#Like the time a delivery driver (who I did not order anything from) pulled up her car beside me to tell me about how her

[strwbrryeyes]

tsuki and reader who loves video games :3 whenever reader finds a new game, they always talk about it to tsuki and have him try it with them at least once!! if tsuki likes the game, reader considers it a huge win; although tsuki doesn’t play a lot, if he sees reader playing a game he likes, he’ll sit with them and play for a bit <3

𖦹°｡⋆ Actually not boring (tsukishima x reader)

⟡ cw: no pronouns used i think, fluff, a little cussing, not proofread, lmk if i missed anything.

⟡ a/n: i kind of went off prompt i'm sorry </3 i just could only see tsukishima acting like this asdfghjkl hope you like it anyway but also i'm sorry if its bad im still getting used to writing again! alsosorryhinata-

“What the hell are you doing?” Tsukishima asks as he walks into your shared bedroom to see you at your new light blue and white PC setup. You turn around in your chair to face him with a bright smile on your face.

“I’m playing on Kenma’s new Minecraft smp!” you excitedly say to him as you pull him down to your level to show him how Kenma, Hinata, Kuroo, and Bokuto’s characters are all standing around the spawn area.

“Seems boring,” your boyfriend squints his eyes as he looks at everyone’s skins “what in the world is Bokuto’s avatar? it looks ug-”

“Isn’t handsome?! Just like me!” A loud screech from Bokuto comes through your headphones and cuts off Tsukishima and bursts your eardrum as you forgot to mute your mic and deafen. Tsukishima groans and rolls his eyes before grabbing your mic from your desk to bring it up to his face.

“No but it is ugly like you.” Tsukishima says into the mic causing Bokuto to shout and hit your character as if it was Tsukishima but you punch him back to get him to back off. After that small distraction, you deafen yourself and turn to look back your boyfriend.

“Jeez, thanks babe, now my ears are bleeding,” you glare at him and he scoffs shaking his head, “Why don’t you play with us? I’m sure you’ll have fun!” you change the subject to try to convince Tsukishima to play with the group but all he does is plop on the bed on the otherside of the bedroom.

“Minecraft is boring and childish, we went over this when you tried making me play with you last month.” Tsukishima says in a monotone voice as he scrunches his face.

“But this time it’s mod-”

“Nope, don’t care you can’t convince me.” He cuts you off not even giving you a chance to finish what you were saying making you let out a huff and turn back to your PC.

What you were trying to explain before you were rudely interrupted, was that it was a modded Minecraft server with a bunch of different tech, magic, and animal mods and that you really thought he would enjoy it since some of the mobs that were added to the game were different types of dinosaurs you could tame and ride. You shake it off not caring enough to try to convince him again for now.

After about an hour and a half, you and Tsukishima are still in the same spots as before doing your own thing while talking to each other occasionally. The both of you had ordered dinner since neither of you were really up to cook or go out so Tsukishima had paid for the food so long as you agreed to go down the the apartment complex lobby to pick it up from the delivery driver.

“Babe, food is almost here you can go down to the lobby now.” Tsukishima told you making you groan out of annoyance because you were working on a tech project with Hinata on the server and didn’t want to leave him alone for the fear that Hinata may break something important (he isn’t very good with minecraft mods).

Regardless, you deafened your headset after telling Hinata you would be right back and to not touch anything before standing up from your seat and turned to face your boyfriend “Okay, I’ll go get the food but can you come sit here and make sure Hinata doesn’t touch anything?” you asked Tsukishima with puppydog eyes and a pout that he couldn’t resist so all he did was sigh and sit at your desk like he was told, making you happy and then off you went to get the food.

After you left, Tsukishima didn’t pay much attention to your computer screen since Hinata had told everyone in the game chat that he was going AFK to go to the bathroom and after knowing Hinata after all these years, Tsukishima knew Hinata would be in there for a while so Tsukishima was just scrolling through his phone until he saw movement on your screen in the background. He figured Hinata had come back from the bathroom but it hasn’t even been that long so he took it upon himself to fully look at the screen and what he saw was Bokuto and Kuroo running around what seems to be your base. At first, Tsukishima wasn’t too worried but still kept an eye on them incase they did something stupid because if they did and you came back to something being wrong, you would blame him for not stopping it. Nothing was out of the ordinary until the two avatars came back into frame with a…dinosaur? Tsukishima couldn’t really process what was happening except for the fact that these two bafoons were dragging a large mob that was named ‘Kei’ with a lead and away from your base. Confused and annoyed Tsukishima picked up your headset and undeafend it to hear what Kuroo and Bokuto were saying in proximity chat.

“Bro, they’re going to kill us!” Bokuto sounds worried as he follows Kuroo around.

“They’re AFK she won’t even know it was us, she’ll just think Shoyo did it!” Kuroo quietly shouts as if he didn’t want other people to hear. ‘What an idiot’ Tsukishima thought before unmuting the mic.

“What do you think you dumbasses are doing?” Tsukishima says seriosuly into the mic causing the two to stop dead in their tracks.

“Kuroo made me do it!” Bokuto finally yells into his mic before running away into the distance leaving Kuroo behind.

“Listen, Tsukishima, you don’t have to tell [name],” Kuroo says nervously as he unleads the dinosaur “I’ll just leave it here an-” Kuroo is cut off by Tsukishima running towards him with a sword but is slowed down when he runs out of hunger giving Tsukishima the leverage to kill Kuroo.

Now that those two ‘idiots’ were gone, Tsukishima took it upon himself to inspect the mob that looks like a dinosaur. He smirked at the fact that it was named after him, thinking it was cute and also mounted it with a saddle to he could ride it a bit.

A few more minutes go by and Tsukishima is still playing around with all the mobs you have already found in the short time you have been playing and was (un)surprisngly amused, so amused that he forgot that you weren’t even in the apartment until he heard the door to the bedroom open,

“Sorry I took so long, I had to talk to the front desk about a package that I was supposed to get…” You walk on saying but got quieter when you saw your boyfriend flying in the sky on a dragon. Tsukishima didn’t even want to turn around because then you would see that his face is red from embarrassment so he just kept flying in circles until you forcibly turned the chair around to make him look at you with a smirk plastered on your face. “Whatcha doin there, my love?” You smugly ask him as he struggles to find the words to say.

“I uh- I um stopped Bokuto and Kuroo from stealing your pet!” Was all your flustered boyfriend managed to say. It wasn’t often Tsukishima would get flustered like this but everytime he did, you would soak it in to make sure you never forgot it so naturally, you took a picture. 

The picture snapped him out of his embarrassed state to glare at you but witht hat shit eating grin on your face, he knew he had no choice of redemption so he caved and told you everything that happened with annoyance but excitement in his voice.

“Oh! I also got you this giant wolf looking thing! It was right outside your base and I thought you might want it!” Tsukishima exclaims like a child as you sit ontop of his lap giggling as he showed you things he thought were cool after he was adamant not hearing you out on how he should play on the server too.

“Kei, my love, your PC is right next to mine,” you manage to let out between giggle as you point to Tsukishima’s barely used computer set up that he sometimes used for work and to occasionally play other video games with you “Why don’t you just play with all of us? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind!” you once again ask him to join the server but all he responds with is a sigh and a look that automatically says no.

“They’re going to make fun of me for being a nerd!” Tsukishima ends up pouting not being able to stay seriously annoyed at you for too much longer and all you can let out is a single ‘Ha!’ before kissing his forehead.

“They aren’t going to make fun of you! They’re just as big of nerds as you are! Kenma is literally working with a magic mod while Kuroo is making a rocket to go to the moon with Bokuto while me and Hinata are making an automatic cooking station so we can open our own restaurant!” You explain to Tsukishima, telling him more about the different kinds of mods that are on the server which only intrigues him even more making him agree to play on the server on the condition that you two make another base further away from everyone else so no one could bother him too much which you agreed to.

Before setting up everything Tsukishima needed to download on his own computer, you both travelled a couple thousand blocks and found the perfect biome to start your modded minecraft journey together and moved all of your belongings and pets there so you wouldn’t have to go back and forth. Once everything was moved to your new area, the both of you logged off for the night to go eat your now cold dinner and agreed that you would play more tomorrow night and that you would both learn what each mod does before focusing on one specific mod.

Tsukishima wouldn’t show it, but he was actually extremely excited to play on this server with you and his high school friends since he never really got to see them anymore and wanted an activity to bond over with you. He was happy and he has you to thank.

BONUS:

~Half an hour after you and Tsukishima logged off: Hinata Shoyo’s apartment~

Hinata groans as he leaves the bathroom walking back to his desk, muttering something about how he shouldn’t have eaten that much mac and cheese. 

As he sits back down and exits the menu/paused screen of minecraft Hinata is left speechless as he looks around him and sees that mostly everything that was once there is gone except for a few of his own chests and a few signs that you left behind that read ‘Sorry Shoyo, Tsukishima is making me live with him now’ ‘We can still work on the restaurant but we cant be roommates </3 - [name]’ Hinata sighs as he finishes reading the signs and starts to walk away to go find someone else to hang out with until he sees another sign a few blocks away that says ‘haha loser - tsukishima’ and at that point Hinata just decides to log off.

[laniuchiha7]

Neighbors

*knock* *knock*

“Coming!” Sakura’s feet pad over to the door to collect, what she assumes is, her food delivery. However, much to her surprise, she’s greeted by her handsome neighbor who’s…holding her groceries? “Oh! You’re a delivery driver?”

“Actually these were delivered to my apartment by mistake,” Sasuke admits.

“Ah I see. Well I can take them.” She reaches to take the bags, but pauses when he speaks up again. 

“They’re heavy,” he tells her. “I don’t mind bringing them in for you, if you’re fine with that?”

Not wanting their interaction to end, Sakura doesn’t tell him she usually has no issues carrying them in. Plus she thinks the tips of his ears are turning red, but her tired eyes could be playing tricks on her. “Sure! I’ll lead you to the kitchen.” The journey from the entryway to the counter is a short walk, and Sasuke places the bags down.

“Thank you,” Sakura says. “I work at the hospital, so I don’t have much time to go shopping myself.”

“I didn’t want anything to go bad.”

“Um…Would you like to stay for dinner?” She feels her cheeks warming and nervousness begins to set in that her crush is standing in her apartment. Before she can stop herself, words start falling from her mouth. “I typically cook a big meal and divide up the leftovers to take for my lunch at work, so I would have more than enough for you too. I mean you don’t have to or anything, I just thought that since you helped me it’s the least I could since –”

“Sakura,” he interrupts her rambling, attempting to hide his grin. “I can stay for dinner, if you don’t mind having me.”

Sakura sighs with relief. “Great!”

X

A few days later Sasuke plops onto his couch after coming home from his business meeting, which ran late. He’s tired and starving, but there’s not much in his apartment that would satisfy his hunger. Is Sakura home yet? He doesn’t recall seeing any lights on as he passed by earlier and she did mention working odd hours.

Sasuke enjoyed the previous dinner they shared, he couldn’t remember the last time he had a home cooked meal. They shared a pleasant conversation and watched a few episodes of a new show on KageFlix. It was the most fun he’s had in a long time, and to be able to share the experience with his crush was the cherry on top of his night.

They exchanged numbers before he left, and he’s been trying to find the right time to send her a message. Would she mind if he sent her one now? What if she’s already out with her friends? Is he overthinking this? Sasuke is sure he is.

Feeling a brief buzz come from his pocket, he pulls out his phone and finds a text from his pink-haired neighbor.

Sakura: Hey Sasuke-kun! I’m about to leave the hospital. If you’re not busy, do you want to come over and watch some more of that show? I was planning on getting a pizza tonight, if you want I can order an extra one for you too? :)

Sasuke bits his lower lip as a smile stretches across his lips and texts her back.

Sasuke: Sounds good.

He receives a reply almost immediately.

Sakura: I should be home in about 30 minutes and we can order it together! See you soon :)

Standing up, Sasuke walks into the bathroom for a quick shower and to change into more casual clothes.

X

“...And that’s how you started dating?” Sarada looks at her parents with an eyebrow raised.

“It’s true!” Sakura exclaims. “After that whenever one of us would order out, we’d invite the other over. And after seeing the sorry state of his fridge,” she nods her head towards her husband. “I started cooking more so he could take some home. A few weeks later your father finally asked me out and we went on an official date, but we preferred staying in.” Sasuke nods his head in agreement.

“We know it’s not the most exciting love story, but it’s ours,” Sarada’s parents share a loving look, and she can’t help but smile fondly at them.

“You should’ve tracked down whoever the delivery driver was who messed up Mama’s order. Without them, who knows how long it would’ve taken for you to finally get together.”

“We sort of did,” Sasuke reveals.

X

Sasuke opens Sakura’s front door after she asks him to greet the delivery driver. They don’t have a profile photo on their profile, so Sasuke isn’t sure who he’s looking out for, but he’s confused when he finds the apartment building manager standing there, who apparently also works as a delivery driver.

“Hatake?” Looking at his hands, Sasuke sees the red delivery bag.

“Sasuke?” Kakashi’s voice feigns astonishment. “I didn’t expect to see you in Sakura’s apartment.”

Their exchange is taking longer than Sakura expected, so she comes around the corner to see what’s going on. “Sasuke-kun? Is something wrong? I think this is the same person who delivered my groceries to your place, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they messed up again…Hatake-san? What are you doing here?”

“Hello to you too, Sakura. I’m only here to deliver your order from Akimichi’s BBQ and Grill,” he takes a box out of the red bag and hands it to Sasuke. “Well you two have a good evening,” Kakashi grins and waves before walking off, leaving his two tenants in utter shock. After they both stare at the open door for an extra few seconds, Sasuke pushes it closed with his foot.

 “Well that was unexpected,” Sakura finally says. “But I’m sure the driver had the same name as the one who left my groceries at your address. Why would Hatake-san do that when he knows which unit is mine?” Sasuke shrugs and honestly doesn’t have an answer either.

Kakashi steps back into his car, waiting for his phone to load the destination for his next delivery. Seems like his little plan to set up those two worked. Having to watch them exchange nervous and flushed glances whenever they’d pass by or come into his office was starting to become painful to watch, and he wanted to give them a little push. Now that it seems his plan was a success, they better invite him to their future wedding.

[unstoppableforcce]

WHAT WE WERE

PART ONE: finding ourselves

pairing: Matt Murdock x f!reader

next part | masterlist

a/n: well I was gonna post the first chapter of my devil in me rewrite but I finished this first. maybe it’s irresponsible to start a new multipart story when there are so many things I haven’t finished but here I go anyways

It wasn’t cigarettes. Foggy always said you reeked of cigarettes, but that wasn’t it at all. The smoke was nothing more than an aftertaste, persistent in its impurities, overriding the finer notes. 

Freshly diced garlic and hot chili oil. Tangy beer sloshed over your shoes and drops of tequila staining your fingertips. Sterile citrus soap buried deep in the gaps between your knuckles and an amalgamation of every man’s cologne as they lean in too close to you. Lavender dryer sheets fighting on long after the box empties. Black coffee, no sugar, no nothing. 

Of all the bad decisions he made in college, you were by far the worst.

“I’m a writer,” you had told him, collapsed into the scratchy dorm lounge chair beside him, half a handle dangling between your fingertips. “I’m… finding myself.”

A scoff echoing from your own throat quickly spiraled into a hearty chuckle as he listened to the liquor swirl around the bottom of the bottle, your self-mockery going over his head as he leaned closer, desperate to hear it all in the busy dorm room. He didn’t know who had spat those words at you the first time, but he did know just how your heart jumped when you uttered them with your own meaning. It would repeat in his mind for hours once you retreated to your own floor, for years, even when he swore he didn’t think of you anymore. 

Every time he ordered Thai food, the soft smell would waft up his staircase as the delivery driver climbed step after step, and he would think of you. Fighting for a drink at Josie’s, a beer spilt down his back and shouts raising across the bar, he could hear the thump of your heart reverberating through his skull. In courtrooms, with an argument perched on his tongue, he’d catch the briefest hint of a juror’s cologne and he’d hear your heart beat steady through his mind once more. A laundromat, a coffee shop, it had been nearly a decade and he could still hear it as clearly as he had that night. A rhythmic thump with the slightest of hitches, an uptick of excitement and adrenaline, fear and awe all at once. 

“What have you found so far?” He asked, numb to the rest of the dorm as your heartbeat grew closer and closer, the legs of your chair nudging into his. 

 “Nothing good,” you answered, calm and resolute. 

His tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. “Well... There's still time."

He swore he heard your heart tick once more. 

The first time he kissed you, he heard nothing at all. Not your heart, not his own. Nothing. 

He just felt all of you. 

Smoke overtook his tongue at first but the bitter taste of your daily fix quickly caught up. Black coffee, no sugar, no nothing. Your lips pressed on, your fingers gripping in tighter to his hair, and he found the mint of your toothpaste a refreshing reprieve as you slowly consumed him. A violent bass raced through you, like a speaker with its volume turned to eleven, and he could feel each beat at his fingertips. His grip stayed gentle as you clawed at him, his firm touch holding you steady as you melted in his lap, and still, he managed you closer and closer, until your echoing chest pressed against his own and you could feel the same tick in his heartbeat. 

The two of you, with hearts in sync, stayed like that until daylight struck. Your fingers were still threaded through his hair when he felt the first rays of warm light across his bare chest. 

It was unlike anything he had ever experienced. He could still taste you on his tongue. Black coffee, no sugar, no nothing. 

“Foggy’s gonna hate me…” you cursed, chastising yourself but not making any real moves to pull yourself from his bed. “Your room is going to smell like sex and cigarettes.”

His finger drew an easy line down your spine as you arched further into his side. “He’ll get over it.”

Words flood your tongue, but you hold them there. For a few minutes, your focus holds solely on the line of his ribs and the dull red marks you leave as you mindlessly drag your fingernails back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. You hold the words until they turn bitter, fighting past your teeth and out before you can stop them. “He doesn’t like me.”

Your finger continues, back and forth, leaving a strip of pink skin in your wake. 

“He does like you.” You don’t need to hear his heartbeat to know he’s lying, the strangled choke of his voice gives him away in an instant. Even he can’t help but chuckle at his own pathetic performance. “I’m sorry–”

The laughter doesn’t roll as easily off your tongue. “He thinks you could do better.”

Matt’s head shakes. “It doesn’t matter what he thinks.”

It’s not until you sit up and pull your shirt back on that you turn over your shoulder and offer him a response. “Yeah, it does..."

There aren’t many weekends where Foggy is away, so he ends up at your place most of the time. It’s easier to exist there, for him and for you. There’s no one to disturb, no judgment to be had, just stacks of books and crumpled papers and soft smells he would have never associated with you until he stepped foot inside the small room. Cracked spines and old pages, eraser shavings and smeared pencil scribbles. 

It’s easier to hide there. Morning classes seem to disappear when he’s lying next to you and evening classes are completely irrelevant when he can stand beside you in the kitchen as you throw ingredient after ingredient and spice after spice into your wok. It’s the best meal he’s ever had, it doesn’t matter how many times you make it for him. 

He tells you that he loves you and you laugh, stamping out your cigarette in the ashtray by the window where you sat. The embers fizzled out like echoing fireworks in his ears as he waited for you to turn back to him, to say something back. 

“Matthew…” you chide gently, climbing off the windowsill and back towards where he laid waiting for you in bed. “I..."

His cheeks turn cherry red under the warmth of the candlelight overtaking the room. “You don’t have to say anything–”

Your lips steal the rest of his words from him, a gentle kiss to rival your typical eager attacks. There were no words for how much you loved him, nothing as simple as his easy declaration, so you hoped your body could emphasize what your vocabulary lacked. 

How could you possibly quantify the mountains of feelings you felt for him? 

A rush of writer’s block overtook you in the worst of ways, cutting off every avenue for expression as you grew more desperate. Your fingers clung to the white tee he wore, twisting and pulling as he cradled you gently. How are you meant to tell him that there isn’t a distance in the expanse of the universe long enough to quantify the distances you’d go for him? How are you meant to put words to the dizzying thump of your heartbeat whenever he walks into a room? How are you meant to quantify a love for him that you barely understood? You tore his shirt from his chest and brought you even closer. Maybe if you held him tight enough then he would know that he was the lifeline to your existence, the only person in the world who made you forget that you were the mess that you were, the only one who didn’t need you to be anything besides that. 

Maybe if you held him tight enough, that would be enough. Your nails scratched down his back and a moan fled his throat, running hot into your own mouth. 

Maybe it could be enough, you’d pray. You didn’t deserve his love but maybe this could be enough for him. 

And it was. You were always enough for him. 

Every few days, he’d go home, reeking of cigarettes and black coffee. It’s probably better that he couldn’t see the looks Foggy gave him. 

“Have you been studying for the Torts midterm?” The blonde offers in his best attempt to make conversation. It’s the first night Matt has stayed the night at their place in weeks. “I have some of John’s notes, if you want me to read them to you or you can take them and get… someone else to read them for you…”

He nods as he unloads his clothes from his backpack, a hint of you wafting off of them and filling the room as he tosses them in the general direction of his hamper. “Thanks."

“Sure,” Foggy answers quickly, though much more waits on his tongue. It takes a few minutes for him to work up the courage, his hands fussing over his textbook collection a few times over before he finds enough heart to open his mouth once more. “I wish you wouldn’t do this to yourself.” 

A fountain of sweat begins to soak beneath his arms, his hands going numb as he watches the man he believed to be his best friend freeze in his motions. Over and over, he reminded himself that he only wanted the best for him but it didn’t matter how many times he repeated the sentiment, nothing made this any easier. 

“This is what you’ve been working towards for so long and she…” He bites his tongue as he watches the blind man flinch ever so slightly, correcting himself quickly. “No one would be worth throwing that away for.”

The most Matt can offer at first is a nervous laugh, it bubbles from his chest as he stumbles over his defense. “Foggy, it’s not… I’m not throwing anything away–”

“Just listen to me, okay… please just…” He shakes his head, his long, greasy blonde hair falling into his face and his shaking hands moving quickly to push it back. “You don’t go to class anymore, you don’t come home anymore, and I know that she’s important to you… I’m not trying to… I don’t want to… I just want you to know she’s not the only important thing in your life.”

The words nearly sink in for him. They settle over his form and for just a second, he actually hears his roommate when he speaks, he actually listens. 

But once the words started for Foggy, he couldn’t stop them. 

“She’s not worth it, Matt.”

The room falls silent and stays silent. It doesn’t take too long for Matt to repack his backpack and head straight back to your apartment, and for three weeks, the room stays just as silent as it had in that moment. For three weeks, neither of the two soon-to-be lawyers are brave enough to offer a single word to the other. Not a ‘hello’, nor a ‘goodbye’. It helps that Matt isn’t home much anyways. 

