#I’ve got experience now so it’ll be faster right?

[petrichorium]

I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR ABOUT EX HUSBAND SHANKS 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

Okay I was thinking a relationship that’s like SUPER chill and casual. Like literally fuckbuddies turned lovers; u stay on ur home island and he’s off most of the time. Was based close by in the first year or two y’all met and got close so he was around more often but eventually it becomes him stopping by every few months for a few weeks and the two of you keeping up contact while he’s gone. The progression from just messing around to a committed relationship is slow and largely unsaid until Beckman tells you his captain has turned down every other woman for the past two years and you realize you aren’t much searching for other men yourself; soon enough you’ve got matching rings and as untraditional as it is it works.

And I’m just thinking abt how like…….. ur happy w ur life on ur little island, it’s relatively safe all things considered under his protection and you’ve lived there your whole life and all you rlly wanna do is keep your head down and stay there. Getting involved with Red-Haired Shanks puts a major flaw in that plan but it’s easy to forget who exactly he is. He doesn’t hide it, ofc not, but he’s so… unremarkable seeming that it’s difficult to remember, especially when your interaction with him is isolated to a scant few days or weeks when he’s most at ease and the only thing he’s thinking about is you.

But………. then you’re reminded otherwise. It’s silly really, because of course you know. It’s been years since you first met him, you’ve seen the wanted posters and you’ve heard how people talk about him, but knowing in abstract—contrasted by the man who’s managed to marry you, all wide smiles and incessant drunken love confessions and never dodging a well-placed swat from your hand—is far different from seeing in person.

You board his ship for a little trip; something small, only a few days to go retrieve a gift for you that Shanks had foolishly left a few islands away, low-risk and entirely in his territory. But it all goes sideways and you’re forced, quite suddenly, to realize just who you’ve managed to fall for—and exactly what kind of power and prestige he wields—while trapped with nowhere to go but remain on his ship with him and his crew for the days it takes to return.

You feel stupid more than anything, balking like this after one (frankly minuscule) fight. You don’t leave his cabin the whole trip back. He brings you meals, holds you when he can, tells you how much the crew misses you, but he doesn’t understand just how much you’re questioning. How much, you wonder, do you really know Shanks? Bordering on ten years is quite some time but when you only see him a scant few weeks out of those years, how much does it matter?

The ring on your finger, the way he looks at you—they settle on your shoulders more like a noose now, no longer making you giddy. How long until some bitter rival of his storms your home searching for you because they can’t touch him?

How much is he worth it when the lives of everyone in your hometown stand at risk?

You’re smart enough not to pick the fight until you’ve returned. You have it at the door of your home, long overdone and frankly terrified, all but melting down once you’re truly alone with him for the first time in a week. He doesn’t yell back—doesn’t do much, after attempts at soothing you fail, except watch you with a mildly surprised expression on his face.

For the first time in years you don’t let him stay the night, or see him off when he leaves the following day. You sit up on your roof and watch his ship disappear over the horizon and assure yourself that clearly you aren’t cut out for being his.

(But two months later that ship appears again, and an hour after docking there’s a knock at your door, and you can’t help how your breath hitches when you see that red hair beyond the peephole…)

[drewsbuzzcut]

Christmas Trees & Ice Skating

mat barzal x model!fem!reader

a visceral in doses fic

warnings: mentions injuries but no actual injuries and slightly mentions panicking and fears

This takes place almost a year into their relationship!

“In the few years I’ve lived here, I’ve never come to see the Rockefeller tree. It’s beautiful,” you whisper, body rigid even though Mat’s hugging you from behind.

Right now you’re both on the ice rink, taking in the view of the Christmas tree. You’re feeling like a newborn deer, so Mat is holding onto you extra tight- not that you’re complaining.

“Yeah, it’s really cool. I’m glad I was able to be the first person you got to experience it with,” he mutters into the skin of your neck.

“I’m glad, too. Although I’m not glad I’m on ice and on skates,” you say, slowly turning around to face Mat, your feet wobbly.

“It’ll be okay. I’m going to help you as much as you need, baby,” he whispers in your ear.

“Say it again,” you request for him to use the pet name again, your body leaning into his.

“Baby,” he says in his soft voice that only you get to hear.

“You swear you won’t let me fall?” You ask, feet spread on the ice as you clutch onto the sleeves of Mat’s hoodie.

“I swear,” he claims, a hint of an amused smile gracing his features. His hands are placed on your hips to keep you from slipping.

“I cannot believe you’re making me do this,” you shriek, cheeks growing redder despite them already being red from the cold.

“It’s part of our deal! I do a little photo shoot with you and you let me teach you how to ice skate,” he reminds you of a prior deal you made with him.

“Fine. We can move now,” you say, feeling your nerves bubble in your stomach when he pulls you by your hands.

Your hands noticeably tremble in his hold, so he makes sure to tighten his grip. He’s moving backwards while you slowly start to move your legs.

“You got this!” He encourages you.

“I got this,” you say in a panicked laugh, body still shaking with nerves.

“You do! You just need to take a couple deep breaths and concentrate,” He assures you.

“Don’t let me go,” you whisper, still lightly laughing in disbelief.

“I won’t,” he claims.

“Oh my god! Mat!” You say as he starts to skate a little faster. Your hands pull out of his grips to fist the sleeves of his hoodie.

“Mathew, oh my god,” you say frantically, small little laughs falling from your lips as you try to disguise your fear.

“Babe, you’re doing just fine. Focus on something to take your mind off it,” he suggests.

You look up into his eyes, immediately feeling butterflies take over your nerves. He’s staring back at you. Maybe you should be taking in the sight of the crowded ice rink and the big Rockefeller tree, or focus on your movements, but you can’t help but stay focused on your boyfriend.

You’ve only been dating for around 10 months, but you already feel so much for the hockey player in front of you. You feel his hands squeeze yours and for a moment you feel everything slip away. You move to take a step towards Mat, desperately wanting his lips on yours, forgetting that you’re in skates. Your one step turns into you slipping, grabbing ahold of your boyfriend’s shoulders as you fall forward.

It takes Mat by surprise, so by trying to regain his balance, you both end up falling onto the ice. He doesn’t get to break your fall as you’re chest to chest with your back flat on the ice. His large body hovers over you as you look into each other’s eyes. It seems like Mat is extremely shocked and guilty. You huff in deep breaths, trying to calm your erratic heart.

“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” He asks frantically. His eyes roam over your body, searching for any injuries.

“How can I trust you to score me a goal when I can’t even trust you to catch me when I fall?” You tease him but it makes him stressed.

He immediately starts blabbering, spewing apologies and questions about your potential injuries. His eyes are wide and his cheeks are a shade of red you’ve never seen on his face. You think it’s lovely, and you know you want to see it again. You hold back a giggle, reaching up to grasp his face in your hands and silencing him with a kiss.

You can physically feel his body relax, his attention now being placed on kissing you well. Your hands travel to his back, heart fluttering at the feeling of his muscles from under his hoodie.

“I’m just joking,” you whisper against his lips, slightly out of breath.

He lets out a soft exhale, his forehead coming down to rest on your shoulder.

“We should probably get up before someone complains about us being in this slightly r-rated position,” you giggle, carding your fingers through his hair.

“You’re right. I should probably carry you off the ice being that you’re quite the skater,” he teased you, earning a scoff and a playful shove.

“Don’t be jealous. I’m coming for your job, so you better watch out,” you tease back, yelping as Mat pulls you over his shoulder as he starts to skate off the ice.

“That’s fine. I actually like being in front of the camera, maybe we can switch,” he muses, making you laugh loudly.

“You wish,” you say through a gasp as he slaps your ass.

Once completely off the ice, he finally sets you back on your feet for you to readjust your clothes and pull off the skates.

“I thought we’d be here a lot longer,” you say, realizing you’d only been at the rink for half an hour.

“We’re just getting some hot chocolate, then I’m taking you back on the ice until you can skate at least 1 minute without me holding you,” he informs you, which makes you pout.

“Why must you insist on torturing me?”

He just gives you a devilish smirk, leading you to get your hot chocolate.

You take a pause from walking right where the huge Christmas tree looms over the both of you, and it does wonders with lighting up you and Mat. You can see the smile on his face clear as day. He holds your skates while you both sip on hot chocolate, trying to keep warm.

He steps closer to you, throwing an arm around your neck to pull you in. His nose nudges yours, his lips getting closer to yours as he lets them brush against each other. You lean up, connecting your mouths together. Your body seemingly warms up despite the freezing temperature.

“Thank you,” he whispers into your kiss.

“For what?” You pull back, cupping his cheek with one of your hands. You softly caress his bottom lip as it’s slightly swollen from the kiss.

“For letting me teach you to ice skate even though you’re scared of it. I just wanted you to be able to skate around with me during family skate,” he says softly and your heart melts in your chest.

“If you don’t kiss me now, I’ll freeze to death,” you blurt out, cheeks red because you’re still feeling giddy about what he just said.

He lets out a small laugh, pulling your mouth back on his until you have to pull away for air.

You never thought you’d want to learn to ice skate so badly until now.

a/n: I don’t really like how this came out, but I didn’t feel like continuously changing everything. Anyways, I hope y’all enjoy it!!!

[sentientgolfball]

A prompt for you if you want :]

⁵⁰⁾ “you can be a little rougher, y’know. i’m not exactly delicate.”

Phantom/Aether

eheehehehe enjoy some Phantom/Aether first time together

Send me a pair and a prompt!

Tags: mean Aeth, irresponsible use of quintessence, knot mention

This is not what Phantom expected when he finally got Aether alone. 

“Taking me so well love bug”. 

The sweetness was almost sickening. Don’t get them wrong, they loved the tender stuff as much as the next ghoul but they wanted something else from Aether. Just about everyone in the pack had recounted their encounters with Aether to him and Phantom wanted a taste. Dew and Mountain had been adamant Aeth could turn your brain off faster than you could blink. Rain and Swiss told all about his ability to literally turn your brain off, making you a pliant little toy for him to use. Cirrus and Cumulus told them the magic words to get him riled up. 

Phantom had followed the air ghoulettes’ instructions perfectly and it had worked. Phantom had gotten up to get more snacks for the movie and Aether had followed. He slipped them his tongue for only a moment before insisting they go to his room. Phantom couldn’t have been more excited to finally have his turn with Aether. They wondered what he would do to them, cock getting chubby the more they thought about it. 

It threw him off when Aether undressed him slowly, kissing every branch of his lichtenberg figure scars, chuckling when some quint sparked at him. He shrugged it off though, assuming Aether was just warming them up. 

Warming them up yeah right. 

Aether had so very carefully worked his fingers into him, taking his sweet time. He kept their lips pressed together through the whole process, drinking down every soft whimper from Phantom. When Aeth had brought the head of his thick cock to their waiting hole they had thought this was finally it. They’d see the side of him that they had been dying to experience. 

Aether pushed into him slowly cooing soft praises and wiping the tears from Phantom’s eyes when he winced at the stretch. 

“Oh love you’re doing so good for me” Aether pulled out and thrust back in just as gently as when he started. 

Phantom couldn’t help the whine that slipped past their lips. For Satan’s sake it was still Aether even if this wasn’t what he was looking for. He let Aeth hump away, closing his eyes and curling his hands in his hair. He tried so hard to focus on how good Aether felt, but his mind was still wandering. He was so far gone in his own fantasies he hadn’t noticed Aether had almost entirely stopped moving, grinding lazily against his hips. Fuck they couldn’t take this anymore. 

“You can be rough, you know. I’m not exactly delicate” they breathed out. 

Aether stopped moving entirely. He chuckled lowly, planting a kiss on their skin before sitting up from where he was buried in their neck. The look in his eyes made Phantom suck in a breath. 

“Took you long enough.” 

“Wh…what?” 

“To be fair you lasted longer than I expected.” 

Phantom looked him dumbfounded. 

“Do you really think I didn’t notice the little game you were playing all week? We’re quintessence ghouls Phantom and you haven’t learned enough to be able to block me out.” 

“I don’t uh I don’t know what you mean” they swallow hard, blush creeping on their face. 

“Please. Don’t lie to me and don’t you dare think about backing out now. Too late for that love bug.” 

Phantom tries to stammer out a response but the second they open their mouth they can feel Aether in their mind. They go boneless before they can even think to push back, tongue lolling out of their mouth. They try to move anything but the only thing that cooperates is their eyes. Aether leans over him, placing his hands on either side of his head on the mattress. 

“I’ve been waiting for you to come to me, little buggy. I’ve been dying to see how far I can really push the body. It’ll be so much easier since I can hear you” Aether taps the quintessence symbol on their chest. 

They try to moan when Aether bends them in half, shoving his thick cock into their ass as deep as possible. Nothing comes out of their mouth. 

“Real fucking bendy aren’t you?” 

Aether immediately pounds into them, brutally bouncing against them. Phantom’s eyes flick up to watch, it’s all they can fucking do. The sight of Aether staring at where their bodies meet, growling low with sweat glistening in his hairline makes his cock kick. 

Oh so that can still move. 

Just as Aether had promised, he practically experiments with Phantom. He bends him in every way he can think, even trying to get him to suck his own dick at one point. He couldn’t do it but he got real fucking close. Now Aeth has Phantom in his lap, cock shoved down his throat. He’s been using his mouth for the past…however long it’s been Phantom didn’t even know anymore. There was not a single thought in his mind except for Aether. Their eyes flicked up to look at him through their lashes and he grinned at them. 

“You’ve been so good all night, how about a little treat?” 

Aether shoved his knot passed their lips, gripping the back of their head while he came down their throat. Phantom would’ve came when the taste hit his tongue, but Aeth made sure that was impossible. He dick was so hard and he’s sure he would’ve came at least three times by now if it wasn’t for the amount of quint Aether was pouring into him. His scars hadn’t stopped glowing for the last ten minutes. 

“Once this goes down we’re gonna see if you can take my whole hand, how does that sound love bug?” 

Phantom projected his affirmation into Aether’s mind. The older quint smiled, petting at his cheek to feel his knot inside. Phantom would have to thank Cirrus and Cumulus later for teaching him the tricks.

[etherealphosphor]

Bluebell

⟡ Contains: Dottore x Gn!Reader, Sfw, Angst to set the scene, Fluff otherwise, Dottore has amnesia, Reader is married to Dottore

You and Dottore had always been the envy of Snezhnaya, your relationship being quite the popular topic among its citizens. Everyone in the Fatui, from Cicin Mages to the Harbingers themselves, knew about your marriage. It was impossible to be out of the loop, as gossip spread like wildfire in the headquarters. Even if one were to live under a rock, the way Dottore looked at you with pure and unmistakable adoration was a dead giveaway.

For approximately a year, things were peaceful. You spent every day by Dottore’s side, and every night in his embrace. Until one fateful day, when one of Dottore’s experiments failed, and awfully so. The explosion could even be heard from the offices on the upper levels. You also worked in the headquarters, and your heart lurched in fear when you heard the loud bang.

Running down the stairs leading towards his lab, you could feel the panic setting in. There was nothing you could do to help, as Dottore never let you into his lab in fear of something happening to you. Your eyes began tearing up as you saw the walls of his lab completely collapsed, and your blue-haired husband trapped under the rubble. In the past, Dottore had made it very clear to his assistants that, in case of an emergency, they were to hold you back. They honored his request, and you could only watch in horror as the medical staff rushed in to save him, struggling against the arms keeping you from your beloved husband.

In the aftermath of the explosion, Dottore was rushed to the nearby hospital. You sat anxiously in the waiting room, tears streaming down your face. Your heart was beating faster than ever before as you silently prayed to the Tsaritsa to spare his life. Eventually, after what felt like hours, you were given permission to visit Dottore.

When you walked into Dottore’s hospital room, he was asleep on the bed, his chest and the top of his head mostly bandaged up. It pained you to see your husband like that, and as you sat down next to him, he began to slowly open his eyes.

"Darling?" You asked tentatively before reaching out and stroking his cheek.

Dottore looked up at you, his red eyes filled with confusion. "Sorry, who are you?"

Your worst nightmare had come true.

