#I said before but I’ll say it again voice compliments are one of my favorites

[rosicheeks]

OMG! OMG! OMG!

I never thought I would see a video of you singing! You are so beautiful. Your voice is amazing! To see your cuteness while you sing is wonderful. Those cheeks! Your face is so expressive, and your shoulder roll was so fun. Those freckles! and that giggle at the end...(big sigh)...

The sound I made when I saw the ask about it was not as embarrassing as the sound I made when found that the video was still up. You have made me so happy with this. I know it's silly but I teared up listening to it because I had to close my eyes to stop from crying. This is so beautiful! You are so beautiful and it has nothing to do with how you look. Thank you Princess! Thank you!

[lovecla]

IF YOU LOVE ME, LET ME KNOW | jack hughes.

chapter two:

➴ warnings: none <3

➴ word count: 2.5k

➴ author’s note: this is pure fluffiness, the calm before the storm, the hughes being the best family in the world and jack making my heart MELT (i literally wrote him). i hope u guys enjoy this too. let me know what u think of this one:))

“AND that, my loves, it’s a wrap on ‘rip to my feelings’!” Grace yelled, and everyone yelled too.

You were in your studio with all of your producers and song-writers, plus Grace, and you had just finished recording the last song on your album.

You were beyond happy. Finishing this meant getting over everything Harris did to you. It was like closure. It was like restarting again.

“Guys, I’m so fucking happy, I love you all so much I could kiss you on the mouth right now,” you said, hugging John— the main producer.

“Don’t think Jack would appreciate that,” Grace mumbled when you hugged her, and you smacked her butt.

Jack.

You had sent him the demo of the album as soon as it was sent to your phone, not really sure why. You just wanted his opinion, that’s all.

Not much fuck buddy of you but whatever!

“Fuck off, Grace Morgan,” you fake whispered, laughing.

You all celebrated and laughed for hours, the time passing quickly whenever you spent it with the people you loved. You were grateful for having so many amazing people in your life, helping you to make your dreams come true.

Your phone rang, and you picked it up, unlocking it and smiling when you saw who had texted: Jack.

It was funny seeing how he complimented you in his own little, weird way. It made your heart beat in the wrong— right— way all over again.

“Did he just ask you on a date?” Grace whispered, probably reading your texts over your shoulder. Everyone else had already left— it was late, after all— and only Grace was left. You were sure she was probably going to sleep at your place anyway.

“I guess? We never just ‘hanged out’ before.” You sighed, replying to Jack’s texts.

“Woah,” she whistled, sitting back on the couch, looking at you funny. “Are you in love?”

“What?” You laughed, locking your phone. “What do you mean, we’ve been fucking for six months only. Chill.”

“Girl, like time matters to you!” She raised her arms. “You fell in love with that piece of shit in like three weeks, imagine with Jack, who fucks you every other week and treats you like you’re the most precious thing ever.”

“Excuse me? Are we talking about the same Jack?” You scoffed, crossing your arms. “Jack doesn’t treat anyone differently. Besides his family, that is.”

“Like the shit he does for you isn’t anything special, right? Like knowing your Five Guys order, or your favorite movies, or how you eat apple pie before your concerts,” she started listing those things on her fingers.

“He doesn’t know those things!” You raised your voice, trying to convince both you and her.

“Girl, I love you but stop playing dumb. He knows and you know he does! Why are you pretending that he doesn’t care about you? He just asked you on a date, for fuck’s sake.” She rolled her eyes.

“First of all,” you started, mentally listing your reasons. “We don’t know if it’s a date. He just said: dinner. He didn’t say ‘I wanna take you out on a date’. Second of all, I’m not denying anything, but I think I would know if I was in love with him, wouldn’t I?”

Actually. The answer was probably no. Harris fucked up your perception of love, and even though it’s been more than a year that you broke up with him, you still feel like you can’t really trust anyone anymore.

So you wouldn’t exactly be able to tell if you are in love or not. At least, you don’t think so.

But talking about love with your fuck buddy? Hell. No.

“You piss me off.” Grace bickered, turning the TV on. “Go change to your little date. I’ll be here, all alone and sad.”

“Pff, shut up. You’re just alone because you and Nico are dumbasses.” You said like it was a matter of fact and left the leaving room, leaving a very pink Grace behind.

Changing didn’t take long, and applying a light makeup didn’t either. You weren’t going to do anything special because, let’s be real, if you and Jack decided to be reckless and fuck somewhere, that makeup wouldn’t last long. So, why bother?

You left your house, saying goodbye to Grace and kissing her cheek. Jack’s fancy ass car was in front of your garage and you smiled, entering it.

“Hi, Jackie boy,” you greeted him, noticing how fucking good he looked, wearing his burgundy suit. Thank god to whoever created the suit rule in hockey. You’ll forever be grateful.

“Hey.” He greeted back, and did something surprising. He kissed you. Softly, and not like any other kiss you’ve shared in the past.

And that didn’t do anything to help the little cardiac arrest you had every time you were around him.

“Are we ready to rock our lasagna?” You asked, half embarrassed and half confused with what you were feeling. Food always made it better though.

“We sure are.” He smiled before starting the car again.

The silence was comfortable but your thoughts were too loud so you took the liberty of turning the radio on, scaring yourself with how loud the music playing was. And, shockingly, your music. Already Over was blasting through the speakers.

You looked at him, and he just shrugged, cheeks red.

“Were you listening to my music on the way to my place?”

“Yeah, why not? It’s good,” he blushes so cutely you find yourself wanting to chomp a piece of his cheek.

“You’re so cute, Jackie. Thanks, means a lot,” you had a feeling you were blushing too, and you thanked God he wasn’t looking at you. “I’m excited to release it.”

“When are you doing it?” He asked, making a U turn.

“Beginning of the next month. Now I have to take pictures and set up the concept for it. It’s my favourite part.”

“Are you doing any music videos with a guy dying?” He asked and you stared at him, once again surprised. Had he been watching your music videos? All of them? “What?”

“Are you a fan?” You giggled, genuinely happy. Harris hated to talk about your work, and he never listened to your songs for more than ten minutes.

“Nico forces us to listen to your songs and watch your music videos,” he answered, nonchalantly. You smiled, nodding your head. “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Like what?” You played dumb.

“Like that. You have this little minx stare that you do whenever you’re plotting something.” He smiled this time, and God if the sight didn’t make you feel full.

“You’re no fun,” you sighed, looking at the view. “Also, where is this restaurant? We’ve been driving for at least twenty minutes and nothing in Jersey takes more than that.”

“The restaurant is actually my parents’ house.” He says, like it’s nothing.

“What?!” You yelled, turning your head in his direction. “What do you mean you’re taking me to your fucking parents’?”

“Yeah. Ma’s making lasagna for you.”

Your cheeks were burning hot and you had this bubbly feeling inside of you. You were feeling something really weird and you started to wonder if Grace was right and—

“Soph?” You heard his voice, gentle and soft. You looked at him, noticing that he wasn’t driving anymore, and that the car was now parked in front of a big, beautiful, colonial house. His parents’ house. “We can go back if you want to, baby. Ma won’t be angry or anything like that.”

Stop making me want to trust you, Jack.

He caressed your cheek, and you snapped out of it. “No, it’s fine. I just… you could’ve said something, y’know? I’m wearing sweatpants.” You tried to make a joke, smiling. He smiled too.

“I’ll put on some sweatpants too, so we’re matching,”

“Right.”

You left the car, taking a deep breath. It was just his parents. You weren’t even dating so it would be fine.

Wait.

“What did you tell them? That you’re bringing one of the girls you’re fucking home?” You asked just before you walked in their property.

He raised an eyebrow at you, scowling. “First of all, I’m not fucking anyone else. It’s just you. Second of all, I told them I’m bringing a friend.”

You nodded, not trusting yourself to do anything else.

He’s not fucking anyone else? Jack Hughes? The man whore of the NJ Devils?

Yikes, sure.

You both walked into the house, Jack not bothering knocking before entering it. A delicious smell of fresh tomato sauce and herbs reached your nose and you could swear your mouth was watering.

“Ma, we’re here!” Jack yelled, making you jump a little bit. You eyed him before facing the woman in front of you, who was absolutely gorgeous. She looked so fucking young and pretty, and you were biting your tongue, trying not to say something stupid. “Hi, Ma, this is Soph. Soph, that’s Ellen, Ma Hughes,”

“Hi, Mrs. Hughes. Nice to meet you.” You said, certain that your cheeks were on flame.

Ellen took a step closer, smiling. “Hi, darlin’. No need for formalities, dear, it’s just Ellen. I would hug you but,” she pointed at her apron and shrugged. “A bit dirty.”

“Thank you for having me.”

“No, thank you for making this guy over here visit me,” she slapped Jack’s shoulder, both of them smiling together. “He only called because he said you wanted to eat lasagna and he loves mine so that’s why he’s here.”

If your face wasn’t going to melt before, it definitely was now. You were going to kill Jack. For real this time.

“Come on, Ma, I can’t be worse than Luke and Quinn. They don’t even remember your address anymore,” was Jack actually pouting? Jesus. Your heart was not ready to see that.

“Stop throwing us under the bus, dickhead.” Luke’s voice was heard and you and Jack both watched as both Quinn and Luke entered the room. “‘Sup, Soph.”

“Hi, Luke. Hi, Quinn,” you greeted them with cheek kisses, not even wanting to acknowledge that you had actually missed them. “Long time no see.”

“Hey, Soph,” Quinn quietly answered, not a single thought behind those eyes. “Great to see you.”

“I hope you’re all hungry because your mom outdid herself tonight,” Jim, the dad, said, smiling when he noticed you. “Hello there. I’m Jim.”

“Hi,” you whispered, mortified with all the attention you were getting. Some would think that performing for big crowds would make you less anxious to meet people. Nope. “I’m Sophia. Thank you for having me.”

“It’s fine, as my baby was saying, we do need our son to visit more.”

As they discussed why Jack didn’t visit them more frequently, you felt Jack’s arms around your waist and his mouth on the tip of your ear. You froze. “Yeah, they call each other baby and honey. Sorry about that.”

You managed to smile, trying not to get his family’s attention. They certainly wouldn’t understand why he was this close to a friend.

“I think it’s cute.”

The dinner went awesomely well. The lasagna was amazing and Ellen and Jim were the cutest couple ever, you could see how they’ve raised three amazing men.

They asked questions about what being a postar meant nowadays, and what was it like during your tours, and how could someone sing and dance at the same time, and have you ever met Adele?

They’re great people. Even Quinn and Luke, who had talked to you before on different occasions, made sure you were included in every topic, and Luke even asked for a signed cap so he could wear it at UMich.

“Do you guys know what we should definitely do?” Ellen started, after forcing all of the boys to organize the kitchen and do the dishes, while you sat with her drinking wine. Yeah, you loved her. “Karaoke. Let Soph here show us how good she is.”

“Maa,” you could hear Luke whining, while running his hands through his beautiful curls. “You do this every time.”

“You’ll make her work on her day off? That’s wild, Ma.” Jack joked, putting his arms around your shoulder. You froze again, looking at the expressions of his family, trying to picture anything out of place.

No one was looking at you weirdly, besides Ellen who plastered the most gorgeous smile you’ve ever seen, which made you smile too.

“I don’t mind singing…” you said, softly.

“Perfect!” Ellen stood up from her seat, pouring more wine on her glass. “Jim, set the karaoke thing on.”

“It’s called YouTube, Ma.” Jack rolled his eyes.

“Leave your mom alone, ugly face,” Jim called him out, on his way to do exactly what Ellen asked. “Sophia, can you sing some Elvis?”

“Yes, ‘course.” You also got up, discussing with Jim which song he wanted you to sing.

“Tell her to sing our song, honey!” Ellen yelled from the dinner table.

“Ah, yes, yes.”

Turns out that their song is Can’t Help Falling in Love, which was so freaking sweet. You sang the romantic lyrics while Jim and Ellen danced with each other, swinging slowly and delicately.

Quinn and Luke were recording themselves with you singing in the background, while you waved happily to the camera.

Jack was sitting on the couch, watching you sing. You could feel his eyes on you, observing your every move, smiling whenever you’d hit a high note or change the song’s rhythm.

It was nice. So, so nice. The Hughes were such nice people and you felt so safe and adored around them. They asked you to sing more songs and when you noticed, you were singing an upbeat song with Jim and dancing between Quinn and Luke while Ellen filmed everything. Until Jack grabbed you again and made you sing in front of him, for him. And boy, how you wanted to kiss him. His blue eyes were shining brightly and he looked just as happy as you felt.

You ended the singing when it was around midnight, everyone exhausted and sweaty— even if it was winter.

You started saying your goodbyes and thanking Ellen and Jim for the best lasagna you’ve ever eaten and for the hospitality too.

“I hope you come back soon.” Ellen whispered in your ear when you were hugging her, and you held her slightly tighter.

When you left the house with Jack, you couldn’t contain your happiness inside you. Grabbing his arm, you pulled him until you were near his car, and standing on your tiptoes, you kissed him.

He wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer, both of you moaning inside each other’s mouth. His tongue made its way inside your mouth, pillowy and so soft. You were finally melting into Jack’s arms and nothing could be better.

Until you realized what was going on.

You had just had dinner with Jack’s family, sang and danced with them, and now you were in the middle of the street of a fancy neighborhood, with Jack Hughes holding you close to his chest, while devouring your mouth.

And instead of not feeling anything, instead of keeping things casual, you were feeling everything. Each tiny part of every emotion there is in this world were making their way into your heart and, unfortunately, you didn’t want to take them out.

Because for the first time in more than one year, you wanted to feel.

[yikesmary]

BEDTIME ROUTINE — jeon wonwoo x reader

summary: where you loved times like these with your boyfriend, wonwoo.

notes: book boyfriend wonwoo is back! i wrote this completely out of the blue so apologies for any mistakes. also this went into a direction i didn’t expect it to go to, but i love it so much. it might be my favorite fic i’ve written so far on this blog.

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“You’re staring at me again,”

“Can you blame me? I have a beautiful man as my boyfriend,” you teased, enjoying the pink blush that was developing on Wonwoo’s cheeks.

“I’m not even doing anything, I’m just reading a book,” he told you.

“To look this good and still be doing something so simple is incredible!” You overexaggerated, throwing your hands in the air dramatically.

Wonwoo playfully rolled his eyes, but pulled you closer to him, your body practically glued to his. It was nighttime, and your usual bedtime routine consisted of Wonwoo either reading a book or playing a game on his phone and you went on your phone.

But there were moments when you and Wonwoo felt particularly clingy towards each other, and sometimes you found yourself falling asleep to Wonwoo’s voice as he read aloud the book he was reading while cuddled up to him. He didn’t mind whenever you fell asleep as he read, because he knows how much you loved his voice, so he takes it as a compliment.

“How’s the book so far?” You asked, resting your head on his chest, recognizing the book as the one you gifted to him on his birthday.

“It’s good, I’m glad I finally found the time to read it,” he smiled.

“I was worried whether or not it was a good book. I didn’t know whether or not you were going to like it,” you said.

“It could’ve been a book that had the same word printed on the pages hundreds of times and I’d still read it because you gave it to me,” Wonwoo said.

“Don’t be silly,”

“I’m serious! I keep everything you give to me,”

“Oh yeah? Like what?” You challenged.

“The bookmark you made me on our first date, I still use that. The letter you wrote me on our first anniversary, and the bracelet you made with Joshua for me while you were drunk,” he recounted.

“Really? You’ve kept all of those things?” You asked, and he nodded.

“We live together, how have I not seen these things in the house?”

“Because I hide them in places you’d never think to look,”

“Like where?”

“There’s a reason why I haven’t told you! It’s a secret,” he said, and you playfully rolled your eyes at him.

“It also helps that you’re small and there are places I can reach that you don’t,” he teased.

You gasped and said, “I would move if you weren’t so comfortable,”

As if to ensure you wouldn’t move, Wonwoo moved you even closer to him, if that was even possible. In the middle of the conversation, you didn’t realize that he closed the book and put it on the nightstand that was on his side of the bed.

Silence fell between you, neither finding a reason to say something. You just enjoyed the moment between the both of you while Wonwoo was fiddling with your fingers with his hand, in deep thought.

“Do you have anything from when we first started dating?”

“I do, but since you won’t show me yours so I won’t show mine,” you said, playfully twisting your head away from him.

“How about this, I’ll countdown to three and we both get the stuff from our hiding spots. That way we don’t reveal our locations,” Wonwoo negotiated.

“Deal.”

“One... Two... Three!”

At the final number, the both of you tried leaving the bed, but because of how close you were cuddled together, the farthest you were able to go before falling was the floor of your bedroom. It wasn’t a far drop, but it was funny enough that both you and Wonwoo erupted in laughs and giggles.

You had struggled so much trying to get up with laughing and trying to detangle yourself from your boyfriend that by the time you had managed to stand, you were practically out of breath. But that didn’t deter you from your mission, so you tried moving to where you hid your stuff.

Spotting the box that was labeled with your name, you grabbed the box and dashed back into the room. Wonwoo would never look through something that had your name on it, since for the most part, neither of you felt the need to mark anything as your own since you guys knew whose belonging belonged with who. 

So, if it was labeled, there was a purpose and Wonwoo would never violate your privacy like that.

By the time you arrived in the bedroom, Wonwoo was already on the bed, his legs crossed and waiting patiently with his box. You got on the bed and sat right across from him in a similar position as you.

He moved back so you had enough room to put the box in front of you and that was when the both of you exchanged looks and then without saying anything, switched boxes.

You opened the box and were both happy and touched to see the exact items that he had described beforehand, with more things that weren’t mentioned and you didn’t realize he kept them.

When you looked at him, you saw that he looked a bit confused about the items, so you decided to refresh his memory. “That ticket was from we went to the aquarium together, the picture is when we went to that one petshop and you couldn’t stop playing with the cats,”

He smiled at you, remembering those moments. You were about to say something else before a tiny, brown, leather book caught your attention inside of Wonwoo’s box. You took it out and showed it to him asking, “What’s this?”

At the question, Wonwoo turned sheepish. Then he said, “When we first started dating, every time we went out somewhere to eat or drink, I’d write down what you ordered so the next time we went there, I could order for you. Eventually, I memorized everything so there wasn’t a need for a book,”

You felt like you were in school again, feeling like your middle school crush just confessed to you and love was everything at that age. Putting the stuff to the side, you moved to kiss him and your hands were on his shoulders.

When you pulled away, you decided that the kiss wasn’t enough so you peppered him with kisses on your face. “That was so thoughtful and sweet of you to do. I love you so much,” you said, placing one final kiss on his lips once more.

He was only able to smile like a lovesick fool in response, which he was.

You looked at the clock and were surprised to see how late it was. “We should go to bed, it’s late and we should’ve been asleep an hour ago,” you told him.

“Maybe we should make this a part of our nighttime routine,”

taglist (crossed out means I wasn’t able to tag you): @belladaises @smileyneos @xuenihao @winterpaos @wonhuiful @minhui896 @baekhyunimochibbh @itsrachelsplace @x-alightinthedark @whywontyousetfree @minghaossv @coffeesandrains @slaveofmydreams @bmkgemz @dandycharmer @yoonzinoooo​

[astarioffsimpmain]

Cushioned Affections

Gale x Astarion x F!Tav

Warnings: Poly relationship discussion; insecurity; mention of past relationship abuse

Synopsis: Tav is tired of waiting for Astarion to make his move, so she allows Gale to make his first. But will that put an end to her and her favorite vampire spawn?

Author's Note: I'm a day late, I know, but this fic is for the BG3 Holiday Fluffle 2023, hosted by @justporo with the prompt "Getting Cozy"!

The chill that had settled over many of your nights in the last few months was slowly creeping its way into your days, infiltrating you and your motley crew through brisk winds that could cut through any armor and lay clothes, chilling you all to your very bones. The campfire became the favorite place of every one of your traveling companions - even Astarion, who usually preferred to observe the group’s frivolities from the entrance of his tent. But this evening, the aloof vampire had firmly wedged himself between you and your resident wizard, Gale, on one of the logs in front of the roaring flames. 

