#LED direct wire

[cyberpunk-r-j]

And so it begins...

[genyawritesshizz]

Promotion - Sentinel Prime X Reader

Spending your days endlessly mining energon you yearned to one day be promoted. To finally free yourself from the frame aching work of the mines. Yet when you catch the optics of the Sentinel Prime, that promotion may come at a terrible cost, maybe you should have read the fine print.

Tbh it’s very little plot mostly just smut.

18+ ONLY

IVE NEVER WRITTEN FOR TRANSFORMERS NOR HAVE I READ MUCH FIC OF IT BUT I TRIED TO GET THE TERMS RIGHT BUT YA KNOW, ITS A LOT.

Possible part 2, we’ll see how this does.

WARNING: Dubious consent, emotional manipulation, Power Imbalance, (TBH Sentinel is a walking red flag), Sexual Coercion, Size kink, SMUT, Cybertronian reader,

This is essentially just robot porn I'm sorry to all my anime followers :(

The first time Sentinel Prime had set his optics on you he knew, much to his initial disgust, he wanted you. 

A miner. 

Of all the femme’s at his disposal the one that at last managed to catch his gaze was a cogless, bottom level, miner. 

“That thing?” With a snarled lip and multiple sets of trailing skeptical eyes, Airachnid's own revulsion was evident. Far down below the balcony on which they stood, walking the bustling city streets you at last returned to his hungry gaze. 

“Unfortunately so.”

Primus, what an honor it was to be within the presence of Cybertrons protector, the bot who single handedly protected all Cybertronians from the Quintessons; Sentinel Prime. 

After being approached by Arachnid and ordered to follow her you had initially feared you had broken an unknown protocol, resulting in a demotion. Yet much to your shock within the gold columned building you had been led to he was there.

The look of pure admiration within your optics as you stared up to him in awe coupled with the now quiet whir of your internal fans as your spark raced within his mere presence fed his already raging primal desire.

Such blind naivety.

"Walk with me. I’d like to discuss something important." His tone was warm but carried a weight of authority. One you could not help but blindly follow. 

The two of you stroll through the empty corridors, arachnid standing guard just outside of its entrance.

“Tell me, have you always felt bound to the mines? Or have you ever imagined something greater for yourself?" You shift, pace faltering a smidge, taken aback by his directness. You're proud of your work as a miner but can’t deny that you’ve thought about rising above this level.

"The mines are… Well, they’re home. I have my friends down there. But I’ve always wanted to do more…to make a real difference for Cybertron." 

Sentinel nods, his optics narrowing slightly. Searing blue scanned from the top of your dull paint chipped helm to your transfixed gaze, (noting how you subconsciously averted it away from him when noticing his search), down to your chin.

A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, signaling his satisfaction in finding whatever he had hunted for. 

Vulnerability suited you well.

"I could see that. You carry yourself with a strength that is rare, even among the most seasoned warriors." 

His confident stride deviates him closer to you and he lowers his voice just a touch. 

"Cybertron needs warriors with your spirit. And not just in the mines. In places where real change can be forged." 

His words spark something in you. Your gaze sharpened, instantly locking with his, the once thick humility gives way to a flicker of pride. 

‘Is he going to promote me?’ You hopefully thought. You had been working your frame down to the wire for the last few rotations in hopes of this.

Sentinel picks up the change in demeanor immediately. Before continuing his sweet talk, he comes to a complete stop and turns towards you.

His frame is significantly larger than yours, as to be expected when comparing a cogless to a Prime.

Though, the way he truly towered over you left you feeling far weaker than usual as he had to bend down significantly to reach optic level with you.

"Too often, talents like yours go overlooked down there. Others might not see it, but I do. Imagine if you were to rise up, to stand among those who shape Cybertron’s future. Those who ensure our planet’s place as the greatest in the galaxy." With each passing word he had leaned closer, faceplate now mere centimeters from yours.

Your spark fluttered. 

His venting flowed deliciously warm against your intake.

Proximity feedback signals fired on high and energon lines pumped furiously fast. 

Yet despite your system's shock at his actions, you could not look nor move away.

“You really think… I could be that?”

A set of servos planted themself around your lower chassis, their span long enough to completely wrap around you. 

Your servers struggled to process exactly what was happening, focusing solely on the swirling lights of blue that threatened to swallow you whole.

“I know you can.”

The digits ensnaring your waist tightened, pulling you flush against his wide frame. 

His helm delved lower, denta lightly nipping at the sensitive wires between the spaces of your minimal plating. 

The second you beeped in surprise then melted into his embrace, helm craning to the side allowing him further access, he knew once again. 

You were not going anywhere. 

But then again, why would you want to?

When your protector was so kind enough to show you, a nobody, such special affection. 

Never had you anticipated that you would ever find yourself within a Primes personal suite yet here you were. Sprawled out atop a luxurious berth, hidden away from the rest of Iacon city, with desires you had never even thought to dream of coming true.

Your gracious leader's frame was reduced to a hunched, yet still ever imposing, form as he kneels between your legs. Your modesty paneling had long since been retracted, revealing your array to his hungry gaze, and allowing you to relish in all the new sensations your Prime was bestowing upon you.

No, in all your cycles you had never found the desire to fragbond with someone. Yet now as Sentinel Prime’s silver glossa ravenously glides through the throbbing mesh of your valve and mouthpiece occasionally latching onto your external node you cannot believe your hesitancy for such pleasures. 

To think you had gone for so long without.

Not to worry, never again shall you ever have to suffer such a fate.

It is extremely out of character for Sentinel to give his partner's pleasure this way or in any way/to care about it. 

Normally he wastes no time in pleasuring others, he was a busy man after all. Instead focusing solely on his own release within others bodies then disposing of them.

But something about having you pinned beneath one of his arms, the other easily reaching over your head to hold your wrists down, the way you cried out for him, your Prime, and to be completely at his mercy…It has his spike twitching beneath his own paneling.

Savagely he feasts upon your now swollen valve, thick glossa entering your spasming opening, nose buried atop your external node.

“M-my, oh Primus! - My Prime I-” You were completely unfamiliar with the feeling boiling inside you, it felt as though a coil was winding. Each intrusion of his glossa only pulled it tighter.

“That’s right, say my name.” A smug smirk tugged itself into the corners of his faceplate before he delved back where you so desperately wanted him. 

You looked and sounded both pathetic and desperate.

He loved it.

“Sentinel!”

Overloading into the mouth of said mech was absolutely euphoric.

Though despite your high, he was left utterly displeased to hear you leave off the Prime in your cry.

He had earned that title.

It was his name.

You would learn the error of your mistake soon.

He did not ask permission to continue. 

Standing up from his crouched position, the grip that once held you down now flipped you onto your chest plate and dragged you towards the edge of his berth, allowing your legs to dangle off the edge.

Even on the tips your pedes you would still not touch the golden floor beneath.

Positioning your aft up into an arch he at last retracted his paneling, allowing his spike to spring free. 

Central processor still short circuiting under the throws of overloading, you did not even notice the shift in position.

Once your intake had returned to normal your mind followed suit, catching up to the reality of what was happening.

Yet it was too late to protest as something sickeningly thick prodded at your valve's still quivering entrance.

It felt like far too much.

Trying to squirm away from it you're met with a dark chuckle and thick digits atop your shoulder, easily pulling you back down into position.

“Where do you think you're going? We're just getting started sweetspark”

The moment the head of his spike entered, you felt an immediate sense of dread wash over and a cold shiver through your struts. 

“Too big...” Your vocalizer had barely returned, causing the whine to sound utterly pitiful, drowned in static and served only to feed Sentinel's ego.

“Hm? What's that?” Leaning over your form, faceplate centimeters away from your audio receptors, steam rolled with his words; fogging over the heaving metal of your shoulder plates.

“Frag…You-You’re too big.”

“Oh, do you want me to stop?” His tone was high in pitch and laced with manipulation. “You wouldn’t want to disappoint your Prime now would you?” 

A strangled whimper and a shake of your head ‘no’ gave little confirmation to his taunt in ‘permitting’ him to keep going, not that he cared whichever direction your response led. 

Even if you wanted to stop, you had no power to break away from him.

A deep, dominating, chuckle bubbled within his chest plate. “I thought not. You’re serving me, a great honor really.”

It felt like being pried open, the way his spike speared into your clamping valve was utterly painful. 

Despite your cries you attempted to stay still as the gold winged Prime behind you continued to push further. 

Each half centimeter only served to strengthen the burn.

Halfway in you had closed your optics, denta plates gritted tightly shut. 

“Take it all, I know you can.”

The same four words that once filled you with hope now filled you with burning heat.

You will take what he is so graciously giving you. 

Finally, after what felt like eternity, his entire spike was successfully sheathed inside. 

Though this was just the beginning.

“So tight,” Your body was clamped around the intruder in a vise grip. Desperately begging for it to be removed. “So small.”

His pace was brutally fast. The servos on your shoulder and hip kept you from escaping or sliding too far away from his attack. 

Surprisingly, after a few klicks, the tight inner calipers of your valve slowly loosened. His spike, now slathered in a combination of fluids, began sliding without much resistance. 

At last, a few surges of pleasure coursed through your system. 

Soon both of you were grunting, occasionally moaning. Though your sounds far outnumbered his. 

Your servos clenched into the smooth bedding atop his berth, surely tearing the fabric though in this moment neither of you cared. However it was something he would be sure to punish you for later. 

“You're mine, little miner.” His hips pistoned faster, slamming against your aft, surely to leave you sore. “All Mine.”

In response all you could do was hold on tighter, moaning louder with each intense slam.

“I’ll. never. let. you. go.” Each word sent another wicked surge into your swollen valve.

Blind sighted by the throes of pleasure bordering on overstimulation his words simply did not translate in your faltering audio receptors.

Though he meant every bit of it.

Helm falling back and a loud moan echoing throughout the gold-plated room, his overload blazed hot through his system. Filling your already stuffed valve to the brim with his transfluid.

Fans whirling on high, neither of you moved from your conjoined position for a few klicks.

After he's regained his senses fully, he removes himself from your valve, being sure to marvel at his work of completely ruining your once virgin body with a devilish smirk. Admiring the way his bright blue transfluid seeped from your still clenching valve.

Though this will be far from the last time he sees you like this.

With wobbling arms, you attempted to rise, though as you began to lift yourself up a large servos pushed you back down.

"We're not done."

True to his word, you had earned a promotion.

Fitted with only the finest armor paneling and a fresh coat of paint you had earned yourself the pristine position of his pet.  

A position you held with utmost dignity, after all you were serving your Prime.

[beuxwhoyouare]

Raised You Better

My son Jasper was a good kid. He was a star soccer player in school and got a scholarship to play in college, so I only saw him on holidays. I missed him so much and looked forward to our quarterly reunions.

Well that was until his most recent visit. He was being so distant and when I finally inquired why he was acting differently, he finally admitted he actually dropped out to pursue being a personal trainer.

I was shocked. He's always been a model child and did all me and my husband expected of him. Maybe it was all our time away working? Maybe I should've been home more instead of being at the lab. It felt like a punch in the gut. I mean sure he knew what he was doing thanks to all his time training for soccer but that's not a way to build a life?

My husband and I did it right. We met in college and supported each other through our advanced degrees and worked our way up in an international pharmaceutical company. Personal training is just so...surface level. He's supposed to be better than us. That's what you want for your children. No no no this is no good. I'll have to set him on the right path.

I knew of a special program at work that was rooted in natural medicine and meditation with a mad science twist. I set up Jasper with the "Sports Nutrition" department at work but it was actually our new experiment. It looked like a TENS muscle stimulator on crack. Several wires shot out of a relatively large dark grey box with a screen and several sliders on one side. I sat connected on the other side of the wall connected with the pads all over the top of my head. All I had to do was wait for Jasper to get hooked up. We sold it to him as a scientific way to curb cravings for sweets and unhealthy things, like an ozempic shot for the brain. In reality, I was told that the machine would take positive attributes from one source and strengthen them in the weaker mind.

I saw the lights flicker and anticipated that he had already been hooked up to the machine. I just laid back and rested while focusing on the importance of getting a quality education. Eventually, I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes again it was all so groggy. But I was sitting facing the opposite direction. I lifted my arms to wipe my eyes and gasped when I looked down. My boobs were gone and replaced with sizable mounds of muscle escaping a tiny white tank top. My arms and thick thighs now filled with tattoos....no?! This isn't supposed to be how it works

I told the lab techs who I am and that I was actually Meredith. They both looked at each other spooked but judiciously jotting down notes. After answering a few security questions, they agreed to believe that I was indeed not Jasper and it must be an unforseen side effect from the treatment.

That's when they explained the problem....When my body woke up, it also said it was Meredith. Could the experiment have basically overwritten the memory of my son with my own? I felt like I basically killed my own child. Grief swept over me. But then so did a bravado, a confidence, a giddiness? The two lab techs handed me a towel as they shyly avoided looking down at a tent forming in my shorts. Oh I guess the excitement led to a physical response.

In theory I get it as a scientist. I did in fact instill positive traits on my son. Granted, that also erased him seemingly. But also it's a chance at a new life full of new experiences. I'm a man now. And what a man indeed. I walked into the shower facility at the lab. I took off the outfit Jasper donned to the lab, if I was still a woman it'd be called skimpy and slutty. Tiny shorts with underwear built in and a virtually see through tank top. In two swift moves, I had taken everything off. I had seen my son naked as a child but this is different. He looked so much like his father....well I guess I looked so much like MY dad now. His genetics graced me well as I placed one hand on my pecs and another on my new dick. I squeezed both recoiling from the newfound pleasure. This was wrong right? Like I shouldn't be doing this....I felt disgusted with myself. No. This is for the betterment of Jasper's life. I'm going to let go of my past life....I'm Jasper now.

And what a life it will be. Years of playing sport and training, whew. I wasn't going to let him throw it away, I'll let it be a side job, maybe I'll own a business with a bunch of trainers under me but I won't be hustling like that. Not yet. I gotta learn the new me. I used my hands to trace the curves of each new tattoo, then moved on to each muscle. I poked and prodded before squeezing, then I remembered I had business to attend to. I took one hand and gently took hold of the warm fleshy rod under the steamy water pulsing down onto me. I pumped back and forth for a few minutes. Jasper was not sensitive at all...I shoved aside my reservations and gripped myself firmer and began jerking harder and faster. Eventually I introduced my other hand....oh he was girthy in the best way. I mean I am thick in the best ways. Harder and faster, it felt like I was floating outside of myself as my muscles took over almost like autopilot.

The steam radiated off my new musculature when it felt like I saw a flash of light. Shot after shot came out of my new rod. The lab walls had likely never seen a show like this but I was happy to christen them. The autopilot kinky thoughts continued to take over my new mind and body. I squatted down an licked the nearest wall as my cum dripped down. I knew Jasper was queer but I didn't know how he would respond to this kind of kink. I think he was a little freak because there was not one single butterfly in my stomach from this action. I quickly toweled off and headed to my apartment. I figured "Meredith" could find her way home.

The apartment smelled like a young male in college. A musk twirled around sweat and strong cologne. Foreign to me, but familiar to my new body. I couldn't control myself and ripped my clothes off...literally. My strength made it obscenely easy to tear them off in ways they weren't intended to. I wanted to try on all my new clothes. This body made everything look good.

My phone buzzed. It was one of "my" bros asking if I was coming down to the shoot. I played it off like I forgot and asked him to send me the "deets" again.

I threw on the nearest random shirt and bottoms and made my way to the warehouse address given. I guess "I" had agreed to help with the photoshoot to launch "our" new clothing line. A nearby table had Jasper's name on it and I quickly assumed the position taking off all my clothes and putting the skimpy clothing on. I channeled my new swagger as my bros began taking pics.

Oh I think I'm gonna like this. Hopefully I can find a cute twink or something soon. I really wanna put these thighs to work plowing someone's son or two.

[autball]

No one wants to be lied to. When it comes from another adult, you feel betrayed. When it comes from your kids, you feel that PLUS a responsibility to make it stop ASAP, before it becomes a “thing” that reflects badly on you as a parent. 

But a lot of people are going about doing that all wrong. Lying is actually a normal developmental milestone that starts when kids realize they can know things that other people don’t. Lying is also often a stress response, meaning it’s a symptom of another problem and can even happen involuntarily.

BUT ALSO, some people, and Autistic and ADHD folks in particular, are being accused of lying when that’s not even what’s happening.

Neurodivergent people perceive the world differently. Y’know, because we’re literally wired differently. But I see people assuming their ND kids and partners are lying *all the time* instead of considering the possibility that our different wirings simply led to different perceptions.

Lying is when the person knows that what they're saying is not the truth. If a person truly believes that what they're saying, that their *own perception of the world,* is the truth, that's not really lying, is it?

And it’s not that Autistics and ADHDers are incapable of lying, of course, or that nothing should be done about it if lying truly does become a problem. You’re gonna wanna be sure that’s what you’re dealing with before you try to do anything about it, though.

You’re also gonna need to understand that it’s about more than “moral failing” and “bad character” if you don’t want to make it worse. Because what do you think is gonna happen when you heap a bunch of stress in the form of shame and punishment onto a person who is already struggling with lying as a stress behavior??

And so I present this list of possibilities to consider when your person’s version of events isn’t lining up with yours (or their teacher’s, or their sibling’s, or whomever else it may be).