The months following the incident had been difficult; however, you were relieved to find that Dottore’s affection for you hadn’t disappeared. The hospital staff had informed you that there was indeed a small chance for him to regain some—if not all—of his memories. That possibility was like the light at the end of the tunnel for you, and no matter how long it would take, you vowed to help Dottore remember your past together. You swore to stay by him in sickness and in health, after all.

One night, as you lay in bed together, Dottore turned over to face you. "Love?"

"Yes darling? What is it?" You asked, a little worried that something might be wrong.

"I’m sorry that I can’t remember anything right now; it must really hurt you. My memories—they’re all so hazy. But I do recall how I felt, and I want you to understand that my feelings haven’t changed a bit." Dottore said, a comforting look in his eyes.

You smiled at him. "Dottore, you’ve reminded me of that nearly every night since you got back from the hospital. Don’t worry; I know you still love me, and I’m very glad to have you in my life."

"I know I’ve told you many times, but I feel like I need to assure you, or else you may fret about it." Dottore spoke softly, reaching out to stroke your hair.

"Love, I won’t. What’s most important right now is that you get a good night’s sleep. Tell you what, I’ll take you to where we first met tomorrow morning; maybe it’ll help your memory a little."

Dottore smiled at your words and nodded. "That’d be great." He paused for a second before hesitantly asking, ".. may I hold you?"

Something about his strangely shy tone evoked an odd feeling in your chest. Even after all the years you spent together with him, he still found new ways to stir the butterflies in your stomach. Without even answering his question, you wrapped your arms around his body, burying your face into the crook of his neck.

Dottore gently put a hand on the top of your head, calmly stroking your hair. The warmth of your husband’s skin and the rhythm of his heart made you slowly drift off to sleep. No matter how difficult things got, you’d always have him.

When you woke up in the morning, Dottore was still sleeping soundly next to you, a peaceful look on his face. Your eyes fell to the scars on his chest left by the accident, a constant reminder of the time you nearly lost him. Despite all of Dottore’s strength as the Second of the Fatui Harbingers, one mistake could have ended his life.

Your mind began to race at the possibilities of what could have happened if even one little factor had been changed. Would he not be lying next to you right now if he’d been even a foot closer to the explosion?

Unconsciously, you reached out to touch those rough patches on his skin, accidentally rousing him from his sleep. Your breathing was a little shallow as your brain spiraled. Despite just waking up, Dottore instantly recognized your distress and pulled you into his arms.

"Darling, can you breathe deeply for me? Hyperventilating will only make you feel worse." Dottore said softly as he stroked your back, trying to soothe your anxiety.

After about a minute, your breathing slowed down with much encouragement from Dottore. His gentle words and touch grounded you; he was here, not back in the accident. And he never would be, because things were okay now.

"I’m sorry for waking you, Love. I was just overthinking again; that’s all." You spoke quietly, with a tinge of guilt in your voice.

Picking up on it, Dottore began to reassure you. "It’s not your fault for being anxious, [Name]. What happened back then was very traumatic for you; it’d leave a lasting impact on anyone. So don’t apologize to me for anything; you don’t need to. Plus, I don’t need to sleep in any longer than I did; if you’re feeling that way again, please don’t hesitate to ask me for help, even if I’m asleep."

Dottore knew exactly what to say to calm your mind; he always had. Cuddling up next to him once more, you breathed in his scent as he brushed through your hair with his fingers.

"We should get ready soon, darling. I promised to take you to where we first met, after all."

"Don’t feel obligated to; if you’d prefer to stay at home today, that’s fine." Dottore said as he continued to run his fingers through your hair.

"I want to go as well, Dottore. My offer to take you still stands." You assured him as you began to get out of bed.

Once you two had gotten ready, you led Dottore out of the house. Due to losing his memories, Dottore was unfamiliar with the streets he once knew so well, so you had to show him the way.

After a short stroll through the main city of Snezhnaya, you stopped at a large building made from grey stone bricks of varying lengths and shades.

Reading the sign on the front of it, Dottore asked, "We met at the library?"

"Yeah, we did. It was by pure coincidence that I even talked to you in the first place." You replied with a soft smile on your face. It had been so long since that day, and oh, how things had changed.

Hand in hand, you brought Dottore into the library and up the stairs to the second floor. You led him over to a small reading corner surrounded by large windows, which contained a singular round wooden table with two plush chairs on either side. A strong sense of deja vu washed over Dottore as he walked closer to the room.

You motioned for him to sit down, then took your own place next to the table. You gazed fondly around the room for a brief moment, before resting your eyes on your husband, who sat in front of you.

"I was sitting in this very chair when we had our first conversation." You paused, thinking back on that day. "You know, I was scared of you at first."

"You were... scared of me? Why?" Dottore asked with a confused look on his face.

You chuckled. "Darling, have you forgotten you’re ranked second out of the Eleven Fatui Harbingers? Of course I was terrified."

"[Name], I’ve been reminded of what my title entails, but nothing of the reputation it holds." Dottore explained. "What exactly do you mean?"

"Let’s just say... You were a very intimidating man back then. Everyone who didn’t know you properly fled in terror when they saw you."

"Really? Have people changed how they view me since the accident?"

"Not exactly; you’ve kept your status and title, after all. That’s what people are afraid of."

Dottore thought that over for a minute, then hesitantly asked, "Love, was I wrong to you in the past?"

Surprised by his words, you responded, "Archons no, what would make you think that?"

"You kept saying how frightening I was back then—and how I apparently still am. I can’t help but worry that I did something awful to you."

You reached out to gently stroke Dottore’s cheek, assuring him. "Oh, darling, I’m sorry I didn’t make it more clear. I don’t think you’re any of those things. Sure, back when we first met, I was scared by your title like everyone else. But as we got acquainted, I saw a different side of you, one which was nothing like the man the public viewed you as."

"I’m glad." Dottore paused, before asking, "Could you possibly tell me about the day we met, since we’re here?"

"Of course, I’d be happy to." You continued, "It was a particularly gloomy day, and a heavy blanket of snow covered the ground—the amount being more than it usually was. Despite all of that, I couldn’t stand being inside; I instead decided to go out into the storm. Many of the buildings and stores in the city were closed, but the library wasn’t."

"Oh dear, I hope you didn’t freeze to death; Snezhnaya is already a harsh place as it is." Dottore said softly.

"You worry too much, my love. I was perfectly fine." You replied, assuring him.

"Alright, I’m simply making sure. Isn’t that what a husband ought to do?"

"Darling, that happened six years ago." You chuckled, but you could feel your heart fluttering at his concern.

"Well, I’m still going to express my worry regardless of how much time has passed, and that’s final." Dottore smiled at you, before saying, "anyway, please go on. I’d love to hear the rest of the story."

That smile of his only made your heart beat faster. "As I said, the library wasn’t closed, so I decided to head over to warm up inside. After all, I went there a lot back then to relax. Coincidentally, when I climbed up the stairs, you were there, sitting in my usual spot.

"When I saw the Second Harbinger himself seated in that chair, I really did consider turning around and walking all the way back to my apartment through the deep snow. However, hearing my footsteps, you looked up from your book towards me. Once you’d sensed my presence, I figured there was no turning back. After all, it would’ve been highly disrespectful to run the opposite way when you looked at me.

"So, despite my shaking legs, I made my way over and sat down across from you. Despite having your mask on, I knew you were looking directly at me. Though terrified, I attempted to make small talk to fill the silence. That small talk turned into a full conversation, and then another, and another; we barely realized how late it was, and we were only alerted to the time when it had gotten quite dark outside. You gently took my hand in yours and walked me home to make sure I was safe, only bidding me farewell when I was at my door."

Dottore silently listened to your story, smiling softly as you finished telling it. "I wish I could remember that day; it sounded like it was a truly lovely one."

Noticing the slight falter in Dottore’s smile as he said that, you gave him a quick kiss. "It’s okay, darling. Don’t fret; we’ll make many more beautiful memories together in the future. Anywhere you want to go, I’ll take you."

Without another word, Dottore stood up and pulled you into his arms, fully picking you up off the ground.

"I—wha—what are you doing?" You stuttered, quite flustered as well as a little confused.

"Taking you home, like I did back then." He simply said.

"Darling, you held my hand to lead me back to my apartment. You didn’t carry me!" You replied, chuckling.

Dottore continued walking, his grip on you firm yet comfortable. "Hm, well, I prefer it this way. So I will have it this way."

You sighed, nuzzling closer to him. "You’ve always been like this, and I love you for it."

That night, you couldn’t bear to leave Dottore’s embrace for even a second. Comforted by his scent and the warmth of his skin, you drifted off peacefully. For a moment, it was easy to forget that the accident had ever happened. He still held you the exact same way as he used to, after all. Some things truly never change.

When Dottore woke up the next morning, he noticed that you weren’t cuddled up next to him as you usually were. "[Name]..? Where—"

"I’m right here, darling. Don’t worry." Just then, you walked into the room, holding a mug in both hands.

Dottore looked at you as you sat down on the bed next to him, his tone still a little sleepy. "What’s in the mug?"

"It’s coffee; you’ll like it. I swear." You said, offering it to him.

Dottore hesitated, unsure. "I don’t want to take something you made for yourself."

"No, no. Darling, I made it for you." You chuckled, smiling at him.

"You did?" Dottore looked a little surprised. "You’re too sweet, darling. Are you suggesting I drink it because I liked it back then?" Dottore took the cup, staring at its contents.

"You’re right, my love. It used to be your favorite."

The drink was as dark as the abyss, and smelled quite strongly. Dottore put the mug to his lips, and tentatively took a sip. Instantly, his eyes lit up, and he drank nearly half the cup.

Dottore’s expression made your heart skip a beat. He looked so happy to be experiencing his drink of choice for the first time again.

Dottore then downed the rest of the cup, and looked up at you with a sparkle in his deep red eyes. "Darling, could you make me another? Or, even better, teach me how to make such a lovely drink?"

"Love, if I teach you, you’ll make yourself crazy. Too much caffeine can give you anxiety. However, I'm sure another cup won’t hurt you." You smiled at him, and then walked out of the room to brew him another drink.

Day after day, Dottore woke up with you in his arms, and each morning, you made him coffee for him to have with breakfast. Life had been very lovely, but there had been little to no progress in recovering any of Dottore’s memories.

Even so, you refused to give up.

One evening, when Dottore had gotten back from work, you seemed quite eager to show him something.

"Darling, quick, follow me!" You said, grabbing his hand and pulling him upstairs.

Although Dottore was a little dazed at your enthusiasm, he followed you to the second floor of the house. "What is it, my love? Do you have something to show me?"

You dragged him over to a window in the bedroom and began to unlock it. Once you were done, you pushed it open and began to climb out onto the roof, leading Dottore along with you.

"[Name], are you sure this is safe? I wouldn’t want you to get hurt." Dottore said as he carefully stepped out, holding onto you tightly.

"Actually, coming up here was your idea in the first place. Back then, at least." You replied, sitting down on the roof, dangling your legs over the edge.

Dottore sat down next to you. "Even so, you need to be careful, darling."

Ignoring his words, you nudged him and pointed up at the sky. "Look."

As the sun began to set, the clouds were dusted with a beautiful pink color, painting a stunning picture. Dottore was not particularly intrigued by beautiful landscapes, but even he was enamored by such a scene. Especially if his beloved was watching it with him.

While Dottore was gazing at the sky, you pulled a small bunch of bluebell flowers out of a pocket in your coat, and extended your arm to offer the gift to him.

Noticing the sweet smell, he looked down and saw the pretty blue blossoms in your hand.

"..Are these for me..?" Dottore spoke, a blush rising in his cheeks.

You nodded, smiling gently. "They are. Back then, you loved to give me bluebells on any occasion you could."

Dottore closed his eyes and put the flowers to his nose, breathing in the scent. Suddenly, his eyes shot open, and he turned to face you. "Darling? Did I.. did I ask you to marry me up here?"

You looked at him in surprise. "Y—you remember?"

Dottore’s deep red eyes were shining with happy tears. "I do! I remember!"

Dottore wrapped his arms around you, and kissed you deeply. Draping your arms around his neck, you reciprocated his passion, letting yourself melt into his embrace.

Unexpectedly, Dottore pinned you down, and pushed your head to one side. Softly, he began to bite your neck all over, sending a shiver of pleasure down your spine. Oh Archons, he knew how to drive you crazy.

"Darling, didn’t you say to be careful? Aren’t you afraid we might fall?" You teased, a little out of breath.

Pausing for a moment, Dottore replied, "I would never allow you to fall."

Dottore moved his face away from your neck, instead pressing his lips to yours once more. He tilted your chin up as he fervently kissed you over and over, pouring all his love into the act.

The sun had long ago set when you two finally climbed back through the window.

In bed, Dottore pulled you into his arms, and whispered in your ear, "Sweet dreams, my lovely Bluebell."

"Found a new petname for me, huh?"

"Indeed, it suits you. You’re sweet-smelling, pretty, and you help me get my memories back." Dottore said softly.

You chuckled. "Where in the world did you ever learn to be this charming?"

Yet again, you spent the rest of the night cuddled up next to him, sleeping soundly. His body next to yours was something you were forever grateful for, and you hoped you’d never have to sleep alone again, like you did when he was being treated all those months ago.

You slept, knowing there was hope. Maybe, one day in the future, Dottore would truly recall all those years you spent together. But for now, one memory is enough.

[helleboretks]

HAH! Got 'Em!!!

Hello hello hello! First fic in a couple months for my newest fandom Lego Monkie Kid! This is a Lee!Nezha, Lers!Wukong, Mei and MK ticklefic, so if it isn't your forte, no need to read!

(This is Nezha, if anyone wants to gaze upon this absolutely beautiful specimen uwu)

Summary: Wukong wanted to test out if their resident Third Lotus Prince was ticklish. Only Buddha knows what kind of chaos arose from it.

“This is purely experimentative, kid.”

“No it isn’t, Monkey King.”

“Yeaaaaah-no, no it isn’t.”

Mk snorted with a roll of his eyes as Wukong took a few strands of fur from his head, gently blowing on them to produce a few feathers.

“C’mon! You can’t say you’re not curious. I know that look in your eye.” He was right, of course, Mk was pretty curious about this idea too. Would Nezha actually be ticklish? Given that he was reincarnated from a plant-a lotus no less-there had to be something his body did and didn’t replicate from the original, right?

“Has he ever even been tickled before?” Mk wonders aloud, sitting down in the seat next to Wukong. The Noodle Shop was pretty empty today save for his friends and, well obviously, the Lotus Prince himself. Mk’s both surprised and relieved that the man actually found time to take a break, and even felt honored that he’d want to spend it here, with them.

Now he’s wondering how long it’ll be until he regrets it.

“Hmm, not from what I can recall? No???” Monkey King squeaked, looking as if he was seriously racking his brain for some kind of memory. “Yeah no, not from what I can remember.”

“If he’s actually ticklish you’re going to kill him.”

“Oh Pfft, nah he won’t die. You can’t die like that! I think.”

Mk was not about to tell Monkey King that you can, in fact, meet death by tickling. Not right now at least.

No one seemed to notice the little cluster of feathers floating closer and closer to the prince, who found himself in a rather engaging conversation with Tang about some history or other that Mk couldn’t parse out. They both waited with bated breath as he shifted his arms to rest comfortably on the counter.

“Welp, I’ve got nothing to lose.” Famous last words, but alright.

And then the feathers shot into Nezha’s armor.

And look-

LOOK-

The sheer volume of the scream Nezha let out as he flew right off the chair-Mk couldn’t help but crack up laughing as Wukong ducked under the table in surprise, trying to stifle his own laughter.

“HAH!! GOT ‘EEEEEEEEEEEM!!!” Mk screamed as Nezha grabbed and tussled at his clothing, shrieks erupting from his throat.

“Lotus boy!? Mk what did you do!?” Mei exclaimed, clearly less intent on helping and more intent on actually knowing what the fuck they had done.

“THERE’S SOMETHING IN MY ARMOR! THEHEHERE’S-OH MY GOHOHOD WHAT THE FU-” You could just hear Wukong’s dry wheeze from under the table as Nezha’s franticness caused him to bump into one of the chairs, practically crumbling onto one of the tables as Tang choked on his noodles with a chortle.

