#I just enjoy this brand of men I’ll take 20

[equestriagirl16]

Hit the MEANEST lil jig at 3AM-

[fartenthusiastwriter]

The Saga of Billy Boy Part 1 - The Meeting

I've had this story brewing in my head and decided to start writing it. It's a lot more than I thought it would be so there will be many, many parts. This one will only really feature farts, as it's doing a lot of setup. Hope you enjoy!

- - - - -

We first met at my job. I’m an accountant in a small town at a little branch of a large firm. The branch consisted of my boss, two associates. Though Brad Harrington, the other associate, was hardly ever at the office since he spent a lot of time on site with clients. I still appreciated the view the few days he was there; Brad was in his late 20s, and in great shape. He always filled out the arms off his button up shirts and ass of his slacks. Since he didn’t always know when he’d have to be at a client’s, Brad always dressed nice.

But it was usually just my boss and me. Anthony Romano, Tony for short, is the partner over our tiny branch. Tony is in his 40s and about 5’6, but he’s in pretty great shape himself. Tony focuses more on strength so he has a girthy build with an ass like a globe. I’d probably ogle at him more if it wasn’t for the fact he was an absolute asshole. Tony had the highest standards and I always had to work crazy hours to meet them. Tony had no problem communicating his disappointment either, and micromanaged constantly. If the money wasn’t great, I’d probably leave, but in a couple of years I’ll transfer to a larger branch and I won’t have to work for him anymore.

It was Tony that told me we were hiring an intern. Even he finally recognized I couldn’t complete all of the work that was needed. The plan was to hire a college senior and bring them on full time at the end of the year. With Tony having the hiring power, I figured it would be some douche-y jock that he hired. It’d be nice to have a girl or other gay guy around since working with two straight men hasn’t been the best, but that’s wishful thinking.

I was working on some tax returns when Tony knocked on the door to my office with the intern. The building is a bit bigger than was needed. The office had two wings, one with three small offices and one with two large offices. The three of us worked in the wing with the small offices since we all worked closely, and Brad hardly used his anyways. I saved my work and locked my computer. “Come on in!” I called out.

Tony opened the door and I got my first look at my new coworker. He was much older than expected, likely in his 40s. Tony hired even more on brand than I would’ve guessed was applying. The intern was much taller though, probably 6’5 but maybe even more. He had broad shoulders and everything was thick. His dark brown hair was long and wavy on his head but not quite long enough to touch his shoulders. He had a full beard to match that I would guess was about half an inch off his face. I was blown away as I realized just how hot this new intern was.

“Will! This is Frank Radford, our new intern!” Tony announced as he gestured to me to greet Frank.

“Hi Frank! I’m Will, one of the associates here.” I said as I grabbed Frank’s hand to shake it. He squeezed it hard with a firm shake. I hold in a gasp of relief, as I pull my hand away. I also couldn’t help but think that name sounded slightly familiar.

“Nice to meet you, Will.” Frank said in a deep voice with a smile. Frank had perfect teeth that shined in the light. “Now, I know what you’re thinking. This old man is an accounting senior in college? I get it. I used to be a high school football coach after playing in college, but the pay just wasn’t cutting it. I decided to go back to school here in town since my sister lives here and picked accounting since it’s the big bucks!” He gave a deep chuckle, which Tony quickly matched. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Tony may even be trying to appeal to Frank. That seems vastly out of character with the ego Tony has but Frank does have an undeniable aura to him that draws one in, seeking his approval.

“Everyone takes different paths, Frank.” Tony chimed in. “We’re just happy your path led you here and excited to have you on the team!” Tony gives Frank a strong pat on the back, causing an unexpected noise to give us all shocked faces. With the contact to the back, Frank let out a brief but loud fart. I blushed and looked away, trying not to give anything away. Tony quickly pulled his hand back and started stammering on his words. “Sorry about that Frank; it happens to all of us”

“It’s okay, Tony. You don’t have to pretend.” Frank said shyly, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Will deserves to know the truth; there’s not really any point in trying to hide it. I have a medical condition that gives me a ton of gas after meals. I can hardly do anything to hold it in, but it’s usually only a couple of hours. I thought I’d be in the clear since lunch was hours ago, but I guess it’s not quite done… I’m sorry for any discomfort it may bring.”

“Nonsense!” Tony said, trying to shift the mood. “Our firm doesn’t discriminate against anyone. No medical condition should keep you from doing work you’re fully capable of doing! We’ve set up a plan to accommodate this that I fully trust will allow for everyone to work at their best.”

I give a sigh of relief. Frank will likely work in the other wing, and I won’t have to be around him constantly farting. I can’t imagine how hard it would be for me to focus on work with gas filling the air. It’d be hard enough not wanting to stare at his sexy body; I couldn’t handle him blowing up the office on top of that.

“We will get Frank set up in the vacant wing,” Tony continued. “We considered moving Brad over there since he’s hardly ever here, but given Frank’s condition, he will need the extra space for more ventilation. That just leaves where you’ll work, Will.” I gulped, not having considered I might have had to move offices as well. “Since you’ll be training Frank and working closely with him post training, it only makes sense you be in that wing as well. The offices aren’t particularly close together, so you can work in Frank’s office with him for the first couple of months until his training is complete. The office has plenty of space for two people to work comfortably, so we’ve already set up the two workstations.”

The color drained from my face. My hopes were shortsighted and the results were even worse than I considered. I’d seen the offices, and while they are large enough to fit two desks, the area isn’t exactly spacious. I’ll constantly breathe in whatever fumes his ass makes each and every day. Though at this moment, my primary concern is concealing the boner that sprung up imagining my new work environment.

While others may hear this situation and retch at the thought, I drooled. I found nothing sexier than a manly brute ripping ass. And I couldn’t imagine a guy as perfect as Frank to do it. But my workload was constantly growing, no matter how much I got done. I couldn’t afford to be distracted by a boner all day. I quickly started to fear this new intern would hurt more than help.

I focus back into the conversation as Tony continues. “There’s not a lot of time left in the day, so feel free to move your stuff over to the new office and get to know each other until 5. I’ll see you boys in the morning!” And with that, Tony walked to his office, closing the door behind him and leaving me alone with the farting beast.

“Do you need any help getting your stuff together?” Frank asked, looking around my office.

“Thank you, but it’s okay. I don’t have a lot of stuff, so it shouldn’t take long. You should go ahead and start getting set up in the office and then we can work through getting your computer access set up.” Since we were such a small office, we had to run our own IT support, but we never really had any major issues.

“Okay, great! I’ll head that way.” Frank turned and started to leave my office. Out of the corner of my eye, it looked like he stopped for a moment but before I could turn to look, I heard a fart erupt from his ass and some chuckles from Tony in his office. Frank looked at me over his shoulder. “Oops, my bad!” Frank said with a wink. As he walked away, I realized this was the first time I got a look at his ass. It was round and perky. Frank didn’t really have hips but his ass jutted out from his back. I could lose my whole face between those cheeks. How was I ever gonna get any work done with that only a few feet from me? I was so enamored with his ass that I didn’t consider how bizarre it was that he winked after his fart.

- - - - -

Want to know what happens next? Check out part two here!

[annaphoenix1994]

Ch.129 - Lure Me

Previous Chapter - Masterlist 1; Masterlist 2 - Next Chapter

Simon discovers just how enticing pheromone perfume is...

Author's note: I'm so sorry it took so long to update! I've had this chapter nearly finished about two days ago, but work and life has been so crazy. My job is going well, but I work 6 days a week and only have Sundays off right now and I start my evening part time job this coming weekend. On top of that, my truck decided to give me some more trouble yesterday and now my rear axle is leaking brake fluid. I know how to fix it, but I have to wait until I get paid again to replace all of the seals because I refuse to take it to a mechanic and pay $500 for something I could've done myself when the parts I need are less than $20. Rant over! Enjoy this chapter heavily inspired by the TikTok trend where girls put pheromone perfume on to see how their men react. Kiera and Simon really needed a chapter together. :)

*

With a motivated gaze, Kiera entered the drug store in search of a pregnancy test. Although she wasn't sure she was pregnant again, after the fact they had been trying for the past couple of months, she wanted to be sure. Once she had located the tests, she grabbed two boxes of different brands before making her way to the register, seeing her best friend who had coincidentally decided to stop at the same store on her way home from work, except she was after the clearance decor instead of a pregnancy test. "Always buying decorations, I see." Kiera teased, watching Kristen turn around in surprise once she recognized Kiera's voice.

“I can’t help it! They’re on clearance!” Kristen giggled, taking the receipt from the cashier before standing back to let Kiera place her items on the belt. “Hmmm, whatcha got there?” She arched her brow.

“Don’t act dumb, I told you me and Simon were trying for another.”

“Mhm. I haven’t talked to you in a week – didn’t know if things had changed since then.”

“Well, I can fix that. Are you free tomorrow?”

“Now don’t you act dumb,” Kristen giggled. “I’m always off on the weekend and lucky for you, I have no plans.”

“How about you come over tomorrow? Simon is taking Baler hunting and I’ll be at the house with the kids. We’ll throw on some movies and make some food that we’re not supposed to have.”

“Sounds like a plan! Is your mom going to be around? I haven’t seen her since the funeral—”

“I’ll invite her, too. She’s been asking about you,” Kiera assured her, smiling warmly at the cashier while she retrieved her receipt and bag. “Thank you.”

“Have a good evening.”

“You too.”

“Oh, meet me at my car. I have something I wanted to give you!” Kristen chimed, the pair exiting the store before Kiera joined her by walking to her SUV, watching her best friend smile with glee before retrieving a small purple bag from the floorboard of the passenger seat. “Crown Royal?”

“No, you stupid bitch!” She teased. “Clearly, you’re still an alcoholic if you think every purple bag is a Crown Royal bag!”

“A sex toy?”

“No! Open it!”

Kiera breathed a laugh as she did as she was told, opening the bag to pull out a small box, opening the box itself to remove the vial of what looked like lip gloss. “Can you guess what it is now, smartie-pants?”

“Uh… Lip gloss?”

“It’s pheromone perfume.”

“Wha?”

“You know… It’s been going around online for the longest time. Girls get it and put a bit of it on so their men go nuts for them. I figured you’d like to try it and see if Simon notices it.”

“Oh, he notices everything,” Kiera giggled. “But thank you. I wonder if it legitimately works.”

“Only one way to find out,” Kristen winked. “Let me know how it works! It worked for me!”

“I definitely will.”

*

Once Kiera had arrived home, she removed the vial of perfume from her purse, inspecting the instructions before rolling a spot behind each of her ears and on the inside of her wrists, closing the container before putting it back into her purse before making her way inside the house.

As if her hormones couldn’t have spiked enough at the thought of Simon being drawn into her scent like a moth to the flame, the sight of him alone nearly drove her into a wall.

There he was, lounging on the couch with Jacob in his arms, the house warm as Simon preferred to lounge around the house shirtless while wearing black sweatpants, the hem of his boxer briefs peeking from behind the elastic of his waistband, his tattooed forearm highlighting the tight muscle tone of his arm, the muscles tight as they contracted while holding Jacob close, his shoulder broad, and his hair lazily swept back by his fingers. Fuck, if I’m not pregnant after I take this test, I better be by the week’s end, she sighed to herself, forcing herself to concentrate and pretend that she didn’t purposely put herself into his primal desire once he smelled the new scent on her. “Hey, babe.”

His head turned to look at her from over the top of the couch, grinning at the sight of her finally arriving home to him.

“Hey, love. Your mum said she’d be over around eight. She told me she was bringing over a casserole and a cheesecake.”

“I’ll make some sides, then,” She nodded, setting her purse on the kitchen island. “Where’s Baler?”

She heard Simon scoff before standing to his feet, gathering both twins by each of his arms before bringing them into the kitchen to see their mother, his senses for primal desire heightening once he agreed with himself that something was different about his wife. She’s still just as beautiful, she still looks the same, but a part of me wants to bite a chunk out of her – fuck she smells so good.

“He’s at the barn,” He huffed, forcing himself to fight the monstrous urge that was beginning to boil in his loins. “That boy of ours is going to be the death of us, love.”

“Why? What did he do?”

“Where should I start?” He huffed, securely sitting Jacob into the highchair while Kiera did the same, placing a kiss to Evie’s temple before securing her into the highchair, curling her index finger against the baby’s lip to collect the loose saliva that pooled there. “Caught him and the other wranglers playing some stupid game of chicken with a bloody bull—”

“Cowboy Poker?” Kiera scoffed, surprised. “Is he okay?!”

“His pride is more hurt than his body. Well, probably both,” Simon shrugged. “Busted lip and bruised ribs, but he’ll be alright. A little more chore as a punishment until late then getting up early in the morning to go hunting. It’ll do him some good.”

“What else did he do?”

“Caught him drinking whiskey. Should’ve made him drink a half of another bottle to make him sick so he won’t do it again because if I just punish him for it, he’ll keep doing it.”

“As much as I agree, he’s also a teenager, but he has some brains in that head of his and I think he’s smart enough to know right from wrong.”

“I hope you’re right, love,” He breathed, his gaze watching her as she proceeded to do minor chores around the kitchen, unaware that her husband was watching her every move like a hawk, her intense scent nearly driving him mad. “Something is… different about you.”

“Just another day,” She giggled. “What do you think is different?”

“I can’t put my finger on it. Don’t take me wrong, but you… You smell so bloody good.” He huffed, stepping closer to her, the minor scent driving him further and further over the edge, her playful body language being no less than a tease at this point.

“I take it you like my new perfume,” She hummed. “I’ve had it since before we met. I just never wore it until now.”

“I can assure you, love – if you would’ve worn that the day we met, I would’ve gotten myself killed in the line of fire or have had you bent over my cot in the barracks far before I ever came home with you.” He breathed, his nose now pressed to the thin skin behind her ear, inhaling the divine scent that increased his heartrate.

“Is that so? I would’ve liked that…”

His arms were on either side of her, his palms pressed firmly against the edge of the counter, his veins protruding and an erection threatening to push against his sweatpants. “Are you putting a spell on me, love?”

“Maybe…” She hummed, giving him further access to her neck, chills erecting along her spine when she felt his warm lips press into the hot skin beneath them.

“Who am I kidding – you’ve had a spell on me since day one, but this, whatever this is that’s drawing me to you more than I have before – fuck, I don’t even know what I’m talking about right now.”

“What’s going through that mind of yours, babe?” She breathed.

“Do you want to know the descriptive version or the simplified reason?” He replied lowly.

“I think I want to hear what’s really going through my husband’s mind…”

“Right now, I really want to put the kids to bed and bend you over this counter…”

“Well, you can’t do that, babe.”

“What’s stopping me?”

“I guess I have to remind you now that you said my own mother is bringing a casserole over…”

“That’s what rooms are for, love,” He whispered, smirking against her skin while his erection subtly pressed against her rear.

Although Simon was nearly driven wild by her scent alone, he hadn’t known about the effect he was having on her, too. His shirtless torso, his tattoos, the way his own smell lingered in her senses, soon finding herself pressing her thighs together. “I’m going to put the kids in the nursery.” He spoke softly in her ear, leaving a sloppy kiss behind on her neck before leaving her flustered against the counter.

“I-I’ll help you,” She nearly panted, picking up Evie while Simon grasped Jacob, taking the drowsy infants to their cribs to nurse on a pacifier. Although the twins had their “moments” of consistent energy, they always seemed to settle down between the hours of seven and nine, which worked out perfect for Kiera and Simon as they both loved to have structure as well as a routine.

After they spent a few moments settling the twins into their crib for the night, Kiera softly whispered a “Goodnight, babies, mommy loves you,” before dimming the lamp on the nightstand that separated their cribs, meeting Simon at the doorway, nearly flustered at how he leant against the frame, his arm extended above his head to support his weight, nearly towering over her as she approached… nervously?

“Why so nervous, love?” He smirked.

“You’re just so… tall.” She breathed.

“Took you nearly four years to come up with that solution?” He teased, arching his brow, letting his hands fall to rest on her hips, gently pulling her into him, the pair oblivious to how their heartrates soon matched the other.

“Keep your hands on me, Simon.”

“I can do that.” He replied softly, leaning his head down to claim her lips with his while he selfishly grabbed at her ass, giving it a firm slap before he effortlessly lifted her onto him, pleased at how her legs wrapped around her waist, groaning into her mouth when he felt her tug on the roots of his hair. “Fuck.” He groaned.

“Take me to our bed,” She whispered, her tone nearly dominant, which Simon loved.

“Feeling cheeky are you?”

“Just a little bit…” She hummed, feeling Simon’s grip on her loosen once he had gotten them close to the bed, smirking when he felt Kiera’s palms press firmly against his chest, taken aback by how she seemed to effortlessly push him onto the bed, straddling his hips once he was completely under her, his hands resting on the top of her thighs. “Do you know what it does to me when I come home and you’re walking around shirtless?”

“I won’t do it anymore.” He teased.

“I didn’t say that, Simon, shut up.”

“Mm, say that again, love.”

“Have a kink for a dominant woman?”

“Fuck yes I do,” He winced, chills decorating his chest and arms when her palm rested on the base of his neck, right against his collar bone. “I’ll be on my bloody knees for you, love.”

“It’s me who’s going to be on my knees,” She breathed, leaning forward to press a kiss to the area beneath his jaw, rolling her hips against his erection, pleased to hear a whine leave his throat. “Watch me, Simon.”

He nodded, his brown eyes piercing into her hazel irises as he watched her sit up on his waist, crossing her arms across her torso as she slowly lifted the thin fabric of her blouse, revealing the maroon lace that drove Simon crazy at the sight. Of course, he had seen her in lace before, but maroon? His erection was almost painful at the sight. Fuck, I’m going to rip that off of you!

“No touching… yet,” She giggled, playfully slapping his hands away, watching him smirk at her authoritative tone. “Hands above your head, baby.”

“Yes, ma’am,” He smirked, enjoying the feeling of her hands forcing his above his head. “What if these so happen to leave their designated post?”

“Then I guess you can go the rest of the night guessing what I was going to do,” She arched her brow. “Keep those hands where they are.”

He breathed heavily, closing his eyes briefly to enjoy her touch, his former insecurities and fears no longer a part of his vocabulary every time her fingers grazed over his ribcage, touching him to her own pleasure instead of his. When he felt her breath hovering over his dripping shaft, he whined when he finally felt her lips envelope his sensitive tip. He wanted to touch her – so bad – but a part of him wanted to continue hearing her assert her dominance with him, but another part of him didn’t want to feel the absence of her hot mouth around him just to punish him for disobeying her. Just bloody wait until I get my hands on you, love, he huffed to himself.

Her head bobbed slowly as she took him with comfort, not once did she gag like before, the only sounds filling the room was his whimpering and the wet sounds of her saliva mixing with his excitement. “Fuck,” He hissed, breaking her rule by bringing his hands down to tangle in her hair, nearly biting his own lip when she abruptly separated her mouth from his shaft to force his hands back up over his head, Simon grinning in satisfaction at her actions. “Cheeky.”

“What did I tell you?” She whispered.

“I heard what you told me, but I don’t play by the rules, love,” He groaned, his eyes fluttering when he felt her core sliding against his shaft, teasing him while her hands stayed pressed against his wrists to keep them in place, the pair groaning in unison when they connected intimately. “Fuck, you just fucking wait until I get a hold of you, darling.”

“I love when you threaten me with a good time,” She panted, rolling her hips against him, taking him deeper and deeper with every move of her hips, the lace from her lingerie subtly rubbing against him. “Big, strong man like you under me… Now that is something to get off on.” She teased.

“You can use me any time your little heart desires, love,” He breathed into her mouth when she had finally rewarded him with a kiss, his arms snaking around her waist once she had granted him permission to touch her, his hand grasping the lace thong that still dressed her hips and forcing it to the side, giving him better access to thrust his hips upward into her. “How special was this little number on you?”

“I can always buy another one if that’s what you’re asking.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” He smirked, leaning up to toss her onto her back, sitting back on his knees while his grasp on her lace underwear was effortlessly ripped free of her skin by his stone grip. “Have to get this shite out of my way.”

“And to think I thought you loved this on me.” She giggled, her mouth agape when he entered her again, legs wrapping around his waist while his hand cupped her jaw, forcing her mouth to be in symmetry with his.

“Oh, I do love it, but I love it even more when I get to rip it off,” He hissed, his grip tightening slightly beneath her jaw. “This spell you’ve put on me… Fuck.”

“Worked hard on it.” She giggled.

He wanted to reply, but the way she gripped him was too good to risk a sentence over. The way her nails dug into the thick muscle of his back, how her calves tightened around his thighs, the way her hips were at the perfect angle for him to feel every ridge of her core, how her lips placed such loving and encouraging kisses to his throat and under his jaw. “Choke me, Simon.”

“Tell me if I hurt you, love.”

She nodded, gasping when the warmth of his hand cupped her entire throat, squeezing either side softly before adding more pressure, the blood rushing to her head before the sensation of his thrusts became intense with pleasure, her heartrate increasing with excitement, unable to help but think about how many tracheas he had crushed with the same hand, yet it was gentle with his wife and children.

And that thought alone sent an adrenaline rush to her very core, the intense wave of an immediate orgasm pulling him into a pure wave of ecstasy that couldn’t be stopped. His hips were angled perfectly against her, thrusting relentlessly into her as if his life depended on it, the headboard banging against the wall while his hands cupped the crown of her head as she gasped through her orgasm, his soon to follow when he felt her walls spasming around him as her legs tightened around him, inviting him to mark her as his.

Just like every time.

Once he had come down from his high, his hot breath fanned against her neck, replacing the subtle red mark from his grip on her neck with apologetic kisses, feeling the burning from her scratches on his back forming welts. “Fuck—” He breathed, pressing his nose against the skin behind her ear, still smelling the scent of the perfume that had lured him further into her spell of hormones onto him, wanting to fuck her through the mattress every time he smelled it.

And he’d willingly accept that fate.

Their skin was layered with a thin sheen of sweat, panting against each other to catch their breath while Simon continued to press soft and heavy kisses to her collarbone and base of her neck, his heart thumping with excitement once more when that familiar smell made its way into his senses, shocked to feel that he was still hard after having just climaxed. “I don’t know what you’re doing to me, love.”

“Is that a problem?” She giggled, feeling the tip of his nose resting against the skin below her jaw.

“The only problem is that I’ve already came and still hard.” He breathed a chuckle.

“You know how you should fix that?”

“Hm?”

“Fuck me again.” 

[extremelyblackandwhite]

dress

pairing: sheriff lee bodecker x younger! reader

warnings: cheating, smut, age gap, angst, blackmailing 

a/n: the reader is at least 10 years younger than lee. if that upsets you, please don’t read this work. additionally, i based reader’s 60′s style mostly out of  that oufit margot robbie wore for once upon a time in hollywood and megan from mad men, you can see my inspiration outfits here [x] [x] hope you enjoy it xx

Inescapable, I'm not even gonna try and if I get burned, at least we were electrified. I'm spilling wine in the bathtub, you kiss my face and we're both drunk. Everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about all of this silence and patience, pining in anticipation, my hands are shaking from holding back from you ...