He goes to class more often, nearly every single day. He can hear Foggy in the back of each classroom, he can feel the heat of his stare on the back of his neck. He much prefers his spanish class, he doesn’t know a single other soul in the lecture hall. 

It would have been fine, if you hadn’t asked. He was going to class and spending more time with you… everything would have been fine, but you asked. 

“That’s what he said? That I’m not worth it?” You repeated, though he was sure saying it once was enough to sear the words into the forefront of your mind for the rest of your life. He remembers the hidden vitriol under your tongue when you mocked the words you first spoke to him that night in the dorms, he remembers exactly how much those words lingered for you. If that was any indication, these would almost certainly haunt you. The soft squish of your socks turned to a thud with each pacing step. Back and forth, back and forth. 

Matt finds a reluctant answer as he leans forward on your couch, settling his elbows on his knees. “Yes."

“And you haven’t spoken to him since?”

His silence is enough of an answer this time, his head falling down, his chin meeting his chest as he falls away from the heat of your stare. 

Your feet continue to pace. Back and forth. Back and forth. “You should go home, talk to him.”

“I don’t want to talk to him–”

“You should–”

“I want to be here–”

“Well, I don’t want you here.” Calm and resolute. Your voice never raised, your soft tone never wavered. The scampering pace of your feet had come to a stop. “Go home and apologize, Matt.” 

He finds his feet, standing nearly toe-to-toe with you. “I have nothing to apologize for.”

“He’s your best friend, Matt, you’re not losing him over this.” Your head shook and you pulled away. “Go home."

He didn’t understand, how could he possibly understand. 

He stood there for far too long, his mouth agape, never finding the words to mount an argument. He simply didn’t understand. What could he have possibly done wrong in your eyes? He wanted to be here with you, he chose you, he just didn’t understand. 

There was a saltiness in the air, he reached for you but you pulled back, wiping away your own tears. “Go home, Matt… It’s better if you just go home.” 

He didn’t have the heart to ask who it was better for, in the moment, he could only assume you meant for yourself. He could have never imagined that you were doing this for him, he could never understand that the only thing you were faulting him for was loving you, choosing you. 

He only saw you once more after that night. 

You brought him a bag full of the life he had lived in your apartment and offered Foggy a wave as he excused himself to give the two of you some privacy. 

“You two made up?” You asked, trying not to seem too desperate to know. 

“Yeah… we’re fine.”

There was a tick in your heartbeat but he didn’t know what it meant. He didn’t know what any of it meant. 

You kissed him one last time as you assured him that it was better this way. He held your last kiss for what felt like hours, trying to remind himself it was a goodbye each time he gripped tight to a new piece of you and pulled you even closer. You took his breath with him when you left and he swore, he still hadn’t caught it back yet. 

It had been nearly a decade, and still, he could hear your heartbeat when you weren’t around, still, he could smell you in the thousands of cigarettes smoked in the city daily. 

It had been nearly a decade, and still, you lingered in his mind. Just a whiff of smoke on the way into the office and you were on his mind.

Foggy took each step in time with him, ascending one foot after the other up the narrow stairwell of their familiar commute. There was a rumble of voices in the office, nothing distinct, not at first, but voices meant clients and it had been quite some time since the two of them had clients waiting for them first thing in the morning. It put a skip in Foggy’s step unconsciously and Matt couldn’t help but feel the same excitement as they continued up the stairs. With every step, the voices got clearer, first Karen and the sweet rasp of her morning voice, offering refreshments to whoever waited and then–

“Black coffee,” you answered Karen’s question. “No sugar. No nothing.”

[cinnamokittykat]

Puppy Love Chapter 5: Baking Together

Warnings: Awful Google Translate German, Abusive ex

Tags: Fluff, Hybrid! AU, The characters bake together, Lilith has a daughter

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

The day began bright and early for the duo as they walked to the bakery. They had a long day of ingredient prep ahead of them. The pantry was to be stocked, butter to be browned, and frosting to be made, along with a multitude of other food-related tasks.

Lilith unlocked the bakery's front door before running by the road to wave down the delivery driver. The big truck stopped and backed into the pebbly driveway with many loud beeps. A man with a clipboard hopped out and walked up to Lilith.

"Guten Morgen, ist diese Reihenfolge korrekt?"

He points to the clipboard, then opens the back of the truck for her to look. She squints, then nods.

"Danke, sir."

"Wunderbar. Benötigen sie hilfe beim entladen?"

"Nein, ich habe ihn."

At this point, König appeared behind the man, who, upon feeling his looming presence behind himself, nearly jumped out of his skin.

"J-ja, ich muss einige dinge an meinem truck erledigen!"

He scurried off into the driver's seat of the truck, leaving König and Lilith alone again.

"Let's get these inside, then we can start cooking, alright?"

"Sounds gut."

He then proceeded to pick up 2 very large sacks of flour and throw them over his shoulder like they were nothing. The woman parted her lips in amazement. She wondered if he could pick her up just as easily. With someone his size, he could most definitely just treat her as he pleased...

Lilith grabbed a dolly and started wheeling pallets of berries toward the bakery. With König's help, the ingredients were put away in less than 30 minutes, and she was thankful. It meant more time to cook. She thanked the delivery driver once again and signed off on the order.

"Let's get cooking, big guy."

Lilith managed to find a spare apron in the storage closet, and it fit König surprisingly well. It was a standard issue kitchen uniform, as König had declined the black one with "two seater" and arrows printed on.

"Here, uh, use this hairnet on your tail... there. Perfect! We are ready!"

"What do we do first?"

"Well, I have to brown butter for cookies so I can get them started."

"... browning butter?" He asked, clearly confused.

"Yeah, it adds depth of flavor," Lilith explained. "König, have you ever baked before?" She continued.

"Nein, my mother did a lot, I just never got a chance to learn... It seems so complicated, what if I mess it up?"

"Well, I can teach you, I won't make you do anything complicated today."

"Okay."

"You can start helping me by unpackaging all of that butter and putting it in this pot."

She gestured to a large yet shallow metal pot, then began to process a pallet of strawberries. König watched her work swiftly but delicately with each strawberry, removing the leaves and hull in one fell swoop of the paring knife before tossing them into a bowl.

He got to work, pulling the foil off the butter blocks and listening to the plunk! of them falling against the metal. Lilith turned the stove on and began to stir the butter around until it was melted and bubbling.

"Now, this is where it needs to be watched closely. It can turn from browned to burnt in seconds."

The man nodded, just happy to listen to her explain things. He could tell she was not only skilled but invested in the culinary arts.

"What will this be used in?" He inquired.

"Around 3/4 for chocolate chip cookies, and the remaining butter will be used in my rice krispie treats."

König's head tipped to the side, his ears perked up.

"What are those?"

"Hm?"

"Rice Krispies?"

"Oh, so there's this cereal made with puffed rice, a lot of people will melt marshmallows and mix it with them to make these treats that are both crispy and chewy. But don't get that cheap stuff from the American stores here, mine are better." She explained with a smile on her face.

"I am sure they are then."

By then, the butter was browned, and Lilith scraped the pot with a rubber spatula while König tipped it over a huge container.

"This has to cool, so in the meantime, I'm gonna start frosting."

For the next hour, they worked side by side, König doing the simpler things like cutting fruit for jams while Lilith completed more technical tasks such as making frosting and toasting ingredients. When she pulled a tray of pleasantly burnished marshmallows out of the oven, she had to smack König's hand away so he wouldn't burn himself trying to swipe a taste.

"Bitteee..." He looked at her with his best puppy-dog eyes.

She reached up to pet him quickly before reminding him that he needed to wait for the final product.

"Whiny puppy..." Lilith whispered to herself, unaware that König could pick up those words, and they shot straight downward within him.

"You do understand I am 10 years older, Lilith?"

She ignored him and began mixing the ingredients for the Rice Krispie treats. Toasted marshmallows, browned butter, and even the cereal was toasted. The aroma wafted through the metallic industrial kitchen. Working quickly, she pressed the mixture into a greased sheet pan and sprinkled salt over it.

"While that cools, wanna see the special fall menu?"

"Ja, bitte."

She pulled out a binder full of laminated pages and loose notes, flipping through it until she landed on a stained page labeled "Fall/Halloween."

"I'm proud to say that a lot of these were my ideas! The apple cake was still my grandmother's, but the pumpkin cupcakes, red velvet 'vampire' cupcakes, ghost cake pops, and apple cider donuts were all recipes I developed or designed!"

"Are these all your pictures?" König wondered out loud.

"Yeah!"

She went on to explain all of the little details in her recipes, like how the "blood" on the red velvet cupcakes was actually a berry coulis and not red icing or how she kept having the frosting stick to the paper when she tried to flatten it to make jack-o-lantern faces for the first time.

To tell the truth, she loved having the undivided attention of someone to explain her passion. Instead of just looking off to the side or straight up telling her they didn't care, König looked at her with his beautiful eyes and absorbed every word. She wondered if he had anything he was passionate about like this.

He was so wonderful to look at, too; the way his shirt outlined his arm muscles was captivating, and she got just a hint last night about what he looked like under the hood. He had the softest hair I've ever felt. Long, too, perfect for grabbing while he-

"Lilith, is everything alright?"

"Huh... yeah!" Her face reddened; she didn't realize she had zoned out.

He's not interested, you fucking cow. She thought to herself.

"Anyways, let's make cookies, hm?"

"Ja."

The cookie-making process went by quickly, although König was splashed in the face with flour from the mixer once and had to shake his hood off outside.

"Now the dough is going to sit in the fridge to develop flavor overnight! The frosting is made, the cakes are cooling, so I think we can rest. Let's go back home, okay?"

After a short rest, Lilith started boiling a pot of water on the stove and taking sausage out of its casings to saute.

"What are you making?"

König tipped his head to the side and sniffed the air.

"Sausage and broccoli pasta. Is that okay?"

"Ja, anything you make ist good, Lilith."

She beamed internally at his words.

After Lilith finished the kitchen, she flopped down on the couch, finally off her feet for the rest of the day. She took out her phone and panicked when she saw 9 missed calls.

"I'm so sorry, I was prepping the bakery all day, Mark."

"Pick up."

"Hello?"

"Hello."

"Lilith, pick up."

"We need to talk."

Mark is calling...

She picked up the phone and held it to her ear.

"Lilith, fucking pick up when I call you next time."

"Mark, I told you this morning, I was prepping the bakery."

"Whatever. I need you to take Holly."

"What? We agreed she was going to stay in school in the US for now."

"I need you to take her."

"Why?"

"Um, well, I just uhhh, got a new job, and I won't be around as often."

"So you're going to ship our kid across the world?"

"Will you just help me the fuck out? You're the parent too, Lilith."

She sighed. How was she going to manage the bakery with a 5-year-old?

"Mark, I'm running a business, I'm scared I won't be able to take care of her."

"Well, that's too fucking bad, maybe if you took some time off from whoring around after work, you'd be able to. Besides, the tickets are already booked. $1000, Lilith."

A chill ran up her spine. Memories of how he would accuse her of 'whoring around' came flooding back. Right before he would confess to cheating. And now, she had to figure out how to handle her beloved daughter while running the bakery.

"... Alright, Mark. Sure. When does she arrive?"

"3 weeks."

"And you'll be coming with her, right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Can I please talk to Holly?"

"Yeah, sure, HOLLY!" He hollered.

The camera turned on, and she watched as her little cream-colored Siamese kitten ran into the room.

"MOMMY! MOMMY! I GET TO SEE YOU! I GET TO SEE YOU, MOMMY!"

Lilith smiled. Her daughter stared into the camera with joy in her heterochromatic eyes. One was light blue, like any other kitten, and the other was green and shaped like a cat's eye.

"Yes you do, sweetheart, I am so happy to see you!"

"Yayyyyyy, I'm so excited, mommy!"

"What do you want to do when you get here, Holly?"

"Hmmmmmmm."

She tapped her finger to her mouth, her lips curling into that unmistakable 5-year-old smile.

"I wanna... I dunno!"

"Alright, sweetheart, we'll just figure it out when you get here."

"Okay, mommy!"

Just then, König called out to Lilith, asking her some question about cups.

"Mommy, who is that?" Holly demanded.

Right, she would have to explain that to Holly.

"Ah, sweetie, he's a new friend of Mommy's, you may meet him eventually!"

"Okay Mommy!"

Mark spoke up once again.

"Alright Holly, I need the phone back now, go play with your dolls!"

"Ok!"

The door slammed, and Mark made his opinions heard.

"So, you are whoring yourself out to any man who's drunk enough to sleep with you?"

"It's not like that, and you know it! He's helping at my bakery!"

"Uh-huh, whatever, goodbye."

He hung up the phone as soon as he was finished speaking. Lilith sighed and rubbed her temples. Mark was the biggest mistake she had ever made; the only good thing that came out of it was Holly. The 5 years of marriage with him were soul-crushing.

Just then, she felt a weight in her lap. Upon looking down, what stared up at her were the familiar begging eyes of König.

"You are sad, what is wrong?"

"... Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Lilith brought her hand to her lap, and König bonked his head into it.

"Are you asking to be pet?"

"Bitteee!"

He pushed his head into her hand again, and Lilith began petting him softly.

"Did I help you enough today?"

"Yes, you were a very big help, König."

The man smiled under his hood, and his tail wagged furiously behind him.

"A good boy, even." Lilith laughed to herself, the whole situation being humorous to her still. She had a 6'10" veteran German Shepherd laying on her, begging for affection like a cat.

König heard those words and almost ascended to heaven.

"You mean it?"

Lilith chuckled, mildly surprised at his response.

"I suppose so."

"I guess I have always needed purpose in life, sorry."

"What are you sorry about, König? I'm happy to validate you!"

"Danke, Lilith..."

His eyes went from half-lidded to closed, and Lilith turned on a show while the man dozed off for the night.

‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - - ୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵

"Guten Morgen, ist diese Reihenfolge korrekt?" - Good morning, is this order correct?

"Wunderbar. Benötigen sie hilfe beim entladen?" - Wonderful, do you need help unloading?

"Nein, ich habe ihn." - No, I have him.

"J-ja, ich muss einige dinge an meinem truck erledigen!" - Y-yes, I have some things to do in my truck!

[sasuhinasno1fan]

A wish for a different life - Adrien AUGreste Day 3+4

Still not feeling very chatty but here’s the second chapter. I wasn’t in love with it but couldn’t figure out how to redo it in a way I like so enjoy. @adrienaugust

Memories

“So mama says to order the food at least 30 minutes before. They use a separate food delivery service and since you’re ordering from 3 different places, you don’t want anything getting cold. She is curious why cannolies.”

“If they can stand up to going from hot to warm, then they’re good.” Adrien said, typing all the notes into his phone. “This gives me time anyway to start unpacking anyway. Hey, do any of you guys live the park? I’m not at the entrance that’s near here, but on the other side and I’m hoping I’ll have a walking partner once I know my way around.”

“Marinette lives right across the street from the nearby entrance. It’s really a straight shot. If you want, we can come meet you tomorrow.”

“Later in the week if that’s ok? Mom is insisting I take the 10-minute car ride, at least until the embassy gives us our metro cards.”

“Sounds like a plan. You’ve got our numbers, shoot us a call if you’ve got way too much pizza.” Nino said, as Adrien spotted the embassy car and headed towards it.

“I will. See you guys tomorrow!” he waved to his new friends and climbed in, still waving as the car pulled into traffic. He leaned back in his seat and looked at the group selfie Nino insisted on after hearing his lack of friends he had with the moving. He liked his class and the people he felt like he could call his friends. He hoped they didn’t have to move all of a sudden.

Life as a diplomates’ child was never easy. His parents, some of the best partners he would see in their job, weren’t the best partners in their social life. What had once been a strong force fell into fights when work increased and the moves would grind at their nerves. If Adrien hadn’t wanted to save the little tolerance his parents had for each other, they could have destroyed each other. No kid wanted to sit their parents down and tell them they thought they’d be better off separated, but it’s what he did. He’d felt like he had no one to talk to because he was so busy worrying about his parents and it was starting to affect his life more than he could ever want. New schools and his odd lists of hobbies didn’t help either. Very rarely did he make lasting friends, usually because the schools his parents placed him in were for the uber rich and he got sick of the backstabbing really quick. It might have helped with his colourful vocabulary, but it also made a lot of time for the things he loved now: cosplay, learning languages, playing piano, exploring. It was easy to hid his hurt and loneliness for a while with exploring the places he was in, even if it was for a week. But when he started wanting validation from online presence in a way that scared him, he knew things had to change.

His parents split, which ended up allowing them to talk better and they’d gotten reassigned to Italy again. The few friends he did still have were beyond excited to have him back and he could finally share his hobbies. Moves still happened and he was usually nervous about making friends, ones who didn’t turn their nose up at the odd things he liked doing, but this time he was sure he’d found a solid group, if not solid class. Minus Lila. She’d continued to glare at him for the rest of the day and the few comments she did make were either punished for or he took care of with an eyeroll and scoff that seemed to shut her up quick. He still didn’t get what the issue was with her. Maybe she didn’t like Italian people?

“Your mother wanted to let you know she’d be a bit late tonight.” The driver said, already pulling up to the house.”

“That’s fine. Gratzi.” That just meant he’d order the food a bit later, which was fine. Right now, he had unpacking to do.

                                                ______________

Adrien was singing so loudly in Korean, he almost didn’t hear the doorbell.

“Yes?”

“Delivery from Pizzeria Arrivederci, Respiro, Trattoria – Pizzeria and Jimmy 2 Fois?”

“Come right up!”

Adrien was glad he’d worked by room; the entryway table was already set up to hold the pizzas until he was done signing for them. while he waited, he turned the music down and then balked at the time. Their last apartment had a noise curfew and he was way past it. He was also a bit worried. He assumed his mother would be home by now, but he also knew his mom would text if anything was wrong. Not to mention that the security the embassy had. Still, with everything he heard about akumas and Hawkmoth, he couldn’t help but feel worried. He adjusted the headband keeping his bangs back when a knock finally came to the door.

“Coming!”

He opened the door to see a slight tower of boxes. It moved to reveal an older guy, maybe 2 or 3 years older than him, with blue dyed hair mostly covered by a yellow bike helmet. He was dressed in ripped jeans and a hooded jean jacket and his whole style screamed punk.

“3 pizzas and 3 orders of canolies, 1 order per restaurant. Party?” the delivery guy asked, allowing Adrien to take the boxes from him.

“Nope, just me and my mom. We’re from Italy originally and we do this whenever we move to a new place. Pizza and canolies, can they impress an actual Italian?”

The delivery boy hands him the receipts to sign. “Sounds like a dream come true to be honest. How often do you do this, if you don’t mind my asking?”

“Pretty often. Mom’s a diplomat and we move more often than most families. There have been good and bad places. New York’s Italian was pretty amazing.”

“New York huh?” he accepted the signed receipts. “That must have been amazing, especially with all the heroes around.”

Adrien sighed happily, remembering his time there. “It was. We were in Little Italy, even though the embassy wasn’t anywhere nearby. English is hard but I didn’t care because it was like being home. Fresh pastries from the nonnas and all the pasta dough they’d give us just because? God, we kept one nonna’s famed marinara sauce for so long. I need to go back because it was amazing. The heroes weren’t too bad though. I was oddly never in their pathway.”

“you’re making me jealous. The akuma’s here are no joke. My sister was akumatized once and it’s not exactly a favoured memory. But we do have Scarlet Bug and Catseye. Even though they have to keep a distance for people’s safety, the city feels protected. Hopefully you’ll find a bit of that here in France.”

“I hope so. All my classmates seem to think they’re pretty amazing. One wants to know everything about them.”

“Ah, so you met Alya Césaire then?” the pizza delivery guy looked almost a bit exasperated. He wondered if Alya’s desire to know everything caused that with everyone who knew her. “I’m told she means well, but maybe you can be the voice of reason to get her to stop hunting for their identities.”

“I’ll try my best.”

“Well then enjoy. Well, I’m Luka and these restaurants thank you for your patronage. Enjoy the rest of your night.” Luka winked at him and Adrien couldn’t help but stare a little as he walked away. The guy was cute, sue him.

He put the food on the coffee table and continued unpacking, watching the time roll by. This was weird. His mom was never this late. Throughout his many schools, he’d met a fair amount of diplomat kids. A lot of them talked about how they were mostly raised by nannies or au-pairs or by themselves if they were old enough. Even if his mom brought work home, she’d always be home before he went to sleep. The typing of her keyboard had many a time been his lullaby. Even when he’d been sick and insistent on being attached to his mother, she would keep him close and still work. She would always make time for him, even if it was just one day in the week they could spend together. she never thought he was weird for his interests. He was carefully stacking the boxes of photos near one of the walls in the living room. The one on the top most box was one of their recent ones. A photo from back in Italy on one of the many bridges in the city, he’d convinced his mom to dress in an outfit fit for a lady of court while he dressed accordingly. He’d been trying to get her to act all coyishly but she kept laughing. They were in stiches by the time the event was over. It was a favoured memory of his now.

He just wished he knew where his mom disappeared to now.

                                               ______________________

He blinked awake, looking at the dim room. He couldn’t feel his arms and realised it was because he was laying on them on his front. He groaned and turned over, wincing at the feeling of pins and needles rushing down his arms. His eyes slowly adjusted and he saw he was in the living room. The pizza boxes where still on the coffee table. He opened one of the smaller boxes and looked at the filling leaking out of the cannoli. His mom, never made it home. He checked his phone and sitting with 2 missed call notifications was a text from his mom, letting him know she was staying at the embassy because of paperwork and she was sorry.

His mom never focused on work on their first day. She was always back and in time for pizza and canolies. He knew his mom’s work was important, but their tradition had never been backseat to it. He didn’t like it.

[kaimelia]

i'll fold the world to be there tonight

a/n: this does not feel very coherent but i've needed to write something just calming. so here i hope u enjoy <3

for amanda and chloe<3

"I miss you," Kai whispered into the phone, setting their shoes by the door and taking off their jacket.

"Who are you, and what did you do with Kai?" Amelia chuckled. "Openly admitting that you miss me?"

"It's freezing cold, and I just keep thinking back to the last time it was this cold," their voice trailed off at the memory of her beside them in front of the fireplace, blankets covering their bodies as they held each other. "I've hit a roadblock with the research. I can't get the injector to release fast enough."

"Still?" She sighed softly, knowing how much time the two had devoted to fixing this issue. "I'm sorry."

"I really thought I had it the other day, but since that one trial, I haven't been able to get it back." Kai placed their phone on the kitchen counter, switching the phone's speaker as they poured a glass of water. "I ordered a burger and fries."

"It's that bad?" Amelia frowned from her side of the phone.

