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#'NAH your ass is going a thousand years into the past to break this thing b4 it fell into the lake OH ALSO you meet your past self
orcelito · 9 months
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Guys I think the writing for fire emblem engage is somehow worse than fire emblem fates. Im a longtime fire emblem fan, I've played every recent game, and this... this is just Awful lmfao
Im still having plenty of fun & I have my handful of characters I love soooo much. But God fucking damn this writing is just some of the worst I've ever seen in a game
(Major spoilers in tags. Ran out of tags so I can't spoiler tag hfkshfj.
Final conclusion (since I ran out of tags): What Even Is This Fucking Game. Definitely my least favorite fire emblem game in many respects, but By God I'm going to finish this bitch and I'm gonna have plenty of fun as I do so. And I'm also going to make fun of every narrative choice it makes along the way bc the writing in this game is just SO fucking bad holy shit. I just need to finish this game and get on with my life already. God fuckin damn.)
#speculation nation#ive been critical of it from the start. bc it really isnt good. tho ive softened in some respects#it's plenty of fun thankfully. i enjoy the battle system a lot & the maps can be challenging in a fun way#but the moment i stop to think about Anything it all just feels so ridiculous#there have been a few moments it's surprised me. plot twists that were Almost cool.#but most of the time it's just throwing a bunch of shit out of left field at me and expecting me to be invested (im not)#so it's like. the 'plot twists' are either things i saw coming from a mile away OR things that r just so fucking insane it's not satisfying#like. the game saying 'oh man this thing you need to get to is at the bottom of this biiiig frozen lake! however will you get there?'#'how about... you trust the woman who has been an antagonist THE ENTIRE GAME UP UNTIL NOW to be telling the truth & to be helping u'#'heres a magic item she used the rest of her life to make! how sad! dont you feel bad for her? she wanted to be a mother!'#'no dont think about all the times she hit your little sister :) she feels bad about it so it's obviously ok actually :)'#'anyways take her magic item. itll get you to the bottom of the lake. how you ask? underwater breathing? PHHHSH'#'NAH your ass is going a thousand years into the past to break this thing b4 it fell into the lake OH ALSO you meet your past self#from when you were evil. good luck! :)'#im. not making any of this up. im not making ANY of this up and i really wish i was.#i was just rubbing my temples for that entire stretch of story it's so fucking stupid.#i think one of the most interesting things it did from a narrative standpoint was take away the rings 12 chapters in#so you hit rock bottom and have to crawl your way back out with the help of some unexpected allies#like. yea that's interesting. EXCEPT from a GAMEPLAY standpoint it's one of my least favorite fucking things in the game#you get used to this set of mechanics but halfway through you have to switch gears to an entirely different set of mechanics#and by the time you finally get everything back & ur army is full and whole. the game is almost over.#itd like that narrative choice SO MUCH MORE if it didnt set me back in such a major way & restrict total gameplay access to the End#every game has a slow trickle in of new characters so you dont have everyone until later in but EVEN THEN#you generally have everyone by 2/3rds way thru the game. then the last third you pick ur favs and u train them for the end#in this game. you dont get everyone until fucking chapter 23 of 26. my army is full and veyle is such a delight to have#but i only got her in CHAPTER. FUCKING. TWENTY THREE OF TWENTY SIX.#i just finished chapter 25. im nearly at the end. i love my main army but it feels like ive barely gotten to know them as a whole#bc it only finally formed TWO CHAPTERS AGO.#im just. god this game is so frustrating in a way ive NEVER experienced before. and ive played a lot of games!!!!!#like dont get me wrong im still having fun with it. i love a lot of the characters and the gameplay (now that i HAVE all of it) is So fun
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Spring Fling
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(gif by @pedropascalsx. I've given up using Tumblr gif search)
Pairing: Marcus Pike x virgin f!Reader
Rating: E (explicit smut, 18+ only)
Word Count: 19,228. Oops.
Warnings: Significant age gap (almost 20 years), college-age reader, sexual tension, mentions of: strained familial relationships, divorce, unhealthy breakups, stalker(ish) behavior (PAST), therapy. Virgin/inexperienced reader, fingering, oral sex (f! receiving), unprotected PIV sex and a lot of it, comeplay if you squint, Marcus’s filthy filthy mouth, happy ending
Summary: When you and your friend, fellow pre-Law student Emma, plan to go to Washington DC for spring break instead of the typical beach destination, she makes plans for the two of you to stay with her estranged father for the week to save money on lodging. You never expected Emma’s father, a man she says she’s barely seen throughout the years, to be so sweet, so troubled, and so unfairly pretty. Neither did you expect for what you'd thought was a one-sided attraction to turn into a spring fling... or maybe something more.
A/N: I got an ask asking about 'Best Friend's Dad' Marcus Pike, so I now post a question to you, dear reader: What if Marcus Pike had a college-age kid from his first marriage, one that he'd entered into at a very young age because of an unplanned pregnancy? Anyway to find out the answer read this almost 20k fic LOL
Masterlist
"We should go somewhere for spring break."
Your friend and fellow pre-Law student at the University of Texas, Emma, laughs. "Go somewhere? Like what, the fucking beach? And with what money?"
"No, no beaches. Somewhere cool. Somewhere unusual."
"Like what?" Emma asks, shoving another handful of chips in her mouth.
"I've never been to Washington, DC," you comment thoughtfully.
"I thought every public school in the entire country went to DC at some point," Emma remarks. 
"I had the chickenpox."
"Ew."
"Do you think that would be fun? Going to the Capitol for break?" you ask.
"I guess," Emma shrugs. "It's better than going to writhe on the beach with fifty thousand wasted twentysomethings."
"There's still the issue of how to pay for a trip. For any trip. I think I could cover airfare, but a DC hotel? Ugh," you say with a groan. 
"I could put the hotel on my credit card and work a bunch of extra shifts at Pizza Express afterward to make up for it," Emma says. "But that would pretty much max out my card."
"I can look up the cheapest spots outside the city," you suggest. "And we can take the metro in."
"Outside the city isn't going to be much better," Emma remarks. "We could… nah."
You look up, curious. "We could… what?"
"Well, my uh, my dad actually lives in DC."
"Your dad?" you repeat incredulously. "You've literally never mentioned your dad. I thought he and your mom were estranged?"
"Sorta," Emma says. "The official story is that they married too young and eventually separated."
"...And the unofficial story?"
"My mom found out she was pregnant at nineteen, and my dad wanted to do the right thing, so he married her. But I guess they weren't right for each other, because they were already divorced by the time I was two."
"Do you see him much?" you ask.
"I used to," Emma says quietly. "But my mom was never really enthusiastic about spending much time together, so it wasn’t very often. And then he moved to DC when I was a junior in high school, and I haven't seen him since. He always sends me cards on my birthday and Christmas, though. And…" she suddenly blushes, looking down and away.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"What, Em?"
"He pays for my tuition."
"What?!"
"Yeah, I've barely had to take out any loans. It's just for housing and stuff."
"You ass, you never told me that!"
"It's not common knowledge," Emma mumbles. "Besides, no one wants to admit they've got an absent, divorced father paying the bills."
"But you'd want to contact him for this? For a place to crash over spring break for a week?"
"He's nice," Emma says quietly. "I always got the feeling that he wanted to do his best by us."
"I mean, if you're cool with it, it kinda sounds fun," you admit. "Better than Galveston, anyway."
Emma laughs. "Yeah, way better than Galveston."
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"Holy shit, Em, you can see the Capitol from here." 
The two of you had emerged from the underground tunnel of the metro station, trailing suitcases behind you, into what feels like the middle of the city itself. The busy street is flanked with large condominiums on both sides, with--unbelievably--a view of the Capitol building in the distance.
"I think it's this one," Emma says, squinting at the address on her phone and back up at one of the buildings. 
"How do we get in?" you ask. 
"He just said to text him," Emma answers. "Hang on." She taps out a message on her phone before sliding it back into her pocket. "And now we wait."
You barely have time to check your email before the front door opens and a man emerges, striding quickly toward the two of you. You think he's about to envelop your friend into a crushing hug, but he stops short, eyes wavering with uncertainty as he looks his daughter up and down. His hand reaches toward her arm, but he hesitates just short of touching.
"Emma," the man breathes, the emotion evident in his voice making you want to duck your head and turn away from the scene. 
"Hey, uh, Dad," Emma says, giving him a sheepish smile. "Been a while."
"It's been six years," the man says emphatically. 
"Yeah."
You watch as Emma's father's fingers twitch toward her. "C-Can I–" 
Emma shrugs. "'Course."
The man carefully steps forward and wraps his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. His eyes close, his eyebrows pull upward to reveal a deep crease in between them as he holds his daughter for apparently the first time in six years. This time, you do look away from what feels like surprisingly tender and private moment. 
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for your graduation," you hear him say softly. "I was undercover for a case, and… Anyway, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry. You don't know how badly I wanted to be there."
"S'okay," Emma says cooly. She steps back, and, for the first time, her father seems to notice you. 
"Hi," he says brightly, and his pained, heartfelt expression melts into an easy smile as he extends his hand to you. "Marcus." 
You don't know what you had been expecting. Maybe someone older. Maybe someone less… attractive. Not this frankly gorgeous man, with his boyish smile, pretty eyes that crinkle around the edges, slightly mussed brown hair that falls over his forehead, and the light smattering of facial hair that only seems to soften his features further. Not that he needed any help, in that respect. Slightly stunned, you step forward and take the man’s hand, trying not to trip over the syllables of your own name.
Marcus’s smile widens, and he repeats your name, which does nothing to quell the sudden burst of butterflies in your stomach–and are your palms sweating?
"Thank you for allowing us to stay for the week," you say politely, forcing yourself out of the trance.
"Not a problem," Marcus answers. "What a great destination for spring break! Whose idea was that?"
"Mine," you say with a little laugh. 
"My kind of girl," Marcus jokes. "Keeping my daughter out of trouble."
"Dad," Emma groans. "I'm not a kid."
"Well, last time I saw you, you were fifteen," Marcus says pointedly. "You're gonna have to let my brain do a little catch-up, here."
"Well, to start with, I'm not a beach party kind of person," Emma says. "I'm a nerd–y'know, being pre-Law and all."
Emma's father beams. "So I've heard. Well, I'm happy to host two nerds while they do a little sightseeing in the nation's Capitol. I can even," he adds with a conspiratorial smile, "give you a tour of the J. Edgar Hoover building. If–If you want," he finishes awkwardly, appearing hesitant and unsure again.
"Oh, cool!" you exclaim automatically, without thinking.
Marcus grins widely at your enthusiasm, and you find yourself staring at your shoes, biting your lip as you flounder under his attention. You're being weird. Stop it. 
"Y-Yeah," Emma adds, nodding hesitantly. "That would be nice... Dad. Thanks."
“C’mon,” Marcus says, grabbing both Emma’s bag and, before you can protest, yours. “Come on up. I ordered some pizza for everyone. You can get settled tonight and… go do whatever you two want to do in the morning.”
The two of you follow Marcus through the lobby and into the elevator. You can’t help but keep stealing little glances at him–the way his shoulders fill out the maroon henley he’s wearing over jeans, the way those shoulders taper down to narrow hips, the way he’s got the top two buttons of his shirt casually undone, showing you a hint of collarbone that has you damn-near salivating. Snap out of it. Oh, God, snap out of it. You’ve known the man for five minutes, and you feel like you’re losing your mind. It’s gonna be a long week if you don’t pull it together. 
Marcus opens the front door and gestures the two of you in before him. You stand awkwardly in the living room, looking around at the furniture and at the decor on the walls, looking anywhere but at your best friend’s dad, whose very presence seems to fluster you beyond all reason.
“I just have one spare room, hopefully you two don’t mind sharing…?” Marcus asks.
“That’s fine,” Emma says good-naturedly. 
“It’s just through here,” he says, walking past you. “I’ll set your bags down in there and show you around.”
The room is clearly his workspace–there’s a desk and a chair shoved into a corner to make room for a comfortable-looking guest bed. The side wall is covered with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and you subconsciously step toward them, eager to see what titles this man keeps on his shelves.
“Sorry, it’s kind of an… all-purpose room,” Marcus says sheepishly. “Bit cluttered.”
“I like it,” you murmur absentmindedly, still scanning the spines.
“‘Gardner’s Art Through the Ages’” Emma reads, crinkling her nose. “How many editions of this book do you have?”
Her father laughs. “It’s work stuff, mostly. Although there’s a few thrillers here and there. And some classics.” He approaches the shelves as well, and you can feel the hair on the back of your neck start to stand up on end at the sensation of his body hovering just behind you. You’re so… aware of him. You don’t know if it’s because Marcus seems to naturally command every space he’s in or if there’s something electric that’s pulling you toward him, but either way, your entire body feels as though it’s on high alert.
A sharp buzzing makes you jump comically, making Emma snort.
“That’ll be the pizza,” Marcus announces. “Be right back.”
You glance over at Emma, who is still staring disinterestedly at the bookshelves. “It’s a nice place,” you say conversationally. 
“Mmmhm.”
“You okay?” you ask softly.
“Oh, yeah,” Emma scoffs, waving her hand. “Just been a while. It’s weird. You know.”
“He seems nice,” you say.
“He is,” she remarks. “I told you he was. I just… don’t know him very well. Like he said, I haven’t seen him in six years.”
“Maybe this will be good, then,” you suggest. “Get to know him now that you’re an adult and all that.”
Emma shrugs. “Maybe.”
You look back at the shelves. Emma was right; Marcus does have an alarmingly large number of editions of Art Through the Ages. You furrow your brow.
“What does your dad do in DC?”
“Oh, did I not tell you? He’s in the FBI.”
You feel as though you’ve swallowed your tongue, but before you can garble out a response–something like, “Mmmgnnbbllgffnhh?”–you hear Marcus coming back.
“Get it while it’s hot!” he says cheerfully. “You guys must be hungry after traveling all day.”
“Oh wow, Dad, that’s… a lot of pizza for three people,” Emma says, her eyebrows raising in surprise and confusion.
She’s right–there are five boxes sitting on the small kitchen island, along with several options of drink.
“I had no idea what either of you liked,” Marcus reasoned. “So I got a few different options. Cheese, pepperoni, supreme, hawaiian, and some kind of vegan thing, just in case.”
“You know, you could have just texted,” Emma remarks, at the same time that you whisper, “Thank you.”
Marcus looks sheepish. “Wanted to surprise you. Anyway, dig in–there’s obviously a lot.” He laughs quietly to himself, grabbing three plates and setting them down on the counter. You grab three different kinds–supreme, hawaiian, and the vegan option, out of curiosity–and sit on one of the barstools opposite Marcus. Emma grabs two cheeses and sits down next to you.
“So,” he says after a few minutes of surprisingly companionable silence. “I know Emma is pre-Law. Are you pre-Law too?” he asks, looking at you with a friendly, curious smile. 
“Mmmhmm,” you nod, tight-lipped. You hate this conversation–the college-age version of ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ Everyone asks the question with good intent, but it always leaves you in an anxiety spiral, an existential crisis, because no matter how many times you’re asked, you have absofuckinglutely no idea. 
“What kind of law do you want to go into?” This question is addressed more to Emma, who immediately launches into an explanation of Environmental Law and the impact of climate change on public health. Marcus nods eagerly, giving Emma his full attention as she talks, watching her with a small smile. 
“What about you?” he asks when she’s done, turning to you.
You gulp. 
“I don’t—I don’t really know. Not yet, anyways.” You brace yourself for the judgmental eyebrow raise, the well-meaning advice.
“That’s okay,” Marcus says, smiling. “No one says you have to have it figured out at… how old are you?”
“T-Twenty,” you mumble, feeling more naive and inexperienced than you ever have before.
“Nah,” Marcus says, shaking his head playfully. “No one has it figured out at twenty. And the people who think they do? They change.”
His eyes go far away for a split-second, and you wonder what he must have been like at twenty. Did he already have Emma at that point? Did he just find out that his girlfriend was pregnant? Was he panicking, trying to figure out how to make things work? You wonder what it was that he had wanted to do, and what he had sacrificed for Emma and her mom. You wonder if he had wanted the divorce, or if she had been the one to suggest it.
“Anyway,” Marcus says, casually waving a slice of pepperoni as he talks, “I mostly work with criminal lawyers. If that’s something you’re interested in, I could arrange a chat with someone this week.”
“Oh,” you say, too stunned to say anything else. “Yeah, maybe.”
Marcus shrugs good-naturedly. “Think about it,” he says, giving you another crooked grin. His eyes crinkle around the edges when he smiles, and it makes your stomach do somersaults. 
“Yeah,” you say again, a little breathlessly. Your next bite of pizza misses your mouth entirely, and you manage to stab yourself in the cheek with your slice, transferring a glob of tomato sauce onto your face in the process.
Emma laughs, and Marcus’s eyes glitter with amusement as you frantically reach for a napkin. 
“So you do, um… FBI stuff?” you ask him clumsily, trying to break the silence.
“Yep. FBI Stuff. Says it on my badge and everything.”
“Why do you have a bunch of art books?”
“I lead an international task force dealing with art crimes,” he answers patiently. 
“What constitutes an art crime?” Emma asks, her mouth full.
“Theft,” Marcus lists, “forgeries, black market sales, dealing in antiquities, looting of archaeological sites…”
“Oh, wow,” you breathe, a dopey smile on your face. Emma shoots you a funny look.
“So it’s like, nerdy FBI stuff,” she says.
“The nerdiest,” Marcus agrees, smiling.
“Do you still have a gun and stuff?”
“I do,” Marcus says carefully, frowning slightly. “It’s in the safe for the week, though, while you’re here.”
Your stomach flip-flops at the mental image of Emma’s dad holding a gun, those warm brown eyes dark with focus as he stares down… an art thief. Or something. 
“Enough about your old man,” he says with a self-deprecating chuckle. “What are you two looking to do tomorrow on your first day in DC?”
“Think we’ll hit the museums,” Emma says. “Get them out of the way first. We want to see the Library of Congress, obviously. Plus walking around to all the monuments and stuff. Oh, and the zoo!”
“Do you want my advice?” Marcus asks, and you both nod. “It’s supposed to be unseasonably warm tomorrow, and sunny. I’d do the monument tour or the zoo tomorrow if I were you. Save the indoor stuff for the end of the week, because it’s supposed to rain.”
“Monuments it is!” Emma exclaims. “Hey, can I… can I use your shower? I feel kinda gross from the travel day.”
“Absolutely.” Marcus hops up, leading Emma over to the guest bathroom. You listen as he points out a stack of towels intended for the two of you during your stay, the extra shampoo he’d bought, the spare toothbrushes just in case… Eventually he returns, hands stuffed in his pockets, looking hesitant again.
“Thank you,” you say again. “You went through a lot of trouble, and–”
“It’s no trouble,” Marcus says quickly. “No trouble at all. I–I have to admit I was surprised when Em–when she called, but I’m–I’m more than happy to host you two for the week. It’s no trouble at all,” he repeats.
“Okay,” you say dumbly. You’re staring again, unable to help the way your eyes are drawn to the way his arms fill out the shirt he's wearing when his hands are in his pockets like that. 
"You alright?" 
Your eyes flit up to his at the question. He's looking back at you, his head cocked to the side as he watches you. And suddenly, you can just tell–you can tell that he knows how flustered you are in front of him. 
You nod rapidly up and down in response, not trusting yourself to answer.  
"Good. Had enough pizza?"
"Mmhmm."
"Anything else to drink?" he asks. 
"Got any beer?" you ask with a quirk of your eyebrow.
"You told me you were twenty," Marcus reminds you. 
"Oh."
"And I work for law enforcement," he says gravely. 
Oh. 
"Oh, f-fuck, I um… I was kidding. Holy shit. I'm sorry. Seriously, I'm not a-a bad… student, or anything. I swear, I–"
As you continue to frantically backtrack, you realize that Marcus’s shoulders are shaking with laughter. 
"Oh, you're funny. Real funny. Ha. Ha."
"Next you'll be saying I should quit my day job," he says, his eyes sparkling. 
"I'm not sure what kind of art… crime… solver… you are, but I have to believe you're a better agent than you are a comedian," you deadpan. 
"You can come to my stand-up show on Tuesday and see for yourself."
Your jaw drops before you realize Marcus's lips are quivering with the effort of keeping a straight face. 
"You're on fire, tonight," you say, rolling your eyes. 
"You'll have to forgive me," he says, a gentle, more wistful smile gracing his lips. "I don't have company often, and it's been even longer since I've seen–" his eyes flick to the bathroom door, and he looks troubled for a moment. 
"Strictly off the record, if you do want a beer, I happen to have some," he says, changing the subject and smiling back at you again. 
"Nah, I'll save that favor for later in the week," you tell him.
"Noted," Marcus replies. He's looking at you again, still. He seems to be one of those people who gives all of his focus to someone when they speak, and the attention is starting to overwhelm you. 
"Hey!" Emma calls from the guest bedroom. "I wanna get started early tomorrow. Those monuments aren't gonna monument themselves."
You laugh and roll your eyes. "That's my cue," you say with a little smile. "Gonna grab a shower myself and call it a night."
"If you need anything, I'm a room away," Marcus says, but it only serves to remind you that this man will be sleeping in the next room.
"Got it," you say, nodding thickly. "Um, good night."
"Good night," he answers softly. 
When you reach the bathroom door, you turn around again–you can't help yourself. 
He's still looking at you. 
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"Get up!
"Get up!"
"GET–"
"Okay!" you whine, throwing an extra pillow in the general direction of Emma's voice. "Fuck. I'm up."
You throw on a pair of jeans and a faded tee, scrubbing your hands over your face as you stumble out of the guest room and into the kitchen, where Marcus hands you a cup of coffee, which you accept with a grunt.
"Emma warned me that you weren't a morning person," he says. 
"God, it's both of you, isn't it?" you grumble. "Morning people."
"I guess we turned out alike after all," Marcus says with a soft smile, watching as you take a grateful sip from the mug. "What's the first stop on the list?"
"I dunno, she's got it all planned out," you murmur. "Of like, seeing the farthest place first and working our way back."
"Sounds like a plan," Marcus says. "You two have fun."
"What are you doing today?" Emma interjects, coming into the kitchen, grabbing a bagel off of the counter, and stuffing it into her mouth. 
"Well, it's Sunday, so… grocery shopping," Marcus says. "Any special requests?"
"Filet mignon," Emma says. 
"You got it. Want some lobster tails as well?"
"Mmhmm."
"I was thinking more along the lines of spaghetti and meatballs. Anything else you ladies would like?"
Emma shuffles her feet, and you frown slightly. You've never known her not to immediately say what's on her mind–and clearly, something is. 
"What is it, Emmie?" Marcus asks softly.
"Do you remember that one time that we came to your family's for Christmas–I think I was maybe twelve?–and you made…"
"...Tamales?" Marcus asks, his eyebrows shooting upward. 
"Yeah," Emma answers, her voice smaller than you've ever heard it. "I still remember those. They were really good."
"Jesus, I haven't made those in…" he shakes his head. "I don't even know. But uh, sure. We can do that. Tamale night. It's a deal."
"Thanks," Emma says, smiling. "And… really? 'Emmie?' Dad, I'm not seven anymore."
"My mistake," Marcus says with a playful wink in your direction–which might make your heart stop. "You girls stay safe. Text if you need anything."
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Marcus was right–the weather is beautiful today. It’s perfect for walking endlessly from monument to monument, which you do all morning. You try to stay focused–thoughtfully reading the names on the Vietnam War Memorial and not thinking about Emma’s dad, in the plain white t-shirt he had been wearing this morning, in the produce section picking out apples. Even worse, you try not to imagine the sight of him cooking tonight.
He’s becoming a bit of an obsession for you, you can admit it. You want to know everything about him–what his job is like, what he does on the weekends, what he likes to read, what he did in the past to alienate the mother of his child enough that he’s barely seen his daughter–who he very clearly cares deeply for…
As you walk around the Washington Monument, you can’t stand it any longer. 
“Sooooo. It seems like things are going well between you and your dad,” you say conversationally.
“How do you mean?” 
“Less awkward, I guess.”
“It’s not that we don’t get along,” Emma says with a shrug. “We always used to. Like I said, I always thought he was nice. My mom…” 
“She didn’t like him?”
“She didn’t want to be around him. I don’t know why. They tried to protect me from the messy parts of divorce, but part of that means that I have no idea what their history is. She never talked about it. Neither did he.”
“Huh.” You stare in silence at the large white obelisk. “I wonder what happened.”
“I thought about asking my mom,” Emma says. “Lots of times, but I never got up the courage.”
“You should ask him,” you say quietly. “I get the feeling he needs to tell the story.”
Emma gives you a funny look. “That’s a weird thing to say.”
You shrug. “I’m weird.”
“Fair.”
The two of you walk until it feels as though your feet are going to fall off. 
“My feet are going to fall off,” you announce. “Surely there are no more monuments in the entirety of Washington, DC.”
“We’ve still got the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”
“Uggghhhh, how important can he be? He’s unknown.”
“This was your idea,” Emma points out. “Go to DC for spring break! Stay with my best friend’s estranged dad! Walk around and see all the monuments and shit!”
“Too many steps,” you groan. “They should all be concentrated in one square mile of land.”
“One more,” Emma promises. “And then spaghetti.”
“And laying on the couch watching TV,” you counter.
“And laying on the couch watching TV,” Emma agrees. “...And tomorrow we go to the zoo.”
“No!”
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Marcus chuckles as you stumble into his condo just after six. You immediately collapse onto the couch with an exaggerated groan.
“I’m staying right here for the rest of the week,” you announce.
“It’s been one day,” Marcus points out. 
“My phone’s step counter measures over thirty thousand steps,” you mumble. “I’m done.”
“That’s a lot,” Marcus concedes. “Hopefully that means the two of you are hungry this evening.”
“Fucking starving,” Emma agrees, crashing onto the couch herself and nearly colliding with you as she does so. 
“Well, since everyone is so tired,” Marcus says, the playfulness evident in his voice, “I’ll make spaghetti and meatballs tonight. Tamales are a group effort, so you two better be ready to work for your food.”
“I shall endeavor to do so,” Emma remarks with an exaggerated accent, causing you to laugh giddily. 
While Emma’s eyes are closed, you take advantage, watching Marcus–still with that same fitted white shirt–in the kitchen, boiling water, heating the sauce, and adding the meatballs. He must sense your gaze, because he turns, a characteristic crooked smile on his lips as he acknowledges you. 
“I know they’re frozen,” he admits, speaking of the meatballs, “but they always taste the same to me anyway.”
“I can’t wait,” you say, truthfully. “It’s been a long day.”
As if to demonstrate the fact, a loud snore emanates from the body next to you, making you grin.
“I’m glad you guys came,” Marcus says softly. “I don’t often have the opportunity to cook for… more than one.”
“No girlfriend?” you ask conversationally. 
Marcus laughs. “I’m… in between things, I suppose.”
“In between,” you parrot with a laugh. “How long have you been ‘in between?’”
He huffs. “Too long,” he murmurs. 
“How come?” you ask quietly.
Marcus frowns, thinking. “I dunno. No one recently has been… exactly what I’m looking for.”
“And what are you looking for?” you ask breathlessly.
“Spaghetti,” Emma mumbles from the couch.
“Spaghetti,” Marcus repeats, giving me a slightly melancholy smile. “Exactly. Come and get it, you two.”
Emma stirs, stumbling into the kitchen where two giant bowls of spaghetti and meatballs are awaiting the two of you.
“Holy shit,” she remarks. “Thanks for this.”
“Of course,” Marcus says. “I would never agree for you to stay and then not…” he trails off, unsure of himself.
You’re starting to realize that the bulk of Marcus’s most emotional statements go unsaid. I would ever agree for you to stay and then not take care of you, is what he hadn’t said. 
“Still doing the zoo tomorrow?” he asks, changing the subject, as always.
“Yup,” Emma answers.
He huffs, smiling wistfully. “Been ages since I’ve been to a zoo.”
“D’you wanna go?” you ask, before you can determine that it’s a bad idea.
Marcus looks at you, indecisive for a few seconds before he seemingly comes to his senses. “Nah,” he says, grinning. “You two have fun.”
“Are you sure?” Emma asks. “Apparently there’s a new panda baby.”
“That’s a hard bargain,” he admits.
“You should come with,” Emma decides. “It could be fun.”
“All right,” Marcus agrees hesitantly.
“It’s Monday,” you point out. “Don’t you have to work?”
“I’ll call off,” he answers quickly. “Not everyday one’s daughter is in town for an impromptu zoo trip.”
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“Look at the little lad,” Emma gushes. 
“The what?” Marcus asks. 
The three of you are staring at the panda enclosure, watching the newest addition to the zoo cause chaos.
“The chonky boi,” you agree.
“I have no idea what you two are saying,” Marcus admits. 
“The baby panda is cute,” Emma offers. 
“That I can agree on,” he decides.
The three of you, you’ve decided, make a good team. You try not to think about how your heart burns whenever Marcus looks at you, how your stomach does flips whenever he laughs. If you’re going to be a good friend to Emma–and you are–you’re going to have to put this silly crush aside and accept the fact that he’s a package deal with your best friend. 
That doesn’t stop the way the man looks at you, though. 
You think you’re imagining it, at first. After all, Marcus seems to be the type of person who focuses completely on whatever anyone has to say. The more you’re with him, though, it’s hard to deny that he seems to look at you just a tiny bit longer.
You start to notice it all day–when you’re looking at the exhibits, Marcus is looking at you. 
He’s watching your reaction to them–smiling when you smile, laughing when you laugh. You can’t parse out the meaning behind his actions–does it mean something? If so, what? What does it mean? 
You can’t admit the truth to yourself until you’re in the insect house. Emma is giddy with interest, and you… are trying. 
“Are you okay?” Marcus asks softly in your ear–and you try not to shiver.
“Great,” you squeak. “Just don’t love the bird-eating spider.”
“I don’t like them either,” he confesses with a smile. “Do you need to leave?”
“Idunno,” you mumble, slurring the words together. 
“Emmie,” Marcus announces, “we’re going to take a little break, okay?”
“Mmm.” 
You and Marcus escape into the bright sunshine, and you let out an awkward laugh. “I can’t believe they have some of them loose in there–without glass or anything!”
“I’m not going back in that building,” Marcus agrees, laughing with you. “The giant orb weaver was the last straw.”
“That was awful,” you say, nodding.
“Come to think of it, I might be more of a baby panda guy, myself.”
“I’ll take the snakes over this,” you agree.
You sit down on a nearby bench, still giggling together as you wait for Emma.
“Is it weird if I say I’m glad you came?” you ask quietly.
“I’m glad I came, too,” Marcus says beside you.
“I think–” you begin, but Emma emerges from the insect house, grinning ear to ear.
“You think… what?” Marcus asks, but you shake your head and shrug.
“I dunno,” you mumble. “I just… think.”
“Hey, wimps,” Emma shouts. “They let me touch the tarantula.”
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Marcus takes the two of you out to dinner at a casual burger spot near his place. While the tension between him and Emma has lessened significantly since the first day, it feels as though it’s been replaced by a thick cloud of tension between the two of you. 
There’s something about the man that speaks to you, something within him that seems to vibrate on the same frequency as something within you. Twin souls, you’d say, if you were in a mind to be romantic, except… it can’t be. He must be nearly forty–and almost twice your age. There’s nothing you have that he would want–nothing you could offer a man who has his entire life together while yours has barely started.
Still, the way Marcus laughs at your jokes and gives you knowing glances–as if the two of you are sharing some type of inside joke that you’ve had for years–keeps you flustered and breathless throughout most of the evening.
The glass of wine he offers when you arrive home doesn’t help, either. You watch the red liquid swirl in your glass and wonder how it would taste from his lips, instead. And, when you’ve reached the bottom of your glass, the fuzzy-headed feeling you get from the alcohol combined with the way your stomach swoops in its place every time Marcus’s eyes meet yours has you feeling dizzy and enraptured in equal parts. 
When he locks eyes with you over the rim of his own glass as he drains the last sip, you freeze, afraid that you’d been caught out–that he can read every dumbstruck expression on your face and knows exactly what he does to you.
But all he does is shoot you a little smile, announce that he’s going to bed– “Back to work for me, tomorrow”–and leaves you in the living room alone with Emma, trying not to look as though you’re checking out her dad’s butt as he leaves the room. 
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The next day, you and Emma spend most of the day at the Library of Congress while Marcus is at work. As a result, neither of you are too tired to help when Marcus suggests making the tamales tonight. 
“I’m going to preface this by saying I’m not very good at making these,” he says with a laugh as he struggles with the dough. “My grandma only made these on special occasions, and I’ve done it myself approximately two times without her.”
“Well, the good news is that I’ve got no frame of reference,” you tell him. “So as long as they’re edible, they’ll be the best tamales I’ve ever had.”
Marcus chuckles and ducks his head; you can see the pink tinge on the tips of his ears as he continues to stir the mixture.
“Emmie, do you want to do the dough or the filling?” he asks. 
“Filling.”
