#‘but maroon isn’t about losing a friend’ it is to me. shut up.

[woman-respecter]

taylor swift x losing a friend

breathe / right where you left me / maroon / “my delirious trip to the heart of swiftiedom” by taffy brodesser-akner

[g0ldengubler]

lunchtime ~ spencer reid

A/N: THIS IS VERY UNEDITED VERY HORRIBLE WRITING! i just wanted to get this out. this is a kink i have but never really talked about it. but i hope u still enjoy! it’s very weird so if you don’t want to read it you don’t have to :)

Category: smut (NSFW18+)

CW: rough sex, riding, doggystyle, special guests listening in

Summary: spencer reid works a lot. he’s an fbi agent, he can’t help but be a workaholic! but when you guys finally get time to yourselves, what happens when it’s risky interrupted?

Word Count: 2078

✨masterlist✨

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

having a boyfriend who works in the FBI isn’t all rainbows and sunshine. Because of his job, Dr.Spencer Reid was always either gone on a case or working on cases at home. he could be doing it in the office, but spencer was a sweet guy and made a middle ground to see his girlfriend more. he was just as passionate about her as he was with his job, calling her every night when he was away, making sure to treat her when he got back or when he was done for the day. he made sure she knew she was important to him, which wasn’t something she ever felt from a guy who was a workaholic.

today was just like every other day. spencer got to do case files at home as there was no case as of then. Y/n tried her best to take care of him while working, as a return of the favor. She made him his favorite waffles that morning and even made him a fresh cup of coffee just the way he likes it-a cup of sugar with coffee to mix. He kissed her on the forehead, convinced that he didn’t deserve her. once he was done he went straight to work. In a way, y/n pretty much worked with him as his personal Penelope Garcia, as he was an old man when it came to computers.

it was lunchtime at this point. y/n walked into his office and stood in the door frame, watching his fingers move down the page in his book as he read. his fingers made her melt, and he knew that. clouds began to form in her head as thoughts of what he could do with this fingers took hold of her. she didn’t even notice he was wanting her attention as he snapped her out of her daydreams with a snap of his fingers.

“Bubs, are you ok?” spencer asked. he was still at his desk, his finger placed at the spot he was at. you looked back at him from his finger, noticing what he was wearing and it wasn’t helping your case at all. while he was wearing his favorite maroon cardigan that he thrifted (still lux though as it was ralph lauren), he also wore a pair of grey sweatpants. clever of him for the moments he had to video chat with people.

you were quickly out of your thoughts yet again as you felt your body move without you knowing before. you walked towards him as he turned his chair to your side. you noticed he was half hard in his pants, as the imprint of himself showed through. you sat on his lap and ran your fingers through your hair, peppering kisses below his ear. he chuckled, thinking you were being cute, but you were just getting started.

“it’s lunchtime bubs.” you whispered as you softly grind against him.

spencer put his hands on your his after guiding your body to straddle him. he guides them as his lips touch yours. “good,” he said in between kisses, gently rubbing circles over your shorts in the place you wanted him most, “i’m starving.”

not only was spencer the sweetest, softest man you’ve ever met, but he was also the sexiest and dirtiest. he was rough like a wild bear but soft as a teddy bear-taking such good care of you after he ruined you to filth. no one would ever believe the things you two have done together in the past year. no one would especially believe what happened today.

as spencer’s about to slide his hand down your shorts, his phone rang. he groan softly under his breath as his right hand left your side to grab his phone. you were a little annoyed at first, but once he put the phone to his ear, an idea popped into your head.

“hey hotch...” he said. you slowly leaned down and went back to the spot below his ear, sucking and nibbling it softly.

this wasn’t something new to the both of you. it was a fun little game you’d play if either of phones rang while you were in the middle of it, seeing how long they could last at acting normal. by now, spencer had got the hang of it and made it easy for him when it was any of his coworkers. today, however, he was almost struggling.

you heard other voices on the phone as well. you could tell by how low they all sounded that it was 3 of the men on his team.

“yeah, i was um...about to have lunch.”

you decided to try and break him a little, sucking a little bit harder.

“can i call y-“ a soft moan left his lips, cutting him off his sentence. his eyes bulged out of his head as his mouth fell open. you quickly coughed in a lower tone to help him out, trying not to laugh.

“yeah, luke i’m fine,” he said, “just stubbed my toe....shut up morgan!”

you giggled softly to yourself, but not softly enough. you heard laughing from his phone and realized you were busted.

“hi boys!” you said, jokingly sounding seductive.

spencer gave you a look that said ‘are you kidding me?’ which made you giggle even more. you hear morgan on the other end say, “aww, did we interrupt your lunch?”

“yeah, you did! we were just about to get started.”

spencer placed the phone back to his ear, taking a deep breath before speaking. “look seriously can we-“

he paused, listening to whoever was talking. slowly, spencer removed the phone from his ear and covered it with his shoulder. he looked unsure of himself, as if he was trying to gather the courage to speak.

“bubs,” he said weakly, “do you um...uh..d-do you want to...have the phone on speaker?”

you thought for a moment. you were always secretly into things like this, but never told spencer because you thought he would find it weird. but seeing him look kind of into it didn’t help the puddle forming in your shorts.

“you don’t have to if you don’t want to. whatever your comfortable with!”

you thought for one more moment before taking his phone out of his hands and putting it on speaker for him, setting it down on his desk. he looks at you confused.

“let’s put on a show for your coworkers, daddy.”

“ooooo coming in with the big guns already!” said Luke.

“y/n does not play.” said Hotch.

Spencer was frozen in his tracks. he couldn’t believe the words coming out of their mouths, let alone what was going on.

“well come on then daddy, give us a show! my popcorn is getting cold.” teased morgan.

spencer rolled his eyes at morgan before his lips attacked yours. you continued your grinding on him, this time he was grinding back. you moaned through the kiss as his hands went back in your shorts, rubbing circles on your clit.

“oh wow, spencer got a girl to moan like that!” said Morgan.

“is he making you feel good, hun?” asked hotch.

“fuck yesssss!” you let out a long moan as spencer moved faster with his motions. he let out a groan and cursed under his breath. you felt his pressed under your thigh and that made you try to hold in how turned on you really were. you held on for dear life on the armrests of his chair as he leaned back a little bit.

“are you getting close, baby girl?” asked morgan.

“yes yes yes fuuuck daddy please let me cum.”

“you wanna cum for me, angel?” asked spencer.

“yes omg please i’m so fucking close!”

“cum for him, princess.” said Luke.

before you could fall down the hill like on a roller coaster, you felt incomplete as he took his fingers out. you let out a little whine, letting the guys know he didn’t let you cum.

“ooooo doctor genius over there didn’t let her cum, how sad.” teased Luke.

“what are you going to do now?” asked Hotch.

“because she’s about to get fucked and really show you how much of slut she truly is. well, MY slut at least.”

spencer took his painfully hard cock out as you moved your shorts to the side. you felt the head enter you and shortly his whole length was slammed deep inside you before you even make a sound. you let out a quiet gasp before a loud moan escaped from your throat.

he let you adjust, but only for a short moment as he quickly began pounding you, holding you from your ass. you were a moaning mess at this point, letting out more dramatic, pornographic ones for the guys.

“fuck he’s really an animal isnt he?” teased Hotch.

“you like being pounded like a dirty slut?” asked Luke.

you moaned out a yes, but it wasn’t enough for them.

“use your words, baby girl.” said Morgan.

“i love being pounded like a dirty slut!”

“tell them who’s slut you are.” spencer growled.

you held onto him from behind his head and pushed his face in between your tits. “i’m you’re slut, spencer,” you moaned, “i’m daddy’s little slut!”

“you’re such a good girl, y/n.” said Hotch.

“fuck daddy can i cum? please let me cum ive been a good girl!”

“what do you think?” spencer asked.

“cum, baby girl.” said morgan

“cum for him, princess.” said Luke.

“cum hard all over his cock, baby.” said Hotch.

you finally came all over his cock, screaming as the pleasure surged through your body. spencer helped you ride out your orgasm and let you catch your breath.

“holy shit” said Luke.

“oh we’re not done yet,” said spencer, “she deserves a reward for doing so well.”

he takes you off his cock and makes you stand up, flipping you around so you were in front of him, your ass sticking out. he quickly put his cock back inside of you and luke and morgan cheered on. he pounds you harder this time, making sure you lose your voice by the time you’re done.

“youre such a dirty slut,” spencer growled, taking a handful of your hair and pulling it, “letting me fuck you over the phone with not just my friends, my coworkers. you like putting on a show for people? you want people to know how much of a fucking slut you are for me?”

your eyes rolled to the back of your head at his words. the pure filth in them almost pushing you off the edge as you squeezed around his cock. even the guys grew silent.

“fuck keep doing that angel, keep squeezing daddy’s cock like tha-shit im close. you want my cum inside you?”

“oh my god yes please, i want to be full of your cum daddy!”

hearing you say those words through him over the edge as you feel him filling you up, hearing him moan your name and cursing under his breath. he stayed inside you for a bit before he caught his breath and left to go get something to clean you up with. when he comes back he looks at you sitting in front of him, watching his cum drip out of you and onto his work chair. he wasn’t even mad about it.

“you did so good, bubs.” he says, walking over and kneeling in front you before cleaning you up.

“you were amazing, baby!” you say. he comes back up and kisses you, and it was hard to break away. but somehow you did after what felt like hours and laughed at yourselves for what you just did. you then remembered they were still on the phone. spencer grabs his phone and faces it towards them.

“well? how was the show?” you asked.

“holy-“

“fuck.” luke cut morgan off.

you had left them speechless before hotch finally spoke up.

“....we will not speak of this at work.”

[theeslytherinslut]

12 Grimmauld Place (3/?)

Pairings: Sirius Black x reader, Remus Lupin x readers brother 

Word Count: 2,072

Warnings: angst, language

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4 

It was the only room you’d seen thus far that didn’t have peeling layers of dark-colored paints, ranging from deep emeralds to smoky greys and jet blacks. Instead, it was painted likely the lightest shade of grey Sirius could convince his mother to agree to, but looking around, that was probably the only thing she would’ve approved of in this room. 

Laughing to yourself quietly, you had a stark, strangely sad realization: this was still a teenager's room. Scantily clad Muggle women postered the walls draped across expensive-looking cars, Gryffindor apparel was strewn everywhere possible, what looked to be a Quidditch banner hung from the ceiling, and various Honeydukes wrappings littered the floor. A large, expensive, very elaborately made chair stood in the corner of the room, buried underneath layers of dark clothing. 

“Sorry, probably should’ve cleaned up...wasn’t exactly expecting company though, not that you’re a bother! Merlin, it’s lovely to have someone so love--so...it’s nice to have someone else here.” Sirius finished, as red as the scarlet robes hanging from his canopy bed as he stuttered his way through his explanation. 

“This is...this is incredible,” you said, moving through the room to find a picture of Sirius and James with their arms thrown across each other's shoulders, laughing jovially as Remus shook his finger at them in the distance. Chuckling to yourself, you continued to look at the handful of old pictures that littered his dresser. 

Another picture nearby showed Sirius sneaking up on James as he very clearly flirted with Lily, her face lighting up with laughter as James jumped up in fright. 

“He was always so easy when Lily was around...” Sirius trailed off, smiling sadly at the photos before you. Looking to the other corner of the mirror, you saw three more photos shoved into the cracks. 

The first was a picture of the group of them lounged around the Great Lake; you’d guessed Peter was behind the camera because only the four of them smiled up at you. James’ head lay in Lily’s lap, hers rested on Sirius’ shoulder, who waved up cheerily at you. As Lily sat up to meet James halfway for a quick kiss, Sirius stretched out his arm and pulled in a sheepish looking Remus, ruffling the top of his head affectionately. You smiled at the sight of your brother with his friends. The happiness that radiated from this picture was intoxicating, you never wanted to look away. 

The next was of them in what must’ve been the Gryffindor common room. Being a Slytherin, you’d never seen the inside of anyone else’s common rooms. Large, comfy furniture was placed strategically around the room, drapings of what you’d assumed to be scarlet and gold draped the walls, an inviting fire dominated the center of the room. 

This picture was another of the group of them, but this time a frightened-looking James and a smirking Sirius were evidently getting scolded fiercely by Lily. You laughed upon seeing Remus standing behind Lily in a sort of gesture of good faith but seemingly offered no words to his insolent friends. 

“Hexed a fourth year Slytherin,” he explained, you turned to glare playfully at him, and he smiled, “The git tried to stick gum in my hair! I think there might’ve been an incident with myself and a girlfriend of his, though...Anyway, James caught him just before and...well, he was with Madam Pomfrey for a few days, I think. Lily gave us a right good telling off for that one, came close to Minnie’s scoldings,” Sirius sighed wistfully, likely reliving the day in his head.  

“Wait...” you trailed off upon seeing the last. 

The third picture was in the Great Hall; though many people were in the picture, the center focus seemed to be a group of Slytherin girls standing in the entryway. There, in the center of the photograph, laughing heartily, was you. Your Y/H/C hair was seemingly shining underneath what was likely a very sunny day, your teeth gleaming as you laughed at something someone had said. 

“Is that..?” you turned around, looking to find him sheepishly smirking at his feet. 

“Yes, I believe it is,” he said. A smile was on his face, but he was scrutinizing yours. “I think I nicked it off Remus at some point.”  

“Why?” you shook your head. Surely Sirius Black hadn’t been fawning over you as well? Surely you hadn’t wasted all these years apart because neither one of you had the bollocks. “You could’ve had anybody...” 

“Well, I could--and did,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Please, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not proud of my whorish boyhood--though it only seems fair having given my recent dating history, funnily enough, a dementor's kiss is not a hot thing.” he broke off when you let out a rip of laughter. “But all that is behind me. I can still hear James suggesting I settle down with a nice girl instead of working my way through the female half of our year. Remus gave up on that idea long ago, I think.”

His smile turned sad at the mention of his friend, and your eyes fell back to the picture of the two of them being scolded by Lily. 

“I’m sorry, Sirius,” you said honestly. “The last half of your life...it must’ve been awful. Losing your best mate, your brother essentially, and then being blamed and imprisoned in fucking Azkaban for a decade for it.” 

Sirius didn’t answer, merely looked darkly at the floor. You took your cue to steer the conversation in another direction. Tightening your towel around you, you cleared your throat. 

“So, this nice girl James wanted you to find, any luck thus far? Do I know her?” you asked, lightening the mood. 

“What do you think? This decrepit house isn’t exactly overflowing with options. Unless you count portraits of past, insane, family members, then I’m swimming!” he laughed, skirting around an answer.

“Nothing like a little pureblood incest,” you laughed in return. A draft of cold air blanketed the room, and you shivered. “So, er, I didn’t exactly have time to pack a bag on my way out; you don’t by chance have any clothes you wouldn’t mind me using, do you?” 

“Oh, right! Sorry, it’s absolutely freezing in this drafty old house.” Sirius commented, gesturing to your goosebump covered arms. He turned and clapped his hands, flying to his closet. 

“Well, I’ve got a bunch of my old school clothes in here...Seems dear old Mum had at least half a heart. This stuff might fit you a tad better,” he murmured, running his hands along the swinging clothes in his old closet. After a moment, he let out a barking laugh. “Here!” 

He threw you a maroon hoodie, and you gave him a look, knowing he was teasing you about the housing. Opening the balled up fabric, you smiled despite yourself seeing the front. It was a Gryffindor Quidditch sweatshirt. You grinned giddily as you turned it around and saw Sirius’ last name splayed across the back, complete with his number. What you wouldn’t have given to wear this years ago...

“Did you need pants, too?” Sirius asked, an odd look on his face as you smiled down at his sweatshirt. 

“Oh, no. That’s okay. This looks like it should cover everything--I’m a hot sleeper.” you explained sheepishly.

Turning, you padded softly over to the adjoining bathroom and clicked the door shut. 

What a turn of events. Standing in Sirius Black’s bathroom, you took stock of the night. 

You’d been attacked and almost killed by Fenrir Greyback, only just managing to escape what would have been a horrid death--or worse. After being mended by Madam Pomfrey, Sirius Black was to continue nursing you back to health. Sirius Black, your greatest childhood crush, and the way your heart hammered in your chest even now told you it might not be all the way extinguished. Never once did you think you’d see where he lived, let alone be undressing in his bedroom. 

And his bedroom...what a time capsule it was. It made you feel like you were in school again, hoping to catch him in the hallways between classes, always peering through the stacks of books as he and James teased Remus during his studies. And further, it seemed all that time you hadn’t been the only one watching. Sirius Black had been watching you almost as much as you had him in your school years. Evident in that hidden in his bedroom was a photo of you, a photo you didn’t know he snuck. A photo surrounded by the greatest hits of his school years, surrounded by those he considered family. 

Trying not to let it all go to your head, you groaned when you slipped the sweatshirt over your head. Though the pain in your body wanted to bring you back to reality, the full, uninhibited scent of Sirius sent you reeling once more. A sickly sweet, smoky scent was the most noticeable. Tobacco, maybe? Suddenly, the image of a young Sirius lounged beneath a tree on the skirts of the Great Lake was brought to mind, smoke rolling from his mouth as he brought his hand down from his lips. Of course, another inherently muggle form of rebellion, a double whammy to his family. 

Something woodsy lingered underneath, as if the hoodie had been swaying in the breeze of some forgotten forest for the last twelve years instead of shut up in this abandoned house. Head swimming, you gingerly stepped out into the bedroom before you got lost in your thoughts. 

“So, er, about the bed situa...” Sirius said, trailing off as he turned around to see you leaning against his doorway, sweatshirt draped to the tops of your thighs.

“Sorry, shit, I can put something else on if you want...don’t want to make you uncomfortable or anything. I mean, we’ve known each other all this time--sort of, anyway. I must be like a sister to you...this is probably super weird. I’ll just fetch a pair of pants,” you nervously rambled. Sirius’ face had not changed since he saw you, and you were beginning to feel incredibly anxious about it all. 

“No, no. Seriously, I wouldn’t dream of it,” Sirius said, his old playful smile playing on his lips. Rolling your eyes, you damned the blush creeping up your cheeks. 

“Here, I found you these," Sirius said, tossing you a pair of thick brown socks.  "I remember hearing you whine about your hands being cold all the time, figured the same might apply to your toes in an old drafty house like this.” 

“You remember?” you asked him. 

“Yes, well, I overheard you whining about it a time or two, and Remus was always mentioning you whining about being cold...I just remembered, that’s all.” Sirius said, his tone becoming oddly choppy. 

“Well, you’re right. My toes were positively popsicles, but I didn’t want to be a complainer or anything, though...” you trailed off, pulling the thick socks onto your ice-cold feet. 

“Ah yes, get attacked by a murderous werewolf, blast yourself into a wall, shatter a few bones, but lest you complain!” Sirius teased you, smiling once more. 

In the next second of silence that occurred, your stomach rumbled loudly, and you smiled sheepishly. 

“Bastard got me right in the middle of making dinner,” you explained. 

“Well, come on then. I’ll have Kreacher fix us something; what would you like?” Sirius asked, seemingly happy that he could help. 

“What’s he good at?” you shrugged, hungry for anything. Winking at you, Sirius barked for Kreacher as he led you down into the kitchen. 

“Yes, Master?” Kreacher croaked, bowing so lowly his nose brushed against the dusty floor. 

“Fix us some herb dumpling stew, won’t you? And some of those delicious little mince pies you make.” Sirius said, and at once, the elf nodded and stepped over to the stove. 

“And some apple pie?” you asked hopefully as you sank into the seat across from Sirius at the long kitchen table. 

“Whatever she asks, Kreacher,” Sirius commanded, smiling fondly at your excited state. 

“Of course, Master...Kreacher gladly serves those pure of blood...gladly...whatever she asks..” he agreed in his funny speech patterns. 

While Kreacher was cooking, Sirius reckoned it was time to alert Remus and the rest of the Order, and you couldn’t find a reason to disagree.Sighing, you watched him disappear to retrieve Remus.   

[secretlittl3whore]

Apologies

Summary: An agent decides to get a little handsy on his woman.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: swearing, mentions of sex.

———————————-

If there was anything that Bucky hated more than his nightmares, it was someone touching what was his. You were his angel, his light in the darkness, the one who brought sanity into his life when all he felt like was breaking. You could handle your own pretty well being a master martial artist and all, but it took all of his energy to not go over and rip that damn agent’s arm off from your back. His anger seethed, you and him were not quiet about your relationship. Anyone in the damn compound could hear your screams of pleasure at night. The marks were obvious and dark, littering your neck and what could be seen of your chest in her uniform. His dog tags, that basically stated Property of Bucky Fucking Barnes to all who saw, dangled from your neck as you leaned over to finish signing paperwork. Despite all of that, the agent still has the gall to touch you.

You felt major discomfort with this agent touching you and shrugged his arm off your back. The death glare of your boyfriend bore into your back and although you knew that anger wasn’t directed at you, it didn’t help the discomfort that was already present. You stood and and moved to the other side of the table, spreading the papers out. Even on the other side, the agent in front of you was doing all he could to keep his hands on you, whether it was touching your hand or your forearm. He was about to fucking lose his arm. No matter whatever nice hints you sent, the damn boy didn’t listen. Finally you spoke,

“Could you not touch me please?” The agent stared at you incredulously.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?” He snickered lowly. You narrowed her eyes,

“No. But I don’t like being touched by people I just met and those who aren’t my friends.” For a moment, the agent seemed taken aback but then he came to stand next to you.

“Let’s be friends then.” A winning smile on his face that may have worked with other girls, but not a woman such as yourself, you preferred a particular confident smirk.

“I think we can call this a day.” You gathered up the paperwork and turned around. Before you could even step away a hand harshly grab your wrist, the papers scattering everywhere. “What the fuck?” You seethed!

“I didn’t say you could go.” He said menacingly. The anger that had once just been a small flame now engulfed your body, facing turning red.

“Agent, you need to remove your hand from me now or soon you won’t have a hand.” A flash of black startled you and the agent’s hand was suddenly ripped from your body. A large presence was placed in between you and him.