"I'm hoping artificial sugar and junk food will spark some creativity," they muttered, setting their glass down. "How'd your surgery go?"

"It got canceled, so I spent the day sulking and hoping someone would get injured so I could get pulled into a trauma."

"You know, I'm pretty sure saying something like that could get you in some legal trouble."

"You'll bail me out?"

"Obviously." Amelia chuckled softly after they spoke. "What are you doing tonight?"

"Probably just sitting on the couch, maybe order my own fries and pretend they're yours to steal," Amelia smiled. "How about you?"

"Hopefully, eating my burger soon and staying on a call with you as I mope about how lonely it is here in Minnesota." They turned their head at the sound of a knock on their door. "Hold on, food's here," Kai sighed, propping their phone on their shoulder against their ear as they rushed towards the door and threw it open. "Oh my god." Their phone fell to the ground as their mouth dropped and their arms wrapped around Amelia. She laughed as they embraced her, hanging up her phone and placing it in her pocket before returning the hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I know this week hasn't been good," she spoke quietly against their shirt, breathing deeply as she inhaled their scent. "My surgery got canceled, and before I knew it, I was on a plane." She pulled back for a moment, waiting until Kai's eyes met hers to place her hand on their cheek. "I missed you, too."

They dropped their head down onto hers and squeezed her tighter. "Thank you," Kai whispered, closing their eyes. "Hold on, did you just lie to me, then?"

"It was for good reason; I wanted to surprise you," her lips turned up into a grin. "Although, I think in the future I'll just tell you because I did not like having to take an Uber here from the airport, and I was a little paranoid you wouldn't be here when I arrived."

"In hindsight, it was a little suspicious that I didn't hear anything from you for hours." Kai pulled away, glancing into Amelia's eyes and exhaling softly before leaning forward and connecting their lips, tilting their head further downward as Amelia wrapped her arms around their neck, weaving her hand into their hair and pushing their head closer to hers.

"Excuse me-" Someone spoke behind them, and Amelia quickly removed her arms from their neck and turned around. "I have an order for Kai?"

"Thank you," Kai muttered, shaking their head in amusement as the delivery driver walked away after handing them the bag. "Okay, maybe in the future, just tell me when you're getting on the plane."

"Noted." She glanced down to where Kai had dropped their phone. "Oh," Amelia murmured, picking up the phone from the ground.

"Well, crap." They took the device from her, taking a moment to glance over the screen now adorned with a crack in the corner. "Worth it."

"Worth it for the burger or for seeing me?" Amelia slipped past them into the apartment, hanging up her coat on the shorter peg of the coat stand.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" They set the bag down on the counter and held out their arms towards her. "I guess we'll be taking a trip to the Apple store soon." She walked up to them, resting her head against their chest.

"Hamilton doesn't know I'm here, so he can't get mad at me for not coming into the lab."

"And, Hamilton doesn't know that I'm not actually sick, so when I call out tomorrow," they pressed their lips to the top of her head. "But, after that, I'm taking advantage of you being here early to help me get this figured out."

"Of course." She slipped out from their embrace, pulling open the top of the paper bag on the counter and reaching her hand inside. "But for now, fries," she grinned, shoving a french fry into her mouth as Kai followed her actions.

"Did you fly all the way out here to steal my fries?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" She mocked their previous statement, watching as Kai grabbed the bag of food and brought it into the living room, setting the bag down on the coffee table as they slumped onto the cushions.

"Come here," they held out their hand, and Amelia walked towards them, maneuvering herself on the couch to lay beside them while still ensuring she could reach the food from the table. "Thank you for surprising me." She raised her eyebrows at their words and smiled, shifting her head on their chest to look at them.

"So, I know we're not in the lab, but let's get this figured out." She picked up a fry and held it in front of their mouth. "We're not letting these carbs be for nothing."

[hyungieyoongi]

Surprise

Pairing: Kim Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Fluffiest of fluffs + established relationship 

Word Count: 1.5K+

Premise: Taehyung decides to surprise you with something every month while he is on tour

---

1 Month

It started with two dozen red roses delivered to your office on a Tuesday morning, white envelope tucked in between the petals. The notecard inside had a heart scribbled on it in black ink, but it was missing the name of a sender.

Your eyebrows slightly furrowed together in confusion at the mysterious delivery. You assumed that the flowers were meant for someone in an adjacent office, maybe for a birthday or anniversary. Before you could investigate further, your phone vibrated on top of your desk, alerting you to a text message.

One month down, five to go. 🌹 – Tae

You immediately pressed your boyfriend’s contact on your phone. It rang twice before he picked up.

“Hey, babe,” Tae greeted you.

“How did you pull this off?” you asked incredulously. He chuckled deeply on the other end of the phone.

“I refuse to reveal my secrets. But now that I know you got the first delivery, I finally get to tell you about my plans,” Tae said. You could practically see his boxy smile at the idea of besting you. You were nearly impossible to surprise, always guessing what present he was going to buy you or finding his hiding spots.

“Go on,” you encouraged, the floral scent of the roses filling your office.

“I have decided to surprise you each month that I am on tour,” Taehyung explained. “I don’t want you to forget about me.”

“Tae, how could I forget about you? I’m staying at your apartment. I’m taking care of Tannie.”

“I’m just taking precautions,” Tae joked. “Besides, I want you to be more in love with me when I come back.”

“Well, the roses are certainly a good start,” you teased. You paused, hit by an overwhelming feeling of how much you missed Taehyung and his playful grin when you were flirting with each other. 

You heard someone trying to talk to him on the other end of the line. You knew that your time talking to Tae would be fleeting while he was on tour; this first month away from each other had already been hard for you.

“Hey, I’ll have to call you later, okay?” Tae said apologetically, the flurry of activity going on around him getting louder.

“Of course,” you said, doing your best to hide your sudden emotions.

“Give Tannie a kiss.” You hummed in agreement to his instructions. “Oh, and make sure to think of me when you smell the roses.”

“Aish, you’re shameless,” you said, laughing. Tae could always make you smile, even when you were missing him. You both said goodbye to each other.

You sighed, looking at the roses on your desk. Five months to go, indeed.

---

5 Months

You tripped over a box sitting outside of Taehyung’s apartment door, subconsciously gripping Tannie’s leash tighter in your grip as you stumbled. You had taken the little fluff ball on a walk around the neighborhood after coming home from work so you could enjoy the cool, evening air.

There was no return address listed on the box, but you already had a sneaking suspicion who it was from.

During the second month of his tour, Taehyung ordered you delivery from your favorite restaurant, complete with a handwritten list of movies that he made the delivery driver give you with your meal. He called you soon after it arrived, telling you he had the night to himself so you two could have dinner and watch a movie together over Facetime.

Month three was hard for both of you. The halfway point made you realize how many weeks it had been since you had been able to cuddle or kiss your boyfriend, and you just wanted him to be near you. You told him during a teary phone call after a long day at work that you felt lonely, his curly hair falling into his serious eyes as he told you not to cry, that he would be home soon.

You were surprised when three of your close girlfriends showed up the next week at Taehyung’s apartment with a bottle of champagne in one hand and a black dress in your size in the other. They told you that Tae had instructed them to get you out of the house and out for the night. It was exactly what you needed.

By month four, you were anticipating his surprises, trying to guess what he would send you and when he was going to do it. He would just laugh, telling you that his lips were sealed.

A driver showed up at your office at the end of the day on a Friday, requesting that you check your messages to confirm that he was supposed to pick you up. There was an audio message from Tae telling you that the driver was taking you to the art museum across the city. You and Taehyung would often find yourselves there before close, wandering through the galleries together, your fingers intertwined. He told you in his message that you could stay as long as you wanted because he had called the museum and asked for a favor. You ended up looking at paintings for hours that night.

Now that month five was almost over, you were counting down the days until you could see him again. For now, the box with the next surprise would have to be a placeholder.

You opened the front door, letting Tannie inside before grabbing the box to open it on the kitchen counter. There was a note on the top in Tae’s scrawl.

Because I can’t be there to cuddle with you – T

There was a carefully folded, oversized gray hoodie in the box. You lifted the fabric up to your face, inhaling deeply. The scent of Tae’s favorite cologne was strong–he must have sprayed it before putting it in the box. You put the hoodie on, pulling down the sleeves to cover your hands, feeling the warmest you had in months.

---

6 Months

“I’m sorry, Y/N, I had no idea we were going to have to stay three extra weeks,” Tae said with a pout.

You gave him a sad smile, blinking the tears in your eyes away at the unexpected news about his delay. “I understand. I just miss you, that’s all.”

“I know, babe, I miss you, too. You have no idea how much.”

“We’ve made it through almost six months, right? What’s another three weeks?” you tried to joke, but Tae grimaced slightly at your forced tone.

“At least there’s one more surprise left,” Tae said with a smirk and an eyebrow raise, making you giggle. “Goodnight, love, I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Goodnight, Tae.”

After your video call, Tannie curled into your lap, seeming to notice that you were a little down. You pet his black fur, knowing that he probably missed Tae, too.

---

You didn’t hear from Taehyung for a week besides the occasional text letting you know that he was still alive. The day you circled on your calendar for his original homecoming came and went; you wore his hoodie practically that whole day wishing it was his arms wrapped around you instead.

You decided to get out of the house the next day, taking Tannie on a walk to go get an iced coffee. You sent a text message to Tae with a picture of Tannie enjoying a pup cup at the café, knowing it would make him smile. You scrolled through your Instagram feed as you waited for your order at the pickup counter, not noticing the black SUV with tinted windows pull up across the street.

Your ringtone sounded in your ears, a call from Taehyung coming through.

“Hey, stranger,” you said happily, mouthing a ‘thank you’ to the barista as you grabbed your coffee and headed out the door with Tan.

“Hi babe, what’d you get at the café? Anything for me?” Tae said, a loud gasp leaving your mouth. Your eyes frantically searched the busy sidewalk for a sign of him, but you couldn’t see him. “Straight ahead of you, darling.”

You looked across the street, eyes meeting his. His caramel-colored hair was pushed back away from his forehead, a long navy peacoat covering his crossed arms as he lifted an eyebrow at you with a smirk as if to say, are you just going to stand there?

Tannie started barking in excitement, pulling at his leash to get to his owner that he hadn’t seen in six months. You followed the dog’s lead, running toward Tae once the traffic cleared, his arms catching you, hugging you tightly. His head was buried in your neck, smiling against your skin. You were grinning like an idiot, tears staining your cheeks as you looked at him.

“Wh-what are you doing? I thought you said three more weeks, I don’t understand. You’re here!” Tannie was still barking for his attention, his leash tangling the two of you together as he ran frantic circles around you both. Taehyung smiled brightly at you, his thumb running across your cheek to wipe the happy tears.

“We actually finished on schedule, and I was on my way home when I saw your text. I couldn’t wait any longer to see you, so I thought I’d just meet you here,” he explained. “Oh, I almost forgot.” You waited for him to continue, but you were distracted as he leaned forward, his lips barely brushing against yours.

“Surprise.”

---

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[mypoisonedvine]

Seeing Red | bodyguard!Bucky Barnes x reader (part 7)

(part 1) (part 2) (part 3) (part 4) (part 5) (part 6)

series summary: bucky used to brag that he didn’t have a celebrity crush, or really care about famous people at all, which is what made him the perfect person to start working for a celebrity like yourself.  except, of course, it’s just his luck that he’d fall for you.  

word count: 2.5k

warnings: um just implied smut and fluff and a reference to bdsm I guess?? but it's pretty chill overall

Liked by starkcosmetics and others

y/n.y/l/n okay first of all, it takes an act of god to get a picture of this guy smiling, but it’s always worth it.  he really changed everything for me and I can’t thank him enough for that.  so happy ❤️ 

View all 9,208 comments

caroldanvers 😍😍😍

flowercrowny/n oh my god this is so sweet i’m gonna cry

1 HOUR AGO

He smiled as he stared down at the post you’d made, remembering how much effort you’d put into finding the perfect picture (in your opinion; he thought he looked kinda dopey in it) as well as writing and re-writing your caption.

The speed at which your post gained likes and comments was inconceivable to him; even more impressive was the speed at which gossip rags were picking up the story.  Sure enough, his phone’s alerts to new headlines about you were not only going off like crazy, but had started to include news about himself as well.  

Y/N Y/L/N Shocks With Romantic Instagram Post, Confirms Dating Rumors

You’ll Never Guess Which Hollywood Starlet Is Dating Her Driver

Who is James Barnes?  Everything We Know About Y/N Y/L/N’s New Beau

Skimming one of the articles, he was impressed at how much information they’d managed to get without actually getting anything from you or him.  Born in Brooklyn, disabled Army veteran, worked a list of odd jobs before becoming your driver and bodyguard.  ‘No social media presence, prefers to keep a low profile’ one of them said; you can say that again, Bucky chuckled to himself when he read it.

He found another from People and didn’t particularly appreciate that it spent half the time going through all your past exes and rumored partners (turned out ‘rumored’ is a fancy word for ‘a bunch of fans deluded themselves so hard that it somehow turned into news without any proof necessary’).  But he still smiled when he got to the part that was actually about you and him.

‘The relationship is pretty new but they’re so happy together,’  a source close to the couple reported.  

Close indeed; that statement came from your publicist, who he’d never even meet.  

‘He’s a very private guy and she’s got this huge following, so they’re sort of an odd couple in that way, but she knows her fans are respectful and will let them have their own life outside of the spotlight.’ 

Bucky wasn’t sure that the respectfulness of fans was such a given here, but he hoped you were right.  To be fair, they’d been very sweet on your original post insofar. 

However, when he scrolled to the bottom of the celebrity magazine articles and realized they had their own comments section, he discovered that they were a little less forgiving than the ones on your Instagram.  

Is this the best she thinks she can do?  So sad tbh :(

a military guy…. yikes, she could get any guy she wants and she goes for a murderer. 

He looks like a hobo that found a coupon for a free haircut lol

I don’t buy it, I know she’ll always love Pietro!

Pietro being your former co-star that so many of your fans were convinced was actually your soulmate.  From what he’d heard from you, those speculations had made things so uncomfortable between the two of you that it killed your friendship.  Those were nothing, though, compared to the comments about someone you actually had dated.

she’s obviously not over sam… they were so good together

He’d better watch out for her ex, he still likes tweets about her and they have so much chemistry

Wait, she’s not still with Sam Wilson??  I could’ve sworn they’d been dating for, like, five years.

You were scrolling through your phone with a smile as you walked past where he was sitting on the couch, and he just couldn’t help himself from asking even though he knew it wasn’t the best idea.  “Do I need to worry about this Sam thing?” he blurted out, trying to play it cool and not sound too anxious.  “People are really obsessed with you two…”

“Sam and I…” you sighed, staring off into space for a second.  He made himself anxious imagining what you were thinking about in that moment.  “I haven’t talked to him in… years?  I think it’s just because our relationship was so public that people are still talking about it.  And it had a lot of gossip material— we did a movie together, people thought it was sweet that we got together during production, it was great promotion for the picture… and from the outside, we made a lot of sense for each other.  But he has his own problems.  I loved him, but… he wasn’t ever going to be a one-girl kinda guy.”

“But you’re not just any one girl.  You’re… you know, you,” he emphasized.

“You’ve been reading too many headlines,” you shook your head as you sat down beside him.  “Please don’t turn into one of those guys who thinks of me as a celebrity first.  Before that—” you pointed to your own name where it was bolded on his screen in the trending topics page of Twitter— “was popping up on movie posters and in gossip magazines, it was just my name.  And I’m not perfect.  Not even close.”

Bucky sighed and wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into him and holding you tightly.  “And before I knew you were famous, or rich, or incredibly talented, I was totally obsessed with you just for who you are.”

“You’re too fucking amazing,” you sighed as you held his face and gave him a gentle kiss— the kind of kiss that instantly melted his heart and banished his worries.  When you pulled back and looked up at him with a smile, it was like everything else just… faded away.  “Don’t read the comments, okay?  None of them matter.”

He smiled and brushed his thumb over your cheek, overwhelmed by not only the softness of your skin but of your spirit as well.  In all his life he’d never been handled so… gently, with so much care.  “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” he mumbled, not even really realizing he’d said it aloud until you gave him a beaming smile.

“I can’t believe you’re my boyfriend,” you giggled pridefully.

“Seriously?  I can… very easily believe it,” he scoffed.

“I just mean… you’re so…” you searched for the words.  “You’re actually good to me, that’s the thing.  I’m not used to that.”

“You deserve the world,” he assured.  “I’m just gonna keep trying to give you as much of it as I can find.”

He watched his hand trail over your face, down your neck and to your chest where he played with the hem of your t-shirt.

"It's odd to know there are millions of people who are jealous of me,” he admitted quietly, remembering some aggressive comments from some very angry dudes who had apparently also watched your nude scene a few too many times.

"Do you like it?  Do you like how it feels to know you're making them angry every time you touch me?"

"Couldn't care less," he refuted.  "Nobody else matters when I'm touchin' you."

“Do you maybe wanna… touch me a little more about it?” you smirked, opening your legs slightly in invitation.

“Always.”

//

Bucky had, thankfully, not let the newfound fame get to his head.  In fact, he had demanded that the two of you hunker down in the house, since he feared that going out would lead to being recognized.  What he apparently hadn’t anticipated was that that might not be enough.

“Will you get that?” you requested when the gate buzzed, too wrapped up in the book you were reading to answer the intercom.

He hopped up and held down the button to communicate with the gate speaker.  “Who is it?” he asked.

“I’ve got a delivery from Anjappar Chettinad on 23rd?”

Bucky didn’t even reply before hitting the green button and granting access to the driveway.  BEEP BEEP BEEP! you heard the gate signal its opening, and the car pulling around up to the door.  Bucky didn’t open it until there was a knock, greeting the delivery guy with a smile and the necessary cash.

“I’ve got a lamb korma, hyderabadi mutton dum biryani and an order of— woah,” the man suddenly stopped, staring at Bucky’s face.  “Are you—?’

“Hungry?  Yes,” he frowned.

“You’re the guy dating— holy shit, congrats man,” he beamed, smacking Bucky on the shoulder pridefully before leaning in with a mischievous smirk.  “Say, is she a freak or what?”

“She is,” you piped up from the couch, making both men turn their heads; but one was chuckling while the other looked mortified.  “You better not have forgotten my paneer pakora or I’m gonna chain you up and whip you.”

“Uh, I— no, I got it right here,” he promised weakly, handing the bag over to Bucky and starting to dash away before Bucky grabbed his arm, making the smaller man whimper fearfully.

“You forgot the money,” Bucky reminded him gruffly, stuffing the bills into the driver’s front pocket.

Finally, he let go, and the delivery man instantly pulled away, rubbing his arm and looking a bit like a kicked puppy as he went back to his car and drove away.

“You didn’t need to scare him that bad,” Bucky chuckled.

“I could say the same to you!  Grabbing somebody with the metal arm like that will put the fear of God into them pretty fast.”

“I didn’t mean to grab him that hard,” he admitted, examining the prosthetic hand as he came back to the couch with the bag of food, handing it to you while he focused on watching his motorized fingers curl and uncurl.  “I think I need to get this thing recalibrated… it’s been bugging out lately.”

“I dunno, it was working just fine last night,” you smiled, remembering how delightfully cool those fingers felt inside you.

Bucky seemed to miss it entirely, though, as he stared off into space.  “I can’t believe I got… recognized.”

“You’re a star,” you winked.  “And not just with random delivery drivers.  I’ve had a lot of press requests, everybody wants to be the first one to get nice pictures of us together— we’ve had a dozen event invites as a couple.”

“Seriously?!” he scoffed, snapping back to reality slightly enough 

“Yeah, and look what came in same-day mail this morning!”  You leaned over to shuffle through the mail on the side table before finding and handing him a letter in a gold-embossed envelope, watching him read what you knew was inside.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association extends an invitation to Y/N Y/L/N and James Barnes to the annual Grant Banquet in support of the Young Artists Fund.

“It seems like a good first event for us,” you explained.  “Relatively small and low stakes, it’s for a good cause…”

“Are you sure I’m ready to be, you know… seen?  By people?” 

You scoffed, hardly believing how insecure he could be sometimes.  “You look great, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Will I have to talk to anybody other than you?” he asked, grimacing as if that were a form of brutal torture.

“Probably,” you admitted.

His frown deepened.  “What if I say the wrong thing?”

“I’m not that worried about you,” you smirked.  “You’re a lot better at this stuff than you think you are.”

“I don’t have anything to wear…”

You smirked, a little too proud of yourself, when you remembered the email your publicist had forwarded to you just this morning.  “Hugo Boss will pay you $1500 to wear one of their suits on the carpet.”

“They’ll pay me to wear free clothes?” he repeated with wide eyes.

“Yeah, that’s one of the cooler things about fame,” you laughed.  “I make a grand every time I wear this watch outside!”

“I guess I should send them my measurements then…” he trailed off.  “Any chance I can get in on that watch deal?”

“No, but you can make $50 by getting papped at Jamba Juice.”

He paused for a moment, scratching the back of his neck as he thought.  “Is the smoothie comped?”

“I don’t know.  Do you want me to ask?”

“...kinda…” he admitted with a shy smile.  

“Well, I will, and I’ll RSVP to this invite saying we’ll be there next week,” you decided as you started to open up the food, but Bucky stopped you by reaching for your hands.

“Are we really doing this?” he asked.

“If you want to,” you mitigated.

“Of course I do.  I guess I have to accept that you’re actually willing to be seen with me,” he chuckled.  “It’s just sort of hard to believe.”

You leaned in and kissed him; it was meant to be a casual, reassuring peck but he held you closer and you melted into him, moaning softly at his touch as you started to climb into his lap.

“The food’s gonna get cold,” he reminded you with a mumble against your lips.

Unfortunately, your literal hunger was a bit too strong to ignore, even with the growing intensity of a metaphorical hunger for Bucky.  “Alright,” you relented, getting off of him and returning your attention to the meal on the table.  “Just know that I really, really want to be seen together, in public, just in case anybody missed the news about us already.  I’m not embarrassed by you or afraid you’re going to do something dumb.  I…”

One of those words that can’t be unsaid started to bubble up in your throat and you coughed, banishing the thought.

“I really like you.  I think we have something special.”

He smiled gently, giving you one more kiss on the cheek.  “I think so, too.”

//

Since this was slightly less of a big deal than a premiere or press tour, you had managed to convince your styling team to let you dress yourself, which was why he was laying on the bed and talking to you through the bathroom door while you put on your gown.

“Do you want me to hire a new driver?” you prompted him, voice muffled slightly as he imagined your head covered in the fabric, trying to navigate through the dress.  “I don’t want you to feel… I don’t know, like a servant?”