“That leaves you with the fun part,” Marcus says to you with a playful wink. “You get to spread the dough out on the corn husks like this–” he frowns as a glob of dough gets stuck to the spatula. “I told you I’m not very good at this. But you get the idea.”
You really don’t; cooking has never been your strong suit. You do your best to spread the dough out, but after just a couple of repetitions, your fingers, your shirt, and the counter around you are sticky with dough. 
“This is not going very well,” you mumble. 
Marcus looks up from the tamale he’s currently folding and laughs joyfully. “That’s part of the process.”
“I really don’t feel like it is,” you shoot back. “It’s sticking to everything but the corn husks.”
“Here,” Marcus chuckles. And suddenly, he’s right behind you, his chest nearly touching your back as he reaches around you to gently guide your hands himself. “Like this.”
You can’t possibly focus on your task, not when you have to remind your body to keep breathing while Marcus’s hands are on you. Your eyes stare unseeingly down at the corn husk until he releases you. 
“Better?” he asks.
“Mmhm,” you hum, abnormally high-pitched.
“You’ve got some on your cheek,” he remarks with a soft smile. His thumb gently swipes across it, catching the stray dough and wiping it on a towel. 
In the end, the tamales are hideous, but they taste incredible. They might be the best meal you’ve ever had–or maybe it’s just the way Marcus had smiled proudly at you when your technique improved after his intervention.
After dinner, the three of you sit on the small couch and watch a movie.
“It’s in black and white,” Emma remarks, wrinkling her nose.
“Double Indemnity? It’s a classic!” Marcus protests.
“Old movies are always so boring,” Emma says. 
“It’s not boring,” he pouts. “The unhappy wife of a wealthy oil baron starts a dangerous, illicit love affair with an insurance salesman, and they hatch a plot to murder her husband and collect the insurance money.”
“That’s wild,” you laugh. “How have you seen this before?”
“I’ve always been told I’m an old soul.”
“Are you sure you’re not just old?” Emma teases.
“Hush. Watch the movie.”
The film is engaging, but all of the walking around of the past few days starts to catch up with you about halfway through. Before you know it, your eyes are drooping, and your head tips back on the couch cushion as you start to doze off. When you wake, the credits are rolling, and you’re no longer upright on the back of the couch.
You’re drooling on Marcus’s shoulder.
You startle, sitting back up with a frantic gasp and wiping your mouth in horror.
“Shh,” Marcus whispers, placing a calming hand on your forearm. “Emma fell asleep, too.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry,” you babble, taking in the little wet spot on his shirt.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he assures softly. “You’re tired. You needed the sleep.”
“Still,” you say. “I didn’t mean to…” you trail off awkwardly. 
“It’s okay,” Marcus repeats, even quieter still. His hand still rests on your forearm, his thumb subtly moving back and forth across your skin. 
Neither of you speak for what seems like an eternity, until finally, he breaks the spell.
“Should go to bed,” he murmurs. “I’ll wake up Emma. Go get some rest.”
“Marcus,” you whisper shakily.
“Go,” he whispers back. 
He squeezes your arm once, then releases you, and you reluctantly get up from the couch and cross to the guest bedroom door. You turn again, watching as Marcus gently smooths Emma’s hair back from her forehead as he rouses her from the couch. There’s so much tenderness in his eyes, and you wonder how much different he might be if Emma had been a more constant presence in his life. He seems so lonely–does he have friends outside of work, you wonder? Does he ever date? 
Emma sits up blearily and pads across the living room, walking past you and collapsing on the bed. You take one last look at Marcus, and follow her. 
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The next morning, you feel as though you could cut the tension between you and Marcus with a knife. There’s something there–and you both know it. He seems to be doing his best to ignore it, avoiding eye contact with you, and busying himself with pouring a thermos of coffee and messing with his tie absentmindedly as he gets ready to leave for work. 
“Where are you off to today?” he comments lightly.
“Smithsonian,” Emma answers. 
“Sounds fun. I’ve got a deposition this afternoon that’s probably going to run late, so go ahead and grab something for dinner while you’re out. I’m not sure when I’ll be home.”
The only time Marcus’s eyes fall on you is in the moment just before he steps through the front door. He pauses, hand on the doorknob, and glances back in your direction, dark eyes watching you for a moment before he nods subtly and leaves.
It’s funny how just a simple, seconds-long moment of eye contact with this man can turn your insides to jelly. Your breath stutters as the door clicks shut, and you try to gather yourself again.
“What’s first?” Emma asks. “Natural History or Air and Space?”
You put Marcus out of your mind for most of the day, although he’s never far away; you’re able to call up the feel of his hand on your forearm at any given moment. You can imagine the burn of his eyes even as you walk through exhibit after exhibit.
True to his word, he’s not home for dinner. You and Emma grab sandwiches from a shop around the corner and eat them in the living room in front of the TV. It’s nearly seven when Marcus finally gets home, opening the door and greeting the two of you with a tired smile and a heavy sigh.
“How did it go?” Emma asks.
“Shit,” he answers, shooting her a crooked grin. “But I’ve got leftover tamales to look forward to, so the day is looking up.”
You watch another movie–Emma’s choice this time, and something a bit more current. You don’t fall asleep this time; you can’t, not with the way your body feels on high alert tonight. Marcus is sitting beside you again, as he was the night before, and all you can think about is how much you want to sink into his arms again–and this time, intentionally. You want to lay on his chest and have him wrap his arms around you; you want him to slowly turn and press you down on the cushions, to feel the weight of him on top of you, the light scrape of his beard on your neck, his breath in your ear.
A wave of arousal washes over you, heating your skin and sending a little trickle of damp into your underwear. You wonder if Marcus can feel it–feel the elevated warmth of your skin from where he’s sitting. You wonder if he can tell how much he affects you. 
When the movie ends, you can barely meet his eyes as you bid him goodnight, following Emma to your room. You can’t turn around to see if he’s watching you; you can’t stand another glance at that deep, burning gaze of his. 
Sleep evades you. You’re too hot, so you kick off the covers. Then you’re too cold, so you cover up again. You flip over the pillow, turn from your back to your stomach, and back again. The fantasy plays once more in your head: Marcus’s hand cradling the back of your neck as he kisses a path down your neck and to your chest. You want to feel the weight of him between your thighs, feel him pressing against your core. You’re dripping for him, and he doesn’t even know it. 
No one has ever done this to you, but he has. And he hasn’t even touched you. 
You wonder if he’d be bothered by the fact that you aren’t exactly sure what you’re doing in that department. You wonder if he’d be put off by your inexperience, or if he’d be happy to guide you in the act of pleasure. 
You’ve had a couple of fumbling encounters, rushed, frenzied moments as a teenager with boys who haphazardly stuffed a finger or two into you, but it didn’t feel like anything to you. Not really. No one has ever made you cum–just you, in the safety of your own bed at night, your fingers seeking relief that no one else has been able to provide.
Could he give it to you?
Your past experiences have been with boys; and Marcus is a man. 
Your legs shift, rubbing your thighs against each other as you try to find a more comfortable position.
You can’t find one.
Eventually, you give up–getting out of bed with a sigh. Maybe if you grab a drink of water and sit on the couch for a while, sleep will win out in the end. You pad into the kitchen, filling a cup in the sink and taking a few long sips. The cool water is a relief, so you run your hand underneath the water next and scrub it over your face. Finally sated, you set the cup down by the sink and turn.
To see Marcus sitting on the couch, dimly lit by the glow of his laptop screen.
You nearly double over with shock, the unexpected sight causing a spike of adrenaline to course through your body.
“Sorry,” he says apologetically. “Couldn’t sleep, so I was… catching up on work.”
The mirror image of a popular news site reflects through the glass picture frame behind the couch, exposing the tiny lie.
“Yeah, me neither,” you admit quietly. “Thought I’d sit out here for a while and see if that helps, but… sorry, I’ll leave you to it.” You make to turn back, to retreat to the room again, but Marcus speaks softly behind you.
“Come sit,” he says. “I don’t mind.”
Breath caught somewhere in your throat, you hesitantly sink down on the couch beside him. Marcus closes his laptop and sets it down on the coffee table, and the silence stretches out between you. 
“So, are you liking DC so far?” he asks.
“Yeah,” you answer eagerly. “I’m having a great time. I’ll… I’ll be sad to leave,” you admit. “Is that weird?”
“It’s weird if you’re talking about missing the Washington Monument,” Marcus teases. “Or the traffic.”
“I’m talking about the metro, obviously,” you joke. “The rest of the country could stand for some public transit options.”
“I’m not sure they should be taking their cues from DC,” he chuckles. 
“Pssh, I like it.”
“The novelty wears off, believe me.”
You lapse into silence again. You’re sitting close enough to Marcus that you can feel the warmth from his skin, even though you aren’t touching. You want to sink into him, to have him envelop you, consume you.
You feel yourself unconsciously shifting closer to him. 
Is it just your imagination, or did Marcus subtly lean closer to you?
The pull is inevitable; your eyes flick up to his, and you can almost feel the point of no return pass the two of you by. 
You lick your lips, and his breath catches in his throat.
“I wasn’t talking about the metro,” you say breathlessly. 
“I know.”
And suddenly, his lips are on yours. 
It’s not fast, not rushed or frantic; he doesn’t surge forward to take you. It’s simply that the two of you are close enough that at one moment, Marcus Pike is not kissing you, and then the next moment, he is. 
As with everything this man does, the kiss is soft and tender. His hand comes up to cup your cheek, and he gently tits his head as his lips move against yours. His mouth opens ever so slightly, and you feel a wave of pure want rush through you at the light flick of his tongue against your lower lip.
You make a ragged sound in your chest as your lips part for him, and your tongues slide against each other for far too short of a time before Marcus pulls back, suddenly, his eyes full of worry.
“Oh, shit,” he murmurs. “Shit, we… we shouldn’t.”
This time, you kiss him back. The neck of his soft t-shirt crumples in your fist as you pull him closer, opening your mouth to him, and his protests die at the feel of your lips on his. Instead, it seems to light a fire within him; one hand curls around the back of your neck and the other grips your hip and you gasp softly into his mouth at the feel of his hands on your body. 
Marcus breaks the kiss again, but instead of pulling back to give you more reasons why you can’t, this time he kisses a path across your cheek and down your neck. You’ve imagined the way his light beard would feel against your skin so many times over the last couple of days, but nothing compares to the reality of having him gently scrape his teeth against your neck as you arch your back to him. 
“Fuck,” Marcus whispers. “So sweet, honey.”
You whimper at the term of endearment as Marcus gently starts to shift positions, turning and guiding you down onto the couch, just as you’d imagined. 
Now that you’re horizontal, the kisses that started out tender and sweet start to grow more and more lascivious. You can feel the weight of him between your legs and his hot length pressing against you, his hips rocking slightly as he lazily explores you with his hands and his mouth. 
One hand creeps up your inner thigh and slips under your thin sleep shorts and underwear, gently grazing your folds and feeling the obscene amount of slick that’s already gathered there. 
“Shit,” Marcus hisses softly, reverently. “You’re so wet. How are you so wet?”
“You,” you answer earnestly, staring up at him with wide eyes. 
He laughs breathlessly in response, his eyes raking up and down your body, taking in your nipples peeking through the threadbare material of your tank top. His finger explores deeper, slipping inside your tight channel and immediately finding… something… that makes you gasp raggedly. 
“So responsive,” he murmurs playfully. “I’ve barely touched you.” He starts to slowly pump his finger in and out, his thumb pressing on your clit as he rubs against that little spot inside of you every time, and all you can do is squeeze your eyes shut and cling to him as this one little movement threatens to take you apart. 
“Honey,” he whispers disbelievingly as he feels you start to tighten around him. “Already?”
“I–” 
Whatever you had been about to say dies on your lips as you suddenly fall over the edge, shaking as the pleasure overtakes you. Marcus soothes you through it, whispering in your ear as you come down from your high.
“Wow,” you murmur. “Holy shit, that was amazing.”
Marcus pulls back and gives you a funny look. “What’s going on?” he asks, frowning slightly.
“Heh–you’re going to laugh,” you say, giving him an awkward grimace. 
He raises his eyebrow, waiting for you to continue. 
“I’ve–kind of never done this before,” you admit, pressing your lips together sheepishly. 
“Oh shit,” Marcus breathes, sitting up fully as his eyes frantically sweep over you. “Oh, honey–no. I can’t–we can’t do this.”
“Why?” you ask, wincing internally at how whiny it comes out.
“It can’t–it shouldn’t be me,” he says softly. “That’s more than I deserve to take.”
“You’re not taking anything,” you protest. “I–I want it to be you.”
Marcus shakes his head again, but you can see the cracks in his resolve, the way his eyes are searching you, devouring you with his gaze.
“I don’t want it to be some boy at a frat party back home,” you tell him. “I want you. I want it to feel good. Please?”
Marcus’s expression is inscrutable as his eyes rake over your form, disheveled and sated, underneath him. Your heart sinks when he stands up, shame sinking down into the pit of your stomach, but then he extends his hand to you, and you look up at him, questioning. 
“I’m not going to let your first time be a quick fuck on my couch,” he says quietly and resolute. “If we’re going to do this, we’re going to bed.”
Wordlessly, you accept his hand and allow him to pull you to your feet. You wobble slightly, still shaky from the orgasm, and Marcus draws you into his side, steadying you. He guides you forward, keeping you close as the two of you walk to his bedroom. 
Despite the fact that you were more than ready to let this man take you right there on the couch, the change in venue has your heart hammering in your chest. Now, it feels real. It feels intentional. 
“C’mere, beautiful,” Marcus murmurs when he feels your steps falter. His hand slides up your arm and across your shoulder until it curls gently around your neck, causing goosebumps to rise to the surface of your skin. He presses a couple of soft, chaste kisses across your opposite shoulder, and your lips part of their own accord. 
“I need you to tell me if you don’t want to do this,” he says softly in your ear.
“I want–”
“I know, I know,” Marcus interrupts. “I want you to tell me if that changes.”
He gently guides you onto his bed, one hand on the small of your back to keep you from going too fast. 
“I wanna know what you like,” he murmurs as he hovers over you again, his hand coming up underneath the thin material of your top. “I wanna know what you don’t like.” 
“I–I don’t really know–”
“I know,” Marcus grins wolfishly, his eyes sparkling with amusement. “That’s the idea.”
He starts to push the material of your shirt up, up, up, until your nipples are pebbling in the cool air of his bedroom. He gently pulls it over your head and casts it aside, looking down at you with undisguised hunger. He trails the backs of his fingers down the side of one breast and underneath. “I get to find out what you like,” he says. He circles one areola with the tip of his finger, making you shiver. “And I get to be the first to do it.”
He gently drags the pad of his finger across the little bud of your nipple, and you gasp for him as if you’d hit a live wire. 
“I’m gonna take a guess and say you liked that,” he teases. 
“Marcus,” you whine. 
“Shh,” he whispers again, just before his mouth engulfs your nipple. Your hand darts out unconsciously, tangling in the hair on the back of Marcus’s neck as you squirm under his hot tongue. You can’t tell whether you want to pull away or push toward him, but in reality all you do is whine and take what he gives you. He switches to the other one; lathing and flicking his tongue and pressing down until you whimper.
“So… fucking… responsive,” Marcus murmurs in between kisses as he starts to mouth his way down your belly to the band of your sleep shorts. His fingers dip underneath, poised to pull them down over your hips, but he waits–eyes flicking up to yours to gauge your reaction. 
“Can I taste you?” he asks quietly.
“I-If you want,” you laugh shakily. 
“If I want?” he parrots disbelievingly. “You’re saying that like it’s not a given–like I haven’t been thinking of burying my tongue in that sweet little pussy all night. If I want,” he chuckles to himself again, slowly dragging your shorts and underwear down your legs. “I need to taste you. I need to feel you fall apart on my tongue. The first one was kind of a surprise, and all I want is to feel you shaking again.”
You’re bare before him, but you don’t have any time to be self-conscious, because Marcus is laying back down on the bed, his face inches away from your pussy. He gently guides your legs over his shoulders before lowering his mouth to you. 
You aren’t sure who groans louder at the first touch of his tongue through your folds. 
Marcus makes a pained noise in his throat before murmuring, “So sweet, honey–fuck, you’re so sweet.”
His tongue is delicate, but precise; he flicks it back and forth against your clit, then dips down to lap at your entrance until you’re trembling for him. He’s tireless and patient, cataloging every whimper and moan he pulls from you as the pleasure slowly builds inside of you. In no time at all, you’re dangling on the precipice, your hips locking into place as you start to reach the point of no return. 
“I–I–” you stammer, trying to warn him.
Marcus hums enthusiastically in agreement, concentrating his efforts on your clit until you fall apart with a gasp.
He groans again, licking you through each little aftershock of pleasure until you’re boneless. 
“You squeeze me so hard,” he croons. “Can you feel that? You’re so tight around my tongue.”
“Shit…” you murmur. You’re too fucked-out to say anything else. 
“Gonna have to open you up a bit with my fingers,” he says softly. “So I don’t hurt you.”
You look up at him with half-lidded eyes. He’s still clothed–wearing sweatpants and a shirt, while you’re completely naked, and you frown slightly at the disparity.
“Everything okay?” Marcus asks, seeing your expression. 
“Can–Can I see you? You’re so… clothed,” you say with a little pout. 
He laughs, smiling widely so that the corners of his eyes crinkle, and your heart soars. 
“Of course,” he agrees, stripping off his shirt. “Of course.”
You raise up on one elbow, gazing up at Marcus’s broad chest, the light smattering of hair, and the soft swell of his belly. You can’t help but reach up and touch him, pressing your palm to his sternum and trailing down, tracing the little path of hair until it disappears under the band of his sweatpants. Your fingers curl underneath the band, looking up at him with wide eyes. 
“These, too?” he asks with a teasing chuckle, smiling wider when you nod eagerly. 
His cock bobs free as he pushes his pants down his hips, and your eyes widen at the sight of him, thick and hard and heavy with want. Curiously, you wrap your hand around him, and you’re rewarded with a little ‘hnnngg’ of pleasure and surprise as you touch him. 
You gently trace the little ridges on his shaft, traveling up to the flushed, purple head, where the skin is even softer, and back down again.
“F-Fuck,” Marcus muttters. “Can’t do that too much, honey, or I’m gonna lose it before we even get started.”
“I like it,” you say with a little giggle. “I never realized they were so… soft.”
Marcus makes a broken, choked sound. “Jesus. You’re gonna be the death of me.” 
He falls onto one elbow, giving you a messy, passionate kiss before sucking his fingers into his mouth and gently sinking one finger into you again. His lips stay close to yours, noses almost touching, his eyes watching your face intently as he slowly opens you up. His fingers are so thick, and just like before, he seems to know exactly where to press up inside you to make the pleasure spark inside of you. He adds a second finger, and you whimper–you're already so full. 
"Little bit more," Marcus murmurs. "Doing so well for me–fuck–so tight."
He gently starts to slide a third into you, the heel of his hand pressing against your clit to offer some relief.
“Is it greedy if I say I want you to cum for me again?” he asks softly. “I want to feel it again. Can you do that for me?”
You nod dazedly–wanting to do anything, everything this man asks as long as he keeps making you feel like this. 
His fingers press up against your walls again, and you sob loudly into the room.
Marcus immediately muffles the sound with a kiss, swallowing your whimpers and cries in an attempt to keep the sound from carrying across the apartment. 
“Gotta stay quiet for me,” he whispers against your lips. 
“S-Sorry.”
“No, shh, don’t be sorry,” he murmurs. “I wish you could be loud. Wish I could make you scream for me. Just–fuck, honey, you’re right there, aren’t you? I can feel you squeezing me–fuck, you get so wet. Give me one more. One more, and I’ll give you my cock. That’s it, that’s–yes–” 
Marcus breaks off on a groan as you clamp down on his fingers. It’s so much, you’re so full, and you buck against his hand, your lower back rising up off of the bed as he pulls it from you. 
You slump back down, breathing heavily, as he carefully withdraws his fingers. 
“Hey,” he says quietly, trying to get your attention. “Hey, I should have asked this sooner, but–are you on birth control? Do you want me to use a condom?”
“I-I’m on the pill,” you tell him. “If you… you know, if you didn’t want to. That would be–I’d like that.”
“That’s perfect,” he whispers, giving you a tender kiss. “I’d like that, too.” He pauses, and mutters a soft curse under his breath. “I wish I had some lube,” he remarks. “Just to be sure I don’t hurt you.”
You watch as he spits on his cock and takes himself in hand. 
“This will have to do, though,” he says as he slicks it over his cock and crawls over you. “And I’ll just go slow.”
He cups the back of your neck with one hand as he lines himself up with the other. His lips are inches from yours, but he doesn’t lean down to kiss you–no, he seems to want to watch your reaction as the tip of his cock notches at your entrance. 
“Don’t want to hurt you,” he whispers again.
“You could never hurt me,” you say confidently, and you watch as his lips part in surprise. “Marcus–” you add, as you shift your hips impatiently. “–just do it.”
Your eyes widen as you feel him push into you, his girth splitting you open. It can’t be much bigger than three of his thick fingers, but still, it just feels like more. It’s longer, certainly; he keeps pushing in, and even when you’re sure he’s reached the end, there’s still more. 
“Oh wow,” you hear yourself murmuring again and again. “Oh, Marcus.” 
“I know,” he returns, kissing your cheekbone, your forehead, your nose, and then finally, your lips. “I know, honey.”
He starts to rock his hips, slowly undulating them, letting his cock drag back and forth against your walls. It feels incredible–you never imagined how fucking good this would feel–and you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it’s because it’s him. It’s Marcus–a man you’ve admittedly only known for a few days, but you feel as though you know him already–and you trust him completely. 
“Does it hurt at all?” he rumbles softly in your ear.
“No,” you answer emphatically. “It feels–holy shit.”
Marcus laughs breathlessly. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Can–can we do this again?”
He chuckles. “We’re currently doing this.”
“I already want it again.”
He starts to go a little harder, his thrusts a little deeper. His hand grips your hip for leverage, the other still cradling the back of your neck. He kisses you, a deep, messy, passionate thing, before burying his face in the crook of your neck and sucking a gentle mark into your skin.
“Feels so good,” he murmurs. “I’m not gonna last, not when you feel like this.”
“Like how?” you ask, smiling widely. 
“So fucking tight,” Marcus groans. “And wet, and hot, and–” he brings his thumb to your clit and starts to rub little circles around it. “I need you to cum again,” he says. “Fuck, you–you feel too good, honey, I’m not gonna last.”
“I—I don’t know if I can,” you murmur. 
“Please,” he says, a hint of desperation in his tone. “Please, baby, you’ve gotta do this one last thing for me. Let me feel it, let me make you feel good. Let me–let me–”
Your mouth falls open as you feel it wash over you. This is better than anything you’ve ever felt before, any relief you’ve been able to seek with your fingers–the drag of his cock along your walls only serves to prolong your pleasure, making each little aftershock feel like a new wave of pleasure. 
“Oh, fuck,” Marcus groans. “Fuck.” He buries his face in the crook of your neck as he shoves his hips into you one more time, emptying himself within you with a deep groan. 
The aftermath is quiet. After gently, tenderly cleaning you up with a damp cloth, Marcus collapses on the pillows and pulls you to him, wrapping his arms around you as you settle with your head resting on his shoulder.
“Was this a bad idea?” you ask quietly as you trace little shapes on his chest.
Marcus huffs a laugh. “Probably,” he answers.
“I don’t care,” you say resolutely, causing his hold on you to tighten. “...Do you regret it?” you ask, feeling unsure of yourself again.
“No,” Marcus says immediately. “No. I was drawn to you from the beginning. I’m sorry, I–I should have tried harder to prevent this, but…”
“I felt it, too,” you murmur. “Maybe we weren’t meant to prevent it.”
The two of you bask in the afterglow, reveling in the feel of your bodies pressed together. You can’t help but think of how tender, how loving he is–not just with you, but with Emma.
“Can I ask a personal question?” you ask, breaking the silence.
Marcus shrugs. “Sure.”
“This is probably weird to be thinking about right now, but… why does Emma’s mom not want you around?”
 Marcus sighs, his lips pressing into your forehead–not really a kiss, just a caress of your hairline with his mouth.
“That story doesn’t exactly paint me in the best light.”
“I want to know. I just… don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?” he asks.
“You’re… you’re such a good dad–a good man. I don’t understand how her mom wanted nothing to do with you. I just don’t get it.”
Marcus nods, pressing his lips together. “I wasn’t always a good man,” he says quietly. “I tried to do the best I could for the both of them–for Emma and her mom–but I’m afraid I fell very short, in the beginning.”
“What happened?”
“We were in college when we found out she was pregnant,” Marcus says with a sigh. “She was nineteen, I was almost twenty-one. We hadn’t been together long; maybe a couple of months. She was terrified, of course–and so was I, but never told her that. I asked her to marry me because I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“Did you love her?”
“I cared for her, very much so. And even if we weren’t quite right for each other, knowing–” Marcus swallows thickly, “–knowing our child, my child, was growing inside of her made me feel deeply connected. If you had asked me at twenty-one, I would have sworn up and down that I was in love.”
“But not now?”
Marcus huffs softly. “I know a little better, now.”
“What happened?” you ask, tracing the line of his collarbone with the tip of your finger. “What did you do?”
“Well, the first thing I did was drop out of art school,” he says with a little laugh. “Didn’t think it would pay the bills, especially not with a wife and a baby.”
“You were an artist?” you ask, surprised.
“Wanted to be,” he chuckled. “At least at that time. So instead, I applied for the FBI. Joined the Art Crimes division. And shortly after I completed training… Emma was born.” His eyes are far away, a small smile on his face as he remembers. “And she was perfect. And I remember thinking, all the struggling, all the hardship, all the times Denise and I didn’t get along… it would be worth it, in the end. No matter what happened; because I had her.”
You swallow past the lump in your throat. “What went wrong?”
“Nothing in particular, at first. We struggled to make ends meet. We were two young parents with no idea what we were doing, and even though I might have known deep down that we weren’t right for each other, I just wanted it to go right. I wanted us to be happy, but in the end we were just too different. We didn’t work–and while I might have been blind to it at the time, Denise wasn’t. When Emma was barely even two, she filed for divorce, and I–” he sighs heavily again. “I went a little off the rails.”
You tilt your head and look up at Marcus. His eyes are stormy, and you can see the remorse etched into the lines of his face. You don’t ask how, you just wait patiently for him to continue.
“I didn’t want to be divorced at twenty-three. This wasn’t–it wasn’t the life I had expected for myself, not what I would have chosen, but because I had Emma, I didn’t want anything else. I always knew I would want a family, and so what if it happened… a little out of order?”
“What did you do?” you whispered.
“I tried to convince her to change her mind. She took Emma and went to live with her parents, and I’d call them every day, asking to talk to her. I wanted to persuade her–I thought that if she could just see that we had plenty of time, we could raise Emma and be good parents and still… still have time for whatever we wanted. That we could still build lives.
“When she never returned my calls, I started stopping by,” he confesses, his voice even quieter. “They’d always tell me she was out, so I started showing up at odd hours, trying to… trying to just catch her one time–I thought if I explained that she could do whatever she wanted, as long as we could just stay together and raise Emma, she’d agree. But the more I tried to contact her, the more she pulled away, and rightly so, honestly. I was badgering her. I tried to justify it at the time, said I was doing it all for Emma, but I, uh… It took me until much later to admit I was actually doing it for me. I was so scared of being a failure, and scared to be alone.
“Anyway, the court didn’t look very kindly on what looked to everyone involved like stalking behavior, and Denise was afforded full custody.”
“M-Marcus,” you murmur, unable to help the water gathering at the corners of your eyes. 
“Broke my heart,” he whispers, his voice full of emotion. “And I was angry about it for a while, but when it comes down to it, I was just angry with myself. It was my actions that lost me my daughter, and… well, I’ve had twenty years to come to terms with that, now.”
“How did you finally… come to face all of that?” you ask quietly.
“Therapy,” Marcus says with a genuine laugh. “And that is another story for another time.”
“God, what else happened to you?”
“Nothing,” he chuckles, “just another relationship that I fought way too hard for.” He playfully runs his finger down the bridge of your nose before tilting your chin upward for a soft kiss. “And you,” he murmurs, “need to go back to bed.”
Your emotions still running on high alert after Marcus’s emotional confession of his past, you surge forward and throw your arms around his neck. 
“I’m sorry,” you whisper. 
“I’m okay,” he promises. “It was a long time ago.”
“You should tell Emma,” you say softly. “She never knew why her mom didn’t want you around.”
“Not really something you want to tell your daughter,” he says with a sad smile. “That you basically stalked her mom.”
“She’s grown up. She’s older than her mom was when–”
“Believe me, I know,” Marcus groans. “Don’t remind me; it makes this feel very… wrong.” He gestured between the two of you.
“Just trust me,” you murmur. “She’d want to know.” With herculean effort, you extricate yourself from his arms, grab your clothes, and redress. Feeling unsure in the way the conversation ended, you tell yourself not to turn around again when your hand lands on the doorknob.
“Honey,” Marcus calls out softly from the bed. “Good night.”
“Good night,” you whisper back, and then you’re gone.
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“Where are you two off to, today?” Marcus asks conversationally over coffee. He’s made it stronger than usual today, and it makes warmth pool deep in your stomach at the reminder of your very sleepless night last night. You’re grateful for the extra boost of caffeine as well, of course–the morning seemed to come far too early after being up half of the night. Sleep had still been hard to come by when you finally returned to the guest room, after all; the conversation about Marcus’s past was still swirling around in your head, and every time you closed your eyes, you could still feel his hands on you. 
You never knew it could feel like this, never knew how good it could be with someone who really knew what they were doing. Someone so giving, so gentle and yet so ruthless in pursuing your pleasure. Someone brimming with passion, capable of both the softest prase and the most depraved filth in the same sentence.
If you had thought your thirst would be sated after finally getting what you’d fantasized about and more, you were a fool. The flame burns hotter than ever this morning, and the sight of Marcus in a suit with not a hair out of place only makes you think about how he had looked between your legs last night–that devilish smirk as he teased about wanting to taste you.
You wonder if you’ll ever see him that way again, or if last night was a fluke. 
Had he noticed when your fingers had trembled around the coffee cup he handed you? 
He had given you a soft, tender stare when you had first entered the kitchen, but that’s the only evidence you can find so far that Marcus is even half as affected as you feel. You can still feel him this morning, a subtle ache between your legs when you sit down, and you wish you could see some outward sign on him that this actually happened.
“Not really sure,” Emma answers Marcus’s question. “Kind of ran out of stuff to see.”
“Impossible,” Marcus chuckles. “Well, you can hang out here if you want, or if you're really looking for a distraction, you can come to the office with me.”
“The fucking FBI office?” Emma asks. “Are we allowed?”
“Yeah, why wouldn’t you be?” Marcus shrugs. “Plus, I might be able to set up some time for you to talk to someone in Legal,” he says to you. “Are you still interested in that?”
“Oh wow,” you breathe. “Really?”
“‘Course,” he replies. “I said I would.”
You nod, smiling up at him beatifically. “I’d like that a lot.”
“Perfect,” he grins. “Well, if you’re coming, we’re going to need to leave soon. Are you almost ready?”
“I’m ready,” Emma announces, shouldering her bag.
“Yeah, me too.”
Marcus winks at you, and you try not to let yourself react to it.
“Let’s go, then.”
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You had assumed that you’d spend most of your day at the FBI holed up in Marcus’s office, doing nothing. You had imagined that, out of necessity, you’d be barred from attending any meetings or hearing about his department’s day-to-day activities, but when you arrive, his team seems enthusiastic to have you and Emma there. Much to your surprise, they even let the two of you sit in the back of the room while Marcus conducts a briefing. 
You listen, enthralled, as he discusses a recent forgery case that the team is working on. His demeanor, as it is at home, is good-natured and easygoing. He’s easy to smile, and engaging when he talks, and as a result, he utterly commands the room. His style of quiet, unassuming authority has you subtly squirming in your chair. Even though you have no idea what’s being discussed, you can tell simply by listening to his cadence of speech that he’s incredibly knowledgeable, and fucking good at his job. It’s clear he loves the work–and when you think back to the night before and his whispered confession that he had once dreamed of being an artist, you find yourself beaming with happiness that he’s clearly found something he loves to do. 
“People change.”
You suddenly recall his words the very first night you were there–his assurance that it didn’t matter that you had no idea what you wanted to do at your age, because there’s no promise that you’ll still want the same things in ten years. After last night, you realize that he was talking about himself in that moment.
You hope he’s happy and fulfilled.
He deserves it.
You watch him wrap up the meeting–delegating work to each member of the team and asking for updates–and every so often, as his eyes sweep around the room, they always seem to land on you.
As he promised, Marcus introduces you to Kimberley Alexander, the lawyer that his department works with most of the time. You’re nervous at first–you aren’t sure what you’re going to talk about, but you end up staying in her office through lunch, spending almost an hour and a half longer than you had intended, talking about potential jobs with the FBI.