“If a lady asks you to remove your hand, you do it.” Bucky said darkly, giving the agent a push backwards as he releases his hand.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” The agent growled. You started laughing out loud, clearly this guy was either just out of the fucking womb or just dumb as shit. Yes, Bucky’s vibranium arm wasn’t as noticeable, clad in a Henley and gloves, but the obvious whirring should have been a hint. Bucky stepped menacingly closer,

“Her boyfriend. Now, less you want to lose your arm, get lost.” The agents machismo, however, didn’t let up. He stupidly stepped closer to Bucky, his face almost aligned with his. You took a sharp intake and gingerly placed your hand on Bucky’s shoulder.

“He isn’t worth it Buck he...” you tried to whisper, but he threw a look at you over his shoulder that shut you up instantly. You knew that look, framed by his dark locks that swished around his face gently. It meant for you to remember your place or tonight, you’d be wet and desperate on the bed without release knowing full well he’d sleep beside you comfortably.

“Buck?” The agent rolled his name around his tongue and then realization kicked in like a runaway train. “You’re the...the winter soldier.” The agent started backing away, his arms thrown up defensively. Bucky removed his glove, although there was no need for the added effect it gave, the agent probably already had shit his pants.

“Apologize,” Bucky growled. He stepped to the side and the agent gave you a hurried apology before running off somewhere in the compound, far away from the super soldier. After what seemed like forever, he turned towards you. “Apologize.” You shook your head in surprise,

“The fuck did I do?” Bucky stepped closer to you, your bodies now flushed against each other.

“You took too long.” His hot breath fanned over your face. Oh, so this was the game he wanted to play. A devilish smirk danced across your face.

“Not everyone can command respect like a super soldier can. I was giving him time to learn his place.” You said, nonchalantly. Bucky glowered,

“Too long.” You started to dance your fingers up his chest, tracing the muscles hidden away under the maroon shirt.

“I’m sorry sergeant,” You coo, emphasizing the last word, “next time I’ll just throw his ass over the table.” Your smirk was quickly replaced by a gasp when his flesh hand shot out and grabbed the dog tags harshly bringing your face closely to his. You could smell his cologne and it was intoxicating.

“There won’t be a next time doll. I’ll start fucking you in front of all the new recruits if it means they’ll learn.” Your pupils blew out at just the thought of it. In your most seductive voice you said,

“Well new recruits come through here all the time. Why don’t you start now?”

The recruits who came to the common room later left scarred, but they would definitely know who you belonged to.

[jenosslut]

sugary euphoria

pairings: mark lee x fem!reader

genre/s: fluff, suggestive, angst, romance

details: strangers to lovers!au, high school!au

warnings: suggestive content, suggestive humor, explict language

word count: 3k

synopsis: where two sunset lovers experience feelings they never knew existed through the journey of adolescence.

a/n: i absolutely hate how this turned out im so sorry. a special thank you to @navyhyuck, @heartyyjeno and @neojaems for beta reading this. an even more special thank you to @hunjins for always believing in me no matter what.

taglist: @hunjins @neovrse @mrkcore @moonbeamsung @jjikyuu @mellowvoidexpertfriend

couldn’t tag: @markslovelymaid

02.09.2016

you got me breathless, got me begging you to drive me insane

The weather stays warm, in hopes of smiling on everyone. The buoyant sun rays travel directly into the brunette’s eyes, though he doesn’t whine in exasperation like many would do as he is surrounded by his most favored people.

Ecstatic is how he feels around people he loves, and Mark absolutely adores his friends. Those six people- whom he labels as ‘idiots’- aid him to hold onto an endless amount of belligerent days, especially at school.

Even though Mark isn’t exactly the best with words and doesn’t prefer to demonstrate verbal affection, the legitimately adorable laugh escaping his lips whenever he’s around them is enough to let everyone acknowledge the amount of adoration he holds for the six boys.

“Are there two butts or one butt?” He hears Donghyuck question, who has an over dramatically serious expression accompanied with lips shaped in a pout pressed on his face.

“One butt Dongfuck, one butt.” Renjun is the one to respond between gritted teeth and heavy breath, thoroughly devastated with the unnecessary discussions Donghyuck never seems to leave alone.

“There’s two! They’re separate!” Chenle exclaims in an avoidably resounding manner, causing a couple heads to involuntarily shoot towards their direction in inquisitiveness; silently judging the group of boys.

“Why are we having this conversation again?” Jeno states, wrapping his arm around Jisung’s shoulder who happens to nod, displaying agreement in the older’s words.

“Ask Dongtruck.” Renjun says, raising his arms upwards in defence.

“Yeah ask Dongtruck- wait what?” Donghyuck continues, then widens his eyes at the realization; turning his head towards Renjun as his jaw commences to part.

“I’m selling a Dingdong for free, contact me for details!” Chenle screechs, throwing his hands towards the air as the boys surrounding his figure stare at him in incredulity. Many people’s attention switch onto the group of boys again, allowing them- except Chenle- to give reactions out of embarrassment.

“When will you learn to like, shut the fuck up?” Renjun silently shouts at Chenle’s face in exasperation, biting his bottom lip as he runs his hand in between his hair.

“We’re supposed to bully Yuckie here, not me! Gosh, what a traitor.” Chenle responds, letting a dramatic sigh escape his lips, poking his tongue inside his cheek.

“If only you used the creativity you use for Hyuck’s nicknames for pragmatic reasons.” Jeno states, shaking his head.

“How do you even know what pragmatic means?” Mark questions- more to himself- in a lower tone, glancing at Jeno.

“I’m not Renjun, Mark.” Jeno replies, patting Mark’s back as Mark nods at his friend’s words.

The moment Mark Lee turns his head towards the side, his eyes witness a smile; looking dazzling as ever. The sight of you standing exquisite, the most guilelessly enticing expression sitting delicately on your features is enough to cast anyone under your spell.

Your friend says something, you laugh again. Your eyes meet as you involuntarily turn your head towards his direction. Mark’s breath gets caught in his throat, thoroughly overwhelmed. You send him a wave, then boom.

Spark.

Mark Lee bewitches under your spell.

13.11.2016

I see rainbows when i think of us

First Date

First dates are cute, adorably delighting. Kind of awkward. But that’s fine, because it’s delirious. Maybe not euphoric, but definitely a form of ecstasy.

A new experience, a new person. Something contrasting, something exciting.

It’s not the transcendence that makes it appealing, because no first date is perfect. It’s the imperfection, the sheepish smiles shared throughout the day, the embarrassing-feeling sentences that appear cuter than embarrassing.

Maybe the occasion is cliché, maybe it’s not worth enough to be included in a million-selling novel. But the experience is worth it. A simple exchange of ice cream flavors, simple exchanges of words as you amble around a keenly alive park. Cliché, but new. Cliché, but delighting.

Things are a bit less expected in Mark’s case.

The arid leaves fall as a gospel choir, harmonized in such a way that celebrates each hue and shows how they complete each other. The fallen leaves create an alluring pathway as you amble exquisite with Mark besides your figure, hand in hand.

“I think i’m seeing rainbows.” You state breathily, head falling on top of Mark’s shoulder; coming in contact with the soft fabric of his maroon jacket.

“Where? It’s dark though, i don’t think that’s possible,” Mark responds, his eyes scanning through the sky involuntarily as he takes your words legitimately.

“It didn’t rain, it’s not sunny either.” He continues on analyzing his surroundings, not exactly sure of what you meant with the words you had previously put together.

“You make me see rainbows.” You smile, astonished at his oblivious nature.

“How do i do that?” He asks, eyes slightly wide as his lips unintentionally form a small pout.

“I was trying to be poetic, Mark. I know it was bad, you could've just gone along with it.” You let out a playful scoff, the small yet absolute smile continuing its appearance on your lips.

“No no it wasn't bad, i just-” He rambles.

“Oh my god, i’m joking. Calm down, i was just trying to say how you made me happy.” You let out a full hearted laugh this time, clearly amused.

“Oh…” Is all that Mark lets out at the realization, head turning towards the side in embarrassment as his heart skips a beat.

Cute, you think to yourself.

And yes, Mark Lee is indeed an adorable boy who enchants you in even more bewitching experiences.

01.02.201

I love the way I light up when you call me

Your feet play with the treacherously empty and dry looking sand while concentrating on the undulating sound of the shallow turquoise ocean. The majestic ocean seems to be wrapped in a darker color, which could easily be blamed on the endless darkness of the sky caused by the time being nearly five in the morning.

Your head lays on Mark’s shoulder while the jacket he had given you minutes prior- insisting that you were shivering- sits on your shoulders. He holds your body close to his own, feeling an- what he labels as- unreasonable urge to protect you from anything that could occur.

You sit there, a serene feeling captivating you as you listen to each other's alleviating breaths and heartbeats. You throw small sets of words here and there to create some type of a conversation, delighting in the consolatory atmosphere.

"Your heart is beating so fast." You softly speak in incredulity, eyes slightly wide at the unanticipated moment.

Mark widens his eyes, a sheepish smile commencing to play on his lips. He starts mumbling and stuttering as he tries to put together meaningful words, though they don’t make any sense to say the least.

“Mine is beating fast too, if that makes you feel better.” You don’t know where the sudden confidence comes from, yet you keep on staring right into his sparkling orbs with your own; the most ravishing smile sitting buoyantly on your lips.

Mark muttres out a few “Oh”s before lazing his visibly tensed body, slowly melting in your arms as you pull his body even closer to your own.

As the sun begins to rise, a song along with a valse melody commences to play out of the speakers Mark had brought. You softly grab the brunette’s hand, taking it into your own; signaling him to dance with a playful smile on your face.

Mark lifts himself upwards as the sheepish smile from earlier commences to display its appearance back on his features. He uses some help from your hand as he lets out a nervous chuckle, youthful hysteria running through his body.

The two of you sway your bodies according to the mellifluous melody rhyming behind. You recline your head on Mark’s chest, getting into a more comfortable position.

"You're beautiful." Mark’s graceful sounding whisper is heard clearly in your right ear after finally gathering up the courage to state a compliment, causing the smile on your lips to grow uncontrollably.

Before leaning in, you go through a whole debate about whether to kiss him or not inside your head. Finally, you lean in; mixing both of your uniquely ambrosial scents as you catch his lips in between your own.

Although the kiss isn’t exactly perfect, the experience is.

“Be my girlfriend?” Mark asks in a whisper as he uses his right hand to keep your chin up, staring right inside your eyes fervently.

“Yeah.” You whisper back with a heavy breath, not able to control the smile growing on your lips.

The newly rising sun accompanies your bodies as you try to move your lips against each other’s in the middle of a beach. Youthful giggles get thrown around as you share your first kiss, a feeling unfamiliarly intriguing enchanting you.

Maybe, maybe you had a future with Mark. Maybe he was someone who would be there for you during your worst nightmares, a shoulder to cry on after calamitous fights, a soul to share your overwhelming ecstasy with.

Though, you don't know that just yet. You never know what the future holds for you. So you completely give your all to him, living through each second of one of the many euphoric moments you share.

Mayhaps this is the beginning of a new journey...

14.03.2017

I lose my mind when you whisper sweet nothings

Gratuitously, Mark guides your body towards his bedroom; hands all over each other’s bodies as giggles out of hysteria escape your lips. You run your hands through his brown locks, plunking them eagerly as your already plumped lips messily move against each other’s.

Mark lets out another breathy giggle as your noses brush, your hands traveling on his body. Your hands find their way towards the hem of his shirt, fingers fiddling with it; contemplating on whether to take it off or not.

Mark gives you a short nod, displaying approval within his actions as he sends you an adorable smile. You glance upwards to steal a glance from his features, only to get lost inside his doe orbs; sparkling in youthful enthusiasm.

He pushes your body onto his bed, trying to be as meticulous as he could. He helps you slide his shirt off as the kiss gets even messier. After unintentionally biting his bottom lip, you mutter out multiple apologies as Mark assures you; running his hands through your hair soothingly.

He pulls your body onto his lap, blushing when he sees your eyes glued onto his upper body. Your eyes meet when you move your head, both shying away at the shared stare. You land him a kiss, on his cheek instead of his lips. Giggles continuously flow through both of your lips as you keep on planting kisses on his cheeks.

Your lips land on his nose on accident when attempting to shower him in sweet cheek kisses, allowing another giggle out of timidity to be shared.

“I love you, like a lot.” Mark whispers admiringly, the adorably sheepish smile never washing away from his lips as the first ever “I love you” effortlessly falls out. You involuntarily smile at the statement, melting into his honeyed words.

“I love you too.” You whisper back, exchanging the specific three words for the first time.

You spend your night blissfully, not precisely knowing what you are doing. Yet you sure are delightful inside Mark’s tight embrace, heart clenching inside your chest at every amiable touch.

23.05.2017

You’re my favorite mistake

“Mark,” You speak out, fidgeting on his bed uncomfortably as your fingers fiddle with the hem of your skirt.

“Yes, baby?” Mark replies; not exactly paying the most attention as his eyes stay still on the laptop seated on his desk, trying to get an essay done.

“Love, are you okay?” He questions when you don’t respond, diverting is doe orbs towards your direction.

“I’m leaving,” You say as your teeth immediately find their way towards your bottom lip, biting and peeling the skin off in apprehension.

“For university, i’m moving.” You continue, explaining yourself when he doesn’t display any type of reaction.

Mark finally lets out a small yet heavy “When” as his lips part, staring at you dispiritedly.

“This sunday.” You reply faintly after a pause.

“And you decide to tell me about it now? Three days before you leave?” Mark’s eyes go wide as his voice raises, visibly accustomed.

“Calm down.” You attempt to calm him down, though it doesn’t exactly work as he shouts even louder each time he parts his lips.

“Do you even care about my feelings?” Mark clamors.

“Mark, what are you saying?” You ask in incredulity, aching to believe you didn’t hear him accurately.

“Look Y/n, I support whatever you do. But not when you tell me right before it happens!” He continues as a scoff out of mockery follows his words.

“I’m sorry i just-” You start rambling, not having an idea on how to ease his emotions.

“A sorry doesn’t fix everything!” He extends, not allowing you to speak.

“I know-”

“Good that you know! I hope you don’t make the same mistake next time with someone else.”

“Someone else? Mark, are you seriously breaking up with me over this?” You ask as a feeling of overwhelming incredulity captures you. His words allow your eyes to widen as your lips part afterwards.

“What’s there to not break up over, Y/n? How do you expect to continue this once you’re away?” He shouts again, making you pause.

“Okay, i wish you the best.” You state with a shaky voice as tears commence to gliss up inside your eyes, causing them to look glossy. You try your best to not blink, holding your tears in.

You can’t cry. No, you can’t cry in front of him.

So you get up and leave.

--

You are still young.

Not everything lasts, not everything is meant to last.

Each moment is worth living without allowing a knot to form inside your stomach in worry. Experiences have reasons, purposes. So do you, you have a purpose. Cry your heart out after agonizing fights, laugh in delight with all you’ve got; enchanted in an overwhelming euphoria.

You are shaped by awkward encounters, innocently sheepish grins, pernicious altercations, anguished tears. Mistakes you make at eighteen become experiences you thank at thirty.

Sugary moments come to an end, so do the bitter ones. Nothing is permanent, nothing is promised. You can’t live with worry, you can’t live in pain.

Life is short, short enough for you to give each moment a chance. Short enough to feel everything, to live and not just exist.

Somewhere out there, there’s someone for you. Someone willing to cherish all your imperfections, someone willing to shower you in love as immense adoration dances in their sparkling orbs.

Love...love is alluring, fascinating, breathtakingly dazzling. There’s so much to explore within love, so much to explore within a person. New euphoric moments to be shared, new eyes to get lost in, new hearts to beat together.

Love with all you have, give people every ounce of what they deserve without worrying about the ending. Every moment comes to an end. Every kiss has a final share, every breakdown has a final tear.

There is a beginning to each journey, there’s also an ending to those journeys. No time is worth spending cooped up in your room with tears drenching on your features, no time is worth contemplating on whether or not to do something in worry.

Although this is an anguished ending to the previous chapter, it’s a sugary euphoric beginning for another one...

[taizi]

the ship sways but the heart is steady

chapter three: build bridges with these arms 

the untamed pairing: jiang cheng & wei ying, lan zhan/wei ying, jiang cheng/wen qing word count: 3794 summary: Wei Ying’s friends are at rock-bottom, and Wei Ying puts his life on hold to help them put theirs back together. To absolutely no one’s surprise except Wei Ying’s, his family goes with him. read on ao3

x

Jiang Cheng doesn’t remember dropping the phone, but he must have, because Wen Qing is holding it now and talking to A-Li in the sharp, rapid-fire way she speaks when she’s frightened. He doesn’t remember getting off the couch or leaving the room, but he’s pacing back and forth on the veranda, the warm glow of the porch light pushing away encroaching nightfall. And he doesn’t remember Wei Ying coming after him, but his brother is there, watching with wide, anxious eyes, his hands balled into fists in the front of his shirt.

“I don’t fucking believe it,” Jiang Cheng bites out, his heart beating so fast it’s painful. “I can’t believe she didn’t fucking—she didn’t fucking call? She couldn’t let us know that—that our sister—”

“Maybe she meant to,” Wei Ying says hoarsely. “Maybe she—forgot.”

“Our mother never forgot a single thing in her fucking life as long as she could hold it against us.” He’s so angry he feels brittle with it, as though moving too much or too fast would cause his body to break. “A-Li asked her to call us and she didn’t. A-Li wanted us there and we weren’t.”

His baby nephew was coming early, and his sister was having an emergency C-section, and his brother-in-law was pacing a waiting room by himself for hours waiting desperately for good news, and Jiang Cheng was just fucking around in a lake the whole time.  

A-Li’s voice was so tired and shaky that Jiang Cheng knew, inherently, how bad it was.

She didn’t say it on the phone, of course she didn’t, but she didn’t need to. All of Jin Ling’s useless uncles have been reading every article about pregnancy and prenatal care that they could get their hands on from the moment A-Li told them she was expecting, and they each, to a man, could probably write a white paper on the risks of preterm labor.

Yanli could have died from complications. It wasn’t unheard of even now, in the twenty-first century. She could have bled too much, could have been gone, and Jiang Cheng wouldn’t have known until it was too late. He wouldn’t have been there to hold her.

Mother was supposed to call. She didn’t.

It’s like the sudden collapsing of some integral foundation. The weight-bearing limit was reached and the floor is crumbling beneath him and this building he’s lived in his whole life that he mistook for mortar and stone is actually some childish construction of paper and wax. This place he thought would withstand storm and fire and erosion is finally falling apart after so many years of careful repairs, so much frantic patchwork.

Mother hurt them over and over and over again, but she was still their mother. Family is just hard, Jiang Cheng had always thought. Family hurts. That’s just the way it is, it just costs you every day, and you’re always discovering how much farther you can push your threshold, how much more you can actually take.

Except... his siblings never hurt him. Never on purpose. He doesn’t look at A-Li or A-Ying and feel anything but fondness and exasperation and loyalty for them. He would do anything for them.

Wen Ning plainly adores his sister, and Wen Qing’s world revolves around her brother. None of their immediate relatives stepped in to help them after the fire, clearly screening their calls, none of them eager to sacrifice their time or money, but Granny has been almost a constant presence in their lives since they got here. She adopted all of them, no relation required.

Wei Ying came to the Jiangs when he was five, an emergency placement with the second family listed on his parents’ will, because his legal godfather was dealing with the death of his brother and sister-in-law, and the subsequent adoption of his young nephews. By the time Lan Qiren could be reached and came dashing to New York, it had been almost a week, and Wei Ying and A-Li and Jiang Cheng were all comfortably attached at the hip.

Rather than uproot his traumatized godson again, so soon after the initial upheaval of his young life, Lan Qiren reached an agreement with mother and father to let Wei Ying stay with them. He paid for all of Wei Ying’s expenses and then some. Jiang Cheng only knows because mother likes to complain about being short-changed when she’s drunk.

And then when his nephews were a little older, and he could step down from his role as director of a ridiculously prestigious music school, Uncle Qiren retired, and relocated his family from Suzhou to New York City. Wei Ying always had a second place to go home to if he needed one. His siblings were always welcome there, too. Uncle Qiren was strict and never let them get away with a goddamn thing, but he keeps all their pictures on his desk.

Family, Jiang Cheng finally realizes at twenty-three years old, isn’t supposed to hurt.

You’re supposed to be loved. You’re not supposed to have to buy it.

Wei Ying is crying in that awful, silent way he cries, as if he’s not sure he’s allowed to make a sound. Jiang Cheng storms over and drags him into a hug that’s probably too tight, and Wei Ying hugs him back just as hard, and for a moment that’s all there is.

Night is creeping in around them, inky and inexorable. They’re suspended in the warm orange porch light like a couple of sailors marooned at sea. Jiang Cheng holds onto his brother, and finally lets go of someone else.

#

It is silently agreed-upon that Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying need to see their sister. Wei Ying tries to apologize for leaving in the middle of retiling one of the bathrooms and Wen Qing gets properly angry with him for it.

“He’ll finish when he comes back,” Jiang Cheng promises, which ends up sounding more like a promise that they’re going to come back at all.

“The tiles in the bathroom are literally the least of my concerns,” Wen Qing snaps, and that sounds more like she’s saying she doesn’t need a promise, she knows they will.

They barely pack anything, they just sort of move around the house in anxious circles until the airport shuttle shows up, and then they shove on their shoes and grab blindly for bags and jackets.

Goodbyes are made on the veranda. After living together and rebuilding a home together, the embraces come easily. Jiang Cheng doesn’t even have a chance to feel self-conscious about any of it.

“The tickets should be in your email,” Lan Zhan says.

Wei Ying checks his phone and frowns. “You only got two?”

Lan Zhan says, “I will stay here.”

