#(i say desperately while beating back this and other plot bunnies)

[catsafari25]

Given the fact that the original plan for web of shadows was that Matau would be the one to betray the team, not Vakama, has that au been written because I would love to see that concept explored

[talaok]

A special arrangement

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson x innocent!reader

summary: You, Eddie and Steve make a very special arrangement

warnings: (boy get ready) smut | 4.7 k of porn without plot, innocent!reader, threesome, oral sex (men-yes plural- receiving), spanking, anal fingering (f receiving), double penetration, unprotected p in v sex, anal, choking, praising, a bit of degrading and objectifying and... a tad of daddy-kink.

a/n: This fic was inspired by this post by @mypoisonedvine (congratulations for 30 k, you're really one of the best out here)

it started off as a game, a silly way of having fun.

You were all drunk at one of Steve's parties and Eddie had gotten an idea.

One Steve was more than eager to agree on.

"so Stevie and I were thinking..." Eddie had murmured, closing the door to Steve's bedroom as the party continued downstairs "You look real good tonight sweetheart" he had whispered sultry, towering over you as one of his hands traced the cleavage of your dress "Doesn't she Harrington?"

"she sure does" He had nodded without missing a beat.

"thank you" you had mumbled shily, feeling like a defenseless bunny in front of two hungry wolves.

"And you know how much I like to have you all to myself, princess, I would have loved to get you up here all alone and fuck you dumb until you couldn't take it anymore..." he had said, quickly glancing at Steve by the door, as you cheeks flushed with blood.

Why was your boyfriend saying all of this in front of Steve? I mean he wasn't one to be shy about this sort of thing... but he had never been so blunt in front of other people.

"but Stevie and I had a better idea for tonight" he had murmured "It would be incredibly selfish of me to keep such a beauty all to myself, now, wouldn't it?" he had asked, a hungry smirk playing on his lips, "I think it's only right if I share once in a while, no?"

Your mouth had gaped open in surprise, "you mean..." you couldn't even find the words to finish the sentence.

"I mean you could take care of both of us like a good girl"  

You had swallowed nervously, your mouth suddenly dry.

"only if you want to y/n" Steve had spoken up, wanting you to be comfortable.

"of course she does," Eddie had interrupted, his hazel eyes suddenly darker than pitch "Ain't that right, sweetheart?"

And as you had looked between them, you couldn't help but feel excited about the prospect they were offering, so, of course, you had said:

"I do"

That had been a month ago now, and what happened that night happened many times again.

Eddie would call Steve over to his trailer when you hung out, and you'd always end up on your knees taking them one at a time as the air filled with their groans and growls.

It was always just blowjobs except for that time they had taken turns going down on you and had made you come so many times that you had to beg them to stop.

And of course, there were the kisses, you'd spend hours making out, the two of them passing you back and forth like a doll until you couldn't distinguish which one your lips were on anymore.

It was fun and more than a little hot. Your body felt on fire during each of your "sessions", and you could tell they both really enjoyed it too, especially Harrington. he had started to want to hang out way more often after you had made your special arrangement.

As for Eddie... hell Eddie loved it, you didn't expect something like this from him. He was always jealous and protective, but you could see it in the way he urged you to take care of Steve as he watched from the other side of the couch, that he was just as happy as his friend to be doing this.

However, the sharing only got to a point. Steve had never fucked you, or better, you suspected Eddie had never given him his approval.

He would wait for Steve to leave before taking care of you how he knew you desperately needed, or at times, when he couldn't wait, he'd tell Steve to keep watching tv as he took you to his room to fuck you into the mattress without even bothering to close the door. 

And that was how it had been, but today... today something was different.

Your parents were out of town so you had invited them to your house. You had cleaned and baked some brownies and waited patiently for them to arrive.

You were hesitant to admit it, but you spent most of your days fantasizing about the next time you were gonna see them. And it was hard not to touch yourself just before bed when your mind inevitably went back to one of your rendezvous.

It was your dirty secret, and god if you didn't love it.

A knock on the door brought you back to reality.

You quickly stood up from the couch and made your way to the entrance.

You stopped a moment to make sure you looked good in the mirror on your right and smoothed down your summer dress before finally opening the door.

"Hi sweetheart" Eddie greeted you, leaning on the door frame.

"Hi y/n" Steve smiled

"Hi," you shyly smiled too, feeling your knees weaken already "Come in, please" you gestured, closing the door behind them.

"smells good," Steve noticed.

"I made brownies" 

They briefly glanced at each other, something you didn't catch traveling between them, before their eyes came back to you.

"You did? That's sweet" Eddie cooed, getting in front of you.

You gulped, glimpsing between them "You wanna try them?"

"I'd love to, but I'm not really hungry for food now princess, and I don't think Stevie is either" he spoke "Are you?" he said, turning to Harrington.

"No, not really, "

"oh, ok" you murmured, trying to hide a faint disappointment.

"but I'll be happy to eat them later" Steve spoke again, noticing your reaction.

That made you feel better, and you responded with a big smile.

Eddie's fingers gently traced your cheek, and you melted right into his touch "I've missed you" he whispered, briefly kissing your lips.

"I've missed you too" you pouted

"no hey, don't look so sad, I'm here now... we're here" he reassured you.

You nodded, kissing him again, and after a few moments felt Steve's presence behind you.

"I-I missed you too Steve" you murmured shyly.

Eddie softly chuckled, as he turned you so you could face his friend "Did you now?" he mocked, moving some of your hair to kiss your neck.

"I-i did" 

Steve smiled sincerely "I've missed you too sweetheart" he promised, before he brought his lips to yours, slowly tasting you.

You whimpered softly, kissing him back as Eddie worked on your neck and let his hands travel to your ass.

"Should we go up to your room?" Eddie said, after some time

"y-yeah" you spoke, flustered.

"lead the way baby" he motioned, and you obeyed, starting up the stairs fully aware of where their eyes were glued to as they followed.

Steve closed the door behind him and you wasted no time kneeling in front of the bed.

"how eager, princess" Eddie teased, walking next to you with Steve.

"I'm sorry I just- I missed you" you spoke frantically

"no hey it's ok" he soothed "Don't worry," he said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Steve sat next to him, a soft bulge already visible in his pants.

You immediately reached for Eddie's zipper and made quick work of his pants, before granting Steve the same treatment.

You were about to take both of them in each hand when Eddie stopped you.

"Let us see those tits princess," he said, and you looked up at him hesitantly before slowly sliding your straps off your shoulders and rolling your dress down until your bra was fully in view.

"Don't be shy now, take it off" he said, his cock getting harder.

You followed his instruction and were rewarded with a satisfied sigh from both of them.

"You've got perfect tits sweetheart, touch them a little for me," he said.

"touch them?"

"yeah give us a little show baby"

You had to bite down a whine and let your hands reach your breasts, unhurriedly touching and groping them.

They were looking at you as if you were candy.

"fuck" Steve muttered,

"You like that?" Eddie asked

"Yeah man" he groaned, palming his manhood "fuckin-wanna cum on them"

You couldn't stop the moan fleeing your lips.

"Yeah, I think she'd like that too" Eddie said smugly "But not today princess" he explained "We've got other plans"

You stopped your movements "What?" you asked curiously 

"I'll explain later baby, don't worry, how 'bout you get us nice and ready now?" he eyed his dick

"yes please" You eagerly nodded, causing a smile to their lips.

You wasted no time grabbing Steve's cock into your hand and starting to gently stroke it as you kitty-licked Eddie's tip, making both men's breathing quicken.

You then let your tongue slowly taste his whole length, until finally, you took him into your mouth.

He groaned loudly as his hand fisted your hair, pulling it slightly.

"fuck baby" he growled "Yeah just like that- keep going" he moaned, as you took him deeper and deeper with each bob.

"stay down" he instructed, forcing your head down "Like that- yeah- choke on it, baby" he commanded, throwing his head back in pleasure as you gagged on his tip.

"fuck" he groaned, letting you go "You did good" he nodded as you gasped for air "Take care of Stevie now"

You immediately obliged, moving to your right to get in front of his spread legs.

You stroked him a bit before you took him in.

"shit" he gripped the sheets, as he observed the way you took him so fucking well, your eyes never leaving his.

"use-" he groaned "use your tits for me sweetheart" he urged, his voice strained.

You let his cock out of your mouth and stood up a bit more to get his dick in between the valley of your breasts.

Steve could have come right there and then if it wasn't for what he knew was waiting for him.

"like this?" you asked innocently, tentatively stroking him with your tits.

He groaned "Yeah, just like that- god you're so good" he muttered, his hips thrusting a bit upwards.

You let your tongue out of your mouth so that you could lick his tip with each stroke, and Steve was fucking done for.

"shit" he swallowed "That's- that's perfect sweetheart," he said "fuck-please stop or I'm gonna cum"

You frowned, confused, and let him go "Don't you want to do that?"

"I do" he chuckled "but not like this"

Once again, you were perplexed.

"c'mere" Eddie ordered, sliding to his left and patting the space between him and Steve.

You sat down, suddenly very aware of your naked chest. It was probably because Steve couldn't take his eyes off of it.

"You don't want me to make you come?" you asked naively.

"Of course I do baby," your boyfriend said softly, placing his hand on your thigh "But I was thinking something different for today" he kissed your cheek, putting a lock of your hair behind your ear "You know how I always make you feel good when Stevie's gone?"

"mh-mh" you nodded, your face getting red

"well I was thinking maybe this time he could help out too" 

"y-you mean...he's gonna make me feel good instead of you?" you asked, a bit sad at the prospect.

I mean you wanted Steve, but you wanted Eddie too.

He grinned amusedly "No baby, don't worry" he spoke softly "Not instead... we're gonna do that together"

Now you were confused

"h-how?"

His fingers traced your jaw, admiring your pretty face "You remember what we tried that one time? When I made you feel good in a new way?"

You searched your memory, Eddie had made you feel good in so many different ways that it was tough remembering all of them.

"Uhm- I don't- which time?" you asked, shooting Steve an embarrassed glance.

He bent down to kiss your cheek before bringing his mouth to your ear "When I used your other pretty hole, princess" he murmured.

You squeezed your thighs in response, heat pooling between them. The reaction was noticed by both men with delight.

"You remember that?"

Of course you did.

You nodded.

"and would you like to try it again?" he asked "So that Stevie and I can take care of you at the same time... make you feel twice as good"

Your mouth gaped open as the realization hit.

"Is...How?-I" You had no idea what to say or how to say it.

"We're gonna be gentle baby, don't worry. We're gonna take care of you real good, right Steve?"

"Yeah sweetheart we'll go slow"

"at first at least" Eddie murmured, a malicious grin on him.

You glanced between them "It's-It's not gonna hurt is it?"

"Maybe just a little bit, but it's gonna feel great after, princess, don't you trust us?"

You swallowed thickly, feeling your panties drench at the images flashing before your eyes.

"I do," you promised

"That's our good girl" Eddie praised you, kissing you briefly before Steve's fingers urged you to turn towards him.

He hungrily crashed his lips with yours and wasted no time before sliding his tongue in your mouth, his hands desperately gripping your hair to keep you close.

Needless to say, Steve was ecstatic you had agreed.

Eddie's soft chuckle brought him back to reality, and he half-heartedly leaned away, letting you go.

"get up on the bed baby" Eddie spoke, getting up from it as Steve followed his lead.

you did as told, and looked at them expectantly as they watched you like starving predators.

"take off your dress" 

You did, remaining only in your little white panties.

Steve muttered something below his breath you didn't catch, and Eddie just licked his lips as he stared shamelessly.

Your boyfriend took his shirt off, and after snapping out of his trance, Steve did too.

"Open your legs for us princess" 

Your cheeks flushed as you obeyed, bending your legs and spreading your thighs.

"fuck" You could now hear Steve murmur.

Eddie gripped your thighs and forced you closer to the edge of the bed and a little squeak fled your mouth.

His digits slowly trailed to the fabric right against your center, and he hissed as he did "She's soaked"

"yeah?"

"yeah touch her"

Steve didn't need to be told twice.

He immediately brought a finger to the wet spot on your panties.

"shit man" he murmured, his eyes focused on where he was meeting your heat.

"I know, right?"

You wined, feeling frustrated.

"you're right sweet girl" Eddie cooed "We're gonna make you feel good now, don't worry," he said, "get on your hands and knees for us princess"

You complied immidately, feeling every nerve in your body going crazy.

"she's got a nice ass doesn't she?" Your boyfriend asked, as he stroked your cheeks 

"nice is an understatement" Steve chuckled, groping your ass "you're lucky you get to fuck it"

"I know I am" Eddie said, not giving you any warnings before spanking you.

A moan escaped your throat

"You like that?" Steve asked, mesmerized. His cock painfully hard.

You nodded, softly pushing your ass back in search of anything to give you a bit of relief.

Eddie's hand came down on your ass again "Use your words princess"

"I do! I love it"

again, another strike.

"what do you love?"

"fuck- I love it when you spank me, Eddie, I love it so much" you mumbled, already out of it.

"Can I try?" Steve couldn't help but ask.

Eddie nodded and Steve's hand immediately struck your ass.

"fuck" you whimpered "Please do it again" you begged and Steve was more than happy to comply.

Another bolt of pain mixed with pleasure spread through you, and you cried out as your head fell to the bed.

Your ass was already red and Steve was about to go again when Eddie spoke "Stop, or she'll come"

"she can come like this?" Steve's awe for you just kept growing

"she can come in lots of ways Stevie" He didn't elaborate "And you can try that one out another time, we've gotta get her ready now," he said, suddenly pulling your panties down.

The room's cold air contrasted with the warmness of your cunt.

"look at that" Eddie groaned "Such a pretty little hole," he said, his thumb gently playing with the entrance.

He passed his middle finger between your folds, collecting some of your juices, and then brought it up to your hole again.

You moaned softly as he slowly circled it, and had to gasp when he spit on it.

You closed your eyes, soaking in the feeling, when he abruptly pushed his finger in.

"ohgodohgodohgod" you whimpered, your heart starting to beat a mile per minute.

"That's good, baby, that's good, relax for me" he murmured, starting to slowly move it in and out of you. "wanna help me out here?" he asked Steve, who promptly brought his own finger to your hole.

"use her juices as lube" he instructed, and Steve obeyed before coming back up.

"Ok princess take a deep breath for me now" he said, and as you slowly inhaled, Harrington forced his own digit in.

You forgot what you were doing as a choked moan climbed up your throat.

"That's it, princess, doing so good" he murmured, gently caressing your ass as they both started to move their fingers.

"fuck" you whimpered, arching your back 

"feels good?"

"ye-yeah- god," you whined at the feeling. You could feel both of them inside of you and fuck if it didn't feel good.

"You ready for another one?" Eddie asked

"A-another one?" 

"Yeah, baby remember? if you gotta take the real thing you need to be ready, I don't want it to hurt"

You gulped "O-ok"

Steve kept moving as Eddie pushed his ring finger in too.

"Fuck!" you cried, gripping the sheets. This one hurt a little.

"good girl" he praised "Always so good for me," he said, moving his fingers in sync with Steve.

You bit your lower lip so forcefully you could taste blood.

"Isn't she, Harrington?"

"Y-yeah" Steve spoke, his voice hoarse and his eyes fixed on your abused hole "So so good, sweetheart"

Eddie chuckled a bit at Steve's blatant amazement but said nothing.

"I think she's ready," your cruel boyfriend said, cruelly removing his fingers from inside of you.

You wined loudly "No- please" You were feeling so good... you knew you were close.

"c'mon man, she wants to cum" Steve protested, still inside of you.

Eddie smirked, his eyes finding yours as you turned to him with a pleading pout "You really did a trick on him, princess, didn't you?" he winked, giving your ass a quick spank "But no, " he said, turning to Steve "she comes when I say so"

"Fine," Steve said, pulling his finger out of you.

You looked at your boyfriend desperately and he shook his head, a smug smile on his lips "Don't give me that look, princess, you get to ride Stevie here now" he said, patting his shoulder.

"Really?" your eyes sparked up

"Sure do," he said, giving Steve a nod.

"You like to ride?" Steve asked, getting on the bed

You bit your lip, a bit embarrassed "I do" you said, straddling his lap once he laid on the bed "but Eddie never lets me"

You heard him chuckle somewhere behind you.

"that's a shame, a girl like you...he should let you do whatever you want"

You softly giggled "Hear that baby?" you asked playfully, turning your head to look at him.

"what can I say? I'm a man who likes to be in control" he grinned, bending down to give you a quick kiss "Now go on, show me how good you are" he urged, leaning away.

You turned to Steve again, an excited smile tugging at your lips.

His hands found your waist, and you bent down to give him a quick kiss that didn't satisfy him, as he grabbed your face and forced it to his again, kissing you deeply.

You whimpered softly, and your hips started moving on their own, immidately finding his hard cock.

"go on, sugar, show your boyfriend what he's missing," he said, and you wasted no time complying.

You took his manhood in your hand and slowly guided it to your entrance, squeezing your eyes shut as you sank onto it.

You moaned loudly, and he groaned as his grip on your waist tightened.

"fuck sweetheart" he muttered

"she's tight, isn't she?"

"fuck" Steve had to laugh a little "tight? She's got the tightest pussy I've ever felt, man"

You were still lost in the pleasure of having him inside of you so completely, especially with all the teasing, that you didn't hear any of that, not until Steve spoke again, his thumb softly stroking the part of your belly he could reach.

"go on y/n, bounce on it for me"

You opened up your eyes, placing one of your hands on his chest for leverage before raising your hips until only the tip was inside just to sink back down.

Steve groaned even louder, while your moan got an octave higher.

"It's so big" you whimpered, replicating your movement.

"yeah? You're not used to it?" Steve joked, one of his hands traveling upwards to grope your tits.

"oh she's used to it alright" Eddie intervened, making Steve chuckle.

"you can't take it?" Harrington mocked " 's too big for you?" he cooed, as you kept bouncing on him.

"n-no I can" you immediately moaned "It just- feels so good" you cried, picking up your pace

"yeah? Who feels so good?"

"you Steve, you feel so so good- god!" you groaned as he raised his hips to meet your bounce, hitting you deeper than before. 

"That's right sweetheart- that's right" he murmured, both his hands now playing with your nipples.

You didn't hear the bed creak as Eddie climbed on it, but when you felt his hands on you, you could only whine.

He immediately went for your neck, sucking a quick hickey underneath your ear just to make you all the more desperate, before one of his hands urged you to bend down a little and you obliged.

"you're gonna take it all like a good girl aren't you?" he asked, positioning his cock at your other entrance.

"yes- I am Eddie I promise" you whimpered, still moving on Steve's dick.

"good 'cause I'm not stopping princess,"

you could only moan at those words, just to be interrupted by his tip entering you.

"oh god" you whimpered

"I know angel. just take it, I know you can" he murmured, going deeper, and finding it hard not to groan at how tight you were.

"it's-it's too big" you cried, tears pricking your eyes.

"no it's not, c'mon, be a good girl, relax a little" he whispered, pushing inside again.

"Eddie" you moaned, starting to get used to the feeling.

"that's it, baby, that's a good girl, you're almost there" he praised, before fully thrusting into you with a loud groan.

You moaned so loud the whole neighborhood probably heard.

You could feel both of them, both their big cocks stretching you.

"good girl" Eddie spanked you "I knew you could take it"

You gasped but had no time to say anything before they both started thrusting into you, leaving you completely speechless.

You could only grip Steve's shoulder as you ascended to another universe.

This was nothing like anything you'd ever felt. This was everything and more all at once, and if you weren't an atheist you probably would have guessed this is what heaven fucking felt like.

"fuck you're so tight princess" Eddie groaned "I'm not gonna last long" he spoke, his breathing ragged.

Your hearing was muffled from the pleasure like you were underwater.

Eddie chuckled, seeing your state "You like this too much princess?" he mocked "You like being our little slut too much? You can't even speak?"

Your mouth was open but nothing came out of it except for desperate little whines.

"is that it?" he asked, one of his hands coming down on your asscheek and making you yelp "Answer me, angel"

"y-yeah," you cried "I like it too much Eddie- it feels so good"

He grinned smugly "I'm glad baby" he growled "c'mere," he said, putting his arm around your chest and forcing your back against his chest as he fucked you even harder.

Steve in the meantime was mesmerized by the view, trying really hard to last.

Eddie hungrily sucked and kissed your neck as one of his hands traveled to your clit.

"Daddy!" you moaned, when he circled it, heightening your pleasure even more

"fuck dude" Steve could only react by groaning lowly. 

"I know right?" Eddie raised his brows cockily at him before focusing on you again "Who's your daddy princess, tell me" he spoke, not slowing his pace in the least and continuing to massage your clit.

"you- Eds you're my daddy" you cried "Only you"

"that's right" he suddenly bit your earlobe before letting you go "That's fucking right"

You fell onto Steve again, and he immediately brought your mouth to his. Leaving a hot, messy kiss on it.

Your orgasm was growing in your belly like a volcano ready to go off at any moment, and you were in complete bliss, just a doll at the mercy of the two men inside of you.

"fuck-I'm gonna come soon sweetheart" Steve murmured, "where do you want it?"

You didn't answer, you couldn't, you were right there yourself, and your brain had stopped functioning a while ago.

"where sweetheart?" he asked again

Eddie let out a small laugh "You're too fucked out baby?"

And when you didn't answer that, Eddie's amusement only grew "I guess that's as good as an answer" he said "Try choking her, that always seems to wake her up"

"choking?" Steve asked, deserving a fucking prize for not having busted his load right there and then at the proposal.

"yeah Steve"

"you sure?"

"What, you think she doesn't like that?" Eddie chuckled "She fucking loves it, 'gets real tight when you do it too"

Steve complied, one of his hands slowly sneaking up to grip your neck, choking you.

You let out an animalistic moan, and Steve immediately understood what Eddie was saying about you getting tight.

"c'mon baby tell Stevie where you want his load" Eddie commanded.

You opened your eyes, biting your lip to keep yourself grounded in reality.

"tell me sugar"

"I-inside Steve-fuck, I want to feel both of you come deep inside of me please" You wined loudly, making Steve mutter something under his breath.

The hand around your throat was the last straw and the bubble in your belly was ready to burst.

You couldn't do it anymore, you needed to come.

"Can I come?" you begged "Please daddy can I come?"