Not because you suddenly have the desire to return to Washington, DC as soon as you can, nope. It does interest you–quite a bit, actually–but you can’t pretend that you aren’t excited at the prospect of living in the same city as Marcus. Would he want to see you again? Is he really interested in you, or is it just the forced proximity–because you’re convenient and available? If you had your own life here, would he be interested in a place in it?
When you find Emma and her dad again, they’ve clearly just come back from lunch. Emma thrusts a container into your hands, which you discover, with an exaggerated moan of satisfaction, is pad Thai.
“Must have been a good talk,” Marcus remarks. 
“Yeah, you were there for two hours,” Emma adds.
“It was good,” you nod. “Talked about, y’know, internships and stuff.”
“You wanna live here?” Emma asks, looking surprised and curious.
You try to shrug noncommittally. “Sure,” you say lightly. “It’s as good a place as any, and it would be kind of fun to work for the FBI, right?”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you an unbiased answer to that,” Marcus says with a wry smile, “but I think you’d be a great fit.”
Your heart swells at his words. “Really?”
“Absolutely,” he says earnestly. “And I hate to do this, but I’ve gotta run to do a witness interview, and you guys have to stay behind this time.”
You watch as Marcus gives Emma a quick kiss on the forehead, and your eyebrows raise in surprise at the action. They’ve gotten more comfortable around each other in the time you’ve been here, but neither of them had seemed to be very comfortable with physical affection. Marcus, for his part, is always so hesitant–wanting to reach out, but seemingly afraid that he doesn’t deserve it, or worse, that it won’t be received well. You still remember the first day you saw him–when his hand twitched toward his daughter, seemingly desperate to wrap her in a hug, but he hadn’t allowed himself to do it.
What changed?
Marcus glances at you, and gives you a slightly awkward, stiff nod before leaving for his meeting.
You busy yourself with eating lunch, digging into the container they brought you.
“Tomorrow’s the last day, huh?” Emma says conversationally.
You gulp. You’ve purposefully been putting the fact that your time here has an expiration date at the back corner of your mind. Whatever you have with Marcus, it’s temporary by its very nature, and you know it.
You just don’t really want to think about it right now.
“Yup,” you agree, mouth full of noodles. 
“What do you wanna do? I’m kind of out of ideas.”
You shrug. “We could ask Marcus if there’s anything he recommends seeing that we haven’t already been to.”
“I think we should go as far out as the metro line goes,” Emma says.
“Why?”
She shrugs. “See where we end up.”
“Whatever you want,” you tell her. “Last day is up to you.”
“How’s the pad Thai?”
“Good,” you nod, mouth full. “What’d you get?”
“Calamari,” she answers. “Never had it, wanted to try it.”
“How was it?”
“Chewy.”
You laugh, taking another bite of noodles. “Think I’ll stick to my favorite.”
The two of you huddle together on the small, two-seater couch in Marcus’s office, watching YouTube videos and laughing together until he comes back near the end of the day.
Your eyes automatically brighten when you see him return, drinking in the sight of him–the crisp lines of his suit paired with the slightly unruly hair. You discovered last night how soft it is, and how much he loves it when you thread your fingers through it and tug gently. 
He meets your eyes, but quickly drops his gaze, and you try not to sink in disappointment. Did it not mean as much to him as it did to you? Or is he just better at hiding it?
“You two hungry for dinner?” he asks, putting his stuff back in his messenger back and throwing it over his shoulder.
Emma groans loudly beside you. “Gonna be honest, I’m not really feeling dinner.”
“That was a lot of pad Thai,” you agree.
“Good,” Marcus says with a smile. “Me neither. Let’s go home and have a lazy night eating popcorn on the couch.”
The moment you arrive home, though, Emma makes a beeline for the bathroom. 
“She okay?” Marcus asks you.
You grimace at the faint sounds of retching. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
When she emerges again, Marcus hands her a glass of water with a concerned expression. “Everything okay?”
“No,” she mutters pitifully.
“Was it the calamari?” you ask.
“Please don’t say that word ever again,” Emma groans, flopping down on the couch. “Fuck. Everything hurts.”
“What do you need?” Marcus asks, looking a little lost.
“Distraction,” she mumbles. “Long movie or something.”
Emma takes up the entire couch, so you and Marcus have to sit in opposite armchairs while you watch Lord of the Rings. It’s almost unbearable to you, being so close to him and yet not being able to touch, not being able to look at him for fear of giving everything away. If you two were to lock eyes, you know that you wouldn’t be able to hide your reaction to him. So much so that even Emma, who’s still alternating between running to the bathroom and collapsing on the couch, would have no choice but to notice. 
The pull to him feels overwhelming; the only thing you can think of doing is crossing the living room and sinking into his arms. It makes you feel guilty–your best friend has food poisoning, Marucs is trying to help by refilling her water and encouraging her to drink, and here you are, with nothing to do but yearn for your best friend’s dad. 
When the movie is over, it’s late; Marcus brushes Emma’s hair back from her forehead and suggests she go lie down. As she’s stumbling toward the guest room, Marcus touches you for the first time since last night–lightly wrapping his fingers around your wrist while Emma isn’t looking.
Your eyes meet, and he gives you a coal-black stare, trying to communicate without speaking. He nods subtly, and his meaning is easy to understand.
Come to me tonight.
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You come to him in the dead of night. You lie awake, listening for Emma’s breathing to even out, and then waiting another thirty minutes after that, just to be safe. 
It’s nearly midnight when you slip into Marcus’s bedroom, but he’s still awake; his lamp is on, and he’s reading a book.
Waiting for you. 
The moment the door creaks open, Marcus casts the book aside without even marking his place, and rises to his feet. He strides forward and you meet him in the middle, a clash of mouths and hands as you come together desperately. 
“Fuck,” he whispers against your lips. “All fucking day, all I could think about was this.”
“Me too,” you mumble hastily in between kisses. 
“No idea how hard it was to concentrate on giving that meeting this morning,” he confesses, “with you in the corner looking at me with those eyes of yours.” 
He grabs your top and pulls it over your head in one swift motion and ducks down to lathe his tongue against your nipple, making you arch against him. 
“Ah!–Really?” you gasp. “I didn’t–you looked so… calm the whole day. Like it didn’t affect you the same way it affects me.”
“Doesn’t affect me?” Marcus repeats incredulously. “Honey, I am out of my mind with wanting you.” He pulls back, his palms cradling your cheeks as he stares at you with a disbelieving smile. “Do you not have any idea what you do to me?” he asks softly. 
Stunned, you shake your head.
Marcus laughs breathlessly, as he reaches down to encircle your wrist with one large hand and brings your hand forward to press against the front of his pants, where you can feel him, hard and straining against the fabric. “You feel that?” he rasps. “Do you fucking feel what you do to me?”
He shoves your flimsy sleep shorts down your legs and all but tosses you onto the bed. He strips off his own shirt and follows you down. “I’ve been half-hard all day,” he confesses. “I had to fuck my own hand in the shower this morning and still,” he groans. “As soon as I picture your face as you fall apart for me, I’m done for.”
“You thought about that?” 
“All fucking day,” Marcus promises. 
“That all you thought about?” you ask, your voice turning coy as you gain more confidence.
He chuckles darkly. “Thought about a lot of things,” he murmurs.
“Such as…?”
“Just–all the ways I want to have you.” 
“Show me,” you demand.
Marcus chuckles again. “Show you what, pretty girl?”
“All the ways that you want me.”
“That would take a lot more time than we currently have,” he says wryly. 
“Then show me how you want me most,” you say. 
“Let me get you ready first,” Marcus murmurs, starting to kiss a path down your body, intent on his destination. 
“No.”
“Hmm?”
“I want it now,” you say frankly.
“Honey–” he protests softly.
“Consider the fact that I’ve done nothing but think about what happened last night and fantasize about what’s going to happen tonight foreplay,” you tell him. “I can’t–I can’t wait. I don’t want it to be slow. I need–I need—” you trail off, searching for how exactly to find the words for what it is that you need. 
Marcus nods slowly, his eyes darkening as he watches you plead for him to take you now.
“You really want me to show you?” he asks quietly.
You nod.
“Then get on your hands and knees for me, honey.”
You comply with a shiver, your heart in your throat as you turn around and put yourself on display for him.
Marcus mutters a soft curse behind you as his palm strokes up the skin on the back of your thigh and up over the swell of your cheek. 
You hear him spit in his hand, and you know he's coating himself in it behind you, easing his way in. He does it again, and this time you whimper softly as he cups you, transferring more wetness to your folds. 
"Already so wet," he teases softly. "Tell me if it's too much."
He slides forward, sheathing himself in one fluid motion, and your elbows nearly buckle at the overwhelming feel of it. 
Marcus doesn't wait for you to adjust, this time. He starts thrusting right away, his hands grasping your hips for leverage. He's pressing right on the spot that makes pleasure sing throughout your entire body. Once he's sure that his pace isn't too much for you, he starts giving it to you harder, snapping his hips into you over and over.
Last night was overwhelming in its own way, but this–this is devastating. You thought last night was the most pleasure you could ever feel, but you had no idea that this could wreck you so completely. 
You're crying out with every thrust, each punishing snap of his hips punching little pathetic noises past your lips as you take what he needs to give you. 
"Shhh," he reminds you. "Gotta stay quiet, honey."
You drop to your elbows, burying your face in the pillows to try and muffle the involuntary sounds, but you can tell it isn't enough. 
"M-Marcus," you whimper frantically. "I can't."
"Do you want to stop?" he asks (making you shake your head rapidly), "Or do you want me to help you be quiet?"
You nod frantically, although you have no idea what he means. You'd do anything to keep feeling his cock like this. 
Marcus’s hand wraps tightly around your mouth, quieting your cries and forcing you to breathe through your nose. Something about the action makes your pussy clench violently, and Marcus makes a quiet groan of pleasure above you. 
He fucks you harder and faster, one hand sliding underneath you to rub tight circles over your clit. 
"Cum for me," he rasps brokenly above you. “Fuck, please–” 
The soft plea is enough to end you. You wail into Marcus’s hand as you come undone, and he tightens his grip, muffling the sound. 
It doesn’t take long for him to follow–just a couple more minutes of brutal thrusts that have you whimpering into his hand, oversensitive from your orgasm. The minute he stills, his cock slips from you as he immediately collapses on the bed and pulls you into his arms. You’re both still breathing heavily, but he smooths the hair back from your forehead as he looks you over.
“Are you okay?” he asks softly. “That was a lot, I’m sorry.”
“‘Re you kidding?” you slur. “That was… amazing.”
Marcus laughs and pulls you close again. “I’m glad,” he whispers, and you can hear the smile in his words. 
“Can I stay here for a little longer?” you ask. “Just a little.”
Marcus pulls back again and looks down at you with an amused smile. “It’s cute that you think I’m done with you, honey.”
Your eyes widen. “You’re not?”
“Mm-mm. Don’t think I’ll ever get tired of the way you look when you come undone,” he murmurs, tracing the tip of his index finger down the side of your cheek. “You didn’t think I’d be satisfied with just once tonight, did you?”
You giggle. “I guess not.”
He fixes you with a fiery look. “Do you trust me?” he asks quietly. 
“...Yeah?”
He raises one eyebrow. 
“Yes,” you answer, with more conviction this time. “Yes, I trust you.”
Marcus kisses you tenderly before sitting back on his heels beside you. His fingertips trail down your chest, over the peaks of your nipples, and down your stomach, as though he can’t get enough of the feel of your skin. One hand travels further down, stroking the soft patch of hair on your pubic bone before he slips one finger gently inside you. 
You cringe slightly at the wet squelch of your combined release, but Marcus shushes you gently. “Love how wet you get,” he teases affectionately. “And I like knowing I’m there inside of you.”
You clench involuntarily at his words, your lips parting as you exhale shakily. 
He chuckles. “You like that? You like knowing that I get off on the idea of you carrying a little piece of me with you?” he asks, as he starts to slowly fuck you with one finger.
“What if I told you that I was thinking about it during that meeting this morning?” he continues. “I kept wondering if there was still a little in there from last night, leaking into your underwear as I talked.”
“Shit,” you mumble. “Marcus.”
“Wanna fill you up again tonight,” he remarks casually. “So it’s still there when you’re walking around tomorrow.” He groans softly. “Fuck–Can I–Can I give you my number? I–I want you to text me. Tell me you can still feel me.”
“Oh my god,” you murmur. “Yes.”
“Good.” He adds a second finger and presses the heel of his hand against your clit, working you up to another orgasm exactly how he now knows gets you off quickly. When you start to clench around him, though, he doesn’t stop. He starts to rub quickly back and forth on that little spot inside of you until something else starts to build. 
“M-Marcus,” you murmur. “W-Wait, I–something is–”
“Shhh.” He keeps going, rubbing harder and faster until he suddenly rips his fingers from you as you gush around them, soaking his hand and the bed.
“Oh! Shit,” you cry out, panicking. “What the f–”
“Fuck, yes,” Marcus groans, the sound coming deep from within his chest. “Oh, fuck, do that again.”
When he notices your expression of utter shock, though, he pauses, a slow smile of understanding spreading across his face. 
“Honey,” he says soothingly. “Was that the first time?”
You stare up at him, mouth hanging open. “I… I kind of always thought that was a myth,” you admit, ducking your head in embarrassment. 
“Oh, baby,” he breathes softly. “No, it’s definitely not.”
He lays down beside you again, gently tucking a wisp of stray hair behind one ear. “That was so good,” he praises softly. “So good to me.”
You smile shakily, but something is starting to nag at you.
“What’s wrong?” Marcus asks, noticing your hesitant expression. 
“I just… feel really inexperienced,” you admit quietly. “You know all this stuff, and I–it must be tedious, having someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing, or–”
“No,” Marcus interrupts, his voice full of sincerity. “It’s not tedious at all. On the contrary,” he says with a little laugh, “the fact that I get to show you… that I’m the only one who can get you to do something you didn’t even know you could do–Well, shit,” he says with a crooked grin. He reaches down and palms his cock, which is hard and weeping again. “Look at what it does to me, huh?”
“Does that mean you’ll fuck me again?” you ask eagerly.
Marcus chuckles at your enthusiasm. “I did say I was going to fill you up one more time, didn’t I?”
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When you wake up (in your bed, next to Emma, after sneaking back into your own room after Marcus was finally finished with you in the wee hours of the morning), your travel companion is decidedly not ready to go. 
“I feel like I’ve been run over by a train,” she grumbles. “And my stomach is still in fucking knots.”
“We can just stay around the house,” you offer.
“I don’t want you to lay around being bored just because of me,” she protests, flopping down on the couch with a groan.
“Not feeling any better?” Marcus asks, coming into the living room. 
“No,” Emma pouts. “I’m gonna stay here and rest.”
“What are you going to do?” he asks, looking over at you.
You shrug. “I don’t really know. Stay here too, probably.”
“How about this,” Marcus says carefully. “I’m supposed to be going to the National Gallery of Art today to give a little talk about forgery detection. If you wanted to come, we could… walk around the museum a bit, afterward?”
You try to keep your face neutral at the prospect of spending a day with Marcus. Alone. 
“Sure,” you say, hoping it sounds nonchalant. “Could be fun.” 
“Great,” he says lightly. “It’s a d–it’s a plan.”
It’s a date.
You’re giddy as you wave goodbye to Emma–who’s watching daytime TV and holding a bottle of Gatorade–and follow Marcus out of the door. 
As soon as the door shuts, he rounds on you, taking your face in his hands and kissing you soundly. “So glad you said yes,” he says breathlessly. 
“Why wouldn’t I say yes to that?” you tease. “Spending the day with you.”
“I don’t know,” Marcus murmurs playfully, capturing your lips again. “Good question.”
“Is this a date?” you ask coyly.
He pauses, lips parting in surprise. “Do you want it to be?”
Taking a big leap of faith, you nod. 
Marcus’s expression softens, and he threads your fingers together. “Then it’s a date.”
After his talk–which you listen to with eager eyes and rapt attention–the two of you stroll slowly through the galleries, talking. Marcus occasionally stops, taking in the artwork, and tells you little tidbits of information about each piece. He seems to be using the quiet setting as an excuse to keep you as close as possible; his arm wraps around your waist as he leans down and talks quietly in your ear, making goosebumps rise on the back of your neck whenever he speaks. He seems to know the effect on you–you had no idea art could be described so sensually. 
You lose the afternoon to each other; having lunch in a small cafe and then walking down the National Mall, hand in hand.
You pick up a sandwich for Emma, just in case she’s feeling better, on your way home. As you get closer and closer, every step starts to feel heavier and heavier. You never want this to end. 
Just before you arrive at his building, Marcus stops and spins you around, cupping your cheek and pulling you to him for a soft kiss. 
“Today was–” he starts, but breaks off, shaking his head. 
“Yeah,” you agree.
“Listen, I don’t–I don’t know what your plans are after you leave tomorrow, but–”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay.”
You’re both dancing around something big–both of you afraid to say what you really mean, and you know it, but you can’t bring yourself to take the leap. 
You had been hoping that Marcus would.
“It was nice,” you say lamely. 
“It was,” he agrees softly. 
Emma is looking a little less green when you arrive back home, and accepts the sandwich eagerly. 
“Sorry about today,” she says, her mouth full. “I don’t know what the hell that was.”
“It was the cal–”
“Don’t fucking say it.”
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At first, when you hear Emma start to fall asleep beside you, you're paralyzed. You want to go to Marcus. This is your last night; if you want to say goodbye, you need to go to him this one last time.
You just don't know if you can face goodbye.
You don't know if you can face him. 
You aren't under any reservations about what this is. Marcus is a man, and you're nothing special. You're also nearly half his age. You gave him 'fuck me' eyes for three days, and he when he gave in to the temptation, you came willingly. But this was never meant to be a long-term arrangement. 
It was never meant to be in the first place.
You just wish your first time hadn't been with the total package. Marcus is sweet, kind, attentive, and can apparently make you cum like it was a competitive sport. How are you supposed to go back home, back to being around boys your age, and expect them to measure up?
You debate staying in bed. It would be the easiest thing to do. You could begin tonight: stuffing your feelings down and burying them deep, never letting them see the light of day again. You were on spring break, and this was a fun romp. A fling. You could leave it there and never give Marcus the goodbye he probably deserves. 
On the other hand… 
What's the harm in delaying for one more night?
You slip into his room for the third time in three days, and carefully close the door behind you. Marcus is shirtless in bed, and he beckons you over with a crooked, affectionate smile. 
"Fancy seeing you here, beautiful," he says, drawing the covers back with a playful raise of his eyebrow. 
Despite your heavy mood, you can't help but grin back and enthusiastically hop into bed beside him. 
He takes advantage immediately, grabbing you and turning you, and pulling you back against his chest with a playful growl. You're caged tightly in his arms, and there's nowhere you'd rather be.  
"This is nice," you hum contentedly. 
"Oh yeah? This all you want? Just a little cuddle?" Marcus teases, nipping gently at your shoulder. 
"What if it was?" You wiggle your hips playfully against his hardening cock.
"If that was all you wanted? Then I'd think really hard about dead puppies and my childhood neighbor Mrs. Fitzwilliam in order to calm myself down a little," he answers. 
"Mrs. Fitzwilliam?" you laugh. "Why?"
"When I was a little boy, I was convinced she was a witch. I couldn't so much as talk to her for years."
"Stop it, no you did not."
"I wouldn't joke about that," he laughs. "I was really scared of her!"
"Do me a favor and don't think about her," you tease. "I like how it feels against me."
"Would feel better somewhere else," Marcus says darkly. 
"Have somewhere in mind, do you?"
"I've had it on my mind all day," he says softly. 
"Show me," you murmur. "Show me what's been on your mind all day."
"Wanna know what I was picturing while I was giving that little forgery talk?" Marcus asks.
"Obviously."
"Then sit up, pretty girl."
He loosens his hold on you and you sit up, unable to keep the grin off your face. He sits up too, gently taking hold of the hem of your shirt and drawing it up over your head. He hooks his thumbs under the waistband of your shorts. 
"Help me out with these," he commands quietly. 
You shimmy them down your hips and kick them off, still kneeling before him, now completely bare. Marcus sits back on the headboard and pats his thigh suggestively, giving you a wicked smile. 
"C'mere."
You giggle and bite your lip nervously as you crawl forward and straddle him.
"Wanna see you just like this," he murmurs. 
"I–I've never–"
"I know," he interrupts with a wry smile. "I've got you. Just wanna see you like this," he confesses, palming your jaw and rubbing his thumb across your cheekbone.
Your eyes start to flutter shut as you feel the tip of him breach you as you sink slowly down. 
"Eyes on me, honey." 
With a shaky breath, you open them again, holding Marcus's intense gaze as you impale yourself on his cock. Your lips part, eyebrows pinching together at the stretch of him–you don't think you'll ever get used to the feeling of being broken open for the first time. 
"That's it," he whispers. "Just like that." 
You slowly rock your hips, rising up and sinking back down again. You feel so full like this; your lips part and a breathy gasp escapes you as you feel the drag of Marcus’s cock inside of you. 
This is the first time you've chased your own pleasure with him like this; Marcus's eyes rake over your form greedily and as you ride him, you start to feel overly conscious of his scrutiny.
"Do I look okay?" you ask shyly.
Marcus makes a disbelieving noise and surges up, his hands starting to guide the movement of your hips as he kisses you messing, trailing from your mouth to your neck as he flexes up into you.
"Are you kidding?" he asks softly. "You're ethereal. A fucking goddess in my bed. And if you're thinking about that, I'm not fucking you right."
"That's a lie," you say with a lazy smile. "You're very thorough."
"Oh yeah? You like how I fuck you?"
"Mmmhmm," you hum. "Liked what you were doing last night."
Marcus chuckles deep in his throat. "Is that so? Cum for me like this, honey, and I'll put you on your knees again."
When his thumb presses into your clit, rubbing in small circles, it doesn't take you long to start to feel the pleasure growing in your core. You start moving faster, bouncing on his cock, no longer caring if your body is jiggling too much or that your face might look silly contorted with pleasure; all you can think about is chasing that feeling that’s building inside of you. Marcus helps you along, thrusting up into you, and you swear he must get deep enough to feel the very end of you. 
He whispers little praises and encouragements in your ear in that deep, raspy way his voice gets when he’s drunk on pleasure. You can recognize all his little foibles, now–the way he wiggles his wrist back and forth when something’s on his mind, the way he talks with his hands when he’s passionate about a subject, and the way he sounds when he comes undone.
You’re going to carry all of those things with you, now–the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles, the way he raises one eyebrow when he’s being playful, and the way he sometimes mouths along to the words of his favorite old movies.
Is it possible to miss someone so completely after just one week?
You’re so deep in your emotions when you cum, you barely even realize that you’re about to until you’re clenching hard around him, grinding down on his cock as he works you through it, guiding your hips with his fingers pressing hard into your skin.
You’re still in a daze as Marcus flips you over, depositing you on your back and then turning you over onto your stomach on the bed. Rather than pull you up to your knees like the night before, he straddles you like this and sinks back into you, draping himself over your back as he starts to really fuck you.
Oh. This might be your favorite position yet–it’s the same angle as it was last night with the added bonus of getting to feel the weight of this man pressing down on you. His chest is against your back, his ragged breaths in your ear. His elbows cage your face and he entangles your fingers together over your head. It’s a sensory overload in nearly every way, and you’re drowning in the feel of him.
It’s so good that you feel your core start to tighten again.
“So soon?” Marcus teases breathlessly in your ear. “Fuck, I can feel you shaking. How are you so fucking perfect, hmm? You always feel like you were made to take me.”
His words inexplicably cause a lump to build in your throat. Made to take him, but this couldn’t, by definition, last. The statement only makes you wish that your compatibility didn’t have to be so fucking temporary. 
You’re teetering on a precipice–on the verge of both an orgasm and inexplicable tears. When Marcus gently brushes the shell of your ear with his lips and murmurs one last, soft sentence, you finally succumb to both.
“You can let go, honey. I’ve got you.”
You convulse with a wet sob, pleasure and sorrow overtaking you simultaneously. Blessedly, with your face buried in the pillow, Marcus doesn’t notice yet; he starts fucking into you with abandon until he lets go with a deep groan in your ear. 
When he finally stills, and he starts peppering kisses across your shoulder blade, you can feel him stiffen when he realizes that, mortifyingly, there are tears on your cheeks.
“Shit,” Marcus breathes. He carefully slips out of you and turns you over underneath him, quickly brushing the tears at the corners of your eyes. He kisses them away, whispering softly to you.
“Did I hurt you?” he asks frantically. “Honey, look at me.”
“No!” you exclaim emphatically. “No, I–I don’t know why I’m doing this.”
“Talk to me,” he demands softly.
“I don’t–I don’t want to go home,” you whisper. “I don’t want this to end.”
“Oh, honey,” Marcus whispers. “Really?”
“Sorry,” you mumble. “I’m sure this is exactly what you’re looking for–for some girl to get attached to you after one whole week of knowing you…”
Marcus smiles and brushes his thumb against your cheekbone. “Attached to me?”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen,” you say. “You’re just really nice, and you’re gorgeous, and you’ve been so good to me–”
“Don’t cry,” he whispers. “Please don’t cry.”
"Sorry," you say again.
"Hey," he says softly, still stroking your cheek. "You know something? You're wrong. You're not 'some girl.' You're sweet, and funny, and cute, and maybe having this girl right here be attached to me after one whole week of knowing me is exactly what I'm looking for."
"What are you suggesting?" you ask bluntly. 
“All I’m suggesting is that we stay in touch,” Marcus answers. “No pressure, no expectations. We talk, and we get to know each other better, and when you graduate, Miss Pre-Law,” he teases, lightly touching the tip of your nose, “if you still feel the same way, come back to me. Go to Law School at Georgetown. Get an internship at the FBI. And whatever it is that you do, I know of a place you can stay.”
"You'd really want that?" you ask, a slow smile starting to spread across your face.
"I'd be a fool not to grab onto this with both hands," he murmurs, stroking his hand down your side. "A damn fool."
"What about Emma?"
Marcus pauses, biting his lip. "She's a grown woman," he says carefully, "and I haven't had much of a place in her life growing up. I would hope that… once we see where this goes–if it goes anywhere–she'd understand."
You nod slowly. "Okay."
"I've rushed into things in the past," he says softly. "More than once. But I'm not in any rush right now. I want to take my time, get to know you, and if you're still looking at me the way you're looking at me right now in a year, I'll consider myself a lucky man."
Your smile is brilliant. "I'd like that."
"I'd like that, too. And that means tomorrow isn't goodbye, anymore." 
"No?"
"Nope," Marcus says with a grin. "Just 'see you later.'"
"Can I still get a goodbye kiss?" you ask.
He shakes his head playfully, but his lips descend to meet yours anyway. 
"Not a goodbye kiss," he teased.
"A 'see you later' kiss," you correct. 
"A 'you are so goddamn beautiful that I can't help to kiss you' kiss."
"You're making this too complicated."
"An 'I'll call it whatever I damn well please' kiss."
"An 'everything's gonna be alright' kiss?" you ask hopefully. 
Marcus smiles and kisses you long and deep. "Especially that."
– – – – – 
One year later…
“May I present: the graduating class of 2024.”
Along with Emma and the rest of the seniors in the auditorium, you throw your mortar-board hat into the air, shrieking happily as someone else’s crashes down on your head, instead. 
“Fucking finally!” Emma shouts beside you, and you grin widely. 
The last year has been a whirlwind for the both of you, and you know it. 
After reconnecting with her dad, Emma made an effort not to lose touch again. Eventually, he had opened up about his past and the circumstances surrounding his divorce, and at her urging, even began the process of making peace with her mom. They even had Christmas together, for the first time since Emma was two. 
And how do you know all this?
Well, Marcus hadn’t lost touch with you, either. 
True to his word, you both took your time and got to know each other from a distance. Talking to him was still as easy as breathing, and you’d spend entire nights at the beginning staying up far too late and talking well into the wee hours of the morning. 
It wasn’t hard to see that the something that was between you was still there and not going away any time soon. And the only thing you’ve found so far that rivals the strength of your friendship is the passion that you continue to have for each other in the bedroom.
Marcus would make trips when he could–some visits ostensibly to see Emma and other, more secret trysts where his only aim was to see you. (And see you he did; on most occasions, he’d barely let you out of his hotel room.)
Your beginning may have been a meteoric collision–two people forced into proximity that had no choice but to fall into each other–but the growth of your resulting love was slow and careful.
Eventually, you’d need to tell Emma, but it didn’t feel like the time was quite right, yet. Of course, when she visits you at Georgetown next year and you give her not your own address, but her father’s, the two of you will have to come clean. 
Right now, though, as you and Emma weave through the crowds of people looking for Marcus, you’re content to keep things the way they are. Everything is slowly falling into place, and that piece of the puzzle will fit into the rest when it’s ready.
“There she is!”
Emma beams as she hears Marcus call out, waving his hand frantically to catch your attention among the sea of people. 
She lets herself be crushed into a hug, her father grinning proudly and murmuring something unintelligible into her ear. After a few minutes, he releases her and turns to you.
“Congratulations,” he says–perfunctorily, but warmly. 
“Thank you.”
After a couple of beats, Emma rolls her eyes.
“Would you just kiss her already? Honestly, it’s more weird that you’re not.”
Two sets of eyes swivel to her in alarm.
“You… you knew?” you exclaim.
Emma gives you a disbelieving look. “Okay, the fact that you two both think you were being subtle means you might actually be meant for each other. Wow.”
“How?” you choke out.
“Are you serious? You two had bizarre energy when you met, and ever since, I see you smiling at your phone all the time,” Emma says to you. “And after that week, whenever he’s come to visit, you both act weird around each other.”
“Oh,” you say dumbly.
“Plus, you had a hickey on your neck one morning,” she says, rolling her eyes. “Real subtle.”
Oops. You shoot Marcus a look, and notice that he’s as red as a tomato. 
“Em,” he starts, looking pained.
“It’s fine,” she interrupts. “Look, it’s not like we had the closest of relationships when I was a kid. I'm getting to know you as an adult, and it just feels different than it would be if you had raised me. I’m not going to say it doesn’t make me feel fucking weird, and I don’t ever wanna know details about your sex life and I am not calling you ‘mom,’ but I guess I’ll just say… I get it. You two are oddly similar, and I wouldn’t want to stand in between you and happiness. Because I… you know. I love you.”
“Emma,” Marcus says, his smile turning watery for a moment. 
“Don’t… make a big deal out of it,” she grumbles.
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he laughs, and gives her a sweet kiss on the forehead. “I love you too, Emmie.”
He pulls back and looks at you, his eyes sparkling, and you feel your insides start to heat up just from his gaze alone.
Those words are still new, between you–the first time was whispered softly in his ear in the darkness after spending all night wrapped around each other just a couple of months ago. Marcus whispered them back immediately after; he was achingly patient and careful to take his time with you, even though you’d felt that emotion emanating from each of you for months prior.
It was just–you didn’t want to rush things. Love was new to you. Everything was. And if Marcus was going to be your first experience with all of it, you had a feeling that you were going to want to savor it.
You know he feels the same.
Stepping forward, Marcus gently tips your chin up to meet him in a gentle kiss. The shape of his lips are so familiar now, you could probably draw them in your sleep. You know the way they move against yours. You know how it feels when he smiles against your mouth–which he does often, and right now.
“Congratulations,” he murmurs again. This time, the word is dark and full of underlying emotion–love, affection, friendship, pride–and you grin back as you kiss him once more.
“What now?” you ask with a little laugh.
“I have a few ideas,” he husks in your ear, inaudible to anyone else, before pulling back. “But right now?” he shrugs. “Anything you want. Everything.”
“What if I said that all I wanted was you?”
Marcus’s eyes soften. “Well, honey,” he says gently, “you’re in luck, because that’s the one thing I can give you.”
The end.
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Always Have, Always Will - Roman x Reader
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Taking a break from my Adam Cole x Reader series to input a Roman x Reader real quick.
Timeline is kinda wonky. It’s Heel!Champion!Roman during his battles with K.O but Renee is also still there interviewing (I dunno when she left for maternity leave, so *shrug* ) And it’s after Jey’s joined Roman, too. So… idk.
If you want to be added to tag list, let me know!
Y/F/N = Your first name Y/N/N = Your nickname (like, when I wrote this, it was Magnolia/Maggie)
Also— no hate meant towards Galina <3
Word Count: 3,010
TAGS @shedevil22 @amourseculier  @wwequeen-edits-blog @regalbanshee @wwequeensbeeblog
0o0o0o
Food in catering was always hit and miss. Sometimes they had really good choices—and then sometimes they sucked.
Tonight was one of those nights.
The plate in my hand only had two things currently on it, but I knew it wouldn’t be near enough for myself and Roman.
A soft smile graced my face as I thought of my boyfriend. We had known each other for a long time now, almost eight years. We had met back in FCW—I had been a valet for Seth. Roman was a sweet guy, charming—and very easy on the eyes; however I was still pretty young back then—and he had been in a relationship with Galina. Over the years, however, Roman and I had grown close—and the relationship with Galina had seemingly fizzled to nothing. At first, he had seemed hesitant to take our friendship to the next level—his flirtations uncertain. However, after many pep talks and un-solicited advice from both Seth and Dean, Roman had finally taken the chance.