“There’s a perfectly clear spot next to Lae’zel, you know.” Gale mumbled, clearly unhappy with the current seating arrangements. 

“That seat could get me decapitated and I personally prefer to keep such beauty soundly attached, thank you very much.” Astarion replied haughtily, turning his nose up at the wizard’s suggestion before scooting closer to you, affronted. 

“Rightly assumed, spawn.” Lae’zel spat, not so much as glancing up from her soup bowl.

“Hah!” Astarion exclaimed triumphantly, sending a taunting expression Gale’s way as he wrapped his shawl tighter around his already cold body. 

“Well, I’m very glad you’ve joined us tonight, Stari.” you said, opening your arm to him and allowing him to snuggle close, a relieved sigh escaping his lips as your warmth enveloped him. “And Gale, thank you so much for the wonderful meal. I always forget I'm sleeping on the ground when you fix your soup.” 

The compliment settled in Gale’s cheeks as they tinged pink and a smile graced his lips for the first time since Astarion had forced the two of you apart. “Why thank you, Tav.” he sent a charming smile your way over the mess of white curls between you. “You flatter me too much.” 

“Yes, she does.” Lae’zel replied curtly, although she made no effort to hide her empty bowl. 

“Nah, this shit’s awesome, Gale.” Karlach piped up, already filling up her bowl for the third time. “Anybody need a warm-up?” 

“Me, if you would, Karlach.” Shadowheart passed her bowl across the fire to the tiefling, who grabbed it enthusiastically and held it between her palms as the flames beneath her skin crackled and popped to life for a few seconds before simmering down again. The contents of the bowl were now steaming as Karlach passed it back over to Shadowheart, who let out a pleased groan when the warmth hit her fingertips. 

“Thank you all.” Gale said, a pleased smile on his lips. “I’m glad I could deliver a measure of culinary satisfaction to our treacherously meager living accommodations.” 

“Darling, just say “thank you for the dick-stroking” and be done with it.” Astarion drawled, his eyes having lazily fallen closed once your fingers had wound their way into his hair. 

“I’ll have you know,” Gale’s voice rose as he spoke over Karlach and Shadowheart who had burst out laughing., “My honed verbosity is one of the most prevalent things that earned me a place as one of the most well-respected voices of wisdom in Waterdeep, and beyond.” 

“Oh yes, it was your tongue; of that I’m certain.” Astarion murmured, half asleep, and you bit down on the inside of your lip to keep the giggle from escaping as Karlach and Shadowheart descended into fits of cackling once again, while Lae’zel allowed the ghost of a smile to cross her lips. You even noticed Wyll choking back a chuckle over his soup. 

Gale shook his head disapprovingly, and you thought things may have gone too far until an amused smile crept across the wizard’s face and he shot you a quick glance with mirth dancing in his eyes. You smiled back at him, the chill of the evening all but melted away in the presence of your unlikely group of friends. 

After the fire had long since died, and many of your companions had retired to their own bedrolls in the shelter of their tents, you helped Gale clean up around the campfire, stacking bowls in on each other - deciding to wait for the warmth of the sun before taking them to the river to wash them out - and gathering the extra blankets to hoard for personal use. 

Astarion sat idly by, book in hand, while you both worked, only looking up from the pages and stretching languidly when you paused in front of him. “Well, darling, are you ready to hide away and curl up in our own little cocoon for the evening?” he cooed, batting his long eyelashes at you demurely. 

“Come on, Astarion, just say you’re desperate for a cuddle and be done with it.” Gale appeared over your shoulder smiling, pleased to have been given the chance to throw the words back in the vampire’s face. 

“Actually,” you stepped in front of Gale and swatted at him playfully. “Gale’s got a new volume of that Dark Elf tales I’ve been reading as of late, and he wanted to read a few chapters with me before we went our separate ways. Would you like to join us? I know how much you enjoy those stories.”

Astarion chortled dismissively, rolling his eyes. “I think I’d prefer freezing to death than getting anywhere near the “wizard of Waterdeep”’s personal stash.” 

You sighed, shrugging your shoulders and turning away. “Your choice. I’ll see you back in my tent afterwards either way. Although,” you pause, flipping your hair over your shoulder to match his dramatics. “It will be much warmer in Gale’s tent because we currently have all of the extra blankets. I do hope you’ll reconsider.” you teased, mimicking the vampire’s tonal lilt as you hoisted a few of the remaining blankets over your shoulder and walked off. In a few long strides, you caught up with Gale, who was struggling with his own bundle of blankets. 

“Do you think he’ll drop by?” his voice came out muffled, his face fully blocked from your vision by a mountain of fluff.

A giggle bubbled out of you, and you patted some of the blankets away from his eyes. A muffled “thank you” reached your ears. “I don’t know, but I hope so. I do wish he didn’t keep to himself so often; he shouldn’t be alone. But he has to choose to let in the warmth himself - and not just mine.” Gale nodded quietly - a rare occurrence - and led the way to his tent. 

You were ceaselessly amazed by the sheer number of books Gale Dekarios was able to keep with him; shelves upon shelves lined with volumes - everything from A Comprehensive History of Waterdeep to The Practicality of Learning the Weave and more - just waiting to dazzle you with the wonders inside. However, the books that caught your eye were front and center, at a perfect height for you - done intentionally, you had no doubt - was the Dark Elf trilogy, finally completed with a stunning hardback edition of Sojourn with a beautifully crafted image of the drow himself gracing the book jacket. 

“Gods, Gale, wherever did you find it?” you murmured softly, stroking the spine tenderly. 

"Ah, a wizard never reveals his secrets. But let’s just say, I do still have some influence in some of the cities we’ve passed through thus far, and was able to get my hands on a nice copy, just for you."

You clutched the book to your chest, beaming up at him from where you stood. "Thank you, Gale. Shall we read?" His heart skipped a beat, he thought, as he nodded and sat down amidst his pile of pillows and blankets and you settled in between his legs, your back pressing warmly against his chest as his arms wrapped around your front before his mind could even catch up with him. 

“Are- are you sure you and Astarion are just friends?” the words slipped from his lips and he cringed at himself, a large part of him fearing the question would bring you to your senses and he’d lose this intimate connection he’d found with you.

“No, I’m not.” you admitted softly and his heart dropped into his stomach, his arms wrapping tighter around you in anticipation of the loss. “But I’ve told him that I have feelings for you too, and I’ve told him that while I’m patient enough to wait for him, he needs to tell me to wait for him before I will. I’ve…” you paused, sniffling a little as the emotions welled up inside of you. “I’ve had my heart broken a lot by being led on, or by waiting for people who, in the end, chose someone else; someone more-” 

“Hey, shhh don’t do that.” Gale whispered in your ear, planting a chaste kiss there and squeezing you tight. “You’re plenty enough as you are, alright?” You nodded, breathing deep before continuing.

“I told him how much I care for him, and how much I’d like to have more with him. But I was also honest and told him how much I care for you, so I’ll tell you what I told him. If you need time, tell me to wait for you. Hopefully you’ll listen.” you mumbled the last part so softly that Gale could have missed it if he hadn’t been paying attention. But your words, your touch, your presence was his whole world right now, and he couldn’t possibly miss the sadness and longing left hanging in the air once you fell quiet. 

“Well… I hope he’ll come around soon. But in the meantime, I don’t need to wait. I know my answer right now.” he murmured against your ear, reveling in the shudder that traveled the length of your spine in his hold. You turned your head just enough to lock your penetrating gaze with his, waiting for him to say the words. You wouldn’t settle for interpretations; not any longer. “I care for you, greatly, Tav. And if you find it in that beautiful heart of yours to save a place for me, I’d gladly reside there for the rest of my days.” 

“Gale,” you whispered, your eyes clouding over with unshed tears of relief that flooded you like a sudden storm. He caught the emotions with his lips on yours, alleviating some of the weight of the emotional burdens that you had carried with you for all too long, and a sob escaped into his mouth. He swallowed the pain and lapped it up with his eager tongue, desperate to comfort your aching soul as his hands explored your body. You moaned softly into the kiss before pulling away, a little giggle leaving your lips as you nuzzled into his neck. You bit your bottom lip, your smile threatening to overtake the rest of your face as Gale's hands ran the lengths of your arms and back. "We're supposed to be reading." You chuckled, and Gale’s own laughter rumbled through your body in response. 

"Then let us read, my sweet." He pressed a kiss to your temple and plucked the book from your hands, opening it to the first page before conjuring a few mage hands to do the rest while he wound his arms tightly back around you and began to read aloud. 

You had enjoyed several chapters of the book together when a shadow moving outside caught your attention. You silenced Gale with a hand held in the air, your body tensing as you reached for your sword. 

"Uhm… hello?"

The soft, tentative voice coming through the flap had your muscles relaxing immediately. "Astarion," you exhaled in relief and pulled the tent flap open. He stood there in little more than his ruffled undershirt and pants, shivering ever so slightly from the cold; his eyes a catastrophic blend of hope, fear, and vulnerability as they locked onto you. "Oh gods, Stari, come in here, you're freezing!" You fussed worriedly, opening your arms to him like you so often did, and you didn't miss the sudden ease of his sharp facial features as he gave in to your embrace, pulled to it like a moth to a flame, and settled into your arms like he belonged there. He did belong there. 

You walked backwards, enough to seal the tent flap behind the elf, before your fingers found his curls as they always did, and he sighed happily as you scratched his scalp. He nuzzled closer to you, his icy cold nose finding a home in the nape of your neck as you calmed him. "I'm so glad you came." You mumbled into his hair and he merely hummed in response, pulling you flush against him and trailing his hands up and down your spine. After several quiet moments of quiet repose in each other's arms, you pulled back enough to look Astarion in the eyes. 

"I-" He spluttered, his gaze flicking to Gale then back to you. "I really wanted to get a look at this book of yours, Gale. As Tav said, I enjoy the dark drow stories myself." He brushed some wrinkles out of his white shirt awkwardly and you took the opportunity to shoot Gale a deadly glare. Play along, it said. Or else.

"Of course." Gale chirped, trying to sound as casual as possible. "Well, it truly is a beauty, isn't it Tav?"

"Definitely." You smiled in silent thanks and reached for Astarion's hand, pressing the pad of a finger into one of his and allowing him to do the rest. "Come on. We're on chapter 5, but I'll give you a summary of what's happened so far." You sat down beside Gale, and Astarion beside you, and you launched into the details of what Astarion had missed in the first five chapters, forgetting the world around you and all of its present dangers: the tadpoles, the mindflayers, the Absolute, all of it, and diving into the adventure yet again. Gale glanced over at the new visitor in his tent, initially with dubiosity; he'd had no intention of sharing you if that's what it came down to. However, his resolve wavered ever so slightly once he took in the vampire’s face as he looked at you. Gale didn't know Astarion could even look like that: his features softened, the harsh lines and wrinkles missing from his pale face, and his eyes wide with wonder and- Gale paused, realization slamming into him at full force as the vermillion glint of the vampire's eyes in the candlelight revealed his secrets. Gale recognized that look. It was the same look he had in his eyes when he looked at you. 

Love. 

And as he watched, Gale saw the same look in your eyes, no matter which man they were trained upon. "Godsdamn it." He thought. "What in the hells am I going to do?" 

"That's all that's happened so far." You clapped your hands together as you finished catching Astarion up. "Shall we continue?" You turned your head to Gale who said nothing, only nodded and prepared to cast another set of Mage Hands. 

"W-wait, for a moment." Astarion stopped him hesitantly. "I'd- well, I'd like to say something first, Tav." 

"Oh, of course." You looked back at him, your eyes wide and curious. 

"I've been thinking about this for awhile, but I never really knew how to put it into words. However, I- ugh this is so ridiculously awkward with the wizard here too." He buried his face in his hands. 

"I can leave for a moment if you-"

"Gods. No, it involves you, sit down." Astarion huffed, waving his hand in Gale's direction. 

"Very well." Gale remained as he was, perched precariously on a pillow, his full attention on the vampire spawn. 

"I've realized lately that, that I've never had someone who cares for me before - not that I can remember, anyway. And no one that could possibly measure up to you." He said the words to your fingers, which he had wrapped up in his own and was fiddling with tenderly in his lap. "I don't want to lose you, but I didn’t know how to tell you so, even when you told me how. It didn't feel quite right, it didn't fit. But I can say it now." He tilted his head up and met your eyes steadily. "I care for you, Tav. I- I need time to process whatever this is between us. But I don't want you to think I don't want you, because I do. And, if that package comes with a certain pompous wizard," he leveled Gale with a humored smirk. "Then I believe I could be alright with that arrangement. As long as he plays by the same rules we do, that is." 

Gale shot you a quizzical look. "You have to be patient and respect all of his boundaries." You explained, and Gale’s face fell into a sorrowful understanding. 

"Of course I would respect your wishes, Astarion. I may be the victim of some over-active hubris, a wildly inconvenient condition, and an intellect much larger than my single head can contain, but I am not a man without respect and understanding." 

"So… by all of that you mean yes." Astarion quipped and Gale chuckled. 

"Yes, Astarion, I mean yes." 

"Wait, hold on a moment." You sat up on your knees between them, looking back and forth at the two men you'd come to love so much, settling on the wizard. "Gale, are you saying you'd be alright with a 3 person relationship? I didn’t know that was something you'd ultimately agree to." 

"No definite answers yet. I'm working on it. Much like Astarion, the thought of being without you is slowly proving too much to bear. And perhaps having you around won't be too bad in the end, Astarion." 

"Oh thank you kindly for those inspiring compliments, Gale." Astarion rolled his eyes, but the growing smile on his lips told the truth of his thoughts on the matter, and you squeezed his hand with a sudden giddiness. 

"Anytime." Gale made a mock bow before sitting back down in the mess of pillows. "Now, are we going to read or shall I kick you both back out into the cold?" His mage hands appeared and he handed them the book. 

"You wouldn't!" You gasped playfully, scooting closer to him.

"Yes, yes, you're right, I wouldn't. Come here, both of you. If you're going to see the drawings you'd better get close." You resumed your place between Gale's legs and opened your arms to Astarion, who crawled in between yours and curled up against your chest like a cat, his head resting on your shoulder, glancing up at the book every now and again to admire the artwork, then planting tender kisses along your jawline before settling back into you. 

After several chapters more and an hour had gone by, Astarion purred softly against your chest while Gale rubbed your arm with one hand and Astarion's back with the other. Your hands were where they often found purchase - amidst soft white curls that were as light as air to your touch - , massaging small circles on the elf's head as he dozed, and you didn’t know how you could possibly be happier. You sighed blissfully, allowing your eyes to finally fall closed. 

"Goodnight Gale, goodnight Astarion." You mumbled, already halfway gone. 

"Goodnight, Tav." Gale whispered in your ear as you faded into a euphoric sleep, curled up between the men you loved; the men who loved you; the men who could possibly one day learn to love each other.

[snailmail444]

Hello!

Found you through my gorgeous friend @maylilithreign, who I adore enormously!

It's so lovely of you to open up your asks!

I just read your head canons about the bachelors. Our good doctor Harvey is my man.

I have a couple of asks.

Firstly, what are the bachelors favourite positions?

Secondly, the bachelors are in the mood for a little action. What are they going to do to seduce their significant other?

Thank you so much! <3

Bachelors Favorite Positions and Seduction Techniques

18+ 🌱 MDNI 🌱 NSFW

You 🤝 me

Loving Libby

Gonna try and mesh these together because I want it all in the same post lol okay here we go 😈 NSFW under the cut!

Harvey-

💚 When Harvey’s in the mood, I imagine he doesn’t just ask outright

💚 He’s gotta feel out the vibe first. Make sure you’ve had a good day, that you’re not tired or otherwise turned off because he’s considerate like that

💚Kind of a doctorly approach you know? Your feelings > his needs

💚 Once he’s ascertained that you’re good, he’ll start with a little shoulder massage or a foot rub. Something to get his hands on you and make you feel good, but definitely not platonic sort of touches.

💚 Kisses your calf or your neck and asks if you want him. Lord help !!!!

💚 As for position? Well since he’s the horny one he gets to have his favorite :3

💚 Missonary king. He likes how versatile it is, and that it’s comfortable for you, and he gets eye contact.

💚 win win win. He stays winning in this position

💚 Loves to use the eye contact to his advantage. Mr Soft Dom

💚 :3

Elliott-

❤️ Elliott isn’t often desperate horny

❤️ He gets worked up a lot and is almost always dtf, but rarely is he climbing the walls

❤️ So when he is losing it…well

❤️ The MOMENT you get home he’s covering your body with his, pressing you to the door and licking into your mouth

❤️ Voices his need in the spaces where he’s supposed to breathe

❤️ As for his favorite position? It’s literally right there

❤️ Your back to the door or the floor of the entryway or the couch if you two can stumble in

❤️ So it’s whatever is beneficial to that. Your legs around his waist or you bent over the nearest surface, etc

❤️ Place over position

❤️ Passion passion passion

Alex-

🤎 The shyest of the lovers I think

🤎 He just wants to be nice and sweet and he doesn’t know exactly how to ask for sex or initiate unless the mood is right

🤎 He’d probably try to ignore the horny away, but that doesn’t work LOL

🤎 One kiss and he’s panting and rocking against you like the needy guy he is

🤎 You have to ask him if he’s horny, and he’ll give you a shy kinda grin, his cheeks red but his eyes excited because he’s gonna get to fuck lol

🤎 Cowgirl king. Save a horse, ride Alex (I should be put down)

🤎 Loves seeing you on top, but it only

takes a little before he wants to show off by fucking hard from underneath. Core strength icon

🤎 Either of you can set the pace this way, and he loves that

🤎 Hon ment for Missionary because I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Alex is a ROMANTIC AT HEART!!!!!

Shane-

💙 Now Shane. I’m thinking he might show off a bit to try and seduce you

💙 Pick you up, throw you over his shoulder, something that puts those farm muscles to work 😍

💙 Tease! Tease! He’s teasing!

💙 Probably flirty/compliments too

💙 I totally see him once he’s comfortable in a relationship falling back on all his old high school gridball pickups

💙 I’m sorry I just think man’s got game once he sobers up

💙 So it’s easy to tell because he’s trying to Impress

💙 DOGGY!!!

💙 I know this isn’t a particularly fresh take, but he’s sooooo hitting it from the back. It’s just the truth

💙 Loves it because it’s so hot to him to watch your face buried in the covers as you slur out moans for him

💙 Probably switches a few times throughout though

💙 He loves to manhandle you what can I say

💙 Mating press hon ment

Sam-

🩷 He’s so easy and also horny all the fucking time

🩷 Dudes libido is off the charts first and foremost. So jot that down

🩷 So when he wants to fuck he typically will press his body all up against yours

🩷 Presses up on your back while you’re cooking, grabs your hips, pulls you into his lap

🩷 Big on physical touch, this guy

🩷 As for position? Hehe

🩷 His favorite is whatever you tell him to do. Doesn’t have any preference because oh man! He’s getting to hit! Sweet!

🩷 Does have an affection towards cowgirl because it’s the easiest position for someone else to dominate him in

🩷 Being so serious he’s suuuuuch a sub he wants to be controlled hardcore

🩷 So if his pleasure is completely contingent on what you give him? Well

🩷 😏

Sebastian-

🖤 Another shy boy !!

🖤 But also the most likely to out and out ask for what he wants

🖤 So a lot of the time he ends up just blurting it out

🖤 You’ll be watching TV together or something, reading, whatever

🖤 And out of nowehere he’ll ask if he can give you oral

🖤 King oral fixation wants his mouth on you now!!

🖤 And what are you supposed to do? Say no??

🖤 That’s his favorite, though I’m not sure it’s a sex position

🖤 Man just really loves giving head, okay?

🖤 If you’re in bed he’s probably jumping the covers, but he also might sneak a hand down there while he’s enjoying his meal because he is LOVING! IT!

🖤 Finishes in his boxers when you finish in his mouth, so it counts

[bryngmemoney]

✁FASHION FLIRT✃

Megumi Fushiguro x Reader

⭑story masterlist link

tw: none

Writing in between messages!!