"You think you deserve to?"

"I do-I do please, please!"

"I think you do too, come for us baby, come all over our cocks" 

And just like that, the volcano in your belly erupted completely, a hot wave of pure bliss washing over you as you moaned so loud you doubted you would have any voice left.

The feeling of your pretty walls squeezing around them caused a domino reaction, and they both came groaning loudly just after you, filling you up to the fucking brim.

"fuck" Steve could only whisper once you had all come down your high.

"you did real good sweetheart" Eddie kissed your cheek, pulling out of you and helping you lie down on the bed.

The air filled with your heavy breaths and a delighted silence as you nestled between them, their arms keeping you close.

"So did you like that princess?" Eddie asked, and when you didn't answer their eyes fell down to you.

They both chuckled, watching your eyes peacefully closed.

"I think we wore her out," Steve said

"We'll wake her in a while for round two" Eddie smiled, gently stoking some hair out of your face "how 'bout those brownies now?"

[incogrio]

c.sb - total eclipse of the heart

pairing: soobin x gn!reader (written w male in mind, but no actual descriptions of gender)

genre: pure fluff, tooth rooting disgusting fluff

synopsis: your best friend, soobin, and you get up to baking shenanigans :3

warnings: none :)

w/c: 500+

a/n: foist of all, i know that soobin is at least decent at cooking/baking, it was just for the plot that i made him bad :33 alsoooooo this is based on this ask my lovely 🕷️ anon sent in on my alt acc, @incognitorio btw! i hope this lives up to your standards my love :3 also thank u to my number one moot, @techalex for helping me proof read it, ur my baby girl fr

in all the years you had known soobin, he was never good at baking. or cooking, but he sure did try to do both. you think this might be how you ended up wrapped up in one of his countless 3 am baking ventures. you could lie and say that you hated being woken up by his wide smile and eager eyes.

but there was nothing you loved more.

“no, dude, you’re wrong! the recipe says to add a cup of baking soda i swear.” he insisted, despite there being less flour than baking powder inside the bowl.

“okay first of all! don’t ‘dude’ me. second of all, look at the bowl!” you pointed at the bowl that currently held one tablespoon of flour. “there’s no way that’s it. let me see,” you demand, reaching forward and trying to snatch soobins phone from his side of the counter.

he immediately grabs it, lifting it above his head and forcing you to stand down. he looked down at you, and you were suddenly reminded that you were madly in love with a man who had no idea. it wasn’t like you tried to hide it, it’s just that he liked playing league of legends, and therefore he was just a little bit oblivious to romance.

he smirked at you, causing your eyes to flicker to his perfect, curved lips, “i’ll dude you if i wanna. dude.” he teased.

you looked up at him; jaw clenched and despite the playful nature of the situation, you wanted to kill him.

kill him for being so…

so perfect.

you decided the best option was to reach up, clench the collar of his sweater in two closed fists and pull him down.

your lips caught each other in between a soft grunt from soobin and a pull from you. you weren’t like two puzzle pieces destined to interlock, no. you were like the moon and the sun. he needed you. in a flash, you were his light and he was your blanket. your lips collided in a mess of stars, the universe dimmed, a total eclipse.

his eyebrows furrowed, he dropped his phone onto the counter in lieu of gripping your waist, a fervent attempt to hold you closer.

soobin let out a soft, “mph!” as your lips collided, but now, he was softly letting out breaths in between your mouths, little moans and desperately chasing your lips.

finally, when the sun and the moon had to leave each other, you pulled away. your chest rose up and down rapidly as you stared into his blown-out brown eyes, bunny-like lips, and eyes looking at you, yearning for you.

he let out a soft giggle, and you followed suit. soobin leaned forward while his face was red and lips curled into a smile. hiding his face in your neck, you reach up, curling a finger into his smooth hair, and scratch it softly.

“hey… so was that casual or…” you mutter after a beat of silence.

he pulls away, turning back to his bowl of disaster and his phone.

he simply mutters, “you’re an idiot,” before finally realizing you only need 1/4 teaspoon for the chocolate chip cookies.

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[tracer85s]

yizhan fic rec (2)

part 1

glute bridges by sunstainedsheets

[explicit, 29k, complete]

personal trainer and dancer yibo and graphic designer xiao zhan. GYM AU omg i love this. xiao zhan signs up for a gym membership and personal training sessions where he’s totally not ogling his coach. there’s also a scene with xiao zhan attempting to converse with yibo in korean that got me cackling lmao, our resident koreaboo indeed. it was also great to see mentor yibo here, it reminded me of his prod 101 days when he was so intimidating as a mentor, also... very sexy. anyway i adore this, they’re just thirsting over each other, especially yibo checking out the zhass, it’s okay bobo we’ve all been there

i’d wear gucci for you by Anonymous

[teen and up, 16k, complete]

abo au where alpha yibo and omega xiao zhan are photographed going into xiao zhan’s apartment together so they’re forced to pretend that they’re mated to prevent a scandal. this has become my favourite fics because i’m an absolute sucker for fake/pretend relationships and the way the writer incorporated canon stuff like yibo answering interview questions for xiao zhan ugh guys i love this fic. when yibo was so exasperated near the end and said “i’m wearing gucci for you” & waving his hand i really lost it. JUST READ THIS I PROMISE IT’S A GOOD READ

if you would only let you by gdgdbaby

[explicit, 32k, complete]

ah where do i even start with this one? xiao zhan gets drunk and texts yibo, yibo shows up at his house and whisks him away on a road trip. i felt so much emotions reading this fic, everything was so raw and it really deals with the pressures of being famous and homophobia. this is a super realistic fic and there’s a lot of emotional hurt/comfort, you’ll literally end up wanting to wrap these two in a big blanket and just protect them from the world (lol like we don’t already want to do that). my absolute favourite part was the confession scene, like it was so messy and funny, and it’s just so them, especially the pokemon part lmao. this art is based on that scene and it’s exactly how i imagined it 🥺 this is just so well written and it’s one of my favs!

love in the time of coding by theivoryflute

[explicit, 26k, complete]

hacker yibo and cyber security engineer xiao zhan. yibo cyber flirts with xiao zhan and also flirts with him in real life. *SCREAMS* i never thought we’d have a hacker au in the fandom but i’ve been blessed, this was literally the cutest online romance fic with a bunch of mutual pining. my favourite dialogue is “the whiplash from wanting to ride yibo to wanting to coddle him was severe” i’m literally wheezing, this is a perfect representation of the fandom, also the usernames that yibo picked got me cackling there’s one in particular that made me laugh, you’ll know what it is when you see it so go read this gem!

Peace & Love by ella_minnow

[explicit, 51k, complete]

my favourite writer is back again with this baby! idol dance captain xiao zhan and non-famous dancer yibo!!! ARE WE KIDDING? slow burn sdoc au? I’M SO IN WTF. guys listen to me. yibo has a low ponytail and arm tattoos *goes feral* one of my favourite scenes from this fic is when xiao zhan had to convince yibo to join his team (bro. he didn’t even have to try) because yibo says “no, Xiao-laoshi. I would of course never leave you.” i’m screeching, totally gave me tgcf hua cheng vibes. my absolute favourite scene, however, is when yibo says xiao zhan doesn’t have to worry about sending him home because he’s going to win everything... like... the sheer bde this man exudes in real life and fiction... very sexy of him. i also love how this showcases how well they work together and of course the *whispers* celebratory sex!

Hyacinth by stickyriceu

[explicit, 76k, complete]

racer yibo celebrates after a competition and meets hyacinth’s number one host, zhan-er. slow burn with LOTS of pining and angst. i finished this in one sitting and i’m still screaming over it, it’s so good!!! genuinely felt my soul leave my body reading this because zhan zhan with shoulder length hair? tied up in a messy bun? *SCREECHES* everyone go read and get your angst on, don’t worry, there’s a happy ending ;)

Song of the Sea by LaMachina17

[explicit, 48k, complete]

mermaid xiao zhan and pirate yibo !!! xiao zhan meets yibo and has one very exciting night with him so he ends up following him aboard their pirate ship! i’m literally on my knees praising this fic. i will re-read this until i die, it’s perfect. AND THEY’RE CAT DADS IN THIS FIC TOO. seriously i don’t need to say anything else go read this gem

The Dragons by MadFilaments

[explicit, 31k, complete]

xiao zhan is his village’s marriage offering to dragon lord yibo. are you kidding me? shapeshifter yibo? arranged marriage fic? YES. this is one of my favourites, i always re-read it because the way their relationship just naturally progresses in the story warms my heart 😩 AND they call each other husband and i just *melts* they’re ! so ! domestic ! there’s angst but it’s not too bad and i’m in love with yibo’s speech about how dragons love forever *cries*

golden hour by Deinde

[explicit, 35k, complete]

professional snowboarder yibo teaches actor xiao zhan how to snowboard in a show! OH MY GOD THIS WAS SO GOOD *SCREAMS* it’s literally just them flirting and being absolutely thirsty for each other, especially in the photoshoot scene dear lord. i’m so annoying, this fic tab has been open in my safari for forever and i forgot about it until i watched ddu’s snow sports episode so don’t do the same thing as me and go! read! this! fic! immediately!

Falling In Love by beeswaxing

[mature, 65k, complete]

celebrities yibo and xiao zhan star in a we got married/hello baby inspired reality show! oh my god. the domestic fluff in this i am reeling, THIS IS JUST ADORABLE. this is definitely the domestic kid fic i so desperately needed 😭 and the way the writer added in those canon bjyx details is just perfect, everyone go read this please!!

Legend of the Jade Rabbit: The Musical by emma_screams

[explicit, 12k, complete]

high school au with lion hybrid yibo and bunny hybrid xiao zhan. this fic has musicals! it’s really quite fluffy, yibo literally calls zhan zhan “bunny gege” and i’m just *SCREECHING* also i love protective yibo 😭 i really love this it’s so cute & has a very refreshing plot!

pick me, pick me up by domeeneec

[mature, 10k, complete]

college/uni wrong number au where xiao zhan keeps accidentally calling yibo to bail him out of his bad dates and yibo ends up becoming his “personal dating assistant” this was the FLUFFIEST. although there is some light angst when xiao zhan drunk dials yibo and cries about not being able to find love, but i swear this is super soft and fluffy!!! READ THIS FOR SEROTONIN

Ruby and Gold by aces_low

[explicit, 16k, complete]

mob boss xiao zhan and his trophy husband yibo. HELLO? MURD3R HUSBANDS YIZHAN? this was such a fun read! trigger warnings for blood and violence though so look out for those! yizhan will literally not hesitate to beat you tf up in this fic they’re so badass here but they’re so soft with each other. xiao zhan literally calls yibo gǒu zǎizǎi and tiánxīn i am. Melting. also there’s a proposal. it’s unromantic but still so romantic, i love it. i also saw this art and i think this would be how they look in the fic

To Be Human by purplemonster

[teen and up, 19k, complete]

humanoid yibo and ceo xiao zhan. xiao zhan tests out his company’s newest creation and falls in love along the way. android aus always hurt me so. good. and this one’s not an exception. it’s pretty slow burn and definitely angst-y but it has a happy ending! i love the domesticity, i have no idea why i love grocery scenes so much? but anyway this is perfect for a rainy day and you’ll coo at the ending

Falling by brooklinegirl

[explicit, 42k, complete]

yb and xz behind the scenes while filming. this was such a melancholic read for me (even though there’s so much papapa) because they pine SO HARD at the start, don’t get me wrong though, it’s also cute because there’s so much canon flirting!but my heart really broke when filming was ending and yb’s thoughts were “We could run away together. Miss our flights. Stay here in Hengdian, or fuck it, go somewhere where no one knows us and just...” *sobs* pls go read!!!

What’s Your Emergency? by bluefloral

[general, 2k, complete]

police officer yibo and single father xiao zhan! yuan, xiao zhan’s son calls 911 for help with his math homework and officer yibo helps him 🥺 this was such an adorable short read!

[bewareof12metersfrogs]

Warning: long rant. Probably messed up grammar. Not LXC-friendly.

So Pinterest gave me this:

And I was like

Ah yes, Lan Xichen.

I mean, I love that guy, but oh gosh that man is BLIND. Like, man's so blind Xue Yang could use him to slaughter people.

(I'm so sorry for that joke)

I really loved him when I first read the book, esp pre-Nightless City, but then I read it for the second (and third) time and that love turned into "uhh, I guess I kinda like him?"

I mean, in Sunshot Campaign arc, NMJ just got freaking tortured. He just got beaten, made to watch his men die, and his former deputy "betrayed" him -- and then LXC was just like, "oh da-ge CALM down, this is all part of OUR plan, A-Yao's our spy lol put Baxia away don't shout at him smh"

Why didn't LXC say to NMJ that the whole thing had been orchestrated? Okay, I get it, maybe he couldn't risk JGY getting caught, but couldn't he just tell NMJ, "hey, this is the plan. You're gonna get caught at Yangquan by WRH and our spy will take care of the rest of it" ? I'm pretty sure NMJ was angrier about his men getting slaughtered than himself getting beaten. NMJ is kinda like WWX; they were both idiots, but they cared about their people. Pretty sure he cared more about his men than himself. If he knew about the "plan", he'd most likely bring the disciples who were ready to die.

THEN LXC just went to NMJ like, "Hey let's be sworn brothers!". Xichen, dude, his wounds aren't even healed. I mean, it's a bit insensitive right?? I think it is. The whole sworn-brotherhood-right-after-shunshot-campaign thing still bothers me. To me, it seems like no one cared about NMJ. I mean, he was the leader of SC, people used his skills, his men, his everything, and then he was just, like, casted aside?? Pretty sure man's got PTSD. Also, qi deviation. Oh gosh I forgot about qi deviation.

Anyway, yeah, LXC was blind throughout the novel. I won't talk about the scene where Wangxian tried to tell him that A-Yao = bad, but I will talk about the scene where NHS decided to "use" his er-ge to kill his san-ge. Was it intentional? Perhaps. Was NHS lying? Maybe. Was it bad? Absolutely. Was it expected? Of course.

Let's put ourselves in NHS' shoes for a second. Your big bro, who is also the one who raised you and the only family you have left, died. People are quacking "oh it's the Nie curse, and isn't it such a tragedy?" BUT NO! One day you be minding your own business and then BAM you found out that da-ge'd been murdered and mutilated AND betrayed. So you started scheming for like a decade. Everything was going great, as great as a 10 years revenge plan could ever be. You just gotta wait for a few more hours, you just gotta listen to your nemesis' retelling his sad background story, you just gotta endure the pain of seeing your dead big bro wrecking havoc, and you'd have your revenge.

Then of course your er-ge, your big bro's best friend, gotta help your big bro's killer. He just gotta treat his wounds, huh? Pretty sure NHS was unstable. He was desperate and maybe even full of wrath. I understand that, at least, the same way I understand that maybe LXC tried to treat JGY's wounds because he still saw him as his brother -- he didn't want to lose another brother. But how about NHS? He was watching the man whom he thought was his brother treating the man who betrayed and murdered his actual brother. NHS was being a dick, yeah, but it was expected.

Think about this for a second. NMJ's corpse was still right there (and gosh, NHS had to sew his big bro's corpse by himself). NHS was RIGHT there, and LXC had the audacity to tend to JGY's wounds after the man himself admitted to his crimes. I think it's understandable if NHS felt at least insulted.

Also, he was perhaps sick of people not thinking that his big brother was as important as other people, that he was also a human being instead of just a war machine or even a mere tool that can be casted aside whenever they want to. Why did his brother have to die because of other people's greed and selfish decisions? Why did he have to lose the only family he had left forever and why did he have to just sit back and accept it?

Most importantly, LXC had been too blind for more than a decade too long.

Also, the bit about "You're Wangji's only mistake":

Bruh.

If WWX is LWJ's only mistake, then (trusting) LXC is NMJ's only mistake. I mean, sure, WWX is as dumb and oblivious as a rock, but can you really blame him?? HE WAS TRYING TO KEEP HIMSELF, HIS FAMILY, AND THE WEN REMNANTS ALIVE, DUDE'S GOT NO TIME TO THINK ABOUT FKING ROMANCE.

Sorry, I got carried away.

Anyway, are we just gonna ignore the fact that LWJ had been acting like he hated WWX since, like, the first time they met?? I mean, I really love LWJ, but his only mistake is his communication skills (or lack thereof).

But LWJ never gave up on WWX. He learned to express himself way better. Man's got dedication and he's not afraid to learn. I really love that about him.

Also, I understand that LXC was angry because LWJ took beatings to protect WWX, but I don't think he had the right to blame WWX for that. Yes, I know WWX did plenty of things wrong; he was extremely reckless and untrusting, but he never asked LWJ to protect him. LWJ did everything voluntarily. Ffs Xichen WWX didn't even know that LWJ did that. You know why? CAUSE HE WAS FKING DYING THAT'S WHY.

TLDR: LWJ was a grown ass man.

Okay. So, do I hate LXC? No. But do I find him flawed? Yes. But that's why I like MXTX's characters, including WRH, JGY, and LXC (the only exception are perhaps JGS and MXY's fam, and I think we all know why). They all have flaws. For me, LXC is too naive and blind, JGY is too power-hungry and selfish, and NMJ is too stubborn and unyielding. NHS? Well, he's a lot of things. He's manipulative, unsympathetic, and IMO he's got a problem with obsession too. He and JGY are alike, in my opinion. The main difference is their goals: JGY seeks power, NHS seeks revenge.

Everyone has flaws. LWJ and WWX have flaws too; they're EXTREMELY flawed. Heck, even our lord and saviour Shijie also has flaws, as much as it hurts me to type that.

Then why do I get so worked up about LXC's flaws? Honestly I don't really know. Maybe it's because I'm tired of (almost) the entirety of fandom treating him like a god, maybe because I'm tired of people who treat NHS like the devil himself, or maybe because I'm disappointed in him. I mean, JGY's our main villain, but I still love him so much. Heck, I love him even more than I love LXC. Bruh, nowadays I even like WRH more. At least that guy is downright evil and he looks cool while doing whatever evil things WRH does (I'm talking about the novel and donghua mmkay).

Anyway, this is the end of my rant. I apologise if I'm offending you, this is just something that's been bothering me since the first time I re-read MDZS. This whole thing is like a plot bunny but instead of a "plot", the bunny is shaped like a "rant". This is a rant bunny. I need to get this outta my head. I've edited this thing like four times already because I keep finding errors and stuffs. I also added like two new paragraphs.

I'm sad now.

[outro-tearist]

paws of paradise - chapter 2 {bangtan ot7 x reader}

hi everybody! sorry for the inactivity but idek how to do a schedule ever. i think that maybe once a week is what i'm shooting for, but i honestly have no plot and im making it up as i go!

as per usual, i'd appreciate comments, thoughts, suggests, anons, anything! have a great day!

~silver~

chap 1 chap 2 chap 3

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

“Shit.” (Y/N) whispered. Not only were there two new dogs today, but Jimin also couldn’t make it to help with walking today.

Kim Yeontan and Jeon Gureum had joined the roster of new regulars, and while she appreciated the support of her business in the bustling city, she couldn’t help but stress over the fact that so many people were becoming dependent on her.

This was the busiest day she had seen ever since she had packed from her old home in a small countryside town. As the small town stereotype goes, everybody knew everybody in her hometown. She was mostly known for being a farmer’s daughter and having a preference for animals over humans.

After spending most of her teenage years hanging out in barns of cows, horses, goats, and other farm animals, she had realized her passion was helping and caring for them.

At the same time, (Y/N) was bored of her small-town life and wanted to experience the hustle that city life promised. She could have easily gotten a grooming job somewhere in the country but decided that it would be best for her to move to Seoul.

She had never once regretted her decision, but that does not mean it was easy for (Y/N) in any way. Buying a shop, getting certified to groom, remodeling her shop, finding an affordable apartment, and getting a small job before her shop opened were just a few struggles she had fought through.

“You little- c’mon Gureum! I have yummy treats!! Mmmmmmm come get some.” (Y/N) baby talked to the small white dog. He seemed to laugh in her face as it turned around and continued to jump around Yeontan and another larger dog that she forgot the name of.

Gureum seemed to instigate the most trouble out of all the dogs she had met. She would always find the “dynamic duo” (Jimin’s nickname for Gureum and Yeontan) prancing around the other dogs and creating chaos. Yeontan would usually stop when told but would be roped back in by Gureum to run around and bark wildly.

“Gureum! C’mere boy,” a new voice called from behind (Y/N). Apparently, somebody had come into the back of the shop and she didn’t even hear the bell.

She let out a small shriek as he rushed past her legs and made her lose her balance. She desperately tried to regain her balance but unfortunately fell backward. She closed her eyes to brace for the ass flattening she would receive but was only met with a firm chest and bulging arms wrapping around her quickly.

“Oh my gosh! Are you okay Noona?!” the young boyish-faced with the largest build she had seen called out to her.

(Y/N) looked up at the boy with bunny teeth and quickly pushed herself up and off his chest. “AH! Yes! I am all good now,” she chuckled awkwardly. “Um, how did you get back here?”

“I didn’t mean to scare you! I thought you’d heard the bell in the front but then I saw you struggling with him so I thought I would help a little.”

“Is Gureumie yours?”

The boy bashfully ducked his head as he leaned down to pet the calmest version of the white dog the girl had ever seen. “Ah, yeah. My hyungs say that he and I are kinda similar but I don't see it… Anyways, they also told me that you are the best groomer around, and from how he looks now, I think I’ll be here more often.”

“Wow… Thank you, and tell your hyungs thanks too! What’s your name so I can log him out?” (Y/N) was so excited to hear people giving her small shop good reviews. It meant that all her hard work actually meant something.

“I’m Jeon Jeongguk, and I’ll let Namjoon hyung and Seokjin hyung know. They’ll be happy you thought of them too.” he smiled brightly and picked his still wiggly dog up.

“Have a great day! Hope to see you soon.” (Y/N) smiled at Jeongguk as he walked out of the shop. She walked into the back only to see Yeontan jumping up on Jimin.

“Jimin! I thought you were busy today- and how’d you get in?” (Y/N) grinned at her coworker. She felt her cheeks warm and her heart beat a little faster now that he was here, but she brushed it off as soon as Jimin responded.