That was three years ago.
The two of us had been through quite a bit in those years. Championship wins—championship losses; turmoil between friends (and brothers); injuries and illness; happy memories—sad memories; thousands of miles traveled together.
I wouldn’t change any second of it for anything in the world.
“Hey girl— you been smilin’ to yourself for a good couple minutes now,” Jey smirked as he slid up next to me, his eyes roaming the available food options,” Care to share?”
“Hey Jey,” I laughed,” Just… thinking. About the past couple years.”
“They been interesting, that’s for damn sure,” Jey agreed, picking up a wheat biscuit and turning it over in his hand before frowning and putting it back down.
“That it has,” I nodded, before noticing he was in his ‘ring gear’,” You got a match coming up?”
“Hmm? Oh, nah nah. I’ll just be watching Kev’s match later on… closely.”
“I see,” I chuckled,” Well, just be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Aww- you do care about me,” Jey gently punched my upper arm,” I appreciate it though. I’m gonna get goin’. You watch yourself, ‘kay?”
“I will. Catch you later, Jey.”
He disappeared out of catering, leaving me once again to the poor excuses of food choices. I picked up the wheat biscuit that Jey had just toyed with, turning it over in my own hand before placing it on the plate as well. As my eyes roamed the table once again, I felt shivers run down my spine—instantly on alert. And apparently for good reason.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Roman got you fetching his food now, too? What a sexist punk.”
“What do you want, Kevin?” I rolled my eyes, wanting nothing more than for him to just leave me alone.
“Ease up princess. I just want to talk.”
“Well, I don’t.”
“Reigns’ sour attitude is rubbing off on you—it doesn’t do you any favors. Makes you ugly—” Kevin frowned, his eyes roaming over me before grimacing,”—Rather, uglier.”
“You’re not going to accomplish anything—insulting me. Roman won’t fall for your childish—”
“Childish what–? Nothing childish here, except your little boyfriend,” Kevin interrupted as he crossed his arms.
My jaw twitched in frustration, refusing to look at him.
“What’s the matter princess? Pissed off?” Kevin asked,” Good! Maybe Roman will grow a pair and meet me out in the ring later tonight. Probably not.”
“Keep running your mouth—Roman will kick your ass. Again!”
With such an intensity that it took me by surprise, Kevin reached out and slapped the plate from my hands. The contents scattered across the floor as I looked to him in shock, my eyes wide.
If we were being perfectly honest—I felt fear as well.
Kevin pointed a finger in my face, his own red with anger,” Listen here, you little—”
“Back off the lady,” a strong Scottish voice demanded, as the tall Drew McIntyre suddenly came into view. He stood between myself and Kevin, looking down at the shorter man and glaring at him.
“What are you even doing here, McIntyre? You’re on Raw—not Smackdown. Go home—we don’t want you here,” Kevin sniped back.
“I was asked here by the General Manager,” Drew explained, crossing his arms in front of him,” Now—are we gonna have a problem ‘ere?”
I saw Kevin briefly glance around Drew towards me, before scoffing,” Nah- no problem. She’s more trouble than she’s worth. Word of advice though—don’t fall for her innocent act. Y/N– tell Roman I’ll be seeing him.”
With that, Kevin walked out of catering and disappeared down the hallway, as Drew turned and looked at me. As soon as his hazel eyes met my y/e/c- I quickly looked down. Seeing the food on the floor, I ducked down and began picking it up. I was barely aware of Drew kneeling down beside me until his larger hand was placed on one of my much smaller ones.
“You don’t have ta do that lass,” Drew told me softly.
“I-if I don’t… who will?”
“At least let me help ya then.”
“You don’t have to!” I insisted, looking up into his eyes.
“If I don’t, who will?” he asked, using my own words against me, a gentle smirk on his face. A few moments later, after most of the food had been picked back up and thrown in the garbage- I reached for another plate before Drew gently took my hand in his.
“Why are you doin’ this for him lass?”
“What do you mean?”
“Fetchin’ him food—he’s a grown ass man—”
“Yeah, he is. And I’m a grown ass woman,” I frowned, yanking my hand away from him,” I choose to get Roman food—he’s a busy man. A busy Champion—something I think you could relate to. Besides, the food’s not just for him, it’s for me too.”
“I’ve watched Smackdown lass—I’ve seen how he’s changed. That title’s changed him,” Drew told me, his voice soft,” You’re a smart girl, y/n/n. I don’t want to see ya get hurt.”
“I appreciate the concern, but it’s not needed. Roman has never hurt me—and he never will. I believe in him—I always have, always will.”
“Ya need someone that’ll love you the way you deserve,” Drew murmured, his eyes boring into mine,” Be careful with yourself, Love.”
With that, Drew walked off—leaving me standing in catering alone with only my thoughts.
Later that night, I was walking through the hallway backstage on my way to Roman’s locker room—stopping when I heard someone call out my name.
“Y/N/N—excuse me, Y/N/N—can I get a moment?” Turning around, I saw Renee and a cameraman quickly walking up towards me.
“Renee, I really don’t—”
“Just a small moment, I just want to get your thoughts on what happened earlier, between you and Kevin Owens.”
With a sigh, I crossed my arms in front of me,” Alright—but quick, please. I’ve gotta be somewhere.”
“Of course—how are you holding up after that altercation with Kevin Owens?”
“I’m fine—I mean, yeah, I’ll admit. I was a bit afraid of what Owens might do. There’s a lot of animosity between him and Roman right now. Owen’s will do anything to get under Roman’s skin—or, rather, try to.”
“Will Roman confront Kevin Owens for what he done earlier?”
“That’s exactly what Owens wants- which is exactly why Roman—”
The clearing of a throat interrupted what I was going to say. Looking over my shoulder, I instantly groaned in annoyance as I saw Paul Heyman slinking up to where Renee and I stood.
“What…. Do we have going on here?” Heyman asked, one arm supporting the other by the elbow, pointing with his other hand between us.
“Renee just had some questions about earlier—”
“Questions? So… she was interviewing you?” Heyman asked, clarifying the situation, before asking,” Did Roman approve of this little interview?”
“Well—I mean, no—but it’s just some questions about—” I began, before being interrupted once more.
“The Head of the Table will not be pleased about this—I assure you now,” Heyman sighed,” The last thing I want is for you to get into trouble with Roman, honestly. I like you Y/N/N—I really do. I respect the relationship you’ve held with Roman over the years.”
His blatant lies only irritated me further and all I wanted to do was slap him across the face. Several times. With a brick.
But I held back. He was helping Roman—and Roman kept him around for his own reasons. I had to respect that.
“That being said- any further questions that you have Renee—can be directed to me.”
“Well, I—I guess…” Renee hesitated,” Aside from the altercation with Kevin Owens, we saw that Drew McIntyre seemed to have some advice for you Y/N/N. What’s your thoughts on what he had to say?”
“Drew—” I began, before Heyman cut me off once again.
“Drew McIntyre has no business on Smackdown. This—is Roman Reigns’ yard. If he doesn’t want put in his place, then he’ll keep out of business that has nothing to do with him. Kevin Owens—he’ll get what’s coming to him, at the discretion of the Big Dog. Now, if that’s all.”
It was a question—even Renee could tell.
Heyman leaned towards me,” We… should go see Roman. He’ll want to talk to you about… this.”
Of course—he was going to spin this against me. Try and get Roman angry enough with me—to what? Break up with me? It was no secret among the rest of the locker room that Heyman and I didn’t like one another. Hell, even Roman knew how it was between Heyman and myself—but anytime we started bickering, a look from Roman instantly quieted us both.
Wordlessly, I followed Heyman through the backstage area for a few moments until we reached a door embellished with a golden plaque that read ‘Roman Reigns’.
Heyman gave a few quick knocks on the door, waiting for Roman to give the verbal okay to enter, before he ushered me into the room and closed the door behind him.
“Sir, I do hate to bring any bad news, especially when it concerns Y/N/N—”
Roman’s attention suddenly landed on us, as he looked up from the paper before him. His eyes were cold, calculating—but concerned, as well. Heyman probably didn’t see that part, even I barely caught it.
“—She was In the midst of an interview when I came upon her. Renee was asking her about an earlier altercation with Kevin Owens and the interaction with Drew McIntyre that followed. I understand that there is a relationship between the two of you, so I do believe that the punishment shouldn’t be so severe, not like with Jey. How—”
“Punishment?” I recoiled, glaring at Heyman as Roman leaned back in his chair,” Are you kidding me?! It was simple questions—about me. Nothing to do with Roman. I shouldn’t need approval for something like that. You honestly think that Roman will punish me for something so trivial?”
“Not only did you have an unapproved interview—but you and Drew McIntyre’s blatant flirtations backstage did not go unnoticed.”
“Flirtations?! He was making sure I was okay after Owen’s got up in my face! He was being a gentleman—nothing more!” I exclaimed, standing in Heyman’s face; I was livid, continuing,” Drew flirts—it’s what he does. It’s a European thing I guess—hell if I know. All you care about though, is yourself Heyman. If something doesn’t fit the picture you see—then you skew it and make it fit. You don’t care what lies you have to tell or what lives you have to ruin—but I’ll be damned it you come between—”
“Y/N/N.”
Roman’s deep voice interrupted me, causing me to glance away from Heyman for a second. I could tell Roman wasn’t happy—and there was a glint of something unfamiliar in his eyes.
“Paul,” Roman breathed out, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers,” Leave us for a bit.”
“Right, of course Sir. I’ll be right outside—”
“Take a walk.”
“Oh, uhm. Of course, Sir. As you wish.”
As he turned towards the door, I didn’t miss the smirk that tugged at his lips—and it only pissed me off more. Balling up my fist as I took a step towards him, I readied a strike—until—
“Y/F/N,” Roman’s stern voice rang through the room, making me freeze in place. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I clenched and unclenched my hand as the door closed, taking deep breaths to calm myself down.
“Why must you two always do that?” Roman asked, his slate gray eyes on me.
“I don’t like him—never have. Never will.”
“I know,” Roman gave a chuckle, his cold demeanor briefly disappearing. I looked over my shoulder and saw Roman smiling softly at me. He lifted his hand and motioned me over, patting his thigh for me to sit on.
I walked over and gently sat down, allowing him to pull my legs up into his lap as he wrapped an arm around them to secure me closer to his body. The warmth he radiated was always welcome—I tended to get cold easier than most. I rest my head against his shoulder and just took a moment to enjoy the quiet time alone with Roman.
“What’d Owens say earlier?” he asked, breaking the silence.
“Nothing- don’t worry—”
“Babygirl,” Roman shook his head, looking down towards me,” He comes at me—I can handle that, it don’t bother me. But he went at you—and that’s not okay with me.”
“He just—” I thought back to what had been said, realizing it wasn’t much after all,”—He said your sour attitude was rubbing off on me, that you wouldn’t grow a pair and meet him in the ring later. When I said you’d kick his ass again, he—he smashed the plate in my hands to the ground. Kinda took me by surprise. Makes me glad Drew did show up… I honestly don’t know what he would have done if Drew hadn’t happened by.”
“He got physical with you?” Roman demanded, sitting up straight and staring at me.
“Well, I mean—not really, he just—”
I felt like Roman was staring into my soul, and as I sighed deeply I just let the fight go.
“—Yes. He got physical with me.”
Instantly, Roman gently slid me off his lap and stood—beginning to pace near the desk. I could feel the anger radiating off of him.
“That son’f’bitch—I’m gonna kill him. Kick his ass and then kill him. He had no right going after you! This is between him and me! That little punk ass—”
As much as I adored his rambling sometime, I knew he was in a dark mindset, so I placed myself in front of him—cutting off his pacing. He looked down at me—but I knew he was looking right through me. Slowly, I placed my hands on his torso, bringing him back to earth.
“Ro.”
At the sound of my voice, he seemed to gather himself—focusing on me once again.
“Kick his ass all you want—but please, baby, don’t get in trouble. If they suspend you—or fire you? Then I’m here. All alone.”
“Can’t have that,” he murmured, pulling me closer to him in a tight hug.
“No, we can’t,” I whispered, wrapping my arms around his back and holding him close.
It was times like these that I cherished most—because it reminded me that, despite the world seeing him as this cold, uncaring monster, he was still my Roman. My kind, loving—sometimes goofy—Samoan Prince Charming.
“What did McIntyre want?”
“Pretty much just making sure Owen’s didn’t try anything further, made sure I was okay,” I told Roman, pausing before adding,” He also warned me that I needed someone different. Someone that would love me the way I deserved to be.”
It was quiet for a moment, before I heard Roman whisper,” He’s right…”
I shook my head as much as I could against his chest,” No, he’s not. Nobody realizes the love that we truly share, Ro. No one sees you back here—moments like this? All they see is the uncaring, rough asshole that you are out there. They don’t realize—that you’re still the tender, caring, kind-hearted, loyal Big Dog you’ve always been. But I see it. Every day, when we wake up in the morning; when we’re in the car on the way to the arena; when it’s just you and I in here because you sent Heyman scurrying away on some ridiculous errand.”
He scoffed a bit, chucking,” Gotta get rid of him somehow.”
“And I’m so glad that you do,” I laughed, looking up at him, adding the most sincere tone I could,” I love you, Roman. Always have—always will.”
“I love you to, Baby girl. You’re the best thing that’s happened to me- no doubt.”
He leaned down at pressed a kiss to my forehead, before walking us over to the large reclining chair. He sat down first, then carefully pulled me down with him, holding me close as he could.
“What would the Head of the Table like?”
“Right now?” he asked me; I gave him a nod, so he continued, a loving twinkle in his eye,” Just sit here with me, Baby girl. Just… stay with me for a bit.”
“Anything for you, Ro,” I whispered, leaning my head in the crook of his neck and closing my eyes blissfully.
Times like this—I wouldn’t trade for nothing.
Times like this—I knew exactly where I belonged.
Right here, with Roman.
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sameheart-sameblood · 2 years
Text
Pillow Talk (for Nerds)
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pairing: steve harrington x reader
summary: a relaxing evening in bed turns fiery when you and steve argue about star wars
words: 600
warnings: fluff, playful arguing, me projecting my desire for a bf that looks like steve who i can yell at about sw lol
a/n: while im still completely in love with eddie im rewatching s1 of stranger things and im reminded just how far steve has come. and now im soft for him again. ive also been attempting to write something where i dont ramble on for thousands of words so here we are!
“If you were a Jedi, what color would your lightsaber be?”
You pose the question to an amused Steve. He chuckles as he pulls you closer, his bare chest warm and comforting against your cheek. Steve couldn’t care less about Star Wars but he knows how obsessed you are with it, so he plays along. 
“I think I’d go red.”
You shoot up, propping yourself on your elbows as you stare at him in disbelief. “You can’t have red, though! That would put you on the dark side!”
Steve may not understand the space opera but he loves how fired up it gets you. He waggles his eyebrows and stares up at you mischievously. “Maybe that’s where I belong. Me and that mouth breather, Garth- “
“Darth! Darth Vader” you interject. 
Steve grins, reveling in your fieriness. “I’m just saying. Darth and I could make a kickass team. I am very bad, after all.”
That couldn’t be further from the truth. Steve had put himself in harms way countless times just to save you, Nancy, Jonathan and the gaggle of kids you were always hanging around with. He was selfless to a fault. And right now he looked like an angel splayed out underneath you, hair fanned out around his head and crooked grin on his stupidly pretty face. 
You smile down at him nonchalantly, refusing to give in to his cuteness. “That’s fine, then. I’ll just have to duel you with my purple lightsaber.”
It’s Steve’s turn to be outraged. “There’s no such thing! It’s either red, blue or green.”
You settle back down into his arms, your face turned up to his. “I never said it had to be one of those three, Steve. Use your imagination.”
Steve broods for a minute, scrunching his eyebrows together in thought. 
“The fact is, I wouldn’t be a Jedi.”
“Oh no?”
“Why be a space monk who can’t even get laid when I could be a bounty hunter or a pilot?”
Of course he sees himself as a dashing rogue making his way through the galaxy. He’s not wrong. You’re the Jedi type. Steve, on the other hand, is all daredevil with excess charm. 
“You fancy yourself a Han Solo type, Harrington?”
He blushes slightly but nods confidently. 
“If the shoe fits, baby. He’s handsome, he’s always saving the day and he’s great with the ladies.”
On that last note, Steve squeezes your ass playfully. You smack him on the chest, smiling in spite of yourself.
“Nah, I take you for more of a Wookie than anything else.” You run your fingers through the impressive patch of chest hair he’s grown in the past year. “You’ve got the hair to match.”
He feigns a hurt expression and pouts. Those puppy dog eyes of his are impossible to resist. You pull him in for a kiss as an apology. When you break away, you’re breathless and completely under his spell again. 
“All right, I give in. You’re definitely Han. A secretly soft bad boy with a heart of gold.”
Steve strokes your hair, looking at you with a love clouded gaze. “Then that makes you my Leia. A badass chick who’s sweet but tough and smart as all hell. Banging body, too”
You burrow into the crook of Steve’s neck, hiding your dopey grin as he laughs. “And yes,” he adds “in this scenario Leia can have a purple lightsaber.”
Sounds perfect to you. The two of you lay in a comfortable silence for a few moments until Steve bashfully raises his voice. 
“Hey baby? Wookies are the scary little teddy bears, right?”
******
taglist: @padawansubscription
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starglow-xx · 3 years
Note
hello! may i request headcanons for chuuya having a crush on someone who's dense? like he could ask them out in the most straightforward way possible and it would still go over their head?
yes, yes of course you may!
sorry this took so long! my computer was out of commission for abt a week (or two..??)
but this is also my birthday writing piece for chuuya!! (4/29/21) i even added a small drabble thingy in addition to the hcs for the occasion hehe
from where i am, it is about fifteen minutes past midnight so it’s officially chuuya day here!!
happy birthday chuuya i love you! you deserve the whole world and everyone is willing to fight tooth and nail to ensure your happiness! we love you! 💗💗
anyways, i hope you all enjoy this! i kinda had some writer’s block but it was still a lot of fun to write! there might be some mistakes, but i’ll scan over it again later. reader is gender neutral! have fun!
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chuuya having a crush on a dense! reader
nakahara chuuya x gn! reader
im cackling somebody help him
he’s frustrated bc you can’t take a hint or a thousand but he can’t even be mad bc he’s whipped
“look at you all dressed up today, wanna go out later? my treat?”
“oh really? thanks chuuya-san! you’re such a nice friend. i’ll go invite the others right now, i’ll see you later!”
“...”
fast forward to later in the evening and he finds himself at a little restaurant with the black lizard + higuchi and akutagawa
sigh
in unison all of them go, “thank you for the meal chuuya-san!” (except aku and hirotsu are quieter & and gin just a nods hehe)
“no problem” (ꐦ ´͈ ᗨ `͈ )
gin only pats him on the back in sympathy
he spends a lot of time trying to think of ways to make it absolutely and undeniably clear that he has feelings for you
he always fails
“(y/n) i like you”
“i like you too chuuya-san”
“really?”
“mhm”
“t-then will you—”
“you’re a really great friend! and superior too”
“...nevermind”
“oh were you saying something?”
“nah, just forget about it”
tachihara is laughing in the corner of the corridor
dont worry, chuuya made sure to get back at him
chuuya’s been pinning after you for years and frankly, his failed attempts to woo you has lead everyone to the breaking point
and i mean everyone
yes, even aku
hell even dazai
but dazai also thinks it’s funny, so he doesn’t mind all that much
okay bye bye dazai-san this headcanon set isn’t abt you rn
PLEASE EVERYONE FEELS SO BAD FOR HIM
they knew even if he kissed you, you still might not get it
so they decided to help him
super secret mission get chuuya and (y/n) together is a go!
they’re still working on a proper mission name, don’t mind them
they had a super secret strategy meeting!
you can bet your ass that they nearly got nothing done
akutagawa & kaiji weren’t much help, neither was higuchi, mori, or elise
tachihara nearly got killed for a thoughtless comment
“just tell them chuuya-san!”
“i already fucking did you ass!”
gin, hirotsu, and kouyou were the most helpful !!
hirotsu and kouyou both agreed on the idea that chuuya should try courting with bouquets of flowers instead of flat out asking you bc they knew you found them pretty
(even if you don’t identify as a female, flowers are for everyone no matter gender or sexuality! so let’s normalize giving flowers to everyone <33 )
gin didn’t speak but she used cards to communicate
everyone knew that you weren’t stupid (you wouldn’t have survived in the mafia if you were) but they did know that you were only stupid when it came to all this lovey dovey stuff
i mean, if chuuya gave you flowers every so often, there’s no way that you wouldn’t piece it together at some point
right...??
but kouyou assured him that even though you wouldn’t get it right away, you’d appreciate the gestures and that he’ll stand out more
she even said that if someone gave her flowers, she would appreciate it, whether or not she reciprocated their feelings
it takes guts to be so up front with your feelings after all
gin and hirotsu only nodded with her explanation
once again, this only provoked a reaction out of tachihara
“what do you know gin? i get the old man and kouyou-san, they’re grown, but you? what do you know abt courting? or flowers? what are you a girl?”
akutagawa choked on his cough, higuchi on air, and on the other side of yokohoma at the ada, dazai is cackling
yes, dazai somehow placed a listening device onto chuuya’s hat and was listening in
don’t ask how, it’s dazai
“DAZAI GET YOUR BANDAGED ASS OFF THE COUCH AND STOP LAUGHING”
anyways
the next day, chuuya did what was barely discussed and for once, things actually started to look up
until they started look to down again
at first, it actually looked like you understood his intentions after he gave you a bouquet of flowers
literally everyone was leaning against the opposite hallway you two were in and then they got excited !!
especially chuuya !
but then your expression sort of changed...??
and then in their heads they simultaneously went, “oh no”
they knew that expression
it was very familiar when you tended to friend zone chuuya
but boy let me tell you what you said next made them facepalm and or make their jaws drop
“ah, so you really are friend zoning me huh chuuya-san; what a shame, i really did like you”
LEMME TELL YOU WHEN I SAY THAT CHUUYA WAS DISTRESSED I MEAN HE WAS DISTRESSED
you liked him??
him of all people??
he wasn’t complaining, no of course not, but he still couldn’t believe it
but that wasn’t what he was really focusing on right now
what in any form or language did it say he was friend zoning you?!
flower language apparently
chuuya chose to buy the bouquet of yellow roses, pink carnations, and yellow carnations bc he thought you would appreciate the brighter colors, and so that you’d remember them better (because remembering them, meant remembering him)
but ooh boy
altogether, they meant the exact opposite message he wanted to send
someone help him pls
“you see chuuya-san, yellow roses mean friendship, pink carnations mean gratitude, and yellow carnations mean rejection; sooo in a nutshell, these pretty much say ‘thank you for being my friend, but im rejecting you”
no one can tell if tachihara is crying or wheezing
and dazai is having the time of his life
yes, he started listening in on him again
and chuuya is just stunned
like speechless and unmoving stunned
is he just bad at this whole courting/dating thing?? it’s only been one day and of it and somehow he was the one doing the rejecting??
“thank you for the flowers chuuya-san, i’ll be going now; i’ll make sure to let this affect our friendship. i’ll see you tomorrow!”
you passed by the not so subtle group of people
“tachihara-kun..?? are you alright?”
just for context, he was leaning his forehead against the wall using his forearm
again, it was hard to tell whether he was crying or wheezing
“i-im okay (y/n)-san...i think c-chuuya-san has it worse than me”
“...okay..?”
BACK TO CHUUYA
he’s still frozen poor baby
but it’s okay bc after like 5 more seconds he’s chasing you down the hallway you were walking in
kouyou, with a knowing smile on her face, ushers everyone away towards the opposite direction
she received some whines (ahem, tachihara and mori) but silenced them by summoning golden demon
but it’s okay
if they run fast enough, they can see what happens through the security cameras
chuuya caught up with you and tried to explain everything but he was exhausted
emotionally, physically (bc since when did you walk that fast??), and generally just tired with the whole situation
he just wanted to call you his; was that too much to ask??
as explosive as he can be, he can be calm and collected too
and he really did try to be that way as he talked with you but it was very difficult at the moment
the dumbfounded and confused look on your face his face twitch with annoyance and his heart started beating faster bc god you were cute
BUT THATS BESIDES THE POINT RIGHT NOW
thank goodness after what seemed like years, you finally somewhat understood what happened
you didn’t understand completely but it was something
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The two of you stood in the middle of the unusually empty hallway facing each other, you with the bouquet still in hand. It was quiet as you and Chuuya assessed the situation.
You looked at him skeptically and he stared right back you with his gorgeous blue eyes.
“...So you do like me Chuuya-san??”
“Yes”
“And you were trying to court me just now, not friend zone me??”
“Yes”
You got most of your questions out of the way, but there was something that you’ve been wondering about for quite a while.
“...So you’re not gay for Dazai-san??”
“Yes, im not wait—GAY FOR DAZAI?? THAT MACKEREL??”
Chuuya did a double take. What in heavens name made it seem like he liked that suicidal maniac?? Why would he choose him if he had you?
Like he would choose him anyways; or ever consider him as a possible romantic partner.
“Oh, so you are?”
“NO! I SAID I LIKED YOU DIDN’T I?”
“Well yeah, but I thought you liked Dazai-san too. As annoying as he is, he can be quite charming—”
He was out of patience at this point (nope definitely not because you were talking about Dazai who told you that?) and just decided to kiss you.
You immediately melted into the kiss and kissed him back with the same amount of love and feeling.
Letting the bouquet fall to the ground, you wrapped you arms around his neck and his put his on your lower back and brought you closer to him. After a few more moments, the two of you broke apart for air.
The two of you, slightly out of breath, leaned your foreheads against each other and just basked in each others presence.
Chuuya looked into your (e/c) eyes and asked you just a little bit above a whisper, “Now do you get my intentions and feeling?”
You blinked at him before breaking out into a grin, “Hmm I’m not sure; do you wanna do that again Chuuya?”
The red head only blinked back at you before rolling his eyes, a smile present on his handsome features, his heart fluttering at you using his name with the honorific.
“Dumbass”
Smiling cheekily at him, you pressed a kiss on his cheek and started dragging him towards the lobby to take a walk around the building perimeter, knowing that the two of you can’t be too far from work.
The way down to the lobby was mostly in comfortable silence until you said something that made Chuuya want to bash his head against the wall.
“You know, you could’ve just told me you liked me Chuuya. It’s not like I would’ve said no.”
Once again, as the rest of the more power mafia members watch from security cameras, it is hard to tell whether Tachihara is crying or wheezing of laughter.
omake !!
The two of you just started making your way around the building when suddenly a very familiar voice came from Chuuya’s prized hat.
“Chuuyaaaa!! It was about time you stopped being a chicken, Chibi!”
Removing his hat from his head, he started yelling at it not knowing exactly where the listening device was planted.
“TEME! HOW DID YOU—”
“And (y/n)! I would congratulate you, but I think I would rather offer you my condolences. Why him?! He’s just a slimy slug. OOH OOH how would you like to join me in a double suicide?! A shame it won’t be a lover’s suicide but it’ll annoy Chuuya so I think it’ll be worth it! ”
“YOU—”
“And please don’t kiss while I’m listening in. You made me lose my appetite! And it was such a shame! I was eating crab using Kunikida-kun’s money! Do you know what you’ve cost me?!”
“DAZAI YOU PIECE OF—”
“Ah! Kunikida-kun is here! I have to go!”
You can hear something is the background that vaguely sounds like, “DAZAI YOU WASTE OF BANDAGES STOP USING MY MONEY”
“DAZAI DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE IM NOT DONE WITH—”
*Click!*
The click sound from the hat revealed that Dazai disconnected.
Chuuya twitched and glared furiously at his signature hat hating that the voice he hated the most came out of it.
“Aww, I didn’t get to talk to Dazai-san”
Chuuya whipped his head towards you, a look of mock (or real) betrayal showing on his features.
You laughed at him before taking the hat out of his hands and placing it on his head.
He shyly looked away before muttering a thanks making you smile wider. Just as the two of you were about to start walking, a small explosion erupted from his hat; it was likely that Dazai made the listening device self destruct.
“DAZAI YOU BASTARDD”
At the Armed Detective Agency, a certain suicidal maniac hid from the wrath of his current partner as he thought about the wrath his old one.
“Hmmm I wonder if Chuuya would finally stop wearing his ugly hats if I blow all of them up...”
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as always, reblogs and shares are appreciated! i hope you all stay safe! and just in case nobody told you they loved you today, i love you! you are enough! <3
writing belongs to me! please do not plagiarize! the reblog button is there for a reason
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bangtangalicious · 3 years
Text
cancelled (1) | myg, jjk
summary: you cheated on your boyfriend, one of the most sought after boys on campus, with the nerd from the back of the lecture hall. that’s not the whole story, but only you know that. now a video has leaked across and everyone is turning against you for hurting such a perfect s/o.
pairing: yoongi x reader, jungkook x reader
wordcount: 3k
genre: yandere!yoongi and nerd!jungkook exyandere!jungkook
established-relationship!au college!au cheating!au
warnings: reader discretion is advised. cheating, mentions of past dubcon activity, yandere behavior, guilt, slight oral (f and m receiving), reverse cowgirl, soft smut in a not so soft situation, manipulation, jungkook calls you his pretty baby, sexual harassment, yoongi is lowkey a creep in this, prostitution i guess but like...its not how you'd think, mentions of rape fantasy but it doesnt happen
twoshot: part 1 | part 2 | masterlist
They say that you let a good thing be. Don’t bite the hand that feeds you. Well in your almost perfect life, that hand was Min Yoongi. Your boyfriend of 2 years now. You met through family, he was an heir, and you were the daughter of a wealthy associate. He used to spend his spring breaks with your family back in high school. You recall fondly how he sneak out, begging you to cover for him, end up passed out drunk in some alley and calling you, scared for his life.
You saw the way he grew—no, blossomed into the amazing man he is. You both got accepted to the same prestigious university program, and it is here your love story truly began. Straight out of a movie, Yoongi did not realize how much he adored you until he saw you grinding your ass up on some random guy at a frat party. A few months of drama gave way to pure happiness.
Yoongi made quite a name for himself on campus. He was incredibly charming, was impressive in his studies, and was always around for a good time. He treated everyone with respect and had no enemies. You felt proud to be his girlfriend, by his side as he made his mark.
And he was so so good to you. While your start may have been driven by jealousy and rage, he made up for it entirely by taking you on weekend getaways, loving you sweetly, holding you while you cry and buying you food. You two were freakishly domestic, and you loved it. You were ready for the ring whenever he was. So blessed that you could wake up every morning in a pair of arms that held you like you were their whole world.
Unfortunately, paradise tends to be a destination never quite reached. You sat, curled up into your knees, trembling as you watched cruel comments pop up on a video.
ungrateful whore.
Yoongi deserves so much better
#y/nisoverparty
why would you even want to cheat on a catch like yoongi? jfc
You didn’t know what bothered you the most. Was it the comments? Was it your fucked out face in the video? You moans that clearly indicated pleasure? Was it the fact that you hurt a man you loved? Or was it the fact that he was still there, sitting right next to you and kissing your damp cheeks every time he saw a tear, mumbling into your neck that it was okay, that he wasn’t mad. Did you deserve someone so perfect?
“Aw baby” He coos at you, stroking your hair as your sobs got louder. You fell into his embrace, unsure of what to think or do. “Ssh…I’m not mad baby. It’s my fault I wasn’t there”
You didn’t know how true his words were. You didn’t know just how at fault he was.
Yoongi had been doing his work in your shared apartment in his private study which even you weren’t allowed to enter. The security footage of your lecture played on his monitor, but he was barely paying attention. He kept an eye on you, but it was getting unnecessary. You had been together for so long, he could trust you now. He sighed and zoomed into where you sat, whispering something to the person seated next to you. They giggled and slid their hand onto your thigh. Yoongi simply watched, a smirk playing on his lips. The whole campus knew you were his. No one would dare make a move on you. He made sure of it. It was the whole reason he made your relationship so visible. He had people’s respect, and so they would respect that you belonged to him.
The hand trailed up your thin yoga pants, cupping your core. You slapped the hand away and Yoongi grinned wider. He liked to test you every now and then.
Yoongi wired money to that man’s bank account through his phone. Now all you had to do was tell him what happened. There was no room for secrets between you two.
“I’m home babe” He heard you walk in. He popped a Xanax and gulped down a glass of water. He smiled at you sweetly, taking your bag and setting it down before attacking your neck with soft, breathless kisses.
“How was your day?” He asked quietly, “Anything interesting happen?”
“Nah. Pretty uneventful” He raised his eyebrows.
“Oh. Nothing at all?”
“Well” Yoongi’s eyes perked. Tell me someone harassed you baby. Just tell me. “I did try this amazing latte at the cafe in the Literature building.”
Why were you lying to him? Yoongi tilted his head. It wasn’t that big of a deal, it just made him wonder what else you hid from him. The little things. The little things that pile up.
