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leossmoonn · 4 years

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Training Session [Peter Parker]

masterlist

pairing - peter parker x fem!stark’s daughter!reader

type - fluff

note - hope you enjoy! also idk ANYTHING about martial arts or combat fighting so lol dont take i wrote too seriously

summary - peter finds out mr. stark has a daughter and you two are put together for a training session.

warnings - lil suggestive

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*gif isnt mine*

“How do you like it?” Sam asked.

You turned to the mirror, eyes wide and mouth agape, admiring your new suit.

“This is awesome!” You squealed.

Sam, Tony, and Nat had deisgned a new suit for you. After your last battle, your suit had been torn to shreds. It had been months since you were able to go out in the field and you’d be anxious to fight crime. Now that you had your new suit, you were now able to fight crime.

You were named Fox. You were sly, witty, and and charming. Not just in your moves, but your personality, too. You had been working alongside your dad, Iron Man, for 7 years. You were 10 when you started, obviously too young to actually be fighting, but you were his right hand woman at all times. You helped him with his suit, team, and plans on how to deal with missions.

Your suit was a dark orange body suit, much like Nat’s. You had fingerless gloves, black combat boots, and an orange mask that went around your eyes. You had a black stripe down your suit’s back, much like a fox’s. You also had a utility belt with a grapling hook, taser, and pepper spray — you could never be too careful in the city. You and Tony tried hard to keep your identity safe, especially since you were still in high school.

“Do you think we need to add anything?” Tony asked.

“Can I get rockets on the bottoms on my shoes like you?” You asked.

Tony chuckled, “We’d have to change the whole material of your suit, cupcake. You don’t like metal, remember?”

You grumbled, “Yeah, yeah. Well, I love it! Thank you guys so much.” You turned to them with a big smile.

“No problem, babe,” Nat smiled. “You have training with me today at five.”

You nodded, “Noted.”

“There will be someone else joining you in trianing today,” Tony said.

“Who? Is it Bucky?” You asked. “No, he’s new,” Tony said.

“Wow, that gives me a lot. Who is it?” You pressed.

“You’ll see. He’s actually pretty good for just starting out,” Sam smirked.

You sighed, knowing they were gonna make it a surprise.

“Well, I can’t wait!” You faked enthusiasm. You didn’t like surprises.

You went off and up to your room, changing out of your suit and into running shorts and a t-shirt. You decided to take a nap before your training.

You woke up 2 hours later, still as exhausted as before. You filled up your water bottle before going into the gym. You saw Nat and a brunette boy. He wasn’t too much taller and by the back of his head, he didn’t look too much older.

“Hey, Nat,” you greeted as you walked in and set your water bottle near the mat.

“Hey, Y/n! This is our new recruit, Peter Parker. You probably know him as Spider-Man,” Nat smiled. Peter turned around and his eyes widened.

His heart started to race and his face turned red as he looked over you. Your eyes were bright and lively, your smile being the most gorgeous smile he’d ever seen. Your skin flawless and you had no makeup on, but you still looked beautiful.

“Hi,” you smiled. “I’m Y/n Stark,” you held out your hand.

Peter opened his mouth to speak, but the only sound that came out was a squeak. Nat and you chuckled at his shock.

“H-hi. I’m Parker. No, Pe-Peter,” he stuttered and shook your hand.

“Not used to meeting important people, huh?” You smirked.

“Ye-yeah, but also pretty people,” he blurted. His face turned a darker shade of red and he slapped his mad over his mouth.

The action made Nat giggle and his words made flustered as well.

“Thank you, Peter,” you said shyly and looked down at your shoes.

“Ready to get to work, love birds?” Nat teased.

You rolled your eyes and nodded. You took a long sip of water.

“We are gonna start on the treadmill, do some weights, and I’m gonna teach you some combat moves,” Nat instructed.

You and Peter nodded and got up on the treadmills.

“One mile today. Remember to pace yourself. If you get tired, don’t be afraid to slow down a little,” Nat said.

You started the treadmill at 3.5 so you can warm up for a few minutes before running. You took a small sip of your water as you sped-walked. You looked over and saw Peter already running his mile. Your brows cocked upwards as you saw him running at 6.0 speed.

You worked your way up to 6.0 speed, finishing your mile in 6 minutes. Peter, however, finished 3 minutes after you.

“I said pace yourself, kid,” Nat said.

Peter blushed again and nodded.

“Next time, follow Y/n’s lead. She paces herself nicely,” Nat said while you took a drink of water.

“Thanks, Nat. I have been doing this for a long time,” you smiled.

“How long? Are you a superhero?” Peter asked.

“Mhm,” you hummed. “I’ve been helping my dad since I was 10. I’ve been a superhero for 3 years.”

“What’s your superhero name?” Peter asked.

“Fox.”

“Oh, my God! Really? I-I am such a big fan. You were what actually inspired me to become Spider-Man. I think it’s so cool how you save people and fight off bad guys without any superpowers,” Peter gushed.

“Thank you, Pete,” you giggled at his excitement.

“You’re welcome. Wow, this is so cool. I am working with Fox, Iron Man, Black Widow,” Peter smiled.

“You’re lucky, kid,” Nat smiled and patted his back. “Okay, why don’t you all stretch. Peter, have you ever benched before?”

Peter shook his head while stretching his hamstrings.

“Okay, we’ll start you out with 45 pounds. If that’s too light, we’ll bump it up to 50,” Nat said and put the weights on the bar. “Y/n, what do you wanna do today?”

“Uh, I’ll do a leg and glute day today. My arms need a break,” you said.

“Rock and roll, then. I’ll spot you, Parker,” Nat said. Peter went to bench press while you went to the kickback machine.

You and Peter worked in weights for about an hour. You did a variety of workouts while Peter mainly focused on how to use each machine and which would be most beneficial for him.

“Okay. Grab a drink, use the bathroom, whatever you need before we do some fighting,” Nat said.

You both went to do your things before you were going to fight. You came back in the gym, stretching your arms while walking in.

“Ready to work, Pete?” You asked the boy and patted his back. He nodded and choked on his water when he looked up at you

You changed our of your shorts and t-shirt to black biker shorts and a grey sports bra. The biker shorts hugged your body perfectly and the top of your breats showed, making Peter stare.

You noticed and smirked. “My eyes are up here, kid.”

His eyes immediately shot up and his face blushed for what seemed like the 100th time today.

“I am so sorry. I just don’t see girls in bras, like, ever. In gym class we all wear t-shirts, which makes sense. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I swear I’m not a prevert or anything, you just look really uh... nice? I—”

Nat and you turned to each other, amusement played on your faces. You turned back to the rambling boy.

“It’s okay, Peter. I get it, boobs are nice to look at. Especially when you’re a hormonal, almost always horny, teenage boy,” you teased.

“I’m not horny!” He claimed, embarrassing himself more.

“Don’t worry, I never assumed you were. I was just speaking generally,” you smiled.

“Oh,” he said and he looked down sheepishly.

“No worries. Now, let’s get goin’,” you said.

Peter nodded and followed you to the mat.

“So, we are going to practice some basic moves. Y/n, I know you already know them, but there is nothing wrong with reviewing,” Nat said.

You both nodded, waiting for further instruction.

“So, the first one is simple, yet very dangerous. It’s also fairly easy, in my opinion. It’s called the rear neck choke,” Nat said. “Peter, you’re gonna stand behind Y/n and put your arm around her neck.”

Peter nodded and awkwardly stood behind you. Your butt brushed against his crotch, making him cough awkwardly. He put his arm around your neck. The skin-to-skin contact made your heart flutter. You cleared your throat, too, breathing deeply to try and slow your heart rate.

“Good. Now, you basically just squeeze until the person passes out. Y/n, why don’t you demenstrate the next move,” Nat said.

You smiled and took ahold of Peter’s arm. You then crouched down and pulled him over your head. You flipped him over on the mat.

“Ow,” he whined as he fell. He looked up at you and couldn’t help but smile. You stood tall, hands on your hips and a smile on your face.

“Now, Peter, what you can do when she does that is hook your legs on her ankles and pull so she looses balance. You then can reach for her ankle and throw her across the room. But, we arent going to do that. What you can do, though, is do the ankle bit I told you. Then you can pin her down,” Nat explained.

Peter looked at you two hesitantly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Y/n chuckled, “It’s all right. You won’t hurt me that bad, I promise.”

Peter nodded and did as he was told. He hooked his feet over your ankle and jerked you so your feet gave out beneth you. He then got up quickly to pin you down, but you were quicker.

You rolled over and pinned him down instead. Your left hand held his wrists above his head while your right held down his shoulder. Your legs went around his waist and squeezed slightly to make sure he wouldn’t move. Your head leaned down to his, a triumphant smile resting on your lips.

“W-wha-” Peter was at a loss for words. Not just because you beat him, but how close you two were.

He breathed in deeply, catching a whiff of your scent. You smelled like cherries and vanilla. Your skin was smooth, clear, and glowing from the sheer film of sweat on your face. You looked like an angel to him, nonetheless.

“And that is why you gotta be faster, Parker. But you’ll learn in time. You’re already pretty good on the field by yourself,” Nat said.

Peter nodded. You got up off of him and helped him up.

“Wanna try that again? I promise I won’t do that again,” you suggested.

“Sure,” Peter nodded and laid back on the mat.

He hooked onto your ankle again. As you promised, you let him pin you down. You watched the way he moved. He was swift and fast. The way his muscles flexed when he grabbed your wrist made your stomach flip.

He got on top of you, pinning both your wrists like you did to him. His free hand went to the side of your face, helping him support himself so he wouldn’t be laying directly on top of you.

Your heart rate quickened once more and you felt like it was hard to breathe. A few strands of his hair were hanging down from his head and he had sweat glistening on his forehead. His honey-brown eyes was something you found yourself getting lost in quickly. He was so handsome.

“Uh... Y/n?” Peter muttered, catching your attention.

You blinked rapidly and looked away in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he gave you a friendly smile and got off of you.

“Okay, water break. You two practice those few moves a few more times,” Nat said.

You got up and took a big sip of your water bottle. You then got back to training with Peter. He was a fast learner and almost every time pinned you down. You, however, were slightly faster.

Each time you got on top of him, Peter couldn’t help the butterflies in his stomach. He’d never been this close to a girl before.

Thirty minutes later and the session was over.

“Good job, you two. Next time we’ll get into more moves involving punching and such. See you later, kiddos,” Nat smiled at you two. She left the gym and you turned to Peter.

“It was nice meeting you, Pete. Maybe we can hang out outside of training?” You suggested.

Peter’s eyes lit up and he nodded excitedly.

“Y-yeah. I’d like that.”

“Great. Give me your number next time. See you, Spidey,” you waved and left the gym.

Peter jumped up and down. He couldn’t wait to tell Ned.

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tainted-wine · 4 years

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Tuning In Tonight

Present Mic x Reader (NSFW)

(A 10k story because I have no self-control. Here’s a fic about a troubled cafe employee that turns into a Mic fan and later SEX)

You soaked in the heat of your apartment after enduring the chilly walk back home from work. Wasting no time, you tossed your coat aside and kicked off your shoes before plopping onto the bed. Another week, another paycheck. Today was exceptionally busy at the cafe. Fridays always were, really, but today had put you to the test against quite the cast of characters. But even in the face of screaming kids with careless mothers, business people with absolutely no patience, and teens that didn’t think you were worth making eye contact with, you prevailed. You liked your job, even with the odd rough days. The staff was kind, the pay was fair, and the fact that it was smack-dab in the middle of the city means that it was visited by the occasional hero. Those were the days that filled you with joy, taking you back to the times when you dreamed of having the same career. But some things just weren’t meant to be. Your younger, more passionate self would chide you for accepting this life. For not using every breath in your body to ensure that you would one day become a hero that everyone remembered, but such persistence would only hurt you more in the long run. At least you were still able to find a comfortable living elsewhere. You settled with the cards you were dealt just fine, and yet that’s exactly what bothers you. Is it really okay to just give up and settle this after trying so hard? 'Nope, my mind’s not going anywhere near that rabbit hole today.' You sprang back up, heading to your room with extra pep in your step to undress and prepare a shower. The hot water soothed your tense body and cleared your mess of a mind. There was no room for any negative thoughts on a Friday night, the nights that you always look forward to the most, because it was time for the weekly radio show hosted by the lively pro hero Present Mic.

Your first experience with the show happened months ago, during a day where you were feeling extra exhausted for no particular reason. Turning on your old radio to lift your spirits, you happened to tune in just in time for the voice hero’s live caller segment. ‘Why not?’ you thought to yourself as you dialed the station's number and patiently listened to the rings. “Hey, thanks for calling, my dear listener! Hope you’ve been having a rockin’ day today!” There was something about having such an energetic and carefree voice directed to you that just brightened you up from inside. The conversation didn’t last very long, your sudden shyness being part of the reason why. It ended with you honoring the usual routine of requesting a song before disconnecting. As short as the encounter was, it left a strong impression, and you wanted it to happen again. Just like that, you became a loyal fan of Put Your Hands Up! radio. It was a great way to end work for the week, winding down and getting ready for the weekend as the station played a wide variety of tunes. And every time Mic was ready to take calls, your phone was ready to dial. You talked about whatever came to mind—how work was treating you, discussing his latest accomplishments as a pro hero, sharing silly events the two of you had in life. Whatever you discussed, no matter how mundane the topic, Mic always sounded eager to listen and respond with the boisterous voice he was known for. Even on the nights where you felt especially drained or under the weather, his unwavering enthusiasm never failed to clear the dark clouds over your head. In short, he was a lovable guy. So you relaxed and killed some time with the help of the internet and some phone games until that special hour arrived. You turned to the station and was greeted with the loud intro that took some getting used to. “Yeeeaaaahh! Present Mic here, and thank you for tuning in to Put Your Hands Up! Are they up? Because we’re about to get started!” And so begins the music that you swear is just a playlist of the hero’s personal favorites. You laid back on your bed and let your mind drift as the songs played. Your friends plan on meeting up for a movie tomorrow; can’t miss out on that. Maybe you’ll stop by the store afterwards so you can restock your fridge. What should you do Sunday? Meh, just make it a lazy day and hang around at home, you suppose. You returned to your phone and continued scrolling through your favorite websites. Time went by quicker than expected, Mic’s announcement of taking calls catching you by surprise. The first few calls were picked up by other listeners, doing the usual routine of sharing their day or talking about recent issues. Mic gave advice wherever he could, and his desire to help anyone who was willing to reach out to him felt so damn genuine that it made you smile. Another call was picked up before yours. Oh well. You listened to what ended up being a youthful male on the line. “H-hi, Mr. Present Mic!” The nervous yet excited voice was pretty heartwarming. A young teen, most likely.

Mic laughed. “No need for the ‘mister,’ listener! You’ll make me feel old!”

A bunch of frantic stuttering could be heard from the boy. “Ah, so sorry, sir—I mean mister—I mean Mic!” You giggled along with Mic as the poor boy tried to collect himself. “Deep breaths, little listener. What’s on that speedy little mind tonight?” “Well,” the boy had finally steadied himself. “I’ll be finishing middle school soon, and I’m ready to start training to be a hero. I just really hope I can get into U.A. and meet you! I wish you could be my English teacher!”

