#I just finished this like 20 minutes ago <3 love and light

[boygirlctommy]

Everin D’Kāio! overlord dictator tyrant Ruler of Moth Morien!

[thot4ellie]

oh sweetheart pt 3

pairing: boxer!ellie x f! jesses sister!reader

word count: 5.4k!!! longest part yet yay

rating: 18+ (smut will be coming in later parts)

warnings: dealer! boxer!ellie, weed, alcohol, boxing, kissing, joel is dead in this, talk of abusive relationship, smoking, they’re drunk but eveything is consensual ofc! lmk if im missing anything

summary: you and ellie share a moment and both of you admit it :)

author notes: hi everyone thank you for all the love on this series <<<333 this is a good one! not all the way edited yet but i wanted to post cause i finished it 20 minutes ago! sorry for the wait but i think maybe some smut in the near future ;) requests are open and id love any feedback. thank you for 200 followers and over almost 2000 likes!! this is unbelievable and im so grateful! pls let me know if u want to be added to the taglist!!!

part 3 | part 4

series masterlist | main masterlist

from the river to the sea, palestine will be free 🇵🇸

READ: this account stands with palestine, and so— i require everyone who interacts to educate themselves, and support/donate. READ THESE; 1 and 2, HELP HERE, BOYCOTT. silence is complicity, do not scroll past this.

DO NOT BUY THE REMASTER, TLOU2, TLOU1, OR ANY GAME FROM NAUGHTY DOG! neil druckmann (the creator) is a zionist. PLEASE READ THIS. AND REBLOG THIS.

finally friday is here, it feels like you’ve been counting the minutes until you see her again. you woke up around eleven am and put water in the kettle to make yourself some tea as you went to the bathroom to get your morning routine done, paramore playing over your speaker in the bathroom. your routine is something you’ve started to build since you moved to try and keep your anxiety at bay, not all the time it works but its a good way to get your day started. you started with washing your face, brushing your teeth, then brushing the bedhead out of the mess you call hair.

a couple minutes later, you hear the kettle hiss and you make your way back to the kitchen and turn off the stove. you picked your favorite mug out of your cabinet and make your tea. leaving the kitchen, you went back to sit on the couch and think about a million different outcomes that would possibly happen tonight when you see her. you wonder if you’re reading too much into the way she talked to you, was she even flirting with you at all? or just being nice? did she just feel bad about seeing what happened outside her gym?

your phone buzzed in the mist of your thoughts on your and you read a text from dina telling you they’re leaving for the gym around 7 and if you wanted a ride. before responding you pulled up the weather app on your phone and decided you could walk there, its a warm summer day out again and by the time the sun fell, it would be cool enough to walk and it was only about 15 minutes from your house, that and leaving open the possibility that she would want to drive you home again.

you texted her back saying that you would just meet them there. you looked at the time seeing its about eleven thirty so you still have a while until you have to leave. you decided you were gonna be productive today. you did laundry and washed your sheets, did the dishes, vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom and made a sandwich for lunch even thought by now it was 4 o clock. as you were walking around your apartment, you made a mental note to try and find some nice thrift stores around to help you decorate your place. you made your way to your bathroom to shower for tonight.

you love taking long showers, its your guilty pleasure. thanking god that your landlord pays your water bill as you dried off from the shower, put on your strawberry lotion, a big black t-shirt and fuzzy socks to hang around in while you did your hair and minimal makeup. you couldn’t stop thinking about seeing her tonight. new girl was playing on the tv in your room as you finished the final touches on your face. doing light everything since its hot but still wanting to look nice for the occasion: finally seeing her again.

four episodes later and its 6 o clock so you change into a pair of black levi shorts and a green top. your hair and makeup still looked good from earlier so nothing to touch up but you still triple checked yourself. you wish you could have smoked today to help beat the nerves but you wouldn’t have anything until tonight, smiling to yourself thinking of you and her on the phone both laughing when you asked if she was bribing you. you slipped on your converse, grabbed your bag, and locked the front door behind you and started making your way to ellie’s gym.

you got there around seven and you didn’t see jesses car yet but you did see hers. ellie’s beat up 2000 green honda cry sat in a spot towards the back of the parking lot. memories of you leaning on her window practically admitting you liked when she called you sweetheart and the peaceful feeling of comfortable silence you both held.

you heard someone call your name in the distance to turn and see dina getting out of the car, you were so concentrated on ellies car you didn’t even see them pull in. you made your way over and greeted them with a hug as dina wrapped your arm in hers and dragged you in with her, jesse following behind. you tried to calm your nerves but it just wasn’t working. not nervous about being here, even after what happened outside with the man last time, but of seeing her again. you’ve only spoken to her a handful of times but you thought of her more times than you can count.

as soon as you made it closer towards the front door, it was loud, like the first time you were here. loud people, loud lights, loud everything but now knowing it was ellie’s changed it. jesse held the door as dina went in first and you both followed. florescent lights beamed from above you, shining on the sweaty bodies in the gym. it was just like it was the first time you came. your nerves followed you everywhere, but it was worth seeing her again.

you went in and dina guided you guys to the same table you had last time. you wonder if they sit here every time. you looked around for ellie but you didn’t see her anywhere. you saw her car so she has to be here.

dina and jesse got up to go get drinks from the makeshift bar while you sat and waited for them to bring back your drink. you looked over to them waiting their turn when you heard something behind you.

“hey sweetheart,” she whispered close to your ear, and before you could respond she pulled out the the seat next to you and sat down.

“hey ellie,” you said almost startled. she was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a black t shirt and all her tattoos were showing this time. it was almost mind blowing seeing her and you couldn’t even explain what it did to you. you don’t understand why a girl you barely know has this effect on you.

“i told you to call me el,” she said and laughed kindly towards you, “i have the stuff for you” she finished.

“oh thank you, i’d hope so considering that’s the reason i came,” you joked.

“wait you mean you didn’t come to see me?” she said sounding fake hurt.

“that was just a plus,” you flirted. dina and jesse came back to the table with the drinks before she responded to you and they both greeted ellie as they sat.

“hey els we didn’t see you before we ordered the drinks, i can go get one for ya?” jesse asked her.

“nah i’ll wait til the next round, thanks though” she told him. she smiled at you and the conversation started between all four of you, before you knew it an hour and a half passed, you had more three more rounds and just enjoyed your friday night. the match started and you find it so convenient that you can still see the ring from where the table is so theres no need to get up and watch considering its not ellie up there.

you watched for a bit until it was coming to the end, cheering erupted and ellie told dina and jesse that she was going out for a smoke, before she got up, she leaned over to you and whispered “you coming sweetheart?” softly in your ear, her face inches away from yours, then she moved back and smiled. she held out her hand and you held it as she pulled you up with her as you blushed so hard, you swear you turned into a tomato.

your eyes stayed on her hand holding yours and the beautiful moth tattoo covering her arm, not believing that she’s actually touching you again. you followed behind her as she moved with you through the gym towards the door, as you walked out still hand in hand you saw the side of the building, it was the same place she defended you the first time you met her.

she lead you over to a bench that you never even realized was there. your hands broke as you both sat, she went pull out her cigarette pack and the lighter from her back pocket when she noticed you were staring at her still. she smirked as she opened the pack, and surprisingly pulled out a joint. she put it in her mouth and brought the lighter up to it before telling you “its not polite to stare sweetheart.”

you blushed and looked away as soon as she said it. she laughed and she passed the joint to you, you told her you just couldn’t help it. and you really couldn’t, she’s breathtaking. the way her freckles danced across her whole face, her eyes had a small tint of brown circling her iris, the scar on her right eyebrow, the way her lips just sat perfectly on her face. you so badly want to reach out and touch them again.

you hit it a couple times, you are sure your cheeks haven’t been back to normal since you saw her and you wonder if she’s noticed. you passed her back the joint and she staring at you taking in every detail of you too as she brought it to her mouth and took a hit. blowing out the smoke she smirked, and said “i can’t either sweetheart.”

she leaned back against the bench, legs spread a little as she handed you the joint and asked, “so what brought you here besides jesse?” she acquired. you told her about living in brooklyn, above the cafe you worked and how your time spent there wasn’t totally great but the real reason was running from a shitty past, you weren’t ready to tell her specifics but you told her that’s why you left, you had to get away from what happened there but it was more like who. she told you she understood and then she told you “well i’m glad you’ve made your way here sweetheart.”

you don’t know if it was the alcohol or weed but you sat outside on the bench for another 20 minutes, smoking and laughing as you talked about so much: you talked about the tv shows you’re both watching, the albums you had on repeat, the guilty pleasures you both had and what you both did in your free time. you spoke to one another like you’ve known each other for years. it just feels so good to talk to someone like this again.

she learned that your parents live in portland, so moving coasts was a big deal but you felt like you were on auto-pilot growing up and you knew you had to get out when you could, she learned that you dropped out of college two years and haven’t made any plans to go back but you would like to. you told her a couple funny stories about you and jesse growing up and she laughed at them all.

you found out that she plays guitar and that she spends time drawing and journaling. you learn that ellie was adopted when she was 14, she grew up in boston, and she has an older sister named sarah but that she doesn’t come around much anymore since she gotten married. she told you that her dad passed away from a heart attack about a year ago and since then, her and her uncle tommy.

“im sorry to hear about your dad els” you sympathized.

“its okay sweetheart, just fucking sucks sometimes.” she responded softly as she put the joint out next to her and slipped it back in her cigarette pack. instead this time she pulled out a cigarette and lit that this time. she slid it in her pocket before she stood up off the bench, offering you her hand again and said you should probably head back inside.

you grabbed her warm hand and stood up to follow her, you started the walk towards the side door but before she opened it, she turned around to you and faced you.

“hey sweetheart?” she asked.

“yes els?” you waited for her to continue, her hand still covering yours.

“im glad you came sweetheart, this was nice, i mean as nice as it gets sitting on the side of this place,” she laughed softly, you felt like she was closer than ever but maybe because you just wanted her to be, “you know, id love to do this again.. and maybe play you something on my guitar.. if you want.” she said almost nervously, feeling the urge to look away from you.

“i would love that els.” you said, looking up from staring at your hands together to smiling in her face. you cant believe she asked you, part of you prayed she would, you knew there was a connection here. she realized it too. your eye contact never faded as you stood here.

“great, im looking forward to it more than you know,” she told you sweetly. she let go out hand and you felt slight disappoint in your heart as you assumed she was going to turn around and open the door and this moment would be over. instead, she brought her hand up to your face and let it rest on your cheek as she brushed her thumb over it. the touch of her warm hand sent sparks through your body this time and you couldn’t be bothered moving as she grew closer to you.

“you have no idea how much i wanna kiss you right now.” she whispered, from only what felt like two inches away from your lips. fuck, you thought silently. she was so close to you, you could feel her breathe as she spoke.

“please do it.” you practically whined, you couldn’t take this anymore. all you wanted to do was feel her lips on yours. after you spoke, you felt her thumb move from your cheek to brushing your lips softly. the drinks you had definitely brought out your confident and the want you had for her.

“oh sweetheart,” she purred towards you, “how badly i want to but it has to be more special than this.” she said moving her thumb back to your red cheek.

“just as long as it happens el,” you responded, breathing heavier as your nerves grew in anticipation.

she nodded as she slowly moved her hand off your face and brought it down to your hip and gave it a squeeze, still smiling at you as she reached to open the door and let you through in front of her.

you walk back into the gym and went to find jesse and dina. you saw jesse at the bar and ellie went over to him, telling you she was getting more drinks. you went over to dina at the table and took a seat next to her. you asked her how the match went and she told you same as always and nothing crazy this time.

“you guys were out there for a while, whats up with that?” dina asked while smirking and wiggling her eyebrows at you.

“dina…” you laughed, “we just smoked and talked for a bit.” you replied to her.

“sureeee that’s all, we see the way you look at her!”, she squealed, “and the way she looks at you, it just seems pretty obvious.”

you laughed and told her that nothing happened yet but you did admit to her that you wanted it to.

“stop we knew it!” she laughed loudly and hit the table in excitement. you pulled your hands to your face that was full of embarrassment.

“what do you mean you knew it, was it obvious?” you gasped. your eyes darting towards ellie at the makeshift bar.

“to me and jesse yes.” she told you still smiling over the fact that her two friends maybe starting something new soon.

as you went to reply, the drinks were on the table, jesse and ellie were back already at the table pulling their chairs. the conversation between you and dina came to a halt as you all started talking. you all sat, conversing and finished your last round by the time it hit around 11 pm. you were getting tired and you were definitely drunk after all the rounds of drinks everyone bought. the matches ended an hour ago and you guys were the last few people left besides the lady behind the bar and a couple stragglers paying their tab and chatting.

“hey i think me and d are gonna head out,” he said looking over to dina, who was definitely feeling all the drinks she had, he laughed and said, “this one needs to make it home into bed. can you make it home okay? i can take you now if you need” he asked talking to you.

“no i’m gonna take her home.” ellie cut in before you could respond. you looked at her and smiled as jesse told you to text when you both got home safe. he helped dina up and they made their way to the door. your eyes followed til they left and then you turned to ellie, who was already staring at you.

“that okay sweetheart? that i take you home again?” she asked smirking towards you.

“yeah els, that’s okay.” you blushed as she stood up and put her hand out for the third time tonight. you connected your hands again. touching her had your skin was burning up. you followed her into a back office. paperwork, receipts, and random things littered the room. as you looked around and saw a decent couch, a safe in the corner and a coffee area on a little table and a large desk with folders and boxes of things you didn’t know.

you watched as ellie disconnected your hands to go over to pick up her backpack from the side of the couch and then she grabbed a jacket she had hanging over the deck of the chair to the desk, she slid it over her shoulders then grabbed a piece of paper, writing something non legible from where you were standing. she smiled when she turned towards you and held her arm out motioning to the door for you guys to exit.

the stragglers were gone and the bartender bid ellie goodnight as she walked out the front door. you walked the distance of the gym and made it to the door with ellie, she leaned over and turned the lights off and then held the door opened for you.

you told her thank you and she nodded towards you, “i think we should walk, it’s not far from your apartment.” she spoke looking towards you for confirmation as she turned and locked up the gym for the night.

“that’s okay but how are you going to get home without your car?” you asked. you didn’t want her walking home alone either, you knew she could handle herself but still, the thought made you worry.

“i’m only 5 minutes away from you actually so its not far, ill be back for my car tomorrow.” she told you. you nodded and both of you continued to walk the sidewalk in a comfortable silence next to each other. you glanced up at the sky, noticing the stars and the way the moon beamed over the city. it was so much cooler now than it was earlier and you moved to brush over the goosebumps that covered your arms. ellie noticed your movement and took off her jacket. you turned when you noticed what she was going and told her, “no its okay we’ll be there soon i don’t need it.”

“sorry sweetheart, got to make sure you stay warm.” she smirked as she put it over your shoulders and watched as you put your arms in. you smiled to her as you readjusted it and continued the walk to your place. the smell of her engulfed you and you’ve never felt so comfortable.

“its so beautiful.” you whispered, “and quiet, new york was never like this. they don’t lie when they say the city never sleeps ya know?” you finished.

the city you moved to that you wish you could escape from. the shitty and abusive relationship you wish you could leave behind. the things you tried the most to forget. you never spoke about it, you just ran. the city you wished had better memories connected with it. but now all you want is to create new memories.

when you moved across the country, you told yourself that you’re not getting into anything here because you know you need to heal from the those years of abuse and insecurity so the last thing you expected was to meet ellie and end up feeling this way about her. you don’t want this to happen and you ruin it because you aren’t okay but with her, you feel like you could be okay one day.

“i could only imagine, boston was a busy place too but not the same, it always is quiet here.” she chuckled softly.

“i love it, things finally seem calm now.” you smiled as you looked her. she took in the sight of you in her jacket and she loved it. she can only imagine seeing you wear her t shirts… or nothing at all. she shook the thoughts from her head but she just couldn’t help it. you were the most beautiful girl she’d ever seen. you were breathtaking. she couldn’t believe she’d met someone like you in this shitty small town.

the town where her dad and her moved, and the memories of them together haunted her. now that he was gone, she knew a piece of her was missing. things were incomplete without him. he was all she thought about, the guilt of what happened and how she couldn’t do anything to stop it.

the only time ellie wasn’t thinking about joel was when she was thinking about you, she was grateful that she met you. she didn’t know what this was going to turn into but she hoped it would be something. she sees the effects she has on you and she wishes she really knew how to communicate with you that she feels the same way about you.

you continued the walk in a comfortable silence, both of you wrapped in your thoughts of each another and eventually made it to the front of your building. you turned to face her with a smile,“here i am,” you spoke softly to her, not wanting the night to come to an end.

“here you are, thank you for letting me take you home sweetheart, call it peace of mind,” she admitted.

“thank you for walking me els… do you want to come up?” you said without a thought. you didn’t know if this is was the alcohol talking but you know you didn’t regret it when you said it and you wish that’s what you could blame it on but you knew you wanted this even sober.

“if you want me to sweetheart” she smirked as she responded.

you stepped closer to her as you looked at her, only a couple inches away from her face, watching her eyes move from your eyes to your lips. you knew you both could feel the tension.

“please just say yes.” you sighed wishing you could feel her lips on yours already.

“okay sweetheart, lets go.” she pulled away but connected your hands and it took you a second to recognize that she agreed. you turned around, suddenly nervous about the fact that she’s going to see where you spend your days. you opened the door to the lobby, and ellie held the door as you both walked in. she followed you up the stairs by the front, and you made your way to the front door as you held ellie’s hand in one and used the other to pull your keys from your bag.

you unlocked the door and you brought ellie in with you before the door was shut and you were locking it. you took off her jacket and put it on your coat rack and turned to look at her.

“okay it’s kind of a mess so i’m sorry but-“ you started before she cut you off.

“sweetheart, your place is practically spotless, you should see mine.” ellie laughed.

you laughed as you pulled ellie over to the green couch that took up a lot of your living room but it was a dream purchase and you loved it. you told ellie to take a seat as you walked over to the kitchen and grabbed some water for you both. as you were walking back towards her, she was digging around in her backpack. as you placed the waters down and took a seat, she pulled out weed in a jar and handed it to you.

“here this is yours.” she said.

“oh thank you! i totally forgot, do you want to smoke now- fuck i don’t think i have anything to roll with.” you told her as you went to open the windows in your living room.

instead of saying anything, she reached back into her backpack and pulled out a jar of already rolled joints.

“i came prepared.” she laughed, “and you won’t owe me anything for that.” she said, motioning to the stuff she gave you as her hands were cracking open the jar of pre-rolls.

“ellie- no i’ll give you the cash,” but she shook her head no and brought the lighter to the joint between her lips.

“no, it’s on me, don’t worry about it.” she responded as she took a hit.

“do you give other people weed for free?” you asked, looking at her as she was smoking while sitting next to you on the couch. you wish you could stay like this forever.

“only pretty girls that i like…” she said sweetly as you held eye contact as she handed you the joint.

“oh so you think i’m pretty?” you teased her as you took a hit.

“sweetheart, i think you’re the prettiest girl i’ve ever seen.” she told you. you instantly blush and look away from her, trying not to choke on the smoke you held in your lungs.

“thank you els, i think you’re beautiful.” you said to her. when you looked up, you saw her cheeks tint lightly as she grabbed the joint you held out to her.

“thanks sweetheart.” she said as she put the joint down on a cup at the table you’d been using as an ashtray and she brought her hand up and held your cheek like she did earlier. you couldn’t help yourself as you nuzzled your face into her warm hand. your eye contact only made the tension in the room worse.

“you really are beautiful… sweetheart, can i?” she asked as she looked down at your lips. you nodded and as she came closer, your lips just barely brushing, as she asked, “i need to hear you pretty girl.”

“yes please els- please just kiss me already.” you begged.

her lips were on yours before you could even realized this was actually happening. your lips moved slow together at first but you couldn’t help yourself from deepening the kiss as ellie brought her other hand up and tangled it in your hair as you moaned, her tongue slipped into your mouth, both of you tasting the weed and alcohol you consumed.

one of your hand rested against her chest and the other gripping her arm as you melted into the kiss. both ellie’s hands were in your hair now as your tongues continued to fight for dominance but you let her win and moaned again and she swallowed it as she kissed you.

ellie pulled your leg over her lap so you straddled her, never breaking your lips apart. your lips continued to move in sync as you grinded against her. her hands on your hips moving with you. your lips stay connected until you broke the kiss to come up for air and rested your forehead on hers.

“you okay sweetheart?” ellie panted as she caught her breath too.

“yes els just need a second.” you said as your eyes stayed shut while you tried to control your breathing. you couldn’t believe that you guys finally kissed. the tension was killing you both and now it’s finally happened.

“hey it’s okay, take your time sweetheart.” ellie said as she rubbed a hand along your thigh at a comfortable pace, brushing the cloth from your shorts as she moved it. she brought the other one up to your cheek and lifted your head to look at you. you looked tired and ellie didn’t want to take full advantage of you after you guys had been drinking and smoking all night.

“hey sweetheart, lets get you to bed, we’ll finish this another time i promise.” she said sweetly as you mumbled an “okay els thank you,” and moved off her lap to sit back on the couch. ellie stood up and offered her hand. you stood up and walked both of you to your bedroom.

you moved to sit on the edge of your king sized bed and ellie stood in front of you still holding your hand as you asked her if she wanted to stay the night because it was late and you didn’t want her walking home.