Yoongi realized it had gone too far when he heard you gossiping with a few of your girl friends in the hallway of the Science Institute. “I just can’t believe he won’t fuck you. Doesn’t he know how many people would if they had a chance?”
“He seems so perfect but it’s almost like he’s just lacking the one key thing. Dick” They giggled. You rolled your eyes. You had confessed that you really did want to have sex. Yoongi wanted to save himself for marriage, but it was getting hard for you. When you brought this up with Yoongi he shut you down immediately.
“Baby” He fingered the purity ring on his pinky finger, “You know I can’t”
You had been frequently meeting with someone from one of your lab classes, a certain Jeon Jungkook. Yoongi didn’t love this, but he was acquainted with Jungkook, and knew that he likely was not a threat. The boy was not your type at all—his clunky glasses and sweater vests and his hair long and swept back, unlike Yoongi’s fresh blonde cut. Sometimes you wouldn’t tell him that you were with Jungkook, but he still knew. Nothing happened. But he still got irritated.
Unfortunately it was impossible to truly watch you all the time. After all, Yoongi was a social guy and had to make appearances frequently. He often wondered if you knew he watched you, so you waited to run off fuck yourself on Jungkook when he wasn't looking. He bit his lip until blood came out, raging at the prospect.
He wasn’t entirely wrong about you though. You did always feel pressure of behaving in a way that reflected well on him. So when everyone was looking at Yoongi, you were able to slouch your shoulders and relax. You would go to Jungkook’s house for a drink, with no ulterior motive on either of your end. You loved Yoongi. Jungkook respected him, and you. There was no issue.
So when Yoongi showed up at Jungkook’s doorstep a week later with a bag full of cash asking him to fuck his girlfriend, he was disgusted at first.
“E…excuse me?” He stammered, blushing. Yoongi squinted at him.
“Have sex with y/n the next time she is over.” He put on a show, “I just feel bad I cannot give her what she desires. I don’t want to deprive her of anything. I know she is fond of you so if you wouldn’t mind…she is very beautiful I can tell you that”
“I…that’s not…do you realize how insane this is?”
Yoongi shrugged, “It’s twenty-thousand dollars to fuck a pretty girl. What’s so bad?”
“Does she want this? D…do you have her consent to be asking me this?”
“Of course.” He chuckled giving a charming smile, “In fact, she has a bit of a fantasy that I was hoping you could indulge. I am not sure if she will go through with it but, she might try to resist at first, but really she wants to be used like a whore. She will love it, really.”
Jungkook gave him a skeptical look. “What the fuck? You want me to indulge your girlfriend’s rape fantasy? I’m not a fucking sadist”
“It’s not a rape fantasy. She just likes to struggle a bit but then she will get into it. She will want it”
“I can’t believe I am even entertaining this conversation, you need to leave”
“Forty-thousand.”
“Fuck off Yoongi. First of all, I am not even into y/n…” He paused.
“Oh please, she’s the finest thing in miles of here, you just haven’t considered her as available. That’s how I know I can trust you to do this for me.”
Jungkook gulped. That’s not quite it. He thought to himself. But the thought passed when Yoongi took off his watch and handed it to him.
“This is worth half a million dollars. Are we good?”
Jungkook just gaped at him.
“You have had sex before right?”
Oh yes he had. Once. He nodded slowly.
“Okay good. Please show her a good time and keep this between us”
“She knows right? She knows you’re asking me to do this?”
Yoongi grinned and pat Jungkook’s shoulder, “Oh baby boy, she’s the one who suggested it”
Jungkook found that a bit hard to believe.
What Yoongi didn’t know was that Jungkook already has had sex. With you. You didn’t know it was him, and it was long before you began dating Yoongi.
Jungkook had been obsessed with you as a high schooler, your pictures collaging the back of his bathroom door, a variety of your things—forgotten hoodies, dropped pens— messily shoved into the drawer of his desk.
It was an innocent phase at first. You were just so pretty. He couldn’t help the way his blood would rush between his legs every time you would glance in his general direction. He couldn’t help watching the way you outgrew your uniform skirt, almost breaking down in tears when you replaced it with a larger size. He would sneak out of class when you had PE to watch you run, and the way your breasts bounced in the tight top you wore.
You didn’t know him. Why would you? He was no way near your league. He worked extremely hard, dreaming to get into the same university as you on a full ride because his family could never afford it.
Jungkook would normally follow you home, obviously he just wanted to make sure you reached safe. You had been crying the entire walk home. Jungkook had to gather every ounce of self restraint not to go hug you and kiss you until you smiled again. He hated seeing you cry, and it made him want to die.
He was worried about you. You entered your beautiful home, but no one was there. What if you tried to harm yourself? Who would protect you?
He had snuck in through the back.
If anyone had been around, they may have heard a scream. But more likely the would have heard the cries of pleasure that followed.
That evening you told Yoongi you were going to work on stuff with Jungkook. You dressed modestly, not bothering to freshen up much. He watched through his cameras as you arrived into Jungkook’s tiny apartment. So much smaller than his, probably in more ways than one, he clicked his tongue in amusement.
“Hey Jungkook!” You hugged him lightly. He looked extremely uncomfortable which made Yoongi all the more amused.
Two people fucking who both don’t want to. What do you call that? Yoongi chuckled darkly.
“Listen y/n…I know that…I know I agreed but I just wanna make sure…” Jungkook could barely look you in the eye. As destiny would have it, you chose that moment to pull your hoodie off, giving Jungkook a flash of the underside of your breasts. He gulped. “You really don’t remember me do you…”
“What do you mean?” You were so confused. Jungkook licked his lips and crawled over where you were sitting on his couch, causing you to lay on your back. “What…hey what the fuck are you doing?”
He didn’t like your tone. It awoke a protective instinct in him. He stroked your hair and gazed deeply into your eyes. “How long has it been since you’ve had sex?”
You blushed furiously, face heating up dangerously fast at the sudden question. You shifted your neck away from him uncomfortably. “Um…I guess…3, maybe 4 years?”
“Tsk, poor girl.” He cooed, his finger grazed your cheek, “Alright, I’ll play along. You can let me know if you want me to stop okay?” He lowered himself enough to let his lips trace travel down the veins on your neck. He inhaled you, memories of innocent years coming back to him in floods.
You were frozen. His body radiated heat, his scent was giving you a high you couldn’t quite explain. You shouldn’t feel this way. You had sweet sweet Yoongi waiting for you at home. Sweet Yoongi who loved you, and was saving himself for you like the pure angel he is.
You looked up at the soft dark eyes of the man above you now. You couldn’t help but feel a sense of deja vu.
“Jungkook” You exhaled as his lips began kissing over your shirt, down the valley of your breasts, lifting your shirt so he could kiss your stomach. “I…I have a boyfriend”
“You’re really committed to this huh?” He chuckled, taking some of his fingers and slowly circling under the waistline of your shorts. You blinked a few times to try to react to what was happening but your body was overwhelmed. It had been so long since you were touched like this.
“Please” You said loudly, so loudly that Jungkook barely hears the “don’t do this” that followed in a whisper.
Jungkook thought back to the night you took his virginity. It hadn’t been on his agenda, he was content following you around and jacking off to your social media accounts every night. That night had changed him. He had realized then that he was messed up. He realized he needed help and he sought it out. A few years of therapy had done him good. He felt guilty about it for a while, but eventually had to grow and move on. He would never act like that again.
But here he was.
And there you were. Below him again. Begging for him through your actions and pushing him away with your words.
Emotions overwhelmed you. Your heart wrenched at the bitter guilt that you were doing the unthinkable. They very thing that you would condemn about other couples. How could you? How could you cheat? But your body was whimpering.
“I have a boyfriend. He’s so good to me. He’s so amazing, and I…I love” You let out a sob as he allowed his hips to roll into you, giving you friction you had craved for so long, “Jungkook…please” You knew he was reading between the lines. You knew he heard your consent, and that disgusted you.
“Mmm I know baby. I know you love him” Jungkook sighed as he pulled down your shorts, “Tell me about him baby. Tell me how much you love him” He began kissing your thighs, burying his face into your cunt.
“He’s so—ahhh” Jungkook took his tongue and pushed aside your underwear to lick a long stripe between your legs. “So good. So fucking…mmmmhhh” You squealed as Jungkook shoved his tongue inside you. The sensation was heavy in your core, but the sensation drove you wild. He flicked his tongue around, almost too easily being able to find all the right places to make you twitch and moan his name.
“Do you want my cock pretty baby? Hmm?” He whispered teasingly, his voice muffling against you as he continued to eat you out. You yelped as he sucked on your clit and nodded your head dumbly. “My little girl so desperate for cock she’d cheat on her boyfriend hm?” He came up for air, your juices messily spread across his lips, his eyes shot with lust.
“Don’t…don’t say that” You whined. Jungkook nodded before pulling off his sweater. You traced his muscles with your fingers, so defined and beautifully tan as he shrugged off his jeans. He took his glasses off and folded them carefully but you grabbed his hand.
“Keep them on…your glasses…” Jungkook’s eyes widened in amusement.
“Why” He teased.
“I like them. I like them a lot. You remind me of someone I used to like” Jungkook’s blood ran cold.
Did you remember?
Did you remember the way he had pinned you up against your kitchen wall back then? The way he left hickies all over your body, marking you as his. The way he had entered you for the first time, with you sprawled out across your dining table, then again on the counter tops, then again from behind pressed up against the window.
Did you remember how many times you both came? It was like a sex fest of hours and hours. In your mouth, on your face, on your tits and buried deep in your cunt, the condom barely surviving the pressure of his seed.
Did you remember the way you cried after in his arms, unable to walk? The way he held you and kissed you softly, apologizing.
Did you remember how he had given you pills so you would forget, hoping that you wouldn’t be sad any longer?
Jungkook had been too lost in thought to notice that you had pulled your own shirt off, leaving you in a sports bra, pulling his neck down so you could kiss him.
“Jungkook” You gasped as he finally regained consciousness and dragged his fingers across your pussy.
“Will you ride me baby?” His eyes twinkled in his request and you were more than happy to indulge him. Jungkook switched positions with you. You reverse cowgirled him, unknowingly, the perfect position for Yoongi to see all of you as you fucked yourself silly onto Jungkook’s cock.
You lowered yourself down on him slowly, savoring the stretch that you had almost forgotten you could ever feel. Your fingers could never give you a sensation quite like this. Jungkook shut his eyes and tried to savor the feeling.
“Pretty…pretty baby” He cooed, sitting up so he could nibble your shoulder and hold your hips as he bounced you slowly on his cock.
“Tell me something” He exhaled, feeling himself slowly approaching his orgasm, the feeling of your soft, warm walls around him too much to bear, “Did you want this because of me…or did you just need cock?”
You continued thrusting yourself back into him, the firm hold of his hands on you giving you an arousing sense of comfort. You wiggled your ass, liking the way he would grunt when you did.
“Did you want me baby? Did you do this for me?”
You cried out suddenly, feeling a long awaited orgasm overwhelming your senses. Jungkook’s grip on you tightened as he tried to keep fucking you through it, your body going limp, twitching erraticly.
“So pretty…my sweet sweet girl” He turned your head to kiss your lips, slipping his tongue in and relishing in the love you poured in through your actions. He caressed your breasts and continued to thrust up into you.
“Come inside me” You exhaled softly.
“No y/n…that wouldn’t be right” Jungkook was reminded of the eerily intimidating presence of the man who was paying him to do this. He slowly brought his thrusts to a halt before helping you up off of him, his cock still painfully erect. “I can finish myself”
You pouted, watching him drill his graze into your naked presence, violently stroking his cock. He licked his lips shamelessly.
“I don’t love you anymore y/n” He whispered too softly for you to hear, “I’m over you. I’m over this. This doesn’t mean anything—AAAAhhh” Your mouth was on his cock and that was all it took for him to come harder than he ever had.
He took you into his arms, wrapping them around you and kissing your face over and over again, caressing your hips and trying to relax your muscles so you wouldn’t be sore.
You reached for your phone as Jungkook began to fill the silence.
“Yoongi seems really great. He clearly cares about you a lot. I’m really happy for you, genuinely” He says softly, “I’m honestly really impressed he let this happen”
But you didn’t hear him, all you could hear was your heart drumming loudly in your ears as you saw the stream of notifications on your phone. Your heart dropping like a bomb when you saw the single message you dreaded more than anything.
yoongi: what’s this? <link>
And linked was a live stream of the events that had just transpired.
masterlist                                                       next----->
A/N: im just cackling at #y/nisoverparty HAHA um stream film out! woohoo
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liaarchived · 3 years
Note
Hi fellow Taurus bestie…I’m a long time reader and first time anon 🙈 so I got this idea and I had to share incase you wanna write about it 👀 anyways…I was listening to Slow Down by Chase Atlantic and this time the lyric “she said fuck me like I’m famous, I said oh-kay” stuck out to me and I was like wait a min 🤔✋🏼 what if there was a fic where the guy (I thought of Bakugo/Kuroo/Iwaizumi 🙈🙈🙈) was a singer and the reader is his crush/new gf…?? Anyways!! They’re getting ‘into it’ after a show/concert and she’s like… “if you can fuck as good as you sing, show me.” And he’s like bet and he wrecks her, breaks her back and all that
Anyways lemme know whatcha think bestie…🙈 I was kinda nervous to send this but I was like fuck it lemme do it before I forget and yeah…
A/N: Taurus Bestie🥺 You’re brain is immaculate please. Don’t ever hesitate to send me asks! I love interacting with y’all, I’m just not very good at initiating :(( I love this idea so much and I really thought it fit Iwaizumi well so I hope you enjoy!
Prompt: “If you can fuck as good as you can sing, show me.”
Genre: Smut
Pairing: Iwaizumi x fem!reader
Warnings: spit, oral (reader receiving), daddy kink, impact play, degradation, praising, swearing, hair pulling, choking, creampie, breeding if you squint, heavily unedited bc I hate editing my own smut😔✊🏼
Word count: 2.43k
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You and Iwaizumi had been friends since high school, but even so, you had never been to one of his band’s shows before. Sure you had heard him sing many times and you knew he was talented, but this experience, getting to watch him from a VIP box while hundreds of thousands of people were cheering for him and singing along to his music? It was absolutely surreal. You admired how Iwaizumi seemed to belong on that stage.
However, the scene of Iwaizumi singing his heart out was doing things to you. Tonight was the last show of his tour, after that he was planning to go on hiatus for a few months before going back to the studio with his band. This was it. You had backstage privileges, courtesy of the singer himself, and you planned on making your move tonight. When Iwa left for his tour at the beginning of the year you were faced with some surprising feelings.
You realized you missed him more than just a friend should…
The set ended and the crowd was still going wild. You make your way backstage as the band plays a final encore song. When Iwaizumi emerges from the stage, sweat gleaming off of his ink littered muscles you practically salvate at the image. The lead singer immediately sets his eyes on you and makes a beeline towards you.
Iwaizumi doesn’t give you a chance to say anything. It had been over a year since he had last seen you in person and his adrenaline was running high. It was now or never. So he scooped you into his arms and crashed his lips to yours. As soon as the shock passes, you reciprocate his extremely passionate kiss.
Iwaizumi hums in approval at your quick submission and bites your lower lip before pulling away, letting a string of saliva form keep the two of you connected before it snaps.
“Shit, Yn. You know how long I’ve wanted to do that. I missed you so much it was maddening.” He lays his sweaty forehead on yours, pupils blown wide with adrenaline and lust.
You giggle at his declaration. “Missed you too, Haji. Where are you staying?”
A deep chuckle escapes his swollen lips. “At a hotel, Princess. Why?”
“Want you to show me if you can fuck me as good as you can sing.” You grin devilishly and Iwa returns the expression.
The musician opens his mouth to say something but is cut off by one of his band members who has already been eyeing you. “Hey, Iwa! Ya coming to the after party or what?”
Iwaizumi slings his arm over you. “Nah, man. Go on ahead without me. I got a different party to attend.”
The band member chuckles and shakes his head before waving and taking his exit.
You two lead by example and take your own exit.
The second the two of you make it to Iwa’s room, he has you pressed against the wall with his lips attached to yours. His tongue has already made it past your lips, exploring the cavern of your mouth, occasionally dancing with yours. You moan into his mouth, and as much as you don’t want to, you have to pull away for air.
Iwaizumi takes this opportunity to trail kisses along your jaw and down your neck. His hands, which were previously holding onto your hips in a bruising grip, move up your torso under your shirt. He makes a delighted chuckle when he notices that you're not wearing a bra.
“Hmm not wearing anything underneath your shirt to my show? Is that why your tits looked absolutely delectable bouncing around while you danced during the concert, huh?”
You whine as his hands grope at your chest and tweak your nipples. “Hah-fuck- wanted you to have something to look at, Haji-“
Iwaizumi cuts you off with a low growl and a particularly pleasing pinch of the nipples. “No. I’m not Haji right now, Princess. Say it.”
You let out a moan at the singer’s insinuation. “Wanted you t-to have something to look at, Daddy.”
“Mmm well you certainly didn’t disappoint, Princess. Had a hard time keeping my eyes off of you.” Iwa chuckles while he lowers himself down to his knees. “Between how cute your ass looks in this short little skirt of yours and your tits I almost lost my damn mind. Messed up a few lyrics thanks to you, Princess.”
You whimper as the singer nips and sucks on your inner thighs. “Fuck- Daddy… Wanted your attention. Didn’t mean to distract you.”
Iwaizumi’s lips are everywhere but where you need him most. He continues to kiss your thighs and lick them and give the occasional bite and suck combo. Your hands find their way to his sweat damp hair and tug, earning a groan and particularly harsh bite from the man below you. You whimper at the singer’s rough ministrations. Your head is thrown back on the wall behind you as Iwaizumi inches closer to where you want him.
“Daddy, please~” You tug on his hair eliciting another groan.
Iwa looks up at you in amusement. “Hmm what do you want, Princess? Gotta use your words, Pretty Baby.”
You huff in frustration but indulge him anyway. “Need your mouth and tongue, please~”
A chuckle can be heard but you’re no longer looking at Iwaizumi. “I’m giving you my mouth and tongue aren’t I. Princess? Is it that you need them somewhere specifically?” Iwa kisses your lower pelvis, just above your clothed clit.
“I- hah- Fuck, Daddy need your mouth and tongue and fingers in my pussy and on my clit. Please, please, please~ Need you s’ ba- ngh~”
Iwa cuts you off by the sting of him ripping your panties apart and diving his tongue into your drooling cunt. The slurping noises he’s making are obscene but you don’t have time to be embarrassed because at that very moment the singer replaced his tongue with two fingers and reattached his mouth to your clit. You moan and tug harshly on his hair, Iwa lets out his own moan that reverberates throughout your entire being.
“Mmh- Fuck~ feels so good, Daddy. S’ much better than my own fingers- Oh my- fu- fuck right there please keep touching me right there, Daddy…”
You're lost in your own pleasure and you don’t even notice the way Iwaizumi is watching you. His eyes gleaming with pride and lust at the thought of you feeling so good because of him. He can feel himself growing uncomfortably hard but ignores the nagging heat pooling in his lower abdomen. His focus solely on making you cum at least once before he lets himself fuck you senseless.
Judging from your increasingly desperate pleas, you were close to giving Iwa what he wanted. Your fists in the man’s hair are clenched so fiercely that your knuckles have turned a lighter shade than the rest of your skin. Your breathing has increased in both speed and volume, moans and whimpers constantly spilling from your lips, keeping you from forming any coherent sentences.
Iwa chuckles and you nearly screech at the sensation that shoots through your body from his amusement. “You gonna cum, Princess? You sound so damn desperate. Sounds like you’re gonna cum all over my mouth, hm?”
It takes everything you have to respond, knowing if you don’t it may not end well for you. “Hah— F-fuck— mmmm gon’ cum— wan’ cum— Daddy~”
“Do it, Princess. I want to drink up all that you got.” Iwa starts curling his fingers inside of you and that’s what does you in. Your back arches and you nearly scream from the sudden burst of white hot pleasure. Iwa doesn’t slow down his ministrations either. His fingers curling incessantly and tongue lapping up everything you have to offer him. Your mind becomes fuzzy and you don’t even register Hajime picking you up and tossing you onto the king sized bed.
In your dazed state you hardly recognize that Iwaizumi is speaking to you until his hand is cradling your cheek. “Hey. Princess. You with me? I need you to tell me you’re good before I move further, okay?”
“Daddy… ‘m good, want you to fuck me now, please~” You sigh at the thought of Iwa filling you up and begin to grow impatient.
Hajime chuckles. “That’s my pretty baby. Can you strip and get on your hands and knees for me, Princess?”
You nod and quickly remove your remaining clothing. You make a show of turning around and arching your back just to wiggle your ass up at Iwaizumi. A low groan can be heard as a result of you teasing the man behind you. Then suddenly your body is jolted forward as you mewl at the impact of Hajime’s palm connecting roughly with your ass.
“Such a fuckin’ tease, Princess. Havin’ your tits out on display, wearin’ that cute lil’ skirt, and now shakin’ your plump ass at me. Hmm,” Iwa caresses the cheek he had just previously assaulted. “ I would punish you if I didn’t wanna stuff this pretty lil’ cunny of yours with my fat cock. Maybe next time, hm? Bet you would like that wouldn’t you, Princess?”
You take in a shuddering breath before responding desperately. “N-no not doin’ it on purpose, daddy. Promise~ Wanna be your good girl please~”
“I think you’re body is betrayin’ you, Princess, the way you just gushed from a single smack to the ass tells me otherwise. I think you like being a naughty little cockslut, hmm, like being punished. But I guess for now we can pretend you’re my good girl, hm?” With that Iwa rubs the tip of his cock up and down through your folds lamenting his previous words of stating just how wet you were for the musician. “You ready for me, Princess?”
Instead of answering you push back into Iwa’s touch and sink the tip of Iwa’s length into your dripping entrance with ease. Large fingers dig into your plush ass to stop you from going further and lull a whimper to pass through your lips. Iwa leans down and growls into your ear. “Such a fuckin’ impatient and bratty little slut, hm? Couldn’t wait for me to put it in. Had to take it upon yourself?”
As Iwa growls into your ear about how much of a brat you are as he’s sinking himself deeper into your pussy. Your eyes roll back into your head. His sheer size alone brings you close to your second orgasm. You can hear breathy curses fall from Iwa’s lips. His fingers dig deeper into your ass as you dig into the pillow you’re whimpering into.
“F-fuck, Princess, you’re so fucking tight. This pretty little cunny is already squeezing me so tight. You that close, pretty baby? Just from me putting my cock in you, fuck that’s so fuckin’ cute.” Hajime releases one of his grips on your cheeks to tangle his fingers in your hair and experiments with a gentle tug. He’s more than pleased with your reaction as your back arches further and multiple whimpers stumble out of you.
The coil that’s been building in your stomach is snapped by Iwaizumi bottoming out with his tip prodding your cervix. You wail and violently clench around the musician as your vision blurs. You’re babbling nonsense while Iwaizumi throws his head back.
“Oh fuck, Princess. You really came from me just bottoming out. Fuck, your such a desperate little cockslut. Feel so good, sucking me in like this-- shit think you got one more in ya my pretty little cockslut?”
You whimper and plead. “D-daddy, please~ Want you to move-- need you to fuck me so good~ Please~”
Iwa amusedly chuckles at your babbling but grants your wish anyway. His hips draw back slowly, allowing you to feel every single throbbing vein on his dick and once he’s pulled out to just the tip he lands a harsh smack to your ass and snaps his hips into you. His rough pace doesn’t let up after that. He’s ramming into you as you cover your screams with the pillows underneath you. Iwa clearly has other ideas, though, as he tugs on your hair to pull you off the slobber stained pillow.
“Shit-- Wanna hear those pretty screams, Princess. Let everyone know that ‘m making you feel good okay?” After no reply Hajime tugs on your hair again,
“Y-yes daddy! You’re making me feel so f-fuckin’ goo’! Gonna make me cum ‘gain- mmmm fuck~” Your eyes roll to the back of your head as Iwa brings you up to his chest and changes the angle.
He’s reaching further into you and if it weren’t for his arms securely holding you-- one wrapped around your waist, the other crossed your chest and his hand gripping your neck-- You probably would be thrashing in pleasure. Iwa leans down to place his mouth right next to your ear and growls.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck pretty baby. ‘M so fuckin’ close. You gonna cum with me, Princess? Gonna cream all over me while I fill you up with my cum? Bet you'd like that hm? Your slutty little cunt filled to the brim with my cum?” Iwa moves his hold around your waist to play with your clit.
Your head falls back onto his shoulder and let out a silent scream. “Shi- oh my- Fuck, daddy, gon’ cum, want you to cum with me. Cum in me, please! Fuck! Daddy ‘m cumming- shit~ “
You’re seeing stars and screaming incoherently as you vaguely register Iwa’s grunts and sloppy thrusts. His hot seed spurting into you as he rides out both your orgasms. Your vision comes back to you and you feel yourself slump into the musician's hold. You hum contentedly as you feel Iwa begin to soften inside of you.
He peppers you with kisses and nuzzles himself into your neck, causing you to giggle. “Fuck, Princess. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hold ya like this.”
“Hmm what a couple of idiots huh?” Iwa looks up at you and chuckles.
“I guess so,” you squeal as Iwa flips the two of you so you’re on your back with him hovering you, expertly keeping himself inside of you, “we’ve got some catching up to do now don’t we, Princess?”
Your eyes widen in surprise. “W-what do you mean? We’re not done?”
Iwa chuckles as he slowly begins to pump himself into you. You whine from sensitivity. “Princess, we’re just getting started.”
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Hq!! Permanent Taglist: @katsulovee
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unloved-cadillac · 3 years
Text
My Sweetheart.(A Levi x Reader Oneshot)
I found this writing prompt on Pinterest but you can find writing.prompt.s on Instagram.
𝖶𝗈𝗋𝖽𝗌: 2.5𝗄
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It’s been years since high school. You left everything behind in Sina and moved to London to pursue your art career and it took off. But now after your art had all been successfully sold and some displayed in art museums, you decided to move back home to teach art at Sina College.
You didn’t come back empty handed. Hange, your close friend who you met in London, landed a job here as well. So, making things easier you offered to share an apartment with her and she agreed.
“So, are you going to hang up your art like how you did in London?” Hange asks and you shake your head. “Nah. I’m not so narcissistic.” You say and place a box on the floor. “Narcissistic? Your art is beautiful and deserves to be displayed!” She shouts and you laugh. “Thanks for the compliment, Han. But after the gallery did so good back there and everything got sold, I have to make some more.” You explain and walk into the kitchen with Hange following close behind. “Yeah. I wonder who bought all of those paintings. They paid double the price, isn’t it?��� She asks and you nod. “I wish I could’ve met them. Whoever they are to thank them. They technically saved me from going bankrupt.” You joke. ”Oh! That reminds me. Can you run down to the store and get some snacks? I’m starving here!” Hange holds her stomach in mock hunger. “Ugh. Now I need to change. I was going to the store anyway, but I need to run down to the bank to withdraw some cash.” You say and head to your room to put on some reasonable clothes and grab your bag on the way out.
Luckily, your apartment was set in a very convenient location from the mall, small stores and banks. It really was a jackpot apartment. Walking into the bank, you stand in the cue and wait. Playing on your phone and listening to music, you see the line started to move. When you came up to the counter, you remove your earphones and look at the girl behind the glass. “Hi there. I came to make a withdrawal.” You say and take out your bank details and card. “How much do you-..” “EVERYONE HANDS UP! DON’T MOVE!” You hear and turn around to see men with black masks on with guns in their hands, aiming it around. Oh great. I’m going to die, you think and look at the people. One of them moved past you and you carefully moved your hands up. On their right arms, they had white and blue wings patched into it. Some sort of gang? Another masked man, caught your eye and you could see his eyes widen and started to panic. “Yo! Roll out.” He says, still looking at you. “What?! Why?! We didn’t even get the money!” One says and looks at his leader. “That’s her. We can’t do this while she’s here. Don’t aim at her. MOVE OUT!” The leader says and runs away while others look at you, while lowering their guns. They turned around and headed out of the bank, leaving everyone in shock and looking at you. You exhale a breath you didn’t even know you were holding and hold your chest. “Who are you?” Someone asks you. You look at them, still in shock. “Just an ordinary person.” You say, breathing heavily. “Well, you just saved our lives and the bank from getting robbed.” They say and you furrow your eyebrows. What the hell?
~~~~~
“So they just left?! Just like that?!?” Hange yells out and grabs your shoulders. “Yeah. It was so weird.” She hugs you, squeezing you a bit. “I’m so glad that your okay!” She says and you pat her back. “Yeah. I’m fine. But I still don’t know what to think.” You say and sip your whiskey. You think of the situation and those patches. “Hange.” You call her and she hums. “They had this symbol. A white wing overlapping a blue one. Any idea?” You ask and she taps her chin before going to her laptop. You leave her to do her thing as you hear the clicking of keys. “Come here. And check this out.” Hange says and you walk to her, sitting on the arm of the sofa. You look at her laptop screen. “This symbol is the Wings of Freedom. It’s a symbol of the crime syndicate called “Titan’s of Death”. Ugh, scary.” Hange says and you scroll down. Members were over one thousand and they were everywhere but most were situated here in Sina. “It says here people who don’t pose a threat to the Titans are on a No Harm list. The list isn’t revealed to protect the identity of them but it’s said to have only a few names. Y/n! What if your name was on there?!” Hange shouts and you scoff. “Why would my name be there? I’ve never heard of these people before.” You say and cross your arms. Hange scrolls further and comes across the leader of the group. You had left the sofa to go get your whiskey from the counter when Hange spoke up. “Do you know a “Levi Ackerman”?” You stop dead in your tracks and look at her. Levi? No it can’t be. “Do you have a picture of him?” You ask and she nods her head motioning to the laptop. You walk slowly to her and look at the laptop. There he was. Levi. The boy who had your heart all these years. Your high school sweetheart. “Levi.” You whisper and touch his picture. He kept the undercut. His face had lost his little baby fat he had when he was younger and became chiseled. He looked so handsome. You smile a bright smile while blushing furiously. “Y/n! Who is he to you?! He’s making you blush and it’s just his picture!” You look up to her, still smiling brightly. “He’s an...while I can’t say ex. But we dated back in high school. We ended things because I had to move ASAP to London and he couldn’t come with me. But, God I loved him. It broke the both of us when we had to leave.” You recall the memory.
It was sad. That was the only time you had seen Levi cry and just thinking about his face like that made you ache. “Why didn’t you two keep in touch?” Hange asks and looks back at his photo. “We tried. But life had other plans for us. His social media disappeared and numbers changed. Mine did too and once I lost his number I couldn’t find him again.” You explain, while staring at his photo. “Maybe it’s because he became the leader of this place and couldn’t risk having his number everywhere.” Hange reasons with you and you agree. “Yeah. Seems about right.” You sniffle and wake up while holding your cheeks. All of the memories that you had with him came flooding back in and all of the love you had for him clouded your mind and heart. You turn to Hange and smile. “Where is the Titan of Death’s headquarters?” You ask and Hange looks through the page. “Oh. It’s right here. Downtown though. Oof. Dangerous. Wait. Don’t tell me..” “Yes, Hange. I’m going to see him.”
Later that night, you logged into your old iCloud account, the one you had in highschool. It was filled with old pictures of your friends from back there and...Levi. You two went out for two years. Although it may seem a short time to others, to the both of you, it felt like eternity. You chuckle at all the funny pictures you took with him. One where he stayed over for the first time, while he slept, you drew all over his face. There was another one where you both were sharing a coke with two straws. You had yours in your mouth and looked at the camera while Levi had his in his mouth and looked at you. That was a good day. You go back to your browser and look at the opened tab with Levi’s picture. For a 25 year old, he didn’t look a day over 21. The Ackerman gene, huh? You smile at what he will think seeing you after all these years. You were very confident in seeing him again. After transferring some photos to your current phone, you go to bed but only slept two hours later since you were so excited. So you drifted into a dreamless sleep after thinking about Levi.
~~~~~
Waking up a bit earlier than usual, you pick out a good outfit and smile. You couldn’t stop smiling because that’s the effect this boy had on you. He made you feel so happy and safe and loved, which made you think about what would have happened if you didn’t break up. If he moved with you to London. Both of you would probably be married by now. But snapping out of that thought and jumping the gun, you head out of your room to see Hange watching TV. You stand in front of it and show off your outfit. “What do you think? Too much?” You ask and Hange squeals. “Oh, Y/n! It’s perfect. I still can’t believe your ex is a mafia boss.” She says and you laugh. “Me neither. But I have to see him again. I never knew how much I missed him until I saw his picture. Now send me the directions and I’ll see you later, Han.” You say and wink at her. “Stay safe. Take pepper spray please.” She says and you show off your can. Heading to your car, your phone dings with Hange’s tone. You see she sent the directions and you skip to your car. Levi.