Awww. “Shucks, little guy. First, good job on finishing up middle school. I hope your parents have a rockin’ party ready for you! Second, you’ve got guts for aiming for the highest! Make sure you study and prepare, 'cause U.A. only accepts the best!” There was a pause on the other end. “So, is there a chance that I won’t make it?" “My little listener,” you could tell that there was a gentle expression on Mic’s face as he spoke. “There’s always a chance, so I want you to promise me one thing. If that chance hits you, don’t give up on your dream. Get the most out of whichever school accepts you. You know how many amazing heroes I met who came from schools with pretty lame reputations? There’s a lot of them, trust me. I’ve also met my share of cocky young heroes who rag on others just because they don’t have the fancy brand of U.A. or Shiketsu on their resume. That’s all it is, kid. A brand. Just because you couldn’t strike a deal with a major record label doesn’t mean your music career is already dead.” “Music?” the boy said in confusion. “But I’m not talking about mu—oh…metaphor.” Mic chuckled lightly. “There ya go, listener! Your language is doin’ fine. You don’t need me! But if you think you do, you know where to call me for another chat!” “I do!” the boy said happily. “Thank you, Present Mic! I promise I’ll keep doing my best!” You listened to the two talk for a little longer. The boy had some real determination and you admired it. He’ll hopefully reach his dream. You won’t wish ill will on others just because you didn’t reach yours. Giving everything you had and still not being enough was something no one deserved to experience. The boy had requested a rather angsty rock song that was trying really hard to sour your mood, but you’re not going to give the depressing vocalist what he wants. On the next segment, you internally rejoiced when you hear Mic’s voice in your ear. “Hey there, Mic.” “Oh? Is that my favorite lady listener I hear?” You giggled at the flattering question? “Maybe? I didn’t know you had favorites.” “Ah, you’re right! Not very professional of me! Don’t worry, listeners! I swear I love you all equally!” He boomed. It’s moments like this that taught you to keep your phone a fair distance away from your ear when you speak to the great voice hero himself. “So how’s the cafe treating you?” After so many talks, Mic had learned a few personal details about you, including your job and the area you worked in. He’s commented on how humble your life sounds; you didn’t disagree. “It’s been the same. Nothing new.” Your plan was to share one of your experiences with the more unruly customers today, but something else was weighing on your mind now. “Come on, girl. You’ve gotta have something spicy to share with us, don’t ya?” “Actually,” the last call was really sticking to you for some reason, you couldn’t help but let it slip out. “I want to say that what you told that boy was very sweet. And I was wondering…” Your voice caught in your throat. “I was wondering…” ‘Is it okay to give up?’ You didn’t want to say that. ‘What if you sacrifice everything you have, but still fail?’ You don’t tune in to be a downer. ‘Did you know that I was like that boy once?’ You talk to Present Mic to feel good. “Wondering what? You still with me, listener?” Mic asked. The concern in his voice urged you to spit something out already. “I was wondering exactly which pro heroes you knew personally. You said that you’ve met a lot,” you lied. You weren’t wondering that at all. Still, you won’t mind hearing his answer. “Ha! Where do I even start? Now’s the perfect time for some free promotion for the awesome heroes out there that deserve some sweet limelight! Let me start with a cool guy named Koi. He’s pretty new to the scene and works on the coast.” He went on and on about many lesser known heroes you weren’t familiar with at all, but that made the information all the more intriguing. He spoke highly of each person, listing their accomplishments and how hard they worked to get where they are. As always, he managed to perk you back up. You made a mental note to look up these heroes later. “Whoa whoa, record scratch, guys! The lady’s got me rambling for way too long. Trying to soak up all the time, are ya?” He sneered in the most light-hearted way. You laughed innocently. “Of course not! You were being so passionate about every hero that you mentioned, I didn’t have it in me to stop you.” “Well, I’ll forgive you just this once! You know how to end it. Hit me with that request!” The rest of the broadcast carried on through the night as a drowsiness began to creep on you. You listened to the last of the songs while getting cozy under your sheets. “Time to finally put those hands down! It’s been a blast, listeners! I hope you’re ready to rock with me next time! Good night!” You switched off the radio and finally allowed yourself to drift off. ‘Good night.’ ——— The weekend had flown by. Before you knew it, it was back to business at the cafe. You were always thankful for not being part of the morning shift on Mondays, your co-workers sharing horror stories of the tired and moody zombies demanding complicated orders as quickly as possible. Your shift started at noon. The day was going by smoothly, no wrenches thrown into your usual pattern. Small talk with the customers, impressing the regulars by guessing their orders correctly, practicing your latte art, it was a meditative cycle for you. By the time the sun was down with no recent customers, you were ready to start cleaning up. The place closes in less than twenty minutes and the rest of the staff was sitting around patiently. A ring at the door alerted you all to the sight of a man briskly walking in, gripping at his overcoat as he recovered from the cold outdoors. “Welcome sir,” you greeted while heading to your position behind the counter. The other workers gave their own welcome and followed suit. “Hey!” He said loudly. “Didn’t mean to barge in like that. It’s cold enough tonight without all of this wind.” The voice made you pause. The man approaching you had blonde hair pinned up into a messy bun, some stray locks hanging freely. He adjusted his glasses as he flashed you a smile. That voice…and paired with his appearance…there was no doubt about it. 'Present Mic?' “Heh, looks like I’ve been exposed already!” Mic said with a chuckle. You placed a hand over your mouth, not realizing you had said his name out loud. “Sorry, it’s just really nice to meet you in person. I’m a fan.” You thought you saw him pause as well, eyes widening for a brief moment before asking, “Are you, now? And have we talked before, dear fan?” His voice was calmer than what you were used to hearing on his show. “We have, on the radio. Quite a few times, actually,” you admitted. And with that, his smile was enhanced to blinding levels. “My favorite lady listener! I thought I recognized that sweet voice!” Mic didn’t seem to respond to your blush and kept going. “I remember you said that you worked around here, but I sure didn’t expect to bump into you!” “Well, fate’s treating us both well tonight. I can’t properly express how excited I am to meet you while on the job. What can I get you tonight?” You hid behind your professionalism and waited for his order. Mic rubbed at his chin and pondered. “Well, I’ve been convinced by word-of-mouth that you guys have some yummy pastries. What do you think will go well with some hot cocoa?” Fortunately, the cafe’s menu was practically branded into your mind, so even the presence of a pro hero isn’t enough to make you draw a blank. “I’d personally recommend one of our warm treats. Maybe you’d like to try our filled croissants? The strawberry one is my favorite.” “Mmm, sounds delish. I trust you,” His grins were seriously trying to make you melt. “Hit me up with a cocoa and a strawberry croissant for here!” After taking his order, Mic seated himself at a table to wait for his sugary meal. As you prepared his chocolate and croissant, you couldn’t resist stealing an occasional glance at him. He was studying the cute decorations that littered the place and gently bobbing his head to the indie music playing through the speakers, but the two of you happened to lock eyes once, forcing you to immediately look away. Whenever you saw him in the media, his eyes were usually obscured by the orange shades that went with his hero outfit. Now you realize just how green they are, almost as if they glowed. It didn’t take long to prepare his order, and you decided to grant him the special treatment of delivering the food to his table. There was no one else to serve, after all. “Hey,” he said. “Would you mind sitting down with me?” Your heart fluttered. “Not at all, Mic.” You pulled back the chair opposite to him and took a seat. “Call me Hizashi.” He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. “Present Mic is always too busy for a snack break.” “Of course, Hizashi.” You listened to Hizashi’s compliments on the food and drink, trying not to stare as he ate. You were always so sure that he couldn’t possibly be as loud and lively as his hero persona, and you were mostly right, but even now as he dined at a simple cafe, he still somehow radiated a cheerful and positive energy. The warm feeling you got from hearing him on the radio was dwarfed by what you currently feel now that you are seeing him in person. He had eaten the last of the flaky bread before speaking again. “You know, now that you’re right here in the flesh, I gotta ask you something that’s been bothering me since my last show.” Lime green eyes peered into yours as he idly stirred the cup of chocolate. “Were you alright that night? You sounded…conflicted when we were talking.” A lump caught in your throat. You didn’t expect something like that to stick with him. Surely he had more important matters to worry about. “Don’t worry about it,” you answered. “I just had silly things crossing my mind at the moment.” Hizashi took a sip, his eyes not leaving you. “Alright, I don’t wanna pry. I know you’re a grown woman, but I do like helping people. It’s my favorite part of all three of my jobs.” His smile never faded since he walked in here and man, you weren’t used to him looking or sounding so soft. You sat there silently, fighting internally as you tried to decide whether or not to confess. The pro hero waited, drinking and showing no signs of impatience. Your hands gripped at your apron as you took a breath. “I wanted to be a hero.” The only sort of reaction you noticed were his raising eyebrows. “Ah,” he murmured. “Do you still want to be a hero?” A beat of silence. “…No.” Hizashi watched, probably waiting for you to say more, but you still didn’t know how much you wanted to share. “Does that bother you?” He asked. You nodded. “I’d like to hear why, listener.” Hearing the term you were so used to on his show lifted some of the pressure. Ironically, he was probably the best listener out of anyone that tuned in. You straightened your posture and swallowed. “Then I should probably start from the beginning.” And so you let it all spill. How you once had the same glorious dream as so many other children. You explained all of the time and effort you put into the tests and exams, but it was never enough, and your quirk always failed to impress spectators. You had family and friends that supported you for so long, had sacrificed so much to make this happen, but when you realized that your pursuit was leading you to homelessness, you accepted defeat. Hizashi paid close attention, only making a small comment here and there, but he waited for you to finish to say anything more. “I’m sorry you couldn’t get there,” he said sympathetically. “It’s fine.” You were looking down at your lap, unable to hold his gaze throughout most of the story. “I recovered pretty well. It’s nice here.” He hummed and leaned back in his seat. “That’s good! Not everyone can bounce back from that. Sounds like it’s still bothering you, though. Are you sure you don’t want to try again? I’m more than happy to help you out.” You shook your head at the generous offer. This man was too kind. “Thanks, but that’s alright. I’m happy where I am, it’s just that…” You paused as you tried to form the frustration you’ve felt for years into words. “I had put my whole life into this, gave up everything I had, and…and I don’t have anything to show for it, you know? Feels like the biggest waste.” “Yeah, maybe it was.” His blunt admittance surprised you. “But when you realized you weren’t getting anywhere, you stopped before you hit rock bottom. I know some students of mine who wouldn’t have that self-control.” He gave a soft snort at the thought. “Hell, when everyday is such a painful climb, you forget if there’s even anything waiting for you at the top. Maybe you would’ve reached the peak just to finally keel over.” You nodded along with his feedback. It wasn’t anything new; you’ve comforted yourself with similar words, albeit with less metaphors. And yet, your pesky mind couldn’t accept such logic. “But people don’t like quitters.” Hizashi kept going, arms crossed and staring intensely at his empty plate. “Because quitting apparently means that you’re weak, not that you were smart enough to see that you’re just hurting yourself at a certain point. Man, you know how many people wouldn’t be stuck doing stuff that they hate if this mindset didn’t exist? I know a guy who finally won the heart of the heroine of his dreams, and I was like, ‘Awesome, dude!’” You watched with mild amusement as Hizashi’s volume was slowly rising along with his increasingly animated movements. “But surprise! Turns out that she makes for the world’s worst girlfriend! The poor guy is in his own little hell, but he’s wanted this gal for soooo long and he’s still soooo sure that they’re fated to be together. If I used my quirk to scream at the guy to break it off already, he’d still manage to ignore me!” A snicker nearby caught both of your attentions, turning to see the other staff members looking very entertained by his storytelling. Hizashi coughed out of awkwardness and shuffled in his seat. “You, uh, you get what I’m saying?” His voice returned to a calm tone. “Yeah, I get it,” You replied. “I never considered all of that. Sucks for your friend, but I understand the feeling. It must be frustrating to watch from the outside, too.” “Oh yeah, it is.” He sighed and rested his face in one of his hands. “I know they say that you can’t save people that don’t want to be saved, but it’s not gonna keep me from trying. Good to know that you climbed out of that hole yourself. Well, almost.” He finished off the now-lukewarm chocolate. “Your dream died, so handle it like any other death. Mourn and move on. Dwelling on it or thinking about everything you could have done differently is irrational.” You heard him mutter something under his breath, something about someone rubbing off on him too much. The gears turn in your head. Your eyes wonder to a small stain on the table as Hizashi’s advice breaks through your somber barrier. Mourn and move on.

“I’ll try,” You’re shocked by how dry your throat suddenly is. The sound of sweeping and chairs scraping across the floor makes you snap your head to the clock. It was past closing time! “Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry!” You didn’t even know if you were apologizing to Hizashi or your co-workers. “I lost track of time! Let me get that for you.” You took his trash before he could respond and quickly joined the others to clean up. “Sorry about that,” one of your friends said. “I guess we all got caught up in your cute little talk.” “Do you have to eavesdrop on every table in this place?” You asked with no real malice. Pretty much the whole staff has a fondness for gossip; perhaps it was just a side effect of working such a job. “Oh, you know me. Why do you even ask?” she laughed. You focused on cleaning the tables as Hizashi stood and straightened out his clothes. You hoped that he wouldn’t leave just yet. His pep talk was appreciated and you wanted to thank him properly before your bus got here. Your bus that was scheduled to arrive ten minutes ago. 'Oh shit!' “My bus! I have to—dammit! I gotta go!” You dashed into the back to gather your belongings and grab your bag. Hizashi and the others looked too stunned by your burst of speed as you exited the cafe and rushed to the bus stop, the biting cold having little effect on your adrenaline-filled body. 'Maybe the bus is late too. Maybe I can still make it.' Your sprint slowed down the moment you saw your ride home already speeding away. It was too late to catch up. You could only watch as the large vehicle drove out of sight, dropping onto the stop’s bench as you caught your breath. Wonderful. This is what you get for getting too comfortable with one of your customers, hero or not. “Hey!” Speak of the devil. You turned to the sight of Hizashi jogging around the corner and toward you. “Man, you move pretty fast.” He caught up to you and took in your tired and defeated form. “And by the looks of it, you still weren’t fast enough.” A loud groan escaped you. “It’s no big deal, really. Another one arrives in about thirty minutes.” “Ah, think you can wait that long in this cold?” A shiver ran through your body immediately after his question. Wow, it really was freezing tonight. You shrugged your shaking shoulders. “I’ll have to. It’s still better than walking.” “Or maybe I can take you home?” Your head snaps back to him. Did you hear that right? “You…you want to take me home?” You repeated. That radiant smile returns to his face and adds another wave of trembles to your body. “I help where I can, and I’m kinda the reason you missed it in the first place. It’s the least I can do for such a loyal listener.” You hesitate, your still-harsh breaths forming misty clouds. You trusted him, no doubt about that. No, what was making you hesitate were his tender expressions that were illuminated by the nearby streetlight, and his lax and inviting posture as he waited for your answer with his hands tucked in his coat, and the realization that Yamada Hizashi was pretty damn handsome. Pure hot red was rushing up to your face. Surely that was the cold’s fault. “That sounds great,” you uttered before you could even stop yourself. “Alright! Come on, then. I’m totally not dressed to be standing out here for long.” You followed him back to the cafe where an old-fashioned Ford mustang was parked. ‘Classy.' Your co-workers were watching you enter his car, some with smirks or giving you a thumbs-up. ‘Perverts. It’s not like that.’ At least, you didn’t think it was. The drive home was calming. The radio played lowly as background music while you gave him directions to your apartment. You kept sneaking a peek at him from the corner of your vision, a peaceful look on his face as his fingers tapped on the steering wheel to the beat of the music. He seemed to be the type that hated complete silence; you didn’t mind. The streets were fairly empty, so it didn’t take too long to reach your complex. Hizashi pulled up and parked. “Welp, here’s your stop!” He announced as he hit you with another knockout smile. “Thanks for taking the Present Mic Express, listener.” You removed your seat belt, but made no further movements. “Thank you, Hizashi. For the ride…and the talk. You’ve helped me a lot today.” You say as you dare to look into his hypnotizing irises. He shrugged at your gratitude. “I’m just a customer who was in need of a nighttime snack and met a special gal that turned out to be even greater in person.” It took everything in your power not to cover your face like a flustered schoolgirl, instead breaking eye contact as you felt the heat return to your cheeks. “Thanks, you’re pretty great too.” You shuffled a bit as you both sat in silence. “I’m leaving now.”

“Okay.” You stayed where you were, staring at the door handle like it was the last thing you might ever touch. “I can’t wait to talk to you again on your show.” “Ditto.” “Alright…I’m leaving now.” “You already said that.” You squirmed some more. ‘Come on, you probably just look creepy at this point. Hurry the hell up and say something.’ “Is there something else you wanna tell me?” There was a small hint of amusement in his voice, and you gathered the courage to look at him again, shocked to see that his friendly smile had shifted into something a little more smug. It was probably safe to say that he’s reading the atmosphere pretty well. ‘Then just go for it.’

“Do you…do you want to come inside me—” FUCK. “Come inside with me! Do you want to come inside with me?!” You were practically shouting the invitation in a feeble attempt to hide your slip-up. Hizashi threw his head back and cackled. “I’d love to, sweetheart! No need to be shy about it. I don’t bite.” You still sat there as the car turned off, his casual acceptance putting you into a stupor. Which version of the question was he even saying yes to? Whichever one it was, he had just accepted your offer to sleep together. You hadn’t been with anyone in years, and now you suddenly do this? A rush of cold wind hit you when he opened his door. “Come on, unless you planned on doing it in the car?” He laughed when you furiously shook your head. “Good. As much as I love my old girl, she’s probably not very comfortable for something like that.” You only shivered in response as you finally stepped out of his car and joined his side to guide him to your place. All it took was an elevator and a quick walk down the hall to reach your door. It was a little embarrassing to bring a pro hero into your small single-bedroom apartment. It had all of the essentials for a comfortable living, but there wasn’t much room for luxuries. You both kicked off your shoes at the entrance before you hurried to organize some stray clothes and bags. “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting guests.” “No worries,” Hizashi didn’t seem to mind as he got comfortable on a chair near your kitchen area and scanned the place. “This is nice.” You snorted at the comment. “I suppose,” you murmured. “It’s nothing worth praising.” “What, finding a place to stay after running yourself down for years? I think that deserves some praise,” he says so matter-of-factually. That was a really admirable way to put it. “Thank you.” “Mmhmm,” he hummed, watching you finish replacing your things. Now you’re just standing here, not sure what to do next. How do you even start this? Your only experience was a clumsy one with a friend way back. “Well, we can’t do much at this distance, can we?” He says lightly as he gestures you to come closer. You comply and take his offered hand, letting him gently tug you down and onto his lap. He positioned you sideways, your legs laid out over his and making you look and feel like a nervous child. His face was so close, those green eyes looking shinier than ever. “You’ve done this before, right?” His warm breath brushes against your face as he speaks. “Yeah, I have,” you paused and wondered if you should tell him more. Hizashi was getting to know you more than you ever intended. “With a friend some years ago…it was a mess. Two virgins that had no idea what they were doing.” You laughed at the memory. “Heh, I feel you on that one. My first wasn’t the most dignified moment either.” You felt his body shake with his chuckle. His hand was still holding yours, thumb pressing against the space between your knuckles in a sort of massage. The feeling soothed you as his free hand came up to remove his glasses, your body shifting with his as he set them down close by. “In fact, your boy used to be a one pump wonder!” He smiled at your bewildered reaction to the information. “Hey, it’s not my fault sex feels so awesome!” You giggled into his shoulder. He spoke to you with such familiarity that it was impossible to stay anxious. It was why you enjoyed talking to him on the radio, but you never imagined it being the same during a scenario as intimate as this. “Hey, Don’t laugh at me! I’ve gotten better!” He said in mock anger. “And lucky for you, you get to see just how much. Welcome to my private show, listener.” He wiggled his eyebrows in a way that was more comical than seductive. A hand gently held the back of your head, and you let it pull you in to press your lips against his. You closed your eyes and savored the feeling, his lips softer than expected. Your kisses were timid, giving little more than lingering pecks, and Hizashi patiently returned them, slowly adding more pressure and passion as encouragement. The feel of a tongue swiping against your lips made you squeak in shock, getting a chuckle out of him. “That was adorable,” he teased, his voice suddenly at a lower pitch that made you shudder. “You startled me,” you retorted before returning to the kiss, this time with your lips parted to grant him entry. He caught you off guard again by sucking lightly at your lips instead, forcing a gasp out of you before slipping his tongue into your mouth. Your own muscle shyly met his, stroking each other in a lazy dance. His hands moved to hold your face and he’s doing it so tenderly. A hot desire is flowing through your veins from his kisses alone; you can only imagine what else he has in store for you. After a few more wet smacks, the two of you finally parted to catch your breaths, you especially. “Wow,” you couldn’t help but gasp. Hizashi gave a breathless laugh. “Getting overwhelmed already? We haven’t even taken any clothes off yet.” He wasn’t as composed as he let on, a red flush spreading across his face. The hands holding your face moved down to wrap around your waist as he moved his kisses down to your jaw. You sighed and tilted your head back to give him access to your neck, burying your fingers in his hair as you felt him lick and suck at your pulse. Beneath the smooth locks you felt a pin that held his sloppy bun together. “Hizashi? Can I-ah,” a hard suck on your sensitive throat forces you to pause. “Can I…your hair?” You tapped at the pin to get your point across. “Go ahead,” he groaned against your neck, not even slowing his assault as you pulled the small clip out and watched his golden locks fall to his shoulders. He purred to the feeling of you combing through his hair like fine threads. “It’s really pretty,” you whispered, still shivering from the love that he was showering on your skin. He pulls away from your neck. “Are you saying my hair isn’t always pretty? Trying to hurt Mic’s feelings?” He said with a pout. He looked all the hotter with his long hair draping the sides of his face. “Not at all! I think Mic makes for a handsome cockatoo,” you jest with a smirk. “Heh, you got jokes, huh? We’ll see who’s laughing once I get these annoying clothes out of the way.” He double tapped your thigh. “Up.” You stood up and watched him follow instantly, noticing the bulge that was beginning to grow beneath his pants. You quickly tore your eyes away from it. “Hold on a minute, I know what we’re missing.” He reached into his coat pocket and retrieved his phone. You waited, wondering what he could possibly need on his phone right now. A few taps later, a smooth melody began playing from the device. “Oh yeah, I’m feelin’ it already.” He set the phone down and shut his eyes, getting a feel for the beat of the sensual R&B song. This man was unreal. “You have…a lovemaking playlist?” You uttered while watching him get into a groove. “I’ve got a playlist for a lot of things, baby. Nothing sets the mood like a good tune. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll go first.” And so he began his slow movements, swaying and bouncing in rhythm to the music, pulling his coat back and shrugging it off in a steady and seductive manner, tossing it aside. Watching a personal strip show of one of your favorite heroes was both hilarious and hot. On one hand, he was giving you playful and goofy faces while lip-singing to the sensual vocals. On the other, ‘I’ll be damned,’ you thought, because he really did know how to move his body and was successfully captivating you. His hips were moving in slow circles as he grabbed the bottom of his shirt, lifting it up and revealing his impressively lean torso. ‘Oh, his hero outfit doesn’t do his body justice.’ You were so impressed by the chest and the abs that were just thick enough to be visible, you didn’t notice him struggling to pull the shirt off of his head. With his top completely bare, he smoothed a hand down his hair and leered at you with a slow lick over his lip. “Liking what you see, baby?” How the hell did his voice get so deep? Why was he being so sexy right now? Your throat was dry all of a sudden, so you simply nodded. “Good.” His hands ran over his chest, making sure you were watching them before they began an agonizingly slow descent, tracing over hard lines, his muscles rippling with the mesmerizing thrust of his hips, a sight so erotic that you wanted to look away, but just couldn’t. With the buttons and zipper quickly undone, his thumbs hooked beneath his pants and began to pull down and oh shit he was pulling at his boxers too. You were really about to see it and you didn’t know if you were ready, but your eyes remained glued to his waist as his masculine v-line and a neat trail of blonde curls was revealed, your breathing getting heavier with the knowledge that he was only centimeters away from revealing his… “Naaaah, I’ll leave these on for now.” Just like that, his voice returned to his loud and cheerful pitch, pants readjusted and no longer on the brink of revealing his manhood. Confused, you look back up to see an infuriatingly innocent face staring back at you. A pang of disappointment hits you hard; Hizashi had just teased you big time. “Your turn.” You stood there awkwardly, having no idea where to even start. “I…uh…” You try to get into rhythm with the song and already feel like a fool. “I’m not much of a dancer. Can I just undress?” You felt a little bad. You didn’t want to kill the mood just because you didn’t know how to be as light and silly as him. Hizashi casually approached in all of his topless glory. “Don’t stress, girl. The stage and spotlight ain’t for everyone,” he empathized. Slender fingers took hold of the bottom of your shirt, and he looked into your eyes for silent permission. You gave a slow nod of approval and lifted your arms so that he could smoothly remove your first article of clothing. He discarded the shirt quickly to lay his hands on your bare waist, tracing over your soft and sensitive skin, making you jump slightly. “That tickles,” you snickered. “Sorry, sorry.” His hands went higher until they reached your bra, fumbling with the clasp at your back. “Mind helping me out? I still haven’t mastered these contraptions,” he asked through gritted teeth. The fully concentrated face for removing an undergarment was a real hoot, but you showed mercy and joined his hands to undo the fastening and pulled the straps down your arms. With how hard he was staring at your exposed breasts, it took everything in your power not to cover yourself, keeping your arms at your sides. “Damn. You’re gorgeous, you know that?” He spoke softly, giving feather-light touches over the mounds of flesh. “Can’t believe you’re giving me the honor of seeing you like this.” You warmed over at the praise and his touch, a thumb brushing lightly over your nipple. “You…look really good too,” you complimented back, your own hands coming up as you considered exploring his body. Hizashi noticed your hesitation and took a hold of your wrists. “You can check me out with more than your eyes, babe,” he says with a wink, and then places your hands right onto his hot and hard chest. ‘Woah.’ You swear that your heart stopped for several seconds. Hands slightly trembling, you run them slowly over his firm pecs, listening to his quickening breaths as you went lower to feel his abs. Present Mic was never really on your list of sexy heroes. You never bothered to imagined what the rowdy guy looked like underneath that superstar getup. ‘Shame on me, I suppose.’ The hero quietly reveled in your touch as he returned to your breasts, kneading them gently to bring out soft moans from you. There was something extra close and affectionate about just feeling each other, hands caressing and pressing every inch of both of your bodies. Your first time wasn’t this slow and steady; you and your partner were too embarrassed by so much clumsy fumbling that you ended up rushing to the main act. An arm wrapped around you and pulled you closer, a pair of lips speaking right next to your ear. “To the bed.” The song currently playing had a much more raunchy vibe to it, matching the growing intensity of the room as Hizashi gently pushed you back onto the mattress so that he could peer down and take in your body from above. You felt even more vulnerable in this position, but the man’s gaze, although lustful, was still gentle and nothing to be afraid of. You had enough courage to take his face and bring him down for another kiss, lips moving more boldly this time. Hizashi smiled behind the kiss, but had other plans and trailed downward, picking up where he left off during the first make-out. He licked a wet trail across your neck, wasting no time in reaching your breasts and peppering one with kisses, the slightly ticklish sensation filling you with pleasurable tingles. Too modest to watch him shower your body with love, you instead closed your eyes and focused on the feeling as the naughty music played on. The wetness of a tongue was flicking across your nipple, making your breath hitch, but it was the complete engulfment of wet heat that made your eyes fly open to the sight of him hungrily sucking at you like he was being nursed. You could still feel his tongue swirling around your nipple in the wet cavern of his mouth. It felt so good, bringing forth an ache within your lower body. “Ah, Hizashi…more…” Your plea came out as a shuddering moan. “Patience, babe,” he panted before switching to your other breast and giving it the same delicious treatment. Soon he continued his trek downwards, kissing at your stomach and playfully dipping his tongue into your navel. “Alright, time for these pants to go.” You lifted your hips to help him pull them off, nervous but so desperate to feel him touch you more. Surprisingly, he left your panties on and placed his lips right on your hipbone, making you twitch. The kisses wandered to your thighs, taking his time in enjoying the texture of your flesh as he licked, sucked, and gave the occasional nip to make you jump. You can feel the hot desire in your core building up as he got closer to your mound, your insides throbbing in anticipation, ready to be probed and explored already. Finally his face was right at your clothed pussy, a sinful grin forming as he observed the very damp spot. You were ready for him to finally remove the last barrier that prevented your bodies from joining. What you weren’t ready for was the shock of his tongue pressing against the thin cotton and licking at you like it wasn’t even there. Even with the shaky gasp that escaped you, you felt mortified. “H-Hizashi? What are—that’s—ohhh.” His lips managed to close right around your protected clit, the feeling muted but still powerful, but this was all so new to you. It’s one thing to fantasize having someone put their mouth there, but to actually…! Hizashi halted his ministrations and looked up at you. “What is it? Did I do something wrong?” The panic in your breathless voice probably worried him a bit. You didn’t want him to think that he screwed up, it’s just that…ugh, you didn’t even know! “I, uh, you don’t have to do that, really,” you stammered. The pure confusion on his face was unexpected. “What? Go down on you? I love doin’ that, babe. You don’t?”