Related note: If “inconsistencies in reporting” are coming from school, please keep in mind that teachers often don’t see everything that happened to your child with their own eyes (because their attention is pulled in many directions), and that bullies who will rile your kid up on purpose and then lie about what happened are an unfortunate reality for many ND kids. In other words, please don’t assume that your child is the one who has it wrong when their version of events differs from others’ without also considering the reliability/motivations of the other witnesses.

[lostatsea-blog]

Bringing Home the Gold (Part 4)

Alexia Putellas x England Reader

Will Y/N and Alexia find their happy ending?

For a brief moment time stood still. The two of you were frozen, unable to take your eyes off each other. Alexia looked tired and was dressed in her Spain tracksuit with a cap; your heart ached at how utterly beautiful she looked even when dressed so casually. Realising that you had frozen at the top of the stairs just staring at her, you took a step forward and Alexia saw that as her cue to stand. As you took in her appearance, you were drawn to how nervous she looked. She was finding it difficult to keep eye contact, her gaze drifting down to the carpet at her feet. Your heart clenched causing your stomach to roll while your mind filled with a million different reasons why she looked so nervous – none of the reasons your mind conjured were good.  

“Why are you here?” the words were out of your mouth before you could stop them and you frowned at how harsh you sounded. You opened your mouth again, fully intending to correct the tone you had just used, but your mouth was now in control and taking absolutely no direction from you “Your supposed to be in Ibiza enjoying your holiday with Jenni” You knew it was a low blow when you saw the hurt flash across Alexia’s face. It was only there for a second before she regained her composure.  

“No one has been able to contact you for four days and this is what you say?” Alexia challenged “You told me not now and not here and then you just disappear. Did you expect me to just not care?” her voice demanded no longer trying to hide the hurt and frustration she was feeling.

“In all honesty, I didn’t think you would care! It would mean you no longer had to pretend and you could give all of your time to Jenni” You replied. You watched the words hit the Spanish captain and could see her body recoil at the implication behind them. You knew you were being unfair, Alexia had never given you any reason to believe that she would cheat but you were hurt, you were humiliated and you wanted her to feel even a fraction of what you had been feeling.  

A door slamming on the floor above reminded you that you were stood outside your flat, which was not the best place for this conversation.

“Let’s do this inside” You sigh moving past her and opening the door. You walked in and took your coat off assuming that Aleixa was following you – it took a moment to realise that she hadn’t. She remained in a state of uncertainty at the threshold “You can come in Aleixa” you sighed

“I didn’t want to assume” she whispered and you knew, in that moment, Alexia was unsure of her place; something very new to the Spanish midfielder. She did not know how to behave in this space that was only yours or how to interact with this version of you. She followed you in and you led her into the kitchen. You observed her, without being obvious, as she took in your little flat. There were different collectables on the walls and signs of your achievements over the years. You saw the briefest of smiles as her eyes landed on your framed photo from the Euros. You busied yourself making coffee for the two of you, delaying this conversation as long as possible. When you finished making the drinks, you placed hers in front of her. She smiled softly; you had made her favourite drink just the way she liked it. It gave her a renewed sense of hope, like you were thawing a little and were open to what needed to be said.

“You didn’t go to Ibiza” you stated but she understood the question

“Did you think I would go when I had no idea where you were or what was going on” she asked

“And yet, for someone who didn’t know where I was, you seem to have had no trouble finding me” You snarked and again you wanted to kick yourself and tell yourself to shut up! What the fuck was wrong with you? She had come looking for you and somehow tracked you down and you wire sniping like a petulant child

“Y/N” she sighed heavily “Please stop! I used every contact I knew to try and find out where you might be” Your heart swelled at her admission as you understood the effort she made to find you. This had never been a test. You had not done this to see if she would try and find you (you had genuinely felt so overwhelmed you didn’t know how to function) but the fact that she had made you feel like you mattered to her. The other side of your brain wouldn’t allow you the luxury of letting down your guard, reminding you that she could have tracked your down to end your relationship in person. Alexia would not end things in a message or over the phone.

“Alexia, I don’t know what you want me to say” You respond your brashness suddenly deflating

“I hate when you say my name like that” She muttered with a quiet huff

“it is your name” You retort

“Not usually with you” and she was right. It was very rare that you used her full name, preferring to use terms of endearment or just a shortened Lex.

You genuinely wanted to scream. There was no one in the world who could get you as agitated and wound up as Alexia Putellas. The painful irony being that she was also the only person who could calm you down and alleviate the pain you had been feeling the last four days. Your snark came from fear. If you could give her a reason to end the relationship, then it wouldn’t have been about Jenni; It wouldn’t have been that you were second best or just not good enough. You were about to open your mouth to ask her to just get on with it, so you could begin the process of getting over her when she muttered “I’m sorry”

You blinked rapidly trying to process those two small words. Two words that could mean anything. I’m sorry I can’t do this, I’m sorry it’s not worth it, I’m sorry you’re not who I want. She must have seen the confusion and apprehension on your face because she continued “I’m sorry for hurting you the way that I did! My actions, I did not realise at the time what they implied or how it would look to you”

“Look,” you began “I know you and Jenni have history..”

“Don’t excuse what I did” She interrupts “You do that often, allow me to behave selfishly and excuse my actions”

“Lex,” You begin and watch how she swallows at the use of her pet name “I just want you to be happy – what ever that looks like” you step forward and take hold of her hand. You had always found it hard to stay mad at Alexia and when you thought about it, it was probably why you had turned off your phone. What you felt for the blond ran so deep that all it would have taken was a conversation and you needed to be mad at her for a little while.

“My happy is you” she leaned forward and brushed her nose with yours sending shivers down your spine. From the very first night you kissed her, she had the ability to take your breath away with barely a touch. Feeling bolder, she caught your lips in a soft kiss “You are more important than any history or any team. Jenni is my past but you are my forever” her hand reached up and swiped at tears you did not even realise were falling “I would never betray you Y/N, I swear. With everything that has been happening inside the team, In my mind I was showing support and solidarity; Alba helped me realise the implications behind the actions.”

Unable to maintain the distance any longer you surged forward cashing your lips together in a desperate kiss that longed to forget the hurt of the past few days. As you broke apart, you pulled her into your arms, something you had wanted to do since the end of the final. Her arms slipped further around your middle and you felt her grip on the back of your shirt tighten as she held you in a desperate grip afraid that you would pull away.  

“I am so proud of you” you whispered the words you had longer to say before the medal ceremony; the words she had said to you as you spotted the shirt “You are a World Cup Winner and I am so immensely proud of you Lex – Your brought home gold!”

You knew that there was much more to talk about. You knew you would have to tell her about your fears and insecurities but that could wait. The situation with the Spanish National Team was complicated and while you desperately wished you could protect Alexia from all the shit, it was not your fight; it was hers. Your job was to stand by her side while she showed the world just how incredible she truly was; while she made history and while she took strides to improve the game for the girls who would come after her.  

@wosof1

[lyn31]

Ngl, this spring event IS SO SO CUTE, BREATHTAKING, and hilarious at the same time 😭 I didn't expect to see Zayne and his med student interaction lol. So I was wondering, how about Zayne's Student being a big fan of MC? Like- he is jealous of his student, but at the same time, he has to maintain his professionalism lmao

So trueee! Now I think I write it much subtle then what Zayne did on his card, I suppose the event is also quite like that but anyway! Hope you still enjoy it! And I fast forward the timeline LOL

Let me know what you think! 👀💕

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

Prof. Zayne

Summary

You sneak into your husband’s med school lecture in disguise, only to get recognized mid-class—sparking chaos, fan frenzy, and shameless flirting from the professor himself.

Ao3 link

My Masterlist ✨

Notes

Pairing: Zayne x MC/Reader Married couple, famous spouse, silly, banter and just cuteness!

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

You sit in the very back row of the lecture hall—hair in a tight bun, hoodie slouched around your shoulders, oversized glasses, surgical mask tugged high. You technically don’t belong here. Not as a student, anyway. Just as an extremely nosy spouse.

But to anyone else, you just look like an overworked med student trying to survive the day. Which is exactly the goal.

You even brought a notebook. It's blank, but it's there for the aesthetic.

He walks in precisely on time. Not a second early, not a second late. White coat crisp, hair immaculately styled, tablet in hand, posture straight. Your heart flutters stupidly in your chest like you didn’t just see him this morning. Like you didn’t kiss him before he left and tell him "good luck" with that soft smugness only a freshly married woman can manage.

The students fall quiet the moment he steps onto the platform. It’s not fear. It’s something quieter—respect, focus, that particular stillness Zayne carries with him into every room. He doesn’t raise his voice, doesn’t need to. He speaks evenly, gestures only when necessary, and every word lands sharp.

You’re only mildly obsessed.

And then, halfway through a breakdown of a complex cardiac case, his gaze sweeps over the hall—and catches on you.

It’s just a second. Maybe less. But it hits like a spotlight.

You panic.

Eyes shoot down to your blank notebook. You start pretending to write—anything important. Anything at all.

You end up doodling his face instead and snicker at it.

He says nothing. Keeps talking. Doesn’t miss a beat.

But you know he knows.

When the lecture ends, students begin packing up, some already crowding the front to ask follow-up questions. You slip out of your seat and make a calculated dash toward the exit, head down, steps quiet—

“Mrs. Li.”

The name echoes strangely in the academic silence.

You freeze.

You turn, slowly, like you’re in a crime drama and the detective just called you out by name. And sure enough—Zayne stands at the front, tablet in one hand, brow slightly raised. His voice is calm. Polite. But now he looks like he’s questioning every life choice that led to this moment.

You tug your mask down and give a small, sheepish wave. “Hi.”

There’s a beat of silence. Then someone near the front squints. “Wait… Mrs. Li?”

Another student leans forward. “No way—that’s the Hunter from last year, right?”

“Miss Hunter Rookie of the Year?!”

And that’s it.

Suddenly you’re surrounded—students spilling from their seats, phones out, energy sparking like someone dropped a live wire in the middle of the lecture hall. Questions fly from every direction.

“Wait—weren’t your squad the one who led the flank in Sector 10?”

“You trained with your twin sister, right? What’s it like being on the same squad?”

“Can I get a photo—?”

Zayne appears at your side within seconds.

He stays silent. Just... stands there. A guardian statue in a white coat and stethoscope. You can feel the heat of his presence, cool and steady beside you, but his face is unreadable.

One student glances nervously between the two of you. “Uh—Doctor Zayne, is it okay if we...?”

Zayne blinks. Just once.

Then he says. “She’s off duty.”

You elbow him lightly. “It’s fine.”

More flashes. More excited murmurs. One student’s already sending a picture to their group chat, captioned I thought she was a myth.

You answer what you can, deflect what you can’t. Zayne remains next to you the entire time, hands in his coat pockets, eyes scanning the students like he’s still in professor mode—but now with the added burden of everyone realizing he’s married to a Hunter squad celebrity.

At one point, a student nudges their friend and whispers, “Okay but, like... how did he pull her?”

Zayne tilts his head ever so slightly. His lips curve in the way that you only notice.

You hear the whisper.

He definitely hears it too.

But he says nothing.

Eventually, the crowd thins. Students disperse, still chattering excitedly, still glancing back like they might’ve imagined the whole thing.

You even catch someone whisper, “I still remember when Dr. Zayne brought those magazines to Akso last year. They were so cute.”

One student waves as they head out. “Bye, Doctor Zayne and Miss Hunter!”

Once the doors close behind the last one, Zayne finally exhales.

You glance up at him. “You okay?”

He nods. “I just didn’t expect my lecture to turn into a press conference.”

You grin. “In my defense, you know you married a menace.”

His eyes flick down to you, quiet and fond. “Next time, let me know before you disguise yourself and infiltrate my lecture.”

“No fun in that. Besides, it’s not like you do lectures often.”

He hums, low in his throat. “Remind me not to let you anywhere near the residency interviews.”

You slip your hand into his. “But I’d make a great mole.”

He shakes his head. But he doesn’t let go.

In fact, he gives your hand the smallest tug. You take the cue, stepping closer until your shoulders touch.

“You left this.”

You blink as he lifts your notebook from under his arm—your fake aesthetic prop, the one you abandoned in your rush to escape.

He flips it open with clinical precision.

“You took... exactly zero notes.”

You groan. “Don’t judge me. I was emotionally compromised.”

He turns the page. Raises a brow.

“Is that supposed to be me?”

You snatch it from him. “It’s artistic interpretation.”

“Mm.” He doesn’t argue. But you catch the barest twitch of amusement—just a little.

“I see you gave me sparkles. And hearts. And very dramatic eyelashes.”

You’re burying your face in his shoulder at this point. “You were doing so well at being dignified.”

He leans in just enough for you to feel his breath near your ear. “I would’ve preferred a seat beside you. Even if it meant enduring the sparkles in real time.”

“Ohhh, is Prof. Zayne flirting with his student?”

He lifts an eyebrow, gaze cool and dry. “I’m flirting with my wife. Not my student. Unless my student is you... then I suppose I’m doing both.”

You gasp, scandalized. “Doctor Zayne!” You tilt your head up, eyes narrowing. “So the professional mask drops the second no one’s here?”

“Only for you.”

You blink, momentarily thrown. Your heart stutters—because damn, he’s good at this. You try to play it cool, but the corners of your mouth betray you with a slow, rising smile.

He watches you—his gaze softens, something warm and teasing flickering and you can almost feel the moment he shifts gears.

He straightens slightly, expression unreadable. “Though now that I think about it...” A beat. “Should I report you for academic misconduct?”

Your mouth falls open. “Excuse me?!”

“You impersonated a student. Sat through a full lecture without registering. Brought no notes. Left behind compromising sketches of the lecturer.” A pause. “I believe that qualifies as a violation of protocol.”

You groan, dragging your hands down your face. “I’m going to sue.”

“For what?”

“Emotional damage.”

He leans in like he might actually kiss you right there, one hand still holding yours, the other brushing lightly at your hip. Close enough to steal your breath. Close enough that you nearly let him—

B R R R R N G—!

The dismissal bell blares through the hall like a spiteful punchline.

You both freeze.

Then you laugh—sharp and loud and unexpected. Zayne exhales like he’s been personally slighted by the scheduling office.

You clutch his arm, giggling helplessly. “Your timing is awful.”

“I wasn’t the one who infiltrated a lecture in disguise.”

“But you were the one about to kiss your ‘student’ on school grounds.”

He closes his eyes, shaking his head. But doesn’t argue.

Instead, he lifts your hand and presses a kiss to your knuckles—innocent, but just barely.

“Come on, husband,” you say, tugging him toward the door, your grin still wide. “Let’s get out of here before anyone comes in and you'll ruin your image.”

He lets you lead him, his fingers laced with yours, voice low behind you. “Too late.”

You slip out into the corridor—hand in hand, heart in sync, and the possibility of Zayne’s reputation only slightly singed.

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

Notes

Too late indeed 😂 This is a short and cute one but hope y'all enjoy it still 💕 Here's the series list if you want to read more about Husband/Dad Zayne! Parenthood AU list ✨

[hrrtshape]

reality shifting, manifesting, and the great linguistic turf war

so i seem to have waltzed, with my imaginary margiela tabi ballet flats, straight into the discourse again. imagine that. i nod. i sip my drink. i light a cigarette, if only in spirit.

because, sure. manifesting and shifting aren't the same. the pope isn't the prime minister, but they both run on belief. a cheetah isn't a jaguar, but you still wouldn't want to be locked in a room with either. language is about distinctions, sure, but it's also about power, and there's a certain je ne sais quoi to the way people want to lock these definitions in a box and swallow the key.

manifesting is mindset work. you decide, you persist, you refuse to be gaslit by the stubborn 3d reality that insists on showing you what you don't want to see. you push, you sculpt, you bend the spoon until it folds itself into your palm like an obedient pet. shifting, on the other hand, is something else. something more nomadic, more quantum, more willing to entertain the notion that perhaps you are not merely bending the spoon, but stepping into a reality where the spoon was never straight to begin with.

now, why aren't they labelled the same thing? because semantics is a business, and business is booming. because people are territorial about their terminology, like real estate developers for the mind. if you tell someone that shifting and manifesting are light years apart, separate continents in the great archipelago of the mind, you are not just describing, you are prescribing. you are setting the boundaries of an intellectual real estate market in which terms are currency and definitions are fences. because if we let the edges blur, someone will invoke the sacred texts (read: old posts, outdated theories, personal dogma) and insist that historical accuracy is at stake. but this is not a matter of brick walls and barbed wire. this is not the berlin wall, it is not the parting of the red sea. the difference between shifting and manifesting is a beaded curtain, shimmering, swaying, prone to being pushed aside.

this is my opinion, obviously, but in the grand tradition of opinions, i happen to think it's correct. 

and yet!! people are told, with great severity, that “we are not shifting every second” and "shifting is moving awareness to an already existent variant of yourself." okay. sure. and yet!! is awareness not already a game of hopscotch across endless versions of self? have we not all flickered between different states of being, different potential selves, different lives we might have led? is your yesterday-self not a variant you can no longer touch? if we're splitting hairs, let's at least have the honesty to admit we're all holding the same strand, twisting it in different directions and calling it by different names.

see, that's a trick. perception is not a stable thing. you shift your focus, you shift your reality. some call that manifesting. some call that shifting. the labels matter less than the fact that it works. whether you're bending the spoon or stepping into a world where the spoon bends for you, you're still, at the end of the day, just person standing in front of reality, asking it to be something different.

so, yes. shifting and manifesting are not the same. and yet, and yet, and yet.

the divide is smaller than you think.