The rain fell harshly and unkindly on the pavement for the fifth day in a row, the sun having forsaken the forgotten hellish town that was Knockemstiff, Ohio. Few could say the name and ever fewer dared to enter the town. Even God’s afraid of it, his mother would tell him after nursing what felt like another one of her endless bottles of liquor. It was a haunted town, not a lot left and those who did never crossed paths with it again. Murder and crime were all time highs but not even the government dared to come in and try to to anything which meant any police force in the town were like gods, deciding who lived and who didn’t. One of those god-like men was Lee Bodecker, however he preferred you called him Sheriff Lee Bodecker.  He was a chubby man in his early thirties, tall but the beer belly made him hunch making him look shorter than he was. He had once been the envy of the town, one of the most handsome men of the town but years of living in Knockemstiff wear down everyone. His own poison had been alcohol which had ended up with him in therapy with his wife and with a therapist who had told him to curb the craving of alcohol with sweets instead. It had little to nothing as he still drank like his life depended on it and tonight was no different from other nights. He took off his hat as he entered the local bar in town, the only bar in town, and everyone looked his way, silence installing the ever noisy bar. He liked it, Lee liked it. He knew he was not the handsome one, in fact his look made him quite funny so he made himself scary. Lee made sure that everyone who looked his way, heard his voice or saw his shadow was afraid of him. It definitely worked as once he sat on the bar stool, there was already a glass with 5 fingers of his favourite drink. 

Everything was silence except for the mumbling of men discussing their days until suddenly the mumbling was no longer about the hell that was living in Knockemstiff. He turned around in his chair and understood why the men were suddenly so interested. There she was, dressed in a high neck black shirt which stood over a white skirt. Matching go go boots left her legs bare, something women in Knockemstiff did not do, still stuck in decades of last. She wasn’t from around and everyone knew it merely by the way she dressed but Sheriff Bodecker knew different. Men watched like dogs as she made her way to the bar, to his side. 

     - Y/N. - he greeted her. - What are you doing here? Trying to disrupt the town?

     - My grandmother died.

     - I heard. My condolences.

     - She left me all of what was hers including the house so I’m here to sell it. 

     - The one in Brewer Heights? - she nodded. - Tis a nice house, but I don’t think anyone here would have enough to buy it.

     - I’ll decide that. - she held the glass the bartender in between her hands, her eyes roaming over to his hands were his wedding ring had started to become tight around his finger. - Still with Jane?

     - Why wouldn’t I be? - he cocked an eyebrow at her. - What are you doing here, Y/N?

    - I told you, I’m here to sell ...

    - No. - he interrupted. - Why are you here, at the bar? What do you want?

    - Nothing ...  I see you’re not in the mood to help me anyways. - she got up from the stool she had sat on, straightening her skirt as her feet hit the floor. - Good evening, Sheriff Bodecker. 

He was sat, watching her leave but also giving an aura to the men who too watched the modern girl exit the building not to get any ideas. Lee knew these men, they were like dogs and once a suitable amount of time passed, he took to returning to his cruiser and follow her. How could he trust this town with her, an outsider? Y/N had been brought up in Knockemstiff, the daughter of store owners who had both been killed in an assault gone wrong. After that, she was ushered to live with her grandmother, the last of socialites in Knockemstiff. Rumours said her grandmother had moved from New York to wed with a penniless man already expecting once she wore her wedding gown. Rumours or not, she still held much more money than anyone in the town together and she wasted not a cent in her granddaughter’s education, moving to a more upscale house in Brewer Heights once she got her under her care. She was always the one with everything and Lee remembered seeing her while still an officer driving around a brand new glossy red car, hair loose through the wind. In all honesty, he thought her never too leave town but as she reached her tender 21st year of life, she left leaving everything behind. 

He parked outside her grandmother’s home, stopping just a bit away from it looking at the house that was so eerily sketched in his mind. He leaned against his seat watching Brewer Heights, the place he so wanted to have lived in his youth. Of course he now owned a place there too but it was faint, fickle. If he were to not be sheriff anymore all would shatter. He would do everything he could to keep his position. He deserved it, he deserved it more than any damned soul on this planet. A knock on the glass removed him from his mind state as he looked the way of his window to see her. 

     - Can I come in? - she asked, eyes lingering on the passenger seat. He stretched over to the side, opening the door for her but not exiting the car. She entered, closing the door as she sat on the seat. - I’ve always hated when you were mad at me. 

     - I’m not mad.

     - You have no reason to be. I know what you’re mad about and it’s your own fault, you know that.

     - Is it my fault you left? - his hands tightened against the wheel of his cruiser, anger coursing through his veins. Lee never liked to hear the truth.

    - She knew, Lee and she was right ... If anyone knew, if the town knew I would’ve been ruined and I didn’t deserve that. You must understand I didn’t deserve that. 

    - I didn’t deserve you leaving without saying a fucking thing now did I, darl’?

    - You were married. - she almost spat the words in his face. - You are married, Lee. Now you can be mad at me all you want, you can hate me for all I give a damn but I was not gonna destroy myself for your happiness, and I will certainly not allow you to destroy yourself for lust. 

    - Y/N ...

    - I don’t need your help anymore and I would enjoy it if you parked your cruiser away from my house. I wouldn’t want any rumours about your infidelities to resurface. - she exited the car and climbed the small incline of grass up to her home. Lee still remembered seeing her in a little white dresses her grandmother would buy for her, climbing that incline while holding the fabric so it wouldn’t fly up. She seemed to have gotten the hang of it.

Lee had met Y/N when she volunteered at the station back when he was still a patrol officer. She did the duties of every single secretary plus cleaning which was what she had volunteered for. It’ll be good for my university application, she told him when Lee asked what she was doing there. She started at 17 and remained there until she was 18 and ready to leave and become something other than a Knockemstiff resident. However, her mother having sudden heart attack ruined her plans and she decided to stay to take care of her. Lee didn’t see her for two whole years until she was 20 years old and he spotted her at the supermarket getting an earful from Mr. Collins about dropping a bottle of olive oil while trying to reach something from the higher shelf. Lee didn’t like it, he didn’t like Mr. Collins berating her for a simple mistake so he stepped in. He remembered her thanking him before reintroducing herself to him. 

He wasn’t one to be swayed by women, he’d married his Jane when he was fresh out of high school and while his relationship was more than stale, he had his mind on work and alcohol. Sure he could’ve divorced, found someone else but he wasn’t the teenager he used to be anymore, he was hardly someone who women would be attracted to besides a single man for a Sheriff? That surely wasn’t gonna happen. Yet, he couldn’t help but be entranced by her, fresh into adulthood with a mind full of ideas about what she wanted to do. He didn’t mean it, he didn’t mean to start a relationship with her, to start an affair yet he couldn’t say he regret it. He didn’t regret the nights where she’d meet him in the woods, covered by a black trench coat. He could still feel his, his hands against her back, feeling the fabric of her undergarments as the windows fogged. 

Y/N was upset. Her friends had told her she better not expect the man who she had left without any notice to help her but she was upset. What choice did she have? After her grandmother heard about it, it would’ve taken no time for everyone in town to hear about it and she would’ve been a disgrace and Lee would’ve certain not become Sheriff. Nevertheless she was upset. Instead, she asked an old friend from school, Billy. It was no surprise he was here, nobody left, nobody ever left. She had left but yet here she was once again, 4 years later wondering about an affair which shouldn’t have happened. Her grandmother had berated her for ages “you don’t sleep with a married man” and of course she knew she shouldn’t yet she had. She didn’t know better. 

She had boxes and boxes packed with whatever it was left of the house, photo books, clothing, bedding, all of it packed. Once she got to New York she could sort through it but right now all she wanted to was leave. Her friends even offered to come over and do it for her but the damned lawyer said it had to be her. In the morning she waited for Billy in the steps of her home, dressed in one of her old 50′s fashioned white dress, a far cry from the mini skirts she used at home and off he came in the exact same car he had when they were both teens. 

   - Y/N, look at you. - he walked off the car. - You look gorgeous, darl’. 

   - Thank you, Billy. - she scratched the back of her head. - Uhm it’s only 5 big boxes. I’ll pay for the gas if you help me take them to post office. 

   - You’re not keeping the house?

   - And live in Knockemstiff? - she rolled her eyes, climbing up the stairs to grab the boxes from the front of the door. The boy helped her pack the car before the two hopped onto the car. - So, how’s the town been?

   - Nothing changes. Mr. Collins died, no one was upset about it and that Bodecker guy became Sheriff. - he light up a cigarette as he turned on the engine. - It’s still as boring as its been and people mostly gossip around the same old gossip.

   - What’s new in gossip?

   - Eleanor still says you and Bodecker were fucking. - he chuckled. - As if ... I mean, look at you, you were prom queen and he’s a fat bastard. 

    - You should watch your mouth, Billy. He’s the sheriff. 

    - Because he bought it. - he shrugged. - Dad says he’s pretty much doing everyone’s dirty work. I mean his sister and her husband disappeared and were found dead. 

    -  I don’t really care for that type of gossip. - she leaned against the seat, watching the trees pass by. It wasn’t that she and Billy were good friends but she needed help and she’d rather die than go beg Lee to help her out. She had tried and it’d failed. Besides what was the worse that could happen?

The worse that could happen became very clear as instead of driving into town he took a left into the woods. She rose her head from the seat as all the ways one could reach town rushed through her mind. This definitely wasn’t one of them, it was hard to even get to the town through the woods. She knew that because, well ... it was where she would meet Lee to ensure no one from town found them. The car came to a stop and Billy got off the car. Maybe he just needed to pee or to get some air. She waited til he was on his back to open the car door and start running but he rushed after her, grabbing her arm and throwing her to the ground before standing over her, hands holding her wrists above her head.

   - Billy, what are you doing? - stay calm, that was what they always taught her, stay calm. 

   - Come on, Y/N. They always wanted us to be together in high school, remember? 

   - I don’t know what you’re talking about. Billy, calm down. 

   - You fucking calm down. I know you want me too, Y/N. You called me, you need my help, darl’. I can make you feel so damn good ... - his mouth lowered down and she started to trash around, trying to get rid of him. 

   - Stop, please stop. - she looked up at the sky, the morning sun barely up as she recalled why you don’t come back to Knockemstiff. You don’t get back because you get stuck. As she convinced herself there was nothing the do, a short was heard through the air. 

  - What the heck are you doing William? - she recognised the voice. She had never been more grateful for that voice. Billy jumped over to his feet.

   - Sheriff ... me and Y/N were just having a bit of fun ... You know, you understand, right?

   - Y/N ... - he looked her way. - What were you doing?

   - It was against my will, Sheriff. - she climbed onto her feet, leaning against a tree at a healthy distance from him.

  - Get the fuck out of here. - the young boy in his mid 20′s rushed out like a child afraid of the dark, forgetting his car and everything he had left behind. Y/N watched him running, tripping onto his legs as Lee fired a warning shot in the air. If this was NY, there would be someone here already but this was Knockemstiff and gun shots were as usual as rain during winter.

He smirked, happy to have once again imposed the authority he so much treasured. Lee never liked Billy, he never liked when he’d drive Y/N home from school even when she was volunteering at the police station. That boy was no good news and always looked at her like she was a piece of meat. Lee still remembered the old Sheriff telling her that boy was no good and looking at her now, dressed in one of her white dresses stained in dirty and green grass stains, he guessed he was right. 

  - Billy, Y/N? Don’t you have other friends?

  - Billy’s the only one with a car. - Y/N mumbled as she grabbed his keys from the floor to take her stuff off his car before he could return. - Thank you but I had it under control.

  - ‘Course you did. - he put his hands on his waist. - Come on, I’ll drive you to wherever you want to go.

  - I don’t want any favours from you, Sheriff Bodecker. - she held her boxes against her chest. Well, if she started now maybe she could be at the post office with all the boxes at nighttime. - That’ll be all.

  - Y/N, come on. I’m a public server so let me help you.

  - I don’t want your help. - she almost barked at him, taking another box from Billy’s car. Maybe she could drive the car, yet again she knew the captain particularly liked Billy and could fine her if 

  - Fine, can you tell me what you’re doing at least?

  - I’m shipping these boxes to New York. I don’t have time to completely go through them so ...

  - Put them in the cruiser. I’ll take them to the post office and take you home. 

  - I don’t want any favours.

  - It’s not for you, it’s for your grandmother. Now get into the car, please. - he opened the door to her.

Y/N huffed. The last thing she needed was a favour from Lee Bodecker yet in all honesty she had no other choice. She packed her boxes into the truck of his cruiser and sat on the passenger seat, arms crossed as he sat in the driver’s seat. Her mind played tricks on her, reminding her of what they used to do in that driver’s seat of his back when she was younger and full of ideas for the future. She shouldn’t have done it and she knew it, Jane Bodecker wasn’t the best woman but she didn’t deserve having her husband sneaking around with a 20 year old despite her herself having had her fair share of affairs. Not that Lee knew and she wasn’t gonna be the one to tell him about the time she was working late in the station and saw his wife getting busy with a new patrol. She didn’t have that right, after all he was doing the same to her. She shouldn’t have done it, nevertheless. Her grandmother died ashamed of her and now she had to deal with it. 

   - Billy said Sandy died. Is it true? 

   - Yeah, last year.

   - Oh ... I’m sorry, I didn’t know. 

   - She had it coming. That weird husband of hers ended up driving her off the edge. That Arvin kid shot them yet I can’t say they hadn’t it coming ... She was still my baby sister. 

   - I’m sorry, Lee. I’m so sorry ...  - she looked down at her skirt. 

   - Almost got me too ... stupid kid. - he shrugged. - Good thing I was fat enough to stop the bullet, I guess.

   - Well, I’m sorry about Sandy. - she said as she saw her house become clearer through the window. He stopped in front of her home, unlocking the doors so she could walk out. 

Y/N walked out before she could do something stupid. Whatever she did, whatever he had, whenever they were together she always ended up doing something stupid. She sat in the empty house of her childhood, only now containing furniture. She could remember it so well from her years as a child running up and down the stairs, not knowing what awaited her outside the world. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to owe anything to Lee. She knew who he had to answer softly too, she knew those men Billy spoke about. They always ran for Sheriff ever since she was a kid. 

She looked at the clock on the wall, 3PM. She knew exactly where those men would be at that time and so she changed and took her way downtown. Everyone turned their head as she walked into the badly light, old bar in tones of musky green which greatly contrasted with her baby blue short dress. The town had gotten stuck in the 40′s and 50′s, women barely showing their legs or any skin and there she was, a woman born and raised in Knockemstiff dressed like a movie star. The table of three men clearly noticed, the under-sheriff, the division chief and the captain. She stood in front of the round table, taking her sunglasses and setting them on top of her head, a nice, covergirl smile on her pink painted lips. You can get the girl out of Knockemstiff but you can’t get Knockemstiff out of the girl.

    - Hello boys. You mind if I seat with you? - she put her hand on one of the chairs. 

    - Hey, you’re Elizabeth’s granddaughter aren’t you? - Frank, the under-sheriff asked, pulling the chair for her. - I thought you were in New York.

    - I was but I just came here because of my grandma’s inheritance, but I have something to discuss. 

Another night, another day of useless parading around for Lee. He’d pass by the post office and shipped Y/N’s boxes and that had been the highlight of his day. As per usual, he made his way to the bar only to found the environment was slightly different. He knew this town like the back of his hand, anything off always rang alarm bells. As the bartender placed his usual poison in front of him, he decided to get to the bottom of the situation. 

   - Why’s everything so quiet?

   - I don’t know, Sheriff. - the man replied while cleaning glasses. - Elizabeth’s girl was here and I don’t know what she did but Frank, Jonah and Fitzwilliam left as if she were the devil.

Fucking hell. He drowned the last of his drink before grabbing his hat and entering his cruise. Damned Y/N, she used to be such a nice girl before leaving to New York. God, the only complaint he ever got about her was when the mayor complained about her wanting to run a march. He drove to her home like a mad man. What was she doing messing around with those three? He’d seen them do worse things for much less. Lee climbed the grass patch up to her door, knocking on it as if his life depended on it. 

   - Y/N, open up. Right now. - he thumped the door again. - I’ll break in if you don’t answer it!

   - Jesus. - the door opened up to Y/N dressed in what he was almost entirely sure was the shortest dress he had ever seen a woman wear. She stood against the door, hand on the wood while the other on her waist as he entered her home. 

   - Took you long enough. - he stepped into the home which he had never dared to step in.

   - I was upstairs. - she closed the door, locking it behind her for good safety. No one can be trusted in this godforsaken town. - What do you want?

Lee walked further into the house ignoring her question as he shut all the windows of the ground floor, anything that could allow anyone to look inside the house. Last thing he needed was for anyone to see inside the home and start any rumours. Stupid bastards. Y/N followed him around asking the same damn question anytime he shut any window and pulled any drapes down. 

   - Stop touching my stuff. - she put herself in front of him. - What do you want, Lee?

   - What do I want? - he sat against the couch, sighing. - What the fuck did you do, Y/N? Why were you at the bar?

   - I didn’t do anything. - she batted her eyes innocently. 

   - Y/N, I have another election coming up soon. I’ll ask again, what did you do at the bar?

   - It’s none of your business. 

   - Y/N, I’ve seen those men kill for less so you tell me now what you did. 

   - Stop ordering me around. - she rolled her eyes at him. - I don’t like owing anyone so now we’re even.

   - We’re even? - he pitched the skin of his nose. - What the fuck, Y/N? 

   - You wanna know what I said? Would that make you feel better? Would that make you feel like you rule this damn town, Lee? - she looked down on him, almost teasing him. Had it been a few years ago she would’ve been under him already. - I helped you out.

   - Y/N ...

   - It’s not just you who was sleeping around with a younger girl. They were sleeping around with friends of mine. The only difference is I have evidence of it ... - she grabbed her purse from the hanger, taking a beige envelope from it and throwing it his way. Lee looked up to her and then to the envelope opening it to see various pictures of girls he knew in compromising positions with his opponents, letters, everything. - They don’t have anything on you because unlike my friends, I don’t keep souvenirs from my affairs. 

  - You blackmailed them? Are you stupid, Y/N? They are going to kill you.

  - Please. - she rolled her eyes at him. - My grandmother owned half this town, if I die everything goes to charity and this town falls apart. Besides, it’s not like I’m planning to stick around for longer. 

  - So what now? You had fun playing femme fatale? You’re bored, is that it?

  - I just won you an election without any competition, Lee. You could be nicer about it. 

  - I don’t need your help. 

  - I don’t need your help either. I was just repaying a favour. - she leaned against the wall. - You can go now. 

   - Did you need to wear that? - he pointed at the dress. - Couldn’t have struck blackmail dressed appropriately?

   - Do you not like my dress? - she looked down, hands grabbing the baby blue fabric as she expanded the flowey skirt. - You know, I bought it for you. I was planning on using it for birthday a few years ago but you know ... had to leave earlier.

   - You bought that dress for me? - he rose from the couch, walking up to her until he had her caged against the wall.

   - I bought it so you could take it off, actually. - Lee must’ve been hallucinating because he swore she was pouting.

She looked up at him with that look she used to give him after a long day at work when he needed something to unwind. Both of them had promised each other not to do anything else when she left, Y/N had told herself no more coming bak and Lee had decided to spend his life content what whatever shred of marriage he had. Yet, she was there in what looked more like lingerie than a dress and he was in uniform, both of them were never good at making good decisions, and this was Knockemstiff. Lee took the first move, leaning down to kiss her like his body dependent on it which in some way he did. She held onto his shoulder, flushing her body against his as his hands started trying to pull the dress away from her body. Baby blue fabric flowed to the ground as he picked her up, throwing her against the couch he had just been sat on. He stopped kissing her to look at her, to look at the body he still dreamed at night or whenever he shut his eyes. She could’ve been gone for 4 years but she sure never left his wildest fantasies. 

  - Lee, wait. - her hands stopped him from returning to kiss her. - Let me treat you, please.

  - Oh sugar, you don’t need to ask. - she got up, walking slowly past him, her matching baby blue undergarments much more racy than what she used to wear back in Knockemstiff. She pushed him against the couch, smirking as she went down on her knees. - What are you doing down there, sugar? It’s more than you can handle. 

  - Don’t worry, Sheriff. I’m a big girl. - her hands unbuckled the belt off his trousers, throwing it to the floor followed by his trousers. She peppered kisses over his thighs down to his knees and then to the edge of his underwear. Slowly, she peeled them away, making eye contact with him. The silent girl he had known before was definitely long gone and he didn’t know how to feel about it. Before he could make up his mind, she took him entirely inside inside her mouth. - Fuck, you look fucking flawless with my big cock in your mouth, sugar.

She smiled at his praise, moving her head up and down still at a painfully slow pace, his balls in her hands. Lee pushed his head back, groaning at her motions and thinking it could no get better until she started to move her head faster, his tip reaching the back of her throat, but it didn’t seem to bother her. Instead she moaned against him, the vibrations making him feel like he was on cloud 9. Fuck being sheriff, nothing made him quite higher than having the one who got away with his cock down her throat. He started twitching against her mouth, his hand grabbed a handful of her hair, pushing her against his pelvis and starting to control her moves. She kept moaning against him, bringing him over the edge until he just couldn’t hold himself anymore. His grip loosened on her head as his muscles gave up on him.

Y/N got up from her kneeling position, thumb pushing whatever cum had spilled over into her mouth. That image alone made him harden up again like some horny teenage boy. She smiled at him, hands on his shoulders as she sat on his lap. 

   - What do you want me to do, Sheriff? - she batted her eyes at him, leaning down to kiss his ear lobe lowering down to his neck. 

  - You wanna ride my cock, sugar? - he hooked his hand on her nape, pushing her so she was looking at him. - You wanna make up to me for leaving me all alone?

  - Yes, Sheriff. - she lined up and slowly sunk down on him, both of them moaning. 

   - Come on, sugar. Show me what you can do. - she started riding him as if the devil had possessed her. He pushed her lips against his, a sloppy messy kiss which definitely was more lust than anything else as she moved up and down against him.  - Yeah, you like that don’t you, sugar? Tell me you like it, sugar. 

  - It feels so good, Lee. - she leaned against him, her hips still moving as he pulled her bra down, pinching her nipple. - Fuck.

  - You’re never gonna leave me again. - he started thrusting up, moving her from under him so she was laid across the couch. - Promis ... fuck ... promise me, sugar. Promise, you’re not gonna leave.

  - Lee ... - she moaned against the couch’s pillow as he speed up his pace, hands holding her hips and moving them against and away from him. 