You were tempted to grab a pillow and hide your face. “I…don’t know. No one’s ever done that to me.” “Oh?” He tilted his head, resting on one of your thighs as he watched you curiously. “Well this guy would love to do it to you. May I?” ‘Yes. Yes, please do it.’ You just couldn’t be as shameless as your inner thoughts, so the most you could do was squeak, “If you want.” Hizashi rubbed soothing circles around your inner thighs. “I’ll just give you a sample, alright? You just lie back and feel it. Actually…” He raised himself and took a hold of your hips, tugging you to the edge of the bed. He was now kneeling on the floor with your legs hanging over his shoulders. Even with your panties still on, you never felt more exposed. His mouth was back on you in an instant, licking long stripes up your covered womanhood. You could feel your heated lust, could feel your juices seeping out to mix with the saliva that was coating your ravaged underwear. But it didn’t look like Hizashi planned on letting up on his assault anytime soon, pressing his face against you as if he was craving your nectar from the source, but insisted on holding himself back. As you whimpered from the wet grazes and your growing arousal, you realized that this just wasn’t going to be enough. “Please,” you whined. “I need more.” “More?” The hero’s voice was husky, and the wicked look he was giving you wasn’t helping matters at all. “What do you want more of?” Your knuckles were turning white from how hard you were clutching the sheets beneath you. “You! Your mouth! Please, take them off!” “You like what my mouth does, baby?” He gave you a quick lick. “Yes.” “You wanna feel more of it?” “Yes, please!” You begged. “Wanna feel my tongue push inside your pussy?” The sudden vulgarity of his words made you clench. “Y-yes.” A finger runs up and down your slit, the cloth’s texture doing nothing but irritating you at this point. “Good, because your taste and smell is driving me wild.” His fingers hooked around the lace and, thank the gods above, finally pulled them off, sticky strands of your arousal being pulled along with it. Repositioning himself, he used his thumbs to spread you open and take a good look at you. ‘Oh God, that’s a bit much.’ You shut your eyes to avoid his invasive ones that were looking straight inside of you. Just before he dove in, a new track began to play. “Oooooh shit, I love this song!” You looked to see Hizashi on the verge of jumping up in excitement. After being so turned on, you managed to forget that he’s a dork. “They’re just asking me to go all-out on you, aren’t they? Get ready, sweetheart. I’m about to send you to heaven.” Your breathing quickened as he leaned in, suddenly understanding that his teasing was just to make you extra sensitive to the real deal, because his breath alone was sending pleasant shocks through you. The first long lick up your sex already had you moaning loudly. A pair of hands held your hips down to prevent you from bucking too wildly, thighs quivering on his shoulders as he hungrily lapped at you. Among the indecent sounds between your legs, you also noticed the song’s lyrics were describing the very act Hizashi was performing right now, his mouth working more vigorously whenever the singer expressed the desire to lick a girl, to make her cum all week. He was avoiding your clit, giving full attention to your sopping folds, sucking on them loudly before deciding to plunge his tongue straight inside of your pussy. The intruding muscle had you squirming against his hold, rubbing against your walls and pushing into you as far as possible. You noticed that Hizashi’s eyes were closed in bliss, giving soft moans as if this was bringing him just as much pleasure. Whatever the case, the sight of him enjoying himself so much was something you’ll be seeing in your erotic dreams for weeks, maybe months to come. You lost control of the sounds leaving your body as the pleasing heat grew, tongue thrusting in and out of your body, his nose pressing against your neglected clit. The thorough tongue-fucking was bringing you so close to the edge. Hizashi released a long and deep moan and…you don’t even understand what happened next. The sound sent the mother of all vibrations bouncing throughout your insides, forcing you into a violent convulsion of an orgasm. You didn’t hear your own scream, the music, or see Hizashi’s amazed expression when you tightened your legs around his head in a vice-like grip. Everything was suddenly muted save for the tremors wracking your entire being without mercy, pleasure pouring over you so strongly that it was frightening. Your surroundings slowly took shape again as you came down from your high, panting and waiting for your limbs to become responsive again. A hand brushed stray hairs away from your face, and you saw a very pleased hero laying beside you. “You alright, baby? You know where you are?” He asked jokingly. “Yeah,” you breathed. “How many fingers am I holding up?” “Shut up.” You swung your weak arm and smacked him in the chest. “What the hell did you do to me?” “Sometimes I use my quirk to add a little kick,” he explained while rolling onto his side, giving your damp face a quick peck. “All it takes is a bass boost to soak the dancefloor, am I right? Though maybe that was too much. I didn’t know whether to be turned on or scared with the way you were spazzing out. Hope your neighbors didn’t think you were being murdered.” You shrunk into yourself. “Oh. Sorry,” you mumbled. You watched his hand casually explore your sensitive skin, catching a glimpse of the bulge in his pants that was more prominent than ever. “Your…” You gestured to his groin. He looked down at his stiff predicament and huffed. “Ah, yeah. It’s kinda been killin’ me. You good to keep going, babe?” How could you possibly say no after the ride he’s given you? “Yes, of course.” You moved to get up, but he gently pushes down on you. “Stay right here. I just need a minute.” The bed shifts with the loss of his weight and you watch him grab his discarded coat, fishing for something in its pockets and mumbling about something that he always keeps around, until you hear a little “a-ha” as he triumphantly holds up a condom. “Safety first~,” he says in a sing-song voice. Wow, he’s a prepared guy. Disobeying his orders, you raised yourself to sit upright. “Can I do the honors?” You asked. Honestly, you were just curious to see what he had in store for you down there. Hizashi looked surprised but pleased. “Be my guest!” he said excitedly, removing the wrapper while approaching you. The tent in his pants just sat there in front of you, begging to finally be released. “So, do you want me to finish my little show, or do you want to be the one to take’em off?” He watched your face intently as he thumbed at the band of his pants. You gulped loudly. He clearly wanted this night to be all about you, but he deserved some attention. “I’ll do it.” You whispered, taking a delicate hold of his pants to pull them down and revealing an intricately designed pair of boxers. Colorful urban-style shapes and characters covered the underwear, art that you would expect to see on the city’s walls. Any other time, you would take a moment to appreciate the impressive work, but you had a horny man to take care of. With a shaky tug, his final clothing was removed and the freed erection sprang out and smacked you in the face. The horrified ‘eep!’ and the utterly offended look you were giving his cock had Hizashi cracking up. “Shit, I’m sorry, babe!” He choked between breaths. “I guess I should have given you a heads up!” You were too embarrassed to even respond or look him in the eye. “Hey now, I promise he won’t hurt you again.” He gave you a pat on a head like a grumpy child and held out the condom to you. You silently took it and observed his manhood with a cautious look, as if it would somehow lash out and strike you again. He was pretty long; while his girth didn’t look too intimidating, you doubt that he can fit all of his length into you. It twitched when your fingers wrapped around it, rubbing up and down the soft yet firm organ and earning some sharp breaths from Hizashi. You finally attempted working with the music, stroking to match the same slow tempo. You took the lubricated protection and placed it over his swollen head, your other hand keeping up your rhythmic pumping as you pulled it down, stroking every uncovered inch until he was fully sheathed. “Fuck, girl. That was sexy,” Hizashi had watched your performance with lustful wonder. “You really don’t give yourself enough credit.” The praise excited you in more ways than one. His hands were on your shoulders and pushing you back down with him climbing on top, returning you both to your earlier positions. One hand reached between your legs and slipped a finger between your folds, dipping inside to sample your wetness. “Are you ready for me, baby?” His voice returned to that low raspy tone that had you throbbing for him all over again. Your nodding was so frantic that you made him laugh at your eagerness—your want has overpowered your doubts. He takes hold of himself and places the tip right at your entrance, your heart racing in anticipation to be filled. A sudden kiss distracts you. It was the deepest kiss he’s given you, lips practically holding yours prisoner while his tongue curled around yours. Breathy moans left both of your mouths. You were being effectively distracted until you felt the sharp burn of being stretched, your arms wrapping tightly around his neck while he pushed inside as slowly as he could. He drank up your whimpers and you consumed his growls of restraint. Every inch felt like it went on forever, hot and pulsing and overwhelming, yet your greedy pussy clamped down and sucked him in until you were completely filled. Hizashi stayed there, finally detaching his lips so that he could study your face. Those green eyes that enchanted you at the cafe for their warmth and kindness were now glazed over with something raw and insatiable. Such a look made you tighten around him, savoring the groan he gave in response. Your legs wrapped around his waist as the signal to start moving, and he complied with a slow and shallow pace. The friction was already creating another burning knot in your core. The other time someone was inside you like this…there was pleasure then as well, but it was nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to a partner who knew how to properly prepare your body and keep your mind at ease. Hizashi’s hair was draped all around you, creating a romantic enclosure of just him and you, everything else in the room feeling so far away. His thrusts were getting stronger, your heat and tightness making it too difficult for him to keep things slow. You didn’t protest and took every electrifying stroke with a helpless cry. Even with all of the sounds you were making, you dare say that the man above you was being even louder. “Ah…fuck…oh, baby you feel so fucking good. Oh yeah, fucking squeeze me just like that,” his language also became a lot more colorful, apparently. Concerning volume aside, his words only added to your pleasure. Your heels dug into him, pushing him deeper inside and brushing against that spongy bundle of nerves that had you writhing. “Shit, thanks sweetheart. Been lookin’ for that spot.” He pants with a mischievous smile across his sweaty face. With a particularly hard slam that makes you see white, he slows down and starts a deep grind. “Ah! Hizashi!” You weren’t prepared for such powerful stimulation, his dick hitting your sweet spot while his pelvis rolls against your clit. He elevates himself for a better angle, forcing you to disentangle from his neck and instead fumble desperately at his arms. The hot tension was tightening at an alarming rate with the pleasure he was giving to both of your most sensitive spots. Your gaze constantly switched between Hizashi biting his lip in a sexy focused expression to his contracting muscles as his hips press and rub against every inch of your cunt. Your nerves could only handle the sensual onslaught for so long—it didn’t take long before they were all set ablaze and reduced you into a trembling mess with your back arched and mouth hanging open in a silent scream. Sure, it wasn’t a heart-stopping climax like the one he gave you with his mouth, but the simultaneous spasms of your clit and innermost walls was its own amazing experience that had you melting into a blissful puddle. “Mmm, that’s it. That’s a good girl,” Hizashi groaned in approval. Your orgasm was still rippling through you when he buried his face into the crook of your neck and returned to his rutting, now at a much faster pace. Tears pricked at your eyes from the overstimulation. Your own choked sobs were smothered by the most intense moans you’ve ever heard sounding right in your ear. “You’re so amazing, baby…so damn beautiful.” How the fuck did he sound so sweet even when he’s on the verge of nutting? This hero has given you more than he even realized. He’s given you his company and joy every Friday, he’s given you kind words at your job, and now here he was giving all of himself to you. The emotions, the hypersensitivity, the closeness, it was all too much for you.

You came a third time, the sensation toeing the line between pain and pleasure as you clung to him tightly. He gave several more thrusts before reaching his own peak with a howl that might encourage a file complaint or two. You just held him, feeling every shiver run down his limbs and every shaky breath expelled from his powerful lungs. Both of you rested in each other’s embrace. If only things could just stay this way; Hizashi never failed to make you feel so good, in more ways than you even dreamed of. “Woah woah, you alright?” Said man’s panicked voice startled you. Before you could ask what he was talking about, you felt the moisture running down your cheeks. When did you start crying? “What’s the matter?” He tried again, his troubled eyes breaking your heart. ‘It’s nothing,’ that’s what you wanted to say, but your throat felt constricted as more tears fell. Hizashi didn’t need to hear you—he simply pulled you up into a proper hug, saying nothing as you cried in confused frustration. The music had stopped at some point during the sex, the only sound present now was your soft weeping. You let the soft rubs along your back soothe you, his other hand cradling your head. The tenderness of it all just made you want to cry more, but you held back and calmed yourself down and spoke. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me.” “Nothin’ to be sorry about, listener,” he returned to using that term, making this feel like another one of your friendly night talks. “It gets pretty intense sometimes.” He pulled you into a kiss, this one much lazier than the others. This was it. The kissing. It was too sweet, too sincere, the warmth of it blossomed something inside your chest that felt too earnest to be simple lust. Was he aware of what he was doing to you? Were you just overthinking this? Weren’t one-night stands supposed to have boundaries? Hizashi pulled out of you, leaving behind a sad emptiness that wanted him back immediately. He rose to his feet and headed to your bathroom, most likely to dispose of the condom. You heard his voice sound out of the room. “I’ve got little angels and devils to teach tomorrow, so I probably shouldn’t stay for long.”

Your heart felt like lead. “Okay,” you muttered. There really was nothing more to this. He was putting his boxers back on when he continued. “But…if it’s not too much to ask, maybe I can come by again?” What? Was he messing with you? “You’re serious?” You didn’t mean to sound so disbelieving, but your emotions were such a mess right now and you won’t appreciate having them toyed with. His pants were pulled up next. “One hundred percent serious!” He exclaimed with, dammit, that smile that lit up your entire being. “Maybe I’ll visit the cafe some more too. You were right about that croissant!” He returned to your side on the bed, wrapping an arm around your waist. “What I’m saying is, I think I like my favorite lady listener more than I thought.” Your heart was freed from its petrified state and swelled. Your arms swung around him before you could even stop yourself. “Hizashi…that’s so great but…you’re such a busy pro hero…I’m just a…how will this work?” You were rambling into his chest. “Easy girl, it’s nothing complicated. I’ll visit you whenever I have the time, alright? Ready to give you some support and…attention.” There’s that silly eyebrow wiggle again, making you laugh. You just kept on cuddling him, enjoying his presence for as long as you could tonight. A few minutes passed when you felt him shrug and break the silence. “Ah, what the hell.” He took hold of you and fell back onto the mattress with you now laying against him. “I guess I can stay for the night. I’ll just have to deal with waking up extra early tomorrow.” You snuggled into him and smiled. “Thank you,” you whispered. It’s unclear what kind of relationship you just formed with Hizashi; maybe this was only something temporary. All you knew is that you had him by your side, and you were going to cherish every minute of it and waste nothing. You’ll never waste a second of your life again.

#bnha #smut #present mic #yamada hizashi #present mic x reader

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gingermintpepper · 4 years

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Not to be off topic on the main here but as a pretty boy enthusiast and a fan of Guilty Gear; I've gotta say, I'm not entirely thrilled with the decisions made for the Strive designs.

Guilty Gear's always been kinda unique in that it's a fighting game that has a lot of variance in the body types of its characters. Well, specifically its male characters - there's a bit of variation in the female body types as well but this is undermined by the fact that the women of Guilty Gear are all well endowed with a few exceptions like Ramlethal and May but honestly, that's a discussion for another time. In any case, fighting games have historically been a genre where the male characters are either grotesquely buff or slender anime pretty boys and there's little in between.

Guilty Gear managed to pretty admirably give a lineup of men who, while they were all muscular, did not have what I lovingly call Street Fighter Syndrome in that they were all the same degree of Totally Jacked. For a few examples just look at the differences between Sol Badguy and Axl Low (I'm going to be using their Xrd/Rev designs)

Sol is top heavy; he has a very defined chest and arm region - which reflects his fighting style as a character whose main weapon is a sword that's much more bludgeoning weapon than anything sharp - and has a notably slender waist with similarly slender hips, legs etc. His 'hourglass' figure's been a part of his design from as early as I can remember but with the turn of Xrd, the artists were able to exaggerate his body type to what I like to think is what was supposed to be its natural extreme.

Contrast that with Axl Low

Who isn't actually particularly muscular but rather just possesses a very average male figure with especially defined legs. Axl isn't buff, he isn't thin, he doesn't look like he exercises religiously outside of maybe being someone who runs/does marathons - but that's okay because it's still an acceptable body type for some random breadass british dude who's having a grand old time figuring out his place in the world. Axl just looks like a guy.

All of that is to say, Strive does away with all of the nuance of these great, varied designs to just make everyone the same flavour of 'stereotypically fighting game buff' and I absolutely despise it. And here's what I mean.

Enter Ky Kiske.

Ky's as generic slender anime pretty boy as you get. Even if he's similar in build to Sol in that they're both more defined in their chests and arms than they are in their legs, Sol is obviously the broader and more muscular of the two. Ky looks, well, pretty. His arms are particularly thick, his neck isn't particularly defined, he has very delicate facial features - thin jaw, fair hair, flowing clothing that accentuates his grace and technique as a swordsman more than it serves to intimidate or display his body. And Ky has always been designed like this. This is his Xrd design, but here are a couple of his older looks as well:

Man had always been a slender figure with his belt pulled a bit too tightly and his general figure loose and unfocused on his non-existent musculature. So, please, please for the love of god tell me why Ky looks like a completely different character for Strive?

THERE IS SO MUCH WRONG HERE I COULD WRITE A BOOK - but the spark notes version:

Why is his body so much fuller?? Ky has been a twink since inception, one cannot change their body structure/type to spontaneously develop a broader waist/hip when for the past 20 years, Ky's been sporting notable disparity with these measurements.

Getting rid of the loose flowing silohuette is troubling enough considering that's just kinda the look he's had for a hot minute, but his colour scheme is so wildly off. Black and greys are Sol's colours - and as Sol's contrast character limiting that to just the coat hanging over his shoulders is clever I guess but it is in no way enough to visually discern Ky from Sol from a distance or, indeed, when they're fighting and shit starts getting crazy. Ky's always sported a white and blue motif and if y'all were gonna give him waist fillings the least you could've done was keep his colour palette consistent.

I hate the way they phoned in his cross motif. Ky is a pretty devoutly religious man and that was openly obvious in prior designs. Now his cross motif is limited to the shape of his sword's hilt/guard and two pitiful dark blue crosses above the hem of his pants which aren't even noticable because his pants are fucking dark grey--

HE'S INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM HIS FUCKING SON

And this, ultimately is the big problem I have with the new designs for Strive. Guilty Gear has always had very striking and recognisable silohuettes and designs which made liberal use of things like body type to distinguish and characterise its characters from one another. This sort of bombastic and detailled designwork stopped the characters from blending into each other and it did wonders for keep track of characters when there was a lot going on - even if they mirrored each other or were literally based off of another character from the series.