🪡Chapter Nineteen: First Date

Megumi led the way as you walked by his side to a restaurant he had recommended, which was apparently also his favorite.

“I think you’ll like it, well I hope you like it.” he smiled at you as you two continued your walk. “I bet I will, sounds good from what you’ve described.”

He looked down at your hand, wondering if he should reach for it, at least to try and be a little more romantic. Megumi had been alone with you before, last night he was feeling especially brave, so why couldn’t he do that now. He felt nervous, more than he had been any other time with you. It might’ve been the fact that this was officially a date.

He was a little thankful when he finally saw the street sign of the place a few feet away from you. Maybe once you guys had settled down to eat he’d know what to do.

There ended up being a couple people waiting in front of you, so you guys ended up waiting to be seated for a bit. “You really like this place?” you asked him. “Yeah, it’s pretty good i’d say.” You took a moment to look around the place as you waited, it definitely went in line with the atmosphere you’d think he’d enjoy.

You turned to look at him about to bring up the whole fiasco in the morning, only to stop when you saw he had his camera app open, ‘discreetly’ trying to look at himself. You saw him try to adjust a few strands of his hair that fell on his face, his eyes scrunching slightly with worry as if he thought he looked off. “I like your hair.” you complimented, catching him completely off guard. He looked up from his phone, immediately trying to hide the screen as if you hadn’t already been looking at him.

“Oh, uh, it’s nothing special.” He had to look away before you noticed how red his face was getting.

“Megumi,” you laughed, watching his back completely face you.

“Shut up, don’t laugh at me, I take you out for lunch and this is the thanks I get?” He peeked back over, still slightly flustered but in a better condition to at least look at you.

“You’re cute, and pretty, it’s why I chose you to be my model.”

“Shut up, you don’t know what you’re saying.”

Just then the hostess called out his name, signaling the table was ready for you two. “C’mon,” he spoke, finally deciding to just grab your hand, as you both walked to be seated.

Excited to finally just sit down with you and talk, especially after working up more confidence, he was about to let go of your hand so you could take a seat across from him in the booth you’d been assigned. Yet the moment he heard an all too familiar voice call his name he cursed the universe for ruining his one chance. He debated running off with you knowing exactly who was approaching.

“Megumi kid, is that you?” You turned to look behind you, only to be met with your teacher, Satoru Gojo.

“Megumi! It is! And Y/n? What is going on here?” He had a more teasing, playful tone, yet you were a bit put off by the whole thing.

“Go away, please.” Megumi said, you felt him slightly tighten his hold around your hand.

“Oh but we haven’t caught up in so long! I basically raised you and now you shew me away? Why don’t we have lunch together, me and Geto were just about to be sat down, but we can just join you two! Don’t worry i’ll pay.” Before Megumi could protest again, he was already sat on one side, turning around to wave Geto over once they saw each other.

“I’m so so sorry,” you heard Megumi mumble to you as he sat down defeatedly opposite of Gojo, leaving room for you.

Author’s Note: megumi’s so done

anyways next date will hopefully be uninterrupted 🤗

hope you guys enjoyed!

Taglist below, feel free to comment or dm me to be added!!

TAGLIST

@iridescentrays @gumimegz @maya-maya-56 @mamafly @lunavixia @swissy23 @coltsgf @m00nglad3-mp3 @etsukis @xosren @qtnfer @oengleli @harek89 @y-sabell-a @morgyyyyyyy @getolvr @liliumaraneae @k3lbade @aiieera @dancedancey @get0sfav @chuyasthighs0 @hyssoplampflickers @kpopanimen @sad-darksoul @vivi-loves-penguins @kasumitenbaz @talkingsperm @nymphsdomain @inlovewithlondonn @rzcnlb @enchantingkitty @fuyuzemi @lysaray @ni-ki-ismyluv @renemy @frumira @mixzimi @miralunaela @dreamxiing @p3achiee @anianurst @nishii28 @arguendo @sleepytoges @hallothankmas

[joanvisitsrome]

stars between us - ch.3 - h.c

Here's chapter 3! I'm looking to do a one-shot or two before continuing this further. I'm always taking requests for anyone in my Masterlist. Comment on this post if you'd like to be added to the taglist for this fic!

Summary: The first day of the two-day camping trip with Hazel. I'd recommend the song "how soon is now?" by the Smiths, for at least the beginning of this chapter.

Contains: overwhelming amount of fluff, sad hazel, mean!pj, slight angst, a wee bit of flirting, mention of weed/drugs

To say that you were scared awake is an understatement. PJ quite literally BLASTED a horn into you and Hazel’s ear the next morning. You jolt awake, not realizing you were still holding Hazel’s hand. However, in your jolt, you squeeze it. You then realize that Hazel got very close to you in her sleep last night. You let go of her hand under the covers and rub your eyes.

“Morning Haze.” you said sleepily.

“Morning,” she replied in a raspy voice.

“Gee, aren’t you guys tired! What, were you guys finger-fucking each other all night?” PJ interrupts. All you and Hazel do is give her an annoyed look, as you had barely woken up and were already done with her shit.

“PJ, just because two people slept in the same bed and are tired waking up, does not mean they fucked each other,” Brittany points out.

“Okay, okay. Jesus.”

You and Hazel begrudgingly get out of bed, knowing that staff would be knocking at the cabin’s door to wake everyone up soon. You both got changed into comfortable outfits for the day. Today on the trip, everyone would be picking up trash, planting flowers, and hiking.

“Your shirt is very pretty,” Hazel says as you’re fixing your hair.

“Oh, thanks!” you smile at the unexpected compliment.

“What flowers are those?” Hazel motions to the flowers on your shirt.

“Oh these? They’re irises.”

“Are those your favorite flowers?”

“No, they’re tulips. Do you have a favorite flower?”

“Actually, yeah. They’re daisies.” Hazel smiles, looking at you with her gorgeous blue eyes. You nod, internally reminding yourself to keep that in mind.

“Alright, are you ready to go to breakfast?” you ask Hazel. She nods, and stands up. She looks at you for a second, contemplating something. She shakes out of it though.

“Yeah! Let’s go!”

“Wait, Hazel, I need to talk to you.” you hear from PJ from the corner of the room.

“You can go without me. I’ll meet you there.”

“Are you sure? I can wait, I don’t mind.”

“No, no. Just save a plate of breakfast for me, okay?” You give her a thumbs up and leave the cabin, closing the door behind you. Mid-walk to the tables, you remember that you forgot your book. You make your way back, but hear your name being said in the voices you hear when you’re at the door.

“She probably doesn’t like you Hazel. Look at her, she’s friends with the cheerleaders.” you hear from PJ.

“How is that different from Josie and Isabel?” you hear from Hazel.

“Well Isabel was gay. Your new little friend is not.”

“Well we don’t exactly know that yet. Plus, I want to get to know her. Not stick my tongue down her throat.”

“I’m just saying, don’t get disappointed if she doesn’t hang out with you after this weekend.” after that you hear silence. You hear footsteps, which cause you to scramble away from the door. However, you still need your book. You approach the door again, opening it, and seeing Hazel waiting there, her eyes swimming with tears.

“Hey.” she says quietly, a small break in her voice.

“Hazel. Are you okay?” you put your hand on her shoulder. She nods her head, although you know damn well that that’s a lie.

“Let’s go somewhere else.” You lead Hazel outside, and go about fifteen feet away from the cabin, near some trees.

“Can you explain to me what’s wrong?” Hazel tries to calm down, but keeps on crying. You put your arm around her shoulder and rub her arm soothingly. “Talk to me. Let me know what’s going on.”

Hazel’s breathing becomes less erratic and she’s able to catch a breath. She leans her back against the tree.

“I guess, uh, PJ doesn’t really think that you and I are really friends. She told me that you’re just being nice to me because I’m really clingy, and that like I haven’t stopped being around you since the bus ride.”

“Well, you’ve told me once, and I’m seeing once again, PJ is an asshole. Why are you even listening to her in the first place?”

“I, um, don’t know. She’s known me for a really long time, and I feel like I have to trust her.”

“You can know someone for all your life and not trust them. Haze, I can tell you right now that that’s not true. I’m really excited to spend the day with you today. I mean it. I could’ve just tagged along with Brittany and Isabel today, but I chose to hang out with you. Because you’re cool. And I like you.” Hazel immediately hugs you after you say that. You hug her back. When you two pull away, you teach her a trick to make her eyes less red after crying. The two of you go to the breakfast table and grab two bagels. You sit at a table and make plans for the day.

“What do you want to do today, Hazel?”

“I definitely want to go hiking. Some people were saying there was a waterfall somewhere.”

“I bet we could go while picking up trash.”

“We also need to find a time to look at the stars. I’m not letting myself forget today.”

“I’m hoping the skies are clear tonight.” 

The two of you finish up your breakfast and grab gloves and bags to pick up trash. The morning is quite tiring, but you and Hazel’s chatter and jokes help brighten it. Hazel ends up being very funny, leaving you laughing hysterically. For lunch, you eat with everyone in the cabin.

“I’m glad to see that you and Hazel have become friends,” Isabel admitted.

“Me too. I’m really glad you told me a bit about her. I probably wouldn’t have had the courage to talk to her. But I’m glad I did.” Just then, PJ bounds up to the table, her hands pounding on it, causing the five of you sitting to go quiet.

“I have weed for tonight.”

“PJ, none of us like smoking.” Josie points out.

“THAT is why I thought ahead. I got us edibles.”

“And how did you get them?” Brittany asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I gave some old man I came across while planting some flowers like ten dollars.” All of you, being young, dumb teenagers, shrugged it off. The rest of the day was declared free time by the staff, as you all had fulfilled your requirements for the trip.

“Do you want to go on that hike?” you asked Hazel. She nodded, and the two of you left the table to begin your hike. You somehow both still had things to talk about while trying to find the waterfall Hazel had been talking about earlier.

“Oh my god, Hazel! There’s daisies!” you grab her hand to pull her over to the field of daisies nearby. She happily runs with you, picking a few. You do as well, and the two of you stick a few handfuls into your backpack. Eventually, the two of you to get to the waterfall. You both sit down.

“Can I see the daisies we picked?” Hazel asks. You nod, and watch her begin to make a daisy crown with them. She puts one on your head, before you ask her to teach you how to make one. She teaches you, and you put one on her head as well.

“We look absolutely stunning in these.” you say dramatically, putting your wrist up to your forehead.

“You definitely do. You look like the fairy flower princess.” Hazel says, without contemplation.

“And who said there couldn’t be two fairy flower princesses?” you smile and look at Hazel, who looks at you too. Your eye contact with her stays for a few (very long) seconds before the two of you resume talking.

“Are you going to do the edibles PJ brought later?” Hazel asks.

“Maybe. I don’t really know if I’m being honest. I don’t exactly trust PJ’s source.”

“I’ll do them if you do them.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll let you know if I plan on doing any.” The two of you decide to head back, as you were both quite tired from the day, and really just wanted to take it easy for the rest of it. You were looking forward to reading your astronomy book for a bit before stargazing with Hazel, but you were greeted by all the girls in the cabin in a circle, and PJ waving at the two of you.

“Who’s ready for some truth or dare? Huh?”

taglist: @at1nyzen @slaughtercarrie @sophia2414

[theorphicangel]

𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫. | 𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐢 𝐱 (𝐟𝐞𝐦!) 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 | 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 |

[ “𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿?” ]

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐬: 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐟𝐟, 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭, 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐦𝐮𝐭, 𝐦𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

synopsis: You're pretty good at sticking to rules. Always have been. And for the past three years you would think that you've been good enough to stick to the rules of being a roommate.

Rule number one: Don’t fall in love. Under any circumstances.

Rule number two: Follow to rule number one.

Easy enough to follow.

Right?

series | previous chapter | next chapter

Chapter 4: April.

cw: suggestive themes, 18+

“Levi! Come look at this rock!”

Levi comes to a stop. He’s only a little ahead of you and yet you can already imagine the frown on his face before he turns.

“Why? So you can throw it at me? That’s attempted murder.” He deadpans.

You snorted aloud, watching him stroll over to you with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, don’t start giving me ideas, not when we’re getting along so well. I might just use it against you, and it’s not attempted if I succeed.”

“Too bad we’re in the open. Save it for later.” Levi turns to make his way back to the path but he stops again. “Who said that we were getting along well?”

“Well, you stopped calling me an idiot for one. That really annoyed me at one point.”

Levi snorts. “I’d like to see you try and pick that shit up anyways… idiot.”

“Hange’ll help me.” You say, purposely ignoring his insult.. At your comment Levi merely rolled his eyes as, unfortunately, you had a point.

If anything Hange would agree to any stupid thing you’d say. Together you were like tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum…only twice as worse. If Levi could prevent one moment from happening, it would have been the moment that the two of you met. If he’d known that you and Hange would live up to the expectations of making Levi’s life a pure hell, he wouldn't have taken you over to Hange’s house that day.

You laugh out loud suddenly, as if you had read Levi’s personal thoughts. “Don’t tell me you actually think we’ll carry this out.”

“Wouldn’t beat it past you.” Levi spoke, turning around and heading back to the path. You follow him diligently, wanting to keep up with him.

You quickly join his side abruptly bumping into his side. With this action you smoothly link arms with him. For a second you feel his body go stiff, freezing up in surprise but shockingly he doesn’t seem to protest by it.

You lean into him slightly as you tease. “Don’t worry, I don’t plan on murdering my favorite roommate just yet.”

Now it’s his turn to laugh as you both walk down the path together, taking a slow pace.

“Okay one: I’ve been your only roommate… two: ‘just yet’?... I may as well take your guilty ass down to the police station myself.”

You shrug casually, ignoring his last threat. “One: Not many people have had the ability to earn the title of favorite roommate, so be grateful you jackass… and two: sure, I’ll give you credit for being the first but what about when I move out?”

Levi frowns almost immediately, a horrible taste in his mouth at the slight proposal of your last point. Levi feels his stomach suddenly drop and he tries to keep a light hearted tone in his voice as he questions you further. “What’d you mean when you move out?”

“After I murder you, I’ll need to find a new roommate of course, I can’t pay rent by myself.”

Levi rolls his eyes again but this time his shoulders seem to drop with a sort of internal relief. Levi hopes you won’t bring that up again, not even as a joke. He’s not looking forward to that conversation. Not for a long time anyways.

“So you’ll go off and find a new victim?”

“Something like that, although I don’t think anyone else will be as annoying as you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Levi scoffs in reply.“And where exactly are you planning to hide my body?”

“Not sure.” You murmur softly. “Wanna help me with ideas?”

“Fuck no.”

You pull a frown. “I want to find a comfortable spot for you.”

“Comfortable? I’m dead.”

“Whatever, I still want to keep your soul in peace y’know?”

“You are absolutely fucking ridiculous.” Levi mutters. “I should’ve recorded this so that I can prove to the whole world how fucking crazy you are.”

“They would never believe you.” You taunt. “Plus it was you who made the suggestion in the first place, doofus.”

“Are you sure about that?” Levi asks, tilting his head to look over at you. You notice his dark locks falling gently beneath his brow.

“Positive.”

Letting out a giggle and him a withdrawn scoff you continue to stroll down the path, arms still linked with his.

The local park was pretty quiet, give or take for a few lonesome people. You put this to the responsibility of the gloom of rain clouds approaching your overhead. You and Levi both randomly agreed to go out for a walk to clear your minds from rotting in the apartment all day. But it was suggested to you in particular.

Over the past few days Levi had noticed how you had been cooped up in your room all day, waiting for a text back from… him.

Earlier, Levi had thought for a second that you were alluding to about moving out to go live with Daniel. It was simply a joke. You didn’t even explicitly mention Daniel at all but it didn’t take long for Levi to quickly jump to conclusions.

Although you’d played it off as a lighthearted joke Levi would be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried about it turning to reality one day.

But who is he kidding? You’re only roommates. Friends even. Not…lovers. He has no right to get upset about what you choose to do in the future.

It’d be wrong to think of you as his. Completely wrong. And it’d be wrong to think of the ways you’d touch him. Particularly, late at night when he can’t sleep he’s conjuring up the ways that you would please him. It’s certainly wrong to think of you with his fist wrapped around his cock, imagining that it was yours.

How would you react?

Would you be gentle with him?

How would you sound when he touches you?

How would you sound when he enters you for the first time? When he fills you up? How would he feel when you're clenched around him? And what would the look on your face be when you–

Fuck, fuck, fuck, he shouldn’t be thinking that. Not when you’re right next to him.

“Are you alright?” You ask, noticing Levi’s silence. You felt his body suddenly stiffen.

“Yeah, yeah.” He plays off, trying to fixate his mind on anything, anything at all. Anything but you. In order to succeed in this, he thinks of the worst thing possible. And it seems to do the trick on getting his past thoughts to evaporate.

“Have you heard back from–”

He doesn’t even need to finish the sentence to get you to understand what he’s trying to say. Levi can barely say his name, mentally cursing himself for bringing him up. This walk was supposed to be an attempt to get your mind off him.

Lately, Levi’s noticed how you linger around your phone. Constantly refreshing your screen in the hope of receiving an immediate notification.

You shake your head beside him. Levi notices your facial expression drop at the topic of conversation and a sea of regret floods his entire body.

“No but…” you pause, taking a moment to search for some words. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”

“It wouldn’t be reasonable enough.” Levi mutters under his breath, and he succeeds in getting a small smirk from you. The two of you continue to walk at a slow pace down the path, a comfortable silence emerging.

“I know you hate him.”

“What made that obvious?”

You chuckle at the sound of Levi’s sarcastic tone. “From the moment he came into the apartment and forgot to take his shoes off I knew that he would never be able to live up to your expectations ever again.”

Levi huffed, as if the remembrance of that occasion physically pained him.

“But I’m sure he’s learned his lesson by now. You probably scared him off with all your glaring.”

“I was not glaring.”

“Oh yeah? And the sky is purple.”

“I didn’t say a word to him.”

“You didn’t have to.” you remarked. “It was obvious by your face that you didn’t like him.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“Try and tone it down next time.” you sigh. “I really do want to make it work with him y’know?”

“I know.” Levi says, a random feeling of dejection in his heart and it takes all of him not to add to the end of that sentence ‘but you deserve so much better.’

A crease appears between his brows at your words of a ‘next time.’

Levi hopes there won’t be a next time. Deep down he hopes that there won’t be another time of Daniel coming over invading Levi’s personal space with his shitty jokes and pathetic conversation. He hopes there won’t be a next time of witnessing how Daniel eagerly tries to show off constantly to try and win your heart, blissfully unaware that you deeply dislike it.

He hopes there won’t be a next time when Daniel comes to stay over for the night and Levi is left to hear your muffled moans through the walls. It’s a violent reminder that he’s not getting the privilege of knowing you intimately. He hopes there isn’t a next time where he has to watch Daniel sneak out through the front door, not bothering to wait until you wake with claims of work at his excuse.

Levi truly hopes that there won’t be a time where he watches your innocent heart get played with.

“Ducks.” you say randomly, causing Levi to emerge from his thoughts.

“What?”

You’ve both now reached the lake that stretches wide and far, creating an oval shape in the center of the park. Over to the right there’s a bridge that leads to the other side of the park.

“Ducks.” You repeat, now delving your hands in your pockets to look for your phone. “Lemme take a picture.”

“Swans.” Levi points out impassively.

“And ducks. Same thing.”

“Hardly.”

You ignore his last comment as your thumb clicks the white circle, taking multiple photos of the scenery despite the gray sky and all.

“Take one with me in it.” You turn towards him, holding out your phone to him. For a few seconds he merely stares at your phone in silent protest. You tilt your head in pure persuasion. “Pretty please?”

He rolls his eyes, unable to resist your somewhat adorable charm.

“Whatever.” He mumbles taking your phone as you walk ahead of him ready to pose. Levi sighed before tilting your phone landscape to get a full view of the lake and the swans behind you.

“Smile.” he deadpanned before focusing on taking the photo.

A cheesy grin spread across your face, your hands gesturing towards the swans and ducks. Levi couldn’t help but shake his head at the way you posed bashfully.

“Are you finished?” he mutters, after you start changing poses numerous times. “I think your storage is full.”

