencer stands there, completely flustered, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Neither of you had pressed a button when you entered, but the look on Jake’s face suggests that it might have been intentional. 
“Sorry, pal,” Jake grins, his lips bruised and swollen. “I just can’t get enough, you know what it’s like.” 
Spencer’s mouth moves, but no words come out. 
Jake casually takes the box from Spencer’s arms. “Let me help you with that. Go grab another one. Let’s get you out of here before you see more than you’re willing to, hm?” 
Spencer nods woodenly, still staring in complete shock. 
You can’t help the giggles that escape you as you slip past Spencer and out of the elevator, back toward your apartment. 
There’s nothing fake about you and Jake anymore—not that there ever really was. And now, you can confidently say that Jake’s ego is as well-proportioned as the monster between his legs. 
END.
3K notes · View notes
briarscreek · 4 months ago
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mafia boss price in the 40’s and how you both meet
you moved to the city to get away from a toxic family and start a new life. becoming a career woman, that they chastised you for. you attend a new church because the ones back home were full of hate but you wanted to at least give this one a try.
it’s not a big one, probably has more seat rows than people on a busy sunday service but it’s incredibly welcoming. a pack of four old ladies come up to welcome you to the church, ask to take you to lunch and ponder more about your life.
no husband? that’s alright dear. you are an exceptionally intelligent young woman who they can’t wait to see flourish in her career. you start to grab lunch with them more throughout the next few weeks after sunday service; a new routine for you while they gossip about their sons. something about the family business but you never understood what that particular business was.
you ran into mary on a late wednesday evening at the grocery store, running out of a cooking ingredient you forgot to grab earlier in the week. she had as well, claiming that she’s baking a large batch of cookies for the youth center with a 25 lb bag of flour in her hands (that you tried to help her with while she almost scolded you about it). you’re both making small talk as you hear a deep voice from behind her.
“there you are, mum. you can’t go wandering off like tha’.”
a bulking man of 6’2 with a mutton chop beard and bright blue eyes came right around behind mary and took the large sack of flour from her hands onto his shoulders.
“darling, i’d like you to meet my son john.”
it was like sparks between you but you couldn’t be sure if he felt them too.
“hello, love.”
smooth man. just like the playful mirth in his eyes and the grin on his lips.
“john? mary, is this the same john who actually slipped on a banana peel and ruined his grandmother’s birthday cake, right?”
the grin dropped and the tips of his ears turned red.
“mum! you told her that yet i don’t know anything about her?”
“then get to know her john”
he turned back to you as he heard you quiet giggles.
“would you like to go to dinner with me, love?”
“i would love to.”
“i’ll pick you up at 7 on Friday.”
“wait, you don’t know where i live.”
“no but my mum does, i’ll ask her for directions.”
mary and john had both walked out of ear shot before you could say anything else.
“thanks for helping me find my wife, mum.”
“of course dear. anything to help get me my grandchildren!”
3K notes · View notes
ireverie · 4 months ago
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girls goon too
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pairing ↠ stepbro!sunghoon x (f) reader x stepbro!heeseung
genre .. warnings ↠ smut, stepcest, unprotected sex, oral (m receiving) / face fucking, virgin! reader, dubcon
summary ↠ sunghoon can't take it anymore. you just won't stop gooning in your bedroom for all the world to hear, and he's tired of it. he's pretty sure all you do with your spare time is watch porn. heeseung suggests that he just jerks off, but his morals won't let him; until he decides that he can't hold back anymore. he has to shut you up.
wc ↠ 5.3k
a/n ↠ nohyuck version of this fic originally posted on my blog revehae. i am not plagiarizing myself. this is my apology for missing my friday night drabble post. as always, feedback is appreciated!
don’t like it, don’t read.
“she’s doing it again,” sunghoon grumbled, walking into heeseung’s bedroom. only because the door was ajar, though. he knew the sight he’d walk in on if it was completely closed would be worse than what you were surely doing.
heeseung snickered, eyes fixed on his computer. “what’s the occasion? sixth-month gooning anniversary?”
sunghoon scoffed. he didn’t know why you did it. he thought jake was bad, but you were next level. “i thought surely she would give us a break for november.”
“and she did,” heeseung quipped, moving his mouse. “for all of three days.”
that was true. for the very first three days of november, the house had been relatively quiet apart from heeseung’s shouting when he was losing. then, on the fourth day, it was back to hearing your annoyingly perfect fucking moans in the afternoon.
and god forbid your parents would be coming home late. you were relentless on those days, touching yourself to no end. sunghoon couldn’t stand it. he hated minding his business, trying to rest or work or do anything that didn’t require thinking about the sounds you were making as you persistently edged yourself.
but he couldn’t help himself. sometimes, he could hear your moans even when you weren’t there, and that was when he knew he was finally losing what little bit was left of his goddamn mind. 
heeseung, on the other hand, didn’t seem as miffed. sunghoon was certain his brother could hear the noises you were making down the hall, but he was sitting here without a care in the world, typing an email to his professor of all things. which made no sense to sunghoon, considering he knew how much heeseung liked noisy sex.
“okay, i’ll bite,” sunghoon said, crossing his arms. “how in the hell are you okay with this?”
heeseung shrugged, trying and failing to suppress a smirk. he was well aware of the fact that sunghoon always got worked up when it came to you, which was fair. you were the biggest minx this world had ever known. “well, first of all,” heeseung started, snickering again. “there’s a thing called jerking off. i’m sure you’ve heard of it. it’s really popular amongst guys we know.”
sunghoon looked almost scandalized. “i’m not jerking off to my stepsister.”
“then, you’re an idiot,” heeseung retorted. “she’s given us enough material until new years. of the year after next.”
“it’s wrong.”
heeseung rolled his eyes. “you’ve got such a stick up your ass, like a proper princess or something.”
“i’ll beat your ass, hee,” sunghoon warned. 
heeseung threw his hands up. “i’m just saying. i’m not telling you to stick her in a washing machine, bro. but the answer’s obvious. just jerk off. you know you want to.”
sunghoon sighed. had he thought about it? obviously. but he couldn’t shake how wrong it felt, even if you made him perpetually horny. “i want to smack the shit out of you right now, but i haven’t done it yet.”
rather than recoil, heeseung laughed. that asswipe finds humor in everything, sunghoon thought to himself, irritated. “and i commend your patience, man,” heeseung replied. “but it’s only making you more frustrated when you could just bust a nut and be happy.”
sunghoon was thinking about it now. well, he had thought about it countless times, but he had never allowed himself to stoop that low. you were his younger stepsister and it was his responsibility to take care of you. not picture your face as you moaned and imagine how you would feel, tight and sticky and creamy as you wrapped around his…
heeseung broke the silence, musing more so to himself, “maybe we should put her in the washing machine.”
sunghoon’s eyes flickered. “what the hell, man?”
“my bad,” heeseung replied, although he didn’t look very apologetic. “i was just thinking out loud.”
fuck, now sunghoon was picturing that too. your house had one of those washing machines that opened from the top, not the front. too many times had sunghoon seen you struggle to take your clothes out, dangling over the washing machine and nearly falling inside. he would offer to help, every now and then, but he liked watching you climb the washing machine just to get your clothes from the very bottom.
it was much more realistic for you to get stuck in it then the kinds of washing machines in porn. 
heeseung broke the silence again, still thinking. it was his greatest skill and simultaneously his worst habit. “if you’re so against it, why haven’t you just asked her to shut the fuck up then?”
that was a good question. sunghoon wasn’t the kind of guy to shy away from an altercation, not with friends and not with family. he had certainly never shown heeseung any mercy. he loved his brother, but he was annoying as all fuck.
“i see,” heeseung said, smirking. see, annoying. “it’s because you don’t really want her to stop.”
sunghoon sighed. “yeah, fine. i don’t want her to stop. happy?”
heeseung burst out laughing. always laughing, always scheming. he was going to get a stocking full of coal for christmas. “i have an idea.”
“oh, god,” sunghoon groaned.
heeseung finally pressed send on his email and turned around in his desk chair. “hear me out. we should fuck her.”
sunghoon gawked in disbelief. then again, none of heeseung’s ideas were ever truly brilliant. “you’re insane,” he murmured.
“thanks,” heeseung chirped, the insult rolling off his shoulders. “just sleep on it.”
“you know what? sure,” sunghoon replied, walking out of his brother’s room and shutting the door. he didn’t want to hear another word.
he went about his day like everything was normal, going on a walk so that he didn’t have to hear you, eating dinner and watching netflix in the living room to ignore the fact that you existed altogether. and then he went to bed.
sunghoon couldn’t fucking sleep. on it, over it, under it. he couldn’t sleep whatsoever. 
it wasn’t like you were just loudly moaning all day long, that would be absurd. but every now and then, there would be a whimper you’d let slip. sunghoon could tell that you were actually trying to be quiet. but this was one of those nights where your parents wouldn’t be back and you were taking advantage of that. again.
sunghoon decided that he was at his breaking point. the need for you was too goddamn strong and he was tired of pretending that he was better. he couldn’t ignore it anymore. he couldn’t fight it, suppress it.
he threw the blankets off his bed and went to heeseung’s room, the door closed this time. he knocked on the door and called out, “stop jerking off and get your ass out here.”
sunghoon heard a groan, one of the disgruntled sort. a few seconds later, heeseung opened the door, a scowl on his face. “what the hell, man? your voice ruined my nut.”
it was sunghoon’s turn to laugh. he clasped a hand on heeseung’s shoulder. “don’t worry. you’ll be in the mood again in no time.”
heeseung lifted a brow. “are you saying what i think you’re saying?”
sunghoon nodded. 
“we’re gonna teach her a lesson.”
“we’re gonna put her in the washing machine?”
sunghoon’s smile instantly dropped and his hand fell from heeseung’s shoulder. “why the fuck are you both so addicted to porn?” he asked.
the excited shimmer in heeseung’s eyes died a little. “no, i was… i was just kidding. let’s go.”
sunghoon sighed and started down the hall to your bedroom, deciding not to argue heeseung on that. it would be a waste of valuable time.
sunghoon knocked on the door and called out your name. “can we come in?”
there was audible shuffling as you called back, “just a moment!”
heeseung glanced over at sunghoon. “so, how we doing this?”
sunghoon looked calm, collected. as if fucking his stepsister was something he did on the regular. “just follow my lead.”
you opened the door, a towel thrown around you. but your skin looked damp with sweat, not water. your face was a little flushed. it was obvious that you were naked. “um, can i help you guys?” you asked, somewhat breathless. 
sunghoon looked you up and down subtly. heeseung, on the other hand, was damn near ogling you. the former repeated, “can we come in?”