Ky Kiske and his son, Sin are visually very, very similar. Their physical differences are the only thing we have to distinguish them since they share a colour palette and the character designers for Xrd took advantage of the fact that Ky was much more on the slender side to create visual contrast between him and his son who looks like this.

Sin has a stocky build. He's heavily muscled, his design is built around showing off how jacked he is. He barely has a waist, has arms for days, you could slice cheese on his abs - and because he has short hair, in Xrd, they did a pro gamer move and had Ky grow his out.

Now, however, in Strive - how are you meant to tell the two of them apart? Not only has Ky cut his hair short again, but his body type is no longer slender but rather is the same stocky, heavy set/buff build that Sin has - something that really doesn't suit the aristocratic swordsman that Ky's always been.

By beefing up the characters, the designers for Strive have erased a vital, vital part of the character of their characters and it's a damn shame because Guilty Gear was one of the few fighting games left that had genuine variety in muscular body types and forms without fetishising or exaggerating the human form to disfiguring degrees.

#ginger rambles #guilty gear #guilty gear xrd #guilty gear xrd revelator #guilty gear xrd rev 2 #guilty gear strive #discourse #listen y'all gotta be fucked up if you fucking think I'm not still mad about this #DID Y'ALL SEE WHAT THEY DID TO CHIPP #HELLO #HE'S A SHINOBI WHY IS HE SO BULKY WTF #And Ky's always been a twink why not just keep him as a twink #and let's not even talk about what they did to zato and axl #God I get mad everytime I think about it hhh #sol badguy #ky kiske #sin kiske #axl low

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rpd-rookie · 4 years

Text

I’ll Make An Agent Out Of You - Leon S. Kennedy x Reader (Part 1)

Summary: From cute rookie to badass agent who can supplex the s*** out of you, there's sometimes only one step, or one woman. But what a woman.

Author’s Notes: This is the first chapter from my new fanfic. It is about Post RE2 Leon and the beginning of his training in the US.STRAT.COM because we clearly don't know enough about it. Expect SMUT at some point (probably in the last chapter) and deep sexual tension. Hope you will like it. Again don't forget to reblog, like and give me your opinion. PS: if you end up singing ‘I'll make a man out of you’ after reading the title, it's not my fault.

Warning: For now, just language because the first chapter is merely an “introduction”

Also available on AO3

Leon had been left with no choice. Alone and locked in an interrogation room, the man who had introduced himself as Adam Benford had made sure that he would face down the ultimatum with no possibility of refusal or negotiation and he had made the terms very simple. Sherry’s safety against years serving the US government in the fight against Umbrella. A blackmail more than an offer, in Leon’s opinion.

And so here he was, a couple of weeks later or so, barely recovered from a gunshot wound and from the trauma he had experienced in Raccoon City, waiting in a meeting room of US.STRAT.COM headquarters, surrounded by a variety of highly qualified military men who were giving him the undeniable impression he didn’t belong here. After all, just a few days ago, he was still a rookie ready to start his first day in the force while now … well, he wasn’t sure who he was. Was he still a cop? Nothing at all? Or just some regular guy who had luckily survived a zombie apocalypse?

“So, you’re the rookie from Raccoon.” Leon looked at the man sitting in the row in front of his who had just called him out. He was older that him, with a stern square face and scrutinizing narrow brown eyes, and judging by his uniform and the way he was proudly displaying the insignias on his chest, a seasoned Marine. “Is it true what the rumors say? You’ve seen those things?” You could tell there was a permanent condescendence in his deep husky voice that fitted his Alpha male persona. Leon didn’t like it at all. He had spent enough time at the academy being bossed around by that kind of asshole. But out of respect, and because he was a very patient and wise man despite his young age, he chose to remain polite. “That depends on what the rumor say, I guess” The man unsurprisingly scoffed and looked up and down at Leon, clearly not impressed. “If a rookie like you survived, they must not be that terrible then.” He added before turning his back on Leon whose teeth were so clenched right now he could have broken them. “Asshole” He soundlessly mumbled.

“Are you lost, angel? Because heaven is a long way from here.” Leon looked up at Marine guy again; eyes furrowed and already tired of his presence. Then he looked at the victim of his terrible pickup line. And it was you, the only woman that had been invited to this meeting. You had been searching for the seat that had been assigned to you at the entrance of the meeting room when Marine guy had called you out. And ignorance not being you thing, you had stopped to stare at him with a hypocrite smile. “No, I think I’m at the right place. Thank you very much. However, I do believe the ‘Flirting for Dummies’ course is at the end of the corridor. You should hurry.” Marine Guy’s square jaw dropped in astonishment and he found himself unable to retort. Guess, he wasn’t used to sarcasm or rejection, especially from a woman. “Damn, man. She burned you.” Another man - who certainly knew Marine Guy – mocked him, a hearty laugh coming out of his wide opened mouth. And that was certainly a bit too much to handle for Marine guy since he gritted his teeth and glared at you as you sat at your place.

Still like a marble statue, you decided to patiently wait for the meeting to start, trying to ignore Marine guy’s brown eyes looking daggers at you. But they weren’t the only eyes on you right now, as you could also feel Leon’s impressed sparkling blue eyes gazing at you. You chose not to glimpse at him, however. After all, you were here for work, not to socialize. Too bad, because Leon would have loved to congratulate you on your sharp sarcasm and thank you for shutting Marine guy up.

Suddenly, Adam Benford entered the room. Everyone stood up to salute him as he took place behind his reading desk with a grave look on his lined face, still looking incredibly charismatic nevertheless. He waved everyone in the assembly to sit down and waited for an absolute silence to speak.

“I know what most of you must think right now. Why are you here? Why gathering members from so many military corps and agencies? What does an Air Force pilot have in common with an FBI agent? What does a Police Rookie have in common with a CIA officer?” Benford glanced at both Leon and you, one after the other. And that’s how your eyes met for the first time. But it surprised Leon because he had expected you to give him the same condescending look everyone had been giving him since he had entered this building, not a respectful admiring little smile and nod. But you were not like everyone else in room. You knew things. You had heard of him in ways others hadn’t. “Why gathering the best men America ever trained in a same room? Well, here’s why.”

A video started playing on the screen of the meeting, showing images recorded during the Raccoon City incident, images from the CCTVs, tapes Leon had brought back from his nightmarish ordeal, tapes about Umbrella, about the Nest, about the Birkins. And he could not watch this footage anymore. He couldn’t watch it without feeling a knot in his stomach or the irrepressible will to puke and scream of rage. He couldn’t even hear it, the mere zombie growl reviving memories from the RPD station crowded with undead policemen and citizens, giving him the oppressive impression he was still in there with them, smelling their rotting flesh and skin flooding in the ambient air with an atrocious reek and seeing their skulls crack and burst with a thick splash of boiling blood after each gunshot. A traumatic bloodbath he knew he would never be able to forget and that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

When the screen went white again, a heavy silence took possession of the room. No one dared to speak. No one dared to look at each other. Except you who were watching at the young man sitting few chairs away from you, still like a marble statue, haunted blue eyes looking down at his shoes. Poor Leon.

“Once you leave this room, whatever your decision may be, you’ll carry the secret behind the Raccoon City incident on your shoulder. No one can know about what truly happened there. No one. Not even your family. And I want you to think about your family. Will you allow them to live in a world like this, threatened by deadly viruses and bio-organic weapons? Or will you join us and fight the responsible behind this so that your loved ones may live a happy safe life?”

You slowly yet assuredly raised your hands and all eyes set on you, Leon’s included. Adam Benford nodded to allow you to ask your question. “Where shall we sign?” The old man smiled at you, far from being surprised by your bravery and your devotion. After all, he was the one who had trained you, few years ago. “Sign?” Marine Guy harrumphed. “Sign for what? Umbrella is doomed to be bygone, right? And if that kid survived,” He pointed at Leon who immediately furrowed his brows. “then I’m sure anyone can.” You shook your head, glaring at him exasperated by his behaviour until Leon chose to stand up. “Umbrella is still there, standing and operating in facilities all around the world as we speak. And they won’t disappear soon. Who knows how many samples of the t-virus or worse can be found in their lab, each of them having the potential to wipe out entire populations. We can’t let what happened in Raccoon City happen again. That’s why we need to sign. Because the fight has just begun and it is our duty to stop it, whatever it takes.”

He had made an impression. You could tell by the way everyone even Benford was looking at him right now. And with good reasons. He had charisma, determination and a thirst for justice who hadn’t seen much in your years of service. He had potential. Maybe Leon Scott Kennedy was merely a rookie but you were sure as hell he’d become one hell of an agent, one day.

That’s why you were not surprised when, at the end of the meeting, some men went to shake his hand and congratulate him on his words. “They’re right you know. You’ve got a thing with words.” You declared as you extended your hand. “I’m Y/N Y/LN.” “ Leon S. Kennedy.” He said as he shook your hand. “I know. I guess we’ll see each other again pretty soon then, as well as other people.” You nodded towards Marine Guy who was talking with Adam Benford. Of course that piece of shit would join the team, not out of conviction but more out of pride and selfish ambition. “Well, I guess the STRATCOM needs to hire a certain percentage of men like him.” “ You can say the word ‘asshole’. We’re not in the academy anymore and I won’t tell.” He chuckled and scratched his head as if he was a bit embarrassed. “I’m serious, Kennedy. You’re playing in the big league now with people that are way above your punches. You need to stop acting like a rookie and establish yourself as one of them. Be bold. Show them you’re not just a lucky survivor or they will always treat you like that, despite the few handshakes they give you at the end of the day.” “But I was lucky.” Leon corrected you, not really knowing what to say to your advice. “There’s no such thing as luck. You survived because you had skills. And do you know what you have that Marine Guy doesn’t despite the stripes on his shoulders?” “Modesty?” He joked and you smiled, finding him rather cute and sweet. “Experience.” You said. “You’re the only one who faced those BOWs here. Use that at your advantage.” “You seem to know what you’re talking about.” “ I’m a woman in man’s world, doomed to be forever treated like a rookie if I don’t show my strength. So yeah, I know what I’m talking about.” Leon stared at you in silence, definitely impressed and bewitched by your attitude. You had spunk, audacity, confidence and you seemed to know what you wanted. And Leon couldn’t deny he was finding this extremely attractive in a woman. Gosh, it certainly was one of the reason Ada had got to him so easily. “ Anyway, see you soon… Kennedy”

The way you pronounced his name left him rooted to the spot and unable to speak. And so, he watched you leave with a self-assured gait, smirking like an idiot. “Women.”

#re2 remake #re2 remake leon #leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon kennedy x reader #leon s kennedy x reader #resident evil

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chickensarentcheap · 4 years

Text

Never Gonna Be Alone: Chapter 3

Title: Safe and Warm

Warnings: brief mention of child sexual abuse. Very brief.

Tagging: @innerpaperexpertcloud, @c-a-v-a-l-r-y, @alievans007, @tragiclyhip

“You should have gotten these looked at BEFORE you came home.”

She sits on his stomach; knee on either side of his body and a bottle of peroxide, package of cotton balls, a pair of tweezers, and a tube of healing ointment rest on his chest. With all of the kids finally settled for the night and the house tidied and every last plate, cup and piece of silverware in the dishwasher, it’s finally their turn to relax. A quick soak in the hot tub while sipping drinks; one last glass of wine for her and a coffee for him. Still damp bodies clad in bathrobes as they sat on the couch; eating ice cream straight out of the carton while relaxing in front of the heat and ambiance given off by the gas fireplace. All conversation steering clear away from anything job related. Talking instead about Christmas and all the things that still need to be done; present wrapping, last minute gift grabbing, decorating. The kids also have jam packed ‘to do’ lists; skating, seeing the tree at Rockefeller, sledding, visiting Santa and the reindeer at Central Park. Christmas Day is spent with just the nine of them; the kids playing with their gifts and spending time outside, a traditional dinner that they’ve become quite the professionals at preparing together. The following day they’ll travel into Queens and spend the day with Ovi and Riya and their little family; two ‘grandkids’ that will be loved upon and spoiled senseless. New Years is usually spent quietly at home; takeout and alcoholic beverages and entertaining the kids with board games. This year plans have changed; Ovi’s wedding at The James New York in Soho.

As exciting as the latter is and as much as he does enjoy his time in New York City -the happiness and excitement evident on his wife and children’s faces more than enough to erase any of his own discomfort- it will be nice to get home. Back to their slice of paradise; the sun and the sand and the privacy and the feeling of security that comes with owning so much land. They’ll have a second Christmas; an informal get together with friends with a cookout on the beach and a ‘Secret Santa’ gift exchange. Work will be put on the back burner; no calls or emails from clients returned until the kids go back to school, the bookstore in good hands under the supervision of the two college students Esme had hired a year ago. Business has been good; exceeding even her wildest dreams and expectations. Already a well loved staple in Cooktown; customers loving the wide array of books and magazines, the outdoor courtyard and the comfortable couches and chairs allotted for those simply there to relax. Reading their purchases or the kindles set up for free use and indulging in the variety of cold and hot drinks and baked goods. The treats are mostly prepared by Tanner who has become quite the little chef and baker; finding his ‘place’ in the kitchen and never happier than when he’s creating some kind of dish or dessert from scratch. He’s also in charge of biweekly book reviews; picking a title to read and then preparing a well written report to go along with it. He’s become quite the local celebrity because of it; fan mail arriving on the daily from kids all over town and those who may have visited during family travels.

If anyone had told Tyler thirteen years ago that he’d even still be alive, let alone living THIS life, he would have told them they were insane. Laughing off the notion at ever being a husband and a father again; too much of a mess and certainly way too much of a liability for anyone to ever take a chance on. It’s weird how quick things can change. How one chance meeting with someone as equally broken and damaged as you can change the entire course of your future. Looking at you in ways that no one has ever has; willing to take on the enormous amounts of baggage and seeing past all your faults and your rough spots and jagged edges and giving you a future you never imagined even in your wildest dreams.

“There wasn’t a reason to get them looked after. They’re just scratches; branches getting a hold of me when I was in the bush.”

“Some of them are pretty deep. And I know you tried when you were in the shower, but there’s stuff stuck in some of them. Dirt or wood or something. Aren’t they sore?”

“They’re SCRATCHES. I’ve had a hell of a lot worse.”

“They’re a mess is what they are.” She picks up the tweezers; eyes narrowing as she leans over him and plucks pieces of debris out of one of the wounds. “Now, correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t things supposed to go down in the city?”

“They did. In Laos.”

“I thought it was going to be the same in Cambodia. You let me read what Anil sent you. I’m pretty sure things were supposed to happen in Phnom Penh? How’d you end up going from there into the jungle?”

“There was a change of plans.”

She smirks. “Obviously.”

“You know how it is, things don’t always go the way we want.”

“I’d say nine times out of ten, they don’t. Seriously though, your face is a wreck. You should have gotten this all cleaned up hours ago. BEFORE you got on a plane home. What if they get infected? You don’t know what’s in that jungle. They could have some crazy poisonous plant life or something. What if you got into something like THAT?”

“I think it’s safe to say we’d know something like that by now. What are you so squeamish about? You’ve seen me in worse shape.”

“Now THAT’S an understatement. Have you ever thought I just don’t like seeing you banged up and scratched up? Have you ever thought maybe I’ve had just about enough of all of that? Can’t I nurse you back to health from something else for a change? Like...I don’t know...the man flu?”

“You always complain when I get sick. That I’m too needy.”

“I have never once said you’re too needy. I have, however, complained about how whiny you get. How you come down with a head cold and act like you’re dying. How do you go through the things you have and survive what you’ve survived, and think a cold will be the cause of your demise?”

“Hey, those colds get pretty bad.”

“Worse than…” Pausing, she sits straight up and drops the tweezers onto the bed, then soaks a cotton ball with peroxide. “...you know what? I’m not even going to finish that sentence because that will only bring bad juju. Talking about all of that? Revisiting it? Nothing good will come of that. And we need good juju, don’t you think?”

“Are you drunk?”

“Who? Me? No. Maybe. Just a little. Is a whole bottle of wine for oneself considered drunk?”

“For normal people, yeah. For you…”

“Look, I had a rough day. In fact, it’s been a brutal FOUR days. And right now? Well right now, I should be getting laid. Or at the very least, have my husband going down on me. And what I’m doing? Playing nursemaid. And not in a fun, sexy way either. Not the kind of playing nursemaid that comes with little outfits and orgasms.”

He grins. “You ARE drunk.”

“I’m just saying, I had other plans for this evening and picking pieces of the Cambodian jungle out of your face wasn’t part of it.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

“Mmm...hmmm…”

“And I’d rather be doing other stuff too, but…”

“But the shit hit the fan and everything got fucked up and you ended up doing God knows what, doing God knows where. I’m not even going to ask how it went. I think I’m scared to hear the answer. It was obviously a dumpster fire if you went from the capital city of Cambodia to the bowels of hell.”

“There were a couple...snags.”

She returns to the task of investigating and cleaning the various scratches that mar his face and neck. “Anil let on everything went great.”

“Probably just didn’t want to worry you.”

“Was there something for me to worry about?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned. I’ve been involved in way worse things. It was pretty straight forward. Two easy hits.”

“First one went okay?”

“Exactly the way it should have.”

“Second one?”

“I thought you weren’t going to ask?”

“You don’t want me asking?”

“I don’t care if you ask. You just said you weren’t going to because you were afraid of what you might hear.”

“Do I have anything to be afraid of?”

“Esme, seriously? Do you want to know or not? It wasn’t THAT bad. I’m here, aren’t I? In one piece?”

She nods.

“It honestly wasn't that big of a disaster. Things got a little fucked up. The second one didn’t go the way it should have. I had to make some decisions; change some shit around. The Mark wasn’t where he was supposed to be. I had to find out where he was and I had to figure out how to make things work.”

“Well good thing it WAS you that Anil asked. Because it probably would have been a lot worse. At least you know what you’re doing; you can think on your feet and stay calm and focused. A change like that? That would have thrown other people off. They probably wouldn’t have been able to get the second guy. They would have been too frazzled. That kind of change would have totally thrown them off.”

“Are you speaking highly of me, wife?”

“I am. I tend to speak very highly of you. All the time. To everyone. Even when I’m picking pieces of Cambodia out of your face.” She grabs the tweezers and unceremoniously inserts the tips into a large scratch at the side of his left eye; yanking out a piece of wood. “And it’s a nice face, by the way. So I don’t particularly like you coming home all messed up.”

“Like I said, I’ve had worse.”

“I will give you that.”

They lapse into a comfortable, companionable silence; his hands resting on her thighs as she continues to work at disinfecting and cleaning the scratches and her fingertips rub wound aftercare ointment into his skin. And he admires her as she does so. That steely look of determination on her face; lips set in a thin line and her eyes slightly narrowed and her hands steady yet gentle. And she looks so beautiful in that moment; in the mixture of moonlight and the glow given off by the bedside lamps. Hair pushed into a messy ‘up sweep’; held together by various clips -colourful and unicorn themed, ‘borrowed’ from Addie’s room- and bobby pins. Her face freshly cleaned and scrubbed; bearing the lingering scent of the grapefruit and pomegranate body wash she’d fallen in love with months ago. Clad in what she considers pyjamas; a faded and slightly tattered plaid button down shirt he’d worn during their Colorado days that is enormous on her tiny frame.

It’s been just over twelve years. Since he’d first laid eyes on her; standing on his front porch in The Kimberley in her little denim shorts and that yellow tank top that clung to her like a second skin. He’d known right away that he was in trouble; feeling things he hadn’t felt in a hell of a long time when she so much glanced in his direction and offered a small, almost nervous smile. And it would take him nearly ten years to admit what she’d probably known not long after their initial meeting: that his heart was hers from the very first day.

“You’re beautiful.” He says now, and a smile tugs at the corners of her mouth.

“Are YOU drunk?”

“I haven’t drank in five years. I’m truthful.”

“Maybe your eyesight is worse than you think,” she teases, and dabs a peroxide dampened cotton ball against the scratches on his forehead.

“Or maybe you just hate compliments. Even twelve years into things.”

“You know I don’t handle compliments well. Even now. I know that doesn’t make sense, considering we HAVE been together that long and you’re the master of compliments and sweet talk, but that’s just who I am. It’s just me.”

“I will break you yet.”

“You’ve been trying for over a decade. Same way you’ve been trying to make an honest woman out of me.”

“Come on, at least give me THAT. At least admit THAT was successful.”

“Fine…” she leans down to peck his lips. “I’ll let you have your small victories. You’re still going out tomorrow? With Tanner?”

He nods. “It’s our thing.”

“He’s so excited. He’s been talking about it non stop since we got here. Apparently he’s been writing a lot. He’s got A LOT to show you.”

“Yeah, he told me. Something about crazy dreams he’s been having. He’s so fucking smart, Me. Way smarter than I am. He’s got your brain pan for sure.”