“sure sweetheart i’ll sleep on the couch, and only for your peace of mind.” she chuckled, thinking back to the conversation earlier.

“els we can share the bed, it’s okay, i’ll keep my hands to myself.” you joked and she laughed.

“i don’t think i’d be complaining if you couldn’t but i’m okay on the couch.” ellie insisted.

“els please just lay with me.” you said looking up at her as she moved her hand to rest on your cheek again.

“okay sweetheart.” she finally agreed.

you smiled up at her and you took ellie’s hand from your face and guided her into the bathroom connected to your room. she watched as you bent down and opened the sink cabinet and grabbed a toothbrush. you turned around and handed it to her with a smile. you guys brushed your teeth and then went back into your bedroom.

ellie stood here as you moved across the room to your dresser, and pulled out a t-shirt and a pair of shorts from your drawer and handed them over to ellie. she told you thank you and you smiled at her. ellie walked into the bathroom to change and you walked back to the dresser. you stripped yourself of your shirt and bra before throwing on a different oversized tee and changing your underwear. you didn’t even realize you were soaked after what happened on the couch.

ellie watched you as she leaned against the bathroom door frame as you untangled the sides of your underwear after you pulled them up.

“you’re perfect”, she thought in head before speaking out loud. “thanks sweetheart.” you turned around when ellie spoke, sending her a smile before you moved to your side of the bed, you grabbed the duvet and moved it so you both were able to get in your bed.

you and ellie laid facing each other in a comfortable silence as you were both growing incredibly tired. you felt your eyes starting to get heavy and felt ellie’s hand brush your hair back from your face so you kept your eyes open to look at her.

“el?” you whispered.

“yes sweetheart?” she spoke quietly back to you.

“i really like you… i don’t know if this is too early but it just feels right.”

“i feel it too sweetheart, i like you too so don’t worry,” ellie said softly, hand still holding your face, “now get some sleep, we’ll talk more in the morning pretty girl.”

“goodnight els.” you whispered.

[casparscunttt16]

Somethin' Stupid | Matt Sturniolo| Sturniolo Triplets.

Summary: In which you and Matt have been dating for 5 months and he says "I love you" for the first time in your relationship, on a late night drive.

Warnings: None, just fluff.

Enjoy loves!

gif not mine.

The night started out as something uneventful and boring as I sat at my desk typing up my essay which should've been done exactly 3 days ago as it's due tonight at 11:59. The night was quiet, peaceful, and somewhat relaxing. While I typed away, my phone buzzed a few times before I decided to check it. All text messages from Matt.

Matt and I have been dating for about 5 months. These 5 months with him have probably been the best of my life. He never failed to make me laugh and smile, cheer me up. He truly was the sweetest boy alive and best of all he treats me so well. Before I could respond to his text message I was receiving a FaceTime call from him. I smiled and propped my phone up on a random water bottle on my desk. "Hey sweetheart, what are you up to?" He asked with his entire face up in the camera making me giggle. "Finishing up my essay. What's up? Did you need something?" I asked, as I continued typing away. "Are you almost done?" He asked as I heard his car door close.

"Not exactly." I was completely engrossed in finishing my essay before the deadline. "I was thinking we could go on a late night drive and maybe stargaze at a park?" He spoke a bit shyly as he proposed his plan. I looked at him with a big smile plastered to my face. "I would love to." such simple words of agreement made his face light up. "I'll be there in about 15 minutes baby." he replies eagerly.

"Okay see you then, bye Matt." I smiled and hung up. I got up from my desk to change out of my pjs and into something a bit more presentable but nothing special. I put on a hoodie I took from Matt and grey sweatpants with my Birkenstocks. I did some light makeup which was just mascara and concealer with lipgloss.

In 20 minutes I got a text from Matt saying he was outside, just as I was about to walk out there was a knock at my apartment door. I opened the door to Matt obviously. "You look so cute." he smiles looking down at me then placing a gentle kiss on my lips. "Thank you Matty." I interlinked our fingers together, he leads me out the door and down into the parking lot. He walks over to the passenger side, opening the door for me and buckling me in. I smiled at the gesture and adjusted the seat to my liking.

He played some soft background music as he drove us to a park with a big field. He went to his trunk and grabbed blankets and pillows. "Babe do you need help?" I asked and he shook his head no.

He set everything up and patted a spot on the blanket next to him. We laid next to each other staring up at the stars. The music from the car still lightly playing in the background. He glances over at me. "What?" I questioned with a smile. "The moon is beautiful isn't it?" he replies, leaning into me, staring at my lips. "Quit being so cheesy." I rolled my eyes playfully. He pulls me closer, sort of leaning over, on top of me. His presses his lips against mine gently. He wrapped his arms around me lovingly while our lips moved in sync. After a few moments he pulled away and stared somewhat longingly into my eyes. "I love you" he speaks just slightly above a whisper, his tone is soft yet direct as he stares into my eyes. "I love you" I replied softly.

A/n: Leave requests 🤗

[byunpum]

Something cute!

I remember one time when one of my cousin was little she asked me to teach her some ballet, or the basic, and wondering since the boys have their bonding time with their Auntie

What about the girls, like Kiri and Tuk, learning some ballet from their auntie and a folk song that she and Jake share as children

Together in a moonlit forest from Bayonetta origin song is what auntie singing

Pair: Nephews sully x Aunt human reader x Big brother jake

Warning: None, just in love with aunt reader...is just literally me <3

AVATAR MASTERLIST

"Run…kiri!!!" says tuk running as fast as she can. She had to ask her aunt something, she was the only one who could help them. "I'm coming…just calm down" says kiri trying to follow her younger sister's footsteps. About 20 minutes ago they had found some kind of box, which made a strange noise-the one they assumed was music from the people in the sky. And there was someone walking around, but it was someone very small. Tuk was so worried, and if that girl needed help. The girls went to look for the only person they knew who could help them, their aunt Y/N. Compared to their father, Y/N always had the best answers. According to Norm, Y/N was near the river that was close to the village. She had to hurry, tuk was sure you would finish taking samples and go hide in the lab.

You were so busy looking at the aquatic plant that you didn't notice tuk's noisy footsteps. "Y/N!!! AUNT Y/N!!!" the girl is screaming, she is desperate. And she was also followed by an agitated kiri, trying to follow her sister's footsteps. "Wait for me!!!" kiri gets to where tuk is. Kiri didn't usually run or be very active. So you assume it's something very serious. "Girls…what happened? Are you all right?" you ask worriedly. Tuk takes a breath. "We found a girl…and she needs our help" the girl shouts. You look at your niece in surprise, what is she talking about? "Tuk, are you okay?" you ask her, putting your hand on her forehead. "Yes…she's spinning around. And it's making a weird noise?" says Kiri, taking the strange box from her sister's hands. Kiri shows you the strange object and you just laugh. The girls look at you with concern.

"Girls…this isn't real" you take the box in your hands, and turn the key that was on the back. Causing it to produce music. "This is a musical box…and this is just an ornament, like a replication of a ballerina. And that's ballet music you hear," you speak, and watch as the two girls' mouths drop open. Of course… they didn't understand you. "How about if I show you how to dance ballet?" you look at them and see how they both get excited. "But what is bal…balle…?" says tuk, you laugh a little. "Ballet…it's a kind of human dance, I'm not very good but I'll show you something." You speak. Getting up from the floor, you wipe your thighs a bit. And you lead the girls to a more comfortable area.

"Ok…do you hear that music? That's your father's and my song. We used to listen to it before bedtime. Mom always used to sing it and dance to it…she'd spin around like this" you raise your arms to the sky, and try to stand on your tiptoes. You take a gentle turn, on one foot, and then stumble a little. "I'm sorry…I lost my touch" you laugh, but you can see the girls' faces light up, they are so impressed. Tuk gets up quickly and starts to spin around. You walk over to Kiri and take her hand. "No…it's okay aunt Y/N" Kiri complains, but you force her to stand up. Kiri lifts her hand and starts to spin around. You correct a few steps. "Look…I'm a ballet" laughs tuk. "Tuk…they are called ballerinas" you laugh, they look so adorable. The music stops, and so does the laughter. Tuk takes the music box and hands it to you. "Aunt I think this is yours" says the little girl, you caress her face and give her a kiss on the cheek.

"By the way, where did you find this?" you ask her, you were so busy that you forgot to ask. "Ahhh in some old boxes. Norm is cleaning up, and we were helping. And we found this…the music box" says Kiri. You stare at the object, feeling a giant nostalgia. Sometimes you can miss the old times, and this was one of them. "Thank you…this is it" before you could finish, tuk takes another turn. You laugh and imitate her. "Hey it's getting late…why don't you go to your mother's, I'll catch up with you later" you wanted to be alone, the homesickness you felt was something you didn't want to share with the girls. The girls said goodbye to you and left you alone in your memories.

You look at the music box again, and you turn the key. And you let the music play… you put the box in a place on the floor. And you start to dance like you used to do, you close your eyes and you think you are in your room. Which you shared with your siblings, you imagine your mother smiling and clapping. Once again you were so lost in your thoughts that you didn't notice your older brother's presence. Jake had heard the melody and came over to where you were dancing, and found you dancing. The man sat down on a rock that was right in front of you. And he watched as you twirled around and smiled. "You've got crooked feet," says Jake. You open your eyes a little startled, and laugh at the sight of your brother. "Oh…I don't think so. You're worse" you walk up to him and take his hand. "Come…dance" you invite him.

Jake laughs a little, takes a quick look around. No one could see Toruk Makto dance the way he was going to dance. Jake began to twirl around and do a few little jumps. You, for your part, couldn't stop laughing. "What is that?" your cackles were loud and tears were threatening to come out. "I'm dancing" Jake laughs with you, sitting down on the floor, taking your hand. To hug you. "Far from my family, In the woods I will be left alone. Lost within my heart. The tears fall " sings jake as you hug him and close your eyes.

"You still remember the lyrics" you lay your head on his chest. "Why wouldn't I?" jake kisses you on the top of your head. After all you were still his little sister.

[tasteleeknow]

HELLO STRANGER. PART ONE.

pairing: minho ft. hyunjin x fem!reader genre: smut, angst, fluff, soulmate!au. enemies to lovers. jealousy. pining. unrequited love. content: 18+ minors dni. word count: 7k

summary: after watching everyone around you pair off with their soulmate, you finally get your turn. a slow burn strangers to enemies to lovers soulmate!au with jealousy and angst and smut and suffering (and softness ofc).

series masterlist & taglist ♡ pt.1 | pt.2 | pt.3

♡ series masterlist

mention of death (a recurring theme, not a main character). mc has anxiety. mention of body insecurity.

“I’m so happy for you, Mina. I-I really am.” 

Your roommate was engaged to her soulmate. She’d woken you up at 2am, flicking your lights on and jumping up and down on your bed until you’d roused enough to comprehend what she was saying. A little over a year ago she’d gotten a notification—the person that suited her more than anyone else on earth had been found. 

“She’s been trying to do it for weeks, apparently. She kept chickening out,” Mina giggles as she fiddles with the ring on her finger. “Isn’t it pretty?” she says, holding it out for you to inspect. 

She’d shown you many times in the 20 minutes she’d been sitting cross-legged on your bed. You indulge her, taking her delicate hand in yours to take another look at the admittedly very pretty ring. Her joy was a little overwhelming, you’d been so low for so long. 

It was only a few months after Mina met her soulmate that your boyfriend met his. He’d lied to you, signing up for the matching service behind your back. When he’d left, you’d signed up yourself in your anger—as if it could do anything to hurt him back. He didn’t care. 

Neither did you, not anymore. You watched the people around you pair off, so distracted by their own joy not one of them had asked you about your lack of it. Then, a few weeks ago you’d received your notification. You’d stared at your phone screen, trying to comprehend the reality of it. All you had to do was acknowledge the match and agree on a time to meet. Then… you’d be one of the happy ones? You’d thrown your phone onto the bed, ignoring it until you were forced to pick it up again. You hadn’t told anyone since. 

You look up at your friend again, her cheeks rosy—likely from a mixture of wine and excitement. “Mina?”

“Mm?” she responds absentmindedly, not looking up from her ring. 

“I-I got my notification…” Her eyes snap up to meet yours. “...a few weeks ago,” you finish. 

“What?! Who are they?!” she squeals, falling forward to grab your hands in hers—flapping them up and down. 

“I don’t know, I didn’t respond.” 

She drops both your hands onto the bed, eyes wide. “What? Why?”

“I…don’t know. I’m scared, I guess.” 

She shuffles up to sit beside you against the pillows. “Ya know, I was scared at first too.”

You look up to her face, she’s looking at her ring again. You remembered the first week after she got her notification. She’d been so bouncy and overwhelmingly happy, you don’t remember her being nervous at all. “You were?” 

“Mm, I know the whole idea is that you are supposed to be perfect for each other. But… what if I was the exception? What if I wasn’t enough for her? It felt…like such a huge thing to live up to—being someone’s perfect person. I just wanted to be enough for whoever it was I was going to meet.” She reaches over to take your hand. “Then I met her…and that all felt so silly. She was everything and I knew that even if I wasn’t enough for her yet, I'd do everything to make sure I was. She made me wanna be the best person I could be and it…was a lot—but in the best way.” 

“I don't… know if I’m ready to be the best version of me.” 

“That’s the point, even if you aren’t. They’ll help you. Besides, what if they need you to help them be the best version of them?”

“I’m not sure I could help anyone with that…” 

“Just try? Yeah? I’ll be here,” she says, squeezing your hand gently. 

You look over to your nightstand where your phone is charging. You couldn’t really bear to look at it these days. Mina nudges your shoulder. You reach over to grab it. She’s quiet as you open the app. Your heart races as you enter times you are available to meet, hesitating over the final button that confirms your agreement. You look down to Mina’s hand on your leg, the delicate ring catching your eye. You take a deep breath, then hit confirm. 

Three weeks and they haven’t confirmed a time. Whoever they were, they clearly didn’t want you. You knew it was silly, to be upset about something you’d done yourself. Maybe they just had the same insecurities you did? Mina was busy with wedding preparation, you didn’t blame her for being distracted. She was happy and you were happy she was happy. Everything was fine. 

“What about these?” Mina says, pointing out some blue carnations. The only other time you’d been in a flower shop like this was when you’d bought some roses for your anniversary with your ex. 

“They’re pretty, are you definitely going with blue then?”

“Mm,” she confirms, “blue and purple.” She wanders away again and you trail behind, fiddling with the chain dangling off your phone case. “Haven’t heard back?” she asks. You pause briefly, it’s the first time she’s asked in over a week. 

“No.” 

“They’re probably panicking like you were.” 

“Yeah,” you mutter. 

You’re a little out of it as she leads you around the store—fiddling with the chain the entire time. The loud ring of a notification startles you, a small squeak leaving your lips. Mina looks up at you as you flick your phone to silent, you must have absent-mindedly flicked it while you were fiddling. You look up to meet her eyes. 

“Check it,” she prompts. 

“It’s probably nothing.” 

“Check it,” she repeats. So you do. He’s confirmed to meet the next day. Just like that. Mina snatches your phone from your hands. 

“Tomorrow?! Oh my god,” she says before shoving your phone back in your hands. “Confirm you’re going.” 

“I’m going…” you mumble, staring down at the screen—attempting to process it. 

Mina’s laugh breaks you from your daze. “Yes, you’re going. Come on, let’s go pick your outfit.” She grabs your arm, pulling you from the store. 

You hardly sleep that night, spending the entire next morning cleaning your apartment—attempting (and failing) to distract yourself from the anxiety stirring in your chest. Your small cat brushes against your leg as you bend down to clean her tray. 

“Hey, baby. You might meet a new friend soon, hm?” She meows at you. “Mm, I know. It’s scary for me, too. We’ll be okay, I'm sure they’re nice.” 

A clap of thunder makes you jump. It had been storming all night. Usually storms relax you but apparently not even that could calm you now. “Gonna shower now,” you whisper to your cat, stroking her fur one last time. 

You’d been putting it off, showering. You didn’t feel like looking at yourself. You didn’t consider yourself a particularly insecure person, most of the time you managed to stay pretty neutral about how you looked. You were fine. Right now though? Every negative thought you’d ever had was stirring to the surface. You couldn’t help pausing just before stepping into the shower, twisting back and forth to inspect yourself in the mirror. You’re fine. 

You struggle to close your umbrella, shoving the handle into your stomach so you can push it down—eventually managing to collapse it fully. It’s still pouring. You’d closed your eyes the entire bus trip, listening to the rain and attempting to settle your nerves. You weren’t particularly successful. You rest your hand on the wall, steadying yourself—your empty stomach growling as you gather yourself. This is fine. 

You look up at the revolving door. A girl walks out with a huge grin on her face—giggling to herself as she passes you. Clearly her meeting went well. You suck in a deep breath, the fresh air helping a little. Then, shoving the umbrella in your bag, you head inside. 

The receptionist hands you a clipboard and a pen and asks you to wait for someone to collect you. It makes you feel like you’re at a dentist appointment. Not great for your nerves. You settle yourself in the corner to read the forms. You expect a disclaimer to cover the company's ass; terms and conditions. It’s a little more than that. Your leg bounces as you scan the pages, pen tapping against the clipboard. 

Customers retain the right to withhold personal information from partners and discontinue communication at any time. Security is present on the premises. You read a paragraph about a wristband each person can use to signal for security discreetly. Why would anyone need that? You realise you're chewing on the pen. Crap. You look up to see if anyone has noticed. You can’t read anymore. You feel like your entire brain is consumed with trying to keep it together. You scribble your name at the bottom of the last page and head to the desk to hand it back. 

“I’m—I’m done with this.” 

“Oh, good. Felix will take you through now,” the receptionist answers, pointing to the blonde man holding a door open for you. 

“Thank you,” you say quietly, adjusting your bag on your shoulder and heading over. This is fine. 

“Good morning, I’m Felix” he greets. His voice is calm and his face bright. You can see why he has this role. 

“Morning.” 

He holds the door for you as pass then leads you down a long hallway, turning to speak to you. “Nervous?”

“A little,” you say, offering him a small shaky smile.  

“You’ll be fine, promise. I’ve worked here awhile and never seen anyone leave without a big smile.” He stops at a cupboard built into the wall, pulling the door open. “Could you hold your hand up for me? Just wanna check your size.”

You offer him your arm and he wraps a small smartwatch around your wrist. “Perfect,” he mutters to himself. 

“This is to call for security?” you ask. 

“Yeah, just press this button on the side. It won’t make a noise. They won’t know you’ve called.”

“Why…why would I need this if everyone always leaves with a smile?” 

“I’m sure it was suggested by a lawyer at some point, just a precaution.” Your hand shakes a little as he secures the strap for you. “You’re okay,” he says, obviously noticing your visible nerves. 

You’re okay. 

“I’ll take you to your room now, okay?” he asks, voice gentle. You look up to his face, counting a few of his freckles as you take a few slow breaths. 

“Okay,” you say after a few seconds. He smiles then turns and leads you through a door to another long hallway. This one has many doors along each side, each one numbered. You count them as you go. He finally stops at door 14. “This is you,” he announces. He doesn’t open it, just turns and looks at you—clearly waiting for you to prepare yourself. 

“Are they… in there already?”

“Mm, we stagger arrivals. He’s been here about 30 minutes.” 

“He?”

“Oops, spoilers,” he says, offering you a playful smile. 

You offer him a weak smile in return then turn to the door only to freeze, staring at the door knob like you had never seen one before. Felix waits patiently at your side. “What if he doesn’t like me?” you mutter under your breath. 

“You know how long I’ve worked here?” Felix says in response, apparently ignoring your question. “4 years,” he continues. You look from the doorknob to his face. “I’d say about 80% of the people I lead to one of these doors ask me some variation of that question.” 

“And they leave happy?”

He smiles and nods. “Mm.” 

You grab the doorknob, ready to get on with it. “Felix?” 

“Yes?”

“Thank you, really.” 

“No worries,” he says, “you’ll be fine.” 

You smile at him one last time and take a deep breath, pushing the door open. A chair scrapes across the ground and you look up to the man standing at a table in the middle of the room. You suppose, he’s yours. You wonder if he thinks you’re disappointing—if you’re not what he expected, what he hoped for. Felix places a gentle hand on your shoulder, helping you enter the room—the door closing behind you. 

The man holds his arm out, gesturing to a lounge along the wall. You suck in a breath, only just realising you’ve been holding it. 

“I saved you a seat,” he says, the first to break the silence. You suppose that was something like a joke, you’re too nervous to offer anything playful back. So instead you hurry over, dropping your bag to the ground as you collapse into the soft couch cushions. He sits himself at the other end, space for another two or three people between you. There’s two water bottles on the table. You should say something. Your name. Name’s are good. You fail to meet his eyes as you introduce yourself, reaching for the bottle instead. 

“Minho,” he offers in return. You look up at him, a nervous smile on your face. He’s pretty, too pretty for you. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. You’re overdressed. 

“Hi,” is all you manage. 

“Hi.” 

“Have you… been waiting long?” 

One corner of his lips curves up. “No, not long.” 

He doesn’t seem nervous at all. Why had he waited three weeks to respond if he wasn’t at all like you? “Ah, that’s good.” 

“Nervous?” he asks, nodding to where you were twisting the cap of the bottle on and off repeatedly. You place it back on the table. 