  - You’re not gonna leave. - he groaned, feeling the way her walls milked him with such need. - You’re not gonna leave me, sugar. You’re not, right? You’re gonna stay.

   - Lee ... - she cried out before her mouth opened up in a perfect O, her orgasm washing over her. He didn’t take too long to cum, groaning like a wild animal as strings of white painted her walls. He slipped out of her, holding her before turning so she was standing on top of him. - Lee, I can’t stay. You know that, right? 

   - Why not? Things were good when you were around. 

   - I left for a reason, Lee. - she got up from him, grabbing her dress and quickly slipping it on. - And that reason still stands. 

   - Y/N, please listen ...

   - When I was 20 and we started this, I truly believed you were going to divorce your wife. You were going to divorce her and you were gonna marry me and ... and my grandma would’ve been upset but she would’ve learned to deal with it and then she would’ve taken me to the altar. I waited a year to see if I would ever become something other than a mistress and then the elections came around and I understood you were not gonna divorce Jane. You were going to be Sheriff and you’re still going to be Sheriff and maybe sometime Mayor. I’m not gonna be your mistress anymore, Lee.

  - Y/N ...

  - Please, leave. - she wiped whatever tears were threatening to fall off. Lee furrowed his brow, putting on his trousers before trying to approach her but she stopped him, arm raised firmly keeping distance. - Please, leave.

  - Y/N, c’mon. Let’s talk.

  - LEAVE! - she rose her tone at him. Lee wasn’t going to argue with her, it wasn’t his place to argue with her at her own house and so he left. Y/N stayed in the middle of her leaving room, arms crossed until she broke down crying.

She could almost hear her grandmother’s words “there’s no use crying about it” when she told her Lee was running for Sheriff. Funny how even after being dead, the old nag still was as right as she was four years ago. She wiped her tears with her hand and climbed the stairs up to her bedroom, sitting on the bare bed. It was going to be alright, tomorrow she’d be able to sign the rights over to the letting agency and could return to New York. Things were fine there, or at least she wasn’t sleeping with a married man there.

The sun didn’t raise up that morning, rain instead replaced it and so Y/N remained laid in bed watching the rain drop rush down the fogged up windows until a loud thumping on her door forced her to get up. She wrapped herself in her robe and went down the stairs to open the door. 

  - Good morning, miss. - she opened the door to her letting agent. - How are you?

  - I’m alright, Don. I’m sorry, I thought the open house was later. I’ll just get my stuff and leave.

  - No, it’s all right miss. I am just here to tell you that we’ve sold the house was above the price you were asking for.

  - Pardon me?

  - At least two times the asking price. It was such a good price, he had to take it. Paid upfront.

  - What really? Who?

  - He should be coming to see the place in an hour. - he said. - We’ll bring you the check later on. 

  - All right. Thank you Don.

That was good news at least she got to leave Knockemstiff before anything else happened. She didn’t know what had overcome her to decide to have sex with Lee. Pull yourself together Y/N, you’ve had four years to learn how to deal with it. It was fine, it was going to be fine. She packed whatever was left of her stuff into her small patched up luggage and put it by the door. She just needed to wait for Don to bring her check back and she could go on back to New York, where her mistakes only included putting coloured clothes with whites and then having pink clothes for the rest of her life. A knock on the door made that decision come much faster. Okay, Y/N. Get the check and go.

  - Lee? - she opened the door to see the least person she wanted to see. - Go away, I’m expecting someone.

  - I know. - he walked in as if the house was his. - You’re expecting me.

  - This is not funny, Lee. Don should be bringing my check anytime and the owner will be here in an hour.

  - Yeah, I’m sorry I’m early.

  - Pardon? - she rose her eyebrows at his statement. - What do you mean?

  - It’s my house now. I was thinking of upgrading, ya know? This house is the best one in Brewer Heights after all.

  - Are you fucking kidding me, Lee?! - she stood in front of him before he could walk further into her home. - You’re bringing your wife into my childhood home? YOU’RE BRINGING YOUR WIFE TO YOUR MISTRESS’S HOME?!

  - How many bedrooms is this house? They said they thought it was over five in the contract. 

  - You have a perfectly good house. Why do you want mine?

  - Mine is too small. Only one bedroom, I’d have no place to build a nursery.

  - A nursery? You and your wife are having a baby? In my childhood home ... how swell. 

  - You know I’m thinking about running for mayor. I mean, it’d look good if I had a family.

  - Good luck convincing Jane. - she gave him a cynical smile. 

  - I don’t have to convince Jane. I’d have to convince you. 

  - Me? Fuck off, Lee. I’m not having a baby for you and your wife. Fuck off. 

  - We’re a good team, Y/N. Besides, Jane is no longer in the picture.

  - Lee ... - she sighed. - Please.

  - You see, my wife isn’t as good as me at keeping her infidelities casual. The other candidates have caught wind of it ... I need someone who’s almost as good at blackmail as me.

  - I’m better at blackmail than you. - she crossed her arms at him.

  - So what do you say, sugar? Want to be the sheriff’s wife?

  - Do you promise I’ll get to be the mayor’s wife someday? 

  - With you on my team, I think you’re gonna be the mayor’s wife sooner than you think.

taglist: @buckysteveloki-me​ 

[sanaxking]

When Night Comes - Prologue

arrangement by @kaexloey • credit to all OPs, do not repost.

Genre: Vampire!AU

Rated: M, 18+

Word count: ~1.7k

TW: mild sexual themes, language, violence/gore, blood, mentions of alcohol & intoxication

As Sana opens the door to the dive bar, she is immediately hit with the smell of cheap alcohol and cigarettes. Taking a look around the bar, everything perfectly matches the smell. There are plenty of gross looking men (and women, for that matter) all over and in various states of intoxication.

“Ugh, I hate these fucking bars. Why did he have to be at a shitty place like this,” Sana mutters to herself as she takes her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans.

Unlocking the phone, she opens her photos app to a specific picture of a tall, fair skinned man with blonde hair and green eyes. He's smiling directly into the picture without a hint of anything he does in his free time. Looking up from the phone with her temper already boiling, she begins to scan the room in search of the man in the photo.

It doesn't take too long as her eyes settle on the handsome man deep into conversation with the unsuspecting bartender. "Got you, motherfucker," Sana says to herself with a villainous smile as she makes her way over towards the bar.

As she walks towards the bar, a pair of eyes watches her closely from the other side of the room. The unseen person slowly takes a sip of her drink as she watches Sana approach the bar next to the blonde-haired man.

"So that's when I said, 'I'll have whatever he's having!’" Sana rolls her eyes as she hears the punchline of what was no doubt a terrible joke from the man she was searching for, feeling bad for the bartender that has to act like she likes this in order to boost her tips.

"I'll have a Jack & Coke on the rocks," Sana says to the bartender, giving her a look to know she'll be taking this idiot off her hands for the rest of the night. The bartender looks incredibly grateful for the gesture, mouthing "thank you" before turning to make the drink.

Within seconds of settling onto the barstool, Sana can feel the man already burning the side of her face with his intense gaze. "Just push through, Sana. You need this," she quickly says in her head as a way to work up the courage to continue on.

“I haven’t seen you in here before, blondie. You must be new in town. I would have for sure remembered a face like that,” he says to Sana, raising his voice to get above the chatter of the crowd inside the bar. Her skin crawls slightly at his cheesy pickup line as she gathers herself to respond.

“Somewhat. I’ve been here a few months, but just thought I would try somewhere new. Can’t find many men as hot as you at my usual spots,” she responds, hoping that she didn’t lay it on too thick with the comment. Thankfully, this guy is as dense as he seems, not noticing at all that she’s obviously just leading him on.

“Well, you’re not wrong there. How about we get another round on me?”

Sana really would rather not spend more time talking with him than she absolutely has to, but in order for this to work, she knows she needs him to drink a bit more. She begrudgingly obliges as the drinks flow for three more rounds. By this point, the man is pretty drunk. Not drunk enough to blackout, but certainly too drunk to drive. Which is all Sana needs.

“Alright, alright,” Sana says into the man’s ear after he tries to push the date to a fourth round. “As much as I would love another drink, how about we call it a night and get out of here? I know a perfect place.”

“Shit, you don’t have to tell me twice. Let’s go,” he responds, while fishing his car keys out of his jeans.

“Not a chance in hell. No way are you driving us anywhere like this,” Sana says as she snatches the keys from his hands.

“Hey, you had just as much as I di-,” he begins to say in protest as you put a finger up to his lips to silence him. “I’ll be just fine, trust me,” Sane replies, hoping that he buys it without further explanation.

Once again, the guy is too dense to notice much of anything as he simply shrugs and grabs her hand as the pair head out of the bar into the misty night air.

Getting him to the car wasn’t much of a struggle, as he was perfectly content to lean as close as possible into Sana’s body to steady his stumbling feet. As she slammed his door shut and made her way around to the driver’s side, Sana took a quick look around, making sure no one saw her getting into the man’s car. Not a single soul was spotted on the empty street, giving her enough peace of mind to see this through.

As she got into the car and started the engine, a pair of eyes once again was keenly watching her every move. A few seconds after Sana pulls the Audi out into traffic and down the street, a black BMW slowly falls into place half a dozen car lengths behind.

After a painfully long 30-minute drive filled with plenty of handsy advances from her passenger, Sana pulls the car up to the seaside cliff she had previously scoped out. She puts the car in park and shuts off the engine before turning in her seat to face her passenger.

“How did you find out about this place? Seems kind of random. Hey, were your eyes always that red?” he asks her as he undoes his own seatbelt with an inquisitive look on his face.

“Don’t worry about it. All you should care about is making this a night neither of us will wanna forget,” Sana responds, internally cringing at the ridiculousness of her words. She always hates this part of these encounters. As she utters her response, the man seems to catch a glimpse of something flashing in her red eyes before his expression seems to go slack.

Sana then crawls over the center console and into the backseat, making sure to jut out her ass to give him an enticing view. When he seems to hesitate for a few moments, she quickly takes off her shirt and tosses it into his face in the front seat.

This seems to be all the encouragement he needs as he quickly snaps out of his trancelike state and climbs into the backseat with far too much eagerness for her taste. Swallowing her own hesitation, she then crushes her lips into his, allowing herself to get lost in the moment. He may be an asshole, but she was going to let herself enjoy this, even if briefly.

Sana feels his hands slide up her waist towards her semi-exposed breasts, completely bringing her out of the moment as she remembers who he is and what he did. She then feels something take over her senses as she pulls back from the kiss to get a better look at his neck. Her vision begins to pulse and it’s as if she can see his blood pumping through his veins.

A slow, sinister smile begins to spread across her moonlit face.

“How about we take this a bit furth-,” he begins before his sentence is cut off by a searing pain in his neck.

As he was beginning to mutter his advance, Sana was seeing red and finally exposes her fangs. She slowly ran her tongue along them, taking one last whiff of the intoxicating smell before swiftly latching onto his neck.

The man’s guttural scream is cut short as her fangs sink deeper and deeper into his neck, Sana attempting to suck out as much blood as she can in her first few swallows. It takes less than a minute before he loses consciousness, his body going into shock. By the time 20 minutes has passed, any traces of life have completely left his body. She continues to drain his body until she’s finally had her fill.

Feeling satisfied, Sana sits up and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. As she leans into the front seat to grab her shirt, she looks down and catches a glimpse of her bra, noticing the blood that’s smeared all over it.

“Fuck. I just bought this last night!” she curses out loud, annoyed at the carelessness of wearing brand new clothes out tonight. Before she has too much time to berate herself, a pair of headlights illuminate the interior of the car. She quickly grabs her things and hops back out into the cool air.

Just as she slams the door shut, she hears the tires of the black BMW screech to a halt along the dirt road.

"It's about fucking time, Sana! The sun is up in a couple hours and the crew still needs time to clean up your mess. You always cut this shit so close."

"Calm down, Momo. We have plenty of time to get back before dawn. You worry too much."

"Maybe if you actually followed the rules for once in your life, I wouldn’t have to worry so much," Momo responds with an annoyed look on her face.

Sana rolls her eyes at the insinuation. “Whatever. I follow the stupid rules just fine. Let's just get the fuck out of here, okay?"

As Sana gets into the passenger seat, Momo doesn’t even wait for Sana to get her seatbelt on before she throws the car into gear and speeds off down the road.

It was at about this point that Sana used to feel guilt for taking the life of a stranger. Looking into the mirror in front of her, she sees that her eyes have gone back to their normal, warm brown tint.

“Eh, he was a piece of shit anyways,” she thinks to herself with a sly smile as the car lurches forward towards their estate.

[narukoibito]

Hi! Can u do a Hinny ghost AU or something like that please? I was thinking of Hinny moving into a new house and James, Albus or lily seeing ghosts or demons. Happy Halloween! 👻 🎃

Happy Halloween, anon! 

Oh my, what a prompt! Well, I don’t really do scary stories. At all. Because I am certainly not Gryffindor for a reason. 

But you did get my head thinking, and I came up with over 1,500 words of this silly story. I am really bad at writing drabbles and not full stories it seems, but I rushed the ending because oh jeez, this piece is ridiculous and I was planning on writing other things today, haha! Maybe I’ll come back and rewrite the end one day, but eh, I had fun and was ready to move on.

Summary: Hinny ghost AU, where Harry and Ginny move into a new house, only to discover a ghost that grows a little too attached to one of them, much to the annoyance of the other.

*

An Over-friendly Haunting

“Ginny, I got the takeout you like,” Harry called from the door, already toeing his way out of his trainers. He could hardly contain his excitement. His wife — wife, what a glorious word! — was waiting at home for him.

Their home.

Of course, they had lived together before they got married. Ginny didn’t even pretend that she would stay with Hermione in-between her Harpie training and matches, much to Molly’s chagrin. But that was different. That was Ginny staying at Harry’s place. This was official. This was the brand new home of the Potters.

Harry’s heart still did a little thrill at the thought.

Expecting to find his new wife alone, perhaps unpacking (likely more lounging), awaiting him and food, he was surprised to hear her laugh and the sound of another, foreign voice.

“Ginny? Were we expecting company?” he asked, walking toward the source of the voices in the kitchen.

Harry nearly dropped the food at the sight of Ginny and a regal-looking woman. Coiffed hair; elegant, if old-fashioned robes; pearly-white skin; and cold, silvery eyes that seemed to send chills down his spine.

Oh yes, and did he fail to mention that she was translucent?

“Harry!” Ginny cried in joy, raising from her seat to take the Chinese from him. She took an excited sniff, savoring the steam that escaped from the containers. “Merlin, please tell me that you got the steamed dumplings. Oh yes, you did, I knew I could count on you.”

As she turned away to set the food out on the table, he could hear her hum in pleasure over the receipt. Only 20 quid for all of this!

“Er, Gin? Forgetting something?” Harry cleared his throat.

“Hm?” Ginny looked up in the midst of popping of one the dumplings in her mouth. “Oh, yes, this is Amelia. Amelia, this is my husband, Harry.”

Amelia gave him a cool one-over, her bloodless lips curling up slightly. “A pleasure.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said weakly, his eyes darting to Ginny, who had gone ahead and dug into the lo-mein after these introductions. “Gin, can I, uh, speak to you for a moment?”

Both Amelia and Harry watched as Ginny finished slurping up a particularly long noodle. “Sure thing.” She turned to Amelia. “We’ll be back.”

Amelia gave Ginny what seemed to be a genuine smile. When she caught Harry looking, the warmth immediately disappeared, replaced instead with annoyance. Irritation flashed through Harry. It was as if Harry had interrupted her time with Ginny, rather than her interrupting their newlywed bliss.

The moment the door closed behind them, Harry cast a quick Muffliato.

“She’s a ghost.”

“Nothing gets past you, does it, Auror Potter?”

“Ginny,” he said, trying not to laugh. “Seriously.”

She gave a little helpless shrug. “I encountered her while trying to clean out the attic. Apparently, she comes with the house.”

“I knew that relator was a little too eager to give us the keys.”

Something had been niggling at him, the overeager way the witch had jumped at the young couple, the long time the cottage had been on the market. But Harry had been too enamored with the imaginary picture of Ginny (his wife!) curled up on the couch by the fireplace to heed his intuition. That, plus he had discounted it for the usual Boy-Who-Lived fame.

Harry sighed, pressing his fingers under his glasses to relieve the building pressure. “What do we do?”

“Well…”

He stopped and pulled his hand away, really looking at Ginny. Oh yes, this was a familiar look…

“Ginny…” he said, in a low, warning tone.

“She’s been alone for decades, Harry!”

“A ghost is not like take a stray cat!”

Speaking of which, the spotted stray Ginny had rescued during one of her away-games rubbed against their ankles.

“Freckles grew on you,” she pointed out, reaching down to lift the cat, which immediately returned her affections by rubbing against her cheek.

“That’s one word for it,” Harry said dryly, choosing not to point out how Freckles would start hissing at him when he felt Harry was taking too much of Ginny’s attention.

“She seems nice,” Ginny insisted, letting Freckles back down. “A bit cold at first, but she gets better once you get to know her.”

Harry sighed, his dream of escaping to their lovely abode just for the two of them starting to fade. “We can try, but if it doesn’t seem to be working…”

Ginny nods, taking Harry’s hands and placing a tender kiss against his lips. He let himself lean into her touch, the tension of the day and this latest surprise slowly ebbing out of his body. When she finally pulled away, he nearly made a sound of disagreement.

He slowly opened his eyes to see his wife gazing up at him, her brown eyes warm with affection.

“By the way, welcome home.”

Harry felt his lips tug up and pressed his forehead against hers.

Home. Wherever she was was home.

*

Despite Harry’s best efforts, Amelia did not warm up to him. If anything, she seemed to get colder if possible (he swears those two “accidental” times she walks through him, making him feel as if he were plunged into ice-water were on purpose).

To make matters worse, Amelia seemed unnaturally keen on Ginny. Aside from their bedroom, Amelia seemed to follow her everywhere.

Ginny explained one evening, wrapped in Harry’s arms, that Amelia had a phobia of men, and that it could have something to do with how she died.

But Harry couldn’t shake the feeling that it was something more though. It was in the way Amelia seemed to bristle anytime Ginny was affectionate toward him. The way she looked at Ginny when she thought no one noticed, as if Ginny hung the moon. But of course, Harry noticed. 

“She likes you,” he declared after a month when they’re out at a Muggle restaurant considering Harry has been trying to find more excuses not to be at home (which only adds to his ire).

Ginny quirked her eyebrow, her eyes looking unimpressed at the way Harry had his arms folded over his chest. “Who likes me?”

“Amelia,” he said, the skin on his face feeling uncomfortably tight. 

“Well, yeah, I’m quite likable.”

“No, I mean she fancies you. And I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.” When Ginny burst out laughing, he scowled and looked away, the monster in his chest prowling angrily. 

“Oh Harry, are you jealous?”

“No!” he lied because he certainly wasn’t upset that Amelia was always there, like a perpetual third wheel. Over the past weeks, he’d started wondering how Ron and Hermione had tolerated him all those years. Not that they’d been together, let alone newly married. 

The look on Ginny’s face revealed that he had not indeed fooled her.

“She snapped at me when I tried to wake you up from your nap.”

“She knew I was tired.”

“I knew that too, but your mum was going to be upset with us if we were late again.”

“Amelia is a bit protective. Think of her like Freckles.”

“I don’t like it,” he repeated, thinking of those times she arrived home from training, all sweaty and glowing, looking utterly shaggable. She would immediately start stripping out of her wet things on the way to the bedroom. The monster roared indignantly at the way Amelia’s white cheeks had almost nearly flushed. 

“Even if she does,” Ginny said, her voice lilting with amusement. So kind of his wife to enjoy his pain. “You don’t seriously think you have anything to worry about, do you? For one thing, you’re alive. I quite enjoy touching you doesn’t give me pneumonia. And of yeah, you’re my husband who I love, so there’s no need to be jealous of the undead is there?”

“You don’t see the way she looks at you,” he grumbled. He straightened when an alarming thought struck him. “You’ve never been starkers around her, have you?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t make a habit of stripping around her, no, Harry.”

“You wouldn’t like it if she were making googly ghost eyes at me,” he pointed out. It sounded childish even to him, even if he knew it was true. He had noticed the way Ginny had grounded her teeth when Gabrielle last visited.

“No,” she conceded, though it seemed like she was just saying that to placate him. She took his hand and lifted it to her lips. He could already feel his shoulders drooping. “I know she hasn’t been the friendliest to you. I’ll talk to her about it, okay? It’s your home too, and we’ll have to move if she continues to make you feel unwelcome.”

*

It ultimately wasn’t Ginny’s chat with Amelia that did it, nor her reluctant receding primarily to the attic for her living quarters. No, it wasn’t until two months later when a former Deatheaters had attacked their home. Amelia had distracted them long enough for Ginny to get in her favorite hex and several stunners before Harry and the Aurors arrived. 

For that, for potentially saving his wife from harm, Harry was willing to tolerate the unpleasant grumblings from his chest monster. And Amelia too seemed to recognize that a truce was the best way to stay close, lest they decided to move.

And it turned out all of Amelia’s protective swiping had been because she had recognized that Ginny was pregnant before they had.

When James was finally born, they asked her to be his Ghostmother. Amelia cried translucent tears all day. 

[sailorspazz]

Remote 10 Dance Ball

I know this is coming way late (as in, 3 months after it occurred!), but I’d always been planning to write up a report about the Real 10 Dance event that took place shortly after vol. 6’s release in Japan. Before I get into the explanation of what exactly this is under the cut, enjoy this promo image that ticket holders were able to print out at Japanese convenience stores (mine had to be printed by friends who live there and then scanned to me)

The Real 10 Dance is a series of events that have taken place over the past few years featuring real life pros performing routines inspired by the manga, meaning that most of the dances feature male-male couples (though they all have female partners in their regular careers, for these performances they dance together, and the women are given a group number to perform). The most recent live event took place in September 2019 shortly after vol. 5’s release, and there was another planned for 2020 in Osaka, but it was delayed and eventually completely canceled due to Covid restrictions. Wanting to still put on the event in some form, they later announced that it would take place virtually, and would be branded as the Remote 10 Dance Ball. For the cost of 1,000 yen, viewers could watch a stream of the event as many times as they pleased from the time it went live on March 20 until the viewing deadline 72 hours later. Unlike the in person events, there were no merchandise buying opportunities, but there was the option of paying additional 1,000 yen tips to either the performers, the production committee, or Inouesatoh herself. Choosing any of these options would give that ticket holder access to a code to print the postcard shown above, as well as a link to view a 17 minute making-of video of the event.

Before I get into the rundown, The Real 10 Dance Twitter account posted a preview video a couple weeks before the event, which you can watch if you’d like to see some of the action instead of just still images (and the only ones I’ll share here are those that were posted publicly, since they were pretty adamant about no screenshotting/recording of the event…not gonna lie, I did attempt to screenshot a couple parts, but due to the shaky streaming quality, the official photos are much better than what I was able to capture anyway :P) Also, I only made bare minimum notes while I was watching this (and was drinking hard cider), so I’ll give as much detail as I can remember, but there are definitely things I’ll have forgotten by now.