His eyes are dark and unreadable, but Wei Ying must see something in them that Jiang Cheng doesn’t. He drops his bag and shuffles forward and Lan Zhan puts his arms around him. He stands there like some ancient, immovable structure, like a load-bearing wall, like Wei Ying could bring absolutely anything to him and Lan Zhan would help him hold it.

“Give the bunnies a hundred kisses for me while I’m gone,” Wei Ying mumbles against Lan Zhan’s shoulder, muffled and wet in a telling way.

“A hundred kisses,” Lan Zhan agrees solemnly, and presses the first one into Wei Ying’s hair.

A-Yuan, holding Wen Ning’s hand, largely confused and a little troubled by the tense atmosphere, earnestly assures that he’ll take care of the bunnies. Wei Ying ruffles his hair playfully, and then finally seems ready to go.

“Try not to let the place fall apart without me,” Jiang Cheng says to Wen Qing.

“I’ll do my best,” she replies. She doesn’t reach out to him with her hands, but her eyes seem to.

Jiang Cheng can’t get her eyes out of his head.

#

Yanli is pale and tired and beautiful. She lifts her head as they come into her private hospital room, and then lifts her arms immediately, and Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying both run to her like they’re children again. She’s sobbing, trying to wrap her frail arms around them as hard as she can.

“I missed you so much,” she says. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Jiang Cheng can’t think of how close they came to losing her or he’ll go insane. He just sits on the edge of the bed and holds both of his siblings and doesn’t make fun of Wei Ying for crying as much as Yanli.

Jin Zixuan comes in with a nurse and a bassinet at that point, and there are deep bruises under his eyes and his clothes are as unkempt as Jiang Cheng has ever seen them, but he’s smiling.

The nurse bustles around cheerfully, checking vitals and talking to A-Li about how well the results of some screening or another turned out, but Jiang Cheng can’t focus on anything except the tiny little swaddle of butter-yellow blankets that Jin Zixuan is lifting out of the bassinet.

“A-Ling, this is your Uncle Cheng,” Jin Zixuan says softly, passing the infant into Jiang Cheng’s arms. He doesn’t take his hands away until Jiang Cheng’s apparent panic must have faded, and then he’s suddenly sitting there holding his nephew.

Jin Ling is faintly purple, and his tiny limbs are all curled up like he still hasn’t realized he has room to stretch them out now, and his face is pinched in a moue of absolute distaste for the world in general.

“Oh my god,” Wei Ying says. He leans against Jiang Cheng’s shoulder, smoothing a finger against the soft mop of dark hair on Jin Ling’s head, and the tiny seashell curl of his ear, impossibly gentle. “What a weird-looking baby.”

“Shut up, you asshole,” Jiang Cheng snaps. Now he’s crying, too. “He’s perfect.”

Yanli is beaming at them, leaning into the arm that Jin Zixuan wraps around her shoulders, and asks about California. Wei Ying launches into animated chatter about all their projects and all their progress. Surrounded by them, some jangling, dislocated thing in Jiang Cheng’s chest finally begins to settle.

#

The day that A-Li and Ling-er are discharged from the hospital, Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng are skulking around the overpriced gift shop on the first floor. Lan Huan is with them, and Jiang Cheng is trying to talk him down from spending eighty dollars on a giant teddy bear, when he sees her.

His mother, making her way through the lobby toward them. Something cold and sharp replaces the warm golden core of him in an instant. He puts a hand on Lan Huan’s shoulder and says, “Keep my brother here.”

Lan Huan blinks. His eyes follow Jiang Cheng’s gaze, and his pleasant expression sours.

“Of course,” he says. “He can help me pick out a bear.”

“Jesus christ, with the bears,” Jiang Cheng mutters, and shoulders past him to get out of the gift shop, cutting his mother off outside the door.

“So you’re finally home,” she says by way of greeting. “Did you enjoy your vacation?”

“We’re not doing this here,” he mutters, hyper-aware of Wei Ying puttering around somewhere not even ten feet away. Turning on his heel, Jiang Cheng leads the way past the gift shop, away from the busy atrium and the receptionist’s desk, trusting his mother’s need to have the last word will compel her to follow.

He stops abruptly in an empty hallway somewhere between the billing and record departments and turns to face her.

“I didn’t come here today to play childish games,” mother says, sounding weary of him, of all things.

And it hurts, how much Jiang Cheng still loves her. How much he still wants to love her. His entire life is a series of attempts to trick her into feeling something for him, feeling anything for him. Trying to win her affection. Attempting the impossible.

“You didn’t call,” he says.

Yu Ziyuan scoffs. “You made it fairly clear that you weren’t interested in anything I had to say to you.”

“A-Li wanted you to call,” Jiang Cheng insists, the temper he inherited cresting inside him like a wave, or a wall of fire. “She could have—do you even care that she could have died? That she was scared? She wanted you to call us. And you just decided not to, to get back at us for disobeying you? I’m twenty-three years old! If I want to go to California to help my friends, I’ll go to fucking California!”

He’s never in his life raised his voice at her like this. A small, childish corner of his heart quails from the stunned anger on her face.

He clenches his fists to keep his hands from shaking.

“You stay the fuck away from us,” Jiang Cheng snarls. “All of us. I mean it. We’re done.”

Family, he thinks, isn’t supposed to hurt.

When he starts to step past her, mother grabs his arm hard enough that her long nails manage to pinch even through the sleeve of his denim jacket.

Knee-jerk, he rips himself away from her. He never forgets to flinch.

His mother stares at him like she’s never seen anything like him before, her hand hovering in the air between them. Jiang Cheng takes a step back, and then another.

He thinks of his sister’s precious life, his nephew’s, used as some sort of bargaining chip.

“We’re done,” he says. It comes out quieter than he meant for it to. It comes out sounding like he really, actually means it.

If something flickers in his mother’s expression, if her hand trembles, if she shifts towards him, he doesn’t see it. He’s already spinning around and heading back the way he came, not quite fast enough to call it fleeing. When Jiang Cheng rounds the corner, he runs headlong into someone who catches him by the shoulder before he can stumble.

Wei Ying’s gray eyes are wide and full of pain. Jiang Cheng doesn’t need to know how much he overheard to know that all that hurt is for Jiang Cheng’s sake, and A-Li’s, with hardly any left over for himself. Wei Ying never had to wonder if Yu Ziyuan loved him—he always knew she didn’t, no matter how much his siblings tried to convince him she did.

Jiang Cheng sinks forward against him, head falling against Wei Ying’s shoulder. He’s still trembling with anger, but now it feels more like grief.

Wei Ying hugs him, cheek pressed to Jiang Cheng’s hair, and after a moment he rocks them both from side-to-side.

“Come on, A-Cheng,” he says gently. “You’ll feel better once you see how much Lan Huan spent on Ling-er’s teddy bear.”

“Oh my god,” Jiang Cheng mutters. He already feels a little bit better.

#

They end up leaving a week later. A-Li promises to come visit the second the baby is cleared for travel, and kisses Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying both on the cheek. Jin Zixuan waves goodbye at them with Ling-er’s tiny hand.

Flying stand-by gets them home whole hours ahead of schedule, and they land in California at something like two in the morning. Neither of them want to wake up their friends, so they spend a small fortune on an Uber instead.

Predictably, Wei Ying’s eyelids start to droop the second the car pulls onto the highway. Jiang Cheng only nudges him awake when they enter city limits. As they pass the township sign, Jiang Cheng’s heart twists in his chest, like a dog perking up at the sound of a key in the front door. The Uber driver squints in confusion at the GPS screen, so Wei Ying leans up over the middle console to direct him down the proper county road.

They pull up in front of the villa and Jiang Cheng’s whole body sort of sighs in relief.

Wei Ying is beelining towards the front door before Jiang Cheng is even entirely out of the car, juggling bags to dig his keys out of his pocket. He’s got that look on his face of single-minded focus, a look that says he is going to get to his fiance in the next two minutes even if he has to break a window to do it.

“You’re so dumb,” Jiang Cheng says, and shoulders him aside to unlock the door.

“Your face is dumb,” Wei Ying retorts maturely. He kicks off his boots and drops his bags by the door, and then races for the stairs like it’s been thirteen years since he’s seen Lan Zhan instead of like thirteen days. “Night!” he whisper-shouts over his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes and locks the door behind him. He leans against the wall to tug the laces of his sneakers loose and tosses them toward the shoe rack. Shouldering Wei Ying’s bags with his own he deposits all of them inside the big French armoire that functions as an entry-way closet.

Reflexively, he checks in on the rabbits on his way through the living room. They’re fast asleep in their expansive two-story hutch that sprawls half the length of the wall. Muttering derisively about his brother’s taste in men, Jiang Cheng snags a blanket off the back of the sofa and steps through the narrow doorway into the den.

Wen Qing is fast asleep at her desk, face buried in her folded arms. She’s been doing this ever since she resumed her classes.

Shaking his head, Jiang Cheng leans over her laptop to save all her work, then closes it so it’ll have some battery life left in the morning. He drapes the blanket over her slumped shoulders carefully.

“I’m home,” he tells her quietly. She doesn’t wake up, but he didn’t mean for her to.

#

Wei Ying is greeted the next morning by a screech. A-Yuan flings himself away from the breakfast table to attach himself to Wei Ying’s leg.

“You’re back!”

“I’m back!” Wei Ying says, hauling the kid up into his arms. “And I brought you so many souvenirs from New York!”

There are mouth-shaped bruises on Wei Ying’s neck, because of course there are. Jiang Cheng prays to god for any shred of fucking patience and pointedly doesn’t look at him or Lan Zhan. How fucking dare they be like that right in front of his eggs.

When they’ve eaten, Granny says, “Everyone has a big surprise for you two.  They hurried to get it done before you got home. A-Ning, go find your sister. Let’s show them.”

They’re shuffled outside, through the conservatory and down the back steps, and Jiang Cheng sees it a half-second before Wei Ying does. He grins, full and wide, and hears his brother gasp.

“You finished the dock!” Wei Ying yells. “It looks amazing!”

He goes running down the hill with Wen Ning and A-Yuan like a summer storm composed of loud, delighted noises and waving limbs. Lan Zhan follows slowly with Granny hanging onto his arm. Jiang Cheng watches after them, reaching into the corners of his chest for the pain that always comes hand-in-hand with moments of impossible joy like this, but he can’t seem to find it.

“The contractor said he would give us an estimate on a pavilion,” Wen Qing’s voice says from behind him.

Jiang Cheng turns to find her standing on the porch, leaning against the door, her hair still messy from sleep. She’s holding the blanket around her shoulders where he left it. Her eyes are reaching for him.

He’s braver than he was when he left.

“That’s a pretty permanent fixture,” Jiang Cheng says, heart beating wildly. “You sure you’re invested in something like that?”

She sighs in that way that means she’s laughing and comes down the steps to join the rest of her family by the water.

#

When the pavilion is finished, they have a wedding there.

It’s a small ceremony. The Lans are invited, of course, along with Jin Zixuan’s half-brother and a scattering of close friends, like Mianmian and Nie Huaisang. A-Yuan is the ring-bearer, and when he’s successfully delivered the rings to the grooms, he lifts his arms in a bid to be held.

Laughingly, Wei Ying scoops him up. His hair is loose and his eyes are bright, and Lan Zhan is looking at him the way he’s always looking at him, like he would follow him absolutely anywhere.

Just this once, Jiang Cheng will allow it.

The daylight is fading fast, and the night is going to be perfect and clear. Yanli and Wen Ning are spinning each other around in time to the music, totally out of step with everyone else and laughing brightly. Granny is taking a fussy A-Ling back up to the villa to put him to bed in the nursery that every single one of them spent way too much time and energy on, leaving Jin Zixuan free to nurse a glass of sparkling grape juice and stare judgmentally at his half-brother for flirting with Lan Huan. Jiang Cheng might join him for some judgmental staring, actually.

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are slow-dancing with a giggling A-Yuan held between them. The water rocks gently against the posts, crowded with the lily pads and lotus flowers that Jin Zixuan carefully maintains for A-Li. Wen Qing crosses the dock to Jiang Cheng, and her hand slips easily into his.

And none of it hurts. It isn’t supposed to.

Their house waited empty for a long, long time, but they’re all finally home.

[introductions-are-a-spook]

Tag list: @kyuudomo @kissthe-gogoat @caloroso-cosmos @omrade-echorin < You said you like the last one so added you. Let me know if you’re okay with that, and sorry if not!

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Fifty miles from the Chapman house and twenty years ago, rain fell over an English boarding school. Children ran from building to building, clutching their bags under hunched chests in an attempt to protect them.

Visible through a window, one student sat huddled on a library bench, nose deep in a book. And of course they didn’t see through their concentration to the rambunctious upperclassman arguing with the librarian.

“I told you before, my father tore the book, not me. I can get the money to pay for it, it’ll just take a couple days!”

“That’s ridiculous. Just why in the world would a parent do that, hmm?”

“You obviously don’t know him like I do,” he snipped under his breath.

After a moment more of this, he sauntered over to where the bookworm- maybe a grade or two below him, sat. Flopping down, he groaned.

Finally the quiet one spoke. “Mrs. Kingsley’s going to wring your neck if you don’t replace the book soon, you know.”

“Yeah, I get it already. Geez.” The older boy looked at the younger with a raised eyebrow. “Hey I know you, you’re in my chemistry class. Mary, right?”

“Er, it’s Maxwell. And yes, what about it?”

“Isn’t that a bit too hard for you? You’re what, twelve?”

“Fourteen. You?”

“Aww, a little shrimp. I’m seventeen. Andrew, by the way,” although teasing, his tone lacked any genuine malice. He held out a hand to shake.

“Nice to meet you, prick.”

Andrew laughed. “Damn right. Whatcha reading?”

Maxwell tilted the book. A collection of Sherlock Holmes stories. “I want to be a detective when I get out of school, so I’m studying now.”

“That’s cool. We better get to class though, the bell’s gonna ring soon,” Andrew said, standing up and checking his watch.

Maxwell reluctantly closed his book and nodded. “Just try to pay for the book soon, okay? Mrs. Kingsley isn’t the only one who cares about this library.”

“Oh sure. I’ll just steal the money from my dad while he’s at church or something,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Nice meeting you, Maxwell!”

“Same here. Criminal!”

Andrew laughed and walked off. Maxwell allowed a chuckle as he went the opposite way.

~*~

Six pictures were laid out in front of Andrew. All of various bedrooms. Half he recognized- Maxwell’s, Isabella’s, and his own. The other three varied. There was a rather plain, maroon themed bedroom with several camera monitors in one corner. Another was coated wall-to-wall in weapons and a bright scarlet palette. The last of which was more pink and the most homely, with picture frames full of people everywhere. All belonging to Maxwell’s siblings, most likely.

And yet, Andrew was not confused. In fact, he was quite disturbed. He sat with his ferret, Brie, in his arms, petting her in an attempt to calm down.

He had finally worked up the courage to read the letter. Mr. Antigone had left a graphic plan of all the horrible things he would do if Andrew didn’t leave Maxwell as soon as possible. He detailed all the ways he could get away with it, and included the pictures as proof of his deadly seriousnessand capability.

Well if he hasn’t killed me yet, it probably means he wants me alive. He must be trying to beat me into submission.

What a mess. Within just a few weeks of going out with Max, Andrew’s world had turned upside down. Of all the people in the world, he had to fall in love with a detective.

A knock at the downstairs door stirred him. Quietly putting Brie in her pen, he cursed himself for not burning the letter as told. Walking down to the front on tiptoe, he slipped a kitchen knife into his pocket- just in case.

Another knock. Andrew took a deep breath, prepared for the worst, and opened the door.

“Maxwell! Oh, it’s just you, thank god,” he sighed in relief.

Maxwell raised an eyebrow. “Of course it’s me, who else would it be?” He cut Andrew off before he could respond. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. We need to talk.”

A twinge of fear settled in Andrew’s gut. “About what? Is everything okay?”

“Given that you feel the need to answer the door with a knife in your coat,” he gestured to how poorly it was hidden, “No, things are far from okay.”

Andrew studied Maxwell’s face. His handsome features were pulled into a grave expression, his demeanor uncomfortable.

“Why don’t you come in,” Andrew said, holding the door ajar for the other man.

“Thank you,” Maxwell responded, sitting down at an empty booth in the main shop. Andrew sat down across from him, and they sat in silence for a long few moments.

Maxwell slowly tapped his thumbs together. Andrew could see how his eyes faded in deep thought.

“Andrew.”

“Yes?”

“Are you…” he took a shaky breath. “No. I know you’re the thief.”

Andrew’s stomach flipped, but he calmed himself. “You’re good. Guilty as charged. Is this my day of reckoning, then?” His tone was bitter, almost scared.

For the first time since arriving, Maxwell looked Andrew directly in the eye. “I have an idea.”

“You didn’t answer my question, but go on,” he said with a dry chuckle.

“Tell me, who is Nikos Antigone?”

Andrew stood up suddenly. “What do you mean, has he contacted you? Have you met him?”

“So you do know him. He sent me a letter- or, as it turns out, two letters. The first ‘anonymously’ telling me to run away from you, the second saying that you robbed him. Tell me, have you ever used violence in your hijinks?”

“I don’t know how much you’ll believe me, but no, I haven’t.”

“I figured as much. So it was Antigone that broke your nose a couple weeks back?”

Andrew hesitated. Was this an interview? But Maxwell seemed so genuinely worried. “Yeah, basically.”

“I’m very sorry,” he said, brushing a finger over the bridge that was still sore. Andy winced slightly, causing Max to draw his hand away.

“I’m not going to turn you in. I want to help, but to do that, I need answers. Could you tell me more?” He was now surprisingly soft.

So with a heavy sigh, Andrew spilled his guts about everything, even ousting Isabella’s involvement in the process. He also provided some insight on Jennifer. She was the daughter of a nobleman, one that rudely broke off dealings with the Antigone family’s crime loop, when she was just a baby.

Despite this, all four of them had attended the same school without realizing. She and the young Nikos were the best of friends, before they all went their separate ways, and Nikos followed in his family’s footsteps. Andrew was doing jobs for him simply to make him money and to be a jewel in his crown.

“You won’t have to be for long. If we can find a way to get him in the wrong place at the wrong time, we can pin all of your wrongdoings on him.”

“Maxwell, no. You could lose your job if you did that!”

“I’m more than willing-“

“And besides, I’m the one at the wheel, I should take the blame-“

“You think I haven’t shuffled blame before? You know neither of us have ever cared about morals and virtue.”

“That may be true, but this is still a huge risk. One I’m not willing to let you take for me!”

“Well too bad, because I refuse to allow you to keep on like this. If you don’t let me help, I’ll find a way to do something on my own.”

“Max, what the hell has gotten into you? Why can’t you let me sort out my own problems- or just throw me in jail already?”

“Because I love you, you nitwit!”

There was a long, charged silence. The tension of argument melted away, leaving something else entirely in its place.

“I… I think I love you too. And I don’t want you to get hurt. You have no idea the things this guy will do to you.”

Max held Andy’s hand, up on the table. “You’re right, I don’t. But I know with our combined minds, we can outsmart him.”

Andrew took a deep, shuddering breath. “Do you really think so?”

Maxwell nodded. “The Antigone family has done enough damage. It’s about time someone put a stop to it. I only have one condition.”

“That being?”

“For both of our sakes, you need to drop your game. Once Nikos is in prison, well…”

Andrew nodded and pondered for a moment. “I’d need something else after the fact- to keep me entertained. But yes, for you, I will.”

“Then our plot can be your last heist. Any ideas as to a replacement?”

“You could marry me, and we could run away together. Be musicians in Vienna till’ we’re old,” Andy smirked.

Max giggled. “Ask me again in three years.”

And then he gave Andy the most lovestruck look. Andy returned it. They glanced at their pose- they were awfully close.

“I’d ask if I could kiss you, but there’s a table in the way,” Andy whispered with a quiet laugh.

“Just get over here, you,” Max then pulled a laughing Andy by his tie to the nearest wall, moving close, only to be stopped.

“Hang the hell on, you’re the short one, shouldn’t you be the one-“

Max swatted Andy’s arm. “Oh, shut up.” And with that, they finally closed the gap.

Andy smelled like fresh cakes, and Max like old books. Where the thief tasted like strawberries, the detective was like tea with milk; both felt like smooth butter.

Andy’s arms were strong as he lifted Max and held him so close. They stood like that for a long time, pausing only to dash upstairs. Andrew had only one thought before his mind went blank with bliss.

Antigone thinks he can use me as a puppet. Poor man has no idea what he’s messing with.

[be11atrixthestrange]

Snogging

Ron and Harry have a talk after catching Ginny and Dean snogging. From Completely Mental

"Just because he's never snogged anyone in his life, just because the best kiss he's ever had is from our Auntie Muriel -"

"Shut your mouth!" bellowed Ron, bypassing red and turning maroon.

"No, I will not!" yelled Ginny, beside herself. "I've seen you with Phlegm, hoping she'll kiss you on the cheek every time you see her, it's pathetic! If you went out and got a bit of snogging done yourself, you wouldn't mind so much that everyone else does it!"

Ron had pulled out his wand too; Harry stepped swiftly between them.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron roared, trying to get a clear shot at Ginny around Harry, who was now standing in front of her with his arms outstretched. "Just because I don't do it in public - !"

Ginny screamed with derisive laughter, trying to push Harry out of the way.

"Been kissing Pigwidgeon, have you? Or have you got a picture of AuntieMuriel stashed under your pillow?" You -

A streak of orange light flew under Harry's left arm and missed Ginny by inches; Harry pushed Ron up against the wall.

"Don't be stupid -"

"Harry's snogged Cho Chang!" shouted Ginny, who sounded close to tears now. "And Hermione snogged Viktor Krum, it's only you who acts like it's something disgusting, Ron, and that's because you've got about as much experience as a twelve-year-old!"

And with that, she stormed away. Harry quickly let go of Ron; the look on his face was murderous. -Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

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

Ron was quiet for most of their walk back to the Gryffindor common room, and Harry didn't have much desire to talk either. He was wrestling with his own feelings of jealousy and confusion following Ron and Ginny's argument.