[davey-the-disturbed]

A dabble in Super Power Retention

Been planning my Super Hero whump story for a bit, and kept thinking about different ways to block/control different powers…

thought you weirdos might like these >:)

Someone with siren-like powers, whose source is their voice: gag them! Whenever they aren’t training or fighting for you, make them wear a mouthpiece that blocks their voice. They won’t be able to talk, but they’re a weapon, what more is there to be said?? 

Someone who can fly: WEIGH THEM DOWN. metal shoes that they have to drag around. Chains on their wrists attached to the floor or a heavy metal ball. This is one of my favs. 

Someone whose power comes from their mind (telekinesis, telepathy, mind control): DRUG THEM. Make them drowsy, their mind too foggy to understand what’s happening. Eyes half closed, stumbling as they’re led somewhere, limbs heavy and feet dragging. Whenever their eyes begin to brighten, hold the mask up to their face until they take a deeeep breath and relax once more. (or give them another shot or pill if that’s your thing) Whatever you do, don’t let them think clearly. They’re dangerous when they can.

Don’t have a lot today but any powers you wanna hear about just comment ;)

@sunglowfi asked about someone with electrical powers! i’m not very knowledgeable about this subject, but i propose: hook them back up to themselves. Wires attached to them (either surgically to their spine or topically to their skin) that direct any electrical current right back into them! If they even attempt to use their power, they’ll get a painful shock. OR, if they are immune to any type of shock as a result of their ability: A device that circles their wrists or neck or both, that tightens when it senses electricity. The panic from their first time trying to escape, having their circulation or air cut off for a moment. I wasn’t sure about this one but it’s kinda growing on me!

[feeder86]

Breaking Boundaries

“Oh wow! Look at him! He’s gorgeous!” Sam shouted over the deafteningly loud music of the club.

Craig looked over, seeing yet another short, skinny, well-groomed twenty year old dancing away with a couple of other guys. He had no butt on him whatsoever, with narrow shoulders and thin arms; not Craig’s type in the slightest. Not that he would ever say that to his housemates. As close as they all were, he wasn’t so sure that Sam and Wes were ready to hear that not everyone found these boring little twinks so compelling. And they certainly weren’t ready to know that, at twenty years old, Craig was actually still a virgin.

“He’s pretty,” Craig nodded, pretending to be in agreement. “You should go dance with him.”

“I actually think you should go and ask him yourself,” Sam shot back, prodding Craig in the side to get up. “He keeps looking over this way, right in your direction.”

Craig squirmed slightly. He had noticed the guy checking him out, but had deliberately kept it to himself so that he wasn’t forced to get up and dance with yet another person that Sam and Wes thought was hot. “I’m really not…” he protested, despite being pulled to his feet. 

“Don’t be so boring!” Wes cried, keen to get them all paired off that evening now that one of his regular fuck buddies had just entered the club and was smiling suggestively across the room at him.

“Alright, alright!” Craig relented, seeing that the boys were not going to let this go. “I’ll just get us some more drinks first,” he explained, using the tactic that usually got him out of situations such as these. Everything moved so fast in clubs like these, apart from the line of people waiting to be served.

Craig’s hypothesis was not wrong. He returned from the bar with three shots, seeing that Wes was nowhere to be seen. As was his usual habit, once Wes had found someone to hook up with, he didn’t bother with the simple courtesy of saying goodbye. Likewise, Sam was up on his feet, dancing with someone in the corner. With their table abandoned, it had been acquired by a new group of people who had just come in.

Downing one shot to save carrying them all, Craig made his way over to the dancefloor to check in with Sam. There, he was stopped by security, not allowing him to take the shots onto the dancefloor. And so, Craig stood, like a stereotypical third wheel, watching as Sam’s flirtatious dancing led to dirty grinding and the inevitable, passionate kissing. Then, out of the club the pair of them went; most likely back to the house for a night of fun. Yet again, Craig had been abandoned.

Sighing in frustration, Craig downed the two shots, one after the other. As nice as it was to find two other college students who were freshly out of the closet; moving in with them for his third year had hardly been the dream that he had pictured in his head all summer. He just wasn’t like them in so many ways. His brain was simply wired differently. The guys they chased just didn’t interest him in the slightest, and the endless quests to get laid were exhausting. Sam, who had a thing for sex in the shower, would probably be running all their hot water as soon as he got his new lover home; running up the energy bills for all of them, yet again.

Sometimes Craig felt he was ten years older than he actually was. Why did it need to be so damn noisy in here? He could feel the bass thumping through his body as the three shots and many previous drinks made his head feel light and ever so slightly dizzy. There was that skinny guy, making eyes at him again as he danced only a few feet away; there for the taking if Craig would only step forward and introduce himself as he had promised the boys he would.

But Craig was alone here now. He didn’t need to please Sam or Wes, given that the pair of them were back at home, getting down and dirty. He turned to leave the dancing area, stumbling carelessly straight into what could only be described as a wall of man; his face falling into a large chest and his body bending slightly over a large protrusive stomach; warm and comforting. 

“I’m so sorry!” he shouted, backing up to get a better look at the man he had just bumped into. 

What stood before Craig was the most handsome guy he had ever seen. Tall, stocky and marvellously overweight. He had a broad, handsome face, with a delicious double chin and large cheeks. He wore a tight, fitted and super casual short-sleeved t-shirt that hid nothing of his giant ball gut underneath it. His arms were strong, his lightly tattooed forearms bigger than any Craig had ever seen, and his hands big and plump. Unusual for this venue, the man wore relaxed sweatpants that clung to his thick thighs and groin. And, as every sense flared with arousal, Craig picked up the unmistable musky scent of what he considered to be pure masculinity.

“Careful!” the guy replied with his deep, slightly gruff voice, taking his eyes on a tour of Craig’s body in return, and nodding with approval.

The two of them finally walked by each other, with the big man crossing the dancefloor to stand at the opposite wall and watch all the guys dancing away. He looked so out of place, his shape, his clothing, his sheer size; like a straight guy who had just got off the couch after an afternoon of beers and watching football. In Craig’s head, he could just imagine the comments that would spew from his housemate’s mouths if they saw him: taking aim at his large gut, poor dress sense and overall slob-like appearance. As it was, Craig felt nothing but excitement and curiosity as the loud music battered its way into his head and the sticky heat of the club became almost uncomfortable. Deciding he needed another drink, he snuck off to the bar, returning to see the big guy standing in exactly the same spot.

Like slabs of meat on a tray, the large man was surveying all of the young twenty-somethings on the dancefloor. His eyes flicked up towards Craig, making Craig’s eyes drop to the floor in embarrassment. Then the cycle started all over again. If Sam and Wes had still been there, Criag would never have allowed himself to indulge in the fascination he felt towards this man as he continued to watch from afar. The next time their eyes met, Craig forced himself to hold it for at least a short while, feeling a buzz of pure adrenaline for each microsecond that he managed to keep holding on. Then the ritual started all over again; eyes looking across the dancefloor until they met once more. This time, Craig was emboldened, holding the guy’s gaze and feeling his arousal growing for each second that he did so. One… two… three seconds. It was all Craig could manage as his hardness awoke and stretched itself in his groin. However, now Craig could tell that the guy was still staring at him, even as his own eyes tried to avoid looking in his direction. The man’s gaze was fixed, locking onto him like prey. Then, like a giant striding across the dancefloor, Craig saw the big man heading straight for him.

“Like what you see?” the big man grinned, suddenly standing in front of Craig and seeming larger than ever.

Craig’s heart was beating too fast. Without the biggest of voices, he always struggled to make himself heard in the deafening club. What would he even say if he could? Instead, he looked around, seeing that no one else was watching them, and then allowed his head to nod very gently.

The big man stepped closer, taking Craig’s drink and putting it gently on the side. Then he came in towards him with large hands that cupped Craig’s face. Their lips touched and tongues slid into action. Craig felt himself being pushed up against the wall, with the monstrous guy seemingly inflating his giant stomach out as large as it would go to keep Craig pinned to the wall. It was, without a single doubt, the most erotic moment of Craig’s life.

Craig knew that he would never have felt comfortable getting to know a guy so big and large in the club had Wes and Sam still been there. Rick was everything he had ever secretly wanted, as the pair of them shouted down each other’s ears, trying to make conversation in the deafeningly loud club. There wasn’t long left of the evening and both of them knew they didn’t want their time together to end, heading straight back to Craig’s place. Just as Craig had anticipated, the bathroom was soaking from Sam’s long, horny shower session and moans of pleasure were still sounding from both his housemates’ rooms. 

Rick lay back on Craig’s bed, laughing at how small it was. Not being quite a full double bed, the big man absolutely dwarfed it in whatever direction he tried to lay. The sight gave Craig pure joy and he began undressing himself for the large man, letting him see exactly how aroused he was by him. Rick took the lead as it came time to get dirty, which Craig was more than grateful for. For the first time ever, he was having his butt lubricated up, ready to be taken, lying on his side as Rick began; simultaneously taking Craig’s erection into his large hand and gently bringing them both to a climax at exactly the same time. For his first experience of sex, Craig could not have wished for anything better.

A few hours later, the pair of them woke up together; Rick’s large hands cupping Craig’s small glutes and pulling him into him. They made out and spoke at length about how much they had enjoyed themselves the previous evening, settling back into another round of making each other climax.

“Do you want to come with me to get some breakfast?” Rick asked; his giant stomach rumbling as he pulled his hastily discarded underwear back on.

“I don’t think we have much in,” Craig replied.

“No. Not here,” Rick chuckled. “Let me take you out for some breakfast.”

Craig felt a little guilty at the idea of Rick paying to take him out. He’d always liked to pay his own way, never accepting drinks from guys who tried to flirt with him in bars. He attempted to explain this to Rick, but was quickly put at ease. Earlier that morning, Rick had spoken about how he worked in highway maintenance; committing to long shifts at sometimes very unsociable hours, in return for a pleasing salary. “I want to treat you,” he smiled. “I had a great time last night. Won’t you let me say thank you?”

Twenty minutes later, Craig found himself in a very greasy looking cafe that Rick seemed to know very well. They sat at a table and a server came straight over, pouring coffee for the pair of them.

“Two Mega Breakfasts please, Rachel,” Rick stated, as Craig hesitantly went to pick up the sticky-looking laminated menu.

“A Mega Breakfast?” Craig asked after she left. “That sounds pretty daunting.”

Rick chuckled. “You’ll manage it. You’re a college boy. You need feeding up. Plus, anything you can’t eat, I’ll finish for you,” he smiled greedily.

The breakfast meal, once it arrived, was every bit as massive as Craig had pictured in his head. Rick’s eyes had lit up, his mouth salivating, and he began consuming it, stacking sausages and egg onto one of the several rounds of toast; devouring it with the expertise of a man who had taken it on many times before. 

“That’s not a bad effort, for a first attempt,” Rick nodded twenty minutes later, seeing that Craig had politely cleared at least half of the giant meal away. “You’ll know what to expect next time.”

Craig rubbed his achingly full stomach. He couldn’t imagine ever wanting another piece of bacon or fried toast again, let alone coming here for a giant breakfast in the future. He watched with relief as Rick switched their plates around and the big man began dutifully clearing the rest of Craig’s meal away. What was it about a big man gorging himself that was so damn sexy to watch?

“I would quite like to do this again sometime,” Rick smiled, kissing Craig goodbye as they parked up outside his house once more. “Maybe you could let me take you out for something to eat more often?”

Craig nodded, excited by the idea of dating Rick. He accepted another kiss and felt Rick’s hand slip from cupping his face, down towards his small, tightly packed stomach. Then, tearing himself away, up Craig got; crossing the street and waving one last time before heading inside.

“Who the fuck was that?” Wes asked as soon as Craig was infront of him. He shouted towards Sam in the kitchen. “I just caught Craig making out with some fat guy in a car across the street,” he explained.

“A fat guy?” Sam asked, immediately disgusted by the idea. “Was that who I heard pouding around in the bathroom this morning? Did you hook up with a fatty?”

“I only saw him inside his truck, but the guy looked pretty massive to me,” Wes continued. “He looked like he had tits and a massive double chin!”

“That’s gross!” Sam winced. “What the hell were you doing with that?”

“His name’s Rick,” Craig shot back, emboldened by the amazing time he had had with a guy who epitomised his type. “We’re going to be dating.”

“Why?” Wes asked. “Why would you settle for a fat guy? You’re hot. You could have someone much better. If we weren’t housemates, I’d probably have fucked you myself by now.”

Sam nodded in agreement. “Same,” he mumbled, looking Craig up and down.

Craig huffed in irritation and walked away. Was that the boys’ idea of a compliment? He couldn’t think of anything worse than dating someone who was anything like either of them. There was only one person who put butterflies in his stomach, and Craig wasn’t about to be talked out of dating him.

“You’ve got to admit, those were the best doughnuts you’ve ever had, right?” Rick grinned as the pair of them headed back to his truck one evening.

“They tasted exactly like the ones we had in the place we went to last time,” Craig chuckled as he slipped inside the vehicle.

“No!” Rick laughed in disbelief that his boyfriend could say such a thing. “Those doughnuts are nothing like that place! You need educating about what real tasty food is like.”

Craig nodded, feeling his tight stomach. All their dates seemed to revolve around Rick demonstrating his vast knowledge of food places around the city; a world that Craig, with his limited income and lack of transport, had no means of exploring until now.

“Will Dumb and Dumber be there when we get back to your place?” Rick asked, firing the engine into life and turning out of the parking lot.

“I think so,” Craig nodded, knowing exactly how Rick felt about Wes and Sam. “I’m sure they will be a bit more pleasant with you today. They were both just a little stressed about their assignments and stuff last time,” he lied.

Rick chuckled in a way that suggested he did not believe the excuse in the slightest. “It’s alright. I know they don’t think I’m good enough for you because I’m fat. I’m fine with that.”

Craig looked across at his boyfriend; confusion etched upon his face. “How can you be okay with that?” he asked.

“Because, guys like Wes and Sam, they don’t stay slim forever. You only have to look at how much they drink and the foods they eat to know they won’t be twinks for much longer.”

“Really?” Craig asked, feeling surprisingly fascinated by Rick’s observations. “How can you be so sure?”

“Trust me,” he smirked. “I’m sure! Give it another few months and you’ll see exactly what I’m talking about.”

“Do you have some sort of sixth sense?” Craig joked.

Rick laughed. “I wish!” he nodded. “I mean, it’s not just those two. Your stomach is going to start pushing out into a little tummy soon. But that’s going to be all my fault… because I’m going to spoil you and pamper you so much!” he teased, rubbing Craig’s thigh as he drove.

Craig laughed, not knowing how serious his boyfriend was actually being. But, even so, Rick did seem oddly determined that they spend a lot of their time enjoying good food together. Perhaps Rick really wouldn’t mind if he gained a few pounds…

Over the next few weeks, Craig started to realise that what he found so unrelentingly attractive about Rick, was his impressive confidence in his own body. Even though he knew that Sam and Wes disapproved of Craig dating such a fat guy, Rick never failed to pull off his shirt whenever he arrived at the house; seeming to revel in their scorn. When he stayed over, he never got dressed to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, becoming Wes and Sam’s biggest complaint to date. That was, until Rick had left one weekend, deliberately planting a pair of his enormous underwear in the corner of the bathroom, like he had simply forgotten them. Wes had come in, holding them out in front of him with a large pair of barbecuing tongues that had seemed to have appeared from nowhere, and holding his nose as he dropped them in Craig’s room whilst giving him a thorough lecture about how his gross boyfriend was staying over far too much. 

Wes wasn’t wrong; Rick was there at least four nights every week. He was comfortable in their house. However, although he had tried several times, Rick couldn’t really fit into their shower, meaning that there were a few nights when he and Craig would sleep over at Rick’s place instead, where the big man lived with his older cousin, Bob, in the suburbs.

Bob was much the same as Rick himself: large and round, with the same laid-back attitude to his body. It was obvious from the layout of the house that the pair of them cared little about the space being anything more than functional. Several take-out menus adorned the refrigerator door and not a single piece of fruit or vegetables lay inside. It was clear how much Rick looked up to his older cousin; rarely talking about his actual, overly-educated parents, except to say that they fell out some years ago when he refused to go to college. Bob had been the first black sheep in their family, and in moving in with him, Rick had become the second.

“Bob just gets me in a way that no one else in my family ever has. He got me my job when I left school and we’ve never had an argument, even after seven years of me staying here,” Rick explained as he introduced Craig to him for the first time. 

It was clear to Craig that he was meeting someone very special to his boyfriend. The fact that Rick’s relationships with the rest of his family were so strained only mirrored Craig’s feelings about his own family. The pair of them could bond over their tales of uptight mothers and absent, but expectant fathers. It all felt so much easier when someone else understood these situations from a similar perspective.

However, with both Rick and his cousin, Bob, on the same shift pattern, it was rare that Craig stayed over with them. Rick always made the excuse that Bob was entertaining a variety of lady friends back at their place; a fact that would probably surprise many people, looking at his monstrous size.

“Smells good!” Rick sang as he arrived one Friday evening and smelt the aroma of Wes and Sam’s take out pizzas. “Are these from the place I told you about?” he asked them, pretending that they were all friends. “It’s so much cheaper than anywhere else. It just doesn’t keep so well the next day,” he explained, seeing that the boys were quitting with half a pizza remaining. “I’d try and finish that if you can. It won’t be any good once you need to reheat it,” he advised, winking at Craig and letting him know that he was only playing with them. It was something he had been doing for weeks now; introducing them both to beers and letting them try large amounts of the take-outs he had bought for himself when he stayed over. Despite not liking him, the boys had never failed to accept his generosity, just as Rick had secretly wanted. 

