#3 hours before checkout

[nekofantasia]

Can't wait to return to my home and okay vidya

[arminsumi]

S. Geto ★ Adult Store | 3

★ Chapter index | Part 1 | Part 2

★ Synopsis : Sooo... his apartment. At six. Sex. No toys. Just you and him. Sound good?

★ Warnings : 18+ content, smut, semi-public m*sturbation (at work), sexting, exchanging nudes, dirty talk, creampie, cunnilingus, toys, solo male m*sturbation, squirting, multiple orgasms, wet dreams, mentions threesome with Satoru, "sl*t"

Home | Library | Geto works | Reblog for a cake slice! 🍰

"Just like that... I'm so close."

Suguru moaned your name to himself and rolled his head back, pumping you full of his sensitive cock. He was so close to blowing inside your soft pussy.

But just before his wet dream got to the good part, he woke up. Grumbling awake, he felt sticky precum smeared on his inner thigh. So much had dribbled out his cock while dreaming of you. He nearly came in his sleep.

Hardly giving himself time to blink the sleepiness out of his eyes, he rolled over to grab his phone. Seeing your morning message made his lips curl into a smile.

📨 1 NEW

You: morningg 🥱 Suguru: morning pretty girl Suguru: i woke up a bit too excited 🙈💦 You: aw hope you dreamed of me Suguru: i did [IMG] You: needdd 🤤 the curve ahh Suguru: bet you wish it was inside you huh 🖤 You: yes pls You: so excited for tonight. i can't think about anything but you

Suguru got butterflies.

His head got foggier, and his boner was still throbbing hot against his inner thigh. Your texts got spicier, so he lazily squeezed and jerked his cock through his pants while struggling to reply with one hand.

Suguru: i'll buy extra condoms just in case You: oh... dw i'm on birth control Suguru: oh? 🙈 what are you suggesting...? You: you can cum inside me 🤍

Suguru let out a shuddery moan and accidentally came in his pants.

****

Work was slow. The adult store was quiet for most of the day. Suguru lazed around and texted you.

Suguru: this one's also a best seller atm [IMG] You: wow i wouldn't even suspect that to be a toy 😂 what is it? Suguru: it's a suction pulsation toy. you put it on your clit. You: oh? 😵‍💫 hmm sounds fun but i'd prefer your tongue Suguru: 2 more hours left of work 🥲 You: 😔💔 Suguru: glad the store is quiet tho. i'm too horny to work. You: me too. i keep squeezing my thighs together when i see your texts. you got me all sensitive and you're not even here lol Suguru: aw you should have brought a toy with to help calm you down You: yeah 😔 rlly tempted to just take a bathroom break Suguru: you could just rub yourself under your desk 👀 You: only if you guide me through it 🤍

Suguru raised his brows and felt his cheeks warm up a little. He glanced around the store. Quiet. Not a single customer had entered for over an hour.

Suguru: stroke your middle finger up and down your pussy Suguru: very gently make it almost ticklish You: okay 🤍 Suguru: cup and squeeze it too for me pretty girl Suguru: how's it feel? You: really goodd 🤤 Suguru: yeah i bet. Suguru: rub circles on your clit nice and slow. just take your time. You: okayy You: this is rlly risky 🥺 Suguru: but you're turned on aren't you? You: yess Suguru: slut 🖤

Your clit got puffier and more sensitive as you started following Suguru's instructions over text. Every now and then you had to stop for fear of someone spotting you getting off under the desk.

Your chat with him got filled with spicier messages. Suguru kept turning you on more and more, making your clit buzz.

Work? What work? It was playtime.

Suguru: good girl. don't worry about anything just get those panties wet for me. You: are you stroking yourself too 🥺 Suguru: mhm. wanna see? You: yes please Suguru: [IMG] Suguru: all for you 🖤 You: omg You: need you inside me so bad :( Suguru: uh huh bet it sucks to clench around nothing You: meanie You: go faster with me please

He'd abandoned the checkout desk and went for a "bathroom break". Suguru stroked himself faster, imagining you touching yourself with him drove him wild. And the fact you were doing it under your desk while at work?

Suguru: i'm close 🖤 You: me too please cum with me Suguru: ok pretty girl. let's cum together.

His heart fluttered at your message, and he quickly felt his orgasm build up in his cock. Suguru threw his head back and bit his lip to hold in his moan while cumming a thick load.

Suguru: oops i made a mess brb You: lol 😂 Suguru: was it good? You: really good 🤤 thank uuu Suguru: mhm. see you later 🖤

****

He was practically shaking from desire while making out with you against his apartment door; moaning into your mouth then sucking on your tongue, eagerly squeezing your hips with his veiny hands.

He was breathless, "G—good to see you." he said.

"Y—yeah. Good to see you too." you replied.

He had you pinned against his front door. Yup, immediately after having arrived at his doorstep and walking in, the two of you just lunged for each other like two pathetically horny people.

He felt delightfully dumbed by the sexual friction between you and him. His hard-on pressed flush against your body, you could feel him already leaking precum.

You kissed, he backed away playfully. You followed. Then he kept backing away to tease you.

"Are you luring me like a fish?" you chuckled.

"Yeah..."

He backed into his bedroom door and opened it swiftly.

Leaning down to kiss you, his hands cupped under your ass and felt it up while you slid your hands under his shirt.

"Take this off, please."

"Take it off yourself." he teased.

Suguru's tummy flipped when you took his shirt off. Your eyes caught on his pecs and he noticed, so he took your hand and placed it on them.

You were a little taken aback. A shyness showed on your expression as you felt how firm his body was.

"Don't be shy; touch wherever you like. Just feel my body."

"But I'm kinda..." you giggled shyly.

"Shy? It's okay, I'll fuck the shyness out of you soon enough." he said.

Yeah, you'll be too full of my dick to be able to think, let alone be shy.

****

While he rubbed his cockhead through your slit, his stomach tensed up in excitement.

Fuck, and there I was just telling her not to be shy... and now I'm so fucking nervous. What the hell... why does it feel like I'm losing my virginity all over again?

Suguru prepped you a bit more, he slid his fingers into your hole and stimulated your G-spot with ticklish circles.

Finally sinking his needy cock inside you felt like heaven. He slid in a few inches deep, and shuddered at the feeling of your shape, the ridge and texture, the little squeezes of your walls.

"It’s not too big for you, right?" he asked caringly.

"N—no."

Nah. She's gotta be lying. I can feel her cunt struggling to take me.

Yeah, you were lying — he was so thick that the stretch was all you could focus on. Your lips formed an erotic O shape, expression turning slutty even though he wasn't even bottomed out yet.

"You sure?" he smirked down at you, two veiny hands at either side of your hips, denting the bed with his weight.

Suguru inched inside until you gasped.

"Fuck! Oh that's — mmm! — big!"

Suguru groaned softly, feeling your ring of muscle constrict around him. He slid in and out slowly to get his cock soaked.

"I don't know if I can take it..." you moan.

His cock curved up into your G-spot and you let out a shuddery moan.

"Don't worry. I'll stretch you out." he purred before giving you a hard kiss. "Just hold onto my arms."

****

“Fuck! Right there!” you screamed into the pillow.

Suguru softly grunted and focused his eyes on the sight of his cock moving in and out of your pussy. You fisted your hands into the messed up bedsheets.

When he felt his orgasm start to build up, he suddenly pulled out of you.

“Nooo, put it back in!” you cried, kicking your feet.

“Just a second, baby.” he murmured sweetly.

He smirked down at you and planted a hard slap on your ass, causing you to jolt forward and groan.

Sliding back in made him momentarily close his eyes, because your walls hugged him so perfectly.

“Mmm!” you kicked your feet around again when he started up his thrusting again.

Suguru wasn’t merciless with how he fucked you into the mattress, but he really wanted to be. He was holding back so hard just to make sure you could enjoy yourself completely.

Sometimes he’d start pounding into you and then self-consciously eased off when he heard you whimpering.

“Are you okay?” he giggled into your ear.

“Y-yes! Do that again, please.”

He flipped you onto your back and pushed your legs back, splitting them wide open for him.

****

Suguru fucked you into a quick orgasm and his own followed immediately after he felt your pussy milking his cock.

“Oh my god…” he giggled into the crook of your neck, “I’m so sorry. I thought I’d last longer than that…”

You laughed with him. Suguru hovered over your back, his bangs dangling over his eye, and he kissed from your shoulder down middle of your back. His two hands roughly grabbed and pried apart your ass cheeks, thumbing into your creampied pussy. Some of his cum dribbled out.

You hummed and wiggled your ass for him.

Fuck. I think I just fell in love.

“Do you want to take a shower?” he asked softly.

“Yes please. I feel so wet and sticky.” you laughed.

He smacked your ass again and slowly slid off the bed, scouring for your panties before his boxers. He helped you slide them back on.

****

While you went off to shower, Suguru dressed up and went into the thin kitchen.

He checked his phone.

📨 3 NEW

Satoru: stop ignoring me hoe Satoru: ARE U GUYS STILL HAVING SEX OMG IT’S BEEN 3 HOURS??? Satoru: WTF KINDA STAMINA DOES SHE HAVE Suguru: lol u sound lonely Satoru: omg finally 😿 Suguru: i think i wanna marry her 😔 Satoru: WAHT WAS IT THAT GOOD???? Satoru: UR STILL MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT?? Suguru: yes Satoru: is she down for a threesome???? 👀 Suguru: wtf satoru 😂 Satoru: JOKING 🙄🙄 ask her tho Suguru: i'm blocking you Satoru: babyyy don't b like this!! sharing is caring!! 😍 Suguru: 😑

****

When you got out the shower and clothed yourself, you smelled something good cooking. Suguru wasn’t in the bedroom anymore, so you went to the kitchen.

The tiny round table by the window was dressed up with a white cloth and a single candle in the center.

“What’s this, a dinner date or something?” you asked.

“Yeah, well, I just I thought you might be, uh, hungry…” he said shyly. “… after all that exercise, you know.”

You gave him a flirty look, then sat down to eat.

****

He was giggling hard. His cheeks were hot.

“So, what’s for dessert?” that’s what you had asked to fluster him.

“What if I eat you out right here on the table?” he suggested, and you both went silent.

Suguru tilted his head at you and waited for your response.

Your response? Spreading your legs on the table for him, of course.

Suguru nuzzled his face deep between your thighs, dark hair tickling your skin.

He placed worshipping kisses on top of your pussy, then swiftly stripped your panties off. They dangled on your ankles while he nosed in your pussy, kissing and licking it like it was his dessert.

Of course, Suguru Geto was the type of boy to get hard from going down on a girl. His cock pulsed and twitched in his loose sweatpants.

You gasped when he sucked on your clit and nudged it with his tongue.

He looked up at you through his messy hair, sharp eyes observing your reactions to his skilled-tongue fucking. Your juices gushing down his chin drove him nuts.

“Oh, shit that’s good!” you cried, grabbing a fistful of hair and eliciting a moan from him that you felt vibrating on your clit.

He gasped for a breath, pulled away momentarily but then dove right back in as if he didn't need air as desperately as he needed pussy.

As soon as you started squirming around, Suguru hooked his arms around your body to keep you firmly in place.

His back muscles flexed while he ate you out. Yes, his knees hurt a bit from kneeling on the tiled kitchen floor for an hour, but it was worth it to get you squirting all over his pretty face.

Suguru withdrew from your pussy and wiped the streak of your juices off his cheek with a swipe of his thumb.

“Thanks for dessert.” he murmured, “Tasted really good.”

★ Tags : @ackachii / @qmsvpx / @aydene / @seaweedsaiki / @sadisticmfqueen / @vanyareads / @katsukis-lilbunnywhore / @mp3playerblog / @223princess / @collectionofdolls / @chimmysoftpaws / @halloweenmedic / @roronoaslover / @cherrymoon4 / @nctstrcngencugh / @nitskilanara / @thirtykiwis / @xxbuckpoppi / @dswdo / @p1nkfluffysocks / @yooniesweetheart / @crmdlls / @grimreaqueer / @mmeerraa / @witchbybirth

Please message my inbox or comment on this fic to be added/removed to the taglist for updates.

© arminsumi

I do not permit the copying/reposting/translation/plagiarism of my works. Do not steal what I've worked hard to create.

This is fictional work.

[dellalyra]

ʀᴏꜱʏ ᴘɪɴᴋ - ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴏʀᴜ

pixie says: another request from my wife @soraya-daydreams coming thru with an absolute banger. family formations or can be standalone <3

“Y/N!” Came a scream from down the hall.

You were almost asleep, bed so comfortable and sheets so soft until your door flung open and three bodies stood in the entrance before barging in.

“Shoko stop bullying Satoru.” You reflexively reply.

“Y/N! Thank god you’re here! A voice of reason! These two,” Satoru says, pointing to Geto and Shoko beside him “are trying to get me to dye my hair!”

You just look between the three of them. Geto is on your desk chair, fiddling with your pencils. Shoko is perched on the desk beside him and Satoru has flung himself face down on the foot of your bed.

“Okay, and… you don’t want to?” You ask.

“Why? Do you think I should?” Satoru asks, and you wonder why Geto and Shoko snicker.

“It’s your hair, Satoru! If you wanted to you could do a temporary dye in like - a really fun colour. Like the pink in the ends of my hair!” You wave your strands at him.

“See! I told you she would like the idea! C’mon Gojo, let us dye your hair.” Shoko pleads.

“You won’t even need’ta bleach it or anything, man.” Geto chimes in.

“But guys! My white hair is like - my thing!” Gojo is flailing his arms.

“I thought your eyes were your thing?” Geto questions.

“I have many things!” The muffled voice replies.

“Y/N, what do you think?” Geto prompts.

“Why am I the deciding factor?”

“Because Satoru would jump into a burning building if you asked him to.” Shoko adds, blunt as ever.

You blush and hear a weak attempt at a protest from the end of your bed.

You’ve no idea where your friends got this idea that Satoru is interested in you the way your are him but they seemingly won’t let it go.

“I think it would be fun - but Satoru chooses the colour. Is that okay, Satoru?” You poke him.

“Okay.” He says, lifting his head from your comforter.

“Cool! Shoes on then. Let’s go.” You say, swinging your legs out of bed.

“Where on earth can we get hair dye at 10pm?”

So that’s how you ended up at a 24 hour store checkout at 10.30pm with your three best friends. After much deliberation, a temporary box dye was found that would last about 6 washes and wouldn’t stain. Satoru was being uncharacteristically sheepish about the colour he chose, keeping the box close to his chest, until he dropped it and you picked it up to see the top of the box was a soft, rosy pink.

Your favourite colour.

You handed it to him, blushing as he looks straight at you.

“It’s gonna look really nice on you, ‘toru.” You say, smiling softly.

The two behind you gag at the sweet exchange.

At 11pm, Satoru was sitting on your desk chair - towel on his shoulders as you and Geto worked the pink through his white hair - Shoko (the instigator) sitting on your bed.

“Okay! Koko, set a timer for 10 minutes.” You say, pulling the gloves off your hands.

“What happens in 10 minutes?” Satoru asks.

“We wash your hair!”

“Wait?! You need to shower with me?! At least buy a guy a drink first, Princess.” He smirks at you and you roll your eyes.

“No, you incorrigible man. Just your hair. Plus, you don’t drink.”

Finding a way to wash his hair was a logistical nightmare since everyone insisted on being in the room but Satoru’s long limbs were difficult to contain - but eventually, the shower head was rinsing pink streams down the drain and his head was free of dye. You wrapped a towel over his head and told him to go style it how he normally would.

He proceeds to shake his head and say “I just let it dry?”.

Which sickens you.

He’s just that perfect, that beautiful - naturally?

What an asshole.

He turns to take the towel off and looks at you three and you melt inside.

His blue eyes shine in excitement as your face turns the colour of his now rosy pink hair.

Seeing him decked out in your favourite colour? Did all kinds of things to you - though it would never compare to his natural, snowflake coloured hair that visits your dreams each night. That will always be your favourite, because it’s a sign of your ‘Toru.

“Look at this marshmallow man!” Shoko says, jumping to try and ruffle his hair.

“Marshmallow?!” Satoru says, spinning to the mirror.

“Bro - that actually looks really good. I like it. Turned out real nice. What do you think, lil’ lady?” Suguru says, turning to you.

“I love it.” You say, hands clasped under your chin.

You didn’t just mean the hair.

[iannmin]

3:32 am

Pairing: Idol! San x Idol! Reader

Synopsis: being an idol isn’t easy, in fact, especially more so for the both of you when a late-night snack is in need

I slipped into the convenience store just before 4 a.m., the familiar chime of the doorbell announcing my arrival. The cool air conditioning and the low hum of the fluorescent lights create a soothing backdrop to our nightly escapade. I scan the aisles and spot San, who is already here, attempting to blend in. With his black beanie pulled low and his long black-leathered coat enveloping him like a cloak of invisibility, he resembles a character from a low-budget spy movie.