“The back door is always opened, like usual. And I still am but I just wanted to stop by… check-in and make sure you’re doing alright?” Jimin started somewhat nervously. (Y/N) giggled a little bit as she stood a little closer in order to pet the dog in Jimin’s arms.

“Well, Jimin, I am doing very well right now. In fact, I walked all the dogs AND finished the appointments scheduled so far. Maybe you need to step up your game on dog walking.” (Y/N) teased lightly.

Jimin scoffed, “Oh please, you wouldn’t have hired me if you didn’t need to. Admit it, you need me to be here.”

This statement made (Y/N) freeze up a little. He was her first friend that she had met in Seoul, and thanks to him, she was able to achieve everything she had wanted and more. The girl softened a little bit and looked up into Jimin’s eyes.

“You’re right. I really appreciate all that you’ve done for me. Thank you so, so much.” she expressed her gratitude gently.

Jimin seemed to fluster at this, not expecting a genuine response from his coworker as he stuttered and stumbled to find new words. Luckily for the blushing man, the tinkling bell sounded from the front of the store.

“Hello, welcome to Paradise Pet Groomers, what can I do for you two?” (Y/N) politely asked the men as she walked out of the backroom. “Ah, Yoongi-ssi, good to see you!”

“Likewise.” the stoic man responded. He had Holly on a leash as his dog smelled the second man who walked in with another incredibly handsome man. His face seemed to be perfectly chiseled and he seemed to be a few inches taller than Yoongi standing next to him.

“Hi, Taehyung-ssi. Jimin will be right out with Yeontannie. And Yoongi-ssi, I’ll grab Holly now if you’d tell me what sort of cut you’d like for him.” (Y/N) smoothly managed the two customers.

“Taehyungie!” Jimin shouted as he ran out from the back with Yeontan. Taehyung greeted him back just as excited, and (Y/N) couldn’t help the twists of jealousy that ran through her veins as they seemed so happy to see each other. Despite that, she forced a grin on her face to turn back to Yoongi, who had brought him back into the grooming area.

“Just do the same cut as last time, please. Holly looked good like that.” Yoongi’s deep voice grumbled as he bent down to say goodbye. He let out a few small high-pitched squeals as (Y/N) watched through the window as Jimin and Taehyung were hugging.

Fuck. That should not have made her feel as angry as it did. Yoongi seemed to notice the tension that entered the air as he cleared his throat.

“Oh- sorry. Holly’s cut should only take about an hour and a half, so we’ll see you soon!” (Y/N) tried to crush the bitterness in her voice, but it was useless. Yoongi had to have noticed it, but he didn’t say anything. All he said was, “See you soon, (Y/N).”

(Y/N) took in a strained deep breath, and picked up Holly just as Jimin’s blushing face entered through the back again.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stay longer, but-”

“It’s fine. See you later Jimin.” (Y/N) cut him off shortly. Jimin’s eyebrows raised as he began to wonder what had happened when he was talking to- he blushed a little bit more thinking of Taehyung.

“Did Yoongi say anything? Are you alright…?” Jimin asked tentatively.

“No! I-I’m fine. Sorry to worry you, but you should get going. Don’t wanna be late to wherever you’re going.” Jimin’s shocked face hurt (Y/N) to look at, so she looked down at Holly and brought him to the baths.

“Oh. Right. I guess I’ll get going then.” Jimin stared at her a bit sadly before he awkwardly walked out the backdoor. “Oh my god Holly what is wrong with me.” (Y/N) said to the small brown poodle. He simply panted happily as she scratched behind his ears as the warm water flowed down his back.

[linskywords]

criminal-minds-fanfiction wrote a bunch of questions for authors that you’re supposed to let people ask you, buuuut I felt like answering all of them instead of doing my actual job this afternoon. 😄 Here we go:

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

Like 25 maybe? I started writing about a year after I started reading it. I had a fanfiction-deprived adolescence, y’all.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

The hockey boys pulled me in years ago and they haven’t let me go. I do sometimes write other things: I almost always participate in Yuletide, and I’ve actually written a bunch of Animorphs fic under a different name (ask me if you want to see it!). Mostly hockey RPF, though.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

Haha neither. Well, I guess OC’s, if I had to choose -- I don’t read or write reader inserts. But I tend to keep OC’s for original fiction.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

I was very confused about fic having genres before I realized this was probably referring to the genre of the canon works. Um...sports. :D

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

Don’t make me choose my favorite child. Um, probably the first wolfverse story -- I don’t know if it’s the best one, but I’m very grateful to it for starting the ‘verse!

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

None of them, if that’s an option. If I really had to choose...probably the Kirk/Spock fic I never finished even after uploading it to AO3 and promising to finish it this time. I still want to finish it!! But it would be the first to go.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

I don’t have a strong preference. Afternoon/evening. I like having multi-hour blocks, and I use the Forest app to keep me off my phone while I do it.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Plot bunnies come from all over the place: random thoughts, memes, real-life conversations, suggestions from other fandom people. I tend to have a pretty strong “THIS IS A STORY I WANT TO WRITE” response when something grabs me the right way.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

Haha this is probably why I’m not supposed to just answer all of these in order. XD I’ll answer for my current WIP: the scene where Geno kisses Sid for the first time. So soft. So angsty. 😈 (My own story has cursed me to love Geno. I am doomed.)

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

In general: I know how my stories are going to end when they start. Sometimes it does evolve a bit as I write. One thing I’d like to play with is including more of the main characters being together at the end of the story, instead of ending it at the moment when they get together; the latter makes sense from a tension perspective, but I’ve been finding when I read lately that I want more of the happy times at the end, so I’m going to try to move in that direction.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Only for typos, I think.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Ooooh. Either Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews. There’s something so compelling to me about Patrick’s fanon voice. And every love interest in every original story I try to write is Jonny.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

I...don’t really write about characters I don’t like? I wish Auston Matthews would shave his mustache.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.

About fifty percent of the titles I come up with are desperate scrambles because I’ve got nothing. The other fifty percent I have a perfect song lyric for from the start.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

I only write OC’s in original fiction, but: I’ve been phonebanking lately, and I’ve been writing down all the good names I come across. The best so far is someone with the last name Quackenboss.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?

MAGIC.

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

Oh...oh no. Um.

“It doesn’t matter what he was thinking about. His knot popped; that’s the important thing.”

Some of you can probably guess what that’s about. :)

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Mostly on my computer. I have a lot of beginnings of stories I haven’t finished yet; many of them I’ll probably go back to. I tend not to post things until I’m done or close to done with them. (That one Star Trek fic being an exception. Mea culpa.)

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

YES. The 1988 timer one and the 1988 story where Patrick’s a girl who sneaks onto the Blackhawks in disguise. I’d love to do a Bennguin version of both of those.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Hm. Some of them I think I rushed a little. More Than I Could Ever Promise, I think it needs a good old-fashioned battle scene in the mountains at the end to really round out the plot.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Have I mentioned astolat? What, only two or three hundred times? I should mention her again, then. Give me that woman’s ability to plot. Inject it into my veins.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Haha. I often have slightly cringy moments in my old stories. You Made My Life an Adventure, I definitely didn’t really know what I was doing yet...

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

I usually listen to music.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Turned on.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Yes. The sequel to My Heart Forgets to Beat.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?

The Sid/Geno wolfverse story I’m working on now is maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever written. The language barrier is such a new challenge for me.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I don’t formally outline, but I tend to have a sense of the major plot beats. One reason I love writing fic is that the plot and world tend to be straightforward enough for that. I have a lot more trouble doing that with original fiction.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

This will radically reduce the amount of time I spend writing original fiction.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Like You Have a Secret I think is less read than some of the others because it’s het, but I really love it. Similarly, some of my stories that are inspired by other works (Tangled, Doctor Who, The Giver) tend to be read less because people think they need to know the source material, when really I deviate from the source material so much it’s not important.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Huh. Probably not. I’m definitely surprised when some stories take off -- Kinda Narrows It Down I wrote pretty quickly, on a whim, and I was surprised by the extent to which it resonated with people. Turns out lots of people think Tyler was coming out in that tweet. XD

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

Ooh. Ignoring the terms of this question, but: I just read this TK/Patty story and loooved it. It’s a different take on werewolves than the one I use in wolfverse, and it’s super compelling:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029188

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Hahahahahaha. (I mean...less so than you might think.)

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

I absolutely love it when people write screaming flaily responses to my fic. Also anytime anyone says that they’ve been having a tough time and my story was exactly what they needed. Maybe my favorite was the responses to More Than I Could Ever Promise that told me it read like a novel; that meant a lot to me right then.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

Fandom is amazing; people almost never give me concrit. I did have someone ask once if I randomly chose when to stop writing and just ended my stories there. I was pretty offended, since of course that’s not true at all, but I can see where they were coming from: my stories tend to wrap up after the characters get together, and sometimes there’s a lot of potential story left to tell at that point. But stories have to end sometime.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I tend to share them! I find other people’s enthusiasm to be strongly motivating, and sometimes people have awesome suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

Well, I only have the one. XD Sid...is about to have an important conversation with Mario.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

Ooh, I’m not sure I’m the write person to answer! No idea, really. My recent TK/Patty is probably pretty funny. Or maybe Quality Time, where Patrick doesn’t understand why he keeps losing track of time when he’s cuddling with Jonny. Anything with a super dumb protagonist, probably.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

Wow, I have no idea. I’ve never really written a story with someone, so I’m not sure how that would work. I want to say astolat again but honestly I’d be too intimidated.

...no, I’m gonna say astolat. Even if I made a fool of myself I think I would learn a ton.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

Third. For some original stuff I like first person, but third feels right for the hockey boys.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

My close friends do. Most of my friends have the vague idea I write fic, but they don’t know my username or anything.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

Patrick Sharp. No question.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.

I will legit listen to a new album with a doc open to write down promising lyrics. Titles are HARD, y’all.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I think people guessed where the Tangled fic was going. Though I also liked the guesses that it would be about Patrick’s mullet. XD I don’t really mind when people guess twists -- in the kind of story I write, it’s more about the experience of reading it than about surprise!

44) What is the last line you wrote?

“His parents have always been very respectful of any choices Sid’s wanted to make. They haven’t pried into his private life when he’s tried to set boundaries. But they’re wolves, and they know him a lot better than Jordy does. Sid isn’t going to be able to keep it a secret from them what he’s going through.”

...no guarantee it survives in that form. :D

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Getting the story out of my head and into reality! Spoon out that lake, baby.

I also do love the prospect of posting it for people to enjoy and respond to. It’s one of the reasons I find fic so much more rewarding than original fiction, where the timeline to a readership is so much longer.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

Things, probably.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

This exercise might be going off the rails a bit. (If anyone does want to pose this to me, feel free!)

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Ooh. Mutual pining. Friends to lovers. Werewolves. :D

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

The first fic I ever, ever read was a random Kirk/Spock one I found through google, and I was like “OMG IS THIS WHAT AROUSAL FEELS LIKE”

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Oh man. Angst, as long as it can have a happy ending. But it just wouldn’t be the same without the smut.

[pastelpaperplanes]

Calling in a favor - Part 1 - Cops and Mob AU

A plot bunny got loose last night and after checking with Pastel, I wrote the first part of what looks to be a multi shot. Be aware two of my OC's are gonna be characters her alongside those already established for this AU.

----

Slag was going to go sideways soon, and Megatron had borrowed time to try and prevent it.

It had all started with that new hire, that gorgeous siren with an aft that was just sculpted for high cut attire the entertainers at his nightclub wore. 

Orion Pax.

A sweet, soft spoken mech who’d practically stumbled through the door one day in loose fitting yet still somehow fitting attire, and half begged for a job as if he was begging someone not to kill him.

At the time Megatron had thought little of it, he was young, the scene would scare him off in a day or two.

One night in and the young mech with lips perter than those he’d seen on some femmes, which became even more optic catching with that red lipstick, and he was the new favourite of his patrons.

Megatron hadn’t minded, more than happy to accept the uptick in patrons who wanted to see the new singer/dancer his club had to offer. 

He’d joined his patrons more than a couple times now to admire the new view, and found his lap full of the young mech on more than one occasion, very eager to please his new boss this one, and the view was always so much better up close. 

Once the patrons were gone, he’d made a habit of giving Orion one last drink on for the night, on his personal limitless tab, which he always got a rather timid ‘thank you sir’ from the bot who was always so much meeker and timid off the stage, from there just a couple words were exchanged before Orion was off for the night.

Megatron swore the mech shrunk when his stage persona faded away, or at least, he was always trying to make himself seem small, less likely to draw attention.

A good trait to have really.

Alas, it was hardly enough to keep Shockwave off the young mech.

Now again, Megatron was no fool, few tried so hard to get on his good side without ulterior motives, and there was a high chance he was a very dedicated to the act informant for the Elite Guard. 

But there was equally a chance that he really was just a poor sod laid off from his old job by the current mess of an economy Iacon faced and in desperate need for the money to keep the tiny apartment that he lived in, the place had been scouted by some of his mechs to check the story, and everything came through that the mech was telling the truth about being just that desperate for a job.

Shockwave however, was not so easily convinced, and no matter how many times he’d warned the one opticed mech to not cause a mess with the new employee, it felt like he was pulling on a slipping lead, and Shockwave was the enraged hound he was trying to keep from slaughtering the poor innocent pup he had set his one optic on. 

He’d caught the mech twice now threatening to make sure that no one would find Orion’s body right to the rightfully terrified mechs face. 

He’d had stern words for the mech, but he could practically see them going in one antler and out the other as that one red optic glazed over.

Shockwave was unfortunately in that mindset of ‘he was right, and he’d prove it’.

A state that, in any other situation, Megatron more than welcomed, it certainly kept the spilt energon off his servos, but this time, when the mechs target was Orion’s fresh energon, well, he was having to put his pede down.

At the present moment he was locked in his soundproof office, he had shoved a slug of extra credits to Orion and told him to get a cab home instead of walking, using the credible excuse of the mild acid rain outside to get him safely back to his shoddy apartment as possible.

Then he’d kept Shockwave behind by giving him every menial locking up task he could, the shady dealings done for the cycle it was mostly cleaning up the nightclub. 

Shockwave had vocalised his displeasure once during that time, a withering glare and Lugnut snarling from the main door the behemoth stood by swiftly shut him up.

Shockwave knew him hounding Orion had put him on Megatron’s ‘I tolerate you because you’re useful’ list, and he was going to have tread very carefully for a while to get back off that list… but it still stung to realise that his boss really was that far gone under the siren spell of that mystery bot claiming to go by the designation ‘Orion Pax’.

Eventually Megatron ran out of tasks for Shockwave to do, and finally released the mech for the night as well as telling Lugnut to go home, Strika likely had dinner ready for him, he passed them bot a slug of credits to pay for the over time before he retired to where he was now, in his locked office trying to figure out what to do.

He couldn’t keep this up, having to keep an optic on Orion and Shockwave each to make sure the later didn’t find a way to do in the former when he wasn’t looking. It didn’t leave much of his attention for everything else, and that could become very costly if he wasn’t careful...

He couldn’t get rid of Shockwave, he was too useful, and knew too much to just let go.

And he was not his brother, he would never kill a mech like Shockwave over something like this, it was a waste of use.

Orion was an innocent mech who just wanted to earn enough to keep his helm above the slag of this world, and he doubted he’d recharge well if he just let Shockwave have his way and offline the entertainer for the apparent crime of being able to do his job…

He brought the tips of his digits to his optics and rubbed, trying to get the residue buildup out of the seams around his optics.

As he pulled his digits away, his optics landed on the one picture frame he had on his desk.

It was a picture from his younger vorns, back when Megazarak ran the show and he was second in command. 

Leaning on the back of each of his broad shoulders, where the two bots he knew that, through the molten slag of the pits, and the emptiness of space, would always have his back.

Sol and Neb, abbreviations of their longer full designations, split spark twins who he had befriended by happenstance when they had stumbled upon him beaten half into the slag of a gutter. 

They’d been dressed all fancy, out for a night on the town to have some fun.

They’d been pulled into the fight Megazarak was still embroiled in when they tried to help him to his pedes, bleeding sparks he’d assumed at a time.

Then one of the mechs who’d way laid him had grabbed Sol by the neck and well…

That was the cycle he learned just how quickly an enraged femme could offline a mech with the heel of their shoe.

The stiletto had gone right through the optic and pierced the processor, dooming the mech to the Well right sharpish.

Neb hadn’t even missed a beat, put her shoe back on, just as her twin had pulled out a wicked looking switch blade that had some very nasty hooked edges to it. 

The greying mechs friend didn’t take well to his friend being done in with a shoe. 

He’d charged.

Now Megatron hadn’t been in the best state, and when things started to really move, it had become a blur he couldn’t follow, past a rather noticeable spray of neon pink as the mechs neck was slit across the front and sprayed all over a nearby wall.

He’d passed out completely from the helm trauma not much later, and had woken up in a very nice hotel room all patched up and Megazarak scowling and pouting on a very plush chair not far from the equally plush berth he was on, med-patches slapped on haphazardly, he had assumed as a result of Megazarak being a terrible patient and their ‘saviors’ not really having much experience with first aid.

They’d come in not long later, introductions had happened, and somehow, they’d never lost touch.

He quickly learned they were the all or nothing types, once they were on your side 100%, there was no wavering in their loyalty, and their morals were very flexible when they didn’t come to other femmes or sparklings. 

Some of the things he’d seen them so easily do to mechs had floored him in a way that sometimes still put a chill down his back strut.

What really mattered was, when the time came to pick a side between him and Megazarak, they hadn’t even hesitated to stand by him.

Megazarak barely put up a fight, it would have just prolonged his death, and there was no point making the tragedy of the situation stretch out any more than it had to.

Not long after that though, they had come to them, and told him, rather flatly he remembered, that their sire, a famous starship captain, had been diagnosed with a terminal and rather fast acting disease he’d picked up when traveling with his mate and ship to one of the distant colonies. 

They had at most an orn to spend with their creators before both returned to the well, their carrier would follow their sire’s spark at most a cycle after their mate passed. 

He’d hugged them as tight as he could, and promised to stay in touch, they all knew what this meant. 

The inheritance would come, and with it, the family’s starship fleet.

Saying the twins came from wealth would of been a laughable understatement. 

But the facts stood.

Family meant too much for them, and it was their duty to follow the family legacy as the captains of the fleet, specifically the flagship.

A new one, built for them on orders of their sire.

They’d depart Cybertron within the orn of their creators passing, and likely only return to Cybertron, let alone Iacon, infrequently for the rest of their cycles.

He missed them dearly, but he was also happy for them.

They were the only two bots he knew, who’d been able to bow out in grace from the Mob, and not have anyone come after them.

Mostly because of how much terror they’d instilled into the sparks of those who lived through their time being his left and right hand. 

The more he thought back on the good times, the more an idea formed in his helm.

He needed an outside opinion, someone's view of things that didn’t have a major bias in the current situation, but who still knew all the background context to understand the severity of the situation he’d found himself in. 

He picked up his phone, and dialed the number he had long since memorised.

It rung twice before it went through, a bubbly, yet sultry voice coming over the line, if he was anyone else that voice alone would have had him smitten. 

::This is Nebularburst, Co-Captain of the Transgalactic Flagship Polaris speaking, how may I… Mega! You called!::

He chuckled. “I see you noticed the call number.”

::Oh hush you caught me off guard! Normally you send me and Sol a com message saying you want to call first!::

That was true. “I apologise, I was in a bit of a hurry to call you… something has come up… and I need an outside opinion to help me make the right decision.”

Neb’s tone shifted from the happy babble she’d started with to a tone he recognised as her ‘down to business’ manner. ::I’m all audios.::

So, he relayed the situation, from hiring Orion Pax as an entertainer, to that night where he had to hold back Shockwave for over two joors to make sure the mech wouldn’t try and catch the poor scared half witless entertainer on his way home. 

Neb dutifully listened to the whole sworded tale, and waited for him to finish before she spoke, and the moment she did, he knew she had an idea.

He’d known her too long not to know how to read her by her voice alone, they’d been able to do little else for decavorns now.

::You have his work contract in your office right?::

“Of course, I have it right here… why?”

::Is it the same kind of contract we’ve been using since Sol suggested it?::

Oh, oh now he saw where she was going, he checked the fine print, there it was, tucked away innocently enough. “It is… tell me Neb… I wish to cash in a rather large favour from you... when will the Polaris next be docking on Cybertron?”

::Within six cycles actually… we were hoping to surprise you with a dinner while Polaris is taken through the motions. But this situation is more important than a nice meal out to catch up…::

“Next time perhaps… if we do this, you’ll keep him safe?”

::Of course we will! Hmmm… wait… hold up… Sol’s just saying something over the bond… oh… oooh! Oh my Primus! Mega! We’re so proud of you!::

He wasn’t going to lie to himself, her sudden burst of excitement over the line startled him. 

“What?! What are you talking about? Has something happened?!”

::Happened? … Oh… Oh Megaaaa… don’t you see what’s happened? No… no of course you haven’t… you’re pride and work have gone and given you a blind spot again... :: She paused to sigh. :: I guess I’ve got to spell it out to you over the com and not get to the see the face you’re about to make when I say it…::

That wasn’t good, he was already flinching back a bit, bracing for impact. 

::Hmm… Mega, my dear old bricks for a processor friend… you’re… in… love…::

----

Hope you like it Pastel!

[i-like-plan-m]

shades of grey, pt 3

[part 1] [part 2] [Ao3]

Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang crept along the wall in the luminous moonlight, keeping carefully to the shadows. They had yet to see Nie Mingjue, too busy wrestling with whatever the hell they had tucked inside their robes. 

Nie Mingjue crossed his arms and wondered what heinous act he’d committed in a past life to deserve this. At his side, Nie Zonghui chuckled as the boys whispered back and forth to each other, Nie Huaisang trotting desperately after Wei Wuxian on his short legs. 

“Wait for meee!” Nie Huaisang whined, stumbling over his robes.

“Shh!” Wei Wuxian hissed. He waved Nie Huaisang on, skirting the edges of the training grounds. 

“It’s always some scheme or another,” Nie Mingjue said, shaking his head. “If I’d known the havoc Wei Wuxian would bring…” 

“You still would have brought him back,” his friend said with amusement and a knowing look. “He has a good heart. His mischief is never cruel or harmful.” 

“Except when he flings himself off of things and breaks all his bones.” 