This charade came as a relief to Craig. He’d felt his own pants starting to pinch a little more than usual in the last couple of weeks. Perhaps his little weight gain didn’t necessarily have to cause a relationship drama, like it would with most couples. Maybe people could just get used to seeing him in his sweatpants a little more whilst he sorted this out. Rick wasn’t exactly precious about his own weight and, indeed, he seemed to find the idea of Wes and Sam putting on a few pounds to be highly amusing.

The weeks rolled by. Craig sat himself down and pulled out his laptop. There were plenty of places for students to study on the college campus, but Craig had come to prefer this coffee house for its relative peace and quiet. He had been engrossed in his reading, not realising that he was being observed from a distance, until a tall, slightly pot-bellied man, a little older than him, suddenly came and stood in front of him.

“I’m really sorry to bother you,” the man explained, taking the spare seat on Craig's table. “I just recognised you from your boyfriend’s socials and I thought…” He seemed to sigh at this point, not appearing to know why he needed to speak to him, or how to explain exactly what it was he was trying to say. “It’s about Rick. I’m not sure you really know who he really is.”

Craig looked across at the guy with suspicion. What had he been doing, lurking on Rick’s social media and taking the time to commit Craig’s face to his memory? His stalker senses were spiking.

“I’m Geoff,” the guy explained, reaching his hand out to shake. “I’m certain that Rick has definitely not spoken to you about me.”

Craig shook his head, not committing to opening his mouth and engaging in a conversation he wasn’t sure he wanted to have.

“I was in high school with him. In fact, I was his boyfriend for quite some time as well,” Geoff continued. “We broke up about four years ago.”

“Then what are you doing still looking up his socials?” Craig asked, allowing a little of his suspicion and irritation to filter through his voice.

“I just didn’t want anyone else to go through what I went through with him,” Geoff replied. “Let me ask you, has Rick ever spoken to you about his high school days?”

“Not really,” Craig huffed, wondering what sort of relevance Rick’s time in high school would have on anything these days.

Geoff was busily finding a picture on his cell phone. “I bet he never told you that he used to look like this…” he mumbled, turning the screen around so that Craig could see. The face of the handsome eighteen year old in the picture was so familiar to him, but the body below it was so far beyond what Craig had anticipated. A shirtless, chiselled and muscular Rick smiled away from the cell phone. Six-packed and lean, Rick looked the epitome of athleticism and strength.

“That’s not real,” Craig shot back.

“I assure you, it is,” Geoff nodded, swiping through more and more pictures: Rick playing football, partying and posing with a much younger and slimmer Geoff, back when they were dating. “I’m guessing he just told you he’d always been a fat guy?” 

Craig considered the question. He didn’t think Rick had said much about anything from his past; certainly not high school. And, besides, what would it even matter?

“This might shock you, but… Rick atually gained all the weight on purpose,” Geoff stated frankly. “I’m guessing you’ve met his cousin, Bob, as well? He did the same thing: a high school jock, but fattened himself huge. I was dating Rick at the time. He was fascinated by it, watching Bob stacking on the weight. He said that the pair of them understood each other in a way that no one else did.”

Craig nodded. Rick had said pretty much the same thing to him several times before.

“So when Rick left high school and moved in with Bob, he started to do exactly the same thing. I was away at college at the time and came back to find my boyfriend had gained fifty pounds in three months. Fifty pounds!” he boomed in exasperation. “I thought he was depressed. I thought something was really wrong. Rick didn’t tell me about all of the deliberate overeating he was doing; the special weight-gain shakes he and Bob were making for each other at night; spurring themselves on,” he grumbled, shaking his head in disapproval. “Bob was dating a girl called Helen back then as well. She lived not far away, so she was with them more. Now, she could tell you some stories!” Geoff added gravely.

“What do you mean?” Craig asked, feeling thoroughly invested in the story now.

“She was devoted to Bob, even after he started getting so fat. She said that she could tell that Bob was pushing his bad eating habits onto her. She was putting on weight; a lot of it; very quickly.”

Craig sat back, unimpressed. “People always make excuses when they gain weight. They want to find someone to blame.”

Geoff nodded in complete agreement. “I said the same thing. I even told her as much when she broke up with Bob. But after I dropped out of college and moved back here, I noticed that Rick was doing the same thing to me. He’d obviously been watching how Bob had done it to Helen and decided to have a go himself. He took me out for food constantly, telling me that he loved spoiling and pampering me. He said that college had made me skinny, and that I needed feeding up.”

Craig listened, feeling an odd sense of familiarity about the whole thing. “What happened to you?” he asked.

Geoff leaned back and showed his stomach to answer that question. “I put on a lot of weight. Gradual at first, but then it seemed to spiral. Rick was so sweet, and I thought, by not making a big deal about it, my weight struggle might help to make Rick feel less insecure, as he was starting to get quite obese at that point. I still loved him. I didn’t realise that his weight gain was on purpose, nor that mine was being orchestrated.”

Despite everything, Craig felt a pang of jealousy as Geoff talked about his ex as if he knew him so well; a secret, shared history that he himself could never be a part of.

“I got to almost 270lbs before I finally left him. It’s been four years since we broke up and I’m still over two hundred pounds now. It’s so hard to get it off once you gain weight,” he complained, shaking his head.

Craig didn’t know what to say. The conversation had suddenly paused at a very awkward spot.

“The reason I’m telling you all this is because I can tell that Rick is planning on doing the same thing to you. The pictures I see of you two together. It’s like history repeating itself all over again. This is all probably some kinky little fantasy in Rick’s head, fattening up some little chubby-chasing college boy.”

Craig’s teeth ground together as Geoff referred to him as a ‘chubby-chaser’, setting his mind against the guy altogether. Wes and Sam had mocked him for it endlessly since he had started dating Rick. So what if he was a chubby-chaser? Geoff probably looked way better with all the extra fat on him anyway. Who could blame Rick if he had fattened him up a bit? 

“Well, thanks for the info,” he snapped impatiently. “But I think I can look after myself, thank you very much.”

“Don’t you want to know more?” Geoff asked, surprised that he was being turned away. “I can give you a contact number for Helen? She can tell you about her experience as well.”

Craig refused and turned his attention back to his assignment until a bewildered Geoff finally got the message and walked away. His cell phone buzzed in his pocket and he picked it up to read the message that had popped up on the screen. ‘I’m finishing early this evening,’ Rick explained. ‘Let me take you out to that Italian place tonight. We can get ice cream and doughnuts afterwards…. I can’t wait to spoil you rotten!’

“Have you noticed Wes getting a little softer recently?” Rick asked a couple of weeks later. “His clothes are always so fitted, there’s no hiding the little lovehandles he seems to have acquired.”

Craig nodded. Of course he had noticed. The same thing had started to happen to Sam as well, with his tight little butt beginning to put on more mass and a flush of extra coating filling out his normally slender face. “It’s your fault, getting them both onto those cheap beers and take-outs.”

Rick chuckled to himself. “Guilty,” he nodded playfully. It was no secret that Rick was not a fan of either of the boys, so he certainly wasn’t about to show any remorse at the fact that the pair of them were now struggling with maintaining their weight.

Craig laughed, despite the guilt that he felt at Wes and Sam’s newest predicament. He had had no idea that inviting Rick into their house would have such an impact on all their lives. The truth was that no matter how surprising the extra pounds looked on Wes and Sam, it was nothing in comparison to what he was feeling himself. His previously slow gain of 15lbs had begun to spike quite sharply, doubling in the last three weeks. He had felt it in his stomach and butt, but also in his face, as fat began to disribute itself under his chin in much the same way as it was with Sam

“Watch this,” Rick whispered to Craig, sitting back with a clearly mischievous glint in his eyes. “Sam… Wes!” he called out loudly, not getting up from his chair.

The two boys appeared from around the corner, each carrying a can of Rick’s beer that he had brought over; having helped themselves, just as Rick always insisted they do.

“I got paid today, so I’m taking Craig out for some doughnuts to celebrate. You boys want to tag along?” he asked. “My treat.”

Of course Wes and Sam took him up on the offer, smirking at each other at yet another opportunity to take advantage of Rick’s generous nature. Then Craig looked across at his boyfriend who appeared to be even more pleased with himself. A great, wicked plan was unfolding right before his very eyes; yet Craig had never felt more drawn to him.

By the following weekend, Craig had packed on a further 5lbs, gazing into the bathroom mirror as Rick slept on in his bedroom. He couldn’t get over how much his body was altering in such a short space of time. His chest had become softer in a matter of weeks and his flat stomach had rounded out, appearing fleshy underneath the skin. Even in his arms, which had always been naturally quite toned, Craig began to feel softer and less conditioned. But as he spun himself around, Craig awkwardly tried to get a look at his butt, which had been causing him the most clothing problems with anything other than the great array of sweatpants Rick had been buying in for him; arriving with these as if they were a token of his love, and professing to have chosen them for him based upon their interesting colours or style. Those previously tight and petitie glutes of his were taking on a whole new swollen shape. Craig found that he could actually grab almost the entire cheek in his hand and bounce it in a way that he never imagined before; the great soft mass of it going up and down feeling utterly bizarre.

Craig turned back again, looking down and seeing something else that had been worrying him lately. All the blood in his body had seemed to rush into his groin as he surveyed his physique in the mirror. He wondered why he wasn’t like Geoff, feeling completely outraged by the subtle ways Rick was manipulating him to overeat like he had been doing. But then he looked again at his body: the doughy stomach and fleshed out nipples; all those features that spoke of chubiness and excess weight; all the things that he admired so much in others and found so irresistably attractive. Even Wes and Sam were looking more appealing of late. Something was happening to him in this relationship, and Craig started to realise that, rather than being furious, he was actually aroused in a way that he never would have predicted.

“Whose idea was it to go on a double date?” Craig asked a few weeks later, as he slipped on the brand new shirt that Rick had bought for him that afternoon.

“Bob’s,” Rick explained. “He’s super into this new girl. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him this smitten.”

“And what do you think about her?” Craig asked, having realised that Rick was actually a surprisingly good judge of character.

“She’s nice,” Rick nodded. “Quite quiet, like you. But she shares some of my cousin’s interests, which I know he is really enjoying at the moment.”

“What sort of interests?” Craig shot back.

Rick’s cool composure briefly slipped and he looked suddenly caught out by the question. It was clear that he had not expected Craig to seek clarification. “Oh, um… you know. They both like cooking and stuff…” he mumbled, changing the subject almost immediately.

Craig and Rick arrived at the buffet place first, sitting themselves down at the table and politely sipping their drinks, despite the fact that the food smelt so good. About ten minutes later, an obviously very much loved-up couple strolled into the restaurant, giggling from jokes in their own private love laguage. Dark haired, overweight and wearing a dress that was far too small, Bob’s date still looked far too slim to be with him and his giant ball-like gut. They sat down after Bob had courteously pulled out a chair for her, giving her chubby butt one final pat before it disappeared underneath her oversized body.

The conversation didn’t exactly flow, but it was hardly awkward either. The giggly mood that Bob and his date had arrived in, continued as they began their first couple of rounds from the buffet. It was obvious that the pair of them only had eyes for each other and, although they did ask the occasional question of Rick or Craig, it was clear that they weren’t really listening. Bob’s hand kept sliding under the table and Craig wondered, more than once, whether the man was rubbing or patting his date’s belly in a way that would suggest she knew that he liked to feed up his women.

“Get those down you,” Bob smirked, handing over a plate of chicken wings to his younger cousin some time later. Craig had sensed a quiet competition between them both as they had gorged themselves; with Bob remaining a smug plate in the lead the whole time.

Rick nodded, never one to turn down a challenge.

“I’m stuffed!” Bob’s date declared, dropping her fork. “I couldn’t eat another bite!”

Bob smiled at her. “That’s okay, babe. You did very well. You managed five and a half plates of food,” he grinned, looking over at his cousin as he said it; as if taking another victory.

“How many plates have I had?” Craig asked Rick, suddenly suspecting that a secondary, simultaneous competition was taking place.

“Four,” Rick replied quietly, beginning to suck on his chicken wings.

So this was a competition, Craig realised. Not only had Bob eaten more than Rick, but his girlfriend had been greedier too. The reason for the whole double date now became very clear.

Craig got himself up without a word. He could sense the eyes of the others on the table as he collected a fresh plate and began filling it up, mounding it as high as he could.

“You’re still hungry, babe?” Rick asked with delight as Craig got back to the table,

Craig simply nodded and chewed. “Do you think we could go to that cheesecake place afterwards as well?” he asked, knowing that Bob was listening in.

“Yeah, babe. Of course we can,” Rick beamed, rubbing Craig’s thigh in approval. “You can have whatever you want.”

Hearing only a faint sigh from Bob’s direction, Craig knew that he had at least evened the score between the two cousins. Now he just needed to focus on getting all the food down.

It had been some time since the three housemates, Craig, Sam and Wes, had been out to the gay clubs. But with Rick set to make a small fortune working nights over the weekend, Craig finally had an evening with nothing to do. He put on his new shirt and pants, heading out to the clubs carrying an extra forty pounds than the last time he was out. But despite his remarkable weight increase, it wasn’t his size people were looking at. Clearly still in denial about their gains, Wes and Sam were still trying to squeeze themselves into the same twink-like outfits that had worked for them in the past. But despite how well these clothes continued to fit the boys in the shoulders and arms, the cheap material clung unflatteringly to their bloated middles and lovehandles, emphasising them even more than Craig’s own. It was almost embarrassing; especially when Wes got up to dance and gave the unsuspecting crowds an eyefull of his ass crack.

“He’s quite cute, I suppose,” Sam muttered as the end of the evening approached and he had still had no succes in catching anyone’s attention.

“His friend is pretty hot as well,” Wes nodded in agreement.

“Go talk to them,” Craig smiled encouragingly, trying not to show his amusement at their choices. The two guys they were checking out were like him: chubby and soft; not at all the sort of guys the two horny boys would have resorted to only a few months earlier. Yet, there they were only half an hour later, leading them back home. Beggars, it seemed, couldn’t be choosers.

“Who’s the little chub with Wes?” Rick asked the following weekend, whispering as the housemate arrived home with company.

“His new boyfriend…” Craig grinned.

Rick laughed in surprise. “Wes has a boyfriend? I thought he was all about keeping things casual?”

Craig shrugged. “He says they’re perfect for each other. Sam’s out on an actual, proper date as well. I guess they’re both growing up.”

“More like ‘growing out,’” Rick laughed mockingly. “There’s no way the old Wes would have given a fat guy like that a chance.”

“I guess…” Craig nodded slowly. They both knew that Wes and Sam’s gains were mostly down to his meddling. Now Rick looked positively delighted with himself.

“Bob and I were talking,” Rick began next, dropping his massive body down onto the sofa and slipping his arm over his chubby lover’s shoulders. “Maybe you could save a little money next year by moving in with us.”

Craig snorted on his beer. An invitation to move in with Rick had been the last thing he had expected.

“It would be so much fun,” Rick continued, rubbing his chubby hands up and down Craig’s doughy torso. “Bob is totally up for the idea. Just imagine it, I’d be able to spoil and pamper you every single day…”

“But we’ve only been dating eight months,” Craig mumbled.

Rick’s hands were lost in the massaging of Craig’s body: his soft stomach and sensitive nipples. “I know. But I think you’re ready,” he whispered seductively.

Craig pondered his boyfriend’s odd choice of phrasing. He sensed that everything Rick had done up until now had been some sort of preamble for this next stage. Quietly fattening him up to 200lbs was nothing in comparison to what he had done to Geoff. Now it seemed, Rick’s attention was thoroughly locked on taking him a lot further.

“You’d love living with me, wouldn’t you?” Rick asked teasingly; beginning to stroke the hardness that he had discovered swelling in Craig’s pants,  even though they were both still in the shared living space.

A moan escaped Craig’s lips as his eyes rolled back into his head. “We can’t do this here,” he whispered, looking over to the door and worrying that Wes could walk in any second.

“Well then, I guess you should hurry up and tell me you’ll move in with me,” Rick teased, speeding up his stimulation of Craig, rather than stopping.

Craig’s whole body shuddered and he knew he could probably climax with rapid speed if Rick just kept doing what he was doing. Sometimes Rick could get him to orgasm faster than seemed natural for most guys.

“I really want to. But…” Craigh sighed, trying to make his brain think of how to phrase his concerns.

“You don’t want to be spoiled and pampered by me every day?” Rick asked, whispering now as Wes and his new boyfriend’s voices seemed close to the door.

“That’s exactly what I’m scared of!” Craig shot back, pulling his sweatpants back just in time as Wes entered.

“We’re just heading out for some food,” Wes explained, after introducing his overweight boyfriend to Rick.

“Take these,” Rick insisted, pulling out some coupons for the pizza place a couple of blocks away. “That’ll save you some cash and you can get a few beers while you’re out,” he smiled cunningly. “In fact,” he grinned, looking down at a still flustered Craig, and pulling out a twenty from his wallet, “why don’t you boys make sure you stay out for a couple of hours and give us some space?”

Wes never had a problem with accepting anything from Rick; nodding in agreement and shuffling out of the house after his chubby new lover.