“He is far more intelligent than I ever was at that age. His brain is just...I don’t know. It’s beautiful and it’s brilliant. And it’s kind of scary at the same time. I mean, he’s only ten. And look where he’s at. Not even a special school is a big enough challenge for him. He is so far ahead of all of those kids. What happens when he’s too far ahead? When that place doesn’t have what he needs anymore? Then what? He’s already reading at a high school senior level. And his math? His science? You’ve seen his marks. They’ve got him doing things that fourteen and fifteen year olds are learning. And he’s passing it all with flying colours. Soon they’re not going to have what he needs. What then?”

“We find somewhere else.”

“Where? There’s nothing where we are. And we’re not moving. We just aren’t. We’ve put way too much into that house and that land. And we love it too much. So do the kids. We can’t upset their lives like that.”

“We’ll figure something out. We’ll find something. Someone. There’s always a way, right? Isn’t that what you always tell me? Where there’s a will, there’s a way?”

“When I told you that I wasn’t expecting to have a genius child on my hands. And I know it sounds like I’m bitching. That it sounds like I’m not proud of him.”

“It doesn’t sound like that, Me. At all.”

“Because I am. Proud of him. He’s insanely smart and he’s beautiful and he’s just this incredible little being that I don’t feel I even deserve. But I’m scared. For him. Because he isn’t like everyone else. He never has been. And I know we should celebrate that and celebrate who he is and nurture it and encourage it. But it fucking terrifies me. Someone like Tanner out in the real world. Because he’s NOT like us. Or his brothers and sisters. Or ninety five percent of society. He’s sensitive and he’s kind and he has this huge heart. And I’m scared what’s going to happen to him. Just for being who he is.”

“He’s ten, Me. We have years before we have to worry about anything like that. It’s going to be a long time before he’s out of the house. He’s smart as hell, but you’re right; he’s not like everyone else. Maturity wise? He’s a lot younger. He’s not ten in a lot of ways. He’s going to be with us for a bit. Longer than the rest of them.”

“I just don't want him hating who he is. I don’t want him growing up and hating himself. He’s already told you that. About how he doesn’t like his brain and how it works. How he doesn’t like being different.”

“That’s mostly when he’s pissed that he can’t do the things that TJ does. Or because he’s so much smaller. He has his moments; where he wishes he was like his brother. Didn’t you have moments like that growing up? Wishing you could be someone different?”

“Of course. We all do. I’m sure you did.”

“Fuck, practically every damn day. He’s going to be fine, Me. He’s just a little boy. And he’ll be a little boy in some ways for longer. It is what it is. He’ll be okay. So will we.”

“You are so much better at this than I am,” Esme laments, and tends to screwing the cap onto the peroxide and moving all of the supplies and tools to the mattress. “You’re so much better with him. You have been since the very beginning. Who was the strong one when we got the diagnosis? Who was the one that DIDN’T go into a severe depression and the seven stages of grief? I mean, we suspected it and I STILL had a hard time. I’m his mother. And I struggled then and I’m struggling now. What kind of parent does that? FEELS that?”

“One that loves their kid more than life itself. Who worries about them and is scared for them because they know how fucking cruel the world can be.”

“You’ve just been so much better than I have. You’ve handled it better. Me? I’m just a mess. And not a hot one either.”

“I think you’re way too hard on yourself. You’re a good mom. You’re an amazing mom. Just because you’re having a hard time with this doesn’t mean you’re a shitty parent. Just means you love him.”

“I do. Love him. He’s my Nugget. And I hate that he struggles. That he doubts himself. That he shit talks himself sometimes.”

“Gee, I wonder where he gets THAT from.”

Smirking, she picks up the tweezers and points them at him. “Don’t make me stick these in your eye.”

“I’m just saying…” he plucks the instrument from her hand and tosses it onto the bedside table, then reaches up to push loose strands of her away from her face. “...he does get some things from you. And you do like to shit talk yourself.”

“I’m working on it.”

“For the last twelve years?”

“So I’m a slow learner. Slow and steady wins the race, right? Why are you like this?”

His calloused palms rest on the sides of her face; thumbs brushing along the tops of her cheekbones. “Like what?”

“So good to me. Why are you like that?”

“Oh I don’t know, Me. Might have to do with the fact that you’re my wife and the mother of my children. My SEVEN children. And maybe...just maybe...it has something to do with the fact that I’m wildly and crazily in love with you.”

“Still? Even after twelve years?”

“Even MORE after twelve years. More and more every day, actually.”

“God I love you,” she declares, then stretches out along his body and buries her face in the favourite place of hers; the warm nook between neck and shoulder. “I love you so much. More than I could ever tell you.”

Pressing a kiss to her temple, he wraps both arms around her slender body. “Ditto.”

She laughs at his response; placing a kiss to the sensitive spot below his ear and then pushes her fingers through his hair. It’s longer now. Often messy and often unruly; sides and back no longer shaved right down to the skin. She claims it’s her second favourite look of his; liking the fact that there’s something to ‘grab onto’ during more intimate moments.

He feels the tickle or her lashes as her eyes flicker closed, followed by the long, content sigh that she releases. And for several long minutes they lay in silence, one of his hands moving up to comb through her hair, the other slipping under the hem of her shirt; knuckles repeatedly skimming up and down her spine.

“Me?”

“Yeah?” Her voice is muffled against the side of his neck.

“Don’t take this the wrong way. I really DO like snuggling with you and all that. But right now? Right now I’m really horny and I really want to fuck.”

Laughing, she playfully tugs on his hair and pulls back to look at him. “Husband, you’re nothing if not brutally honest.”

“Wanna have sex?”

Grinning, she leans in to press a kiss to his lips. “Actually,” she says. “I do.”

****

They lay in a tangled mess of wrinkled sheets and sweaty limbs; listening to the wind that rattles the windows and the soft patter of ice pellets and snow against the glass. Both on their sides with her back tucked into his front; her nails lightly and repeatedly skimming along the forearm that rests just under her breasts. His breath is warm against the nape of her neck and she enjoys the different sensations against her skin; the juxtaposition of soft, moist lips and the roughness of his beard. He wears it much shorter now; neatly trimmed and groomed and a far cry from the ‘lumberjack days’ when they’d lived in Colorado. Back when his body was thicker; extra weight around the middle and his muscles more bulky. He’s much more defined now. Tall and lean and athletic; broad shoulders and wide back, a sharp cut to his waist and beautifully detailed abs.

Forty seven years old and he’s in the best shape he’s ever been; a near mirror image of what he’d looked like at thirty five when they’d first met. She remembers that day well. Glancing up from where she’d crouched down on the porch to shower attention on his dog and finding those blue eyes riveted on her; intense and electric and filled with both curiosity and thinly veiled annoyance. He wasn’t used to company, and certainly didn’t seem to like the idea of a complete stranger being brought straight to his doorstep.

Nik had told her just the bare minimum; ex special forces, a host of personal baggage and addiction issues, intense and withdrawn at his best. But word travels when you’re in the ‘circle’; the job a relatively tight knit considering the amount of people caught up in it and the number of countries that are serviced. She’d heard the stories; tales of fearlessness and brutality and exceptional skills. And while she’d thought Nik’s idea was ridiculous and that it would never work, she’d been intrigued as well; wanting to put a face to the name and to all the rumours and the whispers she’d been subjected to. Other than his towering height and those muscles that strained under the sleeves of his shirt and the host of tattoos and scars, he hadn’t been that intimidating; offering just a brief twitch of the lips in lieu of a smile, his hand engulfing hers when he quickly and willing shook it in greeting. There was something welcoming about him despite the lack of conversation; opening up a little as soon as Nik stepped outside and offering her a drink. Those eyes ever so slightly sparkling and a small smirk on his lips when she’d downed the glass of scotch; making a comment about being surprised a ‘wee thing like her’ could handle her liquor so well and then pouring her another. Even chuckling a little when she’d commented on his place of residence; modest and simple, a chicken probably a far better roommate than any human she’d ever shared living quarters with.

Things had actually started during the two day stay just outside of Dhaka; a high end hotel that Nik had procured for final team meetings and strategy sessions. Meeting up -by sheer chance and not by plan- at the establishment's bar; sharing both a table out on the patio and pitcher of beer and tray full of tequila shots. There’d also been a kiss. Or, as close to a kiss as you could get. When he’d walked her back to her room and they’d stood in the hallway; slightly inebriated and suddenly somewhat anxious and nervous around each other. Dinner had been casual and comfortable. He’d smiled and even laughed and teased her about being a total enigma; so small and delicate looking despite her time in the Corps and having such a reputation for being tenacious and no nonsense. They had shared stories of growing up in Colorado and Australia and he’d been relatively talkative; either encouraged by her own openness and chattiness or the mixture of the booze he’d consumed and the meds he’d taken. Yet suddenly they were both at a loss for words and things seemed awkward and uncomfortable, and she’d stuttered and stammered while asking him if he’d like to join her inside and then furiously blushing when he’d exactly accepted.

She can still remember what it had felt like; when she’d drunkenly teetered and stumbled when attempting to unlock her door and his arm had curled around her waist to keep her on her feet. His body had been warm and solid against hers; breath hot and moist on the back of her neck. His eyes had been locked on hers when she turned to face him, heart hammering in her chest as he leaned in to kiss her. It had been a long time since she’d been with a man. Even something so simple as a kiss. And it had been even longer since she’d wanted someone that badly; physically aching and desperate to feel his hands and his mouth on her.

But it had never happened. In a brief moment of clarity, he’d backed away. Doing nothing more than pushing her hair behind her ears before backing away.

“I can’t do this,” he’d said. “I can’t do this to you.”

They never spoke of that moment again. Not even when things had crossed that line in Dhaka. It’s been just over twelve years and neither have brought it up. It didn’t matter anymore; the awkwardness they’d felt, the glimmer of life that she’d seen in his eyes, the words that he’d uttered. Things had changed. Drastically. Marriage and children and a somewhat happily ever after.

His free arm slips between her and the mattress. Coming to rest along her collarbone; fingers splayed over the top of her right breast, thumb repeatedly brushing along the hollow of her throat. “You alright?”

Smiling, she pushes her fingers through his and moves their joined hands down to her stomach. “More than alright. You? You okay?”

“I’m good. Is that what you wanted? Did I live up to your expectations?”

“Exceeded them, actually. I continue to be impressed by you. Your track record for incredible sex is almost a hundred percent.”

He raises his head from his pillow. “Almost?”

“You keep forgetting about that time after Kyle’s bachelor party. When you were drunk. When you got off and I didn’t and then had the goddamn gall to pass out. On top of me. Your poor little wife that’s a foot shorter and at that time, over a hundred pounds lighter.”

“Not one of my finer moments,” he agrees, and presses a kiss to her cheek. “I haven’t made up for it? It’s been ten years since that. I haven’t made amends yet?”

“You’re getting there,” she teases, and then yelps and giggles when his teeth sink into her shoulder. “By the way, I think the neighbour knows you’re here.”

“You know what I’m surprised about? That the kids didn’t wake up.”

“Maybe they’ve gotten so used to it, they just sleep through it now.”

“Or maybe they’re hiding under their covers, totally traumatized.”

“Well maybe you shouldn’t be so good at what you do. Maybe you shouldn’t be the king of multiple orgasms. Screaming ones at that.”

“You’d rather I didn’t get you off at all?”

“Don’t get carried away. We don’t need to go to THAT big of an extreme.”

“We can resort back to a pillow over the face. Or my hand over your mouth.”

“Remember that time in Dhaka? When the people in the next room complained to the manager about the noise? He was so embarrassed; when he came up to our room.”

“I do. And I remember the first time we went to Phuket. I never introduced myself to the people in the next suite, but they seemed to know my first name.”

“They were just jealous. I guess neither of them ever experienced really good sex. And speaking of which; we’re going to have to change the sheets before we go to sleep.”

“You can sleep on that part. That’s YOUR wet spot. On YOUR side of the bed.”

“You’re the one who made it happen. You should be the one to clean up the mess.”

He grins against the nape of her neck. “It’s a good mess though.”

“A very good mess,” she says, and then rolls over to face him; pressing herself tightly against his chest and reaching up to push her fingers through his hair. “You alright?”

“Fine. Why?” He skims her fingertips along the length of her spine; pausing to trace the tattoo that decorates the small of her back before moving back up again. “Didn’t it seem like I was alright? Did I seem like I wasn’t having fun?”

“I can tell something’s wrong. You’re different; during sex. When something is bothering you, you do things differently. Not in a BAD way. Just in a different way. You’re more aggressive. Rougher than usual.”

“You okay? Did I hurt you?”

“No. You never do. It was perfect. YOU were perfect. It was just...different. You were different. I’ve been with you for twelve years. It’s one of the signs I’ve come to recognize; one of the things that change when something is bugging you.”

Tyler grins. “You’re good.”

“Are you going to tell me? What’s going on? You want to talk about it?”

“Not really,” he admits, and then presses a kiss to her forehead before rolling over onto his back.

“I think you should.” Esme slides closer to him, propping herself up onto her elbow. “I think it’s good for you; talking about things that bother you. We’ve learned over the last twelve years, right? That things are better...that WE’RE better...when you don’t keep shit inside.”

Sighing heavily, he runs both hands over his face; wincing at the discomfort in both back and shoulder when he puts his hands behind his head.

“Is that what is? Pain? Did you get hurt? Do you need more meds? Do you…?”

“No pain. Just some tightness. I don’t need any more meds. I’m fine.”

“Did you take them while you were gone? ALL of them?”

“Babe, I’ve been taking them for five years. I wouldn’t fuck it up now.”

“I’m not saying you would. I’m just worried about you. I know something is wrong and I know it’s better for you NOT to keep quiet about it. So tell me. Please. Do your wife a solid and talk to her.”

“Didn’t I just slip you a solid? Twice?”

She scowls. “You know what I mean.”

“It’s nothing. Me. Nothing you need to worry about.”

“I’m sorry, but this is something involving you and I worry about you. Don’t do this, okay? Let’s not get back into old habits. I know you don’t want that. Just like I don’t want it. Tell me. Please.”

He sighs once more, briefly closing his eyes.

“Is it the job?” Gentle fingertips trace the roman numeral tattoo on the front of his right shoulder. “ Did something go wrong? Other than a change in venue?”

“No. Other than that, things went fine.”

“But it IS about the job.”

Tyler nods.

“I’m not a mind reader, babe. I’m good, but I’m not THAT good. Something DID go wrong, didn’t it.”

“No. Nothing went wrong. It’s just...the people...the Marks.”

“They didn’t die or…?”

“Oh they died. You don’t survive a gunshot in the middle of the forehead.”

“So other than the chance of scenery, nothing went wrong and both Marks died but..”

“It’s who they were. Why they had to be killed. Are you sure you want to hear this?”

“I do. Because it’s bothering you and I don’t want you carrying that around. That’s never a good thing; you burying things. So yes. I want to hear it. You didn’t tell me much before you left; just that they were pieces of shit and they needed to be wiped out. Other than that…”

“They were the lowest of the low, Me. You can’t get lower than these guys. And I’ve dealt with some pretty huge pieces of shit. These guys? Worst I’ve ever gone against. By far.”

“Worse than Asif and Mahajan?”

“Considering how personal they made things and what they were going to do to my family, no one is worse than them. But if I take the personal stuff out of it, these guys are up there.”

“That doesn’t sound too promising. I didn’t think anyone could come close to those two.”

“The guns and the drugs? That shit was bad enough. They destroyed a lot of lives; killed a lot of people. But the shit I found AFTER I got there? About these guys? About other things they were up to? It’s fucked, Me. It’s fucked and it’s sick and twisted and I don’t think you need to know about it.”

“Well I think I do. You don’t have to shoulder this alone. It’s better if you don’t. Just tell me. I have big shoulders. Well, maybe not LITERALLY. What did you hear? About them?”

“Babe…”

“Tyler, tell me. Don’t do this. Not if you have plans on getting laid the rest of the time we’re here.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Oh I would. I’m not afraid to pull out the big guns. So either you tell me, or you suffer. Simple as that.”

“You’re a pain in my ass, you know that?”

“Tell me.” She presses a kiss to his lips. “Please.”

“When I got there and talked to the guy who hired Anil, things got worse. The Marks were even bigger pieces of shit than I thought. They’d both been married a handful of times. And put each one of their wives in the hospital. More than twice. A couple of them even ended up dead. There was never any proof that these guys did it, but…”

“But it’s pretty obvious.”

Tyler nods. “And then I heard about the kids. Not just kids they didn’t know. But kids related to them. Cousins, nieces, nephews. Their OWN kids.”

“Just beaten on them or…?”

“No. Not just beating on them. That’s bad enough. But this?”

“Sexual stuff.”

“Yeah. Sexual stuff.”

“Wow..” she sighs heavily, a fingertip skimming along the chain he wears around his neck. “...that IS the lowest of the low.”

“It just hit home. HARD. Made me think of you and the kids. Made being away from home a lot more difficult. And it was difficult enough already.”

“I’m sorry. That you had to hear all of that. But for it’s worth, I’m glad it’s you that took care of them. Anyone else ran the risk of screwing shit up. At least when you do things, you finish them That’s a bright spot, right? That you DID get to be the one?”

“Yeah, I guess. Just fucked me up. Mentally. Made me think of our kids. I swear to God, Me. If anything like that ever happens to them...if I ever find out that someone has touched them like that? I will fucking lose it. I will snap and I will fuck them up. I will torture them in all the worst ways possible. The most painful ways I know how. And then I’ll kill them. With my bare hands. If anyone ever messes with my kids…”

“Don’t think about that, Tyler. Don’t torture yourself like that. I mean, I think about it too. From time to time. And how I’d go nuts and kill someone. But don’t dwell on it, okay? Because our kids are fine. They’re warm and they're safe in their beds. And they always will be safe as long as you’re around. You know I always say you make me feel safe and protected? Well you do the same for them. You always have. Don’t ever doubt that, okay? They love you and they trust you. And you’re an amazing daddy.”

“I just want them to be safe. That’s all I want. Them safe. YOU safe.”

“And we ARE. Safe. As long as we’re with you, we’re fine. We don’t worry about a damn thing when you’re around. So please…” Esme presses a kiss to his cheek and nuzzles the end of her nose against his ear. “...no more dwelling. You got it out; you talked about it. You don’t need to think about it anymore.”

Running his hand through her hair, he tangles his fingers in the dark tresses and gently pulls her head back; lips covering hers in a long, slow kiss.

“Mmm…” she murmurs into his mouth, then sighs happily when he pulls away. “...that was...nice.”

“That was very nice.”

“You think you have one more in you? I still have some expectations that need to be met.”

“I think I can manage.”

“Good.” She throws her arms around his neck and rolls onto her back, kissing him hungrily as she pulls him down on top of her. Nails digging into his skin and her legs wrapping around his waist; ankles locking at the small of his back and a devilish grin playing on her lips when he pulls back to look at her. “Husband, you need to make love to me again.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice.

#Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction fan fiction

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untamedunrestrained · 5 years

Text

The Untamed and Mo Dao Zu Shi

These past eight days have been surreal.

I have drowned so fully in this story that it feels like I am just surfacing.

On Valentine’s Day, fandom on tumblr reblogged this fanart of WangXian by qulfeeh and I was intrigued. The reblog was tagged with two important key words ‘Wangxian’ and ‘The Untamed’. In the brush of a few keystrokes I came across the Wikipedia page for a show known as the Untamed that was available on Netflix. The thing that stood out was that it was based on a BL novel and that both the very male protagonists were described as each other’s soulmates and somehow that was enough. So, I opened Netflix and after like a second of hesitation I started watching the show and I didn’t stop. I started at eight in the evening and I watched nine episodes in a row which basically meant I was up till five in the morning. What followed seems like a record for me. I finished all fifty episodes of the Untamed in under seventy-two hours.

I put hardly five minutes of thought into my decision to watch this story and ended up dedicating the past eight days straight. The first three days to the live action drama and the past five to reading the novel.

If it isn’t obvious this story is that good.

The Untamed

The Untamed is a first for me on so many levels. I have never watched a Chinese show before ever and that seemed extremely significant to me because China is actually a neighbouring country yet as far as my mind is concerned it might as well be on another planet. Which seems particularly odd considering shows from English speaking countries like the UK and the US are a staple for me which makes these countries feel so much closer though they are geographically on the other side of the planet. Of course, a major factor is the language barrier but another is the political scenario between our two countries and amazingly this show made me realise how much of an impact perceiving different cultures can have on your perception of their people. It has literally opened up a whole new world for me that I have just realised I have never taken the moment to discover. Well, considering this is me we are talking about, how appropriate, that it would be a drama based on a BL novel that unlocked this whole new world for me.

I have tried reading a Danmei novel before which was awful and it completely turned me off the genre but it did have a side effect of educating we about elements of a wuxia novel which made this xianxia world seem a little familiar but even if it hadn’t, I would have still been hooked.

It didn’t take long for The Untamed to find a new fan and I have been obsessing over it ever since.

The Untamed is an amazing drama which revolves around the love Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian have for each other and the plot is so intriguing that you wouldn’t be able to stop even if you tried (I didn’t because that thought didn’t even manage to enter my mind).