Seeing Ginny snog Dean had ignited something for Harry, and as much as he wanted to believe that it was brotherly protectiveness, he knew it wasn't.

"Do you think she really did snog Krum?" asked Ron.

Harry didn't want to talk about this, as his mind was occupied by his jealousy. Unfortunately, he couldn't tell Ron that, so he played along. "Well, they did hang around quite a bit in fourth year, so I suppose it's possible. It was two years ago, so it doesn't really matter, does it?"

Ron scowled at Harry. "If it's true, Hermione lied to me."

"What?"

Ron continued in a stiff voice. "I asked her about Krum last year, and she said nothing ever happened between them."

Harry shook his head. It didn't seem like Hermione to lie about that. "Maybe Ginny doesn't really know what she's talking about."

Ron shrugged. "She's right about me, though. Never snogged anyone."

"It's really not much to write home about," said Harry awkwardly. "Not sure what all the hype is for." It was a lie- there's little he wouldn't do to be in Dean's place, snogging Ginny, but mentioning that particular detail wouldn't exactly be helpful at the moment.

"You don't get it, do you?" Ron said angrily.

Harry shrugged, defeated. He thought he understood. He felt similarly, maybe even worse, having witnessed Dean and Ginny snogging, after all. Ron couldn't say the same about Hermione. "You're upset about Hermione snogging Krum."

"No! Well, yes," sighed Ron. "You know it's more complicated than that."

Harry did, but hearing Ron eloquently voice what's upsetting him was beyond his expectations. "I suppose so." At that very moment, Ron suddenly detoured off down a deserted corridor, into an empty classroom. "Where are you going?"

"I don't want to go back to the common room," he said quietly. "You can go without me."

"We'll just go straight to the dorms. We won't see Hermione, if that's what you're concerned about."

"I just need a minute," Ron said with a little more force.

"Ok," said Harry. "I'll stay with you."

Ron sat down at a desk, buried his face in his hands, and groaned. "I just don't want to see Dean either. Or Seamus. Or anyone who now knows I haven't snogged anyone."

Harry sat down across from him. "Sure. But if it makes you feel any better, they probably don't care."

The pair sat there in silence for a few moments before Harry spoke up, asking the question he knew he shouldn't ask.

"Why does it upset you so much? That Hermione snogged Krum. It was two whole years ago, and if she didn't tell you, it probably didn't mean anything."

Ron sighed, looking as if he was holding back tears. When he answered, it sounded like a lot of effort was required to hold his voice steady.

"Well, partly because out of us three, I'm the only one who hasn't snogged anyone. But that's not all of it."

"Figured as much," said Harry with a nod.

"Also because it's Viktor Krum," he said with an air of malignance. "He probably showed her a good time. I can't imagine he's bad at snogging."

Harry couldn't argue with Ron there. Something like that would take a hit out of his confidence too. "But she chose not to be with him. She was the one who only wanted to be friends-"

"That's exactly it, though. She rejected him. Those are some high standards if you ask me."

Harry thought Viktor Krum was a great guy, but he wasn't Ron. As far as Harry knew, that was the only reason Hermione didn't want him. Unfortunately, there was no way to tell Ron that without it sounding like placation.

Ron continued. "I'm mostly angry that she lied about it. She told me nothing happened, and I don't know why she would lie." Ron leaned his face back into his hands and groaned. "I thought we were closer than that. I thought she respected me more."

There was a part of Harry that wanted to believe that Hermione lied because she had feelings for Ron, and she knew how insecure he'd feel if he knew the true scope of her relationship with Krum. Another part of Harry just wanted to believe she never lied in the first place. He badly wanted to believe it for Ron's sake.

"Maybe it's Ginny who lied," said Harry hopefully. "It really could be. She must have known that would bother you."

Ron shook his head. "I doubt it. She has even less reason to lie. And she knows nothing about how I feel about Hermione. If she did, Hermione would know too."

Fair enough, thought Harry.

Ron went quiet, and scowled as though trying to figure out how to explain his feelings better. "I tell Hermione everything." He looked at Harry. "Except… well you know."

Harry nodded.

Ron smiled in appreciation of the fact that he didn't need to be more articulate with Harry. "I just trusted that I knew as much about her as she did about me." He looked sheepishly at Harry. "Does that make any sense?"

Harry shrugged. "I think so."

"I don't think it justifies being this upset though."

Harry laughed. "I'm not one to talk," he said, which earned him a grin from Ron. "On the bright side, you're going to Slughorn's party with Hermione, so soon enough this whole conversation might be forgotten-"

"Fuck," interrupted Ron. "I forgot about Slughorn's party." He groaned again, rubbing his temples. "I can't go with her now."

"Wait, what?"

"She definitely asked me just as a friend. There's no doubt."

"Ron, I really don't think she did."

"The girl who snogged, then rejected Viktor Krum? I was stupid to think she meant it as more."

"Ron-"

"I'll have to make up an excuse or something."

Harry signed. Slughorn's party would be the perfect opportunity for them to take their relationship to another level. "Ron, there will be butterbeer, firewhiskey, and mistletoe. Why would she ask you as a friend? It isn't the kind of party you ask just a friend to, and Hermione knows that."

For a moment, Ron looked hopeful. But then his face reddened again. "It's a bloody awful idea, what was I thinking?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's see. I'll be so nervous that I'll get drunk, then lose control and snog her under the mistletoe, and she'll think I'm a disgusting pig because the only person she has ever snogged- that I know of," he added disdainfully, "is Viktor Fucking Krum."

Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Ron cut him off.

"I'm such an idiot! She invited me because she feels bad for me, didn't she?"

"No, she didn't-"

"I shouldn't have spent so much time talking about how I never get invited anywhere. I shouldn't have told her that I've never snogged anyone. I really told her that, by the way, when we talked about Krum. How stupid was I? I shouldn't have said that I thought I was rubbish at Quidditch. or told her anything personal about me at all."

"Ron-"

"All this time I thought she was relating to me, she was really just pitying me."

"That's not true," interjected Harry helplessly.

"And how do you fucking know? You know less about her than I do, which is saying a lot, because apparently I know nothing."

Harry had no response.

"We don't know her at all, mate. But Ginny knows her. Viktor Krum knows her." Ron's voice shook on the last few words.

"Let's go to bed." Harry took a chance and stood up, walking toward the door. Luckily Ron followed. "Why don't you take it up with her tomorrow. Sleep on it? You'll feel better."

Ron shook his head. "I'm so angry with her."

Of all the emotions that Ron expressed today, this was the first one that felt unreasonable.

"Mad at her? Why?" asked Harry, a little too forcefully.

Ron scowled at him. "I just told you!" he answered dumbfoundedly. "For pitying me."

"She's not pitying you."

In all honesty, he wasn't thrilled about his friends dating, but he would accept it if it happened. It was a long time coming, and he was mentally prepared for it.

What he wouldn't accept was another row between them. That better not happen.

"Just… sleep on it before talking to her, will you?"

Ron merely shrugged as the boys ventured back toward the common room.

Well, fuck, thought Harry.

[artickoushi]

Hey is it possible to do a matchup? No rush on getting it done or anything j just wanna give it a shot :)

okay so I literally wrote all this down so I’m not rambling—

My name is Spencer (or I go by Spence, I like nicknames lol they’re cool) & I use he/him pronouns. I’m like 90% I’m into dudes & not girls so preferably a guy for this if you can please

Personality description ig: I’m a living contradiction and that is n o t an understatement. I care a lot about people but rarely do I ever take care of myself (ever), or there’s times when I’m super super quiet and refuse to speak and there’s times you can’t get me to shut up. Also raging superiority but also inferiority complexes. Idk it just works that way. Former gifted kid and live is ✨hell✨ but we’re making it work Y’know

Zodiac: Leo babyyyy

MBTI: INTP (Logician) (basically a smart emotionless bastard lol it’s the life)

Favorite anime is either Disastrous Life of Saiki K, Ouran HS Host Club or Haikyuu

My friends said I remind them of the colors maroon yellow purple & silver

My personal favorite color is probably red/maroon or black idk I wear it a lot

I do this weird thing where I stare into peoples eyes so I can look at their eyes?? Like people’s eyes are so pretty

I would give anything to look like Bokuto Kotaro that’s gender envy right there

Hobbies? I write a lot a lot a lot of fanfic and I’m currently in a compliment war w one of my friends bc were writing comfort fics for each other and I’m losing and it’s not good. Anyway I also do music stuff and can play eight instruments (I just haven’t picked up a few of them in a while—guitar & piano are my main. Sometimes a little bass & ukulele) also I sing

Talents: if like to say my writing? Idk. Music I hope too. I got a couple of subs on YT so apparently I don’t sound like a dying cat 😂

Quick physical desc: 5’10” (or ~177cm depending on if you’re American or not lol), I’m constantly dying my hair different colors but rn it’s naturally dark brown, brown eyes, pale AF because I need to go outside for once in my life

Do I have a type? Idk my mom picks on me for having a thing for blonds but that’s just a preference. I either like the emotionally unavailable ones with daddy issues or the wholesome babies who would just want to cuddle. Depends on my mood.

I hope all this works! Again no rush! Thank you so much!

hey spencer! i match you with ...

Nishinoya Yuu!

alright so i think we all know that he isn’t the brightest when it comes to school so maybe you could help him with that? like honestly just bribe him with cuddles or candy he’s a legitimate man child

omgomgomgomgomg ok so hear me out- hair dying dates ajshosjs

he would love to sit with you and help you dye your hair

he would be totally supportive of any color you choose and might even go as far as to either match you/choose a color to compliment your color

him literally just listening to you either play an instrument or sing (he’d honestly try to learn in secret so he could do your backup stuff for music. like he’s not an amazing singer but he trys)

this boy is 100% on the more cuddly attached boyfriend scale rather than the emotionally unavailable ones with daddy issues

i believe the two of you could just sit on the couch for maybe an hour or two just looking into each other’s eyes (cause both of you got gorgeous eyes)

and if you don’t take care of yourself, prepare to get aggressively yet lovingly taken care of. ok? he will feed you, cook for you, clean, do laundry- literally everything so you could get some rest or take the time to emotionally heal yourself.

he will take care of you. he might not be amazing in the kitchen but he will make you toast and toaster waffles (or he’ll run out to get you something from a store)

nishinoya would 100% read all of your writings if youd let him but like if you don’t want him to thats fine he’s cool with it but he’s still gonna hype you up to his friends like even if he don’t actually know what your stories are about

not to mention he’s an aries and aries are compatible with leos-

so you mentioned having days where your either quiet or loud and i think that he would easily adapt to whatever your feeling!

if your having a day where you feel more quiet, he could easily keep a conversation going with him doing most of the talking

or if you having a day where you feel more talkative, he would happily just sit still and listen to you ramble on throughout the day adding a comment or two whenever he finds it necessary

[perseusjackson-jasongrace]

Day 10: “How’s the weather down there, babe?”

Masterlist

Three things: 1, this is set in the Empires on the Horizon universe, however you do not need to read or be caught up with that fic to understand what’s going on here. 2, i got so excited writing this i forgot all about the prompt and then had to go back and figure it out. 3, this is so horrifically sweet please be aware you might need to go to the dentist for cavities after this. I lied there’s four things; if you want full vibes while reading this listen to “Winter” by Tori Amos (chosen by my darling child, @little-league-coach-mako​)

non-canon complaint, Empires on the Horizon AU

Annabeth Chase had been wanting to go to the lake cabins for over a year but between her and her boyfriend’s busy schedules and the continuously unfolding happenings of their friends’ lives it seemed almost impossible. But finally, three weeks till the end of December her and Leo are packing up their car and grabbing snacks for the break to the cabins.

It will be a well deserved, much-needed rest.

“You ready, my love?”

She looks around their room, as meticulous and pristine as they made it each morning. The white sheets tucked tightly into the bed, and the maroon throw angled over one corner so that the two sides hanging over the bed were exact in length. Their blinds had been drawn shut, but winter sunlight still leaked through their large windows, causing the white-oak floors to soften into magnolia.

“I’m ready,” She turns around with a gentle smile on her face, hands reaching for him.

He pulls her in for a hug, surrounding her with the warmth that always seems to radiate from him, no matter the temperature. His curls tickle her cheeks and she can smell the cinnamon and wood that seemed to be his cologne.

“You okay?” There is concern lacing his voice like wax; it makes her choke on emotions she didn’t even know she was holding down.

“I love you.”

Leo pulls back, worry in those beautiful brown eyes, “I love you.” He strokes her back gently, “Do you want to stay home?”

“No!” She bursts, “Gods no. I’m just tired and i can’t wait to walk into our little bubble and never leave.”

He simply hugs her tighter and she feels every wonderful feeling soar between their bodies.

Soon enough they’re in the car and on their way, with nothing but open roads and bare trees in their vision. The road trip is short, three hours at most, and Annabeth is content to listen to her boyfriend’s soft jazz and stare out the window, bundled in blankets and pillows, and snacks. Leo keeps a hand on her thigh for most of the drive, a comfortable weight and a reassurance that he is here, that he isn’t leaving. By the time they get there it is raining hard, battering the roof of the car like drums. It soothes her soul. 

They rush into the cabin in a blur of bags and slicking mud, laughing as the onslaught drenches them. Their curls become coiled and springy, losing all the effort they had put in before leaving. But they’re inside and it is warm and the clouds opening above them are a comfort that carries their feet to safety.

“I love it here.” Annabeth sighs, looking around. There’s a small table in one corner, and a large fireplace running through the middle of the space, separating the dining room from the lounge. The couch looks inviting, stacked with copious pillows and the fluffiest blanket she has ever seen. The kitchen is... quaint. All the necessary appliances are there but it doesn’t make the area look any less like an 18th century cottage.

Her boyfriend steps out of the room, where he had gone to put their bags away, and wraps his arms around her waist as they take in their home for the week. It is dark outside but the moon is high, casting a white glow between the clouds that gives the whole world a haunted look. The lake is pitch black but she knows when they wake up tomorrow it will be a glistening blue, sparkling against the weak sunlight.

“Want to have a bath?” Leo nuzzles her neck, “Get warm?”

“Yes,” She breathes, “And then can we make hot chocolate and snuggle up by the fire?”

His laughter is bright and lovely as he spins her around so they’re chest to chest. “We can do whatever you want, my love.” 

“Let’s go then!’ She tugs on his hand, racing to the bathroom. “I’ve got a new book i want to start.”

“Of course you do,” He scrunches his nose teasingly, “You nerd.”

“Hey, i’m not the one pursuing yet another degree.’ She gives him a pointed look. “I mean i love studying but a PhD and a masters later?” Her face pulls with exasperation, “Even that’s too much for me.”

He scoffs, slapping her butt as she bends down to turn the tap on, “I have to study if i want a degree in architecture.”

“You know i wanted to be an architect when i was little.” She mutters distractedly, swirling her hand in the water as it heats up.

“You did?” She can hear the surprise in his voice. “What stopped you?”

She smirks over her shoulder, “All the cute girls liked engineers better.”

“Yes that certainly seemed to be the case.” His eyes spark with joy as laughter bubbles out of him. It fills all the cracks inside her, like gold.

She strips and lowers herself into the steaming water, while her boyfriend gets ready to join her. And then, with a content sigh he gets in behind her, supple fingers already reaching to massage the knots that seem to tie themselves at her shoulders. With a groan she leans into him, letting the magic of the moment wash over her. It’s not surprising then, when she falls asleep.

She is woken up by the loss of heat at her back. Grogginess clouding her mind, she cracks an eye open and sees Leo standing over her, a towel around his waist.

“Can you help me, my love?” He grips underneath her arms. “I need you to push up so we can get you out of the bath and I can dry you off. Can you do that?”

Sleep is pulling at the exhausted strings of her body and it is a fight to hear what he says. But something pierces the hazy veil and she nods, digging her heels into the porcelain tub.

In one swift motion she is pulled out and stumbling into a warm body. A towel, coarse with freshness, rubs across her body; she doesn’t register much of the situation, swaying on her feet as her boyfriend dries her legs. A chilly breeze wraps around her bare arms, and she feels goosebumps rise on her skin. Oh dear, what if Leo is also cold? She should check on him. She blinks, blinks again, and realises he’s on the floor, rubbing her calves in a gentle motion.

“How’s the weather down their babe?” She mumbles, looking at him, or the blurry image of him, before her.

“Warm, love,” He smirks up at her, “View is great too.”

“Of course it is,” Her murmur is all sleep-deprived and unintelligible. She feels him press a kiss to her knee. “I'm tired,”

“I know angel.” His voice is so soft. Like marshmallows and clouds and sweetness. “Here’s a t-shirt.” He holds one of her hands as he guides it through the correct holes, and then her head, and her other hand. She moans contentedly.

Through her fluttering eyelids she sees a little smirk pulling at his lovely, candlelit face. “It smells good.”

“The shirt?” He kneels before her and lifts a foot to put on her favourite pair of fluffy socks. “What does it smell like?”

There’s nothing but pretty darkness, and molten brown eyes as she collapses into his arms. “Smells like you.”

Lifting her up so her head is against his chest, and an arm is tucked underneath her knees, he whispers. “Let’s go to bed, my love.”

Moments later she is gently put down in what can only be described as paradise. She sinks into the duvets burying her nose in the fresh sheets which smell like forests and rose-petals. Leo crawls in next to her, and after a bit of maneuvering she slings her arm around his waist and finds the spot between his neck and shoulders where her head fits perfectly. 

He kisses her head of curls, “Goodnight angel.”

It is the last thing she remembers before she succumbs to her exhaustion.

Annabeth wakes up to sunshine on her skin, and her nose nuzzling her boyfriend’s back. The room is quiet, save for Leo’s steady breathing, and she takes the time to observe their slice of Elysium.

A small writing desk sits in the corner, a stack of yellowed papers and a fake quill on top of it. The bed is situated in the center of the space with dark wood canopies framing it. And the huge window that sits to their right looks out to the lake which, as she had suspected, is bright blue. There is a small boat house tucked in the reeds that border the water and she knows before the end of the week they’ll have used the canoes housed there, and probably dropped the oars in the water about six times before they get the hang of it.

In the other corner of the room is the entrance to their bathroom; as she looks to it she realises with a startle that she needs to pee. Very badly. Trying not to make too much of a disturbance she slides out and races to the bathroom. When she comes back Leo is awake, rubbing sleep out of his eyes and sitting up, against their mountain of pillows.

“Hello love,” She smiles, tucking herself into his side, ‘How did you sleep?”

“Like the dead.” He grins, all white teeth and mischief.

“Me too.” She traces her finger along the smooth plains of his stomach. “I really was tired.”

He giggles, “I know. You couldn’t even keep yourself upright while I tried to towel you dry.”

She pokes him, “At least i didn’t fall back into the tub.”

“I would have left you there.”

Her gasp of disbelief sets them both laughing and when she reaches up to brush a kiss to his lips, she swallows his happiness like it’s her favourite drug.

“Shall we make breakfast and go for a boat ride?”

“First one to lose the oar has to plan the holiday party this year?” She smirks, holding out her hand to sign the deal.

Her boyfriend takes her hand in his, and pulls her closer so they’re barely a breath apart. “You’re on Chase.”

And when they come back from the lake hours later, Annabeth is the one to plan the holiday party because her boyfriend, no her fiancé, had surprised her with a ring. That’s really an honourable reason to lose an oar. Or both. 

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

Tags:

@nishlicious-01​

@spoopylucy​

@leydiangelo​

[hermionemonica]

Hiding it from her: Chapter 3

AO3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3

Despite going to bed way late in the night, Kagami woke up on her usual time. She was tempted to skip the gym for the day, but she knew the physical exercise would help her clear her mind before the evening. And she needed to go to the fencing academy as well, she had not shown up the previous day without any notice.  

The evening arrived faster than she would have liked it to. As the hour neared with every passing second, her anxiety reached greater heights. Even now she could not help but question herself if she was ready to face the man who she had loved with all her life, who had lied to her with a smile on his face, who had betrayed her very trust. Was she prepared to hear the answers from him?  

Since last night she had been preparing in her head what to say. How to start the conversation so that there was no way to wriggle out of it. She needed to put an end to this, to settle this once and for all. If for nothing else, at least for her own mind's peace.  

Kagami reached Adrien's apartment at 6:50 pm. As soon as she rang the bell, the door swung open and Adrien greeted her with a smile. Kagami hesitated before entering. She could not help but remember the last time she had come to this place. She breathed some determination into herself. There was a task at hand.  

“Come in here,” Adrien pulled her into a room that appeared to be Marinette's working space.  

“Are you sure I should be here?”  

“I would not have called you in otherwise!”  

Kagami looked around herself. The room was an organised mess. Absolutely Marinette. She walked over to the board set up on the wall, on which were pinned several unfinished sketches, quite possibly the ones she was working on currently. She noticed the little doodles and random words etched on the margins of the papers. Kagami smiled to herself, thinking of the eccentricities of the girl. But the smile disappeared in a moment, when she remembered what she had done to her. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest.  

“Here you go.” Adrien’s voice brought Kagami down to her immediate surroundings.  

She turned around to see him holding a dress in his arms. One of the most magnificent dresses she had ever set her eyes on.  

It was a mid-thigh length dress with a maroon satin base. The dress flared out at the waist, and a black mesh fell over the entire bottom part. Details were embroidered in gold over the mesh. The same gold circled the waist like an ornate belt. It had a halter neckline, and the collar was accentuated with a golden border.  

“Wow,” she breathed, “this is beautiful.”  

“I know, right?” Adrien exclaimed with glee. “Now put it on, I'm gonna go outside.”  

“Me?” Kagami was surprised.  

“Duh, yeah! This was made for you!” Adrien rolled his eyes, shoving the dress into her hands. “Be quick now, we have other work to do as well.” Saying so, he ran out of the room, gently shutting the door behind him.  

How hard would it be for Adrien to be a little less vague? He was making it really difficult for her to feel sorry for him.  

This was made for you, he had said. Did he mean that literally or figuratively? Recent events must have addled her brain, she was looking too much into everything.  