“um, i guess,” you murmured, stepping out of the way so that they could enter your bedroom.
heeseung closed the door behind himself, not that there was anyone to worry about. it was only the three of you in the house at the moment. 
sunghoon glanced away, looking for traces of what you had been doing. he found them very quickly; your laptop shut on your bed, the blankets messily thrown on top to conceal the damp spots in your sheets, and your shirt and shorts on the floor by your bed, implying you were only in your underwear.
“is there something you guys need?” you asked, a bit annoyed at having been interrupted. 
sunghoon walked towards your desk where your laptop probably should have been, though he saw something fearful flash in your eyes. his brows furrowed, but he didn’t inquire about it. he would figure it out on his own. “do we have to need something to want to visit you?” sunghoon asked, a small smile on his face. “i haven’t seen you all day long. we just wanted to make sure you’re still alive.”
“oh, that’s… very sweet of you,” you murmured. “as you can see, i’m perfectly alive and breathing.”
“yeah, you’re breathing a lot,” heeseung commented. 
sunghoon chuckled. he moved away from your desk and instead towards your nightstand, noticing your eyes still watching him like a hawk. “relax. what’s got you so worked up?”
“i’m not worked up,” you lied, eyes darting between him and your bed. 
that was when it clicked in sunghoon’s brain. the bed. you didn’t want him to see the bed. he chuckled again, sitting down on top of it. “are you okay? you look a little… flushed.”
“yeah,” heeseung chimed in, moving your hair out of your face. you jolted. you had been paying so much attention to sunghoon that you failed to notice heeseung had creeped up behind you. “and sweaty.”
you released a shaky breath. you were nervous, but you couldn’t tell them that. because then they would start asking questions. “i’m okay, guys. you can go.”
“why are you trying to get rid of us?” heeseung asked, leaning in a little too close. “it’s almost like you’re hiding something.”
“what are you watching?” sunghoon asked, grabbing your laptop. 
your eyes widened in horror. “no, wait!” you exclaimed. you tried to stop him, but heeseung was quick to pull you back against his chest. 
sunghoon opened your laptop, being met with a twitter porn browser. he feigned surprise. “oh, wow,” he said, merely blinking. “wow.”
“what is it?” heeseung called from the other side of the room. 
sunghoon turned the laptop to face you and heeseung. “guess she’s really into… creampies, sucking dick, and doggy style.”
your face was hot with embarrassment and you thrashed in heeseung’s arms. “this is an invasion of privacy! you guys jerk off, don’t you?”
“jerk off? sure. watch porn for hours on end? no, i don’t,” sunghoon answered, setting your laptop down. he moved your blankets out of the way, revealing a few damp spots on your bed. “how long did you have to sit here for this to happen?”
you felt very exposed at the moment. like your deepest, darkest secret was steadily reaching its way around the whole world. “i’m not that bad,” you murmured, shy. 
heeseung laughed. he tugged at the towel and brought his hand to your chest, pinching your nipple. “not that bad? you almost gave poor sunghoon over there an aneurysm with how enticing you’ve been.”
your whined when heeseung squeezed your chest, tearing your gaze away from sunghoon to look up at him with wide eyes. “what are you doing?”
“fuck. yeah, that’s what i’m talking about, princess,” heeseung groaned, pressing himself against your ass. “those sweet sounds have been driving him mad.”
any other moment, sunghoon would have narrowed his eyes at heeseung and called him disgusting. but this was different. sunghoon didn’t care about what was right or wrong anymore. maybe he never truly had. what was certain right now was that any desire to behave in a morally acceptable manner was outweighed by the desire to fuck you brainless.
“bring her over here,” sunghoon said, shoving your laptop of the way to make room. 
heeseung grabbed your waist and led you towards the bed, pushing you towards his brother. sunghoon grabbed your chin, smoothing his thumb over your cheek. “gooning isn’t healthy,” he told you straightforwardly. “you know what you need?”
you glanced at him, fretful. the towel had completely fallen at this point, leaving you solely in your water, just as sunghoon had pieced together. “what?” you whispered.
“a fuck,” sunghoon replied unabashedly. “you’re so damn touch-starved. always complaining about how you want a boyfriend, but you never go out, because you’re too busy playing with your clit.”
your face was hot. honestly, they hadn’t given you the opportunity to cool down. but you had to admit that he was right. compared to how much you touched yourself, you didn’t go out enough.
“have you ever even had sex?” heeseung asked, running his hands up your thighs. 
you wanted to hide so fucking bad, but that clearly wasn’t an option. “no,” you replied, ashamed.
sunghoon snickered, because apparently that was funny. “obviously,” he said, moving his thumb to your bottom lip. “this pretty body has gone untouched for too many years, that’s all. once you get fucked, you’ll be as good as new. worked for jake. didn’t it, hee?”
“yep,” heeseung chirped, nodding. “he was the biggest gooner i’ve ever seen. jay had so many roommate horror stories. then, we got him some pussy, and he’s all better now. actually goes outside and gets light that isn’t from his laptop.”
“so, what do you say?” sunghoon asked, turning your head back to him. “want something other than your fingers inside you?”
your heart racing. were you really about to agree to getting fucked by your stepbrothers? when it was over, you could blame it on the fact that you genuinely were touch-starved and desperate for a release for all this pent-up frustration.
and because you really, really needed to come after having avoided it for hours, you nodded your head.
“words, princess,” heeseung said, his hands still gripping your thighs as he thought about how soft they were. “say it. say, ‘i want you to fuck me, heeseung.’”
you swallowed, but you weren’t going to disobey. “i… i want you to fuck me, heeseung.”
“jeez, you don’t have to beg. i’ll do it,” heeseung replied, playful as ever. “and because it’s your first time, i think we should do missionary. is that okay, princess?”
“that’s… fine,” you murmured timidly. it didn’t really matter to you how he fucked you. you just wanted someone inside you. 
heeseung was beaming, like he had prayed for this day and it was finally happening. “good. and if you ever want me to fuck you on all fours, you know the way to my room.”
the way heeseung was looking at you was entirely overwhelming, so you glanced over at sunghoon instead, though he was also watching you intently. “what about… you?” you asked. 
sunghoon chuckled, thumb sweeping over your lips. “i don’t need to fuck your pussy. i’ll leave that to heeseung. i just want to fuck this pretty little mouth that’s been keeping me up at night.”
heeseung, growing impatient, tugged at your panties. you lifted your hips, watching him drag them down your legs. “jesus,” he murmured. “they’re fucking drenched.”
“they better be,” sunghoon replied with a chuckle, stepping out of his pants. “long as she’s probably been wearing them.”
heeseung spread your legs, wanting to get a good look at the treasure hidden between them. he moaned at the mere sight of your pussy, dripping with arousal. “fuck, you don’t even need prep,” he mused.
as if you couldn’t get any more embarrassed than you already were. they knew exactly what to say to make you want to hide your face beneath a pillow and hopefully suffocate to death.
despite his declaration about you not needing prep, heeseung couldn’t help but drag his tongue along your folds, which made you gasp in surprise. it wasn’t a tentative lick, either; he was confident and unreluctant. you were clearly sensitive, but he didn’t seem to care, eager to suck and lick at you.
“heeseung,” you whimpered, involuntarily trying to close your legs. he swore his dick twitched when you said his name like that. 
all the while, sunghoon was stroking himself beside you, half hard. for the first time thinking about you at the same time that he touched his dick, and god, he really should have done it sooner. just the thought of you made his blood pump harder. 
heeseung pulled back after a moment or two when he was finally sated. “sorry,” he apologized, completely inauthentic. “just wanted a taste.”
sunghoon tapped your cheek. “open up, baby.”
you slowly opened your mouth, wide enough for him to push inside. which sunghoon seized the opportunity to do as soon as it presented itself. he was impatient now, tired of waiting. you had tortured him long enough with those pretty noises; it was time you paid him back for tolerating your horniness.
“fuck,” sunghoon cursed upon feeling the warmth of your mouth around his cock.
heeseung snickered. it was amusing to him that only a few hours ago, sunghoon said he was insane for suggesting that they fuck you. and now here he was with his cock down your throat. a few hours could truly change a man, for worse and for better. “how’s it going?” heeseung asked.
sunghoon closed his eyes, trying to go slow before he started fucking your throat with a purpose. he didn’t necessarily want to hurt you, but damn, he was getting pretty damn close. “how do you think?” he retorted.
you watched sunghoon as he slowly moved inside your mouth, though his patience was obviously dwindling by the second. part of you wanted to see what it would look like when he lost it all, but the other dreaded it, uncertain whether or not you could handle it.
you were still a virgin, after all. in the important and unimportant ways. you had never been fucked. you had most certainly never had your throat fucked until this very moment. the furthest you’d ever gone with a boy was a little bit of groping while kissing and even that was awkward.
heeseung licked his lips, appreciating that they were coated in your arousal. “taste so good, princess,” he said, dropping his hands down to his shorts.
you would have gawked when you glanced down and noticed the dent in them, even if it weren’t for the fact that your mouth was preoccupied. when did he get so hard? 
heeseung started to undress himself, pleased now that he had gotten a taste of you and eager to be inside you. he was quick to shed his shorts and the layer underneath, unafraid to show just how desperate he was. for him, it was easy to accept his attraction to you and even easier to act on it now that he had your consent.
he climbed onto the bed, grabbing your thighs again and spreading them apart. he gave them a few affectionate, departing kisses and sat up to grab his cock, bringing it between them. “say ‘goofer gooner’ if you’re ready,” heeseung joked, knowing you couldn’t speak.
you furrowed your brows, but you couldn’t even focus on his nonsense because sunghoon was noticeably forgoing all restraint. could you blame him? your mouth was warm, alive, and everything about you seemed to drive him straight through the brink of insanity. 
“you know, sunghoon,” heeseung started, gazing down at the little distance between your bodies. “you were right. i’m already in the mood again.”
you had that effect on him, on them. heeseung knew he probably should have fought it better, but he truly saw no point. it was easier to fold and surrender to the fact that he found you infuriatingly sexy, despite your tendencies. and with nothing more to say, he slowly but surely pressed himself inside you.
heeseung tipped his head back, already moaning like a bitch and he wasn’t even fully sheathed inside you yet. “holy fuck,” he said, his grip on your thighs tightening.
you whimpered, the sound muffled by sunghoon’s cock as his balls slapped against your chin. you immediately pulsed around heeseung’s cock, clinging to him like now that he was there, you would never let him go.
“holy fuck,” heeseung moaned again, stopping for a moment as if the breath had been completely sucked out of him. “so fucking wet, my dick just slides in.”
he was damn near flabbergasted. maybe there was benefit to you gooning for hours on end, a benefit that he got to reap. he had never seen anyone this wet before, much less felt anything this wet, and it was taking a toll on him. his head was already reeling.