“Hey,” I whisper as I approach. His dimpled smile is both mischievous and reassuring, making me laugh despite the hour.

“Hey,” he replies, his voice barely above a whisper. He gestures toward the snack aisle with a grand, exaggerated sweep of his hand, as if unveiling a hidden treasure chest. “Shall we?”

We venture down the aisles together, picking out snacks with the seriousness of treasure hunters. Every so often, we exchange furtive glances and duck into aisles when another customer appears. Our attempts at subtlety are anything but smooth. When a middle-aged man with a shopping basket full of milk and bread turns the corner, we both instinctively dive into the nearest aisle, nearly knocking over a display of instant noodles. I stifle a giggle as San huddles behind a tower of canned beans, peeking out with exaggerated caution. “Is it safe?” I whisper dramatically.

San squints towards the aisle. “I think so. But we should probably avoid the deli section. It’s too risky.”

We continue our mission, occasionally bumping into each other as we reach for the same snack. Each accidental brush of our hands sends a spark of excitement through me, but also a jolt of panic when we hear a distant rustling. We exchange alarmed glances and quickly retreat to the candy aisle, where we hide behind a display of chocolate bars.

“Mission impossible,” I whisper, “but with better snacks.”

San bursts into a fit of suppressed laughter, nearly toppling over a stack of gum. “Exactly. We’ll be legends in the convenience store underworld.”

As we edge closer to the checkout, the store remains nearly empty, save for a lone cashier engrossed in a book, apparently oblivious to our stealthy maneuvers. We take our place in line, trying to look as casual as possible while simultaneously checking for any signs of recognition.

San places our items on the counter with a flourish, his dramatic movements contrasting sharply with the cashier’s sleepy indifference. As the cashier rings up our snacks, San leans in and whispers, “Do you think anyone’s ever noticed us?” I shake my head, trying not to laugh. “Doubtful. We’re just two ordinary snack enthusiasts trying not to look suspicious.”

The cashier finishes bagging our items, and San takes the bags with a theatrical bow, his tone rising to a mock-heroic level. “Thank you, kind sir,” he says. “Your service has been invaluable. We shall speak of this night in hushed tones.”

We hustle out to the parking lot, glancing around with exaggerated caution as if we’re in a high-stakes spy film. The cool night air is a welcome relief from the store’s chill. As we walk briskly to the car, we both burst into laughter, unable to contain the amusement of our covert operation.

Once we’re in the car and the bags of snacks are stowed, San starts the engine. The drive to our next destination is filled with easy banter and shared laughter. We talk about everything from the questionable taste of some of our snack choices to hypothetical scenarios where we become snack connoisseurs for a living.

By the time we reach our destination, I’m laughing so hard I nearly forget why we’re here. The thrill of our secret outings, combined with the comedic antics of our attempts to avoid detection, make these moments feel magical. It’s a reminder that even in the smallest, most mundane situations, there’s a special joy to be found.

[ohimsummer]

✎ . . .❝NOT GONNA SAY SOMETHING?❞

— minors dni, everyone’s in their early 20s, suggestive, satoru x reader, poly! satosugu verse, bathroom sex if you squint, I got lazy at the end ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Satoru Gojo has went missing, and he's taken you with him.

"He's probably in the bathroom.," Shoko says through her cigarette. With you and Gojo absent, there's no one left to nag her about lung cancer.

Geto stares at the unread texts he's sent to both of you over the span of half an hour. It technically hasn't been that long, but someone like Gojo responds within minutes, if not seconds, so it's definitely strange.

"I'll go check." And off Detective Geto heads in search of the idiot kidnapper and his victim.

The nearest bathroom is right around the corner from the park. It only takes a few minutes to get there, so even if you both had actually ran off for an impromptu bathroom break, should it really be taking this long?

Arriving at the single-stall restrooms, he first knocks on the women's door. "Y/N?" No response. Okay. Geto thumps the men's room door next, feeling a bit off as he listens for any sound of noises inside. At first, there's nothing. And then, the faint sound of a grunt.

"Satoru, are you in there?", he asks.

Silence for a few seconds, before Gojo's muffled voice asks, "Yeah, what is it?"

Geto sighs, exasperated. "Ya know we've been looking all over for you? Where's Y/N?" There's another pause, and Suguru can still hear faint grunts inside. "...What is that?"

"Nothing, look can you gi–" A short break in Gojo's sentence, he’s muttering something under his breath. "–Give me a minute?"

"Why does it sound like you're getting off in there?"

"For fuck's–" A moan interrupts Gojo's complaint, one that's quickly cut off by what Suguru assumes is his hand. A few seconds pass, and Geto swears he hears a light squelching sound inside.

"You're disgusting.," he says. "Couldn't that wait 'til we got home?"

"Just go wait in the fucking park, I'll be there in a sec."

Rolling his eyes, Suguru begins the short trek back to Shoko, only for a large poster displayed in a window to catch his eye. The model shown wears a cute little yellow sundress, one that makes him get lost in thought at the idea of you wearing it.

The sound of a stall door creaking open grabs his attention, and Geto watches in the glass's reflection as his friend comes exiting the bathroom, using his hands to brush his hair down and fix his belt buckle. He holds the door open, and out comes...you. Suguru blinks in shock as you come stumbling out of the stall, smoothing your own clothes down as Gojo throws an arm around your shoulders, grinning as he whispers something in your ear that makes you smack his chest. Both of you freeze in your tracks at the sight of Geto, and he directs his gaze to the model's face to get rid of suspicion.

"You want one of those?," Gojo taunts as the both of you approach, pointing at the sundress. "I think it'd look good on you, Suguru."

"Oooh, it is pretty.,” you say. “I like it.”

They glance at eachother, and before Gojo can even offer, you cut him off. “Put your wallet away, Satoru.”

“I didn’t even get t-“

“Good.”

He frowns down at you and disappears into the department store against your wishes, leaving you and Suguru on the sidewalk alone.

“Sooo,” you bounce back and forward on your heels once Gojo is out of earshot. “Not gonna say something?”

He tilts his head to look at you, feigning ignorance. “Would you like me to say something?”

“...No, I suppose not.”

Geto turns to spot Gojo at the checkout, dress in hand. “Then I won’t say something. Not now, anyway."

tagz: @anthoosies @staryukis :3

[coff33andb00ks]

ollie and 16? ❤️

16: only linking the pinkies together, not ready to let go completely

Requests closed until I catch up <3

"Split the list and meet up?"

You glance up from the list on your phone, nodding while he parks the car. "That sounds good to me," you tell him, copying and sending him half the list. Since you both have a tendency to linger and discuss the pros and cons of each thing, his idea is best. Otherwise you'll be in the supermarket for hours just getting a couple days' worth of groceries. And since he's only home for the next three days you'd rather spend as much possible time alone with him, not wasting it choosing between two types of pasta.

Leaning over the console, you meet him in a kiss. You intend for it to be a quick peck but his hand comes up to rest at your cheek and you sink into the kiss, gently grabbing hold of the front of his shirt. "Ollie," you murmur, giving him a quick peck and pulling back. "Come on, the quicker we finish here the quicker we can get back home."

You slip your phone into your purse. Your hand is reaching to open the car door and you stop because he hasn't moved. Looking over at him, you press your lips together to keep from laughing.

"Ollie?"

"Just a minute," he says, his voice strained, and your eyes drift down.

It takes every shred of your self control to not laugh. You actually think it's wonderful that just a kiss is enough to have him hard. But it is a little inconvenient when you're in public and can't give him a real kiss. You did once, right before a race, and he'd almost cried. Since then you've stuck with hugs.

He exhales as though the weight of the world is on his shoulders, pressing his hands to his face while you stare out the window and wait patiently.

"Right." He slaps his thighs and clears his throat and you choke on a laugh because he sounds just like his father when he does that.

His hand slips over yours as soon as you climb out of the car, smiling as always, and you can't resist leaning up to kiss his cheek.

"You're so cute," you say, a giggle escaping as his cheeks flush crimson.

"Love, please."

"Sorry." But you're not, not really. You squeeze his hand as you walk together into the store, fishing out your phone with your free hand.

Instead of splitting up he stays with you, getting his half of the list as you made your way along the aisles.

He drifts away slightly, squatting to select some bread while you eye the pastries, fingers sliding from yours. As you're reaching for your favorite biscotti he lets out a soft him, his pinky finding yours and you smile, dropping the biscotti in the basket.

"That's it," he says, looking relieved after he tosses the bread in. "Let's go home, love."

Your pinky stays knotted with his during the checkout process and through the door across the pavement to the car, until he places the bags in the back and opens the door for you. Before climbing in you lean to give him a kiss and he finally lets go of your finger, making a gurgling sort of moan as you pull back.

"Fucking hell," he whines and you give him the sweetest smile imaginable while getting into the car.

"Let's go, baby."

[iknowyuu]

enha-anti

sim jaehyun x non-idol! foreign! gender neutral! reader

↝ wc: 2.301

/⟡/ in which idol! jake and worker! reader engage in convenience store antics <3 /⟡/ content: jake calls reader gorgeous, reader speaks English, reader is not korean, jake calls reader gorgeous and stunning /⟡/

REBLOGS + COMMENTS >>>> LIKES

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bored. completely, entirely, utterly bored. you don't think you've ever been this bored in your life.

okay, maybe that was dramatic, but it doesn't really change your case.

it was now.. 11:14pm, and you'd been standing in the convenience store for just over five hours now. this was only your third shift, and you were already starting to regret picking up a job for the summer. the dullness of the florescent white light above you, as well as the uneventful night after night was already starting to get to you.

you sighed, shaking your head to clear your thoughts as you continued stocking the shelves, trying to finish out your shift. you only had two hours left, "you can do this." you told yourself.

waking you further out of your stupor, you jumped as you heard the bells on the shop ring. you lightly yelled, "welcome in!" as you hurried towards the counter to be met with two taller men- boys? you couldn't tell, they both had black masks and hats covering their faces. one had dark brown hair and big, puppy like eyes, and the other had the same shade of brown, but with blonde highlights. "thank you!" "thanks." they both bowed lightly to you as they made their way into the store.

you tried not to pay attention to their giggles and snickers, as well as their increasingly loud conversation. you felt a little bad for eavesdropping, but you really couldn't help it! they were so loud, and you had nothing but the mind-numbing kpop playlist on loop to listen to. it was cute at first, but it got boring, extremely fast.

the two eventually showed up to the counter. the first boy, the puppy-eyed one, greeted you and placed his assortment of snacks down onto the checkout counter, making light conversation with you. "hi, how are you?" you noticed how he didn't speak korean with you, and you also noticed his very strong australian accent. "im good.. and you?" you respond in english as well. "good, thank you.. closing shift, huh?" you sigh and nod. "yeah.. we know how that is." he glanced at his friend before thanking you as you gave him his bag of items. the next boy lightly bowed, setting his items down as well, "hello.." he said, and you smiled. "hi.." you scanned his items, not noticing how you involuntary scoffed at the next song that played over the speakers.

the two the boys looked at you questionably and you waved them off. "sorry, it's not you guys. i just.. can't stand this song. it's so annoying."

the speakers continued, "hanyeoreum bamui dream.. addicted to the summer nights!"

the one with cat-like eyes laughed in shock, while the other one scoffed in disbelief and humor. "are you serious?" they exchanged looks with each other, and you couldn't help but giggle, noticing that the one with the cat eyes switched to korean, asking chincha?. "yes!" you answered in the same language. "okay look, its a cute song. one would even call it cutie. but, like, hearing it every single night, several times a night.. im starting to become an anti of.. whoever these guys are."

the puppy-eyed boy burst out laughing while the other one laughed once more in shock, "you're joking, right?" puppy boy asked as you continued bagging his snacks. "you have to be joking."

"no!" you giggled with him. "it's so insufferable. okay, ill be real, i get the hype. it's a great summer song, and im sure the choreography goes hard, but like.. the one who says 'addicted to the summer nights~' in the beginning is really starting to piss me off." you joke.

the puppy eyed boy only laughs harder, watching as this friend scoffs jokingly, crossing his arms at you. puppy boy continued laughing as he paid, before finally calming down enough to squeeze some words out. "okay, fine, you don't like upper side dreamin'. then what about ou- i mean, their other songs?"

"ha, i bet they're all as annoying as this one." you shake your head, handing him the receipt.

"okay, okay, break it up you two." cat boy joked. "what's your name?" "oh, um.." you pointed to your name tag. "[name], huh?" you smiled and nodded. cat boy grabbed his bag full of snacks from you. puppy boy jokingly elbowed his friend, "oh, yeah. that makes sense. [name] is such a hater name." you burst out in laughter. "what?" the upper-side-dreamin'-defender shrugs, walking out with his mask down to stuff a lollipop in his mouth.

"don't mind him. he's just a.. very big fan of that group." he chuckles with you, and you wave him off. "im.. you can call him ikeu. and im riki. we'll see you around?" you smile and wave, wishing him goodbye as he walks out of the store.

for once, this job didn't make you wanna tear your hair out in boredom.

⋆˙⟡

the next day, you sat at the counter, sighing in boredom once again. you looked at the time on your phone, sighing again, dramatically this time as the clock just struck 12am. "one more hour." you mumbled, leaning your head on the counter.

soon enough, you began to doze off. a one minute nap turned into five, which turned into ten. you're sure your manager would've walked in and fired you on the spot if it wasn't for the boy who walked in and poked your arm, causing you to jump. "what the fuck!?" you yelped, placing your hand over your chest.

the boy laughed mischievously, holding his hands up in surrender. "chill, hater. it's just me." you scoff. "you again? where's your friend.. riki, was it?"

he looked at you in confusion. "uh- how did you know his name?"

"oh, he told me after you told me i had a hater name." you teased.

"pfft-." he laughed. "don't act like it isn't true.. and he was too tired to come." he said as he looked around the store, walking towards the ramen section. "and.. you're ikeu, right?"

his head whipped back to you. "you know me??"

"um.. what? what are you on?" you giggled. "of course i do. you were literally here yesterday."

he breathed another sigh of relief, bring his food to the counter for you to scan. "yeah. sorry, im out of it today." you hum, glancing up at him. "..you good?" he looks down at the counter, unblinking as he ponders your question. "yeah. im good." he says softly. the mood doesn't stay down for long though, as he quickly changed the subject, running a hand through his hair. "so, upper-side-dreamin-hater, have you listened to any other enhypen songs? at the very least?"

you put a finger to your chin, tapping it. "welllll.. i don't think ive really heard any other.. enhypen?" you watch as he nods. "enhypen songs. what, are they not all as corny as that one?"

you didn't really think the song was corny. you just wanted a reaction out of him, and that's what you got.

he scoffed at you throwing his head back. "it isn't corny! do you just not like kpop at all?" he says. "are you a kpop hater?"

you scrunched your eyebrows at him. "what? of course not! i wouldn't have come to korea if i was a kpop hater. it's just that this dumb job has literally the worst playlist of all time... well, it's not that bad.. it's just, it's annoying how much we play it. it's a two hour long playlist. imagine that, except on loop, throughout a five to seven hour shift, literally every night." you giggle, looking away embarrassedly as he maintains intense eye contact, his smile growing bigger with each sentence you ramble.

he shook his head at you, "well, i think you just need to be more optimistic about it," he says, grabbing his plastic bag full of ramen. you raise an eyebrow. "im serious! imagine, some people have to listen to... edm all throughout their shifts. imagine your work boosting the bass so high that your ears are ringing at the end of every night." you sigh dramatically, crossing your arms. you whine jokingly, handing him his receipt. "that doesn't helppp!" he snickers at your display, letting out a "think about it, [name]!" before he walks out of the store.

⋆˙⟡

the following day, he's there even later than the last two days, arriving thirty minutes till you close up. he smiles at you, waving before speed walking towards the premade food section. you try not to spy on him as he throws multiple containers of ramen, gimbap, fish sticks, and random snacks into his basket, all before hauling it towards the checkout.

"hi," he says, heaving just as he places the basket onto the counter. "damn. someone's hungry." you say before quickly correcting yourself. "i mean, no judgement.." you say nervously.

he chuckles at you, waving you off. "don't worry about it," he smiles, looking up at you before looking down shyly, running a hand through his hair, hoping that you don't notice his face heating up. "it's, uh, for me and my friends," his gaze follows your hands, watching you scan each item fast and with ease. "woah. you're good at that."

you giggle, thanking him before questioning him further, "oh, really? how many of you guys?" he smiles at you, pulling out his card to swipe on the machine. "there's seven, including me." you look at him in shock. "seven? that's a really big friend group." he chuckles, nodding as he enters his pin. "huh.. i never thought of us as big. well, there's two who are older than me, uh.. then there's me, then four more who are younger. our youngest was the one with me a few days ago, actually." he flashes you another one of his pretty smiles, before grabbing the bags. "okay, i gotta go, i'm already late." he chuckles, " i'll see you tomorrow?" he smiles as you nod, lifting one of his hands, the one that has two filled bags in the palm of it, waving you goodbye as he steps out of the store.

he didn't mention that him and his members were doing a mukbang live last minute, and he volunteered to be the one to pick up the food from the second nearest, but closest open convenience store just so he could see your stunning face.