Kagami turned the dress around in her arms. It was a breath-taking piece of work. She admiringly ran her hand over the embroidery, feeling every stitch underneath her fingers.  

It was then that she saw it.  

Just under the belt, on the back of the dress was a very familiar pattern sewn in with the same gold. She had seen it enough times to recognise it instantly.  

Marinette's signature.  

That only added to her confusion. Marinette had made a dress for her, without her knowledge? And that was the one she was going to wear today, of all days?  

She nervously moved near the door. Leaning against it, she called out “Adrien?”  

On receiving no reply, she opened the door. Adrien was sitting in the drawing-room, and while she had a clear view of him, he could not see her because his back was turned to her. It appeared that he was talking to someone on the phone.  

“Umm... Adrien?” She said a bit louder to get his attention. It worked.  

Adrien turned around in his seat. His face immediately fell. “Yeah, I will talk to you later,” he spoke into the phone before ending the call.  

“Is there a problem?” he spoke in a concerned voice, walking towards her. “Does it not fit you?”  

“No, that's not it,” Kagami hesitated. “Adrien, are you sure I should wear this?”  

A confused look came on his face, and then he burst out laughing. “Kagami,” he said, “will you stop worrying now? Just do as I say, okay? Trust me.”  

Kagami was getting concerned, but about something else. Adrien still had the nerve to laugh? Was he losing his mind?  

Adrien pushed her back into the room. “Now please hurry up, alright? And um, maybe do something with your hair to go with the dress, okay?”  

It was all very strange but Kagami was left with no choice but to concede. Maybe this was Adrien's attempt at making her feel better about herself, of boosting her self-confidence. She stripped off the jeans and t-shirt and put on the dress. Standing in front of the mirror, she could not help but marvel at how good the dress looked on her. There was no doubt it was made for her; it was fitted to her measurements, complimenting her shape, skin tone and her eyes. Even though she and Marinette may not be on the best of terms right now, she had to praise her work.  

There were some hairbands and bobby pins and other accessories on the table, but Kagami was really not in a mood. So, she put her hair in a short braid that hung over her left shoulder.  

Kagami opened the door very silently. But she could not see Adrien anywhere. Panic began to bubble in the pit of her stomach, and she called out for him, “Adrien!”  

“Just a minute!” his voice came from the room to her left. Kagami breathed a sigh of relief. She took a seat on the couch as she waited for her friend.  

After a few moments, her ears caught the sound of a door opening behind her. She turned around just as Adrien was emerging from his room.  

Kagami saw that he was dressed up as well. He was wearing a light green formal shirt and tailored black trousers that made his legs look even longer than they originally were. He was also wearing a salmon pink tie. His hair was brushed back, and it made his cheekbones look very chiselled.  

“Oh my God, Kagami, you look... phenomenal.” Adrien's eyes were widened and his mouth was open.  

“Thank you,” she acknowledged the compliment with a slight nod. “You look good too.”  

“Thanks,” Adrien flashed her a grin. “Let's go then?”  

Kagami nodded.  

Adrien produced a pair of sandals for her that perfectly went with her dress. At this point, there were so many questions in her mind that she had lost the ability to even think for herself. So she just did whatever Adrien asked her to. It didn't look like she had a choice anyway.  

When she sat in the car, she finally relaxed. She knew what was going to happen now. No more surprises, right?  

Or so she thought.  

Adrien pulled up at the side of the Liberty. “Here?” Kagami asked, because she was expecting to go to Luka's apartment. Liberty had been empty since Anarka went on tour with Jagged more than three months ago.  

“Yeah,” Adrien said, typing away on his phone. “Do me a favour Gami, just go on. I'll catch up with you in a bit.”  

“I could wait for you?” Kagami suggested.  

“Uh, I think not,” came Adrien's response, which sounded a little weird. “Seriously Kagami, you know your way around. Go on now.”  

Unsure, Kagami got out of the car. Adrien was right, she did know her way around this place pretty well, having spent a lot of her late teenage years there. Luka used to help her sneak out behind her mother’s back, and most of the time they would just chill on the houseboat. Luka would play his songs on his guitar for her. She had had her first kiss with-  

No. Snap out of it, Kagami. This was not the time to think about all that stuff.  

Kagami stepped up on the deck. Strangely, most of the lights were out. She began to doubt if Adrien had brought them to the right place after all.  

Unconsciously, her steps had brought her to Luka's old room. Well, technically Luka and Juleka's old room. The room was dark, and presuming it to be empty, Kagami began to retrace her steps out of the room.  

Just then she stopped. Someone began to play a guitar inside the room. A nostalgic, romantic tune. She spun around on her heels just in time to see the room be lit up in fairy lights.  

And sitting on the bed, with a guitar slung over his shoulder, was Luka Couffaine.  

Kagami was stunned into silence. What exactly it was that rendered her speechless was uncertain. It could be seeing Luka appear out of the darkness, or the pretty way the lights lit up the deck, or how ethereally handsome Luka was looking in that purple shirt (and that maroon tie that was exactly the same shade as the dress she was wearing). But at that moment, she lost all ability to think, speak, or move by herself. So she stood there, staring at the man in front of her, forgetting what she had even come here for in the first place.  

“Hey,” Luka said nervously. Receiving no reply, he went on. “I am so sorry, my melody, for keeping you out of everything. I am really bad at hiding things, as you know. And since this isn't something I could have told you, I had to hide it from you. But turns out, I messed up big time, huh?” He let out a little laugh. Kagami was still frozen with the same expression on her face, so Luka decided to take the risk of walking a few steps towards her. “I really did not mean to make you feel left out of it. It's just, you know, I couldn't tell you. I know I did a bad job at it and you have every right to be pissed at me, but please talk to me, babe.”  

“Wha- what's going on?” she finally managed.  

Luka smiled, in that handsomely Luka way of his that made her melt into a puddle every time. It was only with a lot of conscious effort that she managed to hold her composure, although her cheeks felt like they were on fire. Thank goodness for the dim lights.  

“Kagami, I love you,” as he spoke he kept walking towards her, “I love you so much. My life has been infinitely better since you became a part of it. There is nothing I feel luckier about than you loving me. You make me feel whole. The last twenty-four hours have been such a torture for me. And I never ever want to spend another moment separated from you, as long as I live.”  

Saying so, he took a box out of his pocket and got down on one knee in front of her. He opened the box and held it up in front of her. It was a ring. “Kagami Tsurugi, my Dragon Queen, will you marry me?”  

Kagami's eyes widened. “Wait,” she said, “what is happening?”  

“I-uh, I am proposing to you?”  

“And can you please smile a bit Kagami? You're ruining the shot.”  

Kagami's head turned to the side to see who spoke.  

“Marinette?”  

“Yes, that's me. Now don't bother us,” she said as Adrien appeared behind her, “keep going.”  

Kagami looked back and forth between them. “This is so not what I was expecting.” She clapped her hand to her forehead.  

Luka stood up, concerned. “My melody, are you okay?”  

“This is what was going on these last few days?” Kagami whispered, almost on the verge of tears.  

“I guess I'm allowed to tell you now,” Luka rubbed the back of his neck, “Yeah, this is what I had been planning behind your back.”  

“And you,” she turned to look at Adrien and Marinette in the doorway, “You two were a part of this?”  

“Well yeah,” Adrien sounded just as nervous.  

“Please don’t murder us Kagami,” Marinette said.  

Kagami turned to look at Luka. “I am so sorry,” she muttered, before embracing him with all her strength. “I am so sorry for ever doubting you.”  

“My love,” Luka wrapped his free arm around her.  

After a while, she let go of him. “And I owe you an apology too, Marinette,” she turned to her, “Please forgive me.”  

“I have no idea what is happening, but I forgive you. Although I have no idea what I'm forgiving you for. Please don't tell me later that you made me forgive you for eating my chocolate croissants, because you know I would never forgive you if you did that,” she ended with a fake glare, making everyone burst into laughter.  

“By the way,” Luka said, with a smirk, “I didn't quite catch your reply back then?”  

It took Kagami a while before she got what he was talking about. And then her face broke into a radiant smile. She grabbed Luka's face and pulled him down to her level to rest her forehead against his. “Yes!” her voice was both emotional and excited, “Yes, yeah yes! Of course I will marry you, my snake prince!”  

“And now I got a perfect photo!” Marinette cheered on.  

Luka put the ring onto Kagami's finger. It was a gold ring; the top of the ring was in the shape of a dragon's head with a ruby set in the place of its eye. Kagami gasped, making Luka smile. He then lifted her chin slightly to kiss her. Kagami wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled against his lips.  

They broke off after a minute. “By the way, Marinette,” Kagami turned around in Luka's arms with a stern look on her face, “I am going to have a word with your boyfriend for confusing my brain all evening.”  

Adrien laughed nervously, but Marinette blushed red. “Actually,” she spoke in a little voice, “My fiance."

“What!” Luka and Kagami exclaimed at the same time.  

Marinette held up her hand to show them the sapphire ring that sat on her finger.  

“When did this happen?” It was Luka who asked.  

“This morning,” Marinette replied, “Right after I woke up.”  

“Way to go, Adrien!”  

“What?” Adrien raised an eyebrow, “You guys really thought I was going to let Luka beat me at this?”  

Marinette playfully smacked him in his chest.  

Kagami noticed that the shade of Adrien’s tie matched the colour of the dress Marinette was wearing, just like her and Luka. Oh. So this was the entire fuss about the dress.  

“Let's take a group selfie?” she suggested.  

“Hell yeah!”

[franboos]

I don’t want to be your friend i want to kiss you neck

a vds college roommate fic

written by @livsisa and me <3

word count: 2380

chapter three, part 1

previous chapter

it is a quiet night in the house. Lucas is sitting at his desk in his room deeply concentrated, working on a drawing. Jens and Ely are both out with their friends, Annabell is visiting family for the weekend and Isa is already asleep because she had a rough night last night.

The only sound you can hear, beside his pencil that gently scrapes over the paper, is the music coming from his record player. He has a whole collection with a lot of different lp’s. He likes how you can hear the crackle from the vinyl, It makes the music more real.

He enjoys nights like these. When it’s just him, his music and his art. It is calming.

He didn’t expect that peace to be disrupted by some loud banging noises coming from downstairs.

Lucas groans. He hates it to be snapped out of concentration.

He drops his pencil and grabs his phone to check the time. “Oh fuck,” he grumbles. It is 03:32 am.

This happens a lot when Lucas is in a trance with his work. He totally loses track of time.  But before he can zone back in, someone starts talking downstairs, with a voice way too loud for Lucas’ liking at this hour.

He sighs deeply, he really wants them to stop yelling. So he gets up and goes downstairs, ready to tell whoever it is to shut up.

When he gets to the right floor he doesn’t expect to see a slightly drunken Jens standing there with a girl clinging to his side who’s pressing kisses along his neck while Jens slides his hands down her back. Something deep inside him ached at the sight.

“Luc!” Jens almost screams when he sees him. Jens disconnects himself from the girl and stumbles over to Lucas, embracing him in a - maybe too tight - hug.

Lucas doesn’t really know how to react. Jens is so close. Fuck that, not just close, he is literally glued against Lucas’ body.

Lucas crunches up his nose, Jens reeks of alcohol and weed. “Uh, hi,” he says while lightly patting Jens on the back.

He looks up to the girl for a second, who is still standing there with a slightly confused look on her face, but then returns his attention back to Jens, who is hanging onto him like a koala.

“Jens…” he whispers in his ear, “you okay?”

Jens hums in reply and nuzzles his face in Lucas’ hair. “smells like coconut.”

“Okay Jens,” Lucas puts his hand on Jens’ shoulders and tries to push him off, only to fail. “Do you want to introduce me to your friend?”

“My friend?” Jens’ voice is muffled by Lucas’ hair.

“Yes, the girl you brought home Jens,” Lucas says, his voice coming out harsh.

Lucas feels Jens’ body tense up before he slowly lets go of Lucas.

“Right” Jens clears his throat “this is, uh,” he looks at the girl, then back at Lucas. “Uh,” he stammers and looks at the girl again.

Lucas gives the girl an apologetic smile but she just rolls her eyes and steps forward. “I’m Jade,” she sticks her hand out and Lucas accepts it.

“Lucas.”

Jens giggles and grabs Jade’s arm, tugging her away from Lucas. He turns around and drags her behind him into his bedroom. “Bye Luc,” he calls out before slamming his door shut.

“Okay, bye I guess,” Lucas says into the empty hall, not moving away from where’s standing.

Jens is with a random girl in his room, alright, that’s normal for a guy to do right? Then why does Lucas feel like someone ripped a hole in his chest? Perhaps because there was a part of him that hoped Jens liked him, now it´s obvious that he doesn’t, at least not as more than a friend. It was a stupid thing for him to hope for, he feels ridiculous for even thinking he might have a chance with Jens, he isn’t even into guys.

-

The next morning Lucas is sitting next to Isa at the table in the living room.

“And after he clung on me for what felt like hours, he just took her to his room!” Lucas says annoyed. “Can you believe that?” He slams down his mug on the table, a few drops of coffee spilling over the brim.

“Awh, Jens missed you!” Isa teases.

“Ugh, shut up, you don’t get it. They were so loud.”

“You know that my room is next to Jens’ right? I heard enough,” she giggles.

“omg,” Lucas groans, “stop talking about it.” He tucks his head in his arms.

“You’re the one who started this conversation!”

The door to the living room opens, revealing a sleepy Jens wearing nothing but a pair of black sweats. “Good morning,” He yawns.

Lucas swallows, keeping his eyes on Jens as he walks over to the table.

“Good morning,” Isa says, way too excited for Lucas’ liking, “I heard you had fun last night,” she smirks, taking a sip from her coffee, eyes darting from Jens to Lucas.

Lucas elbows Isa in her side and sends her an annoyed look. “what?” she says, still giggling as she pushes back her chair. “I have somewhere else to be.” she blows both of them a kiss before turning around and walking out of the room, leaving Jens and Lucas behind.

“About last night,” Jens sighs, “I didn’t mean to-”

But before he can finish Lucas cuts him off. “don’t worry about it, okay?” He shrugs, trying to look casual but he knows the harsh tone in his voice gave him away.

Jens is about to say something else, but before he can do so, the door to the living room opens again.

“There you are,” Jade smiles, she's wearing one of Jens’ shirts, the maroon-coloured one he was wearing on the day Lucas met him.

Jens doesn't look at her though, he doesn't even say anything, he just frowns at Lucas.

She walks up to him and winds her arms around him from behind and gives a soft kiss to his shoulder. All this time Lucas keeps his eye contact with Jens and he isn’t planning on looking away.

“Jens?” she questions because he still hasn’t said anything yet.

“Hm?” he finally answers, “I’m gonna get some breakfast.”

he detangles himself from her and walks to the kitchen. Jade looks a bit confused, she takes place at the table across from Lucas. “So, how is it going, living here with that crackhead in your house twenty-four seven?” she asks.

Deep inside his head, Lucas groans. Why does she need to talk to him? He really doesn’t feel like having a conversation with the girl Jens slept with last night, but he tries to keep his face natural.

“It’s good, and Jens is chill just like the other housemates.”

“You aren’t from Belgium, are you? Since your accent is different.”

What’s with all the questions, Lucas thinks. Can’t she just shut up?

“I’m from the Netherlands,” he says dryly.

“Ah yes, that’s what I thought. You sound so cute!”

“Can you stop with all the questions,” he groans.

Whoops, there goes his ‘be natural’ plan.

Jade frowns. “Did is say something wrong?”

“Maybe it’s just better if you go,” he says with a straight face.

He didn’t expect Jens to walk back from the kitchen just as he said that with a big bowl of cereal in his hand. He was just taking a bite when Lucas said it, so now he was standing still, a few steps away from the table with his mouth full of cereal.

It is quiet for a few seconds. Jens tries to swallow his cereal without choking on it, which he kind of fails doing because all the attention is on him and he starts coughing.

“I’m sorry, but do you have like a problem with me?” Jade asks confused and a little irritated. She leans back in her chair, crosses her arms over her chest and glares at him.

Lucas suddenly doesn’t dare to look at Jens, because he feels his eyes on him and he doesn’t want to know what his expression is. So he keeps his eyes on jade who is still glaring at him.

“Luc…” Jens says. “Calm down okay.”

“Jade, I just… I-” he throws his hands in the air, contemplating what to say. “I just haven’t slept well last night, okay, and I’d rather just not have any guest here right now,” he says while looking down at the table.

Everyone stays silent so he dares to look up at Jens who gives him a puzzled look.

“Okay well, if that’s the case then I better go,” she says already standing up.

Jens walks to the table and puts down his cereal bowl. But before he gets a chance to have a say in the conversation Jade is already walking into the hallway. He sighs and gives Lucas another look before turning around and catching up on Jade.

She is walking up the stairs to Jens his room, so he skips after her. He doesn’t say anything for a while but leans against the door frame and just watches her as she squeezes into her jeans from last night.

She takes off her shirt, well his shirt, and throws it as his face. “So you’re just gonna let him send me away? Without any protest?” she snaps.

Jens gets kind of distracted by the fact that she’s half-naked and he has to force himself to look at her face. “Jade please, I-”

“Save the speech Jens,” She snatches her top from the floor and pulls it over her head, slightly messing up her hair. “If I knew you had a crush on your roommate I wouldn’t have slept with you in the first place.”

“Excuse me what the fuck? Where did you get that from,” he says and pushes himself off the doorframe, he feels the anger and confusion bubble up inside him. Why the hell would she think that?

“I feel so stupid,” she groans and sits down on the bed to slip on her heels. “Did you want to make him jealous or something?”

“What the hell, no!” he steps further into the room.

“Okay Jens, whatever, but I’m leaving.” She grabs her bag off his desk chair and walks out of his room.

Jens follows her down the stairs. “Well at least you’re walking me out,” she huffs, looking back over her shoulder.

“You know, I really did nothing wrong here,” he says.

“You’re so stupid, you know that Jens? I hope you figure your feelings out soon.”

She opens the door and walks out.

Before Jens closes the door, when she’s already crossing the street he screams, “Lucas was right, all of you questions are fucking annoying!” and just because he can, he adds, “And it wasn’t even a good fuck!” Then he aggressively slams the door shut.

He leans his forehead against de door.

He can’t seem to stop thinking about what Jade just told him. She was apparently seeing something that he still can’t see. he likes all his roommates equally. Maybe he sometimes spends a little bit more time with Lucas, but what does that really say? Some people just get along better with a certain person. They have a lot in common, but there are also so many differences between them. Sometimes it is not as good to be totally the same. It is fun and interesting to get to know each others views in life.

“Did you want to make him jealous.”

Did he? It isn’t new that he takes a girl home, he does that regularly. But why did it feel different this time? Jens has so many questions that his head almost starts spinning. He turns around so that he leans with his back against the door.

But then he remembers that Lucas did just threw Jade out of here. It wasn’t his date. He had no right to do such a thing. Jens doesn’t even care about Jade, just that Lucas made the decision for him.

His confusion is now replaced with anger again. He pushes himself away from the door and walks back up the stairs to the living room.

He pushes the door open with a little to much force which makes Lucas, who is still sitting at the table, lookup.

“What was that for?” he says while walking closer to Lucas.

“Calm down Jens,” he says while taking another sip of his coffee.

“Calm down? You want me to calm down? You literally just forced Jade out of the house.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t seem to have a problem with that just a minute ago.” Lucas snaps back.

Jens takes a deep breath. “Why are you acting so bitchy Luc. You had no right to do this”

Lucas puts his mug down on the table and sighs. “Yesterday you guys just waltzed in while making way to much noise for that hour, and when I came downstairs to check out what was happening, you saw me and just started clinging to me" he recalls, "why did you even do that?" he says, confusion written all over his face.

“I did what?” Jens’ eyebrows shoot up.

“You hugged me, like really tight. You wouldn't get off me. You don’t remember…?”

Jens isn’t sure but for a split second, he sees hurt flash through Lucas eyes.

“No… last night is kind of a blur.”

“You know, it’s fine. I’m sorry for throwing Jade out, but I have a lot of school work to do so I’m gonna head to my room,” Lucas says while standing up, avoiding Jens’ gaze.

Jens doesn’t say anything else, he just lets him walk out of the living room.

“Fuck,” Jens whispers to himself. He is sure there is a real reason why Lucas didn’t want Jade here, but he just can’t figure it out. How did he let this escalate so quickly, they were fine yesterday.

“If I knew you had a crush on your roommate…”

“Stop,” he mutters to himself. He just wants to forget about his conversation with Jade, but all her comments keep popping up in his head. Could she be right?

[pappydaddy]

Say It (Three Words pt.2) (s.h)

a/n: gosh! i wrote this so long ago, look at baby pappydaddy’s first ever imagine! so much has changed since i posted this, it’s kinda crazy to look back upon this. anyway, i am here to say that i am going to revamp this fic! i’ll rewrite it eventually, but for right now, i am making it look somewhat like my newer fics!

and yes, i reused the a/n from part one since now, i would have just made this one part instead of two😅!

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

not requested

tv show/movie: stranger things

warnings: angst, just basic relationship things.  

part i  | part ii - you are here!

masterlist | taglist | wips | navigation

- not my gif -  

  The entire drive over to the Henderson residence, where this weeks movie night was being held, was filled with Robin talking endlessly about the plan she concocted to give Steve the perfect time to tell y/n he loved her. Robin was excited, her hands moving wildly in the air as she talked, too busy to look at Steve as he drove. While Robin couldn’t help but feel excited, Steve couldn’t help but feel like he was driving to his death - his own personal Dooms Day. With each passing second the tires of his maroon BMW rolled closer to Dustin’s house, he feel the pending doom looming over him more and more, like an ugly black coated monster. 

  “This is going to be perfect, as long as you don’t mess it up,” Robin spoke through an exhale, her hands falling to rest on her jean clad thighs. Steve hummed, not really listening to what she was saying. He was too caught up in the fact that in a matter of one minute, he could wreck his relationship. Robin finally looked over at him, shooting him a glare as he turned onto Dustin’s street. “You have to do it tonight, Steve. Just do it and whatever happens happens, you two are both adults, you can talk about it if it doesn’t go perfectly.” She reminded him. 