It’s a love story and that is undisputable for me, they don’t say it, it isn’t mentioned but there is this palpable force influencing events and you know they love each other. I have somehow really disregarded how much a show can show you stuff without ever explicitly stating it but The Untamed set me straight in that regard. I doubt anyone who watches the show would mistake it for anything but the love story it is.

Wei WuXian was an instant hit for me. He is a lovable, gregarious character always up to mischief but is someone who always wants to be on the side of justice and I have a weak spot for characters with a hard on for justice. He is just such a lively character who keeps smiling all the time that it’s just hard not to fall for him in minutes. His antics and his demeanour are so charming that you’re hooked. He would have easily been my most favourite character in any other drama that doesn’t have a Lan WangJi.

Lan WangJi is an amazing character. In a world, which has become increasing about everyone voicing their opinions (like I’m doing at present) it is hard to believe that people like Lan WangJi exist. People who are quiet, who don’t speak unless absolutely necessary. He is literally the embodiment of tranquillity and more important he is Wei WuXian’s hero. Like literally he protects him like he’s protecting his life which on second thought he definitely is.

I literally had second-hand embarrassment from how obviously romantic these two are.

Hands down the best thing I have watched in 2020 by far! The characters are amazing, the plot is intricate and it is so, so interesting. I watched almost fourty hours of this series non-stop and I don’t remember a single point where I felt like the story became boring for a second which now that I think about it is, is… astonishing. How can such a large drama be so engrossing? This isn’t binge-worthy there is literally no other way to watch the show!!!

Mo Dao Zu Shi

But after coming down from the high of the first seventy-two hours of being submerged in this world, I was reluctant to leave this world so much so that I didn’t even contemplate it. I had a wide variety of media to choose from. The story is based on a web series by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu that was made into a manhua, followed by an donghua, followed by an audio drama followed by The Untamed. It must speak to the universality of the story that the people are willing to read the same story in so many different formats, I know I’m not done.

But, high up on my list was the source material, one of the articles described the show as being extremely faithful to the novel, which made me want to jump on that wagon posthaste, and I agree whole-heartedly. I read the translation by Exiled Rebels Scanlations and what struck me was how the show and the novel were tonally the same. I had switched mediums but it didn’t feel like a different story or like I was reading different characters which is shocking because that’s literally how good the show was at translating words into video.

Differences

One of the startling things about the book is that it really ties up the plot neatly. There are tons of plot points that aren’t as completely resolved on the show as they are on the novel which I only ever realised after reading the novel. A lot of this had to do with how certain details of the plot are different. A classic example that the reason behind the scars on Lan Zhan’s back is different in the two. In the novel, LWJ whisks WWX away from the Nightless City after he massacres and pretty much beats-to-a-pulp the entire alliance of sects. LWJ then has to tend to WWX so they remain in hiding for three days. When cultivators from the GusuLan Sect finally discover the two, LWJ has to defeat all of them to keep WWX safe and that’s why he is given one whipping for every cultivator he defeated. Of course, since WWX dies on the battlefield in the show this couldn’t be the reason behind the scars so they have LWJ defend Burial Mounds which wasn’t all that fruitful considereing the LanlingJin Clan does end up with a lot of WWX’s artifacts, there was no point in defending Burial Mounds as he couldn’t have kept it up in the long run but him going to Burial Mounds after the massacre at Nightless City is important to ensure they story can credibly reveal Lan ShiZui to be A-Yuan. So, yeah differences, the show focuses on the Wen Clan and the Yin Iron while the novel doesn’t have the Yin Iron at all and focuses on Jin GuangYao. But, despite the differences the story still feels coherent between the two mediums mainly because the relationship between LWJ and WWX that is at the core of both remains central to the plot at all times.

The plot of the novel though is extremely intricate and the author does an amazing job of deconstructing it which makes it easier to understand what’s happening while the show in hindsight does get away with sweeping up certain loose ends.

Of course, the kisses and the sex are gone but I will gladly take that cliff scene in exchange. I was actually shocked that the novel actually doesn’t dwell on WWX’s first death at all. Like, we don’t even know how exactly he died in the novel and this was hsocking given how pivotal that cliff scene is in the show.

Characters

Surprisingly though a lot of the roles of side characters were expanded for the show, the novel seems to have delivered a better understanding of these characters. The biggest example for me being Jiang Yanli.

She has an elaborately expanded role in the show which does highlight how deep her bind with her brothers particularly WWX is but somehow she seems like a timid character among a bunch of very strong characters. What the novel does is that it gives you a very realistic picture of her, she might not seem like a significant influence on the story but her impact is far-reaching. The novel doesn’t showcase much of her character but the scenes that feature her in the book are some of the most poignant ones and incidentally those are the same ones that stand out in the show. I feel like novel did a better job of showing off her strength. While, in the show I couldn’t look beneath her timid demeanour the novel manages to showcase the strength of her love. She cares deeply and loves deeply and the novel manages to show you the courage it takes to love someone so deeply. I definitely admire her character more and in fact I’m kind of in awe that someone who appears so traditional was so awesome. It felt easy to dismiss her character but reading the author’s words made me realise that I would be very, very wrong in doing so.

Wei WuXian might be the luckiest guy in the world to have a shijie like her followed by a husband like LWJ who both seem very determined to spoil the hell out of him. I might be experiencing some jealousy right now.

The author somehow manages to imbue her characters with qualities that makes them real and unique. Like WWX forgetting everybody’s face which is a real world problem that I have never seen anybody suffer from in a novel but just the fact that WWX doesn’t immediately bring his old hang-ups in his subsequent meetings with side characters didn’t only have hilarious consequences but made everything that much more intriguing and credible.

This author also does an amazing job of flipping characters. There are very few villains who are black and white in this story. WWX himself is a character caught in the gray of it all, universally reviled for standing up for the right reasons. This is a theme throughout the show and the novel where bad characters might be good and good might be bad but the author endeavours to show us all sides to a character. While this most definitely applies to Jin GuangYao, I’m surprised with how it resonates with Xue Yang who’s relationship with Xiao Xinchen can only be characterized with the words “It’s Complicated”. I don’t actually know what to think of these two Xiao Xingchen was definitely betrayed but can we ignore the fact that he found himself a companion in Xue Yang his sworn enemy and Xue Yang’s feelings for Xiao Xingchen are enough to drive me crazy. This guy has no idea how frustrating he is, that piece of candy clenched in his fist will drive me crazy for the rest of my life. The entire Yi City Arc is a big mess of grey there are no whites and blacks and the show underscores that with this quote –

Once upon a time, there was a little child who liked sweets very much. But because he had no parents nor money, he could never have such things. So he’d been dreaming if only someone could give him a candy every day.

Don’t even get me started on the music that plays in the background when this quote is being narrated.

There are just so many amazing things about the show and the novel. I mean the show might have actually worked harder to make things more romantic and one scene that I’m surprised isn’t from the book is the lantern scene with both of them making pledges like that particular scene neatly underlined who WWX is and would become. The hand-fastening scene is also not from the book but then there are other scenes and other delights to be found in the novels.

This story is definitely worth reading and watching for years to come. If anyone has any apprehensions about the novel I will be glad to clarify but the everything about “The Untamed” and “Mo Dao Zu Shi” stand in the same breath.

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #lan wangji #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #xue yang #xiao xingchen #posts #myposts #mo xiang tong xiu #the show which reminded me what it was like to be obsessed #once more

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oneboxofmatches · 3 years

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I hope it's okay to ask for a HP romantic and friend matchup from the golden trio era and possibly romantic for marauders (please don't feel like you have to do the marauders one too if it's too much. I definitely don't want to stress you).

My pronouns are she/her and my romantic preference would be for a guy. I'm 5'4 and my style usually lingers somewhere between feminine, preppy, and "basic". I do think it's important to put at least some level of effort into my appearance.

My HP house is Ravenclaw (second highest Slytherin) and my enneagram is 1w2 (with 3 as a very close second top number)

I'm a super hardworking and ambitious person (sometimes at the expense of my own mental health and wellness). It's important to me to be able to work towards my goals and be with someone who has goals of their own. I'd get frustrated by someone who never knows when to take things seriously. I have a tendency to stress myself out sometimes and often let my stress bottle up. Cleaning/organizing and baking always help me feel centered and reduce my stress when I feel like I'm freaking out a bit. I tend to also be a little bit of a control freak on occasion in everyday life.

I can be a bit reserved when it comes to meeting new people, but when I'm around my close friends and family, I'm more open and talkative. I don't feel the need to force conversation though and can enjoy time around people just by doing our own thing next to each other and relaxing in each other's company. My friends and family are really important to me and I always try to be reliable and there for them whenever they need support.

When it comes to hobbies, I enjoy reading, watching tv/movies, cross stitch, and shopping. I used to be on a dance drill team and have continued doing yoga to keep up my flexibility because it helps me feel healthy. My favorite genres in books, movies, tv shows, etc. are romance and mystery, but I especially love when something has a big plot twist or is really thought provoking so that I can discuss it with someone I know. I also tend to be a romantic. I'm not really an outdoorsy person though and don't enjoy things like camping and hiking a ton.

When it comes to my idea of a perfect date it would probably be something pretty classic like going out to a nice dinner. I do enjoy getting dressed up and doing something fancy. Though, I'd also enjoy something like going to a carnival or festival together and just enjoying each other's company for a day. The most important thing is just spending time and connecting with the person I care about. My love languages are quality time and physical touch. It's simple, but I think it's super sweet just walking down the street and holding hands with someone. I also think it's nice when someone is taller than me so I can lean my head on their arm or shoulder while we stand next to each other (this sounds cheesy haha).

Goodness this came out so long, but I hope it's okay. Thanks so much for doing this!

This was amazing and no problem at all, thank you for requesting and I hope you enjoy!!

In the Golden Trio era, I romantically pair you with…

CEDRIC DIGGORY

You value hard work. Cedric is by no means a stranger to hard work. Getting paired together for a project is the most likely way you two realized just how much you can accomplish together.

While Cedric realizes the importance of his schooling and the high piles of work that come with it, he also recognizes that maintaining a balance between “work” and “play” is the secret to a healthy, manageable life. He admires your work ethic (and supports your goals 100%), but he’s also the first to advise taking a step back when the world starts asking too much of you.

It’s because Cedric has the utmost respect for you that he doesn’t just outright dismiss your outbursts that occur whenever he’s attempting to get you to relax for a moment. He makes sure you know that he finds both the work you’re doing as well as your mental health important, and all he wants to do is help you find that middle ground where you don’t have to sacrifice either one.

Learning that you already have ways to cope with stress (cleaning, organizing, baking) eases his mind, and he even uses this information to his benefit. He knows that suggesting one of these activities as an alternative to partaking in any stressful work environment you’ve found yourself in betters the chances of you taking a well-deserved break.

Aside from actual dates, it’s these little breaks where the two of you spend the most quality time together. In terms of conversation, things can range from talking lightly about your days, taking on a vulnerable tone for more personal topics, or even just a silence that sits comfortably between you while you work.

Also, it’s almost surprising how much Cedric loves watching mystery TV shows and movies with you. It’s not necessarily something he would’ve found himself doing otherwise, but he loves having someone to share the massive surprise that comes with a major plot twist. After the screen goes dark, you two can find yourselves discussing what you just watched for hours without growing bored.

As for the traditional dates, you can bet that Cedric is up for both dressing up for a nice restaurant or taking the more casual route by going to a carnival. The variety not only keeps your relationship interesting, but it proves that the location really doesn’t matter -- you enjoy yourselves and feel just as strongly for each other no matter what.

Overall, the mutual respect and dedication between you and Cedric create the ultimate power couple dynamic. Alone you can accomplish many things, but together the possibilities are endless. But at the end of a long day, it becomes clear that having each other is all that really matters.

As a friend, I think you’d best be matched with…

DRACO MALFOY

Don’t be fooled. Before this friendship was anywhere near friendly, you and Draco made up one of the most competitive duos Hogwarts has ever seen. Your high work ethic and his constant need to be recognized as a great wizard clashed, and Draco was found applying himself to his work like he never had before.

It probably took you two being forced to work together to realize you (surprise!!!) actually make a pretty good team.

The sudden burst of motivation Draco found while competing against you stays after you become friends, and you’re the one who teaches him how to use this newfound ethic more efficiently. He recognizes that you taking a break from your own work to give him these helpful pointers is a big deal, and though he doesn’t say it, he’s grateful.

Whenever he isn’t off trying to impress someone or make sure his name remains respected, he’s often in the library with you, working away. You don’t talk much, though the question “How are things?” serves as a solid conversation started for the times when the work you’re doing doesn’t need to be rushed.

You both come to find that you value the other’s opinion on many things. Both schoolwork and social matters are things you bring up with the other, and advice-giving (yes, Draco can give advice when he feels like it) becomes a common theme.

Support becomes a key part of your friendship. Draco makes sure you take care of yourself and you make sure he knows he’s more than just his last name. Rumors of his family’s involvement in certain affairs aren’t exactly rare, and while you don’t force him to open up, you make a point to remind him time after time that he has the power to choose his own destiny.

And when he does finally open up to you in private, your opinion of him doesn’t change in the slightest. You reassure him of this, explaining that whatever he needs, you’re there for him. You realize you can’t do much to change his situation, but you know that simply being a loyal friend through all this might be just what he needs.

Overall, you and Draco hold each other in very high regard, and though you bring different perspectives to the table, you realize you’re willing to help each other in any way you can.

In the Marauders era, I romantically pair you with…

REMUS LUPIN

Remus understands you find his friends annoying. He finds them annoying. But seeing you sit through one of their worst hyperactive, downright ridiculous episodes just so you could spend time with him while knowing you can get fed up with people who have a hard time taking anything seriously demonstrated that you were committed to your relationship and were willing to accommodate whoever he hung out with.

As someone who outworks over ¾ the school, Remus is a master at recognizing the early stages of burnout. Whenever he sees it in you, he’ll take on a softer tone and gently ask if you’d like to direct your attention elsewhere for a while and return to work at a later time.

You often work in the same room as each other, taking solace in the gentle quiet you two can find if you get lucky enough to find such a spot. While you both enjoy the peaceful, intimate conversations that usually come at the end of a long day, you are also content with saving that for later and using the time at hand to focus on schooling.

The complexity of your conversations (whether it be about the latest book you both read, a recent assignment from a shared class, or one of life’s mysteries) is much higher than that of the average couple. With the level of thought you two are already capable of, you challenge each other by exploring new ways of thinking together.

Remus can be quite the romantic when he wants to be. Respectful, yet simple gestures (such as opening a door for you) are a given, but he also loves little signs of affection such as holding your hand as you walk through Hogsmeade. He revels in the feeling of being close to you, and don’t be surprised if he gives your hand a gentle squeeze once in a while.

Overall, not only do you and Remus unlock new levels of thought and productivity, but you also have a pure, sweet love for each other that is timeless.

#matchups #fandom matchups #harry potter matchup #harry potter #cedric diggory #draco malfoy #remus lupin

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nancypullen · 4 years

Text

Where Is Home?

We talk about retirement a lot. A LOT. The mister wants out of the south because he hates the hot, sticky weather. I want out of the south for a variety of different reasons. He tears up when he thinks about leaving this house. I get excited thinking of a house with better storage, maybe even a walk-in closet and a big pantry. He loves the idea of townhouse living and all of the freedom it provides. I love the idea of half a football field between me and a neighbor. I wouldn’t mind being snug against a neighbor if we were in a walkable little town and I could have a white picket fence. As we age into our golden years I want to be on city water and city sewer. I do not want to be ninety when the well runs dry or the septic system has a fit. Nope. No, thank you. We have discussed towns from Maine to Arizona and are constantly trading articles about property taxes and real estate markets. Night after night I search Zillow, Realtor, Trulia (oh, those handy dandy crime maps!) and so on. I’ll send Mickey a house in Maryland to admire and mention that it’s just two hours from the world’s cutest grandgirl. He responds that he loves it. Then I send him a townhouse near Tucson and he says the same thing. I’m getting nowhere with this guy. Side note: Yes, I know Arizona gets very hot, but it is not humid. HUGE difference. Also, Arizona has two enormous positives - we could escape allergies and my hair would behave. If you had my hair you’d know that’s more important than the property taxes. Two major negatives would be that it’s too far from family and I can’t imagine never experiencing another autumn. I’m happily willing to give the townhouse idea serious consideration. I know that Mickey would love to never weed eat and edge another yard. Remember the good old days when no one did that? My main issue with townhouses is that they all tend to be multiple stories - sometimes three floors. Wherever we retire, that’s where we’re going to die. I don’t want to be unable to navigate my own home when I’m old. Same reason I refuse to have a basement laundry, I don’t want to drag baskets of clothes up and down basement stairs when I’m a little old lady. You know damn well a cat would trip me and Mickey wouldn’t miss me until he got hungry. Of all the chores I’d be willing to expire while doing, laundry is not in the top three. We’re not lottery winners so our options are limited. When we sell this house we’ll make a tasty profit that will allow us to find a comfortable home - nothing fancy, but we won’t be in a box under bridge. I can make any home pretty, but the bones have to be good. I’m more concerned with structure and mechanics. Who needs a beautiful house with a bad roof or an hvac system on its last leg? The region definitely determines what you get for your money. For the same price you can have this sort of square footage in the south (complete with inground pool)...

or you can opt for proximity to Portland, Maine and get this.

The second house is new construction, but it’s itty bitty, has well water and septic, and is missing the all-important garage that we’d need up north. This is a struggle, people. We just want a nice little house in a nice little town, hopefully one that will meet our needs as we get older. Other items on our wish list? Small town living with easy access to a larger city and a decent international airport. Part of my hunt includes exploring each town’s library website (a vibrant, busy library says a lot about a place) as well as their Facebook page. Looking past the mouthy keyboard warriors that lurk on every page, you can still get a good idea of the town’s vibe. Let’s see - fair property taxes, decent cost of living, small town feel, good airport, seasons...sounds like we should stay put and just endure long, sticky summers, right? Ugh, no. Our reasons for wanting to relocate are so much more than just the summers. Soooo, months and months of searching keep leading me to one state that ticks all of our boxes and then some. Minnesota. A myriad of cute towns surround Minneapolis and St. Paul, all with easy access to the fabulous airport. I’m crazy about New Ulm (I love a town with lots of festivals) and I wouldn’t be heartbroken to live in Mankato, Owatonna, or a number of others. Real estate is affordable, taxes are fair (and are used wisely!), all four seasons are present and accounted for, and quality of life seems really good - from healthcare to education to crime, they seem to have a handle on it.

and you knew there was a but, right? We could happily move there knowing that we’d be close to at least one of our kids. Matt lives in Minneapolis and the thought of having him nearby warms my heart. But he’s weighing the pros and cons of an opportunity that would take him to the east coast and more likely to far flung parts of the world. It’s quite possible that he’d be gone in a flash and we’d be in Minnesota, once again far from family. Right now we’re a day’s drive from everyone except Matt. Truly, we could do it in a day but it would be a miserable thirteen to fourteen hours. I have scoured Maryland and settled on a little place called Ocean Pines. It’s okay, a bit further than I’d like to be from airports, etc - it’s between two to two and a half hours to Baltimore, D.C. or Philadelphia’s. That also means it’s just two hours from my favorite little girl. That would be HEAVEN. But who retires to one of the most expensive states to live in? Would it make our golden years miserable? Who wants to pinch pennies when you should be enjoying life? HELP!! Where is home? I left Alaska more than twenty years ago, the mister was a Florida boy - we don’t want to live in either place. I love the prairie, he loves the mountains. At one point we were looking at real estate on Prince Edward Island (affordable and gorgeous!) but Canada doesn’t want us. Seriously, we filled out the online immigration form. We wouldn’t be able to live there year round and I can’t imagine having to go squat across the border for a couple of months every year once we’re old and rickety. There are pros and cons to every place we’ve looked. No spot is perfect and we have to decide what we can and can’t live without. If someone could just plop this house down next to my grandbaby I’ll shut up about this forever.

Imagine that house surrounded by hydrangeas in the summer. I don’t think that’s too much to ask - just a little pink house near some people I love. Some snow would be nice now and then. What a lovely dream. This boring blog post has been brought to you courtesy of my latest level of boredom. It was either this or go dust the bedrooms, so you had to pay the price for my laziness. My plan for this evening is to watch the Golden Globes and through that maybe find something interesting to watch. We’re approaching the first anniversary of when we locked down here on the Pullen spread and we’ve run out of shows to binge. Remember how naïve we all were when we thought we’d watch Tiger King and then lockdown would be over? At least we’re headed in the right direction now. That’s something. I’m thrilled that my mother is fully vaccinated and so is Dr. Matt. A handful of my dear friends are also protected now. I’ve lost some friends to this horrible virus, including the husband of a dear Rat Patrol member. Our little group now includes a widow for the first time. There’s been so much heartbreak over the last year. I’m ready for it to stop. Okay - what a crazy, rambling post. I think I’ll go dust. It’s probably more productive. If you’re still here, you deserve a cookie. Treat yourself! If you happen to know of the perfect town (I really just want to live in Stars Hollow) send me a message! I’ll put my dust rag down and check it out! Sending out lots of love on this drippy Saturday. Stay safe, stay well, stay sane. XOXO - Nancy

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parachutingkitten · 4 years

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Optimistic Idiot

An intro to my OC Beatrix, and a look into Lloyd’s weird variety of trust problems. Might expand into something bigger. I planted some seeds. We’ll see.