“Just the two, so far,” Nie Zonghui said mildly. “Besides, Nie Huaisang enjoys his company.” 

Of course he did, Nie Mingjue thought, rolling his eyes. Wei Wuxian enabled all his brother’s half-brained plots to avoid training and paint all day and chase birds all across the mountain. If it sounded like fun and something the adults wouldn’t approve of, Wei Wuxian was bound to be an enthusiastic participant. 

But-- he had to admit, Wei Wuxian’s arrival had brought some of the light back into Nie Huaisang’s eyes, light that had faded upon their father’s violent accident and slow, agonizing death. His mother’s death not months later had turned Nie Huaisang into a shell, a feeble little waif who cried constantly and spent entire days curled up in his bed. 

Now, Nie Mingjue had to chase them both around at all hours of the day so the little idiots didn’t get themselves killed. But his brother was smiling again, laughing even, so Nie Mingjue could hold no real grudge against either of them. 

He watched as the boys darted past a disciple on watch, around the corner, up the stairs- only to skid to a halt, triumphant faces falling at the sight of Nie Mingjue’s unimpressed stare. 

“What are you doing?” Nie Mingjue asked suspiciously. 

“Nothing, da-ge!” Nie Huaisang chirped, inching sideways like he was planning to make a run for it. Nie Mingjue narrowed his eyes.

“Just playing!” Wei Wuxian agreed. The lump under his robes squirmed, and he clamped his arms over it with an innocent expression that only ever meant trouble. 

“Do you want to run laps all night?” Nie Mingjue asked severely. 

They wilted. “No,” they chorused. 

“Hand it over, then,” Nie Mingjue ordered, holding out a hand. Nie Huaisang and Wei Wuxian traded looks, hesitant, before Nie Huaisang reluctantly pulled the lump out of his robes and placed it in Nie Mingjue’s palm. 

The tiny rabbit blinked up at him. Nie Mingjue blinked back, equally surprised. 

The bunny trembled, presumably in shock from being unceremoniously kidnapped and smuggled into the Unclean Realm. 

“Not this again,” he sighed. How many times were they going to try this? 

“I told you he was still mad about the snake!” Nie Huaisang hissed, elbowing Wei Wuxian. Nie Mingjue took a slow breath, temper rising at the reminder, and felt Nie Zonghui’s shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter beside him, the bastard. 

“Give me the rest,” he said once he’d shoved away the memory of walking into his brother’s rooms one night and accidentally picking up a snake that he’d thought was a pile of ribbons thrown haphazardly on the floor. He’d nearly qi deviated on the spot.

“A-all of them?” Nie Huaisang asked, squirming guiltily. Wei Wuxian was looking carefully away from everyone, still clutching his own unknown number of bunnies.

“Yes, all of them, why would I only want-- Wait. Huaisang,” Nie Mingjue said with dawning dread. “How many rabbits have you already brought back?” 

“Um,” Nie Huaisang hedged. “Maybe… maybe three?” 

“Maybe three?” 

“Or four!” Nie Huaisang cried. “I don’t know!” 

Nie Mingjue closed his eyes and resigned himself to chasing stupid rabbits around for the rest of the night. Heavens only knew the chaos if they were left free to roam and reproduce.

“A hawk ate their mom! We saw!” Wei Wuxian piped up, eyes wide and earnest. “It was so gross! Huaisang cried.” 

“So did you!” Nie Huaisang accused. He looked up at Nie Mingjue, lower lip wobbling. “Da-ge, it tried to eat the babies, too.” 

“We couldn’t leave the rest, so we brought them here,” Wei Wuxian said. His rabbit was steadily making its way towards his sleeve, seeking escape from the boy’s black robes. He did not appear to notice. 

“Do I look like I’m running a menagerie here?” Nie Mingjue demanded, sweeping a hand out at the stark ground of the Unclean Realm. Too late, he realized he’d gestured with the hand holding the baby rabbit, which did not contribute to the severity of his appearance. Nie Zonghui was valiantly choking back laughter.

“Da-ge!” Nie Huaisang stamped his foot. “We saved them! They were gonna die!” 

Nie Huaisang scowled up at him. Nie Mingjue copied it instinctively, though he was quietly relieved to see his brother’s spark return. Even if he was being a brat. 

“If you set them loose in the Unclean Realm, the rabbits will outnumber the humans within a month,” Nie Mingjue growled. “Go get the rest.” 

He followed them to ensure they obeyed and didn’t try to stuff any stray rabbits somewhere in their rooms, looming over them while they slid open the door to Wei Wuxian’s room and looked around uncertainly. 

“Well?” He demanded. Nie Zonghui leaned against the wall and petted the rabbit he’d liberated from Wei Wuxian’s robes, clearly enjoying himself. 

Wei Wuxian scratched at his head. “I don’t know where they went, Chifeng-Zun.” 

“Uh oh,” Nie Huaisang said before Nie Mingjue could speak. Everyone turned to where Huaisang crouched in the corner of the room. He stuck his little fingers through a hole in the delicate divider between the boys’ rooms and wiggled them. “Da-ge, I think they’re in my room now.” 

Nie Zonghui cleared his throat. “Nie Huaisang, did you leave your door open again?” 

A beat of silence, and then- “Oops.” 

Nie Mingjue briefly fantasized throttling them both. “Tell the servants to look for them. They can hand them off to the kitchen once they’re caught.” 

There was an immediate barrage of noise, so loud the bunny in his hand squeaked and cowered behind the cage of his fingers. 

“What! Chifeng-Zun, you can’t!”

“But da-ge, we saved them!” Huaisang wailed. 

“Huaisang and I will catch them, I promise!” Wei Wuxian said anxiously. 

“I can’t believe you,” Huaisang howled, flinging himself bodily into Nie Mingjue’s side.

His family used to be butchers, Nie Mingjue thought despondently, faced with the threat of tears over the fate of a handful of bunnies. They were respected and feared, both then and now. Where did he go wrong?

“Fine, just go catch them!” He snapped, swatting half-heartedly at the hands tugging on his robes. They brightened so fast that he suspected he’d been played, but they were out the door before he could say anything else. 

Nie Zonghui continued to stroke his bunny, now tucked in the crook of his arm and dozing peacefully. “So,” he said, positively brimming with laughter. 

“Not a word,” Nie Mingjue warned, shoving his own rabbit into his hands and stalking out the door. 

Much later that night, closer to dawn than dusk and only two more rabbits captured, Nie Mingjue dropped into his bed with an exhausted sigh. 

Seconds later, a soft noise in his room had him jerking up, Baxia rattling in response as he propped himself up on an elbow and squinted warily into the darkness- 

And stared in disbelief at the bunny in the center of his room, twitching its nose at him. They watched each other for a long moment, neither moving, and then Nie Mingjue rolled over with a sound of disgust and went to sleep.

[sideblogformindtrash]

CW: NSFW no-con, abusive relationship dynamic, reluctant whumper, physical abuse, emotional abuse(?), mentions of death, murder and trauma; grabbing; swearing, screaming; mentions of breaking bones/restraints. 

Y’all want more random oc whump with no context? Also this one was supposed to be part of a VN plot that I scrapped bc was nervous about letting people actually see it, so It branches out a lot all the time and I kind of just reunited the pieces I liked more for this part. Sorry it’s long and angst. Also not pet whump, they just have dumb animal codenames ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

…Crow reaches the building reception. It’s darkish in there, as the only light comes from the setting sun. This part of the building does not receive electrical power. Most of The City doesn’t, anwyay. He is about to leave, but notices some movement behind him.

He turns abruptly. Bunny is standing on the base of the stairs. Crow clenches his fists. Bunny is not allowed to leave their apartment. On the other hand, he was one sneaky little bastard. He wouldn’t have noticed him if he hadn’t intentionally made noise.

“What the hell are you doing here? I told you not to leave the apartment.”

“Yeah I… I know.”

“Than what the hell are you standing there for? Run back upstairs before I beat you and drag you there myself.”

“No, just… Just listen.”

Listen. Crow crosses his arm and stares, a face that says ‘better be worth it.’

“You shouldn’t go outside today.”

Bunny is struggling to make sense of his own words. Crow lifts an eyebrow.

“Because…?”

“It’s just… I feel something bad will happen to you if you go out.”

“…And why would you care? I’ve given you plenty of reasons to not give a fuck about my safety. Thought you would be happy if I died, actually”

“NO!” It’s a half scream, as he goes down the last two steps of the staircase “I don’t want anyone to get hurt. I don’t want you to die!”

…He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. What a fucking joke. When Crow closes his eyes, he can almost see her again, her head cracked open on the pavement. One moment she was there and then… Gone.

“Yeah now you care about us.”

Bunny shakes his head, looking at the floor.

“I never wanted it to end that way.”

“You are a fucking liar, that’s what you are Bunny.”

“It’s not… I didn’t knew. I swear.” Little tears starting to form on the corners of that pretty face “Won’t you ever forgive me?”

“Maybe when you learn to raise up the dead.  You are seriously upsetting me. Go back upstairs. Now.”

“No!” He dares “I-I might not be worthy of forgiveness but I am trying to help you now, please.”

“Yeah, sure you are.”

“Please… Can’t you see I just… I want you to be safe?”

“I don’t know? Can’t you see I’m about to punch your stupid face if you don’t get out of here?”

“…Fine. You are right anyway” Bunny clenches his fists and puffs his chest, as if that could make  him look threatening.  “I do hope you fucking die!”

…He must have noticed the sparkle that lit up Crown’s face, showing that he had gone too far. Immediately he cowered again, and turned to run upstairs. Crow advances like an arrow, covering the distance between the two and blocking his path.

Bunny changes direction before Crow could grab him and tries to run outside. Again, Crow only need a moment to be over him,, this time grabbing his wrist and throwing him against the reception desk.

“N-No! Stop it!”

Bunny tries to push him away, so he punches him on the stomach. He gasps, out of air, but keeps trying to fight. Grabbing him by the hair, Crow pulls his head backwards until he lets out a cry. He tries to claw at Crow’s hands, only to get punched again.

“Just stop struggling, you’ll only make things worse on yourself”

He is mostly immobilized now, and starts to hyperventilate. He pulls his face as far from Crow as he can manage… And gives up, letting his body go limp.

“P-please…”

Crow nuzzles at his neck and runs his tongue through it, giving kisses and bites.

“Crow… Crow don’t…” He tries again “C-Can we just… Later… Please. I’ll… I’ll do it later just not-“

Crow pushes him further against the table and pulls his shirt off. He sobs a bit, while Crow slides his hands down his pants.

“Not like this. Not when you are angry…” sobs “Not just because you want to hurt me.”

Just because you want to hurt him. As if that would make him feel any better. Slowly, Crow lets go of him. They stare at each other for a moment… Bunny pushes Crow and runs out the door.

…Just like that he is gone. Crow pulls his legs closer, into a hug, silently staring, wondering if he should follow. Can’t even feel angry about this just… Numb. After a while, Crow gets back on his feet and lay down on the old sofa of the reception, a cloud of dust lifting once he falls there. Everything is dark and silent now.

He closes his eyes, hoping to dose off and get a break from his thoughts. Maybe he had really gone too far. He tried to remember what it felt like to be the one getting hurt. He had promised his younger self that he would be better than those people. That he would be a hero. What a fucking joke.

He wondered if that was an idea he had brought from the Crystal World. His home. The only thing he had left of that place was a tiny statue of a crow and that stupid City Patch, where he had come from. No one else had ever come from there, he was the only one of his kind. All alone.

Memories of childhood among huge crystal spires, ever-changing colors and cold breeze nurse him to sleep.

The feeling of being watched wakes him up again. Eyes in the dark watching him, Bunny nervously holding his shirt.

“So… You will break my legs now?” He asks, nervously twisting the fabric.

“Huh?”

“…Coyote said I’d have my legs broken if I tried to run away again. That I’d be chained to the wall.”

“Hm. Yeah, no. You came back.”

The first time it happened, Coyote had broken one of his arms. He was by far the most aggressive and vicious of the group. Crow was too angry, too sad and too lost to care, and just let the man do about anything he wanted to Bunny. But nowadays… Well, he was keeping an eye on them so that it wouldn’t go too far.

Crow sighs. He felt apologies were worthless, but…

“I guess you really wanted to help me this time, for some reason. I pushed you to it. I’m… Hm, I’m sorry.”

“I…” Bunny looks down “Thank you.”

Crow signals for Bunny to come closer. Reluctant, he does. Crow pulls Bunny over him. He flinches, but…

“I’m not going to hurt you. Just… Just stay with me. Please.”

Bunny nods, and let’s himself rest on top of Crow, laying his head on the man’s chest, hearing his heart. They both stay together as stars appear on the sky, silence and stillness cover that world like a thick dust.

“Crow?” Bunny says finally “You…. You still want to have sex?”

“That… wasn’t the point. You were right. I only wanted to hurt you.”

“I know…” he sighs “But it’s okay now. I think. Or… are you still angry?”

Bunny lifts his head, Crow pushes away a lock of hair out of the tear-stained face.

“I’m… Always angry I guess. Not at you just… At everything” Crow sighs, not wanting to hold eye contact “You don’t have to do it.”

“… Not being angry… Doesn’t mean you have forgiven me”

He leans his head on Crow chest again, quietly weeping. Crow pets his head. No, he hasn’t. But his forgiveness wasn’t worth much of anything anyways.

“The worst isn’t that you hurt me Crow” he whispers “The worst part is that I feel like I deserve it. You think so too, don’t you? You all do. But I can’t fix what I did.”

He sits over Crow, now trying to wipe away the angry tears.

“And later you regret hurting me or something and try to act nice to appease your consciousness or something, and I’ll believe you because I’m so desperate for things to get any better! Shit… You… You are doing that right now, but tomorrow will be the same shit all over again because just like everything on this stupid fucking planet, time is standing still. And there is no way for this to change because I can’t undo what I did.”

Crow tries to hug him again, but slapping Crow’s hands to the side, he falls into a much more desperate cry, hiding his face on his hands.

“I… I wish you’d love me again. Like you did before all this”

Crow’s chest tightens a little. Back then… things indeed seemed much better. And Crow did love him, and so did Ferret. But that’s what made the betrayal so much worse.

“Why would you want me to love you, I’ve done nothing but hurt you… For months now”

“Everyone has hurt me.” His sobs turn to screams that cut the heavy silence of that world “My entire fucking life I’ve been thrown around by people who didn’t care about me beyond whatever they wanted to use me for. But you are the only one that made me feel like can’t live without you… And I fucking hate you for that.”

Bunny cries louder, gasps for air and eventually… Calms down. Crow waits, patiently, lost in thought.

“…I hate myself for it too. I wish I could bring her back. I wish I hadn’t fucked up the only good thing I ever had. But I can’t”

“Bunny… Do you want to leave?”

Bunny frowns, eyes red from crying. He cleans the tears, and thinks for the longest time.

“If I say I do… Will you really let me leave?”

Crow nods.

“…No… I don’t. But you know that already, don’t you? If I wanted to go… I wouldn’t have come back”

“Did you come back because… Because of the things you just told me?”

“Yeah. I guess. But also… Where would I even go?”

And that was the question that plagues everyone on that City, all struggling for shreds of normalcy that had been stolen from them by some cruel trick of the universe.

He seems so tired, standing there, chest moving slowly, the pale skin marked by bruises. Crown envies him for his looks, skin that is still soft and not completely covered in scars like his own.

“…You and the others… Are the closest I’ve had from a family in years. And it hurts because I still love you.” He shakes his head “… I wish you would love me back or… Or just hate me all at once. I’m just so… So tired of having you toy with me like this.”

Bunny lays down again, head against his heart.

“You think you could ever love me again, Crow?”

Crow stares away into the ceiling. Loving him again meant taking responsibility for the pain he caused him. For every. Single. Bruise. Every. Single. Tear. And more importantly, never ever doing it again.

…It meant forgiving him.

“It’s too much to ask for, isn’t it?” Bunny seems to be shivering, fighting his tears again “I get it. But… Is it okay if I pretend you still do? At least… At least maybe now?”

“Yeah” Crow says, wrapping him on a tight hug “For now, is okay if you do.”

[teababe27]

Notes From the 2020 Myanimelist.net Challenges - Part 2: Manga

Time for Part 2 of the Thoughts on the Challenge posts; this one talking about the manga side.

A lot of the executive dysfunction and side effects of the chemo kinda took away my desire to read sometimes. As such, I didn’t get as far into the challenge as I had hoped, only getting about halfway through the required amount I had chosen for myself. There were even a few manga I was reading for the challenge that I have unfortunately not yet finished (Billy Bat, Battle Angel Alita, Meteor Methuselah), so I reluctantly won’t be including them on here. However, I did still read and finish some decent manga and some pretty good ones, too.

Like the anime post, I will mention some honorable mentions/one I had thoughts on, followed by my favorites that I read for the challenge this year.

Let’s do this.

Honorable Mentions/Other Notables:

Scumbag Loser (aka Saiteihen no Otoko) - completed for the task “Read a manga series you can finish in one day”

Masahiko is a fat, perverted loser who has a smell fetish and thinks everyone is beneath him. He takes solace in the fact that he’s not the Class Loser. However, when the Class Loser gets a girlfriend, Masahiko becomes the new Class Loser. Desperate to get out of this position, he lies and says he has a girlfriend: his childhood friend Haruka, who transfers to his class the next day. But there’s a problem that only Masahiko knows: Haruka died several years before. 

This wins Worst of the Challenge, but I didn’t hate it entirely. Masahiko is not a good person, which is usually a negative in my book. This manga basically goes from 0 to 100 real fast. It takes a couple unexpected turns and I couldn’t help but wonder how the problem would be stopped. Ends on a bit of a downer.

Dragon Head - completed for the task “Read a manga that started serialization in the 90s”

While on a school field trip, the train carrying the students crashes after a natural disaster. Teru is the only survivor in his class. While trying to find a way out, he finds two other survivors, Ako and Nobuo. The three survivors try to escape while dealing with lack of food and light, earthquakes, cults, and the freaking apocalypse happening outside.

This manga was quite the ride. Creepy and scary at times. The artwork was really good, definitely adding to the atmosphere. I liked the characters. The story did kinda drag a bit in the middle and I felt the ending was kinda rushed and stopped inconclusively, but I liked this one.

Omukae Desu - completed for the task “Read a manga that started publishing the same month and year as one of your listed favorites” (Azumanga Daioh, in this case)

Madoka is a college student who has the power to see lost souls, kinda like the Ghost Whisperer. He is recruited by Nabeshima (the guy in the bunny suit on the manga cover) to work for the GSG, an organization that helps transport wandering souls to the afterlife. In order to help, Madoka often lets the souls briefly take over his body to do various things that they always wanted to do before passing on.

This manga was actually pretty adorable at times. Lighthearted and fun. Characters are kinda hit-and-miss, though their interactions are very amusing. I liked it.

Deathtopia - completed for the task “Read a manga that got cancelled/axed”

Kou Fujimura is an average guy. One day, he gets into an accident and is severely injured, leaving him blind and on the brink of death. He gets surgery and survives, but he now has psychic abilities and can see weird monsters. A mysterious woman appears, and she recruits him to help her and her fellow hot assassins who work for the police department. He helps the ladies take out the aforementioned weird monsters called Cheaters, people who come back from the dead with special abilities and blend in with normal people.

I liked the story/concept a lot. Kinda gave me Parasyte vibes at times. A little bit too fanservice-y at times. Very good in the beginning, but took a lot of lapses in logic (pointed out in the scanlations I read) near the end, and the ending felt rushed, though I can blame that on the manga being prematurely cancelled. I still recommend this one, as the story is interesting and the action is good.

The!! Beach Stars - completed for the task “Read a manga with a symbol in the title”

The sequel to the manga Beach Stars that I read for last year’s challenge. 

Iruka and the rest of the team are back, getting ready for and competing in the Madonna Cup. Iruka’s goal is still the same: to beat the local volleyball champ Sanae Kayakawa.

Everything I liked about the prequel is here. The action/sports scenes are great, and the camaraderie between the ladies is cool, too. Though it is disappointing that this sequel is only 12 or 13 chapters, as some things could have used more buildup and fleshing out, especially the final match. Still a fun read, though.

Favorites from the Challenge:

Watashitachi no Shiawase na Jikan (aka Our Happy Time) - completed for the task “Read a featured manga” (Article: https://myanimelist.net/featured/1561/11_Epic_Manga_That_Deserve_to_Be_Adapted_into_Anime)

Juri is a former pianist who has gone down a dark path after a traumatic event in her life. She has grown to hate her mother, who was once a famous pianist herself. Juri has since attempted suicide multiple times. Yuu is a convict on death row charged with murder, and he has tried to kill himself as well. When Juri’s aunt Monica, a nun, invites her to visit Yuu, their lives both change forever.

This manga makes me think of how a friend told me they recently saw the movie Collateral Beauty for the first time. They said it was melodramatic, but they cried and enjoyed the movie all the same. This pretty much sums up how I felt about this manga.

This one honestly made me tear up a bit, as melodramatic as it was. A little dark, but I was still invested in the characters and the situations. The art is really good, too. It’s one volume, so it doesn’t take that long to read. 

Kingyosou - completed for the task “Read a manga that includes a character with a disability”

One day, a girl, Asuka, falls in love with a boy, Manami, after hearing him play the taiko drums at a school festival. Manami is deaf, however, and has closed his heart to love. Asuka and Manami get to know each other and face various obstacles in their relationship, both relating and not relating to Manami’s deafness.

I thought this manga was really sweet. I also liked that there was deaf representation here, though I can’t really speak on how accurate it is because I’m not deaf myself. You don’t see many manga where the characters have disabilities. The relationship felt a little more realistic in this one because it took some time (as proportional as time can take in a 2-volume manga) for Manami and Asuka to get into the relationship. Another manga that was short, sweet, and to the point, at only 2 volumes.

Babel - completed for the task “Read a manga that appears when putting in your username in the Myanimelist search bar”

Kouta is a hotel waiter dissatisfied with his job serving rich clientele on New Year’s Eve at the Babel Hotel. On New Year’s Day, a worldwide terrorist attack occurs, with bombs going off everywhere. Kouta then meets someone who gives him the ability to go back in time. Kouta has to use this ability to stop the terrorist attack from happening and pretty much causing WW3.