Your face drops. “Wait really?” And in a blink of an eye you’re by his side with a concerned look on your face as you glance at your phone screen. “Wait where?”

It then dawns on you that he just wanted you to stop.

“Fuck you.”

“It was for your own reputation. Murderers can’t be seen making goofy poses in the local park.”

“They were not goofy–”

Your argument soon gets interrupted by a stranger approaching and you could tell someone was coming based on the way Levi’s eyes squinted behind you and how his teasing expression began to disappear.

You turned to see an elderly woman, who you assume to be out on possibly on her daily walk.

“Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but admire the two of you and I was wondering if you would like me to take a picture of you and your boyfriend?”

The question makes you double take immediately. Your cheeks grow warm and you stutter for an answer as you and Levi both go silent.

“Oh, no he’s not my–” you begin before you’re interrupted by Levi.

“Sure.”

Levi hands her the phone, your phone, and the two of you both shuffle backwards,

At first you’re unsure of how to pose but quickly relax and wrap an arm around Levi’s waist. Once again, you can feel how his body stiffens yet he ends up positioning his arms around your shoulders.

“Thank you!” you say, taking back the phone after she had taken a few pictures.

“The two of you remind me of my late husband and I. We met when we were quite young and we’d come to this park almost every day together.” As she comes to a pause, she bows her head making your heart ache for her as she remembers her gone soulmate.

“Keep each other close and don’t take each other for granted.” The older woman murmurs her advice. “You two are a beautiful couple. Please cherish every moment you spend together and don’t regret it.”

“Oh uh– thank you.” You nod, the idea of breaking the truth now a thought that you had pushed away.

You nudged Levi discreetly, who was listening silently with a blank expression, to say his gratitude. You wave at the woman who shuffles away, heading over to the bridge.

For a moment, there was a silence between you and Levi. Neither of you are sure how to carry on from that experience.

You take the opportunity to go first. “Why would you say that?”

Levi shrugs, “It’d be more embarrassing for us if we had to explain ourselves. It’s not like it’s the first time people have assumed, so I just thought to let it–be.”

You nod slowly, coming to realize that he’s right.

It was an honest and harmless mistake and that lady was not the first to think that you and Levi were more than just roommates or friends. It has gotten pretty exhaustive and repetitive to state your friendship so now, you don’t really care about the assumptions that people make about the two of you and by the looks of it…neither does he.

A small smile reaches your lips before carrying on with your stoll and in silence the two of you admire the lake which stretches to the other half of the park. On approaching the bridge, dark clouds of rain seem to be heading your way and this is the moment where you internally curse yourself for not bringing an umbrella.

“Maybe…we should start heading back to the car.” You suggest, anxious of the heavy shade of gray that looms over you.

“I second that.” Levi murmurs, beside you. “Let’s head back.”

Making a U-turn, the two of you decide to leave the opportunity to explore the other side of the park for another day as your weather app informs of heavy rain to begin in the next ten minutes which will continue for the rest of the afternoon.

You’re a little deflated, disappointed that your day had to come to a short end. Making your way back to the car, you and Levi briskly walk in an attempt to make it back to the apartment with your bodies as dry as possible but once you felt a large raindrop fall onto your skin, you knew that the raingods had come to curse you.

“Fuck’s sake.” you mutter underneath your breath, eyes watching the once dry pavement beneath your feet soon become patterned with raindrops. In a rush, Levi grabs your hand fiercely, taking you by surprise as he continues his pace despite the rain beginning to unleash its worst.

For a second he was optimistic. Thinking that perhaps this would be a slow start before the real downpour was set but his thinking has failed him as the light raindrops turn heavy and every inch of his body seems to become an antonym to the word dry.

You pull at his hand which causes him to abruptly halt for a moment to turn and look at you.

And by god were you a sight for sore eyes.

Your face is dripping with rain, clothes dark with precipitation and your waterproof mascara suddenly not living up to its name. It’s more than obvious that you needed to get somewhere dry. You both are in need of it.

Levi looks around, scanning for a place where the two of you can find shelter, the number of people in the park now becoming scarce. Unfortunately, there’s no buildings nearby but Levi spots a large oak tree whose branches seem to provide a decent enough roof for the two of you.

His hand, albeit wet, is still tightly wrapped around yours, guiding you to the tree as you try to blink away the on coming raindrops from your eyes. It doesn’t take long for the two of you to reach your safe haven whilst the rain is still smacking against the concrete.

Contrastingly, the ground is soft underneath your feet and you can feel yourself slightly sink a little into the ground with each step. Levi, of course, makes his complaints known by cursing as loudly as he can over the rushing sound of rainfall.

“Shit, I didn’t know this would be muddy. Maybe we should go somewhere else?” His eyes were already searching for a new location, a location with shelter and of appropriate ground.

You shake your head, raindrops falling from your head. “It’s fine, I don’t want to go back out there again.”

Although the leaves of the oak tree aren’t completely dense, you’re still glad that the amount of raindrops that are now falling on you has now slowed to a much relaxed pace.

You sniffle a little, wiping off the raindrops from your face, trying as much as you can to dry yourself up but you don’t seem to get much luck from your otherwise soaked sleeves.

“You alright?” Levi asks. And now you can hear his voice a little better as the volume of the rain has quietened down.

You nod wordlessly, straining your clothes from any damp, watching as water is squeezed out of your materials. You curse aloud, only now realizing the extent of being in the rain without the umbrella. You’ll just have to manifest to the universe tonight that you won’t catch a cold but you can’t completely disregard that consequence.

“Take this.” Levi mutters before taking off his black jacket. “I mean it’s pretty soaked, but you should stay warm. You don’t want to be catching a cold.”

You smirk a little at his offer. “I’m pretty sure it’s set in stone by now, don’t worry. You should keep it on, you might catch a cold.”

“Says the one whose immune system is weaker than an egg shell.”

You roll your eyes. “Alright jerk, just ‘cause you only get sick approximately every 5 years.”

You expected a laugh from him, maybe even an insult but instead you watch the frown on his face grow deeper, him still gesturing for you to take his jacket. “You’re shivering. Take it.” His tone is a little more forceful and before you could even respond, you found comforting material wrapped around your shoulders.

It's only now that you're aware of the sudden close proximity between the two of you. His features are somehow more prominent in the rain. The front locks of his jet black hair have raindrops dripping down onto his face, dripping from his nose and sliding down his cheeks to meet his sharp jawline.

Somehow the rain just makes him look even more…attractive.

“Levi, I’m fine I swear.” You grumble, trying to distract your mind as the warmth from his body transitions to yours. Your retaliations are continuously ignored, leaving you no choice but to accept the gesture gratefully.

“Thanks.”

Levi’s eyes meet yours. “No problem.”You blink and you’re suddenly lost in them.

The gray of his iris mixed with a hint of light blue, which is apparent if you squint and you can’t help but worship their beauty.Your eyes move to glance at his lips. Pink and plump, with water dripping from his cupid’s bow. You’re not really sure why your eyes suddenly fixate on those, but your heart does seem to race faster and all of a sudden you’re now wondering how soft he would feel against your own lips, your own skin.

Looking back at him, he’s still fixated on you and the two of you are stuck like a photo in time. The only thing that reinforces the notion that you’re not living in a freeze frame is the rush of downpour that streams behind you.

Swallowing thickly, you just wonder…whether…maybe…if you just leaned in to –

You clear your throat suddenly, stepping back and sniffing. You turn away to wipe the tip of your nose.

No. Absolutely not. Get that thought out of your head.

“Sick already?” Levi presumes and there’s a hint of playfulness in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah.” You brush off. “Do you think it’ll ever calm down?”

The rush of downpour continues to aggravate the stone pavement, water dripping off the leaves above.

“Should do.”

“Or should we just run for it?”

“You’ll get sick.”

“Which is inevitable either way I’m sure.” you shrug.

Levi raises a brow. “You sure?”

“Undoubtedly sure.”

“You’ll regret it.”

Rolling your eyes, you begin to step forward where the downpour of rain doesn’t hesitate in drenching you again. “Are you coming or not, Ackerman?”

Rolling his eyes, he follows you, making a mental reminder in his mind to get his favorite stash of tea out when you both get home. Immediately.

And boy, did you regret it.

There’s nothing more you hate in life than being constrained to your bed, with endless tissues that come with an endless amount of sneezes and snot. Not to mention the sore throat or the banging headache that returns every hour even after taking medicine.

But what you hated the most was having to deal with a smugass roommate whom you had to rely on for basic needs. After multiple ‘I told you so’s’ and his own endless amount of complaints and criticism for you, you decided to fulfill his ego and express your regret for your decision.

It was bad enough that you were sick but now you had Levi taking care of you. You were currently under the pretense that he absolutely hated every single moment which, unbeknownst to you, was terribly false.

Entering your room with your third cup of tea this morning, he caught you in the midst of a sneezing fit whilst placing the steaming hot china cup down on your bedside table. And of course he loudly grimaced as he did so.

“Shut up.” you groan, your voice croaky from your illness.

“I–”

“I told you so, yeah, yeah are you finished?”

Levi frowned. “I was going to say that I could get you another pack of tissues if you wanted them?”

“Oh.” you say dumbly. “Right. That would be great thanks.”

Levi quickly disappeared from your room and arrived by the next minute, a new pack of tissues in his hands.

“Sorry.” You mumble, accepting the package.

“It’s fine.”

“It’s really not.” you sigh. “I’ve got you running around the house like a madman all because I’m sick.”

“Again.”

“Again.” you repeat, a small smile appearing across your lips.

“Thank you.” you say, after a long pause of silence.

“For what?”

You roll your eyes, honestly sometimes you really want to smack Levi against the wall. He can be so dense, which is surprising for someone who has achieved the highest grade possible at university.

“For this.” you gesture around. “For helping me out.”

He shrugged. “Nothing I haven’t done before.”

You hummed, “I’m getting pretty used to having you as my slave, maybe I won’t kill you at all.”

Levi clicked his tongue. “Don’t get too comfortable, princess.”

Whether it was the pet name or your fever spiking up again– though you wish to believe the latter– your cheeks suddenly burned and you looked away in hidden embarrassment. You cleared your throat before speaking again.

“I really do mean it though, thank you.”

Levi sat on the edge of your bed. “It’s the bare minimum I can do as your roommate.”

There it goes again. Your constant reminder.

You’re roommates, nothing more, nothing less. At the end of the day, you’re around each other merely because of a single contract.

You’re roommates, this is normal, the bare minimum.

This is what friends do. Not lovers.

Yet… you can’t stop yourself from thinking about if you were. Shaking your head you attempt to pull that thought out of your head. No, no, no, you’re with Daniel. Thinking about Levi? That would be wrong.

But could it be so wrong that he’s the only thing that you can think about late at night?

When you touch yourself underneath the sheets, it’s Levi’s name that you moan softly to yourself, fantasizing over the ways he would touch you. It’s embarrassing to admit but… Daniel’s never managed to please you properly. The only way that you can reach your full release is by imagining if it was Levi.

But it was wrong. So wrong. Yet, you couldn’t stop yourself from wondering.

How would he touch you? What would he feel like? Would he be soft and gentle with you or the complete opposite? What would he sound like when he–

You inhale sharply which catches Levi’s attention.

“You okay?” He asks.

You nod. “Just really cold.” You play off, trying to get rid of that dirty thought about your roommate.

You couldn’t. You were loyal to Daniel, even if he seems to take weeks to respond.

You couldn’t ever because you’re pretty sure Levi doesn’t even feel the same way.

If he did then you would’ve known by now. There would’ve been a hint.

You think back to Valentine’s day. Perhaps if you didn’t have a date with Daniel would he have asked you out?

No. Don’t be stupid. You are roommates.

The number one rule of being roommates is universal: Don’t fall in love with each other.

Snapping you back to reality, Levi picks up the cup of tea on your bedside table.

You cough a little. “Levi, I’m fine, really. You don’t need to babysit me.”

“You can’t murder me if you’re sick right?”

You laugh, which soon falls to a series of heavy coughs. With his free hand, Levi rubs reassuring circles on your back, once you’re alright he holds out the teacup for you to sip. You do so obediently, the hot liquid satisfying your body. You let out a deep exhale, reclining back into your bed.

“So when I get better you’ll watch out?”

He nods, smirking a little. “I’ll always watch out for you. Always.”

reblogs are much appreciated!

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[lelengerine]

for ur mini drabble event could u do a bookstore au with haechan plss 😆 thank u!!

our secret spot

pairing | haechan x reader

genre | bookstore au, nicknames are used for reader and haechan (pretty & hyuckie respectively), no pronouns are explicitly used (but disclaimer: i did make it with a fem!reader in mind >&lt;)

wc | 1.6k a little way longer than i thought this would become... errr

notes | i miss writing for hyuck so much huhu i’m so glad i’m actually getting back into it now that i have the time T^T to anon, im sorry this took so long but i hope you still like it !!

this is part of my drabble req event here!

m.list

with the amount of times you frequent bookstores, your friends have started pointing out how you’re beginning to smell like books yourself- was that comment a jab or a compliment? honestly, you’d take it as the latter from how fond you are of them.

“y/n, it’s literally the start of christmas break! don’t tell me you’re going to that one bookstore again…” you practically hear the pout in your friend, ningning’s, voice. “we’re planning to go out together later in the evening with minjeong and the others, don’t forget!”

“i won’t, i won’t!” a chuckle resounds from your end, “but what’s wrong with dropping by the bookstore every now and then?”

“you always say that!” your friend grumbles before eventually ending with a sigh, “i admire how you love books to this extent, but remember not to bury your nose in them too much, okay? i still want to see your face a bunch during the break.”

“and i’ll make sure of it, don’t worry ning.” you coo at her through the phone, “i really gotta go now though, i still have a bunch of books to return.”

“okay fineee, don’t trip on your way there or whatever.” her words make you laugh a little — and though they may sound a bit dismissive, you know it’s completely out of love and worry for you.

“i will!” you respond before the call goes silent, now packing your phone into a sling bag along with a couple of books you borrowed from your last visit.

what ningning said earlier was pretty much true, you were going back to your favorite bookstore that was only two blocks away from where you lived. aside from the convenience of its location, you were first drawn to it from the fact they allowed the borrowing of books in the first place — almost like a book rental shop.

not only was the rental fee cheap for a college student like you, but there was a little secluded area you managed to locate within the bookstore that has now become your favorite place.

sure, you had to know just where to squeeze yourself through the piles of books and shelves barricading it, but the effort was worth it, at least to you. there was a small window from the back that would shed just the right amount of light for reading in the afternoon- plus! it was quiet, mostly since it was in the far back of the store.

you enter the bookstore with a soft smile at the thought of being able to retreat back into your hidden safe space, the door’s chimes swaying lightly and making a familiar ring in your ears.

after dropping off the books that were due and picking a couple of new ones off the shelves to read, you made your way over to the furthest pile of books from the counter, sucking in a deep breath, before squeezing yourself past all of the books.

the sight of the small, cozy area brings you comfort, but… why was there someone else here? and sleeping soundly at that?

of course you were aware that there was a possibility of others knowing about your little spot, but you never imagined actually running into someone like this.

you set your books down in the corner, crouching down to meet the stranger face to face. you’re not quite sure if it's the sunlight seeping into the place from the window above but his skin glows ever so softly under the light. his fluffy hair covers up most of his eyes from the way it's messily draped, and his glasses, which look almost too perfect on him, are resting at the very edge of his nose.

'he’s… cute- wait no, i literally don’t know him,' you think to yourself before brushing off the thought, replacing it with worry about his glasses falling off.

you try poking the stranger’s arm in hopes of waking him up, yet he doesn’t budge an inch. you proceed to tap on his shoulder next, and even move up to poking his cheek really softly, but there’s still no response from the boy.

you decide that he must be really tired to not have felt your presence and lift the glasses up his nose just a little to make sure they wouldn’t slip.

surely he won’t mind if you stick around here to read now after all that, right? you really didn’t want to read in the open areas where there’s even more people roaming around.

coming to a self-made conclusion, you tuck yourself away in the opposite corner of the cramped space, opening one of your books to start reading without another word.

he stirs up a little bit after you’ve finished a chapter of the book in your hands, soon bringing a hand up to rub the drowsiness off his eyes — forgetting he was wearing glasses to begin with.

“what-” he blinks once, almost as if he was in disbelief of the sight before him, “i’m not seeing things, aren’t i…?”

“what things?” your soft-spoken question somehow knocks the sleepiness our of his system, now staring at you with wide eyes.

“OH MY GOD I THOUGHT I WAS-” you quickly cover his mouth with your hand, trying to drown out the noise he was making.

“you’re in a bookstore! remember that.” you purse your lips together, removing your hand once you were sure he calmed down. “plus, i’m not sure if we’re technically allowed here.”

“sorry, i was just really shocked. i didn’t know other people knew this place existed.” he murmurs, acting rather bashful — from all your assumptions earlier, you didn’t think his personality would be like this.

“i hope you don’t mind. i just wanted a spot to read quietly. there’s too many people outside.” you shy away, covering half your face with the book in your hands.

“no, no! it’s fine i… i don’t mind sharing.” he shrugs, moving his things to make more room for you to be comfortable.

“really?” your eyes seem to light up at his approval, and he can’t help but look away. from all the people who could’ve stumbled upon him, it just had to be you — his classmate whom he’d been crushing on since the first semester.

though, you don’t seem to recognize him, probably because he sat at the back with a cap over his head during most of the classes. but that was okay, you didn’t really need to know and maybe he could tell you another time.

“thank you! i was worried you’d be some sort of creep, but you’re pretty nice!” you start getting a little chatty now that you’ve both said more than five words to each other, and he can only feign offense to your blunt words.

“do i look like someone who’d be a creep?” he asks with a dramatic gasp, peering closer to your corner of the small space.

“i don’t mean that! even if i did say… exactly that…” you ramble off, feeling a little guilty of not filtering your words, but from the looks of it, he was only teasing you.

“sure you didn’t mean it, pretty.” he replies sarcastically with the sudden nickname rolling off his lips, catching both you and him off guard. “oh- sorry i didn’t mean it like that.”

you feel your cheeks warm up, going back to hiding your face with your book. thank god you were reading just a while ago. “it’s alright, uh, what’s your name anyways?”

“oh right, people refer to me as haechan, but you can just call me hyuck.” he replies, wondering if his name would ring a bell in your mind.

“i see… it’s nice meeting you hyuck! i’m y/n.” he genuinely can’t tell if you recognize him or not anymore at this point, well, not like it mattered anyways. the two of you had never talked in class so this was basically his first time actually meeting you.

“well, y/n, seems you’re no longer reading. am i too distracting for you?” haechan jokes lightly, causing you to laugh a little.

“and what if i said yes? go face the corner or something, why don’t you!” you jest before going back to actually finish the page you were on.

a small wave of silence passes by, yet it’s not really as uncomfortable as you thought it’d be, in fact, it felt nice knowing you had company for once.

“will you come back here again after today?” he asks abruptly, fiddling with his fingers as you continue to read.

“hm? yeah, probably.” you answer mindlessly, the sound of a page flipping becoming apparent.

“then you’ll meet me here again, won’t you?” that has you peering up from the lines of your book, now noticing the hopeful glint in the boy’s eyes.

“yeah, sure hyuck.” you smile at him and his heart goes a little haywire. “i’ll see you same time next week?”

“mhm, yeah, okay, nice-”

“you’re rambling.” you point out with a cheery laugh, “i’ll be taking that as a yes though.”

his face flushes, and he’s not entirely sure if it’s caused by embarrassment or infatuation. “yeah, it’s a yes. in this secret spot that’s… now our secret spot.” he replies, mumbling the latter parts of his words to himself.

“did you say something?”

“nope! keep reading your book, y/n. you get distracted too easily.”

“sure… i’m watching you hyuckie!” you gesture your eyes with your fingers as you speak, and he can only laugh at you with the fluttery feeling in his chest growing by the second.

[gliphyartfan]

You can ignore this.

What about a reader that got Stockholm Syndrome and feels that they don't deserve the affection they get from the chain so they show love towards the chain by waking before most of the chain early morning and making meals for the chain and fixing clothes they find damaged. Basically reader showing affection to the chain by doing domestic things for them.