“A servant?  You’re still paying me,” he reminded you.  “You are still paying me, right?”

“Yes,” you laughed, “but still, I would hate it if you felt like staff.  You’re my boyfriend!”

(His heart still fluttered every time you said it.)

“No new driver,” he decided.  “I can drive just fine, and considering how things went between us… let’s not open the door for anybody else,” he smirked, making you laugh in that way you did when he made a stupid joke but you still liked it somehow.

“Okay, sure, but what about being my bodyguard?  Is that too weird?” you continued.

“God no,” he scoffed, “if anything I’m gonna be better at my job than ever.  As your boyfriend, keeping you safe is my job, but since keeping you safe was already my job… it’s, like, doubled-up now.”

He lost his train of thought when you opened the door.

“How do I look?” you asked as you stepped in and gave him a spin in your new dress.  Your whole body was draped in red silk, with the exception of your back which was almost entirely exposed, as if it were begging him to run his fingers down your spine.

“Like everything I ever wanted,” he blurted out before he could stop himself.

And it was so odd that you questioned his desire to drive you, because those moments where he could steer with one hand and rest the other on your thigh, when he could catch a glimpse of you looking out the window at the city rolling by, when he got to listen to you ramble about something to kill the time during a drive; those were his favorite moments, and he wouldn’t trade them for anything.

After a relatively brief trip, you arrived at the venue, and all of a sudden he was doing what he’d fantasized about more than he’d like to admit: escorting you down a red carpet.  It was almost overwhelming— yelling, chattering, reporters speaking into camera, flashes going off in every direction—

“Hey,” you whispered, bringing your hand up to his cheek and instantly taking all his attention.

“Hey,” he returned.

“Just follow my lead,” you instructed.

“That was the plan.”

[doctorstethoscope]

Birthday Boy || Aaron Hotchner x Fem Reader

just a little something something for Thomas Gibson’s birthday and @ssahotchswife Soft Hotch Saturday! 

contains: food consumption, hiking, ocean/swimming

wc: 1.3k

You had always been big on birthdays, particularly for the people you cared about. You’d decided as a teenager that anything good was worth making great, and anything worth celebrating might as well be worth a parade. So when your boyfriend Aaron’s birthday was rolling around, you were prepared to pull out all the stops.

You’re sitting on the couch together, some baseball game on in the background while you toddle away on your laptop, about to buy tickets to a whiskey distillery tour for him, Rossi, Derek and Spencer when he stops you. 

“Sweetheart, I love that you want to plan all of this for me, but I don’t really do birthdays. I’d really rather treat it just like any other day if that’s alright with you.” he’d stopped you.

“What do you mean? You made brunch and winery reservations for me and the girls on my birthday. I came home to a candlelit dinner and you and Jack made me a cake.” You argued. 

“You love birthdays, and you deserved a special birthday, so I made sure you had one. I knew you’d want one.” He had explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

  “You deserve a special birthday too.” You countered. 

“And I’ll have one, with you, and Jack, and probably one of his soccer games and a trip through the McDonald’s drive through before he falls asleep afterwards. And it will be everything I wanted because I spent it with the people that I love.” He had told you simply, and you melted, even if it did go against everything you believed in not to plan every second of the day out to a tee. But of course, you couldn’t do nothing. 

Which is how you found yourself awake before Aaron on his birthday, wrapped in his arms and trying not to buzz with excitement so you could let him sleep. Eventually, he stirs, and you press a kiss to his lips before he can even open his eyes. 

“Happy birthday, my love.” you whispered as sunlight filtered in through the blinds.

“Good morning,” he responds, in that raspy voice he has right when he wakes up.

“Can I get you a cup of coffee?” You ask, and he shakes his head. 

“I just want to hold you for a little bit longer,” he requests. 

“Well I guess, since it’s your birthday,” you teased him with a smirk and he smiled as he pulled you into his side. You threw your leg over both of his, bringing a hand to his chest and stroking your thumb back and forth against his sternum. 

You stay that way for a long while, simply basking in the comfort of one another’s company, before you speak up. 

“So, I know you said you wanted to treat today just like any other day… but I did plan a few things, just in case. I couldn’t let the most amazing man’s birthday pass without doing anything. I kept it simple-- just the three of us, but it’s totally up to you.” You assured him. 

Aaron let out a little laugh at your statement. “I knew you wouldn’t be able to go without planning anything.” He sits up, pulling you into his lap and wrapping his arms around you. “What’s on the docket?” He asks with a smile.

“Well, I was looking into a hike on Chincoteague Island, and then I thought maybe we could check out the lighthouse and beach. I found a couple easy hikes that Jack should be able to make with pretty summits.” 

“That sounds perfect, sweetheart. Thank you,” he said, leaning down to kiss you. Your phone buzzed, and you hopped off of his lap. He looked at you, surprised and a little betrayed. 

“Also, I ordered your favorite donuts for breakfast. They’re here. Don’t move,” you explained, dashing to the front door to pay the delivery driver and coming back a few moments later with coffee, a donut, and Jack in tow. 

“Happy birthday daddy!” Jack exclaimed, climbing up towards his father. 

“Thank you, buddy,” he said, smoothing his hand through his son’s hair as you handed him his breakfast. “Did you hear about what we’re going to do today?” he asks.

Jack shakes his head and looks over at you, knowing that you are the master of all things party and celebration prep, and you laugh. 

“I thought we might take Daddy on a hike and then go to the beach, does that sound fun Jack?” 

He nods enthusiastically, and you lead him back to his bedroom to get dressed for the day.  It takes some time, but eventually, the three of you are all packed up and make it out the door towards Chincoteague. The day is thankfully, not too hot while still being warm and sunny. The hike you’d picked was the perfect length for Jack, long enough to have a beautiful view at the summit, but not so long that he was too tired to appreciate it. 

The three of you were sitting at the summit enjoying the view when Aaron spoke up. “I’m glad you suggested this.” 

“I thought you might be,” you smiled, leaning over and pecking his cheek with a smile. 

“Thanks for wanting to celebrate me even though I’m a grumpy old man,” he joked, wrapping an arm around your shoulders.

You shook your head. “You’re not grumpy or old. You’re a compassionate, intelligent, loving father and boyfriend, and if I had it my way I’d celebrate you every day.” 

He leaned over and kissed the top of your head. “Well, you’re saying this before you have to ice my knees tomorrow. You might change your mind.” He jokes, and you give him a playful shove.

“Says the guy who still racks up more points than the twenty year old recruits during the FBI physical.” 

You sit for a little while longer, letting Jack take pictures with your cell phone to show his friends at school on Monday, and then you make your way back down the mountain, and back to the car so you can head to the beach. 

After the hike, you were more than ready to cool off, but you were shocked by how cold the water was when you ran with Jack and Aaron into the ocean. You tried to turn around and run back out, but Aaron wrapped both arms around your waist and lifted you up, much to Jack’s delight. 

“What do you think bud? Should I drop her?” Aaron teased his son. 

“Yes!!” He squealed.

“Jack!!” You pleaded, smiling. “You have to save me, not help daddy!!”

“Come on, Jack. It’s dad’s birthday. Don’t you think I should dunk her?”

“Yes, yes yes!” Jack exclaimed, already splashing you. 

Aaron, the smug bastard, winked at you before dropping you into the salty water. You gasped as you felt your skin form goosebumps from head to toe.

“You’re going to pay for that Hotchner!” You promised as you emerged from the water, jumping onto his back and dunking his head into the cold water. 

“Me next!” Jack requested, laughing uncontrollably. “Me! Me, me please!” he asked, and you obliged him, taking him in your arms and dunking his head in the water, careful to keep his face dry so he didn’t get water into his lungs. He squealed and you lifted him back up, mirroring his smile. 

You all romp around in the water for a little while longer, and then Jack decides to make a sandcastle while you and Aaron sit further back in beach chairs. 

“Jack’s having a ball,” you remark, seeing his face light up as he upends a bucket of sand to form a tower. 

“Me, too.” Aaron agrees, and you smile. 

“See, birthdays aren’t all that bad.” You tease him. 

“No, not when you’re around,” he agreed, taking your hand in his and kissing it. Now, he’d just have to buy a ring and get you to stick around for all of them.  

[alpacaparkaseok]

Dad of Destruction

requested by anon - thanks for the super fun request! I hope you enjoy :) (a picture of your request is at the bottom of the one shot)

Premise: You love Namjoon with all your heart, and you’re so happy that together, you get to raise this child. However, you also want that child to make it to adulthood in one piece, and Namjoon has a startling talent for breaking things. Mama bear mode = ON.

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: none, but I’m so soft for this concept

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

You’d heard plenty of people joking about how much of a mama bear you’d be once the little one came along, you just never realized that they were right.

Sitting up in the hospital bed with the smallest, most beautiful bundle of joy wrapped up in your arms, you can almost feel this new side of you sliding into place. 

“I won’t let anything hurt you. Ever.” You mumble the words out with tired but glowing eyes. Namjoon grunts in agreement from where he stands beside the bed, craning his neck to catch a glimpse of his newborn daughter.

Giving him a soft smile, you can’t help but feel like you’re floating above the clouds with the way your daughter yawns in your arms, completely unaware of the world she’s just been born into. 

Namjoon brushes your hair back behind your ear. “You must be exhausted,” he observes. You make a noise that resembles a yes. “Here, let me take her. You rest.”

Suddenly you’re wide awake. “N-no, it’s fine, Joon. I’ll hold her. I’m not that tired.”

“You sure?” There’s a small flash of concern in Namjoon’s eyes, but he knows to just let you have your way for now. After all, you did just go through a grueling delivery. 

“Positive.”

~~~~

You can only get away with it for so long. 

You manage to stay another night at the hospital, with Namjoon only ever holding Lily - that’s what you and Namjoon decided to name her - when you are in the room.

Preferably within arm’s length. 

It’s not that you don’t trust Namjoon...

It’s just that you don’t overly trust him. Especially as you were reminded of his destruction abilities this morning when he very nearly broke the carseat as he attempted to get it set up in the back. With every crack and curse that he quietly spit out at the infernal device, you held Lily a little closer to your chest. 

Winking down at the newborn, you faked a confident smile. “Daddy’s got it, don’t worry. We’ll get you home in one piece.”

Of course, you drove home. Namjoon tried to protest (he’d gotten his driver’s license six months ago purely for the ability to be able to drive his child around) but one look from you had him chewing on his lip while sheepishly sliding into the passenger seat. 

The next few days comprised of a few small gatherings where the boys came bearing a ridiculous amount of gifts and even more ridiculous smiles once they spotted Lily. Everyone commented on her beautiful eyelashes, and argued over who she resembled more. 

You secretly hoped she’d take after Namjoon’s side. If you were being honest, she already had little dragon eyes that resembled her father. It made your heart melt. 

Your heart positively stopped beating altogether anytime Namjoon wanted to cradle Lily in his arms to show her to Jin or Tae. 

Everyone noticed, and laughed. Your tense shoulders and unblinking eyes as you tracked Namjoon’s every movement had the boys in tears as they guffawed over your actions. Namjoon blushed, settling Lily in Tae’s eager arms. 

It got worse once Namjoon realized that you relaxed once your daughter was in Tae’s arms. 

Or Jin’s.

Or even your nosy neighbor’s, who had come prying not long after the boys had left. 

It had been endearing to see you all protective before, but now it was offensive. Because you were trying to protect your daughter from him.

If Namjoon was being completely honest, he still didn’t quite trust himself to not mess anything up. But he’d at least like a vote of faith on your part. 

So a couple of weeks later as the two of you sat across from each other at the dinner table, he wasn’t quite sure how to bring it up with you.

Your shoulders were slumped, your eyes drifting shut as you picked at your food. Namjoon watched, waiting to see if you were about to pass out in your dinner. When you didn’t, he decided it’d probably be nice to make some small talk.

“I can’t believe I have to head back into work tomorrow,” he sighed. Bighit had given him two weeks off to spend with you and Lily, and it was safe to say that he’d loved every moment of it. But it was time for him to head back into work. 

You frowned at him over the table, and the part of him that was sad about having to return to work only doubled in size at the expression on your face.

“It’s gone by so fast,” you muttered. “Can’t we pull just one more week? I’m going to miss having you around all day.” A part of you also wondered what it would be like to feel like you could take a nap without keeping one eye open in case of an emergency. 

Lily could handle herself, it was Namjoon that always kept you in high alert. 

Not that you’d ever admit that to him.

Namjoon smiled softly, and you noticed just how exhausted he looked as well. Through and through, you two were equals. “I’m going to miss you guys.”

Plural. A thrill races through your body at the plural form of his words, reminding you that together, you’ve created a little family. 

Pushing back in his chair, Namjoon looks contemplative. “You know, I bet I could take Lily with me to work sometimes. On the days where I’m just working in the studio. She’s young enough that I could just set up the little newborn swing and let her nap while I work. The boys would love that, too. And you could...I don’t know, take a nap?” He laughs a little, oblivious to how pale your face has gone at the notion of him taking Lily alone to work. “We’d be fine, I think. I’d take the diaper bag, and there’s a bathroom just down the hallway-”

The images of everything that could possible go wrong - one of them being an entire speaker being knocked off the table by your clumsy husband only to land on your helpless daughter - is enough to have you shooting to your feet.

“No way,” you sputter. “That’s definitely not happening. Not for a long, long time, Namjoon.” Heart thundering against your chest, you hardly notice the crestfallen expression on Namjoon’s face. 

“It was just a thought-”

“And I’m putting a stop to that thought.”

“I just thought it might be nice for all of us-”

“Nice?” You must look like a gasping fish at this point. “Nice, Namjoon? No. I wouldn’t be able to rest without Lily here! You really think I could just leave her with you? What if something happened? What if you knocked something off your desk and hurt her? Spilled hot coffee on her? Forgot she was there? I...that would be a nightmare!”

Namjoon hardly has time to open his mouth to respond before you’re grabbing both of your dishes and rushing back into the kitchen to wash them. Chest rising and falling at a rapid rate, you hardly notice Namjoon’s presence at your elbow before he’s lightly nudging you to the side. 

“Let me,” he mumbles quietly enough that you hardly catch the words. “Go to bed. I’ll finish up.”

You pay him no mind, scrubbing at the dishes with reckless abandon. Namjoon breathes in deeply, struggling to steady himself. 

Tears are pooling in your vision now, and you can’t help but feel like you’ve lost all control over your emotions. 

Over your life. 

“I...” you sniffle in the direction of the sink, “I’m sorry, Joon. It’s just-”

“No, don’t apologize.” Namjoon nudges you again, pulling the sponge from your hands and setting to work on the dishes. “I know that everything is different and new, and you’re probably feeling out of balance. I should have thought about that. Lily is...your anchor right now. I was just upset, because that’s supposed to be my role.”

His words have your eyes widening as you realize that everything he said is correct. Namjoon doesn’t bother to look to see if his words rung true, opting to focus on the plate that has been clean for a while now but continuing to scrub at it. 

“Go to bed,” he orders lightly, still not looking at you. 

Mouth wide open, close it again. Then re-open it. “Namjoon, I swear, I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I’m just...freaked out.”

He nods curtly. “I know.”

~~~~

A part of you remembers feeling the bed dip not long after you’d collapsed upon it, letting you know that Namjoon was also settling down for the night. He’d gone completely still after sitting on the edge of the bed, looking over at you as though he might say something. 

Instead, he’d slid under the covers as smoothly as possible before turning the lamp off. 

It was one of the rare occasions that he’d managed to not tip anything over in his search for the lamp switch, but your exhausted brain hadn’t bothered to celebrate the occasion. 

You were exhausted. And you realized that it wasn’t so much physical exhaustion as it was emotional. 

Of course you didn’t want Namjoon to have to go back to work tomorrow, but you were also looking forward to a little sliver of peace knowing that you only had to worry about Lily. 

Starting tomorrow it was just going to be you and Lily. A little team of two against the world. 

Sleep completely overtook you, and Namjoon’s words managed to slither their way into your brain, following you into your dreams. 