“Are you-Oh my god, Lotus boy’s ticklish!” Mk nodded to Mei’s statement, and honestly, he was pretty surprised by just how much those feathers affected the man. He was laughing up a storm from wherever those feathers were tickling him, Mk couldn’t really see where they were, but he knew they were doing something.

Or he’d probably just never been tickled in his life and the sensation shocked his soul right out of his body.

That’s also a possibility.

“What the hell? Oi, Monkey King, is this your doing?!” Apparently Pigsy had been the first one to catch onto the real culprit, and Mk banged a fist against the table with a snort as Wukong let out an offended gasp from his hiding spot, popping out into the open.

“I will have you know, mister man of the pigs! I didn’t do nothing!” Wukong sassed, shaking his head from side to side, wagging his finger disapprovingly. That, however, masked the fact that he was probably making those feathers move even faster, because Nezha’s laughter went up an octave right after.

“WUKOHOHOHONG!!! I-I’M GOHONNA KIHIHIHILL YOU-” Monkey King gave an especially skeptical look, turning to Mk, who too was laughing hysterically, just not from the result of being tickled himself. “Yakow, I’m not so sure he’s actually going to do it. I mean, look at the guy! Look at him, take a good look!” Monkey King jested, grabbing Mk by the cheeks and directing his attention back to Nezha.

He could see Nezha, half his body on the table, the other half on the floor as he gripped the edges of the wood, laughing up a storm as he practically vibrated like mad. His face was alight in an adorable blush of pink, eyes squeezed shut with a wobbly, wide grin to boot. He really didn’t look anywhere close to being capable of killing Monkey King in the state he was in.

But then he saw Mei hopped off her seat, a damn near devilish look on her face.

He knew Nezha was in for some shit.

“Here! Lemme help you out, buddy!” Mei spoke too cheerfully to be anything but a trap, but with the way the Lotus Prince was too preoccupied trying to get a grip of himself, he realized that fact a little too late, practically squealing as Mei snatched him by the sides, skittering her nails all over.

Wukong laughed as Nezha flew back unintentionally, right into the person who was making it worse. He kicked his legs as Mei struggled to hold him up with a huffing laugh, scrambling to grab her biceps and shake them.

And not for the first time, Mk doesn’t see the stoic Lotus Prince persona that Nezha tries so hard to keep up. He just sees Nezha; a man who seriously needs a break, and a little too ticklish for his own good.

So you can’t entirely blame Mk for wanting to be a prick.

He jumps over the table, letting out a weird as hell war cry before snatching Nezha by the legs. “YOU’RE COMIN’ WITH ME, MY DUDE-”

Nezha shrieked as Mk began to drag him around the floor, Tang really choking on his noodles as Mei howled with laughter, whipping out her phone to record the absolute madness. Nezha was gripping his ribs-which is probably where Wukong’s feathers are- shaking his head manically as he tried to wrench himself from Mk’s grasp.

“MK, NAHAHAHA-” “HEY!! I just cleaned those floors, kid!!!” Wukong slapped his hand on the table repeatedly as Pigsy called out, and Mk defiantly continued to drag this man everywhere he could, still carefully avoiding chairs and table legs as he went.

“WELL I’M USIN’ IT, DADSY, I’M BUSY!!” Mk shouted back as Mei followed behind him, catching it all on video.

“The poor man! Mk no!” Tang laughed, clearly not as against it as Pigsy is, who stared in dumbfounded disbelief as the two kids messed with the Lotus Prince himself. Nezha, meanwhile, was trying to cling onto anything with a solid structure but was doing nothing other than dragging chairs and tables out of place in his hysteria.

“Look at this BOI-” Mei cheered, causing Mk to wheeze as he shook Nezha’s legs from side to side, the man letting out a squeak as Wukong hopped over.

“WAIT, I GOT THIS!!” That was the only warning that any of them had gotten before a whole barrage of feathers descended on the prince, who screamed in shock before that shock quickly dissolved into the most batshit manic laughter Mk had ever bore witness to.

Mei wheezed, the grip on her phone trembling as the man on the ground thrashed damn near violently, and Mk had to hold tighter onto his legs so he wouldn’t get himself a boot to the face.

“I. AM. FEATHER-BUDDHA!!!” Wukong cried, throwing his hands dramatically into the air as Mei got the bright idea to place her phone down, grab Nezha’s arms, and hoist him the rest of the way up.

“FEATHER JESUS-” She cried just as dramatically as the two swung the prince back and forth, laughing themselves silly as Nezha laughed himself into a tizzy.

For a split second, Mk swore he saw macaque walk in, stare, and then slide right back out in one smooth motion and just-wow, what a great cameo.

“MACAHAHAHAQUE, YOU TRAHAITOR-” Oh he saw him, oh shit-

“I do not exist. Good luck.” Wukong wheezed and almost fell off the damn table as Macaque took his seat at the counter, turning away as if he weren’t just called out to.

“GUHUHUYS, QUIT IHIHIHIT!! PLEHEHEHEAAHAHASE-” Nezha pleaded, trying so desperately to wiggle his way out of the situation. Mk took the liberty of being the local gremlin.

“Ohohoho! But my little nezzy-wezzy-” So many wheezes wrung out at once as Nezha shrieked in embarrassment. Mk hoisted him up so that he had a grip of his knees, Mei slowing down the swinging to a stop as Mk jostled him further.

Wukong, sensing that some more shit was going to go down, slowed the feathers to somewhat of a more breathable speed, and Nezha choked on the breath he sucked in. The smile that forced itself onto his face was both down-right adorable, and freakishly foreign to him. That is something that’s going to have to change, then.

“You know, to be the best gremlin out there, all bets are off the table.” Mk dramatically announced. “AND SO!!” Nezha jumped at the loud tone, anticipatory giggles already spilling from his lips.

“What the heck he’s already laughing, awe-AND SO,” Mk repeated with a dramatic pause. “Mei, get his shirt.”

His bestie didn’t need to be told twice, Nezha letting out a shriek as she pulled his shirt up and away from his belly. “LOCAL GREMLINS!! ASSEMBLE!!!” She cried-

Right as Mk blew a raspberry into the center of Nezha’s belly.

There was a loud pop as Nezha exploded into laughter, and a few gasps and awes went around as a pink glow tinged Mk’s peripheral.

He continued to blow raspberry after raspberry with hardly any pause, and he probably would have winced given just how loud and downright evil Nezha’s laughter was, giggles and cackles as he thrashed and squirmed. It was absolutely hilarious.

“HE’S EXPLODING PETALS, MK!!” Mk paused in his raspberry blowing to pinch at the back of his knees, causing a knee-jerk reaction as he grinned at the petals that had shot out into existence, floating to the ground as Nezha snorted.

“God damn, the guy’s got a set of lungs.” Macaque chuckled, placing his hands over his ears with a grin. Mk laughed with a shake of his head, before diving straight back in, this time nibbling with an added sound effect of ‘nom nom nom’.

The petals exploded from him again.

“MK STAHAHAHAHAHAHAP OHMYGOD PLEHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHASE!!!!” Nezha cried as if his life depended on it, repeated pops that were just too cute to be real filled the room as the distinct smell of lotuses overwhelmed Mk’s nose as he just kept going and going, blow after blow after blow after-

“JESUS CHRIST KID, GIVE THE MAN A BREAK!!” His record broke with a laugh with the way Pigsy had to shout so loud just to be heard over Nezha’s screaming.

It was when Nezha was so weak that all he could do was tremble and laugh, that Wukong removed the feathers and poofed them into hair, when Mei and he finally-gently-placed him on the floor, and Mk had ceased his merciless tickling, that the man gulped down proper breath since the whole ordeal began.

“Ohohoho, that was golden!” Wukong laughed as he answered to Mk’s high five, Macaque snorting at the way Nezha curled up into a tight little ball, lotus petals surrounding and covering him as he lightly tried to fan his face in hopes of ridding the embarrassed and exhausted blush on his cheeks.

“You damn near killed him, you idiots.” Pigsy sighed in exasperation, looking over the mess that had become his shop within a matter of minutes in very heavy disappointment.

“What-” Nezha panted as he sat up, burning with the rest of his gradually dying embarrassment. “What was that!? Wha-what did you do??” Mk tilted his head in amused confusion, as did Mei and Wukong. “C’mon dude, it’s just tickling! It’s not like it can hurt ya!” Mei dismissed.

A silence was Nezha’s response.

Silence soon enveloped the shop.

“You…you do know what that is, right? Nezha?” Wukong asked with a tilt of his head, this one verging on the dangerous territory of ‘this better be a fucking joke or I swear to the Celestials-’

Nezha just stared at them like they’d grown three heads.

“Oh my God he doesn’t know what tickling is-”

“THE POOR BOIO-”

Nezha yelped as Mei latched onto him in a tight embrace, which caused Mk to automatically snort. Oh this was just sad, both the hilarious kind and also the not-hilarious kind.

Staying in one room to protect a map for thousands of years really must do something to ya, huh?

“I’m actually fucking remorseful. I send my regards.” Macaque hummed, before giving a half-assed salute. “See you on the other side, Lotus Prince.” And then he disappeared into the counter’s shadow. Just like the shifty monkey, doing something like that.

“This is gonna go terribly.” Tang interjected, polishing off his third bowl.

“I’m actually thinking of closing the shop for today, I can’t believe this.” Pigsy grumbled, retreating back into the safety of his kitchen.

Nezha, during all of this, seemed to grow even more confused as the multiple comments were shot fired, and he looked at Mk who only gave him a solemn grin, because even he wasn’t about to mess up what would be-

“This will be the greatest day of your life, Lotus Boy!”

The most disastrous day of his life, courtesy of the local menace, Mei.

“Now! First on my list would be some hands on experience-”

Nezha let out a shrill shriek as Mei’s hands immediately dive for his sides.

A shriek that will be just one of way, way, way too many to come.

[noodyl-blasstal]

I'll grab your balls if you grab mine (TAZNC day 3)

It's day 3 of @taznovembercelebration and today's card was "coworkers AU." Prepare to, once again, get your stupid on - it's gay chicken but also there's an aligator. You can read today's below or on Ao3, and read yesterday's here.

--

Kravitz starts the slow sideways shuffle towards the lake. "C'mon, Taako. I know that Artemis is probably here, but he might leave us alone today." Kravitz doesn’t really believe himself, but they have to go, they’ve been putting off the lake by hole number 8 for weeks and it’s a particularly lucrative spot.

"He won't." Taako says, resigned. "He never does. Smug bastard. He knows we're just doing our job and he doesn't give a shit. I’ve explained it to him, I’ve asked Garyl to as well. Nothing helps. He’s a bastard."

"I'm not sure he considers it that much, he's an alligator, he's not exactly au fait with the concept of people jobs." Kravitz has long vowed to stop trying to convince Taako that Artemis is just being an animal and not holding some specific grudge against them. The resolve always lasts until Taako started talking about it, at which point he forgets said vow until it’s far too late.

"What? You think he thinks we do this for fun? Just pop down to put a sight on nothing because you can see fuck all down there? Absolutely not. He knows this is work stuff, Krav. If he was angry about capitalism he could go chomp the bosses, nuh uh, this is about us taking his balls."

"You have to stop referring to our job as..."

"We're ball collectors, Krav, ball connoisseurs, ball grabbers, ball appreciators. Don't be embarrassed, I don't judge you, we’re good at it."

Kravitz wonders absently if putting on his mask early will make Taako stop. It won’t, he knows it won't, it wouldn't be the first time he'd tried it, but today could be his lucky day? Maybe if he shuffles faster into the lake it’ll stop him? But no, it's not safe to go down without Taako, they've got to set their watches and do all the health and safety stuff. Kravitz knows from experience that Taako can happily talk through it.

"It's absolutely fine to make a career of grabbing balls with your good friend Taako. Sometimes you even grab my balls."

"Taako!" Kravitz is going to expire, he was going to burst into dust and float away on the wind, and fucking Artemis would probably try and eat him anyway because he is a complete bastard, but Kravitz can't admit that to Taako because it'll only encourage him more. It wouldn’t be so bad if he could just hate Taako, go to Sloane’s after a hard day and complain about his awful coworker. No no, he had to find it charming.

"It's okay, you can admit it. You grab my balls and, honestly, I like it. Saves me a job." Taako's grinning his stupid big grin and there's pond weed tangling around Kravitz's fins, and he wishes more than anything that he was somewhere in Australia or something right now, clear water, a delightful reef, he could go murder the invasive starfish or something. Starfish assassin was a better job than ball grabber.

"Well, shall we get started then?" A valiant effort, he can keep them on track probably.

"Of course, I wouldn't want to keep you from all the balls you have to touch."

"Look, you're running out of material, if we dive now you can go out on a high."

"Fondle? I didn't say fondle yet."

"If you're fondling them then you're wasting time. There's a reason I always get the most."

"It's certainly not skill if you're rushing it." Taako wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Want me to talk you through the finer points of the process sometime?"

"I don't need to seduce the golf balls and my bedroom technique is fantastic thanks. Now get in the lake, Taako."

There's a loud splashing noise as Taako falls into the shallows cackling. Great. It takes him an age to calm down when he gets like this. "Fantastic... bedroom technique... Bedroom technique!" Is all Kravitz can hear repeated between the mirthful snorts. Kravitz thinks it might just be easier to let Artemis have his way with him at this point. If he dies in the line of duty then Taako will have to be nice about him, well, in public at least, he can say what he wants in private. They might build a statue too! It’d be in the middle of the lake or something, that's about the level of sensitivity he'd expect from their employers, but his Mums would probably appreciate it.

"You'll..." Taako throws a bit of pond weed off his stupid handsome face. "...have to show me that technique sometime, stud."

Kravitz freezes, not just because of the cold biting at his knees. He wishes the dry suits were warmer. "Did you just offer to go fuck me?"

"I offered to let you fuck me, actually. You can't go showing off and not being willing to back it up." Taako looks wildly unruffled, as if he hasn't just propositioned a co-worker on a Tuesday morning. Not that the day should matter, but honestly, it's Friday behaviour if anything.

"I... You..." Kravitz stands there like a particular stupid penguin. Maybe if he doesn't move Taako won't be able to see him... In his brightly coloured BCD with an oxygen tank strapped to his back... Fuck.

"Come on then Kravitz, we haven't got all day." Taako says breezily, finally back on his feet and crab stepping past Kravitz with a smug smile.

Fine. Fine! If Taako wants to be like this then Kravitz can match his energy. No problem. He can be fun, he can be playful. "Certainly not. Apparently we have plans tonight." He pushes forward into the lake, smiles as Taako coughs a surprised laugh behind him but doesn't give him time to reply. "Turn round, I forgot to tug your weight pouches on land."

Taako shuffles in what’s probably meant to be an alluring semicircle, he seems to be looking at Kravitz more intently than usual.

“Is that everything done, ‘cause Breathing Water Really Ain’t Fun!” Taako asks as Kravitz double checks his kit.

“We’re good, unless you need to inspect me?”

“Apparently Taako gets to do that later.” Taako says, then quickly launches himself into the water, splashing Kravitz in the face. Taako scrambles for his mask. “Get in loser, it’s lovely and warm!”

It is not lovely and warm. It’s cold and miserable. Kravitz's face however, is toasty warm from the blush burning there. He's surely not going to fuck Taako just to try and out fluster him… is he? Kravitz would like to. It’s not that he hasn’t thought about fucking Taako before, but Taako won't go along with it… will he? He hasn’t expressed any interest before now.

They do the last checks for loose straps or hoses and, satisfied, head down into the murk. Kravitz wonders, not for the first time, if his past self thought he'd be diving crystal clear waters somewhere fabulous by this point in his life, not using his scuba qualification to retrieve golf balls from gross man made lakes.

It's important to be relatively methodical, so they set off on their usual route, a slow backwards and forwards sweep of the lake bed. They can only see 15 feet in any direction , so it's slow going. They save the drop off for the end - the inexplicably deep portion attracts balls like a magnet. Why have an easy retrieval when you could have a hard one?

The bottom is so goopy, Kravitz truly detests it. Taako jokingly stuck a fin in one time and Kravitz still isn't convinced all the gunk came off. He hates having to reach in and grab the balls nestled in it - sinking so slowly that they always get to them before they're submerged (one time the bosses made them dig into the muck with a horrible plastic sieve to check, nothing seemed to penetrate the choking layer.)