“Yeah, sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” He stands, walking over to a bookshelf. “Do you wanna play a game?” 

“A game?” 

“They have a bunch here. Uno?” 

“...sure.”  

He pulls the deck from the pack as he makes his way back over. “You know how to play?”

You huff out a half laugh. “Uno? Yeah.” 

He smiles. “Just checking. The only thing I know about you is your name and that you like yellow.” 

You look down at your yellow sundress. You had stood out amongst the crowd on the bus, everyone in dark raincoats and jackets. It wasn’t cold, just wet. Your cardigan was enough. “I… It’s my favourite colour, yeah.” 

“It suits you.” 

You look up. He’s focused on dealing the cards. “Thank you,” you say, just above a whisper. 

He flips a card over on the small coffee table and grabs his cards. You exchange small talk as you go. Your ages, what you do for work, if you have any pets. You talk about your cats a little, the first commonality you’ve discovered. You figure you’ll latch onto them whenever any come up, maybe more so than with any other stranger. The unspoken knowledge that you are supposed to be ideal for each other makes it feel like more is at stake. Instead of risking merely an awkward interaction with a stranger, you are both risking… well… your future happiness together. 

He seems kind. Maybe a little reserved, but so were you. You get the feeling he’s holding a lot back, like he’s not entirely here. You wonder if his anxiety just presented differently to yours. 

“Do you live alone?” he asks, slapping a pick up 2 on the stack. You slap one on top, looking up with a small smile. “Got me,” he says, returning your smile and then picking up 4 from the deck. 

“I have a roommate: Mina. What about you?” 

“Hyunjin. Met him at dance lessons years ago, he stuck to me like a leech.” 

“So he loves you?” 

He looks up from his cards, eyes flicking across your face for a moment before he answers. “Mm, I guess he does. Are you close with Mina?” 

“I’m gonna be her maid of honour.” 

“Ah.” He moves a few cards around in his deck. “Is she… with her—I mean did they meet through this?” He gestures to nowhere in particular with his cards, like he can’t speak the word soulmate. 

A small knot of anxiety reappears in your chest. It had eased without you realising, returning now. 

“Yeah, they met a year ago,” you answer. 

“A year? That’s quick.” 

“I guess.” You watch him continue to fiddle with his cards. “It’s your turn,” you prompt. 

He looks up at you. “Right.” Then leans forward to grab a card from the deck. 

“Is Hyunjin… has he met his?” 

He places a colour change card down gently. “Green,” he announces quietly. You expect him to answer your question, but he doesn’t. So you take your turn. It isn’t until you’ve both had two more turns each that he speaks. “He hasn’t.” 

You get the feeling you’ve said something wrong. You fiddle with your cards, realising you’re guaranteed a win. You look up at the man next to you. Is he a sore loser? You know nothing about him at all. You finish the game, looking up at him to see his reaction.

“Well done,” he says calmly as he begins to collect the cards, stacking them into a neat pile. You tuck away another tiny puzzle piece you can use to put together this person who was supposed to be your soulmate. 

You look around the room, desperate to find another activity to save you from any awkward lulls. A big wooden chest catches your eye. You leave him to finish putting the cards away, wandering over to the mysterious chest. It looked like something that would be full of pirate’s gold. You bend down to lift the lid, conscious of the man appearing at the bookshelf next to you. It’s heavy and his hand appears to help you pull it the rest of the way up. 

It’s full of clothes. Costumes and props. You pull a witches hat out, lifting it onto your head and smiling at the man next to you. He smiles back then retrieves a big sunflower hat. “Put this on, it matches your dress.” You drop the witches hat back in the chest. Then, before you can take it from him, he gently lowers the sunflower hat onto your head. You readjust it, feeling your cheeks warm as he bends down to search through the chest again. 

When he stands he has a big red clown nose on. The serious expression on his face makes it all the funnier, drawing out a small laugh from your lips. “Try squeezing it,” he says stoically. You reach up, squeezing the red nose between your fingers. It squeaks, a lot like a dog toy. His mouth curves up a little in one corner then he pulls it from his nose, holding it out to you. 

“You try.” 

Your fingers brush together as you take it from him, a shiver running down your spine at the contact. His eyes on you as you attach the nose to your face makes you nervous. When you look up he wastes no time squeezing it, the high pitched squeak pulling the first actual laugh you’ve heard from him. You join him, the contagious quality of his loud laughter getting you more than anything else. 

By the time you’ve exhausted the large chest of its treasures your stomach hurts, collapsing onto the floor as Minho pulls a big pink bow from his hair. “No, leave it!” you gasp out through your laughter, reaching out to wrap around his wrist before he can drop the bow into the chest. He joins you on the floor, his leg brushing against yours pulls your awareness to your hands. You pull back quickly. 

He stretches his legs out, leaning back on his palms as you both catch your breath. It’s quiet for a moment. It doesn’t feel awkward. Your mouth tugs up at the corners at the revelation. “Why’d you take so long to respond?” he asks, bringing you back down to earth. A heaviness settles over you immediately. 

“I uh…just wasn’t ready,” you answer, pulling a flower crown off your head. Your heart races in your chest as you prepare your next words. “You…took awhile as well.” 

He pulls his legs to his chest, arms resting on his bent knees. “I wasn’t ready either.” 

“You’re ready now?” 

He’s quiet, eyes flicking between yours. Then he stands, offering you a hand up. You make sure your dress stays down as you let him pull you up, his hand warm in yours. He pulls you up effortlessly, fingers brushing together as he releases you. “Would you like to come over for dinner?” he asks. 

“I… Yeah, sure.” 

He walks over to a backpack under the table, pulling it over his shoulder. “Great, I think Hyunjin might be home tonight but he’ll probably stay in his room.” 

“Tonight?” 

He looks up at you. “Yeah… that alright?” 

“Ye-Yeah.” 

“Did you drive here or…?”

“Bus.” 

“I can give you a lift home?” He says, eyes dropping down to his phone as he types something quickly. “I’ll pick you up later. Gotta get a few things for dinner.” 

“I can get the bus.” You’re not sure why you turn him down. 

He looks up at you, brows furrowed. “You sure? It’s probably still raining.” 

“I like the bus.” 

He steps towards you and you hold your breath as he reaches towards your hair, picking out a pink feather—a remnant from your dress up session. “I’ll pick you up at six?” he asks, close enough that your eyes fix on the freckle at the end of his nose. Your soulmate has a nose freckle. Soulmate. 

“Six,” you confirm, voice a little breathy. 

“I…told Hyunjin you were coming and he showed…a lot of interest. He might hang around, sorry.” Minho warns as he steps up to his door. 

“I don’t mind.”

“He’ll keep you company while I finish up with dinner, anyway.”

“Alright.” 

You follow him into his apartment, taking in your surroundings as he leads you to the living room where a boy with short blonde hair sits at a small table on the floor. He jumps up as you enter, a wide grin spreading across his face as he approaches. 

“You’re here,” he greets you like you’re old friends, like you were here for him and not the man standing beside you. You offer him a friendly smile. 

“I’ll leave you two to chat for a bit, i’ll be done soon,” Minho says before backing up towards the adjoined kitchen. You catch him giving his roommate a pointed look and then he turns, leaving you alone. 

Hyunjin gestures to a cushion on the floor by the table, sinking back down to resume his position on the other. He pushes aside a notebook and as he closes it, you catch a glimpse of some sketches. “Can’t believe you’re finally here,” he says, propping his elbows on the table to gazing at you like you’d put the stars in the sky. 

You drop your eyes to the table, feeling a little overwhelmed by his intensity. “Uh, I—I can’t really believe it either. It’s a lot.” 

“Did it go well today?” 

“Um…I think so. Minho hasn’t said anything?” 

He looks to the kitchen then leans over the table so he can lower his voice. “He’s not particularly talkative. You may have noticed.” 

“He…seemed a little reserved but so am I. I don’t mind.” 

His plush lips curve up in one corner. “So it was a quiet session then?” 

“Not…exactly. We played dress up.” You look down at the table, smiling a little to yourself at the memory. Hyunjin is quiet and when you look up at him again he has a soft smile on his face. You drop your gaze to the table, his closed notebook catching your eye again. “Do you draw?” 

He sits back, pushing the notebook in front of you and flipping it open. “Mm, you can look if you want.” You flip through the pages as the boy across from you sits quietly. They’re mostly sketches of people, a few watercolours scattered in. You pause on a page of a silhouette, turned away—hair falling over their face. It makes you sad. You close the book, sliding it gently back across the table. 

“They’re…really good.” 

“Thank you. Do you like art?” 

“I like it. I can’t do it.” You look over to the kitchen, wondering if Minho was an artist. You hadn’t asked. 

“He’s not an artist,” Hyunjin says, like your thoughts are written across your forehead. “I know how it feels…all of this—it’s terrifying.” 

“You—You know?” 

He smiles sadly just as a loud crash comes from the kitchen. “I’ll check on him,” he says, standing and leaving you there at the small table. You take the opportunity to wander around the room, attempting to gather as much information about the man who was supposed to be yours. A small jingle draws your attention to a cardboard box in the corner of the room. A small cat is curled up inside, lazily licking at his paw. 

“Hello baby,” you coo, crouching down to stroke his soft fur. “I have a friend at home who’d love to meet you.” You scratch his chin, the cat lifting his head so you can get a good view of his collar. No name tag. “What’s your name, baby? Which one are you?” 

Minho had mentioned his cats earlier. You’d forgotten their names, too anxious at the time to retain information properly. You look back to the kitchen. Hyunjin hadn’t returned. You lean down to kiss the purring cat on the head and then head towards the kitchen, freezing when you hear the two men arguing—clearly attempting to keep their voices down. 

“I did this for you,” Minho’s anger comes through his voice clearly, despite it being practically in a whisper. “I could lose Sana over this.” 

“Shhhh, keep your voice down,” Hyunjin scolds. “Why are you acting like this?” 

“Like what?” 

“Angry.” 

“Because I’m working my ass off to cook for a stranger when I’d rather be with the girl I fucking love.” 

You stagger back a step, kicking a cat toy across the hardwood floor. The men go silent, alerted to your eavesdropping. Hyunjin appears in the doorway, catching you as you take one more step back. 

“I’m—I—” you stutter. “I’m sorry,” you blurt out, spinning and rushing for the door. 

In your rush to snatch your bag from the small table your shin comes into contact with the sharp corner. The pain snaps you out of your panic as you drop to the floor, clutching your leg tightly against your chest as you rock back and forth. He loves someone else. He didn’t want you. He loves someone else. He lo—Hyunjin appears in front of you. 

“Show me,” he says gently. You shake your head, squeezing your eyes shut. You wish you could pass out, just leave the next hour of your life to a clone of you. You can’t do this. You need to get out. You stand abruptly, grabbing your bag from the table and rushing for the door. Hyunjin hovers around you as you shove your feet into your shoes, heels hanging over the ends. “Let me drive you home,” he says, the gentle touch of his hand on your arm snapping your eyes to his. You’d felt comfortable with him since the moment you’d met. He felt safe. You don’t look over his shoulder properly, merely glimpsing Minho standing silently out the corner of your eye. 

“Okay.” 

“Okay,” he says, offering you a small smile. He opens the door for you and you fight the voice in your head that tells you to turn around, to take one last look at the man you’d thought was yours. 

Hyunjin is quiet as you both walk down the stairs. He’s quiet as he unlocks the car and hands you his phone with the maps app open. He’s quiet as he drives you to your apartment. When the car is parked and the engine is off, you’re almost afraid to break the silence. You do it anyway. “Thank you. I know–I know we just met but you’ve been…very nice. I’m—just thank you.” 

“Can I come in?” 

You turn to look at your door, then back to him. “I—”

“Just wanna make sure you’re alright…and explain things a little.” 

You’re not sure if you want things explained. You feel like collapsing into bed and crying until you pass out. The adrenaline has well and truly worn off, you're too afraid to look at your leg. You’re sure it’s bleeding. “Alright,” you mutter, opening the car door and stepping out on your good leg. You start hobbling towards your door as the sound of the car locking goes off behind you. 

“Can I help?” Hyunjin asks. 

“I’m fine. It’s fine.” 

Mina isn’t home. You’re not sure if you’re relieved or disappointed. You’re not sure about anything. Hyunjin digs out your first aid kit after listening to your directions and joins you in the living room. He’s quiet as he cleans you up. It’s only when he closes the first aid kit that he speaks. “I don’t know how to say this without… without sounding like I’m trying to say I have it worse. I’m… just trying to explain this whole thing. Okay?” 

You nod, emotionally drained. 

“She died. My soulmate. I don’t know if Minho said anything,” the corner of his mouth pulls up into a sad smile. “I can’t imagine he would.” 

“You don’t have to do this.” 

“I do. Just… let me, please?” You sit back, giving him a slight nod. “She—It was… it was the day we were supposed to meet,” he stands up, placing the first aid kit on the table and then sitting next to you on the couch. You don’t know whether to turn your body towards him or give him all the space you can. You stay completely still. “I’m telling you this because I want you to understand why I did what I did. I… encouraged him because I love him like a brother and I want him to be happy. I need him to be happy and you’re—you’re the thing he can have that I can’t. I need him to have you.” 

You can’t help looking at him, turning your body slightly as you try and find a position for your leg that doesn’t hurt. “He doesn’t want me.” 

“He doesn’t know you.” 

“I don’t think he wants to know me. He loves… someone else.” 

“He’s infatuated with a girl he’s known for years. She doesn’t feel the same way. She sleeps with him because it’s easy and he’s there. It’s not… it’s not love.” 

“I’m sorry. About what happened to you. I—I can’t imagine…” you stand, forgetting about your leg and stumbling a little as you catch your footing. He stands quickly, arms outstretched to attempt to catch you. “I can’t be with someone who doesn’t want me. I can’t—” you cover your mouth as your voice wobbles, not wanting to cry in front of someone who was essentially a total stranger. 

“Can we exchange numbers?” he asks. “If you ever want to get coffee or… anything…” 

You collapse back onto the couch, digging through your bag so you can hand him your phone. Part of you wants to send him out the door and never see him again, breaking off any connection to Minho entirely. But then, the other part… it wants to hold on, to take Hyunjins hand and beg him to keep you. To help you convince Minho to want you, to love you. When he’s finished he hands it back, a heavy silence falling over the room. 

“I’m not sure… if I'll want to keep in touch,” you say eventually. 

“I won’t contact you. Just… message me if you ever want to talk or meet, yeah?” 

“Yeah.” 

“You have to tell me… please?” Mina says as she lays a blanket over your lap. She passes you the mug of coffee she’d made you. “Please?” she asks again. 

“He didn’t want me. That’s it,” you say before blowing over the surface of your coffee and taking a small sip. 

“It doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t he want you?” 

You shrug. “He found someone better.” 

“It doesn’t make sense.”

“You said that.”

She’s quiet for a moment. You imagine what she must be thinking. Pity, probably. Her poor friend. Dumped by her boyfriend and then dumped by her soulmate. “You can’t give up. He’s—He’s yours.”

You lean over to place your mug down on the table. “What am I supposed to do? Bother him until he decides to give me his attention? I’m not begging someone to want me, even my soulmate.” 

“Just speak to him. You haven’t even given him a chance to talk about it.” 

You pull the blank up over your shoulders, tucking your chin into the soft warmth. “What if I cry?” you whisper. “I don’t… want to cry in front of him.” 

Your friend leans against you, laying her head gently against your shoulder. “You’re brave. You’ll be okay. If you do cry and he judges you for it then he’s an ass.” 

“I don't… think I can. Not yet.” 

“Alright,” Mina whispers, pressing a kiss to your cheek. “Mario Kart?” 

“Morning,” Hyunjin greets, a warm smile on his face—like you were two friends meeting for a casual chat. You look around you, at the other people sitting around engaged in their own conversations. You wonder if they have their soulmates. 

You’d given in, messaging your Minho’s roommate only a week after rushing from his apartment. Minho hadn’t contacted you at all. You wished you were strong enough to let him go, but you weren’t. So here you were, attempting to form a connection with his roommate because you were too cowardly to message the man himself.

A hand waves in front of your face, snapping you out of your trance. “How have you been?” Hyunjin asks. 

“Is that a polite ‘how are you’ or are you actually asking?” 

His plush lips curve up into a small smile. “I’m asking.”

“I miss him. I don’t even know him and I miss him.” 

“Mm, I get it,” he says, tipping sugar into the iced coffee you’d ordered for him. 

“Has he.. said anything?” 

He wraps his hands around the cup, tipping it back and forth a little. “We’ve… not really been talking. We had… a conversation that night and not much since then.” 

Minho was really that angry at his friend for making him meet you? You look down to your empty cup. “Right.” 

“He’d like to meet you.” 

“Would he really or is this another set up?” you mumble. 

“I didn’t force him. To meet you.” 

“That’s what it sounded like.” 

“I think… this is something he should talk to you about.” 

“Alright.” 

“You’ll meet him?” 

“Not yet.” 

Hyunjin twirls his straw around, playing more with his coffee than actually drinking it. “Would you like to come to a gallery with me? There’s one near here.” 

“I have to go to work soon,” you say, watching as he drops his eyes to his lap. “But I can tomorrow?” 

His eyes meet yours, one corner of his mouth lifting a little. “Alright.” 

It becomes a regular part of your schedule, visiting galleries with him. Once a week, at least. He gives you a tour around the entire city's art scene, opening your eyes to a whole world you’d never bothered to explore yourself. He’s kind, easy to open up to and he doesn’t bring up Minho unless you ask first. It’s nice. It’d been weeks since you’d seen Minho. He hadn’t said anything.

“She was an artist, apparently,” Hyunjin says suddenly, eyes fixed on the large portrait you’d been appreciating. You think he means the woman in the painting at first but when you look at his expression, it’s obvious he means his soulmate. He hadn’t brought her up since the night in your apartment, after he’d finished cleaning your blood from your leg. 

“Do you know much about her?” 

“Her family invited me to the funeral. I kept in touch with her brother. He… told me about her,” he says, moving each arm behind him so he can lean back on the long bench you both sit at. A couple walks past you, more engaged in each other than the artwork around them. You’re both quiet as they pass. “If she was here, and I had the chance to know her—” 

“I know,” you say, cutting him off. “I know. But… what if it’s not… everything people say it is. What if it’s a placebo effect? We all think this other person is perfect for us and so they are. We convince themselves they are.” 

“Maybe. Does it matter?” 

“Yes.” 

“Why?” 

“Because clearly it isn’t working on him.” 

He turns his body towards you, leaning closer. “Will you talk to him, please?” 

You sigh. “Okay.” 

“Really?” 

You lift his hand from where he’s gripping his own thigh, intertwining your fingers. “I like you, Hyunjin. I like spending time with you and… if this will make you happy… I’ll do it.” 

“It will.” 

“Is he home now?” 

He grins, pulling you up from the bench. 

“You warned him?” you ask, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. 

“Yeah.” 

“He… he wants to meet?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Promise?” 

He huffs out a light laugh. “I promise.” 

“You’ll be nearby?”

“Cafe across the street,” he says, pushing you gently towards the steps to his apartment. “Now go. You’re okay.” 

You trudge up the stairs, begging your body to be calm—to hide the anxiety coursing through your entire frame. You knock on the door before you can change your mind, sucking in a deep breath as it swings open. 

“You came,” Minho says, brushing his hand through his damp hair. He stands to the side, holding the door for you. He looks calm, as always. His lack of anxiety during your first meeting made sense now. He didn’t care like you did. He was doing a favour for a friend. You hesitate, turning back behind you to the coffee shop where Hyunjin waits. This is fine. You step through the threshold. 

“Do you want a drink?” he asks as you sit down on one of the cushions at the small table where you’d first met Hyunjin. He’s hovering by the kitchen, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than here with you. 

“I’m fine.” 

He rocks back and forth on his heels for a moment then joins you at the table. You wait for him to speak; to explain. He taps his nails on the wood, the only sound in the room for a minute or two. 

“I didn’t… want to hurt you. You seem nice,” he says, still tapping on the table. 

You seem nice. Not exactly how you expected your soulmate to feel about you. 

He flattens his palm against the surface of the table, then continues. “Has Hyunjin told you about… what happened? With his—” 

“Yes.”

“He’s been here for me through a lot. I owed him this.” 

You clench your fists in your lap, struggling to contain the sharp anger that bursts in your chest. You take a deep breath before speaking. “What about me?” you say. His brows furrow, like he doesn't understand what you have to do with any of this. Your nails cut into your palms. “You did ‘this’ as a favour to him. What about me?” 

His palm curls into a fist on the table. “I don’t… owe you anything.” 

“You don’t?” 

“I don’t know you.” 

“That’s the thing though, isn’t it? You don’t know me and you never wanted to know me. Hyunjin wanted you to try. That’s what he wanted from you and if you didn’t want to do that you owed me the courtesy of telling me. Instead you strung me along for weeks and then when we met didn’t say a thing about being there against your will.”

He’d taken 3 weeks to agree to meet you. You’d done the same, but he’d done it because he didn’t care. You did it because you cared too much.

“I had… to sort some things out before I could agree to meet you.” 

“What things?” 

His eyes drop to his phone, sitting on the table between you. “I needed to explain it to someone.”

He means the girl. The girl he loves instead of you. "That's what you were doing for 3 weeks?? Fucking her?!"

He looks up at you, brows raised. He scoffs, snatching his phone from the table and standing. "So what if I was? And don't act like I fucked you over, you took just as long."