  “Yeah, you’re right, we can talk about what happens next if she isn’t ready yet. That’s an option. Or we could break-up and I could die.” He spun out, slowing his speed down to make the drive last longer, not wanting to pull into the Henderson’s driveway just yet. He wanted to prolong the drive as long as he can, wanting to think out every scenario, especially the one where she says she doesn’t love him and Steve’s heart is ripped out of his chest and stomped on once again. 

  “You’re not going to die, y/n loves you - even if she’s not ready to say it yet, sh does,” Robin told him honestly. “Besides, the worst thing that could happen is she says she’s not ready, doesn’t mean you will break up.” Robin felt like a broken record at this point, but she knew she had to keep saying it in order for it to get through Steve’s thick head. 

  “No, the worst thing that could happen is that I die because she thinks I’m creepy.” Steve told her. Robin groaned loudly, slamming her head back against the headrest, her eyes squeezed shut in annoyance. She had him convinced in the store that she wasn’t going to say no, but the second they started to drive, he was right back to thinking she was going to shatter his heart. 

  “I am this close to punching you out and telling her you love her myself, Harrington,” Robin seethed, lifting her head. Steve slowed down even more, the Henderson's driveway only a lawn away. “Turn into the damn driveway and get in there, take y/n into your arms, tell her you love her and kiss her. Stop overthinking, just do it.” Robin basically yelled at her best friend, clearly frustrated with him. 

  “But-” He started, finally pulling into the driveway, parking the car. 

  “I swear to god, Harrington,” She threatened him, gritting her teeth as she gave him a wild look. Steve looked at her with wide eyes, slowly turning the car off and pulling the keys out of the ignition as if any sudden movements would set her off like an attack dog. “It’s almost like you want to be scared of love your whole life. Can’t you admit that one tiny little part of you wants to feel love again and doesn’t want to shy away from love? You love her and nothing is going to change that,” She took a deep breath, her voice becoming compassionate. “I know you’re scared, but no matter what you do at this point, you might end up getting hurt; if you don’t tell her you love her, she will never know and your relationship will end eventually and she will move on while you kick yourself for not telling her it soon enough.” 

  “You know, that’s not really helping, Robin.” Steve shot back, opening his door, the cold night air rushing into the car. 

  “Steve Harrington, you were scared shitless when we were held hostage in a Russian base, but you didn’t let it stop you from trying to get out even with you knowing that we could die if we were caught, this is practically the same thing,” Robin pointed out, giving Steve tough love now. “We were damned if we did and damned if we didn’t, but we did try and escape and we are still up and walking - free from the Russians,” She paused, her eyes pouring into Steve, her tone dropping. “You are feeling the same way now, damned if you do and damned if you don’t, but from someone seeing everything from outside your relationship, you’re completely damned if you don’t.” 

  “You’re right, I am damned if it don’t say it,” Steve breathed out. Robin could have cheered out in celebration. He finally was back on track. “I would be even more of an idiot if I don’t say it.” 

  “Hard to argue with that logic,” Robin chirped, opening her car door and sliding out into the cold air, slamming it while Steve just stared at the Henderson’s front door. “Let’s get a move on Romeo, before you start overthinking again.” Robin walked around to his open door, yanking on his arm to get out. He complied, unbuckling his seat belt, forcing himself not to think about it. Mentally pumping himself up, playing positive affirmations over and over again as he followed Robin to the front door. He tried to smother the looming monster manifestation of his fear, taking deep breaths. 

  “I can’t believe you put butter on this! Popcorn seasoning is better!” Lucas’ shout greeted them as soon as Robin pushed the front door open. They shared a look, kicking their shoes off and shrugging out of their jackets. 

  “Butter is better, that’s what you always get at the movies - a large popcorn with extra butter, why is this any different?” Mike shouted back. Robin and Steve rounded the corner into the living room, seeing Mike and Lucas standing there, Mike holding a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn in his hands. 

  “Because I want popcorn seasoning, not butter and this isn’t movie theater popcorn, dumbass!” Lucas shot back, pointing to the popcorn. Max and Dustin just start on the couch, watching the fight, not saying anything. Steve looked around for y/n, but his search of the living room came up short. 

  “You’re the dumbass! Popcorn is popcorn!” Mike argued, shoving the bowl towards Lucas who pushed it back, a few pieces spilling out of the bowl at the forcefulness of the push. 

  “Hey! Don’t spill buttered popcorn all over the floor, my mom will kill me, Dipshits!” Dustin yelled, interjecting himself into the kerfuffle. Just like an angel, y/n rushed into the hallway from the kitchen, a second bowl of popcorn in her hands. She smiled, seeing Steve and Robin standing in the doorway to the living room as she slipped by them, holding the bowl out to Lucas. 

  “There, freshly popped popcorn with popcorn seasoning, now you two can stop fighting. Mike, sit at that end of the couch, Lucas, on that end,” She instructed, pointing to opposite ends of the couch. “Whoever wants to eat buttered popcorn, sit by Mike, whoever wants to eat seasoned popcorn, sit by Lucas. Everything is settled.” She breathed out a sigh, her hands coming to rest on her hips as she turned to Steve and Robin. 

  “Why don’t you go get some fresh air, y/n, I will take care of things in here.” Robin suggested, taking y/n by her shoulders and directing her towards the front door. Y/n went along willingly, slipping her shoes on once Robin let go of her shoulders. Behind y/n’s back, Robin sent a warning glare towards Steve, nudging her head in her direction, telling him to go with her. 

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, thanks Robin.” Y/n announced, sliding her coat over her as she opened the door, slipping out it. 

  “Take your time! No rush,” Robin told her, glaring at Steve as he shook his head wildly, panic building back up in him. Robin pointed to the door, her eyes narrowing as it closed behind y/n. “Get out there and say it!” She hissed. 

  “Shouldn’t I just give a like a minute to chill-” 

  “Harrington, if you miss this opportunity I am hauling your ass into the psych ward to have your head examined. Just remember what we talked about in the car and you will be fine.” Robin cut him off abruptly, her frustration showing. Steve blinked, shocked by her outburst. He nodded, his mind set on his mission. 

  “Okay, yeah, just- don’t lose your mind.” He muttered, brushing past Robin who watched him slip his shoes back on, walking out without his jacket. He took a deep breath, twisting the door handle and stepping into the night. The cold breeze made him shiver slightly, but he pushed through it as he gently closed the door behind him, his heart racing. His mind batted away the negative thoughts that kept trying to slip in and ruin his confidence, but everything melted away when his eyes landed on y/n leaning against the side of the house by the door. 

  “Hey, Steve! I haven’t talked to you all day, I missed you,” She smiled up at him, not noticing how he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans as he slowly walked towards her, swallowing thickly. “What’s up?” She furrowed her brows, her heart jumping in fear at his nervous facial expression, her mind automatically thinking the worst. 

  “I, uh,” He started, jamming one hand in his jean pocket, the other one clasping the back of his neck, rubbing it. He cleared his throat, his eyes dropping to his feet. Taking another deep breath, he gathered his courage. “I just wanted to talk to you about something.” He told her, looking back up at her, their eyes connecting. 

  “Sure, what is it, babe,” She asked, her hand coming out to rest on his arm gently, her eyes soft, showing him that he could say anything. He swallowed once again, nerves bubbling up in his chest. She was so sweet and caring, Steve had to question what twist of fate allowed her to even think about going on a date with him, let alone loving him. “Whatever it is, just say it and we can go from there.” She told him. Her mind raced, thinking he wanted to break up with her. She started to question how she was going to explain to the kids why she had to leave once Steve broke up with her. How she was going to hold it together long enough to leave with at least a sliver of her dignity. 

  “I’m just going to say it,” He mumbled to himself, almost as if to push himself to do it. “Just say it, Steve,” He repeated, taking deep breaths, making y/n even more nervous. “Just,” He paused, pulling his hands in front of him and pushed them forward as if it would help him say the words. “Say it.” 

  “Steve, if you don’t say it, we aren’t going to be able to talk about it-” 

  “I love you,” He blurted out, his eyes closed as he waited for her response. Y/n filtered in her step closer to him, not expecting him to say that. She was expecting for him to tell her he wanted to break up, not that he loved her. Her heart felt like it was floating, trying to rise up to the clouds drifting in the night sky. Drift into the sparkling stars, to float around the planets of the universe. Steve pried his eyes open at her silence, taking in her shocked expression. “And you don’t feel the same, I am so stupid! I told Robin that this was going to go bad, but she insisted that you loved me too-”

  “I do,” y/n finally spoke, her voice firm. Her eyes looked into Steve confused ones. His mouth opened to ask her what she meant, but she beat him to it. “I love you,” She clarified, stepping even closer to his body, her arms snaking around his torso, pressing her body against his. “I was shocked because I thought you wanted to break up with me, that’s why I didn’t say it back right away.” She told him, nuzzling her cheek into his chest as his arms wrapped around her, swaying them back and forth gently. 

  “Why would I ever break up with you? You’re amazing.” Steve questioned, wondering how she would ever think he wanted to break up with someone as perfect as her. She shrugged, pulling her face away from his chest to look up at him. 

  “I dunno, I just thought you were acting weird and then when you came out here looking nervous and not wanting to say something, I automatically thought you were breaking up with me,” She confessed, stepping back so she could look at him better. All the tension and stress in his body was gone, his normal goofy smile on his lips, his body relaxed. “But I’m glad you said you loved me.” She smiled up at him, rolling onto her toes to press a kiss to his chin. 

  “I’m glad I said it too.” He agreed, dipping his head down to press a long, lingering kiss to her lips. 

[alias-b]

sins of my youth. 005

Billy Hargrove x OC! Evie Fenny~ Also posted to my AO3

Summary: It was common knowledge that Billy Hargrove hated Hawkins. Hated Cherry Lane. Even loathed the strange girl next door. Evie Fenny wasn’t too fond of the chaotic Cali transfer either. An awful high school tradition sparks a chain of events that changes everything, ultimately bringing two frayed souls together.

A/N: Well. It's time for the dance. Sigh. TW: Teenagers can be evil. Also head's up, light will be shined on an unhealthy relationship Evie is navigating. I won't get explicit with it, but we as readers are going to see red flags that our girl cannot see. Or is ignoring. Taglist open :)

Chapter 5: Skirt Safari

   Evie didn’t tell anyone she was going to a dance with Billy Hargrove for New Years. Just said some party in the city. Didn’t tell her mother. Not even Heather. 

   Floated through the holidays with her guitar on the porch swing.  Bundled up as snow fell. Little, perfect flurries. Open notebook next to her as she crossed her legs and exhaled into cold. Strumming idle tunes away from her mother’s indoor phone chatter.

   A car skidded up to Billy’s house. Day before the party. Tommy’s freckled face popped out of the driver’s side with Carol getting up too.

   “Hey, Fenny!” Tommy couldn’t resist prodding. “You stay on the nice list this year?”

   “Don’t spend all your coal in one place.” She set one leg down. Head cocking. Billy came out of his house shrugging a jacket on. He stopped to gawk at the snow. Let it fall into his curls. Rough and ethereal.

   “Let’s go.” He didn’t glance at Evie there as Tommy approached her porch steps. “Gimme the keys, I’m driving still.”

   “Little birdy told me you were gonna be around on New Years.” Tommy leaned against a brick post. A broad smile.

   “Oh, you guys are going too? That really makes me want to go.” Evie replied flatly. Billy smacked Tommy’s chest with a hiss at him.

   “I got shit to do. C'mon.” He warned, not wanting the annoying boy to ruin his chances here.

   “Don’t worry, Evie, I already have plans that night. I probably won’t be around that joint. I don’t qualify.” Carol’s bracelets clinked together when she swept her styled hair aside, undaunted by Billy's steel glaring. Tommy chuckled with her and Billy gave a growl low in his throat.

   “You take requests on that thing?” Tommy continued. “Got a song for me?”

   “Sure. How about this?” Evie straightened up. Strummed and tapped one foot to a beat.

  “Don't stand, don't stand so… Don't stand so close to me...” Evie flashed a smile and kept playing. “How’s that?” Tommy hitched to laugh until Carol hit his chest, tugging because she was over this conversation.

   Billy paused to smile at Evie there. Looking so pretty in the snow, it was criminal. Evie touched the strings to stop the flow of vibration.

   “She isn’t bad.” Tommy stumbled as Carol pulled him away.

   “Come on, you don’t even know what that song is about.” She peered back to glower at Evie. Lethal.

   “You see? I can’t sit on my own porch without being bothered.” Brown eyes lifted to Billy as she sat back to idly move the swing with one foot.

   “Never actually heard you sing.” Billy had observed instead, twisting the ring around his middle finger. No compliment or insult followed him back down the steps. Evie plucked a few cords, watching him go. 

   Billy wrestled Tommy for the driver’s seat. Won. Skidded off to raise hell somewhere else. 

   It was a clock ticking down each lazy hour as her secret hung in the air. Heather parents stole their daughter away to the Holloway's lavish cabin for a family New Years Party which took the heat off the lie.

   Evie spent the whole day preparing in her bedroom. Tossed dress after dress upon her bed like she cared what Billy Hargrove thought. Decided on something short and maroon. Sleeves just above her elbows and a slight poof to the little skirt. Gave her waist a little pull and didn’t make her cleavage look half bad. Matched her nails and lip color too.

   Makeup spread all over her dresser. Glittery gold shadow with a smoky haze. The dress was a metallic foil maroon, seemed fun enough for New Years. Big hoops and a necklace completed her look. Evie hurried to grasp a jacket before Billy could come to her door.

   “I’m going to a New Years thing mom, I’ll be safe.” She called on the way out.

   “Have fun, baby!”

   “I will.” Evie sprayed amber perfume and was lotioning her hands rushing out of the house. Almost bumped into Billy on the doorstep ready to knock. His eyes narrowed.

   “You didn’t tell anyone.”

   “Bet you didn’t either. Do your parents know?” She slipped her jacket on. Billy blew smoke in response. He seemed annoyed today which did nothing for her nerves. “So, I put on a dress...don’t get me murdered.”

   The joke seemed to go over him.

   “Well, let’s go.” He turned and went toward his car, stunning in the cold and twice and rude. “Let’s just get this shit going.” A cigarette hit the pavement.

   Evie didn’t move.

   “Are you alright?” She asked slower.

   “I just want to get there.” Billy snapped. “C’mon.”

   “Listen, I really don’t have to go anywhere if you’re going to be an ass the entire time.” She crossed her arms and Billy flared up. “I spent hours getting ready for this stupid thing. This stupid thing that you pestered me to go to!”

   His shoulder dropped.

   “Hours, huh.” Billy came around and opened the door for her. “We can’t waste that.”

   The charm reeled back.

   Evie stood unmoved.

   “Look, I just got into it with my old man. Wasn’t you.” Billy explained. “You lost the bet, Angel.”

   “I did.” She sighed and crossed to get in. He shut the door and joined her. Turned the music down when it blared. “What’s this bar called?”

   “The Dogfight.”

   “Charming.” Evie stuffed a tiny wallet into the bodice of her dress. Billy eyed her chest. “Watch the road, Hargrove.”

   “You spent hours getting ready for me.” He mused, rubbing his chin. “I like when a girl admits it.”

   “And how long did it take you to get this hair just right?” She reached and tugged at a curl as he’d done with her so many times. He’d doused himself in that sex cologne he liked so much. A red shirt opened and tucked into the tightest jeans he could have picked out. Leather jacket again today. “We both wore maroon.”

   “Looks more wine on you.” He fussed at that.

   “Just saying.” Evie broke to smile. “I meant it, don’t get me murdered.”

   “We get in, we snag some drinks, we get out. The streets are going to be chaos; it should be fun.” Billy turned onto the main roads. Sped beyond all the other cars.

   “I’m not letting you drive drunk.”

   “A motel is always an option for me, sweet cheeks.” Billy clicked his tongue.

   “With two beds, ponyboy.” She only grinned, undaunted. “I lost a bet, not all my morals.”

   Billy laughed, picking up speed.

   “We can loosen those up tonight.”

** ** **

   “What do you drink, Angel, an appletini?” Billy dragged Evie into a dark lit bar. Pink and yellow lights shooting all directions. Metallic streamers hanging and swaying with the dancers already smashed on the floor. Evie looked down at his hand as he peered around and brought her all the way to a corner table near the window.

   Even settled a menu on the other side like they might be hiding behind it.

   "Something with a little pink umbrella?" He continued, eyes on the window. Drunks sang along the streets in their party clothes. 

   “Try whiskey. I’m going to need one for this.” She caught Billy’s head whipping around. “Who are you looking for?”

   “No one, I-fuck!” The gorgeous boy lost all composure and skidded out of his chair when a bare ass pressed the window. Evie gasped and covered her eyes, pouty lips slack. Kind of enjoyed Billy losing his cool. “Asshole!” Music overlapped the chaos. Tommy fucking H howled with laughter on the other end, pulling his pants up.

   "Fuck." Billy sank back into his chair. "Shithead."

   Tommy swaggered in still laughing, had a woman on his arm that wasn’t Carol.

   She was clearly older, wrinkled and fatigued. Maybe forty. Wearing a tight purple lace number that was not keeping her warm or fitting correctly. Jean jacket. Fishnets. Smudged makeup. Big beehive hairstyle. She smelled like sweet pineapple and chain smoked her teeth brown and broken.

   Billy and Evie exchanged looks because she was also clearly a lady of the night.

   “Tommy...who is your new friend?” Billy asked slower. All teeth.

   “Her name’s Bubbles.” Tommy was shorter than her in those heels. Head on her shoulder with the cheesiest grin. “She’s a real winner.”

   “Charmed, handsome.” The woman rasped and reached for Billy’s hand then Evie’s. “Like the shadow, sweetie, it suits you.”

   “Thank you,” she blushed. “I like your beetle hairpin.”

   “We’re going to hit the dance floor,” Tommy scanned Evie, “good to see you here, Fenny.”

   “Right.” She glanced at Billy as they left. “What was that about?”

   “He’s drunk. Probably sad about some dumb shit with Carol, they’ll be screwing again before school starts.” Billy said that quicker than intended. A light bulb went off in his head. “Drinks. Wait here.”

   “Thanks.” Evie recognized teens from her school and rivals.

   “Fenny!” A couple football players spotted her inside. Poked until the window tilted open. “What’s a pretty girl doing in this dump?”

   “Our girl who brought Tannen down a couple pegs.” 

   Questionable Hawkins High Fame.

   “Just enjoying New Years.” Evie giggled there fiddling with her nails.

   “If someone messes with you, let the guys know, we’re down the block. That bar on the corner.” They started off. 

   “Will do, boys.” She jilted when Billy smacked a drink down, sitting. “Thank God.”

   “He ain't here. Thank me." Billy leaned over to see her. Crossed his arms as she drank. "You don’t party this hard?”

   “We snuck into a bar, did you even get carded?”

   “Told you, no one cares.” He gulped his own glass down. “Stop worrying.”

   Evie just drank more in response.

   "You established I only go to lame high school parties." Evie paused to see him. "Kind of waiting for a rain of pig's blood here. I guess I actually want a good night."

   "I wouldn't say it's asking a lot." Blue eyes went to the table, paint chipping away from wood. There was an uneasy beat before he softened. “Another? It’s open for the party. Free shit even after twelve.”

   “Please.” She followed him this time. Felt the burn in her throat as they leaned there together. "So, why-?"

   “Hey, Fenny.” Brock Tannen’s sculpted face craned over her shoulder. Billy tensed, jaw twitching. “Boy, am I shocked to see you here. With Keg King Billy Hargrove. Apply enough heat and even the ice queen melts. Must be a Cali boy thing.”

   “You’d be about Antarctica.” Evie replied. He only smiled. Eyes shifted to Billy.

   “Hope you stick around to midnight, have fun you two.” Brock pulled a girl off with him, staring at him like he was a pot of gold at the end of a spring rainbow. Little blonde with some acne scars she tried to cover with make-up. An eyeshadow look in blue to match her dress that must have taken hours to perfect. Two missing teeth in her mouth. Skin and bone thing. Young looking.

   “Asshole.” They said at the same time. Tension broke. Billy chuckled and she peered in the direction Brock had gone into.

   “Did you see that girl with him?”

   “No, who?” Billy scratched the back of his neck. Kept looking around.

   “Ah, nothing.” Evie brought the glass to her lips again and sipped. Screens all over this bar and the city played the party in New York. Commotion in the streets marked with loud party goers. “So, what’s there to do before midnight hits?”

   “Whatever the fucking fuck hell we want.” Billy tapped his glass to hers and downed it. Relished the burn.

   “You like to swear.”

   “No, I like to drink.” He corrected, offering her a menu. “Eat something.”

   “We gotta pay for food.”

   “I’m buying, I invited you.” Came a shrug. “Pick some shit out.”

   “You want food, honey pie?” A man flocked over.

   “Damn right, I do.” Evie peered at Billy. Amused. “I’ll take the fucking chicken tenders with a side of bitching fries.”

   “Ketchup?” They were writing, amused because she was cute even still.

   “Fuck yes. Um, please.” She gestured to Billy with his jaw slack open. “And who knows what this asshole wants.”

   “Blondie?”

   “Ah...I’ll just have another drink. Fucking beer.” He batted his lashes.

   “Wonderful.” The man slid off snickering. 

   “What was that, Fenny?”

   “I swear, but not like you. It sounded like fun to try it out.” She covered her lips to giggle. “Why didn’t you get food? We’re drinking and it’s going to be a long night.”

   “Long night, you say? So, you want to stick around for the whole party.”

   “I put on a dress and makeup. People are going to see me and the effort I made.” She set her jaw on her chin. “Avoided the question.”

   “I only had enough cash for one meal. Rest is if we need the motel.”

   “Billy, you should have said something! I have a few bucks on me somewhere.” Evie frowned when he got his beer.