⋆˙⟡

you didn't see him for the next few days. for the first two, you thought 'maybe he's busy', and that 'maybe he's too tired to come today'. the next two, you thought that you must be delusional for imagining the spark between you two. the way he looked at you, as much as you hate to admit it, pierced your heart so deeply that you couldn't escape his puppy-like eyes. not even in your dreams.

all that's to say, you're really shocked when he stumbles into the shop, leaning onto the counter, breathing as if he ran all the way here.

"i ran all the way here," that explains it.

"um.. why?" you asked, holding back a giggle. "we don't close for two hours."

"yeah..." he pants. "wait, what?" he says. you're unable to hold yourself back, bursting out in laughter. he finds the energy to chuckle with you, putting his hand on his forehead. "no way." you laugh even harder, putting your hands on your stomach. he only laughs harder along with you, leaning both his elbows onto the counter.

your laughs die down and you speak up, "where have you been?" you ask, dramatically rolling your eyes and sighing, "my shifts have been so boring.." you pout.

he laughs, crossing his arms. "boring? but you have this amazing playlist to keep you company!" he laughs again at the way your face twists in annoyance. "really though, it's just my job. it's kind of... i don't know... it's like an on-the-call job. kinda like a firefighter, or a surgeon, except im not any of those." you laugh, giggling at the way he rambles. he looks at you tenderly, trying his hardest not to blush as he looks down again, just as his phone buzzes. all of a sudden, his calm demeanor shifts to alarm.

"oh, shit, okay," he says, quickly pocketing his phone. "so, this is really random, but i'm leaving the country in like, two hours, and i won't be back for.. at least month." your jaw dropped and you neck leaned forward in shock. "what? all of a sudden?"

he nods. "yeah.. that's why i ran here. it's, uh.. for my job," he shifts in his spot, pulling out his phone and unlocking it, opening up the contacts app. "um.. i was wondering.. if i could have your number?" he looks at you, maintaining the same intense eye contact as he (almost) always had.

"oh!" you said, shocked at his sudden question. "uh, yeah. of course." you smile, looking down and grabbing his phone. you miss the way his nervous smile warps into a reassured one. you enter your contact as '[name] (enhypen-anti)'.

he laughed at his screen as he took his phone back from you, shaking his head and sending a message. "ill send you a playlist of all of enhypen's best songs. you have to listen to it before i get back." he says, sitting up from the counter. "i have to?" you ask, raising an eyebrow and giggling. "yesss! just do it, okay? you won't be disappointed." you sigh dramatically, crossing your arms. "god...." he snickers at your display, wishing you a goodbye before he walks out of the store. "i'll see you soon, okay? stay gorgeous." he says, waving goodbye.

you smile shyly at his compliment, feeling your phone buzz.

XXX-XXX-XXXX: [link attachment]

XXX-XXX-XXXX: You're gonna love this one I swear

XXX-XXX-XXXX: And if you think it's mid then I'll take you out :) win win fr

you: deal <3

don't forget your daily click to help palestine and other important causes!

[naffeclipse]

Desert Light

Cryptid Sightings/Signs of Life Crossover

Commission Info

My dear friend @jackofallrabbits commissioned me for a darling little crossover of Cryptid Sightings and their fic, Signs of Life, with @maudiemoods's permission, of course. If you haven't read Signs of Life, you really should and you can find it right here! I had so much fun writing both the cryptid hunter and the scientist interacting, and both monster boys are delightful here! I hope you enjoy <3

———

At nightfall, the desert is dipped in inky blues under a starry sky spilling over the entire expansion over your head. You forget how big the desert feels without trees or mountains to cut into its horizon as if the very heavens are staring down at you with twinkling eyes. The dry ground becomes darkness littered with muted sagebrush. The road is cracked and sunbleached, rocking your dark green truck and airstream. Along the lonely stretch of road, a convenience store with fluorescent lights cuts through emptiness like an oasis of gasoline, candy bars, and potato chips.

Moon hunches low in the passenger seat. Pale eyes gaze at you through the dimness within the truck's cabin. Patches along his nightcap catch on stray starlight, winking on the stitches you sewed by hand.

“It’s late,” he rasps in a low voice.

“I know, sweetie,” you sigh and rub your eyes while keeping one hand on the wheel. “We’re almost there.”

“You’re tired.” His hand strays across the seat to rest on your leg. His cool digits jolt you gently back to alertness.

“It’s only half an hour more,” you give ruefully. “Let’s stop here. I’ll grab a soda then we’ll be on our way.”

He grumbles, vibrating his animatronic vessel with displeasure. A word against caffeine is surely on his tongue, but the jostling from pulling the truck and airstream onto the cracked pavement underneath the almost neon-white light of the gas pumps cuts him short.

The desert hosts paranormal encounters ranging from the chupacabra to aliens. The latter is why you ventured here. Without F.E.I. providing you exact intel and evidence, it’s up to you to conduct your research and discover possible sightings but what you’ve unearthed so far has been solid.

This one in particular speaks of an alien. A towering but thin, long-limbed being spotted around a motel just as remote and lonely as this convenience store. You throw the truck in park and hop out. A lone car is parked alongside the building and another is parked further away, as if trying to hide away from the lights.

Soundlessly behind you, despite the bells tied around his wrists with ribbons, Moon appears like a metallic shadow. Hopefully, the convenience store attendant isn’t against animatronics in their store. He tilts his head for a moment towards the outermost vehicle, his pale optics narrowing before he follows after you.

If he sensed a heartbeat hiding in the darkness, he would have told you.

You pull open the door with a quiet jingle announcing your entrance. A small sign, old and worn, on the checkout counter promises the attendant will be back in a few. You deflate slightly. You had hoped to ask someone in this area about the sightings.

“There’s someone here,” Moon murmurs close to your ear like a breath from a ghost.

Quiet footsteps echo back beside the fridge section of drinks, concealed by shelves of beef jerky, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate bars. Curious, you strive forward. You might still have a chance to speak to the lone employee who may be restocking the cases of beer or soda, but when you round the corner with a cool presence at your back, you stop still.

A person straightens, clutching a few water bottles to their chest, their eyes immediately landing on you, framed in glasses. You look down to the hoodie they wear: dark fabric with a green alien face; a charming, stereotypical depiction of extraterrestrials. Do they sell those here?

“I like your hoodie.” You smile. “Do you work here?”

The person immediately fixes their glasses and beams. “Thank you. It’s a bit too warm for this climate but it’s cute. No, I don’t work here. Is that an animatronic with you?”

You blink but turn back to allow Moon more of an audience with the curious stranger. He regards them with a coolness but no malice. You give a slow nod.

“This is my friend, Moon.” 

The stranger steps closer, studying him with vim and vigor before adjusting the many water bottles in their arms. Underneath their arm, tucked into their armpit is a notebook. They lift a hand towards Moon.

“What model are you?” they ask, eager. “How long have you gone without maintenance? Your wires are exposed and your endoskeleton could use a polish.”

Moon stares. A slight twitch runs through his limbs. You step back between Moon and the stranger, your pulse jumping slightly at the spew of questions—many that have no good answers. Could they be familiar with where Eclipse found their half-burned, abandoned vessel?

You introduce yourself quickly, keeping Moon behind you and out of reach of the stranger. “What’s your name?”

They slowly lower their hand, disappointed. “Ah.” They’re silent for a moment, and you can see the gears working in their mind before decidedly saying, “You can call me Doc.”

That’s funny. Surely it must be a nickname though you have no qualms with a stranger giving you whatever moniker they please, but Moon’s hand falls to your shoulder. His digits curl slightly over your collarbone, as if in warning. Right.

“Alright. Doc,” you smile.

They smile back. “Is your animatronic—”

“I’m sorry,” you say, very apologetically but firmly, “but I was hoping I could ask you a few questions about happenings in this area.”

Doc grows still, their expression guarded. You catch their eyes flickering towards the door and then landing back on you.

“What are you referring to exactly?” they ask tentatively, almost nervously.

“There have been reports of unusual occurrences in this part of Nevada.” You wish you bought your book of cryptid information with you. If they’ve seen anything, you will need to write it down. Instead, you focus on slowly bringing them into your question. If you went around asking any person if they saw aliens right off the bat, no one would take you seriously. “Have you seen anything strange or simply unexplainable?”

“UFO sightings in Nevada are very common,” they say so bluntly, it causes you to blink. They set the water bottles down on a shelf occupied with chip bags and shift the notebook closer to their chest, holding it like a shield. “Did you know that Nevada has the highest rate of UFO sightings per capita in the U.S.?”

“I did know that,” you say, impressed that they know it as well. You lean closer in your curiosity. Do they believe in cryptids? “Have you researched such things before?”

They fix their glasses and lower their hand back to their book only to lift it again and fidget. 

“Recently I have,” they admit.

A coolness radiates behind you. In the corner of your vision, Moon tilts his head. The bell on the end of his nightcap falls over his shoulder. What doesn’t he like? Surely they can’t be a rulebreaker. Moon would have reacted much less pleasantly to such a person. 

They touch their glasses again, and the frames fall slightly askew on their face. “Have you heard anything about an alien?”

You brighten with the question. At last.

“Yes. That’s why I’m here,” you hold a hand to your chest, “to locate any confirmation or evidence about an alien sighting near a motel a little ways from here. Nothing has been reported as violent, but it’s most likely an incident will occur soon unless properly dealt with.”

Their hands furl and unfurl, anxiously touching their glasses, pushing them up the bridge of their nose, and shifting. Are they alright?

“Most of the time sightings of cryptids, including aliens, are just everyday objects seen from a weird angle,” they ramble slightly. 

You pause, watching them. Are they afraid to tell you what they saw? You’ve encountered poor, terrified people who fear even speaking a word of what they’ve experienced will mark them as unstable and insane. Even worse, it might somehow lure the presence that frightened them in the first place back.

“Yes, that’s true,” you admit, but only half of the time. There have been a plethora of hoaxes, pranks, misunderstandings, and of course, misidentifications of objects that have been spun into debunking the cryptic world, but you carry the scars from a true encounter at the base of your thumb. “But have you witnessed anything you would consider to be unearthly?”

Do they know something they can’t seem to tell you about?

Doc shifts again. Their hand strays to the notebook they carry, and touch the well-worn spine. Is it as important to them as your cryptid book is to you?

“No,” they fidget a few times anxiously, “Is there anything I can do to help you with your animatronic? I am an engineer.” 

Moon twitches behind you. Their eyes immediately fall to the movement and frown.

“Are you experiencing a malfunction?” they ask, and start to reach out again. Moon clenches your shoulder tighter.

“No, no!” You hold up your hands defensively. “That’s very generous to offer, but Moon is fine, thank you.”

They frown. Unconvinced, they continue to pry around your person to stare at the cryptid possessing a vessel. You’ve never had this problem before. So many people are put off by the strange, inexplicable presence of a demonic cryptid—a sixth sense warning of danger, but Doc heeds no such deterrents.

“He is experiencing micro spasms which may be a symptom of a conduction failure in his wires or a deeper issue within his processor.” They face Moon entirely, and he stares back unblinkingly. “When was the last time you went in for routine maintenance?”

“We don’t need maintenance,” he rasps. You cover his hand as it clenches you tighter still. A coolness swells around him and you hope Doc mistakes it for the coolness of the fridges.

Confusion twists their brow. Doc parts their lips to offer a rebuttal to a clear inconsistency with their framework and the fact of the matter, but Moon twists behind you. His grip never leaves your shoulder, his fingers digging into your collarbone as the jingle of the bell at the front of the store rings.

Then the lights flicker. A sharp fade of every light bulb overhead and even the light within the fridges drops the convenience store into darkness. Your heart tumbles in your chest. You didn’t bring your crossbow or your detector. Only a knife sits strapped to your hip, hidden by your patched, green jacket. 

Your eyes flash to Doc. You take them by the arm and their expression shifts to alarm behind their glasses.

“Move,” you whisper sharply. “Stay with me and be quiet.”

“I need to leave,” they say, strangely focused, but they don’t struggle when you guide them down the row of fridges to the last column of shelves in the back of the store. They don’t understand. Something else is here. Something not of this world. You must protect them from it.

Moon follows quietly behind you, his fingers spasming as they curl like claws. His pale eyes dip into crimson, alert and vicious. 

“Not a heart,” he mutters, and you glance at him. “Something else… Something strange.”

He stands between you, and your entire body clenches. A towering being begins to prowl under the flicker lights, slipping in through the door. You used to fear your dear friend placing themselves between you and the threat, but they are far more terrifying than any cryptid you have hunted.

The sharp contrast of the fluorescent light bulbs and the sudden darkness spears a sharp ache into your eyes. Carefully, you place Doc behind you, but they offer another protest again. 

“Be quiet,” you murmur firmly, “It’s going to be okay.”

“Ah, you don’t understand.” Doc’s eyes fall past you, towards the frosty doors of the fridges. “He’s—”

A sharp scratch of nails cutting over glass causes your shoulders to hunch up and a grimace to twist your face. You free the knife from your hip. It is the only defense you have for you and Doc. You should have been prepared for the alien to strike here, so close to the original sighting site, now creeping in close to find more precious victims to devour.

Doc reaches out, past you.

“You have to let me pass,” they say calmly. “He wants me.”

You turn to look over your shoulder, confusion painting you in flickering lights.

“Who does?” you ask.

The glass scratching stops. You stiffen, reading your knife as Moon tenses. Creeping from the row of fridges, a figure straightens. Tall and spindly, but with an unnerving aura of strength to his long limbs, an alien stands before you. Deep red and galaxy-speckled skin coats him, and you catch a strange symbol on one of his hands, like the moon eclipsing the sun. A dark hoodie with an alien ship covers his lanky form poorly—not unlike Doc’s. A sharp crown of jutting adornments sits upon his head. A waving veil of starlight falls behind his skull. 

His three eyes, bright and glinting, like a predator about to bounce, immediately find the person behind you. One eye is dark. His grin splits into a wide, hungry thing with razor-sharp teeth.

“My light,” his voice is low and dangerous, “I have been waiting for you.”

Behind you, Doc looks up at the towering, otherworldly beast, but there is no fear in their eyes.

“Stay back,” you immediately brandish your knife. Moon spreads his arm, ensuring that there is no passing him without going through him.

A dark chuckle falls from the creature.

“You dare think you can keep my light from me?” He spreads his arms, four limbs of sinew and bone, claws flashing with a desire to rip flesh from a body. “I will give you one chance to let my light go.”

Moon stands tall between him, silently gauging him like a proper opponent. Is the alien taller than your sweetie in their true form? You’re afraid he is.

“No,” you breathe, “You’re not taking them.” 

A soft sound arises behind you, distress mingling with breath. Doc must be terrified of the abrupt encounter. How could they have ever known an alien would mark them as his quarry?

A snarl rips through his chest, deep and vicious. His hands grope the surrounding shelves, fitting between cookies and candy bars. His hand swipes a few basic camping supplies, spilling ropes and canisters onto the ground. He catches a stainless steel one in his lower set of hands. In effortless brutality, the alien concaves the metal before his claws pierce the container entirely, crumpling it as if it were a soda can. Your gut clenches. 

“I will paint this tasteless floor in your blood,” the extraterrestrial growls, gnashing his teeth.

In response, a sharpness erupts from the sides of Moon’s chassis. Shadowy appendages, seeping black ooze over bony limbs with hands and claws of crimson, stand at the ready. You suck in a sharp breath.

“You will not touch a hair on our heart’s head,” an abysmal sound leaves the animatronic, layered and demonic.

The alien tilts his head, eyes widening at the challenge. 

“My, my, and what are you? No matter, I will tear you apart.” He laughs again, echoing with chilling amusement. Dread hooks deep into your belly.

“Eclipse, it’s okay.” Doc moves underneath your arm. 

Your knee-jerk reaction is fierce. You catch them by the back of their hoodie, scrunching fabric in your fist to keep them tethered close to you. They stop and look back at you. When they smile, it’s heavy. Guilt touches their edges, anchored by worry. 

“Ah. I know he’s frightening, but he’s not going to hurt anyone.” They tug on their hoodie, trying to loosen your grip. “You can let me go.”

“Yes, let them go,” the alien licks a dark tongue over his teeth, “and I might spare you all.”