You grab your bag, jumping to your feet. "I was questioning if I was good enough for you! I was sitting around feeling shit about myself and the entire time you were fucking the girl you love."

"You're acting like I was cheating on you,” he throws his hands up in the air, then points his phone at you. “I had no fucking clue you existed."

"You did though, you knew I existed. You just didn't know my name or my face."

"Same thing."

"No, it's not. You knew I was waiting for you. That I was thinking we were it. That we were meant for each other—”

"Maybe we're not,” he says quickly. 

Both your chests are rising and falling rapidly as you catch your breaths. You step around the table slowly, moving closer towards him. He takes one small step back as you press your finger to his chest. It’s still rising and falling quickly, his breath mingling with yours. “You’ll regret letting me go. You don’t deserve me,” you warn, just above a whisper. His warm breath brushes against your skin and then his eyes drop to your lips. He takes a large step away from you, mouth pursed tight. 

please reblog and share your thoughts. caption, tags, replies, or ask box, i read it all. feedback is what motivates me to write more!

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[cowardnthief]

10 actual ADHD study tips

from a student with ADHD

(or if you just have trouble concentrating)

1. put your phone in different room.

no, really. there can be any number of excuses not to (i use it as an alarm/timer, what if there's an emergency, but i use it during breaks) but i guarantee that you will focus better without the ability to check your social media. if you're genuinely worried about missing a phone call, don't put it on silent, and leave it across the room so you can hear it, but make sure it's out of reach.

2. invest in some noise-cancelling or muffling headphones.

they're a life-saver. i use them to help with sensory overloads, but now i wear them pretty much every time i study. regular headphones with some kind of neutral backing noise also work pretty well.

3. don't listen to music.

maybe somewhere, somehow, there exists a person who can actually listen to music and focus, but i've never met one. my adhd means i get distracted by anything. i'm a good multitasker, but not when the task requires lots of thought, like my science or math homework, or that english essay i've been putting off. if science is distracting for you as well, put on a neutral background noise (no, not lo-fi hiphop beats - unless that works for you). i usually put rain sounds or white or brown noise (the latter is my favourite).

4. break big tasks into small chunks.

you've probably heard this one before, but adhd makes tackling big tasks seem really daunting. like, where do you even start? before beginning a massive project, make a list of every little thing you need to do. it might seem stupid or excessive, but i can't stress how much it helps. it also gives you a sense of accomplishment whenever you knock a task off the list.

5. if you know you're gonna procrastinate, try and do it productively.

this one is one i'm still getting used to. i realised, after hours of sitting at my desk, not wanting to start on my essay but not wanting to actively NOT write my essay, and just generally feeling like shit, that it would have been better to spend those hours doing that thing i wanted to do (learn that song on my guitar, finally finish the painting sitting on my desk, write the poem that i had scribbled in my notebook a week ago). if you know you're not going to get started on your work, you might as well do something else that isn't as pressing but you still need to get done. it's okay not to be 100% productive al the time.

6. have a clear workspace.

this is a big one. i found that having a lot of stuff on or around my desk just makes me feel fenced in. i like to have 1 lamp, 1 cup of pens/pencils/highlighters, a cup of tea, tissues, and whatever i'm working on. when you're done with a task, PUT IT AWAY ASAP. that way, it doesn't build up, and you can feel ready to start on the next thing.

6.5. eliminate distractions.

i feel like this relates to the point above, but don't have lots of visible posters/lights/tempting tasks. maybe close your blinds or your door, or study in a library instead of your room if it is too bright and colourful.

7. the pomodoro method (organising your breaks).

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS. the pomodoro method involves working for a consistent slot of time (usually 25 minutes, but whatever works for you) and then having a short break (5-10 minutes), and then a long break every 2-5 "slots" (15-20 minutes). if you don't trust yourself to stick to a timer, get a cute app on your laptop - there are heaps of different themes, and it will help you organise your time and tasks. instead of thinking about a task like "it will take me 2 hours", think about it like "it will take me 4 slots of time", and it will be much less daunting.

(note: for your breaks, try not to reach for your phone/social media. this is a rabbit hole. maybe draw for a minute, or read a few pages of a book. do something you can easily and quickly put away.)

8. organise yourself, but try not to hyperfixate on it.

apps like notion can be really helpful when organising tasks/your workspace, but they can also suck hours of your time away if you're not careful. not everything has to be perfect/meticulously planned, and you're not working on your homework by planning your weekly schedule. speaking from experience, it's really easy to get caught up in something that may feel productive, but really isn't.

9. this is really niche, but... for my reading-glasses wearers:

WEAR THEM WHEN YOU STUDY. i'm very mildly farsighted, which means wearing glasses when i read for long periods of time helps me prevent headaches. technically, i can go without them, and for a few years i usually did, but i've noticed that wearing them when i study has the benefit of getting me in the right headspace, and also stops me from looking up or around my room too often, as the prescription makes me dizzy when looking at things far away.

10. just get started.

i know you hate hearing this, but usually, knocking one or two things off your list can help you get motivated. often, things that seem really difficult or time consuming aren't as bad once you've gotten started.

good luck!

[youboredright]

Fate Cannot Be Changed

What happens if the strongest mafia known to be the coldest man alive gets arranged married with a sweet hearted woman? Can the innocent Yn change Gojo Satoru, biggest mafia in Yakuta? Maybe or maybe not..-

Mafia Gojo Satoru X reader

(Part - 2)

Yn Pov

‌Just after waking up the first thing I saw was 7:10 am on the digital clock. I rushed to the kitchen. It has been only 3 days of our wedding I messed up.

I started making pancakes in hope I can finish them before Gojo wakes up. After around 1 hour of baking, perfecting, decorating and waiting...Gojo didn't come. Did he come before didn't see...and got disappointed? I disappointed him at the fourth day. With head full of thoughts I approached his room. I knocked few times but he didn't answer. Opening the door all I could see is a empty room. He left. I dryly laughed. What did I expect I was 20 minutes late. Of course he would not wait for me. One thing I learnt about him was that he was very punctual. I flinched when I thought of something. 'What now, will he take action.?' I am scared, because I don't know if he will or not. After all he is the mafia.

I decided to call him to check on him. What if he didn't eat anything for breakfast? What if he didn't take anything for lunch? What if he didn't have anything, it's almost 8:30 in the morning? Concern filled me up. After calling him for 3 times, he finally picked up. "Who gave you the permission to call me?" Gojo kind of yell. "I am sorry . I just called to know if you had breakfast or anythin-" " Look Yn I am working I am not like you. Free all of the time. So do something and don't disturb me." Saying that he hung up the phone. "Disturb" ? Taking care, being concern about your own husband is a act of disturbance?

Forward

‌Gojo was very late. It was almost midnight. Hearing the sound of keys I rushed to the door. "Do you know the time? Did you have dinner?" Gojo just simply ignored me and walked past me. I hold his arm to stop him.

This was the very first time I touched him other than kissing him in the wedding day. I could feel his veins in his biceps under his long sleeve shirt. It was...hot maybe? I was woken up from my thoughts when I felt Gojo dangerously leaning towards me. At this point I could feel his breath touching my face. He was drunk. He had a strong scent of cigarettes and alcohol. After leaning Gojo directly look at me "Do you know what I want? I want her back. Can you bring back Nora? No, right?"

‌Nora? Who is she? Gojo's ex? Is he still in love with her? That's why he behaves like this to me? My mind was full of thoughts. But Gojo's voice was quieter and deeper. He was calm and composed even when he was drunk. Before I could say or do anything, Gojo pushed me and walked away.

Just a few minutes ago my mind was full of thoughts about how I touched his arm but now it is full of thoughts about Nora. Even after all this treatment from Gojo, my heart ached a bit hearing that from Gojo. I went to the kitchen and straight to Gojo's room. Even if he didn't like me, I couldn't see anyone hurt or sick. I hated the fact that I cared about every one.

I didn't knock because it is useless. Going inside I saw Gojo laying on his bed. It was all dark. But I could still see Gojo's toned chest through his half opened shirt. I tried waking him up, but he didn't move. He needs to drink water and medicine before he sleeps. But then again he is a light sleeper and he was maybe he is a deep sleep after a long time. So I just decided to put his medicines on his bed side table and leave. As I stood I felt a strong pull and the next thing I knew was that Gojo.. Pinned me on the bed with my hands above my head.

‌"Who are you? Who send you?" This time his voice was deep but it was somehow scary. It felt like a thread. What made it worse was he was drunk and gave a dead stare. "Go-jo it's me. Y-n" I hated myself for stuttering. "Why are you here" I could feel he was becoming sober but he was still slightly drunk. He left my hands and sat on the bed. "Leave."

"No. Not before you have the medicines and water." I said acting all stubborn and confident but I was scared. Because I heard Gojo never takes 'no' as an answer. "And why should I trust you?" "Because I am your wife. And what will I even do, huh?" "Try to poison me?" 'Poison' him. Why would I even try to kill someon- oh right it is very normal for mafias. "I don't have the energy. to. So please have the medicine" After a lot of begging, Gojo did have the medicines.

"Why is it huge" Gojo nagged. "Oh I don't know, princess" Hearing that Gojo gave me a dead stare. "Why did you call me that.?" "Because you cannot even have a medicine properly" He just rolled his eyes. He did not yell. Was he in a good mood ... Because of maybe Nora? I did not notice I was staring at him the whole time until

"Too much in love with me? That you cannot even resist my handsome face?" Gojo was flirtatious. "No? Well I have seen better" saying that I smirked. "I don't care. Now go to your room. And don't you dare fall in love with me or any other man". His mood changed completely. He was no longer flirtatious or in a good mood. Something triggered him. I mumbled a soft 'sorry' and left not wanting to make his mood worse.

‌It was around 1 am and I was still shifting my sides to get some sleep. Do I have insomnia, now? My mind was full of thoughts about, who actually is 'Nora'. I went to kitchen to grab a glass of water. It was so quite. As I turned to return, the silence broke as the bell rang.

Something pushed me to open the door. Opening the door, I saw a tall man and a girl.The girl was probably in her mind 20s. The guy was wearing a black hoodie with grey sweatpants. Both of them covered their face by a cap and a mask. I was scared but before I could say anything. "Why didn't you sleep yet Yn." It was Gojo. "Sorry I-" "I don't need an explanation. Go to your room. And don't disturb us." I just simply nodded and left. Who was the guy? Was the girl, Nora?

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To be continued

[burntheedges-updates]

over again, epilogue: together

Joel Miller x f!reader | 18+ minors DNI | word count: 6.4k

summary: you fell in love with Joel Miller in Austin, Texas, in 2001, but you thought you lost him and your whole family in 2003 when the world turned upside down. now it's 2024, and you find the surprise of your life waiting for you in Jackson, Wyoming. or, five times you and Joel fell deeper in love, on both sides of the apocalypse (and one time you did something about it) chapter tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, banter, light angst, kissing, pet names (darlin’, baby, honey, pretty girl), Joel calls reader a good girl, neck grabbing (no breath play), light manhandling, grinding, oral (f receiving), oral (m receiving), deepthroating, light choking, p in v sex (no condom this time, but use a condom, y’all), creampie, praise kink, light anal play, face sitting, if I missed anything please let me know! a/n: I cannot believe this is the last part (this is the +1 - the time they did something about it). I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think!

series main post | series playlist | ao3 ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5

This is my updates-only blog! Follow me at @burntheedges

Epilogue: Together

Austin, December 2002

Almost two years in, and sometimes you couldn’t believe how happy you were with Joel. Almost two and a half, really, if you counted the 6 months you spent getting to know each other but holding yourselves back. 

You had a memorable second Christmas together – you stayed with the Millers for your entire holiday break from teaching, only running next door to your house to get random things you needed as they came up. Sarah, then 13, had been excited about it for weeks, though her excitement hadn’t died down after Christmas itself. You weren’t sure why, but she was still practically bouncing off the walls of the Miller household. Joel easily agreed to let her go to a New Year’s sleepover to burn off some of her energy.

A couple of days before New Year’s Eve you came back from a grocery run to an empty house. You knew Tommy had driven Sarah to the mall, but Joel should’ve been there somewhere. You called for him and heard a thump from the backyard, so you set down your bags and wandered out to see what he was up to. You found him up on a ladder, hammer in hand, string lights trailing over his shoulder and already secured in other places on the tall fence around the backyard.

“What’s all this?” you asked, coming to stand beside the ladder to steady it. It had rained earlier, but now it was just foggy and a little chilly. For Texas, anyway. You shivered.

Joel grunted, voice muffled by the nail he was holding with his lips. “I wanted to do something nice for Sarah for New Year’s.”

“Isn’t she going to that sleepover?”

“Yeah, but she’ll be back the next day. Thought we could celebrate it together.” You rested your hand on his ankle and smiled up at him. He was such a good dad, always thinking of little details like this that would brighten her day.

“Need any help?”

“No, I’m ‘bout done. Hey, could you go make us some coffee? Maybe we can sit out here for a bit when I’m done, think about what else we could do to decorate.”

“Sure, baby.” You squeezed his ankle and headed off to do just that.

It took you about 20 minutes to put away the groceries and make some coffee the way you both liked it. By the time you wandered back outside, Joel had finished the lights and put away the ladder. The string lights were glowing softly all around the back yard. You smiled a little, noticing that he’d also put down a large blanket in the middle of the yard and set up the boombox nearby. 

“¡Que Bonito!” was playing quietly, but Joel was nowhere to be seen. 

“Joel? You out here?” 

You whirled to your left, careful with the coffee, as he cleared his throat from behind you, near the door to the house. Somehow he’d managed to sneak in and change without you noticing. He was wearing a black button up and nicer jeans than he had been 20 minutes ago. 

Before you could ask what was going on, he walked towards you and took the coffees from you, setting them carefully on the low table the boom box was sitting on. “Come here, darlin’.” He guided you into a slow dance, starting to sway back and forth.

“What’s the occasion?”

He hummed, pulling you closer. “Just dance with me, pretty girl.” 

You realized he wasn’t going to tell you, at least not yet, so you relaxed into it. You rested your face on his chest as he rested his cheek on top of your head.

You swayed gently together, and the soft glow of the new string lights made everything feel soft and romantic. You sighed and let yourself sink into him. 

When the song ended you felt Joel tense a little. You tried to raise your head, but he suddenly relaxed and tucked your head back to his chest with his left hand. You realized the next track was “Amazed,” and you started to smile.

Sure enough, Joel ducked his head and put his lips right to your ear as he started to sing along softly with the song. You closed your eyes and let his deep voice wash over you.

I don't know how you do what you do I'm so in love with you It just keeps gettin' better I wanna spend the rest of my life With you by my side Forever and ever Every little thing that you do Baby I'm amazed by you

He sang through the first chorus, but then trailed off. He slowly stopped swaying you back and forth. You raised your head, and he let you this time. His eyes caught yours as he stepped back from you, your brow furrowed in confusion as he took a deep breath.

And then he dropped to one knee. 

Your hands flew up to cover your mouth, eyes wide, as Joel reached into his pocket and revealed a small black box. Your whole body was tingling and you sucked in a sharp breath.

He said your name softly as he opened the box, not breaking eye contact once.

“I was planning to wait until New Year’s Eve, bring you out here at midnight and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me. But when you came home earlier, you looked so goddamn beautiful and so right, here in our home. I couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Darlin’, I started falling in love with you standing in my driveway, watching you smile at me and our daughter over those bushes. I didn’t let myself admit it right away, but that’s the truth of it. And then I spent months falling deeper and deeper, sitting with you on your back porch, ‘n every new thing I learned about you just pulled me in more. But I was stuck in my own fear until that day you watched over our girl and took such good care of her and told me you loved her. And I knew it then. I knew you were the one for me, the one for us, and I needed to stop being so afraid to let you in.”

You realized you’d started crying and you wiped away your tears, a huge smile taking over your face. Joel watched you intently and visibly powered through it instead of reaching out to you.

“Every moment with you blows me away, baby. I didn’t think I would ever be this happy. I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile just like that, hearing about your day, watching you be a mom to our little girl, holding you when you need comfort, marveling at how smart you are. I want to bump shoulders in the kitchen as we do dishes together and catch you as you stumble when you’re too tired after a night of dancing to make it up the stairs. I want to dance with you every day, even when we’re old and our backs hurt with every step. I want to watch you watch our daughter grow up. I want to see you every morning when I wake up and I want your cold feet to snuggle under mine in bed. I want to spend every night in bed with you, touching you and kissing you and making you come so hard your legs shake.” He grins and winks at you, and you laugh. You can’t help it.

“I love you so much, darlin’. I want to take the long way with you. I want you here, with us, together, for the rest of our days. Will you marry me?” 

You flung yourself at him before he even finished the question, and he caught you around the waist, laughing and keeping the both of you from toppling over. 

“Yes! I love you so much, Joel Miller. Yes, I’ll marry you. I want all of that too. I want it so bad, baby.” He grinned at you, and you saw he’d teared up a bit too. You were both a mess, teary and smiling, as he slipped the ring onto your finger.

You both looked at it for a moment, stunned, before he took your hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back of your fingers with his eyes closed. He whispered, “I never saw you coming, darlin’, you took my breath away from the first moment.” He opened his eyes and when he met your gaze he smiled, slow. “Come here, pretty girl.” He pulled you in by your hand and drew you into a deep, slow kiss that stole your breath. With his left hand at your back he lowered you onto the blanket he’d put out, nestled under the trees. 

Joel hovered over you, pressing small kisses all over your face and trailing down your neck. You threaded your fingers through his hair and sighed. 

“Let me make you feel good, baby.” He moved to take off your clothes at the same time your hands moved to his buttons. After a bit of laughter and fumbling, both of you were stripped bare, right there in the yard, hidden by the trees. He looked down at you from where he hovered above you on all fours, cock already hard and hanging heavy between his legs. 

“Look at you, beautiful. Laid out for me all perfect, wearing nothing but my ring.” He dipped down to pull your nipple into his mouth, and you moaned. “That’s right baby, let me hear you.” He reached over and turned up the volume on the boombox slightly. 

You moved your left hand to cup his face, and he immediately turned into it to kiss where your ring sat on your finger. “What do you want, pretty girl?”

You reached down and held his cock lightly in your right hand. You wanted what you knew would drive him over the edge – what always made him lose control. “I want you to fuck my face, baby.”

He groaned, dropping his head to your chest. “Fuck.”

“I want you to come up here and feed me your cock. Come on, cowboy.” You moved your hands to his hips and urged him forward. 

“Baby, I want–“ he started to protest.

You pulled his head up so he had to meet your gaze. “Fuck. My. Mouth.” You could see him shudder, his eyes blown wide as his mouth dropped open. He scrambled to do as you asked. 

His big thighs came up to surround you, sturdy on either side of your head. You hummed, pleased. He leaned forward to find the right angle and you stuck out your tongue to meet the tip of his cock as it lowered towards your face. He groaned loudly. His hips moved closer, suddenly, like it was out of his control. You opened your mouth and extended your tongue, flat. 

Joel was breathing fast, but he lowered his hips perfectly so that the head of his cock landed right on your tongue. You realized he must have been watching and tilted your head back to look. You met his gaze, upside down, his head hanging between his shoulders. He looked completely undone and you’d barely touched him. You smiled as he slowly sank the head of his cock into your wide open mouth. 

He groaned as he pushed inside, not too far yet. He knew you loved this, and he fucking loved it too, but he was always a little afraid of hurting you at first. Always cautious. You positioned your mouth and throat so that he could push father, but he pulled back out and you hummed. You reached up and lightly slapped his ass cheek before grabbing his hips to urge him forward. 

“Ok, baby, ok. I just don’t want to choke you.” He breathed out a laugh, sounding completely wrecked. You pinched his ass. “Ok, I know, I don’t want to choke you too much.” This time he sank down further and you tried to open your throat to welcome him in. You swirled your tongue over his shaft as the tip of his cock kissed the back of your throat. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck baby that feels so fucking good. Fuck.” He pulled back out and, a bit faster, thrust back inside. You hummed and squeezed your thighs together at the feeling. You were already getting wet.

Slowly, steadily, he started to actually fuck into your mouth. You encouraged him with your hands on his ass and your moans every time he went a little bit farther, a little bit deeper. You could hear him, cursing and murmuring quietly about how good it was, but the blood started to rush in your ears as he settled into it. 

You pressed your tongue to the tip of his cock the next time he pulled out and then sucked, hard, on his next thrust. His hips jumped forward and his cock sank slightly farther into your throat. You choked, just a little, and immediately held onto his ass to keep him from pulling out. “Oh baby, your mouth is fucking perfect,” he growled, accepting that you wanted him right there, down your throat, not moving until you let him. “You want to choke on it that bad? You got it, pretty girl.”

He started thrusting a little deeper, pushing the head of his cock into your throat every time. You moaned, encouraging him, and realized tears were streaming down your face. You clenched your thighs together, pussy dripping wet, overcome by the sound and the feeling of him starting to use your throat. 

On his next thrust you slipped a finger in between his ass cheeks and his hips stuttered forward, almost sinking his entire cock into your mouth. Joel cried out as you choked and your throat tightened around him, before pulling out suddenly and yanking you up the blanket towards him. 

“Holy fucking shit, baby, what did I do to deserve you? Such a good fucking girl for me. You take my cock so fucking well.” He wiped the tears from your eyes and leaned down to lick across your lips before kissing you deeply, tasting himself and groaning loudly. “I need to be inside you, pretty girl.”