“okay,” heeseung said, more so to himself. he was adjusting. “okay. fuck. i’m gonna move.”
and he did, growing more and more mesmerized with every thrust of his hips. his mouth hung open, moans of your name and explicit curses dangling from his lips with a shrill touch to them that only made you even more aroused.
to say nothing of the sounds sunghoon was making, almost directly in your ear. he was so close to your face that you could explode. he was finally moving comfortably, fucking your throat with a rhythm that almost made it hard to breathe. 
though you had no intention of making him stop. you had fantasized about making yourself available for this purpose many, many times. not necessarily to your stepbrother, but well, it wasn’t like you were discriminating. especially not when he sounded so goddamn sexy and his face was tensing the way it was in pleasure.
it was strange, but you found yourself going from solely craving the experience to wanting to pleasure them. and it would appear that you were doing a fantastic job without hardly even trying, all things considered.
heeseung was gripping on your thighs for dear life as if without the support, he would get blown away into the eighth dimension. or maybe drown in how wet you were, gushing around his cock, if not for him using your soft thighs as an anchor to keep him afloat.
“this sweet fucking pussy,” he sighed, losing himself in the vice of you. he had set a pace too, fucking you without intention of stopping. with every fiber of his being, deep and hard. “i could fuck you forever.”
you could sit here and take it forever. you had never felt so full in your life. your fingers hardly did the job, always reaching just shy of where you needed them instead of completely offering you the satisfaction you’d long craved. and here heeseung was handing it to you on a silver platter.
the only problem was that you felt slightly overwhelmed with so much happening at one time in two different holes. you didn’t know who to pay attention to; sunghoon fucking your throat with a vengeance, eager to gain something out of your mouth for once, or heeseung railing you to kingdom come, making you feel hot everywhere.
you found yourself trying to juggle both, eyes flitting between them, moaning around sunghoon’s dick at heeseung’s angled thrusts and throbbing around heeseung at every guttural groan that slipped from sunghoon’s mouth. you couldn’t help yourself; it was too goddamn arousing.
sunghoon noticed how fucked out you looked, eyes rolling back to another timeline, and it was doing unimaginable things to his cock. you looked better than he could have ever imagined and he knew that he wouldn’t be satisfied until he left you hoarse and rasping.
with that thought, he grabbed your hair to push you down and started to fuck your head against the mattress rather roughly, which caught you by surprise. you tried to take it, you really did, but it was overwhelming. you could barely breathe.
“take it,” he hissed, holding your head in place. you looked pretty like this, struggling to keep up with his hectic movements.
your eyes were watering as his cock went too deep for you to handle, and you started gagging. sunghoon moaned, but pulled your head off him to let you relax for a second, a string of saliva connecting your mouth and the head of his cock.
“breathe,” he said, letting one hand run through your hair almost tenderly.
you nodded, willing yourself to relax. all the while, sunghoon marveled at how pretty you looked with saliva on your face and tears strolling down your cheeks.
“you guys okay up there?” heeseung asked from between your legs, having noticed the action. 
“we’re fine,” sunghoon answered on your behalf. he moved his hand from your hair to your cheek. “you ready?”
you nodded your head. you couldn’t shake the urge to really make him proud, to satisfy all his inappropriate cravings. it was the least you could do when you had been tantalizing him for months on end.
“good girl,” sunghoon whispered, guiding his cock back to your mouth and this time using your hair to push your head onto his cock as he fucked your throat.
you moaned at the pet name, because something about the way it sounded coming from him made your head spin. maybe you were just horny and in dire need of a fuck like he’d said. maybe after you came, all of these feelings would wear off, and you would feel somewhat sane again. 
but you couldn’t deny that you were somewhat indulging in your fantasies here. you didn’t necessarily hate the the way sunghoon was treating you, even if it was a little beyond your limits and more than a little rough. but limits were just boundaries you’d yet explored.
heeseung was a different situation altogether. your pussy was still sensitive from the hours of playing with it and you were already about to come much before him. there was a familiar heat in your stomach and festering throb of energy in your core, only more intense than you had ever experienced.
but heeseung recognized it, even without being able to hear your sweet moans of his name. he could see it in your body language and it flattered him in a way; he always felt proud when he lasted longer than the person he was fucking, especially without necessarily even trying to finish them quicker.
“she’s gonna come,” heeseung pointed out, grinning. “come for me, princess. come on this dick. you know you want to.”
it was like he your voodoo doll or something, because merely seconds after those words parted from his mouth, you were shuddering and tightening around his cock with climax, your eyes rolling to the back of your head and your toes clenching.
heeseung let out the pitchiest moan ever when you throbbed around him repeatedly. words could not describe how good it felt, but sounds could. and the sounds he was making were sensational, only contributing to the mind-numbing pleasure wrecking you from within.
“goddamn,” heeseung said, mesmerized by how hard you came. it was probably warranted after hours of resisting.
but the other thing on heeseung’s mind was how much wetter your pussy sounded, sticky with your release. he whined, literally going mad. he knew that his own orgasm wasn’t far out and just the squelch of your cunt could easily finish him off.
sunghoon was facing a similar predicament, fucking your mouth without restraint and not letting you escape his thrusts. “fuck, i’m gonna come,” he groaned. “swallow it. or don’t. it’s your sheets.”
the last thing you of all people cared about was having your sheets ruined. at the moment, you were more burdened with how sore your throat felt and how overstimulated your pussy was being fucked despite having already orgasmed. it literally felt like you’d had the soul fucked out of you.
you didn’t even know it was possible at this point, but sunghoon’s hips went faster. it was a brutal but steady pace, which was somewhat admirable. he was trying to get himself there, right over the edge, knowing release was only seconds away.
with a few more smacks, sunghoon released down your throat with the sexiest groan you’d heard, one that claimed every award. when you’d milked him of every drop, his hands tight on the sides of your face, his grip on your head slacked and he slowly pulled your mouth off him.
you swallowed what you could, but he had came so goddamn much at once, it was borderline ridiculous. what you couldn’t take dripped down your chin, blending with the saliva from the messy fucking.
heeseung glanced up at you and the sight of your cum-stained face triggered something so primal in him that he knew he wasn’t going to last another minute. “princess, where do you want me to come?” he asked breathlessly.
“inside,” you replied with maybe half your voice, if even. it hurt to speak. the sound pleased sunghoon.
the thought of coming inside your pussy had heeseung levitating and was the last push he needed to bring himself past the cusp of ecstasy. his hips stuttered as he came inside you, crying out half of your name, leaning on top of you as he buried his load inside your warm, wet, gushing, sticky hole.
a satisfied hum escaped you when you felt his cum seeping inside your pussy. why did it feel so good?
“d-don’t move yet,” you whispered, because it was all you could muster.
heeseung glanced up at you, recognizing the look of pleasure on your face. if he had the energy, he would tease you about how you wanted to feel him cum inside you, but he needed to catch his breath. so he answered with a nod.
sunghoon whistled. this had gone better than he’d hoped. “well goddamn. you’re just a virgin slut aren’t you?”
heeseung chuckled breathlessly. “she took that shit like a champ. i’m impressed.”
sunghoon kissed your forehead. “you did so good,” he whispered, caressing your cheek with his thumb. “i’ll get you some water in a second.”
you nodded, appreciating the tender side after all that had just happened. your heart felt a little lighter than usual, despite its racing. you had so many questions, but you didn’t want to strain your voice. was it normal to feel like a different person after having sex for the first time?
heeseung was going to pull out, but seeing the look on your face, he decided to stay nestled inside you for a little longer. “you okay?”
you bobbed your head. “i’m good.”
heeseung snickered and teased, “whoa there, batman. what have you done with my sister?”
you rolled your eyes, but giggled. sunghoon joined in on the laughter, but he added, “don’t speak. you’ll make it worse.”
heeseung sighed contentedly. knowing that you wouldn’t say anything in response, he decided to tease, “our little gooner.”
you glared at heeseung wordlessly, conveying a lot of different things with your eyes. 
sunghoon translated playfully, “i think that means ‘fuck you.’”
“again?” heeseung joked. “what can i expect from a gooner. but hey, i guess girls can goon too.”
5K notes · View notes
abbotjack · 2 months ago
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God I hate to be that person but ughhhhhh I love that jack fic where they find out reader is pregnant and I'm CRAVING a second part to that (if you're u to of course). Like, how it'd be during her pregnancy, him being sweet but also worried and protective. Omg I need more soft jack w a baby on the way!!!!!
The Camouflage Onesie
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LIFE WE GREW SERIES MASTERLIST <3
content warnings: pregnancy, medical references, nausea/morning sickness, sexual content (explicit but consensual), body image changes, hormonal shifts, domestic intimacy, emotional vulnerability, labor and delivery scene, emotionally intense partner support, and high emotional/physical dependency within a marriage. yeah. pregnancy
word count : 5,735
WEEK 5
The test turned positive on a Sunday. By Monday morning, the entire medicine cabinet had been rearranged like it was a trauma cart.
Your moisturizer had been nudged over to make room for prescription-grade prenatals, a bottle of magnesium, a DHA complex, and—of all things—two individually labeled pill sorters with day-of-the-week dividers. One pink. One clear. Yours and Jack's, apparently.
You found him in the kitchen at 6:42 a.m., already in scrubs. He was calmly cutting the crusts off toast while listening to NPR and making a second cup of coffee for himself.
When he turned, he gave you a long once-over—not in a critical way, but diagnostic. Like he was scanning you for vitals only he could see.
“You’re flushed,” he said. “And your pupils are dilated. You feel dizzy yet?”
You furrowed your brow. “No?”
“Good. You’re hydrating better than I thought.”
You blinked. “Jack, I haven’t even said good morning.”
He walked over and handed you a glass of room-temp water. “I’m loving you with medically sourced precision.”
You stared at the glass. “This isn’t cold.”
“Cold water upsets your stomach. Lukewarm helps with early bloat.”
“Jack.”
“I know what I’m doing.”
You raised an eyebrow. “Do you?”
He tilted his head. “I’ve watched septic patients stabilize faster than accountants facing a positive Clearblue. I know exactly what this is.”
You pressed your hands to your face and groaned. “You’re not going to hover this much every week, are you?”
Jack leaned down, brushing a kiss over your shoulder. “No. Some weeks I’ll hover more.”
“I made your appointment already,” he said, voice casual. “Friday. Dr. Patel. 3:40.”
You blinked. “You didn’t even ask me.”
“She owes me a favor,” Jack said. “Got her niece into ortho during the peak of the shortage last year. Trust me—she’ll take care of you.”
You frowned, stunned. “How did you even pull that off so fast?”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Sweetheart. I’m an ER doctor. I have connections. I can get my wife seen before the week’s out.”