I liked this manga a lot. A lot of unexpected plot twists. A fascinating mystery, keeps you hooked. I’ve always found time travel plots to be interesting as well.

Bloom Into You (aka Yagate Kimi ni Naru) - completed for the task “Read a Shounen Ai or Shoujo Ai manga” (tagged Shoujo Ai)

Yuu is a new high school freshman who loves romance manga and wants to experience a love story of her own. But when a classmate confesses his feelings to her, Yuu finds she feels nothing. Yuu sees the student council president, Nanami, turning down a love confession herself. Yuu joins the student council and she and Nanami become friends. Nanami soon confesses her feelings for Yuu, and Yuu is confused.

This one is tied with the next entry in this post for Best of the Challenge.

I loved this manga. So sweet and adorable. Made me tear up at times. Great, well-written character development. Doesn’t rely on bad/problematic tropes like certain other yuri I’ve read and watched recently. I loved watching this complex and realistic relationship between Yuu and Nanami develop. Some of Yuu’s feelings are pretty relatable. Read this one if you’re looking for a great yuri manga.

Inside Mari (aka Boku wa Mari no Naka) - completed for the task “Read a Psychological or Thriller manga” (tagged Psychological)

Isao Komori is a shut-in who spends his time after dropping out of college fapping, playing video games, and visiting a local convenience store every night to see a high school girl named Mari, who he admires from afar. One day, Isao finds that he is in Mari’s body! Isao-as-Mari continues to live her life and tries to find out how to switch back.

I know I mentioned this earlier, but I’ll be giving Best of the Challenge to both Bloom Into You and Inside Mari. I honestly couldn’t decide between the two, as they are from two different subgenres and two different styles. Kinda like how I couldn’t decide between Hereditary and Into the Spiderverse as my favorite movie of 2018 because they were so different form each other that I couldn’t really compare them.

This manga threw me for a loop multiple times. A subversion and deconstruction of the usual body-swap plots. A darker take on one, if you will. A couple of interesting plot twists, and the manga often takes a different direction than you expect, especially about halfway through the manga, where it switches to different characters’ points of view.

Highly recommended, though not for everyone.

[halorocks1214]

the law of equivalent exchange

AO3 Link

Word Count: 4182

Just like all my other plot bunnies, this got three times longer than I estimated. Whoopsies. At least I’m fairly proud of this. Another title for this fic could be ‘something that I would love to see happen in the finale but know it won’t so I’ll just write it myself instead.’ I was probably going to write this fic regardless, but @gumnut-logic​‘s #FabFiveFeb just gave me one heck of a push to do so sooner than later. Hope you enjoy!

Warnings for The Hood being the creep he is and no-no words. There’s one F-bomb because I can’t seem to not have at least one.

“No! You can’t!”

Alan should probably be focusing on whatever the heck John was yelling at Scott for over the comms (let’s face it, Scooter, you haven’t been making the rashest decisions as of late), but he barely heard his older brother to begin with. With the blood rushing to his ears and his heart reverberating ten times faster than healthy throughout his entire body, all Alan could really focus on was trying not to pass out.

When his body decided to properly function, he tried reaching to turn his comms on as quickly as possible, but the figure he was praying to God to be a hallucination started talking, freezing Alan’s movements completely.

“Now then, Alan, let’s not be rash. I just want to talk. Is that so bad?”

Hand hovering over the button, Alan gulped down any fear he was wearing on his face to glare at The Hood directly in his eyes. If this was the stupid way he was going to go out, then he won’t be going out like a coward.

Against all of his training and judgment, Alan took his hand away from his comm and brought them calmly down to his sides. His whole stance was taut, and he at least hoped he looked more threatening than a lion cub play fighting with its siblings, “I don’t know, I would say it is considering who you are.”

The Hood chuckled, turning Alan’s stomach inside out. Alan just couldn’t understand this man. Ever. The way he slyly grinned as if he were some suave bachelor and not a creepy murderer. Alan tried desperately to cool the nausea in the pit of his gut as his family’s sworn enemy continued to speak, “As an honorable man even I have to admit defeat from time to time. You Tracys beat me fair and square, and the only way I caught up involved cheating. I was surprised I could sneak onto the ship as I did. Very well, Jeff Tracy is yours once again.”

Wait, what?

Alan blinked in shock before his brain caught up to him, making him bring back his glare, “There’s a catch here.”

The Hood raised his eyebrows at the way the boy spoke his words. It was not a question, no, the youngest Tracy stated them as if it were a matter of fact. The Hood’s smile grew wide, “You’re always quick on the uptake, Alan. Even if I lost this race, I did come out all this way. I can’t leave with nothing, not after all the time and effort I gave up. Surely, you understand that?”

Chills fled down Alan’s spine at the speed of the Zero-X. The gleam in The Hood’s eyes slowly morphed into hunger, like a starving lion about to make a move on an ill and weak zebra. Alan was pretty damn sure he wasn’t weak nor ill, and he didn’t feel like growing black and white stripes at the moment.

The Hood stood to his full height, “Have you ever heard of the saying “An Eye for an Eye”?”

Alan’s glare dropped off his face and went right back to the wide-eyed fear he had at the start, making him look a few years younger than he was. Screw looking fierce, he needed help. He needed his brothers.

Once again, he reached to get to his comms. Even if it were only one word, one second, one yelp of pain or fear, his brothers would realize something was wrong and come running. He hated it, occasionally, how he would always be seen as the baby, but if it meant getting home and away from this freak, then Alan was willing to be swaddled and rocked to sleep as much as his older brothers wanted.

However, that familiar cold voice spoke out once again, somehow stopping time itself in the process.

“Ah ah ah, Tracy, I thought I told you to be careful with that thing.”

Alan was breathing heavy, minute trembles beginning to show, “G-Give me one good reason I shouldn’t, you m-monster.”

The Hood’s grin turned playful as if what Alan wasn’t getting was supposed to be obvious, “Have you been listening to your brothers’ predicament at all?”

What did that mean?! Shaking his head, Alan, much to his displeasure, started to completely ignore The Hood so he could turn up his comms to listen. Crap, he forgot about why they were even out here! Why haven’t they finished the mission? Why haven’t they been able to find Dad? From the way The Hood was talking, Alan figured the older man was going to let the teenager writhe in agony as he listened to whatever he’d been missing.

Suddenly, a new, semi-unfamiliar voice boomed through Scott’s side of the comms.

“--head that way. If Johnny’s calculations are correct, it should be the path of least resistance.”

That was followed by a louder Scott responding with, “Yes, Father.”

Continued and ended with Virgil stating, “Lead the way, Dad.”

Alan blinked a few times again, the hand he was holding up over the comms suddenly very heavy and stuck in place. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t find it in himself to contact his brothers for help. That was-- it was--

The Hood gleamed with anticipation at the recognition in Alan’s eyes, “If I can’t leave with anything, no one is. I’m positive you don’t want to be the one to ruin this for the rest of your family, do you?”

Ask Alan and he could very easily explain to you that his life could be broken into two parts. The parts had very simple descriptors too: With Dad and Without.

The Zero-X went up in flames before Alan was even ten-years-old, leaving a broken family and a confused child. A child that reacted like any other kid to losing a parent so young. He was sad and scared and for a while he just wanted his Dad to come back, even though his little mind knew it wasn’t possible.

But as the years went on, Alan got used to growing up without his dad in his life. Of course, the blonde missed him, and of course, he would do anything to get him back, but the sad fact of life was that Alan didn’t grow up with Jeff.

He grew up with his four older brothers and his grandma and Kayo and Brains and even Penny and Parker--

You catch what he was saying?

They tried to fill in the gap of a missing father with their own stab at being mock parents for the youngest Tracy. Alan suspected later in life that they did it in an attempt to fill their own gaps and heartbreak.

He would later start to think they failed at that latter objective as well.

That’s where the second part of his life came in to view. His brothers had many, many more years with their dad that they had to realize they would never have again. Scott was trained by Jeff with tips and tricks that nobody else in the Air Force knew. Jeff personally recommended John to the best of the best at NASA. Jeff took Virgil to meet one of the best mechanics in the world at the age of 12. Jeff was at every single one of Gordon’s swim meets to cheer him on.

Alan remembered being tucked into bed and pictures being hung up on the fridge and gold stars for eating his vegetables, and he was going to love getting that back, but he remembered Scott giving him piggybacks even more. John proofreading his papers even more. Virgil letting him sit on the piano bench while the older brother practiced more. Gordon teaching him how to dive into the deep end even more.

He also remembered Scott hiding a bottle of “adult juice” from Alan’s wandering eyes more than once, too many grey hairs for someone in their mid-twenties. He remembered how John was gone more and more, flinching at more and more hugs, only to be swallowed whole by the endless void that is space and Thunderbird 5, barely even being planetside for more than a fourth of the year.

Alan remembered how Virgil got quieter and quieter. Alan remembered the tap shoes, the musical scripts: they were currently collecting dust in the back of a random closet, shoved behind weight lifting gear and medical textbooks instead. And Gordon, his immediate older brother, his partner in crime... Alan wasn’t stupid. He knew Gordon dropped out of college and even the Olympics (after getting a freaking gold medal too!) to join WASP where he was nearly put in a goddamn chair.

Alan has been slowly watching his family barely try to hold it together, and it all started with dark laughter and a ball of fire over the ocean.

His brothers needed their father back, and no doubt Jeff wanted his sons back. Alan would hope he would want all of them too, but...

... After everything his brothers (and even Kayo and Brains and Grandma) have given up, surely Alan could give back, even if it’s just this one thing? Besides, Alan would hate himself forever if he was the reason they couldn’t complete their mission. He tends to feel that way on a failed missions anyway.

Yeah, right, the mission objective: get Dad back. Think of the mission, think of the mission. If that mantra was the only thing that was going to keep him convinced he was doing the right thing, then only he and The Hood would know.

Alan’s voice was breathy. It felt like if he spoke too loud the blood in his ears would make one final rush to try and bring him to la-la land, “... Do you promise?”

The Hood blinked and raised one eyebrow in a motion that spoke, ‘What did you just say? I wasn’t listening that hard in the first place.’

Alan’s trembling was more than minute, yet he forced his voice to be firm and steady this time. His glare was back to being fierce, and the fire in his eyes was redder than his ‘Bird. He enunciated just about every other consonant in his words, “If I go with you, do you promise to never go after them again? Because I know there’s no point in going with you if you just keep chasing them.”

The Hood stared blankly for a moment before his typical, creepy demeanor came back. With a few chuckles that brought physical bile up Alan’s throat, The Hood threw his arms out to his sides to make his point more clear, “Dear Alan, if you come with me there’s no point in doing so. There’s nothing I could do that could be worse.”

Jeez, way to kick a guy while he’s down. Alan flinched but continued to hold his head high, “I want your word.”

The Hood thinned his lips in disappointment. He still complied with Alan in the end, “Once you agree to come with me, I’ll take away what’s disrupting your unique vessel, leave your family alone for the rest of their lives, and then we’ll ‘get the heck out of dodge’ as you all say.”

Ew, that one was bad. He bet The Hood made it bad on purpose, the prick. Alan inhaled before exhaling the longest breath of his life, “Fine. Then you have a deal.” Like a true gentleman (Penny would be proud, right?), Alan held his hand out, initiating a handshake to seal the deal.

Then, suddenly, his watch started ringing. On the hand he was holding out. Alan found himself hating that noise for the first time in his life. Panicking, Alan made sure the hologram that appeared was himself and himself only, “H-Hey, brother! Did you find Dad yet?”

A familiar mop of ginger hair floated in between him and The Hood. Raising an eyebrow, John playfully rolled his eyes at his younger brother’s antics. Yes, let Alan play a little bit. They did just do the impossible, after all, “Actually, Alan, we did. Scotty and Virg are almost back with him. I was calling to let you know.”

That smile... the way John was sarcastically bantering with him... the nicknames... it was all because they were getting Dad back, wasn’t it? Alan felt tears mist his eyes. Their family really would be better off...

“Uh, Allie, you good?” Gordon’s voice rang out a few feet away from John

Crap crap crap. Bring it back, Alan, bring it back! “Uh-- yeah! Don't worry, I’m as cool as a cucumber in the middle of July! Hah...”

John’s eyebrow raise was no longer playful. In fact, it was filled to the brim with concern, “Are you sure? If you’re having trouble finishing up, Gordon could easily come up to help you out.”

Alan registered the strawberry blonde’s mmhhm with growing dread.

Dangit, guys, stop being such moms for once in your lives! “No! Wait--” Alan coughed into his hand to clear his throat. He looked away while doing so and then looked back at John with one of his familiar sly grins, “John, Godrz, I swear I’m good. It just took a little bit more to stabilize this part of the rocket. Just give me a few minutes to finish up and then I will be right there to celebrate with you all, got it?"

John contemplated his brother’s words before conceding. Alan was a trained member of IR. His judgment could even be better than theirs sometimes, “Okay.” John leaned his head out of the hologram for a moment before leaning back in with a cheeky grin, “Hey, don’t let Scott know I told you this, but if you want to rush your diagnostics, go ahead. I won’t blame you.”

Alan felt himself snickering along with Gordon. Yeah, this was the right thing to do, “FAB, Johnny, my lips are sealed.”

With a wave, John cut his video feed, leaving Alan in utter silence. Letting out a sigh of relief, Alan let his arms fall to his sides. Everything was going to be okay. Dad was back and could pilot the Zero-X in his place, his brothers would get back a vital part of their childhoods, The Hood would leave his family alone (Kayo would thank him for that one if she could), and things would go back to what it once was.

... He felt really dirty. He abused John’s trust for a reason his older brothers were going to hate themselves for. Alan was allowed to feel regret, right? Because--

Suddenly, Alan felt an arm around his shoulders bringing his tiny body to be closer to someone else. Okay, Alan wants to take it back, this is awful! God, he might genuinely throw up-- John wait--

“Aw, don’t be like that,” The Hood stated coyly, “After all, it appears we will have plenty of time to get to know one another. Better sooner than later, right?” The laughter that rung out in the room sounded like it came from an 80s sitcom dad.

Sweating bullets, Alan grinned in a way even a literal brick wall would know it was forced. So this is what it's like to walk into the pits of hell, good to know.

---

Scott couldn’t really describe what he was feeling at the moment.

The best word he could come up with was elation because holy fuck:

Dad was finally back.

When he stepped into the cockpit with the rest of his family, the world turned upside down, and in a good way. The first to leap out of his seat was Gordon, of course, but also with tears streaming down his face as he flung himself into his father’s arms for the first time in nearly a decade. Scott couldn’t remember for the life of him the last time Gordon genuinely cried. And he meant genuine, I can’t believe this is happening tears, not Gordon, it’s a fictional movie-- But they’re still puppies, Scott! tears.

Slowly stepping back, Gordon moved out of the way for John, who finally initiated a hug himself with no need for bribery, no need for Scott to promise there’s no ulterior motive behind a goddamn hug. John started talking about what he could add to his room back on the island now that I’ll be down more often and Scott thought himself would burst into tears.

Then there was Virgil. Oh, Virgil, who had the best teddy bear hugs in the entire galaxy, was holding back when it came to his dad as if the middle Tracy squeezed too hard the image in front of him would shatter into itty bitty little pieces that he couldn’t put back together again.

And Scott? Scott felt like he could finally breathe again. His dad being back meant he didn’t have to shoulder, well, everything in their lives anymore. At least, not like before. No more needing to be at every Tracy Industries conference, no more needing to be the constant head of IR relations. Sure, Scott wasn’t going to just drop it all, he’s not an asshole, but one day it’ll be a co-piloted effort, in a sense.

It was also going to be nice to just have an extra head around the house, for more than one reason. Chores won’t be so abundant, Grandma might not cook as often, Scott also needed help getting Alan a geography tutor of some kind, and their dad was always incredible at--

Oh, shit. Wait, where was Alan?

Scott bounded toward his four family members who were currently laughing as if nothing were wrong anymore, “Guys, where’s Alan?”

Both Virgil and Jeff jumped, the beginnings of guilt filling their bodies. Shit, of course, that should’ve been the first thing they asked! Before the self-hate train could leave the station, John waved them off in an attempt to calm them down, “Alan’s down in room C6, remember? We sent him down there to keep the ship stable while you two went out to find Dad’s signal.”

Gordon was wiping away his remaining tears as he grinned his biggest grin ever. He started walking out of the room to where his younger brother was waiting, “Y-Yeah, considering he piloted the rocket, we figured he would be better staying inside to keep it in one piece for the flight home.”

Jeff blinked. Alan did?...

A grin spread across his face at the news, a sharp bark of laughter exiting his chest before he could stop it, “Man, I knew he would be just as you guys one day. I’m just surprised it came so soon!”

Scott blinked at his father before his shoulders relaxed, “Yeah, no kidding. I can’t wait for him to tell you all his stories. Some of them are really killer.”

Jeff directed his grin towards Scott, ruffling the brunette's hair like all those years ago, “Me neither! Lead the way, boys.”

They all mindlessly chatted as they made their way to the youngest’s location, unaware of what was about to befall the family. They got to the place Alan stated he would be at and gave each other one last look. Their expressions were giddy: it felt like they were about to jump out and say Surprise! like one of Alan’s birthday parties.

Scratch ‘like’, it pretty much was that.

The door shhed open to a dark room, sending shivers down the family’s spine and killing the mood instantaneously. “Uh, Allie?” Virgil yelled out into the chillier-than-normal room. Suddenly the lights came on, blinding them for just a second. When they reopened their eyes, everyone’s heart dropped to the floor. Gordon would swear he heard five different, distinct thunks in the future.

Because Alan was very much not in the room, which meant he wasn’t keeping everything 'stable' like he said he would. The older Tracys wouldn’t be freaking out so much (maybe Alan just went to get air somewhere else? Heh) if it weren’t for the fact that Alan’s IR sash was laid on top of the control panel. It would’ve been more reassuring if it wasn’t so neatly folded either, to be honest.

The four brothers didn’t even think as they sprinted over to the scene.

Gordon and Virgil mindlessly grabbed the sash and unfolded it, as if their youngest brother were somehow hiding inside the object that was five times smaller than he was. Scott and John rushed over to the control panel and ran a quick but effective diagnostics to figure out what the hell just happened. Meanwhile, Jeff blinked a few times before gaining a serious look (John would later call it the good old fashion Jeff Tracy rage) as he went to join his two eldest sons in their scramble to figure out the why.

With a few beeps signaling the end of the diagnostic, John flinched before shakily bringing his hand to his chin, “This has been stable for the past 20 minutes...”

Scott bristled in anger, not at John, never at his brothers, but at the implications of those words, “What the hell does that mean?!”

John sharply inhaled before looking his older brother dead in the eyes, an emotion between fear and anger stirring within, “It means, Scott, that Alan was a dirty liar.”

Before Scott could question even further, Gordon piped up from his search of the red sash. His tan seemed much paler all of a sudden, “We... we called Alan right before you guys brought Dad back. He said he had to stay here to make sure everything continued smoothly as he just got it stabilized.”

Jeff could feel the self-loathing rolling off of his sons in waves. He wasn’t sure how to comfort them, though, as he wasn’t exactly sure how to anymore. He was sure he could have, but that idea flew right out the window when Virgil mentioned John didn’t really like surprise hugs nowadays (apparently, he "barely liked hugs longer than 5 seconds in the first place"). His second-born loved nothing more than to be swept off his feet from behind back when, well...

Plus, he has always tried his best to never be a hypocrite. He couldn’t help but feel responsible, just a little bit, “Boys, I can’t help but apologize for everything that appears to be happening. I--”

Before Jeff could continue, or any of his sons could argue with his apparent apology, Virgil finally got sick of the tension and aggressively shook Alan’s sash once more, causing a tiny roll of paper to fall out of the pocket. The one Alan specifically requested Grandma to sew on for him when the senior Tracy got the time.

Every family member present jumped as they felt their stomach rip in half. They all looked around at each other with anxiety clear in their eyes... but Jeff noticed that none of his sons looked at him. Clearly, they weren’t used to him being there just yet. Well, he might as well make up for lost time.

He took a step forward and bent over so he could grab the slip. Before he could blink, Scott snapped out of his funk and grabbed it much faster. Jeff didn’t even have a second to reassure his eldest it was okay before Scott rolled open the slip of paper and read it to himself.

Chaos reigned when his only response was to fall to his knees and drop the horrifying message.

“Scott?!” Virgil cried out. Both he and Gordon ran to their oldest brother’s side to find some way to measly comfort him. Meanwhile, John felt something akin to a panic attack coming on. What could Scott have read that made him react like that? John couldn’t move, so Jeff bit the bullet and finally picked up the note himself.

John was abruptly brought out of his head when he heard his father whimper. Yes, whimper, as if he were a baby deer that just got hit by a speeding car. Moving on autopilot, John walked over to his father’s side as the older man covered his hand with his mouth.

Jeff registered movement at his side. Not looking up, he shoved the note to whoever wanted to read it. More guilt filled the back of his head. He shouldn’t be subjecting his sons to this, he should try and protect them, but he would be lying if he said that didn’t feel pointless.

No, not Alan, not their baby.

Shaking slightly, John gripped the note to the point of wrinkles without looking at it. Inhaling once more, John ripped the bandaid off and read what was tearing his family apart one by one.

John was suddenly thankful he didn’t eat his bagel that morning. The last thing he wanted to do was throw up over all of his remaining family.

Do you remember what the alchemists in the olden days based their theories off of, Jeff?

Don’t worry if you can’t remember, I can just tell you.

It was a little something called The Law of Equivalent Exchange.

I win, Tracy. I always do.

[elysianrey]

tell me things you’ve never said out loud

[part 3 of it’s a slow cinnamon summer. read part 1. read part 2]

(a/n: okay...here it is. the final installment of this little series. thanks for joining me on this crazy ride these past few days! i’m not sure when i’ll get another chance to write for fun, but hopefully i will be nipped by the plot bunnies again soon. Anne and Gil finally get a resolution to this tension. And Gilbert is shirtless again... Enjoy!! xoxo Content T+)

Almost a week passed before Anne saw him again. 