“You were, baby.” Your voice was husky, throat a little raw, and he shuddered at the sound. 

“Let me fuck this pretty pussy, baby, I want to make you feel good.” He lifted your knees to your chest, opening you up to him. “I need to put my cock inside this perfect little hole. Fill it up.”

“I do feel good, Joel.” You smiled, dreamily, watching him look at your pussy and lick his lips. 

“I can see that, honey.” You were sure the look on your face was totally blissed out. It’s how you felt. “I want you to feel even better.” As he said it his fingers moved from your legs to your pussy and he moaned. “You’re so fucking wet, is this just from sucking my cock?” You nodded. “Such a good fucking girl for me. Getting so wet just from having my cock in your mouth. Like I already filled you up and you’re dripping, leaking everywhere. So needy, baby.”

“I love your cock, Joel. Love the way it tastes. Love choking on it.” You reached for him, but he leaned down before you could pull him towards you and licked your pussy, tongue flat, from your hole to your clit. You whined and fisted your hands in the blanket. 

“You taste good too, baby. So fucking good.” He lowered his head again and slipped his tongue inside of you, holding you open with his hands behind your thighs. You squirmed, trying to thrust your hips towards his mouth. He twisted his tongue, closed his mouth over your hole, and sucked lightly. You moaned. 

He pulled his face away, gasping. “I need to be inside you, baby.”

You nodded, pulling him towards you. His eyes were dark and his gaze burned into you, making your breath stutter.

“I’m going to fuck your so good, honey. ‘M going to fill this tight little hole, stuff it full of my cock, stretch you open and make it mine.” He leaned down and kissed you as the tip of his cock nestled at your entrance, your legs still wide open for him.

“It’s already yours, Joel. I’m all yours.”

“That’s right, baby. For the rest of our lives.” With that, he pushed forward and sank his cock inside you, slowly, inch by inch. You threw your head back and whined as his hips met yours. You felt stretched full, a perfect fit. He stopped there and watched you for a moment before leaning down and kissing you, so softly and gently it made your breath catch. 

He moved his lips to your ear and whispered, softly, “I am going to ruin this pretty pussy, baby.”

You moaned, clenching down on his cock and twisting your fingers through his hair. “Please, Joel. Do it.”

He moved his face back above yours, giving you a cocky half smile. He pulled out slowly, met your eyes, and then slammed back into you. You could feel your chest heaving as he set a wild pace, strokes fast and deep. You thrust your hips to meet his, panting. He moved his left hand to where it belonged, holding the back of your neck in a strong grip as he held himself up on his elbows.

Joel leaned down slowly towards you, the move totally at odds with the devastating pace he was setting with his cock. You could feel his breath on your lips. He slipped his tongue towards you and brushed it lightly along your bottom lip, teasing you, holding your neck in place when you tried to surge forward to meet him. The soft pressure combined with the feeling of his cock hitting you just right inside made you whine and close your eyes. 

“That’s it, baby. You’re always such a good girl, fucking taking what I give you like you were made to do it.” He leaned to the right and nipped lightly at your jaw. You tried to tilt your head to give him more room but his grip on your neck held you in place, right where he wanted you. He shifted his weight to his left elbow, picking up his right hand and grasping your hip to encourage you as you met his thrusts. He scraped his teeth down your neck.

“Being with you feels like a miracle, baby. It’s so fucking good every time. A man could lose himself in this pussy.” His hips stuttered. “Wish I could stay right here inside you all damn day.”

You felt tears forming at the corners of your eyes as he kept his steady pace, fucking into you, holding your body where he wanted it. “Joel, please.” You couldn't help but beg him even though you didn’t know what you were begging for. You scratched your nails down his back, feeling his muscles moving beautifully under his skin.

“Shhh, let me give it to you. Just take it, honey. That’s it. Be my good girl.” You held your breath as he whispered in your ear, as his right hand moved to your clit. He began to dance his fingers over it in time with his thrusts and you suddenly felt your orgasm, which had been building steadily, coming for you like a meteor. 

“Joel!”

As you cried out his name, you felt yourself clench around his cock, coming so hard you swore you heard ringing in your ears. He moaned your name, low and guttural, and sank his teeth into your shoulder. His hips stuttered and his fingers pinched lightly at your clit as both of you flew over the edge. His orgasm stirred yours higher and your hands went lax. You saw stars dancing in your vision as he ground his cock into you, almost smothering you with his weight.

His hips stilled, but neither of you moved. You both sucked in deep breaths and tried to slow your racing hearts. You could feel his in his chest, beating strong and fast. 

Slowly, Joel lifted his head to meet your gaze. You realized with sudden alarm that he was crying.

“Baby, what–”

He cut you off with a kiss, so soft and gentle it soothed you. He whispered your name.

“How did I get so lucky as to find you, honey?” He spoke right into your mouth, seeming unable to move back, unable to stop kissing you. “I’ve never been so happy. Never knew it could be like this.”

You mustered the strength to move your arms, slipping them around his waist. “I’m the lucky one, Joel. I’ve never been loved this good. No one’s ever come close. I didn’t even realize what I was missing before you.”

He hummed, kissing along your jaw softly. “Maybe we’re both lucky. Sure do fit together like this is how it’s meant to be.” He ground his hips into yours a bit, emphasizing his point. You laughed.

“Well, you know how much I love your cock.”

He smiled, but hid it in your neck, licking and kissing his way down and back up. “Just my cock? I see how it is.” He kissed your ear before biting down on it lightly.

You laughed again, and considered continuing the joke, but you couldn’t. Not that day. You moved your hands up to take his face gently between them, bringing his gaze to meet yours.

“I love you, Joel Miller, every part of you, with all of my heart. I can’t wait to marry you. Every part of me belongs to you and our family. I never want to be without you ever again.” He looked stunned and then he smiled so wide you couldn’t help but return it. 

“We’re getting married.” He looked elated as he said it, like he’d forgotten and only just remembered. You grinned.

“Yeah, cowboy, we are. You even swept me off my feet.” You kicked at his ankles a bit, reminding him. He laughed.

Slowly, he reached down to pull out of you, humming as he felt his cum spill out of you with his cock. He fingered you lightly, pushing it around and making a mess. You raised your eyebrows at him and he grinned ruefully. “Ok, ok.”

He moved to the side and laid down, pulling you in so your head was resting on his chest and your leg was thrown over his. He tugged the part of the blanket you weren’t lying on over the two of you, holding you tight against him. You knew you’d want to go inside and clean up soon — you’d started to notice again how chilly it was — but for now you relaxed into his embrace. You were both quiet, reveling in the moment.

“I feel like you should have something, too,” you mused.

“What do you mean?” Joel picked up your left hand from where it rested on his chest and toyed with your ring before kissing your fingers. “I’ll get my own ring real soon.”

“I just want to get you something. Like, an engagement watch or belt buckle or something.” 

Joel burst into laughter, eyes crinkling. “A belt buckle? Baby, I don’t think that’s a thing.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him and tried not to laugh. “Well, we’ll just have to make it a thing, won’t we?” He laughed so hard he almost bounced you off his chest and onto the blanket. You grinned, making a mental note to enlist Sarah’s help to definitely get him an engagement belt buckle – the cheesiest one you could find, and soon. 

…

Later, when Tommy and Sarah got home, they found you dancing in the kitchen to the mix CD Joel and Sarah had made you the Christmas before, laughing and singing along to “Forever and Ever, Amen” as you made dinner. Sarah immediately gasped and zeroed in on the ring on your finger before you could even say anything. She screamed and jumped across the room to hug you both.

“Finally! I thought you were never going to do it.” She pinched her dad in the side and he squirmed away.

“Hey! I told you I was planning on New Year’s, you little meddler.” He was smiling wide as he teased her.

“Is this what you’ve been so excited about?” you wonder aloud. 

Sarah nodded at you, bouncing on her toes. “We bought the ring a month ago! Do you like it?”

“I love it, sweetheart, thank you. It’s beautiful.” She beamed at you and hugged you again. You laughed, holding on tight. Tommy came in and squished all four of you together in a hug. 

“Welcome to the family, sunshine!” He pulled you away from Joel and started dancing you around the room as Sarah and Joel laughed. “You’re stuck with us now.”

You grinned as he spun you around, catching Joel’s eye. “Stuck, huh? But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

...

Jackson, Early Fall 2024

After that night you and Joel can be found together more often than not.

You don’t move in together, not yet – you want Ellie to be comfortable, and that’s more important than anything else. 

But you spend a lot of nights in each other's beds.

At first it surprises you, how quickly the two of you fall together again. But it shouldn’t, really. Just like you told Joel, the core of who you are is still the same, and who you are together was always something special. Something that had burrowed so deep inside of you, had become so much a part of you, that you’d mourned a part of yourself when it was lost. You’d assumed it was gone for good, right up until the moment Joel Miller touched you again. 

You have some difficult conversations, difficult in the sense that it’s hard for the both of you to talk about some parts of your past. But just like Before, Joel is there to catch you when you stumble over your words, there to hold you when the memories are too strong. You do the same for him.

And when Tommy and Maria’s baby is born in early summer, you’re there for each other for the hard moments and memories that come along with all of the good ones. (Ellie takes to her baby cousin Isabela and the joy of being the big cousin with wonder and enthusiasm – they’re like two peas in a pod of chaos. You still wish Sarah was there every day, but seeing them together heals you a bit, too.) 

Later in the summer, once he can come up for air after the baby is born, Tommy shows the three of you the lake near Jackson. Joel takes the opportunity to teach Ellie to swim, which results in a couple of hilarious afternoons with both Joel and Tommy ending up soaking wet when they don’t mean to be. You laugh at them from the grass nearby (or sometimes from the lake, with Ellie).

In early fall, on what seems like one of the last warm days of the year, the five of you go out to the lake. Maria leaves Isabela with her closest friend, taking advantage of the summer weather while you still have it. (You were surprised Maria wanted to come, since no one wanted to bring the baby outside the walls of Jackson, but she just shrugged and said she was getting stir crazy and wanted to spend the afternoon with family, that it would only be a couple of hours, anyway. Her smile was a little too knowing, a little suspicious. You’d narrowed your eyes, sure something was up, but couldn’t figure out what.) It’s a day off from work and school and Ellie bounces along beside you, excited to be out exploring. She’s adjusting well, but still needs to get away sometimes. 

You and Joel are walking slowly around the edge of the lake as Ellie and Tommy invent some sort of splashing game with extremely complex rules (that mostly result in Tommy getting soaked and Ellie grinning like a little demon the whole time). Maria just watches and laughs at their antics from her comfortable spot on a blanket next to the lake. Whatever the game is, they’re clearly having fun, and you leave them to it. 

Joel takes your right hand in his left, intertwining your fingers and squeezing, and says, “I still can’t really believe it, that we get to have all of this again.”

“I know what you mean. It’s starting to make the 20 years in between feel like a dream, which seems impossible.” He nods, agreeing. “I don’t think either of us will ever be unaffected,” you share a glance and the knowledge that both of you still have nightmares and rough days, “but it seems too good to be true.”

He pulls your hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it softly. “You know, Ellie pointed something out to me the other day.”

You turn to look at him when he doesn’t say anything more. “Oh?” You elbow him a little to urge him on. He smiles, one corner of his mouth lifting.

“We were talking about Before, and she pointed out that technically, we’ve been engaged for almost 22 years now. You know, we never officially called it off or anything.” 

You stumble a little and laugh, wondering where he’s going with this. “I mean, technically, she’s right.”

Joel grins at your reply and pulls you to stop, turning you to face him by grabbing your other hand. “And technically,” he winks, “that’s probably long enough for an engagement. We could probably, well. We could get married, um. If we wanted.” He looks a little shy, somehow, even after everything you’ve been through. 

Your breath catches in your throat. And for some reason the question that comes out is, “do people still do that?” 

He laughs, crinkling his nose at your question. “Yeah, I asked Tommy. Sounds like at least around here, people still do that.” Of course they do, you realize it as he says it – Tommy and Maria are married, after all. 

“I…” you trail off, words leaving you, overcome by a possibility that you hadn't once stopped to consider. He sees how surprised you are and tries to talk you through it.

“You know, there’s not one particular way, sounds like people just do whatever seems right to them, with a few witnesses or sometimes a party at the Bison or something. Something they like.” 

Your brain is coming back online and with it the force of your desire to be married to this man. It emerges from somewhere deep within you, pushed down and ignored for so many years because of how much it hurt to think about. You never stopped wanting it, not really, you only stopped being able to have it. It was out of reach for so long that it didn’t occur to you that you could have it now, even with Joel right in front of you, miraculously alive. You start to smile and he straightens up, smiling back and looking relieved.

“It’s just too bad we don’t have any kind of rings, you know?” He continues. You clear your throat, suddenly awkward, and he narrows his eyes at you. He knows you far too well. “What?”

“Well,” you start, “maybe we do have some rings.”

“Rings?” Joel’s eyes go wide as he emphasizes the end of the word, clearly incredulous both at their possible existence and at the idea that there might somehow be more than one ring available to you.

“I might have held something back, from the shoebox.” His mouth drops open and he pulls you closer. “I held onto mine, somehow, never lost it. I didn’t wear it of course, but I kept it close and never had it stolen.” He’s shaking his head in disbelief, looking down at your hands that are still clutched in his own like he might find it there on your finger, somehow unnoticed until now. “And then when I went back to the house, I found them. In your sock drawer.” He squeezes your hands so hard and looks so shocked you worry he might fall over.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It’s a fair question.

“Well, at first it was like the rest of the shoebox – I was just waiting for a good time to tell you about it, and I did as soon as I could. But the rings…” You sighed. “I was trying not to push, you know? You said slow, and I agreed.”

“But we left slow behind months ago, darlin’.” He tugs you in closer, letting go of your hands to move his around your waist. You slide yours up his chest to his shoulders. 

“I know, but well, two reasons. One, it honestly hadn’t seemed possible in so long that I sort of… assumed people didn’t get married anymore. And two, well. It seemed kind of fast, to just bring it up right away. Hey, thanks for the mind-blowing orgasms, did you still want your wedding ring? Then I just made it more difficult by waiting and got all in my head about it.” He laughed and pulled your face into his chest, kissing along your hairline. 

“You could’ve said that. The orgasm thing. We have been engaged for 22 years, after all.” You can feel him laughing as he says it and for a second you marvel at the idea that it’s something you can both joke about. “Let me help get you out of your head, baby. We can work it out together.” He pulls back and to your surprise, for the second time in your life, Joel drops to one knee in front of you. His hands go to your hips and yours to his arms. He holds you up as your knees suddenly feel weak.

“I can’t beat that first proposal, I don’t think, especially not with our family right over there. So I’ll just say that I love you, darlin’, and I never stopped. I can’t believe I get another chance at spending the rest of my life with you. I’m not letting it pass me by. We were made for each other, after all.” You smile, and feel tears slip down your cheeks, just like last time. He squeezes your hips. “I know it won’t be easy all the time, but I’d rather handle the hard things together than apart. Even when the hard things come from us.” 

His eyes are looking a little teary, too, and he says your name softly. “It turns out we really did take the long way ‘round, but I’d like to go the rest of the way with you by my side, however long it turns out to be. Will you marry me, darlin’?”

You say yes, of course. You say yes, and fall into his arms again, just like last time. Joel draws you into a kiss, both of you on your knees, and then laughs when you slide your hand into his back pocket and squeeze. 

“We’re too old for me to take you right here on the ground like last time, baby, and we’ve got an audience anyway.” You look up to see Tommy, Maria and Ellie are all watching you, grinning. When you make eye contact with them they start cheering. It’s ridiculous and it makes you tear up again. Joel leans forward to whisper in your ear as they come running towards you, “I promise, honey, I’ll give it to you so good when we get home that you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.” You shiver. 

You rise, just as Ellie arrives and throws herself at you both, getting you all wet with lake water. She smiles at you both and starts to poke at Joel as Tommy walks up behind her. 

“Well, what am I supposed to do, sunshine, welcome you to the family a second time? It don’t make any sense.” He grins at you, and pulls you into a hug. Maria is right behind him with another, and you realize that all three of them must have known what Joel was going to ask you today. 

Ellie looks up from where she’s teasing Joel mercilessly for being such a romantic. “Hey, why does he call you sunshine, anyway?”

Joel and Tommy start laughing, and you roll your eyes. “Come on, I’ll tell you the story on the way back.” 

“Aw come on, it’s not a long story,” Tommy grins as he needles you. He looks at Ellie. “We were at some bar and this guy wouldn’t leave her alone, got so far as putting his hand up her shirt. After she’d already pushed him away a couple times. She was dancing, we were over by the bar.”

Joel chimes in, “She took care of him, though. Didn’t need any help.” He’s grinning.

Tommy nods. “Yeah, it was beautiful. She grabbed him by the shoulders, shouted, ‘watch where you put your hands if you want to keep ‘em, fucker’ and kneed him straight in the di– erm, junk.” Tommy corrects himself, glancing at Joel. Ellie rolls her eyes.

“You can say dick. I’m not a fucking child.” Ellie crosses her arms and frowns at Tommy. Joel sighs, long-suffering, but you know he’s hiding a laugh. 

“Anyway,” Tommy shrugs, “the fucker folded in half right there on the dance floor, just fell right over and groaned. Everyone around them turned and laughed at him.” Tommy pretends to wipe a tear away from his eye. “He had to army crawl off the dance floor and creep his way outside. Truly, one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw.”

“Ok that is like, fucking awesome obviously, but it doesn’t explain the nickname.” Ellie raises her eyebrow at Tommy.

Joel and Tommy start snickering again. The absolute dorks.

“Sure, yeah, but you know,” Tommy snorts and says gleefully, “she got him where the sun don’t shine.” He and Joel laugh again, louder this time, leaning into each other. This time you roll your eyes, even as Ellie laughs, too. Tommy’s still just as pleased with himself for coming up with that nickname, more than 20 years later. He’s got the same look on his face as he did outside of the bar, crowing about the way you took the guy down. 

You and Ellie and Maria leave them there, leaning against each other and laughing, as you walk arm in arm back to where you left the horses. 

...

a/n: that’s it, y’all. Thank you for reading!! Every single one of your comments has meant so much to me. Please let me know what you think of the ending?

I bet I’ll add some drabbles showing some of this stuff that didn’t fit in the story. To answer your probable questions:

Yes, you get married. (Your rings don’t actually fit anymore, but neither of you care. You have them, that’s enough. And later you pass them on to Ellie.)

Yes, you do show Jackson how it’s done, dancing at the bar. You even bring out the mix CD. 

I handwaved the cure and resulting issues here but just know that however it went, they took care of it. 

You and Joel do talk about Tess and Michelle and everything else that happened. You tell Ellie all about Sarah and the extended family she would have had in Texas. Talking about them hurts but seeing her wonder, hearing about her huge family, helps. 

You and Ellie talk about Michelle and she eventually opens up to you about her crush on Cat, bringing the two of you closer together. 

Joel still sings to you in the kitchen and dances with you in the backyard. 

You’re all happy, in the end. It’s hard, and sometimes it’s so hard you think it might not work out. But it always does, and you’re happy. Together. 

Tag list

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Pick Up the Phone

Pairings: Keisuke Baji, Takashi Mitsuya, Shuji Hanma x Fem!Reader (Separate)

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Request: First of all, english isn't my first language so if i make any mistakes i apologize! and I hope you understand what I mean hahaha. So i was wondering if you could Please write something about the TR boys being scared that something might have happened to you. For example they're having beef with another Gang and they haven't heard anything from you in a few hours and you don't pick up your phone and answer their messages so they start to panic and go to your home to see if you're there. You're home and completely fine, nothing has happened to you. And after they explain what's wrong you comfort them and tell them everything is okay and they don't have to worry. Uh, I hope i didn't make too many mistakes Hahaha. I hope you like this request! I really love your Account and your work soo so much!! Much Love ❤️ - Anonymous

Warnings/Contains: angst, fluff, cursing, each of the guys are worried for you in their own way, Kei cares about you, Mitsuya finds you precious, Hanma might be a bit OC towards the end but I think the ending is sweet regardless.

wc: 4.2k

a/n: Don’t worry anon! Your English was great :3 thank you so much for your request! I only had ideas for these three but I hope you enjoy!

a(nother)/a/n: I finally got around to finishing this request yayyy. College is rough y’all but I love the outlet that writing these headcanons gives me. I hope you all enjoy and feel free to send more they just might take awhile ahaha

Keisuke baji

“C’mon, pick up, dammit.” Keisuke murmured under his breath. He was still a little out of breath from fighting a couple guys in an alleyway while on his way to your school to pick you up. He promised to grab food with you after your activities were done, but instead got caught up in a fight with some delinquents younger than him.

When he saw the time when he was done, he knew that you were most likely mad at him for ditching you, even though that wasn’t the case, and went home. That’s why now he was calling you while making his way over to your apartment.

“y/n, I swear to fucking god,” Keisuke sighed, having received your voicemail for the 5th time in a row. He knew that you were upset with him, but he didn’t think that it deserved you ignoring this many of his calls. Then again, what did he know? He always knew girls to be dramatic like that; at least the ones at his school were.

Reaching the red light of a crosswalk on a busy street, he groaned and cursed himself for not bringing his bike and parking it close to the school grounds today so that he could have picked you up quicker. Part of him regretted the fight, but at the same time was glad he got that energy out of his system so that it wouldn’t show when he eventually apologized to you.