Hmmmmmm….i can’t say I’ll do well…

Well...I can say this isn’t @yanderelinkeduniverse’s (y/n) (one of my many eternal muses) so you can choose whoever you want to be the star of this one.

Hopefully I did your request justice!

But anyway: here you go my friend!

.

.

.

.

.

.

The early morning air was cool and damp as (Y/N) carefully stirred from their bedroll, the familiar rustling of leaves and the distant call of birds filling the quiet camp.

The sky was just beginning to lighten, a soft gray hue filtering through the trees.

It was their favorite time of day, a time when everything felt calm, peaceful, and they could focus on showing their affection to the Chain in the only way they felt they could.

Quietly, (Y/N) slipped past the others. This time, it was Twilight and Time who were keeping watch on opposite sides of the camp.

Both acknowledged them with a brief glance, nodding silently as (Y/N) smiled in return.

(Y/N) didn’t notice the way their gazes lingered after they passed, how Twilight’s brow furrowed slightly in concern, or how Time’s lips tightened, his eyes narrowing at their every movement.

They reached the small pile of supplies they’d set aside for breakfast.

It was comforting to have a task, something they could do for the group. But as (Y/N) began preparing the meal, the familiar pang of guilt surfaced. Cooking was Wild’s passion, not theirs.

As they started to chop the vegetables, that guilt gnawed at them again.

‘This is something that brings him joy,’ (Y/N) thought, ‘I’m taking it from him.’ But Wild had always been so kind about it. He’d smile and tell them it was fine, that he didn’t mind.

Yet every time (Y/N) asked for permission to cook, and every time Wild gave it, the knot of guilt in their chest grew tighter.

‘He allows it’, (Y/N) tried to rationalize, stirring the pot with a slow, careful motion. ‘I’m not taking anything from him if he says it’s okay.’ And they needed to help in some way, to contribute. It was the least they could do for the Chain, who did so much for them.

But, as they worked, they failed to notice the subtle shifts around them.

Time’s watchful gaze had turned more focused, tracking every move (Y/N) made as though expecting them to falter.

Twilight’s sharp eyes followed their form, and when he shifted to check on the rest of the camp, his glance lingered a little longer than usual. Neither said anything, but there was something shared between them, an unspoken concern as they watched (Y/N) work.

The quiet was broken when Time approached them, his steps soft but deliberate. “Up early again?” His voice, as always, was gentle. His eyes, soft and affectionate.

(Y/N) looked up, offering him a small, sheepish smile. “I didn’t want to wake anyone.”

Time’s hand came to rest on their shoulder, his touch warm but firm. “You never do. You’re always so careful.” His words were meant as praise, but something in his tone made (Y/N) feel like it wasn’t quite a compliment.

Still, they took it in stride, smiling again as they continued to stir the pot.

“I’m almost done,” they said, hoping to shift the conversation. “Figured I’d finish up before everyone else wakes.”

Time’s hand didn’t leave their shoulder. His grip remained, not forceful, but strong. “You don’t have to do so much for us, you know,” he said softly, his voice carrying a strange mix of affection and something deeper.

There was a shadow of concern in his gaze, though (Y/N) didn’t notice it before it was hidden away swiftly. “We’d still care for you, even if you didn’t.”

(Y/N) smiled up at him, feeling their cheeks warm at his words. “I just… I want to help,” they said, brushing off the unease that briefly surfaced. Time smiled back, his eyes softening.

By the time breakfast was ready, the rest of the Chain began to stir.

Wild was the first to reach the fire, his hair still wild from sleep, and his eyes soft with that familiar warmth he always had when looking at (Y/N).

“Thanks for breakfast,” Wild said, his voice rough from sleep but laced with gratitude. “You didn’t have to do it, though. I could’ve handled it.”

“I know,” (Y/N) replied quickly, that familiar knot of guilt rising again. “I just… I wanted to help.”

Wild gave them a soft, almost sad smile as he reached out to gently ruffle their hair. “You always do. But don’t feel like you have to take my job, okay?” His voice was kind, but there was an undertone to it, a subtle hint that he was worried about something more than just the cooking.

(Y/N) laughed it off, feeling the guilt twist a little deeper.

‘He’s fine with it. He said so.’ But they couldn’t help the nagging voice at the back of their mind, reminding them that they were taking something precious from him. Something that he loved.

And yet… Wild never complained. None of them did.

As the rest of the group gathered for breakfast, (Y/N) found themselves sitting a little to the side, quietly watching the others eat. They didn’t notice the way the Chain’s eyes flicked back toward them, each of them sharing brief, worried looks when they thought (Y/N) wasn’t looking.

Legend’s sharp gaze lingered a little too long, narrowing slightly, as if calculating something.

Twilight’s lips pressed into a thin line, his brow furrowing in thought as he ate in silence.

(y/n) merely yawned, wondering if they shouldn’t have stood up the night before working in repairing Wild’s cloak. (It hadn’t been a cloak then, more like shreds of cloth.)

They didn’t notice, though, too focused on making sure everything had gone smoothly with breakfast, and too used to the constant presence of their protectors to see anything strange about it.

When the meal was finished, (Y/N) gathered Warriors’ tunic, noticing the small tear that had appeared near the hem.

They set about mending it, their hands moving with practiced ease. It was a small, simple task, but one they took comfort in. It felt good to help in any way they could.

But as they worked, they didn’t notice the way Warriors’ eyes followed them, a look of soft concern on his usually confident expression.

He didn’t say anything, just watched, his fingers twitching slightly as if he wanted to take the tunic from them, perhaps even the needle.

But he didn’t. Instead, he exchanged a glance with Hyrule, whose gaze flickered between (Y/N) and the fire.

“Are you alright?” Hyrule asked after a moment, his voice quiet and gentle. He sat down beside (Y/N), close but not too close, his body angled protectively as if ready to shield them from something.

(Y/N) blinked, surprised by the question. “I’m fine,” they answered quickly, offering him a reassuring smile. “Just fixing up some clothes. No big deal.”

Hyrule’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, but he nodded, accepting their words even though his gaze remained fixed on them, watching carefully, as though searching for any sign of strain or exhaustion.

The Chain’s affection surrounded them constantly, soft gazes, gentle touches, and quiet reassurances, but behind it all, there was a deeper worry that (Y/N) never noticed.

They didn’t see the way Time’s brow furrowed when they stayed up late mending clothes or the way Wild watched them a little too closely when they cooked.

They didn’t notice how Twilight hovered nearby, ready to step in at a moment’s notice, or how Legend’s gaze sharpened whenever they worked too hard.

To (Y/N), this was just love. Pure, simple love.

They had long stopped questioning the oddness of the Chain’s protectiveness.

(They didn’t see the possessiveness in their eyes or the way their concern often bordered on something more obsessive.)

They were safe. They were loved. And even if they didn’t feel worthy of all the attention, all the care the Chain gave them, they couldn’t deny the warmth it brought.

(And if there was more to it than that, (Y/N) remained blissfully unaware.)

[or0ch1maru]

Could you write some fluff of my favorite pretty boy deidara? :)

He’s so cutie and I need to see him go on a date and be happy for once

I apologize for my absence loves. It’s been busy and then my health went to shit for a while so I decided to take a break from most of my socials to fully unwind and heal.

But I’m feeling much better and I’m planning on sending out some requests over the next few days. Also, as I’ve mentioned before, I’d love to get some jjk requests in since I recently finished watching the show and would love to add some characters to my write list!

Fluff, deidara x GN reader first date 🫶🏻

•

-the two of you first met when Deidara visited your weaponry shop for a custom order

-the adorable blonde acting stoic but with a hint of pink blush to his cheeks as he ushered out a thanks before leaving

-just like the rest of the akatsuki, he visited monthly for a fresh set of weaponry. Kunai’s, shuriken, sheaths, the usual

-it wasn’t until his fifth time visiting that the words fell from his lips. “Um, want to go dinner sometime?” And of course, you said yes. Giving him a date and time

-the night came, and from hours before, Deidara was in his room, making sure his liner came out nice and nothing was smeared or smudged.

-the same goes for his hair. He brushed it out(multiple times may I add) making sure there were no knots or frizz

-he even annoyed the hell out of poor Sasori. “You sure I look okay?”, “don’t lie to get me to shut up ya know”

-after Sasori, and Itachi’s reassurance. The explosive blonde made his way towards your place. Your address scribbled on a piece of paper in your neat scrawl

-after knocking, he waited patiently, a small bouquet of flowers sitting in his grip.

-Konan was the one to explain that it’s ‘custom’ to bring some sort of small gift, flowers, or even chocolate to a first date

-and coming from a woman, he took her advice seriously. Picking out a beautiful, yet simple flower bouquet. Deidara didn’t want to go over board in case you ended up thinking he was weird, or overwhelming

-his cheeks flushed a bright red when you opened the door. A gentle smile plastered across your face as you gazed up at him. Your hair styled nicely, on top of a casual yet classy outfit

-just like deidara, you didn’t want to go overboard with your clothing. Wanting something comfortable yet stylish, but also sophisticated and casual

-deidara had picked a cozy, family owned restaurant about twenty minutes from your village

-the food was delicious, and filling. The two of you chit chatting about multiple different things. Mostly how it was being a member of the akatsuki and how it was being a blacksmith for rogue ninjas

-as the night wore down, Deidara walked you home. His fingers grazing your hand for most of the walk. It wasn’t until you took the initiative to hold his hand. Yours fitting so perfectly against his

-not minding his mouth hands in the slightest. Bringing you back to the day you two first met and you complimenting them

-“tonight was great, I had fun” deidara would say softly, his voice even but an underlying tone of nervousness was apparent

-despite the two of you having fun on the date, he was scared that you would ghost him, or simply say you weren’t interested in him anymore

-it wasn’t until you stood on your toes, placing a soft peck to his cheek with the words “I’d like to see you again, if that’s okay with you” fell past your lips as you gazed up at him, your two hands holding onto his that he finally relaxed

-“how does next Friday sound?” He asked you kindly, a soft smile etched on his features

-deidara then walked home, a huge smile on his face, one full of pride and happiness as your soft voice echoed in his mind

-“I’d love that, I’ll see you then” repeating over and over in his mind as he approached the compound

-excited to see you once again

[starry-snippets]

stronger together.

synopsis: you’re withdrawing from everything suddenly. jotaro, in love with you and one of your two best friends, is worried and decides to check up on you 

tw: bullying (physical, swears, and emotional), threats *implied sa threat from bully to jotaro*, they/them pronouns used (gender of reader not decided though), a suggestive comment

Jotaro walks down the stairs alongside Kakyoin while listening to the male explain his latest video game. He nods to indicate he’s listening, occasionally giving his own opinions. 

“The graphics are stunning!” as he begins to compliment the fluidity of the character’s movements the usual group of girls surround the males on their way down the steps. 

“Jotaro!” One girl calls out while pitching her voice higher. “Are you free today? I have something to show you!” Her boldness causes the other girls to glare, one attempting to push her down the steps but she’s a moment too late when the group reaches the end of them. “Jotaro?” She drags out the “o”, annoying him to no end. 

Scowling, he simply says “no.” Jotaro begins to walk away from his crowd of fans, Kakyoin happily following him because it’s an awkward position to be in. 

“But why Jotaro? Aren’t I cute?” Her question is poorly timed because you make your appearance, already waiting outside for you two best friends. 

“Hey Jojo and Kak!” You wave to them, both males heading over to you with haste. Your smile enrages Jotaro’s posse, causing them to scoff and roll their eyes at your appearance. “How are you liking your new game Kak? And Jojo! Still good for the aquarium today after school too? I know Kak is!” Your nonchalant questions make the nosy girls just a bit away from you three faces heat up in rage, crossing their arms and gritting their teeth. 

“Whore.” One girl mutters under her breath, as another adds, “they're such a slut for wanting both of them.” 

You’re the closest to them, just in range to hear their bitter comments. Literally shaking your head in hopes of removing those thoughts, you put your attention back on your favorite boys. 

“I’m still available.” Jotaro answers first with a serious face. “We can go now, if you want.” He tilts his hat down, calmly adjusting it. Little did you know it was because his face felt hotter and he wasn’t ready for you to know yet. 

Kakyoin grins at his stoic friend, knowing full and well that he’s been in love with you. “I’m actually busy today. I spent all last night gaming, so it’s time to cram before my tests.” You simply nod, entirely understanding. “So looks like you’ll be going alone together!” Kakyoin grins at Jotaro again, prompting him to raise Star Platinum to him although you can’t see the stands you can observe the teasing ensuing. 

But you think nothing of it, so you just say; “Don’t be like that Jojo! It’ll be fun!” You give him your trademark smile, making him readjust his hat for a second time. Before Jotaro can say anything Kakyoin takes the chance to further fluster his concrete friend. 

“Don’t worry, I don’t think that’ll be an issue.” 

“Oh, good!” You say with a smile as the bell rings. “Oh! I have a test, I’ll see you two at lunch!” With that you run off in the direction of your class, worried you’ll be late if you just walk. 

“I’m going to kill you.” Jotaro glares at Kakyoin without actually meaning his threat. Probably. 

Kakyoin only chuckles, giving him a hardy pat on the back with full confidence. “You’ll thank me later.” 

☆☆☆ ☆☆☆ ☆☆☆ 

Your brain feels like mush at how difficult your test was, your body desperate for food in order to get some of that brain power back. As you go into the lines to get your food you see the girls from this morning and immediately look the other way. You weren’t scared - you just didn’t want to deal with their aspersions. Nothing they said was creative but it was all beginning to add up. You wished that you weren’t punished for who you hung out with but you know that this is just what high school is. 

Lost in your thoughts, you don’t realize when the group migrates closer to you. When you move forward in line you bump into the meanest of the bunch, a girl with obviously artificial curls. She smirks before purposely spilling her smoothie on you, the red liquid getting all over your uniform top. Your mouth opens in silent shock, absolutely shocked she’d do something like this until you think about this morning and the days prior. Pressing your lips in a fine line as you walk away, you’re heading to the bathrooms when you see Kakyoin and Jotaro enter the area from the side. 

Kakyoin is the first to notice the red dripping down your now red shirt. “What happened?” His voice is a bit panicked, anxious that you fell or worse that someone did this to you. 

“I bumped into someone, my bad haha.” You force a laugh to try and convince them that Jotaro’s self appointed protection squad didn’t do this to you. “Just so clumsy!” Hurrying to push the door of the bathroom open you disappear into the room, a loud thud intensifying your departure. 

“Do you think that’s really what happened?” Kakyoin asked with a twinge of disbelief in your explanation but not going to adamantly say you were lying. 

“I think they’re leaving something out.” 

A moment later you come out to see them both waiting for you, a subtle smile making an appearance on your face at that. Your shirt is stained past repair, the wet material sticking to your skin uncomfortably. You pull at it, trying to get the fabric to stiffen in a way it won’t be right up against your midriff. 

“Here.” Jotaro says in his classic monotone while offering you his jacket. You seem to just blink at him which makes him readjust his hat for what, the third time now he wonders? Still he looks at your expression, noticing how your smile widens before you apologize. 

“I’m sorry I wasn’t being careful. I know you don't really like to take off your jacket.” He appreciates your care when you grab it, careful to not let it drag against the cafeteria’s floor. It engulfs you, the chains feeling heavy yet comforting on your shoulders. He stares at you with a reddening face and a busy mind, just thinking of how precious you look in his clothing. The thought of you wearing his hat - you being so bold to take it off his head while you hug - makes his face grow so hot he’s scared you’ll see how much he really cares about you. He turns away while you retreat to the bathroom to take off your soiled shirt and pin up the jacket. 

“Smooth!” Kakyoin lightly elbows his blushing friend casually prompting him to respond with an elbow nudge that makes his body rock but he still laughs because he knows Jotaro isn’t actually mad at his meddling. “I think they like you.” His voice is a little playful while he teases Jotaro, but he knows Kakyoin is serious behind his initial tone. 

You come out with enough buttons latched together to hide your undershirt but still reveal your uniform bottom. Jotaro stares at you with a serious face, cheeks less red from getting a moment to curb his surprisingly romantic thoughts at giving you his jacket. Before he can get caught up in his head again and imagine you reciprocating his feelings you’re all heading to your normal, secluded lunch spot. 

“I brought some of my mom’s cooking for you.” Jotaro says to you to get a clap of your hands in excitement and Kakyoin complains that he never offers him any of her cooking. A road you and Jotaro have gone on before is revisited as you make fun of Kakyoin for liking older women a bit too much as your nerves settle down from that targeted encounter in the line. 

As you walk through the doors of the cafeteria you are entirely unaware of the seething girl sitting in the cafeteria already plotting how to “get even” with you for “exploiting” Jotaro’s kindness. 

 ☆☆☆☆☆☆ ☆☆☆ 

You’re putting all of your books back into your bag once the bell rings, every other student seems to rush out while you’re still trying to fit your biggest notebook back into your main pocket. Frustrated, you have to dump everything out to try and rearrange it. Groaning as you do so, your things slide off the desk and under the next desk. Bending down to pick it up, you hear a voice you don’t quite recognize. 

“So this is your class.” They say with a click of their tongue. “Slut. On your knees.” 

At the insult you immediately connect the dots as to who it is, immediately standing up with your folders in your hand to be greeted with those ridiculous fake curls of hers. 

“What are you doing here?” You’re so done with her at this point. Still in Jotaro’s jacket, she grits her teeth before knocking your folders out of your hands. 

“Stay away from Jotaro you bitch!” She yells it with venom in her voice and you can practically feel the toxicity of her tone fly onto your skin with her spit. “I don’t know why you think he even likes you! You’re just some bitch who’s friends with his best friend. He wouldn’t even talk to you if that boy with cherry earrings didn’t tolerate you.” 

You know her words aren’t true but they amplify the anxiety already residing in your mind. Still you shake your head, not going to believe her spiteful words. 

“What is your problem? Why can’t I be friends with Jojo and Kak? Not everyone has ulterior motives like you.” You decide to be bold as anger settles into your heart. You’re tired of her disrespecting Jotaro, always pushing herself onto him and trying to get him to love her like accosting him is the way to do it. “Jotaro doesn’t love you. Can you just be decent and back off?” You hate how pleading that last bit sounded, but you really just want her to leave your friend alone because you know he hates the constant touching, pestering, and fawning. 

“Bitch!” She immediately slaps you across the face, watching your head tilt with the force put into her strike. She grins at that, taking a moment to seemingly admire the redness forming, before she slaps your face in the opposite direction. “Useless whore! You think I’d listen to your bullshit? You’re just jealous! I’ll kill you!”  Her hand continues to beat your head around, your body going limp with the threats of her hurting you. Despite the sheer rage in her voice you don’t budge until she says, “You stay away from him or I’ll force you both to realize he loves me!”  

The implications of that has your blood boiling, frantic about what that means she’ll do to Jotaro. You grab her hand as she leans to slap you again, squeezing it harshly. “You leave him the Hell alone.” You glare at her with a look even more intimidating than Jotaro’s classic side eye he’s always giving her. Must be the jacket adding the extra finesse to your potent frustration. 

“That’s my line.” Her voice isn’t steady as she speaks because her hand is beginning to burn with the pressure you’re applying. “Stop hanging out with him or I’ll take something he’ll never get back. And it’ll all be your fault.” The extra emphasis on “all” makes your eyes widen in despair. Additionally, the color drains from your face. Utter horror heats your veins as you thump her hand against the desk with enough force to make her cry from the pain, your own hand stinging from your fingernails digging into your skin. But you don’t even feel it as you fret about her doing such a thing to Jotaro - barely considering the fact that Jotaro is plenty capable of protecting himself. Still your panic over your best friend, who you do know you love, outweighs that logical reassurance. 

“Fine.” You submit with an angry bite of your lip. You tear at the flesh, blood oozing from the opening. 

“Good bitch.” She says for no other reason than to get one last dig in, bumping against your shoulder on her way out the door. 

You shove all your things into your bag, not caring about the ripped pages and your now split folder as you race home - not shooting Jotaro a text immediately. 