The show started off with one of the female pros giving a demonstration of how to apply makeup for competitions. After this came an introductory show with all of the participants dancing to the opening theme from La La Land.

Next up was some of the pros talking about the characteristics of their costumes, such as the Latin outfits having features like illusion netting to make their limbs look longer, and fringe to create movement.

After this, some of the pros gave tours of the dance schools that they run, which also served as advertisements for those who may be interested in signing up for lessons.

Then came some step demonstrations, showing specific panels from the manga and then describing how to perform the moves. This included Al and Suzuki’s rumba walk from chapter 18, and the throwaway oversway from the chapter 4 scene where Sugiki turns Suzuki into a princess. For the oversway, they performed the move a few different times, using prompts such as “do it like the world’s about to end” to show how the same move can feel very different depending on the emotion behind it.

This was followed by an interview with former standard world champion Christopher Hawkins. The interview was conducted in Japanese, as he is fluent in the language (Inouesatoh tweeted about him being the inspiration to have Norman speak some Japanese in the story, though she acknowledged that Chris’ abilities are far above Norman’s very basic phrases). It included two interviewers asking questions that were submitted by Inouesatoh and her editor. It started off with some basic talk about the process of training and getting prepared for competitions, then moved on to topics like whether he had any competition related superstitions/habits, such as how some dancers will have a pair of lucky underwear they always wear when competing. He said he had a specific order to how he would button his shirt and attach his cufflinks (as in, not just going straight up or down, but skipping over some and coming back to them), and if he didn’t do this specific routine it made him feel like the competition would go poorly. After telling this story, he laughed and said that he’s never told anyone about this before, so it was definitely an interesting question. Then came probably the most important question for fans of 10 Dance: since the series centers around men dancing together, what sort of experience does Chris have dancing with other men? (Funnily enough, for some reason, the male interviewer first asked this question in Japanese, then rather enthusiastically asked the question in English as well lol). Chris said that of course he’s danced with male students a lot in the course of teaching them, but outside of that also had times where he would train in the female role so he knew how it felt to be the following partner, and therefore could become a better lead. He mentioned some performance he did with another high level male dancer that was pretty amazing (forgive me, I didn’t catch the name at all, or even whether he was a standard or Latin specialist), which caused the female interviewer to joke about writing a love story about the two of them.

Then came the main draw of the event, the dance show! I’ll include the song, dance style, and an image from each performance below.

One Way or Another by Blondie, jive

Lady Marmalade (I believe it was the Moulin Rouge movie version), ladies group cha-cha

Half of Me by Ken Hirai, rumba (I don’t know if it’s just because it made me think of the melancholy rumba shown on vol. 6’s cover, but this made me both want to cry and watch it multiple times over, definitely my favorite because apparently I like to punish myself with sadness :P)

All of Me by Michael Bublé, foxtrot (this was filmed both in the performance space and out on the streets in one of the locations used in chapter 33, as shown in this video from one chilly looking morning. Also, this dance featured a leader switch partway through!)

If I Can’t Have You by Shawn Mendes, cha-cha

Finale with all participants to It’s Time to Dance from “The Prom” musical

Last up was a virtual art exhibition featuring 17 sketches by Inouesatoh, including the most powerful sexual stimulant in the known universe, Bathrobe Sugiki.

Overall, I was very happy to get the chance to witness this event. Normally, the number of people would be limited to just those who were in Japan and able to purchase tickets before they sold out, but this remote version allowed a much larger number of people from all over the world to watch (I bought my ticket not even knowing if it would be region locked or not, but thankfully it wasn’t). I hope that the world situation improves and they can put on the event live and in-person again (even better if I could somehow find a way to attend when that happens!), but I think this was a great alternative, and probably a good way to make some revenue in a time when the ability to stage events is limited. The price of 1,000 yen was an incredibly good deal for all the content that was presented (and you better believe I slammed an extra 1,000 straight to Inouesatoh; the only merch I’ve been able to buy is secondhand, and while this satisfies my needs as a collector, it unfortunately doesn’t provide any support to the author). If real life performances are still a long way off and they decide to do a virtual one again, you bet your ass I’ll be right there in the (imaginary) front row!

[iamnightduchess]

HELLO QUEEN! Oh my gosh your latest updates have gotten me so hyped up and happy!! I love the feeling of seeing your post updates on my dashboard. I was wondering if you had time if you could possibly do some NSFW head cannons for It’s Gotta Be You universe?? I reread it again for the 100th time after reading your AYA update but I love that universe so much!

Hello dearie! I hope you've been doing well ever since. I apologize for the slight delay as RL is demanding a lot of my time. But, I hope you'll enjoy this! ❤

Reiner x Mikasa (ReiKasa) (R20+) Fic AU Headcanon #13

Universe: It's Gotta Be You (Modern AU)

(A/N: ‼️WARNING‼️Graphic/Explicit Description of very dirty smut with potentially provocative images ⛔ Please don't click Keep Reading if you're below 20 🙅‍♀️ Sorry kiddos! To my dear adult readers, please absorb this post's content with appropriate discretion & maturity)

---------

I've shared more of ReiKasa's detailed Modern AU sexcapades in this post and for this Ask, I'll explore the different preferences involved in their sex life. Based on this post, Reiner & Mikasa had a 10-dates rule before they actually become intimate with each other and that post describes briefly on their phenomenal sexual compatibility. Before they reach that 10th date goal, they decided to keep all their interactions chaste, which only adds up to the building sexual tension between them. These two has a spark that ignites from just a single touch. Therefore, it had been a truly challenging period for them to keep their magnetic pull in check.

When they were in high school, they've only ever held hands but has never even kissed. Reiner was raised to be a respectful gentleman and he's always letting Mikasa takes the lead. He waited until she was ready to get a little bit more physical with him, thus why he suggested the 10-DR. So when did they have their first real kiss?

On their 10th date.

First Time

Their first time with each other had been a literal afternoon delight. Mikasa missed out on their 10th date night because of an on-call emergency at the med centre, so they made up with a lunch date the next day. Sure, they've been clawing at each other's clothes from outside the car to his front door and had never even made it to his bedroom but they really made full use of his coffee table and his couch. If only those furnitures could talk, they would tell you very interesting stories that took place on that day.

Bedroom Jams

Reiner and Mikasa do not have a particular preferred soundtrack running in the background while they're getting down and dirty. But, they'd always have Linger by Cranberries or The Root's You Got Me to set them in the mood for some slow-dancing before revving up their engines for their inevitable sexy times.

One time, Reiner had jokingly put Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love To You on in the bedroom. Mikasa changed it immediately to The Devil in I by Slipknot. It felt like an out of body experience the whole time.

Reiner likes to do this little striptease dance to 90's boyband songs just to drive Mikasa up the wall 🤣 One time, he wanted to surprise Mikasa from work & started grinding against her booty with his sexy moves as soon as she crossed their living room, completely not realizing that his mother had also walked through the door as his wife had picked Karina up for dinner at their house. He got an earful from his own mother 😳

Sexting & Surprises

Reiner loves sending sexy text messages to Mikasa when she's at work or when he's away in Marley for work meetings. The nature of her work demands her to be on-call or be at work in longer shifts, therefore, his texts make her misses him even more. Mikasa would not admit it out loud but his naughty texts do get her in the mood to make a lot of love to him when she gets home 😏 Before someone asks, no, Reiner does not send his wife dick pics haha

Reiner is also the type who'd surprises her from a long night shift in the morning by making her breakfast in the kitchen with nothing but an apron on. Yeah, Mikasa had a good eyeful (and mouthful) of his buns alright *wink* Reiner would also surprise her with a hug from behind when she's doing meal preps in the kitchen BUT Mikasa would be the one slipping her hand in his pants while he's doing the dishes. These two really do love getting kinky in the kitchen.

Gabi accidentally walked in on them one time and poor girl was mentally scarred, she locked herself in her room the whole night.

Favorite Positions

Despite having athletic bodies and fit figures, Reiner and Mikasa do not experiment with odd, bizarre positions as much. Their favorite position is either tantric or golden arch as they love locking gazes while whispering their undying affection for each other (+more dirty-talking from Reiner!)

But when they're in the mood for a more rough loving, all fours in front of a mirror or standing/sitting wheelbarrow would be their favorite positions for them considering his superb upper body strength and her amazing flexibility (Reiner has those weekly yoga routines of hers to thank for!)

Dirty-talking

Reiner likes to do this a lot (even in public) that it'll always make Mikasa goes multiple shades of red. His dirty-talkings are adorable and dorky but although Reiner's very alert when reading the room, he also tends to forget in switching off his dirty-talking mode once he's in the mood.

One time, he was calling Mikasa when he's away for work training. She was driving and had him on speaker. He was feeling a bit frisky and told her flat out - he can't wait to come back home, get inside the showers with her and ram into her so hard that she can't walk straight that his Dr. Ackerman-Braun need to take sick leave for 2 days. Things went still and quiet from Mikasa until he heard Annie's voice from the other end.

Annie : Ram her with what, Reiner? Your 3-inch dick?

Reiner: Screw you, Annie.

Annie: Gross and hey, Armin's already doing a bang up job in screwing me. Besides, you don't need to worry about Mikasa missing you. I just bought her this brand new vibrator.

Reiner: Totally ignoring you, Annie. Mika, c'mon babe, you know the real deal's so much better.

Mikasa: Rein--

Reiner: I made you come three times before I leave. You don't need that thing right? Can you hold on until I get back, baby, please?

Mikasa: Rein, can we talk a bit later?

Reiner: It's just Annie there right?

Pieck: Hey, Reiner. I think you just terrorized Gabi.

Reiner: F**K

Turns out Pieck and an already traumatized Gabi were also in the car with Mikasa at that time. Reiner avoided showing his face in front of the two women and his own cousin for the next 2 months.

As mentioned, that wasn't the first time Gabi had such TMI of her cousin and his wife's sex life. Apart from walking in on Reiner and Mikasa in the kitchen, the couple had terrified her enough for life when she also walked into them doing the deed inside their own living room (They either forgot Gabi was staying the night or had thought she was asleep) Gabi never wanted to be near that couch ever again.

Public Sexcapade

They had a quickie in Grisha's basement during one family dinner with the Jeagers. Zeke almost walked in on them.

Reiner also owns a pickup truck. He likes to take Mikasa out for a night drive. He'll have the back boot of his truck all nice with warm covers and they'll park somewhere private uphill to stargaze. They'll make love underneath the stars in the open air and just hold each other afterwards. Mikasa loves to listen to Reiner as he tells her about his favorite constellations.

Body Appreciation

When Mikasa's body starts to grow when she's carrying their twins, Reiner develops a much higher level of appreciation towards her body because of the changes she's going through. Obviously he appreciates the tremendous increase of her cup size, but he notices every other parts of her that swells beautifully with every week of her pregnancy too. As shared in this pregnancy post, Mikasa had the upper side of her hormonal changes that Reiner was the one who's constantly be worrying that he'll poke the babies in their heads every time she gets in her special mood 😂 see, he's so adorkable!

Sneaky playtime(s)

Reiner & Mikasa would always have a burning fire in their marriage even as they grow older. The twins were not spared from the traumatizing knowledge of their parents' extracurricular activities, when they overheard their parents from outside their bedroom door one Sunday morning.

Miraé: Rémy, are Mama & Papa fighting? She said the F word to Papa. Oh, Papa said he's coming? To where?

Rémy: Jesus, Miraé. They're having sex.

Miraé: What's that?

Rémy: Aunt Gabi told me to stay away if we ever hear weird noises coming from Mama & Papa's bedroom because it means they're having their adult playtime.

Miraé: Let's just go next door and ask Uncle Armin & Aunt Annie about it.

Armin was speechless and red with embarassment while Annie cackled at the poor twins. Afterwards, Annie sent a photo of the twins in their family group chat with the caption "Please come pick up your kids at our house after you're done maintaining Mikasa's plumbing 🍆💧💧" 🤣

-----------

Gosh, I really, really enjoyed working on this. Thanks again for the Ask, Anonie 🙈💕💋

[craniumhurricane]

call me, baby, if you need a friend

Cleaning up some old WIPs. This has been in my drafts since end of season 2/around season 3.

Basically 4 times Clarke calls Bellamy and 1 time that Bellamy calls Clarke.

Thank you @casleyislove and @sushigirlali for always reading things before I post them!

[ On AO3! ]

___

(i)

It's a quiet night in at the Blake apartment. Or, at least, for Bellamy it is. He's having a nice Friday night by himself after surviving a truly grueling week of finals. Octavia tried to convince him to go out and celebrate the end of the semester the "right way," but he turned her down… he's still not quite sure how he managed to do that.

His feet are currently propped up on the coffee table with a large bowl of store brand cocoa puffs in his lap. Bellamy may be an adult but damn if he isn’t going to celebrate the end of the term with sugary cereal… nevermind that he didn’t actually make time to grocery shop this week. The TV was queued and ready for the marathon of Ancient Aliens episodes he’d missed due to studying, and he was just about to press play when he hears a short but insistent buzzing sound.  

Glancing around, his eyes land on Octavia’s phone sitting on the corner of the coffee table. She must have left it in her hurry to leave since she was running late to meet up with her boyfriend.

Bellamy keeps his eyes on it for a second before deciding to ignore it, and once again his finger hovers over the play button on the remote. Then the phone lights up again, this time with a phone call; a picture of Octavia and a curly haired blonde that he recognizes, the name CLARKE THE GRIFFIN flashing across the screen. He considers ignoring it for a second time but... if she’s resorting to actually calling instead of texting again then something could be seriously wrong.

Bellamy swipes his thumb across the screen to answer and brings the phone to his ear but before he can even say anything a voice on the other side interjects immediately.

“Men are dicks,” the woman says without preamble. “No! Worse than that. They're weird tumors that grow on dicks," she pauses, seems to think about it, and then adds, "Preferably life threatening.”

Bellamy blinks a few times before he answers, “I'm sure you're right, but don't you think that's a bit harsh?”

The line is quiet. He can hear her shifting the phone, no doubt checking the screen to make sure she called the right person.

“Octavia?”

“Bellamy.”

Clarke huffs. “Where's Octavia?” she snaps. He can hear the annoyance seeping into her tone, which in turn just makes him feel his own frustrations start to rise.

He tamps it down though. “On a date,” he answers.

She deflates at that, “Oh right. One month anniversary with Lincoln.”

He hums a confirmation and then they’re silent for a few minutes. So long that it’s Bellamy’s turn to look at the phone and make sure she’s still there. “Did you need something?” he asks once he sees that the call is still, in fact, in progress.

She takes a deep breath before answering, “I ended things with Finn tonight.”

Bellamy had only met Finn Collins a handful of times; the guy was fine except for a little cocky… and he always seemed to want to show off in front of pretty girls. His hair was too long and always styled like he was some kind of frat boy that came from big money even though Bellamy's 100% sure he never so much as pledged.

And then there was that one time he flirted with Octavia.

Ok, so Bellamy didn’t like the guy. But a break up is still a shitty thing to go through which is why he says, “I’m sorry,” and finds that he means it.

“Not your fault,” Clarke says immediately, “But I was kind of looking for someone to watch me binge drink and listen to me vent.”

He understands that, having gone through the same thing when he broke up with Roma at the start of the term. If you could really call them “hooking up occasionally” the same thing as dating, but still, getting drunk with Miller had been essential in the whole moving on process.

“You want to come over here anyway?” he offers carefully, casually. He doesn’t mind Clarke. She’s younger than him, around Octavia’s age. They aren’t exactly friends, but he would consider them a little more than acquaintances. Enough that it shouldn’t be too weird for him to invite her over even without his sister present. Plus, her getting drunk here is a better alternative than her getting drunk by herself in some bar.

“You don’t mind?” she asks and he thinks he hears relief in her voice, “I was kind of already on my way over to your guy’s place... I don’t really feel like going out and I really don't feel like being depressed and alone in my dorm right now.”

“Nah,” he says and then tries a joke to brighten her spirits, “Sounds like something fun to watch. I’ll order food.”

“Chinese would be great,” and he swears he can hear a smile in her voice so he’ll count his dumb joke as a victory. “Thanks, Bellamy, see you soon.”

He's not even a little bit mad about dumping out his now soggy cereal.

*

(ii)

“So, you’ve been in school for basically forever. Is it normal for a person to experience this amount of stress?”

Bellamy’s lips twitch as he holds his phone to his ear. After Clarke crashed his Friday night in, and spilled on the whole cheating Finn debacle while they did shots, Bellamy figured he should give her his own cell phone number. As much as he hated to admit it, and honestly he never will, his sister and her boyfriend were getting serious, so who knows how much Octavia would be available for late night bitchfests about significant others, fellow students, and the human population in general. Which were just a few of the topics they discussed that night. Hanging out with Clarke ended up being kind of fun, a better night than he originally planned. She even let him watch a little of his marathon and offered her own commentary. Bellamy would do it again… which is something else he would never admit.

It's not like they suddenly talk every day, but it’s a near thing. They would send each other the occasional text when one of them sees something that the other absolutely has to know about. Mostly, he gets pictures of old dogs she sees at the park, asking if this will be him in 20 years. Bellamy responds in kind with memes about college life and rubbing it in her face that they no longer apply to him since he graduated last semester.

But sometimes she reaches out to him if there is something particularly bothering her. Such as dealing with egotistical dickwads that consider themselves professors and shutting down female students in a male dominated class.

Clarke’s probably the only person that ever calls him and can never start the conversation with a simple ‘Hello’. Actually, she’s probably the only person that actually still calls him.

“I just got a job teaching so that insult isn't going to work anymore since I literally will be in a school as part of my job,” is his first response before he turns to one of concern, “Midterms got ya down?”

“It’s just,” she gives an exasperated sigh before continuing, “I want to do something that helps people, I know I want to help people… But maybe I don't want to help people the way my mom wants me to help people...ya know?”

“You’re going to have to give me more to go on here, Princess-”

“I’m thinking about switching my major,” she says abruptly, like she’s ripping off a band aid.

He’s silent, waiting to see if she’s going to say anything else. When it becomes clear she’s waiting for him to say something he responds honestly, “If being a doctor isn’t something you want to do, then you shouldn’t do it.”

“But-”

“What your mom wants you to do shouldn’t overrule what you want to do, Clarke,” he interrupts her. Due to the increasing amount of time he’s been spending with Clarke, he’s learned that the Griffins have always had a capital “P” Plan and he knows that Clarke has a hard time knowing when she can push the boundaries of said Plan.

She’s silent again and Bellamy’s starting to think he’s going to have to prod her a second time. He’s got the beginnings of his big speech all prepared when finally she speaks up. “I’m thinking about going into Art Therapy,” She says thoughtfully, “Or maybe teaching? Helping out underprivileged kids...or hell, even underprivileged adults. Or maybe something for the community?”

His lips twitch on another smile at hearing the beginnings of a hint of passion in her voice. “Teaching can be very rewarding,” he says magnanimously.

She snorts and it turns into a full laugh, ��You haven't even started yet! It could be the worst thing you’ve ever done and a total waste of your degree.”

“Your confidence in me really is touching,” he deadpans and then adds simply, “You’re an amazing artist, Clarke. I think doing something with that could be something you'd enjoy and be really really good at.”

She’s quiet when she asks, “You think I’m amazing? You’ve never told me that.” And Bellamy swears he can hear that smile in her voice again. The one he always looks forward to. The one he tries to coax out of her without realizing he’s doing it.

He feels his cheeks start to heat up and even though she can't see him, he feels the need to brush it off. “Yeah, well, I generally try to be as dickish as possible so…”

She snorts again and damn if he didn’t feel a slight flutter in his chest.

“For the record, I think you’re going to be an amazing teacher,” she says it so matter-of-factly but he’ll have to dwell on it later because she sobers and then asks softly, “So, you think I should do it?”

It’s not hard for him to build her up. She spends so much time being there for the rest of their slowly merging friend groups that she rarely takes time to see the greatness in herself. He doesn’t mind helping.

“I think you should do whatever the hell you want.”

*

(iii)

“Women are worse than men.”

Bellamy rubs the sleep from his eyes and glances at the clock; it was almost 3 in the morning. “I thought men were tumors?” he asks around a yawn.

“Yeah, well, women can be tumors too,” Clarke huffs, but she just sounds tired, “Comparing people to tumors is equal opportunity. Strides in feminism are being made, didn’t you know?”

Bellamy pushes himself into a sitting position, suddenly more alert as he picks up the trace of tears in her voice. “You ok?” he asks.

Clarke is silent at first, but he waits her out, he knows that she’ll tell him. “Lexa broke up with me,” she says quietly and then adds in confusion, “Or we broke up with each other? I’m a little unsure. We spent the whole night arguing and then suddenly she was packing up her stuff.” She pauses before taking a shaky breath, “It’s over. We’re over.”

“I’m so sorry, Clarke.”

“She was leaving anyway,” she continues, bitterly, “Some new job. She was leaving in a few weeks and didn’t even bother to tell me. I told her we could make it work long distance, I was willing to try and make it work. That’s when the arguing started. Not just about that but about-,” Clarke abruptly cuts herself off and hesitates, “about... other things. Things I didn’t even know were an issue.” She’s quiet again before she adds, “She didn’t say it but I think she was disappointed that I never suggested going with her...”

The thought makes a quick flash of irritation run through him. “She wanted you to uproot your entire life and go with her,” he summarizes as he tries to adjust the pillows on his bed by beating them, maybe a little too roughly at the thought of her doing just that, before leaning back against them.

“Which is completely crazy, I know,” she hurries to say, “but I wish we could have talked about it.”

“I am sorry, Clarke,” he says again, “I know Lexa seemed like she was it for you.”

“But maybe she wasn’t?” Clarke counters as if trying to reason with herself. “I don’t know. We were both committed to each other, but maybe this was a sign that we weren’t going to be able to make it work long term?” She pauses and Bellamy can hear the gears in her head turning as she processes a way for her to handle this, too explain it to herself. “When we were together,” she hesitates before continuing, and he can imagine her biting her lip, “I was happy... but I felt like a separate version of myself, ya know? Still me, but not completely me?”

Bellamy chews on the words he wants to say and goes with, “Sometimes the person you're with can change you; it's not always a bad thing.” He gets quiet as he adds thoughtfully, “I like to think Gina made me a better person...and she probably did,” he pauses, this time unsure if he should keep going, but Clarke hasn't said anything, so she must be waiting for him to continue, “We tried, tried really hard, to make it work, but eventually you just realize that maybe the relationship isn't going anywhere and what’s best for everyone is just to call it.”

“Wait, you and Gina broke up?” Clarke asks in surprise, “When did that happen!?”