As the crosswalk changed, signaling Keisuke that he could cross the street, he continued to run and thought back on the younger delinquents he had fought not 20 minutes ago. Why did they try to intentionally fight him anyway? And why were they heading in the same direction as he was as he walked to your school?

Using what little memory he had of the fight, despite it being not too long ago, he recalled that one of the guys called him by name. It didn’t shock him at the time, as he was well known for being a division captain of Toman, but the fact that they were also walking in the direction of your school made him warry.

You weren’t affiliated with Toman yourself, but you had met the guys before, and have even hung out with Emma on occasion; but, what if those delinquents he fought were making their way to your school to hurt you? He would never forgive himself if anything happened to you because of what he was involved with.

Eventually he made his way up the stairs of your apartment complex, knocking on your front door with a fervor that made you jump when you heard it from inside. Regardless, you hesitantly went to the door, looking through the peephole before sighing in relief at the sight of your boyfriend.

“Don’t girls always keep their phones on them?” Keisuke said as you opened the door, practically panting from how out of breath he was. “I’ve called you like 10 times.”

Your eyes widened at his ushered and hurried tone. “What’s wrong? Did something happen?” You asked, confused as to why he was in such dire need for you anyway. You then took in the scrapes and dirt he had on his face and school uniform. “Wait, did you get into a fight again?”

Keisuke stared at you for a second, wondering if you were deciding to play the long game with him as punishment for him not showing up to see you after school. “Are you serious?”

“Are you?” You asked, growing more confused as you pulled him inside your apartment and closed the door. “C’mon, let me at least clean you up.” Keisuke let you drag him to the bathroom before he finally spoke up again, his brain finally catching up with what was happening.

“Are you really pulling this bullshit with me right now?!” He snapped, making you freeze as you were grabbing the first aid kit from underneath the sink. “I know I forgot to pick you up after your club, but ignoring my calls, pretending like it never happened, and remaining pissy with me to make me feel worse while I was already worried about you when you weren’t there is even worse!”

You took in his words, hands going to your mouth as your eyes widened in realization. “I forgot..” You whispered.

“...what-”

“I forgot that we were hanging out after school today.” You said, dropping your hands so he could better understand you. “And my phone died during my club meeting.”

Keisuke’s gaze on you still depicted him as pissed off, but you were hoping that the gears of reality were turning in his head.

“I went straight home after my club. Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” You continued. “Were you waiting for me all this time?”

Your boyfriend sighed again, shaking his head. “No, I got caught in a fight on my way to your school and it lasted longer than intended cause those little shits didn’t know when they had lost.” He paused. “Then I was worried that they were on their way to hurt you since you’re affiliated with me.” His tone was soft, but it got louder again as though he had caught you in the act of doing something you weren’t supposed to.

“But you’re telling me that you forgot the plans that you made after whining to me about I don’t spend enough time with you?”

“...I love you-”

“You’re lucky I reciprocate.”

Takashi Mitsuya

Takashi frowned as he scrolled through all of the texts he had sent you in the last couple hours. It wasn’t like you to purposefully not reply to him, but to his knowledge you weren’t doing anything to keep yourself busy today.

Your club was tomorrow, you were running errands with your mom the day after, and your younger sister’s dance class was yesterday so you didn’t have to pick her up. To his knowledge you should be at home or with one of your other friends since the school day was over and he was busy doing things with Toman.

The more he thought about it, the more he got distracted and ended up being nudged in the back by Draken, making him nearly stumble and fall to the ground. “Hey, wake your ass up, Mitsuya. It’s not like you to be zoning out like that.”

“Right,” Takashi sighed. “Sorry, I’m just worried about y/n is all. She usually responds to me before the meeting starts so that I know she’s made it home or where to meet with her afterwards.”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it,” Baji cut in, clearly annoyed. “You’re happy. You don’t have to bore us about every single detail about your girlfriend.” He walked past Takashi, hitting his shoulder against his own. “We have a meeting to start and would appreciate it if you actually paid any attention rather than staring at your phone.”

“Shut up, Baji.” Mikey sighed, sounding exhausted from where he laid on his back at the top platform of the shrine. “If you keep annoying me and the others over meaningless crap then I might ban you from meetings.”

Takashi  shook his head at their bickering, looking back at his phone to see if he had any new messages from you; nothing.

He knew that he should have no reason to worry, but he knew it wasn’t like you to not message him like this. Maybe you needed some time for yourself, maybe you were doing homework, or even taking a nap after a long, tiring day; you were probably fine, he kept telling himself. He just wanted to be certain.

“C’mon, Mitsuya. Meeting’s starting.” Peh said, getting Takashi to stop zoning out. With a sigh, the man pocketed his phone to focus on his other focus in life: Toman.

Throughout the meeting, Takashi listened in on most of it, thinking back to you when hearing something that he was already aware of. One thing, however, that made him rethink it was Mikey’s reminder of a new gang on the east side of the city that had been making claims about beating Toman into the ground; in the part of town that your school happened to be in.

Takashi wasn’t sure if you were aware of this, as he didn’t want you to know too much about Toman and what happened within the group, but what if the new rival gang happened to have guys that went to your school? What if one of them saw you as you were heading home and decided to make a pass at you, or knew that you were dating Takashi and wanted to hurt you as a sign that they were serious about taking down Toman.

Multiple thoughts and outcomes continued to rack at his head, and as soon as the meeting ended, he made sure not to seem too rushed as he headed down the stairs of the shrine and to his bike. The moment he got on and started it, he made way to your apartment first in an attempt to put his mind at ease.

He felt his heart lift in relief as he saw the light in your bedroom window was on. Of course, that didn’t guarantee that you were home; he had to be certain.

It only took a few seconds for you to answer the door, but it felt like an eternity for Takashi. The moment he saw you, he pulled you in for a hug before you had the chance to say anything.

“Whoa,” you chuckled, hugging him back. “Good to see you too, babe.” You sounded calm and happy, so that was a good sign to Takashi. “You alright? You seem tense.” Takashi sighed at your words, pulling away so that he could take in your appearance.

It was clear that you had showered due to your pj’s, but hadn’t washed your hair tonight; that meant that you would most likely wear a hat or style it in a way that you typically didn’t if it didn’t look nice for you when you woke up. You could use your dry hair shampoo, but he knew that you were running low and couldn’t get a new bottle until next week. By your expression, he could tell that you were worried for him, but couldn’t figure out what could cause his own to make him look so relieved to see you. He figured that maybe you were thinking that the Toman meeting didn’t go well, and needed a break from it all. However, as he stared at you, rather than voice his relief, he first voiced his concern and worry due to your lack of communication throughout the afternoon and evening.

“I hadn’t heard from you since school ended.” He sighed, not wanting to make a big deal out of the situation. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

Your expression fell out of shock and realization. “Did my messages not go through?” You sighed, now upset about the situation as well. “This is what I get for shopping with Emma last minute in a marketplace with terrible signal.”

“You went shopping with Emma?” Takashi repeated, following you as you retreated back into your apartment and grabbed your phone. “How come Mikey or Draken didn’t tell me then?”

“It was a spur of the moment decision.” You said, going to your messages with Takashi on your phone. “She heard about this place and wanted me to go with her since Draken was busy tonight.” You shook your head at the situation. “And most likely figured that she’d be back home before dark and not worry them about where she was.”

Takashi thought the situation over, understanding most of it. “Then why didn’t you tell me when you got home?”

“I was about to when I got back an hour ago, but my phone was dead by the time Emma and I got off the train.” You crossed your arms, leaning against the wall as you remembered. “I let my phone charge while I showered, and was going to text you when I got out, but I got distracted by a little someone begging me for a late night snack.”

The culprit you were referring to made themself noticed as Takashi heard a small meow coming from your living room. A moment later, your cat came prancing down the hall to greet your boyfriend.

“I’m sorry,” you sighed with a frown, picking up your cat so that they didn’t bother him. “I didn’t mean to worry you. I just couldn’t get signal, then of course my phone just had to die on me like that.” You sighed again, scratching the top of your cat’s head. “I-”

Your rant was cut short by Takashi as he gently pulled you into his arms. “I’m not mad that you didn’t message me, nor am I ever angry at you for not letting me know of your whereabouts and plans every second of the day.”

“What?” You asked, confused about his words. “What do you-”

“Don’t worry yourself over this,” he said. “I just got worked up because of Toman issues. I always know that if you don’t respond to me that you have a valid reason.” He kissed the top of your head. “As long as you let me know when you get home safe every night.” He chuckled softly.

“You know I always do that.” You couldn’t help but giggle along with him. “But you better do the same.”

“I promise, baby.” He said, pressing his forehead against yours. “I promise.”

Hanma Shuji

“You’ve got to be fucking with me.”

“Well, all you have to do is ask.”

“Hanma, I swear to god.”

Your boyfriend laughed at your reaction, slinging an arm around your shoulders. “You know I’m just joking, princess.” He went on to continue his teasing antics towards you, but he noticed your serious expression as you looked at your phone. “What’s going on? Need me to beat someone up for you?”

“No, not today.” You sighed, shaking your head. “Just this damn group project I have to do for my English course.”

“Why do we have to take other language courses anyway?” Hanma sighed, having hated the class himself. “Like, I’m not working outside Japan right now. I can always learn the language later.”

“Because you never know who you might come across.” You pointed out. “What if someone who wants your gang ends up being from England?”

“Then I’ll tell them to go eat some damn scones and tea before kicking their ass for thinking they’re better than us.”

“You,” you cut yourself off with a sigh, shaking your head at his words. “Never mind, I have to get going.” You shrugged his arm off your shoulders, picking up your school bag as you texted your classmate back letting them know you were on your way.

“What? I thought we were gonna hang out today.” Hanma complained as he watched you get ready to leave.

“By hang out do you mean watch you beat up people in rival gangs while I sip on the boba you get me just like every Wednesday?” You teased, pocketing your phone before cupping Hanma’s cheeks and making him look at you at eye level. “While I do love that lil ‘tradition’, as you keep calling it, I need to make sure the grade I get on this assignment is at least decent.”

“I’ve told you,” Hanma said, grabbing onto your wrists and pulling your hands off his face. “You don’t have to try hard in school. Once my gang becomes the most feared in Japan, we’ll be living off of luxury by graduation and you won’t have to worry your pretty little head about anything but me.”

You paused at his words, trying to understand what exactly he was getting at. “Is that really how you see me?” You asked, genuinely upset as you pulled your hands out of his grip. “Nothing but a future housewife for you? An investment for when you’re older so that you don’t have to work as hard?”

“Not an investment, really. But it’d be convenient if you end up with me for a long time-”

“Convenient?” You raised your voice, growing more annoyed with each word your boyfriend was saying. “You know what, Shuji, I’m going to make this convenient for myself rather than you.” You sighed, leaving without another word to your classmate’s house. At this point, you’d rather write a 10 page paper for your English class rather than stay around Hanma another second.

“What, y/n get back here!” Hanma called out, shocked at your reaction and the way you called him by his last name rather than his first. “What the fuck is her problem? I didn’t say anything wrong.”

That whole afternoon, Hanma decided to take his annoyance and confusion out on random delinquents he encountered on the street as he made his way to attend yet another Valhalla meeting. He was so close to getting Keisuke Baji to join, he just had to pull a few more strings. However, his mind was still off thinking about how mad you were with him. He had seen you annoyed, or sometimes pretend to be as he would see that cute, small smile on your face that proved that you weren’t actually annoyed and rather amused with his antics.

Today, of course, was different. He just didn’t know why he felt this weight in his chest. It only took getting punched in the stomach for him to realize that the weight wasn’t pain; it was guilt.

Hanma was feeling guilty about what he said, even if he didn’t fully admit it to himself; and as much as he hated the action more than Toman itself, he had to apologize to you for what he said and how it came across.

He was telling the truth when he said that he hoped that you would be with him for a long time, but while having a bunch of girls at his beck and call as a huge gang leader sounded amazing, he would much rather prefer you by his side than some random girl, or five, he was potentially paying to serve him and his every need.

The Valhalla meeting was typically a fun time, knowing that he only created the gang for Kisaki and his plan, but with his mind elsewhere with you and where you would be after the meeting was over so that he could go meet you wherever that may be. And if you couldn’t forgive him yet, maybe he could help you with your project. He wasn’t the best at English, but he at least knew most of the alphabet and a few words. Who cares if they’re swears, they’re still in English!

As he was thinking of ways he could help you, he wondered who it was that you were working on the assignment with. He was a year above you, so he didn’t know many people in your grade, but he knew a fair amount of the guys by their face, having most likely beaten them up before for being too cocky and thinking that they could take him in a fight.

He’d be damned if one of those punks tried to make a pass at you.

It wasn’t a secret that you were dating Hanma, but you didn’t go flaunting the information off to everyone in your class; granted, neither did he, but that didn’t stop him from bragging about how great you are to the people in his gangs whenever they were complaining about being single. Hell, for all he knew, one of the newbies in Valhalla could be the guy you were doing that project with. The mere thought of someone trying to get as close as he is with you made his blood boil.

Not caring that the meeting was over, he passed off responsibility to one of the higher ups in Valhalla before leaving without seeming to hastily. If he was seen caring about a girl and putting her before either one of his gangs, his reputation as a leader would be ruined.

The moment he got to his bike, he rode to your school not bothering to stop at any of the red lights unless he absolutely had to, like avoiding getting into a major wreck on a busy road. That would only make you more mad to see him in a hospital even though he was trying to go and apologize for what he said to you earlier.

He held back a sigh of relief as he saw you walking out of your school gate, pulling right up to you.

“I thought I made it clear that I didn’t want to see you.” You said, glaring at him.

“And I thought that I was supposed to get you boba today.” Hanma said. “Guess we both had incorrect assumptions.”

You couldn’t help but sigh, shaking your head. “If you think boba will suddenly make up for what you said to me, then you’re wrong.” You moved to leave, only for Hanma to rev his bike and move as well to somewhat block your path and make you stop in your tracks.

“Is it that hard to believe that I want to apologize while I get you boba?” Hanma said, making you pause. You had known Hanma for a good while, and dating him for a few months now; maybe he meant what he was saying.

“If you think I’m paying you’re crazy.” You said, climbing onto his bike.

“Already planned on it.” Hanma said, waiting until you were holding onto his waist before heading in the direction of the boba place the two of you frequented. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help but be grateful for taking some newbie’s after school money during the Valhalla meeting.

After a much deserved quiet exchange, the two of you reached the cafe that you typically frequented every week. You got off his bike and went in without him, making Hanma sigh as he called out for you to wait up.

“If I’m paying then you need to wait for me to get to the register with you.”

“Then you better catch up. You have long legs don’t you?”

Hanma couldn’t help but smile at your quip, as though it reminded him how much he really liked you. Yes, he had fantasized about having multiple women at his beck and call 24/7, but maybe having just you around wouldn’t be as bad as he first made it out to be.

Once you had ordered, and made sure that Hanma paid with his (well, it wasn’t his originally but you didn’t know that) own money rather than the tip jar money, as you have seen him do that before, you made your way to wait by the counter where your finished drink would be. “You have until my boba’s ready to explain yourself.”

“What? That’s it?” Hanma knew you wouldn’t give him much time to apologize, but he didn’t think it’d be that small of a time frame.

“What you said really hurt me, Hanma. Do you even realize how it came across when you practically said that I didn’t have to amount to anything other than being your pretty thing to come home to when we’re older.”

Hanma opened his mouth to explain, only to pause as he replayed your words in his head. “Wait, so you pictured a future for the two of us then?” Your silence was a give away in itself. “Tell me, what was it like?”

“Why do you want to know? You clearly don’t want it.”

“Says who?” He gently turned you to face him so he could meet your gaze. “Tell me what you thought about for us.”

“y/n!”

You were brought back to your senses when you heard your name called by the barista and went to grab your drink. You effortlessly put the straw through the top as you made your way back over to Hanma. “You still haven’t explained yourself.”

“Then, will you let me take you home so that I can?”

You stared at him for a moment, part of you saying how he wouldn’t change due to his commitments and behavior that you weren’t always one hundred percent supportive of; however, as you noted how his gaze on you seemed hopeful that you would say yes, the other part of you said to give him this one chance to talk things through with you. “Sure, but we’re walking.”

“And leave my bike here?” He gasped, not liking the idea one bit as the idea of a rival gang finding and destroying it came across his mind.

“Would you rather leave me?”

Hanma paused, knowing what you were getting at. He shook his head, taking your hand and walking you out of the shop. “Absolutely not.”

© copyright leiasfanaccount648 2022

[captainnameless]

you did a request a while ago for clingy Max and i was wondering if you would write a little headspin like that on Max being clingy and Daniel gets kinda firm with him and Max gets upset but Daniel makes it all better?

i don’t know if that makes sense lmao but i’m such a sucker for the like caregiver being firm but then going all mushy for their little and i just love clingy Max

ooooo, i tried. i hope this is what you wanted <3

Max is extra clingy today, in fact, Daniel is pretty sure Max would prefer to be in one of those baby swings, stuck onto Daniel like a baby koala.

It’s not like Daniel minds, he loves Max, he loves that Max loves him. Loves how Max shows it through holding his sleeve, pressing his nose into Daniel’s cheeks when they’re waking up or making their knees touch when they’re sat next to each other.

But they’re working today, Daniel has a shit load of responsibilities to get through, the media is on him, throwing out theories on his future and wanting his opinion, his thoughts, his soul.

His lunch break was supposed to start 20 minutes ago, and he knows Max is waiting. He’s texted him already that he’s running late, unable to keep his eyes of the digital numbers on his phone when he’s supposed to be putting his guy down for a nap. Jetlag has gotten both of them pretty good this time around, barely getting 4 hours of sleep in last night and Daniel had specifically requested his break to coincide with Max’s so he could schedule some rest for the younger. Lord knows he needed it.

His phone screen lights up again with a message from Max

I’m coming to you.

No, Daniel thinks immediately, doesn’t want these media vultures to jump on Max the second he walks in, not right now.

“Just- a second.” He apologizes absentmindedly swiping open Max’s message and responding.

Don’t, it’s too busy. I promise I’m wrapping this up. Give me 5.

When Daniel finally finishes his conversation a couple minutes later, partly because the person in front of him probably got annoyed with his short and distracted answers, he breathes a sigh of relief as he goes to gather his things. There’s a flash of orange in the corner of his eye and Daniel snaps his had up immediately when he realizes the orange is the #1 cap Max wears, in fact it is Max.

It’s impressive how quickly Daniel gets too Max, not quick enough for the first person there to go “Oh, Max do-” but quick enough to push Max back out into the hallway before their request is out.

“I told you to stay.” Daniel voice is firmer than he means it too be, his own exhaustion bleeding through frustration.

Max blinks up at him with a rapidly growing pout, hand coming up to try and pry Daniel’s hand off his bicep, Daniel lets go suddenly, not aware of his firm grip.

“You have to come.” Max whines up at him. “You took too long.”

Daniel sighs, rubs a hand over his face. “I am coming, I just need to grab my stuff.”

“I’ll come with.” Max responds, already moving to push past Daniel.

Daniel stops him with a gently hand to his chest. “No, Max. I’ll go grab it. You go to your room.” He doesn’t have the energy to explain why.

“But-”

“One.” It almost slips out of him, firmer than Max is used to when he’s not even in trouble really. “Go.”

Max stills immediately, sadness taking over his features. There’s a tiny little “Okay.” The he breathes out before turning on his heels, speed walking away from Daniel, leaving the elder with a gnarly feeling in his chest.

There’s a few choice words that Daniel murmurs under his breath as he steps back into the little room, gathering his things.

He does knock when he’s in front of Max’s driver room, a tiny flicker of worry things Max might have locked it, but when his hand twists the handle it opens.

Max has wrapped himself up in the baby blue blanket Daniel picked this morning. He looks so small, all bundled up in the corner of the couch and when Daniel enters there’s already tears swimming in his eyes.

“Daddy.” Max cries, reaching out to Daniel with blanket covered grabby hands. “I’m sorry. Daddy, I’m sorry.”

Daniel flicks the lock quickly before flinging himself onto the couch and wrapping his arms around the bundled bub.

“No, Darling. Shh. Daddy’s sorry. You don’t have to be sorry.” Daniel soothes, hand finding Max’s cheek to brush at the tears.

“Didn’t listen. I was bad.” Max cries back at him, burying his face in Daniel’s chest.

Daniel just holds him closer, rocks them a little in an attempt to get the tears to stop. “Oh Bubba, sometimes not listening has a very good reason. I’m sure you only didn’t listen cause you were missing Daddy very much, no?”

Max peaks up at Daniel, sucking in a breath before he nods. “Miss.”

“Right.” Daniel breathes, brushing the hair off of Max’s forehead. “And Daddy should’ve listened to you, should’ve thought about those missing feelings being too big for a little boy to listen. Daddy’s sorry.” Daniel’s always made sure Max knows that Daniel apologizes too, that he makes mistakes and owns them, that they’re equal. He’s even sat on the naughty step once.

Max blinks up at Daniel, thumb finding his mouth as the tears slow down. “Not bad?”

“You’re never bad. Maybe sometimes you make a bad decision, but you’re never bad. Remember? Sometimes Daddy makes a mistake, or a bad decision. That doesn’t make Daddy bad. But Daddy is sorry for making you wait, and expecting a little too much of you today. You’re a good boy, Maxie.”