There's still no sign of trouble when they're mid way through the ascent and Kravitz is starting to hope Artemis had decided to leave them alone today, miracles can happen. Maybe he has finally remembered that he's supposed to be nocturnal? Sadly, instead, Artemis has remembered he's supposed to lurk in the shallows.

Kravitz feels Taako yanking him violently before he even sees Artemis. His jaws snap at the space Kravitz left behind. A chunk of bubbles escape Taako and Kravitz can almost hear the swearing. Kravitz forces himself to breathe instead of holding it, the last thing he needs is to explode his lungs. He just has to not die in the next 10 minutes and he's getting laid apparently? Maybe Taako forgot, but either way, living would be good.

They look frantically around, stuck at their last levelling stop until the watches tell them they can move on. Artemis swoops back on Taako's side this time, but Taako is ready, jabs him in the side of the head where you're supposed to. Kravitz hates that management thought that the "how to fight an alligator" leaflet was more appropriate than safely relocating him to protect staff. It's not like they asked for them all to be moved, the others were fine. Garyl let Taako scritch his belly! It was just that Artemis was 'uniquely shit'. Kravitz is fairly sure that's the exact phrase Taako put in the latest complaint (to no avail).

Artemis disappears briefly, they hang in the water, waiting on the watches. Any minute now, surely? Kravitz looks hard into the murky waters trying to anticipate Artemis' next move. The watch beeps just as he strikes again, heading for Taako’s ankle this time. Kravitz stamps down as hard as he can (water and fins making this ‘not particularly hard’), it’s enough to distract Artemis though. He turns to snap at Kravitz instead, but Taako’s grabbing Kravitz’s arm and pulling him upwards. They finally break the surface and run, inelegant and flappy, hands tangled, laughing while pondweed snares their ankles and they tug each other along. Taako’s stood flamingo-like in the shallows, one hand on Kravitz’s shoulder for balance, the other trying to remove his fins, when Artemis surfaces again. They’re so close, so close to getting out. Kravitz refuses to let Taako getting eaten get in the way of whatever is going on between them right now. Fuck it. He grabs Taako and slings him over his shoulder - grateful for the fire evacuation training they did, there’s no way he could carry him any other way right now. Okay, so maybe he forgot to factor in the extra weight they’re both wearing and how fucking awkward the tanks make this, but it’s fine, he doesn’t have to go far. He keeps his knees high, makes sure he gets enough clearance on his fins and runs as fast (very slowly) as possible.

Taako whoops in delight and Kravitz is nearly 100% certain he’s giving Artemis the finger behind his back. “Fuck you, Fartemis! Taako lives to ride another day!” There’s a pause, Kravitz swears he hears a muttered… “Or maybe tonight.”

Kravitz deposits Taako much less elegantly than he hoped, but far enough away from the lake that he’s fairly sure they’re safe. “You saved my life!”

“I saved your ankle, at best.”

“You saved Taako’s favourite ankle!”

“You have a favourite ankle?” Kravitz asks, incredulous. Of course Taako has a favourite ankle, he probably has a favourite ear too. Why wouldn’t he?

“It’s weirder not to, ask anyone.” Taako skrunkles up his nose in distaste.

“I’ll do that.” Kravitz says, already deciding Sloane will probably agree. Maybe Kraivtz is wrong?

As the adrenaline fades Kravitz has a creeping awareness that he’s still holding Taako’s hand. It’s awkward, suddenly. He can’t tell if he should let go or cling on. No idea if Taako has been joking this whole time and he’s missing it. He doesn’t want to end up in a HR meeting. They’re dripping onto the golf course, bags of balls secured at their waists, pond weed stuck to their legs, Kravitz has no idea what to say, no idea what to do. He should probably apologise for unceremoniously grabbing Taako, but honestly, Taako seemed to enjoy it.

“So your place or mine tonight, handsome?” Taako pulls off his mask and snorkel properly to allow him to wink at Kravitz. There’s a dribble of muddy water running down his cheek. For a brief second Kravitz debates licking it off.

Kravitz takes a moment to consider Taako’s question. He’s seen the state of Taako’s locker, he’s not sure he can take that on a grander scale. “Mine.” He says definitively. He changed the sheets yesterday and they can stop and get supplies on the way, he’s not exactly set up for this. Maybe he needs to declare that actually. “I… er… I, I don’t really do this, Taako.”

“Do what, exactly, Kraveroo?”

“You know.” Kravitz flaps his hand. Surely Taako has caught his very obvious drift.

Taako looks at him blankly. “Interpretive dance?”

“One night stands!” Kravitz says, louder than he means to. Glances furtively around to ensure none of the customers are zipping by on their golf trollies just waiting to put in a complaint about lewd language being used on the course.

“Well Taako wasn’t planning on this being a one time thing, he’s heard there’s a ‘fantastic bedroom technique’ on offer and he plans to test it out thoroughly.”

Kravitz smiles, he can flirt with Taako, he can take Taako home, he can impress him. “We’ll figure out a rubric while we shower - we can do some extensive testing. I look forward to your feedback.”

--

I hope you enjoyed! Find the next day here.

[skoulsons]

I just watched gran turismo please be patient with me I’m having an awful amount of thoughts.

MAN. ok first what a film. now moving on.

Specifically Jann and Jack (platonically my goodness I do not enjoy seeing shippers out there).

their relationship. so good.

ok so. main thing I noticed from the movie, and I don’t believe this to be a stretch at all, is the difference between Jann’s relationship with Jack and his relationship (or lacktherof) with Danny

Danny (yes I am fully aware that he is the marketing guy for Nissan. I do not believe that discounts their relationship or how Danny still treated him compared to Jack. Some of this way just be personal opinion and observation. I’ve only watched the movie once.) cared about him and his talent for show. For publicity. When it was convenient. When all the SIM racers are driving and Jann beats Matty by a millionth of a second, Danny wants to pick matty instead, and his main reason bc of how matty is in front of the cameras. His concern is for how it’ll make Nissan look and not the kids themselves.

Jack, on the other hand, says ‘no, jann won. he’s the one’. He notices him for his talents and how he, fairly, beat matty, despite how he may get flustered in front of the camera (something that isn’t even a thought in Jack’s mind).

And then, after Jann has his crash. Obviously it speaks so much closer to Jack than to Danny because Jack, too, was involved in a very terrible crash and took Jann’s very personally.

And yet Danny, sitting in one of the chairs next to Jann’s bed, talks about how “I don’t know how we’re gonna explain this to Nissan” and how they’re going to have to open up an investigation. And without even giving Danny a glance, the first words out of Jack’s mouth are “that’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

Jack’s thought, his only thoughts are spent worrying about the kid in the hospital bed right next to them. Danny, on the other hand, is again worried about the company. Not the kid. Not purposefully, at least.

ok I’m sure there’s more but I have to shut up about Danny and talk purely about the other two bc holy fvkdhjdxh (going in order of movie events according to my screenshots)

Yes, Jack has that tough love sort of encouragement (which can be a very good thing when it’s used well—example being this movie). Telling the kids they’re not good enough and they won’t make it in real racing. Playing that card to push them. And he really nails into Jann when he sees his potential. He does it to push him.

And then, my goodness, from there on out, the man spends almost every ounce of his breath encouraging, reassuring, motivating, and grounding Jann through every race.

I’ll be on comms the whole time. You’ll be fine. Stay with me. You got this.

Breathe! I don’t want you to oversteer! I want you to keep it together!

Even telling others (Danny) that the kid is good. Telling Danny “give him some time” when Danny starts to doubt Jann.

I know you can do this, Jann.

Those are all before his crash. And, when Jann confronts Capa for what he tried to do, Jack pulls him away and tries to put Jann’s attention to getting in fourth place, which is exactly what they needed. He did it! Hey! Hey! You came in fourth! You did it! You did it! Forget that guy! You got your (FIA) license!

And then, multiple times, intentionally checking on him with a “you okay?” Before every single race.

And then, of course, his crash. Jack stands still at the box, completely shocked and not moving for a good few seconds before he just runs. Runs and tries to wave down the ambulance so he can get to Jann faster.

Again, a lot of Jack’s trauma and experience comes through during this whole time, and I feel like his initial shock speaks to that. We see how it’s affected Jack physically on his shoulder and the scars on his back. And now with Jann, this talented kid that he’s mentoring, getting in the crash, it comes back to surface level.

Eventually, they reach the helicopter. Jack stays in, a hand over Jann’s heart the whole time.

When in the hospital, Jann moves slightly and Jack is up, immediately at him with a “hey”. Jann tries to sit up and Jack grabs his arms lightly and lowers him down, sitting on the bed himself.

Hey. Come on. You need to rest, you need to rest.

Immediately, first words out of Jack’s mouth are, yet again, a reassurance. It wasn’t your fault, okay?

And, by God, his eyes are wet and he looks scared.

From experience, that’s what Jack believes jann needs to hear in that moment. Jann doesn’t know what exactly happened or what his crash did, but Jack still settles on trying to reassure him.

It was a freak accident. It was an accident. It is certainly not on you.

And, in almost the same breath, instead blames himself for what happened.

It is on me. I should’ve pitted you sooner.

AND THEN CUT TO HIM DRINKING IN A BAR AND BORDERLINE CRYING??? no. no he’s not upset over that family or who they lost. jann is the freshest thing on his mind, as is his own crash. jack’s regrets are fresh. he wants to see jann succeed and not make the same mistake he made himself. it’s all fresh in his mind.

Jack says that “someone is dead because racing is dangerous”. He does everything he can to try and keep that blame from settling too heavy on Jann’s shoulders. But Jann, fresh out of a gnarly crash and injury + unconscious state, a loss, and a revelation that someone died because of what happened, yells at both Jack and Danny to get out of the room and away from him.

Next is when Jack drives Jann out to Jann’s crash site and tells Jann the story of his crash at Le Mans.

(My screenshots didn’t save NAURRR it’s fine it’s not like I don’t remember the scene at all lol)

Basically, Jack talks about his crash. The guy who collided with him died on the way to the hospital. And, the driving point of his story and what he wanted Jann to hear, was his regret of never getting behind the wheel again. How he quit after the crash and never raced again and how he wished he changed that. He says this to the kid he knows it’s going to resonate with and who he knows needs to hear it. Jack gives him the key, and Jann finishes his lap.

Then cut to Le Mans. 24 hour race. They bring in Matty and Antonio, the two other highest SIM racers. Jann starts off the first three hours.

You make your day, survive the night, you live to fight tomorrow. Good luck.

At the start of the race, two racers collide and one hits the nearby wall, setting on fire. Jann is reminded and his first question is “is he okay?” over comms with Jack.

Instead of Jack saying “doesn’t matter, pay attention. keep going” or any other sort of thing, Jack keeps the conversation on the crash, but optimistic instead in an attempt to clear Jann’s head instead of avoiding it altogether and making Jann worry more.

All right, they’re pulling him out. He seems alright. He seems alright.

Then, after giving that assurance that the guy is OK, Jack goes back to what Jann needs to start hearing. They can’t stay on the guy too long, so Jack goes back to normal.

Okay, keep your head in, all right? Focus.

THEN, oh a delightful part I absolutely loved this.

Jann starts to lose it. He slows down, a lot. He’s passed by a number of racers and he’s not hearing a word that Jack says over comms—yet Jack never stops talking. Never stops asking for him. Never once raises his voice, only tries to get him to hear him.

Hey, buddy? Hey. Hey, Jann? Hey, stay with me. Stay with me, okay? Stay with me. Look, safety’s left, okay? We gotta make up some time. Jann, talk to me, pal. Jann. Hey, hey, hey. Hey. Jann.

He then, with the new gift Jann actually bought for him, Jack plays some Kenny G. The music that usually calms Jann down before races pisses him off. He’s furious at Jack and finally gets his radio off, but Jann still hasn’t picked up any speed or really gone anywhere.

Jack celebrates Jann’s anger. He tells him it’s good. Tells him to use it. And the last thing Jack says to Jann before Jann takes off is a fierce Go get ‘em!

As the race goes on and Jann gets closer to first, he remembers back to GT. How he never followed the lines and would pass on the outside. Instead of following Jack’s instruction on how to navigate and pass, Jann asks him to trust him.

Danny cuts in, scared that Jann won’t get on the podium, which is the whole reason they’re there. Jack says fuck it, follow your line, Jann.

He follows it and he gets 3rd place by a mile. We see Jack celebrating as he kneels to the floor and pulls his headphones off, blown away and equally as happy that they made the podium.

Jann pulls in and congratulates with Danny, Matty, Antonio and some others before he’s met by Jack.

They celebrate and embrace and congratulates him on being one of the best racers in the world

anyway yeah my goodness this made me crazy 🤠

[lxstfuleclipse]

Hii! May I please request a Blackfem! Special Ops Reader x RE6 Leon one-shot where they're both undercover at a masquerade ball. While looking for a sample of the c-virus and Leon is taken aback by her dress then thrilling chaos ensues lol Thx in advance 💕

“Alright, you know what this is about. We’re only here to locate and extract the C-VIRUS, without detection. I’m gonna assume that you understand this isn’t just about the party, Agent.” 

You roll your eyes at the DSO Agent’s voice already bossing you around through the hidden earpiece. 

“Yeah yeah, it’ll be a piece of cake, Agent Kennedy. No sweat, we’ll be long gone before anyone catches wind about it.” You respond. 

You were one of the best amongst Special Ops, which was why you were on this mission to retrieve the sample of the virus. . with Leon Kennedy. 

He was one of the best DSO agents, having much more experience dealing with things like this, especially with disasters. He never talked to anyone about it, but you knew what happened in Raccoon City all those years ago, and as much as he irked you sometimes. . 

You couldn’t help but feel for him, it was his first night on the job as a cop, just to deal with the walking dead, freakish mutants, and apparently losing someone that meant something to him. He must hold so much hurt in his heart, so much guilt, that you couldn’t help but want to whisk it away. 

But, the mission was simple. Infiltrate a masquerade ball, locate the virus, and extract it without causing any trouble or being spotted. Seemed easy enough, now that you had this famous agent on your side.

You both entered the ball separately, splitting up meant that you’d be able to cover more ground, get out of there quicker. You noticed the guards disguised as butlers packing heat when you came in, the more reason not to draw too much attention to yourselves.

“Careful, these guys down here are packing. I’m gonna try to see what I can find upstairs, meet me there when I give you the signal.” You whispered into the earpiece, giving a smile through your butterfly mask as you lifted a glass of wine from a servant’s tray, swiftly making your way through the crowd.

“Nice looking out, sweetheart. I’ll start sweeping the rooms, I’ll meet you there. Let me know if anything happens. Can’t let this thing go down to shit, this suit was fucking expensive.” 

He sighed, which makes you giggle. 

As rough and mean as he looked and tried to act, he was still a charm to be around. Then again, you spent a pretty penny on this dress too, so you had no room to talk. It would be incredibly fucked up if these guys tore it up, and you’d be beating everybody to hell and back.

After a bit of sneaking, showing a pretty, innocent smile, and avoiding the advances of tipsy guests, you made it upstairs. . no one saw you, as you had hoped. You picked up the skirt of your slim, glittery dress around your calves so you moved faster. 

“C’mon, show me what I wanna see. .” you huffed to yourself, picking a lock to the most suspicious door you’ve ever seen. And you know what they say when it comes to suspicious doors. . you’ve hit the jackpot. 

You smiled, sighing a relieved, “Yes!”, when you finally got the lock open. And there it was, a sample of the C-VIRUS, waiting for you in it’s briefcase. Finally, some good news to tell your partner. 

“Hey, I’ve found the sample, it’s located in the upstairs west wing of the mansion. I repeat, located in the upstairs west wing of the mansion.” 

“Good job, gorgeous. I’m on the way, until then, stay put. You can do that for me, right?” 

You didn’t know why, but something about what he just said made your heart flutter, a bright smile on your face as you felt the heat rise to your cheeks, giving a hum in agreement as you began to wait. 

Those few moments you’ve previously talked started to feel like forever, you started to check the clock and automatically think the worst.