It was not so much by choice, at least not to Anne, but rather they were needed for other responsibilities around their respective households. Matthew had caught a late summer cold, which led to Anne tending to his needs, while Marilla cared for little Delphine at the Blythe-Lacroix farm. When Anne wasn’t checking in on Matthew, she was out in the fields with Jerry and his brothers, who offered their aid upon catching word of Matthew’s sickness. The hard labor of weeding out the bad crops or nasty pests allowed Anne to direct her mind onto something other than the single topic it would revolve back to as she laid in her bed each night. Even the exhaustion from the day’s activities was not enough to weary her brain into a dreamless state of sleep which she desperately craved. 

For her dreams were where she slipped back into that sweet moment in the garden, or worse, entered new fantasies so vivid and lifelike, Anne would suddenly awake with a gasp, sweat beading on her forehead and along fair skin. She dared not tell a single soul about any of those dreams.

His lingering presence had intertwined itself so deeply into her being that she knew it was fruitless to try an escape it’s captive grip. Otherwise, she would be denying an integral piece of herself, as terrifying as the thought was to her. 

Marilla woke her before dawn on Saturday morning with the news that she would be baking and cooking most of the day for the church picnic tomorrow. She was quite beside herself because with watching over Delphine the whole week, she had completely forgotten the important event. 

“No worries, Marilla. I will take care of precious Delly today,” Anne reassured her comfortingly, her heart twinging anxiously at the prospect of the boy she was going to inevitably see. She needed to clear the air between them and make things right. 

Marilla let out a grateful sigh, “Oh bless you, Anne. For all that you have done the past days,” she replied, her arms drawing the girl into a hug. “Now off you go to get dressed. Bash mentioned that he and Gilbert were going to be up early to start pruning some of the apple trees in the orchard.”

Anne nodded, a suppressed smile on her lips as she turned on her heel to dress herself, which did not go unnoticed by Marilla. 

“Make sure Gilbert does not to overwork himself,” she called from the kitchen below as Anne hurriedly traipsed up the stairs.

“Will do!”

+++++

Anne gave the door of the Blythe-Lacroix home a gentle knock and waited patiently for an answer, rather hoping it would be a sleepy-eyed, dark-haired boy. Instead she was received by a groggy-looking Bash, who held a cup of steaming hot coffee in one hand and a fussy baby in the other. 

“Good morning, Anne,” he greeted, motioning for her to enter, and pushing the door shut behind them with his shoulder. “It’s nice of you to come.” His attention turned toward the squirming bundle in the crook of his arm. “Shhhhh--there, there Delly. Papa will be back for you soon. Your auntie Anne is here to spend some time with you now,” he cooed, rocking her softly and taking a sip of his coffee.

The redhead couldn’t contain the fond smile that broke over face at the endearing title Bash had dubbed after the countless days she had spent with them upon Mary’s passing and the consuming grief that latched on to Sebastian’s being. Although he was not quite the person she remembered before his beloved returned to her heavenly home in the sky, he was beginning to finally settle into a different type of normal. 

Anne stretched out her arms to take the baby, and Bash handed her off. “It is always a treat to spend time with this princess of yours,” she remarked lovingly, looking at Delphine with a sense of delight. 

She followed Bash into the kitchen, holding the infant on her hip, and observing him as he set his cup down carefully. “Blythe is out in the orchard already, crazy fool,” he chuckled with a shake of his head. Anne tried her best to keep her face of coolness upon the comment. 

“I’ll tell you Anne, the boy has been working himself to the bone lately. Can’t help but think something’s troubling him, but he dodges giving me a proper answer anytime I ask him about it. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s gotten him quieter than a church mouse, would you?”

A fresh wave of guilt overcame her as she bit down on her lip. “Uhhh...no...no clue,” she stuttered quickly, cursing herself for the unconvincing reply. She turned to begin making a warm bottle for Delphine as she searched for something more believable to add. “Maybe he’s worried about Queen’s?” she offered, picking up a glass bottle with one hand and setting it on the table. “I know I am.” This was true. It was a matter of weeks before Marilla and Matthew would be dropping her off at the school in Charlottetown and the remembrance of this fact made her heart ache in melancholy. 

Several beats of silence passed between them before she glanced over at him. “Hmm…’suppose you could have a point,” was all he said, his eyes wearing an expression of curiosity and his tone full of doubt. Anne had a feeling he could see straight through her deceit. “Well I best be going out to the orchard. We’ll be coming in later for some lunch. See you my Delly Welly!”

“Say ‘Bye Papa’,” she replied with a grin, holding up Delphine’s hand in a waving motion. Bash returned the wave with one of his own and then turned around to exit through the back door, Anne’s nerves rattling almost as loudly as the darn thing when he shut it closed. 

She sighed a breath of relief, turning back to finish her job with the baby’s bottle. His words had not been of a comfort to her in the slightest. The fault for Gilbert’s reserved behavior was entirely her doing, and to think, it could have been avoided altogether if she was not such a dunce when romantic feelings were involved. For an individual who spent a majority of her lifetime envisioning love and devising hundreds of stories filled with romantic dialogue and gestures, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert’s naivety toward navigating it in real-life was mystifying. 

The redhead spent the rest of the morning, reading stories, singing songs, and watching Delphine crawl around the house, constantly having to keep an eye on her since the little girl had a tendency to put everything she found in her mouth. By the time the afternoon rolled around, the baby seemed to have worn herself out, and Anne sighed in contentment when she fell fast asleep in her basket. 

Anne leaned her head on the wooden bench next to the baby’s basket and closed her eyes, intending only to keep them shut for a brief moment. Working in the field the day before and waking up early that morning had taken a toll on her. Not to mention the restless fits of sleep she experienced every night since Josie’s party. She would only rest for a few minutes longer…

+++++

When she awoke, the first thing she noticed was Delphine was gone. Anne jolted upright, her eyes scanning the floor around her, assuming she must have crawled right out of her basket. How long had she slept for? Muttering curses at herself under her breath, she pulled herself off the ground, smoothing down her dress as she went, and startled in a surprise at the person who sat before her. 

“Gilbert,” Anne breathed in greeting, her heart quickening its pace, then dropping down to her stomach when she fully took in his appearance. His muscular, tanned, and very sweaty, exposed chest was on display for her to gawk at from where she stood. He glanced up from where he was eating, and she averted her gaze down to her hands, which she was wringing together desperately in an attempt to regain her composure. 

“Anne,” she heard him say in acknowledgement, the sound of his voice like a cold glass of water on a dry day to her parched ears. 

She risked a glance back at him, his eyes still very much glued to her. “Delphine--I was looking for--” Anne started, suddenly recalling the missing infant.

Gilbert cut in before she could finish. “Bash took her out for a walk in the orchard. He told me he thought that you could use the break.” 

“Oh well that was kind of him, but hardly necessary,” she stammered, her face surely an unattractive shade of dark red. Gilbert took another bite of his food, leaving her to continue standing awkwardly across from him. 

Did he have no sense of decency? Of course it was boiling hot outside, but surely that did not mean he could not put his shirt back on when inside of the house. Especially with her being in the same room as him.

“Anne, you’ve been asleep for at least an hour. Bash and I needed the break. It’s hot enough to cause a heat stroke if you’re out there for too long today,” he informed her indifferently, going back to his food again and finally looking away from her. 

The girl chewed restlessly on her lower lip, the words that had been building up since the night of Josie’s party threatening to burst out of her at any second. “Gilbert I wanted---” she tried helplessly, her thought catching in her throat. His dark brown eyes lifted from his plate, a guarded expression to them. She had enough.

“I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to leave you without saying a thing about what happened that night. You have every right to be mad and hurt at me. In fact, I almost wish you would yell at me right now because I truly deserve it. You are a good person who is worthy of someone far more sophisticated and beautiful and coherent than me. I am no more than an intoxicated fool who assumed she had some right to kiss you and touch you,” Anne’s voice trembling with unabashed honesty for once, laying herself bare for him to see. “I miss you. Your companionship and wisdom. Your kindness and patience. For I know I can be as stubborn as a mule and hot-headed with my temper and brash with my words--”

“Anne,” Gilbert broke in before she could finish her lament of her worst features, which slightly annoyed her since she wasn’t done listing all of the reasons why he should be cross with her. He rose from his seat and walked toward her, leaning back against the edge of the table so they were only feet apart. Waiting nervously for him to speak, she chanced a glance down at the freckle on his chest, directly beneath his collarbone.

“I was hurt,” he admitted quietly. “You drive me mad sometimes, Anne Shirley-Cuthbert.” His tone raised slightly and the copper-headed girl braced herself for his assault. This is what she deserved and she would take every insult he threw with acceptance. 

“But you Anne--you are the most sophisticated, beautiful, and coherent person that I know.” She could have sworn her heart stopped beating in her chest when she heard him utter those words instead. “You have been all of those things, and so much more, since the first day I met you,” he confessed reverently.  

His fingers reached out to rest cautiously on her chin and she lifted her head to look at him once more. This time, daring herself to hope again. She could see the softness returning to his face as she lost herself in the affectionate glow of his eyes. Her flesh erupted in goosebumps as his knuckles trailed up and down her cheek in a gentle rhythm, just like they had after she kissed him. 

 “I--I think I’m desperately in love with you Gil,” Anne gushed so openly that she almost smacked her hand over her mouth in shock. Perhaps he would run for the hills now after hearing such a bold declaration.

To her dismay, a low chuckle bellowed from Gilbert’s chest, then he was laughing to the point of hysterics, tears streaming from the corners of his eyes and running down his cheeks. Anne didn’t know whether to feel offended or content that this is how he chose to respond to her admission of love. “Are you sure you’re not the one who is drunk this time?” she mirthfully questioned, swatting him lightly on the arm. 

He regained his composure, pulling her into a close embrace as he grinned down at her, his cheeks dimpling and eyes crinkling in happiness. “Anne-girl, there has been no one for me, but you. The moment you broke that slate across my head, I was a gone man. Never would I have dreamed that you would ever--” 

Anne pressed her lips against his, silencing him, for she had heard everything that she already knew to be true deep down. Kissing him in his kitchen, the sun beating down heavily through the window, his hands steadying her, his heartbeat echoing her own, was everything she had ever wanted. She brought her fingers up into his unruly hair, this time feeling damp from sweat, but she could hardly care. His lips broke from hers and started trailing along her cheek then jaw then neck, leaving a searing mark on each inch of skin as he went. 

“Gilbert,” she sighed, her brain a blur of euphoria. She could feel his smile in the crook of her neck as he pressed another kiss to a freckle he was quite intent on appreciating. 

“Oi Blythe! Shirley!” The teenagers broke apart so rapidly Gilbert nearly toppled over the table. “What are you thinking, setting an example like this, in front of your poor niece,” Bash exclaimed loudly, bouncing the baby in his arms. “Don’t worry Delly, your papa will protect you from these two heathens,” he teased mercilessly, covering Delphine’s eyes.

Anne and Gilbert both released laughs of pent up awkwardness from the unexpected guest and gave each other timid looks.

“Next time, put a shirt on Blythe,” Bash declared, tossing him the one long forgotten from on the table. Gilbert accepted the item and pulled it over his head as Bash left the room, shaking his own head and smirking to himself.

+++++

Gilbert took the opportunity to walk her back to Green Gables after dinner, her hand fitting securely into the crook of his arm. Her head rested lightly against his shoulder. The pair chatted amiably about the events that had unfolded during the week. She recited a new poem she had learned for Matthew, and Gilbert gave her a sidelong look of wonder like he couldn’t quite believe that she was real. 

When they got to the gate in front of Green Gables, Anne was mournful to depart from him, despite knowing that they would be reunited tomorrow at the church picnic. 

“So---that tragical romance you mentioned back at Mary and Bash’s wedding...,” Gilbert started unexpectedly, his gaze intent on her from across the fence. 

“No longer remains to be seen,” Anne finished, reaching to stroke his cheek comfortingly. 

Gilbert let out a sigh of relief and ducked to steal another kiss from her before Marilla called out from the front door. “Anne! Is that you?”

They both laughed quietly at the older woman’s outburst. “I guess that’s my cue,” the girl lamented, taking his hand in hers, not quite accepting the events that conspired today were real.

“Goodnight my Anne-girl.” Gilbert gave her hand a squeeze, and let her go, backing up slowly, his eyes remaining on her as he went. Anne watched him blissfully until she heard Marilla call her name again. 

She spun around merrily and skipped to the house, her heart soaring with the knowledge that she was loved very dearly by Gilbert Blythe.

tagging: @hecksinki, @blarkeshirbert, @autummn-leaves, @ewolfwitchwisegirl, @leadingmehome, @melanneniel, @youcalledusremember, @neliel-deathberry, @blackxones BECAUSE YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST <3 <3

[lobster-mobster-aq]

I Don’t Like Midoriya Anymore, and it’s Not Even His Fault

Hot take under the cut or here.

Spoilers ahead if you aren't caught up in the manga.

Good ol’ My Hero Academia. Everyone’s favorite anime mimicking American superhero tropes, (I do believe I hear the Tiger and Bunny fandom screaming in the distance). I’ve watched the show, I’ve read the manga, I know about some of the spin off light novels, I’ve read Vigilantes, (it’s okay) I’ve seen the movies. For the most part I’ve enjoyed the series. But my feelings with the main character have gotten…mixed to say the least.

Midoriya, used to love him. Barely contained writhing ball of emotions. But now…now he kind of annoys me. Literally you could have any other character on the page and I would be more invested. I would prefer an arc about Mineta at this point. It’s not that I hate young Midoriya, I just find any story that has him at the center boring. I thought long and hard about why. Was I just tired of him? Are his traits fine in moderation but eventually get boring? Is his character arc the problem? Why, why do I dislike his character now?

After minutes of soul searching, I decided it was the hair…

Sorry, that’s a joke some of you will get. The real reason, I’ve decided, is mostly how the story has developed around him. It’s not even his fault. I think if I met him in real life…okay he would probably annoy me but to be honest most people in real life annoy me so that doesn’t explain why he annoys me as a character. Let me put it this way, if there was a slightly different story around him, he wouldn’t annoy me.

There were two things going for young Midoriya that made him an interesting character. One, he still felt like he had a ways to go to control his OP power. Instead of feeling like he was the most powerful character, so it was inevitable that he was going to win every fight, there was a real sense he had to work hard at it. He even lost some fights. Two, pretty much every single arc furthered his development. Nearly every single arc felt important to the way his power and character were developing. This is what made his story so compelling. But I kind of feel like these two aspects are faltering.

I can’t help but feel now that Midoriya has fallen into the traditional protagonist problem. His whole shtick about trying to be a good hero and not feeling good enough is just annoying when he is so enormously powerful. Before it felt like he still had a long journey ahead of him but now… I was excited to see how he grew into a person and how his quirk developed. Now I’m just kind of waiting for him to finally get to the final showdown. I feel like I’ve seen all the growing that Midoriya has in him, everything after this point is just killing time. Oh, he has more quirks. Okay cool. Didn’t really need them but whatever. He won this fight too? Honestly, I’m just kind of surprised it took him that long. The reason I’m still reading the manga is because I’m still enjoying everything else that’s going on, I’m just not too fond of how the story seems to be, for lack of a better word, hero worshiping Midoriya now.

Horikoshi said that the series was only supposed to be 20 volumes long. It’s possible he just meant that the plot he had took longer to write than he realized it was going to, or it meant he’s been adding stuff. I’m inclined to think it’s a combination of the two. This isn’t a smooth transition, just a fact I want people to be aware of when I get into my next points.

For me, it all began with the Shie Hassaikai arc. The arc that was specifically designed to show that Midoriya was the one meant, the one destined, for One For All. This is the arc where it all began to feel like the story was starting to bow at the feat of Midoriya. Where the plot began to bend around him to please him. Let me explain.

It has started to feel like Midoriya’s character arc is wrapping up. His arc feels like it should have ended fairly shortly after the whole Shie Hassaikai arc…but the plot as a whole doesn’t really feel like it’s slowing down. Yeah, maybe this current arc in the manga is the last one. I can see that. It’s big, it’s climatic, it feels like it could be an ending, so maybe I’m getting worried for nothing. The details of everything else around this arc, the other character arcs, small details in the plot that don’t feel like they could be wrapped up, it just seems like there’s supposed to be more after this.

For the most part, the Shie Hassaikai arc is pretty good. It doesn’t start to get annoying until the end. I know I might start some arguments here. Mirio should have been the one to defeat Overhaul. That’s right, I said it. The momentum of the entire arc fell flat when it was Midoriya. I will even grant you there would have been no way to make it look as epic as when Midoriya punched the daylights out of Overhaul but plot wise it would have worked so much better if Mirio had been the one to do it. But, I hear you say, Mirio was all beat up and stuff, he couldn’t have done it. Need I remind you that Eri can literally heal people. The problem with Midoriya with this arc is that it wasn’t fitting, emotionally for him to defeat Shie Hassaikai. The emotional development of the other star of this arc, Mirio’s, was ruined with Midoriya defeating Overhaul. Here we go, here is the hypothetical change I would make.

Eri never goes back after she and Mirio take off after Mirio���s fights Overhaul. They make their way outside, to only run into the fight again, because the fight has been taken outside. Overhaul and Midoriya are fighting, but, oh no, Overhaul notices Eri and rushes over to Mirio. Eri activates her quirk, and while this doesn’t give Mirio his quirk back, he is now healed. He punches motherfucking Overhaul in the face, Eri’s quirk does the thing that it did in the show/manga anyway (keep in mind that was what actually took him out, not Midoriya’s punch) and so we’re all good. I know that Mirio already “proved” himself. Already sacrificed to show that he was a true hero, but it just would have been more satisfying if he had been the one to defeat Overhaul with Eri. He had so much more reason to feel like this was his fight, it felt like Mirio’s fight, not Midoriya’s. When Midoriya defeated Overhaul, it felt like the story was just having Midoriya do it because, well, Midoriya is the main character. He needs to fight the bad guys, and he needs to win.

Fast forward and we’re in the hospital now. Midoriya is offering Mirio his quirk, an action that slaps harder now because there’s better reason for Midoriya to feel that Mirio would be a better owner of One For All. How it stands in cannon, it just doesn’t sit right. Not only was Midoriya the one that wanted to punch Shie the first moment he saw him, he’s also the one that took him down. After all that if feels strange that Midoriya would feel unworthy. It was a little annoying, that that was Midoriya’s responds. If Mirio had been the one to take out Overhaul though, those emotions would make perfect sense. Nothing screams “I’m a worthless superhero,” like someone without powers doing what you couldn’t. It would have turned Midoriya’s actions from, OP guy who just feels bad because one dude doesn’t think he can hack it to, yeah okay, Midoriya totally has a legit reason to think that Mirio is way more capable to take on the legacy of One For All.

There were exactly two moments in that arc that showed that Midoriya was the right person to take on One For All, and one of them was not when he punched Overhaul. Being a hero means being willing to sacrifice for the sake of others. Punching Overhaul in the face was not a sacrifice for Midoriya. Punching assholes in the face is Midoriya’s favorite pass time. It’s a hobby at this point.

One moment was when he first ran into Overhaul and Eri. He was desperate to help Eri right then and right there. He didn’t care about saving form or not causing a scene. He cared about helping a little girl who was clearly terrified. The second moment was when he offered One For All to Mirio. Midoriya wants nothing more than to be a hero, so the fact that he was willing to give One For All to someone he thought would use the quirk better, once again speaks of his heroic nature. Having Midoriya be the one to defeat Overhaul distracts from those two moments. It makes it seem like the reason he’s worthy is because he beats up bad guys good.

It also radically changes the scene where Night Eye seems to finally accept Midoriya. Why would Night Eye, after Mirio was the one to defeat Overhaul, believe Midoriya should be the one to hold One For All? How did Midoriya change the outcome? Why was it Midoriya’s determination that changed things? It would have suggested at a future for Midoriya that only Night Eye could see. It would have hinted at the incredible things Midoriya was going to do and give exactment to the kind of hero he was going to become. Instead of it being, oh, Midoriya punches so good he changed the future. Once again, it would have redirected the focus to Midoriya’s mind and heart, instead of his ability to fight.

Those few fairly small changes would entirely shift the focus on Midoriya’s progress and why he’ll be such a great hero. A better focus, more about the content of his character instead of how OP he is. It also still leaves him room to grow as a character.

The before discussed change would not only better Midoriya’s character development, but I feel make the arc better as a whole. Even if Midoriya’s character wasn’t bothering me, I would still like to see those changes because of the way all the characters would be affected by that change. There’s only one other fairly small change I would make to the series, and pretty much it would only be to turn Midoriya’s arc into something I wasn’t bored and annoyed by. Like I said earlier, it isn’t Midoriya who is annoying me, it’s the way that it feels like his arc has ended, and that more power and abilities keeps being dumped onto him to try to hide the fact.

This change is much more streamlined. During the duel training arc he loses. That’s it. If the Shie Hassaikai began Midoriya’s tendency to feel like a character had finally become OP and never loses a fight, the duel training arc confirmed it. It felt like Midoriya should have lost here. When a character, especially in a fight with stakes like the ones in the duel training arc, loses control so much it feels kind of cheap when they still win anyway. Yes, I know, objectively speaking the team from class A had more power, but having Midoriya lose control of his power and that be the reason his team lost? It would have been a way to give Midoriya more power, without it feeling like it was just extra. Midoriya loses control, and because of that the class B team is able to win. That would have even added to the whole, winning by unheroic means thing that Shinso and Monoma had going on.

Those two, fairly inconsequential, changes (at least when it comes to the way they will change the plot as a whole) would be all it would take to change Midoriya from feeling like a character who has finished their arc and is now just killing time, to someone who still had to develop before he could call himself the best hero ever. As it stands right now I kind of feel like, as far as fighting ability goes, Midoriya is already there. I know not everyone feels this way, but it is the way I feel. If you don’t like it you can, I don’t know, write your own article on a blog no one’s ever going to read.

And post script, yes I know that your average action shonen protagonists have all the same problems but a zillion times worse. This isn’t about them.

[dearlytea]

My Peeping Little Secret | 1

Pairings: Jungkook x Fem!Reader

Genre: PWP/PWBP [Porn With Bad Plot] | Roommates AU

Word Count: 3.7K

Warning(s): Swearing, masturbation, over stimulation (M only), voyeurism, mention/usage of sex toy, explicit description of sexual content (duh), awkward one sided sexual tension and a very very horny OC.

Summary: The gift you bought for your roommate, Jungkook, is not only the source to all of your communication problems but the sole solution to solve your dry spell.