~1400 words

“You’ll just have to stay here, we cannot risk getting caught,” Zane concluded.

“Guys! I’ve got my disguise, it’s pretty good, it’s dark out. I’ll be fine!” It was true, Lloyd almost looked like a different person when he wasn’t in green, none the less with his hair styled this differently.

“It’s too risky. If they see you, it’s game over,” Jay agreed.

“What? Just because I’m the green ninja I’m that much more likely to get recognized than any of you?!”

“Yes, Lloyd. That’s exactly the point.” Nya stressed. “Now stay here until we get back. Hopefully, we won’t be too long. We’ll signal for help if we really need you, okay?”

Lloyd thought for a moment, finally submitting. “Okay,” he sighed. “What is this place anyway?”

“Some club,” Cole shrugged. “A perfect place to get lost in the crowd, don’t get noticed, okay?”

Lloyd looked back at the building, colored lights streaming from the windows and music blaring from the inside. It was hardly where he imagined himself that night, but it would have to do. “Good luck guys,” he turned back to the team. “Let me know as soon as you get back.”

“Hey, maybe you can even have a little fun while we’re gone, huh?” Kai teased as they started towards the truck.

“Hey, and no drinking, okay?” Nya yelled back.

Lloyd rolled his eyes, turning back towards his destination for the evening.

Upon entering, he was hit with a blinding series of lights he was sure would end with him having a headache by the end of the night. There were plenty of people dancing, talking, laughing, and drinking. He looked around for a place he could sit out the night. That’s when he spotted it. There was a small alcove at the back, with a few bar stools and a table. It wasn’t the location that struck him as much as the person sitting there. She sat alone, her back to the room, leaning over, slowly stirring her drink. Something about her drew him over. He made his way to the back of the room, the noise becoming less and less intrusive as he approached the table. He quietly took the stool next to hers, waiting a moment before speaking.

“You seem like you have a lot on your mind.”

She smirked at the sound of his voice, taking another slip of her drink. “Not much time to think when you’re running away from your problems.”

“Problems like…?” Lloyd pressed.

“I think the real question is,” She turned to face him. “What problems are you running from?”

Lloyd smiled, playing along. “Not really running. Just got ditched at a bar by some friends.”

“Other than that,” she waved him off, taking a sip of her drink. “What real problems have you been avoiding. Everyone has some.”

Lloyd looked down in thought for a moment. This had certainly escalated quickly. “Well, my dad-”

“No, that’s not it.” She stopped him, shaking her head. “I mean it’s a problem, but you’ve come head to head with that already.” She placed down her drink and held out her hands. “Here, give me your hands, I’ll read your energy.”

“Read my… what?” Lloyd hesitated.

“Just trust me,” she rolled her eyes.

He placed his hands on top of hers, still a bit unsure. She closed her eyes, concentrating. Strangely enough though, he did feel this strange tug of… energy going towards her. It could have just been in his head, but it was a very distinct feeling that felt strangely familiar. But there’s no way it could be real, right? There was no way she could actually tell anything about him just by touching hands.

After a moment, her eyes reopened, her expression souring a bit. “Oh, you have some serious ex hang ups, don’t you?”

Lloyd could feel himself struggle to respond. “Well… I…” He looked back down at their hands, still gently layered on top of each other.

“She hurt you real bad, and you’ve been floundering in your love life since to try and replace her. But you can’t commit to anything because you’re too afraid you’ll get hurt again.”

Lloyd lifted his hands, looking at them, half wondering how this was happening, and half wanting it all to stop.

“Probably why you approached me in the first place, something about me reminds you of her,” she continued. “It’s usually the looks, do I look like her?”

Lloyd sighed. “Bleach blonde, green eyes, yeah.” His head sunk in a unique mixture of defeat and admiration.

“It’s okay. You’re far from the only one with problems here.”

“How did you... I mean, it’s like you read my mind.”

She smiled a bit at his bewilderment. “The only guys who ever approach me first are either optimistic idiots who don’t know who I am, or possessive assholes who do. Mind me saying, but... you don’t seem like an asshole to me.”

“No, optimistic idiot sounds about right.” Lloyd rolled his eyes. “I suppose you don’t want me around then, huh?”

“No, it’s okay!” she stopped him. “I have a thing for the optimistic idiots.” She smirked, beckoning him back.

“Thanks,” Lloyd chuckled. “Good to know I’m not a total lost cause.”

“I’m sorry if that came off a little strong,” She shook her head. “We don’t have to talk about your baggage. Goodness knows I don’t want to talk about mine.”

“Yeah, a normal conversation sounds nice about now,” Lloyd agreed.

“So, what’s this about friends of yours?”

Lloyd’s mind refocused on the mission, seeing his mysterious new friend in a new light. “Actually, maybe you could help us.”

“What exactly with?” she asked, curious.

Lloyd hesitated a moment. Mission details weren’t something he wanted getting around. But they needed help. Badly. “We’re looking for someone known as The Healer. If we can get them to the top of the mountain, there’s a chance we could be able to stop all these earthquakes. We need a way up the mountain, information about the properties of the summit, and about where we would even begin to look for The Healer, we need… a lot.”

Her expression bittered as he spoke. She knew something. “Look, I know who you’re looking for, and I don’t know what power it is they have, but I sure as hell wouldn’t describe it as healing.”

“So, you do know?” Lloyd pressed.

She turned to look at him more directly. “You’re sure you can stop the earthquakes? You really have a way of fixing this whole mess?” She seemed skeptical, but there was hope behind her eyes.

He took a deep breath. “We don’t know anything for sure but… we’re probably the best chance Ninjago has at surviving.”

She sighed. “Look, I’m familiar with the trek up the mountain. I could probably get you to the top. If you have any chance of finding this healer person, it’s going to be on your way up.”

“Are you serious? You would do that? You would help us?” Lloyd wasn’t expecting such a receptive response.

“Sure,” she shrugged. “I trust you.”

Lloyd was still a bit shocked. “Really?”

“Well, you trust me, don’t you?” This statement surprised Lloyd, but she was right. It was hard to place why, but even though he didn’t know her name, there was something about her that felt… safe. “But I can’t promise you the results you’re looking for. Ninjago is literally being torn apart at the seams, if there’s any power strong enough to reverse it would need to be something on the level of like… the green ninja or something.” She lifted her glass, finishing what was left.

“Yeah…” Lloyd sighed, his eyes darting away as she unknowingly mentioned him.

Her glass hit the table again as she stood up. “Come on, let’s dance for a bit.”

Lloyd was caught a bit off guard. “What?”

“While we’re waiting for your friends to come back,” She explained, grabbing his hand. “We can try and forget that pesky ex of yours,” she winked.

Lloyd smiled. He quite liked that idea. “Before I do, what was your name?”

“Beatrix,” She laughed. “But my friends just call me Trix.”

“Am I your friend then?”

She smiled mischievously. “Do you want to be?”

#ninjago #OC: Beatrix #lloyd garmadon #writing #OC X canon

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ayuyikes · 5 years

Text

Secret Admirer (5/?)

<pushes this onto yalls plate> so uh

Take this while I evaluate my life choices

Also I have to put the links to the other parts when I have better internet ^^; for the time being other parts of this series can be found here

—————

Putting the flowers on her desk had gotten her a few coos from her students. The girls seemed to love them, and Lorenz even remarked the sender having taste in flowers, and asked her a quick question not long after.

“Professor, are you familiar with flower language?”

Byleth had blinked once, twice, thrice. “Flower language?”

“Of course, it’s mostly a habit of the elite to pay attention to such things,” he pointed out with a little bit of pride, “but I heard some commoners like to hide meaning in their bouquets as well. For example, I believe the Gardenia has a variety of meanings, but it’s most common translation is saying ‘you’re lovely’.”

Byleth looked at her vase. “Ah, thank you, Lorenz.”

Said man turned a brief shade of red. “Well, that is to say-“

“Maybe I should look into the meaning of the other two as well,” she tapped her chin in wonder. Lorenz exhaled in understanding and a little relieved.

“Of course, professor. If I can be of service let me know,” he offered with a brief bow. The professor shook her head with a smile.

“Thank you, Lorenz, but I think the library will aid me enough. I will keep your offer in mind if I get stuck.”

And as such, when classes ended for the day, she went there quickly after dinner, hoping to find something to point her into the right direction.

She found a shelf where she should find the book in question, but after a little while of searching and coming up with nothing she heard her name being called from behind her.

Or, well, her most common title.

“Looking for this, Teach?”

When she whipped around she startled when she saw Claude hang upside down from the set of stairs right behind her, waving a book around. Byleth clutched her heart, mostly out of habit.

“Go- Claude, get down immediately.”

“Aww after all the trouble I went through to get up here?” He let himself hang limp. “I’m surprised you didn’t hear me sneaking up on you, but I’ll just take that as a personal victory I guess,” he muttered with a pout.

“Claude,” she said in a warning tone. “Get down right now, or Tomas will-“

“Tomas is out, relax,” he swung a little side to side. “Actually, it’s just us two, so I’m not gonna get in trouble for ‘hanging around’,” he said with a shit eating grin. “Unless you give me detention for scaring you, of course.”

She eyed the book he was still holding. “What’s that?”

“Oh, this?” He held it up for her to look at the cover. “I figured you might need this, given the newest gift from your little lover.”

She took the book from his hands, reading the title. Gifting Flowers; an Almanac for Courting Nobles.

“After all, we asked for a hint, right?”

“He didn’t give any,” she sighed but quickly found the book’s index and quickly flipping to the page for daffodils. “He could’ve at least verified if he was indeed a guy, though.”

“A shame,” Claude sighed with her. She looked up briefly from her book to see him trying to look at the book while still upside down. This isn’t funny, she reprimanded herself while holding in a laugh. “Just get down already, Claude.”

“Do you know how much effort it took to get like this, Teach? I think I’ll stay here for now,” he jested but made no efforts to get off. “Could you just move over so I don’t have to crane- yeah that’s it,” he grinned when she moved closer to him so he could read along. She was glad she was wearing a simple blouse today; otherwise he could’ve looked down her usual bodice.

“Daffodils... mean...” he still had a little trouble reading while upside down, and he was trying to keep himself from rocking by holding onto one of the steps with one arm. She didn’t doubt his arm strength, seeing as archery takes quite some muscle, but even so the extra effort made her chuckle.

“It’s a flower of chivalry and regard, generally,” she decided to help him out.

“Yeah but there’s more,” he nudged. “It can also symbolize unrequited love.”

She just read the paragraph he was referring to. “So it does.”

“And a bunch of daffodils also indicate joy and happiness. So it seems our loverboy is glad that you’re around.”

She nodded in agreement absent-mindedly, quickly reading the one below that as well. It spoke of new beginnings and rebirth. An odd meaning, but one she wanted to keep in mind anyway.

“Now for the daisies....” he nudged the corner to make her turn the page. She complied with a small smile.

“This book is probably in alphabetical order, so it shouldn’t be- ah there it is,” he pointed at the white flower in the picture. “You’re gonna have to read it to me, Teach; the amount of blood streaming to my head is starting to make me feel sick.”

She peeled her eyes from her book and aimed them at him. He was indeed a lot redder than before: she would’ve blamed their proximity before his silly position but it seems like she was wrong. She saw him struggle with his legs between the open backed steps of the stairs and she quickly put her book on a nearby table with a sigh.

“Claude, let me help.”

“Ah, I’m fine Teach,” he said trying to pull himself up but it took a whole lot of effort. Byleth sighed and stepped forward, holding out her arms.

Actually, on second thought, she decided she’d just put them under his back and he startled from the contact. “Pull yourself up just a little higher,” she said, helping him pull himself up and positioning herself to put her arms under his torso and legs.

He didn’t really say anything but complied.

“Now pull your legs out of there.”

“I’m gonna fall, Teach,” he chuckled with a little bit of nerves. “I don’t mind doing stupid things but I’d rather not have ‘died falling on his head trying to tease his teacher’ written on my tomb stone.”

“I’ll catch you,” she simply stated. “Just do it before Tomas comes back.”

He sighed dramatically. “Here goes,” he says. “Tell my mother I love her.”

Before she could tell him to stop overreacting he wiggled his legs out from between the steps and swung free with a little more momentum than anticipated. Yet she quickly adjusted and when his grip slipped she caught him in her arms as if it was nothing.

“Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” She said with a small smile. He smirked, arm resting over her shoulder.

“Careful Teach,” he grinned. “You wouldn’t want to make your admirer jealous, holding me in your arms for too long.”

“You said we were alone, right? Then he has no reason to be jealous about it.”

Curious. Had he been this red earlier?

She leant forward so he could slip out of her hold. “Thanks for catching me, Teach. Now where did you leave that book...”

Hm. Byleth couldn’t help but feel like he would’ve teased her more in regular circumstances. Something was off, but she had already felt something a little off anyway, so she just followed him to the table where she left the book behind. She saw him adjust his collar before sitting down.

“We left off with the daisies, right?” He quickly opened it back on the right page. She sat down on the chair next to him. “Daisies... symbolize innocence and purity, as well as loyal love. So either this guy envisions himself an angel or calls you one,” he winks. “This guy is cheesy as hell, I’ll give him that.”

After no real response from her (she was just reading and in her own set of thoughts) he turned some pages to get to the gardenias. “Last one, gardenias...” he hummed.

“Secret love and joy,” she quickly read out loud. “And again purity and sweetness.”

“That’s a lot of sap if you ask me,” he remarked and scratched his neck. “There doesn’t seem to be any clue to his identity here.”

She made a mental note of the book’s cover color then shoved her chair back.

“Where are you going Teach?” He asked curiously. “Did it bore ya?”

“I’m going to the greenhouse,” she said, brushing her shorts off. “Maybe they have another clue.”

“I doubt they know more than the book,” he sighed but got up himself, book under his arm. “Nobles pay a pretty penny to compile all knowledge into a tome such as this, after all.”

“Not on the flower language,” she shook her head. “But on the flowers themselves.”

She made her way to the exit and he followed closely behind. “Hey- what do you mean by that, Teach?”

“The merchants don’t carry flowers. So he either had to go out to get them...” she stopped in her stride and he was looking confusedly at her, “or he grew them himself in the greenhouse.”

Did he pale at that? She couldn’t stop a small smile from settling on her lips.

“Man, you’re cunning, Teach,” he grinned, but his eyes didn’t smile with him. “I’m glad I’m not up against your schemes anywhere in the near future.”

Funny, his eyes could’ve convinced her otherwise.

She prided herself in being able to see through his mask, but his actions still baffled her as he put his book on a random table and made a dramatic bow, jokingly.

“May I accompany milady- nay, an actual angel, according to some, on her way to her refuge of flowers?”

She couldn’t keep her muffled laugh to herself. “Maybe when you stop being dramatic,” she teased. He laid a hand on his heart, faking being hurt.

“I’d sooner die, Teach,” he said, grinning. “You wouldn’t want that, do you?”

“I believe as your teacher I’m only allowed to say I wouldn’t,” she said dryly.

A gasp. “Teach!”

She laughed, making no attempt to stop it. “I wouldn’t want to lose you, Claude. I promise.”

Satisfied, he hummed, his arms behind his back. They went into the halls, side by side, when he said, “I mean, of course you wouldn’t want to lose me. Otherwise you’d be out of a favorite student.”

“Who says you’re my favorite?”

“Teaach,” he whined. She could only chuckle.

——————

When they got to the greenhouse, the head gardener was tending to the seedlings Byleth had left her not too long ago. They seemed to be coming along nicely.

“Excuse me,” she said, stepping forward while Claude hung back. “Have any students been tending to their own flowers here lately?”

She looked at the teacher with a warm smile. “Why yes, we have a few students that like gardening.” She gave a brief wave to Claude in the back. “Good day, Claude. Back again so soon? I thought I told you the rest of your plants will take a little longer.”

Byleth turned to look at Claude and just barely caught frantic waving from the corner of her eye before put his arms to his side looking sheepishly. “Ah yes, I heard you. I’ll check up on them next week, don’t worry. I’m just accompanying Teach here.”

Byleth was just in time to see the head gardener give her student a strange look.

“In any case, professor, did you need anything?”

“Did anyone harvest any daffodils recently?”

It didn’t escape her that the head gardener looked past her before answering. “No, can’t say I remember.”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“Nothing of importance,” Byleth shook her head. “But thank you for your answer.”

The head gardener nodded and went back to work. Byleth sighed and joined her student again.

“Was a good idea, too bad it wasn’t meant to be, huh?” He said as they exited the greenhouse again. “I guess we’ll just have to wait until he starts feeding us hints.”

She nodded, but her thoughts didn’t agree to his.

She was now very sure a certain schemer was her now not-so-secret-anymore admirer.

She still had a few questions though. Why would he do that? Send her an anonymous gift then ‘help’ her uncover the sender? Did he have a crush on her? Was it something else entirely?

He wouldn’t be as tasteless to send these as a prank, that much she was sure of. But even then...

No matter the motive, there was one thing Byleth was sure about, as she absent-mindedly listened to him brainstorm about how to uncover another lead.

If she wanted to confront him, she’d still need evidence.

And she might have another idea how to get some.

#no beta we die like men #this is arguably not my best chapter but yanno i was just. too psyched by all yalls nice comments that i wanted to put out another chap soon #cait writes #shut it cait #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #claude von riegan #bylaude #claudeth #claudeleth

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cilliansaccent · 5 years

Text

The Peaky Designer - Cillian Fanfic, Chapter 4

Hello, welcome back. Below is the next instalment of my fanfiction!

Leave a like or a comment if you liked it, or if I can do anything better! Please, it would mean the world and to understand if anyone is enjoying my writing. Also, sharing/reblogging would be even better.

PLEASE READ:

I will not be including Cillian’s family as it’s kinda weird since he has children lmao. Just a mention of his parents and a previous lover.

I will indicate in a chapter if there is smut in the beginning and before the actual scene!!

I will add trigger warnings if there is any!!

There is a variety of levels of swearing during a chapter, I will not hold back, everyone swears.

The timestamp for the Fic is now 2016 and onwards!!

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Background: Gabrijela Babic is a Croatian girl from Sydney, Australia. She is born in the year 1991 on the 24th of December. She studies a Fashion degree in a University with a major in Game Design as well. Her teacher in the fashion designer class managed to nail an Internship on the set of Peaky Blinders with the shows very own Costume Designer, Allison McCosh. There, she travels to London for under a year to learn how to be one, working alongside the actors as well the man she admires, Cillian Murphy. But, her platonic feelings for the man begins to grow into something more, and she wonders whether she should pursue them or let him go for fear of her strict parents and her three older brothers…

Characters:

Swantje Paulina as Gabrijela Babic (swalina on Instagram)

Cillian Murphy

Word Count: 5,000

!!Warnings!!: It's getting hot here! Some decent smut at the end, starts after they are in bed together. Enjoy *winks*.

Date: March 2016

Chapter Name: The Shelby Clan

Brief Chapter Outline: First day being the apprentice as a Peaky Designer, Gabrijela meets the cast and the crew in a jam-packed day, while also making some friends. She ends up staying in Cillian's trailer on set with some red wine that will question their actions later...

——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——- ——-

The drive towards Manchester was quite pleasant, the roads were empty in the morning so the run was smooth.

Gabrijela had packed her laptop and documents last night as she knew she wouldn't have much time to pack in the morning. And it was true.

Five minutes past five, Allison was at the door, ringing the bell. Gabrijela had rushed down after she had changed into high-waist blue jeans, a black turtle neck tucked in and a light brown coat on top and her favourite Doc Martins. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun with a cream coloured scrunchie.

She wore a gold chain with a small gold cross, her mother gave it to her for good luck and protection despite Gabrijela not really that of a holy person.

They didn't stop, only for a toilet break and to grab a snack bar but it was right through to the cit up north.

They arrived at the destination just before eleven. It was pretty full-on once they came, "Today is the only exception where I will drive you here. You'll have to catch the train here, and I may or may not be able to drive you back." Allison had explained as they headed in where they would dress the actors up.

But first stop, Gabrijela was to be introduced to the team, the producers and all that. While she was taken away, Allison headed off to ready the actors and actresses.

Gabrijela was informed in the meeting of her secrecy of the plot and the ideas of Season three. But they made sure to not spook her too much. She was given the lay down of the rules and regulations, but overall, she was kind of free to roam long as she told someone where she was going.

The crew was quite nice, and once of the assistance people took her on a trip around.