☆☆☆☆☆☆ ☆☆☆ 

“Have they talked to you at all?” Kakyoin only shakes his head as he reads his comic. “They haven’t been at school for days. That’s not like them.” 

“Yeah, it’s like you.” The male responds in an attempt to lighten the atmosphere a bit. It doesn’t work as Jotaro huffs. He’s silent as he thinks, growing nervous about if you’re okay. Jotaro, who’s never this on guard and anxious, decides it’s time to get a concrete answer. Regardless of if he likes the outcome or not.

“I’m going to see them.” Jotaro stands up, clear intent in his stance as he strides to put on his shoes located by the door of his friend’s room. “I need to make sure they’re okay.” 

Kakyoin pauses his game, smiling softly. “You’re such a romantic.” 

“Shut the hell up.” Jotaro closes the door, leaving Kakyoin’s room and ultimately his house. He knows the way to your place from here since it wouldn’t be the first time he’s walked from Kakyoin’s to your house. 

His quick walk turns into a full sprint as he rushes to get to you - terrified you won’t be okay and that’s why you didn’t say why you stood him up when you made plans for the aquarium. He can’t handle the possible reality you’re out of his life - that you’re done with him. He knows he’s abrasive and can be rude but he cares about you and he’ll be damned if you don’t know it by the time he leaves your house tonight. 

His heavy knock alerts your guardian, the adult no stranger to seeing his face. They’re surprised by his lack of jacket and hair spilling from the confines of his hat, forehead shiny with a thin layer of sweat. 

“Oh Jotaro! Did you come to get your jacket? [Name] is upstairs, they’ve been rejecting all companies lately however,” Jotaro nods and heads in, cutting that conversation short. Luckily your guardian isn’t upset about his somewhat rude actions, simply accepting that this is your best friend’s worries making him impatient. 

Jotaro knocks twice on your door, hearing a groan from you through the door. He doesn’t grow annoyed since he knows you have no idea it’s him. It’s a few minutes before you unlock the door despite him seeing the doorknob jostle. It’s like you’re contemplating with paranoia clouding your mind. Why are you being overly cautious? You finally open the door, sure to be slow, just enough to see Jotaro’s ocean eyes beckon you. Immediately you try to shut the door but he’s quick to put his foot in the gap. 

“Can I come in?” He asks without the fear in his chest being evident. “You’ve been gone.” That’s Jotaro’s equivalent to an “I miss you” but those words clog his throat. 

You stare at his shoe, widening the gap so his foot isn’t crushed. “I,” Your voice is swallowed in the memory of his admirer’s threat. “I can’t.” Tears form in your eyes but you shake your head in an attempt to dismiss them. You can’t seem to shake anything off. “This is for your own good. I’m sorry.” You move to shut the door but something pushes hard enough against the door that you can’t shut it. The door flies open, Jotaro practically being invited in. 

“What’s wrong?” He’s begun his questions as soon as the door locks shut. “This isn’t like you.” You’re sitting back on your bed, body wrapped in a weighted blanket, with eyes focused on his shoes again. “I care about you [Name]. Did someone do something to you?” His blood is already preheating in case there’s someone he needs to pummel for hurting you. 

“No, no one did a-anything,” You lie with shaky breathing and he immediately sees through it and gives you a look to make sure you know that won’t fly. 

He motions to the empty space on your bed to ask if he can sit down. You nod, feeling the bed sink when he takes a seat. “I care about you. A lot. Let me help… please.” His voice is marginally softer than you’ve ever heard it before, your face heating and tears no longer held at bay. 

“Someone thre-at-ened to hurt you if-if I didn’t,” it’s hard to stop from sobbing when the tears stop. Jotaro wraps an arm around you in an act of boldness and compassion. He rests it lightly on your shoulder so he could easily back off if you’re uncomfortable, but you lean into his touch and begin to cry into his chest. “Stop talking - hanging out - everything with you a-and I can’t be the reason you get hurt.” There’s a moment of silence as you deeply inhale, anxiety you’ve kept on the back burner ravishing your mind and body. “I-I love you. I-I don’t want you to ever hurt, I don’t want her to-to,” You stop talking as your tears stream in rivers. “She can’t take that from you!” Head pressed into his chest, you yell, all the frustration of being manipulated and as a result hurting him crushing you. “I’m sorry I hurt you, I’m so sorry-” 

“Don’t apologize.” Jotaro interrupts you with a pat to your head. It’s so unlike him but the touch calms your racing mind before you could repeat sorry like a mantra. “It’s that bitch I’m mad at.” His eyes narrow at the thought of her reducing you, the beacon of joy in his life, to this crying, shivering state. “I love you [Name], that’s part of why I’m so pissed off at her right now.” He cracks his knuckles, tension building in his body as he approaches boiling. Looking at your bruised lip and slightly swollen face makes him angrier at what she’s done to you, since he knows you can protect yourself too. 

You’re weak when it comes to him. And he’s weak when it comes to you. So you’ll be stronger together. 

“Jojo,” He got off the bed while captivated by his thoughts of revenge, getting preoccupied with dealing with the root of this weed. “Can you stay with me for now?” Your voice sounds so sad as you wipe away your tears since they’re coming to a stop. “I’m sorry for doing this to you. You didn’t deserve to be left in the blue-” 

“Make it up to me with an aquarium date.” His face is a pink tint as he says that while yours is entirely red. 

“Deal.” You say immediately with a giggle that makes Jotaro’s heart race. He’s back in the moment of you and him right now, sliding off his shoes and getting into bed with your permission. He sits down, his arms wrapped around you while you make up for lost time. You grab his hat, placing it on your head backwards so the brim doesn’t poke him. “Is this okay?” You ask in reference to stealing his hat. 

“It’s… preferred.” Jotaro admits stoically despite his face saying he’s flustered by your action. “I still plan on getting even. At least.” He changes the topic and you sigh, slowly nodding after. 

“I think it’s only right.” You move your head into his warm chest, hat still backwards to prevent it getting misshapen. “She really isn’t a good person.” 

“Not even that. She hurt the wrong person.” He says it with all seriousness, holding you gently. 

“I love you so, so much Jotaro.” You confess again while looking up into his soothing eyes.

“We’ll deal with revenge later. Together. I want to be held right now.” You admit with a chuckle and he nods, happy to do whatever you need after having to deal with his insane fans for so long.  

He has the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on his face as he says, “I love you” back while holding you against his chest, thankful you’re no longer alone in what you’re going through. 

☆☆☆ Extra ☆☆☆

You’ve invited Jotaro to stay the night and he agreed after notifying Holly and by now you’ve fallen asleep. Not having discussed where he’d sleep, he’s situated himself on the bean bag you read your comics and play games in. His legs hang out a ridiculous amount but with you asleep he’s not worried about how silly he looks - he never normally is. As he checks his phone a message from Kakyoin catches his attention. 

so… howd it go :) 

sitting on their bean bag 

WOAH 3RD BASE

we’re having a sleepover dumbass

;) sure

☆☆☆ ☆☆☆ ☆☆☆  

note: bold is jotaro’s text! 

my first oneshot for jjba! hope you enjoyed! let me know if you have a request! working on my rules and they’ll be posted soon 

[staygoldwriting]

💌 To the Steve I Loved Before: Part 3

A Steve Harrington TATBILB!AU fic

Read Part 1 and Part 2!

Summary: Y/N has written love letters to get over her deepest crushes. What happens when Steve Harrington gets his hands on her letter to him?

Disclaimer: This is inspired by the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before series by Jenny Han! I have used none of her characters, but have only used the premise of a love letter in the wrong hands.

Word count: ~1k

Warnings: None, just fluff as usual 

A/N: AHHH this is my favorite chapter so far! It’s largely Eddie, but don’t worry... Steve will be around very soon! Things are starting to get tense, folks 🙈 Please let me know what you think, and, as always, please show love and support! ❤️✨ If you want to join the taglist, don’t be afraid to ask! I’m happy to add you 🤗

You sat at the desk and tapped your fingers anxiously, the idea of Eddie reading your letter running rampant through your mind. You sighed heavily, then fiddled with your nails, chipping the polish off. 

You worked at Contempo Casuals in the Starcourt Mall, the newest and most popular hangout spot in Hawkins. As a result, you were on high alert for Eddie, but you doubted he even knew where you worked. Nonetheless, you tried your best to stay toward the back of the store. As you turned to fold some clothes, Robin rushed up to you and slammed her hands on the counter. 

“Y/N!” she gasped. “What happened at home, update me!”

“My dad sent the letters out,” you said in defeat as Robin covered her mouth in shock. “Most of them are going to the wrong address, but two are gonna make it.”

“Which ones?” she asked grimly.

“Kevin S,” you said, and Robin nodded. “And Eddie Munson.”

“Oh no,” Robin breathed, her face going pale. “That was the letter, right?” 

“Yup. The only one that’s worse is Steve’s,” you said, folding shirts. 

“Aw man,” Robin huffed. “What are you gonna do?”

“Avoid him until it all blows over,” you said. “I mean, I’ll be leaving soon, and we never cross paths regularly, so I’m trying not to worry.”

“Well, if I got a love letter from someone, and if it was as sappy as the one you gave him, I’d be trying to find you,” Robin shrugged.

“Helpful,” you said bluntly. 

“I’m just saying, be on your guard,” Robin said, checking her watch. “I’ve gotta go, but come by after your shift and I’ll hook you up with some free ice cream.”

“Thanks, Rob, see you, and cross your fingers I don’t see him!” you called as Robin left.

You sighed and went back to folding shirts. He won’t come looking for me, you thought to yourself. He barely even knows who I am, it was just a camp crush, we never even talked afterward. You kept folding and thinking when you heard someone come into the store.

“Welcome to Contempo Casuals,” you called halfheartedly. 

“Y/N?”

You tensed up and turned to look at Eddie Munson, who was standing at the counter, holding your letter to him. 

“Can-can we talk, please?” he asked gently. You nodded grimly, then looked down at the letter. He chuckled softly and looked at it.

“So, you think I have an angelic voice?” he asked, a small blush appearing across his cheeks. “I-I had no idea you felt like this.”

“You weren’t meant to get the letter,” you mumbled, and he cocked his head to the side.

“Why not? I’m very flattered, by the way, thank you for saying all those sweet things,” he smiled softly, making you blush and your heart beat wildly. 

“Can I look at the letter again? Please?” you asked. Eddie shrugged and handed it over.

-💌-

Dear Eddie,

Spending this past summer with you has been nothing short of a dream. I wish that I could still wake up to see you everyday as I’ve grown used to doing. I miss seeing you all grumbly in the morning, hair a mess as you trudged to brush your teeth. I miss the way you’d lean on my shoulder as we ate our breakfast, you still half asleep. 

When you complimented the way my hair smelled, I washed it twice a day so it always smelled like wildflowers--that’s the way you described it. And when you nicknamed me Wildflower, my heart skipped a thousand beats. I wish I could be your wildflower forever.

Whenever we worked together as counselors, I felt our connection grow. I stole so many glances at you. Did you ever look at me? You probably didn’t, why would you? I can’t ever be as beautiful as you are, inside or out. I can tell that you’re a good person, Eddie. I can tell by the way you sing with that voice of yours, it’s like an angel’s. Sometimes I think you spared me by never singing a love song (at the risk of falling for you more, if it’s even possible), but I can’t help but wish that I could hear you sing to me, just me. 

I love you, Eddie Munson, and I dream of a day that we can be together. For now, I’ll have to do with the memories.

Forever loving you,

Y/N

-💌-

You looked at the letter with pure dread. Your hands went clammy and your throat went dry. You tried to compose yourself as you looked back at Eddie, trying to avoid eye contact.

“I’m gonna need this back,” you said, folding it up.

“No way,” Eddie said, grabbing your hand, making you gasp. “Please, I’m sorry, but no one’s ever written me something this nice before. Can I please keep it?”

“Um,” you hesitated.

“I won’t show a soul, I promise!” he said quickly. “I’ll keep it in a box in another box in my room or something, I’ll keep it private, always!”

“Well, fine,” you said quietly. “But no one else, okay?” you asked, finally looking into his eyes.

“Cross my heart,” he smirked, making the motions. “But I do wanna tell you, Y/N, in the gentlest way possible, I-I don’t feel the same,” he said sympathetically.

Great. You’ve just gone through the greatest embarrassment of your life, and it turns out, you spent an entire summer falling for a guy who never gave you a second look. You could’ve sworn he felt something back, but here he was, telling you that you don’t mean any more to him than one of his friends. Maybe even less. You felt overwhelmed with the rejection and suddenly got desperate and incredibly foolish. 

“It’s okay, I don’t feel that way anymore,” you said, trying to sound casual. 

“You don’t?” he asked gently.

“No, no, I don’t, so don’t worry at all!” you said, forcing a laugh. “Besides, I’ve got a boyfriend now.”

WHAT?!

“Wait, really?” Eddie asked, smiling. “That’s awesome, Y/N, who is it?”

Before you could stop yourself, you blurted out the first name that came to mind.

“Steve Harrington.”

-💌-

Taglist: @tillkummer​ @mlle-ayka​ @sonicthehedgedoggo​ @klaine-92​ @aurumbelis​ @onlyangel-444​ @beep-beep-sherlock​ @morishitoshi​ @onceuponathreetwoone​ @toomanybandstocare​ @underthebatcape​ @zeldaknight​ @fieldofsecretss​ @prettyinpunk85​ @igotbasicdrag @gothicfaires​ @thatonecurlygirl​ @luvthatlovestolove​ @loliakeoghan23​ @dearelliewrites​ @mslunawinchester​ @aphex2winn @simonsbluee​ @inkedaztec​ @dumplinshee​ @pastel-abyss-x​ @frozenhuntress67​ @hawkins-hs @witheringawayagain​ @theshinyrock​ @hollandcomics @pinkgothiccprincess​ @persephone13​ @katsukis1wife​ @murnsondock​ @fictionlandslanddreams​ @srapalestina​ @babyghouly​ @madformunsonsstuff​ @harrys-tittie @middle--fingering​ @urmomgov​ @maybankstarkey​ @jbetches @stardustmunson @maltinonka​ @chaerfull​ @middle-of-the-earth​ @lilsunshine1092​

[kingofpopmj]

Conscious Decision

Part 3

July 15th, 1988

Katherine and I spent the day together exploring London. She suggested we do some shopping before having lunch. Of course the moment she pulled me into a bridal boutique I knew she had an ulterior motive.

“This would look stunning on you!” Katherine complimented as she pointed out the gown on display.

“Mama Kay, that’s a wedding dress.”

“You should try it on.” She cheered. “It’ll be fun!”

“It’s beautiful but I think I’m going to pass on that.” I laughed off her comment.

“Michael was looking for you last night. He did not buy the jet lagged excuse.”

“Well, I’ll see him tonight.” I said as I guided her towards the exit.

“He fired Tatiana.” She said nonchalantly.

“What?”

“She’s a sweet girl but her crush on Michael was getting out of hand. My poor boy was so embarrassed. He had no idea she would do that.”

“Is he okay?”

“I think seeing his best friend would have helped.”

“Oh you’re making me feel bad on purpose!”

“You’re always the first person he runs to when something goes wrong. Yesterday, however, was the first time you weren’t there. It did a real number on him.”

“I’m sure he’s fine.”

“My boy is experiencing the beginning stages of losing the woman he loves. He is in no way shape or form fine.”

“He doesn’t love me in that way and he’s not losing me. I just needed a break to be alone and avoid any further damage to our friendship. I didn’t mean for my actions to come off as selfish. I’m sorry.”

“Here we go again with all the friendship hoopla.” Katherine rolled her eyes shaking her head. “You are not just friends-“

“We almost kissed. On opening night.” I blurted out. “He ran away from me and hid from everyone.”

“Oh, I see.”

“That’s why I said I think we were wrong.”

“I’m never wrong.” She said sternly ignoring my confession. I couldn’t help but laugh at her stubbornness.

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

“Y/N! There you are!” Michael shouted standing from his make-up chair. “Finally!”

“Your mom and I had a girls day.” I smiled hugging him. He kindly asked for the room and his entourage dispersed.

“How is the jet lag?” He asked suspiciously.

“I’m fine. I just need some rest.”

“You didn’t even stay for our after show ritual.”

“Michael-”

“It’s tradition!” He spoke over me. “Why did you leave?”

“I didn’t feel well.” It was partly true. He continued to study my demeanor.

“Tatiana.” He stated. “I didn’t- she wasn’t supposed to do that. I’ve never been so humiliated in my life.”

“I’m really sorry that happened. You didn’t deserve it.”

“You know.. every love song I write is about you.” He muttered.

“What?” I stared at him but he didn’t repeat himself. He closed the gap between us pulling me into his chest.

Each time the wind blows

I hear your voice so

I call your name

Whispers at morning

Our love is dawning

Heaven's glad you came

You know how I feel

This thing can't go wrong

I'm so proud to say I love you

Your love's got me high

I long to get by

This time is forever

Love is the answer

Michael softly sung into my ear as he swayed us back and forth. He held me for a moment longer before leaving a lingering kiss on my temple.

“Michael?” I spoke gently.

“I have to finish getting ready. Can you help with my hair? You’re the only one that does it the way I like.” He smiled pulling me across the room to his vanity.

I watched him as he excitedly gathered all the tools and products I would need. Every time I think we’re on the same page he throws a curveball. It makes it even worse that he just changes the subject as if nothing happened. As I began styling Michael’s hair my mind drifted off to how he makes me feel. When he holds me like that it’s impossible to hide my emotions. Michael is my home. When he holds me I feel complete. He’s the only person I truly feel safe with.

“I love hearing you sing.” I said as I fixed his hair.

“Thank you.”

“I love that song. It’s really beautiful.”

“It’s one of my favorites. It’s like it was in my head my whole life and all I needed to do was write it down.” he met my gaze through the mirror. “It’s inspiring being in love.”

“In love?” I broke our eye contact and tried to focus on his hair. “That’s sweet.”

“Are you in love?”

“Michael-”

“Because I think you are.” He turned to me placing his hands on my hips. “Please tell me that you are.” He stared at me expectantly as he rises from his seat.

Here we are again.

Our chests became connected as I felt his fingers slip under the hem of my shirt leaving a strong tingling feeling along my hips. We were admiring each other’s lips and yearning for what came next.

“I am.” I finally spoke.

“Y/N, I-“ there was a loud obnoxious knock on the door as it swung open.

“Oh-oh- I-I’m so sorry” Greg stood there with an apologetic look on his face. “ I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“It’s okay.” Michael said. “What is it?”

“Princess Diana is on her way. They want us all in place for her arrival.”

Michael looked at me and I gave him a nod. He looked nervous as his lips met my cheek and he hugged me tightly.

“We will talk later.” He stated hopefully as he moved towards the door.

“I’m so sorry.” Greg mouthed before closing the door leaving me alone.

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

“This next song is very special to me. It comes from my heart.” Michael spoke as the lights began to dim. “I’m going to perform it a little differently tonight. I hope you don’t mind.” His beautiful voice filled the stadium.

I just want to lay next to you for a while

You look so beautiful tonight

Your eyes are so lovely

Your mouth is so sweet

A lot of people misunderstand me

That's because they don't know me at all

I just want to touch you

And hold you

I need you, God I need you

I love you so much

Michael’s intimate intro to ‘I Just Can’t Stop Loving You’ caused chills to travel down my spine. The longer I kept my eyes on him the more I thought about our moment in his dressing room earlier. There was so much emotion behind it. I just wanted to know what he was thinking. I took a moment to look out into the full stadium. The audience was lit up with thousands of lighters hovering over the sea of fans.

Wow.

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

We all gathered backstage after the show to celebrate. I didn’t realize how many people would be here or how loud it was going to get. Nonetheless, I was really enjoying myself, I was sitting with the band when everyone suddenly went silent. I followed their stare and saw the man of the hour.

“Dance with me.” Michael held his hand out and I gladly accepted.

“You’re my favorite dance partner.”

My comment went unnoticed as Michael stared off. His grip on me tightened as we danced in silence. He placed my arms further around his neck pulling me closer to him. Two songs went by without a word from him.

“Michael?” I poked his cheek getting his attention. “What’s going on up there?”