“What—no, he’s…” you stumble over your tongue then stop, confused. “Do you know this cryptid?”

“Ah. Alien,” they correct you. “Yes. Eclipse would like me back now, please.”

Moon glances at Doc. Confusion pulses in his crimson gaze. The end of his nightcap falls over his shoulder. 

“They’re not afraid,” he rasps. He stares down at Doc’s chest. He can sense a heartbeat, the rhythm of it, and how fast it gallops in a person’s chest.

Your lips part wordlessly. 

There was a time when you believed cryptids were only monsters. Machines capable of great destruction and horror. You never dreamed a demonic cryptid would be capable of kindness and goodness, and care so much for little ones.

Your fingers slip from the fabric. Moon allows Doc to sweep underneath his arms. Their eyes fall to their shadowy limbs, and their hands shift to their notebook. Your heart clenches, caught in the camaraderie urge to take notes of your sweetie’s true form and fearing what Doc would do with such information. F.E.I. is still out there. There are other cryptid hunters. 

But they stop themselves. Fixing their glasses, they quickly step back into the alien’s reach. You clench the knife tighter, afraid as four pairs of hands descend upon them.

“We need to leave quickly,” Doc says as the alien kneels and hunches lower to look over the human, combing for harm or mistreatment. “We’ve already made a mess and stayed here for too long.”

“This isn’t a mess. Yet,” the alien answers, his voice murmuring like a lover in the night. The threat is not lost on you as Moon growls a warning. The alien flashes a smug smile, all teeth, and arrogance before he concludes his checkup on Doc. “Let’s go, my light.”

Doc nervously looks back at you, almost as if they would look to say more, explain, or even ask you about Moon’s extra, shadowy arms. Instead, they weakly wave, like this is a goodbye they wish didn’t have to happen.

The alien lifts them into his arms as if they weighed as much as a feather.

“Wait,” you step closer. Two arms, one metallic and blue, one shadowy and crimson, stop you. He keeps you back from the otherworldly being. “Are you safe?”

The alien scowls at you. Doc only smiles softly. 

“Yes, friend.” Their eyes linger on Moon. “You’re so impressive. I would love to know more about you.”

A ripple of what you think is jealousy takes over the alien. He turns away with a flash of teeth, and steps quickly, sweeping through the store and out the door with a sharp jingle. In moments, the alien carries the small human out into the night. You stand there, stunned. 

Moon straightens. “Their heart is still steady. They feel safe with him.”

Oh.

Moon slowly faces you, two arms touching your sides and holding you close. You lean into his embrace.

“I hope they are,” you murmur. The lights stop flickering in the gas station and the stars outside shine brighter in the darkness. A car speeds away, down the desert road.

[whore4abby]

I’m still deep in baby fever so maybe baby clothes shopping with Ellie or Abby! You can choose! And you end up buying tons of cute animal onesies hehe

ive been thinking about writing abby and reader with a baby but i haven’t written anything yet :( thank u for this !! such a cute idea &lt;3

you’re in the passenger seat of abby’s jeep heading to a nearby mall, with the main mission to go baby clothes shopping and basque in the calm before the storm of a newborn baby disrupting your peace. the drive is calm and quiet, abby hand gently resting on your growing baby bump and her fingers softly caressing your swollen tummy.

you eventually get to the store, walking through the doors hand in hand with abby. the store is brightly lit, walls are painted in pale, neutral colors with fluffy cloud-shaped light fixtures hanging from the ceiling.

the entire place is filled with all types of clothes and the cutest accessories from dresses to onesies, tiny denim jeans and the smallest pairs of shoes you’ve ever seen.

abby never once lets go of your hand as she leads you through the aisles, picking out all the outfits that she thinks would look cute on your little bundle of joy. and it doesn't take long before the shopping cart is filled the the brim with every item imaginable.

you eventually wander off alone down one of the aisles and abby can’t even start to worry about you before she hears you gasping from nearby and calling out her name.

her head snaps up at the sound of your voice and she comes around the corner into the aisle you’re in. she sighs as she sees you holding up yet another ridiculous looking bear onesie. the tiny ears sticking out of the hood and the smallest little mittens attached to the arms of the onesie.

your looking down at the item in awe, imagining your perfect little baby all bundled up in your arms clad in the soft, fuzzy material. you look up at abby and pout, “abs, please. we have to get this! baby will look so cute in this!” you whine and shove the onesie into her big hands.

“babe, we have so much stuff already!” abby huffs and gestures to the overflowing shopping cart she’s been pushing around for the last half hour. you look at her sadly and give her the best doe eyes you can muster up, “one tiny onesie isn’t gonna make a difference.”

her shoulders drop in defeat and she pushes the cart towards you and you happily throw the onesie onto the pile of baby clothes before leaning up and placing a kiss on her cheek. you turn on your heel and waddle off towards the checkout desk with abby following behind, sighing and rolling her eyes at your antics.

[queen-of-the-avengers]

A First For Everything

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader x Steve Rogers (no stucky)

Word Count: ~3.5k

Warnings: fluff

Summary: Steve Rogers. Thoughtful, considerate, and loving. He makes you feel safe and wanted. Bucky Barnes. Passionate, adventurous, and dangerous. He makes you feel alive and free. You think you can only choose one, but what happens when they offer to share you?

Squares Filled: image of bucky and steve from the comic (2021) for @buckybarnesbingo

Author’s Note: any and all comments are greatly appreciated <3

x

You don’t have a lot of money but you love reading so you spend a lot of time at your local library to read all the books you can’t get otherwise. They have a checkout system that allows you to take home up to five books. If you want more, you’ll return what you read and the cycle continues. You’ve been so often that the librarians know you by name. They often allow you to take home an extra book knowing you’ll return it in the same condition you got it at.

“Hey, Marie,” you greet when you walk in.

“Y/N, dear, how was your weekend?”

“Spent my nose in all the books I borrowed last week. I am here to return them and get five more.”

“I wouldn’t be opposed if you wanted to sneak a sixth in there,” she smiles.

“We’ll see,” you chuckle.

She takes the books and you head to the section you’ve been obsessing over for the last few months. There are three books you had your eye on last week hoping that they’re here now. You turn the corner and see a tall blond man browsing the same section you’re going to. He’s looking at the shelf that contains one of the books you’re interested in. You could ask him to move but you’re mesmerized by this man’s physique. He’s tall and very muscular with short blonde hair and a clean-shaven face.

“Can I help you?”

You’re brought back to reality when you hear his velvety smooth voice.

“No, sorry. I just, um, need a book from that shelf.”

“Oh, sorry. Here.” He moves to the left and allows you to step into his space to grab the book on the very top shelf. Your fingers touch the edge of the shelf but you can’t reach the book. This is so embarrassing. “Do you need help?”

“Yeah. It’s the pink book right there.”

“It’s a good book. I’ve read it five times. I love this book.” He grabs the book and hands it to you with a smile. He even has a gorgeous smile with perfect white teeth. “I’m Steve.”

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Are you new around here or have you lived here long?”

“I’ve lived here nearly a year. I like to come here and read as much as I can.”

“That’s cool. My roommate and I just moved out here. We’re trying to venture out and look for fun things to do.”

“Well, I don’t know what you’re into but there is a concert venue downtown that holds small concerts from bands that aren’t really well known. It has a bar and it’s a good way to listen to some new music. There’s also a farmer’s market on the opposite side of town that has delicious food. I like to go there.”

“Seems like you know your way around town.”

“Yeah, I do. I like to do new things every week and just get out of my apartment.”

“Think you might want to show me around?” You blush at his offer and he chuckles. “You’re incredibly beautiful and I’d love to take you out if you let me. I just don’t know much around here so I think I need a tour guide.”

“I can be your tour guide if you want,” you grin. “The beaches here are pretty nice, especially at night.”

“Good to know,” he smiles.

You hand him your phone so he can put his number in, and you call it so that he has your number. You part ways and grab the other books you’ve had your eyes on before heading back home. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough, it’s all you can think about. Steve says he’ll be over at seven to take you out, and you start getting ready two hours before the date. You take an “everything” shower, dry and curl your hair, get dressed in the perfect dress and shoes, do your makeup, accessorize, and spray your best perfume. You’re ready with ten minutes to spare, and Steve is knocking on your door before you know it.

“Wow, you look amazing,” Steve smiles.

“Thank you. You clean up nice, too.”

He leads you to your car and opens the passenger door for you. You’re not sure what kind of date he’s taking you on but you’re excited to see what he researched. For someone who doesn’t know the area, it’ll be interesting to see what he thinks is worth going to. Steve drives to the coastline and finds a parking spot right next to the beach. You love the beach and often come here to either read your books or enjoy time in the sun. You don’t normally come here after the sun has gone down so it’s nice to see the beach free of people.

“I never come here at night. It’s nice,” you grin.

There is an ice cream shop that’s open late to give people a reason to stay in the area, and Steve leads you over to it.

“What’s your favorite flavor?”

“Either strawberry or mint chocolate chip. Surprise me.”

Steve gets ice cream for both of you, and you two eat it while walking along the shore of the beach. You two take your shoes off to allow the water to wash over your feet whenever it splashes onto shore.

“So, tell me a little bit about you.”

“Well, I live alone. I have a degree in psychology. I own three dogs and two cats so it’s never quiet inside my house. I love reading. I think I spent more time inside the library where we met than anywhere else. If they let animals inside, I’d bring all my dogs with me. What about you?”

“I live with my childhood best friend. I never went to college but I did graduate college. We have one cat that’s mostly my roommate’s but I think she loves me more. I’m more outgoing than my roommate and love to go out and meet new people.”

Talking to Steve is easy. You’re not big on being social but there is something about Steve that brings you comfort. He’s safe and you can see yourself falling for him quickly.

“Despite coming here all the time, I have never had this ice cream before. This is delicious,” you grin and take another bite.

“You got a little something…”

“Where?” you gasp and wipe your mouth with the back of your hand.

“Here.”

Steve scoops some of his ice cream and touches the cold treat to your nose. You gasp and look at him with wide eyes.

“You did not just do that.”

“I did,” Steven grins.

You don’t even think about what to do next. You take a scoop of your ice cream and shove it into his face, watching as it drops from his face onto the sand. You and Steve are at a standstill with a tense silence between you. He jerks toward you and you take off running away from him with a squeal. He catches you easily and threatens you by moving his ice cream-covered mouth toward your cheek.

“No! That’s gross,” you laugh and cringe away from him.

Steve licks his lips and lets you go with a chuckle. You like how easy it is with Steve. Being the gentleman Steve is, he walked you to your front door when he dropped you off at home.

“I had a great time with you,” you smile.

“Me too. I hope we can do this again.”

“I’m sure I can fit you in.”

You think Steve is going to kiss you when he leans in but he bypasses your lips and kisses your cheek. You go to bed that night with a smile on your face and your head filled with thoughts of Steve. The next day, you head out to the gym early so you can start your day refreshed and energized. There aren’t a lot of people at the gym but you’re good at tuning everything out when you’re in your workout. You start with a light walk on the treadmill to get your blood pumping before moving to the weights.

You use the weight machine where you sit down on the small bench and grab the handlebars that you’ll pull toward yourself. You’ve never used this machine before but you’re doing it now because you want to at least try something new. It might work better for you. You set the weights to the amount you can pull before sitting down. You complete one rep when you feel someone tapping on your shoulder.

You look behind you to see a gorgeous man. Tall, dark hair, a sharp jawline, bright blue eyes, muscles for days, and tattoos inked down his arms. You can tell that ink is on his torso because it disappears underneath the collar of his shirt. He waves a hand in front of his face and you snap out of the trance.

“I’m sorry, can I help you?” you ask after taking out your AirPod.

“I don’t want to be that guy or a creep but I noticed your posture when using this machine. I don’t want to see you hurt yourself. Can I give you some tips?” You open your mouth to respond and he quickly speaks again. “Feel free to tell me to fuck off. I just… I know a bit or two about gym injuries.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah. What am I doing wrong?”

The man straddles the bench right behind you but stays far enough away from you so you don’t feel his skin. However, you feel the heat radiating from his body. It’s enough to make your head spin.

“Can I touch you?” he asks.

“Yeah,” you whisper.

He puts his hands on your hips and moves slightly closer to you. The heat increases and your heart beats faster.

“You want to keep your back straight. The point of this machine is to work your arms. Pull down the handlebar.” You keep your back straight when you pull it down because you’re afraid of leaning back into his body. He cups both of your elbows as you lower your arms and stops you from going further down. “You want to keep your elbows at a ninety-degree angle. Try again.”

The man takes his hands away from your arms but lets them rest on your hips. You do it again and you can feel him nod behind you.

“Good girl.”

Butterflies erupt in your stomach at those two words. You’re not even sure if you heard him correctly, he spoke so softly.

“Thank you for your help.”

“No problem.” The man stands making you wish he was pressed against you still. “I’m Bucky.”

“Y/N.”

“Again, I’m not that guy or anything but are you single?”

“Yes,” you giggle.

You and Steve went on one date so you don’t count that as you two being in an exclusive relationship.

“Would you be opposed to me taking you out on a date?”

“No.”

Bucky takes out his phone and opens the phone app so you can give him your number. After you put it in, he calls you so that you have his number.

“I hope you’re free Friday night.”

“I just so happen to be free that day.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up at six. Wear something you don’t mind getting a bit of dirt on.”

“Okay.”

Bucky leaves your side to continue his workout but you can’t continue. All you can think about is Bucky and the feeling you got when you felt him behind you. Friday is only two days away but it feels like a week has passed before it’s finally here. You and Steve have been talking about going on another date. Yes, you told him that you had a date with another man but he didn’t seem all that worried since you two aren’t exclusive. The second you decide that you are, you’ll break it off with Bucky. The same goes for Steve if you and Bucky decide to be a thing.

It’s nearing six when you tie the pink bow into your hair. You’re wearing jeans and a frilly pink shirt, and you’ve done your hair in a half updo with a pink bow. You swipe lipgloss onto your lips when you hear the unmistakable sound of a motorcycle. You look out the window and see Bucky roll into your neighborhood on a sleek black bike. You meet him outside just as he takes off his helmet.

“Damn, I thought you were beautiful in gym clothes and all sweaty. You’re gorgeous now.”

Bucky’s wearing a tight black shirt and jeans that fit him snugly.

“Thank you,” you blush.

“Have you ever ridden a bike before?”

“Once or twice.”

“Then come here, Doll.” You walk over to Bucky and he is careful when he slides the second helmet onto your head, careful to not mess up your hair too much. He straps it into place and helps you onto the back of his bike before climbing on himself. “Hold on tight.”

You wrap your arms around his waist and sit very close to him. Even through his leather jacket, you can feel his muscles flex whenever you touch them. Bucky takes you out of town and to the old Jasper property. Jasper used to be a thriving farmer once upon a time but lost his house after he died. He didn’t have any family to leave it to so the city took possession of it. It now stands as a property kids love to explore, trash, and do whatever else they want to do with it. The city does nothing because they either don’t care or don’t have enough money to put security there.

Bucky pulls into the farm and parks next to an array of bikes. There is commotion coming from the back of the property and the sound of bikes revving their engines.

“What is going on here?” you ask Bucky when you get your helmet off.

“Dirt bike racing,” he grins. “I usually race but this time, I’m happy to watch.”

“Because of me?”

“Well, I can’t be looking like a fool in front of you if I lose,” he chuckles.

You two head to the back of the property and find seats up high to be able to see everything. The bikers slowly drive around the track to get used to it right before the race.

“I’ve never been to one of these things before.”

“Oh, Doll, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

The race begins and all the bikers start it by giving it their all. Bucky cheers his friend who is in first place, and you watch with wide eyes, scared to look away even for a second. The race consists of thirty laps around the place but it feels like they’re doing it in five. They go so fast around the curves, jump over the ramps expertly, and gain a lot of cheers whenever their favorites get closer to first place.

Bucky tries to explain the logistics of it all but you’re too enthralled to listen to him. It’s nice to do this with Bucky because you love the thrill of racing whether that be cars or bikes. Bucky stands up and cheers when his friend finishes in first followed by two of his other friends in second and third. The winner gets a cash prize put together by both the audience and the crew members responsible for the race.

“So, how was your first bike race?” Bucky asks when he walks you back to his bike.

“That was amazing! You do that sort of thing?”

“Yeah. There’s nothing like feeling nothing but the rumble of your bike on a racetrack. Everything else disappears and it feels like you’re the only one on the track. Sure, we do races for fun but the serious ones are the best.”

“I’d like to see you race sometime.”

“I can arrange that,” he grins. Bucky takes the long way back to your house to give you more time pressed up against him. Like Steve, he walks you to your front door. “Can I take you out again?”

“Yes,” you smile.