“She’s your...anchor. I was just upset, because that’s supposed to be my role.”

~~~~

You were so far gone into your dreamland that Lily’s cries took much longer to get to you that night. In fact, it was more the feeling of suddenly being alone in the bed that roused you from sleep than it was your daughter’s crying. 

Completely disoriented and still half in a dream that had to do with anchors and Namjoon’s studio, you sit up in bed and struggle to rub the sleep from your eyes. 

Another couple of minutes passed before you bolted out from under the covers, realizing that Lily had been crying, Namjoon was gone, and now it was utterly silent.

“Oh no.”

Wrapping your robe around your frame, you padded down the hallway to Lily’s room. Her door was open, with the soft light from her nightlight spilling out into the hallway. You’d just made it to her door when you heard Namjoon.

“See? We’re doing alright, Lils.” 

Peering into the dimly lit room, your heart clenched and then completely melted at the sight before you.

Namjoon, clad in nothing but his basketball shorts and mussed hair, stared down at his daughter with a smile so soft that you were sure you’d never seen it before. His eyes, however tired, practically glowed with adoration. Ever so gently rocking back and forth in the rocking chair placed in the corner of the room, he only had eyes for his daughter.

Lily appeared to be utterly content in her father’s arms, already drifting back to sleep. The only sign that she was still somewhat awake was the little hand that reached up to grip Namjoon’s finger. 

Together, your entire world swayed back and forth in the rocking chair that had taken an entire afternoon to put together. Quietly, gently. 

And as Namjoon slightly adjusted his hold, he did so carefully. And that’s when you saw it. 

The flicker of worry in his eyes as he brought Lily closer to his chest. The way he held his breath until she settled back into her sleepy daze. How that little smile reappeared as her little exhales tickled his skin.

Namjoon was learning, and judging by the fresh diaper laying atop the wastebasket by the door, he was doing just fine. 

No thanks to you, of course. 

At the sound of your sniffle, Namjoon’s head shot up. He winced, glancing down to make sure Lily hadn’t been rudely awoken. 

His eyes found yours from across the room, and he immediately bit his bottom lip. He began to slow his rocking, preparing to let you take over. 

You held up a hand. “No, it’s fine. Keep going.”

Namjoon froze for a moment before remembering to continue rocking. “...what?”

Shrugging, you silently make your way into the room and take a seat on a footstool beside Namjoon. “Keep going.”

“Are you sure?”

You give him an apologetic smile. “Yes. I...truly, I’m sorry, Namjoon. You’re just trying your best, and I haven’t given you any credit for that. You...” Tears blur your vision. “You’re a great father. And we both love you.”

Namjoon stares at you for a moment longer, eyes wide with emotion before looking down at Lily’s sleeping form. “How did we make something so perfect? She’s absolutely perfect.”

You giggle quietly. “Are you doubting my abilities, Mr. Kim?”

That soft smile splits into a boyish grin, the same he sported on your second date all those years ago. 

“Of course not. Although it does make me wonder...”

Your eyebrows raise. “What?”

That grin doesn’t falter as Namjoon whispers, “What do think the chances are that the next one is just as perfect?”

Fighting the urge to punch his arm, you settle for rolling your eyes. “We are not even entertaining the idea of another kid right now, Joon. Our daughter just turned 2 weeks old. Give me a break.”

“I want to give you a break,” Namjoon presses, wiggling his eyebrows. “So how about you let me take her to work? That would be a great break for you. You wouldn’t have to worry about either one of us!”

“Nope.”

Namjoon frowns. “Still a no?”

You look at the small form in his arms, peacefully sleeping. “Absolutely not. Maybe when she’s 10.”

Gasping, Namjoon’s eyes twinkle with joy. “10?! I was thinking more like 3...”

“Nice try, loser.”

“4?”

You give him a long look, finally rising from where you sit. Pressing a kiss to Lily’s rosy cheeks before turning to brush your lips against Namjoon’s, you sigh.

“6. Final offer.”

Namjoon sighs, but appears to be content. “Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you negotiate?”

Heading toward the door, you stifle a laugh. “We are not having another kid right now, Joon.”

His sigh of disappointment has you grinning, feeling like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. 

Once you’re back into the hallway, you turn to get one last look at this moment. Namjoon has already focused on Lily again, oblivious to your actions. The moonlight trickles in through the curtains, and that’s when you take a mental picture of this moment. 

Of your love, your husband, your anchor. Holding your daughter in the soft moonlight.

masterlist

[americasass91]

His Kind of Beautiful

Hello lovely people! I don’t even know where to begin here. My ex popped up as a friend I may know on Facebook the other day. Of course it brought up all these memories. (I’ve been with my husband for over a decade so this ex was from way back when.) Anyways, I couldn’t help but think back to when and why we broke up. We worked together (that was a mistake) and I was chatting with one of our coworkers. The guy looked at me and was like ‘I don’t want to get in the middle of anything but your boyfriend said something about you the other day and it bothered me.’ I told him to tell me what he said. ‘He said you weren’t pretty enough to blow him.’ (Fun fact! I had already blown him a few times by this point.) So of course I thought my life was ruined. I mean I was only 17/18. I called him right away and asked him if it was true. The fucker didn’t even deny it! He was like I was just joking around. So I told him since I wasn’t pretty enough to blow him, I wasn’t pretty enough to date him either. That’s the last time I spoke to him.

Anyways! That’s what inspired this little fic. I know we all go through days where we don’t feel pretty or beautiful. But you know what? We are all beautiful no matter what! Please if you ever feel less than that and need to talk, I am here and willing to listen! Nobody should go through life feeling anything less than beautiful.

So I knew I needed to somehow incorporate this into a fic. At first I was going to go with Steve but I took a look at my Masterlist and realized I only had one Andy fic on there. That’s just despicable! So without any further ado, please enjoy this fic with our lovely, handsome floofy haired lawyer daddy!

Rating: Explicit (Like I could write something that doesn’t involve sex with Andrew)

Words: 5.3k

Warnings: Language, fingering, unprotected sex(Remember: Sex is cleaner with a packaged weiner), and just Andy being fluffy

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You honestly didn’t even know why you had agreed to this. You hated first dates in general, let alone a blind date.

But your friend, Jane, assured you this guy was handsome and nice and worth your time to go out with.

So, you pulled a blue dress from your closet that you’d only worn maybe twice in your life and actually did your eye makeup.

After getting fully ready you take one last look at yourself in the mirror. For once you didn’t hate the woman staring back at you. This dress happened to accentuate your curves and the color of your eyeshadow made your eyes pop. You wouldn’t necessarily say you were pretty, but you looked decent.

You slip on your heels and grab your purse and head out of your apartment. As you go to lock your door, the apartment door behind you opens.

“Good evening, neighbor.”

You turn around with a smile on your face and return the greeting to your sinfully handsome neighbor, Andy.

He can’t help but notice how pretty you look. “Where are you going all dressed up?”

You blush and start heading towards the elevator together. “Oh, my friend set me up on a blind date. I’m nervous. Haven’t been on a date in awhile.”

He presses the button for the lobby. “Blind date, huh? Yeah I went on one of those recently. First date since the divorce. It was...interesting.”

You couldn’t help the giggle that escaped as you both headed into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. You turn towards him. “Interesting, how?”

“Well, for starters, she was almost an hour late. Then when she showed up, she didn’t even apologize for being late. She just sat down and demanded the waiter bring her a cocktail. By snapping her fingers at him.”

The elevator doors open. You head into the lobby and notice Andy following you. “So I think it’s safe to say you aren’t calling her for a second date?” He opens the door to the outside for you. You smile in thanks and head out into the warm evening air of Boston.

He rolls his eyes as he follows you onto the street and hails down a cab. “Absolutely not.” He gestures for you to take the cab.

You look at him confused. “Don’t you need one?”

He waves you off. “Nah, I’m heading to pick up Jake to take him to dinner. He finally found some time to fit his old man into his ‘busy’ teenager schedule.” He heads towards his Audi you now realize is parked in front of the building right behind your cab.

You scoff at him as you open the cab door. “Old man? Oh, please. You can’t be more than what? 38?”

He opens the door to his own vehicle and smirks at you. “Try 43, sweetheart. Hey! Good luck on your date!” He waves and gets into his car. You return the wave and get into the cab and give the driver the address to the restaurant and try to get your mind off of how good Andy’s ass looked in the jeans he was wearing.

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You arrived at the restaurant with a few minutes to spare. You wanted to get there a little early so you could get a drink from the bar and calm your nerves.

You find a seat away from the other patrons and order a glass of wine. You scan your eyes over the room to see if your date has arrived yet. You weren’t entirely sure what he looked like but you knew he was going to be wearing a red shirt.

The bartender sets your wine in front of you. You hand over a 10 dollar bill and tell him to keep the change. As you sip your wine, you check your phone for the time. 7:02. You’re about ready to text your friend to ask if your date is normally late when you feel a tap on your shoulder.

You turn around and look up at who you assume to be your date for the evening. He was handsome. Not as handsome as Andy, but handsome enough.

He gives you a small smile. “Hi, are you Y/N?”

You nod your head with a smile. “Yes, hi! It’s nice to meet you. You must be Jason?” You then gesture to the seat next to you. “Would you like to have a drink before we get a table?”

He nods once and takes a seat next to you and flags down the bartender to order a scotch.

The bartender sets the drink in front of him. Jason thanks him and pays for his drink.

You can feel the awkwardness start to creep in. And when that happens, you tend to get chatty.

“So, what do you do for a living?” You smile hoping to ease the tension building.

He turns to look you up and down. And not subtly. He shakes his head in disapproval and downs his drink before standing up. “Listen, I’m sorry but I can’t do this. Jane lied to me.”

You can’t help the confused look that crosses your face. “She lied to you? How?”

He gives you another not so subtle once over. “She told me you were beautiful. And no offense, but I just don’t see it.”

You can’t help the jaw drop. Sure you knew you weren’t gorgeous but damn. You’d never had a man be bold enough to actually say it to your face. “So, you’re just gonna leave? Not even give me a chance because I’m not your version of beautiful?”

He scoffs and checks out a girl that walks by the two of you. “What can I say? I’ve got standards that you just don’t meet.”

You feel like you’ve just been punched in the gut. That’s it. You’re fucking done. You reach behind you and grab your wine glass and throw the drink in his face.

You grab your purse and head towards the door. You turn back to face him. “I may not meet your ‘beauty standards’ but at least I’m not an asshole!” With that you flip him off and head outside to hail a cab to head back home.

You manage to make it almost all the way home before the tears start to fall. Sure he was a stranger and his opinion didn’t matter. But it still fucking hurt that he didn’t want you and didn’t even think you were pretty enough to share a meal with. Your self esteem already sucked and this asshole sure as hell didn’t make it any better.

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The blue dress goes in the trash as soon as you step into your apartment. You take off your nice lace bra you had put on. You take your makeup off with a wipe and pull your hair up in a ponytail. You throw on some hello kitty pajama shorts and a t- shirt that’s at least 2 sizes too big for you.

Then you head into your kitchen to pour yourself a glass of wine from a bottle you keep in the fridge for emergencies. You think this classifies as one.

You grab your phone off the counter and call your favorite Chinese place. You order double what you normally do because nobody wants to sleep with you. Might as well eat whatever the fuck you wanted. God, you can’t believe you shaved your legs for that asshole.

The lady on the phone lets you know it’ll be at least an hour. You give her your card number and thank her before refilling your now empty glass.

As you’re sitting on the couch waiting for your food, you can’t help but replay the events of the evening. Then that takes you into a downward spiral as you think back to all of your exes.

Come to think of it, they’ve all left you for one reason or another. A majority of them cheated with someone way prettier than you. Wow, maybe you were the problem. Clearly you were going for guys out of your league.

Maybe you needed to reevaluate the standards you had. Which quite frankly, wasn’t much. You just wanted them to not be a serial killer.

Perhaps you should just give up on dating. You were perfectly happy alone. Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be for you.

Before your thoughts could spiral anymore, your doorbell rang. You glance at your phone. Damn that hour flew by.

You grab $10 out of your purse for a tip and open your door. As you’re grabbing the bags and thanking the delivery guy, Andy steps out of the elevator with confusion written all over his face. “Hey, Y/N. Thought you had a date?”

You could almost feel the tears trying to well up again. No, you weren’t going to cry. Especially in front of your handsome neighbor.

“Yeah, it uh, didn’t work out. Shit happens.”

He puts his key in the lock and opens his door then turns to look at you. “Not your type?”

You can’t help the rush of air that leaves your mouth. “Not exactly. I wasn’t his. Apparently Jane, our mutual friend, told him I was beautiful and well. He didn’t agree with her.”

Andy furrows his brows and cocks his head to the side. “What? Was he blind or something?”

You shake your head. “Nope. I just wasn’t up to his standards.”

Andy mumbles something under his breath. “Well, I’m sorry. Some guys can be real assholes.”

You wave him off. “No need to apologize. I get that I’m not everyone’s cup of tea.”

Andy shakes his head. “Still, I’m sorry. That really sucks. And he really said you weren’t beautiful to your face?”

You give him a sad smile and shrug your shoulders. “It’s okay, really. I’m used to not being wanted. Have a nice night, Andy.”

You turn and head back into your apartment before he has a chance to reply. You don’t need his pity. You just need to drown yourself in the rest of your wine and gorge yourself on the greasy Chinese.

Just as you set the food down on the counter, you hear a knock at your door.

Confused, you head over and open it to find Andy standing there. And he looks kinda pissed.

“What do you mean you’re used to not being wanted?”

You sigh and put your hands on your hips. “It’s not the first time some guy hasn’t wanted me and it won’t be the last.”

Andy shakes his head as he pushes his way inside and shuts the door with his foot. “There’s just something I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around.”

You cross your arms over your chest. “And what’s that?”

He then proceeds to walk closer to you, forcing you backwards until your back touches the wall. He puts his hands on either side of your head and gazes down at you. You’ve never been this close to him before. You can feel his chest move against yours as he breathes. You can feel the heat radiating off of him.God, he smells good.  You realize you’re not breathing and take a deep breath. He smiles down at you and takes his left hand to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear that had fallen free from your ponytail.

“That some moron would think that you’re not beautiful. He’s fuckin crazy, Y/N.”

Your breath hitches as his left hand has now grabbed the back of your neck to raise your lips towards his. You close your eyes, waiting for the inevitable kiss. “I guess I’m just not everyone’s kind of beautiful.”

He leans in, just barely brushing his lips against yours. “You’re my kind of beautiful.”

WIth that, he presses his lips to yours for a slow but intense kiss. You can’t help the moan that escapes your mouth. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him all the way up against you. He grunts when his hardening cock comes into contact with your soft belly.

After a few minutes of intense kisses that take your breath away, he pulls back and presses his forehead against yours. “Will you let me show you how beautiful I think you are?”

You don’t even need to think about it. “Yes, please.”

He smiles and leans in for one more quick kiss. “Take me to the bedroom, pretty girl.”

You quickly grab his hand and lead him down the hall towards your bedroom, making a quick stop in the kitchen to throw the Chinese food in the fridge.

Once in your room Andy spins you around and presses your back up against his front. He leans forward and starts placing soft kisses against your neck. His left hand rests at your waist while his right hand moves up under your shirt towards your breasts. “Is this okay, pretty girl?” His voice is so low and husky. Your panties didn’t even stand a chance.

You nod. “Yes, please. Touch me, Andy.”

He groans a little and reaches up to cup your right breast in his hand. You hear him let out a growl as he continues to fondle your breast. While his left hand makes its way into your shorts, brushing his finger over your clit. You jolt forward at the sensation, whimpering out in the process.

“You like that, pretty girl? Like my fingers on your little cunt?”

You grab a hold of his wrist and writhe against him as he lowers his fingers towards your entrance. He gathers your slick up before moving his fingers back towards your clit and starts slowly circling it.

“Fuck, Andy. Feels so good.”

“Yeah? You want my fingers inside you, baby?”

You quickly nod. “Please. Need to feel you.”

He lowers his hand back down to your entrance and slowly slides his middle finger against your walls. You arch your back and moan out his name as he starts pumping it slowly.

“Fuck, Y/N. You’re so tight. When’s the last time you’ve been touched, pretty girl?”

“Too long. Feels so good. I need more. Please.”

His index finger quickly joins the middle one. He starts pumping them in and out of you quicker, curling them just right so they rub up against your g spot. “Oh, fuck!” You can’t help but yell out at the feeling. It’s been so long since someone’s taken the time to pleasure you, let alone find your g spot. You could feel the coil tightening already. You were embarrassingly close and he hadn’t even really started yet.

“You gonna cum for me already, pretty girl? Do it. Make a mess on my fingers.”

He moves his thumb and starts circling your clit. Your legs start shaking. He presses his thumb down just a little harder and you’re gone. You cum with a shout of Andy’s name into the otherwise empty room.

He continues pumping his fingers in and out but removes his thumb from your clit, not wanting to overstimulate you too much. “Good girl. So fuckin’ pretty when you cum.”

You lower your head in embarrassment. He spins you around and places his finger under your chin so he can raise your head so you’re looking at him. “Don’t hide from me, pretty girl. I want to see everything.” He takes his left hand and raises it to his mouth, sucking your essence off of his fingers. He moans into his hand. “You taste so fucking sweet. Knew you would.”

He grabs your face to pull you in for a sweet kiss as he slowly pushes you towards the bed. The back of your knees touch your mattress before he pulls away. He smiles down at you as he grabs the hem of your shirt and pulls it up and off, tossing it somewhere in the room. His gaze then falls to your breasts. He licks his lips hungrily. Before he can get too caught up, he hooks his thumbs into your shorts and pulls them and your panties down and off your legs, helping you step out of them.

He stands back up and pulls you in for another kiss, your hands fall to his chest. You start to unbutton his shirt, revealing his chest to you a little at a time. You pull away to get the last few buttons and push his shirt over his shoulders and are surprised to see his chest and abdomen sprinkled with various tattoos. You never would’ve guessed. You can’t help but let your hand trace over a quote on his collarbone or onto the eagle covering his pec.

“I never would have pegged you for a tattoo guy. These are amazing.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, I only have them where they can be covered up by clothes.” He grabs your wrists to stop your tracing. “You can trace all of them some other time, pretty girl. Right now, I need to be inside of you.”

You can’t help the shiver that runs down your spine at his words. His dirty talk was going to be the death of you.

He moves his hands towards his belt buckle and starts undoing it. You couldn’t help but notice the slight tremble to his hands. You place your hands on top of his and look at his face. “Hey, if you don’t want to do this, that’s ok.”

He looks into your eyes and gives you a shy smile. “No, I want to. God, do I want to. It’s just, I haven’t been with anyone since Laurie and I guess I’m a little nervous.”

You couldn’t help the pull you felt at your heart at his words. He was nervous. Thank god. So were you. This beautiful man wanted to sleep with you, of course you were nervous. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m nervous too. You’re kind of intimidating.”

He cocks his head to the side and furrows his brows. “Intimidating? Why is that?”

You remove your hands from his and gesture up and down his body. “Just look at you. You’re breathtaking, Andy. And I’m just me.” Your gaze falls down to your feet, unable to look at him.

He puts his finger under your chin and raises your head so that you’re forced to look at him. “Speak for yourself, pretty girl. You’re the breathtaking one.”

You scoff and roll your eyes. “Yeah, right.”

His gaze on you hardens just a little. He grabs your hand and places it over his pants against his erection. “Do you feel that? Feel what you do to me? Nobody but you can make me this hard, pretty girl. I’ve been in a constant state of arousal since I moved in, watching you coming in and out of your apartment in your tight skirts and almost see-through blouses. Making me go fuckin’ crazy.”

“Why didn’t you ever say anything or make a move then?” Of course your self doubt was starting to creep in. Maybe this was him just wanting to get his dick wet. You needed to know.

He grabs your hands and brings your knuckles to his mouth, giving them a soft kiss. “Honestly? I thought there was no way in hell an old man like me would have a shot with a sweet thing like you.”

You couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped your mouth. “Please. You’re only 43.”

He pulls you in for a sweet, lingering kiss. “Yeah, well. Probably too old for you. But after what you said to me, about how you’re used to not being wanted? I stopped caring how old I was. I needed to show you just exactly how much you’re wanted. So, can I still show you, pretty girl?”

You quickly nod your head and help him finish removing his pants, leaving him in just his black briefs. The fabric doing nothing to hide the outline of his hard cock. Jesus. He looked big. Bigger than anything you’ve taken. You couldn’t wait.

You quickly pulled his briefs over his hips and down his legs. His cock sprang free and smacked against his inked abdomen, making him hiss. You grab him at the base and slowly start pumping him, looking at his face for his reaction. His head is thrown back and his eyes are closed as he moans out your name at the feeling. His hands are gripping your hips.

You smear his precum that’s gathered at the tip and use that to help jerk him off a little faster. You tighten your grip as you pick up your pace, loving the sounds you're pulling from him. You start to go on your knees when he suddenly pulls you back up. You look at him in confusion. “If I let you continue, this will be over before it even starts. Gonna make me blow my load like an inexperienced teenager.”

You couldn’t help but feel proud of yourself but once again furrow your brows as Andy walks to the other side of the bed. He starts looking around in your nightstand. “Do you have any condoms?”

You shake your head. “I did but they expired. If you’re okay with it, I’m on birth control. And I got tested after my last partner and I’m clean.”

He pushes the drawer to the nightstand back in and climbs onto the bed and lays on his back, hand lazily stroking his cock. “I’m more than okay with that. I just had a full work up done. I’m healthy as well.”

You barely acknowledge what he said, unable to remove your eyes from his hand that’s wrapped around his cock. You pull your bottom lip in between your teeth and let out a little whimper. Andy chuckles at you. “Well, are you going to just stare at it, pretty girl? Or are you going to hop on my lap and get comfy?”

That gets your attention. You meet his gaze. “You want me on top?”

He nods. “Wanna be able to see all of you, baby girl.” He removes his hand from his cock and pats his thigh. “Come on, pretty girl. Ride me.”

Well that sight just caused a new wave of arousal to pool at your core. You had only been on top once before and it was only for a short time.

You place your knees gently on the bed and crawl the short way to him. You swing your left leg over him so that you're sitting right above where he wants you. You thread your hands through his hair and lean down for a heated kiss. You lick his bottom lip, wanting in. He doesn’t even hesitate to open his mouth to let you in.

He places his left hand on your hip while the other grabs his cock. He pushes your body down so that you’re hovering over it. “Please. Fuck me, pretty girl.”

You keep your lips attached to his as you slowly sink down on him. You get about halfway before you stop and pull away to look at him, trying to slow down your breathing. He brings his right hand up to cup your cheek. “You ok? Do you wanna stop?” The quick shake of your head makes him chuckle. “No, god no. I just need a minute. You’re fucking huge Andy.”

He can’t help the cocky smirk that appears. “Yeah, I know. Just take all the time you need.” He rubs his hand up and down your back to help calm you down. It only takes you a few more seconds before you continue to impale yourself on his impressive dick.

You let out a breath of relief when your hips settle flush against his. He grabs the back of your head and pulls you in for another kiss. You slowly start rocking your hips against him. He feels fucking incredible. Hitting all the right spots inside of you.

You pull away from the kiss and raise up a little and plant your hands on your headboard for some leverage. The rock of your hips speed up significantly. You move all the way up until his tip is barely inside before you slam yourself back down against him. You’re pulling the most beautiful sounds from his lips. It makes you move that much faster and harder against him.

Andy moves his hands to your breasts and gives them a good squeeze. Then he starts pinching your nipples, eliciting a moan from you. “That’s it, baby girl. Doing so good. You look so gorgeous fuckin’ yourself on my cock. Goddamn. Riding me so well.”

The praise he’s giving you just spurs you on. You raise up even more and place your hands on his chest and pick up your pace just a little more. You can feel the coil tightening in your belly. You’re going to cum and hard.

Andy keeps his left hand on your breast and keeps pinching your nipple. He moves his right hand down until his thumb is pressing against your clit, giving you the friction you needed. “Can feel you squeezing me, pretty girl. Cum for me. Make a mess.”

He presses his thumb just a little harder and that’s all it takes. You free fall over the edge of bliss with a scream of Andy’s name, your hips faltering from their rhythm.

You slow down your pace as you come down from your high, collapsing against Andy’s chest. He cradles you in his arms and rubs his hands up and down your back. “Still with me, sweet girl?”

You weakly nod your head and take just a second to catch your breath. It takes you a moment to realize he didn’t finish. You raise your head off his chest to look at him. “Why didn’t you cum?”

He smiles and pulls you in for a sweet kiss. “Oh, I will. Don’t worry. Just wanted to watch you fall apart on top of me. And let me just say, it’s one of the prettiest sights I’ve ever seen. You look gorgeous when you cum, Y/N. Almost made me lose it. Think you can take some more?”

You nod your head eagerly, already wanting to cum around his cock again. “Then why don’t you be a good girl and turn around and get on your hands and knees for me?”

He doesn’t have to tell you twice. You quickly pull off of him and turn around to get on your hands and knees. He takes a second to admire the view of your once again dripping pussy before he gets up on his knees behind you. He grabs a hold of your ass and gives it a hard squeeze. “Such a nice ass. I bet it’ll jiggle real nice while I’m fuckin’ you.”

He grabs a hold of the base of his cock and moves it towards your entrance. Before he starts pushing in, he gives your right cheek a hard smack. You drop down onto your elbows and moan into the sheets below you. Fuck. You didn’t know you liked that. He places his right hand on your hip and squeezes.

“Hmm. We’ll have to revisit that later.” And that’s the last thing he says before he slams home. You arch your back and fist the sheets as he sets a hard and fast pace.

And boy was he right. Your ass does jiggle nicely with every snap of his hips against it. He threads his left hand through your hair and gives it a tug. It makes you clench around him. “Fuck, baby girl. Keep squeezing me like that and I’m not going to last long.”

You move your head to the side and peer back at him. You clench around him again and it earns you another groan and smack to your ass. “Want you to cum for me, Andy. Please. Fill me up.”

He stills for just a second and wraps his left arm around your chest and lifts you up until your back is flush against his chest. This time he keeps his thrusts nice and slow. He places a kiss to the side of your neck. “Yeah? Want me to fill that pussy up, huh? To claim you as mine?”

You let a whimper escape your lips and you grip onto his arm that’s holding you against him as he starts picking up the pace of his thrusts. You clench around him again. “I am yours, Andy.”

He quickly moves his right hand down and starts circling your clit. “Fuck, Y/N. You’re gonna make me cum. Cum with me, please.”

You start pushing back and meeting his thrusts, desperate to get him to his release.

It only takes a few more snaps of his hips and circles against your clit before you're both falling over the edge while moaning out the other's name.

He continues pumping his hips until he’s completely spent and gently moves to lay the both of you onto your sides, basking in the afterglow of your orgasms.

He slowly pulls out of you and turns you around so that you’re facing him. He tucks your now loose hair behind your ear. “Hi, there.”

You chuckle and move up against him and press your face into the crook of his neck. “Hello.” You place a gentle kiss to his pulse point and relax as he wraps his arms around you.

There’s only a few minutes of peaceful silence when:

“So, was that good for you?”

You pull away and look up at him with an incredulous look on your face and smack his shoulder. You both start laughing.

“Of course it was good for me. Did you enjoy yourself, Andrew?”

He pulls you in for another sweet kiss. “Oh, yeah. But you know. Just to be sure. We might need to do it again.” He wiggles his eyebrows at you. It only makes you laugh once more.

“You are such a dork. How about we get a shower and then heat up the food you so rudely interrupted me from eating before?”

His jaw drops in mock hurt. “You weren’t complaining when I was making you come around my cock, pretty girl.”

You sit up and stretch your arms over your head. You swing your legs over the side and stand up, wobbling just a little. You hear a chuckle behind you and playfully send a glare his way as you make your way to the bathroom.

You turn on the light and can’t help but look at your reflection in the mirror.

Your hair is a hot mess, having fallen out of it’s ponytail. Your lips were swollen and red from all the kissing. Your nipples looked slightly red from all pinching they had been subjected to. Your skin flushed from the orgasms. And there was what looked like a bruise forming on your hip in the shape of his hand.

And yet. You’ve never felt more beautiful.

You see Andy walking up behind you in the mirror. He smiles at you.

You turn around and return it before throwing your arms around his neck and raising yourself up on your toes to pull him in for a kiss. He gladly wraps his arms around you and reciprocates.

You pull away with a smile still attached to your face. “Not that I mind, pretty girl. But, what was that for?”

You shrug. “Just thank you. For making me feel beautiful.”

He smiles down at you and pulls you in for another quick kiss. You can feel him hardening once again against your hip. “Why don’t we skip the shower for now? I’m not quite finished with you yet.”

And with that he pulls you back into the bedroom where he spends the rest of the night showing you that you’re his kind of beautiful.

Permanent Taglist: @stargazingfangirl18​ @drabblewithfrannybarnes​ @harrysthiccthighss​ @IIIoIs 

[hanibalistic]

#5B52AD | NA JAEMIN. NCT DREAM.

genre | fluff, friendship

word count | 2835

warning | a fever, mention of pain

note | i got kind of sick after my first dose of vaccine and i think about is my mother used to sit and rub my tummy whenever i get tummy ache even when it’s 3am.

your body felt heavy, you could not walk without an awkward arch of your back and at an annoyingly slow pace. you haven't gotten a migraine in so long that the gentle ringing in the back of your head now felt like a gradual decomposing of your brain. your tummy gurgled obnoxiously from time to time, confusing your body and mind with hunger and pain.

long story short, you were sick. you got sick, unfortunately, after a streak of good health for the past years, and you barely knew how to take care of yourself now because of how unusual the occurrence was.

you suspected it was the pouring rain you walked under the other day, or the multiple cold nights you've stood through in the unorganized tent area backstage during award shows this past few weeks. either way, since there weren't any other possible reasons, bad weather was the only thing you could blame your sickness on.

you had contacted the team manager about taking a few days off, leisurely estimating your return date while the manager told you to take your time and make sure to only work once you have fully recovered to avoid spreading your sudden fever to the dreamies when you get back. another thing you also asked of, with more grit and firmness this time, was to make sure the manager leak not a single word of you being sick to the boys.

it was true that you have not been sick in a long while, but so far you have gotten a grip on how it works and adapted to being uncomfortable and alone. reminding yourself to take those over-the-counter medicines was annoying but doable. moving around the apartment so you could cook and clean was exhausting but also doable. you did not need an extra pair of hands; it would definitely be good to have one, but you could survive without one.

you knew very well if the boys knew that you caught a fever, they would insist on visiting and taking care of you.

they would probably try to pull up to your apartment with some homemade soup and old movie discs, rambling on and on about sneaking out and forcing the driver to come to your apartment estate, complaining about you keeping everything a secret from your friends. then they'd get unreasonably mad at you for not visiting a doctor, and they'd force you to stay in bed while promising to take care of everything. they would be loud, and destructive, and annoying and—ugh! everything you do not need when you have a fever burning on your head!

"oh, finally!" you groaned in tired delight when you heard the doorbell ring. you have been waiting on the jajangmyeon takeout you ordered about fifteen damn minutes ago (to be fair, it felt like two hours with that migraine in your head).

shaking the shiver off your back when you stood on the cold wooden tiles with your bare feet, you grimaced at the pair of fuzzy socks you previously pulled off out of spontaneity, not wanting to bend down to get them from the ground. you stepped on then as you moved begrudgingly from the messy couch, where your blanket and tons of pillows resided, to the front door.

you unlocked your door with some trouble, finding it hard to stand on your legs and twist the lock. when you slowly swung open the door, you muttered, "sorry for the delay, it's kind of hard to–huh."

you cut yourself off when you saw the sight of renjun handing cash to your delivery man and patting him on the back as he bowed and left your house with your jajangmyeon. your eyes pulled back to look at the bigger picture—four people present before your apartment door, all wearing the same reaction to your figure uncared for.

renjun has turned his attention back from your delivery man and his grimace deepened when he saw your red face. donghyuck pulled a face at you when he saw your terrible posture and dead expression, and he tightened his grip on the small bag in his hand. jeno was frowning in disapproval with one brow raised as if you were spreading the bacteria to him but he was too polite to cover himself up. jaemin looked like he didn't want to be here, like always, but for a moment you saw his eyes flicker with soft concern over your visibly sick posture.

you sneered. that bastard! the manager snitched on you and here came the power rangers of the 2000s judging you at your front door! you would not take this absurdity!

"goodbye," you muttered blandly before you went ahead to close the door on their faces, but a hand swiftly reached out and blocked the door frame from meeting its end.

jeno smiled casually at you from the side, his arm muscle flexing as he, with no effort against your sickened strength, pushed the door open. you attempted to struggle against him, but obviously you were of no match for him, riddled with a fever or not.

"lee jeno," you warned.

"[full name]," he returned.

you clicked your tongue. you were too dizzy to get angry, but the rumbling inside your chest sounded anyway so you wouldn't be so overwhelmed by the boys' relentless care that you forget you didn't like this nor want this, that this wasn't ideal for you.

"please leave," you asked. "i don't need help."

"no. we're coming in whether you like it or not, [name], so give it up," donghyuck mentioned as he gently brushed past you into the apartment. "and before you ask–no, we are not leaving. we got our phones, and we brought movies. we also have to take care of you, so we got plenty to do here. we won't get bored."

you rolled your eyes as the rest of the boys followed behind. kicking their shoes off and placing them neatly to the side, they slowly began acting as if they were back in their humble abode.

donghyuck headed over to the coffee table before your couch. he grimaced at the sight of falling blankets and unorganized pillows as he placed the bag on the surface, then he turned to renjun, "renjun, where do we put the soup?"

"not on the coffee table, take it to the kitchen!" renjun exclaimed as he pointed aimlessly at a spot.

donghyuck listened. as he made his way to your open kitchen, he began rambling off. "you know, i can't believe you didn't tell us you were sick. i knew something was up when you were absent for more than a day!"

renjun nodded in agreement as he crossed his arms, looking to you with a semi-displeased expression. "he is right. we are all friends here, you should tell us if you need some help."

just having them around your apartment was enough to make you want to jump out the window. it was nothing personal against the boys, though. you would have felt the same with just about anybody who dared enter your territory when you felt uncomfortable. but the way they never stop talking—ugh, it made you want to end it altogether so you didn't have to listen to their voices overlap each other in such annoying frequency.

"if i needed help, i would have asked," you dragged out through gritted teeth.

donghyuck snickered from the sink, rolling his sleeves up and getting ready to do the unclean dishes. "oh yeah, that's why you have no clean bowl and spoon to use!"

"also, why are all your stuff here on the couch, [name]?" jeno complained as he picked up your heavy blankets in his arms. he popped his head out from the side and eyed you. "i'll take them back to your room, you should stay in bed!"

jaemin leisurely approached the coffee table, his face was bland with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his pants. despite acting like he didn't want to be here, his curiosity to know whether you were doing well alone was killing him inside; you weren't, it appeared. he gazed around your apartment with feign disinterest before an opened box caught his eyes.

bending down to pick up the medicine, he furrowed his brows and turned to you. "these aren't doctor prescribed medicine."

ignoring the drowsiness in your eyes, you looked at the displeasure on jaemin's face before you sighed, "i didn't see a doctor."

"you what?" jaemin exclaimed in disbelief while the rest of the boys gasped in what sounded to be disapproval.

there it went. there came the wave of complaints and disagreement piling out of their mouths like rainwater flooding into the ditch. the migraine in your head magnified the more frustration built up inside you, trying to force you to explode on the boys who only meant well.

"yes, i didn't visit a doctor. stop making a big deal out of it," you retorted, straining your voice to make yourself heard. "do you know how expensive an appointment at the clinic is?"

"still! it's always better to visit a doctor!" renjun pointed out softly.

the others agreed with him like dominos, opinions falling on top of each other in the form of noises. you closed your eyes in hopes to cancel their presence, but they've been talking nonstop it felt impossible to ignore them.

their voices were adding to your nausea, too many words to understand and to process that you felt useless not being able to retain their words as quickly as usual. it made you want to vomit, it made your chest tighten, it made your tummy hurt.

"god... please... shut up," you muttered under your breath as you glared at the floor. "shut up... stop talking... stop talking!"

the heat burst.

"[name]..." jaemin began cautiously, dropping the empty box of pills on the table as he eyed you sturdily.

you grimaced; your lips quirking down in guilt and your eyes darting elsewhere but their faces. seeing their innocent, good-intentioned, widened eyes would just make you feel like a bad person more than anything. shaking your head, you waved your hand at them dismissively and proceeded to turn away.

"thank you for coming, but please leave because i don't need your help," you said, "i'm gonna go to bed. lock the door when you leave."

the boys watched you move back to your room slowly, still surprised at your sudden outburst. they half-expected something like this to happen, but not exactly the way it turned out. they did come here fully prepared to be kicked out kindly knowing well your inability to accept aid from others, but the event has taken a turn for even worse, it seemed. they had not expected you to yell at them.

donghyuck turned away from the sink, his confused gaze darting between the door to your bedroom and the rest of his friends. "we're not actually leaving, right?"

"no, but we will leave them alone," jeno mumbled, fiddling with his fingers. "for now, at least."

jaemin's eyes trailed after your steps and they have yet to tear themselves away from your bedroom door.

he knew you well, better than the rest of his friends if he could say so. even though you might have meant what you said, you wouldn't do anything if they refuse to listen. and the consequences of adhering to your request and leaving you alone when you just did something you didn't want to would outweigh those of them not listening to you.

you don't need help, you never ask for them, whatever reason that was. but you do want them when they were presented to you. he knew that much, at least.

"jaemin, where are you going?" jeno asked when he saw his friend shuffling across the small living room.

nobody talked when jaemin moved to your room and knocked on your door. he pushed it open without waiting for your permission, and the stifled cries stayed beneath the walls unknown to the outsiders. he softened at the sight of you helplessly rubbing your tears with your forearm, wanting nothing more than to coddle you, but he leaned against the door instead.

"feeling bad now, are we?" jaemin said to catch your attention.

your head hurt, the pain was piercing. but nothing shattered you more than realizing you were a bad person for refusing help from good people who cared about you, realizing the mortifying cycle of loneliness you cannot thrust yourself out of because you could not accept any form of good social interaction. you were never one to cry from those whimsical things, you were used to it, but the thought of your friends shuffling out of your apartment and leaving the area dead cold made you cry.

you still have them now, but for how long, really? how many more "leave me alone" and "i don't want your help" would they take until they truly leave you alone for good?

you sobbed out breathlessly, your words continuously getting cut off against your will. eventually, you made out a sentence.

"jae-jaemin, my head hurts."

like a sharp shot through his heart, jaemin wavered and crumbled. he wasn't sure if this kind of melting was good, but he was taking the ache along with him. he approached you swiftly and sat down on the edge of your bed, a spoiled gaze dawning within his eyes while he moved his hand to your head, threading his fingers through your hair and messaging your scalp.

"try going to sleep, it'll help," he coaxed.

the more you cried, the more he sunk himself onto your bed. he kept his head high up against the headboard of your bed, and he let you snuggle close against his side for comfort. your head hastily leaned against his chest, fat tears rolling down your cheeks as you tried to focus on the rhythm of which he scratched your head dotingly.

"shhh, it's okay," he hushed, reaching his free arm over you to pat your back. "it's going to be okay."

jaemin was always so kind. everyone was always so kind. with their homemade soup, their refusal to abandon you at a tough spot, their snark remarks against your constant attacks, their nagging and coaxing—they were your friends.

you never knew why it took so much effort to get it into your head that they were going to be here whether you wanted them to or not. when you pushed them away, they would push back ten times harder, however many times they needed to. they knew you hated blatant affection so they never show it, nor do they make you show it, but it was here. flowing between their heads was love, discreet love, love that sat in patience, understanding, and stubbornness.

you pack a mean punch, but they could take it.

"jaemin... how are they doing?"

jaemin looked up from your sleeping face to find donghyuck at the door. his hands were wet from messing around in the kitchen, and he wiped them clean on his pants as he quietly approached the bed to take a peek at you. he raised his brow when he saw your face smushed against jaemin's chest and hidden under your arm, then he signed.

sleeping, huh. good. he heard you cry from outside a while ago, everyone did. nobody said anything about it and the living rooms were hushed quieter until your sobs gradually calmed down.

"are you going to stay here?" donghyuck asked after he pulled away. "you might get sick."

"yeah," jaemin nodded down at you, "i might."

donghyuck pursed his lips together, then he shrugged. "alright, i'll leave you then. do you want me to turn the lights off?"

"no, i don't want to fall asleep," jaemin said, stroking your head gently. then he nudged his chin toward donghyuck. "i do want my phone though."

donghyuck scoffed when he was by the door. he was only gonna turn the lights off because it would help you, so if that wasn't needed...

"interesting," he said. "i'm not your errand boy, though. you can stay bored."

jaemin held back a hiss when donghyuck ran out to the living room. he grimaced after the opened door, eyes wide in annoyance that donghyuck left the lights on and the door open, that irresponsible bastard! and he wouldn't even run to get a phone, which would only take a couple of steps!

turning his attention, he glanced down at you instead and breathed out a sigh. he wasn't going to be on his phone for long anyway, he just wanted to tell jisung and chenle you were doing okay. other than that, he has the plan to stare at you until you wake up—your scrunchy nose and closed puffy eyes were abnormally adorable, he has to admit.

"yeah, i'll get him," jaemin whispered playfully down at you. "we'll get him when you wake up."

[shyvioletcat]

Yeah... I'm the worst...

*Redid the tags, got told some weren’t working. Sorry*

~ Masterlist ~