   “Doesn’t matter, you’re probably a lightweight. Get food in your stomach before you down more free whiskey.” He brushed it off quickly, blue eyes on the windows. Evie’s food came and she slid it between them.

   “It’s hot, have some. Don’t make me feed you, I won't be my mother..” She pressed and pouted until Billy snagged a piece of chicken. They shared the basket, licking warm fingers clean. Billy took the thumb he licked and fixed her lipstick, earning a snort of protest.

   “Ick.” She cocked her head away, amused. “Thanks, mom.”

   “You know, it took me ages to place that tiny accent you got. But, it’s so Louisiana. Mona rubbed off on you.” Billy pointed when Evie had gotten a new drink.

   "It's not."

   “Let’s get air, I think some idiot is setting off fireworks in the street.” They got up to get away from the crowds. Evie noticed the odd couples. Scanned before Billy was pulling at her wrist through the mess of dancing bodies. Cool air chilled her pink cheeks as they got down the block to pause. Billy sighed and set one foot on the brick behind him to light up.

   “Don’t have an accent," Evie picked up again, "that’s all mom.”

   “Born and bred in Louisiana, it’s sticking to you too.” Billy offered the smoke.

   “Not good for the singing voice.” She declined so he puffed again. Groups were already tossing balloons and confetti about. Bar hopping from club to club. Evie pulled her coat closer. “I don’t have an accent. You have one, west coast.”

   Billy watched her look up at the few stars that decided to come out over the city. 

   “I haven’t been to California. Been to Vegas a couple times. All the women in my family descend upon that city every few years and I always had to tag along. Not much for me to do but look at the lights.”

   “My dad says Vegas is full of swindlers and whores.”

   “He strikes me to think that about most places.” She chuckled and Billy agreed, stepping on the butt of his cigarette. “This your first time out here?”

   “Yeah.” He sucked in some air, tongue sweeping his lip.

   “Hargrove's never been to New Orleans. I bet you’d like the food, it’s unreal.”

   “You haven’t had the food in Cali.” Billy quipped, scooting in next to her to see the sky that had her so enamored. “Never really have to deal with the fucking cold.”

   “I always wondered how you stayed warm in those clothes.” Evie’s giggle cut the second he pressed into her.

   “I just tuck in next to a warm girl, Fenny, it isn’t rocket science.” A breath touched the air and Evie felt herself spark. Saw those same stars glittering brighter within Billy’s eyes. A distant shore calling them both home. 

   Evie felt those flower petals whirling around her stomach like butterfly wings. Burrowing deep to bloom with new life inside her. Vibrant colors she hid from the world spinning to unfurl. Billy looked into her soul and saw the colors dance neon. Wind picked up their curls with gentle caresses. A pull of vines and thorns bubbled up too. Twisted every way to protect Evie in the only way they knew how. 

   She could feel Billy’s chest heaving with air. Hard and flush into her skin, stealing warmth. Admiring the echo of lights behind her brown eyes. If she opened her mouth, a rose might blossom on her tongue. Billy wondered about tasting it for himself. He dared to inch in and she spun out.

   “It’s a nice night. Beautiful.”

   “Let’s get a beer to go take a hike from this place. We’ll make it back before the ball drops.” Billy figured he could just keep her from the main party and she wouldn’t notice the odd couplings within. They delved in and out of bars. Watched the mayhem in the streets. Even caught a totally illegal race or two. Sparklers on every corner underscored by laughter and jeers.

   “What’s next for you, after school?”

   “Save money to hightail it out of here. See the beach again and get a shitty job.” Billy gulped, licking his lips after. “You going to college?”

   “Probably just the local community college, more focused on my songs. My mom and I keep trying to put it out there. Something’s holding me back.” Evie saw him peer at her to continue as they clicked along the cool sidewalks. Decorations scattered all over the buildings and streets. “What if these big time producers don’t like them? My songs. I mean, what if they tell me I’m no good?” She paced ahead to ramble. “I just don’t think I can take that kind of rejection.”

   “So, you find some asshole who wants to put you on the radio.” Billy chuckled. “You had entire albums on your walls. You want it bad, chica.”

   “What about you?” Evie gestured with the bottle. “What secret hobbies and talents does Billy Hargrove hide away?”

   “I care about my car and that’s about as deep as I go, Angel.” He winked, tossing his empty into the trash so she finished her own and followed. Swallowed the froth down. Evie hurried to nudge into him.

   “C’mon. You’re a good enough student. I see the grades you get in our classes.”

   “All to keep my old man off my shit. Not like that works.” Billy stopped at a crosswalk, settled his hand on the bar so Evie slipped under it to lean there and make him look at her. He couldn't help the smirk at this playful side.

   “Who will I tell?”

   “Heather, most likely.” Came the quick reply.

   “I don’t tell her everything,” Evie trailed off with her eyes wandering, a sly smile pressed, “I sing, sew, play the guitar, and collect little trinkets. Buttons. Rocks and crystals. Old coins and keys. Little vintage ceramic and porcelain figures. And I needle felt.”

   “What’s that?”

   “You stab wool with a special needle until it makes a pretty shape. You probably caught a few things in my room. On the bookcase.”

   “You’re a hoarder.”

   “I’m very organized.” Evie giggled as they crossed the street. In their own little bubble, ignoring all the festivities around them. 

   “What can’t you do?”

   “I can bake alright, but it's messy. Not a great cook. I’m hopeless, my mother gave up trying with me. I also can’t get my leg behind my head. But, I’m close.” Her joke brought a full laugh out of him. Angelic sort of sound. “I’m serious.”

   “You’ll have to demonstrate, I don’t believe it.” Billy stood in front of her, walking still and chuckling as he went.

   “Fat chance.” Her heels picked up to get beside him. They passed a window full of TVs and stopped to see all the parties playing within each screen. “You ever think the world is too big? We don't have enough time to experience all of it, I mean.”

   Billy only puffed.

   “So, what can you do?” Evie pressed again.

   “I can cook alright. I don’t know, I just do good in school because the shit’s never been hard on me. Used to surf,” he glanced at her, “back in Cali.”

   “I’m not a strong swimmer.” Evie said, looking up at him and the lights playing on his stunning face. Followed the curve of his jaw down his neck. “You know, Heather lifeguards at the pool every summer. She’d help you get a gig if you need a job when school is out. Probably prefer you over the other jerks that apply.”

   “Not as bad as the other jerks, I like that.” Billy mused, eyes flicking all around. Caught in stars again. “Hey, there’s the LA bash. Miss that shit. Music scene raged pretty hard.” The way he smiled melted Evie all the way to the pavement. Billy standing there lax and missing home. Displaying his own lush colors. Dreaming and feral.

   “You’re always writing in class when you’re not drawing dicks in textbooks.” Evie observed, earning an amused look in response. “Do you like that stuff? Stories?”

   “My mom used to say I told better stories than she did. I’d tell her them to help her sleep.” Billy admitted, blinking a couple times before the illusion shattered and he went stony again. Paced around Evie to continue.

   “You could write books, get more into English. Make some money being an author. Sell stories to the big screen.”

   “Burn out and go broke, sure.” Billy lit up another cigarette, gave this entertained puff. His wall went up higher and Evie stayed too soft. “End up teaching some snots like that jerk, Bowers.”

   “He’s not a jerk.”

   “Not to the girls in class.” Billy flicked his ashes. “Probably likes you and Carol fighting for his attention.”

   “We don’t…” Evie went red as an apple. “I don’t. Carol’s just jealous of the attention he gives me.”

   “Still weird. She hates that you’re a teacher’s pet. Don’t know why you’d want to be.” Smoke edged from his lips.

   “It’s nice when someone is respectful once in a while to a girl like me. When they listen, you know?” Evie held herself as they walked along a bit slower. “He respects me and what I have to say.”

   “Shouldn’t trust someone just because they’re being nice to you, Evie.” Billy had this distant expression when he said that. Full of ocean waves rolling into a peaceful shore.

   "Nice is still better than..." She never finished and Billy didn't ask her to.

   They peered at all the buildings illuminated before them. The skyscrapers pointing straight to heaven. Music boomed from several clubs, mingling all the celebrations together. 

   “Want to head back? Get another hard drink.”

   “I’d like that.” She admitted, shuffling some. 

   “Move it, Fenny, free alcohol doesn’t happen every day for us.” Billy snatched her by the hand, picked up the pace until they were both laughing and out of breath. Reeling around drunk groups of friends to squeeze back up to the bar. 

   The hard notes of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear us Apart” began after the second round. Evie was swaying already as they stood at the corner of the bar counter. 

   “Do you dance, Angel?” Billy cocked his head.

   “Sometimes. If I’m supposed to be onstage one day, I have to.” She giggled, bubbling and pink like champagne. “You?”

   “Fuck, no. Just bounce around and smash into people at concerts.”

   “That counts!” Her voice picked up over the ruckus. People dressed in glitter and metallic moved together above a floor that lit up. Gave the place an opulent vibe.

   “You look like you want to get out there!” Billy leaned toward her. The third round came.

   “We don’t have to!” Evie was pressed all the way into him. Both shouting at each other out of necessity. A pulse pounded their flesh apart. Jackets were left on a chair next to Tommy and his date.

   Billy sank his drink in one go so Evie followed.

   “I asked you here, I’ll ask you to dance if I want!”

   “Fine!”

   “Fine!” Billy echoed, sweeping Evie by the waist out with him. Bodies swayed all directions. Smashed them even closer together. Curls bounced. 

   Evie got swept up in the lights dancing on her skin. Blue and red glows now. She let her head tip back and moved with Billy there. He watched her intently, felt the whole world slow. Smiled brighter than he should have. Hot and sparking. 

   Electric and dreamy. Fizzling neon in their hungry veins. Bodies heating and sweaty. Nothing mattered in these lights though, something freeing there.

   Didn’t even care that it was fucking Cyndi Lauper blasting.

  “Girls just wanna have fun!” Evie sang along. She came alive under these glimmers in the crowds. Like she was the only one there. Every song change, they banged to each beat and never seemed to tire of it. 

   And then the mood tipped. Tempered with that damn Foreigner song about love. Billy and Evie stilled with it. Looked out at the couples coming together for a slow dance. 

   “Uh,” Evie swallowed harder and tucked some unruly curls behind her ear, “did you want to…?”

   “We’re doing this fucking party right. You asked for two things. A good night and no murder, I can manage that much.” Billy stole her forward. He tried to blame the alcohol. 

   Dipped a palm around the small of her back to bring her into his chest. Inches shorter, her eyes popped open. Lips parted with no words in sight. The alcohol in their bellies caught fire. He grabbed her hand and she laced their fingers without a thought about it. It was bold, how he touched her and Evie wasn't used to that.

   “There ya go. Just sway some.”

   Evie pressed her lips and broke that eye contact because it was turning her back to mush. Stared at the saint chain around Billy's neck. There was a pleasant glisten upon his taut chest from sweat. She got drunk off his stupid cologne. Let him inhale her perfume in turn. Boiling amber gleaming to stunt all his senses. Hint of sweet vanilla lotion.

   Unabashed, Billy pressed into her body. Not thinking she took up too much space or she wasn’t desirable. No, Evie Fenny was perfectly covetable. With her batting lashes and lights highlighting a glow upon her high cheeks. They swayed together between couples so Evie brought her arm over his shoulder. Gathered the bravery to see his eyes again, already looking at her face.

   “Billy,” Evie curled her fingers into his shirt, “why am I here?"

   “Because I asked you.” Billy spun her around under all the stars and streamers. 

   “Why’d you ask me?” She searched him. Saw his eyes flicker beyond her a couple times.

   “Because I wanted to, Evie.”

   “Why’d you want to?” Her tone etched into him, gentle as she could with another change of songs. Something older from the 70s by Kate Irving. Her little voice filling the space around them. 

   Billy just kept spinning Evie there at the center of the floor and they looked at each other without even getting dizzy. Let the world tilt while they stayed static. Silence crept and it was stunning.

  I'm afraid 'cause it feels too good

  And I want it too bad

   “Because you called me pretty.” Billy winked that time. Devilish. “At that party on Loch Nora.”

   “When we yelled at each other?” Evie felt the tension break and spill out. “I said your eyes were pretty.”

   “Same thing.”

  I never dreamed someone like you

  Could want someone like me

   Her head came to his collar when she laughed that time. The heart under his skin picked up. 

   “Evie.” Billy pressed then so she came up. The syllables died on his tongue. “We’re here and I like it. So, it doesn’t fucking matter.”

   “No, I guess not.” She let herself smile into his skin when her head dropped again. A slight giggle. “I like it too.”

   “Good.” Billy hit that word hard. They spun and spun to the flow of sound and lights. Drank it all in. Until it was seconds to midnight. Couples were stilling to count. 

   Billy looked at Brock raising his drink across the way.

   Twenty seconds.

   He peered down at Evie when her eyes lifted to see him. 

   Just one kiss, he could have stolen it.

   And he couldn’t do it. 

   Their hands dropped away. Evie smiled at the scene. Everyone celebrating the birth of this new year. It felt magical. Too good to let flutter away.

   Billy just looked at her and Evie breathed.

   It happened too fast.

   Soft hands on his jaw while she came to her toes and gave him one peck upon his lips. So inordinate in sweetness that Billy felt his eyes water.

   Instantly she slipped back down. Still beaming brighter than any star this night.

   A thank you for every single smile he’d painted upon her face in these short hours. For his boldness and his touch without fear.

   A kiss where there were no thorns for the first time in all her life.

   Billy had never been given such a kiss. It was gift wrapped. Something so signature for him from this girl. This girl he decided he liked to be around. He gasped the moment she let him go. Caught Brock laughing all the way across the room.

   “No.” He said. Crushed somehow.

   “No?” Evie’s head cocked in confusion.

   “Happy New Year!” Echoes and fireworks blasted. Everyone jumping up and down while Billy and Evie remained still as marble. Locked into each other.

   "Ah, I mean..." With midnight gone, Billy pulled her in. Decided to make this one count.

   Palms cupped Evie’s face. Brought her back with the slightest gasp he drank down. Kissed her full on the mouth like he'd been thinking about it all night. Billows of shiny confetti fell over them. Stuck to hair and clothing. Caught on flushed cheeks. Even tickled the kiss and made them laugh into it. Evie held his wrists, tried to remain steady until she had to part and angle to go back in.

   “Why?” She hitched the hot word against him.

   “Because I want to.” Billy uttered, mouth open just a little to coax her back in.

   This candied confetti kiss she’d remember forever. And the beautiful boy who opened his heart just enough to share it with her. Evie shined at him when she drew out enough to see his eyes. Billy’s thumbs drew shapes into her cheeks. 

   A finger had to playfully swipe a bit of caught confetti from her bottom lip so he could taste her again. Utterly divine.

   Evie’s arms slipped around his neck. Pulled.

   “Let’s get out of here,” Billy spoke between kisses. “Yeah? Let’s just go somewhere.”

   Her lashes fluttered at him. Same sensation drew up her stomach before she was nodding.

   “Okay.” Nerves crept. Billy smacked their lips together one last time. Like he wanted her and only her for the rest of this night. “I have to, um...restroom.”

   “I’ll grab our coats.” Billy’s hands brought hers down. Held them. He seemed in a hurry. “Meet me at the door. We’ll go.”

   Evie floated off into the wave of bodies so Billy sped to Tommy’s table. Bubbles must have excused herself too.

   “Man, you tongued, Fenny. It was actually kinda hot.” Tommy raised his hand for a high five that was ignored. “I won the pot, you know.”

   “You paid that girl.” Billy snatched their coats up.

   “Yeah, no one has to know that. Don’t get me disqualified.” Tommy leaned over. A hand clapped Billy on the back.

   “I’m so impressed. She kissed you, man. Whatever you did, I want that power.” Brock laughed loudly. “She was all over you, and that bit after midnight. Poor girl. Thinking anyone would ever-”

   “Man, just shut up.” Billy shoved to pass him. "Let's just forget this shit ever happened."

   “Oh, no, B. I don't think we will. You probably just want your reward. You earned it.” The horrible boy made it a point to count each bill carefully until he pressed it at Billy’s chest. “Good work. Maybe you can get a blowy out of her before you drop her off at home. My date’s good for one too before I call her a taxi.”

   Billy shoved the money into his pocket. Felt like trash. Eyes anywhere else.

   “Whatever, man.”

** ** **

   At the same time, Evie stumbled to the sink and washed her hands. Cloud nine. Sang to herself out of habit.

  “Oh, but anyone...who knows what love is…” She looked at that reflection. This breathless, kiss smothered girl who was grinning. Happy. Dabbed under her eyes to fix the makeup with a cold paper towel. “...would understand.”

   “Pretty pipes you got there, sweetie pie.” The scratching voice called before a stall opened. Tommy’s date. “Nice night, huh?”

   “The best.” Evie was still dancing in a dream, showered in confetti.

   “Wasn’t as bad as I thought. Free meal. Pretty guy who treats you right for a night. Not a bad gig. Not at all.” The lady came to the mirror. Washed her hands and started to apply some extra make up. “Stupid name though. Skirt Safari.”

   “What?” Evie’s head cocked. Hip leaning into the sink.

   “Oh, baby. You should open those big eyes.” The woman puckered up and put a lipstick into her tiny clutch. “Tommy told me everything. Tradition. These boys bring a date. The ugliest girl gets them the win and they get some money. Stupid high school thing. And I won. Tommy said I’d get a bonus for that.”

   “They…” Evie felt her entire heart sink. The vines and their thorns wrapped tighter around her heart until it bled. Like it never wanted to be touched again. “Wait, Billy…he...we-” No breath came into her lungs, it was all punched out. Ruthless and swift.

   “The world is unkind to us, sweets.” Bubbles sighed at her reflection. “We have to find that kindness where we can. While we can. Just enjoy it because you never know what the next day will bring. Husbands who like to hit. Women who walk out on their babies.”

   “It’s not fair.” Evie tremored there. Unable to move so Bubbles gave her cheek a pat.

   “I know. But, we don’t let them see they’ve beaten us down. Do we?” Bubbles smiled at her without fear in her heart. And it was tragic because no one cared about her strength, all they saw was how she looked. “My ma always said to be brave and kind. Not everyone’s parents give that advice. But, they should. Be a better world.”

   “My mom says that also.” Evie’s fists closed. Passionate tears sprang to be blinked away. “I really hope the world is kind to you tomorrow too.”

   The woman paused. Gave this fluttered smile when her eyes watered. Evie was marching away from her. Shoving through the crowds where Billy stood with Brock and Tommy. 

   Billy saw her expression and she caught fire.

   “Skirt Safari, huh,” Evie shoved him into the bar, ripped her coat from his arms. Billy just gave this opened mouth look of horror. She laughed cruelly and Brock joined her, tugging some of his friends to see. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

   “It wasn’t like that.” Billy pushed up.

   “No, Evie, he’s right. Your boy didn’t take you because you’re ugly.” Brock was still chortling, holding his stomach. “Three hundred bucks to get him to take the Hawkins Ice Queen. And you were so easy, girl. We all took notes.”

   “Shut up!” Billy had snapped.

   “You didn’t disappoint, he was supposed to kiss you before midnight. But, you earned him the win all on your own!” They clapped and laughed at her there. Evie shook and growled. Shoulders raised. Cackling hyenas.

   “Three hundred, wow.” Calming, brown eyes snapped to Billy. “You should have held out. Tannen hates me so much, I bet you could have gotten five. Maybe seven.”

   “She’s right, man!” 

   “Evie, it-”

   “You’re all disgusting!” She swept her hand out. Came to Billy’s face. Her tone thickened, but she didn’t cry. Not one drop for any of them. Vibrating so hard with fury that her hand came up. Billy saw it. Waited. Didn’t flinch the way he did at home. Figured he deserved this one.

   Silence drowned the boys behind her.

   “I want to hit you,” she let her lip wobble, “you know why I’m not. You know.”

   “Evie.” Billy had nothing. Nothing to give her. Nothing to make her stop shaking.

   “You’re all horrible. Disgusting, pieces of shit. Bet Tannen gave you an earful about me. Fuck you both.” Evie leaned out, looked around. “You know, I don’t care why I’m here. What’s awful is every stunning woman you animals brought here will always deserve more than the world can ever give them. You’re the fucking beasts.”

   She tore away to go outside. Marched through all the jubilation. Steaming.

   “Evie!” Billy was running after her. Yanking at her wrist after she got her coat on.

   “Don’t touch me!” A shriek had him skidding backwards. 

   “Let me fucking explain this.”

   “Nothing to explain. Brock paid you to thaw the ice queen. Jokes on you! I’m not even a virgin! I’m not a prize, I’m not anything to you.” She shoved him again because he kept grabbing at her. Trying to slow her down.

   “Let me drive you home.” Billy insisted. “Let me get you home safe. I won’t even talk. Hate me forever. Evie, wait, damn it!”

   “Leave me alone!” Her scream sparked some attention. She got colder. Sneered at his eyes. “You’re not worth it, Billy.”

   Something about that struck an arrow to his heart.

   "You talked all this shit about fire's starting and getting out and I..." She hitched to get lower. "I trusted you. I believed it, you made me believe it...you're disgusting." A scream perched in her throat, but never left.

   "Just let me-"

   "No! I don't have to listen to any of this, so just leave me alone!" Evie kept pushing back at him.

   “Hey, hey, back off the lady!” Those football players from Hawkins were descending. Grasping Billy by the arms. “Hargrove bothering you?”

   “Yes!” Evie shot out, eyes on Billy’s face. “He’s bothering me!”

   “Let go of me!” Billy struggled so Evie began to run. As far and as fast as she could until she couldn’t hear him anymore. Fireworks banged over their heads. Exploding to rain down. 

   Her chest seized so she went to the first payphone she saw. Dialed a number she shouldn’t have.

   “Mmm, yes? Who is this?”

   “I know you said not to call, I need you. Can you pick me up?” Evie shut her eyes so tight. One tear fell. “Please.”

   A sigh.

   “Evie? What happened? Where are you?”