Bucky glances down to your lips and decides to just go for it. He grabs the sides of your face and pulls you in for a kiss that makes your head dizzy. He dances around the idea of using tongue, and you open your mouth to allow him in. He slides his tongue in and explores what you’ve given him before pulling away.

“I’ll talk to you later, Doll.”

“Okay,” you mutter, still in a haze from his kiss.

Bucky waits for you to get inside your house before leaving. You rest your back against your door and bite your lip in thought. You had such a great time with Steve but you also loved your time with Bucky. Two men. How will you ever decide between them? You get ready for bed and fall asleep with thoughts of Bucky and Steve.

The next morning, you’re woken up by your phone ringing. You pop your head up and reach for your phone with one eye closed and the other squinted nearly shut. Both eyes pop wide open when you see Steve’s name on your phone. You sit up in bed and smooth down your hair as if he can see what you look like over a phone call. You cough to clear your throat so it’s not so obvious that you’ve been sleeping seconds before.

“Hello?” you answer.

“Hey, Y/N. Are you busy tonight?”

“No. What’s up?”

“My roommate is going to be out of town tonight and I was wondering for our second date, I can cook for you.”

“At your place?”

“Yeah. I totally understand if you don’t want to come over and go somewhere public, but--”

“Steve, it’s okay. I’d be happy to let you cook for me.”

“Okay, good,” he breathes in relief. “I’ll text you my address. How about you come over at six?”

“I’ll be there.”

After saying goodbye, Steve hangs up and looks at his roommate who is sitting in the living room cleaning bike parts he got from Facebook Marketplace.

“What have I told you about cleaning your shit in here?”

“To do it because you love it,” Bucky grins.

“You’re going to be out by six, right? My date is coming over then.”

“Yeah, I heard you.”

Bucky continues to clean while Steve gets ready for his date with you. Afterward, both men decide to kill time to watch whatever it is that’s on Netflix. Bucky looks at the time and sees it’s nearly six. He gets up and grabs his jacket on his way to the front door.

“Where are you going?”

“Out, remember?”

“British Bake-Off is next,” Steve says with the remote in hand.

“I’m leaving and you have your date. It’s almost six.”

“Shit, you’re right.” Steve looks at his friend who grabs his motorcycle keys. “You don’t want to take a shower first? Wash your hair, maybe?”

“I’m fine, Dad,” Bucky rolls his eyes. He opens the door right when you’re about to knock, and your eyes widen when you see it’s Bucky and not Steve at the door. “Doll?”

“Bucky? What… What are you doing here?”

Steve pops his head out from behind his friend and smiles when he sees you.

“Hey, Y/N, come in. This is my roommate, Bucky. He was just leaving.”

Bucky doesn’t say a word and opens the door wider so you can walk in. Of course, it’ll be your luck that the two best guys you’ve ever dated just so happen to be roommates. Steve isn’t freaking out so Bucky must not have talked about you or not mentioned you by name.

“You’re dating her? She’s your date?” Bucky whispers at Steve but you hear.

“Yeah, why?”

“Dude, she’s the girl I took to the bike race.”

“Wait, what?”

“Look, I didn’t know you two were roommates.” Both men look at you. “I should go, right? This is something I don’t want to come between. I don’t want to ruin your friendship and before you say anything, it will if we continue to let this happen. Yeah, I should go.”

Neither man moves from the front door so you’re stuck here while they stare at each other like in some macho standoff. They have a wordless conversation only spoken through their eyes. It feels like hours before Bucky finally speaks.

“We’re not going to make you choose but I still want to date you.”

“So do I,” Steve says right after.

“Both of you want to date me?”

Bucky shrugs and looks at his friend who has the same expression on his face.

“You wouldn’t be the first thing we’ve shared.”

“You obviously don’t have to choose right now, and if you’ll let me, I’d love to cook for you still.”

Two men? Two gorgeous men? You had such a fun time with Steve and Bucky, and if they’re willing to share you, who are you to say you can’t do the same? You’ve never done something like this before but there’s a first for everything, right?

“Fuck it. I’m in if you are.”

Bucky and Steve grin mischievously, ideas already running through their heads. This is either going to be the best thing to happen to you or the worst mistake of your life. It is sure fun to find out, though.

x

Want to be tagged? Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[sirfrogsworth]

Froggie's (Almost) Very Productive Day 2: Electric Boogaloo

So, the plan was to have my one productive day and then rest for however long the consequences of post exertional malaise decide they want to take.

But I needed to bring the working key fob back to the tire place so they could calibrate the tire pressure sensors. So, the day after my day, I napped until about 4pm and summoned the last bit of energy I had to finish this task.

After they fixed the sensors, I looked out over a beautiful sunset in the Discount Tire parking lot.

It's weird the places you find beauty sometimes.

I was about a mile away from my family's favorite pizza place. We've been going there since I was a tadpole. So I decided to grab a pizza as my Thanksgiving meal.

I didn't realize that the day before Thanksgiving would be just about the busiest night of the year. And they have the world's worst parking lot, half of which is a steep hill, and they didn't have enough spaces.

Google Maps has flattened the appearance of the hill. That thing is nearly a 40 degree angle. If anyone with a sports car wants a pizza, they are going to scrape their paint trying to get it.

So, I tried to park around back. Unfortunately someone was exiting the back parking lot and there is only one lane.

So... I backed up... into a pole.

I was going extremely slow and I barely tapped it. But I still felt pretty stupid. Thankfully no scratches or dents.

I finally find parking and head inside.

The Italian kitsch is always a "welcome" sight.

Every time I look it takes me like 10 seconds to figure out the configuration of his face. I find it is best to look at the mustache first, and then orient yourself from there.

I head to the counter and she asks for my name, assuming I am picking up a phone order. I explained I was just "dropping in" and then she gave me an "oof" face. The wait was nearly two hours. I told her I could get a few things from the grocery store and return for my pizza. She charges my card and I hop back in my car. Just as I was about to exit the parking lot of doom, a customer from Angelo's starts yelling at me.

"You forgot your card!"

Clearly my brain fog is starting to get to me. I left my damn bank card on the counter. So I have to exit the parking lot, drive into another parking lot, turn around, and then park again. I retrieved my card and headed to Nice Schnucks.

The GPS took me on a wild journey to the NS. I've lived in this area for 40 years and I had no idea some of these roads existed. I'm sure it was 3 minutes faster or whatever, but I think I would have preferred a route with streetlights. Unlit streets give me a bit of anxiety. Especially if I don't know them.

I get to NS and realize I was about to have the same problem I did at the pizza place. It was the night before Thanksgiving and the entire neighborhood was scrambling to get food for the next day.

I filled up on soups, frozen pizzas, and I got a few more bottles of my beloved soda. There is a Shirley Temple flavor I have yet to try. (Update: A rare Fitz's fail. Tasted like cough medicine.) And then I headed to the madness of the self-checkout.

I managed to kill about an hour, but my legs were getting wobbly. I really shouldn't have gone back out this soon. And I probably should have just headed home after the car was fixed. But I feared if I didn't do *something* special for Thanksgiving I would probably have a difficult time being all alone.

I head back to Angelo's. This time I was able to park in front and avoid hitting any poles.

The pizza was cooking and needed another 15 minutes. So I sat at a table and worked on finishing writing my to-do list for my trip to Florida. I was trying to tell Amazon that, yes, I do want a tiny bottle of shampoo to comply with the TSA security theater. But, no, I do not want 8 tiny shampoos.

Oh, did you know they charge you a "9/11 tax" when you buy a plane ticket?

Spirit Airlines has a pretty funny alternative name for it...

"After 9/11, the U.S. implemented the “9/11 Security Tax”, which was a fee of $2.50 each way of a trip on top of the price of a plane ticket. In 2014, the 9/11 Security Tax was increased to $5.60 each way. So, for a round trip this fee would cost $11.20"

We are literally still paying for 9/11. And there is no evidence the enhanced security does much of anything.

So we pay this tax so they can force us to buy tiny shampoo and go through scanners that have to detect and blur our genitals so the TSA agent can't see.

Anyway... I finally get my pizza and head home. When I pulled into my driveway I noticed a bright moon in the sky. It looked so massive compared to other nights, so I tried to capture a moon selfie.

As a photographer, I should have realized that a wide angle lens is not going to capture how big the moon looked in the sky that night. Wide lenses exaggerate distance. So things close to the lens look huge and things far away look tiny. That's why we look like aliens if we hold our smartphones too close to our face. To the lens on your camera, the distance from the tip of your nose to your ears is quite vast. Which meens a celestial body that is 240,000 miles away looks like a tiny dot in the picture.

I still kept trying.

That could be a moon I guess.

Umm, Froggie... you got some moon in your hair.

Later I did try to capture the moon with my DSLR and an 80mm lens, but I guess the moon is just really far away or something.

ENHANCE!

A.I. upscaling reveals it is, in fact, the moon.

I ate my pizza and did a quick tire test and photoshoot.

And then I spent way too long Photoshopping this X-wing flying into my deep-as-heck tire tread.

And that was my day after the day.

Today, which is currently Thanksgiving, I slept.

I slept all night.

I slept most of the day.

I still want to sleep.

Weirdly, I am too tired to feel lonely. Though now that I wrote that, I am thinking about my parents being gone, so I just screwed that up.

But hey... at least my pizza was tasty.

[baileypie-writes]

pls do more velvet x fem reader 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

A/N ~ Sure! I hope you like it!

~Try This On!~

Fandom: Trolls 3: Band Together

Reader: Female

Relationship: Romantic

Synopsis: You and Velvet were going shopping, but it somehow turned into you giving her a fashion show.

Warnings: OOC Velvet?

You and your girlfriend, Velvet, were bored, so you decided to go shopping. That wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, since Velvet loves buying things. But little did you know, this shopping trip was going to be different than usual.

Velvet saw a clothing store that piqued her interests, so you both went inside. She skimmed through the racks, picking out a few things for herself, but then she saw a dress that reminded her of you. “Hey (name)!” She called to you. You walked up to her, but before you could ask what was up, she shoved the dress into your arms. “Try this on!”

Seconds later, you were shoved into a dressing room. You examined the clothes she gave you. It was a (favorite color) dress. It was a similar style to what you normally wear, but much more bold than what you’re used to.

“Hey Vels, are you sure about this dress? I’m not used to wearing something that stands out this much…” You called out.

“Yes, I’m sure!” Velvet scoffed. “Just trust me!”

You sighed, deciding to listen to her. You tried the dress on, and was surprised. You looked… good. Sure it was different, but it was a good different.