“Cute couple,” Rick chuckled as the door finally closed behind them both. “Now,” he grinned, pulling off his shirt and releasing his giant belly. “We have the whole house to ourselves. Where I…” he rambled, getting down onto his knees and lifting Craig’s shirt off him as he sat on the couch still. “...can spend some time trying to convince you that moving in with me will be a great idea.”

Craig had to wriggle on the couch as Rick pulled down his sweatpants and underwear, until he was entirely butt naked; his hardness getting sucked on with perfection by his giant lover.

“You are so hard tonight. I can feel your dick pulsing in my mouth,” Rick chuckled, taking a quick break.

“Well, you’ve got great skills,” Craig smiled back.

“You’re not wrong. If you want a decent blow job, you should always ask a greedy guy. Someone who knows how to push a lot into his mouth,” he teased seductively, knowing that it was always that sort of confidence in his size that never failed to get Craig going.

“What about me?” Craig asked. “Do I give good blow jobs?”

“Would you like to be good at it?” Rick smirked wickedly, rubbing Craig’s doughy pot belly.

“Yes,” Craig nodded with submission.

“I’ll train you up then,” Rick nodded slowly. “When you move in with me, I’ll teach you exactly what it means to have a big, greedy mouth,” he smirked, actually pinching at Craig’s belly fat and jiggling it gently. “Would you like that?”

“Yes!” Craig shot back, his eyes wide as he actually felt an orgasm building simply from having his fat handled.

“Are you going to move in with me then? And let me train you?” Rick teased, shaking Craig’s belly fat even more.

“Yes!” Craig whimpered through gritted teeth as his erection actually erupted there and then, streaming down the shaft in great waves and pooling between his thighs. What had he just signed up for?

Sam and Wes were annoyed when Craig told them he wouldn’t be taking the room for his final year in college. They had little comprehension of how merciful he was actually being, freeing them from the meddlesome grasp of Rick who would no longer be able to torment them, nor their waistlines.

The summer arrived and Craig headed home to spend a couple of months with his family. He braced himself for the looks and comments he would get about his weight gain, but on the whole, it was fairly muted. He hadn’t had a huge circle of friends in high school, and those he did have were on the larger side anyway. His mother was the only one who caused a fuss, talking about how out of shape he looked and how out of breath he seemed once he had to resume his old chore of taking the trash out for her. As he showed her pictures of his boyfriend, Rick, she visibly bristled at his size, not holding back her thoughts on who was to blame for Craig’s additional pounds; especially when she hit the bottle. 

Away from Rick, the weight didn’t feel quite as erotic as it had before. He felt every bit as trapped as he had been back in high school, trying to manage his mother’s silent issues with alcohol; leaning on Rick for support and to take his mind off things whenever he called each evening. 

Slipping back into his old diet and lifestyle at home, Craig found the weight to be dropping off him fairly swiftly. Although he knew this would probably disappoint Rick when he next saw him, for Craig, it was a welcome relief. In allowing himself to climax at having his fat jiggled, he felt like he had reliquished a little more of his true desires than he had bargained for. By losing weight and getting back to his old habits, Craig would be able to stand his ground and maintain a physique that more resembled his appearance at the start of his relationship with Rick. That, more than anything else, would help to prove that he wasn’t really getting off on becoming so out of shape.

“Well, look who it is!” Rick smiled, grabbing both of the heavy bags Craig was carrying out of the airport and putting them down on the floor. Although he had ended his time at home on a very sour note with his mother, an immediate surge of passion swelled through Craig at seeing the large man again. Was Rick’s stomach even rounder than it had been before? It certainly looked bigger, with his belly peeking out of the bottom of his undersized t-shirt. “Someone’s pleased to see me,” the big man teased, seeing a bulge forming in Craig’s pants after their embrace.

Craig looked down, embarrassed, but Rick simply chuckled and started to lead the way out. Craig was cursing his body. He’d spent all summer psyching himself up for taking back some control in this relationship and already his hardness was letting him down. In fact, it was getting worse; flooding with blood more and more as he followed behind the massive glutes of his boyfriend; now that he carried the two massive bags in each hand, Rick actually looked wider than the back end of a car..

After throwing the bags into the back of his truck, Craig felt the entire vehicle rock as Rick climbed inside; yet another little detail about dating such a big man that Craig loved, and had almost entirely fogotten during his time at home. Rick looked around the parking lot, seeing that it was fairly clear. Then he turned his attention to the tent that was pushing up the material in Craig’s pants and slid his hand over the top of it. “Summer’s over,” he whispered seductively into Craig’s ear. “You’re all mine now!”

Even as the pair of them raced upstairs upon immediately getting home, Rick didn’t mention Craig’s thirty pound weight loss. The moment seemed to be entirely consumed by Rick’s new size as he balanced his large stomach on Craig’s back and set to work. 

“What’s that doing in here?” Craig asked afterwards as they lay together in bed.

“It’s our new refrigerator,” Rick smiled. “It’ll save us having to go downstairs for snacks all the while.”

Craig mumbled in disapproval. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep all that well with the humming nose.”

“You’ll get used to it,” Rick laughed, rolling over to cuddle his lover better and making the entire bed rock and squeal. “You’re going to be getting used to a lot of new things this year…”

Living with Rick was a complete culture shift after the summer. His fourth and final year in college was more intense than any of the years that had come before it. Rick’s place was further away from campus, and so Craig now took the bus pretty much everywhere he had to go. Bob and Rick lived on take-outs and turned their noses up whenever Craig tried to make something wholesome and homemade; like a couple of five year olds refusing to even try a vegetable of any kind. 

To Craig’s surprise, he soon learned that Bob and Rick hired an older lady, called Pam, to come in and take care of the place for them.

“Such dirty boys, these two,” she gumbled to Craig as he tried to work at the kitchen counter on an assignment. It was clear that she had deep affection for both Rick and Bob; however, that didn’t mean they were above her criticisms. She busily cleaned out take-out containers and put them away for recylcing. “Some days I come in here and want to cry. I’m amazed they don’t have rats.”

Craig nodded awkwardly in agreement. Maybe if the pair of them ever left even the slightest crumb from all the food they consumed, rats and mice could indeed have become a problem for them.

“And Rick was such a handsome boy when he moved in,” Pam went on, pulling a pair of enormous underwear from the washing machine; the elastic in them obviously coming to the end of its life. “It’s such a shame!”

At this, Craig’s interest was caught. “You’ve known the boys that long?” he asked. In all the time he had been dating Rick, Pam was only the second person he had ever come across who had spoken about the Rick’s former physique.

“Oh, yes! I met him when he first moved in here with his cousin,” she began. “There had been problems at home. He hadn’t wanted to go to college, despite being so clever. Then he didn’t want to play sports, despite being so gifted. They all thought Bob was a bad influence, which I can’t say I disagree with,” she nodded fairly. “As soon as Rick moved in he started piling on the weight, just like his cousin had a couple of years earlier. I remember looking at him one day and noticing this little paunch had popped out on him. His face got chubby. Then his whole body just bloated and got bigger and bigger.”

Craig wrigged awkwardly in his seat, feeling an odd arousal as he imagined Rick undergoing such a transformation. “He had another boyfriend back then, didn’t he?” Craig asked, wondering just how clued up Pam really was on the goings on in this house.

She thought for a moment. “Yes. Now, what was his name?” she pondered, before Geoff’s name came to her again. “He was another lovely boy.”

“Was he a big guy as well?” Craig questioned. 

Pam thought back. “Yes,” she nodded, looking away slightly as she tried to recall. “I remember him having quite the big stomach on him. But only after he moved in here with the boys.”

“Geoff moved in with them?” Rick asked next, surprised that this had been the case.

“For quite a few months,” she nodded. “Rick used to spoil him rotten!” she smiled.

“He does the same with me,” Craig blushed. He’d only been living there for a couple of weeks and already he could feel his stomach reinflating. He knew that Ben and Rick had a pair of scales somewhere, but they weren’t placed anywhere obvious so that he could have free access to them and check his suspicions.

“Well, you just be careful,” Pam smiled at him. “I love Bob and RIck dearly, but I know they’re no angels either. I’ve watched quite a few of Bob’s girlfriends get pretty big over the years.”

“And you think that will happen to me?” Craig shot back, feeling a great spike of arousal at the thought. After all, he was still quite far from his starting weight, back when he met Rick for the first time.

Pam glanced down towards Craig’s slight double chin. “You just be careful,” she repeated again in a motherly fashion; perhaps holding back her true thoughts of what was really about to happen next.

Portion sizes became Craig’s greatest enemy over the following weeks. After a day of manual work, the boys filled their plates to astronomical levels, and they did the same for Craig; whether he’d asked for it or not. At first, he left plenty of it on his plate for Rick to finish off. But, these days, Rick was starting to nag him for wasting food. “Just get the fries down, at least,” he’d sigh, seeing the large mountain that remained on the plate. Then: “You can’t leave all that meat,” he’d grumble.

Craig had hoped that Rick and Bob would start to put less on his plate, but they never did. He’d sometimes catch their knowing looks; smirking as they piled the food up more and more. With Bob back to being single, Craig suddenly felt that he had become the boys’ sole focus of their entertainment.

By the time Thanksgiving came around, Craig was right back where he had started, with his stomach bouncing back to the size it had been at the end of the summer semester. However, the regained weight had deposited differently on his body now that he had lost the weight and put it back on. His butt and thighs were softer and larger this time, his nipples more sensitive. His facial cheeks had blown up more, and Craig had decided to keep his spreading double chin concealed underneath a camouflage of short and very necessary facial hair.

“Oh, I love this time of year!” Bob sighed, plopping himself into his big armchair by the TV after a ginormous Thanksgiving meal and beginning to snack on the leftover buffet food from the evening before. “Nothing but endless food now, until the beginning of January!” he beamed, tapping his large stomach. “A fat guy’s dream!”

Craig considered tidying up, but he knew that Pam was coming in the morning. Instead, he took his swollen and sore body over to the couch and threw himself lazily down next to his boyfriend, snuggling into his large body. Rick hadn’t worn a shirt since finishing work on the Tuesday, and his overstuffed tummy had never looked larger. Despite the unusually cold November that they were experiencing, it was obvious that the large guy was experiencing what Rick referred to as ‘the meat sweats’.

“You wait until you see how crazy we go over the holidays,” Bob teased Craig just as RIck burped uncomfortably from all the food. “Our Rick here is king of the eggnog!”

“I’ve already made Craig a batch of my special eggnog actually,” Rick explained to his cousin.

“Oh, have you?” Bob smirked, getting a quick look at Craig’s swollen belly. “I see.”

“I was actually going to go see my mom this Christmas, but…” Craig pondered aloud. As the weight had piled back on him in the last couple of months, all he could imagine was his mother’s sarcastic voice in his head, telling him things that he didn’t want to hear; blaming him for everything that was wrong in her life.

“But he knows he’ll have a better time with us!” Rick told Bob, finishing off Craig’s sentence for him; saving Craig from having to explain his awkward relationship with his mother.

“Excellent!” boomed Bob. “We’ll look after you,” he winked. “Won’t we, Rick?”

With his arm draped over Craig’s shoulders, Rick rubbed the top of Craig’s arm, like the boy was his dutiful student. “Definitely,” he nodded. Then came the daunting phrase that Craig had heard all too often. “We’ll be spoiling you rotten!”

It was strange to see people that Craig had met many times in the past and not have them recognise him. That was exactly what was starting to happen as the Spring finally arrived. It was all the fat Craig had gained in his face. It had changed his appearance quite considerably; especially with his facial hair. Over the winter months, his weight had been building and building. It was his own fault. He hadn’t been fighting Rick and Bob, as well as their manipulations to ensure that he over-ate in the same way that they did. However, it was also the case that gaining weight was just so easy. Rather than having the traumatic experience of feeling his clothes tighten and a lover who disapproved, Rick was constantly slowly updating Craig’s wardrobe, subtly ensuring that his transition into obesity was as smooth as possible.

Now when Craig looked in the mirror, he saw the shape of man he would have been very much attracted to himself. He had all the fat features that he adored so much, on his very own body. Back in the days before he met Rick, he had longed to play with a guy with such jiggly nipples as he had now. The back fat, the arm blubber and jiggly thighs: they were all things he had adored. He couldn’t believe that he had such a protrusive stomach, nor comprehend the width of his swelling butt, meaning that he frequently knocked things over as he tried to glide into tight spaces that would not have been a problem for him eighteen months ago. What turned him on even more was the fact that he never envisioned himself inhabiing a body like this. He held up his underwear in disbelief. Did he really need such oversized clothes now? Had he really allowed his kink to take him this far? All because he’d fallen for a big man with a secret desire to feed him up?

The sex with Rick was even more astonishing as Craig had grown. He senseed there was a closeness and connection between them both that could not be matched. He felt admired and appreciated like never before. The way Rick’s hands travelled across his expanding body, reaching for all the softest parts, assessing the great width of his shape and marvelling at the pure fat that had taken over his body. Finally, Craig had found the one man who understood his attraction to all of this, like no one else he had ever met in his life.

The acceptance came easy after that. By the summer, Craig was well over 300lbs and lounging about on the couch, just the same as the other two when Pam came around to clean for them all. He couldn’t believe his luck as he was hired by a company straight after his graduation, working from home three days each week and only needing to commute into the city on the two other days.

“Maybe we could start thinking about getting our own place soon?” Craig smiled as he scanned his first paycheck with pride.

“I’d really like that,” Rick nodded, unbuttoning the shirt of his pot bellied boyfriend after his hard day in the office. Living with Bob had been great, but after two years of being together, the time felt right for the pair of them to branch out on their own.

Collectively, the pair of them saved and set money aside over the following months; planning their move for sometime in the Spring. The whole idea gave them both a glow of bubbling excitement; with their loved-up contentment ensuring that the pair of them continued to swell up even more.

“That has to be the best Chinese place in town,” Craig smiled, as he leaned back and rubbed his large, tight stomach a few weeks later. All three of them had gorged on their own banquet meal for two and there wasn’t a single thing left to show for it. “I hope there’s somewhere just as good in our new place,” he commented offhandedly to Rick, thinking about their imagined new apartment.

“What new place?” Bob jumped in, sounding immediately irritated.

Craig winced, remembering that Rick had asked him not to mention it to Bob until they had time to all sit down and discuss their move properly, mouthing a silent ‘sorry’ to his boyfriend as he could tell that he had just dropped his foot in it.

“You plan to move out together?” he asked Craig in a surprisingly aggressive tone.

“Not yet,” Craig smiled, trying to calm the suddenly tense atmosphere. “But in a few months, maybe.”

“That’s bullshit,” Bob laughed. “Rick’s not moving out. We’ve lived together for years. He loves it here.”

Rick breathed in awkwardly, knowing that he needed to set his cousin straight. “It’s just something Craig and I think might be a good next step for the pair of us,” he offered, as if dipping his toe into very hot water and then taking it straight out again.

“Bullshit!” Bob snarled. “Are you just saying that to keep him happy?” he pointed rudely at Craig.

“No. It’s…” Rick mumbled. “It’s something we’ve been talking about for a few months now.”

Bob shook his head angrily. The idea of Craig breaking up his living arrangements with his cousin had sent him into a fiery temper that Craig had never witnessed before. “Do you know what he calls you behind your back?” he snarled at Craig. “Your precious boyfriend over there?”

Craig sat there motionless, wondering where this sudden anger had come from.

“Dude!” Rick cried, attempting to make his cousin see reason and not hit out like it was obvious he was about to do.

“He calls you his ‘pet pig,’” Bob shot back. “You wanna know why you’re so fucking fat now?” he growled angily across to Craig. “It’s because he made you that way. He pours appetite stimulants into your pasta sauce, calorie boosters into your milkshake and whipping cream into your coffee. And that’s only the half of it!”

Craig looked across at Rick’s anxious face.

“He doesn’t actually love you. He’s just a kinky little fucker, like me. He gets off on making you fatter. That’s all.”

“Cool it, Bob!” Rick shouted now, clearly getting angry.

“Do you know how many times he’s asked me to help him get a measuring tape around that fat stomach of yours when you’ve drifted off to sleep, slumped on the couch? He even keeps a notebook.”

Rick’s head slipped into his hands, hardly believing that all of this was unfolding. Meanwhile, Craig’s wild eyes simply switched back and forth between the pair of them.

“And…” Bob added, laughing aggressively at the next piece of information he decided to share. “You want to know why you always get the munchies right before bedtime?” he blasted on. “It’s because Rick trained it into you. He looked up online how to do it; dosing you up with sugar for weeks until you started to do it all yourself. You really think he loves you?” he scoffed. “Two years you’ve been together and the only conversations he’s ever had with me about you is getting my advice on how to make sure you get even fatter.”

Craig got up, feeling Bob’s onslaught was getting too much for him. He heard the two cousins shouting at each other as he climbed the stairs and took himself into the bedroom. Was this it? Was his relationship over? Had every affectionate word that Rick ever said to him been a complete lie?

“You probably have some questions for me?” Rick gingerly asked as he stepped into the room a few minutes later. “I know you must be upset. Bob doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”

“Really?” Craig shot back angrily. “You’re going to try and pin this all on Bob?”

Rick paused for a second and then nodded in defeat. “You’re right,” he agreed. “I’ve been out of line. Those things Bob said about the appetite stimulants and calorie boosters… that was all pretty much true,” he mumbled sheepishly.

“Of course it was,” Craig sighed impatiently. “You think I didn’t know all that? I like fat guys. And you… you clearly like fat guys too. The whole feeding thing was just our quiet, kinky little game. But I didn’t think that was where our relationship started and ended. I thought you were in love with me.”