Max is silent against his against his chest, the tears have stopped but Daniel can see in his eyes he’s not convinced.

“Do you need a little help remembering?”

Max nods slowly, thumb slipping out of his mouth.

“Alright.” Daniel smiles gently, sitting Max up a little straighter, the blanket that Max had wrapped around himself is lifted, and Daniel covers both of them with it like a little tent, grabbing both of Max’s hands in his.

“Just us.” Daniel hums, bumping his nose into Max’s.

“You’re a good boy.” Daniel says, open and honest as he squeezes Max’s hands.

Max breathes. “I’m a good boy.” It’s quiet, but Daniel hears.

“I am kind,”

“Kind.”

“I am smart.”

“Am smart.”

“I am loved.” Daniel squeezes a little harder.

“I am loved.” Max breathes back at him.

Daniel smiles. “The most by me.” He decides to add.

There’s a small smile that breaks out on Max’s face.

“You got it?” Daniel asks and Max nods.

“I’m a good boy.”

“Good boy.” Daniel reaffirms, pressing a kiss to Max’s forehead, about to let go off their intertwined hands when Max squeezes them tight.

Daniel looks at him with gentle confusion.

“Your turn.” Max breathes. “I’m a good Daddy.”

Daniel has to bite his lip at the noise that wants to leave his body, suddenly blinking a bit more rapidly.

“Say.” Max demands, eyes honest and sincere.

“I’m a good Daddy.”

[jojosbizarrekakyoinobsession]

My brain won’t shut up about how Jotaro and Kakyoin would spend a rainy day together, so here we go with another unnecessarily long ramble.

The two somehow always manage to get caught up in the rain, despite knowing that rain will be on the forecast. Nori fully blames Jotaro for dragging him out of the house for last minute errands or food runs. Jotaro would compensate by using his own coat as a makeshift umbrella in an effort to keep Nori dry. It’s an attempt and somewhat works, Nori’s hair is thankfully spared, but they’re still soaked through their clothes by the time they get back home. And Jotaro never hears the end of Nori’s snarky remarks about his poor storm planning.

Of course being the highly protective, attentive, and caring boyfriend that he is, Jotaro doesn’t want Noriaki to catch a cold, so as soon as they step through their front door, he immediately goes into the bathroom and starts preparing a bath. Depending on Nori’s mood, he’ll either want to bathe alone or want Joot to join him, but on rainy days like today, Noriaki always wants to bathe with Jotaro. They sit cuddled together in the bath, soaking in the water’s and each other’s warmth, neither of them talking or moving until the water turns cold or Nori complains about pruning. Nori is leaned back comfortably against Jotaro’s chest, while Jotaro buries his face in Noriaki’s sea of hair and keeps his arms around him, engulfing him in a secure, warm embrace.

After the bath, Noriaki puts on a comfy, oversized jumper that he stole from Jotaro long ago, and goes onto make them both their favourite hot drinks to enjoy while watching a movie or tv show, or listening to their favourite music (today is a movie day ^ ^). Jotaro puts on his starfish patterned sweats, clothing that he only wears when he and Nori are alone together. As always, the two have a small argument about what movie they should watch that lasts till the drinks are ready, Nori’s choice of course wins today because he was right about his prediction of the rain starting while they were out of the house (like every other time).

I haven’t really thought about what their preferred hot drinks would be, but for now let’s say vanilla tea mixed with honey and milk is Nori’s favourite (mine too), and black tea with 3 or 4 sugars is Jotaro’s. Those are probably my final choices as their faves tbh. As for the movie choice, Nori would definitely pick some 80s or 90s sci-fi movie, so today’s choice is Tron. Joot doesn’t like to admit it, especially not to Nori’s smug face, but he does genuinely enjoy the sci-fi movies that Noriaki picks, but he won’t allow Nori to get another win today. Unfortunately for him, Nori can read him like a book and light teasing ensues when they go to bed later on.

It’s always a guarantee that they’ll fall asleep to the sound of the rain pitter-pattering against the windows and roof while they’re cuddled up together because they’re such grandpas despite being in their 20s or so. They never finish a movie or show while like this, especially on rainy/snowy days. xD

If the rain lasts for more than a single afternoon and night and goes onto the next day, Nori would spend his day tending to his plants on their porch, making sure they’re getting just enough water during the storm, and making him and Jotaro comfort food for lunch and dinner. Meanwhile Joot will sit hunched over his desk working all day on his marine biology research or whatever nerdy ocean desk work he’s into, with occasional kisses and cuddles from Nori as encouragement and a good luck blessing.

This ended up turning into a domestic ramble that can apply to a snowy day too, but whatever. I just love writing about how stupidly in love they are. I can’t get enough of them, and it’s starting to become worrying. (*´ω`*)

[joekeeryswife]

Bad Day - E.M

hi my loves! i’ve had this in my drafts for a while but i think now is the perfect time for my first dad!Eddie fanfiction. i really hope you guys enjoy! has a few mistakes but don’t forget to like and reblog and comment <3

Eddie hated going to work. he absolutely hated it. it meant that he wouldn't be able to see his two girls all day. Tommy, your four year old daughter, had started nursery three weeks ago and it had been going okay so far. every day Eddie came home from work and see Tommy with a huge smile on her face as she waited for Eddie so she could tell him all about his day.

seeing her smiling face after a long day at work made his heart melt and it would make him forget about his shitty customers in the shop. it was 6:30pm and Eddie had just finished his shift and to say he was knackered was an understatement. he has worked on nine different cars all with horrible drivers but what could he do, it was his job to deal with the customers and finish the jobs on the cars that were brought in.

he got into his car which was parked around the back of the mechanic shop, sighing to himself as he finally sat down after a 12 hour shift. he was always rushed off of his feet and felt like he had no time to see his girls. on the drive home, Eddie wondered what Tommy would speak about today. he didn't like that his baby girl was growing up so quickly, it was like one minute you'd woken him up in the middle of the night saying your water had broken and now she was going to be turning five.

Tommy could be waiting at the door with two dolls in her hand. she could tell him about her friends Amanda and Joanne and how they learned about numbers up to 20 or how they played chefs in the nursery toy section but he honestly couldn't wait to hear about her day. he finally arrived home after 20 minutes, seeing the main lights in the trailer off but the lamp and tv were on. he hoped that Tommy wasn't in bed already, he needed to see her before she went to sleep.

he locked the car up and quietly walked toward the trailer incase Tommy was actually asleep, he did not want to wake her. he knew how cranky she was if she was woken up early and he did not want to deal with her being mad at him. he opened the trailer door and saw you and Tommy both on the sofa, the TV playing reruns of Pingu.

Tommy was on your lap, her head on you chest with her hand slightly covering her face. your left hand was on her back, rubbing small circles on the pyjama top gently whilst your right hand was running through her hair. Eddie watched intently as he heard his little girl sniffle with every breath, obviously trying to calm herself down.

"it's okay baby" he heard you whisper as you kissed the top of her head. she cuddled into you more, both of her arms now wrapped around your waist. Eddie walked over, anxiety filling his body as his eyes never left his Tommy.

he carefully sat down next to you, putting an arm around your shoulders, bringing the two of you close to him. "hi sweetheart" he whispered, kissing your forehead gently and he got comfortable on the sofa. you turned your attention away from Tommy to look at him, lips pouted as you waited for him to kiss you properly for the first time that day. Eddie reciprocated the kiss before you both turned your attention to the little girl cuddled into you.

"what's the matter with her" Tommy didn't stir out of the position she was in on your lap making Eddie frown. usually as soon as she heard him come in she would always gravitate toward him, but not tonight. she stayed in that same position just taking everything in. something really bad must have happened.

"she just had a bad day, a few of the kids at school were picking on her. the teacher called me saying she was asking to come home so i went to pick her up and she was sobbing. i have no idea what was said or who said it because she won't tell me. all she wanted me to do was cuddle her so that's what i did" Eddie's heart sank. his baby girl was being picked on and he had no idea why.

it was silent for a few minutes in the trailer, the only noises that could be heard were Tommys sniffling and Pingu on the TV. both you and Eddie wanted to know what was said and what made her upset but you didn't want to pressure her. pressuring a child to tell you what was wrong didn't teach them patients and that's the one trait you wanted Tommy to have.

after you all sat there contently for a while, you needed the toilet. it was obviously going to ruin the family cuddle time but after you had Tommy your bladder, like many women, was not what it used to be and when you needed to pee you had to go immediately. you slowly passed Tommy to Eddie, kissing her forehead gently before running off to the bathroom down the hall, leaving Eddie and Tommy alone for the first time that night.

Tommy groaned as she was passed over to Eddie but settled down quickly on his lap, head pressed against his chest. Eddie was not a patient person. he wanted to get straight to the point and find out who upset Tommy. "sweetheart" he whispered, stroking his hand up and down Tommys back.

she looked up from his chest and for the first time that night she looked in Eddie's eyes. he could see the sadness and worry in them and he just wished he could take away her bad emotions and just give it to himself. he looked at her with a sympathetic look, making her face almost crumple as she tried to keep her tears in. "you wanna tell me what's the matter? why you had a bad day?"

she looked at him with her chocolate brown eyes which matched Eddie's completely. she sighed before turning away from him, making them lose eye contact. "they said mean things" she whispered, looking down at her pyjama covered lap. Eddie frowned slightly, not really understanding who she was talking about. he tucked a piece of her slightly curled hair behind her ear before he stroked her cheek.

"what do you mean princess?" he questioned, his hand never leaving her face as he tried to calm her down, making sure she didn't cry anymore then she did before. "David called me a freak. they said because you are my dad it also makes me a freak but you aren't one daddy. and everyone laughed at me" she said, rubbing her right eye as more tears formed. Eddie sighed. so many years later and he's still being called a freak and now it was happening to his daughter.

Eddie needed to know who's David's dad because he felt his anger boiling up inside his body for some little shit making his daughter upset but he couldn't let her know that he was angry, she may think it's her that he's angry when it's not. it's the parents. the parents are allowing their children to become evil and bullies.

no one else really calls him a freak except from the old jocks he went to high school with and they were now teaching their kids to say it to his own daughter. “do you think you could tell me David’s last name?” she thought for a moment. her little forehead frowning as the went deep into thought. you’d come out of the bathroom ages ago but heard Tommy finally opening up to Eddie. you didn’t want her to go all shy again so you left them to it, going into Tommys bedroom to put away the clean washing you’d done earlier.

“i think carter or carder. something like that” she whispered, the frown on her face still apparent as she kept trying to think of David’s last name. Eddie had a light bulb moment. the name that he didn’t think he’d have to remember ever again was here, causing problems like usual. “Carver?” he questioned and her frown dropped as she nodded. “you got it daddy, it’s Carver” she clapped but her excited persona was quickly changed when she remembered what David had said.

his anger grew as he realised his enemy from high school was getting his child to pick on his own and he wasn’t going to tolerate that. he took it in high school but if anyone was rude to his baby girl they immediately had an issue and they did not want to mess with Eddie when he was mad. “motherfucker” he whispered angrily, Tommy could just about make out what he said.

he couldn’t believe that this child was going out of his was to upset Tommy and he knew how it felt. his face softened when she saw the scared look on Tommys face, she thought he was angry at her but he could never. never in her four years old living did Eddie or you raise your voices at her. you felt that soft parenting was the perfect solution for any problem when she was upset and it had worked.

“i’m sorry daddy” she whispered, twiddling her hands together as her nerves grew. what if Eddie was angry at her and she should of stuck up for herself. “don’t say sorry sweetheart. it isn’t your fault. i just know David’s dad is all. please don’t apologise baby” he said, bringing her into his chest before leaving a small peck on her forehead. he knew he shouldn’t of let his anger show on his face but he did.

he was so angry that Jason could carry on victimising his family for just existing. he wanted to drive to Jason’s house and beat the shit out of him, but he couldn’t, there was one thing Eddie needed to do right now and that was comfort his daughter, he knew he would deal with Jason another day but right now his baby girl needed him and he wasn’t going anywhere.

[punchdrunkdoc]

Part 2, Chapter 15

Summary: After the events of S3, Matt Murdock is trying to once again balance life as a lawyer and a vigilante. But he’s been scarred by loss and betrayal - will a mysterious new neighbour help him heal? Or will her secrets drag him back into the darkness?

Notes: This is a slow burn romance with an original female character, told in 3 parts. There is mystery, intrigue, action/violence and angst - all the good stuff!

Also available on AO3 and Wattpad

Masterlist

Reference pics

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Posting this a bit early because I’m out of town the rest of the week.

Enjoy!

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PART 2

Chapter 15

20 minutes earlier…

Calina picked the lock on the rooftop access door, relying on feel rather than sight. She'd stashed her motorbike in an alleyway two blocks over, then scaled the back of her and Matt's apartment building under the cover of darkness. Suddenly waving a flashlight around up here would defeat all her attempts at stealth.

And she needed to be stealthy - if Volkov's men were watching this place, she couldn’t let them see that she'd returned.

The lock gave way with a quiet *snick* and Calina slipped down the stairs into Matt's apartment. It was empty, as expected. At this time of night, he’d be out Daredevilling, and would be gone for another few hours at least.

She dumped her bag on the floor and flicked on the lights…then stifled a laugh at the sight of the new sofa sitting in the middle of the living room - with the plastic wrap still on it.

“…the new couch was delivered yesterday. But I couldn’t bring myself to sit on it. It feels like our couch. And it didn’t feel right for it to be there, in the apartment, without you…the place feels so lifeless now. So cold and empty without you…”

The suppressed laughter turned into a sob and she covered her mouth to hide the sound. Her emotions were all over the place. And all the joy and love and guilt and fear that she was feeling kept spilling over as tears - she’d spent half of the four-hour ride here crying beneath her motorcycle helmet. Thankfully the roads were fairly deserted, so her blurred vision hadn’t endangered anyone apart from herself.

She just...needed to be here. Despite her annoyingly fragile emotional state, and her barely-healed wound, and the risks involved…she needed to be here.

She needed to see Matt.

Yelena had freaked out at the idea, of course. “It’s too dangerous! Volkov knows you spent months living in that apartment building - and now that we got rid of the trackers, its the only place he has to start his search for us.”

“I get that, Yelena,” Calina had argued. “But I still need to speak to Matt.”

“So call him!”

“I’ve been calling him. For hours! He won’t pick up.”

The moment she’d finished watching the footage of Matt’s confession…she’d pressed play and watched the whole thing again, unable to believe the words spilling from his lips.

“I deluded myself that I didn’t feel this way about you…”

“You need to wake up so that I can tell you I love you.”

“You’re…everything.”

“There was just something about you, standing there on that rooftop”

“I’ll always be here - if you’ll have me.”

“Please come back to me…”

Each line was a euphoric, impossible jolt of pure joy to her heart. And watching him say those words while clutching at her hand and stroking her cheek and pulling her into his arms to hold her all night had been like watching all her dreams play out before her.

He loved her.

He really and truly loved her.

He’d dropped everything to come to her. He’d put his life in the hands of women he barely knew and didn’t trust, and he’d bared his heart and his soul to her.

And then she’d ghosted him for a week and a half.

She couldn’t imagine how he must be feeling. He must think she was still angry with him. That she was still hurt by what Foggy said in the bar and was ignoring him on purpose.

After the second viewing of the footage, she’d scrambled off the bed and grabbed her phone then punched in the number she’d memorised months ago, desperate to tell him the truth - that she’d been sick. That she hadn't known about his visit. That she felt the same way he did.

But he never answered.

She’d paced the floor of her room, the device pressed against her ear as she listened to it ring and ring. She’d stood on the balcony and stared out over the harbour, the phone clutched in her hand as she’d tried again.

And again. And again.

But each time it just rang out.

And with each failed connection she started to worry that they’d missed their chance. That each miscommunication and separation was pushing the possibility of them further away.

The need to speak to him grew more urgent with each passing moment. Until she’d finally given up on the phone and grabbed her rucksack from under the bed. If he wasn’t answering…she would just go to him in person.

That’s how Yelena had found her - shoving clothes into her bag and trying to ignore the twinge of pain in her side from the rough actions. “At least wait a while,” Yelena had said, trying a different tack. “You only got back on your feet a few days ago.”

“I have to go now, Yelena. I can’t explain it - at least, not in any logical way. I just…need to go. I promise I’ll be careful. And I’ll be back as soon as I’ve talked to him.”

“So you are coming back?”

The hint of vulnerability in Yelena’s voice surprised Calina. She paused her packing to look at the other Widow, who seemed uncharacteristically…anxious.

“Yes, of course,” Calina answered. “I know the risks about staying in New York. I know it would just put Matt - and us - in danger.”

“Good. That’s good.”

“What’s this about, Yelena?”

Yelena picked at the chipped polish on her nails. “I was worried that you hated me. For what I did. And that you were leaving for good.”

Calina laughed bitterly. “You’re not exactly my favourite person in the world right now…but I don’t hate you. You made some choices - some very questionable choices, like dumping Matt in Connecticut and then not telling me - but I know you didn’t do it out of malice.”

Calina zipped up her bag and slung it over her shoulder then grabbed her winter biking gear from the closet. She stopped next to Yelena on her way out the door and issued the ultimatum she’d been contemplating ever since she found out what Yelena had done. “But you have to accept that Matt is part of my life now. You can’t keep making unilateral decisions that affect both him and me - especially decisions that serve to keep us apart. If you can’t do that, then I will find somewhere else to live.”

Yelena shook her head. “This is your home, Calina. As much as it is ours. I’ll…respect your relationship with Murdock.”

Calina squeezed Yelena’s shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Be safe.”

“I will.”

“And keep in contact. I don’t want to have to send any Widows to come find you in New York if you go off the grid.”

“I will,” Calina had repeated.

And in that spirit, she fired off a quick text message to Yelena and Katya: Arrived safely.

Then she shrugged out of her leather jacket and unzipped the heated liner underneath. It had done a good job of keeping her warm during the ride here but she was starting to feel over-heated in Matt’s cosy apartment.

She wandered over to the new couch and started stripping off the plastic wrap, eager to have something to do to pass the time. It felt wrong to just make herself at home again after everything that had happened…but she wasn’t sure what else to do while she waited for Matt to return.

Halfway through the task, there was a loud banging on the front door, quickly followed by Foggy’s bellowing voice. “Matt? You better be in here, you son of a bitch! MATT!”

Calina raced to the door and swung it open.

“Calina?” Foggy’s double-take at her sudden appearance would have been comical under other circumstances, but he looked frantic…and scared. And she started to get a very bad feeling.

“Foggy, what’s wrong?”

“Is Matt here?”

“No. I assumed he was out…doing what he usually does at this time of night.”

“Shit!”

Calina pulled him into the apartment and closed the door behind them. “What’s going on?” she demanded.

Foggy raked his hand through his hair. “I met up with a contact tonight, to see if he knew anything about our fear pheromone problem. And he did know something. Something bad.”

“What?”

“Whoever’s in charge of the operation - and my contact didn’t know that, unfortunately - knows we’re snooping around. They know Daredevil is snooping around. So they set a trap for him.”

“What kind of trap?”

“They’re going to lure Matt to some old base of theirs and blow it up.”

Calina's bad feeling exploded into full-on panic. “Where was Matt going tonight, Foggy? You guys must have narrowed the next location down by now. Where was he going?”

“He wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere tonight. He agreed to take a break - he hasn’t been doing so well these past couple of weeks.”

Guilt slammed into Calina, but she pushed it aside. There would be time for that later - once Matt was safe. “Regardless of what Matt was supposed to do, he’s obviously out there. So where, Foggy? Give me somewhere to look!” She was practically shouting at the other man, and she had to fight the urge to shake the information out of him.

“Down by the Chinese Consulate. But I’ve just come from there - there’s no sign of him.”

Calina pushed passed Foggy on her way to the stairs. “I’ll look again. I’ll look everywhere.”

She raced up to the roof and backtracked her earlier movements. Within minutes, she was swinging her leg over her bike and roaring down the street towards the Hudson. She didn’t have a plan beyond getting to Matt’s last known location then scouring the city - street-by-street and building-by-building if she had to.

But it turned out she didn’t need to. She’d only managed to travel a few blocks when thunder rocked the night and a fireball lit up the horizon.

Matt!

Calina stomach tried to lurch out of her throat. But she ignored the spike of terror and steered the bike towards the site of the explosion. She rolled the throttle and accelerated, veering in and out of the sparse traffic at a reckless speed.

Minutes later she skidded to a stop on the street behind the destroyed building. Her throat went dry as she imagined Matt beneath that flaming pile of rumble.

No. She couldn’t think like that.

Matt was smart. He wouldn’t have fallen for a trap like this. He would have made it out before it blew up. She just needed to find him - preferably before the sirens in the distance got here - and the best way to do that was from a high vantage point.

She dismounted her bike and ran through the lot behind the building - it looked like a taxi depot, with rows and rows of yellow cabs. She jumped up on one and used the extra height to grab the drain pipe of the adjacent building. She shimmied up it onto the roof then ran along the edge, peering over the side to survey the damage below. 

But her view was obscured by all the smoke.

“Matt, where are you?” she whispered, her voice tight with fear.

She swore as she saw the firetrucks peeling down the street. She heard sirens come from the opposite direction and swivelled her head to see a bunch of cop cars racing along the greenway.

And then a sliver of dark red caught her eye, peeking out from the other side of the water tower.