~~~~~

There was an ugly silence in the room, no one quite knowing how to break it. A small sob had Rowan looking back at Lyria, her hand cradling her stomach. The gesture caused a pain so sharp in Rowan’s chest that he choked on it because of the lies that rested beneath her hand. He had no real sense of reality as he stood there looking between his wife and the man she had been unfaithful to him with. His brain was still processing what he had overheard.

“You never gave me a chance.”

“Have you told him that the baby may not even be his?”

Rowan’s knees went weak and he thought he may start vomiting. This was a joke. Some sick cruel joke his friends had decided to play on him, Aelin always liked to pull a good prank. But the longer he looked at Lyria and from the look on her face the way she was trembling… this was no joke.

“Rowan. We–”

“No,” Rowan said, not bothering to look at the other man in the room. “This is not coming from you.”

Rowan’s brain was finally catching up with him and he had so many questions. The first and foremost was how exactly Sam rutting Cortland got to be standing in his kitchen as a possible father of the baby his wife was carrying.

“I want you to leave,” Rowan said to Sam. “I’m leaving this room and I want you gone.”

He didn’t bother to address Lyria as he left the kitchen and started down the hallway. She had two options here, she could come and find once showing her guest out or she could leave. Rowan hoped that for the sake of his sanity she chose the former. A dilemma struck Rowan as he stood in the hallway, only overhearing hushed sounds of conversation through his home. Where was he going to go? He didn’t want to have this conversation in the bedroom, it felt too intimate as the ravine between him and Lyria was gaping wider by the second. He wasn’t going to go back out to any of the rooms beyond the hallway and risk running into Sam again. That really only left him one option.

Rowan turned the door handle of the baby’s room and stepped inside.

The walls were painted a soft yellow, bits and pieces of baby paraphernalia were stacked in piles around the room that they hadn’t got around to sorting through. Seems they had a few more things they needed to sort through.

The fact that Sam was possibly the father of the baby had him reeling. Aelin and Sam had been broken up for a while now. Rowan had liked the guy, but he could tell that the two of them weren't meant to be. Sam and him were close to friends by the time the relationship fell apart, not enough that once Aelin had let him go Rowan had kept in contact. There's was a lot of missing information between then and now. Gods, had Aelin known and not told him? Is that why she had been getting progressively more distant over these past months?

Rowan waited, the feeling of wanting to empty the contents of his stomach returning in full force. His ears were straining for any indication that Lyria was still house. The front door closed and then he heard soft footsteps. She went to the bedroom first, saying his name softly–her voice wavering. She obviously didn’t find him there so she finally came to him. The door squeaked as she pushed it open and Rowan made a mental note to fix that before the baby came, he didn’t want them waking up because of the noise. That thought had him closing his eyes and leaning on the box that held the pieces of the cot, not even knowing where his future was heading.

Lyria was silent, waiting for Rowan to say something. So he did.

“Why?” he asked simply.

“I don’t know,” Lyria said quietly.

“Yes you do,” Rowan said coldly. “Stop trying to spare my feelings. Just tell me.”

Lyria walked over to the rocking chair in the corner, the only real piece of furniture in the room and eased herself down. At any other time Rowan would be over there, helping and hovering. But right now he was rooted to the spot.

“It was just after we had that big fight, the one about my car,” Lyria explained. That had been well over a year ago, this wasn’t the cause of the current problem. “I went out and I randomly ran into Sam. We got talking, he’d just had that messy breakup with Aelin so we were commiserating together. We exchanged numbers.”

“And then what? Swapping numbers doesn’t get you pregnant,” Rowan said as he finally turned around.

He saw Lyria in the chair, head tipped back as tears ran down her cheeks. “It was another fight, over something stupid I can’t remember now, and I told Sam and we went out and we got drunk. We’d been texting for a while, we had become friends and talking almost every day. Then suddenly that line blurred and we were more than that and that night he asked me to come back to his place, you’d headed out of town so I said yes. We had sex back at his place, and it was the worst mistake of my life.”

Rowan remembered that, he had the same blip in his memory over what exactly the fight was over, but he remembered leaving town overnight for work. He had tried to call Lyria so many times but eventually giving her the space he interpreted her silence to be asking for. And the truth of it was worse than he could have ever imagined.

“He loves you,” Rowan said, even though they broke his own heart.

“Yes.” Lyria’s reply came out with a sob.

“And do you love him?” At this point Rowan felt as though he was digging his own grave, each question and answer taking him deeper.

Another sob tore from Lyria and Rowan’s heart betrayed him, forgetting about his own pain and anger. All he wanted to do was hold his wife, kiss her and dry her tears, tell her none of it mattered. But still, he held back. He wanted to hear the answer first.

“No,” Lyria said but it lacked conviction. “I don’t know. But I know that I love you more.”

“That’s no consolation prize there, Ria,” Rowan said bitterly.

Lyria didn’t say anything, she just continued to cry and now was rubbing her stomach. Rowan had done that countless times, he had felt that baby move, talked to them, assured them that no matter what as their father he would always be there. But now…

That final question loomed in front of him, ready to drag him over the precipice of no return. Despite it all, Rowan couldn’t explain how the smile appeared on his face as he readied to say the words that could potentially haunt him for the rest of his life. He wouldn’t ask directly, he couldn't. Instead he’d delay the swing of the axe.

“Do you know?” He was a coward for delaying. “Do you know who the father is?”

Lyria nodded tears cascading over her cheeks, he watched them fall one after the other as she nodded, and he could tell her lies had reached their end. Hoping, more than believing that she was resolute in giving him an answer.

Rowan’s voice was so hollow he barely recognised it in his own ears as he said, “Tell me.”

~~~~~

There was a sturdy knock at the door and Aelin pushed Fleetfoot off her lap as she went to answer it. The food had arrived much quicker than she thought, she was always far too impatient to watch the actual delivery process on her phone. She tended to just get angry at the route her driver made or yelled when the wait time would randomly fluctuate. So instead she would place her order and just wait for the text. Aelin smiled at the prospect at take-out arriving, though on her way she realised that she hadn’t actually received the text indicating it was in fact here. Shrugging to herself as she swung the door open, assuming that the delivery guy had just forgotten. However, that smile fell when she saw who stood in her doorway.

It was Rowan.

~~~~~

Yeah, I'm definitely the worst. This one seems short but I promise the next one will make up for it. 

Tags: @fucking-winchester-trash​ // @literary-licorice​ // @galyxsy // @tangledraysofsunshine​ // @highqueenofelfhame​ // @3am-reading​ // @soup-that-is-too-hawt​ // @aelinfire-bringer​ // @nalgenewhore​ // @highladyofthesith // @http-itsrebecca​ // @sleep-and-books​ // @alifletcher2012​ // @westofmoon​ // @sleeping-and-books​ // @ttakeitbacknoww​ // @armixers-unite // @mariamuses​ // @chocolate-eating-bitch-queen​ // @velarian-trash​ // @queenofxhearts​ // @heroesofterrasen​ // @highladyofstoriesandmusic​ // @empire-of-wildfire​ // @camerooonchiu​ // @crackedship​ // @lowhangingtreebranches​ // @over300books​ // @yourwhisperingshadows​ // @thesirenwashere​ // @tswaney17​ // @impossiblescissorspeachpaper​ // @cat5313​ // @judelovescardan​ // @flowerspringsea​ // @chaoticskyy​ // @the-regal-warrior​ // @fanfictrash3000​ // @blueeyes425​ // @starseternalnighttriumphant​ // @bamchickawowow​ // @thehuntressofmoon // @giorgia-the-trashpanda​ // @flora-and-fae​ // @thereaderandfangirl​ // @illyrian-bookworm​ // @chemicha​ // @meltalgel-ig​ // @gay-book-nerd // @that-odd-puzzle-piece​ // @i-love-all-books // @in-love-with-caramel-macchiato​ // @girl-who-reads-the-books​ // @hizqueen4life​ // @the-third-me​ // @queen-of-glass​ // @bestmelle​ // @cursebreaker29​ // @b00kworm​ // @superspiritfestival​ // @aesthetics-11​ // @maastrash​ // @mynewdreamwasyou​ // @the-last-apprentice​ // @charincharge​ // @firestarsandseneschals​ // @scarznstars​ // @absolute-dissapointment // @thesurielships​ // @df3ndyr​ // @trinitybailey2003 // @hellasblessed​ // @booknerdproblems​ // @rowaelin-cressworth​ // @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves // @rolltide7​ // @scandinavianromantic​ // @tillyrubes10​ // @starwarsslytherin​ // @minaidss // @paytin77​ // @jesstargaryenqueen​ // @anntheintrovert​ // @starbornvalkyrie​ // @loudphantomdragon​ // @woollycat22​ // @claralady​ // @perseusannabeth​ // @fangirlprincess09​ // @maddymelv // @sierrareads​ // @more-espresso-less-depresso-xx // @jlinez​ // @lysandra-ghost-leopard​ // @rowaelinismyotp​ // @pullnpeeltwizzlers​ // @anne-reads​ // @jadeaffliction​ // @gracie-rosee​ // @elriel4life​ // @miserablesmusings​ // @tothestarswholistentodreamers // @littleboxofthunder​ // @empress-ofbloodshed​ // @booksbqueen​ // @rowanwhitethornisbae​ // @aelin-queen-of-terrasen​ // @alyx801​ // @amandaswallowtail​ // @louiseleblancdiggory​ // @abookishfreak​ // @danibutterr​ // @thegreyj​ // @thenerdandfandoms​ // @castielspelvis​ // @swankii-art-teacher​ // @grandma-noob-lord​ // @vanzetanze​ // @lizzyfirebringer // // @endlessdaydream​ // @magnifique1807​ // @sis-it-dont-add-up​ // @thenerdfandoms​ // @post-it-notes33​ // @ae-lingalathynius​ // @whythefuckdoiexist​ // @highlady-brittney​ // @story-scribbler​ //

[avengerscompound]

Small Gods: Lazy Mornings - 8

Lazy Mornings:  A Captain America Fanfic

Lazy Mornings Masterlist | More Small Gods PREVIOUS //

Buy me a ☕ Character Pairing:  Steve Rogers x F!Reader

Rating: E

Word Count:  1226

Warnings: Injuries, food

Synopsis: Steve Rogers has trouble taking time for himself.  When his friends set him up with a person with a very unusual skill, perhaps he can learn that the quiet moments are just as important as everything else.