Sure, Leon could take care of himself just fine, he was the best after all. But, it still made you worry about him. He shouldn’t have too much trouble, and him of all people wouldn’t have wanted to cause a ruckus.

“Whoa. . is that you, Agent?” 

You flipped around at the sound of his voice, watching him take off the plain, black masquerade mask to get a better look at you. 

Out of all the dresses, you picked one that really made you stand out. But, in a good way. It complemented your form wonderfully, covering your body in a deep, azure blue. 

Blue. . it really suit you. 

“Uh, earth to Kennedy? Is your brain still functioning, lover boy?” You teased, causing your current partner to shuffle in his steps, trying to hide the soft blush that began to bloom across his face. 

“Uh, yeah. . it’s just. .” he spoke, searching for words that couldn’t describe how ethereal you looked right now. He told himself, no, he demanded himself to not fall in love again. 

But, damn, you were starting to make it hard.

He let out a soft cough to get rid of the awkward silence in the air, shaking his head as he folded his arms. 

“You look good, you really played the part tonight. You said you found the sample?” 

You nodded, a smile across you face as you lifted the briefcase in your hand. “Yup, it’s all right here, now all we gotta do now is wait for the chopper for extraction.”

This earned an approving smile from the man as he moved closer to you, opening the case to be sure and. . to admire you. 

You knew he was one handsome man, you’re sure everyone knew that, whether he made it known or not. But, this suit he had on tonight made him look like a model on the front page of a magazine. 

He didn’t say much else, but his hands slowly rising to the sides of your face, silently asking for your permission to remove the glittery butterfly mask from your eyes, which you answered with a nod. 

Hands that were able to beat the hell out of enemies, that handled weapons with ease. . were so gentle and at ease as he untied the silk ribbons from around your head, slowly removing the mask from your face while carefully dusting the glitter from your eyes. 

Something about being this close to him, his eyes never leaving yours in a way that felt so intimate, made your heart race.

“So. . how about you and I go out for dinner some time? I know a nice little restaurant back home, it’ll be all on me.”

It surprised you that he asked you out like this, a smile rising to your face, but before you could even answer, the door was rammed in. Both of your heads flicking to the cause of the noise.

As you expected, heavily armed butlers began to rush in.

“Neither of you move!”

You sighed, “So much for in and out, where the fuck is the chopper?” 

“I swear to god, I’m going to give those idiots hell. Looks like that date will have to wait for a moment, sweetheart, it’s time to clean house.”

You smiled as both of you stood side by side, pulling out your guns. 

“You go right, I go left?” You asked, earning a smirk from the other.

“Looks like you've read my mind, gorgeous.”

This was going to be quite the night, but at least you could take that date as a reward for all your troubles. Who knew that you’d end up on a date with the, Leon S. Kennedy? 

That would be the tale of the century.

[densi-mber]

We’ll Save Each Other

A/N: This is set post 6x03.

***

She’s fine. It’s ok. Nothing’s wrong. Maybe if Kensi repeats it enough, she’ll start to believe it herself. The truth is, she’s kind of a disaster right now.

Ever since the DOJ questioned her, it’s like she just returned from Afghanistan. Before that, she’d almost gotten a handle on the nightmares and other symptoms. Or at least enough to function as an agent, and put on a good face for everyone.

Now, it almost feels like she was at square one again.

“Hey, you want to grab some dinner?” Deeks asks. She’s so deep in her own thoughts, caught up in another place and time, that she jerks, jamming her knee into her desk. Kensi inwardly curses her overreaction.

“Geez Kens, are you ok?”

“I’m fine,” she insists, almost reflexively. “I just thought everyone had already gone home by now.

“I was waiting for you,” Deeks explains. Of course he was. She glances up; sees Deeks with his thumbs tucked into his front pockets, and realizes he’s expecting a response.

“Uh, I think I’m just going to go home tonight. It’s been a long couple of days, you know.”

“Yeah.” He’s quiet for a few seconds, making her think that he’s given up on dinner. She’d be horrible company anyway. “Kens, how are you doing? Really. I know the DOJ brought up some unpleasant things the other day.”

“I can handle an interview, Deeks,” she retorts, more harshly than she intended. Deeks doesn’t back down though. He’s spent enough time around her that he’s not fazed by her prickliness.

“I know you can,” he agrees softly, gentle. “But no one would fault you if talking about what happened to you in Afghanistan was difficult.”

He pauses again, taking a few steps forward until he’s standing right in front of her. There’s no place to hide now.

“I can tell you haven’t been sleeping well,” he adds, and for some reason that tips her over the precipice she’s clung to so hard.

Her eyes fill up with tears, and her throat closes with an unvoiced sob. Deeks pulls her into his arms, just like he had last time, his arms warm, comforting, solid. She pressed her face into his shoulder, to hide the tears trickling down her cheeks.

“It’s ok,” he murmurs, stroking his hands from the base of her neck to down her back. “I’ve got you.”

“I keep dreaming that I’m in that cave again,” she admits. With the confession, she feels a unexpected release, and the words start to come faster, almost beyond her control. “I just want to go back to normal, but I can’t. I can’t sleep, or stop remembering what it was like to be trapped like that.”

“It’s going to be rough for a while. I know that’s not super helpful right now, but it’ll start to get better eventually.” His hand keeps stroking her back in a soft and even rhythm. Slowly, the tears and pain start to ease a little. “The memories will feel less vibrant, and you won’t jump at every loud noise.”

Kensi stills, realizing that he’s speaking from his own experience.

“Oh god, Deeks, I didn’t even think. I’m complaining about this after what you went through,” she says, lifting her head to look him in the eye.

“Kensi, don’t you dare apologize,” Deeks tells her. “You were the one who told me we can’t compare trauma, so don’t underplay yours. We both went through really horrific experiences.”

“How do I stop feeling like I’ll never be the same?” she asks.

“I wish I had the answer.” Deeks sighs, gently stroking her cheek. “I know that’s not the answer you wanted, but it will get better.”

“Promise you won’t leave me.” She hears how helpless, how completely vulnerable she sounds. For once she doesn’t care though.

“I promise I’ll be here with you every step of the way. If you can’t sleep, or you just need to talk, I’m there. You just have to ask,” he promises.

“Ok” she murmurs, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I got you.” He holds her tightly, blocking out everything else, and for once, she believes it might be alright.

[wanderinginksplot]

Clone Trooper Rambles

Overactive imagination or a sign of impending insanity? Who's to say? Either way, clone troopers only I can see and hear experience life by my side, but they're far from quiet about it.

Warnings: probably some kind of social anxiety, teasing, lying.

---

Haircut

“Okay, so how short do you want it?” the stylist asked. 

My stomach was in absolute knots by this point. Was it stupid to be nervous about getting a haircut? Yeah, probably. Did my brain understand that it was stupid? Yes. Did that make me dread it any less? Not at all. 

“Uh…” I hedged, glancing around the salon. “Well, I want it a little below my shoulders. But it’s really curly, so-”

“No problem,” the stylist said confidently. “I can do that.”

I eyed her, giving my best polite smile. She was very talented, I could see that from the pictures of customers that surrounded her work station. She was also the owner of this particular salon and the reviews were glowing. But I was still nervous. Her hair was cut short and spiked, and looked like it was naturally straight anyway. I was probably going to end up with it shorter than I wanted, so I tried to brace myself for it.

“What made you want to cut off so much length?” the stylist asked.

Ah, we had made it to the awkward small talk stage. I had wondered when it was going to happen. We had avoided it for the time it took to wash my hair in the sink and get it all combed out, but now that she was working…

Putting on my customer service voice, I said vaguely, “Oh, you know. I just wanted to try something new and different.”

The stylist hummed as she began combing through my hair and snipping at the strands. I made eye contact with Elena in the mirror. She had agreed to come along and I had never been more grateful. She knew the real reason I was getting my hair cut shorter - I was going to have surgery in a week, and my current hair length would be too difficult to manage while I was trying to recover.

As the stylist continued talking, Elena actually took on most of the conversational burden. She was good at drawing people out, chatting with them until they felt at home or made some kind of connection. Realistically, I knew that’s what the stylist was trying to do with me, but I was juggling so much that I didn’t have room for conversation on top of it.

“Be honest,” I said silently to Rex, who was standing nearby. “How short does it look?”

Rex eyed the back of my head and gave a slight grimace. “Not… too short.”

“Liar,” Scorch said with a laugh. “It’s gonna be a lot shorter than you wanted. No way that’s gonna end up below your shoulders.”

“Scorch,” Tup admonished. 

“What?” Scorch asked, studying my hair again. “Maybe if you shrug really hard, it’ll reach your shoulders.”

Rex and Tup sighed together. Tup looked distinctly more sympathetic than either of the other troopers. “Sorry. Maybe you should have showed her a picture of how curly your hair normally is?”

“That would have been smart,” I admitted. “I thought coming here with my hair down and curly would have been enough for her to see it, but I was having an off day.”

“I’ve had that happen before,” Tup agreed. “It won’t be exactly what you wanted, but it’s probably going to look fine. Curls are more forgiving than straight hair.”

“Besides, you’re not going back to work for a long time,” Scorch reminded me, spinning in a chair across the salon. “You’ve got time for it to grow back out. Well, sort of grow out. A little bit. Better than it will be right away.”

“Thanks, Scorch,” I hurried to say. “Please stop helping.”

Scorch shrugged and turned his attention to spinning even faster.

“At least she’s almost done,” Rex commented, walking around the back of the chair to study the stylist’s work. Tup and I snorted together as Rex gave us a bewildered look. “What?”

“Just because it’s all the same length doesn’t mean it’s almost done,” Tup told him.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “She still has to even the ends and shape it. Plus the time it will take to add layers…”

As if taking her cue from the nonverbal conversation, the stylist asked, “Do you want me to add some layers?”

“Just a few,” I decided, not wanting to extend the process any more than necessary. 

“Okay, good,” the stylist said, pulling her fingers through my hair. “I want to frame your face with them.”

I hummed at that, but didn’t say anything else. She really didn’t need to know that I kept my hair pulled back more often than not. Of course, judging from what was left, I might not be able to wear it up anymore, so maybe it didn’t matter after all. 

“Are the two of you going to have a girl’s day out?” the stylist asked. “I can recommend a good nail place if you’re interested?”

I sent Elena a look of pure desperation and she shook her head reassuringly at me. Thankfully, the stylist was too busy to catch any of it. Elena said, “Oh, I think we might have too much going on to spend a lot of time out. Unfortunately. But I’m always interested in recommendations! It gives me somewhere to start next time I’m looking.”

“Of course!” the stylist beamed, happily chatting about nail salons with Elena for the rest of the time it took to finish the haircut. 

When she finally set down the scissors and comb, she said, “You’re done! What do you think?”

I took the small handheld mirror she gave me, watching the room spin as she angled the chair away from her station so I could get a look at the back of it. Fortunately, working customer service jobs had given me a good poker face, and I definitely needed it. 

The haircut was nice - the ends were even and the layering was excellent - but it was several inches shorter than I had asked for. My curls were already getting crazy with the lack of weight. This was going to take months to grow out to the length I wanted, especially with the curls themselves working against me.

“Yeah, looks great,” I said eventually, pasting a smile on my face.

“Liar,” Scorch sing-songed. It seemed to be his favorite word that day. “Just tell her it isn’t what you wanted.”

“Why?” I asked, watching as the stylist unsnapped the cape and pulled it away, strands of my hair drifting down to the floor. “It’s not like she can magically make my hair grow back. It’s done. I just want to pay and get out of here so I can see what the damage is on my own.”

I followed the stylist to the front register, made some small talk with the receptionist about the book she had been reading as the payment went through, and walked outside with Elena. Neither of us spoke until we had gotten into her car.

“So,” she started carefully. Elena and I had been friends long enough to know when I was upset. “Shorter than you wanted, huh?”

“A lot shorter,” I agreed, wincing. “Does it look bad?”

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but it looks really cute.”

I groaned. “Cute?”

“Cute,” Elena confirmed. “It’s also going to be super easy to take care of and basically zero maintenance. It could be worse.”

“We’ll see,” I said grimly. “Here’s the test: can I put it up in a ponytail?”

We both went quiet as I pulled the wild curls back and up. I could feel that the normal spot for my ponytail was out of the question, so I lowered it a few inches. I wound the hair tie quickly, pulling my hands away and smiling when my hair stayed up. “There!”

“Awww!” Elena cooed. “It’s adorable! Teeny tiny ponytail!”

She reached out and fluffed the blunt ends of my hair. The strands were sticking directly toward the headrest of my seat.

“It’s really soft, too.”

“Could be worse,” I agreed with a shrug.

“Could be worse,” she repeated with a firm nod. 

“I think it looks fine,” Rex pitched in from the back seat, sounding thoroughly lost.

Tup patted Rex's shoulder as Scorch snorted.

---

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Author's Note - Since these aren't posted anywhere close to when the events happen, I can say that the length was actually perfect for my recovery. Also, it is currently the length I actually wanted and I like it so much right now! I might take pictures for the next time I get a haircut.

Thanks for reading!

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[remisummerglow]

Down and Out and Shrunk - Prologue

Jake came home with a sour mood. That time of the month had come again, and it had come faster than he wanted. How did the last few weeks go through so fast? He opened the front door, carefully listening to any sounds that indicated his roommate might be home.

“Seems like the TV is off,” he thought. If he could avoid meeting her for the day, that would be for the best.

He quietly walked through the corridor, trying to get to his room. But that’s when he heard the sound of a lock being opened.

“Hey Jake – you’re back!” she greeted him as she stood on the doorstep. Jake took a brief look at the girl – she was dressed casually, a t-shirt and some gym shorts, her hair done in a ponytail.

“Hey Amy,” he said, hesitantly. “What’s up?”

She shrugged. “Not much. Been studying.” She let go of a yawn as she looked back at him. “And how is your job search going?”

“Oh, that…” he stuttered. He had been in dire straits for the last couple months since he lost his job due to a company restructuring. “I’ve been sending some applications, I’m sure they will reply any day now.”

“But you still haven’t gotten any reply?”, she asked.

He looked down in embarrassment. He wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to lie, but he couldn’t find the words. “Not even an interview?”, she insisted.

He sighed. “I’m sure it’s just a matter of days.”

She nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I’m sure of that,” she said, trying to send a reassuring message. “You got this Dave. That said… rent is due tomorrow. So I came to collect your half.”

He didn’t reply and just kept looking down. She looked at him with concern. “You still have the money for your rent… right?”

“Right, Jake?”

*

The morning after Jake was sitting in Amy’s car, looking out of the window as if it was going to be his last day on Earth.

“I can’t believe you signed me up for this,” he mumbled, holding a flier in his hand. SizeLab experimental research, it read. “Is this even legit?”

“No, you signed up for that,” she stated, as she stopped at red lights. “Out of your own free will. I just... strongly encouraged you.”

“Yeah, sure.”, he said. “But, shrinking? You’ve got to admit, this is crazy.”

“What is crazy, is the money you’ll be getting for basically no work at all,” she pointed out.

“And you’ll be taking half of that,” he retorted, startled as Amy raced the car once the traffic lights turned green.

“It’s only fair since I’ll be the one taking care of you. Making your food, driving you to the lab, making sure you’re healthy, and that you don’t get stepped on.”

He didn’t say anything back. She had made a good point after all. But he couldn’t help but shudder at her last words. Getting stepped on by his giant roommate? He glanced at her pedicured toes coming out of her high heeled white shoes. Why did she even bother wearing heels to a place like that? Stupid question. That was Amy, after all.

“Look, I think it’ll be a good deal for both of us,” she explained. “See it as some kind of vacation. You’ll just be sitting around all day, watching TV. You get to have a paid vacation, and I... get to have a new pet.”

“A pet?” he asked, feigning outrage. “That’s not funny, Amy.”

She giggled. “Oh, but it is! And my pet gets to have his rent money, and his master gets money for her shopping.”

“Sounds very convenient... for you.”

“I’d say it’s just perfect,” she quipped, prideful, as she steered the wheel to the left.

He let out a big sigh. “At least,” he concluded, “we get to stay roommates.”