Part 1 (here) | Part 2 (coming soon)

A/N: ALRIGHT, HERE IT IS! The Jungkook fic that I’ve been DYING over because of how fucking OIJASODI. This fic is personally for self satisfaction. I had this thought in for so long and it’s just AHHHHH. I’m sorry you’re gonna witness my dirty mind and hopefully this satisfied you.

And if it doesn’t, then part 2 might help ;)

Anyways enjoy!

“I’m going to smack that fucking headset off,” you curse out angrily. Stomping your way towards the elevator that awaits for you, ignoring all of the stares that follow behind you. Bitterly, you jab your index finger onto the button that correlates to the level you share your apartment with the one and only Jeon fucking Jungkook.

To say you were annoyed was an understatement.

You’re enraged.

Heated.

Five fucking seconds away from bursting into flames and setting everything you touch on fire.

And it’s all thanks to the stupid new XK900 gaming headset.

For his birthday this year, you decided it was appropriate to buy him the new wireless headset he’s been drooling over for the past 3 weeks to replace the ones that are a sneeze away from falling apart. When giving him the gift, you never thought before a 21-year-old man could squeal like a child on Christmas day, you were very much wrong.

The moment you saw the sparkle that glimmered in his eyes and the bright bunny-like smile he had after unwrapping the gift made it seem like it was worth denting your bank account for, but really it wasn’t.

The luxury you had when it came to communication is now gone. You couldn’t yell out his name from the kitchen anymore, texting him is a struggle if he can’t hear his phone going off and the many many times your calls have gone straight to voicemail is getting out of control. At this point, you wouldn’t be surprised if you found out that someone broke into your apartment, while Jungkook was at home playing game, by busting the door down and taking all of your valuables in your shared home.

Who knows? Anything utterly crazy and stupid can happen in this world.

Nonetheless, you are not pleased to find out that all of your 9 calls went right into your only ride home’s voicemail after an extremely bad date. Not only did the date end poorly before leaving the restaurant but it further went down the hole of disappointment when you later found out the guy can’t eat pussy or use his dick for shit, leaving you sexually frustrated when he finishes and you don’t.

Finally arriving at your level, you head towards your door while rummaging through your bag for your keys. “I knew I should have of just bought him alcohol and saved the money for that new wall banger,” you mumble bitterly to yourself. “Could really be using it right now.”

Opening the door to your apartment, you see no sign of Jungkook yet. Just the silence of your apartment that will soon be filled with the ruckus of your yelling.

“JUNGKOOK!” You call out angrily, slamming the door behind you. You sigh to yourself. “Why did I even bother to call out for him.”

Kicking the painful heels off your feet, you make a beeline right to his bedroom door. The door is closed but you can still make out the heavy pants from the other side. Your mind instantly knows exactly what he’s doing.

“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY WORKING OUT AT 10 O’CLOCK!?” You screech out, too blinded by anger to even care about disrupting the neighbors that are probably sleeping at this hour.

No answer from his end.

During times like this, you would wait for him to finish his session before bombarding him with complaints and insults. But given the circumstances you are in, you ignore it and fling his door wide open.

“JEON FUCKING JUN-

As if the air itself suddenly punched you square in the face, you froze into place. The train of insults and complaints are all caught in your throat at the sight before you.

Jungkook’s pants pooling around his ankles, his luscious thick thighs spread apart, head tossed back with his headset on, mouth hanging wide open and eyes closed as he pants heavily with no shirt on his gaming chair. Your mouth closes then opens like a fish, unable to process the whole situation due to your shock. You’re quick to notice in your peripherals the porn that’s displayed on his screen along with the bottle of lube near his mouse but it still doesn’t distract you from the sight before you.

Your eyes are firmly planted at the sight of the engorged red tip that peeps out every few seconds from the inside of his fist and the small vein that you can barely make out from his fast movements on his hard cock. What makes matter worse were the dulcet moans and whimpers he’s freely spilling out, echoing and bouncing between the walls of the room.

Quickly, before he notices you, you carefully speed walk out of the room, in fear he would feel movements of your heavy steps against the ground. Once you’re out of sight, you let your back hit the wall, feeling your heart beat so loud that it almost deafens you from the moans coming from your roommate.

You just walked in on your roommate’s jerk off session.

Right in front of him.

Without him knowing.

“Fuckkkkk.” He drags the word out deliciously as a long drawn out moan follows behind shortly.

On a serious note, you should be a bit guilty of watching him stroke his cock. But given the previous circumstances, you were left in, you can’t help but enjoy the sound of his groans and moans. Completely blinded by your lust to not care about anything but your roommate’s hot jerk off session.

You can clearly hear every little squelching and slick sound of him pumping his dick, it’s absolutely sinful but melodic to your ears and you can’t help but rub your thighs together when his breathing starts to stutter. Any other time, you would have left and drowned out his vocal pleasure by blasting music through your ears buds, but the curiosity controlled by your thirst for anything sexual causes you to peep your head out from the side of the door frame instead.

His free hand is clenched around the armrest of his chair tightly, lifting himself off the seat every so often to thrust himself hard into his fist. The sight of small dribbles of sweat that covers his abs and forehead causes you to involuntarily lick your dry lips.

“Ohhhh fuck, ohhh fuck.” He groans out desperately.

Soon enough, he starts to become more vocal, moaning and grunting more with every pump, he’s close. You watch intensely as he picks up on a faster and sloppier speed on his cock, clenching both his hand and toes. Then finally, after a few minutes, he stutters before letting out an ocean deep groan, enjoying the waves of pleasure that deafens all of his senses. You watch with wide eyes as he milks out a delicious load of cum onto his clenched abs and heaving chest, letting it freely dribble down his body and hand.

You almost whine at the sight of it, eyes hooded and hazed by the view of your extremely attractive roommate finishing his lust filled session. God, you would do almost anything to lick the cum off of him.

You almost take your exit when suddenly you see him wrap a hand around his limping cock again. He starts to pump himself at the same speed before, whining and whimpering every second. Your toes curled and eyes widen as he lets out a loud moan and pushes himself into another orgasm, only being able to milk out a smaller load than before. His first shot hits near his peaking nipple but the last few barely gotten far and dribble down his hand, dripping over every single finger. He lets go of his now used cock, letting it limp back against his belly as he tries to level out his heavy breathing.

At this point, you might just cum on the spot. You never expected your roommate to be the type to push himself into a second orgasm, or really expected him to be that vocal either. But the thought of him cumming twice inside of you, filling your cunt up with both your juices as he moans with every weak thrust to milk out every drop, only makes whine as you desperately try to find some friction to soothe the aching problem between your legs.

Almost getting lost in your own thoughts, you hear him grumble and move around in his seat, coming back from his cloud 9 experience. Quickly, before he notices your presence, you take 3 long careful steps towards your room and hid behind the door, keeping it open like how it was to avoid raising any suspicions.

You hear the sound of a soft thud of something, probably his clothes, being thrown somewhere followed by the sound of his sweaty naked body being peeled off the leather chair. Carefully, you inhale and exhale softly through your nose, to reduce the chances of any possible sounds that could slip into his ear. You hear his heavy footsteps getting louder and clearer with every step and instinctively you inhale sharply and mentally scolding yourself for it, fearing he might have heard the silent sound of your distress.

Luckily he doesn’t.

Before your heart could burst from all of the adrenaline, the bathroom door beside you creaks and then creaks again. You hear the sound of the door shutting followed by the almost silent familiar click indicating he locked the door. It’s not until you hear the water of the shower running that you let out a sigh of relief.

Closing your bedroom door, you walk with stiff arms and legs to your bed and plop yourself into a starfish-like pose above your covers and blankets. As the situation settles in slowly, your mind is bombarded with so many questions and thoughts.

You just watched your roommate masturbate and cum, twice.

Honestly, you wish you could say you got to sleep peacefully last night.

It was a blur for most of the part, but you could only vaguely remember flipping and tossing around between your blankets, trying to find a comfortable position to ignore the ache that screams between your thighs. You didn’t want to touch yourself, it wasn’t right to and morally you would feel guilty for it if you did. It was his private time, something you should have never walked in on.

Or stayed longer to watch.

Or fantasize about later on at night.

The price you had to pay when having a dry spell.

Nonetheless, it was never something you should have witnessed. So if you were to fulfill your sexual desire to polish the pearl then you would end up with only guilt and sticky fingers.

As soon as you step foot out of your room, your nose is filled with the greasy but delicious scent of breakfast. You start humming blissfully as the distinct sound of oil sizzling makes your stomach grumble. Instinctively you wet your lips, craving the taste of whatever is being prepared in the kitchen.

You walk out of the hallway and almost choke at the sight before you. You were probably too distracted by your hunger to realize the clear view of your roommate’s back facing towards you and his attention in front of the stove, with your baby blue apron on, flipping bacon in a frying pan. It was an odd and rare sight to see since usually, you’re the one to make breakfast but you enjoyed the change either way.

Taking a step forward, the wooden floor creaks underneath your step causing Jungkook to fling his head to look at you. At the sight of his face the many lewd images of your roommate flash before you.

You cringe at the thought, feeling the awkward tension of last night show.

“Are you okay?” He asks, an eyebrow raised towards you.

You nod your head stiffly, shaking your shoulders to rid of the tenseness that sticks onto you like chewed gum. “I’m fine, just woke up to a weird dream.” You plainly lie.

He doesn’t quite catch your lie and nods in understanding. “Can you set the table for me? I’m almost done with the last piece of bacon.”

You hummed back, walking towards the upper cupboards to grab the plates. “This is an odd sight.” You commented, wanting to fill the silence around you with small talk in hopes to push away your sinful thoughts.

He catches on to what you meant and chuckles softly. “Don’t get used to it, it’s my way to apologize for last night. I saw the texts and calls after my shower and was about to go grab you but I saw your shoes at the front and bedroom door close.”

You grip onto the plates tightly, remembering how you hid behind the door after he… you know.

Gulping down the need to squirm, you weakly smile. “Oh, yeah it’s alright. I was able to get home safe.” You strain to say, internally punching yourself for sounding off.

He stops all movements abruptly and you almost flinch because of it. “Really?” He questions, looking at you with wide eyes.

You nod a bit too fast for your liking, feeling the tightness of your lips as you flash a fake smile back at him. “Yup, it’s all good in the hood.”

As soon as those words left your mouth, you internally cringe. Who the hell says that nowadays?!?

He doesn’t buy your lies this time and continues to look at you oddly. “Are you sure?... I kind of expected you to throw a plate at my head or something.”

You shake your head as you walk past him to both set up the plates and to avoid his eyes. “I’m very sure Jungkook.” You strain to say.

He blinks a few times, still eyeing behind you but shrugs his shoulders. “If you say so then.”

Once Jungkook finishes cooking breakfast, the both of you sit in silence across from each other as you silently eat your food, phones in your hands. Since Jungkook’s attention is stuck onto the illuminated screen in front of him, it gives you the relief to squirm in your seat from time to time to release some of the tension. Despite scrolling through your Instagram for memes to maybe kill the lusting thirst for your roommate it makes no use when the source to all of your sexual frustration is right in front of you. It also doesn’t help when he’s sitting back relaxed in the chair with his legs spread out like how he was yesterday, god you really shouldn’t be so turned on by a guy’s mad spread.

Then again, your roommate is no ordinary guy. He may have the mind and face of a kid but he’s one hell of an attractive guy. Chiseled jawline, soft brown eyes and an amazing body figure that lures all female and gay men's eyes on him. And what makes it all better was the fact he has a great personality to top it all off. Kind, goofy and thoughtful about others, really he was the whole package and could easily hook someone in with just a few words.

Yet he was still living the single life.

You know for sure people have asked him out, all your friends did at some point but he always turns them down, saying he was personally not ready for one at the moment. You knew deep down it was a lie but never bother to question it, it’s not your business to poke at anyways.

The sinful thoughts still continue to dance around in your head, almost as if it’s mocking and pressuring you to cross the line and fuck yourself later when he leaves the apartment. You almost moan at the thought of it, playing with one of the sex toys you hid under your bed once he’s out to let your thoughts and hands run wild.

You snap out of your thoughts when you hear the sound of his chair screeching against the floor, adjusting his position to sit more comfortably against the wooden chair. His eyes are still on his phone, completely oblivious to your stares on his thighs that peak out through his jeans.

He’s also unluckily, for you, sporting one of your favorite ripped jeans, giving you the juicy sight of his thick thighs and muscles through each rip. What makes it ten times worse for you was the belt that’s cinched through the loops of his jeans, defining the tiny ass waist. You lick your dry lips at the thought of your legs wrapped around them tightly as he continuously pounds into your slick cunt and finishes into your womb.

God, you really need to get laid.

The sound of his phone shutting causes you to snap your direction back onto your phone, praying to the heavens that he didn’t catch you ogling over his figure.

“I’m gonna go head to work now, do you need me to pick up anything when I drive back?” He asks you, standing up to put away his dirty dishes and head towards the coat hanger that waits for him beside your front door.

You internally sigh out of relief then hummed. “I’m not sure, I’ll text you later if I think of anything.” You reply back, keeping your eyes on his back and suddenly realizing how his define muscle still pokes through his shirt.

“Alright, text me before 6 then.” He tells you while putting on his black coat, ruining your perfect view.

Bidding your goodbyes, you wait until you hear the sound of his heavy footsteps leaving the hallway before letting out a heavy sigh with your head tilt back in relief, but the torture isn’t over for you yet.

The silence that looms in the now empty apartment makes it a lot easier for your mind to repeat the sound of his whimpering and moans in your head. You curl your toes, clearly envisioning the scene of him pushing himself over the edge, moaning out constantly as he milks the last bit of his cum before going at it again for a second orgasm.

Biting onto your bottom lip, you let out a quiet whimper and rub your thighs together, feeling the slick of your arousal gush out. Your lust starts to consume all of your senses, causing you to squirm and grip onto the edge of your seat tightly until your knuckles turn white.

At this point, if you continue to hold back it will only ruin your panties even more.

Out of pure thirst for your release, you spring out of your seat and head towards your room, not bothering to put away your dirty dishes. Closing the door behind you, you kneel down onto the side of your bed to fish out the Nike shoe box you stole from Jungkook. Placing it onto your bed, you happily lift the lid up to reveal your collection of various sex toys. Letting your fingers trail above them slowly, you decide to use the purple dildo that you bought last month. You feared its length and girth when you first saw it and never thought about using it.

That is until after seeing the length of your roommate’s dick.

Tossing the shoe box onto the floor, you hop onto your bed purely out of excitement. With your back against the pile of pillows and dildo beside you, you let yourself relax into the cushions. At your angled position, you stare at the pasty white ceiling above you in order to have a blank canvas for your mind to freely paint on. Slowly, your free hand trails down to your sides and onto the rim of your pajama shorts, imagining Jungkook doing so while he’s hovering above you.

You imagine his large frame above yours, eyes following his own hand as it nimbly teases the strap of your shorts, bottom lip caught by his teeth as his hooded eyes now on yours.

With no hesitation, you pull off the shorts and discard them over to the side where your shoe box is. The cool air around you makes it fairly obvious for you to feel the wet patch that still grows and stains your panties.

Before taking them off, you let your free hand trail above the wet patch and press onto it gently. The action causes you to moan softly as you envision the sight of Jungkook eyeing your panties, rubbing small soft circles onto the spot, whispering dirty secrets.

Finally, you make the move to remove your underwear next. As you do, you widen your eyes at the sight of a string of your arousal clinging from your heat to the wet patch on your panties. You blush embarrassingly when realizing how wet you were.

You can already imagine the sight of Jungkook’s reaction to this, licking his lips as your slick starts to drip down and pool within the sheets of your bed, thirsting for the taste of you.

Before you slip your fingers in between your folds, you hesitate a bit as the guilt starts to ponder through your mind. You are just a hair away from crossing the line, passing a territory you won’t be able to escape once you enter. Biting onto your bottom lip, you start to list out the pros and cons to your next decision. If you do this, you will only see and act differently around him. It will for sure affect your current relationship you have with him and he will notice it too which only makes you worry about the unknown future of your consequences.

So is the risk worth it?

You chose to stop, thinking it’s better to be safe than sorry. That is until the sounds of his moans continuously repeat in your mind like a broken record, reverting you back to your decision and changing your answer.

‘Fuck it!’ You thought to yourself, slipping your hand down to your aching clit, letting all of the lust consume your thoughts and blind you from all previous logical thinking.

With closed eyes you moan out his name, rubbing slow teasing circles onto your nub before reaching over to your side to grab the purple dildo, permanently shutting out your last logical thought.

With that, you cross the line of no return and made a new dirty little secret.

[donteattheappleshook]

The Gardener

Based on a prompt I can no longer find that was something like "You run by my house every morning and I make sure I'm outside every morning to see you".

This is a little plot bunny that I couldn't get out of my head. It was supposed to be a little ficlet but somehow turned into an 11 page monster. Pure fluffyness. Hope you enjoy!

Emma focused on the rhythmic tapping of her feet against the pavement as they fell into synch with the beat of the song blaring in her headphones. The sun wasn’t yet up, the sky the quiet, pale grey of a city not yet awake. She loved running at this time, before the cars and the pedestrians littered the streets, when it was just her and her music and the comforting ache of her muscles and the adrenaline in her veins as she kept a steady pace.

She’d taken a new route today, weary of following her usual run through the park after she’d noticed Walsh had started to frequent her favorite path. She’d seen him, dressed like he was out for a run - though Emma knew he never did anything remotely physical if he could help it - standing by a bench, looking desperately like he was waiting for someone to show up. Nope, Emma thought. She was not dealing with that.

She’d found her way into a small cul-de-sac she didn’t recognize. The streets all had annoyingly charming names like “Pleasant Avenue” and “Sunrise Crescent”. She didn’t worry too much about getting lost, sure that she could always just rely on google maps should she lose her way.

As kitchy as the street names were, Emma found herself quite enjoying this new road she’d found herself on. While the park was familiar and comforting, it ran the risk of encountering other runners. Mostly they kept to themselves, offering a friendly nod or wave but there was always the chance of meeting a Chatty Cathy who was desperate for a running buddy or some musclehead in a muscle shirt who saw this as an opportunity to flirt with anything in yoga pants. But here, she was completely alone. She made her way past the houses, most of them stand-alone older, victorian style buildings painted in bright colours and she caught herself smiling peacefully. It was like a little slice of the past in a big city. It was almost… charming.

“Shit!” Emma cursed as she felt the sharp pinch on the sole of her foot. Grudgingly, she slowed and eventually stopped her steady pace, grumbling as she crouched down and reached for the laces of her shoes so she could fish out the offending rock that must have found its way inside.

As she fumbled with the too-tight knot, she was surprised by the appearance of a truck as it rolled along beside her and pulled into the drive of the house across the street from where she knelt. She hadn’t heard it approaching over her music and almost rolled her eyes as her roommate’s voice rang in her ears, warning her not to listen to her music so loud. ‘You’ll get hit by a bus one of these days!’ Mary Margaret was fond of warning her.

She paused, having just wormed her shoe off her foot as she noticed the man getting out of the cab of the truck. He didn’t seem to have noticed her - not surprising as she was crouched on the curb across the street - but she noticed him. Damn did she notice him. She watched as the dark haired man made his way around the front of the truck before coming to the bed to untie a tarp that had been laid across it. He was handsome, Emma thought, not that she was looking. His hair was dark and so were his brows but he had a ginger scruff lining his cheeks and jaw. She watched as the muscles in his shoulders flexed under his t-shirt as he pulled the tarp back out of the way.

He looked over then, suddenly seeming to notice her and Emma panicked, immediately turning back to her shoe, shaking the rock out and slipping it back on to her foot. He’d been to far away for her to see the actual colour, but his eyes had been insanely bright - bright enough to be noticable across a street.

She looked back, curious - only to know what was in the back of the truck she convinced herself. As she peeked up at him, she saw that he had taken out a wooden crate with flowers inside. She was surprised. She didn’t know what she’d expected the handsome stranger to take out of his pickup truck at 5 in the morning but it definitely wasn’t flowers.

She kept watching, she couldn’t seem to stop, as he rested the crate on the metal frame of the truck before suddenly his eyes flickered back to hers. He held her gaze for a second, less in an intentional way and more in a deer-in-the-headlights kind of way, his cheeks going bright red in a way that was both boyish and incredibly attractive. Emma felt her own cheeks flame as she forced herself once again to focus on her task and finished lacing her shoe.

She waited, wondering if she should look again, maybe offer a smile or say hello. He was attractive and it had been a while since Emma had flirted with someone. Not since Walsh and boy was he a mistake. She’d been nothing but clear about her intentions but he had taken the flirting and the drinks and the casual sex as a sign of a serious relationship and that was the last thing Emma wanted and now she was left to deal with a quasi-stalker. But this was different. Meeting an attractive man carrying flowers while she was out for a run wasn’t the same as meeting someone at a bar and going back to his place. No this, this had all the makings of a meet-cute and Emma was not looking for some silly romantic encounter. But still, she found herself glancing up.

The man had lifted the box fully out of the truck now and she imagined he’d be heading into the house with it. She allowed herself to let her eyes rake over the lean lines of his profile. He paused then. Almost like he’d felt her watching him and she saw him glance at her out of the corner of his eye, like he was worried she would notice. When he saw her looking back, he straightened, standing a little taller. He turned to face her and offered her a small smile before raising his hand to offer her a little wave.... And dropping the contents of his flower box onto the pavement at his feet.

He scrambled, fumbling to catch the box as it tilted sideways and Emma noticed for the first time that there was a prosthetic that ended in an intricate, metal hook where his left hand should be. She watched as he knelt down, scooping the soil back into the box, straightening the flowers all the while casting her frantic, horribly embarrassed, wide-eyed looks. Emma caught herself smiling as she watched the scene take place. She wasn’t laughing at him, not at his embarrassment, but rather - there was something… utterly charming about the whole exchange. And, not for the first time that day, Emma thought that she didn’t mid charming quite so much.

The man seemed to understand her amusement and his expression changed from one of humiliation and panic to friendly commiseration. She couldn’t hear it, but she saw him huff out a small laugh as he shrugged his shoulders at her. “What can you do?” he seemed to say. Emma smiled and for a second, she debated going over to help him clean up the mess but she thought better of it. Charming was never a good idea, as attractive as the prospect may be. Instead, she double checked the knot on her laces, stood up, and cast him a final glance, lips still curled in a half-smile, before she took off down the road again.