Your eyes welled up suddenly—caught off guard by how steady he was, how sure. You were still half-floating in disbelief. Jack was already ten steps ahead, clearing the path.
WEEK 6
You learned very quickly that pregnancy was a full-time job—and Jack approached it with quiet precision.
The first time you dry-heaved over the kitchen sink, he didn’t rush in with a solution. He didn’t lecture or hover. He just stepped into the room, leaned against the counter, and waited until you looked up.
“Still thinking about that leftover pasta?” he asked softly.
You made a face. “Don’t say the word pasta.”
He crossed the kitchen, wordless, and pulled open a drawer. Out came a wrapped ginger chew. Then he disappeared down the hall.
When he returned, he had your cardigan in one hand and a bottle of lemon water in the other.
You blinked at him. “What are you doing?”
Jack handed you the water first. “You always run cold when you’re nauseous. But I know you’ll refuse a blanket if you’re flushed.”
You stared.
He draped the cardigan over your shoulders.
“You okay?”
You nodded slowly. “I think so.”
“Okay,” he said. “Let me know when you want toast.”
You half-laughed, half-cried, wiping your eyes on your sleeve. “You don’t have to be this gentle every second.”
Jack leaned in. “I’m not being gentle. I’m being exact. There’s a difference.”
Later that night, you sat curled up on the couch, still wrapped in the cardigan, while Jack quietly swapped your usual diffuser oil with something new.
“Peppermint,” he said when you asked. “Helps with queasiness.”
You raised an eyebrow. “And the bin next to the couch?”
“Let’s call it contingency planning.”
You smirked. “You’re really building systems around me, huh?”
Jack looked at you—soft, certain. “No. I’m building them for you.”
He moved across the room and brushed your hair back off your forehead, thumb pausing at your temple like he could smooth out whatever discomfort lingered there.
“You’re not the patient,” he murmured. “You’re the constant. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep the ground steady under your feet.”
You didn’t have a clever reply.
You just pulled him onto the couch beside you and tucked yourself into his chest—grateful beyond words that this was who you got to build a life with.
WEEK 9
Jack was folding laundry on the bed when you walked into the room barefoot, carrying a bowl of cereal and wearing his old college sweatshirt.
You caught his glance. “What?”
He shook his head, smiled a little. “Just thinking you wear my clothes better than I ever did.”
You rolled your eyes, but your smile gave you away. He set a towel down. Reached for your bowl as you sat on the edge of the bed.
“I got it,” you said.
“I know,” he murmured, holding it anyway while you shifted the pillow behind your back. Once you were settled, he handed it back.
You took a bite, then glanced at the basket of half-folded laundry.
“You know that’s mostly my stuff, right?”
Jack looked at the pile. “It’s ours. Who else is gonna fold your seven thousand pairs of fuzzy socks?”
You laughed into your spoon.
He leaned against the dresser and just looked at you for a second. Not in a way that made you self-conscious—just soft. Familiar.
“You’re quieter this week,” he said.
You shrugged. “I’m tired.”
He nodded. “Want to go somewhere this weekend? Just us?”
“Like where?”
“Nowhere big. Just—out of the house. We could rent a cabin. Lay around. Sleep until noon. Let you pretend I’m not watching you nap like it’s my full-time job.”
You raised an eyebrow. “You do that now?”
“Not always. Just when you start snoring like a golden retriever pup.”
“Jack.”
He grinned, walked over, and kissed your temple.
“Alright, no trips. But at least let me cook something tonight. Something warm.”
You sighed. “You already do too much.”
He looked at you seriously then, crouched a little so you were eye-level.
“I don’t keep score,” he said. “I’m your husband. You’re growing our kid. If all I have to do is make dinner and fold socks, I’m getting off easy.”
WEEK 14
By week fourteen, the second trimester hit like an exhale.
You weren’t queasy every morning anymore. Your appetite returned. You could brush your teeth without gagging. And Jack, for the first time in weeks, actually relaxed enough to sit through an entire episode of something without checking on you mid-scene.
You were curled on the couch together—your head in his lap—when he slid his hand beneath your shirt and rested it on the soft curve of your stomach.
You raised an eyebrow. “You’re subtle.”
“I’m consistent.”
You snorted. “You’re clingy.”
His thumb brushed just under your ribs. “I’m memorizing.”
You shifted slightly, tucking your feet closer. “You already know everything about me.”
Jack looked down at you, the corners of his mouth twitching. “I know the before. This part? This is new.”
He went quiet, and you could feel the shift in him—something deeper, more reverent than before.
“I’ve seen pregnancy before,” he said. “But I’ve never… watched it happen to someone I come home to.”
You turned your head to look up at him. “You okay?”
Jack nodded slowly. “I just keep thinking… you’re building someone I haven’t met yet. And I already know I’d give my life for them.”
Your throat tightened. You reached for his hand where it rested on your stomach, lacing your fingers through his.
“We’re doing okay, right?”
Jack bent down, kissed your forehead. “You’re doing better than okay.”
You smiled. “We’re a good team.”
“The best,” he said. “Even if you keep stealing all the pillows.”
You laughed. “You sleep like a corpse. You don’t need them.”
He grinned. “You’re getting cocky now that the nausea’s eased.”
“You’ll miss her when she’s gone.”
“No, I’ll just be glad to have you back.”
You rolled your eyes. “You have me.”
Jack kissed you again. Longer this time.
“Yeah,” he whispered. “I do.”
WEEK 15
It started with the baby books.
Not the ones you bought. The ones Jack picked up—three of them, stacked neatly on the nightstand one morning after a grocery run you hadn’t joined him on.
You noticed them after your shower. He was still in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher, humming something that definitely wasn’t in tune. But the titles made you pause.
“‘What to Expect for Dads,’” you read aloud, holding the top one up when he walked in. “You going soft on me?”
Jack raised an eyebrow. “Hardly. Just figured if you’re doing the building, I can at least read the manual.”
You smirked, flipping through a page. “You’re the manual.”
“I’m the triage guy. I don’t have maternal instincts. I have protocols.”
You leaned back against the headboard. “You’re being humble, but you’re gonna ace this.”
He shrugged, crossing the room to sit on the edge of the bed. “I just want to know what’s coming. I’ve done newborn shifts. I’ve handed babies to people shaking so hard they could barely hold them. But this? This isn’t a shift. This is us.”
You touched his arm. “You’ve already done more than I can even keep track of.”
Jack looked at you for a long moment. Then placed his hand over yours. “I don’t want to just be useful. I want to be good. For both of you.”
You didn’t know what to say.
So you leaned forward and kissed him—gentle, deep. His hand slid to your stomach as naturally as breathing.
You pulled back just enough to whisper, “You already are.”
That night, when he thought you were asleep, he cracked open the book again.
And stayed up past midnight reading about swaddling, latch cues, and the difference between Braxton Hicks and the real thing.
WEEK 16
Jack stood in the doorway of your office for almost a full minute before saying anything.
You looked up from your laptop, eyebrows raised. “What?”
He didn’t move. Just scanned the room—your desk, the bookshelf, the little armchair in the corner that you never actually used.
Then, finally: “Is our house big enough for this?”
You blinked. “For what?”
He gestured vaguely toward your belly, then the room. “All of it. A baby. Crib. Noise. Diapers. More laundry. Less sleep.”
You smiled gently. “I thought we were turning this room into the nursery.”
“We are,” he said quickly. “I just… I keep running scenarios in my head. And this place felt huge when it was just us.”
You closed your laptop. “Jack.”
He looked at you.
“We’ll figure it out. We already are.”
He crossed the room, leaned against your desk. “I’m not trying to panic.”
“I know.”
“I just keep thinking about how everything’s going to change. I want to make sure we still feel like us once it does.”
You stood and wrapped your arms around his waist, head resting against his chest. “We will. You think too far ahead sometimes.”
“That’s my job,” he murmured.
“And mine is reminding you that it’s okay to not solve everything all at once.”
He kissed the top of your head. “I know. I just want it to be enough.”
WEEK 19
Jack was unusually quiet on the drive to the anatomy scan.
Not anxious. Just focused in a way that told you his brain had been working overtime since the moment he woke up. His hand rested on your thigh at every red light, thumb tracing small circles against the fabric of your leggings.
“You good?” you asked, turning down the radio.
He glanced over, nodded once. “Just running through the checklist in my head.”
You smiled gently. “You’re not at work, babe.”
“I know. But I’ve never seen one of these as a husband.”
You reached over and laced your fingers through his. “You don’t have to be perfect today. You just have to be here.”
He gave you a look. “I am here. That’s the problem. I’m so here I can’t think about anything else.”
The waiting room was dim, quiet, and smelled vaguely like lemon disinfectant. Jack sat beside you, legs spread in his usual posture, one hand on your knee. His thumb tapped once. Then again. Then stopped.
The tech was warm, professional. She dimmed the lights. Asked if you wanted to know the sex. You said yes before Jack could answer.
You held your breath as the screen lit up in shades of blue and gray.
“Everything’s looking healthy,” the tech said. “Strong spine, great heartbeat, long legs.”
Jack tightened his grip on your hand.
“And it looks like you’re having a girl.”
You exhaled all at once. Then laughed. Or maybe cried. It blurred together.
Jack didn’t say anything right away. Just stared at the monitor, jaw tense, eyes glassy.
You turned to look at him. “Jack.”
He blinked. “Yeah.”
“You okay?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah, I just—” He swallowed. “She’s real.”
The rest of the appointment was a haze—measurements, murmurs of “good growth,” the gentle swipe of gel off your stomach. Jack didn’t let go of your hand the entire time.
That night, you came out of the bathroom in an old t-shirt and found him standing at the dresser, staring down at something small in his hand.
You stepped closer. “What’s that?”
He held it up without looking—one of the newborn onesies you’d bought weeks ago in a moment of cautious optimism. Light yellow. Soft cotton.
“You think she’ll fit in this?” he asked.
You smiled. “They’re tiny, Jack. That’s kind of the whole point.”
He nodded but didn’t move.
You wrapped your arms around him from behind. “You’re allowed to feel everything. It’s a big day.”
He turned, wrapped his arms around you carefully. “I think I was more afraid of not feeling it.”
You pressed your forehead to his. “You’re allowed to be happy.”
“I am,” he said, voice rough. “I just keep thinking about how I’m going to keep her safe. How I’m going to teach her to breathe through chaos. How I’ll probably mess it up a hundred times.”
“You’re not going to mess it up.”
He looked at you. “You really think that?”
“I married you, didn’t I?”
Jack smiled for real then. “You’ve always been the smarter one.”
You rolled your eyes. “But you’re the one who’s going to end up wrapped around her finger.”