She nodded. “Exactly. I sure as hell don’t want to go back to roommate hunting… not in this city.”

He had to admit, all things considered, she was right.

They had arrived at the lab’s parking lot. As Amy searched for a suitable parking spot, Jake took a look at the area. The building seemed fairly modern and slick. It certainly didn’t look like the sort of place to host the crazy experiments of misguided geniuses. And yet...

“Well, at least the courtyard is nice,” he said.

*

“Welcome,” said a woman in her thirties, wearing glasses and a lab coat over a grey turtleneck. “I’m Dr. Diana Hills, and I’ll be overseeing you along the whole procedure.”

Jake nodded. Dr. Hills detected some of his nervousness and tried to reassure him. “Don’t worry-” she said. “The process is safe and painless. In a couple hours you’ll be going back home to your girlfriend.”

“She’s not...”

“Anyway,” said the doctor. You’ll be wearing these clothes during your procedure. They’re made of a special fabric that will shrink along with you. Now you can get changed in that room and… don’t worry, we’ll give you a couple extra to last you the weekend.”

The two women were left alone as Jake changed.

“Jake’s lucky to be taken care of by such a gorgeous young lady,” said Dr. Hills, beaming at Amy.

“Oh, he sure is,” grinned Amy. “By the way, doctor, do you have any tips on how to… handle him while he’s small?”

“We’ll be giving you a pamphlet before you go, but I’m sure you’ll learn quickly,” said the doctor. “And if I can speak from my experience, me and my husband have found quite a few ways to make this really enjoyable.”

“Your husband got small too?” asked Amy.

“Why yes he did. At first he volunteered for the experiment,” explained the older woman. “But sometimes, we like to have an encore to… you know, spice things up between us.”

At that point Jake got out of the changing room with his new clothes on. “Aren’t they too tight?” he complained. “Oh, they fit you just right,” said the doctor. “Now if you could follow me…”

*

Amy sat nervously in the waiting room. Sure, signing Jake up for the experiment was her idea, but now she was starting to have second thoughts. What if it was actually dangerous? And what about that weird doctor?

She tried to browse some social media apps to distract herself, until someone else came in from the front door.

The blonde woman, maybe a few years older than she was, smiled at her and sat right in the seat in front of Amy.

“Hi,” she greeted her.

“Hi,” said Amy, relieved that someone was initiating conversation. “First time?” the woman asked. “Actually yes.”

“For us it’s the third,” she explained, making her point by winking. “Don’t worry about a thing,” she added as she lowered her voice. “These doctors know their stuff. It’s really safe.”

Amy nodded. “Yeah I know, I’m just not sure what to expect.”

“Oh, I’m Linda by the way.”

“I’m Amy,” she responded.

“Actually, it’s not only safe, it’s also been enjoyable for me and my boyfriend,” said Linda. “With the right mindset, it will be for you and your guy as well.”

“How do you know I’m with a guy?”

“Just guessed,” said Linda. “I just think it’s more appropriate for the man to be the one to be small. At first Mark wanted me to be the one to do the shrinking,” said the woman. “But I told him, no way, buddy, you’d leave the house in ruins by the time I’m big again.”

“Is he really that clueless?” asked an amused Amy.

“Worse,” said Linda. “I always need to clean up after him. That’s another benefit of him being small - less cleaning up to do!”

Amy chuckled. “Oh, and is he with you now?” she asked.

“Of course!” said Linda. “Fancy seeing his little ass? Come on out, sweetie,” Linda said as she looked down towards her chest. “This young lady wants to meet you.”

Amy looked with curiosity until she saw the most peculiar sight. A minuscule one-inch tall bug-like man crawling out of the gigantic woman’s summer dress’s cleavage. As he made his way up the flesh of the much larger woman, he could really be mistaken for some sort of insect, except his form was unmistakably human.

“That’s where you keep him?” asked Amy, both endeared and surprised.

“He loves it,” explained Linda. It was fascinating how his size compared to the globe of flesh he was standing on. It looked like he was standing on a huge water mattress. Linda extended her finger inviting her bug-like boyfriend to climb on her fingernail. “You know how men are… getting nested between a pair of giant boobs must be like a dream come true to him!”

“I couldn’t even notice he was hidden in there,” Amy pointed out.

Linda laughed. “Bet you couldn’t. Oh, you could totally do the same with your guy if you wanted,” she added as she took one good look at Amy’s own cleavage. “Mark here is at stage two already, but gals like us are big enough to handle a stage one guy as well,” she boasted.

Amy felt the need to explain the situation. “Um, we’re not really… a couple though. We’re just friends.”

“I see. That’s a bit of a shame, though. You will be missing out on some amazing action.”

“Really?” asked Amy. “Actually the doctor kinda said the same stuff…”

“I know, I know. She was the one to give us the idea in the first place,” she laughed. “And I’m glad she did, though I guess we would’ve probably figured it out on our own.”

The lab door finally opened. “Speak of the devil!” Linda said in a hushed voice.

“Oh, Linda, hi! You’re next,” said the doctor as she stood in front of the door. “As for you, Amy…” she said and paused for a second. “We have finished the resizing process. Jake is in good health and he is waiting for you to take him home. Want me to show him to you?”

“Sure,” said Amy, getting up from her seat and saying goodbye to Linda.

Jake was sitting on one of the lab desks where Dr. Hills had placed him after he was done shrinking. The woman had furnished the desk with a couple pillows in there where the test subjects could hang out comfortably. He still had a hard time making sense of the huge world around him. The monolithic objects surrounding him barely felt real.

When the distant lab door reopened, the doctor’s footsteps were joined by the familiar clack of Amy’s heels.

His heart fluttered as he saw his gigantic roommate getting closer and closer, following in the doctor’s footsteps until the older woman stopped in front of a desk. The beautiful girl didn’t even notice him at first, she just looked around the lab until her gaze finally shifted to the desk.

Amy’s eyes widened, her lips parting and showing a glimpse of her teeth.

“Jake?”

[sanddusted-wisteria]

A Builder, a Researcher, and a Rooftop, Ch. 21: Modus Operandi

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Minor TW/CW: Passing mention of suicide--Only discussed in the context of Logan's potential motives. No suicidal behavior/ideation is shown or discussed.

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

Jupiter is in opposition tonight.

Qi laid side-by-side with the builder on top of their soft blanket, staring blankly at the sky above.

Relative to the Earth, it’s completely opposite to the Sun. That makes it appear in the sky at its brightest all year.

The words lingered in his throat, reciting themselves over and over, but never coming out.

It’s moving upwards in the sky now. We should be able to see it through the telescope. The colors should be brilliant.

Why couldn’t he say anything? They always loved hearing facts about the stars, especially when they could see it live in front of them. They would be interested. And yet…

He turned his head slightly to peek at them. Their face was expressionless, eyes appearing to be more unfocused than usual. Ever since they came up for the night, they seemed…unusually distant. They didn’t even notice him turning to look at them, something they were almost always privy to. Whenever he’d try to sneak a glance at them, they’d always catch him, often turning back towards him with one of those smiles that would make his heart beat just a little bit faster…

A passage from a book on relationship advice that he…researched several weeks ago came to mind.

“If something seems wrong or off, talk about it! It definitely will feel weird and funky and a bit uncomfortable, but it’ll be a whole lot more hurt if you let it sit. Learning to navigate the uncomfy together and come out better on the other side is a key to a strong partnership!!”

Qi felt his stomach turn. Easy for the authors to say (er, write). In the worst case, pestering your partner out of unfounded paranoia at anything and everything could tear the relationship apart. But…something in him was unsettled. Something was telling him that things weren’t right. It wasn’t telling him why, but it had to be fixed.

Well…isn’t this just what the builder did with their experiment? They pestered him because they thought that something about him was off. And both of them moved to fix it. Perhaps he was allowed to pester them just this once. If they got annoyed, at least the two of them would be even.

Qi swallowed a lump in his throat, realizing that he had to do more than just lie here and think. He had to act.

“Um…” His voice suddenly pierced the silence.

The builder’s head whipped towards him. “Huh?”

Qi took a steadying breath. “Forgive me if I’m incorrect, but you look…troubled.”

“Mm. I guess so,” the builder mumbled while looking away.

“You…guess? Er—well, would it help if we discussed the issue together? I…give no guarantee of solutions or comfort, but it’d be inconsiderate of me not to try.”

The builder was silent as they mulled it over. “You know?” they said finally. “I think it would. You’re smart. Maybe you can help me figure this out.”

“I’ll do the best I can.”

“Can’t ask for anything more.” They let out a sigh. “I’ve been thinking about the whole…kidnapping situation for a couple days now…and the more I think about it, the less sense everything makes.”

Qi hummed. “Indeed. Everything surrounding Logan is quite bizarre.”

“Yeah, like…like…” The builder frowned, um-ing and ah-ing some more. Then they groaned, covering their face with their hands and rubbing their eyes. “Ugh, blinding Light, where do I even start?”

They fell silent again. Qi felt his intuition nudge him again. Do something.

“Do…you want me to make some tea?” he asked quietly. “It’ll take some time to steep, so you can gather your thoughts in the meantime.”

The builder peeled their hands off their face. “Oh. Yeah, tea sounds nice,” they murmured.

Qi nodded before rolling himself up. “I’ll be back in a few minutes, then. Take all the time you need.”

He heard a quiet hum from behind him as he started down the stairs. Heading back inside, he pulled out the kettle and poured in exactly enough water for four cups of tea. Two for them, Two for him. Plus a little extra to account for the water that would evaporate when it boiled.

He set it on the burner and opened his cabinet. He rifled through the small line of tea sachets along the back, trying to find the best one. Nothing sleep-aiding…so not the chamomile and lavender… Maybe something more flavorful? There was that ceylon tea that the builder had given him…or that mint tea he still hadn’t finished… Oh, and would they need caffeine? It could help concentration, but if they talked more than they drank, it wouldn’t even get into their system.

The kettle started to whistle. Qi sighed and turned to shut the burner off. Best not overthink it. He grabbed the strainer and took out the sachet of his old staple: sand tea. Plain and simple.

He took the thermos out from the cabinet and set the tea to steep, starting his mental tea timer. Then he grabbed the rest of their rooftop tea set: two cups and the builder’s tiny table. All set.

He nudged the front door open with his side and climbed back up the roof. The builder was sitting up now with their legs crossed, shoes off so as to not dirty their blanket. They looked over at him as he approached and set everything down next to them. “Thank you,” they murmured as a soft smile lifted their lips.

“Of course,” Qi said as he sat back down, with a light smile of his own. “Are you ready?”

“Yeah…I think so.”

Qi nodded, opening the thermos and pouring a steaming hot cup. The builder gingerly took it and blew on the surface, a contemplative look in their eye as they nursed it in their lap.

“So,” they started. “Let’s say that Logan was really a bad guy doing all these bad things for terrible reasons. For the sake of argument.”

Qi topped off his own cup and watched them attentively.

“What’s his goal, then? What does he accomplish by doing all of this stuff?”

Qi raised an eyebrow. “The common consensus among the townsfolk is that he wants revenge against the Church for the actions they took against his father,” he replied, knowing full well that it was nowhere near that simple.

“Yep. But then…why doesn’t he just go for the clergy? He’s got guns and bombs, and they obviously don’t… He could’ve taken them out a long time ago. And half the town has nothing to do with it, and yet he dragged everyone into it with the water tower incident. ”

“Perhaps he sees us as indirectly responsible by being complicit with the Church’s actions.”

“Maybe…” the builder hummed, taking a sip of tea. “And nobody thinks straight when they’re angry. He might find any reason he can to take the rest of us down with them.”

“Hm. Maybe. But circling back to the issue of why he hasn’t outright attempted to murder anyone…do you think it might be because he can’t? For all his idiocy, the homunculus man is still an effective sentinel.”

The builder raised an eyebrow. “Oh, didn’t you hear? Pen was uh, indisposed during the whole kidnapping. Apparently he got a real bad tummy ache. So he’s not invincible. Plus, he’s only one guy.”

“Ah. That is news to me.”

“Yeah… But Pen aside, there’s really only one person that Logan would actually have to get riled up at: Miguel. If all this was really just about his pa, then Miguel’s the only one to blame for the whole deal. And Logan could take him out easy. So why hasn’t he? Nothing he’s done has targeted him. I mean, Miguel got riled up himself when Matilda got kidnapped, but that’s it.”

“A psychological tactic, maybe? Angering the pastor to the point of irrational madness?”

“And…what good would come of that?” The builder frowned. “That just sounds like a painfully long and elaborate ‘screw you’ to me.”

Qi shrugged. “Not sure. Just a hypothesis. Perhaps it’s still too early to tell.”

The builder hummed noncommittally.

Silence. A dead end, it looked like. The two of them took the opportunity to drink more of their tea while they thought it over some more.

“There’s still the water tower…” the builder muttered, frowning at nothing in particular.

Qi waited patiently for them to continue.

“Why…the water tower? Even if that didn’t kill the oasis, why destroy the only reliable source of water for miles around?”

“You’re right…” Qi said. “He and his gang still require water to function as human beings, so they can carry out…whatever agenda they have.”

“And even if they didn’t, it’s still a stupid plan. Why would he do that when the city’s got builders at the ready? We all got the new tower up pretty quickly.”

“Murder-suicide…?” Qi ventured.

“Uh… Well that flopped, since we’re all still alive… And even if we could never build a new tower, we could all just move. I mean, it’d be hard to leave this place behind, but we could do it.”

“Is it possible he could source water from elsewhere?”

“Impossible.” The builder shook their head. “The guy’s a fugitive known all over the Alliance by now. And with that hair and that getup, he’d be spotted if he even thought about going to another city.”

“Right. Plus, water is incredibly heavy and laborious to transport. Without a vehicle of some kind, he’d be consuming at least three times more water trying to carry it here than he could feasibly gather.”

“And he’d need to get enough for three people and two goats.”

“That too. Unless he’s monopolizing some secret spring somewhere in the desert?”

“Eh…don’t think so,” the builder said with a frown. “If there was really any sort of other water source, with how long this town’s tried to find a solution to the water problem, you’d think it’d be found by now. And that doesn’t line up with what I heard in the cave when Logan was telling Matilda to tell him where she was hiding water… Allegedly.”

Qi frowned too. “Hm. I’m out of ideas, then.”

The builder grimaced. “Same. That’s the one that makes the least sense to me. Unless he just did it for kicks. Which I doubt. Something like that has to have malicious intent.”

They once again drifted into silence. The builder drained their cup and reached over to pour a second one. They raised an eyebrow at Qi, tilting the thermos towards him. He brought his cup towards them and they poured some more for him. It was still steaming a little bit. They set the thermos down again, and Qi gave them a grateful nod.

“...I’m still curious about the members of Logan’s gang,” Qi muttered without much thought as he stared at the wisps of steam rising from the moonlit surface of his tea.

“Yeah? What about them?”

“His confidant, Haru… Why exactly was he so keen on joining forces with Logan and his violent schemes? I knew little about him, but his temperament is starkly different to Logan’s.”

“I know that they didn’t agree on some of the things they did. It seemed like Haru really wasn’t a fan of the church bombing.”

Qi frowned. “How do you know that?”

“Uh…” The builder quickly averted their eyes. “Well, I uh…broke into their house one time and found a map of the plan,” they said with a strained grin.

Qi fixed them a deadpan stare.

“I-it was Elsie’s idea.”

…

“Mi-an was there too.”

…

“Um… I fixed the window we broke right after…”

…

They let out a laugh. “Aw, come on, Qi. We’re talking about bigger crimes here and you’re giving me the evil eye over that?”

“I think that makes it sound worse, somehow.”

“Ahem. Well anyways… Haru. We found a map of their plan to bomb the church, and it looked like Haru didn’t agree. Logan insisted.”

“Interesting… Did Logan force Haru to help him somehow?”

“I mean… Maybe, but I feel like it’d make more sense if Haru wanted to help Logan.”

Qi hummed. “But we already established that we don’t know what Logan’s motive is. There are more concrete possibilities if we assume Haru is under duress.”

The builder frowned. “Like what, exactly?”

“Bribery? Blackmail? With what, I don’t know. But it’s a reasonable conclusion to draw.”