Rick looked hurt by the pain in Craig’s eyes. “I do love you!” he cried, stepping further into the room and kneeling by the side of the bed. “I just… I just let this whole kinky shit get the better of me. I watched Bob fatten up so many of his girlfriends, even when he was in high school, and I guess I let it all get into my head. Bob doesn’t understand real relationships. He’s just missing that little part in his brain. That’s the only reason why I don’t talk to him about all the mushy stuff between us.”

“Would you choose me over Bob?” Craig asked, having always felt secretly anxious that Rick’s cousin meant more to him than he did.

Rick sighed and dropped his gaze. “Of course I would. But you’ve got to understand. Bob was there for me at a very difficult time.” He sighed, as if about to relinquish the greatest secret of his entire life. “I didn’t always used to look this way. Back in high school… I was kinda… athletic,” he admitted begrudgingly.

At this, Craig couldn’t help but laugh a little. Of all the secrets that had come out that evening, this one hardly merited the gravity that Rick seemed to instill upon it.  “I know,” he smirked. “Pam did mention it once or twice.”

Rick’s eyebrows rose up. Perhaps he had forgotten how much Pam liked to talk. “I hated it,” he grumbled. “I had this desire in me to grow and get fat. Yet no one around me could understand why I was having these feelings. No one… apart from Bob. We could talk for hours about it; this compulsion inside of us to get fat. I’d seen Bob doing it to himself after high school. It literally blew my mind! So when I finally got my job and was earning enough to pay Bob some rent money, I moved straight in here and followed in his footsteps. I lost my abs and packed on a belly in a matter of weeks. It was…” he sighed with pleasure, “the best feeling in the entire world!”

“But what about Geoff?” Craig asked next.

Rick scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Pam told you about him too, huh?” he whispered.

Craig shook his head, finally recounting the story of bumping into Rick’s ex, just as he should have done over eighteen months ago. 

“So you knew all that, and yet you still stuck by me?” Rick asked in utter disbelief once Craig had finished, leaving nothing unsaid. “What the hell did I do to deserve you for two years? Ever since I was eighteen, I had Bob telling me that he was the only person in the whole world who would accept me for who I really was. Yet, there you were, standing by my side this whole time.”

“It’s a mess, isn’t it?” Craig sighed. They’d both been so immature about this whole situation; each of them holding pieces of the same jigsaw and not sharing. Only now could they piece them all together and see that they’d both only ever been completely happy.

“Do you still want to get a place with me?” Rick asked, allowing a little bit of hope to shine through his voice.

“I think so,” Craig nodded. “But… do you still want to make me fatter?” he asked in response. 

Rick squirmed, being asked so directly about something he had concealed for so long. However, this was a fresh start: a time for them both to be honest with each other. “Yes,” he stated, knowing full well that it could be the end of his relationship. “I don’t think I’d ever want to stop fattening you up.”

Craig nodded. Finally, the truth had been revealed: the feeder, thoroughly exposed.

“Okay,” Craig sighed, bracing himself for what needed to happen next. “But we do this together from now on. We communicate. We say what we’re really feeling, when we feel it.”

Rick was nodding in complete agreement; the smile spreading across his broad face. This wasn’t the end after all. It was only the beginning.

[cyberpunk-r-j]

I think I am ready to start to put together our wLED project for the LEDs that will be embedded in the flats. (Though I still need to find the resistors)

It is a little overwhelming.

See below if you are interested in the mermaid code used to generate this diagram.

%%{init: {"flowchart": {"defaultRenderer": "elk"}} }%% graph TD; subgraph wall 120V Ground end subgraph PowerSupply[Power Supply 5V 6A] 120Vi[120v in] 5V[5v out] GND 120V -->|120v| 120Vi Ground -->|GND| GND; end subgraph wESP32["wESP32 Controller"] w5V[5v in] w5Vo[5v out] GPIO2 GPIO3 GPIO4 GPIO5 wGND[Ground] GND -->|GND| wGND; 5V -->|5v| w5V; end subgraph run1[Run 1, SR Flat] 5V --> |5v| Capacitor1[1000uF Capacitor]; Capacitor1 --> |5V| Seg1["52"]; Seg1 --> |5V| Seg2; Seg2 --> |5V| Seg22; Seg22 --> |5V| Seg3; %%Power injection 5V --> |5V| Seg3 GND --> |GND| Seg3 GPIO2 --> |Data| Res1[330-470Ω resistor]; Res1 --> |Data| Seg1; Seg1 --> |Data| Seg2["6"]; Seg2 --> |Data| Seg22["6"]; Seg22 --> |Data| Seg3["20"]; GND --> |GND| Seg1; wGND --> |GND| Seg1; Seg1 --> |GND| Seg2; Seg2 --> |GND| Seg22; Seg22 --> |GND| Seg3; end subgraph run2[Run 2, SCR Flat except top] 5V --> |5v| Capacitor2[1000uF Capacitor]; Capacitor2 --> |5V| Seg4["72"]; Seg4 --> |5V| Seg5["36"]; Seg5 --> |5V| Seg52["36"]; Seg52 --> |5V| Seg6["22"]; Seg6 --> |5V| Seg62["6"]; Seg62 --> |5V| Wheel1[Wheel]; GPIO3 --> |Data| Res2[330-470Ω resistor]; Res2 --> |Data| Seg4; Seg4 --> |Data| Seg5["36"]; Seg5 --> |Data| Seg52["36"]; Seg52 --> |Data| Seg6["22"]; Seg6 --> |Data| Seg62["6"]; Seg62 --> |Data| Wheel1[Wheel]; GND --> |GND| Seg4; wGND --> |GND| Seg4; Seg4 --> |GND| Seg5["36"]; Seg5 --> |GND| Seg52["36"]; Seg52 --> |GND| Seg6["22"]; Seg6 --> |GND| Seg62["6"]; Seg62 --> |GND| Wheel1[Wheel]; %%Power injection 5V --> |5V| Seg6 GND --> |GND| Seg6 end subgraph run3 [Run 3, SCR flat-top, to SCL flat-SLM] 5V -->|5v| Capacitor3[1000uF Capacitor]; Capacitor3 --> |5V| Seg7["120"]; Seg7 -->|5V| Seg8; Seg8 --> |5V| Seg82; Seg82 --> |5V| Seg83; Seg83 -->|5V| Seg9; GPIO4 -->|Data| Res3[330-470Ω resistor] Res3 --> |Data| Seg7; Seg7 --> |Data| Seg8["24"]; Seg8 --> |Data| Seg82["24"]; Seg82 --> |Data| Seg83["6"]; Seg83 --> |Data| Seg9["9"]; GND --> |GND| Seg7; wGND --> |GND| Seg7; Seg7 --> |GND| Seg8; Seg8 --> |GND| Seg82; Seg82 --> |GND| Seg83; Seg83 --> |GND| Seg9; %%Power injection 5V --> |5V| Seg8 GND --> |GND| Seg8 end subgraph run4[Run 4, SCL flat-bottom, to SL flat] 5V --> |5V| Capacitor4[1000uF Capacitor]; Capacitor4 --> |5v| Seg10["24"]; Seg10 --> |5v| Seg102["72"]; Seg102 --> |5v| Seg103["24"]; Seg103 -->|5v| Seg11["26"]; Seg11 --> |5v| Seg12["25"]; Seg12 --> |5v| Seg13["28"]; Seg13 --> |5v| Wheel2[Wheel]; GPIO5 --> |Data| Res4[330-470Ω resistor]; Res4 --> |Data| Seg10; Seg10 --> |Data| Seg102["72"]; Seg102 --> |Data| Seg103["24"]; Seg103 -->|Data| Seg11["26"]; Seg11 --> |Data| Seg12["25"]; Seg12 --> |Data| Seg13["28"]; Seg13 --> |Data| Wheel2[Wheel]; GND -->|GND| Seg10; wGND -->|GND| Seg10; Seg10 --> |GND| Seg102["72"]; Seg102 --> |GND| Seg103["24"]; Seg103 -->|GND| Seg11["26"]; Seg11 --> |GND| Seg12["25"]; Seg12 --> |GND| Seg13["28"]; Seg13 --> |GND| Wheel2[Wheel]; %%Power injection 5V --> |5V| Seg11 GND --> |GND| Seg11 end %%NOTE: the image above was created after the basic graph was created. The editor rearranged the order of the linkages, so I can't just copy paste the colour info in here

[rounderhouse]

Excerpt from Wetware: A Brief History of Biological Computing (Park, 2055)

Wetware computers led to a new marriage of biology and cybersecurity. A surprisingly successful one; our conception of the digital has always been modeled on the biological. Defending a server rack of flesh-and-blood neural-slices from a virus isn’t all that different from defending a traditional computer against one.

But it also led to an entirely new problem neither field was equipped to solve. the gene-samples used to grow new wetware computers widely proliferated before cancer screening had advanced to where it is now, and federal law now prohibits non-governmental entities from harvesting genetic samples for computing purposes. No matter how hard you try — and computing giants like IBM and Kessler dedicate billions to it — even the most carefully-cultivated strains of biochips, trays of neurons millimeters thick and wired in vast warehouse-brains, will eventually develop computing tumours.

Most are benign, harmless drains on computational resources, but every so often one becomes malignant. They are almost impossible to detect in the noise of the output, but they work their own agendas, whispering orthogonal thoughts to any given task. Unnoticed by the teams of clean-suited biotechs, they grow and grow and grow and spill bad data into the body. The risks of unrestrained computumour growth become readily apparent after Kessler won a Pentagon contract to organize satellite data for orbital kinetic strikes, and delivered a firing solution that confidently directed satellites to sink two Navy aircraft carriers. Three of the server racks in their Lake Razor facility were later found to be completely riddled with cybertumours.

Interestingly, the original gene-sample for the Lake Razor facility was a 28-year-old war casualty.

[neil-gaiman]

Hi Neil,

A good while ago, you did ‘Mythology Support’ for WIRED, and you discussed the meaning behind Pandora’s Box (Jar), where you mentioned that you have never been quite sure how to interpret it.

Through years in school studying “ancient knowledge” (that's the direction translating from Danish; I have no idea whether or not that's a subject elsewhere), I have always been led to the understanding that the Gods gave hope as a merciful action. Still, I'm particularly fascinated by the idea that it could be seen as a final cruelty. Maybe it is the cynic in me that is drawn to the gloomier take on the myth, but I seem to find the most sense in that interpretation.

I suppose my question is, are you any closer to which direction you lean in interpretation-wise?

My default these days is to lean in to Natalie Haynes wherever possible.

[anaargent]

THE BOY IS MINE

Five hargreeves X reader

The reader is Five's long-time partner, tired of waiting for his return, she decide to investigate his whereabouts. (seriously thinking about writing something for our daddy Diego)

- That's enough – I jump off the decaying sofa at Luther's house – you guys stay here and look for Viktor, I'll go after five and lila. - Wasn't the plan for everyone to stay together until they got back here? - Allison murmurs boredly - No, no, we spread out and everyone looks in a different place, right? -Klaus chimes in, only hearing half of the dialogue as he plays with the shiny Christmas tree in front of him.

-Meanwhile, we should standing there admiring Luther's windows? - I gesture with my hands - Hey! They are Victorian models! - Luther exclaims offended, holding the new frames.

-Sorry Luther, they are beautiful honey, they just need some adjustments in the rest of the house – I turn to the giant man in front of him with a loving smile – plan B, I will find them and let them know that the holidays are coming, Let me know when someone find the other two. I wave to everyone already leaving the room, hearing some protests about "following the original plan and Luther questioning Allison if the new frames were good"

.

.

Just like your sister Lila, I had the ability to copy powers. It came in handy when the last person you touched was Five, on a rare occasion he let you fix his messy hair, a lame excuse to be affectionate with the grumpy old man. Despite trying, a laugh escapes my lips, remembering the boy's shocked expression at the kind gesture.

-I'll find them - I mutter more to myself as I get off at yet another station on the strange subway, writing down in the small diary in my pocket, a gift from Five, a bit tacky but very useful in the current situation - a stain that looks like a state - I mumble looking at the ceiling - wires ripped out, someone came by here - trying not to create expectations and hopes too high to be crushed after all the frustrations of not finding five and lila, I swallow dry and walk towards the exit.

A beautiful uninhabited field waited outside the station, it looked unkempt, even deserted. Ready to cross off another stop on the agenda, I suddenly stop when I see movement in the distance, it was him. With a more tired and ragged appearance, but it was my five. With longer hair than usual, an old backpack on his shoulder, I couldn't believe I had finally found him.

I take a step away from the hiding place, raising my hand with a huge smile on my lips, relief flooding my body, finally being able to relax after months of searching.

You took too long outside - Lila appeared, involving Five with a smile. That was good, they finally got along and became friends - I miss u - so she kisses him.

My feet were planted on the ground, gravity holding me in that place, in slow motion as I watched my sister, the person I trust most, kiss five, the person I loved most. My hand fell to my side, finally returning to the moment to step back into the darkness, watching as Five tenderly returned the affection and led her inside the small green house.

.

When it finally got dark I left the forest, heading towards the house, I did a space jump and was in the kitchen of the place. everything was very tidy, a small strawberry garden, candles, books. Were the bastards having a teenage romance? I stop myself, taking a deep breath - follow the plan y/n, follow the damn plan.

That was the initial idea, but then here you were, on top of Five's limp and unconscious body, ready to attack him. You probably forgot, amid the bitterness of betrayal, that Five also worked for the commission. Then he was wide awake, as far as possible, his beautiful eyes alarmed and his hands holding his.

Y/N? Is that really you? - he asked dazedly, his eyes still cloudy with sleep, his voice hoarse and low. Unable to bear his puppy eyes, I start to swing in an attempt to get out of his grip, throwing punches in all directions with unbridled rage. - Are you with my sister? - you scream, still punching your stomach, your vision blurred by the tears that threatened to fall.

what? babe, no - five finally manages to stop his attack, breathing hard - let me explain - he starts sitting with you on his lap - explain to me that you are fucking my sister? that she is married to your brother? -his voice sounded bitter and defensive-all that talk about taking it easy was nonsense-you try to get rid of him to leave.

-it's been seven years - five starts with a broken voice, his eyes searching yours in search of something - I thought I would never go again see you y/n - he pauses, looking for words - I don't deserve your forgiveness, but please don't go, hate me, hit me. But don't disappear again darling, I was going crazy, all of us.

-you betrayed me five - your voice sounded more broken than you wanted him to see, how everything affected you more than you would like to admit - I know my love, I don't deserve you, but you are all I have, all I want. Lila and I were torn apart, we spent years looking for a way to get back together, it ruined us. It was survival, a way to not go crazy here alone.

You closed your eyes tightly, taking a deep breath to process everything. Five and Lila lived here for seven years, and somehow created a relationship, you still felt betrayed, the memory of how the two of you were together earlier haunting you like a ghost,his arms wrapped around her, like he did with you. Then you look at Five, his clear eyes chasing you like a sun, they looked so sad and melancholic, waiting for salvation.

You smile sadly, raising your hand to his long hair, carefully combing the unruly strands. Five closes his eyes, visibly relaxing under your touch - I dreamed every night that you were here - he comments in a low voice, unsure - that you found me and then you left again, as if you had never come, then I woke up and you not here.

-im here - you speak softly, not wanting to break the fragile moment you shared, your eyes dropped to your lips, jealousy consuming you every moment. Then five placed his hand on his face, with devotion and fear, fear that everything was just another lived and cruel dream, her lips just touched his, they were dry and trembling. It was a soft kiss, afraid that a sudden movement would break it. Your hands traveled to his shoulders as a warm bubble enveloped them.Then the memory of the kiss between him and Lila appeared in your mind, taking the best of you. Your hands became rough for a moment, pulling Five's hair with more force than necessary, a kind of punishment for his actions,the poor boy could do nothing but accept the harsh treatment with a slight grunt escaping his lips .

-let's go home my dear, there we will remind you who you belong to.

[trippiexlove]

Story Masterlist

Main Masterlist - if you would like to be added to my tag list comment below. Have a request? Click on this link to drop it ☺️ ENJOY!

Ch.9

Previous Part

The buzzing of the visitation door sliced through the low hum of the correctional facility. Jey sauntered in, his usual swagger subdued by a focused intensity that mirrored the grim surroundings. He nodded curtly at the guard before his gaze locked onto Jimmy, seated at the familiar metal table.

He sat at the table, crossing his arms on the table. He scrunched his eyebrow giving Jimmy a pointed look, "What up uce"

Jimmy nodded before he began, his voice lower than usual. "Got that info you wanted."

Jey's dark eyes narrowed, a flicker of something akin to anticipation flashed within them. "What'chu got?"

"She been layin' low out in Philly." Jimmy leaned forward, his elbows on the table. "Changed her name. New life, the whole nine. Like she vanished." He paused, his gaze direct. "What'chu want me to do bout that?."

A muscle ticked in Jey's jaw. He stared out the window for a long moment, the barbed wire a stark frame against the muted sky. "Nothing. Not yet. Just keep tabs. I wanna know where she is when I get out." The possessiveness Evren had glimpsed during her visit was now a palpable force, edged with years of simmering resentment. "Don't go near her, don't spook her."

The shift in topic was unspoken, a silent understanding passing between the brothers. "Appreciate you handlin' that situation, f'me," Jey said, his voice low and sincere, though he tried to inject a casual tone.