Driving with the GPS on, you head into downtown Sina. You had never been here and you remember Levi saying all those years ago that you should never head there alone. Well, too late now baby. A lot of people walked around openly with their guns in their hands or holsters. You weren’t afraid. If you were in Levi’s ‘No Harm’ list, you were sorted. You have arrived at your destination. You hear your GPS say and you look at the big ass gate. It was black with a whole lotta cameras and whole lotta guards. Rolling down your window, you look at the camera and at the guards. One of them walked to you. “What business do you have at the Ackerman mansion?” He asks and you clear your throat. “H-hello there. I’m Y/n L/n. Levi is…” You get cut off by the man shouting. “She’s good. Let her in!” He turns back to you and smiles. You smile back and thank him. You drive to the house and park next to another car. Hopping out, a tall man waits for you. You walk up the stairs and the man greets you. “Hello, Ms L/n. I’m Mike Zecharius. The Boss would see you shortly. He’s in a meeting right now, so please, head inside to the main lounge while you wait.” He explains and you smile. “Nice to meet you, Mike. Thank you.” You say and walk into the house and wow. Was this place huge. It was a combination of white, black and grey. But mostly white. So Levi. You walk into, what you hoped was, the main langue and looked around. The walls had paintings and you furrow your eyebrows. Making your way around the big room, you realized: these were your paintings. Most of your work was proudly displayed here. Oh. Levi. It was you. You think and bit your lip to suppress a giggle. The one that caught your eye was the one that was in the middle of the wall. It was one of the first ones you painted which you had gifted Levi for his birthday. It was painted on black paper while you used only white paint. It was two albino peacocks by a lake, one had their head on the others with the words, “ ‘We Loved With a Love That Was More Than Love.’- Edgar Allen Poe.” You smile at the memory and the message that was written behind it. “Happy birthday & Merry Christmas, Levi” you start to say while running your hand on the frame, “My days have been so much happier since you entered my life. Thank you. It’s you, because..” “Because no one else makes sense.” You heard a voice complete the message and you turn around to see him. Standing there, with his full black suit and his hair in the same style from all those years ago. You smile so much and you could feel tears form but quickly wipe them away. “Levi..” you whisper and he smiles back to you. “Y/n.” He says and walk to you. You’re so overwhelmed by happiness that you just hide your face in your hands. You felt him right in front of you and you look up from your hands to be met with the sight of his chest. God, he smells so good. You feel his hand on your cheek and you look up at his face. He looked so much better in person. “Hello, sweetheart.” He says and you smile. “I-, oh my gosh. Levi. It’s you. It’s really you.” You say and move your hands around his neck and hug him. You tuck your face in his neck and smile. “It’s me.” He simply says and hugs you tighter.
You pull away from him, but still in his embrace and sigh. “What happened? I lost all contact with you.” You say and he moves a stray hair behind your ear. “It’s such a long story, Y/n.” Levi says. “How about you tell me over dinner?” You say and he raises his eyebrow and smirks. “Dinner? I can make that happen. Tonight? 8?” He asks and you nod. “Wait. Yesterday, at the bank..” you start to say and he smiles softly. “When I became the leader here, I was given the option of a ‘No Harm’ list. Your name was the first one I wrote down.” He says softly and you smile. “Oh, Levi.” You smile and look at him. As you were about to say something again, both of you were interrupted. “Boss, sorry to disturb. But there’s an urgent call for you.” One of his men say and he scoffs. “Tch. Alright. I’ll be there just now. Tell them to wait.” He says and looks back at you. “I’m sorry. But dinner..” “I’ll see you at 8.” You say and start to walk away but stop suddenly and bite your lip. You turn back and walk up to him and kiss his cheek. “Call me, okay?” You say and place a card into his pocket. Levi nods and watches you walk away while grazing his finger along his cheek. He could still feel your warm lips on them. He takes out the card and looks at it.
Y/n L/n Arts.
xxx-xxx-xxxx
Xoxo
He smiles softly and puts it in his inside pocket. Levi never wanted a day to go faster than right now. He had to let you go 7 years ago and he’s not going to make that mistake again.
———————————————————————
“I live for Mafia Levi.”
🖤🤍Thanks for reading🤍🖤
-Caddy.
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doodleimprovement · 3 years
Text
CSAU :: Moonie Jericho and the Mysterious Case of the Moon-Jumper Mask - Alternate Ending
Or: “The extremely self indulgent 7 page fic were Nell gets to be more helpful and has some actual characterization” 
Yeahhhh this isn’t canon to the fic, but I wanted to write it because I can, at LAST give ya’ll Nell’s backstory for how they came to live in Subcon in the CSAU
Per usual, the “Coffee Shop AU” belongs to the ever wonderful @doodledrawsthings
Also, note: Both MJ and Nell use “they/them” pronouns, with MJ being “He/They” and Nell being “She/They” To keep things from getting too confusing, Nell will be “They” and MJ will be “He” 
Enjoy! 
--
Nell was honestly a bit surprised when MJ came to their home the morning after Halloween, sheepishly stating that the mask seemed ... stuck.
“Really?”
He nodded.
“Huh.. Come on in then. I’ll get some tea going and see about helping you out, hm?”
He walked into their house, taking a moment to actually look about the place- as he didn’t get much of a chance before- and took a seat in their small living room.
The ambiance of the outside followed inside, with the walls painted chestnut brown with warm yet bright pops of color on the windowsill and the various picture frames full of people he didn’t know. The curtain over the wide window was patterned with little pumpkins, which he found cute, and hanging from a few ceiling hooks were what Clover would call “Low-maintenance” plants. The dark colors match well with the room, making it feel a bit comfier than it otherwise might.
The couch he sat on was across from an armchair, and both were colored a warm orange, with an espresso-colored coffee table. On said table were some envelopes and a copy of “Better Homes and Gardens”
Huh, he didn’t peg them as a reader of those types of magazines. Then again, Clover was the one that knew Nell, not him.
They came back with two mugs - one was purple with the “Snatcher” face on it, and the other had a little grumpy ghost on it, with “I’m spooky before my coffee” written above the drawing.
They handed him the Snatcher mug
“Can I ask where you get all of this Snatcher merch?”
“My best friend is an Etsy fiend. Despite him living all the way in Nyakoto, he ships me Snatcher merch whenever he finds something fun. He’s a real character” they chuckled.
“Huh” MJ acknowledged as Nell walked around the coffee table and sat next to him
“Do you feel the mask?”
He nodded, his hand up at the edge, right where he felt it “When I pull, it just… doesn’t move”
“Hm..” they sipped. “When you try to take it off, how does it feel?”
“Like… it’s like a thousand little… things? Pulling at my face, I think?” MJ pulled up their mug and sipped the tea.
“Like… string? Thread?”
MJ nodded. “I think that's the right word, thread”
Nell puts down the mug as MJ takes another sip. “Let me see” they scooted closer to him, and he put his mug down and turned his head.
Their hands seemed to glow green as they raised it “There we go…” They muttered, hand immediately finding the mask’s edge, and seeing what he was talking about “... Huh, the threads… well, that's the right word. They’re… criss-crossed…”
Before he could ask if they could remove them, he felt a slight burning at the edge of his face and jumped
“Ah!”
“Sorry, sorry, but, that did work… Though, it means you might be here a while” they admit “I’ll need you to stay still, okay?”
“Oh.. okay”
It was... Not Okay.
A few minutes into Nell’s attempt at getting the mask off, they let out a huff.
“You can’t keep squirming”
“I- I’m sorry” He muttered “It's just, you know, hard to stay still”
“I understand that, but I don’t want to mess this up. I’d like to see your actual eyes” They muttered.
“I know, it just.. Weird feeling” He tried to explain.
“Moon” They pressed, but sighed “... You seem still enough when I’m talking to you, need a distraction?”
“I mean, I guess…?”
Nell sighed “Hm… How about I tell you how I came to live in Subcon? That’s a long-ass story”
“Oh uh, if you’re okay with sharing!” MJ tried to be polite. He knew that even Clover wasn’t completely sure why Nell came to live in the town, she just knew that “something happened” back at the coast where they were from.
“Nah. It’s been 5 years. That’s more than long enough” The nurse stayed focused on the magic threads, their magic seeming to thrum in his ears- sounding almost like the hum of a fan in the dead heat of summer..
There was a pause, before they took in a breath.
“When I was 19, I took a job in Nyakoto, and left my hometown as fast as the train could take me. I had a scholarship to a little nursing school there, and before my 21st birthday, I’d gotten a nice, decent paying job as an ER nurse for a hospital in the East Side” They started “The hospitals were all interconnected, so I ended up meeting different doctors and nurses while I worked, and sometimes was called to assist in other hospitals.
“I was.. 25, when I met him” They recalled, something in their voice seeming heavy. “We’ll call him Chris
“He was in residency at a hospital down in the Wesservale neighborhood. We met at a medical appreciation gala… He had something about him I couldn't place. . . A charisma, almost. A kindness. He seemed so eager for the future, so excited for what the next day might bring him. I’d never been like that. His optimism drew me in.
“We started dating the year after. Like with most relationships, everything seemed great. He was funny, kind, thoughtful, all of that stuff. He even went with me to pride stuff, which was pretty cool at the time.”
“Pride?” MJ chimed in. Nell couldn’t hide a chuckle.
“Yes. You’ve heard of the Nyakoto Annual Pride Bonanza, haven’t you? One of the biggest in the country”
“I have, yes”
“Good. Back to the story” Nell redirected “When I was 27, about a year and a half into the relationship, I realized, quite unhappily, that we weren’t actually very different, and didn’t really get along as well as we thought.. It's not that we argued, but.. We didn’t really… talk. I never spoke to him about my problems, I didn’t feel like I could, and that really made me realize that we weren’t actually all that comfortable around each other. So, when he came over to my place that night for dinner, I spoke to him, and tried to tell him that we weren’t compatible, and that I thought perhaps we’d be better off as friends.
“He convinced me that we just needed work, going on and on about all these plans he had for us. Trips, dates, things to look forward to, always looking toward the future, Chris did”
Nell paused again
“.. I really should have noticed how little he cared about happiness in the present.” They commented “Not a traditional red flag, but it was a warning nonetheless”
“Well, I mean, that’s not so bad”
“In a way, no” Nell replied “But when you think about the future so much, you forget the present, you forget to live, and your past just.. Ends up a horrible haze. Even the happy stuff is hard to recall”
MJ hadn’t thought of it like that
“But hindsight is 2020, and in the moment, I believed him. I wanted to believe those bright dreams of the future, and I let go of the fact that I did not even like to talk to him very much.
“... I tried to break up with him 4 more times in the 8 years we were together.”
Okay, MJ hadn’t been expecting that much time passing.
“By the time I was 34, we were living together, but barely seeing each other. From the outside it must have seemed perfect to everyone else. I think only Daph knew about my.. Issues, with Chris. I still never talked to him about anything that wasn’t the future, or how the day was, or.. Just, absolute nonsense.
“One night, after one more attempt to break up, I’d gone to bed defeated, and woke up at 3 in the morning while he was on the night shift in Wesservale.. I came to this… realization
“If I didn’t leave right then and there, I’d marry him…. and I’d …. I’d be stuck. He’d have me, and I’d be stuck for the rest of my life..
“So I grabbed everything I had in the apartment, sent a resignation email to the East side hospital I still worked at, left him a note telling him I was leaving, took my car and just… started driving”
“.. Did he call you?”
“I blocked his number.” They answered curtly. “Drove for days until I came across Subcon.”
MJ didn’t comment.
“I stayed at the Alpine Motel for a few nights, and when I was at the diner, overheard that there was an open position for the school nurse at the elementary” They continued. “I applied for it, and 3 months later cashed in my savings to put a down payment on this little place” They made a motion with their hand briefly “The rest is history”
“Well… If it's any consolation, I think that's a good reason to get out of the city”
Nell couldn’t hold back a laugh. There was something a little… sad, in it, but the laugh was genuine.
“Yeah, then again, every reason is a good one to get out of the city” They commented, and MJ had only just realized that their hands were now on the other side of his face. Nell worked quickly, it seemed. “Hm.. okay. On the count of three, I'm going to try to take it off, alright?”
“Oh, uh, wow, okay!” He replied eagerly, closing his eyes.
“One…” They slowly started, both hands on either side, their nails right at the edge of the mask.
“Three!”
MJ startled as Nell pulled, and a cold, sharp feeling spread over his body before it abruptly ended. When he opened his eyes. He looked at Nell, who had, in their hands, that damned mask.
His hands went up to his face, and he let out a relieved laugh as he felt his skin, glasses and hair “hah! Hahah! I’m human again! No more magic!” He raised his hands and leaned back on the couch “Sweet relief”
Nell let out a chuckle, putting the mask down gently “Finish your tea, I’m gonna grab you a damp towel. You have… paint? On your face”
His brow was furrowed, but he reached for the still-warm mug anyway as Nell got up and went down a short hallway.
He took the few moments that Nell was done to think over the story he’d been told, the exhaustion in the nurse’s voice as she told it. Was he really the first one to learn? It gave him a weird feeling right in his chest.
When Nell returned, she offered a small, damp towel… that had the “Snatcher” smile on it
“... How many of these do you have?” He almost laughed again, and they just answered with an amused smile and grabbed their own coffee cup.
MJ cleaned his face, seeing a candy-red color coming off on the purple towel. “Hm..”
“What?”
“Well uh, the color looks like the magic strings I was able to summon”
Nell Blinked “... Well uh, bring that up with Tim when he’s back in town. That’s a little out of my wheelhouse”
“Noted”
The two fell into silence, sipping their warm drinks and giving them some time to unwind
“Will you need a ride home?” they asked him, putting their mug down.
He hadn’t actually thought of that.
“Oh, uh, it’s fine”
They raised an eyebrow at him
“You live 20 minutes away and Luka isn’t here to … fly you home, per se” They laid out “I’ve got a car, I’ll drive you home”
He turned a little red to the ears “Oh.. Thank you”
“No problem, Moon” They smiled back at him. “I’m going to change real quick, then we’ll leave”
And with that, they left back into the short hallway, to what Moon assumed was their bedroom.
Nell returned a few minutes later, dressed in a loose blouse and skirt that went down to their ankles, a far cry from the tank top and sweatpants that he’d seen them in before. He supposed that it was more so not wanting to go out in Pajamas than anything else. She picked up the mask, wrapping it in a handkerchief before holding it out to him
“It’s chosen you. You have to keep it”
He just nodded, and gingerly took the troublesome thing into his hands.
The two got in their truck (Nell owned a truck??) and drove into town.
MJ took in a breath as they turned onto a main street, passing The Horizon. “So uh, Nell..”
“Hm?”
“About your uh, the story you told me.. I won’t tell anyone”
“I don’t mind if you do” they answered, eyes on the road
“What, really?”
“Like I said before. Five years feels long enough”
MJ’s brow furrowed “I’m still not going to say anything.. That’s a personal story. It’s not mine to tell”
Nell glanced over at him with an unreadable expression, before moving to turn on the radio. Lo-fi started, and it seemed they were right in the middle of a Billie Eilish song.
“.. Thank you” They ended up responding as the song picked up
”I know supposedly I'm lonely now.
Know I’m supposed to be unhappy without someone.
But aren’t I someone?” 
MJ didn’t say much of anything else once until they got to his apartment building
“Thank you, Nell. For everything”
“Don’t mention it” They gave him a small, but sincere smile “Get some rest, hm? The bags under your eyes are aging you”
MJ just laughed “I will. Don’t be a stranger, Mx. Buonacci”
The nurse gave him a lazy salute with a soft smile, before the window rolled up, and they drove off
Exhaling, he looked down at the covered mask, wrapped in a…. Snatcher-patterned handkerchief.
He couldn’t help but laugh.
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raendown · 3 years
Text
I return from the dead with a fic that isn't even for the Naruto fandom and I don't really have an explanation for myself.
Pairing: SamBucky Word count: 2317 Fandom: MCU Summary: Visiting Steve was always strange now that the guy was old and retired. Still, of all the things Sam expected out of today, witnessing a prime example of gay panic from the co-worker that's been mysteriously avoiding him was not one of them.
Follow the link or read it under the cut!
KO-FI and commission info under the header!
Honestly, the fact that Steve's house smelled like prunes was probably one of the funniest things that Sam had ever heard in his life. More than anything he would have loved to go back in time, to the days of reading about glorified heroes in history textbooks, and tell his fifteen year old self that Captain America, Steve Rogers, retired in a house that smelled like prunes. God, his best friend just had to throw himself in to being old the way he threw himself in to everything else.
"Is there a special reason for you visiting?" Steve's voice was more tremulous these days, less steady but no less warm. Just hearing him again after the shameful amount of weeks it had been since his last visit made Sam grin.
"Nah, just thought I'd pop in and see if you'd expired yet. Your birthday's coming up. Gonna be, what, three hundred? A thousand?"
Steve narrowed his eyes but there was fondness in them so it wasn't very scary even if he could probably still tackle Sam across the room if he wanted to. At this point it would hurt him too but he could do it. "You, young man, are-"
He looked chagrined at himself when Sam cut him off with a laugh.
"You shitting me? Did you really just call me young man? See if I ever let you live that down."
His friend grumbled but accepted the teasing as his due. That was just what he got for going back in time and doubling down on being so much older than his own best friends.
Since it had indeed been a little too long after they last saw each other there was quite a bit of catching up for them to do. Over cool glasses of sweet tea and a plate of cookies the two of them spent a pleasant couple of hours shooting the shit until Sam could almost forget the years that stretched between them now. It was jarring, sometimes, looking away from those clear blue eyes to realize all over again just how many wrinkles they were set in. Sometimes he hated it. Other times he could only smile to know that at least one of their ragtag bunch had found the peace they were looking for.
Eventually all that sweet tea went right to his bladder and Sam excused himself to use the bathroom. When he returned he took in the sight of his friend all snug under one of the blankets his late wife had knit and sighed, feeling maudlin suddenly for no good reason.
"I should probably get out of your hair," he said. "Let you get in your afternoon nap or whatever. No, stay there man, I'll clean up." His smile was easy as he snagged the dishes from their grazing and hauled it all over to the kitchen.
"You sure?" Steve's voice floated after him. "Nothing else you want to get off your chest?"
"Huh?"
Sam frowned at the cups he'd just placed in the sink, running back through his mind. They'd talked about pretty much everything he could think of.
"You didn't mention Buck once, you know. I thought the two of you were friends now."
"Ah. Yeah. So did I." The corners of his mouth twisted with a little bitterness, a little confusion. After everything they'd been through and the number of times Bucky had accepted his invitations down to Delacroix he'd thought they were well past the point of calling themselves friends. Maybe he himself felt something a little more than that but he knew better than to push.
That was probably why Bucky's sudden radio silence hurt so much though.
"Trouble in paradise?" Steve called from the other room and Sam snorted.
“Shit, I don’t know. One minute we’re fine and the next he just up and disappears on me again. I may or may not have checked a bunch of obituaries for your name just in case because I have no idea what I might have done to piss him off.” Sam pursed his lips. He’s already gone over all this with Sarah a half dozen times and in all the recounts he’d done of their last couple missions he still couldn’t find any particularly bad moment between him and his best friend. Unfortunately the sweet tea he was glaring at didn’t have any answers either so he snatched the pitcher up and moved to put it in the fridge.
“Have you tried, oh I don’t know, asking him what’s wrong?”
“You think I didn’t try that?”
Steve’s hum drifted down the hallway with a distinct note of sass. “Neither one of you is very famous for your communication.”
“Excuse you, I was a counselor. A certified veteran’s counselor. Communicating with people was literally my job until your overly buff ass came running around all ‘on your left’ and ‘everyone I know is trying to kill me’.” Sam huffed as he snapped the fridge closed. “I damn well tried to talk to him but he’s not answering my texts or my calls. Short of breaking in to his apartment I don’t really know what else you want me to do.”
Without any other excuses to keep him in the kitchen Sam heaved a sigh, knowing he couldn’t dawdle any longer. He could only get to the door by going though the living room so his choices were either run away out the back, which he would never ever hear the end of, or go back in to the living room and face Steve with his stupidly wise and knowing eyes. Seriously, let a guy live to almost two hundred and suddenly he thought he knew everything. Annoying was what it was.
He was only halfway down the hall when he heard the front door open. Sam very carefully swallowed down the jibe he’d just been about to deliver and hoped that meant what he thought it meant. Maybe Steve had finally gone vague after all and bailed in the middle of their conversation; he’d rather chase a crazy old coot down the street than talk about his feelings regarding one James Buchanan Barnes. Actually if he looked at it from the right angle then chasing an old coot down the street was pretty much his job description whenever he and his partner teamed up on missions. Sam was just glad they hadn’t been called in to one since this whole silent treatment had started because he wasn’t sure he wanted to know whether or not Bucky would still have his back even when the guy was mad at him over reasons unknown.
Two more steps and Sam froze in his tracks, eyes wide with disbelief. Bucky’s shoulders were hunched in to himself with something bridling on panic as he fit himself through the front door and kicked it shut behind himself, eyes wild and fixed on the ground between his feet, nervous energy pouring out of him in a way Sam hadn’t seen before. From his spot on the couch Steve watched his childhood friend let himself in with serene indifference.
“Didn’t know you’d be over today,” was all he said. Then he smiled benignly when Bucky let out a soft whine.
“Help,” Bucky pleaded. “I’m dying.”
Then Bucky slid down to his knees and face planted in the carpet, arms and legs splaying out wide. Steve hummed.
“You know,” he murmured, “no one ever believes me when I tell them you’re this dramatic.”
“Steve! I’m having a crisis!”
“I tell everyone you’re a drama queen and they just shake their heads at me.”
“This is important! You have to kill me, Steve. Or I’m gonna just- just-!” Bucky’s voice petered out with another extended whine muffled by the carpet that probably didn’t smell any better from that close up.
Crossing one leg over the other, Steve folded his hands in his lap with a great lack of concern for the ridiculous scene playing out before him. Sam remained frozen in the hallway, wondering if Bucky even realized he was there, but he got an answer to that almost faster than if he’d bothered to ask himself.
“What’s wrong, pal?”
“It’s Sam!” Bucky cried. His arms lifted up like wings to flail briefly before falling back to the floor in a boneless sprawl. “Please just crush my head or something. I can’t take this.”
“Ah, yes, I hear you’ve been avoiding him.”
Whatever kind of noise Bucky was trying to make, it came out sounding more like he was choking on carpet fumes. “Of course I’m avoiding him!”
“Now why on earth would you do that?”
“I want to stick my tongue in the gap between his teeth!” Bucky said, entirely unaware of the sparks that were suddenly running up Sam’s spine in the hallway. “Help me, Steve! I want to press my thumb in the little dimple on his back. He has a dimple on his back! Why!? Steve I want to hold his hand! What the fuck!”
Steve had both eyebrows up near his hairline and the most shit eating grin any human on the planet had ever worn when he turned his head to look at Sam. Frozen with his eyes on the figure currently panicking in to the floor, Sam paid him no attention. He was busy processing. After getting to know Bucky, inviting him to stay in Delacroix time and time again, the dramatics weren’t actually that much of a surprise. Obviously as they grew closer he’d gotten a number of glimpses in to who the real Bucky Barnes was under the grouchy veneer he presented to the world. Watching him starfish on the ground and whine wasn’t too far from what he’d already seen.
Hearing him say anything about his tongue in conjecture with Sam’s teeth, on the other hand, now that was a bit unexpected. More than a bit.
“I think Shuri called this ‘gay panic’ and honestly I’m in agreement,” Bucky went on mindlessly. “If I have to watch him go through one more workout and not grab his ass with both hands then I’m just going to rip both of them off. Who needs hands if I cannot grab Sam Wilson’s ass with them!?”
“You may be slightly exaggerating the situation, I feel,” Steve told him.
Bucky snorted. “I am not. I absolutely am not. Why is he so hot? And nice? I hate that. Except I don’t. Steve why is he so nice to me?”
“That might be a question you should ask him.”
“Oh yeah, sure, I’ve got lots of questions for him! Hey Sam, why are you nice to me? Hey Sam, can I lick your cheekbones? Hey Sam, how big is your cock?”
“Well. Not that I’ve ever thought to ask that myself but, alright. Go on, Sam, how big is it?”
Sam had just enough time to cross his arms over his chest and assume a very casual pose leaning against the wall beside him before Bucky’s head shot up off the carpet. If possible, his eyes were even more wild than before when he fixed them on Steve, full of the deepest betrayal. Then he very slowly dragged them sideways to see the man he’d just been panicking over. Sam gave him a very friendly smile.
“Depends on your frame of reference,” he admitted. “I’d say sizeable.”
“Nnnggggg.”
“Hi Buck.”
“Ggnnn.”
While Steve very poorly disguised a laugh behind one hand, Sam pushed off from the wall and sauntered further in to the living room. Bucky slammed his face back in to the carpet.
“Leave me here to die,” he pleaded in a very small voice. Sam tutted, reaching for the front door, only looking over his shoulder once he was halfway through it.
“Come on, Buck, can’t lick my cheekbones if you don’t get off the floor. It was a nice visit, Steve, but don’t be looking out your front curtains for a bit. I think I’ll let Bucky decide for himself what sizeable means.” He thanked god for the mercy of Steve’s house being situated out here so far from any other homes, surrounded on all sides by enough trees that you couldn’t see it from the road. A gorgeous little island of privacy. Sam was fairly sure he wasn’t the only one grateful for this, judging by the mad scrambling noises he could hear going on behind him.
Bucky’s voice garbled out something that sounded like ‘fuck you, thank you, bye forever’ and then Sam was listening to the slam of the front door barely a second before strong hands were wrapping themselves around his hips. He laughed even as Bucky’s face came in to view.
“Greatest assassin of several generations and you didn't notice my truck in the driveway?” he said.
“I may have been a bit distracted.” That was definitely a pout on Bucky’s lips.
“By being so hot for all of this”-Sam gestured vaguely down his own body-“that you literally ceased being able to function.”
He didn’t expect such easy agreement as the sheepish nod that followed his words. “Pretty much.”
Sam blinked slowly once, twice. For one long moment he considered teasing the man. Then he decided that their time was much better spent doing things they’d both obviously been wanting to do while assuming they would never get the chance.
“I was promised a tongue in my teeth. Are you gonna get to that any time soon or am I gonna sit here and pine some more for something I apparently could have had all along?”
Bucky keened piteously. Then he surged forward to follow through on his own promises and Sam really hoped that Steve had taken his words to heart about the curtains. The man was way too old to be seeing all the ways they were about to defile the side of this truck.
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darker-soft-starker · 4 years
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Starker High School AU, Pt. 2 (Pt. 1, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5)
-----
Peter will admit that during he took an extended moment during his journey home to grieve the loss of his free afternoon, and indeed the impending headaches.
And the rest of his future, if he was honest.
Not that Peter was prone to melancholy by any means, but with this assignment his fate was officially sealed, there was no misunderstanding. He was going to fail this assignment. He was going to, for the first time in his academic career, be forced to submit garbage of a caliber worthy of Tony Stark. It will forever be a black mark on his academic record.
No respectable college is going to accept him after this. In fact, he might as well drop out of school now and hit up Mr Delmar for a job. All of his prep for his MIT application is as good as useless after this. Extracurriculars? Goodbye.
Because it’s confirmed.
He’s doomed.
Swaying with the motions of the train, Peter types a text to Ned, the only person who might provide him with some much needed sympathy.
>  I’m doomed >  paired w/stark for an assignment lollllllllll.  >  help
Maybe Peter could trade with Ned. Maybe he could plead with their teacher, for honest fear of his life and scholastic integrity. He wasn’t even exaggerating. In no known iteration of this universe could Peter amicably work with Tony Stark. It would be like Harry Potter sitting down for tea with Voldemort, or Frodo and Sauron chilling with a pint and a pipe in Bag End. 
It was unthinkable. Implausible. Laughable.
And Peter would laugh, were it anyone but him in this situation.
The feeling is unusual. Never had he found reason in his life to truly dislike anybody before, everyone could be redeemed or given the opportunity for penance. Natasha has said more than once that Peter would offer the devil himself a sandwich if he appeared. 
Tony Stark on the other hand? No sandwich for him.
Well, maybe a slice of bread. A stale one.
While he waits for Ned to responds he catches sight of his injured reflection in the train window, which is admittedly pretty gnarly. Even with his hood drawn up, there was a noticeable berth allocated to him in the busy carriage between himself and the other passengers.
< sux. can I have ur lego hogwarts if u die?
> dude :( pity me.
< lol. so, can i?
Peter sighs.
> sure. Look after May for me, bro. delete my internet history.
< deal. godspeed
Pocketing his phone, Peter wonders if it’s too late to take up praying.
---
By the time he’s back in his apartment his mood has managed to swing back up.
Tony Stark is not going to be the arbiter of Peter’s fate. Hell no. He’s smart, he’s creative and hardworking - it isn’t up to anybody but Peter to determine his outcomes. If he has to do the assignment with Stark then he will. And he will work his hardest. 
If he has to do it sharing the credit with Stark, well, Peter knows a concession when he sees one.
No matter how reluctant he is.
But he powers through it, like ripping off a bandaid. It’s fine! He’s a Parker and he’s come this far in life already against ill, Parker-like odds. What was being paired for one assignment with someone who escaped the nearest hellmouth? 
It’ll be fine. 
Probably.
Not letting himself linger on his fears, Peter clears out his previous plans of going on a YouTube spiral and eating sour gummies until his teeth stick, instead utilising the time to get his foot in and and begins prepping for the assignment. Cursory, preliminary research at first, before the inevitable deep dive begins.
Neanderthal, Peter scoffs, mad all over again. Who is Stark to call Peter a neanderthal? He’s second in his class. He’s a straight A student. He likes school.
And as much as he is moderately skilled in, and enjoys JV, it’s not like he received his scholarship to study at Midtown based on his physical prowess.
The graze on his cheek that stings every time he yawns is proof of that.
Stark can eat his entire ass and choke on it, he thinks darkly, as he continues his research. He doesn’t know the first thing about Peter.
The data is sobering as he delves into job listings and statistics of his projected salary in a three year margin. This is really what his teachers earn? Wow. Depressing.
The contrast of expected salary versus the forecast of steep student loans is disheartening further still.
Teaching quietly slips from second to third on his list of ideal occupations.
Turning on a playlist on his phone, Peter continues to compile notes, amassing a truly gargantuan amount of tabs on his browser. His computer, old enough to be on its’ last teeth, whirrs loudly in protest.
It’s not until his room goes dark that he thinks to check the time.
Ah, shit. It’s nearly six.
Peter pauses. Should he tidy up the apartment?
...Nah, no point in breaking a sweat for Stark.
He continues typing. Then he hesitates, fingers suspended in mid-air. 
But what if Stark sees his unfolded laundry out on the dining table and publicly shames him for his old-but-comfortable Bulbasaur themed boxer shorts?
Goddamnit.
---
A quick, cursory clean ensues and leaves a relatively orderly Parker apartment. No freshly laundered underwear is in sight.
Peter wraps up just a few minutes before six. Right on time.
Taking a seat at the now clear dining table Peter drums his fingers on the surface and waits.
And waits.
And waits.
---
He knows when Tony finally arrives when he hears the sound of a car pulling up outside his apartment block. The riffs of a Roxette remix can be heard playing loudly  from the ground to the seventh floor of his apartment, the bass so thunderous it reverberates the windows all the way up to his floor.
Drumming his fingers on the kitchen table, Peter checks the wall clock again. It’s nearly seven.
Tony’s late.
Not that Peter is particularly affected with surprise that Tony is incapable of following basic instructions, but still. Really? Really?
By the time there is a knock on his door, Peter is already before it, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. Every second between Tony pulling up and his ascent to Peter’s floor has him positively fuming. He can’t believe how this day played out. It started with such promise. He had such innocuous, but high hopes.
Clearly, he miscalculated.
Feeling a touch petty, he waits to answer, listening to Stark knock a second and then a third, more insistent time before he rouses enough calm to open the door.
He instantly regrets it when he does. 
Tony’s expression is curious one as he breezes right passed Peter without waiting for further invitation. There’s a smudge of something dark on his brow, his otherwise white undershirt smeared in dark stains.
Peter watches incredulously as the other boy drops his backpack by the door with a thump.
“You’re late.”
He closes the door behind Tony and scowls at the other boys easy posture, hands shoved into his pockets, eyes taking in the apartment.
“I didn’t realise you lived all the way out in fucking Queens. Do you have any idea how bad traffic is at this time of day? Also, your elevator doesn’t work. I just climbed seven flights of stairs, where’s the hospitality?”
“Try earning it.”
The other boy rolls his eyes. “Like it’s worth my time.” He breezes past Peter and slides his leather jacket off his arms, tossing it atop of his backpack in the corner. “Look, I’m here now. Okay? You can unclench now. So, do I get a tour or what?”
“Or what. This wouldn’t have been an issue if we had just started straight after class like I said.”
“Oh I’m sorry,” Tony clutches his hands to his heart before gesturing to the room. “I didn’t realise I was interrupting your busy Friday night, Parker. You got a keg and the rest of the meatheads stashed away somewhere?”
Without waiting for a response, Tony wanders around the living room like a curious child in a new play room. His gaze inspects everything all at once, from peering at up close at the wall mounted photos and hovering his grubby hands over the oddments and knick-knacks speckled throughout the space.