“That's what you got from that?” He rubs a hand over his face as he thinks about it, “About two weeks ago?”

“Shit,” she says and is quiet before asking in a small voice, “Why didn't you tell me?”

“Honestly, I haven't seen a whole lot of you these last few months,” he hears what he said and corrects himself, “We haven’t seen a whole lot of you.” He’s surprised at his ability to keep the bite out of his voice; because the truth was this last year has sucked since Clarke started dating Lexa.

They met at one of Clarke's art gigs. Lexa was cool; fun when she wanted to be, but also a little hard to be around. Most of the time, she seemed to prefer doing things without any of Clarke’s friends.

“I’m sorry,” Clarke says.

“It’s fine,” he answers her and means it. “Gina and I are still good friends.”

“I wasn’t talking about you and Gina,” she says, voice soft.

He realizes what she’s actually apologizing for and he doesn’t know what to say. Because of course he forgives her, he will always forgive her.

The silence lasts too long so he clears his throat and prompts, “Want to come over and get drunk?”

Her laugh through the phone breaks the tension, “It’s like 3 o'clock in the morning.”

“My bar is always open.”

She chuckles. “I really want to hit something,” she says with a determined edge to her voice, “Then maybe get drunk.”

“How about this, we get a few more hours of sleep, wake up at a normal time, and go hit something,” he offers and then adds as if it's an afterthought, “And then get drunk, of course.”

She laughs again, “Oh, of course.” There’s that smile. “I forgot what being single with you was like.”

Bellamy sobers at the thought. It has been awhile since the two of them were single at the same time. “Always here to help, Princess.”

*

(iv)

“Why did I agree to this trip again?”

He’s packing up the essays that are scattered across his desk when she calls, 4 o’clock on the dot. Bellamy tries to suppress a laugh but he’s pretty sure she can at least hear the teasing smile in his voice.

“Just getting back to the hotel?” he asks in lieu of his own greeting.

“Yes!” she exclaims in exasperation. “And if it were up to Josephine, we probably would have walked all of damn Paris tonight,” her voice gets muffled at the end and he can only assume she’s thrown herself face first onto the nearest bed. “I cannot wait for a shower- No! A bath, definitely taking a long, hot bath.”

And now the image of Clarke Griffin in the bath, with just enough bubbles to cover up to her chest, has entered his mind. He shoves it away before anymore thoughts can accompany it.

This used to never be a problem. Sure, he’s always known that Clarke is attractive, but he has never been attracted to her. But ever since he broke up with Gina and she broke up with Lexa, Bellamy has been exceedingly aware of the fact that they have both remained single.

The last time this happened was right after Finn.

Bellamy shakes his head for good measure before responding. “You’re going to fall asleep in the tub and your roommate will find your prune-y, wrinkled body in the morning.” He cringes.  Apparently he wasn’t able to get the image of her completely out of his head.

Clarke scoffs, but he can tell that it’s in an exasperated but fond kind of way. “How is it that you manage to be a buzzkill from over 4,000 miles away?” she asks drily and then pauses before adding, “Actually, Josie would probably just leave me in there for the entire trip and never let on that something was up.”

He turns the key to lock his office behind him and heads for the staff lot. “Don’t worry, if you don’t call to check in, I’ll call the National Guard,” he teases.

“I know you would,” she says simply, like it’s a known fact.

Things have been a little weird after he became aware that they were both single. Mostly because, he’s pretty sure that Clarke has also come to realize it. When he turns to look at her, he often finds her already looking. Their innocent touches are now more frequent and linger just a bit longer.

Bellamy has come to realize that he doesn’t want to be single and the reason he doesn’t want to be single is because he wants his best friend to not be single with him.

There’s just never a right time to tell her.

“So, what did you do today?” he asks.

Despite the exhaustion and jetlag that’s surly setting in, Clarke jumps into an animated retelling of the flight and arriving at their hotel room just in time to change clothes and head back out to walk the streets of Paris to get their bearings before their tours officially start tomorrow.

“I’m a little disappointed that we’re doing the Louvre first thing tomorrow. I was hoping to be a little more alert for that.”

“Your coffee addiction hasn’t stopped just because you’re in another country,” he points out as he gets in his car.

She laughs, “Jeez, you are such an ass.”

He starts the car but doesn’t leave just yet; afraid the long distance call will drop out.

“What are you doing now?” he asks into the comfortable silence.

“Admiring the view,” she admits softly. “It really is gorgeous all lit up. Makes me want to dig out my sketchbook.”

“You have a week, Princess,” he chuckles. “Don’t screw up your jetlag even more by losing track of time in your drawings on the first night.”

She’s quiet again before confessing softer somehow, “It also makes me wish you were here.”

His heart clenches in his chest and he wills himself to sound normal. “Maybe next time,” he tries for teasing but it comes out almost wistful.

“Next time, hmmm?” Clarke hums. “You’d come to Paris with me?” And he’s sure she’s flirting with him.

“Well, maybe not for our first date,” he says, “But maybe, like, our fifth or something.”

Clarke’s quiet for a long time and he’s afraid he’s overstepped, misread the room. He’s about to take it back, play it off as a joke when she finally speaks.

“And what would a first date look like?” she asks with what he thinks is hope in her voice.

He swallows a couple of times. “Well,” he starts, “Since you’re already getting some of the best museum experiences, I’d probably settle for dinner and a movie. Something cheesy that’s playing at the dollar theater; where we’re the only ones there and can yell at the screen.”

She chuckles and his heart flutters, “We already do that, Bell. Quite frequently, actually.”

“Yeah, but if it’s a date then I’d get to kiss you at the end of it.”

“What? No making out during the movie?” she asks and he can picture how cute her face gets when she pouts.

A grin spreads across his face and he’s grateful no one can see how goofy he must look.

“We’ll have to make sure it’s a really bad movie.”

*

(+i)

Clarke rubs some moisturizer on her face before capping the tube and tossing it into her bag on the bed. After ensuring that everything she’s going to need for tomorrow is packed, she zips it up and grabs one of Bellamy’s hoodies to slip on over her clothes.

Ever since he picked her up from the airport when she got back from her trip to Paris, and she ran directly into his arms, giving the other people waiting quite a show, there always seems to be one laying around, waiting for her to find it. She assumes that he gets as much of a thrill out of her wearing them as she does.

She heads down the stairs of their townhouse, passing various pictures and artwork, and shoots Raven one more text not to forget to bring her dress to the venue tomorrow. She’s supposed to help her get ready in the morning along with her mother. In the meantime, Abby has sent a car to pick her up and take her to the hotel. Easier to get ready if she’s already there for the stylist… something else her mother insisted on paying for. No matter how many times Clarke told her she didn’t care what her hair looked like because she was marrying the love of her life.

Clarke locks up the house and greets the driver, slipping into the backseat. She intends to spend the ride lost in thought, going through the checklists that were running through her head.

Their engagement had been on the short side but she didn’t mind. They were both ready to get on with this next chapter in their lives.

Her phone is resting loosely in her hand, face down on her knee, when it starts to vibrate with an incoming call. She holds her breath for a second, praying it isn’t the florist or the caterers. But when she sees the photo of her and Bellamy from New Year’s flash on the screen, she can’t help but smile.

She taps the button and greets him with a sultry, “Hi, handsome.”

“Hey,” he says and she can tell he has a soft smile on his face, the one just for her. “You just leave the house?”

“Yep. On my way to the hotel now, so hopefully you haven’t forgotten anything because it’s too late now.”

“The most important thing is already on its way,” he responds with a teasing lilt.

Clarke can’t help the sharp laugh that escapes her lips, “Oh my god! You are such a sap!”

“I was referring to the ring, obviously, Princess.”

“Oh, obviously,” she says, mock serious.

They chuckle to themselves for a few minutes and she honestly can’t tell if the driver is rolling his eyes or thinks they’re being cute from hearing one side of the conversation.

Bellamy sobers up first only to let out a groan. “I hate whose ever idea this is,” he whines.

“Aren’t you the history professor? Shouldn’t you know where common traditions and such come from?”

He scoffs, “No, I mean I hate whichever of our friends is making us do this.”

The two of them haven’t seen each other since yesterday morning, him having been spirited off by his groomsmen while she was left to spend last night alone in their bed. And now they’re meant to go one more night without seeing each other.

To Bellamy’s point, Clarke isn’t altogether sure why this is a tradition anymore, nor why they are choosing to follow this particular one. She and Bellamy aren’t even that superstitious! And yet somehow they were talked into spending the days leading up to their wedding apart.

“Ah,” she answers him now, “That would be Raven and Miller. Although, I’m pretty sure it had nothing to do with marriage traditions and has everything to do with getting back at us for making out in front of them so much.”

Bellamy scoffs again, “Well, jokes on them, because after tomorrow, I don’t ever have to stop kissing you.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” she says, “We’ll have to come up to eat at some point.”

The driver pulls up under the awning of the hotel and Clarke gets out and grabs her bag before he’s able to get out and grab it for her. She gives him a wave and a simple thank you before heading through the sliding doors.

“How’s your room?” she asks into the phone as she bypasses the check in desk, her mother having already checked her in and given her the key card to her room this morning when they were getting their nails done.

He heaves a deep sigh. “Lonely,” he answers as she steps into the elevator. From what Clarke knows from his texts, Miller dropped him off here last night and left him to his own devices. Apparently, the best man gets to sleep next to his husband but Bellamy wasn’t allowed to sleep next to his soon-to-be wife.

She makes a split second decision and presses a different button, jolting the elevator to stop sooner than intended. When she steps off she casually offers, “I could help with that.”

“Oh yeah?” He chuckles. “You going to describe for me what you’re wearing?”

“Hmm,” she hums as if she’s considering it. “I could do that… but I was more thinking that I could show you.”

Clarke stops in front of a door and gives it a nice rhythmic knock.

She doesn’t have to wait long before it’s opening and Bellamy is standing in front of her with his phone against his ear and a huge grin on his face.

She lowers her own phone from her ear, pressing the end button without looking.

“Hi, handsome,” she manages before he’s pulling her into his room.

[ohkiyo]

characters: black jackals, reader, and schweiden adlers (quick appearance).

warnings: lots of cursing.

word count: 9.3k

a/n: I was supposed to upload this one a few days ago, but I got lazy and I was always feeling sleepy so I didn’t have time to fix it. Hehehe, please enjoy this one! :D I’m lowkey bullying Atsumu in this chapter, but don’t worry, I still love him! XD

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────» 

         msby navigation || main navigation

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

When Shugo was appointed as team captain, he didn’t really give it much thought and accepted the title with pride along with the responsibilities that come with it. He had the experience of being a captain when he was still a student, so it’s nothing new. The only difference is that he’s leading a team full of grown men instead of hormonal teenagers.

With a team like the MSBY Black Jackals, one of the top teams in the V.League Division 1, you’d expect players who are more on the professional side of the spectrum, the kind that always means business, practice first relax later, that kind of thing.

However, he was proven wrong when the younger ones of the team, namely, Bokuto Kotaro, Sakusa Kiyoomi, Miya Atsumu, and Hinata Shoyo are involved, the atmosphere is far from serious. Of course, when it’s time for practice they’re more focused, giving 110% into their training.

Even so, once that whistle is blown, signaling a break from practice, all hell breaks loose. If it is not Bokuto and Hinata bouncing around and screaming, it would be Atsumu and Sakusa bickering, well mainly Sakusa roasting Atsumu and the blond Miya trying to come up with the best come back he could think of.

From what Shugo could remember, Atsumu had none so far, so it was safe to say the setter’s verbal game is weak.

It’s not just them either, the older ones, namely, Oliver Barnes, Adriah Thomas, and Inunaki Shion would sometimes join the other four when they’re feeling playful that day, which just give Shugo more problems to deal with, and when all seven of them joined forces it just increase Shugo’s chances of growing gray hair at age 29.

They have a manager of course and he is there to help keep everyone in check, making sure they behave and all. But, with the team becoming even more well known, emails for brand deals, interviews and magazine photoshoots were sent almost every single day that it needs immediate attention and the only one for that job is their manager himself, Mizuno Takato.

Leaving Shugo to mostly deal with the team on his own.

So when Coach Foster and Takato told him they’ll be having another manager to take care of the team’s internal affairs, he was so happy he almost cried.

“Everyone I would like you all to meet, (L/n) (Y/n) and she will be your manager starting today so take good care of her”

You bowed your head as everyone shouted a “Welcome to the team!” with Takato holding up your very own MSBY jersey jacket. As everyone went around to introduce themselves to you one by one.

“Hey, hey, hey! (Y/n) I can’t believe you’re back!” Bokuto bounded over to you, picking you up, then spinning you around laughing as Hinata excitedly babbles beside him.

“Welcome back (Y/n)!”

You giggled, happy to finally see the friends you left all those years ago “I’m home!"

Bokuto gently places you on the ground, planting your feet to the wooden floor as you steady yourself. While the others who were curious about the exchange and the sunshine duo's familiarity with you walks over.

“You know her Kotaro, Shoyo?” Oliver inquired as Bokuto nodded his head, taking hold of your shoulders and pulling you in front of him, facing your new teammates.

“She was our manager back in high school, while Hinata met her during our training camps”

That was months ago and every day you have proven yourself to be a very reliable manager and Shugo could not be any happier.

“Congratulations everyone! That was a very good game” you said, giving them their towels and drinks as they sat down on the bench. Resting their tired muscles and regaining the lost energy from a very tiring 3 set match.

The Azuma Pharmacy Green Rockets were not an easy opponent, especially with players such as Kiryu Wakatsu, who was once a part of the top three aces in Japan and Goshiki Tsutomu who was Ushijima’s junior back in high school. Nevertheless, they still manage and won the game a good way to start their Monday.

“Goshiki’s straight is still as cool as ever” Hinata stated gulping down his water as Adriah and Shugo let out a sigh, remembering how they had problems blocking his spikes because of how close they mostly were to the line.

“He’s a very tricky opponent”

“Here you go, Sakusa-san” you pass Sakusa his own towel, the one you had specifically separated from the others as the spiker nodded at you in thanks, dabbing it on his face whilst listening to his teammate’s give their own commentary of the game and their insights of the opposing team’s players.

“Shugo, someone wants to have an interview” Takato called as the captain stood up from his seat about to walk to where they were waiting before he stops in his tracks and looks back.

“How about let’s have Bokuto, Atsumu, Sakusa, and Hinata do the interview this time?” he suggested, as Sakusa’s lips turned into a frown while the other three vigorously nodded their head “They're the stars of today’s game I’m sure the interviewer would love to hear from them”

Sakusa tried to make a last-minute getaway, but Atsumu took hold of the towel wrap around his neck and started dragging him, following after their captain.

“C'mon Omi-Omi, it'll be fun" Atsumu just grinned, watching Sakusa's face morph into a scowl as he tugs on the towel “Just live a little”

“I am living”

You quickly pack the empty water bottles and the dirty towels into the bag that Takato was holding while the rest slowly made their way back into the locker room “I’ll leave them to you (Y/n)”

You nodded, jogging after your teammates and immediately spotting them just outside the court, they've already started because you could hear the questions the reporter were asking them as you move to stand beside Shugo. The interview was going well, they were giving honest answers and honest opinions about the game, however, as it goes on, the reporter seems to have taken a liking towards Sakusa because he seems to be the only person the reporter was pointing the microphone at.

While the three idiots who were being ignored decided it was a good idea to do gymnastics at the back. You and Shugo watch in horror as Bokuto does a double backflip, landing perfectly on his feet, both hands raise high, Hinata mimicking his actions and Atsumu following after with a front split all the while not breaking eye contact from the journalist who had notice them. Sakusa who has had enough just plastered on the biggest I-Don’t-Give-A-Fuck face while giving one-word answers.

Shugo who can’t do anything about it just banged his head on the wall. He wished he could have an early retirement but God he’s still young.

“What happened?” Inunaki asks watching from the door as you scolded the four from their stupid stunt. Only Bokuto and Hinata were the ones who look guilty and were muttering apologies under their breath while Atsumu was pouting saying things like.

"I did nothing wrong" or "She was being rude"

Meanwhile, Sakusa doesn't even understand why you're getting angry with him as well, he answered that woman's question like what he was told to do, he just chose the fastest route and the lady seems happy.

“You’ll see later”

They didn't even have to wait long because, after an hour, the video was already circulating the internet, earning hundreds of views by the minute with people commenting like crazy.

“The good thing is, we just earned ourselves more fans” Adriah laugh, Takato’s phone in his hand, the device letting out a ding every minute as the team’s official Twitter and Instagram account were flooding with notifications of new followers or tagged posts.

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

Meeting their fans were always one of the things they love to do, the prospect of connecting with people who had supported them throughout the years that they played just keeps them even more motivated to train harder and play better.

“Okay everyone, be gentle with the kids alright? Bokuto, Hinata I’m looking at you” The captain shot the two mentioned players a look to emphasize his point however the mentor-disciple duo wasn't even listening and instead was jumping in excitement, waving at the kids waiting at the other side of the field.

You chuckled, they're just the same as they were in high school and here you thought they've matured a little bit now that they're in their 20s.

Right now, the team was in Kawasaki for a mini fan event held in one of the city's local elementary schools. The team came to an agreement last night, after watching the hilarious black jackals’ post-game interview, that it would not be just fun and games. They should also discuss some bits and pieces of the position they play to give the children some insights and give an early understanding in case they plan to pursue a volleyball career in the future.

However, with kids being kids, didn't seem to care nor interested in the slightest because once it started, they quickly run to their favorite member and started climbing them like trees. The tall ones, especially Adriah and Oliver have at least two kids hanging on each arm, with one of their back, and another on their leg.

"It's good work-out" Takato noted, telling the other kids to do the same to the rest of the members before snapping a few photos to update the fans of the team's schedule for the day.

You guffawed watching as they tackle Atsumu to the ground, the blond screaming for help while clawing at thin air for something to grab.

"Don't worry Atsumu-san, I'll help you!" Hinata tried so hard to pull Atsumu up, but another kid jump on his back resulting in him losing his footing and falling beside the setter.

Bokuto wanted to offer his assistance, but a little girl accidentally tripped him, landing on the two.

"Bokkun, yer heavy!"

"Sorry!"

It turned into a messy dog pile and Sakusa, who was beside the chaos, move his own horde of children to another area before showing his wrist trick. A chorus of oohs and aahs was heard, as the kids watch with wide eyes as it easily bends forward before a boy decided to do the same, but backward, and you have never been so bothered by something before.

You close both eyes, involuntarily shuddering 'Goodness, what are they feeding these children?' you crack an eye open to take a quick peek to check if they stopped but no, another kid also wanted to show his own freak talent and now there's three of them.

You turn around, you're just going to let them do their thing, they seem to be enjoying it anyway.

Feeling a tug on your skirt, you look down to see a little girl looking at you with sparkling eyes.

“Onee-san, you’re so pretty” she said in awe, as you leaned down to be at eye level with the girl.

“Oh? But you’re prettier”

She shook her head, and place her small hands on your cheek “But onee-san is like a princess”

You clutch a hand to your chest at how precious this little girl was, Takato was definitely having a field day because he has not stopped taking pictures. The girl took your hand and led you towards the garden, sitting you down under the tree as she picks up a flower crown and placing it on your head.

“There! It fits you perfectly!” she beamed as you try your best not to just wrap her up in your arms and hug her all day, she was just so cute. Her smile is so bright that somehow she reminded you of Hinata, a ball of sunshine with smiles that could light up the whole room.

“Do you have another one?” she nodded her head and showed you another that was half-finish. You remove a few pieces of flowers, switching it with ones of a different color then adjusting its size before tying both ends.

“Now, there are two princesses” you put the crown on her head as she giggled.

You continued making more flower accessories with her, flower bracelets, flower necklaces, and the likes then putting them on each other. She was a bright and bubbly girl, she would share you some stories of her and her older siblings, her parents and her friends in the elementary school.

You wanted to hear more, she was a good storyteller.

Time flies by so fast when you are having fun is what they would always say and you agreed with that saying because before you even knew it, it was time to go home. Everyone is standing by the gate, saying their goodbyes and telling promises to visit again.

“Bye-bye, pretty onee-chan!” she waves at you, standing beside her teacher, proudly wearing her flower accessories.

Later that evening, everyone was lounging around in the living room, tired from playing with the kids all day. The others were watching the news, however, no one was even listening to the television, because their attention was in the game Oliver and Shugo were having.

Inunaki leaned down to whisper something to Oliver, who's face light up, as he moves his queen to eat Shugo's rook.

"Hey, no coaching!"

Inunaki just shrugs his shoulders in response as he discusses their next strategy.

"I'll help you Meian-san" Hinata took a seat beside his captain, observing the board with such concentration. Brown eyes carefully scanning the positions each piece were place before whispering in Shugo’s ear. Following his suggestion with no doubt whatsoever, Shugo moves his queen forward only for it to get eaten by Oliver's pawn.

“Bwahaha!” Atsumu was bent over, clutching his stomach as he wipes the tears forming at the corner of his eyes while Bokuto tries to console his dejected kouhai in between laughter.

Inunaki and Oliver snickered sharing a high five.

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

“Adriah, I need you to tighten that block a little more!”

“That’s good, keep it up Kiyoomi!”

“Okay, follow up, follow up!”

You stood at the sidelines, your eyes following their move as they were currently having a match against each other, Coach Foster and Takato were beside you observing the men on the court while occasionally giving out directives.

A camcorder was prep on your left side to record the practices, the videos will be used as a study material to properly assess the things that needs to be corrected in order to improve their gameplay. While you note down the commentary Coach Foster was saying to add later.

It went on for an hour, their stamina never fails to amaze you as they continuously, jump, dive, and run just to keep the ball in the air. After checking his wristwatch Coach Foster decided that it was time to end the training for the day. So he blew his whistle and the game immediately came to a halt, the ball bouncing on the wooden floor and they drag their tired bodies to gather in front of him, wiping their sweat with their shirt as they waited for his announcements.

“Okay boys good job today, keep in mind what I said and practice more on what you need to improve”

They slowly bob their head up and down, too tired to give out a verbal reply. Coach Foster doesn’t seem to mind because he knows they’re taking his advice seriously.

“This will be the last practice for this week so enjoy your weekend off and rest properly”

After that, they immediately spread out and started cleaning up the gym as fast as their tired bodies can so that they could finally rest and eat some good food.

"Shugo I need the report for last week, can you give it to me by tomorrow?"

"Yes coach, I'm almost done"

Lies, he hasn't even started yet and he was nervous that he won’t be able to finish it on time and if he ever submit the report late, Coach Foster was going to whoop his ass. So many things have happened this week that he never finds the time to start it yet, not even a single paragraph.

No, not even a single sentence.