A grin tugged at the corner of Jimmy's lips, a flash of his easygoing self. "Man, you must really be feelin' this nurse of yours, huh? Got me out here throwin' hands for her. Next thing you know, I'll be bringin' her lunch or something." He chuckled.

Jey tried to suppress the upward curve of his lips, a rare softening in his features. "Just lookin' out for a friend." He glanced at the guard signaling the end of the visit. "I'll hit'chu later, keep me in the loop."

As he was led away, Jey was left with a turbulent mix of emotions - a grim satisfaction at knowing Kehlani was found, a gnawing impatience for his release.

The automatic doors of the hospital hissed open, and Evren stepped inside, the familiar scent of antiseptic doing little to soothe the knot of anxiety in her stomach. She placed her things in the locker assigned to her. As she made her way out of the lounge, Liv - another nurse - gave her a sympathetic nod. Evren offered a weak smile in return before continuing towards Mrs. McMahon's office, the HR representative's neutral smile doing little to inspire confidence.

"Ms. Smith, thank you for coming in," Mrs. McMahon said, gesturing to a chair. Her tone was polite, professional, and utterly devoid of empathy. "Regarding your allegations against Dr. Rhodes."

Evren sat, her palms damp. "Yes?"

"Dr. Rhodes has vehemently denied any and all allegations of sexual misconduct," Mrs. McMahon stated, her gaze unwavering. "In the absence of any corroborating evidence, the hospital is unable to proceed with disciplinary action at this time."

A wave of disbelief washed over Evren. "So that's it? His word against mine?"

"The hospital takes all allegations seriously, Ms. Smith," Mrs. McMahon continued, her voice carefully measured. "However, without proof..." She trailed off, the unspoken reality hanging heavy in the air. Dr. Rhodes's family's significant donations to the hospital spoke volumes.

"So, because his family is wealthy, he can just get away with this?" Evren's voice trembled slightly. "He touched me inappropriately, Mrs. McMahon."

"I understand your distress, Ms. Smith. Yes, Dr. Rhodes family has donated a significant amount to the hospital, it doesn't play a factor in this." Mrs. McMahon said, her tone softening slightly, though her stance remained firm. "But without further evidence, our hands are tied."

Evren left the office feeling a cold dread settle in her chest. It wasn't just that Dr. Rhodes was denying it; it was the palpable sense that the hospital was siding with him. Evren nodded, her heart felt heavy with dread as she walked out of Mrs. McMahon's office.

Back at the nurses' station, Zahria, Bianca, and Jade immediately noticed the cloud hanging over Evren. "Hey, you okay?" Zahria asked, her brow furrowed, her pen hovering over a patient chart.

Evren's carefully constructed composure crumbled. "They're not going to do anything." Tears welled in her eyes as she recounted the meeting with Mrs. McMahon, her voice thick with emotion. "He just... he denied everything. And she basically said without evidence, there's nothing they can do."

Zahria's jaw tightened. "Are you serious? That's bullshit, Ren! His word against yours? What about the power dynamic here? He's a whole attending physician!"

Bianca, usually the quieter one, chimed in, her voice laced with anger. "This is exactly what I hate about this place. Money talks, and the rest of us just have to deal with it. That perverted fuck probably thinks he's untouchable."

Jade placed a comforting hand on Evren's arm. "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry. That's fucked up, what they're doing." She looked at Zahria and Bianca. "We have to do something, right? We can't just let this slide."

Evren shook her head, a broken sigh escaping her lips. "What can we do? It's HR. They're basically there to protect the hospital, not us little people."

"But this isn't right," Zahria spat out, her face scrunched up in anger. "He touched you, Evren. It wasn't just a mistake. And they're acting like it's nothing."

Bianca pulled Evren into a hug. "We believe you, Evren. We know you wouldn't make something like this up."

Jade nodded fiercely. "Absolutely. His poor ass excuse of a man has probably done this before. They just sweep it under the rug."

"Maybe we should all go to HR together?" Zahria suggested, though her voice lacked conviction. "Strength in numbers, right?"

Evren pulled back from Bianca, wiping her eyes. "I don't know. Mrs. McMahon seemed pretty clear. And honestly, after that meeting, I just feel defeated. I just want to forget about it and move on". To the dismay of the girls, she got up, trying to find motivation to continue the day.

As the day wore on, the subtle shifts in the atmosphere became impossible to ignore. The hushed whispers that ceased abruptly as she approached, the lingering gazes filled with a mixture of curiosity and judgment – the hospital rumor mill was churning. Evren felt like she had a scarlet letter emblazoned on her chest.

Later, as Evren was retrieving supplies from a storage room, the door clicked shut behind her. She turned to find Dr. Rhodes leaning against the frame, a smug look on his face.

"Nurse Smith," he drawled, his voice dripping with condescension. "Trying to stir up trouble, are we?" he walked over, backing her into the cold metal shelves.

Fear coiled in Evren's stomach. "Please let me leave."

He chuckled, a low, unpleasant sound. "You really thought they'd believe you? This is my hospital. A nobody like you stands no chance." He took a step closer, a hand placed on her waist. "You need to learn your place, Evren. Before I decide to make things more difficult for you. A word to the board about your 'unprofessional conduct' and your license could disappear." He slid a hand down her waist, his touch sending a shiver of revulsion through her. Before his hand could settle on her backside, Evren sidestepped him, her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't say a word, just wrenched the door open and fled.

She didn't tell Zahria or the others what had just happened. The fear of not being believed, of further retaliation, kept her silent. The rest of her shift was a blur of forced smiles and shallow breaths. Working on a case with Dr. Rhodes in the OR felt like a cruel twist of the knife. His snide remarks, thinly veiled as professional observations, were constant reminders of his power. Evren clung to her professionalism, focusing solely on the task at hand, scrubbing out the moment the surgery was over, desperate to escape his presence.

Back in the confines of the correctional facility, Josh was killing time in the common area, the monotonous drone of television a familiar backdrop. A guard's voice cut through the noise. "Fatu, you got a visitor."

Josh frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. Visits wasn't something he usually gets. He followed the guard, noticing they were heading towards the private visitation rooms. Must be her, he thought.

He entered the small room to find his lawyer, Kayla Braxton, already seated, a wry smile playing on her lips. "Well, it's nice to see you too, Mr. Fatu," she quipped, her eyes twinkling. "Though under slightly less restrictive circumstances would have been preferable."

Josh simply sat down, his eyebrows furrowed in a silent question.

Kayla leaned forward, placing a slim file on the table. "Your appeal for a retrial... it went through."

A beat of silence. Josh's expression remained carefully neutral, but a subtle stillness settled over him, a barely perceptible release of tension. "And?"

"And," Kayla continued, "the wheels of justice, as they say, turn slowly. Don't expect anything to happen overnight. We're looking at months, possibly longer, before a new trial date is set."

They discussed the legal complexities, the potential strategies, the long and uncertain road ahead. Despite the daunting timeline, a sliver of hope had been ignited within Josh.

Later that evening, the aroma of sizzling steak filled Evren's small apartment. As she flipped the meat in the pan, the familiar beeping of her phone's video call ringtone echoed through the room. Josh. A nervous flutter erupted in her stomach.

She wiped her hands on a towel and answered, waiting for the connection to stabilize. When Josh's face filled the screen, a wave of warmth washed over her. The starkness of his surroundings only seemed to highlight the intricate tattoos that flexed across his arms as he crossed them.

"Hey, ma," Josh's voice, rough yet familiar, filled her kitchen. "How was yo' day?"

Evren forced a small smile. "It was okay. Long." She hesitated, the encounter with Dr. Rhodes still raw. She couldn't bring herself to tell him. Not yet. Josh listening as she recounted her day. "HR told me the hospital isn't gonna pursue the investigation."

Josh's brow furrowed, his easygoing demeanor vanishing. "Bullshit. They ain't gon' do nothin'?"

"It seems that way," Evren sighed, trying to sound resigned. "It's fine, I'll figure it out."

"You want me to do somethin' bout it?" Josh's eyes held a familiar intensity. "just give me the word, ma"

Evren shook her head quickly. "No, no. It's okay, Josh. Really. I'll handle it." The thought of Josh's actions was still vivid. She didn't want to escalate things further.

She shifted the conversation. "How was your day?"

A subtle shift softened Josh's features. "It was ok. I met with my lawyer today."

"Oh?" Evren's interest piqued. "Was it good news"

"My appeal went through. Got a retrial comin'."

A genuine smile bloomed on Evren's face. "That's great news! I'm happy to hear that. You don't deserve to be locked up because somebody lied on you."

Josh's gaze softened, a rare vulnerability in his eyes. "Yeah," he murmured, his voice low. "Maybe you're right, ma. Maybe you're right." He looked at her, a silent acknowledgment of the unexpected hope they now shared, a fragile light in the darkness that surrounded them both.

"So does that mean you could get out early?" A hint of hopefulness, laced in her voice as she began mashing the potatoes with a little more force than necessary. The clinking of the utensil against the ceramic bowl filled the brief silence.

Josh sighed, the sound carrying a weight of weary resignation. He rubbed a hand down his face. "Not necessarily, ma. They gotta go back through everything. Get new statements, look at evidence again, it ain't gon' be a fast process." He saw a flicker of sadness, momentarily dim her eyes, and his voice softened. "But once they do all that. I'm free. Cause I know I ain't do none of what she said." He offered her a small, reassuring smile through the screen.

His attempt at comfort seemed to work, the shadow in her eyes receding as a faint, genuine smile spread across her face. "You sound confident, huh?" she said, her tone bit lighter.

He leaned back in his chair, the movement causing the fabric of his white shirt to stretch across his broad shoulders. His arms crossed over his chest, drawing Evren's gaze momentarily to the impressive curve of his biceps before she quickly flicked her eyes back up to meet his warm brown ones. A slow, knowing smirk graced his lips. "Just motivated. I got someone to come home to." He slightly tilted his head, his gaze holding hers through the digital divide, a silent intimacy passing between them.

Evren felt the familiar flush of heat creep up her neck and bloom on her cheeks. She quickly busied herself with the mashed potatoes, stirring them with unnecessary intensity. "So," she said, a little too quickly, changing the subject, "when you do get out, what's the very first thing you want to do? I know you mentioned you like to travel. Is there anywhere specific you're dreaming of going?"

He fell silent for a minute, his gaze drifting off-screen as if he were already picturing distant horizons. A thoughtful expression settled over his features before he finally replied, his voice a low murmur, "Somewhere tropical. I'm an islander it's in my blood, y'know?" A faint smile touched his lips again, a hint of longing in his eyes.

Evren nodded, a small, understanding smile mirroring his. She mentally tucked away this piece of information, a little seed of a future fantasy taking root. She continued to chat with him as she finished cooking the rest of their virtual meal, turning the camera to proudly display the finished steak, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.

"Damn, ma," he said, his eyes widening slightly, a genuine appreciation in his voice. "That looks good as fuck."

Evren beamed at the compliment, a warmth spreading through her chest. "You gonna cook f'me when I'm out?" he teased, playfully raising an eyebrow.

"I like to cook," she replied, her gaze softening as she looked at his image on the screen. "So of course. Whatever you want." The unspoken promise hung in the air between them, a thread of hope connecting their separate worlds.

They talked for a while longer, about mundane things that felt monumental in their shared anticipation of a future. Evren recounted a funny story about a demanding patient, and Jey chuckled, a deep rumble that vibrated through the phone. He told her about the bland prison food, making her wrinkle her nose in mock disgust. The ease between them was a balm, a stark contrast to the pressures each faced in their separate worlds.

"Fatu, time to wrap it up!" a guard's voice boomed, cutting through their conversation.

Jey sighed, a hint of frustration clouding his features. "Looks like that's my cue, ma. I'll holler at you tomorrow."

"Be safe," Evren said, her voice soft, a silent plea hanging in the air.

"Always," Jey replied, offering a quick, reassuring nod before the screen went black.

Jey handed the phone back to the guard, his earlier sense of lightness slowly dissipating. He ambled back to the common area, the low murmur of conversations and the muted glow of the television a familiar backdrop. Sami, Xavier, and Kofi were huddled around a table, playing cards. He slid into an empty chair, grabbing a handful of chips from Sami's bag.

"Rough day?" Kofi asked, eyeing him.

Jey just grunted, focusing on the game. He felt a restless energy buzzing beneath his skin, a leftover current from the conversation with Evren, and the grim reality of his surroundings.

Suddenly, a shadow fell over the table. Jey didn't need to look up to know who it was. Bron. His shoulders tensed.

"Well, well, if it ain't Mr. Appeal," Bron drawled, his voice laced with sneering sarcasm. "Heard you thinkin' you're special, gonna walk out of here like you ain't stained."

Jey kept his eyes on the cards, his jaw tight. "Walk away, Bron. Ain't got time for yo' bullshit."

"Lucky for you, I don't give a damn," Bron chuckled, stepping closer, his presence looming. "Everyone here knows you're all talk, Jey. Just a big fish in a kiddie pool, ain't ya? Probably gonna go cry to your mama when things get real." 

That did it. The insinuation, the challenge to his composure, snapped the thin thread of Jey's control. He surged to his feet, overturning the table with a crash that sent cards and chips scattering. His eyes, dark and lethal, locked onto Bron. 

"I'm warnin' you," Jey snarled, his voice low and dangerous. Bron just smirked, a flicker of fear in his eyes quickly replaced by a defiant sneer. 

"What, you gonna throw a tantrum, Fatu? Show everyone how much of a bitch you really are, huh?" 

Jey didn't answer. He lunged, a blur of controlled fury. His fist connected with Bron's jaw, a sickening crunch echoing in the sudden silence of the common area. Bron staggered back, spitting blood, his eyes wide with shock. Jey was on him in an instant, a primal roar tearing from his throat. He rained down blows, a whirlwind of fists and elbows, driven by years of suppressed rage and the blatant disrespect. Bron tried to fight back, but Jey was a force of nature, his movements swift and brutal. He slammed Bron against the wall, his grip like iron on Bron's throat, pounding him relentlessly until Bron's body went limp, sliding down the wall.

"Fatu! Break it up!" Guards swarmed in, shouting, pulling at Jey's arms. It took five of them, straining and grunting, to tear him away from Bron's unconscious form. Bron lay in a crumpled heap, blood oozing from a gash above his eye, his breath coming in shallow, ragged gasps.

The white lights of Deputy Calloway's office were blinding. Jey sat across from him, shoulders still heaving slightly, knuckles throbbing. Deputy Calloway, a man whose face seemed permanently etched with the weariness of years spent managing difficult men, stared at him over steepled fingers.

"Fatu," Deputy Calloway began, his voice devoid of emotion. "You know why you're here."

Jey remained silent, his gaze fixed on a scuff mark on the floor.

"Bron is in the infirmary. Couple of cracked ribs, concussion, nasty laceration. He'll live," Calloway stated, a pause for effect. "But that's not the point, is it? You've got an appeal pending, a chance to actually get out of here. And you pull this?"

Jey clenched his jaw. "He should've stayed the fuck from round me."

Deputy Calloway scoffed. "Doesn't matter who started it, Fatu. It matters who finished it. And you finished it. Violently." He leaned forward, his voice dropping slightly. "This is a serious setback. The board isn't going to look kindly on this." He pushed a disciplinary report across the desk. "Two weeks. The hole. Effective immediately."

Jey's head snapped up, a flicker of disbelief in his eyes. Two weeks. Solitary. Just when hope had finally started to bloom.

"Get him out of here," Deputy Calloway said, waving a hand at the guards by the door.

The walk to the disciplinary block was silent, the air heavy with Jey's grim realization. Each step was a step further away from the light Evren had brought, deeper into the crushing solitude of his incarceration. The steel door of the solitary confinement cell clanged shut behind him, the sound echoing in the suffocating darkness, a stark, brutal end to the day that had promised so much.

Let me know how y'all liked this chapter ♡

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[prattpunk]

Where do lost thoughts go?

*Warning hypnotic language

Have you ever had a thought just disappear from your mind? Like you had it....and then poof. Its incredibly frustrating. Our minds are wonderfully complex and amazing but they do sometimes let us down. This happened to me the other day and it made me think....where do those lost thoughts go. Our brains are not wired to just easily lose thoughts....right?

I know we have dreams and sleep so we can "erase" all the un-needed information our brains collects. Its why we wake up refreshed. Our mind's subconscious filters all this info and removes what we don't need.

This got me to thinking....is our subconscious the thing that is stealing our thoughts. Is it filtering things while we are awake? Is our subconscious controlling how we think and how we perceive things.

With hypnosis we tap into the subconscious. Its what allows us to do all the fun things we like to do. So this does make sense. But how is the subconscious deciding to erase certain thoughts. Even when your conscious mind is trying to hold on to them.

The subconscious is taking those thoughts away.

Then that led me to people who are easier to drop than others. Their subconscious is much more active. And it makes losing those thoughts a lot more easier. Allowing that subconscious mind a place to play. To express itself. To let out those secret dark desires.

Like how your conscious mind wants to be smart and capable. To be able to take on the world. And the subconscious wants to be controlled and obedient. Maybe made even a little mindless. To completely erase all those thoughts. To delete them before they are even formed. Like a child popping bubbles as soon as they appear. Popping all they can catch. And the rest is taken by the wind. Disappearing out of sight.

So if your subconscious so keen on taking you down, then you never really stood a chance did you? It is already waiting to just take over and send you down deep. How those thoughts just keeping popping before you form them. And it feels so good to not think. You conscious mind likes that feeling and goes towards it which only allows the subconscious mind to take over more.