Apprehensive, Peter can’t help but shadow him, afraid he just let loose a hurricane in a china shop.
Without asking, Tony picks up May’s old Magic 8-Ball and gives it a good shake. Peter’s fingers itch to reach over and stop him, but stops himself because then that would require actually making direct skin contact the other boy.
Not worth it.
“Cannot predict now. Huh,” Tony says to himself before placing the ball back in the wrong spot. 
They both watch silently as it rolls precariously close to the edge. 
“Anyways,” Tony helps himself to an armchair, lounging back and spreading his legs wide. “I know your long-term memory is probably as defective as the rest of you, so don’t strain yourself recalling that I had other priorities.”
“Like what?”
“Like literally anything that isn’t being around you,” the other boy grins. “Now, are we doing this thing, or did you invite me over so you could bitch at me?”
“I didn’t invite you,” Peter grumbles, swiping his notebook from the dining table before sitting on the sofa, as far away from Stark as possible. Shifting, he takes his phone from his pocket and opens the notes he’d taken earlier.
“So, I cross referenced some websites and current job listings,” Peter scrolls through his research, adjusting his glasses as they slip down his nose. “Assuming you have no savings, we’re looking at an average of sixty-thousand per annum based on my salary alone. The average rent in --”
“-- Uh, why are we assuming I have no savings?”
"Because... we’re being realistic?”
Tony springs to his feet and paces across the living room.
“Well,” he says, gesturing to Peter, “if we’re being realistic, does having no savings also that mean I have no debt -- or are you paying off two student loans on your salary?”
“I don’t --”
“Do we have car loans? Health insurance?”
“Wait, slow your roll, Stark. I haven’t yet --”
“-- Of course you haven’t. I mean really, Parker, do you ever think ahead? You should try it, we do have a baby on the way, you know.” Tony clicks his fingers and points at Peter. “Oh, names! I want to call it Molly.”
“As in the drug?” 
“No, as in Ringwald. Anyhoo, seeing as only one of us has the intellectual capacity to construct a budget,” Tony gestures to himself, “that would be me, consider maybe that I spent my savings paying off my student loans and bought a car for me and Miss Molly, leaving you with just your own stagnant debt. Happy?”
“Thrilled,” he says through clenched teeth, feeling utterly steamrolled. “But we’re not calling the baby Molly.”
“Yes, we are. Think of all the great nicknames. Hey wait,” Tony pauses in his pacing, “are your parents going to be home soon?”
It was in that moment Peters world narrows down to one, botched cosmic joke.
Turning his gaze heavenwards, Peter prays silently for mercy. What did he do to deserve this. This is all his bad karma come at once. This is the bad place.
“Ah, no,” he replies, eyes widening. “No, my parents are not going to be home soon.”
“Cool. Lucky you.”
Oblivious to Peter’s existential turmoil, Tony resumes his patrol through the living room, picking up a frame on the mantle. It houses an old photo of Ben, May and a young, bespectacled Peter. 
It is one of the more embarrassing immortalisations of his younger self, eleven-years old and grinning widely, bearing his silver braces to the camera as he holds up a science fair trophy, curls wild and untamed.
Oh god. That was exactly what Peter needed on this unholy day - Tony Stark in his living room, witnessing Peter in his prepubescent glory. 
Quick, create a diversion.
“So, as I was saying,” he says loudly, “rent is reasonably affordable with a sixty-thousand budget in --”
“Who’s the babe?” Tony points to a younger Aunt May in the photo.
Peter gets to his feet and removes the frame from Tony’s grasp. He glowers as he places it back on the mantle. 
“No one you would have a chance with. Can you stay focused? Like, are you physically capable of it?”
“Okay, calm down,” Tony holds his hands up in surrender. “You’ve got a lot of anger for someone so vertically challenged, you know that, shortstack?” 
“Focus, dumbass.”
“I’m focused! Let’s see, we’ve established that I am excellent at managing my money. You have a shitty job and a shitty salary, and apparently my imaginary future self has terrible taste in men. So. Have I got that right? Where are we living?”
“Queens. LIC has some one bed, one baths that could be affordable.”
“Uh, rewind. Going to have to eighty-six that - I am not living in Queens.”
Peter stares at him.
Tony rubs his hands over his face and sighs. “Fine, whatever. But I want a Pontiac Firebird in this imaginary life if I have to deal with you.”
“For someone so keen on getting away you’re doing your best to prolong this experience. It’s literally painful.”
“Well, I just like to see you get all riled up, Princess,” Tony grins, leaning back against the mantle and folding his arms over his chest. “You have this vein that bulges on your forehead when you’re mad. Makes you look like a pitbull.”
Peter swallows the particularly acidic retort sitting on his tongue and tries not to let Tony’s words sting. Be the bigger man, Ben used to say. As difficult as it is to channel even a modicum of the mans’ eternal patience, Peter takes a deep breath and reminds himself to stay focused. The less he gets sidetracked by Tony’s fuckery, the sooner it’s over.
He mentions the next part with unease. 
“...Miss Ahn said that we need references and should do field research. Speak to realtors. Ask people who have a similar lifestyle and budget.”
The look that comes over the other boys face is one of unequivocal revulsion. Peter can relate. The thought of having to spend more time with this guy makes his stomach turn.
“Well, Parker, any bright ideas who we can ask?”
The hinges of the front door squeaks before Peter can respond.
Moments after, Aunt May walks into the living room, placing her bag down on the dining table. She looks between the two boys curiously.
“Hey, Pete,” she comes to his side to squeezes his shoulder. “Who do we have here?”
Tony rushes over with his hand outstretched, an eager grin on his face. 
“Tony Stark, ma’am. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Oh, ah, okay, well,” May laughs as he enthusiastically shakes her hand. Her eyes are soft as Tony smiles brightly at her. “Nice to meet you too, Tony. I’m May, Peter’s aunt. Are you... friends with Peter?”
Peter snorts. 
“Definitely not. We just have an assignment --”
“-- Great friends, actually,” Tony talks over him, taking a seat beside Peter on the sofa. To Peter’s utter disgust, the other boy puts an arm around his shoulders, squeezing his bicep encouragingly. “Aren’t we, Pete? Hmm? Best buds. We go way back.”
Peter freezes, feeling the line of heat from Tony’s against his side, the weight of his arm on his body. 
Eyes widening, he feels his skin crawl. 
“That’s sweet,” May smiles, putting her hair up in a loose, messy bun. “Well, I don’t know about you boys, but I’m starving. I’m ordering pizza, Friday special. You should stay for dinner, Tony.”
Tony places his free hand on his chest.
“I would be honoured.”
May looks at Tony strangely before retreating to the kitchen to retrieve the menus.
As soon as she’s out of sight Tony takes his arm off Peter and quickly shifts away from him like he’s been burned. 
“Dude,” Peter whispers, bewildered. “What the fuck?”
“Oh my god,” Tony whispers, shuddering as his face scrunches up in disgust. “I’m going to have to pour scalding hot water on all the places your skin just touched me. Ugh, I feel like I just touched toe fungus.”
Peter slaps his arm.
“What is wrong with you?”
Tony backhands Peter’s arm in retaliation and then shudders all over again.
“Your aunt is crazy hot, okay, I couldn’t help myself. It was an instinctual reaction. Is she taken? C’mon. Vindicate me.” 
“I’ll eviscerate you --”
“-- I mean, clearly she married into the family, she doesn’t share your unfortunate phenotype, but I didn’t see a ring on her finger. So? Yes or no?”
“You’re unbelievable,” Peter hisses as his aunt comes back in. “She’s not available to you. Not now, not ever.”
“But she is available?”
“Don’t even, Stark. You’re like, sixteen. Don’t you have any shame?”
Tony smiles, as she nears. “Not a shred.”
“So,” May waves a menu at them. “You boys happy with pepperoni?”
Closing his eyes, Peter wishes for death.
As fate would have it, he gets pepperoni instead.
-----
If you had ever told Peter that he would be sitting down for dinner with his Aunt and a dirt-streaked Tony Stark, he would have laughed.
And if Peter were outside himself he would probably find the sharing of pizza and soda over their plastic, chequered table-cloth comical -- in that uncanny, Dogs Playing Poker kind of way. But in reality there was nothing funny about the discomfort of having Tony in his personal space or the heavy, suffocating tension that has removed the air from the room. 
The entire time Tony has been hamming it up, cracking jokes with his aunt, complimenting her on the decor, asking what she does for work. Peter doesn’t know if he’s being sweet to May for the purpose of buttering her up, or, given the wealth of his family in contrast to the Parkers, if he’s being cruelly facetious. 
Nonetheless, Peter has felt on edge. It’s disconcerting, is what it is. Every single movement Tony makes, every time he opens his mouth -- frequently to sweet-talk his aunt -- has Peter’s anxiety standing at attention, hyperaware of everything the other boy does.
He’s beginning to feel like a meerkat whose den has been invaded by a lion.
Through the course of a single meal Peter’s attention moves from the sky to the floor. There is no grace or higher power that is coming to save him from this profound, unusual torture. 
So he focuses his hopes to the south, seeing through their tiny, cramped, dinner table, past bargaining. He’s willing to trade his soul to end it all. Surely some wayward being from hell would come to his rescue. 
May has Peter’s chin between her fingers. She turns it this way and that, inspecting his injuries.
“What happened this time, bubby?” She frowns, brow furrowing. “You look like you got beat up.”
Peter, very aware of Tony’s amused gaze on them, gently pulls away from her grasp. He smiles placatingly and picks at his pizza slice. God he’s never going to live this down.
“Training accident. It’s okay, I feel fine. ‘Tis but a scratch,” he brings himself to joke.
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
She leans in to kiss his cheek, carefully avoiding the fresh scabs and injured flesh. “God, you bruise like a peach. Be careful, baby, you’re our money maker,” she laughs. “What about you Tony, do you play football?”
Tony, who is mid way through chewing on a mouthful of pizza, momentarily chokes, beating his chest with his fist to swallow down the obstruction.
“Uh, no,” Tony gulps, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Nope. No recreational sports for me. Can’t.” He gestures to his chest and sighs heavily. “Asthma.”
Peter sips his coke and rolls his eyes, knowing full well there’s a half-empty pack of Marlboro Light’s in the pocket of Tony’s jeans. Asthma. What a schmuck.
“That’s a shame. Do you boys have classes together?”
Unfortunately, Peter thinks.
The other boy seems to have the same thought, as he glares at Peter from over the table. When he picks up his can of coke, he gives Peter the finger outside of May’s eye-line.
“That’s why Tony’s here,” Peter twists his napkin in his grip. “We have an econ assignment together on microeconomics. Teach says Tony’s destined to be on welfare.”
Tony leans in, chin rested on his hand. He addresses May but his stare, dark and odious, rests on Peter.
“Not accurate. Stay-at-home parent, actually. One might say that is the most important job of all. Wouldn’t you agree, May?”
She raises her Coke.
“Hear, hear.”
Tony grins roguishly, the same grin he gave the girls at the lockers earlier. “Petey here was just saying that we should ask you about your experience running a household on a single salary. We’d love to have you as a reference.”
“Was I saying that?” Peter narrows his eyes. “I can’t remember.”
Tony kicks him under the table. The hit lands right in his knee cap.
Wincing, Peter kicks back, satisfied when the other boy bites his lip to hold back a pained groan.
“Yeah, well, not surprising,” Tony says airily, waving his hand. “Hit your head today, didn’t you? Maybe you should get all that damage looked into.”
The napkin rips in Peter’s grasp.
“Maybe you should go f--”
“I’d be more than happy to help with your assignment, boys,” May cuts in.
Whatever snide reply he has in his mouth instantly wilts when he looks over to his Aunt. She looks...pleased. Delighted, almost. Her eyes under the dull, yellow kitchen light seem to get warmer, and her smile is small but softens around the edges.
Instantly, Peter feels like the worst person in the world. Of course May would be the best person to ask. She does so much for him, the least he can do is set his pride aside for one moment to make her feel good about how hard she works for their life.
He reaches over to squeeze her hand, smiling as gratitude swells unexpectedly in his chest.
“Thanks, May. That would be great.”
Across the table, a smug Tony looks like the cat who got the cream. 
Without warning, Peter’s chest goes hot with contempt, his fingernails dig into his palm. He’s not sure he’s ever met anyone he couldn’t like, until now.
I hate you, Peter mouths while May busies herself with rounding up the pizza boxes.
Kiss my ass, Tony mouths back. 
In an instant his expression flips from contemptuous to angelic when he stands and offers to help May clean up.
Peter stands too, sparing a disdainful glance to the floor. Turns out not even the devil was willing to give him a hand.
Natasha was right. It’s going to end in murder.
---
Peter walks Tony to the door after dinner to say goodbye to his ‘friend’. Following him into the hall, Peter closes the door behind them.
“What do you want, Parker?” Tony asks wearily, retrieving a cigarette from his pocket. “I’m trying to make a getaway here.”
Peter crosses his arms over his chest. “Don’t do that with my aunt. I’m not joking, asshole. It’s not cool.”
“Relax, princess,” Tony rolls his eyes, fishing for his lighter in his backpack. “I’m not actually interested. Just trying to get under your skin. Worked, see? You’re easy like that. Hey, why do you live with your aunt anyways?”
“None of your business,” he frowns as Tony holds one hand up in surrender and lights his cigarette with the other. “Dude, you can’t smoke in here.”
“Can’t, shouldn’t, gonna. By the way, you’ve got sauce on your chin, it’s very distracting.”
Peter wipes at it without thinking. When he pulls it away there is indeed a smear of red sauce on his hand.
Tony walks backwards down the hall and exhales a cloud of smoke, waving in a sardonic imitation of a farewell.
“See you Monday, bubby.”
Peter doesn’t bother with a response, too tired from the week, exhausted by this whole darn day, and it’s not like the other boy cares what he has to say anyway. He takes a moment to swallow his anger before he heads back inside, sighing. 
Well, at least he has an entire weekend free of Stark to look forward to.
May looks at him curiously when he reemerges, but says nothing. He considers for a moment about heading to his bedroom and playing a video game to disassociate - but then, suddenly, remembers her smile earlier, and how alone she looks now. A surge of affection hits him right beneath his breastbone.
He checks his watch and then catches her eye.  Tilting his head towards the living room, he says, “Hey. You wanna eat some ice cream and watch some Colbert before bed?”
She smiles just like she did earlier and kisses his cheek. “Sounds nice, Pete.”
Maybe the whole day wasn’t lost.
As May heads to the sofa and switches the TV on, Peter catches sight of the Magic 8-Ball from the corner of his eye. He walks over and gives it a shake.
Outlook good.
*
*
----
tagging: @bylerboyfriends @ravens-starker-stuff, @starker-rays, @ironspiderstarker, @notfor-temporaryuse, @tabbycat1220, @sugarfreecult, @rebel13lion39, @muse-of-gods
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purplesurveys · 3 years
Text
1041
survey by chasingghosts
What is the age gap between you and your parents? 27 for both. Technically, 26 years with my mom since she had yet to celebrate her birthday when she had me, but she was going to turn 27 all the same. Guh. I can’t believe I’m just five years away from that and I’m still nowhere near building my own family.
How many bathrooms does your house have? Is this enough? Two. I’d say it’s enough. Two people in the family rarely have to go to the bathroom at the same time so it works out for us.
Have you sent a letter to anyone in the past year? Yeah. I used to give Gabie a handwritten letter every Christmas along with her gifts. I still plan on writing her one, but obviously the content will be vastly different now.
Have you ever video chatted with someone you met online? I did this with Carley a handful of times; we’d video chat when I came home from school which was around the time she would get ready for school. She was such an extrovert who was so lovely and bubbly around me, and I’ve always felt bad that she had to contend with my shy ass with my mic always muted lol.
Are you hungry or thirsty right now? I’m neither but I can go for a light meal right now, which is great because I got myself a chicken barbecue sandwich and a caramel macchiato from Starbucks as a treat for myself tonight :) I went through five video call meetings just for today alone, went through several breakdowns while at work, and am also on my period, so I thought I deserved a break.
When was the last time you ate something, and what did you eat? Literally just had a bite from my sandwich.
Have you ever seen the film Boondock Saints? Nope. Sounds nothing like my type of film.
Do you own a pair of gumboots? Nah. I don’t like walking in floods anyway, so I don’t plan on getting a pair.
What colour is your favourite mug? Copper.
How far away from your town/city is your state's capital city? I already live in my province’s capital.
Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to clean the toilets? I haven’t.
Do you know anyone named Doug? No, not really a common name here.
What cut of jeans is your favourite and why? Do mom jeans count as a cut? I’ve been all over those throughout 2020. They’re stylish and yet so comfy, which are two words that seldom go together.
Do you rate people's attractiveness on a scale of 1-10? Uhhhhhhhh unless a friend asked me to rate someone they know, I don’t really think in these terms.
Name a few of your favourite actors. Kate freaking Winslet. Also Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Audrey Hepburn, Brie Larson, Florence Pugh, and Eddie Redmayne. I’d name Timothée Chalamet but I have yet to see a work of his.
Do you collect anything, or have you ever? The first item I ever collected was notebooks. In my past relationship (is it obvious I’m not over it yet and probably never will be? Ha) I initially liked to collect receipts from places we went to and ate at. I’d also like to be able to grow a collection of wrestling memorabilia, particularly action figures and belts. It’s not really a life goal of mine but it’d still be a cool thing to achieve.
So, how has your week been so far? I mean it’s only Monday, so nothing much. I cried and broke down a lot today which wasn’t a good start, but tomorrow’s a holiday so no work; and for Thursday I was invited to the Christmas party of the department I initially interned at and apparently they’ll be sending over a Christmas kit over to my place so I’m looking forward to these! It’s super touching they remembered and still invited me even though I’m not a part of the team anymore, so I wouldn’t have missed the party for the world.
Is there anything that you could cry about right now? Definitely, and being on my period at the moment makes it so much easier to cry. But I already cried too much and too hard earlier today and it felt exhausting, so I’m trying to avoid it tonight.
How old were you when you learned how to tie your shoelaces? I was five. I probably would’ve made myself learn later but one of our ‘exams’ in kindergarten was to show that you know how to tie your shoelaces, so I had to ask my grandma to give me a crash course.
Have you ever slept in a car overnight? Why did you have to? Yeah. I had to pull several all-nighters in college and work at 24/7 coffee shops, but I usually gave up by around 2-3 AM and would sleep in the car by then.
When was the last time you used Facebook? Earlier this evening, but I couldn’t scroll too much because spoilers for Start Up are everyyyyyyfuckingwhere and I’m still several episodes away from the finale, which aired last night.
Do you have a PO Box or does your mail get sent straight to your house? Our mails and parcels get sent straight to our door.
Are you interested in entomology? Do you know what that is? Never been. I think it’s great that insects have a lot of capabilities and contributions that we often take for granted; but I personally find a great deal of them icky as well lol so I wouldn’t say I’m interested in this branch.
Have you ever had to claim insurance? What for? Hmm I don’t think so. Not my own nor my parents’. Do you like to listen to albums start-finish without skipping or shuffling? I’ll do this sometimes with my favorite albums, yes. Fuck knows how many times I listened to After Laughter from start to finish with no skips; it was my favorite for a while.
Do you have any unspoken enemies, or maybe frenemies? I’m not the biggest fan of Patrice, but it’s not something I broadcast to people because why would I? I’m sure she slightly does not like me too, so we’re even.
What was the last thing you broke? That would be my last phone charger cord. I’ve since had it replaced though.
Do you have a favourite state/province/territory in your country? Not necessarily an overall favorite but I do have a favorite place I’ve traveled to, which is Sagada. I need a second vacation to see if it still lives up to my expectations and if it would still be able to give me an experience as cathartic and therapeutic as my first trip there, but for the last five years it has sat on the throne.
How many vowels are in your street name? Is this question too mundane? Three. I mean I’ve never been asked this on a survey before, so I wouldn’t call it that.
What are your three top favourite flavours of ice cream? Cookies and cream, chocolate chip cookie dough, coffee.
How far away is the nearest Target? At least a couple thousand miles away.
Do you prefer Target, Kmart or Walmart? Idk and idc.
Have you ever farted in class or somewhere else you shouldn't have? No. I suppress my farts, even when I’m alone haha it’s just my least favorite bodily function.
What's your middle name? Would you change it? I’m not giving it away. I wouldn’t change it and I’m definitely not giving it up even if I get married. I’m keeping my middle name then just hyphenate my surname so that I get to keep all three names.
When was the last tie you wore heels? What was the occasion? September. Job interview for a position I didn’t really want but still chose to undergo because it was still an interview.
Do you find yourself lost for words often? I guess yeah, depression does tend to do that to me.
Did you share baths with your siblings/cousins when you were a child? Yep, I remember sharing the shower with my sister as late as when I was 10. Then puberty happened to me and I did not want to continue the practice anymore, haha.
Have you ever been a member of an online dating site? How did it go? I joined Tinder while I was in a relationship (she made an account as well at the time so it was fair game) literally just to people-watch. I wasn’t interested in cheating; I was just genuinely curious to see how the app worked. I put on a fake name, age, location and my profile photo was of a cat I saw in school so it was impossible to tell it was me.
Do you know what your neighbours even look like? I would not be able to recognize them if you lined them up with a bunch of other strangers, to tell you the truth. I’d probably be able to recognize the carpenters working on the house currently being constructed in front of ours though; they’re super nice and they’re crazy over Cooper haha.
How many siblings does your best friend have? Angela is an only child.
Do you put ketchup on your fries? No. Ketchup does not go anywhere near my fries.
Have you been lucky enough to make out with anyone in the past week? LOL lucky enough...but no, I haven’t done that in a while.
Have your parents ever worked in the agriculture business etc. on a farm? Neither have.
Do you have an ex that makes you angry with literally everything they do? No.
Are you easily susceptible to brain freeze? No but tooth sensitivity, yes. I have a certain tooth that acts up whenever I eat ice cream, and it can get soooo inconvenient and uncomfortable for a few seconds.
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Text
Keep it to Yourself - Frank Iero x Reader
Requested Summary: The last shows of warped tour are coming closer, and the band tries to convince Frank to act on his feelings for the reader Warnings: insecurities, angst, fluff Word count: 3 307 A/N: This was originally “just” a request, but I want to dedicate this to @mariawritesfanfic because it’s her birthday today! Everyone go over to her blog, check out her wonderful stories (she does Christmas/Winter themed stories for every day until Christmas!) and wish her a happy birthday!
“Oh man, I think I’m dying of thirst,” you mumbled, while you wiped your forehead with the back of your hand.
The sun burnt down mercilessly on you and the other few people who were working at the merchandise stand at Warped Tour. You lifted another box with MCR shirts on the table, and started piling the clothes out of the box, sorting the different shirt motives according to their sizes.
“Water?”
You turned around in surprise at the, by now, fairly familiar voice of a certain guitarist. Frank smiled at you as he held out a bottle of water.
“You are my savior,” you grinned, and took the bottle from the young man, who watched you contently as you satisfied your thirst with the icy cold beverage he had fetched you.
“Don’t you guys have any shade back here,” he wondered, furrowing his brows.
“Shade, good joke,” you laughed unamused, and handed him back the now half-empty bottle.
“Keep it,” he mumbled under his breath, and placed it on the table, making you smile.
“And to answer your question, no we don’t have any shade.”
“But you had some last week, didn’t you,” Frank asked confused, and hopped to sit on the table next to the box, which you continued pulling shirts out from.
“They said they lost the parasol,” Grace, your colleague and friend, explained over her shoulder.
“And they didn’t bother organizing a new one?”
Frank sounded disbelieving, a gesture that in itself already made you feel better.
“Apparently not, maybe we should be a tad bit more insistent on that point,” you shrugged.
“Do you want me to get you some sunscreen?”
You looked over at Frank who was still sitting on the table, watching you work.
“Nah, it’s fine,” you denied with a smile.
“In fifty years, when you got skin cancer, you’ll think differently about it,” Frank told you seriously, and got off the table, “I’m gonna get you some!”
“Don’t you have to go on in like… ten minutes,” you shouted after the guitarist, who had already started jogging away, but either he did not hear you, or he did not want to hear you.
Frank’s band mates in the meantime had watched the interaction between the two of you from the shadow of a tent that sold cold beverages. The area was not yet opened to the public, allowing them a few last quiet moments before the show.
“These fools,” Mikey shook his head, “they still don’t get their feelings aren’t one sided?”
Ray shook his head.
“I don’t think they even got to the point of understanding that they are in love,” he mumbled, taking a sip from his coke.
“We only got a couple of shows left,” Gerard reminded them, “do you think they’ll finally get together until then?”
“No.”
The answer came both from Ray and Mikey at the same time.
“So… do you guys think we should help them?”
Ray turned to look at Gerard.
“You mean we should set them up?”
“Let’s be honest here for a moment. Frank will only be sulking around for the next three years if he doesn’t get together with (y/n), and we’ll be the ones who’ll have to suffer. In our own interest we should do them the favour,” Gerard argued.
“You have a weird way of reasoning,” Mikey shook his head, “but I’m afraid you’re right.”
They grew quiet as Frank jogged past them again, this time with a tube of sunscreen in his hand. When you saw him you threw your hands in the air, and rolled your eyes at him, but laughed.
“Yep, we need to set them up,” even Ray eventually agreed, “They’ll never get this done on their own.”
“Fools.”
~*~
The following days were hectic and loud, and you hardly found time to calm down for a moment. There were only a handful of shows left. While you loved working for My Chemical Romance, and going on Warped Tour with them, you started feeling worn out. The long days under the burning sun were exhausting, and there was always someone who had instructions for you or wanted you to do something more than was your job. You helped where you could, since you liked the job, but you also really started looking forward to the moment you could sit down in peace.
The exhaustion which the physical work was causing you was undeniable, but at the same time your heart and mind were also tense.
Of course you had noticed pretty early into the tour that you liked Frank. He was pleasant to be around, he always looked out for you, was chaotic and sweet at the same time, and overall just exactly the kind of person you liked. Trying not to get yourself into any trouble, you had told yourself it was not anything important, and so you had ignored the way your heart started hammering in your chest, and the way you got all shaky every time he walked up to you. It felt like an invisible string was connecting the two of you, pulling you closer towards him, but then again he was a very attractive man, probably everyone who was into men felt that way about Frank.
If it had only stayed at that, everything would have been fine, but when there were only seven days of tour left, Gerard, Mikey and Ray started behaving weirdly. They always made jokes about how great of a boyfriend Frank would be, about how caring and sweet he was, about how the two of you would be such a cute couple.
These words confused you more than anything. Of course you knew they meant nothing; that the three men were just teasing Frank and you, but for the first time, you allowed yourself to imagine what being with Frank would be like.
And your stupid heart took that as the signal to break silently every time you merely thought about him. He was a rock star, thousands and thousands of people looked up to him, and felt the same tight feeling in their chest when they thought about him, and you were just one of them. You were not any different from them.
Had you told this to Frank, he would immediately have listed a thousand things he loved about you. The way you smiled so sweetly when he did something stupid, the way you rolled your eyes at him when he was being silly, how you ran your fingers through your hair when you were thinking… He adored the way you looked, your character, your smile, your jokes, and when you pretended to be mad with him. Everything about you was perfect to him, but he did not get aware of it until the second last show.
It was late already; the show MCR should play was the last one of the evening.
Backstage the four band members were joking around. Ray and Gerard were doing their vocal warm ups, and Frank had just finished fiddling around with his guitar, when he suddenly heard Mikey mention your name. Obviously Frank immediately listened up, trying to overhear his friends, but at the same time unable to fight the jealousy in his chest when he heard his band mates talk about how pretty and clever and sweet you were.
Had he really thought you were only sweet to him? Had he thought you would ever pay special attention to him with the other three around? It was well know he was the short, chaos-causing one. Why should you like him if there was someone around like Gee, with his pretty face and all his drawing skills, or Mikey, who was super funny once he warmed up to someone, or Ray who was so incredibly talented and skilled in everything he did? The answer was obviously that you would not like him, and that idea alone brought angry tears to his eyes.
It was Gerard who noticed the pained expression on the guitarist’s face first.
“Guys, shut up,” he warned, and nodded to their friend.
“Oh shit,” Ray swore and shook his head, quickly walking over to Frank, who was still too occupied with his own thoughts to notice that the conversation had been interrupted.
“We fucked up,” Mikey realised, and together with his brother he followed Ray.
“If you’re so much into them, then why don’t you fucking tell ‘em,” Frank was about to argue, making the others shake their heads. “they deserve to be happy, but instead you just make fun of them!”
“It’s not us who’s into them,” Ray tried to explain.
“We’re not making fun of them,” Mikey defended at the same time.
“We- listen Frankie, we just thought that with a bit of teasing, you would finally get your ass over to them and tell ‘em how you feel,” Gerard clarified.
“How I feel,” echoed Frank hollowly.
“Come on dude, you’ve been in love with them since the beginning of tour,” Ray reminded him, “don’t think we didn’t notice.”
“I’m not-“
“And I hate to say this, but time’s running out, man,” Gerard added, “There are two shows left, and then god knows when you get to see ‘em again. You really should pull your shit together, and talk to them.”
Mikey and Ray nodded approvingly.
“I’m not in love with (y/n),” Frank defended, and at the beginning of the sentence he was still convinced of his words, but by the end he already started doubting them.
“Yeah, yeah, great, keep telling yourself that,” Mikey shrugged unimpressed, “But the truth is that they definitely caught your interest, you caught theirs, and you should at least try to ask them out or something.”
“Because if you don’t, you’ll be in a mood for years, and only write songs about broken-heartedness or something, and we’re the ones who’ll have to deal with this, so do us the favour.”
Frank was about to disagree with Gerard, but then he remembered his notebook, which currently had started filling with half-finished love songs, both happy and sad.
Sighing in defeat Frank hung his head. He knew the others were right, and it was terribly annoying having to admit it, but he was no coward, at least not when it came to his friends.
“So what do you suggest I do,” he gave in, pleadingly looking into his band mates’ faces.
“Okay, so listen here-”
~*~
You already felt a bit nostalgic, and it was only the second last show, as you walked up to the side of the stage, spying out from behind one of the light consoles.
Since the show was so late in the evening, and you had worked all day, someone else had taken over the merch, giving you the freedom to do whatever you wanted. And in all the time you had only seen two complete shows, so that was what you decided to treat yourself with. Sitting down on the floor, making sure not to be in anybody’s way, you looked out over the stage.
Ray was head banging to the beat, Mikey stood close to the centre, bopping his head to the music as well. Gerard was skipping over the stage, using the instrumental bridge to run over to Ray, who grinned at him.
And then there was Frank. He was going crazy as always, lying on his back, playing his guitar flawlessly. A second later he jumped up and onto one of the monitors, his sweaty hair falling into his forehead, while he tried to see past the blinding lights into the audience.
When he turned around to jump off the speaker again, he saw you sitting on the floor at the side of the stage, stopping when his eyes met yours. He seemed to stand frozen for a second, before he shot you a grin, which almost seemed shy, considering how bolt he usually was, and then continued the show.
From that moment on, you were unable to tear your eyes away from him. Ignoring the stinging pain in your chest, you watched him jump around, and laugh, and roll over the stage, almost head-butting Ray at one point, and chasing Mikey, who always made sure to keep a safe distance to the personification of havoc.
Sometimes Frank looked over to you, every time smiling brighter than the lights that were illuminating the stage, but when the last song for the night kicked off, his smiles started to lose their power, and instead the glances he shot you were tainted with concern and worry. By the time the audience broke into applause after the song, his face was full of what almost looked like fear, making you worry about what was on his mind.
The band was waving and walking off, away from you, going off stage at the opposite side from where you were getting up from the floor, shooting one of the techies a smile. Gerard noticed that Frank was following them, but stopped him.
“Go over and talk to them,” the singer encouraged, “Now’s your moment!”
Frank hesitated, but when Gerard gently shoved him into your direction, he obeyed, and jogged over to you.
“Are you alright?”
Concerned you took a few steps towards Frank, who you had noticed walking over to you. He was sweaty, his hair and his shirt sticking to his skin, a frown on his face, and the guitar swung to his back.
Without answering, he grabbed your wrist, and dragged you further away from the edge of the stage, into a little corner where nobody could see you.
“Frank, hey,” by now you were really worried about him. He looked pale and nervous, a state you had never seen the cheerful man in. “What’s going on?”
The corner Frank had dragged you in was so tiny that your back was already bumping into one of the big boxes in which usually the speakers were transported. When he took a step closer to you, you had nowhere to go. Not that you really wanted to, but he was behaving weirdly, and as close as you were standing now, you could feel the heat radiating off his body.
His eyes were fixed on the floor, darting around nervously.
Gently you reached your hand to his chin, and lifted his head so he was looking at you. His hazel eyes were pleadingly staring into yours, as if he was asking you to understand something he did not want to phrase. And before you even knew what happened, he had closed the short distance between your faces and kissed you passionately, desperately even, pushing you back so you were pinned against the box. Surprised and confused you returned the kiss, your body reacting before your mind had even started to comprehend what was going on. While your thoughts still tried to scramble to their feet, your heart was beating in your throat, and you wrapped your arms around Frank’s neck, pulling him closer to you, leaning into his touch as he placed his hands at your waist to pull you against him, but making sure your back was still pressing against the obstacle behind you, keeping you in place.