“Uh…” The builder pursed their lips, staring intently at a distant cluster of stars as they thought. “Not sure about that. Those two basically grew up together, right? If they’re that close, there’s nothing that Logan can really bribe him with. They lived in the same house for ages, so they practically have the same stuff.”

“And blackmail?”

“Also not sure. A bit more feasible, I guess, if Logan has some big secret about Haru that he doesn’t want getting out.”

Qi blew on his cup before taking a sip. “True. I suppose without knowing what advantage Logan has over Haru, we can’t say anything conclusive.”

“Yeah…” The builder set their empty cup down on the table. “And now what about the kid?”

“Well…obviously Logan would want more to fill his ranks. Perhaps this child took pity on him.”

“Or Logan did him a favor. He seemed pretty enthused when they were holding Matilda.”

“Hm. At least he seems to be in good enough condition, at least. I suppose if Logan has yet to truly harm any adult, he isn’t anywhere near as violent enough to harm a child.”

Both were at a loss of words once more. Qi poured out the last of the tea into his cup. It was cold.

The builder sighed. “Well, nothing but dead ends.”

Qi shrugged. “A situation like this is hardly straightforward. If we could discern any more information based on what we have now, the situation might have been solved by now.”

“If only.”

“Indeed. It’s good that you’re at least examining the circumstances with a careful and rational eye. The rest of the town would do well to follow your example.”

“Eh… They’re doing the best they can. It’s pretty emotional for a lot of them. I’m practically an outsider to this whole deal, so I’m not feeling the same way they are.”

“All the better that you’re here then, if you ask me.”

A soft smile lit the builder’s face. “Thanks. You too, you know.”

Qi grimaced to hide the familiar stuttering feeling in his chest. “This bandit business is more or less irrelevant to me. I…was just acting as a soundboard because you brought it up.”

The builder chuckled quietly as they shook their head. “Oh, it’s more than that and you know it. It’s…really all the better that you’re here.”

Qi’s brow furrowed. “We go from talking about hardened criminals to…this?”

“Pfft, yeah. This is still a date, after all.”

“Never in my research have I found that discussing the motives of wanted fugitives to be a normal romantic activity.”

“Since when has our romance ever been normal?” the builder laughed.

An amused snort left Qi’s throat. “...Touché.”

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

A/N: I apologize if this chapter feels a little more long-winded than most. I wanted to have a good coverage of talking points for Qi and the builder, but at the same time, I didn't want to make this single conversation feel too long. This is the best I can get it without cutting too far into either extreme.

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

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[hummingbird-of-light]

Against All Odds

Part 679

McCoy

McCoy pulled his jacket tighter around himself as he and Scotty began their walk into town. A cold wind was blowing and he hoped that walking quickly would warm him up faster.

“Want to stop for ice cream?” he chuckled as he asked Scotty.

Scotty looked over at him, then rolled his eyes.

“Let’s just get this done quick.”

“Oh fine,” McCoy pretended to pout. “But it’s been so long since we got to go anywhere just by ourselves. No guards, no friends, not on campus or the palace grounds.”

“Do ye really want ice cream in this weather Len?”

McCoy laughed. “No. But you probably know somewhere we can get hot chocolate or tea.”

“Aye. Maybe,” Scotty said mysteriously.

“We don’t want to be suspicious just going to one place after all,” McCoy pointed out.

“It’s probably suspicious we’re out at all,” Scotty pointed out. “We’ve not been out in months.”

“True,” McCoy agreed. “Well, we’ll just have to have a nice normal outing like we used to.”

Scotty stopped walking next to him. “Have we ever had a normal outing?”

“Oh. Well. Umm. When we came with the others. That wasn’t always so bad.” McCoy was about to add their outings in Aberdeen, but clamped his mouth shut remembering the reporter who had come to the Scott’s house.

“Come on.” McCoy gave Scotty’s arm a tug. “It’s cold anyway. Not as many people are out. Less people will notice us.”

A little while later Scotty led the way into a shop.

“Good morning,” a woman behind the counter called as they entered.

“Hello,” McCoy answered politely.

“Can I help?”

“I'm looking for a new PADD,” McCoy answered.

“Right this way,” the woman said and stepped out from behind the counter. “Hmm. Have you been in before? You look familiar.”

McCoy sensed Scotty tense beside him, but McCoy smiled easily at her.

“I have one of those faces,” he said lightly. “People always say that.”

“Well then,” the woman smiled. “Here you are. We’ve got a range of options. Are you looking for something in particular?”

“Something to get the job done,” McCoy smiled again.

“Are you mainly using it for school work?”

“Mostly.” McCoy had to bite his tongue not to laugh at that moment.

“This one’s good for a student. From over at the academy are you?” she asked, while pointing to one of the devices.

McCoy nodded, then glanced over at Scotty.

“Is that one good?”

“May I see it?” Scotty asked.

“Of course.” The woman handed it to him.

Scotty was quiet for a few moments as he concentrated on the device. Finally he looked up and nodded.

“It’ll work.”

“Anything else you boys need?”

“Nope. That’ll do it,” McCoy said.

“Alright. Come on over and we’ll get this rung up and have you on your way.” The woman led the way back to her counter.

“You boys be careful walking around with that much money on you,” she warned, catching sight as McCoy pulled out the credits to pay her.

“Always am,” McCoy smiled. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course,” the woman said. “Oh! I know who it is you remind me of!”

“And who’s that?” McCoy asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“The prince they’re always writing about! I’ve just gone blank on his name,” the woman frowned, thinking. “He goes to the academy they say.” Suddenly her eyes widened at McCoy. “You are him! Oh my goodness! I should have—”

McCoy waved a hand at her, and shook his head.

“It’s fine,” he said quickly. “I prefer not being recognized. Makes life a little easier. Thanks again,” he said, picking up the bag she had loaded the PADD into.

Back outside, McCoy didn’t know if he wanted to laugh or not. The time in the shop had felt slightly surreal.

“Want to head back or get something hot to drink?” he asked Scotty, his voice still light with his amusement.

Part 680

Scotty

Both boys were still very surprised that the woman in the shop hadn't recognized Leonard at first, but it had been a welcome experience.

Scotty had led his fiancé into a wee cafe he knew, knowing that Leonard was right about it being suspicious if they only went to one place.

Now the two of them were enjoying hot chocolate and some waffles. They sat in the back of the cafe where no one else was sitting. No peering eyes. Just some peace.

"This is really good," the prince said, mouth half full, and Scotty chuckled softly.

"I knew that ye'd like it."

He smiled, watching his love lovingly. Leonard was just so bonnie.

"Ye've... got some crumbs on yer face. Right there."

Scotty pointed at the corner of his fiancé's mouth, but Leonard acted clumsy.

"What? Where?"

Instead of using his fingers, the prince licked his lips, but didn't quite reach the crumbs.

Scotty just rolled his eyes, before he cast a furtive glance around them. Nobody was watching the pair. So he quickly leaned forward and licked the crumbs away, before pressing his lips onto Leonard's.

When their lips parted again, Scotty could see the blush on his fiancé's face and he knew that his own probably looked just the same.

"Thanks," Leonard whispered, a grin on his lips and Scotty nodded at him, clearing his throat.

"So... what are we going to do after this, mo ghràdh?"

The grin on Leonard's face grew even wider and he chuckled.

"I have some ideas of what we could do in our room. But... I think we should stay in town a bit longer."

Scotty raised an eyebrow.

"Really now? I thought it's way too cold outside for ye?"

He got a shrug for an answer and Leonard took a sip of his hot chocolate, before he spoke again.

"Normal outing, remember?"

Okay... if he wanted a normal outing, then Leonard should get it.

When they returned to school, Leonard was shivering. Scotty had shown him various monuments at town and then they had visited the forest. They had been out for two or three hours.

"Hope ye liked the tour, love," Scotty said with a wink and Leonard nodded, acting like he didn't care about the cold.

"S-s-sure. It was g-g-great."

Now they just needed to warm up.

The boys quickly got upstairs to their room and Scotty placed the bag he had carried with him, next to his bed. The new PADD was really good and would surely help with their plan.

"How long until lunch?" Leonard asked, taking off his coat.

Scotty glanced at the clock on his nightstand.

"An hour."

With a sigh, the prince let himself fall onto his bed.

"Good. Enough time to relax."

He was still shivering and Scotty smiled, when a thought crossed his mind.

"How about... we warm up a bit?"

His fiancé looked over at him and smiled too, rolling onto his side, making space.

"Well then... get in."

But Scotty glanced the other way, wiggling his eyebrows.

"I had something else on my mind. How about... a hot shower?"

Leonard looked honestly surprised at first, but eventually his smile brightened.

"Say no more."

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Finding and knowing your life purpose is, however, only the first step.

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Doing so can be challenging. Fears, doubts and insecurities that you never knew you had will appear and will need to be dealt with.

The support I'll offer you as an experienced Life Purpose Coach, with my proven methodology for finding and living your life purpose, the Hero Process, is a game-changer.

At the end of the day, when you’ve become the person you always wanted to be or perhaps the type of person you’ve always most admired, you’ll be glad you took that first step and got in touch.

Ways I can show you how to find your life purpose

I’d love to show you how to find your own life purpose and there are several ways I can help:

1. There’s a wealth of information on how to find and live your purpose on my website www.adamtallamy.com and on my podcast on Spotify.

I’ve tried to give away as much information as possible so that if you’re committed and persistent you can do this for yourself. It’s not easy, but it’s definitely doable.

2. I run regular free introductory workshops on ‘how to find your life purpose’ which you might find of interest and where you’ll have an opportunity to ask me questions and get even more insight.

3. I’d love to help you 121 and be your personal life purpose coach. It’s my passion and purpose to help others find theirs and I’m the best at what I do. If you feel a pull to doing that please take that first step and get in touch.

I wish you good luck whatever path you take!

Get in touch and areas covered

UK mobile +44 (0)7779 125 828

Email adam@adamtallamy.com

www.adamtallamy.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-tallamy

https://twitter.com/AdamTallamy

- London, UK and home counties

If you’re in London or nearby we can easily work together face to face. This includes Surrey, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Essex or Kent, depending where you are exactly either at your home address, office or one of 3 privates venues in which are in central London, South West London and North London

For everywhere else in the UK and international clients what I do works equally well online and I have successfully helped people all over the world find their life purpose.

That includes clients in the following countries and counting:

US / USA including Miami, New York, LA and the Bay Area

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Keywords:

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[ssadumba55]

Love Finds A Way (Ian Malcolm X Reader)

Request: Hello!! I love your Ian malcolm x reader so far and I was just wondering if you could do another one (either set in the first or second movie) where ian and the reader get separated and it freaks Ian out until they find each other again and ian decides to confess his feelings maybe? Thanks!

A/N: Let's go! I've never written anything set in the first movie but that movie moves a lot faster so forgive me cutting through to get to the good bits. I spared you every dinosaur chase scene, you're welcome. Enjoy!

This trip was a mistake, you realized that now covered in mud and sitting in a tree.

Come along, Ian had suggested, it’ll be fun. It wasn’t fun now, you’d be sure to remind him of that… if you ever saw him again. Even though you had wanted to stay behind with Ian, Alan had convinced you to join him and the kids.

Now, the other three were getting some shuteye. How they could sleep with all of this around them, you would never know. You watched the Brachiosaurs eat from the safety of your vantage point. All the joy and wonder you had felt earlier on the tour was now gone, replaced with a feeling of dread deep in the pit of your stomach.

There was no way you were getting out of this alive, even with the help of the amazing Dr. Alan Grant. You had never been a fearless fighter or particularly intelligent.

“You’re still awake?” Dr. Grant asked softly. You had thought he was asleep but it appeared he’d just been resting eyes. He didn’t even look like the man you’d met earlier that day, each of his arms wrapped around one of the children he had despised.

You shrugged your shoulders. “I’m worried about Dr. Malcolm, that’s all.”

It was a fair worry, he was your friend and mentor. The two of you had spent a lot of time together both in the workplace and out. You liked to think there was an inseparable bond between the two of you, something that rarely anyone else had. No matter how many wives or girlfriends he went through, what was between you both would never change.

“He’s fine. As long as he stays still, even if the T. Rex circles back, he’ll live.”

Realistically, you knew he was right but still. Nobody but the four of you knew where he was and you had no idea how to get to the others. Worst vacation ever, Ian owed you one if the two of you got off this stinking island alive.

Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Malcolm was in a panic himself. His leg was in pain, but it was dull compared to his worry for you. Now that he wasn’t being chased by a giant meat eating dinosaur, he could think properly and he had noticed your absence.

There were two options; you were laying out there dead somewhere (which he hated to think about, that couldn’t be the one) or you were wherever Dr. Grant and Hammond’s grandchildren were.

“We should be out there looking for them,” he tried to shift but his leg was in worse shape than he thought. Ellie hurried forward, scolding him for moving and putting himself in pain. She was obviously worried for Alan as well, they had issues, the two of them.

Was being in love with a workplace friend a common occurrence because it seemed like they were in the exact same department and- Oh god, if you and Alan died they would never get to tell them. More importantly he would never get to tell you.

At some point, Gennaro and Ellie leave to go look for Arnold, leaving him and Hammond to guide them to where they needed to go. He tried to keep his head in the game as much as possible, his survival and the others depended on it but he was too worried about you.

This had to be some sick twisted joke the universe had decided to play on him, he didn’t tell the one he loved he loved them when he had the chance, he fooled around with so many people... and this was his sick and twisted comeuppance.

He supposed if that was what was going on he deserved it, but damn it if he didn’t wish his leg was better so he could be out there looking for you.

How many adults did it take to hold a door shut against one Velociraptor? Apparently, three. You, Alan and Ellie leaned against the door, trying your best to keep it shut while Lex and Tim figured out the computer system.

“This is where we die,” you muttered under your breath as Ellie tried desperately to reach for the shotgun that was just out of her grasp.

“You did it!” Tim shouted and just like that the locks were on the doors.

The relief was short lived, but such is life when you’re on a dinosaur infested island. The five of you escaped through the vents, making your way back to the main entrance of the visitors building. It was a race against time (and Velociraptors), but in the end, you all made it safely back to the ground and the T. Rex took care of the raptors.

“Come on,” Alan ushered the kids, you and Ellie out the front door. You felt like you were going to pass out just from the adrenaline. Hammond and Ian were waiting outside in the jeep but you couldn’t bring yourself to say anything to either of them as you climbed in. Alan said something but you leaned back in the jeep seat, releasing a breath you didn’t even know you’d been holding.

You weren’t home safe yet but it sure felt like it.

After that, everything was a blur. The helicopter ride home was silent, everyone contemplating everything they had just witnessed on the island. For once, even the great Ian Malcolm had nothing to say.

You leaned against him and he let you, clearly just as happy as you were to be in the same vicinity once again.

Upon landing in Costa Rica, the group went their separate ways. Hammond went off with his grandchildren, Ellie needed medical care and Alan went with her, Ian needed his own care so you went with him. You wondered if you’d ever get to see those people again. It was a strange thing to bond over, but you felt like you were all that much closer now that you’d been through this together.

Ian was out for a while so you pulled up a chair and slept beside the hospital bed.

“(Y/n)?” You awoke to someone saying your name, visions of giant lizard monsters danced in your vision for a few moments longer as you blinked awake.

You would surely be having nightmares of that for a long time.

Ian was awake, he had shifted himself into a sitting position, his hand on yours. You met his eyes, there was a lot that needed to be said. You wanted to tell him everything that had happened, with Alan and the kids and the raptors and-

You hugged him instead, it was strange, even though the two of you were fairly close, neither of you had ever been huge fans of physical contact.

He hugged you back though.

“That was the worst vacation ever…” You whispered, pulling away slightly to look into his eyes.

He chuckled. “Next time you can pick, no more dinosaur islands. I promise.”

You suddenly became aware of the very little space between the two of you. This was the closest the two of you had ever been in a non joking manner. It felt like being separated from each other on a dinosaur infested island had changed something in your dynamic, though you weren’t sure what it was. The smile on his face faded slightly and he reached up, closing the distance between the two of you, hand gently pressed to your cheek.

That’s what it was. The dynamic between you two had DEFINITELY changed.