He kissed your temple. “That part was inevitable.”
WEEK 25
Jack convinced you to finally start looking at houses.
You’d been reluctant—emotionally attached to the place you’d built your early marriage in, skeptical about change when everything in your life already felt like it was shifting—but Jack had waited. Quietly. Patiently.
And then one morning, while you were brushing your teeth, he leaned in behind you, kissed your shoulder, and said, “You deserve a bigger closet.”
That was how it started.
Now, you were standing in a half-empty living room with sun pouring through tall windows and a sold sign posted out front.
Jack had just gotten off the phone with your realtor. “It’s official,” he said, sliding his phone into his back pocket. “Inspection cleared. We close in three weeks.”
You blinked. “We really bought a house.”
He walked over, wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, rested his chin on your shoulder. “Correction: we bought your dream closet.”
You laughed. “You think you’re funny.”
“I know I am. Also, there’s a window bench in the nursery. You don’t even have to try to make it Pinterest-worthy.”
You leaned into him, eyes scanning the bare walls. “I can already picture her here.”
Jack pressed a kiss to your neck. “I already do. I see her trying to climb that windowsill. Leaving fingerprints on every square inch of the fridge. Falling asleep on the stairs with a book she couldn’t finish.”
Your throat tightened.
You turned in his arms. “You really love it?”
He looked at you seriously. “I love what it gives you. I love that it lets you breathe. And yeah—I love that it’s ours.”
Later that night, back in your current house, you sat on the floor with your laptop open, scrolling through registry links and bookmarking soft pink paint samples. Jack handed you a cup of tea, then lowered himself on the couch beside you with a quiet grunt.
“Is it weird that I already want to be moved?” you asked.
He shook his head. “No. It’s called nesting. I read about it in that chapter you skipped.”
You shot him a look. “You’re the worst.”
“I’m the one folding swaddles while you build spreadsheets. This is our love language.”
You leaned into him, content. “Yeah. I guess it is.”
WEEK 27
You’d been on your feet all day—organizing documents, boxing up odds and ends, making lists of what needed to be moved and what could be donated. Jack told you to slow down three separate times, each time gentler than the last.
But now, at 8:43 p.m., you were barefoot in the kitchen, half bent over a drawer of mismatched utensils, when he walked in, tossed a dish towel on the counter, and said, “Okay. That’s it.”
You looked up. “What?”
Jack didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. He crossed the room, took the spatula from your hand, and gently nudged you toward a chair. “Sit. Let me take over.”
You blinked at him. “I’m fine.”
“You’re stubborn.”
You folded your arms. “Same thing.”
Jack crouched in front of you, resting his forearms on your knees. “You’ve done enough today. Let me be the husband who makes you sit down and drink something cold while I finish sorting forks from tongs.”
You softened, your fingers drifting to his hair. “I know you’re right. I just feel useless when I’m not doing something.”
“You’re 27 weeks pregnant,” Jack said, voice warm. “You made a person and folded three boxes of bath towels. That’s two more miracles than anyone else managed today.”
You exhaled and leaned back.
Later, when you were curled on the couch with a glass of iced water and your feet propped on a pillow, Jack settled next to you and tugged a blanket over both of you.
“House is gonna feel real soon,” he said.
You nodded. “She’s going to be born there.”
Jack’s arm slid around your shoulders. “We’ll bring her home to that nursery. Hang that weird mobile you picked that I still don’t understand.”
“You said it was ‘avant-garde.’”
“I was being polite.”
You smiled, tired and full. “We’re really doing it, huh?”
“We are.”
You rested your head on his chest. Jack’s hand drifted instinctively to your belly, and stayed there.
“Hey,” you said after a minute. “Thanks for making me sit.”
Jack kissed the top of your head. “Thanks for letting me.”
WEEK 30
You caught him standing in the doorway of the nursery around 9:00 p.m., arms folded, shoulder braced against the frame like he was keeping watch.
The room was nearly done. Diapers in bins. Chair assembled. Books on shelves. But Jack wasn’t looking at any of that. He was staring at the window, like he was imagining the light that would come through it in the early mornings.
You leaned against the opposite side of the doorway, watching him.
“What’s going on in that head?” you asked.
He glanced over at you. “Just thinking.”
“Dangerous.”
Jack cracked half a smile but didn’t move. “I keep picturing her. Not just baby-her. Grown-up her.”
You walked toward him. “What version?”
He tilted his head. “Seventeen. Wants to borrow the car. Has someone texting her who I probably don’t like.”
You laughed. “You’re already dreading a boyfriend?”
“I’m already dreading anyone who gets to be in her world without knowing what it cost us to build it.”
That stopped you.
Jack finally looked at you then—really looked. “She’s not even born yet and I already know I’d lay down in traffic for her. And I know how fast people can break things they don’t understand.”
You rested your hands on his chest. “You’re not going to be scary.”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
“Well. You’ll look scary. Army vet. ER attending. Perpetual scowl. Built like you bench-press refrigerators for fun.”
He snorted. “Thanks.”
“But you’ll love her in a way no one will mistake for anything but devotion.”
Jack leaned down, pressed his forehead to yours.
“I’m not good at soft,” he murmured.
“You’re good at us,” you whispered. “That’s all she’ll need.”
He pulled you into his arms then, one hand resting flat against the curve of your belly. “She’s gonna hate me when I make her come home early.”
“She’s gonna roll her eyes when you insist on meeting everyone she ever texts.”
Jack grinned. “Damn right.”
You laughed into his shirt. “You’re so screwed.”
“I know.”
But he held you a little tighter. Didn’t say anything else. Just stood there in the dim nursery, one arm wrapped around the two of you, as if holding his whole world in place.
WEEK 32
You’d read the pregnancy forums. The blog posts. The articles with vaguely medical sources claiming the third trimester came with a spike in libido. You thought you’d be too sore, too tired. Too preoccupied.
What you hadn’t expected was the absolute onslaught.
It was like your body had one setting: Jack. Crave him. Need him. Get him here, now, fast.
He’d just gotten home from a late shift, dropped his keys in the bowl by the front door, and disappeared into the shower while you laid in bed attempting to not whine out loud. That resolve lasted six minutes.
When he walked into the bedroom, towel low around his hips, water dripping down his chest, you didn’t even mean to say it:
“I’m gonna die.”
Jack froze.
He crossed the room in seconds. “What is it? Where’s the pain?”
You were already on your back, one hand pressed to your belly, the other covering your eyes.
“Not pain,” you groaned. “Just hormones. God, Jack—this is insane.”
He crouched beside you. “You need to describe what’s happening.”
You peeked at him from under your hand. “I need you. I need you.”
Jack stilled. Blinked. Then dropped his forehead to your shoulder with a long exhale.
“Christ. You scared the hell out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” you mumbled, laughing into your wrist. “I just—I’m desperate. I thought it would go away. It’s not going away.”
He lifted his head. Smiled. “Desperate, huh?”
“You’re not helping.”
“I think I am.”
Jack kissed your temple, then your cheek, then hovered over your lips. “You sure you’re good?”
You reached for him. “No. I’m feral.”
He didn’t waste another second.
What followed wasn’t frantic—it was focused. Jack stripped you with efficiency and reverence, lips brushing every newly sensitive part of you. Your belly. Your hips. Your breasts. He murmured to you the whole time—gentle things, grounding things.
“You’re beautiful like this,” he said, kissing the swell of your stomach. “You’ve been patient. Let me take care of you.”
“Please,” you whispered. “I feel insane.”
“I know. I’ve got you.”
He slid inside you slow, controlled, the way he always did when he wanted to make it last. But tonight, there was something more behind it—urgency without rush, intention without pressure.
You clawed at his shoulders, moaning into his neck. “Jack, Jack—”
“Right here.”
“I missed you today.”
“I missed you too. I always do.”
You wrapped your arms around his neck, legs tightening around his waist. The angle shifted, and everything inside you splintered.
“Oh—God—don’t stop—”
Jack groaned, teeth catching your jawline. “You feel so good, sweetheart. So damn good.”
He guided you through it, one hand braced behind your head, the other cradling your hip like you’d break without it. When you came, it was with his name on your lips and tears at the corners of your eyes.
He followed seconds later, low and deep and steady, body shaking over yours.
Afterward, he didn’t move. Just curled around you, one arm anchored under your shoulders, the other stroking your belly in long, soothing sweeps.
“Still dying?” he asked eventually.
You huffed a laugh. “Little bit.”
Jack smiled into your shoulder. “Guess I’ll keep checking your vitals.”
He pulled back just enough to kiss your chest, then your stomach, whispering something you couldn’t hear but felt down to your bones.
When you shifted against him, needy again already, he looked up with a low laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Jack,” you breathed, “I’m not done.”
And Jack—predictable, capable, ready-for-anything Jack—just grinned.
“I never am with you.”
The second round was slower. Deeper. You rode his thigh first, panting against his neck, clinging to his shoulders while he whispered filth in your ear—soft, low things no one else would ever hear from him. He touched you like he already knew exactly what you’d need next week, next month, next year.
And when you collapsed against him again, trembling and sore and finally, finally full in every sense of the word—he kissed your forehead and said, “You’re everything.”
“I love you,” you whispered.
Jack tucked your hair behind your ear and kissed your cheek.
“Good,” he murmured. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
WEEK 35
The third trimester had turned your body into a full-time performance art piece. You were a living exhibit on discomfort, hydration, Braxton Hicks, and the high-stakes negotiation of shoe-tying. You’d stopped fighting the afternoon naps, started rotating three stretchy outfits on a loop, and made peace with the fact that gravity was no longer your friend.
Jack had adjusted too.
Without comment, he now drove you to every appointment. Without asking, he refilled your water before bed. Without blinking, he gave up half his side of the bathroom counter for the ever-expanding line of belly oils, cooling balms, and half-used jars of snacks.
But tonight?
Tonight he came home to find you crying at the kitchen table over a broken zipper on the diaper bag.
“Sweetheart.”
You looked up, cheeks blotchy. “It broke. It broke, Jack. And it was the only one I liked.”
“Hey, hey—breathe.”
You sniffled. “It had compartments. It had mesh.”
Jack took the bag gently from your hands, and examined the zipper like it was a patient in trauma.
“Looks jammed,” he said. “Not broken.”
You stared at him. “You don’t know that.”
He looked up. “I do.”
He walked over to the toolbox without fanfare, and returned two minutes later with a small pair of pliers. Thirty seconds after that, the zipper slid closed like nothing had happened.
You burst into tears again.
Jack set the bag down and pulled you into his arms. “Hormones?”
You nodded into his chest. “I love you so much.”
He smiled against your hair. “You want to take a bath?”
You sniffed. “Will you sit on the floor with me?”