Chapter 8

It was raining and Steve’s body ached.  Not in that pleasant, after a workout or marathon sex session way either.  He just hurt.  The last mission he’d been on had been rough.  It had worked out, but not after having his ass kicked by two different supers and jumping off the top of a 10 story building and using his shield and a plate glass conservatory ceiling to break his fall.  He was cut up, bruised, and he was pretty sure he had broken more than one rib.  Definitely one was broken, he could feel how it moved when he poked it, grinding against itself and jabbing his lung uncomfortably.  He thought maybe it was three.  Whatever the case, he was in pain and exhausted, and yet he was completely relaxed.

When the team had gotten back, he’d let the medical staff check everyone over, including himself.  They’d had a quick debrief with orders to get some food and sleep and reconvene in the morning, and then he’d dismissed everyone.  Normally he forced them all the stay for a full debriefing, but he knew tonight was useless.  Everyone had been pushed to their limit, and they’d just end up falling asleep at the table.

Besides, all he wanted from the moment he got on the Quin, was to see you.

It had been an interesting experience showing up to your place all battered like he was.  Rather than you relaxing him, he had made your adrenaline spike and you’d gone into overdrive trying to take care of him.  You’d dragged him inside, touching all over his body and kissing his cheeks and neck as you tried to decide if he should, in fact, be here with you or in the medbay with morphine.  When you seemed to settle on him being well enough to be with you, you’d drawn him a bath using Epsom salts and left him to soak while you’d gone to order dinner and make him cocoa.

He was wrapped up in one of your handmade quilts on the couch now, a mug of cocoa in his hand.  It had both whipped cream and marshmallows in it and was far too sweet for his taste.  You seemed to realize that as you approached him with a bottle of Scotch.

“Here,” you said, pouring a very generous amount into the little room he had in the cup.  “I know you can’t get drunk, but maybe it will take the edge off.”

“I’m fine,” Steve chuckled, taking your hand and pulling you a little closer to him.  “You don’t have to take care of me.”

“I know I don’t have to,” you said as you began playing with his hair.  “But I want to  It makes me feel better.  Besides, look at you.  You look like someone put you in the washing machine on max.”

Steve chuckled and winced at the pain in his chest when he did.  “Feels a little like that too, if I’m honest.”

“See,” you said and kissed the top of his head.  “You just heal.”

There was a knock at the door and you pulled away from Steve.  “That’ll be the food.”

He watched you go and collect dinner, tipping the delivery driver generously before heading into your kitchen with the bags.  When you returned it was with a tray laden with different things.

“I had very specific ideas of what you needed to eat right now,” you said as you brought the tray over.  “But not too many places nearby that make it are still open right now.  Thankfully I found one place that had close enough.”

You placed the tray in front of him.  You had laid it out with a lace placemat and a flower in a small glass vase.  There was a bowl of steaming Matzah Ball Soup and a plate of roast chicken and vegetables.  There was even a side of corned beef hash and a warm dinner roll.  All the kind of food he considered comfort food as a kid, but never really got to see on his plate very often.  Or if it was, it was an anemic, watered-down version.

“This looks perfect,” he said.  “Didn’t you get yourself anything?”

“I did.  I just can’t carry that much at once,” you joked and went back into the kitchen.

Steve started eating and soon you had returned and sat down beside him with your own tray.

“This is really nice,” Steve said.

“That’s good. I’ve never ordered from them before,” you answered.  “I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

“No… I mean… well, yes -the food,” Steve said.  “But I mean this.  Coming here to you.  It’s really… I love you.”

Your spoon stopped midway to your mouth and a smile slowly crossed your features.  You put your tray on the coffee table and then carefully took his off his lap and did the same.  Steve couldn’t help smiling at how careful and methodical you were being.  Your hands went to his cheeks and you looked deep into his eyes.  “I love you too,” you said, and brought your lips to his.

Steve hummed and tilted his head, kissing you deeply.  The ache in his ribs throbbed lightly but he ignored it as he wrapped his arm around you and drew you closer to him.  You pulled back and ran your hand gently down his chest.  “Did I hurt you then?”

He shook his head.  “Nothing I can’t handle.”

You laughed and kissed his cheek.  “You should finish your dinner.”

Steve playfully stuck out his bottom lip.  “But I don’t want to.”

You laughed and smacked him gently on the shoulder.  “Go on.  No shenanigans for you until you’re at least fed.”

He settled back and you passed him his tray again.  “I don’t know if you’ve thought much about us,” Steve said.  “I think about it a lot.  I keep overthinking how I feel about you and how this will work when we’re so different.  But I love this and I love you.  I hope we can have some kind of future together.”

You turned so you were sitting cross-legged and rubbed his thigh.  “I can see one too, Steve.  I know our lives are very different, and we are very different people.  But I think that’s a good thing.  For so long, I felt like I was just going along existing and never connecting to anyone in any real way.  But I feel like I have with you.  I feel alive with you.”

“What about that thing you said… where I’d stop appreciating you if I spent too much time here?” Steve asked.

You shrugged.  “I guess it’s a risk.  But maybe it’s a good thing.  Maybe instead of feelings and ideas, we can be real people together.”

Steve smiled and leaned into you a little.  “I like that,” he said.  “I think that’s what I’ve been missing.  Taking time for myself to be Steve and not just Captain America.”

You nodded.  “And I have been the same.  Always just a feeling, never a person who had them.”

Steve leaned over and kissed you tenderly.  Despite the broken ribs and the cuts and bruises, he felt good.  Alive.  And worthy of having a real life.  He could see a full one with you, and he looked forward to seeing how it would play out.

~ END ~

[furikakyo]

a return to roots | 3

pairing: kita shinsuke x f!reader

summary: y/n is a rising star in the music industry, having almost everything you could have ever hoped for as a small-town country girl. now after releasing two triple platinum albums in consecutive years, you face the dreaded artist’s burnout… in order to recover, your manager suggests, you should return to your hometown in hyōgo for a long-deserved break. 

genre: socmed/smau, slice of life 

warnings/tags: timeskip!, mutual pining, slow burn? more like rekindling, slight canon divergence

masterpost 

You finished sending your texts to Osamu and sat back in your bed, tossing your phone aside and then pulling the covers over your head. As you tugged and curled into your blankets, your phone fell to the wooden floor of your bedroom with a heavy thunk. Cursing, you drew back the covers and reached over the edge of the bed, trying to find balance. All of the blood rushed to your face as you huffed, still attempting to rescue your phone without actually laying foot on the ground.

Once you finally recovered it, you sat back onto your bed with a heave, any sleepiness you had now gone. You stared at the ceiling, wondering what you should do that day. A hand fisted itself into the thick blankets as you tossed and turned, trying to find some comfort in your plush bed. You hadn't been able to sleep well the past couple of days, for whatever reason. Your neck hurt, your back was sore, hell, your entire body ached for some reason, restless and yet so tense at the same time.

You sat up suddenly. What was it Kuroo had said to you? You weren't sure.

"Ugh..." You buried your face into your hands, memories of last night's conversation rushing back to you; remembering how you'd started talking about Kita when you were nodding off. It had been over two years since everything between you went down. Why couldn't you stop thinking about it? You could feel the burn of embarrassment and shame behind your eyes, your throat beginning to close up. Sniffling, you opened your phone and scrolled through your contacts. Who wouldn't be busy? Your hand stilled, and your face brightened, if only for a moment. Kenma. He had a calm and comforting presence, which never failed to mellow you out. Plus, he didn’t really talk about emotions or feelings so he wouldn’t ask you about anything related to Kita, nor would you be tempted to talk about him.

You texted your bodyguard and driver, Ichiro, who agreed to pick you up from your apartment and then drive you to Kenma’s. Thanking him for coming on such a short notice and then reminding him to not text and drive, you got dressed for the day, choosing to wear your comfiest hoodie.

A few minutes later, your phone lit up again with Ichiro’s standard “here” text, and you were out the door, not forgetting to bring a hat and sunglasses with you, though. After locking the door and slipping your accessories on, you rushed into the elevator and then made your way down to the car.

The car ride itself was silent, as Ichiro seemed to have picked up on the mood you were in and decided not to comment. Although he was usually stoic, he always maintained a conversation if you initiated it, his responses albeit short. By now you knew that the brevity in which he spoke was not because of anything against you, however, but because he was naturally a quiet person. You wouldn’t have had anyone else for the job, though.

The car softly jolted you as it pulled to a stop, and you unbuckled quickly after realizing you were already at Kenma’s apartment. “Thanks!” you called out, opening the door yourself and then shutting it. You smiled and waved before Ichiro merged back into traffic, watching the car eventually disappear in the long stream of vehicles.

Feeling somewhat better, you entered the complex after buzzing in. and then made your way to Kenma’s apartment, knocking on the door and patiently waiting. There was a long pause and some shuffling behind the door before it opened a crack. Two large yellow eyes peered out into the hall, and then landed on you. The door shut and then opened without the door chain to stop it this time, and you stepped in.

“I brought my Switch,” you proudly announced, looking to the side of the corridor where Kenma was standing, a little hunched over and slouching. You held up your video game console, which was covered in skins and cute accessories you'd purchased. Some of them you'd gotten for free from Kenma though, who got sent free stuff all the time.

“Hi, Y/N,” he said, a soft smile on his face. He pulled half of his hair back with a hair tie and followed you back to where he streamed his games, settling into the chair that all of his fans could recognize by now. “We can play Minecraft, if you want. I haven't gone on our world for a while, so we could both go on.” Kenma swiveled to look at you inquisitively, waiting for an answer.

You lazily waved a hand at him. “No! Today you’re supposed to stream, right? I just crashed your place so I don’t really have a say. You should record and then if you have time after we can play,” you insisted, sitting on the bean bag behind his gamer chair. “I’ll watch or maybe work on my own world.”

Kenma thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded, setting up his microphone and monitors. “Last chance,” he mumbled, then put his headset over his ears, blocking out everything else. You watched in the background with mild interest as he went through his usual monotonous introduction, one that his fans seemed to adore despite its lack of flair. Perhaps it was exactly that what made him so endearing to the internet. Smiling, you glanced back down to your Switch, and opened up Minecraft.

Setting your phone down for a second after replying to Atsumu, you called out lazily: "Oiiii, Kenma.” After a beat of silence and no response, you called again, "Kenmaaaa."

He had been just finished streaming, and pulled off his headphones. "Hm?"

You sat up excitedly, startling Kenma. "When I move, you should visit! Once I get settled in, at least."

He blinked, looking up at the ceiling as if calculating the pros and cons. "Too many bugs," he finally responded with a small grimace. "And it's gross and hot outside."

At that, you broke out into a laugh, the heartiest and most meaningful you’d had in a while. His particular comment wasn't even that funny, it was just- it was just so him. Was your sense of humor breaking? “Maybe I'll be able to change your mind," you mused. "We can even stream a video collab with the both of us- we should try Animal Crossing!" You clapped excitedly, beaming. "Kenma, let's do Animal Crossing once it comes out!”

He squinted his eyes, scooting away from you and your blinding enthusiasm. "Fine," he muttered, hunched over his phone now. He scrolled for a few minutes before speaking again. "Did you see that we're trending? On Twitter and YouTube." Kenma handed you his phone, stifling a small laugh into the collar of his sweatshirt as he sat back.

"I did," you snickered, laying his phone on the table and lying back on his bean bag chair. "My favorite response is the one about the Kodzuken simps," you said, wiggling your eyebrows suggestively at Kenma and then cackling when he turned completely the other way from you. "Kenma, they're devastated!" You gasped dramatically and then draped an arm over your forehead, fainting.

He rolled his eyes at you, shaking his head. "Shut up, Y/N."

After your giggles died out, you saw him offering a controller to you. "Game night!" you cheered, accepting it and sitting up straighter. "We should get takeout!"

Kenma lifted a brow, as if to say why are you even telling me this? "Already on its way.”

The two of you chatted as you played Minecraft, Kenma being a little more open when his mind was preoccupied with gaming. He was, of course, much better than you, eyes glued to the TV screen which had been hooked up to the game console. "Has Kuroo told you who's going to the Olympics?"

You shook your head, then remembered that Kenma wasn't looking your way. "No," you replied slowly, focused on getting out of the water so you could escape the mobs that were chasing you. "But a few of the boys from Inarizaki are. As for Kuroo, I think he was going to say something, but I fell asleep last night. He said something about you and an advertisement, though?"

Kenma smiled, finally breaking his gaze with the screen and looking at you. "Hinata Shōyō from MSBY is collabing with me, to promote the 2020 Olympic games."

Your eyes lit up in recognition. "That's right! Atsumu is teammates with him. I haven't talked to him one-on-one, though. He seems sweet!"

Kenma turned his attention back to the TV, where he was almost done building a house. "He played volleyball in high school too. They beat Inarizaki his first year at Nationals."

You stopped to think, your hands stilling on the controller. Your breathing slowed. In your third year, Inarizaki hadn't progressed further into Nationals, like everyone predicted. Despite being assistant manager, you hadn't thought it would be a big deal to miss their first match in the competition; assistant managers weren’t even allowed on the actual court anyways. You had all thought you were going to get further. You had thought you would get to see your boys play one last time. You had thought you would get to see Kita lead his team to Nationals, as team captain.

You had missed out on that opportunity for signing a record deal.

Beside you, Kenma noticed how quiet you'd gotten but didn't comment, instead going to the door when the buzzer notified him of their takeout delivery. You picked at a loose string on your hoodie, remembering why you didn't often go to Kenma when in distress. While you knew he cared about you and your wellbeing, you also knew that heart-to-heart conversations weren't his strong suit. When he returned a few moments later with your favorite foods, you pushed down the eruption of guilt and self-loathing with a bright smile. "Sorry, what were we saying? Something about Kuroo..." You strained to keep your eyes crinkled and happy.

Kenma's brow furrowed. "Kuroo-"

You interrupted him, and he let you. "Oh yeah! Kuroo and I are gonna hang out on Thursday! Wanna come? I'm leaving Saturday morning, so unless I see you before then, this will be the last time you see me before I leave for Hyōgo."

You watched his face run through a couple of emotions before settling on contemplation. Kenma blew a wisp of stray hair from his eyes and then begrudgingly: "Sure..."

This time, you gave him a true smile and clapped excitedly. "Yay! Should we try to get some of the others to join us? Lev? I want to be able to say goodbye to all of you in person, if possible." Then, swiping the plastic bag from Kenma, you opened the bag hurriedly and began pulling out things. "Here are the plates... and the chopsticks..." You set everything out and then let him load his plate with food first. Soon after, the two of you were back to playing Minecraft, squabbling over who got to use what equipment. After Kenma finally relented and let you have first pick, the both of you set out to fight the swarms of mobs gathered near your shared house.

"Hey, Y/N."

You had looked away for only a couple seconds, but you were blown up by a Creeper. "BITCH," you screeched, "I just fucking died?!"

Kenma snickered, running past your character and stealing everything you'd left behind. You gasped even louder. "BITCH-"

a/n: i said there weren’t going to be as many words as the last part but 🤡 also currently the fic is moving slowly and going day by day but it’ll pick up the pace soonish

taglist (pm me to ask to be added!): @papiibuprofen​ (i didn’t know if i should just respond to your ask publicly sksksk but i added you) 

some ~fun facts~

- y/n’s bodyguard/driver is named after ichiro, one of my fav baseball players

- his name in y/n’s contacts is “bonecrusher 👹” lmao 

- he is stoic but actually a softie; he’s about 30 and has a wife and one kid, both of whom he loves very much 

- i had kenma and y/n playing animal crossing instead of minecraft at first, then realized that it wouldn’t have been released yet, since this takes place in 2020... DAMN YOU TIMELINE

- do i have a map of hyōgo so i can write this fic? yes 💀

[abbysfrenchbraid]

Daring - Chapter 3

This is the last chapter for Daring! If you haven't, read part one and two first 💛 This is just a very fluffy chapter with vanilla smut at the end (with love for all of you who got whiplash from my last fic).

CW for alcohol consumption, language, talk of loss/trauma, sex and SPOILER WARNING for Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water. I will spoil the ending for the movie here so if you want to watch it first and haven't yet, now's the time! Honestly, it's an amazing movie and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so lmk if you have ~thoughts~

Chapter 3 - Home

The days until Thursday went just as excruciatingly slow as the days before your first date had. The only difference was that now you knew what to expect. Or did you? You knew she liked you, too. Wanted you, too. She had told you every night on the phone. Every day after you finished at work you waited patiently for Abby to get off her shift, too. She was on day shifts at the moment, usually from 6 am to 4 pm, but more often than not it took a few hours longer.

Abby was very kind with her patients, often taking people back home from the hospital or helping them get accommodated in their hospital rooms. It cost her a lot of time, but when she told you how grateful they all were you could hear how much she cared.

“I’m telling you Y/N, she actually cried in my arms. This poor old lady, I think she must have been over 80. She could barely raise her arms to put on the gown, the fall had stunned her pretty bad.”

You and Abby were cooking on FaceTime, or rather you were pouring yourself some cereal and Abby was making pasta with fresh tomatoes and herbs. You wished you were there.

“I hope she recovers fast,” you said, pouring in the milk. “It must be awful, being away from home in that state.”

“Yeah,” Abby sighed, “but she luckily didn’t break anything. It’s horrible though, the way elderly people bruise. She is going to have every single step of those stairs visible on her torso for at least a week.”

You took your phone and bowl, using your elbow to open the door to your room. Leah winked at you from the bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth and water dripping from her hair. She was going out with Nora and Jordan, seeing some action movie.

“You’re incredible for taking the time to help her. Did she really have no one else?”

Abby sprinkled some basil into her pasta sauce.

“I don’t think so. She was pretty confused, but she said her daughter lives in New York and she didn’t want me to call her. I’m gonna check on her tomorrow when I have a minute between calls.”

“Oh speaking of…” You leaned back against your headboard and propped up your phone against your thigh, staring into your bowl. “Are we still on tomorrow?”

Abby laughed quietly.

“Baby, I’ve been counting the hours. I can’t wait.” You felt a pull in your stomach at the name. She had never called you baby before. Looking at her, you could see she was trying to hide her nervousness. You smiled at her.

“When can I come over?”

“I hope I get off at 5 and they don’t rope me into an emergency in the last minute of my shift. I’ll just call you as soon as I head out and you can come over straight away. I’ll buy all the groceries we need tonight.”

“Hey, I can -” you protested, but Abby cut you off.

“No, you just grace me with your presence, that’s enough. You don’t know the exact ingredients anyway.”

You smiled and finished your cereal. You couldn’t wait.

-

Abby called you at 6 pm, still sitting in the passenger seat of the ambulance.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t call sooner.” Little strands of hair had fallen out of her braid and framed her face, some of them looking damp with sweat. There was a flush on her face and dark circles loomed under her eyes. You felt just a little bit guilty, having stayed up with her on facetime until after midnight the night before.

“Don’t worry, I’m not the one working extra hours. How was your shift?”

“Honestly? Terrible.” You knew Abby was not one to complain, so that really had to mean something. You saw her sway in the seat as the ambulance pulled into the garage and finally came to a halt. “I’ll tell you about it later, okay? I’ll be home in half an hour, so just come over whenever you want. I’ll leave the front door unlocked in case I’m still in the shower.”

A prickle went over your skin at the thought, but you quickly pushed it away. Abby was obviously exhausted, this was not the time to imagine her and you in a shower.

“Are you sure you really want to cook? We could just order takeout and call it a night.”

Abby considered it for a moment. It had to have been the worst day. She quickly spoke to the person next to her in the driver’s seat, then you heard the car door being shut. Abby looked back at you.

“Abby. Let me take care of you.” Your voice was soft. You wished you could brush the loose strands of hair behind her ear. The blonde sighed and unfastened her seatbelt.

“Just come over, okay? We can decide then. I just want you with me.”

You jumped up and grabbed the bag you had already prepared for sleeping over, a bottle of Merlot on top of your clothes.

“I’m on my way. I can’t wait to see you,” you said as you struggled to put on your shoes with one hand.

“See you soon,” Abby smiled and ended the call.

You called out a goodbye to Leah and she yelled back “Go get her!” Smiling to yourself, you closed the door behind you and rushed to the train station.

Sitting in the uncomfortable plastic seat of the train, you couldn’t help but grow more and more nervous, just like the last time. But this time was different, you reminded yourself. This time you could make your way straight into Abby’s arms, straight to her lips. You secretly checked your breath in your hand. The train arrived both too quickly and not fast enough.

After knocking at the front door twice without any answer, you made your way inside the house. Abby had told you to just come in, but you felt like an intruder nonetheless. Where could you wait without taking up space that wasn’t hers?  You didn’t want to be sitting there like a movie villain when she came down. You called out but there was no answer, only the bass of a rock song playing upstairs and the sound of water rushing through pipes in the wall.

Deciding to make your presence as visible as possible, you dropped your bag on the stairs and took the bottle of the wine to the kitchen. Abby’s heavy paramedic jacket was thrown over a chair and her keys were on the table. An empty glass was standing next to them, water droplets running down on the outside and leaving a wet ring on the wooden surface. You picked it up and placed it in the sink, drying the spot with a tea towel. Then you took out two wine glasses from the cupboard you had put them into after cleaning up the last time and put them on the counter. You leaned against it, wondering what you should do now.

Thankfully, you heard the water shut off upstairs and a few seconds later there was the soft thump of naked heels on tile floor. You decided just to wait until Abby came down. It only took two minutes, then you heard her on the stairs. She slowed when she reached the bottom, probably noticing your bag.

“Y/N?” Her voice was light, but there was excitement in it, carefully restrained.

“I’m in the kitchen!” You suddenly didn’t know what to do with your hands and reached for the bottle, then realized you didn’t have an opener and you probably wouldn’t be able to use one either. You let your arms drop to your side and Abby entered the kitchen, stopping a few steps from you.

She looked beautiful. She was wearing a light grey cutoff shirt and dark navy sweatpants. Her hair was still wet and hung loosely over her shoulders, darkening the cotton where it touched the fabric. Her face was still tired and her shoulders slumped slightly, but her eyes had lit up at the sight of you.

“You’re here!” She held out her hands, still not moving from her spot.

You closed the distance and threw your arms around her, burying your face in her neck.

“I’m here,” you mumbled and Abby’s arms closed around you, encasing you completely. She smelled wonderful, moisture still evaporating from her skin and warmth spreading from her body to yours where you touched. Your excitement didn’t falter, but your nervousness did. A wave of calm came over you. You were here.

“I’m sorry your day was so terrible,” you murmured, lips brushing the skin of Abby’s throat just above the neckline of her shirt. “Wanna spend the rest of it on the couch?”

Her upper body fell forward into you and her forehead came to rest on your shoulder. She nodded and you gave her waist a gentle squeeze before drawing back, resting your foreheads together and cradling her cheek with your hand.