Seeing your captain's inner turmoil, you walk up to him and whispered "Don't worry, I'll help you"

Shugo shot you a grateful smile, ruffling your hair "You're a savior kid"

That was how you found yourself sitting in the kitchen counter, laptop in front of you, staring at your current work. It would have been easy if the report was in Japanese but Coach Foster prefers it in English.

Shugo was sitting across you, hands fast and typing away, Takato was seated beside you rewriting your notes while the others, who still weren’t feeling sleepy at 11 pm were in the living room watching a movie.

"How do you spell Schweiden again?"

"S-c-h-w...uhh" Shugo's mind seems to have failed him mid-spell as he closes his eyes to try and remember.

"S-c-h-w-e-i-d-e-n" Sakusa finished for him as he walks into the kitchen to get himself a glass of water. The movie must have already ended because the others were already piling into the kitchen, cans, and bottles of drinks in hand and food wrappers place in bowls.

"How's the report going?" Inunaki peered behind Shugo's shoulder.

"It's going great" It’s not, it’s actually not, Shugo is definitely close to pulling his hair out. He glared at his laptop as he continues on smashing the keyboard keys, opting to finish the report as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, you felt like your brain was short-circuiting, English is definitely a hard language, it's complex, it's tricky and certainly a pain. One word can mean two things depending on the pronunciation and its sentence usage and can have a whole different meaning when spelled and one letter is missing, like for example 'public', take one letter out and what do we get?

Pubic.

Anyway, that's not the point, the point is English is hard, and you were close to losing your mind.

You took a sip of your drink, which was coffee mix with a monster energy drink, it was definitely death in a cup but you couldn't care less. You need to stay awake and your deadly concoction was doing a great job keeping your eyes open.

"You know” you started resting your chin on your palm, taking a break from your suffering “I find it amazing how the names of professional volleyball teams are so long like-”

You scroll through the list you have saved in your laptop's notepad “-three to five words at most yet they are referred to by a single name"

"What do you mean?" Takato shifts his eyes from his notebook to you tracing the rim of your cup as your eyes focus themselves on the ceiling.

"I mean there's the Eastern Japan Paper Mills Raijin and everyone calls them Raijin, the Azuma Pharmacy Green Rockets is called Green Rockets while Schweiden Adlers is referred to as Adlers"

"Yes, go on"

"MSBY Black Jackals is sometimes called MSBY or Black Jackals but even those names are a mouthful"

By now, everyone's attention was on you, curiosity flooding their mind as they wait for you to finish.

"So the team is mostly referred to as BJ" you look up and with the most serious face ever, you said "But has anyone even realize that BJ also stands for blowjob?"

Hinata, who was drinking a glass of milk choke on his drink while Atsumu slowly turns to look at Bokuto mouthing a "What the fuck?"

Oliver let out a nervous chuckle "You should take a break (Y/n)" he tries to set your laptop aside so you could rest your exhausted brain, but you shook your head and started working again, finally having the idea outlined in your head. That short break was very effective because your hands were seamlessly gliding over the keyboard keys, as input more words in to your work.

"Also, what does MSBY even mean? Most Significant Byte? I don’t get it"

They don’t get it either, as to where this is all coming from. They swore you have it stored in your mind for so long and just waited for the right moment to tell it.

It was amazing too because while you were going on and on about anything that you could think of, you were also typing on your laptop. Hinata took a peek to see if you were actually doing your job instead of just key smashing, but he was surprised when he saw you busting out an actual paragraph in English while spewing out nonsense in Japanese.

Multi-tasking sure is an impressive skill. He should learn it sometime.

You ran a hand through your hair, you were starting to have trouble again. You were in the zone for about 30 minutes but after that, the effect of your drink started to wear off and you were on a dead end.

The others had decided you hang out in the house's big kitchen doing their own thing, your eyes darted from every corner of the room, trying to find some sort of a cure to help your mental block.

Adriah was seated next to you scrolling through his phone as he nibbled on a pocky stick, you tap him on the shoulder as he looks up at you questioningly "Adriah-san, could you slap me in the face?"

Taken aback by your request he sputtered, almost dropping his phone "W-what?"

"I need something to keep me awake and this is not working anymore" you gestured to your now empty cup "I'm guessing the pain might keep me awake until I'm done with this"

Now, if you actually wanted to feel pain you could have asked at least one of the team's spikers, but you were not dumb enough to actually do that.

Adriah search your eyes for any signs that you were joking, but he found none "Are you sure (Y/n)?"

You assured him that it would be fine, so he raises his hand up as you prepare yourself for the impact.

Sleep must have been overtaking everyone's mind because it took them a few seconds to realize what was happening. Adriah's hand already collided with your face, he had underestimated the force he put in that slap but then soon find out he put too much when a smack resonated inside the kitchen as your body fell from the stool and landing on the cold tiles.

The whole room erupted into a panic as your body lays unmoving on the floor.

“Oh meu Deus!”

"Shit, shit, shit. Adriah what did you do?!" Inunaki kneeled down beside you, the cheek where Adriah hit was glowing red with a visible hand mark starting to form.

"I don't know, I just did what she ask me!" Adriah replied, equally as panicked.

Takato was now checking your pulse, to see if it was still beating. It was a bit exaggerated, a slap wouldn't kill you but with how strong Adriah did it. Takato wouldn't even be surprised if you snapped a vein in your neck.

Bokuto being the drama queen that he is, was shouting words like “(Y/n), don’t die you’re still young!” followed by a “Akaashi will be so sad if you go!”

And Atsumu, instead of being a good senpai that he claims he is, didn’t even think to help you. Instead, the first thing he did was to grab his phone and went live on Instagram to broadcast the madness happening in your shared kitchen.

"Goddammit Adriah!"

"Why are you blaming me?!"

Fortunately, you just passed out; picking you up, Takato carried you back into your room, and tucks you in. Gently closing your door, he goes back into the kitchen to calm them down before the neighbor calls the police on them.

He let out a heavy exhale, rubbing his temples “They’re hopeless”

What would he do without you?

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

When you woke up the next day, you could still feel a stinging sensation on your cheek, your head hurt as well, you wondered what happened to you after you blacked out. You sat up in your bed, rubbing the sleep from your eyes and checking the clock on your night stand to see that it was already 8 am.

So you get out of bed, and walk downstairs into the kitchen to see everyone already there preparing breakfast. It seems like it wasn't just you who woke up late, because after Adriah slapped you to sleep, Shugo roped all of them into helping him with his report, and since none of them were familiar with the job. It took them until 2 am before they were finished and immediately e-mailed the document to Coach Foster.

"Good morning, how's your cheek?" Oliver eyed the slowly fading red mark on your cheek, standing besides Inunaki, holding a plate as the libero carefully places the pancakes in a neat stack, then flipping the other one that was still in the pan.

"It still hurts a little" you took a seat between Hinata and Sakusa, already eating their breakfast. 

Adriah passed you a plate with five pancakes stacked on top of each other, a slice of banana on the side, followed by a cup of your favorite coffee. Your eyes were literally sparkling, the food looks so delicious and it smell so so good you almost drooled “I'm sorry about last night"

He gave you a gentle smile, eyes soft, whoever was going to be this man’s future lover sure is very lucky.

"There is nothing to be sorry about Adriah-san, I was the one who asked for it" He was such a sweetheart, it wasn’t even his fault yet he took the time to prepare your food himself, now you just felt guilty by asking him to hit you.

You took the bottle of maple syrup Sakusa handed to you as you drizzled some of it on top of your pancakes "Also, please remind me to never do that again"

Everyone collectively agreed, after last night's scare, there was no way they were going to agree to any odd request you have, no matter how serious you were. 

Breakfast was quick, mainly because everyone had a photoshoot to attend at 10. It was a magazine photoshoot for a swimwear by a very well known brand, however it was also the photoshoot they were looking forward to. Because not only was the brand a favorite of theirs, they’ll be partnered with famous models as well, so it was a win-win on their part.

After everyone was finished, the dishes were immediately cleaned, the table wiped off of any food crumbs while the trash was taken out. The guys went back to their room to get ready, and once everyone was ready to go, they piled into the bus as it drove off to the beach which was the venue for the photoshoot.

"It's sure is refreshing to be walking by the sea" Inunaki gazed towards the blue water splashing along the shore, following after their two managers towards the area where tents, chairs and cameras were already set-up.

"It looks so beautiful too" Oliver said, kicking the white sand under his flip flops as the staff led them to the chairs lined out. The make-up artist immediately worked on their look that was going to be aligned with the photoshoot's theme.

"Ahh~ it's so hot" you hold the mini fan closer to Bokuto's face while Sakusa takes the one you were holding out for him, beads of sweat running down your face as Takato took care of the others. Of all the times they have to choose, it has to be in the middle of the day, when the sun is up and proudly shining.

The models were in another tent, dressed in their robes while they waited for the stylist to finish the last touches on the boys’ hair, once done, they changed into their designated swimwear, while the girls removed the robes they were wearing. 

It took them about two hours before they were finished, the director wanted to get as many shots as he could so he had plenty to choose from. The break in  between takes were crazy because the make-up artist and stylist had to jump from one person to another just to do some retouches, the girls especially, were very fussy and wanted their make-up redone every thirty minutes.

“This is the last time I’m working with models” Sakusa grumbles, as you hand him a packet of wet wipes as he takes a piece and rubs the lipstick stain off his cheek when the model he partnered with gave him a kiss earlier.

You could only offer him a sympathetic smile, even though this was not his first endorsement, he still wasn’t used to interacting with strangers. Not so keen to them casually touching him and invading his personal space.

“Oh Kiyoomi~” Sakusa let out a groan before turning to look at the woman jogging towards him, already changed into a yellow sundress and a sunhat on top of her head. “Here”

She placed a folded paper on his palm “Call me” then blew him a kiss before she walked away. Sakusa opened the paper to see her name, number and even address written on it.  He stared at the paper for a good second, before he met your eyes.

He just looks so done with everything.

“Isn’t this our lucky day?” Shugo whistled, pieces of papers on his hand while slinging an arm around Bokuto’s shoulder and sharing a grin with the pepper haired male. With Atsumu trailing behind them, saving the ones he received in his phone. Oliver threw his away because he’s happily married, while Adriah, Inunaki and Hinata gave theirs to either Bokuto or Shugo.

“The models” Sakusa started, looking at them as he crumples the paper on his hand “They’re married, all of them”

Oh 

Shugo dropped the papers in shock, jaws slack while Bokuto immediately deleted his copy, not wanting to get involved in a scandal just in case, and Atsumu was still having second thoughts, staring at his phone, his thumb hovering over the delete button.

Should he or should he not?

Sakusa just rolls his eyes before stalking off into the tent.

They quickly change back into their own clothes, leaving the venue with bags of the swimwear they just modeled. The brand’s logo is big and bright in the middle as your group walks to where the bus was parked.

“Ah, Captain Jackal” Shugo turned his head to see Schweiden’s captain walking over to him, wearing their team uniform, his hand raised in a wave.

“Bird” He leaned to the side noting the group of children crowding behind the area where he just left “Were you doing a meet and greet?”

“Yes, surprisingly the kids love Ushijima and Kageyama” Fukuro pointed to the two mentioned players with kids crowding at their feet, some hanging on their back while the others tugs on their arm “By the way, is (Y/n) here?”

Shugo pressed his lips into a thin line, turning his body to face Fukuro properly. “I know what you’re trying to do”

“No, you don’t”

“We’re not giving you our manager, get your own”

“But you already have two!” 

“I don’t care!”

They glared at each other, a month after you became a part of the team, Fukuro tried to recruit you into joining the Adlers. He even sent Ushijima, Hoshiumi and Kageyama to talk to you hoping that the idea of having familiar faces in the team would change your mind but alas, you were more comfortable with MSBY so you declined every attempt.

However, Fukuro found your one weakness and he’s using it to his advantage whenever he can.

He caught sight of your figure standing near the bus, he shot Shugo a smirk before cupping his hands around his mouth “Oi (Y/n), Adloo’s here!”

They heard you gasp, letting out an excited squeal.

“Adloo!”

You shove your things into Atsumu’s hands and sprint towards the mascot who was already holding out his arms for you. Shugo felt his eye twitch at the smug look on Fukuro’s face as they watched you rock the mascot back and forth with glee. He marched to where you were burying your face on Adloo’s soft fabric and plucking you from its side, then walking towards the bus, but not before shooting Fukuro the dirty finger.

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

It was finally the weekend and it was the start of their long awaited day off, Takato had left early to go home to his pregnant wife while Oliver also went home to his family. Leaving the single ones to enjoy the weekend to themselves. It was already 8 am and you were currently sitting on the laundry room’s floor, separating the whites from the colored ones. 

The dirty laundry had been left lying there for almost a week because of how busy everyone was, everyday there was always something new to do, new places to go, and new schedules to follow. Now that it was Saturday, you took it as the chance to finally do it.

Picking up a piece of shirt, you saw a big spider laying underneath it. You jump up, letting out an inhumanly shriek as it circles around in its place.

“(Y/n) are you okay?! What happened?!” you pointed to the spider now crawling the walls of the washing machine, while running to hide behind them in the hopes they’ll get rid of it.

“What the fu-”

“Miya, kill that thing” Sakusa pushed Atsumu forward as the blond stumbled into the room, brown eyes zeroed in on the insect in fear that it might jump on him the second he turned away.

“Are ya crazy?! That thing’s huge!” 

He jammed himself in between Shugo and Adriah, pushing the two forward to be the new sacrificial lamb, the bug now sitting on the top of the washing machine stared back at them, unmoving. Black orbs following their movement, calculating, as if choosing his victim.

 Which of these idiots should it jump on first? 

“That’s it, this place is infected, we’re leaving”

“Hold on a sec, we ain’t leaving this place just because of one spider” Atsumu tried to reason with the man, but no luck however because Sakusa just thought of another way to get rid of the spider.

“Fine, lets burn it down then”

Sakusa turns to retrieve a fire starter and gasoline from the supply closet, actually serious. Atsumu quickly grabbed the back of his shirt, stopping him from actually setting the house on fire. If there was one thing that everyone learned from being with Sakusa for so long, when he says he is going to do something, he is going to do it.

No bullshitting.

So if he says he’s going to throw Atsumu out of the second floor balcony, best believe he’d be doing it an hour after his declaration.

“Even worse! This house costs millions Omi, our combined earnings won’t even cover for the damage!” 

“Actually, it can”

“(Y/n), yer not helping”

“Okay, that’s enough” Shugo went in between the two “Let’s catch the spider first before it gets away”

“Uh… Meian-san” Hinata lifted a shaky hand pointing to where the arachnid was supposed to be, but the space is empty. Panic ensues and everyone searches high and low for the bug, lifting up furniture and other decorations looking behind paintings and opening kitchen drawers.

“Everyone it’s here!” Adriah called from the living room, he tiptoed towards the spider, jar in hand, ready to catch it in case it disappears again. You held in a breath when he was only a few centimeters away, slowly he lifted the jar and covered the spider. Sliding a paper underneath it, then took it outside to dispose of it.

Inunaki let out a sigh of relief before walking back into the kitchen to finish inspecting the fridge for any more ingredients to cook. The gang had decided to have Shabu-Shabu for lunch later and he was checking if there were enough ingredients left to serve 8 people. While you went back to the laundry room to load the clothes into the washing machine.

“We need to buy more” Inunaki closes the fridge door, as he checks the cupboards for the sauces and other spices.  “Meats and vegetables especially”

He took a piece of paper and wrote down what needs to be bought, double-checking the list if he forgot anything. 

“We’ll go!” Atsumu pulled Hinata and Bokuto towards him then pointing a finger at Sakusa who was spraying the kitchen counter with some lysol then wiping it with a rug “Omi-Omi too”

“What? No” 

He declined, but the blond just ignored his protest before looking at the older members. “We’ll be fine”

“Are you sure?” Adriah leaned on the counter as he looked at the troublesome four, they have done grocery shopping so many times before and it always turned out okay, the only difference is that before there was at least one of the older members accompanying them, while this time, they were choosing to go by themselves.

“No need to worry Adriah-san” Hinata tried to reassure the man, and although Adriah did relax a little he still hadn’t agreed to it yet. You walk in the kitchen, the first batch of laundry already in the washing machine, tumbling around as the detergent removes the dirt and bad smell.

“I don’t see a problem” Shugo pipes up “They’re adults now, I’m sure they wouldn’t fail something as simple as grocery shopping”

Inunaki was still a bit hesitant, his eyes darting to each face of the younger members of the team, though mainly focusing themselves on Atsumu and Bokuto, because he knows those two share a brain cell but don’t know how to use it.  However, Shugo is right, so he gave you the list and the money before following the five of you into the garage.

“So who’s driving?” Shugo held up the keys, twirling them on his fingers while they put on their face mask and cap to avoid getting recognized in public.

“I will” 

He stared at Atsumu, eyes blinking before turning to you, jiggling the keys. “(Y/n)?”

You shook your head. “I’m still learning Meian-san”

“Ya gotta trust me captain!”

“I find that hard to do Atsumu”

Shugo retorted, but still dropped the keys to Atsumu’s hand as the blond opened the car and turned it on.

“Don’t damage her!”

“We won’t!”

The three of them watched, as the car went out into the driveway and zoomed through the streets. Leaving a trail of dust behind as the vehicle went out of sight in just seconds.

“I think, I made a mistake”

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

You stumbled out of the car, your heart beating fast and knees wobbly, clutching the side of the door as the trauma of a near death experience still haunts your mind.

"I think I'm going to throw up" Hinata pressed his palm on his mouth, face pale, his other hand wrapped around his stomach as he tried to contain the puke threatening to come out.

“I thought you said you could drive?” Sakusa shot Atsumu a glare, adjusting his mask. When the setter offered to drive, you thought he was actually good at it, you did not expect for him to almost crash the car at the gasoline station or nearly run an old woman over.

“That was dangerous Tsum-Tsum” Bokuto massaged his forehead, he hit the back of the driver’s seat rather hard when Atsumu slammed his foot on the break, just a few feet away from killing an old lady. Fortunately, there were no traffic enforcers nor police officers nearby and the woman didn’t even realize she was close to meeting her creator today. She happily crossed that street, as if she owned the place.

“Hey! I’m just not use to this car okay?” the setter reasoned patting the car’s hood, rubbing his palm over the sleek black top “It’s different from the one I drive back home”

“If you can drive it doesn’t matter what car, you’ll still be able to drive it properly” Sakusa crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow “Did you even pass your driving test?”

“Of course I did, I got 90%,” Atsumu answered proudly, placing his hands on his hips with his head held high and his lips upturned into a smile.

“Was the instructor a girl?”

“Yes”

There was silence, everyone staring at him doubtfully, eyes narrowed and judging.

“Stop looking at me like that!”

“But guys…” Hinata called as he waved them over, pointing at a long scratch mark on the passenger’s door. It was big, about an arm’s length. “Captain is going to kill us”

You walk around the vehicle to check the other side, to see another one on the side of the car’s hood. You clutch your head in frustration, face drained of any color, it would’ve been okay if it was just one, but there’s actually two of them. “Meian-san just bought this four months ago”

“We have to pass by a repair shop before we go home” Bokuto scratched the back of his head. “Tsum-Tsum is paying for the paint job of course”

“Alright, alright. Sheesh. Let’s go buy the groceries first” Atsumu quickly huddled everyone together and started pushing you all into the market’s entrance.

The farmers’ market is always the best place to buy ingredients, it’s cheap compared to the ones sold in malls where prices are doubled, sometimes even tripled, and it’s just ridiculously expensive. You can bargain with the vendors as well, in case some of the items were a bit too pricey. Luckily, the market isn’t too crowded, there weren’t many people buying yet which was unexpected since this place is usually packed during the weekend.

However, there was also one thing that you didn’t expect. Apparently, with how many times you frequent this place during your shopping trips, either one of the boys had made friends with some of the vendors.

“Hinata look, it’s you!” Bokuto held a tangerine next to Hinata’s head lifting his hat a little and grinning at how the fruit’s color was almost the same shade as his disciple’s hair. 

You pick up another tangerine, examining it for any damages before looking through the rest of the ones displayed. While the others look through the rest of the fruits they offer, bananas, avocados, apples and some grapes. Anything they found very appealing was picked up and placed inside the bag.

“How much for all of these?” you look at the girl, pointing at the bag that’s almost filled with fruits, but she seems to be looking at something else. You turn around, following where her eyes were focused to see the troublesome four eating some of the fruits.

“We haven’t paid for those yet!” you shriek before turning to the girl again and bowing furiously “I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!”

“Wouldja relax (Y/n)-chan?” Atsumu took hold of your shoulder, stopping you from hitting your forehead on one of the crates “These are free samples”

He pointed to the little corner of the stall where smaller size crates were neatly arranged, three pieces of each fruit sitting inside with the sign reading free sample, pasted at the front.

“They’re really good (Y/n), here” Bokuto fed you a piece, watching as you munch on the sweet and juicy fruit.

You let out a hum, swallowing the fruit “This is good” you turn to look at the girl, eyes wide “This is really good

She gave you a shy smile, a light shade of pink now visible on her cheeks “Really? Thank you”

“So, how much for all of these?” you opened your bag, pulling out your wallet.

“It’s okay, this is free”

You almost drop your wallet from what she said, you shook your head fishing out a few thousand yen bills and giving it to her “No, this is too much”

She pushes back your hand, lifting up your bag and giving it to your companions “Consider it as a gift” then she moves to serve the other customer in waiting, waving your group goodbye.

Sakusa pushed you to move when he still saw you staring at the rejected money in your hand, leading you to where you were going to buy your meat. Passing through the vegetable stands where you still need to buy some for when you’re finished at the butcher’s shop.

“Hiruma-san good morning!”

“Ah, come in come in!” an old man from behind the counter grinned, lifting the clever over his head before bringing it down on the thick meat place on his wooden chopping board. “What would you like today?”

He wipes his hands on his apron, walking behind the glass case grabbing a tong, snapping it a few times as they pick the meat they like for their lunch later. They were pointing mostly at anything they lay their eyes on, and Sakusa has to remind them about the budget and that they can’t have pork, beef, lamb, and duck at the same time.

“The others didn’t come with you today?” the old man asked, picking up the pork and beef slices that were far too many and bagging them.  Then he grabbed another bag and went to the fish area.

“They’re busy at the house”

At the corner, you were counting the money, mentally calculating your budget again. The old man was giving large portions of the meat and you knew that it wasn't very cheap. Just a few cuts alone were worth a few hundred yen, what more when there are two types of meat involved with different varieties of fish thrown into the mix.

He tied the bags then gave it to Atsumu and Bokuto as Sakusa refused to touch the raw meat, not until it had been washed properly, not even if it’s packed away in a bag.

“This one is on the house”

“What? No!” you scrambled towards the man, almost tripping yourself in the process “Hiruma-san please just take the money, this is too much”

“This is a thank you for being such good patrons” he didn’t even let you say another word, the man just walked off to the other side of the display case catering to another customer who walked in.