“I’ll bring the towel and everything.”
Which is how twenty minutes later you were in the tub, steam curling around the mirror, your swollen belly just breaching the surface, while Jack sat on the floor, reading your baby book aloud like it was scripture.
“She’s the size of a honeydew,” he said, tapping the page. “Still gaining half a pound a week. Lungs developing. Rapid brain growth.”
You hummed. “She’s been moving a lot today.”
He smiled, reached over, and rested a palm over your belly. “She likes the sound of your voice.”
“She likes pizza. She tolerates me.”
Jack leaned over and kissed your temple. “She already loves you.”
You sighed, settling deeper into the water. “She’s going to love you more.”
Jack’s voice went quiet. “That’s not possible.”
You looked over.
He was watching you like he was memorizing the moment. Like he knew it wouldn’t last forever and wanted to hold every second of it.
“She’s got the best of you already,” he murmured.
You shook your head. “You’re the one who’s been steady through everything. She’s gonna know that.”
He kissed your hand. “She’s gonna know we did it together.”
And you believed him.
Even through the tears, the discomfort, the slow shuffle from couch to fridge to bed—you believed him.
WEEK 36
Jack came home with a basket.
Not from the store. Not from a delivery service. From the hospital. Carried under one arm like it was made of glass.
You were on the couch, half-watching a cooking show, half-rubbing the spot where the baby had been kicking for the last ten minutes straight. Jack came in, dropped his keys, and didn’t say anything at first.
He just set the basket on the coffee table and said, “Robby made me promise I wouldn’t forget to give this to you tonight.”
You blinked. “What?”
Jack gestured toward it. “It’s from the ER.”
Inside: a soft blanket. A framed photo of the team crowded around a whiteboard that read “Baby Abbot ETA: T-minus 4 weeks.” A pair of hand-knitted booties labeled “Perlah Originals.” A stack of index cards, each one handwritten—Dana’s in looping cursive, Collins’s in all caps, Princess’s with hearts dotting the i’s. Robby’s simply read: Your kid already has better taste in music than Jack. Congrats.
You turned one of the index cards over, reading Dana’s note about how you were going to be the kind of mom who made her daughter feel safe and loved in the same breath.
“I didn’t know they even noticed me,” you whispered.
Jack rubbed slow circles against your bump. “They notice what matters to me.”
You looked at him.
He shrugged. “You’re my wife. You’re not just around. You’re part of everything.”
The baby kicked again. Hard enough to make you gasp.
Jack smiled, leaned in, and kissed the place she’d just moved. “She agrees.”
WEEK 38
You’d read about nesting, but you thought it would look more like baking muffins at midnight—not following Jack from room to room like his gravitational pull physically outweighed yours.
He didn’t seem to mind. He’d brush his hand down your back every time you passed, help you off the couch like you were recovering from surgery, and kiss your temple every time he walked by.
By Thursday, the baby bag was packed and parked by the front door. You’d zipped it, unzipped it, and re-packed it twice just to check. And when Jack got home that evening, he nodded at it, then set something down beside it with a quiet thunk.
You glanced over. “What’s that?”
“My go-bag,” he said simply.
You raised an eyebrow.
Jack nudged it with the toe of his boot. “Army-issued. Carried this thing through two deployments and six different states. Thought it’d be fitting to bring it into the delivery room.”
You blinked. “You packed already?”
He nodded, unzipped the top, and tilted the bag open for you to see: a clean shirt, a hand towel, a toothbrush, a few protein bars, and a worn, dog-eared paperback you recognized instantly.
“That one?” you said, surprised. “You always said you hated it.”
“I did,” he admitted, zipping the bag shut again. “But it’s your favorite. I read your notes in the margins when I miss you on long shifts.”
You crossed the room and leaned into him. “You’re something else.”
WEEK 40
You woke up at 2:57 a.m. with a tight, rolling wave of pressure low in your spine. It wrapped around your middle like a band and didn’t let go.
Jack was already shifting beside you. Years in the Army meant he didn’t sleep deeply—not when he was home, not when you were pregnant.
“You okay?” he asked, groggy but alert.
You exhaled shakily. “It’s time.”
He sat up immediately. “How far apart?”
“Six minutes.”
“Let’s move.”
By the time you got in the car, the contractions were coming faster—steadier. Jack didn’t speed, but he gripped the steering wheel like the world depended on it.
You were wheeled in through the ER doors—because of course you were going into labor at the hospital where Jack worked. Princess met you at triage with a knowing smile.
“She’s in three,” Princess said. “Perlah’s setting it up now.”
You were halfway into the room when Jack froze.
He turned to Collins at the desk. “Patel?”
“Stuck behind a pileup on 376,” Collins said. “She’s trying to reroute.”
Jack muttered something under his breath and scanned the monitors. “Where’s Robby?”
“Down in trauma. He’s finishing up a round.”
Jack didn’t wait. He left you in Princess’s care and went straight for the trauma bay.
Robby was wiping his hands on a towel when Jack stepped in. Hoodie half-zipped. Scrubs wrinkled. Wide awake.
“She’s in labor?”
“She’s in active labor,” Jack said. “And Patel’s not gonna make it, but—”
“You want me in the room,” Robby finished.
“I need you in the room.”
Robby dropped the towel. “Done.”
When Robby stepped into your room, you exhaled like someone had lifted a weight off your chest.
“Hey, doc,” you muttered through a contraction.
“You’re in good hands,” Robby said, glancing between you and Jack. “You’ve got half the ER out there whispering about it.”
“Tell them if they bring me chocolate, they can stay,” you joked.
Perlah dimmed the lights. Princess wiped sweat from your forehead. Robby took your vitals himself and kept your eyes steady with his.
Hours blurred together. Jack never left your side.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
“You’re doing perfect.”
“She’s almost here.”
Then everything started to move faster. Robby gave a nod to Princess and Perlah.
“One more push,” he said. “You’ve got this.”
Jack leaned close, his forehead against yours. “Come on, sweetheart. Right here. You’ve got her.”
And then—
A cry. Loud. Full. Brand new.
“She’s here,” Robby said quietly.
Jack didn’t move at first. Just watched. His eyes were wet. His hand covered his mouth.
Princess handed her to you, swaddled and squirming. Jack kissed your forehead and brushed a tear off your cheek.
“She’s perfect,” he whispered. “You did it.”
Later, after they’d cleaned up and the room was quiet, you watched Jack walk over to the bassinet. He held up a camouflage onesie.
“Oh my God,” you said. “Seriously?”
He looked over, completely straight-faced. “This is important.”
“You’re impossible.”
He kissed you once, then again. And held her like he’d waited his whole life.
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carnalcrows · 26 days ago
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pariring: gangster! male OC x male reader [profile]
summary: You're a single dad, drowning in debt, barely holding it together for your daughter. But when loan collectors come knocking a little too hard, you find out your debt belongs to someone far more dangerous: Felix Marino, the quiet but infamous head of one of the most powerful mafia syndicates in the world. He makes you a deal—your freedom, for a job. One job. But nothing is ever that simple in his world. Especially when you're not sure what terrifies you more: the blood on your hands, or the way Felix looks at you like you belong to him.
content warnings: 18+, bottom male reader, explicit violence, blood and trauma aftermath, mild panic attack / dissociation, threats and coercion, organized crime themes, single parenthood under duress, mild sexual content, handjob (reader receiving), power imbalance, emotional manipulation, PTSD-like symptoms.
word count: 4.9k
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The knocks came hard and fast.
They rattled the apartment door like gunfire—three hits, pause, two more, and a final slam that made the hinges groan. You froze mid-step, a half-unpacked grocery bag dangling from your fingers. Inside it, a bruised apple rolled to the floor.
Not again.
You scanned the room automatically, as if the act of tidying clutter might somehow soften the blow of reality. But the apartment was already bare. Sparse. Clean, in that way that says we don’t have much, but we’re trying.
A soft voice drifted from the hallway behind you. “Papa?”
You turned. There she was—your daughter. Four years old, hair mussed from a post-nap world, her favourite stuffed rabbit trailing from one hand. She rubbed her eyes with the other, blinking at you.
Your heart clenched.
“It’s okay, baby,” you said quietly. “Go back to your room, yeah? I’ll be right there.”
“But who—”
“Just the mailman,” you lied, kneeling down to smooth her hair. “He’s loud today.”
She stared up at you for a beat longer than usual, as if her tiny brain could already tell something wasn’t quite right. Then she nodded solemnly and padded back down the hallway, the rabbit dragging behind her like a weary soldier.
The knocking came again. Louder this time.
You straightened up, set the bag on the counter, and took a breath.
When you opened the door, the two men standing on the other side looked like they'd been born in leather jackets—one tall, one squat. Neither looked thrilled to be here, but they sure weren’t leaving empty-handed.
“Morning,” said the taller one, stepping forward without waiting for an invitation. “Nice day, huh?”
You didn’t respond. He took that as agreement.
“Mr. [Last Name],” said the shorter one. “We’re here about the debt.”
“I know.”
“Good.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Then you also know your payment was due four days ago.”
“I told you,” you said. “I’m working extra shifts. I’m doing what I can.”
The taller man walked a slow circle around your living room, peering at the cheap furniture like it offended him. “A place like this, I’m surprised you haven’t sold the kid’s toys yet.”
Your jaw tensed. “She’s four.”
The shorter man clucked his tongue. “And if you don’t have something by Friday, you’re going to be explaining that to the Boss in person. You know how he feels about delays.”
“I’m trying—”
“Try harder.”
They left without another word. The taller one flicked a crumpled cigarette onto your doormat and stomped it out as a parting gift.
You shut the door. Locked it. Then leaned against it with your eyes closed.
⋆。°✩  
The silence in the apartment returned slowly, broken only by the faint hum of the refrigerator and the soft patter of small feet against tile.
“Papa?”
You opened your eyes and looked down. She was back, rabbit in hand.
“Are you okay?”
You nodded. “Yeah. Just tired.”
She wrapped her little arms around your leg, hugging you as best she could. Her cheek pressed against your jeans. “You’re not sad?”
You knelt again and pulled her into your arms properly, breathing in the smell of strawberry shampoo and comfort.
“I’m okay now,” you whispered into her hair. “Because I have you.”
⋆。°✩  
You made pancakes for dinner.
It wasn’t your best work. The batter was too thin, the pan unevenly heated, and the only syrup left was the cheap, knockoff kind that smelled more like corn than maple. But she still grinned when you put the plate in front of her, legs swinging from the dining chair as she kicked at nothing in particular.
“Can I put peanut butter on it too?” she asked, already reaching for the jar.
“Only if you save a piece for Mr. Bun.”
“I always do,” she said with a solemn nod, as if it were some sacred pact between her and the stuffed rabbit.