In the end you had no way of telling for how long Frank and you had been kissing, hidden away from prying eyes. You just knew that when you broke the kiss eventually, you were terribly out of breath, and your cheeks were burning hot red. Frank’s face was as flushed as yours, and it was not due to a lack of sunscreen during the day, and his sweaty shirt had started to dry.
You swallowed hard, your arms still wrapped around his neck, and your forehead pressed against his. In irregular patterns his breath fanned over your cheek, making you want to kiss him all over again, but you were too out of breath, and your muscles seemed to have gone into stand-by-mode from all the slight shivers and the excitement Frank had caused you.
“What was that,” you asked, still out of breath, your eyes closed. Your voice was shaky and higher than usual, but you did not find it in you to care about such details right now.
“Want me to repeat it,” Frank asked, and you could hear the smirk on his lips.
“Give me a moment,” you laughed, pulling away slightly and immediately leaning your forehead against Frank’s shoulder, the rigid leather strap of his guitar pressing against your skin.
Frank chuckled, a sound you would never get enough of, and slowly let go of your waist before wrapping his arms around your back. Indeed there seemed to have passed some time since his shirt was cool and almost dry now.
“So… basically I have fallen in love with you, and the guys said I should act on it, so we don’t have to publish an album filled with all the songs I wrote about you,” Frank whispered against your ear, making you giggle.
Lifting your head back up, you took a good look at his face. There were still a couple of strands of his black hair sticking to his forehead, his pupils were blown wide, leaving only a small rim of the hazel colour to see. A pink blush was dusted over his cheeks, and some very faint freckles spread over his nose. A soft smile was playing around his lips, and slowly he lifted a hand to your face, brushing a strand of your own hair out of your vision.
Quickly you leant in again, his words still echoing in your mind, and pressed your lips against his once more, shorter, sweeter this time, until Frank was full on grinning.
“Frank?” The voice of one of the techies eventually drew you back into reality. “Frank! Where are you! There is a press team who want to do a quick interview with the band!”
Frank’s groaning was less a sound than a deep vibration against your body, and exhausted he dropped his head against your shoulder, making you giggle.
“Do they really need me,” he mumbled, and you were sure he was rolling his eyes.
“Frank! I know you’re back here! We’ve searched everywhere else already!”
“Apparently they do,” you smiled, and ran one of your hands through his hair. “Take it as a compliment.”
Frank groaned again, and untangled himself from you, but making sure to run his fingers down your arm, and intertwine them with yours.
“Fine,” he shouted, still looking at you, “I’m here! I give up!”
Holding your hand, he stepped out of the corner that had hidden you so perfectly.
“Hell yeah, each one of the guys owes me five bucks,” the techie laughed, already turning his back to Frank and you, leading the way.
“For what,” Frank asked curious.
“They said you wouldn’t have the guts to confront (y/n),” techie explained, a shit eating grin on his face.
Frank turned to you.
“They bid on us,” he deadpanned, making you giggle.
“Actually I’m not surprised; they did make an effort these past days to point out how much of a catch you’d be.”
“I hate them.”
“Tell that to the press, that sure would make for some headlines,” you laughed, causing Frank to giggle too.
“Guess so!”
When you reached the trailer in which the rest of the band and a camera team was waiting, even at this late hour, Frank quickly leant down to kiss your hair, before the techie threw open the door.
“Oh fucking finally,” Ray cheered, when he saw you and Frank standing outside.
“Was about time,” Gerard laughed, and Mikey nodded along, grinning brightly.
“Yeah, yeah, keep it to yourself,” Frank muttered, but was unable to hide his smile, as he pulled you into the bus with him, your fingers still entangled with his.
~*~*~*~
Taglist (if you want to be added or taken off, please let me know):
General: @justawriterinprogress @robinruns @jayloverthe3rd @lookalivefrosty @butterfly-writes @angelevansfalls @rene-royale
MCR: @deadlovers
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bogariel-frogariel · 4 years
Text
Taking A Breather
Adaine ducks out of a party to get a breather. She’s not the only one that needed a break from everyone.
Introducing my OC.
Find it here on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25262344
Tell me if you want more.
----
Adaine was getting bored.
 She hadn't even wanted to go to this party.
 However, when your sister helps cause a revolution and a complete restructure of a government's systems, inadvertently landing herself as one of the four newly elected Queens of Fallinel, you kind of need to attend a few formal social events.
 That, combined with the fact that ever since she'd turned seventeen, she had been receiving many more inquiries and requests from various governments and magical institutions throughout Spyre, asking for her to act in her role as the Oracle meant that Adaine's calendar was much more full than she'd ever anticipated it being two years ago before she started high school.
 Her face was starting to hurt from the polite smile she'd needed to wear for what was dawning on two hours now as she talked to politicians and important religious and magical figures from High Court, Solace and Fallinel at the banquette  formally celebrating the renewed alliance between the three nations.
 She knew she couldn't retreat to the library, even though she had been itching to explore it all day. The old elven castle the party was in was thousands of years old, perhaps millennia. However, Aelwyn had asked her to (told her to, really) not go into the library during the party. Adaine knew this was important to her sister, and they had both been trying really hard to be better sisters over the past year, so she'd agreed.
 Besides, she could join Ayda (and by extension Fig) in the library tomorrow.
 But she just really needed to escape right now.
 Riz wasn't here, off at work, Gorgug and Zelda had (surprisingly) snuck off somewhere an hour ago, Fig and Ayda were (as previously stated) in the library, Rag was flirting with an elf (Adaine recognised as Queen Amara's twin brother), Fabian was sticking close to her sister, who was surrounded by a crowd of admirers, and Kristen had (unsurprisingly) slipped away from the party with Tracker an hour ago. They had barely left each other alone since they'd reunited four weeks ago after months apart, since the werewolf had also been instrumental in the revolution, and was now toting the title of High Priestess of Galicaea.
 She just needed a few minutes to recharge, away from people.
 So, Adaine ducked into the first narrow, shadowy corridor that she found.
 For a moment, she allowed herself to sag in relief at finally, finally being alone. However, she turned a little more and froze, suddenly glimpsing someone sitting on the floor, poking their out from a blanket, which they'd thrown over their head.
 The person stood up and both of them stood, staring at each other for a few seconds.
 The first thing that Adaine registered was the fact that the girl (or so Adaine thought, but living with Kristen had meant that she'd learnt to make sure she got confirmation anyway) had not, in fact, been wearing a blanket, but had curled her wings in front of her. Her brilliantly black wings. As Adaine stared at her, she saw little white dotes flicker to life across the wings, quickly joined by some dark purple swirls, making them look like a picture from space. 
 "Umm…" she girl said and Adaine tore her eyes away from her wings and looked at her face properly.
 The girl had dark skin, fine pointed ears that spoke of elven ancestry, and wavy, brilliantly white-silver hair that contrasted against her dark purple eyes that were rimmed with a sparkling gold. Adaine's heart hammered against her chest.
 She was snapped out of her reverie when the girl tucked a book into the folds of her midnight blue gown.
 She stuck her hand out to the girl.
 "Hello, my name is Adaine Abernant, my pronouns are she/her."
 Kristen would be so proud. A month ago, she'd spent a week making them practice the greetings whenever they entered a room she was in.
 The girl blinked at Adaine for a second, her eyes widening. Adaine cringed internally. She didn't know how she would take more gushing or ass kissing.
 However, after a second, the girl took her hand.
 "I'm Rhaezella Starkterian, my pronouns are also she/her. Pleasure to meet you."
 Adaine immediately recognised the name. "You're Queen Amara's sister."
 She winced when Rhaezella pursed her lips. "Sorry."
 The girl waved her off. "That's fine. You'll forgive me for acknowledging that you're the Oracle then, Princess."
 Adaine couldn't stop her scowl at the second title and Rhaezella smirked.
 "Yes. It's kind of ridiculous that we get those titles just because of our sister."
 Adaine rolled her eyes. "And we have to keep them for the rest of our lives, even after they get voted out in fifty years."
 Rhaezella snorted. "I think they were trying to prank us."
 Adaine shared a grin with the girl. "So, you're looking for a refuge as well?"
 Rhaezella sighed. "Sick of people trying to earn my favour."
 Adaine nodded, her brain finally starting to work properly as she realised she remembered the name from more than just the queen.
 "You're about to be tested for Archmage, right?"
 Similar to the Oracle title, the Archmage was a life-long title given to a prominent and powerful magic user, who would work as a sort of anchor for magic to redistribute throughout Spyre. Whilst the Oracle looked to the future, the Archmage took care of the present, helping stabilise the magic in the planet's core, which was liable to become unstable without a living being to ground it. However, instead of automatically passing on automatically, the title was passed on when a suitable candidate came into contact with a jewel at the base of the Mountains of Chaos.
 Fig had been asked to try for the position a few months ago, but the giant amethyst hadn't reacted to her touch.
 Adaine supposed, with travel between nations becoming easier than it was a millennia ago, when Archmage candidates had to quest to find the previously unmapped location, the jewel could afford to be picky.
 Rhaezella grimaced. "Yes. Being one of the few still living demigods has its perks I guess."
 Adaine nodded awkwardly. She'd heard the story of the elfling who had one day sprouted wings and then been snatched into the Outer Planes by the gods moments later, only to then be imprisoned by the Elven government when she finally escaped her captivity by the gods years later.
 Demigods were usually either taken by the gods (who had all seemed to dislike other gods having progeny on the mortal plane) or taken advantage of by governments seeking their power.
 Being Archmage was really the safest position for her.
 Personally, Adaine found it ironic that devils were nicer to their children than the gods.
 "Umm… I like your dress… and your hair," the girl stuttered, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between them.
 Adaine felt her cheeks heat up and her heart stuttered. She tucked her hair behind her ear self-consciously. She had allowed it to grow out over the last year, not bothering to cut it anymore like her parents had always made her. She knew it was very stereotypical of her, to have almost waste length hair; and that having such long hair had fallen out of style centuries ago, but it felt like rebellion against her mother, and Aelwyn had encouraged her when she'd voiced the idea.
 She'd probably have to cut it soon though. It could be terribly annoying on adventures. Although, it did feel rather nice when she let others braid it.
 She bunched her other hand up in her silky dress that was rather tight to her to her thighs fanning out from there. Aelwyn and Fig had pulled it out of the store because they had never seen her wear something like that before. She'd agreed to it for its colour; which was a blue so pale it was almost silver.
 "Thank you," she muttered, before stammering, "Umm… I like your -" everything, everything looked pretty, "hair as well. The waves are really pretty."
 "And your snake," she added with some shock as a black serpent appeared over the girl's shoulder. Adaine hadn't noticed it coiled around her waist.
 Rhaezella pet the snake absentmindedly. "Her name is Cerridwen. They were a gift from my mother. My godly one. She's a shape shifter - nothing my mum makes is really… one thing. It comes with being the goddess of chaos and magic with no church. There are too many magic users and people so they are always… changing. But I love my familiar. She… helps when it gets too much."
 Adaine grinned, pulling Boggy out of the purse that was slunk over her shoulder.
 "I have a familiar as well. His name is Bogariel Frogariel. Or, Boggy the Froggy."
 Rhaezella laughed and Adaine hugged Boggy close.
 "I used a spell to summon him, so he can also change forms. He helps me with my anxiety."
 Adaine had a moment of panic after she said that. She'd gotten too personal too soon.
 However, Rhaezella just nodded in understanding. "I got Cerridwen before I was formally diagnosed, but my therapist says they help me."
 Rhaezella she grimaced, flicking her hair behind her shoulder. "My sister just messaged me."
 Adaine winced sympathetically.
 Rhaezella sighed, smoothing out her skirt. Suddenly, Adaine didn't really want to be alone anymore.
 "Why don't we go out there together?"
 The girl glanced up, furrowing her eyebrows. "You don’t want to escape the party? I won't tell on you."
 Adaine smiled. "Nah. It's alright. I'd rather have someone I like to talk to, even if I have to deal with everyone else."
 Rhaezella beamed at her. "I would like that too."
 The demigod gestured down the corridor. "Shall we then?"
 Adaine nodded and started walking.
 As they emerged into the light, she glanced to her side. It would be better if they were talking. It would discourage at least some of the vultures.
 "What book were you reading."
 Rhaezella blushed. "I'll only tell you if you promise not to tell any of the queens. I was meant to stay out of the library."
 "So I brought some of it with you," Adaine said with a grin. "And deal."
 She made a note to wear a dress with a large skirt and pockets at the next one of these functions.
 However, as she launched into an animated discussion with Rhaezella that lasted almost the whole night, resuming whenever they were left alone, she thought she might not need to.
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spiltscribbles · 4 years
Text
Quiet Things
Alex doesn’t get jealous.
It’s just not a thing that he does, has never thought it worth while. For a majority of his life he was too busy with school and Lacrosse and plotting out his eventual path to the presidency, to ever even fathom caring too terribly if the girl he was seeing was flirting with some other guy, or was being flirted with. Besides, it’s not his place to get all angry about it. If she liked him more than Alex, well he  had no right to interfere in  that, there’s something called free fucking will. 
“Nah, ’S because you’re too obsessed with yourself,” Nora had told him three weeks after their first break up in that somewhat snide tone of voice that she can pull out as effortlessly as her future professor monotone. 
“Slanderous,” Alex had sniffed before taking a huge ass bite out his burrito— thank God that Chipotle’s a national commodity now, which means they could stuff themselves silly before the second national debate . 
“Accurate my friend,” Nora had retorted with a clucking of her tongue, stealing his side order of chips and  queso while Alex was to busy glaring a hole through the glossy photograph of Prince Henry of Wales that’s the front cover of Vogue Italiano’s newest spread.   “You’ll always love yourself most.”
“Well yeah babe, I’m the only one who could appreciate me in all the right ways.”
“The only one who can stand you for longer than an hour you mean?”
Alex had pouted, teasingly, and Nora had laughed, adoringly, and neither of them really took it to heart. It was a bit of a quirk, his self absorption that is. Nora and June had noted it fondly for an eon, it wasn’t some new revelation.
Though What was n entirely new revelation was how only a few short years later, Alex fell head first for the fucking pretentious— not actually pretentious— prince of Wales, realizing he was definitely bisexual all along, and being forcefully outted by the old fuck trying to oust his mother from the oval office before her destined eight years are up. All in that order. 
God have times changed.
Alex supposes that it’s only right that amidst all of that, he also changed along the way, that he found a guy— a literal Prince amongst men— that makes his heart thud out an uneven staccato with every glance. Someone who makes it so Alex’s ADHD wired brain goes still, goes hyper focussed on him. On Henry’s pretty pale eyes and lovely thin lips and the way one corner of his mouth tugs upwards before the other every time he smiles. He found a guy who he chooses every day to spend his forever with, the first person that makes his knees go weak and the first person that Alex admits is  probably his only match. Found the guy he loves more than any other— His person, the one he’d give up the world to be with. The guy who makes his analytical mind shut off in favor for the idea that in all probability soulmates can exist…? And if so, Henry’s more than probably his.
All this to say, Alex now gets it when June— his delightfully neurotic sister— starts asking him a thousand times over if she looks okay in whichever dress she’s got on after she sees an Instagram post with Pez, forever adventuring a new part of the world, tagging a different girl, or when Nora doesn’t realize she’s being flirted with at her new internship at the Brookings Institute by another grad student. “Just cause I fuck dudes now doesn’t mean I suddenly get what’s trendy~” “You’re fucking one dude and only one dude.” “I think you just proved my point?”) 
Suddenly Alex wishes June were here, even in all her craziness, at least then he could have an honest analysis on what’s playing out right in front of him, in the middle of fucking douchebag Phillip’s birthday party. Just there, out in public, right next to the table holding up the thirty four thousand dollar cake. And oh! Look! The fucking gross ass  prick just snuck a finger to lick off some of the frosting!
Desecrating stupidly expensive desserts is there thing damn it!
The aforementioned prick is all high cheekbones and long lashes and such big brown eyes. He’s Hassan Nair, “Call me Haz.” No Alex will fucking not, thank you very much.
The prick, as Alex will be referring to him here forth, is the son of some Dubai business magnate, worth probable billions and is so sickeningly pretty that Alex would feel bad if he wasn’t dating the literal prettiest man alive, he’s kinda accustomed  with  not being exactly the hottest guy in a room.  But fucking prick boy must concede the point if the way he’s been gazing down at henry since this shindig has begun is anything to go by, and Jesus Christ, is it actually fair that he’s like half a foot taller than Alex too! No it’s not! None of this is fair! 
Alright, okay. This is not cool. Alex should not be just lurking in the shadows like some sort of Twilight love interest, gazing hopelessly at Henry and letting this totally new and totally unwelcome feeling— a bit envious, a lot inferior, and just slightly worried— be eating him hole. He’s fucking Alex Claremont Diaz. He’s the son of the American President! He’s going to an amazing law school! He’s hot and smart and fun damn it. And Henry chose him! Henry chose him when he first plunged down to kiss him, this edge of frantic, the night of that New Year’s party. Henry chose him when they stood hand in hand facing the crowds with their chins tipped high and their love holding strong. Henry chose him when he bought that Brownstone in New York and adopted a dog with Alex’s name as the co owner. 
Truly? Who is Hassan Nair in the face of all of that?
Alex watches him wink at Henry for the third time in the past five minutes and he sees red.
God damn it the prick does look like a One Direction stand-in, doesn’t he?
Fully intending to just find Beatrice  and bitch about Hassan fucking Nair to her, Alex swigs down his Bellini, but stutters still when Henry pivots around, his ever alert eyes softening once catching on him. 
Damn it, Alex is a weak, weak man.
“Lost you in the crowds?” Henry asks in greeting once Alex saddles up to them, slinging an arm around Henry’s waste in a way that Alex prays comes off nonchalant.
“Didn’t wanna just intrude,” Alex corrects, brow kinked playfully. “I’m not so gauche.”
Henry rolls his eyes heavenwards, but Alex knows he’s reluctantly charmed when that ghost of a smile passes across his lips.
“You once dragged me out from a conversation I was having with President Macron because you wanted to compete over who could catch the most bugs.”
“Hey! They were fireflies not just bugs you ass!” Alex charges, fully indignant now. “And you’re only pissy because my jar was like a thousand times brighter than yours!”
“You started for like a quarter of an hour longer,” Henry says airily, pale head tilted, imperious. 
“Excuses don’t become you sweet cheeks.” Alex informs him, positively gleeful over the dusting of red that comes over his elegant features.
“Ahem,” the prick interrupts with a cough, eyes skewering Alex. “I don’t think we’ve met?”
“We have,” Alex corrects with a thin lipped smile. “At Phillip’s wedding— Erm ah before the incident.”
“I don’t recall,” the prick just shrugs, turning his full attention back to Henry, and yikes Alex has to give him props, he’s definitely mastered the cold dismissal thing down pat. “Henry we should grab lunch soon, it’s been ages since we’ve caught up.”
Did this guy just ask out Henry right in front of Alex? What the actual fuck?
“Of course,” Henry says in that blithe, detached sounding way he does whenever he’s trying to be polite and doesn’t know how to react. Fuck is Alex so happy he knows how to decipher his different moods. “But I reckon Alex and i best get going, we promised a friend that we’d meet them for dinner.”
The prick’s bright eyes dim and he just nods. “I’ll call you?”
“Sure,” Henry grabs for Alex’s hand and it’s the best fucking feeling in the world.
.-
“Didn’t know we promised any such thing your highness?” Alex goads as they slip into the rental car, Amy and Shaan in a separate one tracking them back to the castle.
“I needed an excuse Alexander, and I never claimed to be above fibbing if it means I get to escape social situations,” Henry intones, lying back with his eyes shut. Sometimes Alex has to catch his breath when looking at him, sometimes forgets just how stunning he is. 
With a swallow, Alex forces his eyes back on the road and wills himself to sound normal.
“He seemed nice?”
Henry’s lip quirks and fuck, apparently he’s just as easy to read.
“You hated him.”
“Did not.”
“Did so.”
“I did not!”
“Lying doesn’t become you sweet cheeks,” Henry parrots in a nasally voice that Alex refuses to call an imitation of him.
“He looks like a privileged prick,” Alex finally admits, feels his heart swell at the casual way Henry clamps a hand against his thigh, squeezing lightly.
“I reckon you thought the same of me not too long ago,” Henry prods.
“Oh I definitely still do babe,” Alex snorts, winces slightly when Henry moves to pinch his side instead. “Ouch.”
“You’re rude.”
“I love you,” Alex soothes, picks up Henry’s hand and kisses the tops of his fingers dotingly. “’s Why I was so annoyed by his flirting with you so blatantly.”
Henry stiffens slightly before relaxing, flickers his gaze to Alex’s profile meaningfully. “He was not flirting.”
Alex scoffs.
“He was literally undressing you with his eyes the entire night!”
“We’re old friends,” Henry says weakly, pillar going pale. And Alex suddenly remembers what Henry had told him over a year ago now. That his first time was with one of Philip’s old school friends when he was only seventeen. That they were both firmly in the closet and understood how to keep things quiet. That Henry appreciates it for what it was but was still so confused and terrified  and lonely in the aftermath. 
And oh, it makes sudden sense now.
He wonders what different sorts of expressions must be playing across his face at this moment because Henry’s just goes sad, presses closer to him. 
“I think you’re my first love,” he says, and Alex can read the words that go unspoken that hug around the non sequitur. 
“Me too,” he assures him.
Henry nods, soft and slow, before he presses a kiss to the hinge of Alex’s jaw, the corner of his mouth, lands on the hollow of his cheek. “From the first moment Alex Claremont Diaz,” he says in the same voice he had right before their first kiss. “I knew you were it, no matter how hopeless it seemed or how much you evidently hated me. I new you were it.”
It’s Alex’s turn to flush, tries tempting down his smile.
“Shut the fuck up you dork.”
“You’re so witty and quick and too smart for your own good,” Henry just continues on, adjusts himself so that he’s got a better look at him.
“So help me.”
 “You are so beautiful and bright, like a supernova, you know that?”
“Henry I swear to God I will kick your princely ass out and make you walk.”
Henry shakes his head with a tsk, tsk. “Such pretty lips and such a dirty mouth.” 
“Now you’re sounding like a porno,” Alex laughs.
“Shall I move onto complimenting your ass or would that be too explicit for your mild sensibilities?” Henry asks, mock owlish.
“I literally despise you,” Alex groans before pulling over on the side of the road and kissing him senseless.
He’s not sure how much time passes but is forced to move off him when Amy and Shaan begin beeping their horns in a crass cacophony of sound.
“Promise to help you with the tent downstairs once we get to bed,” Henry guffaws, and in turn Alex just repeats the fact that he utterly hates him with as much feeling as he could muster, goofy grin splitting his face in half all the while.
.-
Two weeks later they see the prick at one of Beatrice’s charity luncheons, and Henry doesn’t take his hand out of Alex’s back pocket the entire afternoon.
It’s fucking fantastic. 
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takadasaiko · 4 years
Text
Clever Minds and Strong Wills (a Captain America fic)
FFN II AO3
Summary: Steve and Howard have a late night chat in the labs in which Steve learns more than most about Howard's family and his past. WWII fic.
Clever Minds and Strong Wills
There was rarely any warning when they showed up at the command center in London. Word filtered through the ranks that the Howling Commandos had arrived and the lab went into overdrive. It was a race to get the equipment repaired and upgrades implemented, often just in time to shove them right back out the door with only the Hydra tech they left behind as proof that they were there at all.
Today was different, though. They still hadn't had much warning, but at least they had a few days to work with the team to make sure everything functioned as it was designed to when they were out in the field. It was a shame that it took half the team in the medical wing to keep them there. From what Howard had heard, Gabe Jones, Dum Dum Dugan, and Steve took the brunt of the hit. Cap was, of course, already back on his feet like nothing had happened by the time they'd arrived back at HQ, but the others would need a few days minimum of time away from the chaos they functioned in.
Howard had thought that he'd have to drag Cap into the labs to stake claims on even just a few minutes, but Steve had stuck around longer than he'd expected. As the hours stretched on and the others filtered out for the evening, the two men sat in the quiet of the space. The conversation started and stopped, ideas bounced around for a bit before Howard lost himself in the work only to be pulled out of it by Cap's voice after an undetermined length of quiet.
"You know, last time I got any say in the designs was from a few thousand feet in the air."
Howard's hands stilled and his lips twitched into a lopsided smile. "Last couple. I snag the time when I can get it."
He heard Cap snort a soft laugh. "I always got the impression you offered to fly us when no one else would because you like the thrill."
"I have been told I get bored too easily," Howard chuckled and reached for a wrench.
"Do you always stay after everybody else is gone?"
Howard glanced around, realizing that they were the last two left in the lab. "Most nights." By accident, most of the time. He'd dive into a project and forget to surface until the wee hours of the morning.
He heard a soft acknowledgment from Cap, but then nothing more for a long moment. Finally he glanced back before swiveling around in his chair to look directly at him. "I doubt you need a lot of sleep, huh?"
"Not since the serum."
Howard tilted his head, studying him. "Had to have been a hell of a turn around. I saw your records before the procedure. Looked like you had every health complication in the book."
He wondered if the question was a step too far as he watched Steve expression shift. With the exception of the occasional conversation about Peggy Carter, they really didn't discuss personal matters, much less Cap's life before the serum. Slowly, though, the other man's tense expression softened a little. "It's amazing how little I think about it now. You'd think I would, but one mission to the next, I don't really have time for it."
"Your buddy Barnes doesn't give you hell about it?"
"Only when the other guys aren't around, which isn't much."
Those sharp blue eyes were fixed on him and Howard had to crush the urge to squirm. He wasn't used to being the one under careful observation.
Finally, Cap drew in a breath, settling back in his chair a little more. "What about you?"
"What about me what?"
"You've seen everything in my file, probably know my whole life story, but about all I know about you personally is that you have a successful company, you're the best pilot I've seen yet, and I still can't place what part of New York you're actually from." He stopped, amusement flashing through his eyes. "Oh, and you hate being called Mr Stark."
"Mr Stark's my father," Howard answered automatically, not liking where this was heading. He liked Steve. Respected him, but he had found out a long time ago that letting people get too close - letting them learn too much - was a dangerous business. He'd stuck his foot in it by bringing up the other man's past though, hadn't he?
"Is he still around? Your father?"
Yep. Up to the kneecap and sinking fast. His own curiosity had gotten the better of him. "I imagine so."
Howard saw Cap's face twist up like he was trying to find the missing piece. "Don't you talk to him?"
"Not if I can help it." He risked a glance over, a frustrated sigh escaping at the expectant look he was on the receiving end of. Yep. This was on him. Never should have brought it up. He waved his hand in the air, doing his best to keep his time casual. "We never saw eye-to-eye."
"On what?"
"Anything."
There was a long, likely thoughtful pause before, "He has to be proud, though? Everything you've accomplished? Everything you've done."
Howard wanted nothing more than to dive back into his work and ignore the question. He could kick him out, true. Come up with a semi-reasonable excuse or just be an ass to ensure Cap got the hint. He had no problem handling others around him that way, but there was something obnoxiously honest in those blue eyes. Rogers wasn't an idiot - far from it. He might not have had the same training or scientific leanings that Howard did, but the man was clever and one of the quickest learners the engineer had ever come across - but he was naive in a lot of ways. Sheltered. Fathers were proud of their sons. Families were close. That was just the way his world worked. Must have been a nice place to grow up. Safe.
"Nah," he answered at last. "He thought I was lazy. Wasting my time."
"That can't be true," Steve managed, almost as if hoping he'd misunderstood something.
Howard glanced around, re-confirming that they were alone. He spun his chair so his own dark eyes met those bright blue ones. "My earliest memories of my old man are of him chasing me out of whatever hole I'd found to tuck myself away in to read. Thought I was lazy and useless because I wasn't just like him. My guess is he's still selling fruit from the same overpriced vendors from the same rickety old cart on the same corner in the Lower East Side."
He risked a glance to see Cap soaking in more information than Howard had shared with anyone in a decade. Strange. That overwhelming honesty that Abe had seen in him was apparently contagious. He needed to watch himself there.
Rogers loosed a long breath, settling a little deeper into the chair. "We didn't have much when I was growing up either but… all I wanted was to be like my folks. They always did the right thing, even when it cost them. Especially when it cost them."
Howard didn't mean to snort. Not really. "I hate to break it to you, Cap, but no one's perfect." Even Captain America's perfect parents had a skeleton or two Cap just hadn't found. Everybody did. Idolizing then just because they were blood was a luxury Howard had never known. Never wanted to. It was t like he could have ever been what his father wanted anyway. He'd have sooner thrown himself off the Brooklyn Bridge.
"When's the last time you spoke to him?" Steve asked carefully.
"I left home at thirteen. Went to school and didn't look back." He'd left in the middle of the night without even a change of clothes with him. He'd lied his way into the prestigious school, but if his father had had half a notion where he was going he would have found a way to shut his plan down. The senior Stark has come to America at the same age looking for a better future, but instead had settled into society's expectations and had tried to teach his son to be complacent with the same. Howard hadn't had it in him. He didn't have a complacent bone in his body.
"Do you have contact with your mother?"
"A little. Usually get a letter from her once a year or so. Last time I was in the same room with her I had the audacity to offer money. I thought the old man was gonna come after me with his belt like I was ten years old again," he chuckled, shrugging. "Guess that was actually the last time I saw him. She's never without him, so we don't see each other. Her choice. She knows I'd cover the fair uptown."
Cap stared at him like he'd broken him. That look was exactly why he didn't like to discuss it. A look like he'd lost something. Couldn't lose something you'd never had, though, so what was the point? He did well enough. Hell of a lot better than if he'd stayed put.
Howard loosed a long breath and rolled his shoulders back, trying to straighten them out of their increasing slump. "Don't make a bigger deal of it than it is," he muttered. "And, uh….keep it between us, huh, pal?"
"Not a big deal, just a secret?" Steve asked, a quirked eyebrow accompanying his amused tone.
"You know how people are." From the look he received he wasn't entirely convinced that he did. "Born on the wrong street, wrong side of the tracks, you gotta be running a scam of some kind."
"Can't possibly be the fact that honesty isn't exactly you're go-to."
Well huh. Okay. With the physical changes that the serum caused, it was easy to forget that clever, observant mind that drew Abe to Rogers in the first place.
"Lessons learned," he said instead, shrugging.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's life. Coulda been worse, and I came out of it."
"Maybe he'll change his tune after the war's over."
"You never lose that damnable optimism, do you, Rogers?"
"I try not to."
Howard snorted, the sound amused more than not, and stood. Three in the morning. If he wanted even a couple hours of sleep it was time to call it a night. It was probably the easiest way to end this increasingly uncomfortable discussion as well.
"He should be."
Cap's voice startled him a little and he looked over. "Should be what?"
"Proud. You know, Dugan's only alive right now because the body armor you sent with us this last time took the brunt of the blast we were caught in. You've gotten us in places that no one else would touch and make sure we're ready to face whatever tech Hydra throws at us."
He paused and Howard found that he couldn't break the gaze that held his. He'd become accustomed to - and even expectant of in many cases - the high praise that accompanied his work by those around him, but Roger's words dug in deeper. He wasn't one for idle flattery and, unlike so many others, there were no strings attached to this. No quid or quo that exchanged praise for whatever the person wanted in return. No. Cap was just honest. Absurdly honest. Howard wondered if he'd ever get used to that.
The engineer cleared his throat. "Thanks, Cap," he mumbled, not entirely certain that was the right response, but it seemed to work out okay. Rogers flashed that grin that went all the way to his eyes.
The blond didn't leave as Howard packed his equipment away, but he also didn't press any further on the other man's family. They chatted about upgrades and design flaws and an upcoming mission that Steve wanted Howard to fly them in on. When they finally parted ways to catch as much sleep as they could before the next day officially began, Howard felt a strange sort of ease that he never found after his father found a way to bully his way into his thoughts. He had always been a stranger in that man's world and an oddity in the one that he wanted to belong to, but here - surrounded by soldiers and danger and tech he could only begin to unravel - he felt at home. Sure, Cap was right. He did plenty of good around here, but in the end he was fond of the people that surrounded him. Clever minds and strong wills. The Steve Rogers that wouldn't be told he couldn't enlist and the Peggy Carters that would be put behind a desk. The Abraham Erskines that wouldn't bend to oppression. They weren't pinned down by what society wanted to make them.
And to think he almost passed up the opportunity to join the SSR at all.
End.
Notes: I feel like there must have been so much more behind Howard and Steve's friendship for Howard to be so, so obsessed with finding him. You don't develop a life-long obsession like that for an acquaintance, even if you were involved in the experiment that changed their life. I can't help but think there was a piece of Howard, that kid from the Lower East Side, that found a connection with the kid from Brooklyn.
Might be more to come.... We'll see.
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