What is up with these people ignoring you?

Hinata led you out, patting your back, chuckling at the pout on your face.

“Hinata, is our money not good enough?” 

“Maybe they’re just feeling generous today (Y/n)” 

You stood outside the shop, eyebrows furrowed in thought, you were starting to wonder if they were genuinely just being generous folks or there was something hidden behind their actions. 

“Now, all we need are the vegetables then we can go home”

You look around for a nearby vegetable stall, one that you think is not friends with any of the guys so they’ll have no choice but to accept your money like a proper businessman.

“That one” you pointed to the one just besides the meat shop. “I’ll go”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, just stay put” then you walk off face determined. “Hello”

The vendor put down the crate he was holding, wiping his hands on his pants and walking over to you.

“(Y/n)?” You internally groaned, your old high school classmate standing in front of you at the other side of the stall, and here you were hoping it wouldn't be anyone you know.

“Masuda, long time no see” you nodded your head at him, picking through the vegetables. They were all fresh, he must’ve just arrived.

“Yeah, six years is a long time” He grabbed a basket holding it out for you, as you picked out, mushrooms, carrot, green onion and napa cabbage. “Doing some grocery shopping for the team?”

He gestures to the large amounts of vegetables you’re dropping in the basket “Yep, they’re big eaters. All of them”

He laugh placing them inside a plastic bag “They’re athletes after all” 

“How much?”

You accepted the plastic big, the money ready in your hand.

“No. it’s free” you squint your eyes at him, pursing your lips “Consider it as my payback for helping me so many time during high school”

“School has nothing to do with this Masuda” you grab his hand, slamming the money on his palm “So for the love of all things holy, just accept the money”

You stared him down, daring him to refuse it one more time. He nodded his head, clutching the cash as you walked away satisfied that finally, finally, someone accepted your payment. You swore, if these people just keep on giving their products away just because the customer is a friend or a relative, you won’t be surprised if they go home without any profit at the end of the day.

“Let’s stop by the repair shop first then we’ll go home” Atsumu reminded before looking down at Sakusa’s outstretched hand “What?”

“Give me the keys, I’m driving this time” He snatched it out of Atsumu’s hand then climbed into the driver’s seat.

«──────────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ────────────»

"It's such a nice day today isn't it?" Shugo leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. The cabana tent serves as a good shade from the afternoon sun.

Adriah removes one of the earbuds from his ear, hands still moving across his notebook as he writes his notes from his Japanese lessons "It is, the sun feels really good"

They were now in the backyard enjoying the rest of the day besides the pool, Hinata and Bokuto were already playing in the water doing some diving tricks they saw on YouTube. (Y/n) and Atsumu were on the other side, the girl dying the setter’s hair as his roots were starting to show up, meanwhile Sakusa was still inside, probably finishing up on his cleaning.

“Wish days like these would last” Inunaki leaned down, opening the cooler beside his feet, grabbing three bottles of beer and giving it to the two. Opening the packet of chips resting on the table as they munch on some snacks, listening to the song they had put on the speaker to play.

"Kiyoomi, what have you got there?" Adriah asks as the germaphobe walks towards the garbage bags. Masked on his face, his hands covered with plastic gloves, holding what seems to be a ziplock bag filled with some sort of articles of clothing.

"Miya's dirty underwear" he swiftly answered, opening one of the bags and immediately tossing the ziplock bag inside and closing it again "He left it lying around in the bathroom again so I'm throwing it away"

He walks back into the house, probably to resume his cleaning escapades as the three older men could only watch his retreating figure, speechless.

"Should we tell Atsumu?" Adriah took a worried glance towards the piled garbage bag, eyebrows furrow in concern, before looking at the two again.

Inunaki waves his hand, biting on a potato chip "Nah, he'll find out soon once he realizes he's missing a few pair"

So they just continued whatever they were doing, Hinata and Bokuto's shouts and laughter echoing throughout the open space. A cool wind blew past them, ruffling the leaves of the trees planted near the fence as the flowers swayed along with it.

"Bokuto grab a drink here" the pepper haired male pauses his game with Hinata as he climbs out of the pool, water dripping from his body as he crouches in front of the cooler.

"Do you have soda Meian-san?" He rummaged through the multiple bottles and cans of alcohol, pushing the blocks of ice to the side before his eyes landed on the familiar green and black color scheme of a mountain dew can. 

He took the can, and three more bottles before opening them and walking to where Hinata was now sitting at the edge on Atsumu and (Y/n)'s side of the pool, giving (Y/n) the soda and the two other bottles to Atsumu and Hinata.

“I’m still bothered about Atsumu’s underwear” Adriah once again turned around in his chair, eyes trained on the garbage bag, waiting for the time it gets to be picked up. “We could-“

A loud honking sound was heard from the other side of the fence as you stopped what you were doing. "The garbage truck is here" jogging to where the bags were resting. Bokuto and Hinata follow after her. Helping the girl carry them out, with their setter's underwear lying amongst the trash in one of the bags, and Atsumu, who was none the wiser, happily held the back gate open as the three walked out and gave it to the garbage man.

They shared a look, as if they had just indirectly participated in a crime, as the garbage truck drives away towards the other houses in the neighborhood. 

“Let’s just hope Atsumu still have some spare left”

Sakusa who have already finished cleaning walk towards their area. Already changed into a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a pair of flip-flops with a book tuck under his arms.

"You want a drink Kiyoomi?" 

"No, thank you" Sakusa answered, before situating himself on the lounge chair and opening his book. It was rare for Sakusa himself to willingly join everyone, he's usually not into gathering or bonding that much, so the team must have reached a new level of personal hygiene for the Sakusa Kiyoomi to hang out with them.

It's probably the result of (Y/n) constantly reminding them to wash their hands with alcohol and hand sanitizers, telling them to wear face masks when they're out travelling. Lecturing them how pollution and their constant exposure to sweat and social interactions with other people can lead to a disease. When you had said that, they thought you were going to evolve into Sakusa 2.0 but remembered that you were a university graduate with a degree in sports science so they can’t really argue with that one.

“Maybe I should dye my hair as well, what do you guys think?” Shugo started as the two looked at him questioningly, watching as the captain inspected his hair through his phone’s front camera, running his hand through it as he tugs at the end.

Inunaki snorts, slumping on his chair “Oh please, you’re already old”

“I’m not old! I’m only 29”

The libero deadpanned at him “You’re literally one birthday away into turning 30”

Adriah just laughs, closing his notebook and looking at his captain “What color do you have in mind?”

“Blond looks cool” Shugo shrugs his shoulders, watching as you apply the last remaining dye on Atsumu’s hair.

Inunaki groaned “Oh god no, you’ll look like an old man trying to be hip”

“I told you, I’m not old!”

“Oh yeah? Because that gray hair says otherwise”

“What?”

Inunaki and Adriah pointed at the front part of his hair, as he held up his phone to see a strand of gray hair sticking out among his dark locks.

“What the fuck”

“Congratulations captain, that is a milestone” Adriah patted him on the back laughing.

Shugo stared at it in disbelief, lifting a hand and wrapping it on his finger then tugging.

"Don't pull it out, did you not learn from your elders?" Inunaki scolded him, slapping his hand away.

"Learn what?"

"If you pluck it out, they'll spread faster. Just let it be, it's not even that noticeable"

Shugo looked at it again then ruffled his hair to see if it could be hidden within the rest, and was satisfied when he saw it could be covered.

Silence filled them again, munching on their chips and drinking when Atsumu's booming voice erupted from the depths of the huge house.

“Where the heck are all my underwear?!”

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

so @ahufflepuffhobbit  tagged me in the First Line game which is great. :D I think I’ll probably end up doing a mix of fic and original writing.

Rules are: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all!). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line.

God this got long: 

Cycles of Song (lotr, boromir/aragorn): Men who dream by daylight with eyes open are the most dangerous, Denethor said. It was after a council meeting and Denethor was wanting for the sun so they were in his favourite courtyard looking southward over the city. 

Hungry Ghosts (original, in progress): The birth chart must be drawn up with care if it’s to be accurate. A city’s history, though, can be as variable as the water’s of the planet. 

Palmdale (original, w/ sinking city review): Ruth wants to clutch entrails. Death is final and lacks decorum. She cannot walk back from this scene with its burnt coffee smell of off-brand hazelnut, its sound of screen door flapping in breeze. Praise Jesus this be a consumptive country; surely it will drown her.

be not afraid of plenty (lotr, grima/eomer): It’s a filthy winter. A filthy, filthy cold winter. Everything that is about to unfold is winter’s fault.

My Land is Bare (lotr, boromir/aragorn): It is in dusk’s purple blanket when Boromir stops running. Hands on knees he calls out, ‘I think I see something.’ This brings the other three to a halt. Aragorn is at his side and they’re being strange and shy so not looking at each other. 

Pale Before the Fall (original, complete & being pitched): Once upon a time, Napoleon saw a dog howling over its master’s body. He looked at it and as he stepped forward his foot went through a man’s face. Half the skull missing from cannon shot.

I’ve been fucking dinosaurs in an effort to reclaim my ability to transform into a velociraptor (original, forthcoming in Humber Literary Review): A velociraptor lives under my bed. His name is Claw and I turn into him if I jump three times. Or he becomes me.

Sweet is the Air (lotr, boromir/aragorn): ‘Did you forget?’ Aragorn asks.  ‘I didn’t,’ Boromir says. 

Naming the World (lotr, boromir/aragorn): North of Minas Tirith there are a series of interconnected ponds, fearsomely ringed in fog, Boromir was taken to them as a child. They were foreign to him, at the time, only eight years old and uncertain. He gripped the pommel of childish sword as his father led him away from men and horses into mist. 

This multiplicity (star wars, Tarkin/Krennic): Krennic falls. He knows moving one part of your body will cause you to flip because trajectory is overly affected by such minutia when in free fall. He twists, slightly, and yes, flips, so he is falling face first towards the planet’s incredibly firm surface.

The Lament of Geography (original, in progress): The Beginning was discovered in an outcropping of chalk at the border of her father’s fields. Bellefry and her sister had been at work digging up tubers to throw at one another when her hand trawl’s wooden spade hit something. 

To-morrow and to-morrow (discworld, vetinari/downey): Every year at the Assassin’s Guild the seventh form is required to put on a play of their teacher’s choosing. Most often, it’s something with a good deal of blood as Guild teachers know what keeps their students’ attention and it’s generally endemic violence, witty one-liners, brutal executions, rolicking brawls, and vile political machinations. 

Every creature responds to light (discworld, vetinari/downey): Downey once saw a man get his head blown off a mishap with fireworks he was ten years old the man was older, twenty or twenty-five, his head became crushed persimmons on cobblestones. His head became overripe strawberries caught in fingers a sticky summer afternoon spent with his grandmother and his mother a ghost in the background washing fine, thin china edges coloured Agatean blue. 

To Conjure a Man (discworld, vetinari/downey): They were loved. This is clear in many burial sites exhumed by archeologists and, occasionally, farmers, carpenters, the Watch. There will be signs that the dead were tended to, cared for, and left with different objects they were understood to need in the afterlife.

Thus, Always  (discworld, vetinari/downey): History is a cyclic poem written by time upon our memories. Take assassination as key example. There was the first assassination on the Disc. The details of it do not matter, only the fact that it happened. All assassinations after all are performances. They are theatered mimicry of the first.

The Mask of the Ordinary (discworld, vetinari/downey): One of life’s unexpected turn-ups was the time I found myself living with Vetinari when we were in our mid-twenties. While the fact that the Patrician attended the Assassins Guild is well known much of his early years are a blank slate for the denizens of this fine city. A state of affairs I believe Vetinari to be rather keen on maintaining. Naturally, I am here to put a small cat amongst the metaphorical pigeons.

A Year Out of Order (discworld, vetinari/downey): August, it always starts here although this is not the new year it ought to be. There should be a celebration like that Small God’s Eve but Small Mercies Eve or Small Miracles Eve. They do not call the days that allowed Vetinari to become Patrician a revolution or a rebellion or a revolt. A man for subtlety it simply was he was not there then he was. If you blink, you missed it.

Propagating Structure (star wars, Tarkin/Krennic): As a child Krennic once read that nothing enjoys the process of entropy, although it is unavoidable and the ultimate fate of everything including the universe. The universe most especially. Of course being hit with a laser from a machine of your own (mostly your own) creation is another level of something-literary-that-he-forgot-along-the-way entirely. Inertia is the end goal. Regardless of the means of getting there. Inertia. Nothing likes that either.

Wrack and Ruin (historical, Napoleon/Wellington): Getting to America wasn't the difficult bit. Which is, perhaps, the most shocking part to both parties involved. That it had taken so little to catapult them across the Atlantic. 

no more a desolate thing (discworld, vetinari/downey): Vetinari is considering language, a hardly unusual occurrence, and he is deep in hazy recollections of ancient Ankh-Morporkian and modern Klatchian and the nature of vernacular languages in their relationship with the State.

I was trying to see themes or patterns and I suppose it’s mostly style. I tend to start with firm statements or action. Also, I think my writing of opening lines could be called muscular. Not all, of course, but it’s enough to be a thread. 

My favourite? Probably Palmdale, Cycles of Song, Mask of the Ordinary and Palmdale. But it’s hard to choose a favourite - I can certainly say which are not my favourites haha (looking at you Propagating Structure and No More a Desolate Thing). 

I’ll tag a few people: @pipuhattar and @becumsh @tatzelwyrm @tauremornalome @squadron-of-damned @suburbanbeatnik 

I have followers & mutuals who may be writers and I’m unaware of it so if you want to do it please consider yourselves tagged!

[teamhook]

|AO3|

|FFN|

I want to thank @captainswanmoviemarathon and the shipmates on Discord.

I want to thank my Beta @ultraluckycatnd for her patience.

Chapter 2

The next day at work started as any other day. David was explaining the features of a Blu-ray player to an older man. 

Leroy was grumbling about Astrid forgetting to pack his lunch again, so he announced he would go pick up something to eat for the group.  

Arthur was idling by until a new customer arrived.

Killian was in his little office working, hoping today would be a better day.

The difference was that today a beautiful blonde entered the store. She was wearing some tight jeans and a red leather jacket. Arthur admired her from afar as she walked down the store aisles.

She stopped in front of the cameras and her head tilted to the side slightly. 

“Excuse me, Miss. Is there anything I can help you with?” Arthur smoothly asked. 

She turned to face him and glanced at the cameras. “I’m looking for a camera. Something cheap but decent quality.” She turned her attention back to him only to notice he was staring at her chest as if he could see through the sheer material that covered her breasts.

Killian was walking from his workspace as he noticed Arthur talking to a customer. He stopped for a second when he could see the woman’s face. It was the lovely lass who came to his home looking for Lacey. She looked stiff, no, uncomfortable. Bloody hell, Arthur was creeping her out. It was time for a dashing rescue.

Killian approached and greeted them. “Excuse me, I’m sorry to interrupt.” He smiled at her and turned his attention to Arthur. “Mate, Cruella is looking for you.” 

Arthur grimaced. “I’m with a customer, Killian.”

“I’m sorry, mate, she says it’s urgent.” 

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry, Miss. Killian will take care of you.” Arthur walked slowly to the back, clearly in no hurry to deal with their boss.

“I’m sorry, Miss. You looked uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, well your coworker is a jerk, but no one saves me but me. I was about to punch him in the face.”

Killian smiled at her. “I see, you’re a tough lass. How can I be of help, my lady?”

She smiled back. “I was telling Mr. Douche that I need a camera. I’m looking for a camera for my kid. He wants to sell stuff on eBay. And I'm not your lady. My name is Emma.”

“Oh, do you have a price range or any brand preference?” He couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Of course, a beautiful lass like her couldn’t possibly be single. He was not that lucky. 

“No, I don’t. I need something inexpensive but gets the work done. He's only doing it to earn money for some writing camp. He wants to be a writer when he’s older.” 

“He sounds like a wonderful young man. You and your husband must be very proud.”

“Is that your subtle way of asking if I’m married?” Emma smiled sarcastically at him. 

Killian scratched behind his ear and stuttered his denial. “No, it would be inappropriate for me to ask.”

“Would it be inappropriate if I said I’m a single mom?”

“No, it’s not. Um.” His attention turned to the cameras on display and he grabbed one. “This is a Nikon Coolpix A100 20 MP Digital Camera and it’s $98.99, but with my employee discount I can knock it down for you to $79.13. I think it will work for what your boy needs.” He smiled.

“You don’t have to use your employee discount,” Emma insisted. 

“It’s the least I can do. Arthur was unprofessional and it's a thank you for warning me about Lacey.” Killian smiled as he handed the camera to her.

Emma eyed him suspiciously; most men only do nice things for her if they want something, but this guy seemed genuinely kind. “Okay, but maybe I can buy you a coffee or something?” 

“That’s not necessary, lass. I just hope it’s of use for your boy.”

They walked to the cashier section, and Killian went behind the counter to charge her. She thanked him, and he watched her walk away for the second time.

No sooner had she left, when Arthur returned from the back office. “Hey, Jones. Cruella wasn't even looking for me, and because of you, she kept me in her office, trying to get me to,” he shuddered, “to ‘service her'.”

Killian winced. Cruella tended to attack Arthur and himself exclusively since David and Robin were both unavailable and Leroy was Leroy. 

Arthur shook it off. “So, where’s the hot blonde?”

Killian glared. “I helped her find a camera for her son.” He had a feeling that the fact she had a child would definitely be a turn off for Arthur. 

“She has a kid? What a waste.” Arthur walked away and put the blonde in the hell no category.

Later on that day, Killian was enjoying his lunch in the solitude of his little workstation. Arthur smiled at him as he entered. “Hey, I’ve been thinking; we should go out. Just the two of us?”

Killian stared at Arthur. 

“Hey man, it’s just unnatural for you to still be a virgin. I mean, you are not that bad looking. Yeah, a little nerdy, but I think we can find a willing woman to do you the favor. If we can’t get anyone, I’m sure Cruella would gladly offer herself.”

Killian’s ears turned red. “I don’t know, mate. I have plans.”

“Come on, what are you going to do? Go home and eat dinner, then watch some nerdy show and finally sleep? Think about it.” Arthur walked away.

Killian regretted not accepting the cup of coffee the lovely lass had offered. He was sure Arthur meant well, at least in his own way. Would it be so horrible to find a nice girl to be with? The right girl? Maybe she had long, blonde hair and sparkling green eyes.

It had been a few days since Emma purchased the camera for Henry. Her kid had loved it; he had been so excited. She had briefly mentioned how helpful Killian had been and that he had some collectibles. Her kid’s eyes grew wide. She had to add that she didn’t think Killian would be selling them, but if he wanted, she could ask for Killian to show them to him. Would it be too forward? There was something about the guy she really liked. He was nice and a gentleman. Hmm, there weren’t too many of those around anymore.   

Henry had noticed his mom had a genuine smile when she handed him the camera. There was more to it, but he wouldn’t pry. Just yet anyway. 

At dinner some days later, Henry asked, “Mom, I was wondering if I could spend Friday night over at Avery’s? We are working on a project for school.”

“Sure kid, what are you guys working on?”  Emma asked as she took a drink. 

“It’s a special project and I also have to work on my submission for writer’s camp,” he said looking down.

“Alright, do you need anything for it?” 

“Well, my computer hard-drive needs cleaning and it's running a bit slow. I was wondering if we could take it to the IT guy at that place you bought my camera. I checked their website and the prices are reasonable.”

“Oh, okay. We can do that. Do we need to make an appointment? The place is small, not a big electronic chain company,” Emma said. “This has nothing to do with your curiosity over the toy collection I saw, right?”

Henry smiled. “Nope, I promise. But if he wants to show his action figure to me I won’t complain.” He shrugged, donning a big, toothy grin. 

“I don’t know if it was a mistake telling you about that collection or not, kid. He might be a nice man but maybe I overstepped.” Emma said, smiling back. “Are you going to tell me anything about the special project or your submission for the camp?”

Henry studied his mom’s face. “I want you to be surprised.” 

“Alright. I won’t pressure you into telling me. We can go tomorrow right after school. Okay?” 

“Thanks Mom!” he said with a big grin. 

The grumpy man gave Emma and a smiling Henry directions to Killian’s workstation and they walked directly there. 

The space was immaculate. She noticed a small bell on the desk, so she rang it. From the back room there was some clattering, and some muttering was heard right before a booming voice shouted out, “I’ll be right with you. One second please.” 

Emma turned to Henry and ruffled his head fondly. 

Killian appeared from the room. A bright smile landed on his face as soon as he noticed who it was. “Hello, how may I help you?”

“Oh, hello. Uhm.” She nudged Henry. 

“Hello, I’m Henry and I was wondering if you could take a look at my laptop. I think it needs cleaning, it’s running slow.”

Killian took the laptop from the lad. “Hello, Henry. I’m Killian and I can gladly do that. Just let me run a diagnostic on it.” He went to the back room and came back with a flash drive and installed his program on the laptop. He gave Emma and Henry a smile. “It shouldn’t take long.”

It’s Henry’s turn to nudge Emma. Killian was looking at the exchange. 

“Killian, I-” Emma said.

Ding 

Killian’s attention returned to his task as he checked the computer for the results of a possible virus. His brow furrowed as he did his work. 

Emma studied his movements. 

Henry observed his mom, and knew she deserved happiness. She had been alone for so long. When he asked why, she simply said “You’re all I need.” He wasn’t a fool; yes, he was young, but he knew better.

Killian felt her eyes on him, and blushed. He tried to keep his voice steady. “Lass, this might take a wee bit longer than I expected. If you prefer, you and the lad can go to the diner around the corner. I will give you a call when the computer is ready.”

Emma smiled. “Oh, okay, we can do that. What do you say kid?”

“I can eat,” Henry said as his belly growled. 

After thanking Killian for the recommendation, Emma and Henry head out to the diner, while Killian sighed and got back to work. Once he was finished, he dug out the card Emma had given him when they first met and made the call.

Emma and Henry arrived shortly with a takeout bag. Emma placed the bag on the tidy desk. “Thank you for the recommendation. To thank you, we got you a snack. I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got you our favorite. Grilled cheese and onion rings.”

Killian smiled. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, but you’ve been so kind.” Emma smiled back.

Henry watched the exchange with a smile. He knew it, his mom liked this guy, but getting her to admit it would be the challenge.

Killian cleared his throat. “Your total is $55.99.” The tips of his ears turned red. 

Henry grabbed the laptop and put it in its bag. “Wait, I thought it was $99 for a PC-tuneup?” he said as he pulled out crunched up $20 bills from his pocket. 

Killian smiled. “Aye lad, but I’m including my discount. Your mother said you are trying to save money for writer’s camp.” He handed Henry back his money.

Emma couldn’t believe her ears. He had truly listened to her, and he was genuinely so nice to Henry. 