You watched her eat, chewing slower than usual, trying to stall the moment. The kitchen light flickered overhead. The stack of unpaid bills on the counter seemed to grow by the day, and rent was due in less than a week. You didn’t know how you were going to pay off the collectors by Friday, let alone face the man behind them— the one they called their boss, in hushed, clipped tones.
A name you’d never heard until two weeks ago. A name that now haunted every idle moment.
You’d tried not to ask too many questions, but the way the others spoke about him made your skin crawl. Not loud, not showy — but dangerous. Not because of violence, but because of how controlled he was. And how rarely he needed to raise his voice to get things done.
You only owed him money because your original lender sold the debt off.
It wasn’t supposed to get this far.
“Papa?”
You blinked out of it. “Yeah, bug?”
She looked at you with peanut butter smeared on her chin. “Can we read the owl book again tonight?”
You smiled, even if it felt thin on your face. “Of course.”
⋆。°✩  
She fell asleep curled beside you on the couch, mid-sentence, head tucked against your arm. The copy of The Owl Who Wasn’t Afraid of the Dark lay open in your lap, thumb still pressed to the page.
You didn’t dare move her. Not yet.
The room was quiet now, except for the muffled hum of the hallway outside. You could still hear footsteps every now and then—neighbours coming home, doors opening and shutting. It was the kind of rundown apartment block where the walls had ears, but no one cared enough to listen.
You leaned your head back and stared at the ceiling, one hand gently smoothing your daughter’s hair.
Then came the buzz of your phone.
You fumbled for it quietly, careful not to wake her.
Unknown Number
You stared at it. A second buzz followed — a text.
[ The Boss would like a word. You’ll want to make yourself available.
Tomorrow. 10 PM. Zia’s Diner. Come alone. ]
You didn’t answer.
Didn’t need to. Whoever sent it would already know you’d be there.
⋆。°✩  
Zia’s Diner looked like it hadn’t changed since the '80s. Flickering neon sign. Red leather booths dulled from wear. Grease-stained menus laminated so many times the corners curled like dying leaves. It was the kind of place that smelled like burnt coffee and fried onions no matter what time of day you walked in. The kind of place where someone like you belonged.
Someone like the one you owe money to? Not so much.
You got there ten minutes early. Sat in the back corner booth, facing the entrance like you’d seen people do in mob movies. Ridiculous, really — like knowing who sat where would make any of this easier.
The waitress came by once, chewing gum and offering you a tired, sceptical look. “You ordering, or you waiting?”
“Just coffee,” you muttered, and she poured you a cup without a word.
You kept checking the time.
10:00 PM sharp, the bell above the door jingled.
He didn’t walk in with an entourage. No theatrics. No broad-shouldered bodyguards or gaudy suits. Just a man in a black wool coat, collar turned up against the wind, dark hair swept back with the ease of someone who didn’t need to try.
He didn’t look like a loan shark. He looked like he could be an architect. Or maybe a violinist. His features were clean-cut but strangely gentle, like someone who hadn’t always belonged to a world like this.
And then he looked at you.
A quick once-over. Not judgmental. Just... observant.
He made his way over with unhurried steps, slid into the booth across from you, and removed his gloves one finger at a time. The silence stretched, thick and taut.
“I’m glad you came,” he said at last. His voice was low, smooth, but not performative. Not like someone trying to play a role. “I didn’t want this to become unpleasant.”
You swallowed hard. “I figured it already was.”
He tilted his head slightly, almost like he was considering you. “It doesn’t have to be.”
You didn’t answer.
The waitress reappeared, looking more alert this time. “Coffee?”
“Tea,” he said, without looking at her. “Chamomile, if you have it.”
You blinked. Tea?
Once she left, he turned his gaze back to you. “You’re a difficult man to track down, considering you haven’t left your apartment in three days.”
Your jaw clenched. “I’ve been with my daughter.”
“I know.” His tone didn’t change, but there was something in his eyes now. Not softness — but interest. “She’s the one who likes the owl book, right?”
You stiffened. “You’ve been watching us?”
“I have people. They were concerned. It’s their job.”
“Concerned about what?”
He paused. Then: “About how a man ends up this deep in debt when he’s clearly not reckless.”
You didn’t know how to respond to that. Because the worst part was— he wasn’t wrong.
He leaned back, resting his hands on the table. His fingers were long, elegant— with tattoos running across them.
“I didn’t call you here to threaten you,” he said calmly. “If I wanted to scare you, I’d have sent someone else.”
“So why did you call me here?”
His lips parted slightly, like he was about to answer. But then the tea arrived. He thanked the waitress with a quiet nod, waited until she was gone again.
And then he said:
“Because I don’t think you belong in this mess. And I’m interested in seeing how you get out of it.”
You stared at him, not sure if it was a trap. A test. Some kind of manipulation.
“Why?” you asked, voice quiet now. Honest.
He stirred a packet of honey into his tea. No rush. No tension. “You remind me of someone.”
That shut you up.
Not because you knew what it meant, but because of how he said it. Like it hurt to say. Like the memory was still raw, even if the delivery wasn’t.
He took a sip of his tea, eyes never leaving yours.
“Let’s talk about your debt,” he said.
⋆。°✩  
You tried to read him. Failed.
Everything about him was composed — the measured way he spoke, the way he held his tea with both hands like it was a habit rather than a choice. His voice was quiet but sure, like he’d never once had to raise it to be heard.
He didn’t move like a man used to violence, but you knew better than to trust that.
“You said you wanted to talk about my debt,” you said after a beat, keeping your voice steady. “So talk.”
He gave a soft hum, almost amused. “Alright.”
From the inside pocket of his coat, he pulled out a thin leather folio and opened it on the table. You caught your name on one of the papers. Your signature on another. A string of numbers you didn’t want to look too closely at.
“I assume you know how much you owe.”
You nodded once. “Too much.”
“You’re not wrong.” He tapped a finger against the paper, not unkindly. “You took out the first loan eighteen months ago. Medical bills, yes?”
You stiffened. “My daughter was in the hospital. Pneumonia. We didn’t have insurance.”
He nodded like he already knew, which he probably did.
“And the second loan,” he continued, “was for rent, food, and utilities. You were out of work.”
“My hours got cut,” you muttered.
“And the third?”
You looked away. “Funeral expenses.”
Silence settled again. Not judgmental. Just quiet.
He closed the folder gently and folded his hands on top of it. “There are… less generous men you could’ve borrowed from. Men who would’ve already left a message on your doorstep. Or through your window.”
“I didn’t exactly get a choice in where the loans came from,” you snapped, sharper than you meant to.
He didn’t react. Didn’t flinch. Just watched you like he’d been expecting that edge to come out eventually.
“You’re right,” he said. “You didn’t. But you have one now.”
That gave you pause. “…What’s that supposed to mean?”
He leaned back, eyes steady.
“It means I’m offering to restructure your debt. Reduce the interest. Extend the timeline. Provide resources, if you need them.”
You narrowed your eyes. “Why?”
He didn’t smile — but his mouth twitched, like he almost did.
“I told you. You remind me of someone.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“It is to me.”
You didn’t know what to do with that. Couldn’t decide if this was some twisted act of pity or a long con. But you weren’t used to people giving you anything. Especially not someone with this much power—with hands that clean, a gaze that calm, and a reputation like his.
He took another sip of his tea.
“I don’t expect you to trust me,” he said, almost kindly. “I wouldn’t, if I were you. But I want you to understand— I’m not doing this to trap you.”
“Then what do you want?”
His fingers paused on the edge of the cup.
“I want you to keep your daughter,” he said simply. “I want her to grow up safe. With her father.”
Something in your chest twisted. You looked down, jaw tight.
“That’s not your business.”
“Maybe not. But I’ve made it mine.”
You looked up again, and this time, there was no softness in your voice. “What do you get out of it?”
A longer pause.
He studied you, not like a man considering what to say, but like he was wondering how much you could handle. Like he’d already made up his mind.
“I’m not the villain you think I am,” he said finally. “But I’ve been one before. I know what it takes to get out.”
You didn’t answer. Couldn’t.
Your hands curled around your coffee cup, suddenly aware of the chipped ceramic, the cool air from the vents brushing your neck. A waitress refilled a glass of soda at another table. The world kept moving.
He stood slowly, gathering the folder and slipping it back into his coat.
“You don’t have to decide anything tonight,” he said. “But I’ll have someone drop off the new terms tomorrow. Look them over. Think about your kid.”
He turned to leave, then paused and glanced back at you one last time.
“And think about who you want to be when she looks back on this.”
And then he was gone.
Just like that.
⋆。°✩  
You didn’t expect it to come in an envelope.
White. Thick. No return address.
It was on your doorstep when you got home from picking Nora up from daycare — tucked under the welcome mat like some dead thing left by a cat. You stared at it for a full minute before bending to pick it up, heart low in your chest.
She tugged on your sleeve. “What’s that, Daddy?”
“Nothing, bug.” You smiled, but your voice didn’t rise with it. “Go on in. I’ll be right there.”
She slipped past you with a squeal, barreling into the apartment and tossing her little backpack onto the floor. You shut the door behind her, thumb tracing the edge of the envelope as you walked to the kitchen. The light through the window was already fading to that washed-out grey of too-late afternoons. You tore it open without ceremony.
Inside: four pages, paper thick enough to feel expensive. No header, no signature — but you recognised the same smooth, sparse formatting from the mans’s folder at Zia’s—the new terms.
You skimmed.
Then read slower.
Then stopped.
He was serious.
— Outstanding balance: reduced by 40%. — Interest: frozen, pending further review. — Monthly payments: deferred for 3 months. — Conditions:
That last part made your stomach twist.
1. You will be reachable at all times. 2. You will submit proof of employment weekly. 3. You will meet with Mr. Marino in person at a time and place of his choosing. Frequency: open. 4. You will not attempt to renegotiate through any party other than Mr. Marino himself. 5. You will not disappear.
Regards, 
Felix Marino
That last line wasn’t underlined. But it didn’t need to be.
You sat down, the chair scraping across the tile.
It was clean. Too clean. He’d carved out the brutality and left behind something you could stomach — just enough rope to pull yourself up. Or hang yourself with.
In the distance, you heard Nora humming a song from her cartoons.
And you realised: you were already considering it.
⋆。°✩  
The house is quiet after Nora falls asleep, sprawled out in her tiny bed with her stuffed rabbit tucked under her chin. You'd cleaned the chocolate from her face, tucked her in, and kissed her forehead like always. Pretended like nothing was wrong. Like there wasn’t a folded letter in your coat pocket that felt like it weighed more than your whole damn life.
You sit at the kitchen table, hands steepled, staring down at it again.