“Nothing.” He spat. He never snapped at me. It made me feel awful. His coldness triggered me deeply making me feel insignificant.

“What’s your problem?”

“I asked you to dance with me why do you feel the need to pester me.” I stepped away immediately looking at him as if he was a stranger. “Y/N-“ he said softly reaching for my hand.

“You’re being so ugly to me.” I shook my head walking away leaving him standing alone. I shoved the dressing room door open swiftly gathering my belongings.

“Jet lagged again.” I heard Michael’s mocking voice behind me.

“No actually at the moment I’m extremely fed up with you.”

“Me?”

“Yes you!” I pointed at him as my vision became blurry. “Why would you ask me to dance just to speak to me like that? You’ve never treated me like that before.”

“No! I wanted to dance with you because- I just- some of the guys from the crew were talking about you. I couldn’t- I tried to keep my cool but they were saying- I didn’t like it-“

“Wait.” I wiped my eyes. “You asked me to dance so no one else could?”

“I-“ he was frozen in place and I felt myself begin to tremble from how angry I was.

“You know what Michael. How about you figure out what you want because I can’t handle this anymore. One minute you’re serenading me asking me if I’m in love and the next you’re acting like this. You keep saying all these things and I have no idea how I’m supposed to take them because you never explain. It feels like you’re toying with me and it isn’t fair. Do you know how terrifying it is to be in love? The thought of losing that person destroys you because he’s one of the most important people in your life. Every time he gives you a shred of hope that he may feel the same he disregards it just as quickly- and it doesn’t even matter because to me- to me he is everything. He’s my everything. This back and forth is- it’s mentally exhausting Michael, but I’m still here.” I frantically caught my breath, Michael’s wide eyes brought me to the realization that I said way too much. He remained silent. I wanted to evaporate. Silence. I just shook my head brushing past him.

Nothing was going to be the same ever again.

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

July 16th, 1988

A bright golden beam of sunlight streamed through the curtains seeping through my eyelids. I sighed pulling a pillow over my face. It’s too early for this. The events of the last two days begin running through my mind as I closed my eyes. I’m a complete mess. If I could stay in bed all day I would. Michael was giving me so many mixed signals but, after last night, I’m afraid he may never speak to me again. I sat up throwing the pillow across the room with force.

“You weren’t aiming for me right?” My head snapped to the side to see Michael standing in front of the window looking out at the London sky.

“Michael!” I yelled pulling the comforter up to cover my pajamas.

“I brought us breakfast.”

“How did you get in here?”

“French toast! Your favorite..” he sang placing the take out trays on the table.

“How long were you watching me sleep?”

“I got extra syrup and fresh strawberries.” He danced taking a big bite of a strawberry.

“You scared me! Why are you here this early?”

“I knew the only way you’d listen to me is if I showed up unannounced and brought food.” A smile spread across his face. “Come on sit.”

“Give me a minute.” I sprinted to the bathroom and softly shut the door behind me. I brush my teeth and wash my face but my nerves are still through the roof. Michael’s here in my room acting suspiciously normal. I focused on my breathing as I walked out back into the room.

“My mom.” He stated as I took the seat across from him.

“What?”

“She had a spare key. I was just answering your earlier question.”

“Oh, then yes.” I smiled taking a bite.

“Yes?”

“I was aiming for you.” I answered sticking my tongue out.

“Ha. Ha. Ha. I have a comedian for a best friend folks!” He announced to an imaginary crowd.

“What would you like to talk to me about?” I asked laughing.

“I need you to promise me something first.”

“What is that?”

“I need you to let me say everything I need to say to you without interrupting me.”

“Is everything okay?” His tone beginning to make me nervous.

“I’ll explain everything.”

“I promise. No interrupting.” I held my hand up letting him know I took the oath seriously.

“Well, I want to thank you for visiting me. It’s the sweetest thing anyone has done for me in a long time. This tour has been incredible, but I have missed you very much. It’s just- everything is better when you’re around.” He slid his hand onto the table slowing inching it towards me. He gave me a small smile and I knew exactly what he wanted, so I placed my hand in his. “I know I’ve been all over the place and I’m sorry. It’s just- it’s such a tough situation. I would never intentionally toy with your feelings. I know that’s why you were avoiding me. I understand why and it’s okay. It was just for a few hours but knowing you didn’t want to see me was the worst feeling in the world.”

“I’ve kept something from you for a few years now because I truly believed it was for the best. It was easier when we were kids. We didn’t have to worry or stress. Once I got to the age where I understood my feelings it became more difficult, but not impossible. I told myself it was better to have you as my best friend than not have you at all. I wanted you in my life. I need you and I hate the idea of my feelings ruining our friendship. Then, my career took this incredible albeit insane turn. All the hard work, struggle and pain of my childhood was finally paying off, but it came at a cost. I’m constantly ridiculed, bullied and betrayed. They all misunderstand me because they don’t know me. I’m just a punchline to them.” He places his hand over his eyes leaning his elbow on the table in attempt to conceal his watery eyes. “I knew I had to protect you from this world. The media attacking you. The paparazzi stalking you. I couldn’t bear leaving you vulnerable to it all. There has always been an excuse. And they all seemed like great excuses. It wasn’t until yesterday that I realized it was fear holding me back. The fear of losing you, but let’s face it you aren’t going anywhere and neither am I. Y/N, there is nothing in this world that is worth keeping my distance from you.” His hand fell from his face and landed over mine.

“Y/N, I could never close my heart to you because it’s yours. It has always been yours.”

“I’m terrified but I think- I hope you want this too. I hope you want me- us.”

“I know what happened opening night hurt you. I know because if I had to watch some schmuck kiss you… or dance with you…” he paused his rant shifting in his seat “I would loose my mind. It would break me.” He squeezed his eyes shut softly shaking his head back and forth. “I could feel your pain. I could feel the ache in your heart. I could feel your tears. It was unbearable. I never want to be the cause of it again. Ever.”

“The reality is if we become more it will change your life in an instant. I pray that you feel I’m worth it as much as I feel you are. I know you are. It won’t be easy, but I vow to do everything in my power to keep any harm from coming to you. I will always protect you.”

“Lovely, in all the ways I’ve pictured my life, you are always in it. You and I are inevitable. We are predestined. It’s in the stars. Everything in me chooses you. You are it. You’re the dream of all dreams. You’re my dream come true. I love you. I love you infinitely.”

Michael’s shoulders relaxed as he let out a deep sigh. He stood up and pulled his chair over to sit beside me. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. My Michael.

“I um- that was probably too much to throw at you all at once. Goodness it’s hot in here.” He started playing with his hair and I knew he was panicking.

“Can I talk now?” I whispered. He hesitantly nodded.

“Michael, please look at me.” His eyes were closed and he shook his head no. “Michael”

He didn’t move and I could tell he thought I was going to reject him. My hands landed on his broad shoulders, his eyes still closed as I ever so gently turned him towards me. I tried to focus on my breathing as my hands traveled to the back of his neck. My fingers running through his curls. I took a brief moment to catch my breath before I leaned in.

As our lips met, a strong bolt of electricity ran through my body. I felt his hands tenderly cup my face as he deepened the kiss, his lips moving against mine with a gentle urgency. In that moment, nothing else mattered - no excuses - no fears.

Surprisingly, the thought of being pressed up against Michael never crossed my mind, but now that it was happening, I didn’t want it to end. Michael’s hands were strong as he affectionately caressed my body. Our lips slightly parted - our breathing heavy - our gazes falling onto one another. Michael didn’t waste time letting his eyes travel. His breath hitched as he lustfully scanned my legs on either side of his hips.

“Oh lovely.” He quickly caught my lips again gripping the back of my thighs. He stood up carrying me with ease as he moved over to the bed.

I felt the plush mattress form to the curves of my body as Michael hovered over me leaving sweet kisses across my collarbone.

“I love you Y/N” he mumbled against my skin with each kiss.

“My entire life...” he stopped and adjusted himself to look into my eyes. “My whole life I’ve been completely in love with you.” The corners of his lips curved up and he buried his face into my neck. “Michael, I love you with my whole heart.”

“Please don’t let this be a dream.” Michael pleaded.

“This is real.” I smiled finding his lips again. “This is happening.”

“Y/N?” He said against my lips.

“Yes Michael?”

“Can I take you on a date? A real date. Just the two of us. Tonight after the show.” He moved to the space next to me as we both shifted laying on our sides to face each other.

“I would love that.”

“I want to kiss you forever.”

“I would love that.” I repeated flirtatiously.

“My girl.” He smiled leaning his forehead against mine. “You’re my girl..”

“Oh I am?” I teased.

“I would like you to be mine. Do you want to be my girl?”

“Hmmm.. let me think.”

Michael began singing and my heart melted further with each lyric.

You know how I feel

I won't stop until

I hear your voice saying

"I do"

Michael watched me intently waiting for my answer. He leaned closer and I smiled kissing him deeply “I do” I said against his lips.

This thing can't go wrong

This feeling's so strong

Well, my life ain't worth living

If I can't be with you

I just can't stop loving you

I just can't stop loving you

And if I stop

Then tell me, just what will I do

I just can't stop loving you

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

There it is part 3!!!

Ahhhhh! Maybe part 4?

I hope you all enjoyed this rollercoaster lol

Let me know what you think. Also, should I put together a tag list?

[starcrossedxwriter]

Built for Love Part 4 (MBJ x Black Famous OC

Warnings: mentions of domestic violence/physical violence

“Stop fidgeting, girl. Damn,” Lauren grabbed Charlotte’s hands as her team finished getting her into her dress. 

Charlotte’s eyes clenched shut. “Sorry, sorry! I’m just freaking the fuck out.”

“Relax, sis. This is super low stakes. Just be charming and yourself,” Law, her stylist, reminded her as he examined her look. “Alright, she’s ready.” 

Charlotte glanced over to herself in the mirror and smiled. “You did it again, Law. This is perfect. You really got the old Hollywood glam mood perfectly.” 

He shrugged and smiled. “I know your aesthetic. And it’ll compliment Michael’s look. I talked to his stylist the other day. Perfect teaser for the press tour in the fall. You two will be everyone’s favorite movie couple when it’s all said and done.” 

Charlotte merely smiled awkwardly and nodded, a nauseating feeling overcoming her. Her hand pressed into her stomach, the detailing on her tight gown digging into her palm as she took a few deep breaths. As the realization that she was mere minutes away from seeing Michael settled in, her breathing became shallow and her heart started to beat loudly in her ears, drowning out the other sounds of her hotel room.

“Hey y’all,” Lo called out, getting everyone’s attention. “Can I just have two minutes with her before y’all do pictures?” 

Everyone filed out, giving Charlotte a moment alone. Lauren rubbed her shoulders. 

“I-I can’t do this… H-He probably hates me. W-what if he hates me?” Her words were frantic and frenzied as she spoke to her best friend.

“Baby girl, look at me,” she followed Charlotte’s eyes until they were on hers, which were filled with sympathy and love. “No one who has ever met you has hated you, I can promise you that. You’re amazing. It’s gonna be ok. You are strong, you are fearless. You can and have faced the unimaginable. So this is a piece of cake. I know you're a bad bitch… he knows you're a bad bitch. Hell, you're the only one who doesn't girl,” she laughed, causing Charlotte’s frown to turn into a small smile. “Say it back to me.” 

Charlotte rolled her eyes and chuckled nervously, her voice still tight. “I’m not gonna say that, Lo.” 

“You aren’t leaving this room till you say it so let’s get to it, bitch. I have date night, I don't have allllllll day.” 

“I’m a bad bitch.” 

“That was pathetic. Again!” 

“I’m a bad bitch!” Charlotte yelled out, laughing with her friend and immediately feeling some of the tension leave her body. 

Lauren squeezed both of her hands before wrapping her in a hug. “Now just believe that and you got this. You know how you feel about him and how he feels about you. Trust that and go get that fine ass man, ok?” 

Charlotte sighed and smiled. “What would I do without you, Lo?” 

“Be a lot more miserable,” she winked at her before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “Gotta go meet your brother. Have lots of fun and we'll see you tomorrow to hear all about it.” 

“Will do.” She paused for a moment as Lauren grabbed her purse and walked toward the door. “Hey Lauren!” Her friend turned and glanced back at her. “Thank you.” 

Lauren’s face twisted up in confusion for a moment. “For what?” 

Charlotte shrugged. “Just for… being you. If you weren’t married to my brother, I would’ve snagged you up.” 

“Girl, you tryin’ to run to Vegas? I’ll drop him for you in a minute.” She winked at her and offered her one final nod of encouragement before she exited, allowing Charlotte’s team to reenter. 

They made quick work of her pre-event photos before ushering her into the car to drive to the venue. Charlotte focused on the music filling her ears, quietly singing along in the backseat with her eyes closed. Music was her respite and her opportunity to get lost in something other than her cluttered mind. 

“Ok we are two minutes out. Mike just arrived so he is gonna hang back so you can walk the carpet together,” her agent muttered. 

Charlotte nodded, taking her headphones out and handing her phone to Tamika since she could not walk down the carpet with it. 

“Gonna take photos for a bit, one interview and then you’ll go to your seats. Ok?” 

“Sounds good.” 

She took a couple of deep breathes, silently chatting Lauren’s mantra before her car door opened. It took a few moments of maneuvering and help to get her out of the car in her form-fitting dress and stilettos. She looked like a knock out, but she was still getting used to high-profile events and clothes that sacrificed functionality for fashion.

She took a moment to steady herself on her feet before starting to walk toward the edge of the carpet where Michael waited. His back was to her but she would recognize that silhouette anywhere. She kept her eyes trained on other targets as she moved closer and closer to him, her heart rate beating faster and faster with every step she took. 

She continued to repeat Lauren’s words in her head but with each round, they were drowned out by doubt and fear as she came face to face with him for the first time in months. 

However, as if the universe was destined to make this the worst night of her life, just as she got close to Michael, her impossibly tall heels caught a snag in the carpet. Charlotte let out a yelp as she felt herself hurling face first toward the hard concrete. 

“Shit!” She panicked realizing there was no one and nothing to grab to break her fall.

However, before she could face plant in front of a row of journalists and photographers, she fell directly into two strong arms and against a familiar hard chest. 

Her hand went to her heart as she let out a few breaths from the shock. 

“You good?” His voice filled her ears, forcing her eyes up to his for the first time in months. 

She almost could not speak as she savored the moment in his arms, she had missed this simple pleasure so much. 

“Y-yea, y-yea I’m good. Thanks… that w-was about to be the most embarrassing moment of my career.” 

Michael’s hands stayed on her as he helped her get settled back on her feet. They settled on her hips for a moment as they stared at each other, so many months of unspoken words passing between them. She watched him intently as reality seemed to catch up with him and he quickly moved his hands off of her, his fingers going to awkwardly tug at his tuxedo jacket. 

Not that it needed any adjustment, he looked perfect. 

“I-I didn’t forget you were clumsy as hell,” he joked, easing the nervous tension that seemed to fill the air around them. 

Charlotte’s heart swelled a bit. She was not sure if she could count that as a good sign, that they could still joke with each other, but she decided to. It was the small bout of courage she needed to keep going with her plan. 

“Good thing I have you to steady me the rest of the way?” She asked quietly, her own attempt to see if they were ok. 

She was thankful and let out a small sigh of relief when he held out his arm for her to wrap hers around. 

“Always.” 

It took the length of the red carpet for the pair to fall back into the familiar patterns Michael had told himself he would resist. Though he had not closed the door yet, he was also set in his resolve to not fall too deeply back in love with her. He was reluctant to admit it but she had broken his heart and he was not keen on letting her close enough to do it twice. So he decided that he was just going to let it be and see if she would come to him. 

But once he was in her presence again, it was as if his heart lost all sense of self preservation and sent him dovetailing involuntarily off a cliff into the oasis of her yet again. Every part of her drew him in again, her soft smile, gentleness, humor, her endless charisma with a hint of awkwardness that reminded everyone know she was down to earth, her insanely humble attitude despite being the most talented and beautiful person he had ever laid eyes on, and the way she managed to command a room's attention without trying at all. She was the personification of an enticing and thrilling adventure his soul desperately wanted to be part of. Within mere minutes, she had tied and twisted him back up in her web and he did not even think she noticed or intended to do so. 

Though they were seated next to each other at dinner, they could only share random comments and snickers as the program took up most of the night. It was not until the program concluded with the premiere of the Creed trailer that they had a moment to actually speak. 

Michael made a beeline toward Charlotte who was waiting for another drink at the bar. 

“You made me look pretty good out there,” he offered as he leaned against the bar. 

Charlotte threw him a smile as she caught the attention of the bartender. 

“Glad I could help. Having you on my arm might’ve upgraded my look a bit too, I guess,” she winked. The bartender handed her a glass of champagne. “Best rum you have on the rocks for him, please.” 

Michael masked the look of genuine surprise that she knew rum was his favorite liquor. But he supposed he was not the only observant one. 

“So superstar! Ready to be the next cultural phenomenon, Creed?” She jokingly put her small fists up and gave him a fake one-two jab, which he artfully and playfully dodged. 

“You saying I’m not already??” He forced a look of playful faux offense on his face causing Charlotte to laugh. Michael couldn’t help the grin that appeared on his face at the sound of her laughter, something he had sorely missed over the last few months. She was a person that laughed with her whole being, it was infectious and lit up the room.  

“My bad, my bad. THE Michael B Jordan is already a cultural icon.” She leaned against the bar. The light taps of her nails could not be heard over the music and conversation as they stood together but Michael noticed. She did that all the time when she was nervous or excited, as if the small movement could release some of that energy. “The trailer looked amazing though, seriously. This shit… it’s gonna be a game changer for you.” 

“You’re in it too, remember? Gonna be a game changer for both of us. I can feel it.” He inched closer to her as they talked, the soft fabric of his tux brushing lightly against her arm. “If I get six of these movies, you gotta be in every single one.” 

Charlotte raised her eyebrow and took a sip of her drink while her other hand went to the corner of his bowtie to gently fix it as it had gotten crooked. Michael watched her as she intently fixed his suit, her eyes intense and focused on her task.

When she was done, her hand fell against the lapel of his tuxedo jacket and rested there on his chest. It was as if she had not even thought about what she was doing. 

“You sure about that? Probably get sick of me after three movies,” she joked.  

His hand gently grabbed her other hand, which rested next to her drink on the bar, every movement they shared as thoughtless, natural and needed as breathing.

In that moment, she could see in his eyes and feel in his touch everything he said that night that she denied. She could hear every word playing over and over in her head like a movie. Only this time, she only heard him, she didn’t hear Shaun. It was there, clear as day: his love, his adoration, his desire… all directed at her even now after she had pushed him away. It was still there and it was overwhelming. And it still terrified her. But for the first time, Charlotte did not want to run away or hide from it, she wanted to bask in it. She wanted to be loved by him in every way possible.

He held her gaze there for a moment, her breath hiking slightly.

“I don’t see that happenin’.” 

Charlotte felt a wave of deja-vu falling over her as his lips started to come closer to hers. However, as quickly as the moment started, it was gone. Something seemed to click in Bakari’s mind and he immediately straightened up and took his hands off her and took a step back from her, a look of frustration and anger painted across his youthful features. He coughed before taking a huge gulp of his drink. 

“E-excuse me,” he muttered before disappearing into the crowd.

Payback’s a bitch, Charlotte thought to herself as she realized this was exactly how she left him, bewildered and alone. However, now it was her turn to be persistent. She quickly raced after him out of the ballroom, weaving between drunk directors and actors until she found him sulking away in a quiet hallway. 

“Bakari! Stop walking!” She called after him, her stilettos slowing her down but she refused to stop.

Michael only decided to stop because that refrain was so familiar. And despite the petty side of him wanting his feet to keep moving, his common sense had no power of his limbs… only his heart did. And his heart wanted to stop for her because as much as he wanted to deny it, his love for her had not diminished one iota since he saw her last, it had only grown stronger. 

She could not stop the surprised look on her face when he actually turned around. 

“O-Oh I didn’t think you’d stop,” she whispered more to herself than him, causing him to laugh a bit. 

“Isn’t that what you wanted?” 