“Matt?” she called. “Is that you?”

There was no answer.

On alert now, she inched around the structure, until she could make out more than a sliver - it was an arm, clad in familiar material, holding an even more familiar baton.

She exhaled sharply in relief. “Matt.”

She reached out her hand to touch him…and he exploded into action.

He batted her hand away and swung his club in her direction. She ducked, and just managed to avoid taking a hit to the side of her head.

“Matt! It’s me!” She grabbed the baton before he could swing again, and hit the nerve cluster in his elbow. His fingers jerked as a result, making him drop the baton to the ground. The move had been a reflex on Calina’s part - she’d seen a weapon and disarmed its holder. And a moment later she was glad she had, because Matt attacked her again with a fast series of punches.

She blocked most of his strikes, but took a few hits to the arms and one that glanced off her cheek. “Matt!!” she yelled again, her voice desperate.

What was wrong with him?

Had he been dosed with the fear pheromone?

Her confusion led to a moment of distraction, which Matt used against her. He grabbed one of her arms and trapped her wrist. Then he spun her around and caught her other arm, pinning both behind her.

It was a familiar hold - and one she knew she could escape. She used her Aikido training to free herself and send Matt rolling to the ground.

He sprang to his feet again, but the move was clumsier than usual. Slower, and less graceful.

And that’s when she realised - he wasn’t in the grip of some adrenaline surge.

He couldn’t hear.

The blast from the explosion must have damaged his ears. She’d seen that type of injury before when one of the widows she’d trained with had strayed too close to a bomb while out on a mission. The Widow had suffered tinnitus for a week and never recovered her full hearing.

And she'd never returned to the Red Room as a result.

“Matt?” Calina called, testing her theory.

There was no response. He just stood in front of her looking lost and confused.

“Oh, Matt.”

He must be so scared. Without his hearing, he was as good as blind. She remembered what he was like when his ears were affected by the common cold. This must be a million times worse. A million times more disorientating and terrifying.

And she had no way of reassuring him that he was safe. No way of letting him know who she was - the minute she got close to him, he would interpret it as another attack.

The sirens were right below them now, and the night sky was lit up by the flames of the building next to them. They were completely out in the open, visible to anyone who looked up at this rooftop too closely. And she had no way to get him out of here if she couldn’t convince him who she was.

“C-Calina?”

At the sound of her whispered name, she nearly cried with relief. He recognised her somehow!

But he sounded so tentative and unsure, as if he couldn’t believe that it was true.

To be fair, from his perspective, her presence here was a little unexpected. She took a few steps closer to him, until his body blocked the warm heat radiating from the fire behind him. She carefully took his hand, and tugged of his glove, exposing his bare palm.

And she spelled out a single word in braille in answer:

YES.

He grabbed her hand and let out a shaky breath. Then he dropped his head to rest his forehead against hers. “Hi,” he breathed.

“Hi,” she replied, despite knowing he couldn’t hear her. She wound her arms around his waist and leaned into him, the waning adrenaline making her feel unsteady. She’d spent the last twenty minutes terrified that she would never see him again…

The thought made her clutch him tighter.

He seemed to need the contact as much as she did. He wrapped his own arms around her shoulders and dragged her close, until every inch of them was pressed together. He dipped his head and buried it in the crook of her neck. He breathed deep, as if trying to capture her scent, but ended up barking out a series of hacking coughs instead as whatever was in his airways protested.

She leaned back and used her hands to lift his head up, wanting to look at him properly. Black soot rimmed his nostrils and there were streaks of ash on his skin. There were no major injuries that she could see, but she’d need to get him home to check more thoroughly.

And they needed to get off this roof before anyone saw them.

She grabbed his palm again and tapped out the braille for ‘GO’, trying to use as few a words as possible to get her message across.

It seemed to work. He nodded and grabbed her hand. “Lead the way,” he croaked out. It sounded like he was trying to make light of the situation, but she knew him. She knew how much his helplessness must be killing him.

She squeezed his hand and used it to guide him along the rooftop, back the way she’d came. Luckily, the first responders were all congregated at the front of the building, and the back route was still clear.

But getting Matt down to ground level would take a bit of work. They couldn’t descend the drain pipe she’d used earlier - Matt’s spatial awareness had been thrown off by his deafness and there was too much risk that he’d fall.

So she found the access door leading to the stairs and kicked it open. Then the two of them slowly descended through the - thankfully - deserted building. When they reached ground level, she disengaged the tight grip he had on her hand and tapped out another single word, ‘WAIT’.

He nodded so she took a couple of steps away, ready to scope out the street for any bystanders…but he immediately tensed up, his hands clenched by his sides, and his his head locked at an angle, as if he was desperately trying to hear the world around him.

The sight of him - the man who normally seemed so strong and invincible - standing there, seemingly lost without her guiding touch made her heart ache.

She rushed towards him again, uncaring of the time she was wasting, and the risk she was taking with their safety. She grasped his head in her hands, leaned up, and pressed her lips against his cheek. She lingered there in the kiss, trying to convey everything that she couldn’t say with words. She wanted him to know that she knew he was scared, but she was with him. That he could trust her. She would get him home.

That she loved him.

He leaned into the contact, his own hands latching on to her waist and holding tight.

After several long moments, she broke away and approached the front door. She checked the street outside, but it seemed deserted - all the action was taking place around the corner where the firefighters were still tackling the blaze.

She twisted the lock and stepped outside. She raced to her bike and wheeled it closer to the door, then rummaged through the top box for her windbreaker. It was sized to cover her bulky winter riding gear, so it should hopefully fit Matt and hide his suit on the ride home.

She dashed back into the building and shook out the coat. She guided one of Matt’s arms through the sleeve, and he seemed to grasp what was happening because he took over and slipped the jacket on. It was snug across his broad shoulders and wouldn’t zip up, but it would do the trick.

The last thing to do was remove his mask - there was no point hiding his suit if he still looked like The Devil from the neck up. She reached up and tucked her thumbs under the edges of the mask - and his hands immediately shot up to stop her.

She paused, and brought her thumbs down to stroke his cheeks, trying to calm his fears - it must make him feel even more vulnerable to be without that last layer of protection.

She kept caressing his face, running her fingers over his cheeks and his lips, even down the back of his neck where she pressed into the knotted muscles beneath his skin. She kept soothing him with her touch until she felt his spike of anxiety pass.

Eventually he nodded and dropped his hands, permitting her to remove his mask. The fact that he didn’t do it himself, but left it to her, felt symbolic of…something.

Something she really didn’t have time to contemplate just now.

She allowed herself a second to smile at his ruffled hair, before smoothing it down, knowing how much the wayward strands annoyed him. Then she pulled the hood up over his head, grabbed his hand again and led him onto the street.

She guided him onto the back of the motorcycle then slipped into the space in front of him. His arms immediately wrapped around her waist, and she smiled again. Her grin widened further once she kick-started the engine and accelerated away from the burning building.

Away from danger, and towards home.

Matt shifted his weight until his front was pressed against her back, and tightened his hold on her. She had the feeling it had nothing to do with the unfamiliar mode of transport, and everything to do with being close to her.

She knew the feeling.

She leaned back against him and tilted her head to the side, allowing him to rest his chin on her shoulder. She ignored the smoke and ash she could smell on his skin and tried to imagine they were just two people in love riding together through the streets of New York for the sheer joy of it.

Maybe she could convince him to try this again, under better circumstances. Once they’d cleared the air between them. And once the Widows had resolved the Volkov situation and she was free to live her life again, maybe they could just…enjoy each other. Without mind control and misunderstandings and explosions.

They could just be two people in love.

The thought kept her warm as they sped through the cold, dark night.

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Chapter 16

Be sure to check out the reference page - updated with the building on Google maps that I decided to blow up!

@hollandorks @acharliecoxedfan @yanna-banana @tearoseart-blog​ @chezagnes​ @stilldreaming666​ @freckledbabyyy​ 

If you want to be added to the taglist, let me know!

[lover-of-mine]

20 Questions for fic Writers!

tagged by @wikiangela thank you <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

9 askaoksoaskoaks

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

166,674

3. What fandoms do you write for?

911 and 5sos.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

i won't let nobody hurt you (Buck picking up a sick Chris from school) what if one of these days i go and change your name (Buck is wearing Eddie's turnout and Eddie REALLY wants to marry him) for everything we are (everything we’ve been) (aka the trauma fic, buddie talking it all out) in case you don't live forever (buddie trapped in a collapsed building) this surprise ending i’m depending on (could be the story of another us) (Eddie pinning for 3k words)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to. But it usually takes me a minute because I'm a very awkward human and it's worse when it's about something I made, so I need to think answers through.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

this surprise ending i’m depending on (could be the story of another us) she doesn't have a happy ending at all, it's just unrequited love, Buck is dating and Eddie has feelings about it. I wrote it trying to process my own feelings about the cemetery, it has no dialogue, it's quite angsty I think.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

probably what if one of these days i go and change your name but I'm bad at doing happy stuff oskaoskoaksoaksas

8. Do you get hate on fics?

not really

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do not. I mean, I don't publish it, there's a wip that I kinda needed the context around the sex and I tried my hand on it, but I don't think that's ever seeing the light of day.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don't.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Probably not, I don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

my brain said percabeth so im gonna go with that aoskoaskasok but buddie and stydia are up there too.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

the Buck gets struck by lightning but Eddie is still working dispatch fic. I love that concept but I can't make my vision work.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Emotionally heavy angst oskaoksaskoas I think I'm really good at digging in where it hurts and making you feel the emotional tension around a situation

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I overuse the name of the characters sometimes, and I recently caught the same sentence in a similar context in like, 4 of my fics and I was like, not happy about it oaskoaksoakss and I don't write linearly, so that usually bites me in the ass later when I'm trying to connect the dots, because usually when I have an idea I have no idea where it starts, I just type things out and pray for the best, sometimes I need to compromise on stuff I wish I didn't or extend the context to make it better, but it's not always that I can make the context work, so that's a problem that leaves me editing a fic a bit too much. Oh, I'm also terrible at writing a relationship once it's established. No matter the couple, they get together I blank, the turnout fic is legitimately a miracle sokasokoskaosk

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

honestly, right now I think it's awkward, at least for me in my own writing, I tried to make Eddie speak some Spanish and I was cringing the whole way through. I do have a Brazilian oc in a wip that's never gonna see the light of that and she speaks some Portuguese but that's because I had to over the plot.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

the 100 I think, it might've been a stranger thing fic no one ever read, but I wrote it in a notebook and I don't remember when I did it, I didn't even remember writing it until I found it a few months ago, so I don't really know if it was before or after the 100 ones.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

it's between the trauma fic and the soau fic. The trauma fic just because of the way I really tried to make it as close to the show as possible and I'm really proud of the way I did that and the feedback I got on it is really insane, and she's just my baby. And the soau fic even if she doesn't have a happy ending, I really like the way I did the whole no dialogue thing, before writing that I would never say I could just write a fic that's all around the feelings in a situation, and I really like what I did there.

I don't know who's been tagged but I'm gonna tag my usual crowd, no pressure: @eddiebabygirldiaz @housewifebuck @honestlydarkprincess @try-set-me-on-fire @cowboy-buck @watchyourbuck @disasterbuckdiaz @captain-hen

[mazegays]

could've followed my fears all the way down

Chapter 23

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24

Gally blinks the sleep out of his eyes. What woke him up?

He’s hardly slept at all since Harriet came out of the cabin and told them Thomas was alive.

Then he sees Thomas is awake, looking around, confused.

Last time he woke up— two days ago, and not for very long, according to Harriet— he was in the medical cabin.

Anya had eventually told them since they were all healthy, they could be near Thomas for longer periods of time.

“Thomas,” He calls, trying not to wake anyone else up. Carefully, he moves his chair to the empty side of the bed. “This is yours and Minho’s cabin. We thought you’d sleep better here.” There’s a bowl of applesauce, the strawberry one he made, on the table.

It’s easy to swallow, and light enough that it won’t upset his stomach.

Frypan had known. He’d known, and he’d wanted to be prepared.

Gally still doesn’t know how to thank him for that. Gally doesn’t even know how he knew, but he’s always thought that Frypan was some kind of magic.

“Here.” He feeds him a few spoonfuls. Thomas doesn’t even try to take the bowl for himself.

He’s gaunt, and his face has started peeling, but Gally’s so glad he’s alive that he doesn’t care about any of that.

“Gally?” Thomas sounds almost scared, and his voice is completely shot.

Of what? Of him?

“How mad are you?”

That makes… more sense than he thought.

Gally’s mad, yeah. But he can’t make himself stay mad when he’s looking at Thomas. Thomas, who is alive and not dead and he’s right here and he’s going to be fine.

“That you lied? Yes, I’m upset, but we spent nearly two weeks thinking you were dead, Thomas.

That kind of overshadows the anger. I know you didn’t want us to think you were dead. Talk to us next time instead of running away.”

This isn’t the best time for this talk. Thomas is falling back asleep already, and Gally doesn’t think he’ll remember it later.

Besides, he and Minho have started talking again, trying to figure out this— how they  are going to work.

He’s not in love with Minho. Not how he is with Thomas.

But he could be.

He could be, and it probably won’t be as hard or scary as it seems right now.

finish on ao3 or continue reading

He wants to try, and now that Thomas is safe, they have all the time they could ever want to find themselves in each other over and over again.

Minho’s hand is significantly colder when he wakes up than it was when he went to sleep— he and Gally had ceded the mattress to the girls after an intense round of rock, paper, scissors, but they’d held hands between the chairs as they fell asleep.

No one else is awake, despite the sun highlighting Sonya’s face.

Gally’s moved to be by Thomas, still holding the bowl of applesauce.

Minho does the same, taking the bowl and setting it down before it spills. Gally wakes up, but he looks like he slept better than in the past few nights, so he doesn’t try telling him to go back to sleep.

“He’s worried we’re mad at him.” Gally whispers. “It’s the only thing he said to me before he fell back asleep.”

Sounds like Thomas.

“We’ll talk to him later.” Minho squeezes Gally’s free hand.

Thomas looks better than he did the first time he saw him like this.

“Do you think he’ll like the tree?” He asks.

Gally snorts, and it’s just a little too loud. Harriet wakes up and glares at them, but no one else reacts.

“He’ll hate it. Well, he’ll love it because it’s a spruce, but it totally messes up the plan he set up.”

“I don’t know, I was kind of hoping it could be our spot.” Minho murmurs. “Or that we could… I don’t know, move it. Once we decide where we’re going to stay.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, this cabin is bigger, but yours is more isolated. And I know Thomas likes the trees he planted out there.”

“Let me check him over for a minute, boys.” Minho hadn’t even noticed her waking up. Anya seems so certain that Thomas is out of danger, and it really does only take a few minutes.

“He’ll wake up soon.” She says, not bothering to whisper. “Sonya and Harriet went to get breakfast, I’ll be in the other room unless you need me.”

Thomas opens his eyes almost as soon as the door shuts.

“Were you faking so she would leave?” Minho asks, unable to hide his amusement.

“Maybe.” Thomas tries to push himself up. Gally catches his shoulder gently and Minho grabs a pillow off the mattress and tucks it behind Thomas’s back.

He’s thought about this a million times, what he was going to say when Thomas woke up for real.

He can’t bring himself to say any of it.

Thomas is here, he’s alive, and yes he’s a shucking idiot but he’s their idiot.

“There are some really pretty wildflowers, farther out in the forest.” Thomas whispers, like he’s not sure what to say.

“Let’s go see them together next time.” Minho says. Gally glares at him a little for it, but if Thomas wants to look at pretty flowers, then Minho is going to take him to see pretty flowers.

Gally will come anyway, he knows.

“After you heal.” Gally’s firmer than he’s willing to be right now. Maybe that’s a good thing. “And we need to talk, first.”

“Yeah. I know. I’m sorry.” Thomas watches them both carefully. “I thought— I just. I don’t know.” He signs along as he says it, and that probably means he’s done talking for now. Thomas’s voice sounds rough, but his hands are cracking and wind-burned, and signing has to hurt, too.

“Eat your applesauce, Thomas. Gally made it.” While Minho knows they have to have this conversation— for real this time, they can’t put it off again. Not the way they had before. Or something like this might happen again.

They might lose someone for real, this time.

But a little longer might be okay. It can wait until Thomas can sit up on his own, until he doesn’t sound like he’s been swallowing nails.

None of them are going anywhere anytime soon.

<- 22 24 ->

[thekidsarentalright]

HELLO I SURVIVED!! my voice is extremely fucked up from screaming and my legs hurt but i’m alive!! i feel like there’s so much stuff i need to ramble abt so i’m just gonna write a fuckin essay here lmao i’m so sorry 😭

ok so the stage looked SO cool in person. the backdrops were gorgeous <3 and everything was like a physical prop, not projections… including the giant replica of bubbles the dog <3 pete kept pretending to put his hand in its mouth and patrick was singing to it! and the pyro was insane, i could feel the heat from it and i was Not super close to the stage. they Also had a clock on the side of the stage that would go backwards every so often… like going back in time to play older songs 😭

UM?!?! THAT SETLIST?!?!?! ginasfs was NOT a possibility in my head at all, so that was absolutely insane, my god!!! everyone was like “???” after pete said they’d never played it live. and then it started and my brain literally blacked out. like my only thought was “there’s no way this is happening, what the FUCK”. that song is so important to me and honestly was one of the first ones i remember loving when i got into fob, so that was a whole moment!! if there’s a different song every time that’s so scary, i SO hope u get the song u want if that’s the case! <333

“don’t forget who left the light on 20 years ago” had me tearing up and then all the tttyg stuff… fob wants us all dead fr! and THEN HEAVEN IOWA?! AND HEADFIRST SLIDE?!?!?! i was HOLLERING the whole time, my throat still hurts 💀 and FAKE OUT OMG WHERE DO I EVEN START 😭 the pink lights worked and it looked so pretty!!! it took some ppl a minute to get theirs set up, so the stadium kinda gradually lit up more and more and by the middle of the song it was fully lit! i swear i saw the exact moment where patrick realized what was going on and he smiled so big <3 i teared up so hard (was trying not to cry bc i had glitter on my face lol… i kinda cried anyway) and then pete gave us a shoutout! i’m def keeping my seashell on like… my wall or smth <3

also the covers!! that first song patrick did at the piano is lake shore drive, it’s actually what he was playing in that tiktok of him in the studio back in like… february! (it’s the piano thing right after the clip of him playing trumpet) my mom recognized it when i was watching that video originally and asked why he was playing it, so i already knew the song… was Not expecting it live tho 🤯 and then don’t stop believing?!?! we were all v confused but excited lmao… and then crazy train a bit later 😅

and pete did baby annihilation!! honestly when i said he could do it and i’d cheer, i did NOT expect him to actually do it lmaoo… but he did and it was fantastic!! hold me like a grudge was also incredibly fun, it goes so hard live <3 shoutout to the ppl who were doing the clapping during the bridge w me lol

every time patrick started talking he’d go “hi” in this soft voice and i was just like “HIIIII 🥺” AND HE WORE DOC MARTENS!!! AAAA 💓 he was so sunshiny and just skipping around like usual <3

OH ALSO!! idk what the other venues on this tour are like, but wrigley has this thing above the stage where they have a couple different flags, and all except one of them were changed out to be the smiley face logo!! it reminded me of when they planted their flag in the lftos music video and i got emotional looking at it 😭 like. they did it!! and it’s so obvious they’re excited to be doing all this!! ur gonna have an absolute blast at your show for Sure!

(the openers were fucking amazing too, i totally didn’t process that tai was playing until literally right before they came onstage. and then they covered snakes on a plane and were like “iykyk” and i very nearly died lmao)

(alsooooo congrats on finishing ur first year of college!! happy stardust summer! mwah 💕)

- 🧋 anon

SOOO sorry to be answering this a couple days later tumblr never showed me i got it!!!!! ANYWAYS

ohhhhh my god it sounds like it was such a fantastic like. incredibly special concert, i'm so happy for u!!! the setlist and the set itself literally blew my mind as i was watching a livestream of the show like????? my god they really pulled out ALLL the stops while also keeping the classics on there, really a setlist to please Everyone i think?? also w the set like. all the animatronic stuff and different backgrounds and everything. patrick was Not kidding when he said this show was visually different than anything they'd ever done before i am. SOOOO impressed. actually both by that and the stardust project, i remember something similar happened for mania tour and it was really pretty (kept my cutouts and still have them!!!) so im VERY glad it's happening this time for fake out <333 they deserve to see all of our love in every way possible <333

SO interesting that that's what he was playing on that tiktok omg he was practicing for so longggggg.... insane that ur show got a special lil piano mashup and then last night he did what a time to be alive.... so curious to see if its wattba forever now or if that's gonna be different each night Too!!!

and YEAHHH baby annihilation being on the setlist is making me soooo ;__; every time i think abt it im sooooo proud of pete for like. being confident enough to do That in front of thousands of people. also made me so happy to see patrick skipping around stage in his slay lil outfit like all four of them were SOOO happy u could tell i just. god i love them, they DID it they had their lil flag planted and played such a good show. last nights show was no doubt so good and special too from every video i've seen i just. i Know this tour is gonna be the tour of a lifetime, im SOOO excited for my show and also so glad urs was such a wonderful time and experience like u got so many special lil things!!! ginasfs and snakes on a plane etc!!!!!!!!! loved hearing all of this <33333