Felix Marino’s terms are clear:
Six months of contracted work
Weekly check-ins at a private location downtown
No questions asked about the nature of the work.
No outside contact with “competing interests”
Nora is off-limits. Her name isn’t even mentioned.
That part almost makes it worse.
Because you don’t think Felix left her out of the contract out of kindness.
You think it’s because he sees her as yours. And what belongs to you, by extension, belongs to him now.
You grip the paper until the crease deepens. This is a deal with the devil, no matter how cleanly it’s written. Still, you’ve seen worse. You’ve lived worse. And if this means keeping Nora safe—keeping your home, your job, your sanity—then what choice do you really have?
You’ll meet his terms. But you won’t let him sink his claws in.
You won’t let him think he has you.
Your phone buzzes on the table. A message. Just a location, a time.
[ Tomorrow, 11 AM.
Wear something decent. ]
You stare at the screen for a while before flipping it over and standing up. You clean the counter. Rinse the mugs. Check the locks on the doors twice. It’s routine, but you do it slower tonight.
Just before bed, you peek in on Nora one more time.
Her tiny chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. There’s drool on her pillow. You swallow the knot in your throat.
You hope to god she never has to know how close you came to losing everything.
⋆。°✩  
The address Felix gave leads to a storefront with blackout windows and no signage. Inside, it's cleaner than expected. Sleek. Minimal. You’re greeted by a man in a tailored suit who doesn’t ask your name — just waves you through with a nod like you’re already known here.
You are, apparently.
A hallway. A door. A quiet room with a view of the city skyline. Felix is seated behind a polished desk, flipping lazily through a folder.
He doesn’t look up when he says, “You came.”
“Not like I had a choice.”
“Sure you did. You just didn’t like the alternatives.”
He gestures to the chair across from him. You sit, tense.
He finally lifts his gaze, eyes still unreadable. “How’s Nora?”
You narrow your eyes. “Fine. And she’s not part of this.”
“I never said she was.” He leans back, steepling his fingers. “Though you should know, this isn’t charity. You’ll work. I’ll watch. If I don’t like what I see, the terms change.”
“And if I don’t like what I see?”
“Then I’ll be disappointed,” Felix says, smooth as silk. “And trust me — you don’t want that.”
There’s a pause. You hate how calm he is. Like this is all part of some carefully laid plan. Maybe it is.
“You always recruit desperate dads into your service?”
“Only the interesting ones.”
You clench your jaw. “Why me?”
Felix shrugs, almost too casually. “Doesn’t matter.”
But it does matter. You can feel it.
The way he looks at you sometimes. Like he’s trying to find someone else in your face. Like you’re unfinished business.
You stand. “I’ll do what you asked. But keep the personal shit out of it.”
Felix watches you with that same unreadable gaze. “Whatever you say.”
But you can tell he’s already rewriting the rules.
⋆。°✩  
You’d expected something bloodier.
Maybe it was the envelope. Maybe it was Felix’s eyes, the way he looked at you like you were already halfway his. Or maybe it was just the way his name lingered like a shadow behind every line of those new “terms.” Whatever it was, you thought there’d be blood. Screaming. A pipe wrench. Something straight out of a bad movie.
Instead, you’re standing outside a warehouse that looks too clean to be dangerous, which somehow makes it worse.
You glance down at the slip of paper again. One name. One address. Gallo. That’s all he gave you. No instructions. No backup. Just the duffel bag in your hand and a phone in your pocket that vibrated exactly once with a location pin and then went dead silent.
You should walk away. You should. But you think of Nora. Think of the groceries on the table this morning — not from your wallet. Think of the sharp suits you saw at your building’s entrance yesterday. Men who didn’t belong there. Men who made eye contact just long enough to remind you that you were being watched.
So you step inside.
The warehouse isn’t abandoned, but it’s not busy either. The air smells like oil and dust, and the lights overhead buzz faintly with age. You follow the sound of metal scraping across concrete until you see him — mid-40s, thick arms, cigarette tucked into the side of his mouth like it’s permanent.
“You Gallo?” you ask.
He looks up, unimpressed. “Who’s asking?”
You don’t answer. Just unzip the duffel and pull out the envelope inside — thick, sealed, and marked with the same insignia that was embossed into Felix’s letterhead.
He snorts. “About time.”
You hand it over. He rips it open, eyes scanning quickly. You can’t see the paper, but whatever’s written on it makes his jaw twitch.
“I paid last week,” he mutters, more to himself than to you.
You don’t move. Felix never said what to do after delivering the message. But you know better than to leave right away.
Gallo crumples the paper. “Son of a bitch,” he mutters. Then louder, “Tell Marino if he wants more outta me, he can come collect it himself.”
You exhale slowly. “I don’t think that’s how this works.”
He steps forward, chest puffed. “No? Then how does it work, ragazzo di merda?”
There’s a tension now — heavy and tight, like the moment before thunder. You don’t flinch, even when he gets close enough for you to smell the smoke on his breath. But your fingers twitch.
This isn’t a test of violence. It’s a test of restraint.
And you’re not sure which you’re worse at.
He laughs like he’s already won. Then, just when the silence threatens to stretch too far, he spits — right at your shoes.
You move fast. Maybe too fast. You don’t pull the knife, don’t throw a punch, but your hands are around his throat in a blink, and you shove him back hard enough that he slams against a shelf with a clang. A box of screws topples somewhere behind him.
“Try it again,” you say, low and even. “See what happens.”
You don’t remember drawing the knife.
All you remember is the way the air changed — thick, metallic, sharp with panic. One moment, Gallo’s guys were just shouting, posturing like men with too much testosterone and not enough brains. The next one of them rushed you. Pulled a gun. A warning shot, maybe. But it grazed your arm, and that was all it took to tip something inside you.
The rest is a blur. Screaming. A crash. A warm spray across your face that wasn’t your own.
You’re not trained for this.
You’re not supposed to be the guy standing in a warehouse full of broken bones and gasping, bloodied men, clutching a blade that’s slippery in your hand. You were a barista three years ago. A father. A husband, once.
But right now, you’re just a wreck. Shaking, breath jagged, body slick with sweat and blood — most of it not yours. The knife hits the floor with a metallic clatter. Your legs feel like paper.
The phone in your pocket buzzes once.
A location pin.
No words.
Your hands are still trembling as you stumble out into the alley, back pressed to the cool brick wall as your knees threaten to buckle. You press your palm to the wound on your arm, but you can’t even tell if it’s deep. All you can feel is the adrenaline, burning like acid through your veins.
The car pulls up exactly two minutes later.
Sleek. Black. Expensive in the quiet, menacing kind of way.
The passenger door opens, and Felix is already waiting inside.
You hesitate. Just for a second.
Then you climb in, dragging the bloodied duffel with you. You don’t speak. You can’t.
He says nothing at first. Just watches. His gaze skims your face, your hands, the splotches on your shirt. His nostrils flare, faintly. His jaw clenches.
Then his voice comes, low and velvety.
“You did well.”
You flinch.
Well?
Is this what “well” looks like?
You open your mouth to say something — anything — but it all dies on your tongue. You feel like you're floating outside yourself, like your body isn’t quite yours. Like you're going to pass out.
Felix notices. Of course he does.
He leans in, slow and deliberate. His hand moves to your jaw— firm, and tilts your face toward him.
“You’re shaking.”
No shit. You laugh — a broken, awful sound that doesn’t feel real.
Felix hums, then shifts in his seat. The partition behind you slides up without a sound, cloaking the two of you in soft shadows.
“I told you I wanted to see what you could handle,” he murmurs. “You didn’t disappoint.”
“I almost died,” you manage to whisper.
“Mm,” he says, thumb brushing along your cheek. “But you didn’t.”
You don’t realise your hands are clenched in your lap until he notices. He undoes your seatbelt. Leans down.
“I can help,” he says softly, fingers already trailing down your thigh. “Let me.”
You’re still bloodstained. You still feel sick. But your cock betrays you — twitching in your jeans under his touch like it doesn’t care that you’re half-feral from adrenaline and trauma.
He smiles faintly. Like he expected that.
“Poor thing,” Felix says, voice thick with amusement and something deeper. “All wound up. All that fear. All that pressure.”
His hand slides over the bulge in your pants, slow and possessive. Your breath catches.
“You’re shaking so much,” he murmurs. “You need to calm down. Just relax.”
You don’t. Can’t. But your hips twitch anyway.
Felix is patient. Cruel in his gentleness. His fingers undo your jeans with practised ease, and the second he wraps his hand around your cock— warm, firm, steady— you nearly choke on a gasp. The pleasure spikes sharply and fast, edged with guilt and something darker.
You shouldn’t want this. Not now. Not here. Not after—
“Don’t think,” he says quietly. “Just feel.”
Your head hits the seat behind you. Your hands tremble uselessly in your lap as he strokes you—not fast, not slow, just right. His thumb circles the head on every upward pull, milking soft, breathless moans out of you.
“You’ve been good,” he whispers, voice like velvet steel. “Brave. I take care of what’s mine.”
You don’t know when that happened — when you became his. But it’s too late now. His hand keeps working you through it, coaxing you toward a high you didn’t ask for but can’t stop chasing. Heat pools low in your belly. Your eyes squeeze shut. You’re going to—
“Come for me,” he breathes, leaning in. “That’s it. Let go.”
And you do.
It rips out of you like a sob. Messy. Shuddering. You curl in on yourself as your body wracks with release, nerves flayed raw.
Felix doesn’t flinch at the mess. He just wipes his hand, then guides your head down to rest against his shoulder. You’re still panting, still dazed, blood drying on your clothes — and he strokes your hair like you’re something precious.
Like you're his favourite broken thing.
⋆。°✩  
You leave the bathroom light on.
Not because Nora’s scared of the dark anymore. She’s been sleeping through the night since she was three. It’s for you.
You’re the one who wakes up in cold sweats now. You’re the one who flinches at door hinges creaking and cars idling too long outside the window. You’re the one staring at the nursery monitor like something might crawl through it.
There’s no crying. Just the soft hum of static.
She’s curled up on her side, one arm flung above her head, mouth open in that completely unselfconscious way only kids manage. Her stuffed bear is trapped beneath her chest like a casualty, and you don’t dare move it. You don’t dare move anything.
You sit on the edge of your bed, clothes still crusted in spots with things you scrubbed off hours ago. You’re not sure how you’re still breathing. Or why you are.
Your hands shake. Not like before—this is quieter. Numb.
Your phone buzzes once on the nightstand. You don’t check it. You already know who it is.
You already know what he’ll say. Good work. I told you you could handle it. You’re not sure if that’s supposed to be a compliment or a warning.
The monitor hisses softly, then goes silent. You keep watching it anyway.
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