“Y-yea yea, I j-just figured you were too upset to actually listen? But th-this is great. I wasn’t gonna make it much further without falling in these shoes anyway. You know I don’t know why they make me wear these, they’re fucking miserable and not even functional a-” she stopped herself, her lips forming a slight o at his expression. “I’m rambling aren’t I? About something that’s totally irrelevant. You d-don’t care about my shoes.” 

If the moment had not been so serious and he had not been so frustrated at himself, he would have laughed. He loved how she rambled and went off on tangents, her awkwardness making her all the more cute and endearing to him. 

“W-what’s wrong?” She asked. “D-did I do something?” 

He paced back and forth in the hallway. “I just swore I wouldn’t do this shit again. Said I was gonna let you come to me, not put myself out there again for you to push me away. But here I am… falling for you all over again.” 

She could hear the frustration in his voice. Her eyes clenched shut as she took a tentative step toward him, her hands wringing together as she spoke.

“W-what if this is me coming to you?” She whispered, her voice as shaky and unsure as she felt. 

Michael stopped pacing, worried his ears did not hear her correctly. 

“What?” 

“I-I don’t b-blame you for wanting to keep me at an arm’s length. I-I hurt you and I’m sorry for that. T-that night you asked me to be honest with you. And I couldn’t and I’m sorry for that too. I-I’m sorry for everything. But the truth is,” she let out a deep breath as she decided to release feelings from a cage buried so deep in her soul, she had only come to terms with them days ago herself. She had never been this vulnerable with a man in her life. Michael was uncharted territory but he was worth it. Her family was right, she could not keep allowing good things to pass her by because she was scared. She could not merely survive day to day, she had to live or she escaped Shaun and a life of pain for nothing. 

“I pushed you away because… I was and still am f-fucking terrified,” her last word cracked slightly as her emotions got the better of her. The tightness in her throat felt unbearable as she fought to get that last word out. She noticed his eyes soften slightly as that word landed on his ears. Somehow, that felt like permission to continue, that he was truly willing to listen. And despite how hard it was to share, she was ready to let her guard down and let someone in.  

“N-Not of you… but of this a-and what we could be. My last relationship… he d-destroyed me, broke parts of me t-that will never heal, not fully anyway. A-and w-when I finally left him, I worked really hard,” she wiped away a stray tear. “I worked really f-fucking hard to put the pieces back together and, you know, put one foot in front of the other. A-and I vowed never to let someone hurt me like that again because I don’t think I could s-survive it. A-and that w-was fine, I was fine. Until I met you. And you are… everything I could hope for myself a-and everything I don’t believe I d-deserve. And I fell for you a-and I didn’t know how to handle that so e-every instinct told me to run b-before…” 

“I could hurt you too,” he finished her sentence, taking a step toward her. 

She sniffled and nodded as his hand cupped her cheek, his thumb wiping away a falling tear. She missed his touch, gentle and safe. 

Michael felt an odd sense of relief that he had not completely misread their interactions. That she had not pushed him away because she did not want him or because she was playing with him. And he was thankful he had listened to his older and wiser friends and not given up on her so quickly. 

Now the anger and frustration he felt bubbling to the surface was no longer directed at the woman before him, but at the nameless man who hurt her. Though her words were intentionally vague, he knew saying that much had been difficult to share. But the words she had chosen felt like physical blows in and of themselves: broken… destroyed. While he wished he did not, his brain immediately considered the worst case scenarios, the mere thought of a man putting his hands on her sending blinding rage through him. But based on her words and actions, he could only gleam that that was the case. He just did not know if he was emotionally prepared to see anymore evidence of that than he had already seen.

“And I j-just… I wish I had something more to give you. I look at you a-and can feel how much y-you care about me. A-and all I f-felt a-and still feel is t-this all consuming shame that this b-brokenness is all I have to offer you. It j-just doesn’t feel like enough,” her voice was barely above a whisper as she finally spoke her truth, a truth she had not voiced to anyone before.

The hallway they stood in was virtually silent as her revelations settled in the air. Her stiletto-shaped nails scratched lightly at her forehead, slightly disturbing the make up her team spent time meticulously perfecting. 

“None of it is an excuse. A-and if I’m too late, I understand and I’ll live with it. But t-this is me coming to you. I love you. I just need you to know that.” 

She offered him a small but distinct half smile before awkwardly shuffling on her heels. She interpreted his silence as disdain, her long-winded ramblings were too little too late to undo the damage she had done months prior. 

“I-I’m gonna go freshen up a-and then head back to the party.” 

She forced herself to turn around and start to walk away from him. She had her shot, she blew it. And as she said, she would learn to live with it. 

However, her forward momentum was halted by a strong but gentle grip around her wrist. She stopped and turned to find him right behind her. Without missing a moment or breath, he pulled her forward and into his arms. His lips crashed against hers, Charlotte immediately returning it fervently. Her fingers gripped the collar of his tux tightly as if releasing him would mean he would vanish right before her eyes.

His fingers became tangled in her hair as he tasted her. Neither one of them cared that a paparazzi or bystander’s camera could lurk around any corner and create a shrine for this moment for all time. The only thing that mattered was the two of them and that they finally saw eye to eye.   

He pulled away and stared into her deep brown eyes. Instantly he knew this moment was real because, for the first time, he did not see fear or a desire to run. 

“Whatever you are is enough for me, Els. I told you that I want you to feel safe with me. I want you to feel safe to share with me the pieces of yourself you wear proudly and the ones you’ve hidden cause you think they’re broken. I want to know you, the real you. And whatever she brings is more than enough for me, I promise you that.” 

Her eyes gently fell closed as his hand cupped her face, her cheek leaning into his touch. He gently wiped away her falling tears before kissing her on the forehead and pulling her into a hug. 

She buried her face into his neck, breathing in his scent. She immediately recognized his favorite cologne that he wore on set. It was not overpowering but refreshing and light against her nose. She instantly felt a relief and peace she had not experienced in years. 

“Let’s get out of here, yea?” he offered as he wiped another tear she did not realize was falling. “I got a car, we can go back to my place and grab a drink and talk, aight?” 

Charlotte nodded and let out a sigh of relief. “Y-Yea I w-would love that. I hate these things.” 

****

“What?” 

Charlotte’s lips turned up in a soft smile as she took a sip from the glass, the train of her dress bunched up on the couch in the sitting area of his bedroom. 

“I dropped like several bombs on you tonight. All you did on set was ask a million questions and now you’re mute,” she teased before her face turned serious again. “If you have questions, ask ‘em.” 

“I got ‘em but I want you to tell me what you want to tell me in your own time. I know shit is hard to share.” 

She shook her head. “I already told you the hardest part. The rest is… unpleasant but if we are gonna be anything real, I gotta learn to share all of it.” 

“Ok… Tell me about your ex. As much or as little as you want.”

She sat up a little straighter, her head resting on her arm against the pillows of the sofa. 

“I was a junior at Juilliard. I met him, Shaun Parker, at a friend’s birthday party. He was a friend of a friend sort of thing. He was a couple years older and worked on Wall Street. He was the exact guy a dumb, insecure 21 year old falls for, you know? The guy from the rom-com that says and does all the right things, perfect gentleman and handsome so you fall head over heels after the first date. He made me feel like no one could ever love me like he did.” 

Charlotte leaned back, a dark glint taking over her eyes as she thought back on the worst period of her life. 

“A-and then it started. It’s such a slow build, you don’t even realize you’re in trouble until it’s too late. By the time I realized, I was already drowning.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “The first time, h-he came by campus and saw me eating lunch with a cast mate… a guy. We were rehearsing for our spring production. I left with him and when we got to his car, he called me a whore and slammed my head into the side of his car. The next day, after I got back from the doctor, my dorm was filled with roses and he swore he’d never do it again. That lasted maybe a week before he slapped me for offering to pay for dinner at a restaurant. We dated for three years after that.” 

She took a huge gulp from her drink. She avoided his eyes, which were filled with anger that his suspicions were correct. His hands curled into fists as he processed her words. 

“Tried to leave and break it off a couple of times. But I always went back. And it just got worse and worse and worse. The fear was paralyzing, you try so hard to be perfect, every action measured to exactly what he would want to avoid that next punch, kick, or whatever. But I realized one day that it didn’t matter what I did or how perfect I was, there was nothing I could do or say that would stop it. But it took wayyy too much to get me there,” She paused before offering him a half smile and a shrug. “Hope that doesn’t scare you off.”  

“Your past would never scare me off, Els. I’m just sorry… no one deserves that. How bad did it get?” 

“Um.. by the end, I was lucky if a day went by when he didn’t hurt me somehow. But the psychological abuse is the stuff that sticks with you honestly. That’s why I could never leave, he always found a way to pull me back in. The last time, he…” Charlotte shook her head as if she could shake the memories out of her brain. She was not ready to go down that road yet. “I just realized I would die if I stayed so I left for good. Never looked back.”  

“And moved to LA?” He asked, finally putting the pieces together of why she moved out to the LA area and left Broadway altogether. 

“N-not at first, no. I thought I could have it all. That I could j-just like move to another borough and keep m-my life and career and be done with him. Thought that once he knew I was serious, he would leave me alone. You know the saying, ‘the house always wins?’” At his nods, she continued. “Learned the harsh lesson that it applies to more than gambling. We were apart for about three months before he broke into my apartment and almost killed me. The fact that I’m even sitting here talking to you is a fluke.” She grimaced and kept her eyes focused on her hands before continuing. “A-and then I ran. Moved to LA with no warning, burned many a bridge in the theater world by disappearing, stayed at my brother’s for a few months before I got my first gig and got back on my feet.”

“That’s not running,” he offered quietly. 

She shook her head. “It certainly felt like it. I loved my life in New York… my career, my friends. The community I built. And he just took all of it away.”

“Where he at?” 

She shrugged, “No idea. Probably still in New York? But I completely scrubbed Shaun and everyone mutual friend we had from my life after I left so I wouldn’t know. And I don't want to… if he isn't looking for me, I ain't gonna look for him.”

“Have you been back to New York since?” 

She nodded. “My first time back was actually before we filmed Creed. Filmed a small role for a show there for about a month.   Literally went to set and came right back home every day, changed my hotel every week. Didn’t tell anyone and probably only saw one or two friends the entire time I was there. I mean, I know New York is huge but I couldn’t help but look over my shoulder every five seconds, you know? But that’s the bed I made, I guess.” She fiddled with the detailing on her dress for a moment. “What else?” 

“How are you?”

Her heart fluttered lightly at the sincerity in his voice, the genuine concern she heard. “No one really ever asks me that. They just assume I'm perfectly fine because the bruises have healed or that I'm still broken. But… Um… I’m ok. Made a lot of progress, basically paid for my therapist’s summer home.” She chuckled. “But I really prioritized getting back to me before I got back into work. Back into my hobbies, songwriting and performing, got into running like I told you before… just like finding my voice and personhood again? Those things you kinda lose in that situation. Still learning to trust my gut again, how to accept health love," she motioned toward him. "It’s been a journey but I think I found a better version of myself than before him. So that’s something I guess.” 

“Cheers to that,” he raised his glass to her. “So last question.” 

“The ever inquisitive Bakari,” she smiled before nodding. “Ask away.” 

“You want to give us a real shot? We can take it as slow as you want, ain’t no rush. I want this to go at your pace so I can earn your trust. I want you to be comfortable with me.” 

Words failed her as she listened to him. She knew his words to be true, she did not know why but she trusted him already. He already was the safe space she needed and had already earned her trust. 

“I already do… trust you,” she whispered as she leaned in to kiss him. 

The pair kissed hungrily, their sweet moment turning into hungry desire with in seconds. Charlotte forgot what it felt like to lust until she met Bakari, to yearn for someone’s touch and presence, to desire them as you desire air or sustenance. But she felt all of that and more, driving her to finally let her guard down in more ways than one. 

She was shocked at how much she shared with him, how readily he accepted it and her without hesitation, how it did not alter his thoughts or feelings about her. All those feelings she had been keeping at bay were finally free as her walls fell and she forgot how good it felt… to love and be loved, to desire and be desired in return. 

Before she knew it, she was on her back, her fingers undoing the buttons of his crisp white shirt, his perfectly-sculpted chest coming into view. She let out a needy moan as his lips touched a sensitive spot on her neck, gently sucking on her skin. Everywhere his hands or lips touched left a spark of heat, a trail of flames lighting his path across her body. She felt overcome with pleasure and need and knew he felt it too as she felt his hardening member against her thigh. She had not expected for their relationship to progress quite this quickly but neither of them had expected to fall in love with each other so she supposed this just the foundation of their relationship: the unexpected. And she would not dare complain. 

However, she was surprised when his hands wrapped around hers to stop her as she went to take off his pants. 

Her face was flushed and her breaths sounded like pants as she stared at him, confused. 

“What?” She asked softly. 

“I want you,” he assured her. “So fucking bad… but I want to give you the experience you deserve. Wine you, dine you and have a night that’s all about us -” 

“Then break my back?” She teased. 

He rolled his eyes and snickered, “Something like that. I just don’t want you to regret anything with me.” 

Her forehead rested on his as she nodded painfully, her whole body flustered and annoyed at the loss of what she imagined would be mind-blowing pleasure. And though it was hard not to give into temptation, she knew he was right. She had overcome many hurdles tonight, sex was one to unpack on another day.

He smirked at the disappointed look on her face, “Don’t worry, baby girl. It’ll be worth the wait.” 

He kissed her on the lips again before pushing himself off of her, a cold shower in the not-so-distant future for him. 

Charlotte sat up and watched as he went to pour both of them another drink from the bottle he brought upstairs. 

He settled back down on the couch, his hand resting gently on her thigh through the slit of her dress. The pair fell into effortless conversation, moving away from Charlotte’s past to other topics. The pair did not take their eyes off of each other as they laughed, joked, and swapped stories about their acting careers and families, neither of them wanting the night to end. 

By the time Michael glanced at his watch again, he realized it was almost 3 am, Charlotte’s soft yawns getting more and more frequent as they talked. 

“Aight,” he rubbed her thigh, noticing the signs of her about to fall asleep from their many movie nights while filming. “You gotta go to sleep, baby girl. Take my bed,” he gestured. 

“Nah, I’m not gonna kick you outta your room in your house, Bakari. I’ll call a cab or something,” she yawned and stretched and stood up. 

He shook his head. “Definitely not. Please, just knock out in there and I’ll sleep in the guest room. I'll grab you a t-shirt and let you have some privacy. And then I'll call you a car in the morning."

Charlotte was so physically and emotionally tired that she decided not to argue and acquiesced quickly.

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” 

She followed him into the room as he grabbed a t-shirt out of his dresser and put it on the bed for her.

"I'll grab you a hanger 'n garment bag for the dress."

“Could you…?” she gestured at the gown. 

She stood and turned away from him, sliding her long hair to the side to reveal the zipper of her dress. 

He kept his eyes trained on her back to avoid staring at her perfect ass. Despite his best efforts, he could not help but sneak a peak, her body was one worth feasting on. He made quick work of unzipping her dress and helping her slid it down, revealing perfectly smooth skin underneath. 

He undid the clasp of her her bra too, at her signal, immediately stepping back toward the door to take himself out of a danger zone. He couldn’t take her eyes off of her. However, he was quickly drawn out of his adoration when his eyes spotted scars littering her back and one on the left side of her stomach that resembled a burn as she turned slightly to grab his shirt and slid it on.

His eyes darkened as he took the scars in, knowing exactly where and who they came from. 

“You good?” He forced out, putting his attention on something else to avoid focusing on the story behind each scar. 

“Yea… thanks, Bakari, seriously.” She climbed into bed and settled as he turned to walk to the couch. 

However, her voice stopped him. 

“Actually… will you stay? Plenty of room for both of us,” she gestured to the empty spot next to her. 

Michael knew it was not the best idea given how hard it was to say no earlier. However, at her next statement, he lost any hesitation he may have had. 

“I want you here with me, please?” 

He nodded and slid his tux pants off, leaving them in a heap on the floor. He got on his side of the bed and she immediately snuggled up next to him. He placed a soft kiss on her head before she dozed off on his chest, Charlotte falling asleep faster than she had in years in the arms of the man she loved. 

Tag list: @certifiedlesbianbaddie @bangtanxmegan @reelwriter19 @prettyisasprettydoes1306 @msniaimani @hi888888sworld @destinio1 @lynaye1993 @cawi00

A/N: I told yall there were gonna be more reasons to hate Shaun smh but this is our last chapter where he gets mentioned explicitly for a while lol But Els & Bakari are finally on the same page - woohoo! How do you think her past is gonna impact them as they try to make a relationship work? Also idk how long this series is gonna be lol but this will tell a specific story about a portion of their relationship and I'll use one-shots to build it out beyond this section of their relationship.

[neverland93]

Peter Pan Imagine/Limits

You arrive on Neverland, nervous as hell. You had to get your brother back Henry.

But you’ve been here before, you walked this sole path, you’ve touched the trees that breath within your body. You touched the ground that you’ve laughed vigorously before. But you never thought you come back, and you never thought you feel slightly at home, oddly enough.

“Hey kid, you okay?” Emma asked

“What? Oh y-yeah! Let’s get going.” You said realizing you had been in a trance.

Walking around it doesn’t even take you a minute to know where you are but you decide it’s best to let the group find their way, you don’t want to make it obvious, you can’t make it obvious.

It took them about 35 minutes to see smoke and knew they were near the campsite, that’s when your heart rate went up, you began to sweat, and your hands started to tremble.

Walking to the site it was empty, but not for long, you knew better, you always knew better.

You sit down on your favorite log and reminisce on a couple things.

How Peter would drink his whiskey and shower you with compliments, how he’d push your hair back and said he needed to see your face, how he’d take you back to his cabin and have you scream his name repeatedly til your throat was sore.

But all that was over,it had to be over, you were with Emma and Henry now, you needed a better life,being a lost boy was only temporary, because everyone has to grow up sometime.

Just then you hear a loud BANG and a bunch of shouting

They’re here.

You get up the boys start to come one by one shouting at the grown ups and banging on pots and pans until they see you

It goes silent and then you ask the question

“Where’s Henry?” You say

They all stay silent

An younger lost boy runs to you and hugs your leg

You couldn’t help but crack a smile,but quickly regained focus.

“I need you to tell me where my little brother is okay?” You tell him

“Thats enough!” A voice overcame the area

Oh no, you knew who that was, you skin grew goosebumps and your throat became dry. It was Pan himself.

You turn to him and his smirk was as menacing as ever. Nothing has changed.

“Where is Henry.” You said

“Henry’s your brother?” He asked

“Yes.” You stated

“And how awful it is to have to travel all the way to Neverland to get him back, like you’re being reminded of old memories.” He folded his arms

“Just tell me where he is and I’ll be out your way Peter.” You say

“You’re not getting it are you?” Peter said as he walked closer to you

Emma and Regina start to look at you and then each other

Curious about what’s going on with you two.

“You left, I stole Henry to get you back, and now, you are NEVER leaving Neverland again.” He said angrily

“Bullshit I left this shithole and I will leave again, and dont you dare stop me when I take Henry back with me.” You said sizing him up but scared as hell on the inside and Pan saw your bluff.

“You really think you could just come and go as you please? Henry was the only way I could get you back and now that you are you and him are here for good so get used to it or else-“

You walk away from Peter as he’s mid sentence

So of course he grabs your wrist and pulls you closer towards him.

“Do NOT walk away from me Y/n.” He said sternly

“Why not? It’s not like you care! It’s not like you loved me or even liked me.” You said with tears in your eyes

“I wanted to put my mouth on you, and draw out whatever toxin, but I understand there are limits to love. So I realized I couldn’t save you.” He said

“Excuse me?” You hardly breathed out

“If you can’t see this is my last and finally attempt and put your pride aside and see that I am trying to save you then respectfully Y/n fuck you.” He said angrily.

“You know him?” Emma asked

“Oh she knows him alright.” Regina says

“She was once queen of Neverland.” Peter said folding his arms and walking away, leaving you with tears in your eyes confused on what to do next, the jig was up, you’ve been caught, but you’re not ready for what’s next.