“I’ve, uh, always wanted to do that.” He sounded slightly guilty, pulling away.

There were butterflies in your stomach and somehow the world seemed to be spinning. You laughed nervously, something about experiencing this so soon after a near death experience was hilarious to you.

"Funnily enough, me too," you admit, pressing your forehead to his. It's really too soon to know what this really means or if this is all just a crazy reaction to being separated and not able to see each other but you don't even care.

You could put a label on it later, he would agree. For now the two of you had each other and you were never letting go. And if Ian asked you to sleep with him later that night and if the two of you awoke each other from nightmares screaming only to comfort each other, nobody else needed to know.

You'd always had a special bond. This just made it stronger.

[mypoisonedvine]

Reader and Steve end up exposed to something on a mission that cause them to body swap. It would be hot as hell if one of them was seeing Bucky too and he decides to have fun with their misfortune.

(okay so this is kind of a crack fic so im sorry in advance asgjakhsagdj this is the WEIRDEST SMUT I’VE EVER WRITTEN... very nsfw and a slight touch of dubcon beneath the cut.)

you’d only been in Steve’s body for a few hours when you began to understand how deprived this man was.

you hadn’t gotten his memories.  you didn’t really understand how this had happened at all but you knew that for sure, because you distinctly recalled being you yesterday and now you were him.  and he was fucking horny.

maybe it was you, a little bit, but this was definitely his body acting of its own accord more than it was your mind inside of it.  it felt different in a guy’s body, for one.  it felt so different to have need like this, so much more all-encompassing than the subtle tingling in your gut that you normally felt when you were turned on.  damn, is this what it was always like for men?  you weren’t sure how they ever managed to get any work done.  maybe they don’t.

my cock is hard, you thought to yourself, trying to wrap your head around the concept.  you tried not to look down at it as you leaned back in your chair-- his chair, actually-- but you could feel it, not just the arousal coursing through it but the head curving back and digging into your hip.  

I can’t touch it, you decided, it would be invasive.  he’s not here to consent to me touching his body.  and you firmly believed that logic, and yet you felt your hand-- his hand-- reaching into the waistband of his uniform and pulling it out.  you whimpered just to feel warmth on it, though the sound was foreign to your ears as you realized you had his voice.

you had never been good at handjobs, but it was like instinct was guiding you as you stroked the cock you found in your palm.  his hands were sort of rough, something you normally liked but was not well-received in this body.  but it was enough-- it was just enough to satisfy this desperation that burned in your chest.  you could tell it had been so long since this cock had gotten attention from anything but this hand, you could feel how much he needed more but you, as his friend, understood why he didn’t get it.  he always told you he was too busy for dating.  frankly, if you got to this point, you wouldn’t really be worried about “dating” so much as “hooking up” but he was, understandably, not the type.

your head fell back as you bucked up into your hand, biting down on your lip-- and you’d always dreamed of tasting his lips, just not like this.  “fuck,” you hissed, the sound of his voice mundane to his body but driving your mind wild inside his stupidly beautiful head.  there was an urge to moan your own name, just to know how it would sound if he said it like this, but the idea was too weird for you go through with it.

then again, you were stuck in Steve’s body and jerking off so, ‘too weird’ was kind of a moot point.

you were jolted out of your rhythm when there was a knock at your-- his-- door.

“wh-who is it?” you stammered.

“it’s me!” you heard from the other side of the door. “or, well, it’s you!”

“shit,” you mumbled as you rushed to redress, running to the door-- you were so much faster in this body, unsurprisingly.  you weren’t really psychologically prepared to open the door and see yourself there.  you weren’t ready to be pierced by your own gaze, your own arms crossed in confusion.

“do you always get wet when you look at me?” Steve asked you suddenly.  “or is this just me... knowing it’s you?”

you swallowed, feeling an Adam’s apple bob in your neck-- what an odd sensation.

“does my voice always sound like that?” you asked when you heard his words from your mouth.

“we need to fix this before Bucky finds me again,” he demanded, “I barely managed to toss him off me.”

“... so I guess you found out about us too?” you winced, your secret fuckbuddies relationship now out in the open.

“more than I ever wanted to know,” he frowned.  his expression shifted as he looked up at you again.  “what were you doing?”

“what?” you asked, and you heard your own breathlessness.  “I wasn’t doing anything.  you always breathe like this.  don’t you have asthma?”

“I used to have asthma,” he corrected.

“yes, and now you have a vagina-- my vagina!-- so maybe we should focus on that and not you giving me this random third degree here?”

“whatever,” he scoffed, brushing past you to step into the room as you shut the door.  

“you didn’t... look, did you?” you asked nervously.

“uh, no,” he answered quickly, “did you?”

“I made a specific point not to,” you announced proudly.

“oh...” he mumbled, “good...”

“sooooo...” you changed the subject awkwardly, “any plans on how to fix this?”

“I was thinking we’ll start by trying everything we can think of, and work from there,” he offered.

“good plan,” you decided.  “maybe.... maybe, uh... we have to... go... somewhere?  or do something?”

“go somewhere and do something?” steve repeated incredulously. “you’re a real genius.”

“don’t make that face at me, you’re gonna give me frown lines,” you sneered.  “I can’t help it, okay?  I can’t think!  I’m distracted!”

“by what?”

“by... by stuff!” you defended, scratching the back of your neck-- it was your nervous habit, rendered entirely different by his short hair.

steve sighed, your chest rising and falling with his breath.  “it’s hard, isn’t it?”

“well, yeah, switching bodies is hard--”

“no.  it’s hard... isn’t it?”

your eyes went a little wide.  “ohhh. uh, yeah, it is.”

“god, I’m sorry,” he groaned, hiding your face in your hands, “it does that a lot.”

“how do you do anything?” you squawked.  “it’s like all I can think about is... is how bad I just need to be in something, something... warm!”

“welcome to my world,” he shrugged.

“you have to let me...” you began, but stopped yourself.  “no, no, we-- no.”

“what is it?” he asked.

“you have to let me fuck you.  me.  you have to let... you fuck me...?”

“won’t that be, you know... scarring?” 

you nodded.  “but I’m not sure we have a choice, please just-- just let me-- I know I want it.  I mean, I know my body wants it.  didn’t you say I’m wet?  I’m probably drenched by now, huh?”

he stammered a bit before answering. “um... I think so...”

“it feels warm, right?  warm and sensitive and like you need to be filled with something?”

“...kinda...” he replied hesitantly.

“please,” you groaned, “don’t tell me I’m the only one that’s ever thought about it.”

“no,” he answered, quicker than ever, “no, you aren’t.  you’re... you’re sure it’s okay?”

“I’ve wanted you for so long,” you finally admitted, “not like this, but I’ll take what I can get--”

“fuck it,” he mumbled before pulling you into a heated kiss, and with your eyes closed you couldn’t really tell the difference of who was who anymore, you just knew that it was him touching you and you didn’t really care that his hands were smaller and that his lips were softer.

you undressed each other at lightning speed, and there was a hand on your cock-- clearly he was pulling from his own experience with his own cock, because wow, he knew exactly how to touch it to make you gasp and whimper.

“you can look,” he offered to you when he pulled back from the kiss, “I know I did.”

“did you like what you saw?” you asked hesitantly.

“better than I ever imagined,” he grinned.  “I even put a finger inside you.  I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’m gonna fit.”

“neither am I,” you sighed as you looked down at the thick member your own slender hand was wrapped around.  “fuck, steve... it’ll probably hurt you.”

“let’s just hope we can fix this tonight and you get to be sore tomorrow, not me,” he chuckled a little.

“k-keep stroking it, please,” you sighed, “I’m already-- I think I’m close.  I can’t really tell...”

“you should be able to feel it here,” he explained as he slipped his touch lower to cup your balls--

“oh,” you breathed, “this is... new...”

“oh please, it’s nothing compared to a clit,” he laughed, “that thing is sensitive.”

you realized that steve was taking much better advantage of this than you were-- while you had his body at your disposal, you needed to test out the superhuman strength.  it took you almost nothing to lift your own weight onto the desk, grinning as you saw him gasp at the show of strength.

“been a while since somebody lifted you?” you asked him with a smirk.  he didn’t reply, just spread his-- your-- legs and let you grind against him, just the warmth of a body enough for now even if you weren’t inside of it.  you kissed him again as you pulled him closer, thrusting to let that poor, sensitive cock slide over the delicate skin beneath you.

“well, well, well,” a voice echoed from the doorway.  you sat up and spun around to find Bucky, leaning around the wall with crossed arms and a satisfied smirk.  “it was just a matter of time before you two got together-- we all knew it.  no wonder you ran off so fast, babygirl... you had another engagement to attend to.”

“Buck, hold on--” Steve began.

“Bucky, this is not what it looks like,” you interrupted.

“then what is it?” Bucky asked with faux innocence.

you and Steve looked at each other, neither of you sure exactly how to answer that.  “it’s complicated,” you answered in unison.

“don’t worry about me, I’m not jealous,” he explained.  “we never said we were exclusive, no hard feelings,” he addressed Steve-- but he was talking to you.  well, he was trying to talk to you, but he didn’t know he was looking at Steve.  well, he was looking at you, but just your body-- oh fuck it, even you couldn’t make sense of it. “but Steve?” he chuckled. “he doesn’t even know what he’s doing.  he can’t make you feel as good as I can, I know it.”

he was like a blur as he pounced on you-- your body, at least, but it was Steve that was arching his back and moaning as Bucky licked and sucked at your neck, slipped his metal hand into your shorts and apparently found your most sensitive spots instantly.  Steve was already bucking up into his touch, your own moans echoing over the walls even if you weren’t the one making them.

“B-Buck, wait,” Steve protested, but he was too weak now to push him off, and too far gone into the pleasure to want to.

“feels good, hm?” Bucky purred, throwing a stray glance at you.  “are you jealous?” he asked you tauntingly.

“yes,” you admitted.

“jealous cause you know how good it feels when I make you come like this?” he pressed, and you froze.  

“do... do I?” you asked Steve anxiously.

“don’t look at him, look at me,” Bucky corrected firmly.  him? you wondered, but before you could ask, he answered your question, turning to address Steve pinned under him.  “I know it’s you, Steve.”

“what?!” you both gaped.

“she would never call me ‘pal’ like you did earlier,” Buck explained, “and she would never say no to me like you also did earlier.”

“hey!” you protested.

“and you,” he laughed, “I’d know that deer-in-the-headlights look anywhere, even on a different face.”

as embarrassing as this whole situation was, it was sort of nice to have someone else acknowledge it.  it made you feel less crazy.

“I can’t keep track of this conversation while there are fingers inside of me,” Steve shivered.

“it’s weird, isn’t it?” you smiled at him.  “good weird.”

“very good, very weird,” he agreed, breathing heavier as Bucky’s arm flexed from pumping his hand back and forth.

“she usually comes in just a few minutes from this,” Bucky explained to Steve, making you feel oddly exposed-- and not just because you knew they could both see the achingly-hard cock threatening to burst from the hastily-zipped pants.  “I know it’s you in there, but it’s still her body... so it should still be the same, right?”

“I-I’m close,” Steve replied, making Bucky laugh.

“oh, you’re even faster, damn.  go ahead and come for me-- don’t you wanna hear how she sounds when she comes?”

“yes.”

“don’t you wanna see that pussy cream all over my fingers?” 

“yes.”

“then beg me not to stop,” Bucky demanded, and instinct took over.

“please don’t stop,” you found yourself saying before Steve could answer, making them both turn to you.

“I’ve got you so well-trained,” Bucky grinned before looking back down at Steve beneath him.  “just like that, doll,” he repeated his instruction.

“don’t call me ‘doll,’” Steve barely managed to protest between loud moans.

“okay,” Bucky relented, “beg for me just like that, Stevie.”

“please!” Steve shouted instantly.  “please... please don’t stop.”

“one more time?”

“damn it, Buck, don’t stop!” he sobbed, and you wondered if you always looked like that when you came or if it was Steve’s expression painted on your own features.  Bucky, as always, wasn’t content with just one, and Steve’s eyes shot wide open as he realized that this could just keep going, over and over.  

“you’re-- you’re really not gonna stop,” Steve gasped.

“he’s mean like that,” you explained with a little smirk.  you were looking forward to getting back in your own body just for the multiple orgasms alone.

“how’s it feel, Stevie?” Bucky asked proudly.

“s-so good,” he answered dutifully, “so good it almost hurts.  fuck it hurts... but I want more, I wanna come again.”

“mm, so greedy,” Bucky praised.  “just one more, then we need to give our lonely friend some love... I bet she’s ready to make a mess in your pants just from watching me finger you--” he turned to you suddenly-- “isn’t that right?”

“yes,” you answered quickly.  “p-please, Bucky, I feel so... I need you.”

“I know, babygirl, it won’t be much longer,” he promised, “I can feel your cunt clenching on me already-- come on over here and feel for yourself.”

you hesitantly stepped closer, hissing a little as Bucky’s free hand grabbed your wrist and pulled your hand closer.  “see?  just put your finger in beside mine, I want you to know how tight you get when I make you come.”

you took a shaky breath but did as he asked, hearing Steve’s gasp as you inserted his thick finger into your slickened channel.  it definitely felt different than when you put your own fingers in yourself-- for him and for you.  it was different to feel your pussy around your finger when you couldn’t feel the finger in your pussy... if that made any sense.

“three’s too many,” Steve complained.

“and yet, here we are,” Bucky winked.

“I can’t,” Steve clarified, “it’s too big.”

“aw, she always says that but then she changes her mind... you will too,” Bucky decided.  “now just move like this,” he explained to you as you started to move with him, feeling the way your body responded instantly.  it built up so fast as you tried to keep up with Bucky’s pace, watching Steve cry out at the same time as your walls tightened around the assortment of fingers-- Steve and Bucky’s, flesh and metal-- inside you.

“you’re close,” Bucky informed both of you.  “feel the way that pretty pussy is getting so wet, holding on so tight?”

“y-yes,” you shivered, trying your best to ignore the pangs of need coursing through the cock you still struggled to acknowledge as your own.

“go ahead and come, Stevie,” Bucky encouraged, and that was all it took; Steve cried out as your whole body spasmed-- not just your body, but the body you were in.  You were coming, much to your dismay, without even being touched, ropes of hot come creating a wet patch on Steve’s uniform, and you couldn’t bit back the groans of pleasure as your gut flexed with each wave of the orgasm.

“oh, now look at that,” Bucky purred as he looked back and forth between Steve and yourself.  “you two both made a mess.”

“aw damn it, my uniform!” Steve protested as he looked at you.

“I think you need to help our girl clean up that mess,” Bucky cooed as Steve shot him a look.  “it’s been too long since you got your dick sucked... and I’ve always felt it’s your responsibility to solve your own problems.”

“I... I don’t know how,” Steve protested.

“I’ll show you,” Bucky promised as he guided Steve to kneel in front of you, helping you push down your trousers.  “just lick up some of that come first, nice and slow.”

you gasped the second you felt a warm tongue against your skin, your hands reaching out and finding a comfortable place to grip on your own hair-- and Steve moaned when you pulled on it.

“you like the taste of your own come, Stevie?” Bucky purred. “now put it in your mouth-- just the head, you might not be able to fit much else.  suck on it like a popsicle.”

you bit back a moan that wouldn’t been embarrassingly loud when you felt a warm, slick mouth wrap around where you were now much too sensitive.  

“look down, babygirl,” Bucky whispered to you.

“I-- I can’t,” you denied, “I can’t look.”

“but you look so pretty when you suck cock, doll, haven’t I told you a million times?”

you sighed but obeyed, opening your eyes and looking down at Steve looking up at you, but with your eyes, and with your lips stretch around his thick shaft.  “I... I do look pretty,” you agreed nervously.

“did you always wonder what Steve looks like when he’s getting his cock sucked?” Bucky asked you as he knelt down beside your body where Steve was using it for the moment.  “The answer is... very confused.”

“that might be unique to this situation,” Steve explained as he pulled away from you.

“keep sucking, whore, I didn’t say you could stop.”

that language made you both moan softly, but Steve obeyed.

“oh, we are going to have so much fun,” Bucky chuckled excitedly, and you already knew that you were in for a very long night.