You opened the door, and revealed yourself to Velvet. She gasped in awe, and gave you a quick round of applause as you stood there awkwardly. “See? I told you it’d look great!”

~~~~

It had been nearly an hour since then. Velvet kept giving you more and more outfits to try on. Each one looked amazing on you. This was so weird to you. Usually, Velvet would be the one to try on a bunch of clothes, but this time, you were the one giving her a fashion show. And Velvet was living for it, even though she wasn’t the one in the spotlight.

Her reactions were always positive, hyping you up and giving you compliments. You were surprised that there was not one outfit that she had a negative response to. You guessed she was so good at knowing what outfits looked best on you, that she was incapable of picking an ugly one.

After you were done(more like after Velvet was done giving you clothes), she picked up the large pile of various outfits, and took them to the checkout.

“Wait, we’re buying all of them?!” You asked, not believing what she was doing.

“Of course! Your closet needs some new additions!” You looked back at the pile and at the shocked cashier, not sure that “some” was the right word to use. “Plus, these outfits looked perfect of you! Oh, you do have money, right?”

You gave her a shocked stare. “Chill, I was kidding.” She said, pulling out her credit card. You sighed in relief, then laughed.

It was hell getting all those bags to the car. But hey, at least your closet won’t be getting empty any time soon.

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

~~baileypie-writes

[whorety-k]

Ebony Coasts [Part 6]

I'm sorry this took so long!! Between my busy life and wanting a quick change up so I could practice to make this chapter better, I definitely took my sweet time on this chapter. It's another long one but it was genuinely fun and I hope you all think the same. Thank you for your patience!!!

Pairing: Merfolk!Corvus Corax x fem!Marine Conservationist!Reader (second person POV)

Song recommendation: Witchcraft - Graveyard Club “It’s midnight on Main Street / and this town’s all asleep / But you’re still here with me / and I know that / Darling your love's like witchcraft.”

Warnings: Ocean mentions / potential thalassophobia, culture shock and misunderstanding between species, food, using the word chips instead of crisps because author is American, fluff

Word Count: 4.5k I AM SO SORRY

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 7 (NSFW)]

Waking up three hours later, sticky and crusted with salt was a lot less comfortable than the dreamy atmosphere you had drifted off to sleep in. Corvus was reluctant to let you leave to go home and change, but he recognized that there was no feasible way for you to clean yourself up while you were in his den; the salt water would have wedged sand into more unsavory places. You promised him it would only be thirty minutes to an hour before you would return and, after explaining what an hour was, he relinquished his protests and encouraged you to be safe. You leaned up on your tip-toes for a kiss goodbye, which the mer bashfully gave. 

The soothing stream of warm water coursing down your back makes you wonder just how difficult it would be to install a shower within Corvus’s cavern, before kicking yourself for the thought of modernizing any part of the beach that you’re technically supposed to be protecting. The thought of being able to live more readily with Corvus has your brain misbehaving. You hop out of the shower and towel off, changing into a significantly-less-saline outfit than you had been in previously. 

Before leaving your apartment, your eyes stray to the dusty picnic basket beneath your desk. For years, the woven wicker has sat unused and taunting you, waiting for its opportunity to see the light of day. The lack of luck in relationships previously had halted any usage of the item, but perhaps today was the day it finally saw usage. You grab the basket. 

But what to bring on a picnic with a literal merman? What does a giant fish-person like? You realize you have no idea where to start with him, so when you stop by your pantry you toss two random junk foods inside. Oreos and potato chips. Perfect. It still doesn’t feel like enough though, and you quickly check the time. You still have another fifteen or so minutes to make it back to the coast before Corvus should start to worry. On a whim, you toss the picnic basket on the passenger seat of your car and speed over to the only grocery store between your apartment and the coast.

You’re just as clueless and indecisive as you were at home, but now you were clueless and indecisive with options. The lady behind the meat counter gives you an uncertain look the longer you stare at the identical cuts of salmon. 

“If you’re struggling, the Alaskan wild-caught is a better–”

“-Thank you!” You don’t even let her finish before you’re throwing three filets into the shopping cart then speeding off, completely missing the stunned look she throws your way. You barely make sure to wrap them enough to hide the fishy smell.

In the checkout lane, you give in to the crow brain and grab a random rainbow bag of sour candy from the hanging, as well as a pack of four chocolate strawberries from a vendor outside of the store. Are mermen able to eat chocolate? Is it like a dog and cat scenario? You’ve never tried giving a chocolate bar to a fish. Wasn’t there someone who fed their fish Kitkats and it survived? Well, if he can’t have it, it’s just more for you. 

You slam the door to the Bronco and gun it for the beach when you arrive. With the picnic basket and a large blanket in hand, it’s not particularly feasible to make it down the cliff face, so you take the long way around. It’s only just been an hour, so hopefully–

A milk white limb wraps around your midsection and lifts you from the ground, causing you to drop your freight in the commotion. Corvus holds you like a kitten, a look of concern plain in his voidish eyes as he intently studies your body.

“You are not injured? It has been greater than an hour. Has something occurred?” He inquires, gently lifting and turning you as he looks you over.

You shake off the shock of being startled, simultaneously chuckling at the doting behavior and irritated with having been snuck up on again. “I’m fine,” you say, prompting the anxious mer to stop twisting you from side to side. Corvus relaxes and lowers you gently back to the sand. Once back on solid ground, you look down at your watch. An involuntary sigh leaves your lungs.

“Corvus.”

“Yes?”

“It has been an hour and three minutes.”

“Yes.”

“This? Over three minutes?” 

The merman nods his head, that stoic expression never once faltering. “I worried for your well being.”

Realizing that pressing the matter will get you nowhere, you decide to find the action endearing. When you step to the side to pick up your fallen items, Corvus quickly beats you to it, relinquishing you of the blanket and grabbing the picnic basket before you even have the chance to turn around. It looks comically small in his large hands, cupped like a ball. 

“Are we returning to the den?” Corvus asks, readying himself to head that direction. He slides past you, shielding you from the focused rays of the looming sunset. 

“That depends,” you start, placing a hand on one of his ebony side fins. The giant stops, twitching from the contact. “How do you feel about trying some human foods?”

Corvus stops, glancing down at you before his attention turns to the basket in his hand. He lifts it to his nose and sniffs at it, and you resist cooing at how cute his ear fins look when they subtly perk up. “I am not opposed to it, however…” His head turns to the horizon, looking out over the waves. 

The setting sun casts the sky in a brilliant red, leftover clouds from the earlier storm reflecting the light in a kaleidoscope of pinks, oranges, and yellows. The charcoal rocks of the cliffside bleed into sandstone, cast coral in the dying glow. Lava flows of sand quench in the dusky ocean waves.

“It’s perfect,” you interrupt, grabbing the blanket from his clawed hand. Corvus turns back as you march to the embankment and set up the massive blanket. He watches happily (for someone so usually reserved) as you buzz around like a bee, trying your hardest to get it flat on the sand. Mercifully, the giant holds a corner steady to help you lay out the swath of cloth. When you come back for the picnic basket, he already has it lowered to your level for easy access. 

“Get on,” you say, patting the blanket and folding your arms to wait. Corvus spares you a final glance before he carefully slides his way onto the cover, the translucent black fins of his magnificent tail reflecting the threads beneath them. He rests his back against a smooth face of the cliffside and hums his contentment. Enthusiasm at the mer’s comfort thrums through your veins.

Unfortunately, the blanket that’s normally so large on you is nothing compared to the large fins of the black mer. There’s no room for you to sit with him, so you start to kick a clearing beside him for you to sit beside him instead. “I didn’t have a blanket larger than this, so–” 

“Would you like to sit on my tail?” Corvus extends a hand towards you, offering you a way to climb up onto him. He adjusts to create a flatter surface.

The marine biologist in you screams ‘I thought you would never offer!’, but the polite person in you wins and instead asks, “Are you sure?” Corvus bows his head and calmly helps you clamber up onto his tail, holding the picnic basket in one hand as he steadies you with the other. He’s cautious to set you low on his lap, below the fins that adorn his waist. You resist touching them, lest you get (literally or figuratively) thrown off of the tail you were just allowed to sit on.

You reach for the picnic basket and Corvus places it before you, allowing you to trifle through it. Strategically, you keep the salmon hidden in the cold compartment at the bottom beneath some ice, drawing out the bag of oreos. A gentle hand rests upon your thigh as the mer watches.

“So these are called Oreos,” you explain, holding one up for Corvus to see, “They’re sandwich cookies with cream in the center.”

Corvus nods as if he understands and scents the item, before opening his mouth to take it. He wants you to feed him you realize, and you carefully place the cookie on his tongue, avoiding his sharp teeth. The cookie is gone with a few crunches. You use the moment to take an oreo for yourself: sweet filling and crunchy cocoa, just as you remember. 

The mer isn’t as receptive, nose minutely scrunching as he swallows. You laugh at the face he makes. “Are all humans so fond of sweetened chemicals?” Corvus asks, clearing his throat. 

“Some. Not everyone’s a fan,” you reply.

Corvus nods, thinking for a moment. The dwindling light of the dusk has come to a near end, pale moonlight glittering over his visage as his head bows near to yours. Eventually, the mer comes to a conclusion, “The ‘cookie’ half was fine, but I did not enjoy the filling.”

“You’d be surprised how many people agree with you on that,” you note, lean forward to place a kiss on his cheek—

Corvus places a hand over your mouth as he abruptly perks up, stilling completely. His head snaps to the side, eyes glaring in one direction: the rocks in the shallows. You feel the brush of soft flesh before his tail completely blocks your view.

“Is everything okay?” you whisper into his hand, trying to lean around it.

He doesn’t let you. “We are being watched,” Corvus deadpans, eyes fixed on the same invisible spot in the distance. He doesn’t comment further, but his hand moves to your back to curl around you protectively.

The lack of reaction from Corvus and the uncertainty of the situation sets your mind racing. Watched? Watched by what? By who? Are there other humans nearby, looking upon the merman with uncertain eyes, calling the authorities? Your heart begins to palpate in your chest, thumping against your ribcage like a drum. Something’s going to happen to Corvus and it’s going to be entirely your fault, having gotten the mer comfortable with your presence and having him sit out in the open like this. Corvus is going to lose his freedom and his blood is going to be on your hands—

“At ease, little gem,” Corvus calls to you, stroking a soft knuckle down your spine, “You are in no danger.” You snap up to look at him, seeing his midnight eyes now peering down at you. You take a deep breath, and the pounding in your chest slowly begins to steady. 

Corvus’s eyes turn back to the shoreline, a swish of his feathery bangs revealing just how furrowed his eyebrows are. He looks disappointed, and you wait for an explanation. With a sigh, he offers, “It is nothing more than someone not knowing that I would prefer privacy.”

A slight droop in his tail allows you to finally see into the partially-illuminated waters. You strain your eyes to find whatever Corvus has been staring at, looking between jagged rocks and soft swells, but absolutely nothing reveals itself to you. Confused, you ask, “Where are you looking?” Corvus doesn’t answer, but eventually you take the hint to follow his eyes to another rock. Still, you see nothing.

The giant startles you by calling something out loudly in a language you do not understand, but finally you notice what he’s been staring at. What you had been fully convinced was just a normal rock lifts itself from the water, revealing a wall of black metal before removing a beak-like helmet. Pale skin begins to reflect the moon’s rays back at you, framed by a mop of black hair straight out of 2005’s top emo bands. As it approaches, you’re surprised to see that it looks strikingly similar to Corvus himself: a large frame with a betta-like tail that’s a tad more narrow, but still visibly powerful. This mer is shorter than Corvus by a substantial amount, but still definitely much larger than you are.

It– He, you believe, converses with Corvus in that unfamiliar tongue the entire time he comes closer, awkwardly dragging himself forward in sand until he’s within a few feet of your blanket. You think Corvus is asking this new mer a few tense questions, based off of the scolding tone of his voice and guilt in the new mer’s eyes, but any communication is lost on you. When Corvus fully lowers his tail, you see the new mer’s eyes widen, but it restrains from any further movement. Corvus finishes whatever conversation he was having and directs his attention back to you eventually with a call of your name.

“This is Shadow Captain Kayvaan Shrike,” he says to you, gesturing a hand in Shrike’s direction. You introduce yourself, unsure if he understands you, and hesitantly reach a hand out towards Shrike for a handshake. He stares at it dumbly, until Corvus mutters something to him in their shared language and Shrike gently takes your hand in his. Incorrectly, just as Corvus had. You’re beginning to notice a trend with the seafolk, and you would call it cute if it wasn’t for the unquestionable strength in the hand over yours.

Corvus directs another inquiry at Shrike, and Shrike takes his hand back to point behind you. Before you can fully turn around, a new voice incredibly near to your head causes you to all but fling yourself off of Corvus’s tail. The giant mer catches you and your picnic basket with a huff, turning his head to address the second newcomer. You follow to see another pale face looking at you inquisitively, standing adjacent to Corvus. He bears similar armor to Shrike, but instead of a shaggy swoop, he wore a slicked-back mohawk. All three merfolk possess the same blacked-out eyes.

“Nykona,” Corvus grunts, before delving into another scolding. ‘Nykona’ doesn’t wear the same kicked-puppy expression Shrike did, instead continuing to observe you in silence. His gaze carries the intensity of someone who has seen and done things in his lifetime that you wouldn’t be able to stomach, sending shivers down your spine. At the end of Corvus’s speech, he gives a simple response and a nod.

Your mer finally turns back to you and directs you towards ‘Nykona’, saying, “And this is Nykona Sharrowkyn, Mor Deythan. Both he and Kayvaan are Astartes.” You have no idea what the second half of that means, but you acknowledge it anyway. You opt to cling to your basket instead of offering a handshake to Nykona, checking the inside contents to make sure they’re alright. Everything appears to be in place.

Nykona and Shrike shift to listen to Corvus speak again, that rhythmic guttural vaguely similar to what it sounds like to list a species’ proper name. You try to make sense of it, but only occasionally do you pick up on names.

The quiet exchange continues on for a fair while longer, before a fantastic idea causes you to jolt upright. Each of the raven-colored merfolk look at you, and you beam at them. 

“Do they want to try some human food?”

Corvus had to set a few ground rules with the Astartes, and he had gently placed you down upon the blanket before explaining that it should only take a short moment. 

It did not, in fact, take a short moment.

Shrike and Nykona seemed to have an interrogation of their own for Corvus, but in the end, you were actually grateful for the opportunity to see how merfolk interacted with each other. Perhaps it was just these individuals, but they were incredibly formal with each other by your human standards. Respectful distances, no yelling, what seemed like actual discussion. You dare say that Corvus was affectionate with them the way a father was with his sons, reassuring any perceived outburst with a hand on the shoulder and gentle words. The two smaller mer even doff their armor, broad in build even without the augments. You avert your gaze respectfully.

Eventually, Corvus seemed content with the state of things and led the two newcomers back over to you. Corvus curls around your back protectively, leaning against the cliff face again. Nykona makes his way to your right, resting his front on the comfortable blanket while his tail remains on the sand. Shrike has no qualms sitting on the blanket directly beside you.

A strongly-accented voice prods about the basket. “So we are eating what’s in there?” Shrike asks, head tilted like a curious dog. 

“Oh! Yes, that’s the plan.” You had no idea whether or not the ‘Astartes’ could understand you, let alone respond to you, so the question comes as a surprise to you. You open the basket, showing him the contents. 

Shrike inspects them, then reaches within to pull out a package: a desaturated baby blue with a potato chip on the cover. The captain sniffs at the bag and is confused when he can’t smell much outside of the plastic. “I have seen these floating in the waves before, but they are not often sealed.”

The sentence makes you frown, and you gesture for him to hand you the bag of chips. “Not every human cares about the ocean the way I do. They’ll eat the contents and leave the trash behind. It’s awful behavior.” You pull the sides of the bag open to reveal the salt-and-vinegar chips within. The acrid smell of vinegar makes all three of the mer recoil with varying intensity when you happily pop a chip in your mouth. 

In an attempt to ease them into the other foods, you withdraw the strawberries. The smell of the sweet chocolate coating catches their attention instantly, and Corvus, despite all of his politeness, doesn’t wait for you. He tears open the clamshell with a gentle claw and plucks one of the large confectionaries for himself. You give him a playful glare before you take your own berry, noticing that a second is already missing. Nykona chomps away at his from the edge of the blanket.

Only Shrike dares to take a chip from the bag, both Corvus and Nykona passing up the offer politely. Each of you watch as the pungent acidity and saltiness causes the Astartes to wince, gills fluttering awkwardly as he breaks into uncomfortable coughs. Shrike spits the chip out into the sand with groan, wiping off his tongue. You place a hand on his shoulder to comfort him through it, and you’re surprised to see it actually seem to ground him. So is he, by the way he gently pushes your hand away. When Shrike is calmed down enough to focus on another food, he reaches for the remaining strawberry– then lets out a short growl. Shrike’s eyes instantly snap over to Nykona.

Nykona, rather contently, chews on Shrike’s allotted berry. He wears a face of perfect nonchalance.

Corvus covers you protectively with a hand as Shrike glares down his fellow Astartes, but you break the tension by offering Kayvaan your berry. He looks down at the strawberry reluctantly, eyes flicking between it and your patient face. Tentatively, Shrike takes the berry and plops it whole into his mouth, and the instant relaxation in his eyes makes giving up your treat worth it. 

You feel a gentle rumbling against your back, and you look up to see the tender expression Corvus casts your way. A careful hand places itself at your shoulders and strokes the muscles there, and you return the soft look. 

Nykona crinkling the rainbow bag of candy pulls you from the moment. “These are sweet too. I can smell it,” he mutters, using a claw to open the larger bag and spill out the individually wrapped pieces within. 

Warheads. You had bought Warheads. You may have loved Warheads, but you seriously doubt they would given the collective reaction to the salt-and-vinegar chips. 

Nykona picks up one of the packaged candies and makes an unreadable face, with Shrike following suit. You take one for yourself and Corvus, offering it up to your betta. 

“These are called Warheads. They’re sour candy, so they’re not really for everyone, but I like them.” After your brief explanation, you show each of the boys how to open the packaging and plop the hard candy into your mouth. The instant burn on your tongue causes you to shiver, but after a bit of intense salivation, it quickly gives way to the sweet candy underneath. 

The hesitation on each of their faces is clear, but after Corvus places the candy in his mouth, the Astartes follow suit. 

You’re surprised to see each of the merfolk maintaining a straight face. Honestly, you had expected each of them to absolutely hate the taste. Hell, most humans hated the taste of warheads because of the extreme burn of sour each of them packed. It was a pleasant surprise to know that Corvus and his… pod(?) must enjoy sour candy—

A shuddering choke to your left catches your attention. Shrike breaks first, letting out an uncomfortable hiss of air and shaking his head, hair covering his face. A groan from your right, and Nykona is removing the warhead from his mouth, dropping the sticky sugar onto the blanket with a less-than-amused look. You only just notice Corvus reach up and take the Warhead off of his tongue, holding it between his claws and frowning at it. 

He looks at you with sad eyes, “That was… unpleasant.”

It’s enough to break you into a fit of hysterics, throwing your head back against Corvus’s tail as your core shakes with laughter. Each breath wheezes out of you uncontrollably, limbs feeling gooey as you sink further and further into the blanket. 

No one else seems as amused.