“Come on, then. Let’s order you some food. I brought wine as well if you want some.”

Abby sighed.

“I’d love some.”

You wanted to step aside and take the glasses to the living room but Abby’s arms around you tightened and the corner of her mouth lifted.

“You’re an angel,” she whispered. And then she kissed you.

It was sweet, gentle, and tired, her lips soft and warm. You melted into her, both of you clinging to each other for a moment until Abby pulled away smiling. She took the bottle of wine and rummaged through a drawer for the opener. You held the glasses and watched her open the bottle, brows knit together and her tongue peeking out between her lips. It was both adorable and incredibly hot. You sat down on the large sofa together and Abby poured both of you a generous amount, then you clinked glasses and the blonde stole another kiss.

“Alright,” you unlocked your phone, “what are you craving?”

Abby gave you an amused look before she let her head fall back on the sofa cushion and thought for a second.

“Do you like Mexican food? Burritos?”

“Love it,” you said, searching for the closest restaurant and checking their website for delivery service. Abby just hummed in approval when she saw which one you had picked out. You placed the order together, Abby’s right hand never releasing yours as she clumsily used her left to pick her food. When the order was sent, you threw your phone to the foot of the sofa.

“So,” you said, turning to your side in order to get a better look at the blonde. “Wanna tell me about work?”

Abby sighed and opened her arm for you to crawl into. You gladly scooted closer, resting your head on her shoulder and throwing an arm over her stomach. When she spoke, you could feel the thrum of her voice in her chest.

“I went in early to check on the old lady who fell yesterday and found out she’d fallen again last night. She hadn’t told anyone because she was embarrassed, but I could tell something was wrong. Turns out her arm was broken in three places. I had them call her daughter even though she begged me not to bother her. I don’t know what her daughter is like, but I hope she takes care of her.”

You hummed and pushed yourself even closer to Abby’s side.

“After that, we had a call because of a domestic violence case. The police were there already, it was horrible.”

She rubbed a hand over her face and you pressed a kiss to her collarbone.

“After that, we had to go straight to another family dispute that ended in someone being stabbed with a steak knife. We got them to the hospital fast enough and it all went well in the end but I just hate cases that revolve around psychological trauma as well. All those family issues… I hate it.”

You could only imagine how horrible this must be for her after what had happened to her dad. Though you still didn’t know the whole story and you could probably find out easily by googling her name, you didn’t want to feel like an intruder in her past. She would tell you when she was ready.

“I’m glad you’re telling me about it,” you said, trying to sound firm and gentle at the same time.

Abby let out a little huff that sounded slightly surprised.

“Yeah, I don’t usually do that. Normally I would have just shoved all that into the back of my mind and tried to make this evening go perfect. Not that I don’t want to put in the effort with you-”

“I know,” you interrupted her, raising your head to smile at her, noses brushing against each other. “I think this is perfect. You are.”

You moved in for a kiss and Abby placed a hand on the back of your head, holding you gently as your lips touched. She deepened the kiss soon, breath going a little faster as her arms pulled you even closer. You threw your leg over her thigh, half on top of her now. Her tongue was smooth and hot against yours and when her teeth scraped over your bottom lip, you let out a whimper that she caught in another kiss. Feeling bold, you finally moved on top of Abby, straddling her thigh and placing your hands left and right of her flushed face. You rolled your hips forward and she made a guttural sound, low and hungry.

Her hands were all over you, pressing between your shoulder blades, wrapping around your waist, grabbing your hips to make you grind forward again, then finally cupping your ass and digging her fingers into the muscle. You stopped trying to keep yourself from panting and leaned forward to kiss Abby’s jaw, then the soft spot beneath her earlobe. She drew up her leg behind you, pressing her thigh between your legs, and you whimpered into her ear.

“Abby,” you whispered, “what are you doing to me?”

“Anything you want,” she murmured against your cheek, “anything, baby.”

You could hear your pulse drumming in your ears as you kissed the blonde fiercely, then moved your lips over that chiseled jaw again before biting the delicate skin of her throat. You dragged your tongue over her pulse point, actually feeling the beat of her heart fluttering against your sensitive nerve endings. She smelled intoxicating, warm, and earthy, and it made you want to take her in completely, to drown in her and never come to the surface again.

Her hands were on your hips again, guiding them against hers as she let out another low moan, lips parted and pupils blown as she looked at you with a mixture of amazement and pure, burning desire. You let your hands wander down her torso, trailing your fingers along the hem of her shirt and slipping them underneath. Abby’s skin was radiating heat, her stomach flexing beneath your touch.

“May I?” You asked, your voice breathless. Abby just nodded, lifting her arms over her head and arching her back so you could push the fabric up, revealing her broad frame, toned abs, and a black sports bra. You threw the shirt to the side and fell back onto her, your chests pressing together as you enveloped her in another heated kiss. You ground down against her thigh, the seam of your jeans pressing against all the right places. Abby’s hands were on your back again, broad and warm and reassuring.

You stayed like that for a while, melting into each other, catching the other’s breath, and trying to move in ways that would get the other to moan even though you were both still shy and careful about making noise. Abby twisted her pelvis ever so slightly so you could keep riding her thigh and hit her hipbone at the front of every movement. You responded by pulling her damp hair and making her hiss before she pulled you in and kissed you fiercely.

“God, Abby…” Heat was pooling at the bottom of your stomach and there was a sudden, almost painful sensitivity to your core. Pleasure had sneaked up on you without you noticing, completely surprising you with its intensity as Abby rolled her hips upward and you had no choice but to cry out. There was a hunger in her eyes, a triumphant glint and she held your face gently with one hand while the other was tight around your hip, guiding your movements against her and pressing into your flesh.

“Fuck, Abby, fuck, I’m so -” She swallowed your whimpers with another searing kiss, her tongue pressing into your mouth and her thumb stroking your cheek.

“Come on, baby, you’re so good, so beautiful, baby,” Abby mumbled against your lips, followed by more sweet compliments and hot kisses, her eyes always on yours. You found the perfect angle at last and dug your fingers into her shoulder, your moans going high and fast as you pressed your forehead to hers. She placed a last gentle kiss on your lips and you came undone on top of her. Her hands caught you easily, stroking you through your high, her lips caressing every inch of your face. Her skin was warm beneath you and slightly sweaty. You licked a small stripe up the side of her throat and kissed her jaw.

Abby pulled back just an inch to get a better look at your face, running her hands through your hair and over your cheeks, then down your shoulders and coming to rest around your waist.

“You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever known,” she said quietly and with a blissful smile. “An angel.”

Her gaze was so piercing, so raw and knowing that you suddenly had the urge to bury your face in your hands, to hide from this infinite feeling inside of you that you could see in Abby’s eyes as well. You forced yourself to hold her gaze and reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face.

“I’ve never… this has never happened to me before,” you confessed softly. “You are doing things to me I never even dreamed of.”

Abby chuckled at that and caught your hand, kissing every knuckle and then the inside of your palm.

“We fit well, don’t we?” It was cautious, a step forward with no weight on it yet, a hand on a door handle.

“We do.” You grinned at her, and maybe it was the rush of the high that still hadn’t faded or a rare wave of courage, but you decided to rip open that door from the other side. You sat up and placed a hand on her sternum, feeling her heart thrum beneath your palm.

“Abby, I want to be with you. I’ve wanted to for a long time. You don’t have to have an answer right now, but just know that I’m already yours, no matter what.”

For a moment, Abby didn’t seem to fully comprehend. Then she frowned, the smile not fully leaving her lips but turning bittersweet. You felt your stomach drop. Had you spoken too soon?

“Y/N.” Abby’s hand covered yours on her chest. “I’d love nothing more.” A weight fell off your shoulders. Abby wasn’t done talking yet.

“I’m a difficult person to… be with. I’ve really put in all I had with you so far, but there are times when I will be cold and closed off and I won’t be able to let you in, to let anyone in. I don’t know if I could hurt you like that.” She squeezed your hand now, her eyes glossy. “I’m not saying this because I’m scared or unsure, I’m saying this to give you an out. Or at least some more time to really get to know what it’s like with me in your life. I can be exhausting. At least that’s what I’m told.”

You felt something hot flare up in your throat. That was not fair.

“Who told you that?”

“Owen. I mean, he’s the only person who knows what it’s like being with me and he certainly didn’t like it very much.” Even with her broad shoulders, her set jaw, all her muscles, she looked strangely small now. You felt like you were going to burst with rage.

“Abby, do you honestly think an ex’s opinion of you counts? To me? I don’t give a shit what Owen thinks because I’m not him and this is not the same thing. I get to decide what it’s like and so far it’s the best thing that ever happened to me.” You placed both your hands on her cheeks and leaned forward. “Babe, stop trying to deny yourself happiness. You deserve to be happy. And if I make you happy, if you’ll have me, I’m yours.”

Abby sat up straight, her face now directly in front of yours, and wrapped her arms around you tightly. She blinked the tears away, a smile beginning to tug on her lips.

“You’re mine?”

“Only yours.”

She kissed you and you could feel her grin against your mouth, smooth teeth softly clicking against yours.

“Mine,” she mumbled and began trailing kisses down your throat, hands now wandering down your back and under your t-shirt where they immediately provoked goosebumps to spread over your entire body. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Both of you pulled back with surprised faces.

“The food!” you realized and you had to laugh as you scrambled to get up from the couch. You had almost forgotten how hungry you were. Abby quickly pulled on her shirt, grabbed her wallet, and opened the door, hair wild and her lips still red and swollen. You hovered in the background, probably looking just as disheveled, and tried not to giggle like an idiot.

The delivery guy took one look at you and just gave Abby an amused smirk as he handed her the food. She tipped him generously and thanked him before closing the door and turning to you, both of you frozen in your spots for a second. Then you both burst out in laughter. Abby was next to you in three strides and pressed a kiss to the top of your head before you let yourself flop down on the sofa together. Abby had ordered two large burritos, you had chosen a vegetarian taco bowl and a big bag of tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole. While you unpacked all the food and laid it out on the coffee table, Abby turned on the TV and scrolled through the movie options.

After some looking around, you decided to watch The Shape of Water, which you hadn’t seen yet despite being a big Guillermo del Toro fan. You ate in silence, letting the film pull you into a cold war era story of a mute woman, her gay best friend, and a strange fish-human being in the facility she was a cleaner at. You generally avoided watching more artistic, less Hollywood-typical movies with other people in fear of them constantly ridiculing the story to hide their own discomfort with monsters, but Abby was just as immersed in the story as you were. Sally Hawkins was a fantastic actress and the amphibian man was beautifully designed and a fascinating character. Del Toro’s handwriting was all over the film - beautiful colors and cinematography, fairytale monsters next to very human, real-life ones, the fear of the Other and the idea that maybe if one just dares to look beyond, the Other may have a story to tell and love to give.

When you had finished your food, you snuggled up to Abby, occasionally feeding her chips with guacamole and kissing the salt from her lips. During the final scenes when the shooting happened, Abby tensed up next to you. You hadn’t even thought about movies possibly triggering her or making her uncomfortable. Fuck, you should have looked it up beforehand. Now all you could do was press your temple to her collarbone and wrap your arms around her as tightly as possible.

“Do you want to turn it off?” You mumbled, your thumb drawing circles on her ribcage. You could feel Abby shake her head.

“It’s okay, I’m used to it by now. The movie is almost over anyway.” She pressed a kiss to your forehead and pulled you close. The ending was beautiful and heart-wrenching and you shed a few tears, staining Abby’s shirt. She just smiled and kissed the tears from your cheeks.

“Did you like it?” You asked tentatively, not sure if the shooting may have ruined it for Abby.

“I loved it.” Her expression was warm. “That scene in which she talks about the way he sees her without any of her flaws, just her, and how her fight for his life is what makes her human was beautiful.”

“And then in the end she wasn’t human after all,” you added, “I’ve never really seen it that way around. Usually, the beast turns into a prince at the end. I always hate that. Why can’t the monster stay a monster after having proven their love and their honor and whatever else is needed to redeem them, you know?”

Abby thought about that for a moment, her eyes going unfocused.

“That’s true. In so many stories, all the things that make the monster monstrous are stripped away as soon as they have proven their worth and found true love. It doesn’t work like that in real life. We all have things inside that could deem us monsters and it’s only when we hope to have found love that we can dare to reveal them and hope the other person loves us anyway.”

Something warm spread inside you, reaching out to every corner of your body, every toe and every fingertip. You leaned in and kissed her gently.

“The silver plate.”

Abby looked confused for a second, then she remembered the things she had said during your last date.

“Yeah, my own monstrous silver plate.” She smiled. “Scared?”

“Not at all,” you grinned and climbed on top of her. “I’ll devour you.”

You pressed your lips to hers her and it quickly turned into another heated makeout session. Your limbs were tangled together and her hands roamed your body as you kissed her neck and when she finally asked: “can I?” you almost knocked your head against her jaw trying to sit up so she could take off your shirt.

Sitting up on her hips, you dragged your nail from her ear to the hem of her shirt, scratching the skin and making her hiss, eyes burning.

“Want to show me your bedroom?” you asked, trying not to lose your focus at the feeling of her hands wandering up your thighs. You yelped as Abby sat and stood up in one swift motion, arms secure around your waist and thighs so you’d stay pressed to her chest. You wrapped your legs around her and laughed into her mouth before she kissed you again.

The tall blonde carried you up the stairs like it was nothing, making soft noises when you bit into the soft skin just below her jaw.

“Y/N…” She kicked open a door and didn’t give you any time to look around, crawling on the bed and trapping you under her large body, attacking you with kisses, all teeth and tongue. It was glorious.

You pulled on Abby’s shirt until she grunted and took it off herself, then her hands were trailing the skin above the waistband of your jeans. More, more, more.

“Can I take those off?” Abby asked, sitting back on her knees between your legs.

“Please,” you whimpered, lifting your hips for better access, but Abby had other plans. She let her hands wander over your upper body, her fingers teasing your nipples over the thin fabric of your bralette, then softly tickling your stomach on their way down. Finally, she opened the button of your jeans and slowly opened the zipper, her eyes flickering up to your face and back down to her hands.

“Come ooon,” you begged, “please, Abby.”

There was the hint of a smirk on her lips, but she complied and pulled off your jeans, both of you laughing as they caught around your ankles and Abby had to wrestle them off. Then Abby’s hand was on your foot and she held it in place on her shoulder, slowly kissing her way up your leg. Your breath got faster with every inch she came closer to your heated center, that place that had gotten a taste of what was to come and wanted more. She dragged her lips over your clothed core and your legs trembled, a gasp escaping you.

Abby took her time with you, kissing your stomach and chest before taking off your bralette and teasing your nipples with a gentle tongue and fluttering fingers. You were squirming beneath her, a mess of pleasure and want for more, begging her to touch you. Finally, she sat back up and hooked her fingers under the waistband of your panties, keeping eye contact and pulling them down slowly. Her gaze was burning, pupils wide, lips hanging open and breath going in shallow pants.

Her tongue was heaven, it was heat and silk and everything at once, enveloping you in waves of ecstasy and making you moan and bury your hands in her hair. She was gentle, cleaning up the mess you had made earlier and the one just now, broad tongue and small circles sending your hips up to meet her, her fingers around your thighs too far away.

“Abby, please…” you gasped and she looked up to meet your gaze. You melted inside.

“What do you want, baby?” Her voice was deep and husked, lips shining with your juices.

“Your fingers.” You gave her hand a light push downward and with a smile, she complied.

If you had thought you had already reached the pinnacle of pleasure, the best there was, you had been oh so wrong. Abby’s fingers were magical, teasing you and filling you up, stroking against that tender spot inside you, then slowing down as her tongue made you see stars, complying when you begged her for more, faster, harder. Your legs hadn’t stopped shaking in what felt like forever, your fingers were cramped into Abby’s beautiful blonde mane and you were crying out her name over and over again as she brought you to your peak, guiding you through it and moaning along with you as your juices covered her fingers and her tongue.

When she finally crawled back up to meet you, her arms were shaking slightly and her face was flushed. You still felt like you were somewhere far away, but her smile pulled you back to the present. She kissed you, letting you taste yourself on her tongue. Slowly, you let your hand wander down and play with the seam of her sweatpants and the hem of her boxers peeking out underneath.

“Wanna take these off?” you mumbled in her ear and you could see she was trying to keep her composure as she tried to get out of her pants as fast as possible before coming back to you. She stopped and looked unsure suddenly.

“Is it okay if I keep these on for now?” She gestured to her sports bra and underwear.

“Of course, baby. Can I touch you?” You whispered, one hand on the back of her neck as the other wandered lower. Abby nodded and kissed you again.

“Yes, please,” she whispered back. You slid your hand into her boxers and were greeted by wet heat, desire practically pooling in your palm. Both of you gasped at the same time, eyes flying open to meet each other’s, bodies grinding together.

“Fuck baby, you’re so wet,” you cooed and watched Abby dissolve in front of you, blood shooting into her cheeks before she buried her face in your neck and began leaving lovebites on your throat. You dragged your fingers between her folds, relishing in the tiny noises she made whenever you touched her clit or came near her entrance.

You put all your strength into throwing Abby to the side and rolling on top of her, hand never leaving her center. She laughed in surprise and grabbed the back of your neck to pull you in, and at that moment you slid a finger inside her. Her eyes went wide and the noise she made would visit your dreams for the rest of your days. You kept your lips wandering over her throat and back to her lips, pulling moan after moan from her with your fingers, gently pushing inside her and curling upward, your thumb drawing circles on her clit. After a while, you could see her abs flexing as her core convulsed rhythmically, her moans getting higher and breathless, her fingers digging into your waist.

“Will you come for me, Abby?” you whispered and kissed her again. Her hips bucked up into your hand and she made a strangled noise, then her legs clamped together around your fingers and she sighed, tongue darting out to brush against yours as you slowly pulled your hand from her sensitive core.

You threw your thigh over her hips and pressed your face into the crook of her neck, giving her time to breathe as you drew patterns on her bare stomach with your fingers.

“Baby…” she mumbled above you, voice vibrating through her chest. “That was… I don’t even have words.”

You grinned up at her and she brushed your hair behind your ear. Her gaze was full of love and adoration, like sunlight warming your skin, soft fingertips caressing your cheeks.

“I’ve never felt so safe,” you said, resting your head on her shoulder so you could look at her. “You’re so careful.”

Abby smiled and followed the path of your fingers with her eyes.

“I’ve had other experiences in the past that made me realize how important it is to always check on your partner.” She looked down at her clothed hips. “Thank you for… not making this weird. I’m just… one step at a time.”

“Of course, baby.” You moved your lips closer to her ear. “I think it’s really fucking hot, you between my legs in those boxers, all muscles and freckles. But then when I touch you, you’re so needy, just a wet mess, coming on my fingers in your underwear.”

Abby let out a shaky breath, chest trembling at your words. She laced her fingers between yours and pressed them to her sternum.

“You leave me speechless every time,” she said, voice quiet and content.

“I love it.” You pulled the blanket up with your foot and covered both of your bodies up to your hips, yawning into her shoulder. Abby chuckled quietly.

“Do you need to set an alarm for tomorrow?” She reached over to the bedside table, then let her arm drop. “Our phones are still downstairs.”

You groaned and rolled onto your back before blinking up at Abby innocently, hoping she would go and get them. She just laughed and got up, stretching her arms and making the muscles on her back dance beautifully.

“You need to go pee,” she said with raised eyebrows. You sighed and lazily rolled out of bed, pulling the blanket up around you.

Abby showed you the bathroom across the hall and made her way down the stairs, a bounce in her step. You could hear her clean up the takeout containers and throw away the trash in the kitchen. Suddenly there was a noise outside, a deep voice and the jingle of keys at the door. You froze with the towel in your hands. The front door opened and Manny tried to stay quiet in that completely ineffective way most men do, dropping his shoes with loud thumps and whispering into his phone so loudly you could hear every word.

“Hi, Manny,” Abby said in the hallway. Keys dropped to the floor with a clunk.

“Dios mio! What the hell are you doing sneaking around here, Abby? You just get back from the gym?” You could hear her laugh quietly as he tried to catch his breath.

“I could ask you the same. Weren’t you supposed to come back tomorrow?”

You snuck back into her bedroom on tiptoes, wrapping the blanket around you tightly and staying near the door to hear the conversation downstairs.

“Had to go early, my dad had a hot date tonight.” You could actually hear his grin.

“Yeah, well, me too.” Abby’s voice was dry, but you could tell she wasn’t actually annoyed.

“Really? Y/N? How'd it go?” A pause, then another loud whisper - “holy shit, she still here?

“Y/N, Manny’s home!” Abby’s raised voice rang through the house. You grinned. She knew you were listening.

“Hi, Manny!” You looked around for any clothes you could throw on quickly but came up empty. Sighing, you checked your blanket placement and went to the top of the stairs, looking down at Manny and Abby in the entrance hall.

Abby was still just in her sports bra and boxer shorts but didn’t seem to mind at all. Manny wore sweatpants and a green sweater, along with a hat that said women want me, fish fear me. Behind him were two large bags, one of them clearly full of fishing equipment. His smile lit the room.

“Hi Y/N, nice seeing you here. You two have a good night?”

You nodded and he made a knowing ah-ha sound. Abby elbowed him and red spots formed on her neck.

“Well, I’m gonna eat something and pass out. Breakfast tomorrow?” He threw a hopeful look in Abby’s direction. “When does your shift start?”

“Noon, I get late shift for the next two weeks. Y/N, what about you?” Both of them looked up at you and you shifted your weight, very aware of the way you looked right now.

“I just need to study, I can sleep in for once.”

Abby nodded and patted Manny’s shoulder.

“Breakfast at 10.”

She came up the stairs, taking two steps at a time and grinning from ear to ear. Manny vanished into the kitchen, continuing to scream-whisper into his phone. You made out the words “finally… girl is here” before Abby simply picked you up and carried you back to bed, kicking the door closed behind her.

You snuggled up together and Abby stroked your hair while she told you about her friendship with Manny and how glad she was to have him. He had been there for her through everything and he had wanted her to make a move and ask you out for weeks. You felt yourself drift away slowly.

“I’m so glad I’m here,” you mumbled, hand stroking Abby’s chest.

“Me too, baby. I still can’t believe I get to call you mine.” The bliss in her voice was the same you felt in your heart.

“Finally.” You craned your neck for a last kiss and melted beneath Abby’s soft lips and warm hands.

She held you wrapped tightly in her arms, almost as if she was scared you could vanish in the night. As if you'd ever leave her now. The last thing you thought before falling asleep was that you were finally home.

-

Author's note: Have you seen The Shape of Water? Did you like it? Let me know here 💌 If you'd like to support me, you can buy me a coffee here 🤎