   Evie finished the call. Went into an alley so Billy wouldn’t find her. Waited there in the cold. Tried to hide from the pretty explosions in the sky. 

   They rang too loud upon her ears. Started to sound like thunder. Evie shut her eyes. Began to rock. Felt out of her skin and trapped in it at the same time. No control. Nothing. Just an ache while the vines crushed her heart. Hands covered her ears.

   A lighter palm touched her shoulder.

   “Evie.”

   “Fredrick.” She reeled up. Tossed herself into his arms. Sobbed so hard and betrayed herself. 

   “Hey, hey. I got you.”

   “Can we go? Can we go home?” She wept, ruining his shirt with makeup and glitter. “Can you take me to your place? I didn’t...I didn’t tell my mom where I was. I don’t want her to know. I don’t want anyone to know.”

   Bowers was already buckling her into the car. Evie curled up under his coat when he offered it. The air conditioning calmed her some until she was biting her fist to stop the flow. Blood welled under teeth.

   “What happened?”

   Evie sniffled.

   “They...They all laughed at me.” 

** ** ** 

  Curls ruffled out on a towel that smelled of pine an hour later. Feet padded out of the bathroom. Evie in a soft grey robe. Cloth dragged upon the floor until she saw Fredrick in bed. Seated up with little reading glasses to mark some papers down. Handsome.

   “You really won’t tell me what all happened?” He mused.

   “Just some stupid boys.” Evie played with the tie at her waist. “You told me to go out with a stupid boy my age. Remember? At the end of summer. After everything I let you do to me. Did...Did you get bored of me? Was that it?”

   "No, Evie. You don't understand."

   "You told me we had to stop, why did we start?"

   “I remember.” He sighed, settling his work aside. “It was for the best. I thought. You're all I think about, did you know that? I want to be with you, but there are rules in place. They don't believe what we have can overcome.”

   Wearing nothing but some boxers and a clean, white tee. His feet touched the floor before he rubbed his head.

   “You still look so good in my robe.” He sounded bashful when he said that. Eyes drinking her in and averting. "You're all sin, Evangeline."

   She shuffled. Shy. Uneasy. Ignoring it.

   “Used to say that a lot.” Evie pressed her lips up.

   “And I mean it every time.”

   “I meant what I said...before summer ended. You remember that too?”

   “You know I do, Evie.” Fredrick rubbed his eyes. Swept his hair between those soft fingers. Evie crossed to him.

   “We were together the year. You weren’t my first, but you were the first man I ever loved. We spent all of that summer together and you told me we had to stop. Out of the blue. You talked of us running away from this place and getting married and it hurt me.”

   “I’m your teacher. If people found out about us... They'd never understand.”

   “You waited a year to stop us. Why kiss me if you knew we'd end? I didn’t tell anyone. Not even my best friend.” Evie reached out. Touched his shoulder. “You miss me and I miss you.”

   “I’m weak for you, Evie. You know that.” Fredrick let her climb into his lap. “You’re so different and special. Not like other girls. You heard me. You listen to me.”

   “I want to be with you. And I said I loved you, but you…”

   "What if I said I loved you? Huh? Those boys don't matter, a girl like you needs someone mature to match." He pecked her cheek. "I do love you."

   Evie's resolve melted. He shut out the red lights. Burned her thorn covered vines. Words held power because we gave the syllables a charge.

   And all Evie Fenny could put out into the world was lightning.

   "You do?"

   He smiled. Her prince. Braving so much to be with her. Wasn't that magical?

   "How many boys have seen you like this?" Fredrick asked in a peculiar way. Charged.

   Evie bit her lip. Couldn't look anymore. Didn't answer the question.

   “I was scared of us.” He soothed now. “I should never have let you go. I’m always going to want the best for you, Evangeline. I hope you believe that. I’ll take care of you now, but you have to let me.”

   Evie leaned in. Kissed him lightly. Wondered how Billy would have touched her in that motel room if they made it. How he'd feel in return.

   "Will you let me?" Fredrick pressed. Wanting all the control she clawed to keep for herself in this skin and marrow. Devouring her without shame or remorse because he was older and knew best.

   But, nice was better.

   Evie had nothing. Head full of static. Body pulsing against her will. She wanted to scream. She wanted to eat more flower petals. A man loved her and she felt ugly and blaring. Out of control. No longer held to this world. Is that how it should feel?

   “Okay."

   His chest heaved like the sun might have just come out.

   "Can we go to bed now?” She pecked his cheek. Felt his hands going under the robe to open it.

   Wordlessly, Fredrick Bowers reached and turned the lamp off. The blaring in Evie's head never ended that night.

   Darkness loomed to snuff out every star.

~~~~~~~

Next up, we learn how the rest of Billy's night went. It's been an odd week. Thanks for reading :) Feel free to chat. TAGGED::: @80sbxtch​ @nottherightseason​  @orxhidshavana​​  @alagalaska​​ @alongcamedolly​​

[geeksandkinks]

Bucky Barnes x Reader

One Shot Word Count: 2292 Warnings: PTSD and a soft Bucky boy

A/N: Established friends. Bucky dealing with some PTSD coming home from a mission just needing some fluff. Which is different for me to write so feedback is cool.

Bucky was quiet and that was nothing out of the ordinary, especially after a mission. This one had some close calls but we all made it out alive, minimal damage and that was a success to you. You knew he was struggling regardless though, he didn’t hide it well or maybe you just knew him well enough now. You gave him some time though. That's what everyone seemed to need when we got back, some time to decompress, shower, get any wounds cleaned up and stitched. Maybe eat and even get some sleep before interacting again.

Everyone respected each other's way of dealing, and for you a deep clean shower and some food was all it took to spark you back up. Feeling like a new person once the dirt and grime and blood was scrubbed off twice. It was quiet on the compound though, figuring everyone else was cooped up in their room and that just gave you the freedom. Getting a pot, filling it with water and waiting for it to boil because after some strenuous activity - carbs. Mac and cheese specifically.

Changing into a long sleeve shirt Bucky lend you when you first got here, something you refused to get rid of and something you wished still smelt like him but not something you’d ever admit. A pair of black shorts under the maroon shirt and some thick wool socks because these super soldiers for some reason never got cold.

A song swirling in your head, the tune coming out in a hum as your hips swayed with it a bit, standing over the pot of water that hasn’t even shown any sign of life yet. Your phone in your hands as you stand in front of it, scrolling through the social media account you’re not supposed to have but it’s under an alias so you figured no harm, no foul, right? Right.

“If you add salt it will boil faster…” His voice breaks the silence of the compound and the song in your head, jumping back and clutching your phone to your chest. “Bucky, Jesus… can you give a girl a notice…” Your heart is pounding in your chest and honestly it doesn’t help that it’s Bucky. He’s usually the most recluse after a mission and he was the last one you expected to break the silence. You heard him though and grab the salt, “Like, how much salt?” You narrow your eyes slightly and he rolls his in return before closing the distance. Cooking wasn’t your forte but you could bake Satan into forgiveness.

Taking the salt from you and you get a catch of his scent, that dumb old spice he uses - it was big around the time he went to the war so maybe it felt familiar. He smelt good regardless and it was only dumb because it was familiar to you now. It was Bucky. It’s what the shirt used to smell like and you glanced at the side of his face as he poured in just a bit of salt and set it down and created some distance. Bucky was - beautiful. The way his damp hair fell, the scruff of his beard still somehow accented his jaw and his lashes hid those blue eyes that held conversations.

You had been with this team for almost a year. Found and brought in by Fury, fighting was all you were good at but as the team worked with you - you found your place, your power and some days were better than others but regardless you had grown. Bucky was a part of that, he made it hard to speak when he looked at you in the beginning but now he just couldn’t shut you up. You had pushed your feelings for him aside, far aside. He had never shown interest in that kind of way and even in close tension times he never made a move. When you asked Natasha about him she just said not to get your hopes up.

“Thanks salt bae.” You give him a smug smile and grab the two boxes of pasta, ripping them open and waiting to see a bubble to throw it in.

“I don’t even want to know…” He mumbles back to your comment, grabbing a glass and getting some water. A navy long sleeve shirt and sweats, somehow still fitting and you’re glad you have bubbles to hunt for. “I can’t believe you still have that shirt.. That was almost a year ago, right?” The glass is brought up to his lips when you look at him, a shrug and a nod before you glance around to make sure he isn’t talking to someone else.

Time wasn’t kind to Bucky and when he asked things like that you knew he was scared. Did he remember, did more time pass, was the mission real or was it someone else's, did he go off on his own, did someone get a hold of him. Some of the questions that flooded his head when it got bad. Some of the questions he had asked you in a moment of panic.

“Yeah, almost a year ago and what can I say, you stretched it out just right.” You froze a bit, did that sound sexual, would Bucky get it as that? You cheeks flush slightly but he doesn’t catch on and you breathe.

A short chuckle through his nose, “And we were gone for 26 days this time?” His jaw flexed with the question when you looked over at him. You take the second to pour the pasta in before taking the few steps to Bucky, searching his eyes but not touching him as difficult as that was. “26 exactly, Buck… You were there for all of them. You didn’t leave our sides. I promise.” Your voice soft and Bucky brought this side out of you that you didn’t know you had. Most of your life was spent being harsh and using sarcasm as a coping mechanism. Alone.

This was the first sense of a family in years and that was another reason you pushed your feelings aside, you couldn't put this in jeopardy.

He presses his lips in a line and takes another drink to finish off the glass, “Right.. Yeah, thanks..” There was still doubt in his eyes but all you could do was tell him the truth that he was there, he’d have to figure the rest out on his own. As much as you wished he would lean on someone even if it wasn’t you.

Your fingers twitched to just run a hand down his arm but you resisted and went back to the pot boiling now. Stirring it with a butter knife because finding the right utensil was too difficult right now, the look in Bucky's eyes still dwelling. A red plastic ladle spoon coming over your shoulder and you let out a huff taking it and putting the knife on the counter. “Would you like to take over, Chef Barnes?” Glancing over your shoulder with a smirk. “If you want it to be edible then I probably should.” Bucky had lots of hidden talents and cooking was one of them even though he made a lot of soups - they were delicious. Mocking him with an eye roll you give up your position and the ladle. “It’s mac and cheese, don’t let it go to you head.” Your arms crossed under your chest as you watch like it's some kind of lesson now or maybe it just gave an excuse to see if he was okay.

“It’s macaroni and cheese and you’d still find a way to ruin it.” His lips tug at the corner and it's enough to force a full one across your lips. Lighthearted Bucky was hard to come by but god it was beautiful and rare, a unicorn almost. You reach over and poke his arm, “I don’t ruin everything… just - things you consume.” You let a soft laugh leave your lips. He gives you a sideways glance and you poke him again, he shakes his head and you pass his arm and get his side where he flinches and there's a glimpse of a full smile that gets a soft laugh out of you. “Someone is ticklish!” You tease and he puts the spoon down in the pot, “I’m not.” He crosses his arms and gives you a warning glance but you can’t help yourself, wiggling your fingers at him like he's a four year old and he steps back. It’s enough of a motion you launch at him and your fingers start digging into his sides and he's laughing. Looking like a fucking god with his hair and he has an open mouth smile and that sweet sound of his laugh. It doesn’t last long though, he has both of your wrists and while the look in his eyes is playful you are quite aware of just how fucked you are.

“Fuck…” He quirks an eyebrow at you and before you can even try to get away he turns you around and wraps both his arms over yours, picking you up off the ground and you’re pleading, “I’m sorry! I won’t tell anyone Bucky, your secret is safe with me! Don’t crush me! Don't tickle me! Please!” You struggle to get free and he finally lets your feet hit the ground a few steps away from the boiling pot and he does his best to keep you trapped with his left, heavy arm while the right digs at your sides and you’re losing. Screaming and laughing and threatening you’re going to pee when he lets you go with a laugh, a genuine laugh coming from Bucky again, you wonder if he knows how breathtaking this view is and you’re staring while you catch your breath, laughing subsiding and he asks, “What?” Catching the way you’re looking at him.

“Nothing, it’s just nice to see you smile.” There's still a soft one on your lips but his falters just a bit and he shrugs. The moment feels lost and there's a pang of guilt that hits you and forces you to act out. Your arms wrap around his neck and you pull him in, its for just a few seconds before you realize and you start to let go but his arms wrap around your lower back. Firm, heavy and keeping you pressed up against him. Sure it wasn’t your first hug but it was only like your third and it felt nice each time. He was warm, solid, Bucky always felt safe even if he was just in plain view things felt safe and you knew you didn’t provide that kind of net to him but you hoped it was something.

“You’ve been here the whole time Bucky, I promise.” This hug was different, the way he had his arms around you and his forehead on your shoulder burying his face, your fingers brush through his hair and move over the tops of his shoulders. There's a muffled sound from him but he doesn’t let himself enjoy it, lifting his head and looking at you, and it says it all as he lets go, turns the stove off and nods to head to bed. He’s right, sleep is needed but how much better would sleep be in his arms - and that's when you’re sure there won’t be much sleep tonight.

And you’re right, time is in slow motion and it’s only been an hour since overcooking noodles and it feels like the sun should be up any minute. Your brain won’t shut off thinking you did the wrong thing, moved too quick, touched too much. It’s not like - and there's a knock.

You’re almost sure it’s going to be Steve from being too loud earlier or to see if you’re going to finish the macaroni so you swing the door open with a sigh but it’s quick caught in your throat when it’s Bucky.

“I- sorry… I wasn’t expecting, are you - is everything okay?” You look around him and then at him, he walks in your room as if opening the door was enough of an invitation. Heading straight for your bed and laying on his back. “I can’t sleep.” This is out of character for Bucky and your expression shows that. He knows that and he closes his eyes with a sigh, talking that way as if not looking at me would make it easier. “I - my mom used to do that. I remember it. Used to run her fingers through my hair when I couldn’t sleep and I -” You get where he’s going and while you want to revel in this moment this is Bucky being vulnerable and it wouldn’t last if it wasn’t acted on. You make your way on your bed, sitting up against the bed frame and pat your thigh. “I don’t mind, Bucky.” Your voice is soft. He head now on your thigh and your fingers scratch at his scalp before running through his hair, silence between the two of you and both your eyes close.

This is far off from you usually having your own guard up for the sake of your feelings and Bucky having the multitude of his from decades of people fucking with him. Everything is broken down right now and that’s dangerous grounds for you because you know in a few hours he will act like this never happened. You swallow down that emotion creeping up and wait for sleep to take over both of you.

[noctuascion]

;; There's a lack of vampire Crypto content and I'm TIRED !!!

This is from an AU a friend (Chini) and I discuss every now and then and something I'm actually doing a series of (eventually, when I can manage the first chapter), but it isn't particularly obvious in this, but whatever !! I'm writing again and have inspiration so no bully!! No semantics!! ;;

--

The house was… dark. It was always dark. The only lights allowed on were ones with dim bulbs, and, even then, those sometimes weren't allowed. Elliott never minded. If his nocturnal boyfriend was asleep or off doing his own thing, he'd turn the lights on, open the curtains, and do whatever to bring a little light into the dark, gloomy abode Park and him called home.

Seeing as he was originally a thorn in the vampire's side and had hated his guts to the point of tossing everything out of his room and onto the lawn, he didn't like pushing his luck, even if they had slowly gotten closer, grown kinder, more open with one another. Elliott's opened up about his own life, and Park's relayed his long, tragic backstory. They were still fighting some demons, dealing with a darkness in their hearts that could only be fought alone. But after a long day of dealing with the loss and heartache, they have the other to help ground them.

Still, none of that stopped Elliott from being a little shit sometimes.

Park was centuries old, and Elliott wasn't a stranger to that. He's lived through a lot, and he's lost a lot, and he's experienced a lot. Still, weirdly enough, the human has far more experience in… certain matters pertaining to romantic endeavors. That was discovered one day when Elliott had placed his hands on Park's hips, trailed a few kisses down his neck, and, suddenly, he was gone—like he vanished into thin air.

Apparently, he's an absolute prude—a prudish vampire; can't make this stuff up—and has a habit of getting horribly flustered whenever Elliott makes provocative moves on him.

As the vampire had put it, older courting techniques had rarely gotten past "sensual handholding"—whatever the fuck that was. He's had a few lays, sure, but he's also been alive for five hundred years, give or take, so a few isn't much.

Elliott had called that hilarious.

Park had told him to go fuck a pillow.

It was an incredibly slow, painful process, and Elliott has had way too many run-ins with whatever wall Park was leaning on before he transformed into a bat and left his boyfriend to unknowingly bust his nose against, but they had eventually gotten to a point where the other didn't look like he was about to catch fire or transform and scurry off.

Elliott called it progress.

Park called it horny desperation.

Even with the amount of progress they made, Park had his moments, and Elliott loved taking advantage of them.

The vampire was currently in the kitchen, in the dark, indulging in Elliott's batch of brownies. Though he liked to deny it, he had a bit of a sweet tooth—vampires with sweet tooth's; can't make this shit up—and always snuck a few bites in, usually when he thought Elliott wasn't around.

Well, he was around, watching quietly from the kitchen doorway, smiling a devilish(ly handsome) smile, and slowly, carefully, made his way to the vampire's position. He had gotten past being startled easily, becoming accustomed to the sounds Elliott made and the warmth of his body, and the brunet was happy; he's had far too many memories of Park swinging his arm back and nearly breaking his nose. Bat boy had strength in those noodle arms.

With as much grace as he could manage, Elliott slid up behind his ethereal beauty and wrapped strong arms around his lithe waist. He momentarily tensed before relaxing.

"Elliott," came that smooch, rich voice of the other's, and—goodness, he could feel himself swooning. Too bad it was laced with minor irritation, otherwise he actually would've swooned.

"Hey there, beautiful," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the back of Park's neck. "Whatcha doin' there?"

"Minding my own business, unlike you."

"Aw, c'mon, sugar, you know you love me. Love me holding you close and whispering in your ear all kinds of nice things."

"You whisper euphemisms and dick jokes in my ear," the vampire muttered, trying his best to appear exasperated, but he was relaxing against Elliott's chest, so he was fighting a losing battle. "I think my opinion on the matter is obvious."

"You love it."

The vampire's shirt wasn't tucked into his pants like it normally was. Actually, he was opting for loungewear tonight—a large maroon sweater drowning his thin frame and black slacks hugging his legs just right. Elliott's nimble hands were able to slip beneath the apparel with ease, warm hands coming into contact with the other's frigid tummy.

There were a lot of things that startled Elliott when he first met Tae Joon. There was the weird skin color, the fangs, his ice-like temperature, having little to no weight, and the strange, glowing eyes. Sure, he should've expected at least half of those things, but the weight and temperature worried him. Park just explained that's how most vampires were: blood didn't provide protein and he couldn't generate any natural heat for himself. It was enough to quell any worries he may have, but he just made sure to provide warmth of his own.

Park tensed again at the hand on his stomach, slowly moving up, the fabric of his sweater shifting to accommodate the other. The familiar sensation of warmth, the other pressed so firmly against him from behind—and now he's beginning to whisper those obnoxious euphemisms in his ear, and—oh.

He… bit his ear.

Elliott was startled out of his little excursion after his boyfriend suddenly vanished (again) and was replaced by a screeching, angry bat that didn't appear too happy with the other's little scene.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Elliott said, hands held up in a show of harmlessness, that he would do nothing to Tae Joon—well, not as a bat, at least. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to fluster you—w-well, I did, b-but not a bad fluster—I-I hope that wasn't a, um… bad fluster—"

The bat hisses before flying off into a little corner of the room, grabbing onto the ceiling with his tiny clawed feet, and hanging there with wings encasing his small body. Well… that's not good.

"Oh, my little fruit bat, come down! I'm sorry!"

A small huff left the bat, though there were no further actions. He knows how to appeal to the vampire's tastes, though. He was selective with what he liked, what made him happy. Most of it included Elliott himself, but, seeing as he was currently mad at him, so he's not sure just how well that'll work out.

Better than trying nothing, he supposes.

"Okay, look, if I promise not to embarrass you again, and I promise to do that thing you like so much, draw you a hot bath later, and get some sweet cuddles in, will you forgive lil' ol' me?"

For a moment, the bat seemed to actually consider the offer. His little eyes moved to look at his wings, thinking, before he suddenly dropped from the ceiling. Expertly, his wings came out, and he glided down before rapid flaps sent him towards Elliott. The man happily accepted the little creature with open arms, small claws gripping onto the t-shirt he was wearing.

With the creature secured, Elliott moved to their just as dark living room, though he allowed himself to turn on a lamp. It did little to light up the room, but at least he wasn't bumping into the table (again). He sat down on the nearest piece of furniture, which happened to be the loveseat, and allowed a gentle, tanned hand to place itself on Park's back. A content purr resonated from the small creature, and the human couldn't help but smile.

Park wasn't overly affectionate, especially when normal. He was always so weirdly awkward, never knew where to put his limbs and ending up shaming himself out of trying whatever he was doing. Elliott himself never seemed to care, but Park was just a bit of a mess when it came to these things. But, when he was a tiny, screeching menace, he seemed to calm down a lot more (weirdly enough), and forewent those awkward tendencies of his. He merely opted to lay against Elliott's shoulder, let his hand smooth over his back, and provide gentle, affectionate scratches.

For awhile, Park merely sat still, letting Elliott's hands warm and soothe him, but he eventually grew greedy and began moving up onto the other's shoulder, slipping under his shirt collar and nuzzling against his neck. The brunet let out a huff of laughter, reaching up to gently scratch his head, rewarded with content noises from the little creature.

"For a sour, rude vampire, you sure are a cutie pie." Elliott winced at the hiss he received, suddenly realizing that there was a vampire next to his neck. "Okay, sorry! I love you! You're the cutest, sweetest bean! Wouldn't hurt a fly! No, sir, I've met a few vampires in my day, and none of them hold a candle up to you! I love you! So much!"

Park released another content sound and settled against the other, shutting his eyes and indulging in the sense of warmth he only got from his stupid boyfriend.