Once you get yourself mostly under control, you fall forward onto your hands and knees and reach into the basket with unsteady hands. The merfolk watch as you rummage through it and pull out the hidden salmon filets from within. With pride, you present the orange meat towards the sky.

You don’t even see each of them move– you can only feel the air move around you before your hands are completely empty. The tang of fish fills the air from every direction, then the wet sound of teeth ripping into flesh. You could only describe the scene as feral, sharks tearing into unsuspecting seals in an attempt to wash the taste of the warheads out of their mouth. Only to another marine biologist could you describe it as “cute.”

Corvus wipes off his mouth as he finishes, a soft huff of relief leaving his gills. He gives you a pensive look before his hands snake beneath your arms, lifting you up and drawing you close. You hold yourself against him with a hand on his chest as he adjusts his grip to support your weight better, missing the look the giant casts to the other mer. Movement behind you causes you to look over your shoulder, and you’re surprised to see Nykona and Shrike completely clad in their armor once again, Shrike’s white helmet making him easy to identify in the low light. Both Astartes salute Corvus, hands crossed over their chest, before slithering back towards the ocean. You wave at them in goodbye, receiving a nod of acknowledgement as they go.

Corvus bends down to gather your blanket and basket, cradling you to shield you from the change of gravity then starting off in the direction of his den. With Shrike and Nykona gone, a warm silence fills the air. You smile up at your black betta, and he returns it. You glance back towards the water.

You can't help but wonder more about their relationship, and you make it known, “I know their names, but who are they?” 

Corvus trails your glance towards the sea. “Nykona and Kayvaan are my sons.”

His words drop like a bombshell, and you freeze. The thought that Corvus has sons fills you with unease and… jealousy? Sure, you know Corvus has a life outside of yours, and you knew that he had one before you were around, but the thought still does terrible things to your heart.

Corvus can smell the dismay on you, and as soon as you two are within the safety of his cavern, he drops the items he’s carrying. He uses his freed hand to lift your chin, tilting your head to look up at him, “Do not be troubled. They are only my sons in name…”

You find relief in his reassurances, but the way he trails off leads you to feel suspicious once more. You know there’s more he has more to say, and you motion for him to go on. Corvus’s jaw tenses.

“They are made with my genetic material, but I had no hand in making them myself.”

Well that statement causes distinctly more heretical thoughts that you have to force yourself to tamp down. It still doesn’t explain very much, instead replacing your former question with less tasteful ones. With a shake of your head, you admit, “I still don’t understand.”

“It is better that way,” Corvus sighs and continues carrying you all the way into the bedspace, sequestering you both somewhere private. It comforts him to have you completely to himself without anyone to intrude on the moment. 

Perhaps there are better times to be a biologist, you reason as Corvus settles the two of you into the bed of furs, placing you on the un-scaled half of his lap. You look up at him with hearts in your eyes, leaning forward to rest against his cold chest. The sensation of something metal digging into your sternum causes you to sit up, looking down your shirt. You move to shift your raven necklace out of the way so you can lean against Corvus more comfortably, but your hand catches on a second necklace that you don’t remember putting on.

Cautiously, you withdraw the pendant and turn it over it in your hand, examining the teardrop of metal cradling a familiar black pearl. Warmth blooms in your cheeks as you gaze up into Corvus’s eyes.

That handsome face of carved alabaster smiles down at you expectantly.

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

these two pictures had me dying laughing

this is permanently in my search history now because I was also curious

I tried to base Kayvaan Shrike off of pre-heresy, as well as Nykona, but it can be difficult with such little source material so they definitely have aspects of their later personalities.

If you don't want smut, it's perfectly feasible to stop after this chapter!! This story can comfortably conclude here :)

If you do want smut, though, please enjoy:

[Part 7]

[good-griief]

Trying Something New

this is my first tumblr fic so I hope you enjoy :) I had a friend req for an abby smut fic so i decided to post it here &l;3 cross-posted on AO3 here

Abby had been thinking about this for a while. She was never pushy, and never brought it up more than once, but you could tell it was something she really wanted. She’d asked you once, and after you nervously said you’d think about it, she didn’t ask again. 

It’d been a month since then, and you’d decided you were ready. Nothing had really changed. It almost seemed like Abby had forgotten about it, especially with the way she fucked you. You thought she might be upset after hearing your answer, but she simply said, “Okay, baby. Whatever you need,” and moved on. By moving on, that meant leaving you a whiny mess by the end of the night before she held and loved you until the sun rose. 

And that led to today. You went to a small store in the local mall, tucked down a hallway with neon lights and harnesses in the window. You went to the section in the back, almost overwhelmed by the line of dildos in front of you. 

You grabbed a harness, distracting yourself from the phallic objects momentarily before looking at which ones would fit in the harness you picked out. 

You figured Abby would want to use something big, but half of these looked like they wouldn’t even fit without breaking you— which, you figured she would also want. 

“Can I help you? You look a little lost,” a girl laughed, the nametag on her shirt telling you she worked there. 

“Oh…” You flushed. “My girlfriend wants to try it.”

The girl nodded. “Has she ever used a dildo before?” You shook her head. “Anything more than two fingers?”

“Like three,” was your answer. “Four,” you then added, making her laugh as she nodded along. 

“Okay.” She began looking at your options. “I always recommend these for first-timers.” She pointed to three different dildos, one was four inches and so thin that you thought Abby wouldn’t even bother using it, even if you did like that one, the second was six and about as thick as your fist, and the third was eight and more realistic. You blinked at her, dumbfounded, making her laugh again. “I’m serious. It’s less intimidating than it looks.” She then grabbed a different harness. “I also recommend this. It’s a lot more comfortable,” it was basically underwear with a small mound inside it, “and it has a vibe in it if you like that.” 

You ended up discussing what to do and how to warm up, which led you to getting all three dildos and grabbing several more items before you headed to checkout. 

It was a little over an hour after the usual time you got home, having also gone to an underwear store to get something nice. You kicked off your shoes, calling to Abby. “Abs?” She was usually at your apartment by now, but it seemed like she was running late from the gym. 

That gave you the time to go to your room. Quickly changing out of your jeans and tank, you put on the lingerie you bought and threw on one of Abby’s large pajama shirts to hide it. You grabbed your glasses from the bedside table, hoping to look as inconspicuous as possible by putting those on as you heard the door open. You quickly grabbed the black bag from the store, bringing it out and setting it on the dining room table before you went to the living room. 

“Sorry I’m late.” Abby smiled at your appearance. “Aren’t you cute in my shirt?” She went to hug you, kissing your cheek. “And these glasses…” She raised a brow. “Do you even need those?”

“I was studying,” you said, giving her a look. 

“Oh. Didn’t realize you did that.”

“Funny,” you deadpanned, making her laugh as she took off her shoes and set her bag down. She went to walk past you and change as she usually did after a workout, but you placed your hand on her chest. She hummed, raising her brows in question. “You know how hot I think you look after working out, right?”

She laughed. “Yeah. Why?”

“You don’t think I look hot in your shirt?”

“Pretty sure I already said what I think, babe.” She crossed her arms, looking you up and down. “What?” She tilted her head, brows furrowed in false confusion. “You want me to fuck you, or something?” 

“You’re so cocky.” You groaned at her attitude, turning your back to her to walk off. 

“Cocky would be: do you need me to fuck you,” Abby corrected as she grabbed your hand to pull you back in front of her. “But I already know the answer to that, so I’m asking what you want.”

You raised a brow at her, earning a sweet smile in return to mask her near degrading words. “You’re lucky you’re pretty. Go sit down.” You nodded toward the couch and she gladly went, already thinking over what she might do to you as you went and got the bag from the dining room. 

“I got you something,” you told her as you came back and sat next to her, making her frown. You held up the bag, the name on it making her laugh as her cheeks heated. 

“You’re joking.”

“Mm-mm. Look.” You reached into the bag, pulling out one of the items. The first was a 6 setting vibrator, which you’d gotten for yourself since you probably wouldn’t be using the vibrating harness. The second was a long, thin, curved glass dildo with a bulb at either end for g-spot massaging. You also grabbed the bottle of lube the cashier insisted you buy when you checked out. 

“I thought we might work up to what you asked me for tonight?” You suggested, leaving the strap in the bag as you set it on an armchair next to the couch. 

“You’re serious?” Abby looked from you, to the toys, then back to you as you nodded. 

She didn’t bother with any more talking, taking your hand and pulling you forward. She caught you by your hips, having you straddle her as her lips met yours in an eager kiss. 

Usually, Abby liked to take her time with you. She wasn’t one for going slow, but she loved foreplay. She could kiss you for hours, play with your tits, run her hands all over you in the most loving way possible, but by the time she was fucking you, she’d gotten herself so worked up that she couldn’t keep up the tenderness— just wanting to see you melt under her. 

Now, though, Abby was making it hard for you to keep up with her kisses. Her tongue was sloppy, pushing into your mouth and not giving you any time to react as she brought her hands to your ass. She gripped the muscle, kneading at your skin and making you sigh. 

“You know,” she moved to kiss your neck, “as soon as I saw you in my shirt… with those cute little glasses on, I knew you were up to something.” Her hands dragged down your thighs as she sucked on the skin of your neck, leaving a bruise. 

Your hands went to her hair, taking it down and having it fall over her shoulders as you pulled her head back. You pulled her shirt over her head before bringing your mouth back to hers. Your hands went to her abs, running up and down the muscles as you let out an over exaggerated moan, making her stop kissing you as you laughed.

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed, but the humor left the room when you removed your glasses and moved off of her to get on your knees in front of her. Your mouth went to her stomach, sucking bruises on her freckled skin and making her sigh. Your hands went to her sports bra, pushing it up. She got the memo, removing her bra and your hands went to her tits, massaging slowly before you sat up on your knees to bring your mouth to her nipple. Abby groaned. 

She was always sensitive, but with the way you knew you’d be treated tonight, you wanted to toy with her a little, too. 

You could tell she was worked up by the way her hips shifted as your teeth grazed her nipple teasingly. Your hands went to her gym shorts, pulling them off with her underwear and kissing your way down. 

Before you could continue, Abby grabbed you by the hair and pulled you back. She leaned down to kiss you as her hands went to your waist and pulled you up onto her thigh. You pressed your knee against her cunt, making her hips jerk forward as you grabbed them, guiding her to grind. 

Abby’s hands went to her shirt on you, pulling it over your head and tossing it aside. She stopped what she was doing. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” she breathed, looking you up and down and nearly moaning at the sight. “What are you doing to me?” she practically whined, hands feeling up your body as you flushed. 

“Do you like it?” You teased in an attempt to keep your composure. It was nothing special; a lace, near see-through, white bra with attached mesh draping you thought she might like. The underwear matched, lace and brought her eyes down to it. Abby nodded slowly, eyes taking in your body and making her adjust her seating. You chuckled, pecking her lips. “I thought you might.”

“You realize this makes me want to completely ruin you, don’t you?” She asked after a moment of kissing you, having to make herself pull away. 

You hummed, nodding. “There’s one more thing in the bag,” you said as you ran your hands up her torso before bringing them to her hair to tuck it behind her ears. “You can decide if we use it tonight.” 

Abby frowned as you moved off of her, grabbing the bag and passing it to her. “I’ll wait in the bedroom,” you said with a laugh, kissing her cheek before you got up and went to the bedroom to lie on the bed and prep yourself for what you knew was coming. 

There was no way she’d pick a little glass rod, when she could be thrusting into you herself. 

At the thought of her fucking you, you’re hand went between your thighs. Your fingers pressed against your clit, over your underwear, circling slowly as you shut your eyes. 

It was only a moment before Abby came in, shutting the door quietly before walking to the bed. She set the glass dildo and lube on the bedside table, holding the vibrator in her hand. She set it on the bed as she knelt next to you. 

Her hand moved yours away, replacing your fingers with hers on your clit. “Let me do that for you, princess.” You smiled at the petname, knowing that meant she was pleased, and opened your eyes to look up at her. 

Her other hand pulled the straps of your lingerie down to expose your breasts, her hand running over them as she moved your underwear to the side to run her fingers between your folds. “This wet already?” She looked between your thighs, huffing as a smirk tugged at her lips. She looked back at you, finding your eyes. “My good girl.”

She leaned down to kiss you, far more tender than before, but that was only because as she kissed you, she pushed two fingers inside you to make you moan into her mouth as you slipped your arms from the straps of your lingerie and reached for the lube on the bedside table. 

Abby grabbed your hand before you could get the bottle. “Be patient,” she cooed. “I don’t even think we’ll need that.”

She sped the pace of her fingers when you looked at her with wide eyes, making you immediately shut them as you turned your head into the pillow. 

Abby chuckled, mouth going to your neck to kiss softly. The gentle feeling made even more wetness pool between your thighs and allowed Abby to slip in a third finger. You whined, squeezing the hand Abby was still holding as she moved her mouth to your breasts, feeling as each flick of her tongue got you even more aroused. 

Her fingers fit inside you with ease, and she loved it. She loved the way you just melted into her. She pumped rougher as your arousal grew, pooling on the sheets beneath you. 

You knew she wasn’t stretching you on purpose. She wanted to stretch you with the strap. She wanted to hear her princess whine and moan as she took her cock. You knew that, and the thought made you shudder as she played with you. 

Abby could feel you tightening around her, a sign you were getting close and moving her mouth down to your cunt. She pushed your legs open so she had better access from the angle she was at and lowered her head. Her lips wrapped around your clit, sucking the bud into her mouth so she could flick her tongue against you. 

You grabbed her hair, gripping the roots as she alternated circling and flicking. Her fingers pushed deeper inside you as your hips rose into her mouth, your moans becoming pants as you came close. 

Just as you were about to come undone, Abby broke all contact. She already had a hand on your thigh to sooth you— also keeping your legs open as you whined, grabbing the pillow to push your face into as your chest heaved. You didn't want Abby to hear that you could cry from this, though she already knew, she would just tease you and make it go on even longer until you really were crying. 

“You’re okay,” she soothed, bringing her hand to the silicone cock resting between her thighs. She used your juices as lube, stroking her hand up and down the veiny toy before she moved between your thighs. “I’ll take good care of you, baby. Please, don't cry,” her tone was taunting, telling you that if you did, she would make sure you had a reason to. 

“I’m not…” You lifted your head and she took you by the jaw, turning your face toward her before she stroked your cheek after seeing how flushed you were.

“That’s my girl,” she cooed, smiling down at you. 

Your eyes fell to the cock between her legs. As you thought, she didn't bother with the smallest one, but she also didn’t go for the biggest which made you sigh in relief. 

Abby laughed at that, knowing exactly what you were thinking. “I thought about using that one,” she admitted. “But, I think I’ll wait until you’re begging me for it.”

Abby, this confident and stroking a cock between her thighs, with a playful smirk as she looked down at your swollen cunt, was a new sight that made your muscles tense. In excitement or nerves, you couldn’t tell, but you knew it turned you on. 

“You ready?” She tapped your thigh, making you look up from between her thighs and at the smug look on her face as your cheeks heated. You gave her a nod as you sat up on your forearms, watching as she slowly rubbed the toy up and down your slit. Your hips bucked, making her chuckle and making you look away in embarrassment. “You’re so fucking cute,” she said, smirking up at you. “All embarrassed at how much you need me right now.”

Whenever Abby saw how worked up you got by her, she got cocky, and that meant she also got mouthy. It would be a cute habit if it didn’t make it impossibly harder for you to control yourself. 

Not that she cared whether or not you did.

Abby aligned the tip of the toy with your hole and slowly pushed it in. A throaty moan left your lips as your eyes rolled back. When she fit the whole thing inside you, you fell back onto the sheets and covered your face. 

“You took that way too fucking easy.” She watched as your hips squirmed, taking them in a strong grip and slowly pulling the toy out. She watched your muscles tense as you moaned, uncovering your face so she could watch you like you knew she wanted. “That’s better,” she practically moaned, making you shudder at the sound of her voice. 

Abby was starting off slow, letting you ease into the feeling of the fake cock, but now that you were already so worked up, it just made it harder for you not to be a complete mess. She knew that, but she also didn’t want anything to go wrong, so she was attempting to control herself. 

With the way you were whining, she found that extremely difficult.

“Mm, Abby.” She forced herself not to speed up as you moaned her name when she pressed her hips against yours. She ground her hips into yours, the friction against her pussy making her moan just as you did. 

You reached a hand down when you heard her, knowing she must be worked up and knowing you probably wouldn’t be able to do much for her after this. Your fingers fiddled with the thick band of the underwear, finding the button on the inside and pressing it for her. 

Her hips jerked at the vibrations, making her freeze inside you as she sighed. “Fuck this.”

Abby gripped your hips harder, lifting them so she could thrust into you at the pace she wanted. She moaned at the sounds you made, watching your breasts bounce as you brought the back of your hand to your mouth to muffle the loud moans coming from it. 

Abby was moaning at the sight of you, the vibrator only aiding in her pleasure as she fucked into you deep enough to hit all the right places to make your eyes water. 

“You look so pretty like this,” she breathed, praising you to accommodate for the degrading way she fucked you. “So fucking pretty.”

Abby released your hips, pulling your leg up on her waist as she leaned over you. She grabbed your hand and interlaced your fingers as she moved it away from your mouth and pinned it by your head. She leaned down when you tilted your head up, capturing your lips in a heavy kiss as her other hand went to your breasts to knead roughly. 

You squeezed her hand as you struggled to kiss her back, moaning in her mouth until you hand to break away. Abby kissed your cheek, then jaw, before bringing her mouth to your neck. “Louder, princess. I know you want to,” she moaned against your neck, dragging her tongue along your skin to make you shudder before she sucked even more bruises onto you, marking you up. 

That’s how you knew how badly she wanted this. She could hardly control herself with the way she was kissing and leaving deep marks on you. You knew she wouldn't last long like this; after wanting this so bad. For so long. 

You obliged her request, moaning louder and getting even more whiny as your hands found her breasts. Her hips jerked, but she reoriented herself quickly.

She was moaning in your ear as she tucked her head into the crook of your neck, thighs trembling as she came above you when you twisted and played with her hard nipples. Besides that, she didn't give any other indication that she’d finished so quickly. She reached down to turn off the vibrator, but kept thrusting into you as she moaned against your neck. 

The sound alone brought you back to the edge, bringing your hands to her back as your shoulders pulled off the bed. 

That was when Abby grabbed the vibrator. She turned it on, clicking the button until she was happy with the setting, and reaching to press it against your clit. You nearly screamed, gasping a moan and back arching away from her. Your nails dug into her skin as your moans filled the room. 

Abby was quick to shut you up, bringing her mouth to yours as she slowed her pace to thrust her hips roughly into you until your eyes rolled back and moans got quiet. Your thighs shook as your nails scratched Abby’s skin, walls tightening around her cock and hips jerking as you came. 