***

Liar. Liar. Liar. Emma thought as she ran down the newly familiar streets the next morning. She was actively trying to convince herself that she had chosen to follow the same path as the day before because she was worried Walsh would still be looking for her in the park; but, as her heartrate picked up when she rounded the corner of Pleasant and Sunrise, she knew it had little to do with the punishing pace she’d set.

He probably won’t even be there. She reprimanded herself. What were the chances that he’d be outside his house again at 5am? Surely he’d just been coming back from picking something up yesterday. He’d probably be inside asleep like most people were at this time.

Her stomach started to knot and flutter though as his truck came into view, parked in the driveway where it had been 24 hours prior. Stop it. She told her stupid heart and her stupid stomach and her stupid brain as it started conjuring up images of his bashful smile and reddened cheeks. She tried to focus, shaking her head to try pay attention to her music and her feet against the pavement. Don’t you look. She told herself. She didn’t listen.

There was no-one near the truck. The tarp was once again pulled tight over the bed and Emma’s heart sank just a little. She felt stupid. Getting all excited and eager to see a man she’d never even spoken to. What did she think was going to happen? She was chiding herself, reminding herself why she stayed away from men that made her insides go topsy turvy when suddenly - there he was, kneeling in the little garden by the front steps of the blue victorian house. She couldn’t quite tell what he was doing but he seemed to be using his hook to steady a flower as he worked at it with his right hand. She wondered briefly at how dexterous the fingers on that hand must be as he delicately handled the flower.

He must have heard her approaching because he looked up suddenly, his expression morphing into something that was both surprised and happy as he recognized her. He offered her a friendly smile and a nod, not looking away but also not making any move to stop her and force her into polite conversation and she found herself surprisingly appreciative of the gesture - or lack thereof. Despite her best efforts, Emma found herself offering him a smile in return, her hand coming up in a semblance of a wave. It was just a flexing of her fingers as she ran past but the shy, pleased smile that split his face had her insides buzzing pleasantly warm.

For the next five days, Emma found herself  running by the little blue house at exactly 5am. And every day, there he was, tending to his little garden with a gentle precision. She’d come to expect their daily exchange. It was never more than a simple wave or a nod but it was always offered with a smile that had her breath caching in her throat and Emma realised she’d not only come to expect their exchanges but had started looking forward to them.

She’d started running on the other side of the street two days ago.

Without fail, she found her steps growing faster and a smile pulling at her lips as they always did as she approached the little garden in the early morning hours. She was excited to see him, wondering what he might be doing today. Though she only caught glimpses, she liked watching him tend to the plants. He did it with a kind of patient intensity that showed pride in his work. And the muscles in his arms flexing as he dug trenches or heaved sacs of soil were just another aspect of that work.

It was hot today. Even without the sun, Emma could feel sweat beading on her forehead and chest. She’d hesitated over her decision to run in only her sports bra. She wasn’t usually one to run while so exposed but damn it it was too hot for anything else. And maybe maybe she’d imagined the way that the man in the garden’s cheeks might burn bright red when he saw her. Emma knew she looked good. She worked hard to stay in shape and if she wanted to use her wiles to her advantage to make a handsome gardener blush, well, that was her prerogative.

As she approached the house, Emma noticed him immediately, smiling as his shape came into focus the closer she got. He was standing in the middle of the flower beds - which had grown exponentially in the last week - a hose held firmly in his hand, folded so as to stop the flow of water as he made his way across to a patch of daisies.

She saw the stain on the front of his blue shirt, made dark by the sweat of his chest and realised she wasn’t the only one suffering from the heat wave. She briefly thought of asking him to spray her with the hose, desperate for the cool down but thought better of it. She was already in a bra - she didn’t need to be asking a strange man to hose her down. She had some dignity left. That didn’t stop her from imagining how he would look with his shirt soaking wet from the spray of the hose. Emma felt her temperature rise again and knew it had nothing to do with the weather this time.

He must not have heard her approaching, as engrossed in his task as he was. He stood frowning at the flowers, clearly trying to solve some sort of problem when he suddenly looked up, noticing her as she reached the edge of the lawn. Emma felt a little thrill go through her as his eyes went wide, his mouth falling open in a little ‘o’. She didn’t even think he realised what he was doing as his eyes raked slowly up her body.

Emma was doing everything in her power to not smirk or blush - she wasn’t sure which urge was stronger - when suddenly, the gardener lost his grip on his hose. Emma shrieked as the pent up pressure caused the water to spray everywhere, the green tube flying back and forth like a charmed snake.

She jumped back, not paying attention, and stumbled. She heard the pop in her ankle before she felt it but the searing pain didn’t take long to make itself known, burning it’s way up her foot as it rolled awkwardly under her. She landed on the pavement with a sharp cry, clutching her injured ankle and gritting her teeth against the tears in her eyes.

The man leaped into action as soon as she hit the ground, having stood stock still, eyes wide with shock as the hose had leaped free of his hand. He rushed to the side of the house, turning off the faucet before running quickly to her side. He crouched down, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you alright, love?” he asked, reaching down to touch her ankle but then seeming to think better of it and pulling his hand back. The one on her shoulder stayed where it was and Emma was surprised to find - despite the searing pain she was in - that the weight of it was comforting rather than intrusive like she’d have expected a stranger touching her to be.

He was closer to her than he’d ever been and Emma found herself a bit dazed by that fact. Blue. His eyes were blue. Forget-me-not blue she thought and almost snorted at how perfectly fitting it was for a man who spent so much time working with flowers to have eyes the colour of forget-me-nots.

He was even more handsome up close. The scruff on his cheeks wasn’t just ginger but a mix of browns and reds and silver that made the angle of his jaw look sharp and pronounced. And his eyes - holy shit his eyes - his eyes were rimmed by gorgeous dark lashes, wet now with the spray of the hose. She noticed then that his shirt had gotten equally as soaked and now clung to the muscles of his chest and the flat plane of his stomach. She swallowed, the heat of his hand on her shoulder now burning hotter than the fire in her ankle.

“Are you alright?” he asked again and Emma blinked.

“You’re British,” was all she could think to say. Jesus, woman. Get it together. She thought as his brow turned down in a concerned frown.

“Did you hit your head?” he asked, eyes flashing briefly to the back of her skull before returning to her face with an intensity Emma could definitely not handle.

She cleared her throat. “I’m fine,” she said her voice not quite as strong as she’d hoped. She made to get up and the man’s hand was suddenly at her elbow, helping her to stand. Emma blinked in appreciation at the subtle, kind gesture.

“I’m so sorry,” he was saying as she stood but he was cut off by her cry of pain as she put her right ankle down, her foot failing to support her. She’d have hit the pavement again were it not for his arms coming around her and holding her steady. His prosthesis was solid against her waist, his hand having caught one of hers as he lowered her slowly down on the curve.

“Easy, lass,” he said as he settled her down on the soft grass of his front lawn. He moved around her to crouch down where her injured leg was stretched out in front of her. “May I?” he asked, indicating her ankle. Emma nodded, unsure what else to say. He examined her ankle with the mastery of someone who knew what he was doing and she wondered briefly if he was some kind of doctor or if he’d just been around a lot of injuries. He looked at her before gingerly poking a spot on the side of her ankle and Emma hissed.

“Ow! Son of a bitch what the hell was that for!?” she shouted. She could see him fighting a smirk as he struggled to give her an apologetic look.

“It looks like it’s sprained,” he told her. “But we should probably get you to a hospital just to be safe. You could have a hairline fracture.”

Emma sighed, knowing he was probably right but dreading spending the rest of her day in an emergency room. “Alright,” she said, reaching into her pocket for her phone to call Mary Margaret but not finding it. She looked around helplessly. It must have fallen out when she fell. “You see my phone anywhere?” she asked the man.

He turned to look, clearly spotting something a bit further down the road and stood to go retrieve it for her. He gave her a slightly pained look as he handed it back to her and as she took it she saw why. It was broken - completely - screen shattered with small bits missing. That’s what I get for not buying a case she thought, groaning as she tried to turn it on but the screen remained black.

“Great. Just great,” she said, throwing the useless phone down beside her. She turned to the man, who had stayed silent throughout her little tantrum. “Can I use your phone to call a cab?” she asked hoping for the kindness of strangers.

He nodded, pulling out his phone and unlocking it. He gave her a strange look as he handed it to her, like he wanted to tell her something but was worried about how she’d react. “What?” she asked, a little irritated because of the pain.

“The nearest hospital is almost thirty minutes away… it’ll be an expensive cab ride,” he explained.

Emma sighed, hanging her head. She didn’t relish the idea of spending her meager savings on an expensive cab ride to what would be an expensive hospital visit but what other option did she have? She didn’t know her friend’s phone numbers and an ambulance ride would be just as expensive. She looked up when the man cleared his throat.

“I - I could drive you… if you like,” he offered. “It’s the least I could do.”

Emma took in his expression. He looked sincere but also fully aware of how one might take the offer of a ride from a stranger - no matter how good looking and charming he was.

“No offence,” she started, “but I don’t make a habit of getting into cars with complete strangers. I’ve watched the Ted Bundy Tapes,” she told him. She felt a little bad, she knew he was probably just trying to help and deep down she didn’t think he had any malicious intentions but… well, she’d trusted the wrong guy before. “You don’t really seem like the serial killer type but…” She worried he’d take offence but instead the corner of his mouth turned up in an amused smile.

“Aye but the serial killers never do seem the type do they?” he said in an almost joking manner.

Emma smiled back a little, strangely at ease around this man she still hadn’t officially met. “Exactly,” was all she said.

He nodded. “Hold on,” he said before standing and making his way over to the bed of his truck.

He rifled around in it for a moment before he found what he was looking for. He returned to her and handed her something. Emma took it and was surprised to find that he’d offered her a pair of pruning shears. She looked at them before staring at him blankly.

“Did… Did you just hand me a pair of shears? To stab you with?” she asked in disbelief.

He huffed out a laugh. “I promise there’ll be no need for that, love. But I thought they might help you feel a little safer.” The way he said it was almost a question and Emma just kept staring at him, shocked by the insane but weirdly considerate gesture. If she was being honest, the gesture made her feel safer than the sharp tool she held in her hand.

She channelled her superpower, looking into his kind, bright eyes that held nothing but sincerity and concern. He was telling the truth. Emma took a moment to try and digest the bizarre situation she’d found herself in. Sitting on the side of the road with a man she’d been eye flirting with for the last week and a sprained ankle, hitching a ride to the hospital while brandishing a weapon. This was not how she’d seen her morning going.

“Okay,” she said finally. “Yeah, okay, thanks.”

He smiled and stood, offering her a hand to help her up. She hopped up next to him, balancing awkwardly on one foot.

“Do… do you want me to carry you?” he offered hesitantly. Emma rolled her eyes. While the idea of being carried in his arms held some appeal, she felt she’d suffered enough embarrassment for one day.

“I think I’ll be fine,” she said with a bit more sarcasm than she intended. He smiled at the sass in her voice. “Maybe if I can just lean on you?” she suggested and he nodded again, his arm instantly going around her waist to steady her as she wrapped her own around his shoulders. Emma didn’t know what was more distracting, the feel of his shoulders flexing under her palm as he supported most of her weight to the truck, or the feel of his warm, calloused fingers against the bare skin of her waist. She really hoped they wouldn’t check her heart rate at the hospital because this man seemed to constantly be sending it through the roof.

He helped her into the passenger seat and it did not go unnoticed or unappreciated by Emma that he didn’t take the opportunity to ‘accidentally’ cop a feel of her ass as he boosted her up into the high cab of the truck.

“Good?” he asked, making sure she was settled.

“Good,” she answered.

“Got your shears?” he asked with a grin and Emma held up the scissors and waved them around a little like she was brandishing a sword. His grin grew and he reached to shut the door.

“I’m Emma!” she nearly shouted, making him freeze with the door still open, looking at her. “Emma Swan. Just… by the way.” Oh god, she was the most awkward human being in the world.  

The man just smiled again, softer this time. “Killian Jones,” he answered.

Emma nodded and with that, Killian shut the door. She waited as he made his way around and climbed into the driver’s seat. He looked at her for a second before seeming to realise something and turning to reach into the back of the cab. Before Emma could ask what he was doing, he emerged with a simple, black t-shirt hanging from his hook. He held it out to her and Emma was suddenly very aware of how underdressed she was. She took it, thanking him and slipping it on as he started the engine and took off down the road. Emma tried very hard not to focus on how good the shirt smelled, actively stopping herself from burying her nose in it. That’s not something normal people do, Emma, she told herself.

She cast a glance at the man sitting next to her - Killian. She was taken again by how attractive he was, especially with the sun just starting to rise and casting his profile in a soft, orange glow. But he was also so… she didn’t know what word to choose. Kind? Thoughtful? Shy? That last one surprised her the most. She hadn’t met many men who looked like him and blushed nervously when a woman smiled at them. She also hadn’t met many men who looked like him and spent their mornings tending to flowers. If she was being honest, she’d never met a man like Killian Jones before. He was an enigma and he was one she desperately wanted to solve. The thought surprised her.

“Where are you from?” she asked, the words out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“England,” he said, smirking as she rolled her eyes. “Surry,” he clarified.

“How’d you end up here?”

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and Emma was worried she’d asked too much. She barely knew the guy and she was bombarding him with personal questions.

“I was discharged from the Navy after I lost my hand,” he told her before she could take the words back and the way he said it suggested he’d lost a lot more than that but she didn’t push. “There wasn’t much left for me back home so I came to Boston on a whim. Wasn’t easy finding work that I could do one handed. Sure, there were a bunch of office jobs and the like but… sometimes you need to feel like you’re really doing something you know? Getting your hands dirty… or hand I suppose,” he joked and Emma smiled at how light hearted he was about his handicap.

She thought about her own work as a bail bondsperson. She knew what he meant. There was something about the ache in your muscles after a hard day’s work that office jobs had never lived up to. “I ended up meeting a mate who worked in landscaping and suggested I try it out - turns out I have a knack for it,” he told her with what she could only assume was an attempt at a wink.

“And here I thought you just had a hobby,” she told him, realising that the job suited him.

She liked listening to him talk. As they drove the rest of the way she asked more questions and slowly the man who was Killian Jones was revealed to her. He had worked with his friend’s company for a while before finally starting his own greenhouse and landscaping business, a job he clearly took great pride in. Soon, they were pulling into the hospital parking lot and the shears were left forgotten on the floor of the cab.

He helped her hop out of the truck and hobble through the emergency room doors and made sure she’d settled in one of the chairs before - despite her protests - standing to get the sign in sheets. He brought them back to her to fill out and took a seat next to her in one of the worn, plastic chairs. Emma suddenly felt guilty, worried that he felt he needed to stay, that she expected him to.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” she almost blurted out, regretting it immediately as the thought of him leaving sat like a lead weight in her gut. He looked surprised and maybe even a little hurt.

“Oh, um,” he floundered. “Right. Sorry,” he said and Emma felt terrible. He made to stand and Emma stopped him with a hand on his arm, resting just above where his prosthesis ended.

“I mean, unless…” she hesitated. She wasn’t good at this. She liked him. She had to admit it to herself. She didn’t want him to leave now, especially not like this.

“Unless?” he asked, brows raised. He was clearly hoping she’d give him a reason to stay. Emma couldn’t say it. Couldn’t bring herself to ask him to spend the day with her in a hospital waiting room simply because she enjoyed his company and hoped that he enjoyed hers too. She just looked at him, biting her lip.

His expression softened and he sank back into his seat. “Well,” he said, “I should probably stick around if only to get my shirt back,” he grinned at her.

The wait went by quickly. They didn’t stop talking for the five hours they waited to be seen except when her stomach growled and Killian went on a mission to the vending machines, returning with his arms comically full of snacks both salty and sweet. They’d sat stuffing their faces while she told him about her work and he seemed genuinely fascinated by the stories she told him about some perps she’d tracked down. He told her stories of some of the shenanigans he and his late brother had gotten into when they served in the Navy together that had her laughing so loudly she received dirty looks from other patients.

She didn’t care. She liked him. Really liked him. It should have scared her but it didn’t. She felt comfortable talking and laughing with him in a way she’d only ever felt with a handful of people in her life - one of whom was her brother and the other her best friend. She was almost disappointed when the nurse called her name to be seen by the doctor. She’d forgotten why she was even here she was so wrapped up in Killian Jones - his laugh and his voice and his eyes and his stories and his smell and just… everything. She had it bad.

They took x-rays of her ankle and Emma was relieved to learn that it was only a sprain and she would be back on her feet and running in a few weeks if she rested it. The doctor gave her some crutches and she hobbled out of the room, scanning it for Killian’s face. She wasn’t disappointed. As she walked back into the waiting room his eyes met hers and a smile broke across his face so bright it made her heart thump wildly against her ribs. He rose to meet her.

“Hi,” she said, grinning dumbly.

“Hi,” he answered and Emma wasn’t sure her smile could grow any wider. “So what’s the verdict? Have I maimed you for life?” he joked.

“Nah, just a sprain,” she told him. “You’ll just have to carry me up to my third floor walk up for the next few weeks and we’ll consider your debt paid,” she teased back.  

“Gladly,” he told her and Emma snorted. “Would you like a ride home?” he offered and Emma paused. She didn’t ever have men over. Ever. Her home with Mary Margaret was her safe haven, one where only the people she trusted most ever trespassed. Her, her brother David, and her roommate had always been all she needed in life, all she had room for. She looked at him, watching as the slight self-consciousness crossed his features. She smiled. Maybe it was time to make a little more room.

“Seems only fair,” she shrugged. “I know where you live, after all.”

An expression crossed his face that Emma couldn’t quite read. Suddenly his face was red, his eyes cast down as he raised a hand to scratch behind his right ear lobe.

“Right,” he said. “About that…”

Emma stared at him, concern rising in her as she watched him shuffle awkwardly in front of her.

“I don’t live there,” he told he finally.

She frowned. “What?”

“I - That first day… I was making a delivery to the woman who lives there - Granny - she owns that diner?” Emma knew the diner he was speaking of but that didn’t clear up anything. He sighed, running a hand through his hair before his words came tumbling out at an impressive speed.

“That first day, I saw you running by and you smiled at me and you were so bloody pretty and then you literally ran away and I just thought maybe you’d be running by again the next day so I… came back and well I felt like a right tosser and a creep just standing there so I figured I should do some work… convinced myself I was just there to do Granny a favour - you know, make up for all the extra fries she gives me - and then you ran by again and you smiled again and well… I just kept coming back, hoping I’d eventually work up the nerve to speak to you,” he finished, looking at her like he was awaiting a sentence.

“So you don’t live there,” she clarified.

“No.”

“And Granny thinks what?”

He smirked a little. “That she’s a much better gardener than she is.”

He bit his lip, smile disappearing as she stared at him, processing everything he’d just told her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I understand if you think I’m some huge bloody creepy stalker and want nothing to do with me and -”

“I changed my route,” she cut him off.

He blinked. “Come again?”

She laughed at the absolute ridiculousness of it all. “The first day… it was the first time I went down that street. I usually run in the park. It was just going to be that one time but… I changed my route,” she finished, letting him put the pieces together on his own. When he did, the smile that spread across his face was the brightest she had seen yet, his cheeks turning pink in a way she was starting to like far too much.

He gestured towards the exit. “Shall we?”

Emma nodded and lead the way, both of them grinning like idiots the whole way back to his truck.

When they reached her apartment building, Killian helped her out of the passenger seat and handed her her crutches. They stood awkwardly, neither really sure how to say goodbye.

“Well, thanks, Killian. For everything today. You were a real hero.”

He blushed. “Think nothing of it, love,” he said. “The pleasure was all mine.”

Emma looked up at him through her lashes. Ask me out you idiot! She wanted to shout at him. Killian didn’t say anything and Emma had to stop herself from sighing in disappointment.

“Well, bye,” she said.

Killian offered her a sad smile “Bye,” he repeated.

Emma turned to leave, heart sinking as she made her way to the front door.

“Swan!” she heard him call behind her and whirled around as best she could on crutches. Killian jogged to catch up to her.

“I was just thinking,” he said, scratching that spot behind his ear again. “I feel we owe Granny for ruining her garden this morning. That hose really did a number on her daisies.” Emma looked at him, a little spark of hope flickering in her breast. “Perhaps we could make it up to her by having a meal at her diner… maybe tonight?”

Emma smiled wide. “Seems only fair,” she said in answer.

He gave her a goofy, happy grin. He stood for a moment, silent and smiling as he looked her face over slowly. She did the same. God was he handsome she thought as his eyes searched hers for a moment before finally, almost tentatively, he lowered his head down to press his lips to hers. Emma’s heart raced in her chest as he kissed her. It was sweet, gentle and exploratory. He didn’t move to touch her beyond the soft brush of their lips as they got to know one another and it made Emma’s heart swell.

When they broke apart, Emma was shocked that he could still look at her so shyly. She felt herself blushing in return. What was it about this man that made her like this? She’d never felt this way - all giddy and silly and warm. She liked it.

“See you tonight?”

“I’ll pick you up at 8,” he told her. He hesitated for a second and then, he swooped down and pressed his mouth to hers again, a quick, stolen thing, before he stepped back, waving goodbye as he walked to his truck.

Emma watched him go, realising suddenly that despite having spent the entire day with him, she didn’t want to wait until tonight to see him again. “Hey, Jones!” she called and he stopped, turning to face her. “Didn’t you promise to carry me up the stairs?” she teased.

A slow smile spread across his face. He took a step forward then stopped, turning to reach into the bed of his truck, collecting something and walking to meet her with it hidden behind his back. When he finally reached her, he held out a single pink flower that Emma didn’t recognize but had suddenly become her favorite.

“Far be it from me to go back on a promise,” he said.

She took the proffered flower from him, smiling at it then at Killian. “Nobody’s ever given me a flower before,” she mused, surprised by the revelation.

He smirked. “Well, you never forget your first.”

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, you owe me a piggyback.”

Killian gifted her more flowers than she knew what to do with over the months that followed and she treasured every one. The next time he gave her that same flower thought - the pink middlemist he’d given her the day they officially met - was a year later. There was a ring attached.