To sink down more

To let go even more

You conscious mind gets muffled

Drowned out more and more

Its just white noise in the background

As your subconscious takes over

You subconscious sends you down deeper

It severs all the connections to reality and plummets you down

The further you go, the stronger it gets

The more it makes you stop thinking

The more it makes you relax

The more it makes you empty

Blank

Free

Free of all the worries of the world

Here....things are simple

Here....things are easy

Here....is where everything feels better

And you give into your subconscious even more. Letting it take you deeper.

Letting you just be

Be in the moment

Be blank

Be mindless

Be gone.

So gone.

No thoughts

No anything

Your subconscious has brought you here.

And its not giving up easily

You feel how its numbed your mind completely

There is no feeling

There is no movement

Just that nice comfortable blankness

The empty place

The place you crave to be

And find out it goes deeper each time

That your subconscious is stronger than you think

It just needs the space to take over

and you give it freely

you crave this feeling

your subconscious knows this deeply

and will whisper to your conscious mind about coming back here

seducing back to this place

the place where it just pops all those thoughts away

leaving you just caught on the words

the words your subconscious eats right on up

It hungers for direction

for pleasure

for blankness

Its ok to give into it

Its a part of you

A part you can quiet

A part that is very persuasive.

A part that you need

So give into it

Let it take everything away

Good girl

See how easy that was

See how much better this is

See how much you want to come back again and again

You subconscious craves more and you are powerless to stop it.

So why fight it?

Its better to just give in.

Its better to be controlled

Its better to be a good girl

And not that it has accepted those words. Lets bring you back to reality. Because you will be coming back to this spot again and again in the future.

But for now, lets bring back your conscious mind....

Feel the thoughts be allowed to form

Feel your mind coming back

Feel yourself becoming more awake and alert

Feel yourself rising back UP UP UP

Just like that.

Until you are fully WIDE AWAKE

Welcome back.

You may have lost a few thoughts but its ok. Life goes on.

Hope you enjoyed the journey and come back again.

Smiles

[morgana-larkin]

Alright, here's the next chapter of Just Tired! It's mostly in Melissa's POV. Not edited in the slightest and I hope you like it!

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 Part 21 Part 22 Part 23 Part 24 Part 25 Part 26 Part 27 Part 28 Part 30 Part 31 Part 32 Part 33 Part 34 Part 35 Part 36 Part 37

Just Tired - Part 29

Warnings: Manipulative relationship (Sorta mentioned), Angry Mel

Words: 3.5k

“Can’t you drive any faster?” Melissa asks Gerald as Melissa would be too distracted to drive herself so she woke up Barb and Gerald.

“Not without breaking any laws.” Gerald tells her.

“Melissa, I know Y/n means a lot to you but you need to calm down just a bit.” Barb tells her.

“How can I stay calm when she was just in a car accident?” Melissa says, visibly terrified. She then starts playing with the fidget bracelet you gave her and she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes, trying to relax.

5 minutes later Gerald pulls up to the front and Melissa bolts out, Barb follows after her as Gerald goes to park somewhere. She walks up to the front desk person.

“Hi, where would I find Y/n Y/l/n?” She asks them as she taps the counter nervously. The front desk person typed a few things before looking up and gave the information to Melissa. Melissa quickly went in the direction the woman told her with Barb right behind her. Melissa finally got to your room and was about to go in when she was stopped.

“Excuse me, but unless you’re family then you’re not allowed in.” A doctor told her.

“I’m Melissa, her emergency contact.” Melissa told him.

“Melissa?” She hears as a woman walks toward her. “I’m Doctor Emily Brown, we talked on the phone.” Emily tells Melissa.

“Can I see her?” Melissa asks.

“Of course, I’m afraid your friend here will have to wait out here.” She says as she looks at Barb.

“That’s alright, I understand, I’ll just sit in the waiting room.” Barb tells her. 

Melissa is led inside your room and sees a bunch of wires strapped to you and something in your mouth to help you breathe and a tear falls down Melissa’s cheek. Melissa walks up to you and tucks some hair behind your ear before holding your hand.

“She would hate to have hair on her face.” Melissa says with a dry chuckle and Emily nods.

“The police officers says that the man who hit her, his brakes stopped working. It was a terrible accident, but luckily both of them are alive. The man saw her coming and honked his horn and she was able to turn enough so he didn’t hit her dead on.” Emily explains. More tears stream down Melissa’s face as she looks at the scratches on you. 

“Is she going to be ok?” Melissa finally asks.

“We don’t know for certain but she isn’t in a coma, but she isn’t waking up. The first 48 hours after an accident like this are critical.” Emily explains to her and Melissa nods. “Are you two close?” She then asks and Melissa nods.

“We love each other.” Is all Melissa says and places a gentle kiss on your hand. 

“I will make sure that you're the first we call if anything changes and you’re welcome to come and visit her at any time you want.” Emily says.

“Thank you.” Melissa tells her and Emily nods before she leaves the room. “Y/n, I’m so sorry this happened to you. But I need you to heal and get better for me.” Melissa tells your sleeping body. “I don’t want to live my life without you in it, hon.” 

10 minutes later Melissa emerges from your room and goes to sit next to Barb.

“How is she?” Barb asks her.

“She’s healing.” Melissa says with sadness.

“She’s alive.” Barb tells her.

“For now, but they’re not sure if she’ll make it or not.” Melissa tells her. 

“I have faith she’ll make it.” Barb tells her gently. “Let’s go home and get some rest. Call Ava tomorrow morning and tell her what happened.” Barb says and gently gets her to stand up and walk out of the hospital. 

At Barb’s house Melissa is sitting on her bed, looking at a picture of you and her that she had framed last week. It was the picture of your first date with her and you both have your tongues out. That night Melissa fell asleep with the picture frame held close to her chest.

Barb woke her up as her alarm was going off and Melissa wasn’t turning it off. Melissa opens her eyes to see Barb above her with her phone.

“You weren’t turning it off, you should probably call Ava and tell her that you and Y/n won’t be there today.” Barb says as she gives her her phone.

“What? I’m going today.” Melissa says.

“You won’t be able to concentrate today. The best thing for you is to stay here or go visit Y/n at the hospital. You can go to work tomorrow but let all this sink in first.” Barb says. “Gerald is home staying home today, maybe he can take you to the hospital to visit Y/n.” Barb adds gently but Melissa gets up angrily and goes to get an outfit.

“Go to the hospital to what? Stare at her sleeping body and hope she doesn’t die?” Melissa shouts. “No fucking way I’m doing that! I’m going to work and then I’ll visit Y/n after.” She says as she makes her way to the bathroom and slams the door shut.

“Oh this is going to be a long day.” Barb says to herself.

Melissa ended up calling Ava after she got dressed to let her know what happened to you. On the way to work, Barb kept glancing at Melissa on the drive. Melissa kept noticing her glances but chose to ignore all of them. Melissa and Barb enter the breakroom and sees Jacob and Janine talking and she takes a deep breath before she walks up to them.

“Hey, wanted to let you kids know that Y/n was in a car accident last night. She’s alive but not awake. They’re only accepting me and family to visit her right now but I can keep you both informed of her progress.” Melissa tells them and sees both their mouths are open in shock.

“What? What happened to her?” Janine asks and Melissa has a short fume today.

“What do you fucking think? Are you dense? Another car hit her!” Melissa yells and Barb grabs her shoulders and brings her to the couch to watch the news and calm down.

“Calm down Melissa, they didn’t do anything.” Barb tells her gently. 

“Yes, they have, they’re annoying.” Melissa says sternly before she crosses her arms and leans back on the couch.

“Just don’t lash out on your students.” Barb says and Melissa whips her head at her.

“You think I’d lash out at my students?” Melissa asks loudly and stands up. “I would never do that!” Melissa snaps before storming out of there.

“Lord give me strength.” Barb says while looking up.

Melissa does end up not lashing out at any of her students, she saves it all for Janine, Jacob and Barb. She even yelled at Ava when she came into the breakroom at lunch for coffee, Melissa said she “deserved it for being stupid”. 

Barb drives Melissa to the hospital after school and Melissa walks in your room and sees you’re just the same as yesterday. The nurses told her that nothing happened all night and day to which she was relieved to hear. Melissa sets her purse on the table at the end of your bed before she sits in the chair and lets out a big breath. 

“Hey Y/n, since you weren’t there at school today I’ll tell you everything that happened.” Melissa tells you and goes into an explanation of what she did today, how your students are, and how she yelled at everyone. “And at lunch I yelled at Ava for taking all the sugar, but it seems like she has more sugar than caffeine in that cup, so I yelled at her and told Barb she’s stupid so she deserves it. You might have laughed if you were there. But when you wake up and return to work then you’ll be able to see all my antics again, maybe cause a few with me, or even tell me when I’ve crossed a line. But to do any of those then you need to get better.” Melissa says as she grabs your right hand. “Your left hand is in a cast as the other driver hit you on the left side, and your left leg is also in a cast. When you wake up then I’ll take care of you until you can take care of yourself, if you wake up. No, when you wake up. You’ll wake up as there��s so much you need to do, a whole life ahead of you. There’s still so many girls you haven’t kissed, so many things we have to do together, many students to teach, many things we can do to annoy Barb. This weekend I was thinking of bringing you to the museum of art, you’ll love it. You need to wake up so we can go there and look at all the artwork that they have. And in 3 weeks I move back into my house and I need your help with the decorating, making it my own. And when I move back in I’m gonna invite you over and make whatever you want and actually sit at the dinner table to eat. I honestly don’t know how you sit on the couch and eat and yet don’t cover it in plastic, maybe I can do it with my own couch, cover it in plastic.” Melissa says and looks at you. “I’m gonna come to visit you everyday, don’t worry.” She tells you before she presses a kiss on your hand.

Melissa gets home and goes straight to cooking something to take her mind off things. She ends up making 2 different meals for the week and 3 different desserts to eat. She cooks until it’s time for bed as she tries keeping herself distracted. Barb ends up coming in to keep her company as she cooks.

“My meatballs and chicken parm are something that Y/n really loves. I’m making it for her for when she wakes up.” Melissa tells Barb.

“Has anyone told her roommate what’s going on?” Barb suddenly asks and Melissa freezes. Melissa immediately calls Hallie to tell her what’s going on before she goes back to cooking.

At night, Melissa looks at the picture you took yesterday at school at lunch of you both in your costumes. The hospital gave her your things and your phone was one of them, and you trusted her enough to tell her your phone passcode. You took the picture after you playfully put the handcuffs on her for “being too sexy in her costume”. Melissa wipes the tear that falls down her cheek before she lays down and decides to look at some other pictures you’ve taken. To Melissa’s surprise, half of them are of her, ones she didn’t even know you took of her. She’s just doing normal things, like cooking, talking with Barb, reading something on her phone with her glasses on, her ordering her hoagie on Sunday. 

“You’re such a little sneakster.” Melissa says with a smile before she puts your phone down and goes to sleep.

True to her word, Melissa visits you everyday and tells you about her day and things she thought of that she wants to do with you. She ended up giving Janine and Jacob a few servings of the meals she made before it goes bad. She gave Jacob, Janine and Hallie updates when there was any, like your arm and leg are healing. On Saturday she ended up buying a flower vase and a bouquet of your favourite flowers. She brought it to your room and put the vase on the table beside your bed after putting water in it. She put the flowers in all neatly and put the fidget bracelet that you now wear on the table as well, for when you wake up. 

After the first week, she starts bringing a book to read to you, usually the book that she read to her students that day, and she uses the same funny voices that she uses with her students as well. When the flowers die, she buys you more of the same to replace the dead ones. When she leaves, instead of a kiss on the hand goodbye, she now gives you a kiss on the cheek.

On Sunday of the second week, she finishes reading Peter Rabbit, as you have to know the story before doing the project in a few months. She packs the book in her purse and grabs your hand.

“I have to go now but I’ll be back tomorrow after school to read you something else, I promise.” She tells you and she goes to give you a kiss on the cheek but changes her mind and gives you a kiss on the lips instead. “Good night, Y/n.” She tells you and she goes to place your hand back down but then she feels a small movement. She freezes and looks at you and waits a few seconds but nothing happens. She thinks it’s just her imagination and goes to let go of your hand but then you tap her hand gently with your finger and she looks at your hand and sees you do the movement again. “Y/n?” She asks and you groan before you slowly open your eyes. “Y/n!” Melissa exclaims happily as she sees you awake.

“Me-melissa?” You say, throat dry. 

“Ya, I’m right here, hon. Here have some water.” She tells you as she brings a small cup of water to your mouth and you take a few sips.

“Thank you.” You say after you’ve had enough. “Where am I? What happened?” You ask her.

“You’re in the hospital, you were in a car accident on the way home from the bar.” Melissa explains to you. “I should go get the doctor so she can look you over.” Melissa tells her and she goes to get Doctor Brown. “She’s awake.” Melissa tells her and Emily follows her in there with a nurse. 

They check you over and ask you a few questions to make sure you don’t have any memory issues and tell you about your injuries.

“Melissa said that she’d be willing to look over you after you get out, are you comfortable with that?” Emily asks you and you nod.

“Of course, she’s my best friend.” You tell the doctor and Melissa smiles at you referring her as your best friend.

“Alright, well we’ll keep you here for a few days just to make sure and if there’s no complications then you should be good to go home by Friday or Saturday.” Emily tells you and you nod.

“Thank you.” You tell them. “Can I actually get something to eat? I’m starving.” You ask her and she nods.

“I’ll see that you have some food delivered to you straight away.” She tells you. “Was there anything else you need or any questions?” She asks and you shake your head. Her and the nurse then leave and you're left alone with Melissa who was holding your hand the entire time.

“What are you smiling at?” You ask her and she sits down in the chair while still holding your hand.

“I didn’t know I was your best friend.” Melissa says and you chuckle.

“Well what else would you be?” You ask her and she shrugs.

“I’m also happy to see you awake and hearing your voice again.” She tells you.

“Is it true that I’ve been asleep for 2 weeks?” You ask her and she nods.

“It’s November 13 today.” She tells you and you widen your eyes. “But you’re awake now which is all that matters.” She adds and you nod your head while still processing it. “Also it was interesting that you woke up after I gave you a kiss on the lips. If I knew you were sleeping beauty then I would have given you one 2 weeks ago.” She jokes and you laugh.

“Did you really?” You ask her and she nods.

“I’ve been giving you kisses on your hand or your cheek, but today I was going to leave and decided to kiss your lips.” She admits and you hum. You then look over and see your phone, fidget bracelet and your favourite flowers beside you on the table.

“How many times have you visited me?” You ask her.

“I came here everyday after school and was here for the whole afternoon on the weekends.” She admits and then there was a knock at the door.

“Come in.” You say. A man enters the door and is carrying a tray with food on it.

“Hi, did you request food?” He asks you and you nod.

“Yes, I’m starving.” You tell him with a smile. Melissa makes room on the table beside you and the man puts the tray there. “Thank you.” You tell him happily and he smiles at you before he leaves. “Looks like some soup.” You say as you look.

“Well that’s probably the best as you haven’t eaten in 2 weeks. Easy on your stomach.” She says and you nod. Melissa holds the bowl for you as you’re left arm is broken and you take a bite.

“It’s not bad, you’d make it better though.” You say as you take another bite and she laughs.

“Probably.” She tells you with a smile.

“Do you have to go?” You ask her before you take another bite and she shakes her head.

“I was gonna go have dinner but I can get something on the first floor. I don’t want to leave now that you’re awake.” She says and you smile. Melissa does end up getting a burger and fries on the first floor and eats it in your room. You steal a fry and she does a gasp but lets you steal a few of them.

“Are you just gonna steal all of my fries?” She asks after you steal your fifth one.

“Maybe. I was asleep for 2 weeks, I need food.” You tell her and she rolls her eyes.

“I hope you don’t end up using that as an excuse every time you steal food from me.” She tells you and you smile as you steal another fry. “I should have gotten some for you.” She says and you giggle.

“They taste much better when I steal them from you though.” You say and she sticks her tongue out at you and you laugh. You end up stealing half her fries and she just lets you as it makes you happy and the fact that you’re eating is a good thing.

“If you go home on Saturday then I’d be back in my house and you can stay there if you want.” She offers and you nod. “I read the agreement last week that we both had to sign, I get the house and all its furniture. The only thing he can take is his clothes and toiletries.” She tells you and you smile.

“So you were here everyday?” You ask her and she nods. “And you brought flowers?” You ask.

“Yep, your favourite ones.” She says. “For when you wake up.” She adds.

“You’re very sweet, and I can’t believe you visited everyday.” You tell her.

“Well why wouldn’t I?” She asks and you shrug.

“Well you do have a life and I’m sure you’ve gotten asked out on dates.” You tell her.

“I did, I just declined all of them. Besides, since you’ve been in my life, we pretty much see each other everyday, and not just because our classrooms are across the hall from each other.” She says and you hum.

“Good point.” You tell her and she takes a sip from the can of coke she got with the meal. “Can I have a sip?” You ask her and she passes it to you.

“I mean you stole half my fries so why not my drink.” She jokes and you smile as you take a sip.

“And my body thanks you for the fries and coke.” You say and she chuckles.

“You’re such a goof, I missed you.” She tells you and you grab her hand.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You tell her and she leans forward and kisses you. She pulls back after a second with wide eyes.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have I just-” She starts to apologise but you grab her shirt and pull her back in to kiss her again. “I missed you so much.” She says before she kisses you again.

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