Abby fucked you through your orgasm, making you whimper as you breathed in pants. She overstimulated you, hearing the sound of your wet cunt and knowing she could get you to unravel. She circled the vibrator against your clit, your legs squeezing her until they fell open limply and liquid squirted from your pussy onto the toys and all over her abdomen. 

Abby didn’t stop until your muscles were limp and twitching in pleasure, taking the vibrator away and pulling out of you as she hugged your body to hers and you buried your face in her chest. She stroked your hair and waist, soothing you. 

She then smirked, taunting, “Thanks for letting me ruin you, princess.”

[softxsuki]

HEY HEY, back at it again with me being ⚜️ anon. kinda embarrassed after the last declined request because i’m like that

sooo, hopefully, could i have trope dabble with trope #3 and it would be fem!reader (one piece as well)

congrats on 1.5k AGAIN !!

1.5k Follower Event Trope #3 One Piece

Trope 3: Friends to Lovers

This even is now CLOSED. You can checkout the masterlist here.

| Pairing: Zoro x Fem!Reader | Genre: uh hurt comfort? idk | Post-Type: oneshot (so much for drabbles omg) | Word Count: 1.1k (bruh) |

Warnings: mentions of making out, kissing, reader gets injured, Zoro is a little hard on her for a bit because he's scared and wants her to get stronger faster, minor swear from Zoro

Note: I was excited for this one! I had trouble choosing whether to write for Luffy, Ace, or Zoro, but I had to go with my man :') hopefully it came out okay! There was so much I wanted to write, but as we can see, I'm struggling to keep this under 500 words...

Our stoic Zoro is difficult to get close to, questioning the loyalty of all crew members before he gets to know them, he’s a hard shell to crack. That included you as well. 

Your key to getting closer to Zoro was your desire to get stronger within the crew. You were tired of being weak and unable to fully defend yourself against enemy pirates and marines. The last thing you wanted to do was hold your crew mates back, so this was your best solution. Zoro spent all his time training anyway, so when you asked for his help, he gave a shrug and a grunt in response. You were in.

From that moment forward, you both spent a lot of time together. He could see your passion and seriousness towards wanting to better yourself for the crew's sake, and he respected that a lot. Training time expanded into spending even more time together; whether it be sitting beside him during dinner, having a drink with him during celebrations, or watching each other’s backs during fights, you guys were joined at the hip.

One specific battle left you severely injured, you hadn’t noticed that enemy pirate behind you while you were too focused on the one you were dealing with at the time, leading to you being slashed deeply across the back.. Thankfully Chopper dragged you away and began emergency procedure straight away. 

After the battle was over, Zoro was the first to stop by and check on you. His face remained stoic as he nodded his head towards, chopper before turning to face you as you laid in your bed. You felt bad, even after all that training, you were the only one seriously injured.

Zoro sighs as you avoid his eye, taking a seat on the chair beside your bed. He felt angry, but not at you. He didn’t realize how scared he was that you wouldn’t make it from that injury until he rushed to your room where Chopper had taken you, and felt how relieved he was when he saw you up and alert. He cared about you.

“Need someone to take care of you, huh? As soon as you’re done recovering, I’ll see you bright and early in the crows nest,” he mumbles, standing up again. He was bad at expressing all these confusing emotions bubbling up inside him, so he decided to keep them to himself, leaving you to rest.

It took a few weeks for you to fully recover, feeling frustrated with yourself and your weakness, you hurry to meet Zoro in the crows nest, who hadn’t visited you as often as you had hoped during your recovery.

Making your way up to the crows nest, you could hear the familiar sounds of dumbbells clanging, meaning he was up there training as usual. As you enter, he nods to you in acknowledgment, before finishing up his set. It was back to training, but this time Zoro was even more strict on you, pushing you beyond your limits.

This went on for a week before you couldn’t take it anymore.

“Zoro, please I need a breather,” you pant, your arms already feeling like jelly from the hours you’d already trained this week, your body couldn’t keep up.

“No, not until you finish your reps,” he answers coolly, continuing his own exercises, glancing over his shoulder to make sure you were still going.

You were done.

You slam the dumbbell to the ground and spin around ready to leave the crows nest. You were trying your best, but each day he went harder and harder on you with no remorse.

“I’m done with this,” you grit, storming off.

But Zoro is quick as he puts his own weights down and races to you, grabbing your wrist. He pulls you towards him, spinning you so you’re facing him.

“You’re not done until you finish your reps. Are you going to give up already? You still have a long way to go,” He says between clenched teeth. He was doing his best to control himself and not do or say something rash, but that all crumbles at your next words.

“No,” you retort, snatching your arm from his grip, sending him a glare, “You’ve been pushing me to the bone all week, you never did this before! What happened to our training sessions when we first started? I can’t do this anymore.”

He stops you once more, grabbing your arm and pulling you into his chest so your faces are inches away from each other. He’s breathing heavily, looking into your eyes, his hands still gripping you to hold you still.

“I can’t lose you too, dammit!” Zoro screams, finally letting those unresolved emotions race out through his growing frustration and fear.

His heart almost races out of his chest when your eyes widen, those eyes he thought he’d never see again that one day after you were seriously injured. Without even thinking, his lips crash down onto yours with such ferocity, you’re frozen in shock until he pulls away.

It all made sense to you now, he was pushing you because he cared. He was scared that day and wanted to try and help you get stronger as soon as possible.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers, leaning down to press his forehead against yours, still not making any attempts to let you go just yet. “You understand now, don’t you?”

How could you not? You felt your face go flush as he held you close.

“I just can’t lose you.”

You're silent for a few moments, processing everything until you sigh and finally wrap your arms around him, shocking him now.

“You won’t lose me. I want to get stronger too, but this isn’t the way to do it.”

“I know, I’m sorry. If you still want to train with me, I’ll make it how it used to be,” he mumbles, holding you tightly to his chest, scared to let you go.

That was something you could agree on, so you both made it happen.

After that night, things seemed to move forward naturally between you. Training went back to normal, but there was this new tension between you. Zoro would be a little more touchy during training which would lead to heated makeout sessions later on. It was a nice change, one you welcomed with open arms.

During battles, Zoro was on high alert, keeping an eye on you at all times and always ready to step in to help if you ever needed him to.

It was clear how he felt about you, and maybe he wouldn’t express that verbally right away, but his actions always made it obvious that his feelings for you had a romantic twinge to them. One that would grow quickly the more time you spent together. 

Posted: 1/4/2024

[observeowl]

Second Chance | Chapter 8 - Life Lessons

Series masterlist

sorry! i haven't been putting the taglist for the last 2 chapters. but you can reach it through the masterlist. hopefully i will remember it from now on.

You woke up about an hour later, sitting peacefully on the bench with Andrew. It was night out, and hardly anyone was walking outside except the few who came out to refill their bottle or take a breather. 

“Are you awake?” You hummed, still not wanting to go back in again despite having an hour's break. “Shouldn’t you at least finish the last half hour of training? I know Clint came out a few times looking for you, even though he didn’t say anything.” 

You stretched your limbs, resigning to the fate that you have to head back in. You used to take this opportunity to see Nat when she came to see Clint each week. You no longer feel the spark of interest you had when you first joined Archery. Now, it’s more of a mandatory thing than something you look forward to every week. 

With a clap of your hands, you stood up from the bench and headed back to range. Clint gave you a silent disappointed look before looking back at others. You ignored him and got back to your position to shoot the last few arrows before everyone called it a day. It was tough for everyone to have such a long training session when the minimum was 2.5 hours. Some come for the whole 5 hours in school, and this was practically twice that. 

He dropped you off at your door and passed you your archery bag. “Have a good night’s rest. I know you’re not staying long tomorrow, and you have a long way back.” You suggested to Andrew to head back to his room for some sleep as you were planning to stay behind to use the gym here tomorrow morning. Andrew has his basketball training session in the afternoon, which he has to get to; otherwise, he would have stayed and waited with you. 

“How are you going to head back though?” 

“I’ll figure something out.” He nodded before saying goodbye to your friends in the same room and left. 

“You two are in your honeymoon phase.” Your friend was stating the fact without any malic when she saw how lovey-dovey you were with him. You didn’t have anything to defend or deny as you knew this was how you and Nat started. Always next to each other, texting one another, until you saw disagreements that were too hard to settle.

“Have you ever been in a relationship?” You asked. She shook her head, and you just smiled. This was what you felt before you fell in love with Nat. Those couples that over-display affection was interesting to you. You never understood why they were always in each other’s space. But ever since with Nat, every little thought brings you back to her. It may not even be something she liked, but you wanted to share everything with her, the little things that made you happy such as seeing a cat on your way to work or a nice dress that you saw someone wearing.

“You’ll understand when you get one.” 

===

In the morning, you woke up in time to have breakfast before seeing Andrew off. You decided that since there were still 3 hours before checkout, you’d pack your bags, leaving out the things you require for your gym session. 

You were slightly self-conscious entering the gym, not because you weren’t confident in your own body, but because you were a gym noob. This was the first time you entered the gym alone, without anyone guiding you. You weren’t sure if you were going to use the equipment correctly or if you were hogging the equipment that someone was planning to use. 

You liked to stand in the corner with your weights, surveying everyone through the mirror. No one was going to use your weights, right? You were using the lightest one available, and most gym goers use the medium to heavy weights or the other machines. But either way, your mind was louder than the music in your ears, and you eventually left the gym after an hour of workout. 

“Didn’t think I'd see you here.” You lift your head to see Natasha looking at you. She was heading to the gym, the one who taught you gym basics. You ignored her and continued making your way to your room. “We have to be around each other, and you can’t keep ignoring me.” That made you stop walking and look around. You didn’t see anyone, so there was no point putting up an act to acknowledge her. 

“Hey, Y/N! You went to the gym too?” Suddenly Maria came out of nowhere, and you just smiled and nodded. “We are about to head to the gym too. Nat needs to get over her hangover, and she’s offering to guide me on what to do.” 

“Have a nice time. I’m sure you’re going to learn a lot.” You turned to leave, but Natasha called you once again.  

“How are you going back? I heard from Clint that Andrew left in the morning.” You had the intense feeling to give her a sarcastic comment, but you held back since Maria was here. 

“I can figure it out. I’ll take a bus or Uber if I feel like I’m rich.” You shrugged your shoulders before finally leaving. 

Your friends were doing their final packing as you entered the room. Since they were staying in the dorm, they were heading back together. You begged them to bring your bow bag with them and place it in the school locker because there was no way you were going to be carrying that heavy ass bag alone. 

As the logistic director of the archery team, you was designated to collect everyone’s keycard to return to the front desk after making sure everyone returned it. The only ones remaining were part of the executive committee. Since everyone was here, they decided to hold a quick meeting regarding the upcoming tournament. For your part, you have to get everything ready for the captain, such as the toolbox and first aid kit. 

This was the first tournament you were going to be participating in. Not exactly the first, but the first in this version of this life. Before this, you used to only head to the tournament to cheer them on, even though it starts really early and is held more than an hour away from your home. 

In actual fact, it has been a long time since you participated in any tournament. The atmosphere of hearing and seeing forty people shoot all at the time was something you were unable to find anywhere else. 

Once everything was settled, everyone was free to leave. Some already had a car and drove here, but they stayed in a different direction than you. Just as you were deciding how you were going to head back, your phone received a message. 

Gave you some money for an Uber back home :) 

It was Andrew. Before you could reply, he sent another message. 

I know you can well afford this, but you don’t have to save money every way you can. Plus, I want you to have a comfortable ride home. 

A smile plastered your face when you read his text. You didn’t think he remembered when you said you were trying to get a head start above everyone else in terms of earning money and getting a job because your parents were significantly older compared to your peer’s parents. As the only child, the burden of taking care of your parents falls on you. As much as they tried preparing for their retirement, the rising cost of living and inflation stresses you out. 

Thanks. How about we meet for lunch? I can pay it back to you then. My treat. 

Sure. I’ll hold you to it.

You picked up your bag, getting ready to leave and say goodbye to the group when Clint came forward to talk to you. You resisted rolling your eyes, not knowing what he was trying to talk to you about. 

“Look, I… you’re improving a lot, and I believe you will do well in the competition. I have never seen someone improve as quickly as you. Someone such as you in the novice section would do very well.” 

“Thank you. But I wouldn’t put too much faith in myself. There are others out there that do amazing as well.” 

“Have a good rest. I know training was tough, especially yesterday.” 

You nodded before giving him a small wave and pointing to the back, suggesting you were leaving this place and the conversation. 

===

A few days later

You brought your family out for lunch since their work gets quieter during the year-end. You brought them to a ramen place your future self found and thought it would be nice to introduce them to if they were still around. It also has a mall nearby to shop around if they like to do so. 

As long as the shop sells spicy ramen, you know what you’re going to order for your father. However, your taste buds and stomach were like children at times, more often choosing to share with your mother as you may not be able to finish the food yourself and not want to waste any. 

“Do you want the corn or pork option?” You asked your mother for her opinion. 

“I don’t mind; either is fine.” 

Such a tough decision. Ultimately, you decided on the ramen that includes corn since you were going to order gyoza as a side dish. 

As you were eating, your phone started receiving a lot of messages. You took a peek at what was happening from your lock screen and noticed it came from Camellia and Diana. They seemed really excited at what they were discussing, so you took a break from eating and checked your phone. 

C: Guys, guys, the results are out!!

D: Really?

C: Yeah, my friend checked hers

D: Ok, ok, I’m going to check.

OMG… I’m so nervous

C: Me too! I totally forgot what was on the test, though. 

You would love to check your results too, but you preferred using your laptop to check instead. And you would like to get your emotions in check before getting your results. This part of the test always freaks you out more than taking the actual test itself. You took a few deep breaths before putting your phone down and resumed eating again. It isn’t uncommon for you to feel irritated after looking at your phone, so your parents don’t think too much about it. 

You’ve always wanted to get those high-cut Converse, and you took this chance on Christmas sales to get one. You could have gotten it after you started working, but you felt it was too casual even though people wore them. You couldn’t lie, you were tempted though, but your morals stopped you. 

You tried different designs of shoes, so while waiting for the store assistant to get one in your size, you went out to tell your father he could wait somewhere else or in a pub, drinking his beer. He isn’t one to shop for a very long time. You got your mother’s opinion as you walked up and down, trying to get comfortable in the shoes. Ultimately, you decided on one and paid for it as your mother texted your father to meet at the car in order to head home. 

Once you get home, you quickly open your laptop and log into your school email account to check for your results. You felt your heart beating out of your chest, and your hands shook as you typed in your details. The more you felt you could do well, the more nervous you were especially since you have gone through one round of this

So, when you saw you only received a B grade for all of your subjects, your body slumped back down on your chair in a daze. You had a hard time registering how badly you did. How was this even possible? 

You really wanted to excel in this life and get rid of always being the average person in the class. But, even with this second chance, you’re stuck with that title; how was this fair? 

A B grade generally isn’t bad, but it is when that’s all you get. Were you only capable of getting a B?

You checked the email one more time before going to the official application and saw the same results. You resigned to fate and closed your laptop after that. 

After seeing the sad news, a nice day out with your family has ended badly. Thankfully your friends weren’t the type to ask to share results, so you flopped onto your bed and went to sleep. 

That was the first time in forever you let a tear slip because of your grade. 

===

“Hey Nat! Have you checked your results?” Clint asked when he realised today’s date. 

“No, is it today?” She pulled out her phone and checked her calendar. 

“Yeah! Hurry up and check it so I can gauge what I got!” He rushed her, giving her his phone with the login page ready for her. Maria, who was having lunch with them, also went to check her results using her phone more peacefully than her friends. 

“What’s the rush? Not like your results will change if I check now or later.” Despite saying that, Nat accepted his phone and checked her results to give her friend peace of mind. It took a while for the page to load, but she got there eventually. Happy with her result, she returned the phone to Clint without saying anything. 

“Holy shit! An A for everything!?” Clint exclaimed when he saw Nat’s results. Nat smirked at his response. She was confident that she was going to ace her exams. Law test was more practical in that sense; whatever she did in her career could be used in the exams. Unlike yours, you specialise more in the audit side, which was not tested.  The diners at the restaurant turned to look at them for a moment when he shouted. “What about you, Maria?” 

“Aced it too.”

“Right, right. So I should do well too, right?” Clint asked tentatively as he logged in with his details. Both women looked at each other sceptically, knowing he was not the brightest student in the class. 

“Well, I don’t know, Clint.” Maria sighed. “Who was the one who had to remind you a test was coming up?” 

“Nat?” 

“Who was the one who had to help you when you were doing your group project?” Maria continued asking. 

“Nat...” 

“Who was the one who had to give you their notes when you weren’t listening in class?” 

“Nat. Okay, okay… I get it. My grades aren’t going to be that good.” Clint grumbled as he waited for the page to load. Nat and Maria crossed their arms and stared at him as they waited. Sensing their stares, Clint turned his body away and shielded his phone from their prying eyes. “Alright, I got it. Not that good, but good enough.” He informed them as he pocketed his phone. 

“You’re not going to tell us what you get?” Maria asked. “How’s that fair? We both told you our results.”

“You told me willingly. I didn’t force it out of you.” Clint defended. 

“I got it.” Nat’s phone displayed Clint’s results, and Maria moved at the speed of lightning to grab it before Clint could even react. 

“How?!?” Clint looked at Nat, feeling betrayed. 

“Do you really want to know?” Nat raised her eyebrow. “I memorised your school ID since I always submitted the work. And your password is so easy to decipher. For the sake of god, find something else.” 

“Maria! That’s enough, give me my phone back.” She decided that it was enough of teasing Clint. “You didn’t do too badly. Just one B and one B+, and three As.”

“But it pales in comparison to the both of you.” 

“Why don’t we invite the others to the bar? Celebrate our results and drown in sorrow that the holiday is ending.” Maria suggested. 

“Alright, let me just text someone.” Maria nodded and went ahead with Clint to the bar they often visited with the group. 

Nat unlocked her phone and was about to press on your contact when she remembered you wanted nothing to do with her. She wanted to know how you were doing. On the surface, you always looked like you were okay with your results, shrugging your shoulders and waving it off, but she knew you cared a lot more and wanted a lot more. In the end, she closed her phone and went to the bar. 

Series masterlist

@queen-of-chaotic-surprises @esposadejoyhuerta @gemz5 @natsxwife

@dyslexic-dreamer @unexpected-character @eternalnight410

@leenasayeed @oh-thats-sad @skz-xii @gay-frogs-dancing-around

@justspance