Logan, a tall, handsome man with such deep ocean blue eyes and thick black curly hair. He was dressed in a casual suit, round gold glasses sat on his straight nose and he had a boyish smile. He was turning twenty-seven in a week.

"Got anything planned for the birthday?" She asked as they came outside to where men and women moved stuff around or put things together.

"Uh, not really. Probably go to a pub around here for some drinks and cake with my mates." He said with a shrug and a shy smile.

"Will your parents come?" She asked. He had told her he was from Scotland, as per his accent told her already before he could tell her.

"Oh no, no. They can't afford it, but I will make it up for Pa's fifty-eighth birthday next month." He said, his smile bright, making the corners of his eyes to crinkle.

"Oh, that's good. How long have you been working here?" She asked, curious about his line of work.

"Since season one. I worked in various jobs before and throughout, gaining as much knowledge and experience possible. You need a lot of experience as a Set Designer, and I pushed myself to be the very best and somehow caught the eyes of the Director." He explained as they headed back inside.

"So cool." She whispered, "Is the job stressful?"

"Can be. You need to be thorough, and to know what needs to go where, when and how. Today we will be setting up the opening scene, could be changed entirely tomorrow if it doesn't flow. I gotta be on my feet at all times, but I love it. The creativity that brings about in me as if some flood gate exploded open." He said with such passion.

She giggled softly and they continued to walk around before he was called back to start on the set.

They bid farewell and she headed to where Allison said she was and directed.

She entered the large trailer and she had stopped in her tracks at what she saw.

The actors were all crammed in, well, most of them, mostly the men where. The director was there to listen in on what Allison was talking about.

Gabrijela couldn't move. She felt like a deer in headlights, her nerves rattling through her.

She wasn't sure if she was suddenly up for this. This whole thing seemed like a dream and here she was, among the cast and the crew.

Cillian spotted Gabrijela enter and smiled, "Sorry to interrupt but Gabrijela is here." He said, moving through the boys and came to her.

"Hey. You alright?" He asked softly, taking her arm gently.

"Y-Yeah, I think so." She said nodding her head.

She was swept into introductions and everyone seemed thrilled for her to be here. Cillian stuck to her side since he could tell she was apprehensive.

And then it was time to get into the business.

Gabrijela worked with Allison closely, following her orders. She was to help the boys dress into the right outfits and have the next ones on hand when it came to a new scene.

It was none stop, and hectic. She had spotted Logan every now and then and got peaks of him setting up props and all that.

But she was brought back to her own area and watched and listened to the other creative artists such as the make up artists and the hairstylists.

When it was break time in the mid-afternoon, she realised she hadn't made food for herself. And she was to shy to even ask for the on-site food if it was available for her too.

But she didn't need to fret too much when Cillian, all decked out in his Tommy outfit came over to her.

"Thought I'd bring you this." He said and handed her a fairly large box.

"What is it?" The smell that came from it was so good.

"One of the guys ordered this from some local restaurant near here. Got it for all of us." He said.

She opened it. It was stirfry noodles, rice, dumplings and spring rolls.

"Oh, it smells so good!" She said.

"Yeah. Come on, let's go join the others." He said and she followed him to a different trailer where she could hear voices from within.

"Cillian. I-I don't know." She paused outside her heart racing.

"Hey. It's alright, don't be scared." He faced her, "I'm here okay?"

She sighed and nodded and walked in with him.

Introductions went around again, and the general questions of herself began via the boys. She ate in between questions and answered them happily.

She was still shy but she began to open up and feel more at ease. Cillian and Paul got lost in their own conversation and she chatted with Harry for a bit.

But it wasn't long when lunch was over and it was back to work.

Evening...

It was time to call it a night. Gabrijela was exhausted after a long, busy day.

She was in Allison's trailer, finishing up her report of today.

The door opened and Cillian popped his head in, "Thought I'd find you here." He came in, closing the door behind him.

"Oh hey." She turned and smiled, "How are you?"

"Ah, fucking tuckered." He said and sat across from her. He had changed back to his usual outfit of a blue shirt, jacket and jeans.

"I could imagine. I saw you working hard." She closed her laptop when she saved her document.

"Yeah. So you staying here or are you heading home?" He asked.

"Heading back to London." She said, tucking her laptop into her backpack.

"What? It's almost eight. It'll be too late for you." He frowned, "I've got plenty of room in my trailer-"

"No, it's okay. It'd be to much trouble." She shakes her head, "Besides, I have no other clothing with me. Would look bad if I rocked up again tomorrow in the same shit."

"Fuck." He cursed softly, "I don't want you to go home alone."

"Cilly," She murmured his nickname again, she took his hand, "It'll be okay. I'll call you when I get on, we can keep talking right through the trip."

He held her hand with both his hands, "No. Stay." He insisted.

She sighed, running a hand through her hair as she sat back. "It would look so weird if I came out of your trailer, Cillian. I don't want to give you a bad representation." She said softly. "Look, thank you for the offer, but I can't be late for the train." She stood, pulling on her backpack.

"I will be safe," She said and headed to the door.

"Gabrijela." He went to her and grabbed her, turning her back around. "Please." He shook her arm a little. He was persistent, and he wasn't going to give up.

She shook her head and sighed. She stepped into his arms and hugged him tightly, "Cillian, don't you stress. I'm a big girl."

His arms moved around her waist and he hugged her close, "I know. But I worry, and it's late."

Allison had opened the door and stepped into the trailer, "Gabrijela- Oh!" She gasped.

The pair hastily pulled back and Gabrijela's cheeks heated.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on..." She trailed off.

"Just having a heart to heart, Al. Nothing to worry." Cillian wrapped an arm around Gabrijela's shoulder and hugged her a little.

"Okay, well. I need to drop her off at the station." She said.

"She can't stay here?" Cillian asked.

"I mean, she can if she wanted to. Gabrijela?" Allison looked at her.

"It's only two hours to London, I'll be okay." Gabrijela shook her head.

"She can stay with me. I can make the dining table into a bed and she can have the main one." Cillian spoke before Gabrijela could.

"Well, it is up to her, Cillian." Allison said, "Are you worried about something?" Allison added.

Gabrijela looked between the two and let out a sigh through her nose, "I didn't pack properly. I don't have clean clothing is my main concern." She looked down at her feet.

God, she was a mess, her mind was going a million miles an hour.

"That's okay. I got a shirt you could fit for tomorrow, I'll let you off early so you can go back to London to prepare better for the next day." Allison offered, coming over and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you sure?" She asked, looking up with worrisome eyes.

"I'm sure. Here." Allison went through her small wardrobe she had in the trailer and handed her a shirt. "This should do. Cillian will take you to his sleeping quarters." She gave Gabrijela an encouraging and caring smile.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Gab said and left with Cillian, heading to his trailer.

"Anytime. I didn't feel comfortable you heading home so late." He held open the door for her to go in.

She walked in, the trailer was clean and smelled like him. "Such a worrisome boy." She poked him when he walked by.

"Can't help it. I've heard things and you're..." He trailed off, his brows furrowed a little.

"I'm... what?" She set her bag on the table.

"Ah," he huffed, "I'd be kicking myself if you got hurt." He said, eyes darting away from her.

She saw he wanted to say something but she wasn't going to pressure him in it. "Thank you, Cillian." She stepped to him, touching his cheek and turning his gaze back to her. "Next time, I'll bring an extra set of clothes just in case." She nodded and stepped back from him.

"Good idea. Now, I have some two-minute noodles and good red wine. Want some?" He asked.

"Sure. I love me some noodles and red wine." She nodded and removed her back from the table and to the bed at the end of the trailer. It was huge, it could easily fit them both.

She could offer him to stay in the bed with her, it wouldn't be the first. "Cillian." She called out.

"Yeah?" He replied, fixing up the noodles and boiling the water.

"Um... Look... Uh... The bed, it's uh, big. We could um... you know..." She blushed and stuttered a little.

"What? Is there something wrong?" He came into the room with her, looking at the bed then back to her.

"No, nothing is wrong with it." She ran a hand through her hair which she had let out. "Oh, god actually- Forget about it. Don't worry." She shook her head quickly.

"No, tell me. It's fine, darling." The word came out without a second thought and it made things more awkward than anything.

"U-Uhm, we could share the uh, the bed. You know. We could put a pillow wall between us or something if you like or we could just stick to our sides but that's up to you." She rushed in a single breath.

"Share a bed? I mean, we can. No issue there." He laughed nervously, "But wouldn't you prefer it all to yourself?"

"I guess so, but I don't think sleeping on the table thing over there would be too comfortable. Besides, you gotta wake up early so you need a good night's sleep." She said, gulping.

"That is true." He returned back to the noodles, pouring the hot water in each bowl, "Alright. I'll take up on your offer. But we don't need a pillow wall. It's not the first time." He said with a deep chuckle.

She blushed madly and sat down in the little booth, "Shut up." She muttered.

It wasn't long when the noodles were ready and they had popped open a bottle of red.

"Welcome to the Shelby Clan." Cillian grinned and held up a glass and she did the same and they clinked.

"Thank you." She said and dug in.

"So how are you feeling after today?" He asked once they finished eating.

"Tired. And stressed." She said, "It was so full-on."

"Yeah. But you did a good job, Gab. Dressed me well and the others." He took a sip of his glass.

"You think so?" She asked.

"Of course! But don't be so nervous around us eh? We are regular people." He said, "Give it a few day's, you'll be relaxed."

"Okay. Yeah, it's only the first day." She accepted with a drink of her wine.

He noticed she was already almost done with her wine, and he was the same. "Here." He refilled their glasses.

"Oh damn. We drinking tonight, hm?" Gabrijela gave him a playful smirk.

"We might." He said, "But I might take a shower, or would you like to go first?" He asked.

"I'll go first." She said, "I'll be quick." She took a sip of her wine and stood up. She could feel a buzz.

Cillian showed her the shower and she quickly washed up. She had one fresh set of underwear always tucked in her bag, and like the idiot she was, she forgot to bring them in.

She wrapped the towel around her body and peaked her head out, Cillian wasn't in and she took that chance to get out. She went for her bag and yanked out the high waisted silk garment and began to pull them up.

Cillian had walked back in after his call and let out a gasp when he saw Gabrijela. The poor girl yelped in fright when he returned and she dropped her towel as she stumbled back from her loss of balance.

She hit her back on the wall and groaned and let out a soft laugh.

"Shit. Gab you alright?" He came through the threshold and let out a cry, "Jesus! Sorry!" He covered his eyes and backed up when he saw her naked body.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She got up and pulled on her underwear. Her jumper and her jeans were back on and she came back out, "Sorry." She was red as ever as she returned to her spot.

"No, no. Don't be. I didn't mean to spook you." He rubbed his nose, his mind whirling. She didn't just have freckles on her face, but along those lovely full breasts, and the plane of her stomach-

He let out a choke and rubbed the back of his neck, "Anyway, uh, you'll be sleeping in that?" He looked at her, his body reacting in a way he hadn't felt for a long time.

"Uh, yeah. I guess so. Why?" She asked she saw that heated look in his eyes. That desire. And her body warmed, she remembered her dreams.

"I could give you one of my shirts? Would be comfortable than jeans." He said.

His shirt? Oh, Lord, save her. But she found herself nodding, "I'll give it back." She said.

He nodded and fetched her a shirt, "Here" He handed her a dark navy blue shirt.

"Thanks. Did you want a refill?" She nodded to his glass.

"Uhm... Yeah, why not." He said before he turned and took a quick shower as she refilled his glass, topped hers and got into bed with his shirt on.

He came out with a white t-shirt and black boxer shorts that had little pineapples.

"Nice shorts." She laughed softly as she set her phone down and picked up her glass.

"Thanks. My brother got it for me last Christmas." He laughed as he shut up the trailer and turned off the lights before he returned to the small bedroom, pulling the shutter close.

"Lovely." She sipped her glass as she watched him get into bed.

Both of them sat upright, her bedside light was only on.

"To another day." She said once he got himself comfortable and clinked glasses with him.

"To another day indeed." He took a good drink of his glass.

She could feel the buzz started, and she began to talk about a moment in her life which was quite hilarious.

They chatted about anything, about life, about her school, her friends, family. And she learned of his first lover, and how she broke his heart.

"So you've been single for five years now?" She asked in shock. She was a little tipsy, as well as Cillian. They did finish a second bottle.

"Yeah. Haven't found someone yet or have anyone in mind as of now. Dated some but their intentions weren't true. I'm after someone who is... real. Who cares more about personality rather than how much money is in my pocket." He said.

Cillian was on his side and Gabrijela on her back.

"Damn. I'm sorry. But you'll find that person, everyone does." She said, looking up at him. The low light brought out the harsh angles of his face, making him look scarily handsome.

"I hope so. What about you?" He asked.

"Me? Ah, it's been a year since I broke up with my ex. I was with him for three years." She murmured.

"Huh. Three? What made it break?" He asked, "Oh, only if you want to answer it."

"It's okay. He uh... cheated on me, and did the blaming game on me. Convinced me I wasn't giving him any satisfaction when it came to sex. He was fucking this slut for a year without my knowledge. My bestie told me. She saw it happen." She looked away. Since then, she hadn't had sex with anyone or got anywhere close. She had freaked out every time, too ashamed of herself.

Cillian saw the dread that began to fill her beautiful eyes, the hurt expression shutting her down.

"Hey." He cupped her cheek, bringing her face closer to his. She could feel his breath on her face, "You deserve the best. You are... such a sweet girl and so genuine. I don't think you should beat yourself over what he said. He's a bastard, a big, fucking bastard to say that to a girl. You would definitely rock the bed." The words fell out before he could stop himself. "Ah, Gabrijela-"

But she let out a laugh, and couldn't stop. He found her serene laughter to be contagious and was laughing with her too.

They laughed for a good while and he had his forehead on her shoulder, somehow he was sort of above her, his other arm beside her waist to hold himself up.

She felt the tickle of his hair brush her neck, "God Cillian, you really don't hold back huh?" She giggled, reaching up to stroke the back his head and neck.

"It just came out. I mean no offence." He said as he lifted himself up, his hair fell down and brushed her forehead.

"No offence was taken. But I believe I could rock more than just the bed." She purred, her fingers moving down to his jaw. She traced it slowly.

"Oh, really?" He asked, his voice dropped a pitch.

Her skin pricked as her fingers moved to his lips, "Yeah, really." She whispered, their noses touched.

The moment was burning up slowly, she could feel it. His leg brushed up against hers.

"Maybe..." He murmured, his eyes shutting a little as his attention was now to her own lips.

Red, wet and full, so perfect, he thought. Was this the alcohol talking?

"Maybe what?" She let her fingers move down his chest then across his shoulder.

"I..." He leaned in more, rubbing his nose against hers. A soft sigh escaped him when her gentle fingers found its way back into his hair.

"Kiss me." She said, one arm hooked around his neck and drew him into her body.

He obliged and pressed his lips to hers, the kiss was gentle, tentative. Exploring, find out how they worked together.

He had moved entirely on top of her, his body almost crushing but she liked it. He had one arm under her head, his soft fingers clasped the back of her neck, his other arm provided support for himself but was under her and under her shirt. She could feel the pads of his hand on the middle of her back.

Her legs widened to make room for his shifting hips. She could tell he was trying to keep them up but she did feel his arousal. Defined and eager.

He wanted her, clearly. The kiss became more passionate, more wanting as she opened her mouth for his tongue that swept in with such dominance she let out a moan.

The arm under her back moved and he was touching her sides, fingers gliding down her thigh then back up.

She felt a wild confidence sweep through her and she lifted up her hips to meet with his.

He let out a grunt before he pushed her down roughly. It made her whine with lust.

"Gabrijela." He groaned as he broke the kiss. His hand moved up, pausing under her breast.

The air was like a wildfire.

"Cillian." Her core was throbbing and slick, she wanted him. Needed the reprive after so long.

She arched her back as if telling him to go higher with that devilish hand she had dreamt of roaming over her body.

He accepted the offering and his hand engulfed her breast.

They both let out a moan as if the contact was a blessing to them both, especially to her.

He played with her breast, rolling the nipple against his palm. His lips returned to hers, swallowing up the blissful moan that came from her.

She clung to him as if he was her life source, her legs wrapped around his waist as another moan came through her when he pinched her nipple, rolling and tugging it between his fingertips.

"Cillian," she gasped, breaking the kiss as he kissed to her neck, "Cillian- I- Oh god."

He let out a muffled groan, his hips driving forward a little.

"I-I need more- Fuck- Please- Just- Just this once. Touch me. Touch me please." She begged softly.

He knew what her desperate pleas meant, and he pulled back to look at her. "Gabrijela we shouldn't-"

"Please." She cupped his face, the light illuminated her eyes, bringing forth the lust and need to be satisfied.

The shirt was rolled up to expose that lovely soft stomach she had, his eyes going lower. He could just see the wet pool that began between her legs.

A sound erupted from him and she let out a moan as he removed his hand from her breast. He would not see what treasure was between her legs, it was far too much for him. If he saw her, he wouldn't be just touching her.

He brought his hand down and slipped it beneath the silk garment. She wasn't shaved but she had recently trimmed.

He paused, gazing back up her body to her eyes, she was staring at him.

"Touch me." She whispered in that lovely, delicate voice shaky with such appetite for his hand.

He brought his fingers to her wet slit and parted her. Her head lolled back, eyes shut.

"Look at me." His voice was rough, demanding.

She did, and let out a pathetic whine when he began to feel her, stroke her folds and brush along that bundle of nerves.

He leaned in and kissed her once, twice, three times with a claiming kind of way.

She was so wet, drenching his two fingers that tracked her up and down, bringing her clit between them and massaged it.

"Shit, Cilly." She moaned, a soft cry when he pinched her clit making her hips buck.

She was a mess, and he could see how she clenched and unclenched the sheets as she stared with intensity at his hand and back at his face.

He continued to pleasure her by playing with her clit, so enamoured of her sweet sounds. Oh, how she became at mercy of him. His cock throbbed, wanting the attention.

He gave in and pushed a finger into her, his brows furrowed as he moaned at how unbelievably tight she was.

Her body arched as he inserted a second, and then they were moving in and out of her at a steady pace.

Her body was warm and she felt sweat starting to form across her bare, exposed skin. He was so skilled, he knew exactly what he was doing with those two fingers that curled, causing a louder cry to come from her.

Gabrijela could feel her climax rising, and she moaned with pleasure as he picked up the pace, as if he also knew she was going to fall off the edge.

Cillian watched how her body began to undulate, hips rocking in sync of his thrusting, all perfect.

"Cillian I-I'm gonna cum, oh god don't stop. Don't stop!" She hooked an arm around his neck, and he laid close to her, his lips brushing his temple.

"Cum whenever you want, darling. Cum for me." He whispered hotly against her skin.

His thumb rubbed her clit, edging her even closer. He could feel her slick walls tightened, her body reaching that high that was about to crash around her.

And with some rougher fingering her of her sweet, wet hole, which she could hear the slick sounds, her body bucked violently off the bed as she let out a loud cry of ecstasy as her climax tore down her spine.

Her walls clenched and she came over his fingers, his name a prayer on her lips. The ecstasy of her climax was a reprive, it quenched her thirst for some sort of satisfaction she was deprived of the past few months.

Especially from another man.

Cillian fingered her till she was still and panting on the bed, a thin sheen of sweat coated her forehead.

The air was hot, and not just the temperature. Whatever had now unlocked between them.

This... dangerous thing that sat between them. What just happened, he knew it wasn't just the alcohol aiding him. Or her.

She had her eyes shut, she felt his hand retreat from between her legs and his moved off the bed, a soft grunt coming from him.

She waited until he left to go to the bathroom, and she knew why he did that.

She pulled down her shirt, sniffling a little as she rolled to her side. She was in shock of what happened, what he just did to her body. But she didn't feel violated, she wanted this. And for a long time, she needed someone to give her a good finger fuck.

But fear pooled in her stomach, she didn't think it would be Cillian. A man who was twice her fucking age.

What the fucking hell was she doing? A question that repeated itself the last three days now.

Cillian stroked himself, with the hand that was coated in her juices. He couldn't help it, his mind brought up images of her body. Of how she gasped and melted under his touch.

This was indeed dangerous. He was older than her, this whole this was bad. So bad. She was young and needed someone her age. He couldn't believe it, a moron he was to be doing such a thing to such a lovely girl.

But he couldn't help it and the thought of her with someone else...

He grunted softly as finished and cleaned up quickly. Now he had to share the bed with her, the vague scent of her would cling to him.

No, he had to be a better man. Man up, he thought as he got out and eased back into bed silently.

The light went out.

He was on his back, as far as he could be on his side of the bed. His mind was still doing its million rounds around. But he forced himself to fall asleep and was able to when his body relaxed.

Gabrijela had managed to fall asleep too. A deep, dreamless sleep.

Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. Very, very interesting indeed, was her last thought.

#cillian murphy #thomas shelby #peaky blinders #smut #fanfiction

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