Henry smiled and lightly blushed. “Thank you.” 

Emma smiled as she paid. She paused for a second, thinking maybe she should ask him out for coffee.

Killian took Emma’s money with a bashful smile as he gave her the receipt. Their eyes met briefly, both full of longing. She smiled as she took the receipt and almost whispered her goodbyes to him. 

His ears were burning. He wanted so badly to ask her out to dinner for a date, but it would be bad form to ask her in front of her lad.  Another opportunity wasted.

Tagging:

@rumdrum91 @itsfabianadocarmo @xsajx @hookedonapirate @kmomof4 @searchingwardrobes @seriouslyhooked @profdanglaisstuff @let-it-raines @revanmeetra87 @snowbellewells @hollyethecurious @kymbersmith-90 @branlovestowrite @thejollyroger-writer @shireness-says @ilovemesomekillianjones @thisonesatellite @thesschesthair @winterbythesea @stahlop @resident-of-storybrooke @superchocovian @lfh1226-linda @artistic-writer @thislassishooked @shardminds @winterbaby89 @xhookswenchx @ultraluckycatnd @gingerchangeling @laschatzi @wellhellotragic @xemmaloveskillianx @courtorderedcake @pirateherokillian @optomisticgirl @darkcolinodonorgasm @sherlockianwhovian @andiirivera @djlbg @jennjenn615 @scientificapricot @officerrogers @imlaxdris71 @therealstartraveller776 @kday426 @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713   @donteattheappleshook @spacekrulesbians @lassluna @carpedzem @captainodonoghue @killian-will-do @jarienn972 @tehgreeneyes @demisexualemmaswan @queen-serena88 @swanslieutenant @tiganasummertree @whimsicallyenchantedrose @bethacaciakay @ohmakemeahercules @klynn-stormz @mariakov81

[palettes-and-prompts]

100 Dialogue Prompts for Mob Boss AUs

1)"Be a shame if something were to happen to that pretty face of yours." 2)"The next person who doesn't follow orders gets their kneecaps blown off." 3)"Be a good girl/boy and do what Mommy/Daddy tells you." 4)"Kisses taste different with blood in your mouth." 5)"Say that name again in front of me and I swear to god I'll knock your teeth down your fucking throat." 6)"Get your fucking hands off me!" 7)"Finish that sentence, see what happens." 8)"If you want to last a day here I suggest you keep your mouth shut." 9)"If you're going to bitch and complain then don't bother coming." 10)"So, let's talk business." 11)"I need a new pair of shoes, these have blood on them, they simply wont do." 12)"Tape their mouth shut, I'm tired of listening to them." 13)"Tell me, if you had to lose a leg or an arm, which one would you choose?" 14)"Don't worry about a thing, baby, I'm going to take care of it." 15)"I want you to know that you can scream if you need to, you can even cry, but just know that the more you do the more I enjoy it." 16)"Hey, I need you to safely remove this knife from my body." 17)"You're not afraid of the dark are you, sweetheart?" 18)"Now this is going to hurt." 19)"I'm not calling an ambulance, are you fucking insane? Those things are expensive, plus they call the police if you have a bullet wound. Rip that metal out and slap a band-aid on me. Let's go!" 20)"The only time a man should be fast is when he's trying to dodge my bullets." 21)"Dig the bullet out and if I scream don't stop, okay? Just make sure you get it all out." 22)"Somebody get me some alcohol." 23)"You know, the last person who talked to me like that ended up at the bottom of the river." 24)"No don't shoot the fucking dog! We're murderers, not monsters!” 25)"We leave tonight." 26)"We need to dye our hair and get the fuck out of here." 27)"We're enemies! That means you don't get to kiss me like that." 28)"If you put your tongue down my throat ever again I'll bite it off." 29)"Let's play a game." 30)"We're going to need backup." 31)"Take off that stupid disguise." 32)"I'm sure I don't need to remind you what will happen if you don't get the job done." 33)"The next time you put your hand on something that doesn't belong to you I'll put a bullet between those pretty eyes." 34)"Most people are attracted to men or women, me? I prefer a sick pair of brass knuckles." 35)"Here's how this is going to go. I'm going to ask you a question and if you tell me the truth then I'll ask you another question. But if you lie I'll start cutting off fingers." 36)"Beg for your life." 37)"Whoever finds them first gets to kill them." 38)"If you don't cooperate I'm gonna have to break another finger." 39)"You look kind of cute with a gun in your mouth." 40)"I don't like smartasses." 41)"Your job is to seduce them, get close to them, and when you're close I want you to kill them. You can do that can't you?" 42)"I'm gonna ask you again, where's my money?" 43)"You ever been buried alive?" 44)"If you want them to live then play with me. You know how to play Russian roulette don't you?" 45)"Don't scream, just come with me." 46)"I don't see why you'd rather work with them, they don’t take you seriously." 47)"The water is pretty cold here. You might want to hold your breath." 48)"You took everything from me, now it's time for me to do the same." 49)"Don't worry, when I'm finished carving you up you wont forget what you are." 50)"I'm counting on you baby." 51)"Are you going to cry?" 52)"Out of curiosity, if you had to kill one friend to save the others, who would you pick?" 53)"You and I have had our differences, but you have to admit we make a great team." 54)"No one's coming to help you." 55)"Do I look like I'm joking to you?" 56)"Finish the job!" 57)"Remember, you're only there to kill one person, don't go overboard." 58)"Your mother/father left you a kingdom, now it's time to put on the crown and rule." 59)"Out of everyone in the world who could betray me I never thought it'd be you." 60)"If you don't leave I'm going to shoot you and it would give me a migraine if I ruined my brand new carpet." 61)"The only reason I'm letting you live if because I owe your friend a favor." 62)"We're not friends. I don't have friends." 63)"I'm not doing this for you." 64)"Now, do you remember what I taught you?" "Start by breaking fingers so they don't pass out as quickly?" "That's my girl/boy!" 65)"I'll always save you." 66)"When I die, everything goes to you." 67)"I trust you." 68)"If I find out you're lying to me it's over." 69)"Don't panic, everything's going to be okay." 70)"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before." 71)"No one can ever know about us, okay? If anyone finds out they'll try and hurt you." 72)"Don't let me down." 73)"If they catch on they're going to kill us." 74)"I'd give up everything to be with you." 75)"I wont ever forgive you for what you've done." 76)"If you ever show your face in my town again I'll kill you myself." 77)"New job, the first person to bring them to me gets the crown when I'm dead." 78)"You can always come to us. We're family, we take care of each other." 79)"You're safe with me. I'm never going to let anyone hurt you." 80)"Run away with me, we can leave our gangs, go far away where no one knows us. We can start over." 81)"Go out there and, no matter how much you don't want to, smile like you’re having the time of your life." 82)"It's all a show, baby, and you're the star. So go take them for all they're worth." 83)"You were pretty good out there, guess maybe there's more to you than just a pretty face." 84)"Is that a bruise? Who put their hands on you?" 85)"You? You're alive..." 86)"Go out there and look pretty while I take care of things here." 87)"I knew you'd never betray me like that." 88)"Don't look at your cards when you get them. Keep your eyes on the other players, the eyes'll tell you everything you need to know." 89)"You stay with my driver at all times, don't go with anyone even if they say they have me. You stay with them." 90)"Tie them to the chair, we'll get the truth out of them one way or another." 91)"I don't like guns." 92)"If I killed you no one would ever know." 93)"You're not ready for your first assignment." 94)"Someone had better be dying if you're calling me this late." 95)"Knives are so much quieter." 96)"How are you going to kill anyone if you can't even hold a gun without shaking?" 97)"I'll make a few calls, clean this mess up, I want this place spotless." 98)"I can't believe they're gone." 99)"You think prison is the worst place you could go? You pull some shit like that again and I'll have you thrown in places that'll make prison seem like a wet fucking dream." 100)"They killed one of our own, so let's go take them for everything they've got."

[jeongvision]

{more long ranting about perfumes ahead aaahahahaha} I’m glad you enjoyed my rambling and ranting ahahahahaha. I hadn’t thought about using Vaseline as a non scented base to hold on to a perfume’s scent!! That makes sense though, I might have to try that 👀📝

Alright so. Bitter Peach. At my Sephora they have that only the staff can swatch or test the products for you, so the woman for high end fragrance sprayed that one first. And I smelled it. And my reaction was just “Oh fucking fuck, of COURSE that fucker would fucking smell like this, what the fuck!” And she was so confused because OBVIOUSLY I sounded like an insane person

I really really liked Bitter Peach, and truthfully it’s not even all that bitter, and the staying power I would say IS stronger than Lost Cherry’s, so I plan on filling a little atomizer to take a refresh with me for when I wear it. I think, versus like an 8 hour wear for Bitter Peach, Lost Cherry is probably around 4-5, depending on how clean your skin and clothing is when it absorbs the scent. Bitter Peach is what I imagine kindergarten teacher Jaehyun wears because it’s less aggressive and sexy than something like White Suede or Fucking Fabulous, and all his kids say he’s a peach because he looks and smells like one and yes I did just hurt myself by saying that 🙂

I ended up going for Lost Cherry probably because it smelled more mature for me once it settled, and because I am a whore with an association of red and cherries as being sensual and I’m trying to embody the energy of “most fuckable person in this grocery store”, you know? But, I’m also a whore for limited run items in special edition packaging, so, give it a month of working my new job and making more money and I’ll probably cave and get Bitter Peach too ahahahahaa 😐😒

Le Labo’s scents I was like, enjoying some of them but not AS impressed as I wanted to be with them, especially for the price point. But Neroli 36 I... I don’t even smell the lily and the orange it is JUST the sea salt and watermelon top notes for me, that’s it, and that’s probably why I just brain rotted and got it. I do like that it’s refillable at certain counters, and there’s like a 20% discount when you do go to refill it, so that’s kinda neat? Also the package design I’m a sucker for.

Other idol perfumes I’ve gotten are Acqua di Parma (I’m a huge simp for EXO and Chanyeol, and he’s one of their brand ambassadors) so I have the men’s sampler cologne set and fuck, there’s one that just... smells like rich husband with a high sex drive, like I don’t know how else to explain it. I also have the Rosa Nobile women’s fragrance (which is one that Tiffany Young wears) but I have to say the staying power isn’t nearly as strong as the men’s colognes.

Anyways I love smelling rich and getting validation from someone else who seems to enjoy the same dksnfnndf thanks for your hand in enabling my purchases 🥰

oh that’s interesting on how you described bitter peach! my friend said she didn’t really smell too much like peaches and would describe it as hot dj jaehyun at the club LOL how fascinating now i want to see what i’ll smell

lost cherry looks like something that would smell so mature and sexy ngl and the color is already sexy itself so 👀 i might buy it LMFAO

omg chanyeol uses acqua di parma?? so does winwin! KAKJDJS RICH HUSBAND WITH HIGH SEX DRIVE THAT’S SO SPECIFIC i can imagine johnny using that type of cologne tbh AHAHA

other than the perfumes i’ve listed on my jaehyun review + other scents from those brands, i also have are marc jacobs daisy dream (taeil uses this one! so clean and floral and huggable uwu) and christian dior miss dior (ohoho very classy and feminine). other than that, i use bath and body works perfumes! 💕

[s-nh]

Idk where I’m gonna go with this but I’m 25 years old and I’m so upset at myself.

I was in a toxic relationship from 17-24 and this person was 4 years older than me. He was caring and thoughtful at times and made me laugh a lot but he was also so cruel and narcissistic, and overall so disrespectful.

I shared my goals and dreams with him and he made me believe they were stupid. As our years together went by I stupidly revolved my time around him. I’d see him 4/5 days a week and spent my entire days with him. Not saying they weren’t enjoyable moments despite the fact that 75% times were spent arguing and not getting along, but as time progressed I started to think to myself,

“I get ready to see him and I come over to his house to lay around in his room all day watching him play video games, smoke and drink and eat.” Things I could easily do at home. I wouldn’t have had a problem If all that time wasn’t spent basically and pretty much doing absolutely nothing.

I was 23, and something in me was starting to die and that was my patience. He was 26. He worked part time at a food establishment, was still smoking and drinking and playing video games. That’s fine. But what else?? Like what else are you doing.

24 I gave up. The verbal and emotional and mental and almost physical abuse was enough. His will of wanting to improve wasn’t there.

I had one more dream left in me that I wanted to accomplish and when he shamed me for it. I reached my peak.

I left.

I felt free and I never knew I had this giant weight on my shoulders until a week went by and started focusing on myself.

I always had this feeling inside me that I gave my genuine love to the wrong person. I wanted to love. I wanted to have someone I could give that love to. But not just anyone. Someone who would reciprocate it back.

I dated someone shortly after and was hit with that “it’s not you, it’s me” excuse. Was I hurt. A little. But I didn’t let it beat me up.

Then this other guy comes into my life and he was so talented, so sweet, so handsome, I was just in such awe by him and All I wanted was to be around him. But he was busy and was “only able” to have me come over passed midnight.

One morning when we both woke up we went out for breakfast and he asked me “so what are your plans after quarantine?”

“What do you mean?”

“Yeah, like what are your moves?”

Then I realized I was over here judging my ex for not progressing while I was doing the exact same thing at the moment. Not really doing anything.

I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to keep taking these classes that had to do with this dream I have but I didn’t want to tell him. I believe in that superstition of “never tell someone what you’re going to do bc if you end up not achieving it, then you were just all talk. Move in silence.”

I can’t remember what I replied with but I remember asking him “what about you?” And he immediately answered with all these tasks and places and work he was aiming on accomplishing and I just felt so mad at myself.

In a way I was glad I was mad bc it kinda gave me a push to just stop being a procrastinating bitch and start moving like I wanted to when I broke up with my ex.

This guy, I just wanted him. I wanted him to myself. I wanted him to keep inspiring me in silence. But unfortunately he didn’t feel the same way about me when I expressed my feelings for him after 5 months of “talking”. I mean I only slept over every weekend and had sex, and received phone calls from him daily but slowly I started to notice a change. That feeling you start getting where you know they’re not as interested anymore as how they used to be? That.

It almost felt like he was forcing himself to call me, seeing me, everything. And this was before I told him how I felt. But I still tried. I’d like to think he was trying too but it almost felt like it was a chore for him. One day he picked me up so we could get boba and as we sat down, he was showing me something on his phone and he handed it to me so I could look at what he was showing me. He received a text and almost immediately took his phone from me to see who the text was from.

It was his brother in law but the way he snatched his phone from a text he got made me recognize that familiar action that my ex would do when he was cheating on me and would take his phone like that from me when he’d receive a text.

I ignored it tho. Later come to find out he was talking to someone else the entire time we were a “thing” and now he’s happy with her.

That’s fine but I wish he would’ve been honest and not hit me with the same shit. “It’s not you, it’s me and I’m just so broken rn and you deserve someone that isn’t. And no there’s no one else.”

But there was.

An old coworker at my previous job was interested in me and he knew what I went through w my ex and these last two guys.

He pursued me and what not and there I go falling for the attention and words that meant nothing once the deed was done.

I’ve become so numb now to men. My walls are so high and another old coworker of mine told me,

“Leave your feelings at home and just have fun. They don’t take you seriously, then don’t put in the effort. Play the game natalie.” I thanked him for what I considered stupid advice but ended up taking it as a few other men started shooting their shot.

I’ve messed around but wouldn’t get caught up on falling for their lame ass efforts. And I say lame bc it was the bare minimum.

They aren’t bothered so why should I be.

After leaving my ex I just started to do what I never did in my late teens and early 20’s and that was going out and having fun.

I made friends along the way and I can’t tell you how much I secretly appreciate the moments of just going out and being around them and getting drunk and being stupid.

But then it’s also a problem bc I should be focusing on getting my shit together and having fun later.

But I crave getting away from my house and just enjoying my time and forgetting about responsibilities and worries and stress from home.

This new guy came into my life and I remember telling him when we first hung out “I’m not interested in anything rn. I don’t want a relationship.”

But he goes out of his way in wanting to spend time with me even though he’s busy himself being a high school teacher, an architect, painter, doing branding for companies, and so much more.

He takes me out, expresses his interest in me, listens, treats me well but I’m stupid enough to not feel a single drop of mutual interest like he does.

I feel nothing.

And then I also feel bad bc I’m wasting his time. I’d love to be his friend but I know he would erase me from his life to get rid of the hurt that I know I’ll cause.

But it’s not fair to him. And not right of me.

Like he knows what I said that day of not wanting anything but it’s like he’s been trying to see if I’ll change my mind.

Myself from a year ago would love and appreciate the fact that I finally found someone who could reciprocate what I’ve been trying to give but my present self now doesn’t feel that same attraction.

Idk I’m everywhere with this whole rant but idk what do.

I can’t with myself 90% of the time.

I need to get it together. Time keeps passing by day by day. Second by second. There’s no going back.

He’s offering me jobs and amazing opportunities but how fucked would I look and be if I accept knowing he’s only doing it bc he likes me and I don’t feel the same.

I’d deny bc of it even though I want to say yes.

I don’t know.

[vincentmacmillan]

Good luck and I hope you can play for a few more years in the Eastern Conference.

Good luck and I hope you can play for a few more years in the Eastern Conference.. SUSAN COLLINS, REPUBLICAN, MAINECollins, 64, is one of the leading centrists in the Senate, the Republican who often most willing to break with her party. I was a minority recruiter at the time and while recruiting in Chicago, students refused to visit my booth because they heard about the slave auction and were upset. Seeing that she said nothing I turned away to the table. I’ve even heard she has sometimes been short of food,” he added in a whisper, feeling for the bell-handle. Canterbury Village on Joslyn Road is known for its 90,000 square foot Always Christmas store that opened in 1993, and the Christmas Store will move into two smaller buildings on the property. She was wheeled to an ambulance and it set off with its blue lights flashing."I thought 'she'd be OK, she'd go to hospital and she'd be fine'. Registration includes a 16 game regular season plus playoffs. It was done in light of anticipation of litigation from the Sierra Club, utility spokeswoman Amy Trinidad said, invoking a legal privilege that lets attorneys keep some information sealed. We need the marriage. Am a father and this breaks my heart. But I noticed a great change in Natasha; there was not a trace now of her old frankness with me; in fact, she sandalias doradas gioseppo seemed to have become actually mistrustful of me. Bruin had ghete galbene piele a little daughter who had been a pet and favorite with the girls. It was also strange that she had written yesterday but had only asked me to come this evening, and had fixed the hour-nine o’clock. pendientes bulgari precio When he saw relief in Arron’s eyes, he knew Emrick was behind him. None of us could see that she was begging. Meanwhile I had to go to Natasha’s. More than 50,000 comments have been added to 10,000 posts. “You were splendid,” Dany told them.. One man tells us what else is there for me to do? They bombed my house. Their limbs wove through one another and creaked with every breath of wind, and their higher branches scratched at the face of the moon.. The border tax adjustment would have the biggest impact on clothing and shoes almost everything Americans wear is manufactured abroad as well consumer electronics, furniture and home appliances. It is this. Once past the chamber door, the chill was palpable. But he had been struck and attracted by Katerina chanel ágynemű Fyodorovna. But remember, this isn't an exact science. "I think it's a place to play for radio people and people who are your peers other people in bands or labels. I fucked Jaime on the morning of my wedding, the queen recalled. Ser Barristan was still wrestling with that suspicion when he heard the sound of heavy boots ascending the steep stone steps at the back of the hall. Also, airlines are talking of taking more capacity out of the system, which could lead to fewer flights on top of the higher prices. In the slave states there are 1,368,325 free white children between the ages of five and twenty; in the free states, 3,536,689 such children. Take your choice from rockin' hot off the grill options including savory balsamic chicken or pulled pork sandwiches, sizzling made to order burgers or top quality, all natural Niman Ranch hot dogs. Give them time, and you will have your answers.”. Beyond masterful, really. “He will. I'm with Larry the Wizards Cable Guy on this one. Still not ready to do that trick in competition, because it not 100% yet, Parrots says. A swirl of sparks rose to meet the snowflakes coming down. And it not unusual for highly intelligent people to have emotional problems. He was not at all sure how he felt about what he had just read. They all knew one another and маратонки puma mercedes amg all had a respect for one another. Though they may differ in size and shape, all air compressors are built to do the same things. A good suitcase can last years, if not decades. Do me the same favor.” The only part of you that interests me is the part between your legs, he almost said. Next we have Alicia Perkins, detected on Sproul in a striking, if somewhat outlandish ensemble. And she gave me a letter from Alyosha. What am I now?. OJ Simpson set to learn adidas stan smith j white tactile blue his fate at July 20 parole. puma red bull racing evo cat ii I hope we may not break oakley m frame ice iridium off all relations. Average cost of this pair of shoes is around $75.. “I suspect what you’re thinking! We certainly have talked about that million, and spent a long time discussing how to use it. A carbon version is also in the works.. I can deliver allies to her. Those leeches that he loves so well sucked all the passions out of him years ago. He was quick, that serjeant. There were pacing problems. The meaning was made more explicit by the words 'we want to see Jesus'. Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images. The gladiator sandal is also a great alternative to normal flip flops or sandals and can be dressed up or down.. We followed Andrea's advice, staged our home with a wonderful stager, she immediately had us on all the prospective realtor websites and the photos duci alkalmi ruha of our home showed off the beauty that we so enjoyed. In 1888, a trust or holding company combined the nation's seven largest mills into the American Cereal Company using the Quaker Oats brand name. Under heavy CPU load (multithreaded Sunspider) we see a 28% increase in power consumption from the 45nm iPad 2,1 compared to the newer 2,4. The Thenns, giants, and the Hornfoot men, the cave-dwellers with their filed teeth, and the men of the western shore with their chariots of bone … all of them were doomed as well. "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A HALF MILLION DOLLAR RV? IT'S NOT THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES."He finishes the tour at a field envisioned for one of the most contentious aspects of the project: RV parking. But, suppose, then, he would tell me that he had understood that the tendency of the gospel was to abolish slavery, and inquire of me if that was the fact. He was the second of three sons, so the other wolves called him Middle Liddle, though not often in his hearing. That was not supposed to happen. Otherwise, you're better off replacing them. A face took shape within the hearth. Bailey simply missed a legbreak from Seekkuge Prasanna and was bowled for 70, then in the next over James Faulkner holed out to deep square leg off Aponso. If he’d had a tail, he would have tucked it down between his legs.. Her blade flashed out, smooth and quick, one deep slash through the velvet and he never felt a thing. Nonetheless, you can see things are not too pretty. He was in the hospital for 10 months.. “There are troubles in the east. "She always wanted to do her very best," Avila said. Even the highest in the land will read it. And even then, it a mathematical dance around reality. “If they were so unseaworthy, they could not have crossed the sea from Qarth,” Ser air max 90 ultra se Barristan pointed out, “but Your Grace was wise to insist upon inspection. N. It’s all my fault and I’ll make it all right.